Her stage was lit. Her time was coming. That feeling once again in the bottom of her stomach, her adoring fans cheering with anticipation didn’t help. The final few preparations were being made, final tweaks to the costume, the last few additions to her makeup, one final mouthful of tainted water to keep her refreshed and awake. Her name was called, her cue. It was time. One final tear rolled down her cheek, and she walked from backstage, blinded by the lights, only hearing the cheering and hollering from the dozens of colts in the audience and the music starting to play. As her eyes adjusted, her prop came into view. In the centre of the catwalk. The long, shining pole, glinting in the spotlights, stretching from ceiling to floor. She walked towards it, masking her true feelings with confidence in her steps. She grabbed it, bringing about another cheer of excitement from the crowd. She preformed her routine flawlessly, being showered with coins from the many approving and aroused colts. She did not want this to happen. She did not want her life to ever come to such lows.
She hated this.
– P –
She had finished her routine, many coins lying on the stage around her, the colts cheering and hollering and whistling at her. She learnt to find this flattering, it made it easier to do night after night. She walked back down the catwalk towards the backstage, stopping to give a final bow and a strange flourish of her hind legs which her audience seemed to enjoy.
The stage had been designed to magically gather all the money thrown on it, and Pond, as usual, raked in a lot of money. Pond took the bag the money was collected in and headed to her section of the backstage where her things were. She opened the bag, there seemed to be a couple hundred bits inside, as well as a few sets of hotel keys which she quickly disposed of. She tied the bag up tight and began the laborious task of removing her costume and makeup. She looked into the mirror, seeing the Unicorn looking back at her, it made her sad, to see what her life had come down to, if her parents ever found out they would be so disappointed, she thought. She sighed, and then began unclipping the straps of her costumes.
It was a good ten minutes later before she was back to her usual self. She saw her reflection again, she felt much better seeing herself like that, her normal self, although she had to admit it, she looked good in full costume. She looked down at her bags, all her possessions, her life, grouped together in two masses of fabric.
She sighed a sorrowful sigh, she once again had nowhere to call home; the hotel she had been staying in for the past month kicked her out after falling behind with the rent, and her tips wouldn’t stretch far enough until pay day when her meagre wages came through. She actually earned far more through tips than her wages. She still had the thousands of Trotmarcs her mother had given her but they were useless in Equestria. So she decided to do something which she had never done before in the six weeks of working there, and go to the bar.
It was considerably less intimidating this side of the stage, Pond thought. The crowd seemed less rowdy and even quite pleasant. Well, besides those few who recognised Pond without her costume and playfully pinched her flank, but Pond either tried to not react or give them an evil stare, both responses only made them laugh more. Pond made it to the bar and sat on a stool, burying her face in her hooves.
“What’s up, Honey?” said an unfamiliar, friendly but powerful voice.
Pond looked up from her hooves slowly. She saw the smiling face of the Bar-mare, Dove Wings, a yellow mare with a two tone blue mane tied behind her head in a plait and a kind smile. Pond looked down again with an exhausted sigh.
“C’mon now, you can tell me anythin’.”
Pond shook her head.
“Hmph. I can see you’re not one for talking. Or maybe you can’t…” Dove said as if she knew herself, raising her eyebrow as she did.
Pond looked up again but considerably quicker and with an insulted look on her face.
“What? So you can talk?”
Pond nodded her head.
“Are you gonna?”
Pond shook her head.
“Playing hard to get I see,” Dove laughed. “Maybe a drink ought a loosen up them lips.” Dove began mixing up a cocktail with practiced ease. “Here you are, Sugar.” She slid the glass onto the bar in front of Pond.
It was quite theatrical, Pond thought, with all the umbrellas and sparkly things, it was all a bit unnecessary. Pond took a sip through the straw, her eyes went wide as it hit her tongue, it was incredibly sweet but this was outweighed by the sourness of the aftertaste. Pond went back for more, but this time drank half of the glass in one go.
“Wow, that’s good. You really know your drinks!” she panted, trying to catch her breath from the large intake of drink.
“A-ha, so you can talk after all. And thanks, by the way.” Dove busied herself making a second one for herself.
“So, what’s your name, Darlin’? Or do I have to keep calling you things like that?”
