//------------------------------// // Chapter 23 - Coffee // Story: The Red Dusk // by Barony //------------------------------// The town was a ghost town. There were no words spoken, atleast not to the exact knowledge of Red, nor any hooves clip clopping that ran parallel to his. It felt eerily similar but he continued on. He did not want to be bogged down in memory. It was obvious everypony and their dogs got the message that he was out and about. Carts turned over with items scattered all around them were a common sight on the streets. There were even saddlebags that were left with some stuff in them, probably falling off and being disregarded in favor of speed. They were deathly scared of him, and he could feel their eyes dissecting his very appearance, right down to bone. He could essentially feel their scared murmurs and whispers behind the windows that stood in between him and them, but that was simply a gut feeling. He could feel them keeping anything which was of use as a weapon close. But even if he was hostile, he knows that would be a study in futility. What could one do against a giant with nothing more than a broom? Probably give some pony one heck of a bruising or a headache if you hit them hard enough times. The thought even entertained the Nightmare, her chuckles bringing a small smile to the alicorn's face as he continued to walk under increasingly graying skies, the sun being covered and covered by passing clouds before being silenced once and for all. As he walked, he continued to think. He had to get into the Everfree Forest without garnering any attention from the locals or atleast make it so that they do not suspect his purpose there, much less see him. His task in the forest will be to find a plant in relative abundance to make a poison. He had to have redundancy, should he lose one of the planned doses or one of the doses proves to be contaminated with a nulling substance or is too weak. With that, it'll take time and effort for him to find enough of the plants he plans to use to make atleast three bottles or atleast six doses. So it was obvious he would need a partner or partner's to lookout for him. He grumbles to himself, like that's ever going to happen. He could only think how unlikely it would be for him to find an ally in the town. Many cults have probably withered away in his absence. He was revered as a 'prophet' of sorts from their God, i.e, Nightmare Moon. To them, when she would come down on the thousandth year of her imprisonment, she would cleanse the world of all evil and corruption, heretics aswell, who they considered to be the ones following the Sun. Red to them was her preacher and the one who would lead them through the times before She came back down. So, because of that, they treated him like a king... In a way. He was more so a general, leading the army's and rarely engaged in much social interaction with the cultists themselves. When he did however, they took what he said to heart, and that was no problem since he was not really good at humor at the time, especially considering her stance on sarcastic 'twits'. Primarily, it was the Nightmare soul shard in his head that was more opposed to alot of things. Less fun, more bloodthirsty, angrier, he could never tell why. Her ideas were usually tainted with the ever constant presence of some sort of impatient bloodlust, a hatred for life itself. Peasants to her were simply stalks of wheat waiting to be grabbed and cut with a sickle. Infact, he remembers her calling him 'nothing but a blood bag'. Atleast, he thinks it was her. If it was, he probably did something against her will, and he should be ashamed of that! But now she's making him bite the helping hoof of one who pulled him out. Is this truly what he wants? What is best for Equestria, for him? For... He stops, the alicorn putting a hoof on his temple and running down to his muzzle, sighing. He tries his best to get back to walking for the Boutique, to stop thinking about it. Nightmare did nothing wrong, she never has, he...or she...tells him. He shakes his head, trotting faster. The Carousel Boutique's tip seemed to be in sight with a red flag on it as described, seen over a house roof, and against a darkening backdrop. Rarity would probably not want a wet pony walking around her house, so ofcourse he trots ever so slightly faster. The thoughts come back, the Nightmare seeming to become concerned in his mind. He wears a poker face, trying to disguise his contemplation. Is it really worth it? Betraying the one who stopped him from being a conscious vegetable for eternity? Ofcourse it is! She committed all those horrible things to the Nightmare, there is no reason to contemplate this, it was futile to turn it around. She can't be the bad guy... Can't she? Is he truly the bad guy? He felt ashamed for showing weakness in the cavern, but he was at her mercy at the time, or maybe Nightmare had a lapse in controlling how he felt for a second. Maybe he was conscious of his actions at that very time? No, he was afraid to die. He needs to go forth, he thought again, all he was thinking was just her having got to him and such heinous ideas slipping into his mind through its cracks. In the distance, the tip of the Carousel Boutique disappeared as he got closer to a house, increasingly darkening skies showing the signs of another round of rain. Surprisingly enough, it did not rain, atleast the way Red thought it would The alicorn only walked in very windy conditions, his mane flapping on the side of his neck and his tail flowing back to brush by his lower belly. The dark clouds still hung over but oddly, the only rain that fell were small rounds of drizzle that posed no real problem for him. Ofcourse, he would be slightly damp to the touch, but regardless, Rarity will probably forgive him for that. His earlier concerns were that if it actually poured and got him soaked that she would be so bothered. He looked straight ahead, almost no ponies in sight. Word spread quickly, it seemed, but one can only guess that the others just