[Open] The greatest treasures?

[Switchback]

Coltson was happy, that was an easy statement to make on most days of the week. The pony happily standing behind the counter of his bookstore in Ponyville as he started analyzing the cover of a new book that had came in, the spine adorned with all kinds of rare jewels, and the writing on the cover embossed in gold leaf, it was a thing of beauty in all certainty, however he seemed more interesting in the subtle printing on the front, the writing outlandishly plain compared to the rest of the front, a feature that interested him greatly as he calmly smiles as he studies the writing, which appeared to be horn writing from the way it was tilted. He opens the cover with great caution, looking like he feared the book may just disintegrate in front of him. "Okay, most definitely Pegasi origin from the interior writing and cover emboss." he notes to himself as he keeps reading through its pages.

[Kahoot]

Sioux

 

This very day, a certain mare found herself in the cheerful town of Ponyville, somewhere she very often visited but gained both good and bad reputation... Though no one can which she gained more of. Anyways, this very mare was in no way going to pass up this opportunity to visit a bookstore that was slowly growing famous for its fine literature and the vast amount of rare books that most pony-folk have probably never seen before. Sioux, however, was no here for a rare book, a limited edition volume of a comic book, nor the confusing writing and word choice of Shakespeare... No, she was here for a book in braille, these books being the hardest to find and even harder to find in the genre Sioux is looking for.

 

The mysterious mare trotted over towards the bookstore, allowing the Earth below her hooves to guide her forward for she can not see, this mare is in fact blind... But has that stopped her from doing the things she does? NOPE! 

 

None the less, with a few points and guides to help her because even the most powerful and greatest ponies need guidance, she made it to the bookstore. Now, this mare had no idea what this store was called nor could she read the sign if there is even a sign, but she was determined to get her flank inside and find the writing of the Gods. That said, this peculiar looking young mare pretty much burst inside with much enthusiasm, standing in the doorway with a straight face before trotting inside.

 

"Yes, hi, hello... Good day sir or ma'am, for I am yours truly, Sioux... You see, I will be in need of your assistance," The mare coughed, putting out one of her hooves to find where the desk may be, "I am in search of literature touched by Gods! That being said..." Sioux gave a sharp-toothed smile that would often scare fillies away, "I need a potion book in braille, please and thank you... Peasant-folk around here is just UGH, I can't find a single soul who would be kind enough to just simply take  me here instead of sending my flank on a wild goose chase, so rude~!" A snicker escaped the mare's lips before her hoof finally found the desk, "Aha~! There you are." Sioux turned to face the desk, giving a somewhat kind smile, although, her sharp teeth made it seem like she might eat the stallion standing across from her.

[Switchback]

Coltson looked up from his book as he heard hooves on his shop floor, noticing the pony that had just entered, and her visual problems he waits for a few seconds in case she found her way to him immediately, knowing that many with vision issues liked to work through it themselves, after a bit though he subtly coughs just to draw her in the correct direction. He places the book underneath his desk as she finally comes over, the mare introducing herself in a very interesting way, especially her talk of books touched by gods. He wasn't much of a religious pony himself, but he didn't mind others having their beliefs. "Certainly, Miss Sioux. I am supposing you will be wanting ones with Everfree herbology?" he asks, albeit more of a rhetorical question; he knew about the mare, and he started searching through books in his mind "Aha, the potionmaster's guide to Everfree magic and mystery, third edition, and in braille." he levitates it down off the shelf it was sat upon. 

As he went through the process of getting the book ready to be sold, making sure the pages were in order he looks up to her "Think this is the first time I've seen you out of the forest, granted I haven't been set up here very long. Must be a frightening place to live alone though; all the creatures. Then again, the majority of those creatures seem to move into Ponyville on a weekly basis, perhaps we should all be moving into the Everfree to be safe from them." he jokes as he checks over the next page. He seemed thoroughly unphased by her outlandish looks.

[Kahoot]

The mare grinned, "Of course with Everfree herbology, you must have heard great things about moi~!" She blows a strand of hair that was poking her eye, though, it didn't reveal her eyes except for the faint color of red peeking through the strands. Sioux hummed to herself, tapping her hooves to the sound as she excitedly waited, she was never a patient pony and will probably never grow out of that trait. As soon as the stallion came out with the book, she shined her sharp white teeth, "Yay~! Finally, someplace useful to my needs!" She sings dramatically before giggling.

