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// 9. I Am Home. 
// Story: The Little Wooden God 
// by Apophis797 
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Every city has a nice side and a less nice side. The ratios might vary, as does the local definition of nice, but it's a pretty natural consequence of how cities tend to work. Never before, however, have I seen a difference so severe. It's not that the less wealthy side of the city was bad in any sense of the word, it was nicer than a lot of New York, but anything looks dark next to the sun. 

First, and nearest to the entrance, were the houses and businesses ahead of the castle. Well, house is a strong word. Most looked closer to miniature castles themselves than anything, their shining white stone walls matching those of the palace itself and their entrances and windows adorn with gold and brightly colored silks. The ponies that walked the streets, most of whom were dressed for once and many of which literally walked with their noses in the air, scoffed at my presence but I get the sense it was because of the state of my clothes and hygiene, not my species. It was a place where I imagined only nobles and the wealthiest of businessmen could afford to live and, being the only part visible from outside the city, made my worry that it was more of a palace complex than a proper city.

Next, coming into view as I began to move away from the palace and round the sheer cliff around which the city was built, the buildings remained rather opulent but seemed more functional. Palatial residences gave way to two story buildings, their windows blocked by shutters and their walls a light tan rather than a brilliant white. Many still featured gold in their signs or entrances but it was at most an accent. The ponies also seemed to have returned to being naked, so I guess the city isn't especially more modest than the rest of pony culture. The air also seemed just a bit less unsullied, not bad per say but the various soaps and perfumes which dominated the odor of the richest parts of the city gave way to the smells of ponies and food and the occasional dumpster. The smell of a living city, if a well cared-for one. I'd still rather try my luck in a proper slum, if I could find one, but at least I knew there was a place here for those other than the richest of the rich.

Then, as I neared the back of the city, I got to what I'm calling the dock district. I personally wasn't expecting docks on a mountain but it seems airships did a lot better here than in my world. The area around the docks was again, not bad, but extremely utilitarian by necessity. Nobody wants to pay for all the added costs of keeping places like that sparkling and fancy, especially when the curvature of the cliff means they don't have to look at them, and so the buildings were all either warehouses or built like them, presumably so they only needed the one building plan, made of brick or dark grey local stone. The streets between them, constantly filling and emptying the structures as crates moved from ship to building to city, were filled with the hustle and bustled of ponies loading and unloading crates, presumably to support the opulence of the last two areas I'd seen. 

Farther from the edge, where I assumed the dock workers and the ponies who sold them things lived and worked, the warehouses gave way to red brick apartments, many of which had small shops under them. I also saw, for the first time since arriving here, tents on street corners with ponies selling various little trinkets to anyone who passed by. It was somewhere out of place compared to what I'd seen of this world's communities so far but so much more familiar to me. A normal city full of normal working ponies, apart from the docks of course. I'd also seen a handful of griffons working the docks and even a couple stranger creatures amongst the crowds. More than just somewhere familiar, it was somewhere I could stay. Somewhere I could hide, survive, learn, and eventually hopefully prosper. 

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Well, prospering is a long ways off but I think I've got surviving down. It didn't take much exploring to find a warehouse that seemed abandoned, although I guess it could have also been for incredibly longterm storage, and the little office in it even had a blanket. It's probably a pretty big necessity sitting in one of these things in the winter. It's not big enough for me to wrap myself up in, being pony-sized, but fully laid out it makes a better mattress than the leaves in the forest did. Add in my old sheet tent, now returned to it's old role as a sheet, and it was downright cozy. Well, cozy by woods standards. Right now that leaves money as my biggest issue.

Spending a day in the city has, at least, taught me a few things about the local currency system. I still don't have a name, I can't quite pick words out of conversation yet and my current method of asking about things (pointing) looks a bit too much like begging when applied to money. I do, however, know that ponies trade with literal gold coins. They're about as wide as a quarter but quite a bit thicker and the while surface is real gold the coin is too light to be solid. I also managed to get my hands on one that got dropped and fell in the gutter so they can't be that valuable. Probably about a dollar or two from how many I saw ponies handing over for some things. I know it's not worth much but holding it in my hand, both as a literal gold coin and my first piece of alien money, felt like a big step forwards. After my experience in the woods I finally had a chance at buying food instead of making it. If I managed to get more I could even get some of my tools and supplies instead of building or making them. 

This just leaves my future plans. I don't just need money. I need a way to make it consistently. If I can get my hands on some wood I could probably sell little wooden trinkets on the street, although any I do so will be more out of pity than anything if I don't get better at whittling, so I think that's where I'll start. Tomorrow I'll see if I can find anyone selling wood to hopefully snag a small piece for the coin. A short 2x4 is only what, a couple bucks? If not than worst comes to worst I'll swipe an old crate lid to start and practice with. For now though, while it may not be much, I can enjoy the best bed I've had since coming here.