Hippo

Silverstream shook in place, inadvertently grabbing onto Gallus in order for her mind to cling to her reality. She heard it speak creepiness, but was brave enough to question it's purpose. "C-c-c-collect? Collect what!? Collect our souls!!?" Silverstream shouted. In her peripheral vision, she could see Prince Blueblood approaching them, asking what the shouting was for. "There's a skeleton trying to collect us!"

"Oh, hehe. I joke, I joke. There is no lion story. We tame them out of village life pretty well. Although a friend of mine had a cub that slashed at my hind leg a while back, but that mark has long since healed. Paka bubu." Zareb walked closer to the front door of the school. Much like the Castle of Friendship, it seemed more majestic than most capital buildings he had seen in other pony cities. The mountains behind the school drained fresh water through the school, giving it a sense of nature held harmony. There were many doors around the outside of the building, one he hoped he would explore some day. Considering many of the well-built huts from his home village typically only had one or two rooms, the idea of a building big enough to have an entire village within its walls gave him an exciting yet intimidating feeling. "How many of the students and teachers live here?"

As Zareb listened to the Prince, he began wondering if he misunderstood the pony's role. Was he also a teacher? He seemed to be, at least he contained some sort of teaching skill as it related to society and ethics. And though the pony may have seemed to fill more than one role, he was simultaneously suggesting that ponies in Equestria were raised to only have one role, or rather that professions covered everything a civilization needed, and one did not need to specialize in more than one skill. Zareb's first thought was to how boring that might be, for a pony to only have one interest worth furthering. But maybe he misunderstood. Certainly ponies are allowed to expand their skills sets beyond what is recommend to them by society.

"First, I am not offended, don't worry." He laughed. "Inachekesha. It's perfectly understandable that it would be different here. I couldn't imagine young ponies could have built this masterpiece. But I thought I would include my question about it's founding with a story from my own. I think that when villages are too small to have professions of many kinds, it requires everyzebra to combine efforts to build and serve. Any failure to do so would put the village at risk of the harsh elements. Which might be another reason our societies are different. Ponies here might have more time to explore their talents, when they are not constantly being chased by wildlife." Zareb said slyly. "Would you like to see my lion scar?"

Silverstream had mistakenly forgotten her classmate here needed help from her doodad in order to turn back into a griffon. She blushed and returned to the water to give him the touch he needed to give him back his original form. Once they were both out of the water and standing on the rocky surface of the cave, she responded to him suggesting how much they had in common, all while look at the wet hair on his hind legs standing up trying to reject the water they had to endure until he was dry. "Uh, yeah. Practically twins." Silverstream related with Gallus on flying, but the truth is, someone like Headmare Twilight had spent more days flying than she did. Most of her life was spent in a corral reef underwater, only recently had she been able to explore her hippogriff nature, typically with the same kind of enthusiasm of learning new things she found while she was attending the school. She wondered if Gallus was too different from her. She knew he was a friend, but could there be any room for closer relationships with others from another wing of life?

"I figured you have dealt with enough culture shock for one day, and wanted to give you the opportunity to escape it. I could have introduced you to my father in order to allow you to use the spare nest on the mountain top, but we can do that tomorrow. There's no telling how many hours he will spend lecturing you on tactical findings in the hippogriff navy." She rolled her eyes, attempting to inform Gallus that this cave was less a memory and more a chance to breathe. She knew her kind could be vexing, especially to somegriff who hadn't been part of a closely-knit familial culture until this year.

"When the sun comes up, we can return to the station and get our bags, and I can show you Mount Aris. We got a whole day ahead of us." Silverstream sat down, contemplated the awkwardness of sharing the cave with Gallus, and then laid down. She kept view of Gallus in case he objected to it.

As they walked out of the castle and towards the school, Zareb began taking in the interesting architecture of the building, and guessed it had not been an old building, as cracks had not formed in any walls, and vines were not crawling over it as much as many of the other buildings he had seen in Ponyville. "Did students build the school? Back home in my village, when a storm would knock down buildings and poorly-made huts, students attending the school would be expected to build up the walls to a new school, and maybe even offer their labor to elderly who were too old to rebuild their homes. It used to be, a young zebra would have to perform a task of heavy labor to their village in order to receive education from the wisest of our elders, and to refuse work would label you as a villager with no work ethic and thus not deserving of teaching. Wavivu!" He expected not, but he was interested in the story involving the building of the school and how long it may have taken.

