//------------------------------// // 194 - Bats in the Belfry // Story: Putting on a Silver Robe and Wizard Hat // by David Silver //------------------------------// Samantha walked alongside Midnight, humming softly to herself. Just to the left of her head floated a notepad where words were scribbled as she went, taking note of everything from the temperature to how many ponies wandered past and other information beside. She had no idea what would be relevant later, so she played it safe and recorded everything. "So…" Midnight was looking at her as they approached a building. "This is a lunar pegasus hangout. You'd better not use any slurs if you want to avoid a bad time." Samantha tilted her head. "What is considered a slur?" He looked baffled a moment and glanced around with increasing nervousness. "Don't call anyone a bat, to start with. We don't like that." "Alright, no references to chiroptera, check." She flashed an eager smile as she wrote down the vital information. Midnight sighed as he pushed open the door into the Belfry, allowing Samantha to go in first. The couple were immediately greeted by a smiling, older, caramel colored mare, “Midnight Bell, as I live and breathe, I haven’t seen you in here in ages. And with a new friend? Sweet Tooth will be gossiping all week!” He blushed a dark red through his fur. Without his armor to shield him, he felt a lot more vulnerable, and being pressed on things… "H-hi!" He swallowed heavily. "We're just, um, Princess' orders, you know?" Samantha peered at the mare curiously. "Good day. I'm Samantha." She gestured at herself. "You are?" “Candy Apple, miss,” the mare smiled warmly, “My husband and I run this old place, with the help of our daughter, Sweet Tooth and our foster son William. You’ll probably meet Sweet before the night is over. She loves to meet new ponies.” Samantha's notebook flipped wildly as she looked up a note. Ah, there it was. "A pleasure to meet you and your family. I hope to have a good time tonight." Yes, she did write that, and she just read it aloud to the helpful mare. Her antics only made Midnight more anxious. "Can we have… a booth? You know, privately?" He was hoping to hide, but the implications… “Privacy hmmm, Midnight?” A burgundy young lunar pegasus mare sidled up deep inside his personal space, “Does this mean I can finally tell Billy he doesn’t have to get jealous anymore?” Midnight stammered helplessly a moment, going red at the eartips. While this was going on, a cloaked figure snuck in behind the group, taking advantage of their distraction to quietly perch at an untaken table as if they had always been there. “Good evening miss.” A deep blue lunar pegasus stallion walked up to the cloaked figure's table. “The Blind Goat only performs on Saturdays. Not that you aren’t more than welcome, that’s just when we get most of the goth ponies. Can I get you anything?” "Oh, um," stated the cloaked figure smoothly while looking pointedly away from Midnight and Samantha. "Just a cider please, thank you." She kept her clothes tight and drawn so few of her features could be seen other than the end of a blue snout when she spoke. “You know, Midnight,” Sweet Tooth chided the stallion, “If you’re gonna bring a date, you should at least bring her on a show night. Have you ever seen the Blind Goat perform miss?” Samantha blinks softly. "A blind goat performs? I hope they're careful…" She made a few notes. "I should imagine visual impairment could lead to extreme hazards." Midnight sighed softly at his 'date'. "She didn't need to--" "I'd like to see this goat." Hoof to face, Midnight grumbled softly. “Well, I can arrange a private reading, if your colt-friend has the bits. Since you’re with Midnight, we’ll even give you a discount,” Sweet Tooth smiled broadly. Midnight looked ready to launch every tactic to dissuade Samantha, but the unicorn was already drawing out a small pouch. "It wouldn't be fair to demand he pay for my request. How much is it?" She started counting out bits. “I can get you downstairs for fifty, but don’t tell my dad,” the lunar mare glanced around to make sure said dad wasn’t in earshot, “And I think it’ll be okay to let you both go in together. Normally that’s a big no-no, but Billy knows Midnight so it should be okay. There’s a few rules you’ll have to follow, though.” The bits were surrendered easily. "Is it customary to remain with one's date? I suppose it is." She tilted her head at Midnight. "Then we should go together." "That's not necessary…" The cloaked figure pressed dangerously hard on the table she was seated at. “Seriously?” Sweet Tooth leveled a glare at Midnight, “You’re gonna just send her down there to face one of Billy’s readings by herself?” Samantha grew more curious. "Is it dangerous?" Her quill sped up as she found more notes to take. The fact that it could be dangerous didn't seem to diminish her desire any. Midnight heaved a slow sigh. "Alright, let's go. We'll see the goat together…" “Alright, just follow me,” Sweet Tooth grinned toothily, “And it’s only dangerous depending on what you want… and maybe what you’re willing to pay. The important thing is that you follow the rules. Billy keeps the rules there for a reason. And the first one is don’t call him Billy. He lets me get away with that. My folks and a few family friends call him William, but you should call him Tarot. Or Tarotius, if you want to be formal. Or Mr. Solitaire if he doesn’t like you, but you’ll probably be okay with Tarot.” Samantha mouthed the words as the wrote them down in a nice bullet-pointed list. "Mister Tarot then." A mix of formal and informal. Samantha smiled brightly. "What is it he's reading?" Midnight stayed close to Samantha, not that he was scared or anything, huff! He could handle a… creepy goat in a basement, yeah, hardly scary, huff… “Okay the next rule is do not touch Billy’s cards unless he tells you to, and then ONLY the way he tells you to,” the mare explained as she led the couple down the back hallway towards the stairs, “That’s a really big one. Seriously, don’t break that rule.” "Don't… touch… cards…" She wrote busily as she walked, but also took notes on the hallway they were going down, and the closeness of her date. Was she winning at dating? She hoped he remembered she was unavailable for intimacies. “Okay, down these stairs, knock three times on the door on the right,” Sweet Tooth stood expectantly at the top of the stairs, “He’s expecting you.” Midnight led his 'date' down the stairs. "If you wanted to back out, I, uh, wouldn't blame you. The goat's readings are pretty scary and usually only done if you really need them." "I won't be scared." She