//------------------------------//
// Meeting 
// Story: The Second Story of Sky Blue 
// by Capulus 
//------------------------------//

Meanwhile, Zoom was wandering through a green forest, and he could see Ponyville in the distance. He was starting to get scared. All the momentum he had left camp with had worn off. If she killed Laura, what will she do to me if I confront her? I’ll have to do it in public, where she can’t kill me. As he walked, Zoom started to get a small headache. He looked around confusedly, and saw something strange in the green forest.
It was a stone talon, frozen in the act of gripping something. Wait, frozen? Chiseled, that’s what I mean. Chiseled, not frozen. Despite himself, Zoom felt drawn to it, and put it into his saddlebags, wondering if he could ask somepony about it later. As Zoom straightened up, he saw what he guessed was Ponyville through a gap in some trees. He set off down the road, and arrived at the gates in no time. He saw a sign happily proclaiming:
Welcome to Ponyville! And continued in to the town.
As Zoom wandered through the main street, he wondered when he would confront Sky, and what he would say. Maybe I could confront her at her wedding? That would be the perfect revenge. Zoom shook himself, and the congratulated himself on this thought. Wow, I wouldn’t have thought I had it in me. But... That’s perfect! She destroyed my love life when she killed Laura, and I’ll ruin hers at her wedding. Anyone watching Zoom closely might have noticed a small black spark in his eyes. I’ll destroy her life for what she did to me. Zoom continued walking, until he came to a building that looked like a giant cupcake. Then he saw something that made his blood boil. Sky Blue was walking out of the building,--He had seen her picture in a newspaper when he was on the road-- laughing quietly to herself. Then a plump light-blue earth pony with a distressingly red beehive appeared in the door.
“Remember, you never have to pay for lunch here, dearie!” Sky just shook her head, smiled and walked away. Zoom was disgusted. She has scared or manipulated that poor mare into giving her free food! That’s despicable! He would have confronted Sky then and there, but held himself back, remembering his plan. Zoom just walked on for a while, until he came to a large marketplace. He looked around for someone to ask about accommodation, and his eyes rested on an orange earth pony, with a blonde mane, and a tattered Stetson hat on her head. He slowly walked over to her, and quietly tried to get her attention.
“Excuse me... Um... Excuse me? My name is Zoom, and I was wond--” He was thrown off when she grabbed his hoof and shook it vigorously.
“Mah name’s Applejack. Nice ta meet ya. What can Ah do ya for?” She let go and he slowly stopped shaking.
“Umm... I was just wondering... Um... Where I could find a place to stay for a week or two?”
“Well, all the inns are full at the moment because of the Pon-Play Convention. Weird folks, dressing up as characters from games and things.”
“Well, where can I stay then?”
“Well, Ah know Ah have an empty room for a little while. My granny and sister have gone to Appeloosa to help mah cousin Braeburn cook pies for the buffalo herd. And my brother is moving in with Fluttershy soon, so he spends most of his free time at her place. If you wanted to stay with me for a week or two, Ah wouldn’t object. Just help me out with mah farm, and we’ve got a deal.” Zoom was slightly confused at the amount of information he had just been hit with.
“Ummm... Okay...”
“Great! It’ll be nice to have some some company, Zoom.”
“No... Problem...”
“Well, I’ve got to head back to the farm and get some more apples. You look pretty tired, so I’ll take you home and you can rest.”
Applejack headed off, and Zoom, slightly disconcerted at how much things had changed in such a short time, followed her.
Applejack took Zoom inside the large red farmhouse, showed him to a spare room, with boxes scattered about, and he collapsed onto the bed, and fell asleep immediately.

