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Day One: Knowing8,195 words
Day Two: Learning7,411 words
Day Three: Proper Introductions3,189 words
Day Four: Scientific Method2,510 words
Day Five: Strange Animals3,792 words
Night, Part One4,212 words

Day Two: Learning

"One sees a small village huddled between the stream and the vertical slope of Smokey Mountain," the unicorn mused aloud, "and wonders at the cluster of rotting gambrel roofs bespeaking an earlier architectural period than that of the neighboring region." She trotted down the street, away from the stable where her room had been reserved, eyes sweeping the crowd. There were dark forces stirring within this town. She knew it was only a matter of time before its secrets were laid bare. "It is not reassuring to see, on a closer glance, that most of the houses are deserted and falling to ruin. It is always a relief to get clear of the place, and to follow the narrow road around the base of the hills and across the level country beyond till it rejoins the Haylesbury pike. Afterwards one sometimes learns that one has been through Ponyville."

"Wow," came a voice beside her. "That sounds like a pretty scary place."

"Oh, it is," she answered without thinking. "It may be the place where the end begins, unless I can do something about it. Equestria's hour of darkness has arrived, and I intend to be its light." She held her head high as she spoke the words.

"I never really thought it looked rotting and ruined, though. Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Oh. Okay. I guess I can see it."

Several seconds later, she realized that a chocolate-colored earth pony had fallen into step beside her and flinched. "Whoa! I mean, who are you? I mean... hi," she fumbled.

"Oh, hi. You looked like you had something on your mind, so I thought I'd see if I could help." He grinned a little more broadly than the situation really warranted, and presented her with something that looked like a business card. "Button Mash," he introduced himself with a small bow. "Sidequester."

She read as much on the card. What in Equestria was a sidequester? "Well, Button, it's nice to meet you. I don't know if you can help with this, though. It's kind of big."

"Well, how about you talk about it while we get something to eat?" he offered.

The suggestion reminded her that she had, in fact, just been on her way to get lunch. Having no particular reason to decline, she nodded. "Actually, that sounds really good right about now."

Pulsing music drifted from somewhere ahead of them, drawing a stream of ponies toward it while the colt led her in the same direction. The street they were on had tables lined up along either side, with vendors offering a wide variety of foods. Some were selling typical carnival fare, like fritters and funnel cakes. Others had more local flavors; apples, carrots, and celery stalks dominated the conversation, and without tasting them the unicorn could already imagine the distinctive tangy sweetness one could expect only from the produce of this region. Other vendors sold items that took to the holiday spirit, like cookies decorated with sunflower petals so that each resembled a miniature sun, or cored apples with muffins baked inside them.

Button Mash stopped in front of a simple table with a white tablecloth draped over it. Four other foals sat behind the table, where a portable stove was set up with a frying pan. A mare who must have been their teacher carefully supervised them as they cut holes in slices of bread, and fried eggs inside the holes—a simple dish, cheap and easy to make.

"Hey, partner," Button called, waving to a white unicorn filly. "It's about time for my turn, isn't it?" He dropped a few copper bits on the table. "I could use a bite first, though. And one for, uh..."

"Moondancer," the out-of-towner finished, opening up her saddlebag. "I'm new in town." She hesitated as she realized the only thing in her bag was unfinished homework. In retrospect, this had all been a very bad idea. The fact that her parents had been unable to cancel their reserved room in a local stable was the only reason she had a place to sleep. She wondered if she could get room service on their bill in order to have enough food for the week.

Button casually added a few more bits, and a pegasus colt set two paper plates down, each with an egg toast. Taking the plates with a grateful nod, Button offered one to Moondancer. "So what were you saying before?" he asked before taking his first bite.

Moondancer shot a sheepish smile to Button's classmates and cautiously took her plate. "I think first you should explain what a sidequester is," she suggested.

"Oh, well, basically, it's kind of like being a courier, kind of like being an engineer, and kind of like being a ninja detective," he explained unhelpfully.

Seconds ticked by as Moondancer attempted to unravel that statement. Did any of it even mean anything?