Pond was taken off guard by the question and so was forced to gulp down the mouthful of drink, which she would rather not have done. “Err. I'm Pond.”
“Nice to meet ya Pond. The name’s Dove Wings.” She fired a hoof toward Pond, who recoiled slightly before realising it was meant for shaking. As she shook it Dove added quickly in an annoyed tone, “Ironic, isn’t it?”
“What?” Pond was puzzled. She tilted her head to one side and squinted with thought.
“My name. It’s pretty ironic, considering I have no wings.”
“So? I'm called Pond, it isn’t ironic that I'm not made of water is it?”
“But you see, I'm a Pegasus.”
“Ah.” Pond wasn’t sure what to say to this.
“But instead of wings I got these little bumps.” Dove pushed her back up so Pond could see them. On her back were two obvious bumps, wiggling slightly as Dove demonstrated them.
“That’s where my wings should be.” She lowered her back and stood normally, she looked at Pond who was staring at her back as if hypnotised. Dove tutted. “Go on then. I can see you want to. Just be gentle, they’re quite sensitive.”
Pond smiled childishly as she slowly reached a hoof over the bar and towards Dove’s back. She pushed one gently, feeling a strange spongy sensation under her hoof. She giggled. “That’s so weird.”
“Oh, well thanks,” Dove said mildly angrily, losing her friendly voice.
“Oh no, don’t get mad please. I thought it felt funny. Plus, I'm kind of in the same situation as you. I am, after all, a Unicorn without a horn.”
“So? You just look like an Earth Pony. Whereas I actually have a visible deformity.”
“I grew up in a land where there are only Unicorns,” Pond said smoothly.
Dove stared at her, her brow furrowed with thought and slight feelings of guilt. “Ah. I can see that might be more of a problem.”
“Yeah…” Pond clicked her tongue. “Let’s just say it wasn’t the best childhood ever.”
There was an awkward silence where the only sounds were the soft music coming from the club and the slurping of the two mares at their drinks. Dove eventually couldn’t stand it anymore.
“So, you say you come from a place where there are just Unicorns?” Dove said with surprise, possibly sarcastically but she couldn’t quite tell.
“Yep. Trotland, out in The Mare.”
“I see. Never heard of that place before,” there was a hint of doubt in her voice.
“Nopony here has. And nopony in Trotland had heard of Equestria until about a year ago.”
“Oh. So why did you come here then?”
“I just fancied it, I guess. Besides, I doubt I could live in a place where magic is a pretty important way of life when I have no way of using it.”
“Makes sense. But at least here you look perfectly normal, that must feel good.”
“It does, I used to be bullied something awful.”
“I'm sorry to hear that,” Dove said sadly. “But hey, if it makes you feel any better I was too.”
“That actually makes me feel a little worse.”
“I didn’t mean it like that. I meant I know what you’ve gone through.”
“I know that, but it’s still sad knowing somepony else was in a similar situation.”
“True. I… guess.” There was a moment of awkward silence when a thought suddenly struck Dove. “So you came to Hooflyn. Lemme guess, Red found you in Lost, didn’t he?” Dove already knew the answer, as you could tell by her tone.
“Yeah.” Pond was surprised. “How did you know?”
“Listen, Honey, nopony new to this land would come here. They’d go to somewhere like Canterlot or Manehattan, but not to this place. The only reason people come here is because they’re lost. Just like me actually, Red found me at Lost and said he’d help me out here in Hooflyn.”
“That’s a bit weird, he actually goes recruiting for lost girls.”
“Well, no actually. He genuinely gets lost a lot of the time.”
“Ah…” Pond was relieved yet slightly disappointed for reasons she couldn’t explain.
The lights went down and the music changed.
“What’s happening?” Pond said nervously while looking around quickly.
Dove jumped up excitedly and leant on the bar top, her head resting in her hooves and a smile on her face. She was swinging her hind legs back and forth slightly with anticipation. “She always ends the night,” she said quickly.
“Who?”
“Her,” she sighed as she pointed one of her hooves at the stage.
Pond followed it and saw what got Dove so excited. It was a tall white Pegasus mare, wearing a wonderful costume. Pond stared at her with wide eyes and a wondrous expression.
