//------------------------------// // 4. Moving Up, Moving Fast // Story: Sunny's Days // by Anzel //------------------------------// It was Friday night, and the Mare Contraire was in full swing. Mares were everywhere dancing, chatting, and doing the normal stuff you do in bars. It was extremely familiar to me, except for the fact that I was on the opposite side of the bar, washing glasses. Dolly didn’t give me a lot of days off and never on the weekends, which was when we were busiest. Which was fine. I wanted to pay her off as soon as possible and get that monkey off my back. Plus, by staying in school a little longer, I was getting my stipend, too. That would certainly shorten my career as a glass washer. I’d also given up my apartment and moved in with Diddle and Dilly. That had dramatically reduced my rent, even if it had put a cramp in my personal space. Still, it was all part of my plan to become debt free! Then there was my tip jar. It didn’t get much attention since I kept it relatively hidden from the bartenders, but some ponies appreciated freshly washed glasses. Either that or they appreciated flirty glasswashers that wore coat glitter and tied their mane up in pigtails. Dolly wandered by and peered at me. “You’re getting really fast at washing those glasses.” “It’s all I’ve done for weeks straight. I’d be a poor pony if I didn’t get any more efficient at it!” “Exactly! Come over here and let me show you how to pour fizzy drinks,” she said. Pour fizzy drinks? That didn’t sound hard at all. “Okay…” I followed after her. “In a lot of places, they just throw some ice in a glass, pour the drink, and toss it at the customer. That is really a shame. Do you know why ponies buy fizzy drinks here?” Dolly asked. “Because they’re half the price of the alcohol?” I put in. The mare glared at me. “Be serious. They buy fizzy drinks because they’re better here than most places. Now pay attention. The first step is to get a clean glass. Our glasswasher is pretty good so you can be assured that step one is easy.” It wasn’t much but that little bit of praise made me feel good. My attention focused on her. “Clean glass, right!” “Step two, use three ice cubes exactly. No more, no less. Not four, and not two unless you then add a third one. Five is right out. Three.” Dolly then put exactly three ice cubes into the glass. “Yup, three ice cubes!” “Now the next steps are a secret. As an employee of the Mare Contraire I expect you to keep them closely guarded. Can you do that, Sunny? Do you promise?” I held up a hoof. “I swear!” Dolly nodded. “Okay, once you know what flavor your customer wants. you put that syrup in… but only a little. Just enough to halfway cover the bottom ice cube. Then you put a piece of the corresponding fruit in. This one is orange, so we’ll do a little orange wedge.” She did so. “Now the real key,” she continued. “As you put in carbonated water, you swirl it and mix in more syrup until you reach the top. Then you’re done!” To be honest I never had any idea Dolly and the bartenders put that much work into the fizzy drinks. Of course, I also didn’t drink them that often. “I’m impressed,” I admitted. “Good. Now I want you to make me ten fizzy drinks. One of each flavor, exactly as I taught you. Consider this a job application.” “What about washing glasses?” I asked. Dolly shook her head. “Let me worry about that. You make the fizzy drinks and then we’ll talk about washing glasses.” “Alright!” I turned to the fountain and started working carefully. This was too important to rush and suddenly I was nervous. Dolly was giving me a chance and I didn’t want to let her down. Clean glass, three ice cubes, a little syrup, and mix and swirl. No! Fruit. Then swirl and mix. The glass filled up extremely quickly and carbonated water spewed out of the top and onto me. I bit my lip. Well… that was one down. As carefully as I could, I made nine others. One of each flavor. Then I turned and looked at Dolly. She’d been watching the whole time. Complete concentration while the noisy bar kept on its merry way behind her. Dolly picked up the first one in her magic and brought it to her lips. She sipped it, made no expression, and then set it down. The on to the next, the next, and the next. Once she had finished she tilted her head as if in thought. Sweat trickled down my brow. “Well?” I asked. Normally this sort of thing didn’t bother me. For some reason, though, I really wanted Dolly to like these. “Not bad. Not good… but not bad. Good enough to start. You’ll need to practice. Finish up with the glasses tonight and we’ll discuss a new opportunity for you after we close. Alright?” I’d take not bad! “Okay! Thanks, Dolly,” I replied before trotting down to start washing again. A new opportunity. That was good