"He means he does odd jobs," the filly he'd identified as his partner clarified. "He delivers things and fixes stuff. And... I don't know what he means by ninja detective."

Button groaned. "Sweetie Beeeeeelle," he whined, "you make it sound so much less cool when you say it like that."

Sweetie Belle just shrugged and turned to help another pony.

"Well, anyway," the colt continued, "now that I've told you that, let's hear what your problem is."

Moondancer thought carefully for a moment about how to explain the problem. "I have reason to believe there's an evil cult in this town that plans to summon an ancient spirit and kill everyone, so I'm investigating to find any way to stop them," she said.

Button rubbed his chin thoughtfully, squinting at Moondancer with an unreadable expression.

"Yeah, that sounds really cool," he agreed. "I bet I could help you out. I know a lot of secrets."

At the very least, she needed to hear him out before dismissing the lead. "Secrets?" Moondancer asked hesitantly. "What kind of secrets?"

"Oh, all sorts of things. Things I know nopony else knows I know about. You know?" He grinned. "But the best are the seven secrets of Ponyville Elementary! Those are sure to give you a clue! There's the stairway to nowhere, the disappearing school paper, the mysterious bell—"

"Oh, this is going to go so wrong," the other unicorn at the table sighed. "Here, Button, maybe you should take over for me now. I'll help Moondancer out."

"Uh, well, alright," he said, finishing off his toast. "Thanks!" He bounded over to stand on a chair.

The unicorn stepped around the table with a nod, directing her attention to the newcomer. "Sorry about that. If you want to learn about Ponyville, you should try the library. I could take you there, if you want."

"Alright," Moondancer agreed. "I appreciate the help. What's your name?"

"It's Dinky. Nice to meet you."

Dinky led her down the street, winding her way toward a quieter area. Slowly, the crowd thinned.

"So what are you really looking for?" she asked.

Moondancer hesitated for a moment, a bit surprised by the question. "Um, what do you mean?"

The other filly chuckled. "I get it if you don't want to tell me," she said, "but that story you gave Button made me curious."

"But... that was the truth." Moondancer shrugged. "I came here from Canterlot to find out about Nightmare Moon and stop her from engulfing the world in darkness. And, well, it's an ancient evil from the moon. If anything I've read about ancient evils from the moon is accurate, there has to be a cult devoted to it, and stopping the cult will stop the evil."

The expression on Dinky's face was one that could not be described as simple disbelief. It was more like utter astonishment. "Wait a second. You're serious? You actually believe all that? I can guarantee you, there's nothing like that in Ponyville."

"That's not what I heard—"

"Look, I'll show you when we get there, just wait."

The library, identified by a sign outside as Golden Oaks, was almost deserted. There was a lot to see on a festival day, and the few foals who were hanging around were busy planning their next destination. As they trotted inside, the two fillies were greeted with the stern face of the librarian.

"And what, pray tell, are you doing here, Miss Doo?" she queried in a high-class accent. "It's admirable that you have so much enthusiasm for academics, but I'm certain you have other things to be doing this week."

"I'm actually here helping Moondancer out," Dinky replied, gesturing to the out-of-towner. "She needs books on the Y1K theories, especially Nightmare Moon. Do you have anything like that?"

The librarian snorted. "Yes, yes, that silly stuff... most of it has been checked out, but there are a few left on the shelves. Walk this way." She began to lead them toward a study area.

As Moondancer attempted to imitate the mare's stride, she shot a questioning glance to Dinky.

The native filly shrugged. "Ms. Harshwhinny is kind of... zealous, but she takes care of us pretty well," she said. "I mean, you couldn't ask for a better librarian."

On that point, the silver filly was tempted to argue, as she was certain that Professor Sparkle took better care of her books than anypony in Equestria, but Harshwhinny did seem to radiate a sense of perfect order, with her immaculately kept golden mane and her perfectly neat mulberry jacket, and Moondancer doubted she would find so much as a dog-eared page in this library.

"She also maintains these," Dinky continued, gesturing to a shelf of trophies. "She displays scholastic awards local foals have won, and so far there are at least fifteen shelves around town. Five in the school, six here. She started when my mom was a filly. In fact, that's how she got her cutie mark."

