Seasaddle Bay Opposites Attract (ATTN: Gerrard, others PM for Invite)

[Lux]

It was a nice day on the beach as Raven Duskwing circled overhead. So far the griffon felt unfulfilled when trying to understand ponies. True there was the one unicorn that offered her a job as a courier which she took gladly as a means to stay in Cloudsdale, but that meeting proved to be not much help in understanding how ponies related to each other. To her surprise Asteria was even more reserved as she was and that said a lot.

"Maybe I'm going about this wrong," Night said touching down on the beach which was strangely quiet now that the summer was over, "Maybe if I find a griffon who lives here longer than I have I can ask him or her about life among the ponies. But where would one be? I haven't seen any griffons but myself here."

[Gerrard]

Unbeknownst to the griffoness searching for tourism tips, another hybrid was hidden in the sky. A pair of rose-colored eyes was peering down on the ocean, feverishly looking for rogue waves. Nothing piqued her interest, at least not immediately. A raven feathered counterpart entered her sphere of of awareness, causing the energetic lifeguard to take aim at the curious catbird.

Aquaria struggles to hold back an excited squeal as she edged her cloud hiding spot closer to Duskwing! When she circled near, Aquaria grabbed the monotone flyer in her dark clutches as her cloud hiding spot gobbled her up in a fluid motion.

"Hi Miss funny face. My name is Aquaria, nice to meet you," she vaguely commented with a smirk before punching a light hole in the cloud for her new guest to see with.

[Lux]

As she trod along the beach while looking for the next direction to go and admiring the view with a faint but present smile on her face, she began to feel that there was somepony nearby. Looking around, the beach was largely empty save for a few beachgoers sitting or playing on the sand but not in the water as it was far too cold. Maybe it was a Pegasus flying above overhead. Before she could react, Raven felt herself flying, only not. It was liked being carried by another. She struggled, not sure where she was going or who grabbed her.

"Where are you taking me?" Raven said in a startled yet still deadpanned tone.

She found out soon enough as she was dropped into a cloud mound where she met another griffon who had a goofy smile on her face.

"Um... hello there. Raven is my name. You know you could have talked to me on the beach instead of here in this cloud, right?"

[Gerrard]

Aquaria giggled excitedly, her feline frame squirming with anticipation. "I could have spoken to you on the beach, and I didn't because," she remarked with a pause, tapping her own beak with a talon as she tried to solve the mystery. After a few seconds, it became very clear that she hadn't thought through her surprise.

"Uh, I could have, but wouldn't have been a surprise," she explained with a giggle as she tunneled out of the cloud and landed gracefully on the sand. "So what brings you to my beach? I'm the resident pony lifeguard. I don't get to rescue many griffons," she explained with a giggle, her voice ringing with exuberance.

"Well there was this one griffon who faked it. I don't think he liked my chest compressions, " she added playfully while offering her new friend a claw to escape into freedom with.

[Lux]

If there was one word that could describe the griffon before her it would be: Bouncy. The griffon could barely sit still as something on her seemed to wiggle or bounce. Not like the dark griffon who sat very still as she waited for a logical reason for the griffon's sudden abduction. To her dismay, the griffon had no reason other than as a surprise. Raven didn't really like surprises as in her mind there really wasn't any reason to clandestinely reveal something. Why keep something hidden if you intended to tell it? This was not thee sort of "fun" she was interested in but she still decided to humor Aquaria.

"Good surprise... I guess. I don't know why you wanted to rescue me as I didn't plan to go swimming. It's too cold and looking at how few ponies are out on the beach it looks like the summer beach season is over. Actually I came here to find other griffons. Guess I found one."

She paused as she saw Aquaria with her outstretched talon hand, wondering if this was a good idea to trust. The possibilities that this griffon could do were mind boggling! But giving a sigh she accepted the griffon's help, hoping it wouldn't end with her arrested or in the hospital.

[Gerrard]

Aquaria was proud of herself, the lifeguard assuming that her serious counterpart enjoyed her playful joke. While this wasn't true, it didn't curb her enthusiasm at all. When her new associate mentioned it was too cold to swim, Aquaria gasped in horror as she lowered her head close to the sand.

