68. Moving In
“This one is a small single layered house located right in the square, near the market vendors,” Mayor Mare reveals, pointing a hoof at the floor plan of the house in question. “You may like it. It's simple, with just one bed and a bathroom, and a kitchen combined with a living area. It even has a fireplace to help you through the rest of this winter.”
I peer at the floor plan to see if it suits me or not. I mean, I've lived in college dorms, so my standards aren't that high. I had a living area combined with a kitchen back in my most recent dorm as well, so that's no issue for me. However, I do spot something that gives me pause.
“Hold on, you reach the bathroom from the living room?” I ask, pointing at the doorway to the bathroom. Of course, that's rhetorical, so I continue before any of them can answer me. “That sucks. If I have to get up in the middle of the night, I don't want to stumble around in the dark through the living room just to find the damn bathroom.”
“A reasonable point. Mr. Road, may I ask what inspired that particular room arrangement?” Mayor Mare asks the mahogany pony.
“It was originally built for a pony who planned to use it for parties, and as such wanted the bathroom within a short distance of the living room,” Brick Road explains. A party pony? Does that mean he built it for Pinkie? Or are there others that are as nuts as she is? “Unfortunately he did not stay in the house for long.”
“Even so, I doubt I'll be having any parties at my house,” I decide, pushing that floor plan away from me and looking at the next. “What about this one?”
“I think you'll like this one. It's an average sized two story house that you'll find by the Carousel Boutique,” Mayor Mayor continues, proceeding onto the next choice. Two stories? Hm, already I'm a bit turned off. I have no real use for that much space. We'll see though. “There's three bedrooms, three bathrooms, an office, separate kitchen, and three separate living areas.”
“Yeah, that's what I thought. I might have to turn this one down too. I'm just one guy, and I don't have that many possessions. I don't really have much use for that much space,” I admit. Really, all I need is something about the size of my last dorm. A place to sleep, bathe, and...maybe a little extra room for the piano I want to buy.
“Perhaps it would be best if you told us what you're looking for,” Mayor Mare decides, setting aside the two story. I give her a look, wondering if she's getting exasperated. “Oh, pardon me. I didn't mean to sound impatient. It's just that there's a fair amount of possibilities here, and it would be more efficient if we knew what you want beforehoof.”
“Oh. Well then yeah, that makes sense,” I say, nonplussed. So she's willing to work with me. That makes things easier then. I suppose I should have expected she'd be sensible.
You know, this world is nothing if not consistent. So far, everypony that I've met that's been in charge of something or another has been more or less competent. This includes anything from Applejack on her farm, to Celestia and Luna with Equestria as a whole, and now Opal and Mayor Mare, with their respective areas. Well, except Opal was a bit annoying...though her voice was somewhat familiar for whatever reason. Maybe I should chill a bit and give them the benefit of the doubt...and wow, I did just consider that. I blame Rainbow for this.
“Okay, so here's what I want. I'm used to living small, so I don't mind it if it's one level. Two stories are fine, but if they're too large, I don't want it,” I begin. As I speak, Mayor Mare and Brick Road pick through the floor plans and remove the ones that fall outside the realm of what I want. “I want a master bedroom with a bathroom either in it or extremely close to it, all the essentials and what not, and then finally an extra room...a bedroom or whatever...that can hold a piano and other musical essentials.”
“You play the piano, Seth?” Celestia asks curiously, speaking up for the first time since we began. Right. While I've sat through a concert with her (and subsequently loved it. I still get tears thinking about that last song she played), I never really told her about my own musical inclinations.
“Hell yes. I did a little playing with Octavia a bit after the concert...though I think the stallion at the front desk wanted to kill me once she gave me her mailing address,” I disclose. Part of me wanted to keep that hidden...but eh, it's Celestia, and I'm back in Ponyville.
“With Octavia? Interesting. You'll have to tell me more sometime.” Celestia looks genuinely surprised at that revelation. “However, now's not the time. Pardon my interruption.”
“It's no trouble, princess,” Mayor Mare assures her with a smile. Of course it isn't. She's far above you in rank, so if she wants to talk, most ponies will just shut up. “In fact, it gave us enough time to filter out the houses here. I've got three choices left for you.”
“What are they?” I ask, looking curiously as Mayor Mare spreads out the three remaining floor plans on the table.
“Here, take a look at them. I think you'll have better success by looking over and deciding on them for yourself, rather than listening to me ramble,” Mayor Mare suggests with a twinkle of good humor in her eye, She pushes the three sheets towards me.
Let's see. So this first one I'm looking at is another two story, but it's much smaller than the last one I looked at. It's located near Vinyl's place...which would be cool, but location doesn't really matter now, because I can fly from place to place without expending any real effort. Well, but they can't. And if I ever want Vinyl to visit me, I should be close. This one's a maybe.
