SteelEagle

"Now this looks like some kind of complicated trap right out of a Daring Do book," How true were these words. It appeared as if the entire strategy of these series of traps was to emulate, if poorly, the 'disabled Daring-Do' adventures as Pathfinder called them with only a small hint of bitterness. What was with all of the disabled pegasi media? Jealous Earth ponies and unicorns, thats what. You didn't see near as many 'hornless unicorns' or 'hoofless earth pony' stuff as you saw disabled pegasi. "Hmm, so, if we step wrong, the floor will probably open up and drop us in a pool beneath," Snow said, as she looked around the room. "Something might come out of those holes as well should we mess up..." Yep, pretty standard punishment. The feeling of cool air as opposed to feeling the edges of one's feathers singe from heat was one of a few differences abound in this event, along with the fact that the holes here were larger and theatrical than what they should have been. usually, arrows were shout out of what amounted to pinprick sized holes in the wall. They didn't need anything except the rod and head, seeing as they weren't going to be stabilized for accuracy or distance. But still, better that they try a little than not at all. "I would assume the puzzle has something to do with the shapes on the tiles or maybe the colors? What does our expert adventurer think?" Pathfinder smiled. Oh, the things I think! "Well geez, I dunno. I already stepped on this one and if my experience tells me anything, some of these will only activate once I pull my hoof off. I don't know what its on. It could be anything. Heck, I'm just too afraid to even look down. Besides, I've been shot in the wing with an arrow before and it isn't fun!" Pathfinder laughed as she extended her left wing out, the one that had been cut through by an arrow many months ago in a ruin in Painted Pinto. "Nope, Snowy, I think I have to trust in my wonderful date to save me from a horrible, horrible fate."

"Okay, just a little bit more, and then we begin the hunt!" Rarity's voice boomed loud enough for Valen to sense the excitement building in her as well. He neighed excitedly and with an added burst of colt-aided energy pulled ahead of Rarity, the wagon behind him causing quite the racket but being drowned out comically by the sound of hooves on dirt as he pounded the earth beneath him to make good time. It didn't take long for the surroundings to change from the rocky yet familiar to the utterly alien to hooves born in a city, wild and pockmarked with boulders and stones of all sizes. Valen slowed his gait down considerably, taking a deep breath as the burst of speed had proven less than amiable to his condition. Still, few complaints could be lodged- it was a stunning day to be out of the shade of a couple thousand apple trees. He looked around. The rock faces had grown in height and depth, seemingly surrounding them, and the ground underneath seemed to rise in elevation randomly, though the difference was often no more than an inch. Several birds flew overhead, keeping an eye on the strange ponyfolk below. It was quiet otherwise, an unnerving situation for a colt of city flavor. He turned back to Miss Rarity. "Ah, it's really very pretty out, though I think too quiet. It's sort of...weird!"

"We are almost there Valen! I can see the barn! Are you ready for the sky?" "Now don't be silly, Sunrise! How can I get excited for the sky when it is always flying away from me! Dooo you think the sky doesn't like me?" Valen asked, his eyes still bugging out as he was deep in her pelt. It was warm. Warmer than the sky. The sky was cold. It was cold because it disliked him? The sky didn't have feelings, though, because it was the sky. No, that didn't make sense. He shook his head and looked ahead at the barn. The barn? Nice. Hey, that means they were close! Valen stood up on her back and leapt up and down. "We're there! We're there! That means I can finally see my cousin Applejack! I haven't seen her in ages!" He blasted before jumping off of her and falling to the ground face first, then scooting on the ground and weaving around like an out of control missile in the direction of the barn.