 

Sioux's emotions changed as he took note of her, something that only excited her more, Sioux loved attention whether it was good or bad. She starts digging through her tattered bag, "I hate leaving my home, the outdoors with sunshine is HORRIBLE," The mare paused for a few seconds, pulling out a small pouch that contained bits, "Although, business is business and the only way for yours truly to make a living is by leaving  home, what pony wants to travel into such a place? Oh, wait, me~!" She cackles and waits to be given the price, juggling the pouch in her hooves, "It surely isn't as frightening as you believe, if you peasants learned to not disturb nature and it's inhabitants, then everything is fine... But some of you are so loud when entering that us residents have no choice but to scare you off..."

 

"I think both I and the things of the Everfree Forest would very much prefer everyone to stay out. Anyways, it's a comfy place, although, I am still pony and need to make a living as well as eat and have a home, so I will eventually come out and cope with the horrible sun and strangers that come my way~!" She sings, "That doesn't mean I dislike everyone, in fact, so far I like you very much, you're quiet and don't ask so many stupid questions, kudos to you, good sir!"

 

[Switchback]

He chuckles "I have read a few things about you most certainly. Your situation is actually written in a few of the rarer books around that I've collected, including a full case study on certain transformative potions, one so vile and cruel it has two recorded uses in history, after which the creator of the potion vanished into obscurity. Or at least until they get another target, I am sure." he shakes his head with a frown. Her happy giggle however did make him smile again, after all, happiness is contagious.

He listens to her talk about nature, nodding casually "Nature is a beautiful and dangerous force to be meddled with. Just wish more ponies remembered that before it was too late." he looks down at the coin purse then at the book "Nah, the book is free. I have five other copies, at this point they are just cluttering up the shelf." He says with that usual soft smile and soft tone to his voice that betrayed a kind of calm natured peace. "Although, speaking about the Everfree forest, I will need a guide for my expedition into it. I've caught word that a rather interesting item was lost within it. One that has been written about in a few of the books here in fact, and I am looking to try and see if it is real." He says with a nod "Don't suppose you know any good guides?"

[Kahoot]

Sioux beams at the mention of people writing about her, she pretty much bounces in place, "Eee~! I have little fans, how precious~" She sings with a grin, "Of course ponies would write about me, I am such an amazing and interesting mare, everyone should embrace my aura and write more about me, I am the talk of the century, you'll go anywhere and at least one pony will be chatting away about moi~" Although, Sioux's expression changed at the mention of viles that transform, "Some ponies are just horrible, ruined my looks with those stupid potions... But my hater made me famous~!"

 

Sioux stopped juggling her purse, giving a confused expression, "While you may give me this book for free, I feel that someone as special as you deserves a tip for your service and for not being annoying... So, here you go!" Sioux places a few bits on the counter, nudging them forward with a grin. Sioux slides the book carefully into her bag, muttering about taking care of "The writing of the Gods" and other crazy things that matched her appearance.

 

"A guide?! Oh, I know a few~" She grins mischievously, "There are timberwolves, manticores, parasprites..." Sioux trails off before giggling, "I am kidding, no ponies go into the Everfree for free, especially if it means guiding someone... I know that old thicket like the back of my hoof, I will do it for free, too~!" Sioux smiles and pats her hoof with a giggle, "All you gotta do is say the magic word and I am at your service, sir~"

[Switchback]

This mare truly was something adorable. It did cause him to have quite a heavy heart at knowing her story, especially the mental implications the event had on the poor mare. Nonetheless she did seem somewhat happy with her life now, or at least content. Then her face seemed to fall at the mention of her attacker. "Well, I know it sounds weird, but I rather like the look you have; it's captivating and unique. Personally I don't see why others think it scary; batponies have fangs, and yet we see them as just workers for the night guard. Teeth shouldn't be scary for anything except food." he nods "And then you look at all the other features and they aren't really that horrible; stripes, antlers, well at least those elements have never been the things to turn my dreams sour. It's written in one of these books, can't remember which 'The only monster to be feared by the eyes of life is the monster that resides in us all. The creature that the worst of us allow to be seen from the outside, but never visible to anything but the mind's eye.' Now which book was that..." He thinks back, trying to remember, but not seemingly able to. "Ah it will come to me eventually."

