Terrell Boston Jr. was always told his dreams were unrealistic.
When he was young, he realized he wanted to be a musician. He wanted to produce, write, do anything he could to be a part of the process of making music. But most of the people around him told him it was a foolish dream. He understood why they said that, considering there were millions of people who wanted to pursue music and only a small percentage of them found success in it.
His best friend Malik was the one person in his life who believed in him. They would talk about their plans for getting into the industry as they went through high school together. But a year after they graduated, Malik got sick. He never got better, and eventually Terry was all by himself.
It was probably the toughest thing he could imagine. Shortly after his friend's death, Terry started scrapping all his music projects. He tried to continue, but he just couldn't. All the drive and passion that he had before was gone. He couldn't bring himself to create anything new.
Every time he tried to get back into his passions, it brought more pain than joy. Eventually he decided that the best move was to just start over. He abandoned anything music related, and started learning how to make money through investing. He got the hang of it pretty quick, and was able to make enough to keep him from needing a regular job.
He moved into a small house not too far from the heart of his home city. He still liked being there, even though he didn't do a lot of the stuff he used to. He stopped talking to people, and for the most part embraced a solo life. It helped him stay free of emotional investment or attachment, and for him this was a good thing.
Near downtown there was a park. In that park was a fountain, which sometimes lit up at night. Every so often Terry sat at a bench in front of that fountain, just to take it in. Given he was by himself so much, sometimes it was hard to stay out of his thoughts. Sitting on that bench, however, he could be at peace with them. It helped him reach a point of not stressing life. Just living it.
Sometimes people sat next to him. Sometimes people said hello, or just ignored him so as not to disturb him. More often than not it was just him sitting on that bench, and he never expected that to change. Not that he was complaining. Being by himself on that bench was a source of solace. He needed that.
But lo and behold, things changed.
About half a year after Malik's death, and only a few months into Terry's laid back lifestyle, talking ponies began to show up on Earth. Although it was a very confusing situation initially, it didn't take long for humans to get used to these ponies. Slowly but surely they integrated themselves into human society, and for the most part they were able to coexist among humans. Where they were coming from was a mystery. But at least they weren't dangerous.
For the first month or so of this, it didn't affect Terry. Only one time had he encountered a pony while on his bench, and it had simply taken a look at him, turned around, and walked away. He wasn't intending to look unapproachable. But again, he wasn't complaining.
Until one night, something happened that not only affected him, but changed his life.
He was watching the different water patterns of the fountain, losing himself in the spectacle that he considered it to be. It was a fairly cold night, but his hoodie kept him warm. He even felt relaxed enough to fall asleep, leaning his head back a little bit.
As his eyes began to slowly shut, he heard a voice.
"Um, excuse me?"
He turned. In front of him was a pink pegasus pony, wearing a golden tiara and looking fairly exhausted. "Do you mind if I sit here?" it asked him.
It was what it was. It wasn't his bench, so he wasn't going to control who used it. "Go ahead," he said, going back to staring at the fountain.
What would follow was something Terry never could have expected. The pegasus, who he would learn was named Pipp, lived a life that almost exactly opposed his own. She was used to getting attention wherever she went, to the point she was sick of it. She was a pop star, and although she loved what she did she was tired of constantly having to fulfill the demands of her fans.
It couldn't have been more different from the quiet life Terry had chosen to live. But he found sympathy for her. There was something about being able to be a source of comfort for Pipp that made Terry happy, even if only a little bit. After that first night, he found himself thinking about it quite a bit. Before they had parted ways, she had exchanged numbers with Terry, and promised to meet with him again. He decided it would be best not to bank on that happening.
But as far as he was concerned, it would be pretty cool if it did.
It had been about a month since that interaction.
Terry was at his house watching TV. This was a rare occurence, as he usually didn't care for it, but he had figured he might as well watch the Bucks, given he had nothing else to do. Or so he thought, until his typically dry phone buzzed.
He picked it up. It was a text from Pipp, who he was surprised even remembered him. It read Sorry it's been so long. Same spot as last time?
He texted back. Sure.
He didn't follow news. He spent some time on the Internet here and there, and often saw some news headlines, but never read any articles. After meeting Pipp for the first time, he had Googled her name back at his house. He remembered being unable to hold back his surprise at how big she was. As he dressed and prepared to head out, he found himself looking forward to something for the first time in forever.
Once he arrived at the park, he was surprised to see Pipp sitting on the bench, waiting for him. She was wearing a grey hoodie, which took him a moment to process. She likely didn’t want to be seen by anybody else.
"How long you been here?" he asked as he approached her.
"Not too long," she replied. "How've you been?"
Terry noticed that she looked genuinely concerned. "I've been aight," he said, sitting down next to her. It was evening, and with the sun setting it was starting to get dark out. Terry knew from all the time he spent here that it wouldn't be long before the fountain's lights turned on.
“Again, sorry it’s been so long,” Pipp said. “I didn’t forget about you or anything, but this city isn’t really close to where I live and-“
“It’s cool,” said Terry with a dismissive wave. “Don’t stress it.”
Pipp looked at him, puzzled. “Are you…sure?” she said with uncertainty.
“Yeah,” Terry replied. Changing the subject, he added, “How’s the music going?”
“Oh! It’s going well, actually,” Pipp answered. “I’ve got ideas for a new album and everything. But I still get sick of all the attention. I can hardly go anywhere in peace.”
