Catching Up with the Bearers.
"And that's the last box...wow we do not own a lot of things do we?" Sunset noted, examining all the boxes they had finally finished unloading for the move. Despite moving to the Ponyville library, Goalden Oaks, with two others, Sunset realized that they had less than three dozen boxes all told. Her tail flickered in annoyance. She winced. "Sorry. It's just, how did we wind up with so little stuff? And half of it's Spike's to boot!"
"Well it does make some sense." Twilight argued. "We were staying in the palace as Celestia's students. We didn't really need a lot of things for ourselves. Plus, most of Spike's boxes are filled with his comics, games, and toys."
"Yeah, you know. The fun stuff I did while you guys were busy studying." Spike casually quipped, earning a short glare from Sunset.
"I know it's just," Sunset struggled to find the right words. "it's just, it's hard to believe my entire life fits into just a few boxes."
"You weren't acting like this when we were packing up." Twilight noted, looking concerned. "In fact Shimmer, you were just going on and on about how excited you were to see our friends again. So why all the gloom now that we're here to see them?"
"I don't know Sparkle." Sunset admitted. "Maybe now that we're here and unpacking it's really hitting me, you know? This is a big step forward for me."
"I'm nervous being on my own too." Twilight admitted. "But I figure if worst comes to worst, I still have you to rely on."
"Thanks Sparkle, that means a lot." Sunset smiled faintly. "Sooo, do we unpack now, or head over to Sugarcube Corner for the party Dr. Pie invited us to?"
"Oh, unpacking." Twilight said, levitating over a specially labeled box, 'sleeping quarters supplies', and levitating out a set of enchanted locks. "We've got work to do to Pie Proof that room before I'll sleep there tonight."
Sunset nodded. "Good call. I'll set the bear traps under the beds."
Spike rolled his eyes. "Don't you guys think you're overreacting?"
"Yeah, I wasn't THAT creepy." Dr. Pie protested, having somehow entered the room without anyone noticing. Adjusting her labcoat and glasses, she continued. "Anyway, don't worry, the party doesn't start till two. You have some time to get some stuff unpacked and the place fixed up a bit before the party." Walking over, Dr. Pie attempted to turn the door handle a couple times to no avail. Frowning for a second, she then lightly smacked herself on the forehead. "Oh duh! I forgot to unlock it when I came in!" Having deduced the problem, she unlocked the door and left.
"Did...did she say she forgot to unlock the door when she entered?" Twilight stammered, the sheer lack of logic unnerving her.
Sunset was similarly spooked. "How did she get in here then?"
Spike also didn't look as sure of himself as before. "Soooo, bear traps you say?"
My Little Ponies, My Little Ponies
Aaaahaaaaaa!
My Little Ponies
We used to wonder what friendship could be!
My Little Ponies
But here we finally see:
An Honest heart,
Everypony plays their part!
Lessons to attend,
Making time for a friend!
Kindness is sweet as can be,
And Friendship is the magic of you and me!
These are My Little Ponies!
It's great to have the very best friends!
At the get together at Sugarcube Corner, Dr. Pie waved off the concerns. "You left a window open, so I snuck in to surprise you. A lot of ponies forget how easy it is for the Shetish to slip into places. It was just a little prank, I didn't mean to freak you out so much, my bad." It was a very small low-key party. Just the Bearers, Spike, Lyra, Dr. Pie, and the Cakes were there, and the Cakes were mostly busy helping with the food as hosts. There was some nice music playing, punch, snacks, and of course the "Welcome (Again) To Ponyville!" baner for the re-welcoming party.
Twilight stamped her hoof. "Darn it, I thought I had something with that extra spatial movement theory."
"Dr. Pie can't teleport, she's an earth pony. I know you discuss stuff like this with Lyra, but please try the simpler eplinations first with the rest of us." Sunset suggested, trying to act like she hadn't freaked out just as badly. "Not all of us are conspiracy nuts."
"We are not conspiracy nuts. We are fringe theorists, there is a massive difference." Twilight insisted. "Conspiracy theorists imagine giant elaborate plans perpetrated by huge numbers of people somehow able to work together without ever getting caught or slipping up. Fringe theorists take scientific studies and theories with inconclusive or lacking data and debate their merits and function."
