//------------------------------//
// 15 - Life Moves On 
// Story: Lost Muse 
// by David Silver 
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Libelous went to work early the next day. There was no other reasonable course of action, and she didn't even consider any.

Color woke to an empty house, but there was a typed letter in the kitchen, affixed to the fridge with a magnet.



I've left a small stipend of bits. This is not a charity. You are expected to pay them back, with interest, once my guidance secures your financial future. In the off-chance that I fail, provided you followed all given directions, this debt will be forgiven. Look for the silk bag next to the milk.

Have breakfast, then leave. I expect you back in 3-5 days, depending on how sluggish the trains feel like operating during your trips. When you return, our work truly begins. Say hello to Day Dreamer for me.

Eager to Begin,
Libelous Word

PS: Someone left your writing pad on the front mat? Did you drop it? You have talent... It's still on the mat, waiting for you.



He smiled a little, examining her signature. "Not like her mother..." It wasn't a too-fancy stamp. It was hand-scrawled with care and just a little touch of fancy. He liked its look better. He folded the note carefully and tucked it away, not wanting to part ways with it. "Next to the milk..." 

He popped open the fridge with a thought and there it was, a blue and red bag that looked kinda pricey. He plucked it up in his magic and brought it over to feel in his hooves. It was soft and smooth. Silk. Inside jingled the promise of bits. He pulled the string that held it closed and peered inside before falling backwards. Was that a 100-bit coin?! He had never held a coin of such a high denomination before.

Sure,  he'd held 100 bits, but not all in one coin, and he was fairly sure... Another peek confirmed. It was not alone. She had left him a bag of 100 bit coins, like it was nothing. He tucked the bag away more carefully, as if afraid it could combust at any moment.

"I'm not in a rush to spend that..." He'd owe it back, she made that clear!

He skipped breakfast, making his way back to the little inn where his bag resided, reclaiming his suit. "I never got to show it off..." He wasn't sure showing up with it would have changed much with how things went. On the other hoof, it could have gone... "It went fine." He shook thoughts of could-bes away and hurried to the train station. He had art to pick, and a roomie to catch up with.

"He probably didn't even notice I was gone," he said with a laugh, sinking into his seat and waiting to go home at the rate the train carried him.





Libel took a slow breath as she settled into her seat. Her wings stretched with the motion before she brought up  her hooves, starting to type rapidly on the binary typewriter that was the hotbed of a lot of her work. She dismissed thoughts of her foalish foalhood friend and their frazzled financial faculty.

She shook her head and tried to focus on her work, not the drawing. It had been in colored pencil. It was no masterpiece, not worthy of hanging on a wall and admiring... But it had been her. It had been her right on the steps of the building she was working in.

She had that look she was terrified of having. Uncertainty in her eyes, but she was not drawn as simply a meek thing. Like a deer in the forest, it was her domain, but she was ready to flee at an instant's notice. She smirked a little, thinking of the time she posed for the art without realizing at the time.

"I'm not meek," she insisted to the air.

"Need a drink?" asked her secretary over the intercom suddenly.

Libel blinked. "Oh, yes. Something relaxing I think."

"That's not like you. I'll have it in there in a moment."

Libel frowned a bit as she got back to work, click-clacking away with corrections on a paper that she was due to have turned in by the end of the day for print the very next. She had to get it done, and she manically smashed the keys to ensure that was the case.

"You seem happier." Her secretary had snuck in without being noticed. With a glowing horn, she set down a saucer with a teacup resting on it, steam rising from the hot fluid. "Did the date go well?"

Libel felt blood rushing to her cheeks. "He wasn't my type." She was fairly sure that was true, and she decided she had no reason to admit  he realized that first. "Ran into an old friend though. The one that showed up here the other day?"

"Ah," she said,  not sounding surprised. "Did you have a nice chat?"

Libelous lifted the cup with a feather through the handle, sipping gently. "Mmm, you know, we did. He's roomates with that pony you like." It was her turn to needle her secretary for once. "Day Dreamer was it?"

The secretary stiffened. "Is that so? I... trust he's well?"

"They're good friends, but his trip here meant he hasn't spoken in a few days." Libelous shook her head. "I'll have more up to date news when Color comes back."

"Comes back?" She sat down just beside Libelous. "He's returning then?"

"You wouldn't believe it! He sold a masterpiece of a painting for 15 bits! 15!" She threw up  her hooves. "15! He's a fool, and the pony that bought it is a criminal."

The secretary tapped at her cheek. "I didn't see the piece in question, so I can't speak of how foalish he was in the act. What do you plan to do about it?"

"Bottom..." She reached with a wing and plucked out an old newspaper clipping. It had a picture of the painting.

Bottom tilted her head at the painting's reproduction. "It looks lovely." The full majesty of it couldn't be captured with an Equestrian camera, but she could see it was a nice portrait. "What is it you plan to do?"

"Miss Line," she sighed out. "You are single-minded today." She tip-tapped at her keyboard a moment, dropping the conversation, but Bottom Line remained where she was, waiting patiently.

