The Crystal cure...

Silent Whistle shook his head and wrote. 'I'm not much of a writer, ha, But a pretty good chef! Actually, that's why I'm in Trottingham. To learn about your culture and study your cuisine. I figure once I know everything there is to know about other cultures cuisines I could one day set up a restaurant in one of the for rent shops but I'm still a long way from that.'

He then handed back the notepad grateful for the change in subject.

Sherlock fished for the five bits and paid Threads. With a nod of gratitude he prepared to leave, but his desire for knowledge got the better of him. With an inward sigh he looked back at Threads and asked "Is there something wrong with your friends?"

"They're no more wrong than other ponies, cause everypony has something wrong with them, you, me and Cheerilee, sort of thing. Whistle is made of crystal and thus can't talk and Russet's undergoing a fight club sort of situation but sort of thing yeah really. You have to write if you want to talk to Whistle and..."

Threads turned to Russet.

"Head towards the morning star and turn right at the horizon," she directed, gesturing towards the back of the store, "Or was it the other way round? Something like that. You'll find your way. Use the force. Listen to your heart. Love will hold the answer."

She then scribbled down in her notepad.

I know a bit about the Crystal Empire from old fairy tales. Very old fairy tales. I have some dolls from those old tales. Of course, the truthfulness of said tales may be not much, but it's something.

Russet groaned at Threads complicated answer. He quickly darted off toward the back of the place, bumping into a few things on the way. There seemed to be more panic to his rush than it would seemingly deserve.

He flared his wings in his hurry to give himself more stability, giving no thought to his cutiemarks visibility. Bursting through what he thought was the right door, he sighed and leaned against it.

Oh dear....too close....Please let there be a window in here. He looked about for another means of getting out.

Silent Whistle perked his ears at the hastily retreat of Russet wondering what in Equestria could be wrong but decided not to dwell on the subject. He wondered if that would be the last time he'd see him but tried not to let the confusion show on his face.

His legs were getting awfully tired from standing so long not to mention a bit hungry.

Sherlock arched an eyebrow at Threads' peculiar answer, but his attention was quickly stolen by Russett dashing for the door, exposing his male-female cutie mark.

Special talent involving a linking of the genders. Desperately needing to find a restroom. Hiding something. Sherlock's mind immediately began to put together bits of information, but he didn't dwell on it just now.

Russet apparently needed to go to the toilet. Since you're apparently going to have to wait a while, would you care for some tea?

Whilst showing her message to Whistle, she said to Sherlock. "I'm going to put on some tea now, as in prepare some tea for consumption, not wear tea like clothing. Dresses made out of tea leaves? Now there's an idea. Might be the latest craze, clothing you can drink! In style! But there shall be biscuits too. Biscuits sounds so right with tea. Tea and biscuits, biscuits and tea. Tea and cookies doesn't sound right. Cookies and hot chocolate does though, but I haven't got hot chocolate. Just tea. So biscuits it is."

Though Threads wasn't thinking about such things at the moment, it should be noted that whilst her bathroom did have a window, its size and position made it rather impossible for a pony to crawl thorugh all the way. Fitting halfway and getting stuck, however, was very possible.

Threads was thinking about tea, and thus the little dining area slash kitchen was more in her mind. There didn't seem to be any more customers than these strange ponies, so Threads reckoned that she could have a bit of a tea break.

A few minutes went by after Russet had left the others. Eventually though, something did come back. It was a slow and careful process, but anyone not paying attention would note every now and then that a pony sized box seemed to be moving down the hall on its own. Carefully, it maneuvered around the edge of the store to avoid the others attention as best it could.

'I'd love some tea! What kinds do you have?' He wrote feeling his excitement rise in getting to try other teas from across Equestria although his favorite being one with honey, ginseng, with mint leaves but he quickly shook his head out of his fantasy and back into Trottingham only to notice a large pony-sized box in the corner of his eye but when he turned to look in that direction, it was gone.

Well that was strange... He thought possibly thinking he was starting to see things. Silent's going crazy, everypony watch out! He thought with a chuckle.

Sherlock nodded once when Threads offered tea, then stood impassively- though he did have a visible roll of the eyes- as she bumbled on about it. "I would stay for some tea." He stated after she finished speaking. Motion caught his attention, and Sherlock never missed a detail.

He walked around one of the book shelves and stepped out into another aisle in front of the box, putting his hoof up to hold it in place.

