As I stared into my mug, filled with a dark yet see through liquid, steam rose into my face, heating me up. I pretty much had my snout stuck in it, I liked feeling warm. I used to do this when I was younger, just stare into my tea for a while, absorbing the heat. Mmm. Good times.
"You gonna drink that, or just keep staring into your cup there, Scarlett?" I heard a familiar voice say, pulling me back down to reality, away from the nice, warm and carefree place that is my imagination.
"Huh? Oh... Sorry, I just like doing this. I've been doing it since I was a foal." I said, looking up to where the voice came from, the source being my uncle Silver, who was walking towards the couch that I was sitting on.
He chuckled, before jumping on the couch beside me. "Old habits die hard, huh?" I nodded at him, he then looked past me, to the chair beside the couch. "So, Scarlett. I don't think you've met my good old buddy here, Doctor Stirling. Well, you might've, but I'd doubt you remember him, even if you did, you probably wouldn't recognise him. Cause, y'know." he said, pointing his hoof in the direction of the nearby chair.
When I turned to face the chair, I realised I'd forgotten that there was a pony- Err, rather ling, there. I see what Silver means. The stallion, well I'm not sure what a male changeling's called, so I'll just call him a stallion. But, the stallion that sat in the chair, was black, the same black as my mane, with holes in his hooves. He was a fancy looking ling, with a shirt and tie on, covered mostly with a woollen jumper, he sure looked very doctor like. He had that bedside manner. He also had a neatly styled brown mane, looked silky, kinda like Mommy's, of course with lots of holes, and finally brown eyes.
"Why hello, Scarlett. I don't believe this is our first time meeting. I met you when you were much younger, but I suppose this is our first time meeting formally." he said, gesturing me with his hoof. I took his hoof and shook it, still holding my mug with my wing.
"Nice to meet you, Doctor."
"Please, call me Jim."
"Oh, well nice to meet you, Jim." Changelings have odd names, including Mommy, I think her real name was Mary-Ling.
"Yup, Jimmy here has been a family friend for a long time." Silver said, smiling happily.
"Yeah, I knew your mother, Scarlett. She was a good ling. Real shame she's no longer with us." he said, looking down slightly, sorrow etched on face. "Nicest blue blood I've ever met."
"Mmm..." Silver bit his lip. "Anyway! Doc! How's things in the hive? How's old Chrissy doin'?"
"Oh! The Queen! She's good, after the discovery of liquidised love, things have really been looking up, y'know? No more secretly leeching off other races anymore. If all goes well, we might one day build the empire once envisioned by our ancestors!" he said, a gentle smile on his face, the kind of smile you wear when thinking of a really sweet dream you had. Can't say my last dream would make me smile like that.
"That's a heck of a lofty goal, Doc, but, I believe in you. A lot of ponies don't particularly like changelings, and as you said, think of 'em as leeches, but I always kinda liked 'em! Especially with Scarlett around!" he said, beaming a bright smile, while ruffling my mane. I took my snout out of my mug, to look up and smile back at him.
"Well, he seems like a good kid. What's in the ling comes out the lang, I suppose." he said, giving me a similar friendly smile to the one Silver gave me.
"Aw, well thanks, Jim." I said to him, returning his smile, my cheeks turning almost the same colour as my coat.
So, while Silver and Jim talked, I zoned out, retreating back into my little warm world, only coming back to reality to take a sip of my tea. Before I knew it, when I tried to take another sip, all I got was a slurping noise and a few droplets of cold tea.
"Oh! Scarlett! I nearly forgot you were there!" Silver said, after being pulled out of his engrossing conversation. I wonder if it was as engrossing as my tea. "Right! It's time for bed! Again! It's way past your bedtime! Probably. Doc, do you happen to know what time it is?"
Jim looked over to the side of seat, floating a fancy pocket watch, kinda similar to Daddy's, out of his bag, flipping it open.
