"Alright, lower...lower...aaand there! Hold it steady."
*BANG BANG BANG*
"OK, you can let go."
A week had passed since my home appeared. Since then, I had asked a local construction firm to lend me a couple of their workers to help me with my home. The plan was simple; the wall in my living room was to be knocked down so I could extend it and I was to apply a wooden surface to the outside of the house so it blended in with the rest of the town. I couldn't leave it at that dull beige colour. Also, after talking with Applejack, she suggested I build a porch in front of my door. She said that the evenings around here are great for lounging outside with a cool drink. Hey, I can't fault that.
I also asked Celestia to change the magical barrier surrounding my home. No-one tried to enter so I asked her to remove it completely. Besides, the place is locked up and it has a fence around it because of the construction.
Another good thing was that my former job was in the construction trade so I knew plenty on said subject. Even better, I had stashed some tools and equipment if I ever need to use them again and what do you know, I did. Anyway, during one week of work, the wall had been taken down and rebuilt about four meters further out. The outside of the house was half finished as the wooden panelling was surrounding at least half of the wall.
The instance I asked Rarity to help me with decoration, she jumped at the chance and immediately started planning. From what I heard, she was suggesting new carpets, paint colours, furniture and all sorts. I have a hefty amount of bits in safe keeping so I was open to all the ideas that she suggested. I can guarantee by the end of this, I'll be near broke.
The contents of the inside of my home had all been taken out and stored safely by Twilight. She said she knew exactly where to keep everything. She was ecstatic that she was allowed to help out but I couldn't say no, could I? I think I overloaded her with information when I invited her to watch more DVD's. After about two hours of more David Attenborough, I put in a comedy DVD and tried to explain it to her the best I could. I tell ya, she's smart and she catches on. We made it through the entire collection of Fawlty Towers and there were only a few questions. Like 'Where is Barcelona?' and 'IS THAT A MOOSE'S HEAD?!'. OK, that one creeped her out. I tried to explain but she dismissed it and kept on watching. I had never seen her laugh so much.
During the week, something bamboozled me. Something confusing. I remember Minute explaining that due to the ratio of males and females in Equestria, males have more than one female partner. Polygamy. So why, when I was falsely accused of sleeping with Fluttershy did the townsfolk call me a disgrace? Wasn't it the same? Well, actually, no. The title 'Royal Courter' means many things. It means you are the partner of a member of royalty, you have some royal duties to carry out (althought mine have never been said or shown), and, oh yeah, here's the kicker, you cannot have more than one partner. Doesn't make sense. Turns out that Celestia made this law when a previous partner of hers attempted polygamy with her by a forceful nature. Yeah, I wouldn't be too happy either.
"Good afternoon Darling."
Craning my head up, I saw the friendly alabaster mare approaching me with her horn lit. "Hey Rarity." I turned back to the two workers. "Let's call this lunch. See you in two hours?"
"Thanks!" the two stallions replied. They set their tools down and walked away from the site.
"What brings you by?"
"I have your new carpets." She levitated said carpets from around the corner of the house into my view and unrolled it slightly. "Is this the colour you wanted?"
A slightly dark shade of red. "Perfect. Spot on! How much did you get?"
"Enough to cover your floor space. This is top quality!" she said with a grin.
"Fantastic. Just set it down on that table over there." Rarity set the roll down and walked up to the wood panelling, observing it.
"A fine job you have done here. It looks positively divine!"
I rolled my eyes. "It's just wood Rarity but thank you. Any news on the paint?"
"It should be delivered within the hour. Unfortunately, they cannot apply it today as something has come up." Rarity said, looking a bit annoyed.
"Oh man...I really wanted to get that done today. Do you know anyone who's good at painting?"
"Not personally no."
"Well what about--"
"US!"
The sudden shrill of high pitched voices caught us both by surprise as the CMC's suddenly appeared using Pinkie's law of physics. "Where on Earth did you three come from?" I ask, still catching my breath.
"Uhh...there?" said Scootaloo, pointing at their clubhouse not ten meters from my house.
"Oh...right, yeah sure." I slapped myself on the forehead and laughed. "Now what was I...oh yeah. You three? Have you ever painted before?" I asked.
