open Shifted

[PeachPalette 1,000]

Peach stopped as she heard a dead silence behind her. Her ears twitched as she slowly turned around to see all eyes on her. Unsure eyes. Scared. Hesitant. She turned towards them looking slightly confused. Perhaps for a moment she had forgotten that these ponies (aside from SiFi) were not ponies a day ago. They were humans. Humans that knew nothing of this world and probably thought it a very confusing place. She imagined that fighting a "god" was very new to them from how they acted...and let's face it, SiFi was definitely no fighter. Maybe they needed time. Time to relax, reflect, think about all that's happened to them.

 

"O-on second thought, ponies," she began as she lowered her tone to a soft, understanding one. "How about you all say here, and try to familiarize yourselves with our history and culture. I'm sure SiFi can help you with that." Her eyes flashed to SiFi who was still browning through the many titles that lined her walls. His ear flicked though, a sure sign that he did in fact hear her suggestion.

 

She turned her back to them and took a step forward before looking back. She would not do what her parents did. She would not leave them alone without a goodbye...just in case...she never made it back. She looked back behind her at them. "I will be back. I'll find Princess Celestia and deliver this note to her, and after I do that, I'll find the others. We'll regroup here. So, please stay here and make yourselves at home," she said, finally turning away from them and preparing her mind for her tread to Canterlot.

Edited April 18, 2012 by PeachPalette

[Marcato 2,143]

Silver snapped out of his daze as he stared at some of the open books. He didn't even realize he had lost himself in some of the books laying around. His mind seemed to pull him in and once he started he couldn't really stop himself. He read things about a pair of princesses, one raising the sun, and the other the moon, and how they had conflicts, and the one who raised the moon, Luna was it? Was banished, ironically to the moon. When Peach began explaining things his attention finally returned to the real, or what seemed real, world.

 

Silver felt rather embarrassed for hardly noticing a thing that was going on. He caught something about seeing princess Celestia in Canterlot as well, but he didn't know anything really about this world anyways. So he figured he wouldn't understand much. He decided to turn back to the books. "SiFi! See any books you would recommend I read? I need to know more about this place." Silver finally said to SiFi, since according to Peach he would know these things.

[SuperTheAwesome 199]

Speed woke up in a hospital bed. "Where am I?" She questioned. "Ponyville Hospital, of course!" Another pony in the room mentioned. He seemed to be a doctor. The hospital? I told Crystal I didn't want to go here! She thought to herself. "Thanks, I'm feeling much better!" She said, getting up. "You just got here." The other pony said. He was not amused. Speed groaned, sitting herself back down on the bed. "Seriously, Doc!" She really hoped this guy was a doctor, "I'm feeling fine!"

 

The doctor sighed and walked out of the room. "You're not leaving yet." He said, shutting the door and turning off the lights. Speed looked around. A window! She dashed towards it and tried jumping through it. Jumping through a window does not work, apparently. She just fell back on to the floor. She decided to just fall asleep there...

[Nathan Fink 22]

SiFi's attention snapped us, towards Peach as she started to leave. "W-wait, wait just a minute now!" She called out to her. She stopped just before leaving the doorway. "If the journey with this type of information was a dangerous one to take before, don't you think it will be again? I mean, things have only gotten worse since then!" He could not, would not let her go alone. Somepony did not want this information getting to Princess Celestia badly enough that something 'mysteriously' made two ponies disappear. He didn't want Peach ending up the same way. After all, he'd just met her. He noticed her start to shake her head in disagreement of the assumption that he wanted to accompany her.

 

"Look, Peach. Just...just let me go with you! They'll be fine here on their own. They're safe here. You won't be if you just take off like this." His eyes shifted around the room wracking his brain to think of something...anything that would make her sway to his side. Finding the perfect idea, he swallowed hard and started to blush "I...i know where Celestia will be. Um...do you, happen to own a...dress?" He asked, hesitantly, as he watched her eyebrow raise in question.

[PeachPalette 1,000]

Peach was silent for a moment. She was just about to protest his efforts when his question threw her off. She raised a brow and tilted her head as she swung her body back to face them. She sent a quick glance at Silver then back to SiFi. A dress? What did he mean dress? What did having a dress have to do with...

 

She perked up, her cheeks feeling hot suddenly. The only time ponies found it fit to dress up was if...The Grand Galloping Gala! It honestly felt to her like he was asking her in his own shy way that if she was to go see Princess Celestia that, that's where she'd find her, and he wanted to escort her there. She bit her lip lightly and looked to the side. She stiffened and froze in that pose, and among relaxing again, she seemed to hunch over more so.