"Indeed!" Lyra, sitting next to her marefriend Sweetie Drops, interjected in her usual loud and boisterous manner. "For example! I have constructed a potential model for how the Crystal Empire may have vanished off the face of the world! It involves subteranian mine collapses and glacial movements! Twilight agrees with me, but we're we disagree is on is if crystal ponies were real! Twilight believes they were, but I find it highly suspect that a whole tribe would vanish so instantly without any survivors!"
"Wait, don't you kind of need to believe in crystal ponies to believe in the Crystal Empire?" Masquerade asked, blinking her gems.
"Not...necessarily." Twilight admitted. "Lyra's theory is that there was a northern empire that was famous for its crystal mines and trade. After its collapse, the stories got exaggerated, to the point that you had buildings and ponies made out of crystal. She believes that there is a mundane origin route. I believe that crystal ponies are in fact the third extinct tibe."
"And yet, Lyra believes in sea ponies and the Rainbow of Light." Sunset snarked.
"Actually," Sweetie Drops interrupted, "me and my cookies n' cream talked about it, and she think that the Rainbow of Light is our, well, Elements of Harmony."
"Say what now?" Sunset was quite baffled, but motioned for Sweetie to continue.
"Well think about it." Sweetie noted. "We found a magical artifact, part of which is necklaces, that harnessed the powers of good and light to fire a swirling rainbow of magical power that defeated a great evil."
Everypony else just stared as this revelation set it, except for Lyra who just grinned smugly. Even Dr. Pie looked amazed, and that was saying something.
"Sooo now that the mind blowing revelation that we defeated a villain from children's stories with a magical item from children's stories is out of the way, how have you guys been this last week?" Dash asked, being the fastest to recover.
Sunset blinked, her brain starting up again as she answered "Um, pretty good. We ran a few basic tests on the Elements before we left, ones that required Bearers to be present...oh also our titles is that we are the "Bearer of insert your Eelement here", for documentation purposes. From what we can tell the bond is until we die, but fom what we can sense the bond between Bearer and Element will end when we do, as the bond seems to be connected to us on a fundamental level. It's strong, but it's not like it's eternally a part of us or something."
"Shoot, that's easy enough to follow." Applejack nodded. "So, what else did ya'll find out?"
"Well, we tried to see if we could swap Elements, but that didn't work out." Twilight explained "Puting on the other crown felt really...wrong. We're not one hundred percent sure why though. It might be that we just can't use each other's Elements outright. Or it could just be that me and Shimmer aren't good matches for each other's Element. I mean Sunset was willing to abandon her studies for her friends, and when I was given the option for both I hesitated out of worry about betraying Celestia."
What Twilight didn't voice, Sunset knew, was why the Element of Loyalty might reject her. Anypony who she was comfortable with knowing about her 'slip' wouldn't need it explained to them. 'And anypony that doesn't already know doesn't have the right to find out. My personal life is not up for discussion.' Deciding to change the subject, she picked up where Twilight left off. "So anyway, besides the tests we mostly packed up our things. Twilight said her goodbyes to her family, there was a lot of crying there, and here we are. It's been kind of a boring week."
"You mentioned Twilight had a brother before. And he was in the guard." Masquerade noted. "Soooo, is he hot and single?"
"Masquerade!" Twilight was obviously shocked. "First of all, he is Captain of the Royal Guard! Second, why would I know if my brother is hot? No, first of all, why are you even asking me this?"
"I haven't been on a date in over a year and stallions in uniforms are attractive." Mask replied, looking unashamed. "So, Captain you say?"
"Stopping you right there." Sunset interjected. "First of all, he's already dating somepony, for a while now. Second, he's not that hot. I mean he's not bad looking don't get me wrong, but he's no Starswirl the Bearded."
At the mention of the famous Archmage and Father of Modern Magic, all the unicorns present let off dreamy sighs. Even Lyra, who quickly looked abashed at her marefriend's glare. "I apologize dear! It's just that, in all honesty, even I would go straight for that beard!"