"It's never too cold to swim. Please don't ever say that," she playfully scolded while poking Raven's beak. Aquaria scrunched her face for a moment until her fur and feathers poofed up defensively. "Summer beach season is a state of mind! If you want to swim, don't let a calendar stop you. The water here doesn't get life threatening cold," she explained with a giggle while trying to maintain a stern face. She wasn't the best sales pony, but that clearly didn't stop her at all!

The mention of griffons only served to further excite the already bubbly lifeguard. "You met a griffon? Rippy, or my parents or somepony else," she asked in a frantic manner before gasping as she realized what her calm counterpart meant. "Wait, I'm a griffon aren't I? You met me! I'm Aquaria, professional lifeguard extraordinaire," she explained warmly, the odd hybrid seemingly forgetting she was a griffon for reasons unknown!

[Lux]

Raven looked at Aquaria as she was being scolded then at the water then back to Aquaria who now was fluffed up in what should have been intimidating but to the stoic griffon actually looked ridiculously funny. Clearly she was trying to convince her that the water was still warm enough but Raven wasn't buying it.

"Yes summer can be a state of mind I suppose but I'm sure that cold water would snap me out of and state of mind I'm in pretty quickly."

As if things couldn't get any stranger the goofy griffon didn't even recognize herself as such, mentioning some griffon named Rippy, whoever he was.

"Do you forget that you are a griffon often?"

[Gerrard]

Aquaria had never been in water that was too cold. Granted of course she had never ventured further north into colder waters. She didn't know any better, but Aquaria just assumed the world was the result of her experiences. "You just have to get used to it! Watch," Aquaria explained excitedly before hopping into the cold ocean water.

A light spray of ocean water splashed into the air as she landed in the water. Her fur and feathers slowly bloated as she absorbed the water, her rose colored eyes going wide as she roosted in the water. Aquaria shivered a bit but remained sitting. "S-s-see, it isnt that cold," she stammered in a cold manner. It was clear that the strange griffoness was cold, but she was going to overcome the cold with sheer willpower.

When asked if she realized that she was a griffon, Aquaria giggled. "Yeah I'm just like everypony else. I'm like a fluffy pegasus who likes fish a lot! I don't usually forget though! Most ponies go and say, hi griffon, or please don't eat me griffon," she expained with a giggle while standing up and walking out of the water. She seemed to have already forgotten her challenge to swim in the cold water!

[Lux]

Before she could do anything the silly griffon was in the water and shivering. Raven wondered what exactly Aquaria would expect would happen

"You don't have to show me how cold it is. But thanks for letting me know.. I guess."

It was strange how ever though Aquaria knew she was a griffon, she also called herself a Pegasus. Was she confused about what she was? Hardly because it would be like confusing a Princess with a unicorn. Maybe the cold was affecting her.

"Are your parents Pegesai by any chance? And you looks cold, maybe you should dry off a little before you get sick."

[Gerrard]

After being asked about if her parents were pegasi, Aquaria giggled and rolled around in the sand, her dark fur being coated in sand. "If my parents were pegasus, I wouldn't be a griffon! I would have hooves," she explained excitedly, as she gathered herself and climbed back up to her feet. The hybrid awkwardly extended a talon and paw as she balanced on her two feet and looked over her feathered friend. "I wonder what hooves are like. What do you think they are like? They look really tough, like rocks," she guessed with a giggle, trying to stomp her feet on the ground as she kicked some sand around.

"I should probably dry off though. This water is really cold. If I got sick, I might have to miss work! If I missed work, ponies might drown or something," she nervously remarked, the hybrid back peddling on the cold statement. It was clear that there weren't many people adventurous enough to venture into the water on such a cold day. She looked around the beach for a moment and gasped excitedly as she spotted a bulge in the sandy landscape. With a quick swipe of her talons, Aquaria unearthed a hidden towel and shook it off. "Gotta have hidden towels in case you forget your own! See," Aquaria commented with a giggle as she dried off her form, removing blotches of cold sandy water. "So what do you wanna do? You know everything about me, but I don't really know anything about you! You must be like a spy or something. Are you a griffon spy! I love spies, they aren't as cool as ninjas or zombies, but they are really cool," she cooed excitedly before hanging the towel on her own back.

[Lux]

"Well I know you're not a Pegasus," Raven said looking at the griffon, "but since you didn't know you were a griffon I thought you would be maybe raised by a Pegasus family."