The second one is a single level house in the middle of the residential area with no real landmarks near it. It has two bedrooms, with a very dorm-like set up. By that, I mean the two rooms are facing one another on opposite ends of a hallway, with a single bathroom in the middle of that hallway. There's a small living area with a kitchen and such there just before the bedrooms. All in all, it's pretty nice, but I'm not sure it's what I'm looking for. That living area is so small, the piano I want would take up most of the room and not leave much space for hanging out. I need at least enough room to have the piano as well as a couch or something large enough for Vinyl, Rainbow, and I to chill if they ever come over. Which they will if I have anything to say about it. Fucking party at my house.
The third one was closer to Sweet Apple Acres, but it is also very small. It had three bedrooms and two bathrooms, but only a tiny kitchen area and hardly any living area. The master bedroom is massive and could fit a piano, but I'm not sure I want my future piano in my room. Well, this one is certainly a no.
“I think I've made my decision,” I finally say, and then I point at the two story. “I want this one. It looks like what I'm looking for.”
Brick Road and Mayor Mare glance at the one I chose. Then, the mayor nods at Brick Road, who proceeds to lift up a heavy looking suitcase from the floor behind the table and slap it down in front of us. When he opens it, I can see several organized folders filled with clipped papers arranged neatly inside. It doesn't take him very long to sift through them before he's found what he's looking for.
“Number 324, two story,” Brick Road muses, flipping through the folder he's retrieved. Finally, he makes a satisfied sound, and then he passes me a thin stack of papers. My heart sinks as I realize I'm looking at a home application and contract. So...basically paperwork. “There you go. Just fill this out and we'll negotiate a payment.”
“Leave the negotiations to me,” Celestia gently corrects Brick Road, just before I get onto him. I've heard some horror stories in my time about how sometimes the sellers that own the houses can screw their buyers into debt, so the moment he said “negotiation,” I was about to get suspicious. But...Celestia's a hell of a lot smarter than I am, so I think I can rest easy in this case.
“Very well,” Brick Road says with an incline of his head. He does a good job of keeping his expression neutral. Anyway, I still have to fill out this sheet.
Using the quill and inkwell provided to me by Mayor Mare, I get started. It feels like I'm filling out another citizenship application, except this one is a little bit less involved. It helps that Celestia is here as well, because if there's something I don't know how to do, all I have to do is ask her and she'll help me out.
While I'm doing all of this, Celestia is talking with Mayor Mare and Brick Road, negotiating a price for the house as a whole. I don't pay much attention, but it seems to me like Brick Road is dealing with more than he bargained for when it came to Celestia's haggling. By the time, they shook hooves on a payment, he looks slightly flustered.
It doesn't take me very long before I'm finished with my portion as well. It's paperwork, and paperwork always asks for the same shit every time. In this case most of the promises I have to make in this contract are moot points. This is because we're doing the unusual and paying for the entire house with a single payment, rather than an initial payment followed by recurring installments.
At last, I sign my name down at the bottom of the contract, which officially declares me as the owner of the house in question. Well, it's official now. I no longer have to live with Vinyl. Though I have to get it furnished first before I can live in it, of course. Who knows how long that'll take?
“Here is your payment, Mr. Road. I believe you'll find the amount satisfactory,” Celestia remarks, filling a small bag with a large amount of 100 value bits and passing it to Brick Road.
“Indeed. One moment,” Brick responds as he takes the bag. I note he doesn't count the amount of bits. I bet that's because it would be extremely rude to count them in front of Princess fucking Celestia. It would be like you were doubting her honesty. Anyway, he reaches into the suitcase again and produces a massive ring of keys from a pocket on the top half. He picks through them a moment before removing one of them and passing it to me. “There's your house key, sir.”
“Awesome,” I comment, grabbing the key and peering at it. Heh. Looks a lot like my old room key...which I coincidentally still have. I never got rid of it, even after I was transported to Equestria and had no need for it anymore. Just like my wallet that still has my student ID, credit cards, and a little bit of paper money left in it.
“Now, I believe I am finished here. If you'll excuse me?” Brick Road declares, looking to Celestia for confirmation. Once she gives him a nod, Brick dips his head and leaves the room, so that now it's just Celestia, Filthy Rich, and Mayor Mare left in the room with me.
“I believe that, because you now own property here, this officially makes you a resident of Ponyville!” Mayor Mare declares, smiling in a friendly manner at me. Sure, I guess. I mean, I've been living here for over a month now...but I guess all I was doing was living with Vinyl, which is only a little better than squatting. You know, because it wasn't an official arrangement.
“I guess it does,” I comment. “So what's next? The place still needs to be furnished, right?”
“That it does. I look forward to working with you,” Filthy Rich chimes in, as Celestia nods. “Shall we go to my shop? Or would you rather inspect your house first?”
