By all accounts, it was a perfect day; the sky was clear, the air was fresh and crisp, and Sugarcube Corner was hosting a 'Buy one, get one free' sale. Everypony was out and about in Ponyville, but nopony was quite as excited as Pinkie Pie. Such a day as this was perfect for her bi-weekly rendition of "Smile, Smile, Smile", which always seemed to result in her meeting a new friend. Indeed, towards the final verse of her much-rehearsed song, she saw a stallion walking down the main road that led into town.
He was a unicorn, with a coat the same color as the smoke that poured from train engines. His mane was a dark, chocolate brown, lightly curled and cut an few inches from his scalp. His eyes were hazel, and his flank was marked by a half-closed book, the pages of which were filled with an elegant, flowing script. On his back he carried a thick, heavy-looking saddle with many bulging pockets.
Pinkie Pie finished her song just as the colt came within range, and turned to face him directly, a wide smile on her face.
"Hi! My name is Pinkie Pie! What's yours?!?" she said faster than the poor, confused unicorn could decipher.
"I'm sorry; but I didn't quite catch that." he spoke with a forced grin.
"I said: 'Hi! my name is Pinkie Pie! What's yours?!?'" Pinkie repeated, "Well? What is it?". The unicorn regained his composure and smiled,
"My name is Smokey Bubbles, Pinkie. It's nice to meet you."
"Smokey Bubbles?" Pinkie Pie gasped, "Like the bubble toy that blows smoke into bubbles, so they leave a little cloud when they pop?" She gasped again, "Is that your special talent? Can you make me some smokey bubbles?!?" Smokey was confused, so he changed the subject.
"Is there anyplace in Ponyville where I could rent a room to stay in?" Now it was Pinkie's turn to be confused; she had been discussing his special talent, what did living arrangements have to do with anything? She shrugged it off though; not everypony could be as logical as her.
"Sugarcube Corner rents rooms out! That's where I live, but the Cakes let me stay for free because I'm their apprentice." Smokey smiled,
"That might work. Let's go there."
"Great! Now you can come to all my parties! I throw all of them at Sugarcube Corner, cause' that way I don't have to get Big Mac to carry everything! But sometimes I do it anyways, cause' Big Mac makes funny faces when he carries heavy stuff, like that time when-". Smokey put his hoof up and signaled for her to stop talking.
"Pinkie, while all of that sounds... Fantastic, I need somewhere a little less busy, and a lot quieter, Is there anywhere like that?" Pinkie Pie was a little disappointed that her new friend didn't want to stay at her favorite place in Ponyville, but she still took a minute to think about it.
"Sweet Apple Acres rents out barn space sometimes." she finally said. Smokey looked skeptical,
"Do they keep animals in there?" he asked.
"Of course silly, it's a barn on a farm! Oh! That rhymes! Barn on a Farm! Ha!", once again Smokey was taken off guard by such a random comment, but this time he was better prepared, and thus shrugged it off.
"That really wouldn't work for me Pinkie, is there anywhere else in town that has room?" Smokey asked
"Well....I don't know. Maybe I could ask one of my friends if she has room at the library." Pinkie suggested. Smokey broke into a grin.
"Perfect. Lots of books, little noise, low traffic; sounds like paradise Pinkie. Show me the way" he said, and she did
On the way to Ponyville's library, Smokey Bubbles began to question Pinkie Pie about her librarian friend.
"What's her name?" he asked, "and what kind of pony is she?"
"Her name is Twilight Sparkle, and she's a unicorn. And not just any unicorn, but the most magical unicorn ever!" Pinkie jumped a bit into the air as she spoke. " One time, she moved a whole water tower and an Ursa Minor at the same time!"
"That's some impressive magic." Smokey inquired with genuine interest, "I need help levitating anything bigger than my bed!" Pinkie Pie nodded in response.
"It sure is! But I've seen her do even cooler magic before! I guess it's just normal for the element of magic." She remarked casually.
"What?!?" Smokey stopped in place, his eyes staring widely at his pink friend. "She's THE element of magic?"
"Well, last time I checked there was only one." Pinkie chuckled, "But it not that weird; I'm the element of laughter."
Smokey looked incredulous. "You've got to be kidding me, are you?" he looked off for a moment. "I guess it does make sense though." Pinkie nodded.
"All of my best friends are elements too; I bet you'll meet them soon!"
"And there's six of you, right?" he asked,
"Well, duh Smokey. Everypony knows that"
"And you all live here? In Ponyville?"
"Duh again Smokey! We wouldn't be able to hang out much if we didn't." She replied. Smokey just stood and thought for a moment. He had heard, like everypony else in Equestria, about the return of the elements of harmony, and of how they had taken on six mares as their bearers, but he had not known where they lived. He definitely did not realize that they were such a tight knit group; he assumed that they were a collection of friendly but disconnected ponies, living in all corners of the nation. He shook his head, started walking again and said, "Things are going to be much more interesting here than I thought."
The town library was perhaps the most unique structure in all of Ponyville. It was formed by Princess Celestia herself from a grand old oak tree in the middle of what was then a humble homestead, as a gift to the Apple family and their neighbors. It was truly impressive, for while it had windows, doors, stairs, and rooms, the old thing was still alive and growing, albeit at a slower rate. Nowhere else in Equestria did such a thing exist, for the magic required in it's formation could only be used by the regent of the sun herself, and she meant for Golden Oaks to be a landmark special to Ponyville. The inside was as spectacular in appearance as the outside. There were several rooms throughout the tree; a kitchen, two bathrooms, three bedrooms, and a basement. But the reading rooms were what were truly spectacular. Countless shelves lined the rounded walls of the library, each packed with a great variety of books. There were great, dusty tomes of philosophy and science fiction novels with elaborate and decorative bindings. There were fantasy novels, dramas, screenplays, even a few spell-books were kept in the oaken vault of knowledge. In the middle of the rooms was a great round table, topped with a wooden bust of some ancient Saddle Arabian philosopher. To the left was a spiraling staircase, and in a corner there was a long desk covered with letters, stamps, and other things a librarian needs to run a library. Pinkie Pie and Smokey Bubbles walked in during noon, right when ponies normally would be going out for lunch. Pinkie turned to Smokey,
"What did I tell you Smokes, is this place great or what?" Smokey chuckled,
"It's perfect Pinkie, but where did 'Smokes' comes from?"
"I got bored saying Smokey over and over again." she admitted.
"Fair enough." he nodded. Pinkie did likewise, and then bounced upstairs to fetch Twilight, leaving Smokey by himself. He took off his saddle-bags and looked around the library. This place will work, he thought to himself. He saw a pile of letters on the desk in the corner, and noticed the stamp of the royal seal on the envelopes. And in more ways than one.