Wandering Moon
All was calm in the hills northeast of Ponyville, the creaking of a wagon being the only sounds that could be heard over the early morning breeze. Hitched to the front of the wagon was a large pony, their plain brown cloak doing just as good of a job covering any distinguishing features as it was protecting the wearer from the elements.
Trotting along beside the large pony was another substantially smaller pony clad in a similar cloak. Free of any type of tether tying them to the wagon the second pony would often run off ahead of the larger pony, only to stop and trot impatiently in place once they got too far ahead.
“Oh, hurry up, Wander,” the smaller pony whined. “At the rate you're going, it'll be dark before we get there.”
“Calm yourself, Moon,” Wander responded. “Ponyville isn’t going anywhere. If it gets too late, we'll just set up camp outside of town and go in first thing in the morning.”
“But I don't want to get there tomorrow morning,” Moon groused. “I wanted to see sis today.”
“And just like the town,” Wander responded, not even a hint of annoyance in his voice, “she will still be there tomorrow.”
“You said we’d get there today, though,” Moon complained, “but now you're walking slow, and…”
Used to his sister’s whining Wander simply rolled his eyes and tuned her out, turning his full attention to the trail before them.
The pair continued this way for a time, Moon griping as they made their way down the trail and Wander nodding and grunting in feigned acknowledgment until they reached a fork in the road. Seeing a sign nearby, Wander unhitched himself from the wagon and approached the sign to read it, unfamiliar with the roads in this part of Equestria and ignorant of the pause in Moon’s complaints.
“Mhmm,” Wander grunted in affirmation, eyes scanning the sign.
“‘Mhmm’?” Moon parrotted. “‘Mhmm’ what? Do you even know what I just said? Are you even listening to me?”
“Hmm? Oh, sorry,” Wander said, reaching up with a forehoof to pull his hood back and scratch the back of his head. “I was just thinking to myself a bit there, must have zoned out at some point.”
“Yeah, some point half an hour ago,” Moon said, pulling her own hood back and shooting Wander a glare, her pale blue eyes flashing mischievously behind her glasses. “I just started going into very intimate detail about every one of your friends I’ve slept with, and you didn’t even react.”
“I.. you… bwah?” Wander stuttered, face flushing red. “Moon! That is not appropriate public conversation, nor is it something I want to know about!”
“Public? What public?” Moon questioned, sweeping her forelegs out to gesture all around them. “There’s no one else here but us. We haven’t seen another traveler in days.”
“Still, you never know when someone might be close by and overhear you.” Wander responded, leveling a glare at his sister as annoyance tinted his features for what wasn’t the first, and surely wouldn’t be the last time on their long journey. “I’m sure you remember what happened last time, the last thing we need is for someone to take one look at you and misinterpret the situation.”
“‘Take one look at me’ you say?” Moon growled, taking a threatening step towards her brother. “Are you trying to say I’m short?”
“Moon,” Wander sighed in exasperation as he facehoofed. “You and I both know the answer to that.”
“Yeah? Well, it’s not my fault you got all the height,” Moon groused, sitting back on her haunches and crossing her forelegs over her chest as a vein visibly throbbed on her forehead.
Not wanting to be on the receiving end of his sister’s height based frustrations again, Wander let the subject drop and returned his attention back to the sign. In large, bold, stylized letter the word Canterlot sat just above a golden arrow pointing to the right. Beside it was the word Ponyville, the lettering smaller and less ritzy than that of the nation's capital, below which was a plain brown arrow pointing left.
“If I’m reading this sign right,” Wander mumbled, scratching his chin with a forehoof, “then if we take the trail on the left, Ponyville should be in sight in about an hour.”
“Really?!” Moon exclaimed, instantly popping out of her funk. “Then what are you waiting for?! Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!”
Rushing over to her brother, Moon grabbed Wander by the foreleg and attempted to drag him back over to the wagon. Chuckling at his sister’s exuberance, he went along with her and hobbled back to the wagon, quickly reattaching himself and getting moving with a solid pull at the harness.
With their direction decided the two turned to the left and headed up the gently sloping hill, the gentle sound of running water in the distance informing them that they were nearing their destination.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The sound of laughter and the sight of foals playing is what greeted Wander and Moon as they crossed over the bridge into Ponyville proper. It had taken well over an hour of walking before the town came into sight and another hour yet before they saw the first home along the road. Passing by the first home, a lovely earthy looking cottage with all manner of critters playing in and around it, it took another thirty minutes of walking before they reached the town itself.
“Oh, Wander, look!” Moon exclaimed, hopping excitedly on three hooves while pointing with the fourth. “Looking at all the little fillies, and colts! I’m gonna go play with them!”
“Moon, wait,” Wander responded adamantly. “I need to find somewhere to park the wagon first.”
“Come on!” Moon cheered, completely disregarding her brother as she ran off towards the sound of laughter.
“Why do you even try?” Wander groaned, sitting back on his haunches and placing his hoof to the bridge of his nose with a sigh. “You know she’s just going to run off and do her own thing anyway.”
With one more exasperated sigh, Wander stood and continued his trek towards the town, doing his best to ignore the cautious glances he was getting from anypony he passed. Continuing down the main street into town, it wasn’t long before the homes stopped and the path opened up into a large market square. A glance around the market told him that most of the stall owners were packing up for the day, and a quick glance at the position of the sun told him why.
’It’s that late already?’ Wander balked. ’It took a lot longer to get here than I expected.’
Pulling his wagon off to the side of the path, Wander unhitched himself before pulling his hood back and approaching the first occupied stall.
“Excuse me, miss,” Wander called out to the pink mare behind the counter. “I’m a traveling salesstallion from out of town, and I’m looking for somewhere to set up my stall. Does this town have a designated area for us, or can I just set up wherever is convenient?”
“Oh, yeah, sure. You can just…” The mare trailed off when she brushed her two toned blonde mane out of her eyes and saw just how tall Wander was. Her mouth dropped open as her eyes slowly trailed up from his chest, which was at eye level, until they met his gray-blue eyes.
“Y-you can just s-set up in an open spot n-next to any stall,” she stammered. “S-so long as you a-aren’t blocking the path, n-nopony should say anything to you.”
“Thank you very much, miss?” Wander said, offering her his hoof.
“L-Lily, Lily Valley,” the pink earth mare said shyly, cautiously shaking the offered hoof.
“Wanderlust,” Wander replied, flashing her a roguish smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Wander turned to leave, but then paused and turned back to face her.
“Before I go,” Wander said, “I have one last question for you, Miss Valley.”
“Just Lily is fine,” Lily responded, flushing slightly. “How can I help you?”
“I just wanted to know where the closest place in town was that the foals tended to go and play,” Wander asked, biting his tongue when Lily’s reaction made him realize how what he asked sounded.
“And why would you want to know that?” Lily asked, squaring her hooves as she took a more defensive stance. “Are you some kind of creep or something?”
“N-no, nothing like that,” Wander stammered as he sat back on his haunches, waving his forelegs in front of himself. “My… little sister wandered off when we first got into town. She heard the sounds of foals playing and took off. I just thought it would be easiest to find her if I started where the younger ponies usually gather.”
“‘Little’ sister?” Lily asked, putting emphasis on the first word. “Why’d you say it like that?”
“Well…” Wander hesitated for a moment, scratching the back of his neck. “She really doesn’t like to be called little, but it’s honestly the best way to describe her.”
“Well of course if she’s younger she’d be little,” Lily scoffed. “Most young ponies tend to be a bit smaller, more so when they stand next to somepony like you.”
“You’re quite right,” Wander said, “But Moon isn’t actually as young as she looks. She just has a bit of a soft spot for colts and fillies.”
“Oh,” Lily said, relaxing her stance and backing down, “then your best bet would be the town park. You can get there pretty quick if you take the eastern road out of the market, you just follow that path and it takes you straight there.”
“Thanks, Lily,” Wander said, giving Lily a friendly wave before turning and trotting back to his wagon.
