TCB: The Red Shoes

by Madrigal Baroque

I want to dance

Thankfully, the room was empty when Beth left Ana, murmuring something about tracking Lilac down. The showers in the residential section were communal, but bless God there was a toilet en suite. It was a bit of a struggle to get the door open while trying to steer the chair, but she managed. She even successfully transferred herself from the chair to the toilet with no trouble. She didn't try to shut the door–the chair was blocking it, and if she'd taken the time to push it shut she wouldn't have made it. She'd just have to be quick.

Ahh, sweet relief!

The trouble came when she got up onto her only functional leg. She held onto the edge of the sink and hopped towards the chair. She reached it all right, but when she grabbed the armrest and put her weight on it, it rolled away from her and she fell flat on her face. She screamed as her knees banged the floor, and the chair rolled out into the room. She'd forgotten to lock the damn wheels!

Ana lay cursing on the floor, heaping verbal abuse on herself for being an idiot, the bullyboys for shattering her legs, the Finnish blond she couldn't have picked out of a crowd of two for not getting her a pair of crutches that she knew how to handle–

"Hi, you're Ana, right?"

Her tirade cut short, Ana stared at the lavender pony peeking around the door at her. "Who the fuck are you?"

The pony flinched a bit, then shook her head like she was shooing a fly. "I'm Lilac. I'd ask if you were okay, but I can tell you're not. You must be in a lot of pain to go off like that."

"Nothing new." Ana tried to drag herself forward but couldn't get any traction on the tiled floor.

"I can go get some help–"

"No!" The pony–Lilac–winced at the sharp denial, and Ana reined herself in. The last thing she wanted to deal with was a sobbing equine. "I've had so much help crammed down my throat today that I'm sick of it. Just–just get out of my way and let me get to that god-damned chair."

Lilac stepped forward. Her eyes were huge and a brilliant blue. She lowered her head to Ana's eye level and spoke very gently. "Take hold of my neck, Ana. I think I can get you over to the chair, then I'll keep it still till you get back in. I won't do anything else for you, I promise. Okay?"

Ana wanted to tell her to fuck off, but she had a feeling it wouldn't deter the pony from her helpful aspirations. Either she'd help Ana or she'd go fetch someone who could. She wouldn't–couldn't–just leave someone sprawled helpless on the cold floor. No pony could. Easier just to let her do her good deed for the day. "Fine," Ana grumbled, wrapping her arms around the long neck.

Small though she was, Lilac was surprisingly strong, and very steady on her hooves. In no time Ana was standing upright on her good leg, and with Lilac's support she hobbled over to the treacherous wheelchair. Lilac gripped an armrest with her teeth and held it firm as Ana collapsed into it. Then she let go and stepped away, letting Ana see to herself as she'd promised. She watched as Ana righted her throbbing legs, found the wheel locks, and set them so she wouldn't go off in a random direction. But the pastel pony didn't fuss over her; she waited patiently to see if there was anything wanted from her, but she made no suggestions and no offers of aid.

Ana sat back at last, rubbing tiredly at her brow. "Thanks," she made herself say. It was only polite. "I'm not used to being in one of these things." Why was she making explanations to this…pony? Anastasia had never felt the need to justify her actions. But those impossibly blue eyes held neither judgment nor pity, just friendliness and gentle concern.

Lilac nodded. "That kind of puts us in the same harness. I'm not used to being in one of these things either." She waggled a foreleg. "I was just Converted a couple days ago."

"Really?"

"Uh-huh." Lilac settled down on the floor near the wheelchair, folding her legs beneath her with a bit of effort that showed she was still learning how her body worked.

"What was it like?" This was an old trick: if you could get someone to talk about themselves, they were less likely to ask you questions about yourself. But Ana really did want to know about the process she was committing herself to.

Lilac's ears twitched, and her withers shifted in what must have been a shrug. "It was pretty straightforward. I got called in, I took off my clothes, I drank some nasty purple grape stuff, I went to sleep, and then I woke up like this." She whisked her long tail. It was pale as cornsilk, and very pretty.

"Did it hurt?"

"Probably, but they give us something to knock us out along with the potion, so I didn't feel it. I had a pretty wild dream, though."

"A nightmare?"

"Nuh-uh. In fact, it was really nice. Do you want to hear about it?"

Before Ana could answer, a chime came from the walls.

"Whups, it's time for my flower class." Lilac got to her hooves, stumbled, recovered. "Do you want to come along? I'm sure the teacher won't mind. His name is Gladiolus and he's really nice. He's actually from Equestria and he could answer any questions you have about it." She giggled. It was charming. "If I haven't driven him crazy with all my questions, I'm pretty sure he can handle some from you."

Ana grasped the wheels of her chair and tried to turn herself towards the door. The chair wouldn't budge. "Oh, what's wrong with this damn thing now?!"

"Psst." Lilac pointed a hoof and stage whispered, "Brakes."

"Shit." Ana unlocked the wheels and spun the chair around. Unfamiliar or not, it was an improvement over the crutches.

"So you want me to push you?" Lilac seemed eager to help. "I can get behind the chair and–"

"NO!!" At Ana's shout Lilac's ears drooped…and this time Ana felt a tiny twinge of guilt. She summoned a smile she hoped would appear genuine. "Thanks, but I…I need to get used to steering this thing. Why don't you lead the way? But slowly."

"Of course I will!" Lilac pulled the door open effortlessly with her mouth and held it while Ana maneuvered the chair into the hallway. Then she trotted in front of Ana and started towards the classroom area. From time to time she looked back to make sure she wasn't outdistancing the wheelchair. Each time Ana nodded encouragingly, and with a happy nod in return Lilac would continue on.

Behind her carefully maintained neutral expression, Ana gritted her teeth. The purple pony was just so damned nice. It was infuriating.

***

Author's Note:

When you've spent your entire life looking out for yourself alone, it colors your perception of others. Why wouldn't everyone else be out to get something at another's expense.

That's why Ana doesn't trust Lilac's friendly demeanor. She can't determine the pony's ulterior motives.

That's because Lilac doesn't have any.

Comments

[Chatoyance]

I like Lilac, and I can't help but wonder what the real story of that wheelchair is. I'm thinking Lilac, but I guess we shall see.

Editing errors I found:

"No!" The pony–Lilac–wincwd at the sharp denial

Sounds like a PC file, a DLL perhaps.

Ana wanted to tell her to fuck off, but she had a feeling it wouldn't deter the pony from her helpful aspirations. Either she'd help Ana or she'd go fetch someone who could. She wouldn't–couldn't–just leave someone sprawled helpless on the cold floorp.

I suspect cold floorp is what remains after a night of 'getting Schwifty'. Ewww....