Petunia Paleo was a small blue filly who lived with her parents in a medium-sized house at the end of a side street in Ponyville. She didn’t have wings to lift her up, but she had a giant smile that tended to lift others up around her. She didn’t have a horn to help her make magic, but she had dreams big enough to seem like magic.
She also had a great big skull-and-bones cutie mark on her flank. Now that made her parents nervous sometimes, because they were the sort of grown-ups who expected life to be quiet, normal, and sensible—all things that a skull-and-bones cutie mark wasn’t. But they’d been reassured by ponies they trusted that they shouldn’t worry, because Petunia’s mark meant that she loved paleontology, which was the study of the bones of old dead things. They figured that was kind of weird and icky, but it wasn’t bad or wrong. And so they told themselves not to worry as Petunia went around town digging anywhere that ponies would let her dig, and reading anything that she could get her hooves on about fossils, nature, animals, and history.
One day, Petunia’s favorite magazine brought news that made her smile super-big: a very special kind of fish called a coelacanth had just been discovered swimming near the coast of Zebrica. The magazine said it was a “living fossil,” meaning it had somehow survived from the time of the dinosaurs, millions of years before.
It was alive. There and then.
Or… well… it was half a world away, in Zebrica.
But that was just a detail in Petunia’s mind as she bounded off her bed, clutched the magazine in her mouth, and trotted down the stairs from her bedroom. She leapt over a basket of laundry to be folded and skidded to a halt in front of the kitchen table, where her parents sat drinking coffee and reading halves of the morning paper.
“’Om! ’Ad!” she said, removing the magazine only as an afterthought. “Did you see this? There’s a coelacanth! A living fossil!”
Her parents looked up from their papers and met each other's eyes. Identical looks of concern crossed their features. “That’s… amazing, honey,” her mother said, not in any way convincing her that the sentiment was genuine. “A… living fossil, you say?”
“Yes! And we have to go see it!”
Her dad gave an abrasive non-laugh. “Well, sport, that sounds… pretty interesting…”
“I know, right?!” she beamed. “The thing is that we need to go visit the pod that’s been discovered off the coast of Zebrica before we lose the chance! Who knows, maybe there’s only a few of them left, or they could be endangered… I didn’t really finish reading the whole article, but that’s not the point!”
Her parents looked at each other again. The look they shared wasn’t just a look; it was a look. And when they looked at her again, that too was a look.
“Here’s the thing,” her dad began. “Going on a trip to Zebrica, of all places would cost a lot—”
“A lot,” her mom interrupted.
“—of money.”
Both her parents nodded once, the gesture making it clear that their answer was final.
Petunia’s smile cracked only a little. “Okay,” she said, nodding slowly. “So what you’re saying is that if I could come up with the money, we could go?”
Her parents looked at each other nervously.
“… Maybe?” her mom said, turning back to her.
“It would take a lot of money, though,” her dad said again.
“Don’t you worry,” Petunia said, leaping up and bounding toward the door. “I know just who I can talk to about getting lots of money!”
Soon, three ponies sat in the sunlight of the hot and flower-filled Rich family atrium. One was Petunia, who eagerly explained what it would take to go after the “living fossil.” Next to her sat Filthy Rich, a brown earth pony stallion who leaned back in his chair, listening and smiling. And next to him sat his daughter Diamond Tiara, a little violet filly who simply rolled her eyes.
Petunia eventually stopped talking, and Filthy chuckled before saying: “Well, young Petunia, that is truly an ambitious dream!”
“I know, right?!” Petunia’s grin intensified. “And just think, it would be a chance for you to see some of the beautiful plants you have here growing in their natural habitat, as well! That’s a Zebrican lily, isn’t it? Oh! And that one’s a goat’s-foot!”
Filthy nodded, and cast a brief, sidelong glance at his daughter. “You know, it’s rare to meet a youngster who has such a deep appreciation for the natural world.”
“Well, Mr. Rich, sir, the natural world is what I’m all about! Normally I focus on the dead stuff, but suddenly the dead stuff is alive again! Or, it was here all along. Whatever! The point is, we can go see it! All we need is money, and I figure if you’re interested, that shouldn’t be a problem!”
His smile turned a bit sad. “I’m afraid that isn’t all we’d need for such an expedition. A find like this is bound to draw attention from local authorities, conservation officials, and scientists the world over, all coming to study the same thing that you are.”
She nodded. “And…?”
