After breakfast was completed, the dishes washed (et cetera...)the girls went about their assigned tasks. The training they had done with their new grav-boards made commuting around town that much easier.
------------------
Twilight first headed for the miniature clinic in town. There she found the small-town doctor, Maximillian Moore. Upon hearing her enter the building (taking the time to apply some hand sanitizer), the man looked up from the su-doku puzzle he was engaged in and queried, "Yes? May I assist you with a particular issue today?"
Twilight cleared her throat before saying, "Yes, my name is Twilight Sparkle, and I'd like to say that it's an honour meeting you, sir. I heard that you had a position open for one final student, to enable them to access the services of the in-town 'school'. I thought that it was worth asking about."
Moore smiled slyly at the girl before saying, "Well... such a prospective individual would have to complete a few tasks before being granted entry. Specifically, they must write a thesis of reasonable quality, gain a sample of an Artemisia plant and bring it here in a timely manner, and finally also have a sufficient Logic stat, preferably 6 or higher. Should you find such a promising pupil, do direct them to me."
Twilight grinned and nodded. "I'll see what can or cannot be accomplished, sir."
The very next place that Twilight went was the local news station. There she found a pompous-looking, fancily dressed man, currently simply standing there, looking important. Twilight introduced herself to the man, who revealed that his name was Pritchard Locksley.
"Neat name!" Twilight said, causing the man to smirk. Some time chatting was spent. It turned out that the man fit into the Artsie rep group, among the high-rollers of the club. He was an actor/director of some renown, apparently. When Twilight realized that they had spent quite some time talking, she brought up that she needed to do some research. The man directed her to the computer bank on the next level of the building.
After doing some research, Twilight returned to the good doctor with a full thesis. "'Ears, Noses and Throats; A Reconsideration'. This promises to be an enlightening read. My thanks."
Taking the time to look around town, Twilight found a sample of the plant she was looking for. Being very careful, she dug aound it with a construct of her magic. "I'd better pack extra earth into this pot; I bet it grows best within its native soil." she thought, as she did just that. Doing so would give her some extra time to return to the clinic, potted pland well in hand.
Upon returning to the clinic again, Twilight handed the requested plant to the doctor, who quickly went about processing it. With that, the man granted Twilight and her friends access to the small college and invited her to assist in the operating room occasionally, when she could find time.
Quest Completed
Entering the college, Twilight introduced hherself to the instructor. The next person she saw (aside from the one sleeping in the corner of the room) was the frizzy-haired glasses-wearing Polly Nomial. Upon greeting the fellow student, Polly proceeded to introduce herself - at some great length!
"Greetings, fellow student! It is my understanding that a novel individual was granted the esteemed privilege of attending this establishment's seminars. I am generally addressed under the moniker of Polly Nomial. Am I correct in the presumption that you are said entrant?"
"Y-yes, that's right. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and it's a pleasure to meet you too." Twilight replied. "You might say that my friends and I are... new to town."
The two chatted for a couple of hours, mostly filled with Polly's words instead of Twilight's. Polly was quite verbose, and no mistake, but she could become a good friend -if you take the time to listen to her- as Twilight discovered. As much as she was into the hard facts stuff, Polly was also a dab hand at botany, as it happened.
Either way, Twilight's job was done.
"I wonder how the others are doing..." she thought aloud.
Quest Completed
--------------------
Meanwhile, Applejack was in a heated trash talk session with Dusty Hogg. Clearly the two were quite enjoying themselves, as they sported wide smiles.
"City slicker!"
"Valley girl!"
"Meathead!"
And on they went. At the same time, Rainbow Dash had arranged with Dusty's brother that in return for three days' worth of lunch, he'd open up the motocross area for them. As it happened, Rainnbow had thought ahead and bought a relatively fresh pizza, so Ewan was happy to tick that day's lunch off the scheduled deal.
After that, the two had spent some time conversing, getting to know one another. At length the two exchanged Xizzle beads (Rainbow briefly wondering how she actually had them to give, but decided not to question it) and parted ways for the time being.
