A love stories end.

It was a classic formula, an almost comical setup. She'd taken it for granted. How easy and simple things had been. Now that things were coming to an end around her, she couldn't help but long for the past. The mare would of happily accepted being in a constant loop of the previously mentioned formula. It was easy. It was pretty predictable at this point to not only her, but to everyone else. Pink was simple minded, stupid even. Though, even she had caught onto the looks and things folks said about her when it came to Coolant. The teasing, the snarky comments. Perhaps it was in good fun to them, but sometimes..it could hurt deep down to her. She was sick. She had been for a long time now. At this point, she could barely feel anything in her hooves. They were numb, and constantly felt cold to the touch. Luckily no one had to ever touch her bare hooves. They were always covered up in at least two layers, being bandages against her actual skin, and of course her signature socks. Eating was getting harder, so she'd simply laid off it for the time being. Of course there was also the coughing up blood thing, which had happened at least a couple of times already. Any medical professional would easily be able to pinpoint it back to her heavy drinking habits. She was destroying her body, no doubt. Just standing there for a prolonged amount of time had been hard for her to handle, so for now she rested some of her weight against a table. It was hard not to get emotional, just being here. So much time. Was it all worth it in the end? Surely there must have been some regret within the mare, for spending a great chunk of her youth on this older, more bitter soul. All the insults, the sense of always being denied the affection she craved. It had to have contributed to her feeling regret, yes? It had been something she reflected on the past few days quite a lot. No clear answers had come to her for awhile. She struggled with what others had probably told her to feel, what society would of probably figured. After a few days of laying in bed, not doing anything, it had hit her. She didn't regret it. She didn't feel bad for all of this. In fact, she had enjoyed everything, their little adventure together. It made for a good story, if not tragic one. Those were almost always the lasting ones to her. The ones with an impact. A hoof came up to rest on the scarf she wore, some form of winter wear to protect herself in her illness. What was the use of it, now? In a slow movement, she pulled it off, letting it fall to the frozen floor. "Coolant. Can you please speak to me?" While she had attempted to sound strong, fearless in her second request, it would falter. How could she even begin to prepare to say what was gathered in her mind? After repeating this formula for so many times, Coolant at this point never get surprised nor wonder how does this Pink mare manage to break into his lab. It got to the point where he would just leave the vault open, letting her come in from her apartment just so he can stop spending so much time on tightening his security, only to have it fail miserably every time. Nowadays the two just enter each other's home randomly, as if they were living together in the same house, despite it never being the case.. The scientist who was at his work place had turned his chair around to face his supposed to be wife. Usually he would just turn her away, but what use would that do now despite knowing shes just gonna talk anyways. Besides, it sounded rather important, not to mention her obvious ill appearance even begun to concern the stern stallion himself. "What is it, Pink?" He responded calmly, this time without insults nor his usual rude attitude towards her and everyone else. It was rather clear that Pink did not had what it took to handle the facility's temperature right now though, so he decided to just get up, go to her and pick up her scarf before picking up the mare herself onto his back. Again this was rather usual for them to just let the scientist pick her up randomly. "First things first, let's go to your room. You barely used it ever since I constructed it for you and you're clearly too ill to handle the temperature right now.." "No, it is okay. I can handle it." She responded to him, trying to keep her voice clear. With her ears folded back against her head, she remained standing while he approached her. Pink had been spending a lot of time sleeping and curled up in her own bed, afterall. What harm could the bare minimum of physical activity do to hurt her? Though, his tone of voice had surprised her a little. He didn't appear to be angry with her presence. While he could probably never have the physical capacity to sound pleased with her being around, this was still something noteworthy to her. Pink didn't show any signs of resisting him picking her up. In fact, she rather enjoyed the times he did so. She always felt so tall, it was actually rather fun. The only thing was, this was a serious matter. It wasn't a time for her to be happy, though his general presence admittedly did bring some calm to her. Sort of giving in with a little sigh, she rested her chin on the back of his neck. "I would of been fine just talking here. I know you have been busy." Her eyes strayed to his working area momentarily, a tang of guilt settling in the pit of her stomach. One of her hooves slowly strayed over to his shoulder, rubbing it a little. Back and forth, not much pressure applied. "Well I am not fully fine with the fact you have yet to use the room I made for you." He responded, before starting to carry her throughout the many hallways of the facility, it