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#Post#: 1983--------------------------------------------------
Getting Out of The Dark
By: Patches Date: April 2, 2014, 2:52 pm
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The shop was very quiet on this particular Tuesday afternoon. Of
course it was quiet, it was Tuesday. Ponies always have better
things to do, or not do, on Tuesdays. It was for this reason
that Patches was seated behind the front counter of the
Tailoring and Blacksmithing shop, the air quiet despite the
familiar violin music playing on a small record player in the
back corner. Patches always did enjoy listening to her
youngest's compositions, covers, and collaborations with either
her eldest, Rose, or another musician. They made her very
nostalgic at times too, and she would remember back to when she
would sometimes be able to hear the soft crying of the violin
from some room in the house. Nowadays, Patches had to rely on
the growing collection of records that Honey would send home
every so often for the family, and they were the only things
that Patches insisted on being played in the store.
The quiet Tuesdays gave Patches time to reflect back on years
past, when both of her daughters were still young, when Slash
and Patches were the only ones living in this house, even back
to the time when they started dating. Every so often, she would
let out a quiet sigh; any more nostalgic, and she would have to
go get the photo album to look over every day. She resisted the
unnecessary temptation; someone had to watch the storefront.
Perhaps later would be a better time, it wasn't like she was
doing anything else for the rest of the day barring cooking.
That and this sudoku puzzle in front of her. She wasn't sure
whose idea it was to give her a whole book of these puzzles, and
she wasn't sure whether to thank them for the time waster, or to
curse them for giving her such a frustrating thing. For every
one puzzle she succeeded, she had to redo two more because of an
earlier mistaken assumption.
Her ears flicked towards the back of the store as she heard the
back door opening. That could be either Slash or Crimson,
perhaps they were thirsty or had to relieve themselves; snacks
weren't going to be prepared for another hour or so. As she
listened, she figured that the hoofsteps were coming towards the
shop portion of the store, the door being directly behind her -
it must have been Slash. She turned her head as the door opened,
confirming her suspicions as she gave him a welcoming smile,
"Taking a little break to check up on me, sweetie? It's been
pretty quiet all day today, so I might start the snacks a little
earlier. How're things at the forge coming along?"
#Post#: 1999--------------------------------------------------
Re: Getting Out of The Dark
By: Slash Date: April 4, 2014, 6:40 am
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Stepping away from his workbench a bit, Slash quietly stretched
his limbs and arched his back with a look of slight discomfort
on his face, trying to do his best not to disturb the pegasus
steadily pounding a hammer on metal nearby. However, as the
pounding stopped--something that wasn't all that conspicuous in
and of itself--he heard the pegasus speak, tone carrying a bit
of concern. "You feeling alright there, Slash?" Slash glanced
over to the stallion who'd spoken, noticing that the pounding
had stopped because the metal had been returned to the forge to
heat it back up, and returned a gentle, if somewhat sad, smile.
"I'll be fine. Just have this dull ache all through my body
today. Don't get older, Crimson; it's no fun," Slash said,
earning a slight shake of her head from the brown pegasus.
"Would that I could; we can't all be as lucky as the princesses.
Why don't you break for the day? I'm pretty sure I can handle
the rest of this."
Slash hesitated for a moment before sighing quietly and nodding.
"That'll do me good. Thanks, Crim," Slash said, earning only a
slight nod from the other pegasus as he returned to shaping the
metal. After putting away the tools he'd drug out from that day
of work, Slash stepped inside and paused, trying now to figure
out what he should do. He could read, or go try to relax in a
bath... But he knew Patches would be all alone in the
shop--barring a customer being there with her--and he might even
be able to convince her to join him in the bath. So, wearing a
hint of the goofy grin that had come to win the heart of his
wife, Slash continued on to the front of their home and into the
section Patches used as her shop before stepping up to her to
plant a kiss on her jaw in greeting.
