"This much? Are you sure?" I stared at the figure the Earth Pony had written on a blank sheet of paper: 6,000 bits. In my hand I held my phone which had the calculator app open. It read 750. "The asbestos removal from that house will cost that much?"
Manual Labor, the Pony in charge of a rather reputable construction company straight from Canterlot, nodded. He had a dark brown fur coat and black mane and tail with streaks of white and silver starting to grow. "That's correct," he said. "My team did a thorough investigation into that house. For the services you're requesting, it'll cost that much. After the removal of any asbestos, that is."
I could afford it, but the cost just seemed too cheap to me. Back home, renovation was normally within the tens of thousands, but here things were cheaper. I leaned back in my chair and nodded. "Well…I suppose that seems fair," I replied, not even sure how to respond.
"I know our prices are a bit on the expensive side, but we guarantee quality over speed," Manual said with a hint of pride in his voice.
"That's what I prefer too," I replied with a smile. "Thank you for doing this."
"I should be thanking you!" Manual said, grinning. "We're the first construction company to be doing a job for a human! When others hear about that, our reputation will skyrocket!"
I smirked. Businessmen were all alike, whether it be on Earth or Equestria. I pulled out my pen. "Where do I sign?"
After finalizing the paperwork, Manual put the papers in his small bag. "We'll come over and begin the project in eight days, as you requested. It should take us approximately three weeks, or a month and a half at the most."
"That's perfect, if you need the time," I said as I stood and shook Manual's hoof. "Also, I'm sure you're aware that I'm planning on having my current house teleported from its current location to this property line. Will it be safe for me to do so either before or during the process?"
The stallion nodded. "There shouldn't be any problems, other than the noise."
"Understood," I said. "Thank you again."
"No, thank you!" Manual looked genuinely happy as the two of us headed out of Sugarcube Corner, the place where we'd agreed to meet to discuss business. I'd already spoken to the asbestos removal company and they'd informed me that it would take four days to remove the asbestos, six max.
It had been only about week since the party Pinkie Pie had thrown for me. Since then, I'd been busy. I'd already purchased Shady Acre and instead of demolishing the older house, I'd decided to restore it to its former glory. I wasn't sure what I would use it for, but I didn't want it to go to waste.
Manual and I headed out and I made my way over to Café Hay, where I would be meeting with the final company representative from the landscaping company I was going to be hiring. The overgrowth had to be taken care of if I was to teleport my entire property to Shady Acre. The meeting was in a half hour, so I decided to order a sweet café au lait and wait. I normally didn't drink tea, but I'd feel like a heel if I didn't order something from them, and their sweet café au lait had the least amount of caffeine in it. Plus it tasted heavenly.
As I sipped on the coffee, my mind began to wander. The past week I'd been there had been one of the busiest I'd ever had. Each day would start early for me, mostly before dawn. I'd eat, shower, get dressed and head to Ponyville when it was light. Each day I was escorted either in part or the whole by Zecora. Today, I'd come alone since Zecora told me she was nursing a brew at home that needed constant attention.
My first day, I'd received a letter from Celestia via S-Mail (Spike Mail). She apologized, and informed me that what Athena had told me was true: the spell Twilight had used could not be used again for many centuries, so I was stuck in Equestria. She informed me that, being for all intents and purposes a nonperson, or nonpony, she would grant me temporary refugee status until I could be naturalized. Under said status, I would have most of the rights of an Equestrian citizen, but the more I looked it over, it was like I was getting an Equestrian green card, although it was called a Potential Citizen Card here. One of the benefits I looked forward to was the right to purchase property within the kingdom. Since I was a completely new species, Mayor Mare and sometimes Zecora (since she had a PCC of her own and knew the process) helped me through the many layers of paperwork involved. That somehow took about four days.
On the fifth day, since I was now a Potential Citizen according to Equestrian law, I approached the mayor again and informed her of my intent to purchase Shady Acre. She was a bit surprised that I was willing to do so, but accepted and went with me to the local realtor's office to help me through the paperwork. By the end of the day, I was the proud new owner of the property.
