//------------------------------// // Spending Fortunes. // Story: Lovely Life // by BioQuillFiction //------------------------------// Panic did not do my situation justice. I was promptly losing my mind.  Wings?!?! I have wings?!?!?! I!!! Have!!! Wings?!?!?!?!?! “Bu…wha…howza….” I was trying to form coherent words as I saw my wing’s flutter and kept losing more of my collective shit. “How?” I asked weakly. "I knew Junimo magic was powerful… but this is a surprise even to me…" Guff said as he held me still with one hand. “I…I have wings…” I muttered. “How…that…that should be impossible right?” "Well, your page said something about a Core, then your Junimo threw a crystal and feather onto it and, poof, Pegasus Lovely…" Guff said. “I know that but…” I shook my head. “There’s no way this should be possible…you can’t just…give a random pony Pegasus magic…” "Well, apparently they can." Guff commented. “This…is way too much…” I muttered. “What’s next? I can gain a unicorn horn and become an alicorn or something?” At that, my Junimo simply pushed the book over to my hoof… I quickly scoured this whole, Cores page. Earth Pony, Pegasi, Unicorn,. Changeling?! Centaur?!?! Draconicus?!?!?!? Dragon, Griffon, every species under Celestia's sun is here! Even Alicorn, but that seems to require five Alicorn Feathers and then Harmony Crystals… I rubbed my temples… with the right offerings, I get the power to change race and species at will… “So uh…” I muttered. “I’m apparently allowed to be…any race I want from what my Jumino is trying to tell me…” "That's… actually really incredible." Guff said with a smirk. “It’s…I mean, yes, it really is incredible but…how in the world am I going to be able to do…all of this?” I asked nervously. "Hmm…" Guff hummed, looking me over then picking up the book. "Well, you only have Earth Pony, which you were born with, and Pegasi unlocked, maybe they're situational or optional?" We both looked at my little heart shaped Junimo… who just kinda floated/bounced in place in response. “Uh…you maybe right?” I said nervously. I tapped on the Earth Pony core and in another poof, I was back to normal. I sighed out happily at that. "Well, it's still a long ways til we get back to the Valley. You going to mess with the book and see what else powers it has or that painting you purchased?" “Yes, yes I am.” I nodded. “Cause there is…a lot here that I never thought would be real…” "We live in a very strange world, Miss Days. Not even my siblings and I have discovered all it's mysteries." “And considering you’ve all had…a very long life, I’m shocked to hear that.” The remaining of the trip, when I wasn't reading the many books The Book copied I was messing with the magic Core swap thing. First thing I learned about wings, they are way more sensitive than I expected. A plucked feather is like amplifying a plucked eyelash to ten. The bones are surprisingly thin, it's actually mostly muscle on them. And lastly, clouds are stupid fluffy. Like silk and cotton had a baby and I am so wishing I could sleep on them as an earth pony! “You’re lucky you can sleep on clouds.” I said to my griffon companion. "Eh, it's nice but they absorb humidity and water vapor quick so after a while they do tend to get damp and soggy." Guff Informed. “Hmm, that sucks.” I said. “But while it lasts…god are Clouds so fluffy and wonderful.” "I think I remember some Pegasus cities make cloud furniture and construction supplies given how they can rework their magic to effect it. Plus some unicorn aid but you'd probably have to see for yourself." “Yeah, I think I heard of those.” I nodded. “But…yeah, clouds feel awesome.” As I read through the books I was wondering if it could be possible… I checked the unicorn one. Just a harmony crystal and a hair. Hm, well the crystals I got lots of, but a unicorn hair? Can't ask somepony for it, that's a bit weird… maybe I'll get lucky and find one? Griffin Core… Griffin Feather and Harmony Crystal… “Hey, can I borrow a feather?” I asked curiously. "Sure." He said, plucking one of his smaller wing feathers. It was as big as my primary feathers when I was a Pegasus. I put them on the book and the new core began to glow. I tapped it and poof. The first thing I noticed was my eyesight. It was sharper, more widened than I had before and things just seemed to have more details. My sense of smell was also more detailed. Now I can smell more… distinct scents. My hearing was just as good as my pony hearing, despite not having the ear folds. I looked my hooves- hands. Talons? Moving them was… weird. Like I had four mini legs at the end of my arms. “Well…” I started. “This feels…different.” I said, clenching my fists lightly. "I would imagine. Also, you look adorable miss Days." Guff said. I looked over at a window to see my reflection… woah. My colors were similar to my pony self. I had a brown patch of feathers on my head, my neck the same cream color as my coat. My body though was a kind of light pink that, towards my talons it turned cream colored again.  