Almost as if nature itself rehearsed it, birds started to tweet outside my window just as the rays from the carefully rising sun right over the horizon began to slip through the thin gaps of my closed blinds, slowly brightening my room and making it much easier for me to make out the mare who was still sleeping contently beside me. Octavia, she was pressed up at my side, her foreleg draped over me and her her head resting atop my chest, a serene look on her face as her own chest rose and fell in tune with her calm breathing beneath my blanket covering both our lower-halves.

Soon enough, and much to my dismay, a pair of birds playfully chirped a little too loudly as they raced past the window, causing Octavia to stir.

Seeing her eyes begin to crack open, I genuinely smiled as I gingerly ran my fingers through her disheveled mane, whispering, "Hey there, sleepy head. Good morning."

"Maurice?" Tavi questioned in a weary tone, her unfocused eyes gazing at me before closing yet again. "What time is it?" she asked, the vibration from her small voice felt atop my chest.

Freeing my other arm from under the confines of my blanket, I brought my wrist up to eye level and jokingly replied with, "It's about a freckle past a hair."

Due to her tired state, Tavi's laughter came out as an amused huff. "Hmm...smart ass..." She twitched her ear, prompting me to lightly rub it with my index finger and thumb. "Mmm, that's the stuff," she contently cooed as I happily continued to knead her ears. After a minute of alternating from one ear to the other, Tavi eventually asked, "Seriously though...how early is it?"

Not wanting to ruin the moment by forcing Tavi off of me so I could turn to check the clock sitting atop the nightstand, I merely told her what I already knew. "Uh...well the sun just rose... So uh...very early?"

"'Very early', hmm?" she sounded in a curious yet still tired tone. "And why are you already up at such an ungodly hour?"

Still massaging her ears, I lightly shrugged. "Woke up hours ago. Stayed up watching you sleep." Complete with the sound of a car engine flooding, my brain slowed to a pause before rewinding to re-examine what I had just said. Gee, that didn't sound creepy at all... Hope Tavi didn't catch tha--

"Heh...well doesn't that sound alarming? You sure you're not a spree murderer of sorts?" she joked, her grin slowly growing.

"Yes, Tavi," I answered with a roll of my eyes, deciding to humor her. "I'm a serial killer who likes to watch mares sleep, and, lucky for you, I've put off your murder for so long because you're just too adorable."

In response, Tavi's smile grew a little bigger as she slowly shook her head, her chin rubbing atop my sleeping shirt. "Really now? That adorable you say?"

"Oh yeah, definitely," I answered with a nod. "The words 'too sexy to kill' also come to mind, but that's just my opinion...plus...III'm not actually a serial killer just in case you're taking me serious here... I mean, I've eaten plenty of cereal in my life, so, in a way, I guess I could be considered a...heh heh...cereal killer." Once I finished saying that, I stared at Tavi, my mouth slightly open as I tired my best to imitate the pun husky meme's expression. "Eh?" I sounded, nudging her a bit. "Get it, Tavi? Cereal killer?"

Her previously smiling mouth had gone neutral before she gave her response. "Yes...I got it...and I see that your Earth is also plagued by that same terrible pun... Here's hoping that you don't pursue comedy as a profession. If you are, Maurice, then I suggest you don't quit your day job..."

My own expression mimicking her's, I replied with, "Murder McKilling Spree..."

"That fellow again?" Tavi asked, her ears perking as she cracked an eye open to look at me. "You never did answer that question as to who it was that had murdered his neighbor..."

Eyes shifting towards the ceiling, I grinned smugly as I thought to myself, And she says I can't do comedy...

Taking who knows how long, we simply enjoyed the other's company until Tavi let out a dejected sigh before she began to raise her head off me, forcing me to stop the little ear massage I've been giving her.

"I have to get up and make breakfast," she stated in that kill-me-it's-morning kind of voice, her eyes still closed as she shifted towards the edge of the bed. But before she could make it there, I wrapped an arm around her and stopped her. "Maurice?" she questioned, looking back to me with one eye half open.

Shaking my head, I got out of bed and, much to her confusion, began to tuck her in. "You stay in bed and get some more sleep. I'm already up, so I'll be the one to make us all breakfast this time."

Positioning her head to rest more comfortably on my pillow, Tavi yawned as she nodded. "Well, alright then...if you...if you insist."

