Meteorite was rapidly learning that she couldn't do a lot of things.
Up until now, her main concern was getting from one point to the other, which while it did take her a fair amount of time to get into the rhythm of stepping with four hooves without falling over, it was progress nevertheless.
Doing things with hooves, however, was proving to be a lot more difficult. Not having hands to grip and hold things with was, to say the least, more than a slight inconvenience at this point. And the task of prepping her bed looked to be insurmountable.
Especially since she was having trouble opening the bedroom door to get out.
Meteorite had made a few attempts now to turn the doorknob, but her hoof simply slid off whenever she tried to open the door. Frustrated, she tried several different angles, including hooking her hoof around it, but each attempt only succeeded in frustrating her more. Desperate, she gripped the doorknob with both forehooves from opposite angles, and turned. As the door clicked and she felt it swing in, she gasped in awed victory and hurriedly got to her hooves and made it down the hall to where she was told the linen closet was.
As she approached, she heard mild sounds of clinking of what were presumably kitchen utensils and pots further on down the hallway, and around the corner, in what was presumably the kitchen. She presumed that's where the two stallions were.
Finding the closet on her right, opening it was fortunately a lot easier, as it didn't seem to need any actual turning to open, just a straightforward pull. Taking the sheets and bed covers however, was the real issue.
Meteorite awkwardly stood on her hind legs, using the shelves inside to balance herself, and for want of a better idea, scooped the neatly folded sheets from their spots and unceremoniously dumped them onto the floor in a heap. Dropping back down, she eyed the pile critically, trying to think of a way to move it back to her room without actually being able to hold it. She considered kicking the pile down the hall as she walked, and was her most likely plan of action until she thought of something utterly brilliant.
She could stick her head under the pile and shimmy the sheets down onto her back, and carry them that way. She was a horse, after all, so why shouldn't she use solutions best suited to being one?
Admittedly, it took her a few moments to figure out how to crouch while on all fours, but once she did, via pushing a hoof underneath she lifted up a portion of the sheet pile, and dove in as best as she could. Musty air got caught up in her throat, but she pushed onward and stood up, the sheets awkwardly sliding down her back. Turning her head to look back, she stood proud, basking in her brilliant problem solving… until she noticed the sheets were ever so slightly sliding off her entirely. Suddenly panicked, she hastily made her way back, pausing every few steps to make sure nothing fell off in the meantime.
Rounding her way back into the bedroom, Meteorite half-purposely fell to one side, firstly unloading the bedding off her back, then very quickly using said bedding to cushion her fall. Rolling onto her back, she lay still for a moment and stared up at the ceiling in order to both catch her breath, and consider her next move.
The next move was to get the sheets up and on and around the mattress. She… didn't know how to accomplish that.
Meteorite raised a hoof above her and stared at it, frowning. There had to be some way to hold things with it; she knew it was possible, just… the logistics of it all escaped her completely. She tried flexing her hoof however she could, just to see what could pass as a grip.
Not really seeing any success, she pushed herself off the pile and sat down on her haunches next to it. Finding a loose bed sheet corner near her, she placed her hoof over it, flexed what felt like grip muscles, and hoped for the best.
She pulled her hoof away, and the sheet stayed where it lay.
Furrowing her brow and biting her lip, she tried again. And again. And several more times, speeding up with each attempt until she was just stamping her hoof on the sheet out of frustration. During this tantrum however, the corner had somehow stuck to her hoof, almost magically, and she froze mid-stamp upon realising that she was now 'holding' it.
Breathing carefully, she cautiously brought the sheet up in front of her, trying to get a better look at how she was holding it. But, just as quickly as she had picked it up, the sheet suddenly flitted from her hoof and limply fell back onto the ground.
"Oh nonono, please!" she pleaded under her breath as she desperately pawed at the sheet corner. "I had it! I fucking had it! Please no! Please let me have this!" She went back to her previous method, hoping to replicate her inadvertent success. But she was already feeling her resolve slip away from her, much like the bedsheet. "P-Please…"
Confidence lost, she resorted to looking around the room in vain as she continued to aimlessly poking at the sheet pile, hoping to find anything to help her. And then, almost as suddenly as she started, she felt resistance when she pulled her hoof back.
