#ebony trace

  Mortis hummed quietly as he trotted up the steps and onto the porch of the little townhouse his marefriend called home.

   He quickly pulled the hidden key from under the rim of the potted fern beside the entrance, turning the cold metal over in his hand before sliding it into the lock, turning the key, and hiding it again.

  “Babe, I’m here!” He called into the home as he set his bag down by the door. He closed the portal and turned around just as Opal dove into his arms with a laugh. “You’re early! What if I had been setting up a surprise for you?” She asked, kissing him on the cheek.

  “Well then it would have been a surprise for both of us, wouldn’t it?” He said chuckling and hugging her.

  “Hey, nice scarf,” She said, unwrapping it from his head and hanging it on the coat rack. “Where’d ya get it?” Opal asked, pressing her hands to his chest and smiling up at him.

  “Well, I got it from the most beautiful mare I’ve ever seen actually. She bought it for me as a gift,” he said, smirking and kissing her forehead.

  Opal giggled, pulling away from him and heading for the kitchen. “Smoooooth,” she nodded appreciatively.

  “I had a feeling you’d like that one,” he smirked, reaching into his bag then pulling out a bottle of red wine and a rectangular box.

  “So, I brought some nice wine,” the stallion explained, stepping into the kitchen and setting the bottle on the counter. “In addition to the drink, I also took the liberty of getting you these,” he said, opening the box and handing her a bundle of six large, spotted, fiery orange lilies.

  “Aw, you got me some tiger lilies?” She smiled, taking them and placing them in a black-and-white striped vase on the kitchen table.    

  “You charmer. I can’t believe you actually remembered,” she giggled, sliding up next to him as he leaned against the counter.

  “I think we should just order pizza tonight. Cuddle on the couch and watch something on tv,” she stated, hugging his arm.

  Mortis nodded, raising an eyebrow. “Onions and mushrooms?” He asked.

  “Sure, but only if I can have spinach on half of it,” Opal added, leaning up to kiss him.

  Mortis nodded, lifting her up and setting her on the counter. “You can have anything you want, my dear,” he said, leaning forward on the counter and pressing his lips to hers for a deep kiss.

   Opal sighed, pressing back against him as the kiss dragged on. Eventually the pair had to break away to breath and Opal grinned, biting her lower lip. “Anything?”

  “Anything,” he nodded, reaching around her waist and dragging her closer, her legs sitting spread before him as he moved forward to steal another kiss from her lips.

  Just as their lips meet the loud clanging of the doorbell rang out, interrupting them. Mortis sighed, closing his eyes and nodding. Opal smiled, shaking her head. “Now who could that be.”

  The stallion took a step back and headed to the door. “Guess I might as well grab the door,” he sighed.

  He threw on a smile and pulled open the door to confront whomever may be on the other side and his smile immediately faded as two spotted arms wrapped around his neck and pulled him into a hug. “Oh Mortis! What a pleasure it is to see you again. It looks like we caught you two at a much better time than the last, you’re fully dressed and your hair isn’t considerably sexed up,” the mare giggled, reminding him of their previous visit.

  “Hello Ebony,” he sighed, looking past her at her husband, Blizzard. “Opal, it looks like we’ll be having company.”

  “Well, that’s gonna kill the mood hard,” Opal said, giving an exasperated sigh as she hopped off the counter and headed for the door. “Hello mother. Hello father. It’s a pleasure to see you both again.”

  “Oh, there’s my little girl!” Ebony said, smiling and stepping forward to hug her daughter as Mortis stood aside for Blizzard to enter.

   “How have you been, my dear?” The tall, bearded stallion said, smiling and hugging Opal as his wife headed for the couch.

  Opal hugged the pair tightly with a smile before answering.

   “I’ve been great. The team has been getting along nicely and we’re consistently placing well in event. Plus, I’ve got Mortis here along for the ride so, no complaints,” she said, watching her father sit down on the couch beside Ebony.

   “You been doing a lot of riding with your boyfriend, hm?” Ebony smiled, glancing from her daughter to the gray-haired stallion who was locking the door with an eyebrow raised.

