*Cut, Cut, Cut, Cut,*
*Cling,*
*Fold, slide, fold, fold, fold,*
*Plop*
“Drop me more peps please!”
“On it,”
*Clamp, slide, plop, CLANG!*
*Clamp, slide, plop, CLANG!*
*Cling,*
*Cut, Cut, Cut, Cut,*
*Cut, Cut, Cut, Cut,*
*Cling*
*Fold, slide, fold, fold, fold,*
*Plop*
*Fold, slide, fold, fold, fold,*
*Plop*
“Which car does this Deep Dish go to?”
“White car, two door,”
*Bell ring*
These are the typical sounds you can find yourself hearing inside a Little Caesars, all of that folding cutting and plopping is my job, I box and cut pizza straight out of the oven. Hi, I’m Anthony, and this is my 9 to 5 Monday through Friday. I’ve just graduated high school not a month ago and they started me full time not to long after, I started working here in late January but only part time until May. I originally didn’t mean to get this job, I went to a friend’s house and when I showed up he was just leaving to apply here, having nothing to do I tagged along with him. Once we arrived they asked if I wanted to apply, figuring it wouldn’t matter I did and they hired us on the spot. That friend quit a few weeks ago, along with most of the trainees I started with, we started on a new batch of trainees about a week ago and they’re doing good so far. None slacking much, the girl on drive thru is new and is doing an amazing job, she’s a natural. I’m on ovens and have mastered the art of cutting and boxing the pizza very fast, I’m good at most of the jobs but ovens are my favorite.
I look up at the clock to see it’s a few minutes from five, ‘Come on, let this rush end before five so I can leave on time,” I look over to the drive thru camera and see it empty, I then glance to the reflection of the remaining drive thru in the glass door of the soda machine to see only two cars. I look in the lobby and see no customers, and finally into the oven to see only four pizzas on the top conveyer way at the beginning. I look back at the clock to see it’s now five.
“Alright Jen, don’t work too hard tonight,” I say setting down my pan grabber and spatula.
“Oh, don’t work too hard on a Friday, I’d be lucky if we didn’t have one of those 6 till 10 rushes again,”
“That sucked, but for a trainee you did good, kept percentages up better than I’ve ever been able to,”
“Don’t you hate working drive thru?”
I nod, “I despise it, but we all have to do our part,”
“Well whenever I’m on shift I always do drive thru, and I love it,”
“Alright, hey look another drive thru,”
“Shit, really,” she says looking around the warmer at the camera to see, no-one, “You’re such an ass sometimes,”
“Clear that drive thru of yours, and you have a few pizzas in the oven, later,” I say leaving to the back.
I go to the computer, sign into my work account, and clock out before heading to the back of the store. As I make my way back, I see the General Manager the night shift leader and the morning shift leader making pizzas on the pizza line, I then look to the racks behind them and see only half of one cart full out of the three total carts (48 to a cart)
“Come on Alan, slacking,” I say to the General Manager jokingly, him along with the night shift leader Isaac are both Hispanic and laugh before uttering some words in Spanish, talking shit about me I imagine.
“At least I didn’t drop any pizzas yesterday Gringo,” says Isaac.
“Drop anymore pizzas and I’m gonna have to drop your hours,” says Alan with a laugh
The three of us share a laugh, I give them all a fist bumps before making my way to the back, my friend Antonio is doing dishes and listening to the soft beats of Johnny Cash.
“Why does Alan give you the most fucked up hours out of us all?” I ask
The typical shift is either morning from 9 to 5 or night from 4 till 11, Antonio works after noon, from 12 to 8.
“I don’t know man; he gave me less days on next week’s schedule, only three days man, I can’t pay for shit with these hours,” he says
“It’ll be alright, hell maybe someone will quit or get fired and more hours will be there for you,”
He nods, “True, alright I’ll see you later, take care,”
I share a fist bump with him before grabbing my bag and heading out the door to my car.
Yes, a 1997 Honda Prelude, base model it may be this car still gets wheel spin shifting from first to second. Five speed dual overhead cam with Vtec (Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control), bought it used as a graduation present to myself, still haven’t regretted the purchase I made last month and probably never will. I hop in the two door and push the clutch in before starting it, I take the hair net off of my medium length beard and remove my hat before throwing them both into the passenger seat. Finally I roll both windows and sunroof down before backing out of my spot and looping around the store.
I turn right onto the main road, shifting first to second then second to fourth hitting 40 mph, cruising in the left lane passing people only going the speed limit of 35. And wouldn’t you know I’m stuck behind a slow driver not knowing which lane is meant for what.
“Come on cock suck, move,”
I ride his ass to no result; I look right to see a car right next to me going the same speed I am, god damn it. I’m a sitting duck, no down shifting and going around, no Vtec loudness; we aren’t even going the speed limit anymore. I have to shift into third so I don’t bog down my car, then it happens, the car to my right merges into the far right lane. I down shift into second and blast around the truck, Vtec kicking in at 5600 rpm helping me rocket around the truck. I then put her back in forth and cruise again before merging onto the high way.
Minutes later . . .
I’ve come to realize that there are a few down sides to owning a sports car, one of which is people always trying to race you. Only a few minutes on the high way and a car wants to race, a Miata to be exact, fuck it.
Honk
Honk
Honk
I down shift to third and am immediately greeted by the beautiful sound of Vtec; I shift to fourth as I hit 90, the Miata trying to keep up. I’m looking at him in the rear-view and hear Vtec once again, I look down to see my speedometer at 115, I then look up and-
“SHIT!!” I scream locking up my breaks, but to no avail as I’m met with the rear end of a semi-truck, I close my eyes and,
SCREECH!!!
CRASH!!!
Unknown Location, Unknown Time
I wake up, my head is pounding with a head-ache and my vision blurry, it’s very cold and dark where I’m at. I try and stand but stumble into a puddle of very cold water. I roll onto my back and car see a candle light on one of the walls, odd, thought we were more advance than that. After a few minutes I regain my vision and come to the conclusion that I’m in a cell or prison of sorts, I run a hand through my beard and give a gruff scratch before sighing. I soon here what I can assume is a horse trotting closer and closer before,
“Prisoner, you’re awake, the Princess’ wish to see you at once,”
I turn my head towards the cell door to see not a human, but a horse with wings?
“I, you’re, what are you?” I ask
“A Pegasus, now please, it’s not suggested to keep the Princess’ waiting. But mark my words; if you try and attack me I will put you down, understood creature,”
I nod, very confused and worried at the same time; I stand and stumble to the cell door as the horse opens the door.
“We don’t have shackles big enough for you, so don’t try any funny business,”
All I do is nod, as we make our way up a flight of stairs the lighting becomes more natural and the walls turn from stone to crystal, as we get to ground level we turn into another corridor and to say the least it’s very long. After what felt like forever we finally turned to a short corridor with a huge set of double doors.
“Wait here a moment,” says the guard before entering and shutting the door behind him.
