“Still wanting the whole job thing to go through?” Hue asked as he pulled up in front of what he told me was probably one of the more progressive, and laid back environments he could think of; a coffee shop.
“I’m sure, and this is the last one on the list, since Best Buy turned me down,” I sighed.
I was skeptical when Hue made me fill out the application for the Morning Dew, as I had never been that crazy about the idea of coffee. It was used as a kick starter, and I personally saw it as a crutch which Hue thankfully didn’t rely on. Why others needed such a high dose of caffeine baffled me, but to each their own.
We both got out of the car and approached the small, unassuming building. While the outside seemed simple enough, with a dark coat of paint with only the name and a few plants as decorations, the inside was much more pleasing to the eye.
The lighting was at the perfect level, even if it was a bit late for coffee, but some humans were weird. It was surprisingly roomy and everything from the tables to the seats seemed welcoming. The level of comfort was on par of walking into one’s own house to get away from the rest of the world. Just like the building, the interior was mostly dark wood furniture. The walls were a cream color that reminded me of the beverage shops like this were famous for as a staple request from their customers.
What threw me for a loop was what it was lacking, the stares of humans. This was probably due to the fact that a few ponies were in the building as well. Most of the humans were busy with computers or books. The ponies in the building seemed content to carry on conversations with a few of the humans at their tables. Some even sat on the couches and read over their shoulder. A few humans held the book in between the two of them to make things easier.
“This place…” I stammered after noticing a hoof slide a cup up onto the counter.
“What did I tell you?” Hue smiled. “This is probably your best chance Harmony.”
“Hi, welcome to the Morning Dew,” a rather thin girl called out to us.
While I was by no means shy, this place just seemed too unreal. The fact that we had been addressed instead of just ignored or stared at threw me for a loop and I instinctively hid behind Hue’s legs like a school filly.
“She’s trying to get out and about,” Hue covered for me as I peeked out from behind him.
“Aww,” the girl cooed as Hue approached the counter, forcing me to follow him. “Rough times with the crazies out there?”
“You could say that, mostly stares, but even that can wear you down after a while,” Hue replied picking me up to set me on a bar stool.
I let out a brief squeak before I was set down, which gave me a better look at the woman that had spoken to us. Her name tag read Alexis, which I thought was a pretty name. She had thin frame glasses, like Hue’s and when she spoke, I could just barely catch what looked like a tongue piercing. I already felt more comfortable around her than I did with all the uniformed busy bodies at all the other stores and shops I had been to.
“So what’s your name?” Alexis asked.
“Harmony,” I replied quietly, tapping my hooves together.
I realized now why I was suddenly so nervous; I actually wanted to be here. Unlike the other interviews where I had just expected failure, I felt different about this place.
“That’s a nice name,” Alexis said with a nod. “You wouldn’t happen to be the pony that was interviewing in a few minutes, would you?”
“Kind of, how’d you know?” I blushed.
“You’ve got that “new” vibe to you,” Alexis explained. “Kind of caught between scared and hopeful, and I’ll take a wild guess this wasn’t your first choice?”
“To be honest, no it wasn’t,” I confessed, which made Hue face palm. “I didn’t really feel welcome at the other places though, and I got turned down. Hue talked me in to giving this place a try, even though I’m not a fan of coffee.”
“I take it Hue is your human?” Alexis cast a smirk at him. “Which would make him either an artist or-”
“Fanfiction author,” I shrugged earning a giggle from the woman. “A good one though. I mean, he made me.”
“Thanks,” Hue sighed.
“Well, now that I’ve gotten you out of your shell a little, think you could handle a more formal interview?” Alexis asked.
“Wait, you mean-“ I pointed a hoof at her in disbelief.
“I always manage the front when it comes time for interviews, it gives me a chance to actually talk with them,” Alexis smiled. “Anyone can put on a good front and act sweet. You come across as a genuine sweetheart though, so you’ve already got a good foot...hoof rather, in the door.”
I could tell she meant what she said, and while I was written out to be a sweet little pony, that didn’t mean I had to stay that way. I had kept telling myself over and over that I could be whatever I want to be, that this was my story now. For Hue’s sake though, and my own peace of mind, I had opted to keep my personality intact. If I was being honest with myself, I didn’t have it in me to be evil or mean.
As I followed Alexis past the counter and behind the doors, I encounter another employee who seemed happy to see me. Her smile was contagious, and I found myself smiling back, even as I was lead into my potential manager’s office.
---
Hue was waiting for me when as I entered the main room once more. He was talking to an earth pony that had taken over for Alexis while she was away with me. Her name was Arusha which struck me as an odd name for a pony, until I realized what her name meant, or was rather as it had to do with coffee, go figure. Her mane and tail were black, while her coat was a very mild orange; a cup with steam vapor coming up from it served as her cutie mark.
