"Okay, I'll make sure to keep an eye out for mirrors," Kindle said as she began pushing items of furniture around. "I saw some sort of furniture store across the square from me when I was out with my cart, what was it called... Quills and Sofas, that's right. Seems like an odd combination, although I can't make too much fun, since we'll be selling candles and designer clothing!" When she had cleared a space under the window for the sofa, Kindle began using her levitation magic. Using all of the energy she could muster, she levitated the furniture just a bit off the ground, then pushed it into place with her front hooves. Kindle wondered how Ryo had managed to carry her table halfway across town on her own - it had probably been a job for two unicorns.

"Of course you can stay," Kindle echoed Kit's words. "And take the bits. I think you've earned them, but if it makes you feel better, I also want to help out another newcomer to Ponyville like us."

Kindle turned her attention to the various items of furniture stacked in the corner. Her mother, an interior design pony for the Canterlot palace, had taught her a few things that she was eager to test. "What do you think Kit, should we put the sofa under the window or across from the door? A wall mirror might be nice over here, if your customers want to see how they look your clothes..."

"About the same for me," Kindle said. "Always wanted to start my own candle business, but Canterlot was a bit to large and crowded for me." She came to a stop in front of their shop's entrance, unhitching herself from the cart full of tools and supplies in order show Ryo where to place the table. When she opened the front door, Coal padded over, meowing inquisitively. "Oh, Ryo, this is my cat, Coal. He loves food and uses his cuteness as a weapon," Kindle warned, rubbing her cat's head affectionately. "Anyway, if you could just bring the table up these stairs; I'm making a workshop out of one of the upper rooms."

"A blacksmith's assistant?" Kindle said as she began trotting down the street to show Ryo which way to go. "My father's a blacksmith in Canterlot; I helped around the forge some. Never really had a knack for metalwork, though, wax is much easier for me to handle." Kindle nearly asked the mare what her special talent was, before realizing for the first time that she didn't have a cutie mark. Although, Kit technically didn't have one either, and she seemed to know what her talents were just fine. Kindle was mildly surprised that a pony around her age still didn't have a cutie mark yet, but she assumed that Ryo had been asked about it many times before. "So, what made each of you decide to move to Ponyville, anyway?" Kindle asked both Kit and Ryo, hoping it would be a simpler topic of conversation than cutie marks and talents.

"I moved here from Canterlot recently, and Kit flew in from Manehattan just the other day, so we decided to open up a shop for our businesses together," Kindle explained to Ryo. "I make candles, and Kit designs clothing. I was just about to move some of my stuff over there from my house." Kindle was about to close and lock her front door behind her with magic, when she was struck with an idea. "Hey, would you happen to be any good at heavy-lifting magic?" Kindle asked the mare. "I've got this large table I need to move across town, but my levitation magic isn't strong enough. I'd pay you for the job, of course."

The sun shone brightly; Ponyville's weather team must have finished clearing away clouds for the day. There were fewer pegasi flying above the town than Kindle had expected, but she could always wait to hire one to bring her work table over. She had spent most of her first week in Ponyville making candles, and probably wouldn't need to make more large batches any time soon. For small projects like Kit's cherry candles, any table or bench would do. Kindle took her eyes off of the sky above her house to see who Kit was talking about. Next to the griffon was a blue mare that she hadn't met before. Given that she only knew a few of the ponies, plus one griffon, in Ponyville, Kindle assumed the unicorn stranger was just another townspony to get acquainted with. "Hi there," she said cheerfully, eager to make more friends. "I'm Kindle, and this silly griffon is Kit. We're both pretty new to Ponyville."

"Hurt? Nah, this is fine," Kindle said, gesturing to the hitching which she had just removed. "My father is a blacksmith, and he helped me make it so that it wouldn't chafe or anything. Of course, that doesn't stop my hooves getting sore from dragging the cart around!" Kindle levitated tools and supplies from her work table to the cart as she spoke, packing the irregularly shaped items as neatly as she could. "So, do you want a snack or something?" she offered Kit, trying to be hospitable. "I've got some daisys and clover... uh, if you like that kind of food." Kindle realized that she had no idea what griffons ate; Kit could eat birdseed for breakfast for all she knew.

Schwambart