"They're coming along fine... Crimson's working on some of the
jewelry orders we got, and I'd been polishing up the ones
already finished and readying them for the gems to be set.
Crimson's taking the reins for the rest of the day, though... My
bones are really achy today for some reason. There's just this
dull pain everywhere. How about you, m'love?" Slash asked, now
moving so he could wrap his hooves lovingly around his wife.
"Any fancy magic cloak orders today?" he teased, hugging her
tighter for a moment. "And how's that sudoku book of yours? I'm
almost surprised you haven't finished it yet."
#Post#: 2008--------------------------------------------------
Re: Getting Out of The Dark
By: Patches Date: April 4, 2014, 3:46 pm
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Patches nodded along as Slash described how things were going at
the forge. To hear that everything was heading along on time was
good news; if there was a reputation that had to be upheld for
the shop, it was the fact that orders were finished and ready
for pickup on time, preferably before the customer came back for
them. So far, they had yet to miss an order, though there were
some instances where things were cut close because of family
activities. The fact that Crimson is getting good enough to
manage the forge by himself was also good news. If Slash trusted
his ability to the point where he can leave the forge without
worry that Crimson would burn the house down, then that means
Slash could spend a little more time with her and the family
that was here, since all of the orders would be done earlier.
Though nowadays, with Honey Dew travelling and performing, and
Rose spending most of her time dating Crimson and hanging out
with friends, a lot of their afternoons were spent with each
other, and it reminded Patches very much of the time back when
Slash had just moved in with Patches, and they didn't have to
worry about a family yet, only they are just a little older.
Speaking of older, the soreness in Slash's bones was most likely
something that was caused by it, and Patches had to admit,
despite her vigor and healthy lifestyle, she could feel herself
slowing down as well. This must have been the time when Master
Edge started focusing more on his philosophies and teaching,
since he couldn't move as well as he used to, though he still
moved plenty well enough to make Patches' training near
unbearable. "Awww, achy bones, Slashy?" she cooed as she rubbed
his shoulder, reaching around his back as he hugged her tightly,
"I think the only way we could help with that is to go to the
pharmacist's and pick up some cold-hot gel and rub that where
it's most sore if we don't have any in the medicine cabinet, or
maybe you are just feeling stiff...?"
She trailed off as she suggested the only two things that came
to mind, shrugging as she answered his questions, "No fancy
orders today, unfortunately. Mostly quick little fixes: sewing a
button back on a jacket, fixing zippers, hemming socks... and
even a shy little filly came by with her teddy bear and asked me
so politely if I could fix it for her." A happy little smile
came to her as she remembered the little filly, "Of course, I
couldn't help but fix her bear for her for free. Other than
that..." she tapped the sudoku book, "I think this book might
very well be my bane. I could spend an hour on a single puzzle
double and triple checking my logic, yet still make a silly
mistake that I will only find when it is too late. It passes the
time though, and when I finally get it, it's worth it." Resting
her head against his shoulder, she sighed and added, "Though
really, all this passing of the time just makes me look forward
to closing for the day, so we can do less monotonous things with
each other, hmm? I don't know about you, but it feels like a
socks day for me."
#Post#: 2012--------------------------------------------------
Re: Getting Out of The Dark
By: Slash Date: April 4, 2014, 8:03 pm
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Slash only hummed quietly as Patches suggested they get some
cold-hot gel to use. He'd thought about that, and it was
something he might still have to do... For now though, he'd just
wait and see what to do. He left his hooves wrapped around
Patches as she spoke, his cheek gently rubbing against hers as
he stood a little behind her and to the side. After being
reminded once more that her day had been spent largely doing
nothing, his previous grin was replaced by a light frown. In his
mind, it wasn't healthy for her to stay cooped up in the house
like this. He'd, of course, tried talking her into taking some
time out for herself in the past, but her retort was that she
needed to be there for their daughters, so he let it be. Now,
though, their daughters were all grown up. There was nopony for
her to really spend time with, so now she was all alone in her
part of the house as she worked--almost every day.
