//------------------------------// // Chapter 20 // Story: Ocean Blues // by TalkingToMyself //------------------------------// It was a lazy afternoon at Canterlot High School and only a few students were hanging around the school grounds. Summer break was closing in, finals were finished and only a few dedicated club members stayed at school longer than necessary. A few members of the gardening club finished some final work, but most of the students just lazed in the sun. Because there was barely anyone around, nobody noticed the faint flash of colourful lights. A few looked up when a short girl with blue and green hair walked away from the statue, a bit unsteady on her feet at first, but after a few steps that was gone too. The girl reached into her book bag and pulled out an old-fashioned phone, but then put it away again when she heard some familiar voices nearby. Following the sound of laughter, she headed to the seven girls who had sprawled out on the grass. The Rainbooms enjoyed their lazy day in the sun like everyone else it seemed. The girl from the statue walked a bit closer, unnoticed until she called out “Hey guys! What’s up?” The girls looked up with different levels of confusion, but the pinkest of the girls immediately jumped to her feet and towards the visitor “Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!” Blue laughed and braced for impact, but was thrown over by Pinkie Pie anyway as she tackled her down with an enormous hug “Good to see you too, Pinkie.” It took Applejack and Rainbow Dash a whole minute to untangle Pinkie Pie from Blue, who took it with an amazing amount of stride, just like she accepted the fussing from Rarity and Fluttershy and Twilight’s bombardment with more questions than she could possibly answer. Once things had settled down enough, Blue shared one final hoof-bump with Sunset Shimmer who had a giant grin, just like herself “How does it feel back to normal?” Blue just shrugged. She didn’t really feel ‘normal’ right now, after three months of living in Equestria as a pony, suddenly having feet and fingers again was weird. She also immediately missed her wings, but other than that? “Feels like putting on an old coat.” Sunset nodded, she was the only one of the girls who could understand. Then, the questions started. Blue knew they had to come, and she kept smiling as she tried to explain. She certainly didn’t elaborate much and to Twilight’s dismay ‘I don’t know’ was the most common answer, but in time the girls had calmed down again. They fell into some easy chatter as they made their way to one of their favourite hangouts and Blue was brought up to speed on what had happened after she had left. Officially, Ocean Shore and her sister had just vanished one day. The official report called the whole incident ‘mysterious’ as their home looked like they would have expected to return, all of their belongings were still around and there was even food in the fridge. It didn’t look like they had run away to another city or out of the country. Also, nobody had seen them leave, nobody had sold them a ticket for any bus or train. The police could reconstruct their last day as follow: Ocean Shore leaves home at about 7:30, heads to school as usual. Spring Meadow spent the day at home. Since she was unemployed at the time, she left at about 14:00 to pick up her sister after school. Multiple students and teachers had seen them leave the school, then just nothing. That’s why Blue was wearing a hoodie and a base cap, borrowed from Rainbow Dash. If anyone who knew her got close, they would still recognize her, but to any passing stranger, she looked a little less like the girl who went missing some months ago. Blue doubted the police or anyone would still be looking for her, not with her background, but a little extra safety wouldn’t hurt. They arrived at the fast-food joint and settled down at one of the tables in the back. The place was ideal, since it was packed with people and nobody stayed long, so nobody would notice them at all. As a nice side effect, it was also cheap, which was good since Blue didn’t have any human money anymore and couldn’t pay with the Equestrian bit she showed the girls “Holy shit, is that real gold?” “Yeah. Kinda unsettling to carry a fortune with me, but that’s just how it is over there. Ponies pay with golden bits or jewels, for larger sums. Apparently, since there’s so much magic, gems grow almost like trees and if you know where to look, you can dig up all you need.” “Huh. Well that’s a thought. If you can just find gems, do ponies even have jobs over there?” “Yeah. Sure. I mean, ponies like me still need money and I wouldn’t know for the life of me where to find gems. But, honestly, I think most ponies just have jobs because they like it.” “What do you mean by that, Darling?” “It’s, like, they do something they are good at and they enjoy it. They are all playing their part, so everything works out. Sometimes, it feels like ponies have no ego at all, just herd instincts, or something, everypony helping everypony all the time.” Six sets of eyes turned to Sunset for affirmation, who immediately held up her hands defensively “Whoa, don’t look at me. I always had an ego, even before I got obsessed with becoming a princess. I know what Blue means, though. Even if a task seems insignificant, ponies still enjoy it because they know it’s worth for the big picture. Like, taking care of the