Small Inconveniences

Chapter 3: Small Inconveniences

The train eventually came to a halt, stopping at the local station. The place was quite busy; a far cry from what the pair had faced in the previous town. They both stood up and began to make their way to the exit, gently trying to avoid any other individuals around them. There were many people inside, making it quite a task to move.

“Alright, let’s get this over with…” The man said. He briefly wondered about their current fortune, trying to figure a way to get their current job done in such a short time. It wasn’t a very complicated one, but not a short one either. What this kind of process lacked in details, it made up in quantity of documents and legal process they had to go through.

His winged companion was, like him, wondering about their current situation. However, she was more interested in fueling her rage over the inconvenience of calling them here in such a short time. Whoever represented their client will surely receive an earful from her. Habeas also thought a bit about how they were going to find a hotel room right away, it’s not like they had time to arrange such things.

The city was much different from where they were before. Instead of small wooden homes and shops, Trottingham had many tall buildings (by Equestrian terms, that is), each one with beautiful details. A fortress stood proudly in the historical center of the city, on a hill. Habeas and Luiz were slightly stunned by the sight ahead of them.

The two of them stood there for a while, as the crowd of people around them moved on elsewhere. However, the dissipating crowd revealed another individual, a unicorn stallion with black mane and white coat, wearing a distinctive suit carefully adjusted in his body. Upon seeing the couple, he approached them.

“Excuse me,” The Stallion said, bringing their attention towards him. The two stared at him in confusion. “Are you two the lawyers from Canterlot?” He asked, trying to sound friendly and bearing a vague smile. Unfortunately for him, after everything Habeas and Luiz have been through, it would take a lot more than some kind gestures to get on their good side.

“Yes!” They both answered in unison.

“Uh… good,” The stallion said, now becoming aware of their current mood. “My name is Silver Quill, and I was sent here by your client”.

Luiz raised an eyebrow. “The supermarket company?” Silver nodded, “Why’s that? Are you here to give us some documents?” That wouldn’t be unexpected, with their short deadline Luiz was pretty sure the company would attempt to provide some aid, in order to speed up the process. With everything that has been going on, the Equestrian government has been quite busy dealing with new issues, and so getting a new audience or even stretching this legal process for long could be quite a nightmare.

“Actually… no,” Silver replied. The stallion shifted a little on his spot, preparing himself for the consequence of his next words. “I’m here to tell you that the audience you were called for was delayed to five days from now…”

At first, there was no answer from the duo. They both seemed to be in deep thought, trying to understand what Silver meant. “What!?” Shouted the pegasus, she took a step forward and pointed a hoof at him. “You’re telling me that we’ve traveled half the country in a mad race for nothing?!”

Luiz’s reaction was somewhat less aggressive. He face palmed, letting out a deep sigh in an effort to calm down. The two of them had went through a lot to get here in time, only to be faced with this bullshit. Once again he had a taste of how annoying this job could be. Meanwhile, his companion proceeded to discharge all her frustrations in the poor stallion, who stood there with flat ears, listening to the mare’s rage filled complains. Eventually, the man decided to end this argument. He took a step closer and gently placed a hand of her neck. “Calm down, Habeas, he had nothing to do with it”.

The mare stopped, taking deep breaths and trying to calm down. “I know,” She said. Her expression slowly became neutral. “Still, this just sucks; it’s a complete lack of respect!”

The stallion gathered some courage to speak. “Look, I understand this is… inconvenient,” The pair gave him unamused looks. “And because of that, we have arranged to have you both staying in one of the best hotels in the city,” Those words lifted their moods a little. “We even paid to have your luggage taken there”.

The two of them felt a little better with that. Look on the bright side, now they get to stay in a nice place and have plenty of time to finish the job. In addition, they have the chance to explore this city. Not ideal, but it’s the closer they’ll get of an actual vacation.

“Alright Silver,” Began Luiz. His previous mood was beginning to dissipate. “If what you say is true, than I suppose it’s alright… but tell your boss to not screw this up next time”.

The pony gave a nervous laugh. “ha, ha… don’t worry about it”.

Still not in a good mood, Habeas pushed forward. “Come on then, show us the way!”

Silver did as commanded, turning around and leading the two lawyers through the city. The streets were filled with people, in busy shops and market stalls. The agitated atmosphere of this city was a big change from the calm and peaceful feeling of Manenich. However, Luiz and Habeas enjoyed this change; they had spent almost a month working in small towns, so it was nice to break this routine with some good city life. The three of them walked at a slow pace, mostly in an effort by the couple to appreciate the scenery and look for any places they might want to visit later.

Eventually, they arrived at the hotel, close to the center. True to his word, the place was quite impressive; the eight-floor mansion wasn’t a five-star, but definitely above what they were used to. Once again, they stopped for a few seconds, looking in awe at the beautiful structure.

“Alright, this is the place,” Silver told them. “Just talk with the reception and they’ll tell you where your room is”. He then bid both of them farewell and went on his way.

The two wasted no time in going inside. They walked faster, hoping to begin enjoying the many services this place surely could provide. “Oh, I’m sooo taking a nap when we get there,” The mare commented. As Silver said, the reception already had everything set up. They eagerly took their respective keys and went up, to the fourth floor. They approached the door, both of them barely able to contain their excitement in the prospect of enjoying the rest of the day.

However, their joy was shattered when they looked inside. No, the problem was not the large space or the pristine conditions of the room. It also wasn’t the expensive furniture and the many extra items carefully positioned around the place to help improve their stay. The real problem was the bed… or better saying, the lack of another. There was only one couple-size bed…

“Oh, come on!”

Author's Note

Note: Alright, here’s the next chapter, hope you all enjoy. Just so you know, the problem at the end comes from a personal experience… and no, I didn’t have the luck of having a cute pegasus as a companion…

Please point out any mistakes.