//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Shady and the Curious Corpse // by Pigeonsmall //------------------------------// Shady and the Curious Corpse Chapter 1 Shady always had trouble sleeping at night. From her little three room apartment above the antique shop. She swore every night that she could hear something walking around down there and even though that was impossible, the notion kept her up anyway. In the middle of the day, poor Shady had fallen asleep again. “Hello? Shopkeeper?” The pony didn’t stir. “Ahem. Shop Keeper!” With a choking snort, the pink pony jolted half away from the drool soaked countertop, her drab green hair an unsightly mess, like tendrils of tangled vine falling about her face. “Uh, what? Oh! Yes ma’m! Wa-What can I do for you today?” The customer turned her nose up, shifting her wide rimmed glasses and glanced around the cluttered antique shop. “Mhm.”  was the first response to Shady’s question. The customer didn’t seem to be impressed. “I see, this is an antique shop is it not?” said the rounded and aged pony, with an annoying click of her tongue on every other word.  Her eyes squinted over her nose sharply at the various assortments placed around her. “Yes, I’m looking for a nice piece of jewelry for a dress I’m making. It’s for a very important occasion so everything must match perfectly!” she said. Shady nodded, rubbing her eyes free of sleep crust whenever the visitor turned away from her. “Oh, jewelry. Well ma’am I have a fine selection just this way. Please follow me.” Shady went from behind the counter and showed her customer to the wall farthest from her front door. There were two cases made out of strong glass, under which many sets of sparkling earrings, necklaces, brooches and other fine pieces. “This is a collection going back as far as one hundred fifty years.” said Shady with an air of appreciating despite her tiredness. “These look....impressive.” the older mare gazed long at the jewel case, what was presented must have met her illustrious standards. “You know I’ve been all over Manehattan looking for quality gems. It’s so much easier out in the country. Much more abundant, you know. But I have to work with what I am given!” Once again she adjusted her glasses. “These appear to be Abtenauer in fashion and craft..” The little shop keeper nodded. “Yes, though they were first discovered in the Ambling Alps. By  the specific design I can only assume there was a kind of cultural overlay in that region.” “Indeed that seems to be the case, now please, tell me about this eye catching necklace in the other case here.” And Shady did so, easily rattling off the facts she had read and researched in the past. It wasn’t difficult, and she enjoyed the conversation though she noted some of the customers, given certain hobbies as collectors, tended to be very long winded. But this old mare who was named Bodkin was electively brief, she browsed more than she spoke but unfortunately she did not seem to come across what she was looking for. Not until she turned to leave, then Bodkin saw it. The old pony’s neck snapped around towards an item she had not noticed before. In its own little case, which was more or less a simple wooden crate with straw, sat  a brooch made of amber with a metal lining. Ms. Bodkin went to the box and scooped the brooch out without consulting Shady, her eyes glittering in wonder. “What is this beautiful thing?” “Uh well...It’s a simple amber brooch, Ms.” Shady was confused. This little piece was just a trinket someone had pawned to her earlier in the month, but it was nothing too special, nothing compared to the items they had just seen, which is why it wasn’t in the glass case. In fact Shady couldn’t even accurately place the time or date the brooch was first made. It looked generic to be honest. Lacking of any real unique quality. In fact the only thing of worth about the thing was that it was real amber.  But Bodkin was enthralled. “How much for this beautiful piece of jewelry?” “Well...that’s just...” Shady hesitated, then mentally she shrugged. “Twenty-five bits.” Baffled by her choice but still glad to make a sale all the same. That is until she saw it at least. The ‘it’ was another pony standing inside her shop. Just off to the side, next to the tea cups and under the wall clocks.  His back was turned away but Shady could tell that his clothes were terribly stained and wrinkled. His tail and mane in a state of disarray. Shady cringed, with the way he looked, he obviously must smell terrible too. Only a matter of time before the smell reached the two of them. ‘When did he get there?’ Shady thought for a moment before her attention resumed on the old pony and the amber brooch.   “It’s perfect, simply perfect!” Ms Bodkin exclaimed. “I’ll take it!” ‘Really?’ Shady thought. “I’ll ring you up!” Happy to make a sale, one of her first in her venture as a self made pony, she put all her attention back onto Ms. Bodkin and the brooch. She lovingly packed it in a little gift box and wrapped the box with the decorated paper the older pony desired to use. As soon as she was done she turned back to the inner sanctum of her antique shop. Looking among the tea sets and clocks, looking for the stallion who had walked inside while she’d been dealing with her first customer. She walked over but saw no one. Shady sighed, she hadn’t heard the bell over her door ring before Ms. Bodkin left the store or after.  And she didn’t hear the obvious sounds of hoof steps around her store, an obvious give away if someone were inside browsing. “That’s strange.” Shady thought, but the slight prick of unease left as her mind wandered to other things. The next morning, Shady read the morning paper. A most unusual feeling of morbid curiosity fell upon her and her eyes settled over the obituary. One Ms. Bodkin died peacefully in her sleep on October 28th at ten o’ clock. Found still tucked away in her bed by a close relative who was visiting. She was a respected mare of 60 years, lived in Manehattan and owned a very profitable wedding planning business. Bodkin is survived by... Shady let go of the paper, her hooves slightly shaken. Her mind working on two different sets of logic. One half knew better, it knew that she had nothing to do with this sad departure. But another side filled her with an uncanny dread. She was a pony who always feared the worse. ‘See what you’ve done, missy?’ it whispered. ‘Don’t do it again!’ “Yikes!” Shady jumped out of her chair at the breakfast table and turned around. “Who’s there?” she asked the empty apartment. But the voice was so close. It wasn’t her own. Shady watched the rain hitting the glass windows of her store front. It was cold and drab. Business would be slow today, Shady knew that. So she decided to take a late breakfast at a familiar diner. “Welcome to Nick’s  Biscuits and Bread Bowls! Where the crisps are always crispy and every bite tastes just right!”  The blue unicorn behind the bar recited her line cheerfully as the bell above the door jingled and the potential customer came in from the rain.  But when she noticed that the customer was Shady, her candor shifted from  a polite waitress to that of a comfortable friend. “Oh, Hi Shady! I haven’t seen you in a while.” Shady didn’t respond right away. Her coat was sopping with rain, she hung it on the coat rack by the door, and went to the nearest stool, her usual and favorite place to sit. “Why the long face?” the waitress jokingly teased from behind the counter. “Oh don't give me that, Fizzy.” Shady said crossly. “I've been moving old dusty boxes and pushing old dusty furniture around for hours and I just need a break! This hasn’t been the best morning for me....” She reached over for a small menu pad. “I need a break.” “Aw...” Fizzy lowered her writing pad and moved a hoof towards her friend. “What’s wrong, Shady? Is it trouble at work?” “No it isn’t that, Fizzy, it’s just...well.” Shady hesitated.  It’s silly.” “Well what'll it be?” Came the voice of a  third pony coming through the kitchen door. She was a bright pink pony with a lighter pink mane, most of which was held back by a white head band. Fizzy turned towards the newcomer. “Lickety Split don’t be that way! There’s no need to be rude.” “Rude about what?” asked Lickety Split. “Uh, just the usual I guess.” Shadie answered Lickety Split’s question with a sheepish smile. “Huh?” Fizzy frowned, confused at Shady’s frankness. “Suuuure thing!”  Lickety Split replied, she placed the pen and pad she had been holding back down on the countertop. She didn’t need to write down this order.. “It’ll be four minutes!” The pink earth pony walked back to the kitchen door, half way inside she looked back at her coworker. “And you better get back to work! Stop talking to the customers, Fizz. You know Pumpernickel gets t’d off if he catches anyone being idle.” Then Lickety Split let the door slam shut. Fizzy sighed, frustrated, but she knew her sister was right. She turned back to Shady who now had her head resting on her hooves. She looked positively miserable and Fizzy didn’t feel right leaving a friend to sulk. “How about this,” Fizzy said. “When my shift is over I’ll come visit you. We can talk then!” Shady’s ears tilted back, a show of hesitation but she relented. Maybe company would help. “Okay, thanks Fizzy.” After Shady had eaten it was back to work. She flipped the closed sign to open and went inside. She set down her umbrella and started moving a few stray boxes that had been used to move into the building just over a month ago. She didn’t want to admit it but her showroom floor was still a bit messy. Everything was finally in the correct spot but the over all space still needed to be organized. She was tossing boxes into a pile to be thrown into the dumpster behind the building. Thats when she noticed an empty box with straw still sitting in a display area. She went over to collect it, she stopped mid step, hovering over the box. Something was still inside it. “What? How did you....get back...” It was the plain amber brooch the now deceased owner had been wearing only hours ago.