Under Construction

Alright. Totally back, now. I had to stop writing all together due to an impromptu trip to Mars for a while, but I'm back now and I brought T-SHIRTS FOR EVERYPONY! WOO-HOO! (pleanty of F-shirts for my friends with 2 arms on one side, as well). Anyways, here's another chapter of crazyness. Hope you like it. Enjoy!

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o/` Cause I'm in too deep, and I'm trying to keep,

All the thoughts in my head, instead of going under.

Instead of going under.  ... o/`

Sum 41 – In Too Deep

Chapter 3

Over My Head

I stood there in stunned disbelief, unsure if I should pass out, wet myself or run for my life. However, despite the confused look I KNEW I was giving it, the little orange creature continued to smile. Unconsciously,  I found my hand extending to meet her, um... her... hoof, I guess? I DON'T KNOW, I NEVER DEALT WITH AN ALIEN BEFORE!!!

“I'm so glad I found your ad, Mr. Corbin. For a while, I was worried I might have to stay home and forget coming to your world at all. Thank you SO much!” The little orange thing suddenly touched the bottom of it's hoof to my open palm, suckin my hand in! I stood silent, staring goofily at my hand stuck to her hoof for a minute. The invisible grip released just as I heard the 'chung' of my elevator reaching my floor again. The gate opened, and the three burly guys from the parking lot walked in, carrying bags and boxes in on hand trucks.

“AH! Good, good! Just leave anywheres, boychiks. Thank you so much.” With a word from Cash, the movers walked into the apartment and dropped three large trunks, a small bookshelf and a suitcase on the floor next to my couch. The creature, apparently named 'Autumn,' gave a happy squeal, trotting over to the items as the three lumber jacks walked back to the elevator. The little orange alien looked up at me and smiled, placing a hoof on one of the cases.

“I'll just move these into my room, alright? I'll be out of the way in no time.” With that, she leaned forward and grabbed the handle of one of the cases in her teeth and started dragging it backwards towards my spare room. This was becoming more than I could contain. Quickly I turned, taking Cashmere by the arm and dragging him over to the elevator just before the movers closed the gate.

“Cash,” I hissed through my teeth. “we need to have a talk, right now.” He gave me a confused look, followed by his signiture goofy smile.

“Oh, OKs, Jeremy. Hey, Miss Rain!” he shouted back into the apartment, causing the pony-thing to turn and look. “Me and boychik must go talk for while. You get all comfy-cozy, yes?” The little alien girl smiled and nodded in response, heading to mmy spare room.

“Alright, Mr. Cashmere! Thanks again. See ya later!” she said, her head disappearing around the door frame and out of sight. I reached forward and closed the gate, hitting the ground floor button and sending us all down the chute. As we started moving, I felt a pat on my one shoulder from one of the movers.

“Boy, yer one enlightened young fella, I tell ya what. I don't know if I'd be willin' ta share my home with an alien like that. Good fer you, kiddo.” I wanted to shove his head right up his ass at that point. His sentiments were quickly echoed by one of his coworkers, also trying to look on the bright side of my plight.

“Yeah, right? She seems like a nice girl, at least. I envy you; two young, single kids, sharing an apartment together. Living together, day by day. I smell love in the air.” Urge... to kill... rising...! The three started to chuckle at the sick joke, making me want to start swinging right then and there. Instead, being outnumbered by three guys WAY outside my weight class, I had little choice but to joke back.

“Heheheh. Yeah, maybe. Unless any of you guys want first dibs?” This only made them laugh louder, their volume drowning out my own forced, fake laughter. We reached the bottom floor, the elevator stopping as I threw open the gate, allowing us all to filed out. The three movers offered their goodbyes as me and Cash approached his office doors. As the last guy walked out the main entrance, I grabbed the aged Heavy Weapons Guy by the back of the neck and shoved him into his office. Cash offered little protest, though. I imagine he thought I was playing around. The two of us weren't above pranking each other or play-fighting when we were both in a good mood. However, as I tossed him in his office chair, I'm sure the look on my face cleared up any confusion as to my intentions.

“You and me are gonna come to terms, RIGHT NOW, Cashmere!” I shouted, pointing my finger right in his face. For his part, he showed incredible self-control. I started taking swings at guys for far less than that in my younger days. Cash, on the other hand, must have just thought I was the funniest thing in the world at the moment. With a joyful shout, the old man bounced back up out of his chair, immediately throwing me into a headlock, laughing like a maniac.

“Oh, boychik! For moment, I thought you very angry with me! Come now! Let 'Old Man Cashmere' have his fun!” Cash must have thought my anger was a joke! The old man, on very rare occasions, would feel the need to wrestle. He actually told me he used to be an ex Olympic-class grappler from some 50 or so years ago. Then again, he also claimed to be ex KGB Black Ops agent and member of Interpol.

“Ugh! Knock it off, Cash! And by the way, 'ANGRY' doesn't even BEGIN to cover it, here! Merlin's litter box isn't big enough for that THING to use, and I'm not laying newspapers all over my apartment!” For an old man, he was surprisingly spry. Cash turned and tightened his headlock, moving a leg around mine to try and keep me from getting leverage.

