Looking for Trade [Dead]

[Sunshine Swirl]

Sunshine Swirl sat in the morning sun behind a tall stack of dusty textbooks. The Rainbow Falls Traders Exchange; she had expected more bartering, more excitement.

Then she saw it.

It was the most beautiful and exotic butterfly she had ever seen in her life; verdant greens, royal purples, regal reds. It was big, larger than her hoof! She watched it fly closer and closer. She reached out a hoof for it to land on… The butterfly flew past her hoof and landed directly on her nose. Sunshine blinked and stared at it cross-eyed.

Two gray stallions approached the table. They were wearing matching spiked adventuring harnesses and drab olive head bandanas. They spoke simultaneously. “Ma’am, be very still…”

“Sirs?” Sunshine blinked again, uncrossing her eyes. “Oh, there’s just one of you. Would you like to examine some of my fine textbooks?”

Sunshine looked at the stallion’s face; gruff, short scruffy beard, red lightning-bolt mark over one eye. He didn’t really look the reading type.

“Shhh,” he said. “That’s a rare Midnight Shade butterfly on your nose. Highly poisonous. Got loose while I was showin' it to a perspective trader.”

Sunshine’s jaw dropped. Poisonous? She crossed her eyes and looked closely at the butterfly. It had fangs.

Suddenly the gray stallion swung a butterfly net scooping up the butterfly in one fluid motion. “Gotcha!” He turned and started back to the Ancient Beast Stall booth not too far away. “Thank you ma’am. Good luck with yer books."

Sunshine’s knees, all four of them, were knocking. “Perhaps a little less excitement would be okay…” she said softly.

# # #

Meanwhile, far across the fairgrounds, Esmeralda smiled as Riddle Bits bobbed her head up and down. She liked the spunk of this young merchant mare.

Riddle praised Esmeralda’s selection of candles, but went on to explain that she felt there was more than just candles to be exchanged. Riddle then, in a display worthy of a master show pony, waved a hoof over the wide selection of items in her cart.

Consumables, Esmeralda thought upon seeing the potions and ointments. A very clever assortment of merchandise, items that sold fast and upon being used up, resulted in repeat buyers. Oh, and hats as well. Not quite as extravagant as those in Canterlot, but these did have a certain country charm and magical novelty as well.

Esmeralda tapped her front hooves together in light applause as Riddle Bits finished her pitch. “You are quite the show-mare, and indeed it looks like you have a lot of interesting items. Many shops in Canterlot are quite specialized though. My own shop, the Bell, Book & Candle, only carries three types of items. Of these, the candles are perhaps the most interesting, as many of them carry minor enchantments.”

Esmeralda’s horn glowed as she popped the catch on her saddlebag and produced a small gold hoof bell. “I have a wide variety of musical bells and decorative bells in silver, bronze and gold. I also have a small number of enchanted bells.”

She floated the small gold bell over to Riddle for her to examine. Esmeralda went on to say, “this bell is a Bell of Caroling. If you ring it, everypony within a small radius will have perfect pitch for one or two songs. It’s quite valuable. Highly sought after on Hearth’s Warming Eve.”

Esmeralda continued, “I have several other bells back in Canterlot. A Bell of Warning, a Bell of Dinner, and even a large town bell suitable for hanging in a clock tower. But as I said, most of my bells are of the ordinary musical or decorative types.”

“Now, on the topic of books.” Esmeralda tucked the bell away and produced a scroll. She unfurled it at eye level, “I do have a wide variety of books. Practical books on farming, agriculture, plants, weather, and flight. I also have an assortment of books discussing various levels of unicorn magic from Levitation for Dolts, to more sophisticated spells books.” Working her way down the scroll she added, “And of course I have many fine works of fiction from poetry to the latest adventure books by authors like A. K. Yearling and Ink Well.”

She tucked the scroll back in her saddlebag. “I’m afraid though that none of my books are enchanted or carry rare or powerful spells. My friend, Sunshine Swirl is at the far end of the fairgrounds.” Esmeralda motioned with a hoof in the general direction. “She has a large number of books on advanced magics and so forth from a private magic academy in Canterlot. You might be interested in trading with her as well.”

Esmeralda glanced over at Storm Scout. That young fool wasn’t planning on wresting the cow she hoped… “Do be careful, Storm Scout,” she called over.

Esmeralda regarded Riddle Bits. She took a step closer and said in a quiet voice. “Those things however, are all items that we might exchange on a regular basis. Perhaps you have some unusual merchandise, rare exotic items that you would never display in your bazaar. Maybe something that you brought on the off chance of finding an equally rare collectable?”

With this, Esmeralda’s horn glowed and she popped open the other side of her saddlebag. She floated up a domed glass jar with a single glowing smooth stone pulsing inside, a jade unicorn horn-ring inscribed with mystic runes, and a worn antique puzzle box covered in symbols.

Esmeralda grinned.

[waxworks]

(HEE! I actually had an OC on another forum named Inkwell who was an author!)

The collection of bells was wondrous, and Riddle was already imagining several ponies who had a habit of breaking into song on the street that could benefit from the Bell of Caroling. Pure merchant instinct told her that not only were the bells curious things that would attract attention, but they were also quite shiny and that one should never underestimate the value of a shiny thing attracting a prospective pony.

The listing of books was similarly pleasing. Riddle had thought that a fine selection of magical tomes to accompany her meager magical offerings would make a fine rounding out of the section, but she hadn't considered a proper literature section as well, something that sold paperbacks, perhaps. There was something very enchanting about a stack of books that made every customer want to stop and scan through the titles even if they weren't planning on getting anything. Just the idea of finding something special amongst them all.

