Ponyville Research and Development (Open)

[Lux]

"It has come to my attention," the pink Crystal Pony read from her notes to nopony in particular on the train, "That ever since the reemergence of the Crystal Empire that my universe has expanded dramatically. I have so far only obtained any useable data from the accounts of visitors to town, although many of these are more interested in the buildings. Although there was that one pony that kept staring at me and asked me questions like whether I polished myself like one polishes a gem. With that matter removed from my mind until regretfully now, I decided that I must travel to other lands and meet with other ponies to learn about their culture and maybe even investigate any psycho-social problems they may have. I have selected the town of Ponyville as a medium sized city and one of great renown from what I have heard. I do hope the trip was worth it. I think if I stayed any longer on this train my backside would become permanently part of the seat. Also, I do feel lunch coming on as well."

The mare put down the notebook and pencil as the train slowed to a crawl as it reached the station. Looking out she could see ponies standing at the station, some waiting for ponies to come off the train and others to board. From what she could tell there were no other Crystal Ponies there. Well, the ponies would be due for a culture shock then.

"Maybe I should edit the last sentences about seat cushions and food. Well this will be a free draft."

She left the train and stared out at the town of Ponyville before her. A wave of worry that the geeky and slightly socially awkward psychologist would not succeed meeting others or worse do something silly that would tarnish her image.

"Here we go. Once more into the unknown."

With that she sought out the first pony to meet, hoping for a smooth start to her plans being in this unfamiliar town.

Thanks to Zieg for drawing this wonderful art of Heart Healer.

[PyroBlaze]

Flora enjoyed this town. It wasn't too big, and they had plenty of greenery around. Not to mention it was quite pleasant. If only there weren't so many strange ponies around. Oh well, as long as they didn't try to initiate conversation with her, she had no reason to be nervous. She merrily trotted down the street, enjoying the atmosphere and all the plants and flowers around. They all looked healthy, and the gardening was good, mostly. Too bad she was only here for a delivery, she would've loved to help make these gardens better. Maybe next time...

She stopped in her tracks as her eyes caught sight of something shining. When she looked back to the source, she found a mare. More precisely, she found a mare that looked like she was made of crystals. She must be one of those crystal ponies Flora had heard about. She just kinda stared at the mare, too afraid to initiate conversation, but too interested to ignore the mare.

[Lux]

As Heart Healer looked about the town for her next research subject... or pony to meet, she couldn't help but notice that there were ponies looking back at her with an equal curiosity, perhaps even more. She guessed that Crystal Ponies didn't come down from the Crystal Empire to here. Still the mare was somehow used to ponies staring awkwardly at her, although besides her looks she was unsure exactly what else would cause such an attention.

"So many ponies, so little time," she said to herself as she scanned the crowd. Her eyes then met a mare with a green coat that appeared as if she wanted to get to know the pink pony. Yet there was something holding the earth pony back, and it didn't take a degree in psychology or countless hours of time logged with ponies during sessions to figure out that this one was a shy pony. Introverted ponies required care getting to know, like a conversational dance. First impressions of course were the trickiest thing to do, but Heart felt equipped to meet the green pony.

"Hello there," Heart Healer said as she casually approached the pony which perhaps looked too awkward but still would work, "I'm Heart Healer. What is your name?"

[PyroBlaze]

Flora couldn't take her eyes away. She had never seen a crystal pony before, and they were certainly beautiful, the way they sparkled like that. She was so distracted by her thoughts that she didn't notice the crystal pony approaching until she spoke. With a squeak, Flora jumped back a bit, hiding behind her mane as the crystal pony introduced herself. It took a couple of silent moments before Flora peeked out from her unruly mane to look at Heart Healer again.

"Ummm... I-I'm Flora Bloom... You have a v-very n-nice name..." She said meekly, answering the mare's request for a name. After that, she looked away, staring at the ground as she awaited either the mare leaving or the continuation of the conversation. She hoped for the second option, though it might not seem like it. She liked having friends, it was making them that was hard for her.

