nexus_sages | Trixie's lucky day? (Aka +1 unicorn XD)

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Trixie's lucky day? (Aka +1 unicorn XD)

That right there sure would be a unicorn with a bright azure blue coat and cornflower blue mane, trotting right out of nowhere into the forum. The thing that she's pulling, looks like a combination of a cart, storefront and small house behind her... It's not a huge wagon by any means, but one gets the feeling that there is more to it than a first glance would have you believe...

Trixie decreased her speed from a canter, to a trot, and finally a full stop as she looked around the area with a puzzled, but also surprised, look on her face. "Hmmm... Well, this is new..." It didn't take her long to spot what she thought had to be the ugliest sign she'd ever seen, and shortly there after, the 'Welcome to the Nexus' brochure. "Nexus?"

Floating the pamphlet over using magic, she started to read it, and looked quite intrigued by the information. "Interesting... I wonder..."

Clearing her throat, she looked around and asked "Could anyone please tell me what the local currency here is?" She paused and considered things a moment. "Also, do I need a permit to sell items here?"

Well, why not? It's not like she had any urgent business anywhere, any chance to for her to gain knowledge, new items and perhaps sell some of her wares, it would be stupidity of the highest order to let an opportunity like this pass her by.

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Her eyes narrow a touch at the lie, but she won't call Trixie out for it. It's one Verity tells too often to not understand. The offer following it is a pleasant surprise and gets a smile. "That'd be nice. But how about you let me treat you this time since you've got so much to deal with before you're set up safely? You can get next time."

But that does bring up a potentially embarrassing question. "So... what do you eat? I know where to find a decent vegan place if that's an issue."

"I... If you're sure?" Well, that wasn't what she'd expected when she made the offer. "I'll get the next two." Because why not? She was enjoying talking to Verity and she'd been really nice.

The question of food makes her blink, then nod in understanding. She'd been in the Gryphon lands before, so she wasn't a stranger to non vegan diets. "As long as there's a vegan option available for me, I'm fine with where ever you'd like to go." That's the full truth. "I've traveled enough that I'm used to others with diets different from my own. I won't partake, but it doesn't particularly bother me."

The last was a partial truth. Creatures and people with meat diets did bother her somewhat, but she did her best to just pretend they were eating something else. As long as they didn't try to get her to eat it, she could deal with sitting near them for a meal.

Verity has a usually well-hidden generous side. And she remembers how much she needed help when she first got here. "I'm sure." Who gets how many when in the future is something they can leave open to later discussion.

"Vegan is fine with me, it's supposed to be healthier anyway." She can see what Trixie's trying to do. Maybe in the future, they'll go someplace with a broader menu, but for today, there've been enough shocks. "Besides, how am I supposed to convince my boyfriend to eat better if I never indulge in a salad?"

They'll be heading further away from the forum now, into what must be the commercial district. One street Ver takes them down is lined with restaurants of all kinds, including a nice little nature-themed place she turns into. Suddenly, the wide doors so many businesses have make more sense to her.

Trixie chuckled softly. "I wouldn't know... Then again I eat more than my fair share of cakes and shakes..." A grin along with a thoughtful look. "Then again, it's not like I sit around and loaf all day either..."

As she follows Verity, she makes note of several restaurants she'd like to check out later... and a few she was going to avoid at all costs. She could tolerate a lot, but a few places had patrons that looked at her as if they thought she should be on the menu.... Ehhhh Nope. Not going near those places for a billion bits.

The place they end up in is quite nice, however as Trixie looks at the menu she has no idea what to get. She's tempted just to get the cheapest thing on the menu, but she doesn't want to offend Verity either.

"I have no idea what to get..." That's the full truth "... Could I ask you to pick something for me?" From what she could smell, everything in the place should be good, she just wasn't used to so many options.

"Ah, you've got a sweet tooth too? I suppose pulling that cart around all the time, you work it all off." Ver gives her a smile before adding, "There's more than a few very nice places to get sweets around here, so I think you'll be pretty happy."

If it... well, not helps, but if it makes Trixie feel less odd, there are places that would put just about anyone on the menu. There's a good reason Verity never strays outside the antiviolence field if she can help it. It's not all sunshine and lollipops.

