//------------------------------// // Act 1 // Story: Spade Con // by AizakkuHorooee //------------------------------// After a long road trip, Lorien, Diamond and I spend the night in a stable in Baltimare.  And in the morning, we wake up to a nearby rooster crowing at the sunrise.  As we walk out with Lorien behind, we spot the convention center across the road from our stable.  The intercom siren close by starts a feedback that makes us cover our ears. Good morning to everypony visiting the Baltimare Convention Center for Spade Con day one!  We really hope you enjoy your time! Diamond and I recover with a yawn, and we and Lorien head into the convention center.  Just inside, convention guide pamphlets sit on two magazine shelves made of thin, silver wire.  I hover in the air and take one. Where we’ve entered, the vendor hall is entered by a single door on our left.  And the six panel spaces occupy the rest of the L-shaped corridor.  There also appear to be two other entrances: one on the other end of the corridor and one across the vendor hall. “So, Spade Con… did the map know an event was happening here?” asks Diamond. “Well, why else would it call us?  It was a good thing too.  Aita and Rarity shared a couple of their favorite stories from the Adventures of Shadow Spade when I first moved to Ponyville.” Diamond stops in her tracks by the vendor hall entrance, letting me and Lorien pass her.  “Shadow Spade?  Aita reads that?  W- hey!  Wait up, Cozy!”  She hurries back to my side after realizing I turned the corner. I look at the layout on the directory, mapping out where each of the panels take place.  Lorien takes us to the farthest door ahead, which will house the Q&A panel today with the two authors of the Shadow Spade books.  Lorien’s nose is in the air the whole time, sniffing out any potential friendship problem… I’m not sure if foxes can smell that kind of thing, actually. With Lorien’s lead, half of it coming from the sound of his claws clicking on the tile floor, Diamond Tiara and I take the aisle between the hay-pile seats to the stage table, which is currently empty.  Lorien puts his paws on the table and looks around, then focuses on two ponies as they enter from backstage, making him pant.  The first to enter the room is a pegasus stallion with a cyan coat, a brown kiss-shaped mane and tail, tan eyes and an atom cutie mark.  The second is a unicorn mare with a green coat, a blonde mane and tail - the mane tied in a pony tail, green eyes and an inkwell cutie mark. When the unicorn notices Lorien, she smiles and looks to me.  “I thought I heard clicking.  Aren’t you Princess Aita’s organizer?  Cozy Glow?” I nod excitedly and pick up Lorien in the air.  “Yessiree!  Diamond Tiara and I got called here on a friendship mission!  Oh!  And Lorien wanted to tag along too!” The pegasus comes close to me, allowing Lorien to sniff him.  “Ah, so he’s become a royal fox, huh?  Neat.  I’m Atomic Archive, and this is Timeless Tale.” Timeless Tale, the unicorn mare, flashes a blink-and-you-miss-it glare at Atomic Archive, but then giggles.  “So have you found any friendship problems yet?  I sure hope Lorien could help you with that if you didn’t.” Lorien growls at Timeless, then briefly gekkers to Atomic as if amicably conversing with another fox. “I don’t think we have.  We happened to hop here since Lorien led us to you,” Diamond says.  “When’s your panel start?” Timeless raises her hoof to start her answer, but is interrupted by Atomic.  “An hour and a half.” I set Lorien down as we make our way back to the corridor, looking back at Timeless and Atomic.  “Alrighty!  We’ll see you then!” I say, waving goodbye. The moment Timeless and Atomic disappear from all our views, Lorien turns around and attempts to push me with his head back to the entrance of the panel hall Diamond notices immediately that we aren’t following her.  “Where are you going?” she asks, but then sees Lorien as she herself turns around.  “Oh, I see.  Lorien looks like he wants you to listen in on those two, Cozy.” I nod and take off my saddlebag in front of Diamond.  “Okay.  You take the bag and get us some breakfast… maybe also some fruit for Lorien.” Without another word, Diamond takes the saddlebag and runs off, leaving me and Lorien to return to the entrance. As I look at Lorien, his ears point straight up, listening for anything in the panel hall.  