"Oh." Silverstream looked down at the wrench. "Good. Yes, that'll do." The wrench was a five-sixteenths hoof wrench with ratcheting which didn't seem to work properly, probably because the tool was well used. She was sure the griffin tried hard to find what she asked for, it was more likely that the apple farm hadn't organized their toolsets in a while than Gallus being completely incompetence. At least that's what she told herself. "See this broken cog wheel?" Silverstream held up a splintered wooden cog up, that was about the size of her head. "We'll need a piece of wood that is big enough to carve a replacement part in this exact shape. If you can, try and find some hardwood. If you can't, I'm sure a nice balsa wood would be fine." Silverstream said as she looked down at the rest of the treadmill parts, trying to fit different pieces to get an idea of how this thing could be put back together.

Cider press #3 repair: 80%

Apple Chord listened carefully at the interaction between Azure and Coloratura. She found the subtle truths in their voice linger and their coy sentence fragments. But then something stunned Apple Chord. She did not know Coloratura had three siblings. Why did she never talk about them? Did she have songs about her family? It was hard to imagine a Countess Coloratura song during her heavy pop phase having lyrics that hinted towards togetherness and the warmth of family. She would never know if she never asked, and she planned on it, after whatever activity the star was wanting to do next. "Why, sure! I'd love to." She put her own headphones on. "But the only range I know is the home that's on it." She said jokingly, as if to suggest she didn't know what vocal exercises were. Although Apple Chord would never object to it, she wondered if the famous singer was trying to mask her vulnerable image with a well-known professional action. Voice exercises were helpful but they didn't help a pony sing from the heart.

"That's okay." Zareb responded to Blueblood's offer. "I wouldn't feel good about intruding on students and teachers wisdom-seeking just because of my curiosity." Zareb finished the apple juice with no grace, and set the cup on the table. "Twendi!" Zareb stood up but waited for Blueblood's direction on where to go next. Seeing as there were servant ponies who seemed to have tasks to help visitors, he was anticipating an overly unnecessary mode of travel that would take them to the school, like a fancy carriage or a magical spell of teleportation.

Silverstream did not like this plan. However, she could not think of anything else. She followed Gallus' lead slowing gliding and flaking downwards, checking for hiding young ponies in the clouds she passed. The descent seemed illogical. If he had come down this far, it was likely he went all the way down. The sky and ground underneath Rainbow Dash's place was mostly empty, a small pool of rainbow water that fell from the cloudominium was the only feature worth mentioning. "Do you think he fell in the rainbow water? Can he swim? Can you even swim in rainbow water? Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever touched rainbow water before." Fluttering next to the rainbow fall, she stuck her claw out and made contact with the stream. Her talon instantly turned multiple colors. The water ran off her claw easily, but the stain from the water stayed momentarily longer than it felt. She sniffed her talon, it smelled like nothing. She licked her talon and immediately got a tangy sensation all over her mouth. "Wow! That is not what I expected." She rubbed her neck. "Probably not something you mix into your drinks."

Granola smiled at the kind unicorn mare. She was friendly, and not spooked like a lot of other ponies that come to Ponyville, either in a move or for visiting. She smiled back at her when she revealed her name. "And my name is Granola Gracie. But most ponies that know me well call me Nola. You can call me whichever. It was great to meet you, Angelis!" The brown earth pony continued to fasten her goods for presentation, making sure none of them were dried our or being harmed by the shade of the tents and buildings around. Granola assumed the pony would have to be on her way, but she could help her with more if she needed. In case she was to walk away, she spoke up about the lavender seeds she sold to her. "Lavender grows well in dry soil. So if you have a spot in your small plot that gets too much sun, that's where you'll want them. They will grow more than half the year if the weather ponies don't make it rain too much."

((The following is a joint post between @RainbowFoxxy, @SteelEagle, @PrinceBlueblood, and @Hippogriff))

Before Zap Apple could get a response from Moonlight, his mother Rainbow Dash walked out towards him and asked him if he wanted to meet his sister. "Yes. I have a snack for Mommy." Zap understood the word sister, but he did not understand the weight of such a term and how it would apply to him. Plus, he had this apple snack. Wasn't that more important?