The frown was instantly replaced by a grin when she mentioned it
feeling like a sock day for her, the image of Patches in the
socks he so adored coming to mind. However, the grin soon faded
as the dull ache replaced that image, leaving him trying to
stretch his neck this way and that to try and alleviate some of
the pressure. "Well, I hope by then my body starts cooperating
so I can really enjoy it," he teased, finally dropping his
hooves from around her shoulder. He paused for a moment,
thoughtful expression on his face as he stared over at Patches.
"Love... I want to talk to you again about taking some time away
from work every week for you to spend for yourself. You know
we're fine on funds--especially now that Rose and Honey are both
capable of supporting themselves--and... you've spent most of
your day on this sudoku book," he said, raising a hoof to set on
the book in question before giving her a concerned look. "We're
not getting any younger, Peaches... The thought of you spending
every day all alone up here worries me..."
#Post#: 2027--------------------------------------------------
Re: Getting Out of The Dark
By: Patches Date: April 5, 2014, 3:05 pm
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Patches looked at Slash inquisitively as his expression turned
more thoughtful, letting a bit of a silence hang between them
for a while as he looked over her. He only really did this when
he wanted to say something that he wasn't exactly sure how to
say yet, so Patches waited patiently for him, wondering to
herself what it could possibly be. What he suggested though,
came as a bit of a surprise to her. He wanted her to take some
time away from work to spend for herself. This wasn't the first
time that he had talked with her about this matter, he had tried
to get her to do the same thing before, and all of the times,
she had turned them down, immediately going to the fact that she
wanted to stay around for Hon and Rose, and make sure that
nothing was going to happen to the shop while they were raising
them. Now that this was being brought up again though, that was
no longer a valid excuse.
The idea of just... not working... was foreign to her. Ever
since she had moved into Ponyville, she has had to work to keep
herself barely afloat in the town, especially under harsh
competition. This was not even beginning to touch upon her
discomfort with the sun either, and her eye condition that made
her have to wear her wide-brimmed shader just to go outside
comfortably. Over the years, she had grown used to working
constantly and not going outside often, especially since there
was so much to do around the home, and the only really extended
break that she did take from working was when she was in the
final stages of her pregnancy with both Rose and Hon
respectively. Patches looked at Slash's hoof as it was placed on
her book, before looking back at him with a somewhat worried and
confused expression on her face, "I don't mind spending time
here, Slash... it's where I'm most comfortable. Not to mention
there is always something to do around the house like..." she
paused for a minute and tried to think of something, but nothing
immediately came to mind. Everything that did was immediately
struck down because it was already finished, or her children
weren't home, "... like... nothing, I suppose. I don't know what
I would do instead though. My whole life has been training and
working and spending time with family. What am I to do by
myself?"
#Post#: 2030--------------------------------------------------
Re: Getting Out of The Dark
By: Slash Date: April 6, 2014, 7:21 am
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As Patches responded to Slash's suggestion, he stared quietly at
her with his ears slightly pinned down. She started off with
something similar to what she'd said before: not minding being
where she was, and that there was always something that could be
done. But there wasn't, not right now. Patches seemed to realize
that from how she paused after that, then outright admitted
there was nothing. Of course, she tried to find another excuse
after that to reject Slash's offer by saying she had no idea
what she'd do with herself, which earned a gentle smile from
Slash as he took the hoof from her book and brought it to her
cheek. "Same thing other ponies do here, Love. Meet new ponies,
talk to them, explore the town. There wasn't a day when I was
wandering Equestria when I didn't go out and have a chat with
somepony--because that was the best way to pass the time." He
paused for a moment then before leaning forward with a small
grin and planting a kiss on her snout. "How about this: when you
take some time off, why don't I come with you? Crimson could use
the experience of handling things by himself, and I wouldn't
mind getting away from the house every now and then either."