"Uhhh, it's... 4:24." he said, popping his watch back in the bag, seemingly unfazed by the time.
Silver didn't say anything for a few moments, he just sat still with this look on face, it was one of those uh oh faces. Like when you get caught with your hoof in cookie jar. Pretty sure that happened to me once... Never again. (And Daddy made a really bad joke about being caught red hooved.)
"Scarlett. Bed. Now. Silver. Bed also." Silver said, his face still frozen with that expression on it.
"I suppose I'd best be off then. Sorry for keeping up so later, Silver. And you too, Scarlett. Have you got school tomorrow?"
"Huh?" I tilted my head sideways, and gave him a confused look. "No. I don't. I haven't actually ever gone to school."
"Oh? Really? Don't you ponies start school at around four or five?"
"I think, I was going to start school the same year that, when it... Uhh... It all kinda fell apart."
"Ah. Sorry about that then. I just thought a colt of your age would be back in school ASAP."
Just as Jim finished, Silver finally got over the time. "Oh yeah! School! I was planning to send Scarlett to the local schoolhouse in a few days. Give him a few days to settle in here, y'know?"
"Mmm. Fair enough." Jim got up, and grabbing his back, he made his way towards the front door. Myself and Silver followed him to the door to see him off. "Well, it was nice seeing you, Silver! And nice to meet you, Scarlett!" he said, opening the door.
"Good to have you over, Doc! It was long overdue!" Silver beamed.
"Nice to meet you too, Jim." I said, giving him a little smile.
And with a little salute, he was gone. Off into the darkness of the night.
Silver turned to me, and jammed his face close to mine, his eyes staring into mine. His snout squished mine a little.
"Scarlett. We are never doing this again."
"Aww, but I liked Jim though. He was nice."
He pulled back, "No, not that. Jim is great, it's the staying up till four thing. I wanna be a good parent-y guardian type pony! And to do that I can't let you be staying up into all hours of the night! Not matter how sad it may make Luna!"
"Well, so far you seem like a good guardian, Silver!" I say, trying to comfort him.
"That's kind of you, Scarlett, but regardless of what you think of me, I gotta earn the title of good guardian!" he said, showing a little bit of his prideful side. I guess it's good to have a bit of pride.
"Well, Silver. As with the bed, I have faith in you."
"Awww, thanks, little buddy. But now. Bed!"
I nod, starting to climb up the stairs. "Goodnight."
"Night, Scarlett."
When I woke, I knew it was early. Not as early as breakfast back in Canterlot, but still really early. I could tell from the fresh sunlight pouring through my window, and the loud tweeting of robins and spring birds.
As I shuffled to the stairs, I heard a loud snoring sound coming from the door nearest to the stairs. Being the sorta curious colt I am, I peaked inside to see Silver strewn across the floor, like I was not too long ago. Seems Silver doesn't have a bed either then. Times really are tough.
After that, I made my way downstairs, and I slid into the kitchen. It was still pretty barren looking, even though we'd filled a few cupboards the previous evening. Using my wings and a nearby chair, I jumped onto the counter, soon finding a bowl and a box of sugary looking cereal. Eh. It'll do.
Jumping back down again, I put on the tea and chucked the cereal box and bowl on the nearby table. Soon after, I joined them, with a nice hot cup of black tea in wing. As I sat down, I noticed there was a newspaper across the table. Some ponies say no news is good news, while that can be true, bad news is better than boredom. I grabbed it, huh, it was a new copy of The Daily Trotter. The headline read; "Colt Released After Investigation Turns Up New Evidence." Ah. So now the media's getting involved.
The centrepiece of one of the most controversial cases in Equestrian history, Scarlett Skies was released yesterday from the Canterlot State Institute for the Mentally Ill. Mr. Skies, a young colt of only twelve, spent the majority of his life locked up, and in light of recent events, probably for a crime he didn't commit. The controversial case started eight years ago, when his parents were murdered at the hooves of the infamous, Monotone Melody,
Just thinking of him made me shudder. What made it worse, was that there was old mugshot of him at the side of the page, looking exactly as I remembered him, those orange eyes glaring at me.
