Today, I needed to speak to Sarah. I needed to tell her that she couldn't meet with Celestia anytime soon. As I walked to work, I thought about how I should tell her. It didn't really matter. I just wanted to be polite.
At least work was ordinary for me. I didn't have any ponies crowding up the place there.
Thankfully, Sarah was there, today. So was everyone else, but they did not have the same level of importance at the moment.
I waited until lunchtime to speak with her. I sat across from her and bluntly said, "Sorry, but something came up in my life again."
"Did it have something to do with that call you got? You seemed pretty w-worried."
"I don't think I can tell you what happened." I said, "But the problem has been managed.
"Oh, that's good."
She doesn't like talking about her family. I was curious, but I won't ask. "My girlfriend is pretty understanding of other's problems, but she doesn't like it when I'm around other women. That's why she wanted to meet you."
"Is she... the j-jealous type?"
"I don't really know. It feels like it." I looked at her. "I'll get back to you on this when I can, alright? Things are weird for me right now."
"That's... fine."
Not a lot else happened at work today, which seemed like a bit of a blessing. It gave me time to relax.
I thought a bit about taking tomorrow off. I would need to tell my boss. I could spend more time with Celestia. Then again, with Red staying at my house, things might be awkward. Maybe I won't stay home...
I stopped at one of the gas stations on the walk back home to pick up a bag of Reese's Pieces for Celestia. She seemed a little down. I knew that these would cheer her right up.
From what I could tell as I got home, Red behaved and Celestia left her alone. That's all I could ask for right now.
I gave Celestia the treat I had gotten her. She smiled at me and took it with glee. She was so cute...
The next day was as boring as the last. Red and I didn't speak often, but she spoke with Celestia. She didn't seem to need much, which was nice.
Day four with Red. Celestia still disliked our guest. She was, in her own words, 'sex-deprived.' It was meant as a joke of course, but there was a sort of message to it. It was like when the guards were here. She couldn't be free while Red was here. I didn't blame her. Red took my computer room.
Celestia had spoken to her sister again and again, but she just affirmed that moving someone to or from Equestria in the middle of the thirty day cycle was far more difficult than using the normal method. I guess it made sense, but I didn't know why. Both Celestia and I just wanted to be alone.
Celestia's dislike of Red was starting to change. Before, it was primarily because Red had flirted with me. Celestia's initial claim was that she was a thief, but she confessed that she let her jealousy get the better of her. Maybe it was both. Now, Celestia actually seemed to like her on a personal level. She just disliked that Red was keeping us from being alone. I don't know what they were doing while I was gone but it was apparently working.
"Phil, we're out of Twinkies!" complained Celestia, holding up an empty box.
"I bought like six of those things when you got here!" I said with a small smile.
"Well, they're gone now." she replied. Her concern was genuine, but it was as genuine as a child could make it.
"You're gonna get fat if you keep eating them like that."
"But they're so good..."
"I only got one." I said with regret.
"Can we go get more?" She gave me her puppy-dog stare.
"You don't have to look at me like that, you know we'll get more."
Her stare only seemed to intensify.
"You want to go now?"
She nodded.
"Alright f... Hey, what about Red?"
Her stare disappeared.
"We could... invite her." I said.
Celestia shrugged.
"Red!" I called down the open basement door.
"Yes?" she called back.
"We're headed to the store to get food, you in?"
"Are you sure you want to be bringing me into public?"
"Just thought you might wanna get out of the house. Are you coming or not?"
"Alright, I'll come with."
"Sound good?" I asked Celestia.
She just smiled at me.
Red walked up the stairs to us. Her hair was all frazzled and unkempt.
"You look miserable." said Celestia.
"I haven't showered in a week and a half." she replied.
"Oh, goodness."
"Impressive." I said.
"If I was going to shower I'd need a change of clothes. It doesn't feel right not wearing clothes and I don't want to wear the same thing like you." she said, gesturing towards me.
