//------------------------------// // 22. Contract // Story: Locksmith // by QuartzScale //------------------------------// I was walking towards Town Hall with Sunshower in tow. I don’t think my mind was fully functioning as well as I thought it would be because I was thinking that they had all just wanted me to try being in a herd with six different mares. But that would be insane and completely out of left field. I went back into my memories because something must have happened between then and now. “Well…?” “Well we’re all kinda talking about herd things with some other mares who found out about it and decided to go… ‘Hey mind if we join too?’ and all of us were like ‘Yeah sure I’m sure my roommate won’t mind at all.’ Then everypony is here and wants to give ya a shot. “Vinyl… I haven’t even gone on dates with the other three of you yet. And no the exploration of Canterlot doesn’t really count since I didn’t give each of you a day to yourselfs.” “So we’re in agreement that for the next week we’re all gonna go on dates until you get to know us better then.” “Yeah of course… wait, what? I mean… That’s fine. I just need to come back to Ponyville at night… Important reasons beyond my control and I need to sell some things to get some bits together… Also find out how much a home is. At least for today.” “You might get a home here in Ponyville?” “Yeah Octavia. I need to have a home base and somewhere to come back to. Since a majority of you seem to frequent here I might as well find a plot of land and see how much it would cost to get a house built.” “So how do you want to do this?” “What?” “How do you wanna handle these dates then? Like who goes first and such.” Spitfire motioned her hoof at the others who had just as curious expressions as she did. “Uh… I’m thinking of a number from one to ten.” “Six.” Octavia chuckled. “Two.” Vinyl countered. “Four~” Fresh Coat sang out. “Seven.” Sunshower chimed. “Eight.” Redheart muttered. “Five.“ Spitfire huffed. “Ok Spitfire guessed it, so she’s first. Then Octavia and Fresh Coat will have to figure out who goes first. Then Sunshower, Vinyl, and Redheart will play again to figure out who goes next after the first three. Is that fine?” There were a few grumbles from the three who guessed too high or too low but everypony was at least mature about these things. I slowly climbed off the couch and told them I needed to find out some things at City Hall. “Oh I’ll go with you. Might as well have somepony around to make sure you get through the day okay. Since it looks like you’re not sleeping anytime soon.” “I’m shooting for 3 and waking up by 8. I’m trying to be diurnal.” “What?” “Say what?” “What was that?” I blinked and realized that that word might not come up a lot. Hell I still didn’t know how to explain how I knew that word without using the phrase God shoved it into my brain. I looked around a bit then finally answered holding back the sigh I was fighting against. “Means I stay up both day and night and only sleep in the afternoons.” A bunch of oh’s and ah’s chorused out. I nodded and started trotting for the door. My mind was still reeling and I did my best impersonation of someone who knew what they were doing. Sunshower followed after me while the mares in question decided to debate when this would start and how we would handle it. Spitfire, at least from what I saw, looked extremely smug that she had won first place. She also seemed to stop sweating bullets as well but I had no idea what that was about. I left the house with a mare in tow and went straight for City Hall. Nope I was just freaking out and purposely trying to forget it. What I thought was three now turned to six and I have no idea what I’m getting into. Not to mention that I’m pretty sure that the Nightmare thing is in the forest plotting things now. Evil things or revenge I’m not sure but it’s probably going to be something sinister. It was so engrossing I barely noticed that we had reached Town Hall. I had a quick look around the town as well for the fearsome beast I only know as ‘The Pink One’ only to see her chasing after Rainbow Dash. It was weird seeing the dedication she was putting into catching her. Then she saw me and stopped. She looked at me with a face I could only call the serious face. Then her eyes widened in abject terror as she looked at the fading contrail of rainbows. She looked torn between her two goals then she pointed a hoof at me. “SOON…” I shook my head and gave a determined look back. Sunshower stood off to the side while I stood my ground. She may have liked me but no one would go against Pinkie Pie’s determination. I would. “NEVER…” The smirk she gave me told me her response. It was one of inevitability. I knew that look well because it was the same look I received from my Captain when he ‘promoted’ me. It told me that