Persona: Innocent Wish

by Trismegistus

Chapter 20: Cider, Cider, Cider, Cider.

“Arata, Camphor, hurry up. The taxi we scheduled will be here soon, and Compass Rose and Ivory Shield will be here any minute!” Blaze ordered as Arata and Camphor carried two suitcases down from their rooms.

Following Blaze’s idea that the lake was only active once a month, Penzance had decided that it would be best for team to leave the following Friday and return late Sunday. He also gave his assurance that he could handle what ever happened while they were gone. What had originally been a short day trip to an apple orchard had now become a cider tasting tour in the town of Cider Grove.

Arata dropped his bag just outside the front door. “You know you’re 45minutes early, right?”

“You can NEVER be too early for cider.” Blaze snapped.

“Relax big guy,” Vox teased, “We’ve got the whole weekend for cider and relaxation.”

“Yeeeaaahhhh guuuyyyssss it should be soooo swooood,” Camphor had the smallest bag of the group, which he gently placed next to Arata’s.

“What does swood even mean?” Arata asked, although it didn’t appear he was going to get an answer.

“Sorry to keep you guys waiting!” Compass Rose called as she flew over with her bag shortly followed by Ivory Shield. Seeing Ivory Shield without her armor was a rare sight, even when she took brief trips into Foalsdale she wore her guard armor, and she seemed noticeably uncomfortable without it. Although, while adorned in her armor she appeared to be a standard issue member of the E.U.P. Guard, without it her features became vibrant. Her amethyst eyes and matching striped mane were framed by her white coat. Unlike most ponies would guess, she had a fairly long mane which she managed to keep in her helmet.

“It’s okay,” Vox chuckled, “We’re 45minutes early for the taxi. Blaze got a little excited.”

Ivory Shield sighed and stood in a slightly relaxed position, “Well, what do you plan to do until then? There is some work I can go take care of back at camp.”

“Naaa laadddyyymaaaan, you shoullddd just chill hereee. We are going on vacation noowww,” Camphor smiled producing a flower to hand to Ivory Shield.

She reluctantly took the flower and discretely gave it to Compass Rose, “Fine, but never call me ‘laadddyyymaaaan,’ again.” Everypony laughed at her rendition of Camphor, which served to break some of the tension. Although they had all spent time with Ivory Shield it was always formal, only Vox and Compass Rose knew what she was like personally. Seeing that she was able to joke around put Arata and Blaze at ease. Camphor, who was always at ease, remained the same.

“Do you guys want to go eat something?” Arata asked, “We have more than enough time and it will take a few hours to get there once we leave.”

“Sure, that sounds like a good idea,” Vox agreed.

Camphor placed his bag in the house’s entry and invited everypony to do the same. “We can moovee our stuff in here.”

After putting their bags away the group went to the local bakery and grabbed a lite meal. They arrived back at Camphor’s house just as the taxi arrived and wasted no time loading their bags. Although the journey to Cider Grove was mundane it gave Arata a chance to take in the scenery outside of the swamps and Foaldsale. With the change to autumn, towns had already begun the running of the leaves, something that Foalsdale had yet to do, and each town they passed was either alive with the yellows and reds of the season or bare showing the slow shift to winter.

The ride also gave Blaze a chance to explain the history of this town. Apparently, it was one of his favorite places in Equestria. He explained that it was originally a small town that consisted of a few shops which supplied six surrounding orchards. Over time the orchards turned into some of the largest cider brewers in Equestria, and the town turned into a thriving tourist hub for cider enthusiasts. Each one of the orchards offered their own unique take on cider and fought for the spot as best brewery.

When the group arrived at the inn, it was only noon and Blaze informed them that he had scheduled cider tastings and tours at each one of the breweries. The tours started in two hours and everypony had a little downtime before they got started.

The inn itself was the nicest hotel Arata had stayed at. It sat on the outskirts of town, and although the design and decorations were quaint, it had a dignified ambiance. The wooden floors and paneling were somewhat weathered, but this only added to the atmosphere. Each room could comfortably fit four ponies, although the group was splitting into groups of 3, colts and fillies. The receptionist had also informed them that they had recently added an artificial hot spring outside for everypony to use.

Arata, Blaze, and Camphor split off to go to their room, which was on the second floor, while Compass Rose, Vox, and Ivory Shield went to theirs on the first. When the colts reached the room, they quickly dropped their bags and looked at the beds. The room had two full size beds along with two comfortable chairs.

