The alarm clock greeted Sunny with its usual unpleasant whine, signaling the end of his coziness beneath the covers. He groaned as he rolled over and slapped it with his hoof to end its audible assault. 7:45 showed on the display. Sunny blinked at it a few times but didn’t panic at the time, even though he had to be at the coffee shop by 8. Ever since he started hanging out with his new friends, he noticed he had become a lot more relaxed and laid back in his daily life. Before, he would always have a rigid routine he followed every single day, but now he just more or less winged it; things still got done so why all the unnecessary structure and stress?

After laying there for another minute, Sunny finally decided it was time to get moving and forced himself to roll out of bed and onto his reluctant hooves. Trotting into the bathroom to splash some cold water on his face, he noticed a gentle snowfall outside, quietly covering everything in a fine powdery layer of white. The cold he could do without, but he still loved how peaceful the winter days tended to be; no yelling and screaming outside, just silence as ponies went about their days bundled up in their winter gear. Turning back to the mirror, a few passes with the brush had his mane styled to his satisfaction and he was off to the kitchen.

Popping a muffin in the toaster oven to heat up, Sunny poured some orange juice into a glass and sat by the window, looking down onto the street below as he sipped from the glass. Several ponies walked about on their way to their destinations, each bundled up like a giant poof ball in their heavy winter coats. He couldn’t help but smile when he saw two ponies coming down the street, one bundled up like the others, wearing a rather annoyed expression as her companion, a mint green unicorn mare was bouncing up and down excitedly, dawning nothing more than a scarf. The unicorn mare seemed to be having the time of her life in the snow and didn’t appear to be aware of the annoyance of her partner. Sunny smiled to himself as the toaster oven dinged, drawing his attention from the window and the humorous scene below.

Walking back to the toaster oven, he grabbed the muffin in his mouth and headed for the door, putting on his coat and hat to protect from the biting winds. He made his way through town at a leisurely pace, giving the occasional passing pony a polite smile and receiving one in return. He wasn’t sure what exactly changed in him that made him do things differently now, but he certainly didn’t mind the new ways he went about his day; he was happier now. The only clear difference was that he was talking to his friends a lot more as of recently, most notably Apple who was in the coffee shop most days now, just shooting the breeze as he watched ponies go about their day through the store windows. The two of them would talk about pretty much anything that came up, occasionally joined by Apricot when she was around, typically asking about Ember and if they thought she would like this or that. Apple and Sunny clearly saw that she had something for the griffin but neither of them were exactly experts on what Ember liked either so their advice was more or less just guesses at best, but Apricot didn’t seem to mind and asked anyway.

As Sunny turned the corner and started to approach the shop, he saw Apricot out front, doing some kind of makeshift dance in place to keep warm. As she saw him approach, she gave him an irritated look.

“About damn time you showed up. I’m freezing my tail off!” Apricot said in an annoyed tone.

“Sorry, sorry, got a bit of a slow start this morning,” Sunny said as he fished for his keys. Finding them, he opened the door and Apricot pushed her way inside, hurried towards the heating vent on the floor, and plopped down on top of it, letting out a sigh of relief. Sunny gave her a weird look.

“What? My ass is cold, so sue me,” she said, turning her snout up in a ‘whatever’ manner. Sunny just smiled and hung his coat up before heading behind the counter. “So how long until Apple shows up and spends the whole day distracting you,” she chuckled.

“Come on, he’s not that bad, I still get all my work done even when we spend the whole day talking,” Sunny said, closing the register and putting on his apron. “You know his brother is an ass so I can’t blame him for wanting to be here all the time rather than stuck in a tiny apartment with him.”

Apricot stood up from her spot on the vent and walked over to the coat rack to hang up her coat and hat. “I never said I had a problem with it, just find it funny how much time you spend together now. It’s almost like you’re becoming a couple,” she laughed.

Sunny gave her a weird look. “What? You’re nuts. We’re just friends. And even if we weren’t, relationships don’t just start overnight like that.” No sooner did those words leave his mouth, Melon Drop hurried through the door in a rushed manner with an excited look on her face.

“Apple and Blue are a thing! I saw them together last night in the street cuddling!” Melon blurted out, hopping up and down in an excited manner at the opportunity to release this bit of juicy gossip finally.

Apricot turned to Sunny and gave him a smug look. “Don’t start overnight huh,” she said with a smirk. Sunny just wore a puzzled look and turned towards Melon who was still hopping up and down.

“What are you even talking about Melon? There’s no way they’re a couple, they barely even know each other,” Sunny said. Melon stopped her bouncing and made her way to the counter, not losing the grin off her face.

“I was on my way home last night and I saw them walking side by side towards Ember’s house. They tried to say it was for warmth but I know it’s more than that. Oh, I know.”

“And how exactly do you know?” Apricot questioned her.

“Uh, I just do. Come on Apricot, you know I’m good at picking these things out,” Melon said, taking a seat at the counter. “Gimme a hot chocolate. My hooves are freezing.”

“Just cuz you saw them walking next to each other doesn’t mean they’re together,” Apricot said. “I was standing next to a lamp post the other day but you don’t see me making out with it and taking it to the movies do you?”

Melon gave her a flat look as Sunny snickered to himself. “I’m not stupid Apricot, I just have a feeling on this, ok?” Sunny placed a steaming mug of hot chocolate on the counter in front of her and she put her hooves around it, enjoying the warmth. Her smile slowly faded as she looked into the steaming drink. Apricot and Sunny both noticed this change in demeanor and exchanged puzzled looks.

“Uh, what’s wrong with the hot chocolate? Isn’t that what you wanted?” Sunny asked her.

“Hm? Oh, yea, the drink’s fine, just some other stuff on my mind,” Melon said as she took a sip.

“Care to share?” Apricot asked, taking a seat next to her.

“Eh, it’s stupid. I don’t even really know why I’m thinking about it now anyway. It’s obviously too late.”

“Too late for…” Apricot felt like she was having to pull the information out of Melon’s mouth. “Come on, we’re not telepathic here.”

Melon gave them a small smile. “It’s just, well, you know I thought Apple was attractive,” she said to Apricot who nodded in reply. “I was hoping I could get to know him better to the point where we could maybe go on a few dates or something. But now that he’s with Blue apparently, well, guess my opportunity is gone.” She turned her eyes away from them and stared into her mug, a disappointed frown on her muzzle.

