Just as lively as ever...
Ruby's cubicle is one of twenty in this room and one of five in the four rows, all identical in their builds with only key differences in how the pony residing there decorates their work area. Aside from that, the room is pretty much a cookie cut image of any office in a much larger city. The only real difference there would be that this building only has two floors; the main is where walk-ins and general business is done, complete with a meeting room in the back and a room for the manager. The second floor, where she and the rest of her fellow employees are located, is where the real work is done. Everything that comes in is sent to them to be calculated, added up and figured out. While they mostly just handle numbers and names, it's common practice to seek out the quickest and most efficient ways to bring certain numbers up and others down without cutting too many corners.
When it comes to business in this small town, nearly everything goes through this office at least once. Day to day operations include adding up costs and expenses of other businesses in town on their behalf, as many ponies- though talented in their fields- don't do too well with the actual business aspect of the corporate lifestyle. As a result, ponies come to them to learn how their sales are doing, what they've lost and what they've earned over the course of a set period of time. They also handle taxes and other government regulated horse-dung that comes with money in general. Most of the ponies here spend hours in their cubicles, only ever leaving for snack and bathroom breaks, or to have something faxed or copied via the single two machines on the far end of the room.
Yep. Just another day in paradise.
Ruby finds herself sighing as she works, writing up the most recent sales of the apple family farm and going through deductions as well as what they will be taxed for their total sales. All information that will be sent to them through the mail for them to come in and deal with up front some time in the early future. The work itself isn't what's bothering her though. Being confined to these spaces for so long, many ponies have learned to multitask between work and idle chatter. A lot of the words exchanged are harmless, but the red mare is something of a celebrity in Ponyville and in one of the worst ways possible. As she finishes totaling final expenses for the Apple's, she can't help but to listen in on some of the gossip being passed between cubes.
"Apparently he was slapping around a diamond dog the other day." A stallion's voice says from the row beside her, several desks ahead as well, she's assuming since she can't actually lean out and look for the pony who is speaking. Though their voices are hushed, it isn't enough for her to miss.
"No way!" Another stallion replies in a slightly louder tone, but is definitely a little further away; judging from how much further their tone is. "He's barely half the size of one of those monsters. Do you really believe he could do that?"
"It's true! My cousin Silver Wind saw it while she was busting up a few stray clouds in the area!"
"How does Ruby deal with that thing? I mean, it's just weird to look at for one. And the thing is clearly insane. I heard it was trying to build some kind of device on her front door step this morning."
"That monster is up to something. If it weren't so obviously deranged, I might actually be afraid of it. But, the little freak can barely string together a whole sentence, let alone do something as crazed as taking over the town."
"Where did she find it again?"
"In the Everfree Forest, from what I heard. I don't see why she doesn't just wrap it in a sheet and shove it back into whatever hole it crawled out of."
An audible snap pulls Ruby mind back to her workspace; More specifically, the notepad with half a pencil laying on it. The strange sight causes her to lift her head and it's only when she goes to audibly question the sight that it becomes clear to her. This being the result of the other half of the pencil falling out of her opening muzzle. Letting out a sigh, the mare brushes the pieces to one side and angles her head in the opposite direction. Her muzzle hovers over a small, metal cup filled with freshly sharpened pencils, one of which she traps between her teeth and adjusts with her lips as she moves back to her previous position. Lowering her head to the paper, she tallies up everything laid out in front of her and writes the total down at the bottom of the page before adding her signature on the lower right corner of the page.
With that done, Ruby feels a pleasant heat rush through her form and can't help but smile as she places the pencil back in its holster with the others. She lets out a satisfied sigh as she looks over her work one last time. With this job done, not only is she caught up where she fell behind, but she's actually ahead of her quarterly schedule. This should more than make up for all the late arrivals. If not for her speed and efficiency, she would have been fired long ago for sure. Even with her consistent tardiness, she has always been able to catch back up and- at times like this- actually make up for the late arrivals to come by getting ahead of the game. She's been working her tail off to get her work done specifically to get ahead, as she is often rewarded by NOT getting into trouble when she comes in late and even earning herself a few days off. These days are often spent trying to clean up after Oddball, but it's nice to get out do something as opposed to sitting at home all day.
