At the Heart of it All

Chapter Four

A Star Traveling Far

Star Dancer awoke the next morning feeling a bit stiff in her shoulder. ‘Must of slept on my side the wrong way last night,’ she thought as she rolled out of bed and made her way into the bathroom to relieve herself.  Afterward she headed down the hall towards the kitchen. A nice cup of hot tea was just what she needed, and some Tylenol to numb the soreness in her shoulder couldn’t hurt as well.

Since now a slight headache was also beginning to cause her some mild discomfort as she tried to work out the knot in her shoulder as she hobbled on down the hallway heading towards the living room. But she stopped at the hallways exit when she noticed the two ponies still on the couch sleeping peacefully.

Black Rose was cuddled up next to Big Mac snoring quietly. Her tail flicking occasionally as she slept, possibly from a dream she was having. Big Mac on the other hoof was lying on his side. His head resting on a pillow with his one foreleg up underneath it as he too snored, albeit a little more loudly than Rose. Star Dancer smiled at the sight as she started back towards the kitchen, but was stopped again by a knock at the front door.

“Who is it?” She quietly asked as she hobbled up to the door.

“It’s me Alex.”

“One sec.” Alex stood back from the door as various locks could be heard being disengaged, then the door opened. He looked down to the pony standing by the entrance, her one hoof still on the door latch. She looked so cute standing there in her pajamas with a sleepy smile on her face, her mane all frayed and frazzled. She must of just woken up. “Come in, come in,” she said taking her hoof from the door latch to cover her mouth, stifling a yawn.  “I was just going to make some tea. Would you like some?” Alex nodded as he walked in and closed the door behind him.

“Sure,” he replied. Star Dancer smiled and spun herself around to head back into the kitchen, Alex following closely behind as they made their way through the living room. It was still pretty quiet. The morning sun was only just now starting to peak its warm rays of light through the window. Pretty much the only sounds coming from the room were from the two ponies still fast asleep on the couch, and the faint whir of the central air coming from the vent. “Is that Big Mac and Rose I see sleeping together on the couch over there?”

“Mmhmm.” Star Dancer nodded. “I was surprised when I saw it too.” She glanced back over to the two on the couch briefly. “I guess she really does have a crush on him.” Alex glanced over himself looking at the two on the couch. They looked so peaceful sleeping together. Afterwards they headed into the kitchen. “You hungry?” She asked as she propped herself up on the counter to look through the cabinets. However as she did, Alex caught notice of her rolling her shoulders seemingly out of discomfort.

“Are you alright? You seem tense.” Star Dancer turned her head around to face him and nodded slightly.

“I think I may have slept on my side the wrong way last night. My shoulder is a little sore, and it’s giving me a headache from it.” Alex smiled getting up from the table, an idea popping into his mind as he made his way over to Star Dancer, whom had returned to rummaging through her cabinets looking for some tea. “So did you...” She stopped herself short, her body tensing up when she felt a pair of hands rest themselves on her back.

“A-Alex! Wha-what are you d-doing?”

“Just a simple massage, you seem like you need it.” He then helped her down from the counter and guided her into a seat at the table. “Lie forward please, this will only take a few moments, and you’ll feel a lot better afterwards.”

Star Dancer looked back to Alex. She was a little nervous, she had never had another person touch her before... Well that is if you don’t count her mother and father, but thats different. Strangely though, she felt her pang of nervousness subside. Her body relaxing as she slid her forelegs forward onto the table, and then afterward she let her head rest on them.

“O-okay Alex, but please... be gentle.” Alex smiled, bringing his hands together to crack his knuckles, the sound of which caused Star Dancer to lift her head back up to look at him questionably.

“Just cracking my knuckles, I need to loosen up myself.” Star Dancer continued to look at him for a moment, a bit of nervousness returning. “Relax, it’s nothing to worry about, I promise I’ll be extra careful, and if at any time you feel uncomfortable just tell me to stop and I will okay?” Star Dancer smiled. She felt better knowing she would always be in control, and if he did something during this that made her feel uncomfortable she could always tell him to stop.

Even though secretly she was very interested in finding out how this was actually going to feel. So with a slight nod she again rested her head back onto her forelegs. Afterward Alex settled his hands onto her back just above her wings where they protruded out from her pajama top.

This was going to be a lot different from the past experiences he had giving massages to his previous girlfriends. Mainly because she wasn’t human, but her body did have some distinct features he could still clearly recognize. Her shoulders for one were a lot more evolved than a regular pony. You could even say they somewhat slightly resembled the shape of human shoulders, though less pronounced and covered with fur. There was just enough difference to give her a much wider range of motion, but at the same time still allowed her to walk on all fours without difficulty.

Her hind legs however still clearly resembled equine anatomy, though her thighs were slightly larger, and the joints in her hind legs were a lot more flexible. Probably so she could stand up on them and support her weight. The only part of her that was ‘alien’ to him was her wings. Those two large feathery amber appendages that were tucked up along her sides.

She was definitely a unique being that's for sure. No Earth born horse (sorry pony) that he had ever seen was capable of the range of movement and motor skills that she was capable of. Although now that he thought about it for a moment... He felt a little bad comparing her to an animal here on Earth. It was degrading to say the least.

