Kindness could go a long way, and pay back in the long run. But what If the pay back was what was not what was wanted, and only to see a smile on the faces helped was what was.
A mouse anthro by the name of Fortune bears these feelings as he helps a mare with her financial problems, and as time passed begins to grow a bond with her and her family, and along with that makes some friends along the way.
But in the back of his thoughts, as each day passes, he knows he must one day confront his past. And that will be the day he regrets the most.
Once upon a time, there lived a magical dragon, one that was able to breathe gold from its lungs. It was said this dragon was cherished by most dragons like a king, and sometimes this dragon would help the young build their hoard. This dragon was peaceful to all, until one tragic day when the dragon became enraged. He destroyed a town with the powers he had, and no one could stop him, as the other dragons didn't want to, and he was to dangerous for pony kind.
One creature stood in the dragons way, bravely blocking the path of the dragon. This creature unfazed by the dragons power was able to defeat the dragon by encasing it in solid gold. The petrified dragon now looming over the destroyed town and the hero vanishing without a sight, only to probably one day to return and confront the dragon another day.
A hooded figure on two furry digitigrade legs continued to walk down the tiled path, the place him being in called Manehattan. It continued walking as the nights moon loomed over it, casting shadows under him an the buildings he passed.
It stopped at the batwing doors of a saloon, hesitant for a minute before walking in, putting a clawed paw on the push-in doors. All inhabitants in the bar attention where drawn to the figure walking in, it ignoring the confused and stern faces the ponies gives it as he walks to the counter and takes a seat. His size only allowing his hooded head to be viewed over the counter.
The bartender looks the figure, the unicorn not saying a word to it. When it digs for something below the counter the bartender horn begins to glow, causing it to freeze for a sec before slowly raising its clenched paw on the the table. It unclenches it's paw, releasing the bits it had in it.
"Juice please." It said in a boyish, squeaky voice.
The bartender looked at the bits in confusion, and back up to the stranger.
"Juice will only cost you three bits." The bartender said.
"Keep the change." It said, pushing the bits his way.
The bartender pushed the bits into a bag connected to his neck and went to get the drink, leaving the figure at the desk. The figure listened onto nearby conversation as he waited, one in particular catching his interest.
"Hey did you hear about what happened to Missing charm and her family?" A emerald Pegasus said.
"What, did they have another fight?" A blue earth pony said.
"No, worse. I heard that supposedly her husband had done something that put them in a lot of debt, but was able to put the blame on Missing Charm, after doing that the sly stallion went on and left her. Now along with the foals she has to take care of, she has to pay of the debt as well. They say she doesn't have long before they take her house as payment."
"Wow, that's sad."
The blue earth pony looked around in though, but then noticed the hooded figure standing next to the table, making him jump from his seat.
"May you be able to tell me were she lives?" The hooded figure asked the Pegasus.
The Pegasus looked at where the figure was sitting at and back to where it was standing before taking a sip of his drink.
"I don't think it would be the best Idea for me to be telling a stranger of her whereabouts, she already has enough on her mind." He said, taking another sip of his drink.
The hooded figure raises a open paw up while raising its head, showing a little bit of its rodent like muzzle as it shows the bits held in its paw.
Both the ponies look at him in confusion as it presents the bits to them.
"Please tell me her location, I only wish to talk with her." The figure said.
Pushing through the doors, the hooded figure continued on the path, going further into Manehattan. He passed under the shadows, as if not wanting to be seen as he traveled through the maze that is Manehattan. He stopped at his destination, the house looking in disarray compared to the houses and apartments neighboring it. The flowers near the window have long died out, petals decomposed to join with the dirt and the stems not to far from the same fate. Dead leaves scatter the ground, covering the ground, the fence bordering the house keeping the leaves from being blown away from the wind, leaving them to pile in the corners.
As he walks up to the front entrance he starts to see something wrong with it, getting closer he sees that its caved in at the doors mid section, looking to be caused on the outside.
He walks up to the door and knocks on it, and knocks again after no response. After a few minutes of waiting the door creaks open slightly, the head of a blue unicorn mare with a pink mane with a yellow stripe going through peaks her head through the crack.
"W-who are you, and what do want?" She asked nervously.
"I'm just a passing stranger, I only wish to talk, and maybe help you with your problem." He said.
The mare looks down at his digitigrade legs with surprise, almost closing the door in fear of him being a monster.
"What are you?" She asked.
The hooded figure paused for a sec before backing up a little and taking off the hood. The Face of a mouse is what greeted the mare, black colorless eyes with no view of the cornea, auburn fur covering his face, and large circler ears. He looked at the mare, smiling her way as she gave him a confused look.
He waved his clawed hand in greeting. "Hello, I'm Fortune. And you must be Missing Charm, correct?"
She shot him a scared look. "How do you know my name?"
"A stallion in a bar not far from hear was telling rumors, I happened to catch wind of it."
"What do you want?" She repeated, as she closed the gap in the door a little more, making it a little harder for the mouse biped to see her.
"Sorry if I nerve you with my look, but as I said I only wish to speak." He said as he itched the back of his head.
"Say what you gotta say then and leave." She said irritated.
This caught the mouse by surprise. Usually these ponies would be nice and welcoming, sometimes even in a bad mood. In his thoughts was how much she must be dealing with.
He looked at the mare who now reared most of herself from the door and continued, trying his best to make sure his eyes didn't wander to her unkempt mane and tired baggy eyes, though the eyes he couldn't avoid.
"I heard from the stallion that you have went through something... Tragic. I-" he was stopped there as the women stopped him saying. "Oh, everyone's just talking about me eh? When did I become important!"
He took a step back from her outburst, looking at her as she stares at him with anger. She soon takes a deep breath, her anger subsiding. Taking her weight off the door, she let it fully open.
"Look, I'm sorry, its not been going so well for me. But if your only here to ask me how my life is going, I'd advise you not to."
"I, I actually came to help you." He said.
The mare was surprised, her body being frozen in shock for a second.
"What?" She said with a raise of a eyebrow.
"I can pay off the bill you have."
"Come on, you know about that too!" She said with a stomp of her hoof.
