Camping box pone by faguette [WIP]

>Day something or other
>Be Anon
>Be only known human in Equestria
>You're not even sure how you got here
>One night you went to sleep in your bed, the next morning you woke up in the scenic Ponyville town square
>Surrounded by horrified and confused colorful ponies
>It gets kind of lonely being the only human
>Who the fuck are you kidding, it's awesome
>No one here is an asshole, it's great
>.. At least, nearly no one.
>You sometimes forget that you're not the most well-liked person around
>Even though you're the only person around
>Technicalities, whatever, fuck you
>You make your way back to your apartment, passing up Sugarcube Corner and a few other stores around town
>Decide to take a shortcut through an alley; up until now, Ponyville's been peachy keen, so even the shadiest places aren't too bad
>Besides, you're tired, every minute you can be in bed is a minute not thinking
>As you're passing through, however, you notice a box on the ground
"That's weird..."
>Up until now, every town you've gone through has been unnaturally clean
>It looks worn down, so it's probably been here for quite a while
>As you get closer to it, you can't help but feel curious about what might be in it
"It can't hurt just to check," you speak to yourself
>You're a weird dude
>You squat down and open up two of the flaps to reveal a skinny brown mare; her body is turned the other way, her chest rythmically rising and falling
>On one of the flaps, you see something scrawled in marker
>5 hoofjob, 10 fulltime, 20 anything
"What the..?," you whisper to yourself
>The mare inside shifts around
>Taking care not to disturb her, you close the flaps and leave quietly
>You continue walking home, unable to believe you just found a homeless hooker
>no srsly wat
>Maybe you'll talk to her tomorrow, just to see what her deal is
>You think, 'Hell, maybe I'll be best friends with a hooker'
>... You're not sure why you just used sarcasm in your head
>It's probably just because you're tired
>As you get closer to the apartment, you realize how much you don't want to move
>NO ANON, YOU MUST PERSEVERE
>You barely make it up 2 flights of stairs to get to your apartment
>You go in, lock door, jump into bed without bothering to change, and wait for sleep to arrive


>Only it doesn't for quite a while
>Because you can't get homeless pone out of your head
>GOD FUCKING DAMMIT, WHY DID I TAKE THE SHORTCUT
>After at least 10 minutes of staring at the ceiling, you finally manage to sleep
>You wake up feeling as though you've never slept during your 20-year existence
"Fuuuck," you groan instinctually, wanting nothing but death
>You notice that your hair is greasy and you smell nasty from failing to bathe the night before
"Fuuuuuuuuuck," you groan again
>Shit, shower, shave
>Get dressed
>About to eat cereal, when you flash back to the night before
>Prostitute pone in box a few of blocks from the apartment
>'Still can't hurt to go and talk to her. I'm sure I'll be able to get her out of my head after that,' you think as you inhale your cinnamon-toast-crunch-but-not-really
>With all of the ideas that you've brought here, you shouldn't be living in this shitty apartment
>As that thought crosses your mind, a small armada of ants makes haste onto your table
>Jesus H. Fuck, you need to move
>Or call an exterminator
>You're pretty sure Equestria doesn't have exterminators... Yet.
>You finish what's left of your milk and leave
>You have to help Applejack with apple shit today
>You fucking hate apple shit
>At least she pays well
>Finally, you're done with apple shit for the day
>Had to gather apples and make cider for a good portion of the day
>The Apple family has far too many trees for your liking
>It's probably better that you didn't make a living off of apples anyways
>It was horrible work, but Applejack paid you 175 bits not sure what decent wage even is
>And you got to taste-teste the cider, which isn't bad either
>You thought of homeless pone for much of the day, simply because she's the only homeless pony (animal) you've ever seen
>It's about 6, so you should be able to talk to her and get this put behind you
>With any luck, that is
>You make your way to where you found her last night
>DING DING DING
>You see her staring blankly at a patch of grass near her box
>As you get closer, she turns toward you, and looks a little startled
>You realize that the darkness left out a lot of details
>She was noticeably bruised, her fur and mane were filthy and unkempt
>Possibly the worst of it all were her eyes
>They were dull and listless, devoid of any trace of hope or
>'Oh, shit'
>You stop in front of her box and awkwardly... Stare (for lack of a better word) at her for a few seconds
>Shit, a game plan would've come in handy
>She stares at you, probably asking herself why you're standing in front of her makeshift home
>"E-excuse me, are you here for my services?"
