The big white mare didn’t like quitters. Copperquick took a few minutes to think about what to do as he and Miss Oddbody took a break on the sidewalk. So many thoughts tumbled through his mind, so many questions, so many doubts and fears. As he sat on the sidewalk, Copperquick began to question his life, his values, and what few things he believed in.
“I fear I am losing my conservative nature,” he muttered as his ears splayed out.
“But… your bowler hat!” Miss Oddbody replied.
“I always thought the bureaucracy was a good system of checks and balances against excess, but I was never really well informed. I just… sort of… based my opinion off of what was in the newspaper. Right now, I feel degraded and… I don’t even know what it is that I am feeling.”
“This is why I radicalised.” Miss Oddbody’s voice was now quiet in a most curious sort of way. “I was just a silly little pegasus filly fresh off of the farm. I grew up in Tall Tale. It is a quiet little town, conservative, monarchists, good ponies. The local opinion crafters have ponies believing that leftism is a vote for Discord and chaos, and nopony wants chaos, so we all grow up learning to hate it, to despise it, and we believe that we are right, and if we are right, then by default, they are wrong. Sadly, most of them think that voting stinks of leftism too, and that the Princesses should tell us what to think, what to do, and that we should get rid of voting, because that invites chaos and disorder.”
“And what of bureaucracy?” Copperquick asked.
“It is seen as a filter of sorts, to save us from ourselves. A single pony is weak and prone to failure. Many ponies are strong and bureaucracy is viewed as the strength of unity. Herd-think. One of my professors calls it ‘the tyranny of the majority’ and I am inclined to agree.” Miss Oddbody shook her head. “A little education changed me. I don’t think I can ever go home again. One day, I woke up, and I realised that the two ponies that I love the most are painfully backwards.”
“That’s rough,” Copperquick said, feeling bad for his pegasus companion.
“I can’t even convince my parents that everything is broken. My Moomy thinks that once I finish university, I’ll come home, get married, and get myself sorted out before I make too many mistakes that I regret. She says that everypony dabbles in new ideas when they are young, but you have to grow up sometime.”
Ears perked, Copperquick listened.
“My parents call themselves compassionate conservatives. They donate to charity and they talk about how generous they are, and how much they give, but I can’t seem to get it through their heads that the bureaucratic system they support is the reason why these charities need to exist in the first place. If we had a better system that saved ponies from falling down, these charities would not be required. The fact that these charities are needed is evidence of system failure. This system keeps so many ponies poor… and my parents seem to think that donating a few bits now and then will just fix the whole of the problem. But my parents don’t see it as a problem. They got theirs. They’ve never faced agonising circumstances.”
Overwhelmed, Copperquick just sat there, calling into question everything he believed in up to this point. As his brain overloaded, he was stricken with an idea that made the confusing jumble in his mind fall away from him. He needed to go and see Cielo del Este. She would have the forms he needed, he was sure of it. It would be awkward, it might be painful, but that didn’t matter. There was a filly that needed him to pony up and be a dad.
“We need to go to Boardwalk Studios and see Sapphire Shores.”
“What?” Miss Oddbody looked confused. “We have important things that need done.”
“My filly’s mother will be there. We can get the documents we need from her. And then, I need to eat something, so lunch.”
“Well, let’s not waste any time. I have to check in with Mrs. Velvet by threeish, and it is noon right now.” Miss Oddbody slipped the filly back into her carrier and smiled. “She’s a good girl. I think she’s enjoying the grand day out.”
“Maybe, if we’re lucky, we’ll find out if she has a name.”
Boardwalk Studios was an impressive building, a mix of old and new architecture. Copperquick supposed the name worked even though there was no ocean for thousands of miles, as this was the home location for Sapphire Shores. It was a sort of thematic thing, he reckoned. Hanging from his neck, his daughter burbled, made farty sounds with her lips, and blew spit bubbles to amuse herself.