My eyes, while smaller, still held the familiar hearts I've known all my life. “I do look adorable.” I said with a smile. Guff gave me some lessons on walking, as that was different with my new hind legs, and using my new fingers. Man… writing with these is SO much better than holding a quill or pen or pencil in my mouth. Plus, I got built in scissors! "This feels so much easier than me as a pony." I said happily, lightly doodling on a piece of paper with my new hands. "Best not to let anyone see you can do this." Guff said plainly. "To have the ability to so fundamentally change your magical core and species so freely will attract attention if it gets out and most will be greedy for such potential." "True…" I said, turning back into my earth pony form. "Don't want to make my life any harder because of this really cool stuff." “Hopefully, with luck, there won’t be much need for you to utilize this newfound gift.” “Hopefully.” I sighed out. “But it will make something’s easier if I do have to utilize it.” Once we got back home I was going to start work on the farm. Guff went back to the farm and I was going to look for the local carpenter or construction ponies. I eventually found them, living just at the foot of a nearby forest hills. Their workplace was also their home, a large two-story log house well crafted and all seemed hoof-made. “Hello?” I called out as I knocked on their front door, considering this was also their house I didn’t want to be rude. “Come in!” A mare’s voice called. Opening the door revealed to me a little shoproom. Some hoof made tables and dressers, shelves and other furnisher items sat in a display. In the back right corner was a tall desk where a unicorn mare, a light orange-yellow coat and wavy orange-red mane. “Welcome, you must be Lovely Days.” She addressed me. “Yes I am.” I nodded. “Name must be spreading fast here, but who are you miss?” “My name is Wood Ax, pleased to finally meet you. I was wondering when you’d come my way. Figured with the old house you own now you might want it modernized.” “Yeah, that is the plan.” I nodded in agreement. “Gonna need a lot of help getting it renovated for the thing’s I have in mind.” “Oh, any ideas in mind?” “Gonna need some barn’s and coops for all the stuff I’m going to be working on.” I started. “Ah. I see. Any specific number or nothing quite settled on it?” “Hmm…well I’m gonna be making a lot of refind food so…probably a big barn, and a few smaller barn’s and coops to hold all the animals…” I said, trying to think of the size’s I’ll need and how many animals I’m going to need. “I see. In terms of barns and coops we have several, but you need to buy a basic barn first then I can upgrade them to a better kind of barn or coop. In terms of your house, that will take some work to upgrade. First I’ll need to get the water and electric hooked up to it, from there I can build and make the modifications necessary for expanding, adding rooms and all that.” “Sounds good to me.” I nodded. “The good news is that since the farm next to you has their own power junction box I can start from there and work it to the main grid. The bad news is that the water will take a while. Hopper’s family farm has had all their water come from an underground well since the town was built and I’ll need to see if it extends to your property or not.” Well, considering those two ponds on the property, the one rather long one too, It might. “Alright.” I nodded. “Take all the time you need to look through thing’s, I have all the money you’ll need.” “I’ll also need the supplies, it’s cheaper if you can supply the resources for construction. Without, I’ll be charging for labor and resources.” “Fair enough.” I nodded. “I’ll have to look to see if I have all the materials…” “Alright, just head on back here and let me know what I can do. Oh, and if you want I do sell some fancy quick assembly houses. Pre-manufactured houses my uncle makes for expanding towns and such. They’re really cheap but also useful.” “I will be needing those…probably at least three, one for my grandparents, one for a friend, and another for…guests.” "Ah, I see. Well I can give you a catalog of what I have now and you can decide on which you want to set up and where later." She said, handing me a fair sized booklet of the optional pre-built houses. "Each one comes with a bed, stove, and fridge. They won't be anything fancy but they'll work at least, as well as a small bathroom and kitchen. Depending on which model you get." “Fair enough.” I nodded, taking the booklet and going to have to look through yet another important thing. “Gonna be a whole lot more work than I thought…but I have the money for it.” "Well, feel free to spend as many bits as ya need at my shop. Celestia knows we can use the money." I pulled out one of my bags. “So how much would it cost with what I’ve asked so far?” "Easy there city filly. I'm not asking for it all up front. I can only do one thing at a time. First let's head