A Fizzling Hope

Chapter 7: On the Road Again

CRACK!!!

Thunka-thunka-thunka-thud!!!

Farmer Greene wiped the sweat from his brow as he watched another set of apples fall perfectly into their respective buckets. Smirking with pride, he moved on to the next tree. Fizzle may have been a pretty good apple-bucker, but the grizzled old farmer hadn’t let an apple touch the ground in ten years, a fact that he was immensely proud of. Even by Apple family standards, that’s a most impressive feat.

As thoughts of Fizzle reached his mind, the farmer’s face slowly devolved into a thoughtful frown. He missed the energy and cheerfulness the boy brought to the farm, and although he would never admit it out loud where Lilly could hear, he was a bit worried about him. How long ago had he left? Today was the second day since his departure wasn’t it? Yes, that was right. He left mid-day two days ago, and had been gone all yesterday and all through today. He had said two days’ time right? Silently, the old farmer hoped he would see that cheerful green face later today.

The hours dragged by as the apples fell by the dozens, Farmer Greene making slow but steady progress through his apple fields. By the time Celestia’s sun was nearing the horizon, the farmhouse cellar was crammed full of several fresh new baskets of apples. Breathing in the delightful scent of dinner as he closed and locked the cellar doors, Farmer Greene trudged slowly into the farmhouse and gratefully flopped into a seat at the dinner table with a tired sigh. Lilly looked up from her cooking to examine him. “Tired, dear?” she questioned.

Farmer Greene let out another tired sigh as he responded. “Y’all kin count on it…ah near forgot how much work that boy was doin’ round here. Shore is different without ‘im.”

A flicker of worry passed over Lilly’s features before she spoke up. “Tha’s fer shore. Ah reckon ‘e should be back purty soon, though. ‘E did say only ‘bout two day’s time, right?”

Farmer Greene scratched his chin with a hoof idly as he answered. “Sounds ‘bout right…ah was hopin’ ‘e’d show up in time fer supper but ah s’pose we won’t be seein’ ‘im ‘til tomorrow. It’s rather late, after all.”

Lilly let out a depressed sigh as she finished placing dinner on the table and took a seat besides her husband. “Ah know, ah was hopin’ th’ same. But if ‘e don’ show up by tomorrow, ah think we should ask th’ sheriff ta go ‘n find ‘im. Wouldn’cha say?”

The two elderly ponies served up their food and said a quick grace before Farmer Greene responded. “Ah s’pose ah kin see th’ logic in that, if only ta make ya feel better,” he said with a wink, rewarding him with a glare from the older mare. She grumbled something unintelligible concerning ‘stallions bitin’ off more then they kin chew’ as she violently speared a slice of cucumber with her fork and ate it.

Farmer Greene knew that his wife was distressed over Fizzle, he could easily tell. Wisely deciding to drop the subject, he brought up the uplifting news that he had easily made the months’ payment on the house ad farm. He also commented about how their current financial situation probably had them set for the rest of the year. The two farmers shared a happy discussion over dinner concerning their recent success, but the reason for said success weighed heavily on their minds.

Once dinner was finished, the two ponies cleaned everything up and headed straight to bed, the combined physical and mental strain of the day leaving them both exhausted. As they lay under the sheets, listening to the nighttime symphony of crickets and frogs, Lilly spoke up. “Y’all think ‘e’s really okay, Greenie?”

Farmer Greene rolled over to face those bright silver orbs, the concern radiating from them in waves and emphasizing the slight moistness at the corners. He pulled the shaking mare into a gentle hug and kissed her forehead. “What does yer heart say, love? Ah kin feel that e’s jest fine…an’ y’all know as well as ah do that come tomorrow, ‘e’ll come marchin’ down that road with a wagonful o’ goodies an’ that wide, happy smile on ‘is face. Ah jest know it.”

Lilly smiled hopefully. “Ya really think so? Ah’ve been havin’ these terrible dreams ‘bout ‘im of late…they got me worried sick…”

Farmer Greene squeezed her tighter. “Ah don’ think so. Ah know so. It’s Celestia’s will that ‘e come back ta us. Now git some sleep love, it ain’t gonna do ya no good ta worry yerself like so.”

And so, safe, comfortable, and warm in each others’ embrace, the two ponies slowly drifted off into sleep.

*****

Breakfast was an uneventful affair. Truth be told, these last few days reminded the elderly couple of how life used to be before Fizzle arrived. It was strange to think that it had only been such a short time since his arrival, yet the lack of his presence felt so unnatural.

As the day wore on, both ponies began to become noticeably more agitated. Come lunch time, one would think that somepony had died based on the solemn expressions and dead silence that pervaded the atmosphere. As the early afternoon wore on into dusk, the house was cleaned (twice), the apples were bucked and stored, and dinner was yet again prepared for two. As Farmer Greene trudged back into the house, exhausted after a hard day’s work yet still worried sick, his eyes met his wife’s.

Farmer Greene paused, taken aback by how distraught she looked before he hurried forward to embrace her. She hugged him back, sobbing quietly into his shoulder. Farmer Greene gently stroked her mane before he whispered, “tomorrow, ah’ll head inta town an’ have a work with th’ sheriff.” Lilly lifted her tear-stained gaze to meet his, but managed a small smile nonetheless.

“Th-thank ya kindly, dearest,” she managed to say before devolving back to uncontrollable sobs. Eventually, she pulled herself together and finished getting dinner onto the table. The two ponies sat down and prepared for yet another lonely, dismal meal before a familiar sound permeated the still air. It was the unmistakable sound of trotting hoofsteps.

Pausing for a moment to identify the sound, and to make sure that it was really there and not just a figment of their imaginations, the two ponies looked each other in the eyes and grinned ecstatically. “Fizzle!!” they shouted together as they hurried outside to greet him.

Sure enough, there was the green pony of the hour, slowly trotting up to the farmhouse with not one, but two fully loaded wagons in tow! And looking rather exhausted to boot. Farmer Greene paused to gape in surprise at the massive amount of supplies, but Lilly wasted no time and charged Fizzle at full speed, nearly tackling him as she pulled him into a bone-crushing hug.

Her tears of joy flowed freely as she sobbed happily. “Ohhhh there y’all are dearie!! Y’all have no idea how happy ah am ta see ya! Ah’ve been worried sick ‘bout y’all but shore ‘nuff, here ya are, fit as a fiddle! Ohhh ah’m jest so glad yer safe…” as she went on, Fizzle simply smiled tiredly at her and happily returned the embrace, struggling to breathe a bit at the same time.

