I stood at the corner, peering around its edge with a cold stare. With my hat drawn down and my coat wrapped tightly around myself, I must have looked like any other stain against the brick, masked even further from the rain that was pouring down. Never understood why the pegasi washed the city much as they did. Maybe because it was just that dirty, in more ways than one.
Speaking of pegasi, just down the alley and beneath the only source of light in this part of town were the culprits I had been tailing since this Celestia-forsaken downpour began. The one with wings, who had probably skipped out on cloud duty, was called Bolt Cutter. He was a wry one, always in a bad mood, and always leaving others in one too after he was done with them. The larger fella next to him was an earth pony who others dubbed Big Cannon. Being built like a barn, it left little to the imagination as to where he got the name.
I knew that if I had jumped them now, I wouldn’t stand a chance against them. They’d clobber me worse than a old taxi in a junkyard. Instead, I needed to wait and follow them back to their hideout…
Mist Hoof idly reached for his glass on the nearby end table as he read the page avidly, fully in engrossed in another world of mystery, adventure, and danger; the life of a detective. He was only a few chapters in, but detective Sky Steel had roped in him, much he like was soon to do with the characters in the book.
Since his and the other bat ponies arrival at the tower, they each found some niche of interest that did not exist back in Dusk Town. For them, it was like finding a whole new world full of things they had only heard about, a fresh start to discover new talents and passions. Much to the bat ponies delight, Prince Blueblood was a pony of advancement and culture whose eccentric tastes gave them a trove of culture to explore, and he spared no expense in showcasing his interests within his home.
As for ponies like Mist Hoof who already knew what they enjoyed, they simply found more of it to explore. It took him nearly an hour just to even decide which book series to begin reading when he first came across the expansive shelves of books. Now, some forty pages in later, he was well into the mysterious and dangerous life of a city detective, and it along with a filled glass was exactly what he planned to spend the rest of the night with.
After a refreshing sip of punch, Mist Hoof leaned forward with a smirk, and happily turned the page.
I tailed them through the alleyways, peering from the shadows like a timberwolf tracking it’s prey. Though, even if I didn’t have the fangs of one, my trusty steel bat would suffice. But despite all my years of dirty work and steel nerves, I wasn’t prepared for what happened next, as suddenly-
*CRASH!*
Mist Hoof nearly leapt from the couch at the sound of metal diningware crashing onto the floor, followed by the sound of scuffling hooves. Looking towards the indoor bar in alarm, he waited in tensely for the cause of the source to reveal itself, but the room had become silent again; deathly silent.
He stared intensely towards the direction it had happened, having a difficult time discerning what was actually there. The other side of the room where the bar resided was shrouded in shadows, difficult to see having been next to a lit lamp despite his nocturnally built eyes. When the silence began to become deafening, he tentatively set down the novel, and cautiously trotted towards the darker part of the room.
Despite years of practice, his hooves left faint echoes on the wooden floor as he slowly made his way to the bar. His ears were pricked in alert, and his eyes were wide to catch the slightest movement as his vision quickly adjusted. When he was only a few steps away the counter, he tightened his eyes. “Alright,” he spoke in a gruff voice. “Whoever’s hiding back there, come on out.”
No answer.
Flattening his ears in preparation for the scolding he was about to give, he propped himself over the counter and craned his next. “Honestly, just what do you think you’re-”
When he could at least see behind the bar, he found nopony in sight.
Furrowing his eyebrows in confusion, he trotted over to the side entrance and entered behind the counter. Closed cupboards lined the space, along with glass boxes that magically refrigerated alcoholic beverages. Besides that, it was the usual items of dining ware, napkins, cups, and metallic serving trays; the last of which lay scattered on the ground.
Inspecting them closer, it was apparent somepony had knocked them over, given that few remained in their original place. As he had leaned in for closer inspection, a detail caught his eye on one of the refrigerators. A clear hoof print had been left on the glass, smeared with the condescension, and behind it, an open space among the neatly stacked wine bottles. As he peered through the glass to read what he discern was a blackberry flavored wine, a clamour of hooves sounded behind him. Whipping his head around, he caught the trailing sight of a swinging door at the other end of the room opening and closing frantically, spilling in the hallway light it lead to.
Mist Hoof narrowed his eyes at the swinging door, then turned back to the knocked over trays, and finally to the missing bottle.
It was easy to figure out what had happened, and I hoped it would be easier to solve. A classic case of bringing in a pony down on his luck, only to have him rob you blind in the middle of the night. We all want to help another pony out, but too bad it’s usually the bad guys that get the things they want in the end.
Mist Hoof stoically stood up and turned to exit the bar.