I trotted ahead of Alexis, gaining Hue’s attention, as hooves made much more noise than shoes could ever hope to against tile. Thankfully, my human knew me well enough to spread his arms out in anticipation and brace himself as I jumped into his lap.
“So how’d it go?” Hue asked, ruffling my mane a bit.
“It went well,” Alexis said leaning against the counter. “She’s got the job if she wants it. Arusha is the lone soldier right now, and I think it’d be good if there was another pony to work with.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Arusha trying to hide a hopeful smile. Her efforts were in vain however; as it was clear to anyone who looked her way that she was behind this idea wholeheartedly. So was I since Arusha seemed like a nice pony, and I wanted to make a few friends of my own kind.
My smile grew wide as Alexis offered me the job. All the other humans had rejected me without much consideration. Being a literal work of fiction, it was hard to have any kind of resume. I tried my best to convince myself that was why the other humans had turned me down, but I knew better.
“Yes, yes!” I cheered excitedly before regaining my self-control. “I-I mean, yes, I would like that, very much so.”
“Good,” Alexis nodded, placing a cute cap on my head. “Then I’ll be seeing you here around seven, bright and early.”
“Looks like you’ll be beating me to work,” Hue commented. “But, we can work that out later, I think we’ve had enough running around for one day.”
I nodded in agreeance with Hue. Rejection could certainly take its toll on you, but persistence had paid off today. I was grateful for the opportunity to get to work for Alexis, and I was eager to make my own life story, not relying on what had been written out for me. I wanted to be different, and besides, how many would listen to a pony sing any ways?
“You know we’re going to have to work on your magic now,” Hue said as we left.
“Why is that?” I asked, happily trotting alongside him.
“Because if you get teleportation down, then you wouldn’t have to rely on me for transportation,” Hue explained. “Your people skills might need some work too.”
“Pfft, I have great people skills,” I rolled my eyes with a playful smile. “Who wouldn’t love me?”
“Humans not used to being served by a talking, colorful equine that can perform magic and break the laws of physics as we know it,” Hue replied in his endearing long winded fashion. “In case you need a recap, people just stared at you almost everywhere you went, and Alexis was the only one to really give you a chance.”
“I know that, but I can’t see any humans being abusive towards me,” I said as I focused on the door handle, unlocking and opening it simultaneously before Hue could pull out his keys.
“You’d be surprised,” Hue’s voice became muffled as he walked around to the driver’s side. “Trust me, there are some nasty examples of human life walking about.”
“Ooh, I predict a little roll play~” I grinned.
“Not the roll play you might be interested in, but roll play all the same,” Hue laughed as the car’s engine roared to life.
“Okay, so you be the big bad customer then, and I’ll be the innocent little bar mare,” I fluttered my eye lashes for emphasis.
“Okay, I’ll take a latte,” Hue said.
“Okay, no problem,” I chirped happily.
“Hmm, on second thought…a cappuccino is sounding better to me, I think I’ll have that instead,” Hue smirked. “Oh, and can I get about a dozen or so doughnuts?”
“Uhh, sure,” I laughed.
“You don’t have doughnuts though,” Hue said.
“Well, I just started,” I explained, countering his odd rude tone.
“There’s a menu right behind you, you ponies aren’t very observant, huh?” Hue rolled his eyes.
“Well if we don’t serve doughnuts why’d you come here?” I huffed.
“See, you can’t do that,” Hue said, breaking character. “Even if they’re being a complete bum, you still can’t go off on them. That will cost you your reputation and more than likely your job too.”
“I think that’s a bad example of a person, no one’s that mean,” I shook my head.
“I pulled it from personal experience,” Hue replied. “I’ve been living with humans a lot longer than you have. Trust me Harmony, there are some bad apples.”
“I get that,” I said, tapping my hooves. “But you didn’t have to be that mean.”
I looked over at my human, giving him the hurt pony eyes in an attempt to tug on his heart strings. These eyes usually had an odd affect, however, and only resulted in Hue trying not to laugh. I never understood how looking hurt brought amusement to Hue, but he explained it as me going over the top with my display.
“Come on, don’t give me the pony eyes,” Hue pleaded, which only caused me to intensify my gaze.
“Can I get ice cream?” I asked, my tail swishing in anticipation.
Hue seemed to be swept up in conflict at my request. I knew he was probably going to assume I would get sick again, but surely if ponies from the show could eat cupcakes with no problem, than ice cream should be harmless as long as it was in moderation.
“Fine, but just one,” Hue replied. “I don’t want you getting sick again, okay.”
“I love you,” I sighed happily, wrapping my forelegs around his torso.
