His head slowly nodding further and further into his chest, Alex snapped out of his haze to look at the restaurant clock. It read 3:55. He shook his head and straightened his suit. As soon as he did, the chair next to him squealed and pulled away from the table.
“Hello, my name is Vibrant Flourish. I believe you’re the landlord?”
Alex briefly glanced at the paper Vibrant put down before replying, “Indeed, and it is very nice to meet you!”
As he vigorously shook her hoof, he continued, “My name is Alex and I hope I listed everything you needed in that advertisement. And do not worry about the appearance of the property, since I will be renovating it within the month. So what were you looking to get out of this contract?”
“A cheap place to live. It’s why I’m meeting with you.”
“Fair enough. Now I know you have seen the house and asked the neighbors about it already, but I am sure you would like to see the inside as well, correct?”
“Of course. Lead the way.”
“Alright then! It will be a bit of a walk from here, so do you mind if I try to get to know you a little better?”
“Alright. I moved out of my parents’ house as soon as I could and got a job. I didn't want to live in the city all my life, so I came here. It’s quaint and quiet; I like it here so far and the ponies here seem welcoming enough.”
“That is good to hear! Um, uh, I notice that you like wearing clothing; I have not seen many individuals around here that wear clothing, aside from humans. It is an oddity.”
“Yes … well, I feel that clothing helps me present the best of myself.”
“I can tell. That suit looks rather fetching on you.”
“Now you’re just flattering me. I appreciate it, but there's no need for it. I'm just interested in buying what you are selling.”
“Oh. Alright. Well then, uh, we are here. Go ahead and take a look around while I grab you something to drink? What would you like?”
“Some milk would be nice, thank you.”
“You got it.”
As Alex rummaged through the refrigerator, he thought of his potential tenant. Seems a little standoffish, but that is okay. I do not think it will cause any problems, plus she was the only one to answer the advertisement since I posted it.
When Alex finished pouring, Vibrant returned. “It's rather small, but it's fine. If I sign the contract now, when would I be able to move in?”
“Great, uh, let me check my calendar and I will let you know momentarily.”
Vibrant drank from the glass, wondering about her new roommate. He seems nice enough. Maybe a little bit too friendly, but it shouldn't be a problem. I mean, he’s just trying to make a good first impression.
Alex then faced her with the calendar. “Would Saturday be a good move-in date?”
“That works.”
“Good! Do you have any furniture or boxes that I could help you out with?”
“No furniture, but if you want to help me with ten or so boxes, do you mind coming to this address Saturday morning? It’s where I’ve been storing my stuff since living in Manehattan.”
“Wow. Planning ahead. That is pretty smart.”
“Eh, thanks. Anyway, let me just sign my copy of the contact … avd dun. Ptooey! Here. Have a good day and thanks for the drink.”
“Sure! See you in a week.” Waving goodbye, Alex’s mind turned inwards. Well, she is going to pay me to move in and I have signed a contract with her. That is about as final as it gets. There are probably better ways to meet new friends, but there is no going back now.
As a fresh golden coat of paint dried in the morning sun, two individuals stood outside of a cozy home. Vibrant spoke first. “Wow! This place looks like my parents’ house now. I'm not going to lie, your house was in … bad shape a month ago, but now look at it! Are you sure you haven’t met my parents’ sense of style before?”
Alex exclaimed, “Nope! Not at all. It is odd though, that you should mention your parents, since you moved out as soon as you could …”
“Yeah … well, I do love them, but we did have a huge argument before I left. I’m over it now, but I’m not sure if they are.”
“Sorry to hear that.”
“No need to worry about it. Besides, I should be thanking you. Your renovations have really turned this building into more of a home. I like it.”
Putting his hands up Alex stated, “Eh, I have been meaning to do it anyway. It would have happened regardless.”
“Still, thank you.”
“Sure. It is just that I did not think that the concept of a home would be that important to someone who just needed a cheap place to live.”
“No. You’d be wrong, since I had a home before this one but after my parents’ home. Circumstances made it so that I couldn't stay however.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“I’m over it. I’ll just let you know that I was discriminated against because I’m a unicorn.”
Alex hastily replied, “I do not know what to say to that.” As his face scrunched up in concentration he wondered. That does not make sense. I mean, I could understand if she was a pegasus, or especially an Earth pony or changeling, but a unicorn? They are supposed be better than everyone else, aside from alicorns.
“Yeah, I know. It’s pretty stupefying in this day and age, but some ponies are just not knowledgeable. It’s all they need though, just some information.”
Alex snapped back to reality at the mention of the word knowledgeable and replied, “Right.” No need to get into a confrontation. All it takes is knowledge, like my parents said, so that others know their place. A gentle approach is best.
“Anyway, I am done here, so I will just be cleaning up all of these tools. Home maintenance is real hard work, so the faster I do this, the faster I am through.”
“Hey, you let me help you with the repairs but not the cleanup? It’s not happening. Give me those paint cans, I’ll put them back in storage.”
“Alright.” As Vibrant trotted back inside, Alex thoughts spiraled into the beginnings of a plan. This is a grand new opportunity! I get to make a new friend and hopefully get them to understand how the world works. It did not go so well in college, but perhaps my roommate is the exception my parents keep talking about. There has just got to be someone out there that is willing to learn.
As Alex opened the door, he pondered his plan. My college friends wanted evidence supporting my beliefs, so I will just give my roommate the manifesto of the Equestrians for Equestria Society (EFES) to start out with and then move her onto the articles and books they have cited in their past debates. That will be a good start.
He then shouted, “Hey, Vibrant, I’m back from the market. They did not have any of those fruits you liked, so I just kept the bits.” No answer. That was weird, she usually would be home.
“Hey, Vibrant, are you even home?” No answer. Oh well. Alex supposed she was out and planned to just leave her bits on her dressing room table. As he opened the door to her room, however, he found out three things. Vibrant was home, Vibrant did not hear him before, and Vibrant was undressed.
“Hey Vibrant, what were you doing?”
“Alex! What are you doing in here! Get out! Get out!” She hurriedly pushed him out of the room and slammed the door. Vibrant immediately turned to what she thought was obvious. He has seen me without clothing or makeup. My body, my shoulders, my hooves, and my muzzle. What do I do? I just got here! I don’t want to move again. I … Her thoughts were then interrupted by a gentle rapping on the door.
“Hey! Whoa! I am sorry, but I thought ponies did not have a taboo against wearing no clothing. What was wrong?” He paused before speaking again. What was wrong? Other than what he thought was obvious?
After giving it some thought, Alex stammered, “I mean, you do wear clothing a lot. In fact, you wear clothing every day. Well, I guess that means you do have a taboo against being naked. And … and, uh, that means I should not have been in there. I am sorry. I did not know. ”
She did not know what to think. Was he being sincere, or was he just putting on a front? Either way, as her thoughts settled, she knew that she didn't have enough bits to move again anyway, unless she wanted to put off what she had been planning for years—again.
“I know it’s weird for me to feel this way, especially since I'm a pony, but just don’t do it again.”
“Of course. Yeah. You got it.” As his voice cracked, he managed to sputter out, “I … I am just going to leave your bits by the door because the market ran out of your favorite fruit. I will leave you alone.”
As he turned to the front door, Alex quickly grabbed his journal, briskly leaving his abode for that well-worn spot in the Whitetail Woods, but taking care to gently close the door.