You stagger slowly into the council building; the previous night’s dream still burns in your mind as clear as day. Scarlet Memo is already behind her desk sorting through a large pile of documents.
“Morning Scarlet.” You wearily call to her.
The mare looks up from the papers when you greet her.
“Ah, good morning,” she smiles before a look of concern crosses her face. “Oh my, you look like you didn’t sleep a wink.”
“Oh, I did. It was just a bit restless. Nothing to worry about.” You reassure her with a wave of your hand. “So where do we start?”
“If you say so,” a roll of parchment floats over to you, bathed in her signature crimson glow. “This is the current list of all the maintenance jobs that need to be done around town. To be honest, most of it is just upkeep. But there are a few broken pieces that we would like you to try to fix if you can. If you need any materials, write them on the list and we’ll see what we can get.”
You unfurl the parchment and begin to read it off.
“Mend park benches, refit fence panels… Empty fountain?” You gaze over the list at the unicorn. “Wouldn’t one of you be better at that? Like, magic the rubbish out or something?”
“Well, technically. But there aren’t many unicorns in Ponyville.”
Scarlet shifts slightly as you continue to glare at her. You feel like there is more to this than simply ‘not many unicorns’.
“I need a net then,” you finally say, sighing and turning your eyes back to the parchment. “School roof needs fixing huh.”
“Yes. And we already got the roof tiles ready.”
“Great. Do you have a ladder? Also, what is the weather forecast for this week? Any idea?”
Scarlet thinks for a moment. “It is meant to stay sunny till Thursday afternoon. A shower is forecast then. After that, sunny days with few clouds Sunday. So, the roof does need to get done up soon. We do also have a ladder for you to use. I will get it delivered to the schoolhouse this afternoon-”
“Wednesday.” You interrupt her. “I’ll do the roof Wednesday afternoon. I’m planning to be there anyway. So, you know, two birds and all that.”
“Erm… Okay? Wednesday then. I’ll see if I can find you a net.” She eyes you up and down. “You’re still wearing that?”
You glance down at your trousers and shirt. It’s true that you don’t have any other clothes right now, but you have been sure to keep these clean.
“Well, I don’t have any other clothes. Sweetie Belles sister, oh, what’s-her-name-”
“Rarity.”
“-Right. Rarity should be returning today so I thought I’d drop by that boutique later and see if she could make anything for me.”
“Ok, that might be a good idea.” She smiles at you. This time it’s your turn to shift slightly as her eyes dwell on yours a little longer than what would be considered comfortable. The glow around her paper’s flickers and, as if on cue, she jumps slightly and gets back to rummaging through her papers.
“Thanks Scarlet,” you wave the roll of paper, before turning towards the door. “Oh, does that store have any tool belts or boxes? I didn’t find one in the workshop.”
“I hung one on the coat rack, didn’t you see it?”
“Huh, no. I must have missed that. I will check now. Must get the tools anyway.”
With a final wave over your shoulder, you leave the building and head back to the workshop.
====================
You look at the coat rack and only see your long emerald jacket hanging there.
“Huh…” You ponder, rubbing your neck. With a single motion, you lift your coat. Lo and behold, the belt is hanging underneath. You pick it up with a smile and fasten it around your waste. It is well worn and tattered in some places, but overall, it appears to have been looked after.
After gathering any tools that you might need, including the larger sledgehammer for the fence, you head out into the town. Ponyville has come alive in the short time it took you to get your things. You move through the town, avoiding the ponies as you travel without a plan. Several of the denizens bid you a good morning in their cheery voices and you return their greeting in kind. Despite the welcoming nature, you still move with some distance from the ponies in case they start wanting to chat. While you hold nothing against conversation, not knowing how long you’ll be here does make things harder.
It’s easier this way. If I end up leaving or just disappearing, I won’t have made a large enough impact for anyone to miss me. Your mind offers its sound, if flawed, reasoning. Well… Almost no one will miss me. You sigh, looking to the ground, losing yourself in thought. You can’t shake this strange feeling that dream gave you. And it just raises more questions about this place.
Some of the ponies start to stare at you standing in the middle of the street. Their attention shifting between your face and the large hammer in your hand, but at least none of them run away. You left out a deep breath and shake your head before glancing over your list, once again.
“Hmm, it seems that a lot of work is in the park.” You look up and begin your walk to the destination.
====================
The park is completely deserted this morning. With the foals in school and the townsfolk working, the park rests in peaceful tranquillity.
<Thud>
A tranquillity ruptured by the dull thud of a large hammer on top of a wooden post.
<Thud>
You hammer away that the post, reinserting it into the ground where it had come loose. With a final smack, the post rests snug in its hole. Dropping the sledge, you get out your smaller tools and start to wedge the post in place with a few stones, hammering them in. A flicker of movement catches your eye as you reach down for the dislodged fence panels.