“Of course I’m ok Auntie! Trust me, I know my way around the wilderness like nopony does! It was a cinch, really! I’m sorry I took a bit longer than I promised but there was just so much good stuff to collect, I simply HAD to build another wagon and take it with me. Unfortunately, you’d be surprised how hard it is to find even half-decent timber up in the mountains…”

As Lilly continued to hug him and sob happily, Farmer Greene finally stepped forward and grinned at Fizzle, giving him a few hearty slaps on the back. “Well ah’ll be boy! That there is more supplies ‘n doohickies than ah think ah’ve ever laid eyes on! Ah bet y’all will make tons o’ fireworks with all this! Ah’m glad yer trip panned out so well fer ya. Good ta know it was worth it. We was jest a tad bit worried ‘bout’cha, after all.”

Fizzle lifted an eyebrow at the grizzled old farmer and his eyes flicked to the sobbing mare clutching him briefly. Farmer Greene grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. “All right, all right, we was a might worried.” Growing slightly more serious, the old farmer laid a hoof on Fizzle’s shoulder and spoke again. “We’re mighty glad ta have a back safe ‘n sound boy. Y’all do us proud, ya do.”

Fizzle beamed happily before a sudden loud noise interrupted the revelry. It was a very loud grumbling sound. Fizzle grinned sheepishly. “Ummm, so it was a bit of a walk to get here…got any food?”

The three ponies shared a good laugh before Lilly quickly ushered Fizzle inside to eat.

*****

Three guesses as to how dinner tasted after a couple days of traveling. That’s right, absolutely fantastic. Fizzle suppressed a belch as a rubbed his taut stomach idly. In his zeal to finally have some of Lilly’s fresh cooking, perhaps he had eaten just a bit too much. Ah well, it can’t be helped. Nothing a good night’s sleep won’t fix, right?

Fizzle trudged tiredly up the stairs, staggered down the hallway, wrenched open his door and finally collapsed on his bed, too tired to even tuck himself in properly. As his mind began to drift away into dreamland, he reflected briefly on the meal he had just shared and the days beforehoof. Of course, Lilly and Farmer Greene had wanted to know EVERY. LAST. DETAIL about his trip into the mountains, so he had gone ahead and told them. Between bites of delicious food, of course. He hoped he didn’t talk with his mouth full too much…

The journey there had been boring and uneventful. Truth be told the whole excursion had been rather uneventful, and upon reflection Fizzle decided that was a good thing. Ursa Majors and dragons tended to fall into the category of “very, very badly eventful.” By the time Celestia’s sun was setting on the first day, Fizzle had reached the base of the mountains. Setting up a camp on the edge of a small forest nearby, he slept soundly the first night.

The next day he spent entirely wandering the mountains, using nothing but that infallible feeling that somehow told him where to find things. There had been a startling lack of rare metals and gemstones however, but he quickly found out the reason behind that. Sure enough, the mountain ranges were swarming with mining camps, and the unicorns in charge used pretty meticulous spells to pick the rolling hills clean of everything valuable. But fortunately for Fizzle, one pony’s trash was another’s treasure…

After collecting an entire wagon’s worth of charcoal, sulfur, and various metallic rocks and powders by late afternoon, Fizzle had decided to make this trip even more profitable. Returning to camp, he chopped down a few trees and built himself a second wagon. This one was far superior to the first he had happily noted, despite the wood from the spindly, aged trees being a bit difficult to work with.

The next day, a group of mining ponies stopped him to ask what he was doing. Fizzle had said that he was basically a miner too, but of a different variety. At first they were suspicious, probably worried that he was competition of some sort, but once they saw the “junk” he was collecting they were friendly enough, and even invited him to join them at their camp for lunch. Fizzle was most grateful for the offer.

By the end of that day, Fizzle had yet another wagonful of stuff, and had made his way back to camp. Satisfied with his gatherings, Fizzle packed up the next morning and spent all day trudging home. Yes, this was his home now, he was sure of that. He loved it here, and in all honesty, he was starting to think of Farmer Greene and Lilly as the parents he had forgotten about. Maybe someday he would remember who they really were, but for now he was content to substitute.

Sighing happily at these thoughts, sleep finally overtook Fizzle and he dropped into a sleep so deep not even those silly dreams could reach him.

*****

The next few days were certainly busy. Now with two wagons filled entirely with materials, Fizzle had a lot of work to do! Already, he had spent three hours just collecting bark! But Fizzle worked solidly through the day, and by suppertime had amassed about a hundred of the little spheres. Using a pencil from the house, he marked them based on color and sorted them into baskets. After all, if he was going to sell these ponies had to know what they were buying.

The next day was also very busy, but Fizzle came across a few discoveries. Without realizing what he had done, he had built one of the spheres with an extra compartment in a ring around the inside of the sphere. Upon experimentation, which of course involved the necessary explosion, Fizzle found that he had produced a special firework, one that exploded with a very particular ring-like shape. It appeared that more of his memories were resurfacing!

As the day progressed, he continued to make strange alterations to his newest creations. As always, he had no idea how he knew that what he did would do something, only that doing that something which he knew to do would result in something new and interesting if he did it. A few late night experiments after dinner revealed that his explosions could now be jagged-star shapes, bright strobe-like flares, and golden spiraling tendrils based on how he built the shell. Satisfied with this work, Fizzle slept soundly that night.

After one last day of work, Fizzle had used up almost all of his materials, and had stripped many a tree bare of its bark. However, his efforts were rewarded with about three hundred or so firework shells, ready to be used for sheer entertainment! Fizzle rubbed his hooves together in glee. If the townsponies’ excitement over his show was any indication, they’d be tripping over each other to get their own hooves on some!!

Halfway through dinner that night, Fizzle decided to announce his plans. “So I think I’m ready to head into town tomorrow,” he said confidently.

“Oh?” Farmer Greene looked up with a questioning, yet slightly amused, glance. “That so, eh? How many o’ dem firework doohickies ya got now?”

Fizzle did some brief mental calculations before responding. “I think somewhere around three hundred.” Lilly coughed around her food and Farmer Greene whistled in surprise.

“Land’s sake boy, y’all ‘ave been busy! Seems like jest a few days ago y’all came prancin’ back with yer stuff. Ya rememberin’ how ta make ‘em nice ‘n fast like?”

Fizzle nodded happily. “Yup! I can whip together one of those babies in about ten minutes flat if I really wanted to. Not only that, but I’ve been remembering how to alter the design to produce a few more effects. I’m sure you saw from my, ahem, experiments that they can do some interesting things.”