This seems familiar. I shrugged. "Figure it out. I'm not buying clothes for someone who's leaving soon."
"When's that happening? I mean, it's not like I'm looking forward to it, but it's been a while since I've been here."
We both looked to Celestia.
"I... couldn't say."
"Looks like you're stuck with us." I said. We had been warming up to each other again these past few days.
"I'm just overjoyed to be here." she sarcastically let out.
"Well at least right now, you can get your hour in the yard." I said with a smile.
She smirked at me.
The three of us left for the store. It did feel a little strange leading around two women, but it wasn't too bad. Celestia was attached to my arm as we walked around. Even though we brought Red, she enjoyed herself as much as she could. We didn't go out often.
While the original plan was to get more snacks for Celestia, but the whole house needed restocking.
Red seemed content with her own situation. She followed us around without any noticeable sign of irritation. She actually seemed to be enjoying herself a bit.
This was nice, spending time away from the house with Celestia like this. It could be better, but options were limited.
That was day five.
The next day, I found myself speaking with Celestia again.
"Can we get rid of Red yet?"
She sighed and shook her head. "My sister has made little progress."
"Oh, well. At least you're starting to become friends."
Celestia shrugged. "I have someone to talk to while you're gone."
"There we go, silver lining. What exactly do you talk about, anyways? You're not just abusing her, are you?"
"No. She's not bad, she just makes bad choices. A thief is a thief, after all."
"So what's going to happen to her when she gets back? Straight to jail?"
"With Luna watching over the kingdom while I'm gone, she has no options. When I get back, I'll see she gets a fitting punishment. She has so much talent. It'd be a shame for it to go to waste. What would you do?"
"You're really asking me?"
"Well... suggest something. If I have no reason to keep her out, Luna will insist she serves her time."
"I guess... If you don't want to waste her talent... maybe you could make her your student."
"I thought of that, too. It would be possible, but there are a number of problems with it."
"You'll figure something out."
She nodded. "I'll need to come up with a decision by the time I go home."
"By the time you go home, huh? You're going at the end of the month... right?"
"Don't worry, I'll be back for the next month."
"Celestia, you have an entire kingdom to run. You can't just take months off."
"I..." She stopped.
"Luna said it to me when she got here, and as much as I don't want to accept it, I know she's right. I don't want to spend that much time away from you."
"I don't either! I never like it when we're apart. It makes me feel even more alone than before I met you."
I nodded. "I just... I need to know... What... future do you see for us?"
"What... future? I... I don't want to think about that right now."
"Don't want to think about it?"
"I don't know!" she cried out, "I... I can't know! What do you see, huh? Wh-What kind of future do you see between us?"
She didn't know. How could she? "What future do you want, Celestia?" I asked her.
"I... just want to be with you. Can't we just leave it at that? Do we need anything more?"
"Yeah... alright. Let's leave it at that. For now."
I think the future scared her. It scared me, I know that.
She stared at me, saddened by my questions.
"I'm sorry I brought it up." I said.
"I'll have an answer for you. I promise. Just... not right now."
This was the first thing she's ever promised me.
"But, I want you to have an answer for me."
"I already have an answer." I said.
"You do? What is it?"
"I'll tell you after you tell me."
She was disappointed by my response, but accepted it.
My alarm went off. I had to wake up. I turned it off in my pocket.
Footsteps. The basement door opened. "Have you found out when I can go home, yet?" asked Red, "This is starting to get awkward for me."
Celestia shook her head. "You might be stuck with us for the rest of our month, unfortunately."
"Really? I can't believe this." She groaned. "If that's the case, I'm going to shower whether I have clothes or not. I can't stand this. I smell like a sewer."
"You smell perfectly fine." I said.
"You're going to what? What will you wear?" asked Celestia.
"The main issue is underwear." I chimed in, "Other than that, it doesn't matter what she wears. If I had... like... confirmation that you'd be here all month, I would've at least gotten you that. I was under the assumption that you'd be leaving soon."
