//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: Stargazing // Story: Do Ponies on Earth have Magic Dreams? // by TikiBat //------------------------------// Silver let out a low grumble as he was shaken awake. With a long yawn he squinted open his eyes and looked up towards his brother, taking note that the car was parked in a simple dirt lot. “I’m guessing this is my wake up call and we’re there?” The human nodded, “Yep. I pulled in maybe 5 minutes ago, there were a couple signs leading back here. I was going to shake you awake sooner but you looked so peaceful sleeping, I thought I’d be nice and give you a few more minutes.” Silver nodded,” Thanks.” He looked up towards the gathering darkness and then back towards his brother, “Don’t tell me you’re going to drive all the way back home tonight, are you?” John shook his head, “Nah, I’m not a lunatic. Besides I might as well relax a bit, it’s been forever since I’ve gone camping.” “You mean you’re going to camp here?” “If you’re asking if I’m going to be the third wheel with you and your new little pony friend then don’t worry.” Despite the darkness, Silver could easily make out the form of three ponies approaching from down the road, a unicorn, a pegasus, and an earth pony.  Ignoring them for now, the stallion turned back to his brother and rolled his eyes, “That’s not what I meant, but I guess that’s a good consolation. But for real, you’re going to be okay here tonight?” The human shrugged, “I’ve got some food packed away in the trunk, I think I’ll be fine. Besides, I’m going to go see Clara tomorrow, she’s not really that far from here so no point in turning back.” “You two are still a thing?” “Sure. Just because we both rehumanized doesn’t mean we still didn’t appreciate each other’s company during all that. In fact it gives us something in common.” “Well hey you do you. I guess I’m not one to talk, I drove a long way from home just to meet up with a friend I’ve only ever met in my dreams,” Silver replies with a shrug. “You mean you had me drive you a long way from home to meet up with a friend you’ve only ever met in your dreams,” he paused for a moment, “I still can’t get a handle on that, is it just like you two chatting away telepathically or do you actually get to see each other?” “Well you know how we’re talking right now? Imagine that but maybe we're on some nice tropical beach, or maybe in some empty forest, sometimes it’s space— and maybe even the odd hellish landscape if it’s a nightmare.” “And it all just seems… real?” Silver cocked his head to the side, “Kinda sorta. It’s hard to explain really. It feels like second nature to me at this point but it’s still very clear that it’s a dream. The physics aren’t really there, like you’ll lean against a wall or something and just fall through it, or sometimes you’ll jump and wind up soaring through the air… the more time you spend dreamwalking the easier it is to actually get a grip on it. Wish I could show you more but that’s kinda impossible.” The human shrugged, “Well it sounds cool. So did you let your little friend know that you’re here?” “I uhh, well no,” Silver paused, “you kind of rudely woke me up before I could do that.” The human nodded, pointing towards the group of ponies that were now clearly visible, “well I have a feeling that they might know you’re here, is she in that group?” Silver sat up and squinted his eyes, shaking his head quickly, “Doesn’t look like it. Last I checked she didn’t have a horn or bird wings. I'm sure she’ll be here soon enough though, I mean I just blipped away from the dream after all.” “Well you better get your stuff then. Want me to comb your mane? Give you a breath mint maybe? You know, get you looking presentable for your big date?” The human added with a laugh, earning an annoyed scowl from Silver.  “It’s not a date, we’re just friends,” Silver replied with an eye roll. “Well it’s my job as your brother to antagonize you.” “That’s my job though, I’m still the older brother.” “Yeah?” He let out a chuckle, “Well right now I’m the bigger brother so I think that puts us at a stalemate.” “I guess it does,” Silver stood up and looked towards the handle, “I’m going to need a hand with this. If you don’t mind.” “Really? Gee I might as well be your personal chauffeur at this point.” Silver let out a laugh, “You’ll have to work on the accent first.” A small smile spread across his face, “Why couldn’t things just be like this more? I mean with mom and dad. Sure I’m different than you three, permanently, but we’re still giving each other trouble for