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Description
Okay, so I had this child

And she's sooo perfect for him in my head man
Like it's so KUTE

Like even she ship name is perfect omg ArtiCharms
*ships*

Name: Maybelline Charms

Nickname(s): Goes by May, but is called May Charms or Mabel sometimes, and on rare occasions even Belle

Gender: Female

Age(?): Around 20, a little younger

Race: Pegasus

PoR (Place of Residence): (Past) Baltimare, Equestria, (Currently) In the moderately rural outskirts of the city Baaha, in the region of Raysir, Saddle Arabia (Pun on Asir, Saudi Arabia). In a forest home that she purchased and hid the pathway to so that no pony would be able to find her.

Occupation: Thief, archaeologist/ ancient historian, adventurer

Personality: (NOTE: All will become more clear after the story of how they met)

May is generally very cold to ponies upon encountering them. She is not very trusting of them for numerous reasons that I will not go into too much detail about. She can become irritated and frustrated pretty easily. Her main focus is on her secret research. She mostly stays alone in her hidden home in Saddle Arabia when she's not out on her heists or goes out to look for the artifacts she needs. When you dig further into this mysterious mare, you will find that she can be very serious about her occupation (even though she's more enthusiastic than serious, it's more just the hard parts of it, like getting the pieces that she needs, that she is serious about), and that even though she seems to act like she wants you gone and out of her head, she really does enjoy the company. She sometimes becomes very lonely and depressed while working alone like she does, even though she knows it's a sacrifice she has to make to progress in her work.

Mabel is a mare of science and history, and it's one of her favorite topics to discuss. She often tends to hold grudges on ponies that come close to her home unknowingly, as it makes her worry about being found and caught, but her home is pretty well hidden in the fores that not many venture into, so no pony can see her. It's mainly just irrational. She is a wanted mare, so the thought of being turned in makes her frantic.

But, all in all, May is very lovable if you're close enough to her. The usual strict and intimidating impression she tends to leave on ponies is lifted once you start to know her. She is very loyal, and she never gives up on a project. If she is forced to give up, she becomes very anxious and nervous, feeling incomplete for a while. You'll see that May is a very confident, confrontational, daring, and excitable (Well, as long as you are alone with her) mare when she's comfortable with you, but can be pretty stubborn at times. You basically have to write a full essay on why she should do something you say before she does it. That, or kiss her cheek and hope she freezes up and will just agree with you to get out of the situation. But, warning, you are risking of getting punched by taking that chance.

Sexuality: Pansexual

Likes: Work, science, history, more work, searching for Artifacts, strawberries, aquilegias (ack-quil-ee-juh(s), flower type), books and literature, peace and quiet, the gentle and relaxing sound of bells when she is really stressed out, hot water, cool unproved ideas that she can attempt to prove or disprove, mysteries, theories, the beach, (secretly) really bad TV shows (She thinks their extreme badness is funny), working, working, work, work, aaand a little more work.
...
She likes to keep herself occupied is what it really is. She likes puzzles, and things that can make her think. She also has a secret love of racoons, because, well, she thinks they're cute, and she "finds their lifestyle disgusting... yet, fascinating..."

Dislikes: Being bothered when she is focused/ being distracted, (generally) ponies touching her and her things, things that are incomplete, snitches, the cold, fashion, not being able to figure something out/ messing up, loud noises (They make her frustrated because they mess up her train of thought, and sudden loud noises make her anxious), cars and car rides, feeling helpless, and ponies taking her glasses when she doesn't have any contacts (she's practically blind and defenseless without them, and because she hates feeling helpless, well, you can see why)

Other: May freezes up and basically becomes putty in your arms at even the slightest romantic gesture (kissus, flirting, gazing into her eyes, etc.). She's not really used to physical or social contact, being so isolated and all, so whenever she experiences any lady-killing moves you use on her, she becomes very funny, as she turns bright red and starts making stupid excuses in a high and stuttering voice to try and get away from you so she won't embarrass herself any more than she knows she already has. If you keep it up though, and if she feels safe enough around you, she'll eventually just give into you and try her best to return your affection.

May also has a very light Saddle Arabian accent from living in the country for a while.

How they met (optional tbh):

*****

This plane was driving him crazy.
And not just crazy crazy, oh, no no.
"Completely and totally NUTS" crazy.

Obnoxious snoring that echoed through the whole cabin.

Violent laughter right in his ear from a seat somewhere behind him.

Headphones turned up too loud so that the crappy song the random stallion was listening to pushed its way out, and gave off a muffled blur of notes.
News Flash: No pony wants to hear your "Return to the 70s" mixtape.

One preteen in the back that was insistent on keeping the movie screen in his seat cranked to full volume, just so that everypony could know he was watching Breaking Bad at his age.

Four foals ran up and down the narrow aisles constantly! Ever since the pilot had announced that they could roam about the cabin. And they kept tripping over one another again and again when the filly leading just so happened to stagger over a hoof, that was projecting ONE inch too far into the space that separated the seat sections.

And one little filly. JUST ONE. Kicking his seat.

Where's the partridge in the pear tree? With the luggage?

It was July, but it seemed more like the shittiest Christmas ever with all of these "gifts". He envied the first class riders. So, so much.

Arti Fact cursed silently as the child behind him began kicking harder, harder, against his seat. It was enough to drive anypony crazy. Despite all the other irritable things, this one was the one he hated the most. Bump. Bump. Bump. Bump. Over, and over, and over. Never stopping, just on a constant loop. For five. Hours. BUMP. BUMP. BUMP. BUMP. BUMP. He swore, ohhh he swore alright that if that little twerp didn't stop slamming their hoof against his ass right now, he was going to turn around, take that kid by the neck, and-

"All passengers, please return to your seats and turn off all electronic devices. We will be landing shortly. Thank you for flying on Equestria Airlines." A mare's annoyed voice finally cut through the madness over a speaker. All eyes suddenly stopped and glanced up at where they had heard the lady as they processed the command. In almost an instant, the ponies began to settle down in their designated spots and buckle their seatbelts, and parents began getting their children's attention to advise them on what to do when they began to unload from the aircraft. The brown stallion sighed, relieved as the rhythmic beating that shook his back stopped. He could have sworn he was going to snap. All was calm, the only exception being the chatter that now bounced around through the cabin, and Arti could tolerate that.

"Finally..." He murmured to himself, holding the box that had been in his lap the whole trip closer to his chest. He was glad to be rid of this plane. They would go refuel and take on another flight full of obnoxious kids, but as for him, he was going to be far from this airship. Arti would be in a place a bit more homey. Just where he belonged.

An ancient history museum.

*****

"Thank you so very much for coming in person to give us your donation, Mr. Arti Fact! It is greatly appreciated, and the fact that you came all this way to hand deliver them is extraordinary! We are very lucky and honored to have gotten a donor like you to help contribute to our thriving business here!" Lost Relics smiled enthusiastically at Arti as he led him through the halls of the Baaha Ancient History Museum, his Arabic accent thick, yet understandable. The ecstatic business owner hovered the package of the donations close in front of him, keeping his magic around it as firm and steady as possible. The brown earth pony smiled back at the tall unicorn, glancing around the busy display room they had entered. Labeled the proud title The Temples of Saddle Arabia, the exhibit featured antiques found in ancient structures from the country. Dented, yet in a way flawless, cups and trinkets and hieroglyphs stared up at the intrigued visitors through a glass showcase. There for the crowd's eyes to gawk at, they were the stars of the show. Arti felt honored to be adding new cast members that would be featured along with the other beautiful findings. He knew bidding highest on those items would be worth it one day.

As his eyes wandered around the room, Arti replied, "It's an honor to have my donations featured in such a beautiful town! I mean, I've had a few brief explorations in Saddle Arabia before, but Baaha has to be the finest city I've seen so far. The trip was definitely worth it". He was fascinated by not only the relics that shined so brilliantly inside of their clear cages, but by the native guests who explored the museum themselves. They looked so different from the Equestrian locals he was used to. They were all so sleek, and their features were so differently distinct that it almost didn't seem possible. It was crazy to think that he was the same as them in a way. There was such a difference between his kind of pony and their own. Those ponies had such a different culture. Different fashion, different voices, different genes. They spoke in a language that was only gibberish to him, and he spoke in a way that was only nonsense to them. They were strangers to one another, Equestrians and Saddle Arabians. Beautiful, remarkably confusing strangers.