“Autumn no use litter box, Jeremy. She use toilet.”

“How do you know she didn't think the TUB was the toilet?!” I said, managing to reach around and grab his leg, turning him as I reversed the choke hold. The old lunatic just kept on laughing.

“I heard toilet flush. She used it. Unless she thought toilet was fountain and was drinking from it!” He broke into another round of laughter, spinning out of my grip as he moved around me and put me in a type of standing arm-bar hold.

“DAMNIT, Cash! I wanted a person, not a Pokemon!” I said with great difficulty.

“Oh, no, Jeremy. She is pegasus, not Pokemon. Big difference!” I grabbed his arm, twisting it, causing him to holler for a moment before he started laughing again.

“Oh, great, old man! Who gets my other spare room, then; Medusa or the Kraken?!” I twisted again, holding him in place and almost WANTING to hear a satisfying snap. “How could you DO this to me?!?! How could you let that... that THING move in with me?!” What happened next, I couldn't diagram for you without 3 different camera angels and a slow-motion button. Somehow, I wound up spun around, grabbed, and slammed into the ground on my stomach with both arms behind my back. Cash looked down on me, his one hand hold both of mine somewhere up between my shoulder blades.

“Because, my good friend Jeremy, she gave me THESE!” I heard the sound of coins jingling behind me. A moment later, Cash's hand lowered into my field of vision, holding several bright, shiny gold coins. I immediately stopped struggling, feeling Cash get off my back as I rolled over, never taking my eyes off the handful of gold. I reached out, taking one of the coins from his palm and inspecting it. One the one side was a stylized image of a horse, standing in the middle of a sun, with another horse standing in a crescent moon on the reverse.

“Cash... is this...?”

“18K gold, my friend!15 coins at $432 a gram more than covers her first and last months rent, PLUS, everything you owe me in back rent. Iz not wonderful?!” I snapped out of my gold trance and looked at him, trying to process his words.

“Wait... she paid MY back rent, too? What for?” Cash only shrugged, putting the coins back in his pocket.

“She was so grateful for apartment to rent, she paid your debt. You are now 'Brit free,' my boychik!” he said, patting me on the shoulder. I was too stunned to tell him the expression was 'Scot free' as I crawled over to a chair in his office. This was all too much to take in. Why did this alien girl have any interest in helping me out?

“I don't get it...” I said. “She doesn't know me from Adam. Why did she go ahead and pay my debt?” The old man shrugged, still huffing a bit from our wrestling match. He leaned back on his chair behind his desk, grinning at me.

“What? You no watch news in last month or so? Ponies are friendly, nice folk. Good seeds. She here to study at human school and need place to live. Lots of pony doing this.” he said, matter-of-factly. I put my hands on my face, taking in a deep breath and letting it out in a heavy sigh.

“I don't think I can handle this, Cash. I mean... an alien girl, living in MY apartment?! That's so... “ I must have made a disgusted face. Suddenly, Cash's expression changed from joyful to disappointed.

“Jeremy, my friend. Don't tell me you no like her, just because she pony-girl.” I stayed silent, giving him a nervous grin. The old man just shook his head. “Goodness, Jeremy. I never would have though you to be specist.” I pounded the arm of the couch once with my fist, giving him an indignant look.

“Hey! I'm not a-wait... 'specist?'” I asked confused.

“Specist! You know, it's a...” Cash said, rolling his hand on his wrist as he absentmindedly looked off into nowhere. “... like a racist, but against other species. You know, a bigot.”

“WHAT?!” I shouted, standing up in shock. “I'm not a bigot! I just don't-” Go ahead and say it, Jeremy. You don't want an alien roommate because he's right; you ARE a specist. I stuttered, trying to find the correct words to make myself seem less like an ass. Yeah, no luck there. Finally, I sighed in exasperation, running my hands down my face. “FINE!!!” I stormed over to the door, throwing it open so it hit hard against the wall, the doorknob leaving a dent. “I'll give her a chance, if only to prove you wrong! I am NOT a specist, Cash!” I stepped out of the room, giving him an angry look over my shoulder. “Thanks for selling me out for some coins, Judas.” I slammed the door, leaving on that note as I stomped back to my elevator. Throwing the gate closed, I hit the button for my floor, watching the ground disappear out the bottom of the box.

***

The elevator reached my floor with the usual 'chung,' the gate sliding open with the usual ease. For a while, I just stood there, looking out into my apartment. I was too nervous to move, like I was... scared to go out and talk with this thing. Cautiously, I walked out, looking from side to side as I went. The boxes and cases the movers brought were gone, vanished without a trace. Maybe I'll be lucky and this was all just some weird, really lucid dream.