There are twenty-seven suspects to interrogate, forty-three rooms to investigate, and even more hallways to track clues in. The penthouse house is big, that’s certain; probably even bigger than the paycheck my boss got for all my dirty work cracking cases like these.
With a cool gaze, Mist Hoof moved to the swinging door and propped it open with a hoof, eyeing the brightly lit hallway before him. There wasn’t a sign of another pony, but looking down at the carpet, he saw the faint droplets of water, no doubt the melting frost of a recently chilled bottle.
Better solve this before my ‘client’ knows their stuff is missing. I wouldn’t want to put a sour taste in his mouth at how sneaky a bat pony can be. At least, nothing sour than his already poor taste in humor. Either way, perps can run as long as they want, but in the end, they always get caught. And no perp has a chance of getting away from me, not when detective Steel Hoof is on the hunt.
With a mischievous grin at the prospect of a sudden case, Mist Hoof rolled his shoulders in preparation.
“I don’t know who you are, but you aren’t getting away from me.”
With his declaration said, Mist Hoof confidently strode down the hallway, and followed the small signs of water droplets. It was only when he reached the corner of the hallway did he suddenly stopped.
I should probably pick up those trays before Silver Platter finds the mess.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mist Hoof rounded the corner of the hallway, keeping his head low to the ground as he followed the water spots. Whoever had taken the bottle had run made a series of loops throughout the first floor of the penthouse. He suspected that the thief knew Mist Hoof was on their tail given their close encounter at the bar, and concluded they were trying to find a nice, safe spot to drink their prize in. Unfortunately for Mist Hoof, they may get that chance when the water spots ended on the carpet.
“Bat wings,” he said while straightening himself. “Thing must have warmed up enough.” Looking down the rest of the hall, he saw a turn further ahead, the only place the hallway lead to; a place that he happened to actually know. Trotting to the corner, he peered around it’s edge, and glanced down the hallway. It lead to a dead end, but spaced evenly along its sides where a series of doors that lead to the rooms of bat ponies. It wasn’t all of them, due to the design of the penthouse causing them to spread out in groups among the many guest rooms, but it was enough for a single pony to hide themselves amongst others if they wanted to remain hidden. The laughter and murmurs of conversation from within the open rooms drifted into the hallway.
Not sure if this pony is crafty, or featherbrained. Either way, hiding aint gona do you no good, not when I’m on your trail.
Nodding to no one in particular, Mist Hoof stepped around the corner, and warily kept an eye on the doors as he made his way to the first room.
With cautious steps, Mist Hoof moved towards the first open door, peering around it’s edge as little as he could. Inside he saw a bat pony shamelessly spread out on a bed, snoring loudly with deep sleep.
Geeze, cover yourself why don’t’cha?
Shaking his head while closing the door, Mist Hoof crept further down the hall. Upon reaching the next door, he leaned his head close to the wood, and his tuft ears flicked at the conversation inside.
“So, where do you think we should go first?”
“I want to see that place with the round top. You know, the one on the south side?”
“Perfect, my spot’s right next to it.”
“What’s the plan for grub?”
“Pssh, same thing as it always is.”
The sound of two hoofs bumping it each followed by giggling caused Mist Hoof to scrunch his face, and he threw open the door.
“M-Mist Hoof!” one of the mares stammered.
“Cloud Shadow, Willow Shade,” he growled. “What are you two plotting now?”
The two mares wrapped their hooves around each others shoulders so they could pull themselves close, then flashed him wide toothy grins.
“Oh you know,” Willow Shade began, “Just planning on where to go next in the penthouse.”
“Yeah, can’t see it all in one day,” Cloud Shadow said. “Gotta space it out. Never know how long we’re going to be cooped up here.”
“Speaking of cooped up,” Willow Shade said as she stood up. “I think it’s time we went and got some lunch, right Cloud?”
“Oh definitely, Willow.” Cloud Shadow motioned to her stomach as she stood as well. “Can’t miss lunch. Most important meal of the night, afterall!”
Mist Hoof craned his eyebrow at the two of them as they slide past him into the hall.
“You said it,” Willow Shade replied. “Let’s go get some refreshing fruit!”
The two mares turned and began to hastily walk away, but only managed a few steps before a hoof grasped their shoulders. Flinching at the touch, they turned to look behind them, their grins beginning to falter. “W-Would you like us to get you a pear?” Willow Shade asked.
“Willow Shade... Cloud Shadow…” Mist Hoof grumbled. However, just as he opened his mouth, the darting form of a pony turning the corner down the hallway caught his eye, and the smell of blackberry wine passed his nose.
Mist Hoof gave a scowl, then turned his attention back to the fidgeting mares. “If I so much as get a single hint that you two left his tower…”
“Y-Yeah, got it!” Willow Shade finished for him.