Shaking his head a moment later to clear his thoughts from rambling on trying to figure out these equestrian ponies physiology, Alex began to gently apply a light amount of pressure on what he believed was the bones and muscles of her shoulders. He was right on target—and boy was she stiff. “My god Star, you’re pretty tight up here. I can practically feel the knots in your muscles.” He then resumed kneading the muscles by gently working his fingers around the areas with the most stiffness, and eventually he felt them loosen up; releasing the built up tension. “Feeling any better?”

She didn’t reply... well not verbally. She just nodded, letting out a quiet humming noise as her eyes slowly began to close while Alex continued to work the muscles in her shoulders.

“Mmm... little higher.” She hummed with roll of her shoulders. Alex complied, sliding his hands up to just the base of her neck, just above the collar of her pajama top, and onto her amber colored fur, and boy was it soft. He simply couldn’t believe how soft it felt as he slowly ran his hands down along the sides of her neck, letting his fingers draw lines in her fur as he drew them back to her shoulders.

Black Rose woke the next morning feeling completely refreshed. No bad dreams or nightmares; just a peaceful nights sleep. So with a tired yawn she pulled herself up to sit on the couch and stretch her muscles, cooing softly as she reached her limbs out to their furthest extension. Afterward she let them fall back to her sides to scratch an itch on her rump, her eyelids still fluttering as she tried to shake off her sleepiness.

She then hopped off and glanced back to the other pony still sleeping on the couch. Big Mac had now rolled onto his back and was still snoring a bit, his mouth hanging open slightly, his one foreleg still up under the pillow. The other now hanging off the side of the couch.  Rose didn’t notice at first but her gaze went a little lower than she had thought. This is when she noticed the rather large bulge in his shorts.  Her face grew hot, and her mind started to wander; her mouth now hanging open.  ‘You like it don’t you?’ An all too familiar voice chuckled in her head.  Rose nodded her head slightly. Her whole body was starting to grow hotter, even her tail was beginning to slowly rise; twitching erratically every now and then.

After that a sudden heat began to bloom between her legs equaling the rest of her body. However unaware to Rose, Big Mac had stirred a little as if someone had talked to him.  ‘You want him, we can see it. Don’t lie to yourself again Rosie. Your body is calling.’Again Rose nodded her head slightly.  Her legs started to feel shaky as the urge took over, a slight moisture beginning to form between her legs.  ‘You want him inside of you, don’t you Black Rose?’

“I... I...”

“Mornin’.”  Reality hit Rose like a ton of bricks. She immediately snapped from her trance and fell back onto her rump upon hearing the sound of his voice. Big Mac wanted to say something, but what? Waking up to see a mare you just met yesterday staring at your morning wood with her mouth open was awkward to say the least. So he decided to simply try and play it down. Black Rose seemed upset enough judging by the frown on her face. “So what’s up Rose?”  Rose’s eyes darted to the side.

‘Yeah... what isup Rosie?’

“Shut up you!”

“Sorry!” Big Mac now felt stupid. He wanted to downplay this hoping she too would simply drop it so they could enjoy the rest of the morning, but no. The first words out of his mouth pretty much managed to put his hoof into it. But oddly enough, when he was about to apologize again, Rose had already beat him to it.

“Oh Mac, I didn’t mean you!” She looked away.

‘Smooth Rose, who were you talking to then?’

“Be quiet! You’re making me look weird!” She looked back up to Mac. He was staring at her questionably, scratching his head. ‘Great... Now he probably thinks I’m some perverted nutjob that ogles over stallions, and argues with herself.’

“Uhh... Apology accepted?” He said. It was still too early in the morning, and he really didn’t want to find out right now what was going on here. His bladder, and it contents was more important, and the fact that he had been holding it now for the past thirty or so minutes didn’t help either. So with a quick smile he hopped off the couch and quickly trotted down the hallway to relieve himself. Leaving behind a stunned and confused Black Rose. Until her bladder too began to inform her that it was time to do the same.

Feeling so much better (and slightly lighter) as he left the bathroom, Big Mac headed back down the hallway towards the kitchen, a nice cup of coffee would hit the spot right about now. But as he was about to come to the hallways exit,  he saw Black Rose running towards him.

“Gotta pee! Gotta pee! Gotta pee!” She squeaked, practically slamming him against the wall  as she galloped past to the bathroom. A second later he flinched as the door slammed shut behind her. Chuckling to himself as he shook his head, Big Mac afterward headed on into the kitchen.

“Oh howdy y’all two.” Big Mac smiled as he trotted up to the table to take a seat. “Sleep the wrong way last night Ah take it?” Star Dancer looked up from her forelegs as Alex was continuing to gently massage her shoulder and nodded slightly.

“Mmm... Yeah,” she said as she laid her head back down. “But thanks to Alex, I am feeling much better now.”

“Glad I could help,” Alex smiled as he took a seat next to her. Afterward Star Dancer   hopped down from the table and trotted back over to the counter.

“Did you want anything to drink Mac? I have tea or coffee.”

“Coffee  please.”

“Any particular way?” She asked turning around to face him briefly.

“Na...” He smile waving a hoof. “Just as long as it wakes me up is fine.”

“Right.” She then spun around going back to her search eventually finding her box of tea and some coffee. “So when are you and Rose gonna head out the the immigration center?”