Only, there was this one character that seemed to stick out in the room's crowd. A pony whose features were sharp, yet in a different way. A pony who was not as tall and sleek as the others. She didn't look as natural in this region. She was like him.

Cloaked in a khaki colored abaya that was similar, yet divergent from those of other mares, with a purse hanging over her shoulder, this particular mare stood in the corner of the exhibit, her eyes scrolling across the text of an artifact's description. Her muzzle was hidden behind the exotic outfit like the majority of her was. Only her eyes could be sought out easily. Arti stared at the pony, slowing down his pace as he and Relic neared the staircase that made up the middle of the back wall of the room. There was something about this mare that filled him with an odd incertitude. He couldn't pinpoint it. Something about how that mare looked. Just the way she stood there, so calmly, yet... He didn't know... The expression in her eyes. She looked... Looked...
How did she look..?

After a few seconds of staring at the mare in an attempt to figure it out, Arti soon realized the mare's gaze had shifted to meet his own. He quickly snapped out of his daze.

It was nothing.

It was fine.

The stallion quickly hurried to catch up with his guide, who was already at the top of the stairs.

~

"Alright! Let's see those artifacts!" Lost Relic smiled as they reached his office on the second floor, opening the door and carefully setting the box down on his desk. Arti nodded and opened the package to reveal two items made of withered, sepia-colored stone. One was a wavy, rather thin piece of rock, that looked as if it had been sharper before, but had dulled down over time. The second was a stone piece that was layered like a staircase extensively, the layers becoming more and more compact with one another as they neared the thicker edge of the piece. It seemed as if it had once been a part of something round, but had become separated with the rest of itself over time.

"Here they are! Now, as I had said before, I had won them in an auction in Fillydelphia, at a convention of sorts where they sold off and showcased real ancient items and fragments to be used as decorations or display, but I just thought they would probably be better off in a museum because I never actually used them, and if they were to be displayed anywhere, I would prefer it be in the country the auctioneer said they were originally from. I promise you that I kept them just how I had received them" The brown earth pony smiled as he handed over the two pieces to Relic.

"Wow, they really do look incredible! They will go nicely in one of our exhibits!
REEEIA!!" He called, earning a jump from Arti. Not even a minute later, a mare stepped into the room. She said something to Lost in their native tongue, and Relic replied. The two went back and forth a few times before the unicorn handed over the artifacts to the mare, and she left even quicker than she came.

"What was that about?" Arti asked after a quiet moment, curious.

"Oh, Reia is one of the tour guides that just ended her previous trip with her group. I just had her run the two findings down to our historians here so they could characterize the fragments. My apologies if it was not initially clear.
Now, how about I show you around our museum?" The unicorn said in his thick Saddle Arabian accent, smiling. Arti nodded, happy to accept the offer. The two exited the room and began to make their way to the closest exhibit on the floor, but not before they heard a scream from behind them. The stallions whipped their heads around in surprise. Relic's eyes widened as he caught the familiar tone of the scream.

"REIA!!" He said, dashing toward the yell's direction. Arti ran after him, meeting him around the bend of the hallway. The stairs stopped him in his tracks. Reia sat at the bottom, shaking, but she didn't seem harmed. She was yelling something frantically, pointing back towards the Arabian Temples exhibit. The brown stallion was puzzled at first, unsure of what to think, what she meant, but clarity hit him as soon as he realized that the two stone pieces that he had held just minutes before were nowhere near her. No, nowhere in sight. Only then, and then alone, did he hear her clearly.

"Theif!! Theif!! That way, they took them!!"

Instincts kicked in as he suddenly sped down the stairs. The peaceful visitors he had seen before were gone. Now, there were only shocked witnesses of a robbery in action. They looked towards the lobby with wide, confused eyes. Arti acknowledged their perplexity and followed their gazes, and as he reached the lobby, he caught the tail end of a mare.

A mare whose features were sharp, but in a different way.

A mare of whom he struggled to describe.

A mare who wore a khaki-colored abaya.

She had looked suspicious. That had been it.

~

Determined, Arti Fact quickly hurried out the doors of the museum after the thief. The pony looked back as she gallopped away from the downlooked deed she had just performed. Her eyes widened at the realization that she was being followed. She went to spread her wings, but she had already hit the crowd of ponies in the market street. Their shoving and zigzagging motions pulled her into the base of the hoard quickly, and they kept her there. They were too close to her, squashing her wings to her side, and trapping her like a rock between a hard place. She could go back, but that would be foolish. The stallion was still charging after her, and at the pace she would be going she would be caught for sure. At least in the busy marketplace they had reached, she had the lead. All she could do was run, and hope that she could be quick enough.

Arti advanced, shoving into the mass of Arabians. He called after the pegasus.

"HEY, YOU!! GET BACK HERE!!
THIEF!! THIEF!!" He screamed, but his howls were eaten by the ruckus of the civilians. He had already forgotten that no pony could understand him there but a select few, but that didn't matter. He needed to get her attention. Distract her. He refused to let her get away from him. Faster, faster he waltzed through the forever dancing street, trying to grab the mare. He was close, only a few large Saddle Arabian ponies away from her. He had to get closer. He saw her bag whipping around as the crowd maneuvered itself, despite her efforts to try and keep it at her side. It was five inches out of his grasp, then four, then five again. Ponies just continued pushing in between them, not caring about the situation. Not knowing there was a situation at all. They acknowledged the stallion's struggle, and moved a bit, but they did not know his desired direction, so they easily just got in his way again. They were just living their everyday stories while his went on in the fine print of the text.

The criminal looked around quickly, trying to figure out what to do. The stallion was gaining, and fast. If she didn't do something, she would be caught. Discovered. Forced into submission.

She wasn't about to let that happen.

A ladder. Yes, a ladder! In an alley next to a shop, that scaled all the way up to the roof of the store. It wasn't too far. If she could only maneuver herself just right, she could lose him. Slip out of that stranger's sight just long enough to get behind him. Just long enough to break free from the crowd, find out which way led to home, and scram. She looked back, seeing the furious expression of the struggling pony. Without hesitation she ducked down to a foal's level, and began to shove through the packed market. Arti gasped a bit as he watched the pony vanish, and he quickly ducked down. His vision was blocked by countless legs, that seemed like they would become entangled with eachother if perspective was not a counting factor. Ponies just kept moving, and moving, until finally he spotted the dirty thief, just as she slipped out of the crowd into one of the backstreets. He growled, quickly shoving civilians out of his way, sliding underneath them, doing whatever to took to reach her in time. Arti heard the insulted grunts of the Arabians he pushed, but he didn't care. He quickly slid through the mass of consumers as his courtesy finally slipped away.

The mare quickly scurried up the metal bars that lay bolted to the side of the building. Her back was practically pressed against the other wall of the alley. She glanced back down to track her climbing progress, only to doubletake as she saw the stallion dive into the small road. She climbed faster, faster! Frantically. She had never had a pony figure her out that quickly when she had slipped away like that. Usually she would at least be at her destination, perhaps even already making great distance between her and hunter by the time they tracked her again. She could feel the stallion as he began to hurry up the ladder after her. Her heart pounded quicker. This was definitely her most dangerous escape yet. She quickly ran up the rest of the way, instantly beginning to take a running start as soon as she felt her hooves hit concrete. The flat roof made for a perfect runway. Her original plan of locating where she came from and where she needed to go had to be scrapped. She just needed to run. Nearing the edge of the small platform, the thief opened her wings wide. She readied herself for takeoff, but she wasn't at all ready for the stallion she heard rushing up behind her.