Of course, I did mention to the realtor agent I spoke to the status of the property and its asbestos status. The realtor appeared confused and told me the information was in the pamphlet she'd handed the mayor. I found out later that a page had fallen out of the packet and had ended up under the mayor's desk.
On the sixth day, I asked around town for a reputable asbestos removal company and was directed to a famous company in Canterlot. I'd also searched for a good local landscaping company and had luckily found one in Ponyville that several Ponies swore by. My third stop was Manual's construction company which was adept at restoring and bringing the estate up to modern standards as well as installing more modern amenities in said house. Setting up meetings for today was a cinch and all three companies were excited to be receiving a job from the local rich alien in town.
On each day, I'd always managed to see all of the Elements of Harmony, either in passing or for a casual and friendly conversation, with one notable exception: Fluttershy. When I asked Twilight about it on the fifth day, she looked embarrassed and said she was probably avoiding me out of embarrassment for her earlier actions.
At the end of every day, I always visited Scarlet Dusk, and we just talked. I could tell she was similar to me: hiding a dark past. But I didn't push it and talked more about my world. She always seemed in better spirits whenever I was around, at least that was what Nurse Redheart told me. I was glad to help her, though.
My thoughts were interrupted by a soft tapping on my table. I turned to come face to face with a light aquamarine Unicorn mare who was looking at me with a puzzled expression. Her cutie mark was a golden lyre with green strings. "Pardon me, I hope I'm not interrupting."
"Not at all. I was just thinking back on all that's happened this week. Um, you'll have to forgive me, I'm not as good with names as I'd like."
"I'm Lyra Heartstrings," she said. "Can I join you?"
"Sure, for a bit. I'm meeting with someone here in about…" I looked at my watch. "Twenty minutes."
"Well, I won't keep you too long," she promised. Pulling out a chair, she sat down in a remarkably human posture, crossing her leg.
"Wow, I've never seen a Pony sit like that before," I said. "You look more human that way."
"Oh, this?" She giggled. "It's actually more comfortable for me to sit this way. If I try and sit normally, it starts to hurt after a while. I've asked a few doctors and they can't really explain it."
"Huh…well it looks good on you," I complimented.
"What a gentlecolt," she said with a smile.
"So, what can I do for you?" I asked, taking a sip of my coffee, "and can I get you something from here?"
"Oh, I'm not too thirsty, and I was just hoping to get you alone for a bit to ask a couple questions," she replied. "I'm sorry if I'm treading over old ground, but I never really got a chance to ask a single question, either at your introduction to our town or the party."
"Well, I don't mind," I replied. "Ask away."
"I'll get right into it then. What do you think about our town?" she asked.
I wasn't quite expecting that from her. Sure, I'd been asked it a couple of times, but not often. "Honestly? It's almost paradisical compared to Earth. More Ponies here have been gracious and accepting of my differences than any human would have been."
"I see," she said, looking a bit saddened. "I'm both sorry to hear that other humans are like that, and glad you are enjoying yourself here. My next question involved music. I'm sure you noticed my cutie mark. I'm a musician by trade."
"I did notice," I admitted. "I'm guessing you play the lyre?"
"Lyre is my instrument, yes," she chuckled. "I sometimes play at the local watering hole."
"Really? Well, color me intrigued. I might stop by and listen sometime when things have settled down for me," I said.
"I'd be honored." She bowed slightly, then continued. "Now, the question I had was this: could I hear some music from your world?"
"Well, what kind?" I asked as I pulled out my phone.
"Hmm…I'll let you choose, you are the only human here," she giggled.
I considered, not noticing the small group of Ponies listening in on our conversation and gathering around. Then, smiling, reached into my backpack and pulled out my smaller Bluetooth speaker, connected it to my phone, and scrolled through my selection. Just then a large gust of wind blew over us. Grinning, the perfect song popped into my head. "That gives me an idea." I scrolled until I found the song, then began playing.
Windy by Association began to play. As the singing began, I hummed along with them. The group of Ponies listening grew and they began bobbing their heads. I noticed a couple of Ponies that stood out. One was a pale cream coated Unicorn mare with a mane that was a few different shades of blue who was wearing sunglasses and a set of earphones, bobbing along to the music. Her cutie mark was a couple of musical notes. The second was a blushing Pegasus Pony mare with a sky-blue coat and light gray mane. Her cutie mark depicted a cloud blowing a gust of wind. Two other Ponies were nudging her and giggling, but by the smile on her face I could tell it was all in good fun.