seems like the temperature is dropping rapidly though.. Coolant didn't seemed to be angry however, so it must be the facility itself. "Besides, all of my machinery are activated for a certain 'project' of mine.. So the cooling systems will have to work in full power now." As the two would make their way throughout the facility, the sounds of machinery could be heard within the many chambers. Looks like Coolant was preparing himself for something. Finally they would meet up to a metal door, which had slid open for them to come in and closed off right behind them. Inside is a lovely room full of well crafted furniture and heaters to keep the room warmed up. Unlike the many chambers within the facility, this one looked like a traditional wooden made room, almost as if it's part of a beautiful wooden house of some sort. It was designed to specifically appear in a victorian fashion, to remind the mare a little bit of home whiles shes here. He sat her onto a small comfortable wooden chair and moved her towards a round tea table. The scientist then headed off to make some tea within a mini-kitchen inside the room. "...Alright, so what's this about exactly?" Said the stallion as he.. Well, attempted to warm up her tea, although he didn't succeeded doing so as the heat would fade away as soon as he made contact with the cup. "I am sorry for that. I was not really sure where it was, and well. I suppose I have been caught up with..matters." She turned her head, looking out as he carried her through the facility. Previously, she had attempted to explore more, in the various other rooms and such. Though, the layout was rather vast, and she had feared getting lost. Besides, when she came here, it wasn't to explore. It was to visit him. There was no need to be in any other room here, if he was not present in it. The mare would push herself to be closer to him, in response to the lowered temperature. Although, of course he failed to return any heat to her. Shivering, she tried to focus on their little journey, instead. Her eyes widened some as they entered the room. /Her/ room. He had made this for her. Bringing a hoof to her mouth, she could only gawk and peer around. Sitting herself up straight, she consciously kept her perfect posture. No slump, no slouch. Just as mother had basically hammered into her. "Well..darling. You must be aware that..we do not have much time left together. I did not want to bring it up, as I did not want for it to be true.." Her gaze shifted over to him, watching him attempt to make tea. The corner of her mouth turned up in a smile, albeit a rather sad looking one. "I suppose..I wanted to say something. I..I loved our time together. All of it. I wanted to thank you." "Yes, I am aware, and I am very aware as to why this is." Coolant responded with a sigh as he finished his cup of tea, although it was cold as expected, but this was as best as he could make it be. He soon sat besides her near their small round table and gave her the cup of tea that he made. "I hope you like Ice tea, cause this is the only thing I can make." Then came in silence for awhile, until Pink finally continued with what she wanted to say, although the scientist himself wasn't too sure of what to say in a matter of this. "...I will admit, you certainly made my life a lot more interesting in the time we been together. I actually managed to do something with it for once, rather than focus on my goals everyday for a good century or so.." "..I wish to thank you Pink, as annoying and stupid as you are, your company was rather nice to have around.." Then Coolant would sit there in silence, he wasn't really sure what else to say besides.. Wait, there is something to show however. "...Pink, I have something else to show you. I made it for a certain someone but unfortunately they passed away before I got to show it to them." "So far, only one pony had seen it, but they're long gone as well. So I wish to thank you by showing you something that I am sure you'd enjoy." There was so much more she wanted to say. Pink wanted to spill out all of her feelings right then, and probably try and hug him or something. Yet, she remained seated where she was. It..probably would of been too much to do that. Maybe in a bit, she would attempt something similar to that. Her smile would widen as she accepted the cup in her hooves. "I am quite fond of iced tea, thank you." Bringing it to her lips, she sipped. Listening to him respond, she nodded a little. It meant a lot to her, just to hear these sorts of things from him. Drinking some more, her gaze moved to the cold liquid, watching it ripple slightly with her small movements. Just for today, she'd put effort into her appearance. The messy hair, the smeared makeup. That wasn't how she wanted him to remember her. The happy mare that was always smiling, with eyes sparkling full of life and hope, that was how she'd want to be remembered. "Coolie.." Coolant will remember her as many things, one of which being a annoying pink mare who always would break into his facility without permission, only to annoy him every single day nonstop. Although, he certainly would remember her as the one who changed his slow paced, almost frozen life, so there's that. Once she finished drinking her tea, Coolant would pick her up yet again and take her outside the room he made for her, now the facility is extremely cold! Snow and ice has started to form up in the corners of the hallways, what could Coolant be doing to lower his facility's temperature to such extent? Nevertheless, he took her nearby to one of the places Coolant told her to never enter. There she could see another metal