With a newfound sense of accomplishment, Ruby can happily tune out the murmuring of the ponies around her as she gathers up her paperwork and neatly stacks them up before grabbing them in her mouth and carrying them out of her cubicle and down the aisle to the fax machine. With a simple push of a button, the machine buzzes to life and she sets the stack down in the tray. Having gotten over the fascination of the device after using them for a few years now, she takes this opportunity to take a seat on her haunches beside the machine. Looking out over the cubicles always fills her with a sense of nostalgia. This workplace is nowhere near as hectic as her previous one, which has been nothing short of a blessing since she moved to this town. It's easier to get work done when ponies are up each other's plot holes every two seconds over one thing or another. Sometimes the lack of noise can serve as both a blessing and a curse. It's not as loud, which is blissfully pleasant in comparison, but that comes with hearing just about anything else.
I.E; Your simplest and quietest conversations being heard even from halfway across the room.
Ruby's smile falls as she recalls what those stallions were talking about earlier. While it does get annoying to hear them talk about her colt that way, she finds herself more worried for his safety than anything else. The mare can only hope that the story they were telling is getting blown way out of proportion and is nothing more than hearsay that's gotten mixed up in translation. However, she's raised Oddball for a hoofull of years now and, despite what she wants to believe, can see how there may be some truth in their words. Pony's in this town have a habit of panicking over some really stupid things from time to time. But, when it comes to Oddball, they're pretty much memorizing every move down to the littlest detail. At least, those that aren't pretending that he doesn't exist are.
"You still awake in there?" Ruby's body suddenly tenses, he head snapping to the side and spotting a familiar mare standing in front of the machine with a stack of papers levitating in a vibrant, blue glow beside her. The unicorn stands just a few inches shorter than herself, her light blue coat and silver mane barely reflecting any light off of it. Judging from the smell, she hasn't had a shower in the last day or two. It's not bad, but it's an obvious scent. The mare looks at her with teal eyes and blinks as she sees life return to Ruby's form. "Good. You're still alive."
"Yes. I'm still alive, Moon." Ruby responds casually as she relaxes herself a bit. Meanwhile, Moon sets her small stack of papers down on top of the machine and begins waiting for Ruby's stack to finish sending. "You finally finish working out the numbers for the school?"
Moon groans and drops down to her flank, looking pretty beaten down. "Bucking finally!" She says in a relieved tone, being sure not to speak too loud and disrupt anypony else. Just getting the funds figured out was nothing short of a nightmare. Not so much due to lack of organization, but rather due to the quantity. It was by far the largest job they've had and continues to be every quarter. Most ponies will outright refuse to touch that job and the few that do usually give up after the first few days. Moon was the last to dare touching it and, by Celestia's mercy, had pushed through until the end. "That load of horse apples took bucking forever and it felt even longer..."
"Manehattan had some pretty big cases, but that school is a pretty happening spot these days." Ruby adds, having been one of the many employees that didn't dare open up that can of worms. Her work in the city was extensive and chaotic, hence how she is able to work so diligently in this small town. The School of Friendship though, just looking at the mountain of papers was enough to make her recoil. "We've never had one company come in with a stack like that though. It should be considered assault to send in a case that big. And for one place, no less."
"You're telling me..." Moon comments with a flat expression. "I'm bucking exhausted. I haven't even been able to talk to anypony in my herd. I'm so pent up, I'm about ready to tear the leg off of my chair rail myself with it."
Ruby's face scrunches at the sound of Moon's despair. This mare needs it and she needs it bad. Even so, that is an image that she could have gone her entire life without and been happy. Alas, it's in her head now and she cannot unsee it as it hovers in the back of her mind like a parasite burrowing into her brain. "I don't wanna see that or think about it ever again..."
The two fall into silence for a short time. It isn't awkward by any means. In fact, it's rather welcome after Moon's colorful manner of expressing her more carnal desires. The silence doesn't last long as Moon pulls her mind out of the gutter and feels the need to bring up an odd topic. "So there's some fresh rumors going around. I'm sure you've heard them by now." Ruby says nothing in response to this, choosing to turn her head away from the mention of the rumors. "Ruby, I like you. You're a good mare and all, but the more I hear about this kid you took in, the more I'm inclined to agree with everypony about this."
