private A New Roommate

[Starshine 16,335]

OOC

 

It was late morning in the Ponyville. The weather team had just finished clearing most of the clouds, leaving only one or two of it for every ten houses in the town. The cool summer breeze was quite pleasant, some families had taken this chance to go on a picnic at the park with their fillies and colt. It was generally a very nice day, but it was not verily so for a certain pegasus mare that was standing near the entrance of the Ponyville's town hall.

 

Winterglade's days hadn't been so well lately. Everything was started with her roommate getting a severe case of feather flu, requiring her family to pick her up and carried her away to a hospital in Canterlot. The day after that she had to hire somepony to fumigate her apartment just in case that the virus or something still lingered. Then the next day her landlord had informed her that without a roommate to share the rent with, she would have to pack her things and leave. She couldn't afford to pay the entire rent by herself, for the apartment was quite roomy. The mare involuntarily whimpered at the thought of being homeless. "Oh Celestia please don't let that ever happen to me," she whispered to nopony in particular. It was particularly hard to find a flat owner that was okay with a tenant that can barely feed herself, let alone to pay the monthly rent in time.

 

She trotted to a nearby billboard that was usually reserved for ponies like her that was looking for assistance. She tacked a white paper that read, "Looking for a roommate. A spacious apartment near the town hall, next to the White Lilies café. Rent 850 bits monthly, will be split evenly. Contact Winterglade in the Quills and Sofas store or leave note here if interested."

 

Winterglade sighed and trotted backwards to admire the paper from a distance. It was not luxurious-looking, but she hoped that there would be an interested pony soon. After making sure that the paper is tacked nicely, she trotted out of he room and flew to take a rest on a nearby cloud.

 

 

 

 

;;RPCode

;;Character - Winterglade - Starshine - - %%Pegasus%%

 

;;Character - Keystone - Zoop -  - %%Pegasus%%

;;DefaultTitle - %%RP Player%%

;;ExtraLink - Apartment Layout

 

Edited May 8, 2013 by Starshine

[Zoop 8,384]

Bad luck was not something unfamiliar to Keystone... quite the opposite, in fact. It was, in all actuality, something that he was quite used to, and typically able to shrug off with little difficulty. What he was not used to, on the other hand, was arriving in a new town - Ponyville - and finding that the apartment he had made arrangements to split with another stallion was no longer available to him.

 

No longer available to him because the entire bloody building had burned to the ground, it seemed. It had apparently been some sort of mishap involving a poorly placed candle, a passing unicorn had told him when she noticed him staring at the rubble. Rubble that included the bulk of his personal belongings, which he had arranged to have sent to his roommate-to-be a day ahead of his actual arrival. Belongings that as such had arrived just in time to be reduced to ash and dust, along with the rest of the building.

 

Only a few hours prior, Keystone had been looking forward to getting a fresh start on life, leaving his birthplace of Canterlot and his employment at his father's shop behind for a much needed change of scenery in the much smaller town of Ponyville, where he had both a job at a local lock shop and a roommate lined up. He had been filled with optimism as he had stepped off the train and as he explored the area, making his way toward the address that marked the location of his new home. He had been convinced, convinced that this move would mark a turning point in his life. That it would be a good thing.

 

---

 

Keystone entered the Ponyville city hall feeling absolutely defeated as he considered his situation. Not only was he homeless, but the vast bulk of everything that he owned had apparently gone up in flames with the rest of the building, leaving him with naught but the contents of his saddlebags... this left him with a few small personal belongings, and his bits, but little else. He needed to find a place to stay... unfortunately, from what he recalled of his initial apartment search, there weren't many folks looking for roommates in Ponyville, and he wasn't too sure how many people that were in the market for a new roommate would accept someone showing up at their doorstep out of nowhere asking to be let in and immediately given a bed and a key... he had, however, been told by a pony he had spoken to while wandering around aimlessly that there was a community bulletin board here that would occasionally featured advertisements for roommates, though he had also been cautioned that it was somewhat rare for it to be used for such

 

The bulletin board turned out to be located just inside of the hall, and was fairly impressive in size, and in the sheer number of things that had been posted upon it, though Key quickly noticed that all the postings seemed to be for job openings, special events, sales, advertisements for people trying to sell off old belongings, or concert fliers. It wasn't until he had scanned through nearly the entire board that one of the postings caught his eye.

 

"Looking for a roommate. A spacious apartment near the town hall, next to the White Lilies café. Rent 850 bits monthly, will be split evenly. Contact Winterglade in the Quills and Sofas store or leave note here if interested."

