Mrs. Quick Quill was touch typing, somehow. Her hooves hovered over the keyboard, moving to and fro, up and down, brushing over the clicking keys.
It was fascinating to watch, a little like having a front-row seat view of a skilled violinist's fingers. The skewbald brown and white mare had amazingly fine control of her hoof magic. But Laura had grown bored with watching. She'd been trapped in this small office for ages! Waiting while Buttercup was interviewed and then spending at least an hour giving Quill her name, pre-Event information, family history, and telling her the story of how she'd travelled to Beantown.
There was a form to fill in and sign so Chicken Whiskers would get his precious head-hunting bonus. Quill said that he'd get the Basic Resident Referral amount for now, until Laura had found her hooves in Beantown's economy. He might get a little or a lot more depending on how valuable her contribution was assessed. No pressure. Quill showed her a map of the town and pointed out the nearest farms — converted golf courses. She seemed put out by Laura's lack of enthusiasm for farming and advised that she would be happiest in a career that suited her flower cutie mark.
Laura had nodded and thanked her for the advice. She just wanted to get through this quickly so they could help her find Thomas! All she needed was an address, his home or work, and she'd be out of here like a shot!
The office was a converted guest room at the hotel and felt rather homey if overcrowded. Three desks lined up in a row, each corralled with a screen of thin orange 'open plan' office dividers. Filing cabinets lined one wall with wrapped blocks of paper stacked on top. Now and then a printer would clatter, load a sheet of paper, and whine for a few minutes before spitting out a page. The noise drowned out the hushed conversation between the other two mares busy with clerical work. They were sorting and processing the mound of letter and paperwork that Chick and Gavi had delivered when they weren't listening in with pricked ears to Laura's conversation with Quick Quill.
Laura sipped her cooling cup of rose-hip tea and tried to still her impatiently tapping rear hoof.
"There, I think that's everything", said Quick Quill. She settled back in her creaky chair and smiled warmly at Laura. "You've certainly had quite an adventure, Miss Smith. I'm very happy that things ended on a friendly note with Deck."
Laura had glossed over the fight. She didn't want to recall the surreal moment when she'd felt Deck's fragile head under her hoof.
"I may not have appreciated our draconic residents while they resided here but Deck was one of the nicest — for a dragon. And the way your fiancee planned ahead to save you. Just amazing!"
Laura bit back a sigh and said, "Yes, I've been very fortunate since I Returned."
Quill chuckled. "Oh, you had a helping hoof from our little office as well. You see, we helped plan the routes that the Scavengers travel in order to increase the odds of finding lost ponies. Though I suppose you owe your gratitude more to Grand Falls' Office of Returnee Affairs since they handle the area where you met Chicken Whiskers.
"Anyway, that's everything I need for today. Unless you remembered something about your cutie mark? We'll find you an excellent career in Beantown but it would help if we knew more about your Talent."
Laura shifted a little, tucking her reincarnated cardigan around her backside. "I'm afraid that's all I know. It's a flower with a heart-shaped ruby blossom." It was bizarre how quickly her shyness had returned once she had something to wear again.
Quill hmm'd and gave a decisive nod. "Well, it's obviously something to do with agriculture — since you are an earth pony."
Quill was an earth pony but her cutie mark of an olde tyme ink pot and white feather pen didn't have anything to do with farming. Laura envied her though she didn't want to work in an office either. She hoped Beantown had a community of artists and writers to meet and maybe find a job with. Somehow. What a flower had to do with Art she had no idea but grubbing around in a field was just not on!
"Well, we'll get you out in the fields with one of our tutors and I'm certain they will help you figure it out. Now, about your fiancee…"
Laura's ears twitched and she sat up a little straighter. Finally! "Yes?"
"I'll check our citizen files."
Quill slipped off of her chair and plodded over to the row of cabinets and gazed at them for a moment before standing up on her hind legs and sliding open a drawer. She flipped through the folder tabs with dexterous hooves.
Laura scooted forward to sit on the edge of her seat and set her teacup down on the desk before she could drop it. Her hooves were shaking.
"Mmm, nothing for a 'Davies, Thomas'."
The loud clang as the drawer slid shut nearly startled a scream of frustration out of Laura.
Quill looked over her shoulder. "Does he go by any other name?"
Laura shook her head and whined, "Not that I know of." She bit her lip so hard that it hurt.
"Darn. Well, I suppose it's not surprising." Quill carefully walked around the mound of paperwork and back to her desk. "Nopony kept records in the early years and he's probably taken a pony name by now."
Laura groaned. Why wasn't anything ever easy?
"Don't you worry now, hon", Quill said in a patronising tone as she sat down. "The girls and I can hunt through the files and cross reference the description you gave me. There can't be that many unicorn stallions with a pacifier for a cutie mark, now, can there?"
"No, I suppose not." She licked her lips and asked, "How long do you think it will take?"
"Not long at all. But it's going to be all hooves on deck for a couple of days to deal with this." Quill waved a hoof at the disorganised pile and said, "There's a few hundred letters to sort and deliver, and all the inter-town paperwork to get through before the caravan leaves for Alexandria. To top it off, we've got an election to win! Just between you and me…" She leaned close and half-whispered, "Light Spark doesn't stand a chance and Daisy Duke might as well go back to the Hive. Nopony's dumb enough to vote for a changeling!"
"I… suppose not?" It seemed like the polite thing to say.
Quill chuckled as she sat back. "They'd have to be drunk out of their minds to hoof over the pony-half of our government to Queen Bean. Nopony's that dumb."
Trying to get things back on track, Laura asked, "Is there anything I can do to help speed things up?"
"The paperwork or finding your stallion?" She chuckled and said, "Well, you might try asking around in town. Somepony may remember him or, who knows, you might just bump into one another. Wouldn't that be a perfect fairy-tale ending, hmm? Now, you go on and let me and the girls get this done as quick as we can, okay? Drop by tomorrow afternoon and maybe we'll have a chance to catch our breaths and give you a helping hoof."
