//------------------------------// // Chapter Nine: Camaraderie Blossoms // Story: A Compass for a Lost Dreamer // by reflective vagrant //------------------------------// It was two days later, still three days before Lightning Dust's paycheck came in. She was hungry and out of food. It was her day off and she needed money now. She didn't have many options. So she did the one thing she knew she could get money from. Though the idea of it unnerved her greatly, she entered the doors of a place that she thought she would never be caught dead in. * * * The pony which Lightning Dust had begged to give her a chance earn a little bit of money was staring at her with a look of satisfaction on his face. "That was amazing!" 'That was wrong...' "I had no idea somepony so young could be so good at it!" 'I feel sick...' "I'm going to have to show the other girls that trick you did with your wing." 'Like I just lost a piece of myself and I'll never get it back...' "You definitely earned every single bit of what you asked for yesterday." 'It definitely wasn't worth it... I should have just asked Wayside for an advance...' "It's a shame you don't want to stay. We need some new blood here." 'I'm glad Rainbow Dash wasn't able to see this. She would never let me live it down...' "You're more than welcome to come back if you change your mind." 'And if my family saw... I don't even want to think about that...' "Regardless, here is your money as promised. I'm sorry I can't pay you more." 'I never should have come here... I'm ashamed of myself.' She took the small pile of bits she had earned and poured it into her bit bag. It would be enough to feed her through payday. "I found it strange how you asked to work for tips under the table as a one day worker but now I see why. You are an awesome waitress. Where did you learn to be so good at it?" Lightning Dust was utterly disgusted with herself having to fall back on her old trade of waiting tables, but it got the job done. "I worked for my mother in her restaurant back in Manehattan since I was a filly. I hated every minute of it but I learned fast. I had to. Otherwise mom wouldn't let me train at the gym on my time off." "I, see," he said, as he finally realized her distaste for the work. "Well the shift is over now. Turn in the uniform and you're free to go." Lightning Dust was only too happy to oblige him. She never wanted to wear one of those 'things' again. * * * Lightning Dust went to the park, sat on the nearest bench and counted her tips. It wasn't enough to count as a full day's wages like what the other waitresses got, but it was still more than she expected from a small restaurant's morning shift. "You too huh?" a pony called with a sigh, walking up to her as she counted the last few bits. Looking up, she recognized the unicorn that hung around the park to street perform on her lyre and try to sell some of her arts and crafts while doing it, Lyra Heartstrings. "What?" "It's the short season. Not many ponies have change to spare. You're counting your tips, aren't you?" Lyra said as she sat down on the bench next to her. "How?" "I saw you in the restaurant," Lyra said disappointed. "I wanted to try to out for the job, but I saw you there. Congratulations..." Lightning Dust nervously threw a response together. "I-I was a fill in, a one off." She knew ponies would see her. It came with the territory. It still wasn't easy to take when they came up to her mentioning it. "They paid me under the table. I'm not permanent. I was only working there this morning." The unicorn stared into space in deep thought at this for only a short moment then practically jumped off the bench and ran full gallop in the direction of the restaurant. Lightning Dust gave at her an odd look as she ran off. "Well good luck with that." She wasn't as bad as Pinkie Pie but she was still pretty energetic. She was glad she only ran into them on occasion. She would go nuts to have to see them every day. She felt sorry for anypony that had to live with them. Still, Lyra seemed to be a tiny bit more aware of things than the party pony. Lightning Dust thought that as long as she could keep her distance she wasn't so bad. She might have to tip her performance when she managed to get the change to spare. Which reminded her. She had enough money now to get the supplies to get her though payday and might still have enough after to treat Keen Wit to ice cream. She promised the brave little twerp some for saving her when she got the chance. She felt that it was best to get stuff like that done and out of the way as soon as she could afford it so that it didn't sneak up on her later when she couldn't. He wasn't out of school yet so she decided to get her supply shopping done first. Grwoll, her stomach rumbled. Ya, supply shopping first. Keen Wit's horn was still throbbing. According to Doctor Pulse, he wasn't in danger and it would heal just fine, but it still hurt after all this time. He had to put extra effort into his school work to fight through the headache, which had bled down from his horn the first few days back. That made school awkward to say the least. Yet with help from Iron Will's and Lightning Dust's careful testimony reaching the paper, he managed to keep his horn on the down low. His secret was safe for now. Keen Wit was in his room after school studying his books on magic. Doctor Pulse told him he mustn't use anymore magic until he gave him the OK or he could hurt his horn permanently. Keen Wit needed his horn. So he made sure to follow the doctor's orders