 

Keystone blinked. He hadn't actually expected to find any leads, and had been preparing himself mentally to spend the slowly approaching evening huddled in a cardboard box. He read the posting again and promptly took it down, taking it with him as he left the building, after which he sat down and looked over the paper once again. The apartment itself was apparently close enough, but he had no bloody idea where Quills and Sofas was located.

[Starshine 16,335]

Winterglade spent her idle time counting the ponies on the market from her position perched above the small cloud. She lost count at the 127th, there were too many blurs of colors. Normally at this time of the day she would be working on the Quills and Sofas store, but she had asked for a day off to search for a roommate. Thankfully the owner had been very understanding and he gave her a paid leave.

 

Winterglade rocked back and forth on her cloud while her eyes scanning the town hall and the immediate area surrounding it. When a pink pegasus trotted out of the town hall while carrying her paper, Winterglade lost her balance. The pink pegasus was quite slender, well built, and there was a full saddlebag on her back. With a loud yelp the cloud suddenly turned upside down, taking the very surprised Winterglade with it. Her hooves clinged to the soft cloud for dear life as her eyes followed what she assumed to be a mare as she sat down while still reading the paper.

 

 

 

He read the posting again and promptly took it down, taking it with him as he left the building, after which he sat down and looked over the paper once again.

 

"Hello there! The pink one, reading about the roommate paper, hello miss?" Winterglade waved her hooves excitedly trying to attract the mare's attention, still perched upside down under her cloud. She hoped that the pink pegasus would have heard her, or she would look silly. She continued, "My name's Winterglade, and I see you are carrying my paper there. Are you interested in sharing the apartment with me? It's really spacious, comfortable enough for two of us!"

 

Winterglade grinned to the mare, her eyes twinkled with expectations. She knew that the mare might think that she was a weird pony, hanging upside down under a cloud and all.

[Zoop 8,384]

Keystone had barely had a chance to sit down when he heard someone calling down from above in the sky. It was difficult to make out for certain due to the distance and the ambient sounds present around him, but it sounded something like,

 

 

 

"Hello -------! ---- pink one, reading --------- roommate -----, hello ----?"

 

 

Key's ears perked up immediately as he began to scan the sky with his eyes, trying to find the source of the voice. 

 

 

 

"My name's Winterglade, and I see you are carrying my paper there. Are you interested in sharing the apartment with me? It's really spacious, comfortable enough for two of us!"

 

 

Hearing the voice call out again, this time more clearly now that he was listening in for it, Key was able to locate the source:  what seemed to be a... pegasus wearing a cape hanging upside down on a cloud, while waving down to him excitedly.

 

He blinked. Once, twice, thrice, and once again before raising a hoof up in what he meant to be an affirmative wave. He was confused, a bit frightened, but at the same time hopeful. He collected himself for a moment and called out, in as loud a voice as he could muster,

 

"I am, yes! I'm new here and am desperately in need of a place to stay!"

[Starshine 16,335]

 

 

"I am, yes! I'm new here and am desperately in need of a place to stay!"

"Fantastic!" Winterglade cried out. She momentarily forgot that she was clinging upside down and raised both of her forehooves in a cheer. The mare unsurprisingly fell to a nearby bush in a cartoonish heap of flailing hooves. A couple of fancy words later she extracted herself from the now ruined shrubberies, her mane now sticking out in random places. She approached the pegasus.

 

"Uh... sorry for the weird introduction. The name's Winterglade, and I hope we can be good friends!" She paused. From up close, she finally realized that the pink pegasus was a stallion. He was a lot slender than any other pegasus stallion, but his snout is unmistakably stallion. Winterglade gave the stallion an uneasy smile. "Also, I kinda thought that you're a mare from up there. Sorry."

[Zoop 8,384]

 

 

"Fantastic!"

 

 

With a single word, Keystone felt as though a significant weight was lifted from his back. 'Fantastic' tended not to be the words uttered by someone that was planning on turning someone down, after all. For the first time since he had laid his eyes upon the burning wreckage of what should have been his home, Key felt a smile drawing itself across his face as he fought against a bout of happy laughter... laughter that was interrupted before it could escape when the pony he was speaking with promptly fell from the cloud into a nearby bush.

 

Once again, Keystone blinked... once, twice, thrice, and once more yet again. Just as Key began to shake himself from his shock and prepared to move to help the downed pegasus, the pony - a mare, he now noted - managed to extract herself from the offending shrubbery and approached him. 

 

 

 

"Uh... sorry for the weird introduction. The name's Winterglade, and I hope we can be good friends!"

 

 

Once again, Key's face lit up; not only had he found somepony willing to bring him in, she appeared to be a bloody friendly one to boot. Just as he began to open his mouth to respond though, she began speaking once again,

 

 

 

"Also, I kinda thought that you're a mare from up there. Sorry."

