//------------------------------// // A-Museum-ing // Story: Appledashery Vol. Two // by Just Essay //------------------------------// "And here..." Twilight Sparkle's voice echoed across the vast museum chamber. "...we have the remains of the Ancient Everfree Sloth." She passed several natural exhibits and stood before a gigantic skeleton of a mammalian beast, poised halfway upon its rear limbs. Light shone through the tall windows across the room glinting off multiple picture frames, glass displays, and pedestals. Spike balanced on her back while Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie shuffled up to join her. "Measuring at over three tons, this slow-moving gentle giant used to roam the fringes of ancient Dream Valley, subsisting off of barries, fruit, and flowers." "Dream Valley?" Pinkie Pie's muzzle scrunched. "But that's hundreds and hundreds of miles away from the Everfree Forest!" "Ah! Maybe today!" Spike remarked with a smile. "But not in the past!" Twilight nodded. "The Forest used to stretch east and west across the entire plains of Equestria. Hadn't they drawn back due to the Great Freeze that predated the Founding of Equestria, the kingdom as we know it today would have been split in half! A North Equestria and a South Equestria!" "Again, that's assuming that ponies would have crossed the Everfree Forest to begin with," Spike stated. "In a different world—who knows? Maybe buffalo or griffins would have founded a nation south of us." Pinkie Pie blinked. "You mean Dredgemane would have been filled with Dredgecatbirds?" "Possibly so, Pinkie." "Ohhhhhhhhh..." Pinkie pouted. "Those poor little beaks!" "They're only speaking hypothetically, darling," Rarity said. "The reality stands in front of you." She shuddered from the sight of the looming sloth skeleton. "And what a ghastly reality it was!" "Oh Rarity." Twilight smiled. "The sloth would never have tried to hurt you." "Just look at its ribcage!" Rarity squeaked. "You could fit a dozen ponies in there!" "Twilight's right, though," Fluttershy said with a smile. "Much like the Greater Sloths of the Saddle Arabian River Valley, the Ancient Everfree Sloth had a slow metabolism... only fit for eating vegetation and fruit. It was a slow moving, gentle creature. And—from what paleontologists have studied—full of soft, cuddly fur!" She hugged herself with a drunken grin. "Ohhhhhh... the cuddles they must have given!" "My stars, Fluttershy..." Rarity brushed back her own mane. "I didn't know you were so well-versed on the topic." "I love all animals." Fluttershy let loose a melancholic, melodious sigh. "Including the ones who are no longer with us. I like to think that they're resting in peace among the stars." "Or in large dusty museums!" Spike said. Twilight whapped him lightly with her tail. Pinkie Pie giggled, then blinked about. "Say! Where's Applejack and Rainbow Dash?" "Somewhere else in the museum," Twilight stated. "Shouldn't we go fetch them?" "No, I'd much rather my friends enjoy this place at their own pace. Besides..." Twilight Sparkle trotted towards the next exhibit with a smug grin. "...they can only be learning. And that's a good thing." "Consarn blasted doohickey!" Applejack sneered, slipping her bit back into the soft drink vending machine by the restrooms. "Are ya gonna take or aren't ya?!" The golden coin slid into the whurring device. A beat. It slid back out. "Rrrrrgh!" Applejack grasped the coin, bit on it several times with her teeth to make it "flatter," then slipped it once again into the slot. "Dag nab... modern varmint of convenience..." The coin slid in. Silence. More silence. Then—it slid back out. "Rrrrrrrrrrrgh!" Applejack flexed her muscles, reeled back, and slammed the coin into the slot with both bucking rear hooves. A resounding echo rippled through the nearby exhibit. Then—in the ensuing silence—Applejack heard the heavenly mechanical buzz of the vending machine finally taking her currency. "Hah! Learned you right!" Catching her breath, Applejack slapped her hoof over the button marked "Apple Suds." "Now... let's see how yer hoity toity modern stuff tastes, Canterlot." The vending machine rattled a bit. At last, a can fell into the receptical, nice and cold. Applejack snatched it up... then blinked. It was Grape Soda—far