"I do not believe Miss Threads would enjoy you pilfering her packaging material." he stated.

"I'm merely a humble toymaker, so don't really have anything fancy. Trottingham breakfast, mainly, which strangely tastes better in the afternoon. Brown tea from Neighpon, too, a gift from a friend who really liked some of the dolls I made. Biscuits are to die for, though. Arnott's assorted creams, Kingston inclusive! That really good stuff, top of the range for tea, for a budget like mine anyway."

As she rambled, her mind noted two things; one, that Russet was taking a while for her toilet break, and two, that box shouldn't be there. Before she could comment on either though, Sherlock had stopped the wayward cardboard cube.

"Hm, Sunset has been a while and you would think that the with the rush she went to relieve herself, he would be finished by now. I should probably go check up on him to see if he's alright. I mean, what will I say to his cousin if he disappeared in my home? I won't like trying to explain that to Russet, and Ruby will never forgive me, like a snake in the grass. Or a grey fox. Fission mailed, but let's see what this box is first, like my birthday except not, cause it's not Autumn yet. Bathroom breaks and tea breaks can wait."

The box stopped moving at Sherlock's hoof. There was no reply from the box. For several moments the box was dead quiet and unmoving. Then in a turn off events, the back of the box opened up. A slightly smaller box came out with a set of tan hooves tiptoeing (tiphoofing?) In the other direction, being as discreet as a walking box possibly could.

Silent turned back and noticed a smaller box with tan hooves tiphooving in the opposite direction. What in the world?... Is that Russet? 'I'll be right back.' He wrote and handed it to Threads then quietly tiphooved towards the box and pushed it in the direction of the door.

Once it was outside, He knocked on the top of the box to let Russet know he was free and went back inside to rejoin Threads and Sherlock hoping they hadn't spotted him trying to help Russet.

Sherlock sighed and muttered under his breath. He approached the secondary box, intent on removing it himself when the deaf crystal pony intervened and ushered it towards the door. Sherlock's natural curiosity had him move to the exit, following the deaf pony so he could see who could emerge from the box. He had seventeen ideas as to who it would be, fifteen of which involved Russett, who was supposedly still in the rest room.

"Hang on why is that, is that my sneak box for sneaking and stealth missions that I made when I was still a filly? Why would Ruby want to steal it? She's not a thief, it can't be but it has the secondary emergency escape pod as well, though she didn't do it properly, we can all see it, and Silent, Sherlock? Why are you go-oh. I see. I what you guys are doing. Just because crystal ponies are mute does not mean I'm blind. It would be hard to make these toys blind, though blind ponies can still enjoy them."

Warm's face had lost its warm expression, turning into one of hurt.

"So, I guess there's no tea then, and no cookies either. I'll just go see if Russet's alright. In the bathroom. It's been a while. Why am I talking, it's not like you ponies listen anyway. I'm going now to the bathroom. Yes. That is what I'll do. Takes more effort to avoid the damned thing than to actually face it. The trial of the cowardly. Not fun. No happy endings here..."

Threads walked to her bathroom, muttering softly under her breath. When she entered, she was not surprised to find it empty.

The lack of shock didn't make her feel any better.

The walking box honestly had no idea where it was going. The nudges only made it shiver in what could be perceived as either fear or anxiety. Maybe both. Once outside, it wondered around a bit before running into the building itself that it had just left. Whoever was under it was not taking off their box just yet.

This made Silent chuckle seeing the box re-appear in the building so he casually lifted the edge of it and peeked underneath to see none other than ... Well it looked like Russet but she was a mare... He took the box off of this Something and gestured towards Threads's hurt expression although he lost some of his Crystal shine as his coat glowed slightly and went to a solid lilac color and his mane a solid dark blue color.

He looked sadly from Threads to this surprising mare in hopes there was a way of fixing things. Although this little change of events didn't change how startled he was.

(Wan PM's me that he wanted to be passed over, and I don't really have anything to add either. Skip over me too.)

Once the box was lifted, the mare froze and let out a terrified squeak. Eyes wide with horror and body shaking, she cowered at every set of eyes that was upon her. She did indeed look just like Russet, down to the eyes and mane colors. Her cutie mark was conveniently concealed by her wings.

Thoughts raced through her head at the speed of light. She had to act. In such distress it was either fight or flight, and she had to persevere. Quickly she....

