Blue and Spring Meadow followed the pony who ran the complex into the apartment. They had declined on Princess Twilight's help to find a place to stay, since they both agreed that they couldn't stay forever as guests in the castle. If they wanted to show everybody everypony, dang it. Why is this so hard? If they wanted to show everypony that they were serious about living in Equestria, getting their own home was crucial.
The stallion had been nice and showed them the big complex in a quiet part of town. The large building had four floors and there was a park nearby. The walk to the town centre would only be about ten minutes, less for Blue when she would fly. They had only met friendly ponies so far and everything was quiet, no yelling from the neighbours, no loud traffic, no trash on the hallways or stairs. It was almost too good to be true.
Once inside, Blue immediately got antsy. The apartment was huge in comparison to what they had left behind. The rooms had high ceilings, wooden floors, and clean, white walls. The apartment was in the middle floor at the corner of the building, so they had big, clean windows facing south and east, which meant lots of sun.
There were five rooms and they even had furniture already. Two bedrooms with beds, dressers, and a small desk each, a big kitchen with a dining table, even if any chairs were missing. Though that's maybe because ponies don't really need chairs. Gosh, this is still strange. The largest room was the living room and the only room with furniture to sit down on, namely a couch and some armchairs. There was even a small fireplace and this room had rugs spread out. Probably for sitting down as well. They look kinda comfy. The last room was an office or a study, with a larger desk and empty bookshelves. Blue didn't even try to hide her grin when she saw that her sister's eyes visibly lit up.
The apartment also had a bathroom with both a tub and a shower, both bigger than they were used to, again fitted for pony needs.
The estate pony barely even noticed their baffled expressions and just kept talking
"We've just recently gave it a fresh coat of paint, and of course you can change any of the furniture. If you want, I can tell you a few names of ponies who can help you with that, since you're new in town."
All in all, it was almost too perfect to be true. It wasn't luxurious compared to the homes Blue had seen before, but from where they came from, this was without any doubt the nicest place she'd ever lived in. If we can actually afford it, that is.
Spring Meadow thought the same as she listened to the estate pony, but finally interrupted with the mother of questions
"This is all very nice, Sir. But how much would it cost?"
He took Spring's directness with a smile
"Well, I won't lie to you, the rent is probably a bit higher since this whole complex is newly renovated. All utilities included you'd end up with 150 bits."
Blue's eyes opened wide. He can't be serious. I've paid three bits for coffee and a cupcake at the bakery. How could this be so cheap?
Spring Meadow again had the same thoughts as her sister and needed to clarify
"That's... that's the rent per week, I assume?"
Now, the stallion looked confused
"Who pays rent weekly? No, 150 bits per month of course. Per week, that would be excessive for a place like this."
Blue and Spring looked at each other. They didn't need words to know what the other was thinking. Even if this place had a catch, with a rent that cheap, they could easily work around just about anything.
Spring Meadow nodded and turned back to the stallion
"How soon could we move in?"
He smiled and reached into his saddlebag
"I have the papers with me. If you want, we can finalize it right here and I'll give you your keys."
Blue stared at him
"You mean, you'd just let us in? No background check, no insurances or anything?"
He just stared back
"No? Why would I do that? Didn't you tell me you worked at the hospital and you were trying out with the weather patrol? That's good enough for me."
Spring picked up the contract with her mouth and placed it on the kitchen table. She studied it thoroughly but couldn't find any clauses or catches. Meanwhile, Blue checked the kitchen more closely, but she found nothing wrong. The cabinets weren't broken, the magic ice box was working and there was water running out the faucet. In fact, she was pretty sure she had never seen water that clean coming out of a faucet ever.
Their eyes met again and with a nod, Spring picked up the offered quill and scribbled her name under the contract, then Blue did the same.
The stallion smiled and rolled the parchment up again
"Excellent. And here are your keys. If you need anything else, feel free to come to me for it. I actually live in the same complex, on the upper floor."
Blue and Spring Meadow received a key each and smiled friendly as the estate pony left them in the apartment.
They just stood there, looking at each other, still baffled by their stroke of luck to find such a place. Then they moved and explored their new home.
Just one week later, they sat at the kitchen table and stared at each other in disbelief. On the table in front of them was a small pile of golden coins, even though none of them was able to tell how that had happened.
They had paid their rent already. The pantry was stocked up full and so was the fridge. Spring Meadow had even bought a few books on pony medicine for her job at Ponyville Hospital. They had everything they needed for the next couple of weeks, plus some extra, and there was still money left.
