//------------------------------// // Hat Trick // Story: Shutterbugs // by The Bookieman //------------------------------//         It was a glorious day! The birds were chirping, the sun was shining and I had a pounding headache..wait what. “Gyaa! What the..my head.” I was in bed rubbing my now throbbing head. I felt a pretty nasty bump right on top. “I wonder where that came from..I..can't really recall..Oh well, it’ll pass, time to grab my hat and start a brand new day.” I reached for where I usually put my hat, the bedpost. Strangely it wasn't there...wait...what! I always put it there! I started frantically looking around for it. Checking the covers, drawers, nothing came of it. “NNOOOOOOOO!” I shouted from my house, no doubt getting a few weird looks from passing ponies. Including Junie, of course, outside rummaging through my bushes.         “Woh! Where’s the fire?” She tilted her head at me. “You look a little different, can't quite put my finger on it though.”         I was frantic. “My hat! I lost my hat! I can't believe it..” The panic turned to sadness in an instant.         “Oh yeah, that little fishing hat you wear.” She looked me over as if inspecting me. “You don't look TOO bad without it. I didn't really know you grow your hair out this long.” She kind of messed with it a bit.         I didn't really say anything. I still couldn't believe I lost it. Junie could probably tell how bummed I was.         Junie would ponder.. “Come with me. We'll get you something to hide your shame in the meantime.” She dragged me by the hoof.         “Wait what? I don't want a new hat!”         “It’s just for the time being, alright? I'll help you find your old one. Besides. You can never have too many hats.”         She dragged me to a little hat shop. We tried a few on but none of them really fit. I sighed. “It’s just not the same.” I said looking into a mirror wearing a little bowler hat.         “I don't know. I think it makes you look pretty dapper myself...OH. You like noir detective stories right?”         “Heh..you know me too well at this point.” I said, taking off the bowler hat and setting it aside.         “Be right back.” And she darted off only to come back a few seconds later with a rather nice looking gray fedora. “Here. Try this.” She tossed it over. I tried it on and...it looked good. At least for now.         “It’s cool...I guess. But there was more to that hat besides the looks.” I took off the fedora. “It was a gift from my dad when I got my cutie mark. Kind of a coming of age present.”         Junie snapped to. “Wait..really? Well why didn't you say so! I know just the pony who could help us.” She grabbed me again and dragged me off to who knows where. Guess I'm going hatless.         She dragged me to a quaint little cottage. Junie knocked on the door. “Hey Goldie. I got a live one.” A pony answered. She had a yellow coat and a blonde braided mane to match. She wore a worn red beret and a khaki vest with all sorts of pockets and such.        I could see inside a bit. Her walls were full of little knick knacks and things.         She gasped. “Junie! It’s been a while!” She gave her a big hug. “You need to visit more. Oh..so who’s this with you? No...did you get a coltfriend? I'm so happy for you Junie!”         Well that caught me off guard. “Wait what!”         Junie’s mint green face turned bright red. “GOLDIE!!” She playfully shoved her a bit. “He’s my friend! You're such a jerk sometimes!” She pouted for a bit, though it was obvious they were just messing with each other. She cleared her throat. “Anyway..Flick, this is my friend Goldie Locks. She has a knack for finding shiny things and such.”         “It’s more than that and you know it.” She motioned to her mark. It was a treasure chest. “Nice to meet you..Flick was it?” She smiled and put out a hoof.         “Uh. Thanks.” I responded with my own hoof and shook.         “Anyway. If Junie brought you here, that must mean you want me to help you find something. That’s kinda my thing. Wait.....you're looking for a hat aren't you?”         I was a bit shocked that she called it like that. I held the top of my head. “How did you know?”         “Well for one I can see a slight indent on your forehead where a hat would sit. Also you have a bit of hat hair. You’re obviously somepony that doesn't go anywhere without a hat, and it was important to you I assume. Since you only get a indent like that from wearing it almost everyday.”         Wow..that was pretty good deduction. “Y..yeah. Wow..you're good.” I rubbed my head a bit. It was still kind of bothering me. She nodded. “You could say that my specialty is finding treasure, and I mean the word treasure loosely. It could also mean personal treasure which I assume that hat is for you, yes?” I nodded. That hat was probably one of the most important things to me. I couldn’t help but rub my head. Not only did it hurt but now it was cold.                 Junie piped up. “So what's the plan of attack here?”         Goldie pondered to herself. “Well I guess first things first. We need to retrace your steps from yesterday. It’s possible maybe you took it off and left it somewhere?”         Junie nodded in agreement. “Yeah if it’s not at your house then you might have left it somewhere. Where did you go yesterday?”         I thought about it for a minute. “I went to Sugarcube Corner I think. Yeah, I got a snack there.”         Junie shrugged. “Fair enough. Let’s just hope Pinkie isn't too loopy today. One minute you're walking in, the next you could be smacking a pinata. No telling with her.”           