“Let's go to your shop. I have the floor plan, and it comes with dimensions, so I have a basic idea of what I want to go where,” I answer decisively. Filthy Rich nods, finding that reasonable.
Celestia stands up, and then she fills another bag with a large amount of bits. She passes it to me, and I take it, bemused. “Here. This should be enough to pay for any furnishings you might want,” Celestia explains, closing the chest of bits she brought. “I will not be joining you until later, as I have a few arrangements to make here in Ponyville concerning the expedition before nightfall.”
“What about my fifty thousand?” I ask after peering into the bag. There's nowhere near 50,000 bits in there, which means I haven't been fully paid.
“I will deliver the rest of your payment directly to your house tonight, once you've completed furnishing your house,” Celestia assures me. Well, I guess that works. Though my house won't technically be fully furnished until I find a way to give it a piano, but I guess that's besides the point.
Pianos aren't considered typical furnishing, so that much is on me. Lyra has a piano, so maybe I'll ask her where I can get a good one. Because if I can afford it, I want a grand piano. I doubt I'll be able to afford one of the bigger ones, but still, any piano will do at this point. And I just realized that that's where my 50000 is going to go. I guess I won't be retiring on this money. Though...to be honest, I wasn't going to stop working anyway.
“Fair enough. All right, go do whatever it is you're going to do,” I tell her. Celestia nods, and then she turns to Mayor Mare.
“Miss Mare, would you mind accompanying me? Some of what I need to do requires your assistance,” Celestia requests of the mayor, who looks all to happy to oblige. Since the mayor is leaving, Filthy Rich and I get up and leave her office along with them so that Mayor Mare can lock the door behind us.
“If you'll excuse us,” Mayor Mare says to me apologetically. “I leave you in the capable hooves of Mr. Rich, here. Oh, and do tell me how you like the house.”
“Sure, I guess,” I reply, and then the two of them leave, so that I'm now alone with Filthy Rich, who I still harbor a bit of a grudge for. Sure, that was a long time ago and he hasn't done anything to fuck with me since, I tend not to forget being threatened with a total beat down. Or the fact that Rainbow nearly died because of him...though half of that was my fault because I didn't go with her...
“Seth? Filthy Rich repeats, snapping me out of my thoughts. I glance at him to see that he's looking at me with a concerned expression on his face. “Are you quite all right?”
I almost want to say it's none of his damn business, but I decide not to because I'm going to be working with the guy. “Yes, I'm fine,” I answer, crossing my arms. “We've got to go visit your shop now, right?”
“Yes indeed! It would be an honor to show you Barnyard Bargains, the culmination of many years of hard work,” Filthy Rich agrees, looking proud. “Follow me, if you please. I'll take you right to it.”
Without another word, I fall in step behind Filthy Rich as he leads me out of the town hall and through the streets. We don't speak much, because I'm spending some time looking at the floor plan to determine what kinds of things I want in each room.
A few minutes later, we're standing in front of a rather large building with a giant sign on it labeling it as our destination. I also snort derisively as I see a picture of Filthy Rich's face on the sign as well. Somepony clearly felt the need to show the town who owned the place.
“If you'll step inside, we can get started. Why don't you head on in ahead of me and take a look around, while I gather up some of the staff?” Filthy Rich suggests, gesturing for me to enter. “After all, you're likely going to purchase quite a lot of furniture, and we've got to get it all to your new home somehow.”
“Makes sense. I'll be inside then,” I respond simply before doing as he suggested. Just after stepping through the double doors, I see just how fucking large this place is on the inside.
There's a lot to look at in this place. From everything from as small as end tables to as large as refrigerators, Barnyard Bargains has it all. Except it's not just for furniture. Yeah, there's a little of everything in here. I think I can see why this place is so successful.
Now then, I need a lot of stuff. I'll start scoping out now and picking out what I'm going to want so that I can have Filthy Rich set them aside once he gets back. I guess I should begin with stuff for the bedrooms. The floor plan has three bedrooms listed, but I'm going to turn one of them into an office room or something. The second one will be for Rainbow or Vinyl if they ever stay over.
Yeah, it's safe to say I'm going to be here for a while.
When Filthy Rich returns, he does so with several other ponies. They're mostly earth ponies, with a few unicorns mixed in as well. Hm, this'll go quicker than I expected then, if we have magic to work with.
By the time he'd arrived, I'd already picked out several pieces that I wanted. While I continued to look for more, Filthy Rich put his ponies to work on carrying what I've chosen already outside and into several waiting carts that he'd prepared. As for Filthy Rich himself, he followed me around and gave me gentle recommendations on what to get, as he too had a copy of the floor plan.
After a while, I'm forced to admit to myself that working with him isn't that excruciating as I'd expected. Ever since meeting him for the first time after I'd practically strangled his daughter, I've hated him, considering him a waste of space. I'm still suspicious of him, but he genuinely seems to like me, judging by how he's going out of his way to make sure I'm getting the best quality goods he has to offer. That and he keeps trying to make conversation.
