It was now eight-thirty in Manehatten and Luna’s moon glowed brightly in the clear night sky. The streets were bustling with activity, the sound of hoofsteps can be heard almost everywhere. Thunder Echoes ignored everything around her as she stood in front of her frequented pub. After folding her worn out batwings, she looked up above and let out a deep sigh. She was so tired.
She looked like a mess. Long curly strands of purple mane flowed freely down the side of her features. The perfect round bun that she tied earlier this morning was now starting to get loose.
Small wrinkles can be seen everywhere on her blue jacket and skirt, the inner shirt with a lighter blue shade that she was wearing underneath had its two buttons above opened, revealing puffy tufts of grey fur inside.
She opened the pub’s door and trotted inside. This was not her day. After moving around the city, going from one building to another, and hearing bitter rejections afterwards was pretty tiring. She needs a drink, and a whole lot of it.
Once she got inside the pub, she was welcomed with its warm ambiance. A sensation she hasn’t felt all day. The building was crowded with patrons, permeating the air with indistinct but lively chatter. On the bar, soft sloshing sounds of cider filling the mugs can be heard as the barkeep filled another order for a patron who was waiting patiently at the stools.
She turned to look at the booths. The one at the left corner of the pub, just beside the window caught her eye. As expected, her friends were already there.
Gilded Hooves was sporting his usual look, a dark shirt paired with dark pants to match the color of his curly locks. His shirt was topped with a shiny black jacket that was zipped all the way up, save for the neck, revealing the caramel fur underneath. And for some reason his left hoof kept on holding a pair of glasses that he puts on and off during conversations. Because of this, one would never expect that he works in an antique shop unless he tells it himself.
He was chatting with Dewdrop, who was sitting across the table. And like always, she was wearing a sweater. It looks like today’s color was pink, complementing her yellow fur and blue mane. Thunder had never seen the mare wear anything but a brightly colored sweater that she herself knits. Heck, she hadn’t even seen her wear the same sweater twice. One could easily mistake her as a cat lady, that is, until she opens her mouth. Bubbly would be the best term to describe her personality.
Upon noticing Thunder approaching their booth, Gilded waved a hoof at the exhausted thestral.
“O-oh, hey Thunder. Uh, come, take a seat.” To the thestral, Gilded’s voice was like a warm light drawing her to a place of comfort after a long, long day. In her words, it sounds like warm, melted butter, cascading down like a soothing shower.
Well, she’s no poet and to simply put it, she really likes the sound of it. And the stuttering adds to the charm. Some ponies may find it annoying, but she thinks that it’s cute. If given the chance, she could to listen to him stutter all day.
Thunder greeted him back and plopped down on a seat next to Dewdrop.
“We were just talking.” Gilded continued, his voice never losing its calm demeanor. “Talking about our days. But now we’re talking about this show, great show about uh, uh, about a guy...an amazing guy who builds stuff out of junk. Well, you can’t, you can’t really call it junk. They’re more like um, unused spare parts, yeah.” Gilded ended his line with short repetitive nods.
Dewdrop turned to look at Thunder. “Yeah, have you seen that show, T? Trapped With Thicket? They usually air during Thursday nights, but I only watch the reruns in the afternoon at my fruit shop. I’m really glad that Gilded watches it as well.”
Gilded put his glasses on and rested his head on his hoof. He then stared at Thunder while drawing circles on the table with his spare hoof.
“Uh, yeah.” Gilded said; lingering on the last syllable. “We’ve literally talked a lot about it these past few seconds. I-I really like episode where he’s in a uh, a dry lake. Yes, a dry lake. And uh, he builds an earth boat. No, no, no. A dirt boat, he created a dirt boat and he’s-”
“Ooh! Ooh!” Dewdrop exclaimed, cutting Gilded off. “I saw that episode too! For a second there, I thought the wind won’t be able to carry his boat!”
Thunder was leaning on the back of her seat. The look on her face showed that she’s somewhat satisfied in listening to these two talking about something she didn’t know about. She doesn’t know why, but to her, it felt...mesmerizing. Oh Celestia, after such a hard day, she really needed this.
She would’ve wanted them to continue, but she noticed something. Save for a couple coasters and a napkin dispenser, the table in their booth was empty. Well not for long. She thought.
“Hold that thought, guys.” Thunder said as she stood from her seat. “I’m gonna buy us a round.”