on off to the property so I can see what the work will cost ya." “Alright alright.” I said, putting away my money bag. And so we began walking. "So, how was the old place? I remember the old owner Melody Star a bit from my foalhood. Was a sweet and nice mare." “I’ve heard she was a nice mare.” I nodded. “But the old place? Well…it homes, even if I have to redecorate it or just…well, add furniture to the place.” "Yeah, especially once the place gets expanded. Any thoughts on that by the way?" “Not at the moment, but I have a feeling my grandparents might have an idea.” I shrugged. "Ah. Well, that's fair. Heh, I remember my grandpa telling me how he and my dad built that house way back when." “I can imagine.” I shrugged. "Yeah. So, where are ya from?" “Baltimare.” I answered simply. "Wow, I figured you more for a Manehattan filly what with those sunglasses." “Nah, these are…special.” I said, lightly pushing them up. "If you say so. So, how is the old farm anyway? Heard it was more or less overtaken by nature again." “With a bit of hard work and determination, it’s looking fantastic.” "Well that's good. Hope ya don't get visited by one of the vally's dark mysteries." "Too late for that." I chuckled. "But mind if I ask what some of these 'dark mysteries' are?" "Heh, sure. They're a town legend. Anyone who's ever farmed here since it opened has had family or friends who swear they saw one of these things. First is the dark Chicken Witch. She flies over farms with chickens and casts a spell on one of the eggs and the egg grows into what's known as a Void Chicken. Now they're harmless, but the eggs and mayo ya make from them are absolutely horrible. Heard once potion brewers value them though. "Next is the Harvest Fairy. Some folks swear in the dead of night some little ball of glowing light floats over their freshly planted crops. Next morning they're matured and fruit bearing. Then there's the chunks of the night sky that supposedly fall from the sky but it's probably just a meteorite. There's also the Shadow Pony who's said to sneak into farms and steal produce or shiny things. "Lastly, as far as I can recall, is the Changeling from Space. Back when I was a filly they said one of the early farmers here was met by a changeling in a huge flying machine that fell from the stars themselves. Some creatures swear every so often at night they see his flying machine in the night sky." "Huh…" I started. "Didn't know…any of those." "They're local stories. Wouldn't expect ya to unless told." "Yeah…sounds very interesting." I said, knowing I'm going to threaten a certain shadow thief to fuck off or I take their kneecaps. I mentally paused at that thought… woah… my parents are showing… well, internally anyway. We arrived at my farm and she looked over the ponds, their depths and the house itself. "Hmm, well the good news is that it looks like these ponds connect to an underground river connected to the nearby well. So water install will be easy, as well as the electricity. Now, regarding heating I was wondering if you were gonna go with Electric, Mana, or Gas based?" "Hmm, which would you recommend?" I inquired, not sure what kind of heating we used back home. "Personally I'd go with Gas or Mana based. With the Gas based I can install a propane tank of your size preference next to the house and when it gets low, which they all have gauges for you to tell when, you can call the number on it and have it refilled. Will cost some bits to refill it but they last a long time before needing a refill. Mana based will work faster to heat up to desired temperatures but you either need to recharge the main mana storage box with a fairly powerful unicorn or some lightning rods hooked up to a converter to it. And hope the local weather team has a storm scheduled. Which they usually do for one or two days out of the month." I hummed a bit, but thought about how I could turn into a unicorn with my book. "I'll go with the mana one." "Alright then. So for hooking up the house to the grid, wires, fuse box, meter, drilling to the underground water plus installation of the pump and filter system, and installing the mana based heating will total 1,788 bits." I grabbed my money bag, pulled out a satchel that can fit all of it, and then dumped the amount of bits needed into it. "... I was gonna suggest a payment plan but that works too…" Wood Ax said with a wide eyed look as her horn struggled to lift the large bag. "I'll get started with the power hookups tomorrow morning." "Pleasure doing business with you." I said with a warm smile. Once she left I headed inside the house- what the? Grandma and Grandpa were asleep on a sofa bed while Hayfield was at the table making calls in a disposable phone. I'd seen enough to recognize them Immediately. “Hey." I said to Hayfield. "How's are things going." "Pretty good." She informed. "I've been calling major group leaders your parents delighted tasks to and seeing how their groups have been holding up." “How are they holding