She held out one of her large hooves and Laura politely tapped it before hopping down from the chair.
"I'll see you tomorrow then, thank you."
Quill absently nodded while fiddling with her laptop's mouse and squinting at the screen.
Laura grabbed her pink saddlebags, flopped them over her back, and tugged her cardigan a little tighter around her sides.
Festigimbal sat at the reception desk and nodded to her as she trotted through the lobby. His magic slid open the door as she walked towards it.
A cool front moved in after the storm, making Laura extra grateful to have her clothing back. The black 'unicorn' who'd delivered it to her room this morning would probably enjoy snacking on that feeling. That disturbing thought, and the cool air, made her coat shiver.
Chick's motorcycle and Gavi's white car were gone. In the parking lot a dozen or so ponies clustered around a tall beige pegasus stallion giving a speech.
"-bring two bags each, no more than about twenty pounds per bag, and a carry-on. The bags go in the Fair Dinkum's hold and you won't be able to get to 'em while we're on the move. We tie up at night so it's fair game then. Keep anything you need during the day in your carry-on, which you'll stow in your cabins on the Freedom. Any questions?"
Mrs. Lee, the peach coloured mare with a green and blue mane who Laura had seen last night in the hotel, raised a hoof and asked, "How will cabins be assigned? I'd like to stay with my husband and foal."
"That shouldn't be a problem. You'll be assigned a cabin together when we get to the boats. Is any pony here travelling alone?"
Most of the gathering raised their hooves, including Buttercup who was hovering in the air. The stallion's lips moved as he pointed at ponies with a hoof and counted them.
Laura sat on the grass nearby and Buttercup swooped down to land beside her.
Laura nudged her and whispered, "I'm surprised you aren't flying around, investigating the town."
"What makes you think I didn't?" Buttercup whispered back with a grin while ruffling her wings, hoof still held up. "You were in there a long time, y'know."
Laura sighed. She knew.
"We assign cabins by gender, so you two-", the beige stallion waved a hoof at the two unaccompanied stallions in the group, "-will have plenty of space. Sorry but you mares will be more crowded. If you have somepony you want to room with — or not — you'd better let our steward know. We'll try to accommodate everypony but there are only six small cabins. It'll take less than a week to get to Buffalo so try to make friends with your bunk-mates or at least put up with 'em. Be sure to spend time on deck to avoid cabin fever and we have cards, board games, and a few books to share around. It's no luxury cruise but we'll do what we can to ensure you have a safe and enjoyable time. Okay? Any more questions?"
Nopony raised a hoof.
"Good! Don't be afraid to speak up if you need something. Also, don't forget that the meet-up point is the parking lot behind the public hall at sunset. It's the only long rectangular building in the town square so you can't miss it. We'll bus-it to Albany tonight so make sure you have supper and hit the head, the toilet, before you show up. See you then."
The stallion cheerfully waved and flew away as the group broke up and headed into the hotel.
Buttercup asked, "Any luck?"
"No. Or I should say, not yet." Laura shook her head and told Buttercup about not finding Thomas' file and the advice to go looking on her own until the office was less busy.
"Sounds like a plan, I guess. It's almost lunchtime so we could walk over and you can start asking around after we eat. I found the place the guys want to meet. But first…" Buttercup pointed south. "Check that shit out!"
Pursing her lips, Laura decided against scolding the filly for swearing. She wasn't her mother. Looking south she saw the shaded lane leading to the hotel, a forest starting to turn fall colours, and poking up just over the trees what looked like the distant peak of a lone mountain made of obsidian. Sunlight glittered on its polished surface.
"What is that?"
"The changeling hive."
Laura's eyebrows shot up. "They really do live in a bee hive?"
"Uh huh. If you look real good, you can see 'em flying in and out." She grinned and said, "They chased me off but I saw one up close in buggy form! They are uuugly! Like, all black insect parts and fangs and holes in their-"
Laura yelped, "I really don't want to know! Thank you." She'd didn't want to think about what was hiding under Tiffany's warm fur the next time she asked for a tip. "You said it was almost noon?"
"Yeah! Come on, I'll show you the way."
Laura remembered Chick's directions but followed Buttercup's lead since it made the filly happy. They walked across the gross-feeling tarmac to where a path cut through the thick bushes which surrounded the hotel's parking lot. A rattling and creaking noise came from the road beyond the hedge.
A two-wheeled wood cart loaded with bulging sacks, perhaps potatoes, rumbled along the road, pulled by a large red earth pony mare wearing a straw hat.
She nodded to them as they emerged from the bushes. "Good mornin', barely."
"Good morning." "Morning!"
She was headed in the same direction, across the motorway, but Buttercup set off at a swift trot and they left the labouring mare behind. Abandoned houses with dark stains running over the once-white siding lined the north side of the road, their permanently empty mail boxes sitting askew. Laura glanced through the chain link fence as they crossed the concrete bridge and looked down at the motorway. There was no traffic and it was eerily quiet aside from the clip-clop of their hooves, birds twittering, and dry leaves rustling in wind gusts.
It smelled like Fall. The musty scent of leaves and a hint of wood smoke. Laura's ears pricked as she caught snatches of conversation ahead.
They turned off of the road onto a lane which ran behind several three-story brick buildings. Square with simple pyramid roofs of patchwork singles and rows of small well-spaced windows. The lane had parking spaces along either side with a couple of battered Leafs and a handful of wood carts like the one the red mare was pulling. A pastel mauve pony stood in the bed of one cart and heaved a heavy sack of vegetables — carrots or parsnips — onto the back of a black mark-less drone.
Buttercup led Laura through a gap in the concrete median barriers surrounding the parking lot and down a short grassy slope into a flat yard between the houses. The neatly trimmed grass was marred with dirt paths and a few sods thrown up by hooves. A group of foals ran past, naked aside from a mane bow or cap, laughing and shouting. The front runner had a spinning pinwheel clutched between his grinning teeth. Laura watched them gallop around the little enclosed space with a sappy grin on her muzzle. They were so adorable she wanted to scoop them up and hug the stuffing out of them!
