Wish Fulfillment (Legacy Version)

by Boopy Doopy

(22) Settling Down

The train station took about an hour to get to, and had neither food nor jobs for us. The best we could do for food was more grass, something that neither I nor Moberly was terribly fond of. We had to eat though, and with how little I’d had in the last couple of days, I couldn’t choose not to. Moberly, however, decided she was going to be a bit pickier for the time being.

The train station did give us useful information about tickets, but it was nothing good. Apparently, it cost a thousand bits to get to Canterlot, and was a three thousand mile trek. That put Canterlot farther away from us than Boston was from San Francisco. Equestria really was the size of a continent.

It apparently had a weird scale of what goods and services should be priced at, because spending the morning looking at ads for apartments, it seemed like more than a few were offering places at a tenth of the cost or less. It seemed absurdly cheap in comparison to train tickets, but maybe the train in the Crystal Empire was the only one in all of Equestria.

The ponies of Crystal City were at least friendly… or maybe just sympathetic. We clearly looked homeless, at least Shorey and I did, and more than a few times did people stop to give us money, even though we weren’t asking for it. A few helpings of vegetable pie at a restaurant nearby tasted good, better than grass. Eating the green plant was probably what got people to throw money our way.

They weren’t kind enough to give us an apartment though. Despite what Shorey and Moberly were told, all of the landlords we talked to did charge rent upfront. Or rather, they didn’t… but only if you were a citizen of the Crystal Empire. It seemed we were going to have a tough time doing anything here, and the bits we got random sympathetic ponies, minus enough for vegetable pie, were not enough to cover a month’s rent.

I almost suggested we go back to the homeless shelter to see if we could stay there if we gave them our little supply when we finally came across someone who cut us some slack. After an afternoon and evening of talking to landlords, an earth pony named Friendly Flats offered to lease us a room for a month in exchange for the bits we were given, on the condition that we pay the rest of the month’s rent by next week. It wasn’t a big place that he showed off to us, only a studio when we were a group of three, but at that point, all three of us were aching for anything. Me especially.

“I’ll come by tomorrow with some papers for ya all ta sign,” he said with a friendly smile. “Glad I can help ya out a bit though. Y’all have a good night now.”

He gave a wave of his hoof and left at that, leaving us alone in the small space. Actually, tiny. It looked nice enough, but couldn’t have been bigger than a few hundred square feet. It had a living room that connected to a small kitchen, a bedroom, and… nothing else. The biggest room was probably the bathroom, one that contained a separated bathtub and a shower side by side. It was also the only room with a door, it turned out. It was very nice, fancy almost, but clearly not meant for three people.

It at least came with furniture and books and things though. If I had to spend another night on the ground, I didn’t know what I would do.

“As soon as we can, we’re getting a bigger apartment,” Moberly declared. “This place is small.”

“It has a bed, and that’s all I care about,” I said. “Sleeping on the ground for the last week and a half is probably screwing up my back. Better than that, though, it has a shower, and I’m gonna take one.”

As grimey as I felt, the shower was very nice, helped by the fact that the mirror in the bathroom was placed in the closet for my convenience. Unlike at Rusty Bucket’s house, I kept this water nice and cool, like rain, letting it flow through my mane and coat and wash away the dirt. It stung my tail a bit, but I didn’t mind. I closed my eyes and focused on breathing, wanting to pretend the water on my face was tears. It would’ve been nice if I could cry again, but this was the next best thing.

A year. A year as a stallion was something I couldn’t do– at least, I couldn't do it alone. But Shorey was here, and I was sure she’d be there for me. That would help. In the short term, we had a place to stay, something we got easier than it would be to get in the US. We technically had free food, if we were willing to eat grass. We made an appointment with the princess about me. And we were no longer in the middle of nowhere. We were actually here, in Equestria… err, the Crystal Empire. This was where we were supposed to be.

I sighed and made sure not to look down at myself. We had the where, and a couple of us had the how, but not me. That was going to be the focus of all my attention until I got myself fixed.

I didn’t know how long I stayed in there, but no one came to knock and demand I come out. When I did though, Moberly quickly hopped up and dashed into the bathroom for her turn, leaving Shorey and I alone. I took the opportunity to talk to her.

“I don’t know if this is a weird thing to say,” I started, “but you’re my best friend. I couldn’t have said it a week ago, but even as annoying as I can be, I’m glad it was you who showed up with me out there. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“I’m glad to be here with you, Rally,” she said politely, sitting on her haunches on the ground in front of me. “And I promise, you don’t annoy me. We were both just tired and needed sleep.” She sighed, adding, “I still need it.”