Time seemed to tick by in slow motion as the stallion reached out after the mare, his hoof wrapping around a portion of her bag strap. The two were almost near teetering off the edge of the rooftop. Arti knew just how much he had payed for those artifacts. The attachment he had both to them, and the brief stories that came with their purchase. He wasn't going to let some greedy, disgusting mare take advantage of his sacrifice. Those were his, and he refused to let their owner instead be nothing but a horrible, consequence-evading, slimy little mare, who would stoop so low as to steal-

The brown stallion stopped in his tracks as the scarf around the criminal's head was pulled off. A silky, gradient mane poured out from the mask. The pony jerked her head around in surprise, revealing a fine tan face to the stallion. Arti stared up at the mare. He had not intended to expose her face, but...
Wow.
The words from before kept echoing in his head. Greedy, horrible, slimy, disgusting... But they were all blocked out by her blue gaze, as it locked with his own. He unintentionally became lost staring at her surprising face, but the mare was not so easily distracted.... Although, the stallion did divert her attention fairly as she got a clearer look at him. Looking down, she realized that the two were both seconds from falling two stories backwards. For his benefit, and her own, she flapped her wings, and bucked the stallion back, releasing his grasp from her bag. She stared at the stallion for one last moment before she let her wings beat her to somewhere, anywhere other than there.

Arti landed with a slight grunt, sitting up. He opened his eyes, but the surprising mare was nowhere to be found. He looked, left, he looked right, he looked down, he looked everywhere. But no luck. He had lost her. Lost her just because of her face. Her disgustingly pretty face, with her revoltingly beautiful eyes, and her vilely lovely lips... He sickened himself for liking it. After dwelling on the mare for a moment... No, more like a minute, the stallion finally realized the other thing he had lost besides the mare. And his pride. The artifacts...

*****

He was nervous, trying his best to keep up with everything. Checking his speed, the driver's side mirror, the passenger mirror, rearview mirror, but easily becoming distracted, and jumping to check them again. All of his effort, and all he was able to do was look like an idiot. He was alright at driving normally, but driving while working a stick shift? With only a brief lesson by Relic before he left? He was grateful the unicorn had loaned him his car, but great Celestia, he sucked with it. The orders Lost Ruins had given him replayed in his mind as he went to check the mirrors again.

"Okay, okay, u-um... U-Uhhh... y-yes! T-That's it! W-We'll start a search party! Here, t-take my car! Go to the nearest town, which is about two hours by highway, but only about one if you take the back route. Tell the police to keep a lookout for the criminal in case they are there, t-then just head back here! I should have enough gas to get you through both trips." Arti thought in the older stallion's voice. Stupid, stupid idea, the whole thing was. Relic had basically thrown him his car, and the directions he needed, and said "Figure it out". But, oh well. All was hectic, and all he could try to do to silence the uproar at the museum was to help in any way he could. He figured the stallion was pretty frantic, and that he shouldn't add to his anxiety, even though the unicorn wasn't thinking that clearly.

Arti began to zone out as he neared the top of a grassy hill, on which the road was sloped on. He wondered silly questions like why Baaha was so segregated from other towns, what the other town would be like, and why he agreed to driving stick. Maybe he was still hung up on that mare, though he shouldn't have been. Finally his mind was silenced by only one thought, one observation, that struck him like a dagger:

He was swerving off of the road.

The brown stallion shrieked, and tried to turn back onto the asphalt, but he only doomed himself. The back of the car whipped off of the empty street as he turned the wheel right, and it dragged the rest of the vehicle with it. Backwards it rolled down the grassy mound, Arti screaming the whole way. He spun the wheel, trying to get control, but he only flipped himself around. He was then going face first, down the hillside and straight towards the woods. He quickly hit the brakes, and they screamed as they tried to slow the car. Arti zoomed into the forest, pushing harder against the brake pedal, until finally the moving hunk of metal halted. The airbag deployed, quickly cushioning the brown pony as he felt the crash's impact. His body aching, he was able to utter a low groan as he pulled himself back against his seat. The windshield was shattered, and glass lay around him scattered in the seats. He could feel pain sitting on his chest, about a thousand pounds of it. As he let the agony take him into darkness, he thought to himself as he processed everything.

  It had all just happened so fast. He had struggled for about an hour, only making the distance of about thirty minutes in a regular car he'd drive back at home. In that short time, he had managed to total Relic's vehicle recklessly. No, in that day, he had managed to fly to a different country, just to have his priceless artifacts ripped away from him by an alluring criminal. The stallion's eyes drowsily shifted up and into the forest, where he saw the blurry shape of a home. He stared for but a moment before he slipped away into unconsciousness.

Why today?

*****

As the earth pony's sense's returned, the same aching sting began to seep into him once more, but he found himself in a different place. It was warm, and he layed down on something uncomfortable, yet soft. He looked up, noticing several bookshelves lining the room's walls. Some shelves held books and pamphlets and newspaper articles, and others... Well, he couldn't really tell what they were. His vision was still kinda fuzzy, and the room was slightly dimmer than what he was used to. He knew he saw a few picture frames, the ponies inside the photos being too far away to identify, but the other objects were what were throwing him off. They looked like... Figurines maybe? No, they looked to be old. Rustic. Ancient. He could barely make out some cracks in the closest one. But that was all he could spot from his place. He just shrugged it off in his mind, figuring they were just old collectables of sorts. He let his pain-drunken sight stumble over to a large map on the wall. It seemed to be of Saddle Arabia and some neighboring countries from what he could see. The strange thing was that there were dashes over some forests and cities. He didn't understand why they were there though...

So weird. What was this place?

A silvery, yet dead voice arose from almost nowhere, making the stallion jump.

"I see you're awake." It said. Arti Fact noticed something alive in the corner of the room, sitting at a table. A mare turned, sending a familiar, cold blue gaze his way. A pair of glasses rested on the bridge of her nose, seemingly cutting the nearly white streak that went up her muzzle into two. On one of the chairs next to her, he noticed a tan blur. An abaya.

"Y-You..." Arti mumbled, staring at the uncovered thief for a brief moment before coming back to reality.

"You!!" He spoke louder, his voice angry as he remembered what she was, and what she had done. He went to get up, to lunge at her and figure out what she had done with his property, but a bolt of pain shot through his bruised chest. The stallion cried out, quickly laying back down. The mare seemed to jerk a bit, as if she were to go to him, but she hesitated, staying in her chair.

"Um, yeah...
I would refrain from moving if I were you. I'm pretty sure the impact from crashing after rolling down such a steep hill fractured one or two of your ribs." The pony explained, turning back to the table where she worked diligently. The stallion mumbled profanities under his breath. Of course he would have to be hurt. And of course, out of all the ponies to find him, it had to be her. Stupid, stupid mare. Dirty, dirty theif...

"Where's the car?" Arti Fact asked through his teeth after a moment. The mare brought her eyes back to his from across the room, sending a chill down his spine. Her stare was just so... icy.

"Still in the woods." She answered bluntly, turning back to whatever she was working on.
I went back and fixed the grass from where you had rolled your hunk of junk down into the forest. I know I can't push it up the hill, so there it stays."

"Can't you fix it or something? Or call somepony to tow it?
It's not my car. It's the museum owner's." Arti snapped at the mare. She rolled her eyes.

"Wow, even better." She said sarcastically, avoiding his questions. Arti just became all the more furious. He wanted to just ignore the pony, or try to leave, but there were still too many questions he had, and as everypony knew, equines with damaged ribs struggle to move. He had to suck it up. He had no choice but to tolerate her.

"Where am I anyways?" He continued on in his list of queries. The mare sighed, irritated.

"My home." She uttered loudly.

"Your home."

"Correct."

"Why?
Why didn't you just leave me out there? Heh, kind of a dumb move, dragging somepony who wants to get you arrested into your house-" He began, but was quickly cut off.
"I believe that it was a brilliant move on my part.
Taking an injured pony in so that they wouldn't be devoured by snakes or some kind of native Manticore breed.

I know I may have not made the best first impression on you. Yes, stealing is wrong. I hate having to do it. But isn't it a little much to think I would leave somepony to die in the Saddle Arabian wilderness with no defense?"

Arti clammed up, a sprinkle of guilt seeping into his gut. No, he wouldn't let her words get to him. She was-
Was...
Whatever.

"...Where are my artifacts?
Or, let me guess: You already sold them on some sort of black market." Arti Fact sharply said.

"Black market?
Money holds no value to me, Mr. Quick To Jump to Conclusions. I'll tell you that much.
But their whereabouts are none of your concern now."