'All quiet on the western front.' I thought. That is, until I started walking by the closed door to my first spare bedroom. I could hear talking coming from behind the door, the alien pony girl making the oddest noises. Well, there goes my dream theory. I took a step closer, immediately regretting it. My foot pressed down on one of the many loose boards in my floor, causing a very audible creak. The talking stopped, followed by a series of clops as she approached the door. 'OhshitOhhellOhfuckOhdamnOhcrapOh-'

“Oh, hi! I'm sorry, I didn't hear you come back.” The...'pony' said, giving me a smile. I politely smiled back as she turned back into my spare- I mean, 'her' room. I peaked into the room, giving it a once over. Cash and I must have been wrestling for longer than I thought. She had already personalized the room with a lot of what she brought with her in the trunks and cases. The book shelf was set up against the wall, already filled with a few dozen books of various sizes and colors. The empty and sheet-free full bed I kept in the room was already covered with a sky blue bed spread, speckled with embroidered puffs of clouds. Laid out on the bed were what appeared to be a few winter coats and scarves. Hanging up on a small hook I placed on the wall was what appeared to be a purse. However, instead of having two straps for handles, it almost appeared to be a double purse, with two bags connected together by two long lengths of strap. Whatever that thing was used for, I had no idea. And there, sitting on the bed, was my traitorous cat, Merlin, sprawled out with the tip of his tail flicking as she moved all around him.

'Et tu, Merlin?' I thought, giving him a dirty look. The little bugger seemed to give me a look that said, 'Go sit on it and twirl, jerk!' as he laid his head back down, content to let this little invader continue to claim my spare room.

“I just want to thank you again for letting me stay here, Mr. Corbin.” she said, continuing to unpack her belongings from a small trunk. “When I heard about Princess Celestia's program of trading academics between our worlds, I literally jumped at the chance to come here. I mean, the more I know about my profession, the more ponies- I mean 'beings' I can help, right?” She finished with a giggle. She closed the trunk,taking the handle in her mouth and giving the entire thing a hearty toss, sliding it across the floor and into perfectly into the corner. I just looked on as she spoke, half nervous and half confused as to just what the fuck she was talking about.

“That... that's great, um.. Autumn, right?” Again, I got a smile as she turned and nodded, quickly returning to unpacking her stuff. “Alright, alright... well... how about I just let you get all comfy and cozy while I... tend to some things.” Autumn answered with an 'Alright!' as I ducked out of the room. I walked past my coffee table, scooping up my laptop as I headed for the stairs to the roof. I needed to do some... (pause for dramatic effect)... RESEARCH!

***

I found a comfy spot on my couch on the roof, forgetting to re-raise the tent over it for the moment as I attended to more pressing maters. I wasted no time getting online, calling up numerous tabs and firing off key words like if I did a good enough job of it, I'd win a prize. The first search was two words, simply enough 'alien ponies.' Turns out, that was all I needed. Holy SHIT, was that a lot of results! The called themselves ponies, of course, but they were only one of many, MANY races found to be living on this alternate world humans discovered. There were also griffins, dragons, zebras, some things called Diamond Dogs(probably Bowie fans) and a whole slew of other critters that humans didn't even know about yet. And in an attempt to keep the confusion to a minimum when referring to the two worlds, OUR world was now known as Earth 'Alpha,' with the pony's home world as Earth 'Omega.' How epic.

The ruler of the pony country on this Omega Earth(which, coincidentally enough, was called Equestria, by the way) was Princess Celestia, who ruled with her little sister Princess Luna for over... TEN THOSAND YEARS?! Apparently, they were worshiped as some sort of god-beings by the ponies, being both super powerful and living for an absurd amount of time. That probably explained the sun and moon on the coins Cash showed me. There were other god-beings on their world besides them, but they weren't mentioned in any of the articles I could find.

As I continued, I learned that for as far advanced as we were in the technology department, the residents of Omega were in the magic department. Yes, my friends, that's right; their world had magic. REAL magic. They could regrow limbs, organs, eyeballs, whatever with medical magic spells. They had real, working airships that would never lose hot air in the balloons. They had an entire CITY made out of fuckin' CLOUDS, for Christ sakes! And that was just the pony race!

I couldn't find out much more besides this... Celestia was cooperating with the Earth Alpha governments in the sharing of information and resources, building bridges between our two worlds, blah, blah, blah. That included a sort of student exchange program. Could that be what that Autumn was referring to? Was she here on some type of student visa, or something?

I turned off the laptop and looked at my phone. Already after 8:00. Holy hell, was I up here THAT long? Oh, man... she probably had my whole place ponyfied by now. With an overly exaggerated sigh for no one to hear, I headed back down to see how my guest was making out.

For the most part, my apartment was secure. Merlin was in his usual spot, sitting on the back of the couch right where my head would usually rest as I watch TV. The spare room- AUTUMN'S door was open, the trunks and cases she brought stacked outside the room in a neat pile.

“H,i again!” I turned my head as Autumn chimed from the kitchen, waving a hoof. Oh, God... hooves! Those are TOTALLY gonna scuff-up my hard wood floors. I moseyed on over in front of her as she looked curiously around at the cupboards.

“Um... do you … need something?' I asked, still feeling nervous around an actual alien life form. She opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted by a very audible growl from her stomach. She gave me an embarrassed smile, chuckling halfheartedly.

