From Dust 'till Dawn
"Stormageddon! I thought you were going to be in the Royal Guard in Canterlot. What are you doing here?" Princess Twilight Sparkle asked me.
"Guarding stuff. Duh," I said.
"I'm serious!" she said.
"Hey, so am I," I said, walking around behind her desk in the library. "Hey, do you still have that tin of mixed nuts you keep in here?" I pulled open the second drawer. "Never mind, found them!" Twilight always kept a stash of snacks in her desk for when she spent long hours in the library past meal times. Such as when I was still living in Ponyville, as Pineapple. I would become a unicorn version of Pineapple when I visited Twilight. Since she was the only unicorn, well alicorn, who knew who I was, Twilight would personally train me to use magic.
"Hey, get out of there!" Twilight said, her magic taking the can from my hooves. "My brother and I went through a lot of trouble to give you a fresh start in Canterlot. I knew you wanted more 'adventure' in your life. And this is how you thank me? Showing up back in Ponyville like this?"
"Thanks. I missed you too," I said. "Besides, you should be proud of me. Not just anypony gets an assignment like this. I'm clearly doing something right."
"You've barely been in the Guard for two months," she said. She turned the paper over in her hooves, re-reading the assignment order. "This is Princess Luna's seal."
"Oh?" I feigned.
"Why would Princess Luna send you here? Why would she send Storm Cloud here?" she asked.
"She clearly recognized my hard work and dedication in the Guard and sought to rightly reward me."
"Oh? And would that be for..." she trotted over to her filing cabinet, pulling out a thick folder, "...for insubordination? Multiple counts of tardiness? Intoxication on duty? Gross negligence? It's been less than two months!"
"And clearly I've been very busy." She glared at me. I sighed in resignation. "Also I think she hijacked one of my dreams." Twilight sighed and slumped into her desk's chair.
"So Luna knows."
"Yeah."
"So why did she send you here?" she asked.
"I don't know," I lied.
"Fine," Twilight huffed in defeat. "She always was the secretive one. Whatever it is that she's up to with you will become clear soon enough. But since you're here, you might as well fulfill your role. Come on." She returned the can of nuts to her desk and led me out of the library. We headed down the hallway towards where Pound Cake and Starlight Glimmer were speaking.
"...eeping an eye on the place whenever we go out for friendship missions," Starlight finished as we neared. They were standing just outside the Guard quarters. It was a simple suite with two bedrooms and a shared bathroom. A far cry better than the barracks in Canterlot.
"Starlight, why don't we get these guys up to speed in the archives so they can pick up where the others left off?" Twilight said.
"Sure. This way." We followed Starlight downstairs. In my many times visiting Twilight's castle, I had never been in the archives. I had figured that all of her books and scrolls were all together in the library. I mean, that made sense to me. When we arrived, I saw the mistake in my thinking. The archive was nearly as big as the entire library itself.
"This castle seemed a lot smaller from the outside," I said.
"We get that a lot," Starlight said.
"Okay," Twilight began, "you two can pick up where they left off, organizing the archive by genre, then author, then by title."
"But shouldn't we be... guarding? You?" Pound asked. Twilight smirked.
"Well, yes. But if you would remember, your charge is to protect and serve. You can best serve me by doing this." She motioned to the room of books and scrolls. "As much as I would love to organize this myself-"
"And she would!" Starlight said.
"As much as I would, I would be better serving the citizens of Equestria in my role as princess, elsewhere. Therefore, unfortunately, it is a task that I leave to you."
"You can count on us!" Pound said with far more enthusiasm than our 'mission' warranted.
"I know I can," Twilight said. "I'm heading back upstairs. If either of you need anything, head up and find me. In my absence, you can ask either Starlight here, or Spike." She gave me a stern look and headed up with Starlight, closing the door behind them. I looked out at the sea of cluttered books in dusty stacks and groaned.
"This sucks a phenomenal amount of-"
"Dictionary!" Pound said, picking up the tome. "What genre is this?"
"Fiction," I said.
"Really? I would think that it would go in reference," he said.
"By golly, you're right," I said. "It seems like you've got everything under control here." I turned to leave.
"Hey! Where are you going?" he shouted after me.
"I need to go use the restroom. I'll be right back," I said, heading upstairs. Back on the main floor I headed toward the front door. Maybe I could sneak over to the Cider Hall. I knew that Twilight kept a dry castle. As she put it, 'Cider makes fools of stallions and harlots of mares'. Hmf, didn't stop her from coming to Sweet Apple Acres for some when it was that season. I stopped in my tracks.