The three of us headed off to the familiar gingerbread cottage that was Sugarcube Corner. We walked in to see Mr. Cake manning the counter. Very slim pony for someone who works at a sweet shop. He waved and smiled. “Hey there kids. Anything I can get for you?         I piped up. “Actually I was wonder..” I was interrupted by a perky pink pony poking her head out of the kitchen. She then almost bounced her way to the counter with some sort of decadent looking confection in hoof.         “Oh! Junie! You're just in time to try a slice of my Super Duper Triple Chocolate Chocolate Cake..still working on the name though, can any of you think of any more words that end with -uper?”         Junie chuckled nervously. “I think we’ll pass for now.”         Goldie piped up after her. “Speak for yourself that looks delicious!”         Pinkie put it closer to Junie’s face. “Awh come on. It’s got spriiiiinkles..” She gave a little pouty face. Trying to tug at Junie’s heartstrings. I chuckles with a shake of my head and looked to Mr. Cake. “So...anyway. When I came here yesterday you didn't happen to see me leave a hat here did you?” Mr. Cake would ponder it for a bit. “No can't say I did really. What about you Pinkie? Did Flick leave a hat here?” Pinkie ceased tempting Junie and Goldie with delicious sweets and perked up at the question. “Oh yeah I have a bunch of hats! Hold on..” She bolted up stairs in a pink flash and in almost a second later would come back down with a big box of hats. “Let’s see we have this one.” She put on a very colorful top hat with what looked like a big flower on it. “I like this one because it can do this!” The flower squirted me in the face with a little stream of water. “Gah! What the!” And now my face was wet...great. I heard Junie and Goldie snicker at me in the background. Apparently they thought this was hilarious. Pinkie would go back into her box of hats. She pulled out a colorful jesters hat with little belled tassels. “Oh I have this one too. It has little jinglies on it.” She pawed at one of them as if she was a cat or something and giggled. I wiped the water off my face and responded. “I'm actually looking for a gray fishing hat. Do you have one?” Pinkie would ponder this for second. “Lemee check.” She started digging through her box throwing hats everywhere. One of them landed on my head. It was one of those drink hats that you could put sodas and stuff into. “Nope. No fishing hats. Sorry guys. But that one looks good on you though!” She smiled and nodded sincerely “I think I'll pass for now. Thanks anyway Pinkie.” I still heard Junie and Goldie snickering at me in the background. I took it off and set it on the counter. The three of us headed out. Pinkie would frantically wave. “Bye guys! Now let see..trooper..no..grouper..nope..blooper.. maybe?” I sighed. “Well that didn't get us anywhere.” Junie still snickering. “At least it was hilarious...hehheh. Right in the face too.” Not sure if they could hear me but I was grumbling a bit. Goldie would pipe up. “Ok so this was a bust. Any idea where you went next.?” “Hm...oh yeah. I went to check on Cloudy. She’s opening a salon here in Ponyville after that Photo Finish thing.” Junie piped up. “Oh you mean that stylist you helped out? Oooh, Does Flicky have a crush?” She raised an eyebrow suggestively. “N..no. I was just curious is all. She’s a nice girl. Wanted to make sure things were going ok you know.” Goldie nodded. “Well we're off then. Lead the way to victory Flick.”  After a while we made our way to where Cloudy was setting up shop. It wasn't a huge place by any means but it was quaint and appealing. I looked inside and they were setting up chairs and counters and such. I saw Cloudy in the back looking it all over with a bit of a twinkle in her eye. I could tell she was happy and that this was what she really wanted to do. She saw us walk in and trotted her way over with a smile on her face. “Oh hey Flick, you brought your friends. Sorry we're still trying to get things situated, pardon the dust. Ooohh.” She gravitated over to Junie. She seemed to be looking over her mane.         Junie was a bit spooked by this. “Um..hello?”         Cloudy would snap out of herself for a minute. “Oh sorry..it’s just..has anyone told you your mane is such a lovely shade of blue? It goes really well with your coat too. It reminds me of mint ice cream.” She would chirp and offer a sincere smile.         Junie didn't really know how to take that it would seem. She blushed a bit. “R..really? You think so?” She looked over to a mirror as if trying to see what she saw.         “Oh yeah. I wouldn't say anything if I didn't mean it.” Cloudy nodded         Goldie piped up. “See I told you you're pretty Junie. You need to listen to me more. Anyway. Did our friend Flick here leave a hat somewhere?”         “Hat?” She looked back over at me. “I knew something felt off. Oh...I never knew you had such a long blonde mane. It’s lovely.” She said in an almost dreamy voice as she looked it over.         I blushed a bit, was my mane really that good looking? Not like it was hard to grow out or anything. “Yeah..seems I've misplaced it. I didn't leave it here did I?”         Cloudy shook her head as she snapped out of her self induced trance. “No I'm pretty sure you left with it. Sorry I couldn't really help more.”         I chuckled a bit. “No it’s fine. Thanks for the help anyway. I'll talk to you later Cloudy.” The three of us started to walk out and I waved goodbye. She waved in response.         “See you later Flick. Good luck!”         Junie nudged me a bit. “You seem to run into the best friends don't you.” She said with a air a smugness about her.         Goldie chuckled at that and looked over to me. “So where to next chief?” “Well after that I went to a little pawn shop I found. Wanted to see if they had Spirit Slugs 7. I'm still looking for that one.” All Goldie could do is look at Flick with a confused face. “Spirit what?” Junie would step in. “Ehhh don't worry about it. It’s a nerd thing. Lead the way Flicky.” After a brisk walk we would reach a little shop near the town center. It was a bit run down but it was open. Odd Ends of the Earth it was called. Like I said it was a little pawn shop filled with all sorts of...stuff. It was all over the place too. It wasn't really in any particular order but you could tell the shopkeep knew where everything was. We walked in and you could tell this place was around for awhile, you could smell the dust and age. The shopkeep was a nice enough guy, Sonny was his name. Had a great sense of style too. He wore a hat just like mine, though his was even more worn in. He was a older pony with a white coat and short gray hair, and liked to wear a coat lined with pockets for various things. He spoke up as I entered. “Oh hey is that you Flick? I couldn't tell, you're not wearing your hat. Now now you don't have to change up your wardrobe for my sake. Hehehe. I see you brought a few friends too. Come in come in, feel free to look around.” He waved them inside enthusiastically. Goldie looked around. “Wow...and I thought I was a pack rat. Flick if you lost your hat here I don't think we could even find it..”  Junie wandered aimlessly around the store. She found what looked like a calendar and she would motion for the others. “Hey guys. Take a look at this.” We walked over to see what it was. I turned my head curiously. “Is that...Mrs Ginger?” Goldie piped up. “Mrs Ginger? You mean that landlady?” Junie would look it up and down. “Hmm..nice plot.” Both of us would give Junie a weird look. “What..just look at these petunias. They’re great!” The calendar in question was from a home and garden magazine. Mrs Ginger was dressed in a apron and large sunhat tending a flower bed. Hnh..turns out she was October that year. “Wow...I guess she was a model.” I heard Sonny chuckle in the back. “Hehehe, best month there is.” I shook it off for now and headed to the counter. “Hey Sonny? I'm looking for my hat. I didn't leave it here did I?” He shot me a look. “Now why would you go and lose such a classy piece of headwear? You need to keep a better eye on it.” He pondered for a minute. “No I don't believe so. I'm pretty sure I saw you leaving with it yesterday.” I saddened a bit. This was the last place I had visited that day. “Oh...well...thanks anyway.” Sonny put out a hoof and raised my head by the chin. “Hey don’t sweat it kid. Nothing in this world is truly lost. You just gotta remember where you put it. As you can see I've gotten pretty good at that.” He chuckled. Goldie stepped up. “Well let’s head back to your place. Maybe something will jog your memory. Heck we can look through your house again just to make sure.” I was still pretty sullen. “Yeah...” I slowly trotted out of the shop. Junie and Goldie followed closely. It was a quick walk back to my house. Man...how was I gonna explain this to my dad. Just thinking about how he would take it was making my head hurt. Jeez..how did I even get this knot on my head anyway..I..couldn't seem to remember. Junie trotted up and would nudge me a bit. “Hey cheer up Flicky. I’ll get that fedora you were eyeballing earlier for you. My treat. You know you want it.” Goldie also tried to cheer me up. “Hey it’s not over yet. I got a good feeling about this. There's not anything I can't track down. Don't worry about it.” As we got closer to my house I would see Mrs Ginger beside my house sweeping up something. Looked like a flower pot. Might have fallen from a second floor windo...wait..I rubbed my head. It’s coming back to me now. “I...I think I remember. That flower pot wanged me on the head!” Out of the corner of my eye a gray wall-eyed pony with a blonde mane walked by. She started picking up the pace and whistling out of tune for some reason...hnh. I didn't really think much of it. Ginger looked up from her job. “Excuse me?” “Yeah that flower pot hit me on the head last night! Afterward I went inside and just kind of passed out....which means..” I ran inside. Junie motioned to the door. “Sorry for the outburst Mrs Ginger. Looks like our Flicky just had a epiphany.” Goldie nodded. “I had a feeling we were gonna find it here as soon as we walked up. Let’s see if that hunch was right.” The two walked inside to see me digging under my bed. “No..no..no..YES!” I shimmied out from under my bed with the missing hat in hoof, bit dusty though. I brushed it off and placed it on its rightful place on top of my head. “Ah...sooo much better. My head feels whole again.” Goldie looked me over. “It does look good on you.” I got up and hugged the two. “Thanks you so much guys for helping me find this. It means a lot to me.” Junie blushed a bit. “Jeez Flick you're embarrassing me...you're welcome though.” Goldie giggled. “It’s no trouble. Just let me know if you ever misplace anything else, alright? You hang out with my secretary.” She said nudging Junie a bit. “Hey! I'm not a secretary. I'm more your agent if anything.” I thought for a minute...should I ask Ginger about that calendar?