Pony Adventures: Quest for the Lost Relic

It was about noon when she trotted into the quaint town. It took much planning and every bit of her savings, but she had finally made it to the first stop on her quest--- a dream come true. The town of Ponyville was, in many ways, similar to where she grew up in terms of structure, with old houses and family-run shops scattered about its various streets. The difference was that Ponyville was larger, louder, and exceptionally busier than her home of Sire's Hollow. One would think this would cause the young mare to become overwhelmed, but instead, she seemed more excited than she had been before reaching the town.

"This is amazing!!" exclaimed the young mare, startling ponies that passed by her.
"I'm in Ponyville, and it's even more awesome than I imagined! Eeekk!! This is the greatest day of my life!"

"Wouldya stop that shouting!? You're scaring away business!" yelled a street vendor. Apparently, the young mare had been shouting her thoughts aloud for everyone to hear, disturbing some folks.

"Oopsie, sorry about that. First time traveling--- guess I got carried away."

"Whatever... Dang tourists."

The young mare quickly walked in the opposite direction of the vendor, feeling self-conscious after the brief exchange. She continued down the streets for some time, occasionally taking peeks in store windows and wishing strangers a good afternoon. It was not till she passed by the same fountain for the third time in 2 hours that the young mare realized she was going in circles. She had been so distracted by all the new sights and sounds that, at some point, she had gotten lost in the streets of Ponyville.

"Well, looks like I got myself into a pickle," said the young mare to herself.
"Oh, ma'am! Could you perhaps tell me where I could find..?"

She had tried asking for help from one of the locals, but the other mare did not acknowledge her and continued trotting. The young mare tried again with an old stallion, but he appeared distracted by something and ignored her. She tried asking a group of ponies that looked as though they were getting back from a party, but they were engrossed in a conversation and did not even hear a word she said. This was getting ridiculous--- was she invisible or something? Frustrated, the young mare inhaled a large breath and, upon exhaling, shouted at the top of her lungs...

"CAN ANYONE PLEASE POINT THE WAY TO THE NEAREST HOTEL!?!?"

"Didn't I tell you to be quiet earlier?" said a voice.

The young mare jumped at the sound from behind. Looking back, she was greeted by the sour-faced vendor from earlier. He stared at her dead, waiting for her to address him. She stared back at him, too nervous to say anything other than "Um." The vendor rolled his eyes at her and began to walk away, which is when the young mare found her voice again.

"Wait!" she shouted after him. When he turned to face her with a scowl, she reminded herself to speak in a gentler tone.
"Sorry again. As I said earlier, this is my first time traveling anywhere, and I got carried away. As a matter of fact, in the act of getting carried away, I ended up getting myself in a bit of a jam. Heh heh."

"You sayin' you lost?" the vendor says flatly.
"Very."
"Tourists. Tck."
"Would you be so kind as to help me find a hotel I can stay at tonight? I wouldn't want to put you out at all, but it's getting late, and I want to get a good night's rest so I can be up early tomorrow when the library---"
"Yeah, whatever. Dang, can you talk. Come on, I'll show ya to a place I know. They'll take ya for the night."
"Thank you, thank you, thank you so much. I really appreciate the help."
"Yeah, just be quiet till we get there."

The young mare made a zipping motion across her muzzle, signaling that she would be silent, and followed after the street vendor. The vendor was an old earth-pony with a graying mane--- his knees were noticeably knobby, and his face was exhausted from a long day. Despite this, he moved quickly and confidently through the crowds of ponies, not stopping once to rest his hooves. On the other hoof, the young mare had trouble keeping up and almost lost him twice when she paused to catch her breath. After 45 minutes of walking, the vendor ceased moving, giving the one following him a chance to catch up and rolling his eyes when she arrived.

"Slow and a talker," said the vendor.
"Honestly, if youngins today spent less time flappin' their gums and more time working with their hooves, then old ponies like me might be able to retire without issue."

"You...may...have...a point," the young mare panted.

The old vendor smirked at the response, thinking that maybe this tourist was not so bad after all before she opened her mouth and began chattering away.

"I'm an adventurer now, and I should start working out my body with my mind. Maybe I can trot in place while reading at a desk. Never mind, that sounds silly. What would be better is to do stretches in the morning before breakfast or after breakfast and do a quick jog to get the blood pumping through my body. Then, after the jog, I can get in some light reading for fun. Then, I can get into some reading for research, after which I can take a longer jog---"

"I miss when you couldn't breathe," sighed the vendor.
"Anyways, hurry up. We're here."

The old vendor walked into a cottage-like structure, not waiting for the young mare to follow him. With a "hold up," the young mare went after the vendor. Once inside the building, she was hit with a calmness that had not been present since stepping into Ponyville. There were no ponies anywhere aside from herself and the vendor. The lobby they stood in was as quiet as a cemetery, with the only sounds heard coming from outside. As the vendor rang the bell at the counter, the young mare glanced at the books and bric-a-brac lining the shelves around the room. There were books on travel, the history of Ponyville, how to run a business, and a few fiction-based adventure tales. All about were little figurines, snowglobes, decorative signs, and pictures taken from all across Equestria. Clearly, whoever ran this place was very worldly.