“As I recall you wanted to put a piano in your sitting room. Therefore you'll probably want a smaller couch for the sitting room,” Filthy Rich reasons, indicating several suitable couches for me. “This brand is particularly nice. Take a seat on it and test it out.”
I do as I'm suggested, laying back on the couch to see if it's comfortable enough for me. The bottom cushion sinks beneath my rear, holding my weight well. In contrast, the back cushion is firm and supportive. “This is really nice,” I comment, bouncing a few times to test its stability. Filthy Rich beams at my compliment.
That's typically how I end up picking most of my furnishings. Right after I decide that I want something, some of Filthy Rich's workers arrive and take it away. I notice that the workers tend to be different every time.
“Oh, it's because I ordered them to take everything you decided on directly to your house. Mr. Brick gave me a spare key, so we're storing everything in the dining room,” Filthy Rich explains to me after I ask. I raise an eyebrow at that.
“Not sure how I feel about you having a spare key,” I state flatly. “Secondly, why are you transporting your products to my house before I've even paid you for them?”
“Don't worry, I'll give you the spare key once we're finished furnishing your house,” Filthy Rich assures me, dipping his head. “To answer your question, it is because I know you have the funds, as I was there when you received them.”
“I see. Well, at least things will go quicker than I expected,” I say with a sigh. At least I'll have a spare key as well. I'm not one to lose things, but it would make me feel better to have a spare.
“Indeed. Now then, allow me to draw your attention to this refrigerator...”
There's a lot of stuff to go through, but finally, in the late afternoon, I've finally picked out the last of the things I'll need to make my house livable. After paying Filthy Rich, I end up hitching a ride with the last cart that's taking the pieces of the master bed to my house.
I look up at the sky, watching some of the weather pegasi weave in and out of a cumulus cloud, bulking it up for what's likely going to be a light shower later on. I can see Rainbow there as well, which gets me tempted to fly up there and mess with her, but she's probably busy. Better not interrupt her while she's working.
In front of me are the several ponies that are pulling the cart. They're unicorns, so they're pulling the thing with magic. Because it's not a physical endeavor, I'm resting on the cart as they're pulling it instead of helping them. Besides, it's likely going to be hard work unpacking and assembling all the furniture I've just bought. Practically all of the money Celestia gave me to pay for this is gone.
“S'up Seth. How are you...whoa, what's all this?” sounds a voice from the road. I open my eyes and turn to see Vinyl trotting along next to the cart, wearing her shades and looking at the contents of the cart curiously.
“Hey, Vinyl. That's going to be my new bed,” I answer. I scoot aside and slap the seat next to me. “If you're not doing anything, get your little ass up here and hang for a bit.”
“Don't mind if I do!” Vinyl replies with a happy grin. She leaps up to the cart, but because it's still moving, she falls short and almost falls. Just as her mouth is opening with panic I reach forward and grab her by her two front hooves, pulling her up to the seat. “Whoa...that was close. Thanks, bro.”
“That was a fail if I've ever seen one,” I quip. I ruffle her mane, earning sounds of complaint from her. “You klutz.”
“Excuse me for not being able to fly like you or Rainbow. You try jumping onto a moving cart,” Vinyl retorts, trying to fix her mane. “Ugh, my mane is messy enough without your help. Anyway, so why do you need a new bed? Is the one in your room not good enough?”
“Right, you don't know,” I recall, shaking my head. “Then again, I didn't know until earlier today. So...I may or may not be moving out of your place tonight.”
Vinyl blinks behind her shades, my words taking a moment to sink in. “What? Really? Did you find yourself some other place to stay?” Vinyl asks in surprise. For some reason, she's starting to look somewhat crestfallen.
“Yeah, it's a bit of a long story. To put it in a nutshell, when I came from the past I stayed in the same location...which may have been my old college,” I begin. Vinyl's my friend, so I don't feel the need to keep anything from her. I mean, it's just my school. Nothing personal. “Turns out even now, said college is still intact. So I sold the location to Princess Celestia for a house.”
“You sold the...wow, yeah, I can see how that would work. Human ruins are a big deal,” Vinyl agrees with surprise, though her tone seems somewhat listless. “So you've got yourself a house now, I guess.”
“Okay, what is your deal?” I demand, not liking the sudden shift in her attitude. My blunt question takes Vinyl by surprise.
“Deal? What deal? I don't have a deal,” Vinyl responds shiftily. I groan and rub my forehead. Something about me getting a house doesn't sit well with Vinyl, and the last thing I want to do is deal with it for a long period of time, so I'm going to tear the problem out by the roots.
“Oh, quit being such a woman...mare....thing,” I shoot back at her, not believing her bullshit for even a second. “The moment I mentioned I was moving out, you looked like someone just stole your cupcake. So what the hell is your deal?”
