Farmhand

"Ya look well enough ta travel ta meh." She had said accusingly, glaring at her little sister. "Yer legs aren't hurt in the least!!" Applebloom had shifted from hoof to hoof in front of her, Quill had observed her calmly. His face was carefully composed, devoid of any emotion. Either he was totally calm, or he didn't want her to know how he felt.

"To much movement, and he'll break open those wounds." Applebloom said smoothly; "That right there is cause not to travel."

"Well, ah won't have him taking up space in that guest room, Applebloom." She told her sister, like this would instantly end the argument.

"Bu-" Applebloom began to argue, but Quill cut in now.

"I'm sure there's an inn or something. I'll stay in the town I saw, and I'll be fine." He tried for a smile, he didn't really have a reason to stay here, anyway. Yet again, Applebloom opened her mouth to argue, but then she shut it again.

"Fahn!! Go ta Ponyville and good riddance!!" She turned on her hoof and stormed out of the room. Applejack glanced from Quill to the door which Applebloom had gone through, then followed after her little sister. Quill took this as his cue to go, and he headed for the door, remembering the reason he had been favoring one side when he arrived. The bottom of one hoof was practically shredded, but he ignored this.

He decided to fly, to take the pain off his hoof, but remembered that his wing was bandaged. Which took his thought back to Applebloom.

Shaking his head, he limped steadily on for the town, glad that the cuts, all of them, really, had had a bit of time to begin healing before he set out again. He was far from totally healed, though, and curious looks were cast his way as he set hoof on main street. There was a castle at then end of this street, made of beautiful crystal, or at least that's what it looked like. That was far off, though, as it looked fairly tiny.

The buildings on either side of the road leading there were mostly shops of some sort, it seemed, and all buildings stopped a few hundred yards short of the castle. Several streets branched off this one, but undoubtedly some more were blocked from his view by the buildings. The shops themselves were cheery, painted with bright colors and bearing playful, colorful or otherwise festive signs.

He had limped a few hundred feet, tops. when, somepony wandered up to him, seemingly curious. He was clean, at least, but his mane and tail both looked like he'd just rolled out of bed, and he was bandaged. The bandages themselves were no longer fully clean, either. Probably looked like something out of a daring do book, what with his fur standing on end in places and the fact that he looked like he'd been through a fight. Of course, he had, actually, been through a fight. Not to say that it had ended well for him, or the wolves for that matter, but a fight nonetheless.

"Heya!!" He whirled, forcing himself to stay calm, to face whoever had somehow snuck up on him. It was a pink mare with a curly and quite frankly adorable mane. Her eyes were a bright, clear blue, and he found himself licking his lips unconsciously, as the color reminded him quite keenly of cotton candy. Luckily she didn't notice the lick, because it didn't look like the most appropriate gesture.

"Your new to town!!!" She beamed. It wasn't a question.

"That I am. Pleasure to meet you." He met her eyes politely, not keen on ending the conversation somehow.

"You know what this means!! There's gonna be a PARTY!!!" She jumped several feet into the air, and Quill couldn't help but crack a smile.

"What's your name?" She came down from the bounce and miraculously landed sitting on his back. She kept her legs spread, though, off the bandages, being careful not to hurt him.

"My name is Quill." He told her, then asked for her name in return;

"Didn't I say!? My name is PINKIE PIE!!!" She nipped his ear playfully, and he laughed, gently easing her off him. She bounced away, singing tra la la, and Quill vaguely wondered why exactly she had said there would be a party. It didn't matter, though, he was sure he wouldn't be attending. Who in their right mind would invite him to a party? Shaking the thoughts from his head, he headed to a nearby shop, which had a vibrant selection of flowers, dominant among them several colors of roses. The mare at the counter had a cream-colored coat and red hair, with lighter colored highlights. She grinned nervously as he approached.

"Looking to buy some roses? Of course we have other flowers too..." She was trying to be polite, but her nervousness was clear all the same. Quill shifted his bags a bit, answering quickly.

"No, I'm afraid I'm not looking to buy."