Once they've got a table, Ver settles in to look over the menu. Knowing where the vegan place is isn't quite the same thing as having eaten there before. But she looks up when Trixie starts to talk, and gives her a smile and a nod. "I can make some suggestions, yeah. If you want a hot meal, I think the lasagna looks good. If you want a salad, I'd say, the harvest kale. Want to split some sweet potato fries?"

"I still can't believe how many times that I get asked how I can eat so many sweets without gaining weight..." She shakes her head in amusement and then grins at the mention of sweet shops. "I'll have to ask you for recommendations then? I haven't had decent sweets since the last time I visited Ponyville."

Trixie is possibly surprisingly able to 'sit' at the booth fairly easily, and considers Verity's suggestions. "I haven't had a hot meal in ages... I think I'll try that..." The mention of fries has her nodding. "I wouldn't mind if you'd like." She also didn't want to be greedy. Trixie would feel better about accepting food like this after being the one to treat a few times.

"I think people are hoping you've got some magic 'don't get fat' pills you'll give them." It's the most logical answer Ver has come up with for most of those questions, because people don't want to hear about exercise and a balanced diet. "Hmm, if you'd like, there's a nice bakery near here. We can hit it up for dessert."

So long as Trixie's comfortable at the table, Ver won't worry too much about how she's managing it. "Cool, sounds like we're set then." She sets the menus down at the edge of the table to signal that they're ready to order; she'll be getting the beet carpaccio.

"So, what kinds of things do people eat where you're from?" Verity's trying not to assume it's hay and apples, especially given the references to sweets. But she wouldn't be surprised if apples are popular.

Trixie nickers quietly at the highly accurate 'request' she'd been asked a few times. "Oh I've been asked for those a time or two. They're never happy with my answer." At the mention of the bakery, Trixie nods. "Only if I can pay this time. I'm sure I can manage desert."

When it came to drinks, Trixie stuck with water and Verity might be surprised just how easily she's able to drink from a human glass... and that she can pick it up with a hoof, somehow...

"It really depends on the region, but ponies generally eat things made from fruits, vegetables, grains and flowers... Some ponies drink milk and eat eggs, though that generally depends on how the local areas cows and chickens decide to set up trades. Dragons can likely eat whatever they want, but seem to stick to a diet of gems and minerals..."

She takes a deep breath. "Gryphons on the other hoof, eat a lot of meat... and I try not to think about where they get that." Trixie makes a bit of a face unintentionally. "I mean most gryphons that I've met have been nice enough..." She didn't begrudge them their diet, but she didn't want to think about it either. There were non-sentient creatures around after all... but it was still gross to her.

"... uh... What kind of sweets are there at the bakery?" Trixie really didn't want to spoil her appetite by thinking too hard on the gryphons. She's clearly fine talking about food that doesn't have meat in it however.

"Because it's 'no'?" Ver feels for the pony. Having to deal with other people's ridiculous expectations is never fun. "Okay, that sounds fair." And fair is nice.

Yeah, it's surprising Trixie can do that. But Ver is careful not to stare and tries to not let her expression reveal how odd it looks to her. It would be rude and speciesist or something. She's not quite sure what the right word for her guilt would be but she'd be feeling it.

"So the cows and chickens are sentient in your world too? That must make for an interesting farmer's market." Whether some animals were sentient or not was a matter of debate, where Ver's from; one that'll never be solved now. Sads. The idea of dragons eating their wealth is a great distraction. "That's one way to protect the fabled dragon's hoard."

They can skip right over the talk of meat and go straight to the sweets. "Lots of pastries, cakes, and cookies. They have a machine that folds the dough in non-Euclidean space, so it comes out amazingly tender. The cakes and cookies are good too, but the pastry is really where they excel. There's all kinds of fillings, so I have no doubt we'll find one you like."

"Because I tell them I can't package diet, workouts and good habits into a pill." She's as nice as she can be most of the time, but some people can't seem to get a clue. Trixie's glad she can at least pay for desert, it makes it easier to accept the food now.

"It was normal for me, but then again I can see how that might seem odd if only one species is sentient where your from." She'd never known anything else, so it was normal to her. At the mention of a dragon's hoard Trixie giggles "Dragons hoard, but then again, gems and gold are fairly common. If it weren't for dragons, gold would be pretty worthless as alicorns and unicorns transmute it often enough that there ends up being an excess. There's only so much one can use for enchanting and decorating..."