"What is with unicorns and facial hair?" Dash muttered. Speaking louder she asked "So what kind of facial hair does your bro have? I'm thinking giant mustache."
"Actually he's clean shaven. He says it looks more professional." Twilight admitted. "In all honesty I guess that means he looks good since he...Shiny has a marefriend!?" she shouted as she suddenly bolted upright.
"Um, yeah for three year oh my bucking Tartarus the dork never told you." Sunset realized, facehoofing. "I can't believe your brother is such a, a, a pinhead!" Seeing the looks of shock from those around her, she realized what she just said. "Oh my that was so tribalist to say. Was it tribalist? I mean I'm a unicorn too. Does that mean I hate unicorns? Or maybe I just hate myself and am projecting onto other unicorns? I'm lashing out at other ponies in my self loathing! I have got to be one of the worst ponies on the face of the OW!" Her tirade was cut off as Rainbow Dash stomped, lightly, on her tail. "Rainbow Dash! I was in the middle of an emotional crisis!"
"I know, I helped." Rainbow replied with a smug grin. "Listen, her brother messed up, you got mad, and you messed up. Yeah it's still pretty bad, but it's not as bad as if you weren't a unicorn. You were mad, it's understandable. Just don't make a habit of it."
"Not that Shiny didn't deserve the insult." Twi muttered. "Ahem, anyway. So yeah. Besides my Big Brither Best Friend Forever, Shining Armor, who will be getting a nice long angry letter about hiding his marefriend from me," she growled out before resuming a normal tone of voice "I also have my mother Twilight Velvet, she's a editor for Camptown Publishing, and my father Night Light, he's an astronomer." Looking over at Spike, who had stayed by the snack table this entire time and looked quite bored as he paged through the comic he brought, Twilight smiled. "And then you've got my adopted son. You know, typical family deal. His grandma spoils him though."
"What, that's it?" Applejack asked. "You ain't gonna talk bout yer Aunts or Uncles or cousins or the like?"
"I don't have any." Twilight said, shaking her head. "Both of my parents were only children."
"Must be a lot quieter than your place. Seriously, how do you have enough bathrooms?" Sunset asked, an intrigued look on her face.
"Ah don't be fooled by what ya saw last week." AJ answered, shaking her head. "A good chunk o' the family was visitn' ta help with the Celebration, but they've all gone on back to their own farms now. So now it's just the locals. That would be me, my ma, my big brother Big Macintosh, my little sister Applebloom, and of course my granny, Granny Smith."
"Huh, you know, I haven't been by your farm yet." Twilight realized. "Maybe after the party me and Spike could swing by and visit."
"We'd be happy ta have ya!" AJ said, smiling. "I'd love ta introduce ya to the family!"
Sunset nodded. "I haven't seen Sweetie's shop yet myself. Maybe I should visit there while you hit the farm?"
"That's a lovely idea." Sweetie agreed. "I can also show you my home upstairs, it's a studio shop. Oh, but there's still a bit of a mess. My creamy puff is still busy moving in."
"That's not a big deal. Sparkle and me are still moving in too after all." Sunset noted, deciding not to mention that it had taken her less than two hours to unpack and sort out her entire life. 'Old life. This is a fresh new start, with friends that love me to boot.' "Anyway, I'd love to see your place."
"Yeah that's nice, but you guys have got to totally check out my place! It's rockin'!" Dash declared, obviously excited.
"Uh, Dash, you live in a cloud house." Masquerade interjected. "It's a nice cloud house, true. But um, they kind of lack these." she pointed out, giving her wings a few flaps. "Same problem with them visiting my cloud."
"Oh yeah, whoops." Dash admitted, looking embarrassed. "Sorry guys that totally slipped my mind. Maybe we could see about getting you guys a balloon oh my gosh it's already three?" she blurted, looking shocked. "I promised Flutters I would be by her place today to help out! Thanks for the party sorry I have to go early, bye!" And with that she shot out of the place as quick as multicolored lightning.
"Huh. I guess that's that then." Sunset said, blinking. "So, Masquerade, I've been meaning to ask. Dash calls you Mask on occasion. Do you mind that?"