“Well, this doesn’t mean you’ll never have a chance with somepony else,” Apricot tried to suggest, but Melon didn’t change her gaze.

“Eh, maybe, but I didn’t want somepony else. Had I known relationships can just pop up overnight like that, I wouldn't have been so slow to make a move. But now it’s too late…”

A moment of realization washed over Apricot and caused her stomach to drop. “Oh shit… What if the same thing happens to Ember? What if she finds somepony else before I ever even have a chance to talk to her more? Fuck! I didn't even think about that!” The look of panic on her face was clear. Sunny gave her a weird look.

“You’re still on that? I thought you gave up on that a while ago,” he said to her.

“Why would you think that?” Apricot replied.

“Well, you haven’t really made any effort to talk to her or hang out or anything so I just assumed you moved on to something else,” he said as he shrugged. “Just how it looked to me.”

“See, that’s the whole problem. I was just kinda assuming things would develop on their own and I’d get a chance eventually, but now I see I’m working with an ever-closing window of opportunity." Apricot gasped. "What if she meets somepony else tomorrow?!” She began to pace back and forth, biting her lower lip.

“Would you relax, I’m sure that’s not gonna happen,” Melon said, putting her foreleg around her and pulling her close. “We both know how she works almost constantly, so where do you think she’s fitting in time to get out and meet ponies? She said herself how she’s not exactly the social type anyway.”

“Mmmm… I guess you’re right… But I still can’t shake this panic’d feeling now. I need to step this up, like now.”

“You’re forgetting one major part to this,” Sunny said. They both turned and gave him a questioning look. “You don’t even know if she’s looking for a relationship at all. Just because you wanna get with her doesn’t mean the feeling is mutual, Apricot.” The frown on her face deepened.

“Well… I just have to take that chance I guess. If I don’t, and she ends up with somepony else in the near future, I’ll never be able to forgive myself. If I ask her and she turns me down, that’s one thing, but if I don’t, that’s all my fault.” Apricot wore a determined look now that said she was going to do whatever she could to not let the opportunity slip by like it did for Melon. Oh, right, Melon. “Sorry Melon, I didn’t mean to jump in and glaze over your problem,” she said sheepishly.

“Heh, it’s alright. We’re cool. We can help each other through this,” Melon smiled at her. “Sure it’s gonna hurt me for a while but I’ll be ok. I’ll do what I can to help you of course.”

“Me too,” Sunny added. “I’m not exactly a plethora of relationship advice, but I’ll help how I can of course.”

Apricot relaxed and smiled at the both of them. “Thanks, I really appreciate it. I just hope all this effort won’t be wasted.”

The bell over the door jingled, drawing their attention to the mare walking in. It was the pegasus mailmare on her morning route. She gave them all a big smile as she walked over to the counter and deposited a pile of envelopes on the counter in front of Sunny. “Woo sure is cold up there. Can’t wait to finish my route and get home to a nice warm fire.”

“Care for a hot chocolate for the road?” Sunny offered.

“You know what? That sounds awesome, thanks!” the mare beamed, fluttering her wings. Sunny smiled and began pouring another hot chocolate into a to-go cup with a lid and hoofed it to her.

“Mmm so nice and warm,” she smiled as she gripped it in her hooves and took a sip. “Well, I gotta finish my stops, I’ll catch ya tomorrow. Thanks again!” As she walked towards the door, she bumped into numerous chairs and nearly walked right into the door frame, but was seemingly unphased by it all, like it happened everywhere she went. The others exchanged looks but just let it go as they waved goodbye. Sunny began sorting through the mail she left.

Apricot turned back to Melon and Sunny. “Anyways, back to what we were saying, I don’t know how I can even go about this. I can’t just show up at her door one day and be like ‘Hey Ember, you wanna go on a date?’”

“Mmm, you may not have to. Look at this; it’s an invitation to a Hearth’s Warming Eve party at her house,” Sunny said as he pulled a card out of a green envelope. Apricot immediately grabbed the card from him and began reading it. Her smile grew as she read it over and let out a squee once she finished.

“This is perfect! What better time to ask her than Hearth’s Warming? And it’s just around the corner too so I don’t have to wait! Crap, what am I gonna say to her?!” Apricot said in a hurried manner. Sunny and Melon exchanged glances.

“Woah, slow down Apricot,” Melon said, bringing Apricot back to reality for a moment. “You can’t just ask her out at the party. You two hardly even know each other still, that would be super weird.” Apricot’s excited look deflated. “That’s not to say this isn’t a perfect opportunity for you still, just for you to get to know her better though, not try to go all in yet. At least you can show her you’re interested.” Sunny nodded in agreement.

“Heh, yeah, you’re right. I can’t come on too strong or I’ll ruin it,” Apricot said. “I’m just so nervous…”

“Makes sense,” Sunny said. “I would be too if I was in your place. Maybe that’s my excuse for not dating.”

“No, your excuse for not dating is you’re a money whore,” Apricot said jokingly. Melon snickered and Sunny gave her a flat look.

“Hey, I got bills and things,” he defended. “I work a lot because I love being here. I get to see all you guys all the time and it makes me happy. If that makes me a ‘money whore’, well, then so be it.”

“Whatever floats your boat dude,” Melon said. “Not judging, just stating an observation. You need to get out and have fun more.”

“I went to the concert with you guys didn’t I?” Sunny noted.

“True, but that was just one thing. You gotta make it a regular occurrence to convince me that you’re not just faking having fun.” Apricot replied.

“Well now we have this party at Ember’s to go to,” Sunny said as he grabbed the card back from Apricot. “Hm, looks like we’re supposed to bring a gift for a grab-bag. Heh, those are always fun. One year I got a bowling ball.”

“Ha, nice,” Melon laughed. “A friend of mine once got a cantaloupe. I almost died laughing!”

“I got a vibrator once,” Apricot interjected. Sunny and Melon turned and gave her a ‘what the hell’ look. “What? Joke was on them. I loved it.”

“Ooook then… Too much information there, Apricot,” Melon chucked. Sunny still wore a surprised look on his face. “Just don’t go bringing something like that to Ember’s party, ok?”

