//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4 
// Story: Aurora Song 
// by MasterZadok 
//------------------------------//

	“Here, we have Sweet Apple Acres! Ain’t no place more beautiful in Ponyville and the perfect place to start out tour!” Apple Bloom indicated the surrounding hills as her pink bow fluttered in the breeze. Waves upon waves of green hills, flecked with apple trees, surrounded the Crusaders and their new pegasus friend. The air smelled like sweet honey from the thousands of glistening red apples all around.
“Lovely.” Drossel Meyer sucked up a deep breath of the scented air.
“Our homestead was the first place that put Ponyville on the map and we’ve been living here ever since.” The little earth pony gestured to a bright red barn planted in the middle of the forest of fruit trees.
“It seems that you’ve had a very successful year.” The older pegasus complimented, his eye scanning over the taut skin of the apples.
“You betcha! Apple Jack and Big Mack have been haulin’ in the harvest for days now!”
“Apple Jack?” Drossel Meyer’s ear twitched at the name.
“My big sis!”
“Do you know her, sir?” Sweetie Belle spoke up.
“Ah… No, not really.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if you knew who she was.” Scootaloo skipped over a little rock in the path. “She’s one of the strongest ponies in Ponyville and she’s helped just about everyone in town at one point or another.”
“Oh? Is that what makes her so famous?” Meyer lifted an eyebrow critically.
“One of?” Apple Bloom turned her head. “She’s THE strongest pony!”
“But she’s not the Iron Pony champion.” Scootaloo giggled.
“Would you like to meet her mister Meyer?” Sweetie Belle quickly spoke up before the “Apple Jack vs. Rainbow Dash” war erupted again. Drossel Meyer didn’t answer immediately; his eye seemed to be peering at a couple of ponies across the farm.
“Thank you, but I don’t think I can.” He graciously refused. “It seems she has a lot of work ahead of her and she already has some visitors.” The pegasus stallion turned swiftly and guided his tour guides toward Ponyville.
Confused, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked back toward the farm. Sure enough, the golden orange pony and her massive red brother were standing in front of the barn. They weren’t alone. A couple other ponies, one dark purple and the other a dull blue, were speaking with them. It was impossible to tell that they were talking about, but Sweetie Belle made a mental note that the blue stallion wore a sweeping frock coat like Mister Meyer’s. Perhaps it was a new fashion that Rarity would be interested in.


***


“Perhaps you had better do the talking.” Black Spot huffed as he walked alongside his crewmember. Around him, the birds were whistling to each other and the wind was whispering through the endless acres of apple trees, but all the first mate could hear was the squeaky voice of an annoying pink pony.
“You know, if you keep whining about that Pinkie Pie like this, the captain will declare this town too dangerous to attack. She really did a number on you.” Lilly couldn’t hide a small smile as she looked at her commander’s rage.
“She’s not dangerous!” Black Spot snapped, “Not unless she can unveil a sword as quickly as she can make popcorn.”
“Um… I don’t know how to respond to that…”
“Don’t ask, but suffice to say that she’s just the kind of ignorant whelp I’d have rather bombed in the first place.”
“Whatever.” Lilly looked back up to where a couple of earth ponies were pulling a cartful of apples. “You just stand there silently, then, while I interview these mud-suckers.”
At that, a dry chuckle escaped from Black Spot.
Up ahead, an orange earth pony with a dirty yellow mane looked up and saw the two pegasi approaching. She waved a hoof and trotted forward to meet them.
“Well, howdy y’all! Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres! I’m Apple Jack, and this here is my big brother, Big Macintosh!”
Black Spot didn’t know if he tensed up because of the name “Apple Jack” or because the young mare was followed by a titanic red horse. He was yet again in the presence of a Wielder and her muscular mountain that she called a brother didn’t do anything to put him at ease. At least Lilly was able to hide her emotions,
“Nice to meet you, Miss Jack.”
“Aw shucks, ma’am. You can just call me AJ.”
“Very well,” Lilly smiled easily, “I’m Cessna, and this is my fiancé, Puddle Jumper.”