“Well, at least you made it here,” said Terry.
“Yeah,” she replied. “It’s good to see you.”
"Good to see you too." Terry gave a nod.
"So what've you been up to?" Pipp asked. "Have you done anything exciting?"
"I don't really do that much," he replied. "I make money by investing, so I'm mainly at home. Unless I'm here, I don't go out that often."
Pipp's ears drooped a little. "How come?"
Terry sighed. "I just don't."
Seeing the look on Pipp's face, he continued. "I wanted to do music. When my best friend died, I lost my passion for it. We used to plot on our futures together, and without him I just couldn't create anything anymore."
The pegasus thought for a moment. "But aren't you lonely? Don't you ever want to be around someone?"
"Sometimes," he replied. "And when I feel that way, I come here. Most of the time just sitting here takes care of it."
"But if you have no one to talk to, then you have to bottle everything up," said Pipp empathetically. "And when you do that, you'll always find it hard to be happy."
Terry was silent as he thought about her words. He knew she was right; these were conclusions that he'd reached long ago. But it was only now that he was starting to feel like they mattered.
"You're right," he said. "But right now I don't need new people in my life. I've been there, tryna make new friends, finding people to ride with...it's always temporary."
Terry knew the reason for this was outside of Malik he had never found a loyal friend. Part of it wasn't his fault, and part of it was. But he didn't want to go back down that road.
"Well, you've got me, right?" Pipp said to him. "I'm not somebody new. At least not anymore."
Terry gave a small smile. "Yeah, you got a point." He then stopped smiling. "But you know how things are. We can't be friends like that. You got a life to live, and I got...what I got goin' on. You don't gotta keep goin' outta your way to come to this place. You got your music to focus on. I appreciate you being here, I really do. But this won't last. We both know it."
For a moment, there was silence. Someone who had been on their way past the bench stopped, taking in the sight of the human and the pony. It didn't take long for Terry to realize that they recognized the pegasus. A giddy smile crept across their face as they took out their phone and pointed its camera at the two, clearly taking pictures. Terry could do nothing but sigh.
"Aaaaand now it looks like it will," said Pipp as the stranger hurried off.
"Point," said Terry. He knew how big Pipp was, and his automatic assumption was by the end of the night that picture would be on the internet, and by the following morning it would be dominating it. "Looks like you're gonna have some questions to answer."
It didn't take long for Pipp to find the perfect idea. "You said you like music, right?" she said suddenly, with a slight raise in her tone for emphasis.
"I did," Terry replied. "Like I said, I just can't get into it like that anymore."
Pipp took a deep breath before continuing. "Maybe we could work on something together." Seeing the look on the human's face, she added, "It's a great way to continue your career! I mean, I have a lot of fans, and maybe if they got a chance to see your talent, you would too!" She looked at him excitedly once she finished.
Terry thought about that for a moment. He pulled out his phone and looked at his files, seeing all the songs that he figured would never see the light of day. He then looked up and at the scene around him. No other bystanders were worried about what was going on. But given what had happened earlier, he figured that was going to change eventually. Still, he wasn't sure.
"I know the idea of making music with an essentially alien species isn't the most appealing idea," Pipp pressed on in Terry's silence. "And I know our styles are probably...different. But what have you got to lose? Why do nothing with your life, keep coming back to this fountain again and again, when you can do something? When you can be something?"
In his continued contemplation, Terry took a moment to realize the absurdity of the situation. Here was a pegasus pony who, when it came down to it, he hardly knew and hardly knew him. Yet she was trying to give him an opportunity to chase the dream he had forgone so long ago. And the more he thought about it, the less he was opposed to it.
"You know," he said finally. "I guess I could give it a shot."
"Great!" Pipp replied. Her wings gave a small flutter of excitement underneath the hoodie. "Do you think you could show me some of your stuff? I just want to get an idea of what you sound like."
"Sure." Terry took another look at the list of unreleased songs, each one bringing back a distant memory of its creation. He picked what he felt was the best one and attached it to a text message, which he then sent to Pipp.
Almost immediately, her phone dinged. "Don't listen to it here," Terry told her. "It's too many people. I'm not ready for all that." His gaze turned to the ground for a moment.
"Fair enough," she replied. "Can I send it to my manager? They're the ones that would be able to make this happen."
Terry didn't have a problem with that, so she did. After a few minutes of silence, in which Terry began looking more at the scene around him instead of just the fountain, Pipp's phone dinged once again. Terry tilted his head to the side slightly, waiting for her to tell him what it was.
Pipp hesitated. "He says...the language is a bit of a rough spot, but as long as you can change that it would be a great opportunity!" She looked up at Terry, who was now staring at the sky.
He hadn't been sure about this, but here he was. Done with the mulling over, he turned to face the pony next to him. "What do you want me to do?"
"You know," Pipp answered. "Before you worry about any of that, you really should meet my family. I'm sure they'll love you."
Terry raised an eyebrow. "You think so?"
Pipp gave him a smile warmer than any he'd received through the time he'd known her. "I believe I've said this before, but you're not like these other humans. I know so."
He smiled. After everything that had happened, he never figured he'd find himself wanting a friend again. But as he sat on that bench, he couldn't have been happier to have the pony's company.
Author's Note
Knew I wanted to continue this, wasn't sure how. Not really the greatest thing I've ever written, but meh, it'll work. On to the next thing.
As always, likes and comments go a long way. Peace.