"Sure! We paint all the time in school!" Apple Bloom responded.
"Yeah, I know that. What I mean is, have you ever painted something big before? You know, like a building?"
"Uhh...that?" Scootaloo once again deadpanned, pointing to the clubhouse.
I shook my head and leant down to the girls, ruffling Scootaloo's mane. "You're too smart you are. Or I'm just getting stupider." The three girls and Rarity giggled at my joke. "Alright girls, I'll make you a deal. You can paint the inside of my home."
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS PAINTERS!"
"IF!" That caught their attention. "If you will be supervised by a responsible adult. I would offer but I have to finish the outside work."
"Ah know! I'll go get Applejack!" Apple Bloom chimed before running off towards the country house.
"Sis, can you help us?" Sweetie asked Rarity. A look of horror crept onto her face.
"Moi? I cannot and will not reduce myself to painting. My mane and coat will get dirty." she replied. More like whined.
I crouched down near Sweetie and looked up at her sibling. "Oh come on. It'll be fun. Besides, you'll be spending some great quality time with your younger sister." I said with a smile.
Rarity shuffled her hooves. "Well...I..."
"Anyway, you got caked in mud at that Sisterhooves Social event anyway. This can't be any worse can it?" I added.
Her face scrunched up in annoyance. I had her. "Oh fine! If you insist." She was tackled by Sweetie who embraced her in a hug.
"Yeuch!"
I looked over to see Scootaloo making a gagging noise at the display of affection. Time for some fun. "Aw, what's the matter Scootaloo? Don't you like that?"
"No way! I don't like all that kissy stuff!" she exclaimed.
"Oh really? So what if I were to do..." I walked slowly over to her and knelt down. "This!" I picked her up and put my arms around her, hugging her tight.
"Hey! Let me go!" she said, pushing her hooves against my chest.
"Oh come on. You can't honestly say you don't like a hug? I think it's nice."
She kept pushing and pushing. "No! No I don't!"
"What if Rainbow Dash wanted to hug you?"
The pushing stopped. Hah, got her now. "She...she would never do that." she said.
"I know but what if she did? Would you hug her?" I replied with a smile. I could see the wheels turning in her head as she thought about it.
"I...guess so." she quietly said.
I leant down and let her go. "That's what it'll feel like. Except without the hands of course. Now, if that was Rainbow, I think you'd enjoy it. Don't you?" Scootaloo nodded slowly and smiled at me.
"Mr Owen?" I turned to the source of the voice to see a young mare pulling a wagon. Inside the wagon were--"Did you order some paint?"
"Yep, sure did. Let me get that for you." I unloaded the six cans of pain and set them down. "Thank you very much Mrs?"
"Treble Cleft. Mrs. Treble Cleft."
"Well thank you Treble Cleft. Have a nice day." The mare nodded and walked away from the site.
"Applejack's busy!" I heard Apple Bloom shout. She quickly arrived at the house. "She can't help us. She said there's too many chores for her to do."
"No problem. I'm sure Rarity will fine by herself. Right?"
She rolled her eyes and smiled at me. "Of course. Come along girls, we shall begin!" The four girls went inside the house, each carrying brushes and paint cans. I wondered if I had made a mistake letting those three paint the inside of my house. The carpet had been lifted and discarded and the house was empty apart from the fridge and oven. I suppose a few specks of paint on floor that's going to be covered won't matter.
It was the end of the afternoon. The end of work for the day. Me and the two stallions had finished putting the wood panelling around the wall. It looked pretty good. Looking at it from afar, it did look a bit strange without a pointed roof. I'll mentally decided to do that another time, it wasn't important. The porch was partially built; the columns to hold a roof up had been planted but the floor and roof still needed to be fitted.
"Good job today guys. Do you think we can get the porch done tomorrow?"
"No problem boss. We'll get it done." one of them replied.
"Nice one. Well, that should be it for today. See you tomorrow morning." The two stallions said their goodbyes and walked off. Over the past few hours, I had heard many shouts, thumps and laughs from inside the house. I opened up the door and walked inside and what greeted me was amazing.
"What do you think Owen?" Sweetie asked.