for me. ☼ The evening was drawing to a close, which meant I was closer than ever to my potential new job. It was exciting! I thought Dolly was just going to make me wash glasses forever to try to show me that menial jobs weren’t great or that I should stay in school. I had no idea she was actually paying attention to my work. It made me all the more glad I’d taken the job seriously. I didn’t like it, but I’m not the sort of pony with a bad work ethic. If I’m going to do something, I’m going to do it all the way. Oh, sure, I’d complain the whole time, but I’d do a good job! “Hey, Sunny,” came a voice from across the bar, rousing me from my deep focus on my glasses. These were the cleanest glasses ever. I looked up to find Melody smiling at me. “Oh, hi! How’re you?” She replied, “I’m doing well. I was in the area so I thought I’d drop in and see how you were.” Just in the area, hmm? I guess our last meeting hadn’t ended too awkwardly for the western pony. “I’m doing well. Actually, really well. Dolly might promote me or something. She taught me how to pour fizzy drinks tonight.” Melody nodded. “Well, that is good. Moving up in the world. Does that mean you’re going to be too busy to hang out with a friend?” “Oh, no. I imagine it is the same hours. If you want to hang out, we’ll hang out. You don’t even have to buy me food!” She laughed. “Good! When?” When? Well… I certainly wasn’t going to find anypony to go home with after work. In fact, I hadn’t had time for that in a while between school and washing. “How about tonight? Once I’m done, of course, and talk to Dolly. We can go home, sleep, and do something tomorrow? Assuming you don’t have work in the morning?” “On a Saturday? Not me!” She smiled. “That sounds good to me. I don’t want to interrupt your washing, so I’m going to go look around a bit. See you later.” “Okay!” Well, a night cuddling Melody would be a lot better than a night alone. Especially if we went to her place. She had a nice bed. Plus, she was sweet. Also, her roommate was hot. I wondered if he was single. The evening went by faster than I’d anticipated. Mostly because I was just focusing on my glasses. Keep them clean, keep them coming, and get them back to the bartenders so mares could drink. Eventually, Dolly locked the door. The only ponies left were Melody and a few of the regulars like me that were never rushed out. “Come on, Sunny, let’s go have a talk.” “Okay!” I chimed before following her into her office. Once inside, Dolly looked at me. “She’s back.” “She is! We’re going to hang out.” “Good for you. Try not to come on too strong.” I waved a hoof. “We’re just friends. She doesn’t want to be with a loose pony and that is fine by me. She’s nice and we get along. So, about this opportunity...” Dolly motioned to the chair opposite her desk. “Yes, sit down.” I sat. “I’m going to be frank: you impressed me. Not with your fizzy drinks. Those weren’t great. I mean in general. I was worried you were just going to drop out of school, flit around, and waste that brain of yours. Now, when push came to shove, you decided to take their deal and do three more classes. “You also took my deal and started washes glasses. That is the lowest job in this bar and you did it. You whined, sure, but you did the work at a high level, consistently, and figured out ways to make it more efficient. Good job.” I puffed my chest, but tried to stay professional even though I felt really proud of myself. “Thank you, Dolly! I wasn’t going to disappoint you. I recognized that glasses needed to be washed and that you were giving me an opportunity.” “You’re welcome. You’re also too smart to waste on washing glasses. Now I’m going to waste you as my new junior-apprentice sodajerk.” My head titled. “Is that even a job here?” “It is now. You’ll handle all of the non-alcoholic beverage preparation, which also means you get in on the actual tip share. Not that sad little jar you tried to hide in front of the wash station.” Part of the tip share? Now that was serious. All of the bartenders got paid their salaries, plus all tips were divided amongst them based on hours worked and job title. “That is awesome!” “You still have to do a good job. Your fizzy drinks weren’t something I’d sell yet. You’re going to need to work at it. I have a reputation to protect, after all.” “Of course! I won’t let you down.” I went to stand up but stopped when Dolly lifted a hoof. “What?” “Aren’t you forgetting something?” I looked at her in confusion. Slowly, I got up, came around her desk and hugged her tight. “Thank you!” Dolly set her hoof on her face. “Filly, I swear… Your employer just offered you a new job. Are you not going to negotiate your salary?” “Oh. You can do that?” I asked before sitting in her lap. Dolly frowned at