[MLP:FiM] Bridles Shores Library/Downtown thread.

[Hawkflight]

"I have no interest in candy. Give me the message, and you can keep the candy yourself. If this is in any way related to Hearts and Hooves day or romance, keep the message to yourself and tell the sender I said they can go to Tartarus."
Smoothie replies.

"....I was joking," said the foal. "It's me, Heart. Can I come in?"

[Mystic Muse]

Smoothie opens the door. She has a rather....interesting room. It has bookshelves on each wall. On the wall straight ahead there are a few markings that probably won't make any sense to Heartflight, such as roses, and various other thorned plants. Her bed is surprisingly large for a single pony, even of Smoothie's size. She has a few random decorations around the room, such as a suit of armor in a shape that may be of some concern to Heartflight. Beyond that, there are newspaper clippings about the princesses. Along with books about Alicorns on the nearby table, and some Warhammer figurines on her nightstand.

[Hawkflight]

Heart looked about the room curiously. "Nice room," she remarked, stepping in. Then she turned her attention back to Smoothie herself.

"By the way ... what happened back in the restaurant?" she asked.

[Mystic Muse]

Heart looked about the room curiously. "Nice room," she remarked, stepping in. Then she turned her attention back to Smoothie herself.

"By the way ... what happened back in the restaurant?" she asked.

"Nothing really. Went in, tried some of their stuff to make sure it's a good replacement for my sister's place, and left when I felt it was appropriate. It's not like I dined and dashed or anything, so I don't really think there was a problem with what I did." She says, simply.

"Also, I do apologize, but just as a pre-caution..." Smoothie hits Heart with a beam of light that does nothing to her. "Okay, good." she says.

Smoothie looks even thinner than the last time Heart saw her. It's kinda creepy, honestly.

[Hawkflight]

Heart frowned, trotting over to a seat and tucking her legs under herself. "Smoothie, despite what I may look like now, I'm not a foal," she said, sounding simultaneously cross and concerned. "Now, what's wrong?"

[Mystic Muse]

Heart frowned, trotting over to a seat and tucking her legs under herself. "Smoothie, despite what I may look like now, I'm not a foal," she said, sounding simultaneously cross and concerned. "Now, what's wrong?"

"That is a very long list. You're going to have to be far more specific unless you want me to go on a Twilight Sparkle-esque rant." Smoothie says simply. "But for a summary list of things that might be what you're talking about, there's the impostor in town, there's Joyful Skies, there's the fact that things have just felt rather off lately and I've been in a bad mood far more frequently than usual, I don't have the bits to get a certain pony the gifts she would like for her birthday since the library brings in next to nothing in terms of profit, I've still got four voices in my head being absolutely obnoxious and will until after I go to a giant party, which I REALLY don't want to do, I just spent the better part of a day playing Frankenpony, and last but not least, I'm feeling like everything I touch is just going to turn to junk, AGAIN." She says in a very bitter tone.

[Hawkflight]

Heart frowned slightly and nodded, an almost comical appearance on the seeming-foal. After a moment, she spoke up.

"Well, I can help with the bits part, I make almost a 100% profit from selling my plushies. The impostor ... is that what happened in the restaurant?"

[Mystic Muse]

Heart frowned slightly and nodded, an almost comical appearance on the seeming-foal. After a moment, she spoke up.

"Well, I can help with the bits part, I make almost a 100% profit from selling my plushies. The impostor ... is that what happened in the restaurant?"

"No. Just a pony staring at me. Well, she was actually a changeling, but a different one than the one I'm looking for. She spoke in the changeling tongue, Aes Shee, which means it was her native tongue, and her voice sounded different. She wasn't part of Chrysalis's horde, and while the impostor in question also isn't part of Chrysalis's horde, her native tongue isn't Aes Shee, and she knows nothing about baking, so that couldn't have been her. As for the plushie thing, the gift the pony wants is actually a set of plushies." Smoothie says to Heartflight.

