Hearts and Holdouts Chapter 2

Hearts and Holdouts

Chapter 2: Something Involving Pizza Slices

 

>You awake a bit earlier than you usually do thanks to the sun.

>Ah, the sun. If only you would stop being so obnoxiously bright for one day...

>Groaning, you get out of bed and start your typical morning routine.

>Everything goes fine until you try to brush your teeth since said brush is missing-in-action.

>Probably because you brought it with you to Canterlot.

>No matter. You kneel down and reach under the sink to pull out another toothbrush. You made sure to buy a couple dozen in the event someone decided to steal your stuff.

>Why would someone steal your toothbrushes?

>Who knows? What you do know is that if you miss even one day, a certain mare will never let you hear the end of it.

>And with a princess hiding out in your crib, bringing attention to yourself is not a good idea.

>So you brush. Brushie brushie brush.

>Once that’s done, you immediately head downstairs to see how Mi Amore Cadenza is doing.

>She’s right where you left her: on your couch, wrapped up in a light blanket you casually draped over her before retiring yourself the night before.

>You’re not about to wake her up, so you see about putting together something for her to eat once she gets up.

>From what she’s told you, she was in those caves a long ass time, and is probably starving.

>You hope she likes pizza, because you only have pizza.

>So you grab the last box, placing it onto your counter. You think; should you warm it up, or serve it cold?

>Before you can decide, the princess of... something stirs. You walk out to greet her.

“Good morning. How’d you sleep?”

>She groans, slowly sitting up. She looks down at her blanket in surprise for a moment, wondering where it came from before putting the puzzle together.

>”Fine...”

>You nod, watching her shuffle about as she does her best to unwrap herself from the blanket’s grip.

>It’s a little amusing to be honest. Eventually she gives up and lightly tosses it away with magic.

>Now free, she glances over to you, smiling slightly. Then her stomach growls.

>You can’t help but laugh as she blushes, thoroughly embarrassed. Definitely not the most proper behaviour.

“I figured you were hungry. I’ve got some pizza, if you’d like.”

>”Pizza...? I haven’t had that in a long time...”

>She thinks it over for a moment before you cut in, [spoiler][/spoiler]”I, uh, only have pizza, so you don’t really have any options. Unless you’d like water.”

>Cadance’s smile falters. “Oh... Well, sure then. I could go for some pizza.”

>Her stomach growls again and you laugh again with it. “Want me to warm it up? It’s fine cold too, and I sort of prefer it like that, to be honest.”

>She looks up at you, desperate. ”Whichever is faster. I’m starving.”

>As you command, princess. You walk back into the kitchen and grab the box of pizza, setting it down on a small table in front of her.

>She immediately hovers over to herself and bites in, taking maybe half of the slice in the one go.

>You can’t help but stare at her as she ploughs through the entire box within five minutes. Yes, it wasn’t completely full, but... shit.

>Someone’s going to have to get some more pizza soon. And maybe something healthy to go along with it.

>...

>Nah.

>She smiles to herself, swallowing the final bite, greatly pleased to have some food in her.

>Eventually, Cadance notices you’re staring at her, mildly horrified.

>”Oh. I’m sorry. You probably wanted some...”

“...I’ll be fine.”

>She shakes her head. “I’m a guest here. I should’ve left some for you.”

>You shrug, to her dismay. The pizza was about to go bad anyway; it really isn’t that big of a deal.

>She sighs, glancing down at the empty box.

“Well, since you’re up, I guess I’ll show you your room.”

>The mare quietly nods before getting off your couch. She’s still pretty shaky but doesn’t topple over into a pink, yellow and maroon heap, which is good for your carpet.

>Those colours simply cannot be natural. You’ll ask her about it sooner or later.

>Before you can get anywhere, you have a thought.

“Actually, since you’re up, why don’t I just give you the grand tour? It’s no palace, but, eh...”

>She smiles at you. ”Sure. And I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“Mhm.”

>You guide her around for a little bit, showing her the rooms. The kitchen, bathroom, where your room is, closet, basement and, of course, her room.

>It’s pretty cozy, to be honest. It took awhile for even you to get used to how cramped everything was.

>She’ll have to make do; you’re not moving anytime ever.

“And that concludes our tour. Make sure to visit our gift shop on your way out.”

>She raises an eyebrow at you, smiling. “Gift shop?”

“It’s also known as your room, but whatever. Seriously, though, any questions?”

>The princess of something or other thinks for a moment, then asks, “Why are all of your windows covered by those black blinds?”

“I don’t like people spying on me. They could learn things I’d rather not share.”

>”Like that there’s a princess living in your guest room?”

