The Sixth Element

by Lets Do This

A Gathering of Elements

Asking around a bit, they quickly found Mr. and Mrs. Cake's. It was just up the street from the square, past the Golden Oak Library. As they passed the Library, which was built into a massive oak tree, Derpy made a mental note to check back there later. They'd had to sell off some of Dinky's older story books to lighten the load, and it would be nice to find something new to read with her.

The sight of Mr. and Mrs. Cake's house almost bounced that thought right out her head.

"Mommy! Are we gonna live in a candy store?"

Derpy stared at Sugarcube Corner, first with one eye, then the other.

It looked like a gingerbread house being attacked by a giant cupcake.

"If they got rooms, Dink! Gotta ask first!"

They trotted up to the door. Just as Derpy was about to reach for it, it blasted open and a pink blur shot past them and down the street. Then the distant form slammed to a halt, reversed gear, and shot back up the street to stand vibrating before them. It was a radioactively pink filly with a candyfloss mane and wide, staring eyes.

The filly stared Derpy right in the face and broke into a huge smile. "Wooaaaah!!!" she cried. Then she leapt into the air and blasted away down the street again, rapidly vanishing from sight.

Derpy sat down on the steps, feeling her sense of comfort and belonging suddenly punctured. No one else had reacted like that all the way up from the train station. And she'd hoped, really hoped... Oh, well, gotta take the rough with the smooth, I guess.

She felt Dinky touching her foreleg. "I'm sorry, Mommy."

"It's okay, Dink! Maybe she's a nice pony. Once you get to know her."

Re-shouldering her carryall she led the way inside.

Mrs. Cake was behind the glass-fronted display case, but rapidly trotted around to welcome them. She was a pudgy, sky-blue pony with a swirled pink mane and tail, and a gingham apron.

"Welcome!" she called, in a matronly voice. "I'm Mrs. Cake. I don't recall seeing you here before, dear!"

Derpy introduced herself and her daughter.

"Oh, what a sweet little filly!" Mrs. Cake said, eyes twinkling. "And your daughter is even more charming!"

It was a weak attempt at pleasantry, but to Derpy it was solid gold. She quickly explained why they were there. And Mrs. Cake looked truly hurt.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, my dear!" She said. "I just rented our spare room out to our new assistant last week. Maybe you passed her outside? Dear little Pinkie! I just don't know where that young pony gets her energy from!"

She looked thoughtful for a moment. "I do recall Mr. Davenport over at the Quills and Sofas shop was talking about looking for a lodger, now that Mr. Quill has opened his own shop in Manehattan. You might ask there. And my dear, if you don't find anything else today, you're more than welcome to just pull up a cloud or two over our store for a few days whilst you get settled. I don't want to leave you in the lurch!"

"But...," Dinky piped up, confused. "Where can we lock up our stuff?"

"My darling girl! No one needs to lock their doors in Ponyville! If you're worried at all, you can leave your things in the front closet over there. And Derpy my dear, if you like, you can leave Dinky here with Mr. Cake and me while you're out looking for work. You might try asking at the local moving company, Three Mares and a Truck, they're always looking for new help! Sweet Apple Acres is a bit out of town, but they often need seasonal help with fruit-picking and farm care. And it's also worth asking at the shops here in town. You never know, there's always something that needs doing!"

Derpy felt like crying. "Thanks, Mrs. Cake. For everything!"

"Not at all, my dear! I'm glad I could help you feel welcome."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Three Mares and a Truck was only somewhat promising. The gruff forepony didn't have anything immediately, but allowed that one of his staff was going off to college the week after next, so he might be able to hire someone new then. Derpy told him she'd remember to ask, and moved on.

She didn't have enough bits to stretch for two whole weeks. She needed to find something short-term. Sweet Apple Acres sounded more promising for that, so asking directions of the townsfolk, she headed there.

It was a lengthy trot along the roads outside of town, but a pleasant one. There were whitewashed fences and meadows and orchards all around. The bright sun and blue sky were incredibly soothing. Eventually she arrived at a trellised entrance with an apple-shaped signboard and a tall red barn beyond. A heavily-built, bright-red stallion was in the front yard, using his head to shove a wheel onto a jacked-up cart.

Derpy was just about to call out a greeting, when out from beneath the cart came a scruffy brown-and-white border collie. She locked eyes with Derpy.

