Band of Disharmonyby CircusChaptersA Circus Freak AccidentStarstruckSweet GreedA Circus Freak Accident“Nobody wants to make you feel totally responsible, but...” A ring rolls by the pair of ponies as though to make a point. It stalls and spins into a collapse on the dirt ground, dust puffing up and splattering onto the two. Doll Stripe sighs, tugging at his white and black scruff collar. An uncomfortable silence settles into the air as the other pony gazes at him with forced sympathy. Finally, the older mare shakes her head, “You’ve been a great employee, Doll. Don’t get me wrong. But everypony keeps complaining that… well, y’know, that you’re too…” “That I’m too what, Ice Spot?” The white stallion demands, struggling with wavering anger. His black and white mane falls over his grey eyes, and he thanks gravity for relieving him of having to see the older mare’s painfully pitying expression. “Um… Bossy, dishonest, strict, self-absorbed…” “Oh, no, go on.” Doll Stripe rolls his eyes, and when Ice Spot doesn’t say anything, he snarls out, “I’ve just been trying to put on the best acrobatic show in Equestria- go ahead, tear me down. Do you know how hard it is to lead these ponies? To keep them together? They’re about as harmonious as peanut butter and… something that doesn’t go with peanut butter!” He stomps his hoof. Ice Spot flinches, her gaze turning down and staring at the spot he ground his hoof into. “I respect that you have been leading and organizing everypony in the shows, but that was never your place.” Ice Spot murmurs sternly. She lifts her blue eyes and digs a glare into Doll’s grey ones, a tight frown settling into her weathered face. “Your place was to perform and follow. Do what you were told. You never had to play peacekeeper or- or- or fearmonger. So, I guess what I’m saying, Doll Stripe, is that you’re fired. Your skills as an acrobat can’t make up for your complete disregard for everypony else.” Doll Stripe steps back, shaken, anger bubbling up within him. He trembles and opens his mouth, but he’s not sure he could sweet talk his way out of this. Ice Spot had always been, well, icy, when it came to decisions. She had that look in her eye, one that told Doll Stripe that he was better off running to the nearest train without an argument than fighting for his job back. He turns and lowers his head, looking around the circus. He can admit that he made a mess of things. His ex co-workers are sitting, defeated and dirty, looking at broken equipment and sending him dirty looks. Maybe changing the routine at the last minute and demanding neverending practice out of his fellow performers wasn’t the best idea he’s ever had. Just minutes ago, he had been spinning on an aerial hoop just like the one in his cutie mark, a white hoop with a black ribbon, in the big top. They had been performing after weeks of tiring rehearsal. Others were originally going to come down on their own hoops around him. It was going to be beautiful. The problem? He had apparently overworked his performers. A pony had spun too hard with too loose a grip and had fallen from the aerial hoop, essentially starting catastrophe. Doll Stripe had demanded the others continue while the medical ponies on hand dealt with the fallen acrobat, but they were too distracted and too tired, for they too bailed, and Doll had been the only performer left. The crowd made noises that Doll remembers now as a horrifying blur of audio and, in an attempt to save the show, Doll signaled for a unicorn pony to open the ceiling of the big top and instead it came crashing down, the unicorns too panicked and tired to follow through. Chaos. Doll Stripe figures that he’s lucky to have made it out unscathed, his hoop having been close enough to the ground for him to jump off, and his reaction time being fast enough that he could run like hell to get out of there. So. Mistakes were made. He pushes aside the entrance flap into his tent and climbs onto his air mattress. He sucks in a breath and stares sadly down at his hooves. He doesn’t want to sulk, but he’s sulking. The circus- this circus- is all he knows. He’s lived there his whole life. And all he wanted was a perfect show, for everypony to have fun and get along… but his controlling, power-hungry nature destroyed everything. Doll Stripe blinks back tears and releases a breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding. All that is left for him to do here is packing. He doubts anypony wants to say goodbye. A whole life there, yet the only friend he had made was Ice Spot, and barely so. Still, he had thought that he and everypony else were some sort of family. Maybe, if he apologized… No, who needs them? Who needs a family? He furrows his brow and forces the unpleasant thoughts out of his head. Packing. He just needed to pack and leave, that was all. Their circus is currently set up near Ponyville, a common spot for them to be. Lucky for Doll, this means he knows his way to the train station. He gets up and looks around his tent, trying to locate his suitcase. He probably can take his tent with him, if he asks. They’d give him that, probably. Shelter, since he is bitless- the performers in this circus never get paid since they are cared for by the circus itself. His chest aches with trembling pride. He dismisses the idea of asking and steps outside his tent to start dismantling it. Well, they were kicking him out. Might as well leave them with a little act of revenge. He finally pulls the tent down and attempts stuffing it in his suitcase. Maybe he should’ve thought this through. Stuffing an entire outfitter’s tent into his suitcase was not going to work. Doll Stripe sighs loudly and pulls the fabric out of his suitcase, humming for a solution. A single hoof step causes him to freeze. Damn, he’d been caught. “Doll Stripe…?” A soft voice snaps him out of it, and he looks over his shoulder at a small blue mare. Ice Spot’s young mare daughter, Snow Whip. She was learning to become a beast trainer. Doll Strip turns to face her, ignoring battling feelings of guilt and contempt. “What?” He mutters, shoving the tent’s remains away with his back hoof. “Take my tent.” Snow Whip smiles gently before picking his suitcase up and trotting away, leaving him to follow. Doll Stripe wanders into ponyville with his suitcase between his teeth, stuffed with a much smaller and portable tent. Snow Whip had been kind to give him her tent, especially since she had caught him trying to steal his own. Even so, he is having a hard time ignoring the feelings of shame and embarrassment eating away at him. He deserved to be yelled at, told to leave without even the costume on his back, maybe even slapped. All he got was a smile and shelter to take with him. He hates it. He wanders into the town square and sets his suitcase down next to him as he takes a seat at the fountain. The water glares up at him accusingly. Don’t look at me like that, you glorified mess of chemicals. Doll Stripe hisses in his head, Who are you to judge me? I did my best for that circus and they kicked me out. So what if I tried to steal from them? That was my home! Where am I really supposed to go? He pauses, a solemn feeling washing over him. Where am I supposed to go? A drop of rain splashes into his mane and Doll Stripe looks up at the sky. Various pegasi are throwing together a storm. Great, now the weather matches the tone of the situation. He huffs angrily as the rain picks up and he turns into a matted mess of sadness. Doll Stripe drags himself onto his hooves and slugs himself and his suitcase over to the nearest area protected by a roof. He settles into that dry area and just watches the rain fall. StarstruckThe rain seems to want to fall for eternity. Doll Stripe leans against the wall of what the sign creaking above his head indicates is a furniture shop. The delicate sound of a bell ringing distracts him from the dreary rainfall and he glances over to whoever has just opened the door of the shop. It’s a young stallion, his coat an unsaturated blue like a night sky, perfectly styled dim purple mane falling just above his bright yellow eyes, parted only by the pony’s horn. The unicorn pauses upon stepping outside, as though just now realizing that a storm was going on. Doll Stripe listens to the frustrated growling noise the blue stallion makes as he steps into the rain and trots off, book floating behind him, encased in bright golden magic. Doll watches him as he attempts to make it through the attacking water. He glances down at his suitcase. It’s got his only means of shelter hidden within, and that shelter is basically useless in weather like this. He’s going to have to find- Doll Stripe grimaces- somepony to help him. That night-colored unicorn seemed like a perfectly good candidate. Everypony else was barred up inside, but that stallion was still in sight, and Celestia knows how helpful most ponies are. Sometimes it’s like