Moonlight Glitter could hear the cry of the newborn and she so desperately wanted to go in to see the newest Apple of all, but she knew it wasn't her time. With Zap Apple's attention taken by his mother, Moonlight took her leave as she trotted excitedly back to the rest of those waiting. This included Apple Bloom, who was now bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as she hopped in place. "Moon, are they allowin' us in?" Apple Bloom asked, though the inference in her voice was that allowance was optional.

"Do you hear her crying? Oh my Twilight she is so precious! Well, like, I bet so. Rainbow is taking Zap in now."

Meanwhile, Applejack was still unconscious, clutching her daughter dutifully. Rainbow put her hoof lightly on Zap's back, leading him into the room. It was quiet in her and warm too. Just the right sort of place for her family to be all together in the world for the first time. "Mama is still asleep Zappers. Let's try to be quiet." She walked up and softly nuzzled AJ. "AJ, Zappers is here to meet his little sister." She smiled, her heart swelling. She was pretty sure Zap wouldn't get the whole picture of what was happening but that was ok.

Into the delivery room, Zap couldn't see over the bed, so he climbed on Rainbow's back and leaned on her head to get a look at Applejack and the new family member. Applejack's eyes fluttered open lightly. She looked rather awful- matted with sweat, her eyes sunken with effort- and she was still breathing haggardly. But all the same her eyes fluttered open as she tried to give a weak smile. "There's...mah colt, mah big col," she muttered, arm weakly pulling him in. "Say...hi ta...yer lil' sis..."

Zap stepped onto the bed and Applejack pulled him closer, he replied, "I got apple snacks for you. Me and Uncle Big Mac got them from the vending machine." But then he looked over at the wrapped foal unicorn next to Mommy, and gained a small level of confusion. "Sister?" He stared at her, the tiny filly showing subtle movements but otherwise peaceful. She was a lot smaller than Zap could have possibly imagined. Everything up until this point was bigger than him. He paused at the sight of something significant that was smaller than him.  "Whoa. she's so tiny."

"Aww, thank ya. Mama loves...apples," Applejack sniffed, whether it was due to trying to withhold tears or due to exhaustion-induced hysteria she couldn't tell. She gently played with his mane as she nodded. "She...sure is so tiny, just a lil'...foal. Just like...you were," she said giving her daughter a kiss. Then the exhaustion started to overrun her again, and her head fell back. "Zap, Mama's so...tired, heh. RD...?"

During all this, Ambrosia's first cry had been soothed by her subsequent first feed, which had probably not helped AJ's exhaustion.  But once the shock of greeting the world had been soothed by food, she was keen to look out on the world, seeking out the voices she'd remembered, back through the walls of the warm place.  "Ra- za?"  She turned, this way at that, looking up at the large shapes she didn't yet recognize as her family.

RD just watched as AJ introduced Zap. It was heart warming but she had a pang of worry. Applejack had never looked so completely spent. Rainbow touched Zap then Ammy then AJ and smiled, a single tear in the corner of one eye. After a few moments and Ammy's small wondering noises she scooped Zappers up softly. "Mama needs to rest now buddy. She loves the snack you brought her." She spoke softer still. "We love you big guy."

"Why is she so tired?" Zap continued his confusion of the situation, he couldn't get a clear understanding of why Mommy was in so much pain. He knew the baby was forming inside of her tummy, but he hadn't expected this dramatic of an ordeal because of a foal so small. He figured he had no choice but to trust his rainbow mother and allow her to pull him away. "Okay."

Zap walked back with a confused look on his face. He didn't completely understand why his parents were both so happy and tired at the same time. Once back in the waiting room, the rest of the ponies looked frantically at Zap as he entered the room. Why were they so excited to see him? He'd take it.

((Anyone is free to continue as we sort of reset the post order here.))

"Just got back from Mount Aris. Me and the guys were sent out there to consult with their council about their weather patterns. They still aren't sure if they want us to cloud bust for them." Zap rolled his eyes at the bureaucratic nature of his job. "Might have to go out there again next week." Zap had landed an internship at the weather factory and eventually became staff in their licensing committee. It wasn't glamourous, in fact Zap really didn't like it all that much, but his mother's connections were able to give him stability in an occupation while he figured out what he wanted to do long term, which according to him changed daily based on his mood, and his confidence. Fortunately, he still had plenty of time, and many of his friends his age were basically in the same holding pattern.

"How's work on the farm? Little Mac kicking trees yet?" Zap sometimes helped out on the farm during peak season. The farm was mostly operated by the earth ponies of the family, and sometimes Ambrosia when she required punishment.

