Location: Paladin Suites Apartments, Canterlot
Time: 7:30 PM
Derring rolled the dolly of boxes up the ramp to the entrance of the building. The apartment was a subtle kind of grand, its white walls were pristine and clean and its location afforded a great view of the royal palace and the lands below Canterlot, however it looked no different from any other apartment building in Canterlot. Despite that, it was pretty expensive to live there, with the rent being over 200 bits a month, something Derring could afford until today.
Derring opened the entrance, then proceeded to roll the dolly in, but was stopped suddenly. She checked to see the problem, only to find that the dolly was too wide for the door. She gritted her teeth in frustration and thought to herself, It'll be a cold day in Tartarus that I'll be conquered by a DOOR. She rolled the dolly back a few inches, then rammed the door with all her might, shaking the boxes and getting no closer to getting inside than she was 30 seconds ago. She rolled the dolly back up for another try when she heard the last thing she wanted to hear all day:
"Derring? What's with the boxes, need some help with that?" Penworthy lived on the 3rd floor, and always kept her window open for what she called "inspiration". She must've heard what was going on outside. Derring looked up with a nervous smile.
"Uh... Nope."
"You sure? Looks like that dolly's too big for the door, I can just lift some of those things up here for you!" Penworthy's words were punctuated by one of Derring's boxes being lifted into the air and up towards Penworthy's window.
"Wait! I don't need-"
"No no, it's the least I can do for you Derring." Derring quickly flew up and attempted to pull the box out of Penworthy's magical grasp. Penworthy shouted at Derring to let go, but Derring would not, and the force of the two ponies tore the box open. It's contents spilled out into the air, Derring quickly flew to intercept but it was all caught by Penworthy's magicks instantly. Derring quickly attempted to swipe them but they all quickly flew to Penworthy's view. "Derring, isn't this from your office at the museum?"
Derring quickly snapped at each of the things, which included a framed picture of her and her father, her nameplate, her navigational tools, and at least some of her maps. But Penworthy simply took them inside. Derring took a look at Penworthy, who was now wearing a rather concerned questioning look. Derring quietly floated outside her apartment window, trying to find the right words. She quietly tapped her hooves together for a minute or so.
"Um... I got fired." She muttered under her breath, barely audible.
"Come again? Didn't catch that."
"I got fired..." She muttered again, slightly louder but just as inaudible.
"Derring."
"I GOT FIRED!" She shouted, the stresses of today finally exploding. By now Derring was almost on the verge of tears, I never cry dang it! She thought. "T-There was this thing at the museum and I-and he and-"
"Don't worry yourself Derring, pull yourself together." Penworthy lifted the other box from Derring's dolly and brought it into her window, "Come inside when you feel better okay?"
Derring quietly floated for a few seconds before floating over to the window next to Penworthy and opening it. She tapped her hoof on the windowsill, and fast as lightning her black cat came pouncing onto Derring's head.
"I didn't say your cat could come Derring," Penworthy protested, "You know how much I don't like your cat!"
"Is my cat the reason your book villain is named Ahuizotl?" Derring remarked, she felt herself getting a bit more cheery. Penworthy sighed, then quietly submitted, retreating back into her apartment. Derring flew over with her cat in tow and then climbed in through Penworthy's window.
Penworthy's apartment was lavish. White walls, clean furniture, and paintings of various things from those crazy stairs going every whichaway to portraits of her and her parents and even paintings with just red dots on them, all in the name of inspiration. Penworthy herself sat in a corner surrounded by stacks of paper, her typewriter on a table. Derring noticed her stuff was in another corner opposite from Penworthy, and decided to simply sit down on her couch. Derring's cat had other ideas and decided that one of Penworthy's stacks of papers was a good place to rest, it jumped up and knocked several papers out of the stack, much to her dismay.
"Ahuizotl, come here." Derring called, her cat, now apparently named Ahuizotl ran over to Derring and rested next to her on the couch.
"I'll never understand why you called your cat Ahuizotl instead of something sensible" Penworthy filed the papers back into the stack, removing the ones that had been torn up by the cat's claws, "like Patches, or Angel, or maybe even Flower!"
"Those names are boring." Derring quickly remarked. Derring left the couch and went over to her stuff in the corner.
"So what happen at the museum Derring? Why'd you get fired?" Penworthy asked. Derring sorted the stuff not in the box.
"Well, they rigged my presentation on Thule, I threatened to resign if they didn't fund it and Prince Blueblood kind of... took it."