Riddle gazed at Esmeralda as she considered this as well as shortly seeking out the suggested Sunshine Swirl for some possible bargaining, and as the mystical objects came out she felt a worrisome gnawing in her stomach. The pulsing stone, the inscribed ring, the mysterious box. The merchant side of her mind was already being critical of how readily such things could be found, restocked, and sold, while the filly-like part of her brain was cooing over how wondrous such things looked, and how much she'd love to get her hooves on that puzzle box. She could see it now, it just needed a few twists that way, maybe a hidden switch on that side, maybe-

She swallowed hard and licked her lips, swallowing up her temptations for just a moment. Riddle made a quick glance to see if her safety-cow was anywhere nearby to keep her from doing something stupid, but Mezcal seemed to be rather occupied at a distance with Storm Scout and several other curious traders.

"First," Riddle worked to clear her mind and not look at the wonderfully wantable things Esmeralda had displayed before her, "let me say that I believe a great number of your products might find ample demand in Ponyville, and would I be allowed to distribute them from my Bazaar there for a small share of the fee, we might both see an increase in business. Of course for my part I will also provide you with those things I come across which you might sell, my own specialized candles, any rare books that might appeal to a Canterlot mindset moreover than a Ponyville one."

She exhaled gently and breathed slowly. It didn't feel quite fair to her to have to pull all of that off while being tempted by such lovely things, but she was now beginning to get the idea of having specialty, once-in-a-lifetime type items that were so rare they could only be offered once, yes, a sort of rotating, one-in-one-out display with new goods for sale...

Riddle's ears perked and she looked around rather sheepishly when she realized how intently she'd been staring at the goods. She could only guess what two of them were, but she was certain that the third was a puzzlebox, the kind that had held her interest for days on end when she was just a little filly back in Camelu. Trading for these, and especially with someone as seasoned as Esmeralda, might require something a little special.

"Interesting things," said Riddle, quietly kicking herself for not having a better word than 'things' to say. "Depending on what they are, I may have something suitably interesting to warrant a trade or two."

She turned towards the cart and set aside a small bottle. Then, reaching her hooves to a more sheltered area of the carts, she pulled out a fairly ornate looking storage box from beside an identical one, and after a moment's time and some noisy shuffling she had emptied it of its contents.

Turning back to Esmeralda she presented the small jar, and the empty box. The jar was small, quite small in fact, only about as large as a larger-than-average grape, but inside of it was some sort of churning, purple liquid that seemed to pulsate with a dark luminance. The empty box was a fairly practical looking red construction, all four sides of it being identical, with a lid shaped like a rounded pyramid. Along the lips of the box's lid were a number of empty, gold-plated steel hinge-rings on every side, and stuck into the tip of the lid (as well as being affixed by a lengthy chain) was a gold-plated rod with a ring on its end.

"The oil is quite rare, and I only sell it in the smallest proportions. A gift from my grandfather in Camelu. This Magic Oil has a number of strange and wondrous properties when mixed with other ingredients, be it paint, food, metal, and so on. On its own, however, it becomes a strange substance that slips through a magical grasp like soap beneath a wet hoof."

Riddle turned towards the box with some slight hesitance. She hadn't planned on trying to trade one of these, but she had at least two more and sacrificing one for something wasn't too terrible a loss. She lifted the lid to show off the modest, velvet-lined interior of the box.

"Storage needs are met by this box, in exemplary fashion." She proceeded to replace the lid and draw the thin metal rod from its lid, which she then slid through one of the sets of rings. Having done so she opened the box on this newly formed hinge, and placed the oil inside. Carefully closing the lid and replacing the rod into another set of rings, the lid swung open on this alternate hinge to reveal an empty interior. Riddle bowed politely to Esmeralda, took a small plush pony from her collection of goods, and placed it inside. Returning the rod to the previous set of rings it swung open to reveal the glowing oil had returned, and that the plush toy was nowhere to be seen. "When you have limited space, it can be very useful to have more storage in little space. Five unique places for storage in a single entity are what make this a Quintessential Box."

Riddle bobbled.

------------------------------------

Mezcal pulled a relaxed, confident expression as she stretched her neck and shoulders out, accompanied by several rhythmic popping sounds. She eyed the pegasus as well as the small crowd of traders, now seeing her opportunity to preach the gospel of Lucha Libre, and possibly make some bits as well.

"First off, ponito, I will tell chu what chu do not do with lucha libre." The cow proudly addressed all of the gathered ponies, speaking from her little masked bovine heart, "lucha libre, is not about beating or hurting others. It is not about violence, it is not about being better, or stronger. If chu are angry at someponito, chu don't get in the ring with them. But if chu are looking to see the true spirit, the essence of chur opponent in glorious hoof-to-hoof combat, and prove churself in that fiery forge of the sacred squared circle, then chu are on chur way to understanding lucha libre!"

Mezcal was feeling quite giddy to be honest, she'd originally thought that accompanying Riddle on this trip would lead to some fun stories and maybe an extended trip to the cooking supplies to see if she could get something second-hoof, but she hadn't even considered all of this. She glanced towards her basil-colored friend and saw she was still in negotiations with the older pony, so all was well there. With a grin the cow stomped the ground and shook her head.

"SO. The first thing chu gotta learn... is how to fall down."

[Storm Scout]

It seemed a little like Mezcal had disregarded Storm's items for trade. But fair enough; she might simply not be interested in them. Or perhaps busy... because the lesson had started, and it was for the whole crowd!

As Storm had expected, this sort of wrestling genuinely held courtesy in high regard. It may have seemed strange to only fight with your friends, but as Storm knew well in countless matches past of sword-sparring, no good could come of a fight based in real anger. Other than that, fighting was a surprisingly good way to forge friendships. Combative sport, though hostile in its essence, built camaraderie and respect like no other sport.

Glancing back briefly, he found that Esmeralda and Riddle were still negotiating business. He'd have to remember to ask exactly how things had turned out between the two merchants. He looked back to the grand demonstration that the cow was making up.

