I once knew someone in school who had a tri-colored mane and tail. Most ponies have just a single straight color for those, or two shades of the same color, or two colors, but three colors was really rare. They were really proud of their fancy mane and tail, and they also spent a lot of time reminding me how plain my colors were. I felt the need to correct her.
"I have stripes and spots," I asserted, with complete and utter confidence.
She looked at me like I didn't know what I was talking about. "No you don't. I'm looking right at you. You're plain white."
I grinned, and turned my body to put it more on display. "You aren't looking hard enough."
She squinted her eyes, trying to see what I was seeing. She then shook her head. "It's just straight boring white, and your mane and tail are just straight boring yellow."
I pointed a hoof at my body. "I have white spots and white stripes, can't you see them?"
She stomped a hoof. "You can't have white stripes and spots on top of white fur!"
"Yes I can, and I do," I replied, pointing again.
"You're crazy!" She yelled, and turned her back to me, gave me a strong flick of her tail, and strutted off.
"Or maybe I just see things a little differently," I said quietly.
Tell me, do you see my stripes and my spots? I think my stripes have always looked good on me.
Maggie pulled the car up behind my step dad's car and parked. "I'm sorry I got mad at you, Bec. I just don't like that you're clearly upset about something and you don't seem to trust me to tell me what it is."
I sat and considered what to say.
"It hurts my feelings," Maggie continued. "But more than that, it leaves me worrying about you. I caught that you were nervous when we were heading up to the college, but figured it was just the same stuff that I was feeling. You were talking on the phone with your dad, is something going on here?"
I tried to think of how to respond without lying to her. I hated lying to anyone, much less a friend. It just wasn't a nice thing to do. "These guests that're showing up later are really important. They could really impact my family in big ways. I might just be overreacting. I can't talk about who they are or what they're here for. I'm not entirely sure what they're here for, to tell the truth." The last part was a partial lie. I knew what they were here for. What I didn't know was why they were being put in place now. I had my suspicions, but couldn't be certain, yet.
Maggie was quiet for a moment, before sighing. "Well, that's more than I knew earlier. Is this going to change our plans for tomorrow?"
I brightened up. "Oh, definitely not! I'm ready to sign up for some clubs and maybe a sorority. I don't think my mom will cancel me going to the doctor tomorrow, even if the end of the world was coming."
That seemed to improve my friend's mood. "Okay then, I guess I'll see you tomorrow. If you want me to pick you up at the clinic make sure to send my car your GPS coordinates. Hopefully traffic isn't going to be too bad."
I giggled. "Yeah, wish cars could fly, and just avoid all that."
Maggie slapped her steering wheel. "I know, right! It's 2037, where's all our flying cars? We've got teleporting, if you're rich enough to be teleported everywhere, but we don't have flying cars yet."
"Yep, we got it all out of order," I agreed. Maggie hit the button for my door and it began to rise open.
Maggie gave me one more concerned look before I left her car. "Hey, give me a call if you need anything. Give me a call anyway later on, just to tell me if everything turned out okay with your guests, okay?"
I nodded with a friendly smile. "I can do that. Thanks, Mags. See ya tomorrow."
I watched as Maggie exited the driveway and drove off. My attention then turned to the house across the street, the one I had been nosey about earlier. The movers were all gone, and now there was a human lady standing out on the front porch. She was clearly watching me.
One thing I am bad at is containing my curiosity. I just can't help myself. There's so many interesting things to see. This time my curiosity had nothing to do with my normal reasons. I wanted to know more about our neighbors.
I did a little jog, while beating my wings, and took to the air. I was just going to fly across the street and say hello. Find out the lady's name, and be friendly. The lady watched me as I did my short flight, and then watched as I tumbled across her grass when trying to land.
"If you fly that badly, I think you might want to just walk over in the future," she called over to me. "You didn't hurt yourself, did you?"
I pulled myself back to my hooves, and spit out some grass. "I'm fine. I'm sorry about messing up your grass, I can pay for it."
"The movers made far more of a mess of it, don't worry about it," the lady replied with a dismissive flick of her hand, and leaned against her porch banister. She had red hair and golden eyes. "Eyes on you, Rebecca Riddle. How can I help you?"
Okay, that was the second time I'd heard that weird greeting. "What's that mean? Eyes on you?"
The lady kept blank faced, but looked around, before turning back to me. "Turn your phone off."
"Huh?" That didn't make much sense. "Eyes on you means turn my phone off?"
"No," the lady replied, shaking her head. "I'm telling you to turn your phone off by saying turn your phone off. I'll tell you after that."
