//------------------------------// // 1 - Decisions // Story: The Quest For The Prosperity Platter // by Violet Mist //------------------------------// “Hey, Smolder! Go long!” Silverstream watched as Smolder, who had her head deep in a book, launch from her chair and take off like a rocket down the library aisle. She wrestled with the tennis ball for a bit before finally chucking it towards her friend. It was the last day of the year, and everypony and creature was having fun. Several students decided to read in the library for a bit before heading out of the building for the summer, but Silverstream and Smolder had other plans. They found the library a perfect place to play catch, due to the countless open aisles and smaller crowd. Smolder leapt up and caught the ball just as it was about to fly over her head, with help from her wings. Silverstream smiled wide as the orange dragon landed softly on a pile of conventionally positioned books. She clapped her claws together as Smolder jumped off the pile of books with the tennis ball in hand. “Nice catch, Smolder!” Silverstream called from one end of the library to the other. Smolder nodded and tossed the ball back to the hippogriff, who returned the favor by catching it as well. “Not going to lie, that was pretty neat throw, too…” Smolder replied, scratching the back of her head and chuckling nervously. “Except, it almost went over my head, but…” The dragon was caught off guard by a tennis ball whizzing towards her at an unreal speed. Her eyes widened as she quickly stepped out of the way, letting the ball go past her. It hit the pile of books and bounced in an awkward direction, and soon, Smolder couldn’t even find the thing. She looked at the concerned hippogriff ahead. “Wow. That was REALLY fast,” Smolder exclaimed, stunned. “Was it because I made fun of your aim?” Silverstream looked down at her throwing claw, her right, and then at Smolder. She winced. “Sorry! That was NOT my intention. I swear.” She apologized. Smolder’s smile returned and she crossed her arms. “It’s fine. Just help me find that stupid thing.” The hippogriff nodded, and they both took to the air, searching every corner for the lost ball. Sandbar finally finished packing his things, sighing, and looking up at his room one last time. He had spent the whole school year living in this small apartment-like space, and now it was time to reflect. He grabbed his bag and double-checked to make sure he wasn’t forgetting anything. He found out that he wasn’t, so Sandbar walked to the door where chaos was ensuing outside. When he opened the door, he was startled to see that Gallus was sitting right in front, yawning. “Well? Are you finished?” The gryphon asked, tilting his head as if he was bored. Sandbar shrugged, still a bit upset that the school year was ending, and blew a lock of hair out of his face. “I didn’t know you were waiting,” Sandbar said, walking down the crowded hallway, where ponies and creatures desperately were on their way to leave. Gallus followed him, and they were both silent until they reached the stairway. “Do you know what we’re doing?” Gallus asked as they started to walk down the stairs, which were equally as crowded as the hallway. “No. What?” “We’re supposed to be meeting the guys in the library. Y’know, one last get-together before we end the year.” Gallus explained, and the pair reached the bottom of the stairs. Sandbar started to walk in the direction of the library, and once again, his blue gryphon friend followed. “That’s cool.” Sandbar said simply, holding back his emotions. He wasn’t in the talking mood, anyways; he was astonished that so many ponies preferred the summer over the school by a long shot. He understood why ponies liked being off school, but not why some hated school so much. Sandbar, personally, loved this school. “...that’s where we’re going, right?” Gallus asked, not exactly assured. His earth pony friend nodded, and the gryphon was silent the rest of the way as they weaved through plenty of traffic. Sandbar assumed that they would be alone in the library, with their friends of course, but he found out that his assumption was just a bit off. Once they got to the library, the two noticed that there were other ponies concentrating on studying before they hit the road for the summer. It probably wasn’t a surprise that these same ponies were at the top of their classes in their respective lessons, but Sandbar wasn’t paying any attention to them. He found it funny that once he scanned the library for his friends, he found Silverstream and Smolder literally throwing a few books out of their spots in the bookcase as if they were desperately looking for something dearly important to them. Sandbar and Gallus walked over to where Silverstream was, and it wasn’t long before she looked down from whatever she was doing and noticed them standing there. She