“Leave the tower? That’s crazy talk!” Cloud Shadow added.
Mist Hoof gave them one last stare, then quickly trotted down the hall and after the culprit.
Willow Shade and Cloud Shadow stood in place as they watched him leave.
“And here I thought our hides would have been tanned for sure. What just happened?”
“Our flanks being saved, somehow.”
The two of them stared dumbfounded down the hallway, them scrunched their noses as they took a whiff. “Is that blackberry?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He was a slippery one, always seeming just out of reach from me as I chased after him. Always a step ahead. More than once I had to double back. He had an uncanny ability of sneaking past me without me knowing. I had to give him props for being so good. But despite being that good, it didn’t change the fact that I felt like I was chasing a rat, and a dirty one too from the crime he committed. This game needed to end before my client found out he had even been wronged, and I was tired of being the cat.
Mist Hoof halted suddenly at the sound of a door being slammed shut, and he scowled down the corridor it came from that he had almost passed.
How does he keep getting passed me?
Flaring his nostrils, he galloped to the door at the end of the corridor and threw open the decorated doors as roughly as he dared.
“Bat wings…” he grumbled beneath his breath.
He was back in the expansive living room. Everything was as exactly as he left it. His book on the open page he had left on, his glass of fruit punch still half full on the nearby desk, and the reading lamp he had sat beneath still alight. Everything was in place, and there was no pony in sight.
As he grumbled at yet another narrow escape, the door at the other end of the room where the chase had first begun opened, spilling in the hallway light. Mist Hoof nearly leapt into the air and sail hazardously over the dining table and other decorations before he recognized the pony casually trotting into the room.
“Hey, Mist Hoof,” the mare greeted made her way to the fruit laden table.
“Evening, Wind Step,” Mist Hoof replied in disappointment.
Wind Step lifted a pear from the table, giving it a whiff before she hummed in delight and took a juicy bite. “Haffing uh good night?”
“I was,” he replied as he walked to the nearby bar and rested his front legs onto it. “I don’t suppose you took one of the bottles of wine in the cooler?”
Wind Step swallowed the food in her mouth, then proceeded to load pears into her cupped arms. “Me? Not yet. I figured the next time I saw Silver Platter I could ask if me and some of the others could have a glass. Why? Did you already talk to him?”
Mist Hoof sighed. “No. Forget I asked.”
Wind Step shrugged, then carefully began to carry her armful of fruit back to door she had entered from.
“Hey, wait a minute,” Mist Hoof called out as she began to open it. “Did anypony come through that door as you came in?”
“No, why?” she called back.
Mist Hoof narrowed his eyes, then swept his gaze across the living room. “Wind Step, lock that door from the other side as you leave.”
“Um, sure,” she replied, giving him an odd glance as she closed the door behind her.
Mist Hoof strained his tuft ears, and only barely heard the click of the bolt locking into place. Cautiously, he moved to main double doors, and slide the bolt at the top of the doors. Locks to route party guests, or criminals I supposed. Turning his head, he looked over the room again. Now, where are you?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mist Hoof panted heavily as he heaved the final futon off the couch, and groaned at the empty space beneath it. Dropping it, he fell back into his chair behind him, and growled at the ceiling above him. Dammit, nowhere to be found!
Cracking his eyes, he looked over the disorder of the once orderly and decorated room. Vases and plants had been pulled aside from their positions, cushions were flipped, curtains were pulled upwards, table cloth lifted, and even dinner trays laid scattered on the table. He had searched every nook and cranny, flown to every inch of the ceiling above him, and he could still not find a clue of the perp aside from the now very faint smell of blackberry. With the doors and balcony locked, there was simply no place left to hide, and Mist Hoof was out of ideas and breath.
He laid there for some minutes as he wracked his brain for any other alternatives as his heart rate slowed down. But even after he felt like he could tear around the apartment all over again, his will to do so just simply wasn't there.
Well, I suppose you can’t catch ‘em all.
Lifting himself from the couch, he made his way back to his book and glass of punch. With a defeated sigh, he sat himself down and picked up the book. Even the best of us come across a case too bizarre, too mysterious, and too impossible to be solved. But it comes with the job, I guess. Finding where he left off in the story, he reached for his glass. Sometimes, things are just better left unsolved.
As his eyes passed across the page, a sudden drop of liquid fell onto the book, causing him to flinch. It was a dark spot, and it had fallen right on the sentence where Sky Steel had turned around at the commotion of a pony behind him. Blinking at its sudden appearance, he turned his gaze upward, and stared intently at the dark ceiling high above him.
And yet sometimes… Things are more simple than we think them to be.
“Ebon Wing,” Mist Hoof called out to the empty space above. “You’re grounded.”
