On Lich-Finding (Or, Smokey's Story)

by ValorlordV5

Chapter 3

Twilight came back down the stairs within a few moments, followed by her young assistant, Spike. He grumbled under his breath as he walked down the stairs, scratching the back of his head as he went.
"But why do I have to take him to lunch?" He whined, referring to their new tenant, Smokey Bubbles. Twilight sighed, she had already explained the situation to him upstairs.
"Because, Spike, I have to make a copy of the tenant application form so that he can fill it out and move in tonight." She explained, "And it would be impolite to make him find somewhere to eat by himself, so, since you know the best food places in Ponyville, you have to take him." Spike remained unconvinced.
"But why can't you take him after you make the copy?"
"Because somedragon broke my auto-magic copy machine when he hid his gems in the paper-bin, so I have to copy the form by hoof. Why are you so against this? I thought you liked going out?"
Spike scoffed "Yeah, but not when it's with somepony I've never met before! And besides, I wanted to race slugs with Snips and Snails today!" Twilight rolled her eyes.
"Ok," She said, "That's disgusting. But regardless, you have to take Smokey out for lunch. I'll make it up to you later."
"I want an emerald for this." He said
"You can have a sack of rhinestones."
"Ew!" Spike grimaced, "What do I look like, a diamond dog? I have some taste. How about a ruby?" Twilight smiled,
"Fine, a ruby. I'll give it to you after you return." Spike returned a smile of his own. At this point, Smokey, who had been writing in a journal, had already packed his bag, and stood. He felt very uncomfortable at the moment, as this entire conversation had occurred on the stairway within his range of hearing. He was, however, looking at Spike in a very odd way; the one somepony might look at something that was at once an unpleasant surprise and disappointment. Twilight did not notice, but Spike did, and he could feel Smokey's gaze on his scales. Twilight spoke,
"Spike, this is Smokey. Like I said, he will be staying in the spare room upstairs for a little while. I want you to take him somewhere nice for lunch." Spike walked up to the stallion and, in the way Twilight had taught him to, extended his claw towards his guest, who took it in his own hoof. "It's nice to meet you" Spike mumbled. Smokey continued to examine the dragon with his eyes, his pupils moving over his scales and fins as if he was trying to discern any and all details about the reptile. Spike shifted uncomfortably. Finally Smokey broke eye contact and said in return,
"It is nice to meet you as well, Spike. But Twilight, I have to asked how you managed to acquire an adolescent dragon as an assistant." His voice held the slightest amount of suspicion. Spike looked at him quizzically, but Twilight remained oblivious.
"My mentor placed Spike under my care when I was just a filly. I got a little help taking care of him of course, but he's been like my little brother ever since then." She gave the dragon a quick nuzzle, "I guess he just started helping me with my schoolwork after a while. Now he cleans up the library for me, and does other housework, so I guess he just became my assistant too." Smokey seemed satisfied by her answer, if only just, and relaxed. Twilight turned to Spike. "Here's thirty bits for lunch. Buy something for the both of you and bring me back the change." She commanded. Smokey's brow furrowed.
"That's very generous of you Twilight, but I'll pay for my own meal." Twilight frowned, and then smiled again.
"You don't have to worry about the money. I get a big stipend for running the library, so I have more bits than I know what to do with! It's the least I can do for my new tenant." She said, waving her hoof dismissively.
"It's not so much the money," Smokey said, "I just don't feel comfortable taking bits from somepony I just met." He began to scratch the back of his head nervously. "I don't mean to offend, it's just... something I don't feel comfortable with." He repeated with a shrug.
"I understand, my friend Applejack and her family are the same way. If you want to turn down a free meal, who am I to stop you?" She laughed, and Smokey chuckled as well. Spike, impatient, poked at the hungry traveler.
"Are we going or not?" He asked. Smokey gave a warm smile.
"We probably should; if we wait much longer we might as well have dinner." He turned to Twilight. "I'll be back shortly I suppose; will the forms I need be ready by then?"
"They should be, barring some unforeseen disaster. You can fill them out as soon as you get back." She responded.
"Great, bye then."
"Bye."
Spike led Smokey, who had put on a vest with many pockets before they left, down the crowded streets of Ponyville's market place. All of the town's restaurants, bakeries, and confectioneries were located on this street. At the first corner was Sugarcube Corner, a long-standing establishment made famous by its most recent owners, Mr. and Mrs. Cake. Further down the street one could find any kind of shop they desired; from Bon-Bon's Sweet Shop, to Cheese Cake's Warehouse, to Daisy Chain's Bar and Grill, a pony could sate his appetite on anything he desired. In the streets, between the storefronts, was the unofficial farmer's market, where all ponies in Ponyville purchased their groceries from. Unlike those who lived in cities such as Manehatten or Canterlot, Ponyville citizens had direct access to fresh, organically-grown fruit and vegetables, something that big-city ponies counted as one of its greatest features. Smokey was one who could certainly agree to such sentiments as he gazed at the fresh produce hungrily. Spike noticed the unicorn lagging behind as he slowed to better view a particularly bright bushel of apples.
"Geez Smokey, haven't you ever seen an apple before?" Spike asked sarcastically.
"Actually I haven't." The colt replied, "At least, not a red one." Spiked looked at him incredulously.
"Really? You've never seen a red apple? Where did you live, the Frozen North?"
"Funny." Smokey rolled his eyes, "Actually, I grew up in Old King's Wood, but regardless, we only ever had green or yellow apples at the store. I guess red apples just didn't keep well enough."
"Well, maybe you can try one at Daisy Chain's."
"Maybe not; I don't really like apples."
"WHAT?!?" An ancient, hoarse voice yelled from the direction of the apple stand. Turning around, they saw, coming from towards them, one incredibly old, apple-green mare with a look of rage and vindication upon her face. "Don't like apples? Don't like apples! How dare you come by here, by Mah stand, in the town Mah Papie done founded, and say you don't like apples!?!" By this point, the mare had hobbled her way to Smokey and had begun to enunciate each sentence by prodding him in the chest with her walker. "Why, I oughtta run you outta town myself." Spike grimaced.
"Granny Smith, calm down! Smokey is new here, and he doesn't even know what a red apple tastes like!" He said, doing his best to spare his future roommate the horror of an angry Apple-clan. Granny Smith viewed Spike and Smokey with a measurable amount of suspicion.
