Lovely Life

by BioQuillFiction

Welcome to Stardrop Town

The train hissed as it came to a stop. I got off the second the doors opened, fixing my sunglasses so they covered my eyes properly. It wasn't a sunny day, rather cloudy actually. This town was called Stardrop, a fairly small town founded just forty years ago but has expended well enough. It was the perfect place for me to vanish Into for one reason. According to reviews by tourist, the residents are all fucking loony. I'm quoting the reviews mind you.

“Let’s hope they're friendly loons…” I muttered to myself.

A lot of people here compare this place to Ponyville. Only, rather than random events happening weekly the people here keep it pretty lively daily. Nobody back home would think to look for me here.

I had about two grand in my saddle bags cash. First up should be getting someplace temporary to live, then immediately work on getting a job.

“Alright...now where to find an inn…” I muttered, trotting along the well used path through town.

As I looked around I noticed how… unique the town looked. It was like something between rustic and modern with houses fashioned in the traditional way but made with modern materials. Eventually I found what looked like a hotel and walked inside. It looked fairly plain inside, basic front desk area and an elderly stallion at the desk. He was an earth pony, wearing a bowtie and large glasses. "Hello there miss, what brings you to the Stardrops Inn?"

“Looking for a room to stay.” I said politely. “How much for a room?”

"Welp, that depends on the length of your stay. How long are you planning on visiting?"

“How long is a thousand bits?” I asked curiously.

"Hm? You visiting or moving missy? Cause a grand can get ya six months."

“Well…” I trailed off, thinking about how I ran from home. “Yeah, I’m moving in.”

"Hmm… hehe, in that case there's someplace else ya might wanna head up to. The nearby farmers been needing some help. Ya get a small spot fer yourself and a little bit of the land ta grow your own produce if ya want."

“Really? Just...get hired and get a small plot of land?” I asked in honest shock.

"Heh, well there's a catch but it's best if the farmers tell ya that. Still interested?"

“Well...better to have a place to live and have a job so yeah.” I shrugged, not thinking anything might be bad even with whatever catch there might be.

With a nod the older pony made a call and after twenty minutes of waiting, a blue pegasus stallion flew in. His mane was a shade of amber and his eyes shared the color. His cutie mark was a tree sapling. "Howdy, you the mare Rocket there mentioned?" He asked me.

“Yes I am.” I nodded. “My names Lovely Days, who are you if I may ask?”

"Cloud Hopper. Folks call me Hopper. So, you're interested in the little set up my folks for set up on the farm?"

“Where I have to help out on a farm for my own place?” I brought up. “I would like to yes...but I was told there was a catch.”

"Heh, yeah. It's not like a contract type thing or any of that mess. The issue is the location. It's not bad or nothing but it's got a lot of rocks, trees and such that piled up since we don't use that part of the property at all. So the catch is you'll have to clean out the mess yourself but you'll get the tools fer the job right off the bat."

“Sounds...simple enough.” I said carefully.

"Heh… yeah, ya say that now…"

---

… This… is a small forest?! The farm nearby was filled with various crops and trees, and a small pathway to the east is where I was to be, a small shack that was in good shape. But all around it from the entrance was… trees, rocks, and tall grass. "Here she is. Little old Pelican farm." Hopper said.

“I was told this was gonna be a small plot of land...not an entire forest for Celestia’s sake…” I said in shock.

"Heh, yeah… actually used to be a whole other farm but the owner passed away long time ago. With no kin to leave it to she gave it to ma parents and we didn't really need the space so we just kept the old house up and clean fer anyone who might wanna take it. Inside has a bed, table, some basic stuff and a fireplace. No electricity sadly, never got that set up. Sure someone in town can set it up fer ya, well, fer a price."

“Well...good thing I’m an Earth Pony, even if farming isn’t my strong suit.” I said honestly.

"Heh, tell me about it. I'm a Pegasus and I work on a farm. Well, tools are inside and even left ya a few seeds and some food fer a bit. Work starts at eight tomorrow, and ends at three. You'll get weekends off."

“Thank you.” I nodded. “Better than scrounging around...but uh...what’s rent gonna be?” I asked curiously.

"My folks will set up that stuff tomorrow. You'll meet them at the farm house when ya get there. See ya then miss Days." With that Hopper flew off and I looked back at this forest I found myself with… oh boy… best get to work.

I headed inside, finding the key left for me here and I opened the door. Inside was indeed small. I spotted the table, atop it was a large bowel. There wasn't a kitchen… or even a bathroom… well, not lacking wood so maybe I can make an outhouse. At least there's a hose faucet out front so there's that. I saw a fair sized package in the middle of the one room shack and opened it. Inside was a scythe, pickaxe, axe, how, water carrier, and a shovel. Hm. Oh, a manual… huh?

I picked up the strange looking book. 'Stardrop Town Manual' by: The Junimos'

The Junimos? So, siblings or something?

“Hmm…” I hummed while opening the manual and looking through it.

The first page showed… what the… the first page showed… me. Sunglasses and all. My name was under the photo and under my name it said Newcomer. The next page had several… bars, I think, each one labeled.

The first bar was Farming and it had the image of a turnip next to it. Under that was Mining with the image of a pickaxe next to it. Next was Foraging with the image of a tree. Then Fishing with a small blue fish biting a fishing bobber. Finally there was Combat with a sword next to it. All bars currently were at zero…

What the fuck?

“Uh...so is this why this town is loony half the time?” I asked myself, just from this book it was...really weird.