I’m finally left alone for a moment, and take this opportunity to take a look around, not much on the walls aside from a few pictures of what I can assume to be diplomates. The one that strikes me as different is a picture of a pink alicorn with a smaller pink alicorn.
Probably a mother and her daughter but, no father though, wonder what happened to him. My thoughts are interrupted by the door opening once more, the same guard gestures for me to come in, I nod and follow along.
“Your highness, the creature you requested,”
As I enter the first thing I notice is a shocked group of alicorns, one of which is the pink alicorn from the picture.
I hear the door behind me shut, the three princess and I share a moment of staring before we hear someone, or somepony, break the silence with a cough. I look to my right to see a much taller white alicorn. She’s not too worried but has a concerned look instead.
“The guards said they found an ape, but, you’re definitely not an ape,” the white Alicorn says.
I can hear sniffing near me as I look back I notice the purple one has come close to me and is sniffing my uniform
“You smell like old pizza,” she says confused
Right, forgot about my work uniform, I reach into my pocket and don’t feel my phone. I sigh as she continue use to sniff me before asking, “Do you work at a pizza place or something?”
I’m still in shock about what’s going on, I look up and see the two princesses at the table laughing a little, the white princess still had the same look.
“Twilight, dear, would you give the creature some space; he appears to be in shock,”
The one who I can assume is Twilight says, “Sorry Princess, I’m just curious about, um, what are you?”
“I’m a human, my name is Anthony, and to answer your question yes I do work at a pizza place; or I did at least,”
“What happened?” asks the pink alicorn
I sigh before saying, “I died, back in my world,”
A gasp is shared through the room, the darker alicorn asks, “And how did thou die,”
“I was being stupid and decided to race someone else on the highway, next thing I knew I met the back of a semi-truck and woke up here,”
Obviously confused by this, I sigh not being able to explain the situation any better.
“Would you allow me to tap into your memory and project it on the table for us to see?” asks the white princess.
“You can do that?”
She nods, I then say, “Sure, why not.”
I see her horn light up as she taps into my memory, I see a picture appear on the table as my memory from the past few minutes are displayed on the table. Mind blowing, the princesses are impressed with my world to say the least; restaurants, gas stations, highway system. Never realized how beautiful my world is, the sound of Vtec kicking in can be heard as I blast around the truck.
“Very advanced world,” says Twilight amazed.
A few minutes of watching and we’re at the point when the Miata pulled up next to me, he honks then I shift into third and start pulling on him.
“What’s that display behind the wheel?” the pink alicorn asks.
“Speedometer, tells me how fast I’m going, that’s in miles per hours,”
Another gasp is gained from the four, “110 miles per hour, the Equestrian speed record in a carriage is only 40 miles per hours,” says the white alicorn
Then it happens, I look up and see the semi-truck, the brakes lock up but the car doesn’t slow and I slam into the back of it. The last thing seen before the video ends is a steel bar heading towards the screen before black.
“Y-you died?” asks the dark alicorn.
I nod; a sad sigh is shared amongst us, the dark and white one looking at each other sad. Twilight is still looking at the table while the pink one is looking at me sad.
“What are your names?” I ask.
“Princess Luna,” says the dark one.
“Princess Celestia,” says the white one.
The pink one, still looking at me says, “C-Cadence, princess Cadence,”
“And what might your name be?” asks Luna
“Anthony,” I reply not breaking eye contact with Cadence
“Well, seeing as how you have no-where to go I imagine you’ll need a place to stay,” says Celestia.
“He can stay here, I wouldn’t mind sparing a guest room for him,” Cadence says suddenly
The other three look at her, she gives off a blush before saying, “That is if he wants to,”
The four of them look at me, I shrug my shoulders before saying, “Sure, whatever’s clever,”
She smiles and nods before saying, “Good, I can’t wait for you to-
“Mom!!” we hear a voice say, “I’m home from school!”
The doors open and another alicorn enters the room, this one much younger than the others, about 13 or 14. She looks at me and is terrified, jumping in the air with the help of her wings.
“W-What is that thing!! Mom make it go away,” she then flies over to Cadence and hides under her wing.
“It’s alright Flurry, he’s friendly, Mr. Anthony is going to be staying here in the castle for a while,”
“But mom,”
“No but’s young mare, now apologize to Anthony form calling him a thing,”
She gives off the expected teenage sigh before saying, “I’m sorry for calling you a thing, I’m going to my room to do my homework now,”
Flurry leaves the room, “Don’t mind her, teenagers, am I right,”
“I’m 19 actually,” I say to Cadence, she blushes and says, “My bad, you seemed older,”
“Well, I think we’ll be off now, we’ve got a long flight ahead of us; it was good staying here for the last few days but I think our royal leave is up,” Celestia says.
“We couldn’t agree more sister, it was great being here Cadence dear,” says Luna.
“Hope to see you again, even if you’re no longer married to my brother you know you’ll always be like a sister to me,” Twilight says
Cadence gives off a sigh before saying, “And you to me as well Twily, take care you three,”
After they exchange hugs, Celestia, Luna, and Twilight leave the castle to where I’m not sure. One detail I managed to catch was Cadence used to be married to Twilight’s brother.
“Hey, Cadence, you were married to Twilight’s brother?”
She nods as I got to the table and set across from her, “Yea, we were married 14 years and dated for another 4 years before that. He’s Flurry’s father and I loved him so much,”
“What happened?” I ask.
She gives off a sad sign, her eyes seem to become glassy before she says, “I’d notice he’d been getting home from work later and later, he was captain of the royal guard and commanded the guards here while taking a four day trip to Canterlot once a month to cheek on the rest of his guards. However, one night he didn’t come home, I went to bed at my usual time of 10 pm and he’d usually come home and join me around a half hour later. But, when I woke up at 6 am, the covers weren’t different and the guards for my chambers said he hadn’t come back during the night,”
“Really, then what happened,” I say nodding.
She seemed to get choked up but continued, “I asked around and was told by one of the guards he’d been training the night before that he was staying at a hotel in the crystal empire, and that he went with one of the mare trainees. I didn’t want to hunt him down so I waited for him to come back, asked him where he was and when he lied I told him what I was told. He didn’t lie and told me the truth, he’s since been banned from my empire and I haven’t seen him since. That was a year ago, and I can’t say that I miss him but it’s been hard raising a kid and taking care of an empire alone,”
At this point she had tears running down her face, I sigh before saying, “I wish I could say I know how it feels, but I really don’t honestly. The hardest thing I’ve ever done was run the store I work at alone for a couple of hours, but I can’t imagine that happening with my girlfr-“
I then stopped and thought about her, the love of my life back in my world, my friends my family all left behind.
“What’s wrong Anthony?” Cadence asks.
“M-My girlfriend, my family, it’s all gone. I-I’m here and don’t know of a way to get back, I, can you help me get home, you’re powerful right?”