Being careful not to turn her into a blanket burrito, I tucked Tavi in a bit more securely before the cold air nipping at me forced me to put on three jackets over my sleeping clothes. With that taken care of, I kissed Tavi's forehead, eliciting smile out of her, then began to tip-toe out of my room, but stopped right under the doorway when I heard Tavi's voice.

"Maurice?" she called, still in the position I had left her.

"Uh, yeah?" I answered.

"You...do know how to cook...right?"

Quietly closing it behind me, I waved my hand dismissively around the door as I gave her my reply. "It's cooking, Tavi. I'm sure I can wing it. I mean, how hard could it be?"

"Tavi, Vinyl, brace yourselves, you're about to witness history in the making here. I don't wish to alarm you, but if you're of the faint-of-heart, then leave now and I promise not to think any less of you for doing so, because what I have created today will define...nay...revolutionize breakfast from this point onward. Maybe it was the work of some higher power using me as its tool that I was able to conceive and create this, but just like Prometheus who had brought the gift of fire to mankind, I too shall go down throughout history for what I'm about to freely give to you, Equestrians. Plays will be written, bards shall sing ballads, and statues depicting my likeness shall be erected across the globe...and I hope...can only hope...that you ponies will use my gift wisely..." Grabbing the napkin that I had improvised as a sheet, I swiftly pulled it back and revealed my artwork to the world. "Behold!"

I stepped back and allowed their minds time to adjust to what was on a plate atop the kitchen table before them. I will admit, it is quite jarring. Eventually, after probably having her mind blown thrice, Tavi spoke up.

"It's..."

"Yes?" I said as I slowly gestured for her to continue.

"It's..."

"Nice and slow, Tavi... Nice and slow..."

"It's...just two waffles with peanut-butter and jelly in-between them," Tavi said, raising a confused brow at me. "You've basically made a PB&J sandwich, only you substituted the bread with waffles..."

"Correction," I added, beaming a smile as I raised a finger. "They're buttermilk flavored waffles... Life-changing, I know. I suggest lying down for a while; give it time to let it all sink in."

After looking at me like I couldn't be serious, Tavi shook her head, turned, then walked towards my room. "I'm going back to bed..."

"Fine!" I shouted as Tavi walked away, turning to Vinyl. "It's her loss, right, Vinyl? Just means more for you and me."

With an incredibly messy mane, bloodshot eyes, and an ice bag placed to the side of her head by her magic, Vinyl silently stared at the fruits of my labor. She must have been more unprepared than I expected, because I could see her face slowly go green before she retched, covering her mouth with a hoof. "I'm gonna be sick!" she exclaimed as she fumbled for the bathroom, followed by the sound of her throwing up once she made it in.

Hmm, a natural reaction to having one's universe rocked. I'd help her if I could, but only she can traverse that mental hurdle that was everything she once knew. I can only pat her back and wish her the best of luck with that endeavor...aaand maybe hold her mane back while she barfs.

"Vinyl, I'm going in there!"

Ten minutes into the afternoon, I sat cross-legged on the couch with an open notebook and pencil in my hands, contemplating for the last five minutes over what I should write about. Call me a little vain, but I like being praised for my work, so I can't just write a fanfic featuring popular characters from Earth TV series or movies like I usually do; ponies here just wouldn't get the references. No, I'd have to start something from scratch, maybe create pony characters that Vinyl and Tavi could relate to.

A minute had gone by and all I had done was tap the pencil against my chin as I stared at the blank paper before me, my mind drawing a blank as I was unable to come up with an original idea. Eventually I set the notebook and pencil down and buried my face in my hands, thinking, Ugh, no wonder all Hollywood seemed to be doing was remaking older movies!

Right when I was about to go for another attempt, Vinyl opened the door to her room and stepped out, appearing much better than she did earlier this morning thanks to her second sleep.

"Heh, welcome back to the land of the living," I jabbed, grinning at her as I crossed my arms and tilted my head to the side. "How you feeling? Still a little hungover?"

Vinyl gave a slow nod. "Much better... Still got a bit of a headache, but I'll survive." Ears folding back, she lowered her head as she gave me a small yet nervous smile. "And uh...thanks again for the orange juice, by the way..."

"Meh," I sounded as I shrugged dismissively, "you needed some vitamin C and something to replace those lost fluids, so I didn't mind squeezing a few oranges for you. Still...do you want an aspirin to help with that headache? I can get it for you."