to the letter, but that didn't stop him from just reading up on magic. He still had his dreams and he was going to strive towards them, but engineering new ways of using existing magic was tricky, especially for a young colt who had to earn the money for his materials mostly on his own. His mom told him he had to keep his door unlocked. She said it was for his safety in case something happened, but Keen Wit knew his mom just didn't want him using magic and she knew he wouldn't dare do it with the door unlocked. He wouldn't have anyway, but he had no problem keeping it unlocked to let his mom feel safe. That is until he heard the door handle turn without a knock. His parents always knocked and always made sure anypony that went to see him knocked and waited for him to answer. This was somepony else coming in, somepony that didn't check with his parents first. He saw the multiple books he had out that only a unicorn would be interested in at his age strewn across his room. There was no way he could hide them all in time, not even half of them. One thought raced in his mind before the knob even finished turning, 'Not good!' The shopping trip went off without a hitch. Lightning Dust was even able to get some bargains on the supplies and haggle down others better than she expected. She still wasn't rich but with the supplies in tow and payday so close she was finally out of the red zone. She definitely had enough to take care of her promise to Keen Wit. She dropped off her supplies in her room, climbed up the stairs and walked over to were Keen Wit's room was supposed to be. She had seen him go in there a few times after school and knew this must be it. As she opened the door she suddenly heard Keen Wit shout at her, "Twist! I can explain! I-" He just stared at her for a moment with a look of worry on his face. She briefly saw him and all sorts of magic books strewn all over the room. Some on his bed, some on his desk and a few on the floor. "Get in! Get in and close the door!" he said as he grabbed her and pulled her in. After she was inside his room she heard him quickly slam the door shut behind her when she didn't do it herself. She turned around to see him panting in a panic, still braced against the door. "Um... I came by to see if you wanted that ice cream I promised. I managed to get a little money on the side and I have enough to spare now." Coming to, he looked at her for only a brief moment. Without even answering her he dashed off, grabbed his books and tried to put them away in his chest as fast as he could. Lightning Dust saw the titles of two books before he got them all put away, 'The Many Methods of Levitation, Volume IV. Using levitation on yourself. Why it is so difficult.' and 'The Ins and Outs of Spells with Passive Effects, Volume II, Repellents and attractants, cloud tangibility, and—' She couldn't read the rest because he had snatched it away to put it in the chest with the rest of them then locked the chest with a pain charge combination lock. "Sure! Ice cream sounds great! Let's go!" he said over enthusiastically as he quickly turned to her. He stood there with a forced smile, waiting for her to respond. She was lost in thought on what just happened for several seconds. Lightning Dust was tempted to question him on the books, but judging by the fact he had a pain charge lock it was something just as private as his horn and he wanted to protect it. Colts and fillies weren't normally supposed to have those at his age. They were enchanted to shoot massive pain into anypony that put in the wrong combination, tried to pick the lock or bust the lock off. It wasn't meant for children and they had an unmistakable crest on them as a warning. Pain charge locks weren't something easy to get and they were almost impossible to just borrow. Though they didn't require a permit, they had to be custom ordered and individually cataloged to ownership. On top of that, they had tracking enchantments in them to make sure they didn't leave their owner's residence as an anti-theft precaution put in by the company that sold them. It was an item that allowed for decent security at an economic price. It wasn't perfect but it was very good against amateur thieves and snooping noses. Judging by how there were scuff marks on the chest from where it had rubbed on it many times before, he had had it for a while. That meant it could only belong at the inn. Otherwise the company would have tracked it down by now if it belonged somewhere else. This also meant his parents were the only ones that could have gotten it for him. Whatever it was he was hiding, his parents knew. So she could just leave it at that for now. "O... K... Let's go." Lyra was out of luck. She had tried every job in town. She either didn't have the skills they needed, they weren't hiring or they just flat out thought she couldn't do the job. Her backside was still sore from being thrown out of the restaurant. Even her boss at Quills and Sofas said there was no way she could get any more hours. She was in a tight spot. She just had to pray that Mint was around when the rent was due in three days. Otherwise, she was out on the street for sure. Lightning Dust sat on the park bench with Keen Wit as he ate his ice cream. She thought about leaving him to it and looking for a place to stay but she had a few days left before Wayside stopped taking care of the rent for her. She had taken care of enough today. She could worry about a permanent place to stay tomorrow. "You had to get a triple scoop?" Lightning Dust asked, having spent so much on his ice cream cone she didn't dare buy one for herself. Not that she even wanted one. "No, but you didn't have to promise me one either," Keen Wit teased back. "Ya. I should really re-think that one," she said to her favorite twerp, hinting back to when he had promised to not charge her for help, which he had taken back when she abused it. With a good spirited laugh from the inside joke, Keen Wit finished off the rest of the second scoop in one big bite leaving ice cream all over his face. With nothing else to worry about, Lightning Dust thought back on how the inside joke became so funny in the first place. She had worked him hard when he promised to not charge his new 'flying teacher', whatever that meant. 