We had a routine. I helped him prepare for the day, coached him as we walked to the stall, and I kept throwing tips and tricks whenever I saw him acting funny. Griffons just didn't have natural customer service genes, I tell ya! But he listened. Bless his birdcatbutt, he listened, and things improved.

"You look off." We were walking to work, and he was looking aside at me. "Something... wrong?"

"Why would you--" I didn't get to finish. He crooked a talon just under my eye and brought it away, wet with tears. "--Oh..."

"Yeah, oh." He inclined his head faintly. "If ya don't wanna talk, fine."

That would have been the griffon answer, but I was a pony, not a griffon! "No... It's just..." I accelerated to keep up with him. "I was thinking about the past, is all. The past you keep saying isn't even there."

"The past won't help you, or me." He shook his head. "I'd rather think about the future."

I raised a big pony ear at that. "Yeah..." The future looked brighter than thinking about my tattered past. "Say, speaking of that. I'm yours."

"Sure are."

"But not as a pet." I poked him in the side. "I've been thinking about it."

"Yeah?" He didn't seem worried I'd take off, still walking along, no leash on me.

"Well, what other time is a lady owned by a guy that she likes who likes her a lot?" I thumped against him, forcing him to stagger. "I think we're a couple."

"Are you in heat again?" he so rudely asked. "We don't have time--"

"--No!" I blurted with red cheeks. "This isn't about that. I mean, maybe later. Couples do that, if they want..." I laughed nervously, resuming our walk. "I mean romantically, as close friends. Hay, I wash you. That's... kind of a thing."

He didn't look convinced entirely, so I went for the kill. "There's really only two options." He raised a brow at me. "I'm either your slave, or a very special someone. Which is it?"

Gael went a little red in the cheeks. Perhaps being a literal slave owner was a step too far, even for a griffon. "It ain't like that," he weakly defended.

"There's not a lot of room for what else it can be." I moved in closer, pressing my side to his. "You can keep owning me, but... what if I owned you too?"

He went quiet a moment as we drew close to the stall. "Time to get to work," he broke the silence with, moving to get inside. "Go on." He pointed to my favorite perch. "You look for how I'm doin'."

"With pleasure." I spread my wings and soon flapped up into position to watch him.

"Did he hurt you?" The branch beneath me shook as somegriffon else landed on it. Gelly had joined me. "I swear, I'm ready to slap someone good, so just say the word."

"I'm fine," I assured, smiling at my other griffon friend. She did not own me, nor I her. "Thanks, by the way. I haven't seen you to say that, for helping."

Gelly huffed as she sank onto her perch. "I refuse to accept a 'thanks' for leading anycreature to that kinda store. Still, uh, glad it worked out." She was looking me over without turning fully. "So, what's bothering you?"

"Is it that obvious?!" Griffons were usually pretty dense about the feelings of others, and two had called me out.

"Yeah, kinda... Was it Gael?" She looked like she was kinda hoping it was Gael.

"Not really... Look, this is complicated..." I rubbed behind my head a little. "Did Gael tell you where he got me from?"

"No." A short answer, blunt and to the point. "You gonna?"

"Well, seeing as we're friends." Sure, she rolled her eyes at my statement, but she hadn't argued either. "It's going to sound a bit out there."

"You are a pony I... Look, we're past that, so get on with it." She rolled a hand exasperatedly. "You're a changeling, aren't you?"

"What? No!" I crossed my arms in an X and shook my head quickly. "All pony." Mostly... "But I used to not be... I..."

"No shit, you're a oncer?" she cut me off without remorse. "Get out of here."

"Once-r?" I replied more slowly. "What's that?"

"Oncer, one of the things they call people that came from, uh..." She danced her fingers in the air, trying to express it. "Aliens! Literal aliens. Ha, wow, that... actually makes a lot of things make more sense."

"That's a thing?!" I wasn't the only one? I... well... that actually made sense, thinking about it. I had been silly to assume I was the only one ever. "Alright, so... yeah, hello. I'm Ditzy, a oncer."