"Nope." Mask replied. "I know my name's a mouthful, I don't mind. Just as long as they get it right on the billing."
"Oh yeah, you're an actor. Any chance we could see your next show?" Twilight asked, only to feel crestfallen as Masquerade looked uncomfortable. "Is something wrong?"
"What? Oh no no. The troupe is, see we're between productions right now." Mask admitted. "Our last show had some...issues so we're having some budget issues on trying to get the next show together. Dramatic Dialog, our director, thinks we're really going to have to cut down on side talent for the next production."
Sunset winced a little. 'Side talent' was business slang for a pony whose special talent didn't relate directly to their job. Special talents like "being lucky", "being strong", and "reading really fast" fell under that category. While there were plenty of special talents that could work in any given field, the more general talents were also usually the first to be let go when economic troubles occurred. There was a sort of 'it will be easy for them to get jobs elsewhere' attitude that seemed to make firing them easier on the ponies in charge. Losing a lot of side talent at once was kind of bad. "Ouch. I'm sorry to hear that. Anything I can do to help?"
"No no, we're fine, we've got this." Masquerade said, smiling in assurance. "We've only got three acting talents, and we're a small group that really works in budget. One flop isn't going to kill us. Heck, it's happened before. We just buckle up, do a nice safe show, then hire the others back for the next production. It's what we did last time, and we got most of them back."
"Most of them?" Twilight asked. "What happened to the others?"
"Oh well. Only two didn't come back because they'd found jobs they liked more." Masquerade admitted with a shrug. "Blue
Note teaches foals music now instead of playing for our shows, and Rose Luck now sells flowers."
"You know, I never understood that. Her cutie mark is a rose, shouldn't she have been working with flowers to start with?" Sweetie asked.
"Oh no, most ponies think that. But there's a story there see." Masquerade was looking quite excited. It was obvious she loved having an audiance to listen to her tails. "You'd think Rose's special talent would involve flowers, but her mark isn't that literal. You know how the rose is the symbol of love, emotion, and charming dashing rogues of cheap romance novels? Her talent is pure charisma. Makes her quite the sales pony. Especially if you're just expecting her to only have a talent for growing flowers. Rose is so bad with plants, I swear she could make plastic ferns wither and die. That's why she works with the flower sisters, Lilly and Daisy, cause they actually can grow flowers."
"Her talent's key-risma huh?" AJ asked. "Huh, is that why just bout everypony listens to the Flower Trio's panic attacks?"
"Uh, maybe." Mask shrugged. "I guess that makes some sense. Of yeah, Sunset, Twilight, just a head's up. The Flower Trio have a tendency to panic and overreact to anything. Try not to let them talk you into panicking and stampeding over every little thing."
Twilight looked skeptical. "They can't be that bad."
"Nah, they kinda are." Applejack insisted with a shake of her head. "Heck, they once fainted in terror at a bunny stampede."
"Bunny...stampede." Sunset asked. "I am torn between wanting to know, and wanting to stay sane."
"Um, yeah. Quite the thing huh?" Applejack stated in a rather loud and strained voice. "Anyway Twi, I think we should head on over to the farm now if you want ta see the place. I'll be waitin' outside!" And with that she hurried out the door.
Dr. Pie giggled. "I think she's just a little bit sort of embarrassed that she caused the whole thing. Long story, but kind of funny. You should get her to tell you sometime."
"Right. Well I guess we better get going. Spike!" Twilight called, getting her son's attention. "Were going to visit Applejack's farm!" Spike ran over and jumped onto Twilight's back. "I'll see you back at the library then Shimmer?"
"Sounds like a plan. Have fun." Sunset called out as her fellow student left. "So, do you guys want to head out now too since the party seems to be winding down?"
"Of course!" Lyra bellowed as she stood on her hind legs, her red cape billowing about her dramatically. "I, the Brilliant and Cunning Lyra, would love to show you out apartment of music, candy, and love! Let us be off!" And with another dramatic flourish of her cape, she dropped to all fours and walked out of Sugarcube Corner like she owned the place.
"Still as loud as always." Sunset noted, rolling her eyes. "I have to admit, I'm curious how you can put up with that all the time."
