Bell, Book & Candle Shop (Storm Scout) [Concluded]

[Sunshine Swirl]

Earlier on their walk, Storm had asked Esmeralda where they might go if they took an airship trip. “Well, I do have some merchant friends who live out in the Hollow Shades, that’s a fascinating place to visit. There are giant glowing mushrooms in the nearby valley that are amazing to see at night. It’s a good place to buy potion ingredients as well. I know a good alchemist there.”

# # #

Back at the shop, Storm had finished unloading and putting the cart away. He had asked if that was all for today. Esmeralda chuckled, “Oh, the day is just beginning. I’d like to show you the register, and perhaps you can help attend to any customers as I unpack and shelve the new items we got today.”

Esmeralda floated mostly candles out of the boxes and carefully shelved them. “I’ll tell you a secret about my shop. We sell more candles than anything else. If you think about it, you’ll know why.”

The morning saw about five customers come and go. A couple just browed, one purchased a used book for 5 bits, and one bought a holiday candle. The last customer bought an entire box of candles and seemed to know Esmeralda well. Esmeralda helped a little, but there wasn’t really too much to selling items, and Storm got the hang of how Esmeralda did things very quickly.

At lunch time, Esmeralda suggested a few local cafés where Storm could get a nice lunch. She thought for a second, then added, “Dear, I know you’re getting settled now. Please take this advance. It will help with any deposit on your new apartment and help you get on your hooves in Canterlot.” Esmeralda floated over a week’s salary to Storm. “If you need extra time for errands with your new apartment or setting up a bitbank at one of the Canterlot banks, that will be fine. Please come back mid-afternoon through, as I have an errand to run.”

# # #

Shortly after Storm Scout returned, Esmeralda put on her purple traveling cloak and cap. “I’ll be gone for about two hours. When I come back you can call it a day. I really appreciated all of your help today.”

A few more customers visited the shop, one bought a set of 12 silver bells for 60 bits, a nice sale.

The tiny bell at the door jingled as Sunshine Swirl stepped into the shop. “Oh, Hello Storm! You got settled in here fast.” She looked around. “No Esmeralda?”

Sunshine Swirl seemed to make herself at home in the shop. She stopped at the little kitchen area in the back and started a kettle of water. “How were sales today?”

Sunshine floated a delicate china teacup to the front of the store with her and then sat across the counter from Storm. “So, have you gotten into your new apartment?”

[Storm Scout]

"Uh, of course..." From what she had said, it had just sounded like that was going to be all for today... that wouldn't really make sense though, now that he thought about it.

The part about selling more candles than anything else confused Storm a bit. "I don't get it..." He'd figured that the books would be the more popular items, on account of their wider variety of content... "What do those ponies use so many candles for?"

He spent the rest of the morning serving a few customers with Esmeralda's help, and sure enough, one of the ponies they served bought a ludicrous number of candles, a whole box. It seemed likely that this wasn't the first time they were buying this many candles, as well.

Esmeralda had offered him an advance payment. "Oh... thank you very much." And he was getting time off to go and get set up in Canterlot. He left for the nearest of the cafés he had been pointed to, and after he had finished he went zipping about the city to move some bits around and buy some provisions. He tried to get things done quickly and return soon.

# # #

When Storm got back, his boss left the shop to him. "Okay... glad to have helped. Bye for now, Esmeralda." Not much to do now but wait around for any more customers to visit. A few came by, but nothing else out of the ordinary really.

He looked up from totalling out and sorting today's profit in the register when the bell rang as the door opened. It was Sunshine. "Hey, Sunshine." He closed the register and stepped around the counter. "Yes, Esmeralda has gone out for a bit. She'll be back, but she might be a little while."

Sunshine started a kettle... presumably for some tea, since apparently everypony in Canterlot loved tea. "Oh, sales were... well, good... I think. I haven't really worked in a shop before, so not much of a frame of reference here, but... yeah, we've had a decent number of customers."

As for the apartment, "Yes, I did set things up, I've got the keys now. The place feels... uh, big. Bigger than other places than I've stayed." Hm. Well, now that they were having a conversation, and there weren't any other customers to attend to currently, Storm asked Sunshine, "Sooo... does... does Esmeralda have a favourite kind of tea?"

[Sunshine Swirl]

Sunshine Swirl was enjoying her chat with Storm Scout. It was a nice break from the Academy and her studies at the library. "I hope you don't mind me stopping by to chat."

She took a sip of tea. "It's good to hear that you're getting customers. Some days it's kind of slow here. The holidays are really busy though."

Sunshine seemed excited when Storm talked about the apartment. "Oh, that's great news! Let me know if you want help redecorating. I've fixed up a few places in my day. What are you going to do with that craft room on the second floor?" She asked.

She was puzzled for a moment when Storm asked about Esmeralda's favorite tea. "Hm, Her favorite tea? Well, hold on for one minute." Sunshine trotted to the back of the shop and opened the small cabinet over the kitchenette's sink. She grasped a tin with her magic and floated it over to the counter at the front of the store. "It's a Darjeeling blend from a little teashop in a town called Ponyville. The teashop name is right here."

Sunshine pointed at the tin label. It read The Jasmine Vibe Tea Shop, Ponyville.

Sunshine beamed. She leaned in close and said, "If you're getting a present, wrap it in purple wrapping paper. That's her favorite color."

Just then the little bell on the door jingled. A young earth pony stallion walked into the shop. His coat was a deep green and his mane was chestnut brown. He nodded to the two ponies at the counter and started looking around the shop at candles. Storm noticed that the stallion's cutie mark was a watering can. After a few minutes the pony approached the counter.

"Um, excuse me. I had stopped in, well, almost a year ago." The stallion seemed a bit shy. "Uh. around Hearts and Hooves day. I saw a candle then, a short fat red one with pink hearts..."

Sunshine Swirl nodded then turned towards Storm, "If it's okay, I think I know which one he's talking about." She trotted to the back of the shop and started looking through boxes high atop the back shelves. She pulled down a small lavender box and floated it over to the counter. She seemed to know exactly where to look.

Storm noticed that the price on the box read 75 Bits..!

Opening the box, Sunshine lifted the candle out with her magic. "Is this the one you saw?"

The stallions eyes lit up. "That's it!"

Sunshine explained, "This is a special candle, and fairly expensive. Also, you should read the card inside the box carefully before lighting it." She floated the card out of the box and set it on the counter. 

Storm could read the first few lines of the card. It said:

The "Romantic Flame" candle burns for 3 hours and creates a magically cozy and romantic atmosphere. Please note, this candle can't create romance where none exists, it is not a "love candle", it's a mood candle.

The stallion nodded, and pulled out a pouch full of Bits. "I'm so glad you still have it. I'll take it. Seventy-five Bits," he said dropping the pouch on the counter.

Sunshine slid the pouch over to Storm to let him ring up the sale.

Once that was done, the Stallion picked up the box and tucked it in his saddlebag. "Thank you both so much!" He trotted out the door with a big smile on his face.

After the customer left, Sunshine turned towards Storm with a grin on her face, "So, do you have a special somepony, Storm?"

[Storm Scout]

"Oh, no, you're no bother stopping by. It's nice to have the company." Oh... the holidays. Maybe that was what Esmeralda had meant... a lot of ponies would want candles for their Nightmare Night pumpkins, and other occasions, right? That might be why the candles were more popular.

Redecorating... "Well... sure, I suppose if you want to... redecorating with your help could be fun... I'm really not that bothered about how the apartment looks though, to be frank." Um... that had come out as a bit passive-aggressive. He hadn't really thought ahead so far with what to do for certain rooms, so for the craft room he just came up with something on the spot; "Maybe... it... could be... a room to, put stuff...?" Ah, not a bad idea. Like Esmeralda's adventurer's room... but less specialised. A straight up storeroom would get cluttered though. If he was going to keep certain things in certain rooms they would have to be efficiently arranged.

