Propositions

My morning routine was broken. Dizty didn't accidentally wake me up. I didn't go for a run. Dinky and I didn't speak aside from pleasantries. I didn't want to get off the couch.

Laziness was not normally on my list of character flaws, but the motivation was just not there. The day before had been long and emotional, and I felt I deserved a little bit of time to collect myself, a little bit of time where I didn't need to put effort into anything.

It had been a long time since I had cried as much as I had with Twilight. It felt as if all the fluid in my body exited via my tear ducts. The only reason I stopped was that I had no more tears to give. Crying had given way to sobbing, which had given way to simply choking on phlegm.

Twilight did her best to be comforting, though her tears didn't cease, merely becoming more controlled. She didn't say much, allowing me the space necessary to ride out my emotions.

When I had calmed down to some degree, Twilight graciously offered me lunch. She even got a chuckle out of me with her admittance that her food-preparation skills are pretty much non-existent, with Spike having done the cooking since the two had moved to Ponyville.

With that in mind, I accepted her offer to treat me at the local hayburger joint. I was admittedly skeptical of such fast-food delicacy as hayburgers and hayfries, but in the end my hesitance was for naught. Really, there was no discernible difference between hayfries and French Fries, and the hayburger was palatable, though certainly of a different taste. To this day, I have never researched what actually goes into a hayburger, content that they taste good, and that’s all I need to know.

When I returned to my place of residence, not much was said. My two hosts could certainly tell that I was out of sorts, but they didn’t press me for information. Between the time Dinky came home from school and when we all went to bed, I probably only exchanged about twenty words, mostly in one-word sentences.

My relative silence continued to the next day. It was as if my brain decided to take a sick day. I moved on basic instinct alone. When I was hungry, I got up and ate. When nature called, I answered.

Experience had shown me that this mindset would not last forever. Eventually, I would return to my routine.

Fortunately for me, I was not waiting for this change alone.

When Ditzy returned from her mail run, she seemed to have an added bounce in her step, almost to the point where, if she had been outside, she would have achieved minor lift-off. I really wasn't in the mood for happy-go-lucky mailmare company, but I got it anyway.

Ditzy popped over to the couch, swung my legs off of one side, and sat down on the vacated cushion. I groaned and gave my best “not amused” face at the smiling pegasus.

“Hi, John,” Ditzy greeted cheerfully, “I didn’t expect to see you back yet. Either you ran a lot faster this morning, or I flew a lot slower.

I rolled my eyes and turned my head away from her.

“John,” she continued in a more sober tone, “what’s wrong? You haven’t said more than two words to me or Dinky since yesterday morning. What’s up?”

With a sigh, I turned my head back toward her.

“I don’t wanna talk about it,” I replied.

“Oh. Ok,” Ditzy said, her real feelings toward my answer blatantly evident, “Well, if you do want to talk about it, you can come to me, alright?”

My only response was a few shallow nods. Figuring that was all she was going to get out of me for now, Ditzy gave me a little smile before standing up. It was at this point that I realized something important. I had told Twilight that I had to make the best of my life here in Equestria. And one of the ways not to do that was to lay around moping. Twilight had been helpful the day before, but if other ponies tried to reach out to me, especially if they had been kind to me in the past, I had to give them the benefit of the doubt. I had to allow them to help me.

“Wait,” I said suddenly, causing Ditzy to stop in her tracks. I adjusted myself on the couch so that I was sitting properly before tuning to her again, “I do want to talk about it.”

Ditzy quickly returned to her seat and looked at me with both kindness and concern through her misaligned eyes, “What’s up?”

“Yesterday, I went over to see Twilight because Spike said that she needed to talk to me. To make a long story short, it turns out that Twilight figured out how I ended up here.”

“That’s good,” Ditzy smiled, “maybe she can send you back.”

I gulped, and turned my gaze away from my companion, “Well, that’s the thing. She knows what happened, but there is no safe way to send me back. I could end up in another dimension or even another time.”

“Oh no,” Ditzy gasped, both hands over her mouth.

“Yeah,” I continued, “I can never go home. Or, rather, this is my home now.”

“Oh, John, I’m so sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize, Ditzy. You’ve done nothing wrong. Besides, I’ve gotten enough of that from Twilight already.”