gardens isn’t a prestigious job, but if the garden looks nice, it makes ponies happy and if they are happy, they enjoy their jobs more as well and so on.” Blue nodded and waved her arms, in a way she would have flapped her wings back in Equestria “Yeah, just like that. It’s not like there’s nopony who’s aiming higher or isn’t satisfied, but they are not as ‘in your face’ with it like humans. It’s kinda hard to describe, you’d have to see it for yourself.” “Well, maybe someday. And if I understood right, you now have one of those jobs as well, right Darling?” “Yeah. I’m a trainee for the weather patrol.” “The weather-whatnow?” “Weather patrol. In Equestria, everything is magic, even the weather. They don’t have forecasts, they have an actual schedule for it. Pegasus ponies like me take care of it.” “And how does that work?” “Basically, it’s pushing clouds into the right spots at the right time. I don’t do much more yet. But I get to fly around all day and get paid for it. It’s cool.” “Whoa, hold on a sec. They pay you just for flying?” “Duh, Dashie. We got jobs like that too, remember? Like a pilot.” “Yeah, but flying a plane is… meh. Not at all like having your own wings and soaring through the sky.” Blue laughed with the others as Rainbow and Pinkie Pie kept going back and forth for a while and took another swig of her milkshake. Just like Spike (the dragon, not the dog) had told her, things tasted different as a human. After tasting some creations from Pinkie Pie (the pony, not the high school student), Blue couldn’t help but feel like this one tasted rather bland. Then again, comparing any kind of food to either Pinkie Pie’s was a high standard. They kept talking about some other stuff soon. Blue told them about her new apartment and Ponyville. Twilight kept asking about magic and stuff, so Blue told her about the Friendship Castle where Princess Twilight and Starlight Glimmer lived, since she couldn’t really explain magic. Instead, she talked about flying and learning to fly. Eventually, and after some hesitation, she also told them about the second day and her run-in with pony Scootaloo. There was that awkward silence after that. Then Pinkie Pie asked about Spring Meadow and soon they were all laughing again when Blue tried to describe how they both tried (and failed) for a whole day to write with a quill between their teeth. In the end, Blue had sneaked out to Rarity for help and made her promise not to tell Princess Twilight “It’s so weird they still use quills and ink to write and use those ancient steam locomotives, but at the same time there’s also ice boxes and stoves like we have here. Spring said that the hospital she works at is about as high tech as the ones here.” “Huh. That’s a strange thought. Do they have cars over there?” “Nope. Don’t really need them, I mean a third of ponies can fly, another can lift heavy things with magic and the last third can run for hours without getting even a bit tired. It’s all hoof power and wing power over there.” They kept talking like this for most of the afternoon. At some point, Applejack and Rainbow Dash brought over multiple trays with food and new drinks for everyone. The others had no trouble helping themselves to a burger, except Blue who watched anxiously. Even Pinkie Pie picked up on how odd this seemed “What’s the matter, Blue? You’re not hungry?” Blue shook her head and shrugged “No, it’s not that. It’s just… you know.” “Oh Darling, don’t worry about the money. We can cover you for today.” “Yeah, dig in! We even picked up some of your favourites!” Rainbow grinned and waved one of the burgers in front of Blue’s face “Come on, you know you can’t resist your favourite bacon burger.” As soon as the scent hit her nose, Blue made a face and turned away “Um, thanks, but I’ll pass. I’m really not hungry.” “Yeah right, as if that ever stopped you from eating.” Rarity who had seen the grimace from Blue, pulled Rainbow’s arm away to get the burger away from Blue “Is something the matter, Darling? I know greasy burgers are not that great of a meal, but you look like you’re going to be sick.” “Yeah. I mean no. I mean… ugh…” Blue struggled for the right words, but Sunset at the other side of the table was the one who got what was happening “Girls, what she’s trying to say is that she’d rather have a veggie burger instead.” “Huh?” The girls looked from Sunset to Blue who nodded defeated and back to Sunset “But, why? You used to love these. You always made fun of Fluttershy eating veggie burgers. Why?” Again, Sunset came for help “Because she’s a little pony now, Dash. Ponies don’t eat meat in general, but cows? That’s just too close to home.” “Huh? I don’t get it.” Blue’s head sunk into her hands as she tried to explain “Where I live, there’s a big dairy farm nearby. I sometimes chat with the cows there.” “Wait, what? You talk with cows?” “More like, they talked with me first. They’re a nice bunch and I was new in town, so yeah.” “Oh my gosh! Cows can talk over there?” Sunset nodded in response “Everything with hooves can talk in Equestria. Cows, sheep, yaks, deer… and even animals who can’t talk are more sapient and intelligent in general. So we don’t eat them.” Blue sighed and shrugged “It’s like, imagine someone would have you eat a monkey or something. It’s not really like eating a human, but close enough so you wouldn’t.” Applejack nodded slowly and chimed in for the first “Okay, I get that