Despite the openness of the park, the gazebo has been fenced off to create an almost secluded area. Perfect for those special moments and it prevents ponies from falling into the river. You hum to yourself as you connect the loose panels back into position.
With the final panel secured, you give the fence one last jog. Happy with it, you smile to yourself, humming whatever tune comes to mind. Anything to keep hold of your home. Picking up your tools, you start making your rounds on the benches dotted around the park.
The benches seem sturdy enough, weathered but secure. You jiggle the planks making up the length of the furniture, checking for any loose or broken sections. Once the issues are located, you get down on the ground and, laying on your back, shimmy under the bench to get access to the bolts holding the planks in place.
With each bench you check, your thoughts drift to home. The dream still hauntingly clear in your mind, you can’t help but wonder and worry. Are they all ok? What could they be thinking? Your thoughts travel to home, the places you visited, the people you met. With everything that’s happened in such a short time, you find yourself recalling old memories, just to keep them alive.
“This is terrible. I need to stay positive.” You tell yourself. “I’m sure I’ll go home soon, and all this will fade like a dream.” Even as the words leave your lips, you know they aren’t very convincing. They echo with a conflicting sadness. Steeling yourself, you carry on with your work, quietly singing to yourself, doing what you can to lift your spirits.
====================
“Last bench then.” You say, rubbing your neck. “Let’s get this done.”
You shimmy yourself once again under the bench to tighten the bolts. These are far looser than the previous benches, indicating a possible favourite spot amongst the ponies.
You start to tighten the bolts. “If someone sat on these, they could really hurt themselves.”
“Good thing you’re here then.”
You jump in surprise, hitting your head on the underside of the bench. A giggle travels to your ears as you look past your legs to see the lower half of a red mare sitting next to them.
“You shouldn’t sneak around like that Scarlet.” You grunt, finishing off the bolts.
“I wasn’t exactly sneaking. You just weren’t paying attention.”
“All the more reason to not sneak.” You pull yourself out from under the bench and look at her. “What brings you out here anyway?”
“I bought you a net.” She hovers a small fishing net in front of you. Hoping onto the newly tightened bench, she also places two brown bags next to her. “And some lunch. I figured you might be hungry.”
You hadn’t thought about lunch, but now that she’s mentioned it, your stomach growls in anticipation.
“Guess I was right.” She taps the bench a few times. “You’ve done a good job. Thank you.”
“No problem.” You sit next to her. She places the second brown bag on your lap before diving into her own. You glance inside and pull out a sandwich.
“No flowers don’t worry. If you said earlier, we wouldn’t have put any in the cupboards either.” She hovers her own sandwich in front of her face and happily takes a bite.
You can’t help but watch as magic and pony work flawlessly together. Taking a bite out of your own sandwich. You gaze out over the park. The sun sits high in the air as you take in the sights. Several ponies have gathered in the park for lunch as well, some sitting on the grass while others inspect the benches you worked on earlier, before jumping up. Seems they approve of your work. You can’t help but feel a little pride, even if it was an easy task.
You thank the mare. She smiles at you, cheeks bulging with food. As the two of you eat the sandwiches, you catch her glancing at your hands every so often, just as curious about them as you are about the magic. You notice that it’s the first time your mind has been still since your arrival. The first time you are just in the moment. You smile, taking in a deep breath and stare off into space.
“Question.” You suddenly speak up. “Where would I get metal ingots? I assume they would have to be ordered from somewhere that smelts ore. Any ideas?”
“Possibly from the minotaur’s like with the metalwork. Maybe the dragons or Griffons have smelting capabilities, though relations aren’t super these days.” She looks out over the park.
“Bummer. That forge isn’t going to be much use without materials. Oh well, something might come up. I can always use the tools to do some woodwork I guess.” You shudder at the idea. Splinters are bad enough, but wood working is quite fiddly too without proper equipment. “Thank you for the lunch.”
You get up, placing the brown paper bag in your pocket. You turn to Scarlet.
“I’m going to head off to the fountain, get that done before the days out.” You subconsciously ruffle her mane and give her a scratch behind the ears. She melts to your touch, her ears flopping lazily and her eye lids close as she pushes against your hand. You catch what your doing and quickly withdraw your hand. Scarlet whines slightly as she looks up at you.
“Err, sorry. Force of habit.” You stutter.
Idiot, these are sentient creatures, you can’t just-
“I don’t mind, that felt really good.” Scarlet purrs. “Maybe I should hire you as a masseuse instead. You could do wonders with those hands.” Her eyes half closed as she looks at them.
Taken aback by her comment, you steady yourself. “Ahem. Yes, well. I can’t do massages, so that’s out the question.” You quickly gather the net and hammer. “I’m off, take care.”
