An unknown figure tossed and turned in their sheets, only to wake with a start. The figure relaxed upon waking and let out a familiar sigh. A sigh that every working person is familiar with. For even though it was Sunday, it was time for Canterlot's only human to get his work day started.
The twilight of morning just settled on the horizon as Cliff sat upright from his bed cautiously, to be mindful of the low ceiling, as his bedroom wasn't built with human height in mind. Not being one to lament his over sized existence for too long, the man began the timeless ritual of a blue collar man; shit, shower, and shave. Now with the scent of sandalwood about him, he went to the wooden wardrobe. Inside was the clothing selection for today. Jeans and shirts, shirts and jeans, or if he was feeling fancy; a button up shirt and nice jeans. Take a guess what his decision was.
After he donned his attire of a gray shirt, blue jeans and a pair of weathered brown boots. The giant in a doll house began his heavy steps down the stairs with mighty thuds that could wake the dead. On the last step, Cliff flicked on a magical lantern.
The light left a revelation to behold, in his office he kept artifacts from his life and tokens of the past. The first thing he saw was a big beautiful flag hung upon the wall; it had thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red, alternating with white, a blue rectangle sat in the corner with forty eight stars sewn. A special order he had made a long ago and was the only one in existence. Next to it, sat a large safe with a powerful lock and contents hidden from voyeurous eyes. In it, he kept many things but the most important was his old equipment, left over from his time before Equestria. A time when safety was not an assured thing and laws were only letters on parchment.
His gaze drifted over to the adjacent wall where souvenirs sat in displays. While strange to most, they were special to Cliff for the memories they hold from now faraway friends. Like the mask from Zebrica, one that represents a momentous event in the journey of a warrior. An engraved stone beer stein from Germane, where revelry with camaraderie was not given, but earned. Also a single arrow that had two colorful feathers attached, with the wood splintered and the tip chipped from use.
Though before he could relive the past, he snapped back to his morning task and surveyed his workbench. The bench stood covered in tools. From leather craft tools such as stamps, presses and stitches; to fine metal craft tools like files, mallets and gravers. Which if Cliff was honest with himself, was in a form of chaos, organized chaos he had justified in his head. His eyes tracked towards his project from last night, a silver locket laid on a small pedestal with a metal graver next to it.
It was a custom order which Cliff was more than happy to do. It had actually come from a sweet old lady from the down this street. She was a kind soul and never was bothered by his otherworldly origin. If anything she was very motherly towards him, albeit one who was a bit old fashioned and kept trying saddle him up with a nice mare. Cliff chuckled at the thought and sat on his old work stool, then delving into his canvas of silver.
Sunflower, the normal unicorn, walked down the same Market Boulevard but their was a stark contrast to her previous trips. She had arrived very early, rather than during the busy daytime, as the normally packed street contained very little in the way of life this morning. The whole area had a dim glow to it, as the morning twilight teased its presence and magic streetlamps casted their impressions across dark streets. The few here this early, were mostly crafters, cooks and couriers. They all carried a lantern or had the dim glow of a light spell as they scurried about, with much needed to be done for the morning preparations.
Celestia walked past all the early morning workers, who were none the wiser to her identity. She turned down Elder Street, one which this early in the morning, was not that well lit due to the lack of streetlamps on older roads. This put the disguised princess on edge, but she certainly wasn't worried because if anything tried something. It would be a bigger surprise for them, than for her.
Not too long after she headed down Elder street, 'Cliff's crafts' came into view and she dropped into a low crouch. If it wasn't clear already, Celestia had a plan not exactly fit for a princess. The stealthy princess wanted to give Cliff an early morning visit, with the hope that he had not opened up shop yet, to see what could be gleaned about him. While possibly leaving some bits behind that she owed him. The thought of the plan brought about a nervous energy that settled upon her body. It's been a long while since she had done anything like this, albeit questionable in morality, it was a refreshing experience to say the least.
