//------------------------------// // Clothing, Apartments, Concerts and Puns // Story: Of Night and Stone // by Kirb //------------------------------// Of Night and Stone By Kirb Chapter Ten Clothing, Apartments, Concerts and Puns Sunday An alarm clock started ringing in Sugarcube Corner, cutting through the peaceful silence in the room. This was a normal occurrence in the morning, of course, except the time was 6 PM. A bluish gray hoof reached out from underneath the covers of the bed nearby and pressed a button on the top. The noise stopped. Maud sat up and stretched her forelegs while yawning almost silently. She stepped out of the bed and began slowly walking towards the bathroom. Not wearing her dress, her cutie mark was visible, a rock cut in the shape of a diamond. Around ten minutes later, she stepped out, having dried off but still slightly damp from her shower, and walked to her bed. She opened her suitcase and looked through her dresses. All of them were the same bluish shade. She unfolded one and put it on, then walked back to the bathroom. After combing her hair and applying her eyeshadow, Maud left her sister’s guest bedroom and walked down the stairs. On the way, she ran into Pinkie. “Hi, sis!” Pinkie exclaimed, hugging Maud, who unenthusiastically hugged back. Pinkie then reached into her mane and pulled out a white bag, big enough to hold a small pastry. She handed it to Maud, who raised an eyebrow at Pinkie’s pulling it from her mane, but otherwise showed no reaction to it. “Here’s dinner--er, I mean breakfast!” Pinkie corrected herself. “I keep forgetting that you wake up late in the day. But hey, if it means seeing your coltfriend Brookie, it’s necessary! Oh, by the way, how is he?” There was a short silence; then Maud answered, “He’s still a gargoyle.” Pinkie giggled. “Okie-dokie-lokie! I’ll take it! Have a good time!” Maud continued the rest of the way down the stairs and out the door. … Brooklyn was standing on the deck of Town Hall, looking over the city, when he heard a voice from behind him. “Hello, Brooklyn was it?” Brooklyn turned around to see Rarity standing behind him. “Oh hi, Rarity,” he muttered. “What are you doing here?” “Oh, I just wanted to discuss something!” Rarity insisted, though something was suspicious. “Go on,” Brooklyn replied. “I heard that you have been dating Pinkie Pie’s sister!” Brooklyn sighed. “We’re not dating! We’re just going out as friends.” “Whatever it is, I think it’s fabulous!” Rarity insisted. “I bet the two of you are just perfect for each other!” “What are you getting at, Rarity?” Brooklyn asked impatiently, narrowing his eyes. “Ahem, yes.” Rarity started heading back inside. “Follow me, Brooklyn! I have something that you will surely need!” Brooklyn reluctantly did so. When he stepped in the door, he saw a rack of clothing that held many parts of a dress suit. “I just found out about you two exactly two mornings ago!” said Rarity. “But I knew I had to make something soon, since you couldn’t just wear that dreary loincloth all the time.” Brooklyn’s claw went to his face. “Rarity… seriously?” “Well, you know what they say: ‘Every mare’s crazy ’bout a sharp dressed stallion!’” Rarity giggled. “Go ahead, try it on!” Brooklyn tried to think of an excuse. “Rarity, I appreciate the effort, but I highly doubt this will fit me.” “Don’t worry, I took your measurements two days ago, while you were encased in stone! And I knew I had to get it soon, so I got Sweetie Belle to help me, since she and the other girls are still grounded from their little stunt two nights ago.” Brooklyn groaned. “But.. but…” “No buts!” Rarity’s horn fired up and lifted Brooklyn off the ground. She levitated him and the clothes rack into a secluded cubicle. “Now try this on! I can always help you put it on if you’re having trouble…” Was that supposed to be a threat? Brooklyn thought. Nevertheless, he sighed and pulled off his loincloth to put on the suit. A few minutes passed, and Brooklyn was wearing a black sports jacket, pants, and tie over a white dress shirt. There were slits in the jacket and shirt for his wings, and another in the pants for his tail. Rarity beamed and pushed a mirror in front of him. Brooklyn looked at his reflection in the mirror. “Hmmm, not bad!” Brooklyn nodded. “See?” Rarity replied. “I told you that you would like it!” Just then, Broadway, Lex and Angela walked in. “There you are, Brooklyn!” Broadway began. “I was beginning to… pfft… HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!” The three gargoyles burst into laughter. Brooklyn glared at them. “Hey, stop it!” “He.. he looks like Meat Loaf’s bitch!” Lex laughed, causing the laughter to erupt even louder. “What? It looks good!” Brooklyn insisted. The laughter began to die down; then Angela blurted out, “Yeah, I’m sure your marefriend will