I woke with a jump. "Oh!" I pushed up; sitting upright in the cushy bed I was laid in. I looked around, a bit dazed by the sunlight filtering in through the thick beige curtains. I shot a hand to my forehead, everything a bit hazy. "Where am I?" I felt warm, safe, but confused. "Marin? Mom? Angle-- oh wait...Darcy, yes." I rubbed my forehead, trying to figure out what to do next. "Right...train. Okay, sweaty, shower. Shower." I threw the thin sheet over my body off and shifted my legs off the bed.

For the first time in months I had slept in the nude, and for the first time in my life I'd woken up uncomfortably warm and sweaty. "Hot, hot, why is it so damn hot?" I grumbled and groaned as I moved towards the window. "Gross, sweat--" I flung the window open, my eyes burning from the bright white light. "Oh god!" I pulled the curtains back closed and turned away. "My eyes...." I rubbed my eyes with my fingertips, dampness dotting on my fingers as I tried to sort out my vision. "By the elder gods, what time is it?!"

I swung around, searching for a clock of some sort. My searching found fruit in a small alarm clock near the bed. "Seven? How?" I looked back towards the window, blurry vision stained by the bright buzzing stars that perforated my vision. "God damn.... Everything's just crashing down." I stumbled around the room, my hooves clopping loudly against the wood floor. I met one of the warm walls with my hand and slowly started to move towards the door.

I rubbed my head as I opened the door and flung myself into the salmon colored hall. I walked along, trying to get my bearings. Darcy's room was across, the bathroom was down the hall. I hurried down, starting to feel myself drop out of my sheathe as I anticipated peeing. "Oh man...it's so warm." I pulled my hair back, more of a mane than hair just by sheer volume. "Uuuuh-uuuh why-a-babub." I pushed the door to the bathroom open, scaring myself with a loud step onto tile. "Bah, ah...why?"

I looked around the clean white tiles, catching my blue bearded face. "Great, I can look like a corridor case when I meet Ms. Rarity. Grand." I rubbed my face and slowly plodded around the white tile room, eventually settling down and leaking. "Gods above...best part of the morning." The rush of relief, the awfully thick smell of ammonia, the constant sound of water rushing into the bowl. "Oh god...thank Celestia for small miracles." I finished up and stepped back, starting to wake up fully and face the sheer sticky grossness that clung to my everything.

I huffed and drew back the shower curtain of the clean white bathroom. I stepped blindly into the bathtub, the room familiar enough for me to ignore my discomfort for long enough to rinse myself. I pulled the curtain shut and turned one of a set of twin knobs on the wall. A rush of freezing cold water hit me, snapping me awake and washing a thin layer of grim off my skin. "Bugger my ass!" My leg shot out, clacking hard against the porcelain floor. I shook myself hard, pushing past the icy feeling and letting myself fall into the cool rush of cold water.

I pressed my hand against the wall, letting out a guttural moan as the heat of the night dripped off, leaving me cold and clean as I was accustomed. "Ooooo, thank everything." I could feel my hair start to fall over my head. I yanked it back, pushing it back like a lion's mane. I let out a shrill yawn, sounding like a kitten as it finished up with a sharp howl. I looked around, my now woken state giving me some clarity. "Soap...soap...soapa...." I looked among a set of bottles, finding what could only be Darcy's shampoo.

Apple scented and girly. Looking around there was only bottles from her. Apples, apples, caramel and apples. Her parents must have their own bathroom. "Lucky. Must be nice not having to share."

"Hey dad...I'm just gonna pee okay?" I locked up, a warm spot lighting up the back of my neck before shooting straight to the base of my tail. I wasn't alone, and that single fact sent me into full lock down. I just held the bottle of girly soap in my hands, trying not to freak out. A loud dripping sound filled the room, followed by a full blown trickle. "So...what's the plan? We gonna go out or wha--" The trickle stopped. "...Dad?" A pair of hooves hit the ground hard. "Holy shit!" The door flung open, followed by a two hoof snap, then a loud slam.

I stood bolt stiff, trying to keep from freaking out and screaming. "Breathe...breathe you idiot." I finally drew a breath, flooding my lungs with cold crisp air. "Okay...I'm okay. Should have locked the door, that's completely my fault." I squirted a large amount of shampoo onto my head and started cleaning myself off. "Going to have to skip my tail, but I'm not about to abuse the kindness of strangers!" I viciously cleaned my head, letting the water drip down my human upper half and down my thick pony coated legs. "It's alright, friendly people, friendly town, easy mistake."