"Laura!"
Buttercup waved a hoof and Laura trotted to catch up. The hubbub of voices grew loud as she rounded the building's corner and entered the town's market. It reminded her of the Marylebone Farmers' Market in London: trestle tables in rows, laden with sweet-smelling produce. Corn, apples, peaches, potatoes, eggs, carrots, berries, milk and cheeses, and pumpkins of course since it was Fall in America. No doubt there would soon be Jack-o'-lanterns decorating porches while foals in costume went door-to-door collecting sweets. Pies, loaves and buns and pastries, bundles of dried herbs, bales of hay — of course — and behind the tables, in the ground floors of the square buildings that surrounded the market, small shops advertised less-agricultural products.
Ponies trotted milled about, some with heavy saddlebags others gathered in groups to chat. There was easily a hundred ponies in the square, adults and foals. More ponies in one place than Laura had ever seen before! Their splash of bright hides and manes gave the place a carnival air — though there were a few sombre black 'ponies' mixed into the crowd.
She followed Buttercup through the market and it was dizzying being surrounded by strangers after spending so long in the wilderness.
Glancing around Laura wondered where she even start looking for Thomas?
Who could she ask?
"Come on, Laura! Cherry's is over this way."
Trying not to trip over her own hooves or bump into anyone, she felt her confidence that she'd see Thomas today slipping away.
Laura fumbled with the last button and grunted as it slipped out of her hoof.
"Are you alright in there?" a mellow mare's voice called from beyond the wood-and-paper shoji screen that served as the clothing store's changing room.
"I'm fine thank you, Farah. Just having a butter… hooves moment dealing with- oh, I've got it!"
Laura smoothed down the front of the dress and stepped from behind the screen. Thank God the shop actually had a changing room! She would have been uncomfortable swapping outfits out in the open even if everypony in Beantown was more-or-less a nudist.
Trotting past Farah's store she'd spotted dresses, hats, and other clothing on display and had been seized by the irrepressible urge to shop! It seemed like forever since she'd had the chance and though she loved her old cardi, it was well past time for a new look. Plus, it was a perfect excuse to chat up the shopkeeper and ask if she knew Thomas.
Buttercup had rolled her eyes, followed her in, snorted loudly at the frilly fashions, and decided to wait outside. Laura on the other hoof, saw rack after rack of the kind of clothing she'd hoped to find in that ruined Walmart. Better yet, all tailored to suit pony anatomy.
"Yes! Yes, I think we've found the perfect look for you", purred Farah.
A cluster of mismatched mirrors showed off her fourth, or was it fifth, outfit change: a black dress of 2-way stretch fabric that clung tightly to her barrel and forelegs, a row of large red buttons ran down her chest. A black half-skirt with red hearts printed in rows draped over her hind quarters. She turned sideways to the mirror and flicked her tail a few times, feeling the loop which discreetly held the pleats in place tug at her tail. What was it called? A 'crupper'?
It felt weird.
Farah circled behind her and straightened the skirt's hem with her moss-green hooves. She stepped back and asked, "What do you think?"
"I think… Mmm…" Laura cocked her head and stared at her reflection. "It needs something to bring out my eyes."
"Let me see…" Farah stepped away for a moment and returned with a flower-like bow of shiny blue fabric that she held next to Laura's day-glow orange mane. "How about this?"
Laura pursed her lips. She hadn't worn a hair-bow since she was ten or eleven but it did suit her pony body. Just about any willy-nilly fashion seemed to work — a bit like playing 'dress-up' with a child's toy.
And it did bring out her eyes.
She nodded and said, "Yes. That's perfect, thank you."
Farah grinned and deftly tied the bow in place. "Perhaps a touch of mascara and eye shadow to really knock Thomas' socks off?"
Laura giggled and shook her head. "Perhaps when we go out on our first getting reacquainted date. I don't want to be trying too hard for a first impression but this outfit is just what I needed! Thank you very much for helping me choose it."
She'd chatted with Farah about why she needed a new outfit and sadly she'd never heard of a pony called Thomas. But she'd only moved to Beantown a year ago and didn't know everypony yet. She suggested visiting the hospital once she learned that Thomas was an OB-GYN, and she'd given Laura directions.
"You're welcome! I'm sure he will love it. Do you want to try anything else on?"
Laura's eyes roved around the crowded shop, taking in the shimmering, frilly displays of dresses, shirts, skirts, jumpers, jackets, stockings, hats, and queer saddle-like things. Yes! Yes she would love to spend another hour or three trying everything on! Even the saddles though they seemed a little kinky. But she had things to do, ponies to meet.
"No, thank you. But I'll be back!"
Farah grinned and trotted towards the shop's front counter.
Laura followed and hoped that a pearl or two would be enough to pay for everything. A paper bag on the counter held another skirt, a couple of cute tops, a light jacket, and two sets of stockings — four per set of course. They were more like leg warmers, really; tubes of fabric that left her hooves bare. Would she need to wear boots when it snowed?
"What do I owe you?"
Farah sat behind the low counter and smiled. "What do you have to trade?"
A pouch on Laura's saddlebags held the collection of interesting junk she'd collected. Assorted pebbles, a few feathers — including one of Buttercup's bright yellow plumes — and somewhere in that mess were the pearls. Laura dug around for a moment and spotted one, but ended up with a couple of pebbles stuck in her hoof-touch field as well. She used the tip of her other hoof to gently brush them back into the pouch. A bizarre sensation. Like pushing ball bearings out of a magnetic field she could 'feel' her other hoof passing through. A little shudder ran up her back.
"Oh! That's too much", Farah protested when Laura set the pearl on the glass counter top. "Don't you have anything smaller?"
Laura's ears flattened as she shook her head. "No, I'm sorry but I haven't." She'd actually expected to spend both pearls!
Farah tapped her chin and murmured, "Tell you what. Why don't you pick out a piece of jewelry to go with that dress?" Then she winked and said, "This isn't how bartering works but I'd feel guilty for the rest of the day if I didn't at least make the offer. You being just Returned and all."