"Nah, I'm good," Vinyl answered with a shake of her head, then proceeded to look around the living room. "Where's Octy?"

Opening my notebook and looking into it, I answered her. "Out. Left hours ago, said something about going to Lyra's and BonBon's for some 'real breakfast', hasn't been back since." Reaching a hand forward, I picked up one of my still unnamed breakfast masterpieces off the coffee table, brought it to my mouth, then took a hearty bite from it. Chewing, I then said, "I don't know why Tavi went to their place. I mean, we've still got plenty of these!" Swallowing, I then offered Vinyl the one in my hand. "Want a bite?"

Her eyes narrowed and focused at my creation, Vinyl nervously smiled as she took a step back. "Uh, no thanks."

"Eh, suit yourself then," I said before taking another bite, the crumbs landing on the outer-layer of jackets I was wearing. Hmm, I wonder if I can deep-fry this somehow...

Minutes later, after enjoying the rest of my entry for the Equestrian version of the Nobel Prize, I noticed Vinyl step out of the bathroom, her mane now styled in the usual way she wears it.

"Right, well I'm heading out now," Vinyl announced as she made for the front door.

Curious, I asked, "Where you off to?"

After opening the door with her magic, Vinyl turned to me. "To go pick up my equipment and stuff from the park. Gonna have to make a few trips there and back, but I should be done in a couple hours. Don't wait up," she said to me with a salute and a wink before making for the door, only to pause in mid-step when I spoke up.

"Hold on." I set my notebook and pen aside, rose from the couch, then took a moment to stretch out my muscles before I walked over to Vinyl, joining her by the door. "Let me give you a hand with your stuff."

Smiling meekly at me, Vinyl shook her head and said, "Ya don't have to do that. I got it covered."

"I insist" I replied. "It'd probably be one, maybe two trips with the both of us. Besides," I shrugged, "I was gonna leave the house anyway to go take care of something, so I might as well deal with it on the way to the park."

Vinyl pursed her lips in thought before nodding seconds later. "Well, when you say it like that, then I guess I wouldn't mind." After walking past me and through the doorway, she flicked her ears forward as she said, "C'mon, let's get a move on before somepony decides to steal my shit."

Stepping outside and closing the door behind me before locking it, I found that, despite it being the middle of the afternoon, the sky was a tad less brighter than yesterday, and looking up I could see why. High above in the sky were pegasi, all busily moving clouds around that they seemed to be gathering from...what the heck is that?

"Uh, Vinyl?"

Confused as to why I called her, Vinyl turned back to me. "Yeah?"

"Um, is that normal?" I asked, pointing at an immense...thing high in the sky, readying myself to freak out if she were to say otherwise. It was large, no doubt about it, as I could easily see its shadow over the plains near Ponyville; at first glance it appeared to be just a gigantic cloud, but I could spot structures within it that had pillars resembling Greek columns built into their design, as well as rainbows falling off the sides of the large mass as if they had the consistency of water. The rainbows might have had a calming effect on me, but, seeing what they did to that red minotaur-centaur guy in that video screen Twilight showed me so long ago, I knew they could be easily be considered the W.M.Ds of this world.

"That?" Vinyl asked, now noticing what I was pointing at. "It's just Cloudsdayle," she answered all nonchalantly. "Probably here to drop off a large shipment of clouds or something." She shrugged. "I don't know, I'm not a pegasus."

"Ah," I uttered, lowering my arm and relaxing, as I had recognized the name. Huh...so that's the Cloudsdayle that Fluttershy and Rainbow are from.

"Anyway," Vinyl prompted, causing me to turn my attention back to her. "Ya done gawking there, or are we heading over to the park?"

After giving my head a quick shake, I nodded. "Oh, right. Lead on." Nodding back, Vinyl began to walk down the road with me following close behind.

Eventually, after passing a few blocks, I was a bit caught off guard when something small and white, almost like that of a speck, fell inches away from my vision. It was too late for my eyes to focus on it, so I didn't know what it was, but I was given a second chance when another speck fell, followed by another, then another after that. I stopped in place, much to Vinyl's confusion, then looked up were I could see that the specks were now falling at a higher rate and seemed to be coming from the clouds that the pegasi were kicking. Reaching my hand out to catch a few in my open palm, I was surprised to find that the specks turned into droplets of water the second they made contact with my skin. It took my brain a while to process this information before I came to the conclusion that these specks were--

"It's snow!" I happily shouted, my face sporting a wide grin as I looked up in wonder at the falling snowflakes. "It's real, actual snow!"

