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// Prologue: Snack Break 
// Story: The Locals 
// by Leoshi 
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The group of friends found a pair of round tables, each one equipped with three seats. They set down their trays of snacks and drinks, then set themselves down wherever they found comfort. Twilight, Applejack, and Fluttershy were at one table; Rarity, Pinkie, and Rainbow were at the other. The tables were close enough for them all to keep talking, which was good since Rarity hadn't once paused with telling her story.

"And that's when I said to her: 'Puh-lease, that isn't a hat, darling! That's a natural disaster that somehow landed atop your head!'"

Pinkie Pie laughed, as they all knew she would, spraying bits of half-chewed peanuts into her tray in the process. "Nice one, Rarity! Heehee!"

One spot over, Rainbow Dash flared her wings and lifted her own tray just in time to avoid the peanut missiles. She swept her area clear with a wingtip before setting her tray back down, then scowled at the two around her. "C'mon, Rarity," she said. "We've heard that one before."

Rarity paused and let her smile fade. "Really?"

"Uh, yeah! Don't you have anything new? What about any stories from your other shops?"

Rarity cast her gaze skyward for several aggravating seconds. "Hmm, I wonder...well, there was that time that you and I attended the opening banquet for Princess Celestia's royal garden..."

"Ugh! No, not that one! I was there for pony's sake!"

"Yes, but the others weren't! Perhaps they'd like to hear that story instead?"

At the other table, Applejack chuckled loud enough for them to hear, as they all knew she would. "Yeah, we've heard it too. Y'all got involved in a crafty little investigation that involved an ol' Wonderbolt veteran."

"And it wasn't all that fun, either!" Rainbow Dash added. "It never is when you're accused of something you didn't do!"

Defeated, Rarity gave a mighty grunt. "Harrumph! Well then, perhaps you should tell a story we haven't heard before."

"Heh, me?" the pegasus asked with a brash smile. "You girls are usually there in any of my stories, and you've seen enough of my Wonderbolt shows to know what happens in those..."

"I've got one," Twilight said. Rainbow Dash instantly popped some fries into her mouth, relieved to have somepony else speak instead of her. "It's a pretty short story, but it's where I went back to Canterlot for a few days, to reconnect with my old friends there..."

Pinkie Pie shook her head, or maybe just buzzed. They could never tell. "Wasn't that the one where you brought me along for an emergency 'feel better' party?"

Twilight instantly clammed up. Rainbow suppressed a groan, then spoke with her mouth full. "Don't we have any new stories?"

With another small chuckle, Applejack set her hoof on her table. "Nah. Looks like we've run dry on that faucet."

"Ugh! If I wanted to eat lunch in silence, I would just go home! Somepony, please, think of something new before boredom joins us."

"Well," the farmer went on, "does it need to be somethin' new? 'Cause Ah reckon some of y'all haven't heard a few of the older tales that found their way around these parts."

Intrigued, the group collectively stopped snacking. All except Rarity, who took the opportunity to sip from her straw. "What do you mean?" Twilight eventually asked.

"Ah mean...well, look. We've all been a part of each other's lives for a long time now, right? It makes sense that a lot of our stories were made with us in 'em, and even those that weren't have been told a hundred times over." Suddenly, she looked Rarity square in the eye. "But Ah'm willin' to bet all the bits in my top drawer that some of us know a few older stories that the rest of y'all haven't heard before."

A few seconds of silence followed. During that time, Rarity smiled. "I know exactly what you mean, darling."

"What?" Rainbow demanded.

Rarity pushed her drink aside so she could lean forward. "Local stories," she began. "Applejack means local stories, the ones that have been here in Ponyville for longer than any of you girls have. Stories that pre-date when all of you moved here. Stories that—" she pointed at Applejack, who wore a similar smile, "—she and I are familiar with, but the rest of you likely are not."

"Are they fun stories?" Pinkie asked with another buzz.

Applejack chuckled for a third time. "Definitely! Why, there's the time a storm blew through here from the Everfree Forest that kept us all cooped up for a week...or that one weekend in the summer when everypony's roofs started to sag for a mysterious reason!"

"It was a series of shoddy repair jobs," Rarity said, "but indeed stories like those. The kinds of miniature adventures that happened here before any of you happened here!"

The remaining friends needed no further convincing. They each stared between the two locals, idly chewing and swallowing without breaking their gazes. It was almost disturbing, but both Rarity and Applejack took pride in it. After all, they both knew that the best kind of customer was one who could listen.

Rarity glanced to her friend. "I think we've won them over."

"No kiddin'," Applejack agreed. "Well, lemme start off with somethin' easy. Didja ever hear the one about..."