The next few pages showed many various ponies and creatures all of which had three question marks next to their faces and a series of hearts next to that. All were either just outlines or filled with a shade of dark grey. Okay… even weirder.

“Okay...this is getting really weird.” I muttered.

The next page had a large map of the town. Here was my little farm… with an image of my face over it. Huh… looking at the map, the twin was actually larger than I expected, it even looked like it has its own beach.

“This place is getting weirder and weirder…” I shook my head. “Seriously, who in tartarus made this?”

The next page was Crafting and it showed me a few things here.I could make a wooden fence, a gate, a chest, a torch, a wooden sign, a stone sign, a wooden, gravel and cobblestone path, and a campfire. Huh… It tells me what I need but not how to build it.

“That’s really interesting.” I said honestly.

The next page was a full on multi page list of just… stuff. Lots and lots of silhouettes of items and such that were just ranging from letters to veggies to animals and even gemstones. There was a lot here. All of it looks like I might have to go out and find.

“So...looks like I’m gonna have to collect all this crap…” I muttered.

The next few pages were various… tips… I think, and the rest were blank. Huh… does everyone in town get one of these? I’ll ask Hopper tomorrow…

I put the put on the table, and headed outside and began working on clearing out enough room for something to grow.

“Well...better than home I suppose.” I muttered, grabbing a pickaxe and ready to start breaking some rocks.

The rocks thankfully broke in one hit and I gathered all the smaller pieces aside. Fallen branches and logs broke apart with ease and the grass I cut and gathered into their own pile. Once I had a fair plot of land emptied I used the hoe and got the soil ready for seeds and planted them. A quick watering and that was that. Hm. Not gonna lie, this was fun.

”Better than Baltimare that’s for sure…” I muttered to myself, not just because of very bad things, but because things were more open and less time consuming than city life.

I walked over to the piles of spare junk I pulled from cleaning. Hm. Wish I had a chest… wait a minute… I went back inside, seeing the Crafting page and looked at the Chest one… hmm… tell me your secrets weird ass book...

“How do I build a chest?” I muttered, trying to find the strange crafting recipe for a storage chest.

I walked outside, holding the book in hoof and kept looking at the chest and the pile of wood. Maybe… I put a hoof on the pile. The chest image suddenly got brighter colors and under it were some numbers. 72/50.

“Well...sure then.” I said honestly. “Got enough wood to make it.” I said as I tried to make it...however this book wanted me to do it.

Thinking about it, I put the book down, tapping on the image of the chest. I heard a small pop noise and looked… my hoof was on a chest now, about there was far less wood than before.

"Alright...this is really weird but really cool." I said in amazement.

I opened up the chest, tossing the rocks and grass in there to keep clutter down. When that was all done I looked inside… and saw one lump of grass and a single stone… wait, what?

"Excuse me?" I frowned as I tried grabbing the single rock. "I put more than one in here, how in tartarus?"

I grabbed a rock, heard a pop… and saw one rock in my hoof and another still in the box… what? Either this town is crazier than I heard… or I've gone crazy...

“Alright...I’m gonna need to talk to some people about this cause I hope to Celestia that I’m not going crazy…” I sighed out.

I put the rock back… I think, then headed inside and started up the fireplace. It was nice and warm and the light from the fire gave the room a nice welcoming glow as Princess Twilight lowered the sun. I sighed, smiling. This is what I wanted when I moved. Peaceful.

“Calm, peaceful, and not crazy at all.” I sighed out thankfully.

I looked through what I had to eat. Carrots, potatoes, hay, and some apples. For dinner I ate a carrot and two apples. I went through my saddle bags, pulling out a mirror I brought with me and finally took my sunglasses off. Looking at my reflection, I sighed.

I was born… different. My eyes were a bright pink, but that's not the weird part… they were heart shaped. I also lacked pupils, or so it appears anyway. I can still see, but my eyes are just a pair of pink heart shaped irises minus visual pupils. It looked unnatural and… weird. I was unnatural and weird. Doctors called it a defect in my inborn magic, most likely when I was still a fetus. They suspect I was going to be born a unicorn like mom but then I wasn't and so the magic that should have gone to my horn now went to my eyes, causing these to happen.

I can see just fine mind you but I can also see more… I can see… how to describe it… lines, connections between ponies and creatures. Everything ranging from pure hatred to true love, all depends on the color of the… string, if that makes sense. Probably doesn't.

My cutie mark even reflects these stupid things, the pink hearts branded on my flank just remind me of my… difference.

I sighed out, rubbing my temple with a hoof. “Why do I have to be like this…” I grumbled, knowing this was one of the reasons why I ran.

My parents meant well, really… but I'm twenty five and until this morning never left the house. It was a big house, but even a foal realizes too soon that no matter how big a house you are in, it all begins to feel small over time. I had no life… no friends… no future. I had been planning this run away for about a year now, keeping everything to memory and not leaving any paper trail to be followed… mom and dad would just have me dragged back home… for my protection they'd say.

“Protection my ass…” I growled, knowing that I’m different but they just took it too far.

I sighed, rubbing out some tears before getting on the bed. It was comfy. Nice a big, and really soft. It felt so… safe. It felt like home.

---

The farm looked amazing. Fields all with harvest ready plants, a greenhouse in the distance, and barns and coops with various animals running around. Near a pond by a large chicken coop fishing up… garbage honestly, was a blue earth pony mare with a pink mane and brown eyes wearing overalls and a straw hat. She turned, looking at me and smiled. "Howdy." She said with a nod.