“Oh, there are only two beds,” Arata commented although neither Blaze nor Camphor seemed bothered by this. “Is one of us going to sleep on the floor? Or the chairs?”

Camphor turned to him looking a bit more confused than usual, “Naaahh man, we can just share a bed. I meeaan I think it’s only fair that Blaze gets his own for planning this whole thing.”

“Thank you Camphor,” Blaze sat down in one of the chairs and stretched himself out. “Is that okay with you Arata?”

Arata felt embarrassed but didn’t bother to hide it, “Yes, I just haven’t shared a bed with anypony before. That’s all.”

Blaze began to laugh “We slept in a tree together didn’t we? Don’t worry about it.”

“I guess you’re right,” Arata chuckled hopping into one of the bed. “How long do we have until the tour?”

Camphor yawned sitting down next to Arata, “Liiiiiiiike 45 minutes.”

“We should go meet up with the girls soon,” Blaze said getting out of the chair and heading to the door.

Meanwhile Vox, Compass Rose, and Ivory Shield had settled into their room and had begun to unpack. Compass Rose had been sharing some of her anxieties about the trip with the two other ponies. “To be honest I don’t actually care for cider all that much,” she explained, “It’s alright from time to time, but I don’t really know what I’m going to do for a full three days here.”

“I’m pretty sure that after Blaze is done here I’ll have a stable supply of cider for the next few months,” Vox laughed, “If you want to do something not cider related, I’d be more than happy to join you. I’m sure we’ll have a relaxing weekend either way.”

“Thanks, it’s good to know I have friends like you,” Compass Rose turned to Ivory Shield, “What about you Ivory? I don’t really know your thoughts on cider.”

“I haven’t actually had cider for ‘taste’ in ages. Most of the time when I drink it’s with the stallions in the guard and they try to make a contest out of it. Needless to say I won the contest every time.” She smirked.

“Oh, Blaze is going to have a field day with you,” Vox said checking the time, “I feel a bit bad for Arata, he said he’s never had cider before and I have a feeling he’s going to see more of it than he would like to.”

“Well then, he can hang out with us tomorrow,” As Compass Rose finished her sentence there was a knock on the door.

Vox was the first one to it and greeted Blaze, Arata, and Camphor.

“You guys ready for the tours?” Blaze called into the room. Everypony agreed enthusiastically and followed Blaze to the first of six breweries.

The first on the list was Huf gedrückt, the oldest brewery in town, and it was known for sticking to its traditional roots and the best Hüfweizen in Equestria. The brewery was housed in an old stone building which dated to the founding of Canterlot. The building had increased in scale over time but every expansion was meticulously designed to fit into the existing building.

Once they entered the brewery they were greeted by a mare wearing traditional lederhorsen and a hat with a large feather. Her blonde mane was braided and hung past her shoulders.

“Herzlich Willkommen! Sie müssen hier für die Apfelwein Verkostung sein! Blaze richtig?” She said with a broad smile, and accent Arata was not familiar with.

The group stood waiting for a translation but it quickly became clear that they were not getting them.

Blaze stepped forward and began to answer her question, “Ja, das ist richtig. Dies ist Arata , Vox, Kampfer , Kompassrose , Elfenbein Schild . Wir haben eine Tour geplant als gut.” As he spoke he pointed to each pony, they believed he was introducing them.

Everypony, except Vox, watched in confusion as Blaze continued his conversation.

“Wie war die Ernte in diesem Jahr? Ich habe gehört, die Ernte deutlich über Erwartung.” Blaze said, the group believed it to be a question, but there was no way of knowing.

“Vox, what’s going on?” Arata whispered as the mare continued to talk to Blaze.

“Richtig, meine Entschuldigungen.” Blaze looked a bit embarrassed and turned to the mare, “Meine Freunde sprechen nicht Deutsch.”

The mare looked at the group, “I’m sorry I normally give the German introduction and continue in a language everypony understands. I was so surprised that he spoke the language that I continued speaking it. If you all will follow me we can begin the tour.”

She led them through the facility explaining every facet of the process in great detail. Ivory Shield and Blaze were taking in every bit of the information she provided, while Camphor seemed to be more focused on what his reflection looked like in the brass kettles. Compass Rose and Vox paid some attention to the tour, but seemed to busy making plans for the next day.

After the tour concluded they gathered in the taproom for the first of six tastings.

“We’re only going to try one cider here,” Blaze informed the group. “I want you all to get a feel for the individual character of each brewer.”

