Everbrook

~Mint Melody~

I didn't leave my room after the funeral. It seemed happen so long ago. I had no sense of time really anymore. I looked at the photo I had taken of Violet Clouds and I the day before she was announced as dead. It made everypony upset in Everbrook, especially our Princess.

My room was darkening with the sun sinking slowly away. I didn't want to light a candle. I only wanted to lay in the darkness. I could only imagine the pain that Everbrook must be going through.

A knock at the door made me look away from my window and pull my direction to the door. It wasn't closed, only slightly opened. My sister's blue coat poked through the crack and her lightening yellow eyes met mine. She opened the door more and trotted in slowly.

"How are you feeling, Mint? Mom and dad have been worried about you. Aren't you hungry?" I shook my head and shifted my gaze back to my window. It was just starting to rain. My sister sighed and I heard her walking closer to my bed.

I didn't want to get up but she grabbed my tail and dragged me off my bed and onto the floor with a thump. I groaned and stood to my hooves, glaring at her. "Can't I just sit in my room?"

Cloudy Harmony shook her head. "I'm your bigger sister and as such, I want you to get up and eat something. At least take a bath, you smell like spoiled milk." I sighed, glancing at the jug of milk my mother left for me days ago most likely.

Her gaze followed mine and she gagged in disgust. "It's been a few days," I muttered. She walked over to the jug and picked it up with her wing. "Okay, more than a few days." She pushed me out of my room and slammed the door behind me.

"I'm cleaning your room! Go take a bath and eat!" She shouted through the door. I groaned and got to my hooves. I made my way down the hallway to the bathroom that was on the other side of the cottage.

As I passed through the living room, I spotted my mother and father sitting on the couch. My mother gasped when she saw me and jumped up. "I can't believe it! Are you hungry? I'll go make you something," she told me, making her way to the kitchen without me even saying anything back. My father, Summer Wind, was a yellow pegasus with an orange mane and sky blue eyes. He gave a polite nod my way and smiled. I nodded back and continued to the bathroom.

The bathroom we had was a basic one, a bathtub, a sink, a toilet. The walls inside were painted yellow and were decorated with soft blue and pink polka dots. I started the water on the tub, making sure it filled up to my calves. I didn't want it too high that I couldn't sit in it and wash my back and wings. Carefully with my mouth, I grabbed the brush and brushed my wings and mane. It was becoming a mess. I was hoping the soapy water would get rid of the supposedly spoiled milk smell.

A knock at the door made me drop the brush in the water, and I gritted my teeth. "Occupied," I called. I moved my hooves around in the water to search for the brush. I couldn't see from all the bubbled and dirt that was covering my mint fur. I guess I was fairly dirty. Once I found the brush I continued to clean myself, thinking of what my mother was going to make for me. She wasn't the best chef, but she's fairly good at making sandwiches. I gave myself a final wash down before I rinsed off and got out. The bathroom was foggy and I shook my fur and wings off. I think I dried myself for the most part.

I walked out and took in a deep breath of fresh non-humid air. I made my way to the kitchen and sat at the table. My mother, a short pegasus with dark blue fur and a light gray mane, went running about the kitchen, placing things on a plate. I just watched her since I didn't know what else to do. She turned around and placed the plate of food onto the table in front of me.

"I'm so glad that you're back out of your room" she told me, smiling as she poured some orange juice into a glass.

"Mhm," I said softly. I looked at the plate of fruit. Some strawberries, an oat muffin, and some slices of apples. I guess it's something. I timidly ate my food while my mother went to cleaned up.

"Are you feeling better?" My mother asked, once everything was cleaned up.

I shrugged. "I guess," I told her. "I think I'll go for a walk."

"A walk? Excellent! Can you take a book for me to the library while you are out?" My dad asked, holding out the book. I gritted my teeth. I didn't want to but I know that they think I'm better. All I did was leave my room and go take a shower. How was that okay enough to take a book to the library?

I didn't want to argue with my parent's so I nodded and took the book from him. I sat it on the table and picked up my plate with my wing to take it to the sink. Midnight Harvest, my mother, grabbed my plate and smiled brightly. "I'll take that for you dear. Go ahead and take your walk. Take your time!"

"Yeah, okay," I told her softly. I grabbed the book and went to the living room to put it in my bag. I strapped it on my back, careful to keep my wings out of the way before I started out the door. I could hear my parents talking in the background as I walked away into the opening.

The area was flooded with stalls filled with goods people were willing to trade. A lot of creatures lived here in Everbrook, from ponies and dragons, to Kirins and changelings. It was a very diverse place. I walked past a booth from our zebra neighbor Zuri. She's very shy and her dreads cover her big brown eye. She wore a small collared shawl and she was selling potions and herbs.

I gave her a wave as I passed. She waved back and went to do her regular trading. I went to the library in the center of the town we live in. It was a large statue in the center of our town with a large circular base that went deeper into the ground. It was an underground library that most people didn't know about. I walked into the entrance and was greeted with a gasp.