took a hint that there was something in Ponyville that was big, bad and ugly. He groaned to himself, he can't be that bad. He's got a pretty muscular body, good legs, wings, well toned. Not sure about his mane or tail though. The mane and tail he had was rather short and ruffled up. Personally, he didn't really like long hair. It was a lot of work, an obstacle to vision, and in his opinion, tacky. Plus, it'd be uncomfortable in the helmet. As he walked alongside a house, or rather a jeweler with a terrified filly looking at him before being pulled behind a wall inside, he turned a corner. Only for his mouth to form an O. It was so tall and majestic, it was almost like a building from Canterlot. The roof looked rather smooth, colored a light pink color with various patterns on it. To complement that, the base had blue walls with the windows having yellow curtains or covers slightly covering them with the roof spilling out over them with various metal shapes that he didn't know what were in reference to but appreciated them anyways. The metallic decorations of pony silhouettes occupied the very top below the roof tip while one watched over the front door with refracted glass. Unsurprisingly, Red was wowed. This is something a citizen from Canterlot would be using as their house of merchandise. He trots up, noticing the tall, classical looking tents in the background. Merchants? Maybe just a market for those out of town who refused to pay for inn costs and preferred to live in their own tents? He'll have to ask. Nonetheless, he approached the refracted glass, appeased by the way light bent as it shone through it. He looked about using different angles, seeing blobs of objects that looked to be fabric roll racks, curtains, dressers, and an oddly fancy couch?' He looked up at the house number, giving a quick blink as he read it. "153" was what it said as he moved his hoof into position, ready to knock on the door with four strong, clear knocks, before noticing a small sign right beside the door. It was written in what could be constituted as 'cursive' in the written Equestrian language. "OPEN" was what it said as it hung from its place beside the door. He blinks, before realizing he can go inside. It's just like those shops he saw in operation at Canterlot, people going in them to do whatever. He was about to ask himself where the service window was, like in his times, where ponies would not be so inclined to have people inside of what would often be their own house and shop. His magic grabs the knob of the door, opening it up. Halfway across the opening, a bell rings. His right ear twitches as his eyes snap to the source. It was a tiny golden bell that had some engraving on it. It looked to be the Equestrian sun. His eyebrows bounce as he looks around the place, yet again taking note of the objects that he saw from outside the door but in a greater detail. The fabrics definitely seemed expensive and fine, their qualities almost seeming to radiate off them. Such rich colors, it was really a foreign thing to Red. How could fabric, a usually very drab thing, become so bright and vibrant? Its the sign of the time, he could only assume. He looks over to a some other room entrances that were plopped in the main hall, as well as the littering of mannequins all about the area. Some of them were unclothed, others were clothed in extravagant dresses or suits, with large hats whose brims could be called roofs in their own right. However, a door clicks open above, and seemingly excited hooves were heard. "Don't worry, darling, I'm coming!" the voice that was Rarity's thundered from above, or rather just sounded so. Her voice was really just soft, so it was only amplified by the fact that she seemed rather spooked and she was essentially on the uppermost level of the boutique. "Rarity?" Red asked, and the clip clopping stopped. There were only two before the small head and well groomed mane of the cute little unicorn Rarity popped up from the staircase above him. "Wait...Red Dusk? Here already?" he nods, the unicorn putting a hoof to her horn and sighing in relief, before sheepishly smiling at him. "I'm sorry, I just was not sure of when you were coming. When did you get here?" she asks as her head disappears and the clip clopping begins again, soon accompanied with the added vibrating of the wooden stairs. "Last night." he says simply as she walks up to him, looking at him with her side to him. "How fitting. Why are you here? Were you looking for Twilight and Applejack? They just left with Rainbow Dash." the alicorn frowns while the unicorn only stands looking up at him. "Wonderful. Well, I wanted to meet you again, and hopefully meet your sister, if she is here." Rarity is taken aback, before looking to the door. "No, she went to go with her friends and play in that rinky-dinky little tree house of their's. Its dusty and just... Eugh. Last time I went there, I got my mane tangled on a twisted nail head sticking out from the floor." Red chuckles as she finishes the sentence, the unicorn looking at him with a slightly annoyed face. "Excuse me? How would you like it if your mane, taken care of so finely and with so much work poured into it, was pulled on and made dirty all of a sudden, ruining hours of curling and styling?" Red had another short laughing fit, his hoof going up to his mouth. "Well, I would not be so happy if that were the case, but, alas, that is not the case for me." Rarity, although albeit annoyed, raised an eyebrow. With a sly snort, the alicorn slowly walking off to better look around the house. Walking over to a rack of rolled up fabric, he pulled up some of a green one that hung off the roll itself, looking over its near perfect crosshatched weave. He tugged at it, the roll of course rotating in correspondence to the force he put on it as he pulled. It seemed rather strong too, stiff almost, in comparison to the other fabrics above and below it. With the feeling of a hoof, he could conclude that they were high quality, comfortable pieces of cloth. Speaking