//------------------------------// // Prophecy // Story: Finding Her Place // by 97xxfastbike //------------------------------// Ditzy anxiously nibbled on a muffin as she sat waiting outside Mr. Coldwing's office. His secretary, Miss Fairlily, a white unicorn mare with a pastel pink mane, had welcomed her graciously, offered her refreshments, and then directed her to a comfortable chair to wait. However, despite the luxuriousness of the cushions, it was impossible for Ditzy to get comfortable. It was unbearable just sitting there! She finished her muffin and sipped at the water she was given. Would it be bad manners to pace? She wondered while she chewed on her lip. The office door opened mid-thought, causing Ditzy to hop to her hooves in surprise. There, in the doorway to Mr Coldwing's office, stood the most imposing griffin she had ever seen. He had a brightly polished beak and piercing emerald eyes that alone would have defined his predatory nature. His feathers were impressive, they had the color and appearance of polished mahogany. Finally, the scales of his feet had a luster to them that could only be obtained by frequent dactylcures, and his talons gleamed like they were made of obsidian. Ditzy felt like her hooves had rooted themselves to the floor, rendering her immobile. Her eyes went as wide as dinner plates as the intimidating specimen of griffin-kind walked directly up to her. "Good morning, I am Thaddeus P. Coldwing." His was so deep and authoritative that it seemed to boom like a drumbeat and vibrate her bones. Mr. Coldwing extended a forefoot towards her in greeting. Ditzy, at that moment would have turned and fled, but in spite all his intimidating features, and the deadly forefoot now presented to her, he seemed to possess a friendly warmth about him. That contradiction left her paralyzed with indecision. Her hesitation did not go unnoticed. “You are Miss Ditzy Doo, are you not?” Mr. Coldwing asked her to end the silence before it became uncomfortably long. Ditzy couldn’t speak, so she nodded her head in short jerks. "Please, come into my office." He swept his extended his forefoot now to direct her toward his office and politely held the door for her. "Thank you." Ditzy finally managed to force out after another noticeable pause. She then looked down at her hooves to see if they were indeed rooted to the floor. They weren't. She lifted her head and commanded herself to walk forward. Upon entering the office, a sudden surprised gasp from her immediate right startled her into a defensive stance. It was another griffin. A female she believed. She was just as expensively maintained as Mr. Coldwing, but less impressive in appearance only due to the brindle coloration of her plumage which despite the glossy sheen, still managed to look like the sandstone detritus from where griffins called home. The second griffin stood slowly, like she was trying to keep from any sudden movements. Her mouth was slightly agape and her sapphire eyes stared, wide and unblinking at Ditzy. The door closed. It wasn't loud, but Ditzy had a jolt nevertheless. "Miss Doo," Mr. Coldwell's voice boomed again, "I would like to introduce you to my mate: Mrs. Verita Coldwing." Ditzy struggled to compose herself. Griffins don't eat ponies. Griffins don't eat ponies. Griffins. Don't. Eat. Ponies. she chanted mentally. "Uhh, I'm pleased to meet you, Mrs. Coldwing." She said and walked a few halting steps toward her and extended a hoof. Mrs. Coldwing smiled pleasantly and delicately took Ditzy's proffered hoof in her well-dactylcured, menacing-looking, taloned forefoot. "Please, call me Verita, Miss Doo. It is my great pleasure to meet you!" She spoke with a sincere reverence and her eyes fixed on Ditzy like she was awestruck by Ditzy and was afraid to blink. That made Ditzy less apprehensive, but distinctly uneasy. There was so much happening that she didn't understand. In addition, everything seemed to be happening so fast that, she couldn’t take it all in. It gave her the feeling that she was being swept along in waters too turbulent to swim. “Thank you, Verita, and will you please call me Ditzy.” Ditzy said now that her desire to be polite had finally overcome her awe and fear. “I would be love to, Ditzy.” Verita released Ditzy’s hoof after a demure shake. "Please, have a seat Miss Doo." Mr. Coldwell motioned to a comfortable looking seat near the side of his desk. "Let's talk a little about you before we begin." "So we first talked about my days as a yearling and about my time in Fillydelphia. Then he interviewed me about the case, and finally he recorded my statement on tape in front of his mate, a court recorder, and