She moved in on the shop and approached the front door. Though before anything could be attempted, her foot snagged on an uneven piece of cobble and she face-planted onto the ground with a thump. There was dead silence and Celestia stayed deathly still for a few moments. Mentally, the princess was in an inner turmoil and she was sure that the whole operation was about to blow up in her face, before it even began. After a few moments, nothing happened much to her relief and she recuperated herself, then slowly rising back up into a low crouch to continue onward.
Certainly wasn't the coordinated one between the two sisters.
Once she reached the door, she began the spell-work which had been already prepared that day prior. The tumblers in the simple lock moved into place and the door opened. The bell didn't let off a jingle as she had silenced it in a special field. The shop was quiet and dimly lit by the light that spilled from the backroom. She heard a shuffle and the sound of tools being sorted through, along with the sound of humming. A careful approach to the backroom door gave way to an interesting sight.
The man was no less the interesting sight than before, with the tall human on a wooden stool, hunched over in concentration with his short brown hair hanging over his brow. In front of him laid a workbench of all kinds of various tools, most of which Celestia was not familiar with. In his left hand on a small pedestal, he held what looked like the beginning of an engraved silver locket. While in the other, a small hard piece of metal. Currently he turned the locket on the pedestal with a slow and methodical pace. All the while he put delicate etches on to it. Etches that looked like vines that clung to the locket like those in a grove.
The princess was content to observe the humming human, who was still unaware of her presence. There was something magical about the intense concentration he placed on the task. That and the simple juxtaposition of this giant working on a small delicate craft. Though she wondered, what is this tune? That was until he began to softly sing a little to himself.
"Gory gory what a helluva way to die..."
What a strange song that was to Celestia, who never heard of anything like it before in her long lived life. Maybe something from his homeland? While she was distracted with her thoughts and the sight of the human, her body leaned to the side. Until the pressure was too great and it pushed the door open, which gave a long and loud creak.
The man stopped and stood completely still. There was a poignant pause as the two stood there unsure of the intention of the other.
Celestia eeked in nervousness. "Uh hi, I just uh, came by to see if you were open early..." To her relief, Cliff visibly relaxed. Unknown to her, his other hand let go of something he had gripped within his waistband. Cliff still wondered how she had gotten in here. Probably left the door unlocked he reasoned.
"Oh Miss Sunflower, well you're here mighty early." Cliff set the locket and tool down, but Celestia noticed his hands shook, almost violently. Though it was only for a few moments before he quickly collected himself and turned to face her. "Well you're already back here, you might as well come all the way in."
Celestia entered the room timidly at first but with a reassuring small smile from Cliff. She fully stepped inside and only to gasp in surprise. Covered from wall to wall not only with tools and various crafts, were many souvenirs and trinkets from across the world. Though on the last wall across, a flag hung proudly on display. One she did not recognize, at all. Celestia looked back to Cliff where he still sat on his stool with a small smile still on his face.
"Welcome to my office, what can I do for ya?"A whole lot as Celestia now had a lot more questions than she originally thought. Her initial expectations now completely tossed out the window. Though the nervous energy from earlier had not completely settled from her body. The mystery of his room ignited a childish excitement within her; so she decided to blurt out.
"I can see that you are well traveled!" The proverbial spaghetti already falling out of her pockets, assaulting him with that awful cacophony of speech.
"Yeah, spent a lot of time in other places. Not by choice though, not to be rude Miss Sunflower but uh is there a reason you are here."
She reigned herself in a bit. "Uhm, yes. I just really liked the spoon set and I wanted to see the master at work! So would you mind some company this morning?"
Cliff chuckled, it had a deep warmth to it, and it made Celestia's heart flutter a little. "Of course, I don't mind none, though I won't be talkin' too much. Would you like a seat?"
"Ah yes, that would be uh, splendid thank you." Cliff grabbed her a chair from the main shop and placed it next to his. He picked up his graver and began the delicate task once again. As Celestia watched the giant man work on his craft she thought to herself, what is it she truly thought of this strange person. Perhaps once she knew him a bit more than they could go for a simple outing. Then maybe, some questions she have will be answered.