He grudgingly takes the tip, leaving it on the edge of his counter as she talks about guides, joking about the creatures of the Everfree, making him chuckle a fair bit. Then came her simple request for giving him guidance in the forest, he leans forward a bit and in a purposely goofy sounding deep voice says "Please~" although he found himself laughing before he could finish the word "Celestia's sake I can never keep that voice going. But of course I feel that someone as special as you deserves a tip for your service... So, here you go!" Sioux would hear the sliding of bits back across the counter.

[Kahoot]

Sioux hums with her eyes closed and her mouth forming a closed smile, although, you can't tell her eyes are closed due to her fluffy white mane covering them. His compliment made her feel warm, "Thank you~ While I may not be able to see how I look, I am positive I look fantabulous~!" She sings in a cheery tone, she reaches under her mane to rub her eye which was beginning to itch and burn, something that often happens when she forgets to blink for an extended amount of time. "You are right about that, fellow pony... But it hurts when people mistake me for a zebra or elk... Or some sort of changeling hybrid, which I have gotten on occasions because of my beautiful reputation~" Sioux reaches up and removes the antlers, "Alas, these are just props because they look cool, hehe~" She puts them back on her head comfortably and grins.

 

While Sioux can't see that he leaned forward, she could simply feel it based on how her fur seemed to stand up a bit, she blushes and bursts into a small fit of laughter, barely able to contain it since she didn't expect his voice to change frequency and for the stallion to actually say the magic word. Sioux bows, "Your wish has been heard loud and clear, whenever you are ready for an adventure beyond the outskirts of the Everfree, just call~ I will be in town for a bit." The mare hears the bits being pushed back, although, she could tell they were the bits she gave him earlier because of the direction they came from, "Ahaha~ Nice try, fellow pony, for I am too smart for your tricks and shall not accept your tip! I am doing this service out of the kindness of my heart~" She smirks and hoists her heavy, tattered bag over her back.

[Switchback]

He nods as she speaks of her annoyance at being confused for another species, and her reputation of course, one that was very tragic and unfortunate he had to admit. "I can understand that would hurt. It's bad enough when somepony just forgets your name, let alone your race." when she removes the antlers he blinks, not knowing they were false it took him a second to process it "Okay that came as a surprise. Was not aware those were fake."

He moves out from behind the counter "I'm rather ready to head off now actually. Just fetch my saddlebags quickly and I'll be ready." He smiles, sighing as his trick was busted, the coins returned "Well it was worth a try." he says as he vanishes into the back of his store quickly, coming out with his saddlebag, an odd design as one side just had a large container on it, luckily something Sioux wouldn't question as she couldn't see it. "Alright, I'm ready now. What about you?"

[Kahoot]

Sioux gives a smile and nods, waiting somewhat more patiently than usual as the stallion disappears for a moment but quickly comes back, "Well, if you're ready, so am I~!" She cheers, adjusting the straps of her bag as well as the position of her false antlers, "You see if I am going to look weird... I might as well go all out and look WEIRD." She says casually, rubbing her snout as she slowly motions towards the door, trying to recall where it was.

 

Sioux mutters a few vegetable names and herbs to herself, "Yup, I'm ready~" She sings, "Although, I am very interested as to why you would ever want to explore the Everfree Forest, what was it that motivated you to make such a decision? I can't recall if you mentioned it." She asks as she manages to find the door, gently nudging it open, "I am more than certain if I know what you're looking for, everything else will be a piece of cake... Every weird and rare thing in the Everfree is found in specific places unless it's like... Trash that is considered rare because it comes from over a century ago, I remember hearing somepony tried to sell a century-old bottlecap for a bunch of bits, fools!"