"Oh, uh," you didn't think any of this through. "No, but I wanted to ask you a few things."
>Her ears perk up a little, but she still seems confused. "Such as..?"
"Uhm," You're at a complete loss for words. Out of desperation, you ask, "what exactly does 'anything' entail?"
>"Well, anything." She says this in a somewhat monotonous manner, which snaps you out of your semi-internal-panic
"Oh, alrighty then, I'll be back in a little while"
>A stupid smile crosses your face when a thought crosses your mind
>You walk out toward the town square
>You go into the town's marketplace with gusto, buying everything necessary
>A few things among which include a basket, a fancy hat, and a striped sweater
>You talk Applejack and Ponka into giving you some food, saying you'll pay them back later
>After they give you food, you buy more in the market
>Shit, you don't want to pay for all of this food right now
>You decide to buy some water, too
>You brought the idea of bottled water to Equestria. Haven't made a dime off of it yet.
>You also brought the idea of outsourcing to nations with less labor laws, however that's only mildly related.
>Also, plastic.
>You should be rich by now. Damned ponies can actually into capitalism.
>You get the rest of the supplies you'll need and still have a decent amount of bits left over
>You'll need them soon enough, but for now you tell a couple of friends that you won't be around for a few days
>Don't want everyone thinking you disappeared
>You'd probably end up attending your own funeral service if they were unable to find you
>You hide the supplies in a safe place, then return to box pone just before 7:30 and get her to follow you into the woods
>She seems puzzled, but hasn't asked any questions yet
>"So, uh, what's your name?"
>Welp.
"You can just call me Anon. What's yours?"
>She ignores the question. "Where are we going out here?"
"We'll get there shortly," you assure her
>Not 2 minutes later, you arrive where you put all of the necessities you've recently acquired
>Now she looks annoyed. "Whoa, hey, what's all of this?"
"Camping gear, yo"
>"Nope, this definitely isn't happening," she said as she turned around
"Anything means anything, that's an express contract! It'll hold up in court."
>She keeps walking
"I'll pay you 4 times the price if you stay out here for at least a couple of days."
>She stops and turns towards you.
>"How many is a couple?"
"Only 2. You can stay longer or bug out on the second day if you really want to leave."
>That seems to make her a bit more comfortable with the idea
"We have food and water to last us a few days, so you won't go hungry, and I brought a tent with some sleeping bags."
>She starts walking back to you, in a significantly better mood
>"That sounds nice..."
>After the short confrontation, you and brownboxpone are walking around a bit to find a good place to set up camp
>She still hasn't answered your question
"You still haven't answered my question."
>Hot damn man, you know how to talk to ladyponies
>"Come again?"
>'Huehuehue I'd have to pay extra'
>Shut the fuck up, brain
"You never told me what your name is"
>She looks up to you, then down to the ground
>"I don't like telling clients about myself"
>You stop in your tracks, but it takes her a moment to notice
"I'm sure you can make an exception, considering the circumstances"
>After all, you didn't drag her all the way out here to fuck her
>Though she's probably not too sure about that
>"Well..."
>Moment of truth
>"I'll have to tell you if we're going to be out here for a few days," she looks to you hesitantly and says, "My name's Morning Glory."
"That's an interesting name"
>You keep walking, then look toward the sunset
>This is probably a good place to set up camp
>Well, maybe, you've only been out camping a few times
>You ain't no fancy veteran er nothin
>There's an area that's cleared of trees, big enough to put up your tent and put the rest of your supplies
>You and Morning set up the tent and gather enough sticks to start a small fire
>You sit opposite of Morning, only to realize that you haven't been doing much talking, when that was your first goal
>Your first thought after looking at her is, 'Holy shit, how did I even get this far?'
