Luna's

Luna’s

Chapter 6

I stared at the clock, hopelessly watching the seconds tick away. Seconds, minutes, hours, they had all lost meaning in this place. I found that no matter when I went to sleep or woke up, it was always the same outside: dark with a thick fog and a full moon in the sky. It was as though time had stopped, or at the very least had forsaken this crude establishment. Maybe the clock was only ticking because it had no other purpose in life. It was like me, trapped here in limbo.

Though, it felt a little less like I was trapped and more like I was being held prisoner. Something was eating inside me, something about this establishment and its peculiar owner. Luna had said that ponies always seem to find their way to her restaurant when they’re lost in these woods, but she doesn’t seem to help them leave. I couldn’t quite wrap my head around her motivation. How did she keep this place running if her guests were all lost here? She had to be hiding something, but what?

I sighed to break from my idle musings. My eyes fell to a window. The fog was still lazily drifting by with no end in sight. I had hoped to ponder that for a moment when I heard some hoofsteps approaching my table.

“Freshen your cup?” Luna asked, levitating a pot of coffee into the air for me to see.

I glanced down at my nearly empty mug and nodded. I watched the steaming hot liquid pour with a hint of disdain. The smell of charred grounds filled the air, reminding me why I didn’t care for Luna’s coffee much. Even when fresh, it still tasted burnt. But, it wasn’t as though there was much else she had that I wanted.

“You’re quiet tonight.” She raised an eyebrow as a smirk appeared on her face.

“Perhaps we’ve run out of things to discuss,” I replied as I picked up the fresh cup of coffee. The flavor was reminiscent of soot from a fireplace and steaming hot well water. Somewhere buried under that wretched concoction was the faint taste of actual coffee.

“Oh, don’t be so hard on yourself.” Luna laughed to herself. I couldn’t help but cringe mid sip from the sound. “You’re not that boring, dear. I’m sure we could have some conversation if you tried,” she said, turning her back to me.

My jaw clenched. These subtle jabs of hers are becoming unbearable… I set down my mug and turned my attention back to the window. While engaging over such a petty remark was childish, it only upset me more if her challenge went unanswered.

I took a short breath to quell my emotions before saying, “Perhaps if you weren’t so—” A loud crash cut me short. My head immediately snapped to the doorway that lead to the stairs. “What was that?” I asked without realizing.

Luna was also staring in the direction from which the noise emanated. She tilted her head curiously. “It sounded as though it came from the kitchen.” She took a step towards the doorway. “I wonder if the cook is having some trouble?” The apathy practically oozed from her hollow words.

“Trouble?”

Luna looked back at me with a smirk. It took a moment for it to sink in why she was smiling. I furrowed my brow. “That shouldn’t count.”

“Yet, it still does,” Luna laughed, making me cringe once more. “If you’ll excuse me, I must see what she’s struggling with.” She casually walked through the doorway, in absolutely no rush. Just as she disappeared I could hear the loud clang of what sounded like pots hitting the floor.

Once I was sure she was gone, I glanced over at the bar. “Businesses keep some sort of documentation,” I said to myself as I climbed out from the booth I was sitting in. She has to get supplies or know of a way out of these woods to keep this place running. There’s no way some scavenging farmer supplies this tavern with everything.

I made my way over to the bar, taking care to ensure my hooves were quiet against the hardwood floor. Stealth was my only option for she couldn’t know what I was up to. If she did, gods know what she would have in store. I took a quick peek through the doorway to be certain Luna was not there. Once I saw it was clear, I slipped behind the bar.

As far as I could tell it was an average establishment. Glasses, an insulated box for storing the ice, pitchers, a tap, a few bottles of alcohol, miscellaneous tableware, it was all too plain—somehow surprising for the type of pony Luna was.

Suddenly, I heard somepony shout—somepony who wasn’t Luna. My ears turned in the direction of the yelling, though I kept my attention focused on my search. “Would you calm down?” Luna’s voice graced my ears next, though not nearly as loud as the first. Things were clearly heated between them. Whoever the cook was, they must be something to get a rise out of somepony as emotionally dead as Luna.

