It was a fairly sunny day in Ponyville, with the odd smattering of clouds in the otherwise pristine blue sky. The forecast for the day called for a slightly cloudy day, and Rainbow Dash had just finished arranging the white fluffy cover over Ponyville. She was spending the rest of her day relaxing in a nearby tree, as she was prone to doing on a lazy day inbetween practicing for impressing the Wonderbolts.
It was just as she was beginning to doze off that she heard a voice calling her from beneath. She was on the edge of town, in a more secluded field. Who could be calling for her here? Grumbling, Rainbow Dash clamped her hooves over her ears. However, the voice persisted.
"Hello? Helloooo? Anypony there?" The voice asked. Rainbow Dash scowled, and without lifting her head from her napping spot, she simply yelled, somewhat annoyed.
"Yeah? What is it?" Said Rainbow Dash.
"I'm trying to find my way to Manehattan! Do you know which way it is from here? Or know where I can find a map?" The voice called up.
"No idea! Try the library in Ponyville! They'll have a map or travel books or something!" Rainbow Dash replied. The voice called its thanks, and with that, it was gone.
"Finally. Now I can get some proper rest!"
In Ponyville proper, there weren't many ponies out and about, as the morning routine was just starting for most ponies. Those who were out and about were preoccupied with their own daily business, fetching newspapers and milk from their doorsteps, or watering their plants. In one lavender unicorn's case, she was still asleep, which left the morning activities up to her Number One assistant, Spike. As such, he was busy cleaning the library floor of dust before making breakfast for himself and Twilight Sparkle. As he busied himself with brushing underneath some stairs, the door opened.
"Morning! Sorry I can't see you at the moment! Just busy with some tidying up! Honestly, I don't know why Twilight bothers with shelves when she never puts books back on them, sometimes..." Spike continued his grumbling as he swept and picked up books.
"Oh that's OK! I was just after a map of the surrounding area! I'm trying to get to Manehattan!" The visitor said cheerily to the small purple dragon.
"Maps? We have some touristy stuff over on the main desk." Spike pointed at a nearby table, still stacking the shelf he was stood in front of.
"Oh, thanks!" The visitor approached the table, examining various different leaflets and adverts for local businesses, pocketing a few before finding a map. Examining it, he smiled and left, but not without thanking Spike before leaving.
The visitor continued through the mostly quiet town, enjoying the surroundings before coming across a large shop that looked for all the world like a gingerbread house with a cupcake on top. Tilting his head in curiosity, he walked in and looked about. The scent of sugary baked goods hit his nose, and he smiled a wide, happy smile.
From out the back, a giant, multi-layered cake appeared, sat on a cart that appeared to be being pushed by a pair of blue forelegs.
"Oh, hello! Welcome to Sugar Cube Corner!" Came a mare's happy voice from behind the cake. "Sorry, I'll be with you in a moment! We're just sorting out a catering order, aren't we honey bun?" A yellow stallion clad in an apron and hat was busy at a nearby table, tending to two little foals with a grin on his face that told of a proud father.
"That's right sweetie pie!" He replied before dealing with the foals’ dirty diapers. The visitor dug into his wallet and fished out some golden bits.
“I just need something to keep me going on the road from here to Manehattan. That and some coffee for my thermos. Can you help?” The visitor asked.
“Oh of course! There’s a coffee machine in the corner you can use, and all the pastries we have are on display right now!” The blue mare called from out the back as she fetched another large cake. “Just leave the bits on the counter!”
With a bag full of scones and rolls, and a thermos full of coffee, the visitor dropped his bits on the counter according to the price on the sign at the front of the store, and made to leave.
“Thanks very much!” He called to the two bakers.
“Not at all dearie! Have a nice trip!” The blue mare called back from the kitchen. The visitor smiled broadly, and left Sugar Cube Corner.
“What a polite young man, don’t you think, Carrot Cake?” Mrs Cake asked her husband.
“He sure was, my little Cup Cake!” Mr Cake replied.
As the visitor approached the edge of town, he turned and looked back at Ponyville with a wide smile on his face. He readied his bag and his thermos, and began his walk down the road towards Manehattan. As he wandered down the road, he saw a group of worker ponies banging away at what appeared to be a large sign. Watching them was an older mare with a silver mane and tail, and a scroll tied up with ribbon for a cutie mark.
“Now take good care of that sign, gentlecolts! This is for welcoming visitors to our fair village, and I want to make the best impression possible!” Mayor Mare said with a hint of urgency in her voice. The worker ponies putting up the sign just grumbled about being micromanaged by paperpushers, but kept on working.
The visitor wandered past Mayor Mare, peering curiously at the sign as it was being set up. It proclaimed proudly that Ponyville was “THE FRIENDLIEST TOWN IN EQUESTRIA!” The visitor nodded with a huge grin on his face as he took in the sign, before regarding Mayor Mare.
“It sure is! I must say, Ponyville was a lovely place while I was there! I’ll definitely have to come back some day!”
Mayor Mare’s attention was still on the sign, but she smiled and gave a friendly chuckle at the kind words.
“Well I’m so glad we were able to accommodate you, good sir! We hope to see you again!”
“Of course. I won’t keep you! Goodbye!”
“Goodbye!”
And the visitor wandered on down the road, finally leaving Ponyville.
As the visitor wandered down the road, he passed a green unicorn pony with a lyre for a cutie mark, waving cheerily as he went.
“Good morning!” He said with a smile. The unicorn just stared. Walking past her at that very moment, was a two legged, pink skinned, furless biped, clad in jeans, trainers, a t-shirt and a large bag. She stammered for a moment before galloping onwards toward Ponyville.
“Huh. That was weird.” With a shrug, the visitor wandered on towards Manehattan.
Lyra galloped into Ponyville, eyes wide with urgency, panting.
“HUMANS EXIST! I SAW ONE! TWO LEGS! HANDS! FURLESS SKIN! EVERYTHING!” She yelled aloud. The ponies who were up and about just stared for a moment, before chuckling. Cheerilee trotted past on her way to the schoolhouse, shaking her head and grinning.
“Oh come on Lyra. If there was anything as strange as THAT in Ponyville today, surely SOMEPONY would have noticed.”
Author’s note – I get way too many silly ideas for stories in my head, and this little one shot was an attempt to curb my overactive imagination and FINISH a story rather than just start another one and end up with all kinds of unfinished junk on my hard drive. I have been out of practice with writing for a LONG time, so any constructive criticism will be much appreciated! Thank you!
