Striving for Perfection

The captain with a huge bag of gold coins was walking unsteadily down the street in a direction unknown to me. Flying kept a decent distance from the captain as if something terrible could happen. On the contrary, I tried to keep as close as possible to the captain. He turned his head back and forth again in search of something. As the past has shown, this will not lead to good. But I have to at least prepare for the captain's ideas.

"Mr. Sir Boss, where are we going?" I asked cautiously after a few seconds of gathering my strength.

"Three short stairs. Three steps on each ladder. Each step is funnier than the last one. The slave will not dare to take a single step on these steps. I will walk on every ladder and every step."Said the captain, which only created more questions that I didn't dare ask. The captain continued to walk in an unknown direction, regularly turning from side to side. Suddenly, he saw something and began to walk unsteadily towards it. I turned my head to where the captain went and saw the monument. The monument consisted of three statues, each of which belonged to a different type of pony. Pegasus, unicorn and earth pony.

The captain put the bag next to the monument, walked up to it and read aloud the sign "The monument is dedicated to Smart Cookie, Clover the Clever and Private Pansy who united the pony tribes with their friendship."

"Where is Pale Page?" I asked, looking at the monument.

"Who?" the captain and Flying asked at the same time. How can they not know that?

"I remember this fairy tale. Four ponies from different tribes became friends and eventually united all ponies in Equestria. Earth pony, unicorn, Pegasus and thestral. Smart Cookie, Clover the Clever, Private Pansy and Pale Page. But the latter is not here. " I said, still trying to realize that the captain and Flying don't know this. Especially Flying.

"I see. The good old rewriting of history. Given the reintegration program, most likely this monument will be redone. Do you understand what this means? " The captain asked, placing his hand on the head of one of the statues.

"What? " I asked cautiously but focused more on my thoughts. How could they just forget about the existence of one of the four?

"We will help the government like good slaves!" The captain shouted before knocking one of the statues on the head with his knee. The head fell off with a bang and went several yards into the air before landing in a bush. Then the captain grabbed the head of another statue with his hands and began to squeeze. After a few cracks, the stone shattered and shattered into pieces. There is only one unicorn statue left. The captain grabbed the horn of the unicorn statue with his hand and began to pull up. The stone began to crack again and gave the captain the horn. The captain bent down to the right as if he wanted to look into the eyes of the statue and with a sharp movement stuck the horn into the eye of the statue. As a result, the once beautiful monument looked half destroyed.

"I wish I had a sledgehammer. I'll have to make do with this." Disappointedly said the captain jumping to the ground and shaking himself off. Having finished with this, he shouldered the bag of money on his shoulder and started walking somewhere again. Surprisingly, Flying immediately followed him while I thought for a few seconds looking at the wreckage of the monument.

Maybe it's fair? They forgot about the Pale Page and paid for it. Maybe the captain really did something right and maybe even noble? Maybe he always does something right, but I don't notice?

Suddenly, the captain stopped abruptly and with his hand told us to stop. After a few seconds, the captain smiled and began tapping his knuckles on the wall as he walked into the alley. A rhythmic dull sound is heard along the lifeless quiet street. The captain turned the corner and we went with him. I saw a group of three Earth ponies standing over a Pegasus girl. They heard the captain's tapping and turned to him with annoyance.

"What do you need a two-legged cow?" The pony who was standing in the middle asked rudely. He smelled terribly strongly of cigarettes. Even at a distance of a few yards, the smell is felt. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Flying is particularly unpleasant to this smell.

The captain continued to tap his knuckles on the wall as if he wanted to annoy a bunch of Earth ponies. And it worked.

"What are you waiting for, cow? Are you calling your shepherd?" The central earth pony asked with fury and mockery.

"What are you waiting for, Dani? We'll be done in three seconds now." Said Flying taking a decisive step forward. I can't believe he's really willing to help a stranger in the form of a Pegasus girl. Although judging by the captain's face, he believes that Flying has its own far from noble motives. Seeing the opportunity to impress the captain, I also took a step forward, informing him that I was ready to help in the fight. The captain looked at the two of us in turn and then looked at the three Earth ponies with a smile.

