I stepped into my room, a beer tucked under my arm, a pair of caps in my left hand. "Jesus, long damn day." I groaned, digging my heel into the floor and tossing the caps into a drawer. "Come on, stupid things." I yanked my boots off, the sticky soled shoes landed heavily near the door. I carried on, looking over my tightly packed room. Something felt off, my desk set was fine, still tucked into the corner. My closet was just a smidge open, as I'd always left it. My bed and my couch were fine, sheets and blankets bunched up and tossed. But something felt off, and the growing collection of bottle caps in the drawers I kept by the door was my only indicator.

"Hello?" I asked, sliding across the wall towards the closet. "Anyone there?" I met my side wall, pulling open the sliding door to my closet and reaching for my hockey stick. "Hello?" I bit my lip, the beer in my hand starting to freeze my fingers. "Come out, we can talk nicely. I swear, you come out now I won't belt ya one!"

Something shifted on my bed, the covers and sheets rustling loudly. "...Milky?" I asked, stuffing the neck of my beer into my pocket. "That you?"

Milky's blue mane popped out of the sheets, the wavy mass a bit frazzled. "Oh...morning Joel." She let out a ripping yawn as she stood. She bore one of my jackets, the blankets and pillows building a fort around her. "Sorry, I should have told you." She looked me over, eventually spotting my hockey stick. "What's that?"

I realized I was wielding my stick of my head. "Uh-" I tossed it back into the closet, "-nothing." I hurriedly slammed the closet door shut. "...Not into sports."

Milky cocked her head. "Sports?" She scratched her head, "Who said sports?"

I shook my head hard. "Nothing, not that Canadian...have some family in Wisconsin...and Scotland.... Not just Canada." I made sure the closet was shut tight. "Cheeseburger." I looked towards my door. "Had to say something American. Anyways, why are you in my bed?"

"Oh...uh--"

"Not that Canadian...." I stated, wedging it in with the grace of a tractor. "Equestrian if anything now."

Milky cocked an eyebrow, her robe falling off her withers. "Sure. Um, it was cold, and I know you brought a lot more blankets. I was gonna just borrow them, but you said you wanted to date, and your bed is a lot softer than mine so I just kinda...curled up. Sorry, I didn't mean to sleep in here the whole night."

I scratched my head, my fingers catching under the straps of my eye patch. "Potion factory got out early, there was a bottling malfunction and love potion spilled everywhere." I looked towards the window, walking over and pulling the curtains open. "Entire place smelled like cherries and sex." I shivered harshly, "Like a stripper orgy."

Milky leaned her head towards me. "Oh...what time is it?"

I pulled my sleeve up. "About, ten or so." I started to pull my over shirt off. "And it's fine if you want to borrow my stuff. Especially if you're cold at night. God knows I don't need it half as much as you do."

Milky snuggled back into the pile of fur blankets. "What's that supposed to mean?"

I let out a sharp sigh as I unbuttoned my shirt. "It means I wear a rug, and lived in a freezer half my life." I opened up my shirt, "Chest like a racoon's ass."

Milky covered her mouth, the frilly bits of her robe coming up over her hooves. "Oh dear Celestia, I thought humans were supposed to be peachy and smooth!"

I closed my shirt up. "Nope. Well, depends. If they tried to wax my chest there'd be blood. And not mine."

Milky continued to chuckle as I fixed my shirt. "Oh...I kinda,"- she lifted up her back hooves, a pair of my socks ripped and stretched over her hooves, -"ripped them."

I frowned roughly. "I liked those socks." I rubbed my chin. "Is it really that cold? You're wearing my shirt, a robe, socks, blankets everywhere." I looked at the thermometer I pasted to my window. "It's barely negative three!"

Milky frowned hard. "That's cold, Joel, that's really cold."

I scoffed, "Yeah, but that means it's probably above freezing inside!" I turned the the second themometer I kept hanging from the overhead light. "Yeah, see! It's like three degrees!"

Milky pouted, her face snapping my scolding in two. "I'm sorry I'm not a polar bear."

I stuffed my hands in my pockets. "Uh...sorry about that. Maybe got a little too excited."

Milky nodded, "Just a little."

I leaned back and forth on my heels. "So, we still going out tomorrow?"

Milky nestled back into the covers. "Yes, why?"

I shook my head. "Just a little nervous. Don't want to offend you if I can avoid it."

Milky smiled softly, "Joel, you're one of the nicest humans I've met. Most are kinda...mean, or, just odd."