Ebon Wing suddenly appeared overhead, his cheeks holding a slight red tinge to them as held an empty bottle close to him. Then, unlatching himself, he floated down to the floor, albeit much more slowly and haphazardly then he normally appeared, and landed in front of Mist Hoof while hanging his head. “Bat wings…” he mumbled before hiccuping.
“One… two… three… four…”
Lunar Pearl swung her head left and right, searching desperately for someplace to hide as the colt counted out loud. The other children around her were already scampering off to their places, one deciding to chance hiding in the same bedroom the hunter was counting in, while the other two decided to forego the option and rush for a better place out in the hallway.
She bit her lip in decision of where to hide.
“Wait! I’m coming too!” Lunar Pearl hissed when the colt reached ten, and she dashed into the hallway after the two.
As she scurried down the hall, her head was on a swivel, scanning the best possible hiding spots that appeared along the way. The option of hiding behind one of the large vases or statues that were littered throughout the penthouse was tempting, but the stern warning from Lily Wing, along with the rest of the adults, made her decide otherwise, and she let out a huffed breath.
What’s the point? It’s not like he’s not rich enough to buy more.
“I call this spot!” a filly cried ahead.
Lunar Pearl turn her head forward just in time to see a tail vanish beneath the cloth of a table that was set against the wall. Curious as to how big it was, and to remember it the next time she was ‘It’, Lunar Pearl ran over and peeked her head beneath.
“Hey, Lunar! Find your own hiding place!” the filly whispered.
Looking up, Lunar Pearl saw the filly hanging upside down and straddling the middle support beam of the table with all four of her hooves.
That’s a good idea. No one can see your hooves like that. The fillies tail however, swished down and brushed her nose, causing Lunar Pearl to scrunch at it’s ticklish touch. Then again, you don’t need to see the hooves.
Before the filly could hiss at her again, Lunar Pearl pulled her head out and looked for the other one, but he had already hidden himself out of sight.
She blew a raspberry at not being able to see where he had gone, but she had no time to search for him as a voice rang out from behind her. “Thirty! Ready or not, here I come!”
Bat wings!
Lunar Pearl looked about in panic. Should I try the big room? I might be able to hide behind one of the couches. No, Mist Hoof is there. He’d probably tell them where I’m at!
The sound of a door opening nearly caused Lunar Pearl to jump in fright, but she let out a sigh a relief when she realized it was only Silver Platter exiting a room further down the hall. Whether the butler had seen her not, she wasn’t certain, for he moved the opposite direction from her with his eyes in their usual half-lidded state.
How does that pony ever see anything?
“Found you!”
Lunar Pearl did jump that time, and she looked behind her to find the hall completely empty.
He must have found Wisp Wing in the bedroom.
Feeling very foalish at still standing in plain sight, Lunar Pearl locked her eyes on the door that Silver Platter had left from and darted towards it.
Please be empty, please be empty!
Repeating the prayer in her mind, she gave a tiny leap while fluttering her wings, and reached for the door handle, pulling down it down with all her weight. It swung open easily, but not in the direction she thought it would go. It was the kind of door that swung both ways, and as it swung her inside, her hoof slipped from the handle, and she was sent tumbling forward into the room until she smacked into a wall.
“Ow….”
Rubbing her head, she looked around where she landed, and she quickly forget all about the bump from what she saw.
She was surrounded by hampers. Some were stuffed with layers of bedsheets and towels hanging haphazardly around the edges, while others were neatly folded into stacks. She realized that this is where all their linen must have been placed, and she couldn’t be happier.
This is the perfect place to hide! Giggling at her stroke of luck, she trotted up to the nearest messy hamper and pounced into it, burying herself as deep as she could. I hope this one has only my towels…
Once settled in place, and confident that she hadn’t knocked any pieces out of the hamper, she clasped her hooves around her mouth to contain her snickering
They are never going to find me here.
On cue, the door to the room swung open, and Lunar Pearl sucked in a breath, then nearly coughed from a piece of lint that found its way inside of her.
“Mr. Silver Platter?” she heard a young colt say politely. Lunar Pearl strained her ears as her heart thumped in her chest. “You haven’t seen Lunar Pearl have you?”
“No, I’m afraid not.”
“Okay, thank you.”
“Come on! I bet she’s hiding behind one of the couches.”
The sounds of two laughing colts running down the hallway faded away, and were replaced with the defining and proper hoof-steps of Silver Platter entering the room. Lunar Pearl sat quietly as she heard a bundle of clothes tossed into a nearby hamper.
Even Silver Platter doesn’t know I’m here. I am so using this spot every time!