When the song ended, there was silence. Then the Ponies began stamping the ground. I heard cheers and whistles from a few of them. I felt my cheeks grow warm and I smiled sheepishly.
"That was amazing!" Lyra exclaimed. "I hope it's alright if I hear some more songs later! Especially ones on the lyre!"
"Just wait until you hear Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor," I snorted. "I'll be glad to share some more, but not right now. I have an appointment."
The collective "Awww" from the crowd tugged at my own heartstrings, but I kept myself resolute. However, I turned and smiled. "If you really want to, perhaps someday I can play some more music from my world."
That seemed to lift their spirits and they began to scatter, talking excitedly among themselves. This left me and Lyra.
"Well, I'm glad you were willing to talk to me," Lyra said with a grateful smile. "I'm afraid I have to go now, though. If I have more questions, will you be able to answer them?"
"Sure thing, Miss Heartstrings."
"You always call everyone by their last names, don't you?" she asked with a chuckle. "Well, you don't have to with me. Call me Lyra."
"Will do, Lyra. See you around."
Lyra began trotting away, humming the tune to the song I'd just played. I put my phone and speaker away, grabbing one of the nearby muffins and taking a bite.
"Greetings. I hope I'm not too early," a voice from behind me said, sounding professional but clearly amused. Turning, I saw an Earth Pony mare with a grin on her face. She had dark blue eyes and dark brown fur. Her mane and tail were both a bright teal and she was actually wearing a business suit. How she pulled it off while not being humanoid was beyond me.
I stood and offered my hand. "Not at all. I'm Jethro Bethridge."
"Jade Pastures," the Pony said, returning my handshake. "I represent Ponyville Landscaped. And I understand you want to hire us to do a job for you at the Shady Acre estate, correct?"
"That is correct," I said, pulling out a chair for her to sit at.
"Such a gentlecolt," she said, clearly impressed as she took a seat.
"Would you like anything to eat or drink? It's on me," I offered.
"Thank you, no," she politely declined. "Just some water will be enough for me."
"Of course," I said, flagging down a waiter and asking for a glass of water.
"Now then," Jade said, opening her briefcase and retrieving a large piece of paper with her teeth, "I just retrieved the plans for the estate and the latest geological survey done about five years ago. This isn't going to be cheap, even if you ask for our most basic package."
"Which would be?" I asked.
"Clearing all the trees and overgrowth away and planting just grass everywhere," she replied.
"Ah, okay, I think I can see that," I replied, looking over the plans for Shady Acre. The land, true to its name, was an acre in area. The house itself stood near the back of the property and was surrounded by a small artificial forest. Even in summertime, the property was nearly always in shade due to the large trees. The original owner had planted flower and vegetable gardens around the house and had a large fountain installed at the front, something I didn't really need as it was a waste of perfectly good water.
The geological survey showed the overgrowth had spread a few newer trees around the property. The fountain had all but become hidden as indicated by a few notes on the map, and the house depiction showed a few patches of missing roof. If I had to guess, I assumed this company had some Pegasi on their staff.
"Well, I hope you also realize," I said, "that I intend on having my current house teleported to this property at some point. Probably…here." I pointed to the smaller portion of the back of the house. "My property isn't too big, and it'll fit right there without problems."
Jade nodded. "Yes, my supervisor did inform me of that. If possible, would you be willing to perform the teleportation before we start work?"
"That I can do, yes. Oh, and also, I should inform you that I'll be bringing in a team to remove asbestos from the main house itself. So, I'll probably wait until after that is completed to do any landscaping and rebuilding of that house."
She nodded again. "Thank you for that. I wouldn't wany my Ponies getting sick."
"The representative I spoke to told me it would be relatively safe to be nearby, but I wouldn't want your staff to take any chances," I said.
"We greatly appreciate that," she said with a smile. "How long will this other company take?"