“Whoa,” was all she could manage to say as her mind was entirely preoccupied with the mare on the stage who confused her so. Pond hadn’t seen anypony quite like her before, she had very mixed and complicated feelings at that time.
“Isn’t she dreamy?” Dove said aloud to anypony listening in an incredibly blissful voice. Pond unintentionally nodded with agreement. They were there for the whole ten minutes of her performance completely transfixed on her. Afterwards Dove sighed with relief and slid back down off the bar and onto her hooves, whereas Pond was still staring at the spot where the white Pegasus was dancing.
“I can see you enjoyed that,” Dove laughed, snapping Pond back to reality.
Pond shook her head turned around to face Dove. “Who was that?”
“I don’t know her name, all I do know for sure is that it’s Red’s wife.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Lucky guy, ain’t he? That mare is like sex on hooves!”
Pond was taken aback by this. “Are you one of those… that prefer… those of the… mare-ly persuasion?”
“What?”
“Y’know… a… filly fancier?”
“What?” Dove then clicked on. “OH! You could have just said lesbian, would have been a hay of a lot easier. But no, I assure you. I'm strictly into colts. But c’mon, would you seriously kick her out of bed?”
Pond’s silence spoke volumes.
“I thought so.” Dove leaned in closer to Pond and said quietly, “And just a side note here, Darlin’. That mare might be sexier, but she ain’t half the dancer you are.”
Pond blushed.
The crowd started to slowly leave the club, now that all the shows were over. Those still sober enough said their goodnights to the staff and left without fuss, others had to be lead out by the bouncers. But one particular colt, drunk and… obviously aroused, trotted over to Pond, swaying dangerously with each step. He stood behind her as she sat facing the bar and chatting with Dove. He grabbed her in an undesired way. Pond let out a quick shriek as she was pulled to the floor. Dove was quick to act and jumped over the bar, she kicked the colt hard in the ribs and whistled loudly at a couple of bouncers, who swiftly came over to them, grabbed him and threw him to the curb.
“Are you alright, hon?” Dove lowered herself to the floor next to Pond and helped her up.
Pond didn’t reply, her voice was lost once again.
“Don’t worry, he won’t be coming back,” Dove said menacingly as she stood back up with Pond. Dove looked at her, her top lip was quivering. She quickly hugged her before she started crying. “Hey,” she whispered, “Don’t cry. It happens to all of us mares here at some point. We won’t let anything worse happen to you. We’re your friends and will protect you like one of our own.” She pulled away again and looked at Pond, whose face was no longer looking on the brink crying but instead in deep thought. “What’s up?”
“Your voice. It’s… changed. It’s less… sassy.”
“Yeah, that’s the act I put on. Red thought it would be a good idea for his best bar-mare to talk like that. And let me tell ya, it feels so good when you don’t have to talk like that anymore.”
Pond smiled at her. Her natural voice was so much nicer, sweeter and friendlier than her pretend one, although it lacked any sort of power.
Dove let go of Pond, who instantly lost balance and almost fell over, if it weren’t for Dove catching her in time.
“Easy there,” she said as she pulled Pond back up to her hooves. “Looks like you might need help getting home. Where d’ya live?”
Pond managed to force the words out. “I don’t.”
“Huh?”
“I-I was kicked out of my hotel because I couldn’t afford to pay them their money back. But I think I got enough tip money to pay for a night at a different one.”
Dove frowned and shook her head. “No, I can’t let you do that. Look at you, ya barely stand if I let go. I can’t let you fend for yourself in a cheap hotel. I’ve heard of horrible things happening in them.”
“But what else can I do?”
“Well, if you ask Red, he will let you stay here. He’s got a couple a beds in the cellar. But I wouldn’t stay here if I were you, it’s not particularly safe. It got broken into eight times in the past three weeks. Twice in one night once! And in your state, I don’t think you could handle being by yourself.”
“And just what is that supposed to mean?” Pond asked, faking being insulted, she knew Dove was right, she didn’t want to be alone.
“I know what it feels like for that to happen, I know too well. I didn’t want to be left alone. Nowhere felt safe. Didn’t sleep for days on end.” Dove shut her eyes, her mind trying desperately to re-forget the events of two years ago. Fortunately, pushing it back was an easy and well practiced task. She took a short breath and continued talking.
“But anyway, you can stay with me if ya want.”