“We’ve only come as far as time travel, and that was when Twilight went back in time a week to try and fix a problem but that spell was long forgotten. The closest thing to dimensional travel we have is the an alternate version of Equestria with more humans like you, the only reason we didn’t know what you were was because Twilight was never able to find the name of your species,”
I sigh, my eyes getting glassy at the thought of losing everything, especially her. . .
“You said you had a girlfriend, or special somepony I presume, what’s her name,”
“Annabelle, or Anna for short. She was the nicest girl, always knew the right things to say, to do. She was the best thing that’d ever happened to me, and now I’ve left her all on her own. She helped me overcome my depression, she’d always bring me up when I’d come down, she helped me with my first major break up and now I sort of feel the same,”
At this point tears where spilling down my cheeks, Cadence reaches a hoof over and wipes one of the tears away. She has a sympathetic look, she seems to really care.
“It’ll be alright, there’s plenty of love to find her in Equestria, and even more friends to support you,”
“W-Why are you being so nice to me, we’ve only met a half hour ago and you’re trying to make me feel better,”
“Well, I am the princess of love after all, it’s my job to keep ponies, or humans, like you happy when heart broken,” she says, with a smile.
“Well, you’re doing a good job; I’ve stopped crying I guess,”
She looks at me, still concerned for me, “You sure you’re alright?”
I nod, “I’m better, thank you for being so nice to me,”
“It’s nothing, now come one, let me show you your room then we can have dinner,”
I nod getting up and following her, “And, we can have my tailor hem you some new clothes to on the way,” I nod before we exit the room.
Tailoring Room
As we enter, we both see a unicorn finishing up a dress that looks, holy shit that’s beautiful.
“Excuse me, Flawless Hem, could I bother you for a moment?” Cadence asks
Flawless Hem is a mare with White fur and a Blonde mane; she’s about the same height as Twilight and needless to say is beautiful.
“Oh Princess, you’re not a bother to me, whatever can I do for you?” Flawless Hem says before soon noticing me and is shocked for a moment before asking, “And who might this be, or what might this be?”
“This is Anthony, and he’s a human,”
She nods before saying, “Well, nice to meet you, and I presume you’ll need me to make clothes for this Anthony?”
“Exactly,” Cadence says.
“No problem, let me just get some measurements, I’ll need you to remove your clothes and step onto the platform over there,” Flawless Hem says gesturing to a platform to our right.
“Um, I, um,” I utter blushing.
“What’s wrong Anthony?” asks Cadence.
“It’s sorta considered indecent for human to not wear clothes in our culture,”
“Oh come on, what could be so bad about you not wearing clothes?” Cadence asks
I sigh before saying, “Alright, one moment,”
I remove my shoes, belt and pants before taking my shirt off revealing a not ripped body but fairly toned, sure I worked at a pizza place but I couldn’t stand to eat fast food. The only thing I have on is my boxers.
“I need those to come off to if you want me to make some of those,” Flawless Hem says referring to my boxers.
I sigh, “Ok,”
I remove them and am greeted with surprised gasps, “Y-You don’t have a sheath?”
I shake my head, “Can we just get this over with before it becomes more awkward than it already is,”
Flawless Hem nods quickly before taking quick measurements around my waist and thighs, “Same length as the ones you already have?” she asks.
I nod, putting them back on; after she measures their length, my length from waist to ankle, around the ankle, neck to waist, around the stomach, neck to wrist, neck to elbow and around the bicep.
“Alright now for height, wow 6 feet tall, same height as Cadence. It’s like you two were meant for each other or something,” she says scribbling numbers on her paper.
I look at Cadence who’s blushing furiously at the comment, “Flawless!!” Cadence says embarrassed.
“What; he’s your height, definitely taller than Shining Armor, and his forehooves are more muscular than Shining Armor’s,”
“FLAWLESS!!!” Cadence yells, blushing a dark crimson.
“Alright; seven short and long sleeved shirts, seven pairs of undergarments, seven pairs of denim pants, anything else?” Flawless asks.
“Socks, and a zip up sweat shirt,” I say with a blush on my face as well, I look at Cadence and she only smiles nervously at me.
“Alright, let me just measure your hooves and we’ll be done,”
“They’re feet,”
“Feet, got it,”
She measures around my foot and the length before writing more down on her paper. She nods and says, “Alright, I’ll have those done by the morning, if you ever need anything consider it down, even repairs,”
“Thanks, I appreciate the generosity,”
“It’s what my mentor Rarity taught me, generosity is my number one policy,”
I nod before putting my clothes back on, I walk to a now blushing Cadence.
“H-How much will that be?” Cadence asks.
“Oh, your highness, it’s no charge. I always love a new challenge and if anything I owe you both, so no worries,”
“Thank you so much, well shall I show you to your room?”
I nod as we take our leave out of the room.
Guest room chambers
“Alright, so before you enter I need to change a few things, give me one sec,”
I nod, she enters and I can hear sound of magic and a few things moving around before the door opens again.
“Alright, come on in,” she says letting me in.
I walk in and it seems to be a normal room to me, “What did you do, seems like a normal room to me,”
She lights up her horn and the room poofs into a smaller more cluttered room, “This is what it looked like, just to give you a sense of perspective,” she then turns the room back to the way it was.
“I mean, it looks amazing, you spoil me,” I say jokingly
She gives me a playful shove before saying, “Haha, so here’s the bed and it has two night stands, and you have a dresser for your clothes,”
She leads me to the bathroom, “And here you have a shower with glass walls and door, single sink and mirror along with an array of toiletries,”
As we make our way back into the bedroom she asks, “Anything I missed?”
I look around before asking, “Television,”
“Tele what?”
“Never mind, oh, did I have anything in my pockets when I was found?”
“Yes, allow me to fetch those for you, you take a shower and do any cleaning you feel you need. I’ll have a set of clothes and your things on the bed, when you’re ready I’ll have an assistant waiting outside of your door, he or she will take you to dinner with my daughter and I,”
I nod, “Awesome,”
As she heads toward the door I say, “And Cadence,”
She turns her head toward me with a look of question.
“Thank you, for the hospitality,”
She blushes and smiles, “It’s my pleasure, don’t be afraid to ask my guards for anything either, see you at dinner,”
I nod before making my way to the bath room; I take off my boots finally and stretch out my toes and legs, my joints giving off pops and cracks. I take off my shirt and pants before throwing my boxers aside, as I make my way into the shower I catch a glimpse of my ugly mug.
I sigh and make my way to the mirror and open it to find a razor and shaving cream, I start with the typical beard trim and a smoothing of the edges. But after some thinking I fill my hand with shaving cream and run it through my beard before shaving it all off, it’s taken me all of two years to grow this. I hesitate to cut before I sigh and make my first stroke down my left cheek, most of the hair falling into the sink, after many strokes across my face I’m left with half of the hair I had. I give my face a quick wash and apply another layer of shaving cream before repeating the razor strokes, leaving me with stubble that I removed with a few up strokes. After finally washing my face I look up into the mirror and see what I haven’t seen in years, clean shave Anthony.