Caramel wasn't always a model Apple family member. Well, the word more correctly was stereotypical. The commonly held belief amongst ponies far an wide was that an Apple was a farmer to the core who put his or her snout to the ground ans pursued their work with such feverish abandon that dragging them away from the farm was akin to fighting an ursa major with a twig. Apples tended to spend their youth toiling and settled late, or such was the belief. It was incorrect, though that perception had done them no ill in the creation of their status amongst the Equestrian community. Who wouldn't want a bunch of hard workin' ponies to settle nearby and produce delicious apples? Only the insane and no one gave them the time of day anyway. The stereotype was still wrong, however. They worked hard as their work demanded it, not because they were some sort of automaton family. They had desires and dreams like anypony else, but so invested could they become in the bonds of family and the need to produce that they lost track of themselves. Caramel didn't. Maybe she was selifsh, but she felt no compunction about seeking time for romantic pursuits. Issue was her own lack of social talent and, admittedly, the sheer depth of the Apple Family's financial confusion. Added to that was her single-hoofedly running the actual affairs of Tiny Apple Valley, baking, bucking, and selling and she came dangerously close to living the stereotype against her raging will. But luckily, a matchmaking service made itself known and she pounced on it without giving a second thought. It wasn't long after that she found herself matched with a local and here she was, primed and preened like some haughty-toity pegasus outside of the Sydney Cobhouse. She had thought of wearing something fancy, but common etiquette said that was more than presumptuous. She gave a sigh; less nervous of the date than if she would do something wrong. Flashbacks to a fillyhood fling with her first coltfriend played in her mind, and the horrifying date that followed had stayed with her like so many bad apples. She shook her head and opened the door, smiling as she entered the restaurant with a puffed out chest of pride. It was extremely busy, but not so much that she felt intimidated. Nor was anypony else, she figured, as they were city folk and such crowds came with the territory. The maitre d' bounced up to her. "Madame, if you would take a seat- we are overfilled," He asked, his voice having a slight Germaney accent. She stared back at him. "I have a reservation. Table for two at six, which is in five minutes. Caramel Apple and Muggo' Ale. I am sure that this restaurant would not want to have the reputation for turning away reserved seats," Caramel said with kindness, though a tint of annoyance crept in. The Maitre d' blinked a few times. "Ah, yes, you will be seated at six, madame. My apologies," He said, bowing and moving away. She nodded. It was a big city; sometimes, you had to respectfully lay down the law. Now, all she had to do is look for her date.

"Are you kidding? Applejack would KILL me!" Pinkie said right before she ducked out of the room, her insistence forcing Apple Bloom's hoof to her chin in thought. What the heck was it?! Why, if Applejack would be so against Apple Bloom drinking it, that only made Apple Bloom all the more curious as to what it was! She started to wonder how she could best use the Cutie Mark Crusaders in such an endeavor and how a chartreuse cutie mark would look when Pinkie returned with refreshments. "You can have some of this, though. The perfect thing to wash down those cookies, some cool, refreshing milk! Enough for everypony." Apple Bloom smiled wide as she took her cup and sucked it down as assuredly as if she were a vacuum, the cold and refreshing milk forcing down any vestige of crown. It was awfully good milk- of course a bakery would have great milk! "Thanks, Pinkie!" Apple Bloom said right before she let out a burp and turned to Sweets, licking her lips free of milk. "Is there anything else you'd like to make the party super special?" Apple Bloom's hoof returned to chin for a second as she gave it though. Sadly, no inspiration hit her- and her ears dropped. "Ah...ah just don't know, Sweets. All 'f mah ideas involve just ta much runnin' and jumpin' and all sorts of stuff like that, an' she's mighty old, like really old, super old! She jus' can't do any 'f that and ah just don't know wha' ta do," Apple Bloom whispered in an increasingly desperate tone, both saddened and annoyed by her lack of stunning ideas.

"They took me as their prisoner once. In only so long I went from behind bars to having all of them at my beck and call!" Valen had been listening intently, finding it odd and yet amazing that such creatures existed. What relation were they to house pets like Winona? If they did have any relation, what caused them to become sapient machines of greed? These two questions were overriden swiftly by the notion of Miss Rarity's seizure by such types. The image of her being caged like some animal by beast-types was heart-rending in many fashions. But the knowledge that she was able to turn the tables on them set his heart at ease. If it had been that easy, that meant that the Diamond Dogs were not naturally prone to much violence and were easily defeated through wit. That meant that Rarity alone, as she had proven previously, was more than a match for them and with the addition of Valen, who did consider himself something of an intelligent colt, they were sure to be safe from such troubles. He let go of the breath that had been held since she started speaking and nodded. "Well, they certainly sound unpleasant. Hopefully we shant run into them out here- today is too beautiful a day and I am spending it with too wonderful a mare for such insidiousness to take place!" He said with charm and excitement, trotting further and further up the increasing vertical climb that was the pathway until Ponyville was hidden from view by a rock outcropping

