You suck in a breath of chilly air as your hooves steadily click against the pavement. You shiver, wishing you brought more than a simple red scarf to wear. There aren't many trees in Canterlot, but the few small ones you see, growing out of plant boxes and gardens, are colors ranging from gold to orange to red. Celestia's autumn has turned them that color, and soon they'll each be plucked by widespread magic and float to the ground like strips of paper from a shredder.
You were never very good with similes.
"The docks are this way," your good friend Iris Bud takes a left turn through the busy streets, cutting through indignant crowds of ponies wearing ridiculously fancy outfits. You try your best not to get lost in the crowds by keeping track of Iris's flowing, purple mane. You look to the sides and back and see your other three friends doing the same. Only one out of five of your group of friends actually live in Canterlot. His name is Magnus. Magnus is a famous stage magician who somehow managed to be friends with a bunch of commoners like you and the rest of your friends. You've forgotten how you met him. It was probably in a bar, after lots of drinks.
In commemoration of Iris Bud's birthday, Magnus rented out a hot-air balloon from the Canterlot flotilla for a day. The six of you were going to fly around Equestria for a day, drink in the sights, and be back in Canterlot by 8 o'clock for your reservation in a fancy restaurant. That reservation also being paid by Magnus. Despite being a smug, arrogant, jackass, Magnus could be pretty generous, especially towards his friends. Free balloon rides, reservations for fancy restaurants and hotel rooms, and tickets for magic shows. Perks of being friendly with a rich magician.
Iris makes another sharp, left turn, and you follow. She is the one with the map, after all. You have no idea about the layout of Canterlot. You grew up in Hoofington and now live in an apartment in Manehatten, so you can be near the concert hall where you perform violin recitals. Your friend Coral Sea lives in Manehatten as well, though she spends most of her time out in the ocean. Featherfluff is from Cloudsdale, and Iris Bud and her older brother Sharp Quill are from Las Pegasus. Canterlot is unfamiliar to all of you.
You find yourselves at the entrance of a stone dock, jutting out from the Canterlot mountain. Except instead of water, the dock leads out to the open, cloudy sky. Hot-air balloons of all the colors of the rainbow are docked, maintenance ponies cleaning and fixing some of them. Suddenly, Iris stops. The rest of you bump into each other and tumble like dominoes. You all groan on the pavement.
"Hey, what's the big idea, Buddy?" Coral Sea asks, using the nickname she gave Iris Bud.
"Hm," Iris murmurs, deep in thought. She doesn't seem to notice her friends sprawling on the ground. "Magnus marked down directions on this map, but they stop here at the dock. I don't know which balloon is the one he rented out." You gaze at the tens, maybe even hundreds, of colorful balloons tied to the massive dock.
"Well, it should be obvious that Magnus will be standing by the balloon he rented," Sharp Quill reasons. "All we have to do is find him."
"Good point," you nod. "But how should we go about doing that?"
Your friends scrunch their eyebrows in thought. No one seems to have any ideas. Maybe you should suggest something.
To try and search the whole dock for Magnus, go to Chapter 2
To ask one of the ponies working at the dock if they've seen Magnus, go to Chapter 4