everypony is acting like they’re on a foal’s show, because they’re all so bright and generous. Nevermind that, he has to go follow that blue unicorn. Doll Stripe grabs his suitcase and trots after the blue unicorn, flipping his waterlogged mane out of his eyes every so often as he goes. Ponyville almost doesn’t blend in with the stormy vibe. It’s brightly colored, covered in flowers and decor, and even through the dreary thunder, it manages to be like it’s own source of light. He’s never really been a fan of Ponyville. Doll Stripe ends up following the night-colored stallion out of Ponyville, picking up speed with him, but staying far enough behind that the other pony probably doesn’t even notice him. His hoof steps are covered up by thunder and pouring rain and the stallion ahead seems pretty focused on just getting home. Or, well, wherever he’s going. The white and black stallion finally notices a large building in the distance, an old-looking observatory with one of those giant telescopes pointing at an angle at the sky. Unlike Ponyville, this observatory blends in perfectly with the storm. It’s dark and damp looking, like just looking at it will cause its weak floorboards to creak. Doll Stripe almost considers turning around despite being drawn to the overall unwelcoming feel of the building- honestly, how can a dark colored unicorn living all the way out on his own in an abandoned building be anything but a villain- but he continues following. He’s come this far, why go back now? The blue stallion heads into the observatory and shuts the door behind him. Doll Stripe slows and whips his mane around again, blinking droplets from his colorless eyes. It was his last chance to turn around and bail, and this situation was clearly trying to push that option, but he steps up to the door and bangs his hoof against it instead. He’s pretty sure he hears a pegasus pony above the clouds making disappointed clicking noises at his actions. The door whips open. Yellow eyes blaze curiously at Doll Stripe. The rain-soaked blue unicorn squints at him but doesn’t say anything. So Doll Stripe goes first, “Um, hello.” He offers lamely, and when he’s greeted with observing quiet, he mumbles on, “I was hoping that-” “Astrology doesn’t work on homeless people.” “I- wait, huh?” “Sorry, can’t do the horoscope or the tea thing for you, you don’t have a home, so it won’t work.” Doll Stripe blinks in confusion, “I’m sorry?” “You daft? Look, if you get some bits and come back, I’m sure I can find something in the stars about you. But you ain't got bits. I can see it in your costume.” The blue unicorn waves up and down, gesturing to Doll’s circus clothes, “You’re poorer than the state of this observatory.” “I… didn’t want…” Doll Stripe furrows his brow, trying to catch up, “I didn’t come here for, um, astrology things.” The blue stallion settles, a new sense of curiosity rolling over his features. “I um. I’m homeless, like you said, but only recently. Twenty minutes ago recently.” “Sure,” The night-colored unicorn rolls his eyes. “And I was wondering if I could maybe take shelter here ‘till the rain stops.” Doll Stripe forces a smile, gauging the lack of change in the other stallion’s face. The quiet seems to drag for a moment or two. “...Sure. Mind the telescope, though. I’m a very busy pony. I haven’t got time to deal with it if you screw with my stuff.” And just like that, the blue unicorn trots back into his home, leaving the door open for Doll Stripe to follow. And follow he does, a new sense of enthusiasm rising within him. The inside of the observatory is much better than its exterior. It’s decorated in the colors of the night. Thin purple sheers cover the windows and star fairy lights string across the ceiling. They seem to be on, but Doll Stripe can barely tell since the main light overpowers them. The walls are a deep, inviting blue. The ceiling is covered by some sort of curtain, but Doll Stripe can’t really tell what it is. He kicks the door shut behind him and sets his suitcase down, eyes flicking around curiously. The blue stallion looks over his shoulder at Doll Stripe and a grin spreads across his face from ear to ear, “You like my decor? I’ve spent my whole life gathering all this stuff- hey, wanna see something cool?” Doll Stripe tilts his head, his matted black mane drafting back in front of his eyes, “Sure,” he responds cautiously. “Cool” could mean anything, after all. The unicorn rears up excitedly and darts up a staircase winding the oval room’s wall. He pauses at a platform halfway up the stairs and stomps his hoof onto an obnoxious-looking blue button. Suddenly, the curtains covering the ceiling begin to part, revealing a glorious mural of a galaxy, illuminated with star-like LEDs. The main light faded away and the galaxy above them shone brilliantly, matched only by the unicorn’s ecstatic grinning. The white stallion has no idea what to say. He lowers his rump to the ground and stares up at the mural. Enthusiastic hoofsteps pull him out of his admiring stupor and he watches the other pony bounce down the stairs like a foal with their favorite candy. When the blue stallion arrives back at Doll Stripe’s side, Doll Stripe blinks at him slowly and murmurs, “What’s your name?” “Star Comet, nice to meet you. What’s yours?” “Doll Stripe. Nice name. Matches your cutie mark.” He points a hoof at the stallion’s cutie mark, three stars arranged like a comet going towards his stomach. “My parents were lucky, I suppose. You, though…” Star Comet pokes one of the two black dots on Doll’s face, “You’re not really doll-like… and the only stripes you have are on your socks.” “How unlucky for my parents.” Star Comet chuckles. He turns and hops onto his sofa, “So. You want a horoscope? What’s your zodiac? Time of birth?” He curls his purple tail around his hooves and Doll Stripe climbs into the loveseat parallel to his couch. “Didn’t you say astrology doesn’t work on homeless people?” The earth pony twitches an ear. “No,” Star Comet denies, “I never even implied that. But um, anyway, you seem like a… what, an air sign? Water? Earth? Fire?” “Isn’t… isn’t that all of them?” “No.” The unicorn’s horn glimmers as he uses magic to make a cup of coffee behind them, “So what’s your sign?” Doll Stripe shrugs. Star Comet’s ears perk up excitedly, “So you know nothing about your astrology?” “It, um, never came up. Wait, are you an astrologer or an astronomer?” “I’m both, actually. Astrology makes a fair bit of bits and it’s fun, but astronomy is real and-” He stops abruptly and clears his throat, “but astronomy is just as fun, I mean. Astrology is real.” Doll Stripe gazes at him humorlessly, “It sounded like you said it wasn’t.” Star Comet laughs and shakes his head, floating his finished cup of coffee over to his mouth and taking a sip, “So what moon were you born?” “October, I think.” “Day?” “13th,” Doll Stripe answers, glancing back up at the shimmering galaxy above them. “Libra, then. That means you’re an air sign.” “None of this means anything to me,” Doll Stripe grimaces, “How does the month I was born define me at all?” Star Comet takes a sip of his coffee, “Do you know your time of birth? Birth place?” “Um, not exactly. I was born a little outside of the Crystal Kingdom.” “Hm? Why not in it? They have a hospital, don’t they?” He sets his cup down on a coffee table between them. It’s stacked with books. “Yes, but it was an emergency delivery and they were already travelling away from the kingdom. My mother was a circus performer.” “You were born in a circus?” “And raised in a circus,” Doll Stripe nods. The blue pony looks him over. “That explains why you look like that,” Star Comet hums. He takes another sip of his coffee. Thunder rolls in the background. The white stallion raises a brow, “Was that an insult, or?” “Of course not,” the unicorn snips, “You have to admit that you don’t look normal. You’re dressed like a circus performer. Were your dot things on your cheeks dyed on?” Doll Stripe lifts a hoof to his face and presses one of his black dots, “No, actually. I was born with them. None of how I look is dyed, although I do have a little bit of makeup on.” “Huh? How has it not run off with all the rain?” “The magic of waterproof stage makeup,” Doll Stripe grins, rubbing at his eyes. A bit of mascara comes off and smears on his white hoof. He stares at it. Sadness washes over him again and he sighs, wiping the mascara onto his foreleg before setting his hoof back down on the loveseat. Star Comet watches him, yellow eyes piercing through the blue cast of the room. He hums out, “You got kicked out of the circus then?” “Huh?” “Well, you said you were homeless as of twenty minutes ago, didn’t you? And you keep sighing and staring at things like you’re about to cry.” Star Comet sips his coffee. Doll Stripe lowers his ears. “I made a… minor mistake. Circus ponies aren’t very forgiving.” He knows he’s lying through his