Melody of course being a legendary coltnapper, and the single most prolific serial murderer in Equestria's history. Of course, Scarlett's parents were not the first to fall at the hooves of 'The Mute Monster', but thankfully they were the last, as Melody was later found dead, believed to be the work of a pony who'd come to be later known as 'The Crimson Colt'. Originally believed to be Scarlett Skies for a time (And he was hence nicknamed 'The Scarlett Slayer'), the Colt creased all activity after Scarlett's arrest, but not too long ago, reports have come in of another pony at work who fits the Colt's M.O. Which was the main driving force in the release of Scarlett Skies.
It went on further, but I'd read enough. Tossing the paper aside, I dug into my cereal, sipping my tea as I went along. After a while, I heard some hoofsteps moving around upstairs, and soon after, I saw Silver pretty much sliding down the stairs on his stomach. Wish I'd thought of that. Actually, no. Probably wouldn't have been a good idea after yesterday's flight.
"Oh, hey Scarlett..." Silver grumbled, while dragged his hooves just like I did, but he had way bigger bags around his eyes, and I wasn't glued to the floor.
"Want some tea?" I ask, taking a lengthy sip of my own.
" No thanks, a cuppa joe for me." He said, followed by some indistinct mumbling.
"Fair enough then. You look like you need it." I answered, while taking the last spoonful of my cereal and heading over to the tea pot once more. I then went about making his coffee, making sure to make it extra strong for him.
Silver, who had dragged himself over to the table, plopped his head on the table, face down, grumbling all the while.
"You alright there, Silver?" I asked, glancing over my shoulder. "Did you not sleep well?"
"What time is it now?" he grumbled, sounding slightly muffled, and a little nasal, due to his snout being squashed on the table.
"Uhhhh, lemme check." While the coffee stewed, I thought I'd give flight a try for the first time in forever. With that thought in mind, I ran to, and bounced off the table, throwing my wings open, flying up the stairs to my room, to grab Daddy's pocket watch, which lay in my saddle bag, beside my 'bed'.
When I came back down, Silver was glaring at me, with a huge deadpan. Also his face was covered in milk, and my cereal had been spilt across the table and floor.
"Hey, Scarlett. You mind, y'know, not bouncing off the table, scaring the buck outta me, and sending you cereal everywhere? Or is that a little too much to ask?" he asked, sounding really annoyed, and sarcasm dripping from his tone. Just like the milk from his brow.
I held my hoof up to my face, trying to stifle a giggle at the silly scene. "Oh, uhh. Well, sorr-" A hearty laugh escaped me. Ooh. The face he's pulling. I've never been given a death glare before. Yikes!
Silver stared at me for a few more moments, before licking a piece of cereal off his snout. "Not gonna lie, that's good stuff. Which peev- Irks me more. Cause now I want some! And it's all over the floor..." he said, his death glare deadpan combo changing to a pouty face.
Barely stifling another giggle, and a grin, I asked him, "Well, we can buy more at the market!"
His pouty look then changed to a suspicious look and a cocked brow. "We'd better! That's good stuff."
I smiled at him, before heading back over to the tea pot to finish making Silver his coffee, while also grabbing a rag to clean up that mess. "Uh, also, it's 9:35."
"Great."
After getting his coffee, Silver came around again, and was back to his usual self. It was weird seeing him tired, he seemed a bit more... Foalish? Yeah, I suppose.
Silver, who was sitting at the now clean table, suddenly threw his head back, downing all the coffee in the mug, before casually rubbing a few driblets off his mouth.
"Ah, that was some good joe! Thanks, Scarlett! I needed that!" he said, stretching out his hooves and letting out a yawn.
I glanced over to him from the couch, on which I was strewn across. "That... was scarily impressive. How did you down that much coffee?"
