Refined Starlight in a Broken Vessel

by the-pieman

Chapter 55

I figure I won't make anything spectacular for lunch, keep it simple and easy. I notice that my housemates didn't get that havarti after all, but basic cheddar works better for what I'm making anyhow. I grab a bread knife and the loaf available. Hmm... maybe two per person would be alright, so twelve slices it is. Taking some butter, I liberally grease my skillet over the stove, spreading the quickly-melting glob of fat around with my spatula.

I'd really like some music, but without powers, the Lyre doesn't work with me so I'm left to myself. Ah well, let's recall a song. Something exciting. Dramatic. Adventurous. Stylish... oh, I have the perfect one. I focus on recalling the beginning of the song, and hum quietly to myself and... yeah, here we go, now I've got it again! I assemble the foodstuffs and get the first one its turn on the skillet, nodding to the rhythm in my head.

♪Zorro lies dying in the Spanish sun
All the women crying, especially the pretty ones
He drew his sword...
They came with guns

Stealing is stealing, I've done lots of that
Now reach into my pocket, padre
Hide this gold pouch in your hat
And let the skinny peons feed upon the fat
It was liberated from some aristocrat, eh?

(So pray for him father) You need not bother
'Cause I am the fox and I go where I want
If heaven ignores me, the devil adores me
Yes, I am the fox and I go where I want

Padre, don't it seem
Hundred years ago
Before I donned the mask, I'm Don Diego
Now there's only minutes left for the cunning El Zorro
Go fetch my sword, my horse I'll ride out death
Diablo!

(So pray for him father) You need not bother
'Cause I am the fox and I go where I want
If heaven ignores me, the devil adores me
I am the fox and I go where I want♪

I follow in tune with the imagined music, knowing my favorite part is coming and I idly add a little flourish with my spatula when I need to do the flipping.

♪Death you're running closer and I can't keep this pace
Sir, I'm disadvantaged and should I lose this race
Hand to me your deadliest wine
I'll give you back a taste
Before you burn your mark on me, I'll carve mine in your face♪

Acting with the lyrics, I slice the air with my spatula in a large, dramatic Z in time with the accenting sounds that accompany the tune only I can hear.

♪(So pray for him, father) You need not bother
'Cause I am the fox and I go where I want
When Satan annoys me, then heaven employs me
'Cause I am the fox and I go where I want to go
El Zorro!♪

I finish with the sixth portion and slide it onto the large plate. Took a while to make so many of them toasted to the dark-gold standard I hold myself to, but... " Lunch is ready!" I call out, carrying my creations to the table.

"Anthony, shush." Twilight scolds. "This is still a library."

I shrug it off. "Yeah, well these are as perfect as I can make them, so don't let them get cold."

"That's quite the presentation." Spike says as he makes his way over. "What did you make, exactly?"

I grin. "I made... an experience, wrapped in revelation."

The two of them, rather skeptical, approach the table and see my design. "This is a... revelation? An experience?"

"Uh, just so you know, we have had cheese sandwiches before."

I kneel down at the table and take one from off my plate. "There is a massive, near-fatal flaw in your assumptions." Grinning, I take a bite and address the truth they were yet blind to. "You haven't had my cheese sandwiches before."

They just stare at me then at each other for a full minute before they cave in and take their first sandwiches. Twilight gives hers a bit more study whilst Spike simply takes a bite, Twilight taking her own shortly after, and the looks on their faces as they chew tells me all I need to know.

"Woah." Spike utters dumbly, having swallowed just enough to form proper words.

"What is this? Rather, what’s in this?" Twi asks, a look of intrigue painted on her features.

I smile knowingly at both of them and continue eating, which they mimic as if I needed to remind them of what to do. Reaction is a tad extreme, but given the responses I've gotten before, this isn't wholly unexpected.

We finish our first sandwiches at roughly the same time. Twilight holds up her second and studies it. "Well it... isn't magic. At all."

I scoff. "Of course not. One shouldn't take shortcuts when their real capabilities are enough. Why use magic in place of real talent?"

Twi gives me an ugly look. "No need to be so rude, but still..."

"This is the best cheese sandwich in the whole town!" Spike exclaims. "No, in all of Equestria!"

Twilight hums a bit as she chews. "I wouldn't make that sort of comparison, but I'll admit I've never had one taste this good before."

I nod. "It's like I said. You'd never had my cheese sandwiches before."