“Alright, shower and to dinner,”
10 minutes later
After a long hot shower and a much needed brushing of the teeth, I exit the bathroom towel around my waist to see a set of beautifully made clothes and a small wooden box. I get dressed and lace up my boots before opening the box; inside is my cell-phone (An HTC M7), a wallet with card and about 28 dollars cash, and a curve blade knife (Similar to the Karambit). After putting my items in my pockets I stand and make my way out the door.
“Excuse me, anyone there?” I ask.
“Yes sir, Anthony right,” the stallion says.
I nod, he then says, “Right this way,”
I exit the room and follow him to the dining hall.
Dining hall
The door is opened for me and the guard lets me in closing the door behind me, I walk over to a seat next to Cadence and across from Flurry.
“Anthony, what happened to your beard?” Cadence asks
“Ehh, I felt like I didn’t need it so I shaved it off, that and it was annoying now that I think of it,”
Cadence says, “Hmmm, your jaw line is well defined, what made you grow a beard in the first place?”
“To be honest I don’t remember anymore, started to long ago,”
“Mom, what’s for dinner?” Flurry asks.
“Salad, mashed potatoes and gravy, with a hay burger,”
“Hay burger, oh right ponies eat hay not meat,” I say
Cadence asks, “Humans eat meat?”
I nod, “And vegetables, but we do need a source of protein,”
“I’ll keep that in mind when I talk to the chef about meals for next week,”
I nod, Cadence then asks, “So Flurry, how was school today,”
“Good, nothing new, have some homework for math,”
“Meet any colts?” Cadence asks jokingly.
“No mom, gosh, I don’t talk to colts,” Flurry says.
“Wait to you hit high school, that’ll change quick,” I say
Cadence and I share a laugh, Flurry then asks, “What, what’s so funny,”
“You still have a couple weeks of 8th grade; you’ll understand your second year of high school,”
A pony in a waiters uniform comes through one of the side doors and goes around the table taking drink orders.
Flurry says, “Apple juice, and an ice water,”
Cadence says, “Glass of wine, and ice water,”
“And for you sir,” says the waiter
“Um, what do you have to offer?”
“Here you are, take your time,” he says handing me a drink menu.
After taking a quick glance I see the mention of a drinking age, 18?
“The drinking age in Equestria is 18?”
Cadence nods, “Why, what’s the problem?”
“It’s 21 in my country, but I’ll gladly take an apple cider with an ice water,” I say handing the menu back.
The waiter nods and takes off, Cadence asks, “Really, 21, why’s that,”
“I’m not sure honestly, in some countries it is 18 but in the one I lived its 21,”
“That’s the way it was in Zebrica, I took a diplomatic trip with Luna and Celestia when I was just 20. We were at a restaurant and I wanted to have a glass of wine, only to be turned down because of the drinking age, sure I didn’t mind not having wine with dinner but it sure is a nice way to wind down the day,”
“I’ve had it a few times; my dad didn’t mind it if I drank so long as I never left the house. The only time I ever drank too was about a month ago; I started off with a few beers, but soon moved into mixed drinks and shots, I ended the night leaning out of bed and vomiting on the floor before falling asleep with a head ache,”
“And I imagine you had a really bad hang over?” Cadence asks
I nod, she then says, “I’ve never drank that much, but I remember Twilight did once before she got her princess title, I had to hold her mane for her while she vomited into bushes at the castle gardens in Canterlot. Needless to say she hasn’t drank much since.”
We share a laugh, after a few more minutes of conversation out dinner and drinks emerge from the kitchen. The smells hit my nostrils and oh boy they are amazing, after receiving my plate my eyes go wide at the size of my drink.
“Sir, how big is this?”
“Two and a half pints sir, enjoy,”
Fuck me, that’s a lot of beer. I nod taking a sip only to be met by, next to no taste in alcohol. I then take a large swig before setting the glass back down.
“Tastes almost like apple juice, this is amazing,”
Cadence nods, giving a sweet laugh before saying, “Try some of this,”
She levitates the wine into my hand, after taking a sip I’m greeted by, next to no taste in alcohol, once again. I finish the glass and say, “Tastes like grape juice, do you have anything harsher,”
She’s shocked by this, “The alcohol in your world must be way stronger than here, that or you can handle your drinks very well,”
I shrug my shoulders; I then look down at the amazing food in front of me. I grab a fork and dig into the amazing meal.
One hour later
It’s been about an hour and I’ve not only finished my dinner, but have had four of these tall glasses of cider and have barely even a buzz, meanwhile cadence is on her third glass of wine and appears to be a little more buzzed than me. She’s not terribly drunk, but she’s laughing at stuff that isn’t too funny. Flurry had left the table about a half hour ago after she finished, but Cadence and I kept drinking and talking. After finishing my fourth glass I set the mug down and sigh, “I’m just about full,”
Cadence nods, “Yea, I probably should head to my study and do some paper work, anything you need?”
I shake my head, “I think I’ll head to my room and do some reading, unless you don’t mind me joining you,”
She shakes her head, “Not at all, come along,”
I follow along, Cadence kind of wobbly while trotting but balanced mostly.
Cadence’s study
As we enter, I take a look around and notice many out of place but interesting objects; such as a silver and gold chess set, a bottle of a cloudy and purple liquid, and a set of newton balls.
“You can sit in the chair right in front of my desk; I’ll be a bit with my paper work though,”
I nod taking a seat, I look up at her as she goes about her work, signing papers and looking over what I can assume are reports. I look around the room, seeing the many books and pictures of family, but also noticing an acoustic guitar on a guitar stand.
I think to myself, “Mental note, ask Cadence about that when she’s not busy,”
Suddenly, my thoughts are broken by the sound of sniffling; I turn to Cadence and see that she has a picture frame in her magical grasp and her face in her hooves as she’s crying. She drops the frame, glass shattering on the desk, and breaks down balling into her wings. I reach over and pick up the picture to see her with hooves around the neck of a white stallion with a blue mane, she’s kissing him on the cheek and he has a smile on his face.
“I think this is Shining Armor, god damn it why do beings like you exist,”
I give off a huff before setting the picture; I stand and walk around the desk to the crying Cadence. I crouch down and start petting her, running my hands through her mane trying to calm her. She looks up at me, confused.
“Wh-what’re you doing?” she says sniffling.
“Sh, calm down,”
I pet her more, scratching behind the ear; I then wrap my arms around her and hug her. She wraps her wings around me and starts crying again, her face in my shoulder.
“I’m such a wreck Anthony; I feel so alone, I have an empire to run, a child to raise and I just can’t take it. I-I don’t know what to do anymore.”
I tighten my hug around her, resting my head on her shoulder, I then say, “I will never leave your side, I can be your personal assistant and help your through this,”
“You would do that, at what cost?”
“Let me live in the castle and be part of your family, sort of like today,”
She thinks for a moment before hugging me again and saying, “I’d love that Anthony, thank you,”
She then gives me a soft kiss on the cheek; I stop for a moment and blush.
“Sorry, too soon?” she asks.