“Duh, that comes later,” Apricot winked as she nudged Melon. Melon smirked and shook her head. Sunny smiled and rolled his eyes. He couldn’t wait to see what bizarre things this group of friends would bring for this game.

It was a cold morning; the kind that made you want to pull the covers over your head, curl up in a ball of warmth, and just lay in bed all day. This was precisely Ember’s intent as she curled up beneath her comforter and hugged her tail to her chest, letting out a content sigh as the warmth of the bed surrounded her. A smile formed on her beak as she slowly began to drift back to sleep, unaware of what time it was, and not particularly caring either. The clock on the night stand, however, did care what time it was as it began to play its highly aggravating beeping. The smile that was just on Ember’s beak quickly transformed into an angry grimace as she squinted her eyes shut tight, trying to mentally throw the clock far out the window.

Not wanting to leave the warm bubble she had going on under the comforter, she reached an arm out and batted around the night stand in an attempt to make contact with the clock and shut it up. Grunting once or twice in frustration at her missed swings, she finally made contact and slapped the audible assailant off the table, causing it to unplug from the wall and lay silent on the floor. The content smile returned to her beak as the beautiful sound of silence filled the room once more. Ember laid there in silence for the next several minutes; no intent of getting up just yet. As she laid there, she began to make a list of things that she needed to do throughout the day. She mailed the invitations for her upcoming Hearth’s Warming party the other day so that was taken care of. She still needed to buy a gift for Blue, but she could do that in town when she went to the store that afternoon to get the food for the party. Ember knew she was still forgetting something… Oh yea, Marcus. Blue didn’t know about the whole ‘he’s a changeling’ thing still.

Ember couldn’t really come up with a way to tell Blue that she didn’t see ending in Blue flipping out. So, expecting that variable, she figured she would just have to tell her and be ready to fly with whatever reaction Blue had; hopefully not too crazy. It would probably be easiest if Marcus came over disguised as whatever pony he changed into the other day, and then once they were able to talk to Blue a little bit, then he could ‘reveal’ himself and just maybe she wouldn’t lose her mind then. It was a long shot, but still the only way that seemed plausible in Ember’s mind. She still had his number written down somewhere; she’d give him a call later and hopefully meet up with him somewhere in town to brief him on the plan.

“Well that was at least fifteen minutes wasted,” Ember grumbled to herself under the covers. Rolling over, she poked her head out to look towards the window. A few flakes were falling but nothing that would accumulate to anything. She really, really didn’t feel like getting out of bed, but the reality that she had things to do today resurfaced and forced her to do so. With a none-too-happy groan, Ember rolled over and pulled the covers off, sitting on the edge of the bed. Reluctantly, she made her way to her dresser and began brushing the knots out of her fur before stretching her wings out and plucking the few feathers that got bent out of shape overnight. Rubbing her eyes to try and get them to focus clearly, she made her way to the bedroom door and opened it.

The whole house was completely silent, which struck Ember as odd since Blue was usually up a little before her and starting on breakfast. ‘Guess I’m not the only one who didn’t feel like getting up,’ she thought to herself as she turned and started making her way down the stairs. About half way down, a peculiar smell met her nostrils, causing her to scrunch up her beak in response. It was a mix of glue and sweat, both of which Ember knew shouldn’t be anywhere around. The further down she went the more concentrated the odor became. Reaching the landing at the bottom of the stairs, Ember turned and saw Blue’s tail draped over the side of the couch, which wasn’t anything unusual. What was unusual was there was a red and green tail beneath it.

“What the fuck?” Ember muttered to herself as she walked towards the couch with a puzzled look on her face. This couldn’t be what she thought it was… Her eyes went wide as she rounded the couch and saw the sight, no, the mess in front of her.

“What the FUCK?! What in the name of Luna’s cunt did you do to my couch?!” she shouted in shock. This successfully scared the hell out of the two occupants on the couch as they jolted awake, Blue falling onto the floor.

“Ember! I can explain! It’s not what it looks like, I swear!” Apple quickly stuttered out, still thoroughly foggy with sleep.

“Actually, it’s exactly what it looks like,” Blue said from her face-down position on the floor. Ember just stared down at her, mouth agape, unable to even say anything. “Yeah… things got a little wild last night. Oh yea, your soup is in the fridge.” Ember plopped down on her haunches and stared between the two, still in shock at the sight. Apple shifted awkwardly on the couch, patting down some of his matted fur. Blue snickered a little.

“Why?” Ember said breathlessly. Blue looked at Apple before turning back to Ember and shrugging.

“I dunno. Just felt like it I guess. You should see his schlong, Ember. It’s ridiculous,” Blue said, holding her hooves up to indicate an approximate size with a near-dreamy look in her eyes that made Ember feel nauseous.

“How could you do something like that with him, though?” Ember said, pointing to Apple with a mixed look of disgust and animosity.

Blue looked back to Apple, who just sat there, not saying anything. “What? It’s not like I’m seeing somepony else or anything,” she said with another shrug. A slightly pained expression flashed across Ember’s face. It went unnoticed by Blue, but Apple saw it.

“I… I-I have to get to work,” Ember said in a rushed manner as she turned abruptly and headed straight for the door. Pulling it open, she immediately took off in the direction of her warehouse.

“Wait, Ember, it’s Sunday,” Blue yelled out the door after her. “What the hell got into her?” she asked, turning back to Apple.

“I don’t know, she seemed pretty upset though. I thought you said she wouldn’t mind me being over here,” Apple said with a look of confusion over everything that just happened. The look on Ember’s face just before she bolted out the door was still fresh on his mind, but he didn’t say anything about it to Blue.

“I don’t know what the big deal is. So we’ll clean the couch, big whoop. There’s tons of spells I can learn to do that,” Blue said with a roll of her eyes. “Whatever. I’ll deal with her later I guess. Want something to eat? I bet you’re starving after that marathon last night,” she winked.

“Ehehe… As much as I’d love to, I really should be getting back home. If I don’t, Pippin will probably start asking a ton of questions about where I’ve been and if you recall last night, I said I don’t want him to know about you guys. Maybe we can meet up for some lunch later?” Apple suggested.