[Hawkflight]

"No. Just a pony staring at me. Well, she was actually a changeling, but a different one than the one I'm looking for. She spoke in the changeling tongue, Aes Shee, which means it was her native tongue, and her voice sounded different. She wasn't part of Chrysalis's horde, and while the impostor in question also isn't part of Chrysalis's horde, her native tongue isn't Aes Shee, and she knows nothing about baking, so that couldn't have been her. As for the plushie thing, the gift the pony wants is actually a set of plushies." Smoothie says to Heartflight.

"Oh, well wouldn't that be ironic," Heart remarked to the plushie bit. "Stop by my shop and we can work something out. Now, what's this about playing Frankenpony?"

[Mystic Muse]

"Oh, well wouldn't that be ironic," Heart remarked to the plushie bit. "Stop by my shop and we can work something out. Now, what's this about playing Frankenpony?"

"Oh, you know that sentient gem that Simmer was using? Shale? Well, it wanted a body of its own, so I went to the changeling lands, took a body from there since Chrysalis controlled changelings don't particularly care about their dead, brought it back, and modified it. Basically, Shale can change their body once a day to any quadruped race they want, but they have to eat normal food instead of emotions. Also, keep the changeling bit a secret, I'm positive she's going to be entirely peaceful." Smoothie explains to Heartflight.

[Hawkflight]

"Oh, you know that sentient gem that Simmer was using? Shale? Well, it wanted a body of its own, so I went to the changeling lands, took a body from there since Chrysalis controlled changelings don't particularly care about their dead, brought it back, and modified it. Basically, Shale can change their body once a day to any quadruped race they want, but they have to eat normal food instead of emotions. Also, keep the changeling bit a secret, I'm positive she's going to be entirely peaceful." Smoothie explains to Heartflight.

Heartflight puzzled this over in her mind.

"That's some pretty advanced magic," she remarked. "I don't think we even covered it in my advanced thaumatics course. Are you sure it's safe? And ethical?" she tagged on as an afterthought.

[Mystic Muse]

Heartflight puzzled this over in her mind.

"That's some pretty advanced magic," she remarked. "I don't think we even covered it in my advanced thaumatics course. Are you sure it's safe? And ethical?" she tagged on as an afterthought.

"Yes, and I'm aware you didn't cover it in your courses. My family was considering sending me to Celestia's school for gifted unicorns. I decided against it, because they teach you less than I could learn on my own, and I do not like Celestia." Smoothie says quite simply.

[Hawkflight]

"Yes, and I'm aware you didn't cover it in your courses. My family was considering sending me to Celestia's school for gifted unicorns. I decided against it, because they teach you less than I could learn on my own, and I do not like Celestia." Smoothie says quite simply.

"Really?" Heartflight opened her mouth to ask why not, then decided against it. After a moment of silence, she changed the topic.

"Hey, Smoothie? Why did you invite me to that sleepover?" she asked.

[Mystic Muse]

"Really?" Heartflight opened her mouth to ask why not, then decided against it. After a moment of silence, she changed the topic.

"Yes." Is all Smoothie says.

"Hey, Smoothie? Why did you invite me to that sleepover?" she asked.

"I don't know." Is all Smoothie responds with. Well, at least she's honest, even if her answers are unhelpful...

[Hawkflight]

Well, that was unhelpful. "I mean, you do know I'm not actually a foal, right? I mean, heck, they might try to befriend me now. That would be awkward as heck."

[Mystic Muse]

Well, that was unhelpful. "I mean, you do know I'm not actually a foal, right? I mean, heck, they might try to befriend me now. That would be awkward as heck."

"Well, apparently, it's possible to make friendships not last long, or die off rather suddenly. In fact, I appear to have an Olympic Gold Medal in it. So, I don't think you have anything to worry about. I'm sure you'll find a way to get out of that predicament." Smoothie responds to Heart.

[Hawkflight]

Heartflight flinched at the idea. "Yeah, but I don't want to hurt them!" she insisted. That might well be even worse! Though, truth be told, she didn't think she could anyways. She really didn't have a lot of friends, as much as she wishes she did.

[Mystic Muse]

Heartflight flinched at the idea. "Yeah, but I don't want to hurt them!" she insisted. That might well be even worse! Though, truth be told, she didn't think she could anyways. She really didn't have a lot of friends, as much as she wishes she did.