I shake my head and kiss her cheek back, “Nope,”
We both share a laugh, both comfortable and trusting of one another, I’m glad I can call this beautiful place home. Maybe not being able to go back home won’t be as bad as I thought it would.
One Month Later . . .
So over the past month of me living in the castle I’ve not only become well acquainted with the staff, but I’ve also gotten to know some of the locals. Yes I was met with mixed reactions, but they’ve since smoothed out, all except one. About a week after I’d arrived I meet a pony by the name of prince Blueblood, at first he seemed like he’d be nice but then he called me a hairless ape and tried to have his guards attack and arrest me. Thankfully Cadence’s guards stepped in and Cadence herself explained to Blueblood the situation involving me, which he merely scoffed at and left with his guards. But I honestly could care less about him, because tonight I have a date, well more or less a friendly outing with Cadence. She wanted to take me out to eat so I could get used to being outside the castle more, but if kind feels like a date.
Anthony’s room: 7:00 pm
I’m pacing in front of the bed right now, very nervous about Cadence and I’s ‘friendly outing’ as she called it. I have a tuxedo on that Flawless had made me a few days ago, and I have to mention all of the clothes she’s given me fit perfectly and aren’t uncomfortable at all, but that’s beside the point, I’m going fucking crazy!!
“What if I fuck up and spill wine on her, what if I act like a slob and she is disgusted by it, what if what if. I’m going crazy, aren’t I, Cadence is my friend and she’d never judge me for little things like that, right?”
A sudden knock at the door causes me to jump out of my skin almost, I take a breath and walk to the door and open it to be greeted by an absolutely stunning looking Cadence.
“C-Cadence, you look so gorgeous,” I stutter.
She gives off a soft blush, which makes her look even cuter, before smiling at me.
“Oh Anthony, you look very handsome yourself,”
I nod before asking, “Shall we get going?”
“Yes, allow me to lead us there, since you don’t know where ‘The Blue Dragon Diner’ is,” she says with a wink
I close the door to my room as I follow her out, walking next to her.
The Blue Dragon Diner: 7:15 pm
While walking I noticed that Cadence was walking very close to me, so close that my hand would brush against her fur every few minutes or so. After going down a spiral stair case and into the crystal empire a little we’d finally arrived at a not to fancy but more of a modern and average restaurant. It’s a one story building with outdoor patio seating on the outside, an array a seating on the inside (Bar side, booth, and table) and on the roof was more patio seating.
“Looks kind of like bar,” I say.
“It used to be, the inside is more of a bar setting and the roof is more of a restaurant setting, which is where we’ll be eating,”
There is a unicorn at the door with a notepad in her magical grasp, “Names,” she asks.
“Princess Cadence and Anthony,” Cadence says
The mare nods, “Table 14, rooftop, here are your menus and a waiter with be there shortly,” she says levitating menus to us.
“Thank you,” both Cadence and I say in unison before making our way inside.
After getting through the bar and up the stairs we finally manage to find our seats, not many ponies are on the roof eating though.
“This place seems like it be bustling more than it is,” I comment.
Cadence says, “Lunches up here are similar to the way it is down there, most go to the ‘Crystal Tulip for dinner and it’s always busy, here though it’s very mellow and easy to get seats without reservation,”
“Very smart idea, I’m starving so let’s see what they have here,”
As I gaze over the menu I quickly realize this is a sandwich shop, most the items are sub sandwiches and soup. As I’m looking over the sandwiches I notice a section with, meat?
“They serve meat here?” I ask
Cadence nods, “Part of the reason I wanted to bring you here, so you could eat the meat you need,”
As I look over the meat options I notice most are fish based sandwiches, but one did catch my eye as a winner to me; chicken, provolone cheese, and onion on white bread with hot sauce; baked all together for a crispy bread.
“Find what you like?” Cadence asks.
“Number 36, sounds so good right now, what about you?”
“The number 12,”
I look back a few pages and see the number 12; a wheat bread with a light mayonnaise spread, tomato slices, peeled carrot, sliced cucumber, all on a bed of lettuce.
“No meat?” I ask jokingly.
She giggles before saying, “No, you know I don’t like meat,”
“So you’ve had it?”
“W-Well, no,”
“So you don’t know if you like it,”
“I guess not, but still it’s not fair to the poor animal that it comes from,”
I lean back and grin, “I think you should try some of my chicken,”
“N-No, Anthony, why would I ever do that,”
“Why are there meats on the menu here?”
“Because it’s a griffon and dragon friendly restaurant,”
“Come on, just try it once, for me,”
She sighs before saying, “I’ll, try some of your chicken . . .”
“What, I couldn’t hear you,” say mocking her in friendly way.
“I said I’ll try the chicken, alright,” she says with a chuckle.
After the waiter takes our orders we change the subject a bit.
“You know Anthony, this past month as been way less stressful with you as my assistant, keeping my schedule in order and managing most of the small stuff, you’ve taken a lot of weight off of my shoulders,”
“It’s nothing really; I have a roof over my head and food to eat, what more could I ask for,”
Cadence looks into my eyes and thinks for a moment, before blushing and shaking her head.
“What is it?” I ask.
“It’s nothing,”
“It’s something, you can tell me anything, you know that,”
She sighs and says, “I’ll tell you later, after dinner,”
I nod, understanding that I’d eventually know.
“So, what do you like to do in your free time?” I ask.
“Free time, if I have any. When I have free time I’ll paint, read, or play the guitar,”
‘That guitar I saw on my first day, wow, she can play?’
“Is that the guitar in your study that you play on,”
She nods, “Yep, I’m a little rusty but when I get going it’s really hard to stop,”
“I’ve never owned an acoustic guitar, I’ve only had a few electric but that’s about it,”
“An electric guitar? Explain,” she says.
This is going to be kind of hard to do, “Around the sound hole on your guitar instead I have a few magnetic coils that pick up the sound made by the strings and convert them to and electrical signal, sending it to an amplifier which is also powered via electricity,”
“Your kind has found out how to control electricity and maintain it?”
I nod, “And that’s a very basic form of it, just wait until I explain a computer to you,”
“Oh please how complicated can that be?”
I laugh, “Do you know what a Graphics Processing Unit is?”
“Now that sounds very complicated,”
“And yet it’s a very basic component, personally I think the mother board is worse because everything is connected to that, but you get my point,”
She asks, “How far has your world come as far as technology?”
“Well, remember that car that you saw I had?”
She nods, I then say, “That’s a 20 year old car,”
“What, but how, you were traveling over 100 miles per hour,”
“Which is slow considering most can exceed that and some over 200 miles per hour,”
Her jaw dropped at this, she her mind having been blown away, “Th-That’s, astonishing,”
I nod, “It’s alright,”
“Alright, Anthony it’s more than just alright,”
“Guess I’m just used to it, our technology advances so fast in my world we have smart phones being released and improved daily,”
“Smartphone, that’s black rectangle you tap your fingers on?”