Hitching himself back up, Wander began making his way through the market, carefully making his way through the crowd as he kept an eye peeled for an open spot. It wasn't until he was nearing the southern end of the market that he finally saw a spot large enough for him to park. Seeing an orange mare loading a cart parked nearby, he altered his course towards her stand
“Excuse me, miss,” Wander called out, attempting to get her attention. “Miss, I was wondering if I could have a moment of your time.”
Looking up from her cart, the mare looked left and right to see if he was talking to somebody else before adjusting the brown stetson keeping her golden mane out of her eyes and trotting out to meet him.
“Well, howdy there, stranger,” the mare said, tipping her hat to Wander. “What can Ah do ya fer?”
“I was wondering if a lovely mare such as yourself could tell me if this spot next to your stall is vacant,” Wander asked, giving her his most dashing smile. “I was looking for somewhere to set up my wagon and sell my wares, and this was the first open spot I saw that was large enough.”
“Well, sure, go ahead,” the orange mare said, giving Wander a friendly smile. “We’ve always got room fer more neighbors here in Ponyville.”
“That would be much appreciated,” Wander said, bowing his head slightly to her.
Pulling his wagon into the open spot, he turned it so the broadside was facing out before unhitching himself. Walking around to the back of the wagon, he pulled out a set of chocks for each wheel, wedging them firmly in place. With the wagon secured, Wander circled back around to the front and folded the arms of the carriage inward, collapsing them smoothly into grooves carved into the front of the cart.
Giving a quick double check to make sure they were properly stowed, Wander moved around to the side of the cart facing the market and pressed a hidden switch on the side of the wagon, causing a large section of the side to pop loose from the carriage. Attached by an arm on one side of the cart, the section rotated as it folded down, a set of legs on each side extending as it leveled out.
Rearing up on his hind legs, Wander gave a few experimental pushed on the top of his makeshift table before nodding to himself.
“That’s a mighty fancy cart ya got yerself there,” the orange mare commented, circling around to the front of his wagon to inspect it. “Ah’m sure somethin’ like that musta set ya back more’n a few bits.”
“It may have,” Wander said, giving the mare a cocky smirk, “if I hadn’t built it myself.”
“Well, I gotta admit, that’s pretty impressive.” Approaching the cart, the mare gave it a few light taps with a forehoof. “Seem’s ta be pretty sturdy, too. Fancy yerself a handystallion?”
“I am pretty good with my hooves, yes,” Wander replied, giving the mare a sly look, “but I think of myself more as a traveler than anything else. The fresh faces, the beautiful sights,” pausing for a moment, he gave the mare a quick wink, “the lovely mares. Speaking of which, I’m sure a fine mare such as yourself must have a name that is just as pretty.”
“Tha names Applejack,” the mare introduced herself, “and no offense, sugarcube, but yer gonna need a bit more muscle on ya, if’n ya wanna hang on fer this ride.”
“Wanderlust, at your service,” Wander replied, giving a slight bow. “I’m to assume from the name that you are affiliated with the large apple farm I saw on my way into town?”
“Affiliated with?” Applejack snorted, “Ah own it. Well, me n’ mah kin do, anyway.”
“Ah, it’s quite fortunate that I ran into you, then,” Wander said, turning to fully face Applejack. “I wanted to speak with you about possible trading opportunities.”
“What kind a’ ‘tradin’ opportunities’?” Applejack asked, eyeing Wander warily.
“As you might have been able to tell,” Wander said, motioning to his wagon, “I am a wandering tradesstallion. I wander from town to town, all across Equestria and its neighboring lands trading my wares. As a farm owner, if there are any plants you may have wanted to grow, but perhaps the seeds were too expensive to import, odds are I have them, and at a fraction of the price that most traders would sell them for.”
“Imma be honest with ya,” Applejack said, giving Wander a flat look, “Ah don’t trust ya none. All a’ y’all fancy talkin’ ponies come through here peddlin’ tha same message, and it always ends the same way; with whatever y’all done sold ta us breakin' ‘fore the dust cloud from y’all skedaddlin' outta town c’n settle.”
“Miss Apple,” Wander stammered, mentally backpedaling from her reaction, “I can assure you…”
“Miss Apple was mah mother,” Applejack snorted in annoyance, “‘n Ah c’n tell ya now, if that’s yer plan, then ya might as well save yerself the time ‘n pack up now. Cus as soon as Ah hear about ya makin’ any kinda’ underhoofed sales, Ah’ll be the first in line tah run ya on out.”
“Look, Miss A…” Wander started, pausing to correct himself at the look Applejack gave him. “Applejack, I would never, never do anything like that. I’m guessing from your reaction that you’ve had a few silver-tongued salesstallions come through town and swindle you?”
“Eeyup,” Applejack responded, keeping her glare leveled on Wander.
“And in a small community like this,” Wander waved a foreleg towards the town, “almost everypony considers each other like family?”
“‘N anypony who thinks they c’n come in n’ mess with family has another thing comin’,” Applejack finished for him.
“I can respect that,” Wander said, giving Applejack a friendly smile. “Really, I can. I mean, family is the reason I’m out here doing this.”
“What do ya mean by that?” Applejack asked, curiosity tinting her features.
“I’m assuming, from the name, you’re part of the Apple clan, correct?” Wander asked.
“Yeah,” Applejack answered, “But what does that have ta do with anything?”
“I’ve traded with members of your family before,” Wander explained, “and there’s one thing that all of you have had in common; you put family before all else.”
“Well, that, and you grow some of the best apples I’ve ever tasted,” Wander joked, seeing Applejack’s expression lighten slightly at the mention of her kin.
“I can respect that love for your family, though,” Wander said. “Like I said, it’s why I do what I do. I’ve got twelve siblings back home, and I love all of them to death. Left home the day I turned fifteen to start my trading routes, and every bit I make goes right back home to help support them.”
“Twelve siblings, ya say?” Applejack repeated, a small smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. “‘N what brought ya ta a sleepy town like ours? Ah’m sure there ain’t too much profit ta be had here.”
“I’m actually passing through to visit some family,” Wander said with a smile. “But don’t tell anypony, it’s a surprise.”
“Family, huh?” Applejack smirked. “Guess Ah don’t got too much ta worry ‘bout with you, then.”
Tipping her hat to Wander, Applejack returned to her stall and checked her cart to ensure everything was secure before stepping into the harness.
“Well, suppose Ah shouldn’t hold ya too much longer, if’n ya still gotta get yerself set up.” Applejack called back to him, tightening the straps on the harness. “Besides, Ah still got some chores back home ta finish. Ya make sure ya tell that sister a’ yers Ah said ta feel better, k?”
“Will do!” Wander called, waving to Applejack before freezing. “Wait, I didn’t tell her I was visiting my sister…”
“How did you know…” Wander called out, turning to go after the mare. Pausing, his eyes scanned the crowd as he attempted to identify her retreating form, but despite the large cart she was hauling she had already disappeared into the crowd.
Wander moved to go after Applejack before deciding against it with a shake of his head and returning to his cart. After once more checking the stability of the table that had folded out of the side of his wagon, Wander pulled on a cord hanging from the roof of the carriage causing a large awning to unroll out from the roof and stop a full pony’s body length past the end of the table.
“That should take care of setup,” Wander said to himself.
Giving his entire wagon one last check to ensure everything was properly set up, secured, and that his wagon was properly locked up, Wander joined the throng of ponies milling through the market and began heading towards the east side of town.
“Guess I should go find trouble,” Wander mumbled, “before trouble finds her.”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Moon’s head jerked from side to side as she wandered through the streets of Ponyville, her mouth hanging open in wonder. All around her ponies chatted happily, smiles upon their faces as they went about their business.
“No wonder Silvie likes it so much here,” Moon mused, “it’s nothing like back home.”
Rounding the corner, Moon was knocked back with a grunt as her inattentiveness caused her to run straight into another pony.