up?” I inquired. "Well, Iron Jaw and his group which dealt in… body guarding the manor and your family are all arrested and all won't be seeing freedom for many years. Silver Bit and his groups were in charge of selling merchandise. Upon hearing that you are more or less in charge and your grandparents are helping you he arranged to visit you within a month. The largest group, run by Gala took care of sick, orphans and such and are thankful running smoothly all things considered. Smoke Bomb and his like did… less than legal jobs and some have been arrested but majority are in hiding. Lastly, Shark and his group have been dealing with rival gangs trying to take over locations of business and such that paid your family for protection and insurance." “Good to know.” I nodded. “Glad things are still…kinda running smoothly.” "Basically. All save Iron Jaw will be meeting with you sooner or later to discuss any continued or changes of operations." “Cool.” I nodded. “Gonna need all the help we can get to stop that damned snake.” I frowned. "Agreed." She nodded, the disposable phone suddenly bursting into flames and ash. "So, how was the trip to the Crystal Empire?" “It was…enlightening.” I said. “Like…learning a lot of things you’d never believe…” "Knowing what you're planning on doing, this town so far and the Junimos I'd believe it. But did you get the crystals you needed?" "Yes I did." I nodded, bringing out the gems to show Hayfield. "That's perfect. Now you can complete your tree." Oh right! With all the new Book abilities and such I almost forgot! But, before I go do that… "Hey uh…I know this might sound weird, but can I borrow some of your hair?" I asked sheepishly. "Well, how much do you need?" "Just a few strands, not too much." I said. "I know it sounds weird…but it's for something important that I just learned on the train ride home." "Well, if you insist. I'll probably learn why later on anyway." Hayfield said with a smile, using her magic to pluck out a few threads of her mane before floating them over to me. I thanked her and rapidly headed to the tree. Once inside I first unlocked the Unicorn Core.  Poof. I didn't feel that different, but feeling my forehead, I now had a proper unicorn horn on my head. Touching it felt… odd, almost like it was… more of my forehead, but it was also sensitive, like porcelain, it was sturdy but also fragile. Huh.  "Alright, good to know." I said with a smile. "Now, onto fixing the tree." I placed all the crystals it needed plus the other items onto the slab. Once it absorbed them all I covered my eyes as the burned bark of the tree began to glow. When it ended and I opened them I was shocked. The bark had changed into a crystal like appearance, but still had the texture and even feel of tree bark. Walking outside the tree, it looked like how some books portrayed the Tree of Harmony, minus elements and such and instead has various crystal leaves. Woah… “This…this is incredible…” I muttered in awe. As I walked back inside I saw the last gift. Opening it, it was a pack of seeds. Ten packs exactly, each labeled simply as 'Ancient Seeds.' Huh… must be ancient… “Yes brain, way to go with that sudden light bulb.” I chuckled to myself, though considering I had a ‘mom and dad’ thought earlier, I’d give myself a pass. “Alright, gonna have to ask Guff about what these seeds are…cause it probably be best not to plant one and suddenly an Ent decides to show up…” With that done I decided to head home, ate a quick meal then went to bed. The next morning I woke up to the distant sound of digging. Going outside I spotted Wood Ax working on the electric line. I walked into the morning sun with a yawn and was greeted by Guff. "Good morning Miss Days." He greeted. “Morning.” I nodded. “How goes the digging?” "Wood Ax started about an hour ago. With luck she'll have the main line here in a few hours then the junction box installed. Aside from that I noticed the Junimos were busy last night." “Well, I did help fix the tree yesterday.” I said honestly. “But what were they doing last night if I may ask?” "See that greenhouse?" He motioned to the old Greenhouse. When I first saw it when he cleared the trees and such away it was broken and falling apart… now it's brand new. Like it was just built. Looked bigger than the ruins I saw even. “Wow…they sure went to work.” I said in surprise. "I'll say. It's twice as big as it was when they built it for Melody and had a cellar." “Awesome.” I said with a smile. “That’ll help…also, I need you to look over some of the seed packets they gave me…cause all they said was ‘ancient seeds’ and wasn’t sure if they were just normal plants that are just really old or…I might accidentally grow actual sentient plant creatures.” "Hm, well Ancient Seeds can refer to any kind of extinct plant. I've seen many vanish in my lifetime." "Cool." I said while pulling out the many seed packets. "Know any of these just by the seed?" Guff looked the seeds over. "Hmmm, ah, I do actually. Back