//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Moving Forward, Wrought with Danger // by Odayama //------------------------------// “What do you mean ‘all you have is wine’?” Berry Punch had backed away from the angry elf. Vinyl had taken Tom to the only place that sells alcohol daily. The only other place was Sweet Apple Acres, but that was a seasonal event to sell their different kinds of apple cider. When he had asked to be led to alcohol, to tell the truth, she had expected him to be an angry drunk. She wasn’t expecting him to be an angry pre-drunk. What she didn’t know was that he was a happy drunk. He just never drank ‘til he was drunk in front of others. Berry Punch was a good friend to Vinyl, and good business partner. Normally, when the party calls for the DJ, the drinks are not that far to follow. But this normally means that the good stuff is gone as soon as it shows up, and Berry has to order more. She has wine for sale, and her usual customers are ponies like Rarity and Octavia. But nopony buys wine in large quantities, so she’s always in stock. “I-I’m sorry, sir. I-I just don’t have anything else in stock. I have the order coming in tomorrow, if you’re willing to wait. Other than that, all I have in stock is wine.” Tom grit his teeth. He really didn’t want to be here. There was a demon that was probably lose somewhere out here. At least it didn’t seem to be in this town, otherwise, he would be fighting an army of dominated ponies along with the demon. But the fact that it hadn’t made a move also made it disturbing. But all these facts just made him want a drink even more. Even with his power, he felt…powerless…to do anything else. He needed a drink. Without realizing what he was doing, he had slammed his fist on the counter. This sent the two ponies back in surprise, expecting shouting on top of the loud noise. “…Dude, what the hell?” Vinyl looked at Tom, starting to get angry herself. She turned her attention to Berry. “Look, Berry, I didn’t know he would be like this. If I knew…” Tom glared right at Berry, who flinched, expecting something to be thrown at her. “Fine. I’ll take ten bottles of your best.” Berry opened her eyes. She didn’t expect such a big order. But ten of her best wine? She’s going to have to make a new order to replace those fine wines, instead of trying to make it herself. “…I…Are you sure?” “Did I not make myself clear? I said ten, and I mean ten! Now tell me your price, and stop flinching. Just because I am threatening, doesn’t mean you have to take it. Be strong, stand up to me!” Make me believe that I shouldn’t stay and force to train these pathetic civilians to become warriors…even if they are horses smaller than me. Tom pushed that thought out of his head. “…Five hundred bits, sir.” Tom blinked. “…What?” Berry looked like she took Tom’s words to heart, getting more confidence in herself. “…I said five hundred bits. That is my price. The best ones are expensive, you know. Take that price, or be without drinks.” Tom had the strangest look on his face. “…What are these ‘bits’ you speak of?” Vinyl facehoofed herself. “ugh, I should have seen this coming. You don’t have any of our money, do ya Tom?” Tom, with an angry look on his face, dug into his pack for his bag of holding, and dished out 700 hundred gold coins. “I don’t know what your money is, but I know that gold is the universal language of money. Keep the change of whatever the exchange rate is.” Berry looked at how the coins shined in the setting sunlight. There was no doubt. This was gold, and not fool’s gold. That stuff is really shiny. No, this had the right amount of shine in the sunlight. This would not only be enough to cover her expenses, but this would also get her that little vacation she always wanted to have. Berry looked up at Tom and smiled. “I’ll be right back, sir.” Vinyl stepped up to see what just happened. “…Whoa, shit dude. You’re loaded. That’s real gold?” Tom nodded. “Gold is rather common where I come from, and yet mines churn out more gold than needed.” Tom looked at the coins on the counter. “This was part of a dragon’s hoard. It was a younger dragon than most, but it was still a challenge.” Vinyl lifted her sunglasses, a surprised look on her face. “…Wait…you stole from a dragon?” Tom looked at Vinyl. “Dragons steal from everyone, good or bad. Why should it make any difference if I claim treasure from a dragon?” Before any more words could be said, Berry came back with a big heavy bag full of wine bottles. “Here you are, sir. Enjoy.” Tom took out a small black dot from his pocket. Placing it on the counter, he ‘opened’ it, revealing the extra-dimensional space that he carried with him. Hefting the bag into the hole, Tom closed the hole and picked it up, made a small bow for his purchase. “Thank you. Your confidence in yourself is grateful sight to see. Thanks for the wine.” And with that, Tom walked out. The two ponies stared in disbelief to what they just saw. “…I gotta stay with this guy, or he might just end up pulling another Trixie in our town, only worse. I’ll cya later, Berry.” Vinyl ran off to catch up to her mysterious friend. Berry Punch was left alone in the store, staring dumbfound at what had transpired. She looked back down at the coins in her hooves, and the coins left on the counter, staring into the golden sheen of them. But…what about the stamp on the coins? She now had gold, but who would buy gold with this strange…head of a creature on it as the stamp? …Maybe she could just melt them into a large gold bar.