“Hey,” an unfamiliar voice groaned, “why don’t ya watch where you’re… woah.”
Standing from the ground and dusting herself off, Moon eyed the orange pegasus filly that stood before her as she adjusted her cloak.
“Sorry about that,” Moon apologized, “I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.”
“Scootaloo, you apologize this instant!” An older sounding mare called out from behind the pegasus.
Peaking around the filly, Moon saw a white unicorn mare with a purple mane trotting dutifully towards the two of them, a white unicorn and yellow earth pony filly flanking her on each side.
“You should know better than to go running through town like that,” the mare continued to scold the pegasus. “You’d better hope you didn’t hurt this poor young filly, or your parents will be hearing about this.”
“I am terribly sorry for her,” the white mare said, turning to face Moon. “She didn’t hurt you, did she? I’ve got a first aid kit in my bag if you need anything.”
“No, I’m fine, thanks,” Moon said, continuing to mess with her cloak. “Aww, but my cloak ripped, Gran Gran is gunna kill me.”
“Your cloak ripped, you say?” the mare asked, eyeing the offending tear. “I was just heading to the park with my sister and her friends here. If you don’t mind joining us, I could have that fixed up for you in no time.”
“Well, I was just looking for my sister,” Moon pondered for a moment before her eyes drifted to the three fillies. “But I suppose she can wait a little longer, it’s not like she’s going anywhere.”
“Your sister isn’t expecting you by a certain time, is she?” the mare asked, “because I can walk you home and explain the situation if need be.”
“No, it should be fine, thanks though,” Moon said. “My sister doesn’t even know I’m coming.”
“Doesn’t know you're coming?” the mare asked, motioning for the fillies to follow her before continuing down the road. “Are you visiting from out of town?”
“Yup!” Moon beamed, trotting along beside unicorn.
“Not by yourself, I hope,” the mare said, looking around to see if she could find anypony that was accompanying Moon.
“Nah, I’m here with my brother,” Moon explained. “But he’s in the market square right now getting set up.”
“Are you sure you should be wondering off, then?” the mare asked, giving Moon a stern look.
“Yeah, it’s fine,” Moon said, waving her off. “I do it all the time. He’ll catch up eventually.”
“If you say so,” the mare said, giving Moon a doubtful look.
The two lapsed into silence after that, the mare seemingly satisfied with her answers. Looking over her shoulder, Moon noticed that the three fillies had dropped back and were whispering back and forth between each other, one of them occasionally glancing up at her before returning their attention to the other two.
“Oh, how rude of me,” the mare suddenly spoke up, causing Moon to jump in surprise. “I don’t think I ever introduced myself. My name is Rarity,” the mare paused to flip her mane, “Ponyville’s premier fashionista and proprietor of the Carousel Boutique.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Rarity,” Moon said. “My name’s Moontide, but everypony calls me Moon for short.”
“The pleasure is all mine,” Rarity said.
Reaching the edge of a large field, Rarity stopped to allow the fillies to catch up.
“Alright girls, here we are,” Rarity said, breaking the three out of their hushed conversation. “You’re free to do whatever you please, so long as you stay within eyesight, understood?”
“Yes, Rarity,” the three said in unison.
“Good, now,” Rarity gave Moon a light shove from behind to nudge her towards the group, “take Moontide here and go enjoy yourselves. Just make sure you play nice, alright?”
“Yes, Rarity,” the three said again, the orange filly’s wings twitching impatiently.
Satisfied with their answer, Rarity turned to address Moon.
“Now, why don’t you go ahead and leave your cloak with me while you go enjoy yourself.” Rarity said, motioning to a nearby bench. “I’ll be sitting right over here if you should need anything.”
Moon grasped anxiously at the clasp on her cloak for a moment before taking a deep breath and unhooking it. In one smooth motion, she pulled the cloak from her body, wrapping it haphazardly around her foreleg and offered it to Rarity, wincing slightly at the poorly concealed gasps of surprise from behind her.
“So you're here to see your sister, you say?” Rarity said, her horn lighting up as she took the cloak in her magic.
“Yup,” Moon said, standing rigidly as Rarity looked her cloak over.
“Then I’ll make sure I get this done as fast as I can,” Rarity said, smiling in recognition when she saw the pendant on the clasp. “I know she’ll be just as excited to see you as you are to see her.”
Folding the cloak gently in her magic, Rarity turned and began walking towards a nearby bench as a small rectangular box encased in a light blue glow came floating out of her saddlebags.
Still feeling three sets of eyes on her Moon slowly turned the three fillies, the confident smirk on her face fading when she noticed their eyes were drawn not to her back like she had expected, but instead to her flanks.
“So, umm, what did you girls have planned?” Moon asked, a light blush creeping across her features.
“Ya don’ have a cutie mark,” the yellow earth pony pointed out.
“Uhh, no, I don’t,” Moon responded in confusion.
“But you look older than us,” the unicorn stated.
“You have no idea,” Moon mumbled quietly to herself before approaching the three. “So, instead of staring at my flanks all day, as flattering as that is, why don’t we go find something to do!”
“But, you don’t have a cutie mark,” the pegasus reiterated.
“Yeah, so? Neither do any of you,” Moon pointed out.
“What do ya mean, ‘so’?” the earth pony shouted. “Ain’t ya scared that yer never gonna git yers?”
“Not really, no,” Moon said.
“Why not?” the orange filly demanded.
“I’ve got my family, and I’ve got my health,” Moon said matter-of-factly. “Why should I need some mark on my rump to be happy?”
“But, your destiny…” the unicorn filly stammered.
“Means nothing without ponies I love to share it with,” Moon said. Circling around behind the fillies, she attempted to corral them towards the field. “Now, enough of this cutie mark talk, let’s go play!”
Shaking themselves out of their stupor, the three fillies shared a look and a smile before quickly jumping behind Moon. Surprised by the sudden change in positions, the three were easily able to push her along as they chattered excitedly at her.
“We was just tryin’ ta figure out how ta get our cutie marks on the way over here,” the yellow filly yammered, “and ya just went and gave us tha perfect idea!”
“We can get our cutie marks,” the unicorn filly cheered, “in helping you get your cutie mark!”
“You three don’t need to do that,” Moon said, trying and failing to dig her hooves into the ground. “Wouldn’t you rather play tag or something?”
“‘Course not,” the earth pony filly said. “Besides, we were still tryin’ ta figure out how ta get Silvia her cutie mark, and what better way ta practice than ta help her sister.”
“Wait, you know my sister?” Moon asked, finally managing to get enough traction to stop the fillies from pushing her.
“Sure do!” The yellow earth pony beamed.
“Both of our sisters are friends with her.” The white unicorn stated.
“And how did you know I was her sister?” Moon asked, arching an eyebrow.
“‘Cus we’ve never seen another pony with a back like yours,” the orange pegasus pointed out. “Other than your sister, of course.”
“Or that fangs,” the yellow earth pony added. “Silvia’s r’ barely noticeable, but ther there. Are y’all part bat pony, or somethin’?”
Moon spun to face the fillies, her retort dying in her throat when she saw the pleading looks on all of their faces.
“No, we aren’t part ‘bat pony', and I suppose we can work on getting my cutie mark,” Moon sighed, “but don’t be upset if I don’t get it, I honestly don’t know if I can even get one.”
“Yer sister doesn’ think she c’n get hers, neither,” the earth pony said, “but that jus’ makes it all tha more important that we help y’all get ‘em. No pony should grow up without their mark.”
Nodding in agreement, the other two fillies proceeded to launch into a list of activities they could do to try and get Moon her cutie mark. Both wanting to be heard, and neither willing to wait their turn, the two got progressively louder until Moon had to step in.
“Alright, alright, we can take turns trying all of your ideas,” Moon said, attempting to calm the two. “But before we get started on that, why don’t you introduce yourselves? You all know my names, but I don’t know any of yours.”