 

She looked up bashfully with rather large shimmering pupils. "A-are you...a-asking me to be your...date?" She asked, her whisper cracking around every word. Her ears flattened as her eyes shifted to the doorway and out into the hall. She did indeed have a dress. It was one she'd never gotten the chance to wear. If her memory suited her correctly, the Gala was open to the public this time. Truth be told she'd always wanted to attend like her mother and father did every time it was held.

 

"I...I do have a dress," she squeaked before turning to head to her room. "I'll just...go get it. But...we really have to be going so if you don't mind, SiFi, please follow me." With that, she quickly trotted into her room, her magic allowing the dress to fly from her closet, fold perfectly in mid air, and be placed neatly within her father's old saddlebag.

 

She took a deep breath before returning out into the hall, stopping at the open door to her father's study. "Um...feel free to read anything you'd like. My home is yours," she lightly called into the room to the ponies inside. She looked forward again, noticing SiFi in the hall as she trotted past him, hiding her face with her bangs. She was sure her flustered shade of pink was showing right through her peach coat.

 

She made it out of the door with one thought. This was going to be one awkward trek.

[Arylett Charnoa 4,919]

She surveyed the area carefully, and did not see any attendants or store owners anywhere. It was oddly empty except for the three of them... something was up.

 

Ignoring the chatter of the other two behind her, she decided to take the opportunity to peruse outfits without any salespeople breathing down her throat. Artsy went up and down the aisles of dresses, and saw that although they were all very pretty, they just didn't feel like anything she'd actually wear. Seemed... a bit too fro froo-y and girly. But then again, so did this entire new world of ponies. It was like something out of a little girl's television show.

 

There was some quiet and young feminine-sounding feminine whispering that she had previously ignored over the sound of Sport and Serah's talking, but now could hear in the prominent silence of this area. The mare slowly followed the sound to its source, walking up to a counter where she could blatantly here it.

 

"Quick, Sweetie Belle, it's a customer!"

 

"I don't know about this, Scootaloo... maybe we should've left the store closed whilst Rarity was away."

 

"This is a perfect opportunity for you to get your cutie mark! Right, Apple Bloom?"

 

"Ah dunno..."

 

"Shhh, shhh! We can't waste any more time. Go out there and work your stuff."

 

"But I-I... whoa!"

 

She heard the sound of hooves being forced to move on the carpeted surface as a rather small white unicorn pony was pushed into her view. This one lacked the tattoo on the hips... Artsy presumed that this was what young ponies look liked, as the voices sounded more childish than the other ponies she had encountered, and this one had a rather large head and underdeveloped features.

 

"Hi, hi! My name's Sweetie Belle, and welcome to Carousel Boutique! Is there anything you looking for? We have... all kinds of dresses."

 

Before she could answer, the unicorn shifted her pale green eyes over to the other two.

 

"Oh, and hello to your friends as well! What do they want?"

[Strong Hooves 289]

Sport looked all around from where he sat. He couldn't believe the number of dresses that were in here. He began to wonder why Artsy was in here anyway, what did she need a dress for if she and her friends were fighting a chaos creature? His ear twitched when he heard the whispers, looking down to see a little white unicorn pushed out in front of Artsy and himself.

 

When the unicorn addressed him and Serah, he merely waved, "Uhh, well I'm not looking for anything, I kinda just met these two. Hey Artsy, why do you all need dresses anyway? Is there some special occasion coming up?".

[Legendary Emerald 622]

Serah ignored the greeting of the small creature behind the desk. She was far to busy being horrified by everything else in the boutique.

 

"It's even worse than I thought..."

 

Every dress and outfit on display was an offense to her senses. The colors were flamboyant, the designs extravagant, and the prices through the roof. The store's owner must have made a killing, provided that anypony was foolish enough to purchase anything. Serah shook her head.

 

"There's no helping it. An outfit is necessary for meeting with a princess. I'll just pick something..."

 

Easier thought than done. Every time Serah closed her eyes and stuck out a hoof, she'd open her eyes to see what she pointed at and immediately close her eyes again. No. No, that outfit would not do.

 

"Why am I making this difficult? I just need something that complements my coat. Complementary colors... the complementary color of red is blue. I think. Complementary means the colors go well together. Right?"