“Probably around noon time Star,” Black Rose said trotting into the kitchen then plopped into a seat at the table “By the way...” She paused for a moment to glance over at the human sitting at the table reading a newspaper. “What’s he doing here so early?” Alex looked up from his paper.

“Taking your friend here up to see my parents.” Alex replied with a quick nod to the amber  pony pouring some water into a coffee pot.

“Oh...” She looked over to Star letting a small smile onto her face. Star simply rolled her eyes shaking her head.

“Would you like something to drink Rose?”

“Orange juice please.”

“Okay, get ya some in a second.”

Later on after the four finished planning and talking about how their days would play out, Star Dancer went to her room to pack for the days trip upstate to Alex’s parents place. Rose and Mac had since left for the Immigration Center an hour prior. Though as Star Dancer went about packing her things for the trip, she once again started feeling a little bit nervous about meeting Alex’s parents. For one thing Alex told her they had never met an equestrian before. Which was kinda odd considering the gateway’s have been open for a few years now.

Was it because they were a bunch of speciesist? Did they not like equestrians? Or felt threatened about them taking jobs or something? Maybe it was just because they lived farther out in the country where no gateway had been constructed yet. She actually got so caught up in her thoughts that she stopped packing for the trip and just laid on her bed thinking about how she was gonna break the ice with his parents.

Eventually though she shook the thoughts from her mind and went back to packing, but just as she was about to close her saddlebag she froze up when she felt something on her shoulder.

“Ahh!” she screeched, accidentally throwing her  bag across the bed, dumping its contents onto the floor.  Afterward she spun her head around to see what it was. “Oh Alex, it’s only you.” She breathed out a sigh of relief then hopped off the bed to collect her things that had spilled across the floor. “You could have knocked you know.”

“Sorry! I saw your door was open and just thought I would check up on you. By the way, thanks for the feather dusting by them wings of yours.”

“It’s a natural reaction for them to snap up like that when you scare me like that. One that you could have avoided if you didn’t sneak up on me.”

“Yeah… I’ll remember that. But I thought you said you were a geosus?”

Star Dancer dropped her head down and sighed. “Pegasus and geosus are same thing, just different breeds. Sometimes we kinda just call ourselves pegasus’s or pegasi. It’s a lot easier and it  also avoids confusion.”

“Well that makes sense,” Alex said nodding in agreement. “So what’s been taking you so long? It’s been over an hour.”

Star Dancer looked down at her bracelet to check the time. “Oh wow… I didn’t even notice how much time had passed.” She said as she finished folding and re-packing her clothes that had fallen out of her bag. “Guess I spent more time worrying about your parents than getting myself ready.”

“My parents? What about them?”

Star Dancer sat up swinging her bag around her back and snapped the clasp around her stomach, then looked up to Alex and sighed. “Well I was worried about what you had told me.” Alex look at her raising an eyebrow. “You know… you told me your parents never met a equestrian before. I just felt they may not like me.” She felt a little bad saying that and promptly looked away as her ears fell back. Alex smiled chuckling slightly.

“Is that what’s been bothering you all this time?” She nodded. “Oh Star Dancer,” He chuckled then sat down next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “You needn't worry one bit about that.” She looked up to him a bit surprised, her ears standing up. The effect causing Alex to laugh to himself. “You know its kinda cute when your ears flip up like that.” She looked away again. Though this time she was trying to hide the blush on her face.

“Anyway.” He stood back up and walked over to the door. “Shall we get going? We’d best hurry if we want to beat the morning traffic.”

Star Dancer nodded and got up to follow him as they made their way out to his truck.

****

The morning traffic they had hoped to avoid sadly slammed them full force as Star and Alex turned off onto West 96th street heading towards the Henry Hudson parkway.

“Heh… guess today’s not our day huh?” Alex chuckled as the two slowly inched forward with traffic.

“Sorry Alex…” Star Dancer said a little upset.

“Aww don’t worry about it. We’ll get there.” He reached over and patted her on the back. “Hey, don’t look so pouty.  It’s not your fault. Traffic was crammed even before we left the driveway anyway. And you know what? I should actually thank you.”

She looked up to him, her ears again flipping up. She was surprised to hear that. “Thank me? For what?”

“Well for one thing.” He smiled and reached over to boop her on the nose. “You just gave me that cute little surprised look again.” She smiled and looked away blushing. “And the other was since you took the extra time getting ready, we’ve managed to beat most of the early morning rush.” He pointed ahead as they were turning onto the ramp for the parkway. “See?”

She looked out the window and smiled when she saw they were now speeding down the highway. “How long is it going to take us to get to your parents house?”

“About four hours. I hope you brought enough clothes. I was planning on staying the night and coming back tomorrow morning.”

She nodded patting her saddlebag sitting in her lap. “I kinda figured we were going to spend the day out then and come back tomorrow. So I packed an extra change of clothes and some other things.”

“Well that’s good. Better prepared than not right?”

Star nodded smiling. The rest of the time spent on the parkway went rather quiet. It was only when they turned off the freeway, and onto the ramp leading towards the George Washington Bridge, when Star Dancer ask him to pull over so she could snap a photo of it.

“Wow this thing is huge! I am simply blown away by the size of the structures you humans have built.”

“Don’t you have bridges back in Equestria?”