But the farm burning to the ground might keep her from doing that now.
Spike, the dragon, came out of an adjacent hallway into the foyer with me. He was at that weird, in-between stage of dragon growth where he was equally uncomfortable on all-fours and being bipedal. He was carrying a couple of boxes, forcing him to walk upright.
"Are you lost?" he asked. I wanted to say something to him right away. I knew the layout of most of the castle very well from previous visits. I had become acquainted with Spike, as Pineapple. I tried to think of what to say. "Or did you just come up here to gawk at the monster?" he said in a cynical tone.
"What no! Spike I- um, I was just looking for the bathroom," I said, keeping to my original lie.
"There's the one in you quarters," he said. "And the one down the hall you just came from. The one on the third floor is Princess Twilight's. You're not allowed to use that one, obviously."
"Obviously," I said. He turned to head out of the foyer. I felt rocked by the urge to do something unwise. "Hey Spike, um, can I ask you something?"
"You just did," he said, setting the boxes down. "Yeah, sure, go ahead."
"Do you know Pineapple?" I asked, knowing the answer.
"I did."
"I was just asking, because he said that he knew you. A dragon. I just wanted to meet you for myself."
"You knew him?" Spike asked, laughing. "Let me guess, you arrested him one time and he dropped my name for bail."
"Heh, yeah. You got it. So you're his friend?" He raised an eyebrow.
"You've met Pineapple," he said. "How many 'friends' do you think he had?"
"Tell me about him."
"He lived on Sweet Apple Acres, up until he died in a barn fire a couple of months ago. I don't really want to say anything bad about the dead, you know?"
"How did you know him?"
"He came by often, visiting the Princess. She would give him private lessons. I don't know why she bothered with him."
"Because he wasn't a unicorn?"
"No. I figured she was training him in potions. I mean because the guy was kind of an ass," he said.
Ouch
"But once you got to know him, he was alright," Spike continued. "He was just a little rough to get used to." He picked up his boxes to leave. "But when he died, Twilight didn't seem upset at all. So I guess that should tell you everything you need to know him."
Or because she knew I wasn't dead.
Spike left, closing the door behind him.
"Storm Cloud!" I almost jumped. Starlight called down from the balcony above the foyer.
"I was just using the restroom," I answered without prompting.
"Oh, well I'm glad I caught you. Could you go into town for me? Twilight gave me a list of things that she needs me to pick up and, I would, except that... I don't want to. Do you mind?" She asked rhetorically and passed me the list.
"I live to serve," I said.
"Thank you." She gave me a pouch of bits. "This should cover everything. There should be a little extra. Feel free if you need anything for yourself." She headed back upstairs. Well, at least now I had a reason to head into town. I put the list in my pocket and exited the castle.
Ponyville hadn't changed a whole lot since I'd been away. Yet at the same time, everything looked different through the eyes of a Royal Guard. Some ponies smiled and waved. Others shied away. I found out that a great many things had a discount for Royal Guards. I worked my way down the list.
Quills
Ink
Scrolls
Candles
CIDER
(Guess which one I wrote in)
The pouch of Bits I had was far more than I needed. Either Starlight was severely out of touch with the prices of these things, or previous guards had been giving her inflated values. Well, why ruin a good thing? I pulled up a seat at the bar of the Cider Hall and set my helmet on the seat beside me. I flagged down the barkeep and ordered a mug.
"You on duty, sir?" he asked.
"No," I lied, "I'm thirsty," I truthed. He put a mug in front of me and I gave him the Bits. I sat there, enjoying my drink, thinking up excuses for being late getting back to the castle.
"Oh, you would not believe the line at Quills and Sofas!"
"I had to go to three different stores for this ink!"
"I wasn't sure what kind of scrolls you wanted. Brown, white, pressed, parchment, elder..."
"Can you believe they were out of candles? I had to sit and wait while they made more! Took half the day!"
I took my time and enjoyed my drink. But it wasn't long before Cider Haul was in front of me again. Cider Haul was the proprietor of the Cider Hall. And if he hears you make a joke about that, it's a fast track to finding yourself kicked out to the curb.
"Another?" he asked. My initial reaction was to say yes. But as much as I had lied to him about being off-duty, and as much as I wished it were so, it weren't so. And I didn't need one to turn into two, turn into ten. I needed to make the right choice while I still could, and not end up stumbling back to Twilight's castle.
