It was a slow day for Amber Sparrow. No customers had come in for hours. He had been fiddling with objects to enchant for a while, but done little actual work.
He yawned and stretched- only to bump into the makeshift roof of his homemade stand. He groaned and ducked out of the stand, walking over to observe it from the front.
The stand was made of wood and painted with bright red patterns, as Amber figured that they would attract ponies' attention. It was shoddily made, as despite his best efforts, Amber was not a carpenter. A sign hanging from its roof read "ENCHANTED THINGS- STARTING AT FIVE BITS! OR BRING YOUR OWN THINGS TO ENCHANT STARTING AT TWO!" The things were stored in sacks on the stand desk. The roof was low, and Amber's horn grazed the ceiling when he stood.
Amber heard hooves clopping towards him. He quickly got back into his stand and readied himself for a sales pitch.
A cloaked figure with vaguely yellow fur under his cloak trotted up to the stand.
"What's this," he muttered, "enchanted things?"
"Yes," said Amber. "I have anything the common pony would want: bags that carry themselves, loudspeakers that amplify magic, horseshoes that make you run faster, and much more."
"What do you have that other enchantment stores don't sell?"
"I'm actually inventing some new products. This, for example," -he levitated a contraption resembling a tiny plow in front of the cloaked pony- "is an amplifying motion plow. It amplifies your magic, but with different outputs based on which direction the input comes from and whether it's moving. All of the details are in the fine print that comes which each unit."
"Interesting," said the cloaked pony. "I'd like to buy one and test it for myself."
"Great!"
"I'll also buy a bag that carries itself, a loudspeaker that amplifies magic, and horseshoes that make you run faster."
"Alright. That'll be thirty bits. The prototype plow is pretty expensive." This was the best sale Amber had made in weeks.
The cloaked pony paid and left with his purchase. His cloak fluttered a little as he walked away, momentarily showing his cutie mark: a notepad and a pencil.
Amber looked up. The sun was getting low; it must've been close to dinnertime. He decided to take a break and go to the pub.
Amber arrived at the pub, and it was busy as usual. He sat in one of the few seats left, next to a pair of ponies arguing loudly.
"-As I was saying, we should support unicorns who have lost their magic while raising the sun. They lost their powers serving their tribe, so they deserve respect. The government should give them bits to help them survive, as it's extremely difficult to get by without magic in a society where magic runs everything."
"No. Unicorns without magic may have served their tribe, but they can no longer function in society."
"That's why they need help!"
"You're missing the point. They no longer serve a purpose or contribute to society in any meaningful way. That's why they don't deserve help. They've already been used."
"Don't be so disrespectful. They're-"
"So what? Why should I care about the feelings of a bunch of used?"
The other pony gasped. "I will not have a civil conversation with a pony who so carelessly uses slurs!"
"But that's what they are. The used."
The other pony started shouting, and the pony she was arguing with soon followed.
Thankfully, Amber was soon spared of their shouting by a voice.
"Do you mind if I sit here?" asked a grayish-green mare.
"No, I don't mind at all," said Amber.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, until a waiter came by and served a few hayburgers along with two pitchers of hearty wildberry cocktail.
Amber poured his cocktail into a cup, levitated it up to his mouth, and took a sip. "So, how was your day?"
"Pretty average," said the mare, "I'm a waterworker. I dig out canals and stuff for a living. Today, I had to fix a problem where a block's waste water was getting mixed with their drinking water." She winced. "The smell... wasn't nice."
"Ew. I run an enchantment shop. I mostly enchant tools, but lots of ponies have been asking for enchanted rocks lately. Don't know why."
"Hmmm... Where is it? Is it fancy?"
"You can find it near the wildberry plains, on eighteenth road. And no. I just have a tiny wooden stand I made myself right now, but I'm going to upgrade soon."
"So you started it recently?"
"Yeah. I used to work in the mines getting gems, but I quit because I loved enchantment theory so much."
"Can you tell me about enchantments? They sound interesting."
Amber's eyes lit up. Finally, someone thought his work was interesting! "Well, I've been learning about self-spreading enchantments lately, and I just think it's fascinating," he gushed. "An enchantment that can spread to other objects on its own! It has so many practical applications, and can be combined with other properties in so many ways! I incorporated a self-spreading enchantment into my latest invention, the amplifying motion plow, where it's combined with a feedback enchantment!"
"I don't understand everything you said, but I'm glad you're passionate about it. Oh, and you said you were inventing something?"
"Yeah! I've been staying up late to work on it for weeks now, and recently rolled it out. I really hope that it'll be a hit with the newsponies."
The mare smiled. "I hope. So what exactly does it do?"
They chatted, drank, and ate for a few hours, until the sun had long set and they were both tired.
"By the way," the mare inquired, "what's your name? I'd like to talk to you again sometime."
"Amber Sparrow," said Amber.
"I'm Muck Slayer," replied the mare. "Don't call me Muck, call me Slayer."
"Thanks, Slayer. See you again sometime." Slayer smiled and waved as they parted ways. He knew that he would be too tired to work on his inventions tonight, but he didn't care. He had had fun with Slayer, more fun than he'd had in months.
That night, a message marked with bright red was on Amber's doorstep. Tired and half-drunk, he decided to read it tomorrow as he went to sleep.