Logic vs Emotion - A HiE Tale

by MetalGenocide

Chapter 5 - It's Free Real Estate

“Come on slowpoke!” Apple Bloom calls as you leave the library.

“Sorry, sorry.” You smile, moving up to the girls. The mayor has joined them too, just in time to start the tour.

“Ah, there you are.” Mayor Mare turns to face you with a smile. “The girls tell me you met with the Princess. Fortune must be smiling on you. I trust it went well?”

“I think so. She was in a bit of a hurry though. Said something about tea in the royal garden later, so at least I have that to look forward too.”

The five of you head off into the town as the sun blazes away in the cloudless sky. The crusaders leading the way, pointing out various stores and locations to you as the mayor tells you more about them.

Your first stop is the pink gingerbread house you passed earlier this morning. Going by Sugar Cube Corner, you discover that it is a bakery and confectionary shop owned by Mr and Mrs Cake. They also house and employ a ‘Pinkie Pie’. As this was the main source of bread in the town, your tour guides decided it would be best to head in and meet to owners.

The scent of freshly baked bread hits you as the door opens. Inside you find a glass counter with freshly baked goods inside, not dissimilar to the bakery stores back home. Fresh cupcakes, cookies and even deserts were hidden from reach with, along with numbers and strange signs on cards. Behind the counter was a metal rack of freshly baked bread and to the side there was even a milk shake machine. It comes as no surprise then that such sweet products, along with the small dining area opposite, was quite popular among the fillies and colts of Ponyville, all of who stared unwaveringly at you when you entered.

“… Goodness! That is quite the tale.” The blue mare exclaimed from behind the counter as you finish telling your story.

After the initial shock of your appearance, Mr and Mrs Cake quickly welcomed you, even offering a cup cake to sample. As you take a bite, the texture of the cupcake melts in your mouth. Soft and crumbly, the taste is of freshly baked goodness. Pink icing sweetens the taste as you take a second bite. Compared to this treat, the memory of the cakes back home became bland and colourless.

“This is really good. I’m surprised, as cake was never my thing.” You tell Mrs Cake who becomes delighted that you liked it. “Everything tastes so good, even though it’s the same as food back home. There must be a secret ingredient you all use.”

“The secret ingredient is love, my dear.” Mrs Cake states with a smile. As cliché as an answer it is, you feel that there might be more truth to it than it seems.

Mayor Mare pulls out a purse from her mane and removes several coins from it, placing them on the counter.

Huh, so the manes are more than just for show. That’s neat.

Mrs Cake passes over four more cupcakes, one for each of your tour guides. As you leave the bakery, a realisation dawns upon you. Since it seems you will be stuck here a while, you’re going to need money to survive. Not wanting to be a free loader.

“I need a job.” You sigh. “Don’t really want to be a freeloader.”

“Yes I suppose you will need to find some way to repay your gracious hosts.” The mayor replies as the three girls happily eat their cupcakes. “What can you do?”

“Hmm,” you scratch your arm. “Most things I guess. I made it a point to learn basic DIY and household maintenance so that I didn’t have to pay for someone else to do it. Saves a lot of money in the long run. Also picked up plenty of other skills too, though how useful they will be here is yet to be seen.”

YouTube don’t fail me now!

“So you can do things like fixing benches and plumbing and such?” The mayors’ interest seemed to be piqued.

“At a basic level yeah. Don’t ask me to install pipes in a whole building though, don’t know how to ‘yet’.”

“I see.” The mayor seemed to be gathering her thoughts; you could almost see the cogs turning in her mind.

Reaching your next point of interest, you stand before the white building you passed earlier, revealed to be the Carousel Boutique, home of the local fashion designer and dress maker.

“It’s my sister Rarity who runs the place. But as she is out of town right now it is closed. She’s very good at what she does, even creating fashion pieces for ponies in Canterlot!” Sweetie Belle says with pride. It’s clear she looks up to her sister a lot.

“She’s at the rodeo too?” You already know the answer.