smiled widely and descended from the top of the bookcase, her arms outstretched, ready for an embrace with her best friends. “Hey, guys!” She exclaimed gleefully once she hit the ground, wrapping each arm around both of them and bringing them close to her. Sandbar smiled and wrapped a hoof around her as well, and as he did so, he couldn’t help but notice Gallus not particularly enjoying her hug. He made a disgusted face as she hugged him, most likely smelling her usual fragrance, which had a bit of a fishy smell to it. This made Sandbar laugh out loud, but once Silverstream was done, she couldn’t quite figure out why the earth pony was laughing. Just before she was about to ask, though, two more familiar figures appeared in the doorway, so she flew over to greet them as well. Sandbar watched as Silverstream embraced the small frame of Ocellus the changeling and then the large frame of Yona the yak, who was carrying a large box of books on her back. Suddenly, Smolder poked her head from around the corner of a bookcase, her magenta eyes full of confusion. “Uhh… since when is Yona so into books?” She asked, leaning on the bookcase. Yona heard this question, so she looked back at the box she was hauling on her back as she gathered her thoughts. “Ocellus needed help with the cleaning of the room, so Yona come and carry for her big book box!” The always energetic yak exclaimed, grinning widely. Ocellus nodded in agreement and smiled as well. “I didn’t bring much to school, but since this box of borrowed books was so heavy…” Ocellus piped in, looking at the huge box for a second. “I called over Yona to help. As you can see, she did a pretty good job.” Yona nodded happily and jumped up once, the box of books comically bouncing with her. Sandbar chuckled to himself and Gallus stepped in. “Um, I’m guessing it would be the right thing if we helped them reshelve those books and… some of the excess books, right?” Gallus suggested, and everypony else seemed to approve. The lazy and often grumpy gryphon sighed, facepalming, probably regretting bringing that up. This sent every creature, including himself, into a fit of laughter. The next hour was spent cleaning up the library. The group was split into pairs and sorted so that each pair had at least one who was capable of flying. For example, Smolder was paired with Yona. Yona would work on the shelves she could reach, while Smolder was tasked with the higher shelves. Each pair was assigned a specific area of the library for optimal efficiency and time, and lucky for the group of friends, everything went well. After a while, it was just shelving the books that were somehow left on the floor (and the ones that Silverstream and Smolder threw off the shelves), even though Ocellus’s books were plentiful. But, this wasn’t a surprise from the smartest creature in the group. Silverstream was paired with Ocellus, but it was helpful that the changeling could, well, change shape, so Silverstream didn’t have to take up so much space. It was actually smart that Ocellus changed into an octopus, so she could easily sort multiple books at a time. As a result, her pair finished early, and while Ocellus went to help some of the other pairs, Silverstream went to look for the lost tennis ball. She opened the hatch to the catacombs, but found nothing within the first chamber. She assumed nothing could get past that area, so she stopped looking in the catacombs. Next, she tried every corner of the library. Despite the fact that the ball was thrown at only one side of the ginormous hall, she found the tennis ball to be insanely bouncy and unpredictable. It was small, too, so that didn’t help. After checking every corner and finding nothing, she decided to move on. For her next move, Silverstream focused on looking under tables and chairs. Everypony that had been there before them left, and it was entirely possible that the ball could’ve rolled under where they were sitting without them noticing. So, she did just that; she looked under every table and chair that could fit a ball, but found nothing, to her dismay. Silverstream was about to give up when she noticed a small, neon green shape tucked next to one of the many bookcases. While she was happy to finally find the ball, she was upset when she realized that this aisle was the very same one that she and Ocellus had fixed up. She groaned and started to walk towards it. “How did I not notice this here before?...” she said to herself while she reached for the ball with her claw. Suddenly, Silverstream felt an object fall on her head, causing her to collapse to the hard floor, dazed. Her ears rang for several seconds as she stood up, holding her head. While she was frustrated that this just HAD to happen at this moment, she did an acceptable job of containing her sometimes explosive anger. Well, a bump is for sure going to appear