his secretary." Ditzy related the events of the meeting with Mr. Coldwing to Abacus when he got back from his last class of the day. Abacus couldn’t believe she was so sparse with details. He had been thinking about this all day and could hardly wait to hear what had happened. However, Ditzy’s recounting of the events could not be any simpler. "Wow, what was Goldie’s reaction to the news?” “Goldie said she had never heard of him taking such an interest in a client before." Ditzy answered. "Is that good?" Abacus asked. "She said it’s not a bad thing." Ditzy sighed, "She believes he may be getting my background for a disability discrimination suit in addition to the unlawful withholding of monies…or something." She had the look and sound of somepony trying desperately to remember and repeat information that they didn’t fully understand. "Well," Abacus sighed with his whole body like all his expectations for the day went unmet. Ditzy certainly had no future as a storyteller. "Now after that was over with, were you able to apply at the construction office?" "Well, yes.” “Oh, good. How did it go?” “I’m not sure.” Ditzy seemed to shrink where she sat. “They kept asking me to do the same things over and over.” Abacus grimaced. That didn’t sound positive. “Hmm, like what?” “Oh, lifting and carrying things, mostly.” Ditzy said. “Nothing hard.” “Did you go anywhere else?” Abacus wished he didn’t sound like he was grasping for hope. “Yes,” Ditzy answered, “I went to an employment office where they had me do some similar things, but they also gave me a written test and timed me while I put a simple frame together and took it back apart.” Abacus tapped his hooves together thoughtfully. “It sounds like they were testing your dexterity and mechanical aptitude.” “Yeah, I think they said something like that.” Ditzy scratched behind her ear. “Did they tell you how well you scored?” Ditzy looked down. “No.” “Why didn’t you ask how well you did?” “Because I was too scared.” Ditzy looked up at him sheepishly Abacus put on a smile he hoped was reassuring. “Well, I’m sure that the next time you apply at a construction office, you will do much better now that you have some knowledge of what they want to see.” He noticed that Ditzy seemed to mirror his expression. A false front. Somepony really needed some good news. Or maybe, somepony just needed to get her mind off of things for a bit. “Ditzy, how about you and I go out to dinner tonight?” Abacus asked with enthusiasm he hoped would be contagious. “I have a friend that works at a real nice restaurant downtown that owes me a favor, and I think we need to celebrate your case getting picked up and your future employment.” Ditzy looked unsure. “Umm…isn’t it kind’a early to celebrate?” “Don’t be ridiculous!” Abacus waved a hoof dismissively. “I tested your mechanical ability with the fan remember?” “Yeah, but…” Abacus cut off her attempt to naysay. “And your case was indeed picked up by one of the best lawyers in Manehattan, right?” “Well, yes, but…” Abacus interrupted her again. “And I have no doubt that you will have a real job, one that you will excel doing, by the end of this week!” Ditzy still looked unconvinced. “I can't afford to.” Abacus walked up to her and stroked her cheek with his hoof. “Ditzy, you deserve this. Let me treat you to a nice evening out. Okay?” She could never say no to him. Not when he looked at her this way. Not when her stroked her cheek like this. She looked up at him with sad puppy-eyes and the reticent smile of surrender. “Okay.” Wow, she has the market cornered on cute! The thought ran through his mind unbidden and dangerously unchecked. “Great!” Abacus energetically celebrated for them both. “Go bathe quickly, we are going to a five star restaurant uptown, so you need to dress up!” “What? No, Abacus wait…” Ditzy tried to back down, but he was already talking over her again. “Oh, no no no!” Abacus was wearing his victory grin. “You already agreed to go. There is no backing out now.” Ditzy carefully examined herself in the bathroom mirror, closing one eye at a time and moving her head around to see all angles. Her mane had behaved, and her makeup hadn't clumped or smeared. She looked nice, she decided, although with the same nagging doubts that plagued her whenever she looked at herself. She smiled at her reflection. Right now, she felt like she looked nice, and her doubts fell silent. She stepped out of the bathroom and saw Abacus tugging at his jacket. "Wow!" Abacus' eyes went wide with amazement. Ditzy was wearing a shimmering gold dress that complimented her form and had woven a matching ribbon through her mane to bring out its color. "You