Star Dancer shook her head then stuck her camera back into her small pack she kept on her and hopped back into the truck. “We have bridges, but nothing compared to the scale of this. The only thing I can honestly say that compares to these large structures is the gateway entrances, and some of the cities back on Equestria.”

“But I thought you guys were pretty advanced with your technology.” Alex said as he pulled back out onto the highway. “I mean look at that bracelet you have, and the fact you guys can use magic is pretty damn amazing as well.”

“Mana Alex… Not magic.”

“Theres a difference?”

“Well yeah,” she said rather flatly. “Magic is some fictional power mages use. It’s also the stuff used in that show you humans created about us.”

“You mean that children's television show you were telling me about before?”

“That’s right.” Star Dancer nodded. “Mana however is a real world force that we equestrians are able to channel through our bodies and use in a multitude of ways. Here let me show you.” She took a moment and closed her eyes then focused, her mark on her shorts starting to glow slightly as she channeled some mana into her wings causing them too to glow ever so slightly as well.

“So you guys use mana to make your butts light up?” Alex chuckled. Star Dancer sighed relaxing her concentration and then looked at him a little displeased.

“No.” She responded bluntly. “But now I have a question for you.”

Alex glanced over to her raising an eyebrow wondering why she was looking at him with a smirk. “Oh yeah? What is it?”

“Why are you looking at my butt?”

“Well I… uhh… umm.”

Star Dancer laughed punching his arm playfully. “Relax… I was only teasing you. No need to get all flustered.”

Alex relaxed letting out a breath as they got off the bridge heading into New Jersey. It was a short trip through town as they traveled down route 4 passing by a mostly residential area. Star Dancer was actually surprised to see a number of equestrians living in the homes dotting the highway. But eventually as the turned off route 4, and came onto route 17,  the quiet neighborhoods gave way to commercial complexes, shopping centers and a myriad of fast food establishments.

“Are you hungry? We could stop at one of these restaurants and get something to eat.”

“No, I’m okay.” Star  Dancer yawned, then returned to looking out the window.

The trip afterward fell silent. The two of them now back in New York State, a couple hours having passed as they were now traveling down Interstate 87. Alex decided to check up on Star Dancer, since now traffic had pretty much lightened up to only an occasional car or truck passing by them every now and then. She had been quiet for the past hour or so, so he was wondering how she was doing. But when he finally saw her, he found out she had since fallen asleep.

She was quietly resting in her seat snoring peacefully as one of her ears twitched occasionally. Probably from a dream she was experiencing. He smiled at the sight then reached down to turn down the radio so he wouldn’t disturb her, and then went back to focusing on the road. But just as they passed by the nearby town of Schenectady, Star Dancer stirred, then raised her forelegs up, arching her back as she stretched them out, and let out a huge yawn.

“Mmm… Could you pull over please?”

“Why what’s up?” Alex wondered.

“I need to get out and stretch my hind legs. Also I’ve been sitting on my tail for the past few hours, so it’s pretty sore right now.”

“Yeah I kinda need to do that as well. Stretch my legs out that is. Not the tail thing obviously.”

“Obviously.” Star Dancer chuckled.

Shortly after they pulled off onto the shoulder Star Dancer hopped out. Her legs really felt stiff from sitting in that position for such a long time. So much that she simply stood there for a few moments until everything loosened up. Afterward she trotted off into the open field beside the highway to get the blood circulating through them again. It felt good to just run around in the grass, kinda reminded her of the open fields back on Equestria. Once her legs felt pretty good she decided to open up her wings and flap them a few times.  But as she did the muscles felt really sore, so she decided to just let them hang open limply by her sides to allow a little time for them to loosen up.

“Hey, what’s wrong with your wings?”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Star Dancer asked.

Alex walked up to her pointing at her wings. “Your wings are kinda hanging limply at your sides. Are the okay?”

Star Dancer looked at them, then back to Alex and nodded. “Yeah, they're fine. I was just letting them loosen up a bit. let’s the blood circulate through them ya know?”

“Make sense... I guess. Anyway, I’m gonna head back to the truck. Head on back when you…” Alex trailed off when he spotted Star Dancer staring off into the field, her eyes squinting. “What are you staring at?”

“That.” Star Dancer said pointing off towards the farm. Alex returned to her side to see what she was pointing at. But felt a little confused since he couldn’t see what she meant.

“You mean the farm?” He asked.

“No,” She said, seemingly a little upset. “I mean that thing!” Again she pointed off towards the farm, but this time Alex kneeled down so he could better follow where her hoof was ponting.

“You mean that horse grazing out in the field?”

“Is that what it is?" She said sounding a little surprised. “Wow… it’s so big. I didn’t expect it to be that large.”

“Well compared to you or me yeah.” He then kneeled down beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Why don’t you go on up and say hello?”

“Do they actually talk?” Alex shook his head.

“No. It’s only an animal after all. But doesn’t mean they can’t understand what we say.”

“I don’t understand?” Star Dancer replied a little confused scratching her head.  “You say they can’t talk, but they understand our voice?”

“Yeah, it’s kind of a feel thing ya know?”

“Okay you’ve lost me here.”

“Well it’s not really that they can understand what we are exactly saying, but I get the feeling they can understand us by our tone of voice, and the actions we make towards them. Does that make a little more sense?”

