//------------------------------//
// Act 3, Chapter 6 - The End of a Life 
// Story: Hoof and Claw Versus the World 
// by Chythar 
//------------------------------//

After getting homesick, Nightmare Moon had given me the ability to work during the day.  At last, I could walk in the light again!  It was time to end my old life and focus on the better one with my Queen.







My tasks at the El Segundo police station that evening went by in a blur.  Before I knew it, it was time to head home.  But at that time, I was heading to my old home while Nightmare Moon went to our new one in the US Bank Tower.  That morning, she and I were standing in the courtyard between the El Segundo Police Station and the courthouse next door.  Most of the courtyard was boring flat pavement, but there were bushes and concrete benches lining the courtyard.

The back of the courtyard slimmed down between the building into a narrow walkway, and ended down a set of stairs into a parking lot.  In front, the courtyard led to a sidewalk; past that, the street.  All the little shops and eateries across the street were closed and would probably not open for a few hours.  The sky was just starting to lighten, so I knew that sunrise wasn't too far away.

"Welp, time for me to go."

"Yes.  I admit, it will be strange to be apart from thee.  We have spent nearly all of our time together since we first met some two months past."

"That's true.  But it's just going to be one day, and we'll be back together tonight.  Speaking of which, what's our next target?"

"One moment while I look up the name on this tablet.

"It is called the 'Manhattan Beach' police station.  Dost thou knowest where it is?"

She's slipped into Old English.  This separation must really be bothering her.

"Nope, but that's why I snagged another tablet.  Can you show me the location on yours?

"Got it, I've pinned the location.  I'll meet you there just after dark.  OK?"

A quick look at the ebony mare told me that she was not ok.  She was looking down at her hooves, and was using one of those armored hooves to scrape at the concrete floor of the courtyard.  It was pretty obvious that she didn't want me to leave.  I knew that affection always made her feel better, and I was happy to give it to her.  So I reached out and cradled her jaw with a hand, and waited for her to smile.  When she didn't after a few seconds, I lifted her head up until she looked at me.

"Hey now.  I'm only going to be gone for a single day.  And I absolutely guarantee I'm coming back!  Life would be way too boring without you in it, missy."

I felt Nightmare Moon's muscles twitch under my palm.  Then at last, she smiled warmly at me.

"Thou always knowest the right thing to say."

"Only the best for you."

I gave her no warning before I darted in for a long, passionate kiss.  I even gripped her jaw with my hand so I could kiss her hard.  Just as suddenly, I let her go and stepped back a bit.

"See you tonight."

With a hard flap of my wings, I was in the air before the mare could reply.  Hey, always leave them wanting - right?

I angled my flight north and east to head to my old apartment.  And of course, I got lost.  I still knew the streets of my home town, I hadn't been gone that long.  So I was sure I was in the right area.  But I couldn't figure out which apartment was mine from the air.  Eventually, I gave up and flew down to street level so I could see the street signs.  It was then a simple matter to follow the streets to my old home.  I was annoyed at myself for getting lost, so I pinned the location on my tablet so it wouldn't happen again.  Then realized the gesture was useless, as I wouldn't be going back there again.  I stood on the sidewalk and looked up at the building I had lived in for many months.

The apartment complex was only two stories tall, with a deluxe apartment over the front gate.  The building was painted some shade of brown, and trees were planted on either side of the front gate.  Bushes covered the bottom edge of the building, though they were trimmed short so they didn't block the windows of the first-floor apartments.  The building number was in huge letters on the side of the building, just off to my right.  Satisfied that I was at the right place, I walked through the gate and into the courtyard.

Once inside, I stopped and smiled at the familiar sight.  In front of me was a swimming pool, surrounded by concrete and patio chairs and tables.  Beyond the pool were two deluxe apartments in the center of the courtyard.  They were stacked on top of each other kinda like a mini condo.  More apartments surrounded the courtyard.  Stubbly, scraggly bushes provided a separation between the first floor apartments and the public pool area.  Stairs stretched up towards the second floor walkway on either side of the pool.  The metal railings on the stairs and the second floor were just as old and rusty as I remembered.

I walked to the left of the pool and went up the stairs to the second floor.  It was a short walk down to the back corner, and in moments I stood in front of the door of my old apartment; number 26.  A distinctive clatter told me the window to my left was open, and the breeze was rattling the closed blinds.  Standing in front of the door, I began to feel nervous.  To wrap up my old life, I had to live my old life for a little while.  Could I do it?  I felt uncertain and uncomfortable, like wearing clothes that were a little too tight.  Speaking of clothes, it was getting light out so it was time to put on my human illusion.