“Really?” Pond said happily, she was glad to finally have a friend willing to do that for her in that Celestia forsaken city.
“Of course! Why would I lie about that? C’mon now, my house is only about 45 minutes by hoof away from here. Can you walk without falling over?”
“I think so.” Pond said nervously as she cautiously pushed herself off Dove’s shoulder, her legs only shook a little bit. “There. See? I'm fine.”
“Good. Have you got any stuff with you?”
“Yeah, it’s in the back.”
“Okay, go get it. I would like to leave pretty damn soon.”
Pond trotted off the backstage and collected her belongings, all of which were still there. She came back onto the stage and jumped off with unnecessary enthusiasm. Dove was placing her white apron onto a hook behind the bar and grabbed a bag from under the counter, slinging it over her shoulder.
“You ready?” Dove called to Pond who nodded her head. “Right, let’s go then.” Dove headed towards the door slowly giving Pond a chance to catch up.
Pond picked up the pace a little, but slowed as she got behind Dove. Her wing bumps were much more obvious in the brighter light. Pond couldn’t resist. She raised a hoof and prodded one, causing Dove to stop and visibly shiver. She didn’t move for a second or two, her face completely blank.
“Do that again,” she said emotionlessly. Pond did as requested and prodded both of them this time. Dove shivered again but a little more violently. She shook her head clear.
“That was… tingly.” She stood still for a second more before jumping up slightly and started walking again.
“That’s enough dawdling. We should really get a move on.” Dove put on a faster pace which Pond struggled to keep up with.
– P –
Their pace had slowed considerably, they hadn’t made much effort to keep up any sort of speed. They just spent their time walking and talking. The city of Hooflyn was like any other city of that size, it was very grim, but had some hidden quality that you couldn’t see right away, only after a while of living there would you be able to see it. Pond still didn’t see it.
“So how long have you been a Bar-mare?” Pond asked inquisitively, she was getting bored of the sounds of sirens and alarms.
“Only a couple of months, actually,” Dove stated matter-of-factly.
“Really? You must have a knack for it.”
“I'm surprised it’s not my cutie mark.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t have a cutie mark. I'm a blank flank.”
Pond checked. She was right, she was a blank flank. “How’s that possible? You must be…” Pond gestured wildly, not wanting to insult Dove with a misjudged guess of her age.
“Twenty. And I don’t know how, but I think that’s why Red hired me.”
“Huh?”
“Red found me at Lost as well didn’t he? He brought me to his club and asked if I wanted a job, and I said yes. He told me later about how me not having a cutie mark appealed to colts.”
“What? Why?” Pond could not fathom any reason for this.
“I don’t know. You know colts, they’re a strange bunch. But Red told me it’s something to do with innocence and they must find that nice.”
“So you were a dancer?”
“Yep. And I don’t mean to brag but I was THE best!”
“Seriously?” Pond smiled in a way to say “aren’t you forgetting someone?”
“Don’t flatter yourself. You’re good and all, but I can see through you. All the colts in the audience are blind when such a pretty young thing like you is prancing around like you do, but I can see you hiding your true feelings.”
“Really? I thought I hid it really well.”
“You did, but I have a lot of time to watch, so I eventually saw through your confident steps, and I could see how you hate it. And that’s why I'm better. I loved it. If only you could have seen me dance. I was raking in thousands of bits a night in tips! My wages didn’t even compare. Also-,” Dove looked around nervously and leant in to whisper to Pond. “Don’t tell anyone but, Red told me once that-,” she quietened down further, “He once was thinking of me when… you know… with his wife.” Dove giggled girlishly and Pond blushed.
“No?” Pond didn’t believe her, “Really?”
Dove nodded excitedly.
“Why would he ever tell you that?”
“Red is… surprisingly open about that sort of stuff. Especially after a few drinks.”
“That’s… impressive. But what happened? Why did you become a Bar-mare?”
“A costume malfunction, is the simple story. But I guess you want the longer one?”
Pond nodded her head.
Dove sighed. “Alright then…
“Red, are you sure about this?” Dove asked nervously.
“What?” Red replied exhaustedly.
“It’s… this costume. It’s designed for a Pegasus.”
“And you are one, aren’t you?”