As Moonlight ended her ramble, Applejack couldn't help but pipe in an addition. "Is he honest, though?" She chuckled.

Applejack was slightly concerned. She had never heard a filly of any age speak this much about a young stallion's back half. Well, except maybe from Granny Smith during one of her Las Pegasus trips, but that was a wildcard situation. "You uh, sure do like a good flank, huh?" Applejack knew stallions and the masculine variety of most species for that matter were way more vision oriented than fillies. But she had to remind herself that Moonlight, while she absolutely qualifies for being a filly, might have some of her colthood carried over into her new ponysona. And then she realized, what colthood. Applejack involuntarily chuckled to herself of her own thoughts. "Moonlight, you ever think that maybe his flank ain't the most important thing? But let's talk about the flustered aspect of it. I used to love getting colts that had a crush on me goofy by me just pretending that maybe I liked them. But then after realizing that was kind of mean, I also realized I didn't usually get honesty from them. Sometimes a colt who isn't completely obsessed with you is a good thing. But then if they don't care, then they don't care, right?" She chuckled, knowing full well not even she knew what she was talking about completely. She was in Rarity territory of this subject matter. She kicked a few more trees as Moonlight responded to her. Applejack's muscle memory could keep her ears unoccupied to Moonlight's teenage explanations.

Paying close attention to Bluebelle, Silverstream couldn't help but comment on her suggestions from experience in application of her own life. "No." She giggled. "I don't think so. But, if they aren't sending letters or anything like that, does that mean they aren't interested?" Silverstream wore a concerned look. She felt a lack of control of the situation, either because she was raised with the idea that being female meant you were more along for the ride than the one pulling the ropes, but maybe also because she was born into a royal family that had many other traditions involving courtship and organized family structures, up to and including arranged marriages. Traditions did die over time though, just like Mount Aris culture prior to the Storm King's invasion.

Smolder added in her own concern that Silverstream related to, although she hadn't thought about it until now. "Yeah what if he's not a hippogriff or seapony? I think my parents assume that I would eventually end up with someone from either Seaquestria or Mount Aris. They're cool enough to include lifestyles in and out of the water. But I don't think they would ever had expected me to go on a date or something like that with someone I met here at the school." Silverstream pointed at Smolder in example. "It wouldn't seem strange to me if Smolder hit it off with some changeling she met, but I can't imagine the dragon kingdom or changeling hive would like it that much."

Silverstream daydreamed on her royal issues. She hesitated, but then point towards Bluebelle. "You're a Princess, and Prince, and whatever. Are you obligated to end up with someone else who's a royal? And what would happen if you didn't?" Silverstream was not all that close to the throne in Seaquestria, but she sometimes wondered what her obligations were with her kind. Only recently has it really mattered or changed.

The trees were mostly naked in front of Zap as he continued on his little trot. He had hopelessly fell behind everypony. He wasn't even sure he was going in the right direction, but there were enough hoofprints in the dirt that aided him in continuing on the path the race was designated. He made one final turn out of the winter-ready forest and down a small slope towards the finish line, where hundreds of ponies were celebrating the ending of the running. A few pegasus ponies were even cheering him on as the backmarker to the race, allowing at least some semblance that no effort would go unnoticed.

But would he be noticed? He spent the day running alone in the forest instead of doing the small cleaning chores his mother had asked him to help with as it pertained to the catering of the event. Maybe it would be best if he hadn't been noticed, maybe enough recognition of the colt's whereabouts would plant him firmly in the corner staring at the wall before supper.

However, he was famished, and he would not be able to resist an ice cold apple juice or a fresh juicy pear or even a lukewarm cup of water. Water! He hated plain old water! Zap could not believe how exhausted he was. He had never been this strained. After all the times he was said to have too much energy, these ponies that all ran ahead of him seemed to have more in the tank than the young colt. Maybe not now, but soon, maybe even next year, he would look forward to the day he finally runs with everypony else, and take his true aim as the first pony across the finish line. Just like his mother.

He spotted a drink table and fluttered over to it. Though his legs were rubbery, his wings were relaxed and ready to do the rest of the work for his mode of travel. He grabbed a cup and started drinking from it.