“Shore did!” Lilly piped up. “Ah thought th’ first round was somethin’! But jest when ah thought ah’d seen it all y’all go ‘n make a bunch more, each fancier then th’ last! Ah’m shore yer business will be boomin’ tomorrow!”

Farmer Greene nodded his assent. “Tha’s right, ah bet y’all will make a killin’ with dem flashy shows o’ yers. An’ this time yer gonna try ‘n sell a few, right?”

Fizzle nodded again. “I was planning on it, yes. Two hundred is an awful lot to shoot off in just one night.”

Lilly spoke up again, but this time with a bit more reservation. “Fizzle, ah s’pose ah should be askin’ y’all somethin’…these doohickies o’ yers…are they, y’know, safe? Ah haven’t really bothered askin’ afore cuz y’all seemed ta know what y’all were doin’, but if yer gonna sell ‘em ta other ponies are ya shore they won’t hurt themselves or somethin’?”

“Of course they’re safe Auntie! If used correctly, that is. I will admit, if used incorrectly they could be very dangerous. They ARE explosives after all, and they can start fires and hurt ponies. So that’s why I was planning on giving a detailed, fifteen minute safety lecture before letting ponies buy them! All anypony needs is a quick set of instructions and they’re good to go! What could possibly go wrong?”

The two elderly ponies looked satisfied with that response. “Oh good. Ah’m glad ta hear that y’all are already thinkin’ ‘bout safety. Helps me sleep better at night,” Lilly said, sounding quite relieved.

“Well, y’all got a big day ahead of ya boy. We better git ter bed, y’all need ta leave early in th’ morn ta make it ta Baltimare by noon.”

Fizzle nodded happily and stood up to take his empty plates to the sink. Spotless, as always. He bade the two elderly ponies a warm good night before retiring to his bedroom. Curling up in bed, Fizzle sighed in excitement. Tomorrow was going to be great, he just knew it…

*****

Fizzle still couldn’t get over how awesome the city was. Despite this being his second trip to Baltimare, Fizzle couldn’t help but gape in awe at the towering glass structures and the sheer, incomprehensible number of ponies. The thought briefly struck Fizzle that Equestria was a much larger place than he may have realized, with many, many more ponies than he thought possible to live in one country.

Fizzle shook his head slightly. Focus! That’s what he needed to do right now. He checked behind himself again to make sure that his two wagons were still hitched up. Still there, good. He panted slightly as he turned a corner, hauling two whole wagons was hard work! It was a good thing he’d gotten up early and eaten a good breakfast, the trip to Baltimare was a lot more tiring than he had been expecting.

Now the big question was: where to set up? Fizzle immediately decided to head for the park area again. After all, it was a big open clearing away from any nearby trees, buildings, or other potentially dangerous obstacles. It was the perfect fireworks demonstration ground!

Following the familiar path from the first trip, Fizzle soon arrived in the park. There were lots of ponies about, either playing, reading, talking, or simply napping in the sun. Fizzle nodded sagely, he could relate to naps in the sun, after all. Upon his arrival, many of the gathered ponies looked up at him. He imagined that a strange pony hauling two wagons into a park might look a bit odd, so he supposed this couldn’t be helped. But then, somepony recognized him.

“Hey! I know you! You’re that pony with all the fireworks!! I saw you on market day, it was AWESOME!!” Fizzle turned to address the sudden voice. He immediately recognized the tan colt with a short brown mane and tail. He had sat in the front row of the audience for almost the entire evening, after all.

Fizzle grinned and replied, “why yes!! It is I, the amazing traveling Fizzle, the best pyrotechnic in all of Equestria!!” He glanced around as a crowd began to gather, talking animatedly among themselves.

“So Mr. Fizzle! You have some more fireworks for us or what?” the colt asked, jumping in place with his excitement.

“But of course, good chap! What do you think THESE are full of, hmm??” The assembled crowd ooh’ed at the two wagons piled high with fireworks. Alright, playtime was over. It was time to get this show started! Fizzle unhitched himself as he stopped in the desired location and jumped into his first wagon. Quickly donning his new black cape, he stood up to address the crowd.

“Citizens of Baltimare!! You have received but a taste of what the amazing Fizzle is capable of! I have returned, after gathering more materials and honing my skills, and now my ability to wow and amaze you has been doubled!! Feast your eyes on my newest creations, and then once you are satisfied with their awe-inspiring powers, you too can experience the magic of fireworks firsthoof!”

Quickly setting up five tubes and loading them, Fizzle lit them all off in succession. The resulting cacophony of booms was accompanied by a dazzling assortment of colors, shapes, and effects. The crowd cheered and stamped their hooves in approval. Fizzle briefly took a bow before speaking again.

“As you can see folks, my creations are unrivaled in sheer power and beauty! With only a quick and easy set of rules, you too can safely light off your very own fireworks from the comfort of your homes!! So what do you say? Who would like some of their very own EXPLODING MAGIC??”

The crowd cheered again and several hooves shot in the air, excited voices calling out.

“Oh! I would like some!”

“YES!! I was hoping you’d ask!!”

“Here, here! Pick me, pick me!!”

“SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!!”

Fizzle calmed the crowd with a few quick hoof motions. “Very well! I shall give you what it is you seek! But first, let me give you a few brief rules so that you may avoid any…unpleasant accidents while handling your fireworks. The first rule is quite simple: never EVER keep unlit fireworks near open flames. The only time these shells should be anywhere CLOSE to fire is right before you’re about to light them off. The second rule is…”

Fizzle talked on about how to safely use fireworks. He mentioned how they should only be fired from clear, flat ground, such as the field they were currently in. He talked about how one should always have a bucket of cold water nearby in case they failed to go off. He also told them to never EVER point lit fireworks at buildings or other ponies. Once it was lit, leave it on the ground and get at least ten feet away! Oh, and don’t forget to save your fireworks for nighttime, that’s when they work best!

While he spoke, more ponies showed up in the park, drawn to the strange lights and noises. As Fizzle continued to talk, he lit off an occasional demonstration, either to make a point or to keep the crowd entertained. Eventually he finished, and told all the ponies who had heard the entire speech to line up if they wanted some fireworks. And so, the first of the sales begun!

