//------------------------------// // 2. A Dim Light at the End of a Long Tunnel // Story: Far From Home, Nearer to the Heart. // by Espeon The Psychic //------------------------------// Heavy Rivet's eyes slowly pry themselves open as she returns from the abyss of her own dreams. The faintest scent of cooking eggs wafts by her snout, teasing it with its tantalizing aroma. "Yes mom, I'm up" she mumbled to herself miserably. "Oh good, I was just coming to get you" Sang Grannie Soothe from the doorway. "Aaaaa-oof!" Rivet jumped, falling from her cozy cave of covers, and colliding with the unloving floor painfully. "Oops! Did I scare you dear? I'm sorry honey." Grannie said, containing a giggle. "You suck" "Oh? Well I'll just eat all these eggs myself then" "Gah! Be up in a minute mom!" "That's more like it." Grannie Soothe said, turning to trot down the hallway giggling. "Why did I get the prankster mother?" Rivet unfolded herself from the sheets that clung to her and rose to a stand, finding herself in a mirror on her bedside table. The picture wasn't pretty, her mane tangled and twisted in and out of itself, making her mane seem like a snake's nest. The rest of her figure didn't look great either. Her fur stuck up in odd places-no doubt a result of her restless night-and her tail had taken a form akin to her mane. Even her facial features looked sloppy, her ears folded out to the sides slightly, drooping as if to display her current position. Her eyes, normally perky and joyful, were held by saggy eyelids, and seemed to be missing their natural glow. "Hello, beautiful" she joked, tiredly, deciding not to hold off any longer on getting a stomach full of warm, fluffy egg before tackling her appearance. "Got all the time in the world anyway" she mused. She trod into the kitchen groggily, and took her place at the table. A plate immediately was pushed in front of her by a familiar green hoof, and Rivet's eyes widened a bit in delight. Two golden-toasted fried eggs lay under gaze, both of their yolks perked out, just begging to be ruptured for the sweet, runny surprise inside. "How do you do it?" Rivet asked. "All these delicious meals" "It's easy; I practice" Grannie Soothe replied. "But how do you do it without a horn? I don't know how it's possible to make something so......artsy.....without having magic to help you." "Pish Posh, It doesn't take fancy magic to make a meal good. Unicorns can say all they want about how 'great and powerful' magic can be but the truth is," Grannie Soothe accentuated her speech with over-exaggerated foreleg motions. "An earth pony can do anything a unicorn can, and an earth pony doesn't even have to concentrate" She forcefully poked Rivet's nose with a ladle. Rivet giggled a bit. "Sorry I asked" she remarked, attempting to lift her fork with a hoof, before giving up and sparking her horn's magic to levitate the fork for her. As the eggs touched her tongue, she wanted to squeal with delight at the wonderful senses the simple dish drove through her tongue. The poor townsyolk of platington stood no chance against the powerful and greedy jaws of the tremendous Rivet the Devourer! Needless to say, the eggs did not last long, and their short-lived home was quickly dumped into a sink full of dish soap before a quick farewell between Rivet and her mother. "Find an opportunity dear, I know you can." "Of course mom, I'll do my best. Bye!" "Goodbye Rivet, don't overwork yourself, for your mother's sake" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rivet arrived at the town shortly, her breakfast having given her the pep to start the day cheerfully. Her first thought was to take her chances at Sugar Cube Corner, but she decided to leave that for last. Pinkie, the hyperactive ball of sugar and adrenaline, who worked there was a nice pony, fun to be around in any respect. But Rivet could only take so much Pinkie before her nerves wore thin. Instead, she picked out a local diner. Nothing fancy, but she noted that the waiters all dressed extravagantly, and took that as a sign of prosperity. As she approached the diner, the normal hustle and bustle of the morning rush was well over, and the area was quiet, and empty. A lone pony sat at a table outside, drinking a glass of something fizzy and reading a rather large book the contents of which she could only guess at. re As she stood in the dining area outside the restaurant's doors, a waiter with lowered eyebrows and an almost pompous expression approached her. "Excuse me miss," That accent immediately irked her. Something about the odd slurring of words combined with the waiter's mustache already had her in a bad mood. "Vould you like to order?" He finished. "Hm? OH! Right, uh, I was going to ask about a job" Rivet cursed herself for being so slow on the mark, but straightened her stance to look fully at the waiter. "Ah, You're looking for work, I'm afraid I've got nothing for you, we aren't hiring at the moment. Perhaps if you'd been by yesterday...." The waiter seemed at least genuinely sorry. Rivet thanked him, a little put out in her tone, and walked away, a new location picked out for her job-seeking. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Nothing? Not even a garbage mare?" Rivet asked exasperatedly. She'd been everywhere. nobody seemed to have any work. She stood now at the Sugar Cube Corner, desperately trying to coax a job out of Mrs. Cake. "I'm sorry dear but we just don't need the help right now" came Mrs. Cake's apologetic tone. "You seem like a fine enough worker but.... we can't pay you to just lay around, and I'm afraid that's all you'd be doing." Rivet took a moment to calm her thoughts before she looked back up to Mrs. Cake with a calm expression. "It's alright, it's just.....nopony's hiring apparently." She said a touch of venom she hadn't meant to let out escaping into her words. "I really am sorry Rivet, maybe a job will open up soon." Mrs. Cake consoled. "I doubt it, what with my luck" She replied before turning. "I guess I'll see you late Mrs. Cake, thanks for the help" "You're welcome dear; I really wish I could've done somethi-" "It's alright, really" Rivet cut Mrs. Cake off before turning tail and leaving. Rivet's hoofs fell heavily, she wasn't stomping purposefully, but she was definitely stomping. The areas she walked were pock marked with hoof prints a centimeter deep and her gloomy, glowering expression only added to the effect. It was already mid-day and she had nothing to show for all her effort. Not single interviews, a single application, not even a sign of an open job. In fact, the only place that had a job open was the company that had put her in this mess. She swore, when she got through this, she'd put a hoof in Filthy Rich's gut herself. Just as Rivet took an extra heavy step, a flurry of erratic wing-beats sounded from behind her. She turned just in time to be ground zero for a crash landing full of feathers and mail. "oops, sorry Rivet" A lovably cute voice said. Rivet fought furiously to rise as she untangled herself from the newcomer and rolled to the side before standing defensively. "What?! What is it?!" Rivet snapped, frustrated with the day’s events and flustered at her violent-thought interruption. "I-I'm sorry" the mare replied, her voice softening drastically. Rivet finally turned to view the missile that had derailed her train. The mare was grey of coat, with long, blonde mane and eyes to match. Rivet immediately recognized the mail-mare and corrected her attitude, lunging forward to help her up. "I'm sorry Derpy, It's just been a long day is all, what's got you landing on the helpless ponies of the town?" she asked, noting with satisfaction that Derpy's eyes, which had been nearly watery, had dried up with the application of her kindness. Though they still held that adorable laziness about them, separating their direction which must have made it difficult to fly. "I've got mail for you is all, here ya go" she replied, sniffing audibly as she drew a letter from her mail-bag with her teeth, Extending it towards Rivet carefully. "Mail? For me? okay then. Are you okay?" Rivet asked, worried the grey pegasus had been hurt during their tumble. She accepted the mail graciously, stowing it in her saddlebags before she turned again to Derpy. "N-no, I'm fine" she assured, nodding to Rivet once more, before taking off with a few flaps of her wings. "O-oh, okay, thank you for the letter!" Rivet called after her ascending form. Rivet removed the scrolled letter she had received from the Mail-Mare, and immediately noted the ornate design etched into the very paper. Strange symbols crisscrossed the cover of the dry substance, creating an era of urgency about the parchment. Her name lay etched above the fold between the top and bottom of the paper, just above a single stamp which lay on the scroll, holding it closed. On it is what shocked Rivet the most- the emblem of the twin pony sisters- the royal seal. Rivet stowed the letter quickly, hiding it from prying eyes. It may not have been important, but whatever it was, was sent directly to her, and she'd be the first to read it if it killed her. Rivet galloped home, the wind rushing past her mane and chilling through her coat. She passed by the rickety bridge with little thought, her breath remaining even as her hooves collided with the rough earth, skidding through it suddenly as she halted her forward movement, sliding to a stop just before the hill from which her mother could watch her walking home each day. She calmed her breathing, resting her lungs for a moment before she rose again, and trotted over the hill. Now that Rivet could see her home, she felt a sudden sense of dread. She hadn't found a job, but she had this letter. What if her assumptions were wrong? What if the letter was meaningless? What if it was just a notice for jury duty? She continued at her easy pace, making it down the hill in just a few seconds, much shorter than she had hoped, and slowly approached the porch, stepping onto the wooden floor with caution. She used her magic to slowly turn the knob of the door, pushing forward only slightly. The creak of the door rang out like an alarm and she knew she was already caught. She pushed the door open the rest of the way and stepped inside, pushing the door closed behind her. "Damn Door....I'm going to get you fixed you hear? Fixed!" she told the door with prejudice. She turned around to step over to the couch, plopping down with a single sigh, just as her mother walked in. "Oh, Rivet, You're home early dear. Already find a job?" She asked, hobbling her way to her chair before sitting down with little effort. "er...no: I got a letter an-" "You came home for a letter?" Grannie Soothe asked, a tone hinting at a scolding in her voice. "Well...yes, but it's a letter from Canterlot, of....royal sending" Rivet eked out, nervous already at how this was going to go. "Royal? I hardly believe that. Why would the princess send US a letter?" Grannie asked in disbelief. "I...I dunno...I haven't read it yet" Rivet replied quietly. "Well go on then, if it's from the princesses it must be mighty important." grannie urged. "er, yes ma'am" Rivet said smartly, bringing out the letter she had received. She lay it out across the table, breaking the seal with her magic and rolling it out. The fine paper produced little cracks and crinkles as it came to full spread in front of her. It wasn't large, only a couple paragraphs and an introduction and ending, but the letter seemed important enough. Rivet quickly peered into its contents, reading the two paragraphs with growing shock as her chin hung lower and lower, coupling with an eventual strand of drool running down her lip. "M-mom?" she said "Yes dear, what is it?" "We're going to be rich."