I nod, removing it from my pocket, “This can do almost anything you can think of,”
She thinks for a moment, “Can it do math?”
I nod, “Calculator app,”
“Send letters,”
“In a few ways; I can text, send e-mail, or talk to people on social media,”
“Shopping?”
“Yep, with the internet we can do anything from our computers and phones, including shopping which can be delivered to our houses,”
She has her head in her hooves and is watching me very interested in what I’m saying, “Your world seems so interesting, makes Equestria seem boring,”
“I don’t know, it’s way more peaceful here to be honest,”
She nods, “You mentioned something about war and what not, enlighten me,”
“Well, one of our foreign enemies whom are behind on technology recently developed a weapon that could reach my home country, while at the same time a much bigger and sort of our friend but sometimes our enemy has the potential to wipe my country out,”
Cadence is shocked to hear this, “And the people know this?”
“Yea, we all do through news on the internet, some of it is biased and some not but usually it’s easy to tell what's true and what isn’t,”
“How do you live day to day knowing your country could be attacked at any moment?”
“Small day to day distractions such as work and school; when we have nothing to distract us we usually browse the internet, watch television, play videos games, etc.”
“And what of the people who don’t have those distractions?”
“They either express how they feel via internet videos, art, and writings; or they protest in public and demand a change,”
“And what about you, how did you live your life knowing you were under constant threat?”
“Always keeping myself occupied, I wake up at 8 then shower and get ready for work at 9, finish my shift around 5 and go home; pay any bills if it’s pay day. Browse the internet; either just to watch videos or for stupid shit to buy with my money, eat dinner around 8 or 9, and watch television until I fall asleep around midnight. Weekends I’ll go for a drive, see a movie, or take my girlfriend on a date,”
There is a silence between us, Cadence then asks, “Do you miss her?”
I sigh softly and look down at the table at my hands, I haven’t really thought much about her to be honest; in fact I haven’t thought about going home at all, “I, I think I’ve gotten over the fact that I may never go back and have accepted my fate, and I’ve found a mare in the empire that I’m already crushing on,”
“R-Really?” she asks, her ears fold flat.
I nod, “Yep, I see her every day and she makes my heart flutter just making eye contact,”
She slumps in her chair, a sad look on her face, “I’m glad you’ve found somepony to like, and potentially love,”
I notice her body language, “Something wrong?”
She sighs, “Nothing, just tired is all,”
At this moment our food and beverages arrive and they look amazing, “Enjoy,” she says.
I grab a hold of my sandwich and take a bit, at first I taste the spicy sauces but am greeted with the amazing taste if chicken.
“Mmm, Cadence this is amazing, you should try-,”
I look up at Cadence to see her really sad, tears streaming down her cheeks, and her ears flat against her head.
“Cadence, dear, what’s wrong?” I ask
She looks at me, and instead of getting sadder she gets mad.
“Haven’t I made it obvious to you already, do I have to spell it out?”
“I-I, Cadence, I don’t know what to say. And spell what out, what is it?”
“That I love you!!!”
Silence falls upon us, behind her I can see a few ponies with hooves over their opened mouths, she loves me?
“Cadence, I had no idea you-“
“Don’t say another word, you’ve already done enough,” she says before she runs down stairs and outside away from the restaurant, I stand to me feet and don’t even rush my way out already knowing where she’s going.
Outside of Cadence’s Bed Chambers
After the long and lonely walk, I’ve finally arrived; I get close to the door before hesitating. It’s now or never, if I don’t fix this now it’ll always be broken. I take in a breath, and knock gently on the door.
“GO AWAY!!!” I hear her yell.
“Cadence, can we talk please, I have some very important stuff to tell you,”
“No, nothing you can say will make me feel better, just go be with your crush and never talk to me again,”
That hurt to hear, she’s really broken by what I’ve said, time to fix it.
“But, I'm already with her,”
The crying stops, the door unlocks and there she is; make up and tears smear her face, her lipstick wiped off, and her frown dominant.”
“W-What?” she asks
“I said, I'm already with her,”
“But, wait, you, what?”
“Cadence, I haven’t exactly been honest with you these past weeks, but I my crush is you,”
“I-I am?” she says with a hopeful look, I only nod, “Anthony, I-I’m shocked but so happy to hear this at the same time,” she says this time smiling and wiping tears away.
I bring her into a much needed hug, she wraps her hooves and wings around me and sighs as I rub from mane to back slowly and soothingly. She nuzzles her cheek into mine and gives me neck a soft peck.
“Anthony, I know this seems so sudden, but will you be my special somepony?”
I stop for a moment, she really does love me. I pull back and say, “I wouldn’t change it for the world; of course I will be,”
I lean my head back to look into her eyes, her hooves still on my shoulders; she smiles before moving closer, myself doing the same. Soon enough we’re sharing our first kiss, and I’ve got to say it’s probably the best kiss I’ve ever had, her lips firm and taste wonderful. After our first kiss she pulls back, she has a deep crimson blush dawned upon her face, and yet she can’t stop smiling.
“Anthony, I, that was-“
“Amazing?” I ask.
She nods, “Outstanding, relieving, and everything I could ever ask for,”
We share a small yet meaningful gaze into each other’s eyes before she asks, “Would you, um, like to come in? My bed’s big enough for two,” she says with a wink.
I nod before picking her up, she giggles at this and I carry her inside before using one of my legs to kick the door shut. I bring Cadence into another deep kiss, her left hoof rubs behind my right ear as she pulls herself closer to me. We moan together as I move my tongue into her mouth, it's kind of an odd feeling because of how flat her tongue is, but it's amazing in itself.
"Mhm, Anthony, make me yours," say Cadence lustfully
I don't say anything as I lay back on her bed, Cadence on top of me; my hands explore her body, rubbing her sides and flanks. She gives off cute moans as she does the same to me, rubbing my lower stomach and sides, I moan back as I move from her lips down her neck. I kiss and lick her neck before giving her a sensual bite.
"Oh, Anthony, d-don't stop!"
My left hand moves from her flank across to her stomach, I feel her getting wet as I move my hand down to tease her clit. She jumps at the sensation giving off an eep, her moans grow longer and louder as I rub her in circles.
"Fuck baby, I'm gonna cum, don't stop!!"
I kiss her again, this time diving my finger into her marehood, she moans into my mouth as I feel her tighten up around my finger and her juices pour onto my hand. She bites my bottom lip making me moan with her, I give her flank a good slap making her yelp. After pulling my finger out she uses her hoof to guide it into her mouth, sucking the juices off of my wet finger.
She looks down to me and says, "I didn't know I tasted so good, now lets see how you taste,"
She gives me a sultry look before giving my neck a soft bite and kiss before placing kisses down my shirt to my belt. She uses her magic to undo my buckle and remove my belt, she unbuttons my pants and before I know it my pants are off. She nuzzles my buldge in my boxers, looking up at me with her eyes half lidded, before biteing my waist band and pulling down my boxers revealing my erection.
"Oh, Anthony, is this all for me?"