Fizzle laid out all of the fireworks he had, organized by color and shape and sorted into baskets. Just to be fair, Fizzle had to limit everypony to no more than five fireworks. After all, a lot of ponies wanted some! Just to make sure that everypony making purchases had heard his safety talk, he quizzed them all on what he had said, especially in the beginning. Most ponies answered the questions easily, but a few sneaky ones had tried to cut in line! Fizzle simply tsked at them and told them to wait their turn.

Eventually, the first round of ponies cleared out and another crowd had gathered, this one even bigger than the first! Fizzle grinned like a madpony in a chemicals factory and launched into his safety speech once again. As he spoke, Fizzle reflected on how perfectly things were going. Oh, he had them all right. Hook, line, and ka-boom!! What?? Who said sayings have to make any sense, what fun is there in making sense??

*****

It was dark by the time Fizzle was finally sold out. He wasn’t surprised really, the crowds had been so large he actually hadn’t had enough for everypony! He felt a bit bad about that, but first come WAS first served. Fortunately, most of the ponies who missed out understood that they had been pretty late to the party, and simply departed saying they couldn’t wait for Fizzle to be back. Oh, he’d be back all right. Hmm, maybe next time five hundred fireworks would be enough…

As Fizzle reached the crest of a hill, he looked back at the city. It was quite beautiful at night, with all its lights and signs and such. Oh yeah, and the occasional firework exploding overhead. Fizzle chuckled slightly, pleased that ponies were already enjoying his creations. With a content sigh, Fizzle headed on home, pleased with his solid day’s work.

*****

Farmer Greene and Lilly were asleep by the time Fizzle got back, so he just quietly let himself in and went to bed. Utterly exhausted, he was still asleep several hours after the farming ponies woke up the next morning. Lilly had cracked his door open to see if he was there, and satisfied with his presence she let him be. Fizzle still hadn’t gotten a proper night’s sleep since his adventure, after all.

It was about midday, but not quite lunchtime, and Farmer Greene was happily working his fields just like any other day. However, as is oft to be the case, the days that seem the most normal are the ones where something odd happens. The grizzled old farmer just happened to be pulling his watering cart from the north field to the west one when he spied a peculiar sight marching up the dusty road to the farm. Was that…Mayor Stone?

Uh oh. Now, Farmer Greene had lived near Baltimare for nearly forty years, and he had been here when Mayor Stone was first elected Mayor of Baltimare eighteen years ago. The two ponies had met several times, and always maintained a respectful cordiality around each other. Mayor Stone was a sensible pony, and appreciated all the hard work the farming ponies like Farmer Greene did to grow quality produce for the city. He had worked with Farmer Greene and other farmers several times in the past to pass legislation to help the agricultural sector stay competitive, fair, and profitable.

Farmer Greene had great respect for this. He knew that the foundations for Equestrian society lay with the farming class, and he held the Mayor in high esteem for defying the rest of his rich, snobby economic class in order to help him and his brethren out, many times at his own expense. Although he wouldn’t go so far as to call the two of them friends, they were certainly well-known acquaintances, and Farmer Greene was always proud to tell others that he voted for Mayor Stone in the elections.

But still. Having the earth pony Mayor trot up to your front door flanked by two bodyguards wasn’t always the best of signs. Usually it was an indication of trouble. Farmer Greene unhitched himself from the cart and trotted briskly over to the gates. As the Mayor and his guards approached, Farmer Greene opened the gates up and waved cordially. “Howdy, Mayor Stone! A pleasure ta see y’all, as always. What brings ya ‘round these parts?”

Mayor Stone was dressed in a powder blue business suit with a white undershirt and darker blue tie, a stark difference from his stony gray coat. His carefully combed white mane looked slightly disheveled after his trot to the farm, and it was a bit matted down with sweat. That was another thing Farmer Greene appreciated about the Mayor: when he felt the need to go visit outlying areas, he would run there himself. He considered transportation such as limos to be silly and a waste of money, and instead enjoyed a bit of exercise.

The Mayor was quite a strong stallion, too. Despite being nearly fifty, he was very well built and was in peak physical condition. The Mayor’s steely silver eyes bored into Farmer Greene from behind his spectacles as he trotted through the gate. He was followed by his guards, a silver unicorn and a brown pegasus, both massively built and wearing simple black-and-white tuxedos, sunglasses, and ear pieces.

“Good day, Greene,” the Mayor finally spoke in his deep baritone voice. “I assure you, the pleasure is all mine. Celestia has truly blessed us with a beautiful sun today, I much enjoyed getting out of the office for a mid-day stroll. Tell me, how have things been on the farm recently?” Farmer Greene smiled at the Mayor’s question. No matter what reason the Mayor had for visiting the farm, he always inquired about their welfare. It was obvious he cared about their well-being.

“Everythin’s jest fine ‘n dandy! We had a real humdinger o’ a harvest a few days ago, an’ last market day everypony seemed ta remember who grew th’ best apples ‘round these parts! Them Appleton fellers didn’t know what hit ‘em!” Farmer Greene chuckled at the memory. Mayor Stone looked amused by this, a ghost of a smile flitting across his face. But the air of professionalism held. Farmer Greene had often joked about how the Mayor should loosen up, but all he ever got in reply was some excuse about ‘maintaining an image.’ Eh, politicians, what’s a pony to do?

“Ah, I see. Well that certainly explains their recent behavior. I don’t think you will have to worry about those scoundrels for quite some time, Greene.” Farmer Greene cocked an eyebrow at this.

“Oh, really? An’ what, might ah ask, is th’ reason fer that?”

“Let’s just say that the managers at Appleton’s were feeling a bit desperate, and made a rather…unprofessional decision. Suffice to say, their business is just a few feet underwater right now, thanks to Chief Cobalt.”

Farmer Greene laughed uproariously at this. “Ohoho, this is too good! Ah’m glad ta hear that them stinkers finally got what was coming ta ‘em. We both know that they were jest a bunch o’ rich ponies tryin’ ta put us outta business! Nearly did too, iffin it warn’t fer Fizzle…”

“Indeed. I am pleased to see that hard, honest work has won out over greed once again. Agriculture is what really brings out the magic of the Earth Ponies. The ability to work hard and honest to produce for everypony is a most admirable quality, one that I am proud to support. It does not surprise me that a group of pampered unicorns ultimately couldn’t measure up.”

“Darn tootin’! Ain’t nopony good ‘nuff ta grow high quality apples ‘round here ‘cept fer th’ Apple family!” Farmer Greene enthused, his chest swelling with pride.