Taking a deep breath, Copperquick approached the tuxedoed guard at the door. He smiled, his ears pinned back, and in as polite of a voice as he could muster, he explained why he was here and what he needed. “I need to speak to Cielo del Este about our daughter. She is one of Sapphire Shore’s dancers. I need to recover a birth certificate, vaccination records, and a tribal registry. I’m not here to cause trouble or beg for autographs.”
The guard, saying nothing, stared at Copperquick and Miss Oddbody. After a few tense seconds, he stepped aside and the door opened. No expression or emotion showed upon the guard’s face as he gestured for them to go inside. Looking at the door, Copperquick felt relieved that this had gone so well so far.
“Thank you, thank you so much, you’ve made a rotten day better,” Miss Oddbody said.
This time, the guard did respond, and did so with a heavy Manehattanite accent. “We do what we can, when we can.” The guard smiled. “I knows dat foal. Get inside and talk to Sapphire Shores so yous can find out what’s up. You’s bound to be disappointed, but don’t worry. Everything will work itself out fine.”
“Disappointed?” Copperquick licked his lips and felt his frogs go sweaty.
“Bruddah,” the earth pony guard said to Copperquick, “Let Miss Shores set you straight. Cielo del Este is a jive-ass turkey!”
“Okay.” Taking a deep breath, Copperquick headed for the door. Wondering what he might learn, he made his way inside the building and as he stepped through the door, he was hit in the face by a powerful blast of air conditioning that blew his mane back and made his filly giggle.
Almost right away, Copperquick found himself beset by a gaggle of pegasi, all of whom were cooing at his daughter. He heard Miss Oddbody clearing her throat and with all of these wings around, Copperquick found himself in a very good mood indeed. Perhaps having a daughter wasn’t just a good a thing, but a great thing.
“Will you hussies move!” Sapphire Shores demanded as she sashayed through the mob. “You!” The fabulous earth pony singer pointed her hoof at Copperquick. “I knew you would be coming. Well, I have bad news for you, Sugar, Cielo del Este has flown the coop.”
“What?” Copperquick’s mouth fell open and his eyes went wide.
“That bitch freaked out and left town. She went to Las Pegasus. That skanky ass ho went off and broke contract. I have half a mind to send my boys after her and…” Sapphire Shores’ words trailed off and she clucked her tongue. “Suffice it to say, I’m angry.”
“Can we please not swear around the foal?” Miss Oddbody asked in a pleading voice.
“Ah, little Esmeralda Verde.” Sapphire Shores came forwards, lowered her head, and planted a kiss on the foal hanging from Copperquick’s neck.
“That’s her name?” Copperquick asked. “I don’t even know what means.”
“Well, my dancers and I called her that. Cielo called her something else. A lot of something elses. None of them nice. One of my dancers got sick of that nonsense, dragged Cielo outside, and beat the stuffing out of her a few days back. Blacked that bitch’s eye. Things got tense.”
“Oh.” Copperquick blinked a few times and then looked down at his daughter.
“Emerald Green. Esmeralda Verde means emerald green.” Sapphire Shores moved even closer to Copperquick. “So… you gonna be a daddy, eh?” The earth pony mare’s voice was breathy, silky, and sultry. “Single fathers are great… you know they put out.”
“Hey!” Miss Oddbody bowled into Sapphire Shores and pushed the much larger earth pony mare out of the way. “As a Crown appointed representative, I have to keep the environment safe, sound, and healthy for the foal.”
Grinning, Copperquick said, “I like Esmeralda Verde… it’s pretty.”
Also grinning, Sapphire Shores looked down at Miss Oddbody, who was several heads shorter. “I’m sorry, farmgirl, I’ll be on my best behaviour. This big city girl didn’t mean to offend your country sensibilities. Hows about I get in touch with you later and you can tell me what a bad pony I’ve been… after dinner.”
“N-n-no, th-th-that’s okay,” Miss Oddbody stammered as she backed away, her face turning bright red.
