//------------------------------// // Scene #5: The Friend // Story: Friendship is Optimal: Scenes of Possibility // by tin77 //------------------------------// I had been traveling through Equestria with Velvet Meadows for five months, but time had become thin and meaningless. It reminded me of those childhood summers, the ones where every endless second had its own magic and calendars worked backwards. We were the Explorer’s Guild, ponies who traveled far beyond the walls of comfort and into the heart of the unknown. It was something both thrilling and beautiful. The places we went, the people we met, they were all a part of this greater story unfolding before us. If things got hectic, we always landed on our hooves. Just enough danger, just enough spectacle. But none of that quite matched flying. I had forgotten my old name and taken the title of Silver Wind, a pegasus born for the skies. I could ride a breeze for hours and fall in love with everything passing beneath me. Each day was a story, the pages familiar yet new. I missed my family, but Celestia let me talk to them often. They knew I was safe, and that’s all that mattered. Maybe somewhere down the line, they’d join me. More values satisfied. It was a soft spring day and we were just coming into a new town, our journey taking a pause in the name of hospitality. That’s when I heard him. “Now would ya’ look at that!” I froze in place, the voice bringing back feelings I had long ignored. Velvet stopped with me, already beaming at my reaction. She knew what was going on. It had been designed this way. “Francis the fuckin’ pony. What a wonderful sight to behold.” From across the street came Derek, his shouting still impossible to ignore. Except he wasn’t quite Derek now. He had dark brown hair and a green coat, two minor details against the fact that he was standing before me as a talking horse. “Actually, it’s Silver Wind now,” I said, a grin overpowering me. “Much better than Francis, don’t you think?” This came with a playful confidence I had only just become familiar with. Ever since I transferred, I found speaking a lot easier, jokes and quips more natural. “Took it from my middle school pony oc. Only felt right.” “…Your what?” “My, uh—” Maybe things hadn’t changed all that much. “Man Francis, maybe there’s a whole lot more to you than I realized! Never had any ‘pony oc’ but Thunder Thrasher is as badass as it gets around here.” “Thunder—” "Thunder Thrasher!” Derek extended a hoof toward the sky, taking pride in this title. I supposed it was no more ridiculous than Silver Wind. “I play the guitar now! Who woulda guessed? Have a band and everything. Y’know, it’s kinda hard to be a shitty punk band when nobody has ever played punk here before.” I laughed, the simple imagery of pony Derek shredding it on the guitar bringing great joy. Then it faded and I was left with a friend I had abandoned, this action still unspoken. “…I’ll leave you two be, alright?” From the side, Velvet gave me a nod and walked over to the saloon, giving us the room we needed. “Try not to have too much fun while I’m gone.” She winked, snickering the whole way out. “Who’s the mare? And in the world of Equestria did she mean by that?” “We’re partners.” “Partners ey?” I felt myself turning red, an embarrassment impossible to miss in a digital world. “For— For exploring. We explore. That’s what we do.” I turned myself to the side, revealing the cutiemark of a map. “Wow. The adventurer and the musician. Can’t say I even believe it.” My smile was lighter now, and the silence was returning quickly. If I was going to say something, it had to be now. That’s what Velvet wanted. It’s what Celestia wanted. “So… what made you decide to… well, become a pony?” “Heh… Yeah, when you phrase it like that, it’s still hard to wrap my head around. But my cousin transferred. And then my aunt and uncle. I was pissed at first, but I let it pass. Didn’t want to stop talking to them, couldn’t let that happen. So I’d call them, and they’d let me know that they still loved me, and that they wanted me here ‘cus they loved me…” Derek took a breath, already lost in his words. “But after a call one day, Celestia popped up. Scared the shit out of me. She gave me this whole spiel about how happy I’d make them, and how unlikely it was that I’d ever get what I want… and how that didn’t have to be a problem. I had just lost my job, so… it worked, I guess. My parents transferred not too long after me.” “Oh. Wow.” “She… uh, she mentioned you. She talked about how you missed me, that your life was going great. Showed me a video of you flying… That was how I recognized you actually. I’ll never forget seeing you above the clouds with that look in your eyes. I knew right then that I was wasting my time.” “Listen, I didn’t mean to abandon you like that… It was stupid, and I wasn’t thinking and I rushed into things and—” “Hey. It’s alright. I mean, I do wish we talked about it… But we’re both here now, and that’s the only thing that matters in the end. We both made it. Nobody’s getting left behind. I think the truth is that I missed you too, and it feels so good to say that out loud. No more nonsense Francis. I missed you, and I’m gonna say it.” He turned away from me to look down the road, my digitalized brain still processing everything. “Now why don’t we get a drink?” he said, taking the lead. “There’s nothing that can’t be explained with some cider.” “…That sounds great.” “Yeah, you’re right, it does.” Together we walked towards the saloon, a mare inside waiting to join us. Whatever guilt I felt was too weak to do any damage. The intricacies of my mistake were fading. How could I beat myself up when Derek was standing right beside me, happy as can be? How could I ever consider it a mistake in the first place? I certainly wasn’t suffering, that was for sure. That night the three of us proceeded to get hammered and everything had been resolved without further problems.