FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Seahorse Bay

~ Dragonfly's Arrival ~

By all accounts, Dragonfly was an average pegasus.

Born and raised in Cloudsdale, graduated from Summer Flight Camp with good grades overall, with the exception being her almost failing grades in long-distance flight. As her teachers all throughout her academic life remarked, she was always a good measuring stick to compare her classmates to, under- and over-achievers alike. Her purple frame was slim, as was common amongst pegasi, with the small hooves characteristic of ponies who spent most their lives treading on clouds. While others might be upset at such a lack of excellence, Dragonfly was perfectly happy with her lot in life, letting her curiosity and easygoingness take her where she needed to be.

About the only thing truly remarkable about her was her love of all things entomological. Bugs fascinated her. Ever since she had learned how to use her wings, Dragonfly had spent most of her free time visiting the forests below the great city in the clouds, sometimes with one of her father's many encyclopaedias in one saddlebag and a collection of lidded jars in the other, learning all she could about those strange creatures that were so tiny, so different from ponies, yet so interesting. Beetles, butterflies, moths, spiders, fireflies and so on, she studied, captured and catalogued all she could find that had a hard segmented shell and more than four legs. Most pegasi in Cloudsdale found her a little eccentric for it, but the red-and-green-maned filly's cheerfulness and eagerness to help others made it was easy to cope with her antics. Some even enjoyed the particular brand of somewhat disgusting trivia she liked to spout out.

At the moment; however, she was not thinking about her beloved bugs.

"'Welcome to Seahorse Bay'..." Still panting from the long flight, Dragonfly stood in front of the large wooden sign as she read it: "'Population, thirteen thousand ponies'."

The purple pegasus looked past the sign. She stood on the top of a hill. From there, she had a great view of the ocean and of the town sprawling at the foot of the hill. The settlement seemed fairly rustic: a collection of cobblestone streets emerging from what Dragonfly guessed was the town square, lined with colorful houses of traditional Earth Pony design. Closer to the shore, a mass of weathered warehouses and commercial buildings by the seashore made up the port lining most of the crescent-shaped bay.

From Dragonfly's position she could see the hustle and bustle of the trading town. There was a market adjacent to the town square, packed with ponies going about their businesses. A bit further away there was what seemed to be a school with a good number of foals playing in the yard. The port itself looked fairly calm and empty at the moment, with dockworkers lazily sleeping in fishnet hammocks or playing checkers, although she guessed things were a lot more hectic when there were ships that needed loading or unloading.

There also seemed to be a couple small boats tied to the harbor, fishing nets hanging in loose bunches from the sides. Those struck the pegasus as odd: why would anypony want anything to do with fishes? Maybe they traded with the gryphons? That seemed likely, she concluded as she took a more careful glance at the town. Her musings were interrupted by the flapping of powerful wings coming from a few yards besides her, quickly followed by the thud of four hooves firmly planting themselves on the grass besides the road.

Startled, she stumbled to the side as she turned to look at this newcomer. Standing there was a large grey pegasus. On future occasions, she would agree that "large" might have been an initial understatement. This stallion didn't seem much older than Dragonfly's late teens, but he somehow managed to be half again as tall as she was! His frame was built to a point she would have mistaken him for one of the Earth pony dockworkers if not for the large wings sprouting out of his back. And on the subject of wings, she had to blink and cover her eyes as the midday sun glinted harshly off his steel-grey feathers. Thankfully, his mane was a more traditional reddish-brown, pulled back and tied in a short ponytail. His actual tail was of a fairly normal length, trimmed for flight performance. His face was stern with maroon eyes, and the mark on his flank was a golden shield with a brown border, flanked by white wings.

The pegasus looked at her curiously, one eyebrow raised.

"Uhh... hi!" Dragonfly said, waving one hoof a bit nervously at her fellow flyer. She looked at herself, wondering if she had anything on her that warranted that look. Nope, nothing seemed out of order. Her fur was still a pleasant, rich purple, her red and green mane was still held in place by her ladybug-shaped hairclips. Her saddlebags were closed and her cutie mark still looked like a colorful dragonfly had landed on her hindquarters. Bolstered by the fact she had not, indeed, sprouted a second head, she decided to insist on communicating: "I'm Dragonfly! Who are you?"

The grey pony didn't answer. Dragonfly was about to repeat her question, perfectly willing to assume the pegasus was hard of hearing, when she found herself surprised by the rather pleasant and deliberate baritone voice.