Meteorite swallowed, not daring to move. She chanced a brief glance down and quickly realised she was holding the bedsheet once more. Not wanting to risk losing the grip again, she made a snap decision and slammed her forehooves together, pinning the sheet corner between them. Braving another look down at her hooves, Meteorite let out a huge sigh of relief.
Okay… now what? Meteorite took a long look at the bed before her, and scooched over slightly, before quickly swinging her hoof around and at the side of the mattress, leaving the bed sheet pinned against it, still under her hoof. Lifting the mattress with her other hoof, she finagled the bedsheet between the mattress and the bedframe, firmly securing the first step of making her bed.
Meteorite was pleased with herself for making progress, but it was going to take a long time, she reluctantly realised.
Fortunately, not as long as she had expected.
Granted, she also had to contend with pulling the bed away from the wall, which was its own perilous balancing act as she had to move about on two to three legs while doing so, but having part of the sheet pinned made it easier to fling the rest of it over the bed and tuck it in without having to worry about holding it.
Still, it took a lot of energy, and Meteorite was still only running on a small bushel of apples for fuel. Tired, she flopped face-down across the bed, both sets of legs hanging over the edges, ready to call it a night, bed readiness be damned. A short time after, there was a very soft knock on the door.
Blinking, Meteorite lifted her head and in the doorway to the room stood a brown earth mare, with a short and very blonde mane. She smiled curiously once their eyes met.
"So uh," she began, giving a quick glance down the hallway, "the boys tell me you're my new roommate?" she asked hopefully. "Oh! And co-worker, sorry!"
Meteorite blinked again, remembering why she was here to begin with. "Uhh, yeah, I… guess." She pushed herself up to a sitting position.
"Oh, that's great," the other mare beamed, as she stepped into the room. "I've been wanting a roommate for the longest time! Oh, I do hope we get along," she added, a little worried.
"Uhhh," Meteorite responded uneasily, already feeling the social pressure. The other mare appeared to have noticed Meteorite's apprehensiveness, and dialed back her excitement a bit.
"Oh, sorry," she mumbled as her ears flattened, "was that too much? It was, wasn't it? It's just been a bit… lonely lately by myself in this room."
Meteorite thought back a few days, when she herself had been living alone. It was a lifestyle she was mostly okay with, but even then, she too felt the sting of loneliness hit hard occasionally. "Oh, no, I- I get that. Sorry, I'm not used to… talking to others, really."
The other mare perked up though, smiling again. "Well, I really do hope we get along. It'll be nice, I think." She held out a hoof. "I'm Sunny Flora, by the way."
Meteorite stared at the hoof with disguised panic. Oh god, is she wanting a… hoofshake? How do you do a hoofshake?! D-Do you- "O-Oh, uh, I'm… Meteorite." She reached forward and pressed the flat of her hoof against Sunny's, hoping to be able to follow along Sunny's lead. It seemed to be sufficiently enough though, as Sunny dropped her hoof back down with a smile.
"Nice to meet ya, Meteorite! That's a pretty name."
"Is… it?" Meteorite asked cautiously, feeling a shot of pride. "Uh, heh, well, thanks?"
Sunny responded with another smile, before jumping up onto her own bed, sitting down to face Meteorite. "So, what brings you to the farm?"
"Uhh…!" Meteorite uttered as she froze up, stuck for an explanation. "Uhhhh, I… don't know how to answer that," she admitted, under the pressure. Sunny tilted her head as she frowned in confusion, prompting Meteorite to launch into further detail. "I mean… I sort of… found…? My way here? I guess? Through my travels?"
Sunny continued frowning as she tried to understand. "Sooo… like uhh… oh, what's the word, uhh… oh! A drifter?"
Meteorite considered the idea. "Sssure. That sounds... about right, I guess."
"Oh, that's interesting! So where do ya come from then?"
Meteorite sharply inhaled, all too quickly realising she was being asked to come up with a plausible backstory on the spot. "Um. Well. I… kinda come from someplace, very far away. I dunno if you would know it…"
Sunny perked up. "Oh! Is it Austailia?"
Meteorite froze up again, for a different reason this time. "...what?"
"I mean, I… assume," Sunny said, her eagerness slowly deflating, "based on your accent. I dunno. I could be wrong."
I have an accent? "No, no no, you're… right. I'm just… a little shocked, to be honest." Meteorite frowned to herself in thought. Also, 'Austailia'? Why isn't it 'Oatstralia'? Isn't that the name fans came up with? Why would it... be different?