"Oh, I admit, she can be a bit over eager at times." Sweetie admitted. "But she always means well. And she can be just the sweetest thing. Not to mention that enthusiasm can be rather, fun, at the right time. Like last night, we were feeling a bit frisky so-"
"And that's my cue to leave. Wait for me Lyra!" Sunset bolted after her fellow unicorn like her tail was on fire.
Masquerade stayed silent for all of ten seconds before she burst out laughing. "Oh man, and I thought it would be my job to get all the laughs in this group. Did you see the look on her face?"
"I have no idea what you are talking about." Sweetie said. "All I was going to say was that we went to the dance club and partied for most of the night. It's not like I was talking about kinky sex." The most amazing part was, she said it with a totally straight face.
*********************
"Woah." Ttwilight said, stunned by the sight before her.
"Yep, Sweet Apple Acres is mighty fine." Applejack admitted, beamin with pride. "Over two hundred acres of top quality apple trees, bearin' the most impressive variety you'll see anywhere in Equestria yer not starin' at the apple trees are ya?" she finished off at a deadpan.
"Nope." Twilight admitted.
"Yer starin' at my brother ain't ya?" AJ asked in a resigned tone.
"That's your brother?" Twilight asked. "Mister huge, red, and handsome?"
"Yep, that's mah brother, Big Mac." AJ replied. "Weren't you just on Mask about askin' after yer own brother?"
"That was different." Twilight actually turned to face Applejack as she defended her position. "She was asking to date my brother without ever seeing the guy or knowing anything about him just because she apparently just wants a date. I, on the other hoof, am just expressing physical attraction. I'm much to busy to persue a relationship right now, what with the recent move, my studies, and Spike-"
"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence Twilight." Spike grumbled from her back.
"Not my point Spike." Twilight sighed in frustration. "My point is I not only don't have time for a relationship right now, but I really don't think I'm ready to date yet. So this is mostly just artistic appreciation."
"My brother ain't a sculpture or somethin'." AJ protested. "And what do you mean not ready to date? Something happen with the last guy?"
Spike rolled his eyes. "What last guy? Twilight's never been on a date in her life."
"Spike!" Twilight's face was flushed with emberrassment.
"Aw heck, so ya haven't dated yet. That's no big deal. You're only what, thirteen?" AJ said, trying to be reasonable.
"I'm sixteen." Twilight admitted, blushing even harder than before. "Anyway I am perfectly fine choosing to wait until I feel ready to start dating."
"Well good for you. Ya don't need to be feelin' pressed ta do somethin' ya ain't comfortable with here." AJ replied, smiling and being supportive. "Ya'll have plenty of time for that stuff later."
"What stuff ya talkin' about sis?" a small voice asked.
Turning, Twilight was surprised to find a little yellow earth filly with a bright red bow looking up at them, saddlebags full of school books vissable. "Oh, hello there. You must be Applejack's sister, Applebloom. It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Twilight Sparkle."
Frowning for a moment, Applebloom's eyes lit up with understanding. "Ah know that name, it was in the papers! Yer one of the ponies that helped mah sis save the world!"
"Yep she is. Now why don't ya go tell Ma we have a guest, but she won't be stayin' fer supper. She's got stuff ta do." Applejack explained. "Ah wanna show her round the farm a bit first fore ah take her to the house."
"Ya can count on me sis!" Applebloom stated with a quick, and sloppy, salute before she dashed off towards the farmhouse.
Twilight smiled a bit. "She seems nice." She winced as she heard Applebloom start shouting at the top of her lungs, obviously trying to attract her mother's attention...despite not even being halfway home. "If slightly over enthusiastic."
"Hehe yep, she can be a right hoof full at times. Whelp come on." AJ said, starting the tour. "Might as well introduce ya to Big Mac afore we start the tour." As she lead the way, she quietly said back over her shoulder "Just a quick warnin', Mac's mighty quiet like, so don't take no offense if he don't say much." Seeing Twilight's nod, she turned back to the path ahead. "Big Mac! We got company!"
Pausing in his work of kicking trees so that the fruit would fall into baskets, the very large red stalion looked over and noded. His mane was a simple blond, and his cutie mark was a large green apple with a slice missing. "'Ello." he rumbled in a strong baritone.
