Ever since the portal to Earth was stabilized, a constant stream of ponies made the jump to find work on the other side. Some were curious about this strange new planet, while most were simply just looking for a job, as none were to be found back in Equestria.
Lily Joy was among those seeking their fortune on Earth. The mare danced with excitement when she finally acquired the approval and papers to do so.
So after taking the train from Tall Tales to Manehattan, she had made her way to the complex building around the Equinox portal and boldly went where several before her had gone to find their own luck.
Passing through the watery surface of the portal felt weird to the earth pony, her body instinctively working to shake off illusory water her mind had assumed was currently soaking into her coat. Once on the other side though, she had to fill out even more papers and be checked out by a unicorn doctor before she could finally be on her way.
The first step outside the building was an experience she would never forget. There were just so many humans and buildings out here, not to mention all of the things you simply never saw back home.
Nobody could blame her for sitting back on her haunches and trembling like a scared yearling for a moment, that is until a warm hand gently settled on her withers and a kind voice addressed the mare.
“You alright there little miss?” a masculine, yet friendly voice asked her, while the man in question knelt down.
“Y-yes…” Lily muttered, while turning her head to look at the man. He smelled of meat and bread, along with a faint smell of something else. “Just a little overwhelmed by the sight of it all.”
The man nodded, giving her a small rub along the shoulders. “Happens to the best of us little miss.” he replied. “I’m Jonathan, but you can call me John. What is your name?”
Deciding that she liked this kind human, she relaxed a little and offered him a smile. “My name is Lily Joy, but my friends call me Lily most of the time.”
“Well then Lily, what brings you to Earth, if I may be so blunt?” He asked, while smiling jovially.
Lily flicked her tail for a moment and hummed. “I have had enough of working on my parent's farm, so I saved up bits while looking into the proper ways of finding housing on Earth, to try and find something more interesting here to be honest.”
John nodded and gave her a thoughtful look. “Well from what I can tell you look pretty robust and farm work likely did wonders for your stamina. I think that you would want a job that caters to those advantages.”
Lily gave a nod in return and smiled. “Yes, but something other than farming though. I’m sure there are jobs around that need a pony used to some hard, honest work. But first, I need to find the street where my living quarters are, then look around for job offers.”
Laughing, John stood up and fished a business card out of his pocket handing it to the mare. “I wish you good luck then Lily, and if nothing else, I could always use a waitress or delivery pony at the diner.”
Taking the card and briefly looking it over, she put it into her saddlebags and reared up to give her new acquaintance a friendly hug. “Thank you for the concern John, I will keep that in mind.”
Hugging her back carefully, he nodded before letting her go. “You’re welcome. Everybody has to start somewhere you know.” He then wished her luck and walked off towards what she guessed was his diner.
Navigating the streets, it didn’t take her long to find the one she was looking for. The apartment complex in which she rented her new home didn’t look like much, but it was affordable and she knew she had at least enough money to pay rent for three months. Surely a mare like her could find a job in that time.
Two flights of stairs later, she stood in front of the door to her new home and fished the key out of her saddlebag with her muzzle. She knew that the former tenant had left a few things behind that were still usable to her, or that had been replaced with new furniture, so that was a bonus.
Opening the door, she stepped into a small hallway that had three doors and a coat rack, the floor still covered with dark grey carpeting and walls covered in soft yellow wallpaper. She loved it already.
After shutting the front door, she quickly made her way through her new apartment. The three inner doors leading to a small bathroom, her bedroom, and finally her living room with a kitchenette in the corner. All in all, it was perfect despite its size, and Lily felt at home.
The two most interesting things in her home were the refrigerator and television. She had heard of both, but back on the farm they still lived in a rather traditional manner, and this was the first time she actually owned such luxury.
But the first thing to do was empty her saddlebags and put the stuff away that she had brought along on her journey. Some writing material and envelopes, her clothing and linens. Last but not least, a large box holding her utensils, a few plates and pans, and her showering necessities. She figured anything else needed could be picked up at a later time.
After putting everything away in their proper spots, Lily made her way to the couch in front of her television and laid down on it. She had made it. She finally lived in her own apartment, in a completely new city, on a different world. All her hard work had paid off. She then noted the business card on the coffee table and smiled, it wouldn’t hurt to go take a look at that job offer in the morning. Also, her home needed more plants.
The next morning, Lily was ready to explore her new city, that is after she found out that human bathrooms were a bit weird. Also, that one of her neighbours apparently liked to play on his guitar at eight in the morning.
Her first stop was the bank, to make sure that all her payment plans regarding her house were in order and to pick up some of the local currency, since she couldn’t actually pay with bits where she lived now.
After a pleasant interaction with the clerk, she was now 400 euros richer and ready to do some shopping and job hunting.
