Wishful Thinking [Closed]

[Zeig]

In all honesty, finding the little shop had been the biggest challenge.

But given its location in the midst of similar office-type buildings, he supposed anypony would've had a challenge on their hooves, and he had most certainly not stumbled upon it by sheer luck after breaking into three other different offices.

It was the one on the first floor. Go figure.

Stil, Xiphos wasn't really bothered by his wanderings, considering that he liked to wait until dark fell to commit felonies anyways. That, and the funny little wind-up clock he'd swiped from the second office had made the entire escapade worth it, sort of. The Aerion absently tapped said clock on its surface, a grin lacing over his face as the little caricatures inside went haywire, and continued languidly lounging against the windowsill as he looked around the office space.

The Earth Pony was closing up shop in the other room - small place, that. Reception and an office, that was it - which gave Xiphos plenty of time to take in the myriad of different lights, patterns and...crystals. Surprising for a non-Crystal pony, sure, but Xiphos supposed to each their own. His sharp green eyes eventually, and inevitably, wandered towards the crystal ball sitting on the mare's desk, his own rhythmic tapping against the windup clock growing a bit more aggressive, more sporadic.

Platinum...and diamond? The pedestal was more interesting than the crystal ball.

And shinier.

There would be plenty of time for stealing later, but that didn't stop Xiphos from leaving his comfortable perch to trot closer to a crystalline figure seated on a bookshelf, curiously running one hoof over the delicate looking structure. No need to rush, and the Aerion remained calm and steady as he patiently waited for the shop owner to finish saying goodbye to her last customer of the day.

And if his tail twitched once or twice in aggrieved boredom, well. That was his own business.

[WishBone]

There was no doubt about it. Wish Bone was tired. 

She had had one of the  busiest days of her career and in all honesty she hoped it would be the last. Well.. Okay, maybe she didn't. The money was good today and she looked forward to treating herself later on in the week. She caught her reflection briefly in the polished surface of the welcoming desk and grimaced as her client closed the door behind him. Her mane was flat and it had nearly lost all of it's sparkly enchantment. She hoped that she had still came across as professional, despite looking quite the opposite. 

Sighing in exhaustion, she flipped the rather tacky sign that hung on her door to "closed" and turned around. She had a few more things left to do before she could retire to her flat for the night. Her flat. Huh, maybe she should hire a cleaner now that she had just that extra bit of cash.. 

"Focus! Paperwork," she thought as she levitated the stack of files off the desk and into the air above her, and headed towards the door to her office. She didn't hesitate as she pushed open the door, not even noticing anything was amiss until she had entered the office fully and even closed the door behind her. 

The unicorn started and dropped the papers in surprise as she finally laid eyes on the .. er, rather shady looking character who faced her. 

[Zeig]

Seriously, it was ridiculous how fragile the crystal structure looked. Just a tiny bit of extra pressure, just a litte more force with each downward tap, and Xiphos was pretty sure the entire thing would just...flatten, underneath his hoof. Much like a pony underneath a particularly uncaring Ursa Major.

Or a pancake under a spatula, but with more pointy bits.

Thoughts of squishing ponies under his hooves - or was it the other way 'round? - were abruptly given second fiddle as the sudden swish! of falling paper caught his ears, but Xiphos deigned to turn around just yet. He, probably should have given more concern to the mare he knew was standing in front of the door - she was a Unicorn, he knew that much, and may have crazy laser-inducing magics - but to his credit, the crystalline figure was, incredibly shiny. Almost as shiny as the pedestal that the crystal ball was seated upon, though not nearly as.

...How much room did he have in his pack, safely hidden and waiting for his return outside?

Bah, not important right now. Right now, he wanted what he'd broken in here for, and he was going to get it.

"Hey there, how are you, I'm good, that's great to hear," Xiphos introduced, giving up on the figure as he turned to full face the Unicorn, sauntering over to her desk to lean his side against it. She was a pretty little thing, with pale hair near glowing under the strips of moonlight creeping over the edges of rooftops. Xiphos was fairly confident he could have her tied and stuffed under her desk in a matter of seconds. But he hadn't brought any rope with him. Buck. Oh well. Diamond studded eyes were just as good, and Xiphos indulged himself in them as he stared directly into them.

"I want to make a wish."

[WishBone]

She wasn't one to judge a book by it's cover (hey, that was part of the job description) but something about this bat-pony just made her uneasy. Wish Bone eyed him up suspiciously, pausing only for a moment to hastily pick up the files. The lithe Areion hadn't moved yet but she was sure that when he did, it would be with the grace of a falling feather. 

She guessed she'd have to proceed carefully from here on out, and was planning to open her mouth to ask what he wanted when he cut her off by speaking first. And not giving her a chance to reply either. 