"I'm Skywall." He replied, dipping his head and folding his large wings. "Pleasure to meet you, Dragonfly, and welcome to the Bay." Another nod. "Stayin' for long? The inn's closed for now, but I'm sure we could find a family home to take you in while you sort your business in town."

"Thanks for the welcome!" Dragonfly bowed a little curtsy to punctuate her appreciation. "And well... I guess I'm staying for a while! That inn you mentioned, is it managed by an old unicorn called Honeywell? Light orange, about this tall?" She pointed to a spot a little above her head with one hoof.

"Sure is." Skywall nodded again. It seemed to be one of his favorite gestures, as he moved with a certain economy of movement that made him look very much like a particularly lively statue. "You just missed 'im, actually. Went on a trip abroad last week, something about cataloguin'... stuff. Bugs, most likely. Mister Honeywell really likes his bugs."

"That's why I'm here!" She replied, nodding excitedly. "You see, Honeywell is my uncle! Well, great-uncle, but that's not really important... I'm moving in from Cloudsdale to take care of the inn while he's abroad!"

"Ah, so you're the new innkeeper?" The large pegasus' demeanor changed instantly and he smiled broadly. "Better show you 'round, then! The inn is right at the other edge of town. Follow me."

"Uh... sure!" Dragonfly returned the smile and did as she was told, trotting besides Skywall. She had broken the ice and so she was immensely pleased. "Do you have a lot of ponies staying at the inn every day?"

"Not lately. Haven't had any big ships docking, but when we do folks like hangin' 'round for a day or two, 'till the train comes around to take 'em or their cargo wherever they need to be."

"So, things should be pretty calm at the inn?" More time for her bugs! With some luck, Uncle Honeywell would have left his collections behind, and Dragonfly was really looking forward to going through them and making her own notes.

"Prob'ly, yup." Skywall replied, then chuckled. Or at least she thought he chuckled: it was a very deep sound. "Tho I'll warn you, little lady... got your work cut out for ya."

"What do you mean?"

"Ol' Honeywell ain't one to spend much time doin' maintenance, and he'd been without a fixit ever since Hammer Hoof got married and moved to Sunburn Shore... so the place was gettin' a bit beat-up. We all pitched in to help prop it up just before he left, but we couldn't get it all done."

"Ooooh... alright! Duly noted!" It seemed like quite a bit of work, but Dragonfly was still happy. She had just left her parents' house for the first time and she would have her own inn! Having to learn how to maneuver a hammer shouldn't be too hard. There was just one thing off with the entire situation... "Er... Skywall, why are we walking?"

"Gotta show you the town, you've got ponies to meet. Better do it by hoof." He kept going at a leisurely trot which, given his long legs, was a canter for the filly besides him. "Anyway, I'm real happy you've gonna be livin' here, Dragonfly. How good at you at cleanin' the sky?"

"Well... I got passing grades in flight school." She replied, not terribly confident. Still, she smiled: "My dad works at the weather factory, though! So I learned a thing or two about it with him! Why?"

"Dunno if you already noticed, but we don't have a whole lot of pegasus flyin' 'round here." Skywall gestured to the sky above the city with one wing. "Lots o' creaky ol' flyers who spend most o' their time sittin' down in the square playin' cards... not a lot o' younger cloudwranglers like you and me."

"Gee, clearing the sky must be hard, then!"

"You tell me, little lady!" Skywall said, rolling his eyes wearily. "I'm the pony in charge o' weather here, so I do most o' the heavy liftin'." Dragonfly glanced at him again. The lifting of heavy things seemed to be a function he was exceptionally prepared for. "We get a lot o' left-over clouds comin' in from other towns in spring, and we're responsible for breakin' up the monsoons and directin' the rainclouds inland. It's a full-time job for me, and sometimes I need a hoof. That's where you come in."

"I'm listening!" She nodded.

"Just keep an eye on the sky. If you see me up there and things start gettin' a bit hectic, don't be shy 'bout flyin' up and helpin' out. It's usually not a big deal, but last Winter Wrap-Up we had to borrow a few pegasus from the nearby towns just to catch all the clouds that got pushed our way." He rolled his eyes. "Lucky me, we don't usually have much else to do for the wrap-up since winter's pretty mild this far south. Can't rely on outside help all the time, tho. Those pegasus have their own work to do before they can help us."