While running through imaginations at being the number one prey in all future games, Lunar Pearl contained her giggling the best she could as Silver Platter exited the room, unaware of him pressing a button on the wall as he exited.
Her daydreams were quickly replaced with tumbling linen as she felt the hamper lift itself up, supported by the sounds of whizzing gears.
“H-Hey! What’s going on!?”
Her world tipped sideways as the hampered emptied itself out, only allowing her a brief moment to see the door between the layers of cloth before falling downwards into the laundry chute she had failed to notice built into the wall.
Lunar Pearl never screamed louder in her life as she zipped down the black tunnel. It was at a slight incline, allowing her the fortunate luck of at least being able to slide on top of a blanket that she had fallen onto. But even that luxury was short lived when it flipped back and wrapped itself around her. Now, she was a muffled but still screaming pile of blankets.
Down and down she fell, eliciting many curious looks towards the wall from ponies on the various floors, until that is, the chute suddenly vanished beneath her hooves and she landed onto a pile of laundry.
For sometime, Lunar Pearl simply laid within the blanket, staring wide-eyed at the lights shining through, her heart beating as loud as the rumble and hum of machinery that filled the air.
I just fell down a skyscraper… She blinked a few times. I just fell down a skyscraper… A smile began to spread. I just fell down a skyscraper! Still buzzed with the rush, Lunar Pearl burst into giggles while throwing hoof punches and leg kicks in the air. That was awesome!
Besides meeting a vampony princess, her slide down the tower had just been officially marked as the coolest thing she had ever done. Her excitement, however, was cut short by the faint sound of voices, and the gravity of the situation sinking in.
I’m not in the penthouse…
A stallion laughed loudly nearby, and Lunar Pearl brought her hooves to her mouth to hold back her squeal.
“-are so lucky, do you know that?”
“Hey, what can I say? I’m a popular whenever I show up. The mares never get enough of me.”
“You’re so taking me next time you go.”
“Of course I am. In fact, I know the manager. I’ll put in a good word for ya and get you some prime time.”
Lunar Pearl’s heart thumped in her chest as they walked closer, laughing loudly about some place one of the stallions frequently visited, and if she was hearing correctly, it wasn’t a place little fillies was supposed to hear about; something about giggling mares, a stage, and lots of drinks.
“You’re crazy, you know that?”
“Heh, and you will be too once our shift is done.”
“I can’t wait. Let’s finish these last loads and get going!”
The unfamiliar hum of machinery made it hard to hear clearly what the two stallions were saying all the time, nor was she able to hear their hoofsteps, and she nearly screamed again when she suddenly began moving once more.
Not again…
But instead of another terrifying drop, she felt herself being pushed along in what she was certain would have been a hamper of sorts; the drowned out noise of a squeaky wheel confirming it when she strained her ears.
Lunar Pearl gripped the blanket around her tightly as she was wheeled in who knows what direction. Her only indication of direction was the hum of multiple machines passing by, and always accompanied by a sudden laugh from the stallions whenever one said a joke that she couldn’t quite hear.
Soon though, the pushing stopped, and Lunar Pearl heard the faint sound of unicorn magic twinkling directly over her. Staring up, she was able to somewhat make out a field of color between the light above and her blanket, and it became clearer as sheet after sheet was pulled out of her hamper.
“Pony Feathers, some of these got really tangled up,” the stallion next to her asked.
Lunar Pearl felt something move beneath her, and did her best to not make a sound when a sheet was pulled out from beneath her.
“How many bits was it to get in again?” the same stallion asked. At that moment, the blanket surrounding Lunar Pearl glowed blue, and began to pull away from her.
“Not a single bit,” the other replied smugly.
“Seriously!?”
The stallion had yanked the blanket off and around Lunar Pearl at the same time with one swift motion, leaving her completely exposed. Lunar Pearl stared up with wide and dilated eyes at the stallion directly above her; so petrified she was that she didn’t even dare to breathe.
The stallion however, was completely unaware of her as he was looking away with a ridiculous grin.
“You gotta be kidding!”
“Like I said, it’s the best place in the city for it.”
The stallion closed his eyes and flashed an excited smile, then idly grabbed another sheet that was next to Lunar Pearl.
“I’ve been dreaming about this my whole life! Coming to work in the city was the best thing I’ve ever done!”
Any moment he would open his eyes and look back down to his work. Any moment he would see Lunar Pearl staring up with the biggest eyes a filly could have and remaining still as a statue. Any moment he would shout, and her life would be over. Any moment now…
“There you two are!”
Lunar Pearl flattened her ears from the mare’s voice that pierced the room.
“Crap…” the stallion mutter as he looked away and much less happier.
