The city of Chevalin was, as usual, alive.
Rhonda Hoofings had spent her entire life in the city outside of the meadow, the first pedestrian location after the magic of the western fields. Her parents were travelling merchants, one a pony and the other a donkey. They must have reached every part of the world east of them (not west, of course, very few equines had gone that but from what they could see it wasn't more than an abandoned meadow and no place to be), by her estimations. They were incredibly adventurous, after all. Charismatic, as well- it's how they made such a fine living. A charismatic donkey may have sounded a bit ridiculous to many, but that was only before they met Rhonda's father. Eventually though, they settled down and got married. Rhonda was an only child.
Unlike her parents, there was nothing particularly interesting about Rhonda, except her uncommon status as a mule. Still, that was only as remarkable as say, left-hoovedness. She spent her youth going on little adventures of her own- exploring the bustling streets, the ins and outs of each forum and market, and meeting new equines. This pleased her parents. But as she grew older, she felt no urge to go further. She got a job as a clerk at the bank in the southwestern sector of the city and resigned herself to life as a bachelorette.
In the southwestern sector of Chevalin, there were a few pubs, but the smallest of them all was Boissons avec Poisson, or Drinks with Fish, named for it's... interesting theme of fish-based cocktails. No one was sure exactly what the founder was thinking, but they served regular beer, so the location still had a small following.
"You heard about the toussle near Jean Briques's place?" one pony said to the pony next to him.
"Shit, no, update me."
"Stormhammer came down again from the northwest sector on some business, and I don't got any specifics, but they had some disagreement and next thing you know, people are crowding around watching them go at it!"
The second pony gave him a wide-eyed stare. "No way, who won?"
"Stormhammer, of course, have you seen that guy? Jean was fighting like- like a deer!"
The second pony looked at him quizzically. "like a deer" was probably a saying somewhere, he supposed, but not nearby, and deer were not only uncommon but practically unheard of. "A deer?" he said. "Do those even still exist?"
"I don't know, according to that yellow pegasus over there they do." He shrugged and pointed in the direction of Fluttershy. "She got them on my mind, I guess."
"She's going and telling random ponies her tale?"
"Pretty much."
"I'll tune in."
Fluttershy looked up. She had first entered to city earlier that day, after leaving Alkuääri, and found it to be much noisier and much less pleasant. There was nothing very straightforward about it at all, and she couldn't trust everyone the same way she could in the village. The day mostly consisted of bumping into equines and feeling rather small and alone. At last, she found a place with a low enough amount of equines in it to be considered bearable.
"So, my buddy says you've seen a deer?" asked the pony in front of her.
"Oh, Cloud Buster is your buddy? He seems nice," said Fluttershy.
The pony smirked. "Yeah, he's a good guy. I'm Fair Winds, by the way. And you?"
"Oh, I'm Fluttershy. Nice to meet you."
"Yeah, you too, so tell me about the deer?"
"Oh, right! They're up in the meadow. It's a very nice place!"
"You mean the meadow to the west?"
"Yes, the meadow to the west."
"The empty one?"
"Well, it's not entirely empty. There's the deer, like I said, and a gopher nation on the other end."
Fair chuckled. "A whole nation of gophers! That's something."
"Does no one go into the meadow?" Fluttershy asked.
"No."
"Why?"
Fair paused. She raised a good point. Was there really no equine in all of Chevalin who had ever gone there? It just didn't interest anyone, he supposed. They were all city equines, and city equines were busy equines. "I guess no one wants to."
"Maybe it's the magic of the place."
That reminded him of something. Most ponies here didn't read about the ancient legends past what they had to read as foals for class. They all had that one about meadow being a former settlement of some sort, thousands of years ago, but there was no trace of such a thing and the stories piqued nobody's interests. Except for one otherwise dull equine. She had grown up around Cloud, so they had had a few conversations here and there. Talking to her was generally about as interesting as watching paint dry, so they didn't talk often. But if Cloud or Fair ever brought up the old legends, all of a sudden she'd have a lot to say. "Say, Fluttershy, maybe if you stick around a bit longer, Cloud's friend Rhonda might come in. She'd be able to help you out in the big city. She knows a lot about the meadow, I'm sure she'll take you in."
"That sounds like a good idea! Thank you, Fair!"
Sure enough, about an hour later, Rhonda came in. It was a long day at the office, but then again, every day was a long day. She pulled a chair up next to Cloud, and ordered herself something. Fair, who had been pretty content listening to Fluttershy talk about her life back at home (he was a fair bit smitten at this point, and would have offered to take her in himself if he thought he could handle the responsibility), went back to his seat at the bar. He exchanged a few words with Rhonda, who soon headed on over to the yellow pegasus with a grin on her face. "The meadow!" she cried. "Ohhhh my sun someone actually went there! And I hear you need a place to stay?"
Fluttershy felt mildly spooked by this jenny-mare's enthusiasm. "U-um, yes, I do."
"Ha! Well, I've got an apartment and no one to share it with, you're welcome to stay with me!"
"Oh, um, are you sure? I-I'd hate to impose!"
"Oh honey, it's no problem at all! I'd love to have you over."
