Flamberge had not seen Cream Puff all day, it was very unusual for her not to be in her kitchen. The ponies of Duskfield had to eat leftover bread and raw veggies for dinner. Not that it bothered them much, being ponies.
Flamberge approached the private room of Cream Puff, and stops to listen at the door before knocking.
Quiet sniffles can be heard from the room beyond.
Flamberge knocks on the door gently, “Cream Puff?” he says.
A squeak of the bed and a muffled moan are his only answer.
“Cream Puff? It is Flamberge, may I come in?” he asked, growing increasingly worried about the mare.
“Go away...” comes Cream Puff’s voice, sounding absolutely miserable.
Cream Puff was clearly unwell, and this sat poorly with Flamberge, he was however, never very good at dealing with other ponies, he considers how to respond and the reasons for which she could be unwell, after a moment he says, "Cream Puff, what is wrong? Are you ill? Do you want me to fetch a doctor?"
“No... I’m fine...” she lies.
Even Flamberge can see through such a transparent lie, "Cream Puff, you don't sound fine. What is the matter? I'm your friend Puff, you can talk to me about it, whatever it is."
He can hear sniffles through the door. It sounds like Puff is trying to hold back bawling like a little filly.
"Puff. It is my job to keep all the ponies in town safe, and that includes from themselves. I am concerned for you and want to help, but if you can't talk to me, is there anypony else you want to talk to? Dr. Serenity? Crosshair? Temperance? I will drag them down here by the scruffs of their necks if it will help," says Flamberge, beginning to suspect that she won't open up for him.
“I don’t want to be a trouble!” she wails, losing it and obviously crying into something now.
Flamberge looks over the door to judge its strength and momentarily considers bucking it off it's hinges, but decides to restrain himself and says, "Cream Puff, please, I'm your friend, and I just want to help however I can, it is no trouble. If you just...unlock the door, we can just talk for a while. About whatever you want. Just please open the door."
She just babbles through her tear unintelligibly. Something about chickens?
Flamberge tries the door and finds, to his surprise and relief that it was unlocked, “Good thing I didn’t buck it,” he thinks, as he opens it and sees Cream Puff looking a mess on her bed. Her swollen eyes widen as he enters, and she turns to try to hide herself from him. All she really manages to do is let him see just how messy her mane has become, almost like she didn’t even get out of bed today.
Flamberge closes the door behind him, the small room illuminated by a pair of candles on a nightstand by the bed. Flamberge sits on the floor a few feet from the bed, he considers what to say.
Puff curls up and scoots away from Flamberge, still crying her eyes out.
Flamberge, reaches out a hoof and touches Cream Puff on the shoulder. "It's okay Puff. Whatever it is that happened, it will all be okay."
She whirls on him and wraps him in a tight hug as he pours her tears into his mane.
Flamberge returns her hug, holds her tight, and just lets her cry until she is ready to speak.
She holds him and bawls for quite some time, occasionally babbling nonsense as she tries to explain what’s wrong. She eventually cries herself out, but not after leaving Flamberge’s shoulder a soaking mess. She sniffles and finally lets him go, though she still looks rather fragile.
"There," says Flamberge, "Do you feel any better now?"
“Only a little...” she says, sniffling.
“Do...do you want to talk about what was wrong?” asks Flamberge cautiously.
She shakes her head. “No... but I think I need to...”
Flamberge nods, “Take your time, I can stay all night if need be.” He forces a smile.
“That’d... that’d be nice, ‘Berge. If you’re not busy, I mean. I just...” she chokes up again, but manages to not dissolve into tears again.
Flamberge puts a forehoof around Cream Puff again. "Just take your time."
She holds his hoof and gives it a gentle nuzzle, nodding. After a few more sniffles, she starts talking. About everything. About the parasprites, her rage, claiming a room and being too frightening to be kicked out of it, and too much trouble for Temperance and the paperwork of her just giving it up, the poor chickens, everything. She holds nothing back, and paints herself in a rather dim light, finishing with her simply not having the motivation to even get out of bed today and causing even more trouble for everypony by not getting them a fresh meal, and...
Flamberge nods and listens intently as she spills out all of her problems, when she finishes he says, "Cream Puff, you are a wonderful mare, and you have nothing to beat yourself up over. You were angry, you lost your temper, the chicken was not seriously hurt, they will forgive you. It happens. I’ve...well... and nopony blames you for taking a day off, you haven't taken one in the months we've been here. You deserve some time to yourself."
“But...” she protests weakly, still looking like she might burst into tears at any moment.
"No buts." says Flamberge forcefully, "You are taking tomorrow off work, there is enough bread and raw vegetables to go around. You are taking the day off, but you aren't going to spend it in here. Crosshair and I were going to go fly down the river tomorrow, you are coming with us."
Puff’s lip quivers at that. “But... I don’t want to interrupt you two...”
Flamberge shakes his head, "You won't be. The three of us will go and have some fun, and you'll feel better afterwards."
Her lip quivers again, but the corners of her mouth curl upward slightly in a smile. She hugs him again. “That... that sound nice. Thanks, ‘Berge...” She punctuates her happiness with a kiss on his cheek.
After the kiss Flamberge is momentarily stunned, but then returns the hug and kisses her forehead.
A moment passes "You've been in here all day right? Would you like me to bring you some water, or juice, maybe some food?"
Puff’s cheeks color slightly when he kisses her forehead, and she simply nods at his question. Her stomach takes the moment to growl, confirming that she hasn’t even left to get something to eat.
“I’ll be right back then.” says the stallion as he stands and exits the room.
Puff just curls back up on her bed as Flamberge leaves, feeling small and alone.
A knock at the door, “Cream Puff, I’m back.” says Flamberge before opening the door. He is carrying a tray of food, mostly fruit and vegetables with some leftover bread, enough for two ponies, and two full glasses of juice.
She unfolds slightly at the knock, but still looks a mess as he brings her the food. She scoots over to give him room to join her on the bed. She hadn’t realized what hungry work crying was.
He places the tray upon the bed between them. She eagerly digs in once he sets the tray down.
Flamberge helps himself to some of the food as well, but makes sure to leave plenty for Puff.
In surprisingly short order, the tray is finished off, with Puff having eaten most of it. She stretches and yawns, the combination of sad exertion and full belly making her want to sleep. “You’re... going to stay the night, right?”
Flamberge blushes, "Oh, well, if you want yes, I'd be happy to."
She nods and puts the tray on the side table to join the candles, then scoots back and lays down behind Flamberge, obviously tired. “Good...” she murmurs.
Flamberge's mind raced. What was it she expected now? She was Crosshair's best friend, surely she just wanted him to stay there, and be close by. But, should he sleep on the floor? The bed? What was the protocol for this situation? He had no idea.
"So, uh, where should I, um..." he stammers unable to put his racing thoughts into words.
She sleepily grabs him and forces him to lay down in whatever he happens to be wearing, snuggling into him like a big teddy bear. “Jus’ like this...”
Flamberge is once again stunned, but after gives in and once more holds Cream Puff tight as she falls asleep, himself following shortly behind.
Author
Topic: Duskfields (My Little Fortress) (Read 47840 times)