//------------------------------// // Adjusting // Story: TD's Little Rarity // by BronyWriter //------------------------------// As with any time when a pony from another dimension that you just escaped from appears in your room in filly form, an adjustment period is required before the two of you settle into something resembling a routine. Rarity and I was no exception, though it had probably only happened to one or two other people in the history of time. I wake up the morning after her arrival stretched out on my couch. Yes, Rarity had asked if she might possibly have my bed for the night to see if she liked it and I hadn't had the heart nor mental capacity to refuse. She promised that she would sleep on either the couch or my chair the next night just so she could find out which one she liked the best. I would argue, but it wouldn't be worth it and I hardly want to cause a ruckus. I yawn and glance at my watch, an action that causes me to bolt up and run towards my room. Class starts in fifteen minutes. Now, my class is only three or so minutes away by scooter so that isn't an issue, but there is still the fact that Rarity is in my room and I need to change my clothes before I head out. I have to skip my shower unfortunately and--dang it, she's figured out how to lock the door. My hand grasps the door handle and I pull it down to gain entry to my room, but it stops halfway. "Rarity, Rarity unlock the door!" "Mgphma?" says a tired voice behind the door. "Rarity, wake up and unlock the door, I have to get ready for class!" "Oh... yes of course, give me a moment and I'll make myself presentable. Do you have a manebrush in here?" "M-Manebrush?" I stutter. "No! I have to get ready for class! I have a comb on the counter out here." "A comb? Oh please tell me you have something better than that," says Rarity. "I need to make my mane presentable, it's a bedheaded disaster." "Rarity, anything you need to fix your mane is out here. I don't have anything better than a comb so you'll have to make do right now. I need to change my clothes so that I can go to class, not to mention the fact that my scooter and backpack are in there!" Rarity sighs. "Very well, I suppose that I can make do with the comb and any hairsprays you have." The door unlocks and I rush inside. "Can you show me anything like that that you may have?" "Just the comb," I say, putting on another shirt. I glance at my watch again and groan. It starts in ten minutes. I shut the door and finish changing clothes before throwing my backpack over my shoulder. I open the door to see that Rarity is doing her best to comb her mane with my comb; something that her irate expression tells me isn't going well for her. I doubt that she'll be able to get those curls at any rate. "Okay I'm headed out. I'll be back in an hour and we can talk about this more then. Whatever you do don't leave the room or make noise that would indicate that you're in here," I say. Rarity waves her hoof at me. "Yes, yes, father. I'll be quiet. What do you suggest I do to occupy my time until your return?" "There are a few Calvin and Hobbes books in my room. It should take you about an hour to read one of the larger treasuries." Rarity nods and trots back into my room and I bolt out the door. I realize that I've forgotten my scooter but I have enough time that merely walking quickly will still ensure that I am on time. It is a nippy day on campus and the smell of cows is pretty subdued so that's always a plus. I'm not going to be outside long enough that the fact that I neglected to put a hoodie on will be that much of an issue. I've lived in Colorado my whole life. I can deal with 45 degree weather for a few minutes. Besides, it'll probably be 70 by noon. I reach my class just in time. I see my teacher in the hallway coming the opposite direction with her class materials in her arm. I hold the door open for her and that gets me a nod of thanks. Nothing wrong with making the teacher like you that much more. Trust me, when a teacher knows and likes you, they are roughly 400% more likely to forgive little things like missing a class or being an hour late when your alarm clock doesn't go off. When they know you're really a diligent student who actually does their work and participates, then they know that life happened (as it so often does) and they'll forgive you for it. Trust me, remember that. Preachiness aside, I take my place at my table and pull out a notebook and a pen. I am ready to begin the day. The lecture today is on how best to teach children creative writing and what benefits that has in your classroom. It isn't too complicated, but my teacher does manage to make it fairly interesting. Still, I can't help but glance at my watch every five minutes. Class is interesting, but if it's between that and going back to bed, as I plan to do once this is over or normally would have were it not for Rarity, I'd pick bedtime for TD. The class goes on as it normally does. I'm taking notes, the teacher is lecturing, and I'm glancing at my watch. There are only about twenty minutes left in the class and-- "Wait, did she call me father?" The entire classroom is silent. They were while the teacher was lecturing, but you can tell that this silence is different than the one that comes with twenty-five college students zoning out and taking notes. Even the teacher has stopped talking and is giving me a quizzical look. Did I seriously just say that out loud? I nervously chuckle. "S-Sorry everybody. Don't mind me I don't know what I'm talking about." There's that grace under pressure that got me so far in Ponyville. I can't even imagine what goes through the minds of twenty-five college students when one of their own blurts 'wait, did she call me father' in the middle of class with what appears to be the utmost seriousness. Nothing good I imagine. "Is something wrong, TD?" my teacher asks. I chuckle again and shake my head. "Nope, nothing at all. Just forget about it. I'm sorry for being disruptive. You were saying something about creative writing and