“Hehehe... yeah, kinda. I hate to even ask, but I've been running around all day, getting ready for my move here. I didn't eat anything since breakfast, and I was wondering if, maybe...”

“Maybe you could get something to eat?” I said, finishing her sentence. She seemed almost embarrassed to ask, her ears folding back as she gave me what I could recognize as a nervous grin.

“I'm sorry... I don't want you to think I'm going to be some type of moocher, or anything. I promise I'll contribute my fair share of everything when I get to the store tomorrow. I just need something to tide me over for tonight.” I waved off her excuses and directed toward the fridge.

“Yeah, yeah. Don't worry about it.” I directed her to the cupboard where I kept the plates and bowls, directly above the sink. “You can get whatever you need from there, and feel free to help yourself to whatever in the fridge interests you. I'll be getting ready for bed soon, so...” I paused for a moment, realizing my little mistake. Autumn only came up to my ribs, standing straight up. She couldn't reach anything up on that shelf. I turned, getting ready to apologize and expecting to find her giving me an annoyed look. Instead, I turned and found her face to face with me, standing on her hind legs as she reached up with a forehoof and opened the cupboard.

“Dangit, still can't reach...” Her wings were extended out behind her slightly, raising a foreleg up like a normal, human girl might when trying to reach up for something. I stood there silent for a moment, amazed by the very fact that she could stand like that. For the first time, I realized just how big this 'little' creature was. She stood on her hind legs just as tall as me, save an inch or two. “Alright, plan 'B,' then.” she said with a giggle. Dropping back down on all fours, Autumn hopped up into the air, beating her wings and sending a soft breeze through my kitchen. I stood there in amazement. Half because of the fact she was actually FLYING in my kitchen, and half because she had just reached into my cupboard and took a plate in her hoof. I'm gonna repeat that, because it bares repeating; SHE TOOK A PLATE... WITH HER HOOF!

“H-how the hell are you DOING that?!” I shouted, leaning back while pointing at the plate, seemingly suspended by nothing against her flat hoof. The pony girl looked at me like it was the most natural thing in the world.

“What? Flying?” she said, tilting her head to the side as she landed on three hooves, placing the plate on the counter. “Well, I AM a pegasus, you know. We do that.”

“NO! I mean... THAT!” I pointed at the plate on the counter, probably looking like a mad-man. “How the hell did you hold that... WITHOUT FINGERS?!” She just stood there, giving me that confused look again.

“What, this?” Casually, she reached over, touching the side of the plate with her hoof. To my surprise, she took the plate again, holding it by the edge as easily as a human would hold a Frisbee. “That's just hoofspace. What, you didn't know that?” I shook my head, worried that the plate would fall to the floor at any moment, slipping from whatever force held it up. Placing the plate back on the counter, and walked over(trotted over?) to me, reaching up her right hoof and GRABBING my right hand. “As far as either you human or my pony scientists can figure, this is a trait that only quadripeds from my world have. It's called 'Hoofspace' by your scientists. We've just been so used to it, having it for so long, we just never named it.”

“S-so, what is it? I mean... you moved that plate like you had hands or fingers or... something.” I can't really describe the feeling of having Autumn take my hand in her hoof. It was almost like my hand had a magnetic charge that attracted it to her hoof. I marveled at the strange pulling sensation for a moment before my hand and arm stiffened up. Somehow, Autumn was able to manipulate the phenomenon to make it feel like the pressure was rolling back and forth across my hand, almost like I was in a handshake and the other person was alternating the pressure of his grip.

“There's a series of nerves that are unique to quadruped creatures of my world. They run from the brain to the bottom of all four hooves. A pony can manipulate a small gravitational field at the end of each hoof as easily as any other bipedal creature could use their fingers. Earth ponies have the strongest grip of the three tribes, while unicorn ponies have the weakest, usually relying on their magic to compensate. Pegasi are unique, in the way their broad surface area of hoofspace allows them to manipulate and walk on clouds.” She released my hand and turned around, taking the plate in her hoof again as she moved over to the fridge. “Alright, so... what do you have good?”

Again, I had to quickly gather myself. I vaguely remember her taking my hand when we first met in the same way. However, my mind was froze by the fact an alien pony from another dimension was standing in my living room. I opened the fridge and tried to shake off the impossible feat I've just witnessed, stepping back and presenting the contents of the fridge with a mock-flourish.

“Feel free to grub-up, girl. Help yourself to whatever you find.” Autumn trotted over(oh, God... TROTTED) and peered into the fridge, eyes going wide as a small cloud of cold air blew over her.

“Oh! Very cold. Tell me; did the mage that enchanted this fridge make it this cold on purpose?” I scratched my head, unsure as to how I should respond to that. I didn't get a chance to, however, the strange little creature's face suddenly changing to an expression of shocked disgust. “Ooh... what is that... horrible SMELL? Did... a mouse crawl in here and die or something..?” I quickly ran over next to her, leaning down and inspecting the fridge, shelf by shelf. Moving jars and plates and containers around revealed nothing that would produce a rotten smell. For a moment, I forgot she was an alien creature as she leaned very close to me, sniffing at the various items before us.