teeth, but he isn’t really in the mood to go over all the ways he screwed up. The unicorn makes an acknowledging noise. Doll decides to change the subject. “So,” He starts, “Did you decorate all of this yourself?” “Hm… oh, yeah, I did.” Star Comet waves dismissively. “Even the mural on your ceiling?” “Yep.” “Do you have any other paintings?” Doll Stripe smiles encouragingly. Star Comet coughs. He sets his empty coffee cup on a counter behind him. The unicorn glances around the room for a moment. “I sell them. So, um, no.” He answers abruptly and sends the earth pony a dull smile. Doll Stripe’s ears perk back up in confusion, “All of them? Most painters I’ve come across have at least a few paintings that they value and keep to themselves. Wait- are you having income issues?” The unicorn straightens up, “Yes.” “Oh. I’m sorry, then.” “It’s nothing to worry about,” Star Comet chuckles, “So how long do you want to stay with me?” “Um… how long? Well, I was planning to just stay until the storm was done. Then I’ll go to the train station and start looking for a new circus to join. I’m planning to go to Canterlot first.” “Oh, that’s cool! Um.” The unicorn thinks for a moment, “Do you mind if I go with you?” “Why do you want to go with me?” “Oh- um. Canterlot has a massive bookstore, and I could use some more books.” Doll Stripe looks around at the bookshelves in the room. They’re so full, they’re overflowing. He glances back at Star Comet, “Have you read all these books? Maybe you should sell them.” “No- um, well, a lot of these books have to stay for… referencing. Y’know, if I need to locate information quickly.” “But what about Golden Oak Library? Y’know, the new one.” “It’s too new. None of these books are there.” Doll raises an eyebrow, “None of them?” “Yep.” Star Comet glances away, “So can I go with you to Canterlot? I can pay for both of us if we go-” “Didn’t you say you were having financial trouble?” “I never said that,” Star shakes his head, “Just answer my question. Come on. Please?” Doll Stripe sighs and offers a defeated smile, “You know what? Sure. We can go together.” Star Comet rears up excitedly and jumps off his sofa, whipping his short, perfectly styled tail around like a puppy. “Great! Great. I better go upstairs and pack.” He gallops upstairs and Doll Stripe watches as he disappears to the second floor. Once the blue figure disappears, he chuckles to himself and looks up at one of the windows. The rain is still battering down outside. He strolls around the room, listening to the quick hoofsteps coming down from the second floor. It’s a beautiful home. A twinkly object catches his eye and he follows the sparkle to an expensive-looking necklace. It had a gold pendant. Next to it sat a little picture of a mare, a purple mare wearing the amulet. Probably Star Comet’s mother. Doll Stripe lowers his ears, a hoof step from above causing him to flinch. He could really use this amulet, if it truly was valuable. He could get a good amount of bits for it. The white stallion looks around the oval room. It wasn’t like Star Comet needed this, he had so many other things, and he had clearly been lying about being in financial trouble. It wasn’t like he’d even notice right away, since they’d be in Canterlot. But on the other hoof, it could be a family heirloom, and… Doll Stripe chuckles to himself. Why does he care what some stranger feels? Sure, they were travelling together- but Star Comet meant nothing to Doll Stripe. He takes the amulet’s chain and trots over to his suitcase. He pops it open and stuffs it under his tent before quickly shutting the case again and sitting casually before it. Eventually, Star Comet came back with three suitcases hovering behind him, engulfed in purple magic. “Suitcases ready! I’ll set them by the door and we can leave when the rain’s done. Do you want a sandwich while we wait?” “Sure. Sounds good.” Doll Stripe steps closer to Star Comet, smiling. There was no reason not to, after all. What was a little unexpected gift between friends, after all? That’s all the amulet was. An unexpected gift for Doll Stripe. Sweet Greed“Look, Doll Stripe.” Star lifts his head from the sofa and nods towards the window in an attempt to direct Doll Stripe’s attention. The black and white stallion follows his gaze to the new rays of sunshine filtering through Star’s purple curtains. “Guess it’s time to go, then,” Doll Stripe hops off Star’s loveseat and trots over to the suitcases. He reaches over to grab them when purple magic envelopes all their luggage and it levitates above him. “Oh,” He hums, “Thanks.” They had been in Star Comet’s observatory for the entire night, napping and chatting, Doll Stripe only getting an hour or two of sleep in all, he is dead tired now. The unicorn doesn’t seem better off, for as soon as he lugs himself off his couch, he rubs at his sun-colored eyes and approaches the nearest mirror to pat down his mane and return it to its crisp, perfect state. “You sure you don’t want more coffee before we go?” Doll Stripe nods over at Star’s coffee machine and all his discarded mugs from the night. The blue unicorn shakes his head and floats the luggage closer to him, so all the bags hover above his body. “I’m fine. Let’s get going, we don’t want to miss the morning train,” Star Comet passes the white stallion and opens the door with magic. He trots out onto the dirt path and Doll Stripe trails behind him. The sky is still cloudy and the world seems to have lost saturation. The ground was muddy beneath his hooves and water dripped off the leaves of the trees. Doll finds himself wondering how they hadn’t flooded, but he quickly dismisses the thought. It’s Ponyville, and there’s no natural disaster in Ponyville that isn’t caused by a clumsy pegasus. The familiar brightly colored cottages and stores come back into view, and the town is in full bustle again. Earth ponies with wagons and saddlebags chat ambiently outside of stores, unicorns walking about with a sense of task and importance, and pegasi napping in the dry clouds above or flying overhead. For such a small town, it really has a sense of community. Realizing that he was lagging behind, Doll Stripe speeds up a bit to catch up to Star Comet’s side. They pass into Town Square, past a bulletin of town notices and advertisements. He pauses, a slip of paper catching his eye. It’s a warning poster with a poorly drawn picture of what appears to be a deformed bat with horns. Beneath it is a simple caution reading: dangerous creature spotted at Everfree forest. It probably isn’t anything to worry about, Doll decides, so he turns and goes to catch up with Star Comet. The train ride to Canterlot is quiet except for the train itself. The other ponies seem worn out, which Doll supposes is because it’s early in the morning and the world outside is still bleary. As time passes, sunrays slowly begin to break free. By the time they make it to the city, the color was beginning to seep back into the environment. The train stills with a loud pulse of gas and the doors slide open. Doll Stripe hops off the seat and Star Comet lifts their luggage down from the storage spaces above them, his horn glimmering brightly. The white stallion steps off onto the platform and stretches out. Here, the community melts away to reveal the true industry of ponies. It is nowhere near as hostile as Manehatten, but the royal purples and bright colors can’t hide what is obvious to Doll Stripe about Canterlot. Canterlot is the snob capital of the world, the rich pony’s sanctuary, a world of competition and passive aggressive hostility. Whereas Manehatten is just a cesspool of the competition to survive and nopony is afraid to break out into arguments that take out their whole day, Canterlot is the land of subtle war. Doll loves a good subtle war. Unicorns walk around with their noses in the air here, their every step imbued with power. Power that Doll Stripe would’ve played for here, had his life gone differently. Perhaps it will turn out that way, and maybe instead of rejoining the circus, he’ll perform in Canterlot and gain social standing. Social power. Nobody would dare remove him from what he loved if he were at the top of the social ladder. They’d be too afraid of losing their own social standing. They’d be afraid to hate him. Doll Stripe steps down off the platform and onto the stone road. He shakes his mane. He never adjusted it after sleeping at Star’s observatory, so it’s somewhat of a mess. The looks he’s pulling from the stuck up ponies around him can tell him all he needs to know about his appearance. He probably looks like Nightmare Moon went swimming in dirt. “So, where to first?” Star Comet taps Doll Stripe with a floating suitcase, having suddenly appeared by the white stallion’s side. “Well, I’m not in a rush. Why not stop by that bookstore you mentioned?” “Bookstore?” The unicorn repeats, a note of confusion in his voice. He widens