“Yeah, kinda.”

Alex then stood up and crossed his arms thinking for a moment. But then an idea came to mind. “Why don’t I show you what I mean?” He said and then began walking towards the fence.

“Uh... okay,” She said giving him a perplexed look. She really didn’t understand how he was going to do this. But might as well see what he was talking about. So with a sigh she trotted on over to the fence and propped herself up against it. “So what did you have in mind?”

“Hang on a moment, let me see if I can get her to come over here.” He then turned towards the horse and started making clicking sounds while waving its hands trying to get the horses attention.

“Umm… How do you know its a female?” Star asked looking at the horse as well.

“These guys don’t wear clothing, so you know…” He nodded his head looking towards the horse—Star Dancer glancing over as well—just as the animal turned to walk away. Her tail now wagging back and forth swatting at some flies. This gave the two pretty much a front row seat as the horse went about nibbling at the grass.

“Gah! Celestia Alex!” Yelled Star Dancer as she threw a foreleg over her eyes looking away. “You could have just told me! I didn’t need to see that!”

“Well I did say the horse was a female.”

“I’m going to be permanently scarred now, thanks a lot.” She hopped down off the fence. “I’m heading back to the truck. I think I’ve been down on the farm long enough.”

Alex glanced over to her cocking an eyebrow at the comment, and then shortly after broke out in laughter shaking his head. “That's a good one! I like that!”

Star Dancer groaned at the realization and pressed a hoof to her face. ‘Stupid brain… you’re not helping!’ After shaking off her little slip up, she started back to the truck, but stopped and turned around when she didn’t hear him following. “Are you coming?” Alex didn’t respond. He just sat there staring off into the field. It looked like he was thinking about something. “What are you thinking about?”

“Hmm? Oh nothing really,” Alex replied pushing off the fence.

Star Dancer looked at him questionably, her eyebrow slightly raised as he passed her, but after a moment to think about it (properly this time), she really didn’t want to know. Especially given the context of what they were just looking at. So with a quick exhale of breath she quickly caught up to Alex and hopped back into the truck. Sadly though in her haste she accidently sat on her tail the wrong way crinking it, causing her to bounce up crying out in pain.

“Are you alright?” Alex asked a little concerned.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Star Dancer replied running her hoof through her tail straightening it out then gently eased herself back down onto it. But just as she tried applying weight onto her tail, she hissed to herself. Her dock was still very sore from when she had crinkled it. So instead of sitting in the front seat—which would have just caused her more pain, she opted to hop into the back and lay on her side. “Ahh… much better.”

Alex shook his head rolling his eyes, and then shifted the truck into gear and pulled back out onto the highway.

****

A couple hours later Star Dancer was stirred from her sleep  by someone shaking her shoulder trying to wake her up. “Mmm… too early,” She groaned pushing away whoever was trying to wake her up then curled into a ball trying to fall back asleep. But was again pulled from her sleep by someone blowing into her ear. “You know that’s really annoying,” she said flicking her ears irritably. But whoever it was, wasn’t very nice. Since they continued doing it. That is until she finally got fed up with it and rolled over onto her back to see who it was.

“Wakey wakey sleepy head.” Alex smiled leaning back to let the afternoon sun in through the open door. Star Dancer immediately closed her eyes and threw a foreleg over her face to block out the light. “You’re not winning any popularity points with me by blowing into my ears.”

 “Sorry, but you’re a real heavy sleeper. I’ve been trying to wake you up for the for at least five minutes. Thought this might get your attention.”

“Well you got it.” She sat up stretching while letting out a yawn. “How long have I been out?”

Alex looked down to his watch. “About two hours.”

“Why have we stopped?”

“Well we just got off the interstate and are now just outside a town called Utica. I stopped because I though you may be a little hungry. I know I am.”

Star Dancer looked down rubbing her stomach. “I could use something to eat. What have you got in mind?”

“Well there's this place called Top of the Morning Cafe a little ways from here. Wanna stop there?”

“I’m okay with it if you want to stop there.”

Alex smiled again closing the door, then hopped back into the truck and pulled back onto the road. The restaurant itself wasn’t very far just like he said, and soon they were pulling into the parking lot. Once inside Star Dancer started feeling really nervous, since the moment she had stepped through the door all eyes had been focused on her. But after a few awkward moments of people staring at her—some snapping photos with their phones, most simply went back to their meals just as a waitress strolled on up.

“Hello! Welcome to top of the Morning Cafe! My name is Abby, how can we help you?”

“Table for two please Abby.”

“A booth please if one is open.” Star Dancer added.

Abby looked down to the amber pony taking  notice of her request then smiled holding out her hand. “Right this way please.” She said as she grabbed a couple menus from a small nook in the wall then led the two back to booth in a corner of the restaurant. “Is there anything I can get you two to drink?”

“Can I get a coke please?”

“Sure can!” She smiled. “And what can I get you Ma’am?”

“Do you guys have apple juice here? And you can call me Star Dancer if you want. Ma’am makes me sound old.” The waitress smiled and nodded.

“Okay! And I like your name by the way, it’s pretty adorable. Just like that little star on your cheek.”

Star Dancer brought a hoof up to her face blushing. “T-thanks.” She said a little sheepishly, a small smile now starting to tug at her lips.

