The sun was drifting slowly towards the horizon as Andrew and Violet approached the edge of the market. The human was pulling the wagon while his new employee sat on it. Violet listened intently to Andrew as he explained basic repairs and safety guidelines. When she got to Surgarcube Corner, the first thing she noticed was the wagon outside, and how it now said 'Sully's and Co. Fixit Wagon'.
"And that's why, when you're working with electronics, you need to ground yourself first. My uncle had a stutter ever since then." Andrew stopped in front of the Ponyville general store, where the sign that hung over the door had fallen. He turned around to face Violet. "I'll be back, I'm gonna go tell Knick Knack we're here."
Violet nodded as he walked away. Jumping off the wagon, she walked over to the fallen sign. It was big, longer then Andrew was tall. A long, jagged crack ran along it's surface. Andrew walked out of the store followed by a grey pony wearing a red an white striped apron. The human approached the sign and studied it.
"It's in pretty bad shape, Mr. Knack." He began scratching his head. "I could put it back up, but with that crack there, a subtle fart could snap it in two."
Knick Knack rubbed his chin as he stared at the sign. "Do you think you can make me another one."
"Absolutely, but it would bump the cost up to one hundred twenty bits. It'll also take me a few days at least." Andrew and Violet watched as Mr. Knack thought it over.
"I can work with that." He finally said as he offered the human a hoof. Andrew shook it firmly. The shopkeeper went back inside after discussing some of the details with Andrew.
Andrew pointed at one end of the sign. "Help me get this onto the wagon, be careful, it wouldn't take much to break it at this point."
They placed the sign on the wagon, and Andrew was about to start pulling the wagon when something hit him in the chest. looking down, he saw something that caused him to sigh deeply. He looked up to find out who threw the banana. Laughter brought his attention to the culprits, a group of teens who were pointing and laughing at him.
Noticing the glare he was giving them, one of the teens began shouting at him. "What's the matter, monkey shit! Aren't you hungry!?" His outburst caused the others to laugh harder. Violet noticed that nopony acknowledged what was happening. In fact a couple stopped to watch. Then the kid said something that caught her attention. "Hey guys! Look! He's got a vampony with him!"
"Shouldn't you be inside, vampony!?" One of his friends began. "I thought you guys burned in the sunlight! We should've brought some sunblock for you!" Their antagonistic laughter caused Violet to shrink, her ears folding back on her head. Her wings slowly extending to wrap around herself. Her eyes never leaving the ground. She never noticed Andrew's eyes, how the emotion in them shifted from surprise at her becoming a target of the ridicule, to a glare directed at the teenagers.
Their laughter stopped one by one as they noticed his eyes. The human was for the most part passive towards any prejudice thrown at him, only resisting in his first few months of his arrival. Violet noticed the quiet as she took a tentative glance at the ne'er do wells, only to see Andrew taking slow steps toward them, rolling up the sleeves of his flannel work shirt. Every pony, including those who stopped to watch and those who were walking by, had looks of fear and surprise on their faces.
The human stood over the teenagers, his brow furrowed, and the banana in his hand. He raised the fruit and pointed it at the kids, one by one. Each one flinched as he did. When he spoke, his voice fostered a feral growl, and he made extra care to make sure he bared his teeth with each word.
"Who threw it?" His eyes held the fires of hell itself. The children were quick to point out the culprit. Andrew tossed the banana at his hooves. "I hate bananas. Keep that in mind next time." He shifted his gaze to the others. "Beat it." They continued to stare at the now angry human. "BEAT IT!" They ran off with their tails between their legs. Andrew sighed and returned to the wagon with a softer expression on his face. Violet noticed how he wouldn't look her in the eye as he approached. He grabbed the wagon and was about to start pulling when he saw the other ponies watching him. "Show's over!" He shouted as he began pulling.
They left the marketplace in the direction of Andrew's house. The quiet was awkward, neither knowing what to say. Violet began to notice how far out of town he lived. She lived by town hall. Why did he live so far out? Was it because of the ponies? Or did he just prefer open space? She was brought out of her thoughts by the human's voice.
"Sorry." He didn't look back at her, but his head was visibly drooping. Violet didn't know what to say. She admitted to herself that when Andrew shouted and got angry, he was kind of scary. "I try not to let them get to me, but sometimes.. I don't know." He shook his head as he pulled up to his garage. He straightened himself and turned around to face Violet. "I'm usually here in the mornings, getting things ready to head out, so meet me here at the usual time for now on." She helped him get the sign in the garage, then they said goodbye, and she went home.
Violet was sitting in her living room, holding a book. She wasn't reading it so much as staring at while thinking about Andrew. When she left his house, he looked sad. The more she thought of it, the less she thought that he was sad, but in pain. Not a physical pain so much, but an inner turmoil that can't be put into words. She's seen that look before. On the faces of Thestral guards in her old home, and the face her father has when he thinks no one is looking.