Right, Darjeeling seemed to be a word to remember. But this... this was specific... very specific. A certain teashop? Ponyville? That wasn't massively far away, but still a bit of a journey... Storm sighed as he read the label. He'd have his work cut out for him if he was going to try to acquire that tea. But it would certainly be a nice gift if he managed to get his hooves on it. "Eh... gotcha," he smiled. "Purple."

The bell rang again. Another customer. "Welcome to the shop, mate." Storm took a couple of steps and got back around behind the counter again. The green earth pony eventually came up to the counter, and asked for a specific candle. "Oh, I..." Luckily, Sunshine swooped in to save Storm. "Y-Yes, please do show him the candle." Phew. "I'm new working here," he explained to the customer.

Pricey candle... but it did have a literally magical effect. Well... now Storm knew about those candles... so that was a thing, he supposed. He wondered, what other kinds of mood candles could be made? Was it alchemy or just unicorn magic? Or both? Or... neither? Hmm... he guessed that the magical effects of some of the candles was the reason that candles were the most popular item in this shop.

Storm took the pouch of bits and dealt with the purchase. "Thank you, and, uh, enjoy." Looked like somepony was planning a romantic afternoon... "Goodbye," he waved after the watering can pony.

Storm turned to Sunshine and narrowed his eyes at her odd grin. "No... I don't have a special somepony." He had not been particularly lucky in that regard, to be honest. In school it had seemed like it was normal to have met a special somepony. Thank goodness for the fact that Storm had realised back then his self-image didn't have to be the same as his public-image. "Why do you ask?"

[Sunshine Swirl]

Sunshine was a little disappointed that Storm wasn't really excited to talk about redecorating. Well, maybe redecorating was kind of a mare-thing she thought. She decided not to push the topic and instead focus on the types of things a stallion might like...

When storm mentioned he was going to use the craft room to "put stuff", she imagined the room. It did have a lot of shelving, perhaps for sewing or something. "Like a store room?" She scolded herself. Think stallion, what would a stallion like Storm do with a room like that? "Oh, like a treasure room to keep mementoes from your adventures. You could hang your sword across from the doorway in the nook there. That would be pretty cool."

After taking care of the customer, Sunshine decided to press her luck a bit. The romantic candle sale had given her an opening and, well, being the meddlesome mare that she is... She asked if Storm had a special somepony. He didn't. Sunshine smiled and made a mental note.

Storm then put her on the spot. He said, "Why do you ask?"

Sunshine waved a hoof dismissively. "Oh, no reason, just curious."

She thought for a second then added, "It's just that, well, sometimes when you move to a new town, it's lonely."

Sunshine explained, "When I was a very young filly, I left home and attended boarding school for magic here in Canterlot. I was lonely and pretty poor. When winter came, I had to chose between buying books, or a cloak to keep warm. I stopped in Esmeralda's shop one evening, to warm up, and Esmeralda asked me to help her arrange her window display." Sunshine pointed to the narrow shelf in the window. She paused, then added, "Um, I was much smaller back then!"

She continued, "I stood there in that window arranging little gold bells on a tiny Hearth's Warming Eve tree. Esmeralda then hired me to help around the shop, well kind of hired me. I would stop in after class and she gave me a few bits here and there. She even had one of her old cloaks cut down to filly size and gave it to me."

Sunshine sighed, thinking back to those days. "Years later, I actually did get a job here as a clerk to earn extra money while attending the Academy as a student. I know the shop pretty well. It's like a second home, and Esme's a little like a mother to me. That's how I know things like where she keeps her holiday stock, and what her favorite tea is."

Sunshine said, "Did Esmeralda ask you about the secret of which item sells the most at her shop yet?"

She smiled. "It's candles. But do you know why?"

"It's for two reasons really." Sunshine said. "First, Candles burn down fairly quickly, about an inch each hour, so after an evening or two, they're gone. Not like a Bell or Book that can sit on a shelf and be used again and again over the years. Ponies are always buying more to replace the ones they use."

"The second reason is magic." She gestured to her horn, "Not just unicorn magic, alchemy magic too. Candles are a little like potions that you burn instead of drink. They're relatively easy to enchant for minor effects like that candle we just sold. Unicorn magic is generally only temporary on objects. We might cast a Come-To-Life spell on a cart, or a Want-it-Need-It spell on a toy -- but it doesn't last very long. It's really hard to enchant objects permanently. I can't do it. Only a few unicorns can, well, and the Princesses probably. That's why you don't see many magic books or magic bells."

"Well, it's almost dinner time and I need to be going. Thanks for the chat!" She put her teacup away and started for the door. "Oh, before I leave, did you have plans for tomorrow night? Are you free for dinner then? I did promise to take you out to a nice Canterlot restaurant. My treat. You get a chance to meet my husband too."

Sunshine seemed pretty excited. She paused, then added, "Oh, in Canterlot, it's customary for stallions to wear something when dining in the evening. Nothing too formal, just a simple neck tie, or perhaps a collar or a simple vest. I hope that's not too inconvenient."

"It's a date then. I'll stop by your apartment at 7:00pm tomorrow night. We'll head to the restaurant from there. It's going to be a lot of fun." and with that, Sunshine waved, and walked out of the shop.

# # #

Esmeralda arrived back at the shop not long after Sunshine left.

She reviewed the sales for the day with Storm and complemented him on your sale of the set of silver bells and on the magic candle sale. "I'm really surprised you found that candle! You really are getting to know your way around the shop."

"Now for tomorrow, if you could be here at 10 in the morning that would be wonderful. We won't get another shipment in until next week so no need to rise so early." She added, "Oh, and if you would like to borrow a book or two to pass the time, please feel free to borrow from the shop. I'm sure you'll find something interesting."

Esmeralda took off her cloak and hat, hanging them on a coat rack at the back of the store. "I've got a few things to take care of, then I'll be closing up the shop for the night. Thank you again for your help today. You had a very good first day!"

[Storm Scout]

"Sure, like a store room…" But then she was talking about treasure-rooms; "Ha, I don’t think I’ll be able to find enough treasure to fill a whole room when I’m just starting out… maybe it can evolve into a treasure-room in time." Hanging up his sword there wouldn’t be a bad idea… "Yeah, that would be pretty cool..." Easy to just pick the blade up and canter out.

'Just curious', she said. Well, fair enough, he thought. We were on the topic of Hearts and Hooves day after that customer. "Lonely... yeah, I know what you mean. I travel a lot, so I've gotten that..." When you go somewhere new and everypony there is already friends, it sometimes seems they don't want to speak to you, or aren't inclined to welcome you into their circle. Sounded harsh but Storm guessed that just seemed to be the way things were. Some psychological thing against outsiders. Thankfully that didn't seem to be the case here in Canterlot, no, he had found these two new friends surprisingly quickly.

Storm leaned against the counter and listened to Sunshine tell her story. So... when she was a filly Sunshine had had Esmeralda's help to get settled into Canterlot; it was something of a parallel to how things were now, he supposed - the difference being that Storm was not a filly, of course. The motherly tale prompted Storm to ask, "Does Esmeralda have any foals of her own?" Again, he got the feeling that it might not be his place to ask such things... it had only been yesterday that he had been the 'outsider', after all.

"Yes... the candles were the most popular sales for the shop, Esmeralda told me. I did wonder why though..." Well, that first reason had been obvious really, but Storm still didn't feel that the fact that they ran out should be spurring so many candle purchases. His family had rarely seemed to get candles. But then, Cloudsdale was quite high up, so that might be why there were less candles there. The second reason reinforced buying so many candles a bit more in Storm's mind, and reaffirmed his thoughts on the magic candles. "Uh... what's a 'Want-It-Need-It' spell?" Well, he'd inadvertently learned some more about enchanting and unicorn magic now. Maybe he could get his sword enchanted someday, if there were unicorns in the world that could do it. 'Enduring Sharpness' sure would be nice.

And of course, the restaurant. "Yeah, I'm free tomorrow night, sure. I'd love to." He waved from the counter. "I can get a collar. Goodbye, Sunshine!"