"So." Spike says as he stuffs part of his second into his mouth. "How'd ya do thith?"

"What exactly did you make these with?" Twilight asks, eating her second much slower.

"I used bread and sliced cheddar cheese, grilled on a skillet." I say. "There's a bit of butter there, but that's just from greasing the pan."

"Ya godda shu meh ha ya mak theeth!" Spike slurs around his sandwich, and I just laugh.

"Heck no. I'm not gonna share my secrets just by being asked. If anyone could know just how I do things I do, nobody would need me anymore." Both of them look a bit awkwardly at me, but I just feel proud of myself. "Seriously though. I can make a cheese sandwich so good that my sister likes them... liked them... and she hated cheese sandwiches. The key to a product of such high quality that it can shift opinions is not something to give away easily. Even though, at the end of the day, it's nothing more than a sandwich."

Twilight sighs. “Well either way, thank you very much. Regardless of your method, these are very tasty. I’m glad you’re dedicating more of your time to contributing to the household, especially voluntarily.”

I shift a bit. “Yeah well...” I take a bite of my second sandwich. “You know... gotta kill time somehow. Sitting around and waiting for things to happen is boring as fuck, especially without super powers.”

“Foul language aside, I agree that it is.” Twilight says, nodding. “You’re showing good progress. Even sitting around is better than what you used to do, of just running off and causing trouble or unprovoked grief. I think you’re maturing.”

“Yeah, well don’t push your luck, Sparkle.” I warn, taking the last of my sandwich with me as I get up to go back to my room.

“I still wish you’d quit that habit of treating compliments as insults. I don’t think it’s very good for your mental health.” Twilight says, her voice dipping a bit into parenting territory.

“You say that as if self-destructive behavior isn’t half of my charm.” I snark back, making my way to the stairs.

“It isn’t.” Spike deadpans, and I figure I don’t need to continue the conversation now that I’m leaving the room.

I look about my more organized room and try to think about stuff I could do. I continue eating my sandwich as I look about the room and try to see if any of my various acquisitions seem particularly interesting. Closet is still pretty bare, I notice. I may as well just have a chest of drawers for all my clothes, wouldn’t even need to be big. I mean, I barely have any clothes at all. I sift through the closet and find that shirt the Crusaders made for me, with their special group’s logo on the front. You know, I haven’t seen them since I was in hospital, and I don’t think coming by the school really counts as seeing them.

I swap my shirt out for the emblazoned one and figure I can find them at their clubhouse. Unless they’re already out doing things or aren’t meeting up today, they’ll probably be there. Looks like everyone here has gone back to their own business now that lunch is finished so I just make my way to the farm. It’s really quite the trek from the library. Maybe that’s why Applejack doesn’t come by all that often. It’s a good bit into the afternoon before I finally get to the clearing of the old orchard that has the clubhouse in it. I don’t hear anything from inside it, but they may actually be doing something quiet today.

I carefully climb up to the tiny door and give it a knock. After a short minute Noi opens the door and she smiles. “Hi Anthony! We were wondering if you were gonna show up today.” she steps aside and allows me room to crawl my way inside. Thank goodness the inside of it has a much higher ceiling than the door would imply.

“You were expecting me, huh?” I ask as I get the chance to stretch back a bit.

“Well, kinda.” Sweetie Belle says, “We generally get together on Saturday, but then we figured that since you’re all outta hero juice, you might not be up for coming around.”

“But he was at school!” Scootaloo says quickly. “He’s just fine!”

I shrug. “I don’t need superpowers to be smart. What did you all think of my lesson, though?”

The four of them look between each other and Apple Bloom speaks first. “I couldn’t understand most of what ya were saying. You talkin’ about our math lesson made more sense.”

“Yeah, that’s fair. I mean, the concept of gravity on a planetary scale has some pretty strange implications that-” I watch as their eyes instantly start to glaze over and decide to dial back a bit. “It’s just some crazy science stuff you won’t be worrying about until later. If at all.”

“I think I’d like to go with the ‘if at all’ option.” Noi says as she and the others shake off the brain-fuzzies.

I figure it’s best to change the subject. “So, enough about my understanding of basic astrophysics. What are you girls doing today?”

“Well, we were trying to come up with ideas for how to get our Cutie Marks, but nothing’s really coming up.” Sweetie Belle says, slumping a bit. “I figured if a lemonade stand and catapult wouldn’t work, then nothing would.”