Even Granny Smith knew how important it was for her family to participate in Ponyville functions. Sweet Apple Acres owes it's livelihood to the nearby pony town, and vice versa. That is why even though Big Mac had extra chores for the day, he was allowed to make time out of his busy day apple harvesting to visit the town center to cast his all too important ballot for the Mayoral election. With plenty of midday energy to spare, he made his way into the building where he would wait for his turn to pull the lever, or mark the dot, or punch the hole, or whatever system they were using to tabulate votes this time around.

Once he saw an open voting booth, he stepped into it and pulled out the ballot paper. Carefully with his mouth, he grabbed a pen and marked the candidate of his choosing. To him, the vote was easy. There were things Big Mac thought about a lot in terms of how things should be run, or how citizens should be empowered, but between the candidates that were competing, only one of them gave the obvious promise of their cooperation with the farm, and more importantly Big Mac's self-interest as it relates to the things he loves the most. Well, maybe the thing he loves second to most. Once he was done with his decision, he folded his ballot and shoved the ballot into the collection box. He did not need to think too hard about who he was voting for. And in case he wasn't sure, his family might have convinced him otherwise.

Granola walked into the voting area with unnecessary nerves. She always got more nervous about everything than was ever warranted. The mayoral candidacy left a sour taste in Granola's mouth every time she thought about it. First of all, she thought about running herself to lead the town. And why not her? She had great ideas, and once everypony else knew about her ideas, they might agree. Except that was the problem, she was always short of being able to execute popular opinion. Her philosophy, and her way of life even, was very niche, and not known to most ponies, probably due to the fact that she lived off the beaten path, spending a great deal of her time among the trees in the forests.

And that is why she felt important to cast a ballot today. Despite not being able to file enough paperwork and coral enough financial support, or do anything that amounted to evidence towards involving herself in a race for mayor, the issues on the ballot regarding the candidates hung on her heart. There were issues that the previous mayor never addressed and the ignorance of ponies related to the some of the more creature and monster-related problems are the town never got a good shake. So today, to make her voice heard, she would vote for the candidate that she thought would consider more about the balance of nature around the town. Too many times have Granola's plant experiments been ruined all because some ponies near the town decided to offer all the foliage in the area as a buffet to hundreds of rodent families. Well not any more!

She stepped into a booth and began making her decision with a pen in her mouth. She felt good that she was helping make real change, and that she could do it without shouting obscenities on rooftops to ponies in the marketplace that would undoubtedly turn her into the village nitwit. She folded the paper, and placed it into the ballot box. Maybe next time she would run for mayor, when the new mayor inevitably fails to follow through on campaign promises.

Big Mac nodded and tugged on his nephew's tail to follow him to the hospital cafeteria to look for the snacks Rainbow Dash suggested. He didn't waste time asking his nephew, he knew a physical pull would be required to get Zap's attention in a situation like this. He assumed there was a delay with Applejack's status, so instead of giving the young and misunderstood a chance to fret, keeping them busy with a task might prevent any possibility that the orange colt would involve himself in any unnecessary stress. The two gentlecolts made their way from the waiting area to a room filled with many vending machines. Big Mac walked up to one of them and slid a coin into the slot.

"Are there apple snacks in this one?"

"Eeyup."

"Can I hit the button?"

"Eeyup."

Zap fluttered up to get a view of the food items in the vending machine, and upon a quick browse, found what looked like a small pouch of sliced apples. He inspected the icon it was labeled next to, and looked for the corresponding button. "This one?" He asked his uncle.

"Eeyup."

Zap flew into the button and then looked inside the vending machine to watch it dispense the apple slices. Without a hitch, the snack fell into the reach-in slot and Zap grabbed it. Big Mac allowed his nephew to carry the snack, it was after all, just a distraction. Giving the colt something to do was a good idea, thanks to Rainbow's quick mitigation. He only hoped it was enough time to stall what would prove to be a difficult cry for attention from the young pony. And even if it was a short trip, at least he had something to carry.

Slowly but surely, Big Mac and Zap Apple made their way back into the waiting area. Just as they came back, Moonlight walked into the waiting room from the delivery room. Zap fluttered towards her distance cousin. "Moony, I have a snack for Mommy."

Zap had slowed his pace to the rhythm of everypony's attention towards helping those across the bridge, which was now in a thousand pieces downstream. It took him a minute to soak in the idea that it was the same slabs of wood he ran across. His mothers would be so mad at him for being here. Supposedly, Applejack was preparing for the ceremony after the race. What what the face of his mother look like if she saw him cross that finish line coming out of the tree line. Better yet, what would her reaction be if crossed that finish line first?