“What I’m saying is that money by itself wouldn’t help us navigate the feeding frenzy we’d be walking into. It might help, no question. But we’d also need somepony with experience putting these kinds of complex expeditions together to know where best to use it.”
Petunia’s smile quirked down just a bit. “But… my parents made it sound like money was all they needed….”
Filthy shrugged. “Without the right experience, all the money in the world might not make a difference.”
She looked away, brow furrowing. Then her eyes brightened. “So what you’re saying is that if I could get us in touch with somepony who has a lot of experience going on big, crazy expeditions like this, we could go?”
Diamond Tiara and Filthy Rich looked at each other, then both shrugged.
“… Maybe?” Filthy said, turning back to her. “I’m not sure who I’d ask about that, though.”
“Oh, don’t worry!” Petunia jumped up so quickly that the chair clattered over behind her. “I know somepony who knows somepony who can get us in touch with the greatest explorer in the whole wide world!”
It was the Cutie Mark Crusaders who helped Petunia get into Twilight Sparkle’s Friendship Castle, and who led her down its central hallway toward the Map Room, where the six bearers of the Elements of Harmony were talking. Petunia pranced in place and tried to keep her breathing steady as she waited outside its large doors for their meeting to be over. The Cutie Mark Crusaders tried to chit-chat with her to pass the time, but Petunia was too excited to listen.
At last, the doors swung open, and Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Twilight Sparkle all filed out with determined looks on their faces. However, Rainbow Dash caught sight of the four fillies waving to her, and she let the others go on ahead.
“What’s up, guys?” Rainbow Dash asked the fillies.
“Rainbow Dash!” shouted Petunia, pushing forward past the Cutie Mark Crusaders. “Did you hear about the coelacanth that was discovered off the coast of Zebrica?”
Dash blinked. “Hear about the what, now?”
“It’s a living fossil! A piece of history that’s out there swimming in the oceans of today!”
“Uh, that’s… that’s cool?” Dash gave Petunia a quizzical expression before turning it on Scootaloo. “So why’d you wanna come tell me about that?”
Scootaloo opened her mouth, but before words could escape it, Petunia launched into a high-speed explanation: “Well, I really want to go see the coelacanth, and I asked my parents, but they said that we’d need money. So I went to see Filthy Rich, and it sounds like he could help with the money, but he doesn’t have the right experience to put an expedition together. So then I thought about the Friendship Journal that you and your friends published, and how you know somepony who knows all about leading expeditions into crazy, far-off places: Daring Do!” Her smile grew deeper, and she nearly vibrated with the effort of containing it.
Dash’s face slid into a tremendous frown. “I swear, if I’d known our journal was gonna get published someday… eh, whatever. Look, kid, the thing about Daring Do is that she’s really, really private. I mean, I’ve tagged along with her a couple times, but it’s not like she’s always up for letting me do it.”
Petunia’s smile faltered. “But… maybe she’d make an exception for real-life living history, especially if we had enough money to back a good expedition?”
Dash shrugged. “I hate to let you down when you’re all pumped-up to go after this, but Daring’s got money. And yeah, she’s a friend, but she’s not the kind of friend who I can ask for a favor like this one, y’know?”
“That’s okay,” Petunia said. Only, her voice quavered and her nose sniffled in a way that told the ponies around her that it was very much not okay.
Both Rainbow Dash and the Cutie Mark Crusaders offered to walk Petunia home, but she waved them away. Instead she trudged back slowly, and all by herself.
And so she came home to find her parents sitting in a different room, and reading different things, but still not any different than she had left them.
“How’d it go, sweetie?” her mother asked.
Petunia didn’t answer with words. Instead, she let loose all the tears that she had bottled-up on her walk home, and wailed so loudly that the neighbors surely heard her. She turned away, and climbed the stairs, and slammed her bedroom door, and locked it, and threw herself upon her bed—still crying, and feeling as though the crying would never, ever stop.
And for a long time, it didn’t. Because deep down, Petunia knew that it’s worth crying when a dream dies. And an extra-big dream deserves an extra-big cry if it comes to that.
Petunia had long since cried herself quiet and passed-out facedown on her bed, when three loud raps on the front door awoke her, soon followed by the faint sound of the door opening—then followed again by her parents gasping.
“Please, it’s all right,” a muffled voice said. “I’ve heard that your daughter is mourning the death of a dream.”
Petunia pushed herself up on her elbows as she strained to hear the rest of what was said. It seemed that the grownups were speaking in their quiet voices, though, so she didn’t catch much. But soon she heard the sound of hooves on the stairs. Feeling curious, Petunia got up, trotted to her door, and unlocked it.