Rainbow also remembered that she had access to the Hoopz game for the day, but decided that she'd let Pinkie take care of it, as per their unwritten agreement. As it happened, Pinkie had the same Idea.
-----------------------------
Begin Minigame; Hoopz - Level 2: Granny Styler
Pinkie leaped and tossed the first ball, sinking it with little effort. This game, she had to go a touch faster than Rainbow had, just the other day. Tossing the next two underhand, she managed to sink both - with style!
After the fourth ball, the usual horn sound blew, doubling her points for the next shot.
And so on it went, Pinkie break-dancing to the beat of the game's music -such as it was- while keeping up a perfect score. As time ran out, she heard a voice say, "Nail it with a slam!"
Leaping at the hoop itself, she slam dunked the final ball, ending the game and earning 3550 $imoleons.
Shutting down her adrenaline high was already difficult for Pinkie, but when she looked to her left, she noticed just the girl she was looking for, looking rather impressed at Pinkie's display of skill.
"Nice!" Crystal said, "You nailed every shot! Crystal, by the way; just Crystal."
Pinkie smiled and nodded. "A nice way to have fun, get a workout and earn some cash on the side! Wins all around!"
Crystal grinned. "So, what up, pony-girl?"
"Just looking to have some fun. Wanna join me?" Pinkie said.
Crystal's grin widened slightly. "You know it!"
The two went to the little dive club and ordered some pizza. As the cheesy goodness made its way to giving them energy, the two stepped on the Dance Dance Revolution machines in the bar and selected a song.
Pinkie was somewhat more agile than Crystal, but both did well enough.
Crystal wiped her brow. "Whew! Now THAT is what I call a workout!"
Pinkie said, "And it ain't over yet!" pointing at the screen.
Bonus Game!
Crystal took on a determined look. "Dibs on the next song!"
She scrolled through the selection before coming up with one.
This time, even Pinkie had trouble keeping up after a while! After the song was finished, the pair stepped down and shared a fist-bump. Crystal said, "Pinkie, you're alright, for an Artsie. Let's hang out again, sometime!"
Pinkie said, "Maybe at the Xizzle club, next time?" waggling her eyebrows.
Crystal smiled and said, "You gotta know the password first, of course. No other excuse you'd have for going in would hardly hold water.(1)"
"So... what's the password?"
"Ah, you'll figure it out." Crystal said, waving it off. "See ya there."
Quest Completed
-----------------------------------
Fluttershy and Gramma Hattie were chatting in the elderly woman's home. Fluttershy was enjoying her second cup of ginseng tea, while Rarity was nursing her chammomile. The old woman herself was telling them of her not-so-quiet childhood. "-so then, when we finally DID git away from 'em, Becky turned ta me an' said, "That was AWESOME!""
The trio laughed heartily. They were getting along just fine.
Hattie smiled and leaned back. "Ah, pity that most youngsters these days don't 'preciate what God gives 'em day afta day." She raised her own mug and said, "To times past, an' hopefully good times ahead."
Fluttershy chuckled and said, "And amen to that!" taking a sip of her drink just after.
Gramma Hattie took on a slightly more serious tone. "But y'all didn't come to hear me tell stories, right? Word is that the seven o' ya's wanna move to free Moniopolis from the clutches of that foul man."
Rarity's eyebrows raised briefly. "News travels fast, it seems."
"Dear, ah used ta be in the news business fer a while m'self. Ah know how ta keep m'ears ta th' ground." came the smug reply. "If y'all have help ya need gettin', y'know where ah'll be. If it means getting rid of that man, ah'm all fer it."
"Hopefully the others will have made progress." Rarity said. "We need to move quickly."
"Best be sure you take care and do it right the first time." Hattie cautioned. "Better to measure twice than have an uneven cut."
Fluttershy said, "Thank you for the tea and the story, ma'am."
Rarity nodded. "Indeed. Both were excellent. Thank you"
Hattie smiled. "Such polite girls. Some o' the rowdy types 'round here could use an example of how ta respect yer elders. Now git along wit'cha. Yer friends are prob'ly waitin' fer ya." she said, dismissing them.
---------------