Vinyl looks taken aback. She remains silent for a few minutes before she sighs and gives me a wry expression. “Did you get more perceptive when I wasn't looking?” Vinyl asks humorously.
“No, I just started caring more about what you feel,” I retort, and then I realize a second later how sappy that sounded. Goddammit Rainbow, I blame you for this. Still, I meant what I said. I do care about the friends I have, even if I'm not that great at showing it.
“Uh...want to run that by me one more time?” Vinyl asks hesitantly, probably wondering if she'd heard me right.
“No. So tell me why me moving out is such a big deal to you,” I press. There's no way I'm repeating that again. “What, did you want to keep getting money from me?”
“What!? Not at all, dude, that's just wrong. I'm honestly a little offended that you'd even suggest that!” Vinyl responded hotly, a hurt expression on her face. “I don't need your money. I'd even offered to let you stay for free back when I first met you. Why would you even think that I let you stay because you pay me?”
“Right...sorry. That was a bit out of line,” I admit, retracting my words. The fact that I apologized causes Vinyl to back down, looking surprised. That's what I get for opening my mouth without thinking. Just like I always do, I'd leapt to conclusions right away, thinking the worst of my friend. I'm usually right to think the worst of those I meet, but Vinyl and Rainbow are different. “But if not for the money, why does it matter if I move out?”
“You've lived with me for a while now. You're practically my roomie,” Vinyl begins, looking happy to explain. “It's going to get a little lonely around the place without you around.”
“So...you're saying that if I moved out, you'd miss me?” I say, wanting to make sure I understood.
“I wouldn't have put it quite like that because it makes me sound lame, but yes,” Vinyl responds after a pause, looking sheepish. Huh. I didn't even think about how Vinyl would feel if I moved out. I honestly didn't think she'd care. “It'd just be weird not having you around the house.”
“Even though I'm rarely home...but I see your point,” I remark. There's a bump in the road, which draws my attention and makes me notice where we are. It looks like we just passed Vinyl's place, so I know we're close. “This'll make you feel better though. I'm living pretty close to you.”
“Really? Where?” Vinyl asks curiously. Just then, the cart comes to a stop in front of what I assume is my house. Considering the door is wide open and there are ponies walking in and out while transporting furniture from the other carts inside, what else could it be? “Oh, wow, you're taking this old house? Nopony's lived in this house since the last owner passed away.”
“Yup, this is where I'm living. See? Just down the street from yours,” I assure her while looking at my new house. It looks pretty nice, though not all that different in design from the other Ponyville houses. By that, I mean the walls are the same wood and plaster structure and the roof is mostly thatched. The house has three windows on both the lower and upper floors, facing the street. In addition, there's a small porch topped by a triangular roof housing the door. “Feel free to visit whenever. Except when I'm sleeping. Wake me when I'm sleeping and I'll tie your mane to your horn.”
“I'll keep that in mind,” Vinyl responds wryly, bringing a hoof to her horn protectively. “Nice place though.”
“It will be once I get the place furnished,” I say, hopping down from the cart. The unicorns that were pulling the cart are now lifting the pieces of the master bed from the back. “I'd offer for you to come in too, but the place is still empty.”
“Nah, it's cool. I think I'll help you move in as well,” Vinyl decides, joining me on the ground in front of the house.
“Seriously? You know moving in is hard work, right? Aren't you off today?” I ask curiously, wondering why the hell this lazy mare would want to help me move in.
“Eh, I was just wandering around anyway. Besides, I want to see what you bought,” Vinyl answers with a shrug. I'm about to argue further when one of the moving ponies approaches me.
“Mr. Rogers? Now that you're here, we need you to tell us where you want each piece of furniture to go,” the pony reveals, beckoning to me. I wordlessly follow him, as does Vinyl.
“Yo, mind if I lend a hoof?” Vinyl asks the pony as he leads into the entrance area of the house. This area is mostly just a small room where the stairs are, directly ahead of us. On the right is the way into the kitchen and dining area, while on the left is the hallway that leads to the two bedrooms. Of course, we head towards the dining area where most of everything is stored.
“I don't see why not. We'll welcome any help we can get,” the pony responds with a smile. “Don't expect to get paid though. We all work for Mr. Rich.”
“Fine with me. I'm just here to help Seth,” Vinyl confirms. Then she looks at me mischievously. “Also it confuses him, so all the better.”
“What the...you don't make any sense,” I groan in response as the pony leading us chuckles.
“That's the point!” Vinyl says with a grin, and then we enter the dining room, where there's a massive grouping of boxes and bits of furniture. “Hoo boy. We've got our work cut out for us.”
I nod, looking at the daunting pile of furniture we have to deal with. Yeah, that's an understatement.