The knob turned instantly. The door opened. And in the darkness of the hallway, Petunia saw a very tall navy-blue figure smiling at her. Behind the figure were her parents, both of whom had worried looks on their faces.
“Good evening, child,” said the figure. “My name is Princess Luna.”
Petunia gasped. She recognized the princess, but had no idea why somepony like her would come to the house. A jumble of partly-formed words all tried to crowd their way through Petunia’s muzzle, but none of them came out making any sense.
Luna gently touched a hoof to Petunia’s lips. Then she inclined her head. “One of my duties is to safeguard the dreams of ponies near and far. Most of the time I focus on dreams during the night, but from time to time I sense dreams in the waking world as well… particularly those that are in danger.”
Petunia’s smile made a tentative return. “Does that mean you can take me to Zebrica?”
“I… should not.” Luna turned her ears down. “Sometimes we must let things happen in their own time, lest we rob the journey of its meaning. But sometimes all a pony truly needs along their way is the encouragement of knowing that others see the beauty in their dreams as well. If you wish it, I could share a portion of the beauty that I see in yours?”
“I’d like that,” Petunia said, peering into the Princess’ pale-green eyes—
And suddenly, Petunia Paleo was a strong, pretty, grown-up mare who closed her eyes and grinned into the stinging salt-air that was kicked up by the powered boat. Ponies milled to and fro around her, readying equipment, or handling the myriad things necessary to keep the boat clean and in good working order. She listened to their bustle, and allowed herself to forget all about her high-strung parents, and the medium-sized house she had grown up in, and the dream she never thought would become real.
Because it was real, now.
She’d waited years; worked harder than she thought possible; studied for long hours; earned a degree; then earned a research grant—all in the name of continuing to study her first love: the living fossil.
Well, her second love, after fossils in general.
She felt a nudge on her shoulder, and opened her eyes to see a handsome black-coated stallion—her assistant—pointing off the starboard bow. “Doctor Paleo, there they are. We found them!”
Petunia followed his hoof with her gaze, and smiled, and dashed up to the railing at the edge of the boat. There, not ten meters away and maybe just one meter down, was the pod. They were ugly, to be sure, with big eyes and gills and clammy faces; and they were bigger than she thought they’d be, with bodies thicker than the barrel of an average-sized pony.
Yet they were beautiful, for they were coelacanths, and seeing them with her own eyes gave her a smile that couldn’t be contained by smiling alone. Instead, she whooped, and leapt, and hollered, sending half the crew fleeing to other parts of the boat.
“Doctor Paleo!” her assistant shouted. “Please, we need to start taking measurements!”
Instead of listening, she hugged him, then took his hooves in hers, and whirled him around in a mad dance. “Don’t you understand?! We’re here! We found them!”
“Yes, but—”
“I’m taking a swim,” she declared. Then she alit upon the railing, looked back at him for just a moment… then smiled… then jumped.
And as she landed in the middle of the pod, they scattered; and the ponies on the boat began to shout “Mare Overboard!” and scurried to and fro to “save” her. But she knew she didn’t need saving. Not in the bigger sense, at least.
Instead, she swam, and laughed when she had breath for it, and treaded water, knowing that while her crew did what they did best, she had at last made it to Zebrica, and to the coelacanths, and to her dream.
Petunia’s parents glanced nervously at each other as they tucked the small, sleeping filly back into her bed. “Are you sure she’s all right?” her dad asked. “She just fainted all of a sudden…”
Luna shook her head. “She’s better than all right. She’s learned that somepony believes in her dreams.”
“We didn’t want her to think they were impossible,” Petunia’s mom said, looking guilty.
“Truly? I am glad to hear it, for the wider world discourages everypony in time. Few ponies’ dreams would ever come true without foundations of love and faith—especially in themselves. Those foundations are often strongest when built early, and given a chance to grow over time.”
“We could… probably do better at that, sometimes,” Petunia’s dad said, not meeting Luna’s eyes.
“I did not come to judge you,” Luna said. “I’ve not had foals myself, and cannot know the day-to-day challenges of raising such an active filly. Though it is also true that I could’ve simply sent her the dream without coming here, now, and that doing so was a deliberate choice. The only thing bigger than your daughter’s smile is the size of her dreams—and both can be equally fragile.”
“We should let her rest for now,” Petunia’s mom said. “It’s been a big day for her.”
Luna winked. “Not yet, it hasn’t; but it will be, someday.”