"So he fired you?" Derring nodded, "Well that's rude! You're their chief cartographer!"
"They can always find another cartographer." Derring said sadly.
"But there's only one Derring-Do." Penworthy smiled warmly at Derring. Derring sat down, mulling over her stuff, "So what if they don't fund your expedition, it's not like you need their help."
"You're right. I don't." Derring immediately felt perked up, her sorrow being replaced with determination, "Next thing tomorrow, I'll sell the apartment."
"What?!"
"Sell the apartment. Then I'll hitch a boat to Gallia, get my bearings straight, and then find Thule on my own." Derring quickly sorted her things into the remaining box, then proceeded to start dragging out the door.
"But what about the Journal?"
"I don't need it, sure it's pretty much a map to Thule, but I'm a mapmaker Penworthy. I'll think of something." Derring opened the door, "Don't worry your precious little head, I'll be fine!"
"Wait!" Penworthy jumped, "At least let me come with you!"
"This won't be like the Great Dragon Migration, this is dangerous work," Derring said. As much as she appreciated her good friend's helpfulness, her concern was mostly bred from Penworthy's lack of experience in roughing it in the wild (barring the Great Dragon Migration, but that's a different story.)
"I'm your friend Derring, I'm coming with you whether you like it or not." Penworthy crossed her forelegs, a determined expression crossing her face.
"But-"
"No buts! I'm going too!" Derring sighed, she knew better than to try to refuse Penworthy when she wanted to do something. In a way that was something they both had in common, sheer determination. Derring simply nodded with an appreciative smile, then left for her apartment.
"Wait! Take your cat with you!"
* * *
Unlike Penworthy's apartment, Derring's apartment was far more spartan. There wasn't much furniture save a small sofa beside the window, her bookshelf containing her various books on cartography and archaeology, a table and a few chairs, a refrigerator and a countertop and two doors leading to her bedroom and a bathroom respectively. Regardless, it was home to Derring, for now anyway until she gives the place up for money. She'd quickly realized that she left her stuff in Penworthy's apartment, but decided against going back, she could get those things later.
She noticed the sun barely beginning to set over the horizon, so she entered her bedroom and decided to turn in. As her father said, "Early to bed, early to rise makes a pony healthy, wealthy, and wise." Before that, she mulled over some of the stuff in her room. Derring's room, like the living room was still pretty empty beyond a bed and a dresser drawer (That was just as empty as the room, containing only her khaki work uniform and several copies of it.) On top of the dresser drawer however laid several items important to her: A picture of her and her father, her father's safari helmet and her father's book, The Kingdom of Thule.
She gingerly picked up the framed picture, it was her sitting on the armrest of her father's armchair (It was the most comfortable chair she can remember.) Her father sat in the chair proper, with a rather subtle smile on his face, he was a rather stoic pony but Derring always managed to make him crack a smile however small. The picture's monochromatic color did not do his sandy coat, his grey eyes, his great wings or his black hair justice. His cutie mark, a large X, was as subtle as he was. Most important to Derring however, was the fact that he was wearing his safari helmet.
Derring bounced giddily on the armrest, she looked up at her father expectantly. Her father looked back down with a questioning look, "Yes Derring?"
"Can I wear your hat Daddy?"
"Nope." Her father went back to reading his book. A tap on his shoulder prevented him from going further, he looked back at Derring.
"Please?" Derring gave him the best puppy dog eyes she could muster. Her father smirked.
"Fine, just this once." He put the book on other armrest, then (reluctantly) took his hat off and placed it Derring's head. It proceeded to completely swallow Derring's small head whole, much to her surprise. She fell from the armrest, her impact cushioned by her budding wings. Derring would've felt immediately mortified, had it not for the sound of her father chuckling in delight. She started giggling too, in response, her father quickly took his hat back and put it back on his head, still smiling a bit.
It was memories like those that made Derring laugh and look upon with pride. Her father was not an easily amused pony. She looked over at the book, the only book that her father ever wrote. The book that had first made her interested in Thule. The book that also destroyed her father's reputation in the intellectual community. Despite his reputation ceasing to exist, he still pursued Thule as best he could, as he described, "It is my life's work." She quickly remembered waking up in the late evening, finding her father perusing over maps and books from unknown sources.
Derring yawned, she spotted her father in his study, surrounded by stacks of books she never knew they had. He was currently splitting his attention between several open books at once, taking the occasional note on a notepad.