[Lux]

On a scale of severity regarding shyness, Heart Healer placed this pony at about a seven. Not as paralyzed by social contact that isolated some ponies in their houses as a ten would be but certainly not in the lower end with little or no shyness. Even a simple hello was enough to throw up a wall between the two, even if that wall was Flora's unkempt mane. Shifting briefly into her psychologist mode, the Crystal Pony clearly identified a dual nature of this pony, that she was shy but still sought out to meet others. The root cause to Flora's shyness remained to be seen. Heart hoped to find that, but outright asking her would not work out at all and would end this meeting very quickly.

"Why thank you," she said smiling back to the mare who seemed to look everywhere but her, "You have a lovely name too. Flora, like flowers. Are you a florist? Is that what your talent is?"

[PyroBlaze]

Flora kinda glanced around between various things in the area and the mare before her. Eventually, her eyes found a small flower, and her eyes rested there for the moment. It was a beautiful flower, white petals. When Heart spoke again, Flora looked up at her. She smiled slightly at the mare before looking back to the flower.

"Th-thank you... Yes, I'm a f-florist... I love plants..." Flora said softly, her eyes on the flower as she smiled. The flower looked perfectly healthy, which was good, and it worked well in the garden it was a part of. She sighed happily as she took in the sight of the garden.

[moonshineTheleocat]

Java –a now regrettably revealed noble pony- had been wondering around aimlessly in town. The stallion didn’t seem to pay any mind to ponies whom were greeting him. In fact, it would be easily safe to say he didn’t know where he was… or was aware of where he was walking as he had already cut across fountain water, and ran over some bushes. He seemed to be completely unaware of his surroundings as he left his nose buried deeply into a notebook in one hoof. While the other three worked effortlessly to move the pony around. It was clearly a well-practiced habbit, by the way he was easily able to move himself around without hobbling. And he was muttering something to himself under his breath. Quite madly in fact. His appearance didn’t help much either as his hair is usually as disheveled as a mad-scientist may be. And his coat was complete with leaves attached to him. Like he had been wondering through bushes without realizing it.

“WHERE IS IT,” he hissed to himself as his eyes now danced over each page. “What caused the malfunction? I know I am not crazy! I know the error was in here somewhere! It’s not bad luck! The buckin numbers are all laughing at me. The smoke is undeniable. And the butterflies! The butterflies are all dancing around my head and mocking my very sanity! It has to be in here! But what is it?! What-what-what-what. WHAT IS IT! Where is it!”

He was growing even more frustrated. Mostly with himself! Oh how wrong he was to just assume this debugging would take more than a few minutes. In fact, he doesn't even remember the last time he has eaten! Or slept. Though it might not appear that way. Given that the stallion’s body is well accustomed to his sort of punishment to not show the ware and tears of sleep deprivation, or the lack of nourishment. Maybe grooming would be in order… if his mane wasn't actually in this style on a daily basis.

But eventually. The pony grew tired of this fruitless search. And decided to take a new route. One moment, he let out a frustrated growl and slammed the book to the floor. And the next, he had ripped out a mass of papers from within it’s bounds and sent them high into the air. While they danced around in the air and slowly fell to the ground, his demented gaze scanned over each one. A hoof raised to help his eyes home in on every individual page.

“Nononononononono,” He mumbled rapidly as he quickly flicked across each falling page. His eyes dancing around to lock onto the next once he was finished with one. “It’s not here! Why is i- wait a minute…”

His eyes locked onto a distant page, that was floating among it’s brothers. It’s erratic flapping was gesturing the pony to come closer as it rolled about, to show the pony it’s contents. And then, it dawned onto the stallion. It made no sense. Nothing on that page made any logical sense. Was it a mad scrawling? Or perhaps it was the error he was looking for?

Without wasting another second, the stallion sprang through the air, and bit down on a corner. As he fell, he took the sheet with him and crashed on his side. The pony tore it from his mouth and read over it quickly. “Y-yes! Here it is! Finally found it it! It was just a minor miscalculation with the metal’s rate of expansi-“ the pony babbled to himself before noticing two other’s near him.

