Canterlot. Most who think about it instantly envision a splendorous place perched on a mountainside with towers of white and gold growing high into the sky. While this is certainly true, and definitely what one sees from a distance, many will tell you, as with all things, it's the closer careful look that tells you the whole story. For example, as one looks closer at the grand city, one can notice that not everything is white and gold. All sorts of colors are abound and, just like any other city, there is the usual mix and well-off and not-so-well-off living areas.
As one looks closer still, one might even see that not all ponies live within the city walls. Homes of all sizes can also be seen just outside the city, where they dot the flatter areas on the mountain. Here, ponies homes even have space between them, something which can be found lacking in the city proper. In one such area, a few houses can be seen with a decent sized forest filling in all the gaps it can. However, as leaves rustle to indicate movement towards one of the abodes, they reveal something quite outside the usual of what can be found within these trees.
In the cover of a thick hedge, a lone figure pauses to catch its breath. The pointed ears on the top of its head swivel this way and that, trying to locate any sound at all.
When none come, the form slowly emerges from the undergrowth. Small and apparently frail, it stumbles to its hooves. A frown comes to bright-blue lips as tiny, delicate hands futilely dust off a thin, tattered dress. She, as it is most definitely a female, notices what she was looking for - a water pump just beyond a trash bin. She licks her lips and hurries forward, worried about nothing but her incessant thirst.
That is, until she knocks the bin over in her haste, the fallen container spilling open with a loud clatter. She jumps at the sudden sound, panicking as she realizes the horrible mess she made. The navy blue girl hesitates, glancing at her goal as her need tries to pull her towards it.
A voice, male and much older than the girl, comes from inside, its volume suggesting it's calling to someone. "Rhino? Could you fix the trashcan when you go out to play? Sounds like the wind got it again."
"Okay, Dad!" Replies a much younger sounding, though still male, voice, followed a moment later by the sound of an opening door on the other side of the house.
Scared of what the source of the sounds might do, the poor girl hurries to pick up the rubbish. She falls to her knees and tries to scoop the articles back into their container, not caring that she was getting dirtier by the second.
The sounds of hoofsteps draw nearer, broadcasting their owner's whereabouts quite easily as he crunches through the fallen leaves. Around the corner comes a dark green unicorn. He freezes the instant he spies the girl, his bright red shirt shifting a moment from his previous momentum before settling with its bottom hanging over the top of his blue jeans.
She doesn't notice him at first, as frantic as she is to clean up the mess she made. As she looks up at an apple core, however, she finally notices him on the very edge of her vision. Her gaze immediately snaps to him, her pure-sapphire eyes as wide as dinner plates. She freezes in place, on the ground like a muddy puppy save for a hand reaching out towards the core.
The colt tilts his head at her as they watch each other silently. After about a half-minute of silence, he smiles at her and speaks with a casual greeting. "Hello."
She blinks, quickly averting her gaze to the dirt beneath her. "Um... h-hi..." She grabs the core and continues to clean, her ears flat against her head. "S-sorry... I-I didn't mean for this to happen..."
He shrugs and walks forward, beginning to pick up the remaining items, his horn glowing on and off as it picks up the more gross items that he doesn't want to touch with his hands. "It's alright, it was an accident." As they pick the stuff up, he looks her over, curious as to why she doesn't seem to have fur, but instead something more akin to a shell. This question immediately gets drawn to the back of his mind as he spots her torn and dirty dress though, knowing this is not the way clothes should look. His gaze goes to her face. "Hey... are you okay?"
She squeaks, scooting away slightly. "Y-yes... w-why do you ask?" She wipes her forehead, flicking the sweat there off before continuing to clean. Her mane hangs limply over her shoulders, a single lock slipping down in front of her face.
He blinks, wondering why she scooted away before nodding to her clothes to answer her question as they pick up the last few things. "Well, your clothes are messed up like you fell into a bush or something. Do you want me to get the first aid kit? Mom taught me how to use bandages and stuff." A small smile of pride appears on his face as he says the last part.