Storm had the excited expression of a colt watching a performance. He included himself among the majority of pegasi who knew how to fall correctly... but that was more for long-distance falling; this was right-next-to-the-ground falling, and he wasn't sure of how much his knowledge in other areas would benefit him in this one.

He wanted to shout out that he volunteered already, but it looked like Mezcal wasn't done talking yet... even so... "Uh... ahem, um, hi Mezcal! Er, let me know if I can help you demonstrate with this lesson at all, huh?"

[Boondock Panther]

For the fourth time since he'd rejoined Jasmine at Leather&Lace, Blue caught himself nearly leaning against the unstable wall of the tent. The customers were all the same types of ponies: fancier individuals, usually mares, looking for something 'spiff' and 'in'. Obviously they were after fashionable clothing that would show off their rumps or other personal traits that Blue, in truth, didn't really care for in a mare. He looked for who they were behind closed doors, because the one serious thing you could do wrong with Blue is be dishonest about who you are. Thankfully he had a knack for picking out such ponies and avoiding them. So far he hadn't met many mares who shared these values.

Finally, he realized he had gotten lost in his self-evaluation and snapped back into reality: a slightly dark tent filled with crisp, wonderfully tailored Autumn and Winter wear.

What's wrong with these ponies? I'd buy that beanie in a heartbeat.

He sighed. Jasmine's business wasn't going very well, and that meant his business wasn't going well either. Both of them had to get home, which meant they would have to earn about 200 bits to make a reasonable profit between the two of them. They probably hadn't made 10 yet. He felt a sharp pinch in his stomach, reminding him that he hadn't eaten breakfast.

This crowd needs to pick up soon.

[Sunshine Swirl]

(( OOC: Esmeralda is a full OC now, so I don't need to hedge as much. Hurray! ))

As Esmeralda pulled various items out and described them, she was carefully watching Riddle Bit's eyes for signs. She had learned long ago that you practice your pitch until you can do it without thinking. That frees you up to focus your attention on the prospective trading partner's reactions.

The Bell of Caroling... Definitely some interest there. Perhaps Riddle sang herself, or perhaps she knew a singing group. Weren't the Ponytones from that town Riddle comes from? As Esmeralda floated the bell up and down in the morning sun, Riddle's head bobbed. Esmeralda noted to herself: Likes shiny things.

As Esmeralda rattled off the list of book titles she had, Riddles eyes paused briefly up and to the right. There was some thinking going on. Was it that Riddle didn't stock books perhaps? Or maybe it was a particular title or genre that tickled her fancy. It was hard to get a read for certain.

She had Riddle's attention. Now it was time for the 'mane' event. She brought out the three rare items. She noticed Riddle's eyes following every move of the puzzle box in particular.

The reaction was better than she thought. In fact, for a few brief moments, she was afraid that she had broken the younger mare. Esmeralda noticed Riddle's glance to her assistant. She grinned briefly knowing that, by pure chance, her own partner was doing a good job keeping the cow occupied. Esmeralda hoped that Storm Scout would escape unscathed from his wrestling lesson.

Now it was Riddle's turn to present. The oil was quite curious. Esmeralda had never seen anything like it. Riddle's demonstration of the Quintessential Box had the flair of show-ponyship that Esmeralda was expecting from her. She was indeed a good trader. Esmeralda was looking forward to some sort of on-going trading relationship.

Esmeralda smiled, "Very impressive Riddle Bits. You indeed live up to your reputation. I'm curious about that oil. I'd love to hear the story of how that oil came to be -- do you know it by chance? I'm also curious about the box. Is it stage magic, or is it actually larger on the inside?"

Esmeralda listened closely as Riddle explained the items.

"I'll share with you the stories behind these items; one of which I'll demonstrate. As for the other, it's much too dangerous, as you'll soon understand." Esmeralda pulled out the jade horn-ring and dropped it down over her own horn. "I'm told this ring is several hundred years old. It was a gift from a unicorn noble to his bride. She loved gardening and her husband had this band enchanted just for her."

Esmeralda took a few steps towards a scraggly looking bush near Riddle's wagon. She lowered her head and her horn glowed. The symbols carved on the jade band glowed as well, mixing with the green glow of Esmeralda's horn. With a sudden rustling sound, the scraggly bush glowed for a second then was transformed into a beautiful swan topiary with lush green leaves. "It's called 'The Talisman of Topiary'. At first, it's a little hard to control. It has a mind of its own as to what type of topiary animal it creates. With practice, you can master it to a certain extent. I'm told that former owners were able to learn the Topiary spell itself after repeated use of the talisman. It does have a minor drawback though."

Esmeralda removed the horn-ring and floated it over to Riddle, "Would you care to give it a try?"

(( OOC, if she does, Esmeralda will explain that the drawback is that any spell other than "levitate" causes the band to activate and create a topiary. Even a simple spell like "night-light" will instead result in the creation of a topiary. It's not a "cursed" item, and it's quite easy to remove with levitate or with your hooves.))

After that, Esmeralda carefully presented the stone in the glass bell-jar. It was a smooth black stone that would easily fit in the frog of your hoof. The stone had a pale glow that pulsed every couple of seconds. Esmeralda set the jar down on the ground gently. "This is the heart-stone of a Timberwolf. A very rare find indeed, and a fairly dangerous object. I got this from a fellow adventurer who explained its properties to me. If you place the stone in a pile of sticks and branches under the right conditions, he said that a Timberwolf would reform. I've never tested this theory, obviously, but I believe it may be true."

Esmeralda looked around, then walked over and picked a stick up in her mouth. She held the stick near the bell jar. It wiggled and vibrated all on its own. Esmeralda watched Riddle's reaction, then she took the stick away and dropped it on the ground.