his eyes, “Oh! Right, the bookstore. Well, I’m not sure where it is. Or what its name is.” “Or if Canterlot even has a massive bookstore?” Doll Stripe mutters exasperatedly, and when Star Comet says nothing, he rolls his eyes. “Why’d you bother lying in the first place? At least remember your lies.” The night-colored stallion coughs awkwardly, “Maybe you’re just delusional- I don’t remember saying anything about a bookstore. Hey, but, there’s this candy shop in town run by this pegasus, Mint Cotton, and it’s absolutely amazing. We should go there.” “Mint Cotton?” Doll Stripe mutters, “Well, whatever, I suppose. As long as you weren’t lying about paying for me, too.” “I don’t lie, my friend.” Star Comet smiles brightly and starts leading the way to through the town. As he follows, Doll makes an effort to straighten his appearance at least a tad. No matter what he does, he’s still going to look like he just stepped out of a circus, but he can at least look like it was a clean circus. They make their way through Canterlot to the candy store Star is enthusiastic to go to. The unicorn seems to have picked the farthest possible shop from the train station, because they end up walking for what feels like forever. But eventually, they come across a building decorated with mint green and pink stripes. Doll steps over to the window. Unique looking candies line the display- tiny, flower shaped cotton candy dishes, gummies shaped like ponies and building blocks, and zapapple candy apples. Doll’s stomach growls eagerly. “What can I get you?” The door to the shop has busted open and there stands a bubbling mint-colored pegasus with short pastel cotton-candy-like hair. Without waiting for the stallions to answer, the small mare waves them inside, “Come in and look around! We’ve got everything, and I mean everything. But, if you don’t find anything you like, you can place a custom order. Come on, come in!” Star Comet rushes inside first and sets their bags down inside by the door. Doll Stripe follows after him. He instantly feels completely out of place. He’s used to being surrounded by circus colors, but he always fit in at a circus. This shop is more pastel than the bakery in Ponyville. It’s covered in pink and green and other pastel colors as accents. His eyes threaten to jump out of his head. On the other hoof, the treats all around him soothe his aching eyes a bit. They’re truly amazing. Various chocolate sculptures catch Doll’s eye and he parts away from Star, who, of course, is staring down some cute moon-and-star-shaped candy floss. Doll has always been a sucker for chocolate. He’s inspecting a chocolate sculpture of Discord, the lord of chaos, when the mint mare from before (who he assumes to be Mint Cotton) pops in by his side, an overly enthusiastic grin on her face. Her punch-colored eyes sparkle at him, and suddenly, he knows to be careful. That look is on every excellent salespony. Mint is no different, even though her demeanor is eccentric and as sweet as the candy she sells. He’s playing the defensive. He must not buy any chocolate. “Got any free samples?” Doll Stripe interjects before Mint can get a word out. Her grin twists into something of shock, but she giggles. “Free? This is a business.” “But everything is so expensive. Do you have anything simple so I can taste test your candy?” “Not unless you intend on paying for that simple thing. This is all my candy and this is my shop, I’m not giving away anything for free,” She laughs brightly, “But anyway, how about some chocolate shoes? You can walk a mile with these shoes. Not in them, of course, but…” Mint Cotton sticks her tongue out, “Or what about this chocolate cheese grater? It’s pretty grate.” Doll Stripe hums, “But what if I don’t like the way you make chocolate?” Mint Cotton stares at him blankly. A bird tweets outside and a unicorn pauses outside of the shop to observe some of the display candies. The pegasus bursts into laughter suddenly, tears forming in the corners of her eyes, “You’re such a funny pony!” Mint Cotton pushes him gently with her hoof, “Of course you like the way I make chocolate! Everypony does!” “But, I haven’t tried it.” “And maybe you really don’t like it!” Mint giggles, “But think of it this way. Even if you don’t end up absolutely loving it, and you positively will ‘cause I make grate,” She wiggles her eyebrows at the cheese grater chocolate, “chocolate, you will have donated to a poor mare to help her continue making things she loves.” Doll Stripe raises a brow, “You’re not exactly a poor mare, though.” The shop glimmers shinily around him. She chuckles and pokes his nose. “But every bit counts!” Mint turns and nods at a sculpture of a rocking chair. She leans over to whisper loudly to him, “This one is special, ‘cause it looks like a rocking chair, but it has a secret!” “...What secret?” “It can’t rock! Out, anyway. You don’t know how many times I’ve tried playing a good rock tune around that chair and it hasn’t moved an inch. It’s either super shy or I’m not great with making rocking chairs yet. Oh well.” Mint Cotton sighs at the chocolate chair. She trots away and takes a seat behind the counter, which has several cakes on display in glass. Doll Stripe decides to follow after her, slightly confused. Star Comet approaches the counter with a couple of candies floating by his head. They look like various things: flowers, stars, tiny rowboats, ect. He’s gleaming at them. Doll’s pretty sure he’s drooling a bit too. Mint Cotton looks over all the treats he has with him and for a moment, money signs appear in her eyes. Or at least it looks like they do. Doll shakes his head. “That’ll be 75 bits,” Mint starts, and Star wiggles his tail excitedly. His enthusiasm is suddenly crushed when she finishes with, “each.” Doll isn’t sure why Star ever thought 75 bits in total was fair in the first place, but with him carrying 6 of the candy things, 450 bits is definitely overpriced. Even Doll’s old circus used less outrageous prices. “That’s clearly too much,” Doll Stripe argues, since Star seems to be incapacitated in shock, “I don’t care if you’re the best candy maker in all of Equestria, 75 bits for those tiny candy pops is absurd.” Mint Cotton giggles, “‘Course it’s fair, silly! I’m not the best candy maker in Equestria, I’m the best in the entire world!” She flutters up to a shelf behind her and takes down a box to put Star’s candy in as he travels, “So what’ll it be? You buying or not?” “Can I just… have a discount?” Star murmurs, already sounding defeated. Doll Stripe taps his hoof impatiently. There is no way this mare is going to even think about lowering the price. She looks like she’s ready to bust a gut laughing at the mere thought of it. Giggling to herself, Mint Cotton shakes her head. Surely Star was ready to put the candies back and leave, or at least just get one. He doubts he’ll be leaving happily either way, “Can I trade you something then? How about a horoscope?” “A horoscope?” Mint tilts her head, “I could just get one of those in the paper, silly! Why would I want some random unicorn to tell me something I could get for free, in place of bits? That’s like… that would be crazy!” She stretches out her wings as if it helps with her point at all, which it doesn’t. Even so, Doll silently agrees with her. “Some random unicorn? I’m no random unicorn, miss,” The blue stallion puffs out his chest. Oh, great, now the salespony look is in his eyes too. Doll Stripe huffs out a sigh as Star Comet continues talking, “I’m the greatest of all astrology unicorns. Surely you’re civilized enough to recognize me.” “Civilized?” Mint Cotton beams, “That’s hilarious! Who’d wanna be civilized, that’s so boring! But I am the best candy maker ever, which is why you’d be super weird if you wanted to miss out on these candies.” “Do you care nothing for destiny?” Star Comet demands, “Have you no interest in how the stars can read your future? Don’t you want to know if your candies spread over the land? If you find love? If you become… the richest pony alive?” Oh, now he’s got her. The salespony sparkle in the green pegasus’ eyes dulls and is replaced with curiosity. Doll Stripe has to admit, he may be a snake in the grass, but Star Comet knows how to capture a pony’s interest. The argument flutters on as Mint Cotton attempts to regain her hoof in the debate. Doll Stripe mutters with annoyance. He’s not getting anywhere with this. He turns tail and walks over to the door, grabs his suitcase, and steps out of the shop. A voice somewhere in his head whispers something about not abandoning others, but he dismisses it with an irritated huff. What loyalty did he owe, after all, to two bickering knuckleheads. As the shop door closes behind him and the ponies’ looping voices are cut off, Doll Stripe makes his way back to the town square. Surely, there was some news about an incoming circus there. And if not, maybe another insane pony would lead him to one. One could hope.
