Chapter 1 - Welcome to Ponyville
You wake up as the train comes to a halt. "Now arriving at Ponyville. We hope you enjoyed your ride, and have a great day," the conductor says as he opens the door leading outside. The air is just as cool and crisp here as it had been on the train ride, so you shift your hooded cloak and walk outside. You breathe in the fresh air and smile. Not a cloud in the sky, and the sun was only a little ways over the eastern horizon. Today was going to be a good day.
You enter the town, happy to be alive. Then your stomach growls loudly, and you realize you hadn't eaten since last night. You spy a pony walking on the same path and pick up your pace to catch her.
"Excuse me," you say, catching the yellow pegasus's attention. "Do you know-"
"Eeep!" she cries with a voice softer than a falling leaf. Half an instant later, she's disappeared under a park bench. You stare wide-eyed at her and decide it's probably best to leave her alone. Continuing down the path, you see a signpost leading in several directions. 'Sugarcube Corner' with a picture of a cupcake, 'Sweet Apple Acres' with a tree, 'Golden Oak Library' with an open book, and 'Carousel Boutique' with a dress. You think about each of the places until your stomach growls again, reminding you of your current mission.
"Sugarcube Corner it is," you think aloud. It doesn't take long for you to see your destination. Ponyville is relatively large for a village, but the roads don't meander too much. You see a grey pegasus walking out of the shop with her eyes closed and a broad smile on her face. She's carrying a bag of muffins with her. She floats into the air and- Are her eyes catawampus? How can she fly like that?
"Welcome! How may I help you?" Your eyes return to the ground, and you find yourself at the door of the shop. You smell the air. It has a scent of blueberries, sugar and a hint of flour. You rumble loudly and the mare at the counter chuckles a little. "It sounds like you're in desperate need of a bite. Perhaps a full cake, if that noise is anything to judge by. Here." She hoofs you a blueberry muffin. "Ditzy left this one behind."
"Thank you, uh..."
"Mrs. Cake." You nod and bite into... the... "How is it?"
"That was the best muffin I've ever eaten!" You could tell that a lot of love went into making that muffin, because in mere moments what used to be bread, sugar and blueberries was now a sadly empty hoof. "Can I get three more, please?"
"Certainly. That will be 6 bits." You reach into your satchel and draw the necessary change. In a moment, Celestia's ambrosia is squarely in your hooves. "Thank you, Mrs. Cake." Your hunger being sated, you begin to leave.
"You're very welcome. Come back soon!" she calls. You nod and walk out. The sun is approaching its midday height, warming the air a bit. It's still cool, but slightly more comfortable than before. You close your eyes and just let the wind caress you through your cloak.
After a few moments, you make your way toward the center of town. Not far off, you see Town Hall. Now that pleasure is over, you get down to the business of finding a house. You walk inside town hall, where a receptionist waits behind a small desk.
"Hello. If you're looking for Mayor Mare, you'll have to wait for a few moments. She's busy with preparations for the winter."
"Thanks, but I wasn't looking for the mayor. I just came into town and I'm looking for a house. Can you tell me if there are any that are available?" you ask.
"Certainly. One moment please," the receptionist replies. She opens her desk and shuffles through some files. "Yes, we have housing available. Would you like me to help you set up a residency?"
"That'd be great." As you work with the receptionist, two ponies come out of the back room.
"Really, Mayor. How could I ever say no to decorating Town Hall? It would be my pleasure." A white unicorn with an elegant, purple mane walked of the room first, followed closely by a beige pony with a white mane. That must be the mayor.
"Thank you so much, Rarity. You always do a good job, and I look forward to what you do with the building this year," said the brown pony.
"I will not disappoint you, Mayor." The one the mayor called Rarity left the building with a sparkle in her eyes, muttering something about drapery.
"Just sign here, please." Your attention is called back to the paperwork in front of you by the receptionist. You sign the document and slide the form back to her, and she hoofs you a key. "There you go. The address is on the keyring should you forget."
"Is everything in order?" the mayor asks.
"Yes, ma'am. Your receptionist has been helping me with a residency form," you respond.
"Ah, I see. Allow me to welcome you to Ponyville." You and the mayor shake hooves. "Have you met Pinkie Pie yet?"
"I don't think so." The mayor suppresses a smile.
"I see. Well, I wish you the best of luck when you do. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have more business to attend to. Have a nice day!" She waves and returns to her office. You nod to the receptionist and leave.
The sun has just rounded its apex, and there is still plenty to see in Ponyville, so you decide to take a stroll when all of a sudden...