 

 

Keystone paused, and let off a small sigh. This wasn't the first time someone had mistaken him for a mare at a distance (or close up, for that matter, in a couple instances involving ponies with extremely poor eyesight), and he knew it wouldn't be the last. While a bit exasperating, it wasn't something he found terribly offensive, so he did his best to not give it a great deal of thought.

 

"That's... fine, really. You're not the first person to make that mistake, as you could probably guess... At any rate... I'm Keystone - new here in town, arrived earlier today. The apartment building I was going to be staying in apparently burned to the ground... with... well... everything that I own inside of it, for the most part actually... so... I, ah... found your ad... and was hoping to..." a sudden thought entered Key's mind, bringing with it a quick stab of panic and a small twitch to his left eye "assuming, of course, that you're okay rooming with a stallion, I didn't realize that you were a... and obviously you thought I was..." Key swallowed before continuing, "you're... fine... with rooming with a bloke, right?" 

[Starshine 16,335]

 

 

"That's... fine, really. You're not the first person to make that mistake, as you could probably guess... At any rate... I'm Keystone - new here in town, arrived earlier today. The apartment building I was going to be staying in apparently burned to the ground... with... well... everything that I own inside of it, for the most part actually... so... I, ah... found your ad... and was hoping to..."

 

Winterglade visibly grimaced when Keystone told her that his apartment was burned before he could get to actually open its door. The thought that the stallion in front of her had just lost pretty much everything he had sent a shiver down her spine. Her smile grew uneasy. Such a poor stallion. She hoped that he at least had a job somewhere to support himself.

 

 

 

"assuming, of course, that you're okay rooming with a stallion, I didn't realize that you were a... and obviously you thought I was..." Key swallowed before continuing, "you're... fine... with rooming with a bloke, right?"

 

"Hm... No worries about that! The apartment is big enough for, like, three or four ponies, but so far there is nopony interested when there are already two ponies inside it. With two bedrooms and a quest bedroom, nothing can go wrong," Winterglade said, smiling while so. It was understandable that the stallion felt uneasy on the prospect of sharing am apartment with a stranger mare. Winterglade herself wasn't worried at all. "Besides, if anypony dare to try anything funny with me, I can send them to the Tartarus." Winterglade's irises shrunk to pinpricks, her toothy smile bent to an uncomfortable angle.

 

Winterglade cleared her throat as her eyes grew back to their normal size. "Anyway, if you don't have anything important to do, let me show you to the apartment building!" Without further delay she grabbed Keystone and dragged him to what soon will be his apartment. It was a short trip, considering the building was only 75 strides away from the town hall. The building itself was quite huge, about 30 feet wide and three stories tall with an attic. It looked a bit out of place compared with the small houses around it. "Here you go! I only bring one key with me, I'll give you your own key to the apartment once we are inside. The owner is a stallion, he's kinda old but he's quite okay if we can't pay the rent on time, as long as we don't take too long."

 

"So, what do you think?" She asked hopefully to the stallion. She hoped that her relapse earlier wouldn't scare him away.

[Zoop 8,384]

 

 

"Hm... No worries about that! The apartment is big enough for, like, three or four ponies, but so far there is nopony interested when there are already two ponies inside it. With two bedrooms and a quest bedroom, nothing can go wrong,"

 

 

Key blinked. Three rooms? Space enough for four ponies? That was a far cry from the relatively small two bedroom apartment that he had been expecting. It was true that the price was a fair bit higher than he would have had to have paid at the other building, but based on his estimations as to his income after taxes at his new job, it would be perfectly doable... just a bit tight. 

 

Less eating out, and no fancy deserts it seemed, Key thought with a slight sigh.

 

 

 

"Besides, if anypony dare to try anything funny with me, I can send them to the Tartarus."

 

 

Key nearly stumbled a bit upon hearing this, seemingly out of nowhere, from the otherwise friendly seeming Mare. He only barely managed to maintain a poker face - an impressive feat, for him - as saw her face twist into a decidedly unfriendly grin as she spoke.

 

'Note to self...' he thought to himself has he suppressed the urge to gulp, '...don't make her angry... and hope that nobody will notice if I install a deadbolt on my bedroom door.'

 

 

 

"Anyway, if you don't have anything important to do, let me show you to the apartment building!"

 

 

Just as quickly as the change had come over her, it was gone without a trace, causing Keystone to blink rapidly in complete confusion as she latched on to him and began to pull him in what he guessed to be the direction of the building. Did she have a split personality, or had he simply imagined the whole thing? Had she simply been messing with him? It certainly didn't seem completely unreasonable to presume that it may have simply been his mind playing tricks on him; after all, he had been through one hell of an emotional roller coaster the entire day... and, even if there was something weird afoot, the fact remained that he needed a place to stay, and this seemed to be his best bet on such short notice. 