"Awesome." She nodded, looking confident as if she'd been the one to discover this thing. "No wonder you didn't have not a damn clue how your own... everything works."

Wait... There was someone else who had been being dragged along, who would also become a oncer... "How do I find other oncers?"

"Uh..." She lifted her shoulders. "Ain't got a clue." She leaned forward, her talons gripping into the wood below her. "Hey, Gael!"

"I'm busy!" came the counter shouted reply.

"You're busy waiting," she huffed with a smirk. "Your pony's a oncer."

"A whatter?" He looked back up at us. "Are you giving her crazy ideas?"

"Dummy." She was still smiling, not looking all that upset with him. "She's looking for a friend."

"I told her I'd think about it!" He turned away with a big ole blush.

"Not that," I squeaked out, joining the blush. "A different friend of mine, they're probably a oncer too, and I'd really like to be sure they're alright." I imagined her, as a pony. What sort of pony did she become? She could be a mare, or a stallion, or a foal even! Hay... maybe not even a pony. "I don't know what she looks like."

"Got a name?" grumpily asked Gael as he made a show of straightening things at his stall, as if anything had really gotten out of place.

Gelly was looking at me eagerly for a reply. "Um... Well, where we came from, she was Jessica. She may not go by that anymore." I still couldn't remember my original name! I had one, I was pretty sure of that! "Jessica."

"Jessica, or something else," mused Gelly. "That's not a lot to go with."

"It really ain't," agreed Gael, not facing us far below. "What do you want me to do about it?"

I tried to lean forward like Gelly did. Alas, hooves were way less good at digging onto branches for a good grip. Soon I was a heap beside the stand, stars spinning around my head. "Oops."

A hand came down on my head, gently mussing my mane before putting things right. Gael helped me stand up with an amused expression. "See you next fall?"

"Probably," I agreed with a silly grin of my own. "I don't know what went wrong, but thanks for being there."

"So, all happy now?"

"No." I stood up tall. "There's something we need to get straight."

His brow went up really high. "This I gotta hear."

"Admit you were wrong." I pointed at hoof at him. "You kept saying I didn't exist before Fetlock, but I did! I really did..."

Gelly was hanging off her branch, clinging nicely with her talons that were better than my hooves for that. "Fetwho?"

"She's the pony I paid," grunted out Gael. "She said... Whatever... I still don't know what a oncer is." He threw up his hands in a great big shrug. "Gelly, you seem to have that scoop. Lay it on me?"

Gelly dropped, much as I had, except she landed gracefully, entirely unlike me. "Oncer, Once... something. They were something else, something alien." She walked her fingers together as she talked. "Then they came here, and now they ain't that." She gestured at me grandly. "Behold, a pony, on the outside. On the inside, alien."

"An alien that had a life," I argued, turning my hoof back on myself. "That she pulled me out of. Now, uh, you... pretty obviously had no idea, so I'm not even mad at you." I was not even sure I could be entirely angry at Gael. I was his. "But admit you were wrong."

Gael drummed his fingers on his counter. "You want me to say I paid to have some alien kidnapped for me?"

Gelly smirked so viciously. "If the shoe fits..."

"Can it!" He hurled a little souvenir at her, not that it had a hope of hitting the laughing griffon. "Look, fine, whatever. What do you want me to do about it? She had a pretty big 'no refunds' policy, so I ain't taking ya back. I paid a lot of good bits."

"I don't want you to." Both griffons looked at me. "What? I mean, I didn't pick this." I waved a hoof to encompass all around me as I could. "But I'm alright with it. Gael needs my help."

Gelly wrapped an arm around Gael's neck, drawing him in with a whooping laugh. "She is too damn pure for this world. You pulled her from who-knows-where, and she wants to stay, for your own good."

Gael shoved her away. "I think that's at least partly a pony thing." He frowned at me. "So, we cool?"