His gaze quickly glanced upwards with a curious look. His eyes first landing on the mundane mare that looked like a ghost of a dead shy mare. His brows quirked after noticing an odd pinkish diffusion of light on her side, and slowly followed it to… a statue? A statue made of gems?

The scientist gave the “statue” a quick glance over before slowly pulling it back to the mare, and then back to… the statue? Wait. Was this statue moving? Yes… it looked like it was breathing. A very alive and expensive statue.

Then it dawned on the stallion. His face lighting up almost immediately as he quickly scrambled back to his hooves. His flailing hooves sending his notes high into the air. Where a mocking breeze spirited them away and out of sight.

“OH,” bawked Java with an incredulous gaze. “Oh! Pardon me! I hadn’t noticed I had guest! Especially a lovely mare and a resident of cry-“ The stallion paused as his gaze now trailed off to his environment. This wasn’t his home. This was far from it.

“WAIT," Cried out the engineer, demanding the world to pause. His fore hooves flailing around in front of him haphazardly for a few seconds, before finally forcing them to stop, with both of them outwards. His eyes looked between the two, and then back to this odd-world that wasn't home. " … where am I…” The stallion slowly spun around, absorbing every little detail of the environment. “Definitely not Canterlot... Crystal Kingdom? No. Not enough stone or crystals. Trees. Clean. Very clean. Open! Friendly! Suspenseful! Happy ponies! Boring? Yes very boring. Happy-boring. Dirt! Lovely dirt! Yes! That’s right! Ponyville! Huh… when did I…”

The pony quickly turned back to the two and beamed a smile, “Erm! Never mind that! Sorry for being rude! I hope the two of you forgive me!”

((After three rewrites... due to the stupid backspace button))

[Lux]

As the pink Crystal Pony waited for the timid pony's response, she couldn't help but notice Flora's attention gravitating towards a flower on the ground. It was a nice flower as far as Heart could tell as she was no botanist, but was this the only thing holding the green earth pony's interest? If the flower in question was removed from the scene Heart wondered if the mare would seek out another if nothing more to avoid eye contact. Perhaps this mare was accustomed to being with flowers so much that she focused more on them.

"Well I'm glad you like them so much. I'm actually a psychologist, helping ponies to overcome their fears and social problems. It can be challenging at times but it is worth it. How much time do you spend tending flowers and plants a day?"

Before getting an answer, the mare noticed a rather disheveled stallion galloping frantically about while chasing some flying papers. After finally catching one Heart say that he was at a loss of words looking at her like he didn't know what she was. How could a pony not recognize another pony? The mentioning of her being pretty caused her to blush slightly. Of all the times she helped ponies with their emotional and social problems the mare found it hard to cope with comments towards her, especially flattering ones.

No sooner had it dawned on him that she was a visitor the pony appeared lost, literally thinking he was in the Crystal Empire just because he saw one Crystal Pony. Through his own rambling analysis the stallion finally deduced where he was.

"Yes, you are not in the Crystal Empire but Ponyville just as I am. I'm Heart Healer, and may I ask who you are?"

[PyroBlaze]

Flora looked back at the crystal mare as she said she was a psycologist and that it was hard, but worth it. Flora smiled briefly before looking back to the flower. Heart also asked how much time she spent around flowers. Were they really going to do a psycologist meeting thing out in the street? It seemed like they were, but what did she know? Before she could answer, a stallion appeared, chasing down some flying papers before grabbing one and spouting off some kind of scientific stuff. The stallion first looked at her, then Heart, though he seemed to not realize the crystal pony was actually a pony at first. Then the stallion seemed to think he was in the Crystal Empire, though he quickly realized his true position.

"Oh, of c-course." Flora said in response to the stallion's request for forgiveness. Then she turned back to Heart before deciding to answer the previous question. "W-well, I'm the only one m-manning the shop, s-so I end up spending a lot of time there." Flux said, glancing back at the garden for a moment.