door, designed rather similar to her own room. It was locked up though, with a sign that said [DO NOT ENTER]. What could possibly be within this mysterious room? They later on passed it and gone to the next chamber besides it, the metal door on that one was rather dusty and rusty, as if it wasn't used for quite some time.. It slid up for them to enter, allowing them to see a chamber filled with darkness, an almost eerie atmosphere could be felt here. The door would then close behind them, leaving them within the void of the large chamber. Until... ... "Computer, activate Solar Prototype 1." Coolant said out loud, before sounds of machinery could be heard around them. The darkness would slowly fade away as soft glowing lights begun to fill in their surroundings, it was still rather dark but now one could see the massive size of this chamber. The light would soon brighten far above them, and when one would look up.. They would see a hologram of the entire solar system, with it's universe surrounding them. It was designed to appear enormous and almost real. The view was breath taking, they were in some sort of a simulator, as if they're actually in space! Stars could be seen from far away as the lights of the sun would glow brightly to them. Earth, including many other planets could be seen with ease. This is probably the most beautiful thing Coolant had ever built within his facility. And Pink, was the second one to ever experience it. One of the things she had often failed to grasp was the length of his lifespan, how much he had lived before she'd even been a thought in her own parents' minds. It must of been awfully lonely. How had he gotten by so long like this? Pink genuinely would begin to lose her mind if she had been alone for more than a few days at a time. Then again, she was rather clingy and needy, wasn't she? Admittedly she was saddened somewhat to leave the comforts of the room he had built for her. It was perfect, she felt so at home there. It was even cozier than her own apartment. For now she would stay quiet. All she wanted to do was take in everything about him, whatever she could before things ended. Her hooves lightly pushed into him while she gave him a small hug from behind, her cheek smushed against his neck. It was so cold, everywhere was. She didn't mind. Pink was at least feeling something right now besides the general sense of sadness that had been hanging over her the past while. Darkness frightened her, which wasn't anything new. She consciously ducked a little closer to him as the pair entered the room. It wouldn't last long, though. As the hologram appeared before them, her eyes lit up. She would gasp out loudly, completely struck with awe. The breath caught within her chest while she took it all in. Turning her head to glance around her side, and even behind her, the mare sat there. Her mouth hung open slightly at the sight. Some moments passed, before she would speak finally. "C..coolant.." Her voice cracked a little. "It is..so..gorgeous.." "..Yes, it is.. Originally this was constructed as a gift for a former assistant I had. They were somewhat like you, although they were more serious with their work and.. Actually followed the commands that they were told. But nevertheless, I respected them, and so I made them this." "..Unfortunately by the time I finish the construction, they grew too old to handle the many burdens of life, so she passed away without ever seeing this. I then decided to use this as a form of a map for my next stage, galactic domination. Although.. Considering I never even manage to capture a single city yet, I never really found a use for this room. So I left it be." Coolant stayed silent as he allowed her to examine the area. The sparkles of the stars from far away was beautiful to look at, not to mention the many fire waves of the sun could be clearly seen when looked closely. The scientist stood there in silence, before finally speaking. "...I am showing this because I respect you Pink. Perhaps you weren't as, to say, useful as her. But you made me realize something.. You made me notice how lonely I was, and how you would always try to be with me." "..I assure you Pink, this isn't over yet. No matter what will happen, I will be sure to keep this going. Will I regret it? Definitely. Am I going to still do it? Probably." "I suppose this is what love does to you, makes you do stupid things.. Hence why I try to avoid it." Coolant moved to Pink and leaned closely to her face. His usual low temperature begun to.. Raise up, a bit. "...I hate you Pink, but in the same time, I guess I." "..Love your company?" Coolant awkwardly said, not wanting to straight up say the word he disliked for so long. Listening to him while still gazing around, she smiled. Pink had never dreamed of venturing beyond the atmosphere of their own planet, despite the stallion who acted as her father figure. It was breath taking, to say the least. Surely something as beautiful as this couldn't of just been a map of sorts. It was too..pretty. Blinking slowly, her gaze appeared to be distant, as if she was getting sucked into the sight itself. So many details, so much work must have gone into this. While it may of originally not been for her, she still accepted it as if it were a gift for her. Anything he shared with her, she surely cherished. That was just a part of PinkBow, and her overwhelming sense of love. Love for him. Then, she would suddenly turn her head. Looking over to him, confusion seemed to cross her face. Respect? For her? Almost no one really had that, considering how she was usually just babied by every other friend she had. Though, he really wasn't