"We cool." I grinned broadly, victory mine! He had admitted the mistake. "Speaking of that, there was someone from back then, who I am pretty sure was following me... and I want to know they're alright. They can't all go to nice people like you." I pointed at him.

Gelly laughed in an uproar. "Nice, Gael, not the combination I'd usually use!"

"Well, too bad. You're both really nice." For griffons. They were both trying so hard! "I'm glad I'm friends with you both."

Gelly suddenly stormed at me, shoving me at my shoulders. "Hey, cut that out!" Before I could ask any questions, she grabbed me in a hug. "Stupid pony, stop spreading your sugary feelings everywhere, dummy." That hug didn't feel like she was all that upset about it.

Gael chuckled softly as if amused at Gelly's problem. "So, alright. What do you want from me again?"

"Isn't it obvious?" She turned so fast, her tail brushed my snout. "We go to this Fetwhatever and we shake her around until she tells us where our friend's friend is." She clapped her hands together, clenching her talons to prove she meant it. "That ain't a refund, so she can't use that line."

"She's not here." He hiked his thumb. "Back in the pony lands, one of the big cities?" His smirk grew seeing her confusion. "Bet you couldn't even tell one from the other."

She swatted him on the shoulder. "Good thing you're going! She's your pony."

"And you're not?" he huffed out, crossing his arms.

"'Course I am." She rolled her eyes. "Someone has to keep an eye on her, and you." She backpedaled towards me, nudging with an elbow. "Besides, I want to shake this doctor up. She sounds really shakable."

I clopped my hooves with building joy. "Thanks! You two are great!" They were going to help. We'd rescue Jessica from her fate, um, whatever that was... "I'll make up for the money this takes." I was looking at Gael as I said that. "We'll make a bunch of bits when we get back."

"Get back?" He plinked me right on the nose. "I gotta get things set up. We ain't going today, so prove you're being honest, get up there, and help me make those bits."

"Yes, sir!" I saluted with a wing and got to flapping back up to my perch.

"Don't be mean," I could hear Gelly berating. "Ditzy's too dumb to notice when you're picking on her, but I ain't." Aw, that hurt a little, but she was trying to protect me. Half... win?

"She heard that." He turned away from Gelly. "Anyway, I see somegriff headed this way, so buzz off unless you plan to pay for your own trip."

That argument apparently worked, as Gelly retreated for the sake of a free trip to Equestria. And lo we got back to work, with me playing coach for Gael, even if I kept thinking of that odd lady that had swept into my old life and brought some amount of light and joy when I remembered being really down just then. I really hoped she was alright.

So I did my job! And I did it with a smile, I'll have you know. It was about a week before I woke up to being nudged with a foot. "Mmm?"

"Get up. The train leaves in a few minutes." He walked right past me, collecting a few things on the way. "I'll get Gelly. Don't worry about breakfast, we can get it on the way."

We were going?! I rolled up to my hooves and bounced up to all fours. "Thank you!" I jumped to pounce-hug him, but he stepped out of the way, letting me land on the ground instead. "Aw."

"Don't 'aw' me, get your stuff ready and get outside." And out he went himself. "Gelly!" he shouted out there. "Get down here."

We were gathered outside in short order, walking along. "So, um, did you have to save for this, is that why it took a week?"

"You kidding?" Gael shook his head slowly as he fished out three tickets. "This ain't a big town. We get trains by once in a rare while. This is as fast as it gets, alright?"

One of those tickets vanished, snatched by Gelly from the side. "Yoink. Thanks!" She flapped into the air, twirling to face us, flying backwards. "I never held a train ticket before. Kinda neat..."

"You're only here because she wants you." Gael inclined his head towards me. "Prove you're worth the bits."

"Don't be mean," I chided. "Gelly is your friend too."

"You heard her." Gelly landed opposite of me on the other side of Gael. "We're all buddies around here, and we got a doctor to ask a few things about..."

Things quieted as we ascended onto the platform. All the tickets were held by the person that'd use them. "We don't give them to anyone?"