“In my gift shop, yes.”

>By now you’re back where you started, the living room. Cadance still looks ragged as fuck, but seems far more relaxed.

>”If you say so. Do you have any idea how long it’ll take before Twilight defeats that evil changeling?”

“No clue. If I had to guess, it’ll probably take until after the scheduled wedding. When’s that supposed to be happening again?”

>”Do you have the date?”

>After a short trip to the calendar in the kitchen, you tell her.

>She frowns. “Then it’ll be a few more days.” She sighs. “Don’t worry, Shining Armour... I’ll be with you soon...”

“Eh?”

>The princess blinks. “Hm! Oh, n-nothing. I doubt you really want to hear about my love life. Don’t worry about it.”

>When people tell you not to worry about things, that’s exactly what you do. Come on, step it up.

“Actually, I’d love to actually learn something about the groom. The guy was sort of a ghost while I was in Canterlot; we never met once.”

>She frowns. “Really?”

“I suppose me not looking for him didn’t help. Anyway, what’s this Shining Armour like?”

>You shouldn’t have done that.

>The mare beamed before going on to tell you every little detail about Twilight Sparkle’s ‘big brother best friend forever.’ Sheesh.

>After she finally slowed down, maybe an hour later, you could determine this:

>Shining Armour’s a nice guy, Twilight’s brother, and has a goofy voice.

>Yeah, you definitely tuned most of that out.

“...I see. He sounds... nice.”

>”Yes, he’d do anything to keep me safe.” Her face falls. “I just wish I could be there to keep him safe...”

“Well, he has Twilight. And he’s the Captain of those Royal Guard. I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

>The mare looks up at you from her seat on your couch. You had both sat down once she got into her tale of Shining Armour’s ‘heroics’ and whatnot.

>”You really think so?”

“Eh.”

>To be honest, you aren’t sure. If whatever these changeling things are managed to imprison an alicorn princess, Shining Armour would probably be their bitch in an actual fight.

>But you’ll humour the princess. The last thing you need is her running off to save her beloved.

>Yeah, that’d end fabulous. You can already picture the dozens of ways everything would blow up in your face.

“He’ll be fine. Now then.”

>You stand from your seat, Cadance watching you as you do.

“When I’m not here, here are the rules: Don’t answer the door, stay away from the windows and keep quiet. If anything is looking for you, it’ll likely do so here, since Ponyville is so close by.”

>She slowly nods.

“I’m going to get some more pizza for later. Any kind you want me to try for? Obviously no pepperoni, but I can—“

>You pause, realizing you just mentioned pepperoni to a pony. Oops.

“...Any kind you’d like to have?”

>She raises an eyebrow. ”What’s pepperoni?”

“A foreign ingredient. Do you like green or red peppers?”

>She frowns, ignoring your peppery inquiry. ”What sort of ingredient?”

“The flat kind. We can’t get it here. Do you like onions on your pizza? I don’t, but I’ll grab one if you do.”

>She shakes her head. “No onions. I could probably get us some pepperoni, but I’d need to know more about it.”

“What a shame.”

>You head over to the closet and pull out a jacket.

>She frowns at you, still mostly confused. “There’s something you’re not telling me, Anonymous...”

“Yes. Trust me, it’ll be better to forget I said anything.”

>”We shouldn’t keep secrets, Anonymous...”

“I’ll tell you later. Now, do you want onions or not?”

>She gives you a sceptical look, obvious doubting you’ll actually tell her anything later.

>”No onions. Anything else I should know?”

“Nothing I can think of. I’ll be back.”

>She sighs, watching you slowly open the door and slip outside. No pepperoni for her.

-

>Ponyville is more or less as it usually is in the morning.

>That is, bright and cheery.

>Colour fills the streets, be it the buildings or the ponies themselves.

>Most of them don’t pay you too much mind. You haven’t been gone /that/ long, so it’s unlikely they’ll be overly surprised to see you about.

>That said, the town’s not quite as crowded as it could be. A lot of ponies /did/ go to Canterlot for that wedding.

>Sucks to be them; the bride’s right here.

>You use a few shortcuts, slipping between a couple houses and soon find yourself nearing your destination.

>A Slice of Heaven.

>A very fitting name, if you say so yourself.

>Pizza truly is a creation of the gods. Or, well, the Italians. They’re alright, in your book.

>You double check that you’re not being watched or followed, and then enter the store.

>Inside are a few regulars, the assistant chef and the star of the show, Pazzo Dante.

>He’s...

>Well, his name is fitting. You eventually learned ‘pazzo’ was Italian for crazy, and some of this guy’s behaviours definitely fit the bill.