ponies don’t eat meat. But you’re not a pony, at least you’re not now. Are you telling me that you’re going native or something?” Blue stared at her for a minute with a look the girls had never seen on her before, just to shrug again “Maybe I’ll just have some fries.” Everybody shared some weird glances as if they weren’t sure how to react, before Rainbow just shrugged it off and grabbed one of the burgers “More for me I guess!” She took a big bite and chewed obviously loud with a goofy grin “Mmmh! This is like the best burger I ever head! You have no idea what you’re missing out on Blue.” She kept going like this even as everybody rolled their eyes “Come on Dash, cut it out.” “Yeah. It’s not nice to tease her.” “Oh please. Blue’s a tough girl, she can take it.” Blue just grinned and smacked Rainbow's back when she went for another bite, causing the athlete to start coughing “You bet your butt I can!” That did the job, and everybody was laughing again. They talked a bit about this and that while they were eating, things that happened in this world while Blue had been away. Blue listened idly as she snacked on some fries. She'd only been gone for a little more than three months, but everything the girls told her seemed so far away already, she found that she barely cared at all. The others noticed that, of course, but since Blue wasn't bothered by just listening, they kept going for a while like this, until all the food was eaten, and they had run out of things to say. Fit to form, it was Applejack who put to words what everybody was thinking “I guess there's a reason you came back today. You didn't even take the time to give Sunset a message in her book.” Blue nodded and closed her eyes. This wouldn't be easy, but there was no reason dragging it out endlessly “I've decided to stay in Equestria. For good.” As she had expected, the others were mostly surprised, to varying degrees “So, you're really going native?” “You don't want to come back ever?” “You'll just leave everything behind?” “Even us?” Blue slumped down in her seat but nodded “I've never been better. I know I never talked much about my feelings and stuff, but it never felt right. I never felt right. Even with you guys... ugh, no, that's not what I meant to say, you guys are great and I'm gonna miss you like crazy, but...” Sunset put a hand on her shoulder and when Blue looked at her, she knew that Sunset understood “You found a place where you belong. At least for now. So that's where you want to stay, even if it means giving up a few things, like burgers and computers.” Blue winked and smiled back at Sunset “Or magic and hayfries, right?” Sunset giggled along with her, and the other girls seemed more at ease now as well “So you're going to stay a pony forever?” “Forever? I don't know. I can't plan that far ahead. I want to stay there now. I've got a home, a job, a few friends, and Spring Meadow on the other side of the portal, so that's where I'll be for now. Who knows how things change in a couple of years?” Rarity and Fluttershy nodded and shared a sideways glance “Who knows, indeed. I wanted to wait before I tell you this, but... I'm planning to apply to some fashion schools in Europe. I'll probably leave the country after graduation.” Fluttershy looked down, shyly, and mumbled “And, um... I want to become a veterinarian. There are lots of great colleges for that, but none in Canterlot. So, I'll have to leave the city.” Rainbow looked downright distraught, and Twilight nervously twiddled her thumbs, but Pinkie Pie was ready “Guys, just because we won't see each other every day doesn't mean we stop being best friends!” “Pinkie is right!” Applejack nodded firmly and smiled at all the girls “We'll find a way to stay in touch! And I want you all to know that you'll always be welcome at Sweet Apple Acres when you're around! 'Course I'm gonna stay and take care of the farm after graduation.” Sunset put her hand in the middle of the table “We're connected, by the magic of our friendship. That's a bond that can't just be broken, not by distance and not by time. I know we'll always be the best of friends!” Blue rolled her eyes and Rainbow faked a gag at how sappy this all sounded, but of course they put their hands in the middle as well to join with the other girls in their promise. As their hands touched, there was a faint glow around each of their hands, in the colours of the girls' geodes, as the magic of friendship flared up briefly. They didn't transform all the way, but their hair changed to pony manes with their pony ears poking out. The girls looked at each other and giggled, until Sunset stared at Blue. Blue's hand glowed as well, in a dark blue, darker than Rainbow Dash's cyan magic but different from Twilight's purple. After spending so much time in Equestria, Blue easily recognized the glow as magic and before she realized it, the glow washed over her as well. Her hair grew longer and changed to her frizzy mane-style and her pony ears swivelled happily. She laughed as she even felt her wings again, for a moment at least. Then, the glow vanished, and the girls changed back, even though they were still staring at her. Blue had come in contact with their magic before, but this was the first time she had 'ponied up' with the others. Sunset and Twilight looked at each other and immediately started throwing theories around, which bounced off everybody else, so they just let them have