"They told me six days at the max," I replied. "And they said they'd start tomorrow. So how does eight days from today sound? Gives them a day's buffer just in case."
"We'll have a crack team of Ponies there bright and early. Sometime between seven and nine work for you?" she asked.
"It's a bit early, but I'm used to that," I replied. "So, I'm afraid to ask, but what will this all cost me?"
Jade quickly grabbed a pencil and blank sheet of paper from her bag and began using her mouth to write. It always amazed me how Earth Ponies were able to write with such grace using their mouths, but then I had to remind myself of a famous quadriplegic Earth artist who used only her mouth to draw masterpieces.
I watched her run the numbers with the speed and precision of a professional, then she put her pencil down and slid the paper over to me. "The base package, clearing away any brush and trees and planting only grass, will cost you this much."
The number once more shocked me. 8,000 bits. I didn't need a calculator to calculate the equivalent in American currency. I couldn't believe how much cheaper it was. If I'd asked for a cleaning of my property back on Earth, it would have been much more.
Like with Manual, Jade must have interpreted my silence for shock of a different kind. "I know it's expensive, but with that price tag comes our guarantee of satisfaction."
I nodded, still silent for a bit. It wasn't that I couldn't afford it, but I felt like I was ripping them all off. "Well…I think I can agree to that. I really don't know what I'd do with anything more than a field of grass anyway aside from mowing it every so often." I smiled and extended my hand. "It's a deal."
She shook it with her hoof, a relieved look in her eyes. "It's a pleasure doing business with you, and if you think of anything more you would want done with your new property in the future, I would be more than happy to offer our company's services."
"I will keep that in mind," I said as Jade began gathering her paperwork. As I helped, a thought occurred to me. "Hey, a couple questions."
"Oh? Go ahead."
I nodded. "First one, what do you do with any animals you find in landscaping jobs?"
"Oh! We actually relocate them safely," she explained. "Especially if we find they're endangered. We take them to our resident animal expert."
"Fluttershy?" I asked.
"Correct," she explained. "She's the go-to Pony when it comes to animals."
"Makes sense. Thanks. I wouldn't want to get on her bad side because I hired a company that endangered innocent animals," I replied nervously.
"I highly doubt any company in Equestria would do something so vile," Jade replied. "It would immediately put them out of business."
"I don't doubt it," I said. "Now, for my next question: what if I need to push back the appointment? Is there a fee involved?"
"Well, if you contact us within a day, there is no fee, but anything less than that and it's a hundred-bit fee for rescheduling," she said.
"I understand. I wish I could call, but I don't have a landline set up in my house yet," I said sadly. I'd seen old fashioned rotary dial phones in some businesses, but I had none at my house yet.
"Then you can do it in person," Jade said. "You know where our office is, correct?" When I nodded, she smiled. "Just come down and explain the situation to one of the mares at the front and they'll get you all sorted out."
"Thank you," I replied. "You're a lifesaver."
"Well, we're honored to be working for the very first alien in Equestria," she giggled as she grabbed her bag with her teeth. "I'll be seeing you in eight days."
"I'll be waiting," I said, waving at her as she headed off.
Finishing my coffee, I paid for everything and looked around town. The day was, as it always seemed to be, gorgeous. There was hardly a cloud in the sky, and what clouds did remain were being practically demolished by a blur of rainbow.
"Well, if it isn't the resident alien," a chuckle came from beside me. Turning, I looked down and saw a grinning Spike looking up at me. "Hey there!" he waved at me.
"Spike, my man! Pound it!" I grinned, holding out a fist which he promptly bumped. Since Ponyville's population appeared to be mostly female, I'd quickly bonded with the little drake. "Whatcha up to today, my dude? No wait, lemme guess, running some errand for Twilight?"
"You know it," he sighed.
"I swear, that girl has to be some kind of neurotic workaholic," I frowned. "If she isn't careful, she could end up in a similar state to how I was."
"Oh? What do you mean?" Spike asked.
"Overworking yourself can really affect your health, and not in a good way," I explained. "I once worked myself so hard I collapsed from exhaustion. It's not a pleasant experience, let me tell you."
