>>155871He joyfully trots past Amber, into the dining area, past Dahlia who is listening to something on the radio, and to the stairs, up to his room.
>>155872Nothing is better than being with the pony you love.
"May I sit on the bed?" she asks when she gets up there.
>>155873"Yes." He says unhesitatingly. There are two beds, one has a few clothes on it, and the other has disturbed sheets. There is a window on the wall between the beds
>>155874She sits on the disturbed bed; evidently it hadn't been made since yesterday.
"What do you want to talk about?" she asks as she glances out the window.
>>155875The window seems to look out into a small courtyard between a set of rowhouses. The sky outside is cloudy.
He looks at her, at the open door, and contemplates something. He finally says,
"Um, I don't know really. You have something you wanna talk about?"
>>155877"No....." He says, looking down. "Well, my mother has a few times. I don't know, we don't really connect like we did back in Blackwater."
>>155878"Aw…so you don't know your neighbors at all?" She realizes that she doesn't either. But considering how likely they are to be non-ponies and after the bedlam she caused last night, she's not sure she wants to.
>>155879"No, well, that's not right. There's this fat stallion who works at a paint store. There's this really young couple where the stallion is an... artist, I think? There's a unicorn mare named Candle Burn that my mother has actually had over a few times because she's in a..., in a... she has two foals and is widowed. I guess she's a friend. But aside from her, we mostly don't know our neighbors very well. Not that we have all of the time in the world to get to know them."
>>155880"They sound like nice ponies, and I understand if you haven't got time to meet them, but just saying hello doesn't take too long. Hay, we've got time right now." She hops off the bed, a glimmer in her eyes.
>>155881His eyes become wide. Very wide
“What.”
>>155883“New… ponies?” His ears go down
>>155885“No…?” He answers, unsure
>>155886"Aw, don't be shy," she says, rubbing the frog of her hoof on his cheek.
"Knowing the ponies around you is the first step to friendship, and isn't friendship important?"
>>155887“Uh… I guess?” He says, keeping his head low, abs smiling with a very toothy smile
>>155890"That couple sounds sweet, are they the same age as us? It would be fun to meet them. But anyway, what do you do for fun?"" she asks, lying down, legs up, on his bed.
>>155891“No, they’re a little older. In their 20’s. Early 20’s.”
He looks at her lying on his bed, and it gives him pause for a moment. He smiles genuinely, and gives a “heh.” He continues looking at her, and the smile goes away.
“Um…”
He looks down, and then down on the ground. Then he pulls something out next to the bed. It’s the Ferris wheel madd of steel pieces with holes. It must be about a foot and a half high, with a base and little carriages. The wheel moves a little as Mustard moves it.
“I make these.”
>>155892Amber moves over, looking at it closely.
"You made this?" she asks almost incredulously.
"That's amazing!"
>>155893“Heheh”
He takes his hoof, and uses it to nudge the top of the wheel. It spins, and the carriages likewise are free to rotate, tending to remain level with gravity. It is made of metal pieces with holes, all one color.
“In a set, yes. You can take the little pieces and make more complex things with them. Like these. This is a Ferris wheel, of course.”
>>155894"I knew you did woodworking but this…this is engineering! I'm really impressed," she declares, heaping with pride.
>>155895He has a wide smile.
“Hehehe. I don’t know about that. It’s a lot of putting pieces together carefully. But so is millwork.”
>>155896"Well, you did a swell job." She gives him a little kiss on the cheek as a reward.
>>155897"hehe" He giggles, blushes and moves his head down slightly.
"I also made this one"
He pulls another item from besides the bed. It is also made of the metal pieces. But this one is evidently a Carousel, with a metal roof with a hole in it to allow a central rotating shaft. This one too, can move on an axis. Manticore made of metal rectangles are among the riding horses.
>>155900"No no. It's a carousel. A ride at a fair or carnival. Like a ferris wheel."
He nudges it with his hoof, and it spins.
>>155902"Oooh!" A smile spreads across her face as she watches it.
"I've read about these, but I've never seen one in person. It looks like a lot of fun to ride."
>>155903“There’s some in town” he says. “Both of these sets are carnival rides.”
>>155905"Yes!" His tail is moving.
"Have... you ever been to one?"
>>155906"No, but I heard they are magical, with shows, music, rides and food galore. I've always wanted to go to one." She looks off with the fondness of one daydreaming about something never experienced.
>>155907“I’ve been to one, many years ago” he says
“You wanna go with me?”
>>155908The yellow mare is lying on her belly facing Mustard.
"There is nopony I would rather go with, even if I knew knights, wonderbolts or explorers," she answers with a warm smile.
>>155909He moves close to her, and hugs her as she lies on his bed
>>155910She hugs him back, her snout rubbing against his withers.
"Thank you, Mustard. Thank you for being the best coltfriend a filly could ever want."
>>155912"Hehehe"
He places his hooves on the bed on each side of Amber, and pushes himself up. He rubs his own snout into the fur on her back.
>>155913Is he sliding himself along her back, head to tail?She giggles softly as he gives her a snout-massage. While he's doing that she raises her nose and brushes it along his chest and belly.
>>155914Not all the way. More so just around the shoulders He moves himself closer to her, letting her nuzzle his belly and chest. He stands up on his hind legs all the way to facilitate this.
>>155915Forgot to say that Amber has been wearing a dress the whole time, and it's not backless.She continues to nuzzle him, but tilts her head so with one eye she can look down his belly, to between his legs.
>>155916Hmmm... he may not nuzzle her as aggressivelyMustard Trim has long since taken off his dress vest. Amber can see something starting to come out of its hiding hole.
Mustard Trim pulls away, and places his hooves on each side of Amber. He stands up on his forelegs, and presses into the mattress in a bouncing motion.
[1d5 = 3]
>>155917Despite their activity, Amber's ears remain pert and wary for any noises of approaching hoofsteps, as they have crossed the line of what Dahlia might consider acceptable.
"What are you doing?" she asks softly, though there is a happy and excited tone to her question.
>>155918"If it works, you'll see" He says softly, with a grin
Mustard makes the bed bounce, probably slightly bouncing Amber with it. It makes a little sound on the upswing. Mustard moves off of Amber and away from the bed, and is silent, standing there in the middle of the room for a few seconds. Then he moves to the other bed places his forehooves on it, and presses down in the same way.
[1d5 = 2]
>>155918>>155919This bed is just a little bit less noisy. He returns to the center of the room, and sizes up Amber
>>155920She looks puzzled as to what he's doing, and why he's bouncing the beds.
"What are you doing?" she asks.
>>155923He looks to her
"Trying things out" he says, standing between the beds, only a few feet from Amber