“Oh, oh, me first!” the orange pegasus said, sitting back on her haunches and holding one foreleg with the other while waving it back and forth. “My name’s Scootaloo.”
“And Ah’m Apple Bloom,” the yellow earth pony said.
“I’m Sweetie Belle,” the white unicorn squeaked.
“And together,” the three said in unison, “we’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders, yay!”
’I’m not going to live to regret this, am I? was all Moon could think as the Crusaders grabbed her by her forelegs and once again began dragging her along.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Just as Lily had told him, the eastern road out of the market had lead Wander straight to a large open field full of frolicking ponies of all ages. It had taken some walking around, but eventually, he was able to locate the exhausted form of his sister, covered head to hoof in tree sap, stumbling along behind a trio of fresh looking fillies. Chuckling to himself at the sight, he decided to let his sister struggle for a bit longer and found a nearby bench to sit at.
Relieved to finally take some pressure off of his travel-worn hooves, Wander’s eyes had just started to drift closed when a shifting of the bench alerted him to the presence of another pony.
“I hope you don’t mind if I join you,” a rather elegant sounding mare said.
“Not a problem,” Wander replied without opening his eyes. “It is a public park, after all.”
“Well, yes,” the mare responded, “but that doesn’t excuse a mare from using proper manners. Besides, you looked like you were attempting to nap, so I wanted to make sure your wishes weren’t to not be disturbed.”
“Not to seem rude,” Wander smirked, cracking an eye open to look at the mare, “but if it looked like I was trying to sleep, then why did you come over here in the first place?”
“Well, if you must know,” the white mare said, feigning offense, “this was simply the closest bench to where my sister and her friends were playing, and I wanted to be able to keep an eye on them.”
“Sister?” Wander said, sitting up slightly. “Good.”
“And why, may I ask, is that ‘good’?” the mare asked, arching an eyebrow at Wander.
“Because for a moment,” Wander shot the mare a roguish grin, “I thought that a beautiful mare such as yourself had already been taken.”
“Oh, you flatterer,” the mare giggled, batting at Wander with a forehoof. “Hitting on a lady like this without first introducing yourself?”
“Ahh, my apologies, miss. Sometimes I let my mouth get ahead of me,” Wander said, waggling his eyebrows at the white unicorn. “My name is Wanderlust, but you may call me Wander.”
“Oh, you are incorrigible,” the mare said, rolling her eyes and offering Wander a hoof. “My name is Rarity, it is a pleasure to meet you.”
“Rarity, you say?” Wander said, taking the offered hoof and giving it a quick kiss. “A name very befitting for such exquisite beauty.”
“Oh, my, if you keep talking like that I might just have to take you home and keep you for myself,” Rarity said coquettishly. “Then poor Silvia will have to wonder where her brother got off to.”
“Well, you wouldn’t hear any…” Wander started smoothly, before pausing and cocking his head in confusion. “Wait, you know my sister?”
“Know her?” Rarity said. “Darling, I’m one of her best friends.”
“And how did you…” Wander said, trailing off.
“Know you were her brother?” Rarity finished for him with a smile. “Ignoring the quite strong family resemblance, I’ve repaired Silvia’s cloak enough times that I’d recognize that stitchwork anywhere.”
Lighting her horn, Rarity opened the side flap on her saddlebags and floated out Moon’s cloak.
“You also bear the same insignia on the clasp of your cloak,” Rarity said, presenting the clasp from Moon’s cloak as proof. “It really wasn’t all that hard to figure out, once you put the facts together.”
“Huh,” Wander muttered before shaking out of his stupor and taking the cloak. “Brains and beauty, all in one package? Something tells me you’re quite the successful businessmare, as well.”
“You’d be correct,” Rarity said. “I own a quaint little boutique here in Ponyville, and I’m working on extending my brand to Manehattan and Canterlot, as well.”
“A boutique, you say,” Wander asked. “So that must mean you’re in the market for fabrics, yes?”
“While I’m not currently in the market for any specific types of cloth, I do always keep an ear to the ground for any good deals,” Rarity said. “Why do you ask?”
“Well, it just so happens that I’m a wandering salesstallion, and I have a stock of Saddle Arabian silks and Neighgyption cotton that I’ve been unable to sell.” Wander said. “If you happen to need any, I’d be more than willing to give you a good deal.”
“Oh, so is that what you do?” Rarity said, giving Wander a playful glare. “You roll into town and chat all the mares up, and once they're good and buttered up, you slip in and unload their coin purses?”
“Why, I would never!” Wander said, holding a forehoof to his chest and feigning offense. “I simply take it as a personal offense that a mare of such exquisite beauty as yourself isn’t draped in clothes that are equally as beautiful.”
Rarity opened her mouth to respond, however, before the words could leave her muzzle she was cut off by the thunder of little hooves heading straight their way.
“Rarity,” Sweetie Belle yelled, “Moon said she’s never had a cupcake before! Can we take her to Sugarcube Corner and get her one?”
Turning their heads to the sound of the commotion, the two were barely able to restrain their amusement at the sight of the three fillies dragging a dirty, sap covered, slightly singed Moon along behind them.
“Well, that’s up to her big brother,” Rarity said, glancing at Wander. “But if he’s ok with it, then I don’t see anything wrong with a cupcake. Just make sure you don’t spoil your dinner.”
“‘Big brother’?” Moon parrotted. “Big nothin’, I don’t need his permission for anything.”
“Of course you don’t, darling,” Rarity said. “But it would still be terribly rude of us to leave him sitting here by himself. Would you care to join us, Wander?”
“I would be delighted,” Wander said, bowing his head to hide his smirk. “But we should really see about getting my ‘little’ sister cleaned up before we go anywhere.”
“Fret not, darling, my boutique is on the way,” Rarity said. “You are more than welcome to use it, seeing as my sister is the cause of your sister’s current state.”
“What do you say, Moon?” Wander asked. “Want to head to the nice mare’s store to get cleaned up?”
“Yes, please,” Moon said, shaking slightly as she shifted back and forth on her hind legs. “I’ve got sap in places I didn’t think was possible.”
Laughing at his sister’s misfortune, Wander hooked a foreleg under his sister’s barrel and hefted her onto his back to save her the discomfort of walking. Pausing to tuck Moon’s cloak into the saddlebags strapped securely under his own cloak, he signaled that they were ready and took up a spot beside Rarity as they headed back into town.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The dinner rush was just starting for Sugarcube Corner when a freshly cleaned and groomed Moon entered with her new friends.
“So the building isn’t edible?” Moon asked.
“Nope, not even with chompers like yours. It’s just built to look delicious,” Scootaloo said. “Trust me, I’ve tried.”
Moon opened her mouth to respond, but that response died when she caught sight of all of the sugar-filled goodies lining the shelves of the display case.
“Ohh, those look so good,” Moon moaned, licking her lips. “Can we just eat them all?”
“Ah don’ think yer brother would appreciate that none,” Apple Bloom said. “‘Sides, if you did that, then there wouldn’t be none for nopony else.”
“It would also spoil your dinner,” Rarity spoke up from behind them. “And speaking of which, make sure you four order some actual food, as well. I hadn’t realized how late it had gotten while we were getting cleaned up.”
“Just get something small,” Wander instructed Moon. “We’ve got plenty to eat back at the wagon.”
“Oh, darling, you don’t have to do that,” Rarity insisted. “Get whatever you’d like, my treat.”
“We can’t ask you to do that,” Wander said, rebutting her offer.
“Nonsense, it would be against my very nature to not treat two of my best friend’s siblings to a meal,” Rarity said, her smile morphing to a more mischievous grin. “Besides, after all that flirting, you’d really turn down a mare’s offer to buy you dinner?”
“Just shut up and take the offer, bro,” Moon said, plastering her face to the display case. “She’s not gonna give in, and the longer you two sit there and argue, the longer I have to wait to get one of these puppies inside of me.”
“Why stop at one?” an energetic voice asked from the other side of the case.