“Hi.” I nodded. “How are you doing today?”

"Good, but then again it's always a good day here." She said, fishing up a broken CD and putting it into a pile with the others. "So, you're the new owner of my farm huh? Heh, about time."

“Yes I am and...I have a lot of questions.” I started, leaning over to my saddle bag and pulling out the book. “And this is the prime example of all my questions.”

She looked at the book, laughing as she saw it. "So looks like the Junimos already like ya. Good ta know." She said, pulling up a soda can, still closed. "That there is the work of some very ancient, very powerful nature spirits called Junimos. They're harmless, in fact they live ta help strengthen the bonds between nature and the creatures."

“Uh...huh…” I started. “So I’m not going completely insane due to...this.” I motioned to the book. “And how I can just magic up a box out of thin air and...stuff stacking like in a game.”

"Heh, it's how their magic works. Took me a while ta get used ta it too. Though to be fair at least I'm here ta help explain things ta ya. I had to figure it all out with little to no help. Course it all worked out and when all was said and done, Stardrop town was just better off. I will tell ya this, if they gave you that book then it means the town needs a little help again. They're offering ya a purpose."

“Don’t know why though, I just got here.” I said honestly, not knowing why ancient nature spirits would pick me out of nowhere.

"Heh, same with me. Barely three days in town and that's when they showed themselves ta me. About gave me a heart attack and made me look like a loon. Still, found out some of us just are tied closer to these types of things than most. If he's still around there's a local wizard who might be able ta help ya a bit with them. Lives out near the cliffs, can't miss that giant purple tower."

“Cause you’re not a wizard worth your pointy hat if you don’t have a giant tower.” I rolled my eyes, having heard that common trope a lot in Baltimare.

The mare chuckled. "Yeah. Seems like a Unicorn thing mostly. So, how you liking the farm so far?"

“It’s peaceful.” I said honestly. “And I’m enjoying it a lot.”

"Glad ta hear. Sorry it looked like that and not like this." She said as we looked over the vast well kept farm in its prime. "Wish it got ta look like this a while longer."

“It’s alright, the effort makes it worth it.” I said, now thankfully doing more things for myself was very pleasing and not having others do it for me.

"Oh, and if that old wizard is giving ya a hard time just tell him Harmony Star sent ya." She said, giving me a wink before this amazing dream faded.

---

I woke up when the roosters of the dark next door began crowing. I rubbed the tired out of my eyes and quickly ate some carrots for breakfast.

“That seemed...weirdly surreal for just a dream…” I muttered to myself.

I looked at the book over on the table, opening it and seeing a note written on the last page.

Just try your best and you'll find this town will love and care for you like family.

• Melody Star

P.S: Check the far north west corner of the farm. Just in case you ever need ta talk again.

Okay maybe not a dream...

“Okay...this is definitely weirder than Ponyville…” I muttered to myself. “Alright...let’s start the day...however it might start…”

With a sigh I closed the book, taking it with me in my saddle bags and headed off. The main farm was not too long a walk and I arrived a bit early. On the front porch was a somewhat short earth pony stallion with a grass green coat and violet mane and eyes. His cutie mark was a glass jar. "So, you're the new farm filly?" He asked. His voice was a bit gruff but not gravely.

“Yes I am.” I nodded. “I’m Lovely Days.” I introduced myself.

"Copper Pot. Pleasure." He said with a nod and a smile. He walked down over to me. "So, let's get started." He said as we walked along. I made sure to fix my sunglasses. "Pelican farm is yours, rather than pay a mortgage we'll have you work to pay off. Work everyday you are scheduled to work is a day closer to it being completely yours. Work a full year to the day and the deed to the farm is yours." He stated simply.

“Sounds simple enough.” I nodded. “Anything I should be concerned about in the meantime?”

"Well, If ya miss a day for any reason, be it sick or personal you can either make it up on a day off or something along those lines. You'll get a small bit of what ya harvest for food if ya need it. Mostly you'll just be harvesting from the fields or gathering eggs from the coops. When your work day is up Hopper will give ya a tour of the town, just some places of note and all."

“Sounds good to me.” I nodded. “By the way...do you know who or what the Junimos are?” I asked the stallion.

"Hm? Junimos? Heh, haven't heard that name in a while. Some old nature spirits, or so old folk tales say."

“Well they’ve apparently taken a liking to me.” I said as I brought out the book.

Copper Pot gave me a raised eyebrow, looking at the book then me. He then laughed. "Heh, well damn, is that Melody Star's book? Swore she was hurried with it." He said, gently taking it and flipping through the pages. "Hehe, just like it was back then too. Blank."

Wait what?! I looked at the pages he was looking at, seeing the page with faces and hearts there. I noticed Copper Pot's little image there now had his name under it rather than three question marks, above him was Hopper… can he just… not see it?

"Uh...huh." I started. "Why do you think it's blank for you?"

"Heh, filly you sound just like her." He said, patting my head. "Swear if I didn't know better…" He said, giving a sad sigh as he gave me the book back. "I remember the day she came to town… anyway, come in now, we got work ta do." He said as he kept on moving.

I was a bit confused. I looked at the book, and saw on the line of hearts next to Copper Pots image, half of the first one was now red. Hmm…

"So...how long have you lived in this town?" I asked carefully, putting the book back in my back and followed by after him.