Arti Fact grinded his teeth.

"Um, pardon?
Those are my property. MY property that you STOLE!!
I have every right to know what you did with them!!" He snapped. The pegasus whipped her head around to the pony.

"TECHNICALLY, they are property stolen from the site they were dug up from.
You're just as much as a thief as I am."

"I never actually dug them up.
I dig up plenty of other stuff, but those I got in an au-"

"Auction? Yes, I heard your conversation with Relic.
But you took them. You transported them. You are but an accomplice to the theft." The mare interupted.

Yep. That was it.

The stallion growled, steaming.

"Just-
Just who the hell are you?!" He roared, his chest burning. He hadn't meant to say that, but it was too late to take it back now. The mare stood, her chair pushing back from under her. She turned to the stallion, her mane bouncing with each step she took towards him. A menacing look glistened in her eyes. The brown stallion felt a light blush rise to his face as she came closer. Her hoof reached out for something on the bookshelf. The stallion winced and squeezed his eyes shut, expecting the worst from her. A miniature statue to the face? Or the chest?
Oh Celestia no, not the chest.

   But all he heard was the turn of a page.

Arti opened his eyes to find the mare just sitting next to his bed, a book in hoof.
"How about we start with chapter one?" She suggested calmly.

"...What?" Fact questioned. Just what was with this mare? What was she doing?

"You really are worked up.
And nothing calms the mind more than a good story." The pony explained. As Arti went to object, she continued on without hesitation.

"You want to get better, right?
Well, sorry to break it to you, but the only way you're going to get back on all four hooves is if you rest.
And to rest, you must relax...
If I am to take care of you, I will see to it that you are as comfortable as I can make you.
And if I am to be a good hostess while you stay, I will see to it that I help you rest.
Now, shall I begin with page one? Or will you continue to ask questions that I refuse to answer?" The pegasus asked him. Arti could actually hear some personality in her voice. Some sincerity.

  The stallion kept his mouth open, meaning to get something, anything out.
But he couldn't. The words had slipped away as he got a grip on her own words, and took them in.
He was tired. And a story did sound nice.

So, he nodded.

"Good." The pony said, and went to begin.

After a moment though, the stallion spoke again.
"W-Wait!" Arti quickly interrupted as he remembered his words. The mare sighed and looked back up from the book, her eyes big as she stared at him, waiting for him to do whatever he was going to do.

"Y-You never did answer my question...
Just...
Really. Who are you?" The stallion softly mumbled, but the mare only raised her hoof, as if to say "Not now". Arti Fact frowned, but gave in. If she was to be stubborn, then fine. He'd let her. Gently, she turned the page, and took in a breath as she stared down at the words.

  "Once upon a miracle, a child of distinct was born, in the month of flowers, with eyes that were destined to see but that of which no pony had ever seen before. A destiny that had already been written, though she didn't know at the time. While all of the other foals wanted a basic future, one full of account books and checks, and common day to day lacking talents, she wanted more. She pushed herself for more. So much in fact that what she aimed to become, what she aimed to do, was her biggest priority. She had always been fascinated by that of which no pony had ever laid eyes upon. She was a lover of the undiscovered. And her passion grew so big and so powerful that one day, that mare was given the privilege of going on a trip. A trip that would change her life, and make her passion burn brighter than ever before.

  On this trip, this mare had found a hall. A hidden passage behind a wall, that no pony had known had an echo behind it. And at the end of that hall was a puzzle. A puzzle that had never, ever been solved. A lock of eight, of which remained locked in her mind after she hid the door for the first time in what was guessed to be forever. A lock of eight. Eight keys. Strange, oddly shaped keys. Eight marks that she would soon strive to mark as her own. She saw them. Hidden behind of mask of what was thought a common mystery. One that had a simple solution, but yet the solutions given were not correct. She knew the real story. The story of her, and the story of what she was destined to become. These pieces would become her.

  She went on ashamed. Clobbered to only a blur by her own motions. Duties set by herself, for herself. Yet she still matched ahead. The road still went far ahead of her, until even out of sight. It was a twisted, confusing, and cruel path. And sometimes even she ended up taking turns and routes that she had never meant to take."

The mare paused, glancing up at the stallion before briefly clearing her throat, and beginning again.

"They were mistakes of direction, but she knew she could never correct her flaws. She kept going, and though it was ever so hard, and ever so empty, so willed herself to progress down the dark road. She could not go back now. Who turns around after walking miles upon miles, upon miles ahead on their path? Cowards. This mare was no coward. She had decided her fate, and she was to stick to it. And so, on she marched. The mare. The mare of May. Who clutches burdens that the average equine could not bare close to her heart...

The lost, but determined, mare of May.

...
There."

Arti was taken by surprise, as he had zoned out as he listened. He brought his eyes to hers.
"Huh? Where?" He said, obviously confused. He noticed the mare shift her gaze from his.

"No, not where. There.
I answered your question." The mare clapped the book shut, and slid it back onto the shelf.

"Y-You did? Did you say it after the story?" He asked.

"Nope."
The mare flashed a brief smile before using a wing to push a blanket over the pony.
"Now, rest..."

Without being given a second chance for words, Arti watched as the pegasus breezed out of the house's door, into the dark of night. Why? He didn't know. But he was alone.

He was confused. How could she have answered the question? She had never given a name. Just a silly fairy tale. It was good, but...

  No, no it was.
Just what he had been looking for.

  In a way it had riddled him, her story. Something about this mare who had special eyes, and found keys to some hidden lock? In a way, it was ridiculous. But also believable.

It hit him.

Keys. Eight odd keys that had lead the mare down a dark path. One she regretted, but because she was convinced so was so far along in this riddle she strived to solve, she stuck to it. She had read the pony had taken a trip that had changed her life, and it was obvious this pony was not from this land. She sounded like him. Equestrian. From the land of the Sun and Moon sisters. But the keys had led her astray. The fascinating keys that were said to be hiding behind common enigmas that were just assumed, not known. But she knew. The missing links, the keys. They were hiding under everypony's noses but her own.

And now, his.

On the bookshelf, Arti noticed a factor he had but grazed right over before. He squinted. On the shelf, perched on stands of sorts, were odd, stone pieces. Seven of them. They looked old, and all were incomplete but one in the center that was larger than the others. One that represented a sun. Almost wavering arms stretched from the piece, and there was almost a strange glow to it. There were layers of stone gradually making the stone become thicker and thicker the closer it got to the core. It made it seem to pop out from the others. A main piece.

The brown stallion saw them. Stuck to the rest of themself. His artifacts.
His property.
Now complete.


That night, Arti fell asleep after a long time of struggling to. He fell asleep thinking of the keys that were so close to him, it racked his nerves. He thought about how they possibly looked upon closer inspection, and how amazing it would be if he could get up to hold them, and to discover the reality itself. He thought more about the story of this strange pony, and about how he wanted to understand it all. Hear the whole tale. It's vagueness was making him mad. And he of course thought of the mare herself. The mare who had already both ruined him, saved him, frustrated him, and puzzled him in the same day. This pony who while cloaked snatched away artifacts worth hundreds of bits so that she could reunite them with the rest of them. A mare who would step so high as to grab away the priced and patch the fragments together as to make them priceless once more. This mare who held the keys to a huge secret...

He had to dig deeper into this while he could. He had to learn more about this pony.

This mare.

The mare of May.

*****

Yayyy that took forever to type <3
But yeah, this little adventure popped into my head and I liked it! Forgive me if I didn't portray Arti Fact as you sort of liked, I just kind of winged how he would act in a situation like this. I tried to incorporate a lot of his bio traits, like how he is easily offended and how he got the pieces of the sun key in an auction. I'll leave what happens next up to you for now, and if I win I might add to it. I mean, fractured ribs do take about one to two months to heal, so that's a lot of time to get to know eachother and get involved in some interesting scenarios :3

Here she is in her different outfits (ha lol I was bored)

I really hope you liked it!

