//------------------------------// // Chapter 18: Falling Numbers // Story: The Bug In The Basement // by Skijarama //------------------------------// Two Months Later… Another long day at work, another paycheck in the bank. Eventide let out a relieved sigh as he walked down the sidewalk towards his house, thankful for the fact that most of the snow had melted away by now. Only a few small patches remained, peppering the landscape with stubborn spots of frozen white fluff and compacted ice. Combined with the setting sun, which was already near the horizon, it was enough to add a powerful air of serenity and surreality to the world. Eventide took in a long, deep breath, savoring the cool air and allowing it to rejuvenate his system. Letting it back out, though, he was reminded of the fact that, even with the snow having melted so much, it was still cold. A fact that Eventide was reminded of as, even with his coat, gloves and fuzzy boots providing him insulation and warmth, his largely unprotected face was assaulted with a chilly wind that made him shiver. Beebee had been in similar straits for the last two months, he recalled. Even though Beebee basically spent all of his time indoors, the slowly growing bug had been making good use of his new coat to keep him warm most of the time, and often hid down in the basement to complement that, usually playing with his toys, or with Buddha, if she decided to come down. On the subject of Beebee, Eventide noted, the little guy’s alarmingly rapid mental growth had seemingly crawled to a near-halt when compared to his previous progress. Discussing it with Fluttershy, at just short of four months old, Beebee had had roughly the same mental development as a three-year-old human child. Now, though, even two months after Christmas, and three months after his sickness, Beebee had only made a few very small developments. At first, Eventide had been worried that Beebee’s illness had somehow caused some damage to his brain, but Fluttershy seemed quick to propose another, far less grim theory. Perhaps Beebee’s species, whatever it was, simply had very rapid early development in the mind when compared to humans, but then tapered off as they grew. Considering how hard his chitin was, his sharp fangs, and how quickly he molted from his larval form, it didn’t seem too far fetched to assume that wherever he came from was a harsh and hostile place, necessitating rapid growth and a hard exoskeleton for protection. It was a sound enough theory, one which Eventide chose to believe in favor of the alternative. If nothing else, it put his mind at ease, which in turn put Beebee at ease. But without any other evidence to go off of, it was really nothing more than a hopeful shot in the dark. Eventide was abruptly yanked from his thoughts when a group of three teenagers, looking to be little more than Highschool Freshman, went running past him, the orange one bumping into him as they passed. She uttered an apology in a raspy voice before hurrying to follow her friends. Eventide turned to watch them for a moment, noting that they looked familiar. It didn’t take him long to figure out why. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were their names. He’d seen them around school before he graduated to CHS. They’d all been glued at the hip from the moment they had met, and he couldn’t help the small smile on his face. Even after so much time, they were still the best of friends. With that encouraging thought in his mind, Eventide pressed on, and soon, he finally came to his home. He could see Buddha looking back at him from the window, her tongue lolling out. She was barking excitedly every once in a while, the sound almost lost in the glass and walls. Eventide could just barely make out a floating silhouette deeper in the home, and Beebee’s glowing blue eyes looking back at him from the darkness, shimmering with recognition and joy. With a quick smile and nod, Eventide picked up his pace to the front door. He stopped briefly by the mailbox to withdraw its contents. He cringed as he spotted several envelopes that he immediately recognized as bills and rent awaiting his hand. With a quiet sigh of frustration, Eventide took the mail and headed inside. As soon as the door was closed, his pelvis was summarily greeted by the enthusiastic tackling of a happy golden retriever, while his chest was similarly assaulted by Beebee. “Daddy, you’re home!” “Bark!” Eventide just laughed, wobbling on his feet and trying in vain to pet both of them. But, much to their cumulative displeasure, he only had so many appendages to pet with, and one of them was carrying the mail. “Hey, guys, ease up, I only have two hands, and one of them is full!” he pleaded between his chortles. It was enough to get Beebee to back off at least, though Buddha took a bit more convincing. Namely, she would not release him without a few scratches behind the ears. He knew this well enough, and in short order, Buddha had gotten her scritches and backed off to happily wag her tail by her food bowl. Beebee just offered a sheepish smile. “Sorry, daddy. I missed you today.” “And I missed you, too,” Eventide replied plainly. He gave his son a poke on the nose as he walked by, heading for the cabinet with Buddha’s food. “Now, Buddha. You hungry?” “Bark!” “Okay, hungry it is.” While Eventide set about giving Buddha her dinner, Beebee set himself down on Evetide’s shoulder to watch. After a few moments, his eyes fell on the envelopes in Eventide’s hand. Tilting his head, Beebee buzzed over to get a better look. “What was in the mail, daddy?” he asked plainly while prodding one of the bills with his hoof. Eventide winced as he set Buddha’s good bowl down. “Oh, it’s, uh… mostly bills and rent. Grown-up money stuff,” he replied simply before taking a few steps deeper into the house for his room. He glanced back at Beebee over his shoulder and saw the worried look on his face. Now, knowing that Beebee was an empath, Eventide was quick to put on a cheerful smile and offer a distraction. “It’s nothing bad, Bee, don’t worry. I need to take care of these real quick, but after that, how about a story?” Beebee’s face lit up at the promise of being read to, and he gave a sharp