3rd Wish: Of Houses and Homes [Visual]

[bornofhope]

(The scroll immediately opens up to a worried pink filly who looks like she's been pulling her hair for the last half hour or so.)

H-hello, everyone. It's Madoka again. I'm...not really sure what happened, but Mami-san and I were eating lunch together and...and then she turned into this bright light and went away. She didn't say where she was going or anything like that! She just...disappeared. I'm really worried about her.

A-and the house, too. The bills came in today and I don't have enough money for them. And I don't want George to go hungry. Are...there any seasonal positions open? I can work after school and on weekends...anything, really. I just...

(She's been thinking too much into this, clearly. Poor kid's worrying about both the loss of her friend and the adult responsibilities she's inherited. It's a little overwhelming and the shaking filly is really not in the right mindset to deal with all of this.)

Comments

[ponycure_dream]

Mami's gone?! And you're alone...!? And...!

[Uh-oh, watch out - Nozomi's in determined mode!]

How about you come down to my store in the Night Market?

[bornofhope]

(Honestly, Madoka will take anything as long as it's not getting kicked out of the house.)

S-sure, yeah. And...if it's okay, can I bring George, too? He's a rat, so he won't take up much space...

[ponycure_dream]

Of course! He shouldn't be too much of a problem!

If you want to come down now, you can - I'll wait outside so you know where it is!

[bornofhope]

Yeah. I haven't been to the market too often, but I'll keep a lookout.

[ponycure_dream]

Okay! Don't worry, though - I won't bite!

[bornofhope]

Okay. I'll try not to take too long...

(Once Madoka rolls up her scroll, she ventures over to the Night Market to seek out Nozomi and her store. She's still pretty shaken up, so her observation skills aren't too sharp at the moment. At least it doesn't take too long for her to find the place?)

[ponycure_dream]

[Can't really miss Nozomi - pink pony with magenta hair, standing outside a store, shivering a bit.]

[bornofhope]

(Pink ponies are clearly drawn to each other. This'd normally be a much happier meeting, but with everything going on, all she can put on is a brave face.)

Thank you for this...George and I really appreciate it.

[ponycure_dream]

N-No problem! Can we go inside now? I'm cold!

[Big sheepish grin!]

[bornofhope]

Yeah! Sorry for keeping you waiting so long...

(Madoka kind of forgot to consider the weather on top of everything else today.)

[ponycure_dream]

[Nozomi shakes her head.]

It's okay! We're kinda slow right now, so it'll be easy to show you around and everything!

[bornofhope]

That sounds like fun! Let's do it!

(Especially since it gets them out of the cold.)

[ponycure_dream]

[And with that, Nozomi leads Madoka inside. It looks like a nice little country store (and it pretty much is, what with a lot of the stuff here catering towards those sorts of things).]

I opened up this store when the Night Market was getting off the ground. I had spent some time with the Apples when I first got here and I wanted to repay them.

[bornofhope]

I see!

(She's genuinely interested in the store and its origin story.)

So this store helps you repay them somehow?

[ponycure_dream]

Uh-huh. I give them some of the profits I make and, in turn, I sell their stuff. It's... probably gonna be a little harder on that bit with winter coming, but I'm sure I can make it!

[bornofhope]

I think so. Maybe you just need to switch around your merchandise for the season? That helps stores keep afloat during the winter!

[ponycure_dream]

Oh...! Oh, that would work...!

[bornofhope]

Maybe you can sell winter clothes like sweaters or scarves. Oh! How about hot chocolate?

[ponycure_dream]

Oooh, I like that idea! Do I have some? W-Wait a sec, I'll go check!

[And Nozomi dashes off to check around.]

[bornofhope]

I-I can help, if you need it!

(Even though she knows nothing of how this store is organized.)