love it!” And the laughter grew louder once more. Brooklyn then turned his glare to Rarity, who shrugged. “Don’t pay attention to them, my dear. They only mock you about it because you hate it so much when they do.” … Maud was sitting on a park bench, waiting for Brooklyn to arrive, when her ears picked up the snap of a twig behind her. She quickly turned her head to see what it was, but saw nothing. She turned back and started tapping her front hoof on the bench when she heard another sound, that of approaching hoofsteps and heavy breathing. “Hello?” she called out. “Who’s out there?” “There you are, Maud!” She turned back in front of her to see Brooklyn. “Oh. Hi, Brooklyn.” Maud was about to tell Brooklyn about the strange noises she heard behind her when she noticed what he was wearing. “Why are you dressed like that?” she asked. “Huh?” He looked down. “Oh yeah, I figured that I would wear something a little more impressive tonight. My loincloth needed a washing anyway.” Maud looked up and down his suit. “You don’t need to dress up for me, Brooklyn.” There was a short silence. “Did Rarity make you dress like this?” Brooklyn sheepishly grinned and rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah…” … Monday “Elisa!” Twilight exclaimed. “Good news!” Having just entered the library from her shift, Elisa was surprised to see Twilight galloping towards her. “Well, good morning to you too, Twilight,” she half-yawned. Twilight skidded to a halt in front of Elisa. “Elisa, I just got a letter from Princess Celestia! She says she’s found an apartment building in Ponyville for you to stay, and she’s willing to pay the first month’s rent!” Elisa smiled. “That is good news. Though I’ll certainly miss getting to mooch off you for my food--and constantly annoy you and Spike.” “Don’t worry,” Twilight laughed. “You haven’t been annoying us, but don’t you think it’s nice to finally have a place of your own?” “I suppose so. I don’t really have many things to move over there, since most of my stuff is back in New York, though hopefully my salary as a Ponyville detective can pay to furnish it better. Plus, I’ll finally be able to listen to my music without being interrupted!” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “With as loud as you blast it, I think the downstairs neighbors might complain.” “True,” Elisa said. “So when can I see this new apartment?” … “Here you are!” Twilight smiled as she pointed to a brick apartment building. It was nine stories high, with large windows on each side of the building, and shiny black fire escapes. Elisa stood looking up at it with her hands on her hips. “Not bad!” she nodded. “Which floor is my apartment on?” “Celestia arranged for the top floor, and with an access door to the roof.” Twilight levitated a key to Elisa with the number 901. “Here’s your room key.” “Wow, this is perfect!” Elisa quickly pocketed the key, then picked up Twilight and hugged her. “Thanks, Twilight!” “Hey, no problem!” Twilight hugged Elisa’s neck in return. “Though you’ll have to pay for everything else, there’s already a bed with sheets and pillows if you want to take a nap.” “Will do, thanks!” Elisa set Twilight down and eagerly ran to her new apartment building. Twilight simply smiled in response. “Hope she won’t have to stay there for long. I can’t imagine how she must feel, being thrust out of her world like that…” As she started back to the library, she began to fantasize about Elisa’s world. From what she’d heard of it, there was a lot more technology, and a lot bigger cities. But while she was imagining that, she wasn’t looking where she was going and bumped into another pony with a THUD. “Oh, I’m sorry!” she said, backing off and looking up at the pony. “I didn’t mean to bump into you.” The stallion looked back down at her with a blank stare. He was a pale gray unicorn with a short, flat blonde mane and tail, and a few inches taller than Twilight. He wore a red tie and a pair of large but thin-rimmed spectacles; however, his most noticeable feature was his left foreleg’s hoof, which appeared to be gray, hairless and rough like stone. “It is no problem,” the stallion replied, walking past Twilight and continuing on his way. … Tuesday “…So this is called a ‘boombox’?” Luna asked with fascination. “That’s right!” Elisa handed the princess a small black and silver boombox, which Luna gripped in her magic. “I can teach you how this works sometime, but first we’d need to find somepony who’d be willing and able to make one for you.” “Interesting.” Luna curiously pushed the ‘play’ button with her hoof. Unfortunately, only silence emerged from the boombox. “What is wrong with this? Why is there no music?” “Oh, right. I forgot to bring my CDs.” Elisa shook her head disappointedly. “I was hoping to show you more of my favorite stuff, but I guess