“Nice to meet ya!” AJ tipped her hat.
“Eeyup!” The red titan smiled. Black Spot marveled at how Big Macintosh shared the same loquacious vernacular with Yeller Belly.
“Our caravan was passing by and we heard that you were having a very successful apple harvest right about now. Of course, we couldn’t resist seeing for ourselves and I’m glad we came, right?” Lilly hung on Black Spot’s neck and it was only then that he realized she had called him her “fiancé”.
“Hurk!? Um… yes… that’s right!” He sputtered. Oh, Lilly was going to pay for this later.
“A caravan, huh? My Granny Smith used to be a wanderin’ pony, too, so we’d love to help 'yall!”
“Honestly, we’re looking to buy in bulk. Food that travels well and whatnot.” Lilly cocked her head to the side.
“Bulk, huh?” Apple Jack glanced up at Big Macintosh. “What kind of bulk were you reconin’?”
“Well, it’s a big caravan… As many as you can spare, I suppose?” The purple pegasus glanced at the ground and faked a blush. She was talented, Black Spot had to admit.
“I see…” Now it was Apple Jack’s turn to glance at the ground. “In that case, I wish y’all would have come yesterday. See, we just gave our estimates to Filthy Rich and he bought our entire surplus for a big deal in Canterlot. I’m afraid we don’t have very much to spare…”
“We can negotiate with Filthy.” There was some hesitation in Lilly’s voice.
Apple Jack and Big Mac snickered at the nickname.
“But that’s just it; Rich sealed the deal and left for Canterlot himself. He's not here anymore.”
A shadow passed over Lilly’s face. If living in the north had taught her something, it was to never take a salespony’s word for truth. For all she knew, "Filthy Rich" could be a fictitious pony they conjured up so that these two earth ponies could raise the price of apples to whatever they wanted. But Lilly wasn’t going to let that fool her.
“What are you asking, then?” Her eyes drifted to the mountains of apple barrels stocked in the big red barn behind AJ. The orange pony blinked,
“Beg pardon?”
“Your apples, we’ll just have to buy them from Filthy Rich.”
“But they’re not ours to give no more.”
“Come now. You could take our money and simply pay back your absent friend, couldn’t you?” A harsher tone snuck into Lilly’s voice.
“Pardon me sayin’ so, miss, but ‘twouldn’t be honest to do that to Filthy Rich. Not after promising to get his order on the train in two days.”
Two days? A time limit? This little dust-eater was a shrewder business pony than Lilly had first thought.
“Clever.” The purple pegasus leaned forward. “But I can’t shake the feeling that you’re not being completely honest with us.”
For a moment, Apple Jack and Big Mac exchanged glances. Then they broke into a hearty laughter. Lilly didn’t back down,
“You find something amusing?”
“Sorry, miss, but you must not be from around here.” Apple Jack brushed some of her blond mane out of her eyes. “Just so ya know, we Apples don’t lie and when I say that I wish I could help y’all, I really mean it. But we’re not going to leave Rich hanging like that.”
“I… See…” Lilly forced herself to breathe slowly. “Then, thank you for your time. I’m sure we’ll see each other again soon.” The two dark pegasi abruptly left, leaving the two earth ponies to stare after them.
“Carrot harvest is next week!” Apple Jack called out, trying to be helpful, but the two pegasi continued walking. The orange mare sighed and furrowed her brow.
“Y’know, Big Mac? I hate to see anypony leave our farm with their feathers ruffled, especially a sweet new couple, but I can’t shake the feeling that they just didn’t trust us…”
The big red horse copied his sister and furrowed his brow.
“Nnope!”
Further down the road, Black Spot cleared his throat threateningly,
“Fiancé? Really?”
“I was trying to make us blend in,” Lilly sing-songed, “You know, to make us look less threatening.”
The first mate spat on the ground.
“So… what do you think about those earth-scrubbers?”
“I suppose some things never change.” Lilly huffed, “Leave it to an earth pony to try and cheat a pegasus out of house and home.”