"Born and raised." He said. "Traveled a bit when I was young but could never stay away from home for long. When I started taking over the family farm I expanded to more than just potatoes. Ended up a real good thing too."

"That sounds nice." I nodded. "Having a place to come back to after your done with whatever…" I trailed off, trying not to sound bitter and connect it to my family life.

"Yeah, I know most of the world thinks this town insane, and they're right, but it's a place where you can be yourself. Everyone here has a story, and if you got the time and patience you can hear it all." He said as we reached the chicken coop. He gave me a large basket and opened the fence. Some tallish grass was inside that the chickens were all either playing in or eating. "Eggs in the coop. Just grab them all and bring the eggs back to the house." He said.

"Sounds simple enough." I nodded. "Are the chickens friendly or will they try to peck me?"

"Just make sure to pet them all and they'll take to you like bees to flowers." He said.

"Sounds fair." I nodded, having heard farmers get better quality stuff from animals if they were more friendly to them.m.

I walked in, the chickens taking notice of me but didn't seem phased really. I extended a hoof, petting one and once I did that the others began walking over to me and wanted to be pet also. After about five minutes spent just petting the adorable feathered fluffs I went inside the coop. It was well kept, hay mixed with seeds and nuts sat in a trough in the back and the eggs were all over the place. Some were small, some were large, some seemed to just look too perfect. In total there was twenty eggs and I began walking back to the house. Welp that was easy. What else will I be doing?

"This seems almost...too easy…" I muttered to myself nervously.

I got to the house, knocking on the door. I jumped as very large and heavy hoof steps echoed from within getting closer. Copper Pot does not trott like that.

"Uh...hello?" I called out worriedly, backing away slowly from the large sounds.

The door opened and my sunglasses covered eyes fell upon a large, hulking earthy pony stallion about twice my height and maybe three times my size. He looked down, seeing me, smiling gently. “Well, you must be Lovely Days. Coppie told me you’d be here in a bit.” Their voice was somehow high pitched and gravely all at once.

“Uh...hi…” I said slowly. “It’s...nice to meet you...I am Lovely Days yes.”

“I’m Bricks, Copper Pot’s husband. Pleasure. Come on in then.” He said, stepping aside and letting me in.

“Thank you.” I nodded as I followed after him.

Entering the home, the first thing I took note of was the high ceilings. The other was all the photos on the wall. I saw Copper Pot and this large stallion in black and white tuxes in a wedding. Theirs I guess. Baby photos of Cloud Hopper, a filly with red and dark purple mane with a maroon coat. One I spotted was a very elderly mare, wearing a worn straw hat. Her coat was blue, mane white with a few strands of pink and brown eyes… Melody star… she was standing with a small...er Copper Pot holding up a glowing blue rock. He was smiling wide.

“Well…” I started. “A lot of happy memories here.” I commented on all the nice photos.

“Farm is as old as the town, a lot more in storage.” Bricks said as we got into the kitchen. “Just put the basket on the counter sweetie. Well examine them in a second.” He said, looking through a cabinet.

“Alright.” I nodded, putting the basket down on the counter carefully, and also thinking if I should mention Melody Star. “So uh...do people have...weird dreams around here?” I asked carefully.

“Hmm, well, dunno. Some little foals and even a few adults claim to have interesting dreams if they make an offering to some of the statues around town.” They said, putting a small basket with a screen on the counter next to the basket.

“Well…” I started. “Mind not holding anything fragile real quick? Cause uh...my dream’s kind of weird...and it might also not be a dream? I have no idea…” I said, thinking I can at least confide about this weird thing to my boss.

“Hey, you sound like that old wizard over by the cliffs. Been going on and on for years about the weird magic of this town. Heh, won’t lie, seen a lot of oddities in this town but, it’s home and I love it. So, what was your dream about?”

“Me and...Melody Star having a conversation about the...weird magic going on.” I said nervously. “But then it might not have been a dream since she also left me a note? It’s confusing and...I decided to ask cause I saw that picture of her but...old.”

He gave me a raised eyebrow. “Uh, care to explain?”

“To which part? Cause there’s a lot to unpack from that.” I said nervously.

“Let’s start with how a mare who’s been dead for the last forty years left you a note.”

“No idea.” I said honestly. “I didn’t even know she was dead...I got to this town yesterday.”

“I’m aware… Did ya find a notebook when you got there?”

“Yes.” I nodded, pulling out said book in question. “Laying in the middle of the living room of my new house...apparently it’s also powered by old nature spirits from what Melody said but I have no clue.”

He looked at the book, flipping the pages. “It’s just like hers… only’, with your image in it.” Wait, he can see it!

“You can see what’s in the book?” I asked. “Copper said it was blank...wonder why…”

“I asked her once, she told me that Wizard informed her that it has to do with our magic. This book is made with old and powerful magic. I mostly went over my head, but you best go meet with the wizard after work, alright? He helped her out, so he can help you too.”

“Well...it’s a good thing she said ‘Melody Star sent me’ if he get’s all uppity like an old man.” I said honestly, thinking the wizard at this point is really old given Melody probably knew him over forty years ago.

“Heh, yeah, old coot’s been around. Though I hear he finally has an apprentice. About time, old fella has to be pushing a hundred about now. Think his name was Sun… Sun… Sun Pop, that’s it. Was here since I was a foal… and was old then too.” Bricks said, thinking back. “So… you really did meet her. Huh, wonder what triggered it? I doubt you gave her shrine an offering.”

