//------------------------------// // Chapter 8 // Story: Apple Family Reunion // by The Blue EM2 //------------------------------// The stars continued to glimmer in the sky, over a perfect cloudless sky, with the sky staying a vibrant blue above them, which was perfect conditions for stargazing. Sorry, were perfect conditions for stargazing. Before the assembled crowd, who took their seats on the front of the general store and some of the outdoor seats at The Last Run, stood Starswirl, who raised his hand. "Thank you all," he said, "for joining me tonight for the night time program. Whilst I do spend most of my day overseeing the site and ensuring that proceedings run properly, I also worked as an astronomer when I was younger. This meant that I spent most of my day staring at the stars, down a high powered telescope. Whilst, of course, those days are long since gone, I still take the opportunity to observe the skies and see what they are up to. And tonight seems like a very good night for 'Stargazing with Starswirl'!" When people applauded, he continued his speech. "Now then, the night sky can be a very difficult place to navigate for those who have never tried. I intend to provide some useful pointers for those who wish to find their own ways around the skies. And the first place to look is the North Star!" Apple Bloom patted Babs on the shoulder. "Ah've heard of this one!" she whispered. Starswirl went on, not noticing the brief snippets of some quiet conversation. "The North Star was a crucial asset to navigators, as it always stays in the same relative position in the sky, so no matter where they were in the world, sailors could always use the North Star to figure out where they were. In this regard, we can also use it to figure out where other stars are in the night sky." He then pointed straight up. "There is the North Star," he finished. There was another pause from him. "The North Star is about 433 light years away from us, but if we follow an imaginary line down," he continued, pointing as he did so, "we find our way to the Seven Stars of Dubhe, Merak, Phecda, Megrez, Alioth, Mizar, and Alkaid. These, however, are not arranged in a perfect line as you might expect. These stars are instead arranged like this!" His hands made a shape that closely resembled a common kitchen implement, and then he picked one up. "A saucepan!" said one of the children in the crowd, clearly amazed at this revelation. Then again, they were from an urban area, and the light pollution in such places made it almost impossible to see the stars. Starswirl smiled. "Yes indeed!" he said, his face warm and friendly. "But we don't call it a saucepan, or at least it would be a very bad saucepan, as the handle is bent!" He then picked up a piece of paper and showed it to the assembled crowd. "Where I am from, in the United Kingdom, we call it the Plough, as it looks like an old farmer's plough." Applejack spoke up. "That's a thin' used to made field suitable fer crops." "I think we know that!" said somebody else. "We do," Applejack smiled, "but Ah suspect some of the youngin's here from the big city won't know that. Fer instance, where does milk come from?" she asked a boy. "The supermarket?" he replied, completely straight faced, without a hint of irony. "No!" Babs replied. "Milk comes from a cow! How can you not know that?" "Well, I've never seen a cow," the boy replied. Applejack facepalmed. "Ah think we need ta get him ta Sweet Apple Acres, fast," she said finally. "If I may continue?" Starswirl asked calmly. The entire crowd fell silent, and allowed Starswirl to continue. "Thank you. Over here in America, you call it the Big Dipper, due to the dip in the handle. But these stars form a small part of a much greater constellation of stars. The Great Bear." "Ursa Major?" Applejack said. "Twilight said somethin' about havin' ta face one of those back in Equestria." Just then she realised what she had let slip, and put her hand over her mouth. Starswirl chose to ignore the slip up, and continued speaking regardless. "This formation is so named because it looks like a large bear. Admittedly, the line between the stars makes it seem more like a giant havelina-" "What's a havelina?" somebody asked, though thankfully not the same boy as earlier. "We'll explain later," Starswirl replied, getting slightly tired of all the interruptions. "This constellation was first identified by Ptolomy in the 2nd Century AD, and is the third largest of the modern constellations, of which their are eighty eight." There was a brief pause, before a hand went up. "Yes?" "What are the other eighty seven constellations?" another person asked. Starswirl paused for a moment, before putting his hand on his enormous beard. "Let me see. I think I have them all off from memory, and all in here somewhere, I think." He then began his list, starting at the top of the list (in alphabetical order, at least), and worked his way to the bottom. "Andromeda, Antlia, Apus, Aquarius, Aquila, Ara, Aries, Auriga, Bootes (not the pharmaceutical firm), Caelum, Camelopardalis, Cancer, Canes