“So, they WERE lying about Filthy.”
“Absolutely! They invented a convenient way to make their bountiful harvest more scarce and valuable than it was. I think they were trying to get me to make an offer, but I didn’t even give them the satisfaction.”
“Besides, we don’t have any money.” Black Spot reminded his crewmate.
“Right… But those ponies are in for a surprise when we come back. They thought they could push us? Well, they pushed the wrong crew!”
“Let’s finish scouting Ponyville.” Black Spot finished. “You try and find Yeller Belly and meet me back at the ship.”
“He shouldn’t be too hard to find. Where are you going?”
“I’m going to take one last look around and see if there are any banks or even a plump little unicorn district.” The dark blue pegasus explained. “Perhaps we can start building a little nest egg, fiancé.”
“You wish!” Lilly trotted ahead, leaving Black Spot to silently slink around the outskirts of town.


***


Drossel Meyer kept his posture immaculate. He kept his eyes expressionless and he kept his mouth smiling at the Cutie Mark Crusaders. However, as he stepped into Ponyville, he realized it was not what he expected at all. He had anticipated the klutzy earth houses, he thought the roads of rock and dirt were to be expected, and he even projected that these ponies would be technologically inferior to his pegasus technology. However, what he hadn’t expected was the harmony.
The stereotype back home was that all earth ponies were selfish and all unicorns were sickening snobs, but here, in a little place called Ponyville, the lines between species were so blurred, it was hard to tell where one creature ended and another began. It was as if horns, wings or sturdy legs were unnoticed. Even the pegasi, so superior to all ponies that were forced to walk, consorted and laughed and played with their earthbound friends.
“And over there is the library!”
“And over here is the town square!”
“That’s Quills and Sofas! Their name says it all, except for when they’re out of quills.” The three little fillies dashed around in a random dance, greeting everyone they saw and pointing out anything that came into their minds.
Drossel Meyer didn’t know whether to be disgusted by the lack of pony status and pride in this town, or admiring of it. Such a peace like this didn’t exist; there was no way under heaven that this could be a real culture. Yet, here he was. He walked on in silence until his thoughts were interrupted,
“So, what brings you to town, Mister Meyer?” Scootaloo trotted alongside the larger pegasus.
“Well… You could say that I’m a jack-of-all-trades. I wander, mostly. Exploring, buying, selling, inventing… looking for rare items…”
“Cool!” The orange filly skipped excitedly.
“He didn’t really narrow anything down.” Apple Bloom mumbled to Sweetie Belle.
“Though, right now I’m interested in finding something to eat.” Meyer watched as three pairs of eyes lit up.
“Sugar Cube Corner!” They all voted at once and sped off down the street, dragging the stallion behind them. It wasn’t long before they skidded to a stop in front of a large, ornate building. At least, ornate was one word for it… Meyer found himself wondering if the building was a place where people worked or a giant pastry that should be eaten.
“Come on!” The endless energy of the Crusaders swept Meyer through the double doors and into a bright wooden room. A bell chimed and a plump blue earth mare with thick eyelashes looked up from behind the counter.
“Welcome! Oh! Hi, girls!”
“Morning, Ms. Cake!” Scootaloo hopped forward.
“And who’s your friend?” The mare turned a cautious eye on the imposing pegasus who strode in, scanning every inch of the sugary building with his eye.
“That’s Mister Meyer! He’s an awesome pegasus who helped us out earlier today and now we’re giving him a tour of Ponyville!”
“A pleasure to visit your little hamlet, ma’m.” Drossel Meyer swept off his three-cornered hat and nodded slightly at his host. The plump mare blushed a little and her smile returned,
“Well, what can I get you today?”
“Three green apple cupcakes and a blackberry treat for my friend!” Scootaloo tossed a couple bits onto the counter.
“Coming right up! Actually, I was just about to frost some if you want them fresh.”
“Yes! Please!” Scootaloo sat down expectantly while Ms. Cup Cake began applying radiant icing onto the pastries. Meyer, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle seated themselves at a round table. The pegasus kept quiet.