And came at her, barking like fury. Derpy shrieked and took wing, but between the sudden fright and trying to keep one eye on the approaching angry collie, she took off in the wrong direction. She pinballed off a tree, the apple signboard, and the cart itself. She collided painfully with a triangle hanging from a post nearby, sending it whirling and clanging. And then she shot skyward, finally having oriented herself, and headed straight back to town as fast as her wings could take her.

"Heel, Winona!" the stallion called crossly. "That ain't no way to... Sorry!" he called after the rapidly disappearing pegasus. "She's been like that ever since AJ...!"

He gave it up, realizing there was no way the pegasus could hear him.

Then his gaze fell back to the gate, landing on an orange-flanked young pony, wearing an eleven-gallon Stetson hat, who had just trotted through it.

"Hey, Big Mac. Did ya'll miss me, big brother?"

He blinked, overcome with emotion. "Eee-yup."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

When Derpy got closer to town she got a grip on herself and slowed down. Well, maybe Sweet Apple Acres wasn't the place to start. But the town square was just ahead, maybe...

A sky-blue blur whipped past her, leaving a rainbow contrail.

Derpy did a flip in the air to keep watching, as the blue pegasus filly performed an amazing sequence of spins, curves, feather-raising dives, and pretzel-like maneuvers that would have put the Gordian Knot to shame. Derpy clapped hooves in applause, and kept watching, entranced by the speed and precision the flyer displayed.

She was so sucked into the performance that she began flitting back and forth herself, tumbling and righting herself, swerving back and forth in time with the aerial artistry on display. And she didn't realize until too late that she'd drifted straight into the filly's path, just as she went into a screaming power dive.

"Eeeyahhh!" At the last second the pegasus swerved, leaving Derpy tumbling in a hurricane-like wake. Her wings folded on her, and she dropped like a stone, struggling to right herself.

A blur of blue, a fluttering of wings. "Gotcha!"

She found herself being supported by the blue filly, who was stronger than she looked. Derpy was finally able to get her wings righted so she could support herself.

The pegasus looked her in the face, then drew back in midair. "Woah! What's with the eyes? Anyway, try and stay clear of around here, I'm practicing my awesome maneuvers! Almost took ya out! Bye!"

And the pegasus blasted away again, just like that.

Derpy watched a little while longer. But her heart wasn't in it any more.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"...excuse me..."

The very quiet voice made Derpy turn in surprise. Standing behind her in the town square was what looked at first like a pile of pink hair. Then she realized it was a very long mane and there was a young pegasus pony, pale yellow in color, huddling out of sight behind it.

"...um, if it's not a bother..." The pony peered around her mane at Derpy. "I was at Mrs. Cake's and, well... she mentioned you're new here and looking for something to do, so... I was wondering..."

Derpy was startled. She'd never experienced another pony wanting to speak to her and having such difficulty doing so.

"I'm planning on opening a Center for Companion Animal Friends... um... because there are so many critters that need help. Would you be interested? I'm afraid I can't pay very much, but if you're at all interested in animals, it would be fun work. And I would love to have someone working with me."

Derpy noticed that as soon as the topic turned to animals, the pony's voice rose to a nearly normal volume, though still very demure.

"Well..." Derpy admitted. "I'm from Filly. Don't know much. About animals, I mean."

"Oh it's not a matter of what you know. You just need to want to work with animals. I'm sure you'd pick things up quickly!"

Not wanting to miss an opportunity, Derpy nodded. "I can always try!"

"Yay! C'mon. I'll introduce you to some of the critters I've been working with. I just know you'll get along fine!"

Derpy followed willingly. They headed out of town along a different road that led into rolling green meadows. At a point only the yellow pony could identify, they turned off the road and struck out over the grass, coming at last to a low area by a stream.

"C'mon out, little friends!"

And the grass and bushes seemed to come alive with small creatures. Squirrels and chipmunks, brown and gray rabbits, a raccoon, some white mice, a ferret, many kinds of small birds, and from out of the river came salamanders and a box turtle.

From a hole in the ground a white rabbit popped up. It twitched its nose, and then ran over to the yellow pony, scrambling quickly up onto her head.

"Oh, hello, my little Angel!" The pony smiled up at it. "This is Angel. He's my very best Companion Animal Friend!"

The way she said it, you could Hear the Capital Letters.

