Trials and Tribulations

The week for the move had come quickly. After Silver’s revelation about the location, Morning Star had been shocked, but she had agreed to move to the backwater town of Ponyville.

“It’s exactly the place I would want to live!” she had exclaimed, “beautiful scenery and real ponies to talk to!”

The family had to quickly place their house up for sale, which took about a week, due to problems with the real estate office that Silver was using to sell. Once that was taken care of and their house was on the market, they began searching for a new home in Ponyville.

Morning Star wanted a large house, but not too large that it seemed empty. She wanted a large front yard, and of course she wanted the house to provide the best view for a sunrise. She had high hopes that the small country town would provide that unobstructed view she so wanted.Little Blossom just wanted a house with a “big room for her!”

Silver didn’t care. He just wanted a house away from the city, and luckily for them, they found a house that would be perfect for all their needs. Silver had received a call from his agent once morning before he headed off to work. The agent had told him that there was a house for sale in Ponyville that might just be the perfect house for them, the agent sent a large stack of pictures the next day of the house at Silver’ request.

The house itself was white, large, and beautiful, just on the outskirts of Ponyville, with the closest house being two miles away. They had seen the pictures, but wanted to see it for themselves, so they purchased tickets for a chariot ride to Ponyville.The ride was a mess in and of itself. The truck was late, the Pegasus was overly chilly towards the family, the flight was awful, and Silver Tongue almost died a number of times because of some careless pony!

“Are you crazy? That’s a bridge!” Silver Tongue would yell at the driver from time to time.

“Don’t worry about it man, it’s all good,” the driver pony would casually respond as the chariot arched away from the bridge or whatever object the pony seemed to be attracted to.

Eventually, they had all arrived at their destination, alive, but mentally scared and shaking.

“Hey, man, that’s going to cost like uh 300 bits dude,” said the overly relaxed Pegasus.

“You nearly killed us!” was the consensus among Silver’s family. But they paid the poor driver, excluding a tip, and watched as the chariot of death flew away in loops and dives, back to Manehattan to terrorize some other poor family.

“I need to get a life insurance policy for my family”, he thought miserably.

After the shakes had stopped, they looked around at their potential home. They had been dropped off in the town square, where there seemed to be a lack of ponies. As they searched, they found a zebra walking through town and decided to ask her if she knew where they might find the Charleston Mansion, the name of their house, but as soon as they approached her, the zebra cantered away, leaving them with dust to choke on.

After that failed attempt, they went to find it on their own. After an hour of searching, they happened across an orange earth pony with a western looking hat.

‘Dear Celestia, I hope all Ponyville ponies aren’t hicks,’ Silver thought grimly as the pony approached him and his family.

“Howdy ya’ll,” the tangerine pony said, “What can I do for ya’ll?”

The accent threw Silver Tongue off, but he politely responded, “We are looking for the Charleston Mansion. Do you happen to know where that might be?”

The orange pony took off her hat and scratched her head with her hoof, “Well I reckon it’ll be over by Sweet Apple Acres, that’s at least where I thought it was! Oh! I’m Applejack, sorry I forgot my manners! Ya’ll must be new to Ponyville.”

Silver caught a glance of her cutie mark as she turned around, trying to figure out the direction of the Mansion. It was three apples.

‘From big city to small, undeveloped, country life... This isn’t going to go well.’

He was becoming more and more skeptical of the move the more the orange scratched her head, with a blank look on her face. Silver introduced himself and his family after a look from his wife that urged him to be polite.

“I am Silver Tongue, this here is my wife, Morning Star, and our filly, Little Blossom. We are looking at buying the Charleston Mansion.” He wanted to keep the conversation to a minimum; he didn’t want this new pony to ramble on, on, and on.

Applejack suddenly lit up, “I remembered where this here Charleston Mansion be at! Why don’t ya’ll follow me and I can show you to it?”

“Can you just point us in the…” Silver Tongue was cut off by a sharp jab in his side from his wife.

“Yes, we would love it if you should us where it is, Applejack! It’s so kind of you to offer,” Morning Star said, while glaring at her husband. Silver Tongue looked sheepishly away, trying to hide his ever-growing red face.

As they trotted to the Mansion, Morning Star struck up a conversation with Applejack.

“So Applejack, where are all the ponies? We were dropped off in the town square and all we saw was a zebra.”

“Oh all the ponies are here, they just are out in the fields north of here,” Applejack said pointing behind Morning Star towards the town, “There was a birthday party for the mayor and all the ponies were invited. I decided to stay behind to catch up on some of the work at the farm.”

“That’s quite generous of you, but who was the zebra?” inquired Morning Star.

“That’s just Zecora, she comes to town occasionally,” Applejack replied.

The conversation continued between the two mares as they continued to walk down the dusty road towards the Mansion.