# # #

One friend had left and the other returned soon after. "Welcome back, Esmeralda." He showed her today's sales, and she mentioned the candle. "Oh, no, Sunshine dropped by earlier. Lucky for me that she could find that candle when a customer asked about it. She explained to me that she knew her way around the shop because she'd worked here before..."

10am on non-shipment days sounded quite agreeable. Storm wasn't the best at reliably getting up early in the morning. "Burrow a book... uh..." He searched the covers on the shelves and spotted the distinctive cover style he knew so well. Daring Do and the Ring of Destiny... he hadn't read that one yet! But... was it okay to...? He weighed up the situation and decided it wouldn't be too bad to look like an egghead here if it meant he could have that book for the next few days. "Thanks." He went to the book and grabbed it with his teeth, pulling it off of the shelf and putting it in one of his cloak's apparently at least book-sized pockets.

Not for the first time, Storm bowed his head and said "Oh, you're welcome. Happy to help." She was paying him though... being thanked for doing a paid job kind of felt weird. She had said that when she returned he could call it a day, hadn't she? "So... is that all? Need help with anything else, or shall I be heading back to my apartment?"

[Sunshine Swirl]

Sunshine Swirl giggled at the the thought of Storm Scout filling the treasure room. "Well, one step at a time I guess. Before you know it, the room might end up looking like a Dragon's hoard!" She imagined gold and gems spilling out of the little craft room into the hallway.

When Storm asked if Esmeralda had any foals of her own, it made Sunshine stop and think. "No, she doesn't." Sunshine paused and shook her head, "Maybe that's why she's always taking in stray fillies like me. She blushed a bit.

Sunshine continued, "Esme was pretty seriously in love onetime though. Her special somepony was a griffin, but she doesn't talk much about it. I don't think she's over it yet."

Well, onto lighter topics. Sunshine brought up the demand for candles over books and bells. Storm had pretty much figured out the first reason. Sunshine explained about the magic candles and felt that maybe she had come across too much like a teacher lecturing. She scolded herself. Don't lecture your friends she reminded herself.

When Storm asked about the Want It Need It spell, Sunshine got excited and said, "Oh, that's a fascinating spell that one can cast on a small object to make it highly desirable. It's a minor mind altering spell that works on the same principles as most emotion and mood spells but towards a particular object. Like the classic Love Me spell, it's only effective through the sense of sight."

Sunshine looked embarrassed for a moment, "Uh, sorry. That's probably more than you wanted to know." She chuckled, "When you teach magic all day it's easy to go off like that."

She was delighted that Storm Scout could make it for dinner tomorrow. For a moment, she wondered what Storm Scout would look like in full Canterlot regalia. She imagined him in a top hat, monocle, and black tuxedo. She grinned. "A collar would be fine. Canterlot has lots of clothing stores as you might have noticed. Have fun shopping! Ponies here in Canterlot like dressing up."

# # #

Esmeralda was happy to see the store had done well under Storm Scout's management. She chuckled when Storm described Sunshine Swirls' visit and intervention with the customer.

As Storm surveyed the shelves and picked out a book, Esmeralda commented, "I enjoy books a lot myself. It's one of the reasons I decided to open a book store when I finally settled down here in Canterlot." She smiled, "How it ended up being The Bell Book and Candle is a story for another time."

When Storm bowed after being thanked, Esmeralda thought to herself that she found a good pony to help her. He was kind and courteous "Yes, we're all done here tonight. Don't worry about closing up shop. I'll take care of it when I'm ready to go."

"Oh, before I forget!" She walked to her cloak and fished out a ticket. "I checked and at this late date, the airship to the Traders Exchange was completely sold out. I'm sorry about that. I did get you a train ticket though. I'm glad that you'll be there to help. It's only three days from now. We'll need to start thinking about what to bring from the shop."

She floated the ticket over to Storm and added, "Oh, Storm, I know getting settled into a new town is a lot of work. If you need some extra time for shopping, getting furniture, or taking care of things, just let me know."

She waved as Storm left, "See you tomorrow."

[Storm Scout]

Storm was glad he hadn't been the only one who had been thinking of a dragon's hoard, with the prospective treasure room. Dragon hoards were... well, products of greed, that was kind of the point in them. It was nice to have some affirmation that having a hoard wasn't an obnoxiously greedy thing to desire.

Sunshine explained that Esmeralda had no foals of her own. "Oh." She went on to tell Storm that Esmeralda was possibly still suffering from... the loss of a lover? "Oh..." He felt like he maybe shouldn't have asked now, he really wasn't sure how to adequately respond to this. He was glad when they moved on.

"Huh..." Mind altering spells... that was some properly spooky stuff right there. "Well, I don't know much about unicorn magic, so if you're going to inadvertently drop into teaching mode like that, I might not mind so much if I'm learning something from it." Since he was going to be a friend of these two unicorns, it wouldn't be a bad idea to learn something about their magical capabilities. 

"Okay, I'll look for one of those shops when I get the chance." Storm remained, for now, unaware of Sunshine's mental image of him wearing inherently posh attire. "Goodbye Sunshine." 7pm, tomorrow night.

# # #

"Well, I'll be waiting to hear that story then." The story of how this shop was founded sounded interesting. A lot of the stuff here looked older than Storm himself... there was a lot of history within these walls, he imagined.

Of course... she had been doing this for a long time, she could close up everything just fine without help. His assistance was no longer required today. 

But... there was something else? "Oh, right; a ticket. Thank you. I suppose that airship trip together will have to be left for another time, eh?" And maybe to somewhere more exotic than the Trader's Exchange. The ticket went away into a cloak pocket, as did everything that Storm received, apparently.

"Extra time... thanks, I'll try not to take too much time off though. Don't want to miss a chance to help out, if I can." He wasn't sure how much more he needed to do to get set up in Canterlot, though. Pretty sure he'd done most of what he needed to do to live here.

"Goodbye Esmeralda... thank you for giving me a job." He trotted on out of the shop, made a few meters' distance from the building, glanced back once more, and took off, heading for his apartment. This had been a rather productive couple of days.

[Sunshine Swirl]

After Sunshine's discussion of magic, and dinner, Esmeralda returned to the shop. Storm was finished for the day, thanked Esmeralda and departed for the evening.

# # #

The next morning Storm arrived at the Bell, Book & Candle and found Esmeralda there. She must not have been there long, as she was still heating her tea kettle when Storm walked in.

"Good morning, Storm. I hope you had a nice evening yesterday." Esmeralda said from the little kitchenette in the back of the shop.

She joined Storm at the front of the shop. "I've picked out a handful of things for our trip the the Traders Exchange in a couple days and made arrangements for the shop while we're traveling."

Before Esmeralda could even have her first cup of tea, a customer arrived. He was a fairly large, draft earth pony stallion, deep brown coat and hay colored mane and tail. He had a single stalk of wheat in his mouth that waggled up and down when he spoke, "Finally open. I reckon you city ponies get a lot of sleep. For a while there I thought we were gonna head back to the valley without some of those magic candles you carry."

Esmeralda chuckled. "Oh, Banyan. Had you told me you were doing your shopping trip today I would have opened early for you. Is Maple here?"

The big brown pony, Banyan, said, "Yup. And our oldest too."

Esmeralda checked the shelves near the back of the store. "How many candles did you need today, Banyan dear?"

Banyan chewed on his wheat stalk for a second and then said, "Well, I think about two boxes should do. One for our neighbor, he really liked them."

"I think we can do that." Esmeralda said.

Turning to Scout, she asked, "Scout, do you think you can find two boxes of horsefly candles in the storage room around back? They should be on the right hoof side near the doors in a big blue crate."

Just outside the front door of the shop was an earth pony mare and colt next to a well worn cart. The cart was fully loaded; two bolts of cloth, a few tools, and various supplies. The pair of ponies seemed to be waiting for the stallion inside. The mare smiled at Storm as he passed.