Shortly after the mare who had given them the tour arrived with six mugs of cider; she set one down in front of each pony. “This is our oldest cider. Notice the strong flavor, and the thick head of foam. We use various flowers to help further draw out the subtle apple notes. We think its best in Equestria. Austrinken!”

Arata watched as everypony slowly sipped from the mug, before doing the same himself. The drink was bubblier than he had expected. Initially he could taste the apples, but then the taste changed from crisp to a mellow sweetness complemented by a hint of floral notes. He quickly took another sip, and another, until his mug was empty.

“Haha!” Blaze exclaimed, “Looks like Arata liked his first taste of cider!”

“It was pretty good,” He admitted, “Can I order another?”

“Not until the next brewery. Don’t worry; you’ll get your fill on this trip.” Blaze assured him, as he finished the last sip from his glass.

“I have to give it to you Blaze, that was one of the best I have had.” Ivory Shield smiled.

“Yeah,” Compass Rose agreed, “I don’t usually like cider, but this was really drinkable. Although, I probably won’t finish the next one I get, a pint is a lot more than I’m used to drinking.”

“Which brewery are we hitting next, Blaze?” Vox asked.

“We’re going to Gooseneck,” Blaze stood up and walked over to the door.

“Yay! I’ve been dying to have their stout since we got here,” Vox eagerly followed Blaze to the door.

Arata stood up and felt the room spin a little. He shook his head but that only made the sensation worse. He felt Camphor’s hoof on his shoulder.

“Woah man, are you feeling it already?” Camphor asked.

“Oh, is that the cider?” Arata asked.

“Yeeaaahhh man, looks like you’re a total light weight.” Camphor laughed following the rest of the group out.

After a bit of stumbling Arata caught up to the rest of the group, the next brewery was a 30 minute walk away and it gave Arata time to regain his normal composure. No pony commented on his tipsy state on the walk over.

The Gooseneck brewery was a series of wood buildings and a small stream running through the center of the complex. Blaze led them into the tasting room after informing them that this brewery did not offer tours to ponies not considered “VIP’S”.

Upon hearing this Ivory Shield went over to one of the bar attendants and had a brief conversation before returning to the group.

“I managed to get us a tour of the facility.” She smiled.

“Really?” Blaze asked, “I’ve never managed to get a tour here.”

“It was a little harder than just speaking German. I had to flash them this.” She pulled out a badge from her coin pouch. “This, if you aren’t aware, is Shining Armor’s cutie mark. It’s the mark that the elite guard members get. I’ve found that flashing this can get me into most ‘VIP’ only locations.”

“That sounds like a pretty liberal use of power,” Blaze commented, shaking off the quip about speaking German.

“I was just having a casual conversation and the fact that I work under Shining Armor just happened to come up.” She laughed.

Arata wasn’t sure what to make of the conversation but the feeling of the cider had now completely worn off.

The tour was almost identical to the last one, except for the fifteen minutes spent discussing other ‘malt’ additions they make to the cider. Most of the jargon seemed to be wasted on any pony other than Blaze. When it came time for the tasting Vox was the most excited. The bar tender poured each of them a glass of black cider, with a thick cream colored head.

This one didn’t really taste like apples; it was a weird mix of chocolate, coffee, some apple flavor and sourness. Although Arata wasn’t a fan of the drink itself he finished the pint. This was much heavier than the previous one had been, and the wobbly feeling had set in much faster.

“Arata are you okay?” Vox asked, “You’re just kind of staring into your empty glass.”

“Oh…” Arata trailed off, “What?”

“Are you drunk? You’ve only had two drinks!” Vox began to laugh causing some of the surrounding ponies to look in their direction.

“Yeeeaaahhhhhh maaannnnn he’ssss a total light weiiigghtttt,” Camphor joined in the mockery.

“Hey. It’s my first time,” Arata paused, “I didn’t know what to expect.”

Every pony either burst out into laughter or blankly stared at Arata.

Between his laughs Blaze tried to get out a sentence, “All right, I think we should move on to the next one.”

The next two stops were a blur for Arata. At each one he was able to finish the full glass of cider just as the effects of the last one were starting to wear off. As the day went on Arata could feel the effects of the cider weakening as he became used to them.

They approached the second to last brewery, a newer building built in homage to pegasai architecture. The mostly wooden building was curved at odd angles to resemble clouds and grand stone pillars held up several sections.

“Now this is what I came here for.” Ivory shield smiled broadly as she took in the building, “One of the few places in Equestria where Pegasai brew cider. P.P.A’s will put anything we’ve had here to shame.”