Fluttershy grinned awkwardly. "Ok, um, thank you very much, Rhonda!" She was quickly whisked away to the apartment after that.
It wasn't as bad as Fluttershy thought. Rhonda was a very plain mule, and if her house decoration was any indication, her favorite colors were grey and brown. But, despite the drabness, it was quite cozy. Fluttershy shared her experiences in the meadow, and during their first meal together, Rhonda's eyes had lit up so spectacularly when she offered some food from Alkuääri that Fluttershy knew there was something special to this jenny-mare. She could sense a deep generosity in her that reminded her of Rarity, from the way she shared all she had, and so much of herself as well, even if many of the topics from her life centered around the inner workings of banks and how to file applications.
"When are you planning to leave, Fluttershy?" Rhonda asked after a few days.
"I hadn't thought about that, I was just getting used to being outside of the meadow. But I guess I should start preparing to go, shouldn't I?"
"Well, you can stay as long as you like, honey! But if you do want to get going, I can give you pointers."
"Oh, thank you very much! Then, do you know where I can get a map? And food to take with me? And supplies?"
Rhonda chuckled. "Of course! I've never needed anything of the sort for adventures, since I don't go on any, but I'm sure Cloud or Fair have something for you. They go out west every now and then, for camping."
"That's lovely!" said Fluttershy. "When can we see them?"
"Well of course they'll be at the bar on Saturday, but I can call them sooner, and have them bring you supplies. What do you need, darling?"
Fluttershy thought for a moment, and came up with a list. Rhonda called Cloud. "He says we should come over," she said, after a minute of talking, "just to make sure we get stuff the right size for you."
Fluttershy smiled. "Well, I am rather small."
Following a 20 minute walk down the streets of Chevalin, the two equines finally made it to the right apartment complex. Fluttershy wasn't sure how Rhonda could tell, since all of the buildings started looking the same to her after a couple of minutes, but she seemed confident enough to reassure Fluttershy. They went up to the 3rd level, made a left, and then arrived at 312, the home of Cloud Buster.
"Hello, ladies, come on in!" Cloud said, after opening the door. He had heard them coming up, and having had nothing else to do at the moment, he immediately came to the door. "I'll take you to the attic, Fluttershy, it's where I keep my supplies. Let me take a look at that list." Cloud looked it over. "Looks solid! I have pretty much all of this, I think. Tell me where you're heading again?"
"Equestria."
"That's where my momma's from!" piped up Rhonda.
"Oh, what town?"
"Ponyvale or something, I think!"
"Maybe Ponyville! That's where I live!"
Cloud yanked her up before she could get too distracted from the task at hand. "You bring out the best in Rhonda, Fluttershy. It'll be sad to see you go." He chuckled solemnly. "I keep adventure gear over to the left here. Here's a good bag for you. Now read out the list?"
"Sleeping bag."
"Check."
"Map."
"Check."
"Jug."
"Check."
"Bowl."
"Check."
"Matches."
"Check."
"Rope."
"Check."
"That's... that's everything."
"Good, we were running out of room." Cloud smiled. "I'll give you a fifty bits, too. Use them wisely."
"Thank you so much!"
"No problem, sweetheart."
Fluttershy and Rhonda headed over to Rhonda's place. It struck her upon entering and noting the lack of attic that an attic in an apartment was a rather unusual thing. Otherwise, however, the contrast between Rhonda's and Cloud's houses became more clear upon reentering. While Cloud's house had a variety of knick knacks that just avoided a pony's attention, Rhonda's lack of anything drew more curiosity than anything. She was a lovely sort of plain that Fluttershy could appreciate.
Rhonda showed Fluttershy (who was shocked and had never seen the following) how to open the couch into a bed, and where to put her things. And such commenced the few days of her stay and readjustment- green mornings with Rhonda (her favorite food was asparagus, which there was much of at meals), days on the town, or nights at the bar with Cloud and Fair. But at last, Fluttershy found her strength, and had to depart.
"The train will take you to the post office, but there's only open land for miles around around that. Our post is carried by bird. That's probably your best bet," said Fair.
Fluttershy noted that.
"Darling, you couldn't stay another day?"
"She has to leave eventually," Fair replied. Fluttershy nodded along. "Has been... very nice having you around though, darling." Fair grinned and winked.
"Dude, stop!" chuckled Cloud, jabbing his friend. "But, uh, yeah. You really will be going now, huh. It's only been a few days, but, knowing you has brought a lot of light into our week. We'll definitely remember this. It's been a nice change of pace. To Fluttershy!" Cloud raised his beer.
"To Fluttershy!" cheered the others. Fluttershy only blushed and laughed, unfamiliar with the custom but delighted by their apparent praise.
It was truly a tearful goodbye from Rhonda, and certainly a very solemn one from the others, on that following morning at the train station. "Promise you'll visit, Fluttershy?" Rhonda beseeched.
"I- I don't know if I can-" Fluttershy looked at how Rhonda's face fell at her words. "No, I promise!"
Rhonda smiled and whinnied. "I'll be very excited for your return! And- write if you can!"
"I will!"
And the train pulled up to the station.