"Enough idle chatter," Harshwhinny interrupted, glancing back at the two. "The books you're looking for should be right here. Please, enjoy," she finished in a joyless tone, before heading back toward her desk.

The blonde filly picked up a book titled "The Nightmare Delusion" and sat at a table, starting it immediately. Moondancer looked over the shelves and found one called "Wars in the Mind", with a subtitle reading "How Nightmare Moon may have already won". She carried it to the same table and set it down, accidentally bumping a small statue out of place slightly.

Without looking up from her book, Dinky pushed the statue back into place.

Moondancer stared for a moment, then nudged the statue again.

Dinky nudged it back.

Over the next few minutes, while the two fillies continued to read up on the subject of the impending prophecy, Moondancer slowly became distracted with her efforts to find out just what displacement of the object would be minimal enough to avoid attracting Dinky's attention. The answer, as far as she could determine, was "none".

"Look," the other filly interrupted, pointing to a passage in the book. "In the opinion of Professor Bill Neigh, it is impossible for an entity like Nightmare Moon to exist. A pony's body is not built to contain that much magic. The creature Celestia fought a thousand years ago could only have been an instance of wild magic. It's a rare phenomenon that only occurs when ambient magic levels exceed a certain threshold, and if that mass of magic were to be sent to the moon, it would likely dissipate due to the lack of atmosphere. And stop doing that." She picked the statue up and set it back in place with a bit of force.

Almost instantly, the librarian loomed over them. "Is there a problem here?" she asked. "Do keep in mind that you're expected to observe a certain decorum in the library."

Dinky flinched. "Sorry, Ms. Harshwhinny. I guess I got a little carried away."

"Yes, well." Harshwhinny nodded. "I'll let it slide this time, since there's hardly anypony around to be disturbed by the commotion. Did you find what you needed?"

"Yeah, I think I've got enough here." The mauve filly stood, glancing at Moondancer. "Still need me to show you around? I've got time."

"Wait, but I haven't finished…" Moondancer flipped to the next page of her book. "What about aggregate magic theory?"

Dinky gave her a bemused look. "If that were the case, there still wouldn't be a problem. Unless you think a bunch of ponies from a thousand years ago are still hanging around."

"Oh, right." The Canterlot student shook her head and scanned a few more pages.

It was useless, she realized. Ponyville's library may have been impressive, but it couldn't compete with the wealth of knowledge the professors had available. If Twilight Sparkle couldn't find a way to stop the Descent Unto Nightfall in Canterlot, then a pair of fillies in a small town's library couldn't even hope to prove she existed.

Reluctantly, she stood, scooping the book up in her magic. "Alright, I guess we should quit wasting time, then," she admitted. At least if she went along with Dinky, she might get a stroke of that blind luck that always seemed to happen to legendary heroes at the perfect moment. "Let's go and—"

Her thought was cut off by a loud crashing sound from the direction of the entrance. All three ponies jumped slightly, and the adult spun in place.

"It seems nopony realizes the need to be quiet in the library today," Harshwhinny muttered to herself as she stalked away from the table.

Moondancer shrugged, picking her book up off the floor. "Well, we don't need to wait, right? We should just go."

Dinky didn't reply. She jumped to her hooves and hurried toward the entrance. Surprised, the other filly followed.

The librarian was talking to a gray pegasus mare with a bright yellow mane and a cutie mark of bubbles. "Miss Hooves," she was saying, "you cannot move with such haste that you slam into things whenever you enter a room. You'll bring the whole library down around you."

"S-sorry," the pegasus replied, holding up a book in front of her. "It's just, I found that missing cookbook, and I was in a hurry to return it before I got any more overdue fees."

Taking the tome cautiously, Harshwhinny shook her head. "This is the third time. Why don't you simply buy your own copy?"

The other mare looked away from Harshwhinny and grumbled something about money. Her amber eyes, a little unfocused, fell upon the two watching. A moment later, her face brightened and she flitted over to Dinky.

