Once upon a time, there lived a magical dragon, one that was able to breathe gold from its lungs. It was said this dragon was cherished by most dragons like a king, and sometimes this dragon would help the young build their hoard. This dragon was peaceful to all, until one tragic day when the dragon became enraged. He destroyed a town with the powers he had, and no one could stop him, as the other dragons didn't want to, and he was to dangerous for pony kind.
One creature stood in the dragons way, bravely blocking the path of the dragon. This creature unfazed by the dragons power was able to defeat the dragon by encasing it in solid gold. The petrified dragon now looming over the destroyed town and the hero vanishing without a sight, only to probably one day to return and confront the dragon another day.
A hooded figure on two furry digitigrade legs continued to walk down the tiled path, the place him being in called Manehattan. It continued walking as the nights moon loomed over it, casting shadows under him an the buildings he passed.
It stopped at the batwing doors of a saloon, hesitant for a minute before walking in, putting a clawed paw on the push-in doors. All inhabitants in the bar attention where drawn to the figure walking in, it ignoring the confused and stern faces the ponies gives it as he walks to the counter and takes a seat. His size only allowing his hooded head to be viewed over the counter.
The bartender looks the figure, the unicorn not saying a word to it. When it digs for something below the counter the bartender horn begins to glow, causing it to freeze for a sec before slowly raising its clenched paw on the the table. It unclenches it's paw, releasing the bits it had in it.
"Juice please." It said in a boyish, squeaky voice.
The bartender looked at the bits in confusion, and back up to the stranger.
"Juice will only cost you three bits." The bartender said.
"Keep the change." It said, pushing the bits his way.
The bartender pushed the bits into a bag connected to his neck and went to get the drink, leaving the figure at the desk. The figure listened onto nearby conversation as he waited, one in particular catching his interest.
"Hey did you hear about what happened to Missing charm and her family?" A emerald Pegasus said.
"What, did they have another fight?" A blue earth pony said.
"No, worse. I heard that supposedly her husband had done something that put them in a lot of debt, but was able to put the blame on Missing Charm, after doing that the sly stallion went on and left her. Now along with the foals she has to take care of, she has to pay of the debt as well. They say she doesn't have long before they take her house as payment."
"Wow, that's sad."
The blue earth pony looked around in though, but then noticed the hooded figure standing next to the table, making him jump from his seat.
"May you be able to tell me were she lives?" The hooded figure asked the Pegasus.
The Pegasus looked at where the figure was sitting at and back to where it was standing before taking a sip of his drink.
"I don't think it would be the best Idea for me to be telling a stranger of her whereabouts, she already has enough on her mind." He said, taking another sip of his drink.
The hooded figure raises a open paw up while raising its head, showing a little bit of its rodent like muzzle as it shows the bits held in its paw.
Both the ponies look at him in confusion as it presents the bits to them.
"Please tell me her location, I only wish to talk with her." The figure said.
Pushing through the doors, the hooded figure continued on the path, going further into Manehattan. He passed under the shadows, as if not wanting to be seen as he traveled through the maze that is Manehattan. He stopped at his destination, the house looking in disarray compared to the houses and apartments neighboring it. The flowers near the window have long died out, petals decomposed to join with the dirt and the stems not to far from the same fate. Dead leaves scatter the ground, covering the ground, the fence bordering the house keeping the leaves from being blown away from the wind, leaving them to pile in the corners.
As he walks up to the front entrance he starts to see something wrong with it, getting closer he sees that its caved in at the doors mid section, looking to be caused on the outside.
He walks up to the door and knocks on it, and knocks again after no response. After a few minutes of waiting the door creaks open slightly, the head of a blue unicorn mare with a pink mane with a yellow stripe going through peaks her head through the crack.
"W-who are you, and what do want?" She asked nervously.
"I'm just a passing stranger, I only wish to talk, and maybe help you with your problem." He said.
The mare looks down at his digitigrade legs with surprise, almost closing the door in fear of him being a monster.
"What are you?" She asked.
The hooded figure paused for a sec before backing up a little and taking off the hood. The Face of a mouse is what greeted the mare, black colorless eyes with no view of the cornea, auburn fur covering his face, and large circler ears. He looked at the mare, smiling her way as she gave him a confused look.
He waved his clawed hand in greeting. "Hello, I'm Fortune. And you must be Missing Charm, correct?"
She shot him a scared look. "How do you know my name?"
"A stallion in a bar not far from hear was telling rumors, I happened to catch wind of it."
"What do you want?" She repeated, as she closed the gap in the door a little more, making it a little harder for the mouse biped to see her.
"Sorry if I nerve you with my look, but as I said I only wish to speak." He said as he itched the back of his head.