Laura flushed with embarrassment at her mistake. "Thank you."
Never mind. She was just going to learn to be more careful with her 'money'. Unless Thomas was loaded, and even then… Laura was too used to just whipping out a card or tapping her iPhone on a payment machine. But she'd left them in New Brunswick to rot in the abandoned camper van.
The hotel's moonstone necklace hung around Laura's neck but she could never have too many necklaces, right? She wouldn't get to keep that one, anyway. Two shelves beneath the counter displayed a variety jewelry including gold and silver chains with glittering pendants. A few were the usual religious symbols — crosses, Stars of David, and disks with curvy Islamic text. Some crosses had an odd leaf-shaped addition that Laura had never seen before.
"What are these crosses?"
Farah leaned over the counter to peer down through the glass. "Oh, those are Equist Christian symbols."
Laura cocked an ear and asked, "Equist?"
"A new branch of Christianity that's sprung up since the Event. Somepony in the South rewrote the Bible by changing the pronouns and adding a Testament about the Event. I haven't read it but a growing number are taking it up as their faith." She tapped a hoof on the glass. "Look a little lower."
Further down were pendants for Saint Michael, Saint Benedict, Saint Patrick, and one the shape of a sun, one of a crescent moon, and one featuring a large star with several smaller stars around it.
"Those are for their new saints. Celestia, Luna, and Twilight. Equestrians who caused the Event and, so they say, saved everypony on Earth from certain destruction."
Farah didn't sound convinced, and neither was Laura.
"May I have that silver heart-shaped locket?" It was very similar to one she'd left at home which had her photo on one side and her parents on the other. A graduation present.
"Yes, certainly. Would you like a little box or will you wear it?"
"Umm… a box would be lovely, thank you."
Laura wiggled into her saddlebags while Farah boxed up the necklace. They sat a little lopsided because of the cardigan crammed into the left backpack. She hoped it wouldn't wrinkle the dress! Ugh. Being an earth pony sucked! She bit the bag's handle and hauled it off of the counter.
"Go get your stallion, Laura!"
Laura smiled and mumbled, "Thank you."
Chick frowned and glanced at the restaurant's entrance.
Gavi gave him a quick smile and said, "Relax, don't worry so much."
"I'm not worried. I just don't want them to have trouble finding us." Cherry's was starting to fill up with the usual lunchtime rush and he was worried they wouldn't see them.
Gavi lapped at his glass of water, grimaced at the taste and set it down.
"Looking forward to getting home again?" Chick asked, making idle conversation. He knew the answer, but it was something to pass the time.
"Oh, yes! Amanda's egg is due to hatch and I can't wait to meet my latest son or daughter."
Chick couldn't help making a face which Gavi chuckled at. "You're a proud father but, forgive me, griffin chicks are so horribly ugly."
That got a short raucous laugh out of the big griffin and he banged one of his yellow-leathered claws on the table. "Oh, Christ! I know, I know! Horrible little bags of skin. But I've grown to love the little piss-pots. You know, with any luck I'll be a grandfather soon."
"Really?"
"Yep. My little Beaky married that mare he's been going out with. It sounds crazy to me but the Equestrian books say there's a chance they could have a little hippogriff."
"Brown Beak's married", Chick said in a wondering tone. Seemed like only yesterday he'd been chasing the inquisitive little bugger away from his motorcycle.
"It surprised me too! You were out of town when it happened or I would have invited you to the wedding. I hope they rushed it because she's pregnant but nopony is saying a word to this old crow."
Chick hesitated and reluctantly asked, "Would… Would she lay an egg or…?"
"Your guess is a good as mine." Gavi raised an arm to wave energetically and whistled like a bird. "Your mare has certainly dolled herself up!"
Chick grimaced and stood up to watch Buttercup and Laura make their way through the crowd. "She's not my mare."
"Whatever you say, my friend."
Chick ignored the annoying griffin's smug grin. "Laura, Buttercup, hello. I hope you enjoyed your evening at the Unicorn Tower?"
"Hey, Chicky! Hi, Gavi." Buttercup chirped and flopped onto one of the spare pillows. "It was great! We had a bath and everything!"
Chick's brows furrowed. Buttercup and Laura looked and smelled much cleaner but had Buttercup said 'we' had 'a' bath? Together?
Had the filly listened to a single word he'd said?
Laura dropped the bag she'd been carrying in her mouth next to the last empty seating cushion at the low table.
"It was heavenly! The bed was especially fine after sleeping on the ground for days. Though a queen-size bed seems more like a swimming pool to me now."
She giggled cutely, shrugged out of her pink saddle bags and took her seat, tucking her tail and being careful of her new skirt. The tight black dress looked too formal for grabbing lunch in a crowded diner but Chick wasn't going to complain. Wearing clothing as concealing as a pre-Event woman's was a very appealing look.
She sighed and said, "I must apologise for us being late. I spotted a clothing store on the way and just had to pop in and try on a few things."
"No problem", Chick said as he flopped onto his pillow.
Gavi clack his beak and said, "It was well spent time. You look marvellous."
"Awww", Laura cooed as her grey-furred cheeks flushed with pink. "Thank you, Gavi. I trust your morning deliveries went well?"
"Oui, yes, all taken care of. One more night 'ere and I will start the long drive 'ome."
Buttercup asked, "Where'r you guys stayin' anyway?"
"In the community centre. It's the long building on the other side of the market." Chick idly tapped a hoof against his glass of water and said, "They let us scavs stay there when we pass through town but I'll have to find a room to rent over winter."
"And get your bébé tucked in too, eh?"
Laura looked like she was going to ask 'what baby' but Chick beat her to it. "Yes and get my motorcycle to the garage. She needs an oil change, greasing, and somewhere warm and dry to rest while it snows."
"Do we not all?" asked Gavi.