"Well, we have an equal number. I think in order to turn such a "serious" threat into flight, some kind of divine intervention is needed. " The captain said, putting his right hand under his coat and showing us the countdown to his left. He bends one finger every second. Four fingers left. Three fingers left. Two fingers left. One.

"Allah is above us, the earth is below us, knives are in our pockets and flying towards you!" The captain rattled quickly before pulling out a knife and throwing it into the front hoof of one of the Earth ponies. Fortunately or unfortunately, the captain missed due to intoxication and the knife landed on the ground. Judging by their facial expressions, they are unhappy that they were attacked.

"It seems that in order for the phrase to work, I have to be a Muslim. Which I am not. Although this in itself was a bad idea in every sense." The captain said with all seriousness analyzing his failure. Looking closer, I saw that he was barely holding back his laughter. What's funny here? Who or what is Allah and a Muslim?

Pull yourself together, I have another problem.

My brain gave me the right advice, which I immediately followed. I narrowed my eyes, subconsciously spread my wings and focused on the Earth ponies that could attack at any moment. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed how the captain, despite his condition, put the bag on the ground and stood in a fighting stance. Flying seemed like he was just going to rush at the first one he came across and crush him with a mass. I know from personal experience that Flying is terribly strong and heavy. Wait a minute. The captain is experienced, Flying is just strong and I am?

I've been practicing with a sword. I don't have a sword under my wing, nor do I have the skills to fight without weapons. The captain's knife lies at the hooves of the Earth ponies. I'm dead.

I swallowed nervously, trying not to panic and keep a confident look. The Earth ponies stood up and began to make a strange movement with their hooves, as if they were accelerating on the spot. Sweat pours down the forehead and spoils the wool. The Earth ponies took off as if they were going to ram. They're coming fast and they don't seem like they're going to stop. Yes, they are definitely going to ram.

What to do, what to do, what to do? I don't really want to go ramming either. I also need a head like the rest of my body. Maybe um. . .

There was no time to think. One of the Earth ponies was already two hooves away from me. I need to do something. I flapped my wings so as to launch myself forward and stretched my right hoof forward. Either I was lucky or I subconsciously did something in any case, I was able to hit the earth pony somewhere in the neck. In addition to this, I didn't have time to slow down, which is why I collided with him and fell somewhere. After the collision, I felt a terrible headache and warmth near my nose.

"Rising, are you with us or are you going to rest here? The captain asked, squatting down in front of me and snapping his fingers at my face, which was able to bring me out of my stupor.

"Yes, yes, I'm with you!" I said, coming to my senses abruptly and jumping on all four hooves.

"Great. I was already afraid that you wouldn't look at the most fun part. We, Well, objectively speaking, I went through the first step on each ladder and it's time for the second step." Said the captain, returning to the phrase incomprehensible to me. Looking back and suffering a headache, I saw that Flying had disappeared somewhere.

"Where's Flying?" I asked out of pure curiosity and with a little hope in my voice. Maybe he's gone?

"I sent him to the liquor store for alcohol. The alcohol is mine. Flying will be back soon." Said the captain destroying my hope

"By the way, your nose is bleeding. It's not fatal, but you're more useful to me alive and well." Said the captain before getting up and leaning back against the wall. There was a big bag of money next to his leg. I slowly ran my hoof over my nose and saw my own blood. The captain focused his attention on one of the exits from the alley.

"How long did I sleep?" I asked with apprehension in my voice.

"Two minutes maximum." The captain said, slowly tapping his foot on one of the Earth ponies that were lying on the ground, which made him groan in pain. In response, the captain only laughed softly and continued to wait for Flying. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that the captain's knife was still lying on the ground. I slowly walked up to him and lifted the knife from the ground with my wing.

"Mr. Sir Boss?" I asked, taking the captain's knife with my wing.

"What do you need?" The captain asked without turning his head to me and continuing to slowly tap his foot on the earth pony.

"Your knife. " I said, handing the captain his weapon.

The captain turned his head to me and took a closer look. After a few seconds of reflection, the captain took the knife, nodded and said "Well done, Rising."

I couldn't hide my smile from the praise, but I still answered the captain with a nod. The captain turned back to the exit of the alley in anticipation of Flying. I stood to the left of the captain to watch too. As we wait, I feel the blood flowing out of my nose cooling in the cold air and freezing right on the fur.