“I don’t think so,” Vox and Blaze responded in unison. Both had already experienced their favorite brew, and leapt to their defense.

“Stouts and Hüfweizens are all good, but this one will knock your horse shoes off,” Ivory Shield led the group into the building and they all waited for the tour.

They were greeted by a Pegasus who floated just above the group. He was wearing a white shirt with rolled up sleeves and a white cap. “Hello, everypony. How may I help you today?”

“We have a tour scheduled, it should be under Blaze,” Blaze stepped forward to talk to the stallion.

“Ah I see, please follow me.” The light brown Pegasus led the group into the brewery.

The tour featured more history than any of the others. To Arata’s surprise this was the only group of pegasai making cider in all of Equestria. Supposedly the recipe had been passed on since before the founding of Equestria when the pegasai took apples from earth ponies by force. From what Arata could tell, the methods of brewing were mostly the same from brewery to brewery.

“Now this is the real kicker,” The guide smirked, “So on top of those special flowers I mentioned earlier, this is where our cider gets its kick. We age it in charred oak barrels, with the addition of oak chips from time to time. This makes sure that the cider really slithers down when you drink it.”

Arata knew that he didn’t really understand the complex world of cider yet, but most of what was being described didn’t sound pleasant.

When the group made their way to the tasting room, Ivory Shield was unable to contain her excitement, recounting stories about her days in Cloudsdale and the other memories the cider conjured.

“Oh,” Arata said, “I forgot to ask, what does PPA stand for?”

“Pegasus Pale Apple,” A stranger answered. The group turned to find a stallion carrying them their drinks. “Here ya go, drink up!”

Arata took a sip, and to his dismay the tour guide’s description had been accurate. The initial taste had a fairly strong apple flavor, but that was immediately replaced with a bitter and somewhat floral taste. As he swallowed he could feel some of the oak in the back of his throat.

Arata let out a cough as he finished his sip.

“You’ll get used to it pretty fast Arata,” Ivory Shield assured him.

Compass Rose also seemed to be having as much trouble with the drink as Arata. Camphor on the other hoof was relishing every sip of it.

“The floweeerrrss in this arreee the besssttttttt, it’s likkkeee I can tasteee natureee.” He set the empty mug down followed by Blaze and Vox.

Ivory Shield set hers down last with a melancholy look on her face. “Well I guess it’s time to move on.”

“You’ll get to drink more of that tomorrow,” Vox smiled as they left.

As the group approached the last brewery, the sun had set and the events of the day were starting to wear on them.

“Allllll riiiiiggghhhttt,” Camphor yawned, “last stop of the day.”

Blaze let out a sigh, “I’m warning you now, this is by far the worst cider here.”

“I agree,” Vox said.

The industrial building in front of the group was the newest in town. Surprisingly it seemed to be the most popular as well.

Once they entered, a stallion greeted the group, unlike all of the previous distilleries he had forsaken any traditional clothing for a modern Jacket and tie. “You six must be here to tour the cutting edge of cider.” He smiled coolly at the mares in the group, “Welcome to Buckwiser.”

As the group followed him through the industrial brewery it was clear the focus here was more on technology than tradition.

“We brew cold,” the guide said walking up to one of the fermentation tanks. Turning to face the group with the same cool smile he continued, “Much like this beautiful girl’s eyes,” he gestured to Ivory Shield who quickly replaced the coldness in her eyes with the fire of anger. “We have one goal here, and that goal, is drinkability. We brew cold so our cider is as smooth and clear as it can be. But we don’t stop there.” He gestured to the pipes moving off of the tank. “We chill filter our cider not once, but 12 times to make sure it has the maximum drinkability.”

The tour continued for almost an hour and ‘drinkability’ came up every other word. Instead of serving them himself, their guide took them to a bar and walked away.

The group took a table and a waiter brought them a round of cider. “See that mark on the glass?” he asked to the group, “It is magically enchanted to turn blue when the cider is cold enough to maximize drinkability.”

As he walked away they all raised their glasses and took a drink.

Arata was the first to set his glass down, “It kinda tastes like yeast, water, and I guess I can kind of taste a bit of apple.”

“Welcome to the future of cider kid,” Blaze said as he placed an empty mug on the table.

“Why did we even come here?” Arata said following up his statement.

“Because you needed to get the full Cider Grove experience, and sadly this is the most popular cider in Equestria.” Blaze hung his head and slowly shook it.

“What? Why?” Compass Rose interjected, “I don’t even like cider that much and I can tell this isn’t any good.”

