Zero Fate

by GreyNimbus

10 — Dinner and a Lecture

After today's kaleidoscope of emotional encounters, we finally arrived home.

If there's anything I learned in today's tour, it's that not only can you choose your life's path, but you can also choose your friends too. And I think I've made two friends today; Octavia and Fluttershy.

Octavia was an interesting one. She approached me while I was sitting idle, asked me questions, and then grew into a friendly conversation. But I think she was mostly interested in my 'musical device'.

That didn't stop us from mutually taking an interest in one another. She was open enough to give me her name and occupation to a complete stranger, one who wasn't even native to this world. I wasn't sure what to think much at the time because our roles were technically reversed. I was the child, yet I was the one who decided to talk to the complete stranger.

Frankly, I still don't know how friendly most ponies are in general.

Now, Fluttershy, on the other hand... boy, what do you say about Fluttershy? Besides Starlight, she was the kindest pony I've met since coming to Equestria. Her hospitality rivaled my aunt's who offers so much leftover food to anyone who visits her. Like that tea she prepared for us. It was so enjoyable that I didn't realize until later that she added honey. No wonder my young taste buds didn't notice a difference.

Besides my phone and philosophy, we didn't share many mutual interests. But I definitely want to be friends with her. I still have to repay her for mending my legs.

Anyway, I'll conclude the summary of my day here and move on to the present.

---

Starlight and I finally made it back to the castle. We immediately went to the kitchen to put together something for dinner, when who should we see already cooking, but Twilight and Spike. Spike was wearing a frilly pink apron and standing on a stool to reach the kitchen bench. Twilight was standing next to him, chopping up vegetables together.

Since they were facing away from us, they hadn't noticed our presence yet. I decided to give them amble warning by gently knocking on the frame of the doorway.

They both turned their heads to us. "Oh, Starlight. Zero. You're back! How was your day?", Twilight said, quite happily.

"We'll talk to you about it over dinner, Twilight." Starlight answered. "Speaking of dinner, what's on the menu?"

Spike grabbed a wok from the bench and raised it up before announcing, "It's Stir Friday!"

So... stir fry? On Friday? I'll admit, that's a very clever name.

"Stir fry sounds good. Do you guys want any help?" I asked.

Everyone then turned their attention to me and gave me a look that spoke a thousand words.

"What are you all looking at me like that for, like I can't cook?"

"Oh, we're not judging your cooking skills, sweetie." Twilight said. "We just... don't want to trouble you, that's all."

I let out a disappointed sigh before folding my arms. "Twilight, if there's anything I learned from my mother, it's that it's wise to show gratitude to those who've looked out for you instead of taking advantage of them and ending up as a spoiled brat."

Now they were giving me wobbling lips and looks of... what's the word... 'liquid pride'?

"How can I say 'no' to that?" Twilight said.

---

After assisting the residents of this fine castle with the cooking, we were now having dinner on the round crystal table in the council room, or as Twilight and the others call it, 'The Map'. Apparently, the table can produce a hologram of all of Equestria. Right now it was turned off so we could eat our dinner.

For dinner, our stir fry consisted of snow peas, broccoli, egg noodles, mushrooms, cabbage, carrots, and onions. I decided to whip up some homemade satay sauce for serving. I never have my stir fry without the special sauce. That's probably my inner child talking, though.

I took a seat on one of the large chairs surrounding The Map. This one had 3 pink butterflies engraved into it. I decided to sit here to honor the time I spent with Fluttershy today. Everyone else present sat in their respective seats, except Starlight, who sat in Applejack's seat next to Fluttershy's.

While in the middle of eating, I decided to ask for everyone's opinion on the sauce I prepared.

"So what do you guys think of the sauce?"

"Mmm..." Starlight responded, still chewing her food.

"It's really delicious, Zero." Twilight commented. "And thank you for helping out with the cooking."

"Yeah..." Spike added. "Now I'm glad we let you cook with us."

"No problem, guys. I enjoy a little cooking every now and then. And since I'm gonna be living here, I'd better get used to cooking vegetarian meals."

At that moment, everyone in the room froze in place, like I said something shocking. I assume they didn't realize that humans are omnivores. I might as well pull this out from under the rug.

"I won't lie to you, I do eat meat. But there are some humans who choose to live without it. We only eat meat for the proteins. So if there's a substitute that you can think of, I wouldn't mind eating that."

They all respond with a sigh of relief.

"Oh, I'm glad." Twilight said. "For a minute there, I thought you'd consider eating ponies."

"Never!"

After finally swallowing her food, Starlight giggles. "Hey, how about we change the subject? Oh, I know! Why don't you tell Twilight and Spike about your day, sweetie?"

"Umm... okay."

"Dinner and a story! My favorite!" Spike exclaimed.

"Okay, where to start..." I put my fork down as I began my tale. "Well, after we left the castle this morning, Starlight and I went directly to Town Hall to get my personal documents. While I was in the waiting room, I met this really nice lady. Her name was... Octilia, I think? Octivia?"

"I think you mean 'Octavia'." Twilight corrected.

"That's it, yeah!" I said, snapping my fingers. "Wait, how do you know her?"

"I've heard about her from Rarity. They both met at the Grand Galloping Gala last year."

"What's the Grand Galloping Gala?"

"It's a royal party that's held in Canterlot once a year. Normally, only the social elites and nobles attend the Gala to discuss boring politics and such. But when me and my friends had the authority to liven things up, it became an event worth attending."