I nod, "Just for you sweetie,"
She giggles before licking up the back of my cock, I moan softly as bites the tip of it softly. She then takes the tip into her mouth, bobbing her head slowly down my shaft. I groan in pleasure as I stroke her cheek, she looks up at me cock in mouth, she then pushes her self all the way down on it deep throating me not breaking eye contact for a second.
"Mhm fuck sweetie," I say with a moan.
She smiles as she moves up and sucks on the tip, her tongue making circles around it. My toes curl and my hips jerk as she does this. After a few minutes of this I feel myself getting close, I grip the sheets and my abdomen tightens.
"I-I'm gonna cum babe, keeping going,"
She doesn't stop, in fact she speeds up her licking, I brace myself and finally I explode in her mouth. I moan her name as I ride out my orgasm, she swallows my cum and has the look of enjoyment on her face. After a few minutes she pulls my dick out of her mouth with a pop, licking her lips with a smile.
"You like that Anthony?" she asks.
I nod before sitting up and bringing her into another kiss, she wraps her hooves around my neck and sits her flank in lap. My dick still being hard brushes against her marehood, giving us both a shiver and moan. She moves her flank in circles on my lap teasing me more, I grab her flank and pick her up before setting her slowly on my cock, the tip goes in first making her moan into my mouth. I then continue to set her down before filling her marehood.
"Anthony you're so big, mmh fuck me like you've never fucked before,"
I nod as I turn us over, laying her on her back, I then start to thrust in and out of her. She gives off cute moans and gasps as I speed up, I give her flank a good slap making her yelp. I move my head to her neck and bite her again as I push deeper, she moans louder as I thrust faster and harder.
"I'm about to cum again Anthony," Cadence yells between moans and before I know it her marehood tightens around my dick, she bites my neck this time as she rides out her orgasm. She then gives my neck a sensual lick before bringing me into another kiss.
I stop and flip her over on her hooves and start to fuck her doggystyle, my hands on her flanks as I fuck her balls deep. Her moans grow louder and her fur starts to become moist, I take my shirt off as I start to become hot and sweaty as well.
"Pull my tail Anthony, I've been such a bad filly,"
I only nod as I take her tail in my right hand and pull it gently, "Is that good hon?"
"Harder!!"
I give a good tug making her give off a squeel and a yelp, I pull it harder making her moan my name loud. I feel myself crotch start to tense up as I feel I'm about to cum a second time.
"I'm gonna cum again baby," I say between huffs
"Inside me, please, cum inside of me!" she yells with a moan.
After a few more thrusts I finally finish inside of her, I push all the way in as she moans aloud. I give a few more weak thrusts before stopping, I run my hands up her sides and to her chest, I then pull her up to me, her back to my chest. We stay like this for a few minutes, I give her neck and cheek a few kisses earning giggles from Cadence. I then pull out as we lay down, she turns to face me and gives me a smile.
"That was amazing Anthony, I love you so much,"
I smile back as I say, "I love you too sweetie,"
We share a passionate kiss, my hands run under her wings making her yelp.
"Careful, they're very sensative,"
"Hmmm, I'll have to remember that for next time," I say giving her a wink.
She smiles as we share another kiss, as we separate she starts to trace circles on my chest with her hoof, she then gives me a look before saying, "Lets get some rest, then tomorrow we can tell Flurry about us being together over breakfast, and after we take her to school we'll see where the day takes us,"
She looks up at me with a cute smile, "Would that be alright?"
I nod, "Sounds like an amazing day, I can't wait,"
She smiles brightly, before hugging close to my chest, I kiss her hair as I begin to yawn. She looks up at me and we share one more final kiss, after we separate she lays her head on my chest and is out like a light, snoring in a very cute manner.
"Goodnight my love, see you tomorrow," I say before passing out myself.
Author's Note
As sort of requested I edited a little bit; combined chapters 2 and 3 into a longer one, and I cut down the use of the word 'baby' in the clop scene (I read it over and you were all right about the over usage of it, my bad) I've been brainstorming the next chapter over the last couple of months and I might have an idea. If anyone has any idea on what they'd like to see next chapter I'd love to hear, thank you all so much for the support and see you later 
The Next Morning . . .
I'm the first to wake up after our night of 'fun', I can feel Cadence laying on my chest, her head nuzzled into my neck. I give off a yawn and plant a kiss on her right cheek. She looks so peaceful while asleep, not a worry in the world. She gives off a groan and nuzzles me more before her eyes open, a smile grows on her face and we share a kiss.
"Good morning my love, how did you sleep?" I ask.
"Mmmh, I haven't slept that good in months, especially after last night," she says happily.
I blush at her comment, she then brings me into another kiss, little more passionate than the last. I kiss her back, bringing my arms around her neck to hold her close to me. After separating she says, "Why don't we take a shower, then after we'll have some breakfast,"
"Sure thing dear, lead the way,"
She smiles and moves off of me before trotting to her master bathroom, I follow along stepping over my clothes from the night before. I can hear the sound of running water as I approach the bathroom, I enter to see Cadence entering the shower letting the water run through her mane and down her curvy body. She looks over at me and shakes her flank a bit before winking at me.
"You coming or do I have to get wet all by myself?"
I nod before joining her in the shower, "Which one is your shampoo?" I ask.
She levitates it to me, I uncap it and pour some into my hand, I return it to where it was and start to wash her mane. She sighs softly as my fingers massage her scalp and wash her mane, my fingers brush against her horn and she gives of a moan jolting her head a little.
"My horn's a little sensitive, so just be carefullll-ohhh," she says as I start to wash her horn, stroking it slowly. She moans a bit, enjoying the sensation.
"F-faster," is all she can muster to say.
I only speed up, using both hands to rub it, it didn't take long for her to reach orgasm. A burst of magic is shot from her horn and she lets off a loud and long moan.
"You alright sweetie?" I ask.
"I'm more than alright, I'm amazing, how about I help you out with that 'horn' of yours," she says as she licks the tip of my now erect member. I hadn't even realized I was turned on by rubbing her horn, damn, this princess is real kinky. She licks me balls to tip a few times before sucking on the tip and taking it in her mouth. After a few minutes of this I put my hand under her chin and lift her off, I then bring her into a kiss, she throws her hooves over my shoulders and kisses back. I then grab her flanks and lift her off the ground before entering her, she moans into my mouth as I fuck her standing up.
"Mmm, fuck Anthony you're so kinky,"
I only nod biting her neck softly, she moans louder her back now against one of the walls of the shower. I give her flank a good slap making her yelp, "H-Harder!!" she moans only for my to slap it harder.
"I'm gonna cum again, don't stop!"
And I don't, the feeling of her marehood squeezing my cock is the best feeling in the entire world, she bites my neck in return causing me to moan. I soon set her down and start to rut her doggy-style, my hands run up her chest and her back is pressed against my chest. I feel her cum a third time only minutes after this position, it's not hard to tell when she does between the patterns of her moaning and her squeezing me.
"Can we do it on my back baby?"