"YOU!!" You turn your head just in time to see a cyan pegasus bearing down from the sky like a blitz. You try to jump out of the way, but she is too fast and your bodies crash together. "You scared Fluttershy!" When the two of you finally stop rolling, you find yourself on your back with the pegasus glaring down at you, nose to nose. Her mane is oddly colored like the rainbow. "How DARE you scare Fluttershy!"
"Are you talking about the yellow pegasus on the side of the road?" you ask, remembering the events of the morning.
"Exactly! I heard her 'Eeep!' and came flying, and she told me a pony in a hood scared her. You're the only pony I've seen all day wearing a hood, so it must be you!" The cyan pegasus shakes you like a foal shakes a birthday present.
"I-I'm so-orry-y I-I sca-ared her! Ju-ust st-oop sha-aki-ing me-e!" you blurt. The pegasus sets you down. The world looks like it's spinning around and around, somehow in two directions at once. You shake your head and the ground settles again.
"Don't. Ever. Scare. Fluttershy. I'm watching you." She puts her hooves to her eyes then points harshly at you before flying off in a streak of rainbow.
After the ordeal, you decide it might be best just to find your house and avoid risking the wrath of another pony. You look at the address on your key. Just one problem. You have no idea where the address even is. Well, you were going to go for a stroll anyways. May as well look for your house while getting to know that layout of the town.
You walk down the road. On your left, you see ponies at wagons selling winter clothes. Scarves, coats, boots, hats, even socks. To the right, you see groceries; the last of the harvest being bought and sold before the season changes. Beyond the market is a strip of shops for furniture, appliances, music. You make a mental note to come back here if your house isn't furnished already.
In the distance in front of you, you see a barn standing next to an orchard. You can't tell what kind of orchard it is, but the trees are too straight to just be a forest. To the left, you see a school house standing on a hill. Parents are collecting their foals from after school daycare and giving them ponyback rides. To the right, back toward the middle of town, you see a large tree with windows in it. There's a sign above the door that leads inside which says 'Golden Oaks Library'. Through the second floor window, you can see a lavender unicorn levitating some books around. Probably the librarian. And behind the library, you see rows and rows of houses.
"Excuse me, but is that residential area?" you ask one of the shopkeepers.
"Behind the library? Yes, that's it. Are you looking for somewhere in particular?"
"Yes. I'm looking for this address." You show the shopkeeper your key. She looks back at you and the sparkle in her eye begins to fade. She rummages through a bag behind the wagon for a moment, then touches something inside. A look of relief flashes across her face, but it's quickly replaced by one of disappointment. She returns your key.
"If you go straight from here past the tree, it's the third house on the right."
"Thank you." You leave the market place and make your way toward your new house.
"Okay, past the tree, third house on the right. Past the tr-" A deafening crash billows from the tree as you pass by. "What in Equestria?!"
"SPIIIIIIIKE!!" A little purple dragon with green scales rushes out the door and slams it behind him, his breathing heavy and his eyes wide with pinpoint pupils. Immediately, the little dragon sprints down the road. The door to the library flies open, revealing the purple unicorn you had seen earlier. Her striped purple mane was disheveled and her face was contorted into a crooked grin. "Hello there. Did you happen to see a little purple devil run by? Would you be a dear and tell me which way he went?"
"Sorry, I didn't see what happened," you lie as calmly as you possibly can.
"Okay then. I'll just have to hunt him. Thanks anyways." The unicorn darted in the opposite direction as the little dragon, but you choose not to correct her. "SPIIIIIIIIKE! WHERE ARE YOU?!"
You get away from there quickly, scuttling into the residential district. 1 house, 2 houses, 3. You look at the address on the house and match it to the one on the key. Your thoughts return to the shopkeeper. Her directions were very specific. Perhaps she knew somepony who lived there before. You make a mental note to ask her about it later, if you see her again. You insert the key into the lock and turn, opening the door.
The house is already furnished, much to your relief. There's a couch in the den, a small dining area off to the side, and a kitchen in the back. A flight of stairs leads to the second floor with two bedrooms, both furnished with a bed each, a nightstand and lamp, and a rack for hanging clothes. One of the rooms, however, looks like it hasn't been used for months while the other is relatively clean in comparison. Maybe the previous tenant had only recently moved out.
Either that, or somepony else also lives here and you have a house mate.
Anyways, it's been a long day and you want to relax, so you...
Chapter 2 - First Evening
You toss your cloak onto the rack and stretch out your stiff wings. It feels good to finally get them out into the open air after having them covered all day. You give them a few flaps to loosen them up.
But you immediately regret it. Dust flies everywhere as the stagnant air become agitated for the first time in months. It burns your nose and eyes and covers your fur. You back out of the room and close the door, sneezing and rubbing your eyes to get the particles out. That's when you realize it might not be the best time to relax just yet. That room really needs to be cleaned before it can become livable.
