Author's Note
This was a short little thing I did for a speed write. I fixed it up of course, but I didn't really add to it otherwise. I'd love it if whoever gives this a look could leave a comment, but I understand there isn't much to comment on.
Until next time!
Beginning and End
Gold Coin.
It was a good name, all things considered.
It was straight to the point with what he wanted but had a certain ambiguity about how he’d go about getting it.
So much potential, so many choices to make.
It was a thrilling life to live. He traveled to a dozen different countries, pillaged an ancient ruin or two, and even turned in a bounty that Celestia herself paid for!
Gold Coin smiled at the memory.
There were trumpets and streamers, wine and ale, bread, and cheese. The celebration lasted a whole day and night as far as he could recall. And somewhere in there, he met the love of his life. With the perfect pair of white wings, the elegant blue coat, and the ever–present calm smile, Stormy Eye was like an alicorn condensed into the form of a pegasus.
He chuckled at that.
However, she was anything but when on the road. Oh, she could put on a mask for those high-society parties, but out in the woods, on a boat at sea, or even in a warm bed? Oh ho, she was tenacious as a starving bugbear!
Too bad she couldn’t come along for this adventure, the final adventure.
Gold Coin sighed, trying to keep his muscles relaxed. If he got too wound up, he might sink, so it was probably best to move away from those thoughts.
Especially considering where he was going.
A wave of black swept across his vision, but it lasted only a moment.
It was a wonder that such water didn’t burn his eyes in their sockets, but Gold had little reason to worry about it. When on the river, one must simply relax and let the water carry them.
It was quite counterintuitive to the normal path of adventure. Usually, grinding against the current, drawing new lines on the map, and forgetting the idea of a beaten path led to the grandest treasures.
If everypony thinks a location is worthless, then it’s the best place to hide treasure. That chest full of gold at the bottom of the Manehatten sewer system really sunk that lesson in deep. Almost as deep as he was in shit at the time!
Gold chuckled again at that.
And why wouldn’t he? He lived a fun life, why let those memories go to waste here?
Gold felt his left hindleg twitching; probably too much salt in the water, causing issues like that.
He took a few deep breaths and focused on keeping a clear head. An empty mind was devoid of fear and the like; without fear, controlling muscles became a lot easier. So for a time, Gold drifted down the river, about as cognizant as the water that carried him.
Along the way, he spotted a ferry boat with a strange figure paddling it. It was hunched over and barely seemed to move outside of the oar strokes. No twitches in the hands, no swaying to adjust its balance, not even the slight swell and shrinkage from breathing.
It seemed… unnatural.
However, Gold forced his mind to remain still, he was so close, too close to fail because of some weird boat person.
The ferry slowed to a stop at the side of the river, far outside of Gold’s path, and he was fine with that.
But he almost sank himself when he heard the figure sigh. It sounded so defeated, forlorn; as if the figure wanted to simply lay down and not get back up…
Gold knew that feeling.
Not every adventure turned out successful, some bloody near killed him. Sometimes, he just wanted to lay down, to give in, to simply let time pull him under.
With a snort, Gold began paddling towards the dock. Though, the efforts made him feel how much his legs had atrophied from drifting so long. It felt like he was swimming with twigs instead of limbs.
He couldn’t tell how much time it took to get there, it didn’t matter anyway. What was important was that he finally managed to latch onto a rock to pull himself up. Each inch he raised made holding on exponentially harder like he was being dragged down by an entire crew of monkey pirates.
However, no rock, cliff, or any other arrangement of stony material would stop the legendary Gold Coin when he set his mind to a task! With a mighty heave and a bestial growl, he wrenched his drenched form ashore. He smiled as he stumbled to his hooves, he still had it.
The figure turned towards him, surprise evident in its posture, but its face was still covered by a deep shadow.
After a minute or two of panting, Gold raised his head and finally addressed the strange creature.
“So–huff–what’s got–huff–you so worked–huff–up?”
Gold thought he was barely comprehensible, and the strange bipedal figure seemed to agree given its tilted head. After another few moments of panting, Gold finally managed to catch his breath.
“Alright, that’s better, yeah, I was asking about what’s got ya down.”
At that, the thing drooped a bit and gestured to its empty boat.
“What’s wrong with the boat? It doesn’t look damaged or anything.”
The ferry boat had deep lines in its grains, dust in its corners, and creaked as it rocked in place. However, there wasn’t a single leak and it seemed to almost shine in the dim light.
The figure picked up the paddle and used it to smack a sign, one marked with a gold coin. Then it pulled a little book from the folds in its robes.
“Coin? That’s all ya after? Hah, same here if I’m being honest!”
Gold shot a grin at the figure, but the smile died on his lips as he realized that the ferryman was tapping the book. The boney finger was off-putting sure, but the thing it pointed to was a straight nightmare for anypony worth their wallet.
A red number, it was a big, fat, ugly one.
Gold shook his head at that.
That was the worst feeling a business pony could deal with, being a single coin off of breaking even. Debts get bigger, growth stagnates, and the bank ponies get shit-eating grins as they condescend to you about ‘poor money management.’
It wasn’t Gold’s fault that those cut-throat Saddle Arabians made such good wine! No, it wasn’t at all! Stupid banks and their stupid compound interest.
The ferryman stuffed the book back into its robes before slouching again.
Gold took a moment to think, but in the end, the choice was obvious. He worked his jaw for a moment and spat a bit out onto his hoof.
The clink made the figure stiffen.
“Yeah, I know the feeling bud, so how bout a deal.”
The ferryman tilted its head, hope glowing in the blank shadows where its face should be. Gold grinned back.
“You take me down the river, and when we get where I need to be, you can have my last coin. Might be a bit short on the normal charge, but I don’t have anything else, and I doubt you need much more anyway, right?”
The ferryman nodded violently at that before hopping into the boat. It wildly gestured for Gold to jump on, and he obliged with a laugh.
“Ok ok pal, I’m on, I’m on!”
The ferryman nodded before it drove the wooden oar into the water with a joyful vigor.
Where they were both headed, neither really knew. Most who came here either sank into the water or crossed the stream.
After all, not many look beyond what they care to see.
So who knows what distant shores they’ll find?