"So, help with the weather? Sounds good to me!" Dragonfly patted his shoulder with one wing. "Why do we have so few flyers, though?"

"Beats me, little lady." He shrugged. "Always been like that, 'least ever since I arrived in town. We're not even that far away from Cloudsdale." The two pegasi reached the end of the slope. "All right, we're here. Let's introduce you to some o' the local ponies."

~ Twins! ~

---

The main street opened up ahead of them. Skywall called out ponies and stores as they went by. The building with the big bows on the windows was the clothier. To the other side was the general store, always well-stocked due to the town's merchant roots. A little further ahead one of the local bakers was standing in front of his competitor's shop, the two gentlecolts trading barbs.

"Gee, I hope the vitriol doesn't get into the dough!" Dragonfly commented as they walked past the scene, turning her head to watch the two stocky ponies insulting each other's skills, baked goods and ancestry. A small bemused crowd had gathered around them, enjoying what appeared to be a regular spectacle.

The larger pegasus chuckled and kept pointing out places and ponies. Dragonfly quickly lost track of all those names, although she did her best to try and memorize the faces. Some of those faces smiled and nodded at them as they went by, with Skywall performing brief introductions to those who asked. Having rarely left the area around Cloudsdale, Dragonfly had never heard so many different accents in one place. There were ponies from all corners of Equestria in this place!

"Don't worry 'bout rememberin' everything, Dragonfly." He said. "It's a small town, you'll learn all the names in a month or two."

As they walked further down the street, Dragonfly's trained ears started flicking as they tried to identify what that strange buzzing sound reaching them was. She was good with insects, she knew the noises they made, but that one was completely alien to her. It was a long and regular buzz, increasing in pitch until it ended with a sharp "pop!".

"Skywall, what is that noise?"

"It's the other reason we're walkin'. Let's just go 'round this corner here and you'll see what I'm talkin' about."

Rounding the corner, Dragonfly found herself looking at a very strange building in the middle of a plaza. It was almost as large as a warehouse, and its walls were such a mishmash of multiple different types of brick, wood and metal sheeting she had no idea what the original material of the building was. The doors were made out of metal and heavily dented, and many of the windows were cracked and broken, or replaced with heavy steel bars. Through them, she could see flashes and sparks dancing inside the building. A maze of colorful pipes and hoses crawled up the outside walls, sometimes jutting back inside, while others ended in open tubes and hooded chimneys.

Bzzzzz-- pop!

Dragonfly looked up. Mounted upon the roof of the building was an enormous contraption. It looked like two masts set at a slight angle to each other, covered in wires and bits and pieces of steel and capped by two metal spheres. Every now and then a large spark flew between one pole to the other, dancing over the wires and buzzing its way up until it reached the spheres at the top and winked out of existence with a sharp crack.

"That's... weird." Dragonfly said, scratching her head in lieu of anything more meaningful to say. "What is this place?"

"This is the Twins' workshop." Skywall replied. "See the thing on roof? Don't fly too close to it or it's gonna zap ya. It ain't quite like bein' hit by lightinin' but believe me, it still ain't fun."

"Wow, really? Why don't the Twins turn that thing off, then?"

"They say they need it to help power their inventions."

"Inventions?" Dragonfly quirked her head, frowning.

"Yep. They like buildin' stuff. Y'know, machines. Actually, let's see if they're inside so they can tell you themselves." Skywall walked up to the door and knocked on it with one hoof. "Hey! Button! Switch! You in there? Got someone here ya'll should meet!"

"Hang on!" The muffled female voice replied almost immediately. Dragonfly walked up to the door to hear it better. "Just need to test one last thing!"

"Ready?!" An enthusiastic male voice echoed from inside.

"What?! Nonono! Waaait--!"

An explosion rocked the building, sending a gout of flame out of the open window just to the side of where Dragonfly stood. Along with the fireball flew a light green unicorn wearing welding goggles, who bounced a few times on the cobblestone ground before smacking face-first into the side of another building across the street. Startled by the explosion, Dragonfly winced and jumped behind Skywall.

"Ow." Said the unicorn, sitting up and rubbing his nose. Miraculously, he seemed to have withstood the incident with nothing to show for it but a few singed patches of fur and a mussed mane. "We're gonna need less power next time, Button!" He yelled nasally and laughed. "Hah, I sound funny!"