My eyes continued to flow along the shelves until something caught my attention. A thick, black book resting on the bottom shelf, coated in a thick layer of dust. “That could be something,” I remarked, softly.

I pulled the book free and flipped open the cover. The paper was stiff and yellow from age. Just how old is this place? I found myself thinking as I stared down at the first page. It simply had ‘business log’ scribbled down in hoofwriting. Even the ink had a slight brownish hue to it.

I turned the page to what I assumed would be a log of this tavern’s business. I wasn’t exactly wrong in that regard. The page was filled in with a rough, thrown together, three column structure, the first had dates, and the second was a list of names. The third column though, was what I found strange. I expected it to be monetary in nature—bits owed or collected—but that wasn’t the case.

Dates, names and next to those names were words, not numbers. “Summer Breeze, lost,” I read aloud from the first line. Lost what? I asked myself.

Lost was the most frequent word to appear, though a few had the word ‘recovered’ scribbled down. What could be lost or recovered from these ponies was a question burning in my mind immediately after reading. I turned the next page and noticed that recovered was sometimes crossed off when it seldom appeared. What is she keeping track of?

I sifted through the pages until I found the end of the writing. As I looked through the names of the ponies held within this book, I felt my heart lurch in my chest. My eyes went wide in disbelief as I struggled to digest what I was reading. My own name sat at the bottom of that list of ponies. The third column remained blank. “W-why am I in here?”

“That’s not too difficult of a question.” I jumped as Luna’s voice graced my ears. My head snapped around to see the mare standing behind me with her usual smirk. But, there was something different. Her eyes seemed to hold a tinge of anger just below their calm, collected surface. “But, that must be answered another day.”

Her lips fell flat as she glanced over my shoulder to see the book open in front of me. I was caught red hoofed. It felt as though my heart stopped beating entirely as her bored eyes shifted onto me once again. “You know, it’s not polite to look into somepony else’s business. You might not like what you find.”

I took a quick breath to start my heart again. “What is the meaning of this book, Luna?” I demanded from her. I stood up, causing her to take a step back. “What does lost and recovered mean? Lost to these woods? Lost to you?”

She didn’t smile—not at first. She stared at me blankly, lazily rolling her head to the side. “That’s far too many questions for our little game.”

“This isn’t a game! What does this mean!” I yelled.

“So much yelling tonight,” she muttered to herself. She let out a long sigh. “I have no idea what you mean by ‘lost’ and ‘recovered.’ As you can see, that book is merely an account of our debts.”

“No business would keep its head above water with this much in lost revenue!”

Luna placed her hoof on her chest and took another step back, as if thrown off by my accusation. “Whoever said we lost that money?” It was obviously an act, her voice was apathetic as usual. Her lips spread every so slightly with her head dipping to the side in a cocky sort of way. “If you take another look, you’ll see bits written down. Those are a record of our closed tabs.”

My eyes narrowed at her. “You expect me to believe—” I looked back down at the book. I couldn’t believe my eyes. The third column, the words were gone. In their stead, numbers—amounts—were now written. “W-what?”

“I have another book where I keep a running total upstairs for our current guests. Would you like to see it?” she asked with a condescending tone.

“No…” I whispered. “This had…” I turned back to face Luna.

“Words?” Luna tilted her head to the side. “Don’t be silly. What business would use words instead of numbers for accounting?” She chuckled. “I think you’re being a bit paranoid, my dear.”

“It was there!”

“Perhaps you could use some sleep to calm your mind?” She tried to place her hoof on my shoulder, but I brushed her off.

“Stay away from me!” I yelled. “I don’t know what is going on here, but I want no part of it!” I ran out from behind the counter, keeping my eyes on Luna as I rushed past her. I had to leave—to get away from this crazy pony before something happened to me. I didn’t know what or why, but I had no intention of staying around to find out.