I closed my eyes, and thought back to what I looked like before I had met Nightmare Moon.  Back to that fateful day, when my whole life changed in ways I never expected.  To my surprise, I couldn't picture my old self in my mind.  That was strange, I had already made an illusion of my old self back when Nightmare Moon and I moved into the US Bank Tower,  This time, the mental image of my body was just a blur.  But as I concentrated, details began to slowly appear until that mental image of myself was nice and sharp.  Only then did I release the illusion magic that I had been holding.  The spell rushed out all over me in moments, then faded to nothing.

I opened my eyes, and I saw that the world around me had not changed.  That wasn't a surprise, I had cast magic on myself and not the door to my apartment.  But it only took a look at my hands to see what had changed: me.  Not only were my hands human again, but all the creases in the skin that I knew so well were there.  I turned my hands over, and I saw the scar just below the knuckle on my left ring finger, the one I got when I punched a guy in the mouth back in high school.  I learned the hard way, that when you punch a guy in the mouth who wears braces you're gonna get an interesting scar.

I looked up my arms to see my familiar Southern California tan.  Spend enough time out in the SoCal sun you'll get what's called a 'farmer's tan'.  A glance down at my shirt revealed one of my work dress shirts; this one was sky blue in color, and the sleeves were rolled up to my elbows.  No tie.  Farther down, I was wearing a pair of dark blue dress pants with a black belt and a pair of brown wingtip leather shoes.

I didn't have a mirror, but a pat down with my hands told me my face felt human.  And my voice hadn't changed when Nightmare Moon changed me, so I expected it to stay the same.  Didn't know how to change my voice, anyway.

Nothing left to do but open the door.

My keys had been lost a long time ago, along with my cell phone and clothes when Nightmare Moon had created my body and my armor.  But I had since learned how to open keyed locks with magic.  I opened the screen door, which wasn't locked, and cast a bit of magic first on the deadbolt lock; then on the one in the door handle.  In about the same time as it would take to open with a set of keys, the door was unlocked and I walked through the doorway into my old apartment.

Which was completely empty.

All my stuff was gone!

The beat-up couch I picked up off of Craigslist, that always smelled a bit funny:  Gone.

My shitty flat panel TV, which I found by the dumpster.  The colors were messed up in the right corner, but it was free.  Also gone.

And the worst part: my PS4 with all of its games was missing.  My heart pined for the hundreds of hours lost in the saved games in the console.

The walls had been repainted an off-white, hiding all the random stains and smudges on the walls.  And that 'fresh paint' smell wasn't there either, so the place had been repainted a long time ago.

The carpet had either been cleaned really well or replaced.  I didn't think any of those food stains would come out.

I took a few stunned steps inside the apartment, and still couldn't believe everything was gone.  I slowly turned my head to my right, and the tiny kitchen was spotless.

A glance down the hallway just past the kitchen, and I could see the single bedroom was all empty.  My mattress with the broken springs that sat on stolen milk crates was gone.

That last part kinda pissed me off; it took forever to steal that many plastic crates from the local supermarket.  There's just no loyalty between thieves.

I remember...

I remember!

I remember little black kitties running and playing!

I remember staying up all night playing games, and going to bed as the sun was coming up!

I remember --

"Hello?  Is anyone in there?"

Who--?!

Oh.

I remember.  It's the elderly lady that lives next door.  Glad to see that something around here hasn't changed.

"It's just me, Mrs. Johnston."

"Me?  Who is 'me'?"

The screen door creaked as it opened, and the shuffling of Mrs. Johnston's slippers could be heard.

"Oh my!  Josh dearie, is that you?"

"Yeah, Mrs. Johnston.  I'm back.

"Though it looks like all my stuff is gone."

"Yes, well.  You were gone for so long that Doris had your things removed."

Doris?  Oh!  That's the landlady.  Wasn't I angry at her for something?

I took a deep breath before replying.

"I guess it makes sense, I have been gone for a while.  But part of me still expected the apartment to be the same."

"There, there dearie.  Now, why don't you come and have some tea with me.  And then you can see your kitties."

That sounds really nice, actually.  Both the tea AND the cats.

I allowed myself to be led to Mrs Johnston's apartment next door.  Once inside, Mrs Johnston turned to her right and walked into the kitchen.  I took a moment to look around, and suddenly realized how normal my former life used to be.

