My second week in Equestria was much better than the first. Moberly, Shorey, and I went to the library every day to work, putting all the books away like Page told us to do. We also helped ponies pick out library books and checked out books for them when Page was away. It was a boring job, but probably the easiest job I’d had in my life. It helped that we were allowed to read while there was nothing to do.
We spend most of our evenings just sitting around and talking to each other. Making plans for the future, reminiscing about the past, thinking about our family and friends, just talking and telling jokes and laughing in general. Moberly was more on the quiet side, but she still participated. There were even board games to check out at the library, and we played one resembling Monopoly, except the Equestrian version. It wasn’t a game either Shorey or Moberly liked very much, but with not much to do, it passed time.
Moberly seemed content to be quiet and lay on her back and stare at the ceiling or go out walking, leaving Shorey and I alone to talk a few times. During those times she told me what I should be doing to save up to go to Canterlot or running by story ideas with me. She smiled whenever she talked, a warm one that always made me smile no matter how bad I was feeling. It was so nice watching her be herself.
Speaking of feeling bad, my second week in Equestria wasn’t completely terrible like the first one was. I was still extremely self conscious that my lack of a tail didn’t hide my privates, and couldn’t help but let out a sad breath whenever my square muzzle made its way into my vision, but it wasn’t horrendous like it was when I was out alone in the snow with nothing to do but walk. I did get a few comments on both my tail and my voice, but other than that, it was easier to try and ignore with books to put away and ponies to talk to.
It was a short week seeing as our first full day was on Wednesday, but Page still paid us for the full week once we left on Saturday. Just like that, we had a one hundred fifty bits between us, counting the bits we got on Tuesday. One hundred fifty down, and at least twenty eight hundred to go since we were all meeting up in Ponyville. Dozens more weeks of work to get enough money.
Not that we really saved any of our money. Each of us chipped in twenty bits for the rest of the rent for the month, and then ten more so we could eat actual food instead of grass. Shorey spent the rest of hers on a typewriter, something I chipped in for too so she could afford it.
Moberly spent hers on an absolutely ridiculous looking sword, one that looked like it had no practical use. She claimed it was for defense, but I wasn’t sure there’d ever be anything to defend against while we were in the Crystal Empire. We couldn’t stop her from buying it though, even if I thought it was a waste of money.
I, for my part, saved the rest of the bits I had. Even if it was only ten, it was still ten bits closer to being a mare than I was before. I knew it would accumulate, and if I could be smart with what I did, I could get at least myself a train ticket to Ponyville or Canterlot extremely quickly. Not as quick as I would’ve liked, but probably faster than I could talking to Princess Cadance.
In the meantime, I checked out a book on magic for foals and got to reading it on Sunday. Reading it felt like going from living in a log cabin to a mansion. It described in detail what we should be doing, explaining that the easiest way was to imagine your horn as a limb. That advice made the whole thing a lot easier to figure out, so much so that within a couple of hours of practice, I felt like I was proficient in levitation. It took Shorey and Moberly a little more time to grasp how to do it, but eventually, they were able to.
It was also Sunday when I finally got a chance to be alone with Shorey again. We went out walking around the city at night, looking at the stars and listening to ponies talk as we passed by Crystal City’s nightlife scene. It was nice and cool and a great evening to be out, even if my legs were still sore from the week before.
“Your tail is looking a little better,” she started after a while. “How’s it feeling? Is it still sore?”
“Not really. Sitting kind of hurts still, but it feels alright. I wish it would just grow back already though.”
“I’m sure it will, and if it doesn’t, there’s probably some magic spell we can find that’ll fix it.”
“I hope so. Not having a tail is not fun, let me tell you.” I let out a breath, then continued, “But can you believe we’re actually here?” I asked. “We’re actually ponies in Equestria. Like, this shouldn’t be real life, but it is.”
“It’s amazing and unbelievable,” she agreed, smiling widely as she said it. Her eyes started to become a little bit wet, and I smiled back at her. It made me happy to see her happy.
“I never thought I’d ever be able to be myself,” she said as she sniffled. “I honestly thought I was gonna have to die being who I was before.”
“And you would’ve done it, too, never knowing how nice being yourself felt.”
“I would have,” she agreed, taking a breath to regain her composure. “I’m so glad I’m here.”
I’m not gonna think about jealousy. I’m not gonna think about dysphoria. I’m only gonna think about this moment here with Shorey.
“I’m glad you're here, too,” I told her. “You make dealing with all of this so much easier. I’d probably be dead right now without you, killed ten times over.”