Fortune just shrugged his shoulders. Missing Charm began to furiously walk towards him, him backing up as each step loudly clopped against the stone path.
"Who are you really? Are you another one of those to give me a loan to have to pay off? So that I may become a slave to another bill I have to pay off, huh?" The mare got close up to the mouse in an intimidating stature, her head towering over him by a little. "I bet this is just another trick just for someone else to keep me under their hoof, to succumb to their whim. Well I have news for you, I'M NOT INTERESTED!"
He was a little worried that the mare might use her magic on him, but was surprise when he heard a presence from behind her.
"Mom, what's going on?" Asked the voice.
Turning to look, the mare said "go back to your room." The orange, brown mane unicorn colt had a worried look on his face, nervous as he clung to the door. He looked scared, but seemed unwilling to want to leave his mom to a stranger. The mare seeing this completely turned to look at the colt, saying "look, there's nothing wrong going on. Now go to your room." In a calm, soothing voice.
The colt after some time did as he was told and disappeared behind the door. The attention of the mare returned back to the mouse, seeming to be too tired to keep up her angry demeanor. From her silence it seemed like she was giving the mouse the chance to finish what he had to say. But he had to rethink what to say to the mare, to avoid angering her more.
"I-I only wish to help you, I'll be able to pay off that bill, and-"
"And then what? Have me pay you off?! Nobody just comes out of the blue offering to pay for something without it being something I have to worry about later. It's a seven hundred and fifty bit bill! Even if you can pay it off, I'm sure your going to want something in return right?!"
"A place to stay."
Hearing this made the mare back up a little, a confused eyebrow raised. The mouse took no time with the space given to reach up one of his sleeves, and like magic pull a bag of bits from it.
"I can pay for your bill, and in return." He paused there for a sec, not wanting to sound to forceful. "May I live in your house?"
She stared at him sternly, then at the bag he held. He placed the bag on the ground and opened it, having the bits show through the opening.
"Your serious, aren't you?" The mare asked.
The mouse answered with a nod of his head. Pointing a paw to the bag, telling her to take it. The mare was hesitant at first, but took the bag in her magical grip, aura surrounding it and her horn. Her attitude calming she turned to walk to the door.
"Come in, and close the gate." she said as she continued to go to the entrance.
Doing what he was asked he went and closed the gate before following Missing Charm inside.
When he walked in he looked around, seeing three paths. Two from the left and right leading to hallways, and one leading to an open living room, which a dim light illuminated from. From the living room he could hear the sound of the coins clash as the mare shuffled them about. He walked in the living room, to his right being a couch against the wall with décor hanging above it. To his left was the mare, her sat down with a lamp overhead, counting the bits on a table using her magic, her unaware of his presence.
"There's two hundred in there." He said, making the mare slightly jump.
"So I guess you're gonna be paying it like rent?" She asked as she turned his way.
"Yep, two hundred a day."
Hearing this almost made the mare fall from her seat. She straightened in her seat and tried to look humble.
"I know you're trying to be generous, but you surely don't need to pay that much to live here." She said, waiving a hoof around.
"No, no, I insist. Gets more of it off my back, and off my thoughts." He said the last bit in a whisper.
"What was that?" The mare asked.
"Nothing." He looked around before turning his attention back to the mare. "So, where will I be staying?"
The mare put a hoof under her neck in thinking. "Sorry, but i'm going to have to ask you to sleep in here, for now. Will that be ok?"
He looked towards the couch, looking above to where all the decor hung. To mask, to hollowed animal statues, all made the room an uneasy sleep space. He gulped as he stared up at an owl mask as its empty eyes stared down him.
"Uhh, s-sure. I think I would be able to sleep here, for now." He gave her a nervous smile, one she was not aware of due to it being the first time she saw someone of his species, besides regular old mice.
"May I be able to go to sleep now? Or is there something you may want to tell me." He asked.
"Just ask when you plan to do anything in this house." She said, as if talking to a colt. Completely slipping her mind of his age.
"Umm, ok" he said, scratching his head. "Well, goodnight."
"Goodnight." The mare said, putting the bits in the bag that's in her magical grip and turning the light off.
Missing Charm turns to fortune to see him already comfortable on the couch, using his cloak as a cover.
"Will you be comfy in that?" She asked.
"Yeah, my fur will mostly keep me warm." He said
She only asked because she had blankets to spare, and wouldn't want his first day living there to be a cold one. With that out of mind she left the room going to the right. As she walked to her bedroom, she had the idea to probably stay up the night, just in case fortune isn't just only wishing to live there.
She got in her bed, laying down like a bird watching her nest. She knew she wouldn't be able to stay up all night, as she did that the previous night. She would just stay up as long as she could until sleep took her.
She was about to fall into slumber, until she heard the creaking of her door, jolting her from her daze. She quickly turned her head, hoping her assumption about the stranger wasn't true. Who was at her door however were two colts, the orange one from before and a blue unicorn, half of his face being wrapped in gauzes, his ear sticking out and his light blue mane coming out of the side in one combed pile. Both of the colts stood next to each other, looks of worry on their muzzles as they stand behind the door like the mare had done.
"Drake! What are doing out of your bed? You know what the doctor said, no exerting yourself." The mare said noticing the blue colt.
The blue colt looked ready to say something, but was interrupted by the orange colt. "He was, worrying about the yelling."
She looked at Drake to see him nod his head slowly, also giving Missing Charm a view of stains of blood the gauze sucked up. She waved a hoof for them to come over to her, once they did she closed the door behind them and picked up a med-kit using her magic. She sat the blue colt down and begun to unwrap the gauzes.
"Why is there a monster on our couch?" The blue colt asked.
"He's not a monster, he's our guest." The mare said.
"Our monster guest." The orange guest said jokingly, which gained giggles from both Missing Charm and Drake.
She wanted to make sure they wouldn't call Fortune a monster, but she couldn't even tell who he was, or what he was besides his mouse resemblance. She had completely unwrapped the head of the colt, mane and coat completely cut off in the area that was covered. A stitched up wound was on his head closest to his ear, blood slightly oozing from it. Missing charm stared at it for some time, not noticing how long she was staring until the blue colt jolted her from it.
