Theory and Practice

by Snaproll

Outset

Moondancer frowned out the window at the scenery that sauntered casually past as the train wound its way southwest across the prairie. The rocking of the rail car had been enough to set off her motion sickness, and one of the few things that seemed to help settle her stomach was to gaze out at the horizon. Not that there's much else to see out there, she thought glumly, just miles and miles and miles of sagebrush, cactus and clouds.
This was not, strictly speaking, true. The southwest of Equestria was famous for its stunning landscapes. Indeed, the railway went out of its way to advertise the stunning vistas that passengers would see on the Ponyville-Appaloosa Line, from stunning painted cliffs to breathtaking water falls that fell into vast gorges, from snow capped mountains and broad, irregular mesas to the simplicity of a wide open plain. Indeed, many of the other passengers on the train had gushed and taken many pictures of the passing scenery, amazed at the variegated land that they passed through.
Moondancer, however, was too wrapped up in her troubles to properly appreciate the scenery around her. Sighing heavily, she used her magic to pull a sheaf of parchment from the saddlebags on the seat next to her, and re-read the letter that had started her on this journey, idly hoping that it would say something different than the last eight times she'd read it in the last two days.

My dear student, Moondancer,
I have followed your studies with great interest over these last few years. Your attention to detail, dedication to your studies and grasp of magic are arguably without parallel. With this in mind, I have decided that a pony of your talents is wasted in the Canterlot Library. Therefore, I am posting you to the Appaloosa Center for Applied and Theoretical Magic. It is there, I am sure, you will break plenty of new ground.
Enclosed within this letter you will find one train ticket to Appaloosa. I strongly encourage you to take the train the day after you receive this letter. I have already informed the Center that you will be arriving and they will have a representative at the station awaiting you.
I am also sure that you will make me proud. Looking forward to hearing about your success.
Please Keep in Touch,
Princess Celestia.

Moondancer felt a new wave of nausea come over her, and was sure it wasn't from motion sickness. Nevertheless, she used her magic to roll the letter up and stow it back into her bags and returned her attention to the scenery outside.
Banishment. That's what this is. I'm being Banished from everything. Celestia must want someone else to study in Canterlot. Otherwise, why would she send me to the backside of Nowhere? Moondancer fumed over her situation. She could see, objectively, why she wasn't a chosen darling of the Princesses. While other friends and colleagues of hers had managed to achieve some academic prominence....And Otherwise, she thought, and chastised herself for it...Moondancer had dedicated the majority of her young life to study in the Canterlot Royal Libraries. There were very few other ponies who knew as much magic as she did. She suspected that she'd forgotten more obscure theories and magical trivia than half of the students near Canterlot, and that was saying something.

And yet...Why send me all the way out here? I've HEARD of the Applied & Theoretical Magic Center, but did they have to locate it all the way out here? It's...it's simply abominable! She had chosen several other choice epithets for this particular journey. When it came right down to it, if she was being honest with herself, it was because she was a city filly at heart. Her parents lived in Canterlot, her grandparents lived in Canterlot, and she had left the magnificent city a hoof-full of times in her life. And now she was going to live out here in the desert for Celestia knew how long. Literally!

She growled under her breath as she fumed over her situation. Well, seeing as I AM stuck with this assignment, I might as well make the most of things. She tried to appreciate the landscape, but, as the most scenic sights on the trip were a few hundred miles behind her, she was stuck trying to admire miles and miles of barren, monotonous sagebrush, with only the excitement of a few stray cacti in irregular clumps to break up the routine. In the near distance, however, she could see Appaloosa growing nearer if she pressed her face up against the glass window. The relief flowed through her body. Her journey was nearly over. Maybe...Maybe I'm looking at this the wrong way. There's got to be plenty of work that needs doing at the Theoretical & Applied Magic Center. Maybe they really NEED a pony of my qualifications here! I could break new ground! I could be the next Starswirl the Bearded! She thought about that for a second, then frowned. Ok, but not BEARDED. Moondancer the Magnificent. Maybe that'll be what they'll call me.
She could feel the train start to slow as it approached the terminus. Now she could see the rough wood buildings of the town without straining her neck. Compared to the Canterlot that she'd grown up around, Appleoosa looked run down and shabby. More than half of the buildings didn't feature any paint at all, just simple, oiled wood, and there wasn't a paved street to be seen. Moreover, she could only see a hoof-ful of buildings taller than two stories. Despite her recent attempt at self motivation, she felt her spirits sink. If there's anything worthwhile that you could accomplish in this town, she thought, It'd be burning it down to the ground and then salting the ashes.

