Unforeseen Consequences - The chaos carnival (pt10)

>Oh yeah, fuck, you got so much into your Little treasure hunting that you kinda forgot thinking about that. But it’s not like you can’t do it right now…
>You close your eyes for a moment to think a little deeper about what could be the best route of action. And after some minutes, you think that you at least have some things figured out
“Hmmmm, you see Aegia the problem that Mrs. Dust faces is straightforward if we look at it superficially. She doesn’t have any costumers, and the solution will be of course, to bring ponies to her store.”
>You pass your hoof through your mane, pacing around Aegia while you continued to establish the current problem.
“But, I think that this might be a little more complicated than what it sounds since what we must do is basically to make this store to look much more attractive than most that you can find in the market district”
>”Zat is a good analysis of ze situation Mon petit. A good analysis zat lacks any specifics to solve ze problem zat ze mare has”
>You pinch your nose…or rather place your hoof on your muzzle and let out a little groan
“That’s why I said that this is a matter that is more complicated than what it may initially seem. We need something to catch everyone’s attention, and it needs to be something that makes them go here rather than other shops. Aegia, I was never good with marketing and all that stuff, I’m just good with math and physics”
>”Zat is eizer a lie or you actually have a very poor self-image of yourself. Mon petit, I remember zat you gave a razer good speech back at ze town hall, so I’m sure zat you can zink of somezing. You are ze Prince after all”
>You roll your eyes as you walk past Aegia
“How many times do I have to tell ponies that I don’t like to be called a prince, it just brings me…”
>Wait a moment, that’s it! You certainly don’t like the idea but this actually might work
“Unwanted attention…but in this case…”
>Aegia knows that you already got the answer…and she liked it “Mon petit, please don’t keep me in suspense. Tell me your plan already”
>You turn to Aegia with a cocky smile on your face, and eyes filled with confidence and determination. You adjust your glasses and chuckle
“Well, since everyone seems to be set on me accepting my title as a prince, I suppose that I’ll have to just go with it, especially if it means helping someone in need. Are you following where I’m going with this, mademoiselle Aegia?”
>Aegia nods, now a clear smile was on her face “Oui, you are going to attract a crowd to ze shop by using your title. Zat is quite ingenious, Mon Petit…but please, do not say anyzing else in prench, your accent is horrible”
>You can’t help but to snicker at Aegia’s remark
“That’s rich coming from you, but anyways, let’s set the plan into motion after we are finished with our own shopping.”
>Aegia raises an eyebrow at you ”I zought zat you had already finished wiz zat.”
“Nope, I’m still short on one gift, and you can be sure that I ain’t lurking in more shops after this. I don’t think that we will have the time anyways, so just let me…”
>And then you see it…a small box with a little unicorn mare attached to it. The mare had a somewhat long mane, her factions were so deliciously delicate that it almost felt like it was real.
>You grab the box with your magic and a little tune comes from inside of the little thing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hbiQzWGkXA
>You feel your heart getting warm by listening to the tune that was coming from the musical box. Your mind was enchanted by the little spinning pony.
>For a moment, you forget everything that surrounded you, everything about the plan, you were enchanted by this simple, yet beautiful device.
>You inspect it, and notice that there were some words engraved in a little metal plate that was attached to the bottom of the box.
“For the pony who made me who I am. For the pony that taught me the right path in life. Never change who you are. I love you. I love you just the way you are. Thank you”
>You don’t know what force compelled you to read it out loud, but…you knew, you just knew, that this was the perfect gift for Celestia.
>”I can see that you have a fine eye, my dear. That box has been with me for more years than I can remember….” Mrs. Dusts approaches you as she gently strokes your mane “I find it hard to part with it, but looking at you, I can guess that it’s for a very special pony, am I wrong?”