"Its fine right mommy?" Drake asked, turning his head to look at her. Missing Charm assured him with a nod of her head, and grabbed the extra gauzes and began to rewrap the young colt head. Once she was done she put him on his back and walked to their room, the orange colt following her. Before making it to their room she passed by another, the door closed for reasons she knew.
She opened the door to their room, toys littering the ground. Against the wall were two beds, cut off by a cabinet with a lamp on it. She went and tucked drake in his bed, making sure his head was adjusted right.
"Make sure you don't mess with the wound." She said, petting his head farthest from the injury. Drake answered with a slight nod of his head, deserving a boop on the muzzle, making him giggle. "Good night Drake, love you."
"Love you too." Drake said.
With that the colt prepared for sleep, getting in a comfortable position to slumber in. Charm turned to see her other colt sat on the ground with his hooves in the air, begging for affection.
"Tuck me in too." He asked demandingly.
"Say please." She told him.
He crossed his hooves and looked away, a pout on his face. "Please." He repeated back to her.
Charm quickly grabbed him with her magic and begun to tickle his sides using her hooves, getting frantic giggles from the colt. Once she stopped his giggles gradually ended.
"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" She asked.
The mare began to tuck the colt in, pulling the blanket over his body as he cuddled his pillow.
"Good night Burmese." She said to the colt, patting his head before getting ready to leave, but Burmese stopped her.
"Is everything ok mom?" He asked.
She was silent for a sec, not knowing what to tell her little colt, even if she knew how well they were doing right then, she would still not be able to answer.
"Everything's ok honey, now get some rest, you've got School tomorrow." She said, switching the light off and closing the door. leaving her two colts to sleep.
She stopped at the entrance of the living room and peeked in, seeing the slumbering form of fortune as his breathing made his chest rise from under his cloak. She continued on her way, a little less worried about the stranger.
Once she got in her, she flopped on her bed. Not worrying anymore about fortune anymore as she slowly fell into the slumber she most definitely will be needing.
Fortune awoke from his slumber, opening his eyes to darkness. He recalled sleeping on a couch , but from the feeling was now on a cold ground. A little more registering told him that his robe was covering his head. Pulling it up he squinted as the morning light shone through the living room window. After yawning he got up from the weird position he laid in, like the dead body of a murder case.
He walked around the living room to get his blood pumping while he thought of what to do for the morning. He guessed eating would be the first priority, and then thought if it would be a good idea to check the fridge of a complete, if not somewhat stranger. He chanced it as he went to look for were Missing Charm stored their food.
A door next to the table looked promising as he went to open it, and inside was a compact kitchen, barely enough space to cook in, at least without magic. There was a fridge on the opposite wall next to another door mirroring the one fortune stood in. A sink stood next to that, with cabinets under it, with cabinets and shelves on the wall near fortune. And in the middle of all it on the far wall was a oven. Fortune imagined how Charm must cook like a war chief in such a small kitchen, waving her magic around as if giving orders.
He quietly opened the fridge and was surprised to see it nearly empty, all but a sack with lunch in it and bag of flour, which he questioned was in the fridge. Closing the fridge, he went to check the cabinets, and only found bread, bananas, and a half container of jam. He opened the jar of jam and smelled it, then tasted it. He tried to hold back on spitting it out as he closed the jar and put it back.
From how bad it tasted, he was a little worried what would be in the sack lunch, checking to see that it was the same jam, along with some sliced banana to help the poor soul who had to eat such a meal.
"This place needs some food." He whispered. "Whelp, time to go shopping."
Putting the sandwich back, not caring that he tainted it with his hands, he put it back in the fridge, and walked towards the door on his way outside. With silence he opened the door and closed it behind him. Turning to his path, he took a breath, smiled a toothy smile, and began his walk into town.
The part of the city that he was in was very quiet, probably due to no markets or businesses nearby, mostly apartments and houses. He didn't really know were he was going to find a food mart, he was mostly sightseeing as he continued to walk through the city, passing jewelry stores and of the like. The town began to get crowded, ponies go here and there, left or right, up and down. Fortune quickly put his hood on, he didn't want to look suspicious, but would be so anyways by the way he was different.
He walked through a tight crowd of ponies who all slightly towered him as he passed by them, some grunting as he accidentally bumped into them, which he quickly apologized to. Some gave him confused or surprised faces, which he hurriedly turned away from. He still had no idea where he was going, but throughout the thick crowd landed him exactly where he wanted to be, a simple looking building with a billboard simply labeled "Food Mart".
"Wow, how convenient." He said with a tilt of his head.
He didn't waste any time as he pushed the doors and walked inside. The place wasn't to big, shelfs lined the walls, stocked with packaged and dry foods. Further in the store laid the more organic foods, fruits and vegetables piled up in a crate, and herbs in a bunch hung from hooks. He walked up to the front desk and rung a bell hanging from the ceiling, and seconds later came a yellow coated, orange maned earth mare from a door behind the desk carrying Boxes on her back. Placing the boxes down, the mare tended the front desk, adjusting her round glasses to look down to Fortunes hooded form with her big green eyes.
"Hello and welcome, my name is fruit cup, how may I help you today?" The mare said with repeated, but happy enthusiasm.
"Umm... May you happen to have any jam and peanut butter, and perhaps some juice?" Fortune asked.
"Sure, the jam and P.B is over there." She said as she pointed a hoof to one of the shelves row. "The juice is in the back, I'll get you some."
She turned and entered the back room once more, disappearing behind the back door. He took this time to obtain the jam and peanut butter and place it on the desk, then he went to the organic side and grabbed some of the apples and oranges. When she returned she had a glass jug of juice, handle in the grip of her mouth, having the jug tilt horizontally. She tilted her body along with her head to straighten the jug and placed it on the desk with the other stuff. Saliva coated the jug when she released it, the mare blushing when she saw what she did. Fortune knew he should be disgusted, but couldn't if he tried. A big toothy smile stretched over his face covered by the hood as he tried to suppress a laugh.