Esmeralda looked very serious, "Some foolish ponies say you can befriend a Timberwolf pup with Zap Apples. Let me tell you, a Timberwolf is a monster, not a pet. You might 'befriend' a Manticore by removing a thorn from its paw, and the Manticore might spare you -- but believe me, the Manticore is not your friend. The same is true of any monster, Timberwolves included."

She carefully put the jar away. "That is an item I'd only trade with somepony I could completely trust to handle it responsibly. Perhaps the stallion running the Ancient Beasts stall for example. It's not an item to be used to play pranks on your neighbor."

"Then there is this infernal puzzle box." Esmeralda said. She tucked it into her saddle bag. "It's probably not worth wasting your time on."

# # #

Sunshine Swirl was hungry and decided to take an early lunch. She put a card on the table with her books that read, "Out to lunch, be back soon."

She trotted down the pathway between booths looking around. There were numerous food vendors. She's sure she'd be able to get something tasty. She had skipped breakfast because, well, the whole airship thing and well, air sickness. She felt nauseous for a moment thinking about it. The last few weeks she had been feeling queasy at the drop of a hat. Maybe she'd do a little shopping to take her mind off of flying. She wasn't looking forward to the flight back this evening.

Sunshine recognized a couple of pegasi under a tent near by. She waved a hoof, "Hello Jasmine and Blue! I see you're all set up. Do you mind if I browse? How has your morning been?"

Sunshine stepped into the tent and looked around; stylish jackets and coats. She had a lot of those. It got quite chilly in Canterlot during the winter.

Then she saw it. A brown and tan scarf. It was a perfect compliment to Esmeralda's coat color. She owed Esmeralda something for coming all the way out here and helping her with that heavy trunk of textbooks from the Academy.

She floated the scarf up and felt how soft it was against her cheek. It was a perfect gift.

"Excuse me? Would you take bits for this scarf? I'm afraid I don't have much to trade for it -- well other than textbooks and a Draconequus Lamp," she said. She regretted mentioning the lamp. She'd never seen anything like it before and really didn't want to trade it.

[waxworks]

"AH," said Mezcal, scraping her back hooves on the ground, "thanks Stormy, just what I needed!"

After gesturing for everypony to watch closely, the cow took off stampeding at the pegasus at what could only be called break-neck speed. Within a moment she was on him, and had neatly vaulted off of his shoulders and hurled herself into the air. Most of the ponies gathered stared in wonderment at just how much airtime a cow could achieve using just a helpful pegasus as a springboard.

------------------------------------------

Riddle Bits' brain was pretty good at throwing together scenarios, and right now it had put together a doozy. That ominous stone, a heart as it were, was certainly intriguing and tempting and could've drawn numerous customers... but that demonstration of Esmeralda's had thrown up several red flags in the merchant's mind. If a simple twig could start twitch'a'twitching through the glass, then how would her Bazaar made of numerous planks of wood, wooden barrels, wooden crates, and other wooden scraps react? Destroying her own property and causing quite a scene in the Ponyville Marketplace was not something Riddle wished to engage in and so without a second thought she dismissed the intriguing stone. Perhaps someday when she had proper metal shelves or a vault to keep magical objects in.

After that she bowed politely and gave the talisman a try, slipping it neatly onto her horn and causing a small, squirrel-shaped topiary to bend itself into existence from a nearby clutch of bramble. She nodded with some satisfaction as to Esmeralda's claims, carefully sliding it off and placing it back in the other pony's possession.

Riddle watched Esmeralda put the puzzle box away, her eyes looking longingly towards its hiding place, but curiously enough her mind was trying to drag her away to something even more tempting. While she stared at that saddlebag she was deep in thought about the Talisman of Topiary. Such botanical magic in a little ring, and what results! She could already picture what sort of prices a number of pony-shaped topiaries could bring in, and how amazing they'd look decorating her shop. True, she had a small section of Do-It-Yourself planter kits, but with this she could have a proper gardening section. Puzzle box. Yes, turning little shrubs into topiaries of any size- puzzle box -could be just the thing to expand her selection and attract new puzzle box customers. All she'd have to do PUZZLE BOX is find or buy some shrubs and PUZZLE BOX bushes and-

"IY!"

A loud shout and the sound of a cow hitting the ground in the distance caused her to dramatically start and realize she'd almost stuck her muzzle directly into one of Esmeralda's saddle bags.

---------------------------------

After her dramatic airtime, what moos up must moo down, and Mezcal indeed came down right on her back with a meaty thud that made a number of those ponies gathered cringe and a few of them looked away dramatically. The cow remained motionless for a moment, before springing neatly to her hooves with a grin on her masked face.

"Chu see? There are two parts to falling right. First, make sure chu protect chur head and neck, and don't stick chur legs to try to break chur fall. Second, make it look good! This is called selling, which chu should all be familiar with. Noponito's going to buy that chur in a round of lucha libre if it looks like chur just bouncing around!"

A few ponies had wandered away during this last demonstration, suddenly getting worried that they were going to be the ones flying through the air next. Some of the others were trying to give Mezcal various things for the lesson, but in all honesty the idea had never even crossed the little cow's mind. Really, her mission had always been to spread interest in lucha libre and it didn't matter if she didn't get anything in exchange, but now she found a hoofful of bits, a crumpled paperback copy of Macabre Webb's hit book from four years ago (The Megasus), and some kind of apple-cinnamon seasoning mixture.

She momentarily considered how good that could taste in some of her cooking before she submission-held that thought into silence.

Submission holds! That was a great idea, she thought. She turned towards Stormy, "since chu seemed eager to help out, chu up for helping me show off a submission hold? I promise not to break anything, ponito."

------------------------------------

Riddle had taken the opportunity of Mezcal's dramatic distraction to quickly return to a somewhat more disinterested, relaxed state, as she considered her options. A moment to think and she proposed a deal to Esmeralda.