“I should be thanking you for being here. I mean, you came here first. If you wouldn’t have, I’d just be in the exact same place I was before.” She sniffled and started to tear up again as she continued, “I hate that I’m basically profiting off your misery.”
“You’re not profiting off my misery,” I said quickly. “Seeing you happy makes me happy. And besides, I’m gonna get myself fixed. We’re gonna go to Ponyville and meet up with everyone there, and then I’ll see Twilight and turn back into a mare, and then…”
“And then what?”
“And then I’ll hug you and kiss you and be super gay about it because I love you so much,” I said quickly, only half joking.
“I guess we’ll have to see when that happens then,” she laughed with me. “I do wonder though if everyone in our group chat will spread out over time across Equestria or if most of us will stay in the same place. Like some sort of village of former humans.”
“Well, I’m certainly not staying in the Crystal Empire,” I said. “It’s nice enough here, but dealing with what’s essentially systemic discrimination is not fun. I wouldn’t be surprised if Moberly stayed here though… man, it’s gonna take a long time to get enough money to go to Ponyville.”
“We can try sending a few letters there and seeing if anyone contacts us back,” Shorey said. “If we did that, it’d be much easier to pool our resources and get everyone in one place. Otherwise, you’re right in that it’ll take a long time.”
“I’m pretty sure I can save forty bits a month if I buy basically nothing ever. Twenty five is probably a better estimate though. That’s still forever away, though…”
“Well if Moberly came here instead of Ponyville, I’m sure other people are gonna come here instead of Ponyville, too. Not all of them, obviously, but enough that we can speed up the process. And we’ll find better jobs that pay more eventually. And even if it came down to it and it looked like it was gonna take longer than you’d be willing to wait and Princess Cadance said she couldn’t do anything, I’d definitely lend you whatever I saved up so you could make the trip there and back yourself.”
I smiled happily at that thought. “You’re way too nice for your own good. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. You’re too nice.”
“I just try to be kind,” she said. “But I’ve said that a hundred times. It’s doubly important here though, since this is the land of friendship.”
“Of course it is, and of course you do. You’re absolutely adorable and you never ever stop.” I smiled at her, and she leaned in to rub her next against mine for a moment. I was sure she could tell what was coming next, and figured that this might have been the best moment to ask.
Just don’t push if she says no. If she says no now, stop pestering her about it forever unless she asks… God, I’m being annoying and pushy as fuck asking this for what has to be the fourth time. Why am I like this?
I wasn’t being annoying. If I was being annoying, genuinely annoying, she wouldn’t have an issue telling me. She said before that we needed to be settled before we talk about this, and now we were settled. I just needed to be confident.
“Speaking of friendship, what if we weren’t friends?” I asked lightly, feeling unbearably nervous but trying not to show it.
“What if we weren’t?” she asked back just as casually, the smile still on her face.
“Then I guess that would make us girlfriends, and I’d have to ask if you wanted to go on a date next Sunday.”
“And then I’d probably say yes in that case,” she smiled. “That sounds like it would be nice.”
“So then we’re good for Sunday?” I asked happily, almost giddy.
“I don’t know. You haven’t asked yet.”
I laughed at that and smiled widely. I was absolutely in love. My cheeks went red and my heart fluttered happily at the thought that this was finally happening.
“Can I go out with you?” I asked excitedly, my voice somewhere between yelling and whispering if such a thing was possible.
She wore just as wide a smile and nodded happily, staring right at me with those beautiful, gray eyes. I couldn’t help but prance in place for a second as I quickly wrapped her up in a tight hug. I pressed my muzzle into her neck as my heart beat out of my chest. I was a lovestruck, pushy idiot who did nothing but complain for the first several days I was with Shorey, someone who absolutely didn’t deserve her with how nice and smart and kind she was. And yet she still nodded her head and said yes. I’d been so in love with her for months, years, and she actually said yes to me going out with her. It was only dating, that I knew, and there was no guarantee that this would work out, but I couldn’t help but imagine a whole life with her.
“I love you so much, Shorey,” I whispered as I held onto her. “You’re absolutely wonderful and amazing and adorable and deserve nothing but every good thing.”
“I think I like you a lot, Rally,” she told me, also whispering. “I’m glad you’re here with me.”
You’d think I’d hate the words ‘I think’ but I actually liked them. I knew all I did was push, and I felt a little bad because of it, but hearing those two extra words made it feel like she was speaking more honestly. She wasn’t just saying ‘I love you’ and going through the motions. She actually probably did like me a lot, and it sent a flutter to my chest to think about.