“I... I think it's coming from that drawer, there.” she said, pointing with the tip of a hoof. I opened the drawer, examining the contents. I went over the contents as I examined each, giving it all a good sniff.

“Deli cheese, Philly's cream cheese, lunch meat, a few tartar sauce packs from Long John Silver's...” Autumn quickly recoiled back from the fridge, eyes wide in horror. Instantly, her ears flattened on her head, her tail falling flat.

“Um... did you... you say... 'meat,' Jeremy?” She asked, her voice shaking. I pulled the pack of ham out, holding it as I sniffed it.

“Yeah, lunch meat. Why? What's...” Right about that time, I noticed her expression. Autumn suddenly regarded me with a sense of dread, shrinking back as she slowly backed away from me, never taking her eyes off of me.

“Humans... YOU... eat meat? As in... other creatures...” Her words came quiet, voice trembling as she swallowed hard. I threw the lunch meat back in the drawer, closing it as I shut the fridge.

“Um... yeah. You didn't know that?” I asked, surprised. This might have been the most shocking thing I've heard from the pony yet. She volunteered to live on our earth, after all. She should have known our diets, at least, if she wanted to live here. But the orange pony just shook her head, wings loosening from her sides as they drooped near the floor. “Hey, relax, now!” I said, waving my hands back and forth in front of me. “It's not like you're gonna wake up and find me gnawing on your leg, ya know! Human's don't eat ponies!”

“Well, what's THAT in the drawer?” she asked, almost on the verge of tears.

“Well... that's ham.” She tilted her head, giving me a curious look. Obviously, she didn't know. “Ham? You know, pig?” Her face contorted in disgust again as she raised a foreleg, repulsed again.

“PIGS?! Human's eat PIGS?!” she exclaimed. “Well, what other animals do humans eat?” I thought for a minute, wondering how she might take the news that humans ate just about ANYTHING they could catch!

“Um... pigs are one thing. Then there's chicken, turkey, fish, cow...” Autumn gasped, pushing herself back as her hind legs seemed to give out under her. Her forehooves shot over her mouth as it opened wide.

“COWS, too?! One... one of my best friends back home was a cow...” she whimpered. Now it was my turn to lose my balance. I leaned back against the fridge, almost sliding down it's surface, if not for the rubber of my boots holding me up.

“Friends?! Like... you spoke to the cow? Like... we're speaking, now?” Her expression suddenly turned indignant, the pony standing straight up, leaning towards me with an angry stare.

“YES, like we're speaking now! And she's one of the nicest, kindest, sweetest creatures I've ever met!” Autumn paced back and forth, never taking her eyes off me as she continued her verbal brow-beating. “I can't believe you humans! How could you do that to all those creatures?! It's absolutely horrible!”

“Well, it's not like cows or pigs or any other animals talk on THIS world!” I fired back. Suddenly, Autumn stopped in her tracks, giving me another stunned look.

“They... they don't?” she said, curiously.

“NO! What, did you think humans would really go around EATING other SENTIENT creatures?! Like we'd just kill and eat them without caring what they felt or what we were doing?! That's just...” I felt a full-body chill run through me, the idea of my food talking back to me creeping me out to no end. “.... yuck.” Autumn sat down hard on her rump, leaning back against the back of my couch, blankly staring at the floor. Suddenly, the realization hit me as I noticed her face. “Wait... you really didn't know that?”

“... no... no, I didn't...” As I took a breath to calm myself, I heard the little pony sniffle. I took a step forward and looked over the small island in the kitchen, noticing Autumn sitting on the ground on the verge of tears. Way to go, you asshole. Go ahead. Make the little alien girl cry her first night on earth. Slowly, I made my way over to her, taking a few paper towels with me as leaned down in front of her.

“Hey... I”m sorry, alright? I didn't mean to get loud, there.” She didn't respond. Instead, she just continued sniffling and looking like she was about to break down. Fuck, Corbin! You better fix this! I reached out, offering a paper towel to her. Autumn took it and started fidgeting with it between her hooves. “Look... humans have flaws, but we're not THAT bad. I mean, we're not 100% carnivores. We're omnivores. We don't need to eat meat to survive. And if it bothers you...” Wait, am I really gonna say this? “... I'll give all the meat in the fridge away. If it makes you uncomfortable, I won't eat it in the apartment.” Did I just... yeah, yeah... I think I DID just become a vegetarian in my own home for a girl I just met a few hours ago. Wait... I called her a girl...?

“It's(sniff)... it's not just that. It's everything...” Small streams of tears started flowing down her muzzle as she rose a hoof to wipe them away. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's seeing a girl cry, no matter the species. Slowly, I lowered myself to the floor, scooting over and sitting down beside her. For the first time since she arrived, I got a really good look at her close up. She had a thin coat of fur over her whole body, a vibrant shade of orange, even in the low light of the evening. Her eyes were an unusual forest green shade, shining slightly from her tears. Her long, night-sky blue mane fell over her shoulders with little light purple highlights running through. I did have to admit now; she was a cute little thing. Almost like a cartoon character or something, come to life.