"I believe that puzzle box might be something my... customers... find to be of interest. But I am also thinking the Talisman of Topiary could be of use as well. Ponyville is, after all, a farming based community."

Her lips shut tightly she ran her tongue over her teeth in a moment's thought as she threw her pitch. "Perhaps you might be interested in parting with both objects for one of my Quintessential Boxes, and some small supply of Magic Oil? The oil, I must confess, is donated kindly to me by my grandfather. In his prime he was a renown oil and spice trader, and in his great generosity he sends me some small amount of this precious oil each month. It isn't much, but I believe it could be sufficient for it to be divided between us. I should note that you might find use for it in your store. Mixed with wax and other such ingredients it can produce a number of noteworthy effects in candles."

[Storm Scout]

After Storm had offered to volunteer for whatever the cow had planned, she got his name wrong again. "Uh, Miss Mezcal, it's not 'Stormy', it's-" Uh oh she was charging we've got a charger over here "-STOOORM!" His voice may or may not have raised an octave there, he wasn't entirely sure. The one thing he was sure of was that there had been a definite feeling of hooves on his shoulders just then. "Th-that's alright, you can call me Stormy if you want..." He... he was blind! He couldn't see anything! Where had the world gone? Bring the world back, Mezcal! Oh, hold on, his eyes were closed.

He opened his eyes and was surprised to find that the cow had not collided with him, at least not horizontally, and certainly not with the amount of force (and damage) that he had been expecting. "Oh. Okay."

She fell down after jumped off of Storm's shoulders, and he was afraid that she might've hurt herself... but then she hopped right back up, and he shook his head mentally dismissing the doubt about her ability. So she said... protect your head and neck, and don't stick your legs to try to break your fall. And... 'look good' when you fell? Eh, Storm had never particularly cared much about aesthetics. He could see why Mezcal would want to keep up style while she wrestled, but he found the part about getting up from the fall, completely fine, to be more impressive than 'looking good' while doing it.

"Huh?" Submission hold? That souded... painful. "Oh... are you sure? W-We've only just met, and you already want to hold me? I mean, this is all so soon..." He smirked as he teased the cow. "Okay, I'll help you demonstrate. But a trade, if you wouldn't mind..." he paused. "When you're done teaching the crowd your tricks, we wrestle. For real. It doesn't have to be here, and it doesn't have to be now, if you want... but that is my request." Best way to learn something was to do it, right? "Yes... I think you'll find I'm a swift learner."

[Boondock Panther]

His stomach turned a knot in Blue's gut, and he cringed. He didn't want to bother her, but he was pretty sure Jasmine was starving by now as well. Business had picked up a bit, though the day was still crawling by at a speed of an hour a minute. He noticed that the more ponies took interest in Jasmine's stand, the more ponies came to see what the clamor was about. Blue yawned. He was beginning to get hunger lag, and that's precisely what he didn't need right now. He was about to come up to the front of the booth and ask Jasmine for a lunch break when he saw a swan swimming through the sea of pony heads outside.

What?

Blinking, he ground his ankle into his eyes and looked again. He remembered the swan was Sunshine's hat once a small break in the crowd permitted them to lock eyes, and she waved. She made her way through the crowd and slinked into the tent.

"Hello Jasmine and Blue! I see you're all set up. Do you mind if I browse? How has your morning been?"

Jasmine flashed her a smile and managed to ignore the bobbing swan above her head.

It just seems so... tacky.

"Of course, look as long as you like," she said, overlapping Blue's utterance of "Slow as it gets."

While Jaz kept an eye on Sunshine in case she needed assistance, she also watched for signs of shoplifting. Though she seriously doubted Sunshine was that kind of mare, too many hours of her work has been wasted by shoplifters for her not to be wary. Within a few moments, Sunshine had spotted a brown and tan scarf, and she nuzzled it to feel its softness.

"Excuse me? Would you take bits for this scarf? I'm afraid I don't have much to trade for it-- well, other than textbooks and a Draconequus Lamp."

Blue's ears perked. What was a Draconequus Lamp? With a glance over at Jasmine, he saw that she didn't know either. Thankfully, she asked for him as she approached the scarf to check it's tag.

"What exactly is a Draconequus Lamp?" she said, taking the scarf in her hooves and examining an embroidered line of font on one end.

Darn. It's Leather's.

[Sunshine Swirl]

Sunshine Swirl giggled at the difference between the two shop keepers. Jasmine seemed happy and attentive, while Blue was much more laid back. At the moment, she was the only customer under the tent. Perhaps that's what Blue had meant when he said, "Slow as it gets."

Sunshine Swirl thought the scarf was perfect. Just the right color to compliment Esme's coat and soft too. She was happy she brought some bits along for impulse buys like this. She hadn't really intended to offer the Draconequus lamp, it just slipped out. Sunshine winced a little when Jasmine specifically asked what it was.

"Oh, um, how would one describe a Draconequus lamp? It's a lamp that looks a little like that old statue they used to have in the courtyard behind Canterlot Castle, but more colorful." Sunshine wondered if they had seen the statue before it was taken away for cleaning or what ever happened to it. "It's basically a part pony, part dragon, part; well part other things. It's holding a glow bulb with a lampshade. It's quite uncommon looking."

Sunshine haggled for a little on the scarf, not so much to drive down the price, but because haggling is what one did at the Traders Exchange.

Once they reached a fair deal, Sunshine commented, "Thank you very much. I think my friend will enjoy this scarf."

Sunshine tucked the scarf into her bag.  ((OOC She then bought all of the socks. LOL just kidding! ))

She smiled at Jasmine and Blue then said, "I was on my way out to get something to eat. I'm so glad I wandered by your tent. I saw a place near by that has those fire roasted carrots served Manehatten style, you know on a bun with sauces and relish. I've always wanted to try one of those. There was also a little place with the most delicious smelling lentil and oat burgers. I'm torn. They both sound good and I'm starving."