"Let's move carefully..." This was always solid advice on an adventure, and triply so in the dense darkness that seemed to be pervase in this obstacle course. She wanted to try and ignore the possibility of anything else embarrassing her, but as usual Snowy was right. Was she ever wrong? Some part of Pathfinder really wished she would say just one thing that made little sense. That would have made her feel ten times better. sadly, she doubted that would happen. They wandered into the darkness for more than a few extra moments, pensive hoof after pensive hoof as they probed it with touch. Nothing else was working, the well-mannered smells and sounds of the course melding into a well-defined nothingness. Until Pathfinder stepped on a tile. The path ahead, the whole thing, lit up in an eerie blue and red pattern of lights, revealing that the next fifty feet was made up of interlocking tiles and panels, various shapes inscribed on them. On the walls were hundreds of open holes and underneath them, some sort of water source opened up- in between the microscopic cracks in the floor, a cool draft of air. "Aha! Appears I was wrong, Snowy,"

"I was convinced it would be something more directly related to my passion. Sewing needles, a spool of fine cloth, a fanciful hat or dress. Something like that. I was sure it would come and then I would be gifted all the talent in the world along with it." Valen would be lucky to have his cutie mark match his fantasy. He knew of nopony who had such fortune, however, not even the mare next to him whose life seemed mark by events of great fortune. How would his parents react to a cloth and spool cutie mark? "Yes, but it's probably best we continue a little further. We won't find as many gems still this far out though. We should continue until the rocks and hills get far taller and we can no longer see Ponyville in the distance. The further we go, the more abundant the gems will be. Of course, the likelihood the local Diamond Dogs will appear will also increase, but that's a risk we'll have to take." Valen's ears perked up as Rarity made her orders clear. He picked up his pace and set his mind on focusing less on his surroundings and more on the rhythm of the wagon's various squeaks. As they traveled further and further down the trail, his mind failed to find reference for one thing she had mentioned. "Miss Rarity, what's a diamond dog?" Valen asked as they found themselves slowly making their way vertically. Each step was now a degree harder than before, the cart weighed down increasingly by the slowing of hooves and momentum.

"Not a lot of rock climbing in a seasoned adventurer's life, I take it? So what's left? Is that it?" The feathers on Pathfinder's wings shot out a little as she gave an exasperated sigh. She souldn't be this upset but by Celestia's dear grace, she was. No, she didn't climb up cliffs. She flew over them. Or used ropes. Not her hooves. They weren't designed for it! They were designed to...well, for a pegasi, maybe only relief from flying. Which wasn't allowed here. Which made her a little miffed. She shook her head and tried to put on a brave face, but her severe annoyance was clear. "No, not ANY rock climbing. I use ropes or I fly. A pegasi doesn't have to climb anything!" Pathfinder added with a joyless laugh, shaking her head again and again. She was miffed. But that wasn't Snowy's fault. She perked her ears up and started trotting forward. "And I think so, Snowy. I have a hard time imagining that they'll have much else!" She shot into the dark, which was seemingly gaining in imperceptibility. For a course that was supposed to end, it sure didn't act the part.