"We're not going to need less power next time, Switch!" Yelled the pony poking her head out of the window. Dragonfly turned her head to see another light green unicorn in goggles, thin wisps of smoke still wafting off her windswept black and green mane. "We're going to need you to wait until all the restrainers are in place, dummy! Oh!" She noticed Dragonfly standing right besides her and smiled. "Hello! I'm Button!"

"I'm Switch!" Waved the unicorn in the street, cricking his neck. "Ooh, that felt good!"

The purple pegasus blinked, still somewhat flabbergasted. "I'm, er... Dragonfly! Hi! Nice to meet you! So... Skywall told me you're inventors?"

"It's nice to meet you too!" The Twins said in unison. Their voices carried a very distinct Canterlot accent. Button hopped out of the window and onto the street while Switch nodded enthusiastically. They were almost completely identical, both fairly short and slim in build, and their cutiemarks were the only way she could tell them apart: both had a button with a smiling face surrounded by sparks on their hindquarters, but it was blue for Button and red for Switch. "And we most certainly are inventors, Dragonfly! Some of the best out there!"

"So... what were you doing in there? Inventing things?" She pointed at the workshop. A faint cloud of white smoke was pouring out of a hole in the roof.

"Almost! We were doing science!" The Twins grinned. Pearly whites all over.

"Uh..." She glanced at the window again. "Explosive science?"

"The best kind of science!" They nodded.

"Cool! So besides inventing things you also research things?" Dragonfly asked.

"Yes!" Button replied as Switch floated a cracked mirror from inside the workshop and brushed his mane down again. "And we're engineers and mechanics, too! Give us a soldering iron and a box of tools and we can fix anything but the crack of dawn and a broken heart!"

"Actually..." Switch raised one hoof.

"No, Switch. We've talked about it before, remember? The electrostatic cardiac de-wrenchinator isn't ready for prime time yet!"

"Ah." The male unicorn stopped for a second. "Well, then Button's right! Crack of dawn, broken heart. Everything else? Fair game!"

Dragonfly giggled. "You two are fun! So, what do you like inventing?"

"Oh, a bit of everything!" They replied, once again speaking at once. "We like coming up with things that help make ponies' lives easier. Like digging machines for the silver mine, for example!"

"Digging machines?" Dragonfly repeated, surprised. "I didn't see any mines on the way here!"

"Really? The Hollow Mountain is a very important mine! It produces silver and gems, and a bit of gold, too. Most of it goes to Canterlot! We even built a tram that goes up and down the railroad connecting Seahorse Bay and the mine, so the workers don't have to stay in the camp overnight if they don't want to!"

Skywall said: "If you wanna visit it, just follow the railroad to the foothills. Take the tram or fly low, 'cos the entrance to the mine is a hole in the side of the mountain, so it's easy to miss.

"The entrance is easy to miss, but the mine itself is huge!" The Twins smiled proudly. "Our parents own it, so we helped build the elevators and machines that ponies use down there."

"Oh, wow! Your parents own the mine?" Dragonfly's eyes were wide. "You must be very rich, then!"

They just looked at each other and laughed. "We can pay for the things we blow up! But we let mom and dad worry about the money, we're here to improve ponies' lives through science and engineering!"

Skywall cleared his throat. "Crazy snowball-throwing robot, anypony?"

"... right." The Twins deflated somewhat. "Sometimes it doesn't quite work out. Like the SnowBot 3000. But that was a long time ago!"

"Yep, but I still remember." Skywall chuckled. "Darned thing flung half a snowdrift at me when I flew over your testin' grounds."

"But you had fun dodging the snowballs, didn't you?" They asked expectantly.

"Ehh, kindasorta." The large pegasus shook his head, patting the twins' heads with one wing. They stood just barely at chest height from him. "Havin' to power on thru the barrage to knock it over was fun. Gettin' shot down, not so much."

"But...!"

"Right, um..." Dragonfly scratched her ear with a wing and looked at Skywall, who just shook his head, smiling. "I still need to get to Uncle Honeywell's inn."

"You're Mr. Honeywell's niece?" The Twins cheered up again instantly. "That's great! Why didn't you tell us before? We have a butterfly-catching machine he asked us to build! Come on in, we'll show you!"

"All right, you three are firm friends already." Skywall said, pulling Dragonfly back with one wing. "But looks like the workshop needs a good deal o' sweepin' after that blast, and Dragonfly here's lookin' mighty pale. Well, even more pale than she'd be after that scare. It's about lunch time and she could prob'ly use somethin' to eat after flyin' all the way here."