“Yes. Bu-”
“Then what’s the problem?” Red laughed.
“Ponies will see my…” Dove looked down at the floor embarrassedly as she said this, watching her hoof swing back and forth as she held it the air.
Red put his hooves on her shoulders. “Hey. Look at me.” He shook her a little bit and she looked into his scarlet eyes. “They’re nothing to be ashamed of.”
“But-.”
“Ah!” he silenced her with a raised hoof. “Listen to me. They are NOTHING to be ashamed of. You’re beautiful, okay? And don’t let anypony tell you otherwise.”
Red looked up as he heard the music come on. “That’s your cue.” Red took his hooves off her shoulders. “Are you okay to go on?”
Dove took a deep breath. “I think so.” She turned around and stepped forward tentatively.
“Good. Now-,” He slapped her flank, “Do me proud.” He smiled sweetly at her.
Dove looked over her shoulder and smiled back.
That slap to the flank strangely invigorated her and gave her a huge boost of confidence. Dove walked out into the roar of the audience and the blinding light. That night she felt much more in the mood for dancing, so her routine was much more… seductive. She had never done anything like that before, it was amazing, in her mind she couldn’t see how anypony would not be enjoying this to the fullest. She didn’t even notice the silence of the crowd, or the clicking of the door as some Ponies left, or even the lack of money raining down on the stage.
She had finished, panting to try and catch her breath. Once caught, she looked up at her adoring fans and expected a huge round of cheering and whistling. But no, instead all she got was silence and the horrified and disgusted faces of a few dozen colts staring at her, but in particular at her back.
“What gives?!” she whispered angrily as she turned and stormed off the stage.
Red was staring at the unusually calm crowd, stupefied to the spot. Dove walked up to him, her nose barely an inch away from his, with nothing but venom in her eyes.
“That… I didn’t expect.” He continued to stare through her, his face retaining an emotionless state.
“You seriously didn’t expect that? SERIOUSLY?!” Dove yelled at him, breaking his absence of attention and making him focus on her.
“What? I thought they would focus on the dancing. After all, you were on fire tonight.”
Dove nodded along to his words sarcastically. “Oh… you thought they wouldn’t notice, of course they wouldn’t, would they,” she spoke with angered sarcasm. “Of course they wouldn’t notice these two huge deformities sticking out of my back!” she shouted, on the brink of tears. “And what a bucking brilliant idea from you, saying I should where a costume which does nothing but highlight them!” She reached her head over her shoulder and ripped a shred of the costume of. “Bucking fantastic!” She continued ripping the costume.
Red had no idea what to do; all he could do was watch in silence as Dove tore angrily at the costume, with tears starting to flow freely from her eyes.
Dove finished moments later, the costume was completely destroyed and laying strewn on the floor in pieces, all apart from a belt around her waist which she couldn’t rip or take off without help. Red looked at the costume on the floor then back to Dove, her cheeks were soaked with tears, her makeup had run down as well. She was shuddering violently with the combination of sheer anger and sadness. She had begun gasping for air, hyperventilating almost. Suddenly, she bolted past Red, emitting loud sobs as she did. She galloped out of the backstage exit and into the car park behind the club.
Red was frozen on the spot. Never before had he had to deal with this kind of situation. He quickly realised however, that it would be a monumentally stupid idea not to follow her. In her state she would be considerably more vulnerable than usual.
Red galloped after her, hoping he could find her before it was too late and something horrible happened. He made it outside in no time at all and looked around frantically for any sign of Dove, but it was too dark. He heard a strange noise, something like a pained grunt mixed with tears. His mind quickly made the link and ran over to the source of the noise. It was coming from the alley around the side of the club.
As he reached the end of the alley he could make out the silhouette of a mare, she was repeatedly swinging her back against something. Red approached slowly at first, but this meant he could start to make out the something, it was glinting like glass in the orange glow of the street lights. Fear shot into his heart as he knew instantly what was happening.
He charged at her and tackled her, pinning her to the ground. His first thought was how glad he was to have tackled the right mare. But his next thought was a mystery to him, all it did was bring on a barrage of tears.
“No no no no no no no no. Please don’t do that,” he pleaded with her, tears falling from his face onto hers. He wasn’t even completely sure what she was doing, but he knew he just wanted her to stop.