"Um, hi." Twilight said, hoping her blush wasn't vissable. "I'm Twilight Sparkle, Applejack's friend from the whole Nightmare Moon thing last week. You, uh, might have heard about it in the papers?"
Big Macintosh nodded. "Eyup."
Twilight looked around nervously "Ahhh. Well, Spike, Sunset, and I just moved here today, so I thought I'd give the farm a quick visit and introduce myself. I'm Twilight Sparkle."
"Ya'll ready said that sugercube." AJ noted, smirking a bit.
Twilight blushed all the harder "Sorry, nervous. Still not up to speed on the whole social interaction thing. I'm a bit nervous."
"It's fine." Mac said, nodding in understanding. "Not much of a talker neither."
"I'll say." Spike noted from his perch. "Anyway, nice to mee you Big Mac, I'm Spike." He waved happily.
Mac cocked an eyebrow. "Dragon?"
"That's right. I'm a genuine ferocious fire breathing dragon!" Spike proudly declared.
Twilight roled her eyes. "Also known as my son. No need to worry."
"Wasn't worried, just surprised." Mac replied. "Oh, AJ, Techenople is in the east field, wants ta talk to ya."
"Ah shoot, lousy timin'. I'll have to go see what he wants then." AJ sighed. "Sorry Twi. You just go up to the house then, I'll be along in a minute after I see what's up." She then ran off at a good pace.
"Techenople? Isn't that a deer name?" Twilight asked, before her eyes widened. "Wait, there are deer here?" she asked, looking around nervously.
"Eyup." Mac answered, before narrowing his eyes. "Ya got a problem with deer?"
"Oh no no no, nothing of the sort!" Twilight insisted, shaking her head rapidly, realizing what she must have sounded like. "I've just never met one, and I didn't know a tribe lived near here."
Mac nodded. "Yep. Over in Whitetail Woods. Family's been tradin' with em fer generations. Ya still look nervous bout the deer though."
"It's just that, well, from what I've heard," Twilight tried to delay, circling around the uncomfortable point, "you see deer don't really like unicorns. Especially unicorns that are good at magic. I'm a very accomplished mage for my age. Or any age really. Not that I'm bragging I'm just saying with deer that's supposed to be a problem and I don't want to cause any problems."
"Huh." Mac said, blinking. "Never heard that before...ya'll should just head on over ta the house. Ma will be expectin' ya, and if there would be trouble we can avoid it."
"Ah right come on Spike." Twilight said, heading on down the trail. She had to admit, talking to a good looking guy wasn't as hard as she thought it would be. And best of all, he had no idea what she thought of him!
Sighing, Big Macintosh went back to bucking apples. "Whelp, least this one didn't ask me out." Really, with how many fillies and mares asked him out, he'd have to be an idiot not to recognize a crush. It was painfully obvious, but at least she wasn't acting on it like half the fool mares in town.
****************
"You know, I just thought of something." Sweetie Drops noted as she led her two unicorn companions upstairs. "If you like facial hair so much, why were you so indifferent to Steven's plight that night?"
"Okay, first of off just because it's facial hair doesn't mean I automatically love it. He wasn't a pony after all, and the thing with faial hair is mostly physical attraction." Sunset explained. "He was a river serpent, not a pony, so attraction didn't factor in. Add in that I was upset and had been having a very long night, I really didn't have the patience to deal with his tantrum at the time."
Sweetie paused for a second at the top of the stairs, lost in thought, before walking the rest of the way in. "Oh, that makes sense I guess. I thought maybe it was because of something silly like you preferred beards to mustaches."
"Actually, I prefer mustaches by a lot." Sunset admitted, blushing slightly. "My only real exception is Starswirl, and he was the hottest unicorn in history. I mean he had a beard the size of the rest of his body. It's hard to compete with that." Reaching the loft, she looked around. "Huh, this looks rather cozy." The main room had several fluffy blue seating cushions, a blue sofa, and a large coffee table. The walls were a pastel yellow and had several freestanding bookcases, which were all at least partially filled. It really did look quite nice, as long as you ignored the half empty boxes everywhere. Over to the side down a small hallway one could see a half bathroom, standing shower no tub, right across from what looked like a storage closet. At the end of the hall was a pair of double doors that obviously led to the bedroom. On the right hand side of the main area was a kitchenette and dining table with stools. The appliances looked electric, so they were fairly new. "I didn't know Ponyville had a dam."
