Tamiyo awoke to the unfamiliar sound of hooves on a hard surface. She groaned and sat up, unfamiliar sheets clinging to her body. Prying them off, she blinked, taking in her surroundings. The pink crystal was an instant reminder: she was in Twilight's castle. Relief filled her as she recalled the prior day's events. Twilight Sparke had been even more accommodating than she had anticipated from her preliminary research.
Stretching out her limbs, Tamiyo changed out of her sleeping robe and then invoked the true meaning of He Who Frightens the Sun to reapply the veil of illusion around herself. As long as she didn't lie, all would see and hear what they expected to. Preventing the ponies from trying to nuzzle or otherwise touch her would be a simple matter of asking nicely.
Not in the mood for steps this early in the morning, Tamiyo hovered down the spiral staircase to the ground floor, and followed the smell of fresh confections to the kitchen.
Opening the door with her magic, Tamiyo entered. Spike, Twilight, and a pinkish mare she had never seen before were all busy eating some sort of pockmarked pastry topped with fresh fruit. As Twilight was facing the door, she saw her first, and swallowed her current bite to speak. "Good Morning! You sure slept in," she said cheerfully.
Tamiyo shrugged. "What can I say? It was a long day, and I'm a night owl."
The mare opposite Twilight set down the fork and knife in her magic and spun to face Tamiyo. "Twilight, who is this?" she asked.
Twilight's ears drooped. "Oh, right! I completely forgot to tell you. Starlight, this is Tamiyo. She'll be staying in the castle for a while. Tamiyo, this is Starlight, my friendship student."
"Oh, uh, hello," Starlight said, waving. "Is there any particular reason you're staying here and not, say, at the inn? Are you Twilight's cousin, or something?"
"No, we are unrelated," she said automatically. Meanwhile, Tamiyo wondered what sort of person needed to be specially tutored on friendship. Such skills almost always develop during that innocent period of youth she so adored.
"Well, she's from abroad, and wanted to make some friends," Twilight explained to Starlight. She smiled at Tamiyo. "Even though it's kind of my job, I'm still flattered she came here first."
"Yeah, of course. I'm still kinda amazed at how much you've changed, Twi," said Spike, taking another bite of his breakfast.
Rolling her eyes, Twilight gestured for Tamiyo to come sit, and she did. Grabbing a portion from the nearby counter with her magic, Tamiyo took a tentative bite. Her eyes widened at the flavor, and the next piece she popped into her mouth was twice as large. "I have never had anything like this before. What's this dish called?"
"Waffles," said Starlight. Then, she added "huh, you really are from out of the country."
Tamiyo nodded, preoccupied with eating.
"Anyway, Starlight and I are both busy today," began Twilight, "so unfortunately you're going to have to find somepony else to spend the day with, Tamiyo."
Tamiyo gulped down some water, then turned to face her. "I hear the Element of Laughter is very accommodating to new ponies. Is she free today?"
Twilight's smile shrunk a tiny amount. "Probably, yes, but she prefers 'Pinkie'."
Spike set his fork down on his now-empty plate. "Actually, Tamiyo, why don't you come with me instead? Rarity asked me to help run the boutique with Sweetie while she's away checking on her other two stores. We could use an extra set of helping hooves."
"Great idea, Spike!" said Twilight.
Tamiyo pondered this. She had actually never tried working as a merchant before, but she knew the basics. It seemed like it could be fun, especially with fresh company. "That sounds nice."
"Cool!" Spike exclaimed. He hopped out of his seat. "We can leave whenever you're ready, then!"
Grinning at his enthusiasm, Tamiyo finished the meal in silence. As Spike was cleaning the plates and utensils, she inferred that he had also been the one to cook it, and thanked him. His ensuing blush was surprising, as dragons on other planes couldn't.
The pair of mares said their goodbyes as Tamiyo walked off alongside Spike, and out into Ponyville. She was immediately greeted by the warm sun shining above. The crisp autumn breeze accompanying it was almost too perfect, and it brushed through the orange leaves of the distant trees.
Spike began making small talk as they traveled, explaining that he loved assisting Rarity, the Element of Generosity. He also said that her sister, Sweetie Belle did too, but was far less successful. However, Tamiyo started to zone out a bit as they entered the town proper. She watched as ponies of all tribes and colors went about their day. Some tended to foals, while others watered flowers or just chatted with neighbors outside their homes. The homes themselves were quaint, usually with distinct white and brown paint rarely seen on other planes. The style was most similar to—
As soon as she thought of Gavony, Tamiyo immediately regretted it. She could not stop the memories of that place from busting into the forefront of her mind. Memories of unearthly howls and moans echoing through the streets as buildings burned, the roar of the flames only outdone by the volume of the pounding in her skull, the stench of death and things she could not name assaulting her, the—
"Tamiyo?" someone asked. It snapped her out of her trance. It was Spike. Right. When did he get ahead of her, though?
"Are you ok?" he said, clearly concerned. "You're shaking."
Tamiyo looked down. She was. Centering herself, she took a deep breath. "I'm alright, now."
Spike looked up at her for a few moments, unsure. He sighed. "If you say so."
With that, they continued through the town, and Tamiyo paid closer attention to Spike's playful banter. Eventually, he stopped in front of a curious building that looked almost like one of those rides on Bant with all the fake leotau that moved in a circle, only with pink trim. Tamiyo noticed three signs on the front. The first read 'Custom Orders Currently Unavailable' and the second read 'All Winter Accessories Buy Two Get the Third FREE'. The last one just said 'Closed'.
"Here we are: Carousel Boutique," said Spike.