A look of worry crossed Spike's face. "Well, she's more nervous than usual today. Princess Celestia's coming to visit tomorrow, and she's been working herself up trying to make everything perfect."
I rubbed my forehead. "And here I thought she'd have learned from my example when I told her," I muttered.
"Maybe she's more nervous because of that…what was it you called it, teevee show about us?" he asked. I'd shown the same amount of MLP to Spike on my second day of being in Ponyville when I was taking a lunch break, but only after asking permission from Princess Celestia, who had agreed. Spike had some mixed reactions about it, but in the end thanked me for being honest and understood the importance of secrecy when Celestia had issued a direct command to him to never speak of it.
"If that's the case, it's my job to calm her down," I replied. "Besides, all my meetings are done for the day. I'd love to help."
Spike grinned. "I'm sure she'd love the hel-huh?!" He was so busy walking and talking with me that he almost ran into a very familiar gold Pegasus. Fluttershy was hiding behind her mane and I could see her trembling. "Whoa, Fluttershy? What's wrong?" Spike asked.
The look on her face was one of guilt as she looked up at me. "Hey…Jethro? Can…Can we talk? Alone?" She glanced apologetically at Spike, who looked between us with a confused expression.
"Spike, is Twilight at the library?" I asked. When he nodded, I said, "Why don't you go on ahead? I'll join you when I'm done talking here."
"Alright, sure…" he said, worry evident in his eyes as he walked away.
Turning back, I saw Fluttershy looking at the ground, digging at it nervously. "Fluttershy, is-?"
"Can we talk in a private place?" she asked, avoiding eye contact.
"Um…sure," I replied, starting to grow worried. This wasn't like her at all, or at least, not how the show depicted her. Turning, she led me back towards the Everfree Forest, her tail tucked between her legs to preserver her modesty, or whatever passed for that in a world where everyone was naked most of the time.
The walk back to her cottage was awkward and quiet. I didn't know what to say to the poor mare, so I said nothing.
We reached her cottage where she was greeted by a few animals. One small bunny held an empty bowl in its paws and pointed at it. "Not right now, Angel," she said, "I'll get to it later." When Angel pointed again, Fluttershy sighed. "I said later, Angel." Angel then looked past her and saw me. He scowled and stomped off, like he was throwing a tantrum.
She led me into a large living room. "Please…have a seat," she whispered. "W-Would you like some tea?"
"No, but thank you for offering," I said as gently as I could.
She nodded and sat in the couch opposite me. The two of us didn't talk for a while. She looked down and around the room, everywhere but at me. Uncomfortable silence returned. Finally, she took a breath and looked at me. "I…I want to apologize. For how I behaved when you…pet me." I saw tears forming in her eyes, ones of complete contriteness. "Please don't hate me…" she almost begged.
Her tone was heartbreaking for me to hear. Instinctively, I stood, walked over, sat next to her and pulled her close, wrapping my arms around her. "Hey, I don't hate you," I said as tenderly as I could. "It's alright, really."
She leaned into my hug and put her hooves on my chest. "I…I'm so sorry…"
"It's okay," I said softly. "I don't hate you. I promise."
We held each other for a while, and when she released me, she pushed her mane away from her gorgeous dark cyan eyes. She still had tears in her eyes, but they weren't as intense as before. "Thank you…" she said, finally looking into my eyes. "I was so scared I ruined everything…like I always do."
"Hey, look, you didn't ruin anything," I replied. "if anything, it's my fault. I don't know much about Ponies here, and I just did what I did out of a habit. Now I know better and won't do it again."
She blushed and looked away. "Um…I wouldn't mind if you did it again. I'll be on my best behavior, I promise." She gave me the cutest puppy dog eyes I'd ever seen.
I sighed. I was weak to those sorts of eyes. "Okay…fine. But only for five minutes. Less if that tail of yours migrates skyward."
She smiled slowly. "I'm more ready than before."
I smirked and began running a hand through her mane, much like I used to do with my fiancée's hair. I was surprised at how the skill came back to me. Fluttershy shuddered and I saw her tail twitch a bit, but that was all. The two of us sat in silence for a while, my hand constantly running through her hair and petting her as carefully as I could. The poor Pegasus seemed to have been really tense and worked up about this incident. I lost track of time and when I looked at my clock, almost half an hour had passed. Fluttershy had her eyes closed and she was still shuddering in what I assumed was pleasure. I slowly removed my hand.
