//------------------------------// // 3.10 - Dancing by Strings // Story: Quantum Vault // by WishyWish //------------------------------// April 12, 2027 Baltimare – The Hungry Ursa Monday On a hazy morning in Baltimare, Quantum Trots found herself lounging on a barstool in an establishment of ill-repute that her 2027 self would never have known about, much less been to. She was nursing a booze tumbler filled with warm milk. Flicking her ear, she peered into the slightly dusty mirror behind the bar. In her seat was a golden-coated stallion with a haggard visage. Behind him, off in a corner that seemed a mile away and standing right through the middle of a card table being used by oblivious patrons, was the white pony. The colorless phantom that had passed sentence on the minty mare just stood there, it’s obscured, hooded face pointed squarely at her. “I’m too tired to be scared of you right now,” Quantum scoffed at the reflection, which had been staring at her for at least two solid hours. “Aren’t you going to come and get me? Or are the stars out of alignment or something?” She did her best to mix a hefty amount of viscous, vinegary sarcasm into her words, but every time she glanced at the specter, a shiver ran down her spine. “Come an’ get you what, sugah?” A voice replied. Quantum glanced over to find the midnight coated, well-made-up mother superior of The Hungry Ursa, Swizzle, giving her a look. “Oh, I, uh…a drink,” Quantum blurted out by way of cover, “…get me a drink…?” Swizzle let out a snarky breath. “You haven’t touched that one yet, sweetie. And you know I ain’t gonna serve you the hard stuff this time of day. I don’t care how gold your bits or your rump are.” She pulled back the edge of one lip in a grin, “Though, you can warm my stools with that rump anytime you like.” Quantum blushed, but felt herself smiling at the same time. At first she’d found all of these ponies to be rough around the edges and therefore unsavory to be around, but the longer she spent in this place, the more she came to realize that there were more ponies in the world than just the ones she met in school. And they were just as worthwhile to be around – if not moreso. “…thanks.” Swizzle laughed lightly, “Mmhm. I know you, Draw Out. If I gave you an’ inch you’d drink yourself stupid all day long. And you can’t be doing that no more. You’ve got responsibilities.” “Responsibilities?” Quantum intoned. She considered the idea for a moment, but the answer came to her before she could ask. She looked down at the mostly untouched glass of milk and let its soothing aroma seep through her. “Oh. Right.” Swizzle only grinned. Hooking a hoof around Quantum’s unfinished drink, she began to take it away, silencing the minty mare when she made to protest. “She should be well enough to see you now, sugahcube. You been hemming and hawing down here so bad, everypony knows you wanna go upstairs. So go already.” Quantum was about to deny the charges, but a few bemused glances from other patrons silenced her. Eagerly she made for the stairs. Cozy Hearth’s room wasn’t much different from Draw Out’s in terms of Spartan accommodations, and that came as a surprise to the minty mare. There were a few trappings of habitation – bottles of cheap perfume meant to cover up cigar smoke, a number of bottles containing unidentifiable amber liquids, and a photograph in a modest frame on the nightstand filled with happy looking colts and fillies. Otherwise the room had a cold, antiseptic feel to it; as if the resident either didn’t spend much time there, or didn’t care to. The bed was the only element that stood out, with its sensual satin sheets, posh overstuffed pillows, and lewd carvings on the headboard. Quantum didn’t waste much time wondering why that one piece of furniture was so garish. The bed cocooned the form of a single mare, buried up to the neck. Her chest rose and fell with a peaceful rhythm; her lavender mane spilling out over the sheets. The curtains were drawn, and in the low lighting Quantum hesitated; uncertain the callmare was awake. “I didn’t get a chance to say this,” Hal, who had met Quantum in the upstairs hallway and was now floating on his wings insubstantially beside her, offered. “But you did good last night, Cutie. I…know how hard it must have been to come back here right away when it was all over. You did the right thing.” Quantum responded with a look that didn’t require words. Hal began booping buttons and frowned. “Tissy doesn’t know,” the orange pegasus answered the unspoken question. “She can’t find any records of Tilt that occur after 2027. That could indicate what we think it indicates—” he paused, swallowing, “Or it could just mean he faded into anonymity, was arrested and lost his power base, or even fled Equestria.” When he saw the uncertainty in his friend’s eyes, he continued, “Cutie, it’s been over a decade. There are millions upon millions of arrest reports and petty criminal activity records that have been filed in that time. He may have moved to another city and set up shop there, or maybe even been scared straight. The lack of his name coming up in prominence suggests he never became a real crime boss, but it’s too inconclusive to assume your mother…made good her threat. You have to understand, most of Equestria’s records are still kept the old fashioned way, and not every book, album, and ledger survives indefinitely. Between Tissy, me, and Princess Twilight, we don’t have the ability to just trek to any city at any time and spend days pouring through their archives.” Quantum, mindful