She was pulled from her contemplation by a knock her door. Putting the book away, she walked toward her door wondering who was there. It was late, in fact the sun was setting. When she opened it, she was surprised by who was on the other side.
It was Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, and a cyan Pegasus with a rainbow mane. Then Rarity spoke.
"Violet, darling, do you think you can do us a favor?"
Andrew sat with his eyes closed. Thoughts raced from one side of his mind to another. From the outside he seemed to be sleeping, but he was awake, which is half of why he was here. Sitting on an all to familiar bench. He had taken off his work shirt and replaced it with his hoodie. The human couldn't remember how long he had been out here. He felt a presence near him. A smile grew on his features as he remembered the last time this happened.
"Like I said, I prefer the stares of infatuation to be on my good side." He opened his eyes to see a now red faced Violet, but she only smirked and rolled her eyes before taking a seat next to the human. Any awkwardness from earlier seemed to have melted away as they sat on that bench where they met the other day. "What brings you out here?"
"I was going to ask you the same thing." Violet fired back with a smirk. The human looked up at the stars with a look of inconclusive thought. He didn't know what to say.
"You ever, just, I don't know.. Think?" Though he couldn't see Violet's confused visage, he continued. "I think. I think when I'm at home and when I work. I think when I'm happy, when I'm sad, and when I'm not particularly either. I think when I'm alone and when I'm with others. I think about good things. I think about bad things. I think about things in between. I think about my mother, my father, my sister and brother. I think about my old life, my old job, my old friends. I think about my new life, my new friends. I think about Twilight, Aj, Skittles, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie. I think about Big Mac, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and more recently," He finally moved his gaze to Violet, "you." This caused Violet face to redden again. "I think about my orders, my projects, and the sculptures that I make out of the leftover scraps. I think when I'm awake, when I eat, and when I'm trying to sleep. I think I think too much. Don't you think?"
Violet stared at him for a few seconds trying to comprehend what he said. "So," she started before raising a brow, "you can't sleep?" This caused the human to start laughing lake a mad man. Violet joined in shortly after.
"I guess that is what I was trying to say." He leaned over to Violet and whispered. "Did the girls put you up to this?" She widened her eyes as she looked back at the human. She mouthed word 'how', and the human merely pointed to a nearby bush with a curly pink tail sticking out. "They're not very good at that, but let's humor them for a bit." They relaxed back into their seats. Violet had a thought that caused her ears to fall flat, which Andrew noticed. "What's on your mind?"
"Why do you sit at this particular bench?"
Andrew got as comfortable in the bench as he could. "For the first six or seven months, I would come and sit on this bench."
"Why?"
"To wait," He crossed his legs and placed an arm on the back of the bench, "for a portal or a miracle. anything that would take me home." He pointed to spot where the grass was a lighter green then the ground around it. It was so unnoticeable, that Violet would never have seen it if Andrew hadn't pointed at it. "That's where I got here. The grass has always brighter in that spot since. I stopped coming here after the Princesses told me they couldn't get me home."
"Then why did you come here now?"
A bitter smile spread on Andrew's face. "Because, I can't let go. I try with all my might to, but I can't. Back when I was still coming here on the daily, it filled me with just a little hope. Hope that a miracle would happen. So, I come here nowadays in search of that hope." He looked over at Violet, catching her eye, and for a brief moment they looked into each others eyes. Violet saw the love he had for his friends, the hope that he wished he could find, and the agony he tried so desperately to hide. She jumped when he finally spoke. "Earlier today when I drove those kids off, it was the first time in two years that I stood up to the ponies like that, but I didn't do it for myself." Violet gaped when she realized what he meant. He smiled before standing up and walking away, only to stop by the suspicious bush. "I'm sorry about last night, girls."
Four heads popped out of the bush. Pinkie was the only one to respond without a groan. "It's no problem Andy!"
Rarity spoke as she magicked the leaves out of her mane. "We really shouldn't have cornered you like that dear. We should apologize."
"Our bad, Sully." Rainbow floated over and lightly punched his shoulder.
"It's okay, but I'm really sorry Aj. We promised never to speak about that.. argument, and I broke it, I'm sorry." Andrew looked at Applejack with regret on his face and a fist extended towards the farmer. "We cool?"
Applejack hoof bumped the human with a smile. "It's not a problem, like Rarity said, we shouldn't of cornered ya like that."
Andrew smiled, said goodbye, and walked away. Leaving the girls and Violet, who was lost in thought.After a few moments, she had come to a conclusion.
If Andrew needed hope, then she would do all she could to help him find it.