Celestia's sun rose above the horizon, bathing everything in a golden light, from the lush rolling hills to Canterlot itself. Its rays settled upon everything in sight giving whatever it touched a magnificent glowing aura that captivated my attention. I gave a contented sigh as I rested back on my haunches and began to relax upon the grassy fields that surrounded me.
I smiled as I took in the view, I always loved watching the sunrise, I had always thought it to be one of the most magical things that I would ever see, and in my opinion it would always far outclass any magic I, or any other unicorn could hope to cast.
After spending some time watching the sunrise I rose to my hooves and turned around to face my humble caravan, I had always liked my caravan, it had been my constant companion during my travels and had never been anything but helpful to me and if it were a pony I would consider it my closest friend.
That is along with a one of a kind bartender named Moonshine, a stallion who I had met two or so years ago, quite early on in my travels in Manehatten who, when I showed up at his tavern immediately made me a drink on the house, at first I was rather surprised at this seemingly random act of charity but as I talked with the stallion that idea faded from my mind. I talked with Moonshine long after his other patrons had left the bar, I found out that he had only been in business about as long as me and surprisingly, that we were relatively the same age. We began exchanging stories that we had, mine about what I had seen on my short travels and him about his experiences that he had in his time as a barmen.
As time dragged on I ordered more drinks while talking with Moonshine until I finally collapsed on his bar in a drink induced slumber.
I awoke the next morning to an ear splitting headache only to find that he had carried me up to his spare room in his humble establishment and let me stay the night. From then on Moonshine and I had took a shine to each other if you will, and become close friends, on my travels whenever I was close to Manehatten I would stop in at his bar for some drinks, someone to talk to and somewhere to relax.
I smiled to myself upon finishing recalling my memories from when I had first met Moonshine, I had really enjoyed his company and unfortunately it had been months since I had last talked to him.
I allowed myself a brief sigh and lit up my horn and produced a crumpled letter from Moonshine and once again read it aloud to myself;
]Hey Man
How are you doing? it's been a while since you last stopped in to talk and have a few drinks at the bar, I take it you've been busy. Anyway a few days ago I got cornered by one of those upper class snobs and as it turns out for some reason he wanted to buy my bar, he offered me an enormous amount of bits to me if I sold it to him. At first I was reluctant to sell it but, the amount of bits he offered me was enough to set me up for a lifetime, so eventually I gave in and accepted it. I was getting sick of Manehatten anyway now that I think about it ,it's too big and busy all the time so I'm moving to a smaller town, not too far from Canterlot called Ponyville, I'm planning on setting up a small bar there if I can, and I was hoping you would swing by sometime for a drink and time to catch up.
-Your bud Moonshine
I chuckled to myself as I finished the letter for the billionth time, I still hadn't worked out how he had managed to track me down and get it delivered to me, seeing as due to my job I'm always on the move, nor had I figured out why he had decided to move to such a small out of the way town, I had never been to Ponyville and hardly even heard of it, I wasn't even exactly sure where it was all I knew was it was a small rural town that it was somewhere near Canterlot.
I had always liked the smaller towns, in my experience they were always quieter and the ponies there were always a lot nicer, unfortunately they often didn't buy as much merchandise, or have as much to sell as the wealthier ponies in the cities, so my profession rarely led me to cross paths with them.
It had been a few months since I got the letter from Moonshine and I still hadn't been to check out his new bar, though it was mainly because it was such a long was off my normal area any maybe slightly due to the fact I didn't quite know exactly where Ponyville was.
I lay back down on the soft grass, basking in the sun as I pondered if I should go and check out his new establishment. I could do with a break, it'd been a while since I last stopped somewhere that I wasn't trying to sell off some of my merchandise or keeping an eye out for anything valuable that I could sell on to somepony else, it would be nice to see Moonshine again and catch up on old times. And hey who knows maybe a nice trip to somewhere new would be nice.
After some time deliberating I decided that visiting Moonshine and his new bar would be a nice break from my busy life.
I climbed to my hooves and strode over to my caravan attached myself to its harness, Immediately I swung around and sauntered off in the general direction of where I thought Ponyville to be.
The longer I walked the more my mind strayed to what this small town would be like, a picture of a small country orientated little village formed in my mind, its houses small but cosy, and its people hardy but kind, the kind of place where everypony knew everypony.