The whole time, Little Blossom and Silver Tongue were laughing and making faces at one another.

“I feel like I'm a little younger,” he thought as he raced after Little Blossom, who had tagged him.

The game of tag went on until they eventually arrived at the mansion. The house had a large front yard, with roses and a fountain that the previous owners had left. There was a lavish white porch, with rocking chairs and a swing. There were enough rooms to fit five ponies in it, so getting a large room was not going to be a problem for Little Blossom.

The rest of the day involved Applejack showing them the house and walking them through it. The whole time Silver had to keep his usually sharp tongue in check every time the country pony opened her mouth to talk. But the day ended, thankfully for Silver Tongue, and they said goodbye to Applejack, and awaited the chariot ride that they had scheduled. It eventually came, and they were taken back to Manehattan.

They purchased the mansion after calling the real estate agent and confirming the payment.

The day arrived for the move. Worry and anxiety had set in when the moving ponies that Silver had requested didn’t show up. So the search began and Silver had placed a call to one mare that could help him move: Derpy Hooves. He had represented Derpy Hooves in a previous case and had won, thus saving Derpy’s name, but when she couldn’t pay him, he decided to waive the fee. This was when Silver Tongue was just starting. But Derpy had never forgotten him and was happy to help her friend move, and she did a great job.

“Except for the broken chairs,” he thought bitterly. “But I can always buy new chairs.”

The packing was quick and the moving van was loaded in under four hours. For Silver, the worst had just begun. His biggest fear was that when he arrived in Ponyville, it would be the same as Manehattan, and the idea that he would leave everything behind, his reputation, his business, and start anew in the small, unimportant town of Ponyville.

“Is that all you need?”

A pony had appeared in front of him. He nodded in thanks.

“Thanks so much for helping us out, Derpy. We couldn’t have done this without you.”

She flew off in high spirits, thankful for the praise she had received, but anxious to get back to her filly whom she had left at home.

Silver turned back to the problem at hand: getting the van to Ponyville. He had made a few more calls and had finally gotten a team of Pegasi to help fly the van to their new house. He was worried that the Pegasi wouldn’t show up at all, leaving him and his family stranded with no house and no way to get to his new house. But sure enough, out of the sky came three Pegasi, accelerating towards them.

“I see’em! I see’em!” shouted Little Blossom, stating the obvious, as three ponies had crossed the sky and dipped towards the family. She looked up at her father and smiled. She had been the most supportive of their decision to move to Ponyville and couldn’t wait to meet new ponies and make new friends. The Pegasi circled the area where the van was parked and seemed to be conversing with one another, but one swooped down to talk to Silver Tongue.

“Hiya, my name is Rainbow Dash. Are you Silver Tongue?” The rainbow Pegasus inquired.

“Yes, that’s me. Are you the Pegasi from Ponyville?” He asked, trying to get a feel for the ponies who he would be living amongst.

“Yes we are! We got your request two days ago. We had a team scheduled to come out, but one of the members was ill and the other pegasi we out helping with weather and other moves, so I was forced to come and help. I usually don’t do this kind of work,” she said with a tone that suggested annoyance at the prospect of having to work, “I’m a speed machine, not a moving pony.”

“There is obviously some alpha-mare in her.” He thought as he looked at her.

“So we just need your team to get this van to the Charleston Mansion.” Silver said.

“Can do! I’ll just get the team going and we will be there in no time!” Rainbow Dash whistled and the two other Pegasi flew by her to grab the van. She took off as well in a flurry of colors that

made Silver’s head spin.

“What an interesting mare,” a voice said beside him.

He turned and saw his wife walk up right next to him.

“Superiority complex if I’m not mistaken,” she said.

“Nah, she’s just a show off,” he replied as Rainbow Dash did loops and tricks in the sky, creating brilliant patterns that seemed to add more and more color as she flew by for her one pony audience. Little Blossom was cheering Rainbow Dash on while the other Pegasi rolled their eyes and yelled at Rainbow Dash to come help pull the van. Rainbow stopped in mid-flight to stare at the other Pegasi, shrugged her shoulders, and flew to help pull the van to Ponyville.

The Pegasi took off and headed in the direction of Ponyville, and the family was left alone awaiting another dread chariot ride. The ride finally came, the family climbed on board, and waited for the chariot pony to issue the flight instructions.

“No hooves outside the chariot, no food, no yelling, no fighting, and no nonsense,” the Pegasus would keep droning on and on, but when he was finally done telling them the rules, he joyfully added, “If you fall, I can’t help you.” With that uplifting comment, the family gloomily lifted off and headed towards their new house in Ponyville, towards their new house.

Silver looked down, searching for a clock.

“What time is it honey?” he asked after failing to find any time telling device on the chariot.

“It’s 5:45 pm,” was the reply.

“Thanks.”