//------------------------------// // Level 4 - Looting the Fridge // Story: Dead Heart // by Leila Drake //------------------------------// As Priest waited at the Boutique, a towel around his waist, he watched Rarity repair his salvagable clothes and combine them with new ones. When he put them on they were, to his surprise, a perfect fit. Rarity had removed the torn parts and the sweater beneath the shirt covered a good amount of his skin, leaving only the hands exposed. The unicorn had somehow managed to emphasize his build while disguising the damaged spots of broken skin and exposed bones. She even gave him the promised haircut and a pair of shoes. He decided to keep the cloth that covered half of his face, though. No reason to push his luck. Rarity still insisted on giving the new clothes for free, as a "Welcome-to-Ponyville gift", she said, but Priest suspected that Twilight had told her that he had no money. The time at Rarity's turned out to be more fun than expected when they returned to the one subject they were both interested in – gems. While Priest didn't really care about what gems looked like, Rarity had an eye for detail that enabled her to use just the right ones on her products. Even the undead had to admire her skill when it came to working with them. Priest on the other hand knew a lot about gem cutting and their magical properties. He explained to her how his own gems boosted his mental ability to focus his magic which in turn led them on to a conversation about unicorn magic. It was evening before they knew it. Priest eventually excused himself, thanked Rarity for the new "equip", as he called it, and headed back to the library. Priest entered without knocking and found Twilight bent over her studies again. She raised her head and smiled. "Welcome back." "Hey", he said. Then the alicorn did a double take. "Wow. Rarity has outdone herself again! You're looking really good." "Er, thanks", he mumbled. Wow, I can't remember the last time someone complimented me on my looks... She seems to mean it, too. "By the way, this was on the doorstep. There's a cupcake inside." Priest raised his hand, holding a small paper bag. "Just put it in the kitchen", said Twilight. "We already ate since you don't, you know..." "Sure", said Priest, feeling a tinge of anger which he quickly dismissed. "So, what are you doing? Still on portal magic?" "No", explained Twilight, "I'm currently sorting my adventures in Azeroth, I intend to write a book about it." Priest grinned and decided to return the favor. "Studious and ambitious, huh?" Twilight blushed. "Thank you." He went to the kitchen and put the paper bag on a counter, then returned to the main room. Twilight put her quill away and waved her hoof at the huge box next to her. "This came by mail, from Canterlot. It's for you." Priest grinned. "Yeah, right. Very likely." "I'm serious. Look at the adress." The undead turned the box and found the stamp. "Okay. What the hell?" "Princess Celestia promised to send help", explained Twilight. That made Priest frown. He remembered the green earth pony from earlier and tensed up a little. Another itch made its way into his side. Crap, maybe she meant that kind of help, too. Oh well, it's not my problem. It's not as if an earth pony could assist me with any of my real 'problems'! He eyed the package, scratching his itching side. "Doesn't your Princess trust the mail? That's a shitload of tape..." "I am pretty sure she trusts the post office ponies. This tape looks as if it has been added later. We have a pegasus here who sometimes crashes into stuff when she delivers boxes." Priest laughed. "Right." He took out a small knife and opened the box. Then he removed the contents and spread them on the floor, getting a small frown from Twilight. "Let's see... I've got... a letter, some weird bowl... looks like an oil lamp... parchment and quills – why am I not surprised? - and a purse? Yep, there's money inside. What do you call your coins again?" "Bits", said Twilight, once again tearing her eyes from the pages. "And a... fist-aid box? Huh?" Twilight giggled. "I have no idea what the Princess had in mind when she packed that box", she said. "Except for the bits maybe... what does the letter say?" Priest unfolded the letter. "Er... 'Dear Mr Baker, I have taken the liberty of sending you these gifts. I think you might find them useful. Please make sure to carry the lamp with you at all times'... What the fuck? okay... 'The parchment is for your own studies and letters. Feel free to ask Spike to send any of them to me should you have any questions. My sister, Princess Luna, has ordered somepony to assist you during the first three weeks. Her name is Mara Dust and she has probably already introduced herself to you and given you a tour around town as she promised.' No, she didn't. Ah wait, I think I've met her, there was that weird green pony..." He grinned at Twilight. "I kinda told her to piss off. Moving on... 