"Well, when it comes to Cutie Marks you can find them when you least expect it. That's how it was for me. Looking back, I think it's exactly because I avoided places like this, full of dirt and rocks, as a young filly that I ended up getting it later than some ponies. My magic, my ability to find gems, it probably would have triggered sooner had I been more open minded," Rarity said with a sigh. "Fashion is indeed the passion of my life. I've been utterly enamored with it since I was a foal. Before I got my cutie mark I lacked confidence however, and that materialized in my designs, none of which satisfied my own rigorous demands." That made a whole heap of sense, as far as Valen was concerned. Rarity didn't seem like one to have ever willingly ventured out into the wilderness half-cocked for reasons not directly related to her desires. It would come to pass that she hadn't thought of finding her cutie mark out in the wilderness! She was a mare of distinction, and seemingly was a filly of taste as well. It struck Valen as somewhat heartwarming that she had remained the same in a personal sense for her life, giving credence to the belief that one is destined to be a certain way. Comforting, if perhaps a bit disquieting at first. "A school play was coming and seeing my interest in fashion, my teacher selected me to make the costumes. I tried my hardest to produce something of quality, and though everypony seemed to think the designs I produced were fine, I knew they were really quite lacking. I was chagrined. I knew not what to do. That's when it happened! A sudden surge of magical power hit me! As I said before, my magic lets me find gems, so this surge of power, it grabbed me by the horn and forcibly pulled me out here until I was face to face with the biggest bunch of gems you'd ever see in one place outside of a dragon or diamond dog's hoard." Valen was suddenly very happy to not be a unicorn, as the possibility of being led around unwillingly by any part of his body for any length of time. Did Pegasi, when they first learned how to fly and found their cutie marks, have their wings act independently of any thought? That held no appeal to Valen, and he found himself thanking Celestia for his status as an Earth pony. He doubted his hooves would move mysteriously of their own accord. "I however didn't recognize it for what it was. All I could see was an ugly, oversized rock. My magic can help me find gems you see, but there's a reason we need that shovel. I can't extract them myself. I might have turned my back on my own destiny then and there, but at that very instant, by some magical stroke of fate, another dear friend of mine was finding her own destiny in the sky above. This unrelated event sent a shock wave toward my rock and before my eyes it then split in two! As I gazed upon the fabulous gems before me I got my cutie mark." That story would have been unbelievable if told by most other ponies, but Valen was well-aware of the status of Rarity and her friends. There were truly few things one could chalk up to pure happenstance, and it appeared as though Rarity's cutie mark was not one of them. Plus, now he knew why a well-weathered mare would have need of a small colt in such an endeavor; she didn't want to get dirty! Valen laughed a small bit at the realization. He was the cabana-colt, as usual! "I then returned to school with the gems, and using them, I made costumes that shined! Well, literally at least. Looking back, I'm not sure I didn't just make them all kind of gaudy. Ah, but that was youth, I suppose. The important part was that my cutie mark and those gems, they gave me confidence. That confidence is what helped me follow my dream to get where I am now." As most cutie mark stories were wont to do, this one ended happily. Perhaps he had to take back some of his asserion that the cutie mark was completely unrelated to her success as a fashion designer, seeing as how the acquisition of it had led directly to her surge in confidence. He smiled up at her and gave a happy one-two clap of his hooves, but was still trying to take in the totality of her story as he trotted down the increasingly bumpy road, the wagon behind him rattling appropriately as he picked up the pace. "So, up until then, what did you think you would get your cutie mark in?" Valen asked before slowing down to an eventual stop. Ponyville was still in sight, but they had moved into an area where the trail was increasingly rocky and has lost any sense of active town-inspired cohesion. Covered with rocks and variations in elevatation, surrounded by rock formations that were now just starting and in the distance grew to considerable size, they were safely away from town. "Is this the sort of place we can find gems, Miss Rarity?" Valen asked

I thought she was well-handled in Season 1, but yeah, three of the four AJtastic episodes were in the first half of the season. I always thought that its better for AJ if someone is introduced to the show in a non-sequential manner.

Applebuck Season is a very important episode. The pilot episodes were good but not great and I've never been a fan of TM, but Applebuck season had great humor, character moments, and overall the first episode in sequence that really makes it stand out as a show. Also, baked bads taste awful.

"Topaz Tremor, geologist. Forgive my abruptness, Miss Apple, but I fear your storage cellar is near to collapsing. We need materials to shore it up from the inside. What do you have that we could use?" The mare spoke, not accepting Caramel's offer of a shake. That was quickly rescinded. Well, nice to make connections with intelligentsia and qualified professionals, even if- "I....Wont.....Lose.....my.....chicks!" -It was unneeded. Caramel sighed heavily before resuming her smile. "If you'll excuse me, Tremor," Caramel said with great sincerity before she slowly made her way down into the cellar, watching her little sister viciously attack the weakening walls. "Bumpkin, please stop. I know of the cellar's issues and it is getting taken care of, sweetie. Stop kicking," She said in a rather alarmingly even voice as she trotted back upstairs. "Well, I do thank you for your concern, Topaz Tremor and you are quite correct. It would collapse within the month, to be exact. That is why I have hired foundation specialists to work on it after we leave for the annual family reunion in three days However, for having such a keen eye for detail and for coming to us as quickly as possible, I believe you need to be rewarded. If you'll come with me, we shall tour the orchard and you may take twenty bits worth of merchandise as a personal thank you," Caramel said, throwing her hoof over the geologist as she trotted out and into the orchard. Le sigh. She was rather looking forward to seeing Bumpkin's flowers and generally laying by the fire, doing some computations, and making some more caramel apples. Just as most of her plans, these would have to be put on hold.

