When the sun came up and spilled in between the blinds of my bedroom window, I was instantly awake. Sleeping in was a lot easier before the Royal Guard. Regardless of how crazy a previous night had been, I was up with the sun. Even on Saturday.
Trixie, who was snoring next to me, was apparently not that way. She was on her back, a pillow hugged to her chest, and filling the apartment with noise.
I rolled over and flopped off the bed. What had I done? I’d just invited her to move in with me without thinking it through. What kind of pony did that?
Oh, wait… Diddle and Dilly were those kind of ponies. They’d done the exact same for me. At the same time, they’d only given me a place to live, and for some reason I’d offered help as well as shelter. What had I gotten myself into? She needed my help, but she also needed some rules, and she didn’t do rules well.
That was something for me to consider while I showered off and got ready for the day. How could I get her to behave and start doing what she was supposed to?
Realization struck me, as it usually did in the shower. “Dolly!” I exclaimed as the water was splashing in my face. That is who I needed. She fixed me up, so I was certain she could handle Trixie.
I finished cleaning myself up, put my mane in a ponytail, and then went back into the bedroom. “Trixie, wake up.”
Trixie grumbled something and rolled over on her side, turning her back to me.
“Trixie, it’s time to get up,” I said, poking her blue rump lightly.
“Trixie does not get up until lunch is served,” she muttered.
By Celestia, I wasn’t as patient as Dolly. “Trixie will be lucky if she gets lunch, much less lunch being served! Now get up and make the bed. I’m going to go see a friend who might be able to help you.”
She grumbled at me again and didn’t move. So I set both hooves on her back and shoved her out of bed.
That yielded a squeal and a small thump. Trixie then popped up on the other side of the bed, wide-eyed in shock. “Sunny Day dares to kick Trixie out of the bed?”
“Sunny Day— I mean, yes, I dare! You’re being a brat and I’m trying to help you,” I replied before continuing in my lieutenant’s voice. “Get up, make the bed, get cleaned up, and then you can make yourself at home. Have something to eat and see about getting your costume mended.”
Trixie huffed and stuck her nose in the air. I glared at her and she glared right back at me. It was a contest of wills. We stood like that before I intensified my stare, and that was when she broke and started to make the bed.
“Thank you. I’ll be back in a bit,” I said before heading out a little quicker than necessary. I could already tell this was going to be a challenge for me. That was the only thing running through my head as I trotted over to the Mare Contraire.
The bar wasn’t open at this time of day, and if you didn’t already know it was there, a pony could easily mistake it for an abandoned building. Dolly had always kept the windows blacked out so that she could run any sort of light show inside regardless of the time of night.
If it wasn’t for the sign painted over the door and the huge word-of-mouth advertising, this place wouldn’t draw any attention. Certainly not mine.
I used my key to unlock the front door and went inside. All of the lights were off and nopony was in yet. That wasn’t unexpected, since Saturday morning was for sleeping. They’d all come after lunch to prep for the evening.
The Mare Contraire had always been my home away from home. It wasn’t just the place I prowled for mares. It had been where I got my first real job, where I learned responsibility, and where I grew up.
I trotted around behind the bar and start to wash glasses. This had been my first role and I’d hated washing glasses at first. It was such a menial, mindless job. Important, but still menial. It had been a test from Dolly to see if I was serious or not. She’d watched me the whole time.
Did I wash fast enough? Did I have any pride in it? Did I do just enough to get by? I’d eventually taken it very seriously. I’d washed carefully and figured out tricks to do it faster without sacrificing quality. It was a skill I still had, and the attention to detail I’d learned doing it helped me in the Royal Guard.
There weren’t many dirty glasses left from Friday. Dolly never allowed the staff to leave a lot of work undone. Some was okay, though; she wasn’t a tyrant.
When I’d finished that chore, I pulled out the bucket and mop and started working on the floors. Always start behind the bar, work your way out, and go from entrance to back door. That way, you could hang out in the employee lounge while the floor dried.
I was about halfway done before I caught sight of a Dolly leaning against the doorframe to the lounge. “Good morning, Sunny. Don’t take this as a lack of gratitude but I feel obligated to remind you that you don’t work here.”
“I know, but I was here. What was I going to do, sit in the dark until you showed up? That would have been a waste of time. How was last night?”
