//------------------------------//
// This Little Filly Had None 
// Story: Fauna of Mirrors 
// by Eggtaro 
//------------------------------//

"Are you sure, Ord?" Creme asked, as the trio slowly approached the steps leading to the entrance of the apartment building. After the authorities left, Ord suggested that they all went for a nice cup of coffee. It had been an hour or so since then, and the short hand on Creme's analog watch stated that it was close to nine.

"Perfectly sure. I would hate to ask for you to come to work after going through such a harrowing evening." Ord replied, smiling at Creme.

"But I feel fine." Creme protested. He glanced at Sonata. "Besides, I don't think I'm the one who needs the day off tomorrow." he whispered to Ord. Sonata was very quiet during their little detour to the café Ord recommended, and remained so even at the café itself. She spoke very little, and when she did it was only when she was being talked to. Creme had tried as many topics as possible, hoping to get a conversation going. But he gave up, seeing how sad Sonata looked. 

"Oh, don't be silly." Ord said, waving a hand at Creme. "I've already asked her to take the day off as well." Ord turned to look at Sonata. "Right, Sonata?" he asked. 

Sonata nodded weakly, her expression still looking glum. Ord heaved a sigh, and lightly petted her on the head. 

"Don't look so sad, Sonata. I'm sure that after a good night's sleep you'll be back to your cheery self again." Ord said, smiling at her. "And, Creme will make sure of that. Won't you, Creme?" 

Creme stared at Ord with a blank expression on his face. Sonata glanced at him. 

"Huh?" 

"Since the both of you are taking a day off tomorrow." Ord said while tapping his chin thoughtfully. "I suggest the two of you go out and see the sights together. You're still new to this area aren't you not, Creme? Use that free time and go get accustomed to this place."

"But..." 

"But nothing, Creme. The four of us at the restaurant will be perfectly fine. The both of you don't need to fuss and worry over us. Just go out tomorrow, and have fun." Ord clapped Creme on the shoulder. "Don't forget, you'll have a cute guide accompanying you." Ord added quietly and he gave Creme a wink. 

Ord pulled out a silver pocket watch from his pocket. "Will you look at the time!" he exclaimed, after looking at the time. "I really must be going." he faced Sonata and Creme. "Well now. Tonight may have been rather...eventful. But I hope that the two of you will exercise more caution next time." 

Creme nodded, remembering his promise to Ord. He just hoped he won't be making any more mistakes. He'll have to put in extra effort.

Sonata looked up at Ord. "You're leaving already?" she asked quickly, sounding sad. 

Ord smiled and petted Sonata on the head again. "I'm afraid I must, Sonata. But you don't need to worry." Ord said as he nudged his head in the direction of Creme. "You'll have him with you." he whispered in her ear. 

Sonata turned to look at Creme. Their eyes met as she regarded him for a second, as if evaluating him, before her lips formed a soft smile. She went to stand next to Creme, who had his eyebrow raised. 

"Yeah." Sonata said to herself, smiling. Creme looked at her and then to Ord, feeling confused. Why were they both smiling? Should he smile too? No, smiling all of a sudden because others were smiling might label him as odd. He'll just stand here, continuing to look confused. 

"Good night." Ord said. He waved at the two of them before spinning around and leaving in the opposite direction. They watched in silence as Ord slowly disappeared from their view. Creme continued to stare at the dimly lit street, thinking back on the things he had been through ever since arriving at this new place. Indeed, when Creme first arrived here, he wanted his days to be normal, quiet, and without problems. 

He certainly didn't expect any of this to happen, though.  

Only yesterday, he had met an old lady who had given him a mirror which somehow contained a talking pony from a different world. That alone was weird enough, crazy even. And just earlier this evening, he had received a powerful punch to the face---which resulted in him having a broken nose---from one of two goons that tried to abduct a girl who Creme is now required to befriend. That same girl has a dark past that Creme knew nothing about. A past that he is not allowed to know...yet.

Creme let out a tired sigh. All of this seemed to be some messed up writing for a story that never came to be. Probably for good reasons.

"Hey..." Sonata said, bringing Creme back to his senses. "Are you okay?" 

Creme faced her. "I'm fine." They both entered the building and climbed the stairs. "How about you?" he asked her, as they made the slow climb up. 

"I'm much better now." Sonata replied, smiling. 

They said nothing for the rest of the way up. Only the sound of their footfalls could be heard, echoing softly throughout the building. When they reached Creme's floor, they both stood quietly at the deserted hallway, unsure what to say to the other. An awkward silence befell them.

Creme rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes looking in the direction of his apartment. "Well...here we are." he said, "This is my floor." he glanced at Sonata.

Sonata nodded. Her eyes not meeting Creme's. She wanted to say something to him, but wasn't sure how to convey it. All she could do was nod. 

"Good night." Creme said, turning around and walking to his apartment door. 

"Wait!" 

Creme froze, he looked back at Sonata, who was tapping the tip of her fingers together nervously. Creme raised an eyebrow. 

"Yes?" 

"T...Thank you." Sonata mumbled, staring at the floor.

"Sorry?" 

"Thank you." she repeated, raising her voice a little louder. "For saving me." 

Creme smiled. She must've been waiting for the right moment to tell him this. "It's was nothing. It was my fault to begin with anyway." 

Sonata looked at Creme. "W-what do you mean?" she asked.

"I was the one who left you alone in the first place didn't I?" Creme asked. "If I just went back home with you..." his voice trailed off.  

Sonata raised her hands, frantically waving them at Creme. "Wha--no! It's not your f-fault! I was t-the one who insisted on going back alone." she said in a hurry, her cheeks turning red. 