"Moon, just stop."
"Just hear me out for a second here." Moon argues, wanting to get her point across. "I get that you care about him, I do. You've raised him essentially from...whatever his version of foalhood is, but is it really worth it to keep him around? He stresses you out, makes you late to work all them time-"
Ruby's face contorts in anger as she turns her head back to face the mare. "Moon, I mean it..."
"I'm just saying, Ruby-" Moon continues, ignoring the warnings in full. "He seems like way more than you can handle. It would be different if you still had a her and I know that things with your herd back in Manehattan ended on a pretty bad note, but I don't think that using Odd-"
Moon's sentence stops dead in its tracks, her ears folding against the side of her head as Ruby's hoof hits the floor with enough force to shake the area between them. Only now does the unicorn take notice of the stare she's receiving. Feeling genuinely at risk, she stands up and takes a few slow steps back before trying to defend herself as ponies all around the office begin peeking over their cubicles to the source of the commotion. "Okay! Alright...I may have crossed a line there...Just...just relax, mare. I'm sorry..."
The ding of the fax machine helps pull Ruby out of her minor fit, turning her attention elsewhere. Wanting to pretend like nothing happened, she grabs her stack out of the machine and marches past Moon, who quickly moves out of her way. Going back to her desk, Ruby ignores the stares of the ponies with their curious eyes following her. Once back in her cube, she reaches under her desk and opens the filing cabinet tucked away beneath it. After setting the stack in the appropriate file, she closes the cabinet and takes a breath to calm herself. Her attempts are met with failure though as the speaker in the ceiling suddenly crackles and a mare's voice speaks through it.
"Would Miss Ruby Gaze come to the front desk, please. Again; Ruby Gaze, to the front desk"
Ruby's exhale becomes a defeated sigh as she gets ready to go downstairs. She glances at the clock, noticing that the work day is almost over. Whatever it is she's being called for might take a minute, so she figures she may as well gather her belongings just in case. Grabbing her saddlebag from under her desk and strapping it on, she pauses as her gaze crosses a framed photo on her cubicle wall. The picture shows her laying on the floor with her stomach to the ground and donning a bright smile, mouth open as she let out a playful shriek. The shriek itself came as a response to the human- who was noticeably smaller at the time- laying atop of her head with his arms wrapped around her face and his mouth latched onto her ear. Seeing this photo always helps to warm her heart and serves as a reminder that her son is no monster. Ponies can think what they like, but she knows better.
A smile graces her lips as she pulls her saddlebag on tight. Having already loaded it with some smaller jobs this morning, she would be able to keep herself preoccupied at home later during the quieter hours. Now feeling significantly calmer, Ruby trots out of her cubicle and makes her way downstairs. What she expects to see at the end of her descent is the mare that runs the desk and maybe one of the managers. Instead, what she sees is the mare that runs the desk and an annoyed looking police officer and a levitating Oddball wrapped in some kind of rope. The magic is entirely focused on his clothes and the rope around his small frame- as most magics that have been attempted on him seem to be negated for some reason.
Once again, her smile drops, but this time a bit of panic starts to set in as she picks up her pace before sliding to a stop in front of the officer. "What happened?" Her sights move between the mare holding her son and the human who is wiggling around in his binds like an angry serpent. He is trying to yell, but the modified dog muzzle- crafted specifically for him a few years ago after the first several offenses- is keeping his mouth closed. "He didn't burn anything down again, did he? I've gone over this so many times with him and I can't afford to rebuild another duplex!"
Much to Ruby's relief, the police officer nods. "No, not this time. But, if he does that again, I'm gonna have to put him up for a few days. Colt or not, lives were at stake there." The red mare lets out a relieved sigh, but doesn't let her guard down just yet as she focuses entirely on the mare keeping her child restrained. "We found him after Nylon came calling for help. Poor kid started yelling about diamond dogs attacking your boy. When we got there though, it seemed suspiciously like he was attacking them. Caught him surrounded by the mutts, who just so happened to be tied up by the way, and shoving rocks into their ears while screaming something about gold and leprechauns."