"I've still got quite a few questions, Glory"
>"Are they related to the 'anything' option?"
>God damn you're stupid
"No, it's more about why I found you in a box"
>You probably could've worded that more politely, but at least you go the point across
>She sighs, "It's a long story"
"Time isn't really a premium at the moment," you demonstrate the fact that you're in the woods
>She uncomfortably shifts around
>"Well, there's a lot of reasons for it, I don't wanna bore you"
>You're not sure what to say at this point; you're annoyed that she's dodging the question
"Look, if you don't want to tell me about it, you don't have to. I only ask that you don't try to talk your way out of this," you pause, contemplating what to say next. "I seriously want to know more about you. I want you to talk to me."
>Silence
>It doesn't last for too long, though
>"I'm sorry," her voice wavers
>You sigh and move closer to her
"Look, I didn't sleep well last night, so I'm a little on-edge. You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to, but I'm trying to understand your situation to see if I can help at all."
>She slowly gets calmer, but you can tell she still doesn't feel comfortable
>You know she doesn't want to talk about it, so you decide not to bring it back up
"When did you eat last?" you ask, wondering how much food you should give her
>She thinks for a moment, "4 days ago," she pauses, "I think."
>Ohboy
>You get 2 sandwiches and a few apples for her
>You can't really digest dandelion sandwiches, so you got some salad-ey shit
>Fucking ponies don't eat meat
>At least they have ranch dressing and eating utensils
>It's not really the "camping experience," but it's not like you care
>After having eaten a bit, Morning decides to make conversation
>"Do you mind if I ask you something?"
>That caught you a little off-guard
"Not at all"
>"Why are you being so nice to me?"
>That caught you a lot off-guard
"I guess I haven't thought about that myself.." You're unsure of how to answer that.
>She looks at you skeptically, as though you're hiding something
"I just thought you might need help. I don't know how to put it in any other way."
>Oddly enough, she seems content with that answer
>"Alright, how did you plan on helping me?"
>You're getting cross-examined by a colorful talking pony
"Offer you some food and a place to stay, if you wanted it."
>She smiles slightly, but shakes her hed
>"I can't accept charity like that.."
"I never said I'd do it as an act of charity"
>She looks you over, trying to make sense of what you said
"You'd still have to work. I'd probably ask you to do small stuff, like clean the apartment or wash some clothes while I'm out. I might even be able to find you a job."
>She doesn't even know what to make of your final remark
>"Wha-how would you get me a job? I don't even have a Cutie Mark."
>You noticed this before, though you never took much note of it
"Neither do I, but I make the best of it."
>"What do you mean by that?"
"Well, just because I don't have one doesn't mean I don't have any talents."
>"You can't even get a Cutie Mark!" She's getting pretty annoyed at this point
"You're missing what I'm saying; just because you don't have one doesn't mean you have no talents, it means that you haven't found the talent you're best at."
>She takes this in for a moment
>Thanks, brain
>'No probs, brah'
"I can honestly say that you're more free than most of the ponies I've met.. They all blindly follow whatever their Cutie Mark tells them. They have no more drive for adventure, they don't want to experience new things. Even if not having one seems bad now, you'll likely be happy it took you a while to find your calling." You sigh out of nostalgia, "Some of the most interesting humans never really knew what they wanted to do with their time."
>She contemplates this while eating the rest of her food
>"Anon?"
"Yeah?"
>"How many humans are there?"
>A small grin is plastered over the place your mouth usually is
"A lot. When I'd last checked back at home, it said over 7 billion."
>Her eyes widen in awe when she hears the number
>Much of the night is spent conversating, mostly about your old life, with some stuff about humans mixed in
>She shares bits and pieces of her past with you
>She used to love poetry, but always thought it was difficult to sound "poetic" through metaphor, and found trouble trying to keep rhythm
>She got along with almost everyone in school and was voted most outgoing
>Her closest friends would say she was a great singer, but she never cared too much for it
>Out of everything she's talked about, you can't piece together how she became homeless
>At least she's warming up to you
>After a while, the fire starts dying down
>She notices this shortly after you do
"You can go in if you want, I'm just going to make sure the fire goes out."