She turned to leave, then paused. "Would either of you care to join me for lunch? Or perhaps I could bring something back?"

# # #

Esmeralda was right about the puzzle box. It had certainly drawn the bright green mare in, well, literally. She listened to Riddle Bits offer. The Quintessential Box and a tiny, but on-going, supply of the magical oil. This first trade showed trust and Esmeralda was sure they could build upon this for regular trades between their shops.

"Riddle Bits, I believe we have a deal." Esmeralda extended her hoof for a deal-closing hoof bump.

"Let me explain a bit about this puzzle box before I surrender it to you. Perhaps within its history is a key to solving it." Esmeralda floated the puzzle box out of her saddlebag. "The merchant I traded for it told me that this box was made a long time ago by an advisor to Princess Platinum of the Unicorn Tribe. He said it contained a powerful truth. I've never run into anything quite like it."

Esmeralda rotated the box slowly as it floated. It was a perfect cube, 2 hoofs wide on each side. It appeared to be made of lacquered wood. On each side, there are nine smaller squares. The smaller squares each had one of six markings: White Unicorn, Black Unicorn, Green Earth Pony, Red Earth Pony, Blue Pegasus, Orange Pegasus. The colors were muted, but still clear. The box did look quite old.

She continued. "The merchant went on to say that it could only be solved when all of the forces were balanced in harmony. I assumed that meant getting all of the white unicorns lined up on one side, balancing the black unicorns on the other, and so on for pegasi and earth ponies."

Esmeralda grasped the cube in her magic, and rotated a side. It gave two soft clicks as the entire side rotated 90 degrees. She did the same thing to the adjacent side. It was clear how rotating the sides realigned groups of the symbols in rows and columns on the adjoining sides. She said, "I've fiddled with it for hours and never managed to get more than two sides balanced. I even brought it to the Canterlot Academy of Magic. A professor there identified that there is some sort of faint preservation magic at play, but wasn't able to give any more details."

"As to the contents." Esmeralda shrugged. "I have no idea. Perhaps it's a magical item, perhaps a spell, perhaps it's already been opened and emptied."

She floated the puzzle box and Talisman of Topiary over to Riddle Bits. "Now, tell me more about this Quintessential Box. Is the box stage magic, or is it actually larger on the inside? And this oil; Is it from a plant, from a mineral? Do you know how it was discovered?"

[waxworks]

(( Gah! I am so sorry this took so long! Too many holiday things! ))

"Ponito, don't flirt," said Mezcal, tapping the pegasus' jaw lightly with her hoof in a mock-scolding manner. She took in a deep breath as she considered Storm's proposal and nodded, finding it agreeable. "I think that would be a good deal, although chu know if chu wrestle me I don't hold back. Anymoo, alright ponitos, this is a leg-lock!"

With a sudden, swift swing of her rear legs she neatly knocked Stormy's legs out from under him likes pins in a bowling alley. A split second later and before the pegasus pony could collide with the ground she'd spun him upside down, his hooves pointing towards the air, the cow herself cushioning his landing by placing herself directly under him in a similar position. With some quick and practiced maneuvering she quickly got one of his forelegs at a somewhat extreme angle using her own limbs to wrap around his torso tightly.

"H'okay," said the blazing red cow currently underneath a pegasus, "mira ponitos! Look closely, can chu figure out what I'm doing here?"

"Trying to remove one of his legs," offered one of the gathered crowd helpfully.

"Ah, si, it LOOKS like that's what I'm doing, but really, I'm just holding Stormy in place. Chu know what's really, really important in a wrestling match? Resting. Chu'll get tired fast, and chu need to grab any time to rest you can. Recover some stamina. See this doesn't take much energy to do, and I can recover while I stretch Stormy out a bit. How you doing Stormy?"

The cow, though fairly fierce and certainly none-too-caring about personal space, was doing her best to not yell directly into the pegasus' ear, as that's roughly where her muzzle was.

------------------------------

Riddle's heart was beating incredibly hard as she reached out her hoof and knocked it against Esmeralda's to signal the completion of the deal. She did it, her first trade at the Trader's Exchange and it was a fairly significant one by her estimation. She'd made a contact with a merchant who operated outside of Ponyville, and they'd started up trade back and forth. Riddle could feel her ears getting warm from the sheer excitement coursing about through her.

Of course this meant she barely heard Esmeralda's explanation of the curious little box and its rotational, multifaceted capacities, but she was sure she'd be able to work it out in time. She had a natural obsession with such things that led her to pick and prod at things until she'd worked them out. It also made her a fairly picky eater.

She nodded politely at the end of the description and politely intoned, "I thank you very much. And should I discover the contents to be anything of significant worth, I will contact you. I do not wish to away with anything I did not fairly come by. But then let us speak of that which I trade."

Neatly sliding the box to Esmeralda with a small push from her magic, Riddle gestured with a basil-colored hoof towards the metal rod which was attached to the top of the box by one end via a gold-plated chain.

"I was fortunate enough to discover these during an exploration I was part of. Those involved were more than pleased to take the contents of the boxes, I asked if I might have the boxes themselves. Each box is enchanted such that its insides are truly five different boxes, and those five boxes seem to be nowhere near one another. You might put burning hot stones in one, and a tub of ice cream in another, and neither will affect the other. Merely slide the rod into the set of hinges you wish to open, or leave the rod out and lift the lid straight up."

Riddle had been exceedingly pleased when she'd originally found these boxes, as they were extremely useful storage solutions for a little unicorn merchant with a growing inventory and not so much space to stick everything. She demonstrated the box's alternate means of opening once more, and then urged Esmeralda to try it for herself.