 

In what seemed no time at all they arrived in front at a tall building, in front of which Winterglade stopped.

 

 

 

"Here you go! I only bring one key with me, I'll give you your own key to the apartment once we are inside. The owner is a stallion, he's kinda old but he's quite okay if we can't pay the rent on time, as long as we don't take too long."

 

 

Key studied the building's exterior. It didn't look like a bad place, even if it did seem a bit odd considering all of the small houses that surrounded it. Given the building's impressive size, Key had little trouble believing Winterglade's apartment to be as spacious as she had implied. The rent would probably be a bit of a pain given Keystone's preference for having decent amounts of disposable income at the cost of low housing, but he thought, it probably wouldn't be that difficult to adjust to. 

 

A fresh smile spread across Keystone's face, this time without interruption, "Sounds good to me... I'd love to see the place!" Key winced a bit as his body made known the fact that it hadn't approved of the amount of random wandering around he had done before arriving at the city hall, nor of the amount of sheer stress that he had felt through the day, stress that now left his body feeling impressively tense and on edge, even as his mind had started to calm itself. "... and ... I think I could use a bit of a sit-down for a while... I.... well, I've had a hell of a day, to say the least."

 

Keystone's ears drooped a bit and felt a sigh escape him as he reviewed the day's events in his mind for a moment, before shaking his head and forcing himself back to the present. Things had looked bad, awful even, but he could mope about it later on, and in private.

[Starshine 16,335]

A fresh smile spread across Keystone's face, this time without interruption, "Sounds good to me... I'd love to see the place!"

 

Winterglade almost squeed when Keystone voiced his approval. Now she could finally relax, she wouldn't have to double her workload just to afford to sleep under a roof. She let out a small chuckle. Hopefully Keystone's arrival would be the turn point in her life to the better.

 

 

 

Key winced a bit as his body made known the fact that it hadn't approved of the amount of random wandering around he had done before arriving at the city hall, nor of the amount of sheer stress that he had felt through the day, stress that now left his body feeling impressively tense and on edge, even as his mind had started to calm itself. "... and ... I think I could use a bit of a sit-down for a while... I.... well, I've had a hell of a day, to say the least."

 

Keystone's ears dropped a little, and so was Winterglade smile started to flatter. It was painfully clear that the stallion needed a good rest, the sooner the better. "I'm sorry for dragging things out. Let's go, I'll take you in. I'm sure that you can get a buckin' good rest once you got into your room. The beds are very nice!" She said to Keystone. She motioned him to follow her to the inside.

 

Winterglade trotted to the apartment building's door and unlocked it with a key from her cape. She flapped her wings for once before opening the door and entered the building. She trotted past the small lobby and straight to the hallway. She didn't particularly like trotting around in the hallway, it felt cramped even when it's wide enough to accommodate five ponies walking side by side, but she never expressed it out. Taking a faster pace, she trotted to the end of the hallway and climbed the stairs to the second floor. With the same key she used to open the front door, she opened the door of a nearby room. She looked to Keystone behind her as she nudged the door open. "Don't ask how the keys work around here. Unicorn stuff. Even the owner can't explain how the all of keys can open the front door while they can't open any rooms other than the right one."

 

The mare practically bounced into her apartment, and what soon will be Keystone's apartment. She relished in the fact that she wouldn't have to trot in the hallway anymore. She turned around to face Keystone and swung a hoof to show him around the place. "And here we are! Welcome to, um, your new apartment!" She paused, and then facehoofed. "Okay, that sounds silly. Anyway, that's the dining room and the kitchen." She pointed a hoof to her left, or Keystone's right. She then trotted to a nearby sofa and poked it with a hoof. "This area would be the living room. It's quite sparse, but I'm planning to save for some more things to put around here. And those doors would be the bathroom and the bedrooms." She pointed to the four doors, which were already numbered from 1 to 3 with a large wooden numbers, and the last door had a large "W" on it. "Mine is the room 3. You can pick between room 1 or 2, but I would suggest the room number 1. Room number 2 doesn't have any bed in it. Oh, and your key would be on the key hanger in the kitchen."

 

Satisfied with her hopefully clear explanation, Winterglade trotted to a plush chair next to the flower vase near the middle of the apartment and seated herself there.  "Make yourself at home!" She called out to Keystone. She hadn't talked about the rent yet, but she hoped that Keystone would be okay with splitting the rent evenly.

Edited May 10, 2013 by Starshine

[Zoop 8,384]

 

 

"I'm sorry for dragging things out. Let's go, I'll take you in. I'm sure that you can get a buckin' good rest once you got into your room. The beds are very nice!"

