I Need Glitter, Lots Of Glitter!
It has been a few months since the reunification of Equestria thanks to 5 very different but determined ponies, but that's a story for another day. Ever since then, the different tribes and factions of pony kind have begun to share technologies and concepts with one another, with each society benefiting in one way or another from the other two. One such concept came from Zephyr Heights, the most modern city between all three factions.
You see, both Bridlewood and Maretime Bay relied on smaller shops and stands to support their retail demands, but Zephyr Heights took this idea to another level, enter the super mall. Granted, Maretime Bay did have roadside shops and restaurants, but the concept of a single monolithic building dedicated to just shopping was almost unheard of. It’s like a marketplace, except instead of carts and stalls out in the hot sun, it consisted of little shops inserted into the walls of a sheltered and, not to mention, air conditioned building.
Pipp Pedals and Izzy Moonbow were at one such place, and the latter of the pair couldn’t help but stare in awe! The interior of the building was clean, minus a discarded soda cup or two. All around them were stalls selling different wears from food, to electronics, to clothing and even carts!
“Oh, my, GOSH! This is amazing. Everything you could dream of in just one building! How is this possible, Pipp, HOW!” Pipp just chuckled at the bouncing unicorn.
“Yeah, this place is great.” Pipp said, keeping her own excitement under control. She did have to set a good example for her purple friend after all, and that meant keeping her impulse buying tendencies under control, at least for now. She did find it odd that Izzy was this excited, but then again, this is Izzy. Not to mention, she came from a village-like town tucked away in the forest and not a big city, like where she and her sister had grown up. Seeing a castle sized shopping center must be one heck of a stunner compared to what the chipper unicorn was used to.
“I don’t know where to even start!” Izzy said, her eyes looking like they would pop out of their sockets! She rapidly looked around at the different shops trying to make up her mind as to where to go first, when an audible gurgle interrupted her thought process. She looked back at her stomach, suddenly realizing she forgot to eat breakfast before meeting up with Pipp. The blue haired unicorn chucked sheepishly as her purple haired counterpart just smiled.
“Well, I think I know just where to start,” The princess said. She pointed to a hayburger restaurant just a few paces down the main hall. Izzy practically drooled at the opportunity to give her hyperactive body some much needed food, and nodded emphatically. The two of them proceeded to get some grub to start what would soon become an eventful day.
“Man, that really hit the spot!” Pipp said as they left the small restaurant, satisfied with their choices of Barbecue Sauce Hayburgers and 50 Carrot Nuggets respectively. “By the way, How were you able to stomach 50 of those things? Even Alphabittle would be hard pressed to eat that many!”
“That's what skipping breakfast does to a pony,” Izzy responded happily. “Now, where should we go next?” Deciding to put off the mystery of Izzy’s blackhole of a stomach, for now, Pipp thought before remembering a certain shop on the second floor. Her eyes lit up, surely Izzy would love this!
“I’ve got it!” Pipp yelled ecstatically. “Follow me, you're going to totally freak out when you see this!” Izzy curiously followed Pipp up a flight of stairs, who was now bouncing even more than Izzy was.The pair of self appointed jump ropers worked their way up the stairs and down the loft until they reached their destination. When they did, Izzy’s jaw dropped. Right in front of them was a large shop, two stores combined into one with the wall that should be separating the two having been taken out. But more than the size, the sign was what threw Izzy’s brain into overdrive, “Paints, Pots and Ponies, Arts and Crafts Store”.
“Holy Jinxies,” Izzy breathed, Her jaw still on the ground.
“Yup, I knew you would like it,” Pipp exclaimed! “I’ve actually had to stop here a few times to grab some things for the castle. Artificial plants, wood blocks for chiseling, that sort of thing. I-Izzy, are you ok?”
“I-I think I’m in heaven.” Izzy mumbled. The unicorn had finally gotten her jaw under control, but her eyes were still stary with wonder and imagination.
