Marshmallow Dreams

by Halira

Chapter 113: Dreams Dashed

The earliest convenience was what Phobia Remedy had said. Well, it felt very inconvenient to go visit her right now. Spending time with my best friend was my priority. I hadn't seen Maggie yet since being back. Granted, I hadn't been back that long, but I'd spent too much time away from being able to talk to my best friend. Friendship was magic and all that, and I wasn't going to delay seeing my best friend longer than I needed to. Phobia Remedy had a little bit of Luna in her, and Luna believed friendship was magic, so she should understand. It was afternoon now anyway. Weren't night ponies suppose to be asleep around now? It would be rude to show up while she and her family were trying to get some shut-eye, or head-cover, or whatever night ponies used as a euphemism.

So, with my lunch finished, I decided to go over to the other wing of the dorms while Nightscape went to bed, and Sunflower tried to catch all her professors in their offices on a Friday afternoon. I didn't believe that seeing her professors was possible. Professors tended to make a break for it after their last class ended on Fridays. That's why I ran around campus in the morning. It was probably better to email them. She might have better luck that way.

I didn't think Maggie's last class was quite over yet, so it was better to go knock on Blanche and Yolanda's door and hang out with them while I waited for Maggie to get back. I was placing a fifty-fifty bet Yolanda was currently shell-shocked that the girl she had been bodyguarding came back no longer needing a bodyguard because she quit trying to be a Dreamwarden and because Blanche went from being a bookworm sculptor to a macho world-saving sculptor who could probably take on any threat Yolanda could with both hands and feet tied behind her back. Then again, Wild Growth supposedly had bodyguards when at public functions, and those bodyguards were almost certainly about as useful as the Canterlot royal guard was at guarding the alicorns. Perhaps Blanche could keep a bodyguard to act as a decoy or something, or maybe Yolanda would be reassigned to guard me and Sunflower. I didn't think I needed any extra. I was a big hero too. I heroically took on that wall. Nobody takes on a wall like Rebecca Riddle…except for Wild Growth. When Wild Growth takes on a wall, the wall loses, along with the floor and the ceiling, but I softened the wall up for her!

I trotted into the dorms and headed to the human side elevator. After a short ride to the correct floor, I exited the elevator just in time to see their RA literally dragging a boy out of a room– somebody was in traaa-ble. That RA must have a little earth pony in her, that was a big dude. I wondered if he did wrestling like Russell.

I passed Maggie's door and gave the bathroommates door a soft little knock. It took five seconds before it opened with Yolanda looking down at me.

"What do you want?" she asked, keeping a neutral expression.

I beamed a smile up at her. "I wanted to hang out with Maggie, but know she isn't done with classes yet, so I thought I would hang out with you and Blanche while I wait for her to get back. I haven't seen you in a while, and I haven't seen Blanche in…well, it's been a day, but I missed all of you!"

She stared at me then gave a dejected sigh. "Come on in. You can wait in her room. Blanche isn't here."

I walked in and watched her close the door behind me. "I can still hang out with you. How's your week plus been without us around? Anything interesting happen? Have any misadventures? Adopt a pet? Stop a bank robbery? Solve world hunger? Get a boyfriend?!"

She waved me away and walked towards her bed. "No. I went to class. I ate at the cafeteria. I did a report. I also drew some…stuff. I did hang out with Maggie a bit more since it was kind of lonely around the room. I don't feel like hanging out with you or anybody else right now. Can you just go wait in Maggie's room?"

My ears sagged. "Oh, you aren't having a good day, or maybe you are feeling depressed because you were stuck here while we were off having adventures. Is there anything I can do to help cheer you up?"

She wiped her face and then looked back at me. "Can you convince Blanche to take back quitting? I mean, it was never a guarantee she would win, but she had way more leadership skills than you two fillies. It may not have been, but it felt like a sure thing, and I'd have been her bodyguard."

"Um, I don't think I can convince her of that, and she might get dismissed as a candidate if she did resend her quitting," I said.

Yolanda flopped into her bed. "You're right. If she seemed like she had cold feet previously, they aren't taking her back. I'd ask if you were interested in a bodyguard, but I have to be honest, I can only take you in small doses. I don't know if I could stand following one of you around for years."

I blinked. "This is more about you than Blanche, isn't it?"

She held a hand up and pointed one finger upward. "Bingo! Yeah, it might be selfish, but I had high hopes for the future. It was a secure paycheck, traveling the world, and being close to one of the most important people in the world. Do you know what I'm facing now? I'm a mediocre artist who is three years into a graphic design degree I won't ever make use of because the profession is overcrowded and I have nothing that distinguishes me, but I'm three years in and can't start over with something else from scratch. So, yeah, I'm having a bad day."

"Artists don't get the respect they deserve, and non-artists don't understand the stress and pressure," I said as I approached her.

She rolled over and looked at me. "You aren't an artist, you're an architect, and maybe you won't even have to be that."

I fluffed my feathers. "Architects are artists too!"

"Ones that make way more money than I ever will," she countered.

"Not always," I countered back.

She sat up. "Well, you will. Your mother is some big-shot business executive who can give you connections the rest of us can only dream of."

I fluffed my feathers some more. At this point, I looked like a white poof ball. "My mom is extremely big on me being self-sufficient. She cut my credit line as soon as I went to college. She insisted I get a job and get an apartment over the summer. I'm not going to get any handouts from my mom."

She smiled at me. "Can you, with full honesty, say that she wouldn't take time to introduce her architect daughter to her friends and colleagues who are also all big-shot executives and may be looking to hire some new architects? She isn't giving you any direct financial assistance, and you do have to prove yourself if you are going to keep your job, but it gets you something the rest of us crave, your hoof in the door and your name in their head. Most of us don't even get a chance to prove ourselves to those big-shots. Isn't that how your mother got her foot in the door? Yinyu drew Wild Growth's attention to some down-on-their-luck nobody on the streets who had never been given a chance?"