“Beats me,” Blaze sighed.

“Oh, quit your griping,” Ivory Shield chuckled slamming her mug onto the table. “This is the finest drink in the E.U.P. guard!”

“I can see why The Major General left,” Blaze quipped back.

“I’m exhausted,” Vox yawned, “Is everypony ready to head back to the inn?”

“Yeeeaaahhh man,” Camphor caught Vox’s yawn and let out one of his own. “I’mmmm feeeellinn ittt.”

The group paid for the drinks and tipped the waiter before heading back for the night.

Once they arrived back at the hotel, Compass Rose and Vox split off to plan their next day while Arata, Blaze, Camphor, and Ivory Shield sat in the inn’s bar/restaurant to go over theirs.

“I can’t believe this place is open so late,” Arata yawned.

“I think they’re open all day and night,” Blaze informed him placing a map of the town on the table. “Here’s the plan for tomorrow. We’re hitting Celestia’s Circle.”

“A good old fashioned pub crawl,” Ivory Shield noted.

“Exactly, we start when the sun rises and finish when it sets, 11 bars, 12 pints.” Blaze smirked.

“That’s double what we had today…” Arata wasn’t sure if he would be able to handle that much cider.

“You bet it is!” Ivory Shield exclaimed.

“That sounds like fuuunnn, maaannnn,” Camphor had been the most neutral towards cider the entire trip, although his eagerness didn’t surprise any pony.

“We’d better get to bed,” Blaze added. “We have to be at the first pub when the sun rises.”

…

The next morning Ivory Shield, Camphor, Arata, and Blaze woke up more than an hour before the sun rose to walk to the first pub on the list. Compass Rose and Vox were still asleep and Ivory Shield informed the group that they would be going on a hike around the orchards.

The first pub was almost empty at this hour, only a few ponies seemed to be left over from the night before. There was an old mare standing behind the bar who greeted the team. She was wearing a shirt and tie and her long grey mane was neatly tied up.

“I take it you four are here for Celestia’s Circle?” She said placing four empty mugs on the bar in front of her.

“Yep,” Blaze answered taking a seat at the bar, “Were gonna do the whole loop.”

“Good luck, we get a lot of ponies here at the bars but barely any pony does the full crawl these days. It’s nice to see younger ponies taking part in tradition.”

Arata sat down next to Blaze with Camphor on his right and Ivory shield on the opposite side of Blaze.

“The sun should be rising any minute now, what can I get each of you?” She asked gesturing to the six familiar ciders on tap.

“I’ll take a Hüfweizen,” Blaze placed his order and the bartender took his glass.

“Me too,” said Arata sliding is mug forward.

“I’lllll take a P.P.AAAA,” Camphor followed.

“You’ve got good taste Camphor. I’ll take a P.P.A. too,” Ivory Shield requested.

As the mare slid each pony their glass they in turn slid her payment for the drink.

“Well everypony, here’s to the first of twelve and to Princess Celestia.” Blaze raised his glass as the sun light flickered into the window behind the bar.

“I’ll drink to that!” Ivory Shield hoisted up her glass, joined by Camphor and Arata.

Each pony quickly finished their pint and returned their glasses. The bartender addressed them once more, “It’s a 10 minute walk to the next pub you’ll want to head out in about 20 minutes to make it back here for your last drink at sunset.”

The mare left the group and went to serve a few other ponies that had come in.

“I know this doesn’t seem like much now, but once we’re three bars in things get crazy.” Blaze assured the group.

“Hey, can I ask you guys something?” Ivory Shield had turned to face the group as a whole.

“Sure,” Arata answered not entirely sure of what she wanted to know.

“You three and Vox, all seem pretty close. I know that Vox and Blaze have known each other for ages, but what about you two?” She gestured to Arata and Camphor.

“Well I’m here as a part of an exchange trip with Nippony. Penzance decided that I would be Blazes partner, and well, here we are.” Arata modestly explained, trying not to mention anything that may refer to the lake.

“Annddd I joineeeed when Arataa told mee that they could use my skilllssss in herbal medicine,” Camphor explained also making sure not to mention anything suspicious.

“I see, how do you three think Penzance has been holding up since Autumn Tail passed?” Her question was blunt, but understandably so. Due to Penzance’s withdrawal from work, Ivory Shield managed most of the E.W.E.F’s daily functions, and it did not appear that Penzance had given her any indication of what was really going on.

“I think that he’s been able to come to terms with it recently,” Arata commented. “Us just being here shows that.”