>"Alright, try not to keep me waiting," she teases as she trots over to the tent
>It's cool that she has a sense of humor; at first you thought she might never come around
>You watch the fire in its final few minutes of life
>Embers fly from it, only to be lost in the night's breeze
>Some stay visible for noticeably longer than others do
>You used to wonder whether or not you'd have a legacy when you were still back at home; whether you'd be remembered or if you'd be forgotten by time
>You can't help but wonder what your family has gone through since you disappeared
>Do they still mourn? Did they ever? Have they given up hope? If they did, how long did it take?
>You sigh. There's no point in asking yourself these questions.
>You've made a new home here. You have plenty of friends.
>Besides, as far as you know, there's no going back home anyways.
>The crackle of the flame subsides as it finally gives way to darkness
>You go over to the tent to find Glory lying down, attempting to sleep
>You decide not to bother her; she probably has enough trouble sleeping as it is
>You get into your sleeping bad and drift to off sleep
>You're awoken mid-dream by a harshed whisper and gentle nudging
>"Anon, wake up.. I need to tell you something"
>You groan a bit as you didn't want to get up
"What is it?.. Can't it wait until the morning?"
>There's a pause, "I wanted to tell you how I became homeless." She sounds... Sad. Worried, even.
>You sit up and rub your eyes
"Is everything alright?"
>"No," her voice is wavering so much that you can tell she's been crying
>You stop rubbing your eyes and look at her, half-expecting her to break down right then and there
>She does her best to hide her emotion, but can't seem to hold any of it in
>Her eyes are red from what was probably a combination of lack of sleep and wiping her tears away
"Please, you don't have to tell me anything if you don't want-"
>"This is something that I have to tell you."
>You don't know what to say, so you wait for her to start on her own
>This only takes a few moments, though it had felt much longer to you
>"I don't deserve your kindness.. I'm a horrible pony, and I'm sorry for wasting your time"
"What do you mean?"
>She's sobbing. "I ran away from home when I was under 18, Anon."
>Long pause
>"My parents wanted the best for me, and I did nothing to thank them. I ran away from home because I was mad at myself. I was mad that I could never find my Cutie Mark. I was mad at Canterlot, and the elite, and at the Princesses. There had to be some kind of magic to get it, right?"
>Her sentences are broken by small sobs and gasps
>"You can't imagine what it was like, Anon. I'm an adult, and even after I left my old life, I can't find out what my calling is. I hear ponies laughing at me whenever they see my flank. I know it's not bad not to know, but I don't feel like I have any control of my life."
>You can't find the words to help her
>So you hold her
>She tries to break free at first, but eventually runs out of the energy to do so
>She cries into your shoulder and chest, unable to convey anything but her regrets
>It takes a long time before she calms down

>You're have no idea as to why she had to tell you this at the middle of the night

>Seriously, you could have done this in the morning

>TOO LATE FOR THAT, I GUESS


>When she finally quiets down a bit, you talk to her
"You still have time to fix all of that, but are you going to be okay for now?"
>You sort of know how she feels, as your last few interactions with your family weren't all too kind
>She whimpers a little, "I-I think so.."
>You let go of her, but stay somewhat close in case she breaks down again
>"I'm sorry I kept you up like that.."
"Don't worry about it," you say, sounding a little more annoyed than you'd meant to.
>She was just crying on you, so it'd be wise to avoid flipping shit
>"Every time I think about my parents, I can't control myself... They did everything they could for me... The only thanks I ever really gave them were quiet nods and a few letters I mailed to them when I was going to the college in Manehattan."
>Holy shit, Manehattan?
>Their college requires ridiculously high marks to be admitted
>It's considered one of the most demanding schools in Equestria
"You studied in Manehattan?"
