//------------------------------// // Welcome to Wedgemare // Story: Fairy Tale // by Veck //------------------------------// Everfree Forest Outskirts, Equestria November 13th Despite the sun being frozen in place in the sky, the groggy morning slowly faded from the land, and with it, the noon had come. The trio eventually found their way back to a low slung stone-arch bridge. Jonathan, recognizing the bridge, cast a curious glance over at Celestia. “Are we going to that beach?” he asked, pointing toward the winding trail on the opposite end of the bridge. Celestia followed his finger's direction with her eyes, then looked back at him quizzically. “You've been to Verdigras Lake?” she asked Jonathan, a hint of a smile on her face. “Well...” Jonathan trailed off into a thoughtful silence, remembering back to how he woken up there hours before. “Yeah, though it wasn't exactly...intentional.” “What? So you just accidentally woke up on the beach. ...wait, did you happen to wake up buried in sand?” Luna asked from her position in the air. This earned a slight grin from Jonathan, which he immediately tried to conceal. He started to shake his head, but upon recalling what events had somehow gotten him here, he spoke up. “Well, you're half right, actually.” “The 'accidentally waking up in the beach' part, or the 'buried up to your neck-” “Anyway!” Celestia interjected with a slightly irritated tone in her voice. She huffed, and let herself cool down before turning her head towards Jonathan. “To answer your question, Jonathan; no. While we may visit the lake some other time, the destination I have in mind today is the town of Wedgemare.” That's an interesting name for a town, Jonathan thought, amused. “How are we getting there?” Celestia stepped toward the gentle, slow-moving stream of water. Peering over her shoulder, she said, “If we follow this river, we should get there in a matter of minutes.” “Well, what are we waiting for then—come on!” Luna exclaimed from overhead. With a speed much greater than Jonathan had thought capable of the young pegasus, she bolted off. Despite the lurching of his stomach from just watching the sight, a low whistle escaped his lips as she seemed to disappear beyond the horizon. He heard a quiet chuckle come from Celestia. As Jonathan turned to face her, she grinned and shrugged nonchalantly. “She is quite fast, isn't she?” He could only nod in response. Breaking off into a brisk canter, Celestia motioned for Jonathan to follow her. “Come on—we should be getting going, lest we leave her waiting.” The two eventually came to a pair of white-stone columns, surrounded on either side by seven-to-eight foot high walls. In front of each column, an armored guard stood, a stoic expression akin to stone on their faces. At their sides, lethal swords were partially concealed within leather scabbards. Just like the movies, Jonathan thought, a chilling nervousness running down the arch of his back. He had half-expected the stallions to stop and search Celestia and him, and thanked the gods when they didn't. Following Celestia up the main road, he looked ahead to a bustling plaza, in which fillies and colts went about their daily routines. Various fruit stalls were set up around the square; carts of apples stacked in such a way where one small bump could send the pile tumbling down. This, mixed with the enticing aroma of fresh bread wavering in the air reawakened a stomach he thought had been full. Distracted completely by his surroundings, Jonathan didn't notice that Celestia had abruptly paused once they came to an ornate fountain. He was only able to narrowly avoid bumping in to her, though thankfully she didn't seem to notice. Making a quick observation of her, he realized that she was looking around the area for something. SomeONE, actually, he thought, remembering Luna. “...now where could she have gotten off to this time...?' she grumbled frustratedly, shaking her head. She cast a glance at Jonathan and opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it with a sigh. After a moment of silence she turned back to him with a hesitant expression on her face. “Could you stay here a moment? I'm gonna go check to see where Luna's ran off to.” With an affirmative nod, Jonathan then sunk down on to a wooden bench near the fountain. Celestia gave him an abashed smile before trotting off. He watched her nearly bowl over two older mares in her hurry, and after a quick apology to the pair, she disappeared into the crowd. She's quite the character, Jonathan thought, silently smiling to himself. The smile lasted until a sudden antagonistic thought popped into Jonathan's mind. She could easily be lying, you know. What if she's just trying to get away from you? Casting his eyes downward, he let out an inaudible sigh. As much as he usually tried to disperse that kind of thought whenever it came up, the more and more common it became, the more difficult it was to get rid of. “Salutations, lad.” Abruptly broken from his thoughts, Jonathan turned to find the source of this voice. It came from a relatively mature-looking pegasus—a stallion, from the sound of the voice—sitting on a bench to his left. His tan coat was nicely groomed, but had grayed slightly with age, which also showed in his mane and beard that were a shade just shy of white. The thing that caught Jonathan's eye, however, was an odd tattoo-like symbol on his flank. It was a gold compass, with a cluster of crimson four-pointed stars above the northern point. “You don't look like you're from around here,” the stallion observed with a raised brow. No, really? “What's your name?” “My name's Jonathan, or John for short.” Tilting his head, the stallion asked, “Which do you prefer?” “Jonathan,” he said without hesitation. “And that is what I shall call you, then. It's nice to meet you Jonathan.” He smiled and stood up from the bench. Closing the short distance between the two, he walked over to the boy and held out a hoof. “The name's Silver Comet, though you can just call me Comet.” Jonathan hesitated for a split second before shaking the extended hoof and giving a slight smile in return. After the gesture ended, Comet took a seat next to him on the bench. “So, how long is Celestia gonna be gone?” “Not sure. I guess it really depends on-” It took Jonathan a moment, but it suddenly hit him. “...how do you know Celestia's name?” Comet let out a hearty laugh, a spark of energy in his hazel eyes that seemed much younger than the rest of him. “Lad, I know the name of everypony—and non-pony—in town.” Seeing the aghast expression on Jonathan's face, he continued, “When you've been mayor for as long as I have, you tend to get familiar with the citizens.” “Ah...alright,” said Jonathan, nodding. “Now, as you were saying before?” Jonathan put a hand to his chin in thought. “As I was saying, it really depends on how long it'll take for her to find Luna.” “Oh, Luna?” Comet began, raising a brow, “She's in the library. Which might seem odd, considering her age—but she's actually quite literate for her size. I guess she takes after her sister in that way.” Comet's eyes strayed from Jonathan to something behind him. “Speaking of the devil,” murmured Comet, pointing a hoof at the incoming unicorn. Following the direction of his hoof, Jonathan saw Celestia walking slowly toward them. Judging by the disappointed look on her face, she had not found Luna yet. “I honestly couldn't figure out where she's ran off to, Jonathan,” said Celestia, frowning slightly. “I've looked all over the place for her. I'm starting to think we should go ask Mayor Comet if he's...seen...her...” she trailed off as she noticed the stallion sitting aside Jonathan. Comet turned and gave a knowing wink to Jonathan. “Have you checked the library, Celestia?” he asked.