Pulling her head back, Moon looked up to see who was talking to her but didn’t see anypony there. Looking back down, Moon fell back from the case with a squeak of surprise when the pastries she had been ogling were replaced with a pair of bright blue eyes and a poofy pink mane.
“If you had to choose just one, then how could you ever decide which one?” the mare asked, gasping dramatically as she pulled her head out of the case. Reaching over the case, the pink earth pony mare grabbed Moon by the shoulders and started shaking her lightly. “It’s impossible! Impossible I tells ya!”
“Pinkie, calm down,” Rarity said, rolling her eyes at the mare’s antics. “You’re scaring the poor dear.”
“Oh no, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Pinkie gasped. Reaching into her main, she pulled out a hoof-sized cupcake decorated to perfectly match Moontide’s coat, down to the silver streak on her back and the dark blue patch running from her chest to her stomach. “Here, have a cupcake as an apology. It’s on the house.”
“Uhh,” Moon stammered, eyes darting from the cupcake to Pinkie’s mane.
“Well, not literally on the house, that would be ridiculous,” Pinkie rambled, “more like on my hoof. But it is free, which some ponies mean when they say it’s on the house.”
Shoving the cupcake in the wide open jaw of the stunned pony, Pinkie sat back on her haunches and continued her tirade.
“Do you think maybe some ponies hung stuff on their houses when they were giving it away, and when somepony saw it, they knew it was ‘on the house’, and therefore free.” Rubbing her chin with a forehoof, Pinkie squinted her eyes in concentration. “But then what if ponies started taking stuff that wasn’t meant to be free, like windows! Then you’ve got a bunch of ponies going around stealing everypony else’s windows and that just doesn’t make any sense!”
Pausing to take a breath, Pinkie noticed the group of thoroughly confused ponies sitting in front of her, one of which slowly chewing the cupcake that had been unceremoniously shoved in their mouth.
“Welcome to Sugarcube Corner!” The peppy pink party mare said. “My name’s Pinkie Pie, but my friends call me Pinkie. How can I help you?”
Being used to her friend's antics, Rarity was the first to recover.
“Yes, well, I’ll have the usual, please,” Rarity said, stepping forward. “Same goes for my sister and her friends here, as well as one extra sweet each of their choice.”
“Alright, that’s five daisy dukes with an extra sweet each,” Pinkie said, scribbling on a notepad she pulled from behind her back. Turing to face Wander, she tucked the pencil behind her ear and gave him a half-lidded gaze. “How’s about you, tall, dark, and lanky?”
“Uh, I’ll just have whatever she’s having,” Wander said, leaning back away from the overzealous mare and pointing to Rarity.
“Six daisy dukes, two cups of transmission fluid, and four muddy waters,” Pinkie said, “got it!”
“Ugh, I really wish you didn’t insist on giving our orders such strange names,” Rarity groaned, wrinkling her nose in disgust.
Pinkie giggled in response before turning around and bouncing off into the kitchen, a large blue mare taking her place at the register.
“I apologize, dear,” the mare sighed, “but you know how she can get.”
“It’s no problem, Mrs. Cake,” Rarity said. “I just wish I understood what she was referencing half the time. I mean, I don’t know what a ‘transmission’ is supposed to be, but it definitely doesn’t sound like something I’d want to drink fluid from.”
“Yes, well, she wouldn’t be her if she didn’t make those kinds of jokes,” Mrs. Cake giggled. “Your total comes to twenty bits. You did say you were paying for this gentlestallion as well, right?”
“Only twenty bits?” Rarity questioned, getting her coin purse out with her magic. “She did write down the extra sweets for the girls, correct?”
“Of course she did,” Mrs. Cake said, “but after hearing that you were paying for this wonderful stallion and his beautiful little girl, I just had to give you a bit of a discount.”
“I am not little…” Moon grumbled, sitting back on her flanks and crossing her forelegs over her chest.
“Oh, I appreciate it,” Rarity said, ignoring the pouting filly, “but you don’t have to…”
“Nonsense,” Mrs. Cake waved off Rarity’s concern. “If you’re allowed to help a pony out by buying him and his little girl a meal, then I’m allowed to offer a discount to one of the most generous mares in town.”
“Not little,” Moon grumbled again, slightly louder this time.
“Yes, of course you aren’t,” Rarity said, depositing the bits in Mrs. Cakes outstretched hoof. “Now, why don’t you and the girls go pick a place to sit while we wait for our food.”
Moon opened her mouth to protest before sighing in defeat. Getting the attention of the crusaders, she motioned to an empty table in the corner and lead them over, leaving Wander and Rarity by themselves.
Seeing an empty booth near the door, Rarity gave Wander a slight nudge with her magic to get his attention before leading him over.
“So,” Rarity said, wiggling slightly to get comfortable in her seat, “you’re a wandering salespony you say?”
“That’s right,” Wander said, taking his own seat across from Rarity. “I go from town to town with a wagon loaded full of trade goods, bringing ponies supplies from far off lands for a fraction of what they’d normally pay to have it shipped.”
“Oh, my, that sounds lovely,” Rarity said, getting a slightly dreamy look in her eyes. “The sights you must see.”
“Indeed, there are plenty of beautiful places I get to see that most ponies don’t,” Wander said, getting a far off look in his own eyes. “Plus, I have the added benefit of being able to support my family as well.”
“So you do have a family back home,” Rarity said.
“Just my parents, and a dozen siblings,” Wander said. “Most of them have left to pursue their own dreams, but a few of us have stuck around to help support the ones too young to leave home just yet.”
“That’s very noble of you,” Rarity said. “Does your sister normally join you?”
“No, this is actually the first time I’ve brought any of them with,” Wander admitted. “When she heard I was going to be coming farther south than I normally do, she insisted on coming with so we could surprise Silvia.”
“That was nice of you to look after her, then,” Rarity said. “But what about her schooling? Surely it isn’t good for her to be missing class.”
“Eh, we were all homeschooled, anyway,” Wander responded, leaning back in his seat in an attempt to get comfortable. “Besides, she’s done school.”
Rarity opened her mouth to respond but was cut off by the awkward shuffling of hooves nearby. Glancing towards the noise, she was surprised to see the familiar face of one of her friends.
“Oh, Fluttershy, dear.” Rarity said with a smile. “What are you doing here?”
“Oh, umm,” the canary yellow mare rubbed her hooves together, nervously eyeing Wander through her flowing pink mane. “I was craving something sweet, so I came here to pick something up. I wasn’t expecting it to be this busy…”
“Well, you're welcome to sit with us if you would like, darling,” Rarity offered, glancing around at the packed bakery. “I’m sure Wander here wouldn’t mind”
“Oh, of course not,” Wander said, giving Fluttershy a smile. “Any friend of Rarity’s is more than welcome to join us.”
Flinching at Wander’s smile Fluttershy quickly squeezed into the booth next to Rarity, her eyes never leaving him.
“So, Fluttershy, how was your day?” Rarity asked, turning so she was facing both Wander and Fluttershy.
“It… it was good,” Fluttershy said. “Harry came by for a visit, he said something about seeing somepony going into the Everfree.”
“Oh, dear,” Rarity gasped, “any idea who it was?”
“It wasn’t anypony Harry was familiar with,” Fluttershy said, “but he said he followed them for a bit to be sure. Zecora seemed to know them, though.”
“What’s so dangerous about this ‘Everfree’?” Wander asked.
“Why the Everfree Forest is one of the most dangerous places in Equestria,” Rarity responded. “Its filled with all kinds of creatures whose very being has been twisted by the chaos magic that saturates the area.”
“Well, if it’s so dangerous, then why didn’t this ‘Harry’ stop them?”
“Oh, well, um…” Fluttershy stammered, “Harry’s a bear.”
“Oh,” Wander said, blinking owlishly. “Wait, you mean you can talk to bears.”
“Sort of,” Fluttershy said, wilting slightly under the attention. “My special talent allows me to read an animal’s body language, and interpret it in a way that’s almost like talking.”