[Switchback]

"I suppose all weird is a way to go. Certainly fits with me. A young book keeper with a suit and sunglasses indoors. Ponies seem to be very confused at why I throw my life away." He says calmly as he follows along behind her, every so often nudging her away from walking into a bookcase. "I don't know what I am looking for. The description of it has faded to time. All I know is what it does to the area around it. Silences every sound in a five meter radius. Have you ever noticed an area in the forest which seems more silent than usual?" he asks as he walks along, thinking back to try and recall any passages about it "The biggest quote about it is 'entangled within the brushes of night, the bell toll silences all'. So I would assume its a bell of some kind." He shuts the door behind them, making sure it locked shut.

[Kahoot]

Sioux gives thanks whenever he nudges her out of the way of objects and towards the direction she wanted to head, they successfully make it out the door and Sioux immediately pulls out an umbrella, "I hate the sun, let's go~!" She cheers happily and begins to trot off in the direction she came, she has a good memory and her hooves pretty much guide her wherever she needs to go based on the texture of the ground.

 

The idea of the Everfree forest being dead silent feels odd, although, Sioux has been in pretty much every nook and cranny of the dark forest and there are numerous of areas where there is no such trace of a peep. "Ah, yes there are a few areas where it's silent, but the Everfree is quite large, it may take a while to get around... Which is why I have sought out this literature made by Gods! There are herbs I need that will be of help when I make the one... The only... Speed enhancer potion thingy~!" She cheers with a grin, "Although, it may not come out right since everything I do results in bad luck."

 

Sioux rubs her burning eyes, holding the umbrella as she trots, hiding from the Sun's rays which she has grown quite sensitive to the longer she remains in her dark home. "You never told me your name..." The peculiar mare frowns, not knowing exactly where the stallion is trotting but she feels he is someplace around her.

[Switchback]

He trots along next to her, letting her set the pace that he keeps to, as he listens to her talk of the areas in the Everfree where there is silence, if there is a lot of areas, then that was immediately a problem. The more ground that had to be covered, the more likely somepony else would stumble across what he was after, and cause some real harm. "Speed enhancing potion? I see, that could help us quite a lot, but equally so could a potion of clarity, with a brass concentration to home in on it if it is a bell." he nods, sure that could help as well "Bad luck? What do you mean by that?" he asks her, wanting to hear it explained from Sioux rather than his files.

"My name? Ah, my name is Coltson." he replies calmly, watching her odd habit of rubbing her eyes, he supposed the longer she remained in the Everfree, the less able she would be to rejoin the rest of the world at all, a sort of self imposed exile with no end in sight.

[Kahoot]

"Clarity? Oooh~ That would be fun to make!" She says excitedly, already thinking of what the potion might call for if she even has such in her many, many books on potions and other strange things, "Don't worry, though, I am the ultimate guide and you'll get your little silencing thingy no doubt~!" She sings happily as she suddenly changes directions as the path she is taking seemed to grow more dirt-like than the one she remembered coming from earlier. "Bad luck... Oh, right! Basically, I am a bad omen, whatever I may do seems to always have some sort of negative outcome... Well, not everything I do... Just when I do things I like, it might be another aspect to that vile thingy that made me look like a new species of some sort," She lets out a giggle with a toothy grin, "A lot of times the potions I make have the opposite effect, especially when I make them for myself~!"

 

"Pleasure to meet you Coltson, I hope you'll enjoy your stay in the Everfree Forest because there is a possibility you may never come back out~" She sings goofily before letting out a cackle, "Just kidding, the creatures of the Everfree will try to get you out before anything else, they're not one for newbies~ Don't fret, I will protect you with my Godly abilities!" Of course, Sioux is simply kidding, she never really acts seriously even when she doesn't mean well or is speaking the truth... Everything is a joke to the mare.

[Switchback]

He nods as his suspicions were confirmed, the mare did seem to always create the opposite of what she was intending to make, which of course brought him onto the question he had meant to ask her "So why not just try to create a potion that does the opposite of the effect you want? Use your gift to your advantage by being able to make potions that nobody else can make? I mean, like, you could create an antidote for poisons that don't have one just by trying to make the poison yourself, right?" he asks, not entirely knowing how it worked, but thinking it was worth a try.