look...great!" Ditzy felt her face flush at his compliment. "Thank you. You clean up pretty well yourself." She returned the compliment of his black-on-black blazer, shirt and tie, admiring how the different textures and fabrics played with the light. "Well, I don't think we'll be violating any dress codes." He said as he donned his black top hat and opened the door. "Shall we?" They walked the two miles to the restaurant. The evening's chill allowing them to walk a quicker pace comfortably on the way, and when the wind blew, they pressed their bodies together for warmth. Ditzy began to like it when the wind blew. Abacus’ friend was good to his word and as soon as they had told the maître d who had invited them, he seated them near the dance floor without any delay. A quintet of musicians were keeping the atmosphere pleasant as no ponies were currently using the dance floor. Ditzy was overawed by the opulence of the restaurant and couldn’t keep from staring at every detail. “Wow, this place is really nice!” Ditzy remarked for the second time since they had been seated, but for the fifth time that evening. Abacus glanced up at the ceiling and sighed. He was getting weary of her repeated observation. "Ditzy, I brought you here because I know it is really nice. I wanted to bring you someplace to celebrate." "Oh, right." Ditzy seemed to deflate under even that mild criticism. Abacus could have kicked himself. He knew Ditzy was going to be naive in these settings, and yet he just went and destroyed her innocent wonder with a thoughtless rebuke. His mind furiously turned over the problem of how he could get her to relax and enjoy the rest of the evening. “Good evening, and welcome to The Silk Palace.” A familiar voice broke in. Abacus could have kissed his friend for his propitious interruption. “My name is Cymbal and I will be your server this evening…” Cymbal made eye contact with Abacus and showed recognition, but he continued in his professional manner as he handed them menus, described the soup du jour, and recommended wines. “Will you need a moment to peruse the menu?” He finished and looked at Ditzy with such a perfect balance of patience and expectation that Abacus wondered if he practiced that expression in a mirror. Ditzy was clearly overwhelmed. “Um, why aren’t there any prices on the menu?” “Yes, I think we will need a moment with the menu.” Abacus said before Cymbal could respond. Although to his credit, he didn’t even blink at her unorthodox question. Cymbal turned his head to Abacus. “Very well, sir, then perhaps you could introduce me to this lovely mare here with you?” Ditzy blushed. “Cymbal, this is my longtime friend Ditzy from Fillydelphia. Ditzy, this is Cymbal, my first roommate, until he got kicked out of the complex for making too much noise.” “Abacus kicked you out?” Ditzy looked horrified. Cymbal merely smiled. “I play the drums.” He explained now without a trace of the professional server tone he had been using till now. “Abacus didn’t care, ‘cause we rarely saw each other, but our neighbors had no musical taste.” “Oh,” Ditzy nodded with a giggle. “Are you with a band now?” “Yeah!” delight flooded Cymbal’s face at her question, “I’m in a band called “The Cast Aways”, cause we have all been kicked out of somewhere at some time. It’s our one thing in common. We have a gig at the club Vinyl Visions. You should come and check us out.” “Wow,” Ditzy seemed awestruck, “I’d love too!” “Great!” Cymbal was obviously pleased. “We’re down there this Friday night at five till about seven. I hope to see you there!” Ditzy was glowing from the attention. “I’ll be there!” Abacus cleared his throat. “I hate to break this up…” “Right you are sir!” Cymbal resumed his waiter role, “Does soup sound appetizing to you Miss Ditzy? The chef here tonight has prepared an amazing garden vegetable and barley soup, served with a freshly baked sourdough baguette and a crisp red lettuce salad, tossed with kiwi and dragonfruit and a raspberry vinaigrette.” Ditzy nodded happily with a smile stretched from ear to ear. Then she blushed in embarrassment at being so uncultured. “Yes, that sounds delicious.” She said with tempered enthusiasm. “A very good choice, Miss Ditzy. And for you sir?” “I’ll have the grilled squash with the stuffed, fried zucchini blossoms and a waldorf salad and...” Abacus considered Ditzy a moment. “One bottle of champagne.” “Abacus, no.” Ditzy protested. “It’s enough that you are buying me dinner.” “Don’t worry, madam.” Cymbal assured her with a wink. “This one will be on the house.” He collected the menus and left. Ditzy stared at Abacus . She wasn’t too happy. “I know you can't afford