Rainbow Dash can be shipped with all the things.

A solid five, though I'd sub dressing up as mane six with hoping to attend any and all conventions in mah area.

Valen had enjoyed Sunrise's initial idea of carrying him a fair bit more than her current solution of walking there. In fact, he had just rolled onto his back and was comfortable in the pleasant warmth of her plumage when she had placed him back down. If he had the wherewithal or energy to do so, he would have whimpered or moan. Instead, she she started to walk and talk, he could do little else than follow at times mutely. Long stretches, actually, as he started coming out of the fog and felt jagged edges of pain from his earlier bruising experiences at the farm, floating back to him like so much flotsam. He eventually gave a disgusted moan. "Uggh, why does this town change to change colors all the time!" He whined, his eyes still bugging out as the kaleidoscopic vision arched with rainbows favored certain types of color at any given moment. He shook his head and the vision, as well as saturation of the ground around him, improved. "I do fear...that the sauce isn't ready for the rice, mom," He said to nopony in particular, then nuzzled Sunrise's leg for no particular reason. He then lurched back. "Hey, did I miss the train? Pssh, it figures, a train from Fillydelphia is always ten minutes late! Can never trust them to run on time. Ha, you'd think beating them at hoofball would't end with us being in the receiving end of such discourtesy, but they are surely less civilized!" he said in a proud manner, stomping ahead. Then his brain reset again. "Uggh, why does this town have to change shapes all the time!"

Valen was having a jolly time on his merry go round, though increasingly he was getting lost less and less in the motions and more and more in the sudden singing that had broken out amongst his peers. Internally, something clicked and he felt it rising within himself- only to fall off a moment later. He bruised not only his ego but his flank, standing up and looking at the whirl of colors before him, his brows furrowing as he contemplated them. Imagination "This should be something," Imagination "This should mean something," Valen shook his head as he walked away. Imagination What a beautiful thing, where every day is a circus of sound Imagination But like a dog in a vet's sling, I might as well be in a pound Imagination It has eluded me Imagination They worry it may delude me Every day I watch and learn And read and study No time to get muddy Or to play in the fern The texts they give me They tell you what to be Valen sighed, continuing a trot away from the merry go-round- and directly into the chest of his bodyguard. "Orange! Your parents have told me to allow no harm to come to you. Obviously, we have been made a fool of, as our bits are missing and I have been knocked out. Come with me; this fair is over," He said, his well-educated mannerisms belying the scale of his forelegs. "B-but, I'm just now having fun!" Valen protested, his fear growing. "I'm sorry, but it's too dangerous," The bodyguard responded, reaching down to bite Valen by the collar- and getting nothing but air, as the young colt had took off at a full sprint, darting between ponies in the crowd as he made his escape. Just one day without supervision And maybe then I can see With great clarity What is this silly superstition Called He spots the train, which has been mostly emptied of the cargo and the travelling act. Out of blind desperation, he leapt on. Imagination Valen dove into the cargo hold, flanked by several barrels and a few stacks of hay. Nice hiding spot, at least for now.