“Quite.” The Mayor cleared his throat. “Now Greene, we must get on to business. I’m sure you’re curious as to why I am here. In fact, you mentioned the problem just a moment ago. Am I correct then, in assuming that the traveling pyrotechnic known as Fizzle is currently taking up residence here?”

Farmer Greene turned a surprised gaze to the Mayor. “Uhh…well, yeah ‘e’s here right now, but what exactly is this all ‘bout? Fizzle ain’t done nothin’ wrong, sir. Well, ‘e filched a few apples a week or so ago but tha’s long since been cleared up. ‘E felt right sorry ‘bout it too, poor feller. Broke down inta tears when ah told ‘em ‘e’d been stealin’. Turns out ‘e’s got amnesia too, cain’t remember nothin’ ‘bout ‘is old life! Really quite a shame. Y’know, mah Cousin Juniper had a bad case o’ amnesia too, but...”

The Mayor suddenly interrupted. “Excuse me for interrupting Greene, but you said that Fizzle has amnesia?”

Farmer Greene looked more confused as he answered. “Well, ah’m pretty shore at least. Why else cain’t ‘e remember nothin’? Eh, somethin’ th’ matter?”

The Mayor looked suddenly concerned at this new bit of information. He stroked his chin thoughtfully before answering. “This…complicates things,” he said at last.

“Mind tellin’ me what th’ issue here is?”

Mayor Stone looked Farmer Greene in the eye before calmly responding, “I think Fizzle needs to hear it more than anypony else.” As he finished this statement, the party of ponies arrived at the porch, and the sound of the Mayor’s deep voice drew Lilly’s attention. She came trotting out of the house and smiled when she saw who their guest was.

“Mayor Stone! Howdy doo ta y’all. Been a while since ya last came ‘round. How are th’ wife ‘n kids?”

“Good day to you, Ms. Lilly. Fuchsia’s doing just fine, and Rocky’s been accepted to the Canterlot Law Academy. We’re both very proud of him.”

Lilly squealed in delight at the news. “Oooh tha’s jest marvelous!! Tell ‘im ah said ‘best o’ luck’ won’cha dear?”

“I most certainly will. Now if I may inquire, is Fizzle currently available? I need to have a discussion with him.”

Upon hearing this, Lilly turned a concerned gaze to her husband. “Greenie? Wha’s this all ‘bout now?”

“Ah don’ know, Lilly, ‘e won’t say. Is Fizzle even awake right now?”

“Yes, ‘e is. Poor dear’s been exhausted since ‘is trip, so ah let ‘im sleep in today. ‘E’s gettin’ somethin’ ta eat right now. Ah’ll go an’ git ‘im.” Flashing one last worried look in the direction of the Mayor, the elderly mare turned and entered the house. A moment later, she reemerged with a slightly bedraggled-looking Fizzle behind her.

The Mayor strode forward to address him. “Good day, Fizzle. My name is Mayor Stone, and I am the Mayor of the city of Baltimare. Pleased to make your acquaintance,” he said as he held out a hoof.

Fizzle grasped his hoof and gave it a firm shake. “Good to meet you too, sir. Name’s Fizzle. Sorry for looking a bit out-of-sorts, but the last couple days have been rough.”

The Mayor smiled faintly at that. “No worries. It happens to the best of us. Now, on to business. Is it true that you manufacture entertainment devices referred to as ‘fireworks’?”

“Yes, I do,” Fizzle replied.

“And is it true that you took some of these fireworks into town yesterday and sold them?”

“Sure did!” Fizzle said, nodding happily.

“And you also put on a fireworks show on market day?”

“Yep! It’s all true!”

“Finally, is it also true that you are an amnesiac, and thus may not have a full understanding of modern Equestrian society? Even more importantly, is it true that you do not remember when and where you learned about fireworks and how they were used there?”

Fizzle frowned as he considered the questions. “Well, I do believe I have amnesia. After all, I just woke up in a field one day not knowing where I was or what I had been doing. So yeah, I don’t know how I know what I do, only that it works. And yes, there are some things that I don’t really understand yet, but Farmer Greene and Lilly are teaching me about how Equestria works. Why is all this important?”

Mayor Stone’s professional demeanor finally slipped a bit as he let out a tired sigh and rubbed his temples with his forehooves. “Fizzle, I’m afraid you’ve caused quite a problem, and truth be told I don’t really know how to solve it.”

“Problem?? Wh-what kind of problem??” Fizzle inquired, a slight hint of nervousness starting to creep into his voice. The two elderly ponies exchanged a nervous glance before turning their troubled gazes back to the Mayor, who let out a slightly depressed sigh and drew himself up to his full height before answering.

“I’m afraid that the fireworks you sold last night managed to start eight minor to moderate fires, sent about thirty ponies to the hospital with various first or second degree burns, and caused about five thousand bits worth of damages,” the Mayor said bluntly. All three of them gasped in surprise and stared at the Mayor in slack-jawed horror. The Mayor shifted a hoof uncomfortably. The two guards stood a little ways away, impassive as ever.

Silence reigned for about two whole minutes before Fizzle suddenly burst out crying. Lilly immediately rushed forward and pulled him into a hug. “Ohhh, don’ y’all fret none, Fizzle. Y’all didn’t mean nopony harm, it’s all jest an accident…Yer a good pony, ya really are…” Lilly desperately tried to console the sobbing stallion in her forelegs, but his wails only grew louder.

“Nooooo!! It’s not true, Auntie!! I HURT other p-p-ponies!! I’m a terrible, awful p-pony!! BAAAAAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!!” Fizzle’s hysterics continued to escalate despite Lilly’s best efforts. The Mayor looked on sadly before an irate Farmer Greene pushed himself into his line of sight.

“Greene, please, let me explain…”

“Explain what, Stone?? What in Equestria ‘as gotten inta y’all!! Ya couldn’t ‘ave at least gone easy on th’ poor feller?? Fer pony’s sake, what were ya thinkin’??”

The Mayor looked apologetic as he tried to respond. “Greene, I will admit that perhaps I did not break the bad news as…tactfully as I should have, but you must understand…”

“Tact? TACT??” Farmer Greene roared in his face. “Tact mah flank, Stone!! Gosh darn it all! Now ya know we all respect ya ‘round here, an’ we know y’all was only tryin’ ta do yer job, but tha’ was jest a gall-darn FOOL thing ta do!! Ah don’ think ah’ve ever seen ‘im so upset!”