[moonshineTheleocat]

“Hmm, well pardon again! I tend to get distracted by work and such, sometimes I barely remember where I am.” Java hummed in a curious note after he had plucked up the sheet of paper holding data that seemed to only have pure malice intent for both the pony's sanity and his project with his tongue. His eyes danced over it for a moment, before finally withdrawing the slick appendage. The paper made a soft rustle while it crumpled under the Stallion's jaws before it disappeared into his gullet.

The pony didn't even make any visible signs of chewing. Or swallowing for that matter. His gaze settling down on the two for a moment. His brow raising when he noticed the gleaming light on the Gem like mare taking a different shade. Fascinating~.

“Oh! Pardon me! Forgive me for being rude ma'am! No one important! Well, I'd like to make that claim. I can be reclusive at times. Professionally, I am Voronoi Fractal~! Some sort of title before that though. Two actually. I can't barely remember how these things work. Something with a B? Or a D? M? Yes?! No!? One of those! Or something. Anyways! I prefer not to be called that! To much of a mouthful. Not a lot of ponies can pronounce it correctly! So I prefer to go by... Java! Two syllables! Much more efficient! And exactly three less syllables to pronounce! And can be said clearly in less than a second!”

To those who chose to look into the pony's jaws. He must of actually swallow the page before he began speaking again. Because it was gone. No trace left of it.

The pony then leaned in a bit closer. “But you madame,” the pony exclaimed excitedly! His tone then lilting off to a softer note, “are interesting~! Gem body! Just wow! Yet can move around like your body's molecules aren't quantum locked in one single solid state. Even the light catches on you like a real jewl! Oh-ho-ho, that is an incredible magic over there!” And there being the Crystal Kingdom of course.

His eyes taking a more inquisitive nature as he studied the mare a bit more. His body leaning too and fro so he could look at her from various angles. His eyes taking a moment to study how the light caught on the surface of her body. Oh how curious he was to see if her body was like a rock. Or any other pony! But then his eyes turned back to that blush he had noticed previously. Well, he hadn't quite figured it out yet.

“Though... that slightly redder hue on your cheeks a moment ago is odd. I don't recall seeing that before. I want to say it was cute,” The pony slowly pulled away. His hoof now moving to his jaw to give it a light rub. His eyes remained fixed on her for a moment, while the oblivious scientist tried to figure out the reason. But he quickly dropped it with a light shrug. “Ah! Well, forgive me for being intrusive! I don't travel to the Crystal Kingdom. And oddly, you are the first I have seen. Both in person and in this province. Beautiful I shall admit. Evokes a bit of envy in me.”

The stallion then turned to look tentatively to the shy mare. His eyes watching her gaze drift off to the garden. It might not seem like it, but the stallion was actually paying attention to what she was saying. And he was easily able to decide that she's one of the ever growing crowd of shy ponies in Pony-ville! A bucking whopping population of.... two shy ponies. What sort of shop did she run anyways? He could do with a quick stop by a store. He hadn't planned on buying anything, but he is sure he might need something in advance. Like nails! Can't have to many of them.

[Lux]

Being a psychologist was like a dance. Sometimes you had to lead the conversation to help a pony with their problems and other times you had to let the pony lead to understand their perspective. There was also the dance of trying to help ponies while not make it like you were counseling. She could tell that the mare had seen that she was opening up the conversation for an impromptu counseling session. With such a shy pony Heart worried that Flora would retreat back into her cocoon of isolation or worse run away.

"You run your garden and store all by yourself? That must be a pretty big undertaking. Unfortunately I don't have much of a green hoof but I do like the beauty of nature. I do work by myself, sort of. I have a secretary that does much of the clerical things for me, scheduling appointments, helping new ponies sign in, things like that. Do you have ponies here in Ponyville that can perhaps help you tend your garden or store, maybe a close firend?"

The stallion was a strange one, being awfully forgetful. Wait... did he just eat a piece of paper? He was coherent enough though to offer his name and a nickname to the mare. The way he looked over her body like a piece of sculpture gave the nerdy psychologist a mix of emotions from awkwardness to actually feeling good.