"N-no, I'm fine." She pulls on the neckline of her dress, sighing softly. "I did fall into a bush, though... b-but it's not a problem..." She coughs a bit, pausing with a broken mug in her hands as she stares longingly at the water pump.
He follows her gaze, piecing things together as he looks at her questioningly. "Umm... did you want some water to clean up or drink or something?"
She nods, pointing at her throat. "T-thirsty..."
"Oh, okay! Wait here." He runs back around the corner and the door is heard once again, the colt returning a moment later with a couple of bottles of water. Unscrewing the top off one, he offers it to her, setting the other one down for a moment.
She stares at the bottle for a moment, stunned, before carefully taking it from him. She looks up at him and smiles softly. "T-thank you." She carefully stands up on shaky legs, bowing to him before eagerly gulping down the crystal clear liquid.
"You're welcome." He replies, taking the mug she had set down and putting it in the trash, topping it off with its lid and scooting the can back against the wall so it isn't knocked over again. Afterwards, the colt goes over to the swing that hangs from the porch ceiling, sitting down and waiting for her to finish drinking.
She sighs happily after she finishes it, closing her eyes and humming quietly. She notices a small tingling sensation coming from the air around her. She glances around, confusion clear on her face. "D-do you... feel that?"
He tilts his head. "Feel what?"
The navy girl shakes her head, her cheeks flushing bright blue. "N-never mind. I-it's not important." She bows her head and walks over, sitting next to him.
He smiles at her as he starts shifting his weight so that the multi-person swing starts gently going back and forth. "My name's Rhino, what's yours?"
She gently bites her lip, glancing at him nervously before replying. "G-Gel. M-my name is Gel."
"Nice to meet you." He moves a bit of the single blue stripe in his black mane out of his face before holding out a hand for her to shake.
She squeaks and jumps back at the unexpected gesture, eyes wide and wings flared. After realizing just what he is doing, she quickly averts her gaze, ashamed. "S-sorry..." She slowly reaches a hand out and takes his, hesitating for just a moment before shaking it. "N-nice to meet you, too."
He laughs lightly as he gently shakes her hand. He goes back to swinging to two of them, speaking again. "Did you just move here? I haven't seen you before."
"Um... n-not exactly..." She sheepishly smiles, clasping her hands together in her lap. "I'm just... a little lost..."
"Oh..." His ears fold against his head, "That's scary... I don't like it when I get lost..." He looks to her, his youthful eyes empathetic. "Where are you trying to go?"
"I... I don't know..." She grimaces. "I can't quite... remember..." She covers her head with her hands, groaning softly. "...I wish I could tell you... really, I do..."
Concerned, he repeats what he had asked earlier. "Are you sure you're okay? I can get my dad and maybe he can help you."
"I'm fine. Really." She nods quietly, shifting in her seat. "J-just a bit cold." She glances at her clothes, pinching the thin fabric between her fingers as she mutters to herself. "M-maybe I can get some new clothes, later..."
"Oh, I can help with that, too!" He slides off the swing, going back inside and coming back out with a soft blanket. "Mom says blankets are the best thing for keeping warm, well, besides another pony and a fire. Here." He offers her the blanket.
She blinks, carefully reaching out and taking it, her hand brushing against his. She stops, feeling the back of his hand and along his forearm. "You... your fur's so soft..."
Rhino smiles and lets out a laugh. "Yeah, Mom just calls it me being fluffy. I like it, plus I usually don't have to worry about being cold. Haven't seen anypony with fur as fluffy as mine yet."
Gel glances up at him before pulling her hand away, taking the blanket with her. "Makes me wish I had fur..." She quickly wraps herself up, hoping to hide her burning cheeks. "...this isn't as soft as you... but it's definitely better than before..."
"Heh, sorry, that's the softest one we have." He sits back down on the swing with her as he begins to rock it again. "What kind of pony doesn't have fur, though?"
"I-I'm not a pony." She shyly smiles at him, shrugging a bit. "I-I'm a changeling. W-we have chitin." She holds a hand out to him, palm facing up. "H-here, feel for yourself."