“So… How do y’all like Ponyville so far?” Apple Bloom ventured.
“It’s… Nice.” For lack of a better word.
“Uh-oh.” Sweetie Belle cautiously glanced up. “That doesn’t sound good.”
“No! You misunderstand. It’s not that I don’t like it, but words fail me. It’s… as if I never thought such a place could exist.”
“That still doesn’t tell us much.” The little earth filly sighed.
“Perhaps I’m just used to the grace and culture of pegasus society.” Drossel Meyer glanced down to see what effect his words would have on the non-flyers.
“Grace?” The unicorn cocked her head.
“Culture?” The earth pony echoed. “You don’t like it here because you miss your pegasus home that badly?”
There was a long moment of silence before the rugged stallion answered. When he did, it was almost a whisper,
“Yes…”
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom exchanged glances.
“It sounds like ya miss it badly.” The earth filly ventured.
Silence.
“Real badly.”
More silence.
“Like, you-can-never-go-back-and-see-it-again, badly.”
Meyer’s eye flashed and he locked it on the little red-headed filly. He stared at her as if he was daring her to say more.
“You’re quite perceptive for one so young…” His stern voice was a whisper so Scootaloo couldn’t hear.
“Not really. I overheard Princess Luna talking to Twilight once and she had the same look as y’all just did.” Apple Bloom seemed to shrink under the cyclopean gaze.
“Princess Luna?”
“She was goin’ on about her memories from a thousand years ago and something about how she can never go back…”
“And you know this because…?”
“…Paparazzi cutie marks?” Apple Bloom squeaked.
“Cupcakes!” Scootaloo suddenly appeared, taking a sledgehammer to the tension in the air. The towering, imposing, frowning Meyer disappeared and the genteel stallion returned.
“Thank you, my dear.” He graciously accepted his cupcake while Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom exchanged thankful glances.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders attacked their green pastries with abandon while Drossel Meyer scrutinized his meal cautiously.
“Something wrong?” Scootaloo asked through a mouthful of bright frosting.
“It’s just… impractical…” Meyer frowned. “Why do they make it just tall enough so that you can’t fit your whole mouth upon it? It seems impossible to eat this without coating one’s face in frosting.”
“That’s the fun of it!” The orange filly smacked her lips. “Cupcakes aren’t supposed to be practical, they’re supposed to be fun!”
“Fun food?”
“The funnest! ♫ All you gotta do is take a cup of flower! ♪” Scootaloo suddenly began singing.
“Add it to the mix! ♪” Apple Bloom joined in, a radiant smile on her face.
“Then just take a little something sweet, not sour!”
“A bit of salt, just a pinch! ♫” Even the unicorn lifted her voice like a clear bell.
“Making these treats is such a cinch!
♪ Add a teaspoon of vanilla!
Add a little more,
Then you count to four! ♫
And you’ll never
Get your
Fill-aaaa!
“♫ Cupcakes!!”
As the girls sang, a strange feeling crept up inside Drossel Meyer. Seeing the smiles of the three little fillies, listening to their nonsensical song, eating impractically sweet food, everything  worked together to kindle a little flame, a small beacon of warmth within the rugged pegasus’s chest. These ponies were… happy… for no other reason than to be happy. They were in harmony for the sake of harmony. They were peaceful for the sake of peace itself. Drossel Meyer’s face broke into a tender smile; not a mask, but an honest reflection of the warmth in his chest.
He couldn’t remember the last time he had experienced this sensation.
“Look at Mister Meyer!” Scootaloo suddenly pointed a hoof at the stallion and laughed. The other fillies suddenly broke into peals of laughter of their own.
“What’s so amusing?” Meyer asked cautiously.
“You’ve got blue teeth!” Sweetie Belle squealed.
“So that’s why you got him a blackberry treat!” Apple Bloom held her aching sides. “No one escapes the curse of the blue frosting!”
In spite of himself, Drossel Meyer found himself laughing at Scootaloo’s little prank. It was a strange feeling to be outfoxed by a filly, but not entirely unpleasant. The stallion cocked his head and smiled even wider,
“I say, do I not look dashing?” He grinned and the Cutie Mark Crusaders renewed their laughter.