"I was under that assumption, as well. Evidentially, we were wrong. So, I'm going to go shower. You figure out the rest for me."
"What?"
She turned away and disappeared into the bathroom.
"Hey, at least keep the towel on when you come out!" I called.
"You can use my robe." said Celestia.
I looked to her, then shrugged. That worked.
Speaking of shower, I had to get ready. I doubt I'd get to shower off at the moment. Or brush my teeth, for that matter. I needed to get more toothbrushes. Celestia, Shining, Soulfire, Luna, and now Red had each taken their own. I tried to keep as many as I could for the future but they didn't last long. That, and I needed to replace my own. It's been a while since I changed it out.
Getting ready didn't take long. It never does. I eat breakfast and put on my clothes. Not difficult. I wake up an hour and a half before I have to be there, it takes anywhere from eight to twelve minutes to walk, and I always show up at least thirty minutes before my shift, without fail.
I can't imagine anything exciting will happen today. Right now, we were playing the waiting game, and my life had become a standstill. Of course, now that I'm thinking that, something's gonna happen today. Shit, now that I'm thinking that, nothing's gonna happen! Stop thinking!
Plot twist, nothing interesting happened today.
The next day was a little interesting, though.
I was currently examining my crew at work. Everything was going as expected. People didn't usually goof off here, which was pretty nice.
I heard a rumor that Sarah's father had gotten this job for her, meaning that her application meant diddly. It wasn't all that important to me, though. It's happened before. It's not like it really matters who works here as long as they don't mess things up. It's not exactly the most prestigious job.
It was just past lunch time. I was currently in the kitchen. It's been a fairly normal day, so far. Sarah and I hadn't spoken at any great length today. So far, at least.
"Hey Phil, someone wants to see the manager." called one of the crew members working the registers. His name's Greg, by the way.
Someone wants to see the manager? Ok... Be professional. "Yo, what?" I walked out to the front. A woman was standing at the counter. As soon as I looked at her I knew that she would be mildly unpleasant.
"You're the manager?" she asked me. She seemed bothered by something, but I didn't know what it was, yet. I'm sure she will have no problem explaining it to me.
"That's right, ma'am. Is there something wrong?"
"Yes, there is. I ordered a cheeseburger without mustard for my son and there was mustard on it! I demand a refund for this!"
"Of course. I'm sorry for the inconvenience. Where is it?"
"What do you mean, where is it?"
"The burger."
"He ate it. What does it matter?"
"Alright then..." Typical. "And the receipt?"
She reached into her purse and slapped her hand onto the counter.
A line was starting to form behind her. I tapped my co-worker on the shoulder and pointed to the second register. He went back to work as I spoke with her.
I picked up the receipt and examined it. It had the supposedly offending cheeseburger without mustard listed on it, along with some more inconsequential food items. It looks like she had fed a family of three. The receipt was dated five days ago and was for a different McDonald's location located in Illinois. It also said it was paid in cash.
I placed the receipt back onto the counter. "Everything seems to be in order." I opened the register and took out money equal to the price of the burger. "Refund for one cheeseburger, $1.05."
"Not just the cheeseburger. The whole order." she said to me.
I just gave her a look. "I'm sorry?"
"I want a refund for the entire order."
"Ma'am, you said that the cheeseburger was what was wrong."
"So what? You got my order wrong."
"If..." This won't end well. "If just one of the items in the order is incorrect, we'll gladly refund you for that item. I can't issue a refund for an entire order because one thing was wrong."
"Why not? You're lying to me, aren't you?"
"Asking for a refund for an entire order because of one item is not a valid request. I can refund the price of the burger, but not the full order." Need to speak slow and steady for these people. Too many words and the gears in their head start to burn out.
"Well the other burgers had mustard on them, too."
"Cheeseburgers are supposed to have mustard on them."
I heard someone in line snicker.
"I ordered them without mustard."
"It says on the receipt that they were ordered without any changes."
