We could not get out of North Carolina fast enough. Quite frankly, I didn't feel all that great about South Carolina, Georgia or Alabama. Our first stop was Mississippi, after a long drive. I didn't want to spend all the money Donnie gave us in one go. One room, two beds. A holo-projector. I had turned in all of my script and put all my funds into one account. It was an alright night. Still not in good territory but alright. The girls both slept with me that night. I don't blame them. How are you supposed to take being hated so suddenly? How do you take instant discrimination? Thankfully, things had gotten better in just about everywhere else in the country. Now, Texas was a bit of a stretch, but Donnie assured me it would be fine. That fact that my grandfather was there helped. I had always wondered where he'd gone to. I wasn't much better, disappearing for about five years. That's a story for another day though.

Our second day started early. Get up, get in the truck, get rolling. The cost for gas was getting lower as we got to Texas. That was good. I'd need a wallet friendly car though. I'd never give up the truck, but it'd be nice if I didn't have to budget like a bitch. I hate budgeting. Who doesn't? We went through Louisiana and New Orleans. We stopped as we were interrupted by a black parade. An age old tradition, as one native told me. The band marched in-front of the procession. The music was uplifting, with a sad edge to it. Everything seems happy in New Orleans, even if the man in the pine box was killed only a couple of streets away. Irony at it's best. Truly, the iconic roadtrip experience.

After a bit of food, we made the last leg of the trip. Down to Texas we go. The highways got smaller as we got closer. Right on down to a two-lane farm road. While not quite as bad as Alabama, the potholes certainly took their toll on us. The past few days have been quite the roller coaster. I'll have to take Filtter to a doctor.... Veterinarian? Damn it, I wish there was someone I knew who knew this stuff. It's like being a new parent..... Which I have to deal with rather soon.

Soon, we entered into the landscape of southern Texas. Evergreens far as the eye could see, rivers cutting through the land. If not for the trees, one would be able to see for miles and miles due to the flat nature of the land. I would be close to Matagorda beach, only an hours drive away. Houston isn't that far either, though, I think I'll avoid the hell-like traffic. I'm telling you, those bastards up there are suicidal. If they can't get to their meeting, no one can!

Sugarland or Rosenburg would be my closest bets for the luxury variety of shopping. Other than that, I've been told Wharton holds everything I need many times over. Within one mile of each other, there are three auto-parts stores. It's been the same for over sixty years or so. Things don't change often here, so they say. That's nice. Peaceful life for me. Soon enough, we entered Wharton county, then the town itself. It was like.... A page out of time. The square had buildings of brick and mortar, advertising vintage items. Of course, early two-thousands are vintage now, but I guess it's a shifting term.

Soon, I was on New-New Boling Highway, cruising past the baseball stadium. That should be interesting. Heard that if I keep on down the road, I'll come by a football stadium. I haven't been to Friday night lights in forever, not since I took a crack at it when I was in school. This place was close to being rural, but not so much that I'd have to carry scrip. Turn off after passing the stadium, right next to the junior college, take a turn and..... There it is. Our new house. Hopefully, with a bit of love, our new home.

I gently lay a hand on Flitter and shake her awake. I swear, she lets out the most adorable yawn before blinking awake. She takes one look at where we are and I see her face just light up. I decide to break the anticipation with two words.

"Welcome Home"

Pretty soon, all of us were blinking sleep and tears out of our eyes. I slotted the key into the door, relishing the feeling of the notches rolling into the tumblers. With a twist of my wrist, the door opened, showing us our new home. We walked into the living room. The house wasn't furnished. I wasn't even sure how it came into my possession beyond "Family connections". Did that imply some kind of..... Mafia? The Wharton Mafia. Ha. I've been watching too many of Dad's movies. He always did like The Godfather.

I went back out to the truck and began the arduous task of getting the boxes. I shouldn't complain, really. It's not like I have anything too heavy. Although, I'll have to get a new immersion rig. Had to leave the old one behind. It won't cost too much, but I had the old one set up just how I liked it. I can't get that back. I can't get the memories back of the house. That's the thing though, it's time to make new memories here. This is our house.

After a fair bit of moving stuff from the truck, it was time to head to a furniture store. Flitter volunteered to go with me while Cloudchaser stayed behind and got all of the HoloTVs set up. I closed the tailgate on my truck and climbed into the cab, Flitter joining me. I took the keys off of my jeans, where they were held by a hook on a belt loop, and cranked the truck up. After setting the GPS and backing out of the driveway, we were off. We'd be headed to a place in Sugarland, around the mall, a little over an hours worth of drive considering the traffic.

I decided, genius I am, to make some conversation. Sitting in silence for an hour is no fun.

"So," I began, "Texas... It's interesting, yeah?"

She turned to me from a position of staring out of the window. It seems she was just as enamored with the landscape as I was.

"It's pretty... If I'm being totally honest, I like it more than our old home. It's just so open!" She laughs.

"It's something alright. It's certainly a change from the pine trees"

"So..... How do you think ponies here are going to react to me?" She says as a worried look steals across her face.