"I'll enjoy my stay in the forest for as long as I need to. Although no offence to you, but hopefully it's for as little time as possible. Not a huge fan of being spooked." he explains, looking at the path beneath his hooves "Oh my hero." he jokes at the talk of her godlike abilities "Save me, oh great one!" he smirks with a quick laugh.

[Kahoot]

Sioux thinks over the idea and smiles, no one ever really did try and help her overcome her "talent" that often caused the opposite of her intention, this resulted in bad reputation all over... Not that Sioux cared because in her eyes it was the other pony's loss, "You know... That's not too bad of an idea... I'll try it some time... Although... How would I test the potion out? What if I claimed the poison was an antidote but this weird talent of mine completely tricked me and I actually made a poison." She frowns and rubs her head, thinking it over, "Meh, I'll test it on an animal or something, hehe~!"

 

The mare shrugged at his statement, "I don't take offense, no one except me wants to stay longer than intended... Everyone has a valid opinion and that is something I shall respect even if I may not fully agree with it." Sioux's frown turns upside down and she laughs, "Do not fear, for I am here~" She sings and shakes her head, "Glad to find a pony with similar humor to my own, everyone always seems uptight and BORING~!" 

[Switchback]

"Well I suppose, instead of starting with a big poison, you start with one of the small ones that would just cause a stomach ache, see if it counters it, and work up." He suggests, walking along with her "It's always worth starting off with the small elements, and working up to the big ones. Besides, it's always worth a try right? It may just be that your 'curse' is actually one of the greatest gifts of any potion maker yet to be, and it just took a bit to learn how to use it right." 

He laughs at her pointing out about his humour "Well of course, in my work you have to have a bit of happiness. My affiliations are to smile and laugh." He grins, just how true that was being a joke in itself that only he would get sadly, but it still made him laugh perhaps a bit too much. "So erm, how far to go before we enter the forest?"

[Kahoot]

Sioux doesn't find the idea bad and makes a mental note to try something similar later, although, right now here her main priority to is to get Coltson into the Everfree Forest and make both the Clarity and Speed Enhancer to assist them in their search for this rare bell thing that the stallion keeps mentioning, "Start out small... Alright~! Thank you for the tip, you're probably the most useful pony I've ever met!" She gives a beaming grin before feeling the ground with her hooves.

 

"We should get into my part of the Everfree within about twenty more minutes depending on the speed we take... Although, actually... Maybe less than twenty..." The mare shrugs and giggles, "I have no idea, it'd be easier to tell if I could see, hehe~! Before we go looking for the little rare item, we must stop at my humble abode so I can drop my things off and make those potions to assist us, it'll only take about an hour to make them both."

[Switchback]

"I try to provide useful suggestions around problems that others deem impossible to scale." he smiles proudly, always happy to be doing his job, especially when it helps a pony who perhaps thought that their part in the world was only to be the outcast or villain, and no matter what any pony would say, as an agent, the best pay you got was seeing the smile on the face of a pony who had not gotten to do so out of bliss for a long time, and this was one such situation.

"Twenty minutes, excellent. Nice short walk. And yeah I know, but you certainly seem to do remarkably well even without vision. It's very empowering." he comments as they walk along "I'll be alright with waiting at your home. We can test to see if this theory does hold up." He replies happily "And I'll get to see a potion being brewed, which I've always wanted to see."

[Kahoot]

Sioux gives a nod as well as a cheerful smile, "I try not to let my disability slow me down, I have so many other senses that come to great use... Although, it does kinda suck that I can't see what others look like or where I may be going..." The mare shrugs unphased, not seeming to care even after she admitted that it isn't always fun. Sioux lets out a sigh and does the same thing, suddenly turn to face Northwestern towards the exit of the Everfree which she originally emerged from. Noticeably, the atmosphere grows more quiet and eerie the farther they stray from Ponyville, although, it's nothing compared to being inside the forest.

 

"Don't get too excited, it's not that exciting... Well... Scratch that, I can't see what I'm doing but you can, I guess I missed out on seeing all the colors that substance turns or how smoke POOFS into the air of the cauldron." She begins to trot a bit faster as she grows familiar with the dirt road they're now taking, "None the less, I'll make sure to get these potions right so I don't inconvenience you or your time... Plus, the Everfree Forest is ten times as scary to newbies as it is to residents of the forest~!"