“Ok, let's just go in before you have a heart attack,” Pipp chuckled. Izzy and Pipp both walked their way under the neon sign and into Izzy’s dreamworld. What greeted them was the soft scent of frankincense flowing through the cool air of the store. To the left and right of the entrance were glass cases displaying various works of art from paintings, to drawing, to sculptures, and of course, pots. Further in were ornate wooden shelves making up a dozen aisles on both sides of the store, each with a sign above them labeling what the racks held. Finally, there was the ambient music, a calm but lively classical tone playing just loud enough to hear, but not so loud that it gets in the way of thought.
Izzy couldn’t believe her eyes. Sure, she had seen art stores before, she bought her art supplies from a small cart before the whole reunification thing happened, and she had visited a smaller art outlet in Maretime Bay, but this! A friendly wave broke Izzy out of her trance, and she looked to her right to see a dark blue, older stallion standing behind a counter with a soft but sincere smile on his face.
“Princess Pipp, and, Izzy, was it? Welcome in, how can I help you today?” His voice, like his face, was soft but still cheerful in its own way. Not hyperactive like Izzy or bubbly like Pipp, but still containing the spark that showed everypony that he loved what he did. Pipp spoke up while Izzy continued to take in her surroundings.
“Morning, Vibrant Vase,” Pipp singsonged in her signature tone! “I was just showing my incredible friend around the mall. She’s very creative, so I just knew she would love your little abode, ain’t that right Izzy?” Pipp looked behind her to see that the perky unicorn had disappeared. “Izzy?”
As if to answer her question, a squeal of joy could be heard in one of the aisles. Pipp shuttered for a moment, remembering how Izzy’s impulses can sometimes end in a gargantuan mess.
“Oh no, Izzy!” Pipp took off galloping as Vase just looked on and chuckled softly.
Not the first time somepony like that unicorn has shown up, I’ll grab a catalog, just in case.
The pegasus princess ran down the isles until she finally spotted her friend jumping for joy in one of them. Pipp approached Izzy with a curious look before all of her questions were answered by one glance at the shelf. Glitter, in all colors, sold by the gallon, was what made Izzy's face beam with excitement.
“Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that this store specializes in bulk art supplies,” Pipp sheepishly commented.
Izzy’s head snapped around and a loud “what!” could be heard throughout the entire mall. Pipp just nodded.
“Yup, you don’t think we got all of the castle’s decorations from nowhere, did you?” Izzy looked back at the glitter, then back at Pipp again.
“You mean to tell me that I can get as much glitter as I want?”
“Eh, as long as you can pay for it, of course, heh heh heh,” Pipp giggled nervously. She expected this to go horribly wrong quickly. Either Izzy was about to make a mess rivaling that of Sprout’s, or blow her entire savings and then some on mountains and mountains of glitter. However instead of an explosion of excitement or literal tons of sparkles, Izzy pondered for a moment.
“You know, I’ve had an idea for a while, but never enough artsy stuff to make it. Bridlewood only had small baggy’s of glitter and maritime bay’s store mostly sold paints and canvases. With all of this, I think I can now do it!” Izzy bounced one more time as old gears previously set aside to collect dust began to turn in her head!
“That's great, Izzy.” Pipp said more genuinely, relieved that Izzy had at least some semblance of self control in her. “What are you thinking?”
“You’ll see” Izzy responded with a jokingly sinister tone.
“Uh oh.”
The rest of the day went wonderfully, and both ponies were satisfied. Pipp ended up getting a new phone case and a tripod from an electronics store, A few knick knacks for her hair salon, and even a gift for Zipp when she and Hitch returned from their trip, again, a story for another day. Izzy also got a few additional products including a book about sculpting, a new set of shoes, and a candy bar to round things out. That was everything the girls got on their day out, a modest load if you didn’t count the cart’s worth of art supplies and glitter that were now being shipped to the crystal brighthouse.
“Thank the stars Vibrant Vase had a catalog ready, I have no idea how we would have gotten all the stuff you ordered out of the shop, let alone down the mountain and to the bay. You’re one crazy unicorn, Izzy,” Pipp laughed.
