Living Anew

by Loud_Taffy

Prologue

Cold

That about sums up the city during winter. Oh and busy, very busy. The hustle and bustle of people never stops during the winter season. It was also a very foggy late afternoon, but that’s one of the many things San Francisco is known for. It’s always so wet and uncomfortable to be in, and it most defiantly will soak you to the bone if you’re out in it long enough. Unfortunately for one particular individual this was the case. She was indeed very cold and wet, and hungry as well. But that’s the life of living on the streets. She thanked her lucky stars for the thick coat she had found lying on that park bench a few days ago. Without it she was positive she wouldn’t have lasted the month.

As she walked along the Warf, the shops were slowly beginning to close for the evening. The restaurants however did no such thing. Replacing their casual lunch times for fancy dinners in the more popular, touristy areas. She kept walking; these places were too expensive for her and her little bits of begging money. Still it was more than she usually made in a day. She had gotten lucky. A cruise ship had docked in the port so there had been a lot more people wandering around. At first everyone was too busy with themselves to even give her the time of day. It wasn’t till, out of sheer desperation, that she started singing holiday songs, people would drop some coins or bills in her hat.

Finally after all that walking, she reached her destination. Fog City Café, the sign said on the small diner. She was going to have a hot meal tonight and she was excited about it. There weren’t a whole lot of people in the Café, but she was ok with that. The less people to notice her shabby appearance the better. She slipped into a booth and grabbed the menu.

“Hello and welcome to the famous Fog City café,” said a rather board looking waiter. “What would you like this evening?”

She put down the menu and looked up at the guy. She noticed his eyes go wide for a slit second before he ever so slightly blushed. She sighed.

“I’ll have the grilled octopus please.”

“A-All right, are you sure?” He sounded a bit unsure himself. She knew what was going on though. He was conflicted over her obvious state of homelessness, and how attractive she looked. Daily dips in the bay tended to keep one clean and fit. She sighed again. This wasn’t the first time this had happened, and she didn’t enjoy flaunting herself all over town. It’s not that she was shy, her tracts of land were just an acre or two more than most her age. Plus making yourself a target is never a good idea. She adjusted her coat, covering herself from wandering eyes.

“Yes I’m sure. And I would like some water as well, please.” He nodded, wrote down her order and went back to the kitchen to prepare the food.

Yep this was her life. Living on the streets, begging for money and eating when she could. It wasn’t fun, in fact she hated it, but the commodities she had acquired and the fact that she was still alive sort of made it worth it. While waiting for her food, she looked out the window. The fog had cleared considerably since she sat down. She could see the lights going down in the city and the sunset was shining on the bay. She was glad to be here, and she liked to think of it as her city. Although a life where she didn’t have to beg for money just to feed herself sounded way better every time she fantasized about it.

“Here you go miss.” Her waiter had returned with a steaming hot plate of grilled octopus and a glass of water. “If you need anything else just let me know.” He then left to attend to a few remaining customers. She ate quickly, it was getting late and she needed to get back to her shelter. She left enough money for a tip and slipped out the door.

Making her way back turned out to be a lot less difficult that she thought it was going to be. The fog had come back and was as thick as ever. This proved time and time again to be an ideal way of walking around at night without being spotted. She shivered as the chilling dampness nipped at the exposed skin through the holes in her jeans. All she has to do was make it past the piers and to the fort and she’d be home free. It was a lot easier to slip onto the fort’s property since they ripped out the toll booths and installed self-parking machines. As she passed pier 39, there was a break in the fog, giving her a quick view of her most favorite thing, the moon.

To her, the moon was magical. Something to gaze on and ponder about life and stuff. Many a time she had found herself falling into deep depression about her situation. The moon had always been there to help her realize that not everything was as bad as it could be. Her hand unconsciously moved to her chest, where a very special pendant hung from a silver chain. The pendent was a black circle with a crescent moon painted on one side. It had been given to her long ago by someone she could no longer remember. But she still felt an attachment to it, like it was a part of her. She fiddled with it as she watched the fog obscure the moon. Letting the pendant fall back into its home, she continued on until she came to the fort.

Fort Mason that was the name of the place she had taken up residence in. More specifically, the back end of a boat that was propped up against the far wall. It was called the Galilee, and according to the plaque it had once been a Spanish brigantine. Originally designed as a cargo ship, it had later been outfitted as a research vessel and equipped with an engine. Now all that was left of it was a cracked a faded stern. Not much use for sailing, but perfect for a makeshift shelter. She climbed up the supports, pulled off a loose board on the deck and slipped inside. It had been a long day for her so she just kicked off her shoes and slipped into the sleeping bag on the floor. She fell asleep almost immediately.

Outside the fog continued rolling in off the bay. It got thicker and thicker until the Galilee was completely obscured. The night guard at the fort was used to thick fog but tonight was different. For one, the fog horn was not sounding off from the Golden Gate Bridge. And another was that this particular fog seemed darker than usual. He just shrugged his shoulders and continued on, that is until

*CRACK*

something akin to a very large fire cracker sounded from the back wall. In the short time it took him to reach the wall the fog had completely cleared. And the Galilee was gone.
gone.

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On the outsert a of Ponyville, the local Apple farm was winding down for the day. Applejack and her brother Big Macantosh were locking up the barn. A loud rumble caused them to turn towards the Everfree. Dark churning clouds were moving towards them from the forest. Applejack put ahoof up and held her hat from the sudden wind.
"Looks like a storms a'commin."
"Eyeup"

Author's Note:

Ok, this has been stewing in my brain for a while. Hope you like it. Go ahead and leave comments, I love feedback.