“Why not? I'm hideous! I just want to cut these things right off!” Dove sobbed.
“Don’t you dare do that. You are NOT hideous. It’s not worth it.” Red nuzzled her cheek. “It’s not worth it,” he repeated in a whisper.
He looked up at Dove’s face, she wasn’t noticeably crying anymore. He looked up at the shard of glass sticking out of an old metal window frame. His eyes went wide and he paled as he saw a small bit of flesh sticking on the edge of the glass. He hesitantly placed a quivering hoof under her back. When he withdrew it he noticed it was covered in blood. Next he noticed how Dove had all but stopped breathing and her heart had slowed right down. He started shivering with fear, then his mind kicked into gear.
“Call an ambulance,” he said calmly to himself. He stood up.
“Call an ambulance,” he said again but a bit louder.
“Oh sweet Celestia call a bucking ambulance!” he roared into the night. He ran at full speed round to the front of the club, stilling pleading to anypony listening to call an ambulance. He made it to the front door within seconds and kicked it down nearly.
“CALL A BUCKNG AMBULANCE!” he shouted into the club, causing the music to halt and everypony to immediately stop what they were doing and look at him. Nopony knew whether or not he was serious, but as he shot a vicious stare at the Bar-mare she knew not to ask questions. As the Bar-mare rang for an ambulance Red ran back to the alley to keep an eye on Dove. There was a visible pool of blood now under her. Red ran to her side and tried to keep her alive to the best of his abilities. Minutes later, an ambulance arrived.
“Red didn’t leave my side for days on end,” Dove said quietly. “I was in hospital for a week and he was always there beside me. According to the doctors he hadn’t actually left. When I woke up after a few days he practically exploded, I had never seen him so happy. He jumped up on the bed and kissed me and everything. Once I recovered and came back to work, he had a chat with me and said that I should probably work behind the bar after, y’know, that humiliation. I was so glad to. I had a knack for it as well which helped.” Dove giggled to herself. “It also meant I could watch all the other dancers do their thing.”
Pond gave her a questioning look. “Are you sure you’re not…” she tilted her end to the side in the hopes Dove would get the gist, she couldn’t bring herself to say “lesbian”.
“I am sure. Dancers are supposed to entertain, so why can’t I enjoy it too?”
“I'm not saying that, it’s just that… you seem rather… passionate about it.”
“It’s my life. I do very little else.”
“I see…” Pond sighed. “You know, I must say that Red surprised me in your story. I wouldn’t expect him to care that much.”
“You better believe it. Red would never let any of his girls come to harm, we’re his family. If you ever had a problem he will help you no matter what. He is one of the most caring colts you could ever meet,” she said with an airy voice, her eyes not focusing on anything.
A smile crept to Pond’s face as she looked at Dove’s absent expression. “You have a thing for Red, don’t you?”
“What? No!” Dove’s eyes darted uneasily side to side.
“Oh Celestia. You do!” Pond laughed.
“No!”
“Yes you do!” Pond started skipping around Dove. “Dove loves Re-ed. Dove loves Re-ed,” she sang childishly.
“Stop it now. I don’t!” Dove said getting a little more irritated.
“Yes you do-o!” Pond stopped in front of Dove and poked her nose. “You luuurrrve him!”
“Shut up!” Dove pushed Pond back.
“Okay, okay. I’ll stop talking about your crush on Red.”
Dove shot a glare at Pond but she just giggled childishly, Dove couldn’t help but laugh with her. She shook her head and continued walking, nudging Pond with a hoof. They continued walking back to Dove’s house.
– P –
After narrowly escaping getting hit by a car, the two Ponies made it back to Dove’s house. It was a two storey terrace house, right smack-bang in the middle of the street, surrounded on either side by considerably run down houses, making her house look much nicer.
“There it is!” Dove shouted ecstatically as it came into view. She put on a bit more speed and ran across the road. She fumbled around with her mouth in her bag and pulled out a key. She unlocked the door and went inside, throwing her key into a pot by the door, knowing exactly where it was even in the dark. She flicked the light switch on and the dim hallway light lit up the cramped corridor. After Pond walked in Dove quickly slammed the door shut and locked the many locks and chains, securing the door tightly from intruders. She breathed a sigh of relief knowing they were in the safety of her home.