Venatici, Canis Major, Canis Minor, Capricornus, Carina, Cassiopoeia, Centaurus, Cepheus, Cetus, Chamaeleon, Circinus, Columba, Coma Berenices, Corona Australis, Corona Borealis-" "We are the Emprah's Fury!" somebody said, loudly. "Quiet!" called the voice of Miss Meadowbrook. "Besides, what does that even mean?" Starswirl sighed. "Now, where was I?" he said. "Ah yes, I remember. Corvus, Crater, Crux, Cygnus, Delphinus, Dorado, Draco, Equuleus (which is rather like a pony, just not little and not mine), Eridanus, Fornax, Gemini, Grus, Hercules, Horologium, Hydra, Hydrus, Indus, Lacerta, Leo, Leo Minor, Lepus, Libra, Lupus, Lynx, Lyra-" "Isn't the girl at Canterlot High who's really inta unicorns?" Apple Bloom asked. "Shhh!" Applejack hissed. "But yes, it is. Why she's so fascinated by them is a mystery." "Anthropology?" somebody suggested. Starswirl resumed speaking before anybody else could interrupt. "Mensa, Microscopium, Monoceros, Musca, Norma, Octans, Ophiucus, Orion, Pavo, Pegasus, Perseus, Phoenix, Pictor, Pisces, Pisces Austrinus, Puppis, Pyxis, Reticulum, Sagitta, Sagittarius, Scorpius, Sculptor, Scutum, Serpens, Sextans, Taurus, Telescopium, Triangulum, Triangulum Astrale, Tucana, Ursa Minor, Vela, Virgo, Volans, and Vulpecula. That is all for tonight, and see you tomorrow." After having had a good night's sleep, the families assembled at the Last Run for breakfast. Meadowbrook certainly had her hands full trying to keep all the carering running efficiently, and waiters were carrying trays covered in plates and drinks. The plates, in turn, were covered in (in no particular order) eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, tomatoes, apples (for some reason) and other items. Most drinks were coffee, milk, orange, apple, and even cherry juice! At one of the tables, the Apples and the Oranges were sharing a table. The adults were all busy chatting, and Applejack was trying to get Sunflower interested in proceedings, to no avail, as Sunflower was more concerned about the fact she had no cell phone coverage. Apple Bloom and Babs talked in hushed voices. "Well, yesterday was crazy," Babs said, picking at her bacon. It was certainly a lot crispier than at home, but not as good as she'd remembered it at Sweet Apple Acres. "Ah know!" Apple Bloom said. "Ah know mah folks want ta make this a great reunion an' all, but the sheer amount of stuff we did yesterday were ridiculous!" She took a sip of her milk, as if to prove her point. "Yeah," Babs sighed. "We didn't even get a minute to talk or somethin'! I thought the whole point of this gatherin' was to find out how everybody else is doin'!" Suddenly, the table was banged, and all fell silent. "Attention everybody!" called Bright Mac. "In a few minutes, we need ta meet at the station. Today, we're goin' up Bald Knob, and it looks like a great day on which ta do it!" Apple Bloom groaned. "Oh not again," she said. "At least you and Babs are right next ta the engine," Pear Butter told her. "Won't it be fun?" "It'll sure be noisy," Babs replied. Outdoors, they walked over to the platform to be surprised. There was not one Shay sat at the back of the train, but TWO. In front of the engines was a formation of 6 coaches, labelled A through F, with A being closest to the engines. The carriages were already filling up, passengers taking their seats. Apple Bloom and Babs took up position next to the engine, to suddenly see Miss Meadowbrook boarding the train and sitting down in their carriage. "Hello girls!" she said. "Looking' forward to it?" "Do you often catch the train up?" Babs asked. "Ah often catch the Bald Knob departure," Miss Meadowbrook replied. "It's a great way of startin' a day. And besides, we've got the best seats in the house." "We'll definitely here the engines!" Apple Bloom said. "But Ah don't know how well mah ears will hold up." "It will be very loud," said another passenger, with a smile. "That's what I love about Shays." Meanwhile, Bright Mac boarded the rear Shay. The stoker looked over to him. "Sir," she said, "it'll be an honour to work alongside ya." "No problem, ma'am," Bright Mac replied. "Ah haven't done this fer years, but Ah remember what everythin' does." He then heard the guard's whistle. "Here we go!" He reached forward, and sounded the whistle four times. The locomotive in front sounded its whistle four times, and with a whirr and a great puffing noise, they were off and away! The train stormed up the slopes of Bald Knop slowly, but producing enough noise to rival 10 Big Boys. Bells swung, funnels produced massive jets of black smoke, cinders flew through the air, and whistles boomed through the air as the train stormed up the hill. The train stormed through Whittaker, and they paused to pick up food partway up the hill, but resumed their trip past the Wye (though nobody knew why it was there). But, at last, thundering up the final strait, the train arrived at the summit of Bald Knop. Miss Meadowbrook looked at the other passengers. "Well," she asked, "shall we look around the summit?" "Sorry?" Apple Bloom asked. "That din blew mah eardrums!"