The Mayor let out an exasperated sigh. “Yes, Greene. I messed up. I really do apologize, but I’m under a lot of pressure to get this sorted out right now. I’m afraid I let that get to me a bit. But I still have to decide what I’m going to do about this…”

“Yer not honestly tryin’ ta pin this all on Fizzle are yeh??” Farmer Greene interrupted incredulously. “Ah mean, jest look at ‘im!! ‘E feels jest awful!! It was all an accident, honest! ‘E was jest tryin’ ta make some money! It’s even ‘is special talent fer pony’s sake! Jest look at ‘is cutie mark!!” The Mayor looked. Sure enough, a cutie mark obviously related to chemistry and mixing was emblazoned on his heaving flanks.

“Greene!” the Mayor interjected rather forcefully. “Please! Think about it from my perspective. This morning there was practically a riot outside town hall, for Celestia’s sake! The citizens of Baltimare are incensed and I don’t know what to tell them! Fizzle’s amnesia only complicates the matter further. Clearly, I don’t want to make him take the full blame for this, but what else can I do? What would you do in my place, Greene??”

Farmer Greene’s eyes slowly slid to the ground and he was silent for a few moments. “Ah…ah don’ know…” He raised his face in surprise when Mayor Stone laid a hoof on his shoulder.

“Then help me figure this out. There must be a solution acceptable to all parties.” Farmer Greene nodded and the two stallions turned to look at Fizzle, who had finally calmed down enough to speak. He raised his bloodshot eyes to meet the Mayor’s and tried to form a coherent sentence.

“B-but, how?? How c-could this happen? I made sure that everypony heard m-my safety speech start to finish b-before I sold them anything…I-I just don’t understand…” he managed to stutter out, still clutching Lilly tightly.

The Mayor raised an eyebrow in confusion. “You gave a safety speech? On how to use fireworks safely??” Fizzle nodded dejectedly. The Mayor however, broke out into a genuine smile. “Oh, excellent! Most excellent indeed!! This saves a lot of trouble!” All three ponies turned to look at him with confused looks.

“Er, beggin’ yer pardon Stone, but ah don’ rightly follow ya. How exactly is this ‘excellent’?” Farmer Greene questioned slowly.

“It’s quite simple Greene. The fact that Fizzle attempted to keep everypony safe by clearly outlining safe usage of fireworks means that this isn’t entirely his fault. From what we gathered, most of the accidents resulted from ponies doing some seemingly stupid things with their fireworks. If Fizzle tried to tell them not to do such things, then they are to blame for these accidents, and Fizzle isn’t liable for any damages.

“However, I still have to do something. The citizens would be infuriated if I didn’t. But I simply don’t know how to handle the situation! I’ve never heard of fireworks before this incident, and there is no legislation in place describing how to treat them. I have no legal precedent to follow. Therefore, I am at a loss concerning the next step, but I’m sure now that it’s not to blame Fizzle for everything.”

Farmer Greene considered this for a while, stroking his chin in thought. “So basically ya want ta punish Fizzle in th’ smallest way possible?”

“That would be ideal, as long as it makes sense,” the Mayor replied. “Community service simply won’t do, for example.”

“Well…” Farmer Greene continued. “What about a fine?”

The Mayor contemplated this for a moment, rubbing his chin idly with a hoof. “Yes…yes, I think that might actually work! It is true that Fizzle cannot be held responsible for what has happened, so I could fine him for unintentional arson. That’s probably the best we can do, to be honest. I doubt there are any other laws that would be relevant to this case. This gives the punishment a proper legal basis, which is necessary, however…”

The Mayor trailed off, looking increasingly worried as he mulled something over in his head. Fizzle eventually managed to break the silence, now much more composed. “A fine you said? How…how much do I owe?”

The Mayor looked at Fizzle sadly as he replied. “The law clearly dictates an amount of three hundred bits. It may seem like a lot, but trust me, it’s a lot less than what most ponies wish you were paying.”

Fizzle nodded sadly as he processed the Mayor’s statement. “Ok…I can pay that, I made enough yesterday…b-by hurting other p-ponies…” he trailed off sniffling. Lilly hugged him gently again.

The Mayor nervously cleared his throat, drawing everypony’s attention back to him. “However, the citizens of Baltimare will not be pleased with this verdict. The aforementioned punishment prevents anypony from pursuing further legal conflict with you, but there is little we can do to stop them from coming out here and…giving you a hard time. I need to somehow be able to assure the citizens that this will not happen again sometime soon.

“Fizzle, I…I hate to say this, but for the sake of your own safety, the livelihood of this farm, and the peace of mind of an entire city, I…I think you need to leave town for a while,” he finished quietly. All three ponies’ jaws dropped nearly to the ground. They gaped at the Mayor for a very uncomfortably silent minute or two before Lilly burst into tears and nearly tackled poor Fizzle as she hugged him. Fizzle didn’t react, he just kept idly staring off into space in slack-jawed astonishmet.

Farmer Greene was the first of the three to recover enough to speak. “WHAT?? Stone, what in tarnation are ya sayin’??” he sputtered. “Have y’all taken leave o’ yer senses?? Ah didn’t never think o’ ya as th’ type o’ pony ta throw somepony else inta th’ dirt fer yer own benefit!!”

This was not the wisest thing to say, and Farmer Greene regretted it almost immediately. His eyes flashing angrily, the Mayor drew himself up to his full height and thundered, “do not misunderstand my intentions, Greene!! I have been Mayor of this town for many years, and never, EVER have I used another pony’s misfortune for my own benefit!!” The Mayor stopped, noticing the fear emanating from the three ponies. He sighed tiredly and spoke quietly to Farmer Greene, “if you would follow me please.”

The Mayor led Farmer Greene around the corner of the house to speak with him in private, leaving Fizzle and Lilly to sob quietly in each others’ embrace. “Greene, please. You and I have always adhered to the same logic: the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. That is why I always stick my neck out for ponies like you. It is important to me to make sure that our large agricultural class is prospering. Equestrian society depends on it.

“Even though my policies do not win me much support from the upper class, I care not. Evidence of my success and popularity are clear enough when voting time comes around. I am the champion of the people, and will continue to be for as long as I am able. You know this to be true, Greene. And now, my entire city is furious with Fizzle for the trouble his fireworks caused. I know it’s not his fault, but you know as well as I how irrational irate crowds can be. In this case, I must adhere to my golden rule: the needs of my city outweigh the needs of one pony. Now that your emotions are clouding the issue, can you still push them aside to see the logical solution??”