“Huh, that’s interesting,” Wander said.
The conversation between the three lapsed into silence, with Fluttershy keeping a wary eye on Wander. However, just as the silence was beginning to get awkward, Pinkie Pie came bouncing over to their table and set a plate of food and a cup in front of each of them, as well as one extra plate next to Wander.
“Here ya go!” Pinkie cheered, placing the last plate on the table with a flourish of her hooves. With all the plates in place Pinkie then grabbed the pot off of the tray on her back and placed it in the center of the table. “Sandwiches for everypony!”
“But Pinkie, darling, you brought us an extra plate,” Rarity pointed out.
“And, uh, this isn’t what I ordered,” Fluttershy said, poking at the plate in front of her.
“Don’t worry about the extra food, I’m sure it'll get eaten,” Pinkie said with a wink. Reaching behind her back, she pulled a small paper bag out of her mane and deposited it on the table in front of Fluttershy. “And here’s your cannolis!”
Before any of them had a chance to respond, Pinkie bounced off and back to the kitchen. Glancing over at the foals table to ensure they had gotten their food, Wander turned an eye to his own plate to see what the pink mare had brought him. In the center of his plate was what looked like a sandwich consisting of daisy, alfalfa, and grass, with what appeared to be shortbread in used as buns.
“Is that…” Wander started, pointing at the sandwich.
“A daisy shortbread sandwich?” Rarity finished with a smile, getting a nod from Wander. “A bit of a guilty pleasure of mine, really. Pinkie made it for me one time as a joke and, well, it’s honestly a lot better than it sounds.”
“I’ll, uh, I’ll take your word for it,” Wander said. Peaking around the edge of the booth, he looked to see if his sister had gotten the same thing. “And the girls?”
“Just regular sandwiches,” Rarity giggled. “I guess Pinkie thought it would be funny to give you my special sandwich when you told her you wanted the same thing as me.”
“Oh, yeah, funny,” Wander said, poking the sandwich with a hoof. “Well, I’d hate to see a sandwich go to waste.”
“It’s alright, darling, I’m sure Pinkie wouldn’t…” Rarity started but trailed off when Wander picked up the sandwich and took a big bite of it.
“You know,” Wander said through a mouthful of food, “you might just be on to something here, this isn't bad.”
Shrugging, Rarity returned to her own sandwich. The three ate in silence, nopony willing to break the silence that had fallen over the group, until the tromping of hooves growing louder alerted them to the approach of another guest. Looking up, Wander spotted a familiar orange earth pony mare headed straight towards their table.
“Well, look who we have here,” Applejack smirked, plopping down in the seat next to Wander. “Only a few hours after y’all were hittin’ on me, here y’all are with two a’ mah friends on yer arm.”
“Well, in my defense, you did turn me down,” Wander joked back, “and I’m actually only here with one of them, the other two joined of their own volition.”
“Oh, uh, I was just stopping to pick something up, and all of the tables were taken,” Fluttershy said. “Pinkie just brought two extra plates of food.”
“I’m starting to think that extra plate was meant for you, Applejack,” Rarity said, using her magic to slide the plate over to the earth mare.
“Well, shucks, Ah’ll hafta thank Pinkie next time Ah see ‘er,” Applejack said, taking the offered plate.
“You’re welcome!” Pinkie called from the kitchen to the surprise of only Wander.
“So tell me, darling, how was your day?” Rarity asked, glancing at Applejack.
“Not too bad,” Applejack answered. “Slow day at tha market, so Ah called it quits early so Ah could get a head start on mah chores. Only interesting thing ta happen ta me was when this’n came by lookin’ fer a place ta park his cart,” Applejack paused for a moment to shoot Wander a mischievous glare, “n’ somewhere ta set up his wagon.”
“Now, Applejack, can you blame the dear?” Rarity asked, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly. “The poor stallion spends all of his time on the road, walking from place to place.”
“All tah support his family, too,” Applejack added, “somethin’ Ah can respect.”
“Uhm…” Wander stammered, starting to turn red.
“And he even escorted his precious little sister all the way here to surprise Silvia,” Rarity said, holding a foreleg to her forehead dramatically. “Such a selfless stallion.”
Applejack opened her mouth to continue ribbing Wander, but instead nearly leapt from her seat with a yelp when something rubbed against her thigh under the table. Red-faced, she turned to tell Wander off but stopped short when a filly not much larger than her sister popped up in between the two of them.
“So, what’re you girls talking about over here?” The filly asked, looking at all the mares gathered around the table.
“Oh, hello, Moon,” Rarity said, giving the filly a smile. “Where are the rest of the girls at?”
“Over there, picking out their treats,” Moon said, pointing to the display case.
“Well, wouldn’t you like to pick one out, as well?” Rarity asked.
“Nah, I told them to decide on something,” Moon giggled. “Last I heard, they were arguing over whose choice was the best.”
“Well, that don’t seem very nice a’ ya,” Applejack said, frowning at Moon.
“Eh, maybe not,” Moon admitted, “but I wanted to spend some time with the rest of the adults.”
“Rest a’ tha adults?” Applejack asked, giving Rarity a questioning look.
“Yep,” answered Moon. “So, I see you have the rest of the mares you were chatting up here, plus one, but where’s that hot piece of tail you asked for directions?”
“Moon!” Rarity sputtered, “is that really something a filly of your age should be saying?”
“Of my age?” Moon asked, giving Rarity a questioning look.
“Yes, of your age,” Rarity said, shooting Wander a glare. “I don’t know what your older brother has been teaching you, but such talk is unacceptable from one so young.”
“Listen, lady. I don’t know what my little brother has been telling you,” Moon said, hopping up on the table to glare at Rarity, “but I am not some little filly. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’m older than you.”
“Excuse me,” Rarity stammered out, looking to Wander for help. “What does she mean, little brother?”
“Well, we may be twins,” Wander admitted bashfully, “but she was born a few minutes before I was.”
“But… but she’s so…” Rarity started.
“Don’t. Say. It.” Moon barked, cutting off Rarity
“You really shouldn’t call her that,” Wander warned Rarity. “She doesn’t like when ponies comment on her… diminutive size. I’m surprised she let you get away with it earlier.”
“Hey!” Moon yelled, cuffing Wander in the back of the head. “I don’t know what that means, but it sounded like you were making fun of my size!”
“See what I mean?” Wander choked out through gritted teeth.
“Wait,” Applejack cut in. “How old are y’all, exactly?”
“Thirty-one,” Moon answered happily.
“If y’all are thirty-one, then what’re ya doing playin’ with fillies like that?” Applejack asked. “Wouldn’t y’all rather hang out with ponies yer own age?”
“Just think about what you said just now,” Moon said, giving Applejack a flat look, “then think about your reaction when I came over here to talk to ya.”
“Oh, yeah, ya got a point,” Applejack admitted bashfully. “But what about playin’ with tha fillies?”
“Is there something wrong with keeping the foals entertained?” Moon asked.
“Well, no, Ah suppose not…” Applejack said.
“But if you must know,” Moon said, returning to her seat, “I just really like foals. Such pure, innocent little things that want nothing more than the affection of the ponies they love. I’d love to have one of my own, but…”
“Well, why don’t you, darling?” Rarity asked, wincing when she saw a dark look cross Moon’s face.
“Have you seen me?” Moon asked, gesturing towards herself with her forelegs. “The only ponies who would want anything to do with me are weirdo pedophiles, and those loli freaks. That, and, well…”
Moon fell back in her seat, sniffling as she attempted to hold her emotions in check.
“The doctor said she couldn’t,” Wander finished for her, pulling his sister close to his side.
All three ponies present gasped in unison, their sorrowful gazes locking on the pony in question.
“Not that I can’t,” Moon corrected Wander, “but he doesn’t suggest it. I’m so small that he said the pregnancy would more than likely kill either one or both of us.”
Snaking a foreleg behind Wander’s back, Moon returned the embrace.