Mentioning a pony's hooves, Raven paused as she looked at her own grey talons thinking about Aquaria's actually thought provoking answer. She had seen ponies before of course, but there are still certain things that she didn't understand. Hooves were one thing that she would never experience as a griffon but still wondered.

"They look hard enough to walk on I guess, but then ponies can hold things in their hooves too like talons. Actually, I thought you would know since you're around ponies much."

The dark griffon was about to go search for a towel when Aquaria managed to dig one up from the sand.

"How did you know that you put a towel there? Do you have random towels buried around this beach?"

Raven wondered why Aquaria said she told everything about her. Was that all the tiger stripped griffon was, a goofy lifeguard? Surely there was more to her than that. But before she asked Rave was asked if she was some spy.

"I'm not a spy," Raven said in her dead panned voice,"I actually just moved from the griffon lands to Cloudsdale to learn about ponies. My dad would travel to this area and come back telling me stories about ponies. Guess curiosity got the best of me and I decided to see for myself."

[Gerrard]

Aquaria stared back at her serious counterpart, the lifeguard breaking into a laugh as she squirmed wildly. "Of course I know I'm a griffon! It's just hard to remember when everypony treats me like I'm one of them," she commented with a giggle while awkwardly hugging herself. It was sometimes hard for her to keep everything straight, but that was half the fun for her!

When asked about her parents, Aquaria gasped and tapped her beak with a talon. "Nope, my parents have beaks and grabbers. Unless they are spy ponies who are dressed up as griffers to study me in pony habitat," she gasped excitedly before shaking her head. The expression of the young griffoness changed back to her normal jovial manner. "Nope, my parents couldn't trick me for my whole life. I'm too clever, I can't be tricked. At least I don't think I was," she mused aloud, sitting on her haunches and contemplating life while she reflected on her overflowing imagination.

At the mention of hidden towels, Aquaria giggled and nodded. "Of course I have hidden towels. Doesn't everyone have them buried everywhere. I dug up a toy shovel and bucket once. I reburied it in the same spot because it would be mean to steal someone's hidden treasure. Only sunken treasure is fair game," she explained excitedly, the hybrid clearly mistaking lost toys for buried treasure! That was okay for her though, Aquaria liking to make things more dramatic and meaningful than they needed to be!

As soon as Raven refuted the playful assertion, Aquaria gave her a wink of acknowledgement, as if she were privy to the real truth. "I know everything about ponies. I can help you with your 'research' Ravey! What do you want to know? I know everything about them, except the top secret stuff that only a spy might know. 'Shoot' me some questions and I'll spill the beand," Aquaria excitedly remarked, her exuberance quickly growing as she spoke more and more. It was clear that Aquaria was convinced she was a spy. Her interest in them, and all things absurd, made Aquaria even more excitable, the squirming griffoness unable to control her striped tail as she waited for her new friend to feed her secrets!

[Lux]

Raven nodded as the goofy griffon explained that she got confused with who she was being in the company of ponies for most of her life. At first the dark griffon thought that this was an over exaggeration, but thinking about it Raven would never really know the effects of being with ponies and how it skewed identity unless she was in the same place as Aquaria.

"Well, maybe it isn't that bad that ponies think you're equal to them. I guess that was my major concern coming to Cloudsdale, that I wouldn't fit in well. But luckily there wasn't too much trouble."

She was about to think that maybe Aquaria understood that her parents were griffons, but just then the tiger stripped griffon thought that maybe her parents were spies. The more she spoke to the griffon the more Raven wondered how much was a joke and how much was what Aquaria really thought was true. She wondered what the obsession with spies were. Of course Aquaria din't still think she was a spy, right? The other odd thing was that indeed Aquaria did bury towels along the beach.

"So, you like treasure hunting then? I did that as a chick once, finding a shiny rock near the ocean. I thought it was something like a diamond but no, it was just a very white rock. It was still interesting though so I kept it. Guess treasure hunting is not as easy as I thought."

"I know everything about ponies. I can help you with your 'research' Ravey! What do you want to know? I know everything about them, except the top secret stuff that only a spy might know. 'Shoot' me some questions and I'll spill the beand,"

Well at least the griffon was interested in helping her to discover the mysteries behind ponies.

"Alright... well for starters how do Pegasus ponies build things out of clouds? I live in Cloudsdale and I guess the reason being that the place interests me being a whole town made of clouds."