There were a lot of crates inside the storage room, some covered in tarps. None of the crates on the right hoof side looked blue. Several of them were labeled "Canterlot Bell Emporium". On the left side, tucked in a corner was a big blue crate, and sure enough there were half a dozen boxes inside with the horsefly candles that Stallion wanted.

When Storm returned, the mare and colt from before were inside the shop. The mare was having a cup of tea with Esmeralda at the counter. The colt was looking at books.

Esmeralda gestured to you when you entered. "Banyan, Maple, this is Storm Scout. He helps me run the shop, and it looks like he found your candles."

"Pleasure, Storm Scout. Thanks for digging those up for us." said Banyan. "Looks like my son wants a book as well."

He faced the colt and said, "Birch, bring that book up here so we can pay these folks. Daylight's a burnin'"

The colt carried the book over in his mouth, and then stretching, set it on the counter. It was titled, A Field Guide to Identifying Trees.

Esmeralda rang them up. "12 Bits total"

The stallion looked stern for a moment then said, "Boy, were going to have to skip the book this time."

The colt looked crestfallen.

Storm stepped forward and offered to buy the book for the young colt.

Banyan didn't look like he was going to go for this, but his wife, Maple gave him a look and the stallion, nodded. "Appreciate that, sir" he said.

The stallion paid. He and his family bid their farewells and left the shop.

Minutes after they left, two unicorn mares shopping for bells arrived. It turned out to be a busy morning and afternoon. The day flew by.

The sun was getting low in the sky, shadows of the castle's spires were long in the street.

Esmeralda said, "Storm, I'll close up shop tonight. Thanks again for all of your help today."

# # #

When 7:00pm rolled around, Storm heard a knock at his apartment door. It was Sunshine Swirl. She had on a pink cardigan sweater, earrings and a necklace. No hat. She smiled, "You look nice tonight, Storm."

((OOCly provided he does look nice, LOL))

In the street there was a small open carriage with a single bench seat pulled by a draft earth pony wearing a checkered yellow cap.

Sunshine walked to the carriage, paused and carefully stepped up onto it. She scooted to the far end of the bench seat giving Storm plenty of room. She patted the seat with her hoof, "It's not too far, but I thought it would be best to take a carriage."

"We're going to Observatory Hill to the Ursa Restaurant there." Sunshine said to the earth pony.

He nodded, "Ursa's Place. Nice food. Swanky."

Once Storm was settled the driver started trotting towards the mountain side of town where Canterlot Castle is.

Sunshine smiled, "Ink Well, my husband, is going to meet us there. So, Storm, how was your day?"

She listened as Storm filled her in.

Hesitantly, Sunshine asked, "You know, the other day when you mentioned that you were interested in how unicorn magic worked? Ah, well. If you're free in a few weeks, I could use the help of a pegasus during an upcoming lecture. I'll be teaching magic detection. I enjoy seeing the look on new students' faces when they see how much magic a pegasus generates just by hovering in place."

"I'll understand if you say 'no'. It's a little embarrassing to have the students all watching you. It's also a bit scary to be in a room full of unicorn novices all trying out new spells." she chuckled. "Fortunately very few ponies have ever been singed by my students."

[Storm Scout]

The second day was done, and Storm remembered his first task for the evening. He quickly zipped through the streets to buy a formal collar. He eventually found a smart white collar with a tie-pin, and returned to his new home.

Quiet, no commotion... it felt odd. He'd gotten used to the noise of home. The biggest sources of noise; the shouting and muttered concoctions of his sister, the occasional uniformed guards dropping by and chatting with his mother, and his father... didn't make much noise at all... sometimes to the point of accidentally sneaking up on his wife or children... actually, what did that guy do? Huh. Last time Storm had been home, Tempest Fletch had been trying to... what had he said... "merchant business"? Storm remembered finding some odd things in his father's stallioncave, and not all of them seemed like the sort of things you'd find in Cloudsdale.

Bleh... enough reflection for tonight. He wasn't homesick, no need for just sitting here and remembering. 

Second task for the evening. Storm found his sword, and hung it up in the 'treasure room'. It looked good there... well, the scabbard was obscuring the marvellous shape of the thing, but that was the way that Storm liked it - it looked functional. Simple as grabbing it and leaving.

Third task for the evening, read. Phew... this had been a long time coming. Storm had kind of dropped out of reading a few years ago. What better way to get back into the habit of reading than with Daring Do? He sat on the bed and began reading the most recently published tale from the bestselling author. He read up to the point where it seemed like Daring Do was about to be captured, before drowsiness set in. It would be nice to jump back in at a point of excitement when he continued reading it again tomorrow, he thought.

Fourth and final task for the evening... sleep. He had managed to relax enough reading that book that he didn't seem far away from sleep. His thoughts in the final waking moments of the day were turned to his two new unicorn friends.

He would've thought that the distinction in age between the three of them would mean he'd have quite a different relationship with the two mares. He thought they were supposed to seem more authoritative, commanding perhaps. But really they just felt like normal friends. They may as well have been his age, even. It seemed odd, but he thought it was also nice. Age difference must really mean a lot less as a pony matured, he decided. Okay, put a cork on that brain activity, he'd delay his sleep if he kept this up.

# # #

"Good morning to you too, Esme." Storm hung up the cloak by the shop's entrance. He was already wearing the collar, thinking he'd feel more comfortable wearing the formal accessory at dinner tonight if he got used to it now. In case Esmeralda was wondering about the collar, he explained "The occasion is dinner with Sunshine and her husband, if you were wondering..." Anyway... time to start the day.

"Yes, I had a nice evening... the apartment is cosy. Uh... unicorns can teleport, right? Sooo... maybe you could stop by and see it sometime?" He stood by the counter.

Customer! Esmeralda seemed to know him. He seemed to be looking for magic candles. Esmeralda told Storm what to look for. Two boxes of horsefly candles. Big blue crate. Right-hoof side, near the doors. "I'm on it." He went to get the boxes.

"Good morning," Storm murmured, nodding to the mare and colt who were by the cart outside. He found the blue crate on the left side rather than the right, and internally shrugged on that particular skewed detail, before pulling a couple of boxes out of the crate and carrying them against his shoulders under his wings. "Canterlot Bell Emporium", he'd noted that title; the old name of Esmeralda's shop, maybe?

Once he had returned to the shop with the goods, Storm unfurled first his left wing onto the counter, then his right, putting down both boxes gently. "Pleased to meet you too, Banyan." Banyan... like, the plant? It didn't seem uncommon for earth ponies to be named after plants. "A book...?" A Field Guide to Identifying Trees. Sunshine would probably approve of the colt wanting the book... y'know, considering her occupation...

Unfortunately, it seemed that the earth ponies couldn't afford both the book and the candles. "W... hey, how, uh-" Storm blurted out. "I mean, the book isn't that expensive. I could... "buy" the book for Birch and owe you a favour, how does that sound Esmeralda?"

With the issue of Birch's book sorted out, the family's business was concluded, and they went on their way. The day went on, and it seemed like the hours spun by faster than in the last two days, the reason probably being that Storm was getting more used to working in this shop with time. As with last time, Storm bowed his head, and said "You're welcome Esmeralda, happy to help. See you soon." He grabbed his cloak and flew on back to the apartment.

This new routine he had was pleasant, certainly, but Storm was wondering when he would next find some real excitement.

# # #

At 7pm, Sunshine was at the door. "Thanks... you too." She had clearly put more effort into her appearance for the dinner than Storm had. He was quite happy with this formal collar though. It was small and subtle, not loud or calling for attention. And him being a pony generally not worried on aesthetics... that was perfect for him.

Apparently they were riding in... a carriage, to get to dinner? Was this how rich ponies travelled? Storm tried not to take up too much space on the seat as he hopped on.

Sunshine had asked, how was Storm's day? There wasn't a lot to say really... "Pretty normal, I think. We had a family of earth ponies, farmers I believe, and they were looking for some "horsefly" candles. I'm not sure what those might do, but I could guess..."