"Hey, muffin," she said, her voice suddenly full of cheer as she picked up the filly and hugged her tight. "You in here studying on a holiday? No wonder you're so much smarter than the other kids."

Dinky squirmed a little in the mare's grip. "Mom, I'm kinda busy right now. I'm helping Moondancer find her way around."

Ms. Hooves's eyes were drawn to Moondancer now. She regarded her with a blank expression for a moment. "Oh, are you one of Dinky's friends?" she asked, still a little loudly. She bent down and patted the filly on the head. "It makes me so happy how everypony wants to be my little girl's friend. I'd love to talk a while, but I've gotta get going now!" She looked back to Dinky. "Later, muffin!" she called, waving as she turned and swooped out the door.

The pale filly looked to her guide. "So, that was your mom, huh? She seemed nice."

"You think so? Most ponies who meet her just talk about how awkward she is." Dinky thought for a moment. "I guess you could talk to her more later. Maybe you and your family could come over for dinner."

"Oh, uh… hold on." Moondancer raised a hoof. "I think my parents are going to be busy this week, you know, Summer Sun Celebration and all. I could make it, though, if you want."

"Well, okay then." Her hostess nodded. "You can meet my sisters, too. It'll be great."

Moondancer walked over to the area where she'd found Wars in the Mind and slid it onto a shelf. "For now, let's just go ahead and move on to something else."

Dinky pulled it back out and returned it to the correct place.

~#~#~#~

The feeling of dread was undeniably growing with every step Moondancer took. Now that the library was definitely ruled out as a source of information, she was confronted with the fact that not only did she not know where to look, she didn't even know what she was looking for.

Dinky was leading her on a tour of the festival. The road they were on had games of various kinds set up alongside it. The fillies passed everything from horseshoes to balloon darts. A minotaur running a Ring the Bull game waved enthusiastically at the two, and Dinky quickly moved on.

At the local filly's insistence, Moondancer looked around for something fun to take her mind off her fears. She settled on a cup toss game, which Dinky paid for.

Her aim was shaky, and her first three balls barely touched the cups at all. To her surprise, though, the effort of focusing did help, and her last throw was almost graceful. She didn't win anything, but she felt calmer.

"Never seen you around here before," came a voice from behind her. "Here for the festival?"

The silver unicorn turned to see who had spoken. A pink ribbon had approached while she was distracted, riding atop the crimson mane of a yellow earth filly.

"Oh, hey," Dinky said. "Apple Bloom, this is Moondancer. I'm showing her the fun parts of the festival."

"Nice to meet you," Moondancer greeted her.

"Same t'yew." Apple Bloom glanced down the road. "You headin' to Carousel Boutique? Rarity's set up a hall of mirrors, lots of folks're talkin' about it."

Dinky glanced at Moondancer and nodded. "Oh, yeah, that sounds perfect," she agreed. "You should come with us."

The earth pony scratched the back of her neck with a hoof and gestured to her apple-emblazoned saddlebags. "Well, Sis sent me on an errand. Wouldn't wanna keep her waiting."

"You're always on errands," Dinky replied. "Both of you need to have some fun. I mean, look around, isn't that the point?"

The other two locked eyes and slowly nodded. "I guess so," Moondancer answered.

"An' ah suppose one little game couldn't hurt anythin'," Apple Bloom agreed. "Ah'm headed that way, anyway."

"Great! And Moondancer, the Apples know more about Ponyville than anybody else," the blonde filly added. "I bet they could show you more than I can."

"Is that so?" The words gave her a sense of hope. Maybe the day wouldn't be a total waste after all.

"Yeah, we practically built the place," the newcomer said. "It's our town, an' we're mighty proud of it."

"In that case, maybe you can pick our next destination after the hall of mirrors," Moondancer suggested.

"Sorry, still busy. But you can come with me," Apple Bloom countered. "We're settin' up in Town Square."

Slowly, Moondancer nodded. She wasn't sure it was a good idea to linger around Town Square, in case Professor Sparkle noticed her, but since the teacher was surely busy with her task somewhere in town, the chances of that might be mitigated somewhat.

