//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 - "Wait, you're telling me I'm rich?!" // Story: Momodora: Equestrian Adventure // by Whiskas //------------------------------// Chapter 4 - "Wait, you're telling me I'm rich?!" The sun rays fell on Kaho's face, waking her up. She slowly lifted her eyelids but quickly slammed them shut, as the stream of light seared her retinas. She groaned and slowly got up to a sitting position, still not opening her eyes. The green bedsheets fell off of her onto the bed as she lifted her hooves to her face and rubbed it furiously. Finally, she dared to look around the room. It wasn't very furnished, as there was only a nightstand and the bed she slept on. Her bag was laying on the ground near said nightstand, her white cloak on said nightstand, and her bow was leaning against the wall in corner of the room to her right. She could hear children... or foals as she learned from Honey Bee, playing outside already. She remembered her host also mentioning that the children were the village's alarm clock, always outside by nine o'clock unless it was raining. Kaho got out of the bed and slowly made her way towards the kitchen. It was silent, cries of children growing distant and faint as she moved away from the windows, only the sounds of her hooves hitting the floor tiles reaching her ears. She found a note on the kitchen counter. It was written elegantly with Honey's signature at the bottom. The note read "Kaho, Me and Bold went outside to shop for certain things. We won't be back for an hour or so, so please make yourself some breakfast. Try not to leave the kitchen too much of a disaster by the time you're done. Have Fun! Honey. Kaho didn't find the smiley face on the back of the note reassuring. Two failed attempts later, Kaho managed to make herself a sandwich with butter, minuscule amounts of a horribly malformed tomato and a single leaf of lettuce. It turned out that attempting to slice tomatoes, when you don't have hands and your magic cuts out every other second from the motion of cutting said tomatoes is a bad idea. By the time she was done with the first "slice", it didn't actually look like a slice of tomato but more like a juicy red massacre. She dumped the most of it in the trashcan, before wiping the juice of the table and herself with a bunch of paper towels. Butter wasn't actually spread, as there were big chunks of it flattened against the tortured slice of bread. The leaf of lettuce was the only thing that wasn't horribly tortured one way or another and that was only because tearing out a leaf from the vegetable and laying on the bread couldn't really be messed up. A horrible abomination of a sandwich created, Kaho stared at it for a moment before taking a hesitant bite out of it. It tasted horrendous, more butter than actual bread, tomato or lettuce combined, but she persevered reducing the monstrosity bite by bite. It was terrible and she almost threw up by the time she was halfway but she finished it. Immediately after she looked for something to drink, to wash away the dreadful taste of butter away. The priestess's gaze fell on the water tap and she dove towards it in desperation. Kaho fumbled to lift handle before reaching her mouth into the sink and drinking. She downed the tap water gulp after gulp. She stopped after a while, sighing in relief. Her taste buds were saved from the nauseating taste of butter! "Okay, telekinesis is something I have to practice because I don't want to suffer through something like that ever again." She murmured. Some time later Kaho was outside, wandering around the town. Ponies around were giving her funny looks and she guessed it was caused by the bow on her back. She didn't care too much about said looks, that bow sawed her hide more times than she could count. In her eyes, it was just more reasonable to handle certain threats from a distance, hence the bow. Not all priestesses had the option to fight from distance. Others threw paper charms, but in her experience those were harder to prepare than simply buying arrows from a merchant or even making them yourself. On the other hand the paper charms could be augmented with powerful magic, boosting their power. It was certainly a difficult choice, as the bow took practice to shot but even that was not as time consuming as learning to throw paper charms in a straight line and across the room. She could do it but she wasn't the best at it. Kaho quietly realized that she's been standing in the middle of the road and that was only attracting stranger looks to her. She moved forward, now looking around and trying to find anything of interest. The town wasn't anything special, at least in the spot she was in. Simple houses with foals running about, sand under her hooves, trees in the distance and... shouting in the distance? She redirected