"Well? What are we waiting for?" Tamiyo asked.
Spike just smiled and walked over to the front door. He pulled it open with a flourish, and a bell chimed. "Ladies first."
"Why, thank you, Spike," Tamiyo said, grinning.
The interior was as lavishly decorated as the exterior, Tamiyo noticed. The only real difference between them was the presence of multiple racks of clothing and pony-shaped mannequins dotted around the floor. Also, the adorable filly currently levitating some hats out of a box and onto a hat rack in the center of the room. Once the one she was holding was safe, she trotted over.
"Hi, Sweetie!" said Spike. "I see you're already getting stuff set up."
"Uh-huh!" she replied. "Rarity will be so proud when she gets back!" Only after this proclamation did she see Tamiyo. She blinked up at her, her muzzle scrunching a bit. "Sorry, miss, but we're not open yet."
Tamiyo giggled. "You misunderstand, I came with Spike to help. My name is Tamiyo, I just got here yesterday."
"Oh, ok. But I'm still the primary salesmare," she said, placing a hoof to her chest.
"She never said she was," pointed out Spike.
"Still, though," said Sweetie. After that, she adopted an authoritarian tone. "The last thing left on Rarity's list is to finish taking out the scarves and hats. Spike, Tamiyo, you two put up the scarves."
Well, just look at the budding entrepreneur, Tamiyo thought. Her own children rarely strove for anything beyond the family Shiritori record. Happy to oblige, Tamiyo nodded in affirmation and set off for the other open box with Spike. Tamiyo hung scarves one by one with her magic starting from the top as Spike did the same from the bottom. There was only one empty horizontal rack, the one next to the sets of long socks, so that was where they went.
They finished at the same time as Sweetie did. The filly practically skipped back to the entrance, changing the 'Closed' sign to 'Open'. She and Spike stood at the ready, the former failing to fully contain her excitement. Tamiyo stationed herself behind the intricate mechanical currency holder, which was still close enough for her to participate in conversation and watch.
It wasn't long before their first customer trotted in. The brown stallion wore a neutral expression equal parts hope and loss.
Sweetie flashed him a toothy smile. "Hey, Dr. Whooves! What are you here for?"
He paused, blinking. "Oh, well, hello young lady. And to you as well, Spike. I'm here to... buy some new scarves, I suppose."
"Really?" asked Spike. "Don't you always wear that really long one all the time?"
Dr. Whooves sighed. "I did. Unfortunately, my lovely marefriend loathes the spotty old thing, and wants me to get some new ones before winter rolls in."
"Then you've come to the right place!" said Sweetie. "Right this way, sir." She led him over to the scarves, then stood off to the side with Spike, rocking back and forth on her hooves as the stallion browsed.
Eventually, he found three to his liking: a blue one, a tan one, and a grey one, all woolen. He turned to Spike. "Do you think these look good?"
Spike nodded. "Yeah. None of those have stripes."
"The blue one matches your eyes!" chimed in Sweetie.
"That it does," Dr. Whooves said. He then turned and walked up to Tamiyo, shaking his head. Reaching into his bags, he paid with exact change.
"Thank you for stopping by," Tamiyo said.
"Yes, yes," he said. "Say, I don't think we've met before. At any rate, you must have your work cut out for you." The Dr. gestured behind him with his head.
Tamiyo got the message. He must have thought she was being paid to watch them along with the store. She smiled and shook her head. "I'm just running things with them. I enjoy spending time with kids, even rambunctious ones."
Dr. Whooves shrugged. "If you say so. Allons-y!" he said, cantering out the door.
Tamiyo's focus was then quickly drawn to Sweetie Belle, who was pouting at her. "I heard that," Sweetie said. "If anything, I'm exceptionally composed for my age."
Spike raised an eyebrow at her.
Sweetie sighed. "Oh, just say it. The others won't stop anyway."
"You're also a dictionary," he said, chuckling.
Tamiyo's smile returned as she watched Sweetie playfully jab Spike on the shoulder, only for Sweetie to start chuckling too. Their innocent joy was infectious.
The rest of the day flew by for Tamiyo, buoyed was she by the atmosphere perpetuated by her impromptu coworkers. Around a dozen customers had shown up to prepare their wardrobes before lunch, and another dozen came after. Spike and Sweetie were unpredictable: acting professional one moment and blunt the next. She had never really spent much time observing kids besides her own, her relatives', and Nashi. The similarities were both reassuring and almost frightening.
Throughout the rest of the day, nothing had been accidentally destroyed, which was nothing short of a miracle according to Spike, and only one pony had stormed off in rage. This was after being yelled at by Sweetie in a quite squeaky manner for buying socks to give as a Hearth's Warming present. Tamiyo had gently scolded her after the fact, though the mare would likely hear worse from her own family later.
For a fleeting moment, Tamiyo wished this day could go on forever, and on this world it was possible. But even if Celestia stilled the sun, she knew, time would march on. Everything always changes, even if she tried to avoid it herself. That was why she spent her life recording stories and cherishing those important to her.
A voice snapped Tamiyo's attention back out of her thoughts. The three of them were standing outside the boutique in the waning light. "Bye Spike. Bye Tamiyo," Sweetie said. "It was nice meeting you."
"See you, Sweetie," said Spike, waving. "Have fun at Scootaloo's."
And so they parted ways. Tamiyo returned with Spike and ate a nice, quiet dinner. But afterwards, she was unable to continue her research into Equestria's recent history as she had planned to do for the rest of the night. Her mind refused to quiet itself, thoughts of recent relief and less recent pain bouncing back and forth behind her eyes. Restless, sleep did not claim her until quite late.