[Gerrard]

Aquaria nodded excitedly as the griffoness spoke about her love of treasure. The hybrid squirmed wildly as she thought about her wide range of treasures. "A white rock? I wonder how it got white," she remarked with a giggle as the loud cries of seagulls rang overhead. There was a faint glimpse of brilliance in her words, but it was spotty at best.

A passing thought entered her mind as she remembered a remarkable treasure story, only to be distracted by a story about Cloudsdale. "Ya, I heard lots of pony tales about a city in the sky. There is no such thing! Unless the ponies used magic feet to sculpt buildings out of sky floof! Wait, are you saying it is a real city? I kept insisting that it didn't exist because fish can't live in the sky. In fact, it would be really dangerous if you couldn't fly," she explained in a surp rise manner. Was it possible she didn't know what Cloudsdale was? If that was true, her knowledge would be patchy at best!

"Miss Researcher, maybe you can use you spy powers to help me solve a mystery? I found this special box a while back and I didn't know how to return it home. Here take a look," she added in an excited manner as she darted across the beach and looked around in a protective manner as if she were being watched! Within a few moments, Aquaria had managed to unearth an elaborate and of course sandy, chest! It begged two questions! What was inside, and more importantly, what other things were buried in the sand? The crazy lifeguard must have kept a treasure trove out in the open, if not a few feet beneath the sand!

[Lux]

Raven cocked her head in a confused look as Aquaria asked how a rock the dark colored griffon turned white. Doe this goofy griffon truly not understand that rocks can be any colors

"Well I guess it was a type of rock like quartz or calcite. It must have washed up by the tide. I'm sure there are several stones like that here."

Aquaria's lack of knowledge on where she lived astounded her. Maybe this one wasn't one to ask advice about ponies. It astounded her that Aquaria had not only not been to the floating cloud city but that she didn't even know it existed.

"You've never knew Cloudsdale existed? I though that was common knowledge with others living in Equestria. Have you visited many place or just stay in one or two places?"

She hoped that in finding out what Aquaria did know she could then fill in anything not covered by perhaps investigating further. But that idea was put aside when the lifeguard revealed she found a chest and asked how to get it home.

"Interesting," Raven said examining the chest noticing that the lock was still intact,"I take it you haven't tried opening it. Did you find this just on the beach like this or was it down in the ocean?"

[Gerrard]

At the explanation that there were different rock types, she gasped in awe. "Wow, there are different types of rocks? I knew there were different kinds of fish, but rocks? That is awesome! Quarters and calcium rocks, what other kinds of rocks are there," she commented excitedly. She wasn't the type to research things that didn't involve her directly, her scope of knowledge very limited. That was okay for her though, the lifeguard easily able to be impressed and survived by all of the amazing things she encountered in life!

"Oh course I knew Cloudsdale existed. I just thought it was a pony tale. I didn't know it was a real city," she explained in a cute but clearly oblivious manner as she pawed at the beach sand in front of her with a black talon. "I only go to ocean towns and there are no oceans in the sky. Or are there? Are there oceans in the sky with awesome waves," she asked in a semi-panic, open to the idea that they could plausibly exist, but being moderately sure that they probably didn't exist. Before she could dwell on the thought of flying oceans though, Raven reminded her of the chest she had cradled in her claws.

She looked at her chest and and gasped, almost as if she had forgot she was holding it. "Oh silly, of course I looked at the chest. Like any pirate, I pilfered the lock, but did not break it! Here take a look," she remarked excitedly before opening it to reveal a well made inside with a red felt lining. More importantly though, was the doll of a tiny white unicorn with a blonde mane and was made with exquisite craftsmanship. It was probably made in Canterlot, or at the very least a professional crafts store in one of the many towns in Equestria. She held back her squeal of excitement as she plucked the doll out and hugged it with all of her strength. By some miracle, the doll survived the hug onslaught, the excited griffoness looking the toy in the eyes as she prepared to speak. "It's okay Miss, Aquaria and her buddy will take you home as soon as possible," she said in a caring voice before looking over to Raven for assistance.

