//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: The store is closed // Story: Diary of a Store Clerk // by GnollReader //------------------------------// Granted, my approach to the situation at hand may not have been the best one... or was it 'at hoof'? I still don't like the puns. Anyhow... what was I supposed to do? At the time, ignoring the problem seemed like a good idea... But that idea quickly showed itself to be wrong. I hadn't even been in my bed for a minute when frantic knocking could be heard from downstairs. "Hello?! Are you there?" My window was open and I could hear the two in front of my store clearly from my bed. "Could you please open up? We really need to talk to you!" Twilight Sparkle, the nightmare I had dreaded for the past three years was standing on my very doorstep... Still, I couldn't help but wonder how a child came to be here. I had never read anything about humans in this world... then again I had only read a single book during my time here and that had been a prospect for mattresses. Had she wound up here by chance, just like me? The frantic knocking continued, I responded by burying my head deeper within my pillow. "Hellooo?! Please! Open up!" There was a short pause. "Did you see that... I mean him?! Can you believe it?!" "He... he looked like me..." It was more of a mumbled response than an actual sentence. "What does it mean, Twilight?" "I don't know, Silver Blossom... but we won't leave without an answer." At this point I was actually screaming into my pillow. "They gave her a pony name?! For crying out loud! Seriously?!" But then I paused and looked up for a moment. If she had a pony name... how long had she been here? I immediately tried to push the question away again. After all, I didn't want to get involved. They would probably get bored soon enough and just... "Where is Rainbow Dash when you need her? She could fly up to one of those windows!" "I don't know, Twilight. I think she went with Applejack down to the pier..." "Oh, god! They're here as well?!" A short moment of silence followed after my outburst... had they heard me even through the pillow? "Did you just hear something?" "I think it came from up there... Twilight, can you levitate me up to that window?" Apparently, they had heard... And I started to pray. "Please say no, please say no..." "I can try... hold still for a second." "Oh, hell no!" My head sagged back onto the pillow as I heard that unmistakable noise of magic fill the air. Fun fact number twenty-four; for some reason magic actually creates a strange twinkling noise... it's hard to explain and... I'm trailing off. I was on the verge of tears. All the work I had taken upon myself to make a normal life in this crazy world was about to become obsolete... my little castle of solitude would fall down upon me. "Great... this is just great..." I mumbled as the noise intensified. For a moment, I actually debated with myself if I could chase them off with my trusty broom... The threat always worked on teenagers, though I somehow felt that it would not necessarily look good if the first meeting of what I presumed to be the only two humans in Equestria would start with me beating her on the head with a broom... it wasn't her fault, after all. Still... "You there! What are you doing?" a happy sob escaped me when I heard that deep voice. "Get down here this instant!" Good old Copper Cobbler. He was a retired soldier now working on the local police force... honest, law abiding and as hard as it could get when it came to crime fighting. A bit over the top at times and quick to overreact too, but everyone had their flaws. Even today, I still swear that if he would ever be turned into a human, he would turn out to be Sean Connery. If anyone could save me from certain doom, it was him. "Do you know anything about the owner of this store?" I could hear Twilight over the noise of her magic. "Get that bearotaur down here first!" Cobbler repeated with a stern voice, "what are you two up to trying to sneak into Woody's place this early in the morning?" "Yes! Save me Sean!" I held up my fists in a pose of certain victory but immediately faltered. "He just told them my name, didn't he?" Either lost in her wonder or simply out of ignorance, Twilight did not stop her magic. "Woody? Bearotaur?!" "We're just trying to look..." I could hear Silver Blossom mumble from what I deemed was only inches away from my window. "I repeat myself, stop your magic!" Cobbler's voice was slowly rising... which was a bad sign for anyone on the receiving end. "Hey you! Stop shouting at Twilight and Silver!" That voice, there was no doubt in my mind that Rainbow Dash had just arrived, which meant that... "What in tarnation?!" a sob of despair escaped me. Applejack... Why couldn't it have been Fluttershy? Her, maybe I could have handled... but those three? I was