Fleetfoot led me over to yet another seating area, this one tucked away behind several bookshelves, but the view outside and over the balcony itself was pleasant, though in all honesty I was far from calm once we sat down. Fleet sat across from me, she apparently had picked up a book on the way to the table, I guess I was too busy making up a fake life that I didn’t notice. I really should start focusing more on what’s going around me, especially in a city where walking off the path means, well, yea.
“So you must be good with animals right?” She said while opening the book. I didn’t check what she was reading, my eyes were fixed on hers as she stared at me. The question itself stemmed from the fact that I said I fed animals, but part of me trying to figure out the lie on the way over here was stopping me from answering fully.
“Yea” blunt, but that’s all I could say.
“What kind? Just curious, different farms and such so I figure different animals right?” how was she doing that? It was if she knew I didn’t have a the full answer yet, the one issue being if ponies are the equivalent of humans here, what about farm animals? I haven’t exactly seen any other creatures than birds, but I couldn't go and ask them to stop so I could check if they could talk too, so what animals would they farm here? I mean, it’s not like the eat meat, but I guess they could use milk. That’s all I could think of, cows.
“Oh we really just had cows on the farm, the rest of my work was in planting seeds and collecting stuff from the tree’s we had” I managed to say that with a relatively calm tone, but the more she stared at me the more I felt like I would just break down and blurt out the truth.
“Cows? Why would the cows need you feeding them?” her look went from calm to confused quickly, even if she knew I was lying, I’m guessing mentally she was trying to find an actual reason “I mean, was it some amazingly tasty food that if left lying around would cause a stampede?” I had to pause before I could reply, a hoof up about to correct her with the made up reasoning I had came up with, but now it was my turn to pause and start trying to imagine that scenario.
“Uhh, heh, no no” so going off this, cows can likely talk, but having them on a farm was still completely fine, but they are self sufficient “I meant more like I just ensure that there was food for them while they were at the farm, after all there were a lot of them, too many to just sit around the table in our house, so I was often buying food in bulk and giving it out” the best I could think of for the cows were they were like farm workers, and even though I wasn’t brought up on any large farms that required hiring of additional workers, I figured that there was someone who likely went out to them in the fields to give them some refreshments, at least if I were working in a field, I would want someone like that!
“Oh, so like waterboy. Wow, I mean I don’t know many ponies whose life ambition is water boy, but I gotta admit, going from a farm to the Wonderbolts, you gotta have a good career plan in your head” her look was surprised, serious and impressed, but the tone didn’t seem sarcastic, which worried me. Did she really think that my life ambition was to be a water boy? No offence to anyone that has that as a goal, but I didn't think I come across like I was exactly ecstatic of being a chore pony.
Though, it does work in a way, if I keep my ambitions low, again no offence to aspiring water boys, than I might get away with making her believe my lackluster life so far. “Well I mean being a water boy for life isn’t really my hopes and dreams, but I do see it as a good way to get to know others and learn from them in action, right?”
“In a weird way, I guess? You know that doesn't mean you're getting out of running laps with us, you’re still gonna be the one giving out the water bottles though, that extra bit will allow you to slowly get in better shape and catch up” So she wasn't lying about the running. I could see it now, a giant field, me panting as we get to the first bend, the others falling to the ground in laughter, Spitfire looking at me with a face begging to burst into tears of pity with the others, but holding on and giving me a reassuring look, only for me to let her down as I fall flat and give her my best puppy dog eyes in hopes of getting out of it.
“Um...Y-yea, like I said, I'm not exactly a runner, it’s hard to plant seeds while running after all, and I doubt the cows would have found it easy to get any food if I run past them with it” I said while rubbing the back of my head.
“Nonsense! You’re with the Wonderbolts now, nobody, and I mean, no body in this team get’s out of doing laps! Plus, I'm looking forward to monitoring your progress, I mean the data from you starting out to finish will be great in figuring out new ways to get others into shape and more!”
She seemed more and more excited with each word, that last one was accompanied with her throwing her forehooves in the air as if she was finishing a great reveal. That reveal being a future of cramps and heaving for me. Maybe it will actually be better for me in the end to let someone else manage my physical activity, I wasn't exactly doing great my self back when I had hands and feet.
“Woooo..” I said with a deflated tone, though I was smiling, showing that while I wasn't exactly ecstatic about the idea, I wasn’t too down about it.
“Oh come on, wait till fly to your farm and your parents see how great you look!” What. When was the proposal for going to my fake farm a thing. It made sense in a way, my only proof I wasn’t lying about the farm, was the farm itself, the fake farm..
“Well, if were doing that, than I want to be in the best shape I can be before going back, and able to fly!” I knew that I was extending the time until the inevitable collapse, but I was hoping by then I could come up with another lie, like that my parents did in fact make an irresistible food, left it out, and the entire farm was destroyed in a stampede, and my parents were then kidnapped by the government because they knew the recipe to the great food. Not sure how I would know the last part, but I could present it as a theory.
“Sure thing, though I’m gonna need the address and information for the personal records, I hate not having them up to date..” Apparently she was doing more managing than I though. Hoping to divert the topic, I played on how her sentence seem to fall off near the end
“Why? Soarin mentioned you might have some stories? Is this one of them?” She froze, for once she was the one trying to come up with the lie, this was how it felt to be watching it for once. Though eventually she gave in, apparently she was more willing to tell me the truth that I was with her.
“Well..”