//------------------------------// // One Way Trip // Story: The Powers That Be // by Anthri //------------------------------// Sitting at home with my wife while reading the paper at the kitchen table, there was a knock on my door. I got up to answer it to find that it was some orange colored Victorian dressed Earth pony who immediately introduced himself as the great excavation-ist 'Notch.' He looked refined like a gentle-pony and wore a bowler cap. He had a lot to talk about and among them, an offer I could not afford to refuse. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Notch took off his hat and gave a polite bow, "Greetings Sir Fhillip, I have heard a great deal of your monetary troubles and I wanted to drop by to let you know that I'm going on a journey of great importance and it pays very well." Fhillip was shocked by this news but had to ask, "What kind of journey?" "Well my employer has paid me up front to hire a crew and to go to the distant jungle country of South Rhymica to find a temple.” Notch explained still standing at the door. “A temple?” Fhil said curiously. “Please come inside Mr. Notch.” Fhillip escorted Notch inside his Canterlot home. Going into the kitchen, he let Notch have his previous chair at the two seated window side table. Fhil's wife, Lillian sat across from him with a suspicious look on her face. “Lillian” Fhil said to his creme colored unicorn wife, “This is Notch, he has a job offer for me and I didn't want to be rude and not invite him in out of the heat.” “A pleasure madam.” Notch kept his hat off and repeated the courtesy bow from before. Lillian nodded at both of them then magically lifted her tea cup for a sip. Notch took this as a sign to explain further. Delighted he continued his offer, “The pony that has hired me tells that there, at the temple it will show evidence of an ancient culture but all he needs is confirmation.“ Fhil, standing beside his wife magically lifted his wife's tea cup and took a sip from it. Lillian looked sourly at her husband but he didn't notice. “My employer has told me that we can keep all the treasure we find and he gave me instructions on how to go about finding the place.” Notch said scratching his chin with a hoof. “He made it really hard to object because he has paid me up front." he tapped a hoof to the satchel he's wearing around his body. "It is full of very rare gems and bits. He also told me to never let it out of my site and I couldn't agree more." “Well, that's great and all but why me? My reputation is not the best right now, don't you care about that?” Fhillip asked inquisitively. "Not at all. I'm actually a very big fan! After all, you once did a lot of good for the ponies of Equestria and I want to help you." Notch had a look on his face that told Fhillip that it was an honest answer. Lillian looked pleased to hear this too. It was so easy to forget the good you do when mess up's happen. Fhil looked at his wife and she gave him a 'go on' forward motion with her hooves. "Well, how long are we going to be there? Is there danger? Also, how much am I getting paid if we do not find anything?" Notch nods his head, "If we find nothing, your wages from this satchel may increase significantly. Minimum wage right now is 7 bits every hour. But this trip you will be paid on the whole, that's 3000 bits. Of course this is the basic pay, it may increase on top of what treasures we find. As far as how long... well, I believe were are bringing enough supplies for a month. But I honestly expect us to be done with it before then." Fhillip thought deeply about this. It must have been a sign because all this was coming together exceptionally well. "Alright, I'll go on this trip with you. Celestia knows I need to get out of the house although I must warn you, I'm new at this." Notch clapped his hooves together in excitement. "Brilliant! We will leave in a week once I have the rest of the crew ready. Until then please get some exercise and be sure to be on a schedule that fits our working hours." Notch looked at his pocket watch, "We will wake up at the crack of dawn, which is 6:00 A.M. and then we will sleep at 10:00 P.M." "Very well Notch, I look forward to working with you on this historic venture." Fhil shook his hoof and escorted Notch out of the kitchen and to the front door, opening it for him. Once again the orange pony bowed then turned and left the house as Fhil shut the door behind him. Fhillip turned around and saw Lillian looking at him from the kitchen doorway. He wanted to reassure her, "I think it will go well. Notch looks like he knows what he's doing. I mean, I know who he is prior to this visit, so I know he's good on his word.” Fhil walked towards her and into the kitchen to take his spot beside the window. He sipped his own tea noticing that it had lost flavor. Lillian took her place across from him and listened as he went on about the visit. “Just knowing him in person puts my mind at ease when I go out there." Lillian gave a confident stare at him. --------------------------------------------------------- A week later, Notch came by Fhil's house and was dressed in exploration gear. The unicorn gave his wife