everything.” The human shrugged as he exited the car, walking around towards the back seat and gently opening the door, “maybe it’s because I was further along than them, maybe the pony sense of self and attitude carried back over when I rehumanized.” Silver looked back towards his flank, pausing for a moment, “John, why did you rehumanize? I know everyone has their own reasons but why you?” “Hm? Well I guess I never really put much thought into it. Maybe it was pressure from everyone else, maybe it was some small lingering worry and fear in the back of my mind— I honestly don’t know. If you’re asking if I regret the decision I don’t, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t wish I could have spent more time adjusting to see if it was the life I wanted to actually lead instead of jumping the gun on it.” The night pony smiled as his brother helped him down, “Thanks for this John, it means a lot more to me than I think you’ll ever know.” “Of course. We might get on each other’s nerves from time to time but we’re brothers and I’ll always be there for you, and I hope you’ll do the same.” Silver nodded, “You know it.” “Good, now go have fun, drop me a line if you ever need anything else. I’m probably going to head out in the morning so I guess I’ll see you when I see you.” Silver returned a smile, “You too. Take care out there.” As he began to turn toward the village proper, the three ponies that had been eying him and his brother stepped forward, momentarily startling Silver. He took a few steps back and fought the instinctual urge to hiss at them, deciding that that wouldn’t be an appropriate first impression to make.  “Sorry to frighten you,” the larger of the three, an earth pony, spoke up, “I just wanted to welcome you here.” “Nice to meet you,” Silver began, pausing for a moment, “I’m Silver, Silver Eclipse.” “Aha, so you’re the night pony that our resident astronomer has been chattering about.” He held out a hoof, giving Silver a warm and inviting smile, “I’m Axel, the pegasus behind me is Storm Struck, and the unicorn is Sage. We’re the leaders of Green Creek Village.” Silver met his hoof and nodded, “Nice to meet you three.” “I hope you didn’t get the wrong idea with us keeping an eye on you from the shadows at first. We like to give a warm welcome to anypony stopping by, but it’s not often that we’ll get a human or a night pony showing up.” “Not to say that we thought you were going to cause trouble or anything,” Sage, the unicorn added.  “We just wanted to catch a glimpse at the weird hairless monkey and his batty sidekick is all,” Storm finished with a smirk, “No offense intended by the way. We just haven’t seen either of your kind in a while, made us a little wary at first.” “It’s fine,” Silver assured them, “Though… calling me the big hairless monkey’s sidekick is a little bit of a low blow if you ask me.” Axel chuckled and waved him forward, “I can see why Scarlet spoke so highly about you now.” “She talked about me?” Silver asked.  “Don’t worry, she only said good things.” “Oh that’s a relief,” he said in a dramatically relieved tone, “I thought she’d mention my deep dark past.” “You’ve got a deep dark past?” Sage perked up, “How deep and dark are we talking?” “Well when I was five I dug a big hole in my parents’ backyard, snuck out in the middle of the night to do it, though I guess it wasn’t that deep.” The three laughed and Axel shook his head, “You’re going to fit in just fine here.” As Silver trotted with the trio of ponies, he couldn’t help but feel excitement well up inside him. As nervous as he was to leave his home, he was really looking forward to finally meeting someone that could say they were going through something similar. He glanced around a little before gazing through the trees and upwards towards the clear night sky, marveling at the stars up above.  The earth pony laid a hoof on his back and paused his stride, “I hate to leave you out on your own, but I’ve got a feeling that you won’t be alone for long.” Silver paused and raised an eyebrow, “Huh?” “It’s getting late, and we have some things to wrap up before calling it a night..” “What he means is that the other bat lives down that way,” Storm gestured with a wing. Silver gave a nod of understanding, “Gotcha. Well, I guess I’ll see you all later then.” “It was nice meeting you,” Sage replied with a smile, “I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other soon.” With a final goodbye, the three left him to make his way to the trail alone, though he didn’t mind much. The drastically different locale was already growing on him, and he just knew that he’d be right at home here. In stark contrast to the busy streets and crowded buildings back home, this place was absolutely beautiful. From the towering pines to the stunning views that he was seeing right now— even the lack of pollution in the air, it all brought a sense of glee to the night pony and he couldn’t help but smile as he walked around the campground.  