   “Geez mom!” Opal sputtered, blushing lightly as her eyes darted from her mother to her father, who was sitting as stoic as ever, to her boyfriend.

  “What? I just want to make sure your being satisfied. I’m only looking out for my daughter,” she said, smiling innocently as her husband turned to stare her down.

   “Oooookay, well that may be the fastest a conversation has turned awkward so I’m just gonna go ahead and order the pizza now,” Mortis sighed, avoiding eye contact with his girlfriend’s parents.

  “Oh that’s right,” Opal clapped, turning to her parents. “We were just about to order some pizza if you two want to join us,” she continued.

   “Pizza? Oh heavens no, not while we’re here. It’s a special occasion! Why don’t we go out somewhere nice? Our treat,” Ebony smiled, standing up from the couch. “There’s a nice little bistro just a few blocks from here. They’re almost always busy, but they’ll most certainly have room for us,” the older mare said, unzipping her coat and flashing the patch and badge of a high ranking official.

  “Wait, you’re actually planning to pull your rank out to get us a table?” Mortis asked incredulously.

  “Mortis, dear, this is what my mother does,” Opal sighed, watching her father stand and follow her mother to the door.

  “We insist that the two of you allow us to treat you to a nice meal,” Blizzard said solemnly. “We won’t take no for an answer.”

  Mortis grumbled, gently massaging his temples before relinquishing. “Fine, fine. Let’s just get going before it gets much later.”

  “Wonderful,” Ebony said, flashing a smile. “Let’s move then. Oh and Opal dear, do bring a coat. I’m sure Mortis keeps you plenty warm, but you can never be too careful.”

  The older couple step out into the cold and are quickly joined by the younger pair. Shortly thereafter, the group begins on their trek towards their destination.

  A short walk later and the group arrives at the bistro, a lavish building sitting alone on a quiet street corner. Light music snuck down from the roof where a mare, accompanied by piano, sang of the joys of the night.

  “And that’s the story of the first time Opal flew.” Ebony said, finally concluding the story she had been telling throughout their walk.

  “Ugh, mother. Why do you always need to hang on the part where I miss my landing and slam into a stormfront?” Opal sighed, elbowing her boyfriend in the side as he suppresses a chuckle.

  “Oh come on. I thought it was cute,” Mortis said apologetically. “At least you had a soft landing.”

  “Indeed, it could have been significantly worse Opal,” Blizzard began. “The clouds could have been freshly charged or packed to the brim with rain. You might have ended up soaked or shocked,” he said before smiling and looking towards his wife. “Like your mother did on her first try.”

  “Blizzard, I thought we had agreed that we weren’t going to talk about that ever again,” Ebony said quietly, leaning towards her husband with a smile. “You don’t want to fight this war, honey.”

  “I’ve fought plenty of your wars, sweetie. I haven’t lost one yet,” he said, smiling.

  “You haven’t won any either darling,” Ebony said sweetly.

  “That’s just because we’re both brilliant military tacticians and neither of us can quite get the upper hand,” Blizzard continued, giving his wife a bemused smile.

  “Opal your parents… appear to be fighting some type of battle here, would you care to accompany me inside?” Mortis asked, looking down at his date.

  “I would like that. I haven’t gotten to eat anything yet today,” she said, patting her stomach.

  “Anyway! Let’s get in there,” Ebony said, clapping her hands and leading the group inside.

  The restaurant looked just as sleek on the inside as it did out. The lights were dim and the low talking of the other patrons mixed with the somber tone of the piano as they entered. A short stallion with a dash of gold in his rusty red mane greeted them at the door.

  “Hello, will it just be you four this evening?” He asked, looking down at his seating chart.

  “Of course,” Ebony stated, stepping forward and flashing her badge. “And we’d like a nice table, we don’t have very long.”

  The stallion’s eyes widen as he sees the badge. “Of course ma’am. Right this way,” he said, retrieving four menus and leading them into the dining hall.

  The four are quickly seated at a wide table at the front of the restaurant and the waiter quickly explains the night’s specials as he takes their drink orders. As he walks away towards the kitchen, Ebony turns around and looks between the couple sitting on the opposite side of the table.

  “So, how have you two been doing?” She asked, glancing between the two.