I pause. “Wait... literal catapult or trebuchet?”

“It was a trebuchet, but it doesn’t really matter.” Sweetie clarifies.

“But at least we got a lotta Bits for the lemonade stand.” Scootaloo says.

“Especially after we started using real lemons!” Noi adds and I... Nope, don’t want to know what they were doing beforehand. Some mysteries are best left unsolved.

“Anyways, we got enough money ‘tween us to do just about anything we want...” Apple Bloom starts. “But I can’t think of nothin’ that we could buy to get us our Cutie Marks.”

“Hey, at least you have a job, right?” I point out. “Sure, money isn’t everything, but if you keep working at making it, maybe you could get a Mark in... uh... economics?”

“Uhhh... maybe?” Noi replies, looking a bit unsure. “What kind of jobs could we get though? Nopony hires kids.”

“Yeah, I mean, some of the other kids have jobs but they at least have their Cutie Marks already.” Sweetie notes.

“What kinda job do you have, Anthony?” Scootaloo asks. “Maybe we just need some ideas.”

“I uh... I don’t have a job. I’m looking for a way to earn some money myself.” I admit. “I mean, even if I did have my powers, I can’t pay rent in blown-up monsters. I don’t think I can convince a government body that I should be exempt from taxes because I saved the town a couple weeks ago.”

“Well, then we’re all gonna look for jobs!” Noi says. “If we can get him a job, then maybe we can get Marks for that!”

The four of them brighten up significantly and I quickly but subtly move my hands to my ears, knowing what was coming. All of them shout “CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS JOBS FINDERS, YAY!“ except for Sweetie Belle, who says “EMPLOYMENT SEARCH ASSISTANTS”

The other three pause and give her a look, Scootaloo saying something about her being a dictionary and now it’s my turn to pause. “Well... I mean, using synonyms isn’t really a dictionary, that’s more of a thesaurus thing.”

Sweetie Belle gets up in my face and has her nose to mine. “Not... Helping...”

“Right, sorry. Just uh... yeah. Employment Search Assistants? We still going with that?”

“Yeah, for sure!” Scootaloo says cheerfully. “I mean, how hard can it be to find a job for somepony? Even if you don’t have powers you’re still super smart, and cool, and strong! Who wouldn’t want to hire him!?”

I decide to keep my comment of ‘Anyone who dislikes the sight of a three-adjective resume’ to myself and continue the discussion. “So what sort of work do you think would fit me?”

“Yer super-smart, what about bein’ a doctor?” Apple Bloom suggests and I wince.

“I’m not... that kind of smart, kiddo.”

“Then how about a science-ist?” Scootaloo offers. “He could be a resercherer of stuff like explosions and cool stuff!”

“The line between a scientist and a demolitionist is a thin one for sure.” I state. “But a line definitely exists, I assure you.”

“Oh! You could give ponies advice on stuff, like you did at school!” Noi offers.

“Sure... like what, though?” I ask in return. “I mean, what do folks need help understanding? I can’t just shout random advice at ponies and hope I’m being helpful.” I see Sweetie Belle very slowly lower her hoof in response. “Let’s come up with more positions I could fit.”

Apple Bloom rubs her chin. “Ya could try to work the farm... but ya can’t buck trees.”

“That, and I’m not too interested in farmwork in general.” I note.

“Okay... this is tougher than I thought.” Noi says as she taps a hoof, clearly trying to think of something else to suggest.

“Oh! You could be a cook! I bet that cool griffon restaurant would hire you!” Scootaloo suggests, “Rainbow Dash said the chef there is really cool and that she likes eating there!”

“Ah, I don’t do food service work.” I say, glad I get to shoot that one down early.

“Oh...”

Apple Bloom frowns just a bit. “Well that rules out mah idea, Ah was gonna suggest you try with the Cakes - Ah’m sure Pinkie could get you recom-ended.”

“I like baking and stuff.” I agree. “But it’s not really something I want to do as a job. If I make a pie, I wanna eat it, not just hand it off to someone else.”

“That’s a weird way to look at it.” Sweetie Belle says. “But it kinda makes sense.”

The group resumes trying to think of things. “Let’s narrow it down a bit. Let’s get a job for me not just my skillset. I have hands with opposable thumbs, I’m roughly twice as tall as a grown pony... what can I do with those?”