My close friend Novella hugged me tightly. She must have teleported since I didn't even see her move from her desk. I gave her a pat on the back and she let go. "I was worried sick about you!"

"I'm fine. I was just a little down because of Violet," I told her. She nodded in understanding.

"We were all saddened by her leaving us. I'm really glad that you got out of your room. Cloudy Harmony was beginning to be paranoid when I told her I hadn't seen you for about two weeks."

I blinked in surprise. Two weeks? I was in my room for that long? No wonder everyone was surprised when Cloudy kicked me out of my room. I smiled sheepishly at my friend. "I'm sorry to make eveypony worried. I was just out of it really."

"Oh I can imagine! Anywho, what are you doing at the library? You aren't really the mare I see reading books," Novella said pointing to my bag. I grabbed the book out that my father wanted me to return.

Novella took the book from me and smiled. "My dad wanted to return it." She took the book from me and we walked to the front desk. It was just a secretary desk like you would find in any office. I watched her use her magic to open the book and check the book log.

"Ah! Just in time! I'll put it back! Do you want to out for dinner tonight? My treat? I have so much to tell you about that dragon that just moved in," Novella said, setting the book down onto a cart and motioning for me to walk to her.

I wanted to decline her offer, but a bigger part of me wanted me to go out and hang with my friend that I haven't talk to in two weeks apparently. "Alright. We can have dinner together, but can we go to the diner?" I asked. I was referring to the only main restaurant that was in our town. It has really good hay burgers.

"Of course dear! We can pig out to your hearts desire," Novella replied smiled. We both giggled and I found that she was taking me to the stairs to the lower stories of the library. The upstairs is for royal meetings and very important ponies.

We walked to the bottom layer of the library and walked past other creatures that were reading and looking at books. We went to the small nook where we can talk freely without bothering others. It was like a magically protected library bubble that Novella and other unicorns keep up when they work. As we walked through the bubble, I could hear the chatter and laughter from the fillies and other creatures who would rather talk while they read.

I stopped at the large bookshelf of favorites from the librarians and picked up one about different species. Novella poked her hear over my shoulder. "Oh! I picked that one! I thought it was so interesting to learn about different species since this place is so diverse with their inhabitants." I nodded and flipped through it. It was in fact very diverse with creatures and even changelings.

"Can I borrow this? It seems interesting to look through," I asked. Novella nodded.

"Of course! I'll check it out when we go back up. Enjoy reading for a bit, I've gotta get back to the front desk! After my shift, I'll come get you for dinner!" She waved as she walked out of her bubble and into the silence. I found a soft pillow to sit and skim the book for the bit. I wanted to kill some time. I opened the book and skimmed through the different species that were inside. Ponies, Dragons, Hippogriffs, Yaks, Changelings, and so many more.

I opened the book to the Changelings and looked at the first couple chapters. It talked about the Queen Changeling Chrysalis and how she was defeated constantly by Princess Twilight and even Starlight Glimmer. Starlight was the Headmare of The School of Friendship, and Twilight resides in Ponyville still in her large castle. They reminded me of those pesky mosquitoes that seem to be in the back of the woods surrounding the town we live in. I flipped a few pages and spotted something I never seen before.

A different changeling species? This looked so strange. Apislings? What in the world is it? They looked like bees. They had similar designs to changelings but instead of those holes in their legs and body, they had honeycomb designs. They also didn't have tails, they had buns on the end of their backs. I also saw that they had stingers. I was surprised. They were mostly black and yellow designs but they could also be orange and red as well. I've never seen anything like this before. Maybe I could ask and see if Novella saw these in the book when she read it.

I got to my hooves and put the book on my back and made my way back to the stairs. I bumped into another creature on my way to the stairs and I fell hard. A group of creatures hushed me and I covered my face with my wing. "Sorry," I whispered to the creature I bumped into. Magic surrounded me and brought me to my hooves. I blinked in surprise and looked at who it was.

A stallion, light blue with a gray mane and scarlet red tired eyes looked back at me. It was a unicorn that I noticed. I haven't seen him before. He must have been new here. I pointed a hoof to the stairs and he gave a nod and I hoped he got that I wanted to talk to him at the top of the stairs. I walked past him and up the stairs. I heard his hooves behind me so I knew he followed.

Once we made it to the top of the stairs I started to bumble over my words. "Thank you for my fall," I blurted, and he gave a smirk.

"You're welcome for picking you up," he said, his voice deeper than I thought. "I wasn't thinking of meeting a pretty small mare like yourself. Oh, here's your book too. It fell on top of mine." He used his magic and handed it to me. I sighed in relief. Novella cleared her throat loudly and smiled when I turned to her. She leaned over her desk being nosy like she always was.

"Need any help over there?" She asked in her soft library voice. We both walked over to her and I sat my book down on the desk.

I smiled at her and pointed to the book. "I would like to check this book out, please?" I asked. Novella nodded and started to check the labels on it. The stallion put his books on the desk next to me and smiled.

"And I'd like to check these books out as well," he said.