 

Her eyes zeroed in on a blue dress. She tentatively trotted over towards it to get a better look. To her chagrin, it was covered with star patterns, ruining what was otherwise a simple enough design.

 

"Who would wear something like this?!"

 

She read the tag. 'Twilight's Delight - Inspired by Magic, crafted by Rarity'. Serah rolled her eyes.

 

No. No, that outfit would not do.

[Wolfe 71]

Brave looked just in time to see Electrobolt get punched by one of the Discord clones. Brave couldn't stand for it. He turned toward Electrobolt and the rest of the clones and walked toward them. The Discord on the mat remained idle and gave a little smile. Brave jumped over the railing between the pathway and the mat. He bit his lip from the exertion he made. That wound wasn't getting any better. He put one arm on the Discord that punched Electrobolt. Sorry, Electrobolt, can't let anyone do that to you. Even if I don't know you that much yet, and you aren't my "friend" as of yet, everyone else still needs you. I gotta be faithful to you and the rest of the group. Okay, we don't need any fighting off the mat. I'm going to have to ask you to leave the dojo.

 

Yea, or what? What are you gonna do about it, huh? You're barely standing! You're just weak! A nobody! You're bleeding on your side right there and you're trying to act tough! Out in da real world, you wouldn't win at anything! You can't say no--

 

Brave stood there listening to all the insults. He couldn't take it anymore. With the pain and stress he was currently dealing with, he snapped. He tackled him down with a hard shoulder bump. He would have followed up with a punch or a kick, but he stopped as the dojo-kun caught to his head Refrain from violent behavior... Look. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you again to leave the dojo.

 

Forget that! You're going down, weak little man. The fallen Discord got back up and was supported by the others that were there. They all got into a fight stance. Brave knew he wasn't going to win. Even Sensei Lee-Scott did not say anything at this point. The Discord on the mat just chuckled a bit more. Electrobolt. Get out of here. There's an emergency exit in the back. I'll hold em off in the meantime. GO! At that moment, he noticed a small boy sitting down avoiding the conflict altogether. ...what...is he...? He had to ignore it for the moment. He only had to stall.

[Electrobolt 2,069]

Electrobolt looked up to see Brave come over to defend him, rather than worry about the Discord he was originally fighting. *What is he...* he thought, before hearing Brave speak up. When the Discord clone that had punched Electrobolt had insulted Brave, he saw that Brave tackled the clone right then. As he was about to attack the clone, he paused before speaking again. All the Discords had seemed to be distracted by Brave, so he slowly got to his hooves.

 

"Electrobolt. Get out of here. There's an emergency exit in the back. I'll hold em off in the meantime. GO!" was what he heard last from the human. At this, Electrobolt nodded and replied, "Alright... I trust you..." With that, he bolted off to the emergency exit. As soon as he reached the emergency exit, he opened the door and ran out as fast as he could.

 

------

 

As soon as he had gone out through the emergency exit, Electrobolt's eyes shot open. Sitting up, he looked around left and right, seeing was in his room in the inn. "Was... Was all of that..." he started, as he remembered everything in his 'dream'. He recalled seeing himself as a human, though now the image of him as a human became sorta blurred. He also remembered seeing Discord, and multiple Discord clones. He also remembered seeing a mirror image of his pony form as it came to life and said he could no longer become a human anymore. Then, he remembered seeing Brave as a human, though he was faceless.

 

Rubbing his left cheek, Electrobolt winced a bit as it felt sore, but not too severe. He chalked it up to tossing in bed too much and hitting his face in his sleep. Realizing he was feeling warm, he took his covers off, noticing that they felt drenched. Feeling his forehead, he felt sweat still lingering on him. "Must have been one heck of a nightmare..." he muttered to himself, as he still sat up in his bed.

Edited April 20, 2012 by Electrobolt

[SuperTheAwesome 199]

Speed woke up, back on her bed. The doctor was just standing there. "Do I get to leave yet?" Speed asked, anxiously.

 

"No. I just wanted to ask you something"

 

"And what would that be?"

 

"How, exactly, did you get your face all... scratched up?"

 

Speed was dreading this question. She did not want to tell anybody what had happened to her. What would they say about a prgasus that couldn't fly? What was it that Crystal said to tell them? "Some- somebody punched me... in the face..."

 

"'Somebody?'"

 

Oh gosh. Ponies don't say somebody, do they? They say somepony. "I mean 'somepony'" Speed sighed nervously.

