Big Macintosh is a hard-working man: everyone knows that. What many do not know, however, is just how long he works during the peak of harvest season. He runs himself ragged every night in order to get everything harvested and put away, so that there is enough food on the table for his family and their town throughout the winter. Many times he goes overboard with this and almost kills himself, but he does it anyway, despite what his friends and family say.

One night, he is out, working tirelessly as usual, when he catches someone's eye. They feel he needs a break, the kind only one imbibed with the power of dreams and moonlight can provide...

Welcome to Ponyville!
...Yes, we're serious.
...No, we're not jokin'.
...Yes, we're aware that– Listen, you get used to it after a while, okay?

A short story on the history of town's names, and of one town in particular.

The princess's fanatical student. A startlingly honest bootlegger. A prissy high-class escort. A traitor caught between two loyalties. A hyperactive pyromaniac. A quiet assassin who can kill with a word.

The night that has covered Equestria for a thousand years might just be coming to an end. And all of these familiar faces will be engulfed in the war between a victorious Nightmare Moon and her sister, returned from a millennium of exile.

Even as the sun rises, the situation has never seemed so dark.

This story was edited, preread, and otherwise improved by Einhander, Comrade Sparkle, CartsBeforeHorses, Spigo, and IR Pony.