#Post#: 2061--------------------------------------------------
Re: Getting Out of The Dark
By: Patches Date: April 6, 2014, 10:30 pm
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Even though Slash easily came up with something to do in the
time that Patches would be supposedly taking off for herself,
the thought of just talking to other ponies for no reason was so
foreign to her. How was she to go about it? Surely there were
ponies out there who would rather not be disturbed by another
pony just walking up to them and having a full-fledged
conversation with them about... about what? What would they even
talk about? The weather? She most certainly didn't want to go
about parading what she was to the entirety of the townsfolk,
given how they had treated her twenty-some years ago when she
did frequently mention to those that she had had longer talks
with that she was a Samareai. No, those years were done, she had
learned that harsh lesson from an even harsher isolation. She
looked at the ground, unsure of herself as her own ears
flattened to the side of her head, "I suppose if you've done
this before, it wouldn't hurt to have you come along. As long as
you are okay with leaving Crimson at the house by himself when
Rose is home, then I am too." She paused for a while before
adding, "There are other ways I can have time for myself too
though, right? I can just as easily relax in a bath or read a
book or... I don't know, paint?" She winced a little as she
tried to think of other things, before another defeated sigh
left her and she said, "When do you think we should go and
just... 'talk' to somepony?"
#Post#: 2065--------------------------------------------------
Re: Getting Out of The Dark
By: Slash Date: April 7, 2014, 8:51 am
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The small grin previously on his face faded into a light frown
when Patches' ears fell against her head, causing his heart to
sink a bit. It had never been pleasant to see Patches like this
in the past, and it was certainly no different this time around
either. She was normally so confident with herself, seeing her
act meek like this was so strange. At least she seemed to
seriously be giving the idea some thought this time around. A
little smile returned to his lips as she asked if there was more
than one thing she could do, earning a nod from him before she
asked when they should go. He offered a shrug in response before
glancing to the doorway of the shop for a moment in thought.
"I'm not going to be doing much for the rest of the day, what
with my old bones," he said playfully, looking back to her.
"And if we'll be off to visit a pharmacist to get some of that
gel, we'll be out of the house anyway--so why not kill two birds
with one stone? We could do that now, especially since you don't
seem to be all that busy up here. Oh, and as for 'other things'
you could do... Certainly. Learn something new, or practice old
things. Anything constructive, just so long as it's you spending
time on yourself, which is the whole point, Love." He then
paused again, eyes searching those emerald gems of hers with a
gentle smile. After a moment, he leaned forward to plant a soft
kiss on her lips before asking, "Have I told you how much I love
you today?"
#Post#: 2144--------------------------------------------------
Re: Getting Out of The Dark
By: Patches Date: April 11, 2014, 2:46 am
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"So a day on the town together it is then?" Patches said before
Slash kissed her. Of all the things that she would never get
tired of, it would be whenever the two of them went about
expressing their infatuation with each other, be it little pecks
on the cheek or entire sessions of cuddling on the couch. In
response to his question, Patches said with a smile, "Every
morning, every night, and countless times in between, sweetie, I
love you too." Giving his cheek a nuzzle after that, she walked
over to the front of the store, flipping over the open sign to
the side that said 'Gone for Lunch, will be back in __ hours.'
Taking the dry-erase marker tied to the board, she drew a quick
'2' on there and went back to the counter after locking the
door, dimming the store lights with her magic before saying,
"I'm ready to go if you are, love."
Waiting for him to lead the way, she quickly fell in tow behind
him. It was his idea to take her out and do things, so she would
let him lead the way for now. She still wasn't exactly sure just
how to go about having a random encounter with another pony, or
even what to do in such a case, but surely she can watch and
learn? As they started to make their way down the road, Patches
remember something that Slash said, and she leaned closer to
say, "You know, you still look pretty young to me, Slashy. It's
a shame you aren't feeling as young though. Hopefully I will be
able to help fix that for you in some way?" She canted her head
slightly, giving him a sly smile from under her shader.
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