My Little Realities: C24 - Getting Used to Things

My Little Realities: C24 - Getting Used to Things

>three days have passed since you last saw your friends
>you still had the dreams, but they weren't as frequent now
>you could get some form of sleep at least
>there was a great funeral for the p0nies that had lost their lives that day
>you attended, of course
>it was one of the most painful funerals you'd ever been to, not that they were usually pleasant
>they had announced that they would turn the battleground into a great museum, to preserve and commemorate their sacrifice
>the funeral was more symbolic than anything, as the graves were pretty much all empty
>Zecora, amongst countless others, were given postmortem medals of bravery and valor
>Zecora had been frozen as she rode her Root mountain, impaling enemy Roots with her sword
>to be honest, you were happy that they didn't ask you to say anything
>you really didn't know what you could possibly say that wouldn't be an insult to their memory, even if you'd spent hours expressing your sorrow
>there weren't many words exchanged that day between you or the p0nies
>you tried to keep out of the bar, but it became pretty hopeless
>again, they just said it was on the house
>to most p0nies, you were some kind of hero
>you had led the valiant Celestial and Lunar forces into battle and Equestria was safe at last
>you told them you were welcome even if you didn't feel deserving, but spitting in their faces after they tried to thank you would have been worse
>you'd finally tracked Vinyl down
>her club had been destroyed, but she wasn't out of the game
>she now lived in a small apartment in Canterlot
>you make your way there
"Anon, no way!  Come in, come in!
>she seems happy to see you
>you haven't even stepped in but you can see all her speakers and audio equipment cramping the place
"How you been man?  I haven't seen you in like forever!"
"Hey Vinyl, glad to see you're doing well.  How do you like your new pad?"
>you can't help but smile, it's like she's been untouched by the whole Root thing
"Yeah, it's temporary before I move to Las Haygas to set up my new club.  I know this place isn't sharp at all but it's got great acoustics.  So what brings ya over here?"
"Well I was wondering if you were still interested trading some music for a few bits..."
>you spend some time discussing prices and royalties with Vinyl
>it's not like you're going back to Earth so unless Wolfram and Hart want to bother your for copyright infringement, why not make a few bucks
>it's not like doing this will stain you more than you already are
>you transfer a couple dozen artists to her
>for now it would give you some pocket change and you could stop freeloading off the p0nies, and you'd be able to figure out if you could be of any use to them now
>or just go off and adventure or something
>for now, you could afford to get shitfaced a little
>you take the rest of the afternoon to find yourself a little apartment
>Vinyl would tell you what genres she'd like more of and send you your share of the bits every month
>your new apartment looks a lot like your old one
>you can't believe you eyes when you are having the non-destroyed portion of your stuff shipped over from the ruins of your old apartment and carrying your shit is none other than the wall-eyed blonde mare
"Here you go Mr. Muffin, we'll bring your other things from the castle suite tomorrow"
>you're happy you don't have that much fragile stuff
>she better not fucking drop your Merkel over-under rifle with Swarovski glass
>if that had a scratch on it you would probably end up slapping her shit so hard he eyes would go straight for good
>you go buy her some muffins to distract yourself from your worries
>maybe she'll call you the muffin man instead of Mr. Muffin next
>maybe she knows the muffin man
>luckily, not much seems damaged in transport and the gray pegasus floats away happily, bag of muffins in her hooves
>happily being sideways, but she was smiling
>you settle in over the next day
>in the afternoon, you hear a knock at the door
>Rainbow Dash?
"Anon...  It's Fluttershy, she just woke up"
>Fluttershy
>for a few days, she'd gotten pushed to the very back of your mind
>what in the blazes were you going to say to her
"I guess the others are with her already? You ask
"Yeah, we had a hard time finding you, but I AM the fastest flier in Equestria, so I managed to track you down" she states proudly
>you both start walking to the Canterlot hospital
"We've been worried about you, Anon.  I mean it's been pretty difficult for all of us but we all saw how hard this whole thing hit you..."
"I...  I don't know, Dash.  I got me a few bits, I found an apartment...  But about the rest, I just don't know."