The conversation turned to Gavi boasting of his son's wedding and hopes of becoming a grand-père soon. Buttercup blurted out the egg question while Chick subtly sneaked glances at Laura and half-listening to the conversation. To admire her dress of course. It really did suit her. Elegant but with a little playfulness in the heart-printed skirt and big bow in her hair. The white gem pendant of the necklace around her graceful neck glinted in the restaurant's lights and her blue eyes sparkled as she laughed while Gavi clowned around.
"So are we gonna order or what?" asked Buttercup, barging into Chick's quiet thoughts.
"We ordered already. I 'ope you will enjoy it." Gavi waved a clawed hand as a black earth pony mare with a blue mane approached their table, balancing a large tray on her back. "Ah, 'ere it comes!"
Buttercup's wings flapped eagerly, stirring up a little gust. "Woo hoo!"
"Pizza!?" gasped Laura. She leaned around the table and grabbed Gavi in a tight hug, "Oh my God! I love you forever!"
Beak curved in a smirk, Gavi returned her hug and waggled his eyebrows at Chick.
Chick rolled his eyes at the hammy griffin.
Though pizza had been his idea, he wasn't bothered that his friend took credit for it. Old buzzard. He thanked the drone, sending a snack her way, while she carefully set the large platter on the table. She hung around for a few moments, eyes closed and soaking up the diner's pleasure as they dug into the cheesy pie. Chick stayed well away from the quarter which had those wretched little salty fish that Gavi made yummy sounds over while licking his beak. The rest of the large pizza was vegetarian, of course.
They ate quietly for a bit before Chick coaxed Laura into trying a piece with peach slices. She seemed like a mare who'd order Hawaiian pizza — that odd Canadian invention — but the last tin of pineapple imported to North America had been eaten decades ago.
Let Gavi get the hugs. Chick was just pleased by the happy smile on Laura's greasy muzzle.
He bit into a slice and savoured the burst of salty-sweet that flooded his mouth.
"Hiya, colts and fillies!"
Chick's ears flicked back. He knew that voice. Deep for a mare and raspy like a veteran whisky drinker or smoker. Her timing couldn't be less perfect! A warm leg draped over his bare shoulders as a black hoof clopped onto the table top beside his plate. A changeling in her town-safe black-furred form cuddled up against his side.
Gavi's shit-eating-grin got even wider and he cawed, "'Ello, Apple Squire."
"Apple Squire?" muttered Laura with a furrowed brow.
Buttercup waggled an oily hoof at the changeling mare since her mouth was crammed full of bread and gooey cheese.
Chick's throat protested as he forcefully swallowed his half-chewed bite. He croaked, "Hi, Squire", and reached for his glass as Apple Squire nuzzled his cheek in an embarrassingly familiar way.
Laura glanced at Gavi and asked, "I thought you said he wasn't… um…"
The old buzzard shrugged and winked at Chick. What had Gavi told them while he was stuck for hours riding in the mucky wake of the car? Gulping a swallow of water he was beaten to lying about their relationship by Apple Squire.
"Whaaat? Me and Chicky? Pfft! Nah. Many a mare has taken a shot the Pink Mustang, but I got better taste. I do massage and judging by these stiff shoulders-", she gave him a squeeze, "-he's way past due for one heck of a working over. Am I right, Chicky?"
"Right. Yes, that would be nice." Thank Christ she hadn't advertised that she offered more than that to her clients.
She gave his shoulders another squeeze and said, "Great! I'm free all afternoon until the farmers head home and you know where to find me." Apple Squire brushed a lock of her red-and-green-striped mane from her face and asked, "You're Buttercup, right?"
Buttercup looked surprised and nodded, making the strings of cheese between her muzzle and slice of pizza wobble.
"Cool. Personally, I think Dragonbane is a kick-ass name, but, yeah, Smudge wouldn't be amused. He's 'bout as dangerous as a teddy bear but everypony loves him and you don't wanna get on their wrong side." She looked across the table at Laura and said, "So that means you're Laura? Welcome to Beantown! I hope things go great with that stallion you're chasing."
"I… Well, thank you. But how on earth do you know?"
Apple Squire grinned. "It's a small town and you've told a few ponies. Half the town is probably buzzing over your romantic drama! It's more exciting than how the spuds are growing, right?"
Laura blushed cutely and dabbed at her muzzle with a napkin. "I should probably go then. I don't want him to hear about me from someone before I have a chance to surprise him."
Surprised, Chick blurted, "You've already found him?"
"No, not yet. But he's probably employed by the hospital so I'm going to trot over and look for him there."
"'E is a doctor, eh? Nice catch!"
Laura chuckled nervously and hopped up from her pillow to hug Gavi again. "Thank you. I hope you have a swift drive home, Gavi. It was wonderful meeting you."
He gently patted her back with his clawed hand and said, "Merci. Bonne chance, Laura."
"Thank you."
Buttercup asked, around a mouthful of pizza, "Am I gonna see you again before we leave for Alexandria?"
"Yes, I'll see you off this evening."
"Okay, good." Though Buttercup looked more sad than reassured.
"Chick? Would you mind hanging onto my bags for me?"
He nodded and said, "I'll put them in our room at the community centre, and I still have your solar charge controller."
"Oh! I'd forgotten all about it. Thank you very much." That earned him a warm hug from the pretty mare. She stepped back and put on a brave smile, nodded, and trotting away to the restaurant's entrance.
Chick sighed after she left and reached for his glass of water, wishing it were something much harder.
Squire was staring at him with a smirk on her muzzle.
"What?"
She grinned and said, "Nothing. See you this afternoon?"
"Uh huh."
She followed after Laura, gaily swishing her tail.
Laura stared at her reflection and puckered her grey lips. She looked like a corpse! She should have accepted the offer of makeup. Damn it. Red lipstick to match the streaks in her mane and a dab of rouge to bring some colour to her cheeks? A little blue eye shadow, maybe? Yes, she could head back to town and-
No.
No! No making excuses to leave without even trying to find Thomas! Silly girl. No. Stay.
