//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: The Spaces In Between // by ThatShakeWeight //------------------------------// Mister Espresso’s isn’t exactly the nicest coffee shop this side of the Garston Belt, but it’s not the worst either. It’s a small place, but not crushingly small like some shops. It’s got 2 tables near the back that are rarely used, and a couple stools near the counter that a lot of regulars frequent. Even though it’s a small shop, on a fast day there could be people lining up to get a coffee. Although the coffee’s not notoriously good, it works wonders and I wouldn’t be surprised if the stuff could wake the dead. I, personally, have to dump a lot of creamer into the stuff to stop from gagging at the taste. After a while, you honestly just get used to the flavor. I still dump a bunch of creamer in, it makes it taste a lot better. Despite the gasoline that we disguise as coffee, a lot of people frequent the place, and slow days don’t come often. Today, however, it’s a quiet day at the shop. A few regulars dropped by earlier, ordering some coffee and maybe a bagel for their commute to work. None of them stayed to chat, unfortunately, but it’s understandable. As lucky as I am to be working at Mr. Espresso’s, considering how many worse jobs there are out there; it’s nothing if not boring. By the moon, there’s nothing to do on slow days! My boss is a decent stallion, although we aren’t permitted to do much while we’re behind the counter. No holo-mags, no e-books, nothing. Even though I couldn’t even afford holo-mags or e-books if I wanted to; it’s the principle that annoys me. Regardless, I understand why that rule’s in place. I normally zone out when there’s nopony to serve, and today is no different. My train of thought derails and crashes into a mountainside, however, when the bell jingles and a unicorn mare walks in. If I think I’m average, then this mare makes me look like a celebrity in comparison. Her mane and coat are both the blandest, most boring grey I have ever seen in my life. When she turns to me I can see that her eyes are no different. Her cutie mark is of a grey briefcase that tries its best to not be drowned out in the sea of dull colors that is this mare. I try to look cheerful as she walks up to the counter agonizingly slowly. Each step seems to take an eternity to finish and I can’t help but start to doze off by the time she makes it to the counter. I jolt awake when she looks up at me, and I muster up as much enthusiasm as I can, “Hello ma’am, and welcome to Mister Espresso’s.” I try my hardest not to let my boredom show, but it’s certainly there as I say, “what can I get for you today?” Her voice seems to drag. “A black coffee,” she drones. “As black as you can make it. Also, I’d like a plain bagel.” Her order is extremely bland, but she puts the five bits on the counter, so I comply. “Coming right up!” I reply, before grabbing a cup with one wing and depositing it under the coffee maker and brushing the change into a hoof with my other wing. I deposit the money into the register and log the purchase while the drink is being poured. After grabbing a bagel, a napkin and a bag, I deposit her order in front of her with a receipt. I give her my best winning smile, “Thank you, and have a nice day,” I say as she gives her thanks and, surprisingly, takes a seat at the counter. After a few seconds of waiting for her to say something, I look away and start to zone off again, musing on what I’ll do when my shift is over. My thoughts are interrupted when I hear her clear her throat. “Did you say something?” I ask, a little surprised that she’s interested in conversation. “I asked what your name was,” she huffs, undoubtedly annoyed that she must repeat herself. “And this coffee is quite good, I might add; I’ll have to keep this place in mind next time I’m in the area.” I give her a weird look; the coffee tastes terrible without any creamer to soften it. “My name is Desolate Daybreak, although most just call me Daybreak,” with a little nod to punctuate the statement, I continue. “Thank you for your compliment, and apologies for zoning out. It gets a little dull in here sometimes, so I tend to zone out a lot.” “It’s understandable,” she replies with a nod, “I used to work a nine to five job when I was an up and coming mare in the legal industry. I know it’s not easy to keep yourself entertained when you’re behind the counter.” “Yeah, it doesn’t help that we’re not allowed to bring anything behind the counter that could distract us too much, like a holo-mag or something. That would probably help to dull the boredom.” If I could even afford anything like that. I think dejectedly. I notice she hasn’t given me her name, so I ask out of politeness. “My name is Brief Case, I work as a lawyer at Case and Point P.A. Here’s my card, if you ever need a lawyer.” She proceeds to pull a card out of…somewhere and hoofs it over to me. “Well, I’d love to stay and chat, but I really must be getting to the firm now. Bye.” She hops off the stool, taking her bag with her, and throws away the empty thing before leaving without a passing glance. “She