“Oh yea, Pippin. We still need to find a way to deal with him. Eh, I’m sure we’ll think of something eventually. Anyways, yea, lunch sounds good. I’ll meet you at the coffee shop around noon,” Blue said as she picked up some of the blankets on the floor with her magic and put them in a basket to wash. There wasn’t enough hot water and bleach in Equestria to undo the things those blankets saw last night.

“Great. I’ll see you then I guess,” Apple said as he got up and made his way towards the door. “Ug, I’m such a mess. I really need a shower before I go in public looking like this,” he said, gesturing to the dried, crusty areas all over his lower half.

Blue snickered to herself. “There’s a bathroom upstairs if you wanna get one before you go, I could really use one too,” she said with a bit of a suggestive tone.

“Oh great, I think I’ll do just that,” Apple said with a smile at the thought of a nice hot shower. He turned and trotted upstairs and into the bathroom on the right; soon the sound of running water could be heard. Blue finished collecting the blankets as she smirked at the idea forming in her head. With a skip in her step, and a lust-filled grin on her face, she trotted upstairs and into the bathroom.

Ember flew towards town, fighting to keep her emotions in check and the tears away. She knew she and Blue weren’t “together,” but in their time living together, she had developed some feelings for Blue that she didn’t quite understand completely yet. All she knew was that finding out that Blue did it with Apple felt like a hot barb right into her chest. She had to get out of there. There was no way she was going to try and explain why she might have started crying. Blue had no idea that she even thought of her that way. Sure there was the night with the vibrator after the bar, but that was more or less just partially-drunken curiosity and mischief.

She banked slightly right in the direction of the market. ‘What the hell is wrong with me? Blue is just a friend, nothing else,’ she told herself as she flew along. A look of doubt came over her face. ‘If that’s the case, then why does it hurt so much? Ugh… This is what I get for pushing these feelings to the back of my mind for this long.’ She glanced down at the treetops passing beneath her as she continued along. ‘What did I even really expect to come from it anyway? I mean, I know Blue is into mares and stallions, but I’m a griffin, not technically a mare by pony terms.’

She continued flying, completely lost in thought. Her eyes may have been looking forward, but they were far from focused on her intended destination. It wasn’t until several minutes had passed that she broke out of her haze just enough to notice she was flying over the other side of town already, above Sweet Apple Acres; the opposite direction of the market.

“Son of a bitch…” she muttered to herself as she recalculated her route and did a large loop in the air to head back towards town. Not even a minute passed before she found herself lost in her thoughts once again.

‘Ok, let’s think logically about this. What is it about Blue that I like?’ Ember slowed her flight down some as she posed the question to herself. She honestly never thought about it that simply before. ‘Well, she’s great to talk to for one. Keeps the house mostly clean, great in the kitchen, certainly not a bad plot either…’ Ember shook her head rapidly. ‘No, no, that’s not what this is about. It’s more than just sexual attraction at play here.’ She rolled her eyes in thought for a bit. ‘Maybe it’s just the simple fact that she’s there all the time when I need her. I mean, before she moved in I was miserable as hell in that house all by myself…’ A small frown formed on her beak as she recalled the countless nights, coming home to a dark house all alone. She used to dread leaving work, knowing there was no-one waiting to greet her at home. Ever since Blue moved in, she couldn’t wait to get off of work. Making that final part of the flight home, seeing that small wisp of smoke coming out of the chimney signaling Blue was working on some delicious dinner for them, it filled her with a feeling of happiness that she had long ago forgot about.

Glancing down below, Ember saw the market just ahead. ‘Heh, not gonna miss it this time,’ she smirked to herself. Tilting her wings downward to slow her speed, she looked around for a good place to land and saw an open area by the fountain in the center of the square. Giving her wings several powerful thrusts, she gently landed on the cobblestones below and took a moment to gather her thoughts. Folding her wings at her sides, she looked around the square at the numerous different stalls selling various types of food. Grabbing a basket by the one entrance to the market, she began to slowly peruse the myriad of options while her mind slowly wandered.

‘Hmm… Blue said something about making vegetable lasagna for the party, but I don’t think I remember all the ingredients she spouted off. Eh, whatever, I’ll just get what I can remember and come back again tomorrow for what I forgot.’ Walking up and down the aisles of stalls, Ember picked out as many ingredients as she could recall Blue mentioning were required for the somewhat-complex dish. Typically lasagna was a simple dish, but Blue wanted to make this one special for the party and found a recipe with some added “flair” to it. Ember rolled her eyes with a small smile. ‘Would’ve been fine with just regular lasagna but you gotta go make things all fancy don’t ya Blue…’ she chuckled to herself.

By the time Ember had reached the middle of the third aisle, her basket was stuffed with a large variety of goods. ‘Celery, lettuce, carrots, radish, cucumber, garlic cloves, arugula, squash, flour, oregano, olive oil, tomato sauce, thyme, parsley, yeast, eggs, butter, milk, salt… What am I forgetting?’ Ember thought to herself as she looked through the stuffed basket, trying to recall the recipe. ‘ I got just about everything they have here, yet I still feel like I’m missing something obvious.’

“Cherries! Get them before they’re gone! Nice and juicy cherries, right here!” a stallion was shouting from his booth the next aisle over. Ember’s eyes lit up in realization.

“Ah! That’s it! I knew I was missing something!” she exclaimed. She hurriedly pushed her way through the crowd of ponies to try and get to the next aisle. Rounding the end-cap, she spotted the cherry booth about halfway down the row on the left side. The stallion that was shouting before was talking to a mare with an intricate red mane and a tan colored coat with a cutie mark of two cherries. She had two large saddlebags on that appeared to be rather stuffed. As Ember got closer, the mare turned and started to walk away to continue her shopping. Ember looked back at the counter and her face dropped when she saw only one bin of cherries sitting there. With a flap of her wings for a bit of a boost of speed, she rushed over to the booth before anypony else could snatch them up. Running up to the booth, she took a moment to catch her breath.

“Oh thank Celestia you still have some cherries. They’re the last thing I need on my list and I don’t have a clue where else I’d find some right before Hearth’s Warming,” she said in-between breaths.

The stallion smirked. “So, you really need these cherries huh? Five bits,” he said with a firm nod.

Ember gave him a confused look. “But the sign says two bits.”