 

 

The mention of a bed was enough to perk Key's ears up, though he figured that just sitting back and relaxing in the living room would probably be enough for the time being. While it was true that he had been on his feet for most of the morning upon getting off the train several hours earlier, the day was still young enough that he didn't think it would be necessary to sleep right through it. Besides, assuming Winterglade didn't have any plans for the afternoon it would probably make for a decent time to speak a bit and work some details of their arrangement out. With those thoughts in mind a tired smile slipped back onto his face as he gave an affirmative nod and followed the mare into the building.

 

In short order they had traveled through the hall, up a set of stairs, and through another hall before stopping briefly in front of the door to what Keystone assumed must be the apartment as she opened the door with her key and spoke again,

 

 

 

"Don't ask how the keys work around here. Unicorn stuff. Even the owner can't explain how the all of keys can open the front door while they can't open any rooms other than the right one."

 

 

Key blinked. Magical locking systems were typically reserved only for things that required obscene amounts of security, or for people that had a great deal of money to spend. In all probability the place just used a simp--- Keystone shook his head slightly as he forcefully derailed his own train of thought. He'd no doubt spend enough time obsessing over locks, keys, and all of the nauseatingly  mundane issues involved with them once he started in at his new job. 

 

He followed her in as she practically bounced inside with what seemed to be boundless energy, before she turned back around at him, swinging a hoof out in a somewhat dramatic fashion,

 

 

 

"And here we are! Welcome to, um, your new apartment! ... okay, that sounds silly. Anyway, that's the dining room and the kitchen."

 

Keystone laughed a bit at her antics as he followed her as she proceeded to direct him around the apartment. It was clean, if indeed a bit sparse, but overall probably a considerable step-up from what he had originally had in line. He listened at her description of the rooms, and followed her back out to the living room, plopping down in a chair not too far from her.

 

"This is... an extremely nice apartment, I must say. Much nicer than I had originally planned on having, to be honest... and, I really need to thank you for agreeing to everything so.. well, so rapidly, even though we've not even spoken of my financial situation ---" Key paused mid thought, realizing that he was probably making it sound as though he was unemployed or otherwise in a financial bind, "--- which is fine, really! I've already got a job here in town, and will be starting next week, I'll be fully able to pay rent and everything, so everything is completely dandy in that regard! Nothing to worry about here!"

 

Key blinked at his own moment of panic and took a hoof to his face with a sigh. "Talk about wonderful first impressions, huh? I swear that I'm not usually this loopy."

[Starshine 16,335]

 

 

"This is... an extremely nice apartment, I must say. Much nicer than I had originally planned on having, to be honest... and, I really need to thank you for agreeing to everything so.. well, so rapidly, even though we've not even spoken of my financial situation ---" Key paused mid thought, realizing that he was probably making it sound as though he was unemployed or otherwise in a financial bind, "--- which is fine, really! I've already got a job here in town, and will be starting next week, I'll be fully able to pay rent and everything, so everything is completely dandy in that regard! Nothing to worry about here!"

 

The abrupt pause when Keystone mentioned about his financial situation somehow threw Winterglade off balance. Thankfully Keystone almost immediately continued his speech. Winterglade let out a sigh of relief at the mention of his job. She chuckled. She really need to learn to stop to assume the worst. With a flick of her hoof she unlatched her cape and folded it neatly on the armrest of her chair. It certainly felt good to feel fresh air on her rear.

 

 

 

Key blinked at his own moment of panic and took a hoof to his face with a sigh. "Talk about wonderful first impressions, huh? I swear that I'm not usually this loopy."

 

Winterglade couldn't really help it, she burst into laughter when Keystone said that he was loopy. He was hardly the loopiest pony in this room. "Ah! You don't have to worry about anything. I'm pretty sure you've seen the full rent on the paper I posted in the town hall. Heck, you even carried the paper out from the building. If you don't have any job yet, I can help you to find something to do to pass the time." She rocked back and forth on her plush chair. She was sure that Keystone would be able to earn enough to help her to pay the rent. It was relatively easy to find a job in Ponyville, but the hard part was to find a long-term one. She was glad that at least Keystone seemed to already have a good one. Being unemployed after having pretty much everything you have burnt to ashes would be a total disaster

 

Winterglade looked at the clock on the wall. The lunchtime was still thirty minutes away, she thought that since they both were already sitting comfortably, it might be a good time to start a small talk. "Hm, Keystone, you're not from this town, right? Where did you come from, and why do you choose Ponyville?" Winterglade paused. She scratched her head. "Sorry for asking, I get curious at times. Anyway, if you're okay with me asking, what does your cutie mark mean?"