Suffice to say, we worked for several hours. Since I doubt you want to hear about how all these ponies, Vinyl, and I toiled for several hours while I yelled at them to put things in the right places, I'll just describe the finished product.
So...the dining room where we initially started is now complete. It's got a decently sized dining table with four chairs. I really only need three chairs, but I added a fourth because you don't just have three chairs at a table. It's just not done.
Above the dining table is a small chandelier made up of more of those crystal orbs. These orbs light up whenever they come into contact with magic, so it's easy for me to turn them on and off. Moving on, if you turn the corner on the right just after entering the dining room, you'll find the kitchen. It's now been outfitted with a refrigerator, stove, and all of the necessities you'd find in a kitchen.
As for the bedrooms, only one has been outfitted to be an actual bedroom. By that, I mean it has a bed, a desk, a dresser, and a fully outfitted bathroom.
“This is for you and Rainbow, if you two ever stay the night,” I explain to Vinyl as we stand in the bedroom, both of us tired from all the work we've had to do. It's now just past dusk, as this had taken us a while. “Which you're both more than welcome to do.”
“Yeah, late night parties! Sounds like a blast,” Vinyl comments, hopping onto the bed to test how comfortable it is. “Oh, this is nice.”
The other, smaller, bedroom has basically been made into an office. I mean, the master bedroom is big enough for that, but I want a separate room for my office. Plus it has the added benefit of its own bathroom and a proximity to the kitchen should I ever want snacks while I'm working on whatever might require the use of an office. Who knows, I might be important at some point.
Moving upstairs, there's literally only three rooms. Well, two, if you count the fact that the bathroom is attached to the master bedroom. One is my large bedroom, and the other is my massive sitting room where there's a few couches and chairs arranged around a rug. One the other side of the room, there's a significantly large gap of empty space that I deliberately left for my future piano.
And that's just about everything worth mentioning. I have a house now...at last, I have a place to call mine. It's a bit ironic though: Back when I first got to Equestria, I had always wanted a place of my own to hide in and never come out...but that desire has faded. I have friends that I want to hang with, a job that equates to a daily workout routine, and other hobbies, like reading, that I can do.
Now that their work is done, the ponies that helped me set up the place leave after their supervisor hands me the spare key. At last, I'm left alone in my new house with Vinyl.
“This place is totally sweet. A little bigger than mine,” Vinyl commented. The two of us were standing in the entrance hall, at the foot of the stairs. “Wish I knew where to find some human ruins. I'd get me a bigger house too.”
“Right. I'm just annoyed at myself for not selling that information earlier,” I say, sighing. Though, like I said: if I had done it earlier, I would have never left my house, and then I would never have met Rainbow or Vinyl, and then I'd be dead. “Anyway, so I still owe you a drink.”
“Wait what?” Vinyl asks dumbly. Really? Did she forget? It was her idea too. However, at that moment, it hits her. “Dude, that was a month ago...but I wouldn't mind a free drink!”
“Yeah, I remembered, and it's only now that I have time to do that with you two. I'm free tonight, so if we can find Rainbow, I'll buy some cider and we'll chill here,” I suggest. Vinyl's face lights up at that idea.
“That sounds awesome! It'll be the perfect way to break in your new house,” she declares, bouncing slightly in place. “We'll get some music going, and have a good time! It'll just the three of us!”
“Exactly. Shouldn't be that hard to find Rainbow either. I'll just go outside and fly around a bit. She'll come to me,” I joke, earning a chuckle and a nod from Vinyl.
“Sounds about right. Go get her then! I'll go get the cider. You can pay me back when we're all back here,” Vinyl decides. Yeah, that makes more sense. That way when we all get back we can get started without having to wait.
“You got it. I'll be right back,” I reply, and then I walk out the door, chuckling. This is great. Last night I spent with just Rainbow, and then the next night we're finally going to have that drink we talked about.
I plan on having fun while I can, because I'll be working nonstop when I go on that expedition.
Finally, some more character development. I really wanted to get this part out of the way, because when it comes to business transactions, my mind tends to lock up and writer's block happens. This chapter became much easier to finish once Vinyl came into the the picture.
Also, I have finally beaten the Lord of the Rings trilogy in word count! I know people like whatmustido have beaten that more than thrice over, but eh, it's still a milestone for me. 
Now, if I had to estimate, I'd say one or two chapters more before the expedition happens. Not sure. I'm notorious at not being able to make very good estimates. Still, I'm simply dying to write the expedition. Then ALL of the character development happens! Look out, Seth, I'mma fix you! 
Anyway, leave your comments and tell me what you think! Even if it is crushing criticism like I got on the last chapter. I thrive on it. 
Stats
Page generated in 0.034 seconds
Total duration
688 users online
903,372 hits today, 2,314,256 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Given Rainbow's history, he'd better pegasus proof his windows.
OoOOoOooOohH maybe it's haunted...
