The sun was rising on Alex’s back. After sleeping on the side of the road, he continued his journey towards High Rock. He was now close enough to his goal, that he could see the first farms start to pop up on the horizon. Some of the Earth Ponies he passed waved at him, and he was more than happy to return the gesture.
As he closed the distance on the city , he passed fields growing all sorts of produce. He walked along mighty apple trees, providing shade for the weary travellers. After he passed the orchards he walked amongst fields full of stalks of wheat, creating a rolling sea of golden color.
The giant plateau that gave High Rock it’s name was now finally close enough for Alex to realize how enormous it really was. If he looked up, it dominated most of his field of view. Which made the Palace erected upon it all the more impressive. Its width was almost the same as the plateau, and was twice again it’s height.
Now that he got a closer look, it seemed nigh impossible that simple Ponies could build something that huge without futuristic machines. Alex was squinting his eyes, scrutinizing every inch of the humongous building, looking for any clues about how it was built.
He looked for several minutes while he drew ever closer to it. Until he finally gave up. No machines were around, and he wasn’t knowledgeable enough to spot anything giving away how it was built. He sighed, and resolved to ask someone later on about it.
Focusing his view back on the road in front of him, he started to notice a steady stream of ponies walking in the same direction he was. Most of them pulled carts, that contained a variety of foodstuffs. The rest either sported saddlebags like he did, or travelled with their families. Looking around he resolved to talk to a muscular stallion pulling a cart full of potatoes.
Alex strode over to his target and realized that the stallion was almost twice as big as himself. He gulped before speaking up.
“Ummm… Good morning sir.” He said reluctantly.
The stallion turned to look at Alex, a look of surprise and wonder flashing across his face.
“G‘morning.” He responded. “What can ah do for ya?”
“I’m a traveller, and this is my first time visiting High Rock.” Alex said. “The thing is, it looks like one could easily get lost in such a huge city. Could you maybe point me in the direction of the local market, or an inn?”
Alex had been in big cities before. The difference was that he always either knew his way around, or could just ask his phone for directions if he got lost. Without a map he was bound to wander aimlessly through the city. If he had help from one of the locals, the possibility of that happening wouldn’t be as big of a concern.
“Sure thing!” The stallion replied back. “There are Markets all over the city, so you’re bound to find one sooner or later. You can just follow me if you want, ah’m on mah way to the closest one.”
“Thanks, I’ll do that if you don’t mind.” Alex said.
“Yeah sure, go ahead. As for the inn, you’re a unicorn, so you’ll have to find one for your kind. Can’t tell you where one is, never been to one before. But you’re sure to meet a fellow hornhead at the market, so best just ask one of ‘em.”
Alex furrowed his brow, unsure if he heard that last part correctly. He thanked the cart pulling stallion before he started to fall back a bit.
“Inn for unicorns?” Alex mulled the implications over in his head.
Either unicorns in this town had specialized inns tailored to their specific needs, or there was some serious racial segregation going on in this city. All of a sudden Alex felt like when he entered Harvest for the first time. The possibility of pony racism running rampant in this pre-Equestrian world was unsettlingly real. Maybe he was just lucky to avoid it up until now?
Alex followed the stallion from a safe distance for about half an hour. As they drew closer to the city proper, a sea of ponies seemed to fill the streets. Even though it somehow reminded him of the cities back on earth, nobody seemed to be in a rush. Sure, every now and again a pony could be seen darting to an unknown destination, but generally everybody took their time.
They finally reached the market proper, and Alex was stunned. It was huge, like no market Alex had ever seen in person. Although it did look somewhat similar to how an old bazaar would be set up. Countless stalls lined the circular space. Most of the stalls sold food cultivated around the city. Other wares could be seen here and there. The setup followed no rhyme or reason. If you walked in a straight line you could go from tomatoes, to metalwork, to baskets and saddlebags, then finally back to cabbages in the span of four stalls.