"Well, you obviously heard me wrong."
"Ma'am, this receipt is dated five days ago and it says that you made this purchase at an Illinois location. I can't refund your order. What I can do is refund the burger that you have complained about." I placed the $1.05 onto the counter and slid it to her.
Another snicker.
Her face was priceless. I know I'm not supposed to be doing this kind of thing, but to see the look on their faces...
"It's all McDonald's, who cares where I got it? Are you going to help me or not? I'm not going anywhere until I'm satisfied."
Sounds like something Celestia would say... "Ma'am, I am sorry for this inconvenience, but unfortunately, with the meal gone and no proof of the order being incorrect in the first place, this is all I can do to help you."
"All you can do?" she shouted at me.
Alright, that's enough. "Ma'am, you're making the other customers uncomfortable. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
"Ask me to leave? How dare you?!"
"I'm going to ask again. Please take the refund for the burger and leave."
"I'm not going anywhere until you refund the rest of my order."
"I cannot refund the rest of the order. Your request is unfounded. Refunding the price of the burger is the most I can offer you, unless you would like to exchange your refund for another burger." This was honestly starting to sound like a scam of sorts.
"I told you, I'm not going anywhere."
"Ma'am, your order was less than $20. Without the food, I don't really have to offer you anything. We're running a business here, not a charity. Please take the money and leave."
"I am not leaving. You and your damn company..."
"Please take your money and leave. You're making both my customers and my employees uncomfortable. If you don't leave, I'm afraid I'm going to have to call the police. I would really prefer not to do that."
"You wouldn't dare."
"Ma'am, this is your last chance. Leave now, or I will call the police."
"I'm not... going anywhere."
Did she really think that was a bluff? "Right." I reached into my pocket and retrieved my phone.
As soon as I got it out of sleep mode, she swiped for it, taking it from my hand. She smirked at me.
"What the..." I looked back to her as if she had just offended me. I did not feel right without my phone. "Give that back." I held out an open hand.
She swung at me with her own open hand, slapping my face. I heard a gasp from the crowd. People stepped away from her.
I winced in pain. For a skinny woman, she hit hard. I sucked in a breath, staring at her as I did. My hands clenched hard.
"Phil?" asked my co-worker, his voice sounding worried, probably for the safety of the woman in front of me.
I took in a deep breath before slowly letting it out. "Greg, please call the police."
He nodded, then went to the phone on the wall.
I kept staring at her. "Give me back my phone and leave... now." I followed with a sarcastic, "Ma'am."
"Give me my money."
"This is the last time I'm going to say this." I growled at her, trying hard to keep my composure, "Give me my phone, or I will take it from you."
She looked to the person on the phone behind me, then back to me.
"Fine."
She slapped my phone against my hand and turned towards the door.
"Uh... still... call the police?"
"Yeah, this isn't something we can ignore." I added under my breath, "As much as I'd like..."
I walked out from behind the counter so I could get a better look out the window. I watched her to see what car she got into and relayed the information to him behind the counter. He repeated what I said into the phone.
"Right... Sorry about the inconvenience, everyone." I announced, "Please resume enjoying your time here."
Nobody seemed particularly interested in what just happened. The people who were nearest to the counter simply queued up to order again.
I sighed to myself, then walked back into the kitchen area.
"My face hurts." I complained to nobody in particular.
I saw Sarah walk towards me. Looks like she wanted to talk. She was the only one who seemed to want to talk right now, but then again, she was also new here.
"That went a lot better than I thought it would." she said to me. She was staring at the red mark on my face.
I shrugged. "Went exactly how I thought it'd go. Aren't I great with customers?"
"Well... you got her to leave."
"Yeah. I'm pretty good at this kind of thing. You know, someone tried to rob this place before."
"What? R-really? What happened?"
"It was back when I was in Timmy's position. You know, assistant manager. So anyways, this skinny guy in a hoodie walks in and just points a gun at us. Old manager freaked out and ran off, so I stepped in. 'And what can I do for you, sir?' I asked him. He said he wanted the money in the register. Now, by that time I had already hit the panic button. Police would be there in a few minutes."