"Thanks for saving me..." Pathfinder gave a little bow. She had saved more than a few mares and stallions in her lifetime, often from perils she had a hoof in creating, but didn't really count this amongst one of them. After all, she wasn't in any real danger. Still, pathfinder would take any morsel of gratitude given to her. Snowy's fierce gallop surprised Pathfinder, who expected a modicum of stillness from her date. She had, after all, just been sucked in by quicksand. Pathfinder could only guess that it was a better outcome than even the best board meeting. Within a few minutes, they had reached the final(likely) obstacle of the set, a rock climb. Pathfinder had never climbed up a wall before, seeing as how she had wings and would fly over. Still, no trepidation- as Snowy climbed up the rock face, pathfinder knew she couldn't lag behind. She placed her right hoof into a indent, then her left, and started pulling herself slowly. In fact, she was even slower than Snowy, much to her own personal chagrin. She grimaced as she pulled herself up. It wasn't that she was slow or that Snowy was faster, it was that she was the adventurer and Snowy the CEO. It was emberassing. She felt flustered by her lack of success. Maybe she could blame it on her lack of sleep, her hoof hurting from the rope, her lack of oxygen. Maybe. Or maybe she was being lazy. She redoubled her efforts. "Hey, have you ever rock climbed before? You sure look good!" Pathfinder asked with a laugh, thouugh a smidgen of bitterness flavored her. Hoof after hoof after hoof after hoof, up and up, hoof after hoof after hoof. Sweat. Hoof after hoof. She started moving faster. Hoof after hoof. Faster. She missed an indent and her hoof smacked against the wall, Pathfinder losing her balance and falling off of the rock face. Immediately, her wings opened up and she hovered in place for a moment, her hat nearly falling off. She re-adjusted it and gave a pout, crossing her hooves in front of her and gliding to the top, landing with her back to the top of the rock face for a second. "Stupid thing, stupid obstacle that doesn't make any sense, can't fly even though that doesn't make sense, stupid thing isn't at all realistic, stupid thing is...stupid..." She whispered in an increasingly frustrated tone until she gave a sigh, silent for a few seconds. She then turned around with a plastered smile over the side. "Haha, well, I seem to have fallen. Come on up and catch up!"

Some ponies, their calendar revolved around hard-dates and times, maybe holidays. Apple Bloom's revolved around the reunion. Apple Bloom's excitement was palatable. More than that,even. Infectious like a virus, spreading from pony to pony as she leapt about since the break of dawn. She loved her Apple family the most, but right behind them was the entire tree of Apples that she belonged to. As she told her somewhat confused schoolmates, today was the day when the whole tree would come by to visit and she had every intention of playin' with every conceivable branch of it. Bumpkin was coming by and she'd be shocked and offended if everypony around didn't know plainly that she was not only her favorite cousin, but best friend besides her Cutie Mark Crusader friends. And Applejack. And Big Mac. And Granny Smith. Maybe Winona. But still, Bumpkin was right up there! She was excited to see Caramel Apple as well, though Apple Bloom couldn't claim to have the same type of relationship with her as Bumpkin. Her great uncle Apple Strudel! He would be there too! She didn't get see much of her silly 'ol Uncle, but he always had such a fine way with the little ones that she couldn't help but love him more every time. And Braeburn, that smooth talkin' settler, he was more fun than a whole barrel of apples. And barrels of apples were fun! And that strong stallion uncle of hers, Red Delicious, he always gave Apple Bloom a full bushel of those tiny and delicious crab apples whenever he showed his strong self 'round these parts and Apple Bloom had no intention of letting him get away without doing it this time too. Valen wasn't gonna stop by, seeing as how he was an Orange and had Orangy type business in the big cities, but he had sent a card that was awkwardly hoof written. That was nice! Bounce bounce bounce! Apple Bloom did her best Pinkie Pie impersonation that day as she bounced around the farm, too giddy for speech at times. She eventually found a spot in the Red Delicious orchard where at the top of her bounce, she could see down on Ponyville, down on the road that led to the farm. She jumped up and down in place, hoping against hope that at the apex of her giddy leap, she would see an Apple strolling down the road.