>He’s damn happy to see you too; you’re his best customer.

>After getting a few pleasantries out of the way, you make an order.

>You get the usual, so you don’t tip anyone off. It’d probably last you a week, but with Cadance around maybe only half that.

>Hopefully your cash will hold out.

>As you walk back to your home, you ponder what you’re going to have to do this month to make a little dough.

>The ponies, while friendly, weren’t exactly big on giving the mysterious creature a full time job.

>Cutie marks were perfect résumés, and your behind sort of lacked that brand of tattoo.

>So you just did what you could, with the royals up in Canterlot dumping some change on you monthly to make sure you didn’t die on them.

> It had worked, so far.

>When you got back home, there were no mysterious ponies talking outside the door, no signs of tampering or anything else that would hint to someone being onto you.

>Either you’re safe, or they’re really, really good.

>Cadance isn’t in the main room when you enter, which is odd.

>You doubt she’s gone anywhere, so you put the pizzas away and begin a search.

>It ends pretty much right as it began, as the mare of the day is wrapped up in a towel in the bathroom across from her room.

>She has a brush floating in the air, slowly putting her hair back together.

>The mare doesn’t even notice you’re watching her as she brushes, humming some tune you’re unfamiliar with.

>”There. Much better.”

>She turns to the door, jumping a bit when she sees you.

>”Ah! D-Don’t do that.” The mare brings a hoof up to her chest as you take a few steps into the room.

“I’ll try not to. I see you’re all cleaned up.”

>Cadance nods. “Yes... I know the smell was bugging you, so I just freshened up while you were out. I’m guessing you got more... pizza?”

>You give her a thumbs up. When her face makes clear she doesn’t know that is you sigh and say, [spoiler][/spoiler]”Yes.”

>”Well, alright...”

>The mare looks over to the mirror, making sure everything looks right.

>Her mane had some vestiges of curls when you found her, but had been brushed straight now.

>She nods to her reflection before walking over to you. ”I’ll need to restyle this latter...”

>You continue watching her, waiting for her to ask something.

>”So, what’s this pepperoni of yours like?”

>Yeah, that was completely unexpected... Not.

“Oh, you know. Like any topping. Make sure to clean any hair out of the tub.”

>The mare blushes, looking back at the tub. You can’t see in it from here, and would rather not.

>”...I’ll be out in a moment.”

“Have fun.”

-

>She’s out and about in, shockingly enough, just a moment.

>Then again, she does have magic on her side. Mr. Clean can only work so fast, compared to that.

>The mare takes back her seat on the other side of the couch looking right to you.

>You look back, waiting.

>Both of you remain like this for a few minutes. Cadance sighs.

>”You don’t do much, do you?”

“I do lots of things. I just wasn’t planning on being home this week, let alone with a princess in tow.”

>She nods meekly. “Yes. I can see that throwing a wrench in your plans.”

>You shrug and continue watching her. She’s definitely a strange looking creature.

>That gradient—is that the right word?—on her wings is particularly interesting. You’ve yet to meet any ponies who share that quirk.

>Eventually the princess notices you’re sort of staring at her wings.

>She’s not really sure what to say. “Anonymous? Is something wrong?”

“Hrm? No. Your wings are just unique is all. Any ideas what’s up with that?”

>The mare blushes, pressing her wings tightly against herself. “No. They’ve always been like that.”

“Well, they look quite nice.”

>She smiles awkwardly. “Er, thank you.” You shrug.

>Silence reigns for a moment. Why are you complimenting a pony you met yesterday’s wings again?

>Damn mare’s a princess anyway. She probably hears that stuff all the time.

>Yet, she seemed a tad flustered regardless. Hrm...

“So, Cadance, you’re a princess.”

>The mare raises an eyebrow. “Yes.”

“Well, alright. What are you the princess of, exactly? I know what Celestia and Luna do, but, well, I’ve never even heard of you, to be honest.”

>”That’s not really surprising... I’m, well. I’m the princess of a place that doesn’t exactly exist anymore... It’s mostly a titular thing.”

>You frown. So she’s just a princess in name? That sort of makes sense.

>Though you were almost expecting her to claim her first name is literally ‘Princess’, which, while obviously bullshit, would be pretty funny.

“Huh. I see.”

>She shakes her head. “But enough about me. What about you, Anonymous? What’s your story?”

>Eh.

“Well. I’m Anonymous. The human thing in Ponyville. You may have heard of me from Twilight, since you know her so well.”

>She nods. Well at least you won’t need to explain what a—

>”Yes... the human. I’ve heard a few things. But... what exactly is a human?”