I only nod getting into missionary position, "Of course sweetheart," she blushes even more as I start fucking her tight marehood. She wraps her hooves around my neck and kisses me, I kiss back not slowing down, I bite her bottom lip softly only causing her to moan louder. After her fifth time it was finally time for me to finish, I place my hands on her hips and speed up, she knows that I'm about to cum and nods softly not breaking eye contact with me. I make one more thrust before pushing deep inside of her and cumming. It felt so good to, she giggles and moans at the same time, I kiss her before laying next to her.
"Oh my goodness Anthony, you're so amazing,"
She smiles before sharing one more kiss with me, "Now lets get cleaned up and take Flurry to school," I nod, out of breath but relieved. We get up and finish cleaning one another before making our way to breakfast.
Dining Room
Flurry is already eating breakfast, Cadence and I round the corner together hoof and hand held together. We sit next to one another and start eating our pancakes.
"Um, mom, why are you and the human holding hooves?" Flurry asks in a confused matter.
"Firstly dear, his name is Anthony, we've talked about you referring to him as a human or thing. And secondly, he loves me and I love him," Cadence states firmly.
Flurry almost chokes on her food at the last part, she takes a drink of water and gives us a look of shock. But then her look changes to a not so impressed look, "Yea right, you two are just messing with me, prove it,"
Cadence looks at me and brings me into a rough kiss, I kiss back a little surprised at first. After we separate she turns back to her daughter and asks, "Proof enough?"
Her daughter nods, a moment of silence is shared before she asks, "So, is he like, supposed to be a father figure or something?"
Cadence looks to me for that answer, I then say, "Well, if you want to see it that way then I can be one if you want me to,"
Flurry gives off a small blush before saying, "Um, thank you"
Kind awkward, we'll warm up to each other with time. After finishing our breakfast we start walking Flurry to school, again my hand holding Cadence's hoof, every once and awhile she'll nuzzle my shoulder happily. As we approached her school, I can already tell this is a middle school, has the vibe of a high school but with less diversity and no jocks in sight. Flurry gives her mom a hug and me a kind of awkward side hug before running to what seems to be a group of her friends. She says something to them and they look over at me, soon many ponies are looking at me, not shocked or worried but curious.
"She'll warm up to you," Cadence says giving my cheek a kiss. Not to long after what I can assume to be a teacher approaches us.
"Princess, so good to see you, may I ask who this is," She says referring to me.
"It's good to see you to Star Drop, this is Anthony, he's a human and my lover,"
I hold out my hand which she shakes her hoof with, "It's an honor to meet you, I'm Star Drop, Flurry's Astronomy teacher."
"Anthony, I currently am unemployed but I'm hoping I can find a job soon,"
"Well, if you ever want to teach, we're always looking for substitutes,"
I nod, "I'll definitely keep that in mind,"
"Well, I'd better get back to monitoring the students, make sure they don't act out, see you two around," Star Drop says before returning to her post.
Cadence and I make our way into town, I ask, "Where are we going my sweet?"
"Pizza Patio," she says simply.
"Wait, didn't we already have breakfast, why would we be getting pizza?" I ask.
"We aren't, we're getting you a job," she says.
I stop for a second before asking, "What makes you think they'll hire me, I haven't worked with pizza in over a month,"
"They'll hire you, trust me, they need the help," she says with a slight giggle.
"Alright, fair enough, so is it like a fancy restaurant?"
She shakes her head, "Nope, not even a place to sit down, you order and wait for the pizza to be made then take it home. How did you not know of this place?"
I shrug, "Not sure, didn't leave the castle much, liked spending time with you,"
"Stop it Anthony, you're to sweet, oh here we are,"
I look in the direction she's looking and, whoa, it looks so much like Little Caesar's. I walk into the store and, no way, it smells like it to.
"Hi welcome to Pizza Patio, would you two like to try our new square pizza, like regular pizza just not round," say a pony with a pizza for a cutie mark.
Cadence says, "No thank you Pizza Master, I was wondering if you would hire my Anthony here, he's looking for work and used to work at a pizza place,"
As I look around I keep getting flash backs to my old job; the lay out, tools, register, oven; all the same. No drive thru but I hated it anyway, the posted hours are similar as well. Closed Sundays, open 10 am to 10 pm Monday through Saturday.
Pizza Master asks, "How long you work at your last job?"
"Um, about 6 months,"
"And what were you best at?"
"Ovens, without a doubt, I was ok at making the pizzas and couldn't stand registers,"
He smiles before saying, "Don't worry, we already have plenty of cashiers and workers for the line, we need somepony to work ovens because at times the cashier or one of the pizza makers have to back and fourth between their job and the ovens. If you can prove yourself I'll start you off a couple of bits higher than the rest of my workers, we need the help bad and no-pony is fast enough,"
"What's the pay rate and how many hours?"
"40 bits per hour, 35 hours a week."
I think to myself, 'That's about, 1400 bits a week, 5600 bit's monthly,'
"What's the tax rate of the crystal empire?" I ask.
"We, actually don't have a tax rate for purchases or wage. Businesses themselves pay a tax rate, and homeowners pay taxes on their land." Cadence says.
"And my workers make about 32 bits an hour, if you were curious," Pizza Master mentions.
'5600 bits a month, that's about $1500 back home. With the apples equation I was able to make a conversion of 1 bit to $.28, an apple is 1 bit in Equestria and $1.33 per pound back home, the average apple weighs 3.5 ounces, which makes one apple cost around $.28, therefore making the conversion rate of 1 bit to 28 cents. Which means 40 bits per hours is $11.20,'
"What hours can I expect?" I ask.
"Most likely, 11 am to 6:30 pm, Monday through Friday. A half hour break each shift for lunch, if you're good enough you won't have to worry about opening or closing, schedule changes, and you'll only be on the ovens. Lunch rush begins at noon and ends at 2 pm, dinner rush from, 4 to 6:30, after that we're able to manage without a pony on the oven,"
I nod, "How do you want me to prove myself?"
"By showing me your speed, if you;re fast enough you start tomorrow at your time, deal?"
"Can Cadence come behind the counter and watch?"
"Of course she can, she is the Princess after all, what do you say?"
I look to the staff who's been watching and listening, they have a look of excitement and relief, some nodding at Pizza Master's question.
"You have a deal, show me my work area,"
He nods before leading us behind the counter, and yep, there are all of the tools I need . . .
Pan Grabber
Pizza Cutter
I set aside the spatula and look into the oven, just as hot as I remember. I see Pizza Master place a pizza in pan on the conveyor oven, he walks to my side and wait with us for the pan. Once it comes out I do like I normally do and grab the lip of the pan, give the pizza a toss onto the stack of boxes and set the pan below the table with the others. I give four quick cuts and set both tools on the table before folding the box in mere seconds.
Pizza Maker, Cadence, and a few staff members are shocked at my utter speed. I hear the sound of something being levitated and I turn to see Pizza Maker giving me a hat with his magic.
"You're hired"