Also, I originally adopted May from WalrusDemocracy ^^

Maybelline Charms (c) me
Arti Fact (c) Droolinq-Galaxies
SSP Contest (c) Droolinq-Galaxies
Base (c) ArkaneFuzzButtz

Description
Okay, so I had this child

And she's sooo perfect for him in my head man
Like it's so KUTE

Like even she ship name is perfect omg ArtiCharms
*ships*

Name: Maybelline Charms

Nickname(s): Goes by May, but is called May Charms or Mabel sometimes, and on rare occasions even Belle

Gender: Female

Age(?): Around 20, a little younger

Race: Pegasus

PoR (Place of Residence): (Past) Baltimare, Equestria, (Currently) In the moderately rural outskirts of the city Baaha, in the region of Raysir, Saddle Arabia (Pun on Asir, Saudi Arabia). In a forest home that she purchased and hid the pathway to so that no pony would be able to find her.

Occupation: Thief, archaeologist/ ancient historian, adventurer

Personality: (NOTE: All will become more clear after the story of how they met)

May is generally very cold to ponies upon encountering them. She is not very trusting of them for numerous reasons that I will not go into too much detail about. She can become irritated and frustrated pretty easily. Her main focus is on her secret research. She mostly stays alone in her hidden home in Saddle Arabia when she's not out on her heists or goes out to look for the artifacts she needs. When you dig further into this mysterious mare, you will find that she can be very serious about her occupation (even though she's more enthusiastic than serious, it's more just the hard parts of it, like getting the pieces that she needs, that she is serious about), and that even though she seems to act like she wants you gone and out of her head, she really does enjoy the company. She sometimes becomes very lonely and depressed while working alone like she does, even though she knows it's a sacrifice she has to make to progress in her work.

Mabel is a mare of science and history, and it's one of her favorite topics to discuss. She often tends to hold grudges on ponies that come close to her home unknowingly, as it makes her worry about being found and caught, but her home is pretty well hidden in the fores that not many venture into, so no pony can see her. It's mainly just irrational. She is a wanted mare, so the thought of being turned in makes her frantic.

But, all in all, May is very lovable if you're close enough to her. The usual strict and intimidating impression she tends to leave on ponies is lifted once you start to know her. She is very loyal, and she never gives up on a project. If she is forced to give up, she becomes very anxious and nervous, feeling incomplete for a while. You'll see that May is a very confident, confrontational, daring, and excitable (Well, as long as you are alone with her) mare when she's comfortable with you, but can be pretty stubborn at times. You basically have to write a full essay on why she should do something you say before she does it. That, or kiss her cheek and hope she freezes up and will just agree with you to get out of the situation. But, warning, you are risking of getting punched by taking that chance.

Sexuality: Pansexual

Likes: Work, science, history, more work, searching for Artifacts, strawberries, aquilegias (ack-quil-ee-juh(s), flower type), books and literature, peace and quiet, the gentle and relaxing sound of bells when she is really stressed out, hot water, cool unproved ideas that she can attempt to prove or disprove, mysteries, theories, the beach, (secretly) really bad TV shows (She thinks their extreme badness is funny), working, working, work, work, aaand a little more work.
...
She likes to keep herself occupied is what it really is. She likes puzzles, and things that can make her think. She also has a secret love of racoons, because, well, she thinks they're cute, and she "finds their lifestyle disgusting... yet, fascinating..."

Dislikes: Being bothered when she is focused/ being distracted, (generally) ponies touching her and her things, things that are incomplete, snitches, the cold, fashion, not being able to figure something out/ messing up, loud noises (They make her frustrated because they mess up her train of thought, and sudden loud noises make her anxious), cars and car rides, feeling helpless, and ponies taking her glasses when she doesn't have any contacts (she's practically blind and defenseless without them, and because she hates feeling helpless, well, you can see why)

Other: May freezes up and basically becomes putty in your arms at even the slightest romantic gesture (kissus, flirting, gazing into her eyes, etc.). She's not really used to physical or social contact, being so isolated and all, so whenever she experiences any lady-killing moves you use on her, she becomes very funny, as she turns bright red and starts making stupid excuses in a high and stuttering voice to try and get away from you so she won't embarrass herself any more than she knows she already has. If you keep it up though, and if she feels safe enough around you, she'll eventually just give into you and try her best to return your affection.

May also has a very light Saddle Arabian accent from living in the country for a while.

How they met (optional tbh):

*****

This plane was driving him crazy.
And not just crazy crazy, oh, no no.
"Completely and totally NUTS" crazy.

Obnoxious snoring that echoed through the whole cabin.

Violent laughter right in his ear from a seat somewhere behind him.

Headphones turned up too loud so that the crappy song the random stallion was listening to pushed its way out, and gave off a muffled blur of notes.
News Flash: No pony wants to hear your "Return to the 70s" mixtape.

One preteen in the back that was insistent on keeping the movie screen in his seat cranked to full volume, just so that everypony could know he was watching Breaking Bad at his age.

Four foals ran up and down the narrow aisles constantly! Ever since the pilot had announced that they could roam about the cabin. And they kept tripping over one another again and again when the filly leading just so happened to stagger over a hoof, that was projecting ONE inch too far into the space that separated the seat sections.

And one little filly. JUST ONE. Kicking his seat.

Where's the partridge in the pear tree? With the luggage?

It was July, but it seemed more like the shittiest Christmas ever with all of these "gifts". He envied the first class riders. So, so much.

Arti Fact cursed silently as the child behind him began kicking harder, harder, against his seat. It was enough to drive anypony crazy. Despite all the other irritable things, this one was the one he hated the most. Bump. Bump. Bump. Bump. Over, and over, and over. Never stopping, just on a constant loop. For five. Hours. BUMP. BUMP. BUMP. BUMP. BUMP. He swore, ohhh he swore alright that if that little twerp didn't stop slamming their hoof against his ass right now, he was going to turn around, take that kid by the neck, and-

"All passengers, please return to your seats and turn off all electronic devices. We will be landing shortly. Thank you for flying on Equestria Airlines." A mare's annoyed voice finally cut through the madness over a speaker. All eyes suddenly stopped and glanced up at where they had heard the lady as they processed the command. In almost an instant, the ponies began to settle down in their designated spots and buckle their seatbelts, and parents began getting their children's attention to advise them on what to do when they began to unload from the aircraft. The brown stallion sighed, relieved as the rhythmic beating that shook his back stopped. He could have sworn he was going to snap. All was calm, the only exception being the chatter that now bounced around through the cabin, and Arti could tolerate that.

"Finally..." He murmured to himself, holding the box that had been in his lap the whole trip closer to his chest. He was glad to be rid of this plane. They would go refuel and take on another flight full of obnoxious kids, but as for him, he was going to be far from this airship. Arti would be in a place a bit more homey. Just where he belonged.

An ancient history museum.

*****

"Thank you so very much for coming in person to give us your donation, Mr. Arti Fact! It is greatly appreciated, and the fact that you came all this way to hand deliver them is extraordinary! We are very lucky and honored to have gotten a donor like you to help contribute to our thriving business here!" Lost Relics smiled enthusiastically at Arti as he led him through the halls of the Baaha Ancient History Museum, his Arabic accent thick, yet understandable. The ecstatic business owner hovered the package of the donations close in front of him, keeping his magic around it as firm and steady as possible. The brown earth pony smiled back at the tall unicorn, glancing around the busy display room they had entered. Labeled the proud title The Temples of Saddle Arabia, the exhibit featured antiques found in ancient structures from the country. Dented, yet in a way flawless, cups and trinkets and hieroglyphs stared up at the intrigued visitors through a glass showcase. There for the crowd's eyes to gawk at, they were the stars of the show. Arti felt honored to be adding new cast members that would be featured along with the other beautiful findings. He knew bidding highest on those items would be worth it one day.

As his eyes wandered around the room, Arti replied, "It's an honor to have my donations featured in such a beautiful town! I mean, I've had a few brief explorations in Saddle Arabia before, but Baaha has to be the finest city I've seen so far. The trip was definitely worth it". He was fascinated by not only the relics that shined so brilliantly inside of their clear cages, but by the native guests who explored the museum themselves. They looked so different from the Equestrian locals he was used to. They were all so sleek, and their features were so differently distinct that it almost didn't seem possible. It was crazy to think that he was the same as them in a way. There was such a difference between his kind of pony and their own. Those ponies had such a different culture. Different fashion, different voices, different genes. They spoke in a language that was only gibberish to him, and he spoke in a way that was only nonsense to them. They were strangers to one another, Equestrians and Saddle Arabians. Beautiful, remarkably confusing strangers.

