//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 // Story: A Basket, A Blanket, and a Bundle of Bills // by kudzuhaiku //------------------------------// Two thirty in the afternoon, soon to be three o’clock. Esmeralda was now well rested, more so than her father, who was starting to show signs of exhaustion. Lunch was finished. Miss Oddbody had to meet Twilight Velvet at three, and Copperquick had to be in class by four. The day, which had already been a long one, was starting to feel short on time. “I’m glad you joined us, both of you,” Sapphire Shores said in a smoky, sultry voice. She took a moment to look at Miss Oddbody, studying her, and her eyes narrowed, but not in a seductive way. “Miss Oddbody… I hope that you get what you want. You deserve it.” The pegasus, who looked a little more refreshed and had a fresh mane bun, nodded and blushed a bit. “Thank you, Miss Shores.” “As for you,” Sapphire Shores began as she addressed Copperquick, “I hope you get what you need. If you need anything, anything at all, you come here and you talk to my devoted and hunky bodyguard, Mister Fuzzy Slippers. His parents had a real sense of humour. Imagine growing up on the rough streets of the Broncs with a name like that.” Sapphire Shores tossed back her head and laughed. “Do you mean that? Anything?” Miss Oddbody tilted her head off to one side. “Of course I meant it, I wouldn’t have said it, otherwise.” The smile never left Sapphire Shore’s face as she replied. “You have but to ask.” “Little Miss Verde could use a crib… and foal stuff. But not a big crib, the apartment is too small and space is limited.” Miss Oddbody’s eyes shimmered behind her large square glasses. “Okay, just give me some contact information.” Sapphire Shores, still smiling, gave Miss Oddbody a nod. “No, I can’t let you do that.” Copperquick, hesitant, stepped forwards. “Copperquick, I like you. So I am gonna give you some advice. Free advice, but damn good advice nonetheless. And you, my handsome baby daddy, are going to shuddup and listen.” Sapphire Shores got right up in Copperquick’s face, and when he did not respond, she continued, “There be two kinds of daddies in this world, Copper. The first kind is the worst sort. Oh, he means well, and he loves his filly or his colt, and he has the best of intentions. But he be proud. He be too damn proud, and because of this pride, he won’t bend his proud neck, and his foal goes to bed hungry, or does without, and he won’t take no damn help because of his pride.” A single tear rolled down Copperquick’s cheek. “Now, the second kind of daddy, he swallows his pride. He bends his proud neck and he does what is right for his daughter, no matter what it do to him. He takes whatever help he can get, with the knowledge that when his life gets better, he can pay it forward, and he can do what be right.” Sapphire Shores lifted up her head and stretched her long, graceful neck until her muzzle was inches away from Copperquick’s ear, and in a breathy voice, she kept going. “These are the best daddies, ‘cause they teach a girl humility… that’s where I learned my humility, see, from my daddy. He bent his proud neck and he did right by me. Now, I got me a chance to pay it forward. And right about now, this second daddy, he says a sweet little somethin’ something’ to the nice mare trying to help him.” “T-thank you, M-Miss Shores,” Copperquick said as he struggled to hold back tears. With a shuddering sigh, he bent his neck and repeated himself, this time without stuttering hesitation. “Thank you, Miss Shores. Really. For everything. You’ve been kind to me when I needed it most.” “You’ll have something nice for her to sleep in later this afternoon. I’ll have some of my stagehooves bring it by. Copperquick… it gonna be fugly-ugly for you, I won’t lie, but you ain’t alone. You come by and you see me if things get too bad. I’ll be in touch, Copperquick.” “Thank you, Miss Shores,” Miss Oddbody said in a pleased, perky voice. “Both you kids is gonna make me mess up my mascara! Now get outta here!” Sapphire Shores took a step backwards from Copperquick, then at the last moment, she planted a kiss on Esmeralda. “Damn, girl, you lucked out.” “Just a second, let me get you the contact information, and then we’ll be going.” Miss Oddbody slipped a wing into her bag and began to dig around. “As it is, Foal Services would collapse without private donations. Twilight Velvet just forcibly took over in a bureaucratic coup détat. I was there… it was awful… I was there in the bowels of that horrible building when the papers hit the shredder…” A somewhat vacant looking thousand yard stare took over Miss Oddbody’s