“I blame this big lug,” Moon joked, “He got all the height between the two of us.”
“Yeah, but you got all the looks,” Wander joked back, giving Moon a friendly nudge.
Grabbing the paper bag off the table, the yellow pegasus mare that had stayed quiet up until this point, stood abruptly from her seat.
“Thank you for dinner,” Fluttershy said, keeping her eyes locked on the twins as she backed away from the table. “I’m sorry about, well… I’m sorry.”
Before anypony could question her, Fluttershy turned and cantered out of the shop, almost bowling over an unexpecting pony that had been in the process of opening the door.
“Did… we do something wrong?” Wander asked, giving the two Ponyvillians a confused look.
“Nothing like that, darling,” Rarity assured him. “She just doesn’t do well around new ponies, is all.”
“If you’re sure…” Wander said, glancing towards the front doors.
“Hey, Moon, we got ya a treat!” Apple Bloom called out, the three fillies shattering the somber mood by abruptly joining the adults in their booth.
“Yeah,” Scootaloo said, using her wings to hop across the table and sit in between Moon and Applejack. “Sweetie wanted to get you a sweet roll.”
“And Apple Bloom wanted to get you an apple strudel,” Sweetie Belle squeaked from beside Rarity.
“And Scoots was insistent that ya’d want tha triple chocolate brownie,” Apple Bloom said, taking the seat across from Applejack. “But in tha end, Pinkie had the perfect suggestion for ya.”
“And what would that be?” Rarity asked, eyeing the large bag perched on Apple Bloom's head.
“All three!” the fillies cheered in unison as Apple Bloom dumped the bag in front of Moon.
“That way, once she’s done, Moon can tell us who's choice was best!” Scootaloo cheered, bouncing in her seat.
“She’ll have ta tell y’all tomorrow, then,” Applejack said, standing from her seat and stretching. “It’s about time we got on home, Ah’m sure Granny’ll start worryin’ if we stay out much later.”
“Oh, my, is it really that late?” Rarity asked, looking at the clock hung over the door. “Sweetie, Scootaloo, we have to get going as well.”
“Aww, do we have to?” The three asked in unison, giving the adults their best puppy dog eyes.
“We should probably be on our way as well,” Wander said. Releasing his sister from his embrace, he stood from his seat and took the bag of treats from in front of his sister.
“Aww, Wander, my sweets,” Moon griped at her brother.
“You can get it when we get to the library,” Wander said, rolling his eyes as he tucked the bag away in his saddlebags. “Aren’t you the one that wanted to surprise her, anyway?”
“Well, yeah, but,” Moon grumbled, grabbing for his saddlebags, “but sweets!”
“Y’all take care now,” Applejack said, corralling her sister towards the door. “Come by the farm tomorrow once y’all finish up in the market, we’ll talk business then.”
“Yes, same here,” Rarity said, floating him a business card from her bags. “I’m usually in my shop working on orders during the day. Make sure you keep me in mind, should you happen upon any hard to get fabrics in the future. I’ll be sure to make it worth your while.”
“Will do, Rarity,” Wander promised, giving her a friendly wave as they parted ways.
Finally alone, the two shared a look before pulling their hoods up and heading in the direction of the tree house they expected to find their sister in. They got turned around a few times and had to stop for directions, but it wasn’t long before they finally located the place.
“So what do ya think, is this the place, Wander?” Moon asked, glancing sideways at her brother.
“Library inside a tree,” Wander responded, giving the place a once-over. “Exactly how she described it.”
“Oh, I can’t wait to see the look on her face when she sees us,” Moon cheered, hopping excitedly in place as they reached the library door.
“I’m sure she’ll be as excited as we are, Moon,” Wander said, chuckling softly as he approached the door.
Moon continued hopping in place with a wide smile on her face as Wander raised a forehoof to knock. Before he could knock, however, a commotion on the other side of the door caused him to freeze in place and perk an ear to listen.
“She went where?!” A slightly muffled yell came from the other side of the door, the voice clearly marking the speaker as female. “Spike, why would you let her go there! Why wouldn’t you say something, or come and get one of us? Now the sun is starting to set, and by the time I get the girls together to go look for her, it will already be dark!”
“But she said not to go after her!” Another speaker, a young male by the sound of it, answered back. “She said she could handle herself, and I believe her. Besides, you and the girls would just end up getting yourselves lost. I’m sure she’ll be back in a few days, just like she said.”
Seeing the door handle encased in a violet glow, Wander lowered his forehoof and took a step back.
“I’m still going to go get the girls, see what they have to say.” The female voice answered back. “Applejack and Rarity have known her a lot longer than we have, so they might have a better idea of what to do.”
Before the younger sounding of the two had a chance to respond, the door flew open as a purple mare came trotting out. Having her head turned to look over her shoulder, her attention still focused on the second pony in the room, the mare ran straight into Wander, the force of the impact barely shifting Wander as it knocked her back on her flanks.
“Oof! Oh, I’m sorry…” She grunted out, turning to face the pony she had run into. Realizing she didn’t recognize the pony, she cocked her head in confusion as she looked him over. “Uhh, I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there, I was in a bit of a hurry.”
“What’s the matter, Twi?” The younger voice asked.
Leaning to the side to see around the purple mare, Wander was surprised to see a small purple dragon waddle through the doorway.
“Woah, you're big,” The little dragon mumbled, craning his neck to be able to see Wander’s face.
“So I’ve been told,” Wander said, trying and failing to contain his mirth.
“Can, um, can we help you with something?” The purple mare asked, rising to her hooves and using her magic to dust herself off. “We were just getting ready close up for the day.”
“Well, actually…” Wander started.
“It’s ok,” the little purple dragon said, cutting Wander off. “I can take care of them if you want, Twi. I’m sure I can handle helping…”
Cocking his head slightly, the little purple dragon trailed off as he turned to face Wander.
“I’m sorry, but what was your name?” He asked. “I don’t think I caught it.”
“That’s because I didn’t give it,” Wander said.
In unison, the two cloaked ponies reached up and pulled their hoods down from over their heads.
“I’m Wanderlust,” The large stallion said, giving Spike a large smile.
“My name is Moontide!” The filly cheered, her large smile showing off a pair of equally large fangs. “And we’re here to see our sister!”
Big shoutout to Spirit for the wonderful art that has accompanied this chapter, as well as Epiphany and SomeZomePony for finding the time to preread for me.
I'd also like to give a shout out to Orthoros, as well as everyone else over in the Divine Entertainment Discord channel for all the help and support they've given me. This story wouldn't exist if it wasn't for them.
One last thing before I let y'all get to reading. Spirit and I have opened up a Discord server for this story. If anyone is interested in hopping in to get updates on the story, discuss what you did or didn't like about a particular scene, or just to chat in general, feel free to follow the link!
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Well, this was quite the welcome distraction from work and from the dismal task of killing characters. So thanks for that.
8422770
You're welcome :3
Eh, Moon is a bit quick to assume that nopony would want to be with her. After all, it stands to reason than somepony like Celestia wouldn't care much for her appearance, since everyone beside her sister is a foal to her.
)
Depends also on what one value first and foremost in a mate.
(Wanna bet Rainbow screw up and call her shorty ?
Also, I will be disappointed if Wander, who is a traveling salespony, doesn't have any kind of litteral Snake Oil in his cart.
8422780
you've also gotta realise that she's 31, and probably has a bit of experience with being turned down and ignored because of her size.
8422793
(No wonder she is so bitter...)
All too true, forgot this variable for second.
Thinking about it, a romance story about Moon would be quite interesting in it's own right, since it's seems like this could have both an interesting background story and an interesting plot to develop.
Hum...
Alondro does a spit-take, "Ok, those clearly very modern human-world terms just came out of nowhere... I would think the Equestrian equivalent would be 'foalaphile'... but I can't imagine they even have an equivalent term for loli."