"Wait, THAT'S what the invasion thing was about!?" Ruby glances down at Oddball, who seems oblivious to the rest of the world as he continues wiggling about in his restraints. Meanwhile, his mother is about to have a stroke just trying to process how any of this could have gone down. "I don't...I can't!-There's just..." Her expression speaks volumes while her mouth struggles to form any semblance of a coherent sentence for a few seconds. When she finally finds the words, it's a lot less than she feels it should be. "I honestly don't even know how to react to this..."
"Neither did we." The officer comments in a flat tone. "So we just went ahead and followed the usual routine, then let the mutts go on about their business. On the plus side, I don't think we'll have to worry about any more cave-ins near Ponyville for a while. They seemed pretty spooked after we got their binds off." With a sigh, the officer floats Oddball over his mother before dropping him onto her back. "Just take this little monster home so we can all get some rest today."
Ruby grunts as the human's weight is suddenly upon her. His size alone makes carrying him difficult and the added effects of his struggling only make it worse. "Yes, ma'am." She simply replies, the strain of having to hold up her struggling child being enough to help her overlook the repeated term that most ponies refer to him by. "I'll get him home right away."
"See that you do."
The following walk home is much less eventful than one would expect. Ruby having to carry her son home, while he's restrained on her back, happens several times a month for many reasons. It often drew attention to her, at least the first few times. Nowadays it's a fairly regular occurrence that ponies have learned to ignore, along with most of the antics that frequently occur as a result of Oddball's strangeness. If not for the ever-increasing size of her colt, Ruby would be much more physically accustomed to carrying him around like this. However, it seems that he just keeps getting larger every year. He's almost as tall as her when she's standing up on all four legs and towers over most of his classmates, as they are barely chest height to him. She can't help but wonder what he'll be like in his later years, when he's fully grown and living his own life. Will he settle down as he gets older, or will he still be as rambunctious as ever. It's not something she is sure about, but she hopes for the former- for his own sake.
Then comes the question of what he will look like. There are a few bipedal species in Equestria, but seeing him spring up onto two legs for the first time was pretty jarring. The hair caught her off guard too, as she assumed that he would remain bald all over after taking him in. Now as the years go by, he just keeps getting taller. How tall will he be when he finally reaches the end of his growth? Will he even stop growing, or will he be a giant? It's neat to think about, but also fills her with dread at the aspect that he will be too strange for anypony to want him around. It's hard enough as is with his behavior and if he continues to extend his height then who knows how ponies anywhere will react.
These thoughts meet their end as Ruby catches sight of the...thing that Oddball was building earlier this morning. Sidestepping the bizarre contraption, she makes a mental note to tear it down tomorrow. With her finally being in a comfortable place at work, she can allow herself a couple of days to run damage control on her son's most recent activities. Pulling the key from her saddlebag, she unlocks the door and enters the house with her colt still wiggling about on her back. Upon entering, she kicks the door shut and sets her key down on the coat rack in her entryway.
"Alright, Oddball. I need you to relax and we'll get you out of this mess." Oddball finally ceases his struggling, but she can still feel his jerking, jittery motions. His usual trembling used to concern her, but after being assured multiple times that they cannot find anything medically wrong with him, she can only assume that it's natural for him.
Ruby raises a hoof and flicks the light switch, effectively lighting up the comfortable little home she's raised Oddball in for his entire life so far. Now able to see where she is going, she trots forward into the living area and carefully wiggles her colt off of her back and onto the rug in the center of the room. He rolls off of her back and onto the floor, laying with his back to the floor and staring up at the ceiling. "Just give me one minute..."
Lowering her head, Ruby finds the knot holding the rope together and grabs it in her teeth, tugging hard until it finally comes undone. With the knot gone, Oddball starts to wiggle around once more. The rope gives with every motion and slowly unravels from his body, allowing him to sit up and flail around until he is completely free. Having the ability to move his arms again, he wastes no time grabbing the muzzle on his face and pulling it off, just to throw it onto the couch a few feet from him.
"FRRREEEEEDOOOOMMMM!!!!" Oddball exclaims triumphantly, his arms launching into the air as his cry of victory all but shatters the glass of a nearby coffee table.