"Say what you gotta say then and leave." She said irritated.
This caught the mouse by surprise. Usually these ponies would be nice and welcoming, sometimes even in a bad mood. In his thoughts was how much she must be dealing with.
He looked at the mare who now reared most of herself from the door and continued, trying his best to make sure his eyes didn't wander to her unkempt mane and tired baggy eyes, though the eyes he couldn't avoid.
"I heard from the stallion that you have went through something... Tragic. I-" he was stopped there as the women stopped him saying. "Oh, everyone's just talking about me eh? When did I become important!"
He took a step back from her outburst, looking at her as she stares at him with anger. She soon takes a deep breath, her anger subsiding. Taking her weight off the door, she let it fully open.
"Look, I'm sorry, its not been going so well for me. But if your only here to ask me how my life is going, I'd advise you not to."
"I, I actually came to help you." He said.
The mare was surprised, her body being frozen in shock for a second.
"What?" She said with a raise of a eyebrow.
"I can pay off the bill you have."
"Come on, you know about that too!" She said with a stomp of her hoof.
Fortune just shrugged his shoulders. Missing Charm began to furiously walk towards him, him backing up as each step loudly clopped against the stone path.
"Who are you really? Are you another one of those to give me a loan to have to pay off? So that I may become a slave to another bill I have to pay off, huh?" The mare got close up to the mouse in an intimidating stature, her head towering over him by a little. "I bet this is just another trick just for someone else to keep me under their hoof, to succumb to their whim. Well I have news for you, I'M NOT INTERESTED!"
He was a little worried that the mare might use her magic on him, but was surprise when he heard a presence from behind her.
"Mom, what's going on?" Asked the voice.
Turning to look, the mare said "go back to your room." The orange, brown mane unicorn colt had a worried look on his face, nervous as he clung to the door. He looked scared, but seemed unwilling to want to leave his mom to a stranger. The mare seeing this completely turned to look at the colt, saying "look, there's nothing wrong going on. Now go to your room." In a calm, soothing voice.
The colt after some time did as he was told and disappeared behind the door. The attention of the mare returned back to the mouse, seeming to be too tired to keep up her angry demeanor. From her silence it seemed like she was giving the mouse the chance to finish what he had to say. But he had to rethink what to say to the mare, to avoid angering her more.
"I-I only wish to help you, I'll be able to pay off that bill, and-"
"And then what? Have me pay you off?! Nobody just comes out of the blue offering to pay for something without it being something I have to worry about later. It's a seven hundred and fifty bit bill! Even if you can pay it off, I'm sure your going to want something in return right?!"
"A place to stay."
Hearing this made the mare back up a little, a confused eyebrow raised. The mouse took no time with the space given to reach up one of his sleeves, and like magic pull a bag of bits from it.
"I can pay for your bill, and in return." He paused there for a sec, not wanting to sound to forceful. "May I live in your house?"
She stared at him sternly, then at the bag he held. He placed the bag on the ground and opened it, having the bits show through the opening.
"Your serious, aren't you?" The mare asked.
The mouse answered with a nod of his head. Pointing a paw to the bag, telling her to take it. The mare was hesitant at first, but took the bag in her magical grip, aura surrounding it and her horn. Her attitude calming she turned to walk to the door.
"Come in, and close the gate." she said as she continued to go to the entrance.
Doing what he was asked he went and closed the gate before following Missing Charm inside.
When he walked in he looked around, seeing three paths. Two from the left and right leading to hallways, and one leading to an open living room, which a dim light illuminated from. From the living room he could hear the sound of the coins clash as the mare shuffled them about. He walked in the living room, to his right being a couch against the wall with décor hanging above it. To his left was the mare, her sat down with a lamp overhead, counting the bits on a table using her magic, her unaware of his presence.
"There's two hundred in there." He said, making the mare slightly jump.
"So I guess you're gonna be paying it like rent?" She asked as she turned his way.
"Yep, two hundred a day."
Hearing this almost made the mare fall from her seat. She straightened in her seat and tried to look humble.
"I know you're trying to be generous, but you surely don't need to pay that much to live here." She said, waiving a hoof around.
"No, no, I insist. Gets more of it off my back, and off my thoughts." He said the last bit in a whisper.
"What was that?" The mare asked.
"Nothing." He looked around before turning his attention back to the mare. "So, where will I be staying?"
The mare put a hoof under her neck in thinking. "Sorry, but i'm going to have to ask you to sleep in here, for now. Will that be ok?"
He looked towards the couch, looking above to where all the decor hung. To mask, to hollowed animal statues, all made the room an uneasy sleep space. He gulped as he stared up at an owl mask as its empty eyes stared down him.