"That's okay, don't worry. Is there some other way I can help you?" She was relaxing, starting to understand that he was friendly.

"Well, I was wondering whether I might find a hotel or inn of some sort anywhere nearby?" He posed the question politely, and the mare seemed only to be getting more comfortable with him.

"Well, there is an inn a few streets over, actually! It's quite lovely!"

"May I have your name?" He was talking in a certain way on purpose, his voice dripping with flattery, though he wasn't trying to flatter her so much as keep her in a good mood. They seemed to go hoof in hoof in this case, though. She giggled, blushing slightly, and answered;

"My name is Roseluck. What's yours?" She locked the shop and walked out, saddlebags looking pretty empty draped across her back. They started walking companionably down a side street, Quill assuming she was leading him to the inn.

"My name is Quill." he told her, friendly enough.

"And I'm guessing your new in town?" She glanced over at him.

"That I am." He nodded, eyeing her guardedly.

"Well, where are you from?" She seemed genuinely interested, green eyes flashing curiously.

"Oh, I'm from a ways away. What about you?" He turned the conversation away from himself as politely as possible.

"Oh, I'm a Ponyville filly through and through. I was raised here, never decided to leave. I mean, I've traveled, seen new places and such, but Ponyville was always meant to be my home." They had stopped in front of a long but low two story building. The sign out front read Lyra's Human Style Beds, and under that in smaller print, which are exactly like pony beds but longer. Roseluck laughed merrily as her eyes scanned the sign.

"Why don't you come out for a drink or two? You seem nice, and I'm meeting some friends at Berry's Bar. You seem tense, you should relax!" She giggled, watching his face for a reaction.

"Thanks, but I'm not sure how much more walking I can do. I'm afraid I can't tonight."

"Oh, maybe another time, then?" She persisted, taking a step closer.

"Oh, I'm sure I can go another time. Thanks again for bringing me here." He smiled, then waved to her and headed inside. Once the door was shut behind him, he resumed his emotionless mask and walked up to the counter, where a mint-furred unicorn stood smiling brightly at him.

"Hello!!! I haven't seen you around!!" She never let her smile falter.

"Um, yeah, I'm new. How does everypony know I'm new around here?" He inclined his head slightly, curious.

"It's a small town, new faces don't go unnoticed. Would you care to rent a room?" He nodded pulling a few bits from his bags, all the money he had brought with him.

"Six bits...we're cheap, that's enough for two nights." She told him cordially, smile fading a bit to a smirk. He replied with a smile of his own, the lopsided grin gently splitting his features.

"Is something wrong with the rooms, for them to be so cheap?"

"No, don't worry. I mean, they aren't wonderful, but they're clean and functional." She let her smile fade completely, to be replaced by an exhausted, depressed look.

"What's wrong, if I may ask?" He asked her, looking at her in a compassionate expression. Quill got attached to easily, cared to much because of that.

"Oh, nothing. Don't worry." She handed him a key and took the bits. "Your room is at the end of the hall on the right." She nodded to a door on the left of the counter, indicating he should leave now. Now he was on thin ice, but;

"Please won't you tell me what's wrong? I hate to see a mare upset..." She looked at him curiously, and then shook her head softly.

"Meh, it's just that my best friend and I stopped talking. I did it, it was my fault!!" She closed her eyes and shook her head, looking deeply ashamed of something.

"What do you mean?" He wanted to help. Actually he didn't, but he was going to try anyway.

"I mean she lied about who she was, lied about it for a long time, and at first when she told me I got over it, but then I had to go and make a big deal where there wasn't one, just because I was mad!!"

"Why would she lie about who she was?"

"It's a long story...I don't want to go into it." She dried her watering eyes with the fur on her fore-hoof.

"I won't force you to tell me. But if you need somepony to talk to, you know where my room is." He smiled warmly and headed through the door."

"Thanks, for everything, I didn't get your name, though. Mine is Lyra." She called just before he could shut the door behind him.

"It's Quill. And I'm happy to help." And the door was shut.