I finished off and snapped the water off, my cold shower quickly losing the battle of temperatures. "God damn it, everything is hot in this town!" I shook myself hard, ridding myself of a lot of excess water. "Gods above I- towel... oh please." I pulled the curtain open and started looking around. "No no no." I opened up a set of cabinets, a drawer, under the sink, above the toilet, nothing. "No no no no- damn!" I rammed my head against a wall and stood there dripping onto the tile. "I should have gotten a hotel...I should have stayed in Storm Side."

I sat wet on the toilet, wallowing in my dropped guard like an idiot. Tak tak tak "Hello?"

I looked towards the door. "Uh, yes?"

Darcy's voice cracked through the door once again. "...Glass?"

"Yes." I rubbed my face.

"Oh... I'm so sorry."

I ran my hand through my damp hair, clawing it back out of my eyes. "It's my fault." I looked back to the dripping shower wall. "Darcy...can you do me a favor?"

The unmistakable sound of nails on wood filled my ears. "What do you need?"

I huffed and rubbed my brow. "A towel. ... And a hair tie." I pulled my hand down along my face. "And a razor if you have one.... I'm sorry to intrude...I'm just in a rather rough state--"

"No, no, you're a guest. First time in Ponyville should be the best time, right?" Darcy tapped the door with her hand. "I'll be right back."

I sighed loudly and stood up. "Take your time...not like I have anywhere to go." I walked to the opposite wall and stared at the toilet. "... She didn't flush. I was sitting- grand.... Just grand." I pulled at my hair, "Only up from here I suppose. Sure as shite can't go down." I allowed myself to chuckle. There was a certain comfort in rock bottom, like a floor.

The door creeped open, Darcy facing off to the side as she stuck a towel with some stuff on it through the door. "Here I- hello." she snapped her head away, dropping the towel and everything on the floor. The door snapped shut once again. "Sorry!"

I looked down myself. "Honestly...." I scooped up the supplies. I turned to the mirror and pulled my hair back into a ponytail. "There's a comfort in the floor, rock bottom is great! Then the floor gets ripped out from under me!" I brought the razor against my face, sheering off my shitty beard in a few masterful strokes of a disposable razor. "Yanked out from under me, cruelly, violently!" I finished up, no longer scruffy and beleaguered.

I washed off my face and finally dried off. My bottom half was wrapped up in a bright lime green towel, standing out like mad against my black legs. I stepped out of the bathroom, face to face with Darcy in a tee-shirt and shorts. "Uh...hi there." Darcy tapped her fingers together. "Sorry, I feel like I crossed the--"

I walked up to her hand threw my free arm around her. "Fuck the line!" I stated, a bit joking in tone. "If I set a line right now, someone, some cosmic force is just going to move it!" I squeezed her as best I could with one arm. "I quit!" I pulled back, pressing my back against the wall as Darcy held her thighs. "I can't--"

"Eh-herm." A rough voice broke down the hall and straight into my ear. "Pardon...."

I turned down the hall. A massive red pony with orange hair was staring right at me. "... Mr. Darcy." I turned to face him and bowed. "A pleasure."

The pony walked up to me. "Macintosh." He looked me up and down. "Big Mac is fine."

I nodded once. "Macint--"

"Big Mac." He corrected, giving me a bit of space.

I let out a soft breath. "Big Mac, I'm Glass Work. Thank you for letting me-" I bowed again, my hips causing the towel to unfold around me and drop off my rear, only held over my crotch by my hand, "-stay in your home. It has been an absolutely awe inspiring morning!" I turned my head towards the other end of the hall and rewrapped myself in the towel. "Now, if you'll let me I'd like to go get dressed and remove myself from your home. I don't want to be an intrusion any longer than necessary."

Big Mac looked me up and down. "Eeyep."

"Eloquent." I walked back to the room I'd slept in and pulled a thin set of clothes around myself in record time. "Bloody everything." I slapped on a pair of plug fitted horseshoes and walked off with my bag in tow. "I'm going to leave now!" I shouted to the empty hall, walking towards the exit with as much poise as I could muster. "Good--"

"Wait!" Darcy peeked out of her room. "I'll show you to Rarity's. It's the least I can do." She stepped out, into the hall, her strong red legs locked up in a pair of tights that cut off at the fetlock. "First time playing host, I don't want to be rude."

I looked the heavyweight mare over, her massive form strong and lean as could be given her size. "Darcy, you took me in, you let me use your shower, and you didn't cut out my kidney for profit. All in all you've been a better host than most I've met." I tugged at her shirt, making sure to keep my hands away from her breasts. "Now, time for me to be a good guest, and le--"

Darcy grabbed my bag and my wrist. "I wasn't asking." Her voice was playful, but nothing short of what I'd come to expect from her. She pulled me along the hall, into the entry and past Big Mac and what I could only assume was his wife. "I'll meet everypony at the acres, okay?"