it would happen… regardless of what I do. She then zoomed off after what I guessed was Rainbow Dash if the memories in my head could be trusted. Strangely, I still have no journal entries on any other pony I’ve met just yet. I suppose the journal requires me to meet them and speak for more than a few seconds than I did with Pinkie Pie. After she zoomed off Sunshower looked concerned about things. I merely patted her on the back with my wing and urged us on. I ignored the blush mostly because I knew she liked me… then again it could be something about using wings like that which could be the real problem. Regardless, I entered the Town Hall and walked up to the receptionist… which was non existent. Rolling my eyes, I knocked on the Mayor’s door. “Yes? Come in.” I stepped inside and noticed a young looking mare sitting at the main desk though for some reason the grey colored mane was throwing me off. I stepped forward with Sunshower sitting off to the side. “Hi… I’m Nebula Gray. I was hoping to see if there were any possible places to get a home built.” “Ah a new resident… Well I suppose we could find something. Are you looking prebuilt or something new?” “New hopefully… I need to know a cost and where the possible plots of land are before I commit.” Mayor Mare, as I came to know her as, took out a map of Ponyville showcasing that while the town was small there was still over five hundred ponies living in Ponyville with most of that bulk appearing before tourist seasons. A sleepy town in the middle of nowhere gave it one of those rustic charms which enticed the normal ponies into settling down. I also noticed her staring at me as well but it wasn’t out of attraction. It felt as though she was trying to place me from somewhere. The map was pretty detailed. I couldn’t build anywhere in the southeastern region due to the whole place being owned by the Apple Family Orchards. I didn’t think about building anything in the northwest because of the abundance of train tracks in that area. The very edge of the map has a small place in the western part of town that was for the most part secluded. “How about here?” “Hm… Most ponies don’t live out there because of the closeness to the Everfree… Are you sure about that?” “Yeah… it fits me at the very least.” What followed were several hours of discussing contracts and other such things. I had to place a deposit of a hundred bits which instantly drained my cash down to my last twenty nine bits. For the rest I would be required to pay off about six hundred more bits over the course of a month and rent would be around eighty bits. I have no idea whether or not this would be costly or not. I have to sell some of those jewels to someone in Canterlot. Hopefully, those shard jewelry would get me what I needed. If not I could sell a lucid crystal. “Thank you for deciding to join Ponyville. Should any problems arise just get me, Mayor Mare, and I would be happy to assist.” “Of course Mam. Thanks for the help. When should the project be done?” “Three days.” The speed which she answered and the short wait period was shocking… to say the least. My surprise must have painted my face because she chuckled. “Here in Ponyville we have some of the best barn builders in Equestria. A house would take a much shorter time.” I nodded and followed Sunshower out waving as I did. It was weird walking on three hooves but it was possible. It was a very quiet and amicable silence as we walked off for the house. I still needed to go to Canterlot to sell some of the jewelry in order to pay off all the construction on the home I would be getting. Managed to negotiate for a much larger basement and a two story home. Also managed to get several rooms in case I ever had to have a lot of ponies over… which seemed to be something that was going to happen eventually. “So one more order of business before I’m done for today…” “Yes?” “I need to find a jeweler in Canterlot.” “A jeweler? Why do you need that?” “A business partner of mine wanted me to show off some of his… creations to sell more often.” “What do they look like?” I pulled out one of the lucid shard bracelet and her eyes immediately focused on the gem used. The reason that all synthesis items look so interesting is that all of them seem to have a life all their own and shine with the very thing that they embody most. Lucid synthesis items embodied the very essence of emptiness. While they are transparent something in the item makes it appear as more changing shades depending on what angle they are looked at. “That’s really pretty…” Her eyes were glued on the item in question. I had a feeling that she wanted me to give her one as well… I thought about it… then immediately thought not to. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to give her something but I needed to find something that would fit her better. “I need to find the right ones for each of you before I get something much better for each of you.” Her eyes perked up and while she seemed a bit disappointed the idea of something better seemed to stop her thoughts from getting away from her. As I have found out Sunshower is the cuddler which is what she did after I put the jewelry back into my saddlebags. I was stunned for a bit but I did allow her to have her fun before we trotted off for Octavia and Vinyl’s home. “We’re back.” I opened the door only to find that Vinyl and Spitfire were the only ones inside. They waved and returned back to speaking to each other. Sunshower took a seat near them joining them while I began to trot outside. “Where are you going?” “Huh?” I had been stopped by Spitfire. “Where are ya going?” “Oh I need to go to Canterlot and find a jeweler. It’s important for getting a home base here.” “I’ll go with then. I got some contacts there.” Spitfire stood up leaving Vinyl and Sunshower to their conversation though I noticed Vinyl was a bit on edge. I didn’t know why at all. “That’s fine but I want to get there fast.” “Fast? Who do you think you’re talking to?” “Faster than that. Here hold on.” “Wait… what?” Before she could protest I picked her up flared up my wings and dived into the shadows. When I left I thought I could hear Vinyl laughing like a hyena. I wondered if hyena were a thing here. We ended up in one of the Canterlot Alleys from a place that I remember seeing a while back while I was being escorted through the city. I placed Spitfire back on her hooves before she could freak out anymore. I don’t think she was blushing but it was hard to tell when she was busy looking around her surroundings. “What in Tartarus…? How…?” “Thestral thing. I can go through shadows and bring I think at least one other pony with me. Decided to speed this up so I could spend more time talking with all of you before we actually head out on a date.” “Right… Um… so you were serious about that?” “Uh… yeah. You are first so I’ll go all out to make sure you have a good time… with whatever we’re gonna do. Especially since it seems like you would be busy most of the time. So we should enjoy the time we do get.” “... Hm… I guess Vinyl was right about ya. You’re a bit of a dork sometimes as well.” Well that wasn’t what I was expecting… Roll with it. Let’s see where this goes before anything bad happens. “I’m not that bad.” “Nah you aren’t but that was a bit cheesy. I’ll see how you do tomorrow. For our date we’re heading over to the Wonderbolts Academy. I need to check on something with you there. Just between you and me.” “Hopefully you can keep up.” I think she enjoyed that because a smirk appeared on her muzzle. Then she got real close to me. And brushed my cheek before socking me in the arm. She was blushing though and I barely felt anything… ow… Not a thing. “Don’t get too ahead of yourself and save that talk for tomorrow. Now let’s get to this jeweler and see what you got for him.” She led the way getting some odd stares from the unicorns of the place but none of them seemed to be bigoted like that Jet Set and Upper Crust ponies. I ignore the stares which seemed to be focused on the fact that I was cantering along with her. Right… she is a celebrity. Huh… well this is gonna be a pain in the ass eventually. I shook myself out of my thoughts as well came up to a very illustrious looking jewel shop. “Oh goody the riff… Oh excuse me welcome to Shiny Baubles on the Lane. I’m the proprietor Shiny Baubles. How can I help you two?” “I’m wondering if you could look at this for me.” I pulled out one of the lucid hoof bracelets and one of the dark hoof bracelets. When he took out a small eyepiece to look closer at the his eyes seemed to bug out but only for a moment. It was almost impossible to detect but it seems freaky pegasi styled eyes still work even if you’re a nocturnal thestral. His poker face came back on when he looked back up to me. “I can give you thirty for each of them. They look pretty well made even if the gems aren’t something to write home about.” I had thirty of these bracelets and while nine hundred bits was a good price for them all I needed to have a bit of a surplus before I got a home. So I thought about everything I had ever seen in my own career as a cop. Only once had I ever been involved in a case that involved a corrupt business man buying low and selling high which wasn’t that big a deal. The fraud was considered a white collared crime though so the procedure was still followed and it worked out. The only thing I made of note was that one of his business deal he lost composure when he was presented with a blue diamond. Surprisingly what I found out was that with the clarity being cloudy made it much more expensive to buy. He managed to sell his expression that it