Dinky cleared her throat officiously. "And now, onward! To Rarity's!" she announced.

~#~#~#~

The Carousel Boutique was a large, round building with a sloped purple roof, just at the end of the street. In front of it stood a matching unicorn mare, her coat almost pearly white but with a tinge of blue and her violet mane done in an elegant curl. She wore what appeared to be a glazier's smock, but the entire garment shone in the light with varied hues. At first glance, it seemed like an illusion, but a faint cloud of colorful dust billowed from it when the mare moved. Moondancer could guess that this was Rarity. She beckoned the trio closer as they came into view.

"Oh, if it isn't young Apple Bloom," the mare commented. "I had heard you were going to be busy with your family all week. I don't suppose they're all waiting around the corner?"

The earth filly rolled her eyes. "Nah, but AJ asked me to give ya this," she said, producing a box from her saddlebag and proffering it to the unicorn, who took it gently in her magical aura.

"Well, thank you for the delivery. Do let her know that I'll have hers ready by the end of the Celebration," said Rarity.

"Will do," Bloom agreed. "First, though, can me an' mah friends have a run through yer maze?"

Rarity looked delighted at the request. "Oh, of course," she said. "Just step this way." She led them to a table, where she set Apple Bloom's box beside a bowl. From the bowl, she lifted three gems, which floated over to the fillies: An emerald for Apple Bloom, a sapphire for Dinky, and a ruby for Moondancer.

Following this, her aura brightened, and the stones sparked with a bright magical light. "A little detection spell," she explained. "I put some of my own aura in them, so if you get lost, I can trace it to your location."

"Has anypony gotten lost in there?" Moondancer asked, eyebrow raised.

"It never hurts to be on the safe side, dear."

Apple Bloom paid for the three to enter, and Rarity opened the door to the Boutique. Behind that, the entrance appeared to be covered by a giant mirror, the surface of which rippled occasionally with some form of magic. Dinky led the way, and when she placed her hoof against the glass, it sank in easily. The fillies soon vanished completely into it.

On the other side was a winding track lined with mirrors, curving away from the three in both directions. Moondancer took a few steps to her left and was halted by the sight of her reflection.

"Wow, Rarity really went all out, didn't she?" Apple Bloom commented. She was clearly holding back a laugh, and doing it poorly.

The fillies reflected in the mirrors looked nothing like the ones standing in the maze. Each appeared to be dressed in an elegant gown, designed to match their eyes and decorated with gemstones. Moondancer's was a brilliant blue with strategically set rubies, Dinky's was gold with sapphires, and Apple Bloom's was orange accented with emeralds.

Moondancer scratched her head. "Aren't these mirrors supposed to make you look weird?" she asked.

"I don't think she could even do something like that," Dinky answered, chuckling. "She only makes beautiful things. Anything else would just seem wrong from her."

At the very least, it was evident Rarity had put a lot of work into this setup. Moondancer could see that each mirror reflected her wearing a different ensemble, different colors, always with their gemstones carefully and tastefully worked into the design. Her mind wandered back to the previous day, and suddenly, she regretted afresh not having brought any bits with her.

Shaking her head clear of that thought, she looked down the mirrored corridor. "Rarity seems pretty skilled," she mentioned. "Is she a teacher?"

"Nah, she's just a seamstress," Apple Bloom replied. "She might teach ya sewing, though, if ya wanted to be her apprentice."

The maze was intricately crafted, and the three wandered through its gentle loops, a sense of relaxation settling on them. Eventually, though, it occurred to Moondancer that they had passed the entrance several times, and still seen no sign of an exit.

Suddenly, Dinky halted, staring at one of the mirrors. "Wait, this one is funny," she said distractedly, walking toward it.

"Funny how?" Apple Bloom peeked, and Moondancer followed suit. Dinky's reflection wore a stunning gown, gold as the first one, with diamonds upon the barrel and hip. It was, by all accounts, as magnificent as any of the others.

"If anything," Moondancer ventured, "I'd say this is my favorite one yet. What's so weird about it?"