getting the brain going?" My teacher's quizzical look fades slightly and with a shrug, she turns back to the board and continues on with her lesson. Man, let's not do something like that again, shall we? * * * * I enter my room after another forty-five minutes or so to find Rarity reclining on my couch and leafing through a Calvin and Hobbes book with a look of utter bewilderment on her face. I set the two boxes of food I picked up from the dining hall down and walk up to her. "How is it?" I ask her. She takes a deep breath and uses her magic to flip to another page. "I'm not quite sure," she asks. "What exactly is the point of these stories?" "They're meant to be funny," I explain. "Some of the humor is pretty basic. I thought they were hysterical when I was your age for some of the simpler strips but now that I'm older I find a lot of the observational humor pretty funny too while still loving the other ones." "Indeed?" she says. "I don't understand them well enough, I suppose. Why would the tiger attack the boy every day when he comes home from school to the point where he is battered and bruised if they're best friends? Is that an Earth custom?" I sit down in the chair opposite her. "No, he's just excited to see him and that's how he shows it since he's a tiger." "I see," says Rarity. She shrugs and uses her magic to shut the book. Her eyes trail over to the boxes I brought in. "Might that be food, father?" she asks. I nod. "Yeah, I got a little bit of everything on the second one because I wasn't quite sure what you like." I take my backpack down and lean it against the chair. "But I did want to talk to you about that," I say. "What's with this 'father' business?" Rarity cocks her head. "Well, you haven't given me your name yet and since you're the one taking care of me, I figured that I might as well call you father." "My name is TD," I say. "I'd prefer that." Rarity shrugs. "Well I suppose that I can try to call you that but really, 'father' rolls off the tongue better and it's the role you're fulfilling anyway." "Except that I--" I pause. Rarity is only seven or so. I'd say it to the older one but not here. "Never mind," I finish lamely. Rarity raises an eyebrow but she doesn't pursue the matter any further. She shakily levitates the two boxes of food over to her and I deal with the cups of water. I clear off the table in front of us and move the chair so it's in front of the table. Rarity puts the boxes on the table and I grab and open up the first one. Fruits and veggies. "This one's yours," I say. "Let me know what you like and I'll get it for you going forward." She nods and I hand the box over to her. I flip open the second box and dig into the hamburger and burrito contents. Rarity might not eat meat, but that's not going to stop me from doing it. I went without red meat for an entire two months in Equestria. I'm not stopping just because one of its inhabitants is sitting across from me and it's my job to raise her until... It's my job to raise her. Ug, that thought hadn't really registered with me until right now. I put the cheeseburger back in the box and put my head in my hand. The implications of the fact that she's right, I am going to have to be the father figure for her until somebody on the other end can figure all of this out. Son of a gun. This isn't going to be fun for me, is it? Rarity looks up from nibbling tentatively on an orange slice and frowns at me. "Is something the matter, father?" There's that basically correct word again. No, focus, TD. If you go into mild shock every time she says it you're going to be unable to function as a human being until this ends. I take a deep breath and smile weakly at her. "No, I'm just a little tired is all," I say. I pick up my cheeseburger and take a big bite out of it. Rarity's frown doesn't go away as she observes what I'm eating. "What is that?" she asks. "You're not eating anything that I am." I swallow my bite. "It's a cheeseburger. You wouldn't like it; it's made of meat." Wonderful, juicy, delicious meat. "Meat?" she asks. "As in, other sentient creatures?" "Correct right up to the sentient part," I say. "Our farm animals don't talk and a fair few of them aren't particularly intelligent." I've heard that pigs are pretty smart, though. But bacon. Sorry, pigs. "I don't think that your body is designed to eat meat," I continue on. "And yours is?" she asks. I smile and flash my canines. She shudders and returns to her apples. "I'm not sure how I feel about that." I shrug. "I don't eat ponies nor does anybody I know if that's any consolation." "A bit," she says. The next few minutes of our meal continue in silence. Since meat is so awesome I'm done long before she is. She seems to enjoy the apples, no surprise there, and a few of the vegetables are quickly devoured as well. She doesn't think too much of the oranges as the sole slice she tried is lying forgotten on the top flap of the box. Okay, that's good to know. I take a deep breath and throw the empty box of my food away. "So, I guess we should figure out how this works beyond you not leaving the room," I say. "That might be best," agrees Rarity before taking a bite out of a carrot. "Okay, I know you've only been here for less than twenty-four hours, but what are some things that you need?" I ask. "You would know better than I would about how this is going to be best for you." Rarity finishes off the carrot before answering. "Well, it seems that what would be best is something to occupy my time; something that would give me meaning rather than pointless distractions like that." She motions to the Calvin and Hobbes book. "Aspects of it were amusing enough, but give me a week of that and I'll go mad." "Fair enough," I say. "And what do you think that would be?" Rarity shrugs. "I'm not entirely sure. I know that I really like fashion, but I don't suppose you have access to good dressmaking materials here." I shake my head. "And I'm not entirely sure where I could get them or even what we'd do with them if you did make them." "Pity," Rarity