“There we go, that’s better, and yes, we do have apple juice here.” Abby said scribbling it down onto her tablet. But it was what she said first that confused Star the most.

“What do you mean that’s better?”

Abby looked at Star as she stuck her notepad back into her apron. “Well when you first came in here you looked really tense—nervous even.” Star couldn’t argue with that.  “So I just felt you might have needed a little cheering up. Hope I didn’t upset you. I’m sorry if I did.”

“You didn’t, and thank you. I feel a little better now.”

“Well that's good. Anyway, I’ll be right back with your drinks.” Abby nodded to Star one last time smiling softly, then walked off back into the kitchen.

“She’s a nice waitress don’t you think?”

“Yeah, I think it was really sweet of her to make me feel a little less nervous.”

“Why are you feeling nervous all of a sudden? You seemed to be fine up until now.”

Star Dancer stopped looking at her menu for a moment to look up and glance around the restaurant. “Notice anything odd about this place?”

Alex looked up from his menu as well to try and see what she meant. But nothing really seemed out of place or odd to him upon first glance. Most people were simply eating their meals, talking amongst themselves or sitting at the counter watching the tv. Though upon further inspection he did start to notice some of the customs, even the employees themselves were occasionally stealing glances at the two.

“Now I see why you’re feeling a little bit nervous. Being the only equestrian in this area must make you feel like a thousand eyes are constantly watching you.”

“Pretty much.”

“Well don’t worry about it Star Dancer. These are good people up here, and they are pretty welcome to newcomers. So just try and relax and enjoy your meal.”

“I’m trying, and I hope you’re right.”

Alex smiled trying to reassure her, then went back to looking for something to eat. Eventually Abby returned with their drinks then went about taking the two’s orders. Alex settled with a roast turkey sandwich with some french fries, whereas Star Dancer decided to try the chunky chicken salad. The waitress smiled scribbling down their orders and then took their menus and hurried off into the kitchen. Afterward the two pretty much sat in silence as they waited for their meals to come. The place offered WiFi so Star spent the time browsing the net on her laptop, whereas Alex decided to grab a newspaper from the counter to read.

“Here’s your orders guys!” Abby cheerfully said as she stepped up to the table. “One roast turkey sandwich with fries for you sir.” She placed the food down in front of him. “And for you Star, a chunky chicken salad.”

“Mmm… smells good,” said Star Dancer as she leaned in to take a sniff of it.

“You know I never thought you guys would eat meat,” Abby said as she set the plate of food down in front of her.

“Oh no, us equestrians are for the most part  just like you guys. We have a very similar diet as you humans.”

“How do you guys use utensils If you don’t mind me asking. Sorry about asking so many questions, but you guys are just so fascinating. I’ve never met a being such as yourself.”

“Never met one of my kind before? Really?” Abby nodded. “But the gateway network had been open for a few years now. Surely some equestrians have ventured out here right?” Abby shook her head this time, a slight frown on her face.

“Sadly no. I feel the main reason none have ventured this far up north is simply because none of them gates have been erected out here yet. It’s that or there are just many more interesting places to go to. Round these parts its mainly open farmland and sprawling countryside. Nothing really of interest compared to the big cities or shoreline.”

“Oh… Well if its any consolation my father also works at a farm back on Equestria. He used to sometimes take me to it when I was just a filly. Though I will admit it was rather boring.” Star Dancer said, chuckling a little nervously.

Abby laughed. “A city girl eh?” Star nodded. “Well that's okay. It’s not for everyone. Anyway, I have to get back to work now. Enjoy your meal, but if you need anything just give me a call okay?”

“Will do!” Star Dancer smiled. Abby returned the gesture and walked off to tend to another customer.

The food tasted great and the two wasted no time finishing up their meals. Star was the first to finish as she sat back from the table to rub her now pudgy belly. Alex however was still a little hungry and opted for a little dessert. But just as Abby walked off after taking his order, a couple girls sitting at the counter watching the two for some time now decided to walk on over and introduce themselves.

“Hey there hot stuff. What’s your name?”

“It’s Alexander Ma’am,” He then held out his hand. “And this is my friend. Her name is Star Dancer.”

“Hmm… didn’t think they allowed pets in this place,” the one girl muttered under her breath.

“Excuse me? Did your friend just say something?” Alex asked.

“I said I didn’t think they allowed pets in this place.”

Star Dancer gave the girl a dirty look. “Umm… I’m not his pet.”

“Oh wow, it talks.”

“I take it you two are a couple locals right?” The one girl nodded.

“That's right. My name is Alicia, and this is my friend. Connie.”

“Pleased to meet you two, but please, I ask that you treat my friend with a little more respect. I realize mistakes can be made, and I am willing to forgive as long at you two are.”

“Oh sure, we understand, and we’re sorry. Right Connie?” Said Alicia giving Connie a slight wink.

“Hmm? Oh! Yeah... we’re sorry. We didn’t mean it.”

Afterwards the two decided to take it upon themselves to sit down in the booth with Alex and Star. Though when Connie slid in next to Star, she purposely bumped her enough to again crinkle her tail against the back of the seat causing the poor mare to lurch forward suddenly to alleviate the pain.

“Are you alright Star?”