“I didn’t even know there was a Shrine.” I said honestly. “But...I think she pointed me to where her shrine is...I don’t know if there’s a shrine of her in the north west corner of the farm but she pointed it out.” I said nervously.

“That… that’s where we put it…” Bricks said. “After she passed, we built her a Shrine on the property and sealed her urn inside it. She loved the farm so much, and felt only right that she rested there.”

“Sounds about right.” I nodded. “Jeez, my first day on the job and I’m already stuck in some mystical adventure huh?”

“Well, as they say in Ponyville, ‘Must Be Tuesday’.” Bricks said with a chuckle. “Now then, shall we get back to the second part of the job?” He asked me as he placed an egg from the basket into the electric one. Immediately after, the little screen turned on, showing a silver star. “Above average quality.” He said, grabbing a silver cardboard carton and putting it inside. “This here machine uses magic to measure the quality of the item put in it. A blank white star means average, edible and alright. Silver means above average, Gold means a high quality, Pricey Canterlot type product. Lastly, there’s purple, or as we call it around here, Iridium Quality. It’s something that most folks here imagine the Princesses themselves eat daily. All their cartons are color coded to match what the machine reads. This applies to both animal produce, and harvested plants. Even foraged goods.”

“Wow…” I blinked. “Don’t see this back in Baltimare that’s for sure.”

“Yeah, most folk don’t. Suppliers just buy from us and we just sell it back as the quality demands. Most of the gold and Iridium stuff goes to Canterlot, Silver and plane quality goes to any other suppliers willing to buy, but of course, when you have the supply you can set your prices and pick who you sell to. Keep that in mind when you start pulling up goods to harvest.” Bricks said.

It took a bit but all the eggs were separated and out of that basket was a single Iridium quality egg.

“Jeez, even with so many eggs, only one iridium?” I asked, knowing that it was rare but we went through a hundred of the things.

“That’s not uncommon. Different animals and plants also seem to vary in their rate of iridium products. The Cows, we noticed they more often than not give us iridium quality milk so long as they’re happy. Chickens, ducks, all them critters can be a bit tricky to keep happy. Their health and moral factor in how they produce their product, even what they eat too. It’s why we mix a variety of seeds in the chicken's hay.”

“And here I was thinking agriculture was gonna be simpler…” I sighed out.

“Nothing worth the effort is ever that easy.” He said with a smile. “Now, onto the other coops and then the barns.”

“Better make sure all the animals are happy then.” I said honestly.

“That’s the spirit filly.” He said… A silver thread… he’s taken a liking to me… I smiled at that. As we walked I followed behind, looking at the book. Bricks. One full heart.

There were eleven coops in total. Five for chickens, five for Ducks, and one for rabbits. “Now, while the chickens produce eggs alone, Ducks lay not only eggs but often drop feathers. They’re also quality based too, the lesser ones are used to make dyes while the higher ones are sold for clothing and all that fashion stuff. Rabbits every so often will drop enough fur when they shed we can make cloth with it, and even their own fluffy tails can fall off. We make and shape them like that old story about a lucky rabbit's foot. No little fella’s get hurt and their poop makes great fertilizer.”

“That’s really neat.” I said honestly, finding this rather interesting given all this new rarity system stuff.

It took a while, managing to pet them all of course. Picking up the eggs and fur. The poop wasn’t so fun to scoop up but thankfully there’s a shovel and bucket for that. When all that was done I was just helping Bricks test their quality and sort them accordingly. “Once we got a full box or a fair amount of these things we place them all in the bin by the front gate to the farm. In the mornings or even late at night some workers collect the goods and pay the amount their worth. Then when we wake up the bits are just there for us to collect. Don’t have to worry about thieves either since the boxes are locked with magic keys that we and the workers have copies of and only us.”

“That’s good to know.” I nodded. “Best not to have all our hard work stolen from us.”

“Heh, yeah. Speaking of, you’ll be needing a bank account huh? I mean, I could hear all those bits in your bag when we were walking around. Best if ya get one. Can only carry so much and it’s fine to have cash around but it’s safer in the banks in the long run.”

“Yeah, I was meaning to find one but I didn’t have much time all things considered.” I shrugged.

“Well guess that’s just something to add to the list huh? So, tell me about yourself, Miss Days. You mentioned Baltimare. What was life for ya like up in the city?”

Oh boy… I don’t feel right lying to the guy, he’s been nothing but nice… maybe a half truth then?

“It was...interesting.” I said carefully. “Family life was well off enough, didn’t really need to worry about a whole lot...but city life just started feeling a little too cramped so I decided to move here.” I said, which was true in all regards except for all the important details.

“Heh, well so far you’re already doing better than most other city folk that try and move here think they’ll be getting some county life like in the movies but once the hard work gets to them they pack up and leave for elsewhere. Guess not everypony can work on a farm.”

“True.” I nodded. “Plus this town’s… unique aspects that I’m quickly learning.”

“Yeah that’s the other reason I suppose.” Bricks laughed. “So, any questions for me?”

“When did you and Copper meet?” I asked simply, thinking it was a simple enough question given the two were married.