They looked at the bits suspiciously. Something had to be wrong. There was no other way. But no matter how long they searched or thought about it, they couldn’t find it. It made Blue nervous and her wings twitched to show it.
They must have been sitting like that for an hour, when they heard a knock at the front door, followed by the sound of somepony walking in. They had learned about that during their first days in Ponyville. Nopony kept their doors locked and everypony just stepped right in when they were visiting and expected others to do the same. Knocking was considered polite, but optional.
They turned their heads towards the door when Princess Twilight walked in with a cheerful smile and carrying a gift basket in a cloud of her magic
“Hey you two, sorry for popping in unannounced. I know you didn’t want to throw a house-warming party, but Spike and I wanted to at least give you a little something to…”
The princess trailed off when she finally noticed the looks on their faces
“Is something wrong?”
Spring Meadow was the first to find her voice and answer
“That’s what we are trying to find out. Just look at this.”
She waved her hoof at the bits on the table, and Twilight just blinked
“I don’t understand. Is something wrong with these bits?”
“Why are they still here?”
Blue’s wings kept twitching and Twilight carefully set the gift basket on the kitchen counter before she took a seat at the table as well
“I think I’m missing something here. Why don’t you tell me what happened?”
Blue nodded and started
“I got my first pay from the weather patrol. I took it to pay the rent right away, so we could be sure that was taken care off, even if it was a few days early.”
Twilight listened attentively, but she clearly still didn’t understand, so Spring Meadow continued
“I got my salary the same day and we bought groceries. Heck, we bought so much we probably won’t have to go shopping for a month.”
Twilight allowed herself a little smile
“Well, you just moved in, so I guess your cupboards were all empty anyway.”
Blue shook her head
“That’s not it, Princess. Something is going on and we can’t tell what it is.”
Twilight gave up and sighed frustrated
“But, what has all of this to do with those bits?”
“They’re still here. We spent so much and there is still money left. That’s not normal. I’m worried.”
Blue nodded along with her sister, as Twilight shook her head
“Why are you worried about that? Shouldn’t you be less worried with some bits to spare? You could save them up for when you want to buy something big for your new home. Or you could treat yourself for a nice dinner once in a while.”
“Princess.”
Blue stood up and began pacing up and down the kitchen
“We were lucky to find a place like this so cheap. Now we even have some bits to spare. Can’t you see? Something terrible is going to happen soon, and just sitting here and waiting for it is killing me.”
Twilight noticed how desperate Ocean Shore sounded and Spring Meadow didn’t look much better. Slowly, the princess began to understand what was happening, so she asked in a soft voice
“Why would something bad happen to you?”
This time, Spring Meadow replied
“Because it always does.”
The lack of hope in her voice sent shivers down Twilight’s back as she continued
“Whenever things are starting to work out, something turns up and everything falls apart. Somebody decides you don’t deserve it and takes it away from you. So it’s best not to let your guard down at any time.”
Blue nodded and kept pacing
“We know it’s coming. We know we can’t stop it. We’re just waiting for the fucking hammer to drop down.”
Twilight took a deep, calming breath. Blue’s swearing was the last clue she needed, and she knew she had to be very sensible about this with the two former humans.
She tried to keep her tone neutral as much as she could
“I guess that has happened to you before?”
Spring Meadow nodded. Unlike Blue, the older sister seemed calm, but to Twilight, she appeared to be unnaturally far from things. As if she had disconnected herself from everything or else, she might break down.
Blue on the other hoof got even more agitated, and angry. Her ears folded back aggressively, and her wings tensed up
“More often than I care to recall, Princess Twilight. Like every single fucking time something even remotely good happened.”
Twilight almost flinched back from the bitterness in Blue’s voice. Even though they had left the human world behind, they still lived by its rules, as harsh and unforgiving as they were.
Carefully, Twilight dared another question, trying to get them thinking about something else
“How is your job with the weather patrol, Ocean Shore?”
“It’s fine.”
Blue stopped pacing. She wasn’t even annoyed that Twilight had used her full name, she was too surprised
“More than fine, it’s great, I guess. My flying is getting better each day and it’s cool to change the weather by moving around clouds. The others are still teasing me a bit, but they had Rainbow Dash as their captain for the longest time. I guess that rots you for life.”
Blue managed a chuckle and Twilight giggled along
“Oh, remind me to tell you the story of how the whole town once pranked Rainbow next time.”
“Will do, Princess.”
