Love Cools a Fiery Temper

14 October 2014

22:17 GyroTech trots along the road towards Inky's house, carrying with him a bouquet of moon lollies and a note that he'd written to leave at her door if the mare once again wasn't home or more likely wasn't answering the door for him. Finally he arrives at her house and trudges up the stairs before giving a knock at Inky's door. As he waits he taps his forehooves against the wooden floor, filled with nervous energy.

22:48 Inky looks up from her desk as she hears a knock on her door, slipping the ribbon into her journal and closing it. She hops to her hooves and trots to the stairs, feeling energetic enough to bound down them for the first time in what felt like forever. The mare's so caught up in her renewed energy that she doesn't even bother to check who it was before she yanks the door open, smiling brightly. "Hiya!" she says, the happiness visibly draining from her face as she sees who it is. "Oh. You."

22:58 GyroTech was looking down at the ground, already deciding to give up and just leave his things at the door when it suddenly swing open. His face quickly changes from a dejected frown to delightful smile, though it withered slightly under her expression. "Oh inky!..." He begins, though his practiced apology flees his mind the moment he goes to recite it. Bursting into slow tears he settles for throwing his hooves around her and saying, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry inky."

23:03 Inky pulls back in surprise as the stallion suddenly starts crying and hugs her. She tries to push his forelegs off of her, somewhat mollified by his tears but still quite unhappy with him. "Get off," she grunts. "And what, exactly, are you sorry for, Gyro?"

23:16 GyroTech holds her close, pressing his teary eyes into her shoulder as he cries. "I'm...I'm sorry about...about not initially treating your illness with the proper respect it deserves, and as a consequence, not treating you with the proper respect," he weeps out, rubbing his hooves against ther withers.

23:27 Inky growls in irritation as the stallion tightens his grip on her rather than releasing her. He still seemed to listen to her about as much as before --- that is, barely at all. "Let go!" she says, trying to shove the stallion away from her. His partial apology only served to remind her of what'd happened, her eyes narrowing. "You still don't get it, do you!"

23:31 GyroTech feels the shove this time and winces at her shout, dropping his grip off of her and staring up at the mare with red eyes. "I...I...I dont get what? I'm sorry, and I dont want you to be mad at me like that ever again. Just please, Inky, give me another chance. I lo- really like you, more than I have about any other mare," he says, confessing his feelings for her.

23:40 Inky glares down at the whimpering stallion, unknowingly baring her fangs at him. "You do, huh? You have a funny way of showing it!" A loud thump echoes through the air as the bat pony stomps a hoof into the floor. "For a second chance, you'd need to actually learn something from your mistakes, and you clearly haven't!" The mare turns away, stepping back into the stairway and reaching out with a hoof to close the door behind her. "I don't know why I ever bothered with you..."

23:50 GyroTech whimpers and levitates the flowers out of his pack as she turns away, puting a hoof in teh door to prevent her from being able to close it on him. "Inky! Wait! I broght these for you. Your favorite flowers since they remind you of Luna. But...even more so, they're a magic flower. I think their presence might be able to bring your magic back. I hated seeing you like that...so down and sad...I wish I knew a better way to help you..."

00:45 Inky whirls around to yell at GyroTech when she feels him stop the door, but her angry words die in her throat as she sees the flowers and hears what he's saying. Moon lilies... he at least cared about her enough to get her favorite flower, and not his. "Oh... thank you," she says, grabbing the stems in her mouth and leaning down to tuck them under a wing. When she looks back up, she fixes GyroTech with a piercing stare. "Why'd you hate seeing me like that, though?" she asks, her tone making it obvious that there was a right answer to this, and a very, very wrong one.

00:56 GyroTech feels a little bit of relief rush to him when Inky takes the flowers, a grin returning to his face. "I'm glad you like them, and I hope they help you get better." He leans in for a kiss, when he notices Inky glaring at him, and backs off. "Oh...because you deserve to be happy. I hate to see anypony sick, but you most of all because I want you to be alright, because I care about you...even if you dont seem terribly happy with me at the moment." He holds a hoof out, hoping she'd return his hug.