“Well, what do ya mean?” I asked, trying to sound genuine. Se wiped away a few tears with the towel and continued.

“I... I didn't really want to come to this world...” she said, trying but failing to suppress her tears from flowing further. “I just graduated with honors from The Royal Canterlot University a few months ago. I didn't even have time to settle down and start a practice of my own, when our worlds discovered each other. I'm a little embarrassed to say that, despite the huge implications of this, I was too wrapped up in my own problems to pay too much attention to news about your world.” Now, friends, who does THAT sound like? I wanted to shout out my agreement with her statement, but decided to just nod.

“What do you mean, 'start a practice?' What class did you take?” I asked.

“Oh, I... I have a doctorate-level degree in psychology. I can practice mental health anywhere in Equestria, and could even head my own clinic after I get enough experience.” I was speechless. She seemed around MY age, but already she had a degree THAT advanced under her belt? I don't know anything about her world, but I know a specialized skill like that don't just pay chicken scratch!

“Wow... I'm impressed. That must have been hard work.” I said, trying to give a boost to her ego. She gave a halfhearted smile and sniffled again.

“Thanks, Jeremy. Because I graduated with honors, I was part of a select few ponies that were approached about traveling to Earth Alpha to continue my education. You know, expand upon what I already knew about my chosen field of study and learn all that humans to offer on the subject. That school nearby, Cambridge? They already accepted a lot of my credits. They even per-accepted my dissertation. I just have to complete a number of human courses relevant to my degree, and I'll be granted license to practice on your world as well.” It is something of a humbling experience to have a cute little pony tell you she's gonna be making about ten times your yearly salary. I kept my mild annoyance quiet, however, allowing her to continue.

“When Princess Celestia contacted me, I jumped at the chance. I was thinking about all the different being I'd be able to help. But... I wasn't thinking about where I'd have to go to do that.” She turned to me, eyes still glistening, if not significantly calmer and controlled. “I don't know what legends your people have about those from my world, but on Earth Omega... humans are OUR monsters.” I leaned back a bit, actually a little shocked. Not so much by the monsters comment, but that her world had even heard of humans, at all. “There's legends and stories about your people from ancient times, from all over our world. Humans are spoken of as vicious, violent, territorial, flesh-eating beasts. I never paid too much attention to them, but when I learned I'd be going to a world FULL of them, I... I panicked.” Autumn started to become visibly flustered, running over all the things in her mind she experienced in her limited time in our world

“Those carriages that run without anypony pulling them...!”

“Cars and trucks.” I stated quietly.

“...and all the humans talking to themselves, holding those little black and white and silver things against their heads...”

“Cell phones?” Wow, she really DIDN'T know anything about our world.

“... and how the buck could you run all these appliances and machines without being able to use any magic, anyway?!” I didn't answer that one, her expression telling me she was in the middle of a much-needed venting.

“And I don't know anything about your culture, or your history, or... or ANYTHING!” She shouted, resting her face in her forehooves as she started a new round of crying. “I was told I can't even fly higher than three thousand feet...” she added, crying a little harder. In spite of my own stubbornness and male pride, I found myself feeling sorry for the little fuzzball. And here I was, hating her for just being what she was, never considering what it might have been like for her to live in our world. All I was doing was making it harder. Suddenly, she stood up, sniffling and wiping the last of her fresh tears away. She cleared her throat, turning to me with her head hanging low.

“I'm sorry to just outburst like I did. I shouldn't have gotten so upset about something that's as casual to you as your diet. I've just been... so stressed since I got here. But now I know... coming to this world was a mistake.” She turned and started walking back to her room, stopping to give me a sideways glance over her shoulder. “I won't ask for any of my bits back from Mr. Cashmere. I know they helped you with your back rent, so I won't put you out by taking them back. Consider them a thank you for putting up with me tonight. A thank you, and a good bye gift.”

“Wait, what? What do you mean?” Autumn's statement took me by surprise, the little pony fully turning to face me.

“Tomorrow, I'm contacting the Equestrian embassy. I'm going home.” she said with a familiar glistening in her eyes. She turned and trotted back into her room. Quickly, I got up and moved over to her doorway. She already had a trunk open near the end of her bed, stuffing her quilt inside. It was kind of cute, watching her struggle a bit, each push of her hoof causing another section of the quilt to rise up in a different spot. I put my hand over my mouth, just to make sure she didn't see me smiling if she turned around. As I stood there watching her, I still found it hard to believe how wrong she had gotten everything about humans. I mean, here she was, totally judging an entire race based on... wait... oh, fuckin' hell. I did the same thing, didn't I? Jeremy, you asshole...

“Wait, Autumn.” I hit my fist gently against the door frame, causing her to stop her packing. Damnit... I was never good at this, even with bitchy Erica. I started and stopped my sentence a few times before finding the right words, eventually saying what I thought every woman wanted to hear. “Autumn... I'm sorry.” Yeah, they all usually like hearing that. Again, she tilted her head slightly, giving me a confused look.

