After sunrise, the two friends woke up in Souvenir's tent. After what they made each other go through last night, they had decided to share the tent, in part because Souvenir wanted Alastair to sleep well and in part because there was no use in standing watch outside while near a village. Like before, Alastair woke up first and Souvenir had to be woken up, but this time he didn't have to resort to torturing her ears to do so. After breakfast, Alastair and Souvenir continued the journey, though this time it was Alastair the one pulling the cart. He himself had offered to do so, and Souvenir was more than happy with the idea.
As they walked, Alastair began to wonder why this pony traveled with so many items. From weapons to jewels to ancient relics, and from all across the world. 'Maybe she works for a museum. Or maybe she is a collector with an interest in other cultures. Or maybe she just sells them to earn a living.' Alastair considered the latter choice to be the right one, but he never jumped to conclusions without evidence.
"You have a lot of items in this cart. What do you do with them?" he asked.
"Oh, I travel to other lands from Equestria and collect as many valuable things as I can, then sell them to interested maniacs." Souvenir looked at the cart. "And what I can't sell, I bring back to Ponyville with me."
"As souvenirs?" Alastair laughed at the irony of the question.
"Not exactly, my best friend's family owns the museum in Ponyville. Whatever I can't sell that seems to have historical value ends up there. Every year I bring various objects that then go to the museum. It's good business and some ponies say I am like the famous Daring Do."
"Daring Do? Ah, the books. I see, so you must be famous in Ponyville?"
"Not really, besides my friends the only ones who care enough about the museum's stuff to know who I am are school teachers, historians and librarians. There's this unicorn librarian who has asked me about my travels, but I can't remember her name."
"Aren't you worried you might have duplicates or fakes?"
"Oh no no no, I know when someone is trying to rip me off. That's my talent!" Souvenir looked at her cutie mark before looking again at her friend. "One fake diamond, one low quality sword, one plastic vase looking like it is real ceramic, and I WILL know about it!"
"Really? How?"
"Uh..." Souvenir walked quietly for several seconds, looking quickly from side to side. She had never been asked that question before, and she most certainly had never thought how to answer it.
Alastair noticed his friend was having trouble answering his question and tried to answer it for her. "You DO know, right? Are you sure you don't just guess?"
"Yes! ...and no..." said Souvenir, certain at first but then doubtful.
"What?" Alastair raised an eyebrow, trying to understand what the pony had meant.
"I'm saying no, but I'm also saying yes!" Souvenir could tell herself that the words coming out of her mouth sounded ridiculous and just raised further questions.
"So it's yes?" he asked.
"No!"
"So it's no."
"Not necessarily."
Alastair was very smart, but trying to understand this game of words gave him a headache. "Well then what is it then?!"
"I don't know! It's like when you know something...without actually knowing something, you just do!" Souvenir wanted to end the conversation about her talent right there and her griffon friend got her message, even if neither of them truly understood what it meant.
"So how much do you make in a single one of your travels?" Alastair asked, trying to change the subject.
"Enough to have a mansion!" Souvenir answered cheerfully.
"Do you have a mansion?"
"Well, not a huge mansion, more like a bigger-than-average house. I like to save money for emergencies, not for luxuries. I could be one of the richest ponies in Ponyville but I don't like to be seen as more than what I am: a traveler, a free spirit, a pony who likes to learn of the world!" Souvenir felt like if she was giving a speech to many young ponies about herself and her travels. She felt proud of herself and closed her eyes to feel the growing triumph in her self.
"But you couldn't seem to learn how to fight a pair of rabbits for a carrot."
Souvenir's triumphant feeling fell like an anvil dropped by a flying pegasus. Her face transformed her proud smile into an expression that showed the sudden realization of what she had just heard. She looked at Alastair, who started laughing heartily at her. "Hey," she shouted as she saw Alastair running away, "get back here!" Souvenir began to chase the griffon who still laughed.
It took her several minutes to finally catch up to Alastair, who let go of the cart to run faster. However, being an earth pony came with advantages for Souvenir, and she managed to jump far enough to catch Alastair and throw him off-balance, causing them to roll. They stopped rolling right next to the road, with Alastair on top of Souvenir, both of them laughing at what just happened. Once they stopped laughing they looked at each other and for a reason they couldn't understand they felt something strange that they were unable to explain. It was like if their eyes met and couldn't look away, like if there was something in each others eyes that made them feel intrigued and fascinated. It took them not less than three minutes to break eye contact and get up, though both of them felt those minutes going as slowly as hours. They felt the blood in their faces heating up, causing them to blush. It was subtle for Alastair, but Souvenir's pale yellow face turned red, and she seemed desperate to hide it from him. They continued the journey trying not to look at each other, in a silence far more awkward than the one they had at the start of their journey.
When the night came they set up camp. They were in the middle of the field, with the moonlight providing more light than a campfire. Alastair wanted to stay outside for the night, claiming that the place wasn't entirely safe despite being so quiet that a leaf falling from a tree would have been heard loud and clear. He sat outside the tent, waiting for the night to pass quickly, trying not to think about Souvenir. He didn't know what had happened earlier but he was convinced he didn't want to repeat it. He didn't want to think about those lavender eyes that made him feel so fascinated. And yet there he was, thinking exactly about them. Before he could think any more, he heard Souvenir laughing inside the tent. Curious, he looked inside to see Souvenir holding a bottle and looking strange.
"Oh hello Alastair, 'verything good outside?" she asked, her words slurring together.
"Yes, I heard you laughing, what is going on in-"
"Nothin'! Just me enjoyin' this drink, it's o' the HIGHEST quality! Gets you to feeeel it with just feeling the smell in the air!" Souvenir held the bottle out to him. "Try some, buddy!"
Alastair was confused, but his mind was too busy to think clearly. He took the bottle and slowly drank from it. As soon as he finished, he realized what happened. He immediately took the bottle off his beak and looked at Souvenir. "Y-You're drunk?!" he shouted, not wanting to use that tone but the alcohol was already making effect.
Souvenir looked at him, her eyes disoriented but at the same time focusing on him. She winked at him and answered his question. "Aye!"