//------------------------------// // The Collector // Story: You're The Inspiration // by AlwaysDressesInStyle //------------------------------// Sunny Starscout rolled out of bed and stretched. Her efforts to improve relations between the Earth Pony, Unicorn, and Pegasus tribes had produced dismal results thus far, but she was certain that this would be the day her hard work paid dividends. It was hard not to be inspired by her heroes, as her room was a shrine to their ever fading memory. Posters decorated her walls, and she even had dolls of three of the six Elements of Harmony, the ponies who’d fought so hard for friendship: Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie. She put on her sash, decorated with pins depicting the cutie marks of Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, two of those legendary ponies. Most ponies thought she was a really ambitious Filly Scout, and that she wore her sash all the time. Nopony recognized the cutie marks of the past heroes, and if they had, she would’ve been chastised for admiring pegasi, the vermin of the skies. That’s what the other ponies of Maretime Bay called them, but Sunny didn’t go along with the herd. She had never met a Pegasus, and until such time as she came across one, she’d reserve judgement on them. She headed to the Curio Shop, a thrift store she frequented, hoping to find vintage items to add to her ever-growing collection of “Generation 4” artifacts. That was how historians referred to the era of the alicorns. The first generation had been pre-Harmony, the second had been the first Golden Age, ruled over by the triumvirate of Chancellor Puddinghead, Commander Hurricane, and Princess Platinum. The third generation had been the shortest… and the most terrifying: the era of Discord. Not much had survived from that time or earlier, but relics from after that weren’t uncommon. Those artifacts came from the fourth generation; ponykind's second Golden Age. The longest and most successful era of peace and prosperity ponies had on record. Most of the merchandise in the store was castoff junk from the last twenty years: toys that foals had outgrown, clothing that had gone out of style, and records by artists that hadn’t managed to stay mainstream. What she was after was significantly older than that – things that probably belonged in a museum, if only museums were interested in that era of equine history. Instead objects that were hundreds of years old still turned up periodically at yard sales and flea markets… and probably the dump, too, but the junkyard didn’t allow scrounging. You’d think that ponies would celebrate a civilization that lasted for well over a thousand years, but instead they ostracized them for how Equestria had ended: friendship had been their undoing. Things had gone back to how things were in the earliest era of ponies, before the first Hearths Warming: the tribes had split up amongst themselves. Supposedly there was some shady trading between the tribes, but that was a gray market. Nopony talked about it, and the ponies engaged in the deals tended to meet in out of the way locations late at night. “Just the mare I was looking for,” Curio Steeplechase greeted her as she walked into the store. “I’ve got a few things you might be interested in,” she added in a whisper. Sunny knew that meant she’d have to wait until the shop was devoid of other customers to see just what the shopkeeper thought would pique her interest. Sunny looked around and to her dismay saw the shop was crowded. “I think I’ll go get breakfast.” “Take your time. Perhaps come back at noon. I’ll close shop for ‘lunch’ today. But it’ll cost you: bring back pizza.” Sunny nodded, used to the older mare’s eccentricities. Pizza was a small price to pay for exclusive first dibs on anything she might find interesting. Not that there was all that much competition, but why take chances? She sat outside the Greasy Spoon Café, sipping on a steaming hot cup of tea and enjoying some croissants. Her attention was always skyward, hoping to catch a glimpse of an elusive Pegasus. Part of her doubted their very existence – ponies that could fly and walk on clouds? All logic said such a thing was preposterous. Equus sapiens was too heavy to fly, and clouds were far too fragile to support the weight of even a bird, let alone an entire city of ponies. It was a beautiful day, as sunny as her name, with fluffy white clouds scattered throughout the sky, providing shade in spots. If pegasi were real they’d want to be out flying on a day like this, yet she saw nothing. She sighed and glanced at the clock – it was still an hour until she had to go back to Curio’s. There were no other ponies eating outside; the ones who’d been eating when she’d sat down had quickly finished and left. Nopony else had decided to eat outside once they’d seen her sitting there. Sunny wasn’t surprised by that in the least – ponies weren’t interested in what she had to say. The iconoclastic mare had burned a lot of bridges between herself and her fellow citizens of Maretime Bay. It was a lonely existence. She returned to Curio’s shop at the specified time, with a pizza just the way the other mare liked it – Sunny had been