"Oh, fie! You're right!" The Twins craned their necks to look through the window and winced. "We better bust out the brooms! See you soon, Dragonfly! Welcome to Seahorse Bay! If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask!"

And as the two unicorns in goggles jumped back inside, a chuckling Skywall led Dragonfly down the street. "Mighty peculiar crew, those two." He quipped.

"I'll say! Are they always blowing themselves up like that?"

"Oh, only about once a week. I think they got used to it, tho: the worst you see then walkin' 'round with is a couple o' scratches, bruises or a bit o' limpin'. The doc barely even bothers to treat 'em most o' the time, just sits 'em down and tells 'em to keep a bag o' ice on whatever's hurtin'."

"Really? That sounds like a mean doctor."

"Nah. He knows they're both tougher than they look. Now come on, I wasn't kiddin' when I said you look like you need some food!"

Dragonfly opened her mouth, but her grumbling stomach made itself heard before she could say she was not hungry. Ears down in embarrassment, she just nodded and kept following.

~ Roses and Cookies ~

---

"Let's make a quick detour here, gotta check with the blacksmith." Skywall said, nudging Dragonfly down a secondary street.

"Blacksmith?" She asked. "Picking up new shoes?"

"Yep. I land hard and I'm heavy, so I go thru shoes real quick. Shouldn't take long here, then I'll show you your uncle's inn."

Skywall unfolded one wing and waved it at the old earth pony hammering away at a piece of metal on an anvil by the entrance of the shop. The old stallion stopped what he was doing and pulled the goggles off his face. He wore a harness with loops and latches for hanging tools and other items, as well as a heavy black apron that covered his neck, chest and forelegs.

"Hey, flyboy." He mumbled to Skywall, gave Dragonfly a glance, then solemnly ignored her. "Looking for your order?"

"Is it ready, Mr. Iron Bolt?" Skywall replied. Both pegasi craned their necks to look into the building. The walls were dark with soot and lined with the heavy tools and chains necessary for the blacksmiths to carry out their work. A young stallion was skimming impurities off a large vat of molten iron a little deeper into the shop, using what looked like an oversized ladle. The whistling sizzle of steel being quenched drifted out of a room in the back. Iron Bolt thought about Skywall's question for a second, then turned his head towards the source of that noise and yelled:

"Rosie! You got Skywall's order? He's waiting for it!"

"Just a sec, pa!" A female voice echoed back, quickly followed by a few hammer blows and the clink of tools being put down. "I got it! Upsy-daisy!"

Problem relegated, the old pony pulled his goggles down and resumed shaping the piece of metal he had been working on. Dragonfly watched him skillfully hammer the iron for a few seconds until a red female stepped out of the back room, balancing a small crate on her hindquarters. She wore the same outfit as Iron Bolt, with a slightly singed bright orange kerchief around her head to keep her long purple mane out of the way.

"I have to tell you, Skywall!" She said cheerfully as she approached the two pegasus, distracted by balancing the crate as she walked. "It's hard to make shoes for you! Even royal guards have smaller hooves than you! So I decided to use those molds we made when you placed your order last week to make some brand new casts and I'm sure you'll just love those... Oh, hello!" The earth pony turned her head towards Dragonfly, eyebrows high behind the goggles, then smiled. "Never seen you before! Hi, hi! I'm Rosie. How do you do? New here, or just passing by?"

"New here! My name is Dragonfly, I'll be taking care of the inn while my uncle is abroad!" The pegasus did another playful curtsy while Rosie pulled her goggles and apron off. "So you're a blacksmith?"

"Third best in town, only behind pa and my big bro over there!" Rosie grinned wide and pointed to the younger stallion, who looked just a few years older than she did. Still busy skimming the glowing-hot liquid, he didn't return Dragonfly's wave. "So you're the new innkeeper? Cool! When do you plan on reopening the inn?"

"As soon as possible!"

"You know, I was there last week, just before Mr. Honeywell left. Looks like the place could use a little bit more work and..." Rosie started, but was interrupted by her father noisily clearing his throat between hammer blows. "Riiight. Pa doesn't like ponies talking in the shop." She looked at Skywall. "Cookie's?"

"Sure." The stallion nodded.

"Uh... your daddy doesn't like ponies talking while he's working and you offer cookies?" Dragonfly looked from Rosie to Skywall and back again. "I mean, I'm not complaining. Are your cookie jars made of metal, too?"