“Well yea, but things change. You said you needed them real bad, and I’m the only one who got em, so according to supply and demand, the price goes up when the supply is low. Supply is low and your demand is high.”

“You’re full of shit. I’ll give you three but no higher.”

“Ten.” His smirk grew even more when he saw the look of shock on Ember’s face.

“Ten?! Ten bits for a bin of fuckin’ cherries? Are you insane? No. Fuck that,” she said, raising her voice. Several ponies nearby took notice of the outburst and glanced over to see the commotion.

“Look, I got the cherries, you need said cherries, so you either pay what I want or you can take your feathered ass outta here and find them somewhere else. Capiche?” the stallion said, leaning over the counter and getting in Ember’s face. Ember was surprised by his abrupt attitude for a moment and just stared back at him before narrowing her eyes and glaring right back at him. She was in no mood to deal with this bullshit. Grabbing the stallions apron in her talon, she pulled him over the counter a bit more and pushed her beak against his snout. Ponies around them started to back away slowly as to not get caught in whatever was about to go down. Ember growled in the stallion’s face and his smirk vanished.

“Listen here you piece of shit, you have no idea the morning I’ve had. All you need to know is that I have no problem tearing you a new asshole.” She raised her other talon and the stallion gulped as he saw the light glint off its sharp edge. “So I’ll ask you again, how much are the cherries?”

“Ehehehe did I say ten? I meant one. Just one bit please,” the stallion said in a nervous tone, swallowing hard. Ember smiled, which may have creeped the stallion out even more at this point.

“That’s what I thought you said,” she smiled as she flipped a bit onto the counter and pushed the stallion back over, where he retreated to the back of the stall, out of reach. Putting the bin of cherries in her basket, she turned to walk away and noticed the numerous ponies staring at her. Ember rolled her eyes and flapped her wings a few times as she walked away from the booth. She really didn’t need this shit right now…

Walking down the next aisle as she continued shopping, Ember noticed several ponies looking at her with worried expressions. This was something she really hated about Ponyville. Just by being the only griffin in town, everypony had some level of fear towards her. Granted, sometimes it came in handy, like just now with the cherries, but it made it difficult for her to become friends with some ponies. They made generalized assumptions about her based solely on rumors they may have heard that held no merit at all. While these rumors and assumptions didn’t really affect her business fortunately, they did hinder her social life a great deal. A pensive frown formed on her beak as she walked and thought it over. Between what happened earlier today and now thinking about this, she was headed for a bit of a depression pit; she could feel it, which was rather unfortunate since Hearth’s Warming was only a few days away.

“Hey! Hey, Ember! Over here!” a voice shouted from somewhere nearby, briefly disrupting her inner brooding. Ember looked up and scanned the crowd to find the source of the voice.

“Behind you silly,” the voice said. Ember quickly turned around and found herself face to face with the beaming smile of Apricot. She jumped a bit in surprise.

“Oh, hey Apricot. How’s it going?” she asked in a not-too-enthusiastic tone.

“A lot better now that I ran into you,” Apricot smiled. Ember didn’t return the smile. “What’s wrong? Aren’t you excited for your party in a few days? I sure know I am. I’m looking for something to bring for the grab-bag game.”

“The party should be fun, yea, just today has really been a shit day so far. I knew there was a reason I shouldn’t have gotten out of bed,” Ember grumbled, remembering how happy she was before she left her warm bed to find them downstairs...

“Oh… Well I’m sorry to hear that. Is it something you’d like to talk about? I’d be more than happy to listen and try to help of course,” Apricot said in a more soothing voice, taking the happy, peppy edge off once she saw Ember wasn’t in the mood.

Ember let out a mirthless chuckle. “I don’t even know where to even begin honestly,” she said with a roll of her eyes. Apricot gave her a small smile.

“Tell ya what, how about we go over to the food court and I’ll get us some hot chocolate and we can talk. Tell me as much or as little as you’d like. How’s that sound?” Apricot said as she moved beside Ember and bumped her in a lighthearted manner.

“Not gonna lie, hot chocolate sounds pretty damn good right about now. Some Wild Pegasus would be better, but I have plenty of other things to give me a headache right now,” Ember replied.

“Great!” Apricot beamed. Ember followed her over towards the side of the market that had numerous stalls selling a bunch of different types of dishes; some as simple as a pretzel, some a bit heavier like a hayburger and fries. Apricot led the way to the circular stand in the center and walked up the counter with Ember coming up beside her a moment later. “Gimme two large hot chocolates with extra whipped cream and a peppermint stick please,” she told the mare behind the counter who nodded and started working on their order. Ember started to get a few bits out to pay for her drink but Apricot put her hoof on her arm and shook her head. “Don’t even think about it. This is my treat to help make you feel better,” she smiled.

“Uh, thanks... “ Ember said as she put her bits back in her bag. She didn’t feel comfortable with other ponies buying her things, even if it was just a drink. The mare behind the counter placed their drinks on the shelf and bid them good day and happy holidays as she turned towards the next guest. Ember gave her a forced smile and took the drinks in her talons. “Where you wanna sit?” she asked Apricot.

“Hmmm… how about over there?” She pointed to a table towards the corner of the food court that was semi-private. It had some bushes around it in an L formation which helped buffer it from any chilling breeze that came their way as well. Ember nodded and followed Apricot to the table. Ember sat her basket full of groceries on the ground and Apricot placed her saddlebags beside them before hopping up on the chair and folding her forehooves on the table in front of her. Ember sat across from her and passed her her drink. They sat in silence for a few minutes; Apricot studying Ember, trying to get a feel of what to say next.

“Sooo…..” Apricot said, trying to find something to say that would help break the ice. “Uh, what’s all that in the basket?” she asked, pointing a hoof to the overflowing basket on the ground.

“It’s a bunch of stuff Blue needs to make this lasagna for the party,” Ember replied, glancing at the basket. “She better love those damn cherries…” she muttered under her breath. Apricot still heard her though.

“Yeah, I saw the tail end of that,” she chuckled. “You really scared the shit outta him didn’t you?”

“Well I didn’t mean to go that far, honestly. It's just been such a shitty day, and that was kinda the last straw I guess,” Ember shrugged. “I’m not mean for the sake of getting things I want you know.”