“Still,” she continued, “no one should be ripped from their home. I mean, you haven’t told us much about your life before, but I’m sure it was nice.”

I turned back toward her, “What am I supposed to do,” I asked pleadingly, “I mean, I told Twilight that I would make the best of my situation, but I just don’t know how to do that, where to begin.”

“Well,” Ditzy mused, “I’m not sure what you’re supposed to do, but I know that you shouldn’t just lay here.

I sighed as she stated the obvious, but she wasn’t finished.

“I know it sounds hard, but you have to keep moving. Get up, get some fresh air, meet some new ponies, introduce yourself, talk to them. You don’t have to give them your entire life story, but you’d be surprised how far you’ll get sometimes just by greeting somepony. The ponies here are nice and friendly almost to a soul. Maybe you’ll even find something that you had never considered before and can use as a jumping-off point. It’s worth a try, right?”

My head lifted to a high angle and I took one deep breath, and then another. After a good minute of silence, I once again brought my attention to the pegasus beside me.

“Thanks, Ditzy,” I said, smiling properly for the first time all day, “You’re absolutely right. It’s just hard, you know?”

“I know,” she replied, “And nopony is expecting you to adjust overnight. Just take it one step at a time.”

I rose from the couch and walked the short distance around it, grabbing my phone off of a side table in the process. Even if it wasn’t useful for much, I still had the very human habit of having it with me at all times.

“Think I’m going to take a little walk,” I announced.

Ditzy gave me a big smile, “That sounds like a good idea.”

*-*-*-*-*

Despite my improved demeanor at the hands of Ditzy’s positivity, I still had a strange feeling in my gut as I walked along what had become my jogging route. The kind of feeling one gets when they are in a new place for the very first time. Of course, that wasn’t technically the case, but now I was viewing Ponyville, and Equestria, from a new perspective. No longer was it simply an alien world that I had been brought to by means outside my control. Now, it was to be my proper home, and, as I had said to Ditzy, I did not know how to begin taking it all in.

That’s not to say that Ditzy’s words went unheeded. Though it was mid-day on a weekday, there were still a few ponies here and there, going about their business. I received a few smiles and tentative waves, and I reciprocated the gestures appropriately. But though it was obvious that the residents did not hold any particular worry about me, I in turn simply did not see a good opportunity to make good on the plan.

However, after a time, I came into sight of a place that I already knew: Sugarcube Corner. Immediately I thought of the friendly and up-front Pinkie and considered whether or not she would be helpful in my endeavor. To that end, I marched right up to the building and entered.

For it being around lunchtime, the place was not overly busy. Of course, I was aware that the Corner was primarily a bakery and confectionary and not necessarily the first place you would think of for lunch. But, thanks to Twilight, I also knew that they were no strangers to serving tangible meals, particularly what you would find at breakfast.

To my good fortune, behind the main counter stood not one of the Cakes, but rather Pinkie herself, who immediately began bouncing on her feet when she saw me.

“Morning, John,” she greeted enthusiastically, “or is it afternoon already? No matter, hi anyway.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle a tad, “Hello to you too, Pinkie.”

“Have you come for lunch,” she asked, now leaning over the counter on her elbows, chin resting on her palms.

“I don’t think so, Pinkie,” I replied, “Not really too hungry. Besides, I don’t have a Bit on me.”

“Oh, that’s right! I hadn’t thought of that. So what are you here for?”

“Well, I was hoping you could help me with something if you’re not too busy.”

“I always have time for my friends,” she said with a grin, “What’s up?”

“Well, uh, I went back to talk to Twilight again yesterday, and-”

“Ooh,” she exclaimed, rising from her relaxed posture to once again move with energy, “Did she figure out how you got here? Did she find a way to send you home?”

Pinkie smiled broadly as she awaited the answers. I simply sighed and looked down through the glass display that made up part of the counter.

“To answer in order,” I began, sounding slightly more solemn than I meant to, “yes, she figured it out, because it was her own magic, and no, she didn’t, and she never will. I’m here forever.”

I could almost hear Pinkie’s smile deflate.

“Ooh…,” she responded in the most serious tone I had yet heard from her, “Well, I’m sorry to hear that.”