Disgusting.

"Rising." The captain said, turning his head to me.

"Yes? "I asked cautiously.

"Follow my instructions. Tilt your head forward and lower it a little. Don't swallow blood and breathe through your mouth. If anything, spit blood on the ground. I'll do the rest. " Said the captain, ceasing to watch the exit from the alley and coming a little closer to me. I obeyed and tried to ignore the fact that the blood began to drip more heavily from my nose. Then the captain made an unexpected and strange thing. He grabbed me with his very cold hand just above my nostrils.

"What are you doing?" I asked nervously.

"I stop bleeding from your the nose. Don't be afraid, I have experience." The captain said confidently, continuing to hold my nose.

"What kind of experience?" I asked cautiously, but wanting to hear more details.

"I was hit for the first time at the age of three. The first time I had a full-fledged one-on-one fight was at the age of seven. The first time I fought with a group was at the age of fourteen. I'm twenty now. Draw conclusions." The captain replied. This is a lot of vague information.

After a while, the dripping of blood stopped and the captain let me go. Flying came around the corner holding under the wings three bottles of which were written gin and one bottle of white wine. The captain took everything from him except the wine. Having finished with this, the captain opened the first bottle of the mysterious gin and took a cautious sip.

"How does it taste?" I asked, succumbing to curiosity. Mentally, I scolded myself for this and tensed up, waiting for the captain's reaction.

"Cold as the cosmic wilderness. I like it." The captain said, turning on semi-normal speech.

Phew, it's gone. I guess I'm too nervous and worried.

The captain took another sip and started walking again. With each step, his gait became more unsteady. I followed the captain while Flying slowly walked behind and sipped his wine. As we walked, I started to think.

Okay, pull yourself together, Rising. The captain is just a little special and won't get mad at a simple question. Just do it.

"Mr. Sir Boss, where are we going?" I asked after a few seconds of gathering my strength.

"To the police station." The captain said before taking another sip from the bottle.

I asked, despite the fear of angering the captain.

"It will be convenient to walk up three steps of all the stairs at once," the captain replied, taking another sip from the bottle. It's amazing that he's still standing.

"Don't you need to look at the map?" I asked, deciding to digress a little from the topic so as not to annoy the captain for sure.

"I have a photo of uh. It's, you know, a photo of no no. It was called something else. Like a photo, but much longer. In short, I have a good memory. I remember everything. " Said the captain unsuccessfully trying to remember the word. To begin with, I would like to know at least what a photo is.

After that answer, I didn't dare to continue asking. I continued to follow the captain in silence while he poured more alcohol into himself. When he ran out of the bottle, he threw it into the wall with a sharp movement, which made me jump in surprise and take a step back. The captain ignored this and pulled out a second bottle of gin from his coat pocket. He quickly opened it and took another sip before continuing to walk.

"Scared?" Laughing, Flying asked, looking at how I jumped and backed away.

"Me? No, I'm fearless!" I replied, trying to look confident. Judging by Flying's raucous laugh, he found it even more amusing. I tried to close my eyes to this and continued to follow the captain, but an unpleasant aftertaste remained.

After what seemed like an eternity, when my hooves seemed to have worn off from constant walking, we finally reached our destination. The sun has already managed to reach and get out of zenith. It's very difficult to keep my eyes open, but I'm holding on. Looking for the police station, I involuntarily have terrible memories pop up in my head. These tortures. Through the closed glass doors to the station, it was visible that various ponies were walking back and forth.

The captain narrowed his eyes and began to examine the site as much as he could. Then he turned around in search of something. Having finished with this, he motioned us to stop and walked alone towards the police station. Having reached the station, the captain quickly turned somewhere to the side. And so I and Flying were left alone to wait for the captain. This is clearly not the option I would like.

"What do you think about Dani?" Flying suddenly asked after stopping drinking his wine.

"Where do such questions come from?" I asked, interested and hoping to get away from the topic.

"Hey, I'm just trying to start a conversation. Standing in the middle of the street is boring, you know." Flying said with a hint of slight resentment in his voice.

I sighed, gathering my strength and turning away from Flying, "At first I just wanted to earn the captain's favor, but after a while I began to really admire him. It's hard to explain, but the way the captain holds himself, commands, speaks and acts with subordinates and in itself there is onto something inspiring about it. . . probably? I do not know how to describe it normally. "

"Don't you care, for example, about everything that he has done in front of me?" He asked Flying as if he wanted me to change my mind.

"The captain definitely has a reason. The girl that Captain "nervous swallowing" tortured was a mercenary. Another mercenary attacked him. Now he's just drunk and hasn't caused any real damage. Believe me, I've seen worse people." I replied, trying to hide my uncertainty.

"Have you seen worse people? Well, tell me." Said Flying showing strong assertiveness.

I started looking for something with my eyes to change the topic of conversation. I don't want to say it. I don't want to remember it for a second. Forget it, erase it from your memory. When I was completely desperate, I saw the captain running from the police station and pouring a drink into himself. Running past us, he shouted and continued to run, "Right now there will be a joke!"

I exhaled and mentally thanked the captain for saving me from an uncomfortable conversation. I gathered my last strength and overcoming the pain in my hooves began to run after the captain. Fortunately, he was not running too fast and greatly simplified the chase process for us. By the time the hooves had already begun to shake with tension, the captain stopped at the wall and grabbed his head with his hand. I fell to the ground and started taking quick breaths trying to rest. Endurance is at zero, and as a finishing I want to sleep. Flying was standing nearby and looked slightly tired. Slightly. Just a little bit.

"Where's the joke you promised so much? " Asked Flying as if it was really important right now.

"Right now," the captain said, stretching out every word and sound to stall for time. When Flying opened his mouth to continue talking, a loud explosion sounded in the distance. I pressed my ears to my head from such a loud sound and squeezed my eyes shut. After a few seconds, I found the strength to open my eyes and look in the direction of the explosion. There was a strange, unnatural two-tone smoke in the air. In some areas it is black and in others it is blue. Looking at this smoke, I can't get rid of the feeling that this is wrong. This shouldn't exist. I turned away wanting not to see this smoke and saw Flying looking accusingly at the captain.

"Don't look at me like that. The explosion damaged only the building. No one was physically injured. I ran away to divert suspicion." The captain said, responding to Flying's disapproving look.

Flying seemed to have had enough of this explanation and he stopped looking so judgmental. I was still tense from the explosion, but the captain's words calmed me down a little. There was silence between us for a few seconds. The captain threw away the second bottle somewhere and took the third one out of his pocket. Flying stands and watches the captain as if he might throw out something unexpected and dangerous. I try, but I can't take my eyes off the unnatural smoke in the air. Everything in my body screams that it's wrong, that it shouldn't exist, that I need to run away from it, but I still couldn't take my eyes off it.

"Okay, there are three steps left. Let's go." Said the captain, removing his hand from his head and starting to walk slowly in an unknown direction to me.

Flying, after a little thought, followed him, and I tried to make the body move for a few more seconds. In the end, I was able to get up on shaking hooves and start walking slowly after the captain. Fortunately, he was slow enough that I could follow him without getting drunk. Looking ahead, I saw that strange, huge statue that I saw when I arrived in the city by train. This is a green statue of a mare with a mantle and crown that holds a sign in the left hoof and a raised torch in the right. Judging by the way the captain goes to her, he intends to do something. Something I can't stop. Although the captain always has a reason and he will never harm the innocent, so everything is fine. Right?

Breaking through the thin snow by the standards of the mountains in which we were, a slight wind and tangled streets, we reached the embankment. So there was something like a fence that separated people from the water so that no one fell. To our left was a staircase that descended to several bridges next to which ships were standing. One of them was wooden and four-storeyed with four pipes from which absolutely normal steam and smoke came out. The captain started walking towards him confidently, which made me nervous. I don't like where this is going.

"What are you going to do, Mr. Sir Boss? Please answer clearly." I asked using all my willpower to overcome stress and fear.

The captain was surprised by my move and stopped for a second. After a couple of seconds of absolute silence, the captain raised his hand, pointed at the statue and began to say, "Do you see this statue? This statue is a real symbol of fake freedom. This ugliness prevents you from enjoying the landscape. This is an eyesore that prevents you from thinking and perceiving the world truly freely. Every person who takes pictures and admires this ugliness, in my understanding, humiliates a person's right to freedom. This statue and everyone who is standing next to it now must be destroyed."

