Acoustic Pulse was just waking up as the sun began to rise. Today was a big day for him.
"Looks like it's trip day," Acoustic muttered as he glanced at his calendar.
Sure enough, it said November 8th. Written in large letters with red ink were the words: "TRIP TO CRYSTAL EMPIRE!".
Acoustic went down to make himself some breakfast.
Gotta pack after I finish, he thought.
The excited stallion wolfed down his muffin and cantered back up to his room in order to pack his small suitcase. Inside the suitcase consisted only enough for a trip there and back. He wasn't going to stay very long.
Acoustic packed one change of clothes, because he would spend the night there, a jacket in case he got cold, and a spot of food for hunger purposes. He also put his wallet because he never leaves home without it.
After 5 minutes of packing, he was ready to leave. He lived alone, so didn't worry about foalsitters or leaving somepony home alone.
"Well, off I go," he said to himself.
The light brown stallion with a blue mane left his homestead, and set off on his journey. Several ponies greeted him as he passed by, and he happily greeted them back.
Within an hour, he was maybe halfway to Canterlot, which is where he decided he would stop for lunch.
There was snow on the ground, and the air was cold. He could see his breath each time he breathed.
"Wow, it's colder than I thought," he mumbled. Acoustic could no longer stand the cold and stopped to remove his jacket from his saddlebag.
"Should've put this on before I left," he sighed as he put it on.
It was around noon when Acoustic arrived in Canterlot. He had lived there once before, and still kind of remembered his way around.
"Big city full of ponies with even bigger egos," Acoustic laughed as an argument between two business ponies went on across the street from him.
"Oh, you have no idea what profit you're missing with this!" one of them said.
"No deal means no deal," the other shrugged and trotted away.
Acoustic couldn't help but laugh when one of the business ponies stormed off. His stomach growled.
"Alright, feels like lunchtime," he said under his breath.
Acoustic reached into his saddlebag and pulled out a daffodil and daisy sandwich.
Why do I feel like I shouldn't be eating this?, he thought as he took a bite. He spit it out on the ground as soon as he bit it. The bread was stale.
"Ugh, I knew something was wrong," Acoustic sighed as he tossed the sandwich into a nearby garbage can. He received several strange looks from passersby.
"What are y'all looking at?", he asked in confusion.
"Quite obviously, we're looking at you. Bloody obnoxious," a rich stallion grumbled.
"I don't give a rat's flank what you think!" Acoustic snapped. The fact that it rhymed made him chuckle.
"Such foolishness in public. You should be ashamed of yourself," the rich stallion remarked.
"I don't have time to deal with overpaid, overfed, old stallions like you. I remember ponies being much nicer when I lived here. Besides, I have places to go anyway," Acoustic retorted as he turned to leave.
The rich stallion was at loss for words. He didn't respond and just trotted on.
It was sunset when Acoustic made it into the Crystal Empire. He decided he would check into a hotel for the night.
He trotted into the nearest hotel, which was a crowded 7-story building on a street corner. It was a block away from the castle.
"May I help you?" a mare at the front desk asked.
"Yes. I'd like to rent a room for tonight," Acoustic had never stayed here before. He wasn't sure if he could trust the cozy look it had.
"That'll be 20 bits for 1 night," the concierge replied.
Acoustic pulled out his wallet. The 20 bits would wipe him to broke, but he didn't care.
I'll be back in Ponyville to work on Monday. It shouldn't matter, he thought.
"All right. Room 13 is where you'll be staying. Have a good evening," the mare at the desk said.
"Thanks, you too," Acoustic replied, as he took the room keycard.
He climbed a flight of stairs, and the very first room on his right was Room 13.
"Wow, looks like 13 might have been my lucky number," he joked to himself. He checked under his mattress for a dead body, which he didn't find.
It was starting to get dark, and somepony decided they wanted to leave the AC on when it was -10° Celsius outside. It was snowing again, and the ground was covered in ice.
Acoustic took a second look out the window. A brilliant green light shone in the sky, as bright as the sun. It was unlike anything Acoustic had seen before or since.
"What is that?" he asked aloud to nopony in particular.
He had left his door open. Somepony in the doorway overheard his question.
She tapped on his open door and said,"That's Celestia ponyalis. It was named after Princess Celestia, because it shines almost as bright as the sun. It shows up every night during winter!"
The mare's voice surprised him, but now he knew what it was, and the beauty of that light in the sky left him flabbergasted.
"Thanks," Acoustic said to the mare.
"No problem," she replied and trotted away.
Acoustic shut his door and locked it. He didn't sleep at all that night. He stayed up, watching the Light in the Sky.
THE END!
Author's Note
Thanks for reading! A like and/or favorite is appreciated.