herself, listening and trying to catch what was being shouted. "Enchanted cowls, hoods and cloaks! Stay safe from the desert heat!" "Potted plants of all kinds! Potted plants of all kinds for your plant filled house pleasure!" "Delicious peaches! Delicious Dora pe-" But Kaho stopped paying attention as soon as the "Dora" reached her ears. Memories surged and a different view slowly came into being, substituting the current one. There was a wooden gate with two tall men in their twenties standing guard with spears leaning against shoulders. A short girl stood in front of her, tears welling up in her sapphire blue eyes. Her brown hair was messy and she was panting. Both were wearing the same clothes. The girl was grasping a very big red leaf with her trembling hands and there was a wooden bow on her back. "Kaho! Please don't leave! I don't want you to go!" The girl cried out pitifully. "Donna please... I don't want you to get hurt. I understand your desire to come with me but this time it's different. This time it isn't a single monster wandering out of it's territory. We've been partners for three years now and you know I don't like you endangering your own life. Karst has been in a horrible state for a few weeks now and it's starting to spread. I need to go now." She replied, tearing up a bit herself. "B-but I don't want you to leave me too..." The girl named Donna whispered, sobbing quietly. "Donna I would never leave you. I'm doing this for your own good, so you don't have to. Please, understand that." Kaho hoped the conversation would end quickly, as she did not want to start crying right now. "Y-you promise we'll see each other again..?" Donna asked, sniffling loudly. In response Kaho grabbed both her hands, causing the leaf in Donna's hand to drop to the ground soundlessly. "I swear upon the Gods that we both, oh so cherish, that we will see each other again." Kaho said seriously. And just for a moment, the wind picked up considerably, it got a bit warmer, everything went silent and their hands glowed. "K-Kaho? Did y-you ju-just?" Donna stumbled over her words, before Kaho interrupted. "Make a sacred oath? Yes I did, I'm the high priestess, I can make those as easy as it is to take a breath. Donna trust me, we will see each other again. Now please... don't hurt yourself before I come back Donna." Donna's face lit up like a Christmas tree before she saluted and spoke. "I won't get hurt before I see you again! Or my name isn't Donna Doralina!" She spoke as formally as she could while her face was completely red and in tears. Kaho smiled and chuckled, ruffling her hair. "Great! Now I need to go, but I'll be back in a few months. Please keep the village safe." And with those words she turned around and departed, walking the dirt road leading away from the village. Several minutes passed and she encountered the last familiar face she would in a few months. Her brother was waiting near the road, sitting on tree stump. "Kaho." "Keith." "You won't come back." His voice wasn't, sad or angry. He was merely stating a fact. "I made a sacred oath to Donna. I will come back." The sentence caused him to snort. "What did you say? "We'll see each other again"? I hope you know that covers both of you meeting in the afterlife sister." "Keith..." "Kaho. I want you to reconsider. You shouldn't leave alone. I'm not saying you should take Donna." He hastily added seeing her expression darken. "Take some other priestess with you. This isn't something you can do on your own and you know it." "I won't risk anyone's life Keith. This is something I'll have to do on my own." He sighed. "I knew you wouldn't. Honestly I don't know what I expected." "Keith if it will be like you said... please take care of Donna. I'm all she has and if I won't come back, you need take her in." "I will... I was trying to make you not want to leave but look at me, bowing down to your every whim." He said humorlessly, slumping in defeat. He got up shortly, walking over to Kaho and hugging her. She awkwardly hugged him back, tears in her eyes. "Goodbye sister." "Goodbye brother." And they've never seen each other again. Kaho blinked away the tears gathering in her eyes. That was a memory, a particularly painful one. She didn't know how much time passed before her reincarnation but Donna was probably six feet under now. She knew that when she dies, Donna will be there waiting for her to rip her a new one. The girl, while painfully shy and clumsy, had a hidden spark within. She was vaguely aware that other ponies were still staring at her but she ignored it. The priestess continued onward towards the marketplace to buy one of those Dora peaches. She couldn't shake off wanting to taste one, not after that memory resurfacing. She got to the stand, where an white earth pony stallion with a yellow mane stood next to the boxes of