 

"Alright" The doctor continued, "Who was this somepony?"

 

Yeah, Speed. Nice going. Now you have to find 'somepony' to blame it on, and you barely know anypony! Speed thought, frustrated. "It was..." She started, "It was Artsy."

[Aureity 3,055]

And...back I go.

He felt a rushing sensation as the world seemed to grasp hold of him, pulling him towards the one location that he most certainly did not want to go. Was it the wind blowing past him that was filling his ears with noise? Or was that the sound of his heart, thumping? He blinked in vain, trying desperately to see. He was either going blind, or it was getting dark. Too dark. Help!

He was swallowed in the darkness until the only sound he could hear was a steady tha-thump. And the pitter-patter of the rain.

A light in the darkness?

 

"Huh?" Crystal Flame leapt to his hooves in surprise, and promptly toppled off of the chairs he had been laying on, right onto the ground. "Shoot. How long have I been asleep...?" He rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Dangit..." He tried felxing his wings, and to his relief, he could. The same went for his legs-he could actually lift a hoof without falling over. Alright, so manybe that nap wasn't so bad after all. I'm back in business! He looked patiently around him. "And...of course. The others are gone. AGAIN." He scratched his head, trying to remember where they had gone, but only drawing a blank. He glanced at Cole, who was standing lazily beside the entangle of chairs. "We need to find the rest," he said, slightly panicked. "How long have I been asleep?? They could be in need of help or something right now!" He took a few unsteady hoofsteps-guess I'm not back to 100% yet-and jumped clumsily into the air, flapping his wings a bit more than usual in order to stay aloft.

[Deshi Bashara 6]

"Take it easy, they're fine." Cole assured him. "You've only been out for a few minutes." He observed Crystal hovering in midair and added, "And you might wanna save that for outside." Cole helped Crystal lower to the ground. "The last time I saw them, Artsy and Serah went off to a clothes shop. One of them said something about a Grand Galloping Gala, whatever that is." he informed him. "Want to go look for them?"

[Electrobolt 2,069]

Looking around his room again, Electrobolt streched once more. "Well, no sense in just sitting in bed any longer..." he spoke to himself as he slowly got out of bed. "Still, though... That was a weird dream..." He shook his head as he walked around his room slowly, making sure he had enough strength to move around on his own, and to his relief, he had gotten back most of his strength. "Hmm... Where are Cole and Crystal though...?" he asked himself, as he looked towards the door.

[Strong Hooves 289]

It was clear that Artsy was being rather hastily shown around by the filly unicorn that was apparently running this shop. He decided to look around the colts section, seeing all the rather fancy looking tuxedos and top hats that made him wonder just who it was that made all this.

 

He came across a specialty suit labeled 'Fancy Pants' and chuckled at the name. He noticed the red unicorn looking rather horrifidely at the dresses. She obviously never dressed up.

 

He sighed, they got off on the wrong foot... or hoof. He gulped as he walked up to her, but kept his posture, seeing as she seemed to practically sense weakness. "Uh, hey" he began, "I was pretty curious, if you're all fighting some monster or whatever, then why are you all here looking at dresses? I don't think these dresses really fit an occasion for battle".

[Legendary Emerald 622]

He sighed, they got off on the wrong foot... or hoof. He gulped as he walked up to her, but kept his posture, seeing as she seemed to practically sense weakness. "Uh, hey" he began, "I was pretty curious, if you're all fighting some monster or whatever, then why are you all here looking at dresses? I don't think these dresses really fit an occasion for battle".

 

"Clever." Serah replied instinctively and sarcastically, though she was actually thankful for his interruption. She idly sifted through a rack of dresses as she explained herself. "There's a ball being thrown by royalty, and Artsy shares a link with the princess. All of our group do, to a lesser extent. Meeting the princess in person could answer a lot of questions."

 

Serah cringed as she spotted a particularly awful dress in the rack, and spoke through grit teeth.

 

"But, there are certain... formalities to that go along with attending a gala. Unfortunate ones. Though there is a plus side." Serah turned to face Sport as her voice took a more serious tone. "A highly organized event such as this would be a perfect target for the chaos creature. If he invites himself there, I don't plan on letting him leave."