No, that's not right. The captain probably just drank too much. I can't let the captain make such a mistake. If he does this, he feels bad and maybe he will even be fired. I have to help.

"Maybe you shouldn't destroy it?" I asked uncertainly, not knowing where to start. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that Flying just hung on the captain's wording.

"Humpback grave will correct. I like that expression." Said the captain taking another sip from the third bottle.

"Maybe it's not so bad? Maybe, maybe they'll even agree with you! " I said, shouting out the first thought that popped up in my tired and sleepy head.

"What. Did you. Say? " The captain asked, bending down and looking down at me. I swallowed nervously but tried to line up under the captain's gaze. I can't let the captain make such a terrible mistake.

"If they can be impressed and riveted by some kind of statue, then you will definitely succeed! You are with a singer, ruler, hunter and many other titles. Who will guide them to the right path if not you?" I said, trying to maximize my admiration for the captain and convince him.

The captain looked into my eyes for a long time, thinking deeply. After what seemed like an eternity, the captain sighed and began to speak in a softer and less strict voice. If I think about it, this is the first time when there is no aggression or mockery in the captain's voice, "Do you really think so, Rising?"

"Of course!" I said it sincerely.

The captain took a deep breath and said, before starting to walk towards the land, "Rising, thank you. Remind me to reward you properly tomorrow. You can't put thanks on bread. Refusal is not accepted."

Outwardly I didn't show it, but mentally I rejoiced. It was a victory. I saved the captain and received praise. Even as a bonus, I got the opportunity to receive a reward from the captain. Hurray!

"I was already afraid that I would have to act." Flying whispered in my ear.

"Scared?" Asked joking about Flying.

"Me? No, I'm fearless!" Flying replied, parodying my voice. I chuckled softly along with Flying. Maybe he's not that bad.

"Are you with me or will you spend the night on the street?" The captain asked, returning to a strict, commanding and tough voice. The soft voice was a temporary action. Together with Flying, we simultaneously ran up answering the question without using words. The captain nodded and started walking in the opposite direction from the ship, finishing the last bottle of his drink on the way. When he was done with it, he threw the bottle at the nearest wall again. The abrupt action and the subsequent sound could no longer frighten me.

The captain began to walk through the streets and very rarely turned into alleys. As we walked, we met familiar places. First, the alley from which the earth ponies have already escaped, but my puddle of blood remains. A little creepy and unpleasant. Then, in the distance, a casino appeared from which the captain took out a bag of money. Isn't it hard for him to carry it on himself for half a day? After that, we walked past the bar where there was a girl who was able to understand the captain's strange phrases. Then, as a reminder of both bad and good singing, we walked past a club with live music. Then past the roof from which the captain almost fell. Looking at her, an unresolved question awoke in me. Why didn't Flying take off then? It's kind of embedded in his name. I shook my head from side to side and continued to follow the captain. At the end of our road of memories, we passed the first bar.

In the end, we got to the hotel. I can barely stand on my feet and I'm terribly sleepy. The sun has almost disappeared below the horizon and the moon has begun to rise. The captain pushed open the door and entered the hotel with us on his tail. The stallion who was sitting at the reception desk choked on his coffee after seeing a huge bag of money from the captain. The captain did not pay much attention to this and put the bag on the ground to pay off. He untied the knot on the bag and slowly began to put the required amount on the table. A few coins fell out of the captain's hands and rolled on the floor, but he did not pay attention to it. Unlike Flying, which took a few coins with its wing. As a result, having finished paying off, the captain tied a knot on the bag, put it on his shoulder and started walking up the stairs to his room. I struggled up the stairs trying not to fall asleep every time I blink. As a result, we got to the cherished door.

The captain pulled the keys out of his pocket and, with a shaking hand, inserted them into the lock not at the first attempt. Then he turned the key to the side and opened the room with the coveted double bed. I quickly went into the room and with the last of my strength got to the bed. Forgetting about all the rules of decency, I sprawled on the bed and fell asleep almost instantly. Before falling into a sweet sleep, my tired brain could only create one thought.

It's finally over.