Alex walked around the market looking at the wares sold. He tried to get a grip on how much his thirty bits could buy him, by comparing the prices of everything he passed. Again, some stalls had their prices on display, while at others he needed to ask.
After a while he came to the conclusion that to eat three times a day, he’d need about five to ten bits, and that was cutting it close. He’d need to ration his food intake, and find a way to earn some money fast. Otherwise he might have to starve.
Alex realized that he technically couldn’t starve to death anymore. So he put the food problem on the backburner for now. While starvation wouldn’t feel that great, there were more important things he needed for now. Like shelter and some work. Sure he could just sleep outside, but in a city like this which was potentially extremely racist, he didn’t want to chance it.
After awhile he started to look around for another unicorn, like the stallion from earlier suggested. He had to wander around the market for another twenty minutes, until he finally spotted a blue horn amidst the crowd. As he approached, the owner of said appendage came into view. It was a male unicorn, his fur a deep blue with his mane a dull green. His cutie mark was a book on a pedestal.
He was currently haggling for the price of several books with an earth pony. Alex noticed that the discussion was quite heated, and decided to stand back until they were finished. After a few more minutes of shouting they agreed on a price. The Earth Pony held a smug look on his face, while the unicorn collected his books with a sour face, placing them in his saddlebags.
As he made to walk off, Alex quickly trotted up to his side.
“Hello there, fellow unicorn!” Alex said.
The angrily muttering unicorn raised his head in surprise. He looked towards the source of the new voice beside him before doing a double take.
“Oh thank god!” He exclaimed. “Another sane soul in this desolate wasteland of stupidity!”
Alex reeled back a bit at the sudden enthusiasm of the unicorn.
“Wow.” Alex said. “That’s quite the viewpoint on this town. Any reason behind that? I just arrived, and it’s my first time in High Rock.”
“And you should be glad about it. This place is absolutely terrible!” The unicorn shouted.
“Yeah sure... anyway; I heard there was a need to go to a special inn if you’re a unicorn in this town. You wouldn’t happen to know where I could find one?” Alex asked.
“Of course!” The unicorn exclaimed happily. “I’ll gladly help you out. We unicorns need to stick together after all! Names Fancy Scroll by the way.”
Fancy Scroll extended his hoof for a shake, which Alex promptly returned.
“Alexander Atlas Riptis, or Alex for short.”
“That’s a strange name.” Fancy said. “But definitely not the weirdest I’ve ever heard. The nobility back in the kingdom have the weirdest names.” Fancy laughed a bit until he seemed to sober up. “You wouldn’t happen to be from noble descent?” He asked worriedly.
“I assure you I’m not a noble of any kind.” Alex replied.
“Well, that’s a relief.” Fancy pulled his fetlock across his forehead while letting out a sigh. “But come, there’s an inn not to far from here. I’m staying there too.”
Fancy Scroll started to lead Alex through the crowd. While the blue unicorn seemed to have some trouble navigating the masses, bumping into other ponies here and there, Alex moved through the sea smoothly. The years of living in a big city had honed his people dodging skills to the point where he moved through them undisturbed.
They exited the crowd into a small alley, Fancy visibly relieved to have more space.
“So glad we’re out of there.” He said. “There are just so many of those earth ponies here, I swear they reproduce faster than rabbits!”
The more time Alex spent with Fancy Scroll, the more convinced he got that there was a serious racism problem going on in this world. Thinking about it made him worry about what the inn for unicorns might be like. Depending on how bad the situation was, the inn could possibly be a run down shit hole.
Alex remained silent as he continued to follow after Fancy, who lead him through a series of turns between buildings. He tried to remember the way they took, but doubted it as the labyrinth continued. Everything was beginning to look identical to him.
After a while they reached a small building, squeezed between two of its doppelgangers. A small wooden plate hung from a metal bar over the entrance.