Now they look even more lost. “Uh... I...” Noi squints really hard in thought. “I can’t think of anything. Most of the jobs I can think of don’t really... I mean, what does get easier by having hands?”

“You could paint really tall fences.” Apple Bloom says and I blink. She isn’t wrong...

“Well, let’s think more on that later and come up with more options. What else gets easier by being relatively tall?” I ask, trying to get more of their gears turning.

“You can reach the cookie jar on top of the shelf!” Sweetie Belle says and all of us turn to look at her, causing her to blush and swish her tail in what seems to be some level of embarrassment. “...sorry, I was just thinking about cookies...”

“I’m kinda hungry, too.” Scootaloo says. “I guess we sorta skipped lunch by accident.”

“Well, let’s put a pin in the job-advisory and come back to it later. No use thinking on an empty stomach.” I say and stand up, stretching out of my sitting position. “I already ate, so I’m fine.”

“Alright, I guess we should go home and get food then meet back here.” Apple Bloom says.

“Easy for you to say, I live like a bajillion hours away from here.” Scootaloo says, and I know she’s greatly exaggerating but it just reminds me that I don’t really know where Scootaloo lives. I can ask later.

“Then we try to find someplace to eat that’s relatively close by. You said you had money from your lemonade stand.” I point out. “You can just come back here afterwards.”

“Uh, sure, but where would we go to eat?” Noi asks. “There are a few places around Ponyville, but mom doesn’t take me to restaraunts much so I don’t know that many.”

“There’s a place that sells hayburgers not too far from my sister’s house.” Sweetie Belle says. “It’s tasty, but Rarity doesn’t like it because the ‘atmosphere is unappealing’ and stuff.”

I blink. “Hayburger? As in... a hamburger, but with hay instead?”

“What’s a hamburger?” Noi asks and I have no idea what to say.

“Nevermind. It’s a human thing.”

“Ain’t ham made from pi-” Apple Bloom starts, but Sweetie cuts her off.

“Come on, it’s not even that expensive either.” Sweetie says and it seems both her points of nearness and price were enough to convince the kids of the option.

I get out of the playhouse first, since I take the longest to actually exit. I worm my way through the doorway without much issue and we’re all on the way shortly after, Sweetie Belle leading us since she seems to be the only one who knows where it is.

As we move, I feel a tap on my leg and I hear Apple Bloom whisper to me. “Ya meant ham like from pigs, right?”

I pause and whisper back. “Uh, no... well, yes... yes ham comes from pigs, but hamburger meat is beef. It’s a weird naming thing.”

“What’s beef?” Apple Bloom asks and I figure it’s harmless to answer since she already gets the whole pig-eating deal.

“It’s cows. Pigs make ham and pork, cows make beef.”

Apple Bloom gives me a weird look like only a child can. “But pigs don’t make ham, they... are the ham. I never heard any of the cows I know say nothin’ about makin’ ‘beef’.”

I’m about to explain my misuse when I catch what she said. “You talked to cows?”

“Well yeah.” Apple Bloom says. “All the cows talk. At least all the ones Applejack and I know do.”

“That... complicates my explanation.” I say. “I’d say talk with your sister about it instead.”

Bloom scrunches her face up a bit. “Oh, is it like that birds and bees thing?” and I feel the urge to strangle myself from ten seconds ago.

“Uh... no.”

“What are you two talking about?” Scootaloo asks and I realize Apple Bloom and I had slowed down quite a bit, making our whispering more conspicuous rather than less.

“Aw, he ain’t tellin’ me about the hamburger things from earlier.” Apple Bloom huffs.

“It’s not a subject I want to cover in place of more appropriate adult figures... such as your relatives.” I defend. Especially if cows are sentient species here. That’s a bucket of worms I’m not gonna open.

“Whatever.” Scootaloo says and the three of us catch up to Noi and Sweetie Belle. “They were just talking about hayburgers I guess.”

“Well, we’re almost there.” Sweetie says. “I don’t remember how much it costs, but I know it’s not much. Have you ever had a hayburger before?”

“Nope.” Apple Bloom replies, Scootaloo saying the same, Noi mentioning she’d never even heard of it before.

So this is my day, I suppose. I’m an appointed chaperone for a bunch of children who want to run off to Wendy’s for lunch. Maybe if I was better with children, I might see about a babysitting job. I’ll make that second-to-last resort. I do think of one thing to ask, just to break the silence. “So Cheerilee came by to see me earlier, and wanted to know when I might have another lesson at the schoolhouse.”