'I also attached a form for the Mayor to acknowledge you as a legal citizen of Ponyville.' Wow, Celestia is thorough. And pretty informal for royalty." He had a look at the other sheets. They were documents signed by the Princess herself. "'I wish you all the best'... blah blah blah... 'Princess Celestia.' This is neat. One less thing to worry about." Twilight smiled at that, then she raised her eyebrows. "Maybe you should go and talk to that pony Celestia mentioned." "What for?", retorted Priest. "I told her that I was fine - and I am. 'Specially now with all that loot. Talk about generous." The alicorn sighed and raised her hooves. "You're an adult. I'm just worried that she might get the wrong idea." "Fine", grumbled Priest. "I'll talk to her and tell her I'm fine. Again. Happy?" Twilight just shook her head and resumed reading. - - - Twilight went to sleep very late that night. After her reading, she and Priest had talked a lot, completely forgetting the time again. It started to become a new habit of them. For some reason, he was getting way more talkative than in Azeroth. Maybe it's because he didn't want anything to slip when he kept his mission a secret, thought Twilight during their conversation. It would explain a lot. Maybe he had to keep secrets more often than not. Luna's moon had been in the sky for six hours when the alicorn wished Priest a good night and the undead made himself comfortable on the couch to continue reading The Crystal Heart. - - - Shuffling and rustling woke Twilight up again. The noise came from the kitchen. "Ugh, Spike!", she groaned, angrily hitting her pillow. "I told you there's no midnight snacks!" "Huh, what?", mumbled the baby dragon, shifting around in his basket. "What'cha talkin' about?" The alicorn stood on her bed, suddenly wide awake. "There's somepony in the kitchen!", she hissed. Spike yawned and rolled his eyes. "It's probably just Priest. He skipped dinner, didn't he?" "It can't be him, he doesn't eat!", explained Twilight. "It must be somepony else. Wait here, all right?" "You bet", said Spike, turned around and started to snore again. Twilight sneaked downstairs as quickly as she could. She lit her horn to provide some light. The rustling continued. She went to the kitchen, opening the door so fast it hit the wall. "Stop right there and-! ...What... Priest?!" The human sat at the kitchen table, munching. He held a piece of cake in one hand and a fork in the other. Some noodles fell off the fork as he froze in mid-movement. He looked like a foal caught with his hoof in the cookie jar. "Hi", he said slowly. "What are you doing?" Twilight was flabberghasted. "The kitchen is a mess!" Priest looked around, suddenly growing aware of his surroundings. The entire table was covered by plates, bowls and cans. Most of them had contained leftovers from previous meals, some cans were freshly opened, though. The paper bag from the doorstep was long gone. There was hardly any food left. Half a loaf of bread decorated a chair. Twilight noticed that the noodles that Priest was eating were from the day before. She had not known a single individual could make a room this untidy in such a short time. "What is all of this supposed to mean?", demanded Twilight. "I got hungry", stated Priest and swallowed hastily. "I can see that", said Twilight. "But one, you said that you don't eat, and two, why in the middle of the night? I don't mind sharing, you know!" Was that a blush Twilight saw? "I... didn't expect it either", said Priest. "I just... got hungry", he finished lamely. Twilight's left eye twitched. "Sorry about the mess, I'ma clean it up", he added quickly. Twilight took a deep breath and sat down next to him. "It's okay", she said, forcing a smile. "Do you have any idea what made you so hungry?" Priest shrugged and resumed chewing. Twilight sighed again. "All right. Well, I'm going back to bed if you don't mind. And please try to make less noise, it's four in the morning, for Celestia's sake!" "'kay." The alicorn left the kitchen. Priest lowered the fork. The urge had come so fast that he hadn't really thought about it. Now he wondered what caused the hunger. He didn't perform any magic and he hadn't been wounded either... This didn't make any sense! Priest had eaten all of Twilight's food now, including the apples from the orange pony. The fridge was empty. Well - the only thing he knew was that he had to find out where to get more of those awesome cupcakes. - - - Priest kept his promise. When Twilight entered the kitchen the following morning, it was as clean as before the incident. There was a clean bowl of breakfast cereal on the table and a note. Got some food and milk for you earlier. Going to