June 19
Neither of us wanted to get out of bed, 'cause we both knew that when we did, Aric would have to leave, and we both wanted to make this morning last as long as we could, but it couldn't last forever and I cried a little bit and he did too and then finally sat up and leaned right back down and kissed and wiped my cheeks and told me to be safe and stay in touch and he would come visit me and I should visit him, too, and then we kissed one more time and he went out the front door and I went to the back window in time to see him get in Winston and then I made it to the balcony in time to wave as he drove down the street and then he turned the corner and I wanted to fly after him.
I sat on the papasan for a while and watched a confused black butterfly bump its nose against the window and I watched the leaves of the tree swaying in the wind, and I thought about our trip and how fresh it still was in my mind. I could almost smell the dirt and the smoke from the campfire and the mapley oatmeal and the bad coffee that tasted so good first thing in the morning.
There were some pegasuses who never had a home, but they drifted around the skies over Equestria and I think I know why.
But it was also nice to be home, to be back where things were familiar, and even though it hurt that Aric was gone and so were most of my friends, there were still some left, and I'd make some new ones soon, too. Like the person who lived downstairs, or the people who lived in the house across the driveway, and the ones who lived across the lawn . . . I didn't even know my neighbors yet, and soon it would be time to meet them.
Not yet, though.
I was waiting in case Aric needed me. Maybe to help him load something in Winston or even help fix her or maybe he would stop by on his way out of town to hug and kiss me one more time and what would he think if I wasn't here?
I kind of knew deep down that he wouldn't, though. But I waited just in case.
I sort of thought that I should probably have something to eat, but there wasn't any food in the house and even though he'd said that I could have the leftover food from the trip, he would probably want that, so I hadn't taken any.
I flopped back down on the papasan chair and waited, and I dozed off, and when I woke up again I went out on the balcony and stood on my hind legs with my forelegs on the railing and I could just reach some leaves on the tree and they weren't all that good, but they were better than nothing.
I paced around the living room a little bit and fluffed my wings out and then I thought that I needed to fly, so I put on my gear and got permission and Dori was happy to hear me again and if it hadn't been against the rules I would have told her all about my trip but all I said was that I had gone up north for a week with Aric.
I usually didn't take my portable telephone, but I did this time just in case he called.
I flew over his house on the way out of town, and Winston was still in the driveway but he'd taken the top off and put it on his other truck (which was where he kept it when he wasn't using it on Winston) and the back was mostly full with boxes and his bed and his dresser.
I didn't see him, though, but I waved anyway just in case he could see me and then I started to gain altitude, and I sort of lost myself in the sky for a while, and when I started to really notice things on the ground again, I was over the dirt mines, so I looped around and went back towards downtown, turned around the hotel, and flew straight for the Stetson bell tower.
Normally, there were people all over campus and cars parked everywhere, even where they shouldn’t be, but the parking lots were almost completely empty and there were lots of spaces open along the street, too.
When I went back by Aric's house, Winston was gone.
I sorta moped around the apartment for a bit, then I tried to read some poetry but I found that I couldn't focus on it, and I looked at my Bible but I knew that I wasn't in the mood for that, either, so I stretched out on the futon and took a nap. The pillow still smelled like Aric, and that was comforting.
Waking up was really weird. I'd been dreaming that I was on vacation and I was supposed to take a train and I couldn't be late and then I fell down and broke a bone in my fetlock but I didn't feel it at first, and it was only after someone told me that it looked broken that I couldn't support my weight on it any more.
So I went along on three hooves, until the train that was supposed to take me finally arrived and then I thought that I should get money for the trip, and when I was about to do that, I woke up and the light in the apartment was really confusing and it took me a minute to remember where I was and that it was the middle of the afternoon and not night.
I went outside and flew off the balcony and over Aric's house again but he was still gone and he would be gone for weeks and months and I kind of made a lazy orbit while I thought about what I could do next. I could go to Nina's and get some dinner, but it wouldn't be the same without him, or I could order a pizza but then I'd be eating it all alone and it felt like it was too much effort to get food at all, so I circled back home and went back inside and looked through my books until I found one of Walt Whitman's poems that had a really nice picture of grass on the cover and I started to read it.
Then I thought that Aric might be arriving in Lafayette any time, so I turned on my computer (while I was gone, the internet valves had been set, so I could go to Facebook and anywhere else I wanted to) and checked to see if he'd sent me a message or put up anything new, and there was a picture taken through the windshield of stopped traffic and underneath he said that he was near Waterford and stuck in construction.