"Everybody, I brought a pony friend with me today. She wants to help build the Center I was telling you all about. Say Hi!"

The rabbit just sat on her head, looking sceptically at Derpy.

Then it started laughing. It fell back on her mane, giggling merrily.

"Angel! Shame on you!" The yellow pony scolded it. "That's not nice at all!"

But now the other animals were peering at Derpy. And they started laughing too. The field was full of giggling critters. Only the turtle hadn't joined in, but it looked like it was thinking about getting around to it in a few days.

Derpy turned away sadly. "I guess... I'm not very good with animals!"

"No wait! Um..."

Derpy put out her wings and flew back to the road, and then started running, all the way back to town.

"I'm so sorry!" the yellow pony called after her. "Oh my. Um... what was your name again?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It was late afternoon. Derpy had been up one side of the square, down the next, around the third, and was working her way along one of the side streets even though the shops were becoming increasingly upscale the closer one got to the Canterlot side of town. Although the pony shopkeepers she spoke to all expressed sympathy, there just wasn't much work going spare at the moment.

She wasn't sure she should even try asking for work at the Spa. Further down the street was an elegant looking building that strongly resembled a wedding cake made by following the recipe for merry-go-rounds.

Carousel Boutique, the sign read. Derpy shrugged. As Mrs. Cake said, you never knew.

She gently pushed through the door, making its bell jingle softly. Around her were worktables and shelves covered with sewing equipment, rolls and cuts of fabric, and endless design patterns. And dresses -- rack after rack of them, some complete, some only lacking being complete by addition of a few insignificant touches. If Hearth's Warming Eve had been done entirely in silk and chiffon, it might have come close to the shop's interior.

"Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where every garment is chic, unique and magnifique!" A young pony, ivory white with a stylish purple mane, fairly waltzed over to her and took her forehooves. "How can I help you -- waugh!"

For a moment, Derpy expected her to make a comment about her eyes, but then she realized the pony was staring at her mane instead. "My dear! How dreadful! How can you walk around town with your head held high with your coiffure looking like that?"

Brooking no argument, the purple-haired pony summarily hauled Derpy onto a platform in the middle of the room. Derpy was not quite certain what transpired over the next few minutes, but found herself on the receiving end of a blizzard of coiffure and couture work that came at her from every direction.

"Pin this, tighten that, flip this back out of the way, and... voila!"

A rolling mirror was shoved in front of her. Derpy, who had never put her looks very high on her priority list, was taken aback. She stared at the mirror, first with one eye, then the other, then tried both together. She simply didn't recognize herself. Her mane and tail were swirls of golden fire, the tight-fitting dress and cloak edged in gemstones gave her a streamlined look she didn't know she had, her wings were perfectly arranged with not a single pin-feather out of place, and even her hooves were polished to a glimmering sheen.

"I just don't know... what to say!" she whispered in a choked voice. "It's really... nice!"

"Nice! NICE! Nice is not the wohrd, dahling! Gorgeous is the wohrd! Or maybe spectacular?" She thought for a moment. "No! Gorgeous definitely has the right ring to it!"

"It's just, well... I can't afford this!"

"Oh, my dear! No-no-no-no-noooo! It's my pleasure! Because you're the perfect model! To truly work my magic, I need a subject who can bring the garment to life! Show me how well it breathes! Give me immediate feedback!" She cast a disparaging hoof toward a collection of dressmakers ponies standing to one side, some with partial ensembles arranged on them. "I don't get any of that from these... tailors dummies! Oh! I wish I could work with someone like you all the time! Most of my customers just come in, get fitted and leave!" She pouted, looked down-hearted. "After all I do to make them look..."

"Gorgeous?" Derpy hazarded cautiously.

"EX-ACT-LYYYY!" The pony hugged her closely, making it hard for Derpy to breathe. "We are clear-ly sympatico!"

"hokay!" Derpy rasped tensely. Finally the pony released her. "I did want to ask," she ventured, "if you maybe had work. I'm new here, and..."

"Hoh! Say no more! You're hired!" The white pony hugged herself with joy.

"I have a daughter to look after!"

"Bring her along! I'm sure we can find... something to occupy her!"

"She's fine. She keeps busy."

"All the better! Oh, I can't wait to get started. But my dear, when can you start?"

"I still need to find a room. Can I come tomorrow?"

