Harmonic Blue Skies

There is a large lake at the north end of Ponyville. It’s so large that it looks like an ocean. The water is a beautiful shade of clear sky blue, and many ponies agree that on a sunny summer day, there are few better places to be.

One sunny morning, the lake was completely quiet and still, except for a single pony flying overhead. His name was Sky Scraper, and he was a pegasus stallion with sky blue eyes, a sky blue coat, and a sky blue mane with a black streak on either side. His cutie mark was a skyscraper with an antenna at the top. He was quite a handsome stallion, but also an introverted one who enjoyed solitude, either flying through the sky or sitting near the water.

As Sky glided high above the lake, he smiled and looked down at his reflection in the water below. Moving here was probably the best decision he’d ever made. He used to live in Manehattan, but the rent on his apartment had become too expensive, and he’d grown tired of being surrounded by thousands of strangers at all hours. Now he could finally get some peace and quiet, surrounded by just the lake, some trees and the crisp, unpolluted air.

Eventually, Sky finished flying around the lake and descended onto the deck of his house. It was a modern elevated house on the lake’s northern shore, the side furthest away from Ponyville. It had been built a few years ago, but the previous owners had only used it as a vacation home. Sky, on the other hoof, had decided to make it his permanent residence. To him, it was a perfect location year-round. It had a wonderful view of the lake, and was far away from any intrusive visitors. Sky hadn’t been to Ponyville yet, as he’d only moved to the lake a week ago and wanted to enjoy his new house as much as he could.

Sky sat down on his deck chair and leaned back to bask in the warm summer sun. This was how he’d spent each morning since moving to the lake. As his name and cutie mark would suggest, he was an architect, and had always held an interest in buildings and bridges. In fact, he was the pony behind several of Manehattan’s newer buildings. He wasn’t working on any projects at the moment, though.

Suddenly, Sky heard hoofsteps below the deck of his house. He flew over to the edge of the deck and saw a tall stallion walking in front of his house. The stallion was another pegasus, with a white coat, a very long green mane, and a cutie mark of a green leaf. He seemed oblivious to the fact that he was trespassing on Sky’s property.

“Hey! You!” Sky shouted at the white pegasus. “Go away! This is my house, and you’re trespassing!”

The white pegasus was taken aback. “I was just walking around the lake, looking at the trees.” he explained. “I didn’t realize somepony lived here now.”

“Well, I live here.” Sky retorted. “And I’d appreciate it if you got off my property.”

The white pegasus sighed. “Look, dude, I’m not going to damage your house or anything. I’m only taking a walk. Besides, it’s not like you own this lake. Other ponies are free to walk around it.”

Sky rolled his eyes. “All right, you have a point. Who are you, anyway? I’ve never seen you before.”

The white pegasus smiled. “I’m Emerald Leaf. I live in the Everfree Forest, at the other end of Ponyville. What about you? I’ve never seen you before, either.”

“I’m Sky Scraper.” Sky replied. “I moved here from Manehattan last week. That city is just too crowded for me, plus the rent on my apartment went through the roof last month. I’m glad to be away from it.”

“Well, you definitely picked a good place to move.” said Emerald. “The lake looks beautiful from here.”

Sky smiled. He now realized that he had been too quick to judge Emerald. “Thanks. This is really the perfect house for me. It has a great view, it’s nice and modern, and it’s a lot quieter than my old apartment in Manehattan.”

“Can’t argue with that.” Emerald chuckled. “I prefer old houses, though. My marefriend and I live in an old stone cottage nestled in the Everfree. We also like having a quiet space away from most other ponies.”

“You have a marefriend?” Sky asked.

“Yep, I do!” said Emerald. “Her name’s Tree Hugger. I met her while studying plants in the White Tail Woods last spring. We started living together a few months ago.”

“That’s nice.” said Sky. “I’ve never even been on a date with a mare myself.”

Emerald shrugged. “Nothing wrong with that. Besides, Ponyville is a nice town. Once you’ve lived here for a little while, you might just find somepony you like.”

Sky thought for a moment. “You know, I haven’t even been to Ponyville yet. The lake is so nice that I’ve just stayed here this entire week.”

“Well, I was about to head into town after I made my way around the lake. Do you want to come with me?” Emerald asked.

Sky smiled. “Of course! You can show me around.”

“Great!” said Emerald. “We can fly across the lake and then we’ll be in town!” Emerald spread his wings and ascended into the air. Sky followed, happy to have made his first new friend in Ponyville.

Soon, Sky and Emerald were on the other side of the lake and crossing over one of the many footbridges leading into Ponyville. Sky was surprised to see so many wooden houses with thatched roofs. “I would have expected this place to be more modern.” he remarked. “Most places don’t have this kind of village-style architecture anymore.”

“That’s true.” Emerald agreed. “These houses are a lot older than your house. They seem to be holding up just fine, though.”

“I suppose so.” said Sky. “I’m an architect, so the houses are usually the first thing I notice about a town.”

“You’re an architect?” Emerald exclaimed. “That’s really cool! What kinds of buildings have you worked on?”

“I’ve designed a few tall buildings in Manehattan.” Sky explained. “I lead the projects by drawing the floor plans and concept art.”

“That sounds like hard work.” said Emerald. “You must get paid really well.”

“Oh, I do!” said Sky. “I’m not the most well-known architect, but I’ve got more than enough to survive being between jobs for a while.”

Sky and Emerald arrived at a building that looked as though it was made out of cake. “Is that a… bakery?” Sky asked.

Emerald nodded. “Yep. That’s Sugarcube Corner. They have the best pastries this side of Equestria.”

“Well then, let’s go in!” Sky suggested. “I’m in the mood for something sweet.”