"Of course! And what's the name for you?" Novella asked.

"Winter Spice." He said. Novella nodded and gave me my book which i promptly put into my bag. I waited as Winter Spice watched Novella stamp the books and make sure they are up to date on their cards.

Winter Spice smiled at me and I felt my face burn in embarrassment. "Say, you seem to know what you are doing here. What's a good place to eat?" He asked.

I panicked on a response but Novella was quick to answer for me. "There's this amazing diner that sells the best burgers," Novella said as she checked the books. Winter Spice gave a smirk and rubbed his chin with his hoof.

"That sounds pretty good. Maybe we can check them out sometime," he offered.

I blurted out before I thought of what I was saying. "We're going tonight if you want to join us?"

He chuckled. "Are you sure? I wouldn't want to interrupt a girls night."

"Oh no! It's no problem at all! In fact, I don't mind it. It will be fun," Novella chimed in.

He seemed to consider it before giving me a smirk. "Alright. What time are we going?"

"Novella gets off work soon, we can go then," I told him. He nodded and picked up the books that Novella had finished checking out for him. He used his magic to put them in his saddlebags.

"Alright. I'll go home and freshen up and come back and meet you ladies back here?" He suggested. I nodded, and he smiled. "I'll see you two later."

I watched him leave the library and I couldn't help but watching him as he walked slowly. Novella sighed, breaking me away from my staring and blushed. "My goodness, how long was I staring? Did I embarrassment myself?" I muttered.

Novella smirked. "Only just a little bit. He seems to be into you. He's also new here. He's roommates with the dragon I was talking about. I only saw him once before. I think he's kinda cute, a bit scary."

"Scary?"

"Did you see his eyes? They were like red. And those bags under his eyes? They just give me spooky vibes."

I rolled my eyes. "I think he's really cute," I said. Novella snorted. Then I realized that this was almost a date. "I should go home and take another bath! Should I dress up to?" I started to run into circles. Novella grabbed my tail with magic and stopped me.

"Calm down girl. You don't need to do anything. It's just dinner at the diner. Daffodil Diner. The most casual place to be. You don't need to dress up for the new guy." Novella said. She came to walk next to me and patted my head.

Before I could say anything, Novella's daughter came running into the library. She was out of breath. She looked similar to her mother, a white mare with gray hair and blue eyes. Novella turned to her daughter. "Mom! Tryx and Draconis are using their magic on Vivid Sunset and Snowy Mist," she managed through pants. Novella sighed.

She had six children, half pony, half dragon. They were quite a handful for her, but she's been taking good care of them, at least I thought she was. I wasn't a parent so I wouldn't really know but her children seemed to love her. They all looked the same to me besides the small differences in the shades of their manes and their eye colors. Also the two stallions she had were very different than each other.

"I'll have to deal with the situation since they never listen. I'll meet you two at the diner, alright?" I didn't get to respond because she started to trot away with her daughter in tow. I sighed and started on my way out. I walked out into the open area outside. There were some creatures that were cleaning up their booths and such. It was getting later in the day. I walked back to my house to let them know that I was going to the diner with Novella.

I walked in to my parents sitting on the sofa again, their eyes on the radio. My mom jumped up again when she saw me. "Welcome back! How did your walk go?"

Oh right, I was supposed to go on a walk. I spent most of the time at the library. "I actually spotted Novella at the library and we got to talking. We are going to eat at the diner tonight."

My mother smiled and dropped back onto the couch. "That's amazing! You spent a lot of time there. I was getting a bit worried."

I nodded. "Yeah. I was reading at the library. Oh! I have to get going to meet the new Stallion at the library," I said, turning back to the door.

"A stallion?" My father asked. I blushed in embarrassment.

"Oh, uh, I'll tell you guys later, alright, see ya," I said, running out of the door and to the library again. At least my family knows whats going on. I walked back to the entrance of the library and I waited. I saw the door to a nearby cottage open and Winter Spice walked out.

He smiled as he walked trotted up to me. "Are you reading at the diner?" He asked, pointing to my saddlebags that I forgot about. Oh shoot.

"Sorry, I can run and put it back in my home, if you don't mind," I stumbled. He shook his head.

"I don't mind. I was only teasing. You can keep it with you so you don't do any extra walking." He said. I nodded and sighed in relief. I was so worried about messing this up.

We walked to the diner and I didn't know what to say, but I didn't want him to think I was crazy. "So what make you move here?" I asked.

"I wanted a different view. I'm not a fan of larger cities like Canterlot and such," he replied. I nodded in understanding.

"I was born and raised here in Everbrook. It's all I know. So if you need any help with anything I can help!" I told him.

He gave a smirk. "Will do."

As we walked up, I spotted Novella standing at the front of the diner. She smiled and waved to us. She held the door open for us to walk in. "I've got a table for us," she said as we walked in. I stood in the entrance and heard the chatter of the other creatures inside. Novella lead us to a table near the back and there were also drinks on the tables.

This was going to be an interesting night tonight.