A cheerful voice greeted him from afar, interrupting his thoughts, “Gee what took you so long? I thought I was going to be waiting here all night.” Art by: https://twitter.com/FlagStopAgent Silver turned towards the voice, smiling as he took in the sight of the red night pony with an image of a telescope framed by stars visible on her flank, “Was it really that long?” She smiled, “Probably not, feels like it though. I guess I was just so excited to have some real company again that I got a little impatient. No offense to the other ponies here but they can get a little boring at night. Always going to bed so early and whatnot.” “Oh I can imagine,” Silver mused, looking off into the distance, “I’ve run into a few others on and off back in LA, but it was kind of sparse. I definitely have an idea of how you must be feeling.” “So you’re probably worse off than I was then, eh?” She let out an angelic laugh, bringing a smile to Silver’s face. Silver smiled and glanced around at the towering trees and lush greenery, finding himself smitten by his surroundings, “This already seems like a nice change of pace. Something about the beauty of this place just gives me peace like I haven’t felt in months.” “It really is something special, especially at night,” She agreed, “There’s hardly any light pollution so you can just see so much of it!”, She excitedly replied back, “So how was your trip? I’m guessing you didn’t run into too much trouble getting down here?” “Well, aside from the lovely chat we had, it was pretty boring and uneventful. Got a really nice rest though, which I hadn’t realized I was lacking for so long.” “So what you’re saying is that you’re up for some fun nighttime activities then?” “Depends,” he replied, “What’s your definition of fun nighttime activities?” She slowly meandered around him, pulling him close, “Maybe some stargazing? I figured it was a nice way to ease you into village life.” “Yeah? Well I think it’s a fantastic idea. You know, I was actually just thinking to myself that I never get to just stargaze anymore, It’s really been too long. I used to love doing that before ETS…” Noticing the somewhat sad tone that his voice took toward the end of that, Scarlet perked up, “Well, if you want we can go do a little bit of that right now, I wasn’t kidding when I said I’d love to show you.” With a smile, Silver replied, “I’d love that. Do you have anywhere special in particular? Or am I just overthinking this?” “I do, there’s a nice little clearing a ways away that just looks so beautiful,” The mare waved him along towards a gap in the trees, “It’s a little area they cleaned up, I already have my telescope set up there.” Silver nodded, “Is there any wildlife we need to worry about up here?” He began to trot after her, catching up and trying his hardest not to stumble over his own words. Silver was never one for the dorky love at first sight stuff, but something about Scarlet was different. He had only ever met her in his sleep, but he could tell that he was going to enjoy every minute here. “We had some trouble in that department early on but as long as you stay on the paths you should be fine now,” Her beautiful voice pulled him back to reality. The stallion blinked a few times and gave a nod, glancing into the darkness around them with a slight twinge of worry, “Kind of makes sense eh?” She nodded, “Yep. As long as you respect their area they shouldn’t bother you.” “Noted,” Silver said with a quick nod. As they continued along he couldn’t help but gaze around slack jawed at everything as if he was unaccustomed to the tall trees and lush green plants— which he practically was. Noticing this, Scarlet paused for a moment and turned towards him, “It’s really something isn’t it? They seemed so tall when I was a human, and now they feel twice as big. I just love it though, it makes you feel like you’re really secluded in nature.” “It really is, there’s just something that’s so wonderful about it! It’s just like...” “Beautiful?” She offered, finishing his sentence for him. “That’s exactly what I was thinking,” he finished, almost a little too excitedly. The mare giggled at his dorky expression and