All of the walls were painted with a yellow/beige colour. I didn't like it on the outside of the house but it looked good inside. Everything was immaculate. Nothing missed, not an inch wasted. "Incredible. You girls have out-done yourselves this time!" I praised.
The three young fillies gasped and looked at their flanks. After a few seconds, they all sighed dejectedly. "Still nothin'." Apple Bloom glumly said.
I felt a pang of guilt. Not only did they succeed at their task but they still didn't get their cutie marks. "I'm sorry girls. It'll happen one day. Just you see." They looked up at me and smiled slightly. There was still sadness in their eyes. I needed to fix that. "I tell you what. For helping me out, why don't I treat you? Something like, oh I don't know, Sugarcube Corner?"
"Really?!" Scootaloo happily replied.
"Of course. You girls have done a great job and you deserve a reward. Now, go on ahead and order what you like. Me and Rarity will meet up with you in a bit." Three dust clouds replaced the crusaders as they bolted out of the door towards the bakery. "Thought that would work. You gonna join us?" I ask Rarity.
"Oh I couldn't possibly intrude."
"Nonsense. You helped as much as they did."
"Well then, to Sugarcube Corner!" she said. I walked out of the house and locked it behind me.
"So, what's happening tomorrow?"
"As far as I know, you're new furniture is being delivered at midday. A new dresser, drawers, sofa, dining table and chairs."
"Hmm..." I thought about it for a moment. "Do you think you could help out tomorrow? I've got an idea."
"Do tell." she replied with a flick of her mane.
"What's left to do is the porch which can be finished tomorrow, the carpet, moving the furniture in and moving my stuff from the library. Then that's it. I reckon if we can get enough help, I think we can finish this, tomorrow."
"As busy as that sounds, it sounds plausible." she replied
We soon reached the bakery and entered the premises. The crusaders had each bought a giant ice cream sundae that was bigger than them. I had to say anything didn't I?
"Enjoying those girls?" They all nodded in return. I walked up to the counter and greeted the blue mare behind it. "Hi Mrs Cake. What do I owe you?"
"15 bits for the sundaes please dear." Handing over the bits, I looked back at Rarity.
"What can I get you then?"
"Your finest hot chocolate please." she asked.
"Make that two."
For the next half hour, we sat and talked about random subjects whilst the crusaders ate their own weight in ice cream. Subjects ranged from fashion, my home, past adventures, me and Luna, all sorts. When the subject of Luna came up, I grapsed the gem on my necklace and held it tight. It had been a whole week since I saw her last and I did miss her. Hopefully she and I can see each other again soon.
When the subject was about my home again, we both decided to talk to the rest of the girls to see if they can lend a hand. We parted with the crusaders, who had sprawled out on their seats after engorging themselves. Pinkie followed us as we asked her to. On the way, we found Rainbow and Applejack but no sign of Fluttershy. Reaching the library, Twilight was busy studying as Spike was busy cleaning.
After explaining my idea to them, we tried figuring out who could do what.
"So I need someone to help laying carpet. Rarity can do it but she will need someone to help her." I asked.
"Ah'll lend a hoof Rarity." AJ offered.
"Brilliant. I'll need..." My brain suddenly kicked into gear as another idea struck me. A promise I had to keep to the town. "Actually, I need something else. Pinkie?"
"HI!" she shouted, getting right in my face.
"Yeah, hi. Look, I know you are the best party planner in Ponyville."
"In all of Equestria!" she stated.
"Of course. I need you to prepare something for me. Can you do that?"
"Sure can! What do you want me to do? Is it a party? OOH! Is it housewarming party? I could make signs and banners and--" A purple hoof inserted itself into her mouth.
"Let him speak Pinkie" Twilight instructed.
"Thanks. I promised the town that they could look in my home once it was finished and it looks like that'll be tomorrow. What I need you to do is to make invitations for a look around my home. If you put on the invitations that they will need to come to you to book a time for a look, that'll be good. I think half an hour will be good for a group tour - take bookings after 3PM. Also, no more than, let's say ten, ponies at one time. Do you understand?"
"Sure do! Invitations to your house, half hour slots and no more than ten ponies. Got it!"
Wow, I was sure she wouldn't remember that. "Excellent. Now, the rest of you, once the carpet has been laid, I'll need some help moving furniture in when it arrives. After that, we'll need to bring stuff from here to my house. Once that's all done, that's it, job done. You all up for it?"
