//------------------------------//
// Willow Bales 
// Story: A War 
// by Comma Typer 
//------------------------------//

Farther on the path, there stood a secluded diner partially surrounded by wheat fields. A few yellow carriages remained on the little asphalt space before it, "Exclusively reserved for taxis and cabs" so said the sign posted on the window.
On the other side of the path, more wheat fields.
Inside the diner, it was cold, too, because of the air-conditioning. The customers there were mostly tired and frayed, much of that obvious because of their messy manes and haggard faces. The waiters behind the counter seved up stacks of waffles and pancakes smothered with syrup and butter among toppings and other extras such as berries, whipped cream, and even potato chips. The sweet fragrance of it all wafted throughout the whole diner, resulting in a single smell inviting those already inside to dine some more.
Arctic Lily swung around on her swivel chair at the counter, avoiding the checkered floor as she drank her milkshake.
"Uh, is there anything else you want, miss?" one of the waiters asked. "Do you need some meds or something?"
She stopped facing him and her plate of pancake crumbs. "No. I think I'll be fine."
He motioned his head toward one of the other customers there. "But, Willow Bales is a ways away from here. If you wanna get going, you better get yourself on a taxi."
She shook her head. "No, thank you. I'm OK with walking my way there."
The mare a few seats away from her turned around to look at the Crystal pony. "I insist. I've had slow days lately because of my regulars taking up the cause and the spear. I would be relieved if you would let me pull you over to Willow Bales."
The waiter looked at Lily, tapping the counter with his hoof. "Gotta decide, miss."
Her eyes narrowed, her lips pursed.
Sweat down her face.



"I...I'm still not sure about this!" Arctic Lily stuttered as she sat inside the rocking carriage.
The other mare, pulling the vehicle along in a gallop, gave stole in a glance. "You better be sure about this! Look how much distance we've already covered!"
Lily, shuddering, poked her head out of the carriage and looked back.
Though it was a little blurry and though her head bobbed with the bumpy carriage, she could still see much. The walls of wheat that prevented anyone from peering in any further were present here, but the little diner was nowhere to be found. Above, the cloudy blue sky was as usual with its sun emanating that calm and gentle warmth which could be felt from so far away.
"It's a flyover town, but isn't that where you wanna be?!" the driver yelled, her voice rising above the gallop and the wind.
"Yeah!" Lily shouted back, her voice matching the driver's in volume.
"Really?!"
"I think so!"
She galloped on, breaking a few stalks and grains along the way.
"Hold on tight, and we'll be there in a jiffy!"



Screeched to a noisy halt.
Lily hopped out of the carriage and carefully put down some bits. "Here, Hackney Bus. I really thank you for what you did for me. I...I didn't know what to e-expect from you and—"
"Don't overstay your gratitudes, and you're welcome!"
Hackney Bus dashed off.
Leaving Arctic Lily alone in this new place.
Willow Bales was a small urban village. The sun glared down on its inhabitants (or, at least, the inhabitants actually outside and not under a roof or two). There was not a single structure or building there that was taller than two floors, giving Willow Bales a rather flat ambience made even flatter by the fact that the roofs there were never too slanted: most of them were flat, and if they were slanted, then only by small degrees.
Where she was, almost barren motels mingled with half-populated taxi stations which mingled with full diners and other eateries. The intersection before her was considered the main one—there was a sign placed on one of the streetlights proclaiming it to be "The Center of Attention in Willow Bales!" Indeed, two tourists stood side by side as they took pictures of the little intersection frequented by almost none on the roads themselves.
It was also quiet. Eerily quiet. Quiet enough that one did not need to strain ears to listen to the beautiful songs of birds nor the routine flaps of pegasus wings overhead.
Toward both sides, she could see a mix of paved roads and dirt roads. The more primary paths, the wider ones, were asphalted and paved. The less trodden paths, the narrower ones, were left as they were, a lot of them cutting across peaceful suburbs where there was no such thing as a fence or some other kind of barrier to separate one's property from another's. Over there, several ponies, young and old, played catch, crossing over from one backyard to another as the game continued.
Tall and thin trees ruled the vegetation of this town, furnishing the town in fresh splendor though the season pulled down many of its broken up leaves to the grassy sidewalk
Arctic Lily stood on the sidewalk, dumbfounded with her eyes shuffling so.



The Crystal mare closed the door behind her, following a purple Earth pony mare, distinguished by her tied blue cloth around her neck, into the house.
A buffet of smells attacked her all at once.
Of diverse herbs, of fragrant leaves, of aromatic fruits.
"I hope you don't mind the smell," that mare said, leading Lily along past several couches and some tea tables where some valuable tea sets resided, some shining with precious metals. "They don't call me 'Jasmine Leaf' for nothing! That's because my name is Jasmine Leaf, but it fits."
On the shelves and the open cabinets that were on the timber red and yellow walls, various forms of tea in their various flavors were on display. Tea bags were aplenty, but so, too, were the bags of loose tea, the cans of preserved tea, the bags of powdered tea, and the blocks of compressed tea. Their flavors could be seen on the labels underneath, revealing flavors such as "Breakfast Tea", "Aracha", "Congou", "Shoumei", and "Jasmine".
"Have a seat," Jasmine Leaf said, motioning toward one of the chairs at a raised table on which was a teapot and some teacups.
Lily sat down on the seat.
Saw steam flowing out of the teapot.
She looked around the house.
It was a house squeezed with lots of tea-related items. Aside from the actual tea and their containers, there was a door whose room was designated as a "Tea Tasting Room"; near the speciazlied kitchen was a section identified as the "Biscuits and Cakes Area" where a smorgasbord of different biscuits and cakes were visible on their different closed glass trays; behind glass doors were small rooms with the single purpose of holding one-of-a-kind tea sets with their names and their value in bits—one of the sets, a seemingly simple tea set of white and black known as "The Third Afternoon", had "100,000,000 bits" as its value.
All the while, Lily breathed in the ever changing concoction of smells.
Jasmine Leaf sat down on the chair beside her.
Sighed.
"I didn't tell you before, but I've noticed you're a Crystal pony."
The smile on Lily's face disappeared.
"That's OK," she said, giving Lily a smile of her own. "When I moved here, some of the locals ridiculed me for being the 'wacky tea pony'. Well, now they've moved out to battle and I'm still here safe."
The tea pony winced.
"A bit shameful to say that, yes, but not all of us think war is so great...don't you agree, Arctic Lily?"
The Crystal mare nodded.
"You're probably worn out from your travels," Jasmine said, reaching to grab the teapot at the center. "Why don't you relax with some of my own Jasmine tea?"
Lily giggled. "A pony named 'Jasmine Leaf' making Jasmine tea? That's something I've never heard or seen before, miss."
"Be glad that you'll see it now, Lily," Jasmine said before pouring tea into her teacup. "Loosen up and let's talk about other things, shall we? We have a long time to go before dinner. I'll even show you around town."