wasn’t going to be as much as it actually cost and actually won. “I don’t know… I looked at another jeweler and they were willing to give me sixty bits for each one.” I didn’t want to push too hard. I needed a good price from this guy and maybe if he wasn’t going to be an asshole I was going to use him to keep bit roaming back into me. Underhoofed… I groaned… I know but I didn’t like most of the residents in Canterlot so I didn’t feel as bad especially when they had scoffed at me just for being around Spitfire. “I can tell you are actually someone who knows their stuff don’t you… Fine eighty bits for the two. Anything else?” “How about a couple more. I got a few I could sell to you and perhaps make you pretty popular when ponies come in.” “I’m listening…” “I have fifteen of each and if you give me eighty bits each then I’ll come back when I get more that you could sell at whatever you want. Nopony else has these and nopony ever will. So..?” He looked down at me and I could tell he hated the idea but the thought of investments and more money seemed to swim through his eyes coaxing him. He agreed and I was given twenty four hundred bits. Over two thousand bits were traded and Spitfire helped me pack the bag into my saddlebags. She seemed really confused about this. “It’s enchanted to fit a lot of things and not be that heavy…” “Neat… Think you could get me one of those?” “Uh… sure just bring me a bag you like and I can go talk to my master about it. I can talk him into helping me out with the charm.” She seemed appeased by this and she led me out. As soon as we found a quiet spot I picked her up and ducked into another shadow. When we reappeared near the house again and I placed her down. She seemed to be more comfortable now with all this. We trotted inside only to find all the ponies I met sitting around eating lunch. They gave us our small meal and I already felt that fatigue was trying to get me down. I had one more thing to do before I slept that night and that was to go out and spend some bits on the rest of the house before hand. So as soon as I finished the sandwich, very small portion for some reason, I went back to City Hall and knocked on the Mayor’s door again. Luckily she was still in but her assistant wasn’t. I ignored it for now and paid off the loans I made when I signed the contract and paid the construction in full. Now at eighteen hundred and twenty nine bits. Still more than enough for whatever came my way. I had made a good business deal for now… As much fun as it would have been to play merchant it was not meant to be. I went back to the home and fell asleep for the afternoon hanging out on the porch in front of their home. I did tell them beforehand, hoof… whatever and they acquiesced. I did hear the roar of something out in the town but I didn’t put much thought into it. It seemed the girls were still discussing things and I endeavored to make sure to have coffee with me in case I needed it whenever these dates were scheduled to happen. When night fell they all turned in early while I woke up and watched the forest. Something bad would be happening every night and I knew it would be worse if I did nothing. The eyes returned again and were watching me carefully. Whenever one tried to get out of the forest I would immediately step onto the ground and flare my wings out glaring at it. It would step back into the forest and I would return back to the porch ceiling watching. I needed to get into the forest and destroy that thing before it could become a bigger threat. I looked through the Lexicon and looked over the map. I was less worried about being seen that night. Pinkie was too focused on what apparently was a griffon in the town and a lot of the ponies were on edge trying to not become part of the shenanigans. Either way the eyes were still watching. Whenever I looked closer I noticed that all the creatures were made of smoke instead of being actual physical creatures. It didn’t last as long as I thought they would as the smoke creatures fled back into the forest leaving me watching nothing. I went back to sleep after that. Tomorrow was going to be the first of the longest day in my entire life. Mayor Mare Head of Ponyville and the voice of the town in most cases. Mayor Mare runs the bureaucracy of Ponyville on a tight ship. For the most part she is unassuming but the shrewd personality she hides can be seen whenever you sit near her when she does paperwork. Mane color may not be grey and uncertain of what color is actually is. Shiny Baubles Owner of Shiny Baubles on the Lane. Shiny is a very egocentric unicorn but he does have some of the fairer deals on the market in Canterlot. While money grubbing there are several lines he won’t cross. He enjoys finding new gems in his spare time and making his own jewelry whenever time permits.