Return to Equestria

by David Silver

54 - Love and Progress

"You... look happy." Joy nodded at David as she finished closing up the shop for the day. "I like that look. Something good happen?"

"Several things." He fished out his phone. "I have a thing to do to get a job to get to making the books I want to make." He stuffed the phone away just as quickly. "I have a maybe boyfriend. And--"

"--Woah, hold your horses." That the horse was saying that to a human was an irony that she seemed to miss. "May I remind you that you made a pass at me, and another mare, at the same time? You're alright with a boyfriend? Do you... like anything?"

"I was a little out of it..." He reached back to rub at where it had been sore, before things changed. "Given youth in a lot of ways is a big shock to the system. Sorry, again, for making it strange. I don't really think about sex all that often." Which made a thought pop up. "And I have no idea how often ponies do at all." He helped in locking and shutting things since he was there. "How often do you?"

She colored at the angle of the conversation. "Well! Not... often? But that's a me thing... Ponies don't talk about that, you know, in public too often. We think about it enough, seeing as there isn't a shortage of ponies around." She headed for the stairs. "Come on, cozier seating upstairs."

He followed after her and got to cooking dinner without prompting. He had expected her to head into the livingroom, but she stayed with him as he worked. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah, just thinking... I'm proud of you, but also a little, what's the word... Wistful?"

David looked over his shoulder as the pan sizzled with the preparing food. "What about?"

"You're growing." She sat there, watching him. "You'll want to move on eventually, and that's good... They grow up so fast." She sniffed dramatically and burst into giggles. "My little human."

"Did you just make that up?" He sprinkled spices, adding to the aroma as he stirred and agitated it. "Love it." A little pony calling him a little human? Why not. "I'm not running away, or even moving out right now. You're a friend. You'd be my friend no matter what."

"Aw." She hugged a leg, something the human had a long one of, compared to her. "Glad to hear it. I'd get sad if you just cut me off... I don't have a lot of those."

"Stop saying that." He spilled the food onto two plates. "You do have friends. To start, I'm not the only one at the game."

"True... True..." She grabbed one of the plates and went to the livingroom with it. "You caused that, pesky thing. Thanks... Want to continue the movie, er, game?"

It was kind of a movie, from how he was interacting with it. "I'd love to." He sat behind her on the couch and munched his food with shovels of his fork.

"You know." She clicked the commands to make her warriors fight for their world. "This might not work out. This is... Is this your first? It's your first pony, for sure. A lot could go sideways."

"Could..." David leaned in a little, setting his finished plate aside. "But if I worried about that, I wouldn't do anything at all, and that sounds boring."

"True..." She started a summon that'd take half a minute to play properly. "Look at me... Shoot... Maybe that's half the problem." She leaned back, touching the couch with her spine. "I should take more chances..." She caught herself and broke into laughter. "What am I saying? I ended up doing wild things with you. Guess past me was listening to the good advice."

The summon ended and she resumed the battle, claiming victory. "I'm just saying... Even if you end up in it forever, or a week, I'm still here."

"I'm not vanishing, either way. Thank you, for being a great person, pony." He reached for her and she allowed him to slowly muss her mane. "Good friends are hard to find."

"Harder to keep." He slid down next to her, joining her in leaning back against the couch. "But worth the effort..." He thought back to his previous life and its lack of immediate friends he could reach out and touch. "Better than the alternative... by far."

Without saying it out loud, the two forged a promise to remain buddies, no matter what the world tossed at them. "Seriously though... a boyfriend? I had you pegged as a mare kinda stallion."

"Ponies are ponies." People were people... "I care more about what kind of person they are, on the inside. We can work around whatever the outside is. If an affectionate horror from beyond the world shows up and loves imagining games, maybe I'll learn to love tentacles."

"That's... open-minded of you." She snickered as she advanced through dialogue in the game one tap at a time, giving a chance for David to keep up with it. "Well, at least he doesn't have any tentacles. I'll give him that." She lifted the controller over her head. "Say, why don't you try a little? You've been watching me play long enough, you should get the idea."

David considered the joystick with some hesitation, but did reach for it, taking it in his hands. The joypad was made for pony hooves, meaning its buttons were kind of large, but that meant he could reach them easily enough. He continued the game, no longer just a movie for him. "Thanks..." It felt right. He was taking control of his life, even if it was a life in the world of ponies.

He had to grab the controller and play that game.

Author's Note:

And... fin... unless someone else takes up this fic on my Patreon at a future date.

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Comments

[Booster Spice]

I forgot which if the earlire final Fantasy 8/16 bit versions I played first, but it was one of those where if you worked hard and got your whole crew capped, if not even totally maxed out, you could pretty much cheese the final game boss. You wernt punished for trying to be an improvement on the level the game designers decided was best for you.

[No one is home]

This is a good ending.

[Buck Swisher]

Dope story, but I kinda wish it didn't just end like this. Couple of things we didn't get to see, but other than that I enjoyed! Keep up the good work broski.

[David Silver]

11819436
Glad you enjoyed it and shared this walk with us. The story continues, but in a different world than we started.

[Buck Swisher]

11819467
Oh fr? What do you mean?

[David Silver]

11819485
Oh, shoot. I got confused with another story entirely and feel silly. This one continues right on the same world, oops, but it does continue! Check out the sequel.

[Buck Swisher]

11819502
What's it called?

[Buck Swisher]

11819502
brodie neva hit back 😔 still adding this to faves tho

[David Silver]

11841371
More of me realizing my brain doesn't work properly.

[Buck Swisher]

11841374
Ay, I'll still read it if you tell me what it's called. 😂

[David Silver]

11841387
It only exists in the scrambled part of my brainspace. This story is done unless someone patronizes me and demands more of it.

[Buck Swisher]

11841393
ohhhh, word? Sadly I don't got money like that, but thanks anyway bro. What you did publish was dope.

[David Silver]

11841398
Glad you enjoyed it. I wrote many other words, and continue to do so, just not a sequel to this story right now.

[Buck Swisher]

11841400
All good brodie. I'll be sure to take a look at your other stuff 🙌🏼