“Love you too, you crazy little unicorn,” Hue chuckled.
---
The wind blew against my mane relentlessly, dragging me from the requiem of sleep. My surroundings consisted of nothing, literally nothing but waste land and a grey depressing sky. I instantly assumed that this was just another dream, which served to ebb my fear slightly.
“Amazing, isn’t it?” I heard Teal call out through the wind. “What a world void of creativity can look like.”
“Teal, what is this place?” I asked, cautiously approaching the mare.
“The end,” Teal replied. “Where visions come to die, and where thoughts cease to exist. This is what happens when humans, ponies, everyone stops caring.”
I squinted and tried to focus through the roiling wind, filled with what appeared to be a blue dust. For a few seconds I could make out shapes among the particles, but all too soon they faded away into nothingness. As Teal had said, there was nothing here but wasted space.
“Why are you showing me this?” I asked. “How are you showing me this?”
“I felt like talking to you,” Teal replied. “As for how, I’d rather not give everything away.”
“Then what questions can you answer?” I sighed. “Why do you keep appearing?”
“Harmony, I’m hurt, you don’t enjoy my company?” Teal placed a hoof over her heart for added drama.
“I will admit, you are a bit…strange, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like you,” I replied. “I just wish I knew more about you. Like why all these ponies appeared in the world shortly after you showed up, or how I can touch and exist at all in the real world. I just want answers.”
"You say that as if there's just one," Teal put a hoof to her chin, tapping it as she considered my response. “Tell you what; I’ll answer only yes or no questions. The first question that isn’t yes or no will end this little session, deal?”
“I guess that will have to do,” I sighed.
“Perfect,” The strange mare clopped her fore hooves together. “Let’s get started then.”
“Is this another dream?” I asked.
Teal paused for a moment, as if considering how to best answer the question I had decided to start with. While I felt confident it was, something about this place seemed…too real. Eventually Teal simply nodded her head in acknowledgment that it was indeed a dream.
“Are you responsible for this place?” I asked, slightly dreading the answer.
“…yes,” Teal’s smile sent shivers down my spine.
“Are you responsible for my current world?” I managed to ask without my voice wavering.
“Hmm, that’s a tough one, but no,” Teal replied.
I nearly pressed for her for more, but caught myself before doing so. I needed to find out as much as I could before this “dream” ended and I was left with even more questions. One that came to mind was quite disturbing.
“Do you want to do to my world what you did to this one?” I asked.
“No,” Teal replied flatly.
I was a bit stunned by her response. I had braced myself for the worst, expecting her answer to be that of some cliché villain, but she lacked ill will. Then again, I was taking her word on all of these questions, and she could be lying to my face just to appease me.
“Anything else?” Teal asked, flicking her tail with a wide grin on her muzzle.
I wanted to ask why so badly, but I knew that would be playing into her hoof. There were only so many yes and no questions I could ask that could prove fruitful in finding out more about Teal and her ambitions, whatever they may be.
“Do you keep bringing me back to this dream?” I asked, not quite sure what else to ask of the mare.
“Stalling, perhaps?” Teal asked in return. “Even for you, this is grasping at straws…but yes.”
“Even for me…what do you mean?” I asked, covering my mouth with a hoof after I realized what I had said.
“ That marks the end of our little game!” Teal exclaimed with glee. “Well, I hope this shed some light on things, perhaps brought you a bit closer to the “answer” your boxed in mind is seeking?”
“Who are you, really?” I asked, ignoring her taunts.
Teal’s expression became neutral as she approached me. Her eyes, once full of energy, seemed different now as she got closer to me. Her mane seemed to be duller, as did her coat. It only got worse the closer she came to me. It was as if the beautiful image of Teal had been distorted somehow, and was struggling to stay together as the mare leaned her muzzle against my ear. For a split second, I thought I saw a mirror image of myself.
“I’m your best friend,” Teal whispered.
---
My eyes opened to darkness, save for the alarm clock which had yet to go off. Much like when Hue would disconnect from a hug, so was the feeling of losing contact with my dream; the only way of communication with this mysterious mare that had changed my life.
“No, not yet!” I exclaimed forcing my eyes shut as tightly as I could, as if somehow that would bring the dream back.
The dream had already faded, and left me with a new set of questions, on top of the old ones that hadn’t been satisfied by Teal’s game. She spoke of existence as if there were multiple worlds, and my only solace in this knowledge was that she had no intent of destroying mine, or so she claimed.
My skepticism of the dream mare would have to wait until later though. For now, I had to focus on work, and since Hue was already up and in the shower I reasoned that he could use some company, and let myself in, much to his surprise. I could already tell that, despite my odd night time experience, today was going to be a good day.