The Train, going ever slower, suddenly ground to a lurching halt which nearly sent her to the floor. Well. Here goes nothing she thought glumly as she rose to her hooves, magicked her saddlebags onto her back, and made for the exit. Whoop de frickin' doo...

*******

The Appaloosa Station platform was a chaotic bustle of noise and physical activity. Though it was late summer, there were still plenty of families arriving for vacation. Parents trying to give their foals a taste of what roughing it was like, Moondancer surmised as she made her way down the platform, her luggage floating in her magic behind her, looking for an obvious contact. It's probably someone academically minded she thought, dodging around a family of six who were fighting to get their bags onto a luggage trolley. If nothing else, hopefully I'll be able to spend some time discussing theory with intellectuals. Ponies who really know the most advanced, theoretical magic. As ponies gathered their things, the platform gradually became less crowded. Moondancer found herself standing at the center of the platform, looking left and right, trying to see if there was anyone who was obviously waiting for a new arrival. This was considerably difficult, as the departing crowds left a not insignificant dust cloud in their wake, one that was perpetuated by each new departure. She found the dust irritated her throat and found herself doubled over with a coughing fit.

Finally, the last of the other passengers had found their bearings, luggage and other contacts and left, allowing the dust cloud to settle. Moondancer adjusted her glasses, and found that there were only four other ponies at the station with her. One was the old station keeper, an earth pony who was sweeping up the rough wooden floorboards that made up the station platform. The other two weren't...what she was expecting.

One was a pegasus with a tan coat, blue mane and tail with reddish streaks in both, and pale freckles across his muzzle. He wore a pair of mirrored aviator shades and a black vest festooned with pockets. Curiously, his cutie mark was a fireball with a crossed crutch and lightning bolt below it. He noticed Moondancer noticing him, and then nudged his companion.
His companion was an earth pony, and, Moondancer noticed, startlingly handsome. He had a blonde mane and tail which both seemed artfully mussed, a pale yellow coat, bright and eager green eyes. and a single, bright, red apple for a cutie mark. He wore a buckskin vest and a matching brown stetson cowboy hat. The earth pony held a sign in one of his front hooves which read "Moondancer", and as she met his eyes, he doffed his stetson and held it to his chest in a sign of respect.

Moondancer was taken aback. True, the pair weren't quite what she was expecting. Neither of them looked academically inclined. But they must have clearly been expecting her, and they both stood by a fully laden wagon that was loaded high with things under a simple gray tarp. Too, both had the air of ponies that had been waiting around for a couple of hours. They're probably just as eager to finish as I am Moondancer thought as she trotted off the station platform and made her way over to the unlikely pair.
As she approached, the pegasus rose from his haunches where he'd been sitting. "I take it you're Moondancer?"
Moondancer nodded and said "Yes, I am..." She let her statement trail off, not quite sure what she was expecting from the pair.

The pegasus smiled and the earth pony grinned, and the latter of the two spoke. He had a distinctive drawling accent. "Well we shore are glad you came. I was just sayin to Snap here, I was, that if you wasn't on this here train, we'd best be findin' lodgings in town." He shook his head and placed his stetson back on it. "Where are my manners? Allow me to introduce ourselves. My name's Braeburn, and this feathered reprobate here is Snaproll." He extended a free hoof towards Moondancer and smiled, an expression that did funny things to Moondancer's stomach. "My name's Braeburn. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss Moondancer."