“Oh Thunder, um...no need, no need.” Gilded reply stopped Thunder in tracks. “I’ve already taken care of it, and here he is now.”
Gilded waved pointed a hoof at the pony coming towards them. Thunder turned at the direction at where Gilded’s hoof was pointing. The thestral went wide eyed a bit in shock. The approaching pony looked exactly like Gilded. From his looks and with the way he dressed, he looked like his twin brother, should he ever have one, or a magically generated replica.
Above his head, the other Gilded was levitating three mugs of cider with his horn. He then placed said mugs in front of the ponies. Gilded and Dewdrop smiled as their beverages were served. Thunder just sat there, speechless.
Gilded removed his glasses and placed them on the table. He looked up at his clone and gave him a smile. “Thank you uh, me.”
The replica smiled back. “The pleasure’s all mine.” He then winked at the gang before turning into a puff of smoke.
“Whoa!” Thunder cried out, apparently impressed at Gilded’s trick. “When’d you learn that?”
Gilded took a generous swig from his drink before replying. Placing the mug on the coaster, he tapped the table with his other hoof.
“Here, just now. Nah, I’m just kidding. I-I finally mastered the spell this morning at the uh, antique shop. Dewdrop was there as witness. I guess five uh, five years worth of practice really did pay off huh?”
“I guess...” Thunder said, feeling a bit jealous. It sure is nice to be next door neighbours. She thought.
“At least you’ve got something going on in your life. Anyway,” She raised her mug up in the air, prompting the others to do as well. “This is grounds for celebration. Congrats!” She downed her drink in one full swig and slammed the empty mug on the table and got out of her seat.
“I’ll go buy next round.” She said as she trotted towards the bartender.
Thunder got back to their booth carrying a tray full of mugs on her back. To avoid the drinks from falling, she used her wings to balance the tray. Gilded then used his magic to levitate the mugs on the table while Dewdrop set the empty mugs of cider aside to make room for the new ones.
Thunder plopped back to her seat while singing softly to herself. “But tonight is the night that I drink till I die...” She snatched up her cider and drank it thirstily. Only half of the mug’s contents were left when she set it down to the table. She eyed her two friends who had to stop themselves from drinking to stare at her worryingly.
“Come on guys, drink up! Don’t leave me hanging.”
She picked up her drink once more and attempted to empty the mug in a single draw.
“Okay.” Gilded said, removing his glasses. “Something tells me that we’re celebrating more than my uh, newly, newly acquired spell here.”
“Yeah.” Dewdrop joined in. “Did you get a new job?”
And with that, Thunder choked on her drink. In reaction, she gave out a strong snort while her snout is still inside the mug. This created a small splash that soaked Thunder’s cheeks with sweet cider. She set the mug on the coaster and wiped her face with the fur of her hoof.
With ears flat, Thunder held the mug of cider with both hooves. She looked inside the mug. The liquid inside it acted as a rippling golden mirror, but it’s still clear enough to reflect the mare’s sad expression.
“Oh Thunder.” Dewdrop said in a somber tone.
“Don’t worry about it, kiddo.” Gilded added.
Thunder’s face twitched upon hearing the word ‘kiddo,’ especially when Gilded was the one who said it. Seriously, their age difference was not that far. He’s only four years her senior. But for now, she’d just let it slide.
“It’s only been...” Gilded paused and looked up while tapping a hoof at his chin. He looked back down and stared at Thunder, narrowing his eyes. “A week? You’ll get back on your hooves eventually.”
Thunder let her drink go and leaned at the back of her seat.
“That’s the problem guys.” She sighed. “I don’t know how to. I mean, that office job was just dumb luck. And there’s no demand for ponies with a degree in Political Science right now.”
“Of course there are.” Gilded disagreed. “I-uh, I mean you still have to finish law school though, or take another course such as education.”
“Which costs time and money.” Thunder immediately replied. “Two of the luxuries that I don’t have right now.”
“Well you can just re-enlist in the Lunar Guard.” Dewdrop said, both hooves bumping each other timidly.
Gilded had to stop himself from drinking once he heard Dewdrop’s words. “Uh, that’s a very, very bad uh, Idea. Yeah. Yo-you do remember the reason why she um, quit in the first place, right?”