“Pop’s was the school teacher, Ma worked in her own shop. Copper’s family had this farm. Back then it was much smaller and they made every bit count. Growing up I was better off than he was, and as we got older, my size compared to his, well, he grew up hating me. Can’t say I blamed him either. Tried to pick fights but I either managed to avoid it or got away… Then one day we ran into a… well, only a few of the adults, even today, The old Mines. They still hold some valuable stuff but not many go in there because of the infestation. Folks think it might be linked to the Everfree Forest and some other places somehow, so a lot of monsters are down there. We got lost when he chased me around in there. By the time we realized how fucked we were, we were cornered by some monsters. I was scared shitless, Copper tried fighting them… with a slingshot of all things.” He laughed.

“Wow.” I said honestly. “That’s...a whole lot of crazy right there.”

“Yeah. He did some damage to them, but he got banged up hard. Being bigger I took the hits better. I don’t remember how, but at some point I put him on my back, and just charged around like a bull in a china shop in panic. He kept firing and somehow that worked, we managed to make it out of there and got a few treasures out of it… of course we were still lost. By the time the towns folks found us, we were in there for two days. We went in there enemies… and came out friends. Got grounded of course but after that we had a friendship and a respect for one another. To help them out I got Ma to start selling some of their farm's stuff to help out and I put my large body to work helping them too. As we got older that friendship just… became something more.”

“That’s amazing.” I said warmly, carefully moving my glasses to see a hint of his connection with Copper.

Rose Red… Pure Love. Most I have seen are either Cherry red, meaning a powerful love, or Candy red, meaning love and pure infatuation. I’ve learned a bit about this little curse of mine, and the colors or red tell me how strong their love it. Rose Red, Pure Love, means both parties are in a healthy, happy relationship with a strong foundation. Cherry Red, Powerful Love, means that while they both are in love, if one passes or is for some reason or another, unable to return said love, one or both might never try finding love with anyone else. Candy Red, or Infatuation, is more along the lines of how horny teenagers are with their relationships. Could become something, or could end up meaningless but they pour a lot of emotion into it. Most often Lust which is Crimson Red.

”Jeez, it must be a very long and powerful relationship for Rose Red.” I thought to myself, fixing my glasses. “I’m glad to hear the both of you are in a happy loving relationship.” I said with a smile.

"Yeah, was a surprise to our parents. Well, more Copper's than mine. My folks figured I was more leaning towards the other side of the fence. Copper's were shocked, didn't seem into stallions at all, but that's life." Bricks said. "So, it looks like we're almost done."

“Certainly feels like we got done quickly.” I said honestly.

"Two ponies can make the work go by faster. Looks like your shift still has two hours on it. So, shall we go check in the boys then? Hopper should be tending to the wheat on the south fields and Copper should be at the quarry by now."

“Alright.” I nodded. “Let’s go see how they're doing.”

We headed out and heading to the south fields I saw lots of wheat and a large windmill in the distance with a few grain silos next to it. I spotted Hopper using some clouds to water some portions of the fields. “Hopper!” Bricks called out.

The pegasus spotted us and rapidly flew over. “Hey Pops, hey Lovely, done with work already?”

“Just showed her how to gather and store and grade the products is all.” Bricks said.

“And also… answered some questions that were popping up for me.” I said honestly.

“Hm, well, that’s good. Everything here has been going well, wheat should be good to harvest in a few more days really. Hopefully it’s all at least gold quality.”

“We can hope.” Bricks said.

“Has the wheat not been good?” I asked curiously.

“It’s been alright, but the better quality produces the better quality goods. Bread, sweets, all that good stuff means it’s all just better in the end for everyone.” Hopper said. “Usually we get a mix between Gold and Silver, and a bundle or two of Iridium even, but an all gold harvest means best for the farm and best for the buyers.”

“I can see that.” I nodded.

“We’re going to go see how Copper is doing next. You wanna tag along?” Bricks asked.

“Still got a few spots to water, maybe next time though.” Hopper said as he flew off.

Bricks and I kept along, leaving the farm from exit/entrance from the south end of the property.

“So far things seem to be running smoothly.” I said honestly.

“Honestly, we can thank Melody Star for that. Back in the day, the work was far harder and the rewards barely worth it. With that book and some magical help, she helped not just the farm but the whole town too.”

“Interesting.” I said honestly. “Who knew the book and magic could help that much with a town like this.” I said, thinking that, with how many people were actually in that book, this town was actually pretty big.

“It wasn't so much the book, it was her herself. Any sane pony probably would have tossed or ignored it, but she embraced it.” Bricks said with a deep sigh. “Takes something special to help everypony in town with just a vague sense of where to go.”

“It certainly does.” I nodded. “But...only takes one step forward right?”

“I suppose.”

The walk to the quarry took us over a bridge where what I think is either a ravine or dried river bed was and into a large-ish carved out hill with a few minecarts and tunnels around. I spotted Copper Pot breaking open some rocks from one of the carts. “Hey sweetie.” Bricks said.

Copper looked over, smiling. “Hey hun. Lovely. Get your work done already?” Copper asked.

“Yes sir.” I nodded to my boss. “We just got done checking on Hopper.”

“Heh, that’s good. Say, we left you a pickaxe in those supplies right, come here.” He said, lending me one and pulling out a few rocks. One looked about normal, the other was a tad larger and the rest all looked like something was either mixed in or poking out of the stone. “There’s some basic stones, these two.” He put a hoof on the stone and the larger stone. “Thing is, these slightly bigger ones sometimes have some goodies in them. Either a geode, coal, or even some ore. The pickaxes are enchanted to separate the raw ore or geode from the plane rock.” He said. “Give it a whack, see if you get lucky.”

“Alright.” I nodded, taking the pickaxe and giving the large stone a good whack.