You search for supplies. A vacuum, rags, maybe a bucket, but nothing of the sort is upstairs. Then you notice the tracks you're leaving behind with every step and decide to clean yourself off. You almost go to the bathroom, but then an idea pops in your head. There's a better way to get clean: Pegasus style. You brave the room again (remembering to hold your breath), open the window, stretch your wings, and leap outside. You go slow at first, letting your wings warm up a bit before working them.
As you fly leisurely over Ponyville, you look back over everywhere you had been. The market is just beginning to disperse as a few wagons break off from the group. Shopkeepers turn out the lights in their stores and lock the doors behind them. Fluttershy walks toward a cottage on the outskirts of town. The crazed lavender mare from earlier looks much more stable now, and the little dragon is sitting on her back as they head toward the library. In the distance, an orange mare and a large red buck trot to a barn after appearing from the orchard. Everypony looks happy and peaceful.
Now that your wings have warmed up, it's time to wipe the dust off your flank. You point your head forward and let your wings explode, shooting you like a streak across the sky. You close your eyes and let the wind flow across your body, clearing the dust as you think back on the day. Moved to a new town, tasted excellent muffins, found a place to live, met some strange ponies. Even with accidentally scaring Fluttershy and getting tackled, today had been a good day.
"Eeek!" Your eyes snap open at the sound to find yourself bearing down on a grey pegasus, mere seconds away from crashing.
"Whoa!" You swerve off to the side, narrowly avoiding the mare. Unfortunately, the sudden action throws off your balance and sends you careening down to the ground. A small dust cloud puffs around the impact site. "Ouch... Landed the wrong way on that one." You climb slowly back to your hooves and shake your head free of any remaining stars floating around. You hear a small thump nearby.
"Are you okay?" You look up to see the pegasus you nearly hit staring worriedly at you. She seems familiar, but you can't quite remember why.
"Yea, I'm fine," you reply.
"Oh, good." She breathes a sigh of relief and smiles. Then she blinks, and her eyes wonk out. "I'm glad you aren't hurt."
"Hey, I know you. You're the mare who bought the muffins. Ditzy, right?" you ask, your memory jogged as soon as you see her eyes.
"Have we met?" she asks in response, cocking her head to the side.
"Not before now. I saw you flying out of Sugarcube Corner earlier today. Mrs. Cake told me your name."
"Oh. What's your name?"
"I'm Reader."
"It's nice to meet you, Reader!" she says bubbly, taking your hoof and shaking it. She looks at your cutie mark, an open book with a ribbon slid between the pages, with one of her cocked eyes. "Does your cutie mark have something to do with reading?"
"Probably." She nods in understanding.
"My daughter likes to read too. She-- Oh My Gosh, my daughter! I have to go!" Without warning, Ditzy flies off, leaving you standing alone and slightly frazzled.
"Well, that was... interesting," you think aloud.
You give your wings a few test flaps to make sure they still work after your crash. They're still a bit sore, so you decide to walk through the park where you landed. You can hear the strumming of a harp nearby, plucked by a minty green unicorn sitting oddly on a park bench. Beside her lies a yellow earth pony with her eyes closed, just listening to the melody. A purple pony with a pink and bright pink mane strolls down the path from the school house and nods appreciatively at the two.
Another noise catches your ear. A low buzz, along with the slight creaking of spinning wheels.
"Scoots, watch out!" Suddenly three little fillies burst over a nearby hill. Two of them are sitting in a wagon, while the third drives them around with her noticeably under-developed wings. The three roar down the path, nearly barreling into you.
"Hey, watch where you're going!" you call after them, but they are already too far gone. Fearing what else may happen while trapped on the ground, you give your wings another test flap.
They feel fine, so you lift into the air and resume your flight, making sure to remember to keep your eyes open this time. Off you shoot, the wind clearing the dirt from the crash. Your wings beat powerfully, steadily, forcing the air past your body like two paddles on a canoe. Your fur ripples on your skin, tugging gently in waves. Your eyes become focused, and your breathing becomes calm and rhythmic.
"Hey, that's not bad form." You glance to the side to see the pegasus who tackled you earlier. "You've got that look in your eyes that says, 'Look out world. I'm a Pegasus!' I like it." You notice she's flying on her back with her hooves crossed behind her head.
"And you aren't even trying. Either that or you're just trying to show off." She grins and waves a hoof.
"Of course I'm not trying! If I were, you'd be eating my dust," she boasts. You notice the sun beginning to set. It's just about time to go home, but you owe this upstart for tackling you earlier and now for insulting your speed. You decide to...