"S-sorry, we have no unicorns in staff, and there's not many other ways to get stuff." She said frantically, wiping the jug with a rag she found.
"It's fine, nothing to worry about." He said casually. "So how much will this all cost?"
"thirty bits."
He dug into his sleeve, and after a few seconds of shuffling pulled out the acquired bits, with a few extra.
"Keep the change" Fortune said as he place the bits on the counter with a clawed hand.
"Thanks. Um, may I ask you something?" The mare asked taking the bits from the table.
"Sure."
"What are you exactly, sorry if I sound rude."
With his hood still on he tilted his head up, and with a raise of his round ears the hood fell off, revealing his rodent face to the mare. He flashed her a smile when she gave him a surprised look, but his smile slowly straightened in un-comfort when a smile was returned.
"Y-Your a mouse!?" She asked, front hooves jumping on the counter. She looked about ready to pounce on Fortune as he nodded. "By the moon, I love mice! What are you though a mouse hybrid? What are you mixed with? Are there more like you?"
It was a little to many questions for him to answer at once, taking him a second to thing through what she asked.
"Uhh, no, I don't know and probably. I wasn't really born I believe."
The mare tilted her head at the last part, unaware of what he meant.
"What are you then? An illusion? A clone?"
"A little bit of the last one." He said with a pinch of his fingers.
"Hmm, a mouse clone. The things that magic can do." She finished her sentence with a sigh. She seemed very distant after she was done, looking to the door as if waiting.
"You ok?"
"Yeah. Hey would you like to hang out sometime? I know we just met, but not many times you get to talk with a mouse. Besides that one time I got to talk with coal, he's my pet mouse, I would like to introduce him to you sometime. No offense, about the pet mouse thing."
"I would love to, and no offense taken."
Fruit Cup began putting all the groceries in a bag for Fortune, trying her best with her hooves to push them in the bag. Fortune helped her as they put all the food in the bag.
"Would you be able to meet me in the library?" Fruit Cup asked.
"There's a library here?" Fortune asked surprised.
"Yeah. There's not many good books there, but its s great hang out spot, it even has its own cafe. I'll take you to it, later today good?"
"Yeah, that sounds good." He said while picking up his groceries. "See you later then."
With that, they waved each other goodbye, Fortune leaving through the front door with groceries in hand. The walk back to the house he was staying at for the time was tiring with the new weight, but when he finally made it to the fenced entrance a thought ran through his mind.
"She forgot to say what time, and I forgot to ask."
He shrugged it off as he opened the fence and walked to the front door, hoping the front door was opened as he left it. As he sneaked in the house, he wondered if everyone was still asleep. He made his way to the kitchen and put the groceries on the counter, slowly taking out everything from the bag to arrange. He then heard a door rush open behind him, turning quickly he saw Missing Charm at the door near the fridge pointing a hoof at him.
"What are you doing!?" She asked, anger clearly etched across her face.
"Bringing food." Fortune said, raising an apple he was holding.
It was to fast for him to react to as the mare pushed him aside using her magic, him impacting to the sink hard enough to shake the house. He felt it as her magic held him down, making the pain he now had on his back worsen. He looked up, trying to hold back tears as the mare surrounded all the food he bought in with magic. One by one Missing Charm looked at the food, the aura getting brighter on the item she looked at. Once she looked at the last one she placed them down on the counter. With a tug of Fortunes robe he was thrown to the mare, his face now inches from the mad mares scowl.
"What did I tell you?" Missing charm asked through clenched teeth.
Fortune clenched his eyes from the pain he felt in his back before looking up at her with saddened eyes.
"But, I only want to help." He said, tears welled up in his eyes.
The mare expression slowly turned to one of guilt, her magical grip loosening on him until he landed on the ground. Missing Charm looked around as if shamed by her action.
"I- l'm sorry." She said looking away.
"It's ok, sorry for n-" he groaned as he tried to get up as the pain worsened, gaining the concern of Missing Charm.
"Are you ok?"
"I'm fine." He assured her with a raise of his pawed hand.
Fortune wasn't to hurt by the mares actions, emotionally, but was physically as his back took more force than he thought he'd take. Missing Charm lend him a hoof, arching it for him to lean on, which he took with his clawed hand.
He wanted to mention adding some of the food he bought to the sack lunch, but avoided mentioning it. They awkwardly stood for a while, unaware of what next to say to each other. The mare not saying anything entered the door she came from, closing the door behind her. Fortune stood there, his robe spread out due to his slouching, and his mind slightly confused by the mares brash actions. He looked over to the counter, food splayed out on the counter, and took a apple in his hand. He looked at the apples shiny surface, seeing himself in the reflection, before taking a bite at it, chewing it very slowly. He shrugged his shoulders, continuing to chew on the apple as he went back to the living room to enjoy his apple.
As he sat down on the couch, he noticed he was being watched, or at least somewhat as he heard the presence of someone in the hallway. Staring at where he heard it, he soon saw a orange colt poke his head Around the corner, but quickly retreat after seeing he was spotted.
Fortune was given a minute of staring at the area of interest before the colt poked his head out again, not pulling back a second time. The colt looked very worried looking at Fortune, like a kid scared of the dark. Fortune waved to him, taking another bite of his apple while keeping focus of the colt, which continued to stare at him wary. The colt focused his attention to the other side of the hallway before making a mad dash through it, the sound of a door quietly closing where he went.
As Fortune continued eating, he could hear muffled conversation in the far room, soon after quieting. Then he heard the sound of something dropping in the kitchen, followed by the quick clip clop of hooves. He saw the colt appear again in the hallway, giving him a neutral stare. Fortune just stared at him, his chews becoming awkwardly slowed.
The colt turned his head as if to pay him no mind, moving to reveal two apples balanced on his back as he made his way back to his room. Seeing that made Fortune giggle, smile plastered on his face, seeming like Missing charm trusted him, if not a little bit. Laying back he relaxed on the couch, arm rested behind his head as he finished his apple.
Burmese walked into his room, focus bought to drake as he began levitating one of the apples using his magic, moving it to drakes cheek and pressing the cold surface of it against him. Drake shifted in his sleep as the chill of the apple got to him. The Burmese took the stem of the apple and stuck it in his nostrils, jolting Drake from his sleep. Slowly Drake rose his head, rubbing the sleep from his eye as he squinted towards Burmese.