there!, she thought to herself, giggling. Silverstream grabbed the ball and studied it, confirming that it was the same ball. She was about to fly out of the aisle and show Smolder her “discovery,” but she was stopped when she noticed the title of the book that had fallen on her. Supernatural Sensations: Legendary Artifacts of the Land Silverstream was particularly drawn to this book, since she was always aware of the supernatural. She knew stuff like that wasn’t fake. In fact, she thought it would be a great way for she and her friends to get together and do something fun. So, just as she was about to take off with the ball, she grabbed the book, eager to check it out for the summer. “Well, that’s the last of the books!” Smolder announced, patting her claws while scanning the floors. Every creature looked around, admiring their work. The library looked as good as new. Everything was sorted, ready for the next year. It was a shame to them that they had to sit idle for a few months, however. Still, Headmare Twilight would definitely be pleased at the result. “Yona going to miss huge book place,” Yona said sadly, looking at all the perfectly organized bookcases. “It is home to Ocellus.” “The sad part is that you’re not too far off, based on all the books you had to carry.” Gallus pointed out, leaning on the giant box. While the three of them—Gallus, Ocellus, Yona—argued if Ocellus actually DID sleep in the library every night, Sandbar wandered off into the aisles, double-checking everything, making sure it was all set to go for the new year. It was then where, Sandbar, turning a corner, almost got taken out by a flying Silverstream. “Whoa!” He said, ducking. Silverstream yelped, barely flying over his head. She landed next to him, chuckling nervously as the earth pony let out a sigh of relief. “Wow, sorry!” The hippogriff apologized scratching the back of her head. “I had no idea you were coming, Sandbar!” “It’s fine, Silverstream.” Sandbar replied quietly, his eyes drifting off to whatever his friend was carrying in her other arm. “I didn’t see you coming either… uh, what’s that?” It took Silverstream a moment to process what he was talking about. “It’s just a ball. Why?” She held up the tennis ball. “No, I mean under your shoulder.” “A book.” “Yes, but what IS it, exactly?” “...a book.” Sandbar suddenly didn’t feel the urge to explain what he was talking about. Instead, he sighed, not due to frustration from her friend, but at the fact that he wouldn’t be able to have these conversations at all soon. Silverstream raised an eyebrow. “Anything else?” She asked with a shrug. Sandbar shook his head, so The hippogriff smiled and took off flying again, probably looking for Smolder. What was that all about?, Sandbar thought to himself while he continued to walk down the aisles, checking every bookshelf, ensuring its freshness for the new year. The new year. Three. Long. Months. “Smolder! I found the ball!” Silverstream exclaimed happily as she flew right in the middle of the Gallus-Ocellus-Yona argument, but her presence ended it. Smolder was leaning on a bookshelf, crossing her arms and staying out of the silly argument, but when Silverstream arrived, she popped up and a smile appeared on her face. “Really? Wow. I thought that thing was long gone.” She responded, walking up to the hippogriff. Silverstream nodded and opened her bag by the door, putting the ball inside before sealing it up again. “I’ll save it for the summer.” She explained, putting the bag on her back and glancing up at the clock. “Didn’t want to risk it getting lost again, right?” Silverstream said this with a wink, and Smolder winked back, ensuring a mutual agreement. Now, it was time for the announcement. “Alright, every creature, gather around,” Silverstream shouted, trying to get Sandbar’s attention as well, wherever he was. She placed the book on the ground and everyone else got closer, trying to get a glance at the title. “...Supernatural Sensations: Legendary Artifacts of the Land?” Gallus read out loud, sounding a bit confused. Silverstream nodded and pointed down at the book. “I’m checking it out for the summer! Do you think Headmare Twilight will mind?” She asked, raising a claw. The four spectators shook their head just as Sandbar came into sight, and he started walking towards the group. “I think Headmare Twilight will be thrilled when she finds out someone checked out a book for the summer!” Ocellus pointed out. Everyone else seemed to agree, and Silverstream started flipping to the table of contents page in the book as Sandbar joined the group. “What’s going on?” He asked, watching Silverstream look through the table of contents. “Silverstream found this book and now I think she’s trying to figure out something for us to do over the summer.” Smolder replied, watching the hippogriff as well. Finally, Silverstream’s head perked up, and