“I could go into the details but I don’t really want to. Let’s just say I’m a sort of ape with way less hair and drop it.”

>After a moment she nods. “Alright, so what about you, then?”

>You lean back and get comfortable. This is going to take a while.

>The mare proceeded to ask all manner of questions about yourself, where you were from, the whole nine yards.

>There wasn’t really anything to tell. You’re Anonymous. You’re a human. You don’t know how you got here and you’re cautious.

>Despite this, the princess seemed certain there was something to learn. It took an hour and some pizza to get her off your case.

-

>Later that day you’re in your room, looking through a small opening in your blinds with binoculars.

>Your view is sadly obscured by another pair of blinds across the road, but you’re not actually trying to look inside the house.

>You’re looking for signs that the house is in fact inhabited currently.

>However, after ten minutes there’s nothing yet. You’ll try it again in a bit.

>They can’t hide forever.

>When you turn around Cadance is watching you, thoroughly confused.

>”Anonymous? What are you doing?”

“Security detail. ‘Sup?”

>You reach backward and close the blinds. The room darkens a bit when you do so.

>”Looked more like eavesdropping, Anonymous...”

“Security involves eavesdropping. What’s up?”

>She gives you a look.

“The ponies next door are suspicious and could be a major threat to your safety. I’m taking the necessary precautions.”

>”By spying on your neighbours? Surely they aren’t fond of that.”

>You shrug. They’ve yet to complain, so you’ve had no reason to stop.

>Cadance sighs. “I find it hard to believe that any of Ponyville’s ponies would do anything to hurt me. I may not be the first thing they think of when you say princess, but I’m still pretty popular!”

“But what if the changelings offered them something in return? They could offer to make whoever turns you a princess as a reward.”

>She blinks.

“Or, they might just blab too much and word will reach Canterlot of another Cadance. Before long the guard and your fans will flood into the city to figure out what’s up. And I’m sure we both know what happened to the guard...”

>She pales slightly. “I-I doubt it will come to that. I’m safe here.”

“Yes, you are.”

>She glances away, frowning. “Though, I’m just a little... bored. There’s not a lot to do here.”

“It’s a small town.”

>She opens her mouth, but stops. You guess she was about to say ‘it’s a small house, too’ or something like that.

>It wouldn’t make you mad, really. It’s not a big place.

>You sigh, and think for a moment. What is there really for her to do?

>Maybe you’ve got a game or a book in your basement? It’s worth a shot.

“I think I know something. Let’s check the basement.”

>The princess of a non-existent place nods and follows you out, though she takes a second to look to your closed window.

>The basement doesn’t see much action. Take that as you will.

>There’s pretty much nothing here apart from a little corner for laundry. Just a few boxes stacked up in the opposite corner.

>The boxes are your destination and you begin rooting through them to find something Cadance can use to occupy herself while you spy on your neighbours.

>Ahem. Secure the perimeter.

>The first few boxes have nothing really in them. Just a few outfits you’ve declared shall never see the light of day, that’s all.

>The fifth box has a few books you probably needed to bring back to the Library. Meh, it can wait.

>You set it down closer to the pink mare, who takes a peek inside it, hovering a few dusty titles out of it.

>Another box of books joins, and by the end of your search you’ve found at least a dozen fairly thick novels the princess of something could read through.

>You look back at Cadance, seeing she’s quite absorbed in determining which title to read first.

>She does this for awhile, and before long you’re sort of standing about awkwardly, waiting on her to decide.

>What’s up with that cutie mark of hers anyway? It’s like a blue heart, made of rock.

>Or perhaps it’s a gem. Quite peculiar though. And it could mean many things.

>Before you can redirect your gaze, the mare is looking to you, just as flustered as before.

>”Why do you keep staring at me?”

“I wasn’t staring. Just looking. What’s your cutie mark represent?”

>She frowns, shaking her head. “Love. My special talent is Love magic. Please stop giving me those weird looks. It’s unsettling...”

>You nod, not wanting to give any bad vibes.

>You’re not particularly interested in little ponies for... that, especially not ones with fiancées.

>It’s like asking a minotaur to punch you in the face. Nothing but pain awaits.

“Sorry about that. I’ll get back to my security things; you read your books, I suppose? You know where the pizza is.”

>She nods quickly, packing up the boxes into their boxes and return the box’s lids to them.

>She then stacks them, and off she goes. “Thank you.”

>You nod and look toward the other boxes, specifically at a rather... eugh sweater in one of them.

>No matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t get rid of it. You couldn’t bring yourself to do it.

>Cringing, you place its lid back and stack it back in the pile, doing the same with the others.

>Now, where did you put your binoculars...?