"Here, take a look at yourself," Dinky insisted, stepping aside. The other two looked at each other, and the earth filly shrugged and stepped in front of the mirror.

Again, she seemed to be dressed in a ballroom gown, this one as fiery red as her mane. And, again, it had diamonds dazzlingly displayed in just the right places.

"I think I get it," Moondancer said slowly.

"Huh? Get what?" Apple Bloom looked more befuddled now. "Mind fillin' me in?"

Dinky shook her head. "There's been a pattern ever since we walked in here. The mirrors show us in dresses made with the gems Rarity gave us. But this one only shows…"

"Diamonds!" Apple Bloom whinnied. "Ah never woulda thought! Ain't that just like Rarity?"

"Yeah, totally," the unicorn agreed, approaching the mirror again. She gave it a tap, and it shimmered and vanished. Sharing a triumphant glance, the three fillies stepped through the gap, out into the open air again.

Rarity was waiting for them behind a portable wooden counter, the bowl of gems set before her. "Congratulations!" she greeted. "I hope you three enjoyed yourselves."

Dinky dropped her stone into the bowl, and the others followed suit. "It was fun," Dinky affirmed. "I liked the trick at the end."

"And since you solved it," the mare added, "you each get a prize. Voilà!" From under the counter, she picked up three large plush toys, all shaped like Princess Celestia. Moondancer blinked at hers, bemused, while the other fillies giggled happily.

"Thanks, Rarity!" Apple Bloom said, draping the doll over her back. "Applejack must be wonderin' where ah am by now, though."

"Oh, yes. Well, you'd best run along, then." Rarity nodded. "Have a cheerful Celebration!"

"You two comin'?" the Apple asked, turning to the unicorn fillies.

"Oh, actually." Dinky shrugged. "I have some things to do myself. Before I go, though, Rarity, can I have a map?" She levitated a copper bit onto the counter. "And I need to borrow a pen."

Agreeably, Rarity fished out the items and rolled them toward the filly. Dinky unfurled the map and quickly wrote something on it, then put the pen back. She presented the map to Moondancer.

"This is where I live," she explained. A street in the northeastern part of town was marked with an arrow, with a street number written below. "Just come by any time. I'll let Mom know you're coming."

Studying the map, the Canterlot filly nodded. She folded it up and tucked it into a saddlebag. "Alright, I'll be there."

Dinky waved to the other fillies, then hurried off.

"So, I guess now we should head for Town Square, huh? I can't wait to learn all about Ponyville," Moondancer said eagerly.

~#~#~#~

"Sorry, Apple Bloom, but we don't have time to entertain guests," the orange mare stated flatly.

Apple Bloom replied with a noise of protest. "But Applejack, she needs somepony ta—"

"You can do all that on yer own time, but we got a lotta work to do." The older sister, a powerfully-built orange mare with a cutie mark of three apples and a cowpony hat set atop her straight blonde mane, was busily building a booth directly across the square from the front doors of Town Hall. "We already volunteered ta get everything ready for the Mayor's fireworks and Cheerilee's planet-watchin' exhibition, an' then help put together the emergency supplies in case the Mayor's fireworks set somethin' on fire again an' build the activity center for foals who don't wanna watch Cheerilee's exhibition, and extra supplies in case the fireworks burn down the activity center, an' that's before we can even think about our own stuff. We've got two and a half buffets to prepare, what with family comin' in for the last day an' ol' Green Greens bein' green around the gills, an' then there's plannin' out Mac's route like every holiday, an' then we…"

The mare's words were starting to blend together at this point. Moondancer's mind began to drift to wondering what she would sound like if she had an accent as thick as these two ponies. It sounded very strange and awkward in her head. Some ponies admired such accents, but she couldn't agree with that mindset and really just wished she could properly understand what was being said.

"Alright, alright," Apple Bloom said with a sigh. She looked to the unicorn. "Sorry, Applejack says we can't help ya."

"Isn't there something? Somepony else I can talk to?" Moondancer had really been hoping this would be the breakthrough she needed.