Sunshine referred to earlier, when Storm had said he might like to learn about the kind of magic that unicorns used. "Oh...?" A lecture? That... well, helping a lecture would entail being stared at by a bunch of students. But it seemed that he'd only be doing some pretty basic stuff, so he said "Yeah, okay." Fortunately very few... "Oh. Well, that's reassuring..." He smirked.

[Sunshine Swirl]

(( OOC: I really enjoyed getting to see more of Storm's life outside of the shop! ))

At the Bell, Book & Candle Shop:

Storm Scout had arrived at the shop right on time. Esmeralda had arrived minutes ago herself and was waiting for her tea kettle to boil.

As she walked to the front of the store to greet Storm, she noticed that he was wearing a nice looking collar and tie pin. Esmeralda blinked. "I see that Canterlot is beginning to rub off on you."

She smiled as Storm explained about the dinner he was going to with Sunshine Swirl and her husband. "That sounds like a nice way to spend an evening. I'm sure Sunshine will take you someplace nice."

When Storm chatted about his evening and mentioned teleporting she had to chuckle. "I would love to stop by and see it sometime. To be honest though, I don't know how to teleport. Most unicorns don't, it's a very tricky spell and requires a lot of magic. You should ask Sunshine about it. She teleported once." and with that Esmeralda laughed.

The day passed quickly and when it was over, Esmeralda thanked Storm for his help, and for buying the colt Birch a book. "Don't worry about repaying, the book was only 2 bits, and I'm sure Birch and his family will remember the favor."

# # #

Ursa Manor Restaurant and Inn, Observatory Hill, Canterlot

The streets were calm and quiet in Canterlot as their carriage traveled up hill to the capital district. The only sound was of the clip-clop of their driver's hooves. Sunshine Swirl pulled her sweater close in the evening air.

Storm Scout briefly described his day at the shop. Oh, he sold some horsefly candles. "We sell more of those in the spring, they're just candles with lemongrass to ward away insects. Citronella. I guess the farmer was doing his last big shopping trip before winter."

Sunshine was very happy when Storm "volunteered" for her in class lesson on pegasus magic. "Thanks so much. The students will really appreciate it."

As they approached the top of the hill, Sunshine remarked on all of the carriages, some empty, some with drivers. "It looks busy tonight."

The carriage came to a stop in front of a nice looking two story building with a beautiful garden and fountain in front. It was decorated with several mosaics of telescopes as well as various constellations decorating the outside. The sign above the entrance gate read, "Ursa Manor Restaurant and Inn -- Welcome".

Sunshine Swirl carefully stepped down from the carriage and gave the driver a few Bits. "Thank you for the ride!"

She walked with Storm through the front gate and gardens to the entryway of the restaurant. It was very well decorated inside and the views out the windows were beautiful. Some faced the mountains with their trees and waterfalls, some faced the towers of the city below, and finally, several offered views of Canterlot Castle itself.

A mustachioed unicorn stallion in black tie and tails greeted them. "Two for dinner tonight, if I might presume?"

Sunshine indicated that they were joining a group already here.

"Ah, yes. The Ink Well party. You'll find they are already seated. Please follow me."

The restaurant was spacious, with tables setup on square rugs with plenty of space between for privacy. Most ponies were dressed casually, but a few were dressed in elaborate outfits and looked like they stepped out of a fashion magazine.

Sunshine looked awkward for a moment, and whispered to Storm as they approached the table, "Um, Storm, I took the liberty of inviting a friend. I had spoken about you and she wanted to meet you."

The host stopped at a table for four where a blue stallion and pale magenta mare were seated. The blue stallion rose and gave Sunshine a quick hug. He turned to Storm and said, "You must be Storm Scout. It's good to finally meet you. I'm Ink Well, Sunshine's husband."

Sunshine gestured to the pale magenta mare, "And this is Silvie Smith. She's a student and teacher's assistant at the Academy."

Silvie was a young unicorn, roughly Storm's age. She had on a simple blouse and purple skirt. Her silver mane was pulled up into a bun. She motioned for Storm to sit next to her. "I'm pleased to meet you, Storm Scout."

Everyone took their seat.


(page 3 celebration picture!)

Sunshine said, "Storm, my husband, Ink Well, is an adventure book author. Perhaps you've read one of his books?"

A waiter pony arrived, and took drink orders for everyone. Ink Well ordered a bottle of wine for the table. Sunshine asked for a cup of black tea. Sylvie ordered another of what Storm ordered.

Once the waiter left, Silvie turned towards Storm and said, "I heard you were an adventurer? Sunshine told me you helped her solve a haunting at a local shop."

Sunshine cut in, "Silvie is an adventure too. Why she defeated a..."

Silvie cut Sunshine off and protested, "I'm not really an adventurer, but someday I hope to be."

The drinks arrived. The waiter pony showed Ink Well the bottle of wine, Ink Well nodded. The water uncorked the bottle with a flourish and poured a small amount. After a small taste, Ink Well nodded again, and the waiter poured each pony a glass.

Sunshine said, "Storm, do you recall when you asked me about enchanting items with unicorn magic? Silvie's grandmother was one of the unicorns who could do that."

Silvie nodded, "My grandmother Goldie's talent was enchanting things. She was very good at it. My mom was more into art, but I hope to resurrect the family talent and eventually learn to enchant things too. It's one of the reasons I attend the Canterlot Academy of Magic."

Ink Well and Sunshine Swirl were having a quiet chat, catching up on each other's day.

Silvie took a small sip of wine. "Storm, I noticed your cutie mark is a sword. Do you fight? Have you ever fought a monster like a manticore or timberwolf?"

She listened to Storm, then asked, "So, you don't sound like a Canterlot pony, where do you come from originally?"

She took another sip of wine, "I hope you don't think me too forward, but why did you leave and come to Canterlot?"

The wait pony arrived with small bowls of salad for everypony. "The dinner tonight is one of two special dishes. The first choice is a broiled root dish with potatoes, carrots, onions in a very light olive oil sauce. The second choice is a burgundy truffle pasta dish served in a creamy butter sauce with imported Trottingham cheese. If I may have your selections?"

Ink Well ordered the root dish. Sunshine ordered the truffle pasta. She commented, "The root dish is wonderful, I've had that before, but the truffles here are to die for." She touched her hooves together and made a blissful expression.

The waiter turned towards Storm Scout, "And for you, sir?"

[Storm Scout]

(OoC: Awesome pic! You're a great artist.)

"Oh, yes, she seems to know Canterlot quite well, so I'm interested to see where she'll take me," Storm said on dinner with Sunshine and Ink Well. "I had wondered if you might've wanted to come along, but I imagine if Sunshine would've asked you already if she thought, uh... that you would be available?" 

Well... most unicorns can't teleport... "Oh." It sounded like there was something of a story behind Sunshine's teleportation. Even if Esmeralda couldn't teleport to visit, his question had been answered; she would be able to visit sometime.

# # #

They rode along in the carriage for a while, making some conversation, and eventually the restaurant came into sight. "Ursa Manor... oh! Ursa Manor. Heh, I get it. Because... Ursa Minor... oookay..." They left the carriage and went into the restaurant. Storm noted that it looked like a very grand, fancy, expensive place, both on the exterior and in the interior, but perhaps that was the standard in Canterlot.

They were directed to their table, and as they approached it Sunshine said something that made Storm's ears jump up in alarm. "Oh; a friend?" 'I had spoken about you and she wanted to meet you.' Those were blatantly matchmaking words. Uh oh. This might get awkward.

"Hello, Ink Well... nice meet you too." And... the friend... Silvie Smith. It seemed engineered for Storm to sit next to her, that was where the only other pillow seemed to be located. "Mm-hmm... uh, pleased to meet you as well... Silvie." Smith; did she have metalworking in her family? Metalworking would be useful. Something to talk to her about, other than... personal questions. Storm sat. Next to Silvie. Hm.