"Yes, well I can tell that I am unique compared to the... non crystal looking ponies here. It is not that I am made of stone but a magical enhancement that gives our coats, manes, and tails the similar appearance of hardness and luster as a gem. I have to admit that it is... interesting that many ponies are taking such an interest in my appearance."

It was bad enough that Java looked her over for every line and shine. But then he noticed the blush and couldn't help but mention it. That's when he said it, those two words that struck a nerve at her core: cute and beautiful.

"Y... you think I'm pretty?"

[PyroBlaze]

Flora made a slight humming noise at Heart's comments about how she mostly worked alone as well, though she had some kind of secretary. Then came a question if the green mare had any friends here in Ponyville that could help her. Why did she assume Ponyville? Just because they had met here didn't mean she lived here.

"Umm... A-actually... I live in Fillydelphia. I'm j-just here for a d-delivery." Flora said, looking back at the crystal mare before continuing. "I don't mind taking care of it myself, it's not hard, and my friends have to take care of their own jobs."

Looking over at the stallion, she was just in time to see him stuff a piece of paper into his mouth. Flora blinked a couple times at the torrent of words, eventually able to pick out the name Java. Where had she heard that name before? She was sure she had. She kinda tuned out of the conversation between the two ponies as she shuffled through her memories, a thoughtful look on her face. She found what she was looking for as Heart asked her question. She raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly as she looked back and forth between the two ponies. After giving Java ample time to respond, she turned to the stallion.

"You were at Winter Wrap Up, r-right? The one with the s-storm at Sweet Apple Acres. I... I think I heard your name at some point there." She said to the stallion.

[moonshineTheleocat]

“Hmm…...?” Java hummed for a moment after hearing the Crystal Mare’s question. His expression looked a bit confused as he tried to figure out if the mare was offended, or delighted to his comment. But most importantly, he was trying to figure out why such a small comment had hit her so hard. His eyes flickered over her once more and searched through his vocabulary of adjectives. If he were to look at her as just a specimen, all he could objectively place down was interesting. But as a mare? Beautiful, alluring, attractive, cute, gorgeous, tanta-. But then that’s when –it- hit him. The pony’s social filters had a case of fleet hoof, and ran away, leaving him to make an embarrassment out of himself.

The stallion’s head recoiled at his own foolishness as a blush took over his cheeks. It was bright enough to be seen past his dark brown fur as he tried to think of a way to pull himself out of such a situation. But he was sure he only made matters worse for himself now. Likely going to leave him in a nervous wreck streaking down a hill of flowers crying for mercy. With either an angry… or happy mare chasing after him. Oh how companionship sometimes confused the stallion.

“E-er-erf…” The stallion began. It felt like his waist coat had now began to strangle his neck. He pulled his previous list of adjectives back to his mind. But there were to many words involved that he would sure he’d have a stroke before he managed to finish. So he thought of something quickly. “E-er, w-well. T-tru-ruthfully? Pretty is a h-horrible understatement.”

Oh dear, Java thought to himself. I need a distraction! Please! Any pony! Distraction. The mad-scientist’s felt his hooves slowly grow lighter as instinct told him to back away slowly. But luckily, he managed to get what he was begging for. His gaze quickly shifted to the other mare. A nervous smile taking over his face.

“OH! Uhh…” the stallion began. He remembered that day all well. His smile now fading off as he quickly recalled himself getting pulled under the ice by a frozen cart full of metal he was going to use to repair the plows. “Yyyyeaaah. I was there… not the best of days though.”

[Lux]

It the storm of emotions the mare felt she almost forgot what Flora said about where she lived. To her dismay, the Crystal Pony broke one of her cardinal rules: assume nothing.

"Oh well I'm sorry that I assumed you lived here. Is Fillydelphia far from here? How different is it from here in Ponyville?"