"You can count on us!" Rainbow offered.
"Yeah, we can do it!" Applejack added.
"Excellent. We'll need to start early so how does 6AM sound? Meet at the house?" The girls nodded and started to make their way out of the library, all wishing us goodnight. It was only 6PM but still, it was dark. After they all left, Twilight, Spike and me were left alone. "Can't wait for tomorrow. It'll be great to get it all finished."
"It's a lot of stuff to bring over. Do you think we can manage it all?" Twilight asked.
"Sure we can. In fact, I have another idea. Come with me." I opened the door to her basement and walked down the stairs with Twilight and Spike following. All of my stuff was neatly stacked against the walls. I walked over to the piles and looked over them. "You are right. This is a lot of stuff but we're gonna make it not so much."
"How do you mean?" Spike asked.
"I mean, I'm gonna go through it all and get rid of the stuff I don't want anymore. I'll give it to anyone who wants it or I'll chuck it away."
Over the next hour or two, we managed to sift through the piles and reduce it by half. I never knew I owned so much crap. I kept all of my video game consoles. Most of them were retro. When I had a paying, permanent job, I managed to save up enough cash to buy a SNES, a Mega Drive, a Sega Saturn and and a Dreamcast. I also had a PS2 and a 360. Other things I kept were DVD's, kitchen appliances, clothes, plates and cups, a few books and some bed covers.
Stuff that I didn't want anymore included loads of books which Twilight happily accepted, some old toys from my childhood that I never threw away and electrical computer parts which I salvaged some time ago.
After we finished, we returned to the main part of the library where we sat and talked for a while. We reminisced about the times I spent here. Twilight was a bit upset that I could be moving out tomorrow but I told her again, she can always come and visit whenever she wants.
"By the way, do you know where Fluttershy is? I couldn't find her earlier." I asked.
"Rainbow told me she was looking for her rabbit. Apparently Angel has been running off frequently and she doesn't know why."
"Poor girl. I know how much she cares for that...sweet rabbit." I had to bite my tongue. That rabbit was an arsehole.
I looked at the clock which read 9PM. "Well, I think I need to sleep. Got a busy day ahead of us tomorrow. I'll see you in the morning." I said, walking up the stairs.
"Goodnight!" she replied.
Walking into my bedroom, I flopped onto the bed and yawned. The work had worn me out today. Undressing myself, I quickly got under the covers for what could be the last night I spend as a resident in this home. During our time this evening, I felt bad that Twilight was upset over me leaving. Althought I comforted her, I still felt this sadness and I knew was the one who caused it. I just hope she'll be alright tomorrow. I leant my head down and closed my eyes.
*BEEP*
Sleep was going to have to wait. I picked up the gem and tapped it twice. "Evening beautiful."
"Good evening my dear. How was your day?"
"Busy. Veeeery busy..."
"Hold it up a little more your end Rainbow!"
"I am! You just need to get more muscles!"
"I'm getting there!"
Me and Rainbow had been moving my stuff from the library into my home for the past hour or so now. Unfortunately, we left the heaviest object till last - the wardrobe. Twilight had levitated it to the house for me but getting it in required manual lifting.
"Careful, careful. OK, now lower it down."
*THUMP*
"Perfect. Thanks Rainbow."
"No sweat!" she said, flicking her mane.
I walked back out into the living area and observed everything. "Right everyone, could you all come here please." The six girls, the two construction stallions and the crusaders all walked into the living room. "This is it. It's done. Everything is completed!"
The group all cheered and started thanking one another for helping. "Thank you all for helping. I could not have done it without your help." I turned to the bouncing mare. "Pinkie. Do you have the list ready?"
"I sure do." She reached into her mane and pulled out a clipboard. "Here!" she said handing me to clipboard.
I took the clipboard and looked at the list. "Thanks Pinkie. Now, how many...oh dear lord." The clipboard had over ten pages of names. At least six hours of showing ponies around my home. "How many ponies did you hand invitations to?"
"Everypony!"
"Alright, let me...let me think here." I rubbed my temples and tried to contemplate what to do. Six hours of showing around - it's only 2PM now. That gave me an hour till the first showing. "Alright. I think I can handle it from here."
