Conversions
-Disclaimer: Hasbro owns all recognizable characters, most unrecognizable characters, and no, I'm not profiting off of this.
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The young dragon had a rather loose plan of action for when he'd disembarked from the train. He'd certainly have loved to have an itemized list, detailing his every action and their consequences measured in seconds. Unfortunately he lacked the degree of foresight needed to make such an itinerary when dealing with the unknown.

His caretaker, he dared not think her name lest his flagging heart wilt further at the thought of her anxiety, her fear and disappointment, was equally third-eye blind. To make up for it, however, she tended to schedule a particularly large block near the end of her list for an extended anxiety attack.

So long as she didn't need to expend the allotted time for that, she was ahead of schedule.

The young drake held his suitcase against his chest for a moment, turning from side to side before brushing away the glowing aura on the handle. His plan may have been loose but his own ignorance could hobble it before it so much as began.

Green eyes locked on the brown of a nearby unicorn now walking nonchalantly between a pair of earth ponies. New saddlebags astride his barrel. An opera mask wearing his flank.

Theft, too, would cripple this journey.

"Excuse me!" Spike called after the unicorn. The stallion paused before turning around. Sweat beaded down his neck as sharp teeth and sharper eyes looked up to meet his own. "You look like a proper, well to do kind of unicorn. Could you tell me who the best jeweler in town is?"

"You lookin' for young Zyng Awl, kid? Best darned jeweler north of Apple Loosa if you are." The unicorn spoke as though from the back of his throat. A thick 'H' hung about his every mumbled syllable.

"The best north of Apple Loosa!" Spike cried with genuine enthusiasm. "He's gotta have some real tasty gems. Where do I find him!"

"About three block down south, at the intersection of Dawn and Willows. Runs one of the corner shops. What are you gonna... Naw, I don't need to know. Geckos and all." The last few words were mumbled, clearly meant to be heard while seeming polite.

Spike had seen this game played out since he could walk.

"Thanks Mister. Say, are those saddlebags new? They look like a genuine Rarity." They were, Spike had been assisting in the boutique the day they'd been made. They were also paired with a very distinct hat sitting on a very different pony's head.

"Echo, deary, those look just like your saddlebags..."

"Don't mention it, kid, now scoot." Sweat poured from the stallion's face like a broken spigot as the small dragon waved goodbye and toddled away. The whispers of the crowded station reached a fever pitch as countless eyes focused on him.

----

"Help! Thief!" Spike grinned to himself as he walked away from the station. Backhanded compliments were practically a currency to those who'd lived among the spires of Canterlot. Given away charitably by the well to do and the climbers beneath them.

Half-whispered insults though? The pastime of peasants and plebeians.

Spike traveled two blocks without consequence, and the third while only being nearly run over by a charging mare after her blank-flanked foal.

Blend's Pharmacy and Drug, Debutante's Delightful Bakery, Jim's Gym and Bejeweled were the names of the four stores.

Spike took a wild guess and crossed the road to enter Bejweled. It was a cramped little store, mostly taken up by the glass counter at front where the mysterious Zyng Awl stored his finished wares.

"I be out! One minute!" The jewelers accent was hard to place, his equuish painfully rough.

Spike reviewed the works on display while he waited. Rounds and Ovals made up the majority of the available stock, not a single cut gemstone was anything but diamond though.

His eyes narrowed as the proprietor, a pony, stepped out of the back room. He could swear he'd seen these before, that underneath the cut and dazzle the pendants and horn rings were familiar.

"Ah, Dragon yes? Not seen one in week. Here for snack? Is best selection in Equestria!" Spike chose to be the bigger dragon and ignore the shoddy copy work and the sign saying that every piece was original.

"Actually Mr.Awl." Spike hefted his suitcase onto the counter and opened it, revealing rows upon rows of rainbow gemstones, light reflecting off fine edges beyond the means of most.

Being that a fair few were opal, this isn't quite hyperbole either.

"I'm here to sell."

Author's Notes:

I put a pun in there. It's not terribly difficult to spot.