>She offers a modest smile, though she's still teary-eyed. "Yeah, my major was gonna be in journalism. I ran away just after spring break," she pauses for a moment. "I couldn't handle the stress of it anymore."
>It just now hits you, even though you should have gotten it before
>She was under 18 When she ran away
>And she ran away when she was in college
>She was likely one of the most intelligent ponies you've met so far
>Yet, all of it was being squandered because she doesn't have a Cutie Mark
>Fucking pony culture, how does it work?
>What the do you do now?
>You check outside, the sun is JUST rising
>Ugh
>Was she up all night thinking about that?
>Her appearance screams "probably"
>It also screams "I haven't bathed in a while"
>You just realize she doesn't smell at all
>Why is ponyland so weird?
"I'm going to go and take a bath. You want in?"
>"Uh.." She trails off, uncertain of how to respond to your suave ladykilling techniques
>You take a bar of soap, a few rags, and a towel out of a bag you had in the tent
"Come on," you say as you unzip the front flap
>She shakily gets to her hooves and follows along
>You wander on over to a river you'd seen when you were on the way to the campsite
>You wet one of the rags in the stream before looking over to her
"Do you want to go first?"
>She looks a little confused, but not skeptical of your offer
>"I suppose so..." She says, slightly hesitant
>You shrug it off and begin wiping much of the filth out of her fur
>The first rag is absolutely disgusting by the time you're done using it, so much so that even dipping it back into the stream doesn't really clean it
>You figured as much, at least you brought a few more
>The second rag isn't as bad, most of the dirt and other "substances" wash off
>This entire time she's uncomfortably staring off into the distance
>Probably a little embarassed that she's ruining rags
>Third rag: wet, lather with soap
>You go to TOWN, wiping off any remaining stains you see in her coat, and work your way through her mane
>Once you're done, you wet the rag again to wash off the soap and miscellaneous grime, then rub the soap off of her
>She is now a considerably lighter shade of brown than when you'd found her
>You take the towel you brought and dry her off
>THANK. FUCKING. GOD. You're finally done cleaning her.
>The sun has risen quite a bit at this point, it's probably been around half an hour since you've started
>You strip down and go through much of the same process as you did with her, as she awkwardly stares into the distance once more
>This isn't much of a time for conversation, so you leave her to her gazing
>Once done, you take the towel and dry yourself off, then dress yourself again
>It's pretty gross to dress back up in the clothes you were just wearing, but it can't hurt that much if you change out when you get to camp
>Right?
>You look over to Morning Glory, and she's still staring into the distance
"Hey, are you alright?"
>Her gaze is unbroken
"Hey, Glory, what's wrong?"
>Suddenly, she snaps back to reality
>"Sorry, it was nothing. I was just thinking."
"About?," you ask, fairly concerned
>"Nothing too important. Don't worry about it."
"Uh, alright then," you're still concerned, but you'd rather not push it
>You grab all of the rags you had brought along, as well as the towel
>Making your way back to camp is fairly silent, but you're not sure what to talk about anyways
>The moment you get back, you change into some clean clothes that you'd packed
>You separate the dirty clothes from the clean in another part of the bag, then hang the towel and rags on a nearby tree to dry
>And then there's Morning
>Staring off into the distance again
>Maybe she's bored? Or just doesn't know what to talk about?
>'It is of no use, Anon. You know what you must do.'
>Your weird semi-conscious internal monologue is right
>You spot a small-ish mountain, just past a grassy plain and a few hills
>Perfect
"Time for an adventure"
>She snaps out of her staring again, "wait, what?"
"We're going to go hiking," you say, grabbing some food and hiding much of your camping gear in bushes near the campsite
>"How is that an adventure?" she asks
"Have you ever been hiking?," you ask as you put on the fancy hat you'd bought the day before
>She pauses. "No."
"Then it's an adventure"
>She can't refute that, though you're sure she wants to
"Impromptu adventure is the best kind anyways," you say, while walking away from the camp
>You can feel her uncertainty as she follows along yet again
>It's great that she trusts you enough to go along with whatever you're doing, but damn, it'd be nice if she were a little less hesitant about everything
>Though, you must admit, it's better than when this trip started
>"So, uh, Anon.."