A Circus Freak Accident“Nobody wants to make you feel totally responsible, but...” A ring rolls by the pair of ponies as though to make a point. It stalls and spins into a collapse on the dirt ground, dust puffing up and splattering onto the two. Doll Stripe sighs, tugging at his white and black scruff collar. An uncomfortable silence settles into the air as the other pony gazes at him with forced sympathy. Finally, the older mare shakes her head, “You’ve been a great employee, Doll. Don’t get me wrong. But everypony keeps complaining that… well, y’know, that you’re too…” “That I’m too what, Ice Spot?” The white stallion demands, struggling with wavering anger. His black and white mane falls over his grey eyes, and he thanks gravity for relieving him of having to see the older mare’s painfully pitying expression. “Um… Bossy, dishonest, strict, self-absorbed…” “Oh, no, go on.” Doll Stripe rolls his eyes, and when Ice Spot doesn’t say anything, he snarls out, “I’ve just been trying to put on the best acrobatic show in Equestria- go ahead, tear me down. Do you know how hard it is to lead these ponies? To keep them together? They’re about as harmonious as peanut butter and… something that doesn’t go with peanut butter!” He stomps his hoof. Ice Spot flinches, her gaze turning down and staring at the spot he ground his hoof into. “I respect that you have been leading and organizing everypony in the shows, but that was never your place.” Ice Spot murmurs sternly. She lifts her blue eyes and digs a glare into Doll’s grey ones, a tight frown settling into her weathered face. “Your place was to perform and follow. Do what you were told. You never had to play peacekeeper or- or- or fearmonger. So, I guess what I’m saying, Doll Stripe, is that you’re fired. Your skills as an acrobat can’t make up for your complete disregard for everypony else.” Doll Stripe steps back, shaken, anger bubbling up within him. He trembles and opens his mouth, but he’s not sure he could sweet talk his way out of this. Ice Spot had always been, well, icy, when it came to decisions. She had that look in her eye, one that told Doll Stripe that he was better off running to the nearest train without an argument than fighting for his job back. He turns and lowers his head, looking around the circus. He can admit that he made a mess of things. His ex co-workers are sitting, defeated and dirty, looking at broken equipment and sending him dirty looks. Maybe changing the routine at the last minute and demanding neverending practice out of his fellow performers wasn’t the best idea he’s ever had. Just minutes ago, he had been spinning on an aerial hoop just like the one in his cutie mark, a white hoop with a black ribbon, in the big top. They had been performing after weeks of tiring rehearsal. Others were originally going to come down on their own hoops around him. It was going to be beautiful. The problem? He had apparently overworked his performers. A pony had spun too hard with too loose a grip and had fallen from the aerial hoop, essentially starting catastrophe. Doll Stripe had demanded the others continue while the medical ponies on hand dealt with the fallen acrobat, but they were too distracted and too tired, for they too bailed, and Doll had been the only performer left. The crowd made noises that Doll remembers now as a horrifying blur of audio and, in an attempt to save the show, Doll signaled for a unicorn pony to open the ceiling of the big top and instead it came crashing down, the unicorns too panicked and tired to follow through. Chaos. Doll Stripe figures that he’s lucky to have made it out unscathed, his hoop having been close enough to the ground for him to jump off, and his reaction time being fast enough that he could run like hell to get out of there. So. Mistakes were made. He pushes aside the entrance flap into his tent and climbs onto his air mattress. He sucks in a breath and stares sadly down at his hooves. He doesn’t want to sulk, but he’s sulking. The circus- this circus- is all he knows. He’s lived there his whole life. And all he wanted was a perfect show, for everypony to have fun and get along… but his controlling, power-hungry nature destroyed everything. Doll Stripe blinks back tears and releases a breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding. All that is left for him to do here is packing. He doubts anypony wants to say goodbye. A whole life there, yet the only friend he had made was Ice Spot, and barely so. Still, he had thought that he and everypony else were some sort of family. Maybe, if he apologized… No, who needs them? Who needs a family? He furrows his brow and forces the unpleasant thoughts out of his head. Packing. He just needed to pack and leave, that was all. Their circus is currently set up near Ponyville, a common spot for them to be. Lucky for Doll, this means he knows his way to the train station. He gets up and looks around his tent, trying to locate his suitcase. He probably can take his tent with him, if he asks. They’d give him that, probably. Shelter, since he is bitless- the performers in this circus never get paid since they are cared for by the circus itself. His chest aches with trembling pride. He dismisses the idea of asking and steps outside his tent to start dismantling it. Well, they were kicking him out. Might as well leave them with a little act of revenge. He finally pulls the tent down and attempts stuffing it in his suitcase. Maybe he should’ve thought this through. Stuffing an entire outfitter’s tent into his suitcase was not going to work. Doll Stripe sighs loudly and pulls the fabric out of his suitcase, humming for a solution. A single hoof step causes him to freeze. Damn, he’d been caught. “Doll Stripe…?” A soft voice snaps him out of it, and he looks over his shoulder at a small blue mare. Ice Spot’s young mare daughter, Snow Whip. She was learning to become a beast trainer. Doll Strip turns to face her, ignoring battling feelings of guilt and contempt. “What?” He mutters, shoving the tent’s remains away with his back hoof. “Take my tent.” Snow Whip smiles gently before picking his suitcase up and trotting away, leaving him to follow. Doll Stripe wanders into ponyville with his suitcase between his teeth, stuffed with a much smaller and portable tent. Snow Whip had been kind to give him her tent, especially since she had caught him trying to steal his own. Even so, he is having a hard time ignoring the feelings of shame and embarrassment eating away at him. He deserved to be yelled at, told to leave without even the costume on his back, maybe even slapped. All he got was a smile and shelter to take with him. He hates it. He wanders into the town square and sets his suitcase down next to him as he takes a seat at the fountain. The water glares up at him accusingly. Don’t look at me like that, you glorified mess of chemicals. Doll Stripe hisses in his head, Who are you to judge me? I did my best for that circus and they kicked me out. So what if I tried to steal from them? That was my home! Where am I really supposed to go? He pauses, a solemn feeling washing over him. Where am I supposed to go? A drop of rain splashes into his mane and Doll Stripe looks up at the sky. Various pegasi are throwing together a storm. Great, now the weather matches the tone of the situation. He huffs angrily as the rain picks up and he turns into a matted mess of sadness. Doll Stripe drags himself onto his hooves and slugs himself and his suitcase over to the nearest area protected by a roof. He settles into that dry area and just watches the rain fall.