Whining, she looked up at me. "J-Jethro?"
"We've been going at it for more than five minutes," I said with a small smile as I pointed to the clock.
She looked at the clock and gasped, quickly standing. "O-Oh my! I didn't realize-"
"Don't worry about it," I reassured her. "As long as we're both cool, that's all that matters."
"I do feel better now," she smiled a bit wider.
I chuckled. "Good. Well, I really should get going. I promised Spike I'd talk to Twilight about something."
"Is something wrong?" Fluttershy asked.
"Just Twilight being her obsessive self," I sighed. "I'm gonna try and calm her down."
"Oh my," Fluttershy said worriedly. "Do you want me to come and help?"
"I would, but I feel like a certain bunny would try something if I took you away from his precious feeding time," I joked, pointing over at a pouting Angel in a corner.
"Oh! It's past feeding time!" Fluttershy stood and began gathering food for all the critters.
"I'll see myself out," I said as I stood myself. "Take care of yourself, alright?"
"I will. Thank you for listening."
"You're welcome. Later."
When I reached the library, I could hear two voices inside, Spike's and Twilight's. They sounded like they were arguing. Since it was a library, I walked in and found the place in disarray. Books were strewn everywhere, Twilight was running around with a panicked look on her face, and Spike looked frustrated. "Come on, Twilight, you need to relax!" he was saying. "She's coming tomorrow, not today!"
"Can't relax, can't relax! There's too much to do!" Twilight replied, her horn glowing as she used it to use a feather duster on a nearby lampshade.
Spike turned to me; a pleading look in his dragon eyes. Sighing, I quietly put down my bag and snuck up behind the frazzled purple Unicorn. I reached down and buried my hand in her mane, giving her the head massage she so sorely needed. "You need to relax," I said softly.
"Ah! Spike! What are-? Jethro?!" She turned and saw me there. Her eyes went wide as she dropped the duster. "What are…Oooh…" She began wobbling a bit as I continued scratching and petting her.
"You're way too worked up," I said. "The more worked up you get, the more mistakes you'll make. Now I'm ordering you to relax."
"You're not…the princess," she said between shudders. Her legs began to wobble slightly and her eyelids fluttered.
Leading her to a nearby couch, I gently pushed her onto it. Spike was watching this with wide eyes as I continued providing scratches. "You've gotta teach me that," he whispered.
"For Rarity?" I teased.
He blushed hard. "How did you know…?"
"I saw the events of Nightmare Moon. You're not exactly subtle," I replied as I reached up to scratch behind Twilight's ears. "As for teaching you how to do that, I'm not sure. I mean, you have claws, so I'm not sure how helpful anything I teach you. But another time, I can tell you what little I do know."
He grinned at me and we fistbumped again. Looking down at Twilight, I saw that she was asleep now, tail twitching ever so slightly. I slowly removed my hand from her, grabbed a blanket and tucked her in. "Poor thing, she was driving herself ragged," I said. Looking back at the room, I cracked my knuckles. "Well, looks like I've got a library to clean."
"You mean we?" Spike asked.
"Well, I wasn't gonna force you to," I replied, "but if you want to help, that's fine."
He nodded and we began fixing things up. I was surprised that Twilight slept through the three hours it took us to set up every book in the place back in its place. Being a stickler for order, I put them back in alphabetical order as they had been. When I finished, Spike offered dinner to me, but I politely declined. I had to get home before night, after all.
The walk home was quiet for the most part, the sun setting behind me as I walked through the ancient forest. As the stars began coming out, I pulled out my phone and kept its light on. When I finally reached my home I froze. I saw two Ponies just outside my home. I could see them in the fading sunlight. One of them was but with pink fur. Her mane and tail was a mix of yellow, pink and purple. Her wingtips transitioned from pink to purple. But my attention wasn't on her as much as it was on the other Pony standing in front of my barrier.
"P…Princess Luna?!"