Only, there was this one character that seemed to stick out in the room's crowd. A pony whose features were sharp, yet in a different way. A pony who was not as tall and sleek as the others. She didn't look as natural in this region. She was like him.

Cloaked in a khaki colored abaya that was similar, yet divergent from those of other mares, with a purse hanging over her shoulder, this particular mare stood in the corner of the exhibit, her eyes scrolling across the text of an artifact's description. Her muzzle was hidden behind the exotic outfit like the majority of her was. Only her eyes could be sought out easily. Arti stared at the pony, slowing down his pace as he and Relic neared the staircase that made up the middle of the back wall of the room. There was something about this mare that filled him with an odd incertitude. He couldn't pinpoint it. Something about how that mare looked. Just the way she stood there, so calmly, yet... He didn't know... The expression in her eyes. She looked... Looked...
How did she look..?

After a few seconds of staring at the mare in an attempt to figure it out, Arti soon realized the mare's gaze had shifted to meet his own. He quickly snapped out of his daze.

It was nothing.

It was fine.

The stallion quickly hurried to catch up with his guide, who was already at the top of the stairs.

~

"Alright! Let's see those artifacts!" Lost Relic smiled as they reached his office on the second floor, opening the door and carefully setting the box down on his desk. Arti nodded and opened the package to reveal two items made of withered, sepia-colored stone. One was a wavy, rather thin piece of rock, that looked as if it had been sharper before, but had dulled down over time. The second was a stone piece that was layered like a staircase extensively, the layers becoming more and more compact with one another as they neared the thicker edge of the piece. It seemed as if it had once been a part of something round, but had become separated with the rest of itself over time.

"Here they are! Now, as I had said before, I had won them in an auction in Fillydelphia, at a convention of sorts where they sold off and showcased real ancient items and fragments to be used as decorations or display, but I just thought they would probably be better off in a museum because I never actually used them, and if they were to be displayed anywhere, I would prefer it be in the country the auctioneer said they were originally from. I promise you that I kept them just how I had received them" The brown earth pony smiled as he handed over the two pieces to Relic.

"Wow, they really do look incredible! They will go nicely in one of our exhibits!
REEEIA!!" He called, earning a jump from Arti. Not even a minute later, a mare stepped into the room. She said something to Lost in their native tongue, and Relic replied. The two went back and forth a few times before the unicorn handed over the artifacts to the mare, and she left even quicker than she came.

"What was that about?" Arti asked after a quiet moment, curious.

"Oh, Reia is one of the tour guides that just ended her previous trip with her group. I just had her run the two findings down to our historians here so they could characterize the fragments. My apologies if it was not initially clear.
Now, how about I show you around our museum?" The unicorn said in his thick Saddle Arabian accent, smiling. Arti nodded, happy to accept the offer. The two exited the room and began to make their way to the closest exhibit on the floor, but not before they heard a scream from behind them. The stallions whipped their heads around in surprise. Relic's eyes widened as he caught the familiar tone of the scream.

"REIA!!" He said, dashing toward the yell's direction. Arti ran after him, meeting him around the bend of the hallway. The stairs stopped him in his tracks. Reia sat at the bottom, shaking, but she didn't seem harmed. She was yelling something frantically, pointing back towards the Arabian Temples exhibit. The brown stallion was puzzled at first, unsure of what to think, what she meant, but clarity hit him as soon as he realized that the two stone pieces that he had held just minutes before were nowhere near her. No, nowhere in sight. Only then, and then alone, did he hear her clearly.

"Theif!! Theif!! That way, they took them!!"

Instincts kicked in as he suddenly sped down the stairs. The peaceful visitors he had seen before were gone. Now, there were only shocked witnesses of a robbery in action. They looked towards the lobby with wide, confused eyes. Arti acknowledged their perplexity and followed their gazes, and as he reached the lobby, he caught the tail end of a mare.

A mare whose features were sharp, but in a different way.

A mare of whom he struggled to describe.

A mare who wore a khaki-colored abaya.

She had looked suspicious. That had been it.

~

Determined, Arti Fact quickly hurried out the doors of the museum after the thief. The pony looked back as she gallopped away from the downlooked deed she had just performed. Her eyes widened at the realization that she was being followed. She went to spread her wings, but she had already hit the crowd of ponies in the market street. Their shoving and zigzagging motions pulled her into the base of the hoard quickly, and they kept her there. They were too close to her, squashing her wings to her side, and trapping her like a rock between a hard place. She could go back, but that would be foolish. The stallion was still charging after her, and at the pace she would be going she would be caught for sure. At least in the busy marketplace they had reached, she had the lead. All she could do was run, and hope that she could be quick enough.

Arti advanced, shoving into the mass of Arabians. He called after the pegasus.

"HEY, YOU!! GET BACK HERE!!
THIEF!! THIEF!!" He screamed, but his howls were eaten by the ruckus of the civilians. He had already forgotten that no pony could understand him there but a select few, but that didn't matter. He needed to get her attention. Distract her. He refused to let her get away from him. Faster, faster he waltzed through the forever dancing street, trying to grab the mare. He was close, only a few large Saddle Arabian ponies away from her. He had to get closer. He saw her bag whipping around as the crowd maneuvered itself, despite her efforts to try and keep it at her side. It was five inches out of his grasp, then four, then five again. Ponies just continued pushing in between them, not caring about the situation. Not knowing there was a situation at all. They acknowledged the stallion's struggle, and moved a bit, but they did not know his desired direction, so they easily just got in his way again. They were just living their everyday stories while his went on in the fine print of the text.

The criminal looked around quickly, trying to figure out what to do. The stallion was gaining, and fast. If she didn't do something, she would be caught. Discovered. Forced into submission.

She wasn't about to let that happen.

A ladder. Yes, a ladder! In an alley next to a shop, that scaled all the way up to the roof of the store. It wasn't too far. If she could only maneuver herself just right, she could lose him. Slip out of that stranger's sight just long enough to get behind him. Just long enough to break free from the crowd, find out which way led to home, and scram. She looked back, seeing the furious expression of the struggling pony. Without hesitation she ducked down to a foal's level, and began to shove through the packed market. Arti gasped a bit as he watched the pony vanish, and he quickly ducked down. His vision was blocked by countless legs, that seemed like they would become entangled with eachother if perspective was not a counting factor. Ponies just kept moving, and moving, until finally he spotted the dirty thief, just as she slipped out of the crowd into one of the backstreets. He growled, quickly shoving civilians out of his way, sliding underneath them, doing whatever to took to reach her in time. Arti heard the insulted grunts of the Arabians he pushed, but he didn't care. He quickly slid through the mass of consumers as his courtesy finally slipped away.

The mare quickly scurried up the metal bars that lay bolted to the side of the building. Her back was practically pressed against the other wall of the alley. She glanced back down to track her climbing progress, only to doubletake as she saw the stallion dive into the small road. She climbed faster, faster! Frantically. She had never had a pony figure her out that quickly when she had slipped away like that. Usually she would at least be at her destination, perhaps even already making great distance between her and hunter by the time they tracked her again. She could feel the stallion as he began to hurry up the ladder after her. Her heart pounded quicker. This was definitely her most dangerous escape yet. She quickly ran up the rest of the way, instantly beginning to take a running start as soon as she felt her hooves hit concrete. The flat roof made for a perfect runway. Her original plan of locating where she came from and where she needed to go had to be scrapped. She just needed to run. Nearing the edge of the small platform, the thief opened her wings wide. She readied herself for takeoff, but she wasn't at all ready for the stallion she heard rushing up behind her.