Blue sat back down at the table and Twilight turned back to Spring Meadow. As she had expected, the mare hadn’t noticed anything they talked about, Spring had just completely detached herself from everything around her. It was a coping mechanism and Twilight hoped she could pull Spring Meadow out of it
“Spring Meadow?”
The mare in question blinked and focused on Twilight, even if she didn’t look at her directly
“Yes, Princess Twilight?”
Twilight smiled kindly as she asked
“How is your work in the hospital coming along? Do you get along with everypony else?”
“Yes Princess. It’s working fine. Once you get a hang of doing things with your hooves and mouth, it’s not that different from what I’ve been doing for years now. Well, except for the obvious differences I guess.”
Twilight giggled and nodded, she knew both human bodies and pony physique well enough to tell that there were some confusing differences you wouldn’t expect on first sight
“That’s great to hear, Spring Meadow. So, there are no difficulties for you?”
“Well, I wouldn’t say that. I still have my troubles, but everybody… everypony is being very patient with me. The doctor gives me assignments each week so I can catch up on pony anatomy and extra appendages. Wings are still confusing.”
Blue smirked and flapped hers once
“Don’t say no before you tried it, Sis.”
“Pass. I like my hooves on the ground, thank you very much.”
Twilight and Blue giggled some more, and there was even the ghost of a smile from Spring Meadow. Twilight, always eager to help when it came to studying, chimed in
“If you need help with your assignments, feel free to ask me. I’m not a studied medic, but I have a lot of reference work at my library, and I’ve read up on wings in particular.”
Spring Meadow’s smile faded and she let her head hang down in unease
“Thank you for your offer, Princess Twilight. But I already bought all the books the doctor recommended to me. You don’t have to waste your bits on me.”
“Spring Meadow, please look at me.”
Spring reluctantly raised her gaze to the princess, only to be surprised. Twilight had a warm smile on her face and kindness in her eyes
“I completely understand that you want your own copy of those books. I have personal copies of my favourites as well. But remember, I promised I’d help you get settled into your new lives. Since you need those books for work, I would have paid for them of course.”
Spring’s ears folded against her head as it dropped in shame
“I didn’t dare to ask. I didn’t want to push my luck or your patience.”
“Spring Meadow. Please.”
She looked at Twilight again, but her expression had not changed. If anything, she looked even kinder
“Ever since you arrived here in Ponyville, has anypony treated you badly?”
“N-no Princess Twilight.”
Twilight turned her head to include Blue into the conversation as well
“Have any of your co-workers ever said something really mean or ill-minded to you?”
Blue shook her head after a moment of thought
“No, not really. It was all just some teasing in good fun.”
Twilight nodded and looked around the clean, well-lit kitchen
“This place is very nice. Did you have trouble getting it?”
“No. Not at all.”
Twilight just kept smiling
“Are there any problems with it? Did you have troubles finding furniture?”
She kept glancing between Blue and Spring as she bombarded them with questions
“Is your work too hard? Did anypony give you any trouble? Are you having complications with Equestrian food? Is there anything wrong at all?”
Blue and Spring looked at each other for a long while, but then finally shook their heads
“No. No on all of those. Everything seems to be fine.”
“That’s because, Spring Meadow, everything is fine.”
Twilight gently put her hoof on the older siblings’ shoulder, a gesture she knew was more common on the other side of the portal
“I know you’ve only been here for a short while. And I know that life in that other world has not been very kind to you. But please, don’t let your perception from one world cloud your view on this world.”
Blue stood up and sat next to her sister. Spring was still staring at Twilight, but her hoof reached out to hold Blue’s. Instinctively, Blue’s wing spread and came to rest on Spring’s back.
Twilight smiled as she watched and slowly pulled back
“There is nothing out there to get you in this world. And even if there was, you wouldn’t face it alone. Enjoy this new life of yours for what it is, not for what you fear it might become. And if life seems too good to be true, let me tell you why: It’s because you deserve it.”
At this, tears leaked out of Spring’s eyes and she leaned against her sister, who did just the same. Twilight kept her kind smile, but she was watching very closely. She saw no signs of desperation, but instead a great amount of relief. Satisfied, she nodded and stood up
“I think you two need some time to let this sink in properly. I’ll just let myself out.”
Spring Meadow sent a grateful smile towards Twilight, before she threw her hooves around her sister.
Twilight’s smile grew a little softer still. She levitated the gift basket on the kitchen table, next to the pile of bits, then she left quietly.