“Oh, come now, I could use a little butter on my bread and I’m hot enough to make you melt—”
“No!” Miss Oddbody ducked behind Copperquick and scowled up at the much larger earth pony mare. “Look, we came here hoping to find the mother and secure some papers. I am on the clock and this is not a visit for pleasure. I don’t mix business and pleasure, as I am a consummate professional.”
“My business is pleasure,” Sapphire Shores said in a purring voice and her dancers giggled. Tilting her head, she turned to look at the filly hung from Copperquick’s neck and her whole demeanour changed. “It’s not fair, what’s been done to you. Your mother is a real piece of trash, but it looks like you have a good daddy. A girl can’t ask for much more in life.”
“She was left in front of my door. I just lost my job. I’m trying to get help. I want to keep her and do what’s right. But it’s real hard and I don’t know what I’m doing. Miss Oddbody has saved me more times than I can count.” Copperquick looked around the room and saw the faces staring back at him. He saw understanding, sympathy, he saw recognition, and he felt better.
“Cielo paid to get illusion magics done to hide her condition from me because she was afraid of losing her job. She worked almost to the point of birth, then said she was sick with the flu. She was out for about a week, then showed up at work one day with this here adorable filly.” Sapphire Shores eyes narrowed and she shook her head. “Things got strained after that.”
“I would imagine so.” Miss Oddbody stepped out from behind Copperquick.
“We made it work somehow,” Sapphire continued, “trying to be real understanding, but Cielo wasn't the sort of pony that was easy to get along with. She was temperamental under the best conditions. A real showbiz type. She was already looking for agents and scouts with the hopes that she could get Esmeralda into the business, because let’s face it, that little filly is purty. Cielo started coming apart at the seams. Started molting from the stress. The cracks started showing.”
“And nopony helped her?” Miss Oddbody asked.
“No, at that point, she was a real bitch,” Sapphire replied.
“That’s sad and unfortunate.” Miss Oddbody took a moment to pluck away some lint from her cardigan sweater with her wing. The prim little pegasus was regaining her composure after being flustered and she also straightened out her glasses. As she worked to get herself straightened out, more of her mane slipped out of her bun and spilled around her face.
“Hey… why don’t the two of you stay and have lunch with us?” Sapphire Shores offered in a warm, sincere voice that also came with a smile. “We were about to have a lunch break. Catering brought over a huge meal… what can I say, we eat like horses. Stay with us. You can put Esmeralda down for a little nap. Cielo del Este was a real bitch, but we like Esmeralda.”
“I’d like that.” Copperquick’s voice was hesitant and he gave Miss Oddbody a hopeful look. He was starving and needed a good meal. This was a chance to get full, have a rest, and give his daughter a chance to nap.
“Well, I need to report in at three, and we have some time, so… yes. We would be very pleased to accept your invitation. Thank you, for your generousity.” Miss Oddbody bowed her head.
“I bet skinny li’l farmgirl eats like a horse,” Sapphire Shores said with a wry grin.
“Only after I’ve had to wrassle a heifer,” Miss Oddbody replied.
“OOOOH… daaaayum, you went there!” Sapphire Shores began chuckling and shook her head. “Oh, I like you. You gots sass, but it’s the classy kind. And you kinda has this whole sexy librarian thing going on. Come on, let’s go and eat. Today the catering crew brought curry and a whole mess of fried frittery thingies.”
“I… I do not look like a sexy librarian!” Miss Oddbody’s face turned a garish shade of bright pink. “I am a responsible, well dressed young professional!”
“Mmm hmm.” Sapphire nodded and made a gesture to be followed. “Professional librarian. Somepony gonna wanna check out your books, farmgirl.”
“Ugh, well, I never—”
“Well then, you should! It feels good!” Cawing with laughter, Sapphire Shores led the group off to lunch. “Don’t believe me, ask baby daddy over there… he’ll set you straight. You know he done sampled the goods, and daaayum, if he don’t make a pretty baby. Make a mare think, a pretty foal like that.”
Fearing for his life, Copperquick hurried after Sapphire Shores and didn’t dare meet the gaze of Miss Oddbody.