"Yeah, snow," Vinyl added dismissively with a quick roll of her eyes. "Now can we please head over to the park before it wrecks my equipment?"

Looking back to her, I gave her a few too many nods. "Oh yeah--yeah! I'll even race you there!" I exclaimed before running and jumping past a confused Vinyl with my arms held out wide, trying to catch as many snowflakes as I could.

I don't care how ridiculous or childish I look right now, I'm having a great day so far!

"So uh...you saw that too...right?" I asked, sporting my new winter clothes that I had picked up from Rarity's. Behind me I was pulling a red wagon that I borrowed from Sweetie Bell while I as at the boutique, carrying the rest of Vinyl's equipment in it that was shielded from the snow by a tarp.

Wearing a blue wool cap, red scarf around her neck, and ear-warmers (which, knowing her, might also function as actual headphones), Vinyl responded as she walked ahead of me, using her magic to shove waist-high mounds of snow aside. "Saw what? Rainbow Dash wearing beachwear in winter while she applied sunblock on a possibly dead turtle?"

"Tortoise," I corrected. "But yeah, that was weird, right? And her singing!"

Stopping in her tracks, Vinyl turned back to me, confusion in her expression. "Wait, she was singing?"

"Yeah," I answered, my expression mirroring her's. "She was singing the entire time... How could you not hear that?"

Vinyl raised a brow. "Maurice, I was there with you when we walked by her... I saw the flower-printed swim trunks, and the sunblock on the turtle--"

"Tortoise."

"Turtle, but I didn't hear any singing."

She has to be fucking with me...it's the only explanation. I mean, who wouldn't have been able to hear that?

"Sure, Vinyl," I said in a humoring tone, crossing my arms and nodding. "There wasn't any singing. You're always right and I'm always wrong."

"Mmhmm," Vinyl sounded with a smug grin, turning back to the road ahead of us to push snow aside. A few yards down the makeshift trail Vinyl was leaving for me and the wagon, she stopped, then turned back to me again. "Hey, uh, I'm getting kind of hungry. Wanna make a little detour to that hayburger place?"

I placed a mitten-wearing hand onto my chin and thought it over for a bit. "Hmm, it has been a few hours since breakfast." I nodded. "Sure, I could eat."

"Sweet," Vinyl said with a grin, redirecting the path towards said burger place. Soon enough, possibly looking for a little chit-chat as we made for our destination, Vinyl spoke up. "So uh, that was some party last night, huh?"

"Yeah, I had fun," I answered.

"Good...I uh...I had fun also. Well...I remember having fun, but almost everything after I got onstage is kind of a blur. Ya mind filling me in?"

"Yeah, sure," I said, shrugging. "Well I'm not surprised that you can't remember, what with everything you drank through a funnel." Despite only being able to see her backside, I could tell that the chortling I was hearing was coming from Vinyl. Deciding to get to the gist of things, I told her the highlights as I counted them out with my fingers. "You surfed the crowd, challenged Berry to a drinking game, lost, dived through her bar's window because you lost, then drank yourself out cold while you were in there. After that, Tavi and I carried you home where you then woke up along the way and--" Son of a bitch...

"And what...?" Vinyl asked, still forming the trail.

Remembering what happened last night, I silently scooped up some snow, patted it into a ball, then chucked it at the back of Vinyl's head, yelling, "You fucking peed on me, that's what!"

"Hey!" Vinyl exclaimed, turning back to me as she used a hoof to wipe the snow off her cap. In response to that now riled expression she was giving me, I stretched my arms out and silently dared her to try something.

She did something all right, something that caught me off guard because of how confused I was by it. Sticking her tongue out the side of her mouth, Vinyl lowered her front half, then wiggled her rear end for a moment before jumping forward into the air, pouncing into me and knocking me flat on my back. Luckily, Vinyl had aimed it so that the snow would cushion my fall.

"Hah!" Vinyl shouted in victory, looking smugly down at me as she stood atop my chest.

Regaining my senses, I smirked before quickly shoving her off, then immediately rose to my feet. After hastily making a snowball, I pulled my arm back and aimed it at Vinyl. I didn't get to throw it however, because it was then that I noticed that she had used her magic to pick up clumps of snow around me, then compressed them into perfect spheres.