“Yep. When she gets back, we should see if she can make you some different clothing. You can’t keep wearing that lot every day.”

“That would be helpful. Clothing is one thing I can’t make.” You nod in agreement, your underpants burning a hole in your pocket. “I guess the rodeo group are close friends huh.”

“Well, ever since they defeated Nightmare Moon, they have been pretty inseparable,” Scootaloo added. “I wish I could have seen it. I bet Rainbow Dash was A-W-E-S-O-M-E!”

“Rainbow Dash? Sounds like a fizzy drink flavour.”

“No Way! She’s the greatest ever! Best flier in Equestria!” Scootaloo puffs her chest out, admiration glowing in her eyes. “She’s so cool!”

“Yes well,” The mayor spoke up. “Regardless of how ‘cool’ she might be, she still has a job to do. No doubt you will meet her soon. When she returns from-”

“-the rodeo?” You interrupt.

“Mhmm. Shall we move on?”

Further into town, you pass the new convenience store that had opened recently.

“A lot of the produce in town is sold fresh during market days,’ Mayor Mare explains. “However the store has many chilled and frozen goods, as well as cleaning products. Some things just aren’t really feasible to sell at markets, so I ended up commissioning a store for the products that get imported.”

You end up discussing different aspects of life here in Equestria and back home. How so many similarities exist between the worlds despite the major differences in species.

But your conversations are cut short as the crusaders turn a corner only to come to a halt, as a high and mighty voice calls out round the corner.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the blank flanks.” You hear small giggles from round the side as your friends roll their eyes. “Can you even afford to be here?”

Mayor Mare starts to leave your side but you stretch your leg out and stop her. She looks up at you confused.

“If you MUST know, Diamond Tiara. We’re showing our new friend around Ponyville.” Apple Bloom retorts. The others nod in agreement.

“New friend? Found another blank flank to join your little games have you?” The little voice snorts in laughter. “How delightfully droll.”

From behind the wall, two more fillies approach the crusaders. A pink pony with a purple and white mane, wearing a tiara that resembles her own cutie mark. Closely followed by a dark grey pony with a mane of two different shades of grey. Wearing a pearl necklace and sporting glasses that look far too big for her. Her flank emblazoned with a silver spoon cutie mark.

“Yeah, let us see this new friend of yours.” The grey filly spoke in a voice of equal snobbishness to the earlier call out.

“Ahem.” You let out a cough, catching their attention.

The two fillies turn your way with an unimpressed look on their faces. A look that quickly melts as their little heads start to turn upwards, their eyes growing larger and mouths loosening as they crane their necks higher, ears turning slowly to point towards you.

“Boo.”

“AAHHHHHH!”

The fillies vanish in a streak of pink and grey, leaving behind a cloud of disturbed dust. The crusaders double over in laughter as the two fled. You join in, chuckling away but quickly stop when you see Mayor Mares face.

“That wasn’t very nice.” She scowls you with a serious tone in her voice.

“I’m sorry, couldn’t help it.”

“I expect you to apologise to them later.” The mayor sighs, turning facing the three crusaders. “Come on girls, that’s enough.”

The four start to move away, the fillies still giggling like, well, school girls. But you don’t move. Something caught your attention.

“Are you coming?” The mayors voice reaches you. She turns in the direction you’re facing “What are you looking at?”

“That.” You point between two buildings. Just past the homes rests a hill, atop it stood a worn out building. Not much larger than the other town houses but this one had an addition. Just like the other houses, it appeared to be mostly wood and straw building, but built onto the side, stood a stone extension. Even at this distance, you could tell the construction material used was vastly different from the other stone materials used in the town. Grey slabs built up the walls which held a tiled roof. Partially covered from the front, it also carried a rather large chimney.

“What is that place? It seems rather out the way.”

“That… That was a failed endeavour. And the cause of many of my problems.” Mayor Mare informed you, her ears dropping slightly. “Simply put. It’s a forge. It was to be the local blacksmiths.”