“What do you mean, 'you're sorry?' About what?” she said, sounded surprised. I sighed, walking into her room and closing the lid to her trunk, taking a seat on it.

“From the moment I first saw you in my apartment, I wanted you gone.” Autumn leaned forward, her expression changing to shock at my words.

“You... what?”

“I didn't want you here, just because you were a pony. When I went down with the movers and Cash earlier? Yeah, we got into a fight in his office about me wanting you gone. I told him I didn't want any monsters living with me, that I was afraid you would make my apartment stink... I... said a lot of hateful things.” She sat down on her rump, turning away from me.

“Why are you telling me this? I'm leaving anyway, so what brought this on?” Ouch... my pride. I leaned forward, catching her gaze again.

“Because I didn't pay attention to any of the news about your people, or your world or anything else for that matter. I just took one look at you and seen you were different and... that was it.” I turned my eyes to the ground, too ashamed to look at her. “And, I'm sorry. I... I'm not like that. All my life, if I was gonna love or hate someone, it was going to be on how they were on the inside, not something so simple as how they looked. I did that with you, and for that, I'm truly sorry.” I raised my eyes up again to find Autumn looking at me. For a moment, she actually looked like I felt. Clearing her throat, she took a step closer to me.

“I'm sorry, too. For that little outburst. Griffins on my world eat meat. So do kitsune and diamond dogs. I was just...” She paused, putting a hoof to her temple and rubbing a circular motion. “... so stressed out, ya know? I mean, I was just thinking about my career, and how good this opportunity would look on my resume, and I didn't even know anything, ad I mean ANYTHING about your world other than it was populated by creatures historically known to be monsters-um...” she stopped, giving me a nervous grin. “...sorry about that. No offense.”

“None taken.” I gave a little chuckle, Autumn joining me before quickly falling right back into her depressed look.

“I just hope this doesn't hurt me too much academically when I tell The Crown I want to go back home...” I could almost the little devil and angel on my shoulders, both shouting in my ears as an idea came to mind. Now, I've done some crazy things in my twenty years of life on this spinning, blue mud ball. However, what I had in mind now was definitely, by far the most hair-brained, left-field crazy idea I've had yet. So, while my little angel had the little devil in an arm bar, I went for it.

“Autumn... you don't have to leave, you know.” The little pony scoffed, giving me an 'are you kidding' kind of look. “No, I mean it. You can stay. If you aced all your classes and all in your world, taking the human equivalent of the same courses should be a breeze.”

“But I don't know anything about humans, Jeremy. How am I supposed to live in a world with a people and culture I don't know anything about?” Oh, boy... I can't miss a set up like that, now, could I?

“Well... I can tutor you.” NO BACKING OUT NOW, PUNK ROCK! Autumn slowly looked up at me, unsure of what to say. “What? I mean it. What do you do in school if you're having trouble with a certain subject? You get someone who knows a lot about it to tutor you. Well...” I raised an eyebrow and spread my arms in a mock flourish. “...Ta-DA! Human Expert, right here! Allow me to be your walking encyclopedia on all things bipedal homo-sapient, and you can fill me in on all everything about your world. What do ya say?” She walked away, stopping by the doorway as she seemed to seriously consider my offer. I suddenly noticed that I was actually... nervous she wouldn't take my offer. I mean, c'mon, people; how would you like to be the reason an alien left earth? She sat down, raising a hoof to her chin as she looked over at me again.

“Well... do you think it'll work, really? I mean, I have a few weeks before school actually starts. And I did have to study almost every other culture and race on Earth Omega to graduate...” she said, obviously letting the idea work it's way through her mind. I can't believe just ten minutes ago, I wanted her gone. Now, I'm anxious just to find out if she'll stay or not. What's WRONG with me?

“Alright. It's a deal.” she finally chirped. “I'll stay and give it a shot. I mean, if you're serious about this, I might as well take you up on it, right?” I stood up and walked over in front of her, leaning down and offering her my hand.

“Allow me to introduce myself, then: My name is Jeremy Corbin. Welcome to Earth Alpha. I'll be your guide, and I hope you enjoy your stay.” I was sure to lay it on thick, eliciting a genuine smile from the little pony. Perhaps the first genuine smile she had since she arrived in our world. Reaching up, I felt the magnetic pull of her hoofspace take my open palm, connecting and holding it as she gently shook my hand.

“And I'm Autumn Rain, Equestrian exchange student and your personal guide to the wide world of Earth Omega.” she said in return, the slight hint of humor of jest in her voice. “I'm starting to think I'm going to like it here.” After a few hearty shakes, we released our grip, both of us actually seeming to enjoy the lighthearted moment. Suddenly, Autumn's mood seemed to grow much more serious and honest, the pony looking at me with what had to be the most adorable eyes I've ever seen.