face. “Farmgirl, speak to me, you okay?” Sapphire Shores said, looking worried about the professional, perky pegasus. “Much ink was spilled that day… the halls ran black and red with it… the screaming… I was there when Mrs. Velvet recited the ancient bylaws and challenged the current head of the ministry to a duel. She thrashed him soundly and the battle spilled out into the streets… the princesses showed up, but nopony interfered. The bylaws had to be followed. The princesses kept the damage to the city of Canterlot to a minimum as the duel progressed. Mrs. Velvet did battle, all while reciting codes, laws, regulations, and creed. She smote Director Crewel Pinch and left him a bloody heap in the intersection. She accepted his resignation after he crawled to her and begged for mercy.” Waving a hoof in front of Miss Oddbody’s eyes, Sapphire Shore’s lip curled back in concern. “Farmgirl, wake up, I think you is having some kinda flashback!” With a snort, Miss Oddbody reacted. “What? Who? What’s going on!” “You was about to give me some contact info,” Sapphire Shores said in a gentle voice with no trace of mirth. “Oh, right, let me get that…” Needing a bit of a breather, feeling far more tired than usual, Copperquick took a bit of a break in front of a bakery with sun cookies. Miss Oddbody was acting odd and he wondered if the stress was getting to her. She seemed withdrawn and out of sorts as they walked along through the streets together. Maybe she hadn’t had enough tea. Glancing into the window, he saw loaves of bread, rolls, tea biscuits, digestives, rolls, and buns of all kind. It was hard to enjoy looking at them as he was worried about Miss Oddbody. He wasn’t even sure how to bring the subject up. His previous encounters with mares had all been practical ones—getting his itch scratched. “Miss Oddbody…” “Yes?” “I couldn’t help but notice the brass plate over the cornerstone. What was that building before it became Foal Services?” As he spoke, Copperquick saw Miss Oddbody’s feathers fluff out. She was, in fact, cute, in a sexy librarian sort of way, with her sense of granny fashion. “Oh.” Miss Oddbody stared up at Copperquick with a blank stare. “It was horrible. It used to be Foal Labour Services.” “Huh?” Copperquick listened to his daughter burbling as he looked upon the distressed Miss Oddbody. “If a farmer needed a field worker for the summer, but couldn’t afford to pay for an actual labourer, he could go into Foal Labour Services and pay for a permit that would allow him to go foal shopping in the orphanages and orphanariums. He could go and find himself a sturdy little foal or three, take them back to his farm, work them and discipline them within regulations that were never enforced or followed, and after the harvest, return them to where he obtained them.” “What?!” “I know, it’s awful, right?” Miss Oddbody squirmed. “We should be going. It’s almost three and you have classes that start at four.” The pegasus swallowed. “I believe in change, Mister Copperquick, and that is why I am helping you. You don’t know it yet, but you, you are our frontline fighter in Mrs. Velvet’s planned coup détat. She plans to absorb part of the treasury for more direct control.” “I see.” “She was just waiting for the right set of circumstances to come along.” “Well, I’m in this fight, Miss Oddbody. I’ll throw my back into it.” “We should get going, Mister Copperquick.” Standing on the ramp that led up to the doors was a mare in a coat and a battered, ancient fedora. Copperquick recognised her right away, and upon seeing her, he had a profound new respect for her. She was tough, she was fearless, and she had raised both a prince and a princess. After such a feat, the mare could be just resting on her laurels, but no, she had a hobby. She had drive, and purpose. Beside Mrs. Velvet, there was an earth pony wearing a terrible, tacky looking tropical shirt and who was also wearing a fedora. A donkey mare completed the group and the trio were talking as Copperquick approached. He slowed down, unsure if he was intruding on something private. “Yammy, don’t let me down.” “Of course, Mrs. Velvet.” “I need that evidence. I know for certain that the Labour Services division is seeking to overthrow me. I just need proof so I can launch a preemptive strike. We can’t let things go back to how they were, it’s appalling.” “We can do this,” the donkey mare said. “Trust me, we burros are invisible. We’re just another janitor to be bossed around.” “Go, both of you. The society is counting on you. Remember to keep a stiff upper lip, my friends.” Copperquick watched the earth pony and the donkey go. He heard Mrs. Velvet sighing, and