"Ya never ate a red apple?" She asked.
"No ma'am." Smokey replied, “I don't think they keep well where I'm from, so they never sold them at the store. And what they did have definitely wasn't fresh." Granny smith inspected the colt closely, seeking out any degree of dishonestly she could. After what felt like an eternity, she said warily, "Then we'd best fix right now." She huddled back to her stand, leaning under it when she got there. She began to pull various items from the small cabinet in it's rear, until she found a small, shiny lunch box with an image of a bright red apple engraved on the front. Smokey at Spike looked at each other nervously; both knew that normal things never came out of boxes like that one. Granny Smith fumbled with the lock, mumbling curses under her breath, until she finally managed to open it, and then she pulled out the largest, reddest, most delicious-looking apple any pony in the market place had ever laid eyes on. The old mare lifted as high over her head as she could, closing her eyes in a reverent-manner. She spoke, "This here is the first pick of our finest apple tree in our orchard. Every season, that tree produces just five of the tastiest, juiciest, biggest apples you ever done tasted. Ain't nopony ever tasted one of these apples and kept on not liken' apples." She looked Smokey dead in the eye. "Ah'm gonna give this to ya to eat, and if'n you still don't like apples, Ah'm gonna make you wish you done never grew a tongue." With that, she held out the grand apple, and Smokey took it into his magic, bringing it in front of his face, where he inspected the skin for bruises or blemishes. Finding none, he gulped, brought the apple to his mouth, and took a bite. Granny Smith glared at him the whole time. "Don't even think about lyin' to me." She growled. Smokey chewed the flesh, and his eyes opened wide. (Now, at this point, the author feels obligated to inform the reader that, as he has never partaken in even a half-way decent apple before, he cannot accurately describe the flavor of the Eden fruit Smokey indulged in.) Suffice to say that, as soon as it entered his mouth, the colt fell in love with Sweet Apple Acres apples. Smokey devoured the rest of the apple, even going as far as to eat the core.
"This is amazing Miss Smith," He said between mouthfuls," By God, is your orchard blessed? Do you use growing magic, or enchanted fertilizers? I've never had any food this good!" Granny Smith responded, smugly,
"Eenope. Just love, tender care, and earth-pony know-how."
"Well, it's a thousand times better than any apple I've had before, ma'am. Thank you so much for your generosity."
"It's nothing sonny, just remember who built this town, and we'll be alright." She said with a wink. "Now, Ah'm goin' back to mah stand, but you two take care now. Oh! and Smokey," She said, suddenly serious, "We should talk sometime. Private-like." and then she hobbled back to her stand, while Smokey and Spike continued on their way to lunch.
"So, while I really am grateful for that amazing apple; who exactly was that?" Smokey questioned Spike as they walked.
"Oh, her? That's just Granny Smith. She's Applejack's grandmother. They all really like apples, so you should probably be a little more careful when you talk about them. They're not always like that, but I've seen what happens when they meet a real apple-hater." He shivered, "I will never eat another golden delicious as long as I live." Smokey chuckled as they reached their destination.
Daisy Chain's Bar and Grill was your typical hay-burger shop, with a variety of bar-food and alcoholic beverages. The entire restaurant consisted of one, large room with a long grill near the back. Within the room were at least four dozen tables, and on each wall there was a large television, each of which played a different hoof-ball game. Smokey and Spike took a table near the left of the establishment, and promptly ordered their food and drink. While they waited, they chatted with one another.
"So Smokey," Spike asked while he sipped on a lemonade, "Why did you decide to move to Ponyville if you used to live in the city? Wouldn't you have been more comfortable in Canterlot, or Fillydelphia?" Smokey thought for a moment before answering,
"Well," He said while scratching the back of his head, "I actually came here from Fillydelphia. I wanted a change of pace, and since my granduncle Grey Coat lives here, I figured this was as good a place as any." Spike nodded in agreement.
"Ponyville is great. Everypony here was so nice when me and Twilight first moved into the library. I guess that's just how small towns are though."
"It really is a nice town. It reminds me of where I grew up, before I moved to Fillydelphia." Smokey smiled.
"Really? Where was that?" Spike asked.
"A small city called Coltlumbus, in Old King's Wood, near the Hayseed Swamps. You wouldn't have ever gone there, nor do I think you would ever have a reason to, but it was a good place to live."
"Why did you move then, if you liked it so much?" Smokey's smile dimmed just a bit.
"I had to go to Fillydelphia for... A job" He said, a little quietly.
"What kind of job?"
"I did different things, odds and ends. Similar stuff, but in different scenarios. I went to Filly for training, then I just worked out of the city. I ended up traveling all over." He closed his eyes and took a breath.
"So, you did odd jobs?" Spike asked.
"That sounds accurate." Smokey replied.
"And what are you going to do now that you're in Ponyville?"
"The same job."
When the food finally arrived at their table, Smokey changed the conversation to Spike. He asked him all about his life; from little things, like how he spent his free time, to more important topics, like how Spike was educated, and then to odder questions, like how often he was fed.
"Why do you care about all of that?" Spike asked. Smokey rubbed the back of his neck as he answered.
"Just curious. I've seen all types of creatures, but I've never met a dragon before."
"O.K.. Well, I'm going to go to the bathroom." Spike pulled a small bag out from under one of his larger scales. he put it on the table. "Take out my share of the check when the lady comes back while I'm in there."
"Will do Spike, but hurry up. I feel kind of vulnerable in here." Spike nodded and left. When he returned, he saw that the colt had already left, but had forgotten his wallet on the table. Spike picked it up, but it slipped from his claws, landing on the floor and opening. On the left side of the bi fold there was what appeared to be an I.D. card, with Smokey's picture and name on it. Spike didn't notice everything on the card, only two large words at the bottom, which read, "Witch-Hunter" Spike shook. He remember a lesson Twilight gave him not long ago about the Old Country, before the ponies were forced to leave and migrate to Equestria. She had told him about a cult of cruel earth ponies, who hated unicorns so much that they would hunt them down wherever they lived, and killed them. He gasped, a sudden realization upon him. Smokey was a witch-hunter. Witch-hunters killed unicorns.