through this routine enough times to have Curio’s topping preferences memorized. Curio opened the lid of the box and took a deep breath, inhaling the intoxicating aroma of a carrot, onion, and sweet pepper pizza. She grabbed a slice and motioned for Sunny to follow her into the back room. The dark and dusty room functioned as Curio’s makeshift office, and contained the treasures the mare had yet to price and put out on the shelves. She pointed to a trunk and left to grab another slice of pizza. There was no slow buildup of anticipation, as Sunny flipped the lid of the trunk open as quickly as possible. She wasn’t known for her restraint… or her patience. She gasped as she saw what was inside. The first thing to catch her attention was a Twilight Sparkle doll. She pulled it out of the chest, but was dismayed to find the unicorn’s horn had been broken off at some point. She set it on the ground, in the hope of finding the missing piece at the bottom of the trunk. There were quite a few books, timeworn and hardly library quality, but they were titles she wasn’t familiar with. She was thankful the language hadn’t changed over the years; while the words were antiquated and many had fallen out of daily use, she could still read them. Many were journals, and she quickly opened one to see who the owner had been. Somepony named ‘Smolder’ who’d been a student at the School of Friendship. Her jaw dropped. “How much?” Curio chuckled. “Filly, you haven’t even gone through the entire chest yet.” “I’ve seen enough to know I want all of it.” “I figured you might. One hundred for the whole chest. The toy’s broken, but I’m sure you can scratch build a horn. If not, it’ll serve as a placeholder until I can find you an intact one.” She reached into the chest and pulled out a pin. “Another for your collection – matches the toy.” “Twilight Sparkle.” Sunny quickly added the pin to her sash. “Three down, three to go.” “And the pièce de résistance.” Curio pulled out a shiny golden coin from the chest. “An authentic Equestrian bit. Solid gold.” Sunny oohed in appreciation. “Where did you find all this?” “A cave outside town. There was an edger there. A dragon. She hadn’t been seen in quite some time so I ventured into her territory. The rest of her hoard is mine – she had a lot of bits, so I don’t mind giving you one of them.” In its heyday, Equestria had had the ability to turn other metals and minerals into gold. They’d used it as currency. Sadly, that magic hadn’t survived to the current day, and even if it had, it would’ve done the Earth Ponies no good without horns of their own. As such, bits were one of the few things from the Equestrian era that were still worth money. “Just be careful you don’t end up an edger. There are… rumors going around about you. You say things that make others uncomfortable. We don’t associate with the other tribes. Period.” Sunny quirked an eyebrow. “You don’t partake in any gray marketing?” “Of course not. And if I did, I wouldn’t announce it to the world. You’d be wise to do the same, lest you end up exiled from town. You wouldn't make it a month as an edger.” Sunny gulped. She’d explored the surrounding landscape near the town. There were ruins from the Equestrian era, a town that her maps indicated as Baltimare, but it was inhospitable and grown over. Perhaps a thousand years ago, they’d had the magic to clear the ruins and bring them back to their former glory. She didn’t. She was already an outcast, she didn’t want to end up living on the fringes of society; the edge. As much as she loved the previous era, she didn’t want to live in its remnants. No, her dream was to bring back those glory days to today’s society. It seemed an unlikely scenario, but she’d never stop trying. “Have you ever met a Unicorn or Pegasus?” Curio looked around the closed shop, making sure nopony had stayed around after she’d shut down for lunch. “Aye, I have. It’s not something I talk about, nor would I admit this to anypony but you.” “What… what are they like?” “They’re ponies. Like you or me. Except they’ve got horns or wings.” “Then why are we scared of them?” Curio scoffed. “Earth Ponies aren’t scared of anything, let alone a bunch of prissy Unicorns or flighty Pegasuses.” “Pegasi.” “Whatever. Pegasuses and Unicorns can all rot in Tartarus.” “You can’t possibly believe that.” “Perhaps I do, perhaps I don’t. But that’s the official line. That is what our tribe demands us to say. I’ve no intention of ending up an edger. I’d hate to lose one of my best customers to such a fate. You’re at a crossroads, Sunny. Conform to society’s expectations, make friends with your fellow Earth Ponies, and live a happy, fulfilling life. Or continue your path to ruin; insisting on befriending featherbrains and hornheads. It’s a path that can lead only to madness at best, or oblivion at worst. You have the tools at your disposal.” Curio motioned to the books. “Choose wisely, young Starscout.” “I will. I promise.” Sunny pranced out of the thrift store, head held high and satchel overflowing. She would choose wisely… after she had read what Smolder had to say on the subject. Anything a former friendship student had to say was worth more than a pile of Equestrian bits.