As much as he made her feel awkward, Heart could see that she made the odd earth pony feel awkward as well! She didn't know why as truthfully there was nothing that she could determine with looks or mannerisms that would make one feel awkward. The two looked at each other, Heart unsure what to say next as the next thing could be good or bad.

“E-er, w-well. T-tru-ruthfully? Pretty is a h-horrible understatement.”

She opened her mouth to respond but no words came out. This was wrong from the very start as she usually was very capable to talk to ponies. Finally she squeaked out something.

"Err... you're cute too?"

[PyroBlaze]

Heart was apologizing now for assuming Flora lived in Ponyville. The green mare's response to that was to quietly mumble something that vaguely resembled her saying it was alright. Flora looked at the crystal mare as she asked about Fillydelphia, where it was and what it was like. She had to think about that for a bit, and fell silent as the crystal mare responded to what the stallion had said to her before.

"Filly... It's nice... K-kinda in between Ponyville and Manehatten as f-far as appearances go. Lots of farming, so I get plenty of work." She said, idly twisting her hoof back and forth in the dirt as she spoke. "Location... S-southwest of here I think... Most of the way a-across the plains." She finished, her hoof stopping it's movement and leaving a small divot in the ground.

She really wasn't sure what to say to the stallion. His experience that day likely wasn't any better than hers had ended up being. It had started out fine, though everything went bad after the storm had hit.

[moonshineTheleocat]

Java made a nervous twitch when he realizes his distraction had absconded away from him as quickly as it came. The pony turned around, to meet the other mare's gaze. Just this alone made the pony feel even more akward. But he couldn't break away eye contact for some reason. Was it rude to do so now? Perhaps, most definitely. He surely wasn't expecting her to say anything but it certainly made him feel like she was.

But wait! What's that thumping?! Drum like beats, that are escalating in both frequency and volume! Oh that be his own heart beat! He was about to turn and leave, till he heard something. It was almost like a little mouse's squeak. Most definitely sounded cute! Almost adorable? The stallion had barely managed to steel his heart, to prevent it from suddenly melting in his chest, and causing him to careen over on the spot and die.

The pony's head made a visible recoil in surprise to the comment. His blush now becoming slightly visible under his darkbrown fur. His eyes quickly dearted to Flora, as if searching for assistance with this odd situation, before glancing back.

“W-well,” The pony began. Though his tone was flustered, and it took a few shakes of the jaw and nervous sounds before any coherent words were finally spilled out. His eyes quickly darting to the side. Perhaps the umpteenth time he heard himself being described as cute. Even though he made no real effort in his appearance, other than basic grooming and a very tentative touch to his coat of fur and vest. The pony tried to say something, but his jaw froze in mid movement. His mind drawing a blank as his blush grew a bit harsher. His head quickly snapped away to look to Flora once more

He took a moment to allow his eyes to study the Heart for a second. Unable to discern anything quite yet. Maybe she just likes him? Perhaps he'd have to query this later. Instead he figured he'd have to query her later about something. So he gave his full attention to Flora, and tilted his head. “You... said you ran a flower shop here yes?”

[Lux]

Her mind was so flustered by Java's apparent affection that Heart Healer could barely focus on the conversation let alone a thought in her head. She was normally comfortable about being in the company of ponies with high emotions like in her sessions back at the Crystal Empire. This was especially due to the nature of Crystal Ponies having an affinity for sensing emotions. Still the mare for the moment kept her bubbling feelings down enough to speak to Flora.

"Ah so it is a little bigger than here. Well maybe I should visit there too. Besides your work at your flower shop which i could only imagine is a time consuming task. what other things do you like to do?"

Her eyes locked again with the now equally awkward feeling stallion, held in that stare for a moment as she tried to find out what to say or do next.

"So... um... Java. What is you occupation? I noticed that you had some papers you carried and lost."

[PyroBlaze]

Flora nodded slightly at Heart's words about Filly being a bit larger than Ponyville. Then a slight smile appeared on her face as the crystal pony said she might visit the city as well. Then came the question of what she liked to do when she wasn't working in her shop.