...Started wailing and crying.

Well today was just everyponies day...

Silent just stood there looking confused and bewildered he even rubbed his eyes a few times to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. Where on Earth did this mare come from? Where's Russet? She looks a whole lot like... Wait, IS she Russet? So many thoughts rushed through his mind all to be broken by the sound of her crying...

Silent's face had a look of horror on it seeing as he was the one to make her cry. He honestly didn't know what to do nor how to react... Come on Silent, do something... He sat on the floor next to her and pulled her into a hug while patting her back.

Sherlock Hooves was almost surprised by the appearance of a mare in the box. He had deduced that it was Russett the moment he had seen the cardboard covering trying to sneak out of the shop- given the shop occupancy, the absence to go to the 'bathroom', and where the box had come from- and when the smaller box had emerged from the larger one he had recognized the color of Russet's coat around his hooves.

But they had been her hooves; the hooves visible from the bottom of the smaller box were distinctly female. When combined with the interesting cutie mark that Sherlock had glanced over the course of his brief observations of Russett, he deduced that this crying mare was the same stallion who had gone to the bathroom. The details of the change were not exactly apparent, however.

She began to try and Sherlock sighed. "Oh shut up," he barked at her, "Show some dignity, please. You're a mare now, you were a stallion five minutes ago, that's hardly a matter worth crying over. Judging by your intentness to hide it, I am certain these changes have happened before; enough times that you are used to them but not enough that you are no longer embarrassed."

Poking her head out of the door, seeing the appalling sight, Threads said in a voice trying hard to be cheerful, "You know what will be good in situation? Tea! Tea is the best pick-me-up when you're down, like a beverage form of a merry go round. Or a rollercoaster, but without the being sick after eating too many New Tonne apples. It's not the speed that get's you, it's the force. One can be going at 100 miles and hour but you won't notice until you hit a brick wall. Or you turn. Let's turn 360 degrees, another 270, then 90 in the other direction, reenter my store, and have some tea. That's what it's all about! Oh, yeah, I forgot. Crystal Ponies don't talk, so I have to write! Right! Where's my pen?"

We better take Ruby in, the poor dear. Tea will probably do her good. I'm afraid that there's a lot of explaining to do...

"Ruby, Russet, Fight Club, you should have just told me about this sort of thing. I'm rather hurt you didn't. Not hurt as you stabbed me with a knife hurt, but hurt as in you didn't trust me to help move the body, hurt. I thought we were closer than that, apparently not. Five dictionaries of separation from bacon. Actually, I don't know any pigs personally. Perhaps I should."

The pony identified at Ruby sobbed against Silents shoulder as he hugged her. She began to calm down rather quickly, being more a shock than anything else.

She turned her attention to Sherlock when he started going off on her. Hunching her back over with her head down, she did what any pony would when told to stop crying.

...Start crying again. Right into Silents shoulder, again.

It was short lived like the last one, and her hooves were wiping her tear soon enough. Threads didn't seem too happy with her. Ruby Had never seen Threads upset before. Looking at the floor, Ruby sniffled and sighed.

"....I'm....Sorry."

Silent still looked half dazed and confused as he continued to pat her back when she looked up at whatever Threads said, then he saw the note and nodded. He had no idea what Sherlock said but the look on his face ended up with her crying again. All he could do is glare at Sherlock as if saying 'Drop it' in hopes his message had come across clearly.

This certainly was turning into an interesting story he had to admit that even though all of this happened he was slightly curious where life in this part of Equestria would take him. He chuckled slightly thinking, At least life around here doesn't get old!

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Threads quickly poured the hot tea into the cups for her two guests. Sherlock had left to do whatever it was he did, so it was a still silent Whistle and a still red-eyed Sunset that the toymaker had for tea.

"I mean, how hard is it to make a cucumber sandwich? Bread, butter, cucumbers, butter, bread, and so on, until you have a cucumber sandwich! I have biscuits, assorted creams. Don't eat all the chocolate at once though, you feel guilty when you finished them all and look at what's left. Don't leave them till last either, you feel too full to enjoy them when you finally get to them. Do you like milk with your tea? I head it's better for your teacups to put milk in first so that the china doesn't break..."

Serving both the tea and biscuits, she finished with, "Rubyrusset, our friend Silent Whistle is terribly perplexed at this whole confuzzling business. I think you should explain yourself to him."