from what she ordered. "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..." Applejack rolled her eyes, sighed, and nevertheless popped the can. "Be thankful for all thangs, Applejack." Trotting about on three legs, she took her first sip. "Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm... grape-y." It so happened that Applejack was in the History Wing of the museum. Try as she might, she couldn't get her way to part with it and join the others. Animals and natural history were fascinating, but she found herself glued to the ancient photographs of early Equestrian settlers. She stared endlessly at the uniforms of past armies. And she spent more than her fair share of time observing dated pieces of agricultural tools and machinery. Eventually, after listening to an audio presentation lecturing to her about century-old beekeeping, she finished her soda and tossed the empty can into a blue receptical. Cl-Clunk! "Nice shot, girl," a voice cracked from behind. "Hmmm?" Applejack looked over her shoulder. "Oh, hey there, RD." Rainbow Dash strolled over, stifling a yawn. "'Hey' yourself." "I know, I know." Applejack sighed. "The girls probably sent you to fetch me so I could rejoin Twilight's tour." "Huh?" Rainbow's face adorably scrunched. "Heck, I've no clue where they are." "Ya don't?" "Meh..." Rainbow shrugged. "I wandered off minutes ago. I'm not exactly a big fan of natural history." "Heh, me neither." "I'm pretty sure a fart smelled the same ten million years ago as it does now." Their laughing voices echoed through the mostly-vacant museum. "Hah hah hah hah!" "Hee hee hee!" Rainbow Dash looked around. "Yeesh... this place is a ghost town." "Well, it's early in the mornin' on a weekday," Applejack said. "Most ponies are probably recoverin' from last night's Gala, y'know. Sleepin' in and such..." "Well, guess they're the sane ones." "This whole place must be super borin' to ya, darlin'." "Naaaaaah..." Rainbow Dash shrugged. "I'm diggin' the sweet pictures. Plus!" She pointed vaguely upstairs. "They have an entire wing dedicated to popular culture!" "No kiddin'..." "Did you know they've preserved an entire set from 'Mare Army Surgical Hospital?'" "I... did not know that..." Applejack's face scrunched. "... ... ... ...you never watched it either, did you?" "Well, we could only ever listen to the radio broadcast version. I faintly remember Granny Smith playin' it. The theme song still puts me to sleep cuz it would always come on around bed time." "Heh heh... I hear ya." Rainbow Dash glanced at the surrounding exhibits. "So why are you sticking around here?" "I dunno." Applejack shrugged. "It's all historical, I guess." "You have a thing for the past, huh?" "Well, all of these things meant the world to ponies who came before us," Applejack said. "They contributed their entire lives to one thang and one thang only. It defined them. And—thanks to their commitment and sacrifice—our society is all the stronger today. It's like they was layin' the foundation for all ponies and farmers and soldiers to come." "Wow. Mad respect." "Exactly what I'm sayin'," Applejack said. "It just... feels rather disrespectful to not give this place some serious scrutiny." Rainbow Dash shrugged. "If you say so." Applejack raised an eyebrow. "You dun agree?" "I'm from Cloudsdale, AJ." Rainbow bore a tired smirk. "We don't exactly have a foundation... much less an earth to plant our artifacts." She stifled a yawn. "Life for my kind is always in the 'now'... or on the go... or trying new things." "Huh..." Applejack blinked. "Sounds mighty lonely." Rainbow Dash squinted. "How do you figure?" "I mean... to live without havin' much behind ya or ahead of ya." "Hey, I'm always thinking about the future!" Rainbow Dash's smile lasted only briefly. She fidgeted, flexing one of her forelimbs. "At least... thinking about it enough." Applejack stared at her. She suddenly smirked. "Y'know... I might have seen somethin' around here that could tickle yer fancy," she said. "Get you to have a new respect for history." "Oh yeah? That sounds like a challenge." Applejack laughed. "Why's everythang gotta be a dag-blame'd competition with you, darlin'?" "Uhhhhhhhhhhh..." "Come..." Applejack motioned, trotting into the next room. "Have a look-see. You won't regret it."