//------------------------------//
// Hole-in-the-Wall 
// Story: Forgotten: Mists of Bridlewood 
// by milesprower06 
//------------------------------//

Just because Alphabittle donated the Crystal Tea Room to Sunset Shimmer's teaching efforts, it didn't mean he was out of the bartending and foodservice business. Since the decision was made to convert one of the largest structures in Bridlewood into a classroom, the Bridlewood elder rented out a much smaller bistro on the west side of town, and it was here that Sunset decided to get some dinner on this brisk Friday evening.

"Evening, Sunset. Come on up, what can I get you?" Alphabittle greeted from behind the bar as the mare walked through the door. She took a quick glance around, seeing three other ponies in the small restaurant that could seat about twenty.

"Daisy Deluxe with lettuce, tomato, and mayo, please," Sunset said, placing her order as she took a seat at the bar. "And an apple ale, too. Not much of a rush tonight, eh?"

"Ah it just ended, this is the last of the dinner crowd," Alphabittle told her as he quickly wrote her order down and got to work making it. A couple minutes later, he came to the counter with a scrumptious looking daisy sandwich and a mug of foamy apple ale, setting both down in front of the unicorn. "So, how are you settling into Bridlewood, Sunset?"

"Well enough," Sunset replied before taking a bite of her sandwich. When she did, Alphabittle smirked at the look of bliss on her face. "Mmmm, amazing. That's why I've always loved little hole-in-the-wall dives like this. It's where you always get the best food."

"Glad you like it. Since I moved out of the Tea Room, I've moved to a much quicker menu," Alphabittle told her. "So, plans for the weekend?"

"Probably finalize the lessons for practical spellcasting in the fields outside the forest. I think we should start with defensive spells; those are the easiest spells to demonstrate the strengths of casting cooperatively."

"Well, I certainly hope you set aside some time for yourself. You can't be expected to work seven days a week, now can you?"

"No worries," Sunset said, taking a sip of her ale. "I'm not gonna work myself to the bone. I'm gonna take a little bit to continue familiarizing myself with Bridlewood. By the way," Sunset paused, reaching around to her saddlebags and pulled out a file folder, opening it up to look at whatever papers were inside. "Could you tell me where Acorn Avenue is?"

"Yeah, that's actually close by. Just a half-mile north. Those are just residences, though. Nothing to do up there at this time of night," the white unicorn told her.

"Oh I'm not planning on doing anything, just wanted to make sure the paperwork of a new student is all in order before I file it away and forget about it," Sunset replied.

"I know I'm not a part of the first class, but I don't open this place on Monday. Could we observe the defensive spell lesson?" Alphabittle asked.

"Of course. Anything to give yourself a leg up when the next class begins. It's still Class II material. It's one of those spells that strengthens with expertise... And the number of ponies."

"It certainly sounds like the best kind of spells to start out practical use lessons, especially after the accident," Alphabittle reasoned.

"My thoughts exactly. Have some defensive and protective spells learned and memorized before we move onto other types of spells, so if there's a chance of injury, magical defenses can help mitigate those chances."

Sunset finished the last bite of her sandwich and gulped down the last of her ale, covering her mouth with her hoof to let out a small burp.

"Mm. Alphabittle, that absolutely hit the spot. Keep the change," Sunset said, reaching into her saddlebag and sliding a 10-bit coin across the bar counter to him. "I'll be seeing you around."

With that, Sunset got up and turned to leave.

"Always a pleasure, Sunset. Come again!" Alphabittle called, taking the plate and mug and setting it on the pile of dishes to be done after he closed up.

Sunset double-checked the address on Misty's student file, confirmed it as 926 Acorn Avenue, and headed towards the north edge of Bridlewood; not that the forest was anywhere close to ending, but it is where unicorn settlement had largely ended, and where Bridlewood's town limits were currently considered to be. Sure enough, about a half mile down the path, there was a sign post in the ground on the corner, with an acorn engraved into it, with the words 'Acorn Ave' in basic ponish.

The addresses began with 902. There weren't a lot of dwellings out this far. The house numbers were either carved into the bark, or painted on rocks out front. They were easy enough to see in the ambient light the crystals protruding from the ground gave out, mostly various shades of blue, pink, and green.

Sunset came to the end of the path, where there was just a single house on the right, with the numbers '922' painted on a rock to the left of the path up to the door. The house was dark, so the occupants were likely in bed, or out in town. It didn't matter; this was clearly the last house on the road; the forest quickly thickened into wilds where there was no discernible path.

'Well,' Sunset thought to herself. 'Guess I'm not finding out anymore about her tonight. It's not exactly easy to get your address wrong... What's going on here?'





Clutching her small lantern, Misty hopped from rock to rock, keeping her hooves off of the forest floor as much as she could. The luminescent crystals of Bridlewood were long gone, and she depended on her dim lantern to show her the way. She had to be at least a mile out from the village by now, and hopefully the markers she had left to find her way through the thick forest would be incognito enough to not be noticed. It may have been a moot point, who would come out this far anyway? But she had been instructed to not leave clear tracks back to her campsite, so it was going through brush, kicking off of trees, and hopping across boulders and rocks to throw off anypony who got a whiff of her path.

Finally, she came to a clandestine campsite. A simple tent and sleeping arrangements, and nothing more. Keeping her lantern dim, she set it down next to her tent, and reached inside through the flap, coming out with a small golden compact mirror, flipping it open to see her reflection for but a moment, before it swirled with hazy smoke, and a dark purple equine figure took her reflection's place.

"Opaline? I'm in."