The Trip
"This is gonna be so much fun!"
Pinkie Pie was her usual self, bouncing around like a pogo stick unable to contain herself. She was with her sister Maud Pie, who was as static as a rock. Pinkie knew this, so she devised a plan that would get her sister to show some energy for once. They arrived at the entrance to The Museum of Equestrian history.
The museum itself was quite large. It was built entirely out of marble and it had ionic columns that were placed around the building's perimeter for decoration. By the entrance was a young unicorn mare with a dark blue mane and body and was wearing a black suit. The mare was holding a notepad in one hoof and a small pen in the other. Pinkie bounced towards the mare and Maud calmly followed.
"Is this where we get our tickets?" said an exuberant Pinkie, still hopping in place.
"Actually this is for signing up on the museum tours," said the mare. "Are you interested in that?"
"You betcha! Please come closer Maud, we need to get our names on the tour!"
Pinkie borrowed the mare's pen and signed her name sloppily on the notepad before handing the pen to Maud, who signed it slowly and with grace. Maud handed the pen back to the mare, whose eyes were fixed on Pinkie.
"Don't mind my sister," said Maud in a monotone voice. "She's very hyperactive, but she's a great pony. You get used to it quickly."
"Hard to believe you two are even related," said the mare as her eyes shifted from Pinkie to Maud. "You two couldn't be any more different. The rest of the ponies on the tour are waiting inside."
Pinkie and Maud trotted inside the museum. Inside there were a couple of ponies mingling with each other as they waited for the tour to begin. Pinkie smiled as she recognized every last pony that was on the tour.
"Look Maud," shouted Pinkie, who wrapped one of her legs around Maud. "I can name every one of these ponies! Watch me! The mint one over there is Lyra, the earth pony next to her is Bon Bon. They're always together. The grey pony is Octavia and the yellow one next to her is Spitfire. Right over there is a blue pony named Noteworthy."
Maud zoned out as Pinkie pointed at the nineteen different ponies that would be accompanying them on their tour, naming every last one of them. While Maud loved her dear sister, there were times when she did become a little too hyperactive. Maud closed her eyes as she pretended to listen to Pinkie.
"That's just about everybody! Any questions?" Pinkie smiled at Maud, who opened her eyes and saw the huge grin and shining teeth in front of her.
"No," said Maud.
"Great!"
The mare Pinkie and Maud met from before walked in and knocked on a wooden desk next to her. She approached the group of ponies and cleared her throat.
"Ahem, my name is Moonsky. I'll be your guide through this museum. If you have any questions feel free to ask me."
Lyra immediately raised her hoof high in the air.
"My name is Lyra," she quickly said. "I was wondering if there are any fossils of what some call Homo sapiens?"
"Sorry Lyra, but we don't have any fossils of mythical creatures here."
Lyra shrugged and frowned.
"Anyways," said Moonsky. "Any other questions?"
Nobody in the group raised their hoof or spoke up.
"Good. Let's begin."
Moonsky headed through the hall titled "Documents of Long Ago" as the large group of ponies followed closely by. Inside there were many sheets of paper that were protected by thick glass. On these sheets of paper were words upon words describing something that few of the ponies understood. Pinkie raised her hoof high in the air.
"What does this thingy next to me mean?" said Pinkie loudly.
"It's a treaty between Equestria and the Griffon Empire from approximately 550 years ago," said a smiling Spitfire. "The treaty stipulated that Equestria would lessen its tariffs on Griffon exports while at the same time the Griffon Empire would help supply defense for Equestria's eastern borders. It's known as the Treaty of Feather Cliffs, named after the place where it was signed."
"My goodness," said Moonsky, whose eyes were wide open. "That's perfectly correct."
Spitfire blushed and walked back a little bit as Pinkie Pie leaned over to her ear.
"No need to be embarrassed silly," whispered Pinkie. "That was really amazing."
"Thanks. My friends like to call me the token nerd of the Wonderbolts." Spitfire stopped blushing and giggled briefly as the group continued on their tour.
"As I was saying," said Moonsky. "These documents cover a lot of Equestria's proud history during the rule of the two sisters, Celestia and Luna. For example, the document next to me is a legitimate copy of Celestia's speech concerning Nightmare Moon's banishment. To its right is a copy of Celestia's speech celebrating the return of Princess Luna. The other documents here are of treaties signed by Celestia and Luna or Celestia herself. If none of you have any questions, let's move on."
The group exited the hallway and Pinkie was as joyful as ever. Maud was still expressionless and hadn't said a peep ever since the tour began. The tour approached a hallway titled "Art of Early Equestria" and entered. The walls were all adorned with ancient paintings, all organized by different time periods.
"These paintings are all recognizable parts of Equestrian culture," said Moonsky. "We've made sure to organize all of them by their approximate dates. Do any of you notice anything peculiar about the different paintings?"
Octavia raised her hoof gently. "The technique the artists used changes as one goes along the hallway into a later period of time."
"Very good. The modern painting of the filly by the seashore differs greatly in detail and technique when compared to the early painting of the banishment of Discord by Celestia and Luna. As you can also see, many of the earlier paintings tried to display Equestria as a mighty force, while later paintings tended to focus on daily life. Let's move on now to the next exhibit."
Pinkie stared at Maud to see if she was excited, but much to her disappointment, Maud was as indifferent as ever. Her expression didn't change as they went through the many exhibits the museum had to offer, and eventually the tour reached its last stop, the hallway titled "Ancient Weapons and Artifacts".
"It's been a long journey," said Moonsky. "We're finally here, the oldest objects that our museum has. Come along and let's take a look."
The ponies entered the hallway. Maud's eyes sparkled as she saw what the exhibit contained. There were a bunch of rocks, all carved into spearheads and organized by approximate date. There were core tools laying on the shelf above the spearheads and on the other side of the hallway were statues small enough to be held by a hoof. Maud recognized what kind of rocks they all were, whether igneous or sedimentary, and impressed the whole group with her knowledge. She smiled for the first time on the tour, and Pinkie couldn't help herself and smiled with her.
"Thank you so much for bringing me here Pinkie," said Maud, who was still monotone, but visibly overjoyed.
"You're welcome Maud," said Pinkie. Pinkie Pie tightly hugged her sister and the two, more energetic than they had been all day, finished the last exhibit of the tour on a high note.