01:03 Inky stares at GyroTech for a few more moments after he finishes speaking, with no visible reaction, before she closes her eyes and sighs. The bat pony steps forwards and hugs him, resting her head on his withers. "Oh yeah," she says softly, to nopony in particular. "That's why. There's some hope for you yet, Gyro."

01:12 GyroTech 's hopeful smile begins to wilt with each passing moment as Inky doesnt return his hug. his head slowly drifts down from her face to stare at the ground when he's suddenly suprised as Inky retunrs the hug. He begins to sob even harder into her shoulder as he pulls her tight. "Im so sorry Inky. Thank you. Thank you."

01:27 Inky strokes a hoof through the stallion's mane, mussing it up a little. "Shhh," she says, trying to get him into a somewhat more composed state; the mare wasn't anywhere near through with him yet. "C'mon in, okay? We need to talk."

01:32 GyroTech presses his neck up, pushing his mane into her carressing hooves as his tears lighten up from her soothing voice. "I...I thought I'd lost you..." the unicorn says gently. He drops one of his hooves off of her shoulder so that Inky could lead him inside, though he doesnt remove the other one. "Yes...I think we do."

01:36 Inky stiffens at the unicorn's choice of words, and she hmphs. "Yes, we *definitely* need to," she snaps. The mare turns them around and shoves the door closed with one of her hindlegs, then practically drags GyroTech up the stairs.

01:40 GyroTech raises an eyebrow curiously when she stiffens, not quite understanding what was wrong as she closes the door forcefully. He slowly ascends teh steps, still quite wrapped around the mare, thout at the top he takes the innitiative and leads her over to the bed where he lays down. "Wow...You must be feeling better. The other day you could barely carry yourself."

01:43 Inky lets go of GyroTech as he climbs onto her bed, making no move to join the stallion. She blinks at his observation, momentarily distracted from the rant she was about to launch into. "Huh? Oh, yeah, I actually got myself partially fixed up," she says, turning to show him her cutie mark. "Not at 100%, but feeling a lot better!"

01:47 GyroTech scoots over on the bed to give her a little bit more room to get on and now she could even fit without he touching him, smiling at her. "Thats great to hear. I take it Dusk figured something out then?" He asks, eager to listen and spend more time with her for any reason.

03:46 GyroTech frowns slightly as Inky reveals the source, his mind instantly jumping back to the zebra who'd brewed that potion for Dusk. "Its not that stripey who didnt warn us of the side effects of that potion was it? If it was, I suppose he did a good job. And, I take it Dusk has a plan then?" He sighs and looks down at the ground when Inky begins to wander off.

03:55 Inky doesn't respond until she returns carrying a cup of water with the lilies in it. She sets them on the table in the back corner of her room, pushing aside a couple books with her nose, before turning back to GyroTech. "Zebra," she corrects in a forceful voice. "And no, his name was Ruzeth." A little smile drifts over her muzzle as she thinks of the zebra, but it's quickly replaced by a frown. "I still can't believe you were so careless with that potion!" The mare's voice has an edge to it as they drift back towards what was really bothering her.

04:00 GyroTech watches her carry the full glass of water as he finally moves to sit up in her bed instead of lying down, giving Inky his full attention and smiling as she puts the flowers in a nice spot. He winces at the correction slinking back slightly, and then folds his ears flat at the sudden accusation. "LOok, I'm sorry. I figured that the ss-ebra would have warned us about any side effects. It was only to help her."

04:04 Inky stamps a hoof, taken by a sudden wave of anger. "Like hay it was! You didn't listen to what she wanted at all!" The mare stomps closer to him, drawing herself up to her full height. "You just wanted 'your Dusk' back!" She was breathing hard from the sudden outburst, her eyes narrowed and deep purple wings half outspread.