“A blacksmiths? That’s pretty cool.” Although you had never tried it yourself, you held a rudimentary knowledge of how it works.

“It would have been, if it ever worked.” The mayor seemed to rather hate that building. “A couple of ponies arrived a few months back saying they found a book about how to smith. After some convincing, I ended up agreeing to the construction of the forge and even got the things they needed to get them started. Turns out, they couldn’t do it.”

You ponder for a moment. “Any reason why? I mean, you got so much other cool stuff, and surely some unicorns would be able to work it out. Smithing isn’t that hard surely.”

“Ponies can’t do it.” Scootaloo suddenly spoke up. “That’s why almost nothing is made from metal.”

The puzzlement on your face must have been clear as the mayor begins to explain.

“For whatever reason, we cannot, as a species utilise metal work. I don’t know why, it just always has been that way. It’s just sort of accepted now. Any time we need something made with metal, we order it from abroad. The Minotaurs are the usual suppliers for any smithing work that needs done in Equestria. And using it as a building material is not cheap either. So the building was abandoned.”

“Woah, woah, woah. Back up.” You raise your hands. “Firstly. Minotaurs? Really?”

The girls nod in confirmation. “Ok. Cool, cool. Secondly, why is it abandoned? Couldn’t you just tear it down?”

“Unfortunately, no. Because it is the only working forge in Equestria, as far as we know, it has become classified as a preservation site. It’s taken months to get through the red tape just to move it. And it’s going to cost so many bits too. ”

“That explains the budget problems.” You nod slowly, closing your eyes in thought.

This is too much for a mere accident, it can’t be a coincidence. Logically sure, there’s a chance. But this? And it’s not the first ‘happy accident’ either. You frown, lost in thought.

“Is everything ok?” Apple Bloom voices here concern.

Your eyes flitter open. “Yeah, just. Just had a strange feeling. It’s all good.” You smile down at the filly. “Mayor, what would happen if someone were to be living there? Would anything change?”

The mayor looks up at you, confused. “Well, if the building was in use, then it would mean that the budget can instead be used on other places where it’s needed. It would be a load off my mind and now that I know how much it’ll cost I can plan accordingly. It will at least buy me some time. Why do you ask?”

“Well, what if I moved in there?”

It’s a sound idea right? Nothing wrong with living in an abandoned house. I won’t be freeloading off the Apples, won’t get too close to any pony. It’ll allow me to keep my distance. That makes sense. You turn the logic over in your mind as the four ponies look at you in surprise.

“Well. I mean. That would be helpful. But-”

“Great! So it’s settled yeah?”

“-But, I’m pretty sure you can’t afford it. You don’t have a bit to your name after all.” The mayor has a point, you don’t have any money. Yet.

“That’s an easy fix.” You brush the air with your hand, putting on your most confident persona. “You already had an idea form in your mind earlier about that, right? I’ll assume it has something to do with repairs and maintenance around town. I can also see about putting the forge to use. Humans don’t have trouble with smithing after all. It’ll be fun.”

You stand proudly, hoping that it convinces the mayor enough to let you stay there. She eyes you cautiously, like she too is trying to read your mind and discover some ulterior motive.

“I like your enthusiasm, but I can’t just go giving buildings away.”

“Ok, how about you loan it to me then. As soon as the bits start rolling in, I’ll begin paying you back for it. That way you won’t need to waste money on relocation. And if I can get the smith up and running, you can boast about how Ponyville has the only working smithy in Equestria. I’m sure the tourists would love that. Besides,” you continue, your smile fading slightly. “It’ll be a good distraction for me.” Your hands rub together, gliding over the familiar metal band.

“Very well.” She finally smiles. “I will go and make the arrangements then. You’ll be informed you as soon as they are done and you can get yourself settled in.”

With that, the mayor turns and heads back towards to town hall. Even with her professional stance, you can see a slight skip in her step.

“I thought you’d stay over longer.” Apple Bloom mutters dejectedly, drawing your attention to her.