8422918
i couldnt either, and that one nightmare night episode with Fluttershy showed they have something similar to an anime culture (one that Moon may or may not be part of)
I'm a little disappointed we ended on the same cliffhanger, but the chapter was a great way to familiarize us with the new characters.
I very much like the way you're pacing this story.
Keep it up my good man
8422984
Things will pick up soon, promise. <3
8423446
No worries. I still loved it. Two chapters with the same ending just have that affect.
I did get the satisfaction from this chapter that I was missing for the last (see 8412154 ), just not in the way I expected.
I'm really looking forward to whatever comes next now. 
snek pone.....is good
I really don't know what Moon's age is. She acts like a filly yet has slept around a lot.
Closing quotation mark should not be there since Wander continues speaking in the next paragraph.
Same as above. The ending quotation implies that the next person talking in the preceding paragraph is different.
"led", the lead used here is a metal.
"led"
"It's"
Just how large are the fangs? Cause earlier in the chapter it seemed to be implied they were smaller when Rarity noticed them.
8424353
I'm going to have to go back through the chapter with a fine-tooth comb. It seems most of the edits I made before I copied it from Gdocs were undone....
Who's fangs are you referring to? LORE SPOILER AHEAD They all have different sized fangs because like ponies there are more than one sub-race of lamia. Moon's are larger and much more visible in pone form because she is a venomous sub-species of lamia, where as neither Wander nor Silvia are, so there's are almost non-existent as pones.
8424395
Hmmm, I see genetics work the same for lamia and ponies here. The Cake twins are in good company.
I guess Moontide would be a "pygmy " rattler.
Don't kill me.
The concept of a snake-pony, i.e. lamia, reminds me of the Night Stalkers from New Vegas.
Got nothin' to really say here other than it was great like always.
Looking forward to the next chapter.
The story description had my curiosity, but now having binge read 7 chapters, now you have my attention.
Well done.
i really enjoy this story. It is hard to be patient for the next chapter
Argh! I'm out of chapters!
Really enjoying this so far. The extra time spent with the alternate POV chapters really helps story cohesion....even if it slows the pace to a crawl. Also this was a fantastic way to introduce a pair who seem to be new major characters.
Need more snekpone! Looking forward to what's coming up.
8537451
Did you have a question? I'm sorry if I missed it, I try to answer all of the comments on my story if someone asks something.
8539587
She's hiding her appearance.
I kind of hate that his chapter ends exactly where the last chapter ended, because I really needed to know the reaction. Well then I'm going to read this last chapter tomorrow.
I really don't like her behavior if she wasn'T serious with those guys. Was that meant as a joke from her?, if you are going to respond to it, please cover every question, I had enough answers in which they kind of focused on one sentence when I think there where three questions that could be easily noticed.
Till now he does seems like a character I could like, but he going close to a type of person that I'm not really fond of.
Let'S just say the type of guys I got to know that are like that and kind of flirt with everybody, where....let's just say I hope one pony is enough for him and that he isn'T really like that towards just every existing Mare.
I fear he is maybe that kind of guy. However there are two types like that. One that kind of gentlemand or tricly pirate or something I remember from an anime and games and then there are those idiots I meant.
Now I hope this is because of her fear and not Wanderlust getting his harem.
I noticed you explained that a bit later.
Well even with what I know about Moonshine or whatever her name was, I kind of like her more.
Both of them are okay, but I'm not that type of guy who likes to do those one night stands and I like to focus more on actually getting to know the girls. In a story there is sadly no facial expression and everything, so I have to go with the first thing that comes to my mind if I hear them talk (read).
Are both of them going to play a large role in the story? I mean if they are gone at some point or if I have to get used to them.
8540702
are the both of them going to be there till the end of the story?, this would make it either more or less important that I get to like those two characters more.
8541668
they are somewhat important, but they aren't going to stick around for the rest of the story.
8541902
okay that should be good enough, I just don't like auch a behavior that much, it has to do with the people I got to know. I think I said that already have I?, while they weren't mean, I still can't really accept that behavior since it always looks like they would only play with the girls and stuff like that. Now before my thought on the matter get to deep again I just wait and see what happens, afterall I don'T have to endure that to long.
8541906
Wander is a playful flirt, but he isn't mean about it. He also doesn't play with others feelings or push if they say no. Applejack made her lack of interest clear, and he backed off. Rarity flirted back, so he kept going. Plus, theres no sex or romance tags on this story, so all it really is is a bit of insight into their characters. You had mentioned the SilviMac shipping I've been teasing a few times, and how most ponies but them seemed to notice, but I think you read a lot further into the situation than was necessary. Applejack noticed because Mac is her brother, Derpy noticed because (as I tried to hint at with their interactions) they are close friends, and Twi noticed because she's been keeping an eye on Silvia, and took notice of the way she acted around him. I honestly don't know if I will ship them, and if I do it won't be in this story (yes, sequal confirmed). I've noticed you follow and comment on a lot of my stories, but this seems to be the first one (that you've made me aware of) that you dislike my hint heavy style of writing. As for your complaints about the pacing... this is a SoL story first and foremost, so its already going to have a slow pace. I've slowed it down a bit more because there is a lot of history and backstory in introducing not just new characters, but an entirely new race, and I'm using this story to establish the world that I've built within MLP. Yes, things will pick up once I get to the sequal, but the entirety of this story is going to keep at this pace. If its something you dislike and can't deal with, then, unfortunately, this story may not be for you.
8541921
well I thought of the possibility that he isn't meaning much with it, I just don't really like that type of character to much, but he had something that made him somewhat likeable.
Now this is interessting which is why I continue with a question.
Does he even want a relationship?, because the way he was flirting with the next possible Mare made it look a bit like "I just take the first that agrees with it".
Maybe I really only need to know if he actually wanted a relationship or if it was just him being playfull like you said. I mean this can be a way to get to know each other too. I would be interessting in if he would have taken his time to get to know her, or if he is that kind of guy that would take the opportunity. I feel like this is the only thing I was juding it by. (I feel like this was what I wanted to mention from the first moment on, but sometimes I only get the right words out if I go a bit back and forth with someone. (I really hope I say what I actually want to say here, I don'T trust my english sometimes
I admit i do that a bit sometimes.
Not sure if I mentioned it, but yes I thought this might have to do something with the past she has in ponyville that was mentioned.
That's good to hear, no matter what I said so far, I really like the way you write, maybe I should actually try your other stories to make sure if I just really like your writing style or if it is the story itself that was so interessting.
you need to help me there, what have I said that made you think that?
I really want to know, because either I'm not exactly aware that I was kind of talking in that direction or I said something that I didn't wanted to say, that happened already in another storie. Maybe you are talking about how someone can take those "hints" in this or that direction? (did that made sense?)
I get the feeling you mean that i probably react a bit unsure if I can't really tell what that piece of story wants to tell me.
I think the pacing thing was probably about me not getting to see what happens after the last chapter and the last chapter showing the same chapter again more or less right?, or did I said something about the pacing in another chapter?
I'm not exactly get your last point, because I usually only complain about a story going to fast and if that was only in one chapter then you don't have to take that one part seriously.
I feel like everything beside those two characters was pretty good so far. I just need to ask sometimes if I feel like something is off.
I suddenly remember something, did you had two accounts here?
can't wait for the next chapter
Is this story dead? Or is it just taking a while? Please tell me, i don't want to have my hopes crushed for this story like i have by other authors.
8715904
Had some personal issues come up, but I'm slowly working my way back into writing.
8717452
thanks for not letting this story die, and i hope you don't have any more personal issues, what ever they may be
I was just thinking about this story and thought I'd stop by... I'm not trying to pressure you. Just expressing that I miss this one enough to come say so.
I read the comments and hope things are working out.
8732340
You my friend need to watch a fun little show called Wander over Yonder, you also need to update this fic.
8732373
I actually saw that comment because I was just reading through the story to update my notes before I got back to working on it.
Wait did you just use a German word as a name?
Heh, nice pun.