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// June 24 [Shopping and Party] 
// Story: Silver Glow's Journal 
// by Admiral Biscuit 
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June 24

Today, I woke up at my usual time, still a bit stiff and sore from flying in the storm, and on top of that I had some fresh new bruises from Stellan's sword.

I turned on my computer and plugged in my pocket telephone and my radios—I should have done that last night—and then I went into the kitchen and made a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast.

It looked nice outside, and I was looking forward to my morning flight. I was gonna have to stay low again, 'cause my radio was really low on power. So I decided to go over to the nature center and fly around there, plus I could trot around some, too.

I didn't take my vest or blinking light, 'cause I wouldn't get as lathered if I didn't wear my vest, and without my vest I didn't have anywhere to attach my light. I guess I could have clipped it to my tail.

It was a nice, easy flight over. I passed a couple of people on bicycles, and they had bright vests like mine, and they stayed on the road as I curved into the park and made a big turn to get to the clearing.

I did a couple of quick laps by wing, and then I landed on the high spot and looked around. There was a little patch of grass that looked tasty, and I thought that if it was okay for deer to eat it, it would be okay for me to as well. I knew I wasn't supposed to walk off the path—Peggy had told me that—so I flew over to the grass and landed just long enough to get a mouthful and then took off again. It was nice and juicy because of all the rain we'd had last night, and so I went down and had another mouthful before going back to the path for a good trot.

I went three laps on hoof, then two more on wing, and one last one on hoof to cool down, and then I decided that I might as well fly over the railroad tracks and splash in the river to really cool down, so I did that and then shook myself off on the riverbank and then took off for home.

Right as I got above the trees I saw a shape off in the distance, and at first I didn't know what it was, but when I got a little bit closer I saw that it was a hot air balloon. I didn't know humans had those at all; I would have thought that with their airplanes and their apparent general desire to get places as quick as they could, that they wouldn't use hot air balloons at all. Obviously, I was wrong, and I flew off in its direction to get a closer look.

And then I had a kind of dilemma, 'cause as I got closer it was obviously above a thousand feet, and since I didn't have my radios with me, I couldn't call for permission to fly up to it, and even though it looked safe and we used to fly up to balloons all the time in Equestria, I didn't want to get in trouble, so I just circled below it, looking up and studying it. And I could see a couple of people inside who were looking down and probably studying me, too.

I probably could have followed it until it landed, but I had better things to do with my time. Still, it was nice to know that humans had them, because it would be a lot of fun to have some of my friends in a balloon and me flying along next to them.

Since I'd been following the drifting balloon, I'd gotten a little off-course, so I turned around to fly home, and on the way I also flew over to Aric's house, and waved at Angela who was sunning herself in the backyard. If she'd waved back, I would have landed, but I think she was asleep, and if she was it wouldn't be nice to wake her up.

I landed on my balcony and checked my Facebook. Aric had sent me a message saying what play they were doing next (I had never heard of it) and he said that people in Lafayette had heard about Gusty's performance and that he'd been basking in some of the reflected glory 'cause he knew me and I knew her.

I told him about the storm and how the electricity had been broken and that was why I hadn't been able to talk to him yesterday. And I told him about my neighbors that I had met, too.

He probably wouldn't get the message until it was late, 'cause of his theatre work.

When I turned on my portable telephone, I had a message from Miss Cherilyn, and she wanted to know if I needed to do any shopping, and I thought that would be a good idea. I'd used all the gauze in the first-aid kit, and there were a lot of other things I needed that I hadn't thought of when I first moved in.

It was so much easier to live in a college dorm. Almost everything you really need is given to you.

So I sent her a telephone telegram back saying that I would like to go shopping and that I needed to be back in time for dinner with Jeff and Caleb and Lindy and Trinity. And it wasn't very long before she said that they were on their way over.

I ate a quick lunch while I was waiting, and then used Facebook to send a message to Meghan and see if she wanted to come over tonight. I thought maybe she would like meeting my neighbors, too, since they were so nice.

Mister Salvatore was a little grumpy, and when we got out of Sienna Miss Cheirlyn said it was because he had been worried while I was stormwatching and then he hadn't heard anything from me so I told her that all my electricity had gone.