I didn't understand what was going on, but did as she said. She watched me, and then added. "Do you have any other device that connects to the internet on you? If you do, turn that off as well."
I flapped my wings. "No, why do I need my phone off?"
She seemed to relax a bit. "Because you never know who else can be listening through the internet. Phones, computers, tablets, televisions, even some kitchen appliances can all be used to listen in on conversations. When you go home you need to turn as many of those things off as you can before we arrive, better yet, unplug them."
"Don't you think that's a little paranoid?" I asked.
The first sign of emotion appeared on her face, sympathy. "The goal is to keep you and your family safe, and any information getting out will make that harder. We need to make sure these conversations really are private, even if the chances of someone listening in are slim. If it weren't for the fact your stepfather can't be brought into a shared dream we'd be having this meeting that way, since that is the most secure."
It still seemed pretty paranoid to me. "Well, my phone is off, so can you tell me what eyes on you means? What's your name?"
"It means I'm a bodyguard for you and your family, and I'm aware of what you might become," the lady answered. "And my name is Melissa Rivers, or you can call me Daylight Mirage-- in the dream realm."
My eyes widened. "Anyone who says that to me is a bodyguard?"
Melissa nodded. "That's our code. We'll only say it to you once, just so you know us. So pay attention to anyone that says it."
That meant Nightscape was a bodyguard. That also meant someone had probably pulled strings to make sure I ended up with her as a roommate. "How many of you are there?"
"About a dozen, right now, that number may change," Melissa replied, standing up straight. "You might not even meet all of them. Most will keep low key, and may never speak to you. Some are placed near you, some near your parents. It's possible some may be placed near your close friends as well. There are also a number of other bodyguards that don't know why they are guarding who they are guarding, and won't do anything to give themselves away or have that code phrase."
I gulped, the scale of it made my suspicions seem more and more likely. "So, when should we expect you to come over?"
Melissa gestured at my house. "I'm just keeping an eye out for your mother, now that you're here. When she arrives I'll signal our other friend, and go wake my husband up. It won't take long after that."
I put on my best smile. "I better get going. I need to help get ready. Nice meeting you, Melissa."
"You as well, Rebecca. You aren't quite what I expected-- not that I had any idea what to expect. I suppose that's a good thing. If you aren't what anyone expects then that's more chance you'll remain anonymous."
I turned and walked back to the house. My thoughts were racing though. How quick were things going to happen? I wasn't expecting this to happen for years yet. Would it interfere with my college? Heck, how much was this going to interfere with my life all around? How were my parents going to take it? I could always say no. Were my parents going to pressure me to say no?
I wondered if there was any cake left over.
I walked into my house and saw my step dad putting away some things in the refrigerator. I remembered what Melissa said about appliances, and tried to think about what hooked up to the internet.
My step dad spotted me coming in and hurried out of the kitchen. "Your mom couldn't find her phone this morning, but she called me a little while ago from her work to let me know she is on her way. I heard Maggie's car out in the driveway, but what took you so long to come in?"
I gestured towards the front door. "Sorry about that. I was talking to the new neighbor, one of the ones that is coming over later."
His eyes went wide. "You just went straight over and…" He put a hand up to his face."Of course you did."
"She says we need to turn the power off or unplug everything that hooks up to the internet," I explained, looking around the living room for what those things might be.
He looked baffled. "Why?"
Telling him would only worry him more. "Um, it's kind of complicated. It seems important. It's just for the visit."
He looked around. "I really don't see the point. Everything that hooks up to the internet?"
"Everything," I confirmed. "Phones, computers, appliances, everything."
He sighed. "It seems like overkill. What the heck did you do, Becky?"
"Um, I haven't done anything, yet. They'll talk about it later."
"Not yet," he repeated. He looked around the living room, and sighed again. "Okay, you go unplug the computers in the bedrooms, along with the television in my room and your radio. I'll take care of everything out here."
I did as instructed, and just as I was finishing, I heard the front door open. "Why are you unplugging the TV?"
My step dad was explaining things to my mom as I got back out into the living room. She turned her attention to me right away, and hurried over to me and sat down beside me. "How was your day today?"
I gave her a big smile. "It was good. I met my new roommates, one of them is in the same program as me. The dorm building is really nice. It even has an indoor swimming pool!" I didn't swim, so much as float. I tended to be like a big fat duck going along the surface of the water, pony paddling to move along.
She looked me in the eyes, and smiled. I liked my mom's eyes. She had one eye that was blue, and the other eye was lilac colored-- the only visible evidence that she'd ever been a pegasus herself for a short while. "I'm glad to hear it."