“You’re gonna be our teacher again?” Noi asks. “You gonna talk about more of that... planet stuff?”

I shrug. “Probably not. I don’t know what I’d teach. What would you guys like to learn more about?”

“Well...” Sweetie Belle says, indicating her thinking. “You say your world doesn’t have magic... So how do other things work then? If gravity is what raises the sun, does it do anything else?”

“Uh, not on a smaller scale.” I say. “I could make that my next lecture if you want.”

“Uh-uh!” Noi rejects the suggestion. “I wanna hear about how you guys travel. You say there are a bunch of you, so you must have some big airships. How big are your zeppelins?”

“Uhhhh... we don’t really have zeppelins. We used to, but after a few... issues, we mostly got rid of them. We have hot air balloons but those are fairly outdated as well. We use airplanes for transporting people long distances.”

“Airplanes?” Scootaloo questions, looking to her friends, who all shrug. “What’s an airplane?”

I rub the back of my neck, trying to think of how to explain it in simple terms, but I ultimately fail. “That’s... fairly complicated, I’ll give a more detailed explanation to the class as a whole. For now I’ll just say they’re... think like a massive winged thing that’s made of metal, and hollow on the inside for people to sit in during the ride.”

“Ya sit in giant metal birds?” Apple Bloom asks for clarification.

I’m unsure how to explain the basics of how airplanes use aerodynamics. At least, not without prep time and numerous diagrams. “Not as such, but that’s a close approximation at this juncture.”

“Ugh, you’re using big words again!” Noi complains as she looks confusedly upset.

I roll my eyes. “Yeah, I’ll talk about it in more detail later.”

“For now, let’s get some lunch.” Sweetie Belle says as we get close to a building that... it certainly looks like a burger joint, but still in Ponyville’s usual wooden, thatch, and sparsely visible stone aesthetic. It’s strongly reminiscent of a rustic style McDonald’s, but with H’s instead of M’s. The four fillies run inside, half of them looking around at the borderline modern design with undisguised awe and interes- hey, there’s a ball pit in here!

There are two ponies up at the counter, one mare which looks super energetic and smiley, the other a very tired-looking mare, as if she hated her job and was just barely holding onto sanity. The fillies look at the menu board while I look at the ball pit. “Hey, how deep is that ball pit, exactly?”

The smiley mare grins. “It’s one half of a meter deep. Perfectly safe for even young ponies!”

Next, the bored-looking one speaks up. “If your fillies are going to play in it, we have a policy that adults should keep their attention on them. We are not responsible for monitoring your children.”

“Half a meter deep is all I needed to hear.” I say, making my way to the pit. The girls are still trying to decide what to order and so begin questioning the employees about the different menu items. Meanwhile, I have more important things to do. The cheery employee is answering all their questions with gusto and I catch eyes with the grumpy mare as I begin my self-distraction. Seems she caught on to what I was doing and just sighs before going back to paying half-attention to the kids.

I focus my attention on the surroundings beyond me, and listen as I hear the children finally make their decisions. "Alright, we'll start preparing your meals right away!" I hear the chipper mare reply and I wait patiently for my opportunity.

It doesn't take long, since it's a rather small restaurant. "Hey, is something missing?" Noi asks.

"Where'd Anthony go?" Apple Bloom asks. "Wasn't he just here?"

"He didn't leave without us, did he?" Sweetie Belle wonders aloud.

"Anthony wouldn't do that!" Scootaloo declares quickly.

The grumpy mare's voice states. "The ball pit."

"The ball pit? But... how would he fit? He's a lot taller than it is." Noi says.

The bait is perfect though as I hear a set of hooves approach, and just as it gets near enough, I reach up and grab whoever it was. I hear Scootaloo yell as I yank her into the pit. “I am the mighteous Ball-Rog, and I shall drag you all into the unforgiving depths of my domain! Your souls are now forfeit, mortals!”

“That’s not funny!” Sweetie says, clearly having gotten a scare.

“Yes it is!” Noi says, giggling and running for the ball pit, where Scootaloo is pantomiming various pained expressions to go along with my light hold on her, playing along expertly, Apple Bloom wading in as well.

Eventually even Sweetie Belle is convinced it would be fun to join in and we just mess around in the balls. I stay laying down for the most part so that I’m just an upper body. After a good few minutes, Scootaloo announces that she will “Slay the great Ball-Rog.” and I play along with her, lightly tossing balls in her direction as she ‘advances menacingly’.