Time seemed to tick by in slow motion as the stallion reached out after the mare, his hoof wrapping around a portion of her bag strap. The two were almost near teetering off the edge of the rooftop. Arti knew just how much he had payed for those artifacts. The attachment he had both to them, and the brief stories that came with their purchase. He wasn't going to let some greedy, disgusting mare take advantage of his sacrifice. Those were his, and he refused to let their owner instead be nothing but a horrible, consequence-evading, slimy little mare, who would stoop so low as to steal-

The brown stallion stopped in his tracks as the scarf around the criminal's head was pulled off. A silky, gradient mane poured out from the mask. The pony jerked her head around in surprise, revealing a fine tan face to the stallion. Arti stared up at the mare. He had not intended to expose her face, but...
Wow.
The words from before kept echoing in his head. Greedy, horrible, slimy, disgusting... But they were all blocked out by her blue gaze, as it locked with his own. He unintentionally became lost staring at her surprising face, but the mare was not so easily distracted.... Although, the stallion did divert her attention fairly as she got a clearer look at him. Looking down, she realized that the two were both seconds from falling two stories backwards. For his benefit, and her own, she flapped her wings, and bucked the stallion back, releasing his grasp from her bag. She stared at the stallion for one last moment before she let her wings beat her to somewhere, anywhere other than there.

Arti landed with a slight grunt, sitting up. He opened his eyes, but the surprising mare was nowhere to be found. He looked, left, he looked right, he looked down, he looked everywhere. But no luck. He had lost her. Lost her just because of her face. Her disgustingly pretty face, with her revoltingly beautiful eyes, and her vilely lovely lips... He sickened himself for liking it. After dwelling on the mare for a moment... No, more like a minute, the stallion finally realized the other thing he had lost besides the mare. And his pride. The artifacts...

*****

He was nervous, trying his best to keep up with everything. Checking his speed, the driver's side mirror, the passenger mirror, rearview mirror, but easily becoming distracted, and jumping to check them again. All of his effort, and all he was able to do was look like an idiot. He was alright at driving normally, but driving while working a stick shift? With only a brief lesson by Relic before he left? He was grateful the unicorn had loaned him his car, but great Celestia, he sucked with it. The orders Lost Ruins had given him replayed in his mind as he went to check the mirrors again.

"Okay, okay, u-um... U-Uhhh... y-yes! T-That's it! W-We'll start a search party! Here, t-take my car! Go to the nearest town, which is about two hours by highway, but only about one if you take the back route. Tell the police to keep a lookout for the criminal in case they are there, t-then just head back here! I should have enough gas to get you through both trips." Arti thought in the older stallion's voice. Stupid, stupid idea, the whole thing was. Relic had basically thrown him his car, and the directions he needed, and said "Figure it out". But, oh well. All was hectic, and all he could try to do to silence the uproar at the museum was to help in any way he could. He figured the stallion was pretty frantic, and that he shouldn't add to his anxiety, even though the unicorn wasn't thinking that clearly.

Arti began to zone out as he neared the top of a grassy hill, on which the road was sloped on. He wondered silly questions like why Baaha was so segregated from other towns, what the other town would be like, and why he agreed to driving stick. Maybe he was still hung up on that mare, though he shouldn't have been. Finally his mind was silenced by only one thought, one observation, that struck him like a dagger:

He was swerving off of the road.

The brown stallion shrieked, and tried to turn back onto the asphalt, but he only doomed himself. The back of the car whipped off of the empty street as he turned the wheel right, and it dragged the rest of the vehicle with it. Backwards it rolled down the grassy mound, Arti screaming the whole way. He spun the wheel, trying to get control, but he only flipped himself around. He was then going face first, down the hillside and straight towards the woods. He quickly hit the brakes, and they screamed as they tried to slow the car. Arti zoomed into the forest, pushing harder against the brake pedal, until finally the moving hunk of metal halted. The airbag deployed, quickly cushioning the brown pony as he felt the crash's impact. His body aching, he was able to utter a low groan as he pulled himself back against his seat. The windshield was shattered, and glass lay around him scattered in the seats. He could feel pain sitting on his chest, about a thousand pounds of it. As he let the agony take him into darkness, he thought to himself as he processed everything.

  It had all just happened so fast. He had struggled for about an hour, only making the distance of about thirty minutes in a regular car he'd drive back at home. In that short time, he had managed to total Relic's vehicle recklessly. No, in that day, he had managed to fly to a different country, just to have his priceless artifacts ripped away from him by an alluring criminal. The stallion's eyes drowsily shifted up and into the forest, where he saw the blurry shape of a home. He stared for but a moment before he slipped away into unconsciousness.

Why today?

*****

As the earth pony's sense's returned, the same aching sting began to seep into him once more, but he found himself in a different place. It was warm, and he layed down on something uncomfortable, yet soft. He looked up, noticing several bookshelves lining the room's walls. Some shelves held books and pamphlets and newspaper articles, and others... Well, he couldn't really tell what they were. His vision was still kinda fuzzy, and the room was slightly dimmer than what he was used to. He knew he saw a few picture frames, the ponies inside the photos being too far away to identify, but the other objects were what were throwing him off. They looked like... Figurines maybe? No, they looked to be old. Rustic. Ancient. He could barely make out some cracks in the closest one. But that was all he could spot from his place. He just shrugged it off in his mind, figuring they were just old collectables of sorts. He let his pain-drunken sight stumble over to a large map on the wall. It seemed to be of Saddle Arabia and some neighboring countries from what he could see. The strange thing was that there were dashes over some forests and cities. He didn't understand why they were there though...

So weird. What was this place?

A silvery, yet dead voice arose from almost nowhere, making the stallion jump.

"I see you're awake." It said. Arti Fact noticed something alive in the corner of the room, sitting at a table. A mare turned, sending a familiar, cold blue gaze his way. A pair of glasses rested on the bridge of her nose, seemingly cutting the nearly white streak that went up her muzzle into two. On one of the chairs next to her, he noticed a tan blur. An abaya.

"Y-You..." Arti mumbled, staring at the uncovered thief for a brief moment before coming back to reality.

"You!!" He spoke louder, his voice angry as he remembered what she was, and what she had done. He went to get up, to lunge at her and figure out what she had done with his property, but a bolt of pain shot through his bruised chest. The stallion cried out, quickly laying back down. The mare seemed to jerk a bit, as if she were to go to him, but she hesitated, staying in her chair.

"Um, yeah...
I would refrain from moving if I were you. I'm pretty sure the impact from crashing after rolling down such a steep hill fractured one or two of your ribs." The pony explained, turning back to the table where she worked diligently. The stallion mumbled profanities under his breath. Of course he would have to be hurt. And of course, out of all the ponies to find him, it had to be her. Stupid, stupid mare. Dirty, dirty theif...

"Where's the car?" Arti Fact asked through his teeth after a moment. The mare brought her eyes back to his from across the room, sending a chill down his spine. Her stare was just so... icy.

"Still in the woods." She answered bluntly, turning back to whatever she was working on.
I went back and fixed the grass from where you had rolled your hunk of junk down into the forest. I know I can't push it up the hill, so there it stays."

"Can't you fix it or something? Or call somepony to tow it?
It's not my car. It's the museum owner's." Arti snapped at the mare. She rolled her eyes.

"Wow, even better." She said sarcastically, avoiding his questions. Arti just became all the more furious. He wanted to just ignore the pony, or try to leave, but there were still too many questions he had, and as everypony knew, equines with damaged ribs struggle to move. He had to suck it up. He had no choice but to tolerate her.

"Where am I anyways?" He continued on in his list of queries. The mare sighed, irritated.

"My home." She uttered loudly.

"Your home."

"Correct."

"Why?
Why didn't you just leave me out there? Heh, kind of a dumb move, dragging somepony who wants to get you arrested into your house-" He began, but was quickly cut off.
"I believe that it was a brilliant move on my part.
Taking an injured pony in so that they wouldn't be devoured by snakes or some kind of native Manticore breed.

I know I may have not made the best first impression on you. Yes, stealing is wrong. I hate having to do it. But isn't it a little much to think I would leave somepony to die in the Saddle Arabian wilderness with no defense?"

Arti clammed up, a sprinkle of guilt seeping into his gut. No, he wouldn't let her words get to him. She was-
Was...
Whatever.

"...Where are my artifacts?
Or, let me guess: You already sold them on some sort of black market." Arti Fact sharply said.

"Black market?
Money holds no value to me, Mr. Quick To Jump to Conclusions. I'll tell you that much.
But their whereabouts are none of your concern now."