seemed fairly nice, for a lawyer.” I muse, before realizing that I had just met the, possibly, most stereotypical lawyer in the galaxy. Uninspired coat and mane colors, briefcase for a cutie mark, yep, that’s pretty much as stereotypical as it gets. I think, a little amused at the prospect. Nothing much happens for the rest of the day, and so I get the greenlight from my boss to close the shop ten minutes early. After saying goodbye to the boss, I walk out onto the sidewalk and flag down one of the taxis. As the taxi takes off into the sky, I take a minute to admire the scenery. New Manehattan may be a gilded cage, but damn if it doesn’t look impressive from the sky. Skyscrapers almost as tall as the domed ceiling, small businesses dotting the ground level, and the sky. The sky is quite the sight to behold. Somehow, one of the bigwig corporations managed to figure out how to turn magic into an artificial sun that doesn’t burn your retinas when you stare for too long. Thankfully, they turn off the magic powering it at night. In addition to that, they also figured out how to use the metal thaumium to make the dome over the city transparent. The view of the stars combined with the fading light from the artificial sun streaming from behind the buildings makes for quite the impressive view. The taxi lands in front of the square of real estate that the city calls an “apartment” and drops me off. I pay him and enter with a quick swipe of a keycard. “Hey Hemlock, I’m home.” I yell as I enter the apartment. He replies by way of throwing a pillow at my face and curling up around the remaining pillow. I sit down on the recliner, laughing softly to myself as he tries to go back to sleep, and count down in my head. Five…four…three…two…one. Right on time, his absurdly loud alarm clock decides to blare its klaxon greeting. He grumbles as he slams his hoof on the snooze button and gets up, moving across the apartment floor littered with boxes of Chineighese food. “No ‘how was your day, Daybreak’?” I ask, feigning insult as he angrily brushes his teeth. “A pony might think you don’t care about me.” I state, trying my hardest not to laugh. “Go fuck yourself, Daybreak,” he says by way of reply as I burst out laughing, “how does that one work for you?” “Eh, it’s a start,” I reply, still fighting off the occasional chuckle. “Did you hear about what happened on the news?” I ask, sobering up a little bit. “Nah, what is it this time?” He asks, sounding genuinely curious. “Another case of pirates taking over some merchant ship or something?” “Some would wish. There’s some Feronian splinter group that really doesn’t like the execution of the former head of state, Marazi Selianu.” I said, a grim expression overtaking my face. “It doesn’t really affect us, but it looks to me like they’re forming a terrorist group.” The Feronians are a recently discovered spacefaring race that the Lunar Alliance is on pretty good terms with. A terrorist group popping up could mean disaster if it evolves past a small problem. The Feronian Republic recently had a coup that deposed the head of state and brought about a big change in government. Unstable government + splinter terrorist group is not an equation that ends well. “Whatever, it’ll probably blow over soon enough,” Hemlock replied, spitting out his mouthwash and heading towards the door. “I’ll see you later Daybreak, I gotta get to work before I’m late.” I sit around for about a half hour before deciding to head over to the spaceport and check the job registry for anything new. I put on my old, worn down Thaumitec Assistance Goggles, or TAG and head out the door. As the goggles boot up, a familiar voice assaults my mind. “Welcome back, Desolate Daybreak, Thaumitec Assistance Goggles version 3.9.4 booted and ready for use. As a reminder, this hardware is still extremely outdated.” The soothing voice of L.U.N.A., my A.I. companion echoes through my brain. “Yeah, I know, and I also know that you’re aware of my current situation. I’ll get back to you on that when I can actually afford the latest version,” I scoff, a little annoyed that she still says that line of dialogue despite myself. “Apologies, but I am programmed to inform you on boot up.” She sounds genuinely apologetic. “You have 13 new emails, 11 of which are marked as spam. Would you like me to display them on your HUD?” The A.I. asks, to which I give the affirmative. The emails are nothing new, just spam and two interesting discounts for food delivery that would cost less than going to the store, funnily enough. I flag the discounts and dispose of the spam, before taking a taxi down to the spaceport. As expected, there are no available jobs, but I banter a little bit with the person in charge with handing out the jobs before going on my way again. I go straight back home and order delivery from Chop Sticks’ Chineighese Food, one of the places I frequent and the reason why our apartment’s floor is swamped with empty boxes of Lo Mane. I grab the food, tip the delivery boy a little bit and sit back on the recliner, where I finish the food and drift off to sleep. Just another average day, I guess.