a kiss goodbye, then grabbed his new pickax and followed him to the Canterlot train station. "So where is the rest of the group?" Fhil asked as they waited for the train. "They are at the Manehattan harbor. We are taking a cargo ship to South Rhymica's capitol town of Alexandra.” He told Fhil. “Do you know about the country?” Fhil knew a little about the place. He never was told to go there so he always shirked the need to learn about it unless it was significant and it never was. “I've heard of it and I know that the locals are all zebra's.” “Alexandra is a decent size town but it is the only one that is pony friendly in the whole country. So needless to say there is much trade going on there for its resources." Notch explained. They heard the whistle of the train coming and every pony who waited boarded when the time came. Notch and Fhil got on and found their seats. Picking up the conversation, Fhil continued. "I hear they are uncivilized, that's why I always refused to stay at its embassy." he shrugged at the thought of being scalped in his sleep by savage zebra's in the middle of the night. "Mr. Buster, we will be fine. I have a guide waiting for us in Alexandra to lead us to that temple. Well, I know who to look for anyways, I don't know him personally." On the train ride there, Notch peered at his instructional paper then puts it away in his treasure satchel. "You know, I want to thank you personally. If not for your griffon feat, I would not have been able to adopt my son." "Your son is a griffon?" Fhillip had a look of bewilderment on his face. "Yes sir, my wife can't have kids, you see. We wanted something different and she had the idea of adopting a griffon to show the world that we can indeed get along.” Notch told his new friend. “That's really noble of her.” Fhil admitted. “I love that kid with all that I am. See, look." Notch showed Fhiilip a picture of a griffon child behind the clock face within the pocket watch he wore. "His name is Alphonse. We aren't familiar with griffon names but we couldn't give him a traditional pony name. So we did some research and we both liked this name." Notch put the watch away into his coat pocket. “You have my thanks, once again sir.” Fhil looked away from Notch, "I see, well I'm glad someones singing my praises. It's been a rough month for me." "Well that's all going to change my friend, fame and fortune await in the mysterious lands of a civilization untamed!" Notch proclaimed and Fhil too felt and then shared his excitement. He saw it in his own reflection on the train window. ------------------------------------------------------- The train ride took them to Manehattan and when they arrived from the train station to the harbor, both Fhillip and Notch finally got to meet the rest of their crew of twelve. They were all Earth ponies and all of them looked tough and they had packed miner gear. The group boarded the cargo ship and Notch told them to line up on deck so he could get a head count and inventory. After every-pony was accounted for, Notch then whispered to Fhillip, "We Earth ponies have a sixth sense that helps us find our way around jungles and undergrounds. We'll find treasure if there is any to be found.” Notch took account of what all the crew had brought and then dismissed us for the night. The cargo ship left harbor after sundown and the captain told Notch that they would all be at Alexandra in the next several days. The time on the cargo ship was well spent, Fhillip got to know more about his team and Notch told stories of his adventures. Even more proof of his earlier claims about Earth pony craftiness, Notch has every-pony on the edge of their seats. Fhillip was reminded of another hardcore adventurer, Daring Do. "Have you ever met her?" Fhil asked Notch during one of his stories. "Yes." Notch said simply. He kindheartedly refused to talk about it so Fhil and the others went on talking about past experiences with mares. Every-pony was having a great time and Fhillip finally had something genuine to smile about, his future seemed bright. During the last night on the boat, Fhillip had a dream of a robed creature in a skeletal mask calling his name from the shadows. It was standing still and staring him down with the holes for eyes as the creature faded in and out of the shadowy mist that surrounded it. “Fhillip”, it said, “Whatever happens in the jungle, keep going forward. I will protect you from the monsters.” Fhil awoke to the rising sun. He didn't think to much about it and got on with his day. Fhillip got ready and met the crew on deck. He could see the town of Alexandra from the boat. Some houses were made of sandstone, other homes were huge tree's that stood out from the surrounding jungle. He could see the zebra people going about their business and he recognized the market place near the center of town. "Alright every-pony, just sit tight and I'll be right back. I'm going to retrieve our guide from town. The boat isn't leaving for awhile and the captain knows the situation so no-pony will ask you to leave." Notch waved a hoof at his crew then trotted off the boat's ramp as the crew watched as he disappeared into the zebra town.