Arti Fact grinded his teeth.

"Um, pardon?
Those are my property. MY property that you STOLE!!
I have every right to know what you did with them!!" He snapped. The pegasus whipped her head around to the pony.

"TECHNICALLY, they are property stolen from the site they were dug up from.
You're just as much as a thief as I am."

"I never actually dug them up.
I dig up plenty of other stuff, but those I got in an au-"

"Auction? Yes, I heard your conversation with Relic.
But you took them. You transported them. You are but an accomplice to the theft." The mare interupted.

Yep. That was it.

The stallion growled, steaming.

"Just-
Just who the hell are you?!" He roared, his chest burning. He hadn't meant to say that, but it was too late to take it back now. The mare stood, her chair pushing back from under her. She turned to the stallion, her mane bouncing with each step she took towards him. A menacing look glistened in her eyes. The brown stallion felt a light blush rise to his face as she came closer. Her hoof reached out for something on the bookshelf. The stallion winced and squeezed his eyes shut, expecting the worst from her. A miniature statue to the face? Or the chest?
Oh Celestia no, not the chest.

   But all he heard was the turn of a page.

Arti opened his eyes to find the mare just sitting next to his bed, a book in hoof.
"How about we start with chapter one?" She suggested calmly.

"...What?" Fact questioned. Just what was with this mare? What was she doing?

"You really are worked up.
And nothing calms the mind more than a good story." The pony explained. As Arti went to object, she continued on without hesitation.

"You want to get better, right?
Well, sorry to break it to you, but the only way you're going to get back on all four hooves is if you rest.
And to rest, you must relax...
If I am to take care of you, I will see to it that you are as comfortable as I can make you.
And if I am to be a good hostess while you stay, I will see to it that I help you rest.
Now, shall I begin with page one? Or will you continue to ask questions that I refuse to answer?" The pegasus asked him. Arti could actually hear some personality in her voice. Some sincerity.

  The stallion kept his mouth open, meaning to get something, anything out.
But he couldn't. The words had slipped away as he got a grip on her own words, and took them in.
He was tired. And a story did sound nice.

So, he nodded.

"Good." The pony said, and went to begin.

After a moment though, the stallion spoke again.
"W-Wait!" Arti quickly interrupted as he remembered his words. The mare sighed and looked back up from the book, her eyes big as she stared at him, waiting for him to do whatever he was going to do.

"Y-You never did answer my question...
Just...
Really. Who are you?" The stallion softly mumbled, but the mare only raised her hoof, as if to say "Not now". Arti Fact frowned, but gave in. If she was to be stubborn, then fine. He'd let her. Gently, she turned the page, and took in a breath as she stared down at the words.

  "Once upon a miracle, a child of distinct was born, in the month of flowers, with eyes that were destined to see but that of which no pony had ever seen before. A destiny that had already been written, though she didn't know at the time. While all of the other foals wanted a basic future, one full of account books and checks, and common day to day lacking talents, she wanted more. She pushed herself for more. So much in fact that what she aimed to become, what she aimed to do, was her biggest priority. She had always been fascinated by that of which no pony had ever laid eyes upon. She was a lover of the undiscovered. And her passion grew so big and so powerful that one day, that mare was given the privilege of going on a trip. A trip that would change her life, and make her passion burn brighter than ever before.

  On this trip, this mare had found a hall. A hidden passage behind a wall, that no pony had known had an echo behind it. And at the end of that hall was a puzzle. A puzzle that had never, ever been solved. A lock of eight, of which remained locked in her mind after she hid the door for the first time in what was guessed to be forever. A lock of eight. Eight keys. Strange, oddly shaped keys. Eight marks that she would soon strive to mark as her own. She saw them. Hidden behind of mask of what was thought a common mystery. One that had a simple solution, but yet the solutions given were not correct. She knew the real story. The story of her, and the story of what she was destined to become. These pieces would become her.

  She went on ashamed. Clobbered to only a blur by her own motions. Duties set by herself, for herself. Yet she still matched ahead. The road still went far ahead of her, until even out of sight. It was a twisted, confusing, and cruel path. And sometimes even she ended up taking turns and routes that she had never meant to take."

The mare paused, glancing up at the stallion before briefly clearing her throat, and beginning again.

"They were mistakes of direction, but she knew she could never correct her flaws. She kept going, and though it was ever so hard, and ever so empty, so willed herself to progress down the dark road. She could not go back now. Who turns around after walking miles upon miles, upon miles ahead on their path? Cowards. This mare was no coward. She had decided her fate, and she was to stick to it. And so, on she marched. The mare. The mare of May. Who clutches burdens that the average equine could not bare close to her heart...

The lost, but determined, mare of May.

...
There."

Arti was taken by surprise, as he had zoned out as he listened. He brought his eyes to hers.
"Huh? Where?" He said, obviously confused. He noticed the mare shift her gaze from his.

"No, not where. There.
I answered your question." The mare clapped the book shut, and slid it back onto the shelf.

"Y-You did? Did you say it after the story?" He asked.

"Nope."
The mare flashed a brief smile before using a wing to push a blanket over the pony.
"Now, rest..."

Without being given a second chance for words, Arti watched as the pegasus breezed out of the house's door, into the dark of night. Why? He didn't know. But he was alone.

He was confused. How could she have answered the question? She had never given a name. Just a silly fairy tale. It was good, but...

  No, no it was.
Just what he had been looking for.

  In a way it had riddled him, her story. Something about this mare who had special eyes, and found keys to some hidden lock? In a way, it was ridiculous. But also believable.

It hit him.

Keys. Eight odd keys that had lead the mare down a dark path. One she regretted, but because she was convinced so was so far along in this riddle she strived to solve, she stuck to it. She had read the pony had taken a trip that had changed her life, and it was obvious this pony was not from this land. She sounded like him. Equestrian. From the land of the Sun and Moon sisters. But the keys had led her astray. The fascinating keys that were said to be hiding behind common enigmas that were just assumed, not known. But she knew. The missing links, the keys. They were hiding under everypony's noses but her own.

And now, his.

On the bookshelf, Arti noticed a factor he had but grazed right over before. He squinted. On the shelf, perched on stands of sorts, were odd, stone pieces. Seven of them. They looked old, and all were incomplete but one in the center that was larger than the others. One that represented a sun. Almost wavering arms stretched from the piece, and there was almost a strange glow to it. There were layers of stone gradually making the stone become thicker and thicker the closer it got to the core. It made it seem to pop out from the others. A main piece.

The brown stallion saw them. Stuck to the rest of themself. His artifacts.
His property.
Now complete.


That night, Arti fell asleep after a long time of struggling to. He fell asleep thinking of the keys that were so close to him, it racked his nerves. He thought about how they possibly looked upon closer inspection, and how amazing it would be if he could get up to hold them, and to discover the reality itself. He thought more about the story of this strange pony, and about how he wanted to understand it all. Hear the whole tale. It's vagueness was making him mad. And he of course thought of the mare herself. The mare who had already both ruined him, saved him, frustrated him, and puzzled him in the same day. This pony who while cloaked snatched away artifacts worth hundreds of bits so that she could reunite them with the rest of them. A mare who would step so high as to grab away the priced and patch the fragments together as to make them priceless once more. This mare who held the keys to a huge secret...

He had to dig deeper into this while he could. He had to learn more about this pony.

This mare.

The mare of May.

*****

Yayyy that took forever to type <3
But yeah, this little adventure popped into my head and I liked it! Forgive me if I didn't portray Arti Fact as you sort of liked, I just kind of winged how he would act in a situation like this. I tried to incorporate a lot of his bio traits, like how he is easily offended and how he got the pieces of the sun key in an auction. I'll leave what happens next up to you for now, and if I win I might add to it. I mean, fractured ribs do take about one to two months to heal, so that's a lot of time to get to know eachother and get involved in some interesting scenarios :3

Here she is in her different outfits (ha lol I was bored)

I really hope you liked it!

Also, I originally adopted May from WalrusDemocracy ^^

Maybelline Charms (c) me
Arti Fact (c) Droolinq-Galaxies
SSP Contest (c) Droolinq-Galaxies
Base (c) ArkaneFuzzButtz