He takes his own hand, setting it in hers and rubbing. "Wow... it's so smooth and cool..." He smiles. "That's really neat."
"Um... t-thank you..." She tucks a lock of hair behind her ear, gently biting her lip. "...c-could we... I mean..." She closes her eyes, turning away in embarrassment. "N-never mind."
“Hmm?" He looks up from his hand still in hers. "Did you want to ask something?"
She gulps quietly, turning her hand enough to entwine her fingers with his. "...c-can you stay with me, for a bit? J-just so I won't be out here, alone?"
He stares at their hands for a moment, unsure what to think. He looks up at her with a smile. "Sure, that sounds nice. Maybe we could play in a bit, once you warm up."
She sighs softly, leaning against him slightly. "I-I'd like that... thank you..."
He stiffens slightly at the contact between them, but relaxes a moment later with another smile. "You're welcome..."
They stay there like that for a while, enjoying the silence and having someone to share it with. As time goes on, the girl’s shivers slowly fade down, eventually stopping. Her free hand grips his arm, as if she didn’t want to break their contact. She looks up at him from where her head rests on his shoulder, unsure. “We said we’d play after I get warm... right?”
Nodding, the colt smiles at her. “Yeah, we should probably keep the blanket close though, in case you get cold again.”
She sighs softly, reluctantly pulling away. “If you say so...”
He tilts his head at her. “Huh? Is something wrong? Did you not want to play?”
“No, I want to...” She shyly smiles, turning to look at the ground. “I just had trouble deciding between that and... well, sitting together...”
“Well,” he begins, trying to understand her, “If you’re tired, we can maybe find something to do where we sit.”
She turns to him and opens her mouth, as if to argue, but quickly closes it, nodding silently. “That... that sounds nice...”
“Are you sure?” He pushes slightly. “You looked like you wanted to say something else... you can say what you want, you know, I won’t interrupt.”
“I...” She gulps, squirming in the seat. “I honestly just... want to be with you... sitting or otherwise...”
He smiles understandingly. “You don’t want to be lonely again.”
Gel nods, looking down at their hands. “Yes... especially after meeting you...” She squeezes him gently, her thumb stroking along the emerald green fur. “You... you’re the first pony to ever be nice to me...”
Leaning forward, he nuzzles her. “Well that’s not right. You seem nice, so ponies should be nice to you. It’s only fair.”
“You’d think that...” She frowns softly, glancing down at her tattered dress. “But I was chased away when I tried to buy a dress... I guess I wasn’t fancy enough for them...”
“Oh... that kind of pony.” He frowns, shaking his head. “I meet a few of those rich kids sometimes, never really liked them much. Their parents always make me feel like I did something wrong, but I never did.” He pats her hand reassuringly. “Don’t worry about them, they’re just mean ponies that you’re better off without.”
She blushes, seeing both of his hands holding hers. “O-okay, Rhino... I trust you...” She clears her throat, gesturing to him. “W-why don’t you decide what we should do? I-I’ll go along with it, whatever you decide.”
“Well... Oh! This might work.” He gets up off the swing and goes over to one wall of the porch, picking up a blue ball that sits there. Coming back, he holds it out to her. “Maybe we can throw this, or kick it, or even roll it if we want?”
The small changeling thinks for a bit before nodding. “I suppose that can be fun…” She carefully takes it, holding it in both hands despite how small it is.
“Come on,” he waves for her to follow him, “there’s more room in the yard.”
She quickly does as told, rushing forward until she’s right next to him.
The green colt laughs. “You really are going to stay with me, aren’t you? Do you want the first kick?”
“Um...” She looks down at the ball, unsure. “I guess I can try...” She glances at him, her cheeks bright blue. “Promise you won’t laugh?”
He tilts his head at her. “Why would I laugh?”
She laughs nervously, rubbing the back of her neck. “Because I’ve never kicked a ball before?”
“Why have you never... I guess it doesn’t matter.” Motioning to the ball, he explains. “Just, you know, put it on the ground and hit it with your hoof.”