"Oh, no! I mean, they are but that's not what I meant at all!" Rosie shook her head and giggled, stepping inside just long enough to put her safety equipment onto a bench. The bandana seemed to be a fashion statement, given she was still wearing it when she stepped out. "I've finished those picks you asked me to forge, Pa. So I'm going out for lunch with Skywall and my new friend, see you at dinnertime!"

Dragonfly heard Iron Bolt grumbling a reply Rosie didn't pay attention to, then followed her and Skywall as they started walking. She took a better look at the earth pony. While Dragonfly herself took the pegasi's usual "aerodynamic" build far enough she could easily be called "scrawny", Rosie was the embodiment of the earth pony ideal of a harmonious figure. Her muscles were obviously very strong, after all she was still effortlessly carrying a crate Dragonfly would have problems just holding up, but her physique didn't seem exaggerated. Stallions would probably say she had curves in all the right places, but Dragonfly figured the soot didn't help drawing in suitors. Neither would the rose surrounded by three hammers that made up her cutie mark. It seemed hardly romantic. The eyes, on the other hoof, drew attention. Rosie had big, bright pink eyes that carried a certain magnetism that made it hard for anypony to look anywhere else while talking to her. Even the goggle-shaped layer of soot ringing them didn't dim the effect in any way. It reminded her of the iridescent butterflies she used to collect back in Cloudsdale.

"All right!" Rosie's voice brought Dragonfly back to reality. They were standing in front of a counter full of baked sweets, their surfaces gleaming with more kinds of glazing the pegasus could count. "You can pick any pastry you'd like! It's on me!"

"What would you suggest?" The young purple mare asked as she blinked confusedly. She tried to parse out the myriad flavors spread across the wide counter. "Gee, don't they have anything simple, like... raspberry?"

"Sure they do, silly!" Rosie laughed and placed her order, along with a raspberry pastry for Dragonfly. "Let's go to the table, they'll bring it over to us there."

"I thought we were having cookies, though?" Dragonfly walked over and sat down on a soft pillow besides Skywall. Rosie and Skywall laughed.

"No, no. Sugar Cookie is a pony!" Rosie explained, sitting down as well. "Family owns this bakery, her brother runs it."

"Ooh! So she's a baker?"

"Nah, she's a nurse." Rosie chuckled as Dragonfly looked confused. "Don't take me wrong, she's a good baker, but she mostly takes care of hurt ponies. We share our doctor with the nearby villages, so he's almost never in town. Sugar Cookie and two other fillies hold the fort for him."

"Pretty sure they're better than 'im at this point." Skywall said flatly. "Haven't seen Doc around in two weeks."

"Well... probably." Rosie shrugged. "The point is that Sugar Cookie is really good at patching ponies up! So if you get hurt, Dragonfly, either go see her or send for her or Tender Hoof or Bedside. If Cookie's not out visiting somepony or studying at the library, she'll usually be here helping with the family business. Ah, there she is!" Rosie waved, and a white earth pony with a light blue mane approached the table.

"Hello, Rosie, Skywall. Who's your new friend?" Sugar Cookie asked. Dragonfly looked at her. Sugar Cookie seemed very friendly, but she also had a very tired air about her. There were bags under her sky-blue eyes, and her braided mane was somewhat loose. The light pink bow tying the braid also looked like it had seem somewhat better days. Rosie was about to answer when Dragonfly perked up:

"Hi! I'm Dragonfly!"

"Mr. Honeywell asked her to take care of the inn while he's out of town." Rosie completed.

"I see..." Sugar Cookie smiled warmly. "Hello, Dragonfly. Are you liking our town?"

"I am!" Dragonfly grinned. "It's very different from Cloudsdale, and it's got so many ponies to meet!"

"That's true." The nurse nodded slowly. "Wait until a big ship makes port. You'll see a lot more ponies at the Honeywell Inn. Probably even a few gryphons, or a zebra or two if you're lucky."

"You have zebras here?!" Dragonfly's eyes went wide. Zebras! How exotic!

"On occasion, yes." Sugar Cookie sat down by the table as a waitress walked over carrying a tray with the orders. Dragonfly licked her lips and immediately dug into the pastry put down in front of her. "I really like talking to zebras, but none of them live nearby." Sugar Cookie looked at Dragonfly wolfing down her food, crumbles and chunks of raspberry filling sticking to the pegasus' face, and laughed a playful warning: "Careful there! You might choke!"