"Why of course Valen. I visit these hills outside Ponyville frequently to collect gems. I know them almost as well as I know Ponyville itself to be honest. Why, I even found my cutie mark out here in these roughs." That was more than a little wonderful to hear, seeing as how the entire hunt depended on it. More importantly, she had got her cutie mark outside of town, which was something that Valen could admit to some shock at learning. He had figured her for the type to have learned it while making some sort of dress- the fact it had happened out of town engendered some curiosity. "Oh, well that's simple. I'm not sure how much you know about us unicorns, but each of us has a magical skill which we're naturally attuned to perform." Valen knew a fair bit about Unicorns. One of the few things he could stamp as a truth was his education being of a high caliber, and it would be simply silly for a pony school to not explain the difference between the species. "That is, of course, unless your name is Twilight Sparkle, in which case you can pretty much do it all when it comes to magic, but I do digress...you might assume my magical talent has something to do with fashion design, but au contraire my dear, that is not so. One look at my cutie mark should make it perfectly clear. My magical skill allows me to effortlessly locate buried gems." That blew Valen away, visibly as well as internally. If she had gotten to this stage of her fashion career without it being tied in directly with her special talent, that made her abilities and success in that field far more impressive. It was rare to meet a mare who held such an arena of success about herself in a field that was only tangibly related to her pony-given talents, as without those innate gifts, one's desire, drive, dedication, and hoof-taught skills had to be the bulwark of success. Here, she had achieved such success without the aid of her cutie mark, at least directly, nor from what he knew any sort of advantage gifted her by birth. More inspirational as he thought about it. "That's stunning, Miss Rarity! I thought your cutie mark meant you were blessed with the ability to make beauty. It seemed only right, seeing as that is what you do so effortlessly! Wow, to know finding gems is your special talent, that would make fashion your passion. That would also mean you have no natural gifts IN fashion, meaning it's ALL because of your hard work. I know plenty of fashion ponies who would kill to have your fashion sense and skills, and they have cutie marks more directly related to it! It appears that you are even greater at your craft than I had previously thought, Miss Rarity. I do apologize, sin-cerely! You look absolutely stunning, your smile is wonderful, and you work so hard to produce such beauty, I had thought it all tied into your cutie mark but no! It's just you, and that makes all of it even more impressive, which is hard considering how impressive you were before anyway. How'd you earn your cutie mark, if I may be so bold as to ask? I hope to get my cutie mark soon, though if I were to be honest I would prefer it not being doing farm labor," Valen spoke in a rapid, almost breathless tone as his tail excitedly swished around. The sheer excitement of his speech also propelled him forward down the path, settling down to a healthy trot.

"After all that, I'm half tempted just to fly across...but that would be the easy way out..." How very true! It was the easy way out. And the smart way out. Contrary to popular belief, adventurers weren't dumb. If this was a real trap, Pathfinder would have advised her to just fly over. Luckily, this was all fake and therefore the only trouble would be if she messed up. Like Pathfinder had messed up. But then again, that was fun so maybe it'd be fun of Snowy messed up? Nah, because then she might get scared because she wasn't as experienced and Pathfinder was sure fear was supposed to be delayed until at least the fifth date. Or was it third? She wasn't sure about the etiquette of adventurers and dating, to be honest. As she was contemplating the facets of a dating adventurer's life, Snowy moved well through the quicksand. Until the end, when a moment of panic ended her near-perfect run, her front hooves extended over to open ground. "Sorry... I.. guess I couldn't make it all the way across without- You think you could help me up somehow?" Pathfinder looked at her date for a second blankly, before settling on a somewhat mischievous grin. She patted Snowy on the head. "Well, I'm not so sure I shouldn't just let you pull yourself out. I mean, it isn't like you did anything for me!" Pathfinder added at the end of this her tongue sticking out of her mouth, followed by a giggle as she turned away from Snowy dramatically for a moment. She then wrapped her tail around Snowy's front hooves and pulled with all the strength she could for a few seconds. "I'll get you out now, but now you take the lead!"

Valen smiled broadly and kicked his hooves in the air with the greatest of excitement, neighing absurdly before leaping forward to start the journey. Well, he wanted to start the journey, anyway. He leapt forward before being mindful of the weight of the wagon and his saddlebag and fell back to the ground without his hooves stable beneath him. He immediately got back up and, with an embarrassed smirk and blush, pulled the wagon appropriately. Well, he figured he was allowed one moment of foalish foolishness before they got into the nitty gritty. Hopefully there would be time for talk, though. Rarity was an immensely exquisite and charming mare, well-spoken and read ad knowledgeable in manners unrelating to the running of a farm. While Valen most certainly appreciated such things, at least from the perspective of an admirer of the work that went into it if not necessarily a fan of the work itself, he did not think he could have lasted as long as he had were it not for an outlet. And Rarity, being of a generous nature and intelligent and fluid mindset, was one of his outlets in Ponyville. Truly, a remarkable coincidence that he was allowed to meet and in some ways befriend a mare of her stature. It made him giddy. Nervous. Appreciative. It was not, however, responsible for his slow gait that he had a habit of slipping into when lost in thought. He shook his head and pushed himself faster, ending up in a nice trot as they made their way down the winding path next to Sweet Apple Acres. Both paths looped back into Ponyville, but small trails broke off from the path and led to places outside of town. A few minutes after leaving Sweet Apple Acres and on the other side of the forest that it straddled, they reached the turn to the southeast and the hills that poked off in that direction. Valen slowed, being less aware of the land beyond this trail. He bowed and moved out of her way. "After you, Miss Rarity. I believe you know more of this area's routes than I do; at least, I hope so, or else we may find ourselves in a spot of trouble," The colt said with great cheer, assuming for the sake of hope that she was well-versed in the area. He took position behind her. "So, Miss Rarity, how exactly do we find the gems? I've never been on a hunt before," He asked with all the wide-eyed curiosity that the youth could muster.