[Zoop 8,384]

Keystone's apologies for his loopiness had barely left his mouth before Winterglade burst into laughter, causing him to blink and tilt his head slightly in confusion at her unexpected outburst. Keystone began to open his mouth to ask about the laughter when she spoke,

 

 

 

"Ah! You don't have to worry about anything. I'm pretty sure you've seen the full rent on the paper I posted in the town hall. Heck, you even carried the paper out from the building. If you don't have any job yet, I can help you to find something to do to pass the time...  

 

Hm, Keystone, you're not from this town, right? Where did you come from, and why do you choose Ponyville? Sorry for asking, I get curious at times. Anyway, if you're okay with me asking, what does your cutie mark mean?"

 

 

Scratching the back of his head with a hoof, Key began to reply to Winter's comments and questions, each in turn. 

 

"Oh, no, I'm completely taken care of job-wise. Unless something completely awful were to happen ---" Key paused for a moment, reflecting on the awful things that already had happened, before shaking his head and continuing on, "--- I don't see there being any issue at all with the job. I'll be doing work at a lock shop on the far West side of town, though I don't start until Monday. Figured it'd be a good idea to give myself a couple days to familiarize myself with the town before throwing myself into a regular work schedule, you know?"

 

Keystone gave off a light yawn and stretched a bit before settling further into the chair upon which he was sprawled out on. The furniture didn't seem particularly fancy or expensive, but was definitely comfortable. He paused a moment to collect his thoughts and to offer Winterglade a silent compliment in her taste in furniture before continuing,

 

"As for where I'm from, I was born and raised in Canterlot... it's not a bad place, but... well, let's just say that I don't have the best relationship with my family... my parents are great, but I'm... not really fond of being around any of my other family members, of which there are a great many. As for Ponyville, I only just moved out from my parent's place, I'll admit... the cost of living in Canterlot is a bit higher than I'd be able to manage on my own, so Ponyville seemed like a good place to strike it out on my own that wasn't too far from home."

 

Another pause, this one as Key considered the issue of his family. Being born the only pegasus in a family that was populated entirely by Earth ponies had caused a number of less than friendly rumors to circle around, on both sides of the family. Nobody had ever said anything to his face about anything, but they hadn't exactly taken any great lengths to hide their distaste for him, or the fact that they had some less than respectable theories as to his origins... things had improved somewhat when he had taken on the family trade, but at that point nobody had any illusions that there was any desire for reconciliation among anyone involved. Keystone rolled his eyes slightly as he forced the mildly sour look that had come over his face for a brief moment away, before continuing on with Winter's questions.

 

"My cutiemark... well, it's fairly straight forward and bland to be completely honest. I'm a locksmith by profession, my father's family has a shop that has been in the family for several generations. I got it one day when I was tinkering with some junk stock in the back of the shop while waiting for my father to get off work... I managed to restore something that was apparently going to be thrown out into somewhat working order, heh." Key chuckled a bit, remembering how one of his uncles that had been working in the back had tried to yell at him for messing with things before realizing that he had managed to get the entire bloody thing working.

 

"I don't mind the questions at all, by the way... it makes perfect sense for us to get to know each other a bit if we're going to be living together after all, right?" Key smiled and directed his wandering gaze back on to Winterglade, "Speaking of which, what about you, Winterglade? Are you a Ponyville native, or an import like myself? And what of your cutiemark?

[Starshine 16,335]

 

 

"Oh, no, I'm completely taken care of job-wise. Unless something completely awful were to happen ---" Key paused for a moment, reflecting on the awful things that already had happened, before shaking his head and continuing on, "--- I don't see there being any issue at all with the job. I'll be doing work at a lock shop on the far West side of town, though I don't start until Monday. Figured it'd be a good idea to give myself a couple days to familiarize myself with the town before throwing myself into a regular work schedule, you know?"

 

Winterglade tilted her head a little bit when Keystone told her that he would be doing work at a local lock shop. Looking back at his cutie mark, a cute keypad with wings, it should have been obvious. She was a bit saddened over the fact that Keystone was struck down with a disaster just when he arrived in the Ponyville. She shrugged a bit when the stallion looked at her with a certain comprehension when he settled deeper to his chair. At least he was enjoying himself right now, even though the chairs in the apartment were not her picking. It was used to belong to her former roommate.

 

 

 

"As for where I'm from, I was born and raised in Canterlot... it's not a bad place, but... well, let's just say that I don't have the best relationship with my family... my parents are great, but I'm... not really fond of being around any of my other family members, of which there are a great many. As for Ponyville, I only just moved out from my parent's place, I'll admit... the cost of living in Canterlot is a bit higher than I'd be able to manage on my own, so Ponyville seemed like a good place to strike it out on my own that wasn't too far from home."

