A Vicious Triangle

by EternalShadow54

Chapter 4

The morning pierced my vision, the sun's rays shining gloriously onto my eyes as I raised from my nightly slumber. I felt strange, more refreshed in a sort of way. At first, it hit me oddly that there was these wrapped gifts sitting in the distance of my room, but as the mask of weariness lifted from my face, I began to remember what all had occurred the day before. The presents were from Rezzly, and I wouldn't feel right not accepting them, but something within urged me to just leave them be, to send them all back. Why didn't I? It would have made things so much easier.

Once more, I believe curiosity must have held its grasp upon me. Shamelessly, yet uneasily, I began to tear at the gifts little by little. The first box was small and foil wrapped, the gentle light from the outside showing a dancing arrangement of spotted lights all throughout my home. I carefully peeled away the foil, a brown cardboard box popping into my view from underneath. Nervously, I continued to tear bit by bit until all the covering was gone, nothing but a plain box in my hooves. Lifting the lid, I peered into the container. What I saw inside was certainly not what I expected.

Its contents consisted of a now withered bouquet of small pasture flowers, all of various colors and smells with an elegant card tying them together. I didn't read the card. The plants were now dead, so the meaning would have been pointless. Tossing the gift to my side, I started to rummage around through the other presents that awaited my attention. I must have appeared like a filly who had just woke up on Hearth's Warming Eve and was told about the hidden treasures under the tree. Me and my giddiness.

After an hour of simply ripping past all the wrapping and picking at every gift, opening but not really giving them much attention, I stopped myself to observe all that she had sent, taking in the objects before me.

One item appeared to be a very magnificent table lamp, the bulb within a luminous blue and the design a very exotic jungle theme. I didn't know what to do with this since I didn't have a plug outlet, or power for that matter. To the left of that were a few old books, the thickness of each over five inches easy. I wasn't much of a reader, so those didn't appeal that much to me. Still, the thought was nice. On top of those were the ocean scented candles, dull tan with a fragrance I couldn't tell true or false, considering I've never seen the big blue body of water myself. Lastly, she had sent an aged wind-up hoofwatch to help me keep track of time, the binding made of pure and flexible silver, the watch itself lined with gold. A bit too fancy in my general opinion.

I didn't know what to say, nor how to feel about accepting all of these. If I remembered the note correctly, I could send back any of this if I found them to be too much, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to keep them for some reason. Was it the simple pleasure of greed? Maybe the fact they were gifts and that they was intended for me in the first place? For whatever reason, I decided to keep them, even though it didn't quite feel right.

Setting my new watch with the time on my clock, I headed for town. Since my move here, I've been living off what I could afford to bring from my last home, which wasn't much other than the few pieces of furniture and the small amount of bits I concealed inside my saddle bag. I figured it best to go out in search of a job. This didn't prove a difficult task, but I probably would have fared better if I had never left my house.

---

I arrived in town with a sense of high spirit that day. Why I seemed so happy, I don't know. Still, the fact worked to my benefit. I assumed that the best place to try and seek out work might have been the behemoth of a store that I had seen upon my first walking into this town.

The building was easily three stories high, much larger than was obviously needed. The walls outside were decorated with fancy and graceful designs that I couldn't explain through normal vocabulary. A sign with the store name hung above their intricate stone porch, the steps leading upward smoother than silk, which ironically was the material the curtains hanging from the windows were made from, waving to me in its dance with the wind.

Trotting casually inside, the sight before me was almost too much to conceive. All around me was the merchandise of anything your heart could desire. There was bathing mineral salts immediately to my left, contained within small glass jars, a wonderful fragrance lofting into my nostrils from them. Above was a model hot air balloon floating only by a few strings, selling for a much lower price than expected. Right beside that was a model ship, one that could easily match the description of Blackmane the Pirate's boat. In front of me was the marble counter which, from behind, a cashier stood awaiting my entrance to greet me with the smile an employee must have to keep position.

I took my first step further inside, feeling the willow wooden floor under me and hearing the echoes of variating mechanisms within the hollow, yet filled, marketing establishment. If I recall correctly, the only thing they didn't sell there was food products, which those rights were strictly given to the farmers on account of their need of the business.

"Hello there!" The worker spoke to me like a long time friend, tone like he hadn't seen me in years. He didn't look like the average stallion, mane and tail a snowy while with a coat near sapphire blue. His iris shimmered a delicate gold, and his company vest was cleaner than a new whistle. "Welcome to Goods Galore! Let me know if you need any help with anything!"

Slowly, I approached the counter, the register having a preset total of twenty bits, more than likely from the last customer's purchase. He smiled at me with such glee that it almost rubbed off. I did say almost.