fruits, covered from sunlight by a few planks slapped together, imitating a roof. "Well look here a customer! What can I help you with miss?" He asked in an incredibly smooth tone. "How much for a Dora peach?" "Two bits, my dear customer, only two bits!" He exclaimed loudly. "Um, I'm not exactly from around here. Tell me do you accept munny as a currency?" She asked, only now realizing that she might not be as wealthy as she thought she was. While around two thousand munny wasn't exactly a fortune, it was a sum that could allow you to live modestly for three or four months. A face made by the booth pony made her realize that she might actually be broke. "Munny? Can't say I've ever heard of such a currency. However there just so happens to be a currency exchange office not so far away. Turn to your right, walk to the nearest crossroad, turn left and you'll see it! Be sure to come back for the peaches!" "Thanks. I'll be back soon, I hope." She replied absentmindedly before starting to follow the directions the stallion gave her. She really did not want to ask Bold or Honey for money. She was already living under their roof and eating their food for free. She didn't want to ask for money too! "Okay, turn left and..." She turned around the corner to see a bunch of brick houses. There was, however a small white building with a sign that said "Currency Exchange" and had a bit symbol down below. She made her way towards it, silently wondering just what would be the exchange rate. Fifty munnies a bit? A hundred? Maybe a thousand? That would shoot down her plans of wandering around Equestria, without the money she couldn't buy food. She could always take a bath in a river and she learned to sleep on many surfaces during her time as a human. She walked through the front door and was immediately greeted with a sight of an dark purple unicorn stallion with a black mane, sitting behind the counter, swinging back and forth on a chair. Said chair was emitting sounds that made Kaho doubt it's durability. There were a few shelves around the room, mostly empty. A door was located directly behind him. His eyes were closed and he didn't seem to notice she came in. She closed the distance between the two of them and knocked on the wooden counter. There was no response from the stallion. "Hello?" She called out. The unicorn jerked on his chair, falling of off it and sprawling on the floor. Kaho winced and leaned over the counter to see if he was alright. "Aughh, Celestia damn me and my sleeping habits." He groaned out while rubbing his head with his left hoof. The mare gaze followed his movements for a few seconds before she asked. "Excuse me sir, are you alright?" His head shot upwards and her brown eyes were met with his nearly black ones. Their gazes were locked for a moment or two before he broke it, glancing at the fallen chair. "Well... this is embarrassing." He coughed before getting up. "I am alright though. This wouldn't be the first time this happened. My name is Dark Shadow and before you say anything, mother was on lots of drugs when naming me." Kaho rose an eyebrow. He coughed again, awkwardly looking away. "So what can I help you with?" He asked trying to not look her in the eyes. "I'd like to exchange currency. Munny for bits." His eyes widened, then a smile appeared on his lips. "Finally! I don't get a lot of business in this town but it's still better than when I tried to do it in mainland Equestria!" He exclaimed, putting his hooves on the table and staring into her eyes. Kaho took a step back at the sudden change but lit her horn to take her bag off her back. She opened one of it's pockets and spilled some of the munnies on the counter. Shadow's eyes widened again before his horn lit up with black aura and he lifted one of the munnies to his eye. He closely inspected the small pink star shaped object before looking back at Kaho, looking just a tiny bit pale. "How many do you have with you?" He asked looking back at the star in his black telekinetic hold. "Around two thousand. It's hard to count these little guys." She admitted, trying to not act bothered by Shadow's sudden change behavior. "So how many of those for a single bit?" She tried to be nonchalant. She really did. But her plans depended on having at least some money in the near future. And that resulted in her asking him incredibly nervously. "Dear client you could upset the economy with what you have here! A single "munny" is worth around at least five bits!" He all but shouted. "Wait, you're telling me I'm rich?!" She asked, voice brimming with disbelief. He snorted in response. "Disgustingly so. If you spent all of this reasonably, you could in theory live out your entire life without having to do anything for the rest of it." He explained quickly. The priestess sat down on her plot because, quite frankly this was getting just