her friend. He was more than that. Even if he treated it like it was fake, she truly felt in her heart that he was her spouse. "It..it is not?" She puzzled softly aloud, before she held her breath when his face neared hers. The model would reach up slowly with a hoof, touching the side of his face lightly with the tip of her hoof. Although she couldn't feel anymore on that part of her body, her touch was still delicate. Pink brushed her hoof against his goggles then. It was impossible to make eye contact like this. "I..I.." Deep breath. "I love you, Coolant." She whispered, tilting her head some. Then, she would close her eyes, trying to blink away the tears that had formed in them. "..." "I love you too, Pink." Although it was quiet, almost muffled, he finally said it. All the sudden he would then press his lips against hers, allowing her to feel his cold mouth. Their kiss would soon tighten for a bit, holding it in before finally breaking away. His face was in a cyan color, showing a rather new blushing expression that Coolant rarely shows. "...This was an experiment, by the way. I just wanted to see your reaction, don't treat it as anything more than that." Good old Coolant, giving out excuses even after doing something like that. But hey, many of his experiments had been held off because of how long science has been cancelled, so he has the right to make as many of them as he want now, while he still can. "Anyways. This place, as well as the room that was shown earlier is now yours. Perhaps these will be good distractions for you while I do my work. I do expect you to behave within my facility, especially when you're in.. This specific hallway." The stallion stated, possibly referencing the one that had the locked door in. Actually, many of the doors there were locked, this one was one of the few that were open for her by the looks of it. "I can't believe I am saying this, but you're welcome to stay here for as long as you want." This was literally too much for her. He said it back! He finally said it back to her!! For a moment, her heart lept in her chest. She would straighten up some, her eyes widening in shock. This was all she could of asked for! No, it was even more!- Her lips suddenly met his. Staring forward in shock, she let out a muffled little 'mmf?', totally frozen. His mouth was so cold, yet incredibly soothing in a way. While it felt similar to kissing an ice cube, she didn't mind. This was unlike any other kiss she had ever gotten before, from anyone. It had been well worth the wait for her. She melted into it, her hooves grabbing at him immediately. Just to touch him. As they pulled away, she would gasp a little, still unable to breathe properly. Sitting there for a good few moments afterwards, she tried to recover. Even after his lips had been seperated from hers, she could still feel some cold tingling lingering on her skin. She wanted more, while she still could. "Thank you..for that." Was all she could muster back to him. Her eyes were still wet and shiny, and she had to blink several times to try and ease her tears away. Pink cried too much, she knew that. Without any other word spoken, the model would suddenly lunge in again. Grabbing at the sides of his spikey face, she locked lips with him passionately. Her own warm mouth pushed against his, and she held onto him for a long time. After awhile, her mouth pulled back. Still resting the side of her snout against his, she smiled at him. By now, her own face had been coated red, vibrant as her hair. "You are the best husband I could have ever asked for." The Scientist certainly did not expected her to just pull him in like that again for another kiss, this was too much even for the stallion. Although, he did put himself into this, didn't he? He sighed within the kiss as he simply just allowed her to continue on with it, until finally she pulled away for some rest. Her face may have been in deep red, but Coolant's face still only had a small amount of cyan. Looks like hes trying to hide anymore expressions, probably already too embarrassed for even showing a small amount of blush. "Alright alright, enough..! You had enough." Coolant responded, slightly annoyed, but he couldn't really be angry at her now can he? I mean, look how happy she is! "...I still don't fully get why you think that, you could've gotten someone much better than me. But, I guess I am somewhat glad that you're happy with me. Just don't go too far with this, I know how romantic you get whenever something like this happens." Soon he would place down his hoof onto her head, getting her hair a soft stroke. "...You're a good companion though, Pink. Annoying, but good." "...I still hate you though, and will hate you even more if you tell anybody of this." It was a move out of impulse on her part. Having gotten caught up in the moment, she would draw her head backwards more at his yelling. Despite this, she was still smiling widely. It looked like she would be this way for quite awhile. "I am sorry, my love. I could not contain it." She apologized softly, more or less just because he had gotten embarrassed. Bringing a hoof up to her mouth, the model would let out a ripple of little giggles, still blushing. He was so adorable to her. "You cannot choose who you love, Coolie. I have just accepted that. Besides, you have been looking out for me, for so long. You are important to me!" Leaning up, she purposely would let her hair push against his hoof when he stroked her. "It makes me so incredibly overjoyed to hear you say such sweet things. You need not to worry, though. We are the only two present at the moment. No one else will find out."