Farmer Greene stared at the ground, shuffling his hooves uncertainly. “Well, ah…oh, consarn it Mayor Stone. Ah s’pose yer right, like always…”

Mayor Stone patted Farmer Greene on the back comfortingly. “Come now, Greene. I’m not always right, and you know it. I only do the best that I can. What is it that troubles you about this? I was under the impression that Fizzle was some sort of vagabond renter, yet clearly you are reluctant to have him leave. Why is this so?”

Farmer Greene looked up sadly, and the Mayor was shocked to see that the hardened old-timer was close to tears. “Ya don’ understand, do ya Stone? Fizzle, ‘e…’e reminds me o’ th’ joys o’ youth. An’…an’ ‘e reminds me o’ mah son…”

The Mayor sighed unhappily and placed a hoof on Farmer Greene’s shoulder. “I’m sorry Greene, I had no idea this would be so hard on you. If there was another solution to this problem, I would gladly take it. But as it is, I see nothing. Do you see any better way to resolve this problem?”

Farmer Greene shook his head sadly. “I thought not. I would like to speak to Fizzle briefly, and then I must take my leave. Tomorrow morning I will announce to the town what has been done, and I will be back at midday to see him off. I feel it is only right to be responsible for my own decision.”

The old farmer nodded again. “Let’s go an’ find th’ boy then…”

*****

Fizzle was taking the news that he had to leave hard. He had finally managed to calm himself and Lilly down before the Mayor and Farmer Greene returned. He had nurtured a small hope that Farmer Greene would be able to convince the Mayor he could stay, but upon seeing the defeated expression on his tired, old face, Fizzle knew it was not to be. The Mayor had then motioned for him to come and speak to him. Fizzle didn’t want to, but knew that he had to.

The Mayor had calmly apologized for the whole situation, and also explained why he believed Fizzle needed to go. Fireworks were just too new to Equestria, and despite Fizzle’s best attempts to help ponies use them safely they just didn’t take him as seriously as they should have. The situation couldn’t have been helped.

Although the fine settled the ordeal legally, he worried that angry ponies might show up on the farm and do mean things. They might yell at him, or demand money for him, or, Celestia forbid, they may even damage the farm or hurt him and the elderly couple he was staying with. The thought of causing damage to the farm’s livelihood or even worse, bringing harm to the two ponies he cared most for was too much to bear, and Fizzle had reluctantly agreed to leave.

The sun was setting by the time the Mayor and his guards finally left. Dinner that night had been a solemn affair. Lilly had prepared all of Fizzle’s favorite foods, and the three ponies ate heartily. Eventually, Farmer Greene started talking about all the good times they had together. He started by remembering the first day they had met, and how he thought Fizzle was just a lowly thief. They chuckled at the memory.

They recalled the time Fizzle got sick, and how determined he had been to get back to work. Then there was that wonderful market day, where they had, as Farmer Greene put it, ‘stuffed a few rotten apples up them Appleton ponies’ rumps!’ By the end of the night, the three ponies were practically rolling on the floor in laughter, recalling all the happy and funny times they had shared together.

But it was not to last.

Fizzle was roused early in the morning and they shared a solemn breakfast. Gone were the festivities of the night before. Gone were the attempts to keep him cheerful, or to forget about what the imminent future had in store for them. It was clear from everypony’s bloodshot eyes that nopony had slept particularly well that night. Farmer Greene regarded Fizzle sadly every time he looked at him, and Lilly purposefully avoided his gaze, clearly on the verge of tears.

At long last, Fizzle’s higher-quality wagon was loaded up with everything he still owned, and the three ponies stood by the gates to Acres o’ Apples. Just as the midday sun reached its peak, they spotted three ponies off in the distance: Mayor Stone and his two bodyguards, just as before. Farmer Greene solemnly opened the gate and the three burly ponies trotted through.

Mayor Stone stopped and looked them over before speaking. “Well, I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that the citizens of Baltimare seemed to be accepting of our solution, and I doubt there will be any problems for the farm in the future.” The three ponies nodded silently at this and waited for him to continue. “The bad news is…I’m afraid it’s time for you to leave Fizzle,” he finished quietly.

Fizzle heaved a sigh before picking up a heavy leather sack that jangled as it moved. He deposited it on the ground before the Mayor and said, “here’s the three hundred bits for the fine, sir.” The Mayor nodded to the unicorn guard, who levitated the heavy sack into his saddlebags.

“Good, that’s all taken care of. Now it’s time to say farewell. Take…take as much time as you need.” And with that, the Mayor stepped back between his two guards, the three of them waiting patiently for Fizzle to depart.

Slowly, Fizzle turned around to gaze at the two elderly ponies who had come to mean everything to him. Both of them stared back, small globules of liquid building up in the corners of their sad, sad eyes. He felt his own eyes begin to water as he forced himself to speak. “Well…I guess this is goodbye…” he heard himself say.

Wordlessly the two ponies strode forward and pulled him into a firm embrace. He hugged them back, and the three ponies shared a quiet moment that seemed to stretch on forever, the silence only interrupted by an occasional sob or the sound of tears hitting the ground. Eventually Fizzle felt like he wanted to say something, but what? What could he possibly say to express the emotions he felt right now? Well best to start somewhere…

“I…I would like to thank you. Both of you, for being so kind, generous, and understanding. I…I don’t know what I would’ve done if I hadn’t found you. I’d probably be dead in the woods. I had no idea where I was, where I wanted to go, or how to function in society. You took me in out of the goodness of your hearts and helped me when I needed it the most. Thank you both, from the bottom of my heart…” He trailed off, any further words stifled by the rising choking feeling he felt in his throat.

The two ponies pulled back and gazed at him softly, faint smiles on their lips. “Don’cha think nothin’ of it m’boy,” Farmer Greene said quietly. “We was jest doin’ th’ right thing. If anythin’ we should be thankin’ y’all.”

Fizzle cocked his head in confusion. “Me?? What for?” Farmer Greene and Lilly shared a sad look before he answered.

“Fizzle, we…we never really told ya th’ whole truth ‘bout our financial situation. Th’ truth is, if that last market day had gone sour, we prob’ly woulda had ta sell some o’ our land in order ta make our payments. Th’ help ya gave ta our business with yer fireworks show helped bring customers back, an’ we should be all set fer another ten years or so now. We…we cain’t thank ya enough fer savin’ our farm…it’s all we know how ta do…” he couldn’t go on, so he simply smiled as eagerly as he could given his breaking heart. Suffice to say, it was a half-hearted attempt.

Fizzle couldn’t even think of a response, so he just gaped in astonishment. Him? Saving the farm? “I…I had no idea…” he managed to stutter out.