Edited April 23, 2012 by Legendary Emerald

[Aureity 3,055]

Crystal Flame nodded. "Yeah, I...I don't really think we should all be splitting up right now." He looked thoughtful. "Wow, a few minutes? Really? It felt like days to me. Weird, huh?" A slight jolt of pain caused him rubbed his sore forehoof. "Okay, except for that." Ready to take on the world, he glanced back towards the inn. "Let's go see if Electrobolt woke up yet," he said eagerly. "If not, I'll get a bucket of water." He didn't think he would actually do that, but who knew? He was full of energy, and needed some sort of outlet.

[Strong Hooves 289]

Sport resisted the urge to roll his eyes at her sarcastic remark and continued to listen to the red unicorns explanation. This connection with 'royalty' could prove to greatly benefit him and the others, whoever the others were besides her and Artsy.

 

"Heh, I never like formal occasions too much either" he replied as he saw her gritting her teeth at one of the dresses. She obviously didn't like anything that was over the top.

 

"A very logical presumption, a gathering that included this royalty could prove an easy target for this creature." he said when she finished, he then raised an eyebrow "You, won't let him leave? Why only you? If you all are here facing this monster, wouldn't it be better if you all faced him together? There is strength in numbers you know". When he finished he began to look at the rack opposite Serah, he spotted a very plain and simple blue dress, <perhaps this is plain enough to not make her gag> he thought. He lifted the hanger by hooking it to his hoof and held it in front of her, "Perhaps this fits your tastes better" he said. He then realized, "Hey, I never caught your name"

[Electrobolt 2,069]

As he approached the door, he began to wonder if Brave was doing alright. "I wonder... Is Brave in one of the rooms, too...?" he asked himself, barely above a whisper. Shaking his head, he opened the door and walked out to the lobby. The lobby was fairly empty, save for a few ponies, so he just stayed around the lobby area for now, not really wanting to go anywhere alone right now. Looking around, he noticed an empty chair, and decided to sit in it, wondering how everyone was doing.

[Legendary Emerald 622]

"Heh, I never like formal occasions too much either" he replied as he saw her gritting her teeth at one of the dresses. She obviously didn't like anything that was over the top.

 

"A very logical presumption, a gathering that included this royalty could prove an easy target for this creature." he said when she finished, he then raised an eyebrow "You, won't let him leave? Why only you? If you all are here facing this monster, wouldn't it be better if you all faced him together? There is strength in numbers you know". When he finished he began to look at the rack opposite Serah, he spotted a very plain and simple blue dress, <perhaps this is plain enough to not make her gag> he thought. He lifted the hanger by hooking it to his hoof and held it in front of her, "Perhaps this fits your tastes better" he said. He then realized, "Hey, I never caught your name"

 

Serah shoved the rack of clothes in annoyance, causing it to roll and clatter against the wall.

 

"One. Question. At a time." she held a hoof to her head, feeling her head begin to pound. She barely glanced at the outfit Sport was holding out to her, and deftly grabbed it from him. She gave it a quick once-over.

 

"No stars, no streamers, no matching giant hat..."

 

She tossed it over her shoulder; it would do. But now she needed to get Sport off of her back.

 

"We will face Discord together. But even if the others get killed, I'd rather die fighting than watch that snake slip away again." Serah explained, voice taut with anger. "As for my name, it's Serah. And unless you want to find out what it means, you'll stop asking questions now."

 

Before Sport could ask any more questions, Serah turned and walked towards a changing booth. It was little more than a curtain set up in front of a wall, but it would give her the privacy she needed. At the very least, she didn't expect Sport to try speaking to her while she was changing.

[Strong Hooves 289]

Serahs sudden reaction surprised Sport, he raised an eyebrow as she explained everything with her angry tone. He smirked when she snatched the dress, "Oh no problem Serah, glad I could find that for you" he said sarcastically after she drew the curtain.

 

He turned away and shook his head <What the hell is her problem?> he thought to himself. So far he had only been respectful to her, and she responded by practically biting his head off with her response.

 

"Not even sure she's worth trying to get to know, she obviously wants nothing to do with anyone but herself." he muttered to himself. "Guess thats what happens if you play with fire. You get burned". He began to busy himself with the tuxedos again, but not really paying attention to them.

[Deshi Bashara 6]

"I hear ya." Cole agreed with him, noting that the other pony looked more energetic then usual. "No more laying around sleeping for us!" He trotted off with Crystal following behind him and headed for the doors. Alright, this should be simple: Get Electrobolt, find the others, then whatever Artsy has planned. he thought. Easy enough.