"Daddy, what are you doing?" She sleepily asked.
"Working." He responded.
"But it's four O'clock in the morning, why in Equestria are you working now?"
"Well I started at six PM." He responded again. Derring decided to let her father be for now, that was third time this week he was up all night "working."
Then she looked at her father's hat. His most prized possession, at least she thought it was considering he never let anypony else wear it (besides Derring) much less touch it. Even she was averse to touching it despite her father leaving her so many years ago. She nervously ran a hoof along it's brim, as if her father was just waiting to pounce on her for touching it.
"Daddy? Where are you going?" Derring sat in her father's armchair, watching her father pack his things in his saddlebag.
"Business. Gonna be a while before I come back, Penworthy's parents will take care of you until then." He threw the bags over himself and proceeded to the door.
"When will you be back?"
"Not sure. Maybe in a few days, maybe in a month. Work's like that Derring."
"Can I have your hat?" Derring hopefully asked. Normally, a request like this would've earned an instant "Nope." and smile from her father. But, today was different. He paused, deep in thought.
"Sure." He took his hat off, and placed it on Derring's head. It still wasn't a great fit, it slipped right over her eyes. But that wasn't important, "I love you Derring. Do take care of yourself while I'm gone, 'kay?"
Derring nodded, her confused look being masked by the poor fit of a hat. Her father never gave up his hat for such a long period of time. But there it was, sitting on her head, her father now having left the place. She sat down quietly, deep in thought.
"Where is he even going?" She said aloud.
She never got an answer to that question. That was the last time she ever saw her father. Her father simply dropped off the face of the Earth as it were, nopony knew where he went or where he was going. He simply disappeared just like that. Derring never really got over the fact that her father simply left her, she wasn't sad or angry at him, but more or less she felt that something was missing. Alas, she couldn't just simply make a father appear out of thin air, but his disappearance was her deciding factor in joining the museum and becoming something of a navigator for them. She had traveled to places beyond the borders of Equestria before, usually on some expedition for some shiny artifact, but she knew that it's because she clings to the faint hope that she might encounter her father somewhere.
She slowly walked over to the bed and just hopped onto it. Covering herself in the blankets for warmth, she quickly remembered something her father said before drifting off to sleep.
"Our lives are remembered by the gifts we leave our children."
* * *
Derring cracked an eye open, something wasn't right. She rolled quickly rolled out of bed, then took on a stealth posture. She quietly edged to the door of her bedroom, she could hear her cat Ahuizotl purring, was that what woke her? Probably, maybe it was the rain pattering on her window too, but she didn't like leaving loose ends. She quietly opened the door and quickly spotted a stranger on her sofa, petting her cat.
"Okay," She flared her wings and lowered herself to the ground, "You picked the wrong house buddy!" She snarled.
"Relax." The stranger said, in the most distinctly feminine and sexy voice she's ever heard, "I am no robber Derring-Do."
"Okay..." Derring slowly walked up to the stranger on her sofa, she now quickly made out a long horn so she was definitely a unicorn. The darkness of the room contrasted her white coat and her pink mane, "Then who are you? How do you know my name?"
"Oh, my name is not important Derring-Do, in fact it would be rather-"
"Wait." The stranger stopped at being interrupted, it wasn't as if she had a well-written monologue for explaining her mysterious origin anyway. Derring quickly took a moment to examine the stranger, she spotted the Fleurs-De-Lis cutie mark on her flank and it dawned on her, "Oh my goodness, you're Fleur-De-Lis!"
"How did-" Fleur slapped her hoof on her head, she had been discovered without even a minute for her rehearsed dramatics, "Cartographer, navigator, detective, it's a wonder how you're still single Miss Derring-Do."
"Well..." Derring nervously smiled, but then came back to the situation at hand, "Anyway, what are you doing here!? It can't be because you're here to offer me a contract for modeling."
"Indeed. My employer has-"
"Fancypants?" Derring knew that the rich and famous Fancypants was her employer and husband, it made sense.
"Is nothing a secret anymore!?" Fleur sighed, decided to get dramatics out of the way now that the mood was ruined, "Ugh, he has a proposition for you, will you come with me to his mansion so you two can discuss it?"
"Can I come too?" A muffled voice came out of the wall, Penworthy. Fleur looked at Derring confusedly.
"Can she?" Derring asked. Fleur nodded, getting up from the sofa and making for the door.
"Just meet me in the carriage when you're ready."