  “Well, like I said earlier, everything seems to be going well,” Opal started but stopped as Ebony held up a hand.

  “I’m well aware you are doing well. What I asked was how were you two doing. Your relationship,” she explained leaning forward. “Like, for example, are you still using protection?”

  “Mother, can we please not ta-,” Opal started. “Dear, I’d like your boyfriend to answer,” Ebony finished.

  Mortis sighed, looking towards the older mare. “Of course we are. We wouldn’t want any accidents,” he said.

  “And which of you is more dominant in the relationship?” She continued, looking from the stallion to her lightly blushing daughter with a grin.

  “We like to change it up occasionally,” Mortis explained, rubbing Opal’s back. “Y’know, gotta keep things exciting.”

  “It’s not fun to tease you if you’re not even gonna blush,” Ebony sighed as their drinks arrived.

  “Have you all decided on what you’d like to eat, or would you like a little more time?” The waiter asked.

  “I believe we’re ready.” Ebony said, picking up her menu. “We’d like the porcini mushroom salad,” she said, tapping her husband’s shoulder and looking towards her daughter.

  “Uh, I think I’d like the dumpling soup please,” Opal said, collecting the menus and handing them to the waiter.

  “I’ll have the grilled vegetable salad,” Mortis said. The waiter nodded, jotting down their orders and headed away towards the kitchen.

  “So, have you two ever had a third join the party?” Ebony smirked, raising a brow at the couple.

  “Oh… Well, no,” Mortis stammered, shaking his head.

  “Oh? But I thought you two liked to keep things exciting, no?” Ebony said, smiling.

  “Well, I think there’s still plenty we can do to keep, uh, ‘it’ exciting without going that far,” Opal said, looking around the restaurant in the hope that none of the other patrons were listening in on their questioning.

  “You mean like doing it in public? I didn’t think you two would be into that,” she smiled.

  “I really don’t think these are appropriate questions under any circumstances,” Mortis said, ignoring the older mares question.

  Ebony leaned over to her husband, covering her mouth. “Neither of them denied it,” she whispered, still loud enough for the pair and anyone nearby to hear. Blizzard sighed, rolling his eyes.

  Mortis sighed, tapping his fingers on the table and looking down at the tablecloth. Opal looked over and smiled, patting his knee.

  “I can see i’m making you uncomfortable. That’s fine, I’ll leave you alone. Besides, it looks like our foods here,” she said, watching the waiter emerge from the kitchen with their plates. He stepped up next to the table and quickly passed out their meals. “Is there anything else I can get you, master tacticians?” He asked, standing up straight.

  “No no, I believe that will be all,” Ebony said, stroking her chin. “Thank you very much.”

  “Of course, ma’am. Just wave me over if you need absolutely anything. we are very proud to be hosting the two of you and your guests,” he said, practically beaming as he stepped away and returned to his other duties.

  “What a nice lad, too bad he wasn’t being honest,” Ebony sighed, beginning on her food.

  “How do you know that? He seemed pretty honest,” Opal asked, following her mother’s lead.

  “Well, it was very simple my dear. As we walked in I noticed the manager rush into the kitchen. It’s more than likely he spoke to our server after he went to get our drinks. It’s even easier to believe because he wasn’t nearly that talkative the first time he was out here, his shirt was untucked, and his tie was off-kilter. On top of that, the couple sitting at the booth behind us ordered their meals before we ordered ours and yet we received our first even though our order was twice the size of theirs. Furthermore, he called us by our proper and lesser known titles of Master Tactician over the more commonly used and less eloquent battle coordinator. Also, nobody who’s being honest would smile that wide for no reason.” She finished, continuing her meal.

  “Did you notice that he had also fixed his mane and changed his coat? The original one he was wearing had only two buttons, barely covered the stain on his shirt, and was well-fitted. That one had three, covered much more of his lower stomach, and didn’t quite fit him around the shoulders.” Mortis said, picking through his salad.

  “I had noticed all of those things except for the stain. How did you see it?” The white-maned mare asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “It was just as he was passing out the menus. When he handed one to blizzard he had to stretch to reach and that’s when I saw. It was on the left inside, there was no way you could have seen it because he straightened out his coat right after,” he explained, popping a bean sprout into his mouth.