waved him along, causing his face to turn a deep crimson out of embarrassment. Despite this, the two continued on, walking down the natural path that was carved through the forest, and before long they had arrived at Scarlet’s clearing. Tall trees surrounded them on all sides, providing a tall forested barrier that seemed to block out the outside world even more, giving them a feeling that they were the only two ponies in the world. “Well here we are, my favorite place in the whole wide world.” Silver looked around, then back up towards the stars, “I can see why, this place is beautiful!” “It’s like a waking dream for me, someplace special I can just go to relax in and shut out the rest of the world.” “So what brought you here in the first place? What brought anyone here for that matter?” Scarlet shrugged, “Well, for me it was just a place I came across when I felt that I was all alone in the world. I lived around Palm Springs, which isn’t too far from here, but I was up visiting my grandmother over in Idyllwild and it just seemed like a good place to settle down in at the time.” “I’m guessing a lot of others had the same idea?” She shook her head, “Kinda. It started small, and from what I understand, it really wasn’t meant to be a village at all at first. He doesn’t talk much about it, but Axel lost his wife shortly before ETS hit. Lived up here all his life, and just decided to spend some time out in nature away from everything after to try and clear his head. Poor guy didn’t really get a break at all though, wound up catching ETS while camping and well, the rest is history I guess.” “Seems like he figured out a good path at least.” “You could say that. Turning into a pony did something to him— in a good way. He always said he was depressed and down after losing his wife, and transforming helped give him the strength to move on— gave him a new purpose in life.” “Like a second chance,” Silver commented, earning a nod from Scarlet.  “They had a small shelter set up in town, and after everything was said and done, he noticed that there were a lot of ponies that didn’t really know what to do or where to go. Living in their old homes was frustrating for them with how big they were and with how many of them were earth ponies that didn’t have the room to use their magic.” “Yeah…” Silver began, “Sounds like a real pain in the flank. So I’m guessing that that’s when he decided to go off and make a town?” “Almost,” she said. “When he left the shelter, he gathered up some of those ponies and a few others down on their luck who hadn’t found their place in the world, and together they all kind of just drifted around the area for a bit. There weren’t too many campers around so he and another pony decided that it wouldn’t hurt anypony if they set up camp here.” “And that’s when the town started.” “Pretty much. I’m not sure if the county knows it’s here, but the sheriff does, and she’s just happy we’re taking care of it, one less worry for her.” “Kinda explains the welcoming committee,” he laughed.  “Yeah, no it absolutely does. It works out well though, most of the time you only have to deal with the wildlife. It wasn’t like that from the start though, when Axel and Sage started this place there were humans that got their kicks from harassing us. That’s actually how I wound up hearing about this place.” “Wait, I thought you said you were visiting your grandmother at the time?” “Oh I was. But I got accustomed to late night flights alone. Thought it’d be a good way to get a lay of the land and all that, I mean she’s still human so not like she was going to be up when I was most of the time.” “Makes enough sense. So how’d you actually show up here then?” She glanced up at the night sky and smiled, “Well I was still doing my thing— you know, flying around early in the evening and trying to see if I could find any other night ponies around, when I saw a couple of humans and ponies having an argument over in camp, kinda where you met up with Sage, Axel, and Storm. I didn’t want to get involved, but didn’t want to just leave them on their own either, so I snuck behind the humans and hid behind a dumpster. Turns out that a few humans had decided to give him and Axel some trouble, which was not going to end well. “So what happened next?” She shrugged, “One of the humans pulled a knife on Sage and that’s when I jumped out. Didn’t really know what I was doing until I did it, and did my best to chase them off. I helped Sage up and he told me about this place. I was hesitant at first, but something about the idea of a whole little