She patted her cheeks sharply with her hooves and turned away from the dark window she'd used for a mirror. It was boarded up outside for protection from a storm… or looters. The gloomy waiting room didn't help her frazzled nerves. It should have been bright and airy but glass front-wall of the three-story room was covered with plywood sheets. The top row was clear, and they looked in desperate need of a good wash. Pin-pricks of LED lights and potted plants scattered around the lobby did little to brighten the place. After the mostly pristine hotel it was a shocking return to a post-apocalypse run-down world.
At least it was clean on the inside and smelled of antiseptic alcohol and cleansers.
Laura couldn't imagine why they'd set up a hospital in such a dismal place! The re-settled neighbourhood she'd trotted through on the way here looked well-maintained. Mostly. A few houses were dirty and missing shingles, and blackened heaps were all that remained of a couple, but the ponies of Beantown thrived in the abandoned buildings. There were ponies everywhere!
A couple of Beantowners, both mares, sat in the waiting room with her. Laura had politely greeted them when she entered but they were obviously here together. 'Together' together by the way they cuddled on one of the rows of seats.
Laura took a seat on the next row, far enough to give them privacy but close enough to avoid giving the impression that she was avoiding them. She fiddled with a plastic card with the number '8' printed on it. Her traitorous ears twitched and probably made her eavesdropping on their conversation obvious, even though she was trying not to!
'Goldie', the pregnant one, talked of putting a harness and leash on their pegasus foal once she was born. Something to do with 'magic surges'. While 'Cari' or 'Carrots', whose orange fur and green mane certainly matched her name, just giggled with mock outrage.
Laura squirmed on her seat as they nuzzled and Carrots stroked a hoof over Goldie's round belly. She would die of embarrassment or boredom if the hospital's staff didn't show up soon! Where were they?
One of the pair of swinging doors opened a crack and a unicorn wearing a white lab coat and blue tie poked his head and shoulders into the lobby.
"Number seven? The doctor will see you now."
Laura's heart leapt into her throat! Thomas?!
The stallion was pale blue, not white, but he had the purple mane Thomas had written about and how many male unicorns could be working at this ramshackle hospital? Her muscles tensed and she almost jumped off of the bench to rush over — but she wasn't certain it was him. She couldn't see his mark past the door and he didn't sound like Thomas. Her voice had changed when she'd become a tiny horse but this unicorn didn't even have a British accent.
Could he have lost it, living amongst these Americans for who-knew how many years?
The mares trotted through the door that the stallion held politely open. After it swung shut, Laura slipped off of the bench. Clutching her numbered card to her chest, she clumsily hobbled on three legs to the unoccupied reception desk. She tossed the card onto it, took a deep breath to steady herself, and quietly approached the doors.
She pushed one open a crack and poked her head through, ears folded flat as she glanced around.
A long corridor going left and right was unlit except where it intersected a shorter hall going straight ahead from the door. Carrot's green tail whisked out of sight around the edge of a fabric covered privacy screen that stretched most of the way across the hall.
The clatter of their hooves on the tile floor covered Laura's quiet steps as she sneaked up to the screen and peeked around the edge. The short hall had an open window at the end letting cool air filter in. The stallion who might be Thomas ushered the mares into one of the four doors, two on either side. Laura wrinkled her nose. The damn lab coat covered his rump mark.
"The doctor will be with you shortly", he assured the mares before closing the door.
Well, this was it! Laura heart throbbed, and she bit her lip before slipping around the edge of the screen. She walked toward the stallion as he tucked a folder, probably the mare's medical records, into a small shelf on the outside of the door. A pen whisked out of his pocked and he scribbled something on it. His pointed ears rotated toward the sound of her hooves but he stayed focused on finishing his writing.
"E-excuse me."
He looked at her, blinked rapidly and smiled. "Hello, miss. Can I help you?"
"Are you-" she croaked before her throat closed. Laura coughed, took a step closer, gazed into his dark blue eyes and tried again, "A-are you Thomas?"
The stallion's cheeks flushed and he stammered, "W-what?"
"Thomas Davies?" She pressed a hoof to her chest and took a deep breath. "It's me. Laura."
Bugger! She'd left her cardi crammed into her saddlebags! The one thing he might recognise. She should go get it! No! Stay!
Her legs trembled.
"Thomas? N-no, I'm Sterile Gauze."
She looked away and bit back a curse. Her eyes felt watery and she swiped at them with her furry wrist.
"Uh, s-sorry. Uh…" Gauze's hooves shuffled and he didn't seem to know what to do with some silly girl about to break down in front of him. "That's a pre-Event name, r-right?"
She sniffled and mumbled, "Yes."
Gauze asked, "Oh, well, I'm First-Gen. I've never had a name like that or met anypony named 'Thomas'. Was he admitted to the hospital? I could take you to the emergency ward but I don't think anypony was brought in today."
She sniffed and shook her head. "No. No, thank you. He should be employed here, not a patient." Laura waved a hoof at his forehead and said, "H-he's a unicorn like you."
Sterile Gauze frowned. "The only other unicorn stallion who works here is called Clean Sweep, though he's a Returnee so I suppose he might have gone by Thomas before."
Laura's ears perked and she pleaded, "Can you take me to him? Please?"
"Ah, his shift isn't until later. But you could talk with Nurse Triage. She's been the hospital admin since forever and she'd know more about Clean Sweep than I do." He gingerly pointed with a hoof back the way she'd come and said, "If you go back to the waiting room I'll go find her and-"
The surface of the door across the hall shimmered with magic and swung open.
"-completely normal so far, Whinny. Book a follow-up next week and we'll get those stitches out, alright?"
"Yes, Doctor. Thank you", said a bulky dark brown earth pony stallion as he stepped into the hall. A young foal with white bandages wrapped around his forelegs lay draped over his broad back, a sour expression on his cute little face.
"And as for you", said the doctor as she followed them into the hall, "Promise me you'll be more careful with trying to get your cutie mark, alright?"
The foal sighed and muttered, "Yes, Doctor Shield."
"Good colt."