this. You should be spending your time and bits on Golden Sweet." "I will be spending my bits on Goldie," Abacus responded. "Cymbal said the champagne was on the house, and he promised me he could cover me once if I came on a weekday." Ditzy could hear a certain smugness in his reply. He felt he was right and he could prove it, either through logic, or a technicality. It was one of Abacus' annoying traits. "You think you are sooo smart." She glared at him, but her anger was leaving. Abacus could see Ditzy losing her resolve to be petulant with him. "I know I am smart," he leaned toward her, "and I know that you are going to be successful here and one day soon, you will insist on taking me and Goldie out to a fancy restaurant dinner to celebrate a special occasion of your own." Ditzy drew a breath at hearing him say that to her with such conviction. He sounded like he believed what he said. He sounded like he believed in her. She felt herself go weak. She was unable to speak, and for a moment, she allowed herself to dream of things she knew were impossible. For a moment, she allowed herself to imagine that she could be...Goldie. Cymbal and another waiter returned with the champagne during her reverie. She watched as Abacus and Cymbal went through the ritual of presenting, tasting, and accepting the champagne in a dreamlike stupor. When she she at last came back to her senses, she was staring at the streams of rising bubbles in her glass. Abacus held his glass in his pastern expectantly. Ditzy felt her face flush and she picked up hers in the same manner. "To the dreams you have," Abacus began his toast, "may they find fulfillment beyond your expectations." Ditzy felt a tinge of guilt as she clinked his glass with her own. Her dream just then would be hurtful to others if actualized, but oh! How intensely she desired to have, to own, the sentiment expressed in his toast! She brought the glass to her lips and drank. The champagne tasted to her like a faintly sweet red wine and the bubbles tickled her tongue and throat. She set her empty glass down and looked over at Abacus, whose glass was still half-full. Her eyes darted to each side and she bit her lip, fearing she had just committed a faux pas. However, Abacus made no comment, nor did he act embarrassed. He magically picked up the bottle and refilled her glass. "He likes you." Ditzy's eyes darted around again. "Who?" "Cymbal of course." Abacus set the bottle back in its ice cradle and met her eyes. "He really seems interested in you. Do you like him?" Ditzy giggled somewhat self-consciously and sipped at her champagne. "Umm, yeah, he's kind'a cute." "Were you serious about going to see him perform?" "Yeah! I think it would be fun, and I'd like to get to know another one of your friends." Abacus smiled at first, but another thought caused it to fade. "Just, don't go alone, take some friends with you." Ditzy's brow knotted in puzzlement. "Why?" Abacus sighed deeply, like he didn't want to voice his concerns. "Right now you seem a bit too eager, and I don't want you to get hurt." Ditzy contemplated the bubbles in her glass. "I don't understand. How would I get hurt?" Abacus finished his champagne. "Cymbal isn't one of my friends." He announced. Ditzy looked up, shocked. "Remember? He and I were roommates. He said himself that we rarely did anything together. We just used the same space and respected each other." He refilled his glass. "But I don't know him that well. Not well enough that I consider him a friend." "But, he's paying for our meal now. He's doing you a favor." Ditzy struggled to understand the paradox. "Ditzy, listen," Abacus rubbed her hoof, "he's probably a good guy, and will respect you like he did me and my stuff when we were living together but, I don't know him well enough to be certain." Ditzy's eyes were focused on him, innocent and trusting, yet lacking understanding. "Just remember that, he's not me." Ditzy nodded somberly and finished her glass, prompting Abacus to refill it. "I understand." She said when she picked it up again. "He might be like one of my mom's friends." Abacus sighed again, wishing he could find a positive subject to stay on for the night. "I'm probably just being overly protective but, I would feel a lot better if I had known one of his fillyfriends." "I understand," Ditzy allowed herself to smile, "you care enough to worry." Abacus felt a little uncomfortable with her conclusion, but it was true that he did care, and she was smiling again. A sudden change in the music made them both look toward the musicians. An emerald green unicorn stallion with a black mane and tuxedo jacket was leading a lavender unicorn