“Welcome, Pond, to my home,” she said with great pleasure.
Pond looked around. It was nothing special, the walls were a dull beige with a few pictures hanging on them. There were a few plants dotted around the place to brighten everything up. It was very cramped in the hallway, which is the one thing Pond couldn’t get over. “It’s… nice.”
“You don’t have to sound so ungrateful, Honey,” her sassy voice returned momentarily.
“No, I mean it. It’s nice. A million times better than that hotel I was staying at.”
“I should hope so. Can I get you anything? Drink? Food?” Dove asked politely.
Pond looked at her stomach, just mentioning food made it rumble. “Err… actually, I could murder a sandwich.”
“Say no more, I’ll see what I can rustle up.” Dove squeezed past her and went into the kitchen. “Go through to the living room. I’ll be there in a jiffy,” Dove called from the kitchen.
Pond walked through the other door, assuming it was the right one seeing as there weren’t any others. This room was much nicer, it was being bathed in the pale light coming from a fish tank, the walls were also a much more enticing colour, being striped with reds and blues. It even smelt nicer thanks to a vase of flowers in the corner. Pond found the light switch and twisted it, the lights grew brighter as she turned it up, but she stopped when she reached a nice mood lighting. She slid her bags off onto the floor, placing them neatly in the corner.
Her eyes caught sight of a sofa on the other side, it was the most comfortable looking sofa she ever saw. She looked around, making sure the coast was clear, it was. A mischievous grin curled to her lips as she readied to pounce on it. She took a short running start and then lunged into the air and came down onto the sofa. It was even comfier than she imagined, she could have eaten it, it was that comfortable, which she had to admit was a very strange thought to have when it comes to sofas.
Dove walked in at the very moment to see Pond land heavily on her sofa. She just had to smile.
“Grub’s up!” she called as she carried in two plates with a sandwich on each.
Pond rearranged herself to let Dove sit next to her and prepared for the sandwich she was about to eat. Dove placed the plates on the sofa and jumped up herself. She got herself in a comfortable lounging position and pulled the plate towards her. She leant on one of her hooves and in the other she held her sandwich. She moved the sandwich to bite it but stopped when she noticed how Pond was sitting.
“How do you sit like that?” She was mildly impressed.
“What? Like this? It’s easy really, all you do is first-,”
“I don’t mean how. Why is what I really meant.”
“Oh… well, it’s comfortable.”
“Really? To me it just looks like you bending your spine badly.”
“No, not at all. Also it gives you this little shelf to rest plates on,” Pond said as she gestured towards the lower half of her body supporting a plate.”
“I see…” Dove couldn’t help but look at her, she couldn’t believe her when she said it was comfortable, it wasn’t natural for a Pony to bend that way.
“You try it!”
“Nah. I'm good thanks.” Dove forced her attention back onto her sandwich and took a bite. “Oh yeah,” she said with a mouth full of food. “I don’t want to rush you but it’s pushing for two o’clock, and I should think we have both had long days. So…” She gulped down the bite of sandwich and took another huge chunk.
“Yeah that’s fine. I was planning to go to sleep after this anyway. I can never go to bed on an empty stomach.”
“I know what you mean.”
Dove demolished her sandwich by the time Pond was on the final quarter, but still she didn’t rush her, just waited patiently for her to finish.
She saw the final gulp go down her neck. “Did you like that?” she asked hopefully.
“Yeah, it was good.” Pond yawned wide and stretched her tired limbs.
“I agree. C’mon, I’ll show you to your room.” Dove rolled off the sofa and took the plates into the kitchen, giving Pond the chance to grab her bags from the corner of the room. Dove came back in and gestured for Pond to follow her. They went up the creaky stairs silently.
They reached the top.
“Okay, this is the bathroom.” She pointed a hoof at the door in front of them. “My room is that one and yours is at the end there.”
She led Pond to the room at the front of the house and opened the door. It was clearly primarily used for storage as there were a few boxes dotted around as well as a bookcase full of assorted items and books.
“It’s a bit of a mess sorry, but the bed’s comfortable and that’s all that matters really.” Dove quickly made the bed for her, although all she did was roughly spread the quilt over the bed. “There you go, hop in!” she said enthusiastically.