>the rest of the trip is silent
>yeesh, way to kill the conversation
>you get to Fluttershy's room
>it's brightly lit, with big windows
>Fluttershy is already awake, surrounded by her friends
>head seems fine, thankfully
"Oh...  Um...  Hi, Anon" she says quietly
>you can't look her in the eyes
>you held the chunk of steel that had almost blown up her domecase, fucked up with her Element, destroyed her cottage and probably burned and killed most of everyp0ny and everything she’s ever cared about
>they still had not found her bunny Angel but from what little you'd seen of the white bastard, he would likely be somewhere near Zecora, stabbing some Root in the eye with a carrot
>they hadn't given up on him, though
"Anon, what's wrong?  Everyp0ny told me those mean Roots were gone and that we're safe now"
>this is probably what Twilight felt when you woke up in the hospital
"Fluttershy, we did win.  We won but we lost a lot too..."
>Twilight tries to help you as you break it to Fluttershy
>they all try to soften the blows
>in the end, Fluttershy was in tears, repeating that she just wanted to know what happened to her animals
>she didn't care that much about the buildings, or her cottage, but she wanted to know if they were okay
>she was released a few days later, and you all accompanied her to what was left of P0nyville
>you didn't really want her to see the battlefield, so you were glad when she said she was just there for her animals
>it didn't look like many p0nies would return here apart from those who were looking for MIA, had lost something important or wanted to pay their respects
>you all took the train
>it looked like it was made of candy
>you miss the F40PH…
>when you arrived to p0nyville, Fluttershy looked pretty devastated but her determination to find her animals was stronger than the shock of seeing the town in ruins
>the cottage had been trampled pretty solidly
>but the most impressive part was seeing a goddamn white bunny tapping his foot in front of his food bowl, steaming as he waited yet again to be fed
>he wasn't starving, there was plenty of vegetation for him to eat
>but that bunny wanted a goddamn carrot salad with cherries on top and he wanted it now
"Angel!  Oh my goodness Angel, I was so worried, I'm so sorry I was away for so long..."
>Fluttershy was practically choking him
>but he looked happy, even if he was trying to hide it
>Fluttershy ended up finding most of her animal friends
>they had survived well, all things considered
>seems even if she cared for them and fed them, most had held their own quite well when things got rough
>Fluttershy ended up taking Angel along back to Canterlot, until something could be figured out
>along the way, you were relieved beyond words at the lack of silence in the train
>Princess Celestia had mentioned to Twilight how a new Ponyville was in the works
>it would be pretty close to the old town, which was going to be turned into a memorial site
>Applejack was pleased by this as it meant she could pretty much use her old orchard, if only to bring the apple trees over,
>Sweet Apple Acres would live again
>Fluttershy was already thinking about a new cottage
>Rarity was pretty loaded so she wasn't worried about making a new boutique
>you sat down and watched as the p0nies began to cheer up, lifting their spirits with their plans for the future
>Rainbow Dash sits down next to you
"So Anon, Pinkie wants to have a party next week, she's already reserved the Canterlot Hall, do you want to come?"
>you sure as hell didn't feel like partying
>Pinkie Pie just appears in front of you
>she must be part unicorn, for fuck's sake
"I heard the word party!  Is it my party?  My party is going to be the greatest party ever!  Everyp0ny is so sad these days; we just gotta make our friends smile...  Are you coming to the party?  You can't not come to one of my parties!"
>she looks at you with her big pretty eyes that make you forget her double negative
"I'll think about it"
>utterly unable to say no
>you'll die a fucking Teddy bear, damn all these fluffy equines
>her smile is so big you wonder how her skeletal structure can make sense and why she doesn't get face cramps or something
>for a while, you felt like you had no place being around them, like you weren't worthy
>Pinkie Pie chatters on about her preparations, and you can't help but feel like you're part of their group again
"But they said nooooooo, the purple banners would clash with the green tableclot-
"Pinkie?"
"Yes, Anon?"