“No, I kinked my tail again. I need to go to the bathroom for a moment to check and make sure it’s alright. Could you please move Connie so I can get out?”

“Yeah, okay.” she said sliding on out of the booth.

Star Dancer then scooched out carefully, making sure she didn’t further agitate her already sore rear end, and then headed to the bathroom. Leaving Alex with the two girls for the time being while she went to go check on the condition of her tail. It was worse than she had expected. Because as soon as she went to inspect the area she winced, hissing in pain as she slowly lifted it up revealing a rather nasty looking bruise on her dock.

But as she began to fumble through her pack, she noticed she hardly packed any medical supplies. Just a few band aids and some tape. It would have to do. Hopefully once they got to his parents place she would be able to find some proper medical treatment. With her tail now wrapped up and secured, Star Dancer decided to splash a little water on her face to clear her mind. But just as she was about to return to Alex, she noticed those same two girls that introduced themselves to her earlier were now approaching the bathroom.

Unfortunately Star Dancer could tell just by the looks on their faces that the two obviously weren’t coming to have a friendly chat. And with no way of getting back to Alex without having to go through them first, she decided a little hastily to just dart back into the bathroom. Though looking back on it, it probably wasn’t the best idea. Because now she was cornered.

‘Okay… settle down Star Dancer, they’re probably just going to bully you a little bit. Maybe a few harsh words. Nothing you haven’t handled before. Just walk on out there and ignore them.’  Her little mental pep talk complete, Star Dancer let out a breath and walked back up to the door. She could do this. Just ignore them and head back to her friend waiting for her at the table.  But just as she steeled herself to head on out, she saw that the two were even closer now.

Alicia was seen pounding a fist into her hand, where as Conny was seen making yanking motions while laughing. To Star Dancer this could only mean one thing. ‘My tail!’ Quietly she eased the door shut as she backed up into the bathroom—her tail now tucked between her legs.

“No, no, no, no!” Star Dancer frantically said as she nervously scanned around the room for a place to hide. If there was anything that made her scared the most, it was physical confrontation. But where to hide? The stalls? No... that would be the first thing they would check. What about the window? Yeah! She lunged for it, but sadly it was a solid pane. No way to use it unless she broke it. With her options running out as the clock in her mind rapidly counted down to their eventual entry, Star Dancer began to cry. She couldn’t help it.

She desperately wanted to scream for help, but she was starting to have an anxiety attack, and when she did try to scream, the only thing that came out between her quick breaths was but a quiet whisper. She glanced around the room one more time, but this time she spotted something off in the corner. A door. A small one probably containing cleaning supplies for the janitor. And luckily for her, it was slightly ajar. Though when she opened it up, sadly it wasn’t very big. Just enough room for a small mop bucket and some toiletries.

But given the circumstances, she really didn’t have a choice. So with a quick sense of haste, Star Dance forced herself inside the tiny closet. She was able to squeeze herself in by standing up onto her hind legs and sliding in sideways. It was pretty uncomfortable needless to say. The shelf behind her holding some supplies was digging painfully into her back, and the mop bucket was causing her grief since it was unevenly jammed between her legs. And to add insult to injury, her tail was laying in the dirty water still in it.

She finally managed to squeeze the door shut just as the two girls stepped into the bathroom.

“Come out, come out wherever you are freak!” Alicia growled stepping into the middle of the room. “Check the stalls.”

“On it!” Connie chirped then quickly began kicking open the doors. “It’s not in here!”

Alicia looked around the room spotting the closet in the corner. “It must be in there!”

Star Dancer quietly gasped throwing a hoof over her mouth. ‘Oh no! They’ve found me!’ She began hyperventilate as another anxiety attack started to take control of her. But with a little calm and quiet breathing she was able to calm herself down and remain quiet.

“The door is locked Alicia. There’s no way she could have gotten into here with them freakish hooves of hers.”

“She? Her? What the fuck Connie?! You sound like that damn freak of nature is equal to us or something!”

Conny waved off her friend as she  forcibly kicked on the closet door. Unfortunately Star Dancer’s fetlock was also pressed up against the door Connie just kicked as well. She squinted her eyes shut gritting her teeth to force down the pain so she could remain quiet. She couldn’t handle much more of this.

“The nerve of that guy.” Alicia fumed walking up to the mirror to take a moment to regard herself. “Asking me of all people to check on that fucking pony friend of his.”

“Hey don’t forget he dragged me into this as well!” Connie quickly added as she walked up next to her friend. “You think I like to go around searching for this guy's freakish talking pet?”

“Well it’s not here. So let’s head on back and try to convince this fool to ditch that piece of trash and hook up with a pair of human girls instead.”

Connie smiled and nodded in agreement. A moment later the two left leaving a dirty, wet,  battered and bruised Star Dancer to fall out of the cramped closet onto the bathroom floor. She lay there for a moment curled into a ball shivering and crying. She honestly couldn’t believe these humans could be so cold and uncaring towards her kind. And to make matters worse, they were going to try and drag her only human friend away from her.

Her mind now blank and emotionless; her body feeling sore and broken, Star Dancer limped out of the bathroom back to her… well back to the only human she hopefully could trust. And to her utter shock and disbelief, just as Star Dancer rounded the corner, her mouth fell open when she saw Alex laughing and joking with the very two responsible what just happened only a few moments ago.