“Thanks,” Pond yawned.
“I’ll leave you to it then. And if you need me I'm just down the hall.” Dove walked out of the room and pulled the door closed slightly. “Good night!” she said kindly just before she closed the door gently.
“Good night,” Pond said back to her through the door, trying to stop herself yawning again.
She rummaged through her bags and took out her old reliable Unicorn doll Winks, she still couldn’t sleep without him and doubted she ever would. She climbed into the bed and pulled the quilt up to her head. It was the comfiest bed she had slept in since leaving Trotland all those months ago. She clutched Winks tight to her chest and shut her eyes, sleep came easy to her for once.
– P –
It was still dark. Roughly half four in the morning. Dove was woken by a terrifying noise, the shrill screaming of the mare in the other room. She had experience with this sort of thing and did not hesitate to act. She jumped out of bed and grasped the machete in her mouth; she always kept one unsheathed on her bedside table just for something like this. She bolted out her door and down the short hallway to Pond’s room. Adrenaline pumping she was ready for anything. She reached the door barely seconds after being woken up and kicked it open with her front legs, prepared to kill the monster who dares attack her friend.
She stood in the doorway for a split second before dropping the machete to the floor, making a soft clanking noise as it hit. Dove hadn’t expected that. Pond was sat bolt upright in the bed, screaming the house down with no apparent reason. Dove jumped onto the bed in front of Pond and hugged her, it was the only thing she could think of doing. She held her tight, stroking her hoof through her mane in the hopes to calm her down.
“Ssh,” Dove whispered, and then repeated profusely, rocking Pond gently back and forth.
Pond eventually stopped screaming and launched herself at Dove, wrapping her forelegs around her neck and burying her face into it, sobbing loudly with huge amounts of tears now soaking Dove’s neck. This went on for a good few minutes before her crying died down.
“What happened?” Dove found an appropriate time to ask.
Pond whimpered slightly.
“Ssh ssh ssh. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” Dove rubbed her back, trying to calm her again before another round of tears came about. She leant her head against Pond’s and shut her eyes, trying to be as affectionate and caring as possible.
“Do you want to sleep in my bed with me tonight?” she asked, wondering whether or not it was an appropriate question giving their age.
She felt Pond nod against her neck. “Okay then. Come on, let’s go.” Dove pulled away from Pond slowly, not wanting to shock her. She could now see the extent of Pond’s nightmares, she looked a mess, somehow there was still a bit of makeup that ran down her cheek, her mane was all over the place. But her eyes were the worst affected, they were so red it was worrying.
Dove felt her neck, there was an impressive amount of liquid there, her coat had become matted in that one spot.
She slowly dropped off the bed and waited for Pond to follow, she didn’t want to rush her. Once Pond had jumped down Dove picked up the machete again, she turned and saw Pond pick up an ugly old doll between her chattering teeth. Dove was confused as to why an 18 year old mare, out in a strange new world, would have a doll, but she decided that it probably wasn’t the time to ask any more questions. She led Pond out of the room, holding her hoof. They walked incredibly slowly.
They walked into Dove’s room, Dove flicking the bedside lamp on as she passed it. She let go of Pond so she could climb into the bed. Pond lay on the edge, clutching her doll, shivering in the cold. Dove placed the machete back on the bedside table and got into bed next to her, it was just big enough to accommodate both of them without a squeeze. She turned off the lamp and pulled the covers over them. Dove felt very awkward at that moment in time, she didn’t know what to do, whether she should give Pond some room or hug her and try to make her more comfortable. She chose the latter, it only felt right to her. She slid along the bed and behind Pond, and wrapped her forelegs around Pond, holding her under her forelegs. She was awkward at first, but then she felt Pond move against her and get comfortable with Dove’s forelegs around her, letting out an erratic sigh of relief once she found the right spot and swiftly fell asleep. Dove, too, sighed with relief, and then proceeded to move closer to Pond as she no longer felt awkward. Pond was shorter than her, so she could rest her head against hers, with Pond curled up slightly it meant she slotted in nicely into Dove’s body. Dove nuzzled the back of her neck, and then shut her eyes, she couldn’t believe how comfortable Pond was; she was so soft and pleasantly warm against her tear stained coat. Sleep fell upon her in mere moments.