"Oh, yay," Sunny beamed, happy at herself for picking up on something, "I've never been to Austailia! What's it like?"
Meteorite briefly considered every Australian stereotype she'd heard of. "Uhh, very… different, to here, I can promise you that." Meteorite glanced down at her bed, and cleared her throat, an idea springing to her mind. "I'd love to go into more detail, but I really need to focus on getting this bed sorted out soon."
Sunny frowned as she appraised the very disheveled mess Meteorite was sitting on. "Want some help?" she asked. Meteorite considered her earlier struggles.
"...yes please. If you don't mind."
With Sunny Flora taking the lead, Meteorite was able to speed up the process of bed-making very quickly. She had very surreptitiously positioned herself around her bed such that Sunny wouldn't likely ask her to pick up anything nearby, but was able to assist by pinning things in place as Sunny did the heavy lifting, so to speak. Meteorite mentally noted that she had to figure out the secret to holding things in her hooves soon; she wasn't going to be able to coast by this easily all the time.
"And done!" Sunny announced, taking a few more seconds to center the pillow. Meteorite stood back, feeling a twinge of guilt over being effectively useless.
"Oh, thank you so much," she told Sunny, piling on as much gratitude into her voice as she could. "That honestly would've taken me all day."
"Oh pft," Sunny waved it off as she turned to face Meteorite, "don't worry about it. You're part of the team now, right?" Meteorite conceded with a nod. "So we help each other out, yeah?"
"Um, yeah," Meteorite agreed, feeling out of her depth again. She turned to the bed, and aimlessly poked it with a hoof. "Thanks again though," she mumbled.
"Don't worry about it," Sunny repeated before moving on, and clapped her hooves together. "Now! What about your…" she trailed off, looking about the room. "Where-"
Confused at where Sunny's line of thought was headed, Meteorite just watched her turn about in a few circles before facing Meteorite again, confused. "Did- Didn't ya bring anything with you?"
"Ah, heh," Meteorite nervously chuckled, lowering her head and averting her gaze. "No, I… kinda don't have anything with me."
"Nothing?" Sunny asked incredulously, turning to look out the window and re-evaluating her preconceptions on what a drifter's life must be like.
"Yeah…" Meteorite began, already going into damage control mode, "I was… pretty desperate when I stumbled across this place."
"Oh wow, yeah, I... guess so," Sunny half-muttered to herself, before turning back to Meteorite. "Well, I guess that makes reorganizing things somewhat easier, heh yeah? I'll still move some of my stuff about so you'll have space to put whatever you want when ya get it, though." Sunny paused as a thought occurred to her. "Actually, how long are you gonna be here, anyway?"
Meteorite paused, save for slowly lifting her head as she considered the question. She stared off to the side at nothing, and opened her mouth to speak but no good answer came forth.
"I… I don't know…" Meteorite eventually admitted. Sunny took in Meteorite's troubled expression, and thought pensively.
"Hey, it's okay," she said softly after a while, "I mean, I don't know how long I'm gonna be here either, so we're in the same boat, I guess." When that didn't seem to help Meteorite, she continued. "Like, I started here a few months back, so y'know, I could be here a few more months, or even years. We... just hafta take things as they come, yeah?"
Years…
Swallowing, Meteorite remained as she was, lost in the possibility that she could be here far longer than she even anticipated. Eventually she forced herself out of her funk, and drew herself up as she looked about the room that was very likely going to be her new home from now on, before returning her focus to Sunny.
"...yeah. I guess so."
"Ya okay?" Sunny asked, concerned.
"I dunno," Meteorite responded flatly. "I… guess I have… a lot to think about."
"I get that," Sunny nodded sympathetically. She hesitated for a moment before coming up with an idea. "Hey… wanna a tour of the house? Take your mind off things? Might cheer you up."
After a few moments of consideration, Meteorite offered up the faintest of smiles. "Sure," she said with an air of resignation, "why not."
For what it was worth, the tour did distract Meteorite for a while. She had always loved exploring new places, mentally recording a map of the area in her head. And Sunny Flora was happy to show Meteorite around, getting to point out all the little oddities she herself had come across, such as how the second window in the living room doesn't open properly or how the lantern in the entranceway needed a new wick. There was even a basement, something quite new to Meteorite as she'd never lived in a house with one. The stairs down looked like a horrible dark descent into a death trap though, and Meteorite didn't even want to begin to try walking down it on four hooves.