Both mares cringed upon remembering that awful memory. Thunder quickly took her mug and hurriedly emptied it down her throat in an attempt to wash away the dreaded thought. Once she had squeezed every drop from the mug she slammed it down on the table. It’s a good thing that the table was made of wood and not of glass, or else it would shatter in how strong Thunder had slammed her mug.
“Yeah, remind me to forget that.” Thunder folded both her forelegs and rested her head on them.
Gilded held his drink just inches away from his lips. “Oh sure thing, sure thing.”
Thunder snapped back to sitting position. She then eyed both her friends who were still sipping on their mugs.
“Okay, how about a third round? My treat.” She offered.
Gilded held his drink with both hooves as he lowered it down on the table. He put his glasses back on and looked at Thunder while tapping the side of his mug with a hoof.
“Uh, I’m just going to going to have this uh, wonderful beverage here as my la-last drink for tonight. Well, you know with tonight being a uh, work night and all that.”
“Still Tuesday.” Dewdrop butted in.
Gilded nodded in agreement. “Yes, yes. Today’s still a Tuesday so what I’m uh, going to do is...to take it easy for the night. Yeah, yeah, I’m going to take it easy, for the night that is.” He paused, taking a sip from his drink. “But I’m still down to uh, chat. Yeah, chat, chat with you.”
At Gilded’s words, Dewdrop looked at Thunder and gave her a smile while nodding slowly.
“Thanks guys, really appreciate it.” Thunder replied, who was now smiling as well. She got up from her seat and trotted towards the bartender while the two busied themselves in setting aside the mugs for the waitress to collect later.
Once Thunder got back in her seat with beverage in hoof, she spared no time in draining the mug empty.
“Hard times, hard times.” She whispered to herself, slightly shaking her head before taking a long draw from the drink.
“So Thunder, get this.” Gilded began. Thunder looked at her unicorn friend mid-chug. She raised an eyebrow, waiting what he’ll say next.
“I wanna be a pirate.”
That was the second time Thunder choked that night. To sheer surprise, Thunder accidentally exhaled while her muzzle was still chugging the cider. Because of this, a good amount of the golden liquid flowed down her air hole giving her a painful coughing fit.
“Where’d that come from?” Thunder said, still recovering from series of coughs she suffered not long ago.
Once more, Gilded set his glasses back on the table. Using his right foreleg, he tapped the right side of his temple with the tip of his hoof. “Here, just now. I just had a surge to go uh, adventuring, sailing the seas, fi-finding buried treasure. You know, normal uh, stuff.”
Gilded took a sip from his drink before continuing. “Normal stuff Daring Do does.”
“I can’t even tell if you’re serious or not.” Thunder sighed.
Gilded leaned close to Thunder. “Really I’m serious. I’m like uh, really serious. Motivated would be the other term. In fact, scratch the uh, the pirate part. And just replace it with uh...” He stopped briefly, twirling his hoof while finding the word that would fit this line.
“Swashbuckler. I-I wanna do some swashbuckling. I wanna swashbuckle. Am I using it right? The uh, swashbuckle? I don’t think I do. I’m uh, having doubts. Doubt about the use I mean. But not for the deed, I’m motivated. Uh, really, really motivated. Yeah.”
Thunder scratched her head in frustration. Sure she’d like to chat, but she’s not really in the mood to deal with this right now. Everything was just so dumb! Just leave it to Gilded to think of something this dumb.
“Seriously, I can’t even.” Thunder raised both hooves and set down quickly, as if to give out a sign that she’s given up humouring this conversation.
“What motivated you to do this anyway? And if you’re not really messing with me, which I’m a hundred percent sure that you do, where will you go anyway? It’s not like there’s just a random location that would conveniently sprout out and hoard treasure just to satisfy your sudden cravings for adventuring. Aren’t those things non-existent now in our times? Isn’t the age of discovery over already?”
“No-now that’s where you’re wrong Thunder. There’s still one uh, at least. Here, check this out.”
Gilded raised both his forelegs chest high and waved them away from each other. This was a sign that Thunder knew too well: Gilded will tell them a story so ridiculous that only a drunk would believe it. Well, she’s half-drunk right now so she’s bound to half-believe it as well.
“Apparently, I met this old guy, in my uh, antique shop.”
“Now.” He raised his voice slightly, but not to the point that the listeners up close would get startled. It still sounds calm, but it’s like climbing up a short slope and then suddenly stopping.
