Similar minds and Different Lives
A I love this Bar sequel, and Room for Rent Spinoff.
Chapter 1 ‘A chanced Meeting’
I look around the campus of the University I had just spoken at. There had been a few of the bronies attending the speech, but to be honest it seemed that most of those in attendance had been graduate psychology students. I suppose that a speech over the psychology of friendship from a species that values friendship more than anything else really seemed to draw the crowd.
I briefly consider going back to my hotel room, but I’m not really tired. More than anything I want to just relax my mind. What would feel good right now is curling up with a good book, a cup of hot coco, and maybe listening to Spike going on about something extremely important to him. I can’t help but study the grounds of the campus as I walk across it. It’s beautiful, although to be honest it does pale in comparison with Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. Then again, I’m not sure there are too many schools actually taught by a princess and held in a castle. My eyes finally looked up and I see a welcomed sight.
There’s the library, a temple of learning, a fortress of solitude, and perhaps a place where I feel the most at home. I do miss things back home. I miss my books, Spike, and Ponyville in general.
A slight sigh escapes my lips as I walk through the doors of the library into the cool air. I gently ruffle my wings and look around. Every other University I had visited seemed to be use the same system in organization, and right now I just need some light reading. Something to take my mind off of things.
I find myself thinking about Rainbow Dash again and I force myself to put it out of my mind. She's doing better. It was hard on her, but she's come to terms with the death of her friend.
It was really kind of impressive that somepony, or someone rather, who didn't seem all that important in the grand scheme of things was so important to so many people. His friends had mentioned how loyal of a friend he was, and maybe that's why he and Dash got along so well.
I look around and instead of simply going and browsing I walk toward the counter.
"Excuse me, do you have any suggestions for someone who wants to enjoy a quiet reading?" I ask.
There's a sound of movement and I look to see a head poke out from behind a computer screen. He observes me for a moment before he arches and eyebrow and then goes back to what he was doing.
"Sir, I'm sorry if I'm disturbing you, but I would like to find something to read," I say.
"The Dusk Vampire Series is on the third floor," he says.
"The Dusk vampire... Oh those books. No, I don't want to read... something like that," I say politely.
"Really? Because you came in here asking for light reading. That's about as light as it gets," he answers.
"I said light reading, not something that doesn't require any real thought or perception," I reply.
He leans out again and there's a small smirk on his lips.
"What kind of light reading do you want?" he asks.
"Something that isn't dealing with real laws, or absolute decisions. Something similar to Daring Doo," I say.
"Have you tried the Harry Potter series?" he asks.
"The wizard books? I've read the first three. Do you have the entire set here?" I ask.
"Sure, come on and follow me," he says.
He stands up and walks around. He's tall, like most of the humans we've met. I look at his faded blue Captain Patriot t-shirt as he passes me. From here he looks like several of the students I've seen at any of the universities.
He leads me to the stairs and we climb them until we're on the third floor. Once there he walks straight to a small section of books and begins pulling out a few volumes.
"Here you go," he says.
I levitate the books over to a table and find a seat. He studies me for a moment before he starts to walk off.
"What were you doing earlier?" I ask.
"I was reading King Lear. I've got a thirty page paper that I'm supposed to have turned in at the end of the semester," he says.
"Hasn't the semester just started?" I ask.
"Sure, but I want to get the first draft done, and then check it, have my professor go over it, and then rewrite it. That way by the end of the semester I'm turning in my best work, and not just rushing to be finished," he replies.
I listen to that and my eyes widen. It was like hearing myself talk when I was still a student under Princess Celestia.
"Would you like some help?" I ask.
"Thanks, but I'm supposed to do this on my own. Besides, you're here to relax," he answers.
"How do you know I want to relax?" I ask.
"You asked for light reading, and you refused the Dusk Vampire books. That means that you're not a fan of trashy novels, nor are you trying to act like a hipster by reading up on them. You asked for something comparative to a relaxing read, and that means just relaxing," he states.
And that answer caused me to stop what I was doing and study him for a moment. A slight grin crosses my lips before I hop down out of my chair and look toward him.
"Really, I don't mind helping, and if anything else it would be interesting to see what your interpretation might be," I reply.
"Look, it's really nice that you want to help me, but I've got this. Seriously, just enjoy your books, and I'm going to go back to work," he says before he turns around and leaves.
I watch him walk toward the stairs and then down them. Before long he's gone. I turn back toward the books and find that what I really want to do is go down there and talk some more to him.
So far I've talked to so many dignitaries, members of congress, and even generals. All of these people have treated me like visiting royalty, but so few of them have actually taken the time to really talk to me.
I guess that's another reason I spent so long with Rainbow Dash. It was nice to just be around a friend for a while. I hated that the reason I was there was because of what had happened to her human friend, but at the same time it was nice to be with somepony who treated me like just another pony and not somepony special.
I hadn't realized how much I missed that until I visited with her, and now I found someone who didn't talk to me like they most likely talked to everyone else.
I hoped down and levitated the books in front of me and made my way down the stairs. Maybe I could strike up a conversation with him while I checked out the books from him.
