Beds are fucking awesome. Cave floors can suck a dick. Hotel beds are heathens that should be burned at the stake. Grassy fields are just a step above that, but only if they have a tree to keep the fucking sun out of your eyes in the morning. Beds don't have that problem. Beds. Are. Awesome! The only way they can be better is if there's a cute Kirin sleeping next to you. Best thing in the world! No contest!
I smiled as I reached out to the other side of the bed towards Autumn. My smile turned into a frown when my paw just found more bed. I peeked open an eye and sure enough, Autumn was gone. I sighed as I dragged my lazy ass out of bed. Hey, as nice as it was to get to sleep in a bed for once, I still had other things I needed to figure out. I needed to get a job since I was planning to stay in Ponyville and live with Autumn. That was something I was a bit more optimistic about than I thought I would be at first. The party yesterday showed me that the people here were a lot more willing to help. Then again, I haven't given them a reason to hate me yet, so here's hoping I can keep it up for a few days.
After I rubbed my eyes, I saw something that brought happy tears to my eyes. You know how they say you don't know how much you take something for granted until its gone? Well, THEY KNEW WHAT THE FUCK THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT!
"Hello indoor plumbing!" I beamed as I clambered into the bathroom. "You have no idea how much I missed you!"
Dude. You're talking to a toilet.
Shut up! I've been doing my business in the woods for weeks and washing myself with a freezing cold waterfall. Aside from that hot spring, I've been doing things the Tarzan way and I'm sick of it! Get me my goddamn indoor plumbing!
Fair enough. Wonder what kind of shampoo Kirin use.
I froze at that.
That's right, I don't have any of that stuff so I'm going to need to use what was in here. Yet another reason for me to get a job and some of my own money. Feeling a little guilty, I pulled back the curtain with a paw to see what I had to work with. It was a pretty basic ceramic tub with a shower head attachment and downspout. Set up in the soap holder were two plain white bottles and a bar of soap. Curious, I floated the two bottles towards me and read the labels.
Burning Passion Mane Shampoo: fire-damage restoring shine. Dancing Lily Coat Shampoo. Huh. You know what? Why not?
Not really thinking too much about it, I hopped into the tub and got to work. It was kind of cramped since the tub wasn't really made for someone my size, but I managed to make it work. It helped that Extrasensory could reach all of the spots my paws couldn't reach, though it felt kind of weird to have a set of invisible fingers scrubbing my back. After a few minutes I got out the shower, casually levitated a towel off of a nearby rack, and went to work drying myself off. As I was doing that, I tried to figure out what kind of jobs I could find here. I did a lot of things to keep a roof over my head back home, everything from Security Guard to Fast Food. It eventually got to the point that I started calling myself a Freelancer when I was off the clock.
When I got my head dried off, I snuck a look at myself in the mirror and not gonna lie, I liked what I saw. Now, I'm not exactly an expert on how a Ninetales is supposed to look outside of games, but I think a shiny coat is a pretty good sign. Hell, who am I kidding? I look great! Better than I did yesterday at least.
I chuckled at that as I did a few posses in front of the mirror. Then I saw one of my scars and my good mood took a pretty big hit. Sure, my life was better now, but that night was always going to stick with me. Even with a world between me and her, that bitch still haunts me. To top it all off, its because of her that I'm scared of who I hear is the nicest pony on the planet. Go fucking figure.
I let out an irritated snort and made my way out of the bathroom, my towels floating next to me all the while. As soon as I found what looked like a hamper, I "tossed" the towels into it and made my way towards the door. Shower or not, I needed a cup of coffee if I was going to walk through a town full of god knows what. That, or a bottle of Jack. Whichever I could find in the kitchen first.
A slip of paper caught my attention. Raising a brow, I plucked it off with a paw and flipped it over.
In bright red ink, it said: Dear Alex, sorry I couldn't stick around. The pony I left in charge of the theater didn't do as good of a job as I had hoped and I needed to fix a few things for my next show. Since you're probably hungry and don't know your way around here yet, I put a map of the theater into the saddle bags I left for you by the door. There's also a list of places looking to hire right now and some bits you can use to get some lunch later. Try not to have too much fun out there pal. Love, Autumn.