Handling kids would be a lot better if it was just a matter of entertaining them like this all day. Either way, Scootaloo is ‘victorious’ and I make my dramatic death scene, sinking the rest of myself into the pit with over-dramatized death rattles.

“I beat the monster! I’m the coolest warrior ever!” Scootaloo proudly announces, and the other three start clapping and I speak from under the balls.

“Congratulations, brave evil-thwarter. You are worthy of receiving my boon. Do you know what amazing reward awaits ye?”

“Is it a cool sword? Or a cape!?” She asks, getting really into the game.

“Your reward is... more balls!” I say as I yank her under the pit again. She lets out a yelp and continues giggling. It continues for a bit longer, but eventually we’re a bit tired of the game. I get a better hold on Scootaloo as I carefully rise from the shallow ball pit. It’s pretty great being taller than ponies, but not as long as them. The chipper mare announces that their food is ready, the grouchy mare reminding us to make sure any and all balls are back in the pit before we sit down to eat. The fillies get a table, where I set Scootaloo down before going to clean up the balls that did actually make their way out of the pit.

The four of them get to eating while I just sit by their table and watch. I’m not that hungry, even after the minor wrestling match. Noi slides a cookie towards me, saying that she got something for me.

I pass on the treat, signifying as such with a hand gesture. “Nah, it’s fine, I don’t need it. Though if you’re passing out cookies, maybe our brave champion should get it?”

All of us smile and Noi hands the cookie to Scootaloo who puts down her burger to eat it triumphantly. “I’m the coolest!” she says, just barely before swallowing the cookie.

I grin. “I dub thee, Lady Scootaloo, slayer of all ball-related monstrosities.”

The four of them give a moderately loud ‘Yay!’ to which the bored mare notes that there’s no yelling in the restaurant. They weren’t making noise long enough to even warrant the warning. I get that she’s unhappy, but she needs to relax.

Once they’ve all finished, they look a tad tired. Scootaloo looks about ready to go into a food coma, so I figure I’d carry her when we leave. I pick her up and the other three follow behind. “Have a wonderful day!” The happy mare says. “Please come by again!”

“We need the business.” the unamused mare adds.

We make our way back to the CMC’s clubhouse, and Scootaloo quickly falls asleep as I’m holding her in an arm. I begin petting her with my free hand, and I’m reminded of just how soft pony fur can be, despite how short it is. About halfway to the clubhouse I hear her start to snore- wait, no, that’s purring. I forgot that ponies did that too. Agh, it’s adorable as fuck!

I just keep rubbing her back, and it’s clear that she’s enjoying it. This is a good use for fingers, actually. Ponies don’t have them, so it’s likely a sensation the majority of them are unused to. Only one I can think of who might be is Twilight, since Spike has hands. Maybe that’s something I could find a way to get paid for. Professional pony-petter... eh, maybe. I’ll come back to that if I truly run out of other options. It just seems so silly. But damn, this is soft and cute.

We’re coming up to the orchard clearing now so I stop scritching Scootaloo. After a few moments she stops purring and looks up. “Eh?”

“Oh, so you are awake.” I tease.

“Well, I am now.” Scootaloo says, now sounding only half tired. “That felt really good.”

“You enjoyed that, huh?” I grin, tightening my hold just a bit to give her a quick squeeze.

“Sure looked like she did!” Noi says, and Scootaloo seems embarrassed by this.

“Well, that’s fine. I don’t mind petting you. Anyways, we’re here so I’m gonna set you down now.”

“Do you hafta- Uh, I mean... yeah, sure. If you really need to.” Scoots says, stumbling on her words a bit. She’s so focused on being tough, it just makes her even more adorable.

The five of us hang out inside the clubhouse for a bit longer, though we never revisit trying to find me a job. I figure that should be something I do myself anyways. After a while, I figure I’ve had enough of a day and bid them goodbye.

“We should do this more often!” Noi says. “Come back next week?”

“You got it!” I say as I leave, the four of them giving their goodbyes as I make my way out of the door once again.

“Anthony’s the best!” I hear Scootaloo declare.

Sweetie Belle chimes in. “Why can’t the colts at school be like him?”

“Because colts are gross!” Noi says.

“They kinda are.” Apple Bloom agrees and I shake my head as I leave properly, done with my unintended eavesdropping.