With wide eyes, I dropped my snowball, then raised my arms up defensibly. My famous last words were, "Strike me down and I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagi--"

Huh, so this is what it feels like to be a snowman...

Half an hour later, after being buried alive under a ton of snow, Vinyl and I were in the fast-food joint, sitting at one of its tables as we happily ate our food, all the while surrounded by the sound of ponies conversing around us and haypatties sizzling after being flipped. Vinyl had ordered a cheese hayburger while--seeing that this placed lacked a menu for carnivores--I had asked for the same, only I requested that they replace the haypattie with avocado slices. Oh, and no pickles. I swear, if I take a few more bites and find the evil taste of pickle in my mouth, I will yank this table off its bolts just so I can flip it in a blind rage!

Taking a sip from my soda, I nearly jumped when I felt someone tapping the back of my shoulder. Turning in my seat, I was pleasantly surprised by who it was, standing behind me with one of those weird harnesses ponies here wear that are designed simply to hold the trays for them.

"Sora!" I announced with a little too much excitement in my voice, causing the light-blue pegasus to react by taking a step back.

"Hey Maurice," she greeted with a small wave of her hoof. "Mind if I take a seat?"

"Not at all," I answered, smiling and shaking my head, gesturing at the empty seat across from Vinyl. "Please, help yourself."

"Thanks," Sora said, moving over to the seat and planting her butt on it. Once the harness thing she was wearing planted her tray flat on the table, she then turned to me and asked, "So what brings you here?"

Right when I was about to answer her, I was cut off when Vinyl said around a mouthful of burger, "Fuud, duh."

"Heh-heh," I sounded, smiling nervously at Sora for Vinyl's blunt subtlety. "Um...I don't think you two have met before. Sora, this is Vi--"

"Vinyl Scratch," Sora finished for me, leaving me speechless. "She's one of Equestria's most popular DJs, so it's kinda hard not to know who she is." Sporting a sly smile, Sora nudged my elbow a few times. "Maurice...I didn't know you were dating a low tier celebrity."

Upon hearing that, Vinyl sputtered, dropping her burger from her magic as her eyes went wide, coughing as she beat at her chest with a hoof, possibly choking! Acting fast, I slammed my palm against her back. My quick thinking seemed to work, as Vinyl's coughing had ceased.

"Thanks," she uttered in a (pfft) 'hoarse' voice. After using her magic to yank my soda out of my hand to take a drink from it, (seriously Vinyl, you should have gotten your own...), she cleared her throat before facing Sora. "What do you mean 'low tier'?! I'm mid or higher at best! Oh...and I'm not his marefriend; we just did it that one ti--"

Reacting quickly, I held her mouth shut with my hand, then nervously chuckled before saying, "Heh heh...c-careful there, Vinyl... You shouldn't be talking so soon after nearly choking." I then leaned into her ear and whispered, "What's wrong with you?! Don't go around telling people that we did it!"

I saw her brow raise in what seemed like confusion and deciphered what she mumbled into my hand as 'Why?'

"What do you mean 'why?'" I replied in a tense whisper. "Just don't, alright? Can you do that for me?"

After Vinyl gave me a strange look for a while, I released her mouth just as soon as she nodded. Turning back to Sora, I coughed into my hand, then finished with, "What she means to say is that she's not my marefriend, she's just one of my roommates. It's uh...it's the other one I'm dating."

"Y-Yeah," Vinyl added in what sounded like a disheartened yet annoyed tone, her ears flattening as she turned back to Sora, "what he said..."

Pulling her head back, Sora examined Vinyl top to bottom, then turned to me and said, "Wait, so you're a stallion living with two mares?" Once I nodded, Sora slowly shook her head, her smirk bordering on evil. "Oooh, Maurice... Maurice, Maurice, Maurice... Heh, you know, my moms often warned me of stallions who would move in with pretty young mares, just waiting for them to hit estrus."

Putting down the soda that I was sipping, I gave Sora a confused look before saying, "I'm sorry, I think I misheard you. Did you just say 'moms'? Like, plural? Meaning more than one?"

Sharing the same look that I was giving her, Sora nodded, her voice puzzled. "Yeah...moms... Why, is there something wrong wi--"

Raising my hands up to chest level, I shook them and my head as I cut her off with, "No no no! That's great, having two moms I mean. I...its, um... I understand...you know, 'cause of the guy to female uh...r-ratio..." I should just stop now before I accidentally offend her. Not wanting to do that, I coughed into my hand and decide to change the subject with, "So uh...estrus? What's that?"