"W-what is it?" Drake asked, tiredness in his voice.
"Oh nothing, just though you might like an apple." Burmese said as he levitated the apple to his face.
As quickly as Burmese presented it was as fast as it left his grasp as Drake bit into it , pulling it out of the magical grip.
"H-hey!" Burmese stammered.
Apple between his hooves he took big chunks from it, barely taking time to chew as he devoured the apple.
"Dang, you make it seem like you haven't eaten in days." Burmese said.
Drake looked at him with a neutral expression. "You know how much I like hard foods."
"Like you name entails, you might even be part dragon."
"Oh ha ha, where'd the apples come from anyways?"
"I don't know, probably the monster bought them in." Burmese said as he pawed at the air.
Saying that nearly made Drake choke on the apple as he proceeded to spit out what he had in his mouth.
"Eww, gross. Look, relax, mom said she bought them in. Here, you can have mine too, I'm not hungry." Burmese said, placing the apple he had on Drakes bed.
"Thanks." Drake said.
"No problem, you need to heal up quick so we can go more exploring together." Drake gave him a worried look.
"You think he's still around?"
Burmese look turned from confusion to anger. "He better not be, or I'll give him pain he'll never forget." He finished with a stomp of his hoof.
Drakes face now looked sadder as he looked down to his apple.
"Look, don't worry about him. If he does show up, I'll make sure he doesn't harm you again." After putting a hoof next to Drakes side for comfort he gave a little yawn. "I'm gonna rest a little more until its tome for school, you should rest too when your done."
Leaving Drakes side he went to his own bed and got on it, wrapping himself in the blanket. Looking back down to the apple, Drake was in deep though of what happened that fateful day, of what gave him that wound.
"But that's not what I'm worried about." Drake thought to himself, taking his last bite from the apple.
With a bag of gold in his hand, fortune placed it on the table in the living room, and with a rolled up paper in his other hand placed it next to it. Only after did he leave through the door, making sure to be quiet as he did. He didn't get far from the house before he tripped on his robe, softening the fall with his arms.
"Oh karma, why do you hate me so." He said as he picked himself up.
Dusting himself off he continued to walk towards his destination, keeping his somewhat promise to meet up with Fruit cup. Making his way through the town and going through some alleyways to avoid crowds he soon made it back to the simply named food mart. Walking in he was immediately greeted by the mare at the counter.
"Oh, hello again. I'm guessing you here for are little meet up? Well of course you are. Well, my breaks in an hour so can you wait until then? I would tell you were it is, but its pretty far from here, don't want you getting lost." Fruit cup said cheerfully.
Fortune answered her question with a nod of his head. "Umm may you happen to have any candy here?"
"No, but there's a place close to here that sells some, not far from the path, just take a left going out. Its a very colored building, cant miss it."
"Ok, thanks. Be right back."
He waved to her goodbye as he walked out the building, taking the way she told him. He soon made it to a building representing an upside down lollipop with the stick broken. He walked in and once he set eyes inside they opened in surprise as his eyes looked everywhere. To the bins of candy, to the Giant gummy bears and lollipops sculpted to perfection on the countertops and the high array of colors they all shone. The surprise on his face only grew more as he looked around, barely noticing the stallion when he presented himself.
"Hello, welcome to the lollipop lounge, how may I help you." The stallion said, but was somewhat ignored as Fortune just stared around some more.
"Ummm, sir, miss? Sir!" He said as he tried getting fortunes attention.
Soon as he said that Fortune turned his way, surprise still etched on his face. The stallion gave a nervous smile as he was stared down by the mouse. Then suddenly the sounds of coins rapidly hitting the ground came from Fortunes way as bits pored up from under his robe. The stallion looked down and back up in the quick recession, mouth agape as they both stared at each other with surprise.
Fruit Cup shuffles her hooves on the counter as she waits for Fortune. An hour has already passed and he still hadn't returned. With a sigh she put her head atop her, worried he may not show. Looking out the door however showed her to be wrong as she saw what she belived to be him, his back from the side was what she saw as he slowly came to full view, and he happened to be carrying a big bag, bigger than himself.
Eyebrow raised she watched as he opened the door using his back, struggling to drag the bag inside. Once he made it to the counter, he fell on his hindquarters in exhaustion. Fruit cup looked down to the bag, being almost as big as her, then to fortune, who raised his face to look at her. In his mouth he had two lollipops, sticks stuck out goofily.
"Dang, how much did you buy?!" She asked, pushing herself off the counter.
"The cashier said I had bought one-forth of the stores product, though I think he was joking."
Fruit cup stared back at the bag. "I don't think he was joking."
Fortune got up from where he sat, taking the two sticks from his mouth now missing of candy.
"Well anyways, ready to go?"
"What about you bag?" she pointed out with her hoof. "Do you plan to carry it around? Because we can deliver it to wherever you want. Well, wherever is close."
"Hmm... Yeah, that seems better."
Fruit Cup pulled out some paperwork for him to fill out, her pointing out what to write and where to write it. Once he was done she took it from him, looking through it. Fortune caught the surprise the mare had when reading the paper, and was worried of what had done so.
She put the paper under the desk and clopped her hooves together. "Ready to go?"
Answering with a nod of his head and after Fruit cup notifying someone in the back, both walked out of the market.
The ambient sounds of birds chirping and busy streets were vibrant as they took there little stroll. Fortune was occupied shoving more and more candy down his gullet as Fruit cup tried her best at small talk, him replying if not his mouth full of candy.
"Oh yeah, I never really quite got your name, what is it if I can ask." Fruit cup said.
Fortune nearly chocked on the candy from the realization, coughing out a gummy worm in the process.
"Are you ok?" She asked concerned
"Yeah, and my names fortune."
"Fortune. Hmm... Neat name."
Fortune didn't notice how she presented his name as he busied himself with the candy, savoring them one by one.
"Do you eat candy like this often?" Fruit cup asked.
Mouth to busy enjoying the candy, he answered with a nod of his head.