Gel nods and drops it, the blue sphere bouncing a couple of times before coming to a rest. She looks up at him, tilting her head to one side. “You’re... going to move over there, right?”
“Well, I could and we could kick it back and forth, or we could just walk together and kick it ahead of us, either way works.” He shrugs. “I was going to ask which one you want to do.”
“Walk together.” She takes his hand, smiling shyly. “I want to stay next to you, for now. Is that alright?”
He smiles back. “Sounds good to me.”
***
The two spend their day simply but happily, chatting, walking, and playing the games those their age are prone to do. As the base of the sun touches the horizon though, a new but ancient problem arises: the day cannot last forever.
The green colt looks toward the sun, back at his house, then back to his blue friend beside him. “I… I’ll have to go soon, dinner should be about now.”
She frowns, holding his hand a bit tighter. “Do… do you really have to leave? I… I don’t want to be alone, again, Rhino...”
“Well, I mean…” His mind struggles to find the words. “I have to go, or Dad will be worried. Umm… maybe I can ask him if you can stay the night?”
“I… I don’t know…” She lowers her head, shyly holding his hand to her chest. “Is… is he a nice pony? D-does he like my kind?”
He nods. “He’s definitely a nice pony… but I’ve never heard of changelings before today, so I don’t know if he likes them… I’m sure he’ll like you though, you’re really nice!”
“Well, um… m-maybe you should ask him, first?” She gestures to his home. “Just in case?”
“Good idea. Oh, umm, one thing Mom always told me to ask, because if I didn’t she would, are your parents okay with you staying over?” He looks at her questioningly.
“I think she would be…” She glances around, shivering slightly. “S-she definitely wouldn’t want me out in the cold, like this…”
“Ok, I’ll do that then. I’m sure he’ll say yes.” He looks down to her hand still holding his. “Did you… want to walk me there or something?”
She squeaks, quickly letting go of him. “Um, n-no… I could wait by the door, though…”
“Ok. I’ll be right back.” He heads toward the door, shutting it behind him. His hoofsteps quickly fade from hearing range as he heads to his father’s room near the back of the house.
Curious, the navy girl presses her ear to the door, hoping to hear what is said.
Unfortunately, the conversing ponies inside are too far away to be heard clearly. The young voice of her friend can be heard muffled, followed by the deeper other male voice. They go back and forth for a time until a laugh can be heard from the second voice, only a few words following from each until their sounds are replaced by those of the light hoofsteps sounding Rhino’s return.
She steps back from the door, waiting for him to come back outside. When he opens it, she shyly smiles, her hands clasped together in front of her skirt. “S-so… what did he say?”
He looks at her, his expression confused. “Well… when I asked if I could have a friend over and told him your parents were fine with it, he said yes. But… when he asked me which friend it was, and I said ‘my new changeling friend’ he… laughed. He said changelings were just stories meant to scare foals and that they aren’t real. Then he just rubbed my head and told me to get ready for dinner and stop playing with my imaginary friend until I’m done eating…”
“But… I’m not imaginary… am I?” She frowns, pinching her arm and wincing immediately. “N-no, I don’t think I am… what did he mean by that, though, ‘meant to scare foals’?”
The colt shrugs. “I don’t know… I mean, I never got told any of those stories, but other ponies talk about stuff like the boogeypony and Nightmare Moon. But… those ponies were all mean, and you’re not mean. You’re nice, and you’re real. Dad doesn’t seem to think so though…”
“Then… what should we do?” She shuffles her hooves, nervously glancing from him to the woods. “I don’t want you to be in trouble, or anything…”
“I… don’t know… I don’t want you to be out here all night by yourself in the cold though, that’s not right.” He shuffles his hooves. “But I don’t want to make Dad mad either…” Rhino stays quiet for a moment, appearing like he is conflicted before he suddenly looks around them. He beckons Gel to follow him around the corner of the house.
Curious, she hurries to catch up, taking his hand in hers.
Leading her around the corner, he peeks back at the door again before looking to her and whispering. “Umm, maybe, you can stay over, and Dad doesn’t have to know?”