jotted a note busily. "He can't be worse than Celestia." Celestia? She used Celestia as the benchmark of scary? He blinked softly, then raised a trembling hoof to knock thrice. The door swung open to reveal a lean grey goat, with fur the color of dirty cream and eyes the color of dead salmon, “Ah Midnight Bell. And a guest. Madness gazes into the abyss as it returns the gaze, but who will learn the most I wonder?” Samantha looked mildly confused a moment at the odd greeting, though her quill danced in its recording dance. "Good day, Mister Tarot. I'm told you will be reading this evening?" Would it be a good book? She hoped so. Midnight let out a little sigh and forced a smile. "Hey, uh… yeah…" “Please come in and be seated,” the goat gestured, pulling a bottle of bitter ale from the ice bucket next to his own place, “A human makes a sacrifice of love, curiosity passes from one generation to the next, and here you are miss. Ponies only come to me when they want something. What is it that you want?” "Can I ask for anything?" Samantha settled across from the goat with building curiosity. "Well then, alright. I want to understand the complex social interactions of ponies so I don't accidentally offend them when I'm trying to do the right thing." She tilted her head. "I'm aware of the golden rule now, and I think that's a huge help, but there's still so much more to learn." Midnight settled beside Samantha, glancing around nervously. "She's a little, uh, crazy. Don't take what she says too personally, alright?" Samantha scowled at that. "I am not crazy! I perform and react with what I learn, through education and observation." She made a slash across her notepad. "As any rational being would." The goat completely ignored the back and forth between the two and casually drew a single card laying it face down on the table. The card’s backing revealed a blue sky with a black border. The sun set behind a tome of forbidden knowledge. “I only draw the cards. And I read them,” the goat intoned gravely, “Only you can chose to turn the card, and a price will be levied and it must be paid. I will warn you, do not touch any of my cards with unicorn magic.” Though unseen to most, Samantha's horn sputtered and died a little as she was cautioned not to touch the cards with the very magic she had already been reaching with. "I already paid upstairs. You can ask if you require." She reached right for the card and made to pull it closer, looking at the side presented to her as if that were the main feature. "Interesting… What does it mean?" “The price you paid my family was only my price,” the goat explained patiently, “The cards levy their own toll to bestow their knowledge. The meaning of each card is on its face. Like a pony, you cannot know it by looking only at its backside.” She tilted her head. "There's a lot you can tell by a backside." She lifted the card and examined it carefully, her mouth moving with unspoken calculations before she finally set it down with its other side facing her. The picture revealed a spiteful old mare, with eyes glittering with hatred and disapproval. In the background a large eye floated pierced by a sword. Thorns formed the borders of the card and the old mare seemed to glare directly into Samantha’s eyes. “The Closed Eye of Suffering,” the goat named the card tonelessly. While Midnight shivered at the displayed card, Samantha only leaned in to better look at it. "What does it mean?" Its obvious meaning was… Samantha frowned. It certainly couldn't be that. “Each card means many things,” the goat nodded, “Violence, it was an act of violence that brought you here, but the act that set you on this path was not one by your hoof. You seek wisdom and find solace in the love of a family that is here and now. But the root of the tree you seek lies buried in the past of a family that will never be again.” Samantha tilted her head left, then right. "That all seems accurate enough. My mother's certainly not giving any answers." She stuck out her tongue faintly. "That was a poor decision on her part." One that made Samantha, but she managed to not put the two together quite as fluidly. "Well, it should be considered with the backside." Flip. She turned it right over again. Midnight tensed. "Are you allowed to do that?" “You look back,” the goat nodded, “That is where you will find your answers. No teacher, no matter how regal they may be, can help you if they only look at the here and now. That is your answer. You must go back to the place you became broken. The price will be what you find there. It has been a true pleasure meeting you miss Samantha. Innocent curiosity is a mighty ally. I hope it will see you through the trials ahead.” Samantha peered at the backside of the card, apparently convinced it held some meaning that would be ignored by others. A blue sky, a tome… Ah! "I should bring wisdom with me." "What?" Midnight swiveled an ear with her. "Wisdom." She nodded firmly. "I will take my herd partners with me." "They aren't your herd anymore." Midnight frowned a little. "Mad ponies don't belong to herds." “Always so judgemental, Do I have to turn another card, Midnight?” the goat glared with eyes that never properly focussed, “Most learn their lesson the first time.” Midnight waved a hoof frantically. "No no! One is quite enough." He let out a laugh full of terror and false bravado as he pushed to his hooves. "Let's go…" Samantha rose to her own hooves before politeness was remembered and she dipped her head at the goat. "Thank you for your reading, Mister Tarot." She tilted her head at the card. "Do I keep that?" “I would advise against it,” the goat returned the card swiftly to its pouch, “The last filly to steal one of my cards very nearly broke the world with it.” The goat quickly put away the pouch and the cards they contained and returned his attention to the bottle in front of him as if the couple were not there at all. With more notes taken faithfully, Samantha turned to the door. "We shouldn't break it. We haven't even figured out how half of it works yet." Midnight seemed all too happy to retreat alongside Samantha, guiding her towards the proper tavern. Upstairs, the cloaked figure nursed her drink while eyeing the direction Midnight and Samantha had gone, waiting impatiently. “My son said to give you this.” The tavern keeper set a simple note beside the stranger's cider mug. Your Majesty, It was my mother’s greatest pride that she was given the opportunity to perform a reading for your sister’s student. It is my greatest honor that you allowed me to perform a reading for your own student. Loyally, Tarotius William Solitaire