“You don’t need to-”

“But that just means that we’ll have a chance to become better friends,” she continued, her tone making a complete 180° shift from her previous sentence, “And your pal Pinkie Pie is just the pony to help you!”

“No need to get so excited,” I said, chuckling in spite of myself.

“Of course there is! I can help you in lots of ways! I can introduce you to my friends, not just my best friends, like Twilight, but all my other friends. I know every pony in Ponyville, and I’m sure they’d all love to be your friend.”

“That’s very nice, Pinkie,” I complimented, trying to slow the mare down, “But there’s more to it than that.”

“Like what?”

“Like…well, you just asked me if I was here for lunch. But even if I was hungry, I don’t have any Bits. I’m not sure what I’m going to do for work and as much as I appreciate what Ditzy has done for me, I refuse to sleep on her couch for the rest of my life. And, on top of that, what about clothes? What I’m wearing is all I’ve got. I need Bits to buy clothes, but I need a job to make Bits, and-”

My rambling was brought to a halt by a soft, but firm, hand over my mouth. Pinkie patiently waited for me to get the message before removing herself.

“I see what you mean,” she nodded, “And I’m not sure about the job thing. I mean, I’d offer you work here, but the Cakes and I have it pretty well-managed.”

“I’m sure.”

Pinkie smiled a little broader, “But I know who can help you with the clothes. You should go see Rarity over at Carousel Boutique. You can’t miss it. It’s a big, pretty building near the center of town. Tell her Pinkie sent you, let her fuss over your appearance for a bit, and I’m sure she will help.”

“Just like that,” I asked skeptically.

“Just like that,” Pinkie parroted reassuringly.

I shrugged, “Why not? It’s a lead at the very least. Thanks for the tip, Pinkie.”

“You’re welcome! Oh, before you go,” Pinkie ducked down into the back of the display case for a second before popping back up holding a little white bag, “I hope you like glazed donuts!”

She held out the bag to me, but I was hesitant to take it.

“Uh, Pinkie, did you forget the part where I said I have no money?”

“Don’t worry about it, this one’s on me.”

At this, I sighed and smiled in return.

“Well I’m not one to refuse food paid for by someone else,” I took the little bag from her, “Thanks again, Pinkie.”

“Don’t mention it. Bye, bye.”

I turned and headed for the exit. As I took a bite of my hot, tasty, donut, it suddenly occurred to me that this day was quickly taking a turn for the better.

*-*-*-*-*

It was not a difficult task to find the boutique. In a town the size of Ponyville, any building that isn’t a two-story thatch-roofed home sticks out like a sore thumb and is immediately recognizable.

However, there was still a small amount of hesitation on my part. I really wanted to trust what Pinkie had said about the owner, Rarity, and how she would be able to help me with at least one of my pressing concerns. But there was a part of me that found this highly dubious. Another hold-over from my Earth is the view that, nine times out of ten, people don’t go out of their way to help you. It took me a good minute to shake off these concerns, as I reminded myself that I was no longer in the world I previously knew, and I had been shown time and again, even at that point, that the differences were generally positive and usually surprising. So, with the bout of skepticism behind me, I entered the boutique.

As soon as I did so, I noticed three individuals directly in front of me, in the main foyer of the establishment. One was Spike, the drake I already knew, the second was a white unicorn with a curled, purple mane wearing a skirt and blouse, and the third was a yellow pegasus with a pink mane. The latter stood on a raised stage which had three mirrors behind it and was wearing some kind of dress or evening gown.

My presence was immediately alerted to them by a bell which hung above the door.

“Welcome to the Carousel Boutique,” said the cultured, accented voice of the unicorn, who turned to face me halfway through this trademark, “Where every style is chic, unique, and magnifique. Good afternoon, darling, may I help you?”

“I hope so,” I said as Spike and the pegasus noticed me.

“Hey, John,” Spike greeted, “What’s up?”

“Not much,” I replied.

“Excuse me,” the unicorn interceded, looking at me, “Are you by chance the human Spike told us about.”

“That would be me. John Pearson, at your service.”

The unicorn giggled, “Perhaps it is I that could be of service to you. I am Rarity, proprietor of this boutique.”