Chuckling, Sora stared at me as if waiting for me to break out in laughter as well. But, once it became clear to her that I wasn't laughing, her laughter slowed to a stop before she tilted her head, her expression baffled. "Wait, seriously? You really don't know?" After I shook my head, Sora turned accusingly to Vinyl, saying, "You never told him?"

Pulling her head back, Vinyl raised her front hooves in a defensive manner. "Why are you looking at me for?! I thought he knew already! I mean, isn't that common knowledge?!"

Butting in, I then asked, "Can someone tell me already what the hell estrus is?!" In response to my sudden outburst, both mares shushed me.

"Not so loud!" Sora exclaimed with a wingtip near her lips, scanning around. "You don't want any foals to hear."

"Yeah Maurice, think of the foals," Vinyl added.

Confused and annoyed, I looked from Vinyl to Sora as I said in a quieter volume, "Ok Helen Lovejoy, Sora, what is it? What's estrus? Is it some sort of seasoning? Kinda sounds like a christian rock band to me."

"It's not a rock band or seasoning," Sora answered with a roll of her eyes. "It's...it's when..." Rubbing the back of her head with a hoof, she blushed as she smiled nervously at me, seeming to have difficulty explaining. "Aw geez; never thought I'd ever have to explain this to an adult... It's basically when--"

"Oh for the love of--it's when mares get super horny and really want to fuck, alright!" Vinyl unceremoniously finished for Sora, saying it just loud enough for only our little trifecta to hear.

"What?" I asked in a puzzled tone, hoping for confirmation in case I had heard her wrong. Seconds later, a thought occurred to me. "Wait... Are you talking about heat? Ponies can go into heat?"

Sora nodded. "Well, heat's another name for it, but yeah. It's kind of an evolutionary trait we inherited from our ancient nomad ancestors back when their foals had to be born in a more preferable time of year." Releasing an amused yet nervous huff, Sora continued with, "Oh boy, Maurice, let me tell you: estrus is br-u-tal; despite the fact that us ponies have been controlling the weather and seasons for countless generations, we've only evolved so far to the point where every mare of sexual age will still get estrus once a year, but at separate times instead of all at once."

"Well that doesn't sound so bad. So you get more hornier than usual," I shrugged, "big deal. I doubt you mares ever had the misfortune of being called in class to write down the answer on the whiteboard in front of everyone when you were sitting at your desk trying to hide your boner..."

Turning to me, then sporting a shit-eating smirk, Vinyl raised a brow as she asked, "You got boners in class?"

"Not on purpose!" I shot back, soon lowering my gaze to the table in defeat. "You let your mind wander as a guy and things just kinda happen..."

Vinyl's chuckling was soon interrupted by Sora.

"I'm serious, Maurice; estrus is no joke. It doesn't just make us 'hornier than usual', it jump-starts our sex-drives to ridiculous levels! It's like...it's like having an itch that you try to ignore but only gets itchier as time goes by! Picture that, but rigged to our libidos and much, much worse. If we don't uh, 'take care of it' soon, it builds up to a point where mares just can't take it anymore, causing them to do things they wouldn't normally do in order to get with a buck. Heck, some of us even go violent; stallions have ended up in hospitals because they've been rutted so hard!"

Upon hearing that, my face went neutral with only my eyes widening in horror as the image of skeletons with crushed pelvises giving thumbs-ups had flashed through my mind.

"Death by snu snu..." I silently uttered.

"Luckily," Sora continued, causing me to refocus on her "we have ways of dealing with estrus. Some mares just lock themselves in their homes with busy-work, waiting for their cycle to end, while others will simply take these over-the-counter tablets that suppress their estrus symptoms." Smiling towards the ceiling, Sora then said, "Thank the blue skies for Repressenol, otherwise my estrus cycle might have made me 'do-the-do' with," both her body and her face cringing, she finished with, "Pierre..."

Dammit, Sora! He's sponge-worthy! Canonize my ship! I mentally yelled at her, eyes borrowing into her as I tried to awaken any latent telepathic powers I hope I might have in an attempt to subconsciously influence her.

"Oh, hey," Vinyl chirped. "Repressenol, that's the brand Octy uses!"

Looking to Vinyl, Sora nodded. "It's a good brand. Reliable. Is that what you used the last time your estrus cycle rolled in?"