"Aren't you like, worried for your health?"
Shaking his head, he popped another piece of candy in his mouth.
"Well, at least you're not hyped on the stuff."
Gulping down the remnants of the candy, he smiled to the mare. "Hey, you know what they say. If you give a mouse a cookie."
It took a second for her to understand, a big smile springing on her face when it registered.
"It asks for a glass of milk. When you give a mouse a glass of milk."
"It'll want a pot of gold."
Fruit Cup gave him a confused look. "That's not how the story goes."
Fortune shrugged his shoulders. "Wanted to be creative."
"Well, I guess it does compare to your name. Fortune, like a pot of gold."
"Yeah, I guess it does."
The conversation slowly died down as they continued to walk to the library, the sounds of Fruit Cups hooves reverberate through the path.
"Welp, this is the place." Fruit cup said.
She pointed a hoof to a brick-build building. It had a shader roof at the entrance, along with a placement of chairs a tables to the side. The name of the building was Well Water Library, with a picture of a well and books flying from the well.
Walking through the front door they saw that few ponies were there, only a few groups and lone readers. At the counter was a sign that said silence would be appreciate. A staircase goes to an upper floor were a porch resides, tables and shelves filled with books viewable from the lower floor. They walked past a green librarian mare with glasses behind a counter, her giving a curious look to Fortune's hooded form.
"Excuse me, may you be new to the library?" The librarian asked.
They both turned her way, unaware who she was asking. When Fortune saw that she was referring to him he raised his hood for her to get a better view, not wanting to be to much of a stranger.
"Yes, I'm new to this place." He said.
With only a raise of her eyebrow she continued.
"Well, I must tell you a few rules of this library before you may continue." She adjusted herself, adjusting her glasses and resting her hooves on the counter. "You may not be able to check out books, only read them here unless you fill out a forum." She said, Pointing to a stack of paper. "Once you fill one out and bring it back you will gain approval in the mail. We ask of you to not destroy, tamper, or take books out of the town border or you will be fined otherwise. Any questions you may need answering can be answered by me or anyone else attending the desk."
"I have a question." Fortune said raising his hand. "Do you have any books on anatomy? Dragon specifically."
"You should be able to find it upstairs. The genres are labeled so you shouldn't have a hard time finding it. Would be under science."
"Ok, thanks."
With a nod of his head he went his way up the stairs, Fruit cup following his tail, which she did not see.
"Hey fortune, were's your tail? You do have one right?" She said as a whisper.
"It's in my robe, it's well hidden." Fortune answered.
Making it to the top floor, Fortune started looking around the labels placed upon shelves for science.
"Can I see it?"
He didn't try showing it, but he felt a little flustered from her asking that question. Turning to her, he tried his best to not seem embarrassed.
"Umm, s-sure."
He pulled an arm into his robe, leaving the sleeve loose as he arched his back to grab something, and with the clipping sound of something opening came the reveal of his tail slowly exiting from the robe. He twirled the rodent tail around, letting Fruit cup get a good view of it. The tail Surpassed his own body, and slightly slouched when he relaxed it.
"Whoa, is it supposed to be that big? Its bigger than you." Fruit cup said.
Fortune let out an embarrassed cough at the question. "Ummm... No, i don't think so."
He took the tail between his clawed hands, one gripping it while the other caressed the end between his fingers.
"Though I am quite different from your ordinary mouse."
"Yeah, i'll say."
Fruit cup took a seat at the table, getting a confused look from fortune.
"Aren't you gonna get a book?" Fortune asked.
"Nah. like I said, this place is usually used for hanging out. I wanted to talk with you, but you can get a book if you like."
"Ok, what do you you have in mind?" He said as he took a seat across from her.
It took a couple of seconds, but fruit cup eventually blurted out her question.
"Who are you exactly?" She asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Like, where do you come from? What's your past? Who do you know, and why are you here now?"
Fortune uncomfortably shuffled in his seat, unexpected of the question. "Don't you think that's a little bit of a personal question for someone you just met?"
"You don't have to tell me everything, not even all you can tell today. We can even make it into a thing. I'll tell you something of me if you tell me something of yourself. If what you say is bad l, i'll tell you something of my past that's bad, same said for other things. Deal?" She finished with a hoof out to shake.
Fortune hummed questioningly, but then shook the hoof with his own clawed hand. "Deal."
"Ok, so what of your past would you like to say first?"
Gripping his hands together, he shuffled in his seat. "Remember when I said that I wasn't really born? Well, it was more like I was created."
"How so?"
"Well it could just be me, but I don't remember anything of my youth, or in my sense, a past of my existence. It just feels like I begun, like the start of a story. No achievements, no education, nothing but my name and my partner seemed to make me who I was from the start."
"Really? Who's your partner?"
"Well... I don't want to get into details but her name is Charity. I'll tell you another day. Your turn."
"Well..." She rubbed the back of her head with a hoof. "I don't really know what to compare that to."
"Just say a day that started off too weird."
They sat in silence as Fruit cup thought it over in her mind, eventually starting her story. "Well I remember one time that I woke up to a bright light shining over me. At first I though it was just the morning sunshine, but the light seemed to shift around, casting shadows around my room, making me think someone was in there with me. When I looked up though what I saw was a blue orb of light. Even though it was just and orb, it felt familiar somehow, as if it was someone close to me."
She sat back in her chair. "Scared me half to death when the thing rushed right through me, or in me is what I thought, and still do. Barely got any sleep that day, and couldn't stop worrying the next, Or the day after that... Or a year later. A lot of random stuff happened after that, but I'll save it for another time. I'm going to get a book"
Fruit cup got up from her seat and made her way to one of the many shelves. Looking up and down the section labeled fantasy. Fortune did the same as he scanned a the science section, pulling out a book named Dragon Anatomy: Facts and Theory. Placing it on the table be began to flip through it before stopping at a page titled Neck and Torso. The section explained mostly the anatomy of the listed parts with diagrams of the inside outer structure, how dragons breathe fire and how they were believed to do so, and how different it was from types or age of dragons.