“Do you honestly think you’re done cleaning the storage rooms? The checklist isn’t done, the supplies aren’t pulled from their wrappers, and the mop buckets weren’t even emptied!”
Whoever the mare is, she sounded scarier than any guard Lunar Pearl had upset in Dusk Town.
“B-But… I thought all we needed to do was put them in,” the stallion next to her half mumbled and half yelled back.
“And where did you get that bright idea?” the mare said, her voice still louder than everything else in the room despite her not screaming as before.
“Jackpot said-.”
“Shut up…” the other stallion hissed.
“Both of you in my office, NOW!”
Lunar Pearl watched in disbelief as the stallion dropped the sheet, and walked away with a mortified expression. It was shortly followed by more scolding from the mare before her voice become distant and faded altogether. Then, the only sound in the entire room was the hum of machines, and Lunar Pearl’s matching heartbeat.
She then remembered to breathe.
“Uaaaahhhhh!”
Lunar Pearl brought a hoof to her chest as she panted in relief.
That was too close.
She was safe, for now. But she doubted it would take long for them to come back and finish their job, and she still had no idea where she was, or even how to get back to the penthouse.
She needed to move, and she needed to do it now. If only she could make her legs work again.
N-No! I can’t give up! She gulped a lump that had built in her throat. I-I’ve got to get back. I’m a vampony. Well… not yet, but close enough! Ruby wouldn’t give up, and she wouldn’t let this beat her. Nothing can beat her.
A flashback to how Ruby had protected her from the mare in the woods played out in Lunar Pearl’s mind. Despite the fact it had been completely different than how Lunar Pearl thought a feeding would be—mostly more awful than cool—Ruby’s decisive actions had made a lasting impression, and it was one she would not let go.
“I can do this,” Lunar Pearl shakily said, but with furrowed brows in attempts to bolster her confidence. “I just need to get back. No problem. Any batpony can do it, which means I can too.”
Ready to tackle the world, Lunar Pearl gave a small warcry and leap with all her might out of the hamper. With shaky wing flaps, she landed herself just a few feet away from it, and stared in astonishment to where she was.
Rows of machines on both walls where spinning what looked liked clothes, blankets, and water. There were so many that they were stacked from where she was all the way down the long hallway to another room, a room that had just been deposited more clothes that fell from the ceiling.
“Woah…”
Lunar Pearl stared curiously around the place, before remembering her resolve only moments ago.
No, I can’t get distracted. I’m on a mission. Get back to the penthouse. She nodded her head to no one in particular. Let’s do this. Ready and determined, Lunar Pearl galloped down the hallway and into the room of falling clothes. She only spared a brief glance at the open holes that were too high to for her to fly. I don’t think I could climb all the way up even if I did get to them.
Instead, she chose to walked over to a nearby open door, and warily peak around it’s corners. More hallways, but not a pony in sight. Lunar Pearl frowned as she looked back and forth for which way to go. The sounds of the two stallions from before, however, made her decision clear.
I hope this way gets me somewhere! Without further pause, she bolted the opposite direction of the stallions, all while praying that she wouldn’t run into any more ponies.
The two glum stallions whose eyes were focused on the ground didn’t even see her swishing tail disappear around the corner at the other end of the hall.
“A pay cut for two days? Sheesh this place this tough…” the unicorn moaned sadly.
“Feel grateful it wasn’t more,” Jackpot grumbled, but the unicorn next to him only sighed and hung his head further.
“I’m never going to perform at a comedy club…”
Lunar Pearl ran with all her strength through the twisted labyrinth that was the skyscraper’s basement. With the roar of the machinery behind her, she could hear other ponies more clearly, and more often than not their sudden and approaching voices caused her to divert her path to another hallway, or doubleback the way she came. With frightful glances behind her shoulder, Lunar Pearl ran and ran.
Augh! How do I get out of her?
Skidding to a halt at the next corner, and breathing heavily, she cocked her tuft ears in the search of any noise. There was no pony in the hall, but there was a muffled commotion of some kind around the corner.
What am I going to do? Every other spot either leads to nowhere or that stupid laundry room again. Lunar Pearl swallowed her dry mouth, and tentatively poked her head around the corner. The hallway was indeed empty, and there was a door at the end of it with a green neon sign with the word ‘Lobby’.
That’s the room Silver Platter said was the entrance to the building. Maybe I can find one of the elevators and-
The noise of a door opening behind caused her to jump, and she leapt around the corner.
“By Celestia, if another little brat vomits again…” a gruff voice said.
Lunar Pearl carefully peeked around the corner into the hallway she had just been, and saw a large stallion placing a large white sheet over a dining cart exactly like the kind Silver Platter used to deliver food. While he grumbled about some dinner guest, Lunar Pearl spied the open space beneath the top of the cart before it vanished completely out of view from the now straighten sheet.