That was a few hours old, but from all the cars I could see he would probably be there for a while. So I went back to the papasan and read some poems but they didn't really stick, and then I checked the Facebook again but there was no new news, and finally it was starting to get too dark to read, so I checked one more time and there was nothing new, so I went out to the balcony and let the breeze ruffle my coat and hair, and I flexed both of my forehooves just to make sure that my pastern bones were all okay.
It was pretty quiet, which I liked. The house mostly blocked the sound of traffic on Main Street, and there was hardly any on Grove Street. I could hear some radios and televisions, and the humming of window boxes that were called air conditioners, and some animals too.
It felt like the right amount of noise. Not so much that it was distracting or overwhelming, and not quiet enough that it was lonely.
I stayed out there until it was dark and I could see a few stars through the canopy of the tree in my front yard, then I went inside and closed the balcony door and checked Facebook one more time but there wasn't anything, and then I got on the futon and pulled the blanket up and sniffed at the fading scent on the pillow.
Such a terrible fate for a social little pony. But she already told herself the solution: make new friends!
Fill to me the Parting Glass
and drink a health whate're befalls
I'll gently rise and softly call
goodnight and Joy be with you all.
A pity Conrad never gave a mention to Robbie Burns.
And there's a hand, my trusty fere!
And gie's a hand o' thine!
And we'll tak a right gude-willie waught,
For auld lang syne.
Making new friends doesn't always work. Ask Dr Frankenstein.
She should meet the neighbors, especially the downstairs neighbors -much depends on them. Best way to do this is to throw a keg party.
IIRC, anyone who complains about a party's noise should be invited to the party.
3 rules of rock and roll
Play good and loud
You can't play good, play louder
It's too loud, you're too old
(some people were BORN too old)
Poor Silver...
She is more distraught than I expected she would be.
I hope she eats something tomorrow.
Awwwwwww :(
It's always hard to say goodbye to friends.
(I get around that by not having any! )
Man, silver isn't taking this very well. Hopefully Aric is ok.
7501505
No it's not. The place that sells them is a little cooler, but still to hot.
7500350
MN is a liberal paradise, (actually primarily Progressive, pro-education and pro-civic participation) but there are isolated islands of insanity. Kind of like the reverse-Austin, TX.
For example, I live by the border of Michelle Bachmann's old district. Right as you cross over into Blaine, you're assaulted by Hobby Lobbys and Chick-fil-ahs.
If only Hubert Humphrey had beat Nixon. We'd have utopian cities on Mars by now. Also, if you ever need an example of a truly honest politician, look no further than Paul Wellstone, but Bush had him murdered for opposing his warmongering.
It's a toss-up whether Charles Schulz or Garrison Keillor is the Twin Cities' favorite son. Or that Prince guy, I guess.
For the record, Linus and Charlie Brown are highly accurate portrayals of Minnesota kids. Living here breeds good character like continuous melancholic optimism and introspective childhood wisdom.
or the pole who lived in the house across the driveway
Pole?
This was playing while I was reading.
7501701
Schulz is by far our favored son, Keillor is an arrogant jerk. I hate to burst your bubble but Wellstone was a lot like both of our current Senators, hot air and nothing to show for it. As a fellow resident of Minnesota we had to prove how stupid we are by not only electing Jessie Ventura but Al Frankin also.
7501764
Senator Franken has consistently stood up for his constituents in matters of tech policy, particularly against the fascist NSA, corporate privacy outrages, abusive telecom companies and asshole patent trolls.
He's the best politician we've had since I achieved voting age.
Ventura, I was too young to care, but I'm pretty sure I would have never voted for him. Maybe Kevin Sorbo if he went into politics. (and yeah, he's fairly conservative)
7501781
Unfortunately for Mr. Franken, he won his first election by some shady tactics the whole issue with how the recount was handled. Plus his overall dealing have be little to nothing. Our other Senator authored a law that almost did severe damage to several of the local industries by putting through a poorly worded piece of legislation. I fully believe that all we elect in Minnesota are the incompetent fools who can do nothing else but vote the party line.
Awww! Poor depressed little equine, I hope she manages to perk up soon before she waist's away.
I do wonder how the two of them will deal with Silver is due to go back to Equestria in about 6 months, maybe it depends on how they deal with the summer, hopefully absence won't make the heart go yonder.
Suddenly Silver manifests her inner emo and starts wearing far to much eye shadow, "My life is like a confused butterfly!"
I went to college in Texas in the 1980s (wanted to take Data Entry (yeah, kid, they taught college classes in using a 10 key & that's why those number keys are on the side of the keyboard))
Point is, I had to take Texas History class. IIRC the exact numbers, but in the 1930s Lyndon Johnson ran for Senator. In one town about 10 minutes before the polls closed 190 people came in and voted. All but 4 for LBJ.