Sure enough, when I looked down at the ground there was a pair of the same kind of bags I saw Autumn use sitting by the door. Well, these were bigger than the ones she had, but they were still basically the same thing. Shrugging, I slipped them on and headed out the door into a dimly lit hallway. Not much of a problem thanks to my night vision, but the way everything looked made me freeze. The hall was made of solid polished mahogany with a white painted vaulted ceiling that looked like it came straight out of a period drama. Just to prove my point, the walls had a few ornate brass lanterns hooked up to them about three feet apart from each other. I shook off my shock and tried to Extrasensory my house map out of one of my bags.
"Now who might you be?" said a female voice behind me.
I absolutely did not yelp as I spun around to face her. I did do a quick double take as I tried to figure out what the fuck I was looking at though. The thing looked like a pony, but instead of fur it had some kind of shiny purple exoskeleton. That wasn't the only bug like thing this thing had going for it. It had some kind of beetle shell on its back and a transparent green fin where its mane and tail should be. Add the glowing all orange eyes and I found the pony version of The Fly.
"Who-What the hell are you?" I sputtered.
The creature gave me this haughty chuckle and said, "My, is a Changeling so below your radar that you don't know what we look like? Typical Kitsune."
I glared at her.
Wow. Less than ten seconds and I already hate her. I think that's a new record.
"To answer your question," she continued, leaning towards me. "My name is Vermilion and yours?"
"Alex," I grunted.
Vermilion chuckled again.
"Quite the odd name, but one I feel I can remember. I promise you'll remember mine soon as well."
As she said that, she gave me a wink and a slightly less pompous smile.
"Doubt it," I said coldly.
Her smile took on a more sinister edge as she said, "I see. Lucky for you, I love a challenge."
I instantly got my Iron Tail started and crouched low.
Vermilion's smile just grew as she said, "Now now, let's not stoop to the level of savages. Perhaps we could talk under more civil circumstances. Such as breakfast for example?"
I stared her down for a few seconds, then sighed as I let my tails return to normal and relaxed my posture. It was way too early for me to be putting up with this shit.
"Fine," I growled, then turned and made my way down the hall.
I heard her hoofsteps trailing behind me about three feet away, but other than that she didn't make any noises. It put me on edge more than anything, really. It reminded me of the moment right before Sandra-. I shook my head to get rid of that memory. Vermilion wasn't Sandra. No one here was her. I needed to stop thinking of other people as her if I wanted to make any progress in life. She isn't here. I don't need to worry about her anymore.
***
The sun shined brightly in the sky, a mostly calm and clear ocean catching its light with the occasional crash of choppy waves. A small sailboat made its way across the brilliant scene at a casual pace, something that couldn't be said about the two creatures aboard it. Sid watched with a flat expression as his sister paced back and forth across the deck, the Alolan Ninetales as fidgety as ever when they sailed. The Absol wondered if he should invest in a stress ball for her, only to shoot that idea down almost immediately. His sister had a pretty strong jaw that he doubted any ball could handle for very long.
"Can't you just chill sis?" he asked from his seat at the ship's bow. "Flipping out isn't going to get us moving any faster."
"I know that!" Dahlia snapped, halting her pacing to glare at him. "But I can't fucking help it! Why the hell would a Kitsune go to a Diamond Dog village? Hell, why would one be in Central Equestria? It doesn't sit right with me bro. I just know Sandra has something to do with it."
"Maybe," he shrugged. "But working yourself up over it all won't do you any good."
She let out a frustrated scream and fired a blast of pure cold air out of her mouth off of the ship's starboard side.
"Don't you think I know that!" she roared, her tails flaring up behind her as she glared at her brother. "God damn it! If I had been a little fucking faster she 'd be dead and dumped in a ditch by know! But no! Instead I let her get away AGAIN!!!"
"We don't even know if this is her," Sid said evenly. "That's why we're going to investigate in the first place. For all we know, this could be a Kitsune that wanted to see the sights or something."
Dahlia scoffed and said, "Get real Sid. We both know that'd never happen."
She let out a loud growl as she flopped down to her haunches and let out a frustrated sigh.
"I want to end this bro," she frowned, tone more somber than angry as she stared down at the deck. "Alex went through so much shit because of her. How can I face him again if I can't catch her?"
The Absol let out a sigh of his own as he rose to his feet and approached the despondent Ninetales.
"We will sis," he said, reassuring smile accompanying the paw he put on her shoulder. "Even if we have to chase her to hell and back, we will catch her."
"Damn straight," Dahlia said, meeting her brother's gaze with a small smile.
Sid matched her smirk, then frowned as he put his other paw on her other shoulder and gave her a few hard shakes as he said, "But if you don't sit still I'm going to throw you off of the god damn ship!"