their moment and started laughing. Rainbow tried to tease Blue by mentioning that her wings were bigger and therefore better, but Blue just ignored her teasing with a knowing smile. Fluttershy had not stopped watching Blue, neither had she stopped smiling. When Blue looked at her, she leaned in so Blue could hear her quiet voice over Sunset's and Twilight's rambling “You're really happy over there, aren't you? I'm glad you found a place where you can be yourself, Blue.” Blue said nothing and just returned the smile to Fluttershy, but before she could reply anything, Rarity herded them out of the fast-food joint, as their transformation had drawn some attention from the other costumers. They laughed again once they made some distance and Pinkie had a great idea “How about a slumber party, tonight? Blue, you can stay for one night, right? For old times' sake?” Blue laughed and nodded when Pinkie pointed her pleading puppy eyes at her “Sure, one night is okay. Um, Sunset, you think I could borrow your journal? I want to get a message to Princess Twilight and ask if she can forward it to Spring Meadow.” Sunset nodded and scribbled down a short message while Pinkie Pie skipped and danced around her in joy. The slumber party wasn't as big as they'd hoped, since Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Applejack couldn't join in on such a short notice. They still made the most out of it, in Pinkie Pie's room where they could be as loud as they wanted without disturbing anyone. Pinkie Pie, true to form, was the most excited and active, but also crashed down rather hard after guzzling down dozens of sugary sodas and soon she was snoring on her bed while the others talked quietly for a while longer. Fluttershy and Twilight retired soon after, but Blue didn't feel tired yet, so she sat down by the window and stared outside. The night sky in the human world looked completely different than in Equestria, but at the same time it was pleasantly familiar. Blue was so lost in the view that she completely forgot that she wasn't alone until Sunset spoke up next to her “Makes you feel almost nostalgic, right?” Blue glared at Sunset for sneaking up on her, but there was no real force behind it. After a moment of thinking, she nodded and whispered “Yeah, a bit. Do you feel it too when you look at the sky?” Sunset agreed with a nod and answered quietly so she wouldn't disturb the sleeping girls “Sometimes a bit, sometimes a bit more. It's better since I've been visiting. I've got a better idea of myself now, you know?” “Yeah. I understand.” And she did. Ever since she'd put in the effort in Equestria, she felt more like herself than before. In this world, she always had to struggle and fight, so she knew barely anything else, but now, that had changed. “Hey, if you're staying in Ponyville, we can meet up again. I plan to keep visiting Princess Twilight and Starlight Glimmer.” “And me, I hope. So, you're going to stay here in Canterlot?” Sunset nodded, watching the stars in the night sky “I'll go to Community College here in town. I want to become a teacher. Like Celestia.” Blue smiled, and it wasn't her usual grin, it was an honest smile. She didn't even have to ask which of the Celestias Sunset meant, it was clear to see. However, thinking about it brought a small frown to Sunset and turned into a shy glance at Blue “So, um, so how is everypony doing? Any... news from Equestria?” Without a word, Blue held out her hand for Sunset to grab. Sunset needed a moment to understand, but then took her geode in one hand and reached out to Blue with the other. Since Blue knew Sunset would never ask by herself, Blue tried to focus on the few occasions she had met with Princess Celestia and her visit to Canterlot Palace. Sunset's eyes glowed in a white light for a few moments and Blue could only guess what she saw, but soon Sunset let go of her hand with a small gasp “She asked you about me? She still cares about me?” Blue nodded firmly “And seems like you for her as well.” “Yeah. I guess so.” Blue kept her eyes on Sunset and for some reason could figure out what she was thinking “Hey Red.” Sunset looked up at her, still a bit lost in her own feelings “You know, maybe she's not your Mum, but she's still important to you. I think you should go see her, and if it's only for closure.” At this, Sunset grabbed her own arm to herself and looked away, ashamed “But, what would Principal Celestia say? She might think I was replacing her with her pony counterpart.” “Hey. She'll understand why it's important for you. She'll want you to let go of all this emotional clutter. She is your Mum, after all.” Sunset, after a moment, started to smile and looked up at Blue again “I think you're right. I'll talk to her, as soon as I see her!” “You better. Otherwise I'll have to drag your sorry flank all the way to Canterlot.” Sunset's smile turned into a full-blown smirk “Aww, you'd do that for me? I'm touched, Blue. I didn't know you felt so strongly about me.” Blue just brushed off Sunset's teasing with a smirk of her own “Dude, I'm a little pony now, with pretty wings and I live in rainbow-fairytale land. If I'm not able to show feelings now, I never will be.” That was just too much for both of them. Sunset started giggling which grew into laughter when Blue joined in, and it would take minutes for them to stop. Breakfast was rather uneventful (for Pinkie Pie standards, at least), and the