of which, he remembers that he needed a more comfortable material for his gambeson, the thing was made using substandard cloth and he forgot to replace it. Just thinking about it prompts for there to be an itch all the way up from his right hoof to his knee. Ofcourse, he rubs with his left hoof, and it goes away easily. But now all he needs to do is get a good black roll from Rarity and put it on his gambeson. He makes a mental checklist while there were hoofsteps behind him. "Would you like coffee or tea?" she asked after a few seconds, with Red snapping his head back over to her and nodding shallowly after having looked around more. "Coffee. I am not too much of a fan of tea." he says shamelessly She hums from behind closed lips as she trots over to the kitchen, already reaching over to an exquisite coffeemaker on the stove. As she does this, she looks over at Red, who slowly walked over to her with small strides, at least for his legs. Looking back over, she puts in some water, new coffee grind, and starts up the stove, leaving the maker over the fire while she got some milk from out of the refrigerator and did her thing. As she worked, Red pulled a stool out to see underneath the tablecloth of the kitchen table, the floor clean and the table stand rather decorated. Everything in this house seemed to be arduously decorated. Even things as simple as mugs had all kinds of well defined markings on them including little grooves forming shapes or images. He picks up one mug from the table, his hoof coming up to feel it. It was very smooth, but obviously old, since the surface was beginning to flake off on the bottom. Overall, it was pretty nice. The handle was tall enough and just wide enough for a hoof to slither in and grab using the fetlock. "Oh, those mugs! I got them when I was at Canterlot a few years ago. I just couldn't resist buying them." the stallion looked behind himself to look at Rarity, who had a smile of glee while the coffeemaker bubbled and fumed. "Ah. They look nice, I must say, but I feel that they are-" "Expensive, yes. Fifty Bits per mug, and I got six of them!" The alicorn's head recoiled. That was pretty pricey, even for these mugs. Then again, he's looking at her like she's just a town peasant, which she isn't considering this is way after his time. "I assume you charge very much to fund your lifestyle considering it is so close to that of a noble?" She nods in confirmation as Red put back the mug, the unicorn pointing over to a mannequin that Red could see, albeit with some uncomfortable twisting of his head, wearing a blue dress with white and most importantly, gemstones sewn into it. "That one is for a mare in Manehattan, all the way to the east. She came down here to see our fields and the Castle of the Two Sisters, and we met. Darling, she is the sweetest mare I have ever met from the east. We had a little chat and everything was well." Red nods, taking note of the mention of the old castle. He remembers it still, just it had been abandoned after burning down along with the town built around it after his allies had laid waste to it through a siege. "So, what do you intend on doing apart from greeting the girls?" "Not much. I might simply draft up some letters in the evening to send to my friends in Canterlot, as well as to Celestia." Rarity smiles, before the sound of some coffee spilling out of the cup and sizzling right beside the burner attracted her immediate attention. The coffee was left on the stove for too long. It always perplexed Red on how well talking wastes time, but nonetheless, it was quite convenient, at times. "Oh dear!" is all Rarity says as she dashes forth, her magic turning the burner off. She grabs the coffee maker, swiping it up. Ofcourse, the stallion looked with a slight fascination at the unicorn working, or whatever you could call working. She pours the coffee from the floating coffeemaker into the mugs who both stood there, looking at Red with their seals. These ones were different from the ones on the table, both holding seals for nations that he never saw flags for ever. "Those mugs..." Rarity bends her neck with a short, questioning hum. A simple point is all that is needed as she nods and walks over with the mugs. "Two Griffon territory nations. You know the deal, darling, the entire place is full of small countries and some of the biggest ones don't even take up half of Equestria. These two ones are from North Griffoni and South Griffoni." "Creative names." Rarity snorts, sipping on her coffee. "I know, not ideal. But I digress, I went over there for the hilltop castles and their goat-cheese soups. Absolutely delicious." the words flow into Red's ears, eliciting a small resurgence in memory. "The Valley of the Two P---" he is cut off, the unicorn looking straight at him with a small grin. "Princes! Yes..." she tilts her head at Red, who takes in a breath of air, drinking his coffee. "Yes, The Valley of the Two Princes. Its an old tale, at least for you." Rarity's head recoiled back as she heard the name. As she does, she takes a sip of coffee, noticing her guest had already sipped up most of his mug. Her's was only half down, but that was good. She could stretch out the drink for the story she hoped to experience. "Oh... So..." "Do you wish for me to tell you all that I know?" Rarity nods, though with a slightly confused expression, while Red puts his right knee on the table to support his head as he looked into the ceiling, searching for words. As he did so, a cat came up from behind him, looking up at his tail that hung from the chair and then to Rarity. Rarity shakes her head with a slight anger, swatting her hoof in a way that would mean "vacate", and fortunately for Red, the feline disengages. Another time, it seemed to say as it walked away to a safe distance from Red and sat down on it's haunches, looking at Red with its green tinted eyes, just as he snaps out of thought. As Red postured himself to begin speaking, Rarity slid forward, lightly sipping her coffee as the alicorn began to speak.