"Huh... I'm afraid I don't remember reading you, I would probably remember the author... to be fair though, I had fallen out of reading a few years back, I might've missed a few major titles." No Storm... egghead! Oh, never mind. It was fine, these people wouldn't judge him for reading, because they all seemed quite egghead-ish themselves. Maybe it was a tiny insignificant thing to worry about... flight academy had been a rough and jock-filled world and it had contributed to this self-concious worry that was conditioned into him.

If Silvie was ordering the same drink as Storm, hopefully she wouldn't be disappointed, because he panicked on the waiter's question and ordered cider again.

"An adventurer? Oh... no, I'm not yet at least. Solving the haunting wasn't really much of an adventure, if I'm honest." Yes, he could see. Sunshine must've spotted the similarities between him and Silvie. "Oh, you hope to be an adventurer too..." he glanced at Sunshine. "Have you met Esmeralda, Silvie?"

Ink Well was pouring everypony a glass from the bottle of wine. Well, Storm didn't drink much... he wouldn't mind trying the wine though. He'd heard that Canterlot had good wine...

"Oh, enchanting items. That's right." Sunshine said that Silvie's grandmother was an enchantress, and Silvie went on to express that she wanted to learn enchanting too. "Well... good luck in that pursuit, then." Heh... Goldie, Silvie... maybe not metalworking, but enchantment names. It might be useful to have an enchantress friend, Storm thought.

Yes, it looked like he was exclusively locked up in conversation with Silvie right now. He'd bet Sunshine intended for this to happen. "Yes, I think I'm good with a sword. I've never fought anything other than sparring partners, though." He couldn't see Silvie's cutie mark though. "What's your cutie mark like, if you don't mind me asking? Can you show me?"

As for the question of where he came from, "I'm from Cloudsdale." It was true, you could kind of tell when a pony around here was a resident of Canterlot, be it the attire or the accent.

Too forward... why would he think that was a particularly forward thing to ask? Was she trying some sort of mind games to set the tone and put ideas in his head? A better question, was he overthinking everything because he felt uncomfortable? Who knows? "Why! Um... why? Well, I have tended to travel frequently, and I wanted to find some kind of work that could perhaps help bring me closer to my goal of going around and beyond Equestria and having big adventures. Canterlot seemed a good place to start. It's famed for being quite a rich city, and where there are rich ponies, there are plenty of jobs to be done, I figured." It was very lucky that he had wandered into Esmeralda's shop.

Storm realised that the waiter was addressing him. He harrumphed. "Oh, uhh... I'll have the truffle pasta, please." He pushed around his collar with a hoof. He was doing okay in this high society restaurant, he thought. No glaring politely-quiet rich ponies disapproving of any uncouth behaviour so far. Unless they were doing that behind his back and he hadn't noticed... he glanced behind him. Ugh. Shiver.

[Sunshine Swirl]

The server delivered the two ciders to Storm Scout and Silvie Smith’s side of the table. Instead of setting the mugs in front of each pony, he set them close together between the two ponies and smiled. He obviously assumed they were a couple.

Silvie nudged her pillow a bit closer then picked up the cider mug with her hooves. She was an immaculately groomed unicorn. Her hooves were flawless and polished to a shine. Her mane had a fragrance of wildflowers.

Storm explained a bit about his adventuring so far, then asked if Silvie knew Esmeralda.

Silvie gracefully lifted the mug of cider with both her hooves. “Esmeralda? Yes, she and my father are both in the Canterlot Merchant Guild. She seems like a pleasant sort.” She took a sip

Silvie nodded as Storm explained his experience with swordplay and sparring. When he asked to see her cutie mark, she blushed deeply and tugged at her skirt. “Well, I’m not sure that would be proper here.” She looked around the restaurant.

There was an awkward silence.

Sunshine suddenly spoke up, “Oh, did you notice if you look out the window here?” She traced an outline in the air with her hoof. “You can see the head and saddle of Ursa Major. That part’s also known as the Big Dipper.”

Ink Well added, “On the second floor there’s a private dining room with a big skylight window. You can see Ursa Minor from up there. There’s a wonderful view of the skies from this hill top.”

Silvie levitated her wine glass and took a big sip. She seemed a bit flustered, she obviously didn’t want to talk about her cutie mark. She changed to topic to where Storm Scout was from.

“Oh, Cloudsdale. I hear that’s a wonderful place, although I haven’t been there myself.” She said, seeming a bit more comfortable. She nodded while listened to Storm’s explanation about traveling and looking for adventure.

“So, do you sometimes feel you were meant to accomplish big things in life? I do. I just know there is some special destiny waiting for me.” Silvie said.

The wait pony interrupted the conversation, taking everypony’s order. It seemed that everyone wanted the truffle dish except for Ink Well.

A small entourage of ponies arrived at the front of the restaurant, three mares in jewels and fancy gowns and three stallions in black ties and tails. They talked with the host for a moment. One of the mares levitated a lavender scarf and waved it the table where Storm Scout and the others were seated, “Yoo hoo” she called.

Silvie dabbed her lips with her napkin and stood, “You’ll have to excuse me for a moment. Those are the Van Hoofenbergs, friends of my family.” She gracefully crossed the room then gave the mares polite little kisses on each cheek and curtsied before each of the stallions.

While Silvie was away, Sunshine held a hoof up to her muzzle and said to Storm, “I think Silvie likes you.”

Ink Well gave her a little nudge. “You’re embarrassing him.” he turned towards Storm and added, “Forgive her. Sunshine can’t help but meddle in a pony’s affairs.”

He took a sip of wine, “So, I hear you’re helping Esmeralda with her shop? She’s a warm soul. Sunshine and I used to live in the apartment above that shop after we were first married. I’ve got to tell you, Esmeralda is a mare full of stories.”

Sunshine laughed. “Although, you might regret it if you get her started sometimes.”

Sunshine put her hoof to her muzzle again and said, “Oh, Silvie’s cutie mark...” She glanced over to make sure Silvie was still busy with the Van Hoofenbergs. “It’s a long thin silver dagger with gemstones.”

Ink Well corrected, “A stiletto.”

Sunshine looked annoyed. “You’ve never even seen it.”

Ink Well said, “But a long thin dagger like you described is called a stiletto.”

Sunshine waved her hoof dismissively. “Anyway, she’s a bit awkward about it. Apparently her parents don’t like her having a weapon as a cutie mark.”

Ink Well said softly, “It does suit her though. Especially with her reputation as the Terror of Market Square.”

Sunshine looked surprised. “That was just plain rude, Ink.” She huffed and crossed her forelegs. “Why would you even bring that up?”

Ink Well looked a little defeated. “I... well.” before he could go on, he saw Silvie walking back to the table.

Silvie returned and took her seat on the pillow next to Storm. The Van Hoofenberg party was being led by the host up a fancy staircase to the private dining room on the second floor.

Silvie said. “Pardon my absence. Those ponies are old family friends, and well, they’re also very good customers of the family jewelry store."

Two wait ponies approached the table carrying trays. They elegantly set the entrées in front of each pony. The unicorns' meals were served on large flat plates and a set of silverware laid out in an array around the plate. The pegasi’s meals were served in elegant bowls. The ponies with the burgundy truffle pasta dish were offered fresh grated Trottingham cheese. Sunshine nodded her head, and the wait pony expertly grated some of the rich cheese over her dish.

Once the waiter left, Silvie complained, “They never ask if I want a plate or bowl. They just assume…”

Ink Well chuckled lifting the bowl with his hooves. “This is Canterlot, everyone expects unicorns to eat with those pointy stick things.” He took a bite of food then smiled, “Ah, delicious. We should eat out more often, Sunshine.”

Sunshine nodded while chewing some of the pasta. Then she furrowed her brows and looked at Ink Well.

The stallion’s face held a clueless expression, then a brief look of panic mixed with fear. “Uh, not that there’s anything wrong with your cooking, dear. It’s delicious too!”

Sunshine quietly said, “You’re on my bad list right now..."