"R-R-Right!" she cried, the world starting to spin as she was shook. "S-S-Sorry!"
"Good!" he nodded, taking his paws off of her. "Now find a way to kill time that won't make me want to strangle you for a change."
"Aye captain," she said drunkenly, doing a sloppy solute before falling over.
Sid just sighed then made his way back to the ship's bow. While he didn't show it, this whole thing had him just as much on edge as his sister. It was almost enough to make him miss cigarettes, the native variety putting such a bad enough taste in his mouth that he kicked the habit out of disgust. Instead, his claws kneaded small grooves into the deck, his gaze shifting towards the sky. He could sense that something was coming, a sharp tingling in his horn all the evidence he needed to confirm his suspicion. Whether it was good or bad he had no way of knowing until it came. All he knew was that it was going to be big and that only further put him on edge. He sighed and made his way towards the ship's cabin, a bottle of whisky waiting to steady his gradually fraying nerves.
***
"Fuck my life," I muttered as I stomped my way through town.
"Oh don't be like that," Vermilion smiled from by left, the list of jobs Autumn gave me floating in front of her. "You can't help being so large. Give it a couple years and things will be more accommodating for creatures your size."
My eye twitched as I slowly leveled a furious smile at her and growled, "Yes! I'm well aware that my FAT ASS AND SWARM OF TAILS blew my chances at getting at least ten of the fifteen jobs on that list!"
"That temper of yours certainly isn't doing you any favors," she frowned. "Perhaps you should choose a job that won't give you the urge to turn somecreature into a bonfire."
As much as I hated to admit it, she had a point. If I wanted to get anywhere here, I needed to get my temper under control. This isn't the kind of place you can deck someone and not get in a heap of trouble for it. Plus, I didn't want to drag Autumn into any shit around here if I can prevent it. It's kind of the reason I agreed to let Vermilion guide me through town today. That, and she's not all that bad.
We talked things out over some eggs and bacon (Thank god that's here!) and it turns out that all the shit she gave me was, apparently, because Kitsune are assholes. Okay, not her exact words, but you get the point. I mean sure, I'm an asshole too, but these guys are apparently royal assholes. I'm just your friendly neighborhood asshole. Big difference.
As for Vermilion herself? Yeah, she's a bit full of herself, but pretty cool all the same. She had this whole cultured air to her, but she was grounded enough that I didn't want to strangle her over it. Probably a good thing in the long run considering she worked for Autumn as an actress. Her leading one apparently, according to her. A pretty easy thing to pull off when you can turn into other people. Yep. Changelings are shapeshifters... Anyway, after an hour of shooting the shit with her, (Her showing off her shapeshifting as we were talking at random points.) she decided to help me find a job.
When I asked her why she wanted to help she said, "So Autumn can burn in a new way for a change."
Don't ask. I sure as hell didn't.
"So, where to next?" I sighed.
"Lunch," she smiled, slipping the paper into one of my bags. "I don't know about you, but I'm absolutely famished!"
Now that she mentioned it, I was getting kind of hungry.
I wonder what kind of food a place like this has.
"Sounds good to me," I shrugged.
"Excellent," she nodded. "Any requests?"
"Anything but apples and oatmeal," I frowned.
"Very well," she smiled. "I think I know just the place."
With that said, I let her lead the way through the busy streets.
I had to admit, the town wasn't all that bad. Sure, I was still getting odd looks every now and then, but it wasn't getting to me as much as it did yesterday. The place had this kind of homey feel to it, like I was getting a chance to be welcomed here. It was nice, but it felt really fucking weird at the same time. If it wasn't for the occasional bar or club I'd see every now and then, I'd think I was dumped in some kids cartoon or something.
I wonder if there are any strippers in this world. Wait? How would that even work? Everyone's naked here!
Autumn briefly popped into my head, her eyes half lidded as she looked at me teasingly over her shoulder. Her forehooves clung tightly to a metal pole, her lips pulled up into a playful smile as she-
Oh. That could work. Thanks brain, you dick!
Right organ, wrong culprit!
My face heated up as I tried to keep my thoughts PG. As happy as I was that I had a girlfriend again, the last thing I needed was to show how happy I was about it. I don't think Vermilion would appreciate that, all things considered. Luckily, there were plenty of distractions in town to keep me preoccupied. Like how some of the shops were oddly specific about what they sold. Quills and Sofas? Really? What next? Pickles and airplanes? Oh... I wonder if I'm psychic.
Let us use our powers for good. To the casinos my friend!