It was such a nice moment, one that I wanted to last forever. Unfortunately, the moment after came.
“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” somepony asked. We turned to see a couple of ponies, guards from what they looked like, standing in front of us, both wearing frowns like we were doing something wrong.
“Two ponies about to engage in public indecency from the looks of it,” the first one said. “What are you two doing out here this time of night?”
“Um, we’re talking?” I offered, tiling my head in confusion. “Just like every other pony in this city? It’s not like there’s a curfew, is there?”
“There’s not,” the second one started, “except on ponies who aren’t from the Crystal Empire. Not to mention, you two being out here all alone like this, it makes us believe you two are trying to engage in prostitution.”
“We’re not doing that,” Shorey said, “and there’s a hundred other ponies nearby a block from here. We’re just out walking.”
“Well it seems suspicious,” the first one started again. “Why don’t you two come with us back to our office to talk this out and see what’s going on?” He raised an eyebrow and gave us a look like he wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
My heart was still beating out of my chest, except now in fear. I was not an idiot, and knew what they were trying to do. I’d worried about a situation like this happening whenever I walked around at night, but hadn’t thought about it tonight because Shorey was with me and I just naturally assumed Equestria would be safer than Earth. Apparently it wasn’t though.
Thankfully, Shorey could see through what these two were trying to do, and spoke up.
“We’re not going with you,” she said. “If you want though, we’ll stay right here while you get your manager so we can talk to them.”
“And then what?” the first one asked. “You run off when we get them? We’re not idiots. Come with us.”
“Then one of you can stay here while the other one gets them, but we’re not going with you, not until you get someone.” She stared the first one down, who dropped his look into a scowl.
“Whatever. We don’t have time for this. But know that we’re watching you, and if we see anything suspicious, we’re going to arrest you.” The two of them looked at us for a second longer before turning around and walking off. I breathed a sigh of relief as they left.
“Oh my gosh, you saved our lives,” I got out shakily as I quickly hurried away, Shorey right next to me. “They were definitely looking to, like, kidnap us for ransom or something. Or worse. That was scary.”
“We need to be careful now when we go out. That could’ve been bad.”
“Yeah… did you get their cutie marks? I wanna tell someone about this as soon as we can.”
“I did, and we will. Also, we have to tell Moberly to be careful walking around at night. I guess it might be a good thing she got that sword though, as silly as it is.”
“I’m not sure about using a sword, but defense spells would be good, if there are any to learn. But heck, that has me shaking. That could’ve been a lot worse.” Not to mention, it really killed the mood.
“Actually, speaking of defense spells, we should probably learn some if it really is around season seven. Sombra comes back at the start of season nine, and I’m not sure how bad things get, but I wouldn’t want to go in unprepared.”
“Oh, also speaking of which, I can’t remember if I told you this before, but when I was with Rusty Bucket on that mountain, I told him to tell Princess Cadance about Cozy Glow if he saw her. That’s not a bad thing that I did that, is it?”
“Let’s not mess around with what’s supposed to happen in the show if we can help it, please,” she told me. “We know how it turns out in the end, and saying things like that to ponies makes things more uncertain and introduces new variables.”
“Oh. I’m sorry. Um… oops?”
“It’s fine. Let’s just make sure not to do that in the future.”
“I won’t. I promise.” I let out a breath to calm my still raw nerves as I asked, “Wanna head back now?”
“Sure. That sounds good.” We only took a few steps before I gasped at the top of my lungs, the best idea I’d ever had coming to me all at once. How I didn’t think of it before, I didn’t know, but the comment about Sombra and season nine brought it to mind.
“Discord!” I yelled excitedly. “Discord can fix me in a second! That’s who I should be going to see! This is going to be so easy!”
“That’s actually a good idea,” Shorey smiled with me. “I mean, if we can get in contact with him. I’m not sure how easy it would be to do though. He is a god after all.”
“Oh, I doubt it’ll be easy at all,” I agreed. “But that’s not gonna stop me from trying, because if I can, this would only take a second to do. Or actually, if I can talk to Fluttershy, I’m sure she can get him to do it for me… which still requires getting to either Ponyville or Canterlot. But the point is that there’s no way I’m not gonna be able to fix myself. It’s gonna happen no matter what.”
“I know it will Rally,” she said with a smile. “And you’ll deserve it when it does.”