Suddenly the daydream faded from my mind as I noticed another pony on the road, as I grew closer I began to make out details, it appeared to be a earth pony stallion with a crimson red coat and a straw coloured mane, but his most prominent feature was his enormous size, he was built like a buffalo. Now with my job pulling around my caravan from city to city I liked to think of myself as fairly strong, and compared to an average stallion I was quite 'buff' but compared to him I was like a little school filly.
As I approached him he turned toward me and his eyes fell on me as if studying me as I was him, each of us making our own assessment of the other. Finally after an eternity of studying each other he broke the silence, "Howdy, names Mac" "Nice to meet you Mac, names Silver. So, where you heading?" I questioned. "Ah'm heading back home t' Ponyville" he answered.
"Oh you're from Ponyville? Do you think you could show me where it is? You see I got a letter from a friend who opened a bar in Ponyville a while back and he invited me to come check it out... But well I'm not quite too sure where exactly Ponyville is" I sheepishly added.
He raised his eyebrows as if silently asking a question "are ya by any chance friends with Moonshine?"
"Yeah that's him" I exclaimed, a measure of surprise evident in my voice "you know him?"
He gave a small smile slip through his otherwise stoic demeanor "Eeyup, ah head down to his bar every here and there for a drink after workin at th' farm."
"It's good to hear that he's got some customers then" I chuckled. "So could you show me where his bar is by any chance?"
"Eeyup" he replied, as he turned on his hoof and started to depart down the road where Ponyville undoubtedly lay.
Author's Note
Hey everyone, thanks for reading :D
I know this was a short chapter and not a lot happened but it will pick up (I hope!!)
Anyway feel free to leave what you think I'd appreciate it :D
As Mac and I traversed the roads that led to Ponyville I had managed to coax a fair amount of information about Ponyville from Mac, I was pleased to find out that they had a sizable library for a small town and it was now on my hit
list for places to visit during my stay in Ponyville with Moonshine, he had also explained about the other establishments in Ponyville such as a local favourite called Sugarcube Corner which he explained naturally sold sweets and numerous other delights that would be well worth my visit. I smiled at this, I had always had a sweet tooth and a good sum of my bits always ended up being spent on doughnuts and other delectable treats. He went on to tell me of a small dress shop in Ponyville that was renowned for its clothes, well worth the visit if I was after fancy attire for the future.
After finishing up telling me about Ponyville our conversation grinded to a halt and soon the only noise was the sound of our hooves on the dirt road and the low rumbling of my caravan. Without conversation to occupy me anymore I turned my attention to the scenery around us, most of it was a sea of rolling green hills but off in the distance I could make out Canterlot perched on the side of the cliff face, on the other side I spotted an ominous looking forest that seemed almost devoid of light, looking at it sent chills down my spine there was something strange about the forest. I made a mental note to avoid crossing too close to it during my stay in Ponyville.
"So why don't y'all tell me bout yourself?"
"Hm? Oh there isn't really all that much to tell" I replied, my modesty all of a sudden making itself known.
"Well it won't take ya long t' tell me then" he retorted, flicking me a friendly smile.
"Well I loved travelling from when I was young and as soon as I could I made sure I was on the road, picking up jobs from town to town, I did a lot of jobs when I travelled but I really liked working where I could talk to ponies so naturally I loved selling things for a part time job and I leapt at every opportunity I could. Eventually I put two and two together and decided what could be better than travelling from town to town selling my wares, I've been doing it ever since".
"How'd ya meet 'Shine"?
"I was only starting out as an Entrepreneur at the time, I stopped at Manehatten and decided to unwind at a bar which Moonshine happened to own at the time and we talked, I got drunk and he put me to bed at his place, and that's how friendships are formed."
Mac gave a small chuckle before he stopping somewhere on the very outskirts of Ponyville to point out a small cottage that rested on the crest of a small hill "that's where most of the folk round here take their animals when they're sick"
"Oh I don't have any pets" I explained "It'd be difficult to take care of a pet on the road, I'd like one but I don't think it'd be fair on the animal having to be on the move all the time".
Mac mumbled something about me getting on with a shy well but I didn't want to interrogate him about it.
Later down the road he stopped again and pointed out a large floating fortress that was seemingly made of clouds that sported a...rainbow waterfall? It was unlike anything I'd ever laid eyes on, in all my travels of Equestria I had never encountered anything remotely like this.