Silvie laughed and said to Storm, “Married couples.” She shook her head. “So, are you enjoying the pasta? Truffles are a little strong, it’s a bit of an acquired taste I think.”

[Storm Scout]

A twitching hint of a grimace appeared fleetingly at the corners of Storm's mouth as the server set the mugs so close together. The server's inference here was obvious. And Storm's discomfort here had risen a little bit more.

"The reason I ask if you've met Esmeralda is because..." Uh... was it alright to tell somepony about Esmeralda's past? It felt a little like a violation of privacy to Storm. Hmm... maybe he wouldn't get in trouble if he withheld something. "Well, because she seems to have learned a lot about that sort of thing, in her time. Adventurers, I mean."

Huh... she was quite defensive of her cutie mark. It couldn't be that embarrassing, could it? Showing her cutie mark 'wouldn't be proper here' somehow. Well, Storm wasn't one to pry, but he was rather curious about the cutie mark now. Sunshine and Ink Well broke the ensuing silence with talk of the constellations the bears were named after, and Silvie seemed eager to change the subject.

"Yes, I wouldn't expect you to have been to Cloudsdale... as a non-pegasus you'd need both a certain spell to be able to walk on the clouds and transport arranged to get up there. It's a beautiful place, but the hassle that earth ponies and unicorns would need to go through to visit means a lot of you generally don't bother." And what would they be missing out on? Cloudsdale was very much a place designed for pegasi to live in. If you couldn't fly, it would probably take a bit of effort to move around in that floating city.

When Storm had talked about adventuring, Silvie moved the conversation into talk of destiny. After they'd given their orders to the waiter, Storm replied "Well, I sure would like to have some kind of special destiny along my path... impact the world somehow, even just in a little way. But I don't think about that sort of thing often, to be honest. My cutie mark isn't exactly clear on what I'm supposed to do... so I'll just keep on doing what I'm doing for now." Could that be all there was to him? Swinging a sword? Swords were aged relics from times before peace, a thousand years ago; it didn't matter what end they were used to achieve, they always meant some sort of destruction. Would he ever create something... bring something new into the world? Huh... maybe this was why he didn't think about this stuff very often.

It looked like Silvie was a popular mare tonight. Some fancy ponies seemed to be calling her over, and they were doing it in about as Canterlot-ish a fashion as they possibly could have. 'Yoo hoo'? A few days ago Storm wouldn't have believed that there were ponies who said 'yoo-hoo' in a non-ironic way. But up here in Canterlot, there were social extremes all over the place... it had its own little subculture.

When Silvie had gone, Sunshine pretty much confirmed what Storm had believed, if it had even needed confirmation. Matchmaker. "Well..." He wasn't sure what to say - he was deeply out of his element here. He felt quite uncomfortable trying to talk about this... "She does seem to like me, I think... I mean, I wouldn't know..." Ink Well's words perhaps helped more than he knew. Storm was glad to have some reassurance rather than feeling alone and lost here.

"Right, I'm working as Esmeralda's assistant right now. She seems quite nice. Definitely the nicest boss I've had, in my admittedly limited experience with employment." Storm didn't mind Esmeralda's long stories, far from it. He loved the tales; it seemed they would often be about her adventuring days, and they certainly provided entertainment during the more monotonous parts of the job.

What...? Oh, no, secrets. Storm wasn't sure how he should feel about Sunshine telling him about Silvie's cutie mark. Still, he had to admit that he had been curious... but he felt bad knowing now, when he understood that it had been something Silvie had wanted to hide. "A dagger..." He could see why a daughter with a blade for a cutie mark might be a bad image for the family. Perhaps this was just a negative stereotype, but Canterlot seemed to hold putting on airs in higher regard than anywhere else.

"Terror of..." What was this? Another unpleasant secret that Storm didn't really want to know, presumably. Sunshine seemed to find it awfully rude for Ink Well to have brought this 'Terror of Market Square' thing up... odd, considering she had been the one to reveal Silvie's cutie mark. "What's this-" Oh, Celestia, Silvie was coming back! Storm shut his mouth. Discomfort levels rising.

"O-Oh, your family has a jewelry store? I, uh... did suspect metalworking... from the name..." A jewelled stiletto... great, now Storm had to try to carry on as normal with the burden of these secrets. Thanks a lot guys.

The food was brought out, and Storm nodded for the cheese. He didn't eat cheese often, but he'd be willing to try it here... though he did wonder where it came from. Cow's milk? Ugh... weird.

He noticed the difference in how the food was arranged between the pegasi and the unicorns right away. "Yeah..." he muttered. "They just assume that you want a plate... they don't consider that you might not want them to give you these awkward metal sticks. Seems like a pretty rude thing to do without Silvie's permission, doesn't it Sunshine? Ink Well?" He stared at them. They probably got the message...

Storm saw that Ink Well lifted the bowl... he didn't lift his to eat, though. Why bother? Non-unicorn eating wasn't some sort of graceful dance here in Canterlot... was it? He might be doing this wrong. Oh well... the food was great.

Ink Well had inadvertently insulted Sunshine's cooking, much to her chagrin. Silvie commented on it. "Yes... the pasta's fine. Higher-budget than anything I usually eat." Knowing Silvie's secrets before she might've been ready to reveal them was troubling Storm. If he could just pretend he didn't know, he might be able to avoid offending or upsetting her... "S-So! You, uh, like adventures, don't you? I had been hoping to go and... well, hoping to, at some point in the future, go somewhere and do something that could be categorised as at least 'somewhat adventurous'. Maybe you could come with me? Or, us." Because Storm totally wouldn't want to go adventuring without Esmeralda. And maybe Sunshine would want to come along too.

[Sunshine Swirl]

(( OOC This is a really long post. It wraps up this part of “Bell, Book & Candle” and sets up the “Grand Adventure to the Griffin Kingdom”. Storm, if you’d like to reply, please do. We can keep this thread going but I think most of our activity will center on the Adventure RP Thread before returning to this one. ))

Silvie Smith listened to Storm Scout describe Cloudsdale and its hurdles to non-pegasi. “I know that not many unicorns visit, but that’s part of the allure. I’ll have to visit the Academy library and find a spell for cloud-walking, and maybe floating, leaping, or even flying."

Sunshine commented that Silvie already spends quite a bit of time in the Academy libraries. This seemed to embarrass Silvie a little bit.

When the topic shifted to destinies, Silvie sighed, “You should be proud of your cutie mark even though it doesn’t suggest a specific action. It’s not just a sword, it’s obviously an enchanted sword. I think it means you have a special destiny ahead of you. Did you ever hear about the Sea Pony of the Lake that gave the magical sword to the fairytale king? That magical sword gave him the power to overcome chaos and unite an entire kingdom. Maybe your destiny will be like that fairytale.”

Silvie seemed a bit disappointed to have to stop when the Van Hoofenbergs arrived and summoned her.

Silvie returned shortly and explained about the Van Hoofenbergs, her family, and the family jewelry store. She chuckled when Storm pointed out her name, “Yes, Silvie Smith, a silver smith. Quite a coincidence, maybe? My mother swears she gave me that name because of my silver mane. My father’s name is Faithful Forge, and his mother was named Goldie Smith. That’s where the Smith part came from. Goldie was very talented. Someday I'll match her skills."

Ink Well nodded when Storm talked about the table setting differences between the pegasi and unicorns. “I imagine they’re accustomed to the ways of unicorns in a town like this.” Ink Well paused for a moment, unconsciously staring at Silvie eat her pasta. The mare’s horn was glowing and she had at times three or four objects in motion between the fork, spoon, knife and glass. She ate with the precision of a watchmaker. Sunshine on the other hoof was content with just using her fork, setting it down before levitating anything else.

Ink Well went on, “In my hometown of Ponyville, you’d have to specifically ask for metal sticks to eat like that."

Sunshine smiled at Storm’s comment on the high budget pasta in comparison to his usual fare. She teased, “It’s because you’re still a bachelor."