"Then find a middle ground, be their friend, or find somepony who can help you find a middle ground, not the pony who destroys any friendship she touches." Smoothie says simply, looking very bitter.

[Hawkflight]

"Then find a middle ground, be their friend, or find somepony who can help you find a middle ground, not the pony who destroys any friendship she touches." Smoothie says simply, looking very bitter.

"Hey!" Heart said sharply, looking very serious. "Don't be a dumbflank! From what I saw at the sleepover, all those ponies were your friends."

[Mystic Muse]

"Hey!" Heart said sharply, looking very serious. "Don't be a dumbflank! From what I saw at the sleepover, all those ponies were your friends."

Smoothie looks like she wants to bite back at Heart, but doesn't. "Please leave." she says simply. Despite phrasing it like one, from her tone, it doesn't sound like a request.

[Hawkflight]

Heart stood up and trotted to the door.

"You know, I never had a lot of friends growing up," she said, somewhat angry. "Don't shun them." And with that, she teleported back to the cafe.

[Mystic Muse]

Random stuff none of y'all care about.

Spoiler

Show

Smoothie basically decided to completely ignore the advice of the student of Sol Invicta. Maybe she didn't have a lot of friends growing up, but neither did Smoothie. Heck, Smoothie was a few days away from being a mare, and she'd had maybe three ponies she could call legitimate friends* in her entire life. Depending on if you count family or not, one.

She went back to her studies about Alicorns. They were rather interesting, both the normal and Nightmare versions. Far more powerful than a normal unicorn, and with the best parts of all three races. Though, how much more powerful seemed to be up for debate. Seemed to vary depending on the Alicorn. Though, there did seem to be other unicorns on par, or at least close to on par with alicorns. There was Pale Night Mother of Demons, Nightshine the Black, Thorngrave the Unhallowed, Starswirl the bearded, and-

Wait. Nightshine the Black? Where did she get that name.

She looked through her book of famous unicorns...no, she wasn't in there...where did that name come from? She looked through every book on her shelves, but couldn't find where she thought of-

"AAAAAAGGGH!" she yelled out, as she got the mother of all headaches, and memories of a life that wasn't hers suddenly came flooding through her skull.

Nightshine was apparently, the one who created Simmer...completely unintentionally. Her goal was simply to give her friend Garion immortality so he could potentially be with Celestia but the spell went wrong. Instead of turning him immortal like it should have, it turned him into Simmer, because her heart wasn't in the right place while creating the gem. If she had done it correctly, it would have simply made Garion immortal. Instead, she was jealous and selfish, and it backfired. She tried to warn Garion that it wouldn't work right, and she had to do it again...but her friend wouldn't listen. So, she spent as much time as she could learning every spell she could in order to potentially fix her friend...but it was pointless. There were plenty of spells that would destroy Simmer, but they would all take Garion with him, and Garion didn't deserve that. She would have spent the rest of her life trying to save her friend, but as the saying goes, life is what happens when you're making other plans.

Through ways Smoothie would rather have known didn't exist**Nightshine became pregnant, and had a daughter of her own to raise. This pony was a pegasus, unlike her mother, and Smoothie recalled the name for some reason, but she wasn't quite sure why. Her name was Misty, and she never did anything super significant with her life. Nightshine ended up dying before her granddaughter was even conceived, but she appeared to be happy with the way her life turned out.

...How did she know Nightshine had a granddaughter if Nightshine never lived to know about her?...Wait. Misty was the name of the mother of that one pony whose ghost was following her around, whose powers easily rivaled, if not exceeded those of Nightshine. Her daughter, droplet, was also rather unremarkable, but her granddaughter was also a rather powerful pony...there was a pattern here, though she'd need a book on Genealogy to find out what exactly this pattern was. She'd save that for tomorrow though, she had more important things to worry about right now.



*Naturally, this isn't including the foal patrol, which the silly pony doesn't really view as her friends right now.

