Into the Light

Four days. I had walked for four days. I thought that would be enough distance. The most interesting thing during that whole trip was that bandit. And a branch fell on my head yesterday. I had nearly jumped out of my skin when it hit me.

Now I was standing on a hill overlooking a small town that glittered in the early morning light, the sun's rays reflecting off the snow covered roofs. It couldn't have had more than two hundred inhabitants. I'd been watching for a while, and as far as I could tell, there were no guards of any kind. That was good. I continued watching the town, looking for any sign of a military or police force within it that was not associated with Canterlot. While the tiny town was four days from the capital by hoof, it was only a few hours by train, and I could see a train station.

Aside from the station though, I had also noticed a tree that, strange as it may be, seemed to be a house. I could see a balcony sticking off of it. Who lived in a tree? And why was the tree not dead? I would definitely have to see what was up with that if I got the chance.

And then, there a building that looked like an enormous carousel. What the hell was with this place? Maybe they were all completely insane, and wouldn't mind me being here. I'd have to check that place out as well.

I started down the hillside, careful not to slip and arrive in town as a pony-sized snowball. As funny as that would be, it would also announce my presence and draw a lot of unwanted attention.

Arriving at the edge of town, there were several things I needed to do. First, get a cloak. Then, find out what this place was called. Finally, if it had no military or police force or any kind, find someplace to stay, help the locals, and then get the heck away. Staying in any single place for too long was dangerous. I'd be here for three days at most.

I knew I would probably be asked a couple of questions, such as my name, and definitely what was up with my cutie mark. I'd been in this kind of situation before though, and I had an entire persona I was ready to put on.

There were few ponies up at this hour, most opening shops or stalls, getting ready for the day's business. I could talk to one of them, they were bound to know all there was to know in such a small place. I didn't want to go to the square though, since there would be more ponies, and a higher chance somepony would recognize me. I eventually saw a stall with an earth pony in it. There were flowers on display. An earth pony also meant they posed less of a threat if they did know who I was.

I approached, but the pony, a tan mare with a cherry-red mane, didn't notice me at first. "Excuse me." I said. She started, and dropped some of the flowers she had been moving.

"Oh!" She said, moving up to the counter, "I'm sorry, I didn't see you."

"That's all right, I just wanted to ask you a few questions." I replied.

She smiled, "Of course! What would you like to ask?"

"Do you know if there is any place I could get a cloak in this town? Also, can you tell me what the tree and carousel building I saw on the way here are?"

She giggled at that. "Well, the tree building is the Ponyville Public Library. The carousel is Rarity's Carousel Boutique, and that is where you'll want to get your cloak at. Rarity is the local fashionista. She can make anything you need."

Ponyville? Was this place called Ponyville? What the hell kind of name was that? I wouldn't be able to come up with a more boring name if I tried!

I smiled, "Thank you," and turned away, in the direction of the Boutique. Why was it a carousel? What did that have to do with clothes? More, or maybe just as, importantly, why was the library in a tree?

What the hell was wrong with this town?! Called Ponyville!

I shook my head. I would get my cloak, and be the hell out of here in minutes. I walked through the town, wondering if everypony I passed was clinically insane.

Finding the Boutique wasn't difficult. On the contrary, it stood out from the rest of the town horribly. I walked up to the door, eyeing the "Closed" sign. Maybe, since the owner was clearly crazy, they wouldn't mind if I went in anyway? No, that was probably a bad idea. I looked at the timetable set for the public. It opened at eight o' clock. I had no idea what time it was. Earlier than that, certainly.

I looked around. Surely there was a clock tower or something.

Aha! There it was. It said it was... I squinted a bit. Six-twenty. Ish. I will admit my vision wasn't perfect. But now I knew I had about two hours before I could get out of this town. Ponyville, I thought. I just couldn't get over that dumb name.

I stood in front of the Boutique for a moment, not sure what to do. Oh! Maybe I would visit the library. It was early, but maybe the librarian lived in the library. It did have a balcony, after all.

With that thought I was off, continuing in the direction I had been heading. More ponies were out and about now, though they didn't seem to notice me. Nopony ever did. I guess I had learned how to stay out of sight after doing it for so long.

The trek to the library only took a few minutes. This town really was smaller than it seemed. The sign in the window said 'Open', so I went ahead and entered. The inside was quite a lot bigger than it should have been. All the walls were, well, not lined with bookcases, like normal libraries, but actually were bookcases that had been carved out of the wood that made them

While space-enhancing enchantments were not unheard of, they were very rare. So why the public library in a town called Ponyville had one was beyond me. I forced myself to actually look around, and not just continue to think about how insane this place was.