Silvie looked at Storm quietly while when he brought up the topic of liking adventures and perhaps going on one with him. After a pause she said, “Well, in my experience, adventures typically find you, not the other way around. If you ever do find yourself in an adventure, do let me know."

Dinner was over quickly. The wait pony cleared the dishes and bowls then returned with a large tray filled with at least two dozen tiny decorative plates. Each of the plates held a small pastry or two. Apparently, this is how they did desserts here. Everypony could take the plate (or plates) that suited them. There were pastries with chocolate toppings, fruit filled pastries, little cakes of various flavors. The wait pony levitated the tiny plates expertly in a lovely array filling the center of the table with a dozen tasty looking choices.

Ink Well asked the wait pony to bring some coffee, and asked if anypony else wanted some. Sunshine asked for hot tea. Silvie still had cider left and didn’t want anything else.

Sunshine decided to pass on dessert and instead talked as everypony else ate. She talked about breaking a peacock feather on a favorite hat. She talked about the upcoming extension program at the Canterlot Academy of Magic.

Silvie added that she would be the Teaching Assistant for that program and was looking forward to it. “This is going to be my first time as a Teaching Assistant and not a student at the Academy. I’m a little nervous."

When dinner was done, Ink Well took care of the bill.

The four ponies left the Ursa Manor Restaurant and Inn. It was a beautiful evening, and Ink Well’s comment about the wonderful view of the sky was more than true. A pony could see all the major and minor constellations, nebulas, galaxies. It was as if Observatory Hill had a special enchantment on it. With Canterlot Castle just below, it’s possible that the sheer closeness to Princess Luna herself caused the skies to look so beautiful at night.

Sunshine turned towards Storm and said, “Storm, I know you probably feel like flying off given how nice it is outside and all. But would you mind riding in the carriage back down the hill with all of us?"

(( OOC I'm assuming Storm does come along with us in the carriage. ))

Ink Well summoned a carriage for four. A stout taxi pony pulled up from the waiting coaches along the street. This was apparently a good place to wait for a fare for them. This carriage had two bench seats, one in front, and one in back. Ink Well and Sunshine climbed in the front bench seat leaving the rear bench seat for Storm and Silvie.

Silvie got settled into the carriage. She turned to Storm, “The sky is very pretty tonight.” She looked up at stars. “Have you ever used a telescope to look at them?"

Ink Well gave the driver directions. They would head to Market Square first to drop Silvie off, then to Storm’s apartment, and finally to Canterlot Gardens where Sunshine and Inkwell lived.

Sunshine leaned against her husband and was quiet.

Silvie said, “I made a telescope. It’s nothing special, but it makes looking at the night sky very interesting."

The carriage wound down Observatory Hill, passing by several towers and the big Royal Equestrian Observatory building. They turned down cobblestone streets, then came to a very nice section of Canterlot, white stone pillars, decorative wrought iron trim. There were a lot of very fancy stores here with names and logos commonly seen on fashion magazines. The street opened up into a large square with a well maintained garden and fountain in the center. A sign on the street corner read “Market Square”.

The Carriage pulled up in front of a very fancy store front. It was at least four times longer than The Bell, Book & Candle shop. The shop windows were filled with displays of gemstones, rings, and necklaces as well as larger items like intricate silver tea sets and fancy clocks. The sign read, “Goldie’s Enchanting Jewelry”. The driver stopped.

Silvie leaned forward, “Actually, the entrance to the house is around the other side, if you don’t mind. Just take a left and it’s at the end of the block."

It appeared that Silvie's family owned the entire block, it was a series of interconnected courtyards, paths and buildings sometimes with second story walk-ways and balconies over looking the courtyards. There were statues, topiaries, fountains and a large bronze sculpture.

Silvie pointed out things as the carriage drove. She gestured a hoof towards an older looking building with two chimneys. “That’s the forge building where we smelt various metals and alloys. Everything from silver to more exotic metals from distant lands. And there is the Dragon-bone sculpture. I’m still not sure why it’s called that, it’s made of bronze, not out of dragon bones. I once climbed it when I was a filly and got stuck at the top… It was a little embarrassing. That building with all the glass is the conservatory building. My mother has quite a collection of rare roses there. Oh, her name is Rosy, another coincidence maybe? She’s not much into metal work, but she has a wonderful talent with art and my father considers her his inspiration."

After several minutes, the carriage finally reached the other end of the Smith estate and the grand entrance to their home. It had a large with a cobblestone circular drive in front of a two story entrance. In the center of the circular drive was a statue of a unicorn rearing up on its hind legs looking towards the heavens.

“This is fine here,” said Silvie. “Thank you for the wonderful evening, Sunshine and Ink Well."

She turned towards Storm, “And thank you, it was very nice to meet you and get to know you. Maybe you can visit sometime. I could show you the forge and some of the swords and ceremonial halberds my father makes for the Royal Guard?"

Silvie climbed down off of the carriage and waved a hoof goodbye. Then she turned and walked to the grand entrance of her family’s estate.

While the carriage was stopped, Sunshine took the opportunity to stretch her legs, then she climbed back on sitting on the rear bench seat next to Storm Scout. She grinned, and as the carriage departed, she turned to Storm and said, “So, what did you think of Silvie?"

Sunshine listened intently to Storm as the carriage retraced the path along the Smith family estate and back to Market Square.

Ink Well interrupted when they reached Market Square itself. “Storm, do you see those patches of lighter colored paving stones here and there? Those are places where they replaced the old cobblestone to fill in the pits and holes left from when the Changelings broke the barrier and smashed into our streets and homes. They were only here for a short while, but they did a lot of damage."

Sunshine Swirl shuddered. “I think that was well before Storm came to Canterlot, dear."

Ink Well gestured, “Those shops over there were all closed after the invasion. They were pretty messed up." He glanced back at Sunshine. “Of course Silvie’s shop and the shops along that side were fine…"

Sunshine sighed. “Here we go…"

Ink Well continued. “You see, a giant monster made of black smoke with dragon wings protected those shops."

“Ink Well — Why do you persist in repeating those wild…"

He chuckled, “I’m a story teller, and a fire-snorting-dragon-smoke-monster raining down hails of daggers and chasing dozens of changelings up and down the block is just too good a story to pass up."

Sunshine said, “Silvie just did what she had to, to protect her family. I think it’s been blown way out of proportion. She’s not a giant smoke monster…"

The driver paused the carriage. He looked over his shoulder and said, “Wait-a-minute, Lady. Are youze telling me that filly I just dropped off was the Terror of Market Square? Why I’ll be. Wait till the boys here about this one."

Sunshine sighed again.

Ink Well said, “Well. Most ponies just cowered in their homes until the princesses repelled the invasion. You’ve got to admire Silvie for doing something, even if it was dangerous."

Sunshine shook her head, “I hurt myself that afternoon. I was so frightened by the barrier falling and all of those bug creatures. I ran blindly, skittered around a corner and fell. I hurt my hip and limped for a week afterwards.” She laughed, “I’m such an old mare!"

“Well, you’re my old mare.” Ink Well consoled her.

Soon the cart reached Storm Scout’s apartment.

Sunshine gave Storm a hug goodnight. “Thank you for putting up with us tonight. I hope I didn’t impose too much on you by inviting Silvie. I thought you two might have some things in common."

She listened to Storm, then waved goodbye as he left the carriage for his apartment. “See you at Rainbow Falls!"

(( OOC Dear reader, they do meet at Rainbow Falls in the Looking for Trade role-play thread. ))

# # #

Esmeralda gave Storm Scout and extra day off after the Traders Exchange. She was quite pleased with how everything turned out, well, most everything. Marigold had done a fine job tending the shop while they were away.

The next day was "shipment day" and Esmeralda wanted Storm to wake up early and pickup a shipment of 7 boxes from the Canterlot Commercial Airship Docks.

It was at the docks in the wee hours of the morning that adventure found Storm Scout...

(( OOC This part of the story is chronicled in “The Grand Adventure to the Griffin Kingdom” role-play thread starting next week. ))