When I try to pet him in reward, he bites my hoof.  “You’ve been really helpful on this- OW!  Okay!  I’ll focus!” Every time!  Every time, you do this, Atomic! Timeless yells from across the hall.   Why can’t you let me answer our fans for once?!? Hey, come on, Timeless, Atomic nervously says.  I let you answer questions asked to you, don’t I? No you don’t!  You’re too eager for input to let me get a word in edgewise! Timeless grunts and storms off backstage, Atomic reaching out a hoof for her.  He hangs his head and starts heading out of the hall, causing me to panic on the inside, so Lorien and I run away into the adjacent hall to hide.  Once Atomic passes by, Lorien follows him silently.  As they leave my view, I return to the Q&A panel hall, where I go backstage, a dark, narrow strip of the hall in the back with a lone desk occupied by Timeless Tale, who is calming down with deep breaths. She sits up straight when she hears me.  “Um, Timeless Tale?  You okay?” “Unfortunately not after that, but I do appreciate the concern, Cozy.  What’s up?” she asks, curiously walking up to me.  “And where’s Lorien?” “I think he went with Atomic.  But, um, Lorien and I noticed the altercation earlier.  What happened between you two?” Timeless looks off to the side.  “Oh.  We’ve been writing the Shadow Spade books for a good while.  The one that put us on the map in Equestria was the Stop & Go mystery with Goal Post.” Goal Post?  They appeared in Aita’s favorite entry. “So to capitalize, Atomic and I started going to conventions here.  That’s when the conflict started happening.  The Q&A’s always ended in some sort of disaster because he’s so eager to answer even the most loaded questions you could think of!  Is Goal-Shade canon?  Is Shadow Spade real like Daring Do is?  Will Radish Field be released from prison in future installments?  Those kinds of questions.  It’s like he’s putting words in my mouth.” When Timeless lists her examples of “loaded questions”, the first one makes her shudder, implying the pairing is a clearly disturbing one, like Goal Post isn't even eligible for the Wonderbolts yet. I do get an idea though.  “Why don’t I go get Atomic.  Surely, with your history with’m, you could talk things out.” In the middle of the crowded vendor hall, I put two wrapped griffonscones in Cozy Glow’s saddlebag when Atomic Archive meets me. “Oh!  Atomic!  Already done setting up?” Atomic shakes his head.  “I just need some space away from Timeless for a moment.”  In looking to the side, he finds Lorien behind him.  “Lorien?” “I thought you were with Cozy Glow,” I say to Lorien, prompting him to kiss Atomic in the leg.  “Feeling for Atomic?  Well that’s really receptive of you.  What happened?” “Timeless kind of called me out for earlier.  At least this time we weren’t asked questions about ships, fictionality or canon this time around, especially Shadow-Post.” Atomic’s explanation leaves me a bit surprised.  “Well that’s good.  While your example might be a different story, seems to me Timeless was just overreacting.  Nothing you couldn’t solve with a conversation.”  Lorien tilts his head out of question for what I say.  “What?  It worked with me and Cozy.” A tap on the shoulder turns me around, Cozy Glow coming into my view.  “Atomic!  Diamond!  She said to meet her backstage!” Lorien’s ears twitch at Cozy’s announcement, making him growl before he zooms off gekkering back to the panel hall. “Lorien!  Wait!” I call out. “You two keep watch.  I’ll go after’m.  I just need my breakfast first, okay Diamond?”  I nod at Cozy and toss her griffonscone in the air, which she catches into her mouth and runs off with. Atomic and I trot to the entrance of the vendor hall and watch as Cozy races into the Q&A room.  Shortly after, Lorien runs the other way with a sports cap in his mouth, taking a left to the entrance we took when coming into the convention center.  The cap in question has a little decoration on the front “My hat!” exclaims Atomic when he sees. “Lorien!  Come back!” Cozy shouts as she comes back into view with Timeless Tale right behind her.  Atomic and I join them as they run outside to catch Lorien.