"Pegasi must have some sort of secret technique for eating like crazy ponies." Rosie said, smirking at Skywall. "I've seen this colt end a bowl of salad before you could say 'dinner's ready'!" Skywall chuckled in response.

Dragonfly finished her pastry and licked the mess around her mouth with a swipe of her tongue. "Flying takes a lot of energy! So we eat quickly to recover quickly!"

"Recover quickly to...?" Asked Rosie.

"To fly some more, of course!" Dragonfly smiled and licked the plate clean. "That was delicious, thank you very much!"

"Well, that certainly explains why I haven't met many pegasi suffering from indigestion." Sugar Cookie smiled and shook her head. "So I take you're fond of flying, Dragonfly? Well, more than your average pegasus?"

"It's fun!" Dragonfly nodded. "I like going around quickly, it gives me more time to catch my bugs!"

"Bugs?"

"Yes! I love bugs!" She smiled wide.

"As in... the squirmy things with lots of legs that like flying around and getting into ponies' manes...?" Sugar Cookie asked, one eyebrow raised in slight disgust.

"Well... at least six legs, yes! And not all of them fly!" Dragonfly nodded, still grinning.

"I guess I should have expected that from Mr. Honeywell's niece..." Sugar Cookie laughed despite herself, bringing a hoof to her face. "Just... try not to get bitten or stung as much as he did, please. And no hunting for bugs in town, okay? Your uncle almost emptied the town's medicine stock last time he went prodding a paper-wasp nest under the roof of the town hall."

Dragonfly winced internally. Yep, that was Uncle Honeywell alright. Once a brilliant mind, the unicorn became more and more scatterbrained as age creeped up on him. He was still very much coherent in his regular letters to Dragonfly, but his magical penmanship had become rather atrocious over the years, so she expected him to have taken the straight path to clumsiness. Dragonfly offered Sugar Cookie an embarrassed simper. "I'll take care, promise."

"Don't worry, dear." The nurse said gently. "I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun looking for insects in the woods around town. Mr. Honeywell loves talking about how this region is a 'treasure trove', after all. You'll probably see his collections hanging off the walls at the inn. He showed those off to his guests at every opportunity."

"Celestia knows how many times I had to hear him talk about his prized Titanus giganteus, or whatever he called that thing..." Rosie smirked, waving one hoof dismissively. Realization dawned and she froze into place with an expression of shock. "Oh, heavens... I actually memorized that name!"

"Ooh! I'll get to see his titan beetle!" Dragonfly fluttered a few inches in the air, beaming with entomological joy. "I can't wait!"

"Well, guessin' this is a good a time as any to get goin', little lady." Skywall said. He stretched his wings and popped his neck. Standing still for too long left him feeling stiff. "Mrs. Tea Leaf's gonna be glad to meet 'er new boss."

"Tea Leaf?" Dragonfly plopped back down onto the pillow. "Boss?"

"It's your inn now, right?" He asked, standing up. Once again, Dragonfly boggled at how a pony that big was ever able to take to the air. "Mrs. Tea Leaf's the mare who keeps everythin' in order there. Also makes the tea. She's got a son, Scone, who does the rest o' the cookin'. You'll meet 'em both soon enough."

"Oh." Dragonfly sunk. For some reason, she had not expected to have employees under her authority. The concept was entirely alien to her. It was a level of responsibility she had never even imagined. "So... I guess they'll be working for me now?"

"Yep."

"A mare and a colt?"

"Yep." Skywall nodded and added, "And you'll have to do the number-crunchin' to keep the place open."

"Don't worry, too much about it, though!" Sugar Cookie was quick to ease Dragonfly's nerves. "Mr. Honeywell didn't look like he had much trouble with it, and he always said he was horrible with Mathematics. It can't be that difficult, right?"

"I... guess? Well..." Dragonfly was unsure, but she could not help but smile. She figured Sugar Cookie's bedside manners must be excellent.

"Ah, so you're going already?" Rosie asked, still nibbling on her second cinnamon roll.

"I guess we are!" Dragonfly chippered. "But please come visit! I can't wait to go behind that counter and greet ponies!"

"Not that fast, little lady." Skywall said, laughing. "First we gotta get you settled. C'mon, I think you've met enough ponies for a week already. We can fly the rest o' the way there."