Her first impression seemed to be wrong - this pony was erratic, sure, but that way he spoke, he didn't seem ... dangerous somehow. Still, she'd proceed with caution. She was no doubt, still uneasy. He had broken into her office after all. Which made her wonder - how exactly had he done that? Well, no time to dwell on that now. 

She nodded appreciatively as he practically glided across the room. Couple that with his ghostly white mane and tail - why, he was basically a spectre in the dim lit room.

Composing herself,she  placed the papers carefully on the desk, buying her some time to think through her words. She would remain professional, because she had had strange clients here before, but she wouldn't make special exceptions. Especially since this didn't seem to be an emergency of any sort.

"I'm afraid I'm closed for the night, sir," she began, clearing her throat. "But you're welcome to come back tomorrow," she finished, standing beside the open door pointedly.

 

[Zeig]

...

'Interesting.'

Wish Bone didn't cry out in outrage, threaten to call the city guard, even demand that he leave with one hoof raised upwards in determined retaliation. Not even a simple, wondering question. And while Xiphos wasn't exactly keen on a distraught mare raising Taurtarus screaming at the top of her lungs, it was certainly...unusual. Especially in a place like Canterlot, where the well-to-do ponies because uncertain and distressed at any unplanned changes in their routine.

Such as dealing with an Aerion floating in through their windows, like pollen on a breeze.

Oh yes. Polite manners were so much easier to deal with, and they were, in fact, enough to cause Xiphos' lips to tilt upwards into a full blown grin, fangs gleaming in the moonlight. "Thanks, I'll make sure to do that," the dark grey Aerion said brightly, and proceeded to seat himself in the chair opposite the desk, half-turned in it so his back wasn't fully facing the Unicorn.

Not distraught in the slightest, as far as he could tell. As if Aerions stealing into her office was such a common occurrence that it hardly warranted more than a jump scare to spill all her papers. Xiphos idly trailed one hoof against the crystal ball as he lounged in his perch, before it occurred to him that Wish Bone was still standing there, right next to the doorway. Xiphos raised both eyebrows inquisitively, glancing pointedly at the seat behind her desk.

Or...maybe she preferred dealing with late-night customers on her hooves, rather than seated? Smart filly - it was much harder to get a galloping start with your flanks planted into deep cushions.

"See," Xiphos started, resting his other foreleg across the top of the chair, "I heard this was the place to make wishes come true. Not that hanky panky stuff though," he continued derisively, hoof waving animatedly through the air to emphasize his point. "Like actual, wishes that aren't stupid and junk." His eyebrows rose even higher towards his hairline, innocent and blithe as he stared at the Unicorn expectantly, all ready set to tell her his life's story.

That's what clients did in places like this, didn't they? Spill anything and everything about themselves like a bleeding heart, and maybe, if life wasn't being such a needle in a haystack, they'd get what they wanted. Even though it never worked out like that.

Except for him. It always worked out like that for him.

[WishBone]

He stood cold, and calculating, making Wish Bone uneasier by the minute. He looked a fright with that grin on his face; fangs on clear display. She wasn't even sure if this was intentional - a threat perhaps? She doubted it. He looked scary but he hadn't made a single attempt to purposely frighten her. Apart from - you know, breaking into her office. Ah, perhaps she was misreading this whole situation entirely. Maybe she was in danger. Her head was beginning to hurt as she tried to understand.

She was nervous now. That much she did know. He was certainly stubborn, and confident. The way he had made himself at home in her office assured her that he knew what he was doing. She steeled herself. Maybe if she just heard him out - she could bend the rules once right? Get it over with..

"I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "actual" wishes," she started, pleased to hear that her voice only barely wobbled. "But, you have heard correctly. I am a wishing agent, trained in the art of wish magics -- " she faltered. Best to keep it short and simple so as not to try his patience. "Hm. What is it that you desire?" she said, standing up straight and looking him dead in the eyes.

[Zeig]

What, there was training involved with fulfilling wishes?

That was surprising. He...well, he hadn't really thought about how the wishes came into fruition, though he had assumed there was something more involved than just, waving a horn around and poof! Wish. Maybe, a bit of shopping around for a pretty bauble, or chatting up the local theaters to put on a specific play. But if magic was all that was involved...

Well hay, that worked out great for him.

A photo, seemingly produced from nowhere, appeared in Xiphos' hoof, waving about through the air. It seemed almost natural to simply slide it across the desk, but since the wish-giver was still standing near the doorway, the dark Aerion simply waved the photo around somewhere, grin widening as the mare took it.
 

"Meadowhawk," Xiphos extrapolated before Wish Bone could even ask, pointing one hoof towards the maroon colored Pegasus in the middle of the picture. "That one, right there. In-training to be a Wonderbolt." Oy vey. Xiphos did wonder, though, how that training was going...or if even. Last he'd checked, Meadowhawk was still in training mode...but how long ago was that? A year?...maybe more? Time had a funny way of slipping him by.