Naturally, his opponent demanded a recount. They complied -at the rate of ***ONE*** precinct a year. Took it to court & they ruled that the law provided for a recount but didn't say how fast it had to be done. (It's good to know the law but it's better to know the judge)
Since then, one of his nicknames was "Landslide Lyndon" (Non USA readers. Landslide = overwhelming victory, especially in politics)
That is why Ground Control is in Houston TX and the launch pad is in Florida (other side of the Gulf of Mexico). It was part of the price Eisenhower paid for the space program.
For some reason, this bit reminded me of this song:
And speaking of that first paragraph... I know you're emotional about Aric leaving and all, Silver, but good God, what a run-on sentence! Periods are your friends, Silver!
media.giphy.com/media/bCf7FxSUw9XP2/giphy.gif
Sad pegasus is sad.
A depressing chapter, to be sure. Almost as depressing as the comments.
Depression set in...
Give that pony a hug!
And maybe some ice cream!
7501566 Yes, I'm sure the downstairs neighbors will be thrilled to have an Equestrian walking around upstairs. Maybe SG's handler will buy her two pairs of slippers.
(I was going to use a word other than 'walking' that described the sound, but it would be misinterpreted.)
*puts an arm around Silver*
Tell you what, tell me about Aric and I'll tell you about my cat. We'll commiserate.
(I finally got around to looking up what papasan is and found out that I grew up with one in the house. They're great for curling up in, but your back will complain.)
Silver is starting to alliterate her journal headings now?
If you're talking about someone from Poland and not a long piece of wood or metal, I think it gets capitalized.
Aside from that, sad lonely pony is sad. I just want to give her a hug.
Wow, he drove all the way to Ireland that fast? That's pretty impressive. Real talk though, I actually didn't know there was anywhere in America named 'Waterford'. The only Waterford I know is the one here.
...congestion maybe?
7502140
T-that song...
gif-finder.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Zach-Galifianakis-Crying.gif
7502404
Aric is gone now; a mare has needs.
And that is how Silvers periode as professional NEET on the internet started ...
7502961
In general, there's a pretty decent chance that any given place in (at least Western) Europe has a same-name counterpart in the US; immigrants named a lot of settlements after locations and sundry from their homes. That's one of the big reasons for "London, England" Syndrome - it's a good habit to clarify which of the 27+ Londons you're talking about. It's also good for a laugh every now and then, since an impressive number of holier-than-thou "geography buffs" are completely ignorant of it and end up shooting themselves in the feet as a result.
7501507
i.ytimg.com/vi/xPT38T_Ux7w/maxresdefault.jpg
It's a Princess-Approved solution!
7501564
Heh, it wasn't cheap when I went either. Although with scholarships and stuff, it turned out costing the same as U of M.
I don't know. Man, I can't believe that I forgot about the frisbee-ers. They were annoying sometimes, gotta admit. My buddy got hit by one while we were working on my car, and he just tossed it down the hill towards Lovell St.
This is something that some of the readers don't seem to be wrapping their heads around. Usually not even a thousand students on campus at any one time, what with foreign study and all that.
Yeah, I'll send you a message. Be good to know how things have changed in the almost 20 years I've been gone.
7501539
I think he would have in a different class than the ones she took. No reason Silver Glow can't do independent study of poetry, though. I'm sure Conrad would be happy to make suggestions.
7501566
Or Pinkie Pie.
"Mister Salvatore, can you take me to the beer store? I need to buy a couple of kegs and some of those red plastic cups."
I like turning classical and opera way way way up. One of my 'sometime' goals is to build a system with really good external treble speakers, and the next time someone annoys me with thumpy bass, see how he feels about some opera at ear-bleed volume.
7501572
Sad pony is sad.
7501579
7501614
It is, especially when it's a sudden parting.
Your assignment: go to Ponyville and make some friends.
7501590
7501627
He'll be sad and lonely for a while, too.
7501701
We get some of that too, at least in farm country. In the rich suburbs of Detroit, almost everyone is an entitled prick.
7501707
Nice!
7501764
I like Garrison Keillor. Well, his radio show at least. He may be an arrogant jerk in real life, I wouldn't know.
Honestly, given some of the other governors, neither of those sound all that bad. I bet neither Frankin or Ventura managed to accidentally poison a whole city's water supply.
7501824
Trust me, you're not alone. Our Attorney General is busy fighting to get straight-ticket voting eliminated by the upcoming election, even though he's already lost the battle twice.
7501990
7502053
Most ponies don't stay sad for too long. They're eternal optimists.
In the long run, it'll probably be harder on Aric than Silver Glow, to be honest.
static3.comicvine.com/uploads/scale_small/5/55582/4769550-sappho.jpg
7502125
Out of curiosity, was it fraud, or just coincidence?