I rubbed my cheeks. "Don't be too rough on em." I walked over to the bed, sitting down next to her. "Thing most people don't know is, not many normal people came to Equestria."

Milky scooted next to me. "What? You're normal, I've seen normal humans."

I nodded, "Aye, but the vast majority had some sort of reason for coming here. A lot of veterans, foreigners, people running away from something. Or ya get the domestics, looking for something. Some folk are looking for a new life, some a chance, some love, some work. I got lucky, I waited, came here a little later and found a job real quick. Others, people who came here first, they'll adapt slower, they'll fit in slower. They came running, for something or from something, and that's not going to make a healthy person right away."

Milky stared at me, "I suppose. But you don't seem like you're looking for something. Are you running?"

I took a deep breath. "No, not running. I'm definitely trying to get away from home, but it's more of an adventure for me." I rubbed my forehead. "I had a nice life back home, but I thought I could make another great life over here. I went from good to great, most humans I've met are going from bad to good, and they'll just need time to adjust."

Milky frowned softly, "They seem to swear a lot too. But you don't."

I shrugged, "All depends on where you're from. City folk tend to swear more in my observations. But, military folks top them. Military city boys, oh geez...don't even get me started." I chuckled softly, "But if they can find some calm here, after a time, even if they're pricks when the come here, give them time and they'll find their place."

Milky looked down at her hooves. "You just seem oddly comfortable, like you should have lived here your whole life."

I took a deep breath. "Milky...do you know how I lost my eye?" I asked, turning to her. The left side of her face was covered up by my blind spot. "I won't tell you the story unless you ask."

Milky looked me in the face. "I wasn't going to."

"I'd prefer if you did." I stated, folding my hands neatly on my lap. "It's nothing too terrible, I assure ya."

Milky looked me up and down, eventually placing a hoof on my thigh. "Joel, what did happen?"

I bit my lip, "When I got here, about a year and a half ago, I got my job real quick. I was helping mix potions and such, when the factory was still working out of a garage. One of the ponies I was working with added too much nickle, and boom." I slapped the bed, "Bottle exploded."

Milky pulled her hoof off my thigh. "Oh. And that's--"

"I got the worst of it. Tore up my face something bad, but that's all fixed." I rubbed my covered eye. "Even my eye is in one piece, but it just doesn't work." I turned to the wall, the beige monster bare and lonely. "Point is, I spent about four months off work. I was in therapy, physical and emotional, and while I was there ya know what I did?"

Milky carefully placed a hoof on my arm. "What happened?"

I held my arms out. "I got used to living here." I let my arms flop to my sides. "I got over you all being ponies. I got over the magic, I got over my eye, I just moved on. I think, if I hadn't of lost my eye, if I hadn't gone through the therapy, I wouldn't be as settled in as I am. I'd be a little angry, bitter, I'd have the stigma of you being a pony. And let me tell you, say it's not there all you want, it's there. You can see it, even with couples. Humans get bugged about being with a pony."

Milky let her hoof trace down my arm. "But it doesn't bother you?"

I lowered my head. "I've had a lot of free time to get over it. And I've met a lot of good people. I get pangs, moments of clarity where I wonder what I'm doing. But I always think about the people, ponies, everyone and everything I have here, and it's all worth it."

Milky leaned against my arm. "And me?" She looked up at me, chin resting against my shoulder. "You get the pangs when you look at me?"

I stared down at the beautiful mare. "I do." I stated clear as day. "But each time they get weaker." I placed my free hand on her hoof. "You're the first pony I've actually dated, or tried to date. It's a bit odd, but you're beautiful, you're kind, and you're helping me push past the bad feelings."

Milky lowered her chin, clutching my right arm tight. "That's sweet."

I rubbed my cheeks. "I suppose it is." I carefully took my eye patch off. "Now, you can stay in here, use my bed, if you want."

Milky refused to let my arm go. "And what about you?"

I rubbed my throat, "I'll sleep on the couch. And don't try and pull me into bed, I just want to take this slow. We rush this, there's more chance things will go wrong."

Milky nodded, rubbing my shoulder with her chin. "Alright." She looked up at me, her vision shifted to the right. "Your eye...it's--"

"A lot of colors, I know." I covered it with my palm. "The potion that exploded was a hell of a deal."

Milky smiled at me. "It's pretty."

My heart warmed up, the cold of the room seeming completely inconsequential. "Thanks Milky. You're pretty too." I shifted uncomfortably, the bottle in my pocket having since numbed my leg. "Milky...you want some beer?"

Author's Note

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