A unicorn with blue eyes, a golden mane, beige coat, a cutie mark of a stack of books, and wearing large silver-rimmed glasses walked into Maretime Bay. Being a little bit shy, she ignored all the earth ponies and walked up to the first unicorn that she saw. "Um, excuse me, but is there a library in town?"
Misty shyly tilted her head. "Oh gee, uh, I don't know? But I know ponies that would, follow me."
Amber started walking after Misty. "T.thank you. Oh, where are my manners, my name's Amber Skyray."
Misty walked towards the Brighthouse. "A.and mine's Misty Brightdawn." Misty glanced over her shoulder. "That's a nice name."
Amber smiled at that, hastening to her new friend's side. "As is yours. What's your favorite book?"
Misty tensed. "Uh, hm..." She frowned, thinking of the few tomes she'd seen laying about. "I'm not really sure..." She pointed to the brighthouse they had arrived at. "But I bet some of them would know."
Amber glanced up at the lighthouse-shaped house before them. "Oh my, this looks lovely!" She clopped up the steps, her glasses slipping down her muzzle.
Pushing the door open revealed a batch of ponies coming to see them. Hitch, the stallion, tipped the hat he wasn't wearing. "Howdy! Welcome! If you're with Misty, you must already be a friend." His dragon rider squealed with joy at the meeting.
"Don't mind him." Izzy bounced forward, eyes wandering over Amber curiously. "He doesn't know how special it is to have a new uni-buddy!" She whirled on Misty. "You didn't mention you knew another uni-buddy!"
"Uni-buddy?" Misty angled her head towards Amber. "This is Amber Skyray. She's looking for a library. She, um, seems nice?"
Sunny stepped to the fore. "Welcome! This isn't a library, I admit... But there's nothing wrong with a good book. Hello, I'm Sunny Starscout." She began listing the names of the others, pointing as she went. "Nice to meet you."
Amber blinked in surprise at the enthusiastic welcome. "Oh my! It's wonderful to meet you all." She dipped her head politely.
"I'm so sorry to intrude - I was just following Misty, hoping to find a library here in town." She glanced around. "This home looks so cozy. Thank you for allowing me inside!"
Her gaze landed back on the exuberant unicorn. "And uni-buddy does have a nice ring to it! I haven't met many other unicorns since arriving in Maretime Bay."
Amber tucked a hoof self-consciously. "I'm traveling and researching myths and legends across Equestria. Your town looked so charming from afar that I simply had to visit."
She turned her earnest blue eyes back to Misty. "You have a lovely community here. Perhaps we could find a cafe to chat in? I'd love to hear any local tales you have to share!"
Misty shook her head. "She's being nice. She really wants a library."
Izzy nodded in sage agreement. "Mmmhmm. She's another unicorn thinking she has to change herself to fit in." She put a hoof on Amber's shoulder. "You're welcome just the way you are! Also, nice glasses." She grabbed Amber's face between her hooves, adjusting those glasses. "So chic!"
"You wouldn't know chic if it bit you, Izzy." Pipp bumped Izzy aside with a chuckle. "Really. Welcome! I do love the glasses. Silver? Very stylish. Are they ornamental or do you need them?"
Amber blushed, embarrassed by the sudden attention but also touched by the group's friendliness.
"Oh, no need to change a bit!" she reassured Izzy. "I'm quite content being my bookish self." She nudged her slipping glasses back up with a hoof.
"And I do need them to read, I'm afraid. Everything is just a blur without them." She went cross-eyed for effect behind the large lenses.
"A cafe sounds absolutely lovely," Amber added, turning back to Misty with a grateful smile. "And I would be delighted to hear any stories or legends from all of you!"
She paused, glancing around the room and taking in the eclectic decor and furnishings.
"I must say...this home seems to have great character. Have there been any curious happenings or supernatural sightings here in town or near this lighthouse? It looks like the perfect setting for a ghostly tale or two!"
Sunny looked ready to deny that, but... "Maybe once or twice," she admitted, deflating. "I really should get back to my stand though."
"The salon won't run itself." Pipp launched into the air. "Be fabulous!" And she was gone.
So soon, most of the ponies had scattered, leaving just Izzy behind. "They're like that." She thumped against her new uni-buddy. "Let's go get a snack!" She joyfully led the way away from the brighthouse. "You're from Bridlewood, right?"
"Sure am." Amber fell in behind Izzy. "But they were never big on... books, especailly a lot of them together... They have a lot of unkind terms for that."
"Spook nook?" Izzy bounced along. "Curse closet?!"
"And more," sighed out Amber. "I was hoping the earth ponies didn't share those ideas.
She perked up as Izzy led the way. "It's quite refreshing to meet such a friendly group here! So open-minded."
As they walked, Amber took in the charming seaside sights. "Your town has such a cheerful energy about it. And perhaps, in a port like this, even earth ponies have encountered enough travelers to overcome old prejudices?"
She stroked her chin thoughtfully with a hoof. "In my research, I have found seaside towns often have the richest stories...sailors do love to tell tall tales! Have you heard any mysterious accounts from ships coming and going from your docks?"
Amber's eyes sparkled with curiosity behind her glasses. "Things they dare not repeat back home, but share freely over drinks in a dockside tavern here? I'd love to collect those stories as part of my work documenting folk legends across pony kind’s many lands and tribes!"