mare with a purple mane and white ballroom gown onto the dance floor. Upon reaching the middle of the floor, they turned and faced one another, and after a slight bow, they began to dance. They moved effortlessly across the floor, gliding and swaying in time with the music and each other. It was entrancing to see. The whole room was watching the dancers in silent envy as they melded music and motion like it was as second nature to them as breathing. When the music stopped, the dancers were locked together, embracing one another with their eyes and arms. The room broke into applause for their performance. The stallion brushed his partner's purple mane back with a hoof, and moved into its clearing to kiss his mate. Only after their shared affection did they part to acknowledge the room with a bow, and then they turned to the musicians and began to applaud themselves, prompting the audience's appreciative clopping to crescendo again. Abacus and Ditzy were swept along with the rest of the diners and stopped their hoof-clopping only when the band began to play again. Ditzy seemed especially enthralled with the impromptu entertainment and couldn't take her attention off the dancers as they began again, albeit now with less dramatic flair. Three other couples left their tables and joined them on the dance floor causing Ditzy to sigh with the heartsick longing of a perpetual wallflower. Abacus drained his glass. he was feeling enough of the alcohol to take this chance. He stood and held his hoof out to Ditzy. "Would you like to dance?" Ditzy turned away from the dance floor hesitantly, like she was afraid the dancers would disappear at any moment and looked up at Abacus, her eyes showing her conflicted state. "I... I don't know how." "I'm no expert either," Abacus confessed easily, "but I did have a few lessons, and since I'm supposed to lead, I think we could give it a shot." “Okay.” Ditzy reached and took his hoof in hers, allowing him to her to pull her up to standing. They walked onto the dance floor, both of them watching the other couples for clues as to how they should proceed. Once there, they assumed their positions and Abacus quickly went over the step pattern. “Ready?” He asked. Ditzy nodded, even though she knew she wasn’t ready, but neither did she want to just stand there until she felt like she was. “Okay then. One two three. One two three. Step!” Abacus counted off the beats like he remembered and then on his command to step, he stepped forward. He didn’t expect them to be smooth, neither did he expect to not occasionally trip on her hooves. Indeed, those errors he anticipated, but he could not have foreseen how badly they would fare from the first step. Ditzy also stepped forward on his command and they collided. Ditzy’s larger, quicker step bounced him backwards and off-balance into the middle of the dance floor where he, with his forelimbs flailing, knocked another couple to the floor. The music stopped abruptly and there were horrified gasps from all over the restaurant. Ditzy had her hooves over her muzzle, aghast at the latest horrible accident she had caused. Abacus dropped to all fours turned around. There, at his hooves the emerald green unicorn stallion and his partner the lavender unicorn mare were untangling themselves. “I’m sorry!” Ditzy apologized loudly, frantically, as though she felt like she needed to quickly apologize to everypony there before they had a chance to retaliate. “No, I’m sorry.” Abacus held out his hoof to help them up. “It’s my fault, I thought I could teach her how to dance.” “Well then, I guess I have you to thank.” The emerald green stallion said without a trace of sarcasm as he and his mate got to their hooves. “I am Happenstance, an instructor in the art of dancing in its many forms at the Happenstance Studio. You sir, have just provided everypony the reason why they should visit me first.” There were titters of laughter from around the room. “Now, if your lovely companion doesn’t mind, I shall give you one free lesson tonight on the waltz.” He stretched a hoof toward Ditzy in invitation. Ditzy held back, still reticent from the awful introduction to dancing she had just experienced tried to decline. “I… I don’t think I should Happenstance,” “Please call me Hap.” Happenstance interrupted. “Miss..?” “I… I’m Ditzy Doo.” “Well Miss Doo, you would be doing me a great favor if you accept this lesson. Will you give me the honor of properly instructing you on how to dance the waltz?” Still uncertain, but wanting to help him, she held out her hoof with some trepidation. “Okay.” There were smatterings of applause after she accepted. “Ready now for your lesson, sir?” Hap’s