The Return of Loyalty

“Excuse me, miss,” a male voice spoke. Scarlet thought for sure it was one of her supervisors reminding her about something asinine. She looked up from her typewriter and became face-to-face with a stallion in a beige trench coat with a brown fedora on his head. He was looking down at her intently and with stern eyes. Was he a detective? Scarlet hoped she wasn’t in trouble. “We are looking for a filly named Ruby Maneshire. Do you know her by any chance?”

Penny Maneshire? Scarlet had never heard of that name. Then she remembered that was the filly named Penny, of whom she made small-talk on her way to work every so often. She looked at the trench coat pony again. He looked pretty mean.

“I don’t know anyone by that name,” she lied.

“Are you sure? Just yesterday you two seem to be well acquainted.”

“I don’t know her. I thought she was another street urchin begging me for money… are trying to steal from me. I shooed her away.”

The truant officer gazed at Scarlet very closely. She wasn’t sure if he bought her story. It sure looked like he didn’t, otherwise he would have gone away by now. Maybe the pony was going to bombard her with loads and loads of questions until she gave in. Penny was the only pony Scarlet talks to. She didn’t deserve whatever punishment might be in store for her. The two of them just wanted to escape the trap of everyday life.

“Just making sure,” he finally said. Scarlet was relieved, but watched herself so she wouldn’t show it on her face. “You have a nice day,” the officer said, and then he left the workspace. Shrep Turner saw the encounter from a distance and went to her cubicle.

“What was that all about?” he asked, although he didn’t look terribly interested. Scarlet noticed he always carried that coffee mug wherever he goes. And he still wore that blank, inexpressive face. She wondered if Shrep ever smiled.

“Nothing, just some truant officer wanting to know if I’ve seen some kid. You know me, I like to mind my own business. I don’t care if kids like those skip school.”

Shrep nodded, but if he cared what Scarlet said she didn’t know. He raised the coffee mug to his lips and reminded her of the new covers for the TPS reports and was on his way. Scarlet only nodded and pretended to go back to work.

The rest of the day went as usual. On some days she had gotten used to the repetition that her mundane life delivered. When something new or exciting happened she hardly notice it until it was too late. On her way home from work she ran into Penny, who had a gleeful look on her face.

“Hey Scarlet, I took your advice on hiding out at the library. It was great! Nobody suspected a thing! So how was your day at work?”

“Fine I guess. It’s nothing but the same thing every single day. No wait, something did happened. One of those ponies in trench coats came into my building today and asked about you. You’re not in trouble are you?”

Penny gave her a strange look. There was a slight hint of confusion and reflection, something Scarlet had never seen in her little friend before. After a moment of thinking the filly smiled at her. “I wouldn’t worry about it. I’m very resourceful. They wouldn’t find me if they tried. Besides, my uncle can vouch for me.”

“Your uncle? What does he do?”

“He runs the local library, that’s what he does.”

So that was why Penny decided to hide at the library. She couldn't help but chuckle to herself, although she was pretty sure she was telling a fib; either way she couldn’t find fault in her. Someone who spends much of her time on the streets instead of school or home was bound to create imaginary family members or weave a tale about the most amazing thing that happened to them to make themselves feel better about some of the things in their unexceptional lives. Scarlet would’ve done the same thing.

Something around Penny's neck caught Scarlet's attention. "What's that you're wearing?" she asked.

"Oh, this thing? It's a mood necklace. It glows when I'm feeling a certain way."

The necklace was a ruby in the shape of a lightning bolt, and it had a red glow. Penny explained it only responded to positive emotions.

"Where did you get it?" asked Scarlet.

"Someone... somewhere."

They parted ways. Scarlet arrived at her apartment building, not without the landlady’s daily reminder of the rent. Don’t worry, Scarlet thought to herself. Only one more week. And then I have to suffer at the end of next month. She went into the kitchen to make herself a snack. She would have made a stop at her favorite diner but she needed to save money so the landlady can get off her back until the next due date. If Scarlet had to be honest, the diner wasn’t really her favorite spot. The only thing worthwhile about the place was that it was conveniently close to her building and it was open 24/7. Walking past the sink she realized it was in a ugly pileup. She searched the cabinets for any kitchenware that wasn’t used, and remind herself to wash the dishes soon.

Her hooves opened the cabinet where the book she received in the mail was in. Scarlet stared at it for a some time, then retrieved it from the cabinet. She still wondered who sent her the book. It had to be a relative, but she didn’t know any close family members. However, there was the name of the send - Clovis Magnus. Was he - or she - the author of the book? They sounded like a wizard. Clovis mentioned that Scarlet was looking for something. She didn’t know what that meant and she had no idea she lost something. How could they possibly know that? She held the book in her hooves and after thinking it over she decided to give it a read. Scarlet had nothing better to do with her time anyway, besides eat, sleep, and work. Who knows, maybe the book will be good. It had to be better than the so-called “entertainment” this city had to offer. Scarlet took the book to her favorite spot in the living room, the recliner near the window, and began to read:

A long time ago, in a magical land far, far away, three races of ponies - unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies, came together from their separate kingdoms to form Equestria, a land where friendship and harmony was valued above all else. As the years passed, a great darkness fell upon the land, one that threatened to destroy the balance of harmony itself. As all hope seem lost, two alicorn sisters, Celestia and Luna, defeated the great darkness by using the Elements of Harmony - honesty, kindness, laughter, generosity, loyalty, and the element of magic. When the darkness was vanquished, the citizens of Equestria appointed the sisters to be their princesses. And there it was that Princesses Celestia and Luna ruled over the Equestria with guiding hooves and loving souls.

