As Dusky Glimmer strode into Our Celium, Ponyville's premier provider of mushrooms, she was disappointed to find it empty. Princess Luna had sent word ahead to the local government that her official representative would be arriving to check on the proceedings, and she had therefore expected to find the owner, one 'Penny Bun', ready to greet her. Instead, the farm was totally silent. Luna's pale moonlight fell across a series of buildings made of deep red wood and a small forest of pine trees some way from that. In contrast to the neatly ordered woods in Canterlot's public parks, this was half-wild, tangled and chaotic. It certainly didn't look appealing, but the house and barns weren't giving any signs of being occupied. The lights were all off, there was no smoke coming from the chimney of the house - they even had fresh snow laying on the paths. Dusky sighed, and wandered into the forest.

'At the rate this night's going,' she thought, 'I probably shouldn't be surprised by one more little inconvenience. At least Spike's happy enough, I guess.' Indeed, the little dragon was as cheerful as Dusky had ever seen him. Apparently he was enjoying the change of scenery from Canterlot – or, more specifically, Canterlot University. Her friends had tried at first to convince her to come with then for a girls' day out, but they had eventually accepted that they were only ever going to see her by night. Dusky hadn't really considered it in that way before. Maybe when she got back she'd have to put a little effort into the whole socialising thing. She didn't want to get so wrapped up in her studies that she drove them off altogether, after all. 'Mind you, I probably don't have to worry too much about that. I mean, I'd have to be a real shut-in to pull that off.'

Dusky decided to enjoy the scenery. In fact, she was so interested in the artistically arranged piles of logs that she bumped into something warm and firm. Shaking her head to clear it, she realised that something was in fact someone – a huge red stallion with a white-blonde mane. Despite the cold, he was unclothed and Dusky could see that his cutie mark was a cross-section of a mushroom's head. His face was stern as he stared down at Dusky and Spike impassively. Dusky suddenly realised that she had no proof that she was meant to be on this farm.

“Oh, sorry. We're, uh, looking for Penny Bun?”

The stallion said nothing, and instead pointed one enormous hoof eastward. Dusky, slightly nervous by this point, grabbed Spike and headed off as fast as she could without actually giving the appearance of fleeing. She was so intent on getting away from the giant that she tripped over one of the piles of logs. As she picked herself up and tried to rearrange the logs into their old pattern – hoping very much that she hadn't just destroyed this family's crop – she came to a disturbing realisation. Her surroundings were alien to her. She was totally and utterly lost. She couldn't even see any hoof-prints in the snow.

'On the plus side', she thought, 'for once my purple coat makes me easier to see'. Back home in Canterlot, she was forever being bumped into and tripped over. Having a coat that helped you blend into the night was considered by some to be a good luck charm, especially when (as Dusky did) the pony in question also had a matching mane, but Dusky considered it an annoyance more than anything else. Her short stature and skinny build didn't exactly help matters, even if her friends were perpetually jealous of her inability to ever put on weight. 'On the other hoof', she continued, 'it's not as if there's even anypony around to actually see me.'

She slumped to the floor in despair, and tried to work out how long she would have to remain lost in order to send for Princess Luna without it being embarrassing. As she was contemplating inventing or summoning some dire threat in order to make her request seem more reasonable, she heard a sniffing sound coming from behind the roots of a particularly old tree. Dusky was overjoyed. This farm's dog must have found her, and soon it would lead her back to civilisation. She trotted over to the tree, only to fall backwards in shock as the source of the sniffing revealed itself not to be a dog but a pony.

The pony in question beamed at Dusky. She had a mid-brown coat and a pale blonde mane, roughly the same shade as that of the earlier giant. Though she was significantly smaller than him, she had a rugged presence that spoke of long hours doing the kind of difficult physical work that would have Dusky collapsing in a heap. Her clothes looked a good deal sturdier than Dusky's, and she envied the farmer her boots. She should have realised that Winter away from a city would be colder, and that the snow would be cleared less thoroughly. “Howdy! I'm Penny Bun and this here's Our Celium. What brings you out-wait, I know. You're from the Princess, ain't ya? Shoot, I plum forgot you was visiting today.”

Dusky had never been more conscious of her Canterlot accent. “Yes, that's right. How did you know, by the way?”

Penny Bun gestured at Dusky's neck. “It's that there clasp on your cloak. Only folks with royal business or royal blood get to wear them, and you're the only royal pony I could think of.”

Dusky looked down, and the single lidless eye on her clasp stared up at her. Now that she thought about it, she did often see this design when she was around the Princess. “Huh, I guess that's right. I hadn't really thought about it. I mean, I spend so much time around the Princess that I suppose I'm just used to seeing this design on things.”

“So are you, like, a Countess or a Duchess or something?”