“I can’t stay with you forever Apple Bloom. Besides, with my own place, you guys can come visit whenever. Doors always open to friends.” You smile, hoping it cheers them up a bit.

“Ah! So we are friends!” Sweetie Belle suddenly exclaims. The others seem to cheer up at the news too.

==============================

The tour concludes in the early afternoon and the four of you decide to head for a late lunch. Taking a detour through the market, Apple Bloom snagging some bits from Big Mac as he finished packing up the cart and you head to the Hay Burger, a local food joint similar to fast food places back home.

The four of you sit down to look at the menu. While the fillies seemed to have no problem deciding what to have, you were struggling. As the name suggested, much of the menu had hay in it. Eventually you settle on a feta cheese salad, making sure to “hold the flowers”.

It came out looking as you expected, but was still nice and fresh with a good crunch. The three crusaders were laughing about how you scared Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, their happy faces bringing a smile to yours. But your mind kept wondering back to home, and the times you went out to eat with your partner.

“Are you sure you’re ok?” Apple Bloom inquires again, having caught you lost in thought. The three fillies were concerned with their new friend, you. But you smile at them in reply.

“Course. Never better.” You cheerily tell them.

“That’s a lie.” Scootaloo shot you down. “Even I know that. You’ve been staring at your food for like five minutes now. Your hand keeps closing around that ring of yours. And you’re crying.”

“I’m not-” You feel the wetness on your face, catching yourself as tears stain your hand. Quickly you wipe the tears away. “-I’m fine… I’ll be fine.”

“We’re here for you, you know.” Sweetie belle places a hoof on your hand reassuringly.

“Thanks… I just miss home.” You admit to the girls. And to yourself. Memories strike at your heart. Once happy thoughts turn into deadly missiles that threaten to tear you down.

Now isn’t the time. You take deep breaths, calming yourself.

The girls mumble apologetically. You dry your eyes and smile at them.

“Hey, at least the food is good.” You chatter, searching for a distraction. “Tell me about your school.”

The crusaders light up. They start telling you about how they are doing, their teacher Miss Cheerilee, about the show and tell they have next week.

“Oh no!” Sweetie Belle cries. “We don’t have anything for Show and Tell!”

The faces of her two friends turn to worry, their ears flopping down the side of their heads.

“We can’t just do the same as last time. Miss Cheerilee said it has to be something different! I don’t have anything other than my scooter.” Scootaloo face plants the table and starts mumbling. “This is going to be horrible.”

“You three are smart, I’m sure you will come up with something.” You say, finishing off your drink. “When is it?”

“Thursday.”

“Ah, a while yet then. Looks like you’ll have some Show and Tell treasure hunting to do then.” You beam, planting an idea in their brains.

Scootaloo perks up. “Treasure hunting? That sounds like fun! Maybe we can get our cutie marks doing that! Tour guiding didn’t exactly work.” She turns to her flank, mimicked by her friends.

“Well there you go then.” You laugh as the four of you finish up. “Thank you for the meal.”

Chattering and gossiping away, the four of you head back to Sweet Apple Acres, the girls planning their treasure hunting activities, and you thinking about what lies in store now, emotions flooding your heart, and new memories forming in your mind.

Comments

[LightThatBurnsTheSky]

Liking it so far! I just wanted to let you know though there's a typo in the stories description. You misspelled Forest. In the description its Froest.

[MetalGenocide]

10886219
Thank you! and I will fix that typo now hehe

[Winter Star]

Caught two typos.

...as their little head start to turn...

Should be 'heads', as it is refering to their (plural).

...but was still nice a fresh with a good crunch.

Should be 'and'.

[KvAT]

Ahh, I see! Iron is often depicted as resistant to magic, which is why the smithy they built just didn't work. They most likely tried to smith iron using magical fire, telekinesis, or whatever other magic-based shortcut ponies had been using to compensate for their lack of dexterity limbs. You need to work on iron using purely physical means: actual fire, physical forging, a circular stone sander, etc. My best guess is ponies never invented fires that burn over 1600°C, because they would use magic to reach those temperatures.