The Two Faces Of A Coin

The sun was still low in the light blue-orange sky, void of any cloud, when Eagle Feather stepped outside and closed the wooden door of his house. A weak and cool gust of wind passed through the street he lived.

Without any word, the pony with white coat began to trot towards his destination. Canterlot was a really peaceful and calm city when it was empty, early in the morning or very late in the night. The tourists, after visiting the night part of the city, were exhausted and slept until nine or even noon sometimes. It was very different from Manehatten, the city where he was born and lived for the first fifteen years of his life. In Manehatten, there was nothing which distinguished the day from the night. Whatever was the hour, you could always see hundreds ponies walking in the streets of this city.

He met a few neighbors on his way and waved at them. Some of them, still half-asleep, ignored him and the others waved back.

The sound of his hooves against the white rocks which composed the ground echoed in the street. Looking at his left, he saw a brown and beige building, on two floors, called: Paquito Café. Eagle Feather opened the door and walked inside. At the moment he put one hoof on the establishment, the warm and friendly atmosphere welcomed him. The smile on the face of the owner too.

"Hey Eagle, good to see you."

He walked to the bar and sat on one of the chairs. "Yeah, you too Vanilla Coffee." he replied, looking at the light brown Earth Pony in front of him.

"The usual?"

He nodded and she walked away, preparing his drink.

Vanilla Coffee was one of his few friends. She lived here since her birth and her parents gave her the coffee shop just after she stopped her studies and knew enough about business to run it. Eagle moved in the neighborhood when she was fifteen and him sixteen. At the time, he was only accompanied by a little foal, his daughter.

One day, the young mare asked him where her mother was but the only and cold answer he gave her was: "None of your business".

But despite this little incident, Eagle was a very good customer, always pleasant and friendly.

She walked to him, his order in the wooden plate, situated on her head. The barman put it on the table and in exchange, he gave her two bits. Taking his black coffee with his left hoof, he drank it in one gulp. It was hot, very hot, but he didn't care. A loud and warm sigh escaped his muzzle.

"So, what's the program for today?"

Eagle looked at Vanilla and sighed again.

"A meeting with Jade to talk about my next book. Nothing much."

"I see." she replied, nodding in understanding. "And Sunny? Isn't it her last day of school?"

"Yep. And in a few days, she'll begin her training as a Royal Guard."

The mare smiled.

"She must be happy."

The Unicorn stallion laughed.

"Of course, the big smile on her face...so cute, just like when she was a filly." his mood dropped at this moment. "I always used to live with somepony, it'll be strange for me to be completely alone in less than a week."

"Don't worry, you'll find something to do during her training. I'm sure she'll come back whenever she can."

"Yeah, I'm aware of that but...I'm still worried. I know she's old enough to take care of herself, I was the same at her age."

"So, where's the problem? She know she can live on her own, you know it too...there's nothing to be worried about."

"My father instinct don't stop to tell me that Sunny should wait one year or two before doing anything but...I have to let her go, for her sake."

Vanilla Coffee smiled at his statement.

"That's the spirit! You should go now, you wouldn't want to make your boss angry because you're late."

"Yep, you're right." he walked to the front door and opened it. "See you tomorrow Vanilla!"

The moment after, he was gone.

This time, the street was a little more animated, some shops began to open. A few ponies walked through the street, ready to work...more or less, depending on their sleepy faces.

The white male chuckled.

Contrary to some ponies, he was able to sleep less than three hours or don't sleep at all for an entire day and stay full of energy, thanks to his job as a writer and his Cutie Mark. He had spent many sleepless nights writing rather than rest when he was younger and was used to this kind of life.

Taking right, Eagle Feather arrived on one of the busiest streets of Canterlot. It had the fanciest stores in all Equestria. But despite the fact this avenue was famous, the amount of ponies walking in it at this hour was still low. It's been sixteen years since he had buy his house and he was still not tired of living in the same city. Eagle was not somepony who liked to move too much. If he could stay in this town for the rest of his life, it would be perfect.

Finally, after a few minutes of trotting in several streets, the Unicorn stopped in front of another building. This one was far different from the bar. His walls were made of bricks, the windows were smaller, there’s only was one floor and the front door was made of wood, maybe oak, just like his desk, at home. He walked to the door and opened it.

Inside, ponies were already working. Some had books on their table and were reading them, a quill not far from them, in case they found some mistakes (like grammar errors or misspelling) while others duplicated the final version of the novels. In this case, it was the unicorns who did it, thanks to their magic and a copy spell. The feel of his hooves against the dark red carpet, the scent of fresh books and the sound of writing…this place was a second home for the stallion.

A few meters away, in front of him, was the personal office of Jade Singer, the creator of the publishing house and his boss. Slowly, he continued his path and stopped in front of the door. He lightly knocked three times on the window.

She was an old mint green Unicorn with blonde mane. Her eyes had the same color as her coat, she also had reading glasses on her muzzle. Her cutie mark represented four white books.

“Ah, I’m happy to see you’ve come. Take a chair, there's some things that we have to talk.”

He did as she told, not forgetting to close the door behind him. The chair creaked a little when he put his rear on it.

“So, I recently received the sales of your last book from the Griffon part of the house. It seems the readers have followed what the critics said: Five thousand books sells in three days. They loved it. By the way, their king wants a copy, with your signing on it.”