nod. “Okay, daddy! I’ll play with Buddha til you’re ready,” he proclaimed before doing a backflip in the air, swooping down and poking Buddha in the nose, uncaring that the dog was eating. The dog snorted at Beebee, unamused by the disturbance. Eventide just nodded. “Alright. Play nice, you two,” he called over his shoulder before heading into his room and closing the door. He sat down at his computer and turned it on. While he was waiting for it to finish booting, he tore open the mail and took a look at the contents. He cringed and swore bitterly under his breath at the numbers. While it was true that some of the regular expenses that come with a child weren’t a part of the package with Beebee, specifically food or diapers, the bug was still by no means cheap or easy to take care of. The sheer number of story and picture books that Eventide had to purchase to sate his appetite for stories, the baby monitor, the full conversion of the basement into a functional bedroom… those had all cost him a lot of money, and it was adding up. He had been scraping by with just Buddha to look out for, able to put some money away each time into his savings. But now… He had pretty much blown through those savings, the basement project having eaten most of it up, and now, with what expenses he still had to make for Beebee, he was losing money each month. He’d already had to cut down on the food he bought for himself and switch to a cheaper brand of dog food for Buddha, but that had only helped so much. Once his computer was booted up, he wasted no time in heading to the various sites he needed to use to pay his bills and rent. As he did so, he furiously pondered what he could do to cut some costs and get his money back in order. As he did, a memory from almost eleven months ago slipped back into his mind. Eventide shot Sweep a skeptical look. “That’s kinda surprising, coming from you. You’re the guy with an Ogres and Oubliettes campaign he runs every Saturday with friends from school,” he noted with a slight amount of playfulness in his voice. “Including your high school sweetheart. You two still together?” Sweep smirked happily. “Heh, you know it! Yeah, I made an effort,” he replied before taking in another mouthful of food. Once it was swallowed, he leveled a firm look at Eventide, making the other man feel like he was being interrogated all of a sudden. “I can’t say the same about you, though.” Eventide almost bit down on his own tongue from that comment and shot his coworker a questioning glare. “And what the heck is that supposed to mean?” he demanded indignantly before taking another bite from his sandwich. “I didn’t mean any offense,” Clean Sweep was quick to point out, lifting up one hand in a placating gesture. “I’m just saying it how I see it. In all the time we’ve worked together, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you agree to hang out with someone, or go looking for a better job, or even try to get a promotion or ask for a raise, even if the rest of us think you deserve it. You just… kinda…” he gestured vaguely. “Lurk, I guess. You lurk where you are and don’t really try to move up to bigger things. What’s with that?” Maybe Sweep had had a point… maybe it was time to- Eventide shook his head, then buried it in his hands with a groan. No, now was not the time to throw a wrench into his lifestyle. Eventide knew this routine inside out, he was comfortable in it, and he knew there was a way he could make all of this work. He just needed some time to think it over. If nothing else, maybe he could ask for a raise... With a grimace, Eventide paid the last bill, watching the numbers in the bank account dwindle to the double digits. He then slumped in his seat and took a few deep breaths to try and calm his nerves. After a few minutes, a knock came to the door, and a familiar, two-toned voice came from the other side. “Daddy? Are you alright?” Beebee called, his voice laced with concern. “Yeah, I’m fine,” Eventide called back before standing up and opening the door. Beebee was standing on the floor, his wings twitching on his back while his breath was slightly labored. A small sheen of sweat had formed all over his body, and Eventide gave him a worried frown. Kneeling down, he got a closer look at Beebee’s worn out face and cringed. “Oof. What about you? Did you overdo it with the activity again?” Beebee nodded slowly, looking ashamed. “Yeah… sorry. I wish I could fly longer… or run longer…” he mumbled, despondent. He didn’t have much of a chance to pity himself more, as Eventide quickly scooped him up into a tight hug against his chest. “Hey, don’t you worry about that right now, okay?” Eventide requested while planting a quick kiss on his son’s head. “We’ve got a story to read, don’t we?” That seemed to lighten the bug’s mood, as Beebee gave a quick and enthusiastic nod. “Yuh-huh! Are we reading a new one today?” he asked as they began to make their way over to the designated reading chair. Eventide scanned the veritable mountain range of kids books he had accumulated, and his smile wavered. “Ah… I don’t think we have any new ones,” he admitted softly before sitting down. “But we can always read one we haven’t read in a while. Sound good?” Beebee’s ears drooped just a little bit, but he still nodded. “Okay,” was his simple answer. Eventide reached down into the books and soon withdrew one in particular. He smiled as he recognized it. It had become something of a favorite of theirs. “How about this one?” Eventide asked while showing it to Beebee. “Pete, the Big Green Dragon.” Beebee’s smile grew magnificently with excitement, and he gave a very enthusiastic series of nods. “Oh, yes, yes! I love Pete!” he replied while tapping the cover with his hoof. “This one, this one, yes please!” Eventide chuckled and settled back while flipping the book open to the first page. “Alright, Beebee. Here we go…” Beebee snuggled up against Eventide’s chest, eyes glued onto the book while his dad’s arm wrapped around his barrel to hold him close. Beebee draped his forelegs over the arm and nodded. “Ready.” “Alright. Ahem…” Eventide cleared his throat and began. “Once upon a time, in a tree next to the hill, there was a dragon. His name was Pete...”