me, but the corners of her mouth wiggled. “This is, by far, the worst negotiation I’ve ever been in. Do they not teach you any real life skills at that school?” I shook my head. “No! They want us to study all the time and advance our magic as far as we can. Most of those unicorns have familiars and helpers.” She sighed. “Okay. How many bits do you want per hour? What percentage of the tip pool do you want? How many days off?” That was a lot of questions and I had no basis to know the answers. “Uh… 30 bits per hour, 10 percent and three a week?” The older mare laughed and looped her hooves around me. “When I’m done with you, you’ll be good at this. Alright, so first of all, you currently make 5 bits an hour. You’re asking me for six times your salary. Do you really think it is that big of a promotion?” “No? So… ten bits per hours?” I asked. “How about six?” “Seven?” “Deal. Seven bits per hour. How much of the tip pool?” I was starting to get this a little. “Ten percent!” She snorted. “Junior bartenders get ten percent! You’re a junior-apprentice sodajerk.” It worked once before, so why not again. “Seven percent?” “Two.” “Five?” I asked. She sighed. “Fine, but only because you’re like my daughter. And if anything comes out uneven, I’m not splitting it in favor of you.” “Agreed!” “And you can’t have three days off a week. You can have two, but if you like, one of those can be a weekend day.” I shook my head. “No deal. There are more tips on the weekends.” Dolly smiled at that. “Well, now who is a savvy filly? Alright, get off my lap and go see your friend. Tomorrow night you start your new life as Sunny Day, junior-apprentice soda-jerk.” “Thank you Dolly!” I hugged her again. She hugged me back and then pushed me off her lap. ☼ Melody and I slowly walked through Canterlot. It was far earlier in the morning than I’d gotten up since I’d started working at the bar but, once she got up, I got up. That meant I was taking a nap for sure later on. Mostly out of necessity. “So, just so I’m clear, you’re living with them but you also have… what do you call it?” Melody glanced at me. “Adult happy fun times,” I put in with a yawn. “Adult happy fun times with both of them?” “Yup! Diddle and I go way back and we’ve always been that way. Her twin brother Dilly and I met much later. He’s really sweet and shy, but when we get together he can be pretty exciting.” Melody just shook her head. “So do you ever… you know… at the same time?” I snorted. “That was my dream. They’re not into it. I—” The scent of smoke hit my nose hard. “Hey… do you smell that? Something is burning.” “Yes. Yes I do.” The mare’s features shifted from casual to alert. She started to trot quickly up the street and I tagged along behind her. A pony came galloping our way and shouting, “Fire! Fire! Get the fire brigade!” As he went by, Melody galloped off the way he’d come. She was much faster than me even though I was in relatively good shape. I did my best to keep up with her but trailed behind. It wasn’t long before we’d reached the obvious source of the smell. A three-story house right off the road was burning. The windows had blown out and fire licked the outer walls from them. A group of ponies stood outside, just staring in shock. “I’m with the royal guard! Everypony back up! Please, for your safety, get back and make room for the fireponies,” Melody called. Then we heard it. A cry from inside. It wasn’t much but it was clear: the building wasn’t empty and nopony could live in there long. Melody lurched for the door but I caught her back hoof. “No! Wait for the fireponies!” She tugged free and shook her head. “I can’t. Stay here.” Without another word she rushed across the street, bucked the door open, and disappeared inside. My heart started beating quickly. What should I do? Should I go in after her? How could she just go in there! The sounds of a bell ringing pulled my attention. The fire brigade was coming up the street: two fire and one ambulance cart pulled by ponies along with several galloping alongside. I rushed to meet them. “There are ponies inside! My friend—a royal guard went in to save them! You have to hurry!” “Thanks! Stand clear!” the lead pony said before galloping harder. I followed behind them and tried to stay out of the way as they set up the hoses and started to do their job. It was all happening so fast. What was it, seconds? Minutes? From the front door, Melody emerged, coughing and wheezing. She had an unconscious mare across her back and two foals trapped in her magic. She stumbled into the hooves of two fireponies and then went down. “Melody!” I rushed towards her but a firepony grabbed me. “We’ve got her. Stay back and let us handle this.” “But she’s hurt! Look at her forehooves!” They were burnt. Both of them. It