"Runs in the family, kiddo! Grandpa Moon, in his hayday, could down waaaaaaay more than that! Cause, y'know, we're Baylic!" he said, with a chuckle.
"I thought that was just a stereotype, about Bayland ponies drinking lots. Is it true?"
"Course not! I mean, some do. Like in all places, but yeah. Not every Baylic pony could drink six Equestrians under the table, I mean, Grandpa Moon probably could, but still."
"Ah. Hey, Silver. You ever been there? To the Baylands?"
"Yeah, I went there last year. Mmm. Nice place, mostly country land, but they're are some cities, like in the capital, I hear there's a huge city. Pretty much the whole county is a city."
"I'd like go there one day. All the open fields and pretty views, sounds just what I imagined the outside world being like."
"Oh yeah. If that's what you're looking for, the Baylands is the place for you! I went to Dun-neigh-gal, mmm. Nice views, nice ponies and nice place!"
"Sounds great!" I said, smiling at the thought of such a place.
"Hmmm..." Silver rubbed his hoof against chin in thought. "I should get a holiday home there. We could stay there, and it'd be great! And you'd fit right in Scarlett! With your accent!"
"Wait." I said, tilting my head to the side, a look of confusion on my face. "I have an accent?"
"Oh yeah! Way more than me anyway. All the Baylic ponies think I'm Amareican, and call me a 'yank'. I wasn't born in the Baylands like your dad or Grandpa Moon, so I kinda had one, but then kinda lost it." he said, pulling a slightly pouty face, before getting up and dropping his empty cup in the sink.
I just lay on the couch, still surprised I had an accent. All this time, and I didn't know! You'd think somepony would've noticed and said something, but strangely not. I guess I didn't really talk much when I was locked up in Canterlot, so maybe nopony there noticed. And Daddy had one too, so he wouldn't have noticed. Mmm, but still. Hard to believe I didn't know.
Silver, turning away from the sink looked at me, while heading to the seat Jim sat in the night before. "You didn't know?" he asked, pulling the same face I pulled not too long ago.
"Nope."
"Darn! Twelve years alive, and you never knew! Now THAT! Is an impressive feat, never mind me and my coffee drinking habits."
"Well, it's just not something anypony ever mentioned to me."
"Still! Can't believe that! You didn't know!" he said, chuckling slightly, a smile as always across his face.
"Well, uh yeah. That's how it went." I said, awkwardly scratching the back of my neck.
After a little bit more chuckling, he clasped his hooves together in thought and stared at them for a moment.
"Whatcha thinking on, Silver?" I asked curiously.
He looked up, facing me, a slightly down look on his face. "I need to get a job." he said flatly. "And naturally I can't leave you alone all day, so I'll need a foalsitter till you start school."
"Ah. Are foalsitters expensive?"
"Eh." he said, twisting his hoof side to side. "They can be. Plus, as you know personally, we're not rich. Yet." He turned downwards towards his hooves again.
"Yet?" I said, realising I knew nothing about my uncle. In fact, I thought he had a job, but I guess not.
"Well. There's always your inheritance." he said, his eyes sliding up to meet mine, they seemed to be sparkling with hope.
I don't even know if it exists anymore. With my luck, somepony probably spent it binge drinking. "Well, I hope so. You know what the City Watch in Canterlot is like."
He gave a dark chuckle, "Yeah. When I lived in Canterlot, there was a saying I heard tossed about a lot. 'Be careful of the Watch, for they respect no laws.' Sadly, it's become more accurate since I first heard it."
Yup, that sounds like the Watch I know, and, generally dislike. "I mean, I guess not everypony in the Watch is bad, but it's the overwhelming majority of them that are." I sighed sadly.
"To be fair, they do keep peace, and I guess that's the only reason the princess keeps paying them. Pity the police force wasn't as effective, corruption rates are way lower, since everypony with impure goals chases a cushy Watch job. Oh well!" he said, trying to lift the mood a little. "Least we don't have to deal with them out here! Just the PPD. They're alright I guess."