"Ab-so-lute-ly! I look forward to it! But it will have to be afternoons, my dear -- ahem..." She looked embarrassed. "I'm still at school, you know, and my parents would read me the riot act if I cut classes."

"Afternoons are fine for me!"

"WON-der-ful! I'll see you tomorrow afternoon then!"

Okay, Derpy, she told herself. Don't mess this up. It's just like flying to the roof. One wingbeat at a time. Watch what you're doing...

She kept her wings tight against her sides. Her eyes were glued to both the floor and the door, her Book Eye watching every hoofstep so she didn't trip over the cloak, her Dinky eye on the door, watching for anyone coming through the other way so she wouldn't crash into them.

So it was monumentally unfair when the cat dropped on her head.

"REARRROOWWWWW!!!"

Unable to stop herself, Derpy snapped out her wings and bolted. She only missed the door by a foot, but it was a foot too high. Stunned, she rebounded onto a table, slithering off in a pile of fabrics and patterns on the far side. She finally shook the cat off, but now her fancy coiffure was covering her eyes. She stumbled into a clothes pony, felt it cannon into another, then that into a third. She tried to step back into what she thought was the center of the room, and felt herself jostle a table that tumbled over with an expensive-sounding metallic crash.

She thought she could prevent further damage by just sitting down and staying put, but that just gave the cat an easier target. It landed on her back between her wings. She completely lost it, crashing around the room trying to shake it loose.

In the end, she finally was able to brush the hair from her eyes with a forehoof.

She saw the cat stalking off archly, as if nothing had happened.

And she saw the white pony looking daggers at her.

Derpy didn't even bother to ask. She quickly slipped out of the fancy clothes and ran for the door.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

She drew a partial blank at Quills and Sofas. Mr. Davenport did have a room to let, but he had promised it to a couple from Canterlot visiting Ponyville on a second honeymoon. Apparently their daughter had been accepted into Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. "And believe you me," Davenport said, "the lady sounded really stressed out in her letter. They must have been burning the midnight oil giving the kid every advantage to help her get in, and really needed to take a breather. Wouldn't want to take that away from them! It should only be a couple of days, though. Come by tomorrow and I'll tell you when it'll be available!"

So Derpy found herself trudging back toward Mrs. Cake's with nothing tangible to show for the entire day.

As a pegasus pony, she could always gather some clouds to sleep on, and she and Dinky had long ago practiced sleeping with Dinky carried in a sling on Derpy's back, so she wouldn't fall through the cloud layer.
But what would they do for money for the next couple weeks, even assuming Three Mares had a job for her? And even if Mr. Davenport's room came available, how would she afford the rent? She hated having to impose on the kindness of Mrs. Cake, but she didn't see what else she could do at the moment.

She was passing the Golden Oak Library at this point and remembered wanting to stop in. Hopefully the library didn't close too early. She could at least find a book to read with Dinky before they turned in.
The place looked friendly enough. She trotted up to the front door with its cheery candle icon, and rapped gently with a hoof.

The top half of the door swung open.

The bottom half remained resolutely closed.

And a very bored looking mare looked down her nose at Derpy, through finely-worked pince-nez glasses perched in front of her eyes.

"Ehyes. May I help you?"

"Is the library still open?"

"Ehyes. What is you need help researching?"

"I won't be long, I just want to browse..."

"Browse!" The mare looked shocked. "Madam, this is not a bookstore! It is a establishment for serious re-search-uh."

Even Derpy was pretty certain "research" didn't come with that many syllables in polite company.

"Now," the librarian asked, "was there something in particular I could look up for you?"

"Do you have a kids section?"

This earned her an even more reproving stare.

"Uh. Wanted to look for a book... to read... with my daughter?"

"Hmph." The librarian glared at her. "No. We do not have a 'kid's section'. Good day to you!"

The door shut.

Derpy drew back. She gazed up at the Library tree, at its branches and windows and balconies, probably chock full of books, none of which were available for browsing. It had seemed like such a welcoming place, probably because she'd always found the quiet openness of libraries to be comforting, a place to get her jumbled thoughts back into some kind of order.

She turned away, putting it out of her mind. She and Dinky still had a couple books to get through. Somewhere in one of the suitcases.

Comments

[Ri2]

Wait, Rarity owns Carousel Boutique already? While still in school?