Electric generation had only really become practical a couple decades ago with the discovery of hydro-electric generation. Before that wind turbines, thunder clouds, and magic were the only ways to generate it in an appreciable amount, and such activities tired out the ponies generating the phenomena too fast for it to be worth the effort. Tinker Hoofer had apparently come up with the idea when he saw a wind turbine and a waterwheel sawmill in the same hour. His designs eventually became the first hydro-electric dam, Dam Lucky Break. It was rather small and provided electricity for the small sized town of Feathery Down, but it was more than enough to meet the towns needs, even as more and more ponies switched to the convenience of electrical devices. Now there were dozens of dams all over Equestria, making electrical appliances and lights cheaper, better quality, and more common than ever before. The largest of these dams, Hoofer Dam (named after the famous inventor, postponiously), provided energy to over thirty settlements, including the city of Las Pegasus which is famous for its bright lights, spectacular shows, and exotic attractions (and copious gambling).
"Oh yes, Ponyville Dam. You know, it's funny, we technically use the same water for power that Canterlot does. Our river is fed by Canter Falls." Sweetie noted, nodding. Then she frowned. "You know, I'm not sure if the old library is wired up yet. The library has been abandoned for quite a while after all."
"The library was abandoned? Really? I knew nopony was living there, but are you saying nopony was working there either?" Sunset was quite surprised at that. While she wasn't a book worshiper like Sparkle, she was so casual about reading that the idea of the library NOT running had never occurred to her. "Why would the town abandon a perfectly good public library, especially if it was already fully paid for. The place was obviously maintained."
"Actually it wasn't!" Lyra explained as she sat, in her own weird slumped fashion, on the couch like she was imitating a minotaur. "That's just one of the mysteries of Golden Oaks! Nopony maintains it, yet time has not ravaged the building! As if some unknown force kept it standing strong! Personally I, the Brilliant and Cunning Lyra, think it is the work of the ghost!"
Sunset looked at her deadpan. " A ghost. You honestly expect me to believe that my new house is haunted by a ghost? Ghosts aren't real Lyra."
"Just like Nightmare Moon and the Rainbow of Light, right?!" Lyra countered, sounding rather proud of herself.
Sunset stood there for a minute, before shaking her head. "No no no, that's a fallacy, 'if platypus then sea ponies'. The proof of existence of one fantastical thing does not prove the existence of a completely different and unrelated phenomena."
"You believe in the platypus?! Really?!" Lyra asked, unable to mask her total bemusement at the notion.
Sunset facehoofed. "No, and that's my point! Just because one crazy thing turns out to be true doesn't mean they all are."
Sweetie decided to intervene at this point, before things escalated further. "Um, excuse me, but what is a platypus? I've never heard of them before."
"Um, yeah!" Lyra 'muttered', rubbing the back of her head. "They're, well, obscure, even for my field! They're supposedly well, how to describe it?!"
"They're what would happen if a bunch of unicorn mages got really really, really drunk one day, said "Buck it we do this thing" and then merged a bunch of animals together. It's supposed to have a beaver's body and tail, mole paws that are somehow flippers, a duck bill, wolf teeth, and be about the size of a mid sized dog." Seeing Sweetie's stunned look, Sunset nodded. "And that's why they are the most rediculous fictional creatures to never exist."
"Huh. That's...huh." Sweetie really had no idea what to say. It was hard to top platapai. "Sooo...would you like some coffee or a snack?"
"Oh, no thank you, I'm good." Sunset replied, seating herself on one of the cushions. "So, out of curiosity, what is there to do around town?"