Her horn glowed, and a candy wrapped in white wax paper levitated out of a pocket on her white lab coat. The paper peeled away as she brought it up to the colt's muzzle. His ears perked up but his expression remained sulky as she popped it into his mouth.
Crumpling up the paper and tucking it back into her pocket, Dr. Shield turned away from the father and son as they walked towards the screen at the end of the hall.
"Goldie and Carrot are waiting for you in room two, Doctor."
"Thank you, Gauze. And you are…?"
"L-Laura."
Big and intimidating, for a pony, Dr. Shield's white lab coat strained to contain her muscular red-furred shoulders. If Laura hadn't known the doctor was a mare, she would have sworn she was a stallion. A handsome one.
"She's looking for somepony called 'Thomas'. Says he works here?" said Gauze.
"Thomas?" Dr. Shield snorted and asked Laura, "White unicorn, purple hair, foal's chew-toy for a cutie mark?"
"Yes!" Laura's back legs spasmed, and she did an involuntary little hop. "Yes, that's him!"
"Somepony's pretty excited, huh?" Dr. Shield chuckled.
Laura blushed at her foolish display.
The doctor sighed and shook her head. "I'm sorry but I haven't seen Thomas in years. I think he moved to another town."
Laura's back legs gave out. She sat with a thump, moaned and hid behind her hooves as hot tears squeezed between her clenched eyelids. A comforting hoof touched her shoulder as she struggled to breath.
"S-sorry!" she managed to sob.
"Shhh, it's okay", murmured Dr. Shield as her hoof stroked and squeezed Laura's shoulder. "Somepony here will remember Thomas and we might have some records of him. We should be able to find out if he really did move and where he's gone."
Dr. Shield ordered Gauze, "Take Laura to see Triage, okay? Then get the used bandages in room three to Laundry."
Sterile Gauze snapped to attention and nodded. "Right away, Doctor."
Shield patted Laura's shoulder and said, "Come see me for a physical once you get settled, alright?" The door to the room where the mares waited opened, and she walked in saying, "Hello, Cari. Goldie. How are you and the little-" A brief snap of light ran over the door and the conversation was cut off.
Laura scrubbed at her eyes with damp wrist fur, snuffled, and swallowed a hot mess out of her gigantic nose. Eugh. Disgusting! She must look horrible. Good thing she hadn't bothered with makeup.
Like magic, ha, a cloth appeared before her, held in a glittering blue glow.
"Here." Gauze cleared his throat while she wiped her face and said, "Umm… If you'll come with me, please?"
Laura sighed and heaved herself up to follow him. She was wrung out and just wanted to lie down and mope.
Chick rolled off of Apple Squire, sweaty and panting, but leaving both of them unsatisfied.
Flopping onto his side, facing away from Squire he inhaled deeply and blew out through his teeth before muttering, "Sorry."
Squire's forelegs, transformed into rough approximations of pink-skinned human arms, wrapped around his chest as she cuddled up behind him. Her ample breasts pressed against his shoulders.
"It's okay, stud. Happens to everypony now and then."
He sighed while she nibbled on his ear.
"Sorry", he muttered again. "It's not you. I am just tired and need to rest. Maybe tomorrow-"
"Don't lie to a changeling, Chicky. It tastes sour."
He shut his mouth and lay still, mind racing. He was just tired, wasn't he? What else could it be?
"Come on… Talk to me", she murmured while stroking a mitten-like hand down his side.
Chick closed his eyes and sighed. His muscles ached from an hours-long massage. Squire's human form didn't have individual fingers but her 'hands' had found every knot and kink, and pounded them into putty.
Face pressed into the bedsheets he confessed, "I feel ashamed."
"Why? Because petit Chicky doesn't want to play?"
He snorted. "Petit? You're not helping my confidence."
"Hee… Sorry, I'm just tweaking your tail. What do you feel ashamed about? Did somepony see you coming to visit and give you an earful?"
"Pfft. No. Like I care what they think?"
Squire was discrete about offering sex and word of mouth was the only way she got clients for it. But this was a small town and everypony knew or suspected. He'd gotten a few disgusted and angry looks, especially from the mare he'd turned down last winter. What was her name? Fanta? No, he really didn't care what they thought. Did he?
He had started feeling off while coming here…
Doubt building with every step.
He almost hadn't knocked on Squire's door.
"Is it this body? Do you want me to be someone else, hmmm?" she crooned in a sultry tone. "Maybe that cute chick from the X-Men movies? Kitty something? You really, really, really liked her the last time you were in town." She growled and bit his ear.
He squirmed in her arms and his legs thrashed against the tangled bedsheets. "Non, get off!"
"I'm trying to!" she grumbled and shoved herself away from him.
It was weird. Not her semi-human shape but his lack of response to it. Her ability to mimic women from Hollywood or the pages of Playboy usually did the trick. It was why he'd started coming to see a changeling; mares just didn't do anything for him.
"Hmm… Have you finally got a taste for horse-flesh?" Squire's question echoed his thoughts.
His ears flicked at a quiet whoosh and the touch of cold fire as she transformed. Chick cracked open an eye to peek over his shoulder. One of Squire's unicorn forms smiled at him. In private she was allowed to take any hue she pleased and she'd turned the luscious red of a ripe cherry.
"What do you think?" she asked in a husky seductive tone. "Doing anything for you?" Squire spread her hind legs.
His eyes flinched away after a quick glance. He opened his mouth to object.
"Nope, still a pony prude", she observed before another flash of green fire consumed her. "How about this then?" Squire's voice dropped a few octaves and Chick felt something long and warm pressed against his backside.
"Merde!"
He jerked away from Squire and rolled onto his belly, squirming out from between Squire's hooves and kicking his way through the tangled sheets to jump off the bed.
Squire laughed and rolled onto his back, waving his erection in the air. "Just checking if the rumours are true."
"You rotten whore!" Chick snarled at 'him' in French.
Squire's cute giggles clashed with his current form. "Hey, I understood some of that. Yeah, no arguing that I'm a prostitute… or did you say 'fries in gravy'? Are you just hungry, Chicky?"
