The two of them sat in the kitchen, coffee brewing nearby. Twilight grabbed two mugs from a cabinet and set them on the table before sitting down across from Padlock.
“Care to guess just how old I am?” he asked.
“It’s hard to tell. You’re kinda dirty. It makes it hard to guess.”
“I’m nearly forty five years old.”
“Well, you don’t look a day over thirty.”
“Stop that. Flattery will get you everywhere. Anyways, as I was saying... When I was a young colt, things were very different. I was born in Manehattan in a poor district. Violence was common in the streets, and work was hard to come by.” He paused to pour some coffee before continuing. “My parents died not long after I was born. I don’t even remember what they looked like. I was sent to live at an orphanage.”
“I’m so sorry…” Twilight said, looking down.
“There’s nothing to be sorry about. That’s how life works.”
“Still…”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m here now, so the story has a happy ending of sorts.” He took a sip of his drink and continued his story. “As I said, I was sent to live at the orphanage. It wasn’t exactly the greatest place to be. There were about a hundred of us in an old apartment building that had been repurposed. There was never much food to go around, and nothing to do. We were forced to work as soon as we turned six, mostly doing odd jobs for local businesses. While I was helping a local bookseller to organize his stock room, he noticed I was having trouble understanding what to do. Y’see, I couldn’t read at that point, so when he told me to get a certain book, I just grabbed one and hoped for the best.”
“They didn’t teach you to read at the orphanage?”
“They could barely even feed us. They didn’t have time or resources to teach us too. But that bookseller took an interest in me. I continued to work for him, and on breaks he taught me how to read. When he had books he couldn’t sell, he gave them to me. I began reading everything I could, and started teaching the others how to as well. After a while, I had run out of reading material, but I couldn’t afford to buy new books. I took to stealing them to feed my love for the written word. Like I told you earlier, I eventually got caught.”
“Mr. Keystone.”
“Exactly. He was impressed that I’d bothered to steal the book, let alone read the entire thing. He tested me on my knowledge of locks, and decided that I would be his apprentice. I spent every day working there, and when I turned sixteen I left the orphanage for good. I worked for him until I turned twenty before he told me I had learned everything I could from him. So, I set off on my own. I had saved up enough money to open my own store, and I did quite well for a while. But something was wrong. I wasn’t happy with my life.”
“Why not? It sounds like you were pretty successful.”
“I think that was the problem. The fight was over. There was nothing more to overcome. I’d spent my entire life fighting to keep myself above water, and now that I was finally on dry land I found I missed the ocean. I had nothing to strive for. So I left. I had nothing tying me to that place, no friends or family. I sold the store off and went to school again. For a while it was fantastic. There were constant challenges, and so many new books to read. I ended up taking on too much to handle at once, but ended up loving that even more. I graduated with a double major in Literature and Engineering.”
“That an odd combination.”
“Well, they were my two passions. It made perfect sense to me. After I’d finished school, I found myself again lost. Again there was nothing to challenge me. I knew I could build up a business again, but it would eventually grow stale. I could try to earn another degree, but my funds were growing slim as it was. Instead, I decided to leave everything behind. I would take on a new kind of challenge. I didn’t just become homeless, I chose this. Every day a struggle, a fight to survive.”
“You wanted to be homeless?! Are you crazy?” Twilight said incredulously.
“Probably, yes. As I said, I longed for the challenge. This life hasn’t disappointed either. There’s always some new problem to overcome, something new to face. And for once, I truly felt free. I didn’t have to worry about rent or bills anymore. If things got out of control, all I had to do was hop on a train and I’d find a whole new place full of possibilities. A whole new adventure, whenever I wanted it.”
“Honestly, I can’t tell if you’re completely crazy or incredibly brilliant.”
“Well, keep in mind that I do have a tendency to talk to myself.”
“Fair enough. So why did you come here?”
“I managed to get in enough trouble back in Baltimare that I had to leave town. There was a… disagreement about money.”
“Ah…”
“So, I hopped a train, and found myself here. I figured if anything I could hang around until the heat died down.”
The two sat in silence for a while, sipping at their now cooling coffee. After a few minutes had passed, Twilight spoke up.
“So, was it worth it?”
“For the most part, yeah. I’ll admit I’ve missed out on a lot in life, but I’ve also experienced more than most will in their lives.”
“Missed out on what?”
“Relationships of any sort. Life on the streets doesn’t tend to bring about lasting friendships. They actually tend to get in the way a lot. They start out as friends, but quickly become a form of competition. They know where you go for food, where you sleep, your habits. Then something goes wrong. They end up owing money, or they need something, and they come to you, bringing their problems with them. Bringing you into their problems…”
“Isn’t that what friends are for? To help each other with their problems?”
“Probably, but when your friends end up bringing angry bookies and thugs looking to break legs into your life, you start questioning the friendship. After a while, you stop making friends at all.”
“It must be lonely out there…”
“Yep. But I survive.”
Twilight looked into his eyes. “Is it really surviving? Or is it just keeping your head above water?”
Padlock sighed and took another sip of the now cold coffee. “You have a point, kid. Honestly, this is the most I’ve spoken with anyone in as long as I can remember.”
“I was like you once. I focused all of my energy on studying. I thought friendships would get in the way.”
Padlock looked up at her, and she continued. “I was wrong. What I was doing before, that wasn’t living. It was nothing but routine. When I came here, I had no idea what to do. If the ponies here hadn’t taken an interest in me, I probably wouldn’t have made any friends ever. But they did.” Twilight began to tear up as she continued to speak. “Honestly, I can’t imagine living any other way now… Sure, they may annoy me, or cause problems, but when I need them most I can always count on them. And they can count on me.”
“I don’t know if I can relate to anyone in a real way anymore.”
Twilight smiled, her eyes still watering. “I guess you have a new challenge.”