"Now of the magic oil I can tell you the following. It is edible, which is to say non-poisonous, but I would urge the same hesitation to put it in your mouth that you would show to any other magical artifact. From this fact and its scent I've always reasoned that it was extracted from a plant of some kind, but beyond that it is a closely guarded secret." She bowed her head slightly, sounding somewhat nostalgic as she did so, "my grandfather knows, but even though he cares for me very much, I do not think he would tell me or any of my brothers and sisters. I doubt even my mother and father have ever been told where it comes from. It seems that to a master oil trader, magic oil is like the saffron of the master spice trader. I hope this lack of information will not cause you difficulty."

Riddle sighed slightly, and bobbled a little. It was a contented sigh as she felt the weight of the talisman and puzzle box in her saddlebags. This was turning out even better than she could've hoped, and they'd only just begun exploring what the Trader's Exchange had to offer!

[Storm Scout]

Storm chuckled, and said "Good, I wouldn't want you to hold back. It wouldn't be real if you did." By watching Mezcal's muscles to see how she would act, Storm found a small window in which he had both realised the attack and had time to respond. He tried to become limp and pliable.

"Woah!" That had been... brutal, he thought, as an ache in his leg started. Have to remember that move. His current grimace became despondent as one of the ponies in the crowd said that it looked like Mezcal was trying to remove his leg. "Heh... I hope this isn't the best you've got." He was hardly in a position to be goading the cow, but he was stubborn like that.

The locks were also for resting... of course! That was brilliant. This wrestling looked to be at once both a faster and slower paced fighting art than he was accustomed to. The different nature was quite an adjustment, but he could get used to it. "Mff... I'm doing just fine, Mezzy, thanks for asking," Storm grunted.

"I think that... the audience would be interested to find out how one might escape this leg-lock, next." As he said this, he was trying to worm his leg out of Mezcal's grip, using another hoof to help. There was no room for subtlety, since where she was she'd be able to detect whatever he tried to do... so he'd just have to work his way out of the lock, the hard way.

If, by some miracle, he did manage to escape the grip of the professional wrestler, he would dexterously roll off to the side away from her and watch what she might do next.

[Boondock Panther]

(Dunno if the price is fair or not, but since a bit could typically buy a single apple, I figured it'd work well. Also, took a teensy bit of control over Sunshine for the haggling >.>)

Frowning, Jasmine tried to imagine such a lamp. It wasn't very hard; she already knew what a Draconequus looked like, so for it to simply he holding a bulb in it's hand isn't much different. While it sounded like a nice trinket to have for aesthetic pleasure, it wasn't really a high priority to her. Maybe if it had a bit of a darker theme she'd go after it, but she didn't see it as worth having.

Moving on then, she thought, her mind moving to a good price for the scarf. Her eyes narrowed as she turned it over in her hooves and appraised it's stitching, palette, and material.

Cotton/wool mesh, made with sturdier cross-stitching and decorative tassels. Unlikely to tear easily... and it doesn't compliment her very well. Either her fashion sense is nil, or she's getting this as a gift.


Blue, watching the mares from beside the supplies chests, winced as his stomach made it's final cry of disapproval and finally quieted down to a dull ache. He jumped as Jasmine broke her string of thoughtful murmuring and announced the price.

"19."

"15."

Jasmine's eyes narrowed. "18."

In turn, Sunshine's lips pursed. "16."

"17."

"Deal!"

The two smiled and struck their hooves together, before Sunshine brought 17 bits out of her saddlebags on a bed of magic and stacked them on the counter. In the coins' place, she tucked the scarf in her bag and thanked them.

"I was on my way out to get something to eat. I'm so glad I wandered by your tent. I saw a place nearby that has those fire roasted carrots served Manehatten style, you know on a bun with sauces and relish. I've always wanted to try one of those. There was also a little place with the most delicious smelling lentil and oat burgers. I'm torn. They both sound good and I'm starving."

Blue hastily swallowed the water gathering in his mouth. As soon as she left he was going to talk to Jasmine about lunch. She began to leave, then seemed to sense his starvation and turned back.

"Would either of you care to join me for lunch? Or perhaps I could bring something back?"

On the verge of tears, he turned to Jasmine who, oddly enough, had turned to him.

"Yeah, that'd be nice," she said, trotting over to the lockbox and tucking it in her saddlebags. She immediately regretted having the box on her person(pony?) as an enormous blue shape collided with her, driving the corners of the box into her and crushing the air out of her in a powerful bearhug. As quickly as he had advanced, Blue was by Sunshine's side, eagerly awaiting departure.

[Sunshine Swirl]

Esmeralda was quite pleased with her trade. She would have to take this small vial of magical, or perhaps anti-magical oil to an alchemist friend of hers. She was already curious as to what types of things could be made from it.

Esmeralda floated a small box from her saddleback over to Riddle Bits. Then she said, “It was a pleasure doing business with you Riddle Bits. I’d like to give you one of these Dragon’s Breath candles to commemorate our first trade. It has six uses as I mentioned. Here is a small envelope with a clipping from my mane you can use to contact me."

She added, “If you know alchemy, or of a good alchemist, I am willing to share the formula with you. They’re not hard to make, but the ingredients are quite tricky to obtain."

Esmeralda glanced over at Storm Scout and Mezcal’s wrestling exhibition. "It would seem our friends have found a common interest.” She winced as Mezcal hit the ground with a ‘meaty thud'. Shortly there after, Storm was the victim of a leg-sweep take-down. “I think I may need to brush up on a healing spell or two."

# # #

Sunshine Swirl secured the flap of her saddlebag. She didn’t want Esmeralda to see the scarf she just got, well not until she had a chance to wrap it. The scarf was easily worth at least 20 bits, but Sunshine haggled down to 17. It was her first time haggling too! Prices in Canterlot are pretty much non-negotiable as a rule.

It seemed both of her new friends, Blue and Jasmine, had taken her up on the offer to accompany her to lunch. She’d enjoy the company.