"Some poor pony must be crying over their lost friend! What should we do to find her owner? The only clue we have is that an E.S is engraved into the lacquer of the box," she theorized aloud, clearly not being much of a detective as she asked for help. To her, this was a secret quest given to her by Celestia herself. It was her duty to return the unicorn to her proper owner, and by her honor as a citizen of Equestria, she would deliver the object from the bottom of the ocean to the glimmering eyes an eager foal.

[Lux]

Raven didn't know if this griffon was kidding or if she really didn't know about certain things like types of rocks or Cloudsdale. The black griffon thought that certain things were common knowledge to ponies and griffons alike, but then she remembered her own upbringing. Had her father not frequently traveled to Equestria she would never know about ponies as much as she did and probably wouldn't want to venture out from her home to her current location. It was scary to move from the comfort of her place to the new and unfamiliar land.

"Well, I don't know much about rocks, but I'll try to explain. There are types of stones that are of a certain type that are in a rainbow of colors. There are Quartz and fiery red stones called Garnet and expensive stones that ponies wear on dresses and in jewelry like Sapphires, Emeralds, and Diamonds. I'm not one to collect stones, but my favorite has to be this."

With that the black griffon pulled out of her bag a small tumbled black stone that when held in the sun like it was it appeared translucent.

"It's called Obsidian, and it's the first stone my father gave me. As for Cloudsdale, I thought it was some tale my father made up until I actually went there. There is no ocean in the sky, just the city made of clouds, but I guess on clear cloudless days the sky can look as blue as the ocean."

Raven turned her attention back to the mysterious box which Aquaria explained she opened and that it was found at the bottom of the sea. The unicorn doll, clearly for a foal, had magically survived being in the sea with little wear thanks to the box it was in. But this provided a mystery for the two as to who its owner was.

"I know sometimes dolls are made to look like their owners. Maybe the owner of this one is a unicorn with a white coat and a blonde mane and tail. Do you know of any unicorns living here that might have a foal that fits that description?"

[Gerrard]

"Oh I know that! Rocks and gems, I have some gems at my home. There are some that are like clear and really hard. Some are blue and some are green, but I don't know about them being valuable. They look kinda like glass, I dunno, they are often in the pirate chests with all the shiny coins," Aquaria commented with a giggle as she cocked her head and thought over her statement. The hybrid had no idea if they were valuable, but she just liked the way light bent through them. Even if they were valuable, it was clear that the lifeguard wasn't exactly the type to worry about collecting wealth. Aquaria listened closely as her friend spoke about all the gems and rocks, her long striped tail wagged uncontrollably, her mind speculating what all these different stones were like.

Then Raven pulled out the most amazing thing she had ever seen. It was a smooth black stone. She gasped and gently rubbed it with her equally dark talon, the obsidian was as smooth as glass but clearly not as brittle as the transparent object. She couldn't see through this like her other gems either, the diver trying to piece together what this meant in her head. After thinking for a few seconds, she stopped and rubbed her head and shook out the cobwebs before giving up. "Maybe I can go to Cloudsale some day and figure out how it flies so high. It must be made with super buoyant hydrogen clouds to support a whole city. Can clouds even be made of pure hydrogen? I don't think so?" she theorized in a brief flash of brilliance, the diver seeming only to know about water related phenomena. She could apply them to the air, but didn't quite know to properly do it.

When asked about the doll looking like an owner, Aquaria paused, thinking over all the ponies she had rescued. None of them matched all of those criteria, the griffon shaking her head in disagreement. "No, there aren't a lot of unicorns in this city. I think they all come from Canterlot or something," she mused aloud, making a sweeping generalization from what she had heard in class while a youngster. "We can always visit the fine crafts store here. They make really nice dolls, boxes and handicrafts. Maybe this is one of their special boxes," she suggested with a smile, seemingly coming up with this thought suddenly. Why she never bothered to come up with this before was completely beyond all logic and reason. "This must be a magic box to be such a good box! It makes to much sense," she theorized wildly before hugging the box with all of her strength, the box easily resisting her tight grip.

[Lux]

Raven was relieved that at least Aquaria knew of gems. The griffon even had some from previous treasure hunts. She also seemed interested in the obsidian that Raven had, examining it with detail.

"Maybe I can go to Cloudsale some day and figure out how it flies so high. It must be made with super buoyant hydrogen clouds to support a whole city. Can clouds even be made of pure hydrogen? I don't think so?"