She grinned. “Actually, yes! As Her Majesty's personal student, I'm automatically made a Knight. Technically, commoners aren't allowed to be her students, and everypony decided it would be more fun to do it this way. I don't have any land or anything, though. Heh, I think you're probably richer than me.”

Penny blushed at this, and rubbed one hoof on the back of her neck. Snow fell into the hood of her thick cloak, but she didn't seem to notice. “Well, we do our best. I gotta say, I wasn't expecting a royal herald to be so friendly.”

“Oh, sure. I don't have any reason not to be nice, you know? Anyway, I'm told you're in charge of the food for the Midnight Moon Merriment.” She looked around the forest. This was not how she'd expected her meeting to go – Penny Bun had an important responsibility, and ponies with important responsibilities did business in offices with velvet chairs and fireplaces, not in the middle of a forest. This village made no sense, but not in an unpleasant way. She'd rolled her eyes whenever her friend Carrot had spoken about how nice it was outside of the city, but now she could see her point.

“Yep, sure are. We're just putting the finishing touches on the spread now.”

“By sniffing a tree?”

“Sure! How else am I meant to find mushrooms?” The look on Penny Bun's face suggested that this was the most natural and logical thing in the world, and only some kind of weirdo would see a problem with it.

Dusky held up one hoof. “Hold on a second. I've lived in a city all my life, and I've never even set hoof on a farm before tonight, but even I know that plants can't grow in Winter.” Spike made noises that suggested that he agreed, but was too busy eating mushrooms to join in the conversation.

Penny nodded. “Not most of 'em, you're right there. But these little beauties are called White Trumpets, or else they're called Ghost Caps if you come from Neighpon and they love the snow. They need to drink a lot, ya see, and if they get it from rain most of 'em get washed away and even if ya catch 'em, they're all stressed and it's a total pain trying to cook with 'em. You try cooking with ingredients like that some time, you'll see exactly what I mean. So anyway, about thirty years back a bunch of farmers and alchemists got together and decided to see if they couldn't...”

What you're reading is the redone version of Chapter 1. If you're wondering what the difference is, this version is longer and has a lot more description. Also, I've moved Dusky further away from Twilight – she was basically a clone in the first version. I'll get around to redoing chapters 2 and 3, and then writing entirely new stuff, eventually.

“...and then they made me their chief. Which was nice.”

Dusky was silent for a few seconds.“I'm really not sure what I can say to that without trivialising it.”

“Yeah, it's quite a story. I tell it to new folk any chance I get, and it always gets a reaction.”

“I can imagine. You know what? You clearly have everything under control here, so we'll just go and check on everypony else if that's alright with you.”

They had left the forest and reached the crisp white fields around the complex of houses and barns. Penny was either wandering at random or following a path Dusky couldn't detect as they meandered towards the main house. Dusky tried to trot off to the gate, only to feel a sharp pull on her tail. Looking back, she saw that Penny had grabbed her, and that her sudden stop had thrown Spike to the floor.

“Oh no you don't. This is your first visit to Our Celium and I ain't letting you get away without trying one of my famous stews. Why, if all I did was talk at ya, what kind of hostess would I be?” Penny was, by this point, emptying her baskets of mushrooms into a chute on the wall of her house. Muffled rumbles and clicks were coming from below their feet.

Dusky shook her head quickly. “Nonono, that really won't be necessary. Both you and me are busy, and Spike already ate about half of what you picked.” Spike had the good manners to look slightly sheepish.

“Nah, it don't bother me none. I'd probably have snacked on 'em myself if I hadn't been chewin' yer ear off. Now come on. Country hospitality is known as the best there is and I sure as heck ain't gonna tarnish a perfectly good stereotype.”

She sighed. “I'd love to stop and eat with you,. But I really do have a lot to do tonight. This time tomorrow, half the Royal Family are going to be here and if I did anything at all to let them down it'd just be awful.”

“Thinkin' all them negative thoughts won't do you no good, girl. Know what will do you good? Stew! Seriously, Dusky, you look like one'a them starvin' mystics. So you just hush now and I'll set you up some vittles.”

“You're not actually going to let me go without having this stew, are you?”

Penny grinned the smuggest grin Dusky had seen in years. “Nope.”

“Alright, fine. But just a little, and I mean it.”

“Don't worry, I won't hold you up.”

_

The tray Penny set in front of Dusky was enormous. In the centre was what might have been the biggest bowl she'd ever seen, full to the brim with steaming hot mushroom stew. Next to it was a very slightly smaller bowl full of soup and plentiful slices of three different kinds of bread. There was also a small bowl of walnuts, with an old iron nutcracker. Next to her, Spike was already digging in to a similarly huge meal.

“This is just a little?”

“It sure is. I'd give ya a proper meal if I didn't have to save some for Red Pine – oh, speak of Morning Star. Hey, Red!”