"Still, I feel guilty about the whole thing. I want to make this up to you." Creme said, "Since we both have the day off tomorrow. Why don't we go grab something to eat together, my treat." 

Sonata lowered her hands. "You're treating? Really?"

Creme nodded. "Yup."

"And I get to choose whatever I want?" Sonata asked. Her eyes were suddenly shining. 

Creme raised an eyebrow at her. "Err...yeah, of course." Somehow the mention of the word 'treat' triggered something within Sonata.

"YES!" Sonata shouted suddenly, springing into the air, her face filled with glee. She did a little dance after she landed and grinned at Creme. "I'll see you tomorrow then!" 

Creme couldn't help but to grin as well. The sudden change in Sonata was surprising, but at least she wasn't as gloomy as before. "Yeah." he said.

Sonata waved at him happily and skipped up the stairs to her floor. Creme waited until she disappeared before turning around. He pulled out his apartment key and was about to put it in the door lock when he heard Sonata calling out to him.

"Creme?" her voice came from above him. 

"Yeah?" 

"I like tacos." 


* * * * * *


"And there you have it. My first day at work." Creme said.

"Whoa. That is some really intense stuff. So you were completely knocked out?" 

Creme nodded. "It wasn't exactly a playful punch you know." he said, gently rubbing his nose. "In case you've forgotten, my nose nearly shattered into a million pieces." 

"What did it felt like?" 

Creme rolled his eyes. "Like a fist to the face. What else does it feels like?" 

Rainbow giggled at him. "I'm sorry." she apologized. "So that's why you're back so late. You were knocked out for that long huh?" 

"Not that long. Me and a couple of friends went to grab something to drink after the whole thing."

"Looking like that?" Rainbow asked, pointing a hoof at him. "Wasn't anypony shocked by your appearance?" 

"Well, the waiter almost fainted. And the other customers at the café thought I was being abused by Ord." 

"Who?" Rainbow asked, tilting her head to one side.

"Ord. My manager at the place I'm working at." 

"His name sounds odd." 

Creme laughed. "Yeah, it does." 

Creme placed the mirror down on the table against the wall. Setting it so that Rainbow was able to see his entire apartment. Except for the bathroom, of course. 

"So this is where you live?" she asked in wonder, staring around. "You sure have a bunch of weird stuff."

"You live on top of a cloud." Creme retorted. "You're the weird one." 

"No I'm not!" 

Creme laughed, standing aside so that Rainbow could get a better view of his place. "Still, I'm surprised that this mirror still works, even when I'm not standing directly in front of it." 

"You probably just need to be very close to the mirror." Rainbow said. "Which it's cool. I wouldn't want to see your beaten face all the time." 

"That's why I putting the mirror here. I'll probably move it again, though." Creme said. "At least now I won't need to see your face too." he joked. Moving the mirror out of the bathroom was a splendid idea, but he still needed to get a new mirror to replace it. Maybe tomorrow after grabbing a bite with Sonata. 

"So this friend of yours...what's her name again?" Creme asked. 

"Twilight Sparkle" 

"Sparkle, right. You say she wants to conduct a study on me?" 

"You and the mirror." Rainbow replied.

Creme nodded. "I see, and you wanted to see if I'm okay with it?" 

"Well duh, It wouldn't feel right if you suddenly found yourself staring back at another pony who is not as cool as me." 

"A fair point. I would miss not being able to see your face again." 

Rainbow blushed a little. "R-right. So. Are you okay with it?" 

Creme pondered for a moment, rubbing his chin. "I guess it's okay. What's the worst that could happen?"

"You have no idea, Creme." Rainbow said, shaking her head. "You have no idea." 

"Is it that bad?" Creme asked.

"Horrible. But not to worry. I'll be here to make sure she doesn't blow things up." 

"Err...blow things up?" Creme was starting to worry a little. This Twilight Sparkle was sounding more and more like a mad pony instead of a princess. "She won't be able to harm me...right? I mean, I am from a different world anyway." 

"I dunno, Creme." Rainbow said, her voice low. "Twilight and her magic sometimes goes beyond what I would call normal. An egghead of her potential can be quite...scary." 

Creme wiped away the cold sweat from his brow. "She must be quite the princess then." he said, his voice cracking. 

"You will find out soon enough. The moment I tell her you're okay with this she will pop in here the very next second." 

Creme paced around the room, deep in thought. He didn't really mind if someone wanted to study more about the mirror. Hell, he was interested in the mirror himself. He could use the expert opinion. 

But this Twilight sounded dangerous. From what Rainbow had told him about her, she can be quite crazy at times. Very crazy. He felt an ominous feeling rising within him. Maybe he should back out of this one for the time being. 

"M-maybe I should think about this longer." Creme said, "It's already getting late and I don't think I'm quite ready to present myself yet." he continued, and he stood in front of the mirror to look at Rainbow.

Rainbow stared at him. "Uh-oh." 

"Uh-oh?" Creme repeated. "What do you mean 'Uh-oh?'" 

Rainbow smiled sheepishly at Creme. "I've already told her that you said okay." 

"Wha-when did you do that?" 

"When you were tel---" Rainbow didn't finish her sentence. She heard a knock coming from her front door. "Oh buck, she's already here!" 

Creme took a step back from the mirror. "You can't be serious." 

"I'm serious! And so is she." Rainbow said before turning around. She trotted downstairs towards her front door. Rainbow opened the door slowly, taking a careful peek from behind it. She saw Twilight looking at her with a huge grin on her face. Twilight had her saddle bags filled with so much books and equipments that it almost looked like she was trying to move her entire laboratory to Rainbow's house. 

"Hello, Rainbow!" Twilight said with a grin. 

A grin that made Rainbow shiver.