“Oh of course not,” Apricot said. “If I had sharp-ass talons and could growl, I’d use it to my advantage too, but never just for the hell of it.” Ember dropped her gaze to the table and took a sip of her drink. Apricot let out a sigh. “Look, Ember, I know we haven’t known each other very long, but I really would like to get to know you more. I’ve never known a griffin before and I think you guys are really fascinating to be honest; so different from us ponies. But besides that, I really like talking to you. I would hope that you come to like talking to me too,” she said, casting her gaze down to the table as well. “If you’d rather I leave you alone though…”

“No!” Ember blurted out, startling Apricot. “Er, I mean, you don’t have to leave. Being honest, I really do need somepony to talk to, and I’m not used to having that. It’ll take some getting used to having somepony who’s willing to listen. I thought I had that in Blue but, well, apparently not…” Her eyes fell to the table once more. Apricot gave her a curious, puzzled look.

“What happened with Blue to make you say that? You two were fine just a few days ago, weren’t you?” she asked. “Does this have something to do with her and Apple cuddling in the street last night? Melon told me she saw them together but they insisted it was just to stay warm.” Ember rolled her eyes and a look of disgust came over her face.

“Believe me, they did a lot more than ‘stay warm’ last night…” she grumbled.

“Uh, what are you talking about?” Apricot asked. A look mixed between anger and hurt was on Ember’s face.

“Those two bucked all last night!” she exclaimed. “I come downstairs this morning and it looked like a damn bottle of glue exploded all over my couch! Fuckin’ disgusting.” Apricot’s eyes grew wide and her mouth hung open in surprise. She took what Melon said with a grain of salt, but now after hearing this, well, she was pretty much speechless. It was so sudden and unexpected.

“She didn’t even think about how I’d feel about it…” Ember said in a voice just above a whisper; a stark contrast to the near-yelling she just did. Immediately she realized what she said and with a look of shock, clapped a talon over her beak. “Uh, you didn’t hear that.”

“Oh Celestia, Ember, I’m so sorry,” Apricot said in a sympathetic tone, putting her hoof on top of Ember’s arm. Ember just squeezed her eyes shut and turned away from her. “Now I see why you’re so upset… That’s just awful…”

Ember clenched a talon tight as she struggled to regain her composure. “It’s fine, really. That’s just what I get for letting myself get close to somepony. I should have known from the start that it wasn’t going to work, it never does. If I was smart, I would’ve told Blue how I felt long before this but I was too busy pushing those thoughts to the back of my mind when I should have been taking the time to figure them out.” Apricot gently stroked Ember’s arm in a calming manner.

“If it makes you feel any better, I’ve had a few relationships that really hurt when they ended, so I can kind of understand how you feel,” Apricot said in her best soothing voice. “It hurts like a bitch now, but you’ll get through this, I promise. And I’ll be there to help you of course.” Ember turned back to face her and their eyes met for a brief moment, and in that moment, Ember could see the sincerity behind Apricot’s words. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“Thank you, Apricot. That really means a lot to me that you’d take the time to help. Heh, look at me… Nearly losing my shit in public like this… Pathetic…” Ember chuckled. Apricot smiled.

“Nah, you’re fine. It’s not like you didn’t have a good reason to,” she pointed out. Ember regarded her for a moment before nodding and giving her a small smile in return. Apricot saw that as a win in her book and decided to jump into a brighter topic. “So! What are you gonna bring for the grab-bag? I got some interesting things in mind, heh.”

“Now why would I tell you what I’m bringing and ruin all the fun?” Ember said with a smirk.

“Aw come onnn... I hate not knowing thingggss,” she whined. Ember just raised a brow at her and received a wide-eyed frownie face in return. “Pweaseee?”

“Seriously?” Ember said with a flat look. “You’re seriously doing this right now?” Apricot continued making her face and only nodded in a pleading manner. “Will a cookie shut you up?” Apricot nodded once more. “Fine, I’ll get you a damn cookie, just stop with that face, ponies are starting to stare…” Ember said, glancing around at the passing ponies giving them odd looks. Apricot immediately returned her face to normal and gave Ember a big smile. Ember just smiled and rolled her eyes, getting up to get a cookie from the shop where they got the drinks. When she got back to the table, Apricot was finishing her drink and beginning to suck on the candy cane that was dipped in it.

“So what else is on your schedule today Firebird?” Apricot asked as she continued to twirl her tongue around the candy stick. Ember froze and looked at her with surprise.

“What did you call me?” she asked, not sure if she heard her right or not.

“Firebird. Cuz you’re all fire-like and stuff. Fire name, fire feathers, fire temper…” Apricot trailed off, moving the candy stick around in her mouth all the while.

“And what makes you think it’s ok to call me that?” Ember questioned her as she sat back down and finished off the last of her own drink. Apricot just grinned at her.

“Well, I’d like to think we’re friends now, which means I can get away with things like that and not get pounded into pony salt,” Apricot reasoned.

“Hm, well, keep pushing your luck and you’ll see, Creamsicle,” Ember smirked. Apricot stopped sucking on her candy cane and looked at Ember in surprise. “That’s right, I went there.”

“Oh now I see how it is. Don’t worry, two can play at this game,” she smirked. They both glared at each other for several seconds before they both burst into laughter. After a few moments the laughter died down and they both wiped their eyes while catching their breath.

“Wooh, I really needed that,” Ember smiled.

“Hehe, oh yea, me too,” Apricot said, still wiping the tears from her eyes.

“Well this has been great, but I still gotta buy some gifts and a few other things before heading back home,” Ember said as she started picking her basket up.

“You gonna be ok or would you like me to come along with you?” Apricot asked with a concerned look.

“Nah, I’ll be fine. I need some time to think and get my thoughts together for what I’m gonna say to Blue tonight anyways…”

“Mmm, yea, not a bad idea. You two definitely need to sort this out. I hope everything is mostly smoothed over by the party. And of course, don’t hesitate to call me if you need to talk about anything. Door’s always open,” Apricot said with a smile as she got up and put her saddlebags on as well.

“Thanks, I really appreciate it. I’ll keep it in mind for sure. Well, guess I’ll see you at the party then. Take care!” Ember said as she took off and waved bye, flying towards the part of town with more shops.