“That’s good to hear. Seeing him like this has been pretty depressing.” Ivory Shield admitted.

“Right,” Blaze joined in, “You knew him from the guard didn’t you?”

“I served under him at the end of his career. He was already in the process of starting the E.W.E.F. at that point along with choosing his successor. I was introduced to him when I was first put on Celestia’s personal guard detail. I was one of seven fillies in my class at the academy, and of that I was the only one who wanted to serve in Canterlot as security. Most others either opted for clerical work or management. Being one of the only girls in the division wasn’t easy, and Penzance took notice of that. He introduced me to Shining Armor once the switch had been completed, and from there I really started to soar.” Ivory Shield explained.

“I hadn’t reeaaaalllyyy thought about it until now, but you’re the first female guard pony I’ve seen.” Camphor added.

“I get that a lot,” Ivory Shield admitted with a hint of pride, “It wasn’t easy getting to where I am, but I think I’ve proved that I’m just as strong as any stallion out there.”

Blaze looked at a clock on the pub’s wall, “We should get going. We wouldn’t want to be late.”

Everypony got up and quickly made their way to the next pub on the list. They continued their conversation about the guard, although shifting away from Ivory Shield’s personal experiences and focusing more on the structure of the guard itself.

When they arrived at the next pub, they found it was more crowded than the last. Quickly finding seats at the bar they ordered their pints in addition to a large breakfast. The bar tender here was significantly less talkative, but it gave the four time to get more acquainted.

“So, you’ve heard all about me and the guard. Now it’s your turn to share. We can start with Blaze.” Ivory Shield said setting down her glass, this time she had gone with the stout instead of the PPA. “What brought you here to the E.W.E.F?”

“I guess it’s only fair,” Blaze began. “My father was one of the founding members of the E.W.E.F. from back before it was a big organization. He had always been an adventurer, going off with no other motivation than to see all that there was to see. I grew up on all of his stories of the wonders of Equestria and beyond. He had met Penzance around when I was born and quickly became interested in Penzance’s idea of mapping Equestria.” Blaze paused to take a drink and a few bites of his breakfast.

Arata had only head bits and pieces of this story in the months he spent with Blaze. The thought crossed Arata’s mind that maybe if he had been present for Blaze’s entire stay in the lake, he would know all of it.

Blaze took another sip form his mug and continued, “Right after I finished school I applied to be part of the E.U.P. guard. I thought once I did some time and got experience there I would be able to join my dad and hopefully the E.W.E.F.”

“Did you apply for the officer corps?” Ivory shield asked.

“No, the general body. I didn’t think I had any potential for leadership. But as it turned out, I wasn’t suited for guard work. My application was denied, and so I took up a job at the Canterlot archives. The situation really worked out for the best, I found out less than a month later that my dad had passed away on an expedition. I turned away from being an explorer for years, spending all of my time reading whatever the archives had to offer. Then Penzance tracked me down and offered me a spot in the newly formed E.W.E.F. He said he needed an anthropologist and record keeper, and I just couldn’t turn down the offer.” He concluded, surprising everypony with the level of detail he provided.

“Do’ya think theee explorersss lifffee suits youu now?” Camphor added.

“More than I would like to admit. The E.W.E.F. has been great. Celestia, I even met Vox here. I don’t think I could ask for much more than that.” Blaze seldom talked about his relationship with Vox and it was a bit odd for Arata. Blaze checked the time, “We’d better finish up quickly, it’s almost time to go.”

Arata finished off his food, and quickly drank the last few sips of his cider. Although it took longer than the previous day, he was starting to feel the cider’s effects. Once everypony had finished they quickly progressed to the third pub on the list. The town had quickly filled up with tourists from everywhere in Equestria. Each one moving around to one of the many gift shops, restaurants, and pubs scattered around the town. Several of them were wearing cameras around their necks, and made sure to take photos of everything the town had to offer.

As was to be expected, the next pub was full of ponies already and there weren’t any open seats at the bar. A filly carrying a small notepad informed the group that they could seat themselves and flag her down when they were ready to order. Arata weaved his way through the maze of tables and found an open one towards the back. Once everypony was seated they ordered their drinks and continued their previous conversation.

“Alright, Arata now it’s your turn,” Ivory Shield said, “let’s hear about what brought you to the E.W.E.F.”