That’s it!
The stallion gave the cart a once over, ensuring that each corner was evenly spaced, then disappeared into the room he had arrived from. Then, with hurried breaths, Lunar Pearl ran as quietly as she could towards the cart, and daintily climbed into the open space underneath it.
Let’s hope those books were right about this.
Before her beating heart could slow down, the stallion emerged from the room and began pushing the cart. The sudden force caused Lunar Pearl to rock in place, but she held herself still in moments, paying extra mind to keep her wings and tail away from the fabric that surrounded her.
Lunar Pearl’s eyes were wide as she watched light spots pass by the sheet as the cart was wheeled down the hallway. Then, a sudden turn, and the hoof steps behind her changed into a steady and tempoed rhythm that matched the way Silver Platter walked. Unable to contain herself, Lunar Pearl grinned in excitement, and held her breath as the green light grew closer.
The cart gently rocked from a small bump before the door, and the green light vanished, only to be replace by a very bright orange glow. At once the sounds of ponies reached Lunar Pearl’s ears, and she flicked her tuft ears each and every way as the sounds passed her.
“-you wouldn’t believe what he said, he actually-”
“We better hurry before the pegasi start the downpour.”
“Well how was I supposed to know that’s what you meant?”
“Hmm? Oh, yes, of course. Anything you want, dear.”
The cart smoothly made it’s way through the large room, all while Lunar Pearl stretched her body as close as she could to the sheet. Her mouth hung open at all the sounds of ponies voices, rolling wheels, and other noises she did not recognize, and even flinched when a sudden breeze blew through the cart that was accompanied by the sound of a metal noise similar to the truck she and the rest of the bat ponies rode in.
The urge to lift the sheet and poke her head out nearly overcame her.
But as memorized as she was, everything became muffled for a moment, and the gentle murmur of conversations and clinking silverware replaced the noisy room she had passed through. Staring through the sheet, she could make out the passing shadows of ponies beneath lamps, and with them, the smell of enticing food.
Her mouth began to salivate, and the temptation to poke her head out once again came back in force. For her sake however, the cart rocked gently from a small rise, and the gentle atmosphere of the room was immediately replaced by the clanking of metal and hissing of steam.
“One order of egg salad!”
“Get those carrots into the stew, now!”
“Soups coming up!”
“Toss me some oregano!”
Lunar Pearl flattened her ears at the commotion around her, and wrapped her tail around herself as the shadows of ponies passed very closely to the cart. A sudden crash to her left nearly caused her to jump from the cart, and she winced at the sounds of one pony scolding another.
This isn’t right! Why didn’t he go to the apartment? They always bring these carts to the apartment!
As she bit her lip in worry, the sheet sudden lifted in front of her and the large leg of a stallion sliding a bowl into the space with her filled her vision. Lunar Pearl scooted back, mere inches away from the edge of the cart. The leg then vanished, only to appear again with more bowls and cylinders. Lunar Pearl sat frozen in the increasingly growing cramped space, watching with terrified eyes as more and more items joined her. Just before she feared that the leg would finally reach all the way back and set a plate onto her, it pulled away, and the cart began moving forward again.
Lunar Pearl let out the breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding, then wrinkled her nose at the aroma before her. Looking at the spread placed around her, forks and knives laid wrapped in cloth, a bottle of wine that remained corked, a cylinder of breadsticks, but what held her interest most of all, was the large bowl of fruit salad.
The clamour of the noisy spaced seemed to fade away as Lunar Pearl licked her lips. One bite wouldn’t hurt, would it? Looking to the sheet around her apprehensively, she realized she had left the noisy room, and was back in the one with gentle voices and clinking plates. The aroma of the food once again wafted by her nose, and her stomach groaned from it. Just one bite, no biggie.
Tentatively leaning her head forward and taking a whiff, Lunar Pearl carefully picked up a chunk of the salad with the most diced up fruit, and chewed it hesitantly.
With one bite her eyes popped wide, and she hastily devoured the rest in her mouth. This is great! Why couldn’t we ever get food this good in Dusktown! Without further pause, Lunar Pearl began munching on the salad greedily, the diced fruits juices running down her cheeks. While busy eating, however, she failed to notice the cart come to a stop, or that the pony pushing the cart was beginning to pull off the items on top of it.
Soon enough he had finished setting up the tables dining ware, and reached a hoof beneath the sheet for the food. Lunar Pearl froze at the sudden appearance of the hoof coming straight at her, and did the first thing she could think of. The moment the hoof brushed her nose, she bite down on it, hard.
“YOUCH!” the stallion screamed as he quickly withdrew his hoof. The clamour of the room calm to a sudden hush, and every hair on Lunar Pearl’s back stood up.