a bit too intense for her. "Wow... Never thought I'd be rich. That's... definitely something." "I can imagine. Do you have actually have an idea why you're so rich?" She shook her head. "This." He lifted an another munny and held it in front of her. "This is raw solid magic. Any semi solid wizard would sell his soul to get this amount of it. I could probably cover the entire desert in shadows if I ate all of this and I have not dedicated my life to it. If this is your country's currency girl, any rich mage could, no is a walking disaster waiting to happen." Kaho suddenly realized just why Fennel and Choir could toss around extremely powerful spells during their fights with her so casually. The church of Lord Esselin is a very large religion with a lot of followers in and around Karst City. Dozens of pilgrims each week, and the only time they stopped coming in was when the Queen went insane. No one was coming into the city for months, so their munny had to rapidly depleting with the monster attacks on their monastery. She realized with horror showing on her face that the pardoner and the arch priestess of the Esselin church were very, very far from the height of their power when she fought them. And both of those fights have been extremely close calls. The sisters clearly did not mess around. "Well how much do you want to trade in?" Shadow's voice interrupted her grim realization. "I presume you don't actually have enough bits for me to trade it all in?" She asked, already knowing the answer. "Obviously. This job might pay well but I don't have nearly enough money from both the office and my own savings combined to reach a quarter of that round ten thousand you have there. I can give you five hundred bits at most, lady. Actually what is your name, you still didn't introduce yourself." He asked. "Kaho Reinol. And I'll take that five hundred Shadow." "Hm. A very unusual name but then again you aren't from around these parts so I guess it's to be expected. Give me a moment and if you could, please count out a hundred munnies for me." He said before turning around and opening the door behind him and leaving the room. Kaho got up from her sitting position and started to slowly count out the hundred munnies the stallion asked for. She wasn't thinking during the process. Before she finished the door opened but she didn't let that distract her. Finally finishing she took the excess munny from the counter and dumped it back into her bag. Shadow was standing nearby a very big bag of bits hovering next to him. Kaho pursed her lips. "That." She noted. "Might be a problem. I can't lift that much with my telekinesis." Shadow blinked in response. "Yeah, really glad you told me that now." "Don't you start being passive-aggressive on me!" "So how about I this. I'll hold the money for you. You should be able to get an extra size wallet, by which I mean a one that has a pocket dimension enchantment on it." "How much does one cost?" "Hundred bits." She sighed. "Where?" "There's a merchant selling those in in the marketplace. Fat, blue, earth pony. Can't miss him. Come back when you get it and I'll give you the bits." Kaho groaned. This was not her day. She left the store, taking one hundred fifty just in case, without more words being exchanged. A minute later she was back in the marketplace trying to find the merchant Shadow spoke of. It was hard, since apparently in the time she was gone more stalls were put down and occupied which obscured her vision. She did however spot the white stallion who sold the Dora peaches. She did get a bit hungry during the wait for Shadow so she decided to but a peach before looking further for the wallet seller. "Hello my dear customer! How did my advice work out for you?" The stallion asked as soon as she got within his view. Kaho was surprised he remembered her at all but chalked it up to something a merchant should know. "Very well mister." She said warmly. "I'd like one Dora peach sir." She said lighting her horn and fishing out two bits from her lot more heavier bag. "Pleasure doing business with you!" He exclaimed as she walked away, biting into the peach. It was incredibly sweet, just like Donna. Her eyes started scanning the crowd of ponies. She didn't have the time to find what she needed though as screams reached her ears, followed by the sound of a bell ringing throughout the entire town. Ponies around started to panic. She grabbed a pegasus mare before she could fly up int the sky and shouted over all the noise. "What's happening!?" The mare looked into her eyes, screamed the answer and flied away. Kaho's telekinetic control over the peach weakened before failing completely. She stood dumbfounded as the crowd rushed around her trying to find a place to hide. The answer echoed loudly in her ears and thoughts. "Elementals! Sand elementals are attacking!"