The full moon shone brightly over the town, although hardly anyone noticed it through the jungle of streamers and ribbons across the town. Pinkie Pie decorations usually look like a multicolored bombshell the area, and sometimes it quite literally was. The party cannon isn’t the only weaponized party (or is that party-ized weapon?) in her arsenal. But this night was different. This was the Little Boy of party favors. Mayor Mare wasn’t sure if letting Pinkie have the entire town square to decorate was her best idea ever or her worst one. Either way, almost everyone looked to be having fun. Over half the town came out to start the party now, with everyone else deciding midnight is a wee bit too early to get up. The dance floor was crowded with ponies enjoying themselves, but on opposite sides of the square from each other were two unicorns who very much did NOT feel like dancing. On one side there was Terra Firma nursing a sore foreleg and a drink at the same time, and on the other side was Twilight with an icepack, hoping to stop her eye from swelling too much. The difference between the two right now was that one of them had friends around to talk to, while the other stayed with the company of his punch glass.
“He did WHAT? See? I told you he was no good! You shoulda let me kick his flank outta town before! Where is he, I’ll do it right now!” Rainbow Dash started her takeoff, only to have her tail yanked back by a strong earth pony’s bite.
“Easy there Rainbow!” Applejack let go after Dash landed, arms crossed in a huff. “So you two had a bit of a tussle, I got that. But what else happened there? You’re the only pony that was there, so what do you make of this, Twi?”
Twilight lowered the icepack, revealing a nice hoof-shaped bruise around her right eye. She gingerly touched at it, and immediately winced back. She sighed. “I don’t know. You want to know what the weirdest part was? At first when we were talking he seemed like an okay pony. But when we started talking about statues, he started crying! I don’t know what it was, but something really touched him. Then he recognized who I was and well, this happened.”
“But what do ya’ll think we should do? Kick him out like Rainbow says?”
Twilight paused a bit, then barely eked out, “I still feel bad about kicking him out while he’s still hurt. Just… wait a few days then he’ll leave. I’m just… not going to talk to him.” Rainbow opened her mouth to protest, but shut it when she saw Applejack glare at her. They both moved in for a group hug, and while embraced by her friends a tiny smile lit up the purple mare’s face, just for a bit.
“Thanks guys. We can talk about this later. This is a party right? If I’ve learned anything from Pinkie while living here, it’s that parties are supposed to be fun.” The three of them laughed, then got up to see what else was happening.
Excusing herself from the other two, Applejack made her way across the square with one goal in mind. Once she found her sulking target, she swiftly rapped him on the shoulder a few times. “Terra Firma?”
He turned towards the mare in front of him. “Huh? Yeah, that’s me. Do ya need something? Grab you a drink?”
“Ya, I need something all right. I need you to listen real close.” She leaned in, glaring at him. “Now I wasn’t there, so I didn’t see the whole thing go down, but I saw all I needed to by lookin’ at Twilight’s eye. Now Twilight says you can stay in town and I don’t know if that’s the best choice, but I’ll go along with what she says. But you better keep your head down till you’re up and outta here, you hear me? Cause if I hear one peep about you hurting my friends again, I’ll make sure you ain’t never gonna leave this town. You got that?”
He gulped, then leaned back and turned back toward his drink, eyes down. “Yeah I got it. If it means anything, I’m sorry. It’s… been a rough few days.” He looked back up at her and smiled weakly.
“I don’t even wanna hear it. Just get on outta town, and stay clear away from Twi.” Satisfied, she turned to leave. After a few steps she paused. Without bothering to face him again she added, “Enjoy the party.”
He finished his glass, and then got up to head back towards the treehouse. Silently he prayed Twilight would stay at the party for a while, and not head back. Although it didn’t matter who was at the treehouse anyways; he didn’t have anywhere else to sleep in this town. Trudging his way along, he spotted three fillies peeking out from behind a lamp post. When he turned toward them, they ducked down to hide, but a small pink and purple tail stuck way out from the otherwise perfect hiding spot. He chuckled a bit, and then kept walking.
It wasn’t too much further when he stopped again, this time from a small hoof tugging on his tail. Looking back, he smiled at the white filly. With a small ‘eep!’, she scooted back to hide behind the two other fillies standing there. He just waited, a small grin on his face as he watched the three of them bicker.
“Sweetie Belle! You got to say something, not just poke at him!” The orange filly stepped out of the way, leaving Sweetie Belle fully visible again.
She shrunk back to hide behind her remaining friend for cover “I don’t wanna! Applebloom, you ask him!”
“I dun wanna go either! Scootaloo, you got talk to him!”
“Ugh! I swear it’s you two who are the chickens! Fine, I’ll talk to him!” Scootaloo stepped out slowly, and stood before the still-grinning Terra. She glanced back to the other two, who motioned her to go on. She cleared her throat, and then stammered out, “Uh, Mister Terra? I know you’re new in town and all, and you got a cutie mark, and um… What I mean is the three of us are trying to get our cutie marks, and we figured if we knew how other ponies got theirs it might…”
“Hurry up and ask him!” the yellow one called out.