“I know he’s not from here or in this case, uh, Equestria. I can tell, because he has like uh, small, slant, eyes. They’re like uh, beautiful black checkmarks. Not the ones with the uh, curves, curves at the end. No, no, no, not at all. They look like the ones teachers use in checking test papers.”
Both mares chuckled at his description of the old eastern guy.
“Am I, am I being offensive? I hope I’m not. I’m just appreciating the uh, the beauty, the beauty of his features.”
Thunder ceased her chuckling, but still kept on smiling. “Sorry, do go on.”
Gilded rubbed his chin with a hoof. “And then he um, uh, showed me a peculiar looking map, something I’ve never seen before. And then he told me of a legend down in Manticore Isle.”
“Manticore Isle?” Thunder interrupted, narrowing her eyes on the unicorn. “You mean that island west of here that’s literally Everfree Forest surrounded with water? That Manticore Isle?”
Gilded picked his glasses back up and breathed on the lenses. “Well, yes. That’s the one.”
Once they have fogged up, he cleaned them with his hoof and put them on again. “Well, the story of this uh, legend, is there’s uh, a tower. Um, a bright beautiful tower...”
Gilded paused and bit on his hoof gently. “How do I say this, um, a bright beautiful tower made of bits?”
“Bits? Bits of what?” Thunder asked.
“Uh, bits bits. You know, the money we use.”
Thunder gave Gilded a look that totally screamed ‘are you kidding me?’ “So you’re saying that somewhere in Manticore Isle, there’s a tower that’s standing there that’s completely made of bits?” She can’t help but grin at the line. There’s no way you’ll keep a straight face after saying that. This ridiculousness was getting way out of hoof.
Gilded pressed both of his hooves together and looked away from Thunder. “Well I-I wouldn’t say completely. Maybe the uh, windows, yes the windows is made of glass.” He looked back at her and gave a series of repetitive nods.
“Yes, glass. And it’s guarded by a unicorn with wings that’s also made of bits.”
“Unicorn with wings? Don’t you mean Alicorn?” Thunder corrected him.
“No, no, it’s just a unicorn that has wings. Or uh, a...a wingnicorn.”
And with that answer, Thunder had no choice but to give herself a facehoof. Oh goddesses, it hurts so much, the conversation that is. Celestia help me, I don’t think I can handle anymore of these.
“Gilded.” She groaned. “That’s what Alicorns are. They’re either unicorns with wings or pegasi with hor-oh Celestia, I can’t believe I’m having this conversation with you.”
“Uh, wrong again.” Gilded corrected her gently.
“Alicorns are uh, an immortal race of goddesses with overwhelming powers while this one is just a horse who happened to have the privilege of possessing a horn and a pair of wings. The old stallion said so.” He said the last line matter-of-factly.
“If you punched its guts,” Dewdrop asked, hoof rubbing on her chin as well. “Will it barf out coins like a slot machine when it hits the jackpot or something?’
“I uh, I think so.” Gilded answered uncertainly. “The old stallion never specified anything about that. But I think that’s the way it goes, I guess.”
Thunder could only groan so much. Three mugs of cider were not enough to get her through...whatever this is.
“That settles it.” Dewdrop said firmly. She looked at Gilded and raised a hoof at the side of her eyebrow, saluting him. “Permission to come aboard Cap’n!”
“Welcome aboard, sailor.” Gilded replied, reaching a hoof to Dewdrop. The yellow mare reciprocated the gesture and reached a hoof as well. The two shared a cordial hoofshake while grinning like idiots, much to Thunder’s displeasure.
“Oh my Goddesses!” Thunder cried out in pain, embarrassing pain. “You should hear yourselves talk, it’s ridiculous! Everything you just said is ridiculous!”
She held her empty mug and looked inside its barren interior. “I need more of these.”
“Well it won’t be ridiculous any longer once the map leads us to the treasure.”
“Really.” Thunder retorted, shooting Gilded a blank stare.
Gilded rested his forelegs on the table, placing a hoof above another. “Well yes, yes.” He said, tilting his head slightly while waving both hooves away from each other as a gesture to emphasize his point.
“In, in fact I-I’ll poof the map, right here, right now.”