"So, what were you two thinking of?” Sunshine said as they walked towards the food vendor tents. "There are so many choices..."

The smell of food being fried, grilled, broiled, roasted, and so on filled the air. The fresh fruits and vegetables looked delicious. One stall was frying a type of thin curly noodles with onions and spices. The steam was rising off the sheet metal grill as they flipped the noodles.

There was an orange mare there selling caramel apples, apple pies, apple fritters and apple fries out of a wagon with a fake apple pie on a spring bobbing up and down.

Sunshine paused at the cart with the “Manehatten Style” fire roasted carrots. They were two for one bit. The carrots smelt wonderful, and there were all sorts of toppings. Even the buns were lightly roasted and brushed with seasoned butter on the insides.

“Um, Blue, Jasmine, would either of you like to split an order with me? One carrot-dog each? I want to try one.” Sunshine said. She wanted to save room to try a few of the other food as well.

[waxworks]

"Ah, thank you," said Riddle, eagerly and carefully placing the Dragon's Breath Candle into her cart, neatly wrapping it up to make sure it didn't accidentally get traded later. Next to it she placed the envelope of Esmeralda's mane, which made her pause and consider.

"Oh my." The basil-colored unicorn plucked off her signature bowler hat and rolled it around in her hooves, exposing her lack of mane aside from just a fine pelt fuzz on her head. If one were to add two stripes she might resemble a tennis ball with little effort. She replaced her hat thoughtfully, "perhaps it might work with a snippet of hair from my tail..."

She'd have to figure out some better way of making that work either way, but she was certain something could be done. Riddle was about to suggest setting up regular shipments back and forth between their two shops when Esmeralda drew her attention to the cow and pegasus that were currently rolling around on the ground in front of a crowd. The unicorn winced and raced towards her friend.

-----------------

"Heh, whachu doing, ponito?"

Mezcal grinned and puffed some air out of her nostrils as Storm wriggled and tried to escape to no avail. She rolled her eyes slightly as though she'd been in this exact situation a number of time, before she tapped his chest lightly with a blazing red hoof. "Relax ponito, almost time for the next lesson. Okay! Everyponito see him trying to get away? See what's keeping Stormy in place isn't how strong I am, it's what chu call... eh..."

She muttered the word 'apalancamiento' to herself, failing to find the exact term she needed. The cow grumbled and shooked her head, using her one free hoof to point lower. "I'm not keeping him in place by his foreleg. It's his torso! He can't get his leg free because of that."

"Leverage," said Riddle, sternly trotting up towards them.

"AH! Thanks Ardilla," cooed the cow, finally releasing the pegasus. "Si! That's it, leverage! If chu ignore the leg and try to free chur TORSO, then it's no problem!"

She nodded to the crowd and to the pegasus, dusting him off a little, "thanks for the helping Stormy."

Riddle forced a grimace as she leaned in towards Mezcal and whispered, once most of the crowd had deposited a number of strange trinkets around her and departed.

"What are you doing?"

"Ah, see I get a good idea after chu meet these other ponitos," said Mezcal, much more loudly than one should respond to a whisper, "they say they'll trade me for lucha libre lessons! So I give them what they want, everyone wins!"

Riddle noted some of the strange 'things' that had been deemed worthy of a wrestling lesson. A beat-up paperback, an egg-timer shaped like a chubby griffon, two jars of candy sprinkles, and a small statue of a chisel among other things.

"And... what are you planning on doing with these?"

"Eh, I don't know. Chu want them, Ardilla? Oooh, except the egg-timer, I can chuse that." The cow happily balanced the kitchen clock on her snout, and then noticed Esmeralda, "ah, and how about chu and chur chunicorn? Everything go okay?"

"Oh! Yes," said Riddle, nodding graciously to Esmeralda, "this is Esmeralda, she is the proprietor of the Bell, Book, and Candle in Canterlot. Esmeralda, this is Mezcal, my friend, a luchadora and chef."

Mezcal winced, smacking her friend in the chest slightly harder than she meant to. She hissed a whisper at her, "iy! Ardilla, keep quiet about the cooking. Ahem! It's very nice to meet chu."

[Storm Scout]

"Heh, whachu doing, ponito?" Mezcal had said.

"Trying - and failing - to escape, of course. What did it look like?" He gave up struggling and sighed. Wasn't equality important in Lucha Libre wrestling? He didn't feel very equal right now.

Huh... "Leverage?" How somepony would free their torso from the lock was not immediately clear to Storm. It was the part that didn't move. Limbs moved. Neck moved. Torso? Less flexible. After being released, he asked "Uh... how was I supposed to move to free my torso, Mezzy?" Not something he expected could be easily answered, though.

He stood back up when the lesson was over and the crowd had mostly dispersed. He placed weight on the previously locked leg just fine, if he had been hurt it didn't visibly bother him. "No problem, Mezcal. Thanks for the lessons, I should say." Storm had to note, he was surprised that the majority of the crowd left after just those little lessons. He would've wanted to watch a whole training session before he'd be ready to trade, but he supposed he was just more interested in this sport than most ponies.

Their little wrestling thing had caught the attention of Esmeralda and Riddle Bits. Riddle seemed surprised and a little concerned about what Mezcal had been setting up here. Perhaps she had believed that her bovine friend had taken to assaulting random ponies in the crowd, when of course Storm had agreed to being wrestled so it had been all good there. "Hi Esme, Riddle. Mezzy was just showing off some of her wrestling wisdom."

He turned back to the red cow and in a cocky tone said "So, was that all you've got for me, Mezzy?" He snorted. "Just a little leg-lock?" Adrenaline could make him a slightly different stallion than he was at a relaxed state. A little less inhibited, a little more energetic. He was in something of a wrestling mood right now, actually, he had just been leg-locked after all.