Lilly spoke up now, her voice cracking with emotion. “Not only that, but y’all reminded us how wonderful it is ta be young. It’s been so long since we had anypony like y’all around, an’ ya warmed our old hearts, ya did. When ya left fer them mountains a few days ago, ah came ta realize…y’all remind me so much o’ our darlin’ son, who we ain’t seen fer so long…” she sniffed and let out a stifled sob but bravely forged on. “Tell ya th’ truth…ah’ve come ta think o’ y’all as a son too…”

Fizzle had tears flowing freely down his cheeks now. “You…you do?? Both of you??” Both elderly ponies smiled and nodded, despite the tears that they too were shedding.

“Shore do…son,” Farmer Greene said finally. And with that, the dam broke.

“I…I love you both!!!” Fizzle cried out forcefully as he leapt forward to embrace them. “You…you two are like my parents!! The parents I can’t remember! I already lost them once! I…I WANNA STAY HERE!! I DON’T WANNA GOOOOooooo!!!” His last sentence devolved into wails of anguish as he sobbed his heart out. How could he leave them?? This was his home, his family! He’d already lost that once, did he really have to lose it again??

Fizzle was crying harder than he ever had before, but the two elderly ponies seemed strangely at ease. Sure, they had tears flowing freely at this point as well, but they both felt as though they had gotten a mighty weight off of their chests.

A loud trumpeting sound was heard off to the side, and if any of them had cared to look they would have seen the Mayor blowing his nose loudly into a hankerchief, clearly moved by the scene before him. Even his bodyguards, impassive as they normally were, had a single tear rolling down their cheeks, though they stood taller than ever. Fizzle finally started to calm down after about five minutes, and Lilly gently tried to soothe him.

“Shhh, quiet now dear. This is all jest a part o’ life. Everypony has ta leave home at some point. Ah know that, deep in mah heart, no matter where y’all go y’all won’t ever forget us. Nor we forget y’all. Tha’s th’ true power o’ family. This is jest th’ start o’ another adventure. Ah know we’ll see each other again someday.”

Fizzle finally pulled back and regarded them with puffy, bloodshot eyes. “You…you really think so?”

“Ah don’ think so, son. Ah know so,” Farmer Greene responded gently. “Jest remember boy, no matter where y’all go, don’ ever be afraid ta tell anypony that yer Apple family. Ya may not look or sound th’ part, an’ y’all may not have apples fer a cutie mark, but yer kindness, determination, an’ hard work speak fer themselves. Them qualities o’ yers are enough ta make even other Apples envious. So chin up, an’ stand proud! We go back a long ways, an’ though y’all may be adopted rather than born inta th’ family, y’all are an Apple by heart, through an’ through. If anypony ever questions it, tell ‘em ta come have a chat with ol’ Greene Apple! Now go forth son, an’ make us all proud!”

There was a fire in the grizzled old farmer’s eyes as he spoke, and Fizzle couldn’t help but feel his spirits lift. “Tha’s right, son. We’re so very proud o’ y’all, an’ we just know that y’all are gonna go an’ do somethin’ wonderful in th’ world. All ya have ta do is take th’ first step, but that one’s always th’ hardest,” Lilly added encouragingly, the determination in her eyes matching her husband’s.

Fizzle steeled himself. The time for tears was over, now it was time for strength! He was an Apple now! He felt himself swell with pride at that knowledge, and he bravely turned to face the distant horizon. He was ready! He could do this! World here I come!! …Wait a second, where exactly to go?

Turning back to his parents with a confused expression, he asked, “Um, but where exactly should I go?? What’s the closest city?”

Farmer Greene suddenly had an amused glint in his eye, and spoke up. “Well y’all may have ta forgive mah memory in mah old age, but suddenly ah seem ta recall that y’all were rather excited ta git ter a certain Las Pegasus, hmm??”

“Ohhh, yeaaahhh…” Fizzle said thoughtfully. Las Pegasus, of course!! He still hadn’t gotten to that awesome place! “Yeah, that sounds great! Is it close??”

Farmer Greene chuckled at his sudden enthusiasm. “Shore is! Jest head down th’ main road that-a-way an’ follow th’ signs. Las Pegasus is th’ closest major city, y’all will know when yer there by all th’ fancy lights ‘n such.”

“Ok! I…I think I’m ready now,” Fizzle said as confidently as he could. He strode forward and gave his parents one final hug. “Thank you again…for everything. I WILL come back and visit someday, I promise.”

“An’ we look forward ta it, dearie,” Lilly responded fondly. “Y’all be safe now, y’hear?”

“I will,” Fizzle said confidently as he hitched himself up to his wagon. Staring out at the road beyond the gate, he was about to take his first step when Farmer Greene suddenly spoke up.

“Oh, an’ Fizzle? Try ta stay outta th’ woods this time, won’cha??” The three ponies shared a good laugh at this, the mood lightening considerably.

“I most certainly will, Dad.” And then, Fizzle bravely took his first step towards the gate. This was soon followed by another, and another, until he was moving down the dusty road at a steady trot, his wagon rattling behind him.

“Bye, Fizzle!! Y’all come on back now y’hear??” Farmer Greene called out from behind.

“I will, I promise!” Fizzle shouted back.

“An’ don’ forget ta wash yer mane, dearie!!” Lilly yelled.

Fizzle groaned and facehoofed. Oh, brother. “Yes, Mom!! I will!!” Soon, Fizzle reached the crest of a hill and paused to look back, knowing that this would be his last opportunity to see the farm. Off in the distance, he could see the farmhouse, the rolling apple fields, and the five ponies standing by the gate.

Knowing that it was too far to shout, he simply waved at them. His parents waved animatedly back, the Mayor lifted a hoof in farewell, and even the two guards saluted smartly. He was going to miss his parents dearly, he knew, but it couldn’t be helped. Destiny called!

Turning his back on the farm for good, Fizzle was once again on the road!! Just him and the wilderness! And of course, his trusty wagon containing various fireworks materials, some food, blankets, a tent, gemstones, all the money he had left, storage supplies, tools, and his trusty hatchet, cape, and freshly filled barrel of cider. He was ready to take on the world!!

Suddenly, he was struck with an odd thought. As with every odd thought that strikes him, it comes seemingly out of the blue, with no indication of where it originated from, and always manages to make perfect sense. As he walked, he found himself muttering a strange phrase to himself, and as he repeated it a few times it seemed to be more and more appropriate.

“Viva, Las Pegasus!!”