I left them at the new apartment.” “I see.” Luna sighed. “I really did like the music I heard the other day.” “I’m glad you did. Twilight doesn’t seem to like it; it’s too loud for her.” “I’m used to loud noises. After all, I have grown accustomed to speaking in THE ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE!!” She yelled the last part, then looked back down at Elisa. “Ahem. Sorry for yelling at you a few days ago by the way.” Elisa chuckled. “It’s no problem, Luna.” … Wednesday Brooklyn landed in the park, waiting for Maud to arrive. After looking around to see if she was already there, he sat down on the park bench where she often sat. He was wearing his loincloth again and had put away his suit for another time. I wonder where she could be… he thought. A sound behind him captured his attention. He turned around to see what it was. “Hello?” he called out. No response came back. Brooklyn groaned. Probably just Elisa and Twilight spying on me again. When he looked in front of him, he was completely unprepared for the sight he saw. Maud was standing there, but instead of wearing her normal blue dress, she was clad in a red sequined strapless dress, gold earrings, and purple gloves on her forelegs. Brooklyn was surprised at first. Why would Maud go out of her way to dress up for me? That seems so out-of-character for her… Then realization hit him and he smiled. “Lemme guess: Rarity?” he asked. “Yes,” Maud replied. “She insisted that this would make me look ‘sexy.’” Brooklyn resisted the urge to laugh and comment that ponies weren’t sexy to him. Instead, he smirked and said, “Knew it.” It was about then that he saw a poster nailed to a tree behind Maud. “Hey, what’s that?” he asked, lifting it to read. “‘Dark Canter - Live at the Ponyville Pavilion! Saturday night at 9:30. Tickets on sale now, 63 bits each.’” “I like Dark Canter.” Though Maud showed no emotion otherwise, Brooklyn could have sworn her ears perked up. “Really?” Brooklyn smiled. “We should go!” Then his smile dropped. “Wait, no, I can’t go in there, for obvious reasons. Plus the tickets would cost 126 bits, and I’m pretty sure Elisa doesn’t have that, yet.” “Can’t you just hover above the pavilion?” “Sorry, Maud. It doesn’t work that way. Hmmm…” Brooklyn suddenly had an idea. “Is this Pavilion the nearby outdoor amphitheater? Because if we wanted to, we could watch from a nearby rooftop. Would you like to do that?” Maud looked up at him, then smiled slightly and said, “Sure.” … Thursday “So you’re going to see the band Dark Canter with Maud in two nights?” asked Broadway. He and Angela were talking to Brooklyn at Town Hall. “Yeah, that’s right.” Brooklyn thought for a second. “I hope they aren’t some dumb boy band--colt band? Whatever it’s called here. I’d hate to find out that Maud likes the equivalent of the Backstreet Boys or something.” “Hey, quiet you!” Angela snapped. “The Backstreet Boys are awesome! And they’ll be around forever, unlike those alternative bands you listen to.” “Whoa, chill, Angela!” Brooklyn held his hands up in front of him. “Watch out, you guys! We have a badrump over here!” Angela was about to get defensive, when she raised an eyebrow. “Badrump? Don’t you mean ‘badass’?” “Right, sorry,” Brooklyn admitted. “I’ve been spending so much time around these ponies that I’ve begun talking like them.” “One pony in particular,” Broadway chuckled. “Say, Brookie, does Maud rock your world?” Brooklyn flinched. “Broadway, you know she and I aren’t… wait…” He glared at Broadway. “Was that a pun?!” “Hah!” Angela laughed at Broadway’s pun. “Hey come on, Broadway. Give Brooklyn credit, he’s been getting a lot boulder about his dating Maud!” Brooklyn glared at Angela too. “Stop it!” “All I have to say, Brooklyn,” Broadway began, “is that you’d better not take Maud for granite!” “Hopefully spending all that time around Maud doesn’t make him too sedimental!” Angela joked. “Okay, that one was fracking bad,” Broadway replied. “Only a stoner would find that funny.” “I’m sorry. You’re much better at this than I am--I really dig your puns.” “Aw, don’t say that. My puns have their faults, too.” “True.” Angela turned back to Brooklyn. “I think if you really wanted to impress Maud, you should take her out and order a drink. On the rocks, of course.” “Gah!” Brooklyn groaned. “Enough with the rock puns!” “Something wrong, Brooklyn?” Brooklyn turned around to see Goliath approaching him. “Oh, nothing,” Brooklyn lied. “Okay,” Goliath replied. “Oh, I heard that you are going out with Maud to see a band called Dark Canter.” “Yeah, that’s right,” Brooklyn replied. “The night after next. Why?” “Elisa has told me about this band.” Goliath paused. “They really rock.” “Ugh, not you too!” Brooklyn facepalmed, and Angela and Broadway giggled. … Friday “So Maud and Brooklyn are seeing Dark