then my siblings and I called them Blue Fruits. Not very clever but it was a name." He shrugged. "These went extinct Melania ago. Shame too, their fruits were like a natural Strawberry, Banana, kiwi mixed drink. Firm yet juicy and made the best wine." "Sounds amazing." I said with a smile. "Well, hopefully it's not too late to get these seeded and ready to grow." "Best to plant them in the green house." Guff added. "They were killed off as the planets climate changed. The Greenhouse can keep them warm and alive all year round, and once they mature will grow their fruits all year round too." "Awesome. That'll rack in some serious bits when they start growing." I said with a smile. "Though uh…this might cause some concern if I ship it to other places…" "Don't worry. I can get my sisters to help with some legal paperwork in order. Plus it will be nice to talk to them again after so long." "Yeah, I'm sure they'd like to hear from you again." I nodded. "Though…it'll get complicated if they learn of my…special predicament…" "You forget they are retired right?" "They're still beings older than Equestria that would get furious about monsters even older than them trying to ruin it." I brought up. "Maybe, but it's barely been that long since they retired. I'll send them the letter. Knowing Lulu she will be very happy to hear that the Blue Fruits won't be extinct anymore." With that we headed Into the greenhouse. It was incredibly warm and humid in here. In the back was a large almost natural looking mini waterfall that poured into a stone pond. To my right there was another section made to house trees I think given it was taller and seemed to lead to that celler. "Well, this places looks incredible." I said in awe at how beautiful this place looked. "Though… Celestia's teets is it humid in here…" "I'll never get over hearing ponies use her name in sentences like that." Guff said, making me blush now that I know he and Celestia are basically siblings, immortal, ECT… “S-sorry…” I said nervously. “Gonna probably need to change that…” "It's alright. It's more funny than anything. But the humid temperature helps the plants grow year round. Keeps leaves and stems from drying out." With that I planted the seeds, watered them and now… we wait. “How long do these plant’s normally take to grow?” I inquired. "If I remember… a month or so to mature." “Fair enough.” I nodded. The next few days passed by uneventfully. Wood Axe finished with the Electric, water and mana heating and now I was going through some of the pre-built houses. Hmm… well, one for grandma and grandpa, and one for Hayfield and Guff. Guff and Hayfield may want something small and something a bit bigger for grandma and grandpa… “Alright…gonna need two small house and a bigger house for two…” I said, thinking about where the hell am I going to be putting these things. There is a lot of space on the property but I still need my coops, barns and work places. Hmmm….. maybe… ugh, I need more space… wait a minute, I'm loaded! I can see about buying property! Preferably something next to or near here. “Alright, time to go see if I can get more land.” I said with a smile. “Thank you mom, dad, and the metric ass ton of money.” Now, town hall, town hall… damn, okay maybe I should ask Hopper where it is. I headed off to his farm and began looking around. Hm, where is he…? “Hopper? You around here?” I called out carefully.. As I was looking around I eventually finally made it to the house. Hm, where is he? Maybe he's already in town? I gave one last call just to be sure he wasn't in the house. As no reply came to my ears I headed into town. As I was walking I spotted Flurs using her magic to pull and cut apart some foliage. Huh. I didn't think she left that tower? "Hey Flurs." I said to the unicorn. She looked over at me. "Oh, hey. What brings you here?" She asked, still pulling plants apart from the tree lining. "Well, I was trying to find Hopper to learn where Town Hall is, then I left and found you here." I said. "What are you doing all the way out here?" "The old coot asked me to find some old building he hung out at when he was less old." She said, her magic cutting through a final layer of vines and branches, revealing an old dirt pathway. "Said he left something there and wanted me to get it back. Oh and you missed Hopper. He and his dads were taking some produce to the general store." “Yeah, that sounds right.” I sighed. “But what’s the old place your looking for? Cause I’ve been..stumbling upon a lot of old places.” "Dunno. Just said he and some old friends used to meet here back when the town was young." She said as she lead the walk down the old pathway. "Personally I think he is just trying to get me out of the tower more." “I mean…I’m surprised you’re even out of the tower to begin with.” I said. “You seemed pretty adamant to stay inside.” "I don't like being in public much. Or crowds. Social events. Parties… socializing." “Fair.” I shrugged. “I mean…I had overprotective parents, so