Dolly waved a hoof at me and replied, “Normal Friday night. How was your night?”
“Frustrating,” I grumbled. “I went to the Wonderbolts show and enjoyed it, but Soarin wasn’t free. He can’t see me until next weekend which is fine. I just got myself all worked up.”
“Right, right. And that is why you’re here cleaning my bar and waking me up?”
I kept mopping and shook my head. “Nope. I did something nice, but impulsive and stupid.”
Dolly rubbed her hooves together, grinning almost maniacally. “Do tell.”
“It isn’t like you’re thinking,” I said without irritation in my voice. I couldn’t blame her for assuming the worst. She knew me too well. “Do you remember that show pony I told you about? The mare Trixie?”
Her grin lost its edge. “Vaguely?”
“Well, she’s down on her luck,” I explained as I finished up the mopping. “Majorly down on her luck. To put it simply, she’s completely broke. I felt bad so without thinking I invited her to stay with me until she gets on her hooves.” I bumped my flank against Dolly to push her out of my way and into the lounge. My rump is a multi-purpose tool.
Dolly laughed as she swatted at me. “You could have just asked me to move! Anyway, that sounds like a nice thing to do, so what’s the problem?”
I leaned the mop against the door frame and turned to face her. “She’s a high-maintenance mare that has never worked an honest day in her life, and I’m not certain she’ll ever grow up and move out.”
“A high-maintenance mare that has never worked a day in her life. Why does that sound familiar?” Dolly asked, rubbing her chin.
“Yes, I know, I know! One day, you’re going to have to also remember that I’ve been successful for a while now. You have to understand, though, if you think I was rough, Trixie is twice as bad. She’s entitled! I wasn’t entitled.”
Dolly trotted over and pressed her head against mine. “You’re very successful, filly. I’m hugely proud of you. And you’re right, you weren’t entitled, just stubborn. This is still a good thing you’ve done and I’m proud of you. Nothing worth doing is ever easy, and I’m here to help you.”
I looped a hoof around her shoulders and smiled. “That’s what I wanted to hear! Will you help me do to her what you did to me?”
“Did to you? Did to you!” She pushed me away. “I helped you! I taught you!”
With a laugh, I waved a hoof. “Don’t give it if you can’t take it, Momma Bear.”
She huffed. “Alright, point taken. Seriously, though, you just need to show her what is right and teach by example. A little tough love here and there. And a lot of patience.”
I bit my lip. “That’s my problem, I don’t have your patience. She wouldn’t get up this morning, so I shoved her out of the bed.”
Dolly tried to smother her laughter with a hoof. “A bit of advice?”
“Please! That is literally why I’m here!”
“You can’t sleep with your student. She’ll get confused between mentor Sunny and moaner Sunny.”
I slapped my hoof over my eyes. “Right, right, I knew that. So, I’ve got an uppity, self-entitled mare in my condo and I can’t even shut her up by stuffing her mouth somewhere fun.”
That netted a snicker from Dolly. “Yup!”
“Okay, fine. Can I ask you two huge favors?”
Dolly’s brow lifted. “Filly, this is your project.”
“I can’t take her to work with me, but I have an idea that might work for a pony like her. She wants to be a performer. You allow ponies to perform here now and then. This is what I’m thinking: in exchange for you letting her perform Monday night and Saturday afternoon, she has to wash glasses.”
“Monday night and Saturday afternoon? Those would be the worst times for a show. Almost nopony would see her,” Dolly replied before tapping her chin. “Oh, I see… start humble, work on her act. Eventually, if she does a good job, let her have a show at a better time.”
“Yes, exactly. You watch her, I’ll mentor her. We’re a sexy mother-daughter mentoring pair!”
Dolly’s nose wiggled. “As weird as that mental image is, I’ll do it. Just let me be the one to tell Emerald and Lollypop. It’s been a while since we’ve had a fixer-upper.” She grinned. “Actually, it’s been since you were here.”
“Oh, come on, Mango still works here!”
She shook her head. “No, there is no fixing Mango up. She’s exactly what she is and will always be right there. We’ve accepted that.”
My mouth opened to retort but then closed. I lifted a hoof and then just put it down. “Okay, that checks out. Well, I’m not going home yet. What needs doing around here?”