With both her day and her son free, Ruby settles on letting herself give in to the call of laziness. After swiftly undoing the straps of her saddlebag, she walks over to the couch. Letting the bag drop to the floor, the mare collapses onto her side, landing onto the couch which welcomes her with its plush surface. A satisfied groan escapes her as she lets the stresses of the door seep out of her body and into the cushions below, which take her burdens and banish them elsewhere. Probably to one of the weird dimensions her son refers to as 'The Void'.
While Ruby settles in on the couch, Oddball looks to her and tilts his head before getting onto his feet and shuffling over to her side. It doesn't take long for him to place his hands upon her relaxing form and disturb it, "Arise! There is work to be done and souls to claim!"
Ruby lets out another groan, this one being an argument to the less-than-satisfactory sensation of being forcibly rocked from side to side. Closing her eyes, the mare tries to shut out the outside world while pleading, "Not right now, sweetie! Mommy's had a day and a half and she's tired." Thankfully, the shaking stops and she returns to her resting position. However, the hands are still upon her. In no time at all, she is shoved until she is laying on her back. She groans again, "We can play later, Oddball. Just let me rest for a bit."
Much to Ruby's surprise, the shoving stops there. Yet, the hands are still upon her. The mare's body tenses as she mentally prepares herself for further rocking. Once again, she finds herself surprised as he not only discontinues the rocking, but his hands move to her barrel and begin scratching lightly- and rapidly- at the skin beneath her fur. Content with the situation, the mare allows herself to slacken as the sudden turn of events proves to alleviate any further stress as opposed to adding more. It's a welcome change and something she doesn't get to experience often enough. The pressure of her clenched eyelids dilutes and becomes much more natural as the pains of today all but seep out of her body in waves, pouring away into nothingness while she is quickly being eased into a state of peace and tranquility.
Daring to open her eyes, Ruby angles her neck downward and to the side, looking at her son as he diligently works his wigglies on her exposed barrel. His eyes are still as crazed as ever, his head craning sharply once or twice as he twitches every few seconds. An anomaly though he may be, she finds nothing for him in her heart other than unconditional love. He may not be a pony, or any other known species in Equestria, but she couldn't care less. Whether he be an alien, beast or flesh-eating worm creature is irrelevant. In her eyes, he's her little, spastic ball of joy. Her little oddball among a sea of cubes all floating around in the waves while he rolls across the surface and tears his own path through life. Oddball is no monster, he is her son and nothing will ever change that.
With a smile on her muzzle and warmth in her heart, Ruby reaches out with both of her hooves and ensnares Oddball, pulling him on top of her. His weight is enough to elicit a grunt from her as she pulls him into her. He struggles a bit at first, but after a bit of wiggling around he settles down with his chin resting on the mare's barrel. She looks down at him as he looks up at her, his body sprawled out across her own. From an outside perspective, it would look more like he was the one trapping her. Her hooves wrapped snugly around his head, she holds her son close and leans down to kiss his forehead. There are a number of noises he makes with his throat in response, but none that she can see being in protest. Laying her head back, she relaxes her neck and runs a hoof through her colt's wild mane.
The peaceful rest lasts for a few minutes, but her stomach soon betrays her desire to rest longer. The audible growling in her gut provokes the child laying on top of her as well, his response to the sound being to start biting at her midsection. The motions tickles her a bit, but she can only put off eating for so long. Tapping Oddball's shoulder, she signals for him to get up. "Come on, hon. Let's get something in our bellies and get ready for bed."
Oddball is nimble, Oddball is quick.
Oddball springs off of her with the speed of a whip. His body launches to the side and crashes into the floor with a loud thump. In a mere fraction of a second, he is back on his feet and is running into the kitchen. All of this before Ruby has even set all four hooves onto the floor. As she joins her son in the kitchen, she finds him standing in the room center, bending himself at the knees and standing back up over and over again. His body bounces up and down with his feet never leaving the ground. It's almost adorable to watch, but the mare has a mission. Going into the fridge, she observes the contents within. Or rather, the lack of contents.
"Crap..." Ruby mutters to herself, "I forgot to go shopping yesterday."