"Well... I like gardening... besides that... m-mostly just whatever my f-friends are doing..." Flora replied to the mare, looking over at the stallion as he brought up her flower shop. He looked to be desperate for a distraction from the awkward exchange between him and Heart, and Flora couldn't really blame him.

"If by 'here' you mean Fillydelphia, then yes." Flora said, correcting his placement of her shop. Then Heart asked what his job was, and Flora had to admit she was curious of that herself.

[moonshineTheleocat]

Java blinked as he was asked a simple question. A question he truthfully, couldn’t answer as easily as it is to ask! Why he had several vocations, but only a few of them that the stallion could actually say was his legitimate career while everything else was simply to relieve boredom. That and to extinguish the loneliness that comes with his main vocation, that transforms him into a creature that is as reclusive as a spider and a hermit combined.

The stallion smiled as he tried to figure out where to begin. “W-well. That’s a hard question to answer in my case!”

The stallion took a seat in the grass and fumbled with his hooves. Mostly because he was still struck pretty heavily in the akward feeling that most ponies call “Affection”. Still an odd feeling to the young stallion. One that usually sends him over the hills if his legs hadn’t locked up from the sudden fright of having another’s lips, stallion or mare, near his own.

“I am an engineer! Well, Scientist. Well... actually scratch that. I have several Careers I manage, and a few jobs I have on the side lines to get me moving about! Do I profit from those extra jobs? Not really, but the lack of sleep tends to open up a lot of free time! I am an Engineer at heart! And A Scientist next! A Scholar if you will! A scholar of Science and Technology! Ok! Even that part has half-truth! As I am also dabbling in arcane technologies of the sort!”

[Lux]

Heart Healer nodded as she listened to Flora speak of her other activities she liked doing. The psychologist was pleased to see her warm up and see her shyness be reduced. Still there was something troubling about the mare, her apparent lack of doing other things other than what her talent is related to and her friends. Maybe she was afraid to try new things or maybe there was a comfort in her few activities she did.

"Well I may not be skilled in growing or arranging flowers, but I do know that in the Crystal Empire there are crystal flowers. They are like flowers, just look like they're made of crystal, just like me!"

Her interest turned to the strange stallion that just blurted out his affection to her. He seemed to be a pony of all trades, related to the science of building things as well as a scholar.

"So you build things and experiment with scientific things. What kind of things have you made so far?"

[PyroBlaze]

Flora's face lit up as Heart mentioned that there were flowers in the Crystal Empire that looked like normal flowers made of crystal. Those sounded like they looked amazing! She wanted to visit the Crystal Empire now, if only to see those flowers. She would need a better reason than that to go over there though, she couldn't see going that far just to see some flowers.

"W-wow! Those sound amazing!" Flora said, her mind filled with images of flowers, but with the same kind of crystal effect that Heart had. All in all, they looked pretty good, but of course that was just her imagination telling her what she thought they would look like. The stallion then began talking about what he did, which to her sounded like a bunch of science and other stuff she wouldn't be good at.

"That... s-sounds interesting..." Flora mumbled, trying to be nice to the stallion. She tried to be nice to everypony she met.

[moonshineTheleocat]

The pony's eyes flicked to the mare. The sudden change in her attitude surprised the stallion for a moment. To him, it'd seem like she'd more at home in a field of flowers than Fillydelphia. The stallion's mind soon wondered as he now day dreamed about a town literally made of flowers. The dirt being utterly fertile, and rich with nutrients. The buildings made of large flower pedals and leaves. And then lastly, the village folk themselves, are flowers rooted to the ground. Happily waving to new comers that happened across their humble town. Seemed like a happy place to be, if one such area actually existed... anyways.

The Stallion blinked, and quickly turned his head back to the two. Now noticing that all attention was now... well centralized on him. His gaze flicked between the two, trying to pick up what they may have said before. His brain scanned it's databases for any vague sounds, and then finally it came to him.

"Oh! Well, build things is part of it! Engineers improve existing devices! Which... yes I guess is technically building things, or reinvention... however you look at it."