As the daydreams conflicted Zap, he followed all of the bigger ponies up the trail to a break in the woods, where wide open fields could be seen. Zap remembers this place, it was one of the family's favorite camping spots. The flatter paths encouraged the stronger ponies to gallop faster, and they began pulling away from him. Even his auntie, who had a bigger stride than him, was trying to close the gap in on the soldier ponies. As the path joined with the path from higher ground, he saw more ponies to compete with, including a bat pony, who would have looked a little scary had he not been full blush.

It became obvious that the older ponies had a bigger stride than him. All he could do is move his little legs as rapidly as he could. Fortunately for him, Zap seemed to never run out of energy. So instead of slowing down from feeling defeated, he decided to keep to his own pace and try and take in the wonderful nature surrounding the running of the leaves.

Bridge

There seemed to be three separate gusts Zap could feel on his wing's feathers. They were still folded to his sides, but they could sense everything, just like Mother said they would when she taught him how to be aware of his surroundings. One of the movements of air came from above. The manufactured weather the pegasus ponies created was moving in, and it was borderline overkill. Applejack was right, they never did check for quality when it came to producing storms for the wilderness where no pony lives. The second movement was from the water. Oddly, the raising of the water level of the stream seemed to change something about the pressure of the air. Zap learned, again from his rainbow-maned mother, that every pegasus has an internal altimeter, the senses in their ear can tell within a margin of error how close a flying pegasus was to the ground. In this case, the ground, or water seemed to be getting closer. The last disturbance of gaseous molecules was coming from the sides, particularly the side that was closest to the opposite side of the bridge. The other ponies were speaking out to him, the purple one shouted urgently about Apple Bloom beating him.

Zap daydreamed for a few seconds longer, until he snapped out of it and saw his feathers starting to get weighed down by the moisture that found itself on him. He looked frantically around and realized he was on a failing bridge. Everypony was almost on the other side of the bridge, and he needed to be with them, if for not the race's sake, but for the brilliant idea that he would not be swept away and finally get that swimming lesson his mother always promised him for. Today was not the day for swimming though, Zap had too many other plans, like beating ponies six times his age at a hoofrace.

Zap painlessly tiptoed his weightless hooves across the rest of the bridge and found himself next to Apple Bloom. "This is fun, Auntie B!"

Bridge Crossed

Bridge

Zap's senses were whelmed with the sights, sounds, and smells of the forests. With orange and red hues, they all clapped their leaves while cheering him on as if they were fans of the ponies that shared their colors. As his soft hooves pitter-pattered on the dusty path, the first wooden pallets buried in the dirt marked out the beginning of the brook's bridge. He didn't slow down much as his paced onto the bridge, but he did notice how his hoofsteps were echoing against the ravine walls that now set directly below him. The rushing water and the sound of the other ponies stampeding also added to the ambience.

As Apple Bloom and Pinkie Pie ran next to him, he felt protected to some extent, which to him was not necessary. He rather enjoyed the loneliness for the short time he executed the ambitions he made about being involved in the running. Auntie seemed a little fretted and out of breath. Even Zap could tell that was a bad sign it being this point of the race, they were only about halfway right? Pinkie Pie was less visibly exhausted, but that was typical. Zap knew the pink pony well, she was always around when there was a big party, especially his birthday. She was also what led to Zap Apple being ultimately confused as to what it meant to be a cousin. It took a half hour inquisitive conversation with his mother in order for him to realize that technically everypony is a cousin if you went back far enough. And these other ponies on the bridge with him, the pegasus with the white socks, or the purple one with the messed up horn, or that stallion who looks like he takes himself too seriously. Were they his cousins, too?

He didn't really react much to the other ponies, except for showing an involuntary smile to share his pleasure with the attention they were giving him. But as they crossed the bridge, Zap was distracted so much with the scenery that he slowed to a stop on the mist-covered bridge and looked over it at the rush of water that flowed through it. He could hear the clouds rumbling in the distances as they casted a large shadow over the ravine, and he could smell the fragrances of churning water and damp soil. "Whoa." He whispered to himself, staring at the fierceness of the water building. He had no idea what the living ravine was doing. Was it singing a song? Was it like the trees? Was it also cheering him on?