mate the lavender unicorn mare approached Abacus. “My name is Serene.” “Abacus.” He introduced himself. “Sorry for the mishap.” “No worries, Abacus. Just pay attention, and do everything I say.” Their lesson began with a quick demonstration of the steps as the band resumed playing. Then they with their dancing partner went through the rest of that waltz with their instructor giving coaching advice as they went. Once that song had finished, Ditzy and Abacus were re-united and they danced the next waltz together under the watchful eyes of Hap and Serene who would voice corrections as they saw fit. Finally, they danced through the third song as Hap and Serene waltzed nearby and watched them as they had opportunity. After the third song ended, Hap and Serene began applauding. “Bravo, well done!” Hap declared and turned to the room. “Fillies and Gentlecolts, may I present to you, the two most recent graduates of Happenstance Studio’s basic waltz course: Mr. Abacus and his partner, the lovely Miss Ditzy.” Ditzy blushed brightly from the unexpected attention as the room and other dancers applauded them. Abacus too, felt a keen discomfort with being thrust into the spotlight, but he had the presence of mind to bow graciously and led Ditzy to do the same. “Did you enjoy yourselves?” Hap asked after the musicians started up again. “Oh, yes!” Ditzy answered instantly, seeming radiant with excitement. “I did! Thank you, sooo much!” “Well, we would like to thank you. Our little tangle on the floor allowed us a little advertising opportunity.” Serene explained. “I hope you didn’t mind us putting you both on the spot like that?” “I think our free lesson was worth it.” Abacus exhaled like he was still trying to expel the stage fright. “It was worth it! Thank you!” Ditzy leapt forward and embraced Hap. A bright flash lit up the whole room just then, startling everypony. Ditzy jumped back with her ears laid back in fright. She must have done something wrong again. “I’m sorry!” She cowered before them. Serene looked just as shocked as everypony else. “Hap! Your horn! Is this a…” “Yes, darling.” Hap answered her unfinished question. “Miss Ditzy has triggered a prophecy.” “A what?” Abacus asked in wonder. “Quiet.” Hap commanded. “Just watch. I’ll explain later.” He looked down at Ditzy, still half-crouched in fear. “You didn’t do anything wrong, young mare.” Hap reassured her. “Stand up and watch closely, this is for you.” After the flash and during their short conversation, Hap’s horn started shooting out tiny glowing bits of light that began to form a hollow sphere just in front of them at eye level. Then, a stream of bright white, brick-red and concrete-grey particles flowed from his horn to the bottom of the sphere where they entered the sphere like they were growing up from the bottom in a recognizable pattern. “Amazing! That’s the Manehattan skyline!” Serene exclaimed, clearly excited at seeing for herself what had only been explained to her before. “Darling, please.” Hap admonished her gently. Ditzy stood and stepped forward, clearly enthralled with the magic scene unfolding in front of her. The particles inside the sphere moved like a wind had blown out in all directions from the center. The effect looked to Ditzy like she was zooming toward the building in the middle of it all until that brick building was the only building left in the sphere. It was a little disorienting to see movement when she was standing still. “Do you recognize this building?” Hap asked. Ditzy amazed at what she was witnessing, nodded once, then answered, her voice just above a whisper. “That’s Abacus’ apartment building.” Another stream of gray flowed in from the bottom to coalesce into ball on top of the building. The ball morphed into a gray pegasus that lept into the air. At least, that was the action the pegasus made, but the gray pegasus figure never left the center of the sphere. All the particles around it moved and fell away to give the appearance of motion. “Ditzy, What direction are you flying?” Hap asked. West “Huh?” Ditzy responded not to Hap, but to the voice she thought she just heard. She couldn’t take her eyes off the pegasus figure. Entralled, she watched as it shrank to a gray dot that trailed a stream of tiny white lights in the sphere like a wind was blowing them away. “Away…” Ditzy said trancelike. “I’m flying away.” A stream of white and red light now streamed from Hap’s horn. The white pushed in from the bottom side in waves and forming shapes as they entered the sphere. The gray dot now appeared to be flying over rolling hills and trees. Then a small collection of buildings formed and moved into the scene