The stone broke apart and from it rolled out a small black lump of coal. “There, just like that. ANd, got some coal now, always good to have.” Copper said. He then put his hooves on the two blended looking stones. “These here are ore, they’re mixed in with the rocks so just give em a whack and let the magic pull and collect the ore out of the normal stone.”

“Sounds simple enough.” I nodded, bringing up the Pickaxe again and whacking the two ore stones.

Once they were broken I spotted a few small lumps, about as large as my coal one, sitting among the gravel. There was five in total. “Not bad, enough there to make an ingot if you can get a furnace. Now then, these last two are the most sought after.” He said, putting hooves on the two rocks with things poking out of them. “These are gem deposits. The pickaxe does it’s work and we can sell the raw gem for a fair price, or make it into jewelry or cut it to give it a higher price. You typically get one gem with these but sometimes you get lucky. And if ya get a Crystalarium, heh, you’re almost set for life.”

“It would be hilarious if we just so happened to get one of them as your teaching me all this.” I chuckled and shook my head, knowing it would be improbable to just find it.

“A Crystalarium isn’t a gem sweetie.” Bricks said. “It’s a machine that uses magic to create gems by putting one you mine into it. Takes a while based on what gem you’re replicating but they’re perfect copies. Mostly they’re used in the dragon lands for food since they eat gems and lots of major science and technology companies use them for their inventions.”

“Yup. Star managed to get a few, no idea how and when she passed she left them to the Wizard.” Copper nodded.

“Alright...just the way you said it sounded like it was a super rare gem.” I said honestly. “But jeez...Crystalarium’s sound amazing.”

I broke the stones open and one green gem fell out and one red gem fell out. “A Ruby and an Emerald. Not bad for your first time. Mostly it’s quartz or jade.” Copper said.

“Neat.” I nodded, glad to have gotten something that wasn’t the more common stuff.

“You can hang onto these, and feel free to use the quarry whenever you like, the town itself owns it so anyone can just come here with a pickaxe, just be careful of the tunnels, lot of monsters in there, especially in the lower levels.”

“I’ll make sure to be careful.” I nodded. “Not gonna deal with the mines at the moment though, after work I’m off to see the Wizard.”

“Well, you can head on off then. Just be careful alright?” Copper said.

“We’ll see you later.” Bricks said.

“I’ll be safe...and uh...where’s the Wizard again?” I asked. “I heard he was close by but not which direction his towers in.”

The two pointed up to the left. Looking I spotted the tip of a large, old looking coned roof. Huh, how did I miss that all day?

“I...how did I miss that?” I asked.

Shaking that off, I headed off. Thankfully it was easy to navigate when in town and once I got to the cliffs area I found an old road that led to the tower. The tower itself was pretty tall, maybe ten floors or around there and was about as large as a house. I knocked on the door, the door opening as I was met with a long hooded cloak hiding her body but showing her horn, pink and blue mane with a light pink coat and blue eyes. “Who are you?” She asked.

“I’m Lovely Days.” I introduced myself. “I came to see the Wizard and have a talk about...a lot of weird things happening.”

She rolled her eyes. “Gramps! Some mare is here to see you!” She yelled into the tower.

She walked back in, motioning for me to follow. Once inside I was in a room surrounded by ancient books, parchments, and in the center was a large cauldron bubbling. Soon I saw the… fossil… walk over to me, a long beard hanging low off his grey face, and a blue star patterned hat hiding his clearly bald head. His body was wrapped in an equally blue and star patterned cloak. “Hm, what… oh, a guest. Who are you?”

“I’m Lovely Days sir.” I nodded politely. “I have…a lot of questions you might be able to answer.”

“Questions… uhh… about what?”

“Ugh… one moment.” The mare said, walking over to a desk and pulling out a glowing blue potion vial. She used her magic and popped the cork out and poured it down the elderly wizard’s mouth. Once that was all done his eyes glowed blue for a quick moment before he looked more there.

“Hm, questions, questions about what young filly, I’m very busy these days.” The wizard stated.

“When you take your medication…” The mare grumbled, earning a glare from the older stallion.

“So about this book.” I started as I pulled out the book in question. “And uh...these Junimos beings.” I added nervously. “Okay, I’mma just be blunt...the hell is with this town and it’s magic?”

He eyes the book, taking it with his magic and looking through the pages. “Incredible, just like hers... “ He got to the last page, seeing the note as some tears and a smile soon covered his face. “Oh Star… So… it looks like the Junimos have chosen you, interesting.” He said, returning the book to me. “Flurs, fetch me my research book!”

“Which research book?” The mare, Flurs, apparently, asked.

“The one on this down. Honestly, todays youth…” He grumbled as the mare levitated over a large taped and stapled together book onto the stallions hooves.

“Thank you.” He said, opening it. “Now then, to answer your questions I must first inform you about these little spirits.” He said, horn glowing as over the pages in an aura of blue appeared a few… they looked kinda like apples, red, greed, blue, orange and all had black dot eyes, small mouths and skinny almost stick looking arms and legs. “These are the Junimos.”

“They're adorable.” I smiled..

“Appearances aside, these are ancient nature spirits, native all across the world, but in this town, their concentrated population rivals no others. They only show themselves to a select few, and some, like myself, can reveal them with magic for a short while.” He said, the Junimos now vanishing. “Typically they inhabit abandoned buildings or build huts in dense forests where they reside, but here in this valley they reside everywhere. In the town, in the forests, even in the sea and rivers. Their magic is quite potent, but in order for them to utilize it, they require offerings of the land.”