"Panic button?"
"Yeah, McDonald's places have panic buttons. Some, at least. Ours did. I don't... Anyways... So I stalled him as long as I could while talking to him with a smile on my face and a can-do attitude. Asked him if there was anything else I could do for him after clearing out the register. Guy looked stoned out of his mind. I made the move to scoop the change out of the register as well and even showed him it was empty. So he took the money and just took off. Like, I'm talking sprint out the door, took off. I watched him as he went, and as soon as the door closed, I almost freaking melted to the floor. Oh, it was such a relief."
She chuckled nervously.
"We got our money back like the same day, I heard. I wasn't there at the time. Old manager was fired 'cause he just left us to fend for ourselves, and between you and me, he cheated on his wife. Big dogs look down on that kind of behavior, so he was gone like within the week. Guess who took over. Got a raise and everything."
"Lucky you. Do you... think that'll happen again?"
"I doubt it. Then again, I doubted it would happen at all, so maybe. If it does, just try to stay calm, alright?"
"Uh..."
"Stop looking at me like that, we're not gonna get robbed. My face hurts."
"Are you gonna be alright?"
"Not the first time I've been slapped."
"Really?"
I shrugged. "Like I said, the customers love me. Back to work, alright? Lunch was an hour ago. I think."
She nodded. "Right."
I looked up. "All of you, back to work." I said to whoever had been watching, "Just 'cause this happened doesn't mean stop working."
A small while later an officer came to confirm the information we had given and get a copy of our surveillance footage, but other than that, things were completely normal. That is, until the walk home.
I was still on the main street that led to my street when I saw someone walking towards me from the front. Naturally, I thought nothing of it. As we got closer together, I saw that it was an admittedly good-looking woman in her mid-or-so twenties.
I waved at her as she passed and she responded with a simple, "Hello."
Then she turned around. She was starting to follow me. I looked back at her. She smiled.
"Hello." I said to her, a little confused, "What's up?"
She shrugged and kept walking with me. She didn't have any sort of funny hairstyle, so I didn't think she was from Equestria.
"Are you following me?"
Another shrug. "Maybe."
"You just gonna follow me home or something?"
"Is that where we're going?"
"Well, it's where I'm going."
"Can I come with?"
"It's not gonna be fun. It'll be too crowded."
She shrugged again.
Honestly, this was kind of cute, but I didn't need any more trouble with Celestia, so unfortunately, she couldn't come with. I didn't want to be rude or anything, though. I didn't know what she wanted or why she was following me.
"Just taking a walk out here?" I asked.
"Something like that."
"Don't got nowhere to be, huh?"
"Nope."
"Lucky you."
"You look like you just got off work." she said.
"Yep, that's right."
"Tough day?"
"Tough customer. Didn't like how I handled business."
"Oh, how awful." Her voice was very caring. I didn't really understand it.
"It was alright. It happens."
"You walk home?"
"I don't live very far away."
"What did you mean when you said it would be too crowded?" she asked me.
"Well, my girlfriend and her... and her friend are staying at my house. It's not a very big place. A fourth person hanging around would be too much."
"Your girlfriend and her friend?"
"Neither of them really have a place to stay."
"Why's that?"
"They're not from around here."
"Where are they from?"
"Europe." I said.
"Where in Europe?" She was prying. Her voice was as cheerful as before, but she was prying.
"No real place in particular. They travelled a lot."
"Sounds fun. Is she nice? Your girlfriend, I mean."
"Yeah, she's nice."
"Is she pretty?"
"She's pretty, yeah."
"Sounds nice. You're a lucky guy. Not a lot of men can say they've captured the heart of a Princess."
I stopped.
"Oops, maybe I've said too much." She giggled.
"So you're from Equestria, too?" I asked, turning to her.