which stopped suddenly under the gray dot. The stream of white lights the gray dot had been trailing evaporated. For a moment there was no motion. Then the red particles flowed into the scene, growing up from the center of the city into one ball, which then split perfectly down the middle to form two red balls, each the same size as the first. The white sphere which contained the scene, shrank down to merge with the gray dot which formed into the pegasus figure again. Now there was only the two red balls and the gray pegasus figure hovering in air. The two red balls now flew up the pegasus figure, their bottoms stretched out into points forming two upside-down red teardrops. These merged in front of the pegasus figure to form the symbolic heart shape. “Achoo!” Ditzy suddenly sneezed violently, dispelling the remaining magical figures. “No!” Hap exclaimed. Then he sighed. “It wasn’t finished.” “Sorry.” Ditzy said as she rubbed her muzzle. “Those lights tickled my nose.” “Can you start it again?” Serene asked her husband. Hap shook his head. “No. I have no control over it.” All around them the restaurant seemed to give a collective sigh. Abacus looked around at all the ponies returning their attention back to their own affairs and chuckled lightly “It appears we weren’t the only ones captivated by this little light show.” Hap looked over at Abacus. “These ‘little light shows’ as you call them, have all been fulfilled.” He said, obviously annoyed. “And what’s even more serious is, they have all come just before the recipient experienced a tragic event or a difficult circumstance.” Hap and Serene looked somberly over at Ditzy. “I don’t what to tell you, young mare. I do know that everypony that received a prophecy suffered some terrible occurrence shortly thereafter. However, they also found great encouragement from their prophecy to push through." At first, Ditzy blankly returned their grave expressions. Then the realization of what they had just told her sunk in. Her face slid from a neutral expression to one of absolute horror like fire crawling across a field of dry grass. “You… You mean… Something… Bad… is about to happen to me again?!” Ditzy looked like an oft beaten puppy. “No, Ditzy.” Abacus interjected, putting his hoof on her shoulder and casting an irritated glance at Hap and Serene. “You’ve had your bad event, and now you’re overcoming it. That’s what I saw in that ‘little light show’.” Hap inhaled fiercely and brought his head up at Abacus’ clearly demeaning remark. Serene lay her hoof against his shoulder like a restraint. “Hap, what should Ditzy remember from this, IF, something else bad happens?” Hap relaxed slightly, reminding himself that Abacus wasn’t the one that he needed to deal with. “Ditzy, your prophecy says that, if you feel like you should leave, to fly in the direction or manner you were told. In your prophecy, the place where you stopped was in white, which means you haven’t seen it before. But you will find…” Hap looked like he was struggling with something in his mind. “...either something, or someone. I don’t know for sure. It wasn’t finished, but, red speaks of passion. You will find something or someone who is your passion. It could be a job, a future mate, or just a place you love to be.” Hap looked up at Abacus. “Is that alright with you?” Abacus nodded. He didn’t want to fight. But he also didn’t want Ditzy upset about a phantom tragedy when he was trying to lift her spirits. Ditzy nodded as well. “With your other prophesies, and something bad happened to the pony, how soon did it happen?” “The time is not important.” Hap explained, “However, eveypony recognized after the event occurred that the prophecy was their answer. Ditzy’s eyes went wide. “Everypony had something really bad happen?” Hap nodded. “Without fail.” Ditzy swallowed. “Pardon me,” Cymbal interrupted just then. “Your dinner is ready to be served.” Abacus began to wonder if Cymbal was his good luck charm. His knack for showing up at the right moment was spot on. “Great, I’m famished!” He turned to Ditzy. “I know you are going to love this.” “Young mare,” Hap called her again. Ditzy turned her head and resisted Abacus’ attempts to steer her away. “Remember, this is an encouragement. You shouldn’t live in fear.” Abacus had an inspiration on how to turn Ditzy’s thoughts back from the depressing direction they had taken. He stepped toward Hap and extended a hoof. “Thank you, again for the dance lesson, it was a great time.” Ditzy stepped up too and held out her hoof. “Yes, thank you. You helped me fill a wish of mine.” Hap and Serene shook hooves with them and exchanged polite farewells. “Come on Ditzy, let’s