Dusky turned in her seat to say hello to the new arrival, only to feel awkward that it was none other than the behemoth she'd bumped into in the forest. Up close, she could see that his mane was slightly darker than Penny's, and that they each had three freckles on each cheek. “H-hey! How's the ...uh, the farming?” 'Is farming even the word? Is this a farm? Why do I know so little about this sort of thing?'

“Howdy. 's'alright.”

“Good! That's good.”

If he had even noticed her discomfort, he gave no sign. “Eyup.” He made his way over to the table and sat down slowly as Penny set a meal in front of him.

'No', thought Dusky. 'That's no meal. It's a feast. Compared to that I may as well be fasting!' The speed with which Red Pine devoured everything in front of him belied his great bulk – even Spike was impressed. She ate mechanically until, to her great surprise, she found that she was finished. She pushed her tray away and stood quickly. “Well, this has been just lovely, but I really do need to go find the other heads of department. You wouldn't know where any of them are, would you?”

“I do, as it happens. I got a good friend by the name o' Moonstone, and she's in charge of decorations. Y'see, she designs and sells clothes for a livin', so – I'm sorry, I'm rambling again. You'll probably find her settin' up the stage at the town hall this time o' night, or else she'll be at the Rag with her wife Comet Trail.”

“The Rag?”

“Rag n' Bone, I mean. It's a club near the centre of town. You know, dancin', food, all that kinda thing. Either way, Moonstone's pretty hard to miss. She's a tall unicorn with a white coat and a pale grey mane. Makes her look like some kinda spook, you know?”

Dusky nodded. “Great, thanks. We'll just be on our way.” Spike hopped up onto her back and waved goodbye with one hand while he licked the remains of the stew off the other.

_

As it turned out, Moonstone really wasn't at the town hall, but the banners and streamers festooning the building gave a clear sign that she'd already been hard at work. When Dusky eventually found her way to the Rag n' Bone club – a fairly narrow building with green and red lights shining from its round windows – the bartender told her that Moonstone would be in the quiet room, which was apparently down the stairs at the back. Dusky threaded her way past a crowded dance-floor, and went down the stairs at the back.

She then realised that these were the stairs to the bathrooms and made her way back up sheepishly before finding her way to the other stairs at the back. These went further down and, sure enough, the music from the ground floor slowly faded. Spike was beaming from ear to ear.

“This is some place, huh Dusky? It's nearly as good as Imperative back home!”

Dusky rolled her eyes. “I wouldn't know, Spike. You know I wouldn't know, I don't go in for this kind of thing.” It was true. Dusky had resigned herself to the fact that she was just one of those ponies for whom drinking and dancing all day long weren't particularly interesting. A nice night of shopping and hanging out with the girls was enough for her, with a quiet day in (or perhaps at the theatre) every now and then for variety.

As they reached the quiet room, Spike continued, “Oh, you really should try it. When it's getting near dawn, Imperative serves the best- the best-”

Dusky could see why he'd trailed off. The quiet room was like a lounge, with an empty space in the middle. Though there was no music, there was a blue pegasus mare in the centre of the room dancing more gracefully and beautifully than anypony Dusky had ever seen. Her mane and tail were coloured in a spectrum of blue, gradually working their way from ocean depths to the sky at high noon, and they flowed around her like smoke. The pair stood transfixed as the pegasus completed a series of spins that were somehow simultaneously incredibly complex and wonderfully simple.

There was loud applause from one corner of the room, and Dusky saw that a unicorn - presumably Moonstone - had enjoyed the performance just as much as she had. Moonstone was as ethereal as Penny had described, her colouring and height combining to make her look somehow uncanny. Her mane did not make her appear old, as Dusky had assumed that it would. Though a pale grey, it was full of a vibrancy that could only have come from dedicated care. Her friend Light Show back in Canterlot would seethe with jealousy, could she see it. Dusky made her way over and found that the mystery pegasus was heading in the same direction.

“Oh, Comet, darling, I swear you get better every night!” As the pegasus grinned and waved a hoof dismissively, Dusky took the opportunity to step forward. “Oh, hello there. Can I help you at all?”

“Yes, actually. I've been sent by Her Majesty to check on the preparations. I saw your hoofwork at the hall, but I just need to make sure nothing else needs doing.” Dusky could feel Spike struggling not to stare.

Moonstone gestured to the couch. “Sit down, please – you too Comet, I know how much a routine like that tires you.” The pegasus slumped onto the red sofa and grabbed a glass of something green and fizzing, utterly devoid of her previous grace. Moonstone turned back to Dusky. “I am indeed in charge of the interior decorations, and I'm happy to report that everything is going precisely to plan. We had a bit of a scare with some of the lights last night but we're on track now. Comet Trail here will clear the sky tomorrow , won't you darling?”

Comet Trail nodded vaguely, struggling to keep here eyes open.