“See you later!” Scarlet calls out as you hurry back into the town.
====================
“Seriously, what were you thinking? They aren’t pets. You can’t just randomly start stroking and scratching them.” You angrily chastise yourself, replaying the dumb scene in your head, as you walk with determination towards the next job.
The fountain is in generally good condition, with the only real issue with it is the number of leaves and broken branches resting on the surface. Fortunately, the net does a good job of scooping them all out, and before long, the water is clear of floating debris.
You glance skywards. By the position of the sun, you would wager it was around three pm.
“Huh. Either the mayor underestimated me, or I overestimated them.” You sit down on the edge of the fountain. Wiping your hands on your shirt, you look back at the list. “Benches, check. Fence, check. Schoolhouse, Wednesday. Pool, check. It sounded like a lot more work than it really was. Maybe it was just more work for them.”
You look past the list, down at your belly, giving it a light pat. In a way, I’m glad. Not sure I’d survive heavy manual labour. I should do something about this. You close your eyes and rest for a moment.
You feel a strong breeze against your face as a shadow blocks out the sun. Opening your eyes, you are greeted with a pair of large magenta eyes. You cry out in surprise, falling back into the water. Splashing about trying to get your balance, you manage to get on your hands and knees. Coughing and spluttering up water, you flip over and sit in the fountain to a chorus of laughter.
“Bwhahaha!”
Soaking wet, you slowly turn your glare upwards. The owner of those magenta eyes, a blue pegasus with a rainbow mane, is rolling above you in hysterics as though it was the funniest thing they’d ever seen.
“Oh man. That was hilarious! I was just curious what you were but now I know. Clumsy! Bwahahaha!”
You just stare at her. The exuberant laughter slowly causing the pegasus to drift down.
Little closer… Little closer… There!
In a swift movement, your hand shoots up out of the water and grasps the mares’ tail, causing a yelp of surprise to escape her lips before you drag her down into the water. The mare starts splashing and panicking in the water. Her flailing creates waves that bob her back and forth. Rolling your eyes, you sigh in defeat. Moving a hand under her belly, you lift the pony up.
“Stand, it’s not that deep.”
The pegasus stops flailing, her legs dropping down. As you move your hand away, her hoofs find the bottom and she manages to stand, the water reaching just above her legs. With a powerful jump, she leaps onto the edge of the fountain, splashing you in her wake. Her slick mane covering her face as she turns towards you. The sight causes you to laugh, evaporating any anger you might have had.
“That wasn’t funny.” She blurts out, shaking herself dry, causing her mane to puff out uncontrollably.
“Don’t dish out medicine you can’t take.” You chuckle, getting to your feet. Your clothes drip with water as you shake yourself off as well.
“Yeah, yeah.” She dismisses your remark. “So, what are you anyway? Some hairless monkey?”
“You’re quite cheeky, aren’t you Rainbow Dash.” You shoot back, climbing out of the fountain. You start to stretch and rub your neck, causing it to click.
“And no, I’m a human.” You answer her, introducing yourself.
“A human huh? Weird.” The pegasus flaps her wings, spraying stray droplets everywhere before floating up to your level. She raises a hoof to you. “Sorry about making you jump.”
You glance at her gesture. Is that a fistbump? Hoofbump?
You gingerly bump it with your fist. “It’s all good. Nothings broken, so no harm done.”
Her smile broadens exponentially.
“Cool! Anyway, I’m Rai...” She stops mid introduction, poking your chest with her front hoof. “Wait, how do you know who I am? We’ve never met… have we?”
“No, we haven’t. Scootaloo talks about you though.”
“Oh, you know Scoots? That makes sense. Great kid.”
“Yeah, she’s pretty cool.” You pause for a moment. “Since you’re here, I take it Rarity is back too?”
“Huh? Oh yeah, she should be home by now. Wait, you know-”
“Sweetie Belle.” You interrupt her grabbing the net off the ground. You start making your way back to the office.
“Right. Right. Oh! Then you must know Apple Bloom too!” Rainbow dashes up to your side.
“Yep. Know her too. I’ve been here since Friday afternoon, so I’ve met a few ponies.”
“Aww man, we must have just missed you then. We went to Appleoosa for the weekend. Anyway, where you off to?”
The blue pegasus seems to move from topic to topic quite quickly, keeping up is a bit of a chore on your weary mind.
“I’m heading back to the mayor’s office to give my report and then to the boutique. I wanted to ask Rarity to make me some clothes.”
“Alright hotshot. Good luck with that. I’ll see you around.” She smacks you on your back, causing you to lurch forward before igniting with a burst of acceleration and speeding off into the sky, leaving a cloud of dust and a rainbow streak in her wake.