"Hey there." I sounded like I had just witnessed a horrible accident. My voice didn't tremble like it normally would, but I still had a feel of fickleness to my tone. "Are you the owner of this store?"

He snickered a bit at the comment. "Heh, no sir. Just the manager. My boss is out on vacation for the week and he left me in charge while he was away. Any particular reason?" It barely sounded like it, but I hinted an aura of concern.

"Well, see. I'm the new pony in town." The stallion quickly interrupted me.

"Leafy Summers, correct?"

"R-right..." I didn't particularly enjoy everypony in that town knowing my name before I even knew theirs. Even though I probably shouldn't have bothered asking, I inquired anyway. "How did you know?"

He shot me a stare as though I had insulted him. "Small town. Word gets around." I didn't like the way he presented that phrase.

"What exactly are you talking about?" Something certainly didn't feel right, and I was determined to figure out what.

"You're the same stallion who moved from Ponyville right? And the same pony who spent last afternoon at Linky Lane's?" After that, I began to grow a bit scared.

"Y-yea... what about it?" My fear amplified quite well through my speech. What was this stallion getting at?

"Well, she's a drunkard you know. She occasionally roams the streets on some nights, yelling and cursing at random townsfolk. One time, it was so bad, she had passed out in the streets. Her own daughter had to come and drag her back home."

My heart stopped. Was it all a coincidence? All just a happening at random? Everything. Every detail about her so far. Her style, the house, the being an only mother, being a drunkard... it all resembles so closely to her...

---

You probably don't know what I'm talking about huh? Well, listen closely, because I'm only going to share this with you once.

My mother was a single mom, father passing on during the first migration to Ponyville from our original home near Trottingham. Ever since that day, she never really was quite the same. She had to raise me alone, nopony else to help care for me, and life in Ponyville during that time was tough. Nopony could spare a bit even if they wanted to. Eventually, the stress of having to care for two on a one pony salary had gotten the best of her, causing her to fall into a deep depression followed by the massive consumption amount of cider. She never really ate much after that, only feeding me and spending the rest on her drink. We lived in poverty until I was of age to work, even which it still wasn't enough to support the both of us. She was found one night out in Ponyville's streets, unresponsive and unbreathing. They told me it was a simple heart failure, that at her age the cider had much more potent effects. I didn't care for the reason. All I know is I was never the same after that night. It's probably why I'm the way I am now, but... who knows...

Anyway, back to what I was telling ya. Don't want to get too sidetracked.

---

"R-really? She got that bad one night?" The clerk simply nodded. "Wow..."

"And I've also heard you've been hanging around that Rezzly mare." Word truly does get around fast in small villages.

"What about that? Anything wrong with her?" I've heard the rumor on Lane, might as well know what they say about my other friend.

"Well, from what I hear, she herself butchered her own parents for the money." Now I know that was a lie, or so I told myself. How was I really to know?

"W-what makes you s-say that?" Even though I didn't believe it, the rumor itself still broke my nerves.

"Well, she never leaves her house except once a week to buy from the food market, and we never received word on the deceit of her parents until a few days after estimated time of death." Frightened might not be enough to explain my feels on what I was hearing. "Anyway, what was it you came in for? Certainly not for idle gossip."

I almost didn't respond. I gulped rather loudly with my answer. "I-I came in l-looking for a job."

"A job?" He looked at me inquisitively. "I can't really do much without Mr. Pennyton's approval." He thought it over, rolling his eyes from side to side with a hoof at his chin. "But... I guess I could find you a little something something by tomorrow. You seem like a nice enough stallion. The name's Rex by the way." Rex. What a peculiar name. "Be here by eight?"

I nodded, never even asking of the pay or what the task would be. In truth, I didn't care. I had went in with a beaming sense of unknown happiness, and I left that place with a familiar feeling of fearing the unknown. What was to become of me if these rumors were true? On either side my reputation, if I could ever build one, would be destroyed, true or not.

What was I to do? To one side there lay a mare, one whose life I could understand all too well. She's with child, widowed and poor, a drunkard in desperate need of guidance, one to look after her both physically and financially. But... to my other lay the perfect mare, one whose beauty was unmatched and could grant my every wish with her vast fortune, yet she possibly contains a grave past, one that if true, could very well end badly on my part. I was at a loss. What choice did I have? Both seemed nice, yet both had a reputation, a standing in this town that didn't exactly run over well, and this tugging in my chest didn't make the matter any better...

Author's note: A filler chapter, one to help you better understand the reputation of the mares and how this small town works. Not one of my better chapters... but I hope you enjoy all the same!