Izzy suddenly thumped against Amber from the side. "If we don't find books, sounds like you could just write some yourself."
Amber colored at the thought. "Nopony would want to read a book I just... wrote for fun..."
"Pfft." Izzy bounced around Amber, somehow going forward despite that. "All books are written because a pony just decided to do it. The reasons, are many, but in the end, we have a book. Most ponies have no idea why a pony wrote it. They just get to read a fun book! Isn't that good enough?"
Amber pondered Izzy's words as they continued along the seaside path. Gulls cried overhead, sailing on ocean breezes that carried the scent of salt and seaweed.
"I suppose you have a point," she finally conceded, a small smile playing at her lips. "Many great works of literature did start out as simple stories, shared organically between friends. Who's to say some tavern tale couldn't inspire an entire saga!"
She tapped her chin thoughtfully with one hoof, glasses perched atop. "In fact, I met a mare back in Bridlewood who spun the most fantastical stories off the cuff - tales of perilous journeys, mystical lands and fierce creatures. Ponies would gather every night just to listen!"
Amber chuckled softly at the memory. "Perhaps she did take some creative liberties with the strict facts. But her vision so transported us, held us utterly spellbound! Nopony cared what was strictly true or invented. We simply delighted in the magic she wove with words."
Glancing sidelong at Izzy, Amber's grin widened. "Rather like now with you! Just the enthusiasm of your company makes this new town feel like a wonderland full of possibility...who knows what inspiration lurks around the next corner?" She winked playfully. "Maybe that old tavern there has a masterWordsMare holding court inside this very moment!"
Izzy waved at the little seaside cafe they'd reached. "I doubt there are any masterwordsmares in there, but they do have this perfect seaweed toast, mmmmm." She hopped for the door. "Worth the trip," She sang, bursting inside with a giggle.
Amber hesitated. Did she see something shine? She wandered over towards the trash and danced slowly on her hooves. Searching the trash was not one of her first impulses, but she'd seen something.
Giving up against the urge, she leaned in over the can and peeked inside.
"Find something fun?"
Amber fell back with a squeak to find Izzy there, peeking too. "I thought you went inside?"
"I did, but you weren't there, so I came out, and here you were." She pointed at the trash. "What were you looking for? Ooo a shiny thing!" Izzy bounced over to peek into the trash can too. "Maybe it's a pirate treasure map! Or a magic jewel!"
She scrunched up her nose. "Though this trash is kinda stinky. We better go inside and get our snack before somepony else grabs the comfy seats."
Izzy headed for the cafe entrance but paused to glance back at Amber. "You coming? I bet if we ask nicely they'll bring your toast out here so you can keep digging for buried treasure!" She giggled.
Amber laughed tensely. "I don't... want to advertise this... Let's just... look really quick." She hurried up and almost threw her head inside, peeking. She found a book, with golden foil and a big bookmark. "Look at this." She fell back, book hovering in her magic. "It's..."
"A book!" Izzy threw her hooves wide. "Neat! And..." She sniffed at the book gently. "It doesn't smell, score. Let's take it inside and get that toast. It is to die for. And if you literally die, we found a story worth telling, yeah?"
Amber carefully examined the book her magic had fished from the trash. It seemed old but well preserved, its leather binding embossed with elegant gold detailing that had caught her eye.
"Remarkable!" she murmured. "What a lovely edition - and the binding is still so finely crafted after all this time." She gingerly opened it to the first pages. "Why, these illustrations are exquisite...hoof-painted, if I'm not mistaken."
She blinked in surprise at the sight of the bookmark tucked amidst the pages - it seemed oddly out of place given the age of the volume. Tracing a hoof gently over the lettering on the insert, she read aloud: "The Ponyville Chronicles: Tales You Never Knew."
Glancing up at Izzy, Amber raised an eyebrow. "Ponyville! Why, that's a famous town back in Ancient Equestria. But the bookmark looks so new..." She trailed off, flipping carefully through the fragile pages. "How curious to find such a token placed in this antique tome here, ages away."
Her stomach grumbled, reminding Amber of their original quest. With a laugh, she closed the book. "A mystery for later! You've quite got my appetite whetted for this famous toast of yours now. Let's step inside and continue our adventures over some well-earned luncheon, shall we?"
Tucking the volume safely into her bag, Amber headed eagerly for the cafe door, wonderings dancing in her eyes. What other secrets might Maretime Bay hold for a curious unicorn visitor?
Izzy was quite happy to introduce her new uni-buddy to that toast she had been hyping up. As it turned out, it was pretty good. No ponies died for it, despite her claims. Fortunately, they accepted bits instead of souls or sacrifices, so that worked.
"So, no libraries." Izzy chomped on her toast, humming happily at the seaweed coating. "Gonna give up?"
"No way," Amber flipped her new book curiously. "This is a sign... I can't give up. If there's no library... Then I'll just have to make one."
Izzy inclined her head. "If you were gonna do that, why not Bridlewood?"
"Because unicorns?" Amber pointed up at her own horn. "They don't like libraries. Earth ponies don't have them, but they don't mind them. I'll... build a library here, for the earth ponies. Think they'll like it?"
"Sister." Izzy slipped down some glasses she hadn't been wearing before. "I know at least one unicorn that'll stop by."
Amber smiled with radiant joy. "That means so much... I'll get started."
Another story began with eager hooves and open arms.