Gael looked like I just said something really stupid. "You give it to the conductor, on the train." He hiked a thumb at the rail line. "Nogriff else cares about your ticket."

"I care," argued Gelly. "Hey, look." She took my ticket like that. "They have numbers. Mine is one larger than yours, huh."

That made sense... "They musta printed yours just after mine," I reasoned.

"What, larger ones are later? I thought I was first." Oh, she pouted.

Gael just looked amused. "For a pony that don't know how to use tickets, you sure know other stuff."

"Even, uh, the place I came from had that." And a lot more, I vaguely remembered. There were a lot of things I could sort of remember. Some of it I had liked a lot! Maybe it was a mercy that I didn't know what I was missing. "Are we on time?"

"Yes." He sat there on his haunches. "Look, there it is." He pointed and I saw nothing at first.

Until I squinted a little, there, in the distance, movement... Yep, a train, headed towards us on the track. Soon it pulled up, smoking and chugging to a stop. With a sharp whistle, doors opened up and conductors stepped off. Ponies!

One of those conductors noticed me. "Muffin! Are you off making a delivery?"

Oh! Right. "Wrong pony. I'm Ditzy." I pointed at myself. "And we're headed to Manehatten." I thrust my head forward, the ticket going along for the ride. "Here you go."

He leaned in and brought in a hole punch, kchunking the ticket. "There ya are. You look just like her, huh... Have a nice trip!" He tipped his hat.

We were all on the train, the rumble beneath us revealing that it had begun moving, but Gael wasn't sitting despite that, forcing against the momentum. "It's morning, didn't eat. I'm sure their eggs are garbage compared to yours, but let's give it a try."

I followed after with a big smile, and something nudged me. Looking over, I saw Gelly walking along with me. "You noticed huh?"

"Yep." He had complimented my eggs. Victory! That reminded me. "I can't go grazing today." Hard to do that on a train.

"Grazing?" came Gael's question. "Oh, forget that. Today you're eating with us." And he led us to the dining car. We had hay burgers!

Gelly seemed amused at the whole thing. "Check this out... A hay burger... Huh." She chomped right into it, ketchup splattering her beak. "Mmm, not entirely awful." As it turned out, hay burgers rated as 'alright' to griffon sensibilities.

On the other hoof, I thought they were super tasty! We all liked the fried taters about as much though, so a good time was had by all.

After lunch, Gael sat across from me, watching me. "This must feel odd."

"What did?" I looked to him, then Gelly. "It's kinda nice having my friends here, together, instead of always apart. I like that."

Gael snorted, pinkening just faintly. "Not that. I mean... we're going to talk to the pony that did that to you. Aren't you angry? Are you going to punch her?"

"Right in the face," cried Gelly. "I want to see that. Show me a pony can throw a punch when they're angry enough."

"I'm not going to punch her." I... didn't even know her. Sure, she had yanked me out of my old life, but I still didn't know her. Punching someone I didn't even know felt off. Maybe it was the pony in me, or maybe it was my old personality? I was helpless to compare the two, but I felt sure I didn't want to punch that stranger. "I just wanna know if Jessica's alright. We have to find her."

But then I remembered, I had met her, sorta. She was that voice, calling, tempting, taunting... She had made the call to draw Jessica along. She hadn't cared how I felt about the whole thing even as I felt miserable.

She was not a nice pony. Maybe I could hit her...

It still felt wrong. "Shouldn't we call the cops or something?"

Gael rolled his eyes dramatically. "I doubt we'd be the first to try. If we want answers, we go by ourselves and get them."

Gelly nodded, a hand at her beak. "That makes sense..."

"Gael." He looked at me. "Can I talk to you a sec?" I inclined my head away and led him into the next car. "I think I noticed something."

"Yeah?" He shrugged softly. "Will it get me more bits?"

"Probably not, but it's still kinda important..." I shuffled from hoof to hoof. "It's about Gelly."