StarstruckThe rain seems to want to fall for eternity. Doll Stripe leans against the wall of what the sign creaking above his head indicates is a furniture shop. The delicate sound of a bell ringing distracts him from the dreary rainfall and he glances over to whoever has just opened the door of the shop. It’s a young stallion, his coat an unsaturated blue like a night sky, perfectly styled dim purple mane falling just above his bright yellow eyes, parted only by the pony’s horn. The unicorn pauses upon stepping outside, as though just now realizing that a storm was going on. Doll Stripe listens to the frustrated growling noise the blue stallion makes as he steps into the rain and trots off, book floating behind him, encased in bright golden magic. Doll watches him as he attempts to make it through the attacking water. He glances down at his suitcase. It’s got his only means of shelter hidden within, and that shelter is basically useless in weather like this. He’s going to have to find- Doll Stripe grimaces- somepony to help him. That night-colored unicorn seemed like a perfectly good candidate. Everypony else was barred up inside, but that stallion was still in sight, and Celestia knows how helpful most ponies are. Sometimes it’s like everypony is acting like they’re on a foal’s show, because they’re all so bright and generous. Nevermind that, he has to go follow that blue unicorn. Doll Stripe grabs his suitcase and trots after the blue unicorn, flipping his waterlogged mane out of his eyes every so often as he goes. Ponyville almost doesn’t blend in with the stormy vibe. It’s brightly colored, covered in flowers and decor, and even through the dreary thunder, it manages to be like it’s own source of light. He’s never really been a fan of Ponyville. Doll Stripe ends up following the night-colored stallion out of Ponyville, picking up speed with him, but staying far enough behind that the other pony probably doesn’t even notice him. His hoof steps are covered up by thunder and pouring rain and the stallion ahead seems pretty focused on just getting home. Or, well, wherever he’s going. The white and black stallion finally notices a large building in the distance, an old-looking observatory with one of those giant telescopes pointing at an angle at the sky. Unlike Ponyville, this observatory blends in perfectly with the storm. It’s dark and damp looking, like just looking at it will cause its weak floorboards to creak. Doll Stripe almost considers turning around despite being drawn to the overall unwelcoming feel of the building- honestly, how can a dark colored unicorn living all the way out on his own in an abandoned building be anything but a villain- but he continues following. He’s come this far, why go back now? The blue stallion heads into the observatory and shuts the door behind him. Doll Stripe slows and whips his mane around again, blinking droplets from his colorless eyes. It was his last chance to turn around and bail, and this situation was clearly trying to push that option, but he steps up to the door and bangs his hoof against it instead. He’s pretty sure he hears a pegasus pony above the clouds making disappointed clicking noises at his actions. The door whips open. Yellow eyes blaze curiously at Doll Stripe. The rain-soaked blue unicorn squints at him but doesn’t say anything. So Doll Stripe goes first, “Um, hello.” He offers lamely, and when he’s greeted with observing quiet, he mumbles on, “I was hoping that-” “Astrology doesn’t work on homeless people.” “I- wait, huh?” “Sorry, can’t do the horoscope or the tea thing for you, you don’t have a home, so it won’t work.” Doll Stripe blinks in confusion, “I’m sorry?” “You daft? Look, if you get some bits and come back, I’m sure I can find something in the stars about you. But you ain't got bits. I can see it in your costume.” The blue unicorn waves up and down, gesturing to Doll’s circus clothes, “You’re poorer than the state of this observatory.” “I… didn’t want…” Doll Stripe furrows his brow, trying to catch up, “I didn’t come here for, um, astrology things.” The blue stallion settles, a new sense of curiosity rolling over his features. “I um. I’m homeless, like you said, but only recently. Twenty minutes ago recently.” “Sure,” The night-colored unicorn rolls his eyes. “And I was wondering if I could maybe take shelter here ‘till the rain stops.” Doll Stripe forces a smile, gauging the lack of change in the other stallion’s face. The quiet seems to drag for a moment or two. “...Sure. Mind the telescope, though. I’m a very busy pony. I haven’t got time to deal with it if you screw with my stuff.” And just like that, the blue unicorn trots back into his home, leaving the door open for Doll Stripe to follow. And follow he does, a new sense of enthusiasm rising within him. The inside of the observatory is much better than its exterior. It’s decorated in the colors of the night. Thin purple sheers cover the windows and star fairy lights string across the ceiling. They seem to be on, but Doll Stripe can barely tell since the main light overpowers them. The walls are a deep, inviting blue. The ceiling is covered by some sort of curtain, but Doll Stripe can’t really tell what it is. He kicks the door shut behind him and sets his suitcase down, eyes flicking around curiously. The blue stallion looks over his shoulder at Doll Stripe and a grin spreads across his face from ear to ear, “You like my decor? I’ve spent my whole life gathering all this stuff- hey, wanna see something cool?” Doll Stripe tilts his head, his matted black mane drafting back in front of his eyes, “Sure,” he responds cautiously. “Cool” could mean anything, after all. The unicorn rears up excitedly and darts up a staircase winding the oval room’s wall. He pauses at a platform halfway up the stairs and stomps his hoof onto an obnoxious-looking blue button. Suddenly, the curtains covering the ceiling begin to part, revealing a glorious mural of a galaxy, illuminated with star-like LEDs. The main light faded away and the galaxy above them shone brilliantly, matched only by the unicorn’s ecstatic grinning. The white stallion has no idea what to say. He lowers his rump to the ground and stares up at the mural. Enthusiastic hoofsteps pull him out of his admiring stupor and he watches the other pony bounce down the stairs like a foal with their favorite candy. When the blue stallion arrives back at Doll Stripe’s side, Doll Stripe blinks at him slowly and murmurs, “What’s your name?” “Star Comet, nice to meet you. What’s yours?” “Doll Stripe. Nice name. Matches your cutie mark.” He points a hoof at the stallion’s cutie mark, three stars arranged like a comet going towards his stomach. “My parents were lucky, I suppose. You, though…” Star Comet pokes one of the two black dots on Doll’s face, “You’re not really doll-like… and the only stripes you have are on your socks.” “How unlucky for my parents.” Star Comet chuckles. He turns and hops onto his sofa, “So. You want a horoscope? What’s your zodiac? Time of birth?” He curls his purple tail around his hooves and Doll Stripe climbs into the loveseat parallel to his couch. “Didn’t you say astrology doesn’t work on homeless people?” The earth pony twitches an ear. “No,” Star Comet denies, “I never even implied that. But um, anyway, you seem like a… what, an air sign? Water? Earth? Fire?” “Isn’t… isn’t that all of them?” “No.” The unicorn’s horn glimmers as he uses magic to make a cup of coffee behind them, “So what’s your sign?” Doll Stripe shrugs. Star Comet’s ears perk up excitedly, “So you know nothing about your astrology?” “It, um, never came up. Wait, are you an astrologer or an astronomer?” “I’m both, actually. Astrology makes a fair bit of bits and it’s fun, but astronomy is real and-” He stops abruptly and clears his throat, “but astronomy is just as fun, I mean. Astrology is real.” Doll Stripe gazes at him humorlessly, “It sounded like you said it wasn’t.” Star Comet laughs and shakes his head, floating his finished cup of coffee over to his mouth and taking a sip, “So what moon were you born?” “October, I think.” “Day?” “13th,” Doll Stripe answers, glancing back up at the shimmering galaxy above them. “Libra, then. That means you’re an air sign.” “None of this means anything to me,” Doll Stripe grimaces, “How does the month I was born define me at all?” Star Comet takes a sip of his coffee, “Do you know your time of birth? Birth place?” “Um, not exactly. I was born a little outside of the Crystal Kingdom.” “Hm? Why not in it? They have a hospital, don’t they?” He sets his cup down on a coffee table between them. It’s stacked with books. “Yes, but it was an emergency delivery and they were already travelling away from the kingdom. My mother was a circus performer.” “You were born in a circus?” “And raised in a circus,” Doll Stripe nods. The blue pony looks him over. “That explains why you look like that,” Star Comet hums. He takes another sip of his coffee. Thunder rolls in the background. The white stallion raises a brow, “Was that an insult, or?” “Of course not,” the unicorn snips, “You have to admit that you don’t look normal. You’re dressed like a circus performer. Were your dot things on your cheeks dyed on?” Doll Stripe lifts a hoof to his face and presses one of his black dots, “No, actually. I was born with them. None of how I look is dyed, although I do have a little bit of makeup on.” “Huh? How has it not run off with all the rain?” “The magic of waterproof stage makeup,” Doll Stripe grins, rubbing at his eyes. A bit of mascara comes off and smears on his white hoof. He stares at it. Sadness washes over him again and he sighs, wiping the mascara onto his foreleg before setting his hoof back down on the loveseat. Star Comet watches him, yellow eyes piercing through the blue cast of the room. He hums out, “You got kicked out of the circus then?” “Huh?” “Well, you said you were homeless as of twenty minutes ago, didn’t you? And you keep sighing and staring at things like you’re about to cry.” Star Comet sips his coffee. Doll Stripe lowers his ears. “I made a… minor mistake. Circus ponies aren’t very forgiving.” He knows he’s lying through his teeth, but he isn’t really in the mood to