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 Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2012 9:07 am
((loyalty for Delta and Kindness for Malt))
It had been days since he had last seen her and Malt was getting slightly worried about Dainty Delta. Usually the young filly would hang out with him and North back at their home in the Stables. Was Delta sick, maybe? She seemed like the kind to not want to trouble anyone.
“Dainty? Are you home?” the brown colt asked, tentatively tapping his hooves against Delta’s front door. “If you are I can make you some hot tea…only…I need to be in!” whinnied Malt as he flapped his tiny wings. He hoped Delta wasn’t hurt or anything. He was not good at picking locks!
Trotting over t a low window, Malt placed his hooves upon the windowsill and peeked in.
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Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2012 5:59 pm
The only sight awaiting Malt inside Delta's family's stable was the sight of Delta, completely red-faced and surprised, looking back out at him through the window. She had heard his voice and trotted over to peek outside, scared that maybe, just maybe, Due North had come with him. And -- and if North were there, there was no way Dainty Delta could have summoned the courage to open the door for them.
It hadn't been too long since Delta had made her decision Never to See North Again Ever Until Her Heart Clouded Over Like That Gloomy Phony's, and she intended to stick with it. She wasn't sure exactly what this was supposed to accomplish -- all she felt was lonely and glum without Malt and North's company, and all she did when she went out to other places was mope. But she comforted -- or rather tortured -- herself with the thought that Malt and North probably didn't miss her, or even notice that she had stopped visiting.
So when she peeked out the window and saw Malt there, his big eyes peering riiiiight back at her, Delta turned absolutely scarlet and let out a strangled yip. Immediately, she staggered back, tripping over her own hooves, and then quickly went to open the door, poking her head out and gasping: "M-malt?!"
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Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2012 6:20 am
“Ahh!” yelped Malt, mimicking Delta’s fall but with much less grace and a lot more flailing of hooves. The little filly had caught him by surprise and surprise was not an emotion that Malt was ever going to get accustomed to. Gingerly untangling his hooves and wings, Malt quickly trotted over to the front door where the sounds of bolts being drawn back could be heard.
“Delta?” whinnied Malt softly, his wing pressed tightly against his tiny body. “Are you alright? Only... you were gone for so long that North and I were beginning to worry...,”
Well...North should begin to worry if he hadn’t gone and got his head in the clouds. Malt was stumped by the older stallion’s behaviour but North had only grinned and told the young colt that it was a stallion thing.
The nerve! He would be a stallion someday too!
But for now... the nervous colt was peering worriedly at Delta. “Did something happen? Why didn’t you come over? Yesterday was pancake breakfast and popcorn night! No one misses popcorn night!” the young colt whinnied in a slightly accusing manner, the undertone of his whinny clearly conveying the rest of the unsaid sentence ...unless something terrible happened.
“ Did we...make you mad?”
That was the other reason mares (at least in dramas) usually gave the stallions the cold hoof. Malt shifted nervously as he awaited Delta’s reply.
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Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 9:48 am
Delta's face immediately flushed deeply as she began to stammer quietly, her mind whirling as it tried to find a suitable excuse to give her friend. Her eyes dropped and lifted as she continued to softly murmur her chorus of "uhms" and "ahs", up until Malt's last question made her fall completely silent.
She lifted her eyes up to Malt, blinking daintily, her small mouth in a pout.
"Oh, no, Malt, no..." she said quietly. "I could never be mad at you -- or -- or North. I just..."
She just what? Delta thought of excuses: she could say she was allergic to popcorn, or sick of pancakes, or had the flu...? But none of the excuses left her mouth. She knew she should just be honest, like she'd learned from her excursion with the barely-comprehensible Poet Lariat, but the truth was a little too hard to say.
Instead, she said something else. "Ah... maybe... well, why don't you come in for a bit, Malt?"
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Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2012 7:11 pm
Malt’s wings drooped slightly when Delta admitted that she might have been mad at them. “What did we do wrong?” whinnied the little foal as he stepped into Delta’s neat little cottage. “I know we sometimes leave the dishes unwashed and the bed unmade but surely you can’t be mad at us for that!”
“O-Oh! I know! You are mad at North because he laughed at you when you were putting up flowers in our house!” said Malt with sudden clarity. “He shouldn’t have laughed. You were turning red in the face back then!”
Having said thus, Malt allowed himself a sage nod. So it was North’s fault after all. The blue stallion had poked fun at Dainty when he noticed those little vases of flowers arranged neatly around the house. Saying something about how Dainty was giving the home a gentle touch.
“ I will have a talk with North and get him to come apologize” said Malt in earnest. “Just please don’t be too mad at him? He’s been acting weird lately and seems distracted. I think he might be coming down with something. Or...it might be that all those astrology books that he’s been reading. Too many books can’t be good for you,”
“Not to mention those books on poems...,”
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Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2012 8:09 pm
The recollection of North laughing at her little vases -- perfectly placed vases, with doilies she'd knitted herself! -- made Delta blush afresh, although this time it was paired with a shy little smile. North's teasing was never mean, never maliciously said, always fond. She could never be mad at that kind of teasing! Just -- just blushing, she was so good at blushing...