One sister, Celestia, raised the sun and gave light and warmth to all living things that inhabited the land. Luna brought forth the night and the shining stars and moonlight. All was well, until one day Luna refused to lower the moon to make way for the sun. She was upset that nobody appreciated the beauty of the night, choosing instead to sleep while they play and work in the daylight. Celestia pleaded to her young sister, but Luna’s contempt grew stronger, and thus transformed her into the dreaded Nightmare Moon. Nightmare Moon terrorized the innocent ponies of Equestria and vowed to bring the night that will never end. To combat this new evil, Celestia had no choice to but to use the Elements of Harmony against her. Celestia begged her sister to turn from her evil ways, but when Nightmare Moon refused Celestia banished her for a thousand years on the moon, but with that came a terrible price. Not only did she send Nightmare Moon to the moon, but her little sister as well. Equestria was saved, but Celestia ruled alone without Luna. Whenever she looked up at the moon she thought about Luna, and regretted using the Elements against the pony she loved…

Not a bad way to begin a story, Scarlet thought. Because it was a book for children, she initially thought Nightmare Moon was going to learn her lesson and change back into Luna. She liked that it had such a downbeat ending. She hoped the next stories will be just as interesting. She continued to read:

Over the next thousand years since Luna’s banishment, Equestria evolved from a simple medieval society to a sprawling nation. The betrayal of Nightmare Moon was treated as a story passed down from generation to generation and was taught as a lesson to children about letting anger and jealousy cloud one’s judgement. Many ponies have asked Celestia about the night of Nightmare Moon’s defeat, but she always declined to answer. The memories of Luna brought great pain to her heart.

It was during those times Celestia opened a school for young unicorns to hone their skills in magic. One of those students, Twilight Sparkle, was highly favored above many. Celestia witnessed tremendous potential in the young filly, and instantly saw great things for her in the future.

One day Twilight discovered the thousand year imprisonment of Nightmare Moon was coming to an end. She learned from an old prophecy that she will return during the Summer Sun Celebration to bring eternal darkness and have Princess Celestia suffer the same punishment all those centuries ago. Twilight Sparkle was therefore sent to the village of Ponyville, not to find a way to prevent Nightmare Moon’s return, but to inspect preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration and - which was Celestia’s order - to make some friends…

It was probably the first time in Scarlet’s life that she was engaged in a book. She had no idea how wonderful reading was. This particular story, which was called “Friendship is Magic,” gained her full attention for some reason. As she read from page to page she witnessed Twilight Sparkle meeting five other eccentric ponies, and the quest to find the Elements of Harmony. They went through a series of seemingly random obstacles which the story revealed were tricks by Nightmare Moon to prevent them from finding the Elements. Twilight had to put her trust in Applejack, Fluttershy showed kindness to a raging manticore, Pinkie Pie laughed her way out of danger, and Rarity generously gave a piece of herself to someone who needed it the most. But the moment that stood out for her was this:

The rope bridge was torn, so the pegasus named Rainbow Dash flew to the other side to connect it from there. But once again Nightmare Moon had more tricks to pull. She disguised herself as a dark and twisted version of Rainbow Dash’s favorite flying team, the Shadowbolts. The Shadowbolts promised her fame and glory, and all she had to do was abandon her friends. Despite the allure of her desires becoming reality, Rainbow Dash refused the offer, thus passing the test of loyalty...

That moment resonated with Scarlet very much. She liked the idea of being loyal to your true companions no matter what gets in your way, or if someone tells you there is something better than your friends. She thought back to how she didn’t tell the truant officers about little Spritle. But the more she thought about it, she realized she didn’t do it out of loyalty. Scarlet didn’t want to be responsible for a child getting in trouble with the law. She had enough problems of her own to worry about.

The “Friendship is Magic” story ended as she expected; Twilight Sparkle faces Nightmare Moon in a final showdown, when the stones thought to be Elements didn’t work all hope was lost. It was revealed the six ponies carried the spirit of the Elements. They defeated Nightmare Moon and free Princess Luna from her influence, and the Sisters were once again reunited. Scarlet was surprised that all was forgiven so easily. Still, she enjoyed the first two stories.

She looked at the window to see it was nearly dark. How long was I reading, Scarlet thought to herself. She put the book on the kitchen counter and prepared herself for sleep and for another day at work.

When she woke up at sunrise she tried to remember a dream she just had before the images faded. Scarlet was going to fly all the way up to the blue sky and yellow sun, but… there were little voices telling her not to do it. They sounded worried and sad at the same time. She spread her wings and flew higher, higher, until there was a great flash of light. What’s with all these dreams about flying all of a sudden?

Scarlet washed up and got dressed for work. She expected the landlady to knock on her door any second to remind her of the rent. She waited for a few minutes while she buttoned her shirt and tied her tie. Usually Scarlet can hear the shrill voice of the landlady before she approached the door. Surprisingly there was no knocking. Oh well. She was must be out running errands. The landlady will probably get to her when she comes home from work.

Scarlet opened her window to get out of her room, only to stop at the last moment. She notice the book was reading the other night on the kitchen counter. It was too bad she was going to spend another boring day at her pencil-pushing office job. Scarlet couldn’t wait to read about what happens next. She turned her head toward the window, to the direction her job was located. Her breath took in the early morning city air.

An idea sparked in her mind. Scarlet decided not to go to work today. She figured she worked so much everyday of her life that she deserved a break. It wasn’t like anyone was going to notice she was missing. Scarlet climbed back inside and closed the window, unbutton her collar and loosen her tie. She grabbed the book and relaxed on her favorite recliner, and the story of Equestria continued where she left off.