'Wait.' 'Flying teacher...' 'Spells with Passive Effects - cloud tangibility...' 'Many Methods of Levitation - Using levitation on yourself...' All of a sudden it clicked! "That's how you were gonna do it!" she blurted out while she turned to him. He stared at her in confusion at her sudden outburst. His mouth was open in a questioning look, showing the half of a scoop of ice cream that still rested on his tongue. "That's how you were-" she started to say loudly, catching herself before she accidentally revealed it to everypony. She whispered the rest quietly, "How you were going to fly. You're going to use magic." Upon hearing her figure it out, he reflexively swallowed hard then stared at her in shock. The brain freeze from the ice cream knocked him out of his shock only seconds later. Dropping the rest of his ice cream, he fell to the grass. He held his head and hat as he screamed, waiting for the brain freeze to wear off. His screaming attracted the attention of the ponies in the park. Some looked concerned. Others that saw the dropped ice cream cone just laughed and continued on. After a very awkward moment of Lightning Dust feeling like she would be arrested for foal abuse, Keen Wit recovered from the headache, stood then looked down and away from her with what looked like fear. She couldn't tell clearly. "Yes..." he muttered softly. "What?" "Yes." "Was that a yes?" He gulped and looked her in the eye. "...Yes... That's how I want to try to do... that," he said, muttering again at the end. He gave in to the urge to break eye contact and put his gaze back to the ground. She stared at him as she churned his answer over in her head. Unicorns trying to do sustained flight with their magic had always had limited success at best. Either the magic was so taxing that didn't last long or it was so frail that it was grossly unsafe. Even when it had been stabilized it was slow and clunky, barely considered flight. Nothing that could compare to pegasi wings had ever been created. Even a prosthetic wing only worked good enough to restore basic flight. They relied on crudely harnessing the energy drawn from the same source the original wing of the pegasus using it, be it the stump of a wing, half way down the wing or even straight from the back of the pegasus in some cases. They weren't anything anypony besides a pegasus could ever use. It was impossible to synthesize pegasus wing magic to any usable degree. Without it such wings were nothing more than decoration. With the invention of air balloons and other devices for transport the development of personal flight for non pegasi was discontinued. He must have been trying to finish it. For a colt to study this as a hobby was nuts! But once again true to the 'blow your mind' Ponyville tradition Lightning Dust was getting used to, here he was trying to do it. He was trying to follow a dream that seemed impossible. Just like a disgraced pegasus trying to rejoin the Wonderbolts. No pony that tried out a second time managed to make it for generations now. Many of the ones that could try again were still declined reentry. The few that were accepted back had never made it all the way through the academy's 'remedial' course and passed. The only thing that ever came from the course was maybe two or three ponies a year would get a letter of recommendation out of the ones that made it to the end, permitting them to reenlist into the normal air force, though forbidden from ever becoming an officer. But that wasn't her goal nor would it ever be. She knew she was chasing the horizon when she started and apparently he did too. No wonder he kept it a secret. He would be the laughing stock of the town if anypony found out. "And your dad knows?" she asked curiously. "Yes," he answered plainly as if he were in trouble with his parents. "He paid for half of every book I have." 'Kind of makes sense. Only his parents would be able to get him the lock. Why not the books?' He was standing there with the same look he had at the hospital, scared and bordering ashamed. "..." She could see the tension from her impending judgment scaring him to no end. His knees started shaking as he waited for her to respond. He tried to control his breathing as panic rose. He held his jaw tight as it started to tremble and she saw something in him that she had seen but hadn't recognized before. Memories of him flashed through her mind. "Well that's the last of the tour. Anything else you wanted?" "No! You will not touch my friend!" "Can I hang out with her today? She said we could hang out later." "Will you be my big sister?" He feared her judgment so greatly because he looked up to her. For reasons she couldn't fathom, he truly looked up to her. He looked up to her the same way she looked up to her aunt. She could see the fear of