she had an idea. “Ok! I know an artifact that sounds cool! Now, let’s pass the book around so everyone has a chance to look at it and choose an artifact that he or she thinks sounds neat. Then, we’ll come together and vote on one that we’ll learn about! I’ll start with Smolder.” Smolder, who was standing to her left, seemed startled by the request, but nevertheless accepted it. Silversteam passed the book over and the dragon started to read through the table of contents, her light blue eyes glazing over the page. When she found whatever artifact she wanted to learn about, she passed it onto Sandbar, who was also seated to her left. The process repeated, and it went to him, then to Yona, Ocellus, and finally Gallus. Gallus took the least amount of time to figure it out, probably because he wasn't too interested in this thing. When everyone was done, Silverstream was eager to share her idea. “The Savior’s Spark!” She blurted, looking towards Smolder, who was next. “The Light of Las Pegasus sounds cool.” She said. “I… really couldn’t find anything interesting.” Sandbar revealed, dipping his head a little. “Yona like the Pony Perpetuator!” Yona exclaimed with a bright single. “I guess the Staff of Sameness sounds intriguing,” Ocellus said next, rubbing her chin. “Meh. Prosperity Platter.” Gallus grumbled in his usual tone. Somehow, though, Silverstream felt connected to this artifact, and she knew that this one had her vote for sure. “Do we start the voting now?” Yona shouted out eagerly. Silverstream nodded and reminded the group that each creature could vote twice, and they couldn’t vote for their own. This would represent a fair and easy voting process. And if there was a tie, those artifacts would essentially move into the next round. “How many votes for the Savior’s Spark?” Silverstream asked. 3. “The Light of Las Pegasus?” 1. “The Pony Perpetuator?” 3. “Staff of Sameness?” 0. “Last one. The Prosperity Platter?” Oddly, there were 5 votes. Everyone except for Gallus (who was looking incredibly surprised by the outcome), because he wasn’t allowed to vote for his own, voted in favor of the Prosperity Platter. Silverstream smiled. “It’s settled, then,” she announced, flipping the pages of the book until it landed on the chapter labelled ‘The Prosperity Platter.’ “Here we go.” The Prosperity Platter is the legendary artifact once wielded by some of Equestria’s greatest heroes, including the proficient Gusty the Great. Although it is a platter, it certainly isn’t and shouldn’t be used to serve a meal. It is, however, easily recognizable, as its golden design is unlike any other disk in the entire land. This golden color is linked to magic from an ancient king. According to the legend, this ancient unicorn king, consumed by power and wealth, tapped his horn on an ordinary silver platter and turned it into what it is today. However, upon consuming a meal that was served to him on this platter, he perished. As a result, the platter was hidden deep in the kingdom’s treasury for hundreds of years. Gusty the Great, determined to return the legendary three-headed dog guardian Cerberus to Tartarus, researched hard and long for an item that was powerful enough to fulfill her intention. When she came across the ancient platter, she decided to take a chance. She trekked through the treacherous terrain of cold northern Equestria, trying to find the lost kingdom where the platter sat. After several weeks of searching, she came across the ruins of an old castle, and after rummaging through the rubble, her hooves came across the platter among other discarded treasures. At first, she was reluctant to touch the thing, but after she felt a rush of determination throughout her body, she hurriedly lifted the ancient disk. Gusty the Great returned to her home to banish the dreaded monster. It was a long and hard fought battle as Gusty had to figure out how to use the platter. At some points, she felt the power sparking inside the disk, but in other moments, she doubted that it had magical capabilities after all. Finally, though, after making her intentions perfectly clear to the platter, a large beam of light sprouted from it and penetrated Cerberus. Soon, the dangerous dog disappeared in a flume of black smoke, and the land was safe. Gusty was hailed as a hero, and she named the legendary weapon what it is today; the Prosperity Platter. Gusty proceeded to bring the circular object along on her many journeys, but it was lost during her first battle against the villain Grogar in southern Equestria. To this day, the platter remains untouched and patience as it waits for its next hero. According to the journals of Gusty, the platter will only aid those whose intentions are clear and for the best of those around her. For others however… It only means a long and painful death, the same fate the original greedy king experienced.