The tour ended in the dining room, just as Steel Gaze came out of the adjoining kitchen.
"Ah good," he announced upon seeing the pair, "I thought I heard you two. Dinner will be served soon ladies, so please be seated."
As he headed back into the kitchen, Meteorite turned her attention to the dining table, then Sunny.
"Sooo… is there… like, a seating arrangement I should be aware of or…?"
Sunny mused for a moment. "Well, I tend to favor this seat sometimes," she said pointing to a nearby one, "the boys tend to sit on the other side though."
"Righty-o," Meteorite said, climbing up onto the seat next to Sunny's. She spent a few seconds quickly debating how exactly to sit, either 'Lyra'-style, or just perched on the seat. Instinct told her the latter, and she spent a few more moments adjusting herself so that her tail fell though the gap in the back of the dining chair. She sat there contemplating her situation while Sunny got up on her own chair.
I feel like a cat, Meteorite half-scolded herself, wanting to put her hooves anywhere else other than firmly planted on the seat in front of her. She was tempted to put them up on the table, but decided that was most likely poor etiquette.
Further thoughts on whether or not hooves on the chair were poorer etiquette were delayed, as Steel came back in with a tea trolley, and a disheveled Silverfire behind him.
"Heey," Silverfire greeted weakly, "dinner's ready…"
"Is everything okay?" Sunny asked.
"Yes, surprisingly," Steel remarked nonchalantly, moving the covered meal from the trolley to the table. "It was a new recipe for Silverfire, so he required quite a lot of assistance."
"But I did it!" Silverfire interrupted eagerly as he lifted the cover. "Look!"
Both Meteorite and Sunny leaned in, getting a strong whiff of it. Meteorite immediately spotted the burnt edges, and fought back the urge to gag.
"What… is it?" Meteorite asked carefully.
"Pumpkin lasagna," Silverfire told her, trying to not let it show that he was feeling a little hurt. Meteorite didn't notice as she was busy inspecting the lasagna, determining how desperate she was to eat.
"Is it to your satisfaction, Miss Meteorite?" Steel asked pointedly. Meteorite jerked back in her chair at the sudden question.
"Uhh! Yeah! Yup! Sorry, it's just that I've… not had pumpkin lasagna before." Which was true, since whenever she did have lasagna, it was usually beef mince and…
Oh god.
Meteorite had the sudden realisation that she wasn't going to be able to eat meat anymore. It was a dietary intake that maybe she enjoyed a little too much of, but now… Now, she was a pony, and ponies don't eat meat, as far as she knew. She was going to be forced to go cold turkey without even the turkey to sate her.
"Well, this shall be your first time, then," Steel said curtly, ignoring Meteorite's grim stare at the first meal of her being vegetarian. There was no getting around it either, she realised as her portion was being served to her. There was no choking down this meal in anticipation of a better one later on. This was it. She was going to have to start eating healthy.
What was her last meal as a human, anyway? She barely paid attention at the time. Was it one of the frozen chicken meals she had in the freezer? That was a poor last meal, she concluded. It should've been a Meatlovers pizza, at the very least.
Meteorite snapped herself out of it when she felt her mouth water at the thought, and decided she had better curb those desires right now, because it wasn't going to get any better. Besides, she hadn't even decided what she was going to do about actually eating the meal, to begin with.
Hooves were clearly out, as there was no way she was going to be able to hold any silverware with those. Which, in her mind, really only left one option.
Carefully putting her hooves on the table, she pulled her plate in towards herself and took a big bite straight out of the lasagna. It may have been savage-like, it may leave a bad impression, but fuck it, it was all she could do at this point. At least it turned out the lasagna was good, like, she could actually chew it without gagging good.
She could feel the rest of the table looking at her, doubly so when Steel piped up. "We do have forks, Miss Meteorite."
Meteorite eyed the untouched shiny fork next to her plate as she politely swallowed. "Yeah… but I can't get the hang of those things." She doubled down on her behaviour, and took a second bite.
She could tell Steel was clearly not happy with her, but fuck him, she reckoned. Let's see him try handling being a different species after a day or two. Silverfire on the other hoof, did not seem as perturbed.