Brain, I swear I'll... Actually, let's pocket that one. You might be onto something there.
"Here we are," Vermilion smiled, snapping me out of my thoughts.
While I didn't smell any beef (cows are people here. Fucking hell on a stick.),it was a definitely a steak house. The whole place had a kind of rustic build to it that reminded me of the western style buildings from Ore Town with what looked like hay bales for seats set up around wooden tables made from barrel lids scattered around the front of it. The place smelled heavily of ham, chicken, and fried fish, the whole thing making my mouth water.
"Since a lot of Griffins and Dragons have moved into town, places like this have come around to cater to them," Vermilion explained, a smug grin plastered across her face when I pried my eyes away from the restaurant to look at her.
"I take it you approve?" she chuckled.
"Damn straight," I beamed.
She chuckled then lead the way inside. I kind of blacked out for... kind of blacked out when I got hit by a sea of heavenly scents. When I finally came back to...where ever the hell this is, I was sitting across from Vermilion at a barrel table with a cup floating under my mouth.
"Are you with us again?" she asked, a few snorts leaking past her lips.
"Shut up," I growled, knocking the cup aside and wiping my muzzle.
She just laughed behind a hoof and said, "You must've been hungrier than I thought."
"I-It's just been a while since I've had any meat," I grumbled, staring at the ground.
"Say no more," I heard her say, her smile visible in my peripherals. "Celestia knows how I would react if I didn't get at least one chicken club a week."
"You eat meat too?" I asked, looking up at her.
She nodded, then said, "Changelings are omnivores, though we also possess the ability to eat other things in small amounts."
"Like what?" I asked, looking over my menu.
"Why, love of course."
I blinked, then slowly looked over my menu at her. She was smiling and licked her lips in a way that put a chill down my spine.
"Hey lady, I'm already taken," I said evenly.
"Oh I am very much aware of that," she giggled. "Believe me. It's part of the reason I needed to leave the theater today."
"Why?" I asked, getting an Extrasensory ready, just in case.
"Autumn has been radiating so much love this morning I was starting to feel sick from it," she sighed, rolling her eyes...somehow. "Honestly, I don't know what you two did on the way back to Ponyville, but it made her more love charged than a hormonal teenager."
"Yeah," I chuckled, rubbing the back of my head as I tried to hide my hot face behind my menu. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around all of that."
"What is there to figure out?" she shrugged. "She likes you. You like her. Let it all happen and enjoy each other. I honestly don't know why other creatures make love so difficult."
"You're right," I sighed. "I like Autumn, no questions about it. I just can't figure out why she likes me."
"Why?" she asked, tilting her head. "Sure, you're a little rough around the edges, but you seem nice enough."
"That's just cuz you haven't been around me long enough," I sighed, slumping my shoulders. "Trust me, I'm a pretty big piece of shit when you really get to know me. The most I can do is enjoy it before Autumn and everyone else figures it out and leaves me. Then I'll be all alone again and trying to find a new place to live somewhere else."
Vermilion frowned at me, but I didn't give her a chance to try and cheer me up before I started actually reading my menu. I didn't get very far before a small pinch at the tip of one of my tails sent a wave of red hot rage through me. A deep growl tore past my lips with a snarl as I threw my head back and raised the tail to my eye level. What I saw completely obliterated my rage in a matter of seconds. It was a tiny teal Kirin with an orange mane and tail. The little guy was about the size of a kitten with a little diaper and shiny green eyes looking up at me with wonder. The tip of my tail was stuck tightly in his mouth as I dangled him a good three feet off of the ground. I chuckled a bit at it as I gently opened his mouth with my Extrasensory and floated him into my forelegs.
"Hey little guy," I chuckled. "Where's your folks?"
He just let out a bunch of baby babble as I held him. I nodded at him for a few seconds, pretending that I had any clue what he was saying. At the same time, I was wondering what kind of parents would let their kid wonder around in a place like this. Safe town or not, that's pretty stupid on every kind of level. I looked up to see if anyone was looking for the little tail-biter. Sure enough, a pair of Kirin were freaking out a few tables away. I raised a paw and called out to them to get their attention. After a few thank yous and hugs and kisses for the kid from his parents, things settled down enough for me to pick my order.
After the waiter walked off with our orders, I noticed Vermilion was giving me a weird smile.
"What?" I asked.
"Nothing," she chuckled. "Just thinking that you might not be as horrible as you might think."
"Whatever," I grumbled, rolling my eyes.