//------------------------------//
// Gerardo's Dawn 
// Story: The Olden World 
// by Czar_Yoshi 
//------------------------------//

The first hint of rising sun was all it took to rouse Gerardo from slumber, shining through Sharpie and Brightcoil's lone window and illuminating a patch of slate-gray concrete that was part of the far wall. It was a welcome awakening, his sleep having been less than pleasant thanks to the hard stone floor serving as his bed. Still, as an adventurer he had dealt with much worse, and rose with several degrees more grace than could reasonably have been asked.

Nearby, a bulging mound of quilts and blankets covered the room's single bed, stacked so high that it was impossible to tell if there were any ponies beneath them. Taking stock of the temperature as he preened, Gerardo judged the night to have been pleasantly cool and no colder, implying that at least one of the mares was used to a much hotter climate. Brightcoil, he supposed. As a unicorn, it was fairly likely she was from the Earth District.

Carefully, he coughed, impatience to get on with his mission clashing harder and harder with his desire to be a respectful guest as his brain tuned its priorities for the day. The guest identification Sharpie had printed the previous night was still affixed to his uniform, so leaving to explore on his own was always a possibility... but since he needed Sharpie's help to meet Herman, soloing wouldn't do anything productive. Finishing one wing and moving on to the next, he settled in, resolving to wait.

About halfway down his inner feathers, he heard a rustle from the bed and looked up. A pair of pink eyes blinked out from a gap in the covers, eventually followed by Sharpie's face and then the rest of her body. She slithered disgruntledly onto the floor, sitting up and digging in her ear, cheek puffing as she ran her tongue around the inside of her mouth.

"Ah!" Gerardo beamed. "You're up!"

Black, uncombed mane plastered messily across her face, Sharpie took several seconds to respond. "Not until I get coffee and a shower." Getting to her hooves, she staggered past him, eyes unfocused, completely oblivious to personal space, and squeezed her way out the door, opening it as little as possible to get through. Gerardo blinked.

A wistful sigh echoed from the blanket stack, and Gerardo turned once again to see Brightcoil's head also protruding from the pile. "Good morning..." she said tiredly, not making any move to crawl further out.

"Indeed." Gerardo nodded, bowing deeply. "Let us hope the rest of the day is as such. Did you have a pleasant sleep?"

"I should probably be asking you that..." Brightcoil mumbled, looking away. "Since I'm your host, and all, and you were the one sleeping on the floor. Um... did you?"

"I have had much worse," Gerardo truthfully answered. "In my line of work, one can rarely afford to be picky. Last night was at least spent with the presence of a roof, and I did not wake to find myself surrounded by brigands or wild animals. Of course, I trust we still have a plan?"

Brightcoil exhaled. "You'd have to ask Sharpie. You've probably noticed, but she's the one who's in charge of things. She feels better when she makes things work to help others. She really needs it..."

"Mmm. Forgive me for saying, but she doesn't seem to be in the happiest place."

"It didn't used to be like that," Brightcoil sighed. "Years ago, before she got promoted to this job, things were different. She used to work as a low-level manager for airship maintenance at the skyport. Not quite low enough to get grease on her hooves, but she was directly responsible for the ponies that did. Making sure they did their jobs, stayed safe, and kept others safe by making the system as efficient as it could possibly be. She'd say it was worth it, every time a ship left and completed its flight without issue. All she ever asked was for someone to thank her when she was done."

Gerardo nodded along as she talked, but eventually raised a talon. "Are you sure these are things I need to hear? They seem somewhat... personal."

"Oh." Brightcoil's face fell. "No, you're probably right. I just... I don't know. I've felt for so long like things are just going to keep getting worse until something else happens to make a change, and then you started talking in Skyfreeze, and... sorry."

"Hmm. Well, there's no need to apologize for hope," Gerardo countered, firmly silencing any possible continuation. "And I suppose I did ask, so there's always that. However, while I'm flattered you trust me so, perhaps stories of your clearly tragic past should wait until at least formalities have passed? At present, we are allies, and I'd prefer that to become friends before we tell tales of emotion and drama."

"I..." Brightcoil blinked, face scrunching in confusion. "Sorry. I'm not awake enough yet for that many big words, and that went right over my head."

"Ah. My apologies, in that case." Gerardo bowed again, turning away without breaking eye contact. "Being unnecessarily verbose is an unfortunate habit I can't quite seem to shake... Err... that is, yes, I talk too much. To paraphrase: let us have breakfast before any more of that talk."

Brightcoil's horn lit, projecting a green aura the color of her mane out over the room. Without moving an inch further out from under her covers, she hovered over a jug of water, drank deeply, then unwrapped an oat cake and held it to her muzzle, chewing.

"That... is one way to have breakfast, yes," Gerardo admitted, left feeling slightly awkward from the display. "I don't suppose there is anything for me...?"





When Sharpie returned, coat still ruffled with dampness and mane tied in a cord to dry, Brightcoil had finally risen, sleepily sitting next to a table as Gerardo chewed daintily on a mango. "Morning, Sharpie," she offered limply.

"Aha," Gerardo exclaimed, "You're back! I take it we are nearly ready to depart?"

"Coffee," Sharpie demanded. "Later. Wait."

"I started it already," Brightcoil interrupted, pulling over a small press in her aura along with a kettle of boiling water. "Here."

Seizing a mug in her wing and holding it in anticipation, Sharpie watched dully as the unicorn squeezed. A moment of dripping later, and she lifted it for a sip, steam still rising in curtains... and sighed. "I needed that. Where were we?"

"Myself," Gerardo announced. "Last night in the Sky District, we agreed to join forces as I attempt to recover my friends and cargo from the Defense Force. You thought it would be prudent for me to take my case to Herman, if I recall correctly."

"Right." Sharpie took another gulp. "You're the optimist who thinks he can do something about them." Setting her mug down with a clank, she rubbed one wing against the other, then bent down and began licking her fur, trying to straighten it back into place. "And I said I'd help you, because why not? It's not like I have anything left to lose."

"Technically, we do still have a lot of good things..." Brightcoil whispered to the side. "Sharpie, want me to get your mane?"

"Not relating to defeating the yaks," Sharpie grumbled. "And fine. I assume you want to leave as soon as possible?"

"That would be ideal, yes." Gerardo nodded, standing up. "How fast are we referring to by 'as soon as possible'?"

"I will not be happy or pleasant without something to eat," Sharpie muttered, moving to inspect a still-packed bag of food as Brightcoil's aura followed her around with a comb. "Two minutes."

"Very well..." Impatiently strumming his talons against the floor, Gerardo settled in to wait, counting off the seconds in his mind until he could get another shot at helping his friends and saving his cargo.