That patience was rewarded with a sigh. "I'm taking the responsibility of his management. I will educate him in basic business affairs and introduce him to the proper social circles to get his art seen by ponies that will give him the accolades, and bits, he rightly deserves. No friend of mine will be a plebian nobody!"

Bottom quirked a little smile. "He's still a friend then? That's nice. I wish I had kept in contact with more friends from the past." She casually dropped a lone sugar cube into the tea.

"Hmm? Of course we are." Libelous rolled her eyes as she worked busily. "Splashy needs some help, and, as his friend, I will step into that role." She took another sip and licked her lips, appreciating the sweetened taste without conciously realizing where it came from. "Something wrong with that?"

"It's a little one sided," confessed Bottom with a wobbling hoof. "Friends should support each other,  both ways."

"Who said he's doing nothing?!" She huffed softly. "He's helping..."

"You sound pouty, ma'am. It doesn't suit you." Bottom rose to her hooves. "I'm glad to hear that. Did you need something drawn?"

"I still have tea." She jumped in place. "Oh, wait, no... I don't... need him to draw something, not for me. He needs to draw for himself, and be recognized for it."

Bottom walked casually from the room, speaking as she went, "Being a close friend, is he already aware of your medical condition?"

Libelous stiffened, reminded that Bottom knew. Perhaps the whole office knew her dirty little secret. "Yes..."

"I'm glad to hear it doesn't dissuade him." She sank back into position in the front of the office, click-clacking at her own typewriter. "It's important to have friends that you can turn to, when it feels... unsightly."

"He's a stallion!" she barked suddenly. "I... Talk to him, about that?"

Bottom lifted her shoulders, even if the action was unseen. "We all have to go, Miss Word. If he's willing to be a friend and offer a supportive hoof..."

"Would you talk to a stallion about it?!" Libelous shook her head rapidly, her tongue poking free and her typing interrupted for a moment.

"If I trusted him," came the tranquil reply. "If I trusted him completely... I would, and I would be happy to have such a dear pony close at hoof." There was a quiet moment. "You're lucky you have one."

Libelous rubbed at her cheek. Her secretary wasn't usually so talkative... "Do... you have friends?"

"A few..." She leaned a bit, her head coming into view. "One of them's a workaholic and a bit of a snob, but I like her anyway."

"Sounds like a hoof-full," laughed out Libelous in a supportive fashion. "Does she give you flack for being a secretary, because you're a damn good one and I won't stand for anypony giving you a sour word for it."

"Oh, no... No... She doesn't mind that part about me." She resumed typing softly, click-clacking away busily. "She's more worried about work-life interference and the like. She doesn't even know I'm there."

"What?! No way! How can anypony not notice you?" She rolled her eyes. "Sounds like a moron. Let's stop worrying about that and get this done."

Bottom Line shook her head at the open door. Her boss was a silly pony, she decided. She still liked them despite it. With a smile, she got back to work at full speed. They both had work to do, and she wouldn't let personal matters get in the way of that. 

Libelous would never forgive her.





Day looked up at the knocking. "Derpy?"

The door opened and a familiar unicorn stepped through it. "You should be so lucky." He tilted his head, realizing. "That reminds--"

He was cut off. The usually sedate earth pony had bolted and tackled him, driving him to the ground in a fierce hug with all four hooves involved in the intense expression of affection.

"O-oh, I... Miss me?"

"A little." He let go of Color carefully, sitting up with a happy smile. "It's so good to see you, bro. How'd it go?" He stood up and casually closed the door that had been left open. "Tell me all about it."

"Oh, well... I ran into her... and we... talked."

"And?"

"And..." He rolled a hoof slowly in the air. "I'm going to pick my best work and bring it to her. She's dead set on making me a big and popular artist."

He blinked softly. "Um, cool, but that isn't... exactly what I'd want from my princess."

Color put a hoof behind his head. "I made a trade."

"Mm?" He leaned forward, eyes sparkling a little with curiosity. "What did you trade for it?"

"The right to... help her with a problem?"

"Her soggy bottoms?"

Color blinked softly. "Does everyone know?"

He tapped at his nose gently. "Her secretary keeps a clean office, but you can't fool this nose."

Color shook his head slowly as he moved towards his many strewn art pieces, eyes wandering from one to the next in pursuit of which he'd take with him. "Uh, well, yeah, that. Speaking of her, she... may have a thing for you."

The sedate pony pinkened a little, but didn't actually look embarrassed. "That's cool... I dug her wavelength too. Hey, are you going right back to Canterlot?"

"As soon as I pick a few..." He pushed sheets of painted cloth around, trying to pick the best one.

"Well, why don't I come with you, for support?"

"And to visit a certain secretary?"

He flopped against Color. "Happy coincidence. Let me help a friend in need, and that one's the best." He pointed at a night time view of Canterlot. "It'll knock those Canterlot ponies flat."