He stopped at a picture of a dragon with his mouth open, showing his many sharp teeth, and a maw ready to devour any who show themselves to it. He stared it down for a while, unaware he was doing so until Fruit cup Dropped a book on the table, him quickly closing the book in shock.
"You must've really been into that book." She put a hoof to the side of her mouth."Or perhaps you found something naughty."
Winking his way, he caught on to what she was saying, leaving him flustered.
"Oh, no, nothing like that." He said waving his hands back and forth.
"Sure it isn't." She said sarcastically.
She flipped through her book and began to read her book of choice, Leaving Fortune puzzled.
They read their books, occasionally Fruit Cup talking about a good part in her book or just small talk. After some time Fruit Cup placed her book down and got up.
"I got to go, see you later." Fruit cup said.
And with that she walked down the stairs after waving farewell. Fortune continued to read after she left, occasionally getting up to pick up a different book while leaving the other open on an important page. Minutes turned to hours, and soon enough the sun was setting. With a few books scattered across the table he thought it would be high time to call it a day with his research, beginning to mark the pages with a fold of their Corners.
Shelving them he began to make his departure, walking out into the orange sunlit path. He continued to walk, being slightly lost from the unfamiliar atmosphere, but soon found his way back to his temporary residence. Knocking, he was greeted by Missing Charm, who didn't look to pleased. "Where have you been?" She asked as if to a late child. "Wait, never mind. Come in."
He followed her in, closing the door behind him. From the entrance he could se that there was a small table half his size set up in the living room, pillows on all four sides, and a table cloth covering the entire thing. Sat at the far ends where Burmese and Drake. Drake waving uncomfortable to Fortune as he walked in, while Burmese just ignored him.
Fortune could hear the sound of boiling in the room across, Missing Charm making her way over there.
"I'm making dinner, it'll be done soon." She said as she entered the kitchen.
He saw the slight flash and flow of her magic as she ran the cooking, making his statement from before true. Staring back at the table he saw that Burmese was staring at him with his hooves crossed. Fortune tried to ignore it as he took a seat on one of the pillows as best he could, but just couldn't find a comfortable position to sit in, so he settled with sitting on the ground. Soon enough she was done cooking, plates and utensils flying in from the kitchen onto the table, and following them was her with a pot to her side.
She began to scoop what was inside onto each plate, what its contents where was boiled vegetables. Corn, green beans, broccoli, carrots, all these mixed together to make a colorful little meal.
"Thank you for the meal!" The two colts said.
"Thank you." Fortune said.
She nodded her head, putting the pot in the middle before taking her seat. Nodding again she began to eat, using her magic on a spoon to scoop the food in her mouth. The colts just used their mouth, not fully developed in their magic quite yet.
Picking up a fork Fortune began to eat, skewering the veggies onto his fork. He usually looked up from his food to see at least one pair of eyes on him, occasionally being Missing charm. They all mostly ate in silence, the atmosphere being of a stale dinner, though Fortune thought the food was good.
Once they all finished eating, Missing Charm took everyone's plates and told the little ones to clean up, which was also an offering for Fortune to get clean as well. Soon enough Everyone was ready for bed. Goodnights where exchanged between mother and sons while Fortune made his way to the living room.
Getting comfortable on the couch he got ready to go to sleep.
"Goodnight." Fortune heard from the living room entryway.
He turned to see Missing Charm in the entry, seeming to be passing by.
"Goodnight." Fortune said.
With a nod she walked out of sight, a door being closed soon after. Laying back Fortune took in the day, and the knowledge he took from the books. He made a new friend, learned a thing or two, and bought a ton of candy.
"Wait... What happened to my candy?"
Missing Charm lay in her bed, magic grasping into a bag to pull out a wrapped piece of candy. Pulling it in front of her she unwrapped it and popped it in her mouth. She savored the flavor of it, wondering where all of it may have come from.
Fortune opened his eyes, view to the ceiling to see a grey cracked pavement ceiling. He immediately shocked himself up, looking around to see the walls made of brick and bars lining the room along with a bared door, serving to be his prison. Looking to his other side he saw a lone barred outlook, to small and high for him too look through nor crawl. He immediately got up from where he was laying, pushing off the hard ground and lightly running to the door, trying to get a good enough view out of his cell. But once he put enough weight into it he felt it slide with him as it slowly opened.
Questioning why he was there, he looked around to see a brick hallway, bar cells covering each wall. At the end of the hallway was a spit path, a fleeting figure moving to the right path, Fortune catching sight of it for just a second. He quickly started pursuing it, almost losing sight of it as it cut cornered. After some time it ran into a room, the door closing behind it.
Fortune didn't waste any time as he opened the door and walked in, only to not feel the floor under his feat as he fell down. Fire was everywhere, the room going down forever as the flames covered the area like a void. Fortune screamed as he plummeted down, body turning as he flared his arms.
Something grasped onto him, his body feeling constricted at his mid region. He didn't get the chance to look down as something grabbed onto the sides of his face, moving it towards his captor. It's golden irises stared down at fortune, it's expression emotionless as its dragon like muzzle was covered in gold. It's stare froze Fortune to the core, the stare being to familiar to him.
"I-I'm sorry." Was all he could mutter out, but once those words left his mouth everything went dark, the starting of a whisper creeping into his mind.
"I am coming for you."
He awoke franticly, jolting up from the couch. He inhaled heavily, releasing it in one shaky breath. He felt his face, moist from all the tears, and began wiping away them with his arm. He sat up straight on the couch, hands gripping the cushions.
"It's been so long." He said under his breath.
He though he heard something in the hallway and turned to look, he couldn't see anything but thought there was someone there. He just proceeded to lay back down and try to get more sleep.
He awoke again to the sound of someone shuffling. Looking around he saw Missing Charm at the work desk across from him. She was writing something in a journal, lamp on as it was still dark outside. After a huff, she got up from her seat making her way to the kitchen, but stopped when she saw Fortune staring her way.
"Oh, good morning." She said.
"Morning." Fortune said with a nod of his head.