Sky walked towards the town square, and when she got there, she saw someone she hadn’t seen in days.
“Saralys! How’ve you been!” The changeling turned around, and smiled when she saw Sky. She galloped over and pulled Sky into a tight hug.
“I was just looking for you! I got my invitation to the wedding just now. This weekend? In four days? A little impromptu, don’t you think? Usually weddings don’t happen that quickly unless there’s a pregnancy, and I doubt either of you are pregnant... Unless I missed something about Pony anatomy? I mean, I read something that sounds... Never mind...” Saralys looked genuinely confused as she said this. Sky chuckled at her friend's confusion, remembering that her friend was doing her best to know more about Ponies, and in doing so had caused some embarrassment among the local bookstore clerks when she looked at the ‘adult’ books trying to learn more about pony anatomy.
“No, we just finished planning last night. And we decided that it would be best to have it as soon as possible, rather than just wait for months on end to make it seem more wedding-y.” Saralys laughed.
“Good idea, Sky.” Saralys looked as though she was remembering something, then smiled and asked; 
“Hey, that Pinkie Pie character is a strange one, isn’t she? She has asked me to ‘prank’ numerous ponies with my shapeshifting abilities, but has given no indication as to what it means. I am afraid people will hate me if I do. They are uneasy around me as it is.”
Sky just chuckled.
“Pranking someone is playing a joke on them. You know, surprising them or embarrassing them for a laugh? But maybe you shouldn’t, for now, just in case people take it the wrong way.”
“Alright. See you later, Sky. Congratulations again!” And with this, Saralys turned into a bird and flew away. Sky flew up towards the group of pegasi that made up the Weather Patrol. She saw Rainbow, who was being hugged, high-hoofed, and patted on the back by each of the Patrol. As Sky approached, they dispersed and congratulated her as well. When she managed to pull away, Sky asked what her and Rainbow where supposed to do for the day.
“Are you kidding? You have to get ready for the wedding! And you should get some wedding leave!” This was from the pegasus Sky recognised as CloudKicker.
“I don’t think there is such a thing... Or at least... Not before the wedding.”
“Well it should be! Listen, just take a week off, alright?”
Sky saw Rainbow nod over CloudKicker’s head, and grudgingly agreed. Her and Rainbow headed for the ground, and tried to figure out what to do with their few days off. They decided to just hang out with their friends, and headed off to find them.

As Zoom awoke from his uneasy sleep, he saw the time on his clock was 6:00. He could hear someone banging on the spare bedroom door.
“Zoom? Are ya up yet?” He slid off the bed and went to the door, just as it swung open and revealed Applejack standing there.
“I just thought Ah’d get ya up for breakfast. Ah always make it this early, and Ah didn’t want’cha to miss out. The farm doesn’t need any work today. Maybe Ah’ll introduce you to mah friends today. You look like you don’t have many, if ya don’t mind me saying.”
“Of... Of course not... Who were your friends again?”
“Oh, just some ponies around town. Rarity, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Sky Blue.”
“You are friends with Sky Blue?”
“Hard t’ believe, isn’t it? The mare that defeated Chrysalis is one of mah best friends.”
“Hmph. I don’t think she’s that great.”
AJ gave Zoom a questioning look, but when he didn’t say anything else, she just shrugged and beckoned him downstairs. They ate Apple Pancakes in silence, and when they had finished eating, Zoom walked out the door, grabbing his saddlebags as he went. He trotted down the road and into town. He wandered around aimlessly for a few hours, but couldn’t concentrate on anything except how he was going to confront Sky, and how she would react, and the pain she would feel. But... Maybe it was a mistake? Maybe I should find her and talk to her... Maybe it was an accident like they said. They said that Sky had been ambushed by Changelings, and she cast the spell without thinking... NO! Do not think like this! That is... I shouldn’t think like this. Just think... How we--I will feel walking down the aisle with Sky at the head, about to get married, then yo--I confront her, and tell everyone how she killed my girlfriend, and ruin her life! She will regret what she did to me! Zoom’s head started to hurt as these thoughts went through his head. He just stopped in an alleyway, and put his saddlebags down and put his head against the cold bricks of the alley wall. His headache soon abated, and he sat down. He looked at his Cutie Mark, smiling as he remembered how he had gotten it, at the same camp his mother had sent him to, just a year earlier.
We were out camping, and someone lost the matches. Everyone tried to light the fire, but none of their techniques worked. I tried, but nothing I did worked either. Everyone started to feel the chill. Some of them were starting to pass out, it was so cold. I just stared and stared at the logs, until they just burst into flame. I never knew if it was spontaneous combustion, or if I used magic --which I never really thought anything of-- or if the logs burst into flame out of sympathy for us. Nevertheless, I felt something inside me, and I felt that that was my special talent. I never felt so sure about anything in my life. Then my cutie mark appeared. Sadly though, when people saw it was a lighter, they called me a Pyro, and they started avoiding me. I was alone for a month before I met Laura. She was the first pony to actually listen to my story, and she understood... And we talked for hours, about her cutie mark, about our lives... And I fell in love. I had never believed in love at first sight, but... When Laura talked to me... I felt something... And now she’s gone. I just feel that if mother hadn’t of sent me to that thrice-damned camp, Laura might still be alive. But she isn’t, and now I have this chance to avenge her! Zoom stood up and put his saddlebags back on his back, and walked out of the alleyway, a new determination filling him.