Chapter 1 - Reluctant Vacation Time
Disello kept running, despite hearing the cries for help behind him. Every fiber in his being yelled at him to turn around and help them, to somehow save his parents from the fire. Fear kept him running. A voice in his head kept calling him a coward, and ungrateful little colt who would rather save his own skin than save the ones who loved and cared for him. He kept running, tears streaming from self-hatred.
Then he awoke with tears still falling from his eyes. He kept shaking and sweating despite having woke from the nightmare. After a few calming breaths, he glanced at the clock near his bed. He groaned. It was half an hour before the alarm was set to wake him. He turned off the alarm, too late to try to go back to sleep… and given the recent nightmare he would rather wake up anyway. He put on his glasses that were next to the clock and got out of bed. He turned on a light and looked at the calendar on the wall. That explained it, the anniversary of the fire that ruined his life. He always had a nightmare around this time. He sighed and proceeded to the bathroom to start his day. He glanced in the mirror. A black-maned, careworn pony stared back at him, dark circles visible against the brown fur around his eyes. Disello snorted, Mr. Hoofersham is going to have a field day with his appearance today. He jumped into the shower, at the least he won’t smell like sweat.
As the water ran over him he tried to relax. All year he worked and worked and slowly began to forget that day, then the anniversary comes around and then it all comes crashing back. No matter what he did it always came back. Now that he was no longer upset by the dream he started to feel irritated. What was the point of anything if it just got undone every time?
He turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. He looked at his reflection again as he dried off. A little more presentable, but the dark circles haven’t lightened at all. Disello sighed, “I guess it’s just one of those days,” he said to himself.
He trudged back to his bedroom and opened his closet. There were many business suits hung up, crisp as the day they were bought. This was because Disello never wore them. He figured it was bad enough he had to work in business without having to wear uncomfortable clothing. He picked up a black cargo vest from the floor and put it on. Mr. Hoofersham was always growling at him that he should look more professional. “How can you expect other businesses to take us seriously? They won’t sell their products to a ruffian,” he often said, to which Disello would reply by showing him the status of the trading company since Disello took over from his father. When you’re the top trading company in Equestria, ponies tend to take you seriously regardless of your appearance.
Now that he was more or less ready for the day, he stepped outside and took a deep breath. The usual smells of Trottingham were dampened by the smell of rain. Disello looked up and saw the weather team getting ready for an afternoon rain. He smiled to himself, as he had always liked rainy days. He continued down the road through the fashion district. It wasn’t strictly on the way to the Hays and Hoofersham Co. offices, but he was always curious of the current fashions. It wasn’t as if he followed them like most of the ponies that frequent the district, it was more of an amusing game of his to try and guess the next fashion trend. Perhaps if he got good enough at it he could start edging into the clothing trade to boost the business even more. This month seemed to have a green theme, as all the ponies he saw were wearing different shades of the color. A few passing ponies glared at him, as if it were a crime to be wearing a black vest during a green month. But Disello merely smiled and kept walking, he always found the fashion slave type to be ridiculous. He remembered the month when gold was the color of choice. Now that was an interesting sight. It was as if there was a ballroom right in the middle of the street. He remembered overhearing some ponies saying the best designs came from a unicorn from some small town. Disello never really payed much attention to specific names, as until he perfected his guessing game he felt that fashions were too volatile to be reliable in business.
It wasn’t long until he arrived to the offices. Various employees in their best suits came up to him, jabbering about how good he looked and offering coffee as he made his way to his office. “Every business has its suck-ups,” he thought to himself, as he entered his office, firmly pushing the employees out. Once the door was closed, the only sound in the office was the ticking of the clock next to the bookcases and the snoring of an old pony in one of the reading chairs. Disello always found Mr. Hoofersham asleep there every morning. The old pony was dressed in his usual business suit, which was a little wrinkled due to him being curled up in a chair, mustache fluttering as he snored. His hat was on the coffee table nearby with today’s newspaper. Disello looked at him for a while, debating on the best (or funniest) way to wake him up. He decided he wasn’t in the mood for comedy and simply said loudly, “Good morning, Mr. Hoofersham.”
Mr. Hoofersham woke with a start, “Disello, m’boy, you startled me,” he said, breathing slightly irregularly.
“I’m sorry, did I wake you?” Disello asked in mock concern.
“No, I was just reading the paper and decided to rest my eyes. I thought a thug broke in to mug me, but I see that it is only my poorly dressed employer,” Mr. Hoofersham replied, looking with distaste at Disello’s attire.
“Oh, I’m sure that, despite your old age, you would be more than able to handle a common thug,” Disello shot back, a smirk beginning to grow on his face. They both stared at each other for a moment then laughed. This was how their mornings usually played out. Mr. Hoofersham would be awoken by Disello and comment on his attire and Disello would return with a back-hoofed compliment. Mr. Hoofersham was Disello’s father’s business partner when the Hays and Hoofersham trading company started. Ever since the fire, Hoofersham took care of Disello until he was old enough to take over the company. Under his tutoring, Disello became one of the most savvy business ponies at a young age. When he actually took the company, it flourished and Hoofersham let Disello take over while he enjoyed the back seat and offered advice from time to time.
Disello walked over to his desk and sat down in his chair. He leaned back and closed his eyes. The rain seemed to have started early and he listened to it while Hoofersham brought over the binder containing this month’s company status. Disello opened one eye and looked at Hoofersham.