Thunder raised an eyebrow as Gilded’s horn emitted a yellow glow. A soft humming sound can be heard accompanying the small glimmering light on the unicorn’s horn. Before the ponies in the booth can blink, a large zapping sound exploded above their heads. A small cylindrical container appeared instantly out of thin air along with a series of glittering wisps of magic.
The small colourful wisps had begun to fade out like smoke, raining down on them like ethereal rain. And all that’s left was the container that Gilded summoned. The long slender object floated idly in the air while being wrapped in a sparkling aura that’s similar in color to that of Gilded’s coat. He slowly levitated the cylinder in the middle of the table for everypony to see.
“You know,” Gilded began. “I was really uh, convinced when he showed me the map after he told me the legend. Uh, I mean, it’s a great pitch and I was sold on the first take.”
With both hooves, Thunder held the container in eye level. Her eyes narrowed as she carefully examined the object.
Upon closer inspection, the container seemed to be of eastern origin. Its long tube was coated green and decorated all over with golden runes. On both ends, the container was tapped with disk-shaped lids that have an unmarked gold coin at its core.
“Wait.” Thunder said, ears perking.
“This container’s made of plastic. I was expecting it’d be made of wood or some kind of precious stone or something.”
She further examined the container by rolling it slowly in her grasp. And her small effort had bore small fruit.
“What’s this?” Thunder said as she saw something written at the side of the cylinder. The writings were small and blended well with the container’s color. She looked closely at the writings. She was surprised that it was not written in cryptic runes, but instead it was written in Equish. She lowered the container down a little bit and looked at Gilded.
“Made In Mistmane? Gilded, the container says it’s made in Mistmane.”
“Well, yeahhh.” Gilded replied, rubbing his hooves in an attempt to stall time while searching for a valid excuse.
“Uh...maybe, the real one was broken. So he replaced it with...say uh, a new one.”
He pointed a hoof at the container, gesturing Thunder to open it. “But yo-you should have to look at the map inside. It’s a real wonder. I mean it’s got a, uh, a magic compass, some encrypted instructions, and oh, uh, a magical key compartment.”
Thunder placed the container on the top of the table so that she can further express her next action with more effect. She placed a hoof between her eyes and rubbed her frowning face against it. If this doesn’t show Gilded that she’s frustrated and disappointed at him at the same time then she doesn’t know what will.
“Gilded.” She sighed. She opened up the container to pull the scroll out. She held the scroll in front of Gilded. “This is called a mirage map.” She said it in a tone as if she was holding a common household object.
“The guard has been using it for years now. They only distributed it to the public two years ago.”
She opened up the map with both her hooves, slowly dragging them away from each other until they reached the map’s edges. She pressed each of its corners with her right hoof, small rings of light rippled out of each corner after being pressed, and it was accompanied with a sound similar to that of pressing down a piano key.
When she let go of her hooves the map didn’t roll itself back like any piece of paper that has been rolled down for an extended period of time. Instead, it laid flat on the table like a newly bought sheet of paper. All three ponies leaned down to look at the map that was splayed in front of them.
Four major figures were drawn inside it. At the center was the map of Manticore Isle. The shape of the island looked like a lion’s head if viewed from the side. It had intricate designs signifying the island’s geographical details such as the mountains and the vegetation that surrounds it. But the part that highlighted it the most was the trail that the travellers should follow if they hope to find the island’s hidden treasure.
On the upper left part of the map, located close to the corner laid the instructions on how to get to the hidden treasure, the instructions were written inside a meticulous looking rolled out scroll all illustrated in a style that only a quill’s delicate strokes can create.
At the bottom side laid a long red rectangle sideways. It was placed in the middle but its ends nearly touched the map’s boundaries. Inside the triangle was a thin line that resembled a hole that was supposed to be where the key was placed. The rectangle looked so incredibly detailed that from a certain angle, it looked like it was three-dimensional instead of two.
On the opposite side of the instructions rested an illustration of a compass, complete with arrows pointing at every navigational direction. At the center was a drawing of a white fleur-de-lis (well, about as white as it can get since the color of the paper was of brownish hue) inside a small black circle.
Thunder tapped a hoof at the compass. The small drawing glowed white and launched a short beam upwards. At the end of the beam formed a magical image of a compass, Gilded and Dewdrop awed at the spectacle in front of them.