Bat wings…
Deciding that she was as good as caught, Lunar Pearl quickly exited the cart, and found herself beneath the sheeted table.
“My word, are you alright?” one of the ponies sitting in the nearby chair said.
“I’m… I’m fine, sorry for the disturbance. I must have cut myself on something.” There was a quick swish of the carts sheets being thrown aside, followed by a faint muttering from the pony. “That’s odd… Apologises, but it seems they had forgotten something of your salad. I’ll be right back.”
Lunar Pearl watched with wide eyes as the shadow of the cart wheeled itself away from the table, leaving her alone with four chairs around her. The carts gone! Now what do I do?
Biting her lip, Lunar Pearl carefully made her way to the edge of the long table cloth, make sure to stay as far as she could from the chair. While barely lifting the edge of the cloth, she peeked out into the room, only catching the side of the other tables and passing hooves.
Frowning, she lowered the cloth and went to the other side. Repeating the process, she brought her eye as close to the ground as she could, and saw exactly what she was looking for.
That’s gotta be it!
Past three rows of tables were five dining carts lined in a row, full of platters and plates of food, and another one being added even as she watched. Duh, they always come up with eight carts. Now all I need to do is get over there.
Poking her head out further, Lunar Pearl glanced about her surroundings. There were ponies all around at their tables, with servers passing by with glasses of water. But the tables were only a few feet apart, leaving her only one option. Okay, you can do this. Come down, be a vampony! Just do what Ruby would do.
With her heart beating, Lunar Pearl licked her lips and tensed her hooves. Okay, okay, here I go. With one last look to make sure no pony was watching or server passing nearby, Lunar Pearl darted as quickly as she could across the short distance and scampered beneath the next table. The four chairs was replace with two, and after waiting for a moment to hear any sound of commotion aside her heart thumping in her ears, all was well. Ha! That was easy.
Feeling unstoppable, Lunar Pearl quickly made her way to the edge. Only one more table to go, and it’s empty. Looking about once more for the perfect chance, Lunar Pearl swished her tail in preparation, and dashed across. Even as she was sliding beneath the cloth, her victorious smile quickly vanished as she met eyes with a mare sitting at the table for the briefest of moments.
She screamed.
Lunar Pearl kept her momentum beneath the table, not even bothering to check the path to the next table as she high tailed it out of there. In the few moments it took for the pony to scream, she was already beneath the next table, of which was empty to her relief.
“What ever is the matter, dear?”
“Something just ran under our table! By Celestia it was huge! It looked at me!”
“Calm down, dear, I’m sure it was nothing.”
“It wasn’t nothing, Two Shoes! I saw something!”
The sound of chairs scooting back along with servants running over began to fill the room. Lunar Pearl couldn’t help but quietly laugh to herself through the rush of adrenaline. Soon there were a multitude of ponies at the table behind her, and she thought it best it was time to leave. Poking her head out once again, she saw the entrance to the room that lead to she assumed was the noisy room with cold air, and beside it was eight dining carts, their pushers being near the table of the frantic mare.
With a mischievous grin, Lunar Pearl darted for the carts and found a space next to another delicious looking salad bowl.
“Did you find her?” one of the colts asked as he meet up with the others.
“No, not yet,” one replied.
“Bat wings! Where is she?”
“I don’t know, but she sure found one heck of a spot. Maybe we should get Ebon Wing to help us look.”
“Mist Hoof did say Ebon Wing was going to be watching over us for the next few days.”
“He’s not allowed to be the prey though if we keep playing.”
“Kids! Time to eat!”
“Coming, mom!”
The small group of fillies and colts dashed down the hall and into the large living room. They watched with eager eyes as Silver Platter skillfully wheeled all eight carts by himself into the room, and begun lifting their contents onto the large table. The bat ponies all began to crowd the food, offering their thanks to Silver Platter as they began to load up. Though, as the fillies and colts began to make their way as well, the stopped at the sudden appearance of Lunar Pearl from behind one of the carts Silver Platter moved aside.
“Lunar Pearl! There you are!”
The group immediately rushed her. “Where were you hiding?”
Lunar Pearl simply smiled as she looked away. “Oh, no where special.”
“Come down, you got to tell us. We looked everywhere for you.”
“Then I guess you’ll have to keep on looking the next time we play,” she said with a grin.
One of them blew a raspberry at her then turned for the table. “Fine, let’s get some food and then we’ll hunt you down again.”
“You guys go ahead, I’m not that hungry,” Lunar Pearl replied as she turned and began skipping away. The rest of them stared at her with wonderment as she hummed a happy tune.
“Since when does she pass up food?”