But his possessions didn't.

"I want you," an emphasized jab of his hoof towards the wishing mare accompanied his words, "to make her," while said hoof swung onwards to point at the maroon Pegasus again, "fall in love with me!" This time the hoof turned inward to himself, and Xiphos settled against chair, now fully turned and using the chair backwards, to shoot a pleased grin towards the Unicorn.

This plan was fool proof.

[WishBone]

The first thing she noticed was the photo angle. Leaves framed the picture and the subject was most definitely not aware of her photographer. 

Unnerved, Wish Bone levitated the photo beside her head, looking at the stallion with an unimpressed look resting on her face. He didn't even need to explain, she had picked up on it the moment she saw the flash of photo paper. Another one of those customers. She couldn't help herself. She began to laugh, not even caring for a second that it made her look like the most unprofessional pony in Canterlot. 

"Haven't you read all those foals-tales? Tales of genies and magic and wishes?" she said incredulously. "They always have rules. Those rules are not there for the story line; those are there because they are ridiculous requests! It's common sense!" she laughed, taking a few steps closer to him. "I can't just wave my horn and make this mare fall in love with you!"

Ponies looking for love. These were the only types of requests she could never fathom. What was the appeal? She had not gone without love in her life thus far; love of her friends, of her family.. Why did she need a stallion or a mare to complete her? It wasn't that she was uninterested; she just really didn't understand it. 

"You could find a recipe for a love potion, a book on wooing mares perhaps, but I want nothing to do with it." She was angry now, her forehead crinkled as she frowned at him. 

"You couldn't possibly think I'd agree to this, could you? From the look of this," she said, wiggling the photo in the air, "she wants nothing to do with you."

She decided to give him a chance to explain ... Maybe she was being too harsh - jumping to too many conclusions at once. "What makes her so special to you?"

[Zeig]

It happened in a second.

One second, and the mirth was gone from his eyes. One second, and his teeth were bared. One second passed, before the Aerion was out of his seat with all the force of a firework, large wings spread to full length, blocking out the moonlight as he loomed over the Unicorn. No trace of laughter was left on his face as Xiphos stared down at the pathetic being in front of him.

One second, until he chuckled.

Which turned into full blown laughter to match Wish Bone's own just a moment ago. It didn't last very long, but the buoyancy that had fled at the sudden turnover came back just as quickly, as Xiphos flopped back down in his chair, snatching the photo back on the way down. Just for fun, the Aerion cuddled the photo to his chest like many stallions and mares that were in love did, as if they were so overcome by emotion that they had to snuggle something of their beloved, even a still frame picture.

"She's not," Xiphos finally stated, genuine surprise coating his voice even if some laughter lingered around the edges. His piercing green eyes roved back onto the Unicorn, one eyebrow raised with incredibility. Why did everypony assume that a mare or stallion was special just because on other pony valued them as such? "She's not special at all, to me or anypony. Well," the Aerion amended after a moment, eyebrows furrowing briefly as he looked down at the photograph, "maybe they think she is. But if they did, she wouldn't still be in training, would she!"

Which was why she should just give up that stupid dream of hers, anyways. Some ponies just weren't meant to fly.

"What good are rules, anyways," Xiphos continued blithely, one hoof waving carelessly through the air, "they're just there so ponies can push themselves further." That sounded like something deep and philosophical to say...whatever the buck it meant. As it was, Xiphos didn't have time to examine everything that came out of his mouth. He had more important things to do.

"Anyways, yeah, I kinda thought you would agree to this," the dark Aerion said conversationally, finally giving up his lounging to stand opposite the desk. Xiphos casually flicked his hoof a couple times against the crystal ball, eyeing his reflection as he leaned a bit over it. "Since you, you know. Grant wishes? With," a vague wave of his other hoof towards Wish Bone's horn explained his meaning well enough.

Unicorn horns...did pretty much everything, didn't they?

"If that's too much work for you though, then. Fine, I'll take your advice," Xiphos relented, with a hint of a foalish whine in his voice as he tapped a bit more against the crystal ball. "Get me a love potion. Something strong. And maroon! She'll probably drink it if it's the same color as her, you think?"

Mares liked things that were the same color as them. Right?

[WishBone]

Wish Bone really wished she hadn't flinched. That was all it took for her to lose her nerve. One little involuntary movement and now this startling creature in front of her knew she could be broken. If he hadn't known already. 

 

She wasn't a bit surprised when he laughed. Perhaps he had seen that lost drop of confidence drain from her system and knew he wouldn't have to wait much longer for her to run screaming. She allowed herself a small sigh, a moment to gather her resolve and then she tackled the task at hoof. Keep him talking, keep him happy.