"Do ya like it, then?" he asked.
Meteorite took the time to swallow once more as she found the courage to look Silverfire in the eyes. "Yeah, actually!" she said earnestly, "I wasn't sure to be perfectly honest, but this is pretty good! I'd never thought I'd enjoy pumpkin but, I'm enjoying this!"
Silverfire felt his pride swell, while Steel continued to frown as he ate his meal, though he said nothing. Sunny watched Meteorite curiously before tucking into her meal as well.
Everypony had finished the meal in relative quiet, save for the occasional complimenting of Silverfire for a well-made meal. As the two stallions cleared the table, Meteorite still felt on edge from having to display her ruthless table manners, a feeling heightened by the silence, and got up from her chair immediately as Sunny herself got up, under the presumption that they could leave now. And after quickly confirming with Sunny that they could go, that's exactly what Meteorite did.
Sunny followed her back to their room just in time to see Meteorite flop onto her bed, and bury her head under her pillow. Sunny bemusedly got up on her bed, and faced her new roommate.
"You okay?"
A soft but purposeful groan came from under the pillow, and Meteorite pulled her head out to face Sunny with a look of despair.
"I totally embarrassed myself back there, didn't I?"
Sunny scrunched up her face slightly, unsure how to answer. "Maybe a little," she answered, gesturing with a hoof. Meteorite groaned in defeat, and flumped her head face down on the pillow. Her snout hurt slightly. She didn't care.
"I mean," Sunny continued, "it's not proper yeah, but so what? I know several ponies who eat the same way, if not worse." Meteorite didn't respond, save for an ear twitch. "And ya hafta know, Steel comes from Canterlot, so he's like, big, on that kinda thing, so I wouldn't worry too much about it."
Meteorite shuffled, turning her head to face Sunny once again. "Oh really? The uptight jerk is from Canterlot? Couldn't have guessed."
Sunny made frantic shush gestures with her hooves as she glanced at the closed bedroom door. "Shhh! Come on, he's not that bad."
"You're not the one he's glaring at," Meteorite responded, rolling her eyes.
"Um, well," Sunny began, thinking back, "when I first started he was all-" Sunny squared her shoulders and spoke with a hint of gruff, "'Miss Flora you are not doing it right'." Sunny dropped her act and giggled lightly. Meteorite found herself smiling in kind as Sunny continued. "But I think he just wants ponies to do their best. He's a good pony once you get to know him."
"I'm sure," Meteorite muttered half-heartedly.
The night wore on as the two mares made light conversation, eventually dwindling into quiet companionship as Sunny sat up in her bed, reading by her bedside lantern. Meteorite had opted for quiet reflection as she watched the shadows cast by the lantern dance on the wall. Sunny had offered her another book to read and, though curious, Meteorite refused, if only because she wasn't sure she would be able to hold it in the brief exchange.
Besides. She had to decide if this was really happening or not.
Meteorite hadn't really considered the thought of how long she'd be here until earlier, but it struck a worrying chord with her. If she was going to be here for a long time, she had to make a call one way or another.
She felt pretty safe dismissing the whole dream theory; even if it did turn out to be a dream, coma-induced or otherwise, there's nothing more she can do, really. It'll end when it ends, and the best she can do is try and survive until then. Simple.
Which left two possibilities: either this was really happening, or… this was a fanfic.
She lifted her forelegs above her to study them, and was momentarily distracted by the world's lamest shadow play just to her left. Regardless, everything felt real enough. She could feel the rough texture of the top of her quilt on her back, the shadows seemed to move accurately, heck, she could feel the soft heat coming from the lit lantern between her and Sunny.
Sunny herself, and the other two, they seemed real enough. She didn't recognise them at all from any sort of My Little Pony media, but they didn't appear to be based on anyone she knew, so does that count as being real?
But the burning question that bothered her the most was, if this was really happening, and if she really was in some sort of pseudo side-universe where Equestria as she knew it was real in its entirety… then why her? Why is she the special chosen one that got to be in Equestria, out of everyone on Earth?
Because that kind of special luck only comes from being in a fanfic.
Frowning, Meteorite turned on her side, only leaning half-way on her back afterwards when a stubborn discomfort reminded her she had a wing on her side. Everything was desperately telling her things were real, and -she had to admit- she kinda desperately wanted them to be as well.
But she refused to believe things were that simple.