Property of West Wind

by OleGrayMane

Diary, Part Six

 
Thursday, 14 June

Hot damn! Here I go to ask Granny about doing Thursdays deliveries, when she tells me that from now on I got deliveries every Tuesdays. I was planning on doing deliveries two or three times before asking for it as a regular job, and here she gives it to me after the first time! How's that for things working out!

Even though Mr. Mac's gonna handle Thursday deliveries, I've got no complaints. Now they'll be able to see I'm responsible and reliable. Hard work ain't enough. I've got to be more to earn the right to stay.

It's hard to believe I'm the delivery pony for Tuesdays. Sounds dumb, but when I look at those words, they make me all proud. When I thanked Granny, she just kept saying “Fine, fine” but I had to let her know how grateful I am.

Writing here, I was trying to find the right word to show how happy I am, but I ended up asking Doc. He says I should say “I am ebullient”. Damn he knows good words.

The plan to impress the Apples is working, and I can't be more ebullient about it.

Tuesday, 19 June

Today was my first day as the delivery pony for Tuesdays. I wore my cap so I would look all official like when I made my rounds. At every stop I introduced myself, telling them I'd be doing Tuesdays from now on, but not to worry, because Mr. Mac was still handling Thursdays. I might have overdone it at one place, because the mare giggled when I tipped my cap. I got embarrassed, but oh well, no harm done.

All the deliveries went fine. Most ponies remembered me from last week, and a few even recalled my name. They treated me like any other pony. Maybe it's because they don't know what I've been. I don't care a hoot, because I'm done living that way. It don't make no difference what I was, since from now on, I'm going to be like regular folk, with a regular job.

This place has brought a change over me. Two or three years ago, I would have never been like this. Who would have thought being like any other pony you'd run into on the street would make me feel so downright good inside. It used to be enough to have a fully belly, a place to flop, and maybe some extra bits, but no more. I can do better than that.

When I got back, I thanked Granny for the opportunity she's given me. I made sure she understood how much I appreciated her trusting me, and promised I won't never let her down.

Wednesday 27 June

After supper, Doc took me on a walk so we could talk in private. He wanted to know what's up with all this “delivery business”, so I sprung my plan on him. I'd expected him to be excited like I am, but it left him puzzled. I explained I decided to make a change with myself, but he kept asking me why I'd want to do such a thing. I told him I liked being with the ponies in town, but he said there are nice ponies all over. I said I liked working for the Apples and I liked being on the farm. That's when he sprung his plan on me.

Doc wants me to come down south with him and Shorty after we're done on the farm. They plan on spending all winter bumming around, just drinking and gambling, making it into a party or something. I told him I'd rather stay here and work. He explained he could find me a job if I wanted one, one that pays lots more bits than here. When I said I don't want more bits, that this here job is just fine, I could see he was getting frustrated with me because he couldn't see it my way. He kept pestering me with questions, and when he asked why I didn't want to be out on the road, I got harsh with him.

I asked him how many times was he so hungry he'd eaten weeds in a park till the law chased him off? How many times did he sleep in the open, under a bridge, or in some alley? How many times did he beg somepony for work, yet they wouldn't give him a chance because he was just a bum? I've known Doc for a while and I don't think I've ever talked to him like that.

Then he started going on about the romance of the road, and that made me madder. I asked how much “romance” did he really find out there? When I look back on it, there never was any romance living like that. Being cold, hungry, and tired ain't no way to live. It ain't romance, just hardship, plain and simple. Finally, I said I knew the code. He can live his life the way he wants to, but I get to live mine how I see fit.

He gave up. I don't think he really understands how I feel, but he said that if staying would make me happy, then that was what I should do. I hated making Doc feel bad, so I told him I was sorry. I joked that I wouldn't mind bumming around with him, as long as Shorty wasn't included. He said he understood, but I'm not sure he does.

I'll miss Doc when winter comes. He's been a good friend. But I think I'd miss the Apples, the farm, and this town even more.

Tuesday, 10 July

Deliveries went real smooth today. When I dropped off the cafe's order, the pony who runs it asked if I liked music. I said who don't, so he handed me a flyer from the tavern his friend owns. On Saturday night they're going to have a show. Three bits to get in. I thanked him and took the flyer with me.

When I got back I talked to Doc and Shorty about it. We've all been into town lots of times, buying things and such, but we have never had a night out. Here it was the middle of summer and we ain't done nothing but work. We agreed it was high time we found a remedy for that, and this looked like a swell opportunity. Saturday night, we'll be hitting the town.