Dolly looked around a bit, humming in thought. “Do you remember how to do an alcohol inventory? I was going to do it Monday morning, but if you really want to, it would be a help. I’m going to go take a bubble bath and do my mane.”
“Absolutely, I’ll get right to it!” I took two steps back out into the bar before stopping. “Wait, bubble bath and mane? What’s the occasion?”
She looked at me like I was crazy. “What do you think? My brilliant student has already done half of my morning work and is about to take care of my Monday tasks. Do you know how rare it is I get time off? I’m taking advantage of it. If you want to earn some bonus points, you can open, too.”
I grinned and winked at her. “You know what, I will. Why don’t you take off until the evening? You’re going to help me with Trixie, so the least I can do is give you half a day’s peace.”
“Sold!” Dolly called before dashing up the spiral staircase at the back of the lounge that led to her apartment.
It was time for me to put all my experience and training to use and get the bar ready to go for the afternoon crowd. Step one was the alcohol inventory. It wasn’t a bad job; in fact, it had a lot in common with making sure none of my guards had lost any pieces of their armor or a weapon. Celestia help the pony that lost a weapon.
I sat behind the bar checking all of the bottles, how full they were, and what Dolly still had left in the liquor cabinet. Then it was onto the wine, beer, and ciders.
By the time I was done, I heard a key rattling in the front door. It opened and Emerald Eyes trotted in. She stopped to look at me in surprise. “Well hello Sunny, are you robbing us?”
“Now I would have assumed the head bartender and assistant manager would know the difference between a burglary and free labor.” I tipped my nose in the air. “By the way, a robbery is when a pony holds you up and takes your stuff. When they just steal from you when you’re gone, that is a burglary.”
“Wouldn’t this then be a burglary that has turned into a robbery?” She closed the door and pulled her auburn mane up, tying it off with a ribbon.
“That is a possibility.” I returned my attention to the last case of cider. “It depends on if I flee the scene or then rob you too.”
Emerald’s bright green eyes flicked around the bar. “Did you do all of this?”
“And the alcohol inventory,” I chirped, floating the clipboard back into the office. “I thought Dolly could use an afternoon off. I’m going to help you open, too. She’ll be back for the evening shift.”
“This whole responsible Sunny Day scenario is really weird,” she said before trotting behind the bar and looking around again. “Everything’s done. What am I going to do?”
I motioned at the cash register. “I didn’t want to mess with the bits, so I didn’t count it down. You can do that and then relax. Who’s working the afternoon shift?”
Emerald went to start on the cash register but stopped briefly to grab a ‘Mare Contraire’ t-shirt and pull it down over her blueberry-colored coat. “Cherry and Mango. And, I guess, you.”
“Great! Well, you do your thing, I’m going to go raid Dolly’s icebox since I haven’t had lunch. I’ll be down before we open, alright?”
The mare waved me off. “Yes, go burgle her icebox. If you need me, I’m going to read my stories once I finish this.”
“Yup! Enjoy that steamy mare-on-mare ‘romance’ novel,” I called, heading up to Dolly’s place.
I happily burgled her ice box and enjoyed a rather lovely fruit plate while I listened to her sing in the tub. That was something I was going to use against her later. Once I’d had my fill, I came back down and played cards with Emerald and Cherry until Mango showed up five minutes to open.
“Hi,” she said before coming around behind the bar, pulling her t-shirt on, and getting to her station.
“Alright, Cherry, open it up,” Emerald said. She then reached under the counter, pulled out a t-shirt like hers, and tossed it to me.
I caught it in my magic and levitated it closer to examine it. “What’s this?” When I’d worked in the bar, we hadn’t worn a uniform. About a year later, Dolly and Emerald decided that branding was a good idea and got shirts with ‘Mare Contraire’ logos on the fronts. Maybe they had extras just in case?
Emerald winked at me. “Come on, Sunny, just because you have a different job doesn’t mean you aren’t always part of this team. Do you really think Dolly didn’t have a shirt made for you?”
“Aww, that is so sweet of her!” I wiggled into it without further ado. It was extra tight but still my size, just the way I liked it.
Cherry unlocked the front door, pulled it open, and called, “Alright, ladies, come on in!”
A few mares trotted in pairs or groups. The early crowd was almost never the sort that was on the prowl. They were out to have a drink in a great atmosphere and enjoy a good time.