Even after hearing all that, I never wanted to go to another party ever again. Not after what happened on my 18th birthday. It was the first time I drank tequila and as soon as I had one single shot, I regurgitate everything I had at the restaurant earlier and I spent the rest of the right groaning and rolling on the floor. Not to mention I was sick to my stomach and nobody even bothered putting me to bed.

Unbelievable, right? One. Single. Tequila shot.

"Wow, sounds like... something." I said unimpressed.

"What, you don't like parties?" Spike asked.

"No, I don't. Come to think of it, I don't like social events in general. I have a slight case of autism."

"Ooh, Pinkie wouldn't like it if she heard you say that." Twilight warned.

Not that pink psycho again. Just hearing someone mention her gives me a bad vibe. Similar to what I feel when I hear someone mention my father.

I folded my arms and looked away.

"I don't care what that weirdo thinks."

Twilight and Spike gasped.

"You shouldn't say such rude things about Pinkie Pie. Sure, she's a bit unusual, but that's no reason to say mean things about her." Twilight said.

"Actually, Twilight..." Starlight retorted. "There is a reason for that. You see, we went to Sugarcube Corner today for a treat. Zero couldn't decide on what he wanted so he asked Pinkie Pie to 'surprise' him. She took it too literally and gave him a pie... to the face. She made him cry, Twilight."

Twilight and Spike gasped.

"That's horrible!" Twilight exclaimed. "It's one thing to play a harmless prank every now and then, but she didn't even consider your feelings."

Starlight and I nodded in agreement.

I then felt the whole table shake; Twilight slammed both hooves on it and walked away from her seat.

"Twilight, where are you going?" Spike asked as he saw her trotting out of the room.

"I'm going to give Pinkie Pie a lecture."

"But you haven't finished your food yet."

"I've lost my appetite!"

After excusing herself, she magically opened the large door and closed it behind her. In her wake, she left behind a room full of silent individuals.

I broke the silents by leaning on the table in disappointment with my hands covering my face.

"Uugh..." I groaned. "Dammit..."

However, there was more that was bothering me. You know those times where you obviously want to be left alone and then someone walks by and asks you what's wrong? Then they assume you looked upset and offer to take care of things for you even though you didn't ask for help but they insist on it anyway? That's pretty much relatable to this situation.

But what bothered me more wasn't what Pinkie Pie did to me today, it was because Twilight insisted on fixing my problem without my consent. I guess I can label that as one of the cons to this youthful body.

"You OK, Zero?" Starlight asked.

I removed my hands from my face and answered her after slamming the table and getting off my seat.

"Not like this..."

I did exactly what the purple princess did and stormed towards the same door with a face full of seriousness. After pushing the doors open, I picked up the pace.

"Twilight, wait for me! I'm coming too!"

---

Twilight was quite surprised to know that I didn't want her fighting my battles, no matter how trivial they might seem. After telling her that I wasn't keen on the idea of her speaking for me, we agreed to go see Pinkie Pie together.

We were now walking side by side in the now deserted and dusky streets of Ponyville. On our walk, I was taking the time to think about how I want to confront Pinkie. I was a bit nervous since Twilight insisted on getting this over with while we were in the middle of dinner. I felt she was just enforcing the pressure between us. I honestly can't tell which one of us is in over our heads.

"Twilight, I appreciate you going out of your way to talk things out with Pinkie for me, but I really think I should be the one to finish what I started."

Twilight looked at me with a mixed expression of worry and surprise. Mostly the former.

"I'm not a charity case, but that doesn't mean that I don't need help in every problem I have. Usually when something similar to this happens to me, I just try to forget about it and move on."

"I understand where you're coming from, Zero, but you can't just run away from your problems. And besides, Pinkie Pie is my friend, so it already is my business."

I never thought of it like that. Now I feel even worse than before. I concluded that conversation there and kept walking with my hands in my pockets. Every few steps, I kicked any loose pebbles or small stones that littered the dirt road. I fixated my vision between the road and what's in front of me, so not to walk into any stationary objects.

We were only a few minutes away from where Pinkie Pie lives, according to Twilight. I suddenly got the curiosity to ask more about our resident crazy pony.

"Hey, Twilight?"

"Yes? Something wrong?"

"I'm just curious; how did you and Pinkie Pie first meet each other?"

"Ooh, that's quite a long story. We're almost to our destination, so I'll tell you another time. I'll tell you how I met all my friends when the time is right."

"Alright, fine."

I wasn't particularly interested in knowing the origin of all of Twilight's friends. The one story I truly want to hear about is Starlight's.

After another couple of minutes of walking, we arrived at... Sugarcube Corner?

What are we doing back at the scene of the... prank? I thought we were going to Pinkie's house, not the bakery!

Author's Note:

Proofread once again by Bisano.
Thank you very much, mate!

Comments

[Alfaridwan Setiabudi]

Update please

[GreyNimbus]

9280612
Don't worry, it's still coming.

[Alfaridwan Setiabudi]

9282151
Ok i am curious ia the main character turn into pony or still human

[GreyNimbus]

9282184
Still human. He also went from an adult to a child.

[Alfaridwan Setiabudi]

92822
When her will change to be pony

[GreyNimbus]

9282239
No spoilers.

[TheHardie-Boy]

"You OK, Zero"? Starlight asked.

You do know how quotes work...right?

[unknowncape7377]

For dinner, our stir fry consisted of snow peas, broccoli, egg noodles, mushrooms, cabbage, carrots, and onions. I decided to whip up some homemade satay sauce for serving. I never have my stir fry without the special sauce. That's probably my inner child talking, though.

Sauté