The joke was cut short as the bell above the door opened and an ursa major walked in. Drossel Meyer’s eye lost its spark and gained a cold gleam as it recognized the giant viridian pegasus that entered the room. What was Yeller Belly doing in a place like this? He didn’t have to wait long to find out as the giant marched straight toward Ms. Cake’s counter.
“What can I get ya?” She greeted.
“Flour.” The new pegasus huffed.
“Excuse me?”
“Hmph!... Flour.”
“You’ll have to be more specific, hon.”
The towering pegasus leaned over the bar.
“Flour. Bags.” Ms. Cake blinked.
“You just want the flour? I’m sorry, but we don’t really sell that in bulk.”
The pegasus frowned and looked like he was about to press the matter, but Drossel Meyer couldn’t let this continue any longer.
“If you’re looking to buy flower in bulk, friend, you’ve wandered into the wrong place.” Meyer’s voice might as well have been a physical arm, reaching across the room and seizing the newcommer’s attention. Yeller Belly’s eyes went wide as if he had just noticed his captain watching him and his mouth fell open.
“Yes, we only buy our flour as we need it.” Ms. Cake smiled nervously.
“There you have it.” Meyer sighed, “I suggest you don’t hassle the poor lady any further.”
With a silent nod, Yeller slowly stepped back out of the bakery, still keeping his eyes locked on the one-eyed pegasus. Drossel Meyer, in turn, watched his crewmember leave with an expression of disappointment. This meeting could have gone very poorly if he wasn’t there to diffuse it before it exploded. As soon as the lumbering ursa major exited the door, Meyer looked down at his filly friends.
“Thank you, girls, for a wonderful time, but I’m afraid that I must be going.” He stood up and was immediately peppered with protests,
“Aww!”
“But you haven’t even tried some of Granny’s apple pie!”
“And I wanted you to meet Rarity.”
“Don’t worry, my little ponies, I’ll be back tomorrow.” Meyer soothed.
“Really?” Scootaloo grinned with delight. “And you’ll fix my scooter?”
“I told you I would. Rest assured, Scootaloo, I will fix the problem.”
“Then we’ll be looking for you!” The little orange filly stretched her forelegs around Drossel Meyer’s neck as far as they would go in a massive hug.
“See you then.” Politely excusing himself, the pegasus stallion dashed out of the bakery in pursuit of his crewmember. He had to catch up with him before the great behemoth made an even bigger fool of himself than he already had.


***


What a surprise! Little Ponyville didn’t have any banks. No place for ponies to store their money, no deposit boxes to store their valuables in, not even a single storehouse for gems. The closest thing Black Spot had found to a cache of valuables were the decorative crystals in a gaudy unicorn store called the Carrousel Boutique.
But he had found something far more interesting. Something that promised to turn this crummy day around. The dark pegasus stood silently under the shade of an old oak, watching the sky as a little speck of blue far above him swooped to and fro, shepherding the clouds and shredding the rainstorms. Rainbow Dash herself.
If anypony was worth their salt in this backwater little town, it was her. The light blue pegasus was the strongest flyer Black Spot had seen yet, maybe even strong enough to fly with the rough pegasi of the north. Perhaps, at least, she would be a pegasi of pride among a village of insects.
Strong as an eagle and swift as a swallow, Rainbow Dash sped to the east, circled an icy mountain’s head and lanced like an arrow toward a flock of small thunder clouds. She was moving so quickly that her multicolored mane and tail cast off light like a rainbow. One, two, three dark clouds vaporized before her onslaught. She set her sights on a fourth cloud, closed in on her prey and,
Poof! The grey vapors shattered and a dark blue pegasi sat in its place, smiling at her.
“Wah!?” Rainbow Dash spread her wings wide and grabbed at the thin air to slow down her flight. She stopped only inches from the mysterious newcomer.
“Rainbow Dash, I presume?” Black Spot hovered effortlessly.