pony community seemed nice. I thought it could be a fresh start, and I guess it was, it’s just been… lonely. “So I’m guessing that’s why you like to hang out here? Just because it’s so peaceful?” Scarlet nodded as she started to adjust her telescope, “I actually had them build my cabin near this place for that reason too. It’s the perfect place to just watch the stars. No light, no distractions, just peace. I figured that if I wasn’t going to be awake when they were, then I might as well make my own little perfect getaway, a place where I could just enjoy doing what I’ve always loved to do.” Silver smiled and began to think about his own interpretation of the vision, “It definitely sounds like a wonderful idea on paper, how’s it been going for you guys here?” “It’s been going well enough, obviously it’s not just a simple walk in the park, but the rest of the ponies seem to be doing a good job at sustaining this place, why?” “I’ve just been doing a lot of thinking. I mean I’ve spent the last couple months trying to find a purpose, maybe I was just trying to find something when it was right in front of me the whole time…” he said, gesturing at the scenery surrounding him. “Think you’ve found something good here already?” Silver nodded, “Yeah, it’s not bad at all. I’ve been practicing meditation a lot lately and this seems like it’s a great place to do that.” “It sure is, trust me when I say that there’s nothing else that compares to just relaxing out in the wilderness.” Silver smiled as he watched Scarlet aim the telescope up into the sky, “So this is it?” Art by: https://twitter.com/FlagStopAgent  She nodded, “it’s not much but it’s exactly what I need,” she paused for a moment as she gazed up into the night sky, “Do you ever just look at the stars Silver? Wish you could just fly away into the unknown and see what’s out there waiting for us?” The night pony shrugged, “Sometimes, not as often as I’d like though.” Scarlet looked back towards him, “Well now’s a good time to start then, do you have a favorite constellation or star? Or anything in the night sky really?” Silver nodded, “Orion. It’s a long story but I got lost in the woods as a kid one time, my dad taught me how to find my way around by looking at the stars, and that one was always so easy to find. Sometimes I just like to look for it to remind me about where I’ve come from, and where I’m going.” Scarlet smiled, “That’s one of my favorites too, it’s always just been so beautiful. You can use it to find other stars easily too, so that’s what I’ve always liked the most about it. That said it’s not visible right now unfortunately. Got another one in mind though?” Silver paused for a moment, staring into the night sky, “Ursa Major?” She aimed the telescope towards the constellation and smiled, “Ursa Major it is. Don’t be shy, it’s waiting for you.” Silver lowered his eye to the telescope and smiled as he looked up towards the constellation, “It’s beautiful, I could really get used to this kind of routine if this is what you do every night.” “You think so?” Silver turned back towards her and nodded, “I’ve barely been here an hour and I’m already in love with the place, it’s like a little slice of heaven in a changing world.” “Would you want to stay a bit longer than just the weekend?” Silver paused for a moment as he gazed up at the constellation Scarlet had aimed the telescope at, “Yes. I think I would. I don’t suppose they can get another cabin built around here?” “We can ask if you’re really interested, Axel handles that so we can talk with him in the morning, but you’re more than welcome to stay with me as long as you’d like, I won’t mind a bit.” “And we can stargaze every night right? You’ll show me all the cool stars and planets?” Scarlet smiled, and gazed back up at the stars, “Maybe…” Silver smiled back and looked back into the telescope, “You know, it’s a real shame that I never really got into this much. There’s just so much beauty just sitting out there and we choose to ignore it.” “There’s so much unknown too… that’s the real beauty of it to me.” With a slightly concerned look, she turned back to Silver, their eyes meeting for a moment. “Silver… Do you think that there’s something else out there? I think that’s always been what’s most alluring to me, that there’s so much we don’t know about our own universe.” Unsure of how to answer, Silver just said what felt right. “I’m not sure to be honest… but that’s part of what keeps me moving forward and trying to make the world a better place… I mean sure, we’re just a small spec in the grandeur