 

"So, remind me again why you want her to fall in love with you?" Wish assumed it was something to do with wealth. Maybe he wanted what she had. Although he had proven himself to be quite the master of stealth, so she wasn't sure why he couldn't just sneak in and steal it from her if that was the case. Status? She couldn't figure it out. No, she couldn't figure him out. She really was quite stumped.

 

At the reference to her horn, she had to laugh. Was he naive enough to believe that unicorns could do anything they simply put their minds to? If that were so, why were there unicorn orphans, unicorns sitting behind office desks every day, middle-aged unicorns with only cats for company. If every unicorn had that kind of magic, there would be no place for anypony else. She felt suddenly elated. Perhaps she had overestimated this frightful character.

 

"Love potions are easily accessible in any library if you know just where to look," she said airily. She'd get in trouble if something came of this, and it lead back to the information she was giving him, but for now she didn't care. As long as she got her point across - that she was not going to preform any kind of love spell - that was all that mattered.

[Zeig]

Now, that was more like it.

Xiphos fell back to the side of the desk, easy smile once again on his face as the darkly colored Unicorn in front of him asked relevant questions like a good wish maker was suppose to. Stupid questions, whose answers were alarmingly obvious to anypony with half a brain, but relevant nonetheless. Much better than her outright denying him a wish, such a sad little plight.

Briefly, the Aerion had to wonder how many other wishes the Unicorn in front of him had so blatantly turned down. Not very magical, in his opinion!

"Well," Xiphos stated succinctly, moving around so that he was actually behind the desk where Wish Bone would presumably sit when meeting with clients, "if she falls in love with me, then she'll be more out of control, right? She'll give up that stupid dream of hers," and here, an almost petulant scowl fell over the Aerion's face, forelegs crossing over his chest in a surly fashion, "and stop pretending to be something she's not. Which means," Xiphos extrapolated, brightening almost immediately, "she'll be back to normal. See?"

It was the perfect plan. Meadowhawk would fall in love with him, meaning he wouldn't have to fly halfway across Equestria just to check up on her every time she disappeared into the woodwork...and more importantly, she'd be normal again. Wild, free, fierce and unforgiving, a lightning bolt given form and breath. This new, tamed...pretender was an insult to the Pegasus, one that Xiphos would rectify.

Even if she would never appreciate him for it. Silly filly, had no idea what she needed.

It seemed that Wish Bone was starting to see his side of it, finally, causing Xiphos to perk up as he leaned forward against the desk. "Yeah, great!" he exclaimed, piercing green eyes trained on the Unicorn with a ferocious intensity. "If you know where to access them, then that's what I wish for. Ultra Love Potion - no, Grand Supreme Love Stock - wait! Splendiferous Splendors of Compulsive Amor!" the Aerion proclaimed, snatching up the crystal ball into his hooves. "Look into this thing and whip me up one already, will 'ya? I've got a train to catch in the morning."

And two rare vintage bottles of wine to procure from a rather wealthy connoisseur, but that would only be a quick pit stop on the way.

[Zeig]

 

Hmm. This was taking too long. What with the train to catch, and all.

 

And two bottles of rare, vintage wine to steal.

 

The Unicorn wasn't budging, and while Xiphos normally wouldn't have mind grabbing her in his hooves and dangling her from atop a rooftop for a bit, he was really rather tired. It'd be a long day after all - coercing business owners into ignoring the activities of The White Fox was not a particularly easy task, not when said business owners owned large and powerful corporations. He was slowly starting to wear them down, but for the moment, he was settling with the small-time fry, those he could immediately intimidate. Letting word spread first, and then - figuratively and literally - swooping in the seal the deal was more effective than going straight after the big time. His wings were tired from all the swooping he had to do.

 

That, and he was quickly becoming bored. 

 

He hated being bored.

 

"You're not very nice to your clients, 'ya know," the darkly colored Aerion stated sullenly, a hint of a pout forming on his lips as he carelessly dropped the crystal ball back onto its pedestal. "Fine fine, I can take a hint," Xiphos sighed dramatically, shoulders shrugging a bit as he turned towards the window, "but you'd better not be expecting payment for that counseling session. I mean, you haven't helped me through my issues at all!" 

 

Issues...yeah, that summed Meadowhawk up quite nicely. 

 

With another shrug, Xiphos left into the window frame, still blown wide open from his entrance as he slipped the book he'd pilfered off the mare's desk into his pack. The Aerion turned to throw a hoof over his shoulder in farewell, a quick "Toodles," before he was spreading his wings and out and up, one powerful sweep to spring him away from the ground floor and back into the sky. The wind rippling through his mane felt nice, but not nearly as nice as the feeling of searing hot lava spread throughout his belly. 

 

It felt a lot like triumph.

 

[[ Exit ]]