Also, Seth should totally try to remake some human shit later.
And when will Vinyl hurry up and bang Seth's and Rainbow's heads together?
5257303
5243409
5235162
5232667
Well, I feel like it's time I finally respond to all of this, since your opinions seem to be in agreement here. Now, I'll begin by saying that there's more to Seth than I've revealed so far that he has yet to tell anypony. While I agree that a normal guy would have indeed opened up by now, using his friends to help him through his grief, Seth has more problems than just his grief to deal with. Seth is the kind of person that has so many problems, most people would give up dealing with him because he comes across as an asshole and unlikable in general. As I stated in the summary, he is a very troubled individual, and as a writer I knew it would be a challenge to write him changing in such a way that readers would care to follow.
However, each and every chapter that may have seemed pointless in fact furthered his improvement, little by little. For every argument Seth has, he changes ever so slightly. Certain events, like the royal wedding, spur his development more quickly. Now, it's at the point where there's a massive difference between current Seth and early Seth. Between his friends and those he respects, he's much more tolerable to handle. To those he just meets, he tends to resemble his early self.
TLDR; Be patient. The conclusion of this arc should satisfy you.
Why does this only have 244 likes? Are people clinically insane? This story deserves to be ranked in the top ten. It's certainly one of my favourites, and I've actually managed to follow it since you only had 20 chapters.
Sometimes I hate Seth, sometimes I like Seth. Sometimes I just wanna fucking kill Seth.
This is the only story I have ever read that has made me have both a negative and a positive opinion about the protagonist. That is, a severely negative opinion, and then a severely positive opinion.
Honestly, you've managed to confuse my emotions. That's a good thing.
5257520
Ah, I think I remember you favoriting this story at one point. Good to see I haven't lost you.
Unfortunately I am about 200 times the top ten. Not even. My obscurity likely has to do with the fact that before this, I've never written a pony story, and as such didn't have a group of followers to read it immediately. Nor do I know the right people that could get it out there for me. All I can do is keep writing and hope someone important reads it.
Thanks for the praise though. Can't wait to see what you think of what I have planned!
5257613 Yeah, I originally found your story on FanFiction. Then when I started to realize just how bad and restrictive FanFiction was, I moved on over to this awesome little community, and the first thing I did was search for your story.
While you may not be a top ten author, you're certainly within the top three in my books. I greatly enjoy reading this story, and really hope you'll continue it to and beyond the 1 million word mark. Seriously, I will NEVER get bored of this thing, and will be greatly saddened if it were to end anytime soon.
So yeah, keep up the fantastic work, Mr. Ulquiorra.
(don't care if you changed your avatar, you'll always be that Ulquiorra guy= to me)
5257613 Now, I'm admittedly a few chapters behind, as I enjoy binge reading. But I LOVE where you're taking this thing.
Fantastic character progression and development. Top notch!
5259265
You know, I'm totally fine with being called Ulquiorra or any variation as such. If this wasn't a pony site, that would forever be my avatar. Or variations of that character. Did I mention I like Ulquiorra?
Yeah, I agree with you about fanfiction. I post it there to share my story with the most amount of people, but I can't add music or anything to it, and being the musician I am, the music is easily half the experience.
Lastly, I doubt I'm going to reach 1 million. I'm going to surpass my previous estimation of 500,000, but I'm not sure how long this thing will end up being. I'm sad to say that I'm over halfway done, though. There's only this arc and then the final one left. Then comes the "sequel," which will just be like a bonus CD, so to speak. Like, with dumb omake moments and jokes, and then story canon scenes from other POVs that aren't Seth's.
Take your time reading. I'm actually almost done with the next chapter as we speak.
5259315 Say it ain't so!
...what will I read when this is over?
5259331
And my response to that is...what the hell am I going to do with myself when this is over?
5259337 You're practically a God. So, I'm sure you'll think of something to do.
5259346
Well, I'm far from a god, though I appreciate the compliment.
Who knows, I may write Iron's backstory as a side story, considering how much people like him.
5259360 That'd be awesome!
And, as someone with a bit of an ego, the very fact that I just called you a God... should be like, heartwarming or something.
Though, you really are a talented writer, and I can't wait to read more of your work. You've touched me in some pretty wonderful places... And even though I regret typing that out, it had to be said. You've been a massive influence on me. If not for your ideas, I would have written absolute crap. Seriously, this whole fan fiction thing was new to me, and Tales of the Oppressed helped me open my mind to new possibilities in storytelling. At least when it came to fan fiction. (I was new to the idea of writing a story for something that already existed, having only ever created entirely original stuff before moving into the fan fiction world of writing. So, seeing your story combine original content with the MLP universe really opened my mind. I honestly wouldn't be here if it weren't for you and the author behind Diary of a Madman)
And... I'll shut up now. Starting to make myself sound creepy.