"I don't really know about cloud construction," Raven said with a shrug, "Only that the city is built with thicker clouds and things like the ground and other things that aren't needed for structure are made with more fluffy clouds. Guess I'll have to ask a Pegasus when I get back there."

In a flash of inspiration, one that surprised even the duck tiger hybrid herself Aquaria theorized that there might be a craft store in town that sells them.

"Sounds like a good place to start. Do you know of any craft stores in town?"

[Gerrard]

Aquaria knew off the shinies, and even some of the pretty gems. The glassy super hard rocks came in all the colors of the rainbow, but apparently were gems, and not rocks! "Yeah, I don't know anything about Cloudsdale! It is super mythical and I'm not sure if this is all an elaborate trick to fool me," she giggled while squirming playfully, the hybrid seeming perpetually excited!  "Maybe we can capture one and interrogate him." she jokingly added with a giggle, doing her best to look tough as her feathers fluffed up, the lifeguard looking more foolish than anything.

 

After being asked if she knew of any craft stores, she gasped and nodded excitedly, her head bobbing wildly as her head feathers tried to keep up with her movements. "Yeah, there is a store here called chests and chairs! 'For all your chest and chair needs," she explained with a giggle, mentioning a store and even saying their slogan excitedly. It was unclear if she had been there, but her words seemed to indicate that she knew about them pretty well. "Okay, lets go Rave! Follow me," she cheered, kicking sand away as she burst into the air and flew in the direction of the store. After flying for only a few seconds, she landed a block away, the store literally within walking distance and for reasons unknown, had never thought of going here to investigate the treasure.

 

"I wonder if they know anything about E.S and the white unicorn," she mused aloud to her friend as the doors of the store opened. Aquaria took an eager look around in the store, trying to remember what it looked like!

[Lux]

"Yeah, I don't know anything about Cloudsdale! It is super mythical and I'm not sure if this is all an elaborate trick to fool me," 

 

Raven simply shook her head knowing that it would be impossible to convince the goofy griffon that Cloudsdale was indeed a real place unless she saw it with her own two eyes. If she was the laughing type Rave would have giggled at the attempt that Aquaria made to look tough with her threat of capturing a Pegasus. Instead the normally stoic griffon's face changed to a subtle yet noticeable smile. 

 

"Yeah, there is a store here called chests and chairs! 'For all your chest and chair needs," "Okay, lets go Rave! Follow me," 

 

"It's Raven," she said as she took off after her fellow griffon, shuddering to think that Aquaria just made up a pet name for her. She caught a face full of sand which temporarily blinded her and caused her to cough. 

 

"That'll take a while getting that taste of sand out of my mouth," she said as she quickly searched for the griffon in the air. Luckily she located Aquaria with ease as there weren't any other griffons in the sky that she could see. The journey was very quick as no sooner she was air born she landed in front of a shop. 

 

"I wonder if they know anything about E.S and the white unicorn," 

 

"I'm sure there is a list of orders that the owner keeps. Maybe not for the doll but definitely for the chest."

 

She entered the shop and true to its name and slogan the place was filled with different types of chests and even more varieties of chairs. She looked around seeing if she could find a matching version of the one Aquaria had which was like a needle in a haystack. 

 

"Hello? Is anypony here?" 

[Gerrard]

Aquaria followed her raven feathered associate into a small store that was absolutely littered with all varieties of chairs, the seating tools each seeming to hold chests. It wasn't quite clear how the two objects were related, but the chairs at least allowed patrons to take a better look at the chests. The chests were all of high quality, this type of store clearly on the high end of quality. Before the two griffons could explore too much though, a pony had managed to sneak up on the pair. An excitable earth pony was already behind the two customers, her face wide with a smile as she suddenly introduced herself. "Welcome to Chairs and Chests, how can I help you," she suddenly remarked in a vaguely scary tone.

 

The lifeguard was looking over a chest before she was suddenly ambushed by the pony. She gasped and flipped head over heels, the fright causing her to do a front flip and land on her back. She looked up at the now upside down pony and gasped with excitement, her black talons flailing excitedly before she decided to roll over and look at the strange, blue colored earth pony. "Ahh, hi miss pony! We found this top secret treasure chest and were wondering if you might knew who it belonged to," she excitedly remarked, presenting the storekeeper with the chest and opening to reveal the doll and engraving inside of it. The strange pony, narrowed her eyes and pulled a magnifying glass seemingly out of nowhere as she examined the engraved E.S. inside the box, seeing something the two griffons hadn't seen.