After some awkward silence of staring at each other Missing Charm continued her way into the kitchen, her tail sliding on the ground as it vanished behind the door. Fortune rested on the couch some more, trying to empty his mind as he relaxed. But his mind retracted back to the dream he experienced. It was so long ago that he had a dream similar to it, but he knew there was a chance it was more than a dream. A sign, possibly even a connection.
After some time of sidetracking from his main thought, he got bored. He jumped off the couch and stretched. Reaching into his robe he pulled out a pouch, and after shaking around the gold inside proceeded to place it on the table.
He saw that Missing Charm had left her journal open, he was curious on what she wrote l, but decided on not reading it. Didn't want to loose the little bit of trust he had with her now. Going to the front entrance, he opened the door and closed it on his way out.
He didn't have any plans for the day, so he just planned to explore the town, get used to his surrounding, and eventually find something to do. Taking a breath of air, he flipped his hood on and began his unmarked journey through the town.
He passed by a lot of stores and condos throughout the town, occasionally finding buildings of interest. He did not bother going in the buildings though, keeping it in his mind to probably visit sometime.
As he expected, while he was walking he would occasionally get a stare from a passerby, a mix of emotion from each face he could spot. A stallion starred at him with anger, which startled Fortune into walking faster past him.
A few times throughout the day he went into restaurants, getting a bite to eat. Some looked to have an excuse to not let him eat there due to booking or a policy, though he didn't bother trying to argue with it and eventually found places he could eat in.
Time passed and eventually half the day has gone by. Fortune rested on a bench placed on a brick building, standing close to a alleyway. He was reminiscing on the food he enjoyed until he heard something in the nearby alleyway.
He didn't get the time to react to the sound as he was lifted from his seat by a pair of hands and tossed into the alleyway, crashing into a trash can before he hit the ground. Groaning he slowly sat up, looking forward to his pursuer. His breath got caught in his throat as he saw what he wished he didn't. At the entrance of the alleyway stood a brown coated monkey, gripping a red pole in a aggressive manner. It wore a loincloth held together by a gold belt. It's face was slightly obscured by the light shining behind it, but an obvious scowl showed on its face, golden irises burning through Fortunes as it stared him down.
Fortune quickly got up, grabbing the trash can lid and shielding himself with it. Within second the pole the monkey held extended, the end quickly bashing into Fortunes only protection. The momentum of the pole was enough to push him of his feet, his makeshift shield pushed up against his chest as he flies through the alleyway. He lands on his back again with a grunt, but before he could get back up the monkey was already atop him, gripping his neck with a hand. Fortune gagged, struggling under the monkey as he tried kicking it off, his hands trying to pry its hands off his neck.
Fortune couldn't hear the sounds of ponys calling out to them, but he did notice the monkey swing its pole, followed by the sounds of it crashing into something. He turned his head in a panic to see distraught ponys inches from where the pole struck, which destroyed the ground, leaving only rubble. It gripped harder to bring his attention back, but then released its hold a little, allowing for him to breathe.
"Why did you do it?" The monkey asked in a feminine voice, before leaning in, face nearly touching his. "Why did you seal him away?!"
She picked him up from his neck and slammed him against the wall, continuing the amount of pressure that choked him. His struggles doing nothing to release him.
"The golden flame was doing what he felt was right, what made you think you had the right to stop him!" She put more pressure on her grip. "Now the fountain is attached to you, and our purposes no more."
She dropped him, having him crumple on the ground coughing and wheezing.
"What do you have to say for yourself."
Fortune looked up, smile on his face. "I miss you too."
She gave him a crazed look before turning with a breathy chuckle, hand covering her face. "I guess you with always be like that. Trying to cheer us up, keep us hopeful." She paused for a long period, the only sound being that of Fortune catching his breath. "I always adored that about you." Her grip tightened on the pole. "Now it just makes me sick!"
She swung the pole at Fortunes head, the thud of the impact echoed through the alleyway as he fell to the ground, last thing he saw was the empty alleyway wall before he blacked out.
He awoke to the same view of the alleyway, darkened by the time of night. A headache throbbed through his head, his heartbeat thumping with the surges of pain as he lay there. He looked ahead to the brick wall, shallow eyes not moving, not caring to get off the littered, dark alleyway. He suddenly flinched, struggling to get. He was able to sit himself against the wall, after a few heavy breathes grabbed at his head to feel a lump, wincing away from it as he made contact with it. With a chuckle, Fortune smiled. "Nice to see they still care."
With a grunt he slowly got up to his feet, a little wobbly on the ascend. He tried cleaning himself up as much as he could before putting the hood up and steadily walking out of the alleyway. He leaned against the walls as he slowly made his way back to his temporary living space.
Knocking on the door he waited, the door opening soon after with Missing Charm looking down to him with a neutral expression.
"I would be happy if you didn't come back so late." She said.
"Right, sorry." He said. She moved to the side to let Fortune in, him wobbling a little on the first step as he entered the house. First thing he saw was the table set up, Drake and Burmese on each end with a board game in the middle. Drake waved to him while Burmese just ignored him. Missing Charm passed by Fortune, taking a seat in between her children.
"Mom, can he play?" Asked Drake.
Fortune looked at the board, seeing that it seemed to be a four player game. He looks back to them with a small smile, which got Missing Charm to hesitate on her answer.
"Sure honey." Charm said as she began picking through the game box to get the pieces ready.
Fortune sat down with them, his addition filling in the blank as they casually played the board game.
The monkey stood on top of a roof as it stared up at the night sky, eyes reflecting off the moons glow. She huffed as she sensed the presence of someone.
"Don't you have better things to do?" She asked aloud.
"Why did you do that?" Asked a voice seemingly from nowhere.
"He deserves more than what I gave him from what he's done." She hit the roof with a palm. "You're not even one to talk, you wanted to kill him."
"I was mad at the time, we all where. But you just as I saw what happened, it's not what we wanted, fortune just acted upon it."
"What do you fully know of what we all wanted? All you want is that stupid moon." The monkey pointed up to where the moons presence loomed. "And to get it, you should know exactly what you would have to do, worse that what the golden flame had done."
A light grumble could be heard. "We're not here to mention that."
"Then what are you here for?"
Silence befallen the area, the question lingering in the air.