>You shake your head
“You are absolutely right….this is for one of the two most special and wonderful ponies that ever walked Equestria…”
>Mrs. Dust closes her eyes and gently nods “Aaah, I see, then I have no problems with selling it if it’s for somepony that you clearly love so much. This is why I made this store after all, to sell all of these objects that hold so many wonderful memories to ponies that want to make new ones…”
>Mrs. Dust sighs, you can feel the sorrow of her failing at selling anything at the carnival “Well, would you want me to wrap that little box for you, my dear?”
“Yes please, I think that will be everything actually…”
>You turn to Aegia and nod
>”Oh, no problem then” Mrs. Dust goes to her desk and starts wrapping the little musical box “Such a shame that you have to go so soon, I could’ve made some tea for us…but I suppose that the life of a prince must be a busy one…”
>That actually made you gasp in surpre…you didn’t expected that
“Excuse me if I’m rude, but how do you even know that I’m a prince? I don’t recall ever telling you that, Mrs. Dust”
> “Well, you just did, my dear…” The old mare giggles a little “Don’t worry, I’m not that smart, it’s just that I could hear that speech that you gave, and I also read the newspapers your photo was all over the place, you know? And the name Anon is really unique
>Mrs. Dust rubs her chin “In fact, you are the only Anon that I’ve ever meet in my entire life, and I’ve traveled to many, many places…”
“Aaaah, so you just put two and two together, well… that’s fine…thank you for not calling me prince or something like that. But well, since you came up with your little secret, then I suppose that I can tell you mine, it would be only fair…”
>”Mon petit, what are you doing?” Aegia finally intervenes into the conversation, looking a little concerned about your decision.
>You just give her a wink and wave your hoof in a dismissive manner
“Oh you don’t need to worry, Aegia. After all, if we want this plan to succeed, we need everyone’s cooperation and we can’t achieve that if there’s someone who doesn’t know what’s going on”
>”Oh? Plan? Plan for what, my dear?” Mrs. Dust asks with some confusion as she finishes wrapping the little musical box “I’m sorry, I was never very smart, and I’m afraid that my age has only made things worse”
>You shake your head and sigh. Man, this poor mare really needs a confidence boost
“Please Mrs. Dust, stop talking so bad about yourself, for what little I’ve known you it has been enough for me to conclude that you are a wonderful mare. But anyways, the plan is simple, we are bringing you costumers…a lot of them if everything goes right”
>And just hearing these words made Mrs. Dust to brighten up “Y-You would do that for this old mare? B-but why? Oh, oh, please don’t take it the wrong way my dear. I’m so thankful and happy that you’re doing such a wonderful thing for me, but you know, it’s just….well, I don’t know what to say”
>”Oui, it is true zat we have met for just a few moments. But I’m wiz ze Prince in zis. I can’t allow for zis beautiful shop to go unnoticed. We are going to help you, madame Gold Dust.”
“And as for any other major reason…eh…don’t think too deeply about that. I’m the son of Princess Luna and Princess Celestia, it’s my duty to live up to that honor…besides, my special talent is harmony, how would I even think on representing such an important concept if I ignored a wonderful mare that is clearly sinking into despair and depression…”
>Some tears start to form in Mrs. Dust eyes, but she quickly wipes them off and nods frantically “T-Thank you my dear, I can’t remember the last time that somepony did something so wonderful for me” The poor old mare takes some deep breathes to calm herself “But I don’t want to get too emotional, it might scare ponies away” She giggles “So, what do you want me to do?”
“Just stay here and wait for ponies to come, me and Aegia will have everything covered, so don’t worry about anything except for keeping track of the sales that you are about to get”
>”I will have to take zis too.” Aegia grabs a wooden box and bring her to the front door “We need for everypony to be able to see ze Prince.”
>You look at Aegia unamused by her proposal
“Oh come on, I’m not that small…”
>Aegia shakes her head and…laughs? Is she actually capable of showing emotions? ”Our contraire. You are actually a bit smaller zan ze average colt…”
>”Almost like a filly if I have to say it myself….” Mrs. Dusts laughs too, just to finally calm down a little and correct her statement “oh, but please, don’t be mad my dear, I think that you are adorable…”
>You narrow your eyes and grumble…small? You? Please, you were fucking awesome in every regard…you weren’t fucking small….just a little…but it is cute and that’s all that matters.