go over all the ways he screwed up. The unicorn makes an acknowledging noise. Doll decides to change the subject. “So,” He starts, “Did you decorate all of this yourself?” “Hm… oh, yeah, I did.” Star Comet waves dismissively. “Even the mural on your ceiling?” “Yep.” “Do you have any other paintings?” Doll Stripe smiles encouragingly. Star Comet coughs. He sets his empty coffee cup on a counter behind him. The unicorn glances around the room for a moment. “I sell them. So, um, no.” He answers abruptly and sends the earth pony a dull smile. Doll Stripe’s ears perk back up in confusion, “All of them? Most painters I’ve come across have at least a few paintings that they value and keep to themselves. Wait- are you having income issues?” The unicorn straightens up, “Yes.” “Oh. I’m sorry, then.” “It’s nothing to worry about,” Star Comet chuckles, “So how long do you want to stay with me?” “Um… how long? Well, I was planning to just stay until the storm was done. Then I’ll go to the train station and start looking for a new circus to join. I’m planning to go to Canterlot first.” “Oh, that’s cool! Um.” The unicorn thinks for a moment, “Do you mind if I go with you?” “Why do you want to go with me?” “Oh- um. Canterlot has a massive bookstore, and I could use some more books.” Doll Stripe looks around at the bookshelves in the room. They’re so full, they’re overflowing. He glances back at Star Comet, “Have you read all these books? Maybe you should sell them.” “No- um, well, a lot of these books have to stay for… referencing. Y’know, if I need to locate information quickly.” “But what about Golden Oak Library? Y’know, the new one.” “It’s too new. None of these books are there.” Doll raises an eyebrow, “None of them?” “Yep.” Star Comet glances away, “So can I go with you to Canterlot? I can pay for both of us if we go-” “Didn’t you say you were having financial trouble?” “I never said that,” Star shakes his head, “Just answer my question. Come on. Please?” Doll Stripe sighs and offers a defeated smile, “You know what? Sure. We can go together.” Star Comet rears up excitedly and jumps off his sofa, whipping his short, perfectly styled tail around like a puppy. “Great! Great. I better go upstairs and pack.” He gallops upstairs and Doll Stripe watches as he disappears to the second floor. Once the blue figure disappears, he chuckles to himself and looks up at one of the windows. The rain is still battering down outside. He strolls around the room, listening to the quick hoofsteps coming down from the second floor. It’s a beautiful home. A twinkly object catches his eye and he follows the sparkle to an expensive-looking necklace. It had a gold pendant. Next to it sat a little picture of a mare, a purple mare wearing the amulet. Probably Star Comet’s mother. Doll Stripe lowers his ears, a hoof step from above causing him to flinch. He could really use this amulet, if it truly was valuable. He could get a good amount of bits for it. The white stallion looks around the oval room. It wasn’t like Star Comet needed this, he had so many other things, and he had clearly been lying about being in financial trouble. It wasn’t like he’d even notice right away, since they’d be in Canterlot. But on the other hoof, it could be a family heirloom, and… Doll Stripe chuckles to himself. Why does he care what some stranger feels? Sure, they were travelling together- but Star Comet meant nothing to Doll Stripe. He takes the amulet’s chain and trots over to his suitcase. He pops it open and stuffs it under his tent before quickly shutting the case again and sitting casually before it. Eventually, Star Comet came back with three suitcases hovering behind him, engulfed in purple magic. “Suitcases ready! I’ll set them by the door and we can leave when the rain’s done. Do you want a sandwich while we wait?” “Sure. Sounds good.” Doll Stripe steps closer to Star Comet, smiling. There was no reason not to, after all. What was a little unexpected gift between friends, after all? That’s all the amulet was. An unexpected gift for Doll Stripe.
Sweet Greed“Look, Doll Stripe.” Star lifts his head from the sofa and nods towards the window in an attempt to direct Doll Stripe’s attention. The black and white stallion follows his gaze to the new rays of sunshine filtering through Star’s purple curtains. “Guess it’s time to go, then,” Doll Stripe hops off Star’s loveseat and trots over to the suitcases. He reaches over to grab them when purple magic envelopes all their luggage and it levitates above him. “Oh,” He hums, “Thanks.” They had been in Star Comet’s observatory for the entire night, napping and chatting, Doll Stripe only getting an hour or two of sleep in all, he is dead tired now. The unicorn doesn’t seem better off, for as soon as he lugs himself off his couch, he rubs at his sun-colored eyes and approaches the nearest mirror to pat down his mane and return it to its crisp, perfect state. “You sure you don’t want more coffee before we go?” Doll Stripe nods over at Star’s coffee machine and all his discarded mugs from the night. The blue unicorn shakes his head and floats the luggage closer to him, so all the bags hover above his body. “I’m fine. Let’s get going, we don’t want to miss the morning train,” Star Comet passes the white stallion and opens the door with magic. He trots out onto the dirt path and Doll Stripe trails behind him. The sky is still cloudy and the world seems to have lost saturation. The ground was muddy beneath his hooves and water dripped off the leaves of the trees. Doll finds himself wondering how they hadn’t flooded, but he quickly dismisses the thought. It’s Ponyville, and there’s no natural disaster in Ponyville that isn’t caused by a clumsy pegasus. The familiar brightly colored cottages and stores come back into view, and the town is in full bustle again. Earth ponies with wagons and saddlebags chat ambiently outside of stores, unicorns walking about with a sense of task and importance, and pegasi napping in the dry clouds above or flying overhead. For such a small town, it really has a sense of community. Realizing that he was lagging behind, Doll Stripe speeds up a bit to catch up to Star Comet’s side. They pass into Town Square, past a bulletin of town notices and advertisements. He pauses, a slip of paper catching his eye. It’s a warning poster with a poorly drawn picture of what appears to be a deformed bat with horns. Beneath it is a simple caution reading: dangerous creature spotted at Everfree forest. It probably isn’t anything to worry about, Doll decides, so he turns and goes to catch up with Star Comet. The train ride to Canterlot is quiet except for the train itself. The other ponies seem worn out, which Doll supposes is because it’s early in the morning and the world outside is still bleary. As time passes, sunrays slowly begin to break free. By the time they make it to the city, the color was beginning to seep back into the environment. The train stills with a loud pulse of gas and the doors slide open. Doll Stripe hops off the seat and Star Comet lifts their luggage down from the storage spaces above them, his horn glimmering brightly. The white stallion steps off onto the platform and stretches out. Here, the community melts away to reveal the true industry of ponies. It is nowhere near as hostile as Manehatten, but the royal purples and bright colors can’t hide what is obvious to Doll Stripe about Canterlot. Canterlot is the snob capital of the world, the rich pony’s sanctuary, a world of competition and passive aggressive hostility. Whereas Manehatten is just a cesspool of the competition to survive and nopony is afraid to break out into arguments that take out their whole day, Canterlot is the land of subtle war. Doll loves a good subtle war. Unicorns walk around with their noses in the air here, their every step imbued with power. Power that Doll Stripe would’ve played for here, had his life gone differently. Perhaps it will turn out that way, and maybe instead of rejoining the circus, he’ll perform in Canterlot and gain social standing. Social power. Nobody would dare remove him from what he loved if he were at the top of the social ladder. They’d be too afraid of losing their own social standing. They’d be afraid to hate him. Doll Stripe steps down off the platform and onto the stone road. He shakes his mane. He never adjusted it after sleeping at Star’s observatory, so it’s somewhat of a mess. The looks he’s pulling from the stuck up ponies around him can tell him all he needs to know about his appearance. He probably looks like Nightmare Moon went swimming in dirt. “So, where to first?” Star Comet taps Doll Stripe with a floating suitcase, having suddenly appeared by the white stallion’s side. “Well, I’m not in a rush. Why not stop by that bookstore you mentioned?” “Bookstore?” The unicorn repeats, a note of confusion in his voice. He widens his eyes, “Oh! Right, the bookstore. Well, I’m