Supermarkets were awesome, they were far bigger than the general supplies store in Tall Tale had been, and the variety was simply amazing. You could find food and shampoo, but also magazines, or even clothes if you wanted. Equestria should pick up this way of shopping and build some Aldi stores as well, as they are so convenient. She then felt a small hand stroke along her neck and turned to stare into the excited eyes of a young human foal.
“Hi pretty pony.” the girl spoke and petted her some more, pure adoration evident on her face while her mother gave Lily an apologetic smile.
Lily wasn’t bothered by it though. She had heard the stories and knew that human foals, no.. children were often happy to see ponies and couldn’t help but invade your personal space. “Hello young lady.” she nickered in turn, allowing her nose to be petted.
Shuffling her feet the girl looked down at them and blushed. “Can I sit on your back, so mama can take a picture miss pony?” she asked, hope brightly shining in her eyes.
“Well...” Lily said playfully “...maybe if you tell me your name first. My name is Lily Joy and what is yours?”
“Miranda” the girl replied instantly, “You have a really pretty mane.”
Smiling, Lily nodded and lowered herself some to let the girl climb on her back, then struck a pose while the girl’s mother took out a camera and snapped a picture of them both. “I’m happy you think so Miranda.”
The girl’s mother then picked Miranda off of the pony’s back and gave Lily a warm smile. “My name is Irma. Thank you for indulging my daughter.”
“You’re welcome.” Lily replied as her ears perked up, sniffing the air. “You smell like flowers.”
Irma laughed, nodding. “I’m a florist, but we need to be on our way now. Maybe we’ll see you around, miss Lily Joy?”
“Sure thing.” Lily answered, then waved at Miranda while she and her mother made their way to the exit.
Having paid for her groceries and explaining to the clerk that yes, she was an adult and could have that cider. She then decided to see if the diner had opened yet, so that she could look around and inquire about the potential job.
She found the diner across the street from where she had arrived on Earth the day before. Seeing that the lights were on and the door open, she assumed that they were open, so she trotted inside.
It looked a little different than she had expected. There was a bar of sorts in one corner, with a door behind it that lead towards what she thought to be the kitchen, and two rows of tables with four chairs each had been placed near the large well lit windows. What caught her eye was the theme of the diner, which reminded her of Appaloosa a lot with its cowpony hats and wooden interior.
There were only two customers as of yet, but that was no surprise so early in the morning. Then to her surprise, a unicorn made her way into the diner, coming from the kitchen and making her way towards Lily.
“I thought I heard hoof steps coming inside. Howdy, my name is Mocha Delight and how can I help you today?” Mocha was dressed in a typical cowpony hat and vest, and had her mane put up in two braids that fit in neatly with the decor. Mocha extended a hoof to Lily in greeting.
Tapping the hoof with her own, Lily looked the unicorn over a moment before smiling. “My name is Lily Joy, and it’s a pleasure to meet you Mocha. I came here to see John about a possible job offer we discussed yesterday.”
Mocha nodded and smiled as well. “Ah yes, he did mention a mare he had met outside the portal building, that was you then. If you wait here a moment I’ll hop in back to fetch him for you.”
Sitting down at one of the tables, Lily didn’t need to wait very long before John came out of the kitchen, but unlike yesterday he wore a cook’s apron today.
“No luck in finding anything else or was my offer too alluring to resist?” he asked, laughing as he stopped beside the table the mare was sitting at.
“The second.” Lily assured him with a smile, looking up at him, “That is if the job is still alluring after we discuss it.”
“That’s fair enough.” John conceded while he sat himself down. “Neither job is very complex, The main point is that for the waitress position you need to have a good balance, and for the delivery job you need to be somewhat fast. Both jobs require carrying strength though, but I don’t see that being a problem for an earth pony.”
“Is there a trial period for those positions, and would I need specific clothing or anything like Mocha Delight does?” She asked, while looking at the unicorn serving two cups of coffee to the customers she had seen earlier.
“There is a trial period of three days and you will be paid at the end of each week. Tips are shared among the staff, and work clothing will be provided by me.” John replied as he wrote a few things down on the notebook he had brought.
Nodding, Lily looked at him again and pondered for a moment. “Can I try both out?” she asked, now feeling intrigued by the idea.
“Naturally,” John chuckled. “That’s why I offered them both to start with. If you’re interested, we can measure your size today and have you start tomorrow on either.”
After thinking it over, Lily decided to try out the waitress position first. Her measurements were taken by Mocha, and she promised John that she would be back around eleven in the morning the next day.
With that worked out and feeling pleased with her job agreement, Lily decided to go shopping for plants next and headed into the town proper.
Sadly she didn’t find that nice florist she had met earlier, but with the size of the city, that couldn’t be helped. She wanted a better variety of plants than Aldi could provide, so she trotted about until she found a nice looking store a few streets later.
The elderly lady working in the store was all too happy to help her pick out some plants that fit well with the interior of her new home. After putting the plants carefully in a bag, she thanked the woman for her help and headed back home.
Author's Note
An entry for Biscuit's little challenge, more chapters will follow.