But Thunder was not impressed. She thought that the compass’s arrow moved a bit...iffy. She placed both hooves on each side of the map and twisted them left and right, creating an imaginary circle on the table. She kept a keen eye on the compass as she continued twisting.
Her suspicions were confirmed. The compass’s arrow was really moving weirdly. There’s only one conclusion for this.
“And look at it.” She pointed a hoof towards the compass in an accusatorial manner. “The compass is broken! How do you expect to get to your destination with a broken compass?”
Gilded looked at the ceiling while rubbing his chin. “Uh, I’ll just um, bring my own? Or better, with my uh, instincts? You know, I’m uh, really, really good with directions. There was this time where I uh, found that restaurant that I visited only once for what, five months ago? They serve the best salad you could ever have. But it’s been so long since I have been there so clearly, I have forgotten where it was. So what I did was I just let my feelings loose on the uh, the streets a-and they led me straight to the restaurant.”
Gilded turned to look at Dewdrop. “Seriously, you should go there. Persimmon’s the name. I can’t really express on how good the food really is. I don’t care what ponies will say, that joint for me will get a uh, a six star uh, rating. Because it’s really, really good.”
“Are you done?” Thunder glared at Gilded, his response was a shrug and a small smile. That’s enough of a sign for her. “Good.”
Once more, Thunder tapped the small fleur-de-lis, causing the magical display to disappear in the blink of an eye. She then moved her hooves to the map’s written instructions. She placed her hooves on the upper left and lower right corner of the scroll, small rings of light to rippled around it along with the accompanying sound, and dragged them away from each other. The image enlarged upon doing so and almost filled the entire map, covering the compass, key compartment, and the drawing of the island itself. Before, the map was a collection several different illustrations, but now it was a large brown wall of text.
“And just what do you mean by ‘encrypted’ Gilded?” She asked, putting up air quotes upon mentioning ‘encrypted.’ “These are literally, just the instructions. They’re just written so badly that they’re barely comprehensible at all!”
She held the map with both hooves and whacked it like somepony straightening out a newspaper that has been folded half-way downwards. She cleared her throat before reading what’s on the map.
“Turn right at right derection of Junle?” Thunder said while raising a brow at her friends.
“What does that mean?” She asked loudly. “What does ‘junle’ mean?”
Dewdrop raised a hoof like she’s a grade school pupil. “I think ‘’junle” means jungle, just mistyped.
Thunder looked up and sighed. “I know that D, I’m just proving my point here on how badly written this thing is.”
Dewdrop gave a hum of acknowledgement while nodding slowly. “Oh, okay then. Now make fun of the key compartment next!”
Thunder shook her head, rolled her eyes, and groaned deeply at the same time. Those were the three signs indicating that somepony was getting tired of everypony’s cow dung. She placed the map on the table and shrunk the instructions back to their normal size. With her left hoof, she raised the map back up while the other one travelled down to the key compartment. She gave the rectangle two taps at the center. And in an instant, the rectangle literally popped out of the thin sheet. The flat drawing of a box before has now become a three inches thick red case, with the rest of its body protruding at the back of the map.
Thunder reached into the slot and pulled out a gold key. She laid the map on the table and tapped the key on its hard wooden surface. With three short taps, Thunder confirmed that the key was not made of metal.
“Made of plastic, why am I not surprised? It’s a bit heavy though, to be honest.”
Her hoof had brushed against something rough. The small sensation highly contrasts the key’s overall smooth texture. She quickly rolled the area on where the rough spot had been located and found out another set of writings that’s similar to that of the container’s.
“Oh look, made in Mistmane.” Thunder said as she spun the key again to show the words to Gilded. “Made in Mistmane Gilded! If you used this map, you’d be dead three times in one day.”
She placed the key back to its compartment and shrunk it back down to normal size. She then rolled the map into a scroll and placed it inside its container.
“Seriously guys, don’t use this. I think you’ve stumbled on a Mistmanean knockoff of a mirage map or something.”
“Aww geez.” Gilded sighed defeatedly. He leaned to the back of his seat, both forelegs resting on top. “I really wanna go. Plus, I already had this trip arranged.”
Thunder tilted her head in confusion. “ Huh? When?”
Gilded gave his temple a tap, or two. “Here, just now.”
When Thunder shot him an unconvinced look, he only grinned. “Nah, I’m just messin’ with you. I uh, had this thing planned out for quite a while now. That’s why I’m going easy with the uh, the drinks. I’m leaving tonight.”
