Chapter One: Verge
(Character theme: "Heart of Spring" by David Arkenstone.)
Mystic Heart Oatcakes woke, and saw the forest around her was lightening. Today was the day, and she would be in Ponyville shortly. She stretched and stood, shaking herself out. A farmer's early mornings would stand her well today. She smiled, thinking of what awaited her: Ponyville! A busy town full of ponies, and many new lessons for her sensitive heart and spirit.
After sipping the last from her canteen and having a couple of oatcakes for breakfast, she started walking down the road, mindful of other traffic that might be coming along. Not that it usually did, but Equestria was a busy nation, and somepony was almost guaranteed to come down the road every other day.
She stopped atop a hill and caught her third sight of Ponyville, ever. Mystic Heart looked back up the road toward her small and fading hometown two days' walk away, and said one last goodbye. Then she trotted onward, passing a friendly-looking cottage surrounded by wildlife just waking up, and into her new life.
(Character theme: "Venus" from the Music of the Spheres symphony, as played on the glass armonica, an obscure instrument invented by Benjamin Franklin.)
As one pony was entering Ponyville looking for a home, another was getting on the land coach to Ponyville for vacation. Lost Star had spent too many summers in Canterlot, and she knew she was going to go stir-crazy if she didn't get away, despite the size of the town. Few friends and too much studying had brought her low, with little to do and nopony to do it with. The richer ponies were headed to beachfront properties to enjoy lots of time in the sun and the surf, but Lost wasn't that rich. Still, the dark-colored pony had saved her bits, and she was looking at a nice, long vacation in Ponyville - almost two months, if she was careful, and longer if she rented her services for spending cash.
She had located a lovely bed and breakfast in town, and had sent a letter ahead inquiring about a room for the summer. The response was positive, and month-long renting was available. She'd have to help out with the chores now and then, but that was no big deal. Plans were made and finalized, and by this evening, Lost was going to be checking in and settling down to a smaller town and a slower pace. But while researching Ponyville, she discovered two interesting facts: The winner of last year's Best Flyer in Equestria competition lived there, and so did Twilight Sparkle.
Lost dreamed of having such a friend as a Princess, but she knew there was no chance of it. The few times she'd met Princess Celestia, the latter had been kind, but it was clear that there was no space for a second apprentice. And it was really an apprenticeship, even though the Princess called herself a "mentor"; there were few other words for a relationship so close between teacher and student. Lost Star wasn't jealous, though - it didn't seem that she was ever jealous of anypony. Rather, she idolized Twilight for it.
She reminded herself not to be a fanfilly when they met. And it would be a long vacation, so of course they'd meet. Then the coach surged ahead, and the long ride through White-Tail Woods began, the lurch bringing Lost's thoughts into the present. The ride was actually so comfortable that she fell asleep on the way.
(You know who's up next. Put on the Lordi, same song as the title of this tale.)
The load was too heavy, the sun was too bright, there were too many stops on the route, and the air was turbulent. Sky was no complainer or slacker, but her boss really was just about whipping her flanks over her schedule and the loads she was carrying. If she'd known when she was looking for work just what kind of a beast he'd turn out to be, she would have taken that job as the janitor in a grease factory. There just didn't seem to be any justice in it.
Story of my life, she thought one more time, then headed to her second delivery. It took only a half-hour to get there, but arguing over the delivery manifest at the first stop had made her late by ten minutes. The client at the second stop decided to yell at her about it.
The rest of the day went like that, every stop an angry customer with a pathetic excuse to take their noise out on the dark-blue pegasus hauling a double-wide trailer on her own. It was like her boss was giving her all the worst clients today... except that she'd had worse routes.
After a particularly ugly scene at a haberdasher's in Canterlot, where it turned out that the dock crew had placed several boxes of hats on the bottom of the load and gotten them crushed, she headed for what looked like her last stop: Ponyville. She almost never had trouble in Ponyville.
The sun was beginning to set when Sky Rattler landed for a rest. She brushed back her short, ratty pink mane, and almost fell to her knees. Her wings ached and her body was sore from the day-long effort. She was sure she had seen a strange dragon flying around in the south-east near Cloudsdale, where she currently lived. And she was only halfway to Ponyville.
Evening traffic was slow, and the forest was peaceful. She pulled the huge cart patiently until her wings were rested a bit, then leapt up and hauled the final delivery into the air. The address on the package said "Doorbell" in Ponyville, but Sky wasn't quite sure where that was. She'd have to ask for directions.
She hated asking for directions. But at least it was the last thing she had to do before heading back to base.