 

The two of them walked out of the hospital and entered the inn. As they went inside, Cole saw Electrobolt sitting in a chair. "Hey, Electro. Did you sleep good?" he greeted him.

[Electrobolt 2,069]

Electrobolt looked around when he heard his name, and saw Cole and Crystal in the lobby. "Oh, hey guys," he spoke up. "Yeah, I did sleep good..." *Though that dream...* he began to think, remembering everything once again. *It... It was just so realistic, yet...* He shook his head and returned his attention to the two he was talking to. "So, you two go anywhere exciting?" he asked, wondering what all they had done.

[Wolfe 71]

Seeing that Electrobolt left through the emergency exit in the back with a small slam from the metal door, Brave calmed down a bit, knowing he was safe, or so he hoped. Brave slid his feet back seeing the other Discords starting to gang up.

 

I'll say it again. Please leave the dojo.

 

You and what army?

 

Brave took a glance back at the mat. Sensei Lee-Scott remained on the mat with folded arms and a tight glance. Why wasn't he doing anything? Brave looked at the other Discords with a tired and distressed look. The wound wasn't making things better, and he didn't understand how this was hurting him so much. This is my subconscious, so why shouldn't Sensei act the way I remember him? And why do I feel like I'm in so much pain? Please, Discord. Stop this now.

 

No. I won't.

 

The Discord on the mat appeared right behind Brave. He was caught off guard as he turned around to see a right hook slam into the left side of his face. Brave started dropping and seemed to see stars. Time seemed to slow as he somehow lost control of his body. His legs crumpled. His guard dropped. His head moped forward. His eyes slowly went shut. It was over.

 

Down came the rain and washed the spider out... Ehehehehe!

 

Discord, oddly, caught him. But it was soon apparent that he only caught him from falling only to throw him back onto the mat. Brave landed with a thud. Everything was fading. Discord looked over him with a grin and laughed maniacally. Sensei Lee-Scott did nothing. Don't you see Brave? Not even martial arts can save you or your friends! It's a wasted talent. I mean come on! I've never had practice in my life and I beat you hands down!

 

Face it Brave. There is nothing you can do with your lack of an identity. Lack of a tool. Lack of a trade. Lack of a will to continue.

 

Discord raised his foot above Brave's head

 

It's over for you, Brave.

 

He slammed his foot right into Brave's face. He seemed to warp through the mat into a falling blackness. And so did Brave fall into his own darkness.

 

It's like the say, Brave...

 

YAME!

Edited April 25, 2012 by Wolfe

[Arylett Charnoa 4,919]

The entire time the two had spoken, Artsy was being yanked around by the small child-pony all over the store. It seemed this Sweetie Belle decided to focus her efforts on the one customer who hadn't caught to it right away, uttering that the other two "seemed to be doing just fine" and smiling as she walked away from them. The even shorter unicorn was eagerly joined by her two other friends. They forced her into all sorts of wacky combinations and bickered with each other over which one looked the best.

 

"I think the pink looks better. It compliments your red mane!" squeaked Sweetie Belle.

 

"Well, I really like green. It's boring to wear the same colours as yourself. You really gotta stand out, It'll make all the stallions look at you for sure!" The orange pegasus flapped her tiny wings enthusiastically, not noticing Artsy's small red blush and hesitant "umm"

 

"Ah like the blue. It makes ya look cool!" exclaimed the normal pony with an accent and a pink ribbon in her mane.

 

"PINK!"

 

"BLUE!"

 

"GREEN!"

 

They all argued with each other for several minutes, very distracted. It was at this moment that Artsy carefully slipped out of the ridiculously garish hot-pink dress they had placed her in and away from them whilst they didn't notice. Whew...

 

As she trotted about, her eyes were immediately attracted by a glorious crimson beauty of an outfit in a display case, which she had previously missed on account of it being hidden behind several racks. It was like a grand phoenix of an outfit, gradiented with golds and reds and swirly flames. The dress looked absolutely beautiful and was accented by a large ruby around the neck. A dress... a dress she had to have. Artsy wished to herself that she could have a human version of this to take home in case she ever went back.

 

"Ex... excuse me? How much is this one?" She said loudly in the direction of the bickering children. The white unicorn was roused out of the argument and trotted over to her, followed by the two others.

 

"Oh, oh... you don't want pink or green or blue?"

 

"No... I think this is the one. How much?"

 

"Th... that's 300 bits... according to the tag."

 

...Crap. She forgot. They didn't have any pony money, did they?