I can kinda relate to not being in public much.” "Well at least your parents didn't force you into them. Mine spent more time making sure I knew how to fit into high society nobility that they didn't bother asking or wondering if I wanted to." She grumbled bitterly. “Oh sweet Luna don’t even get me started on half of that…” I groaned. “Yes, my mom did try to teach me to be ‘upper class’,” I said with a pretty good posh ‘high society’ voice. “But then as I grew older…well I reminded her that we live in Baltimare, nobody cares.” "Ha!" Flurs laughed. "Oh I wish I had that excuse… so, you were… born to nobility or… rich family?" “Extremely rich.” I said honestly. "Ah. I'm from… high ranked nobility. Grew up my whole foalhood in the Crystal Empire and only ever really got to travel to Canterlot or Ponyville. I was raised on the stories of the adventures my family had before and even after I was born and… I was stuck learning to be a politician…" “Oof, that’s gotta suck.” I said in sympathy. “Only reason why I wasn’t more…into all that nonsense was because of my eyes and well…a lot of other reasons.” "Yeah well when your parents are well known and you want to make them proud but also don't want to be part of the family business… can lead to hardships…" “Preach sister…” I sighed. Flurs looked.over at me from her hooded cloak, and gave me a small smile. "Heh, we have more in common than I expected." “Only differences being I want physical interaction while you massively don’t.” I joked with my own smile. “Which…considering you were forced into politics, I can see why.” "Definitely. But I wouldn't mind an adventure like something my parents or aunt had." She added. We soon found a messy clearing where an old, long abandoned shack sat under a large tree that seemed to partly merge with the building. It was clearly part of it but time and nature made the shack look far worse off than the tree. "This must be the place." “Sheesh, has nobody been here since the old man was out and about?” "Probably." She shrugged. Flurs used her magic to pull open the door… which promptly fell off the rusty hinges and shattered into many pieces on the dirt ground. "Wow, time has not been kind to this place." Flurs stated, using her horn to cast a light spell inside so we could see. Inside was bad. Old chairs and tables, a large counter for most likely business. Decayed booze racks, and from the tree side was now an oversized hole where an old door now hung too small for the opening that grew with the tree. The tree itself lead downstairs to a basement it seemed. I frowned. “This is…rather sad all things considered.” "Well, it happened. Time passes, towns grow, and the old things get replaced and or forgotten." She said as she walked around the space. "Mom talk alot about how when the Empire first came back from banishment the modernizing was like watching the passage of time accelerated. Years of progress in a few months of time." "That sounds about right." I nodded. "I mean…I had to go back for me, going from an extremely rich family in Baltimare to a farm mare? How things change." "Yeah, it's an adjustment but frankly I like this change… so, how did you… leave it off with your parents?" "Oh I packed my shit, took whatever amount of money I could carry, and bailed." I said honestly. "Tried to do it as stealthily as I could…but…what happened after that…I wish I could have at least given them a hug goodbye…" "Hm… I guess you're lucky then. My parents and I got into a huge argument about responsibility and duty over desires and… well, things were said, some… magic was accidentally cast…" I winced at that. "I'm sorry to hear that." "I haven't spoken to them since… not long after my aunt brought me to stay with the geezer and, well, two years later here I am. I've mostly moved on, but sometimes I get some news, a letter from my aunts or something in the papers or radio. Other than that, I don't talk to them." "I understand." I nodded. “It sucks…but at least you could still probably work it out with your parents…I might never see them ever again…” "I don't have any plans to work out anything with them." Flurs stated as she began walking down to the tree stairway. "Two years and not a word from them. They know where I am. Yeah, I could reach out to them, but so can they. I want them to be the ones to reach out first, they got to chase their dreams and their adventures… but not me?" “Communication, and forgiveness, is a two way street.” I said simply. “You can wait for them to finally respond to you, probably waiting forever as they believe you still hate them for that argument, or you could be the first to reach out and try and at least say ‘hi’.” I explained. “Trust me…communication is rough, especially when you leave after a bad argument, it could either your parents dropped everything and left you to your own devices, or they’re scared that they’ll start another argument.” I said, lightly lowering my glasses just to see if Flurs still loved her family. The