"No, just the one, thanks," I said. I paid my tab and grabbed my bag, heading back to the castle.
You made the right choice.
"Conscience!? Is that you? I thought I killed you with alcohol long ago," I said to myself as I walked. It was just about dusk as I arrived. I stepped inside and crossed paths with Pound Cake in the foyer.
"There you are!" he said indignantly. "What happened? Did you fall in?" I gave him a weird look, and remembered that I had told him that I was going to use the restroom.
"Starlight sent me out to run errands," I explained, showing him the bag of items.
"Oh. Well I made a lot of progress down in the archives. Without you," he said with pointed emphasis.
"Private Cake, Cloud," Starlight said, descending the stairs from the balcony. I presented her the bag of items that she had requested. She nodded to me. "Thank you. You both did well for you first day. You are relieved to your quarters for the night."
"Thank you, ma'am," Pound said, with an unnecessary bow. I gave no such response or gesture. Starlight seemed to likewise not care. From my experience, I knew that she and I shared a similar disdain for such social contrivances. She exited the room with her bag of items. Pound headed toward our quarters and I followed him. Coming at us from the opposite direction were a pair of bat ponies. One of them was a stallion with an eye patch. The other- well... I'll give you two guesses as to who she was, but you'll only need one.
"See you at Dawn," Echo said, giving me a subtle slug to the shoulder with a very un-subtle wink. Dammit! I almost forgot about our mission for L.A.U.G.H. to find Dawn. All I wanted to do with my down time was head back to the bar and finish what I had started earlier.
'Ah, ha!' I realized. I could kill two birds with one stone. I could go out as Dawn and establish that she is, and has been, in Ponyville. But I needed an alibi. I changed out of my Royal Guard uniform armor.
"I'm heading out," I told Pound.
"Stay out of trouble," he said, settling into the couch of the guard suite with a book.
"You know me," I said.
"Yeah, that's what I'm worried about."
After sneaking out of the castle and getting somewhere unseen to shape-shift, I headed back to the bar. I delighted in my own genius, strutting through town as Dawn. I made eye contact and waved to as many ponies as I could along the way. By the time I got back to the Cider Hall, it was prime time. The place was buzzing with all of the regulars, as well as those who were only there for the end of the work-week. Among them was a regular mark of mine, Filthy Rich. I sidled up alongside him at the bar.
"Another Haymaker," he slurred. He wasn't wasting any time tonight. It had either been a very good week of business, or very bad. Judging from the size of his coin pouch, I suspected the former. He fumbled in it to grab a few bits for his drink. He settled on his bar stool, resting the pouch on his seat. Bingo! A bit of sleight-of-hoof, and he never felt the weight leave his belt as I relieved him of his bits. I quietly scooted away, giving him time to realize his loss. "Oh, I seem to be out of Bits."
"Well, I think you've had enough anyway," Cider Haul said to him, shooing him away. Rich frowned, but left as he was told, a coward to confrontation at heart. I waited until a few minutes after he left.
"Hey everypony, next round's on me, Dawn!" I yelled into the room in a mare's voice. I threw Rich's sack of Bits up onto the bar.
"Yeah!"
"Whoo! Dawn!"
"Thank you!"
"We love you Dawn!"
Everypony came up to the bar and got their drinks. One in particular sat down beside me with hers while I waited to get back whatever change I might have, if any.
"That was mighty -hic- generous of you," she said. She was a mare of mauve fur, and purple mane. Grapes and a strawberry for her cutie mark. Berry Punch. One of my regulars that I would impersonate to drink in the bar underage...
...and then not pay.
"Well you know, I like to pay it forward when I can," I said, taking my own drink in my hoof. "That's me, Dawn, a mare of the people." I said, clinking my glass to hers in a toast. I drank mine. She drank hers faster.
"Haul! Two more!" Berry shouted, pointing at us.
"C'mon Berry," he said, gesturing with his hoof. "You know you gotta pay in advance."
"Right, right." Berry said, searching her bag for Bits before he poured our drinks. "Apparently I've got a bad habit of drinking and not paying, 'cording to this guy." she gestured to the barkeep. "So I gotta pay in advance. No tabs for ol' Berry," she said. I felt a knot twist in my belly. All these years I had indulged myself, taking what I wanted, without ever contemplating the consequences for others. And now here Berry was, my scapegoat too many times, paying for my misdeeds. "But hey, as long as I get my drinks, 'ss not so bad," she slurred, clearly more than half-in-the-bag.