“You know it! But who are you?” Dash lifted an eyebrow.
“A fellow pegasus athlete. My name is Black Spot, and may I say it is inspiring to see you work?”
“Oh, sure, I’ll let you say that.” The sky blue pegasus smiled coyly.
“Do you tend this whole sky? It looks very well-guarded.”
“Me and a couple other pegasi, but I’m the strongest flyer in Ponyville. And thanks for the compliment! I’ve been working my feathers to the rachis all day because a bunch of stray thunder cells wandered in here. I think they may have branched off of a sea storm.”
“Nicely taken care of. What do they pay you for all your hard work?” Black Spot lifted his eyebrows expectantly.
“Pay?”
“Don’t tell me you do this for free?”
“I get to live in Ponyville! I’d do it for free if they asked me to, but I also get a little spending money as well.” Rainbow Dash frowned, trying to find out where this conversation was going.
Black Spot looked at the little buildings beneath his hooves.
“I’m not impressed.”
“Yeah? Well, who are you to say that anyway?” The pink eyes flashed dangerously.
“Just a concerned pegasus. I hate to see potential being squandered! I mean, think about it. Aren’t you like a bird living in a world of rocks? Don’t you think your gift of flight makes you special?” Black Spot held his hooves up defensively. The fire left the pink eyes and Rainbow Dash smiled at a sudden thought.
“Well, I was the town hero once… Everypony looked up to me...”
“Oh?” The dark pegasus leaned forward; perhaps he could learn about the Elements of Harmony from this mare.
“Yeah! I was the friendly neighborhood Rainbow Dash! Foals rescued and disasters averted!” The pegasus mare puffed out her chest proudly. “I had a fan club and everything! They stuck my face on flags!”
“That’s more like it.” Black Spot smiled, but underneath, he was analyzing this colorful pony. If anything, she could be his greatest ally or the most dangerous of the Wielders in the coming days. It all depended on who she was at the core.
“I even saved the town from being completely destroyed!”
“Really!?” The dark pegasus’s mind suddenly focused like a laser. “Do tell!”
Fortunately, Rainbow Dash loved to talk about herself and consented,
“Well, there I was, patrolling the skies. When all of a sudden, I noticed a fissure in the Hoofer Dam. So the friendly neighborhood Rainbow Dash swooped down and blocked off the fissure with a single hoof! And disaster was averted...”
“… That’s all?...” Black Spot lifted a critical eyebrow. All his excitement dissipated like mist.
“Well… the dam was fixed soon after that by somepony else.” Rainbow Dash scratched her mane absentmindedly. She suddenly changed the subject. “But what about you? What brings you to Ponyville?”
“Well, I’m scouting for a strong pair of wings and a reliable pegasus to share in an adventure. There’s always more room on my team and I think you might just be the mare for the job.”
“Were would this job be?” Rainbow Dash asked cautiously. Black Spot shrugged,
“A little bit of everywhere. I said adventure, after all.”
“Well, thanks guy, but I’ve got a lot of friends who need me here. So until you’re ready to give me more information,...”
The end of the mare’s sentence was cut off by somepony calling her name from far below. Looking down, Black Spot and Rainbow Dash saw an orange earth pony, Apple Jack, calling up to them.
“Right! I’ll be down in a flash, AJ!” Dash glanced back up at her new acquaintance, “That’s my friend, Apple Jack. We made plans today, so I’ll guess I’ll smell ya later! You know where to find me!” With that and a curt wave, Rainbow Dash dove toward the ground and alighted next to her earth pony friend.
Seeing the two together turned Black Spot’s stomach. Rainbow Dash wasn’t different from anypony else in this town after all! She was a weak-minded foal with no discretion between the transcendent pegasi and the common mud-bloods. Snorting steam from his nostrils, Black Spot turned to the west and sped off toward his crew’s rendezvous point. His mind was a writhing mass of anger and confusion, but at least one thought floated to the surface with crystal clarity.
For as crummy of a day he had had, at least Black Spot had discovered something useful.
Very useful.