"Well," Applejack said, pausing for a moment, "there is Granny Smith." She trotted across the square, to a rocking chair that had been placed by the Town Hall stairs.

Just barely in the chair was the slumped form of an elderly green mare, her flesh sagging and her false teeth trying to escape every time she snored. She looked like she might be hundreds of years old. The chair seemed to be rocking under the motive force of the mare's snoring.

"Granny!" Applejack called. "There's somepony here who wants ta talk to you!"

Granny Smith snapped awake at that. "Huh, what?" She glanced around and spotted Moondancer approaching. "Oh, well, howdy, youngin! What can I do ya for?"

"Well, um," Moondancer replied, "I was hoping you could tell me about the history of Ponyville."

"Izzat so?" The old mare chuckled. "Well, it's good to see yer interested in history, an' I reckon I'm the best pony to ask, since I was there and all. Let's see, now, where do I begin…"

She cleared her throat. "Y'see, when I was young, my family was always on the move. The road was our home, an' we didn't see any prospects ta ever leave it. Pa an' Uncle Julius lived off the land all their lives, an' Ma an' her brother Lone Prairie were yer typical starvin' artists.

"Pa worked on plenty a' farms, which hardly got him enough for all of us ta live by. Julius was a trader, an' he just barely came out ahead. Ma sold her designs, but it was a hard time for seamstresses. An' Prairie, well, he played his music. Folks would gather ta hear it, an' he sang good songs about what he'd learned travelin', so he made as much as any beggar. I did what I could, but that was the way it was for us an' we were resigned to it.

"Only, apparently while we had our eyes on the road, somepony had their eyes on us, an' especially Uncle Prairie. He started ta get a reputation as a travelin' teacher. Who said that, I dunno, but it spread all the way up to Canterlot.

"Couldn'ta been luckier timin', because it just so happened, there was a royal initiative ta build a whole mess a' new schools. Most of 'em were already bein' completed, but there was one place they really wanted ta build that they couldn't get anypony ta go teach at. I'm guessin' you can figure it was smack dab in the middle of the Everfree Forest, darkest hotbed of wild magic in the world.

"Well, at first we didn't want anythin' ta do with it either, but they cut us a better deal than you could dream. To this day, I dunno why they were so eager, but long story short, we had land ta do whatever we wanted with, as long as we put a school there too. At first we didn't know what ta do, but soon we found that wild magic worked its way into the plants an' caused strange fruit ta grow in the deep, dark places. 'Course, Pa started clearin' land for the farm that same day, an' the school was done not long after. Then came new neighbors, an' before ya knew it, we had a whole town on the spot.

"It's too bad we lost most a' that special fruit. Uncle Julius took some rare breed of oranges off ta see what he could do with it, got set up in the north. The rest, well, we still don't know what happened to it, really. But what we did manage ta harvest got the town goin' strong an' it's kept us to this day."

The filly listened intently. That strange fruit sounded promising, but there wasn't exactly a way to go track it down. "Who else did you know back then?" she tried. "And what about Prairie?"

"Well, let's see." The elderly mare rubbed her chin. "It's been so long, most of the folks I knew are dead now. There was this young entrepreneur, they gave him a big grant ta come find a way to attract ponies to the town. I used ta foalsit his kid, Filthy. Then there came the Hooves and the Spices and the Spoons, an' most of 'em weren't much better off than we had been. We also did business with a farm out east, run by a mare called Bedrock Pie. Her daughter Crusty Pie an' me were thick as they come, too, 'til she passed away recently. I could tell you all about the crazy adventures we got into, but, hm... well, some other time.

"As for Uncle Prairie, he taught for the rest of his life. Got married, had kids, lived happy. His kids taught, too, but they also took to travelin'. They still come back for every holiday an' reunion, and… oh, wait, that reminds me, we were doin' something, weren't we? Applejack! You let me doze off, consarnit!"

The mare fiercely stood and charged toward her granddaughter at a blistering snail's pace. Moondancer stared after her, but decided not to stick around, seeing a look of panic cross Applejack's face. Instead, she edged slowly toward the street that led back to the stable.

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