rejection growing in his every subtle movement as she continued to stare at him. She knew that feeling all too well, having lived through it herself. She felt it when her mother constantly tried to keep her out of the skies as she was growing up and when her aunt took the Wonderbolts away from her. When she looked at him, she saw a child desperately chasing a dream with everypony around them saying it couldn't be done. At that moment her eyes went wide because she saw: Herself. Giving in to the overwhelming compulsion to comfort him, she came up and hugged him tightly to herself. Not daring to let him go, she wrapped her wings around him just as tightly. She didn't care if what she was about to do was going make reaching her dreams even harder. She didn't even care about the fact that his horn was stabbing her armpit. All she cared about at that moment was making sure his heart didn't break and letting him know she would be there for him. She wasn't sure why she felt this way, but she didn't even care about that. "OK," she spoke softly to him. Once he managed to get his horn free, he looked up from her embrace and stared her in the face. With a tear just starting to stream down one side of his face, barely missing the drying ice cream blotch that covered his muzzle, she stared back. "I have no idea how you are gonna pull it off, but when you manage to get off the ground I will teach you. With Celestia and Luna as my witnesses, I will teach you how to fly." After she said this and fixed his hat to where it wasn't showing the horn again, she just stood there holding him, letting it all sink in. She had a pupil. She was a mentor now. She never thought she would want to be saddled with a kid. And yet here she was, willingly obligating herself to the little twerp. * * * A few minutes later, Serra came up to them being led by Pinkie Pie. Keen Wit and Lightning Dust had sobered up and were sitting on the bench again, laughing in simple conversation. "See! Here they are!" Pinkie said, pointing to them before bouncing off. "So here's where you ran off to," Serra addressed them. "Hey mom," Keen Wit called to his mother, "Lightning Dust finally got me that ice cream." "I see that." she said while looking at his face and the spilled cone on the ground, which they never bothered to pick up. "Is your homework done?" The colt looked at the ground to avoid eye contact, not wanting to answer. It was written all over his dirty face that he didn't have it done. "I didn't think so. Go home, clean up, and get started on it," she said calmly. Keen Wit got off the bench again and started trotting home with his head down in disappointment. "Sorry," Lightning Dust apologized. "I didn't know you would be worried about him." "Oh, I'm not worried. Keen Wit can handle himself. He is a Pepper after all—as you have seen with your own eyes. I worry more about his father's safety than his," Serra said without a care. "Besides, I didn't come here looking for him, sweetie. I came here looking for you." "What?" Lightning Dust asked with surprise. Serra rarely left the inn unattended and never without good purpose. What could she possibly need from her to make her come looking for her? She knew she would be back tonight. "Your aunt stopped by the inn asking for you a little after I saw you leave with Keen Wit." "Aunt!?" Lightning Dust asked again, this time in worry. She doubted it was Spitfire. Spitfire was way too busy with her career and there would have been a commotion if she came, being a celebrity. It could be one of her aunts on her mother's side of the family, but any family member knowing she was here meant trouble. "Yes. Your aunt Campfire came by and I told her you were out. I asked her if she wanted to stay, but she said she would look for you herself then she just went into town. I thought I'd find you so you could come back and wait for her." The theory of it being an aunt from her mother's side flew right out the window as Lightning Dust's blood ran cold in fear. Campfire was the name Spitfire called herself when she used to dye her coat green to keep the media away from her when she would visit on the holidays. Aunt Spitfire wasn't the kind of pony to give up a search easily once she started. The fact that she was doing it in that old disguise meant only one thing: She was going to great lengths and was bound determined to find her. She would comb the town several times over without getting discouraged. The fact that she hadn't found her already was pure luck and it was bound to run out any time now. If Spitfire found her it would ruin everything. She would be dragged back home to Manehattan and she wouldn't be able to practice anymore. She wouldn't be able to keep her edge and try out for the Wonderbolts again. Everything she had struggled for and had just about gotten stable was getting ready to fall apart again right before her eyes. Lightning Dust absolutely could not let that happen. She had to find a place to hide and fast. She thought of all the places she could hide out until her aunt moved on yet every one of them were grossly flawed, except one. There was one place she knew she could go that nopony knew she might be there. It was out of the way and wouldn't be looked at by chance on Spitfire's search. It was her only chance and she had to go now! She garbled a quick goodbye to Serra as she dashed out of town as fast as her hoofs could carry her. She dared not fly. Spitfire would be looking at the skies. She was breathing hard to make sure she had the breath she needed for as long