Anyway, you're awesome, man. Keep up the great work!
5259434
That's not creepy at all. You telling me that I've inspired you makes me happy, and as a writer and as a person that's something I've been striving for. Readers like you are what makes writing this worthwhile.
If you want to talk more about fanfiction and the like, feel free to PM me.
Took a while, but I'm here to comment!
Starting off, Seth decides on his new home. Without visual aids, I need to imagine the house design a little, but your descriptions of the layout sound pretty cool, especially with an upstairs sitting room (though he may want to make sure the floor is strong enough to take the weight of a piano, especially if it's a grand piano, those bastards are heavy). Certainly sounds like chill pad, and I like he took Rainbow and Vinyl into consideration and made sure it had a spare room. He's really chilled a lot under their influence. He even realises this a little when he decides to play nice and not start a fuss, citing it as Rainbow's influence. Vinyl has helped, but Rainbow has definitely had a very positive impact on him, to the point he even realises it now. He's still cynical and untrusting, but if he had marched into Ponyville like this at the beginning, I doubt he'd have had a single problem from anypony (well Pinkie still would have annoyed the crap out of him but I don't think that will ever change no matter how nice he gets). I also noticed an interesting quote snuck in here:
It got me thinking about an earlier quote in the story:
Coincidence?
Also interesting to see him agree to speak with Celestia later about Octavia. I mean he likely just wanted to keep things rolling, but before now he's had no hesitation to tell Celestia to mind her own business, so it was interesting to see him agree to have a friendly chat. Whether they actually will or not though I can't say as it doesn't really have all that much to do with the plot. Anyway, once house selection and costs are taken care of we have Seth and Flithy have to spend some time together. While Seth still doesn't like him at all, he can at least keep himself professional and polite. Odd though how... eager Filthy seemed to chat with him. I mean, I get it in the store, he's a businessmen and he wanted to make some sales, but he seemed like he genuinely wanted to be polite and friendly rather then simply doing so to get the whole thing over with quickly. He obviously seems to have no more harsh feelings about the Diamond strangling incident after Seth went out of his way to enter the Everfree and save both her and himself (even if it was really just for Rainbow and they were just along for the ride), but it seems odd he wants to be on good terms with him afterwards. I would have thought he'd be happy to simply not interact with each other at large. Maybe his actions in Canterlot or his connections with not only the Princesses but the Elements of Harmony have made Seth more a celebrity then he realises and Filthy wants to make sure Seth opinion of him doesn't negatively affect his business. Either way, their interactions weren't strained or forced, which served to show no hard feelings from him and Seth's lighter less angry personality on the other.
The ride over to his house with Vinyl was a good one. The attempted jump onto the moving cart was pretty funny. If she hadn't been Seth's friend, he'd have likely just let her fall off and laughed. Anyway, I'd been wondering what Vinyl would think about Seth moving out. It was nice to see Seth admit he cared about her feelings, even if he immediately shut up and pushed the original topic. She'd made it quite clear that the rent money was no issue, and I could totally understand when she took offense to him suggesting it. I can see how after living with him for a month or two (and becoming his friend in the process) it would be kinda weird to go back to living by herself, but knowing he was just up the street was pretty cool. I also just realised that Derpy is close by too. He might want to invest in some insurance lest he have to pay for several smashed windows later down the track
. Anyway, it seems like Vinyl is ok that he has decided to move out, especially since he has a room for her or Rainbow to sleep in whenever they want. The party they are about to have will be awesome. No way Rainbow would say no to a party and some cider and Vinyl is the party Queen, so this will be fun for them. Seth might want to learn some noise cancelling spells to add to his collection, lest his loud human music pisses off the neighbours.
I really liked this chapter. I can tell you probably didn't enjoy having to write about house payments, but you seeded some interesting stuff through the section to keep it from being dry and the last half was all about him and Vinyl, so definitely a good chapter. I can't wait for their next fun night and the upcoming expedition, especially if the character development gets kicked up a notch. You have a way of really bringing Seth out of his shell, and his interactions with his friends are some of the best moments of the story. I can't wait for more
5277902
Well, there's more wrong with him than just being the last of his kind. But I won't spoil a thing.
I am steadily catching up. But.....I must say this is going into my library of "best fucking books I have read in my entire life" and your book, sir, has made rank #3. Sorry. Not a lot of books get there. There are like 4 books in there. Heh heh.
5363961 What are 1 and 2? I'm running out of things to read.
and now much later then anyone else i must say this.
Shits gonna hit the fan on that expedition ain't it? like plague of oppressed real?
Not immediately obviously but something along the lines of finding a sample?
Once again i plan to sleep at 10 o'clock but stay up reading 'till midnight. Thanks bro, you're great for my planning skills.
I waited until this chapter to favorite this story...... I now can say I has me hooked .....
you my good author have crafted a masterpiece