colors were… a mess. There was guilt, but also anger, spite, love was there but it was so wrapped up by the others it was- My glasses were suddenly lifted back onto my eyes and pressed in. "Nice try." Flurs said with a smirk her horn lit up. "But I don't need a therapist… I just need a friend I can vent to." “I mean…that’s just therapy with extra steps.” I pointed out. “Seriously, you are so wrapped up with guilt, anger and spite that you’re love is being more so caged by it all.” "Correction! It's venting my shit while dragging you along to… apparently the next Junimo Spot…" Walking up next to Flurs I spotted the cause of her sentence. There, on a small table here in this badly lit basement… was another gold slab. “So you’ve just taken ‘extra steps’ literally.” I joked as I walked over to the gold slab. "Oh hush…" She huffed, following me. "Well, don't see what the geezer left and I doubt it's this." She motioned to the slab. Looking at it, I counted nine flowers. One at the center of the tree trunk. One at the center top. Three surrounding that one and the last four on the outer branches around those. “Hmm, well it’s still something important.” I said. “So let’s see what I need to help bring this place back to tip top shape…” I said, though I did bring out my book to double check what this meant. Apparently this place is the old Adventure Guild building, according to the slab and the first thing, the flower at the bottom, asks is offerings to help clean the trail and clearing. I need various flowers. Some stone, wood and… mushrooms? “Hmm, do you have any mushrooms on you?” I inquired. “No, I left them in my other cloak…” Flurs said with flat sarcasm. I rolled my eyes. "Well, I know how to fix this place up with Jumino's help. I need flowers, wood, stone and mushrooms." “Well, wood and stone you should have plenty of given the cleaning Guff did. Flowers grow wild around here all the time in spring and summer. Mushrooms though… Might be harder.” "How so? Don't naturally grow here or something?" I inquired. "Oddly not easily. You can grow some mushrooms in caves but because of the nearby sea, the salty air doesn't give wild mushrooms the best environment in the forests. You could take a train to some swamplands, but aside from that finding wild mushrooms here in the valley will be difficult." "Right." I nodded, thinking of I should head down to the swamplands nearby to get some mushrooms. "Add that to the list…" Well, with this place checked Flurs and I headed off. "So I take it you don't know the town all that much yet huh?" "Nope." I shook my head. "I don't know if I even visited half the town yet." "I figured as much, but I was referring to the other half of the town." “Eh.” I shrugged nervously. “Still trying to get my bearings with everything, cause there’s always more to find here.” "Oh you don't even know the half of it." She chuckled to herself.  “Yes yes I know.” I sighed out. “That’s why I’m trying to figure out this place, like right now I want to find Town Hall…but don’t know where it is.” "Oh, well I can take you there." “Thank you.” I nodded. “Cause I’m gonna need to buy more land for what I’m planning on doing.” Flurs showed me where Town Hall was fairly quickly. It was an oddly unimpressive building, looking more like a basic office building rather than some grand town hall. She left to do her own stuff while I headed inside. The inside was also fairly plain. A waiting room with some magazines, a receptionist desk and some toys for foals in a corner. I walked over to the receptionist desk. “Hello?” I asked, not seeing a bell immediately to ring to call myself out. After a few moments a mare in a small bowtie came out from a nearby door. She had a violet coat and white mane with emerald eyes. Her cutie mark was a pile of books. "Oh, hello. How may I help you?" She asked. “Yes, I’d like to buy more land for my farm if possible.” I said readily. "I see. Well, typically the Mayor would give you a list of available properties and such to purchase but they're on vacation. Luckily I can do the paperwork. Now, this land is for agricultural use? Residential? Business or something else?" “Hmm…well, honestly, with what I have in mind, it’s gonna need to be for all of those.” I said sheepishly. “Cause…well, grandparents moved in, got to do more with the farm, and a whole load of other things.” "I see, and what is the address?" “That would be Pelican Farm.” I said. "Ah, so you're Miss Days. I just received the new ownership papers Bricks gave me. I was going to mail this to you but this makes things easier." She informed, reaching under her desk and giving me a large yellow documents envelope. Opening it, I saw it was the deed to the farm. My name in bold print as the owner of the property, a map view of it with measurements of the property, and all it seems to house upon it. Mainly the old house, the cave, the two ponds and Melody Star's shrine. “Well, didn’t think all this was also apart of the farm…” I hummed. "Yes, well