“Bye Firebird!” Apricot yelled after her. She wasn’t certain, but she thought she saw something resembling a middle talon being gestured back at her from the sky. Laughing to herself, she turned and trotted towards the marketplace to continue her shopping.

A dark cloud of thought hung over Ember’s head as she made the flight back home, carrying all the groceries and a few gifts she picked up after her little talk with Apricot. The last thing in the world she wanted to do was face Blue and openly admit she had feelings towards her. She wasn’t one to show emotions and this went against every one of her instincts. ‘No, don’t tell her, just forget it happened’ the voice in her head kept pleading. It was tempting to listen to it and just never go back home again. She could just live in her warehouse, right? Considering the option for a moment, she shook her head and shifted her focus back to flying, trying to distract herself as long as possible. No matter what she did, she just couldn’t come up with a solid plan on how to talk to Blue about this. She’d just have to wing it.

Approaching her house, Ember banked to the right, gently landed in the front yard, and slowly walked to the front door. Reluctantly, she reached out and opened the door, walking into the front hallway. Putting the bags down beside her, she gently closed the door and turned around with a sigh, expecting Blue to be right there. But she wasn’t. The whole house was completely silent save for the low, monotonous ticking coming from the clock in the living room. Ember walked into the living room to see if Blue was taking a nap or something, but remembered the state the couch was in so disregarded that as an option. Right, the couch… She’d have to get a new one now after that disgusting mess…

Or maybe not? Rounding the couch, Ember was surprised to find it spotless now. The cushions looked like they were just pulled from the wash and were as clean as ever. The fluffy blanket that she loved to wrap up in on cold nights was neatly folded and draped over the back of the middle cushion. A puzzled look came over Ember’s face as she examined the couch. Spotless…

“Ok, there’s no way in hell I just imagined that this morning…” she mumbled to herself, giving the couch one more look before walking towards the kitchen. It even smelled new. Swinging the door open, she was greeted by another empty room. Sunlight strewn through the kitchen window and reflected off some water in the sink, projecting tiny rainbows onto the ceiling. Only the occasional ‘ploop’ could be heard as some water dripped out of the faucet and into a cup in the sink. Looking around the room, Ember noticed a piece of paper on the kitchen table and walked over to it. It was a note from Blue.

“Hm, well that explains that I guess,” Ember said to herself, putting the note back on the table. Going back into the front hall, she grabbed the bags of groceries and carried them back to the kitchen to put everything away. By the time she finished, a good thirty minutes had passed and now she was rather hungry. The last thing she had to eat, or drink rather, was the hot chocolate that Apricot had bought her; she never got to eat breakfast after leaving the house in a rush. Going over to the fridge, Ember pulled the container of soup out and emptied it into a pot on the stove to heat up. While that was going, she took a seat at the table and put her paws up on the adjacent chair and let out a sigh, closing her eyes to try and sort out her thoughts.

‘Ok, let’s be blunt here. Clearly it’s not gonna work out between me and Blue, but what’s the next step then?’ Ember asked herself. ‘Do I even want a relationship now? I mean, I suppose it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world…’ Ember rolled her still-closed eyes. ‘Oh please, who would want to be with me? Everypony in town is all skittish around me. Well, except my few friends, that is.’ She let out another sigh. ‘Why do emotions have to be so damn cryptic…’

The soup on the stove began to gently bubble and Ember got up to turn the heat off and put it in a bowl. Returning to the table with it, she idly stirred it with a spoon, watching the curls of steam coming off the surface. Taking a few sips, she couldn’t help but smile; egg drop soup was always her favorite. As the soup continued to cool, she took bigger and bigger spoonfuls, hungrily devouring the delicious soup until she heard the sad sound of the spoon hitting the bottom of the bowl. ‘Damn, I’m gonna have to go into town and get more of that. Forgot how good it was,’ Ember mused to herself as she got up and rinsed the bowl in the sink. There were a few other dishes in the sink so while she was there she decided to just get them out of the way and save Blue the trouble later.

After several minutes, all the dishes were washed and placed in the drying rack. Ember turned the water off and wiped her talons off on a towel, turning back towards the table to sit back down. She had just reached the table when she heard the front door open and a panicked feeling washed over her; she still had no idea how she wanted to handle the situation with Blue. ‘Shit shit shit,’ she thought to herself, her eyes darting around the room for some means of escape or hiding.

“Ember, you home?” Blue called out from the front hallway. Ember hung her head and resigned herself to her fate.

“Yeah Blue, I’m in the kitchen…” Blue trotted into the kitchen with a unsure smile on her face, not knowing if Ember was still upset from earlier. Ember didn’t make eye contact with her but continued to stare down at the table in front of her. The smile slowly faded from Blue’s face as she saw Ember’s demeanor.

“Um, you ok now? I fixed the couch so you don’t have to be upset anymore.” Ember slightly rolled her eyes at how oblivious Blue was to the real issue at hand. ‘Must be nice not having this plaguing your mind,’ she mused to herself.

“I’m not mad about the couch, but thank you for cleaning it still,” Ember said, not looking up from the table.

“Oh, well, then what is the problem? You flew out of here in such a rush this morning I just assumed that was it,” Blue said, taking a seat across from her at the table.

Ember mirthlessly chuckled a little. “Oh how to even begin…” she mused, leaning back in the chair and looking up at the ceiling. Blue gave her a questioning look but remained silent. “You ever… just not know what the hell your own head is telling you? You think something in your life is just what it is at face value, but the longer it goes on, the more you realize that it’s much more than that?”

“Um, sure?” Blue replied, even more confused now.

Ember brought her gaze back down from the ceiling and looked directly at Blue. “Do you remember how I was before you moved in? Or even at the beginning of that actually? I think we both know how damn miserable I was before. I hated my life. Every morning was just another reminder that a shit day lay ahead and then that would lead into another miserable, lonely night.” Blue stared at her from across the table, fully focused on her. “But you know what? You changed that for me. You showed me that not every day is shit, that I’m not shit. That I can actually have somepony that cares about me and how I feel, who’s willing to listen to me bitch and moan about whatever happened at work and make me feel better on those crap days. These last few months have been some of the happiest days I’ve had in years and I have you to thank for that, Blue.”

“Well I don’t know about all that, I mean I just do wha-” Blue began but Ember cut her off and continued.