Sunday, 15 July

Well, last night sure was an adventure. Everything started out fine. The three of us rushed our way through supper and got cleaned up. Granny stood on the porch and chuckled while she watched us trot off towards town.

We got to the tavern early, but there were already a few ponies there. The first thing we did was get a drink, then another. I slowed down on the second because it's been ages since I'd had two in a row. That and I didn't want to spend too much money. We hung around the bar talking, watching the other ponies, just waiting for the show to start. Being out with Doc and Shorty was different from working with them. For the first time since we came to town, I didn't mind hanging around Shorty.

We'd come way too early. Shorty and Doc were working on a third drink when this other pony came up to us. He told us they had a card game going in the back room, and that he reckoned we were the wagering sort of gentlecolts the game needed. You didn't have to ask Shorty and Doc twice. I said no thanks.

Shorty said I was being chicken. I told him I came to hear music, but they could go ahead and not to let me spoil their fun. The three of them went off laughing while Shorty cackled like a chicken. There was still lots of time util the show started, so I hung out by the bar, nursing my drink along, doing nothing but watching the ponyfolk have a good time.

There were a few ponies I recognized from my route or from passing them on the street. One of them spotted me and waved, so I waved back. Then I noticed this mare sitting at a table alone. I kept checking on her for a good ten minutes, trying to see if she was with anypony. It looked like she was by her lonesome. I have no idea what possessed me, maybe it was the drink, but I went over and talked to her.

Not wanting to be rude, I asked if she minded if I sat down. Well, she said no, so I introduced myself. I asked if she was here for the show, knowing darn well what the answer was, but it was good enough to get a conversation started. We got to talking, but I pretty much let her do most of it. She's from outside of town, and her daughter works in the flower shop. She'd come to see her for the weekend, but ended up here alone because her daughter went on a date. I let her talk because it was nice to hear the sound of her voice.

By the time the music started, I'd forgotten Doc and Shorty even existed.

The two of us sat at that little table enjoying the show. We hadn't heard more than three or four songs before Doc sneaks up and starts whispering in my ear. Those ponies in the back room had cleaned out him and Shorty. They didn't feel like listening to any music no more, so they were going to head back. Really, I would rather have stayed, but I couldn't let them go back alone, particularly the way Doc looked. I excused myself, explaining my friends needed me, and the three of us headed home.

The trip back was even stranger than the happenings at the tavern. It was like Doc and Shorty had switched somehow. Doc was fiery mad. First he'd be angry at himself, cursing that he should've known better than to get involved in a game like that. Then he'd curse the ponies that cleaned him out. A couple of time, he acted like he wanted to go back and start a fight.

Shorty was somewhere between angry and sad. Maybe he was both at the same time, but unlike his normal self, he was quiet. I don't know which was more disturbing, Doc being so angry or Shorty being so quiet.

A devilish notion crept into my head, and I thought I should give him a dose of what he gives me all the time. As we walked, I could take my time and think up something that would really stick it to him. But I thought better of it. If I did that, I wouldn't be no better than him, would I?

I told both of them I was sorry for what had happened. I wished them better luck next time. Shorty actually said thanks. Maybe I made progress with him after all.

Tuesday, 17 July

Since Saturday night, I've been restless. Today, after my last stop, I asked directions to the flower shop. When I got there, I stood outside the front door, so nervous I was shaking a bit. I went in. The mare at the counter greeted me right away, and frankly, that didn't help none. She asked what I was looking to buy. I asked her if she had a mother.

She laughed and called me silly, saying “everypony has a mother” and that her mother wasn't for sale. What a darn fool thing to ask. I explained I'd met this mare at the tavern where they were playing music on Saturday night and I wanted to ask if that had been her mother. Luckily, I'd gotten the right pony, because if I hadn't, I might have run out of the place from embarrassment.

I got a lump in my throat and asked if her mother was coming back anytime soon.

She didn't know when she'd be back and I couldn't think of nothing else to say. I asked her to say hi to her for me, and then hustled out as fast as I could. My face must have been as red as a ripe tomato the whole way home.

Comments

[Swashbucklist]

This is where all three of them start to undergo a little bit of metamorphosis. West is trying to become a different, stronger, more reliable person, and it looks like it's sending ripples through the whole trio. Those ripples give me a clearer image of Doc. He's not the wise, caring mentor I first pictured him as; rather, he's more like the hobo version of a tramp or a maverick.