*Ding ding ding*
"Dang it, will you hurry so I can leave already!?" the old vendor shouted, particularly to the stairs next to the counter.

"One moment, I just need to--- Ouch!" yelled a voice from somewhere at the top of the steps.

Soon, came down a middle-aged unicorn with a bird stuck in her golden mane. She was tall and thin, as many unicorns are, with a chestnut coat and apricot eyes. Upon her flank was a cutie mark of a gold compass.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Pear?" asked the older mare as she tried to untangle the bird from her mane.
"Found this dang chatty tourist in town. She needs a place to stay the night, so I figured I would pawn her off on you," the vendor, Mr. Pear, answered.
"How sweet of you... Ouch! Give me another moment, and I'll check her right in. Dang bird, hold still, and will both be free of each other!"
"Well, I did my good deed for the year. See ya never filly. Good luck with the bird and the tourist, Goldie."
"Wait, Mr. Pear, could you give me a hoof---"

*Slam*
"And he's gone. I swear, that old pony moves like lightning in a storm. You wouldn't mind giving me a hoof, wouldya miss?"

Without a word, the young mare helped Goldie remove the bird from her mane, and it flew out of the window on its own.

"Thanks, Miss..?" asked Goldie.
"Pheonix Flame," answered the younger.
"Well, Ms. Flame, welcome to the Adventurer's Respite Inn. The perfect pitstop for any adventurous soul."
"That's me, Pheonix Flame, Equestria's next great adventurer and treasure hunter. At least, that's what I'm hoping for."
"Well, hold on to that hope for dear life. As a former world traveler, I know from experience that it can get wild out there by yourself, and at some point, you might want to call it quits. The best thing to remember is... Son of a dog!"

Goldie had been behind the counter, rummaging through draws for what Pheonix assumed was a room key, and instead found another bird nesting in the back of one. She wrapped the bird in her aura, stomped to the open window, and flung the bird out with a "And don't come back!" After another 5 minutes of searching, Goldie found where she had stashed the room keys.

"Here we go," she said triumphantly.
"I should really get me a peg board or something to put these on. Let's see, you can take room number 2. I swear it's free of birds.., but just in case, I would check under my pillows."

"Thank you so much, ma'am," said Pheonix, taking a key from Goldie with a grin.

"Think nothing of it, and don't go calling me ma'am ya hear. My name is Goldie Compass, but my friends call me Goldie, and if you're willing to stay in this bird-infested Inn, I feel it is safe to say we're friends now."

"Whatever you say, Goldie."

The two continued to chat at the counter for another hour or so, Pheonix asking about Goldie's old travel days and Goldie asking Pheonix about her plans in Ponyville. Pheonix listened to the older mare's stories of backpacking across Equestria and meeting ponies from all walks of life, engrossed in each tale she heard. In between each story, the younger would drop information about her quest to find the Lost Amulet of the Alicorns, and Goldie found the notion thrilling. At some point, the two had moved to the parlour area of the Inn, sitting and chattering till the sun began to set.

"So, you came to Ponyville for information on the Dragon Lands?" Goldie asked, intrigued.
"Yup," Pheonix simply responded.
"Because the Golden Oak Library is the only place in Equestria with the information?"
"Well, not the only place, but Canterlot and the Crystal Empire would take me too far off course. Also, after hearing that the pony who wrote the book on the Dragon Lands was from here and the Golden Oak has her original manuscript, I couldn't resist getting my hooves all over it."
"Must be faith then."

*Cuckoo cuckoo*
"Look at the time--- you should be getting upstairs now. Gotta get that good rest so you can spend tomorrow on your research."

Goldie made her way out of the parlour, with Pheonix following behind. The older of the two told, the younger she would stay downstairs to tidy up and wished her a good night. Pheonix made her way to the second level of the Inn, where her room was meant to be, and hummed a tune as she reached the last step. It wasn't hard to find the correct door since they were all numbered, and hers was at the end of the hall. However, as she unlocked her door, she heard a loud thud from the other end of the hall. It sounded like someone was coming down the steps from the third floor but stopped halfway.

"Hello, anyone up there," Pheonix called to the steps. When no one answered, she shrugged it off and continued into her room.
"Must've been more birds."

The room was simple, with a bed, dresser, desk, stool, and floor lamp. Pheonix went straight for the desk, levitating her bag onto it, then pulled out an old book. Next, she went to the bed, plopping down while holding the item close with a hoof. She gave a deep sigh of contentment, suddenly realizing that she was, for real, making her dreams come true. She pulled the book away from her chest to kiss its leather-bound cover before tucking it under her pillow for safety--- she did check for birds first.

"I'm doing it, Dad," Pheonix whispered.
"I'm going to find the amulet for us. For you."

Pheonix flicked the switch to the lamp off with her magic and gave into slumber shortly after, dreaming the dream she was making into a reality.