It was the truth. I could see the bags under her eyes, and she gave a silent, wide mouthed yawn. Even with the bags, she looked absolutely amazing. A soft chartreuse coat and yellow hair that complemented her gray eyes. A happy smile that never seemed to go down, even while we were walking and forced to sleep outside on the ground. And an amazing personality to complement those things. She was absolutely stunning.

Unlike me…

“Um, can we go walking for a little while?” I asked. Because of course, I was pushy as fuck and wanted to ask about our relationship and what it could be. I was absolutely terrible, but I couldn’t help myself.

“Can we go another time?. We’ve been walking for ages, and I’d like some rest. I don’t know how you can want to be out there after so long outside.”

That was a no to what I was gonna ask her about. I was sure she was smart enough to see through what I was trying to do, even if she’d never admit it. She was just trying to be polite and avoid directly saying no to me.

God, is this really what’s gonna make me cry? I could feel my eyes getting wet, but no tears came out, annoyingly enough. The best my stoic, stallion body could do was pitiful almost tears, ones that Shorey could easily see.

“Is something wrong?” she asked. “We can go outside if you really want to. I just didn’t think you’d be up for it.”

“No, it’s not that,” I said, wiping my eyes. “It’s nothing. I’m just being silly and thinking dumb things. I’m sorry.” I wanted to change the subject before she gave me platitudes that would stab at my heart. “What exactly does your cutie mark mean?”

We talked for a while until it was her turn to use the restroom. Moberly and I had less to say to each other when we were alone, the two of us kind of sitting there awkwardly most of the time. We had more to say to each other when Shorey got back a while later, the rest of the night being spent talking about whatever came to mind. What it was like to be here and who might also show up and general speculation about random things like how long ponies lived or how many days there were in a year in Equestria. Moberly was quieter when the topic of how we felt about being ponies came up, but outside of that, both she and Shorey smiled a lot. It was a nice time, and served as a good distraction from myself.

The time to sleep came after a while, and both Shorey and Moberly decided that I should get the bed tonight while they took spots on the couch and floor since I was out here the longest. I certainly didn’t argue, and even though not very big, it felt like a pillow of marshmallows and feathers after so long outside.

“I can’t believe I’m in Equestria,” I whispered to myself as I lay down, closing my eyes. It felt so surreal, like a dream. Or maybe a nightmare, since I wasn’t myself and might not be for a long time. It was a painful thought, one I tried to put out of my head.

I just need to make enough money to get a train ticket to Canterlot or Ponyville, I told myself silently. Once I get that, I can be myself again. Even if it takes a year, I’m gonna do it because Shorey’s here, too, helping me.

She was certainly here, but not in the way I wanted. She was a close friend, very close, one who shared all her secrets and concerns and thoughts with me. And yet I still wanted more. I had for months, probably years, but it never happened. But yet, I was still way too pushy. Pushy and annoying and argumentative and dumb and just not good enough. And a stallion. She was a lesbian. She told me before she felt not an ounce of physical attraction to males. Even if I was a woman, I still had a male body. Why would she ever want to be with me?

Stop that. Stop looking at her like an object of your affection. You’re not entitled to her. If she doesn’t like you, then you just need to deal with that.

Shorey was a good friend, and I should’ve been treating her more like one when I wasn’t. She was doing all she could to help me and encourage me on and be the best friend she could possibly be, and I was just completely taking advantage of that with my complaining and whining and just overall neediness and bad attitude. I needed to be better for her, and better was what I would start trying to be, because she was my friend.

Comments

[silvadel]

It is actually 3100 miles by route 80 from Boston to San Fran.

While it is certain your 3000 miles distance was to try to shut down the idea of hoofing it there, the fact remains that a typical person can manage 25 miles in a day consistently without issue(from experience and the net -- and that number should rise after the first couple of weeks). A pony should be able to manage at least that much, probably more. This would put an upper bound of four month's journey to Canterlot, with it more likely being three months. Rainbow Falls, being only a couple of weeks away, and Vanhoover maybe three more.

[Moonlight_Mist]

Everything's been going wrong so far, so it's nice to see some of that spirit of kindness the ponies are known for start to trickle through. Still, I can't help but think that after all this and what more there is to come, Twilight's not gonna be able to help Rally. Either that or she's not gonna understand or something like that and not help for some other reason. Or even worse, they're gonna get to Ponyville, speak to Twilight, find out 'oh, that's Cadence's specialty!', and have to go all the way back to the Crystal Empire, and return to have just missed whatever grace period there is for being late for their scheduled appointment.