“Welcome to the Strong Horn!” Fancy exclaimed. “One of the few decent unicorn inns in this blasted city.”
Fancy opened the door with his magic, the knob taking on a blue glow. He entered and held the door open for Alex. Looking at the exterior of the inn and the apparent state it was in, Alex seriously doubted Fancy’s statement. Either that, or the other inns were way worse than this.
He entered and took a look around. While the interior looked simple, it didn’t look as run down as the outside suggested. To their left, a staircase led to the upper floor. A few chairs were placed along the walls for ponies to sit on. Directly in front of them was the reception area, which consisted of a single desk, a key wall hung behind it. A bright green unicorn mare with a turquoise mane sat on a chair looking quite bored. Next to her was an open door, a small wooden plaque next to it identifying the room beyond as the dining hall.
They approached the mare at the desk, catching her attention.
“Hey there Crystal.” Fancy said jovially.
“Hey Fancy.” She responded. “Any luck at the market?”
Fancy Scrolls shook his head dramatically. “Those brutes are as unpleasant as ever! I found some nice books at least.” He said while tapping his saddlebags. “Although at a much higher price than what they’re worth… You know how it is.” He added with an exasperated sigh.
“Anyway. I found this rather dashing gentlecolt at the market.” Fancy said as he gestured towards Alex. “It’s his first time in the city and he’s looking for a place to stay, so I brought him here!”
Crystal gave Alex a once over, as if noticing his presence for the first time. Her eyes seemed stuck on his blank flank for a few seconds before she looked him in the eyes.
“Ten bits a night, fifteen if you want to eat.” She said.
Alex immediately did the math. He had three days, assuming he wouldn’t buy anything to eat. Three days to make some money, and look for a way to the Crystal Kingdom.
“I’ll stay for three nights, please.” Alex said after mulling it over.
Crystal’s horn lit up, and a key labeled with the number nine floated to the desk.
“Money up front.”
Alex opened his right saddlebag, before he fished out the bag of bits Vibrant gave him. His actions got him a few odd looks from the other unicorns, but none of them commented on it. He pulled the string holding the bag closed with his mouth, creating an opening, and proceeded to dump the currency all over Crystals desk.
“Woah, what are you doing?” She asked while looking at him like he was crazy.
“Aren’t you going to count them?” Alex asked in return, one eyebrow raised.
“Well, yes.” Crystal answered a bit puzzled. “But you could have just given me the bag you know?”
“Awww hell no! That bag was a gift of a friend, and I’m not just going to give it to you!” Alex said threateningly.
“I would have given you back the bag! Where did they teach you that this was acceptable to do?”
Alex narrowed his eyes. “Yes.” He said deliberate and slowly.
Crystal looked like she was about to blow a fuse, while Fancy was off to the side trying to contain his sides.
After a little staredown between Crystal and Alex, she gave up. She floated the key over to Alex, who took it in his mouth.
“Third floor, there’s a large number nine on the door. Can’t miss it.” She said.
Alex and Fancy moved over to the stairs before they ascended to the first floor. As they went up, Alex could’ve sworn he heard Crystal mutter something about not being payed enough for this. Fancy split off on the second floor, entering his room to deposit his newly acquired books. Which left Alex alone to explore his new lodgings.
He arrived at the third floor, which was at the same time the top floor. The room furthest away from the stairs was decorated with a large red nine, just as Crystal had said. After some trouble, Alex managed to unlock it before he stepped inside.
The room was small. It was barely large enough to contain a bed and chest for personal belongings. A window was on the far side of the room, showing nothing more than another alley and the building across. A chamber pot rested under the bed, which Alex was just absolutely thrilled to see… not.
He threw off his saddlebags, and locked the door behind him. After the last few days events he was just glad to finally be in the proximity of an actual bed again. Now that he was safe, sleep threatened to overcome him at any moment. He flopped his body on the bed, and was asleep shortly after.