“Nice to meet you,” I smiled, turning my attention to the mare on the stage, “And you as well, miss…”

The pegasus turned away from me partially, using her long mane to hide her face. I could see her hands fidgeting, and even heard a sound or two escape her, but nothing that I could make out.

“You’ll have to excuse dear Fluttershy,” Rarity explained, “She tends to be shy around new ponies, or humans, as it were.”

“No problem,” I replied, still smiling in Fluttershy’s direction, trying my best to look friendly and harmless.

“Come, Fluttershy,” Rarity announced, helping her living mannequin off the stage, “I think we’ve gotten a great deal done. Let’s go get you out of that dress. John, if you would like to stay here for just a few minutes, I shall return shortly.”

I gave a simple nod as the two mares moved toward a back room, leaving Spike and I in the foyer.

“Don’t worry,” Spike chuckled, “nopony gets Fluttershy out of her shell immediately. She’ll come around.”

“Well,” I replied, “I certainly want to make a good impression.”

“Hey, uh, Twilight told me about what happened. I’ll admit, I’m surprised you’re not mad at her.”

“Yeah,” I sighed, “But like I said, it’s a conscious decision to accept my situation and forgive her. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t angry at first, but being mad wouldn’t do me any good.”

“Hey, I for one am glad you’re here. I mean, I don’t wish you were here. I mean, I wish you hadn’t been brought here. I mean-”

“It’s fine, Spike,” I interrupted, “I get what you mean.”

Spike suddenly had the look of someone who’s just had a brilliant idea and snapped his claws.

“Hey, you should come to Stallion’s Night with me and the guys.”

“Stallion’s Night,” I asked, confused.

“Yeah. Every Friday night me and the guys hang out. We play cards, talk about stupid stuff, drink some beer, you know. So how about it?”

I pondered the offer for a minute. It would certainly be a way for me to get to know new ponies, and even find some common ground with them. And to have someone there I already knew would help the process.

“Sure, I’m in. When and where.”

“We usually meet at Sweet Apple Acres, but you can just swing by the castle and we’ll head over together.”

“Sounds good.”

“Great! Come by around seven tomorrow night.”

I was about to say something else when I heard hoofsteps coming toward us. Spike and I turned to see Rarity and Fluttershy coming back to the foyer, the latter now wearing an airy, spring dress. She wasn’t hiding as blatantly as before, though she did walk slightly behind her friend, using Rarity as a metaphorical shield.

“I believe this has all gone very well,” Rarity stated to no one in particular, “Thank you for your help, Fluttershy, and you as well, Spike.”

“Anytime, Rarity,” Spike answered.

“You’re welcome,” Fluttershy responded in a volume which reached barely beyond Rarity’s ears. She then made a move for the door, but stopped herself short and faced me, “It-It was, um, n-nice to meet you, John.”

“Same here, Fluttershy,” I said with a smile. The pegasus smiled shyly in return before exiting the boutique.

“Think I should be headed out too,” Spike said to Rarity, “Unless you need me for anything else.”

“Well, I should be able to handle John here on my own. If you need to be somewhere, then by all means don’t let me keep you.”

“Nothing big,” Spike shrugged, “just got to pick up a few things from the market. Later, Rarity. See you tomorrow, John.”

“Goodbye, darling.”

“See ya, Spike.”

This just left Rarity and me in the boutique. She quickly got back to work, tidying up the stage area with her magic before turning to face me once again.

“Stand on the stage for me, will you,” she asked, pointing to the raised area, “It’s much easier for me to take measurements when I don’t have to bend over.”

“Measurements,” I asked, moving toward the stage, “Like, for clothes?”

“Precisely so. Although, I suppose I could guesstimate if you want, but I would assume you would want accurate measurements taken for anything I will make for you in the future.”

“Of course,” I said hesitantly, “but…”

“But what, darling?”

“Well, I…I can’t exactly pay you right now.”

Rarity smiled, “I know.”

My head immediately cocked to one side, “You…know…?”

“Why yes. Between Spike and Pinkie, I have heard quite a lot about you. Just yesterday Pinkie told me how bad she felt for you and that she hoped you could go home and be happy. But when I pointed out that there was a possibility that Twilight wouldn’t be able to send you home, Pinkie, being the sweet dear she is, immediately began to ramble about all the things you would need and have to learn. And it just so happens that one of the things she brought up was that you only have one set of clothes.”