04:08 GyroTech feels himself leaning down as Inky begins to yell, making himself as small as possible. Flattening himself entirely against the bed, he had to look up at the mare to meet her eyes. "But...but...I'm sure she's happier now that she's not a goo. Nopony could actually want to live like that. Think about how you felt without being able to fly. Would you wish that on Dusk?" He asks, laying bare his perverse set of arguments.

04:12 Inky draws her lips back in a snarl, baring her fangs at the unicorn. "You can't *decide* that for ponies, Gyro! She said she was happy enough like she was, and that's good enough for me!" The bat pony snorts. "It's not up to me what she wants, but as her *friend* I try to help her get it!"

04:19 GyroTech bites his own lip and whimpers under Inky's rage, saying it a sad voice. "But...but when you see somepony taking a bad route, arn't you obligated to correct them? What if I thought Dusk was seriously harming herself by not doing it?" His tail tucks under his body in an even more submissive pose.

04:26 Inky hmphs. "Look, I spent a bunch of time with her, and she was doing just fine," the mare says, her voice still firm, but not as angry as before. Her expression softens, no longer glaring at the stallion, though she was obviously by no means happy with him. "You still should have let her explain herself!"

04:31 GyroTech raises his neck slightly off the bed as her anger cools, raising it up so that he was level with her. "But...but how do we know it wasn't messing with her mind at the time. Sometimes ponies dont know whats best for them...but anyways its been done and it worked out for the best...she even got something to play with out of it," He argues back in a pleading tone. "I wont do it again Inky."

04:41 Inky shakes her head, not believing that anything could possibly mess with Dusk's mind like that, at least without her noticing. "What? You think I wouldn't notice that?" She snorts again. "That's ridiculous!" Her wings snap out as her temper flares up again. "And you do? Do you know best for me too, huh?" Rearing back, the bat pony slams her forehooves down on the bed, looming over GyroTech. "Do your mares not know how to take care of themselves?" she spits at him. This was the most upset she'd been in a long time, and it showed, her eyes wide open and blazing and her chest rising and falling with each harsh breath.

04:50 GyroTech scoots back on the bed, putting a little more distance between him and the raging bat pony infront of him. A quivering frown plasters itself onto his face below his worried eyes. He sucks in a deep quick breath when Inky slams her hooves and responds in a small voice. "No...you guys take care of yourselves just fine...and sometimes me too...You'd stop me from doing something stupid wouldnt you? Infact I know you have before...friends look out for each other..."

04:58 Inky tries to keep glaring at GyroTech, but she's having to force herself to hold her head up, and seems more tired than angry now. Such strong emotions had been tough on her barely functional magic, and with no reserves to draw on, she needed some time to recuperate. "Is, is that what you think we are," she pants out as she slumps forwards, her chest resting on the bed, "friends?" The ink mark wavers on her flank, and Inky winces as she realizes she's overexerted herself.

05:06 GyroTech has a look of concern cross his face as the mare seems to get tired and slump over. He scoots forward once more and pulls the exhausted pony into his hooves, wrapping them tight around her neck to make sure she doesnt fall. "Yes, I think we're freinds...unless you want to be more than that." he rubs his hooves down the back of her neck, trying to massage the tension away.

05:12 Inky tries to pull herself onto the bed, grateful despite herself for GyroTech's help. She grunts in disgust as he suggests more, though she doesn't sound entirely sure. "No," she says, her voice soft, "let go of me." The tired bat pony crawls towards her pillows, wanting to get comfortable without him cuddling and stroking her. "If that's so, why'd you leave me on the couch to go have fun with that red mare?"

05:17 GyroTech helps the mare up onto the bed, tugging her up gently, and then lets her go sadly when she's asked, slowly dragging his hooves off of her body. "I told you...I didn't see you over there, or else I'd have gone to you immediatly and tried to drag you along sooner...And...and...I didnt realize that lo...l...really liked you until you got angry and left..."