The white Unicorn was dumfounded, his mouth slightly open. It was impressive…wait, more than that, it was incredible! He didn’t care about giving a personalized version with his name written by his hoof on it. It was not really a public autograph, after all.

"You have it here?"

"Of course." she replied, giving him the novel and a pen which he took with his left hoof before writing his name and something else on the first page.

"Still no magic, huh?"

"You know me, I don't like change."

"But change is good. You should be more open about the world around you."

He replied while closing the book, a smirk on his muzzle: "How about no."

The mint Unicorn sighed.

"You're impossible, you know that."

"Yep."

"Anyway, I have something for you."

Jade opened a drawer, took a rectangular and gold object from inside, with something write on it.

"This is a ticket for the Grand Galloping Gala."

She didn't have to wait more than a few seconds to hear the answer.

"I refuse."

"Princess Celestia gave it to me, saying it was for you. She's read all your books and wanted to meet you but she didn't have the time until now. The Grand Galloping Gala is the perfect opportunity. And if you have the chance to talk a little about Past Is Prologue, you could gain a few readers."

"It's still no."

"If it had to do with your past...—"

He punched the table with some force, enough to make her stop talking. She could see the rage burning in his eyes but his voice was composed and calm.

"I'm disappointed you use that against me, especially for something like...this. I don't want, that's all!"

"I see. As your boss, I could force you to go but..." she said, smirking. "Okay, no problem. But you'll have to found another publishing house to sell your books."

Eagle Feather's eyes widened when his brain understood the information and its implications. It was his one and only job, his livelihood.

"You-you can't do that."

"I can and I will."

The mare smiled, knowing he had jumped right in her trap.

"Well, it's going to be difficult without you, some ponies will leave the house because of the lack of work but...I think I can manage."

He sighed. His back was against the wall, there was no other solution than accept her request.

"Fine, you win. I'll do it. Give me that ticket before I change my mind." She put it in his left hoof with her magic, still smiling.

"Oh, and what about your last book?"

"Almost finished, I was at the beginning of the last battle. But I think I'll write a sequel."

"Who said that? Your instinct...or your dreams?"

Slowly, his lips moved on their own, forming a smirk.

"Let's just say they both played a part on my decision."

She laughed. Then, the stallion with icy blue eyes stood up and walked to the door.

"Two weeks."

He stopped his movements and turned his head towards her, an eyebrow raised.

"The gala. It's in two weeks. You should wear something other than that old leather jacket."

"Yeah, yeah...maybe."

The first thought which reached his mind when he left the building was: the fridge is empty.

If there was one thing Eagle loved in Canterlot, it was its organization. The shops were clearly divided in districts and streets. One for the clothes, another for the jewelry...and even a big market for anything related to the food. It took him a few minutes to reach his destination. Merchants and customers were everywhere. If there was one street which was always full, whatever was the hour of the day, it was this one.

Eagle Feather took three or maybe four hours to buy everything he needed to cook for almost two weeks. Unfortunately, he forgot his saddlebags at home and was obliged to teleport his purchases in his kitchen. In truth, he was a weak Unicorn, he only know a few spells he learned when he was young, barely able to move/teleport little things and light a candle. Eagle neglected his magic skills for his love of writing and never complained about that. And because of his weak magic, it took him more or less a minute to recover each time he sent something.

He stopped in a few bars to refresh his dry throat or go to the restroom.

Finally, after hours of walking, talking with the merchants and teleporting food, he ended in front of another bar he knew well. When he was depressed or had a big lack of imagination, he stopped here and didn’t left the place until he was completely drunk and couldn’t walk straight. Sad but for the Unicorn, it was the only way.

If Eagle had to resume the place with only two words, he would have said: old and dusty.

And he was completely right. The walls, the chairs, the floor, the windows…they were old, very old. The dust was everywhere on the furniture, except the glass and drinks. The building was much older than him, maybe twice his age. The stallion with grey mane walked to one of the tables and sat on the chair.

After a few seconds, the waiter stopped before him, putting a beer in front of the Unicorn. He was a stallion; Pegasus to be precise. In his late fifty. Dark blue coat. Orange mane. Golden eyes.

“You seem sad, what’s the problem dude?”

Eagle Feather looked at the waiter, half-mad and half-depressed.

“The problem? I’m invited to the Grand Galloping Gala. And you want to know why I don’t give a single buck about this Gala? The mares, dude, the mares are the problem. They’ll be everywhere.”

“Ah…I see, you prefer the colts.”

He looked at him, shocked. Then, he quickly drank his beer.

“Hell no! It’s just… I have some personal problems with them. That also explain why I act like a bitch in their presence but I’m not going to bother you with that. Give me another beer.”

“You sure?” he asked, unsure.

“Cloud, there’s no way I’m going back to my house sober.”

When he awkwardly stepped outside, the sun was gone since a few hours. The magnificent moon replaced it, illuminating the streets with its glow. A cold gust of wind passed in the street he was and made him shiver. The amount of alcohol in his blood began to give nausea and his head made him dizzy. He could throw up by any moment from now.

Eagle Feather didn’t know if it was really late in the night or just the beginning. The rational part of his mind told him was the first option, thanks to the deserted streets.

After ten minutes of bumping into anything he met on his way (trash can, doors or even drunken ponies like him), the Unicorn arrived at his house or precisely, his muzzle hit one of the walls of his house, hard. He cursed between his teeth while rubbing his nose and opened the door. The second after he closed it, he passed out on the floor.

The sound of his loud snoring echoed in the hall.