Gel brightens up immediately, her eyes wide in excitement. “You really mean that, Rhino?”
He nods, looking behind himself and whispering again, though a small smile is working on his face. “Yeah, he did say you could stay over… he just thinks you’re imaginary, and ponies can’t see imaginary things, so if he doesn’t see you… everything’s okay, and nopony gets in trouble, right?”
“Right!” She giggles, happily hugging him. “Thank you so much for letting me sleep over!”
He blinks, unused to being randomly hugged by someone his own age. After a moment, he decides it’s not that different from being hugged by anyone else… even if it does feel nice. His hands come up and hug her back. “You’re welcome. I guess… you’ll have to hide for a bit though, I’m not allowed outside after it gets dark, and it gets dark while I eat dinner. I could… open my window in my room once it’s my bedtime, or… I could sneak out when Dad goes to bed a little after me and let you in the door…”
“I think the window sounds best.” She smiles as she pulls away, looking up at him. “Don’t want to take any chances, right?”
His happy brown eyes meet her blue ones. “Right!” He looks behind him one more time. “I have to go for dinner now, but if you go past the door, my window is the last one on that side of the house, okay?”
“Gotcha!” She lets him go completely and rushes off, waving to him. “See you later!”
“Bye!” He waves just before he enters the house.
About two hours pass, various lights go on and off in the house. Finally, the window specified has the light go out inside, and the sound of a door shutting can be heard. About five minutes later, a small click sounds before the glass slowly slides upwards. The head of the green colt pokes out the window, calling. “Gel? Are you there?”
Suddenly a familiar form leaps up to his right, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Yep!”
He jumps, but recognizes her after a moment, hugging her back. “Hey, you startled me!” He laughs quietly nonetheless. “Glad you made it.”
“So am I.” She glances down, her legs dangling freely below her. “Um… help me in, please?”
“Oh, right.” Rhino grabs her around her waist, bracing his feet against the wall as he pulls. The girl slowly starts sliding over the window sill until she suddenly stops. The colt pulls harder until a large ripping sound occurs as the girl suddenly comes flying in the window, Rhino with her due to the way he was pulling. They both end up on the floor with a small thump, her on top of him as they lay there, dazed.
She shakes her head, carefully pushing herself up, her hand gently rubbing his head. “You aren’t hurt… are you?”
The unicorn groans quietly for a moment, but relaxes as she rubs his head. His eyes crack up, looking up at her. “My head kinda hurts, but not bad. I probably won’t even feel it in the morning. Are you hurt?”
“I don’t think so.” She moves into a sitting position, shivering slightly. “I-is it me, or is your room c-cold?”
“Well, Dad and I keep it kinda cool in here, but it’s not that much different than outside…” He looks to the open window with that last word, noticing quite a lot of cloth hanging from a rough part of the wood due to the light of the moon outside. “Huh? What’s that? Here… let me get my little lantern so we can actually see…” He taps her arm so she will get off him.
She scoots off him, resting on the floor next to him and crossing her arms, her teeth chattering. “P-please hurry…”
The colt feels around on his bookshelf, barely able to see anything more than blurry shapes in the dim light. His hand eventually finds what he is looking for, well, both things. Feeling the fabric of a small blankets he has, Rhino walks over to his door, shuffling around a moment as he tucks the fabric against the bottom of it. “Don’t want Dad to see the light under the door.” A moment later he nods, turning around and clicking on his little plastic lantern and bathing the room in a soft but not bright light. It reveals the colt’s nightwear, a pair of green and blue plaid sleeping pants and a loose blue t-shirt.
It also reveals the form of the smaller girl, her navy blue chitin shining in the light. Her torso, up to her neck and down to the hem of her white panties from what can be seen, is a brighter blue, and noticeably so. Yet, as he looks at her, it becomes clear that the panties and her crossed arms are the only things currently keeping her decent. Not even her smooth legs are hiding her body, flat on the floor as they are.
