The shoveling of dirt was the only sound within that tucked-away glade. A dull-brown earth stallion, his skin withered but still rife with vigor, dug away into the earth with his shovel, humming discordantly to himself out of habit as he worked. At some point, a young unicorn entered the glade and stopped abruptly upon seeing the stallion.
"Oh, hello there," she greeted.
"Howdy there, miss," the stallion softly replied in an earthen tone. "What brings you out here?"
"I was just looking for a quiet place to study the local flora," the unicorn answered. "I didn't think anyone else would be out here, though."
"Well, don't mind me. Aside from my shoveling, I'm as quiet as a door post. Make yourself comfortable."
The stallion resumed his digging as the unicorn took up his offer, briefly pondering his somewhat odd analogy. She trotted over to a small sickly tree stump that rose from the otherwise flat glade floor, and placed her rump on it. She found it hard to settle in; the presence of the stallion as well as the nature of his digging piqued her inquisitive nature. But before she could succumb to these curiosities, the stallion addressed her once more.
"So what is it that you study exactly?"
"Oh, various things," she humbly replied. "I like to learn as much as I can. There's just so much in the world that I want to understand."
"Hmm, that's quite commendable for someone your age," the stallion said with a nod. "Though you should be careful. One can burn themselves out easily when trying to grasp absolutely everything in this world."
"Yes, of course..." She couldn't hold back any longer. "What is it that you're digging for, if you mind me asking?"
"I don't mind at all," he replied rather eagerly as he kept digging. "I'm actually digging me up a truth."
"Oh? What kind of truth?"
"Well, some time ago, a pony became lost and was never seen again. I'm trying to find out exactly what happened to that pony, and more importantly, what made them set out into the unknown to begin with. Something out of personal curiosity. However, I suspect you'd be able to help me unravel this mystery."
The unicorn shifted in surprise. "What makes you think that?"
"Funny you should ask that, considering who you are."
At that moment, the stallion stopped digging and stuck his shovel in a patch of untouched soil. Trotting to the other side of the newly-formed hole, he bent forward over something that had previously been covered by a growing layer of dirt. With his front hooves he lifted up the object until it stood erect, revealing to be a thick stone tablet. The unicorn's eyes widened upon seeing the two words chiseled into the face of the stone: Twilight Sparkle.
"You of all ponies know quite well of the price paid in seeking the truth. Isn't that so, miss?"
—and clear out of the hole, his exit knocking over both stallion and mare. He landed gracefully in a crouch before sprinting ahead with sword raised, for not only had the blue-caped malefactor appeared but he was also wielding the gravedigger's shovel. The two bat at one another with their respective weapons until the man in shorts shoved the shovel blade down by the dragon's feet and tossed both dirt and dragon over himself and clear past the tombstone. Grinning and whirling around his tool he eagerly ran to press his advantage, only to have a thick granite slab smash him into orbit, the dragon leaping out from the glen in pursuit.—>