"That's amazing” I whispered under my breath, my eyes locked on the floating bastion before me.
"Eeyup, sure is" he stated. Mac chuckled under his breath as I continued to stare "c'mon now we gotta get home before AJ wonders where ah am" he pointed out.
"oh um right, sorry" I apologized. "So who's A J if you don't mind me asking"
"AJ's mah sister" he stated
"Does she work on the farm like you?"
"Eeyup, sure does." He stopped in his tracks leaving me to walk past him a pew paces. "Ah'l warn ya since ya seem t' be a honest stallion, she'll buck ya into next Tuesday if ya'll try anythin."
I gave a hearty laugh at his advice, to which he replied with a quizzical look "I'm just here to catch up with Moonshine, check out his bar and relax for a bit Mac, I won't be chasing tails or anything like that"
"If you say so pardner" he chuckled
"What you think that I'll end up trying to get in with her?"
"Eeyup. Or one of 'er friends"
"Thanks for the vote of confidence" I replied, sarcasm dripping from every word.
A small smile began to form on his face "S'all right" he remarked choosing to completely ignore my sarcasm, much to my annoyance.
He began to make his way forward to Ponyville with me and my caravan in tow, as we made our way into the town I noticed black clouds start to form over the quiet village "must be scheduled for rain today" I muttered.
Mac just kept walking through town, unfazed by the dark masses swirling above the town. As we walked I noticed ponies stare out at me from their house windows, their gaze's putting me in the spotlight, my every move being analyzed and judged. I suppose I can't blame them, I was a stranger hauling a caravan with various good spilling from its sides around their town, I'd think it was strange too.
"So uh Mac, how far to the bar?" I questioned with a hint of worry evident in my voice. Being rained on was not on my to-do list.
Mac once again stopped. "It's jus round the corner and down 'th road on the right, ya can't miss it
I tilted my head at him, my question already forming on my lips.
"Sorry ah can't go with ya, I've got 't get back to the farm before it rains, best of luck 't ya pardner" and wishing me the best he turned and galloped to what could only be his farm.
Sighing, I made my way around the corner my eyes scanning over every building I passed in search of the bar. I gave a weary glance at the darkening sky silently praying that I would avoid the downpour in time.
As I journeyed down the road I noticed a singular building that looked somewhat out of place, all the buildings surrounding it were older and smaller while this building looked relatively new and was considerably larger than its neighbors. Despite being new it didn't look 'modern' it looked like it could easily be part of the village around it if it wasn't for its polished wooden deck outside and walls, but that just comes with being recently constructed I guess.
I sauntered up to the building and detached myself from my caravan "Oh sweet Celestia it feels good to be free" I moaned. Once I was done with enjoying my newfound freedom I wandered onto the polished deck of the building and gave a dramatic push on the door. At least that was what I had planned on doing, when I had planned dramatically heaving open the door I hadn't counted on said door being locked and me falling flat on my flank and looking like a foal.
I quickly scrambled to my feet and looked around to make sure nopony had seen my pitiful attempt at opening the door.
I gave the door another look, surely Moonshine wouldn't lock it in case somepony stopped by. I pondered why he would lock the door for a few more seconds when a fluttering piece of paper attached the window beside the door caught my eye. I picked the piece of paper up and gave it a deadpan stare.
Sorry everypony, have to go to Canterlot to stock up. Be back in a few days.
~Moonshine.
"Great, absolutely brilliant" I mumbled to myself. "My luck officially hates me"
I gave an exasperated groan as I realized I had nowhere to stay, I HAD planned on staying with Moonshine but alas my plans are once again foiled. I looked back at the brewing storm and rolled my eyes at the conundrum I found myself in.
I strode over to my caravan and opened the door to peer inside only to be met with a wall of items that prevented and attempt at getting inside the caravan without completely rearranging everything . "Oh, well so much for sleeping in here" I stated.
I stepped out of the caravan and closed the door, only for it to snag on a small object on the floor. I knelt down to see what it was and as it turns out it was a rolled up cover for the caravan. "Maybe my lucks warming up again"
I strung the cover over the caravan to prevent the rain from soaking my caravan and everything inside. With that done I no longer had to worry about all my merchandise being saturated and unsellable.
"Hm, I wonder if they have another Inn around here somewhere" I asked myself.