Fearing another onset of motion sickness, Moondancer shook Braeburn's hoof with one of her own. "Good..." she frowned, then glanced at the sun before continuing. "Afternoon, gentlecolts. Yes, I am Moondancer. Am I supposed to be meeting you two?" She asked, with the hope that it wasn't. As handsome as Braeburn was and as stoic as Snaproll looked, neither of them, when you got right down to it, looked like scientists. Her hopes were dashed, however, when the pegasus spoke. "Yep, we're your welcoming committee. Well, minus one pony, but you'll meet up with him soon enough." He leaned in close and held up a hoof to cover his mouth. "Though, between you & me, you've met the best of the group anyway."
Braeburn snorted. "Now Snap, that's no way to talk about anypony." Braeburn shook his head, then gave Moondancer a friendly smile. "We're s'pposed to escort you back to the Center, Miss Moondancer. We was hopin' you was on that train there, on the account of the fact we was in town anyway to pick up supplies."
Moondancer felt her spirits sink, but some instinct caught something in Braeburn's speech that merited attention. "Supplies? What...sort of supplies?"
Snaproll spoke up. "Oh you know. The usual. Food. Drinks. Care packages from home. That sorta thing." As he spoke, the pegasus let his mirrored glasses slide down his muzzle so he could look over his glasses at Moondancer. His eyes, she noticed, were hazel, and had a mischievous glint to them, She barely had time to register this as the pegasus spoke. "Didn't anyone tell you the Center was a day's trot outside of Appaloosa?"

Moondancer's stomach, which had felt like it couldn't have dropped any further in the last two days, suddenly plummeted. "What? Why is that?"

Braeburn cleared his throat. "Well, Miss, 'cause the folk who started up the Center didn't want no sorta interference with their research. So they built the whole place a good day's trot away from civilization here so's they wouldn't have no interference from any other source o' magic."

It took Moondancer longer than she would care to admit to navigate her way through both of their statements. "So...what you two are saying is..." she took a deep breath, "We've got at least a day's journey ahead of us before I get to where I'm supposed to go."

The pegasus and the earth pony exchanged glances, then looked back at Moondancer and nodded in unison.
"Shore 'nuff."
"Pretty much, yeah"

This is all I need. To be saddled with a pair of idiots out here. I guess they must be hired help for the Center she thought to herself. She had to work hard to keep disappointment off of her face as she mulled over her current situation. Well, I'm in the arse side of nowhere, with two stallions for company, and at least a day's trot ahead of me. Wonderful. Simply Wonderful. Taking a deep breath, she looked back at Braeburn and Snaproll, who were looking at her quizzically.
"Well, colts" she said, with a deep breath, "If we've a day's trip ahead of us, we'd best get moving." She glanced at the wagon the two were leaning against. "Can I load my things here?" She asked, half in the process of lifting them with her magic on board.
Braeburn nodded as her luggage thudded over the other tarp covered goods the wagon held. "Shore nuff. That won't bother us none." He shrugged underneath one of the wagon's two yokes, nudging Snaproll as he did. The pegasus snorted in irritation before shrugging under the empty yoke and standing ready to start hauling.

Braeburn, standing closest to Moondancer, gave her a friendly bow and said "Okay Miss Moondancer, Y'all follow us and we'll get you there alright. We ain't goin too far this evenin'. " And with that, he set off at a trot, Snaproll struggling to keep pace next to the hardy earth pony.

Moondancer rolled her eyes and set off at a trot, wondering, not for the first time in the last two days, what she had gotten herself into.

Comments

[Sunset_Shimmer83]

I like it so far. keep up the great work

[Starlight Nova]

Will this story have romance in it?

[Snaproll]

9227400
Ideally, yes