I had taken so much. I needed to give something back.
"I got this," I said, paying for our drinks.
Albeit, with Rich's Bits. What? Baby steps.
"So what do you do?" I asked, out of genuine curiosity.
"Well, I make fruit juice on my farmyard. That's a farm-vineyard. I grow strawberries and grapes. And then I make juice," she repeated, "But I always put a bit aside in a few barrels to age into, hehe, well, you know."
"No. What?" I asked, feigning ignorance.
"You know. Wine! Cider! That sorta thing. -hic- But I always gotta do thorough product testing, you know?" She gave me a grin that was far wider than was necessary for the conversation. The kind that only came with inebriation.
"How's that working out for you?" I asked. She shrugged.
"I dunno. I'd make more off of the juice if I didn't turn it into wine. The apple cider has the corner on that market y'know? I just- I don't know," she said, dejected. "I feel like I'd make more money and be successful if I tried harder. But then I feel like... I would rather not feel at all."
I could relate to that
She finished her cider.
"Thanks for the drinks," she said. She stepped down from the bar, heading for the rear exit of the bar, or rather, staggering. I had taken so much from her over the years, I needed to give her something back.
If you asked me now why I did it, I couldn't tell you.
The barkeep had been slicing some limes for some cocktails. As soon as he wasn't looking, I grabbed the knife from the cutting board and ran after her. I pushed open the door into the alleyway between the buildings. We were alone, she and I. Berry was, predictably, keeled over, hurling her liquor behind a garbage can. I gripped the knife tighter in my hoof, preparing myself for what I intended to do.
I ran up behind her, easily knocking her to the ground. I grabbed her by her mane, yanking her head back. To show that I was serious, I pressed the knife to her throat.
"Hooves behind your back!" I commanded. She was too weak or drunk to resist, doing as she was told. "Berry Punch... you are going to die."
"No nooo," she whimpered.
"Berry, why did you start drinking?" I asked her.
"I dunno!"
"HORSE APPLES! Don't lie to me! Why did you start drinking!?"
"I made wine. I made juice but I made wine! I started drinking the wine and I- I-"
"You what?" I shouted.
"I didn't care any more! I didn't care about making fruit juices, or punches. I just wanted to keep drinking wine, and cider, and not care!"
"You're going to quit drinking, Berry."
"C-c-come on, what are you-"
"You're going to quit drinking, and be the juicer you were meant to be."
"Nooo, I, can't, I..."
"WHAT? Would you rather be dead? On your knees, in an alley behind a damn bar!?" I pressed the knife harder to her neck, drawing a bit of blood.
"Nooo! Oh-oh ohhhnoo!" she cried out. Seeing the crimson staining her fur, I moved the blade away, shocked in spite of myself. I never meant to actually hurt her. I forced my voice to keep from shaking.
"I know where you live, Berry," I told her. "I'm going to check in on you. If I find out that you're drinking again... you will be dead. Do you understand?" She nodded with a whimper of abject terror. "Now run on home." I took a step back from her. Adrenaline had her on her hooves, sprinting into the darkness of the night.
I felt ill. I could only imagine how she felt. I tossed the knife into the trashcan and stepped back inside the hall. Part of me felt like a monster, terrorizing a mare like that. Part of me felt like some kind of twisted savior, altering the course of her life, hopefully for the better, like I had done something constructive with my life for once.
I don't know.
All I knew was that I needed a drink, a strong one. The irony of that thought was not lost on me after what I had just done to Berry. Even so, I headed for the bar, the hypocrite that I am. An orange mare was rolling in a shipment cart of cider. She brushed her blonde mane aside.
"Delivery," she said, shifting the stetson hat on her head. In that moment, I felt like a cannon ball had ripped a hole clean through me.
"Applejack!?"
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7662259
So Starlight gave herself a list of items to get from town, but doesn't want to?
7662461 Fixed. Darn those show writers for giving them such similar names.
Wha-wha-wha-wha-wha-WHAT?!
I like it.
That should probably be "loss".
7667672 Fixed.
wow a truly amazing story but I see one huge problem with it.
I am out of story to read.
7672812 Not for long.
When I saw the title I remembered this
Oh god, the whole fire was staged to make him join the Guard, wasn't it? I was suspecting that, what with the way everyone in the know's been treating him, but I was really hoping.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA