Chapter 6
The rest of the walk to the inn was awkward. Fletch didn’t say anything, and I didn’t know what to say. That meant it was silent, oppressively so, as I could no longer focus on the ambience instead. Thankfully, as we neared the inn, which was one of the few buildings left with any lights on, I could see Rusty and Dr. Duck pull up with the cart.
“Hey!” Rusty waved us over, “There they are! Did you get all mucked up?”
“Ugh,” I rolled my eyes.
“...Yeah…” Fletch muttered, looking to the side,
It didn’t take long for them to sense the mood.
“Did something happen?” Dr. Duck asked,
“Um…” Fletch began, “W-”
“We just talked,” I held my arm in front of her, “Fletch asked me about my life before, and I told her.”
They glanced between us for a moment, while Fletch just looked at me.
“And you’re okay with that?” Rusty asked,
“I’m much happier where I am now, so I don’t mind looking back.” I said, “You got the cart?”
“And then some!” Rusty replied, he moved around the back and dragged a sack closer to the edge, it rattled and clinked heavily. “Payday.”
“Cool, is everyone else inside then?”
“Should be,” Rusty hefted the sack and began heading his way to the front door. “We’ll be eating good tonight.”
I went to follow, but Dr. Duck stepped in front of both me and Fletch.
“Is it really that bad?”
“It’s…” Fletch glanced at me again, “Yeah.”
“I can go into it if you’d like.”
“Um… Maybe later.”
“Yeah,” Rusty said, “I don’t want to be feeling bad right after getting paid, now let’s party!”
He pushed his way inside, Dr. Duck frowned slightly, then followed suit. I made eye contact with Fletch, and gave a small smile. She had her problems, and she certainly didn’t need me digging into them. With that, I threw my hood up, and made my way into the inn, with Fletch trailing behind.
Inside was about what I expected, rough cut wooden furniture, simple oil lanterns and candles, and incredibly faded and worn tapestries as decoration.
There were no smooth surfaces in sight.
A small bar took up a side of the room, which probably doubled as a check-in desk, a single pony was manning it. There were a couple of others situated around the room, some picking at food, others enjoying drinks from tankards, a few doing both. On the other end was a staircase, most likely leading to the actual rooms of the inn. I looked just in time to see another patron disappear around the corner at the top.
A much larger, and more familiar group sat up against the far wall, with several mismatched tables and chairs pushed together. There was already a platter of food in the center, with what looked like bread, vegetables, and a couple pieces of fruit. Rusty and Dr. Duck were already making their way towards them, and we weren’t far behind.
The bag of bits was unceremoniously dropped on the table.
“Money.” Rusty grinned,
“I take it we passed inspection?” Captain Morningstar began,
“Money.” Rusty pointed to the bag,
“How much did we make again?” Indigo asked,
“Money.” Rusty shrugged,
“Job was worth a hundred,” Dr. Duck said, taking a seat,
I sat down next to him, “Should you really be saying that out loud?” I leaned in closer and lowered my voice, “Aren’t you worried about thieves?”
They all looked at me for a moment, before a variety of weapons were slammed onto the table.
“Nevermind then,” I leaned back in my chair, “What’s next?”
“We enjoy the night.” Indigo said,
“Food.” Maul added,
“And drink, hopefully,” Rusty said as he turned to flag the pony at the bar, “A round for the table!”
“In a minute!” They shouted back.
Even the staff was rough and tumble, this place was full of character. I couldn’t help but smile, this really was a fantasy come true. Eventually a tankard was placed in front of me, and not long after a plate was slid across the table.
“Eat.” Maul said,
I looked at it, there was a small loaf of bread and an apple. As much as I wanted to dig in and eat solid food again, there was an issue.
“Oh no thanks, I’m not hungry.”
“Don’t be like that.” Captain Morningstar said, “We’re not going to spend money on clothes for you, but we’re not gonna starve you either.”
“No really, I’m not hungry.”
Indigo looked up from her meal, “Have you eaten at all since you got here?”
I thought back on the events of the day. “Guess not.”
“But we found you before noon!” Dr. Duck said, “How are you not hungry?”
“I’m just not.” I shrugged, “I’m not thirsty either.”
“Then I guess you won’t be needing this then,” Rusty snatched my tankard for himself.
“Uh, sure.”
There were a couple of worried looks cast in my direction.
“Do you think it’s shock from the arm?” Indigo asked,
“Doesn’t hurt or anything. Never has actually.” I moved my stump around, which gave me a good chance to look at the mud. The stuff I applied earlier was a slightly lighter tone than the layer underneath, the contrast wasn’t high, but it was definitely noticeable if you looked closely.
“Still,” Dr. Duck began, “You should probably eat something, even if you don’t feel like it.”
“Okay.” I shrugged,
The bread looked hard and tasteless, but the apple looked rather crisp. I grabbed it carefully as to not get much dirt on it, wiped it a bit on my cloak, and took a bite. I think I remember apples tasting much better, or it was more accurate to say that I wasn’t tasting anything now. I felt the apple skin break against my teeth, a good amount of juice flow down my lips and into my mouth, and the chunk I had bitten fall on my tongue.
Yet I couldn’t taste anything, not even as I started chewing. That was when I noticed that my mouth wasn’t wet normally, and that only the apple juice was currently making it wet, nothing else was being added. Once everything was all chewed and mushy, I went to swallow, only for nothing to happen. There wasn’t even a semblance of the motion, the food was pushed to the back of my mouth and… nothing.
It wasn’t like I was choking either, so I just sat there for a few moments, trying to figure it out.
“Oh…” I said with my mouth full,
If it wasn’t going down, then I had to spit it back up.
“Bleh,” I covered my mouth as best as possible as I let the apple mush fall out. I then ran my tongue along my mouth a few times to clear it out some more.
“What was that about?” Dr. Duck asked, “Was it rotten?”
“Nope, I literally can’t eat,” I said,
“What?”
“Seriously, there’s nowhere for it to go.” I opened my mouth and stuck a finger all the way to the back of my throat. It simply ended there, and I wasn’t gagging from the action either.
“That’s a mildly disturbing sight,” Indigo began, “Could you stop that please?”
“Suhr,” I pulled my finger out of my mouth,
“So, you can’t eat.” Dr. Duck deduced,
“I don’t think I need to.” I said,
“Then how else do you get your energy?”
“Hmm…” I thought for a moment. I feel like the answer should be obvious, but nothing was coming to mind, was it something I forgot?
“Is it magic?” Fletch guessed,
Indigo gasped, “Are you a golem?!”
“I don’t believe so.”
“Golems don’t move like that,” Captain Morningstar said,
“Not golems we’ve seen.” Indigo corrected, “With the right material or enough magic refinement, you could get something that moves just like us. Phos might be an advanced golem.”
“That can speak and think for itself?” Dr. Duck wondered,
“It’s possible.”
“Are golems alive though?” I asked,
“Technically…” Indigo thought for a moment, “No, they are animated constructs.”
“Then I’m not a golem. I’m definitely alive.”
“If you say so, then there must be some other way you’re getting energy…”
I shrugged, “I’m not too worried about it, if I’ve made it this far without any issues, then there shouldn’t be in the near future either.”
“And if there are?”
“I’ll deal with it then.” I answered, “Now, who wants the rest of this?” I asked, pushing my plate forward.
The piece of bread was immediately grabbed by Maul, but the apple remained where it was.
“I promise you won’t get sick from something I’ve touched.” I held my hand up,
“You say that,” Fletch began, “but you’re covered in mud, some of that you just got from the street.”
“Oh. Right.”
“Eh, that hasn’t stopped me before,” Rusty said, grabbing the apple and taking a bite, “Who knows, maybe I’ll even get that incurable disease you were talking about earlier.”
“Don’t even joke about that!” I exclaimed,
A lot of eyes turned to look at me, even other patrons of the bar. It took me a moment to realize what I just did, and I shrank back under my hood a bit.
“Trust me, you don’t want it nearly as much as you think you do. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone, not even my worst enemy.”
“You turned out alright.”
“After more than a decade of suffering!”
“Lay off, Rusty.” Indigo chastised,
“Okay fine.” Rusty took another bite of the apple, spraying chunks everywhere, “I won’t joke about it.”
“...Thank you…” I muttered, sinking in my seat.
“Are you alright?” Fletch asked, “You said you were okay with talking about the past before.”
I sighed, “There’s a difference between talking about my experience and talking about willingly choosing it. But yeah, I’m fine, just… tired.” I closed my eyes and pressed a few fingers against my forehead. It was getting harder to keep them open. “I hate to ask, but where can I sleep?”
“We have a couple rooms rented upstairs.” Captain Morningstar said,
I extended my wrist, “Can I pick any of them?”
“Depends.” Rusty said,
“On what?”
“Whether you want to sleep with the guys or girls.”
I opened an eye to look at him.
“Our room will probably be quieter.” Indigo added,
I pointed at her, “I’ll take it.”
“Should be the third door on the left.”
“Does it need a key?” I asked,
“Oh right, here.” Indigo scooted back in her chair to search her robes,
Fletch beat her to it, “I’ll go with you.” She stood up.
“Lead the way.” I managed a small smile while slowly getting to my feet.
“Sweet dreams, you two.” Rusty grinned.
I just waved him off, I didn’t have the energy to argue anymore. Fletch led me all the way upstairs and to the room described. Then she took out a simple key and unlocked the door.
“You can use my bed if you want.” She said,
“I’m not using a bed like this,” I gestured to my muddy legs.
Besides, beds have long since lost their appeal to me.
“Where are you going to sleep then?”
I looked into the dim room, “Floor or chair,” I pointed to each of them,
“Is that okay?”
“I don’t care.” I was already pulling my cloak off,
I draped it over the back of the chair, then promptly sat on the wood floor and laid down. It honestly wasn’t that bad, with a body made of crystal, it was less about comfort and more about support. Since I was just laying on my back, I wasn’t in an awkward position, so I could just sit there, unmoving.
Fletch was looking at me strangely, “I think I might head back down…”
“Alright. I’ll be here.”
“I can see that, and um… thanks… for earlier.”
“Don’t mention it, I’m sure you have your reasons.”
Fletch nodded, and began closing the door,
“Oh, also,”
She stopped.
“I am willing to listen, if you really want to talk about that.”
“...Okay…”
She closed the door, and I was left in darkness. I closed my eyes and waited, but sleep didn’t immediately find me.
I suppose it’s difficult to voluntarily go to sleep, but it’s been a long time since I voluntarily put myself in a position to sleep. Instead my mind began to wander, the events of the day beginning to catch up to me.
I really was in a different world, as something other than human. It wasn’t a dream either, I would’ve pinched myself to make sure, but my body doesn't work like that, and I can’t feel pain anyway. So instead I looked for other giveaways, I remember the whole day clearly, and I was still fully conscious, that immediately ruled out a fever dream, despite the strange setting, and I definitely died beforehand, which meant this wasn’t some dying vision.
I had died. Why wasn’t I sad about it?
I guess I was happier for the release more than anything, but I wasn’t the only one. My family, who tried their hardest to preserve my life, even against my wishes at some points, would also be affected by my death. I didn’t hate them for it, I could understand wanting to keep me around, to hold onto that last bit of hope, but I had long since accepted myself as a burden. I wasn’t a burden any longer, and though my passing may weigh heavily on their minds, it will leave room for something else entirely to grow.
Really, I was happy for them, wherever they may be now.
Ideally, the best case scenario would have been to miraculously come back to health, then to go back to my old life and live happily, but I wasn’t complaining about my current situation. There were so many new things to experience, so many strange things to discover, and so many people to meet. Or ponies, I should say.
In just over half a day, I fought* a dragon, made new friends, got a job, lied to the face of a government official, and learned more about myself than I ever thought possible. It was all so exciting, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for tomorrow.
Speaking of… it looks like… it’s about that…
…time…
…
To Be Continued…
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TFTC. Looks interesting. Made me want to read the source material.
Edit : I finished reading the source material. Stories like this are what make life worth living, simply to experience the peace that they bring you.
Interesting so far, sounds like they arrived well before NMM came back.
11934053
Man finished twelve volumes in two days. Maybe adding on the anime as well.
That's how good it is.
11935417
I finished it in one. I woke up and started reading it until I finished it and left to sleep. Need to re-read it tho. It was so good, but a lot of the characters aren't given much time to get attached to.
Like the admirabilis and most of the other gems. We saw them only in a few scenes.
Basically, Phos life is suffering even tho all she wanted was to make everyone happy.
The only thing I need to get the answer for is that did she meet everyone on the other side in the end.
I am supper hyped for the bonus volume in a few months.
Maravilloso capitulo como siempre tarde en verlo pero me encantó. (No puedo usar el traductor y ponerlo en inglés hoy disculpa)