 

"Ahh, 154256, let's see who owns this chest then," she mused loudly as she started digging around in a filing cabinet. Aquaria was initially confused by sudden outburst of numbers and found herself poking her head into the chest as she narrowed an eye. "Oh, there are teeny tiny little numbers engraved in the letters," she mused happily, almost shoving the box into the face of her friend as she excitedly showed the discovery to the hopefully much calmer griffoness.

[Lux]

Raven was busy examining the chests around her that she didn't notice that an earth pony appeared and approached the pair. It wasn't his introduction that surprised her but the reaction Aquaria gave, flipping over like a turtle and almost taking her with her.

 

"Excuse my friend here," Raven said in her stoic tone, "She's... well... different than probably most that visit here."

 

Once Aquaria recovered she explained the box to which the pony examined with a magnifying glass for something that perhaps the two missed. He then mentioned that there were numbers carved into the box.

 

"Hmm... serial numbers stamped on a box. I assume that you have a list of who bough which chest with a certain serial number." 

[Gerrard]

"Ahh, of course I have the list. The serial number seems rather small though. I suppose that it is probably from our Canterlot office if my memory serves correct," she mused aloud while pulling out a cabinet and fishing through a veritable treasure trove of reference materials. Aquaria had finally regained her limited senses and was expectantly looking over to her feathered friend when Canterlot was mentioned. She audibly gasped and happily hugged the dark griffoness as she practically jumped for joy. "Maybe this belonged to Princess Celery, isn't she a white unicorn? And isn't she from Canterlot? Maybe she will make me a princess for finding her lost secret childhood treasure. And I will make you my most trusted treasure advisor. We could go treasure hunting and find all the treasure in Equestria, wouldn't that be great," Aquaria excitedly remarked, accidentally shaking her friend wildly as she failed to control her enthusiasm.

 

The working pony was too engrossed in her own work to respond to the clearly excitable hybrid behind her, the equine quickly finding where the number matched her records. She gasped in awe, the strange pony doing a little bit of her own wiggling as she brought out the document sheet. "This belongs to Elegant Star! She is a really famous actress of old. In her younger years, she was the talk of the Canterlot in some circles. She reported this missing a long time ago. Apparently it fell off her family's boat while they were on vacation. After all these years it was just assumed to be lost. This is quite the find," she excitedly remarked while showing the pair of griffons the document of a crimson eyed white unicorn foal that seemed to match the doll quite well. The picture seemed to be rather old, not that Aquaria seemed to notice or care as she hopped up and down wildly.

 

"We can go give this gift to the little foal and she can live happily ever after. Don't you agree Ravey," she giggled excitedly, coming up with a new rhyming nickname for her friend. After as much squeezing as she could muster, Aquaria freed the other griffoness before patiently sitting on the ground and waiting for direction. "The one time I went to Canterlot, I got lost in the library for like a week. I think I need a guide to help me out if we are going to do this. Are you up for it," she spouted off in her usual hyperbole. Well, it was probably or hopefully hyperbole, everything about this particular lifeguard not quite as clear cut as most might be comfortable with.

[Lux]

Raven Duskwing waited as the store owner looked through the files, only to be suddenly tackle hugged by Aquaria who started talking about a pony named Princess Celery who lived in Canterlot. 

 

"Princess... Celery? From Canterlot? I never heard of her. Wait, there is a Princess Celestia in Canterlot. I'm not sure that's her who lost this box." 

 

"This belongs to Elegant Star! She is a really famous actress of old. In her younger years, she was the talk of the Canterlot in some circles. She reported this missing a long time ago. Apparently it fell off her family's boat while they were on vacation. After all these years it was just assumed to be lost. This is quite the find," 

 

"So it was an actress's doll that was from when she was a filly. I'm surprised that this hadn't been found sooner. This actress is still alive, right?"

 

Again the pony was hugged by Aquaria who expressed her interest in going to Canterlot and bringing the box back to its owner. The griffon explained that she went to Canterlot once but then got lost. 

 

"Well I suppose that we can go to another city and look around. I'm not sure how much we'll be able to find this owner of the box as you were there once and I was never there, but we'll see."