"That's one good reason to come here, for sure."
"But anyway, I don't think an inheritance as big as your own, could be stolen under the Watch Captain's snout, he'd either want too large a cut, or maybe he's trying to turn things around and would crack down on it."
"I suppose." I say, still somewhat unconvinced, because I just really don't have faith in the goodness of ponykind, at least when it comes to those ponies.
"C'mon! Let's go then!" Silver said happily, as he jumped out of his chair. "Let's inquire! Plus I need a job!" he continued, pretty much bouncing to the door.
"Well, alright then!" I said, somewhat surprised, but I followed him anyway.
I placed my head on my desk tiredly, my mane flattening against it. I need a vacation. The room that contained me and my desk was a dark and smelly basement, actually that reminds me. I should get off my flank and clean this place up, that thought reminding me to clean my desk. Even though I couldn't see what was on my desk, I knew what was there. A black muzzle, a pair of old flight googles, a hat, a bunch of scribbly notes and a quill. Maybe if I stop thinking of my desk, I'll actually get something done, that sound like a plan, Me?
Anyway, now that smell's really getting to me. Maybe I'll ask S-
"You thinking again?" The young, squeaky voice of a filly asked. Well, speak of the devil.
"Uh huh." I muttered, moving my head slightly.
I heard the sound of a horn casting a spell, and a light green light was cast behind me. I didn't look back, I didn't need to, I already knew what she looked like. "Not going well?"
"Nuh uh. Well, I just thought you should know, that colt arrived. Scarlett, was it?"
"I know."
"Wha- Really? How?" I heard her squeak in confusion. Ahh, love that kid. Not in a weird way though, even though I'm a fully grown mare in a dark basement with a foal.
"I was there." I said flatly.
"Ohhhhh. Well, somepony's been busy! I thought you were taking time off?"
"Well, I was, but then Scarlett just showed up! The Daily Trotter just ran a story on his release this morning, while he's already here."
"How'd you find out?"
"Dumb luck, really. Seen him and that Cloud fellow get off the train. Funnily enough, I was thinking of how we'd get him here, or how'd we'd have to track him down, but nope! Thanks to Lady Luck, we don't need to."
"Thank goodness for that. I don't think Miss Cheerlie would be happy if I took anymore days off!"
"Mmmm, plus I'm feeling lazy. Working overtime is tough!"
"You think that's bad? You should see some of the homework I get!" Sometimes I can forget she's just a filly, especially considering the stuff we do, but it's good to have her around. Keeps my morale up. That foalish spark can do wonders for my mood.
I laughed softly at her statement and then pulled my head off the desk. "Yeah, I'm sure it's way tougher!" I said, with a sardonic smile crossing my face.
"Oh it is! Waaaaait, are you being sarcastic?"
"Oh yeah."
"Oh, well, if you don't believe me just look!" she squeaked angrily, and a sixth grade math paper was floated in front of me.
"Well, looks kinda tough, if not at least time consuming. But it's nowhere near as physically tiring as what I've been up. Running all over Canterlot, doing what felt like odd jobs."
"Still a pain in my flank..." she mumbled, sounding irritated.
Looking at my desk, which now had a faint green glow over it, I grabbed everything except the notes and pen. "Alright. Let's go!"
"Huh!? Where?"
"I don't know, but I intend to find out!" I said, getting up of my chair.
Spinning round, I had held my hoof out, which just as I intended, gave the tiny little unicorn a smack on the horn, literally knocking the lights of her, but not knocking her over or anything. I like her too much for that.
"Hey! That hurt..." she said all annoyed like.
I begz n trotting to the other side of the room. "Well, too bad! You were knocking my concentration off!"
After making some annoyed and grumpy sounds, the filly stormed behind me, just not so dramatically. On the trip to the door, a plan started to form in my head.