[Switchback]

"I can understand it must be annoying. You only have the world described to you in form." he sighs, thinking about just how much of his life would change if he were to wake without sight tomorrow; would he still be able to do his work? He highly doubted he had that same conviction as Sioux had. He quickly switches direction with her to keep following, noting the fact that the forest is pretty quiet all over anyway. So finding a place unusually silent could be very hard.

"It may not be exciting to you, but it is your work, you have done it a million times, I have never seen a potion being made before, so each action is something new and unique to me. At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it." He grins, thinking along to all the warnings on his file on her about how dangerous this mare could be, but it seemed perhaps that danger was all down to accident more than malice. "Oh don't worry about inconveniencing me. I have a lot of time free at the minute, got no other errands to run or stock to collect. At least I hope not, could be that I get back and have twenty deliveries to collect."

[Kahoot]

"I suppose so, everyone sees things differently," Sioux grins, "Except me, haha~!" The mare cackles at her horrible joke but none the less doesn't care whether the stallion thinks she is weird, he was the one who agreed on picking up her offer of guiding him after all. "Hmm... I thought having a walking companion would be more fun... Meh, how about we get to know one another, hmm?" The mare grins, rubbing her eyes once more as well as adjusting her grip on the umbrella that covered her.

 

The edge of the Everfree Forest came into view, the dark and gloomy atmosphere around it seeming to already be traveling their way, the Sun's rays noticeably can't reach this part of town and so Sioux closes her umbrella and hurries to get within the shade of trees, clusters of plants seeming to create no path at first, "Now, stay close my friend! I don't need to be responsible for your disappearance, hehe~!" Sioux lifts a few vines, revealing a pathway that certainly wasn't there a few minutes ago, "Right this way!"

[Switchback]

"Good one." He says in response to her joke, rolling his eyes somewhat at it; it was like the jokes his boss would say quite often. "Oi, I am fun thank you. Or at least as fun as a book seller can be. We're sort of on a different level. Get to know eachother? Sure, I'll start then, was born and raised in Ponyville in an antiques store, still open I think actually; The Curious Curios, out on the edge of town opposite side to where we are. What about you? Where were you raised?" he asked as he watched her adjust her umbrella.

He looks up at the looming forest, pretending to be afraid he moves a bit closer to Sioux, making an audible gulping sound; it was best he remained seeming like your usual nervy book type rather than an elite agent for an anti monster organisation. "Yeah, I'll stay close." he says, making sure to stay on her heels, following behind as she reveals the path ahead, he nods, looking down it "Lead the way, boss." He jokes, making sure his voice is just a bit faster than normal to seem slightly afraid.

[Kahoot]

Sioux thinks about her answer for the question, not wanting to make a long response nor a vague one, "I was born on the borderline of Ponyville and the Everfree Forest, raised there as well before I drank that potion... Then I moved into a cave within the Everfree Forest, it's quite cozy." Sioux waits for Coltson to walk through before once again covering the path so no other pony-folk can find it. 

 

"No need to be afraid, for I, Sioux the Great shall protect you~!" The mare grins and begins to trot comfortably, seeming to know the place without even having to think, she immediately makes a right to go around a small lagoon, "My home is just eight minutes away, no more or less... So keep up, I won't make any promises that I will go back to look for you if you get lost~" The mare hums happily, hopping over rocks and small puddles as if it were nothing.

[Switchback]

"So similar proximity to the town and forest as Miss Fluttershy's cottage then?" he asks as the vines are dropped down behind him again, he shudders with the darkness "I hate how dark it can get in here... how do any of the flowers grow right without light... Actually wait I think I read about how they do that once. Don't mind me, just panic thinking." He says happily, trotting along with Sioux.

"Once again, my hero." He grins, adding a lilt of comical adoration into his words "Just glad you didn't add 'and powerful' to that. Still recovering from wasting my time going to one of those shows. Talk about a hack." It appears he has some strong views on a certain show magician. "Don't worry. I won't lollygag, don't think I need to stop to study and flowers right now." he says as he trots with her, making sure to stumble on a couple of the rocks to add to the illusion. "So what does your name mean, by the way?" he asks as he moves in pace.