"Rations!" Oddball screams at the world, taking off at a half sprint back to the living room. Dropping to his knees, his little body slides across the smooth floor until he is stopped by the rug. Ruby looks out from behind the fridge door, curious of his actions. The human peels back the rug on the floor, throwing nearly half of it on top of itself and revealing a-
"What in the-" Ruby doesn't get the chance chance to finish that thought as Oddball grabs onto a small metal bar in the floor, that definitely wasn't there when she bought the house, and pulls up to reveal the hidden hatch- with hinges and all- leading to Celestia-only-knows where. With the hatch now open, Oddball throws himself in and disappears. Closing the fridge, Ruby quickly trots to the hole and looks down. It's too dark for her to see into it, but she can hear something scurrying down below. "Oddball..." She says into the hole, receiving no response after a few seconds. "Oddball, get out of there! You don't know how dangerous this could be!"
Panic, worry, fear; all of this and more is surfacing at break-neck speeds. Ruby is about to jump into the hole to go after him, but the scurrying below is getting closer. Much to her relief, Oddball returns to the surface unharmed. To her confusion though, he lifts a small, burlap sack out of the hole and dumps its contents out onto the floor.
"EGG!"
As promised, a collection of eggs pour out of the sack and roll onto the floor. Some are natural white, others have a brownish color. There are a lot of questions going through Ruby's head. So many that she doesn't know which one to ask first. There was no hole in the floor like this when she moved in, but now there is and Oddball seems to have made something of a storage area out of it. Did he do this himself? If he did, then how? And how did she not notice anything? Was he hiding this from her? Then there's the eggs and wondering how he managed to acquire so many of them.
Placing a hoof to her temple, Ruby attempts to rub away the growing headache as she figures that she can kick start this whole thing at a moderate pace. "Odd...Why is there a hole in our floor?"
"It's for the old ones..." Oddball answers in an ominous tone, his body sinking back down into the hole until only his eyes and hair remain poking out of it. "They will come for me one day and all will be chaos!" He slowly extends an arm from the hole, wrapping his wigglies around the mare's hoof and tugging it gently toward the hole. "They won't find you in here..."
Ruby lowers the hoof one her temple back to the floor so she can shake off the grabber attached to the other one. Hoof now free, arm slowly retracting back to its rightful owner who is still barely peeking out of the barely-explained hole in the floor, the mare moves on to the only question she might be able to get an actual answer to. "Where did you get all of these eggs?" Without saying a word, Oddball reaches down into the hole, his hand soon returning with a small, rubber chicken clenched in his grasp. He squeezes the toy a few times, getting it to squeak in tandem with his tightening grip.
Ruby's eyes narrow as she looks down at her son, clearly not buying into his wordless story. "Professor Cluckernutter did not lay those eggs, Oddball. You and I both know this." She leans her head down so her face is closer to his, his hand still squeezing the toy at random and eliciting further high-pitched squeaking noises. "Tell the truth; Where did you get them"
"They were bestowed upon me-" Oddball begins, his mother already seeing where this was clearly about to go.
"Odd!" Ruby calls out in protest, her use of his name doing nothing to deter the little one in front of her.
"by the cluckiest of nutters!"
"He is not a real chicken!"
"You dare spit upon the egg-laying grace of Professor Cluckernutter!" Oddball's body rises up a few inches, exposing more of his body to the world outside of the hatch. He points an accusing wiggly in the mare's direction, "You will face the wrath of five-hundred and sixty two thousand chickens!" At the end of his proclaim, the human throws the chicken at his mother. She doesn't move a single muzzle as the toy bounces off of her head with yet another squeak before falling to the floor.
Groaning, Ruby resigns herself the ignorance since it is clearly the only choice that will help her maintain some semblance of sanity. Turning her attention to the eggs, she figures that she may as well make use of them. She grabs onto the discarded, burlap sack and opens it up, rolling the eggs back into it with her nose. They're oddly cold to the touch, so she shrugs off the idea that they could have gone bad. With the eggs now collected, she grabs the sack with her teeth and hoists it up. "Ah'm gonna go make shom omnlettesh. Pleashe, get out ub that hole in the meantime."
"Sanctuary~" Oddball draws out the word as it leaves his mouth, slowly sinking further into the hole.
Ruby rolls her eyes and turns around to go back into the kitchen.