“Thanks, Jeremy. This really means a lot to me. I feel like I might actually have a chance to enjoy myself, now.” She trotted back over to her large trunk. She was already starting to fix it back on the bed as I left the room. Her room. It wasn't my spare room, anymore. It was her room with HER bed in it. This... would be her home till she had to go back to her own world. Oh... boy. Suddenly, I remembered what started this argument, and eventual breakdown. I went back into the kitchen and into the fridge. After removing several items, I sorted them out. Half went onto the counter, on various plates and in bowls. The rest went into a plastic grocery bag.

“Hey, Autumn! Could you come here for a minute?” She didn't answer. Instead, she trotted out of the bedroom and into the kitchen area.

“Yeah, Jeremy?” she said. I waved out my arm, with a loud 'Ta-DA!,' sowing her the food on the kitchen island.

“I remembered you wanted something to eat, right? Well, feel free to indulge, Miss Rain.” On the counter, I laid a bunch of grapes, three bananas, four apples, and several carrots I'd been given by a neighbor downstairs for fixing her deadbolt. “It's not much, I'm afraid, but it's all the respective vegetarian grub I got. All the meat's out of the fridge, so feel free to take any drinks out of there you like. I gotta go downstairs for a minute.” I grabbed the bag of the far end of the counter and headed for the elevator, Autumn standing on her hind legs to look over the food more closely. “We'll go to the grocery store tomorrow. I'll show you some of the good stores around town.”

“Alright. Thanks, Jeremy.” Autumn stood on her hind legs, taking an apple with her hoof as she sniffed it and took a bite. I entered the elevator and closed the gate, sending the box to the ground floor.

***

The elevator hit the ground with it's usual clang. I actually hope I disturbed somebody, somewhere. I got out and walked right over to Cashmere's office and pounded on the door. Knew that old bugger was in there, I could see his car still outside through the front door. After my furious assault on the door, I could hear hurried footsteps as he approached.

“Hurry up, you older-than-dirt old man! It's getting late!” I shouted, finishing just as the door flew open, a tired looking little eastern-European man looking at me.

“Jeremy..? What iz problem? Why are you here so late?” I tossed the grocery bag at him, Cash catching it barely as I turned and started walking to the elevator again.

“Half a pound of lunch meat, a box of Steak-Umms, and some pepperoni I never opened.” I entered the elevator and closed the gate again. “My herbivore roommate doesn't care for the smell. So... enjoy.” I hit the button, sending the box back up the shaft. From below, I barely managed to hear him yell up to me, a hint of mirth in his voice.

“Good man, Jeremy! You a good young man!”

***

I opened the gate to my apartment and looked around. Autumn was no where in sight. I walked over to her bedroom and looked in through the open door. Empty. I quickly walked over to the kitchen, finding some of the carrots and apples missing, along with one of the plates. I even checked the door to the roof, finding it still locked and shut tight. Where the hell did she go, now?

I went back into the living area, plopping down on couch. I reached down to grab the remote, but noticed something on the floor near the other end of the couch. It was one of my plates, with a few apple cores and carrot stems laying on it. I looked up, realizing why I couldn't find Autumn. The orange pony had curled up like a kitten on the end of my couch, and promptly fell asleep. Damn! She must not have been kidding when she said she was running around all day. She must have been exhausted. Well, that partially explains the mood, earlier.

Under the circumstances, I assumed it was alright to enter her room. I went over to her bed and took the quilt off the bed, taking it back to the living room. As quietly as possible, I leaned over her and covered her up. Her wing twitched slightly as I dropped the quilt on her, her hoof reaching down and pulling it up over her more. I have to admit, she was pretty cute right there.

I went around the studio apartment, turning out just enough lights so that they wouldn't disturb her, but leaving on just enough so that she could still see if she woke up and wanted to go back to her room. I creeped over to my room and slowly closed the door, looking over the little pony on the couch one more time. This was SUCH a bad idea, I could tell. I mean, did she have any IDEA how brutal this world could be? Could I actually teach her how to operate and exist in a world ruled by hostile, angry, irritable, moody primates? And what the hell would my co-workers think when they found out? They knew I was looking for a roommate.

I took off my shirt and jeans for the night, crawling into bed. Immediately, I found Merlin under my covers, the little shit already waiting for me like he always does. I scooped the little black tabby up and placed him at the foot of the bed, the cat laying down and curling up just like Autumn, causing me to laugh slightly. I reached down and scratched his head, causing him to lea into my hand. “Be on your best behavior, Merl. We have a lady in the house, now.” I said. He just tilted his head, just like Autumn had before, and laid it back down. I rested my head on my pillow, thinking to myself as I slowly drifted off to sleep.

“... what could possible go wrong...?”

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The 'Hoofspace' theory is something I touched on briefly in my other fic, 'Star Crossed,' but never bothered to name. However, another author thought of it as well, and DID name it. And with his permission, I was allowed to use the term. That brilliant author is Shinzakura, and his work is nothing short of amazing. Check his out here -----------> http://www.fimfiction.net/user/Shinzakura

So, another chapter in my part-time hobby story down, with an unknown number of chapters to go. feel free to comment to your little heart's content. also, remember to like, follow and favorite, bronys. hope to post to you all something again, real soon.

T.T.F.N., ta-ta for now!

RockWolf