  “Interesting,” she said, nodding as she looked up from her meal. “I knew there was a reason I liked you. There aren’t many who could or would bother to take note of any of that, I’m impressed.”

  Mortis nodded, continuing to pick through his meal.

  The group sat quietly for a few minutes as they ate, before blizzard cleared his throat and broke the silence. “Opal, I have a few questions for you.”

  “Alright, shoot,” his daughter said between bites.

  “How long does he last?” He asked, looking towards his daughter. “I know it’s a strange question for me to ask, and I understand if you’d prefer not to answer, but I’m curious if he… Well, makes sure your satisfied.”

  Opal looked from her father to her mother, who was trying her best to suppress a giggle, to her boyfriend before shaking her head. “I have yet to have a serious complaint about my boyfriend, sexual or otherwise. I realize you two worry about me, I get that. But you also have to realize that I’m an adult and I can make my own decisions on who I want to pursue a relationship with at any given time.” Opal said, looking between her parents. “Now, I’d appreciate it if we could stop attempting to make Mortis uncomfortable. Let’s just finish our meals, pay, and head home.” She finished, nodding her head.

  Blizzard looked over at his wife before returning his gaze to his daughter. “Alright sweetie. That’s all,” the tall stallion said, returning to his meal.

  The group remained in silence, albeit an uneasy one, as they finished their meals and

watched as their server returned.

  “Will that be all for you this evening?” He asked, stacking their empty plates.

  “No thank you. I believe that will be all,” Ebony said. “How much will this be?” She asked, smiling as the young stallion straightened.

  “Oh no ma’am, tonight’s meal is on the house. We appreciate your patronage and hope to see you again soon,” he said, smiling and heading back to the kitchen.

  “Well alright then,” Ebony said, reaching into her coat and pulling a few bits out for the tip.

  “I believe you wanted to go home yes?” She asked, standing up. “Let’s get going then,”

  Ebony was quickly joined by her husband as they began out of the bistro. Mortis and Opal sat for a few more seconds before standing up and joining them outside.

  As the group started back towards Opal’s home Ebony turns around and raises an eyebrow. “Sooooo… How’s he taste?”

  “Honey, we’ve already said we wouldn’t ask anymore questions. We’re true to our word and I dread the day they decide to give you a straight answer to your questions,” Blizzard sighs.

  “Oh fine,” she huffs turning around and wrapping her arm around his.

  Opal sighs, pressing against Mortis and grabbing onto his hand. “Sorry, it’s just how she is,” she said apologetically.

  “It’s fine, really it is. I suppose the fact that they’re so curious just shows that they care,” Mortis said, squeezing her hand before raising it to his lips and kissing the back of her palm.

  Opal smiled, leaning up and kissing his cheek. “Come on, let’s catch up. Besides, we still have to finish those movies you brought over.”

  The stallion nodded, leading her behind her parents. “I’m glad half of date night’s still gonna go off without a hitch,” he said.

  The group arrived just as the sun was beginning to set below the horizon and the streetlamps were beginning to come on. Opal quickly unlocked the door, ushering them in before closing and locking it again.

  “Home, sweet, home,” she said, slipping off her sweater and hanging it on the hook beside the door.

  “Dear, I do have one more question to ask you, well, I suppose it’s more of a favor to your dear old mother,” Ebony said, leaning against the couch.

  “I swear, if this is something about Mortis,” she began only to have her mother cut her off.

  “No, no, of course not, I just wanted to ask if your father and I could use your guest room for the night?” Ebony asked.

  “Well, I suppose you two may. I’d feel bad saying no to you guys,” she said, watching mortis take a seat on the couch and quickly moving to join him.

  “Thank you very much. I knew we raised you well,” she said, leaning down and kissing her daughter on the top of the head.

  “Now, if you’ll excuse us, I believe we should be getting ready for bed. Early morning meeting require a great deal of preparation you know,” Ebony said, looking towards her husband and nodding down the hall.