"That sounds like an interesting device. It will be interesting to see how their treats compare to what I can get from Pinkie pie and Mr. and Mrs. Cake at Sugarcube corner." She can't help but lick her lips a touch "I never stay in Ponyville long, but I always buy extra when I go in there..."

Ver snickers at the reply; that's a very polite way of putting things but still dead-on.

"I've never had to ask a chicken for permission to eat an egg, it's true. But I've met a few sentient chicken people here, and it's not so hard to adapt. They look like they're part chicken and part human, and we just don't talk about certain kinds of food around them." That's kind of the same thing?

"You can turn whatever you want into gold? Wow. Yeah, that'd be great, in certain places, right up until you break the economy." Which makes her wonder... "What's considered valuable back home?"

At this speed, Ver's wondering if they should have skipped straight to dessert. She's a grown up, so of course, this is a perfectly legit choice in her life. "Maybe if you like it, you should bring them something to inspire them to try something new? Trying new things often helps my own cooking."

"Probably a safe bet if you don't know if you'd be insulting them or not. Around home it's just a part of daily life... Granted, if an egg is found with no source, it gets incubated, never used." She smiles a bit "Rules for eggs are highly enforced and double checked."

Trixie blinks a bit. "Oh, no. Not whatever we want, it takes a lot of energy, ingredients and work to make. Gold is still valuable, as it gets used in magic and spell work a lot, and as coins..." She considers things a moment. "It's generally things that are created and made that have the most value. A shaped bit of enchanted glass can be worth more than a gem, a carved wooden hair comb can be priceless... Gold is just renewable... It's not the same here?"

At the mention of bringing something new to inspire Pinkie and the Cakes... Trixie just chuckles. "Oh, I don't think I have to worry about that. Pinkie gets enough ideas on her own..." Trixie makes a face. "I do not want to know where she got the idea for a coffee, chili, and hot pepper cupcake..."

"Well, that's natural, you wouldn't want to risk hurting a baby." This is an exceedingly strange way for her to think about things she normally only considers food. Maybe she'll have to bring Trixie to one of those old-fashioned Merrie Melody worlds where the plants all sing and dance, to even things out.

"Ah, no. I've never heard of anyone who could actually transmute gold." ~~Because she doesn't know that spell exists in Skyrim.~~ "Except for the hard way, I suppose. So... things made well and made beautifully, I'm guessing, are more valuable than something simple turned out quickly?" And artist's dream, if that's the case.

"Mm, replace any one of those with chocolate and you've got a pretty good dessert in the works," she offers. "Coffee and chocolate is called mocha where I'm from, and it's very popular. And some people like spicy chocolates too. It's all in the balance, you see. The heat can overwhelm the chocolate real quick if you're not careful."

"Precisely." She pauses a moment "On that thought, if you ever see someone selling a dragon egg from my world... buy it and I'll reimburse you or let me know so I can get it myself. Dragon eggs are never infertile, so chances are it's been stolen from it's parents..." Trixie might not be able to reunite it with it's parents, but at least she could see it to somewhere it could be raised with it's own people.

"Not necessarily beautifully, but practical, sturdy, useful... beauty is nice, but..." She shrugs a bit. "A well made pot that will cook your dinner is a lot more valuable that a clip for your mane when you're hungry. A plow that will turn the fields is useless if it breaks after a single use... Yet a fancy comb can be priceless." She shrugs "It mostly depends on what others want. I'd pay a small fortune for some rare tomes, others would consider them junk."

The comment about chocolate made Trixie laugh. "Oh of that I am aware... She decided to try putting all three in a cupcake. Like I said, she doesn't need any help when it comes to new ideas. At least I managed to avoid her 'orange mint' creation..."

"Of course." Ver wouldn't accept reimbursement for that. She's fiercely protective of children and would consider it an honor to be able to help. Don't get her started on the teenaged superheroes. Seriously, don't. "And once the egg is safe, we can try to figure out how they got it."

She hums thoughtfully while she takes all that in. "Sounds like a very personal kind of economy. Where I'm from, items in stores had fixed prices and everyone paid the same. Not a lot of bartering." There's good and bad things about that kind of system, she's aware. Learning to barter around the Nexus has been something of a struggle for her, but she thinks she's getting the hang of it.