Her heart broken; her self esteem shattered, Star Dancer sighed quietly and started to limp towards the door.  Alex on the other hand was having a good time talking with the two girls. The restaurant having pretty much cleared out leaving only a few patrons along with the small crew of employees tending to their duties. But all the fun and laughs came crashing immediately to a halt when Alex spotted his equestrian friend limping out from around the corner.

“Star Dancer are you okay?” Alex yelled shooting up from his seat, knocking over his drink into the lap of Alicia sitting next to him. The stricken mare looked up to him emotionlessly as he came sprinting down the aisle to her aid. “Oh my god! What happened to you? Are you hurt? Who did this? Star Dancer... talk to me! Please!”

She glanced up to him, her eyes red from crying—her body aching from being jammed into  that closet, and simply collapsed onto him, wrapping her forelegs around his neck embracing him tightly, then pointed over his shoulder. “Those two girls Alex…” she sobbed. “You wouldn’t believe the things they said about me. What they wanted to do to me… It was awful. I was so scared.”

Alex gently wrapped his arms around her picking her up, then carried her over to a different booth and gently set her down onto the seat. Abby as well now seeing Star Dancer’s state, quickly rushed over with a few towels and some water.

“You two should be ashamed of yourselves!” Alex angrily snapped, spinning around to face them. “I can’t believe for a second! I even thought you two were trying to be me or Star Dancer’s friend.” He turned around taking a towel from Abby to wipe some of the dirt and tears from his friends eyes. “Are you okay Star Dancer? They didn’t hit you did they?” His fist starting to clench. “So help them if they did!” He was having a hard time containing his anger as his clenched fist slammed down onto the table.

But just as he was about to spin around and yell at the two again, he stopped when he felt Star’s hoof rest itself on his hand. “Please Alex...” She said quietly. “No more. I don’t want to see anyone else getting hurt. Just let it go. For me okay?”

Alex smiled returning his attention to Star Dancer, and helped her sit up straight so she could quench her parched throat with some of the water Abby brought over. “Feeling better?” Star looked up to Alex smiling slightly and nodded weakly.

“Disgusting…” Alicea muttered under her breath after turning back from watching the scene.

“Before you know it, he’ll be fucking that goddamn pony out in his truck,” Connie said as she continued to watch Alex care for his injured friend. “It’s just sick. Fucking freak.”

“I think that’s enough from you two!” Connie and Alicia snapped their heads around to see the owner walking out from his office, and judging by the look on his face, he was not very happy. “Get out of my restaurant right now! And don’t ever let me catch you in here again!” The two girls wasting no time quickly scrambled to their feet and walked out. Both sneering at Star Dancer as they left. Afterwards the owners expression softened as he turned to the group sitting in the booth. “Are you going to be alright Miss? That ankle looks pretty swollen.”

“I’ll manage,” Star Dancer said wiggling her hind leg. “It’s only a little sore thankfully. Nothing a little soaking in  a hot bathtub won’t fix.”

“Well alright,” The owner smiled standing back up. “I’m sorry for the problems. Them two have been known to be troublemakers, but I never thought they would stoop this low.”

“That’s alright, you couldn’t of known they would have tried something like that.” Alex said while he was helping Star get to her hooves. “Thankfully no one got seriously hurt.”

“Well if its any consolation your meals are on the house, and if you’re ever back in the area again just come and see me and I’ll make sure you’re taken care of, sound good?”

“Thanks mister! You're too kind.” Star Dancer smiled as she and Alex made their way out of the restaurant. The owner returned the smile while opening the door for them.

“Names Henry, and it was a pleasure to meet you. Have a good day now!” Henry said, waving goodbye as Star Dancer and Alex were walking out to his truck. “And be sure to get that leg checked out!”

“I will! Goodbye!” The owned smiled one last time as he returned to his restaurant leaving Alex and Star out in the parking lot.

“Well this was a rather interesting stop now wasn’t it? Star?” Alex turned around and was met by Star Dancer. She had stood up on her hind legs (unbelievable seeing as how her ankle was sore), and wrapped her forelegs around his neck hugging him.

“Thank you Alex.” She whispered continuing to hold onto him for a couple minutes. He was a bit stunned by the gesture, but eventually he wrapped his arms around her rubbing her back.

“Ahh don’t worry about it Star, I would have never let them two or anyone for that matter get in between you and me and our friendship. And that's a promise.” She leaned back for a moment to look at him smiling after he had said that. Alex returning the gesture. Then she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. Afterward she leaned back again placing a hoof on the same cheek and smiled, nodding slightly then let go and climbed into the back seat of the truck leaving a stunned Alex standing outside.

‘Wow… That was…unexpected. Kinda felt good,’ Alex thought to himself as he made his way around to the drivers side, a hand pressed against the same cheek Star Dancer had kissed. For the rest of the trip to his parents place the two were quiet. Star Dancer had since fallen back asleep, probably due to being exhausted from what had happened earlier. But this was fine since it gave Alex time to think. About a lot of things actually. About their friendship and where it was going. About what was going to happen when they finally arrived at his parents. And mostly about Star Dancer herself.

Only time would tell he figured as the two turned off the main road and headed down the long country driveway leading to the home of his parents.