was horrible. I’d never seen anything like it and hoped I never would again. He stepped between me and her and said softly, “I know you’re upset, miss. We’re going to take care of her. You can’t help her right now, okay? We’re going to make sure she gets to the hospital, why don’t you follow the ambulance there? Okay?” The hospital? Of course, the hospital. She was burnt. “Okay…” I parroted numbly. I watched as they loaded Melody, the mare, and the two foals into the ambulance. None of them were moving. When it pulled off, I followed along behind, my stomach practically dropping into my hooves. ☼ I’d never been to the hospital before. Not once. Not ever. Certainly never the emergency room or even its waiting room. I didn’t like the waiting room. It was full of ponies looking nervous and upset. Ponies like me. A doctor came out from the double doors that separated us off from the medical area. Everypony looked up hopefully. She headed my way and many went back to having their heads down. “Excuse me, miss. You came in with the fire victims earlier? Are you part of the family?” My breath caught. I was tired of waiting, but what if it was bad news? “Yes, ma’am, I did. I’m not, though. I’m with the royal guard that went in after them.” My voice was practically a whisper. She nodded. “Are you family?” What did it matter? I just wanted to know how she was! “I’m… uh…” Maybe she couldn’t tell non-family what happened? “Her special somepony. With… like, as in together. Please tell me, is Melody okay?” “Well, I’m happy to say that she is going to be just fine. Her hooves and forelegs were moderately burned. She won’t be working for a while. The family is okay, too. If it wasn’t for her, I imagine they wouldn’t have made it.” Thank Celestia. “May I see her?” I asked hopefully. “You may. Just don’t touch her hooves and try to keep her stress levels low. I’ll want her to stay here for several days, too. You should get some of her things to make that easier.” “Okay, I can do that. I’ll make sure she is super comfortable. Where is she?” The doctor turned and opened the double doors for me. “Third bay on the left. We’ll move her to a room shortly. Remember, low stress.” “Yes, ma’am, thank you,” I whispered absently as I trotted past all of the bays. When I reached the third one, the curtain was drawn and I was scared to look. Did I belong here? We weren’t that good of friends, were we? Yes, yes we were. Melody didn’t know anypony in town other than her partner. If it was me behind the curtain, I’d want her to come in. So I did. Melody was laying on her back in bed, her forelegs bandaged from hoof to shoulder. She looked over at me and smiled. “Hey, Sunny…” she said, a little rasp in her voice. My heart started pounding a bit. “Hey, Melody.” Hey Melody? That was all I had to say? I went to her bedside and softly nuzzled her cheek. Tears pooled in the corners of my eyes and trailed down my cheeks. She chuckled, gasped, and then coughed. “Don’t look like that. I’m going to be fine.” “I know… I know. But you got burned. The doctor said you can’t work for a while.” “That comes with the territory. Come on, don’t look sad. I’ll be fine. You’ll be fine, too, I promise.” I nodded and set my hooves on the edge of her bed so I could nuzzle her more. “I’m so relieved you are okay. You saved that family, too. You’re a hero!” Melody shifted slightly so she could nuzzle me back. “No, I’m a royal guard. Protecting those that need us is just what we do. It is what I’ve always wanted to do.” “Well, then you’re a hero to me. The doctor said you’re going to be moved to a room. Also, I lied to her and told her I was your special somepony because I didn’t know if they’d let me see you otherwise.” The mare softly laughed and then coughed again. “Tsk, tsk Sunny. Lying to see me. I’m glad you did, though.” “Me too. Listen, she also said I could bring you things to make you comfortable. Should I go get them now or do you want me to stay? Do I need to tell somepony? I’ll do whatever you need me to do.” Melody’s head tilted in thought and she smiled. “You’re sweet. Why don’t you go now? That will give them time to move me. Tell Strong Wing. He’ll know what to do. If you don’t mind, I’d really like to have the quilt off my bed. My great-great-grandmother made it and it has always been comforting. Maybe some pictures, too.” “Okay! I’ll get them all. I promise. I’ll be right back.” “Don’t rush, Sunny. I’ll be here.” I left the hospital confused. How could she be so calm? She had almost died! Well… maybe almost died. She’d been burned! She’d just run into a fire without hesitation. My heart ached at the idea of her being hurt. Melody was too nice to be hurt. It was okay, though. She was okay. I was okay. I’d take care of her. She’d be fine.