Rhino blinks at this, wondering where the rest of her clothes went, but a glance at the window reveals the answer to that soon enough. What he thought was a mass of fabric is the remains of her former dress, now more of a slightly grimy ribbon than anything else. Looking back to the girl, his young mind not having any thoughts other than two right now. “Well, no wonder you’re cold right now… sorry about your dress, I didn’t mean for that to happen.”
She glances at the ruined outfit, shaking her head. “I-it’s fine… I-I’d really like some c-clothes, though…”
“Oh, right, umm…” He walks behind her, taking a moment to shut the window to keep the cold air out, and walks to his chest of drawers. Opening one, he sifts through it a moment before coming up with a light blue shirt. “Here, this one’s too small for me now, but maybe it’ll fit you?”
She gratefully takes it from him, rubbing the fabric between her hands a moment. “This… this is a lot better than my dress ever was…” She slips it on and smiles at him, hugging him tenderly. “Thank you, Rhino… this is the best birthday present I’ve ever gotten… aside from one...”
Learning to really enjoy her hugs, he hugs back. “I didn’t know it was your birthday. Happy Birthday then. I’m glad I could get you a good present, especially since it keeps you from looking like one of those silly foals that takes off their clothes and runs around with their Moms chasing after them.”
She pouts at him, her cheeks puffing out cutely. “I’m not like that. I’m eight years old, now… and I don’t just take my clothes off randomly.”
He chuckles. “Sorry, I was just kidding with you. Only little foals do that, not eight year olds. I’m ten, by the way. My birthday was a few months ago.”
“Well, then…” Gel leans up against him, gently nuzzling his cheek. “Happy late birthday, Rhino…”
Smiling, he nuzzles her back. “Thank you, and happy birthday again to you… Hey, what was your other present you said you got?”
She giggles, playfully tapping his nose. “Getting to meet you, of course.”
“Aww…” Rhino hugs her a little closer. “You really are nice… I’m glad you’re my friend.”
“And I’m glad I’m yours…” She glances over at the bed, tilting her head to one side. “So… we’re sharing that, right?”
He nods. “Well, yeah. There’s no other place to sleep anyway. It’s not like you can sleep on the floor.”
“True…” She stretches and climbs onto the bed, looking at him. “So… do you feel like talking a bit, or just sleeping?”
Climbing up next to her, he answers. “Talking sounds better, I usually can’t sleep when Dad tells me to go to bed anyway.”
“Great!” The blue girl hugs him, giggling softly. “What would you like to talk about?”
Deciding to tackle the obvious thing in his head, he asks simply. “Why do you hug me so much? I like it, I’m just wondering since you’re the only one my age who does that.”
She blinks, tilting her head to one side. “I like the contact… and your fur’s too fluffy for me to resist…”
He laughs. “That makes sense, and you’re really cool when you hug me, so it feels nice. Your turn, what do you want to talk about?”
“I… have you had friends over, like this?” She gestures to the two of them. “I’m not good at coming up with subjects on a bit like this… sorry.”
“Its fine.” He nuzzles her. “I haven’t had friends over though, I don’t actually have that many. That’s fine with me though. I’ve been to a friend’s house once or twice, although it was never just two ponies. It was always like a party or something… I think I like this better.”
“So do I…” She sighs softly, leaning up against his shoulder. “I wish we could just be like this… simply being together… though I, um… did I already say that?” She blushes, squirming slightly. “I kinda… forget stuff like that… read a book and I’m good, but… y-yeah…”
“I know what you mean. I’m like that with books too. That’s why I have that.” He points to the blanket shoved up against the door. “I read some nights before I go to sleep.” He chuckles quietly. “Sometimes if I’m quiet, I even sneak a snack.” Noticing her squirming, he hugs her to him. “Are you cold again?”
She squeaks, her cheeks positively burning from her blush. “N-no… y-you’re really helping me with that…”
“Good, it’s no fun being cold.” He looks down at her again. “Hey, how come your cheeks are turning more blue?”
“Um… t-that’s how I blush…” She giggles, gently nuzzling his cheek. “I’m just… really happy to be here, with you…”
“Me too…” He continues the back and forth trading of nuzzles. “You’re really fun, you know, in the ‘not crazy’ way, in the… umm… calm way, I guess.”