In 2012, some people made a big deal about a precinct in Pennsylvania which voted 100% for Barack Obama. A newspaper did some digging, and found that there were only fourteen registered Republicans in that particular precinct, and when they went looking, couldn't find any of them. And as I recall, that's not the only time some precinct has gone 100% for a candidate, either.
7502243
That gif is kind of horrifying.
7502140
That may be the run-on-y-est sentence she's written to date (although the one about horses was pretty long, too). When she gets emotional, her sentences get long.
7502265
7502319
Brought back memories of my girlfriend leaving Kalamazoo for the summer.
7502357
Sorrows can be solved by a good hug and a bucket of ice cream.
7502404
At least she doesn't wear horseshoes.
orig10.deviantart.net/42e9/f/2013/308/f/3/no_clop_november_by_arrkhal-d6t2piy.png
7502897
It won't be a regular thing.
I meant 'people.' Dumb autocorrect.
7502678
I think the cat is sadder.
Man, it sucks when a pet dies.
I think that's a piece of furniture which is better suited towards women, 'cause in general they're bendier than men. I've got one I could set up, but I'm afraid if I get in it, I might not be able to get out again.
7502961
And until just recently, I didn't know that there was a Waterford in Indiana, nor did I know there was one in Ireland, but I did know that there's one in Michigan.
7503098
Nope, construction. There's a construction zone right near Waterford, IN.
Mapley is intentional; the other correction has been made. Thank you!
7503138
For what it's worth, my personal favorite sad gif:
media.giphy.com/media/10BaQrnrLYkJ3i/giphy.gif
7503212
7503418
disassociated.com/images/posts/colour_pipes.jpg
An internet distribution center
7503750
Which is why Michigan has Frankfort and Elberta.
Well, it was the thought that counted.
(in all seriousness, they're probably named after someplace else)
7503897
It really does. But... things are getting better.
Are you calling me a woman?! I mean, I'm not really against it, even though it would be patently untrue, but I suppose I should be flattered at the sentiment. It's happened before plenty of times, so I guess it fits. I was just surprised, is all. Actually, now that I think about it, I do like papasans, and if you're providing one on condition that 'they're for women,' then by golly, I'll be all woman.
Silver: "Psst! Biscuit! I think he's lost it!"
7502961 Yeah I grew up in Waterford, Michigan. It is near Pontiac and Clarkston.
I wonder if Aric drove through the Waterford in Michigan or Indiana?
Poor Silver Glow is experiencing post vacation blues and sadness through separation from Aric; a double whammy on a lonely day.
7504044
Heh, no, I'm not calling you a woman. I'm saying that a woman can get in a papasan and sit there all day and be fine, while a guy'll sit in one and be comfortable for five minutes and then it's back pain city.
7505257
It's also where I sometimes go to the bar with Wanderer D and RobCakeran.
Indiana--from Kalamazoo, his best bet would be to take I-94 a little ways into the border, then go south on US 421 and then SR 23. Or to stick to highways, he could take I-65, but there's some backtracking there.
The other option from Michigan is I-69 down to SR 26, which is how I used to get there from Lansing.
She's nothing if not an optimist, though, so she'll bounce back pretty quickly.
7501566
You are not considerate:
Someponies have to get up early in the morning. Even if you have no neighbors, you should consider the comfort of your guests:
On several occasions, I had to leave parties because the volume of the music hurt me ears. Just because you destroyed your hearing by listening to music too loud does not mean that your guests want to go deaf too. This is what you should do:
Go around with an acoustic meter (there is an app for that) playing the Price is Right. The rules are that you adjust the music, so that the loudest spot is as close to 100 DeciBells as possible without reaching or exceeding 100 DeciBells:
The loudest place in the room is 96 DB, You make an adjustment. It is now 102 DB. You make another adjustment. It is now 98 DB. ¡Good enough!
I don't know why, but this passage (and the bits around it) gave me a little lump in my throat. The relationship with Aric really is one of the sweetest things about this story.
Well, I'm pretty far behind, but I'm going to try to catch up a little. You know how it is with a story that updates like this... you get a teeny bit behind and say "Eh, I'll catch up when I have time to sit down and read" and then, pretty soon, the gap widens. But at least the good thing is that this story isn't going anywhere.
I don't really... get why previously she didn't really seem bothered by not being around him and now she's like suicidally depressed. Just go bang Meghan already, jeez.
9246228
Well, there’s the fun of hanging out whenever you want to with your friends, and then there’s the summer when they’re all gone. At least that was my experience.
10267573
Correction made; thank you!
7501566
In all fairness, the "creature" was fully willing while the doctor himself was an asshole who refused to be the father his creation needed.