Canter, too?” Twilight asked Elisa as they walked to her new apartment. “Yeah, that’s right,” Elisa replied. “I’m surprised you like them, Twilight. I figured since you don’t like Pearl Jam, you wouldn’t be into a band like Dark Canter.” “It’s not that I don’t like Pearl Jam, it’s how loud you blast it. Kind of hard on the ears.” “Ah, right. Sorry, I forgot ponies can hear much better than humans.” “Plus, Dark Canter kind of appeals to me. They do lots of references in their songs to ancient pony mythology and literature from writers I like, and I’m glad some band actually knows that type of thing.” “I see. So they’re kind of nerd rock?” “Hey, I’m not a nerd!” “I didn’t mean that! I mean, are they appealing to ponies who like things that aren’t in the mainstream?” “Well, yeah. They also have a lot of fantasy and sci-fi themed songs.” “From what I’ve heard, they’re pretty cool. I could see them getting famous back on our world, and I’d love to listen to more of their stuff.” She stopped as they arrived at her apartment building. “Right now, though, I’m gonna get some sleep.” “Okay.” Twilight smiled. “Have a nice sleep.” “Thanks.” Elisa turned around and walked back to her apartment. She waved goodbye to Twilight. “See you later!” “You too, Elisa!” Twilight waved back, then turned around. It was about then when she saw a familiar pony--the stallion she saw a few days ago! He was looking at Elisa, but then saw Twilight and began to turn around. “Hey!” she called to the stallion, who then stopped. “I remember you. I bumped into you on Monday!” The stallion turned around and looked at Twilight. “Ah yes, I remember.” “You must be new in town,” Twilight replied. “I haven’t seen you around here before.” “Yes, I moved in with my boss a few days ago,” the stallion replied. Something seemed off about this stallion, but Twilight couldn’t place it. She held out her left hoof. “My name is Twilight Sparkle.” The stallion shook her hoof. Twilight could feel something different in his hoof--it was cold and hard as stone. “You can call me Mr. Goodfellow.” “Nice to meet you, Mr. Goodfellow!” Twilight then looked down at his hoof. “Um, out of curiosity, what happened to your hoof?” Goodfellow paused, then responded. “I got into a small accident.” “Wow, I’m sorry.” Wow, it feels like rock! How could this have happened? There’s something he’s not telling me… “Well, Miss Sparkle, I must be on my way.” Mr. Goodfellow turned around and began to walk off. “Goodbye!” Twilight said to him. Then she turned around and muttered, “I must ask Pinkie if she’s seen this Goodfellow before. There’s something not right about him…” … Saturday Pinkie Pie was shutting off all the lights at Sugarcube Corner. The place was closing for the night, though it would be hard for her to sleep with all the loud noises coming from the nearby concert. It was about then that she heard a knock on the door. “Hm, who could it be at this hour?” She bounded over to the door and pushed it open a couple of inches. “I’m sorry, Sugarcube Corner is closed right now!” Brooklyn was standing behind the door. “Hi, Pinkie Pie,” he said. “I’m here to pick up Maud, I’m taking her to the concert.” “Ooh! Hi, Brookie!” Pinkie greeted, then whispered to him. “She’s getting ready. Be very quiet, we wouldn’t want Mr. and Mrs. Cake to see you.” “Right,” Brooklyn whispered. He followed Pinkie up the stairs, to a door with a sign on the front marked ‘Guest Room.’ “She’ll be right out,” Pinkie said to Brooklyn. “Hope you two have fun!” She then bounced to her own room. “Thanks,” Brooklyn replied. He then waited for Maud and leaned against the wall; however, when he listened he heard Maud talking to someone. “…and while I want to tell him, I don’t want to jeopardize our friendship.” Huh? Brooklyn thought. Is she talking about me? He leaned in closer. “I will have to be going back to the rock farm soon, but I don’t want to go without telling him.” Who’s she talking to? Somepony on the phone? Oh, I hope she doesn’t tell whoever this is about my clan… “I know, Boulder. But I don’t know how I would let him know I love him, or how he’d react to that.” Oh, she’s talking to her pet rock. Wait… she LOVES me? How does that even work? We’re different species! “And I know he probably wouldn’t go with it since we’re different species, but I still need to tell him somehow… I guess you’re right. You’ll be there to help me out, I shouldn’t worry.” Brooklyn had a lot to think about. So she loves me, and she’s planning to confess it tonight… This is certainly a lot to take in. Well, at least I have some time to prepare what to say. At that moment, he heard the doorknob begin to move and quickly moved back away from the door. Maud opened it, came out and looked up to see Brooklyn. “Hi, Maud,” Brooklyn greeted. “You ready?” “Yes,” Maud replied. “Then let’s go.”