A sweet voice shot out. "Wait! Bage--"

"I've got money!" Darcy shouted back, pulling me outside, nearly ripping my arm off in the process. "Bye mom!" I followed along, my fresh face already starting to feel sweaty from the modest morning heat. "Hey, so how'd you sleep?"

We slowed down, Darcy let go of my hand and left me to follow at my own pace. "Fine."

Darcy kept on, waving at a few ponies as life returned to the dead streets. "Alright, well what do you think of Ponyville so far?"

"It's fine."

Darcy looked back at me with a frown. "So...sorry--"

"It's fine."

Darcy stopped at the end of her street, causing me to bump into her. "Are you just going to say fine to everything?"

I shook my head, my ponytail slapping against the sides of my skull. "Look, it's been a rough morning. Not exactly the best way to meet a family, or to behave around a young mare like yourself." I brushed myself off, starting to get a big flustered from the heat. "Now can we please move on?"

Darcy stared at me, my bag on her shoulder. "Are we friends?"

I rolled my eyes. "Sure, why not. I was planning to keep to myself and stick with Ms. Rarit- Mrs. Rarity, but seeing as she's got a broken leg, why not." I turned my head towards a rolling cart, plodding along the cobblestone street like Corridor Case chugging along a tentbox. "I'm trying to stop being a hermit...and you're-- Yes. I'm going to shut up and say ye--" I was cut off by a hardy slug straight into the meat of my bicep. "Ow, what the hell!?"

Darcy frowned softly. "Sorry, you were being a jerk."

I rubbed my arm. "And that gives you license to slap the shit out of me!?"

Darcy's tail whipped around like mad. "You can hit me back if it would make you feel better."

I flopped my arms against my side. "First off I'm not going to hit a girl. Second, that's hardly a fair fight!"

Darcy smiled down at me. "Hey, we'll see if we can't toughen you up."  She started off again, leaving me behind to nurse my arm. "Hey so, my dad asked if I liked you."

I huffed and followed after her. "Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?"

Darcy walked backwards, stretching her arms wide. "I don't know either. He said you were proper. Makes sense you're going to Rarity's I guess." She rubbed her forearm, clenching her other hand around my bag. "You're not curious about what I said?"

I shook my head. "I wouldn't be interested either way. Just got out of a bad relationship and I need some time alone."

Darcy grew a very soft, very subtle frown. "Yeah, same here." She looked around the sidewalk. "Not that it was bad. But me and him said we should date other people. Said that it would be better if we didn't go through life only having dated each other."

I cocked an eyebrow and walked over. "And you agreed?"

Darcy sighed loudly. "Yeah. I get what he meant, but it's like...weird. He's been the only one I ever dated, he's been my friend for so long, trying to start up again just feels weird."

I took a deep breath. "Well, sounds like a temporary thing. And it is good to get a grasp on what you want out of your love life. Take my advice, try all the flavors, the perky one, the sullen one, smart- get a good feel--"

"So you dated a lot?" Darcy asked, putting her hand on her hip. "Mr. Player?"

I laughed. "Hardly. There's just nothing else to do in Storm Side. You either socialize, go to school, or freeze off in the corridors." I looked down at the stone slabs that made up the walkway, poking a bit of grass with the tip of my hoof. "Socializing there is different though, very straight forward. Would you like to have sex? Would you like to date? Take you to dinner? You could get a feel on what everyone wanted quick as could be."

Darcy popped an eyebrow. "So that's a yes?"

I huffed and stretched my fingers. "I know what I'm looking for. I've had a few mares, seen what Storm Side had to offer."

"You really don't want to say it." Darcy laughed.

"I've banged a few mares, yes. But my point is, it helps you get better at that kind of dance. If I'd only ever dated Vix I'd be a damn wreck! She was domineering, I would have ended up alone for the rest of my years if I'd stopped with her!"

Darcy frowned and cocked her head. "I get it. It still feels weird though. But, try new things, settle down when you're ready, right?"

"Right." I rubbed the back of my neck, the heat feeling a bit less with my thin attire. "Otherwise you might end up finding out you're not right after you're all tied up."

Darcy shrugged. "I guess. Just kinda harder to date when almost every boy you know is part of the Apple Family."

I shrugged. "It's a big world. Ponyville's a start, but hey, I'm from the edges of Equestria! You can go--"

Darcy smiled at me. "I know. I used to go to Appleloosa a lot." She turned back onto the path, chugging along the grassy walkways into the town proper. "So, how bad was it?"

"Was what?"

"You said you left a bad relationship. What happened?"

I laughed softly. "Oh boy...let me tell you about Marin." Next Chapter: Aus Estimated time remaining: 3 Hours, 30 Minutes