My fur unpoofed. "I think you're right. Everybody needs a friend to help give them a leg up sometimes. We don't make it very far in life without friends, and having friends with influence helps even more. I want to help give as many people a friend as I can, and maybe I'll be a little influential. I know I can't be there for everyone who needs it, but I can do what I can to make a difference." I looked up at her sitting on the bed. "But I'm not sure I could give you that foot in the door that you want so much."

She swung her legs around and sat on the side of the bed. "Why? Because I called you out on your privilege?"

I gave a sad shake of my head. "No, you are right about my privilege, and it has given me major advantages you never got, and I may continue to get those– I probably will, and maybe they are unfair advantages. I can't be mad at you for telling the truth."

She scowled deeper at me. "So why? Do you just not like me?"

I shook my head. "Because you don't have faith in yourself. You're the one who called yourself mediocre. I don't know if that is true or not. I haven't seen your work, but I know how you feel about it. You don't need a friend to help you get your foot in the door. Getting your foot in the door when you have no confidence in yourself is only setting you up to fail. You need a friend who can help you feel good about being you, and what you can do. If you can get that together, maybe I can help with getting you those connections you desire."

"Seriously?! You won't help me out because I'm not confident enough for you?" Yolanda demanded.

I sadly shook my head.."You aren't, but that doesn't mean you can't get there. Blanche is your friend, and she just went through a life-changing experience…um, did she tell you about her life-changing experience?"

Yolanda crossed her arms. "No, yesterday she said she gave up on being a candidate, that she was tired, and she would talk to me later today after she was done talking to the register and another school about transferring."

That caught me off guard. "She's transferring? Where? Why?"

Yolanda waved a hand. "Don't worry; she isn't going far. She's trying to transfer to SBBPSU– that's like two miles away, and I don't know why. She said she wants a different career and it would be a better school for her."

I blinked. "What does SBBPSU stand for?"

"I don't know," she answered with a shrug. "They specialize in criminal justice, political science, international law, all kinds of legal stuff."

The door opened behind me and Blanche glanced at me before entering and shutting the door. "Hello, Rebecca. Is this a social visit?"

"What does SBBPSU stand for?" I asked.

"Sunset Blessing Blessingist Political Science University, and, no, Sunset Blessing doesn't have anything to do with the school or its policies, other than having her name used as a marketing ploy. They pay her some sort of annual fee to be able to use her name. I think it would be easier if they just changed the name to Blessingist University and save themselves the money, but apparently, there is already a place called Blessingist University in Orlando," Blanche answered.

I tilted my head. "You're a Blessingist now?"

"I have Blessingist sympathies, but I don't claim to be one," Blanche answered. "I felt it would be better for my chosen path to brush up on international law and politics. It seemed like something you and Sunflower were dreadfully lacking knowledge about and could use some extra support with. You haven't answered my question."

I looked back and forth. "Oh, I told Maggie I was going to hang out with her after she was done with class and figured I'd hang out with you two while I waited for her. So how did it go with the transfer thing that Yolanda was talking about?"

She walked over to a chair and sat down. "I still have to go through an application process. I was going to see if Phobia Remedy could give me a recommendation. Her recommendation goes a long way in this city, and even further with the Blessingists who associate her more with being her mother's daughter rather than a Dreamwarden."

"Powerful people, opening doors for others," Yolanda muttered.

"Hmm? What was that?" Blanche asked, looking over at her.

"I think you and Yolanda need to sit down and have a heart-to-heart. She's having a crisis of confidence," I informed her. "Her hopes and dreams just went up in a puff of smoke, so it is kinda understandable why she's suddenly being so hard on herself and doubting her capabilities. People do that when their major plans get derailed, but it isn't healthy. She needs a good friend."

Blanche gave a half-chuckle. "You may not have the least bit of sense when it comes to a lot of things, but you seem to get people. I figure I need to get used to you instructing me to help cheer up a friend. I can see both you and Sunflower pulling that a lot. Luckily, Yolanda is my friend, and I know you've read the situation right. She and I will work this out, and I wanted to tell her about my adventures anyway. I don't want you loafing around on your fat flank giving helpful commentary or asking me tons of annoying questions while she and I talk, so go bugger off."

"How are you going to help us if you are going to be going to another school?" I pouted.

She laughed. "I'm still going to be attending classes here till the end of the semester, even if my application is accepted. After that, I'm still nearby. Maybe we can all get an apartment or small house nearby, rather than staying in dorms. At least one of you will be getting a living wage from the OMMR, and the personal bodyguard gets a lot more than that. We should be able to afford something."

Yolanda let off a loud sigh.

"Maybe, don't talk about your large upcoming income around her," I suggested.

Blanche looked sideways at Yolanda again. "She might see a turn of fortunes soon, but I won't ruin the surprise."

Yolanda stood up. "What do you mean? What surprise?"

"You know you ruin surprises by even mentioning there is a surprise, right?" I asked. "Nobody can be surprised after you tell them they're about to be surprised. That's why you keep your mouth shut. Um, what surprises are we talking about?"

She chuckled again. "You'll find out soon enough. There are things in motion. Why don't you wait in the lobby for Maggie, and give the two of us privacy."

Urgh! Why did she have to tease me with the mention of a surprise and then leave me hanging? This was surely some form of torture. Oh well, I wasn't going to butt into a conversation they wanted to be private. I decided to do as she asked, and wait in the lobby.

Comments

[badninja]

Why do I think that Rebecca was fibbed to. She is the last one remaining. I think they are going to be celebrating Rebecca’s new job.