“Creative unicorn,” Izzy corrected chipperly. “And thank you so much, Pipp, I’m really happy we spent time together today. I’m super excited for my next project, you all will love it!
“Well, I can’t wait to see it,” Pipp said, happy that her friend was ready to make another fabulous work of art.
Two weeks later, all five ponies had gathered at the brighthouse; four of them conversing downstairs while Izzy was absent, apparently applying the finishing touches on her “great masterpiece.”
“So, what did she get anyways?” Hitch asked Pipp, who had just finished filming a quick video with Sunny.
“Hmm,” Pipp pondered for a moment. “Well she ordered glitter, lots of glitter.”
“Heh, that's nothing new,” Zipp snickered.
“Yes,” Pipp admitted, “but she also asked for a lot of clay, glue and surprisingly, hairspray. I had offered her my brand of hairspray and she nearly sold me out!”
“Huh, that is odd,” Zipp said, putting a hoof up to her chin. Clay can be used for a lot of things, and I know hairspray can be used to keep glitter from falling off something, I wonder if…”
A loud bang interrupted Zipp’s pondering and made her jump. Through the front entrance came Izzy, who still had specks of glitter on her main and hoofs. She was wearing a big smile as she looked at her posse.
“I'm done, everypony! You have to see this!” Pipp and Sunny were both on their hooves right away while Hitch and Zipp trailed behind curiously. They left the brighthouse and went down the hill a little ways before it became visible.
“By the goddesses,” Pipp breathed. In front of the team was a lifesize statue of three ponies, an earth pony, a pegasus and a unicorn. The statue was covered in well secured, colorful glitter and was lined with so much detail, you would think Izzy placed every single speck one by one. It shined and sparkled in the sunlight as the group of friends looked on in astonishment.
The earth pony was stomping the base of the statue, vines and flowers erupting from where it’s hoof had landed. It’s form was sturdy yet calm, giving the viewer a sense of strength and integrity. The pegasus was suspended in the air thanks to some well placed silver spirals around and underneath it, meant to emulate wind. Its hooves were stretched out front as far as they would go and it’s wings seemed to have a special kind of glisten in the evening sun. The unicorn had it’s head raised high, its horn emanating a rainbow of colors. The colors seemed to change depending on where you stood, giving the impression of wonder no matter what angle you viewed the sculpture from.
Izzy’s friends were left speechless. They didn’t talk, didn't move, they barely even breathed. They just stood there, jaws agape as they watched the beautiful sculpture glisten and shine in front of them. Izzy stood beside her friends, happy that she could still surprise them with her imagination. Finally, Pipp spoke up.
“Izzy, you made this, on your own?”
“Yup” Izzy said matter of factly. “I knew you all would love it!”
“Izzy, this is amazing!” Sunny shouted.
“This is very impressive, Izzy!” Zipp said, smiling.
“How is this even possible?” Hitch wondered out loud. “The pegasus, and the unicorn horn and, wow!” FInally, Pipp stepped forward, pulling out her phone, before pausing a moment.
“You know what, no, If ponies want to see your work, they’ll just have to come down to Maretime bay themselves.” Izzy looked at Pipp confused.
“It’s not for the bay, silly! All the salt and moisture in the air would ruin the statue in no time at all.” Now it was Pipps' turn to look confused.
“Then, where will you put it?” Izzy just smiled.
Vibrant Vase walked into the mall a half hour before the front doors would open for the public. He wore a curious face as he reread the letter from “A new friend” saying to expect a surprise when he entered the mall. He looked up from the paper and towards one of the center circles, where originally, a plain fake bush stood surrounded by a few benches, once. Oh the benches were still there alright, but instead of an obviously fake plant, there was something else. It shone and shimmered as Vase stood there awe struck.
And this is why I do what I do. Thank you, Izzy Moonbow, for making my day just a bit brighter.