“I’m getting there!” she called back. Turning back to him, she laughed meekly, and then continued, “Well, uh, we were hoping you’d tell us about your cutie mark. You know, how you got it and all.” She looked back to her friends again, who both nodded in agreement. All three of them stared back at him waiting hopefully.
The smile on his face slowly faded as he realized what they wanted. He just sat there for a moment, considering his response. “Are you sure about that? It’s not what I would call a happy story, you see.”
The three of them looked at each other a bit perplexed. Applebloom spoke out, “What do ya mean ‘not a happy story?’ Isn’t gettin your cutie mark supposed to be a good thing?”
He paused again, weighing his options. “Alright, I’ll tell you. Have any of you been to Canterlot before?” He sat down as three small heads all shook no. “It’s a beautiful city. I used to live in the middle of Canterlot, right on the university grounds many years ago…
“Alright, Terra Firma, remember what we taught you!” The older mare fussed with the blue mane of her son, trying to get a stubborn cowlick in the back to behave.
“That’s right son, we know you can do this! I’m sorry we can’t be in the room with you, but you know we’ll be right down the hall, right? It’s a shame that Twilight’s speech is the same day, but we have to go grade her presentation. We’ll be right back to see you when you’re done!” The anxious stallion checked the clock on the wall. “Honey, we do have to get going here, we’ll be late soon.”
“Just a second dear. Now Terra, remember to be polite to the judges, and introduce yourself clearly. Be sure to answer any questions they have, and remember: no matter what happens, your father and I love you very much. Good luck dear!” With a quick nuzzle, the two of them left hurriedly down the hall. With that, the young blank-flank Terra Firma took a seat on one of the benches to wait until his name was called. He looked around the small waiting room at the other foals, many of them sitting next to older ponies, presumably their parents.
One small white filly down a few seats watched him with a puzzled look on her face. After a minute or two, she worked up the courage to scoot down closer to the silver colt. “Uh, excuse me, are you here for the entrance exam?” she asked.
“Yeah, I am! I’m Terra Firma, what’s your name?”
“I’m Moondancer. Um…you know the test is supposed to be an animation spell this year, right? To pass you gotta make something move, or dance around.”
“Yeah, I know that. Why?”
“Well, I brought my doll here, and I’m gonna make her dance. Most ponies here brought a doll or a toy too.”
“Yeah, I see that.”
“It’s just that, well, you brought a ladder.”
He looked over at the small ladder sitting on the bench next to him, and then smiled. “Yep, I brought a ladder.”
She looked at him, more confused than ever. She didn’t have too long to ponder however, as a grey unicorn stuck his head out of the double doors at the end of the hall, looking over a clipboard hovering in front of him. Perusing it for a moment, he finally called out, “Moondancer?”
“That’s me! I’m coming!” The white filly jumped off the bench and started towards the door. She turned back to Terra for a moment, “Good luck with your ladder I guess.”
“Thanks, good luck in there! Let me know how you do tomorrow!”
She smiled at him and nodded. When the professor cleared his throat impatiently, she rushed over and through the doors to the exam room. Terra watched with a small blush as the cute filly ran through the massive double doors. With her gone, he went right back to waiting his turn. Another twenty minutes passed, and many fillies and colts disappeared behind the ominous doors. Finally the stallion came out with his clipboard and called out for Terra. He got up, fighting the urge to sprint forward, and walked into the exam room as calmly as he could.
He knew exactly what room he was in, and which windows would face the courtyard. Having two teachers for parents and an apartment on the school grounds helped when it comes to knowing the layout. He walked up to the panel of judges and bowed like he was taught to. “Terra Firma, for your consideration.” The judge on the end nodded for him to proceed, and Terra quickly walked over to the side, set up his small ladder, and opened the large bay window overlooking the campus square. He smiled, happy all his preparations were paying off. Ever since he heard the test was to be an animation spell, he racked his brain for something big he could do. Something massive, something that would not just pass the test but leave the judges stunned. Something he could do that would make his parents proud to have him for a son. He gazed over the Welcoming Dawn, the statue in the center of the square, and smiled. What better way to impress the judges than to have Celestia herself leap into the room? Ready to show everypony what he could do, he started his spell.
His horn began to glow with a soft grey aura as the panel looked on with bored expressions. Around the base of the statue a black circle started to fade into view. Terra had drawn out the spell on the ground a few days back, and had learned how to hide the circle there. Moving something as big as a life-sized statue would take way too much magic for an inexperienced young colt, but the circle helped focus the magic into a useful pattern. He smiled as the intricate patterns weaved their way about the stone Celestia’s legs until the full pattern emerged. That spell finished, he closed his eyes to work on the big part of his show. With another glow of his horn, the circle began to give off a glow of its own. The light slowly snaked its way around, then latched on to the alabaster hooves and began to climb up the statue. Soon the whole statue glowed brightly, much to the awe of ponies walking around the area. The glow began to sink into the stone, and just as quickly as it started, the glow was gone, and the statue remained in place.