of space, but that doesn’t mean we can’t make a difference on our own right?” She smiled, “That’s why I like to look at the stars, maybe I’ll never know more about them, maybe I’ll never get to discover something new and exciting, but the thought of doing something small that can at least make me happy is what makes it all meaningful.” Art by: https://twitter.com/FanDrawsArt  Silver let out a laugh, earning a confused look from the mare, “Sorry, I wasn’t laughing at you, you just reminded me of someone I met a while ago.” Scarlet raised an eyebrow, “Who? I mean if you don’t mind sharing that is.” “You’ll never believe it, Princess Luna of all ponies. To make a long story short, she stopped by my dream shortly before the counter spell was cast, asked why I didn’t spread the vision and then encouraged me to do more with my magic like I had wanted to do. I guess that stuck because I’ve been practicing and playing around with it more ever since.” “That seems like an odd conversation to have. She didn’t want anything else after?” Silver shrugged, “She said she wanted to learn more about me, actually stopped by my dream again a while later, but the conversation seemed a little less involved then. I get the sense that I wasn’t the only one she was talking to at the time, but still she was delightful and told me to keep at it, that it was admirable that I wanted to help others with my magic and that sometimes making a small difference is the best way to be part of something bigger than yourself.” “Do you think she was looking for wardens? Or rather ponies to fill those roles?” Silver nodded, “Sure, that wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest. Go find all the weirdos that weren’t for the mass brainwashing and go from there. Now, whether I was on her list or not, I don’t know, and I don’t think I’ll ever know.” “Would you have done it? If she asked you?” Silver paused for a moment, “I don’t know to be honest. That’s not just something you agree to on a whim. Forever is a long time, especially when you have to live with yourself for all eternity. Maybe in time I could have been up for something like that, but a small part of me is glad she never brought it up. Before she left, she did help teach me some dream magic I had been trying to figure out on my own, it was nothing too advanced, mainly how to start crafting dreams of my own, but it was nice.” “And that was it? She just left and never came back?” “As far as I know yeah. I kind of wish she would, I have so many questions I want to ask.” “Like what?” “Well stuff about dream magic, how I can do more, learn more, et cetera. I don’t know how I did it, but I somehow slipped into the dream realm while awake one time. It was just something that happened while I was meditating, I guess part of me dozed off a bit and somehow made the connection back and I’d love to learn more about that.” “Did you ever think to ask one of the wardens?” Silver slowly nodded, “The thought crossed my mind. But to tell you the truth they kind of give me a weird feeling. Sometimes you catch one who’s sweet and nice, other times you get one that treats you like some kind of guilty monster for doing anything slightly out of line, you know?” A scowl came across her face, “Oh I know. I’ve had my fair share of run-ins with Sha’am.” “Ouch. You too? Her methods are definitely a bit too extreme, I thought I’d be cocky and press my luck by not saying the oaths one time and she didn’t even bat an eye at drowning me on the spot. It kind of kept me away from even bothering to seek them out after that.” “Well maybe it’s a good thing that Luna never asked you then. It’s one thing to live with yourself for an eternity, it’s another to live with some cruel witch.” “I’ll take it you’re not a fan?” Scarlet let out a laugh, “I don’t think even the most extreme masochist could be a fan of her.” “Good point.” Scarlet smiled, “Well, why don’t we head back to my place so you can drop your stuff off. Are you hungry? I could get some food whipped up for the two of us, we could have a nice chat over breakfast or something.” Silver nodded as he began to follow her down a well worn path, “Sounds like a plan,” he glanced around, “So is this place as rustic as it seems? Or is a little more modernized?” “If you’re asking if we have electricity, running water and indoor toilets, then yes, we do. This place is definitely a mix of ponies that want to follow the vision and ponies that just want to relax and get away from the rest of the world. I don’t personally get out of this area much, never really