"Well, Ponyville actually has a lot of stuff for a small town amazingly. I think the mayor is trying to drum up tourism; not everypony would be interested in historic landmarks after all." Sweetie explained. "Let's see, there's the bowling ally. The movie theater, it has two screens, and there's been rumor going around that they're not only thinking of putting in a third screen, but that it'll have a projector capable of running those new colorized films strips they've been experimenting with."
Sunset seemed unimpressed by this revelation of technological marvel. "I've seen a couple colorized film bits in Canterlot. Little five minute recordings as proof of concept really. It's a lot less impressive than it sounds, they just paint color onto the cells. You can tell it's flat and artificial. Might work for cartoons though, but there isn't a lot of money in that."
"Oh. Well um, we have a sort of unofficial nightclub. Berry Punch's Bar and Grill. After eleven she stops food services, clears out the tables, and plays music to dance to. Sometimes Vinyl, a local DJ, plays some sets. Perhaps you'd like to check it out tonight?" Sweetie suggested.
"Not really." Sunset said, hesitating. "I'm mostly solar powered and I'm used to getting up around dawn, so I don't really stay up late. Plus, well, I'm not a terrible dancer...as long as it's ballroom. Otherwise I start approaching Sparkle levels. I mean I don't hit that low, I have some sense of rhythm, bur it's still not pretty."
Sweetie was thoroughly confused. "Sparkle levels?"
"Indeed! Twilight cannot dance! In the slightest! Indeed, the first time I beheld her dancing I thought she had either been possessed and in battle for control of her body, or been struck by seizure!" Lyra shuddered. "I then swore never again to go dancing with her! The true horror is she seems incapable of realizing how bad she truly is!"
"Lyra, sweet cakes, why were you out dancing with another mare?" Sweetie asked in a voice that was just a little too nice.
Lyra was instantly on the defensive. "It was just us hanging out as friends! Nothing more I swear! I do not believe Twilight even plays for our team if you catch my meaning!"
"Leaving Sparkle's dancing ability far, far behind us where it can't hurt anypony, I do have a question." Sunset chimed in. "I noticed a weird looking building on the way in; it sort of looked like a giant purple circus tent."
"Oh, that would be Carousel Boutique." Sweetie answered. "The poor dear, it's really rather hard on her. From what I understand she's had to start taking on other jobs to pay the bills. Fashion doesn't pay well in a town like Ponyville I'm afraid."
"A boutique huh? Well, I'm sure she'd be happy to have me as a new customer." Sunset announced. "I'm from Canterlot, I happen to appreciate fashion a bit after all. I mean I don't go wearing cloths every day, that would be weird, but I still own a few outfits for more formal occasions."
"Really?" Sweeties asked. "You know, I've been thinking about actually getting an outfit myself, just in case anything formal does come up, but I'm having trouble figuring out what I should be looking for. Do you have any advice?"
"Why would you need advice?! You look amazing beyond even the alicorns in whatever you chose to wear!" Lyra insisted, as any good marefriend who actually didn't understand fashion should. Even her own cape was bought under the loose understanding that red and green go together...somehow.
Sweetie Drops beamed at the compliment. "Thank you dear, but I think I need an unbiased opinion on this one."
"Alright. Now, I'm not a fashion expert, but I do have some basic ideas to discuss." Sunset leaned forward. "How do you feel about purple?"
The three spent the next hour talking fashion. Well, Sunset and Sweetie did. Lyra just nodded her head, pretended to listen, and listed hoof ball stats in her head while waiting for the conversation to end.
Author's Note
Some basic info about Deer (and a few other species) and how they view ponies.
Well here we are, chapter one of Episode two. We're more caught up with the Bearers, know a bit more about their daily lives, and got a small tour around town. Also Dr. Pie really shouldn't be joking about the Shetish using their small size to sneak into places. That is a very negative stereotype. Also, Starswirl was not only the father of modern magic, but a unicorn sex symbol.
Next chapter, I reintroduce a few minor characters from the first story, along with some new ones. First up is, um, hold on. *checks notes* Right, the musician Rarity. I know she hasn't had much screen time, but trust me, she's be interesting. Also introducing a few more of the eccentric towns ponies that make up Ponyville. And if we've got time, maybe I'll throw in that other one shot character, um, I think her name was Butterfly? I'm going to have to double check.