"I dunno, orange and mint might work. Maybe humans and unicorns have different tastebuds."

"Sounds like a plan." Trixie would try to give her back whatever the cost was regardless. There were bits put away for rewards and the like for the rescue of kidnapped eggs. "Sometimes it's an honest enough mistake, but..." Yeah, best to get off of that topic unless they wanted to start into complaining about kids in bad situations.

"It is... well, somewhat. There is a standard currency and prices for the more common things, labor for field work and so on is paid in bits." It's normal for her, so she's not thought about it much. "Really, when it comes right down to it, if you're willing to pitch in and do a little work, you're not going to go hungry or be left out in the cold. Good food is inexpensive and common, it's the treats that cost."

Anyone could grow a patch of grass or flowers after all, but treats like cupcakes and sweets needed work. They also hadn't gone into big machines for farming or fabric making, so there are no shortages of jobs.

"Oh, I know..." There is a small glow around her horn and suddenly there will be a pair of pretty, golden coins, floating towards Verity. "Here's a 5 bit coin and a 1 bit coin." It's a nice looking coin, fairly small, solid gold, the only differences between the two is that one has a 5 on one side, and a pretty looking alicorn on the other and the other coin has a 1 and a different alicorn on it.

"The lower values of coins are made of gold, mostly because the palace can make them easily and cheaply... Though I would hate to try and see someone counterfeit the magic in them..." She's used to everyone being able to tell real coins from fakes, it doesn't even cross her mind that other forms of money were much easier to fake.

Back to taste realated things, she makes a face. "Perhaps I'm just biased. I brushed my teeth one morning and then had orange juice... I've never forgotten that awful flavor."

"That's a good system, making sure everyone has enough to get by." That was a pipe dream where she's from. Maybe humans are inherently more greedy than ponies. It would not surprise her; after all, humans think they're standing at the top of a pyramid, dominating other species, and can't see that it's a circle of give-and-take.

Ver takes the coins and looks them over, comparing the two different pictures. "There's magic in them? Wow." Once she's had a good look, she offers them back to Trixie. "We didn't even use gold anymore where I'm from, we'd gone to a currency that was only worth something because the government said it was worth something. That sounds really weird out loud doesn't it?"

She snorts at that idea, because nobody like post-toothpaste orange juice. "I can see where that'd turn you off of the idea."

One of the great things about ~~godlike powers of controlling the narrative~~ a restaurant like this is that the food is always ready quickly. Which is good, because all this talk about sweets has made Ver eager to move on to the dessert course--not that she won't be enjoying her meal.

"I like to think we try our best." Ponies had so many other species to share space with, it was pretty hard to consider themselves 'dominant'... so that likely had a far bit to do with it.

Trixie shakes her head and won't take them back. "Yes, they have magic that keeps them from being defaced, melted, or altered. So go ahead and keep those if you like." She smiles "Those two together are worth about three to four apples. I have enchantment free, pressed coin 'blanks' that I use when trading with small amounts of gold. Though I also have some small ingots as well." Because some people on Equestria wanted metal for jewelery, snacks and enchanting, not bits.

"It might sound odd, but it's really the same as our bits, isn't it? I mean the only difference in our bits is the number and picture on them..." Ooo! The food looked good. It wouldn't take long for Trixie to work her way through her food, even if people kept giving her odd looks for being able to use cutlery with her hooves.

"That's the important thing. Trying to do the best for everyone." That would help. Although, with the mutants and inhumans and alien species, not to mention chimps and dolphins... humans really had no reason to believe in their own inherent superiority in the 616. Not since, oh, '65 or so.

"Useful magic. Thank you." Ver considers the coins again; she'll set the five-bit piece on the table and pocket the other. "We'll leave this for the waiter as part of their tip," she offers by way of explanation. "To thank them for getting our food so quick. Not having dragons snack on the magic coins probably saves everyone a lot of headaches. And some tummy aches."

"That's true. But gold has some inherent value. Ours was paper." The food is quite good, and Trixie can eat it however she wants. Ver had been half expecting magic to be involved. She starts with the fries, separating them into roughly equal piles and sliding hers onto her plate. Anyone whose looks linger too long or get too cruel gets a look back from Ver. She gives good looks, unless you piss her off--then they can get mean.