Suddenly he looked interested. "You spot some awful secret? Do tell."

"Not like that," I huffed out. "I think she likes you. I mean, she likes you, obviously, but I think she might be open to like liking you."

"Like... like," he repeated slowly as if tasting the words. "You mean... Like that?"

"Yes like that!" Not that he had given much hint as to what 'like' we were talking about, but I guessed. "She's nice, and she's been really great, for both of us."

"Are you matchmaking me?" He raised a brow at me. "I'm being set up on a date by a pony..."

"I'm just getting your bits' worth," I assured, raising my snout and closing my eyes in what I hoped was a confident way. "I'm really sure on this. She's showing all the griffon signs."

"Griffon... signs." He snorted softly, raising a hand to his beak. "This I gotta hear. What is a 'griffon sign'?"

"Well, for one." So I tapped my hooves together, which is a thing. How did ponies go to two! Curse my lack of fingers! "She's interested in you but isn't trying to rip you off."

"Huh... And for two?" He was eyeing me, but seemed patient enough to hear the next.

"She smiles when you're around." I tapped those two hooves together again. "She--"

He closed his talons on my lips, closing them. "Alright, so, problem."

"Mmf?"

"You just said you want to be my hen, which is still pretty weird to me, and here you are, pointing me at another griffon. That ain't normal." He looked past me to where Gelly was enjoying herself without us. "Kinda not good for yourself there."

He leaned against the wall behind him. "I mean, whatever, pony, griffon... I ain't that close minded, but I am not taking two. That'd thrash my budget, considering neither of you actually make bits as a habit." I started giving him quite the look. "What? It's just logical."

"If that is what I was suggesting, which it was not, we'd figure it out. Not like I can't work." Both sides of me had experience working! It was our thing! "You'd just need to show me where to look for work." I didn't know where the wantad postings were in that world, sue me! "So don't call me lazy."

"I didn't call you lazy." He poked me on the nose, booping me with his sharp talon. "If you want to get a job, great, but you have one right now." He hiked a thumb at himself. "Makin' me get more bits!"

"Then don't say I don't have a job!" I huffed, wings shooting out.

"You two are so married." Oh no, when did Gelly join us. She was snickering, watching our lover's spat fizzle out in her presence. "Don't stop on my account, it's getting good."

I looked down and away. "Anyway... um... nevermind..."

"Probably a good idea." Gael pushed away from both of us, heading back for the sitting car instead of the dining one.

I sighed softly, and a hand landed on my head. Gelly was mussing my mane lightly. "Stupid pony, but the density of a pony cannot be matched by a dumb griffon, lemme tell ya."

I awkwardly rubbed one hoof to the other. "So... I wasn't wrong then?"

"No, but you going behind my back like that? Kinda messed up." She smirked faintly. "Good thing you make it pretty obvious you're doing it out of deranged pony love. How do you ponies even survive? It's a mystery to me."

"Now you're being mean." I smiled a little. "Which is pretty normal for griffons. So, not mad?"

"Nah." She gave one last pat. "This is why I laughed so hard when I heard you came onto him like that. Trust me, I've dropped all kinds of hints on his thick head, he isn't going to get it. Honest? Kinda super jealous he's considering you. Means you did better than me. At least he knows you're interested, damn mare."

Oh... Oh no! I was getting in the way of Gelly's happiness... But I was Gael's. That was not debatable. It was non-negotiable. It was a fact of life that I had to live with. But how did I do that, but also be good to Gelly, who had been so nice to me and deserved to be happy too? "You were here first," I squeaked. "I don't want to seal from you."

"You ponies are too damn nice for words." She shook her head faintly. "You're not stealing if he still doesn't know I'm even a thing. Now, if he looked at me, I'm going for it." She crooked her talons. "I will grab him and not even feel bad, and it sounds like you're giving permission, so I got nothing to feel bad about."

Author's Note

What should Ditzy do?! Is Jessica alright? Will Fetlock get what's coming her way?!

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