eat.” Abacus steered her back to their table where Cymbal stood by with their dinners under silver covers. Abacus held Ditzy’s chair and seated her properly. Then he pulled out a gold centurion: a one hundred bit piece, and placed it in Cymbal’s coat pocket. “Get me another bottle of wine.” He whispered urgently in Cymbal’s ear as he arranged Ditzy’s plates in front of her. Then he went to his own seat. Dinner was excellent, as he expected, and Ditzy didn’t seem to notice that they weren’t drinking champagne anymore. Soon that bottle too was empty. Now with the effects of inebriation, and with Abacus’ careful management of their conversation, they were both having the time of their lives. They even ventured back out onto the dance floor when the band started another waltz. Abacus couldn’t tell exactly how Ditzy was feeling, but he knew he was numb. If he missed a step and kicked her hoof, he didn’t feel it, and neither did she. They came back to their table to find it cleared of all dinner dishes and a glass of clear liquid with three coffee beans floating inside at each of their seats. Abacus sat and picked it up without delay. Ditzy was giggly and poking at the beans with a hoof. “Whatev’r do you thing it is?” Ditzy slurred happily. “I’z a nightcap, I think.” Abacus wasn’t doing much better. He sniffed at it. It smelled of alcohol. He sipped at it. “Licorice.” He declared. “Ditzy, try it, it tastes just like licorice!” Ditzy lifted the glass to her lips and tilted her head back a bit too quickly. The liquid streamed out both sides of her mouth. Causing her to burst out laughing. Cymbal and another waiter walked quickly up to their table. “Is everything alright, madam?” He asked. Ditzy was in hysterics and couldn’t answer. Abacus was laughing as well and couldn’t understand why his friend was worried. Cymbal swore under his breath. “You both are lightweights. I need to get you out of here!” He motioned to the other waiter. “Reserve a cab.” The other pony nodded and left. Then he looked at Abacus. “Can you walk?” “Nope, but we can dance!” Abacus deadpanned, and sent Ditzy into another bout of uncontrolled laughing. Braced by Cymbal and another waiter, they slowly made their way out of the restaurant and into the waiting cab. Where they soon found themselves in another fit of uncontrolled laughing. “Hey, cabbie!” Abacus called after he caught his breath. “Jus’ drop us off at the park an’ we’ll walk the res’ of the way home.” The cabbie shook his head. “You yearlings just keep having fun back there, I’ll have you home in a minute.” "But we don’ wanna go home!” Ditzy whined. “I don’t want to go sleep. I’m not tired!” The cabbie looked back with a concerned smile. “I just want to get you two home safely. I’m not sending you to bed. You can stay up as late as you want, okay?” “Okay mommy.” Ditzy sighed dramatically. That set them both off laughing again. They laughed the rest of the way to the apartment building. The cabbie helped them both out of his cab without incident. He apparently was practiced with assisting drunk ponies. Once again he admonished them to go straight to their home and made them promise that they would. Abacus thanked and tipped the cabbie and walked Ditzy to the stairs. They laughed and stumbled all the way to his room. Once there, fitting the key into the lock became a source of amusement as they each took turns. Finally, the neighbor across the hall came out and opened their door for them. Once inside, Abacus closed the door and locked it. He set the key on the small stand near the door and turned to see Ditzy swaying on her hooves. He laughed. “You look like you are still dancing.” “I do not!” Ditzy stamped her hoof and nearly tipped over. She laughed again. She felt like she had never laughed so much before in her life. “Yes you do.” Abacus insisted. He walked over and picked her forelegs up in his own. “One more time, Okay?” Ditzy felt like she should just go to bed. She hesitated, trying to focus on Abacus. She couldn’t focus on anything. It was starting to worry her. “I don’t know.” Abacus smiled and held her muzzle up with his hoof. “Com’on, it’ll be fun!” She never could say no to him. “Okay!” She giggled. “That’s my filly!” He said excitedly. “And one two three, one two three” He counted and they went through the steps. Ditzy started giggling again. It was fun. Like she was floating, spinning, weightless, and without a care in the world. Abacus’ face came into focus. This was all because of him. She was having the best night of her life and it was all because of him! She threw her head back and shouted, “Best night ever!” Then she brought her head forward and kissed him!