The pony then lowered himself down into the grass, lying lazily on his side. "And... as far as anything I have created? Well, the most significant thing would be the reinvention of an Airships components. Fuel efficient! No! Fuel-less I should say! Usually, Airships are steam powered. Requires a large amount of coal to propel it. Which is a shame as it's inefficient and severely increases the payload weight of the ship! But not this one! As it uses an enchanted crystal to power it's engines. Which then generate the required to power the other functions of a ship! But it doesn't quite stop there! The engine also has a complete redesign that allows it push a heavier ship much faster than before! This means larger capacities can be shipped across equestria! Or simply a faster ship."

((Sorry for the lack of Coloring in speech. Usually my responses are done on a tablet that doesn't work to well with this forum."

[Lux]

So far her conversation with Flora was going well. Heart was able to pull her out of her shyness a little by appealing to her love of gardening and flowers. Still there was the troubling issue of her not doing much else but gardening. There might be a way to help her see what else was out there in the world, but she needed to help her open up more. Flora it seemed answered questions well but never so far asked about the crystal pony.

"They are lovely indeed. As you can guess they are affected by the same magic that gives ponies like me a crystal sheen. Some animals also have similar appearances like crystal sheep that are used to make clothes. But I'd like to hear about your travels Flora. You said you live in Fillydelphia and traveled here. Do you visit other towns or cities? What are they like?"

The mare turned her attention to the stallion who also opened up more after the awkward introduction. His initial reaction still ringed in her mind, making her feel confused and happy at the same time.

"Airship, huh? Never been on one or seen one in the Crystal Empire. I do understand a little about crystal technology as that is what powers many of the houses and businesses where I live. Things like lights, stoves, all these are powered by enchanted crystals. I don't know exactly how one enchants them but they work very well. There are of course other crystals there too, including one that is very powerful. Ever hear of the Crystal Heart?"

[PyroBlaze]

Heart continued, saying they were indeed lovely before saying they were affected by the same magic that made all the other creatures in the empire look like crystal. Flora didn't know much about magic, but she figured you had to be native to the land for the magic to work. Otherwise, everypony that went to visit would be a crystal pony. Flora idly wondered what she would look like as a crystal pony. Then she realized her mind was wandering, and she came back to Heart asking her how 'they' were. Who were they? As far as she knew, Heart and her didn't know any of the same ponies.

"Umm... They're f-fine..." Flora said, answering the question with something just as generic. She had to, she didn't know what the question was about, and she didn't want to be rude by not answering. She turned her attention back to the stallion as he talked about airships and something along those lines. Heart seemed to understand, as she went off, talking about the same kind of power used on the ship being widely used in the Crystal Empire. It made a certain amount of sense that the Crystal Empire would have crystals to spare for that many different things.

[moonshineTheleocat]

"Well," Java hummed, recalling his own bits of information. How could he not know about the Crystal Heart? While Java couldn't care to keep up with the happenings around the world, the large and trouble some events are the ones he usually watches over when they show. Part of the reason the Crystal Kingdom had been practically whipped off of the face of the world was due to it's existence. That, and King Sombra, whom Java couldn't quite figure out his intentions anyways. But what did he really know about the Crystal? Well, very little actually. Other than the Crystal seems to have some sort of magical fallout that slowly alters the body of it's residents and turns them into crystalline creatures.

"Yes. A bit though," Java hummed, pulling his gaze away from the sky and back down to the two mares. "I don't know to much about it. I do know it's what caused the crystalline structure you have." The earth pony hummed softly. And then a small thought occurred. The Crystaline mare had apparently never rode an airship before. And something tells the stallion that the shy one hadn't either. It probably wouldn't hurt to offer them a ride. Plus, a peaceful test run would be delightful for once. The two border's are patrolled enough that pirates are hardly an issue.

"But! If you'd like! I'd be willing to take you both into the air! It's a completely different perspective in the air! It wasn't till I decided to take my research to the skies did I see why Pegasus ponies enjoy flying so much. You're free from the confines of the ground! But always tangential to the world's surface!"