 

A Canterlot pony! That was totally unexpected. Winterglade was under an impression that everypony from Canterlot was a good-for-nothing, snobby stuck-up of an equine. Keystone seemed to be an exact opposite of that stereotype. Winterglade couldn't help but to sympathize with Keystone's decision to leave his parents. Her experiences with her family was not exactly the best of things. The stallion looked a bit sour after reminiscing about his parents. She felt bad for asking about her earlier questions.

 

 

 

"My cutiemark... well, it's fairly straight forward and bland to be completely honest. I'm a locksmith by profession, my father's family has a shop that has been in the family for several generations. I got it one day when I was tinkering with some junk stock in the back of the shop while waiting for my father to get off work... I managed to restore something that was apparently going to be thrown out into somewhat working order, heh." Key chuckled a bit, remembering how one of his uncles that had been working in the back had tried to yell at him for messing with things before realizing that he had managed to get the entire bloody thing working.

 

"I don't mind the questions at all, by the way... it makes perfect sense for us to get to know each other a bit if we're going to be living together after all, right?" Key smiled and directed his wandering gaze back on to Winterglade, "Speaking of which, what about you, Winterglade? Are you a Ponyville native, or an import like myself? And what of your cutiemark?

 

Winterglade chuckled when keystone recalled the story of his cutie mark. She imagined that it would be cute to see a colt playing around with a huge lock, only to have it fully repaired when he's done with it. It reminded her of her own father, but she pushed the memory away. It was unfortunate that Keystone decided to leave the old store of his father to Ponyville. She was certain that there were much history in that store, but she could understand if Keystone wanted to start anew.

 

"Glad to hear that you're fine with answering that much questions, Keystone" Winterglade said, smiling widely while so. She scratched her head a bit. "There have been some ponies that called me rude for wanting to know about stuffs, but sometimes I can't help it. Anyway, for myself..." She shifted for a bit to give the stallion a clearer look of her cutie mark. A cartoonishly large snow crystal with a blue circle around it. "...I'm pretty good at making snows. My entire family was pegasi, we are always excel ourselves in a certain field of weather manipulation. I guess it's in our blood."

 

She sighed as she slumped back to her seat. "My family was quite poor. We had a cloudhouse just at the border of Manehattan. There were six of us, so it's quite crowded there. When my father found out about my cutie mark, he took me along with him to Cloudsdale Weather Factory, on which I worked all of my days stomping clouds to rough snows for everyday until I was old enough to support myself." She chuckled. The look on her father's face was quite priceless when she told her that she wanted to leave the factory. That was the last time she saw the old stallion. "After some months going around all over the place, I finally settled in this town. Just like you, I found a bill in the town hall about looking for a roommate, and here I am!" She raised her hooves in a cheer. There was a smile on her face, but there was no glimmer in her eyes. "Keystone, if you need anything, just tell me and I'll try my best to help you."

 

The wall clock clicked, sowing that it was midday. It means only one thing to Winterglade: lunch was to be had. She jumped from her plush chair and trotted halfway to her room before turning to Keystone. "Do you want anything for the lunch? There is a cafe just under our rooms' windows, you can just fly down there and start ordering things?" She paused and tapped her chin with a hoof. "Or you can just try something in the kitchen, but I only have instant noodles in the cupboard. So, what da ya say?"

[Zoop 8,384]

Key studied Winterglade's body language as she told her own story. He'd readily admit that he wasn't the most perceptive pony when it came to reading the expressions of other ponies, but in this case he figured it would be a bit difficult to not catch on to the less than fond impression he was getting from her as she spoke of her childhood... not that he could blame her, being tossed into factory work immediately upon getting her cutiemark could not have been a nice experience at all. A frown tugged at his face as he pondered what it must have been like for the young mare.

 

Key heard the chiming of a wall clock, followed by the sight of Winterglade leaping out of the chair and toward her room.

 

 

 

"Do you want anything for the lunch? There is a cafe just under our rooms' windows, you can just fly down there and start ordering things? Or you can just try something in the kitchen, but I only have instant noodles in the cupboard. So, what da ya say?"

 

 

Keystone considered the two options, weighing each in his head. Instant noodles were obviously the choice that made the most financial sense given the situation, but at the same time...

 

"Tell you what..." Key started, "... why don't we head down to the cafe? My treat, as thanks for taking me in so easily and being so willing to lend a hoof despite knowing absolutely nothing about me... and honestly, after the way my day has gone I think I could use a good lunch. I'm sure there'll be plenty of time to enjoy instant noodles later on, at any rate. What do you think, Winterglade?"