"Oh, I think we have a bottle of that somewhere. This is chartreuse. Chartreuse is chartreuse, but it's not called chartreuse because it's chartreuse, in fact, the color chartreuse is called chartreuse after the chartreuse liqour chartreuse. Chartreuse chartreuse chartreuse chartreuse chartreuse! Isn't it a fun word to say?" Apple Bloom's head couldn't keep up with the speed of Pinkie's speech, like a speeding train chargin' down a tunnel and then smacking into her head continiously. She was pretty sure chartreuse was made up, if only because Pinkie seemed so happy to be saying the word. Or maybe she just had no reason to say it normally and finally had the excuse to say it? She didn't give it much thought as she followed the liquid. "Hay, what's that a bottle of, Pinkie? Can ah have some? Ah'm mighty thirsty," The recently parched filly asked of the older mare before turning her attention to "Huh... I never knew that chartruse was a liquid. I just knew chartruse was a color. Personally I like the color perriwinkle. It has such a cute name! Perriwinkle, perriwinkle, perriwinkle." Yeah, Apple Bloom could see why Pinkie picked her. "Anyway, you said your grandmother likes Granny Smiths. Ok. How about icing? I know cakes are sweeter with icing. Does she want a certain kind or color? How about decorations? Does she like chocolates? I'm a pretty good chocolate making pony you know. How about games or entertainment? Really I need anything you can give me about what would make her birthday the best possible!" Apple Bloom brought her hoof to her chin, lost in thought and then still doing so as she started to speak. "Hmm, well, she ain't too picky on color, but red or green's 'er favorite, though I can't say which one for sure. She loves chocolates, but her teeth ain't so strong anymore, so we can't normally have her eat some of 'ur favorite cakes on account of us placing fried apples on 'em as toppings, so we can have chocolates and frostin' but its best we make it fresh on th day so as ta make sure it don't get all hard. And she likes all sorts of stuff, open to anythin' really, but we gotta make sure to keep it safe- she's old as all get out and her hip ain't all good, ah swear sometimes ah can hear it so ah don't think anythin' too exciting is in order, ah reckon," She said, finishing her thoughts on her flank, chin still being tapped upon by hoof.

Pathfinder could hear nothing but the increasingly frantic pulsing of her own blood through her oxygen deprived brain, and felt nothing but the soft granulites of the artificial quicksand pourously rushing over and under her body. They sure had gone to the trouble of making it feel right, even if it didn't work right. You know what would have been better, Pathfinder thought to herself as she felt the first harsh tug of the saddlebag pulling her head up. After a few more tugs, her face breached the surface and she took in a huge breath of twelve, her eyes boggly and swirly as oxygen rushed back into whatever available opening there was. Snowy may not have been the strongest of all the mares, but she wasn't weak. pathfinder appreciated that. Oh yeah, and she liked being alive. As Snowy continued doing what she did, Pathfinder's back hooves touched the ground. Soon, Snowy had pulled Pathfinder right side up and she was standing on her back hooves awkwardly. "Good job, Snowy! You can stop pulling now!" Pathfinder said with all the proud momentum of a momma bear to a cub.She shrugged off the saddlebag and slowly but surely made her way across the quicksand. It had been built with four hooves in mind, not two, and as she stood high above on her two back hooves, she could only imagine how awkward it looked. It certainly felt awkward as she slowly made her way across the quicksand and finally over the other side. She took a few deep breaths before her head perked back up. "Whew! Well, that was a LOT more fun than it was gonna be, for sure! Okay Snowy, all you gotta do is take it all very slowly, and then you won't sink as fast. Don't stop, it tries to sink you if you do that, too," Pathfinder said, chuckling as she started brushing off the caked on quicksand.