"Do you want any of us to stay to help with the visitors?" Twilight asked.
"That would be nice but you've all given me so much of your time already. I couldn't ask you to stay longer."
"I'll be more than happy to help out." Twilight offered. "Anypony else?" The rest each had their own excuses which I humbly accepted.
"No problem guys and girls. Once again, thank you very much for all of your help. I'll treat you as a reward in a few days." I said with a wink. The group dispersed and left the house, except for one who looked a bit worried.
"Fluttershy? You alright?"
She refused to meet my gaze as she found the floor more interesting to look at. "Oh...it's nothing."
I walked over to her and rested my hand on her shoulder. "You sure? Doesn't look like nothing."
She raised her gaze to meet mine. "It's Angel. He keeps trying to run off. I found him yesterday, walking out of the Everfree Forest."
"I'm sure he can take care of himself. He's a big boy." She smiled softly at me. Damn...she's adorable. "You gonna be alright?"
"I'll be fine...thank you." She excused herself and walked out of the front door, closing it behind her.
"That rabbit sure is a handful. I hope she'll be alright." I mention to Twilight.
"I'm certain. I was just thinking, should we put on some music or one of your DVD's for when everypony is being shown around?"
"Hmm...good idea. What's best as background music though? If a DVD is on, they won't go anywhere else." I opened up a cabinet and looked through the CD's that I owned. "Aerosmith...Led Zeppelin...Queen...hmm, this'll do. Air." I turned on my ancient radio/cd player and put the CD in. "Can't believe someone left this on the beach. Works perfectly fine." Before long, the music kicked in and it gave the place a calm atmosphere. "Let's just chill out for a bit. Got a while to go yet."
"I hope you enjoyed the little tour of my home. Any questions?"
A small unicorn filly raised her hoof. "I found this earlier. What is it?" She held up a small piece of paper which I took from her grasp. Looking at it, I smiled at what she had found.
I leant down so I was eye level with her. "I've been looking for this for a long time. This is a picture of my..." I had to choose the right words. Even if it wasn't true. "My parents. Janice and Brian their names were. They were lovely people." I put the photograph in my pocket and looked back at the group. "Thank you all for visiting. Did you enjoy yourselves?"
A chorus of 'Yes' or 'Of course' was their response. They all walked out of the door which was left open behind them. I flopped down on the sofa and groaned. "Twilight! Any more?"
"No! That's the last group." she replied, walking back in. "Are you alright?"
"Fine...just really tired." I sat myself up and patted the sofa for Twilight to join me. She did so and sat herself next to me. "Crazy day but it's finally over."
"You did really well with the groups. They looked so pleased when they left."
"Really?" I asked. Twilight nodded with a smile. "Well isn't that something. I never saw myself as a public speaker but hey, I did it and I did a good job. And you did a great job as well. You really didn't need to stay and help out."
"I didn't mind. It was quite fun."
"Fun? Letting people in and out of a doorway? How can that be fun for six hours?" I asked.
"Well, I knew more about your home than they did and a lot of ponies were asking me questions about it."
"Huh...fair enough." I yawned loudly. "You know, I could just fall asleep right here."
"Me too..." We sat there for a while and before long, Twilight had drifted off, curled up on the edge of the sofa. I closed my eyes slowly, trying to drift off into--
*KNOCK KNOCK*
"More visitors?" I groaned. Mumbling away, I got up and opened the door to reveal a shaking pegasus. "Fluttershy? What's wrong?"
"Angel ran off again. He ran into the Everfree Forest!" she said through tears.
I leant down and embraced her. "It's alright, calm down." She sniffled a few times before I leant back to look at her. "What can I do to help?"
"Well...can you come with me? Into the...Everfree?"
I couldn't decline. I think it'd destroy her. "Alright. Just let me find something quick." I went to my cabinet and started rummaging for something. Soon enough I came across it and turned it on. "Good, torch still works." I walked over to the door but stopped as I rememberd Twilight was still asleep. I retrieved a blanket from my bedroom and draped it over her. Turning back, I walked out of the door and closed it shut.
"Lead the way." And with that, we set off towards the Everfree Forest in the dark of the night.