"Yes, Glory of the Morning variety?"
>She absorbs your stupidity for a moment
>"I'm really sorry for waking you up like that."
>You glance over to her without breaking your stride
"Really, don't worry about it. I've been kept up for some stupid stuff. I'm just glad you said what you needed to"
>She shows a tiny smile, "what kind of stupid stuff?"
>It takes a moment to think of a response
>So many memories flood your mind that it takes a moment to sort them apart
"Well, me and a few of my friends from school used to commit all sorts of shenanigans when Summer came around. We would all post on a website named 4chan wi-"
>"Wait Anon, what's a website?"
>Oh yeah
>Ponies don't internet
"Nevermind that, it's a story for another time. Moving on, me and my friends would buy food that was horrible for us and drinks with tons of sugar so we could stay up all night. We'd normally play violent or embarassing games, vandalize public property, or go out and get in fights for fun."
>She seems a little shocked about this
"It was a different time, but I had a lot of fun even if what we were doing was stupid or illegal. I'm not proud of some of the things I've done, and being entirely honest, I had a lot of friends in some low places."
>"How did you change if your friends were bad influences?"
>You don't want to explain everything, so you half-ass it
"I saw people doing well with themselves. I saw what they did and learned to express myself, and eventually started writing and making music for fun instead of being destructive." You chuckle to yourself, "My new friends would take me out to buy books sometimes. We'd mess around in the store until we got kicked out."
>There's a pause
"It took me a long time to figure out that you have to surround yourself with what you want to be.. And that it works both ways."
>Morning is puzzled at the last part of that statement
>"What do you mean by that, exactly?"
"Well, if you change yourself... You change those close to you. Therefor, the simple act of changing your actions has the potential to change the world around you."
>You used to think about this subject a lot, but sometimes you still felt as though you were just rambling on or just trying to sound like some douchebag
>You only hope that you didn't come off too preachy about it
>"Anon," she starts, "what did you do on Earth?"
>You'll have to think about how to answer this one
>You make a good bit of distance before you decide to speak
"I guess, after I got away from all of those negative influences, I just thought a lot. Of course, I made art, but usually I'd just think."
>She gives you a confused look. "About what?"
"Normal stuff. Life, friends, people. I'd go on walks and replay arguments in my head. I'd really dwell on everything, whether good or bad. Do ponies do that too?"
>"Sometimes," she sighs, "I still think about how bad it was to leave my parents like that. I didn't even leave a note..."
>She tears up a little
>"They probably think I'm dead by now."
"Hey, do want to take a break?"
>She sniffs, "Sure"
>You spot a rock nearby and let Morning pop a squat on it, while you sit on the ground
>You want to make your next words count
"I think you should go and see your parents when we're done here"
>'Why the fuck don't I think before I open my mouth'
>"I don't think I can, especially after running away. I don't even know if they'd take me back..."
>'Oh, well, I can work with that'
"Of course they'll take you back, they're your family.. They might be mad for a little, but they're probably just scared for you."
>You think to yourself, 'at least you can make the choice to go back'
>"Thank you, Anon. I needed to hear that." She gives a bittersweet smile and gets closer to you
>She gives you a small kiss on the cheek, and says "we should get going"

>It's been a few minutes since you two started walking again
>She's been asking a few questions and you've answered them to the best of your abilities
>However, you're quite distracted about that kiss
>You know it wasn't romantic, but was it from gratitude?
>'Is that even how this shit works, Anon?'
>Your semi-conscious internal monologue can't even understand the implications
>Why think about this in the first place? It doesn't matter that much.
>... Though it's kind of hard to ignore
>"Anon?"
>You snap out of your dazed state to find Morning looking expectantly at you
>You're also noticeably lagging behind her
"Sorry, what were you saying?"
>"I was asking how long your schlong was."
>Wat
>Apparently your confusion shows, as Morning giggles
>"I was asking when we were going to eat, considering we didn't have a breakfast."