not sure where it is. Or what its name is.” “Or if Canterlot even has a massive bookstore?” Doll Stripe mutters exasperatedly, and when Star Comet says nothing, he rolls his eyes. “Why’d you bother lying in the first place? At least remember your lies.” The night-colored stallion coughs awkwardly, “Maybe you’re just delusional- I don’t remember saying anything about a bookstore. Hey, but, there’s this candy shop in town run by this pegasus, Mint Cotton, and it’s absolutely amazing. We should go there.” “Mint Cotton?” Doll Stripe mutters, “Well, whatever, I suppose. As long as you weren’t lying about paying for me, too.” “I don’t lie, my friend.” Star Comet smiles brightly and starts leading the way to through the town. As he follows, Doll makes an effort to straighten his appearance at least a tad. No matter what he does, he’s still going to look like he just stepped out of a circus, but he can at least look like it was a clean circus. They make their way through Canterlot to the candy store Star is enthusiastic to go to. The unicorn seems to have picked the farthest possible shop from the train station, because they end up walking for what feels like forever. But eventually, they come across a building decorated with mint green and pink stripes. Doll steps over to the window. Unique looking candies line the display- tiny, flower shaped cotton candy dishes, gummies shaped like ponies and building blocks, and zapapple candy apples. Doll’s stomach growls eagerly. “What can I get you?” The door to the shop has busted open and there stands a bubbling mint-colored pegasus with short pastel cotton-candy-like hair. Without waiting for the stallions to answer, the small mare waves them inside, “Come in and look around! We’ve got everything, and I mean everything. But, if you don’t find anything you like, you can place a custom order. Come on, come in!” Star Comet rushes inside first and sets their bags down inside by the door. Doll Stripe follows after him. He instantly feels completely out of place. He’s used to being surrounded by circus colors, but he always fit in at a circus. This shop is more pastel than the bakery in Ponyville. It’s covered in pink and green and other pastel colors as accents. His eyes threaten to jump out of his head. On the other hoof, the treats all around him soothe his aching eyes a bit. They’re truly amazing. Various chocolate sculptures catch Doll’s eye and he parts away from Star, who, of course, is staring down some cute moon-and-star-shaped candy floss. Doll has always been a sucker for chocolate. He’s inspecting a chocolate sculpture of Discord, the lord of chaos, when the mint mare from before (who he assumes to be Mint Cotton) pops in by his side, an overly enthusiastic grin on her face. Her punch-colored eyes sparkle at him, and suddenly, he knows to be careful. That look is on every excellent salespony. Mint is no different, even though her demeanor is eccentric and as sweet as the candy she sells. He’s playing the defensive. He must not buy any chocolate. “Got any free samples?” Doll Stripe interjects before Mint can get a word out. Her grin twists into something of shock, but she giggles. “Free? This is a business.” “But everything is so expensive. Do you have anything simple so I can taste test your candy?” “Not unless you intend on paying for that simple thing. This is all my candy and this is my shop, I’m not giving away anything for free,” She laughs brightly, “But anyway, how about some chocolate shoes? You can walk a mile with these shoes. Not in them, of course, but…” Mint Cotton sticks her tongue out, “Or what about this chocolate cheese grater? It’s pretty grate.” Doll Stripe hums, “But what if I don’t like the way you make chocolate?” Mint Cotton stares at him blankly. A bird tweets outside and a unicorn pauses outside of the shop to observe some of the display candies. The pegasus bursts into laughter suddenly, tears forming in the corners of her eyes, “You’re such a funny pony!” Mint Cotton pushes him gently with her hoof, “Of course you like the way I make chocolate! Everypony does!” “But, I haven’t tried it.” “And maybe you really don’t like it!” Mint giggles, “But think of it this way. Even if you don’t end up absolutely loving it, and you positively will ‘cause I make grate,” She wiggles her eyebrows at the cheese grater chocolate, “chocolate, you will have donated to a poor mare to help her continue making things she loves.” Doll Stripe raises a brow, “You’re not exactly a poor mare, though.” The shop glimmers shinily around him. She chuckles and pokes his nose. “But every bit counts!” Mint turns and nods at a sculpture of a rocking chair. She leans over to whisper loudly to him, “This one is special, ‘cause it looks like a rocking chair, but it has a secret!” “...What secret?” “It can’t rock! Out, anyway. You don’t know how many times I’ve tried playing a good rock tune around that chair and it hasn’t moved an inch. It’s either super shy or I’m not great with making rocking chairs yet. Oh well.” Mint Cotton sighs at the chocolate chair. She trots away and takes a seat behind the counter, which has several cakes on display in glass. Doll Stripe decides to follow after her, slightly confused. Star Comet approaches the counter with a couple of candies floating by his head. They look like various things: flowers, stars, tiny rowboats, ect. He’s gleaming at them. Doll’s pretty sure he’s drooling a bit too. Mint Cotton looks over all the treats he has with him and for a moment, money signs appear in her eyes. Or at least it looks like they do. Doll shakes his head. “That’ll be 75 bits,” Mint starts, and Star wiggles his tail excitedly. His enthusiasm is suddenly crushed when she finishes with, “each.” Doll isn’t sure why Star ever thought 75 bits in total was fair in the first place, but with him carrying 6 of the candy things, 450 bits is definitely overpriced. Even Doll’s old circus used less outrageous prices. “That’s clearly too much,” Doll Stripe argues, since Star seems to be incapacitated in shock, “I don’t care if you’re the best candy maker in all of Equestria, 75 bits for those tiny candy pops is absurd.” Mint Cotton giggles, “‘Course it’s fair, silly! I’m not the best candy maker in Equestria, I’m the best in the entire world!” She flutters up to a shelf behind her and takes down a box to put Star’s candy in as he travels, “So what’ll it be? You buying or not?” “Can I just… have a discount?” Star murmurs, already sounding defeated. Doll Stripe taps his hoof impatiently. There is no way this mare is going to even think about lowering the price. She looks like she’s ready to bust a gut laughing at the mere thought of it. Giggling to herself, Mint Cotton shakes her head. Surely Star was ready to put the candies back and leave, or at least just get one. He doubts he’ll be leaving happily either way, “Can I trade you something then? How about a horoscope?” “A horoscope?” Mint tilts her head, “I could just get one of those in the paper, silly! Why would I want some random unicorn to tell me something I could get for free, in place of bits? That’s like… that would be crazy!” She stretches out her wings as if it helps with her point at all, which it doesn’t. Even so, Doll silently agrees with her. “Some random unicorn? I’m no random unicorn, miss,” The blue stallion puffs out his chest. Oh, great, now the salespony look is in his eyes too. Doll Stripe huffs out a sigh as Star Comet continues talking, “I’m the greatest of all astrology unicorns. Surely you’re civilized enough to recognize me.” “Civilized?” Mint Cotton beams, “That’s hilarious! Who’d wanna be civilized, that’s so boring! But I am the best candy maker ever, which is why you’d be super weird if you wanted to miss out on these candies.” “Do you care nothing for destiny?” Star Comet demands, “Have you no interest in how the stars can read your future? Don’t you want to know if your candies spread over the land? If you find love? If you become… the richest pony alive?” Oh, now he’s got her. The salespony sparkle in the green pegasus’ eyes dulls and is replaced with curiosity. Doll Stripe has to admit, he may be a snake in the grass, but Star Comet knows how to capture a pony’s interest. The argument flutters on as Mint Cotton attempts to regain her hoof in the debate. Doll Stripe mutters with annoyance. He’s not getting anywhere with this. He turns tail and walks over to the door, grabs his suitcase, and steps out of the shop. A voice somewhere in his head whispers something about not abandoning others, but he dismisses it with an irritated huff. What loyalty did he owe, after all, to two bickering knuckleheads. As the shop door closes behind him and the ponies’ looping voices are cut off, Doll Stripe makes his way back to the town square. Surely, there was some news about an incoming circus there. And if not, maybe another insane pony would lead him to one. One could hope.
