Slice of Night

Heartfelt stands still for a moment, composing herself before trotting calmly to the pair with the assumption that this construction worker was another mare that Quilted had met on her adventures away from the Foal Protective Services.

As she walks over, Heartfelt sees Quilted laugh, and hears the mare say, "...So I said, hey, buddy, that's my shovel!" She sighs, and notices you, saying, "Oh! Hey there, miss. You lookin' for somethin'?" Quilted turns to look at you, then says, "Oh! Heartfelt, Heartfelt, this is Hard Hat! Hard Hat, this is Heartfelt!"

Heartfelt nods her head towards Quilted. "She's what I was looking for. It's good to meet you, Hard Hat; a friend of Quilted's is a friend of mine!"

Hard Hat grins down at Quilted, then looks back at you, saying, "Yeah, she tends to slip away when you ain't lookin'. I'm guessin' you must be her adopter?"

The mare smiles and nods. "Mhmm! A whole week and counting!"

Hard Hat chuckles and shakes your hoof, saying, "Well good for you! She's a really nice kid. You, uh, mind if I talk to you for a minute?" She turns to quilted and says, "Hey kiddo, go hang out with Tony for a minute, ok? I need to talk to Heartfelt." Quilted looks between the two of you, a bit unsure, then runs off into the group again, leaving you two alone. Hard Hat looks at you, and her smile is gone, replaced with grim determination. She says, "How much do you know about Quilted, Heartfelt?"

Heartfelt sits down, somewhat worried by this change in demeanor. "Mostly just what the adoption files told me. Her allergies, the falling incident...what happened with her mother. Quilted's not really keen on sharing more than she has to. Which is understandable!...we have only been together a week..." The last two statements are clearly more directed at herself than Hard Hat.

Hard Hat shakes her head, saying, "Yeah, yeah, sure, but I mean Quilted. Do you know what happened to her when her mother died? Do you know what she went through? I'm only askin' because that's dangerous ground to walk on, Felty. I need to know that you know what you're doin', because that kid means a lot to me."

Heartfelt frowns and looks at the ground ashamed, kicking it lightly. "No...not really no...I have next to no idea what I'm doing," she sighs, before looking back up at Hard Hat.
"But I'm trying. I'm trying really hard! She means a lot to me as well, and I just want to see her be happy."

Hard Hat sighs, and says, "Listen, Heartfelt, I see your heart is in the right place, you just need to know a few things about the kid. She... didn't take her mom's death well... went into some kinda, er, what did the doc call it? Oh, yeah, retroactive denial. Acts like she doesn't know her mom died. I don't know the specifics, but it's kinda creepy. Just warning you, if someone brings it up, try to change the subject, or get Quilted out of there."

Heartfelt nods. "Okay, thanks I'll do that." Heartfelt mulls over the information for a moment before saying, "How do you know that? Are you like a...family friend?"

Hard Hat smiles and says, "You could say that... was the maid of honor at Shining's wedding... that was a long time ago, though." She hears something in the distance, and says, "But that's the lunch bell, so it's back to work for me. Come see me if you ever wanna talk about her, eh? I'll try and give ya some advice. Be seeing ya!" She turns away and begins to work again. Heartfelt turns and notices Quilted coming towards her, very happy.

Eclair hums a little tune as she flies near to the ground, occasionally fluttering her wings to keep aloft as she loosely follows the path. Spotting where she's headed she tilts her body to the side and glides smoothly down to land before what appears to be an old log cabin. "So zis is ze Place by ze Roundabout, oui? It does not look much like a store..." She says mostly to herself as she walks towards the door, knocking before pushing it open with a hoof. "Knock knock! Is anypony home?" She says somewhat distractedly, looking around as she steps into the store.

As Eclair steps inside, her eyes focus... and she's astounded by what she finds. A sleek, clean, white interior greets her, the beautiful storefront shining brightly with polish. The shelves are full of interesting items, some of which she doesn't even recognize. There's a small counter with a cashier behind it, but the store seems rather empty right now.

Smoke Screen takes more photographs of the show. Seeing both the exciting show and the excited crowd reminded him of his glory days. Having a great performance distract the crowd while a pickpocket does his work. Not too lavish, and you might end up screwing some pony big style compared to breaking into a large house or the like when you can easily tell the pony has the funds to repay non-sentimental loot, but it's easy and helps with the day-to-day costs. The pegasus then shakes the thoughts off and continues to take photos of the event, also taking some pictures of the excited crowd...

"Don't worry folks! We're just getting started! Now if i may have a volunteer?" Stagewing said, Beckoning anyone from the crowd to step up.

Rolling:

Eclair blinks surprised at the shop for a moment before turning towards the cashier and nodding with a smile. "Bonjour! I am looking for food coloring, could you direct me to where it might be?" She asks even as she looks around to see if she can spot it herself.

rolls:

SubjectZ wrote:Hard Hat smiles and says, "You could say that... was the maid of honor at Shining's wedding... that was a long time ago, though." She hears something in the distance, and says, "But that's the lunch bell, so it's back to work for me. Come see me if you ever wanna talk about her, eh? I'll try and give ya some advice. Be seeing ya!" She turns away and begins to work again. Heartfelt turns and notices Quilted coming towards her, very happy.

Heartfelt nods and smiles, saying "Definitely!" before turning to the approaching filly with a grin. "Heya!...ready to keep heading on?"

Quilted smiles and says, "Definitely! Let's go!
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The clerk smiles and says, "Sure, right down there on Aisle 12." She squints for a moment and says, "Say, I've never seen you around here, you new?"
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As they head towards the school again, Heartfelt makes a mental note to swing by on the walk home and invite Hard Hat to Quilted's party.
She makes a point to get a general impression of the ponies of Luna's Retreat, waving at friendly faces and smiling at strangers.

Roll:

As they walk, Heartfelt sees that the ponies are very open and friendly, if a bit quiet. She thinks she recognizes a few, and these ponies are extra friendly, except for one, who she vaugely remembers from somewhere.
TIME SKIP
You two arrive at the school, a small, 1 room building painted dark purple.

Clockeye wrote:"Don't worry folks! We're just getting started! Now if i may have a volunteer?" Stagewing said, Beckoning anyone from the crowd to step up.

Rolling:

Smoke looks around and, seeing that there were no takers, he sighs and begins dragging himself onto the stage. It's not where he's use to being, quite the opposite in fact, but this is his life now. Besides, he can take a good crowd shot from the stage, and a few close ups of the performers themselves, so that's something at least...

Heartfelt pauses to appreciate the garden of tulips outside the school, before opening the door and letting herself and Quilted in. Provided she sees the teacher inside, she smiles and says "Hi, Ms. Lotus Blossom? Heartfelt, guardian of Quilted Crafts," as she extends for a hoofshake.

The teacher smiles, shaking your hoof. Clearly she's been waiting for you. She says, "Hello, Ms. Heartfelt! Come in, come in!" She ushers you into an office, and says, "Let's talk. Quilted, would you mind heading into the class? I'll be in a bit." Quilted goes quiet, but walks away into the main classroom, leaving you and Lotus alone.

"Now, You my lucky stallion are going to feel a bit light headed for this one." Stagewing said as he tried to make smokescreen float a few feet above the stage.

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