I walk down to the desk he had been setting at and place the books in front of him.
“Already finished reading?” he asks.
“Actually I thought that I might check these out,” I reply as I wait.
I hear him shuffle behind the desk a little before a piece of paper and a pen is presented to me.
“Be sure to fill out everything with an asterisk next to it,” he says as I hear a few keys being struck from his end.
I begin going through the paper and soon it’s finished. He takes it from me, and I hear some rapid typing. After a moment I hear something humming. I stand on my hind legs and watch as he takes a small plastic card from whatever was humming and runs it across a card reader connected to the computer. He then types in a few commands and then presses enter.
“Okay, this is your Library ID. It will work with all four of our campuses. These books can be returned at any one of them. If you lose your card there will be a five dollar fee to replace it,” he says holding the card.
He hands me the card and then he quickly scans the books. I watch as he finishes up, and puts the books into a plastic bag. He hands it back to me.
“Have a good night,” he says as he tries to go back to his book.
“Actually, I thought that maybe you might want to take a moment and talk,” I reply.
He arches his eyebrow again and shakes his head.
“Seriously, I’ve got to get back to my studies. I don’t want to disappoint my professor. If I do then he’s going to have a low opinion of me all semester. I don’t want that,” he says, and I can tell he’s trying to be polite.
“Then that’s all the more reason to at least have someone look over your work for you,” I reply.
He breathes out a sigh and shakes his head.
“Look, it’s nice that you want to help me,” he says.
I watch as he starts to say something before his shoulders droop and he looks defeated.
“Fine, if you want to look at it you can, but I don’t like showing anyone my work before it’s perfect,” he says as he strikes a few keys.
I hear a printer engaging and after a moment he hands me a light grouping of fifteen pages stapled together.
“You mean you make your friends wait until it’s nearly finished before letting them read your work?” I ask as I look over the first few pages..
“Friends? Unless you count my professors I don’t really have any. I’ve got the folks I work with, but mainly I just see Steve every once in a while. Nope, my friends are Shakespeare, Poe, Hemmingway, and Frank Miller,” he says.
This is why we came here. This is the reason we went through everything we did in order to open the lines of communication between our worlds. We did it so that we could share how magic friendship could be. We wanted to show another world, and another species, how they were actually better off together as friends than trying to alienate everyone. I had the chance to do that now.
“You know,” I say as I choose my words carefully, “There’s nothing wrong with having friends. They can often give you an insight into something that you might be working on that you wouldn’t have thought of yourself.”
For a moment I feel I have done exactly what Princess Celestia would do in this situation. That ends when he looks at me and rolls his eyes.
“I’m sure that one of the guys who come in here on Sunday night trying to cram for a test they’ve put off studying for all week is really going to be able to give me any insight into what William Shakespeare meant in King Lear,” he replies.
“Maybe,” I say.
“Sure, and maybe rainbows will suddenly decide to shoot out of my ass,” he replies.
“Hey! There’s no reason to get so snippy,” I say.
He sighs, shakes his head, and looks back at his computer screen. I want to push this a little further, but I do have to remember what it was like for me when I first came to Ponyville. I didn’t want to be there. I didn’t understand what it was that Princess Celestia was doing by sending me there. If I want to open him up to the power and magic of friendship I need to do it slowly. My eyes go back to the paper, and automatically I realize that as far as intelligence is concerned I’m not dealing with a slouch.
His understanding of Shakespeare’s works is fantastic. I feel amazed at how fluidly he compares the play to some of the modern works. I can see various references here and there, but the claim I see that it was Lear’s need to endear himself to his children being his downfall is something that I don’t quite agree with. I had read the play as well, and it wasn’t so much Lear’s fault as it was his two greedy daughters. Sure, if he would have had a slightly firmer hoof, or hand rather, in bringing them up then they would have respected him more.
“You know, you could say that it wasn’t the wanting to please his daughters as much as it was his parenting style that was his downfall,” I say.
He looks at me and raises his eye brow again.
“Really?” he asks.
“Sure, I mean Lear obviously had given those two everything they ever wanted. He most likely did with the third daughter as well, but she had a desire to get what she wanted on her own. Maybe if he would have spent more time with them, and not try to buy their affections, they wouldn’t have treated him in the way they did,” I answer with a smile.
He looks at the computer, looks back at his book, and then back at the computer monitor.
“Damn it… That makes sense. It makes way too much sense because then it also moves into psychoanalytical aspect of the play,” he says as he begins typing away, “Thanks.”
I watch as he gets lost in his work. It’s something I have done in the past. Maybe I’ve set him on his path to friendship. It’s possible that I’ve done for him what Princess Celestia has done for me. The very thought begins to make me swell with pride.
“Maybe you could have a few other people look at your work as well, and you could always discuss literature trends, and…” I stop as he looks up and shakes his head.
“Sorry, but I’m just not interested in becoming friends with anyone. I’ve got my older sister, and that’s enough,” he says.
I groan and levitate the bag of books in front of me. I stop and a grin crosses my face. I was a personal student of Princess Celestia’s. I know my own experiences of making friends, and this is a first step. Now, all I have to do is try to build on it.