“Well, I used to live in Nippony; but I think you already know that.” Arata paused as the waitress brought out their drinks. He took a sip and continued to talk, the words seemed to be coming to him much more easily than they usually did. “I never really liked it there though; well that’s not really it. I liked Nippony, but I didn’t like the ponies. All they ever did was talk about me being a blankflank. ‘He’s so old and doesn’t have a talent’ this and ‘what a failure’ that. So when I found out that there was a way for me to come to Equestria and be an explorer I applied in a heartbeat. Once I was accepted I came out to Foalsdale and met Blaze. There isn’t really much else to say.”

“Sounds miserable,” Ivory Shield added bluntly, “To be honest I didn’t really notice you were a blankflank until you pointed it out.”

“What? Really?” Arata squinted a bit and cocked his head.

“See in the guard everypony’s flank is covered by our armor. The philosophy is ‘it doesn’t matter what your talent is, you are in the guard and that is all that counts.’” She concluded.

“I wish the ponies back home could have heard that,” Arata sighed.

“Cheer up kid,” Blaze said patting him on the back, “You’re one of us now; you don’t need to worry about what ponies back home think.”

Arata smiled, Blaze’s words meant more to him than he could have known. “Thank you, senpai.”

After finishing their glasses the group decided to move on and see if the next pub was less crowded. Luckily they found that the bar was completely empty and most ponies had taken seats around the restaurant portion of the establishment. They repeated the ordering ritual and then it was Camphor’s turn to talk.

“Iii donnttt really have an interesting storryyy like you guysss,” He began. “I’ve spent my whole life in Foalsdale, they only time I’ve even left the town was to go to Fillydelphia to visit family. I’ve always practiced medicine, not in the conventional senceeee thouuuggghh. I mostly use herbs and other plants I harvest in the swaaammmppsss to make it. That’s whyyy Penzance took me into the forrceee.”

“How well do you know the swamps?” Ivory Shield asked.

“I’ve gone about 12 miles out beforeeee, so pretty well.” He said.

“I’m surprised Penzance didn’t take you as a guide earlier.” She smiled. “You guys seem to have a pretty good exploration team set up, an anthropologist, a communications expert, a scout, a survivalist, and the all-important recruit. It’s no wonder Penzance always has you out in the swamps.”

“What do mean ‘all-important recruit?’” Arata said with a slight slur, he had just finished his fourth drink and the effects were becoming visible.

“You don’t have a specialization yet, but that’s what makes you so useful. You could become anything the team needs,” Ivory Shield smiled.

…

The rest of the day started to blur together for everypony, even Blaze and Ivory Shield were hit by the cider. The crawl continued with the conversation becoming more and more disjointed and silly. After six more stops Arata could barely control himself, everything everypony said sent him into laughing fits and he felt that he just needed to be honest with everypony. Camphor’s speech became almost impossible to understand once his drawl had combined with heavy slurring. Blaze and Ivory Shield were the least effected by far, Blaze took every opportunity he could to either discuss a book he thought was relevant to the conversation, or make horrible puns; Ivory Shield on the other hoof was barking orders at the group trying to enforce military discipline on three drunken stallions.

The four stumbled through the town as the sun grew close to setting. Arata and Camphor had resorted to using each other for support, to make the short walk to the pub. As they approached the second to last stop, the dull pulse of electronic music caught their ears. Although the sun hadn’t set yet it appeared that a party was already in full swing.

They made their way in and worked their way through the packed dance floor to the bar and ordered their drinks.

“Blashe,” Arata sputtered, “Ho-how long do we have here?”

“40 minutesh, kid,” he replied.

All of the tables and bar stools had been removed to make room for the dance floor, the group moved off to the side to finish their drinks before they debated if they should dance. Before the group could come to an agreement a mare walked out of the crowed and up to Arata.

“I’m glad you finally made it,” her familiar voice greeted him. After blinking a few times Arata realized that he was staring into Caroline’s eyes. “I would like to request a dance.”

“How did you get here?” he asked.

“Duuuuddeeeeeeeeeeeee sheeessssssssshhhhh liiiikkkkeee shuppeeerr haawwtttt goo dance with herrrrr,” Camphor nudged him losing his balance and landing on the floor.

“Your friend is right.” Caroline grabbed Arata’s arm and pulled him into the crowed. “I have always wanted to participate in a dance like this, and once master informed that you would be here, I decided that I needed to join.”

“But… the door ish in Foalshdale…” Arata couldn’t quite wrap his head around the situation.

“I would explain to you how I came here, but perhaps I should save that until you’re sober. I feel any explanation I lend you now would be wasted.” She concluded.

