Shadowtrot: A New Harmony

by LuZeke

Chapter 1: Daffodils

A hazy light streamed in through the window of the apartment as the alarm sounded. It was an annoying beeping sound coming from a digital alarm clock riddled with scratches, dents, and a crack here and there. The clock was engulfed in a red glow of magic and then flicked away. The clock landed in the corner with a notable clattering, surely adding to the collection of scratches. From the mess of pillows and bedsheet, a pair of sleepy, green eyes looked up.

"I hate Tuesdays... " Ruby groaned tiredly.

The greyish dark blue unicorn got out of her bed and picked up the clock and placed it back on the nightstand, then went about her normal morning routine. After brushing her teeth she checked her red matted mane. Dreadlocks were a tad unconventional, but it was on the other hoof pretty easy to maintain. Satisfied that she didn't have to fuss with it she went to prepare breakfast. She started with the coffee, putting in the coffee in the machine, setting the program and adding water. With coffee brewing, she made a pair of sandwiches and then took a look in her pantry.

'Daffodils, daffodils, daffodils.' She thought to herself. 'Aw shoot. I'm out?' She furrowed her brow with annoyance, closing the pantry door a little harder than intended. She didn't like it when she ran out of things, irrespective of what the particular item might be.

'Well that ruins my plans for lunch... I'll just have to go get something else for lunch. Maybe some hay fries? And I'll have to remember to buy some more daffodils on the way home.' Her pondering was interrupted by the beep from her coffee maker, signaling that the machine had run its program and the coffee was done, hopefully. She grasped the pot with her magic and poured a cup, and then poured the rest into a thermos she had prepared beforehoof. She took a sip of the brew. The taste of the black coffee was bitter and strong. Not perfect, but good enough.

With the cup of coffee in her magical grasp she went over to her bookshelf. Well, one of them. She scanned the books. She took out two books and judged them side by side. The Lunar Republic: Birth of a Nation and Trotting about Albuckuque. Eventually she placed Trotting about Albuckuque back onto the shelf. Ruby's family had moved from Albuckuque to Seaddle when she was just a foal, and while she was indeed interested in knowing more about her birthplace the history of the Lunar Republic was just a far more interesting subject matter. Especially the chapter about the new alicorns. She had never seen an alicorn up close. Only in pictures in the book. She put the book and the thermos in her saddle bag and took her time finishing her breakfast. She had ample time to get to work, so she needn't hurry.

She exited the apartment building where she lived. As she stepped out into the sun she held a hoof up to shade her still tired eyes. While sunny, the day was surprisingly cold. Not cold enough to warrant extra clothing, but it was definitely the first sign of winter. 'Seems they've moved winter up a few weeks this year.' She thought and made a mental note of it.

She turned north and started walking. The street was bustling with ponies going to and fro, as was normal on a week day. Ruby looked up at the sky. Only a few clouds dotted the sky. She could see a group of three, maybe four, pegasi flying in formation. 'Weather ponies?' she thought. When they flew closer she saw the familiar black on yellow emblem of a black wing against a yellow shield. 'BlackWing.' She corrected herself.

Ruby shuddered slightly. She wasn't particularly fond of the so-called "peacekeepers". Sure, some of them were decent enough ponies, but the majority of them relished in the authority they held and were quick to use it as an excuse to harass others. Bullies, in short. Luckily she hadn't had many run-ins with them, but it never hurt to be on your guard.

She continued on her way, going her normal route. She followed the same street three blocks up, then turned right to pass over a bridge that lead to the close by park. She usually cut through the park straight, but as she had time to spare this morning she followed the stream flowing by the edge of the park, separating the park from the rest of the city.

Having gone through the park and another hoof-full of blocks, she eventually arrived at the large building. It was a bit older than the other buildings in town, but that only added to its charm. Its roof was a large dome, with windows spaced evenly around it to allow natural light to fall into the open space in the buildings center at all times during the day.

The buildings facade had murials of hard working ponies, decorating its walls. A simple but elegant oaken door was placed in the center of the building's front. Above it a sign of beaten copper read Seaddle City Library. Ruby pushed the familiar door open and entered the building.

Rubys day at work was much like any other. She started the day with taking inventory over what books had come in, which were still loaned out, which were overdue, and so on. She shelved the newly come in books, correcting books misplaced by patrons while she did. it was the regular boring, but yet strangely satisfying, humdrum she was used to.

Soon enough the day had gone by and she was headed home. She took another route home, avoiding the park at evening. Like many things, the park was not necessarily pleasant during the darker hours.

Well at home she flung her bag aside and stretched, her neck making a satisfying pop. Being a librarian might not be the most labor intensive profession in the world, but a long day at the library could still tense you up some. Ruby lazily sat down in front of her computer and booted it up. The machine hummed as the fans inside it spun up. Only moments after the machine was fully operational a blip caught her attention. One of her friends had started a chat with her. She opened up the window with a click.

"Hoofst0mpR: Done with work?" It read. Ruby replied with a short "yea."

"Hoofst0mpR: Cool. How's it goin with that script for the ManeFrame?"

Ruby groaned and rolled her eyes, then started typing again.

"Crimson1: Are you still calling it that?"

"Hoofst0mpR: Yeah... why?"

"Crimson1: It sounds stupid."

"Hoofst0mpR: Well..."

"Hoofst0mpR: When YOU develop a relay system able to handle packets to and from the moon, you can name it something equally stupid."

"Crimson1: Whatever."

"Crimson1: Anyway, I checked in the new code yesterday. It ran fine here, but you'll have to do a double check on your side."

"Hoofst0mpR: Of course."

Ruby closed the window, stood up from the computer and went into the kitchen to make dinner.

The rest of the evening was slow and quiet. She ate her dinner, read two more chapters in the book about the Lunar Republic, and spent some more time at the computer. Eventually she grew tired and shut down the machine and drowsily went over to the bed. She made sure the alarm clock was set and laid down to sleep. She laid there, trying to fall asleep, but something was eating at her mind. What was it? She turned over and looked up at the ceiling.

"I forgot to buy daffodils... "

Comments

[The Redbeard]

Ok, color me intrigued. Definitely gonna try to fit this into my "read soon" pile, just because I love science-fiction.

[Prof Tokeman]

I like it! It's pretty interesting.

[Regidar]

1496824 Dude, pass the bong.

[Prof Tokeman]

1500010 Hold on, I didn't get a very good hit, lemme try again...

[Regidar]

1500569 Damn, don't be a hog!