This time, when they returned to the broken down van, Terry was already there. Sky Light spotted him before Rosa and waved a wing. "Hey!" she greeted. The man still intimidated Rosa a little, but she followed her friend to where he was sitting on a piece of wood and smoking a cigarette.
"Got you some lunch," Sky Light said and sat on her haunches so she could pull it out of the bag.
Terry took it wordlessly while sucking the last bit of smoke into his lungs.
Rosa had never understood the appeal of that particular habit.
"Hoofprints all over it?" he asked on his exhalation.
Sky Light shook her head. "Nope. It's wrapped. We came straight here. Should be still warm."
Terry stubbed out his cigarette on the ground and unwrapped the aluminum foil. Without a pause he bit into the kebab.
Rosa couldn't help feeling a tiny bit hurt. He could at least have said thanks! It was her and Sky Light who had mooched up the cash for the food, after all!
"'s good. Thanks." The man mumbled with his mouth full.
Better than nothing, Rosa guessed.
"Actually, it was Rosa's idea. She doesn't like dumpster food."
The mare in question flashed Terry a nervous grin, but all he did was give a half-chuckle in amusement at the news. Then he seemed to recall something. "Oh, Hoover dropped by. Said to come see him."
Maybe Rosa was imagining it, but Sky Light seemed to sag a tiny bit. "Oh. When?"
Terry peered up at the sky. "Hour, maybe hour and a half ago." He offered nothing further as he continued eating, but by then Sky Light had a very strange expression.
"Um, Rosa?"
"Yes?"
She headed to the van and beckoned for Rosa to follow. Once there, she pulled the passenger door open, jumped up on the seat and bumped the glove compartment with a hoof to get at the contents. "I'll... uh, I'll have to go run a little errand, okay? You're going to wait here with Terry."
Rosa didn't really like the idea, but at the same time she couldn't expect Sky Light to keep her by her side all the time. She was a pegasus, after all. Rosa couldn't fly, nor could she ask Sky Light to ground herself just to provide Rosa a bit of comfort. Then again, the man in question was busily - and by the looks of it, messily - eating his kebab. The thought of having to sit there with him and make small talk scared Rosa a little.
"H-How long- how long will you be gone?" she squeaked with a voice rather more shaky than she had intended.
"Couple hours. Until night, at most. You'll be fine. Just stick around here. You know how to get water, you know about the toilet. If you get hungry, just tell Terry, okay?"
Rosa knew her ears were flat, betraying her emotional state, but Sky Light didn't seem to care. She was pulling objects from her saddlebags and stuffing them in the glove box. Probably so she would have an easier time flying with less weight on her back, Rosa expected.
"Can I g-go with you?"
"Sorry," came the answer, "I gotta move fast."
"Where? What are you doing for this- this..."
"Hoover," Sky Light finished. "We have a little deal, okay? I'm like- like a mail mare, okay?"
Rosa imagined people sending each other letters by pegasus-mail. It would be faster than the regular mail, if they had their dedicated flying pony.
Sky Light seemed to be done with her saddlebags so she jumped back down from the van. "He pays well. Don't worry, I've been working with him since forever. Here, take this."
She dropped a plastic bag full of coins on the ground next to Rosa. "That's from this morning. If you really, really have to, have Terry get you something to eat, okay? Or go see Arda again."
Rosa watched the money and swallowed. A nice dinner did sound good, but she had humiliated herself for that change and she didn't relish the idea of doing it again soon. The vegetable kebab had been good and filling, so Rosa thought she could last until the next morning.
Sky Light was already pacing away and Rosa hurried after her. "Wait!"
She stopped mid-crouch with her wings outstretched and looked at her young friend questioningly. "Yes?" she asked, voice clipped and impatient.
Rosa didn't know how to say it and she was a bit ashamed to be asking that at all, so she lowered her voice. "What am I supposed to do?!"
The other mare rubbed her muzzle and squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, then gave Rosa a piercing look. "You're a big mare," Sky Light said with a touch of sarcasm in her voice. "Just - hang around, okay? I have to go."
Before Rosa could get another word out of her muzzle, the pegasus leapt up into the air and flapped away. That just left Terry. Rosa watched as he finished his kebab and searched his pocket for another cigarette. Best to get it over with, she thought to herself. She tossed the bag with coins back up in the van, then closed the door and walked over. She sat herself down on her haunches a few steps away. Rosa wondered whether she should say anything. The man was looking off into the distance and she realized that it was in the direction Sky Light had flown. Rosa followed his gaze, but the pegasus couldn't be seen anymore.
The silence was really awkward, so Rosa tried for a friendly smile. "Um. Hi!"
The man transferred his gaze to her and took a slow, deliberate drag on his cigarette. "So, what's your story?" he asked. He didn't sound really interested, but it was something to pass the time, or maybe he was just being polite.
"I, uh- I r-ran away," Rosa stuttered.
There was another long, uncomfortable pause. "What from? Did they send you to bed without pudding?"
Maybe she should have felt indignant at what that human was implying, but Rosa didn't even really know what exactly he meant! Was he trying to say she was soft? Or weak? Or fat?! She was not going to get offended, though. The truth, or a part of it, seemed like a good counter.
"No, I got my cutie mark and they were going to lock me away."
Terry didn't answer. Rosa supposed it had given him pause to hear that she was in a real predicament. She hadn't run away on a whim! As the silence stretched on Rosa looked for something else to say. "Sky Light said she'll get me a uniform, s-so I can hide."
"Where did you run away from?" he asked, completely ignoring her comment. It would have been annoying, but Rosa was just glad to have something to talk about and maybe dispel some of the tense, awkward air between them.
"My assignment was with a family - Boone. J-John Boone. I looked after the children." She didn't add 'for all of a week.' Terry didn't need to know just how quickly she had failed.
He seemed to be giving it some thought while he pulled on his cigarette some more. "Assignment?"
"Mhm! I was training to be an Assistant Pony. I wasn't supposed to be sent out yet, but Mr. Boone asked for me specifically."
"Boone, Boone," Terry repeated to himself. "I've heard the name. City council?"
Rosa bobbed her head up and down. "Um- is that a problem? He might have people looking for me." It was only fair she warned this man what he was dealing with. She had warned Sky Light, who hadn't taken her seriously. Maybe Terry would.
He shrugged. "Shouldn't be. Most people can't tell you guys apart. Just stay out of sight until it blows over."
Rosa already knew that, but she still appreciated the advice so she smiled. "Okay. I'll do that!"
There didn't seem to be anything further, so Rosa went back to studying the canal around her. It was really deserted. She hadn't seen a single other person nearby yet. A gentle clink made her look back to where Terry had taken a small flask out of his coat pocket. The cap squeaked faintly as he unscrewed it. She watched as the man took a good, long swig from it. When he noticed her looking he held it out to Rosa in a silent offer.
It was alcohol in there. She could smell it, even across the distance. Rosa had only had alcohol once - that beer with the colts next door - but that didn't really count. She had hardly tasted that and hadn't even felt anything afterwards. The stuff Terry was offering smelled like something a lot stronger. Rosa idly wondered where he got it, but then curiosity got the better of her and she licked her lips in nervousness and anticipation.
"J-Just a small s-sip..."
Rosa stood up and approached, still a little wary of the man but lured closer by the offer of forbidden goods. Instructor Martha had warned the ponies about Drinking and Drugs. At the time Rosa had taken her words to heart, but now she wanted to at least try them before making up her own mind. Soon she was close enough that the fumes coming from the flask were making her eyes water. She took a gentle sniff and scrunched up her muzzle at the sharp smell.
"Ugh, what is this?!"
"Vodka," Terry told her. "Do you want some or not?!"
He sounded impatient so Rosa decided quickly and nodded. He waved the drink a little and she gingerly gripped it between her forehooves. The flask was flat which made it easier. Rosa carefully sniffed it again, but it was just as strong as before. She glanced around briefly for something to wipe the bottle - Terry had had it in his mouth, after all - but then she changed her mind. Any germs on it would have been long dead because of the alcohol, right?
It was time. Rosa wrapped her lips around the opening almost reverentially, then tipped the flask up and back down. It was enough to give her a splash of the liquid. At first it felt like warm, stale water. She sloshed it around her mouth experimentally. Then the true taste hit and she nearly gagged. It burned! Her tongue was on fire. Her eyes bulged out and Rosa almost spat, but she caught Terry's amused look and her resolve stiffened. With a herculean effort she swallowed. It felt like drinking liquid fire!
"GAH!" Rosa let her tongue hang out, trying to get some air to cool it down. It was lucky Terry had been prepared for her reaction, otherwise she would have dropped the flask in her panic. He retrieved it and took another nonchalant, calm swig.
Meanwhile Rosa thought she would throw up. She could feel the exact path the 'vodka' had travelled down her throat and through her insides. She could feel it burning somewhere deep in her belly. She suddenly became worried that she was going to die!
Rosa panted, urgently working to cool her throat down, while at the same time trying not to puke. It would taste worse if it came back up, she was sure of that. It took a minute, but the feeling passed. She no longer felt as if the stuff was corroding her insides.
"That..." she moaned, "that's foul!"
Terry just chuckled to himself before he lifted the flask up and drained it empty.
"How can you stand that?!"
The man shrugged, screwed the cap back on and returned the thing to his coat pocket. "Practice," he said.
Well, that had been way stronger than the beer. Rosa wondered what feeling drunk would be like. First, though, she had to make sure. "Um, how do I know when I'm drunk?" She had been waiting for it and had felt absolutely nothing from the beer. She wanted to be ready for it this time.
"Not from a single sip, unless you're even more of a lightweight than Sky," Terry told her.
All that and she was not even going to get drunk?! That was horrible! Well, Rosa was not drinking any more of that stuff, ever. If that was what it took to inebriate oneself, then she would pass.
"You did good, though. Sky puked her guts out the first time she tried it."
That, at least, made Rosa's chest inflate with pride. Thinking of the pegasus, she struggled with the question for a while before saying it out loud. "Do you- uh, do you know where Sky Light went? Who is that guy you mentioned?"
Terry watched her for a while, then gave a slow and exaggerated shrug. "Dunno. Some dude she hangs out with."
He was lying, but Rosa knew he was not going to tell her anything else. She would have to get it out of the pegasus later on.
"Smoke?" Terry interrupted her thoughts. He was holding out a cigarette for her.
Rosa firmly shook her head and he put it in his mouth instead. While he was lighting it she sat down on her haunches. She was much closer to him now, but then again she was no longer as afraid of him. Maybe the liquor incident had helped the two bond a little bit. Rosa started thinking about anything else she might be able to talk about while they waited for Sky Light.
Terry beat her to it: "Tell me about Boone."
It was not something Rosa would have chosen herself, but it would fill the silence and she had a few stories she could share.
"Well, he came to see me and Amethyst for our exam. Um, this one was for the Assistant Pony program, dealing with difficult children. Then Instructor Martha said he liked me and wanted my help with his two kids..."
Rosa had left out some pieces of the story, in particular most of her quiet, personal moments with Lillian, as well as the part with Benjamin and her panties. The former was much too precious for her to share just yet and the latter much too embarrassing. Why exactly she wanted to keep her relationship with Lillian to herself was a bit of a mystery. Rosa wanted to think about that before saying anything else to Terry. The girl meant a lot to her, even after what had happened. She hoped she might get to see her again someday. Not likely, but Rosa still hoped.
She realized she had been quiet for a minute so she took a breath and finished her story: "So I guess that's it. People are scared of cutie marks. Or at least of getting them. There's older ponies at the School who have theirs and no one is scared of them."
Terry probably knew already, but Rosa decided to explain anyway. "Sky Light said it's because some ponies got cutie marks for terrorism, so people got scared."
The man watched her for a short while, his mouth working as if he was trying to dislodge something from between his teeth. "Nah, that's not it," he said at last.
"Excuse me?"
Terry shrugged a little to himself. "Sky Light is full of crap. People ain't scared of ponies, nor of cutie marks. What Boone did makes no sense."
No, what Terry was saying didn't make any sense. The man was off his rocker. "But Mr. Boone said they'll lock me away! Maribelle just vanished! We were all terrified of getting it in the school! No pony comes back if they get a cutie mark!"
"Well, how many did you know?"
Rosa didn't have to think too much. She recalled all of them because they had been such big, scary news when they happened in the School. "Four. Well, five including me."
There had been Maribelle, the most recent and most painful. There had also been a colt about five months earlier. He was older than Rosa's group so she hadn't known him well. Besides them, she remembered one of the colts in Paolo's room telling her about a couple of pegasi some years prior. That had been big news because it happened to two of them at the same time.
She had just finished listing them in her mind in case Terry would want details, but instead he just asked: "All of them at that school of yours?"
"Um... yes?" Rosa said uncertainly, not sure where he was going with that.
"How many outside of your school?"
It struck Rosa that she hadn't even thought very much about ponies outside of the School. There were the ones who graduated and went to their respective jobs, but it felt as if she never really realized there were other ponies, not associated with the School.
"I- I don't know any." Her eyes slid to the pavement and her ears drooped a little at the admission.
"Trust me, it isn't a big deal." Terry explained. "There was a big outcry a few years ago, after that trouble with the unicorns. Shit got bad for a while but then it died down." He scratched his chin through the beard. "A few of the politicians were clever enough to use that fear and got elected. They had to keep promises to their constituents so they made some rules, but no one really gives a crap about that anymore."
Rosa shook her head, refusing to accept it. It couldn't be just that! Maribelle got dragged away! Mr. Boone nearly sent herself off to get put down! There had to be more to it than that!
"Believe whatever you want, kid," the homeless man kept going. "I'm just telling you what it's like out here in the streets. People don't give a shit. Except maybe that lunatic you worked for. Oh, and the idiots who run your school." He gestured a little with his arm, as if to encompass the whole city. "There's always a few nut jobs who go into a panic each time they see one of you, but most people don't have time nowadays."
"But the S-School..."
"Government institution, kid. They have to follow all sorts of crazy rules." The man barked a laugh. "Heh! Most of them are crazy to do a job like that."
Rosa had to know more. She remembered what the colts had told her. "Ponies are taken to labs and... um... experimented on?"
This time Terry just shrugged. "Dunno about that. Maybe. Who knows what's really going on." He flashed her a slight, yellow-toothed smile. "But you're out of that now. Just keep your head down and don't do anything stupid and you'll be fine."
Could it be true? The people in the School overreacting and sending ponies away because of some rule that was made in a panic? Sweet Maribelle sent off to a lab because a few ponies got the wrong sort of cutie mark back then and a few politicians used it to win elections? Was Mr. Boone one of them? That would explain his attitude, Rosa thought. That jerk and others like him had ruined her life. They had ruined Maribelle's too, and probably countless others.
"It's not fair!" she sniffled.
It wasn't a question, but Terry answered anyway: "Life's not fair, kid. Be glad you're out of it. It ain't so bad on the street."
Rosa hardly realized it, but she was shaking her head slightly. She hated the street. She wanted to go back to the School and keep living like she had before. It hadn't been a bad life. Rosa was training for meaningful service. She had friends and teachers and she was making a good future for herself. Now it was just eating out of a dumpster, begging for money and keeping her head down? Maybe she should turn herself in to the police. The humans would examine her cutie mark and see it wasn't dangerous, and then she could go back to her old life.
Except...
"Why don't ponies come back? Why keep them away if their cutie mark isn't dangerous?!" Rosa hadn't intended to say it out loud, but she was just so frustrated with the whole situation.
"Beats me," Terry admitted. "That's the first I'm hearing about it."
A desire began burning in Rosa's heart to find out. She had been through too much, suffered too much anguish not to. Her life had been ripped from her and she could never get it back, but the least she could do was find out why. Maybe someone at Sky Light's trucker stop would know? Those people travelled around and talked to people. Surely they might have some news? Rosa retreated back into her own thoughts while Terry brought out his fourth or fifth cigarette and lit it. It was getting late. She hoped Sky Light would be back soon.
The man patted his pockets until he found a bottle. There was barely a sip left in it, but he drained it anyway. Then he stared at the smooth metal for a while.
Rosa wasn't paying him any mind, until he spoke: "Got any money?"
"Um, y-yes?" she blurted out before thinking.
Terry seemed pleased as he climbed up to his feet. "Grab it and come on. We're gonna get us some dinner."
Now that she had been reminded, Rosa did feel hungry. She hadn't been planning on spending any more money that day, but with her stomach grumbling she quickly changed her mind. The kebab earlier had been filling, but it simply wasn't enough, not after days of starvation.
There was one other thing. When she saw Terry's smile Rosa remembered about her own. Then, as soon as she became aware of it, she couldn't get it out of her mind. Her teeth were fuzzy. She hadn't brushed in days and her mouth felt gross, especially after that vodka.
"Can we get, um, a toothbrush? And some p-paste?" Rosa prompted.
It made Terry laugh heartily, but then he reached down and ruffled her mane. "Sure thing. I'll set you up."
That was a lot better. Rosa wouldn't be allowed in most stores, even with the money. Maybe if she had a uniform she could lie and say her master had sent her out for supplies. Terry could buy the stuff she needed, though. Rosa went to the van and collected her plastic bag of change. She didn't know how much everything she wanted would cost, but surely she had enough for a few necessities.
"'ewe!" Rosa said and dropped the money in Terry's hand. "Here."
He hefted it and his face lit up. "You two have done well!" he praised. "So, something to eat and a toothbrush. Anything else?"
"Tooth paste!" she reminded him. "Oh, and a bag of gummy bears?"
"Sure thing," the man repeated and sets off.
Rosa easily kept pace with him. "Um, do you need anything? I'm sure there's enough money..."
The hand came down again to pet her. It stank of cigarettes, but Rosa didn't mind. "Mighty neighborly of you to offer, Rosa," Terry said, using her name for the first time. It made her smile. "This way, I know a place," he said and headed to the stairs out of the canal.
She was very happy to be doing something other than just waiting. Rosa's mood lightened and she decided to tackle her problems from a more optimistic angle. "Any idea how I could find out what happens to ponies who get taken away? I wanna find my friend Maribelle."
Terry paused for a moment and scratched his chin. "Hmm, I'll give it some thought. Maybe I know somebody..."
His words cheered her up significantly. She was also noticing that the man was a lot more pleasant after she had shared her story with him. Sitting with someone and talking for a bit could do wonders for a relationship.