doomed. "Stand down, young mare! This is none of your business!" "Who are you calling a young mare, ya old geezer!" Rainbow Dash, just like I thought she would be. I didn't see what happened next, I only heard it... Rainbow Dash and Applejack got into a heated discussion with Copper Cobbler, and during this... one of them gave him a shove. A second later I could hear his whistle come to life. "Officer under attack! I repeat! OFFICER UNDER ATTACK!" Fun fact number thirty-eight; Over a third of Shoretrot's population have family members active in the force... and all of them come to Shoretrot for a vacation during this season. I can't say that I didn't feel partly responsible... and I was tempted to take a peek outside. All those officers storming from their little houses like an angry ant hill to apprehend the three mares and female bearotaur. It must have been quite a sight. Judging from the sounds I heard it was probably quite a fight as well. It seemed the mares were putting up quite a lot of resistance... which was a bad idea. Two minutes later everything was quiet again. I was saved, if only for the moment, but I was safe. I got up and carefully took a glance out the window, no one to be seen... just a few villagers here and there. Quiet, peaceful... lovely once more. I made a quick mental check; attempted breaking and entering, resisting the police... probably assault on officers too. Even if Twilight was the student of Celestia herself, she'd be detained for a couple of days at least. Time enough for me to make a daring escape. Even if they knew I existed, I could still lose them with a good head start. The destination wasn't even important, though I did hear that the weather is lovely in Boardor during this time of year. The idea of just leaving though... it was sad, I admit. I had put a lot of effort into this place and had been very proud of what it had become. With these thoughts in mind, I slowly started to pack my things. I grabbed what I could, stuffed everything I could carry into my bags and slouched down the stairs laden like a donkey heading for an expedition. This place had been good to me. And the girl... Silver Blossom. I still couldn't help but wonder what her story was. But the wonder passed again as I reminded myself that she was traveling with Twilight Sparkle. Still... Maybe I could stop for a second to just have a quick chat with... "Nope." I shook my head. "Not going to happen!" When I reached the bottom of the stairs I readjusted my bags and whistled a happy tune to brighten myself up for the journey ahead... only to notice that I was still wearing my apron. "Force of habit... force of habit..." I shook my head with a soft chuckle and set the bags down again to take off my coat. With the coat removed I slowly untied the apron and held it up before me. It had been a good companion of mine... and it would be in the future, I was sure. Before I could decide which bag to place it in though, my gaze traveled up over its edge... and I froze. Standing behind my counter was the girl... staring at me with those brown eyes from beneath a mess of unkempt, black hair. She saw my bewildered stare. "I... I came in through the window..." she mumbled softly and looked down. "I was able to sneak by the police officers... Twilight made an illusion..." "Uhuh..." Was all I could come up with in response. "Please don't go!" her sudden outburst surprised me and she held up her hands only to quickly lower them again. "Please... just... stay, and talk with me," she quickly reached into one of her countless pockets, moving her hand around frantically within before pulling out a few bits. "I'll even buy something!" "The store is closed..." I mumbled in shock. Why was she so desperate? "Oh..." Her head sagged down again. "Could we... could we still talk?" I wanted to run away, right then and there... since the moment I got here, I had been trying to stay away from anything related to the elements and yet here I stood, staring at a child that traveled with them. Before I even knew why I did it, I let out a tired sigh and donned my apron again, "Turn that sign to open, will you? I don't want to keep my customers waiting." "What?" She gave me a confused stare. "It means yes, I'll talk with you..." She quickly stepped out of the way as I headed for the counter, and even as she went to turn the sign her eyes never left me. "My name is Silver Blossom." It was almost a whisper as the sign turned to 'open'. "Sure it is..." I shook my head with sad laugh. "I'm Woodchuck." My laughter died as I realized something troubling. Her friends, the elements, were going to be in jail for at least a couple of days... that's as long as it took for a letter to come from Canterlot, which in turn meant... This time, it was my head that sagged a bit as I realized that I had just gotten myself a house guest.