saw a need to but Axel still keeps up with some neighboring towns so we’re not completely cut off.” He paused for a few moments, taking in the scenery around him with a content grin on his face, “You know, I can definitely see why people set up shop here, this place is beautiful.” “You should see the sunrise, it’s even more spectacular. It’s probably my favorite thing to see before bed.” “It sounds amazing, you’ll have to show me later.” “For sure,” She replied with a nod, “Like I said the other day, I’m pretty much the only night pony here, we’ve had a few visitors, but none that stop by for good, so sorry if I wind up talking your ear off.” “Oh don’t worry, I understand completely. We’re social creatures so it’s got to be a nightmare to be all alone.” “Finally someone that understands, the other ponies here are nice enough, but I only get to see them for a little while, doesn’t really make for any long lasting relationships,” She waved him down another path towards a small cabin, “Here we are, home sweet home.” Silver smiled, “It looks cozy. So you said they built yours, were there others around before then? Or did they all come after Axel and Sage started this place up?” The mare shook her head, “There were a couple, but a bunch of the day ponies got together and built some new ones. They’re small, but cozy.” Silver’s eyes widened in surprise, “Wow, they built these all on their own?” “Kind of, Axel had some humans come in and help out with the finer stuff like wiring the houses up and getting some of the permits sorted out. That’s the big part of why he wanted to focus on including humans too. Said we can’t make this place without working together, so we did.” “I know it’s a dumb thing to get excited about, but I can’t help but be amazed at all of this. I mean back home you’d be hard pressed to find ponies and humans working together like that without the humans calling them brainwashed and the ponies getting all feisty over it,” he continued to look over the structure, and then off into the direction of the village proper, a small blush spreading across his cheeks, “I… don’t suppose there’s any vacant ones back in town? I wouldn’t want to be a burden on you.” Scarlet shook her head, “Not yet, Axel wanted to get some more built, but the construction teams he worked with are all really busy right now and he usually gets some more advanced notice before a newcomer moves in. I don’t mind though, I’m a small pony now, not like I take up that much space anyways,” She pushed open the door and invited him in, “Come on in and make yourself at home.” Silver nodded as he gazed into the small single room cabin, “Do you have a guest bed or anything?” “I’m afraid not, unless you want to go sleep in the tent cabin across town? And trust me, it gets cold and lonely there.” Silver glanced over at the couch, and then over to the small, but cozy looking bed. While it might have lacked all the bells and whistles of a usual human home, he had to admit that the quaint cabin was just perfect for a pony. Warm and inviting, just like the mare who lived in it.  “Seriously, feel free to lay down wherever you want, I don’t bite or anything,” Scarlet assured him, earning a small smile from the stallion.  Silver tossed his bag onto the couch and turned back towards her, “And you’re sure you don’t mind at all? I don’t have a lot of money on me, but I’d feel bad if I just stayed here rent free.” “Keep your money, what am I going to do with it anyways? If you feel so bad about it then feel free to help out around here, there’s not really a lot of chores but an extra set of helping hooves would be greatly appreciated. Do you cook?” Silver nodded, “I can’t say I’m an amazing chef or anything, but yeah I can cook.” “Good, you can help with that too if you’d like,” She looked out the window and smiled, “I’ll grab dinner tonight, we can switch every other day if that’s alright with you.” “Sure, that sounds fair enough.” He replied with a smile, “Think you need a helping hoof tonight?” Scarlet smiled, “I wouldn’t turn it down. How does fruit salad sound?” “That sounds delicious, though it seems like it’ll be a little tricky to do with hooves.” “Well I guess it’s a good thing I’ve got another helper then.” “I guess it is, why don’t you lead the way, I don’t know about you but I’m definitely a bit peckish.” “That sounds like a good plan to me,” she gestured with a wing, “Kitchen’s over this way, just got some fresh fruit in today so this should be lovely.” Silver smiled as he stood up and followed her towards the cozy kitchen, “Can’t wait!”