Pony Adventures: Quest of the Lost Relic

It was nearly noon when a mare walked past the sign that separated the thick woodlands from the town’s edge. She had glanced at the aged wood and missing letters m and P, for but a moment before moving forward, a modestly sized wagon being towed behind her. The mare continued up the path that led into the town and smiled excitedly at the thought of what she would find once there. It had been a long journey just to get this close, but if her intuition was correct then what she needed to achieve greatness was waiting inside Ponyville.

The town was larger and much older than the one she grew up in, with many of the buildings being nearly a century old and the roads unpaved. The air itself smelled of a different time, though not necessarily a better one or even a decent one--- it was quite unpleasant. However, this did not stop the mare from trotting deeper into the heart of the town in search of what she desired. She found herself admiring much of Ponyville’s sights along the way, stopping now and again to look at the architecture of a particular structure or the detail of a fountain. Despite a good chunk of the place is in shambles the town was overall a seemingly beautiful place to visit. To live there was another story.

The mare passed many ponies that looked at her with either puzzlement, disgust, distrust, or a combination of such. It was as if she upset the order of their lives. It was strange given how everyone back home was always ready to greet visitors with open hooves, but the ponies here looked ready to run her out for merely daring to say hello. Not that she was discouraged to say so, for her quest was far too important to be put off by such unwarranted loathing, and so she chose to say hello to someone.

The mare was lost in the busy roads of Ponyville and getting nowhere fast, so she thought it would be best to ask one of the residents for directions, although it proved to be more difficult than she expected. Every time she greeted someone it was met with silence and them walking right past her, when she tried to stop them from passing by standing in their path, they would go around her, and the pattern continued that way for nearly an hour. It became clear that no one in Ponyville wanted anything to do with anyone that was not themselves. The mare decided it was time to take a different approach.

In an instant, the heart of the town was lit up with a flash of glowing gold light that was so bright it was almost blinding. The residents wanted to look away but found the golden light too mesmerizing to ignore as if it was commanding to be seen. Matter of fact that is exactly what the light was doing, for it was more than a random flash of enchanting light, it was an actual enchantment. The light was a spell meant to draw the attention of all that saw it--- the same way a bug zapper attracts moths to their doom. The golden light was not harmful though, and as quickly as it arrived it had left leaving behind nothing but the one who created it.

The mare that had been trying to get pony’s attention before found that everyone was now staring at her in awe; however, it was now from curiosity instead of enchantment. It was rare to witness such a powerful spell in Ponyville, given that even the town’s most powerful unicorns could cast but simple spells related to their talent and there had never been a visitor able to conduct so much magical energy before. A crowd formed closely around the unicorn mare with ponies that had been inside when the light flashed even coming outside to get a look at her themselves.

The mare was tall and lean, with a sandy coat and a long mane that looked like wildfire. She had a short tail, magenta eyes, a curved horn, and a flaming quill cutie-mark in shades of orange and gold. Tied along her elegant neck was a burgundy ribbon that had a small golden compass clipped towards the end, and she also carried a small sack with a gold chain wrapped around her neck and chest. The wagon she was towing was brand new and in almost perfect condition--- one of the wheels had been replaced since it was green and the rest were red. She just stood there in the middle of the crowd with a satisfied smirk on her face, batting her eyes that were shaded to match her ribbon and showing off her long lashes.

“Well, now that I have your attention, I would like to say hello to all you lovely ponies”, said the unicorn mare to the crowd at which some waved their hooves in response, and others just stayed still. When all residents ceased movement once more, she continued to speak as if everyone was not staring at her in disbelief. She walked over to the nearest building and absent-mindedly looked up at the structure.

“It’s very nice to meet you and to visit your gorgeous town. I had heard that Ponyville had beautiful architecture, but I never expected it to be this amazing. Seriously, you can see the town’s history in these buildings.”

Some of the ponies looked to one another in confusion. Did this mare just call a saloon ‘beautiful architecture’ and was there even a point to what she was saying? Turns out there was a point to the odd little comment.

“…As a matter of fact, the reason I’m here is related to the history in one building in particular. The Golden Oak Museum of History, which is said to house some pretty special items from all across Equestria. My problem is since I don’t know the town too well, I am having a bit of trouble finding where it’s located and was hoping someone that lives here would know. So, would one of you charming ponies mind pointing me in the right direction?”

The unicorn mare turned away from the saloon to face the crowd again and cocked her head to the side to emphasize the question. For a moment, everyone stood there murmuring to each other before a stallion from the crowd cleared his throat to speak up.

“Um, the museum is at the other end of town just before the borderline”, said the stallion. The unicorn mare smiled at this courteously, which made the stallion blush.

“Thank you for your help, it means a lot to be given such kindness”, said the unicorn mare as she headed to the opposite side of where she entered Ponyville. The crowd, now behind her watched as she walked away and slowly began to dissolve as the residents went back to what they were doing, many still confused about the scene that just played out.

The ponies went back to their lives as if nothing had happened--- thinking about it too much could only lead to trouble and getting too involved with strangers is just begging for disaster. Sure, it was peculiar that a unicorn capable of high-level spells was in town and thought the place was gorgeous! At the same time, she was probably just some Canterlot brat that was passing through on her way to a festival somewhere else and got lost. But then why did she want to go to the museum…

A single pair of yellow eyes stayed fixed on the unicorn mare’s wagon heading in the direction of the Golden Oak Museum. The pony scowled at the wagon in suspicion as it kept getting farther and farther from their line of sight. After going over a hill the pony with yellow eyes turned away and vanished into the busy streets of the town unnoticed by the other residents. Meanwhile, the unicorn mare made her way to the museum with confidence and enthusiasm not knowing that her journey was about to get more interesting than she would have ever intended.