“Didn’t you already look at that?” he asked. Hoofersham was often at the office before Disello was, but he always waited for Disello to arrive before looking through it.
“Business partners should always look at figures together,” he replied as he always did. He pulled a chair next to Disello’s and opened the binder. Everything looked exactly the way Disello figured it would, but Hoofersham had a serious look on his face. “This can’t be right,” he muttered. “These businesses were exclusive to the East Equestria company, how did we get them?”
“Simple,” Disello said, eyes closed as he leaned back in his chair. “They transferred all their contracts to us before they went out of business.”
“WHAT!?!?” Hoofersham exclaimed, jumping out of his chair. “Why in Celestia’s name would they do that? They just barely outranked us last month. I knew the owner, she would have fought hoof and nail before she would do that.”
“Well, we had to twist her hooves a bit, but she eventually saw reason,” Disello said quietly, not opening his eyes. Hoofersham looked at Disello suspiciously, “You didn’t contact any of those gangs you're rumored to deal with, did you?”
Disello opened his eyes and looked Hoofersham with a shocked look on his face. “Why, Walter. I’m surprised you would suggest such a thing. You know the rumors about the fire I lost so much in; the ones about who started it. Are you suggesting that I would do business with my parent’s murderers?” he said, putting plenty of hurt in his voice.
Hoofersham looked guilty, as Disello knew he would. “No… of course not… I only… I’m sorry, it’s just that your father wouldn’t want the business to be corrupted with dealings of those ponies,” he said, eyes downcast. Disello turned his chair so he wouldn’t look at Mr. Hoofersham. He wasn’t wrong, Disello did call in some contacts to put a rival out of business. He felt guilty to have lied to the pony who took him in and because he knew his father wouldn’t approve. It was something he was always bothered by. But he swore that his father’s business would be the top trading company, no matter what he had to do. No matter how much he hated running it.
Hoofersham cleared his throat, “Speaking of your father, it’s the anniversary of their… you know…” Disello knew, it was the reason he didn’t get any sleep. Hoofersham cleared his throat again, “I’m going to go by the remains of the house to pay my respect if you would like to come with me later.”
Disello was silent for a second. “You already know my thoughts on the matter,” he said quietly.
“As you wish, it’s your decision,” Hofersham replied. There was an awkward silence for a while. All that could be heard was the clock and the sound of rain growing slightly louder as it began to pour. Disello opened his eyes and noticed Hoofersham looking at his cutie mark. “You know, it’s not polite to be checking out a pony’s flank while they’re not looking,” Disello remarked with a smirk, trying to lighten the mood. Hoofersham chuckled a little, “I was just looking at your cutie mark, it hasn’t changed back yet.” Disello looked down, the black winged sword was still where it has always been since the fire. “No, it seems it hasn’t,” Disello replied. After the fire, Disello’s cutie mark inexplicably changed. He saw a doctor about it, but such a thing was so rare that there was next to no information about it. It was yet another thing that haunted Disello. He didn’t remember what it used to be. All he knew was the fire changed it, as it had changed so much in his life.
Mr. Hoofersham cleared his throat yet again. Disello wondered if it was a nervous thing, or if it was the curse of all old stallions to have something in their throut. “When do you think you will take a vaction?” he suddenly asked.
Disello groaned. It always came to this eventually. “I’ve told you time and time again, I’m not taking a vacation,” he said shortly.
Mr. Hoofersham looked at Disello with sad eyes. “Ever since the fire, all you have done was work. It’s been years, Disello. You’re young and need to out making friends. Perhaps find a nice filly to bring home. You can’t stay cooped up in your office all the time. Your father often took vacations. In fact, that’s how he met your mother.”
Disello put his head on the desk. He was so tired of hearing this speech. “Look, even if I wanted too, there is nowhere I want or need to go.” He said, hoping to settle the matter. Hoofersham suddenly had a mischievous smile on his face.
“Well, now you do,” he said as he dropped a brochure on the desk. Disello looked at it.
“Bucktoberfest? Walter, you know I don’t drink. Why do you think I would want to go to some festival in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of drunk ponies?”
Hoofersham grinned wider, “Because, m’boy, we don’t trade in cider, few companies do. It’s becoming increasingly popular in Equestria, so I figured you would want to go and get a head start on cider trading,” he said smugly. Disello looked at him, slowing realizing what was happening. Hoofersham was playing him, just as he played Hoofersham a few minutes ago. Hoofersham knew Disello wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to stay ahead of the competition. Disello growled while trying to think of a way to avoid going. Unfortunately Hoofersham’s point was a valid one. Cider was mainly a local affair, but with Bucktoberfest becoming more and more popular, cider was also growing in popularity. It would be foolish not to go.
Disello sighed, “Alright, you win.”
Hoofersham’s smile grew triumphantly, “Great, your train leaves in a week and I’ve already booked your room at the Lunar Mare.”
Disello looked at Hoofersham in surprise, “Wait, did I really have a choice?”
Hoofersham laughed and walked to the door of the office. “Of course you did, I just knew you would choose the right one,” he said simply, then walked out the door. Disello stared after him for a while, in the many years of working with that pony, he never knew he could be so devious. He leaned back and closed his eyes again, listening to the rain, it was finally letting up. “Bucktoberfest, huh? What have I got myself into?”