“But what about your shop?” Thunder asked, she can’t believe that she’s the only one who’s worried here.
“I already have somepony to take care for it.” Gilded said with a shrug.
I can’t believe it! Thunder screamed internally. He actually hired somepony to take care of things while he’s away on some stupid quest? Has he gone mad? Wait, I’m talking to Gilded here. It’s not about if he’s mad or not. Instead, the real question would be how mad could he get? And who is this pony anyway?
Before Thunder could ask Gilded, a voice interrupted her from behind.
“Umm...hello.” The voice cooed right into Thunder’s ear. It sounded like Gilded’s, but sultrier. When she looked behind her, she was somewhat right. Standing on his hind legs, both forelegs resting on the back of her seat was another one of Gilded’s clones. And this one looked at her the same way she would look at a Black Forest Chocolate cake, hungrily.
When Thunder looked back at the original Gilded he only gave her a nod, answering her question before it left her mouth.
“If you want, uh, uh, you can come too.” He offered to Thunder. “We’re still looking for somepony to fill in the spot for the um, the first mate. Yeah, first mate.”
“Wait, I thought I was the first mate?” Dewdrop said, confused.
“Umm...” Gilded replied in a prolonged hum while rubbing a hoof on his chin.
“I’ve always thought of you as a quartermaster or a uh, a bosun, or something between the uh, two.”
Thunder has rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time tonight.
“You know, I’d love to go but I’m really, really busy doing stuff unemployed ponies do.” She said, the tone was so sarcastic that it could literally ooze out of her being.
She pulled a foreleg in front of her face while staring at an imaginary wristwatch. “And I’m almost late for my nine o’clock appointment with my bed. She leaned closer to the two and puts a hoof next to her lips as if to tell a secret.
”It’s gonna be ten long hours of rolling left and right on the hard mattress and thinking about how my life had turned out like this.”
She then leaned back to her seat and grabbed her empty mug in a casual manner. “Believe me, I really want to go on a perilous and deadly journey to find something that doesn’t exist. I really do.” She ended her line with a series of repetitive nods. “But I prefer moping on my bed for hours on end, because it’s safer.”
“Well uh, i-if you change your mind, meet us at the boulevard at exactly uh, ten, beside that fancy club at the beach.”
As a reply, Thunder raised her empty mug in a mocking fashion.
It was seven past nine when Thunder arrived at her apartment building. The place looked rustic and old when compared to the new structures the ever growing city builds. Calling it a huge block of concrete with windows attached would still be a compliment to the downtrodden building. But Thunder can’t complain about it since it’s one of the only apartments in the city that’s pretty cost effective, considering her current financial status.
She trotted slowly up the stairs of the apartment, wobbling gently as she did so. Her room was located on the third floor of the building, that’d be a short trip for any sober pony. But when you’re drunk? It felt like forever. In order to prevent herself from further wobbling at the hallway, she leaned on the walls for support. But before she can enter her apartment, her landlord was waiting for her at the door.
The earth pony idly standing before her was tall and lanky. He seems to be entering his middle ages; his balding blonde mane was evident of that. And like always, he was sporting a full set blue track suit with white stripes on the sides. He always had that cold and bitter look carved on his face. And it seemed to stay that way no matter what situation he was in.
But despite that facade he was showing off to everyone, he’s really a stand up guy. And he’s a good landlord too. It just comes to show that one cannot really judge a book by its cover.
When he saw Thunder swaying slowly towards him, he waved a hoof at her.
“Hey Thunder,” He said in a thick foreign accent. “You got mail.” He then levitated a white envelope to the drunk thestral.
Thunder caught the letter with a hoof and narrowed her eyes at him.
“How long have you waited here just to give me this?”
“Don’t assume anything bad.” The landlord replied. “I saw you enter building so I pick up letter that was delivered five hours ago on desk and waited on doorstep.”
“Uhuh.” Thunder said absentmindedly while ripping the envelope’s top with her teeth. She just decided to open it now because once she entered her apartment, there’s a good chance that she’ll ignore everything and doze off immediately.
Once the envelope has been opened, she tossed it on the floor. She quickly unfolded the letter with her mouth and hoof, she then proceeded to read its contents in silence.