“If you ladies are finished with your little mockery of my cute physique then we can move on to what actually matters…”
>You open the front door and look to Aegia…you know, she was actually kinda cute…even when she still was laughing at you
“Listen, thinking about this, maybe our original plan lacked some punch, so I will need you to help me with this besides you know, being my bodyguard. So I was thinking if maybe you could convince ponies by using your…you know…”
>Aegia raises an eyebrow going back to her emotionless self “My what? Be more specific, Mon petit”
>Mrs. Dust giggles, she immediately knew what you were talking about “I think that the little Anon wants to ask if you could use your feminine enchants, my dear”
>”Oh…” Aegia looks at you with a stoic and unhappy glare, before sighing and walking past you “I suppose zat I could do what you are asking me. Zis won’t be ze first mission zat I have to do such zing”
>Aegia exits the shop, taking the wooden box with her. You in turn give Mrs. Dust one last reassuring smile
“Don’t worry Mrs. Dust, we will bring you so many ponies that by the end of the day you will have sold everything in your inventory”
>Mrs. Dust nods, smiling back at you “I can’t thank you enough for what you are doing for this old mare…but please, if everything goes wrong…”
>You shake your head, interrupting what the mare was going to say
“Nothing will go wrong. I swear.”
>And with those words of encouragement, you exit the shop. You look around and see that Aegia has set the little box in front of the tent and was just expecting you to come over.
>You walk to the box and try to get on it…well fuck it, you might be a little small if you had some trouble climbing a fucking wooden box.
>But Aegia pushes you with her head, helping you to finally get on the damn thing
>”So what now, Mon petit?” Aegia asks as she gazes upon the sea of ponies
>You give her a cocky smile
“Just watch…”
>You take a deep breathe, and finally yell with all your might
“Ponies of Ponyville!”
>But no one actually seemed to notice, save some ponies that quickly lost interest in you. The noise was too much for anyone to actually listen to you
>Well…dang…
>Aegia shakes her head “Mon petit, just use a spell to increase your voice volume…”
>You rub the back of your neck and give her an awkward smile
“I-I….don’t actually know how to do that…”
>Your bodyguard can’t help but to roll her eyes “I zought zat you were talented in ze use of magic. I could teach you how to cast zat spell. We don’t have time for zat zough, and I wasn’t hired to be your tutor in magic. So wait here”
>Aegia flies into the shop and in just a brief moment, she brings an old look megaphone with her “Use zis, Mon petit. It will solve ze problem of your weak voice not being heard by ze crowd”
“Oh come on, now I have a weak voice?”
>Aegia nods “You really need to take mademoiselle Rainbow Dash’s offer, Mon petit”
>You narrow her eyes at her and growl
“Just give me that thing…”
>Using your magic, you take the megaphone from Aegia…okay, round two!
>You take another deep breathe to calm your nerves, and finally speak loudly into the megaphone
“Ponies of Ponyville!”
>Oh yeeaaaaaaah! This time it actually worked…and it worked better than what you expected. Now a good chunk of the crowd fixed their attention on you
>Welp, now what were you supposed to say? No, no, no, you can’t get nervous when you have already accomplished the most difficult part…
“Uh…I mean…”
>You clear your throat… fuck you need
“Hear what I have to say, because I, Anon…”
>Fuck, you need to spice your title a little…
“…Yes, me Anon, son of Princess Luna and Princess Celestia and of course, Prince of…”
>Prince of what?! you look around…and see your cutie mark….harmony?...well why not…
“Prince of Harmony! I’ve come to you and everypony else in this wonderful market so I can let you, beautiful ponies, know about something that I’m sure will be of your interest!”
>And it seemed that your little boasting worked, the ponies were starting to gather around you. Some were speaking among themselves
>”Hey, isn’t that…”
>”Yes, is the same colt…”
>”I saw his photo in the newspaper!”