  The pair begin down the hallway before Ebony freezes and turns back. “Besides we wouldn’t want to get in your way, just keep it down a little bit if you can, alright?” The older mare said, winking at them and heading into their room.

  “I’m not gonna lie. If I wasn’t sure your father would try to beat me, I’d be tempted to bang you as hard as I could against that door just to spite her,” mortis sighed, finally relaxing for the first time that evening.

  “You really think that would spite my mother?” Opal asked, kissing his cheek and fishing the remote out from the couch.

  “Sadly no, though I am afraid of what she might do in such a situation,” he smiled, standing and turning off the lights before heading into the kitchen.

  “I don’t know and, as tempting as it is to have you screw my brains out, I don’t really want to find out,” she chuckled, flipping on the television and setting the volume low. “I’ll go ahead and get the movie set up,” she said.

  “I’ll pop open this bottle of wine and grab a few blankets,” Mortis said, opening one of the drawers and retrieving a bottle opener.

  “Just pour the glasses, I’ll grab the blankets,” Opal said, hopping up and heading towards her room.

  Mortis hummed lightly as he retrieved two glasses from the cupboard and filled them with wine. Meanwhile, Opal was stripping her bed of it’s blankets and began carrying them down the hallway towards the living room.

  The two met in the living room and with smiles on their faces took their seats on the couch and began the movie.

  Ebony stretched lightly in the early morning sunlight, watching as her husband slipped on his dress shirt and began buttoning it up. “Y’know, you had a lot of questions you wanted to ask and hardly asked any of them,” she said, clipping the pin that designated her rank to her dress collar.

  “I know, but then we actually showed up and I saw them and I kinda froze up. I didn’t want to make a bad impression or scare him off with an interrogation,” the tall, bearded stallion said, slipping on his coat.

  “Well, we certainly left an impression that’s for sure. Whether it’s good or bad has yet to be seen,” she chuckled, walking to him and helping him button up his coat.

  “That is true. Regardless, he stood up will to your questioning so I guess that’s a start, plus it’s rather obvious that he cares greatly for our daughter,” he said, kissing her cheek.

  “I take it he made a good first impression then, hm?” She asked, returning the kiss.

  “Indeed, better than the last anyways,” he sighed, flattening out his coat and looking around the room. “Ready to head out?”

  “Yup,” she said, quietly opening the door to the room and heading down the hallway, followed by her husband.

  The pair entered the living room and immediately noticed that the television was still on and the title screen of a movie continued repeating. Upon further inspection they found the young couple lying on the couch, sound asleep in each other’s arms.

  “Well, they’re adorable together, I’ll give them that,” Blizzard said, smiling and flipping off the tv.

  “Not as adorable us, but pretty close,” Ebony chuckled, quickly writing out a note and leaving it on the kitchen counter. “Oh Blizzard, be a dear and leave them enough for some pizza. I feel a little bad making them change their plans last night,” she said.

  “Of course, my dear,” blizzard said, quickly counting out twenty-five bits and setting them next to the note before joining his wife by the door.

  Ebony took a deep breath, looking at the two snuggled up on the couch. “I think they suit each other well. I approve of him,” she said.

  “That’s fine, I’m still going to have my reservations for now, but he made a good impression,” Blizzard said, unlocking and opening the door quietly as a blast of cold, early-morning air greeted them.

   “I would expect nothing less from you,” she said, pushing him out the door before casting one last glance around the room and closing the door.

  Birds chirped quietly as the young couple sat quietly for a few minutes before they opened their eyes.

  “Think they’re gone?” Mortis asked, watching the door suspiciously.

  “Yeah, I’m pretty sure,” the spotted beauty said, sighing and leaning back against him. “Well, sounds like you did well enough,” she smiled. “Nice job.”

  “Thank you very much,” he said, sighing and leaning against her with a yawn. “Can we go back to sleep now? It’s like six in the morning,” he said.

  “Of course we can,” she said, rolling over and pressing her forehead to his chest. “Then, we’ll get up and order pizza. Sound like a plan?” She asked, yawning and shutting her eyes.

  “It sounds perfect,” Mortis yawned, pulling her close and closing his eyes.

  “I had a feeling you’d say something like that,” Opal grinned.

  “I always do.”