Chick snorted and grabbed his leather jacket from the worn carpet.
"Sorry, sorry. Don't leave, I'm pretty sure I know what would get you going."
He angrily shoved his foreleg into a sleeve and refused to look at the bed after another whoosh of transformation magic.
"Chickyyy…", she crooned in a seductive feminine voice.
A voice that he knew well.
He couldn't help looking.
Laura lay on the bed. Curled up in a demure pose that revealed nothing but accentuated the smooth curve of her rump. Her eyes shimmered, briefly turning bright green with a slit irises.
"There it is! The sweet syrup of infatuation!" She grinned and wiggled on the bed. "Oh my gosh, I'm so happy for you!"
"What?!"
"Youuu liiike Laaaura", she sang while crawling across the bed toward him.
Chick grimaced and shrugged into his jacket. "Non."
He stomped out the door and didn't bother looking back at the sound of changeling magic or slam of her door shutting.
Hoofsteps followed him past other apartment doors and down the stairs. He barged through the doors and outside into a cool early evening, and walked on stiff legs along a flagstone path toward the market square. His annoyed snort blew twin puffs of steam as Apple Squire caught up to him, dressed in her outdoors form of a black earth pony mare with curly green and red mane.
"Sorry I pushed your buttons like that", she said in a contrite tone.
He didn't say anything or look at her. Maybe if he ignored her she'd go away?
"I'm not surprised you're interested in her. She's cute, smart, very girly-girl, and so loyal. Nothing like-"
He growled, "Don't say her name."
"-her", she finished lamely.
A straggling merchant with a pair of drones finished packing up her stall on the other side of the market. The first-floor apartment building shops all had their 'Closed' signs up. Chick and Squire walking silently on flattened grass and dirt where the bustling crowd had been. Everypony had gone home to their families, to share supper, gather around a warm fire, and enjoy a peaceful sleep. Changeling guards would keep watch. Crickets chirped while fireflies danced in dark shadows between the square apartment blocks. Bedsheets and clothing, hung from lines between the buildings, waved like banners in the cool breeze. Lamp posts with square solar panels on top, scattered around the market, switched on as the few glowing red clouds faded to black.
She might be right.
Chick's tail flicked against his sides as his anger cooled. He missed her. He'd only known Laura a few days but… she was why he'd felt guilty about crawling into Squire's bed. Worrying about her finding her fiancee made his heart ache.
His brisk pace slowed and his head drooped.
Squire was right.
She must have 'tasted' his mood and quietly said, "Don't blame me for being happy for you, Chicky."
"Pfft. You're happy about this?"
"Of course I am. You've finally fallen for somepony. I'll miss playing dress-up for you but-"
He stopped and glared at her, "Stop it! There's nothing going on between me and Laura. There never could be."
"Why the hell not?"
"She's engaged and, as you said, she's loyal."
Squire blew through her mouth, making her lips flap. "Yeah, right! What are the odds her fiance hasn't moved on, huh? And you can be there, her studly friend, ready to catch her on the rebound." She rested a hoof on his shoulder and shook him. "Seriously. Listen to me! This could be good for you! And her. You finally got a chance to have a healthy relationship with a mare you like — the first mare you've ever liked! Don't throw that away 'cause it's complicated. Maybe he'll reject her? Maybe he's dead? Maybe she'd be happy with two stallions in her life? I don't know! And neither do you and you won't find out if you just give up."
He'd be lying if he said that the thought of being with Laura didn't excite him. Didn't give him hope. How sad was that? Wishing for Laura to have her heart broken so he might be happy? No, it was shit.
"Non. She will find her Thomas and if he rejects her, then he will answer to me for it." He growled and ground a hoof into the dirt.
"That's the spirit! Kick his ass for her!"
Chick rolled his eyes and walked away, heading toward the recreation centre and his temporary room. If Apple Squire didn't take the hint and leave him alone, he'd slam the door in her face. It wouldn't be the first time. She was mercifully quiet for the rest of the walk. She must sense the frustration and anger oozing out of him.
Gavi was waiting for them at the entrance.
"Chick! There you are, with Squire of course. I was sure you were, eh, having a 'massage', yes?" He nodded to Squire, "'Ello, Squire."
"Hi, Gavi."
Chick sighed at the griffin's smirk and said, "Don't you start. Did you need me for something?"
Gavi nodded and pushed open the door for him. "Yes, Laura was frantic to find you but-"
"She was? Why? Is she alright?"
Apple Squire followed them into the lobby and asked, "She who? Laura?"
"Oui, yes, Laura."
"What's going on? Trouble with her fiancee?" Squire asked with her ears perked and a bright glint in her eyes.
Chick glared at her but pawed nervously at the floor.
"Yes."
Merde! Chick slumped, feeling dizzy. He glanced between Squire and Gavi but couldn't put two words together.
"What? What happened? Spit it out already!" Squire pranced and bumped her shoulder against Chick's.
Gavi clucked his tongue and said, "'E's not 'ere. She found out at the 'ospital that 'e moved away to Alexandria many years ago."
"Where is she?" Chick mumbled with a thick throat.
"She's gone. Gone to Alexandria with Buttercup. That's why she needed to find you. To say 'goodbye' and get 'er things. She paid the stallion running the convoy with that metal box of electrics that you were 'olding onto for 'er. I 'ad to 'elp since you were busy."
"Oh." Chick's backside hit the floor with a thump. That settled that then. Damn, he'd wanted to see Buttercup off but had wasted the afternoon with Squire and forgot. He really was a shit.
Squire groaned and hung her head for a moment before jerking up and staring intensely at Chick. "You gotta go after her!"
"Pfft! What? Non!"
"That would be crazy", Gavi agreed, "But-" He lay a hand on Chick's shoulder. "Maybe a good kind of crazy, eh? I've seen the way you look at her. It's not right letting it end this way."
Chick glared at him, shrugged off the clawed hand and stood up. "No, it's finished. I'm going to my room."
Ears flat to his skull he stomped toward the stairs, ignoring their protests as they chased after him.