The Return of Loyalty

Scarlet Penhoof hated how irritatingly loud the alarm clock was. It buzzed like a screaming banshee, and whenever she woke up her head and ears always throbbed with pain. Her eyes were half-closed, she mumbled and slurred, her blue hoof trying to reach for the button to turn off the stupid buzzing. Scarlet picked up the alarm clock and looked at the time. Eight o’clock in the morning. She put her face on her pillow and groaned.

She turned her head sideways, away from the window. The shutters were closed although there were slits of sunlight coming in. Scarlet wanted to stay in bed and be lazy all day. She had to get up eventually. She had a job to go to and the rent wasn’t going to pay itself.

Scarlet sat up and stretched her limbs. She had the most wonderful dream the other night. She took a moment to conjure the images back into her mind before she couldn’t remember. Scarlet was flying really fast, over and through the clouds over the blue sky. There ponies and they were cheering for her. Then something else happened. She flew upward, toward the sun. Scarlet flew down really fast and… she saw colors and light.

That was all she can remember. Whatever it was, it was wonderful. She hoped the next time she went back to sleep she’d have it again.

Well, there was no time trying to think about dreams. She had to get ready for work. She can hear the cubicle calling her name blocks away, or maybe that was her boss Mr. Sternmane. Scarlet was a pencil pusher at a telemarketing firm in the city. It was a regular nine to five job full of suits and ties, sitting isolated from everyone in your own little corner and making unpleasant phone calls to strangers, complete with boredom and repetition. Maybe it was punishment for something bad she did in the past life. Was it too late to atone for her sins?

Scarlet searched her closet for her white dress shirt and black tie when there was a knock on the door. She groaned again. Why won’t the landlady leave her alone? The knocking continued until she opened the door half-way.

“Yes,” she answered flatly.

“Just to remind you rent is due next week,” the landlady said with a smile, although Scarlet knew it was fake. She does this every second to last week of the month, annoying her three times a day about the due date. The landlady had long, dirty, grey hair with a tye-dye shirt. She carried her sickly cat wherever she went.

“I get paid next Wednesday,” said Scarlet.

“I know dear, this is just a friendly reminder so you won’t forget,” the landlady said.

Scarlet nodded her head and closed the door. A friendly reminder. She ran that phrase in her mind. She witnessed the times the landlady unleashed her fury upon the poor souls who neglected to pay her rent. It even happened to her, once before. The landlady likes to think they are on friendly terms, but Scarlet tried to avoid whenever she can. Besides, she seemed like the crazy cat lady type. Scarlet hated cats.

She looked in the mirror and straightened her shirt collar and tie, then combed her red hair. There was a saliva stain on her blue cheek. Scarlet went to the bathroom to clean that up. Now she was ready to go.

Scarlet opened the window and took a deep breath of the city air. Traffic, oil, smog, and whatever was in the sewer underneath her building. She climbed down the metallic fire escape and landed on the ground, and out of the alley and into the city streets. Scarlet didn’t mind walking to work. It’s much better than taking the taxi or the bus, considering how traffic is in the city. It was also infinitely better than taking subway, where there were weirdos hanging about.

“Hey Scarlet!” she heard someone yell. Scarlet turned her head, and a filly wearing a scarf and beret cap appeared at her side. “Yo, what’s up?”

“Hey squirt, shouldn’t you be in school?”

“Nah, I decided to skip today. Don’t worry, nobody will notice.”

Scarlet smirked and shook her head. The filly’s name is Penny, although Scarlet wasn’t sure if that was her real name. She wish she had the guts to not go to work. That will prove to be impossible. Her pencil pushing job was the only job she can get, and she had nowhere else to go if the landlady kicks her out. It must be wonderful to not worry about the cares of the world at such a tender age like her young friend.

“You better be sure the truant officer won’t find you. I’ll probably get in trouble just by being seen with you,” said Scarlet.

“Don’t sweat it, I got a couple of hiding spots where he can’t find me. If he asks about you I’ll just say I was trying to spring some money off of you. Which reminds me, can I borrow a couple of bucks?”

Scarlet gave her a look. She knew there was a reason the filly caught up with her. “Again? What is it for this time?” she said.

“Bus fair. I’m going to the arcade,” said the filly.

“Word from the wise - fun places like the arcade and amusement parks are the first places truant officers go to search for kids. If I were you (and I wish I was) I’d go a place like the library. They’ll never think to find you there.”

The filly made a disgusted look. “Why would I want to go there? I hate reading.”

“You don’t have to read anything, you just have to hide there. Trust me on this.”

The filly took a moment to consider this. No pony her age willingly go to the library, aside from those eggheads she copies her homework from. The library didn’t seem like a bad choice. And it was like Scarlet said, she didn’t have to read anything. “You know, Scarlet, you’re really smart. You have some good ideas. You sure you’re not secretly an egghead?”

“Believe me I’m not. Otherwise I wouldn’t be going to my crummy job.”

The filly looked to either side of her. The truant officers are ponies hiding in plain sight, but there are some that can be pointed out. Those are usually ponies wearing beige trench coats and brown fedoras, like they were trying to look like Detective Ace Spade. Not wanting to get caught the filly bid Scarlet goodbye and quickly went out of sight. Scarlet silently wished her luck. She hadn’t told her what to do if the school makes a phone call to her home.

Scarlet continued her walk to work in silence. She thought back to her dream. It’d be so awesome if she flew, Scarlet thought. If she had wings she can fly away from her job, the landlady, this awful city. Sadly she was not a pegasus.