The smile immediately fell from her face, however, as Malt mentioned forcing North over to apologize to her. Delta immediately began to stammer: "Oh, no, no, Malt! That's not necessary."
She ducked her head. There was no getting past it now, not when Malt was mentioning poetry books and astrology.
"I just... I just don't know if I can be f-friends with you both anymore... I -- I really -- uhm -- I really like-- I like-like North, and now he's found his very special somepony and ..." Delta shuffled her feet, her pretty face glum. "I just -- think it might be too hard..."
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Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2012 8:44 pm
“Huh?” stammered Malt, comfusion clearly written all over his face. “I don’t get it...,” the small phony said with a shake of his head. “Why can’t you...,”
“Oh...”
“OH....”
“Umm....,” said Malt feeling awfully awkward all of a sudden. “The...like-like....,”
Now it made a little more sense.
... Maybe...
Who’s to say? Girls are complicated creatures at best and Malt was an uncomplicated colt to say the least. He liked things being as they are with no hidden meanings behind them. Chocolate for instance, was straightforward. No one tries to find the hidden meaning behind chocolate.
Shuffling his feet slightly, Malt leaned forward and nuzzled Delta briefly in a comforting manner. “Can I make you some chocolate cookies ? They seem to help...cheer me up. Err....granted...that’s usually when I fall and trip over my own hooves,” admitted Malt shyly.
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Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2012 8:49 pm
Delta didn't try to watch Malt's reaction, fearing the tears she could feel behind her eyes might make their way out if she did. Would he be mad? Or upset at her? Or tease her for being such a silly little filly, liking someone like North, clearly meant for someone else...
But, no. Instead, he'd offered chocolate cookies.
A short little giggle escaped Delta's lips, although her expression was still full of an embarrassed sadness. She tried to keep the smile on her face. "Oh, that... that would be really nice of you! Your chocolate cookies, they're the best." Delta's smile grew slightly.
She paused. "And, oh, Malt, uhm. You shouldn't feel bad about tripping over your own hooves. You've got wings to carry you if you need it!"
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Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2012 9:18 pm
“I still can’t fly very well...,” admitted Malt as he trotted over to the kitchen. With a purpose in mind, the young colt could be a very determined foal indeed. Cookies were easy. You needn’t try to understand them. They just are.
Using his horn, Malt began arranging the ingredients that they would need to make the perfect chocolate chip cookies. And Delta would get to decide on exactly how she’d like them.
“Soft or crispy? Spicy and savoury or sweet? Large size or small?” asked Malt, taking charge of the kitchen. “Are there any special requests?”
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Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2012 10:19 pm
Delta couldn't help but smile incredulously as Malt went about making his cookies -- superb cookies, made from a true love and talent with chocolate -- just for her. It made her feel like crying again, although not for the same reasons, or even from the same emotion, as she had felt just moments ago. She trotted in after him, still smiling.
"Oh! You'll get better at it! And when you're big, I'm sure you'll be a pro." Delta nodded, doing her best to look assured and confident. They weren't easy expressions for her, even if she did believe what she was saying. "And... oh, maybe... soft and sweet and -- and big! If that's not too much trouble, of course!"
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Posted: Sat Dec 22, 2012 10:31 pm
Malt folding his wings primly against his back as packets of flour, sugar and baking soda began whizzing around the kitchen at breakneck speed. “I hope so. Although I do not plan on being an air acrobat,” laughed the tiny foal. “And it’s never too much trouble Delta. I like making stuff for friends!”
With a flick of his magic, the butter and sugar were being mixed and beaten. Malt decided that a little spice with the cookies would be fitting for the cold weather. “I learned the recipe from Bon’ Apetit” said Malt as he began to ladle out generous helpings of cookie batter onto the baking trays. “Of course, I did some adjustments of my own,”
With that, the trays were placed into the over and the timer was set. “Hot cookies in fifteen minutes,” chuckled Malt happily. “Let’s make some chocolate milk too!”
“I-I mean, if you do not mind me using your stuff...,” said Malt worriedly. “I’ll clean up after that...,”
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Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 1:45 pm
Delta could only watch with a mixture of pleasure and embarrassment as Malt went about doing his magic, adding spices and ingredients at a speed only he could achieve. Oh! He had such a talent in the kitchen, more than any other phony she'd ever met. And -- and he enjoyed making stuff for friends, he said...
Delta felt she could just sink into the ground when she thought about her previous plan of cutting Malt and North out of her life completely. How selfish she'd been! And-- and how silly to think they wouldn't even notice. Malt was her friend, and there was no way she could just... just... just leave because of her silly little crush on North. Oh! How stupid she'd been! But that was in the past. She understood now.
"Oh, no! Don't worry about, uhm, the clean-up. I like doing that." Delta smiled her sweet, shy smile, full of sincerity and feeling. "You're so kind to be making this -- you just do the chocolate milk, and I'll have everything all clean before you know it." Her smile grew. "I'm used to clean-ups, with you and North and Fast, after all... It's weird when it's not up to me!"
She paused. "And, oh gosh, Malt. Thank you, for all of this."
For the moment, it was all she had to say. But over fresh cookies and cold glasses of milk, the two friends talked long into the night.
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