“So that’s why…” I muttered. “And...how does this involve me talking to Melody in a dream yesterday?” I asked curiously. “Cause I literally got here yesterday and...had a dream talk with her...but then that note also exists so...why?”

“In and around this town you will notice many shrines, different offerings deliver different outcomes. Sometimes they are simple things, fortune, protection, or even a reward. Melody was the prior chosen by these spirits to maintain the valley’s link with nature, and now, they have chosen you. It seems she is willing to offer her aid and experience to you, even from beyond the grave.”

“But I didn’t do anything…” I said nervously, finding it strange that I was already getting swept up in some ‘chosen one’ thing to keep adorable nature spirits happy with their pony neighbors.

“Neither did Melody, she arrived in town after purchasing her farm and the next day, had her book from the Junimos. I do not know how or why they choose someone to keep the balance between nature and industry, but I do know why only some individuals are capable of seeing the texts and images in the books. It has to do with their magic. Powerful unicorns like myself and Flurs here can see it because we have a strong link to magic. Ponies like Bricks also have far more magic than a normal earth pony, hence his size, and pegasi with far more ample supplies of magic can see the texts, their speed and reflexes are far surpassing that of the normal pegasi. It’s actually quite easy to tell given the excess magic seems to manifest in one way or another.”

“Yeah…” I trailed off, lightly fixing my glasses due to my own nervousness. “Well this is...a whole lot to take in.”

“Hmm… Aside from her farm, which I’m assuming is where you live now, there are no abandoned places for them to inhabit or ask for offerings in return for repair… hmm…” The Wizard said, looking thoughtful as he was thinking.

“He’ll be doing that for a while… So, what’s with the glasses?” Flurs asked me.

“Mom gave em to me.” I said truthfully. “As a...going away gift I suppose. She said ‘don’t want to blind yourself to all the opportunity you’ll have’ or something like that.” I lied convincingly enough.

“Yeah, so how much shit was that explanation?” She asked me, catching me by surprise. “First off, there are two types of people who wear sunglass indoors, especially in a dark building, assholes and people who are hiding something. You don’t act like an asshole, so what, hiding a black eye from an abusive ex or hiding a strange eye condition?” I simply blinked at her. “I’m an expert in picking up when someone is lying or hiding something.”

“It’s...sadly the later on me hiding something…” I sighed out as I took off my glasses, showing off my rather...interesting eyes. “Don’t know how I was born with it, or the ability it comes with...but my parents certainly didn’t want people to know.”

“Wow, and here I thought I was a freak.” Ouch… “Well, in any case, I think I saw something like this before in some of Gramps books.” She said, looking at the shelves. She levitated a book off and blew off the dust, opening it. “Here it is, Pure Eyesight.” She said, showing me the page that displayed several ponies that had eyes in the shape of clovers, lightning, clocks… hearts!

“Oi, how the hell is my eyes on here?” I asked worriedly. “Also...just a quick back track, did you really need to sound like a jerk with that statement?”

“I said you didn’t seem like an asshole to me, never said I wasn’t one.” She replied, reading from the book now. “Pure Eyesight. This magical condition is believed to be genetic, a recessive gene that once in the past was far more common back in the days of the three tribes. Each carrier of the Pure Eyesight saw various things ranging from the past and future, one's fortune for the day, wild weather intentions, and love.” She looked over at me, then back to the book. “These ponies were revered as shamans and were respected for their abilities. After the merging of the three tribes the Pure Eyesight seemed to fade with the generations, only showing up when the right recessive genes emerge.”

“So that’s why I can see people’s love…” I started.

“So it seems, “ She said, handing me the book. “Here, this tells more and you'll probably ask to borrow it anyway.”

“Yeah, that’s for the best.” I nodded. “This is most certainly different than Baltimare…”

---

Back home I was reading the book extensively. So far there was The Pure Eyesight for Luck, Love, Time, Fate, Truth, Nature, Magic, and Death. Love is, well, love. Luck is seeing one's fortune, be it good or bad, for that day. Time lets one see the past and future of who they are looking at and all the possibilities. Fate can tell the reason someone exists, and even see their potential children when looking at a couple. Nature can tell them the health and growth patterns of plants and even animals. Magic is well, magic, they can see the magical potential in any they view. Truth is, wel, truth, can see passed the secrets nad lies ponies put up. The last one, Death, doesn’t have that much info on them. Just that they must wander the world to pursue their purpose in life. Creepy...

“Alright…” I muttered to myself, trying to find if there was any other kinds of love I can see besides the ones I’ve seen so far.

According to this there were twenty shaded for love and more for other emotions, however they seem to vary between each pony. Hmm… I know Pure Love now, Lust, Powerful Love and Infatuation. Hmm… Guess I best spend some time in town to see the other colors then.

I yawned, closing the book and picking up my notebook, finding the images of Flurs and the Wiz- wait why is his name still… shit I never got his name...

“Damn it...I’m gonna need to ask him his name next time I see him…” I muttered. “Or ask Melody maybe...if I ever see her again.”

I curled up under the blankets and began to rest up… So, seven others, eight including me… I wonder if there are any around.

“Jeez...what is this, Green Lantern all of a sudden?” I muttered to myself with a chuckle, remembering that neat comic series and thinking it had some comparable things to these special eyes of mine and others.