"A perceptive one, you are." she said with a cheerful sarcasm, "You know what a changeling is, don't you?"
"You're a changeling? What are you doing here?"
"There are a number of things I can accomplish here." She shrugged again. "And I really like being a human. Walking on two legs is a nice change of pace."
"Are you in disguise right now?"
"Of course I am. Even as a human, I'm not going to let you know who I am."
I stared at her for a few moments. "Queen Chrysalis."
Her personality instantly deflated. "You're smarter than I thought."
"I'm... a little surprised I got that right, but at the same time, I kinda knew."
"If you know who I am, then you must realize that if it were a small manner, I wouldn't be here. I need something from you.
"Al... right?"
"Your friend Red stole something very valuable to me. Odds are, she still has it on her. I need you to retrieve it from her and return it to me."
"She stole from you?"
She nodded. "Indeed."
"Do I really have to get it for you?"
"If I could get it myself, I would. She's in possession of a number of artefacts, among them one that grants her the ability to see through my disguise. Her skills are... problematic. I can't get close to her." She shifted in her feet. "Not even my own comrades know about this. I expect you to be discrete about this. I can reward you handsomely."
"I... I guess... So... what is it? What did she take?"
She kept silent. Her gaze shifted away from me.
"What did she take?" I asked again.
"It's... embarrassing to say. You are the only other person who will know about this, understand?"
"I... y-yeah..."
"She... She stole... a stuffed bear. My stuffed bear."
"Are... Are you serious?"
"Please don't make more embarrassing than it already is."
"So you followed her here to retrieve it?"
"Very few of my subjects know I am here. None of them know why. As I said, I am unable to retrieve it myself. I am enlisting your help with this and I do not expect you to do this for free. As you know, I am a Queen. I have the resources of a nation at my disposal. I can and will repay you for this."
"Sounds interesting. But, tell me this... How did you get here?"
"If you retrieve my... possession, I will tell you."
I paused. Should I really do this? Hmm... "Alright... I'm going to admit, I am not the best person to deal with this kind of thing. Unfortunately, your bear seems to be in the hands of someone who's much smarter and shiftier than I am. So before I accept this, I wanted you to know that I am not confident in my abilities to retrieve it for you."
She took in a breath and let it out slowly. "I am aware. I have no choice in the matter. I cannot get close to Red Shadow and I will not involve my own subjects in this matter. Asking you is my only option. Do we have a deal?"
She held out her hand to me. I looked at it, then back to her face. She was serious about this. I looked back to her hand. Should I trust her? She'd probably beat me up if I say no…
"Alright, deal." I grabbed her hand and we shook. She seemed to know exactly how to shake my hand properly, oddly enough.
"Thank you." She let go, then nodded at me. After this, she silently turned and walked away.
I don't know where she was going, but it seemed like she knew what she was doing. Maybe she found a way to move back and forth between our worlds. Maybe she had a place to stay... If I followed her, she'd know.
A disembodied voice started to speak to me. "Who was that woman you spoke to? I couldn't hear your words." Luna was spying on me.
"She was from Equestria. Red took something from her. As far as I know, she's not here to do anything wrong."
"Are you sure?"
"No."
She chuckled. "Who was it?"
"I don't think I can tell you that."
"Oh? Why is that?" she asked, curious.
"Um... Let's just say that if Celestia knew she was here, she'd probably hunt her down."
"Hunt her down? Does my sister know her?"
"Not on a personal level, I don't think, but they've certainly met."
Luna chuckled again. "A truer statement has never been spoken."
"Do... Do you know who it is?"
"I have a few guesses."
"She promised she'd reimburse me for helping her. From what she's told me, she's only here to retrieve her possession. She might have a way to move back and forth between the thirty day cycle. If I help her, she said she might tell me."
"Interesting... I will not promise you that I will not interfere, but so long as she stays true to her word, I will allow it. What a strange encounter..." she said, a bit of enjoyment in her voice.
What did this just turn into?