She said that hers at home had too and it had been really inconvenient and I guess I hadn't thought of how it might be for a person, but it hadn't really bothered me any.

Then I asked why they hadn't told me about Orlando when they came and visited after my trip, and Miss Cherilyn said that she'd wanted to but Mister Salvatore had said that I didn't need to know that.

I said that I didn't want to know that, but it had happened and I should know it because pretending it didn't happen was insulting. I understand that there are things that you might want to keep from a filly or a colt but even if you want to sometimes you have to tell them that their mom isn't going to come home ever because her ship sank in a storm and we tried our best but it wasn't good enough.

And then Miss Cherilyn turned to Mister Salvatore and whispered to him and I probably wasn't supposed to hear but I did and she said that she'd told him so. And he got even grumpier.

He said that if she wanted to tell me, that was fine, and he was going to go look at power tools and fishing supplies and then see if somebody had accidentally put Playboy magazine with all the other magazines and when we were done making house to come and find him.

When he was out of earshot, I said that I thought maybe he needed a nap.

Well, me and Miss Cherilyn talked while we were getting the things on my list, and she told me more about how there were radical groups that used religion as an excuse to do terrible things, and how difficult it was to balance the freedoms of our country with the security requirementes to keep everyone safe, and then somehow the conversation got turned towards ponies a little bit and she said that when they had first started to come over, their handlers had been with them all the time; there had been three teams for each pony, and there was always one team within view and a second on nearby backup.

But now they gave us a lot more freedom than they had before, and in a way I kind of had the most of all, because I could fly off wherever I wanted and they wouldn't be able to follow me at all. She said that it was good that I had that freedom, but it came with responsibility, and Mister Salvatore wasn't totally sure that I understood about that.

He said that the different teams talked to each other all the time and that one of the ponies in their district had been a real handful and I wanted to know who it was but she wouldn't tell me. I bet it was Cayenne, though.

So I promised that I would try and be a better pony and let them know what I was doing just so they wouldn't have to worry, and they could tell me things.

And then I moved the conversation back to Orlando, and asked if she knew why, and she said that some people hate people who are different than them, and that includes sexual orientation, so maybe that was one reason. And she told me, like Liz had, that some people had a very narrow view of their religious texts and used that to justify hatred, and often times they were goaded on by someone else.

She said that there were people who hated ponies, and some of them had set up computer pages where they could talk about how much they hated ponies, and I asked if the angry man was one of those. She said he wasn't, yet, but she kind of thought he might be. And she told me that they kept a good watch on people they thought were likely to commit violence, but they couldn't always be sure, and so my best option if I found myself in a bad situation was to get away as fast as I could, and if I couldn't to fight my way out. And she said that Mister Salvatore would probably be happier if I never went anywhere alone, and even happier if I had him with me everywhere I went.

I thought that was a little bit extreme.

Then I asked if it was bad to be homosexual, 'cause Gusty was having sex with Nicky and maybe that was why she had tried to keep it a secret on the train.

Miss Cherilyn said that it was legal; whether or not it was moral was up to an individual to decide. She said that some religions prohibited it and others didn't.

Well, when we were all done with shopping, I said I'd trot ahead and find Mister Salvatore, and she told me not to fly in the store, so I kept my hooves on the ground and went looking. It was a like a really big game of hide-and-seek, 'cause there was so much stuff and so many people.

I didn't know where everything was, so I kind of wandered through the store, and I found myself in an aisle with pillows and blankets and other bedding, and I got to thinking how even though it hadn't been on my list it might be nice to have an extra pillow for when Meghan came over so that I would have one to sleep on when I wasn't sleeping on her breasts and I poked at a couple of them with my hoof to see how soft they were, and when I found the one I liked I went and grabbed it with my mouth and just then someone whistled at me and said that he liked my pussy and at first I didn't understand what he was saying, but he kept on talking about what he wanted to do to me even though I wasn't interested in him at all and I clamped my tail down and tried to ignore him but he kept following after me.

The floors in Meijer aren't made for galloping, so I didn't try, but I did pick up my pace to a slow trot and he kept even with me (I was kind of glad he was talking, 'cause I could keep an ear on him and know where he was), and I went past aisle after aisle and I couldn't decide if I should try and lure him out of the store so that I could fly away or go towards other people who might discourage him but then I went around a corner and saw Mister Salvatore and I knew he'd keep me safe so I went straight to him.