 >You smile at the crowd…and hope that the prince of harmony shit won’t catch on, you certainly would hate if ponies started to call you by that cheesy title.
>”That is right! And probably you heard me giving that little speech too! Well sadly, I’m not giving one this time, instead I come here with a recommendation for your shoppings, and that is…”
>You point to Mrs. Dust’s store
“The crimson afternoon, where you can get wonderful gifts for your loved ones or a nice souvenir for yourself!”
>”Isn’t that just an antique shop?”
>”Yeah, who in their right mind would buy some old stuff?”
>Welp, seems like not even Ponyville is free of having a couple of cunts roaming its streets. You do your best to remain calm though, you won’t let your cheerful mood to be ruined by a couple of idiots.
“Just an antique shop you say? That’s far from the truth, this is a place where you can get memories from the past and make them your own. A place where if you look well enough, you might find something that might create fond memories for you. And besides, we are at the chaos carnival! Why not go with the spirit of the festivity by getting something a little more extravagant?”
>Your little sales pitch seems to have worked…to some extent. While a majority of the crowd didn’t stick around, a good chunk of ponies actually seemed interested in Mrs. Dust shop
>Well…this wasn’t what you expected but…you take what you can get. You smile at the ponies who actually were curious, hoping that your little last pitch would work
“So come in and find that perfect gift that will make your life a little better. My beautiful and extravagant assistant will lead you in!”
>Aegia smiles...jesus, that was weirder than watching her laugh “Please don’t be shy. There’s enough for everypony.” She was…actually kinda sexy…oh man….
>At least it worked…again, for the most part, you lost some ponies there, but there was still enough to fill Mrs. Dust shop.
>As Aegia leads the last pony into the shop, you get off the wooden box and walk to her side
>Aegia strokes your mane, her smile was almost banished, and making place to her characteristic emotionless expression “You did a good job zere. For ze most part.  I don’t zink zat it would be wise for you to try a life of salespony.”
>You shake your head and sigh
“Yeah…I kinda expected more, it is good that I managed to convince some ponies to come into the store but still, ugh, I had the attention of the entire crowd and I lost most of it. I just hope that Mrs. Dust won’t be too disappointed for not having a massive line waiting to enter her shop”
>”Zat won’t be a problem, Mon petit. Just take a look” Aegia points to the window
>What you saw was a happy Mrs. Dust attending to curious shoppers, and lo and behold, some already were starting to buy stuff. And everyone actually looked…rather pleased by what they were finding
>That indeed made you feel a little better. Aegia gives you a pat on your back “Zat mare seems to be very busy, so it would be better if we let her work. I will just go and get our zings so we can go to ze rendezvous point to meet ze ozers.”
>You look through the window and see Aegia picking up a medium sized box. Mrs. Dusts luckily takes notice of you and waves you goodbye, which of course you respond whole heartedly.
>Before Aegia leaves the store, Mrs. Dust stopped her, telling her something that you of course couldn’t hear.
>The old mare rushed as fast as she could to the back store bringing a bottle with a golden liquid inside of it and a cute little cardboard box when she gets back.
>Aegia gives a nod to Mrs. Dust and the old mare can’t help but to give your bodyguard a hug. And with that last show of gratitude, Aegia exits the store.
“Hey, what was all that about?”
>”What was what?” Aegia asks with not much emotion…well, she got back again to being Aegia you guess.
“You know, what did Mrs. Dust told you? And what did she give you?”
>”She of course zank us for everyzing zat we have done for her. As for zis…” Aegia puts the bottle on her saddlebag “Is a parting gift zat she gave us. A bottle of cider which it’s of course mine, and a box filled wiz cookies which is for you, Mon petit.”
>What?! Why does she have to keep the booze…other than you being a small kid…whatever, the cookies are good… you are still awesome…
>”Now please hold everyzing zat can’t break .I’ll be holding onto ze cute teaset. While your mozers casted a spell on your saddlebag so you can hold on more stuff zan what is apparent. I’m not sure wiz trusting you wiz such delicate zing”
>You raise an eyebrow and nod, no one actually told you about such thing, but hey, if it was true, then that was hella awesome
>Using your magic, you grab the box of cookies and the one containing Cherrywood’s mask, the musical box and your little figurine and place everything in your little saddlebag. And…
“Hey, it works!”