"Are we just going to not talk about the people who are about to show up, and why?" Dad asked, seeming flustered.
"I have a pretty good idea what this is about," my mom said calmly. "I'm pretty sure Rebecca does too. It isn't bad, dear. It's something we should be proud of her for."
"If it is so good, why do they have to be so secretive about everything?" Dad asked, checking the time on an old digital clock on the wall.
"It's-" My mom was cut off from answering by a knock on the door. They really were ready to come over right as soon as she got home.
"I'll get it!" I announced, and ran over to the door. Our front door had a doorknob up high and a handle down low. Both turned together if you turned one or the other. They had separate keyholes as well, which also locked or open together.
I opened the door and was met by a different human lady than Melissa standing at the doorway. Melissa and a night pony stallion were standing right behind the woman. The woman herself didn't look too much older than me, had an olive color to her skin, and short black hair. She was wearing a business suit, and had a slight frown on her face. Where was Wild Growth, and who was this lady?
"Rebecca Riddle, I presume?" The lady asked, raising an eyebrow.
I smiled, like I typically did when meeting someone new, even though I was nervous. "That's me! What's your name?"
"Can we come in? You should be expecting us," the lady replied, ignoring my question. That was rude!
"Come right in!" My mom called out, hurrying over to the door. She looked around, and seemed as confused as I was about the lady. "We were expecting someone else, I think."
The lady briskly walked in and did a brief glance around the room. Melissa followed after her, but stopped when the stallion let off a curse. "Mel! Can you give me a hand? Back leg is jamming again."
I noticed then that one of his front legs and one of his back legs were completely metal and robotic. He was also wearing some strange contraption over his regular forehoof that looked like a gauntlet. Melissa stooped down and picked him up, and carried him inside. She looked around for a second before looking at my mom. "Do you mind if I set him on the couch? His back leg has a loose ball bearing that we really need to get fixed, and he needs to sit and adjust it, otherwise he can't walk."
Mom gestured at the couch. "Go right ahead."
Melissa hurried him over to the couch while the other lady just stood and watched. After Melissa set him down she closed her eyes for a second and cocked her head like she was listening for something. She then reached her hand in between the couch cushions and a second later she pulled up my mom's phone. She turned it off and set it on a nearby end-table, before turning back to the other lady. "That was the only thing I could detect. Everything else is off from what I can tell."
The olive skinned lady seemed to relax a little, and nodded back. Then looked at my mom. "Susan, do you mind if I use your bathroom for a second?"
"Um, yes," my mom replied. "Have we met before?"
"We'll get to that. Where's the bathroom?"
My mom pointed. "Right down the hall, second door on the left." The lady hurried off towards it immediately. Maybe that's why she was frowning and being so short, she just really needed to tinkle.
I closed the door, and watched in fascination as the stallion extended little mechanical fingers out of his gauntlet and started doing something to his back leg. That was really cool! I wish I had a thing that let me do that.
Melissa kept quiet, and just looked around the living room. On and off she would cock her head and seem to be listening for something, but it only lasted a second or two each time.
"Can we get you anything to drink?" My step dad asked.
Melissa turned to the stallion. "Want anything, hun?"
"Milk or juice would be great," the stallion replied. He then punched his leg, letting off a big clanging sound. He then stretched and shifted his robotic back leg around, as if testing its flexibility. "Aw, that's better. I really should have rehumanized years ago. These legs are too much damn trouble."
"No point complaining about it at this stage, hun," Melissa replied. She then turned to my dad. "Thank you, I'll just have some water for now, and juice for my husband. I think your other guest will want some water too, when she gets back out here. She should be quick."
"I need to get one of those thingies that she has," the stallion grumbled.
"That would be a nightmare trying to work with your prosthetics," Melissa replied. "I wouldn't mind one for me either, but you know how tight they hold onto those things, and you and I aren't important enough to be allowed one."
"What things?" I asked, they already seemed to have pretty cool things, with that gauntlet.
"That's so much better!" Came the lady's voice from the hall.
We all turned to face her, but I did a double take when I did. It was no longer the lady from before. It was a very muscular green earth pony mare with purple mane and tail, Wild Growth.
Wild Growth trotted cheerfully into the room. "I don't know how Sunset can stand being under those effects for days at a time sometimes. It just throws my whole perspective off, and I feel like my ears are clogged the entire time."
She looked around the room. "So when is dinner going to be ready? I'm starving."
Dinner sounded really good right around now.