“But you know what my biggest mistake in all of this was? The thing that makes me almost regret every one of those days? I let myself fall into this false sense of security that everything would always be this way; that you’d always be here when I got home, that we’d just become better and better friends to the point that we might be able to be more than just friends.” Ember paused for a moment, gazing down at the table once more. Blue remained silent. “But how can I be mad at you for not knowing that I was hoping for us to be more than just friends? I never said anything, just kept pushing the feelings to the back of my mind since I didn’t know how to deal with them, and now here we are… You did that,” she cringed as she said it, “with Apple and it made me realize how you really didn’t see how I felt about you. Well, either that or you just didn’t care, which I know isn’t the case. That moment right there was the realization for me that I was simply fooling myself into believing that this ‘fantasy’ in my head could actually be how things turned out. I see now that it’s simply not gonna happen though.” A frown formed on her beak as she averted her gaze from the table to anywhere else in the kitchen besides directly at Blue.

Blue sat across from her, mouth slightly agape as Ember told her all of this. Once Ember had stopped talking, she closed her mouth and blinked several times, trying to figure out what on earth to say to something like this. “I… I don’t know what to say, Ember. I honestly had no idea you had those kind of feelings for me. I mean, sure there was that night with the vibrator after the bar, but I just wrote that off as some drunken escapade.”

Ember huffed a little. “Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t. If I had to guess, I’d say most of these feelings started around that time, but not because of that though.”

“No no, of course not, I get it. Why didn’t you tell me sooner though instead of putting yourself through hell for this long?”

“I told you Blue, I didn’t even know how to even if I wanted to. You think I liked feeling like this? Knowing that you probably didn’t feel the same way? Of course not, but I just did what I’ve done for years, push the feelings to the back and hope they either sort themselves out or go away.”

“Mmm… I suppose I can relate to that at least. I push a lot back too that I should probably just handle,” Blue said, thinking back on all the nights she spent up with writer's block, desperately trying to distract herself from her persistent depressing thoughts. “It’s not fun…”

“No shit…” Ember said with a roll of her eyes. “So now that I told you all this, I take it you’re gonna want to move out and find someplace with Apple or something huh.”

Blue smiled and laughed, which made Ember give her a puzzled look. “Haha, oh please, I wouldn’t move out over something like this. And certainly not with Apple. He’s a great lay and all don’t get me wrong, but I still love it here with you. This is still ‘home’, if that’s ok with you of course.”

“So you’re not weirded out by me saying that I’ve secretly wanted to get with you for a while now?” Ember questioned her with a raised brow. Blue just smirked back at her.

“Ember, please, we’re still great friends, regardless of this. Sure it’ll be a little weird for a bit I imagine, but things will smooth out now that everything’s out in the open finally. And who can blame you for wanting some of this hot flank?” Blue said as she wiggled her butt in the chair and grinned. Ember started turning red across the table. “I sure know Apple like it last night when we-” she cut herself short when she saw the uneasy expression come across Ember’s face. “Right, sorry, I won’t bring that up anymore. My bad…”

Ember rubbed her face with her talons. “Ug, this is gonna be a real bitch getting used to,” she groaned.

“Maybe you should go out and try to meet somepony else? If you ask me, a romantic relationship could do you some good. You have a big heart to share,” Blue smiled.

Ember rolled her eyes and realized how much of a regular occurrence it was becoming. ‘If you keep doing that, your eyes are gonna get stuck like that’ she could hear her mom’s nagging voice from when she was younger. “That’s great and all, but I don’t have the time, or the energy, to ‘date’. Not to mention the whole ‘meeting new ponies’ thing makes me very uneasy.”

“Well, maybe you don’t have to look that far. I hear Apricot might have a thing for you,” Blue winked.

“What? Apricot?” She thought back to their talk at the market earlier that day. She was really easy to talk to, and she took the time to listen to her when she saw that she was having a bad morning. “I dunno… Maybe.”

Blue shrugged. “Can’t hurt to try at least. If nothing else, you’ll become better friends at least, right?” she reasoned. “Why don’t you talk to her at the party some and see how you get along?”

“Alright, I’ll give it a shot I guess. Oh yeah, speaking of the party, I got all the ingredients for that lasagna you wanted to make while I was out today,” Ember said, gesturing towards the fridge. “I don’t think I forgot anything, but if I did just lemme know and I’ll run back out and get it.”

“Oh perfect, thanks. I wasn’t sure when I was gonna get around to getting all that so that’ll help a lot,” Blue said as she got up and opened the door to the fridge and looked around inside. “Did you get cherries?”

Ember shot her a glare that went unnoticed since Blue was on the other side of the fridge door. “Yes, they’re behind the lettuce.” She turned her beak to the side and muttered “and you damn well better like them after what I went through to get them.”

“Awesome. Can’t wait to make that cherry pie recipe I saw the other day. Everything in this town seems to be apple this and apple that so it’ll be nice to have some variety,” Blue said as she turned and bumped the fridge door closed with her flank.

“Yea, we’ll have a nice spread I’m sure. Half of what makes a party fun is the food. Anyways, if you wanna get started on prepping whatever for the party food-wise, I’m gonna go upstairs in the attic and see if I can find where the hell I put the decorations. Haven’t put them up for a few years now so who knows where they are,” Ember said as she got up from the table and stretched.

“Alrighty, you do that and I’ll come get you when I need someone to sample the food,” Blue said with a chuckle.

“That I can do,” Ember smiled as she turned and left the kitchen. Making her way upstairs, she felt a lot better now. Even though her talk with Blue didn’t result in Blue confessing her secret love for her too, she knew that wasn’t gonna happen. What did happen though was Ember was able to get a huge load off her mind and could already tell she was in a better mood because of it. Plus, Blue had given her something to think about: Apricot. The more she thought about it, the more she liked the idea of talking to her more. She smiled as she opened the door to the attic stairs and thought to herself, ‘maybe this Hearth's Warming won’t be so bad after all.’

Author's Notes:

Thank you again for reading

Chapter 15 is a bit further behind in progress than I'd like, but we are working on it, and rest assured that shenanigans will ensue at Ember's party. Just know that it might be a little while until I get it uploaded on here. Your patience is really appreciated!