Bridge

"I'm a big pony!" Zap stated it as if he was having an argument. He dare not let another older pony tell him he wasn't old enough to participate, even though it would have come from the best Auntie in the world. Zap may not have fully understood Apple Bloom's lived experiences dealing with an older sister who did everything more amazing than her. His only perspective gave him a few glimmers of opportunity, and foolish or not, Zap decided that this dusted path that weaved through many forests for the next several miles was one offered to him.

Zap couldn't lie though, having his Auntie with him did make him feel better, and if the pack of ponies got away from him, he would at least not accidentally take a different unused path and get lost. When the road ahead forked, Zap could only see the kinds of ponies that took them. To the higher road, he saw ponies who looked normal and flirtatious. Going towards the brook's bridge, he saw ponies that looked like they normally wore armor. There was no doubt which direction he would choose. He was not a wimp, he was an apple. And maybe not now, but eventually he would prove to be one of the toughest ponies ever. Why wait for an opportunity to prove that, when it seems a moment has come to illustrate that to the world?

He scampered towards the bridge and noticed immediately the depth that the bridge upheld. It wasn't that significant for Zap, who had been to cloud tops with his pegasus mother before. In fact it was pretty serine. The calm water underneath the bridge made him feel more calm about participating.

Fluttershy comfortably trotted to the town center to cast her ballot for the next mayor. She wasn't typically involved in these kinds of functions, she was afraid of the ponies she didn't vote for finding out she didn't vote for them. But her friends encouraged her that it was important for her to vote her interests and that it would be completely anonymous if she wanted.

With Angel resting in her mane to keep her calm, Fluttershy entered the building and made her way to an unoccupied voting booth. Once there, she hesitantly looked around to see if anyone was looking at her. Once confident, she took a ballot and began making her choice. Her choice was mostly made based on the aggressive moves one of the candidates seemed to make towards the thing she loves most, animals. It wasn't so much that she was voting for somepony, but rather voting against somepony. But she had to vote her conscious and she was determined to make it official.  Once she checked the box she intended, she carefully placed it into the ballot box.

Behind her, Angel had found a scrap piece of paper, scribbled on it, and shoved it into the ballot box. Fluttershy wasn't sure his vote would even count, but she felt it was necessary to at least make him feel like it could. After the ballots were submitted, Fluttershy walked out of the town center and made her way back to her cottage. She couldn't gain any extra energy to speak to the candidates there, she felt awkward about speaking to them after she released the pressure that had been built up inside the decision she made.

He had totally forgotten about the race today. Once he finished the little chores around the farm, he heard horns and commotion down the road near the starting line for the annual Ponyville Running of the Leaves. Once he zipped there, he pushed through the crowds of ponies to see the beginning, and noticed it hadn't started yet.

For what seemed like his whole life (forever), he had heard about the legends of his mothers' accomplishments. Rainbow Dash's Wonderbolt legacy, Applejack's rodeo trophies. Speed records, endurance championships, title holders. It wasn't just one of them that were esteemed, the both were! Zap was constantly reminded of how amazing his parents were and are. And though he had forgotten the race was due to start today, he had never forgotten the stories his mother told him about the times she lost with Rainbow Dash, the times she almost won, and the time when she won it all. A true heart-stopper of a journey in a pony's athleticism, and it was his own mother!

While these thoughts of success running in the family filled his head, he caught eye of his Auntie Apple Bloom at the start line. He could just make her out, even though she was hard to find among the taller ponies around her. Zap would jump and flutter in place to get a good look. But right as the whistle blew for the start of the race, Zap had made a conscious decision in his mind, one he felt he couldn't possibly regret.

He wanted to compete. He wanted a piece of the glory.

He spilled out of the group of spectators and could be seen running in the wake of the ponies across the start line. He couldn't see the path, only the dust that picked up from the hooves ahead of him. He hoped to at least catch up with his Auntie. He wouldn't even try to use his wings. Even if he could use them for a quick burst of speed, he knew from all of Rainbow Dash's stories about herself that for the leaf running, wings were banned for pegasi to use, and if Applejack caught him cheating, he might never live to eat another apple again.

Remington blushed with slight embarrassment at his display of affection. It could be a cover for him just liking the music, which was all too true. He loved that record. But the thrill of his little performance was more of an ability to psych himself for how he felt about the mare in his room, even if the lyrics were subject to ambiguous interpretations. He saw and heard Moonlight giggle, and as the song ended and she scooted herself towards the desk, he realized she wanted to get down to business. But Remington wasn't done with the pleasantries just yet. He hesitated a moment, but then quickly took the needle off the turntable to keep the music from playing the next song. "Um, Moonlight?"