when the property was established back in the towns founding the mayor at the time wanted to ensure ponies knew what they were buying. Now, as for other properties there are many. Are you looking for empty lots of something with something built or in the process of being built? We also have various older properties that have been abandoned or foreclosed on." “Yes.” I answered. “Cause I’m going to be…doing a lot of work, and might be calling in some help from my parent’s business.” I said, which wasn’t technically a lie but thinking I’d have to at least preface some of what’s going to happen with that. "I see. Will this include the residential and business properties within the town?" She asked. “Yes.” I nodded. “I’m not sure when it’ll fully come into play, but I’m just trying to cover my bases for when it does happen.” "I see… miss Days, am I to assume you intend to purchase every available property in town?" "Yes." I nodded. "And don't worry, I have the money." "I see. So you're looking to become a Baroness?" She asked me simply.  Baroness? That's a lesser noble if I remember… easiest to become since it mainly requires ownership of a lot of land and collection of income through the rent or taxes of the residents on the land. "I mean…that wasn't my first thought but I suppose." I shrugged. "I see. Well, for that you would need to submit a payment of the town's total value and the application. From there it will head to Canterlot for approval." "Fair enough." I nodded. "And how much would it cost all together" "Seven million bits." Huh. From my secret accounts I can cover that easy and still have a crap ton of bits leftover. "Well…I do have the money.” I hummed. “Just…trying to think of how to get all of it here or if you take checks…” "Checks are best, yes. They get processed in Canterlot at the Nobility applicants and Heritage department." She said. "It will take about a week to receive the paperwork back." I really hope that Guff will put in a good word for me. “Alright, that should be good.” I nodded, pulling out a check book I got from all the stuff my parents gave me and a pen I had cause you never know when you need a pen, and started to write down all the proper information. Once that was all done and I signed all the paperwork was finished, checks ready I left with a receipt. Now what? I was walking through some house- Sweet Cadence's libido!! I was passing by one house when, through my sunglasses, I spotted the biggest, most pungent aura of lust I think can exist… “Holy damn what the world is going on here?” I asked in shock. The house itself seemed rather average. Brick walls, windows with hanging flower stands on them, the flowers in them were growing well. The roof was hay, and seemed to be well kept. The aura of lust covered the whole house, wall to wall and to the roof and some of the air above it. I didn't think anyone could- "Hey Lovely." I nearly jumped when Hopper flew down next to me. "Sorry for startling ya." "Hey Hopper." I said. "So uh…what's up with this house?" I asked carefully. "That? It's the, uh, Silly Filly." He said, getting a small blush. "The, uh… town's brothel house…" There's a brothel house in this town?! "One thing I…didn't expect was there to be a brothel house here." I said in honest shock, which to be honest would definitely explain the extreme amount of lust radiating off of it. "Yeah. It's considered a historic town landmark. Family that runs it is as old as the town and house itself. Think only three sisters run it now? They run and work from what some folks tell me." “Right…” I said, still looking at the brothel and just how irradiated with lust it is. “Well…surprised I don’t smell anything coming from that place all thing’s considered.” "Oh they keep it clean. Mayor tried to shut it down some years back cause supposedly it was a health and safety violation but turns out the place was more sterile than a hospital. The Silly Filly and the Mayor have been at each other since the sisters inherited it. Or so dad tells me." “Makes sense.” I nodded. “Though if it makes people happy with ‘stress relief’, I don’t see the problem.” I shrugged. "Yeah. They're most of the reason tourists come here, as much as the mayor dislikes the place he can't argue it doesn't bring in tourists and bits." Hmm… I'll have to ask Hayfield but I think mom and dad had a few salons and 'hotels' that had illegal brothels. Maybe if I talk to the sisters after checking with Hayfield, if they want they can move and work here? Wow… Already looking to make business with this place… huh. “Jeez…everything’s changing so very fast…” I muttered, shaking my head ruefully at the fact that…I’ll never see my parent’s again or hear how proud they are of me. "That's life. Always changing, always going forward." Hopper said with a shrug. "So, where are you off to?" “Back home to check on something’s, and also…getting ready to call in a lot of help cause I basically…bought half the town.” I said sheepishly. "Ya did what now?"