Scratched Out

Chapter 4
Chance of a Lifetime

The morning sun drifted through the almost closed blinds and rested softly on Kiana's sleeping form. Her eyelids fluttered open then immediately closed as her eyes were assaulted by the sudden rush of light. She groaned and sat up, moved her eyes out of the sunlight and looked around. Her expression soured as she noticed Scratch was nowhere to be seen. Another groan escaped the alicorn as she slid out of bed and fell into a grey pile. Slowly picking herself up, she walked down the stairs and into the bathroom.

"Today..... Is not going to be a good day...."

Kiana quickly washed up and brushed her mane and tail. She walked out of the bathroom and grabbed her goggles from the coffee table.

"Celestia damn it... Why did Scratchy have to leave without even saying goodbye or leaving a note or something...?"

The grey alicorn walked out the door and started walking towards Ponyville. She let out a loud yawn and covered her mouth with her wing. With her eyes closed she didn't even notice the unicorn she ran into until after the fact.

"Ow! Hey, watch where you're going! Oh.. Sorry Thunder, what's up?"

She addressed the yellow unicorn with dark grey mane and a storm cloud for a cutie mark.

"Well.... uhhh... I got some bad news for ya, Kiana."

"Just tell me."

"Alright... Boss says you're fired."

"Wh-whaaat?! Why?!"

"He said he found an even stronger unicorn to replace you who can do twice your work in the same amount of time.... Sorry Kiana..."

"THAT HAY-MUNCHING BASTARD!! JUST WAIT 'TIL I GET MY HOOVES ON HIM, OHHHH HE'S GONNA REGRET FIRING ME!!!"

"K-kiana!! Calm down!!"

"I MOST CERTAINLY WILL NOT!! IF THAT FUCKING COWARD DOESN'T HAVE THE NADS TO TELL ME THIS HIMSELF THEN HE DOESN'T DESERVE ME WORKING FOR HIM!!!"

"I'm just gonna.... leave you to your own devices on this one.... Catch ya around Kiana?"

She took a deep sigh, lowering her head, moving her left wing to her face to pull out some feathers but saw she had pulled out most of them already. She sighed again and proceeded to pull feathers out of her right wing instead.

"Yeah... Catch ya around, Thunder."

With that, the yellow unicorn sped off back to work and Kiana lazily walked along the road to Ponyville.

After about a half hour of walking, Kiana reaches her destination: The Silver Horseshoe. The Silver Horseshoe was the only bar in Ponyville and was Kiana's favorite hang out spot, and her second favorite place to go when she was upset; her roof took the number one spot on the list.

She walked through the door and plopped into a booth, ordering a glass of hard apple cider. She sat there and waited, watching the other ponies in the bar. Some of them she knew, some others she didn't. The ponies she didn't know looked like they had hit rock bottom. The only way she'd be like them would be if Scratchy broke up with her. Oh, she hoped that would never happen.

The hours slipped by as glass after glass of apple cider was gulped down by the angry alicorn. By this point, she was slammed and couldn't walk straight. She tried to get out of the booth, but ended up using the wall for support. She started walking towards the restrooms, the wall acting like a guide rail.

Before she could make it halfway to the door, a white unicorn with a wispy little moustache and graying mane stopped her. His cutie mark was what looked like a very violent storm.

"Excuse me, young miss, but have you any knowledge of a pony by the name of Kiana?"

"Yer talkin' ta 'er...." The drunken alicorn could barely slur her words in a manner that was somewhat understandable.

"Er..... Yes.... Well, I am professor Tempest. I am a teacher at Canterlot School for Gifted Unicorns. I teach future weather unicorns and I have heard that a very powerful weather maker lived here in Ponyville by the name of Kiana."

"Why not tha othr uneecorn what stole mah jawb?" Her slurring was getting worse as she started to feel sick. She pushed past the older pony and continued her trek to the restrooms.

"Well.... I already asked him and he declined...."

Kiana stopped and glared at the old stallion. "So, wha? Ah'm a las' reesort...? Tat's bucked up ponee..." She continued forward and pushed open the door to the restrooms. The last thing Professor Tempest heard was what sounded like the poor alicorn throwing up her guts.

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Kiana was woken up by a swift hoof to the ribs.

"OOF!!"

She opened her eyes and was immediately greeted by the sight of her own sick floating in the toilet bowl that her muzzle was currently buried in. The sight and smell called forth another wave of vomit.

She pulled her head out of the toilet and searched around for her assailant. The stallion hovering over her was obviously a bouncer, dark brown with a white mane and a pair of crossed hooves for a cutie mark. He wore a pair of shades and a black fedora.

"Cmon, get up. It's morning and we're about to close up."

"Ugh... Fine, fine, just don't kick me in the ribs again...."

"As long as you get out of here, I won't."

Kiana pulled herself upright and stumbled out of the restroom. She looked around, the custodial pony was mopping the floors. The bartender saw her and started coming closer.

"Hey, Kiana, have fun last night?"

"Yeah... I guess..."

"You remember that unicorn you were talking to?"

"Sorta..."

"He left you a message asking you to meet him at Sugarcube Corner today around noon. Said he wanted to talk more about his job offer."

"Alright, alright..."

He then walked back to the bar, allowing Kiana to finally leave.

The sun blinded the grey alicorn. She closed her eyes and shielded her eyes from the sun with her wing. The only thing she could think about right now is going home and sleeping.

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"Scratchy, sweety? You home yet?"

Nothing but silence.

"Oh yeah.... She's in Manehattan..."

Kiana glanced over to the clock on the wall and saw that it was about half past 10.

"Ugh... I should probably stay awake... Damn... My head is killing me...."

She sat on the couch and pressed her hoof to her face, massaging her forehead.

The time passed slowly. It was helped a little as Kiana drifted in and out of consciousness for about an hour. At a little after 11, she grabbed her goggles and put them on and walked out the front door. She followed the path that she had walked many times before. Instead of going to the weather center, however, she took a slight detour, finding herself stepping inside Sugarcube Corner.

She spotted the old stallion sitting at a table, enjoying a slice of apple pie. Kiana walked up to his table and sat across from him and smiled, clearing her throat to get his attention.

"Ah, miss Kiana. It's good to see you sober."

"Bite me...."

"I'd rather not.... Anyhow, I'm going to offer you a position teaching my class while i take a little vacation.... The children can be a little unruly...."

Kiana sighed. "How unruly?"

"Not too bad, only a few are bad and I've talked to their parents. They haven't been acting up as much lately."

"I guess.... How bad can it be?"

"Oh, I should also mention, if you choose to accept, I'll be paying for your stay as well as accommodations for you and one other. You'll basically be moving to Canterlot for a week."

"Sounds wonderful!" She cringed as she spoke a little too loud, her head starting to throb even harder.

The grey stallion chuckled.

"I should tell you, the job starts the day after tomorrow. So pack your things and you should notify the person you want to bring with you."

"Thank you Professor-"

"Please, just Tempest."

"...Tempest.... Thank you for the job. This means so much to me, since my last boss gave my job away..."

"Yes, of course, anything i can do to help."

"Now... If you'll excuse me, I have to go nurse this hangover....."

Tempest chuckled again and waved her off as she stood and returned to her home. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she drifted into unconsciousness. Tomorrow she'll go to Manehattan and tell Scratchy, but for now, sleep is the more important issue.