GAMA

"Henry! Henry, get down here! You've got a job!" my handler shouts up to me.

"Hold on, Diamond! I'm getting dressed! You mares are so touchy when it comes to your workers..." I call back.

I stretch and climb out of my bed. I straighten out the sheets and blanket, along with the pillow and walk over to my dresser near the door. I slide open the top drawer and take out a fresh pair of underwear.

"Thermals or no thermals?" I ponder aloud.

"I said get down here! Do you not listen to me?" shouts, stopping me from making a decision.

"No, Diamond Necklace, I don't listen to you."

I run through the rest of my clothes, a black dress shirt, black slacks, grey and black socks. I slip off the clothes I wore the day before and slip on my uniform- there is not actual dress code, it's just what I usually wear to school. My door flies open just as I'm about to take care of my hair.

"What is taking you so long?" she whines in exasperation.

I stick my tongue out at the mare. She looks much like Fluttershy, but has a blue coat. Her mane and tail are the same though. Maybe the wings on Diamond are a little bit larger but nothing drastic. I have a thing for meeting pegasi for some reason.

"I need to do my hair. Do you want me walking around with this hair?" I ask, pointing to my wild, long and brown hair.

"John Travolta," she calls me after the actor, "Always slicking your hair back."

"Shut up!" I shout playfully, walking to the small washroom.

I wet my hair, toss gel in it and grab a comb. I slide it backwards through my hair, flattening the near-Afro I have. My handler and friend comes over and checks me out.

"Lookin' good," she tells me, "Lookin' good."

She turns away and starts to walk out when I jump on her back.

"Hey! Get off!" she screams, trying to buck me.

I release and fall to the floor, laughing. When I stand back up she kicks me as hard as she can, knocking the wind out of me.

"Don't ever do that again. You are supposed to be civilized, aren't you?"

I wheeze, trying to reply. She walks over and picks me up. With her support, I hobble to the door.

"Sorry," is all I can say, "But I thought we were good friends. I didn't think you would have minded so much. I won't do it again and that's a pinkie promise...never mind, you have no pinkies!"

"Oh, whatever! Just try to be less playful, okay? You need to use that brain of yours; think before you act," she says in the wisest voice she can muster.

I keep a straight face and reply that I will as we walk down the stairs of the hotel-like apartment complex. It's fairly big; about the size of the castle in Canterlot. Most of it is bright red but there are a few swatches of brown and orange here and there. Halfway down the spiraling stairs on the right side of the building, I spot a large chariot near the sidewalk of the complex. The wide open staircase give me a full view of it and all its glory.

"Are we riding in that?" I whisper, even though there's no one else around.

"Yes, the client has given it to us to use for the night. Isn't that generous?"

We hit the bottom and I fly over and look it up and down; it is the nicest thing I've ever had the opportunity to ride in. Necklace opens the door and hops in. I follow. The door shuts and I feel us lurch forward as we start our journey. A small window on the door and opposite it give us some light, which I look out.  I'm so caught up in the moment that I don't hear my the conversation Diamond is trying to have with me. I feel a hoof slap the back of my head and I look at her.

"What did you do that for?!" I cry indignantly.

"Are you not interested in whom your first client shall be?" she asks in a serious tone.

"Yeah, I do. Who is it? That DJ? Her roommate? Those spa mares? Maybe that cute school teacher?" I ask, rambling off names.

She shakes her head and laughs. I look at her with confusion.

"None of them," she says, leaning close to me, "I'm your first lay!"

She jumps on me and I scream. She pins my arms and legs down before I can use them to get her off of me. Her face gets real close to mine and she puckers her lips for a kiss.

"You cannot do this! It is against the rules! Section B, part A, Rule 13.2 clearly states that 'No handler may use thier worker, no matter the circumstance'! You'll lose your job!" I shout, trying to trick her.

"They can't fire me before we do anything sweetie..." she whispers sensually.

I turn my head away.

"Please don't do this to me."

She takes her hooves off of me and sits back down, laughing like a maniac.

"Oh! You should have seen your face! It was priceless!" she squeals.

Note to self: never play with her again. She's an evil little bitch.

"I thought you were supposed to be the nicest one they had there, turns I was wrong and they lied. Now tell me who I'm stuck with," I grunt in anger. "So I can be ready."

"For that tone, you don't get to know."

She sends me a smug smile and I ignore her for much of the ride as a result. I peek out a window and watch as the houses of Ponyville disappear and the large Everfree comes into view. I hear Diamond start muttering to herself about hoping she doesn't die. I smile, knowing that all ponies are terrified of the Everfree.

I turn and look her in the face, her bottom lip quivering slightly, her hooves running over themselves, her eyes darting back and forth. I look at the rest of her and see she's shaking live San Francisco during an earthquake.

"What's so scary about the Everfree?" I ask.

The look I receive tells me she thinks I'm a madman.

"Nopony knows what is inside of the Everfree. There are beasts galore, that we know. Plants with unknown abilities, we know for sure," she whimpers tensely.

"Would you like to tell me who I'm about to meet?" I interrogate, sensing she's weak. "I don't want to go in there and find out it's some kind of evil beast."

"Oh, of course. We're on our way to see Zecora."

She clamps her hoof over her mouth, but too late. I giggle in triumph and look out the window at the passing trees. The carriage lurches to a stop and I nearly fall out of my seat. I pop the door open and jump to the ground. I give her a reassuring look but she doesn't seem any better.

"Go ahead! Go knock on the door and do your job!" she yells in a whisper as she closes the door and asks them to take her back as fast as possible.

They head off to the city we came from and I turn and face the house. I steel myself and walk towards the door.

TO BE CONTINUED