"Thank you"
>with that great big smile of hers, you feel like you might be able to glue yourself together a little
"You know, if you don't feel like attending, we understand..." says Twilight
"It's probably best if I get out once in a while...  Plus how else would I be able to see you all?" you reply
"Sugarstick, ya do know ya can see us whenever ya want, raight?  Celestia was kind enough ta give us all food an' lodgin', so at the risk of soundin' ungrateful, we've been a little bored...  Well...  Apart from Rarity of course...  Dang high class p0ny has been all kinds of jolly these days" says Applejack
>that p0ne probably hasn't had more than a week off in her entire life
>she must be bored out her mind, you don't think she's be really entertained having tea with some fancy pants
"Well Rainbow Dash told me that Anon did get a new apartment, how about we give him a housewarming get-together?" suggests Rarity
>oh shit
>you have settled in, but your place isn't very inviting
>there isn’t really any gun laws here so you really just have them all displayed on the walls
>no real dinner table, just your work bench and reloading bench
>you really have fallen back to your old habits
>it's like a workshop with a fridge and a bed
>windows were boarded up, as usual
>in the past, there weren’t so many bottles of booze everywhere, though
"well I appreciate the sentiment but it's not exactly cozy..." you reply
>you would at least need to tidy up the place
>and get more than one chair
>and more than one unit of silverware
>fffffffffff
"Anon, if you want to be alone, it's okay" says Twilight in a low voice
>isolation (and lots of alcohol) did call you
"It's not that, I'm just saying it's kinda small for six p0nies..."
>it could probably fit the lot of you without anyone needing to become a contortionist, but it really wasn't set up for guests
"Couldn't we just set something up at the Canter Bar, it's like right next to his place..." says Dash
"I'm cool with that" you say
>you were on good terms with the bartender there, as you were one of his best customers
"How about after tomorrow?" suggests Applejack
>it's not like you had plans
"Oh, dear, well...  I guess I can tell Fancy Pants I can't stay for tea too long..." says Rarity
>you aren't even surprised anymore
"6:8TD works for me"
>you still aren't used to their goddamn clocks
>everyp0ny agrees
>should be around 7PM, non pony time
>Twilight is looking at P0nyville as the ruins become distant
"What's up, Twi?" you ask
"I can't help but feel pretty sad to see it like that.  It's the first town I really liked living in...  First town where I really made friends" she replies
"You know, I think I'd have to say I feel the same way"
"Hunh?"
"I wasn't exactly popular on my world, Twi.  I mean I hung out with some people and stuff, many called me friend, but I didn't really reciprocate those emotions, to be honest" you reply
"Weren't you lonely?" she asks
"I guess so, but I was busy enough to not notice..." you say
"I think I know what that's like...  What about now?  Aren't you going to miss your world?  As I understand it, you kinda can't go back..."
>you think about it for a few seconds
“I don’t really feel like I am or I will.  As you’ve probably noticed by now, I have very little attachment to the concept of conservative humanity – if something is sentient and has similar intelligence, morality and stuff…  Why should I find myself lacking company?”
>she kinda looks down and blushes a little
“What…  What about romantic companionship?”
“Uhhh…  Never been real good at that.  Never really wanted a lifelong partner or mate.  I just can’t seem to care about it”
>she seems to cheer up
“Well we’ll always be your friends, so you’ll never be lonely”
>she smiles genuinely
>you wonder if she was somehow attracted to you
>you suppress laughter
>it wasn’t like any woman had been that attracted to you in your own species
>purple pone was just embarrassed to talk about romance outside of her books
>you had wondered about fucking p0nies
>it’s not like you hadn’t masturbated to much, much weirder things
>MUCH WEIRDER
>but they were just innocent, cute p0nies and you were damn good with your left hand
>without an internet connection, you estimated that your “rainy day” porn could last you another 68 years
>not bad
“So what are you thinking about?”
“BEUEhughhu?” you reply
>GODDAMN IT PINKIE
>you have a good laugh at her confusion
>no way that you're going to explain to them what spider girl hentai was
>you were in a good mood when you parted and went to your apartment
>you settled down, only had a glass to relax
>you curled up, warm and comfortable
>you slowly fall asleep
>the screams woke you yet again
>it’s going to be a long night
>you got some ice and thought about how you’d wake up to an empty bottle
>you're happy that even cheap alcohol here doesn't taste too bad
>chugging down glass after glass, don’t even remember falling asleep