>And it wasn’t as awesome as you thought that it would be. You expected some kind of worm-hole or some radical shit like that, but instead it was just a very spacious saddlebag, nothing more, nothing less.
>Aegia takes notice of your disappointment and gives you a slight slap on the back of your head
“Agh! What was that for?!”
>”Don’t be silly. Now, we need to move, I’m sure zat everypony is waiting for us already.” Aegia walks past you.
>You just grumble and follow her along. Fucking shit, you can’t even say anything because you were sure that she would give you that fucking stare again.
>”Don’t be like zat, Mon petit. You need to let go of zat ego of yours sometimes. Especially when somepony shows some friendly affection to you”
“Oh really? I don’t think that a slap on the back of my cute head would count as….”
>Wait a minute, what the fuck did she say?
“Did you say…friendly affection? As in, we are friends?”
>”Oui, zat is what I meant. Unless of course, you don’t want to be friends wiz moi”
“What? No, of course I want to be friends with you, it’s just that you know…you are not exactly a pony who likes to show her emotions…”
>Aegia rolls her eyes and chuckles a bit “Ze explanation is quite simple. I was tasked to be your bodyguard for ze duration of ze carnival. I’m just acting professional.”
“Then what was that deal back at the shop? You know, the laugh and the smirk…and basically everything else.”
>”You can zink of zat as a mission. And ze mission profile requested zat I needed to be empathetic wiz ze subject…” Aegia turns to you and gives you a little smirk “Of course, zat is just away to put it, ze ozer way is zat it was just a friendly moment.”
>You raise an eyebrow and look at Aegia with curiosity
“Really, so that means that I saw a glimpse of the real Aegia back there?”
>”Non, you are looking at ze real Aegia right now. I meant zat you just got to know moi a little better. And who knows…” Aegia looks away from you, but still, you could see a smile on her face “If ze pay is good, maybe I will request to ze Princesses to become your fulltime bodyguard”
“That…doesn’t sound too bad, really. Moonlight is already my bodyguard, well, mine and mom Luna, but I guess that it wouldn’t be too bad if I had another one. Because come on, I’m so awesome that I need a team equally as good to protect me, and if they are my friends too, then that makes it all the better”
>”Don’t get any ideas yet, Mon petit. I said zat I would do it only if ze pay is good, and by zat I mean zat it needs to be better zan what the secret service pays…” Aegia can’t help to let out a little snort “But zat wouldn’t be difficult, considering how greedy administration is…”
“Heh, I can’t imagine how that must feel”
>You remember those greedy bastards at the AOSR. Jesus Christ, they even took away the pinball machine from the lobby just because it “was an unnecessary expense” motherfuckers….
>Aegia narrows her eyes, but that’s as far as her expression of frustration goes ”Zey took away our little mini hoofball machine because it was an unnecessary distraction or somezing like zat….” The pegasi sighs, regaining her expressionless features “ But now zat we are on more friendly terms, I wanted to request somezing, Mon petit…”
“Huh, that’s a little surprising, but sure, ask away”
>”Good, I wanted to request if we could retreat to mademoiselle Applejack’s farm after we make sure zat everypony is okay. I want you to rest after everyzing zat has happened today. Besides, while I know ze geography of zat farm, I would like to scout it so I can make sure zat it’s safe for you, Mon petit.”
>And again, that takes you by surprise. That was certainly not something that you expected to hear from Aegia
“Well, I don’t know, to be fair, I’m not tired, not at all… But if you really want to go, then I supposed that, as a friend, I have to at least give you that. So alright Aegia, after we meet with everyone, we go to Applejack’s farm.”
>Aegia nods, giving you a brief smile ”Mercy, Mon petit…”