"Uhh, s-sure. I think I would be able to sleep here, for now." He gave her a nervous smile, one she was not aware of due to it being the first time she saw someone of his species, besides regular old mice.
"May I be able to go to sleep now? Or is there something you may want to tell me." He asked.
"Just ask when you plan to do anything in this house." She said, as if talking to a colt. Completely slipping her mind of his age.
"Umm, ok" he said, scratching his head. "Well, goodnight."
"Goodnight." The mare said, putting the bits in the bag that's in her magical grip and turning the light off.
Missing Charm turns to fortune to see him already comfortable on the couch, using his cloak as a cover.
"Will you be comfy in that?" She asked.
"Yeah, my fur will mostly keep me warm." He said
She only asked because she had blankets to spare, and wouldn't want his first day living there to be a cold one. With that out of mind she left the room going to the right. As she walked to her bedroom, she had the idea to probably stay up the night, just in case fortune isn't just only wishing to live there.
She got in her bed, laying down like a bird watching her nest. She knew she wouldn't be able to stay up all night, as she did that the previous night. She would just stay up as long as she could until sleep took her.
She was about to fall into slumber, until she heard the creaking of her door, jolting her from her daze. She quickly turned her head, hoping her assumption about the stranger wasn't true. Who was at her door however were two colts, the orange one from before and a blue unicorn, half of his face being wrapped in gauzes, his ear sticking out and his light blue mane coming out of the side in one combed pile. Both of the colts stood next to each other, looks of worry on their muzzles as they stand behind the door like the mare had done.
"Drake! What are doing out of your bed? You know what the doctor said, no exerting yourself." The mare said noticing the blue colt.
The blue colt looked ready to say something, but was interrupted by the orange colt. "He was, worrying about the yelling."
She looked at Drake to see him nod his head slowly, also giving Missing Charm a view of stains of blood the gauze sucked up. She waved a hoof for them to come over to her, once they did she closed the door behind them and picked up a med-kit using her magic. She sat the blue colt down and begun to unwrap the gauzes.
"Why is there a monster on our couch?" The blue colt asked.
"He's not a monster, he's our guest." The mare said.
"Our monster guest." The orange guest said jokingly, which gained giggles from both Missing Charm and Drake.
She wanted to make sure they wouldn't call Fortune a monster, but she couldn't even tell who he was, or what he was besides his mouse resemblance. She had completely unwrapped the head of the colt, mane and coat completely cut off in the area that was covered. A stitched up wound was on his head closest to his ear, blood slightly oozing from it. Missing charm stared at it for some time, not noticing how long she was staring until the blue colt jolted her from it.
"Its fine right mommy?" Drake asked, turning his head to look at her. Missing Charm assured him with a nod of her head, and grabbed the extra gauzes and began to rewrap the young colt head. Once she was done she put him on his back and walked to their room, the orange colt following her. Before making it to their room she passed by another, the door closed for reasons she knew.
She opened the door to their room, toys littering the ground. Against the wall were two beds, cut off by a cabinet with a lamp on it. She went and tucked drake in his bed, making sure his head was adjusted right.
"Make sure you don't mess with the wound." She said, petting his head farthest from the injury. Drake answered with a slight nod of his head, deserving a boop on the muzzle, making him giggle. "Good night Drake, love you."
"Love you too." Drake said.
With that the colt prepared for sleep, getting in a comfortable position to slumber in. Charm turned to see her other colt sat on the ground with his hooves in the air, begging for affection.
"Tuck me in too." He asked demandingly.
"Say please." She told him.
He crossed his hooves and looked away, a pout on his face. "Please." He repeated back to her.
Charm quickly grabbed him with her magic and begun to tickle his sides using her hooves, getting frantic giggles from the colt. Once she stopped his giggles gradually ended.
"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" She asked.
The mare began to tuck the colt in, pulling the blanket over his body as he cuddled his pillow.
"Good night Burmese." She said to the colt, patting his head before getting ready to leave, but Burmese stopped her.
"Is everything ok mom?" He asked.
She was silent for a sec, not knowing what to tell her little colt, even if she knew how well they were doing right then, she would still not be able to answer.
"Everything's ok honey, now get some rest, you've got School tomorrow." She said, switching the light off and closing the door. leaving her two colts to sleep.
She stopped at the entrance of the living room and peeked in, seeing the slumbering form of fortune as his breathing made his chest rise from under his cloak. She continued on her way, a little less worried about the stranger.
Once she got in her, she flopped on her bed. Not worrying anymore about fortune anymore as she slowly fell into the slumber she most definitely will be needing.