//------------------------------//
// Along for the Ride 
// Story: The Capacity of Forgiveness 
// by Frenac 
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“Even if you don’t really want to go along with somepony somewhere, you may find you still earned something out of it anyway.” –Skyborne Dream


Aliya sprawled in a plush couch, gazing expectantly through the glass panel across from her and beside the door.  She had just called her friend Tomlin Umali, a journalist, and asked him to come visit.  For the last 15 minutes, she’d been waiting on the couch for him.
Maybe he decided to skip out again.  In another one of those bad moods.  Come on, you said you were coming today—
“Aliya?  It’s Tom.”
“Sorry, I’m coming!” Aliya cried abashedly, hurrying to the front door and unlocking it.  Tom, a tall young man in a drab olive jacket and faded jeans, stepped in and pulled off his worn black dress shoes, then shut the door behind him.
“Did I keep you waiting long?” Aliya asked, slightly nervous.
“Nope.  Just got here.  I made a stop for vodka.  Dulls the pains of life pretty well, I think.”
“What?  You don’t get drunk, do you?”
“Of course I do.  How else is it going to work?  Besides, today’s been a rough day.  I can’t let it go to my head.”
“That’s terrible!  Give me that bottle in your bag then!”
“Only if you’re going to drink it,” Tom chuckled. “But I know you well enough, so no.  I need the extra strength anyway.”
“What’s got you so down today?  Come on, take a seat and talk things out with me.”
Aliya scurried into a dining area and sat at a long rectangular table, where her laptop rested.  Tom followed suit and sat beside her.
“Okay, you want to know?  Some f—” Tom glanced at Aliya and took a swig of vodka. “Sorry.  So today I was asked to write a review on ‘My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic’, so I had to watch something like 10 episodes or something.  Worst goddamn waste of my life.”
“Tom!”
“Oh, you’re into that crap too, I forgot.  Anyway, I tried to write a decent review of it, and just a few minutes after it goes up, people start complaining and flaming me, saying it was ‘unfair’.  And you know what, just about all ‘bronies’ too.  WTF, people.  What did I do wrong?” Tom guzzled another mouthful of vodka. “See, no one f—, I mean frickin’ appreciates my work, so don’t start trying to…uh, I can’t remember now.”
Aliya tried to give a comforting smile. “Just one incident can’t make it all bad.  Come on, watch some MLP with me.  It will be better if you watch it with me.  That’s why I called you here in the first place.”
“Oh, god no!  I didn’t come all the way here to dump salt in my eyes!” Tom yelled in shock, jumping up from his chair.
“Sorry,” Aliya sighed. “I’m being stupid right now.  But how about just one episode, one that you haven’t seen?”
“Sure,” Tom groaned, and sat back down.
Aliya flipped through several disorderly videos on her laptop until she picked one named “A Canterlot Wedding, Part 1”.
After the 22-minute episode had passed, Tom stared at Aliya with tired, glazed eyes. “How about the, uh, next part?”
“You what?  You actually enjoyed it?”
“Yeah, better start watching it before I black out,” Tom muttered, shaking the empty vodka bottle before Aliya.
“Here.  Give it to me,” said Aliya as she pulled the bottle from his loose grip. 
“Don’t spill it on the floor now.  You’d better drink the rest of the damned thing.”
Aliya set it on the table and began the next video. “It’s empty, you know.”
“Oh, right,” Tom said, laughing.
As they watched, Tom pointed at the screen and mumbled, “Who’s that?”
“Who?  Oh, that’s Chrysalis, the queen changeling.”
“And as queen of the changelings, it is up to me to find food for my subjects.  Equestria has more love than any other place I’ve ever encountered.  My fellow changelings will be able to devour so much…”
“Tom?  Tom?” Aliya called, while nudging Tom on the shoulder.  He was slumped over his chair, head tilted to one side so saliva dribbled from his mouth.  She brought him upright in his chair and wiped the drool away with a napkin.  Aliya glanced around for a better way for Tom to sit, then finally pulled him out of his chair, dragged him to the couch, and set him down.  She set a trashcan beside his feet and closed her laptop.  Not much point in it now.  Maybe I’ll go to sleep early.
Aliya settled in her bed in her bedroom upstairs and stared at the ceiling.  Why did my parents have to paint it pink?  Well, at least it can remind me of Pinkie Pie.  Aliya smiled and shut her eyes.