Her apartment looked just like I remembered.  It was laid out just like mine, and she even had her furniture in the same places that mine were in.  The same dull brown couch was facing away from the door.  The same small widescreen TV that Mrs Johnston would watch her soap operas on.  The pictures of children and grandchildren that adorned the faded white walls.  The small kitchen to my right, separated from the living room by a narrow counter, where Mrs. Johnston was making tea. I didn't know what tea she was making, but it smelled good.  There was a hallway that led past the kitchen, which led to the bathroom and the single bedroom beyond it.  

There was a big cat tree in the corner by the TV, which had a large black cat lying on the top perch close to the ceiling.  And that cat was staring all wide-eyed at me.

"Hey Kusac, I'm finally home."

At the sound of my voice, Kusac scorched down the cat tree.  He ran around the couch and stopped cold right at my feet, then stared up at me with his huge eyes.  This was the moment I was dreading.  I didn't know anything about my scent, did it change when I had?  Would Kusac still know me?  There was only one way to find out.

I leaned down and offered Kusac my hand.

He took one sniff, and a second.  Then enthusiastically rubbed his head all over my hand.  I let out a deep sigh, and knew then that everything would be OK.  I scritched the top of his head, then reached around and scritched his chin.  Suddenly, Kusac took off and started running excitedly around the apartment.  I couldn't help but grin at his antics, and a chuckle from the kitchen told me Mrs. Johnston enjoyed them too.  Kusac always got the 'zoomies' when I came back from a long trip, he was too excited to stay still.  I knew my cats well, so I simply sat down on the carpet and waited for him to come back.  And come back he did!  He ran right up into my lap and rubbed his face all over my hand again.

Yeah, he knows me.  What was I worried about?

Kusac kept running around, only returning for a quick pet before he was off again.  I knew he'd keep up his antics for quite a while, and I also knew that his frolicking would call out my other cats.  Sure enough, I heard a soft meow from the hallway to my right.  Turning towards the sound, I saw my tortoiseshell girl poking her head around the corner.  Bastet was a total sweetheart, very affectionate and loved to cuddle.  She was also my oldest cat by many years.

"Hey baby girl.  Come here."

Her joints sore with age, Bastet moved a bit stiffly around the corner to walk towards me.  As with Kusac, she sniffed my hand for a moment before she rubbed her cheek on it.  I gave her a few affectionate scritches on her head before she decided to climb into my lap and PURR.

The last cat to investigate was Isis.  She was a rescue cat that had been found very thin and starved on the streets.  Since she grew up hungry, she always ate too much and became a chubby black kitty.  She never got too fat though, and the vet said she was healthy, so I just let her be.  She was also the timid kitty of the group, so I expected her to take a while before she said hello.  I passed the time petting Bastet into a happy pile of fur.

Kusac had finally calmed down and was leaning against my leg when I finally heard the plaintive meows of Isis.  I looked up and saw her standing at the same place Bastet had been, at the corner of the kitchen wall.  She was scared, her eyes all open wide and her face was half hidden behind the wall.

"Come on, Isis.  You can do it."

I reached out towards her with my right hand, then wiggled my fingers at her.  Isis immediately perked up and walked towards me with a purpose.  This finger wiggle was a thing I had taught Isis a long time ago, so she knew I wanted to pet her and give her love.  Kusac and Bastet didn't need the sign, but Isis always calmed down when I used it.  In moments, I was being attacked by three cats who all needed to be petted and loved.

I spent the next several minutes petting Kusac, Bastet and Isis.  They all purred and purred and purred, until one by one they fell asleep and dreamed their little kitty dreams.  Mrs Johnston was kind enough to hand me a cup of hot tea while my cats had me pinned to the floor.

"Oh, aren't they the cutest darlings?  My cats are too aloof to cuddle, but your children were always happy to climb into my lap and give me love."

Mrs. Johnston took a sip of her tea, then let out a sorrowful sigh.

"I know they are your kitties and they belong with you, but I will miss them so much when they go."

"I... I..."

Mrs Johnston smiled, then patted my shoulder.

"It's okay, dearie.  I can see how much they missed you.  Now, I'm going to sit down on the couch and enjoy my tea."

While I sat on the carpet and sipped my own tea, I debated taking the next step - changing my cats into Shadowbolts.  Did I have the right to change them?  To risk their lives for my own selfish needs?   And if I did, what would they change into?  Would they stay cats, or become ponies?  Would they have free will, or be mindless constructs?  

I did a lot of soul-searching while I sat there on the carpet.