girls decided to take a stroll through town. Blue still had some time to kill before Princess Twilight would open the portal for her and the weather was nice enough. Rainbow Dash joined them soon, but Applejack and Rarity texted that they were busy. Blue shrugged off her disappointment, they had their stuff to do, and it wasn't like she was never visiting again. At least they promised they'd be at the school in time. They kept talking about their plans for the future a bit more, no surprise since the girls were in their last year of high school and graduation came closer with each day. Blue listened and shared some encouragement, but just like yesterday this seemed so far off from her. She didn't really feel like she was missing out though, she had never seen herself in college but rather going for a job right away. She just hadn't expected that this job would be in a different world. Without any hurry, they took the streets that would lead them towards CHS, and Blue kept looking at the stores they passed. She'd been in lots of them with Rarity and the closer they got the more memories came back to her. For a girl who had been moving around constantly as a kid, Blue had never felt any nostalgia for the places she left, but she had it now for Canterlot here in the human world. Maybe because in this city, for the first time, she had some people she would actually miss once she left. Blue chuckled at her own thoughts. Get a hold of yourself. It's not like you'll be gone forever. Pinkie Pie, out of all of them, seemed to pick up on Blue's mood and started retelling some of the stories they'd had together in these shops and the cafes around, and soon everybody was laughing and chipping in funny memories. It felt like Blue had never been gone and when she watched the girls, her best friends, laugh and chuckle, it didn't feel like leaving any more either. She liked that idea a lot. Eventually though, the street brought them to Canterlot High School. Blue watched the familiar building, lost in some memories for a few minutes. At the statue, the two remaining friends were waiting for them already. Blue frowned when she noticed several paper bags next to them “What's this all about?” “Why Darling, can't you guess? We got you some parting gifts.” Blue shook her head at that idea “Girls, I don't know what you brought, but I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna need it. I'll have hooves again in a couple of minutes, remember? So, I don't need any clothes and stuff.” Rarity chuckled and shared a wink with Sunset “Don't you worry. I'm sure we found something you will enjoy. We received help from an expert, after all.” Blue looked between the girls who were all smiling now, before she sighed and checked one of the bags. As soon as she did, her jaw dropped to the floor “No way!” They girls cheered when Blue broke into one of the biggest smiles they had ever seen on her. Inside the bag were music records. Old vinyl records like they were still common in Equestria. Blue checked the artists and titles and couldn't help gushing “Wow, you got all the good ones and even some of my favourites! Where did you get those?” Rainbow had a smug grin “There's this DJ store in the mall who still sells them. Vinyl Scratch gave me a hint, so we checked it out for you. But that's not even the best! Check the other one!” Eager to see, Blue checked the second bag and actually gasped in surprise “No. Fucking. Way!” She browsed through another stack of vinyls, these ones visibly older, but Blue didn't care at all. These were all records of songs she had grown up with or learned from her sister, and songs she had shown the girls as well, all German songs, most of her sister's favourites even “How on earth did you get your hooves on those?” All the girls, sans Sunset, laughed at the Equestrianism, but were eager to explain “You know the girl from the schoolbook club, Photo Finish?” Blue nodded, she had recognized the photographer's accent right away and they had spent free periods talking German with each other. “Well, turns out she still has some family in Germany, so she pulled some strings and got them sent over.” Pinkie Pie nodded and chimed in “We were going to send them over for your birthday, but now they're even better as a gift!” “A little something to remind you of us, Darling.” “And a lil' pick-me-up just in case you'd feel homesick.” “Do you like them, Blue?” Blue's genuine squeal of joy was all they needed and as they were laughing, they all join into one last big group hug that lasted for minutes. Too soon though, Sunset's bag started buzzing and she pulled out a glowing magic journal. She checked the message and nodded to Blue “Princess Twilight is ready for you now.” Blue nodded and pulled each of them into one last hug, for now “See ya, pony girl!” “We're gonna miss you!” “Always keep your chin up, you hear me?” “Have a wonderful time, Darling.” “And lots of fun!” “And don't forget to write!” Blue laughed and shared a final fist bump with Sunset “See you real soon!” “You bet your tail on it!” With her gifts in hand, Blue turned towards the portal and started walking. She could feel the magic already and the swirling colours appeared to clear her passage. Behind her, the girls cheered and called their goodbyes. Blue looked back and with a final wave, she stepped into the lights. A few seconds later, the lights faded, and Blue was gone. For now, at least.