Miss Oddbody hurried over to Twilight Velvet’s side. Copperquick began to cotton on that something big was going on, something real big and important. Somehow, he had stumbled into the middle of something that he had trouble comprehending. “We need a birth certificate, vaccination records, and a tribal registry,” Miss Oddbody reported. “I can help with those,” Mrs. Velvet replied. “I’ll make those happen. You shall have them tomorrow, perhaps by noon. Maybe. Somepony owes me a favour and he doesn’t want any embarrassing secrets revealed. Yam Spade is very, very good at what he does. I wish I had a hundred of him. That pony has a knack for skulduggery.” “The filly was named by friends of the mother, and they call her Esmeralda Verde. Copperquick has decided to keep the name.” Miss Oddbody smiled and some of her perkiness returned. “Ah, good, I approve of ponies with burro names. Cultural diversity is good. I am pleased.” Hearing these words, Miss Oddbody beamed. “We got a whole lotta nothing at the dole office today. But we had a very nice meeting with Sapphire Shores, who is going to help out a bit. How much remains to be seen. The mother, Cielo del Este, worked for Miss Shores as a dancer. She’s gone now, she fled to Las Pegasus. Little Miss Verde has friends at Boardwalk Studios. Miss Shores had promised to secure some basic supplies and a crib of some sort.” “Ah yes, Miss Shores.” Twilight Velvet seemed quite pleased. “I have always been fond of that song she did where she praises her father for all the hard work he did. It makes sense that she would be an ally. Hmm, I shall have to go to her and remind her about keeping a stiff upper lip. She might be able to get some mutual friends interested in helping us.” All of Miss Oddbody twitched at Velvet’s words. “Celestial Glory is how I keep my upper lip nice and stiff… I’m feeling a little run down. I really need my tea. I’m beat.” After a moment, the peppy, perky pegasus added, “You know, Mrs. Velvet, Mister Copperquick might be interested in learning how to keep his upper lip nice and stiff.” “You don’t say…” Twilight Velvet stepped away from Miss Oddbody and walked over to where Copperquick stood. Saying nothing, she walked around him, examining him. “A bowler hat… very, very interesting. You look like you could have a very stiff and starchy upper lip.” “I don’t follow,” Copperquick replied. “Not to worry.” Twilight Velvet’s lips pursed into a tight, crinkled line. “Miss Oddbody, keep applying for assistance in the short term. See if you can apply for food assistance through the Ministry of Agricultural Surplus.” “Yeah… that place… where the process to claim food is so long that it rots before a pony can get it. I’ll get right on that, Mrs. Velvet.” “In the long term, I am going to gather lawyers willing to take on a tough case.” Mrs. Velvet looked as though she had been eating lemons. “Lawyers?” Copperquick felt a twinge of panic. “Why are lawyers needed?” “Mister Copperquick, it is my intention to petition to have Cielo del Este pay foal support. She’s a dancer with what sounds like good earning potential. It will be the first trial of its kind, and no doubt, it will be a disaster that will ruin the careers of all who are involved in it… or possibly elevate them into the stratosphere.” Twilight Velvet peered up at Copperquick from beneath the brim of her fedora and she still looked a little sour. His breath caught in his throat, Copperquick thought about what Sapphire Shores had said about there being two types of daddies. For a moment, pride almost made him protest, but then he thought of his daughter. And not just his daughter, but little daughters and sons everywhere. It was then he realised, for there to be change, somepony had to be brave and go first. “Whatever is needed of me, I’ll do.” As he spoke, he felt a most peculiar sense of relief. “Do as I ask, when I ask, and I will see that you and your daughter are taken care of, Mister Copperquick. You came to me at just the right time. I have plans, as you will soon see, and you are just what I needed. A big strong, stocky earth pony that can bear the brunt of the burden. I am about to pick a fight, Mister Copperquick, and I need like minded allies.” “Like me!” Miss Oddbody said in the most chipper voice she could muster. Her sour expression vanishing, Twilight Velvet smiled. “This will be a cry for help that can’t be ignored. It feels like everything's coming together, as though this was meant to be. Go on, Mister Copperquick, you need to get to school. You look very tired. Try to make it through your classes. Best of luck… and remember… keep a stiff upper lip.” “Of course, Mrs. Velvet.”