There was a door in the back of the room that was shut, a staircase going up to the left, and an open door to the right. I heard voices coming out of the other room. They quickly quieted though, then a purple unicorn with a multi-hued mane stepped out.

"Good morning..." She trailed off. That voice. That had been the voice outside the door at the castle. Why was she here? She must have known who I was. Why wasn't she doing anything? I guess it didn't matter. I didn't want to cause a scene, so I'd pretend nothing was out of the ordinary.

I smiled, "Hello. My name is Grave Case." Not my real name, clearly, but that was my fake identity. "I heard this was the local library, so I thought I might be able to ask some questions about this town." First thing I wanted to do was ask if it was called Ponyville. Then get out as fast as possible.

She stepped a bit closer, though her fear of me was almost palpable. "O-of course! My name is Twilight Sparkle. I-I live and work in the library. Here, that is." She laughed nervously, not looking me in the eye. I could smell something coming from the room she had exited. It must have been a kitchen.

My smile didn't waver. As far as Grave Case was concerned, nothing at all was amiss. "I'm sorry if I interrupted your breakfast. I've just arrived in town, though I don't know what it's called."

"Oh, no," She quickly replied. "It's no trouble at all. Umm, the town's name is Ponyville." I raised an eyebrow at that. Was she serious? It was actually called Ponyville. I couldn't believe it. I looked down, then back up at her.

"All right, I apologize again for interrupting. I don't want to intrude anymore, so I'll go ahead and take my leave." With that, I turned away from her, towards to door.

"W-wait!" She loudly exclaimed. I turned back to face her, somewhat rattled by her volume. "Err..." She looked down again. "I-I wanted to ask you a-about your cutie mark." Her expression told me her mouth had betrayed her brain when she said that.

I laughed quietly. "Ah, of course. It is a bit morbid isn't it?" I glanced at the skull on my flank. "I'm a pathologist. I do autopsies, and work with deceased ponies." She still wouldn't look at me, though see didn't seem willing to say more. So I turned to the door, and swiftly made my escape.

Once outside, I let out a breath, then began walking. Why the hell had the librarian from the town that was definitely called Ponyville been outside my door at the Castle? What the buck was going on? Who was she?

I decided I would ask the pony at the Boutique when I went to get my cloak.

I had decided to sit on the hill overlooking the town, rather than meet any more of the locals. When the clock struck nine, I teleported to the Boutique. I would rather draw attention that way than risk any more encounters. I knocked on the door, and sompony called "Come iiiin" in a sing-song voice. I did as told, and pushed open the door, a little bell announcing my entrance.

As I shut the door, a beautiful, white coated unicorn with a perfectly curled puple mane walked in from another room. She was smiling, though as soon as she saw me it suddenly became much more forced. Did everypony in this town know who I was?

"Hello! My name is Rarity, how may I help you?" She quickly moved across the room, grabbing sewing instruments and other things with her magic as she went.

"Well," I said "All I need is a cloak, as close to my coat color as possible." I moved forward slowly. I really didn't want to cause her to panic. She seemed like the kind of pony that could scream exceptionally loudly. I had no evidence of course, but better safe than sorry.

"Of course! Come right this way, I'm sure I have something that will suit you!" She turned to the door she had come from and quickly, very quickly, made her way there. I follow at a less enthusiastic pace. Almost as soon as I walked through the door there was something in my face. "What do you think of this?" she said.

I grabbed it with my magic and held it a little further from my muzzle. It was cloak. It looked exactly like my old cloak. Actually, if I hadn't known better, I would have thought it was my old cloak.

I smiled. "This is perfect."

"Excellent!" She walked past me into the main room, and once again I followed her out.

"How much will this cost?" I asked, already putting it on.

"Oh, that dreadful old thing?" She said, "I'd be happy to get rid of it! You can keep it." I raised an eyebrow, since I didn't have the hood on yet. I wasn't that much of an ass.

"Are you certain?" I asked, "Even if you don't like it, it's still merchandise."

"Yes, yes, it's no problem at all." She turned and went through another door. I assumed, since we had just been in the store room, that it was a living area of some kind. Did all the shop owners live in their shops in this town?

I sensed that I was no longer welcome, and did as silently requested. I was disappointed that I hadn't gotten to ask who the librarian was, but I decided it would probably be smarter not to push this mare.

The bell announced my exit.

Right. I had a cloak, but I doubted that a town like this would have daggers or vials like I needed anywhere, so I decided it would be a very good idea to get the buck out of this place.

I gathered power, and teleported back to the hill I had first spotted the town. Then I turned, and continued the way I had been going just a few hours ago.