the bakery now. P. A tired yet satisfied smile crept onto Twilight's face as she made some coffee. - - - Priest hurried across Town Square. He was trying to get directions for the bakery but no luck so far. Every pony that he asked either froze on the spot ot squeaked and stumbled backwards, collected their goods and bolted off. He felt anger building up inside, making it hard to concentrate. Maybe I should have waited for Spike or Twilight to come along. But the whole point was to surprise them. Finally, a familiar face! Three little fillies ran across the square. They screamed with delight as one of them, an orange pegasus, performed tricks with her scooter, involving the other two. The little unicorn was the one Priest recognized. "Oi! Sweetie Belle!", he called to her. The fillies reacted very differently. The yellow earth pony shrieked, the orange pegasus just froze and stared blankly. Sweetie Belle turned her head and waved at Priest enthusiastically. "Hello!", she said, beaming at him. The undead approached the three fillies. "Scootaloo, Applebloom, meet Priest! He's a human", said Sweetie Belle with a serious face as if she was trying to explain a new weather phenomenon. "Hello", said Priest. "Sweetie Belle, which way is the bakery?" "Whoa", mumbled Scootaloo, still staring up at Priest. Sweetie nudged her with a hoof, probably to shut her friend up. "Oh, you mean Sugarcube Corner? It's that way, two blocks to the left. It looks like a cake, you can't miss it!" She beamed, obviously pleased to be acquainted with the new oddity in town. "Thanks." Priest raised his hand to wave to the fillies, then followed Sweetie's directions. He could hear a whispered conversation behind his back. "That's a human?" "Yep. He was at my sister's yesterday, she made the clothes!" "He looks wild! I think he's even taller than Princess Celestia!" "Yeah, Sweetie Belle, are ya sure he ain't dangerous?" "Of course I am! He's really nice. I think." "But everypony is scared, look..." The voices died away as he left Town Square. - - - Priest was greeted by the widest pony smile he had seen so far. "Hello and welcome to Sugarcobe Corner – oooh are you the new arrival that Mara told me about? What's your name? There you go, all super-duper fresh and tasty! Thanks! Bye, Bon Bon! Wow, I haven't seen her in such a hurry before... Anyway, I haven't thrown a Welcome to Ponyville party for you yet because I can't put your name on the cake without you giving me the name first and I asked Mara to tell me but she hasn't come back yet even though she said she would and now you are here and I'm still without a name, I'm Pinkie Pie by the way, and if you want to get the bestest sweets and baked goods in all of Equestria you've come to the right place, so what's your name?" How does she do that? Priest was sure that Pinkie didn't even breathe once as she said her greetings. "I'm Priest-" "Welcome to Ponyville, Priest, and make sure to drop by tonight for a super duper party just for you! There will be cake and games and punch and I can help you to meet all kinds of ponies so you will have lots of new friends-" "Uh, about that", interrupted Priest. "About what? The party? Is it the wrong time? I tomorrow better? I can totally throw it tomorrow if that's the problem -" The undead frowned. "I don't want a party", he said slowly. Pinkie's curly mane deflated slightly. "What do you mean? Who wouldn't like a party?" Priest shrugged helplessly. "I just wanted to buy some cupcakes." Light, please let her just sell me the cupcakes and forget the party. "Oh, I see", said Pinkie, her smile slowly returning. "Which ones do you like?" "I ate one with sugar frosting. It looked like that one, I think." "Ooh, that's the one I gave Mara yesterday! Good choice! How many cupcakes do you wanna eat then? You can get six for the price of five today!" "Er, then I'll take six", decided Priest. "Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie removed the cupcakes from the counter, wrapping them in paper at the speed of lightning. "There you go!" "Thanks." As Priest took out some bits from his purse, Pinkie leaned forward to stare into his eyes. Her face was so close that he had to step back to regain focus. What was wrong with this mare? Did she suffer from a speed-up spell or something? "What?", he asked. "Are you sure you don't want a party? This could be your fantastiriffic chance to meet new friends!" "Er-" "Or do you already have friends here? I can invite them, too!" Priest sighed. "You won't take a no, will you?" "Nope", beamed Pinkie. "...Ugh...fine. A small party. And only a few guests, got it? You can pick the ones that don't run away when you mention me, that should narrow it down enough." "Will do", said Pinkie, still smiling and completely ignoring Priest's cynicism. "Thanks for the cupcakes." "Anytime!"