05:24 Inky sighs as she flops her head down onto her pillow, resting. Her cutie mark quavers one last time before solidifying, her magic levels stabilizing as she relaxes. "You love me, do you," she says softly, the quietness making her skeptical tone sound bitter. "Why didn't you let me feed on you, then? Didn't love me enough for *that.*"

05:33 GyroTech makes an exasperated noise and looks into Inky's eyes. "Like I had said before...because it hurt...and it hurt even more when you began to suck...I tried to stay but...I couldn't..." He says, tearing up in a frustared sadness. "But...here...give me another chance...I'll not pull away this time regardless." The unicorn moves up beside her, but keeps a gap between himself and Inky as to not tick her off further.

05:44 Inky lets out another, longer sigh, slumping on her pillow. "No... I'm not in the mood." She weakly pushes the blue stallion away from her. "Besides, I thought you loved Naisol. What happened to her?"

05:47 GyroTech scoots further away from her, now maintaining a gap of about half a pony at her insistance. "Well fine...but the offer stands if you want me to prove it. Naisol though...she's been gone fore months...I dont know where she is. Probably ran off on one of her escapades and forgot about me. Her portal doesnt even work anymore."

05:53 Inky just stares at the unicorn, her eyes half-lidded. "Oh? Explains why I haven't seen her around." She lets out yet another sigh, her ears drooping. "Why, though? Why me? I'm nothing special..."

06:03 GyroTech shifts closer to give the mare a hug, hooves spread wide, before he catches himself and halts his progress. "Why? Because you're a wonderful mare. You're cultured, and yet fun. You're not afraid of anything...and even got all giddy at meeting Lupine despite her curse," he says witha bit of a giggle. He flashes his smile, leaving his arms wide.

06:09 Inky feels a light blush come to her cheeks, tinging the skin pink behind her fur. "Oh... well, I suppose," she says, her ears perking up. The bat pony shifts forwards, about to press herself into GyroTech's embrace before she stops herself. "Hold on. Do you actually understand why I was mad at you?"

06:14 GyroTech lets out a relieved sigh as Inky shifts to hug him, grinning at her and he does the same, completing the hug despite the fact that she'd stopped herself. His hug falters when Inky suddenly asks. "Well...ummm...its because I didn't consult you or Dusk about how I acted when I thought i was doing what was best?"

06:25 Inky 's mouth twists. "Sort of," she says, holding her hooves between them to keep them apart. "Just... how you treated her, and me..." The corners of her mouth turn down, and her ears droop as she thinks about it.

06:41 GyroTech quits pressing forward when he notices he's not getting to compelete the hug and sighs, opening his eyes to see her strange look. "Well...I'm sorry...I was wrong for thinking I knew better and it wont happen again."

06:48 Inky looks at GyroTech for a long while, and lets out a slow breath. "I know you're good inside," she says, though she doesn't really seem to be responding to him. "It's just hard to see, sometimes." The mare scoots forward and gently slides her forelegs around the stallion. "But we'll work on that."

06:57 GyroTech 's lip quivers the entire time as he lets the heavy silence sit over the room, waiting on Inky's response. Finally a slight breath escapes him as she hugs him. Gyro slowly slides his hooves around her back feeling slightly suppirsed at her sudden change. "I...I love you Inky..." he whispers softly into her ear. "Thank you..." Tears begin to drip from his eyes.

06:59 Inky sniffles and feels her eyes tear up. She presses her head into the stallion's chest, dampening his fur just a bit. "Y-yeah," she replies, slightly muffled, "I love you too..."

07:06 GyroTech buries his face in inky's neck, crying a little harder and pulling his body tight against hers. He gives a tight squeeze and then raises a hoof along her neck up to her head to play with Inky's bun.

07:08 < GyroTech> How do you think we end this, fall asleep nonsexually?

07:14 Inky shifts around a little to get more comfortable, her tired eyes slowly sliding shut. She doesn't even react as the stallion musses and undoes her bun, letting her long mane fall down around her withers. Nuzzling gently into his chest, she starts to drift off, letting her tiredness claim her.

07:16 GyroTech smiles and pulls his head off her neck as he feels the mare drift off into sleep, listening to her gentle high pitched snoring as she lays there. He pulls her tight and lays against her with a grin, glad to finally be back in the arms of his favorite mare.