Gel smiles, pulling back enough to look up at him. “Thanks… so are you…”
“Thanks.” His eyes fall on the ruined dress, now in a tattered pile beneath the window. “Are you gonna get in trouble for that?” He points to it.
“I… I honestly don’t know…” She scratches the side of her head, frowning slightly at the cloth. “I mean, it’s been what I’ve been wearing for a while, now… so I did just lose most of my wardrobe…”
“Oh… I guess you don’t really have spare clothes when you’re lost.” His nose wrinkles a moment. “Mom always told me after like two days, clothes were dirty and they needed to be washed, so you put on different ones. Does that mean your clothes were really dirty?”
She bows her head, avoiding his eyes. “I… was wearing that for… four days, I think?”
For some reason, the colt finds this funny, laughing a little. “Wow, what was it like, wearing the same stuff for days?”
Gel sighs, laying back on the bed. “Itchy.”
“Really?” He tilts his head. “I would have thought everything was more comfortable the longer you wear it.”
“Not when dirt gets inside and sticks.” She shakes her head, flipping the blanket up over herself. “Guess that’s what I get for falling in the rain, though…”
He shivers a moment from memory instead of temperature, moving to get under the blanket himself. “Bleh, I hate falling into water with all my clothes on. You get really cold afterwards and everything gets soaked so you have to either walk around shivering and wet or take everything off from shirt to socks and huddle up in a blanket to get warm again.”
“I didn’t have a blanket, though…” She sighs, turning to look at him. “Thankfully… that only happened this morning…”
“Huh?” He looks toward the dress again before looking back at Gel. “So… when you were hugging me, and you and your dress felt cool, it’s because you were damp and you were keeping warm on me?”
"Well... it was part of the reason..." She squirms slightly, a look of discomfort on her face. "The, um, sun didn't quite dry my clothes out..."
“Oh, I guess that makes sense. You should better then now that you don’t have a wet dress on, right?” Seeing her squirming again, he scoots closer. “Are you really still cold?”
She nods, closing her eyes and turning away. "Uh huh..."
“Here,” he scoots closer and starts bringing her into a hug, “you said this hel-ah!” He scoots back a bit suddenly. “There’s a cold wet spot over there now! But you’re in my dry shirt now, why is your side wet?”
She gulps, looking at him nervously. "B-because... my panties are still wet?"
“Well, that’s not good. We can’t sleep in a wet bed, especially since Dad might think I wet the bed since he won’t see you!” He shakes his head. “No way am I letting him think that. Not a foal…”
She ponders this a moment before reaching under the sheets, shuffling a bit. "Do you... have a spare set of underwear, Rhino?"
He nods. “Umm, yeah, a few, but I don’t have any girl ones…”
Gel giggles, shaking her head. "I don't think I'll mind... I just need something to replace these." She holds up a small piece of white cloth, the slightly damp material easily recognized as her panties.
“Okay.” Slipping out of the bed, he goes over to his chest of drawers again, reaching into one of the top drawers and sifting around a moment before pulling out a pair of white briefs. Coming back over, he offers them to her. “Will these work? I’m not sure where we can put the old ones though… They can’t go in the dirty clothes or Dad will notice.”
The navy nymph, having scooted to the edge of the bed, gratefully takes the underwear. "They'll do nicely... as for these..." She sighs, tossing them over to her ruined dress. "I'll figure that out later." She carefully slides her hooves into the clothing, pulling them up her legs until she gets to the edge of the shirt. She pauses for just a second before flipping it up over her belly, allowing her to see and pull them up the rest of the way.
He tilts his head, having watched the movement just to avoid standing there looking at nothing in the small light from the lantern. “Huh… weird.”
She looks up at him, confused. "What's weird, Rhino?"
“Well, I know girls and boys are different, Mom told me that much.” He gestures to her. “But it’s weird to actually see somepony who doesn’t have… anything down there.”
She blinks, staring blankly at him. "I don't follow. I get there are differences, but... they're not that big, are they?"