**Smoothie thinks mammalian reproduction is gross.

End of day for library

Beginning of day for library

Smoothie was back at her place in the front desk of the library, combing through the birth records and genealogy of some pony...For some reason, there was a foal hiding in her mane, and another foal that looks like the one Heart saw in the cafe last night who never mentioned her name.

[Deme]

"...Is your head a foalsitter today, Smoothie?"

Pyrite asked as he came in, hitched to his little red wagon. In it were a few strange and occaisonally smoking or sparking objects; they didn't seem to be giving off heat, though, just acting oddly.

[Mystic Muse]

"...Is your head a foalsitter today, Smoothie?"

Pyrite asked as he came in, hitched to his little red wagon. In it were a few strange and occaisonally smoking or sparking objects; they didn't seem to be giving off heat, though, just acting oddly.

"No, Pale Night just likes hiding from the "Scary ponies" in my mane for some reason." Smoothie says, rolling her eyes. "She's Pale Night, and that's her sister, who does not like saying her name, or other ponies saying her name, so I won't."

The foal on the desk waves to Pyrite, but says nothing.

"What do you have in the cart?" Smoothie asks Pyrite.

[Deme]

"Friends of yours? Well, hello there, Pale Night and her sister."

He said with a cheerful, if someone solicitous, grin.

Anyway, there was the matter of the cart...

"Some products I'm working on; I can't seem the spells that get them to work just right. I was either coming for research or to ask for help, depending on how you felt."

He had realized long ago lying to Smoothie just didn't work.

[Mystic Muse]

"Friends of yours? Well, hello there, Pale Night and her sister."

He said with a cheerful, if someone solicitous, grin.

Anyway, there was the matter of the cart...

"Some products I'm working on; I can't seem the spells that get them to work just right. I was either coming for research or to ask for help, depending on how you felt."

He had realized long ago lying to Smoothie just didn't work.

That, and losing a friend's trust is the fastest way to lose a friend FOR-EV-ER.

Pale Night waved at Pyrite, without removing her head from Smoothie's mane.

The foal on the table looked in the cart.

"Rather interesting inventory."...well, that's creepy. One, a foal of her age shouldn't have a big vocabulary. Two, she shouldn't be able to speak without casting a spell, or moving her mouth.

"Alright, if that's what you want. I could help you out if that's what you'd prefer." Smoothie says to him.

[Deme]

"If you see anything you like, come negotiate with me on a price; you're young, so I'll give a discount! Can't charge a little one."

Pyrite could take anything in stride if there was a sale to be had.

"Yeah, I'd like to do that. I can't pin down Spark at all, so I'm kind of at ends."

[Mystic Muse]

"If you see anything you like, come negotiate with me on a price; you're young, so I'll give a discount! Can't charge a little one."

Pyrite could take anything in stride if there was a sale to be had.

"Yeah, I'd like to do that. I can't pin down Spark at all, so I'm kind of at ends."

"Anything in particular you want help with first?" Smoothie asks, taking a look into the cart.

"I would, but unfortunately, my parents do not have the money for an expenditure such as this. A shame. They look fun." The foal laments.

[Deme]

He shrugged at the loss of a sale. Thems the breaks.

"Well, there's this spyglass..."

He levitated out out what appeared to be a home-made spyglass, but with a small button on the side. It was also giving off small bolts of lightning.

"The idea is you see a place, you push the button, and the spell I've got on it makes it send down a little light-beacon, so you can find it. Not good for spying, but great for navigating!"

He explained in a polished-sounding voice.

"Problem is... The light beacon's a lightning beacon."

[Mystic Muse]

He shrugged at the loss of a sale. Thems the breaks.

"Well, there's this spyglass..."

He levitated out out what appeared to be a home-made spyglass, but with a small button on the side. It was also giving off small bolts of lightning.

"The idea is you see a place, you push the button, and the spell I've got on it makes it send down a little light-beacon, so you can find it. Not good for spying, but great for navigating!"

He explained in a polished-sounding voice.

"Problem is... The light beacon's a lightning beacon."

"Alright. What spells did you cast on it? That will help me determine the best way to fix it." Smoothie says, examining the spyglass. "I could try and just fix it regardless, but it's easier with that information." Smoothie says.