 

Between his own story of family friction, and the impression he had gotten from Winter's, Keystone figured that they could probably both use a bit of cheering up - and what easier way to do so than with a good meal?

[Starshine 16,335]

 

 

"Tell you what..." Key started, "... why don't we head down to the cafe? My treat, as thanks for taking me in so easily and being so willing to lend a hoof despite knowing absolutely nothing about me... and honestly, after the way my day has gone I think I could use a good lunch. I'm sure there'll be plenty of time to enjoy instant noodles later on, at any rate. What do you think, Winterglade?"

 

Winterglade opened the door of her room before craned her head to Keystone. "Nah. Better use the bits for your own dinner. I still have more than enough lying around. Just chill!" She said in a cheery tone. "Come on! The owner of the cafe is a nice mare, and by Celestia her milkshakes are the best in Equestria. Your room is unlocked, you can jump from there if you want."

 

Without further ado she trotted into her room, snatched a small bag of bits, and jumped over her window to the balcony. Her room was quite a mess, but she decided to tidy it later on. Perched on the railing, she sighed in relief. The faint, sweet aroma of caramel could be sniffed from the air. She drifted slowly from her apartment to the entrance of the White Lilies cafe, the place where she had bought most of her meals for the last few months. When the mare trotted into the cafe, she noted that it was rather desolate, which was weird for a lunch time. She took a table near the window and called a nearby waitress. "Excuse me! Two pancakes and a vanilla milkshake, please!"

[Zoop 8,384]

 

 

"Nah. Better use the bits for your own dinner. I still have more than enough lying around. Just chill! Come on! The owner of the cafe is a nice mare, and by Celestia her milkshakes are the best in Equestria. Your room is unlocked, you can jump from there if you want."

 

 

Keystone blinked and shrugged, not particularly bothered at the prospect of saving a bit of money. Maybe she just wasn't the sort that wanted to feel indebted to others? No matter.

 

Key entered the room that Winterglade had recommended he take for himself, passing slowly through it and taking note of the interior. It was fairly barren, apart from the bed, but appeared as though it had been lived in fairly recently. He nodded with approval as he took in the details; it was far more spacious than he would have expected, and the bed larger and plusher looking than he would have expected from what was basically a hand-me-down situation. All in all, it was probably an improvement over what he would have found himself with had things originally gone according to plan.

 

Leaping from the window and gliding gently to the ground, Key entered the cafe, catching sight of Winterglade as she called out an order to a nearby waitress. Key trotted over to her table, sitting opposite to her. Catching the attention of the same waitress that had helped Winterglade only moments ago, Keystone, not feeling particularly up to pouring over an unfamiliar menu, simply requested that he be served the same thing that Winterglade had ordered.

 

"Pancakes, huh? Can't say I've had those in ages... I tend not to wake up in time to prepare any sort of real breakfast, to be honest. I'm not exactly a morning pony." he said, with a chuckle, as he surveyed the cafe. It was a fairly clean and comfortable looking place, filled with good smells. 

[Starshine 16,335]

The cafe itself was quite desolate, but it was another story with the street right outside the building. Winterglade watched in rapt interest as a group of mares trotted by, some of them could be seen wearing a saddle. It was a common sight to see such accessory in public, but Winterglade still couldn't understand what's the big deal with wearing such constricting piece of garment. She hardly noticed it when Keystone made his way to her table, sitting at the opposite of her seat.

 

 

 

"Pancakes, huh? Can't say I've had those in ages... I tend not to wake up in time to prepare any sort of real breakfast, to be honest. I'm not exactly a morning pony." he said, with a chuckle, as he surveyed the cafe. It was a fairly clean and comfortable looking place, filled with good smells.

 

Winterglade almost jumped when Keystone commented about the pancakes. She silently scolded herself as she righted her position on her seat. "You really never had any time for a proper breakfast? That's... not good. You know you shouldn't go on your days without eating a good bowl of cereal or two in the morning. If not cereal, you should at least make a sandwich to keep you filled until lunchtime." She tapped her chin, her eyes drawn upward for a moment before continuing. "Hm, I still have a box of dry oats in the cupboard, you can have them tomorrow morning if you like. I'm not sure if I still have some milk left, though."

 

An unicorn waitress trotted to the table while carrying two plates of pancakes and two glasses of milkshakes. Winterglade grinned in mirth as the waitress put them on the table. With a smile the waitress excused herself and left the two pegasus to themselves. Winterglade wasted no time and started slurping greedily on her milkshake. "Mmm... Now that's what I call a good drink! Time to dig in!" Without delay she grabbed a knife with a hoof and start cutting the pancakes in front of her into small pieces before shoving them down her throat.