Terra stood still for a moment, his breath held fast. His part was done; all he could do now was wait and pray that it had worked. After an agonizingly long wait, one outstretched wing twitched. Soon, it twitched again, then flexed in and out a bit. He looked on with glee as the artificial Celestia began to rustle, shifting back and forth slowly.
The judges across the room were not impressed by a young colt starring out the window. One of them, with a glance at his watch, had enough of the waiting. “Well, Mister Firma? Do you plan on showing us some magic today, or just gaze out the window?”
Terra jumped off the ladder and turned towards him to start an explanation, but didn’t need to. Just as soon as he opened his mouth to speak the statue chose to grace the room with its presence, leaping from the ground up to the second story room. It mostly fit through the opening but its wingspan was far larger than the bay window, and it took some of the framework and two good chunks of sheetrock with it when it burst inside. Terra cringed a bit at the bits of wall inside, but was far too ecstatic to care. If the judges’ dropped jaws were any indication, they didn’t care for a few bits of stone either. Celestia turned its head a few times, then looked right at the panel and spread its wings in a triumphant display. Terra trotted up next to his handiwork and beamed. He knew nopony had even come close to his display for this year’s exam. Slowly, the unicorns filed across the hall towards the animate rock on display.
Unfortunately what Terra thought was the reason for the spread wings was not the case. While it was an impressive display, the statue wanted to fly, not look cool. A slight groan could be heard from the stone feathers grinding against one another as it flapped its wings a few times. Then, without warning, it took off on a full gallop, trying to get a running start. One professor was trampled under hoof (Terra later learned he broke two ribs and a foreleg in the process) as Celestia tried to take off. With a great leap and a flap of enormous wings, it flew majestically… for about three seconds. After that it collided with the wall opposite the windows it leaped in, leaving a much larger mess than the tiny pile of rubble its entrance caused. Terra could do nothing but look on in horror as he saw the few fillies and parents waiting for their turns scream in terror at his alabaster creation tried its best to fly. Each flap of its huge wings tore sections of the hallway apart, and each leap into the air caused another wall to give way.
After a few twists and turns, the juggernaut of stone found another room with a view outside, and leaped into the fresh air of the courtyard where it had first gained life. It was far too heavy to fly and crashed into the ground not far from the now-empty base. One of the teachers in the room, finally having a clear view of the stone terror, fired a blast of magic at the edifice. The blast shattered the stonework, leaving many large chunks scattered around the nearby area. He breathed a sigh of relief, glad the destruction had come to an end.
The young Terra looked on, horrified, at the ruins of his work. He looked over to the crowd of professors, now attending to their injured comrade. He struggled to find any words to cover what had happened. “I…I’m so sorry! I just wanted it to…I mean I didn’t want it to do, well, this.” he barely stammered out.
The grey stallion who had been calling names earlier rose from his friend’s side and towered over the cowering silver colt before him. With a hoof he pointed to the door, or what was left of it, and bellowed, “Out. Just go, you’ve caused enough destruction for one day. Leave, and I never want to see you on these grounds again!”
The colt stood there for a moment, trying to grasp any words to say at all. The older stallion bellowed out, “NOW!” and Terra took off, tears steaming his face as he sprinted out of the halls…
“Applebloom! What do you think you’re doing out here at this hour?” Applejack stormed over towards her sister, who was clearly not in bed as she was supposed to be. All three fillies jumped, too engrossed in the tale to notice her approach. “You’re supposed to be in bed little missy! And I’m sure you two are supposed to be sleeping right now too!”
“I’m sorry Applejack! We couldn’t sleep knowing there was a party going on in town here! Then Mister Firma here was just telling us a story and...”
“I don’t even wanna hear it! Granny Smith’s been up worried about you and Big Mac’s out here searching as well! Now get on back home, right now! Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, I’m sure your families don’t know you’re here either, so get moving!” With that, all three little ones dashed off, each going their own way, and each (hopefully) headed home.
Satisfied the fillies were headed off, Applejack turned to Terra. “And you! It hasn’t been two hours since I told you not to cause more trouble, and here you are getting my sister into trouble! What kinda lies were you spewing at them anyways? You know what, don’t tell me. You’d probably just make that up too!
“I’m…I’m sorry? The girls just asked me about my cutie mark, and I was telling them a story. I didn’t do anything.” He stood up, wincing as he put a bit too much weight on his leg.
“Uh huh, I’m sure. You know what, Twi did say you could stay for a bit, but I won’t have it anymore! Get on outta here, before I make you get out!”
His started to protest, but stopped. Ears drooped, he resigned. “I…fine. I’ll go. I don’t want any more trouble. I’m sorry that I…well, I’m sorry.” He turned away from the angry mare and walked a bit. He paused for a bit asking, “I don’t suppose I could get some directions…” But one glance at the furious pony changed his mind. “Right, never mind.” He sighed and headed for the closest exit to the town.
Applejack, satisfied that he was leaving, turned back to check on Applebloom and get her to bed. With her gone, nopony was around to watch as Terra Firma headed off out of the city headed south. Nopony was around to warn him to pick a different route out of town. There was nopony to warn him that there was only one thing that he’d find that was just south of Ponyville. And that one thing was the Everfree Forest.