“Sounds good to me!” said Emerald. “I think I’ll get something too.”

Sky and Emerald entered the bakery. A pink earth pony mare with a fluffy pink mane and a cutie mark of three balloons sat behind the counter. Her bright blue eyes lit up when she saw the two stallions. “Hi, Emerald Leaf!” she said with a gigantic grin. “What can I get ya?” Then she paused and looked at Sky. “Wait a minute… I’ve never seen you before! You must be new here! Welcome to Ponyville!”

“Um… yeah, I am.” said Sky. He was a bit startled by the pink mare’s extreme cheerfulness. “My name’s Sky Scraper, in case you were wondering.”

The pink mare continued grinning. “Nice to meet ya, Sky Scraper! I’m Pinkie Pie!” She reached out and rapidly shook Sky’s hoof. “As a gift for being a new friend, you get a free cupcake!” She pointed to three large cupcakes in the display case. One was yellow, one was brown, and one was pink. Each had lots of icing and sprinkles. “What flavor do you like? Vanilla, chocolate or strawberry?”

“Vanilla.” Sky replied with a smile. He hadn’t expected to get a free cupcake from somepony he’d just met.

“Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie Pie picked up the yellow cupcake and handed it to Sky. “Here ya go!”

Sky took a bite of the cupcake and grinned. “This is delicious! Thank you so much!”

“No problem!” Pinkie laughed. “It’s my gift to you!” She turned to Emerald. “Anything I can get for you?”

“Do you have any pandan cake today?” Emerald asked.

Pinkie shook her head. “No, sorry. We’re still waiting for a new shipment of pandan leaves from Indoneighsia. Is there anything else you want?”

Emerald thought for a moment. “Can I have that strawberry cupcake over there?” he asked, pointing to the same display case from earlier.

“Sure!” said Pinkie. She picked up the pink cupcake and handed it to Emerald. “Since you’re with Sky, you get a free cupcake too!”

Emerald smiled. “Thanks, Pinkie!” He took a bite of his cupcake. “Delicious as always!”

“No problem, Emerald!” said Pinkie. “Thanks for stopping by!”

Sky and Emerald sat down at a table outside Sugarcube Corner to enjoy their cupcakes. “Well, I’m really glad we stopped here.” said Sky. “I won’t need lunch for a couple more hours.”

“Me neither.” Emerald chuckled. “That means more time for me to show you all around town!”

“Awesome!” said Sky. “What other places do you want to show me?”

“Oh boy, so many choices!” said Emerald. “Ponyville may look like a small village, but it’s got a lot of cool stuff.”

“Well, how about we just walk around town for a while and see what looks interesting?” Sky suggested.

“Fine by me.” Emerald agreed. “But before we go anywhere, I want to enjoy my cupcake for a while.”

Sky laughed. “Same here.”

When Sky and Emerald had finished eating, they began walking around the town. Many other ponies were out and about too, taking advantage of the nice weather.

“How many ponies live in this town?” Sky asked as a group of several earth ponies walked past.

“Quite a few.” Emerald replied. “Not nearly as many as Manehattan, though.”

“No, definitely not.” Sky agreed. “I like this town. It’s not an overcrowded city, but it’s not a lifeless backwater either. I should come here more often.”

Emerald nodded. “You should! We haven’t even gone to the town center yet!”

Sky and Emerald passed by the tea shop and the costume shop, neither of which Sky had any interest in. Eventually they did arrive at the town center, where the Ponyville town hall stood alone, towering above the small houses around it.

Sky laughed. “Well, that’s the biggest building I’ve seen all day. Is it the town hall?”

“Yep!” Emerald replied. “Pretty much all major social events happen here. Want to take a closer look?”

“Definitely!” said Sky. He spread his wings and flew up to the top of the building. He was impressed by the building’s grand scale compared to the rest of the town, as well as the circumferential balconies around each floor. “This building is really great!” he remarked. “You don’t see too many rotundas in Manehattan these days.”

Emerald smiled. “You stop to look at buildings a lot, don’t you?”

“Of course!” Sky replied. “Most of my work involves modern architecture, but I love classic buildings too.” He flew back down to where Emerald was standing.

“Is there a bookstore in Ponyville?” Sky asked. “I always like going to the bookstore.”

“There is, but it’s on the other side of town.” Emerald replied. “The best way to get there is to fly along the river.”

Sky grinned. “That’s perfect! I love being near the water, if you couldn’t already tell.”

“While we’re there, can we stop by the flower shop too?” Emerald asked. “I’ve been meaning to pick up some more seeds for my garden.”

“Sure! Let’s go!” Sky began flying down the river, and Emerald followed.

Toward the east end of Ponyville, the river widens quite a bit, almost forming a small lake. As Sky and Emerald flew over the widest section, Sky noticed a large mansion on the shore below. It was made entirely of shiny white marble. “Wow, look at that mansion down there!” Sky exclaimed. “Does somepony live there?”

“Nopony lives there, at least not anymore.” Emerald explained. “It’s the Ivory Estate. It was built about 100 years ago, for an artist named Ivory Brushstroke. These days, it’s a museum that offers guided tours and displays most of Ivory’s paintings. I can’t say I’ve ever been inside, though.”

“It’s one of the Gilded Age mansions.” Sky commented. “Large homes built by some of the richest ponies in Equestria. There are several in Manehattan still standing, and I’ve been to all of them at least once.” He smiled at Emerald. “Care to join me as I add this one to my list?”

Emerald smiled back. “Sure thing! I’ve got no place to go, really.”

With that, Sky and Emerald flew down to the shore and stood before the doors of the Ivory Estate.