//------------------------------//
// Finding a place to live 
// Story: Sara’s Adventures in Ponyville 
// by themultiversewatcher 
//------------------------------//

	It was probably the best day of Twilight’s young life. Not only did she find five very good friends, but she also had the fortune of moving to Ponyville. The fact that she lived in a library was great. The party for saving Princess Luna had just ended because the Princesses returned to Canterlot. Twilight yawned. She had forgotten that she had spent the entire night awake and needed to go to sleep. From the corner of her eye, she saw somepony she hadn’t seen before walking tentatively into town. At first she thought nothing of it, but then she took a double take. The creature before her was something that she had never seen, even in the flora and fauna textbooks she had read. It had three horns, two long ones above its eyes and a short one on its nose. The mouth was a sharp beak that looked like a bird’s. There was a large frill around its neck. It was a solid brown color and was about the same size as Twilight herself.
“Excuse me,” the creature said. Its voice sounded female.
“Yes, may I help you?” said Twilight.
“Could you please tell me what town I am currently in?”
“This is Ponyville.”
“Great. I made it.”
Twilight looked suspiciously at the mysterious visitor. It wasn’t often you meet something new, and Twilight thought this might be a prank.
“Who are you, what are you, and where did you come from?” asked Twilight.
“My name is Sara, I’m a triceratops, and I came from another universe,” said Sara.
“Another universe? I’m pretty sure that’s impossible.”
At this, Sara laughed, “Yes, that’s what they usually say, until they see me open a portal. By the way, what’s with that forest? It’s full of inter-universal portals that shouldn’t be there.”
“Wait, you came from the Everfree?” asked Twilight.
“Yeah, I started in a castle.”
Twilight looked at Sara questioningly. “I just came from there, but didn’t see anypony that looked like you.”
“Well, I did come from there,” said Sara with finality, “Oh, and you haven’t told me your name.”
“I am Twilight Sparkle, student of Princess Celestia.”
“Nice to meet you, Twilight. Now, how can I get a house around here?”
“I guess you should go to the Town Hall and speak to the Mayor.”
“Thanks, and goodbye,” said Sara, before walking away.


	
Sara just knew that she was going to get reactions like that, considering that she wasn’t a resident of this universe. After about five minutes of walking, Sara found the Town Hall. It was a tall, round building with blue and purple flags around the roof. Entering the building, she saw a stage in the rear of the building, surrounded by balconies. Behind the stage were the town offices. Sara walked up to the receptionist, a brown earth pony with a green mane and tail.
“Excuse me,” asked Sara, “How can one buy a house?”
The receptionist looked up from the paperwork she was doing to see who was talking. After getting over the shock of meeting Sara, she said, “Well, first you need to tell me which house you’d like to buy. Here are your options. We have a house by the Everfree Forest, a house near the market, and an apartment in the tall building down the street. The first house costs 1250 bits, the second costs 2000 bits, and the apartment costs 350 bits per month.”
“Well, let’s see what I’ve got.” Sara pulled out a wallet. Inside were what seemed to be bills with nobs in the centers. The receptionist looks at the strange currency.
“Excuse me, but I’m not sure we take those,” she says.
“Actually, you do. These are called inter-universal credits. They are worth the same everywhere,” explained Sara, “The nob in the center has currency settings. When you turn the nobs, like so, you select the currency you want, press the button, and voila, bits. These bits are, in fact, legal tender.”
The receptionist’s jaw drops. Looking at the bits carefully, she can see that they were real bits, and not counterfeit. “I don’t know what just happened, but you are correct. Unfortunately, there is not enough money here for a place to live.”
“Well, that’s too bad,” said Sara, “I suppose I’ll have to find somepony who is willing to house me until I can afford that luxury. I think I’ll stay with Twilight. She seems like a nice pony.”
Sara left the Town Hall. She had seen Twilight enter a tree library called Books and Branches. When she arrived at the door, she knocked. The door opened to reveal a small purple and green dragon.
"Hello?" asked the dragon, "How may I help you?"
"Hi," said Sara, "I was wondering if I could see Twilight."
"Sure. Hey Twilight, somepony wants to see you! Anyways, my name is Spike. Who are you?"
"I'm Sara. Nice to meet you Spike. I know someone named Spike, although he is a stegosaurus."
"A what?" asked Spike.
"A creature that looks like me, but instead of horns and a frill, he has plates running down his back and spikes on his tail."
"Sounds cool," said Spike, "Would you like to come inside?"
As Sara entered the building, Twilight came down the stairs.
"Hey," said Twilight, "I thought you were going to buy a house."
"Yeah," sighed Sara, "Turns out I only have 200 bits. I can't buy anything but food. In fact, I was wondering if I could stay with you because I don't know anypony in town."
"Sure. I'm pretty sure there is another bed. You can use that until you can afford a place of your own."
"Thanks Twilight." said Sara.
Twilight let out a yawn. Sara giggled.
"Tired?" asked Sara.
"Exhausted," replied Twilight.
"Well, then I guess its bedtime."
The triceratops and the unicorn went upstairs. Sara took the guest bed, while Twilight used her own. Sara thought back on the day, and decided that tomorrow, she would see if she could meet anypony else.