“So,” I began slowly, “you’re saying that when Pinkie said that I should come here, you already knew about me and it was just a matter of me coming here?”

“Directly on the nose.”

“Well then,” I said, slightly dumbfounded, “Guess we should get started.”

I climbed up onto the stage to start the measurement process. Rarity accomplished this like the professional she is, flying a tape measure around my body with her magic and taking notes on everything pertaining to her work that you could imagine.

When she was finished, she immediately moved over to a drawing board, where there were multiple sheets of tan paper with many different drawings done in graphite. Naturally, I stepped in behind her to view her current work, as well as glance at some other pieces that I could immediately see.

“If you don’t mind me asking, darling,” Rarity asked after a time of silence between us, “what did you do for work before?”

“Um, well, it’s kind of hard to explain. Suffice is to say I don’t think my old job even exists in Equestria.”

“Come now, darling, you have to give me more than that to work with. Was it physical labor? Industrial? Manufacturing perhaps?”

“Well, in the broadest sense, I was a designer-”

“A designer,” Rarity perked up, interrupting me, “What kind of things did you design?”

“Well, it wasn’t clothing, if that’s what you’re thinking. No, I designed and built scale models of automobiles, commonly referred to as cars.”

Rarity was positively perplexed, “Cars? I’ve heard of train cars, but nothing called an automobile.”

“Yeah, Twilight didn’t understand it, either.”

“What are they, exactly?”

“Well, to put it simply, it’s a carriage with an engine inside that runs on the power generated by the engine.”

“That sounds very dangerous,” Rarity observed.

“Oh trust me, when they were first introduced, they kind of were. It’s gotten better over the last century.”

“Century!? Humans are quite the technological sort, aren’t they?”

“You could say that. Of course, we have to be, since we don’t have magic. Not that there is anything wrong with Equestrian technology. It’s just made with a different species of being in mind.”

Rarity held up the chunk of graphite she had been using before me.

“Would you mind drawing one of these ‘automobiles’ for me? I would very much like to know what one looks like.”

“Sure,” I said, taking the graphite from her magic aura. She gave me a little bit of room so that I could draw a quick sketch.

My sketch was of a standard car, what we like to call a “sedan”, one with four wheels, four doors, and a relatively sleek design. Of course, cars come in all kinds of shapes, sizes, and functions, but it made sense to show Rarity an example of the most common type.

When I had finished, Rarity looked it over with the eye of an artist. She also asked me various things about the design, like where the engine went, why it was built so relatively low to the ground, and how many people could fit inside. It was incredibly fascinating for me to see the wonder of a pony seeing a car, if only in sketch, for the first time. It was at this point that I wondered if the humans who had invented cars in the first place saw the same looks on people.

“You’re certainly right about one thing, John,” Rarity stated after her questions had been answered, “There is nothing like this in Equestria. But perhaps your artistic skill could come into some use.”

“You think so?”

“Most definitely. I do not know what your world is like in this regard, but in Equestria, it is sometimes astonishingly easy to make a living doing what you love doing. That’s what cuite marks are all about, after all. You just need to find something you enjoy, that actually exists here, and make it work financially. It is completely possible.”

For some reason, what she said made me feel infinitely better about my situation, at least my financial situation. Maybe, with the right use of skill, and a little help from my friends, I could find something in Equestria I enjoy as much as I enjoyed making and working on cars before.

“Thanks, Rarity,” I smiled, “That makes me feel a lot better.”

“Glad to hear it, darling. Now, I should have a closet-full of clothes made for you by weekend’s end if nothing urgent arises. And, if time allows, you might just get a package in tomorrow’s mail.”

She flourished the sentence with a wink which made me smirk and give a short chuckle.

“Well, then, I believe it is in my best interest to allow you space to work your ‘magic’,” now it was my turn to throw a wink.

“Right you are. Goodbye for now, John.”

“Goodbye Rarity, and thanks again.”

I stepped out of the boutique and realized that it was a bit later into the afternoon than I had thought. With this knowledge, I decided to take a leisurely pace back to the Hooves homestead.

And it was with a pleasant feeling, knowing what had been accomplished today, and the support of friends which made it happen.