I think on this a while. No point in giving a dishonest answer. After mulling things over in my head for a few seconds, I give my response.

"I think people are going to get along with you just fine. I'm sure of it. After all, this is the friendship state. Besides, if anyone wants give you any trouble, they have to deal with me. Come hell or high-water, we are going to survive. I'll make sure of that"

And that's exactly what I thought. I was sure that everybody would be fine with her. It's not like I ever paid any attention to the news about Texas. I really wish I had.

I think it was halfway to the store when I realized all the weird glares we were getting from the other drivers on the road. Every driver we passed gave us this horrible look. I really couldn't believe that every driver coming from the other lane seemed to hate me on sight. It couldn't have been Flitter, right?

The moment all hell broke loose that day was when we stepped out of the car. Oh boy. When me and Flitter tried to go into the store, we were stopped dead in our tracks by some scrawny teen working a mall greeter job. He said I couldn't bring my "Help-Mate" into the mall. Now, I've never been a level-headed individual, most people will tell you that. However, I feel like I kept it under control by just yelling at him as opposed to decking him on sight. Hell, I didn't even swear through my entire speech. Now, I didn't achieve what I wanted to, that being to be able to shop with Flitter. When I saw security, I had enough sense to take Flitter back to the truck and leave. We ended up just heading back home and me hitting up a store in town to get our furniture. It's not the time we wasted that still makes me angry, though that's annoying too. It's the fact that Flitter was discriminated against just because of what she was.

When I got home, Flitter and Cloudchaser were more than happy to help unload the furniture from the truck. At the very least we were on our own property. No one is going to fuck with me on my own property, that's for damn sure. Then, she showed up.

She came walking up my driveway and Flitter ushered Cloudchaser into the house, not wanting a repeat of our trip. I prepared myself, already with a speech in mind. So help me, I didn't care who it was they sent to drive me out, I would rip them apart where they stood. They were as good as dead if they were going to mess with my girls. I'll be damned if anyone thinks they can force me from here. Like it or not, I'm here to stay.

"Hey. You need any help?" She asked, catching me off guard.

....I wasn't ready for this. Not one bit. I stood there with my mouth hanging open, having been primed with a volley of swears which wouldn't be wise to use at this point. After standing there like an idiot for a few more seconds, I nodded. At any rate, I could just as easily overpower her if she tried anything. She smiled and went to go get a chair and I helped her with it. She got one side and I got the other. As we heaved the chair up, Cloudchaser, who had been watching through the window, opened the door to let us in. The girl actually smiled to Cloudchaser and thanked her. Suddenly, I felt a lot better about her. Suddenly, I felt a lot better about everything.

What was me and the mystery girl moving furniture soon became me moving it while she chatted up Flitter and Cloudchaser. From the sounds of laughter and happy tones, it seemed like it was going well. By then, I could certainly tell she had no ill will against us. I didn't count on everybody being like that, but it was nice to know we had a friend here. Two hours or so later and we were all sitting in the newly furnished living room. It was time to talk.

"So..." I began, sitting across our new friend, "I see you've met Flitter and Cloudchaser.... I suppose I should get your name"

She simply flashed me a smile. I could tell she'd been reared here. She was certainly a native. Jet-black hair framed her Caucasian face. She peered at me with her chocolate eyes. If I had to guess, she was mostly Hispanic, though she spoke with a clear Texas accent. That wasn't uncommon from what I've seen so far. Most of this town is hispanic, so it didn't surprise me. I remember grandpa, at least from when he was around still, used to talk about dating girls like this when he was young. Told me that they where some of the craziest girls he'd ever seen. If I were to take a picture of her, I'd be able to take a look at that grin and I'd know. She's crazy all right. In a good way.

"My name is Sophia. Sophia Juliana"

God, that's a sexy name. Admit it, say that name to yourself. Feel how it rolls off the tongue. Next time you're on a date, just say that name. I promise it'll work.

"So Emile.... I've heard some interesting things about you... Good things, of course!"

I gave her a look of curiosity before turning to the girls, who looked a bit sheepish.

"More to the point, I want to help you. I see how things are around here and it'll be hard to get around here the way you are now. I can help" She told me.

I thought this over for a while, rolling it through my head. Soon, I came to the realization that I couldn't afford to make enemies, let alone turn down allies. I had to push my mistrust aside for a second. This wasn't about me. It hadn't been since I took the girls into my home. My job now was to protect them. I won't fail them. I'll make sure of that. With that going through my mind and my heart, I met Sophia's eyes with a response.

"Let's talk"

Author's Note

This chapter is, Ironically, dedicated to the person who I argue with most. You may not realize it, but the most fun I have is arguing with you about.... Well everything. From ponies to instruments to who'd win in a bar fight. Thanks for bailing me out man, I owe you everything. Happy New Year L0rd0f7hund3r! Maybe I should stop directing people away from my own stories..... Nah. You deserve it. And don't ever expect me to get sappy like this again, I'm tipsy and just want to get this chapper out. Editing schmediting.