mumbles. She sighs and looks through the rest of the items in her box before shaking her head and pushing it away. I pick it up and examine what she didn't like for future reference. "It seems to me that I'm going to be here for a while. It could be anywhere between an hour and the rest of my life and we need to do something about that. You have a family I presume?" I nod. "Yeah and this isn't my house. I just live here while I go to school; I go back to my parent's house during breaks." "And I don't imagine that you can just leave me here while you do that." "I wouldn't want to try leaving you here for up to three months, no," I say. "How much time do we have before your next break?" she asks. I glance at my watch to check the date. "About five months but I can't avoid my family until then either. My sister is up here too." "That does seem to be a problem," she says. "But I just hid in your room while you had that other colt over; maybe I could just do that?" I flip the box open and begin helping myself to the oranges that Rarity didn't eat. "Possibly but I wouldn't count on that working every time. At some point somebody is going to see my room. I don't count on you hiding in the bathroom either because somebody is going to have to use that at some point." "Well... this may be crazy, but why can't you just be open to the other humans around here about me? Why is it necessary that I hide?" I am silent for a minute or so while I ponder the question. Truthfully there is only one real reason why. I tell Rarity to wait for a moment while I get my laptop. "It's better just to show you," I say. I retrieve my laptop from my room and power it up. Rarity looks at it curiously but I ignore her while I power up the internet. My destination? Youtube. The reason is there. When I find what I'm looking for, I walk over to the couch and turn my computer so we can both look at it. Then I hit play. My Little Pony Season 2 Episode 9 opens with a cold opening of Princess Celestia and Rarity walking into an opulent room in Canterlot Castle. Rarity. Rarity is in that shot. She's seen herself in a mirror here, she knows what she looks like and it doesn't take Twilight's brains to figure out that the Rarity she sees before her is an adult version of her. Her expression is unsettlingly neutral as she watches on. I can tell that she's trying to process what she's seeing, but isn't quite sure how. I can hardly blame her, I don't know what I would do if I found out I was fictional and that thousands of people knew all about my life and some of the wackier things about it. I'd probably be pretty pissed actually but it's hard to say. Rarity for her part still has that blank expression on her face as I pause the video. "So basically, you're a character in this TV show on our world called My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Not only that, but you're one of the main characters. If I took you outside right now, then a ton of people would know who you are within seconds. I hate to put it like this, but a lot of them know more about you than you do right now." "I see," she says quietly as she continues to process this with her seven year old brain. I have to second guess whether or not this was the right choice but it's too late now. "That guy who was here, he's what's known as a Brony, that is to say, a fan of the show. If he caught even a glimpse of you he'd know instantly who you are. He wouldn't leave you alone and he couldn't keep it to himself either. I know he has Brony friends whom he would tell and they would tell their friends and eventually a ton of people know that one of their favorite characters exists in our world. You'd never get a moment to yourself." I sigh and run a hand through my hair. I decide to leave out the part where the government potentially takes her away. If nothing else they'd like to see how they can use her magic to expand out scientific horizons, maybe even use it for weapons. I don't know, I'm just a twenty-one year old college student who in all honesty doesn't know how that would work. I'm not going to risk it, though. If the other ponies, not to mention Celestia, came to our world to get her and I had to tell them that she was in the hands of the government and I had no idea what was happening to her... yeah, that sounds like a fun scenario for everybody. Rarity takes another deep breath. "I..." Her voice cracks. "I suppose you're correct. I don't think I'd enjoy thousands of humans clamoring to see me and never giving me a moment's rest. Having said that, may I watch this show, father? If nothing else I'd like to know what my life was like back in the land I came from. If my kind came to get me and I knew nothing I'd be at a disadvantage." I take a moment to ponder that before slowly nodding. "I suppose so." It's a kid's show so I don't think that there's anything disturbing in there for her. Not to mention the fact that I think she's right and she would need to know about her old life if she's going to go back. I toss the other box of food and stand up, stretching my arms as I do. Rarity tears her gaze away from the computer and looks at her cup. She levitates it over and takes a sip. "Do you know how I do that?" she asks. "Watch the show, I mean." I take a few minutes to explain it to her and she seems to get the gist of it. She has to practice moving the mouse and clicking the keys with her magic for another few minutes but she gets it down pretty quick. I explain to her that I only want her looking at the show itself and nothing else on the internet without supervision from me. My roommate occasionally talked about, and looked at, some of the darker moments of the fandom and I don't want her seeing that. She accepts my limitations and begins looking up the pilot of the show. I sense that she wants some alone time to figure all of this out so I stand up and go to take a shower. I lock the door and turn on the water just as I hear the music for the opening play. I take a deep breath and begin to wonder whether or not I did the right thing.