Remington stood in front of Moonlight who was patiently waiting for him to sharpen his pencil. He swallowed excess saliva in his mouth nervously. "There is something I need to tell you." He looked down as if the words he wanted to say were written on the floor. "I..."

*KNOCK KNOCK*

Remington swung his head around and jumped to the door. He was mildly furious at the timing. He opened the door quickly. "Yes, what?" Standing there was the school's mail carrier, who was responsible for delivering letters and packages to students and teachers.

"Uh, is this Remington, 206?"

"Yes."

"I have a package for you," he looked carefully at the card. "From a Mrs. Your Mom?"

"Yes, yes. Thank you." Remington took the package and closed the door, somewhat rudely. He set the package down and looked to Moonlight with a smile. He inhaled to continue what he was saying, but another pair of knocks echoed behind him.

*KNOCK KNOCK*

He winced and went to the door and opened it. "Um, sorry. But this is also supposed to be delivered here. It's the belongings to a new student who will be rooming with you starting tonight." The carrier helped himself into the dorm room and dumped a large unmarked brown sack onto the second bed. Once the bag was secured on the bed, he saluted Moonlight. "Miss." He then walked towards the door and closed it behind him, somewhat rudely.

Remington just stood there waiting for the delivery to be made. He could have been thinking about how all the sudden he has a roommate now, but instead just wanted the carrier to leave so he could talk to Moonlight in private. Once he left, he sighed. He looked back to Moonlight. "Sorry about that, I guess I have a roommate now. Anyway, where was I?"

He took a deep breath. "Moonlight. I really like you. Like, really really like you. We've gotten along so well with each other, and the more time I spend with you, the more I realize that I might think of you more than just a friend. I could never have expected that somepony like you would even care to spend any amount of time with me. You've made me feel really special. And for that, I thank you. I don't ever want anything to be between us." Remington paused. He wasn't sure how far to go with this. He was too cowardly for the moment to lean in to any specifics, but he just wanted her to know how he felt. This was how he felt openly. There might have been more secretive things he thought about, but for the moment this was what he was willing to share. Remington's lips quivered with the fear of having nothing else to say, combined with the trepidation of wondering how she would respond to how bold the things he just said was. He finished with a, "And... that's it. Let's study." He sat down onto his desk chair.

Fluttershy heard Solar Flare clearly. She seemed in good understanding of her relationship with her pet. It was good to see. Not everypony understood that sometimes pets needed some time away from their pony partners. Fluttershy hoped that Sunny had been exploring his more mature inspirations of companionship as doing so would indicate a healthy relationship with the animal community around him. She kept walking towards the snake homes and then commented on Solar's desire to help with anything requiring medical stimulation. "Oh thank you. I think most of the animals here are kept well and sometimes they need a bandage here or there, but nothing too catastrophic."

Fluttershy bent down and poked her head into a snake hole. "Are you hungry, Monty? It's been eighteen hours since your last meal." She removed her head from the hole  and grabbed a bag of snake meal, which looked like miniature bread rolls, but was actually a balanced vegetarian-based diet viable for snakes. Like all predators, Fluttershy would not allow any animal to eat any other animal while in the safety and confidence of the sanctuary. This was easily said but sometimes difficult to enforce, as many critters who are used to eating more protein-rich diets might find themselves losing weight and energy while under Fluttershy's care. But typically, the trade-off was worth any therapy the animal needed from the yellow pegasus.

As Fluttershy tossed some snake treats to the snake that would eventually come out of his hiding place, Angel Bunny came hopping very fast towards Fluttershy with a sincere amount of urgency. He plopped in front of her to get her attention and began motioning to her with his paws. She answered to him out loud. "What? Jessicat fell from a tree? She was trying to, WHAT!?" Fluttershy picked herself up by her wings and started flying towards the area where Angel was leading her. At the base of a tree, she could see a gray cat writhing in pain. "Oh, what happened?" Fluttershy immediately started talking calmly to the animal. As she inspected the feline, she noticed right away that her left rear leg seemed to have broken, and was going to need splinting and wrapping. "Angel, go get my med kit." Angel saluted and hopped away.