“Okay” Arata awkwardly danced with Caroline for what felt like an hour until he felt a tug from behind. He turned to see Ivory Shield staring at him.

“You’ve had enough fun with that filly cadet! Move out!” she barked. Arata turned and caught a faint glimpse of Caroline making her way out of the crowd.

They exited the pub and everypony’s ears were ringing. Blaze took a few minutes to get his bearings again before returning to the pub where they started. They were surprised to find the same mare who served them in the morning waiting for them at the bar.

“Congratulations everypony. You’re one pint away from completing Celestia’s Circle. I have to say I’m impressed. Same drinks as this morning?” She asked readying their mugs.

“Yesh pleash,” They said in unison taking their seats.

She slid each one a mug just as the last rays of light trickled through the bars rear window. They quickly finished the drinks and slammed the mugs down.

“I-” Ivory Shield hiccupped “Gotta say, you have all impressed me with your cider…ing.”

“That round is on the house,” The mare smiled. “Consider it a gift for making it back.”

Arata felt an odd rush of pride from making it through the crawl. He also felt a little more diligent, and a great deal more courageous. It wasn’t something he had ever thought he would do, but it turned out to be a great time to bond with his friends.

…

Arata woke up at the crack of dawn the next morning, not that he wanted to, but the minute the sun came in the room he felt a stabbing in his temples that refused to subside. Seeing that Blaze and Camphor were both asleep, Arata tried to get more sleep. After a few minutes without any relief he went to take a shower, hoping not to wake his friends.

The steam helped sooth his head a bit, but not enough for him to be able to sleep. He quietly left the room and walked to the inn’s restaurant. He ordered a cup of coffee and some food and sat off in a corner nursing his head. Shortly after he sat down Compass Rose entered the restaurant and noticed Arata sitting in the corner.

“Good morning Arata, looks like you had fun yesterday,” she set her glass down on the table and pulled out the seat next to him.

“Not so loud please,” Arata whispered.

“Oh, sorry,” she dropped her voice to match his and continued. “Vox and Ivory just woke up. Vox is going with Blaze to pick up a few barrels of cider, and Ivory and Camphor are going to tour the orchards. So that leaves you and I. I’d like to talk to you for a while if you don’t mind.”

“Okay, what do you want to talk about?” he asked thinking he knew where this was going.

“The lake. I talked with Vox all day yesterday about it, but you’re the one whose had a persona the longest, so I want to talk to you.” She said.

“Okay, we can go out to the garden by the hot spring after we eat and talk about it. I think the fresh air will be good for my head.” Once they finished they headed to the garden which was filled with trees, and a small artificial stream.

They took a seat on a bench and Compass Rose began, just loud enough to be heard over the dull babble of the stream. “What happened to you when you fell into the lake? For me it was the endless mapping, for Vox is was being a puppet, what was it for you?”

“I was back home in Nippony,” Arata began with a hint of hesitation. “Then my old teacher appeared and told me that I was nothing even though I had a cutie mark.” Arata paused for a second, “In case you didn’t know I get a cutie mark when I’m in the lake. But anyway then she turned into a shadow and attacked Blaze and I along with everypony there. I was able to summon Taliesin and kill all of them, but at that point we didn’t know what the lake was, and I thought that I had just killed everypony I knew.”

“I’m sorry… that sounds much worse than what I had to deal with,” Compass Rose apologized.

“No, you shouldn’t think of it like that.” Arata corrected. “What I went through was designed to be what I was most afraid of, just as yours was made for you. From what I’ve seen, everypony’s fear is just as devastating as the next pony’s… except Camphor, I still don’t really understand what happened with him.”

“Vox told me about that…” Compass Rose stared into her reflection in the water flowing by them. “How did you know what your fear was? I’ve been thinking about it a lot and I just can’t put my hoof on what it was supposed to be. It was awful, and I’ve had nightmares about it already, but I don’t know what any of it means.”

“It took a hoof to the head from Blaze to bring me back to my senses after I fell into the lake,” Arata assured her. “It will become clearer over time; and hey, you’ve got all of us to help you now. It’s not like we’re just waiting helplessly in the castle like before.” Arata smiled reassuringly.

“Thanks, Arata. That helps more than you know.” She smiled faintly in return.

‘Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a Persona of the Temperance Arcana,’ a dull voice echoed in Arata’s mind.

The pair sat in the garden talking about their experiences with the lake, the E.W.E.F., and life in general for hours before the rest of the team had assembled and it was finally time for their weekend to come to an end.