of waking Cozy, narrowed her eyes. Hal sighed and jumped onto the topic he wanted to avoid. “Fine, fine. The truth is…we don’t know that either. Records on your mother at this point in history aren’t very good. She didn’t exactly have anybody in her life to keep them, nor did she make many friends as far as we know.” Hal pocketed his device and tilted his head, looking apologetic. “Sometimes fact is as plain as the muzzle on your face. Nothing’s changed back home. Interpret that as you will.” Quantum hung her head and took in a sharp breath to replace the air that deflated out of her. Hal ‘patted’ her shoulder. “You did good. All the data shows that Draw Out cleaned up his act, at least enough to make a good life for himself and Cozy Hearth. And their kids. We don’t have complete records on their fate either, but for the next five years at the very least, they’ll build a life together. You made that happen.” Quantum’s field of vision was suddenly filled with her friend’s grinning visage. “So chin up. You’re a hero today.” It took time, but Quantum eventually felt the corners of her mouth wrench free from their prison of melancholy and turn upwards. Hal returned the grin, floated up, and took to pondering. “You should be done here,” he commented. “So to be honest I have no idea why you’re even still around, but…” a grin and a chin-waggle towards the bed, “you can still make the most of it, no?” Hal cackled and did a midair somersault when Quantum fixed him with a scowl and took a pointless swipe at him. She was about to drop the vow of silence and tell him off, but she froze when her eyes strafed past the form of the white-robed, colorless pony. It was right there in the room with them all – standing on the opposite side of the bed and staring right at the mint-coated unicorn. She froze, staring wide-eyed back at the startling appearance long enough to draw Hal’s attention off the levity. “What’s up?” Quantum only pointed at the white pony with a hoof. Hal studied the drawn window and tilted his head. “What? Something wrong with the blinds?” Quantum felt her brow creasing again. She gave every inch of the white pony’s empty, black stare right back to the creature, blowing a wayward bang out of her eyes defiantly. Her words appeared only in her mind, but somehow she knew it understood. I can do this the rest of my life if I have to. What more do you want from me? Despite her words, she knew it could smell her fear. The white pony tilted its head so slightly that the movement barely registered in Quantum’s eyes. Before she knew it, there was another shadow pony in the room – another silhouette, absent of light, stood beside the white pony as though it had been there the whole time. Quantum studied this one, trying to determine if she could guess anything of her fate from what little definition its form possessed. It looked strange – different from the ones she had seen before. Its movements were jerky, and it turned its head with such curiosity that it seemed fascinated by everything in the room. It was the size and shape of an adult mare, but it smiled brightly and pondered about like a newborn foal dazzled by looking upon a sunny day for the first time. Quantum wriggled her nose. Where was the fear in this one? A shuffling noise from the direction of the bed stole her attention. “Nn…” a voice muttered, “Draw? Is that you?” Quantum poignantly ignored the black and white ponies, turning her attention to the bed. She trotted over and stood beside the rustling form beneath the sheets. “Yeah,” was all she could think to say. A forest green foreleg slipped from under the covers and caressed Quantum’s chin. It was followed by a giggle. “My honeypony…I knew you’d do right by me.” Quantum found herself smiling stupidly into Cozy Hearth’s vermillion eyes. The color had returned to the fetching pegasus, and when she moved her leg the sheets had drifted away from one of her flanks. There was that cutie mark again – a pink heart with a picket fence around it. At first Quantum had thought it looked repressed and unfriendly, but now…it looked cozy. Just like its owner. Without her makeup and those sleazy adornments, Quantum had to admit that Cozy Hearth lived up to her name in more ways than one. Cozy was giggling. For a time Quantum thought it was just delicious lassitude that brought on the mirth, but the sound deepened and mixed with a coy expression that caused the minty mare to raise a brow. “O-of course I would,” Quantum insisted. “You know how I…uh…feel about you.” Quantum was clay in the potter’s hooves; she didn’t even realize she’d been encouraged to bend over the bed until Cozy caught her in a kiss so soft and romantic, Quantum wondered if Hal was watching. She wondered if Hal knew that was her first ‘real’ kiss. Cozy cooed and giggled again, and Quantum could feel a wingtip drawing along her flank. “You don’t understand sweetie. I knew you’d do right by me. I knew it. And I proved it. So I win.” Quantum, roused from the spell the forest pegasi held her in and blinked several times. “Silly stallion,” Cozy smiled, brushing Quantum’s mane. “You think I wouldn’t recognize one of Tilt’s thugs when I see one?” Quantum’s eyes widened. “You…you did all that…on—??” In an explosion of sudden movement, the shadowy pony giddily leapt across the bed. Quantum had just enough time to hear Draw Out’s lover express her feelings for him one more time before she vanished. Wherever or whenever she was headed next, the minty mare vowed to check herself for marionette strings as soon as she arrived.