At first he had a smile when he saw me coming and then he saw the man behind me and his face got hard and he started going in our direction and the man was so busy concentrating on me that he didn't notice when Mister Salvatore leaned down and said something into his coat, and he didn't notice how he moved his legs as he stepped away from the shelf, and then I was behind Mister Salvatore.

Mister Salvatore asked if there was a problem, and the man who had been following me said that it wasn't any of his business, we were just having a little talk, and Mister Salvatore said that the conversation was over and he had best be getting on his way, and the man said that nobody was going to tell him what to do and tried to push by Mister Salvatore, and a moment later he was on the floor with a knee in his back and Mister Salvatore said that was the wrong answer. And he reached back for his belt and pulled out a pair of silver bracelets that had a chain between them and he put them around the man's wrists and then pulled him back up off the floor, and then he showed him his wallet and the man got kind of pale.

Then Mister Salvatore reached into the foul man's back pocket and took out his wallet and opened it and when he saw his ID, he wrote down everything on it and then he gave it back to the man and said that he was in a bad mood and he didn't really feel like getting in a worse mood by writing up an arrest report and that everyone would be happier if the foul man just left and did his shopping elsewhere and Mister Salvatore said he would be very happy if he never met the foul man again and then he asked if he was being perfectly clear.

The foul man said that he was, and so Mister Salvatore got a key and unfastened the bracelets and told the man to get lost.

He was in a more cheerful mood after that, and we went and picked up my pillow and Miss Cherilyn said I could get a different one instead but I thought I'd kind of earned this one, so she put it in the cart and we went up to the cashier and then out to Sienna with my new things.

I kept on thinking about him while we were driving back, though, and I wondered if maybe Gusty had met a person like him and she'd decided to just wear clothes to help herself fit in. But it was hard to see how that would help; she was still a pony under those clothes.

When we got home, though, I could kind of put it out of my mind as Miss Cherilyn and Mister Salvatore helped me put away my things, and he reminded me to keep my front door locked all the time and then when they were ready to leave he told me that I could call him any time I needed to, even if it was the middle of the night.

Then I hugged both of them and I said that they'd given me a lot to think about, and once they'd gone I set the dreamcatcher out and sat on the balcony until I saw Meghan walking over, and I had to open the door for her 'cause she couldn't just go up on the balcony with me.

Well it was nice to have her with me, and Jeff didn't mind. He introduced me to some of the other people who lived in the neighborhood, and when the kids came out I gave them the dreamcatcher and we played for a little bit but we couldn't use the water-squirters because we might accidentally spray one of the other guests who didn't want to be wet. And Trinity begged me to give her a ride, so I did, but I remembered to tell her not to squeeze my barrel too hard.

Jeff had some tables and chairs where people could sit, and we also could eat standing up. Most of what he cooked was meat, but there were also some vegetables, and they were really good—he'd made ears of corn and green peppers and asparagus and there was a sugary drink called punch that was for the kids and people who didn't bring their own beer.

We stayed over there until it was getting dark, and when I wasn't playing with the kids people were asking me about what I was going to college for and how I liked Kalamazoo and could I really move clouds and could I do magic and if I'd ever met any of the Princesses and some of them used their portable telephones to show me pictures of their stuff, because some humans think that having things is a symbol of their worth.

Before we left, I nuzzled both of the girls (Caleb didn't want a nuzzle) and thanked Jeff for inviting me and I thought that next time I would bring enough beer for me and to share, because that was the friendly thing to do.

I flew up to the balcony so I could open the door and let Meghan in, and she went and put up some curtains just like she'd said she was going to but I insisted that she leave the front windows open and she decided that was okay. But all the windows looking towards Jeff's house and the one in the kitchen were covered, and she closed the door to the bedroom, too.

Between the party and her being over, I'd almost forgotten about the foul man at Meijer, and what little thought I gave to him was pretty quickly gone when I rested my head on my pillow (that still smelled a little bit like Aric) and Meghan put her arm around my barrel and kissed me on the forelock.