The one oddity was the silver-coated royal guard that came in wearing her armor. She looked around as if she was looking for somepony specifically. She was, of course, and as soon as she saw me, she headed right over.
“Hey, Melody,” I said with a smile. Melody was a good friend of mine. We didn’t see each other as much as we used to due to our schedules, but that didn’t change how I felt about her.
She pulled her helmet off and shook out her short, violet mane. “Hey, Sunny. Did you know there is a mare in your condo?”
“Slightly taller than me, light blue coat, silver mane, big mouth?”
Melody snorted and grinned. “Yes, that was her. When I asked where you were, she said, and keep in mind this is a direct quote, ‘Trixie does not know where the yellow-rumped tyrant is.’”
Yellow-rumped tyrant! Oh, I’d show her a tyrant when I got home. “Sounds about right. I made her make the bed, Celestia forbid. How’d you know I was here?”
“Really? Come on, Sunny. Your section doesn’t work Saturday or Sunday and you weren’t at home. I’m not saying you’re predictable, but basically, if you’re not at work or at home, this is the next likely place.”
I wiggled my ears, trying not to laugh. “There is a reason you’re Detective Sergeant Ward and I’m just a dumb wall guard.”
Melody snorted. “A Canterlot Castle Wall Commander. I think we can both agree that’s a bit higher on the career ladder, Lieutenant.”
I wagged a hoof at her. “See, that is where you’re wrong. You do more for regular ponies than I do. Now, we can compete about whose job is lower, but I’m currently wearing a super tight t-shirt and working in a bar on my day off. You’ve clearly made better life choices. So, can I get you anything?”
“No, thank you, but point to you, then. Speaking of choices though, that’s why I was looking for you,” Melody said before pulling out a letter and offering it to me.
“What’s this?” I asked before taking the paper in my magic and pulling it open.
Detective Sergeant Melodic Ward
After a thorough review of your record and achievements, the admissions board has deemed you an excellent candidate for the Western Equestrian Officer’s Candidate Academy. This board is also under the opinion that you would be highly successful in the Detective Inspector program should you choose to pursue it.
We eagerly look forward to hearing your decision regarding the next step for your career and hope to see you at the start of our next term.
Sincerely, Colonel Wood
I let the letter drift down to the bar and looked up at her. “A commission? Melody, you didn’t even tell me you were looking at this!”
She rubbed her hooves together nervously. “I know, I know! It’s just that once Strong Wing was transferred, things felt a little weird. The three of us have always been a group, and I don’t want to leave you. Plus, honestly, I didn’t know if this was going to work out. I didn’t want to say anything until it was real. Now it is! What should I do?”
My ears shot up. She was considering giving up a huge opportunity because of me? What a great friend! Foolish, though. “What should you do? Who are you? The Melodic Ward I know would know exactly what to do! They’re offering you a commission and they’re letting you train at the best investigation academy in the entire kingdom. It’s even better than the one here! Melody, you have to go!”
“But what about my life here?”
“It’ll still be here! Look, I had to go to Baltimare for my commission. It was rough, I missed everypony, but look what happened as a result. Melody, you’re looking at being the commanding officer for a detective unit if you do this. Isn’t that your dream?”
“You won’t be mad?” she asked, fixing her gaze on me.
“Mad? Are you crazy? No! I’ll miss you like crazy, but I’m not going to be mad.” I kept my voice as upbeat as a could. This was a thrilling opportunity, but I really would miss her. “Proud is the right word! You take this, do your best, get that commission and you come back here when you can and run the whole detective cohort.”
Melody was one of my few true friends, like Dolly. She wasn’t a bed buddy. We had a deep, genuine bond that went back to when I was younger. Still, this opportunity was huge for her. There was zero room for me to be anything but positive and supportive.
Her expression shifted from doubt to excitement and she tapped her hoof on the bar. “Well, if I have your blessing, then let’s have a drink to celebrate?”
“Now you’re talking!” I replied before going to get a bottle of champagne. This was cause for celebration for sure.
It also gave me a moment’s pause. Strong had taken a promotion. Melody was going to get a commission and move on to a new role.
What was I doing? I had my wall. And I loved it. Should I be looking out for something new, too?
Well, that was future Sunny’s problem. For now, it was time to celebrate!