Despite her relaxed and inebriated state, panic still rose from inside her as she read the letter word by word. As it turned out, her parents were coming over to her apartment next week to check on her. Her unemployment and her friends’ sudden departure were predicament enough, but now she has to go through this one too? Could this day get any worse!?
“And also,” Her landlord said, suddenly interrupting her train of thought. “Need rent.”
Thunder had the sudden urge to peel her skin off and jump to a boiling vat of rubbing alcohol. She has a lot on her plate right now, and she doesn’t want seconds.
“What!?” Thunder shouted. “I thought it was due next week!”
“Convenient change of rules, need money now.” The landlord replied flatly, as if it’s no big deal.
“Oh come on!” Thunder whined. “I’m one of the good tenants here! You gotta give me a break. I thought we’re closer than this.” She pointed a hoof at her chest and to the landlord’s repeatedly “I thought you’re better than this.”
The landlord stood in front of her in silence, giving her words a bit of thought. His bitter look was still fixed on his face. Thunder felt unnerved by it since his eyes although subconscious were staring directly at her.
“You’re right.” He shrugged. “Our relationship is step away from becoming lovers.”
“No, not really.”
“But this not exempt you from paying rent. But like you said, I am better stallion than this. So I give you extension. A week, just like normal, but no more.”
“Fine.” Thunder sighed. It’s better than nothing, I guess.
“Then I leave you be. Good night.” The landlord then trotted towards the stairs, away from Thunder and her room.
When Thunder went inside her apartment, she spent no time in jumping straight to her bed. She didn’t bother taking her uniform off nor did she care if it would wrinkle more after rolling on the bed’s soft surface several times. The only thing that’s running on her mind right now was how soft her pillows were. She grabbed one and pulled it to her chest, nuzzling her muzzle into it as if it’s the only comfort she has in this cold, cruel world. And for a while, it did.
With the pillow still on her chest, she laid perfectly still on the bed. Everything was quiet in the dark room save for the rhythmic ticking of the clock. The small contraption stood on top of the desk beside her bed, along with a small picture frame of her and friends. The ponies in the photo including her had big smiles on their faces; it was from a time where things were still great.
Thunder looked at the frame with half-lidded eyes, she wanted to sleep but can’t. The cider was supposed to make her sleep, but it’s the worrying that prevents it. But even so, it’s not like sleep would solve all of them anyway. It would only make her forget her problems for a couple of hours but they would still come back in full force once she wakes up.
She looked at the clock beside the picture frame. It was now nine-thirty. The time reminded her of Gilded’s offer from before. And what a stupid offer it was. She looked at the ceiling to ponder upon it even more. She scoffed at the thought. They will kill themselves, three times, in one day. She suddenly slapped a hoof on her forehead.
What were they thinking!? What was Gilded thinking? Going on an impromptu trip like that? Leaving the city all of a sudden? She squeezed her pillow hard to her chest. Leaving her all of a sudden?
But he did invite you earlier.
Thunder shook her head furiously, as if the thought itself would leave her mind if she continued to do so. She finally ceased her shaking when she started to get dizzy. Dang it, brain! She thought out loud to herself. Don’t remind me of that! I’m not following Gilded to some wild-goose chase! Do you even know how dangerous that could be!?
Just like you said, it could be dangerous. And are you letting Gilded head out to some dangerous trip without you? Aren’t you worried that he’ll get hurt out there? Or worse, he could die three times in one day, just like you said.
You’re just making up reasons so that we can go with him, aren’t you?
You read my mind.
Fine.
Thunder got up on her bed, sitting still at the side. The effects of the cider still lingered within her so she had to stabilize herself first or else she’ll wobble again when she got up.
But I’m not telling him that I’m worried about his sake! It’d be just stupid! She huffed silently in frustration. Stupid Gilded. He’s such an idiot for making me worry about him.
Let’s just tell him that we’re in it for the money. Because you know, unemployment and stuff.
Yeah, yeah, let’s.
She grabbed a towel and headed to the bathroom for a quick shower, hastily tossing off her clothing on the floor while trotting there. Once she got out, the cold night breeze had brushed over her soaked coat, making her shiver. At least she felt like her head cleared up a bit. She went to the sink and grabbed her toothbrush. Before putting some toothpaste on it, her eyes stared at the clock. The time was now nine forty-five.
She better hurry up.