as she could have it. She ran, pulling everything she could into every moment of it. She couldn't pace herself. Every second counted. She zipped across the open field between town and the Everfree Forest, using her wings to fly low to the ground to move faster than she could on hoof. She was moving so fast she could feel a wall of air pushing against her as she flew. She pushed against it as hard as she could, not wanting to waste a single moment regardless of the extra energy it spent. As she entered the Everfree Forest she landed while still running. She let the momentum of her flight help carry her down the path for a few moments before the momentum waned. Her heart was racing so loud it was the only thing she could hear in her ears. She dashed along the path to the hut that housed the semi reclusive shaman. The emergency fight or flight energy stored in her muscles was thoroughly drained. She was running as fast as her lungs could carry her. It was normally a brisk twenty minute jog from the park to the edge of the forest, and even more time for the path in the forest to where she was at. It had hardly been three panicked minutes since she left the park and the burst of borrowed energy for all that speed was collecting on its debt now. Just short of entering the tiny clearing that Zecora's hut was in, she collapsed out of breath and crawled to the hut with all the energy she could scrape out of her lungs. If she had more time to recover her stamina after healing she wouldn't be as out of breath, but that's how it was. Nevertheless, the panicked fear of her dreams being lost at any moment drove the desperate pegasus to drag herself through this last little painful stretch between her and safety as fast as she could muster. Earlier: Zecora was walking through the market to replenish some of the ingredients that were out of season in the forest which she had given to Faraji before he left. She didn't like using domestic varieties for their lack of potency and troublesome impurities. However, after she had looked at her stock being so low this morning she knew it would be better than not keeping any on hoof. She finished the apple that Applejack gave her in thanks for always looking after her family's ailments and continued home. Healers of her homeland never asked anything for their healing but it was customary for communities of her homeland to look after their healers. So although it was against her moral code to accept any payment, be it money, power or worldly goods, it was not against her moral code to accept general hospitality from the ponies of Ponyville. She also managed to get a good price for the berries and herbs she was looking for. The stall owner was happy to see her and she hardly even needed to haggle for a good price. She had become popular in this town once the ponies got over their fear of her. It showed almost everywhere she went nowadays. It was nice to see the good karma her services had spread blossom in this community. Not just coming back to her, but being spread to others as well. Young Pinkie Pie might do wonders in bringing out an optimistic smile for a while, but Zecora's talents were able to dig more deeply into a pony's mood over time and had a more subtle, longer lasting effect. As she moved among the streets to head back home she saw somepony she recognized, somepony she hadn't seen in a long time. Despite the funny way she looked, there was no mistaking her. Zecora never forgot any of her patients no matter how long ago they were treated. Every one of them were special to her. She even remembered the little boars whose mothers she helped bring them into the world during her youth as practice under her teacher, all thirty one of the darlings. She simply had to say hello and invite her back to her hut for cup of tea and a friendly chat. Spitfire was incognito, searching the town for her niece. Rainbow Dash wasn't one to lie when she was speaking her mind like that. Lightning Dust had been in this town for a while and would still be here. As worried for her niece as she was, she took her time to get some reconnaissance done. She could get angry once she found her. In the meantime she needed to track her down and the best way to do that was to ask around. Waiting at the inn would waste time. If she didn't find her by sun down she could just go back and check there again. She was looking through town when she felt a hoof gently placed on her shoulder. When she turned around she saw a face she never thought she would ever see again. The zebra that had healed her back all those years ago was smiling at her. "We meet again, not so young acrobat. Would you mind coming home to chat? Catch up on our time apart over some tea, we must. I have much to say of your niece, Lightning Dust." Surprised was too weak a word to describe Spitfire's mental reaction of all these developments hitting her at once. Back to the present: Lightning Dust managed to catch enough of her breath to stand. It wasn't quite a proper second wind but it was still something. She had calmed down a little when the fact she was already out of danger when she entered the forest sank in. She still stumbled towards the door to finish hiding anyway. As she opened the door, she heard a familiar voice speak in a very distasteful tone, "Well speak of Discord. Here comes my niece now!" Upon seeing Spitfire sitting at Zecora's table with her coat dyed green, Lightning Dust didn't even have the energy to scream from her fears being realized. She just rolled up her eyes and fainted.