He shrugs. “Well… I mean, girls are missing parts, that seems big to me.”
"Missing parts?" She giggles, shaking her head. "Surely you're kidding, right?"
“What? That’s what Mom told me. Girls don’t have the parts that boys do.” He stands defending his point. “That’s sure what it looked like to me.”
"Well, I don't have anything to compare myself with." She sticks her tongue out at him. "If we're so different, why don't you prove it?"
“You know what? Fine, I will.” Caught up in the moment, the colt pulls down just his plaid pants before something occurs to him and he looks up, laughing. “Hey, we match now!” He points to the fact they are both wearing just blue shirts and briefs.
She giggles, shaking her head playfully. "I didn't even notice! That's so cool!"
He laughs one more time. “Anyway, look.” He pulls down his briefs. “See? You’re missing parts.”
"Really?" She smirks at him, wagging a finger teasingly. "You just have extra, to me. Besides, doesn't having that make it harder to run?"
“No.” He starts pulling his clothes back on. “Sometimes I sit down wrong though, and it really hurts.”
She laughs brightly at this. "Then be more careful, silly!"
Securing both pants and briefs, he responds. “It’s not like I try to, it just happens. Hurts the same as when I accidentally get hit down there. I guess if you don’t have those parts you don’t have to worry about that…”
"You're kidding, right?" She quirks an eyebrow at him. "I got hit there, once, and it stung terribly. I don't think pain is one of the differences we share."
“Well that sucks.” He comments bluntly. “You don’t have the parts and it still hurts just as much.” Another thought occurs to him. “You know what, I always wondered something. How come girl underwear always seems softer than boys? I mean like at the store, that’s what it seems like when Mom asks me to hold stuff and that’s some of it.”
“I… I wouldn’t know…” She sheepishly smiles at him. “I only have hand-me-downs…”
He tilts his head. “Huh? You have sisters or brothers you get clothes from?”
“In a sense…” She shrugs slightly. “I, um… got them from my mom…”
“Oh.” He shuffles his hooves a moment. “Well, I guess now you have more clothes, right?”
“I do, yes.” She reaches up and hugs him close, giggling softly. “Again, thank you for that…”
“You’re welcome. You know… you’re still cool to hug even when you’re not wet.” He lets out a yawn. “Speaking of wet… I don’t think that side of the bed is gonna be nice to sleep on… I guess we’ll have to sleep on the same side.”
She smiles warmly, nuzzling his cheek. “I think I’d be fine with that…”
Smiling and nuzzling her in return, he breaks the hug and, walking over the the bed, uses the manners he was taught. Gesturing to the bed she is sitting on, he stands to one side. “Ladies first.”
Gel blinks, surprised. “Um… thanks…” She scoots backwards slightly, laying down so there’s enough room for him next to her. “Still not used to this… kindness…”
He replies as he lays down as well, pulling the covers up with a bit of magic. “What do you- oh, you mean what you said earlier about those mean ponies. Don’t worry about them, I’ll always be nice to you, especially because you’re my friend.”
She smiles softly, resting her head on his chest. “Thank you… I’m glad we’re friends…”
Not knowing why, but acting on it because it feels right, he puts an arm around her. “Me too… Did you want to talk some more, or should we go to sleep?”
She quietly yawns, letting her eyes drift closed. “I think… we should sleep…”
“Ok.” His horn lights up briefly as he clicks off the lantern and closes his eyes. “Goodnight Gel.”
She holds him close, sighing happily. “Goodnight, Rhino… sweet dreams…”
Author's Note
Well, this was a nice little fun thing myself and enigmaMystere did that turned a little bigger than we anticipated. This story is literally as the title says: a crossroads. This story actually has two sequels, but both are very different from the other. A key event happens in one that changes it drastically from the other. Be warned though, one of the sequels is mature rated, so, take that as you will.
The first sequel: Warm Hearts
The second, mature sequel: Studies in Equinity
I won't leave the links here, because they'll be released shortly after this story, just keep checking, and if nothing else, check the blog post concerning all three.