The pencil-pushing office building was a tall and oppressive glass structure. Sunlight bounced off the glass and the city was reflected off the glass like a mirror. She entered through the revolving doors of the lobby and marked her arrival time. A receptionist sat at the far end of the lobby, taking or making phone calls and reading the stack of magazines she had stashed away. Then there was the stallion working at the vendor. They gave each other little nods. The two of them make small-talk every now and then, but they usually like to mind their own businesses. Scarlet rushed toward the elevator, which had a pile up inside. It usually happened whenever she tried to make it to the higher floors, and the ponies stuck with her had to press buttons to make stops, which annoyed her. It wasn’t a big crowd like other times.

After a few stops of the elevator Scarlet finally arrived at the twenty-fifth floor. She walked through an endless maze of cubicles, taking glimpses of the mindless drones that occupied them. Scarlet found her own, only taking a look at the motivational poster that hung on the wall. GET TO WORK. YOU AREN’T BEING PAID TO SIT AROUND YOU KNOW. The picture that accompanied the caption was a chimpanzee wearing a suit at a cubicle. How was that motivational? Scarlet sighed and took her seat.

“Hello, Miss Scarlet,” someone said. Scarlet squinted and shuddered at that familiar voice. She turned on her seat, meeting a white stallion with grey hair and large glasses staring at her with a blank expression. He held a glass mug in his hoof. This was one of her supervisors, Shrep Turner. “Listen, we have sort of a problem here. Yeah, you apparently didn’t put the new cover sheet on your TPS report.”
“Oh… right, that thing. I’m sorry, I forgot,” said Scarlet.

“Yeah… you see we’re putting the new cover sheets on all of our TPS reports before they go out from now on. Didn’t you see the memo about this?”

Scarlet only looked at him. Really? He was doing this now? She nodded. “Yes I got the memo. I just forgot that’s all,” she said as politely as she can. “Well, it won’t ship out until tomorrow, so everything will be fine. I’ll take care of it.” Scarlet gave the faintest hint of a smile to Shrep.

Shrep took a drink from his coffee mug. “Yeah… if you could just go ahead and make sure you do that from now on, that’ll be great. And I’ll make a new copy of that memo for you.”

Scarlet was about to protest, but Shrep was already gone. She was sort of glad he was gone. Scarlet couldn’t stand the sound of his monotone voice, or those large glasses. The sounds of telephones ringing, pencils scratching papers, and the clacking and clicking of typewriters filled the office air. She had gotten used to those sounds at this point.

The day at the office went by like any other day, which was everyday. She made a phone call, wrote data on a spreadsheet, made another phone call, went to spreadsheet again, and so on. Plus there was lunch in the employee lounge and small-talk at the watercooler. Someone made a funny impression of that one character with the accent on that radio show. Then Scarlet went back to work until it was four o’clock in the afternoon. A few more of her supervisors reminded her of the new cover sheets they were using. Scarlet didn’t say anything that time. Not a very productive day if Scarlet said so herself, but she had to make a living somehow.

It was nearly sunset on the walk back home. Scarlet couldn’t believe she was confined to spend the rest of her life inside an office while other ponies enjoyed the sunshine, and the night in some cases. She wish she had that kind of freedom. Instead she had to wait for another day of her unexceptional life. It doesn’t matter, if it helps support her financially, she’s content with it.

Scarlet entered her building through the front door this time. She liked using the fire escape, but it was difficult trying to climb to her window. On her way up the stairs she walked into the landlady furiously raising her shrill voice at a tenet. A moment later she slammed the door, smiling at Scarlet when she spotted her. The landlady was going to open her mouth about the rent until Scarlet stopped her.

“I know. Next week,” she said flatly.

“Just making sure,” the landlady said with a wink.

Scarlet walked to her door, took her key from her pocket and reached for the lock. She paused suddenly. Something was different. Scarlet looked down and saw a box at her legs. That’s weird, she thought. She wasn’t expecting any mail for her. Scarlet shrugged. Anything was better than nothing. She picked up the box to learn that this package was actually addressed to her. But there wasn’t a return address. Scarlet held the box to her ear, shaking it lightly. The only to find what was inside is to open. Scarlet slowly unlocked her door and stepped inside. She placed the box on her kitchen counter. Should I really open it? she thought to herself. Scarlet inspected the box again. Her name and address checks out. She cut the tape to open to the top sides of the box.

It was a book.

Scarlet narrowed her eyes. “Really,” she said aloud.

It looked like a storybook for children. The book had a brown hardcover and there was an image made of gold that had the shape of a unicorn on the cover. There couldn’t have been no more than a few hundred pages. Who would mail this to her? Scarlet didn’t have any children, nor did she know any filly or colt who would want this book. There was a card inside the box. The card contained a phone number and a name in bold black text - Clovis Magnus.

“Not funny Clovis Magnus,” Scarlet said. She opened the book, and found a folded piece of paper on the first page. It must be a message from the sender. She opened it and read to herself: “I know you are searching for something, but you can’t explain what it is. Maybe this book will help you. Read the whole book from beginning to end, then come find me. Signed, Clovis Magnus.”

Yep, this is definitely a scam. She had the idea to call the number and give that scam artist of piece of her mind. Scarlet head toward the phone, then changed her mind. It wasn’t worth giving him - or her, attention. Besides, a book came in the passage. Not a self-help book, a storybook for children. But she couldn’t tell if this was genuine. Scarlet placed the book on top of a kitchen cabinet and decided to forget about. Right now it was time for her to get some sleep. She has to get ready for another day at work.