When Verity tries to put the coin on the table, she'll find it floating back to her hand and another gold coin being left on the table in it's place. This one was a lot more plain than the one Trixie had given her, but it had a weight and purity stamped on it, not a monetary value.

"Keep those coins. They're meant to be something that you can use as part of a collection or something. It wouldn't be fair to tip with them, since they'll be all but worthless to them unless they go to Equestria sometime." And Trixie was planning on buying a good deal of deserts for the both of them anyways, so it's not like she was giving Verity 'funny money'. She smiles "Yes. Having to deal with a dragon that has an upset stomach is not fun."

Trixie looks a bit puzzled "Paper? But that is so expensive... Most of the time paper is used for books, studies and royal documents. You have to use so many resources to make it... The printing ink alone... and it's so fragile..." She pauses "I can see there are going to be some serious cultural differences..."

She's learned to eat with cutlery because while she could use magic, it was rude to do so around others who could not. She frequently ate in mixed company, and it wasn't like it was a hardship to not use it.

"You might be surprised how many kinds of currency people use here. But thank you." She won't fight since Trixie's so determined, but she may end up passing at least one of them on. A certain young god of mischief she knows would find these coins very interesting and Verity does love to spoil him. The coins will both get tucked in a pocket for now.

"We have machines that make paper, so it doesn't take as long and is much more readily available." She gets out her wallet while she's explaining and pulls out a five-dollar bill for Trixie to look over. "The paper is a special blend of wood pulp and cotton, so it's more durable and easy to identify to the touch. The ink is special too, and you see there, that's a little holographic strip embedded in the paper. All of these things are made only for the government and are hard to steal, so forging the notes is really hard. And with paper, you don't have to worry about clipping, plus it's a lot lighter. I could carry thousands of dollars in my pocket without a problem. Well, except for if a pickpocket found me that day."

She nods. "I'd likely not be surprised, I just want to be certain that what I give can be used. I would hate to pay in something, only to find that it's utterly useless to them." Gold clearly held value here, and she didn't want to give someone a protected coin when it was the gold they wanted from it.

"Oh... Hmmm..." The money is interesting, but she thinks highly impractical for use in her world. "But they can still be burnt, cut and water damaged?" It was an interesting idea, but all those components made enchanting it all but impossible... and possibly easy to copy with magic? It was maybe something she'd have to look into to keep from accidentally taking counterfeits.

"That's good thinking." Trixie'll sort out what's valuable on her own. And if she can't, that's what the moneychangers are for.

"Yeah, the paper money's pretty easy to damage. Everything's a trade-off. Choosing one benefit over another usually means choosing one drawback over another too." Magically counterfeiting money isn't something Verity's ever considered. Whether or not it's possible would be an interesting, and dangerous, line of study.

While she's got her wallet out, Ver gets out money for their food. No reason to keep the waitstaff waiting. "But then, I'm from a place that makes coins that cost more to make than they're worth. There's not much sense in that."

"Hmmm... I suppose paper money is fine for your world, but it wouldn't survive long enough to be a viable option in ours. Between the dragons, gryphons, and sea ponies..." It was still an interesting concept in her mind however.

Trixie would be the one to figure out how to counterfeit money, and then immediately find a way to prevent it... Keeping the knowledge of how to do it locked away forever and only releasing the ways to stop it... She's nothing if honest when it comes to things like that.

At the mention of coins costing more to make than their worth, she looks curious. "Isn't that the same as paper money? It's only worth is what one says it has... coins at least contain metal..." She honestly is confused, but she'd not object to a change in the subject either. This was getting to be too technical for a fun dinner out.

"Yeah, sounds like it wouldn't work so well where you're from." Some people around the Nexus use seashells as money. Verity's not going to judge--who has time, trying to figure out all these new systems?

Some people say that knowledge can't be hidden forever. That it craves to be free. Let's hope they're wrong, if Trixie goes down this path.

"Yeah, but the coins are worth so little when you go to spend them in a store, it costs more effort to make the coin. It's... kind of a legacy thing I think? The coin used to be able to buy more. But everything's more expensive than it used to be. And some people just don't want to stop having them around, so... I don't really understand it," she admits finally. "It's just a weird thing people did."

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Throwing in some MLP head canon here XD

\,,/(^_^)\,,/

:3

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