Author's Note:

Misspelled Lemonade, so I got Needlewoman. WTF Spellcheck? Anyways, here is the new chapter. I know it took a long time, but some stuff came up that I had to focus on, and I just never got the motivation to work on this again until I had bought this Beethoven album yesterday. Then, all of that motivation came swelling back into me as I heard the genius of the classical genre. At least, I think that's why. Maybe I just finally got a good night's sleep. But yeah, new chapter, yippe. Maybe more people will care when my friend finally finishes that commission I bought from her so that I can submit to EQD. Nothing like free publicity.

Comments

[ValorlordV5]

First!

[abronie]

yay! New chapyer. Will read, but probably won't comment unless the bus has wi-fi. Going on a trip, loading this at home.

[ValorlordV5]

2201325
That's cool, just do tell me what you think when you get a chance.

[abronie]

2251161
Well, it certainly has been a while, hasn't it? 1 week and 2 days...I remember that math competition...but yeah, it seems to be going well.

[ValorlordV5]

2251966
Math competition? I'm not going to comment. Yeah, I've been busy, so I haven't checked the comments for awhile. Glad you like it so far, I was kinda worried about this particular chapter. Especially the end. That end was hard for me to write. I don't like it at all.

[abronie]

2252092
What? Math comps are awesome, I think I got...20th last time? Ehh, happens when you're Indian. And also, I looked at the last chapter and I'm all "I have no memory of this whatsoever" so it looks like I'm re-reading! Seriously, the only reason I do bad at math comps is because of my terrible memory...and I KNOW tangents make the right angle with a circle's radius...

[ValorlordV5]

2252600
It's not that I think that it's lame, it's just that I can't imagine liking math enough to want to do it competitively. I'm not as bad with it as I used to be, but I still don't like it. Anyways, sorry to hear that you only placed 20th. If it makes you feel better, I've never placed at all.

for his fancy mathematics.

[abronie]

2252630
I don't like it either. BEING ASIAN FTW!! But yeah, will re-dread after my mom thinks I'm done studying for the math test tomorrow...yeah, because I need to study.

[ValorlordV5]

2252674 LOL. Well, good luck.