Vinyl shook her head before answering her. "Nah, I was supposed to have it a week or two ago," I noticed her eyes momentarily look at me from the side before returning to Sora, "but I took care of it in advance."

"Hmm, lucky you," Sora said in envy, crossing her hooves over her chest.

Getting what Vinyl was implying, I let them continue their conversation while I took more bites out of my burger, making myself appear too busy eating at the moment to join in.

"I'm home," Tavi announced as she walked through the front door, wearing a wool cap and scarf matching her eye color. She had been out much longer than I had expected, as it had recently gotten dark outside.

"Yo, welcome back!" I greeted from atop the living room couch, still garbed in my new winter clothes despite being indoors, surrounded by crumpled wads of paper that had failed story ideas written in them. Picking up a greasy burger bag from besides me and raising it up, I then eagerly said, "Vinyl and I were at the burger place earlier and I thought ya might like one!" My smile faltered. "Heh...sorry if it's a little cold."

"Well that's sweet of you," she said, removing her scarf and cap as she hung them on the coat rack by the door. After walking over to me and eyeing the bag in my hand then my eyes, Tavi gave a smile that refortified my own.

"What?" I eventually asked with a grin, wondering if there was something funny on my face.

"Oh nothing...nothing at all," Tavi said with a smile and small shake of her head. She then leaned forward and accepted the bag with her mouth before taking it to the kitchen.

Seeing that she was opening the oven and taking steps to reheat the burger, I then asked, "So uh...what took you so long?"

"Hmm?" Tavi sounded, turning to me. "Oh, forgive me, Maurice. After having breakfast with Lyra and Bon Bon, we had a long conversation about this and that; you know, mare things that would probably bore a stallion like you. I simply lost track of time." She then moved her burger into the oven, happily humming a tune as she swayed her hips and tail.

Watching her do this in amusement, I became glad that whatever it was that they talked about had left her in such a good mood.

"Where is Vinyl, by the way?" Tavi soon asked, sticking her head out of the oven before closing it and turning it on.

Reviewing the latest story idea I had written in my notebook, I answered her. "In her room. She's working on something right now, wearing her headphones, so she's in no-talky mode right now."

"Ah," Tavi answered, the oven soon dinging. Placing the now warm burger on a plate, Tavi brought it over and sat on the couch next to me. After taking a bite, Tavi took the time to properly chew, then rested her head on my shoulder. "What's that you have there?"

Scratching her ear, resulting in her cooing into mine, I said, "This? Just trying to write a story that you and Vinyl would like. It's really hard through, trying come up with an original premise; I'm being plagued by Simpsons-did-it syndrome."

Her cooing ceasing, Tavi grimaced in confusion. "Sim--what syndrome? Is this some human disease or something?"

I gave an amused huff. "No, it's not a disease. It basically means--" I was interrupted by a knock at the front door.

"A visitor? At this hour?" Tavi questioned before getting up and moving for the door. Out of curiosity to see who it was, I got up and followed her. "Yes, can we help you?" Tavi asked as she opened the door, only for the both of us to be surprised by who was behind it.

"Good evening, Octavia," greeted Ledger, Tavi's not-brother from last night. Looking over him, I spotted a fancy black stagecoach waiting in front of the house with two burly earth ponies attached to the front of it.

"Ledger?" Tavi questioned. "What are you still doing in Ponyville? I thought you told me last night that you would return to Canterlot in the morning."

"I was, but as I was returning, I couldn't help but feel like I had made a bad first impression for our reunion, and your," after his eyes quickly looked up to mine, he smiled tensely at Tavi before finishing with, "stallion..."

Sighing, I shook my head. "No uh...it's fine, man. I wasn't offended if that's what you're worried about."

Ledger raised a hoof and shook his head. "Well that may be fine with you, but it certainly isn't with me." He then gestured at Tavi. "Dear Octavia here has chosen you and I must respect her decisions; she's no longer the little filly I held so near and dear." I noticed Tavi nerviously look away and shuffle her hooves when she said that. "So, in order to make it up to the both of you, I cordially invite you two, and anypony else you wish to bring along, to Canterlot this weekend where I will give you all my full hospitality."

"Canterlot?" Tavi repeated. "You don't mean...?"

"That's right, Octavia. You have been away from home for a while, so why not return, at least for a little bit. Return to the villa...."

Author's Notes:

Here's my patreon. Come on guys, I'd really like to go to my first ever convention. Babscon.