“Oh dear, you're not that tired, are you?” Moonstone turned back to Dusky and mock-whispered, “I won't be able to wake her up until it's almost midnight tomorrow. She's a total layabout, and when she's asleep it's as if she's made of stone.” Comet Trail stirred at this, and jabbed a hoof at Moonstone.

“Hey, it didn't take that much out of me! I could waltz you to Colton and back!” A fraction of her former energy had returned to her. As she moved, Dusky noted her taut muscles – she was built like an athlete. It certainly made for an interesting contrast with her wraith of a wife.

A smirk crossed Moonstone's face. “Oh, really? You work-shy little filly, I'll bet you can't even stand.”

Dusky sank into the couch as the pair bickered gently. The squabble was taking on an air of pleasant routine, and she was glad for the chance to relax a little before tackling the last two ponies on her list. Just as she was wondering if she could get away with taking a nap and meeting the last two in the few hours before dawn, the quiet room was rocked by the sound of a distant explosion.

Dusky galloped up out of the Rag n' Bone and into the street, Spike clinging on to her mane in an effort not to fall off and get lost in the crowd that followed her. She reached what she took to be the scene of the explosion, a patch of cobbled street that was scorched black and surrounded by wide-eyed spectators. In the middle of the road was a pink mare with a bushy mane that defied gravity. She seemed to be unhurt, and just as Dusky was about to ask if she needed any help or medical aid, a little green thing popped out of her mane and stared down at her. The pink pony sighed. “That wasn't different at all, was it, Gummy?”

Dusky was considering leaving when the mystery mare turned suddenly and pointed at her, with a shocked expression on her face. “Aha! You!”

“Me?!”

“Yes! You! You're the one I needed to find! I just knew you'd be around here somewhere and here you are!” Dusky wasn't sure whether she was being accused or congratulated.

By this time, Moonstone and Comet Trail had made their way to Dusky. The crowd was dispersing slowly. “Do you two know each other, then?”, asked Moonstone.

Dusky gave an emphatic “No!”. She turned to regard the newcomer. “Wait, do we? I don't remember ever meeting you.”

“No, we haven't. Well, we kind of have. A bit. Her name's Dusky Glimmer.”

“What? How do you know my name?”

Comet sighed and rescued her head in one hoof. “Pinkie, this isn't another one of your feelings is it?”

Pinkie considered this, adopting a pose that suggested deep thought. “It's not so much that it's a feeling, it's more like she's giving me all kinds of feelings. She's a feeling magnet. Or she's radioactive, but with feelings. Actually, come to think of it, do we even have radiation and nuclear power and stuff?”

“Hold up a second.” By this point, Dusky was starting to feel a little lost. “Feelings? What do feelings have to do with whether or not she knows me? How can somepony sort of maybe know somepony else? And what was that freaking explosion, anyway?”

“The explosion isn't important. Feelings are important! I'm Pinkie Pie, and I have feelings.” She seemed inordinately proud of this.

“But everypony has feelings.”

Pinkie shook her head so fast that Dusky could see nothing but a pink blur. “Nope! Not like my feelings, they don't. I don't just feel happy or sad about stuff, I feel how things are meant to be! Wait, no, that's not quite right. I feel how things are.” She looked at Gummy as if asking for guidance. Unfortunately for her, Gummy did nothing but sway on his feet.

Moonstone leaned close to Dusky and whispered, “Sometimes she gets like this, the poor dear. She spent weeks pestering me to dye my mane purple.”

“Purple?”

“Dark purple. Can you imagine? I mean, it looks good on you, but I just can't imagine that I could pull it off at all well.”

Dusky turned back to Pinkie. She had started sketching a diagram of – well, of something on the road in bright blue chalk. As far as Dusky could tell, it was equal parts mathematics, psychology, biology and nigh incomprehensible philosophy. Giant monsters also seemed to fit in somewhere, but they were apparently pretty unimportant compared to the real core of whatever it was.

“So, hang on – if you feel how things 'are', and that's different to how things actually are here, does that mean we're not...I don't know, not right or not real or something?”

Pinkie looked up from the monster fight she was acting out with action figures she had gotten from... somewhere, at any rate. “Nope! The way things are is the way things are, but there are other places and ways and stuff. So, I work here, but I also work on a rock farm, and as an actress, and in a hospital. Just not me me, you know?”

“I...I...no.”

Pinkie sidled up to Dusky and put a foreleg over her shoulder. “Look, here's the deal, toots.”

“Toots?”

What light there was got sharper, turning the shadows pitch black. Pinkie was suddenly wearing a fedora and a pinstripe suit.“You gotta meet a bunch of ponies to be your friends, see? And then you learn about the magic of friendship, see? And then you move here and have adventures, see? Yeah, see?” Gummy was on her back, dressed in a miniature tuxedo and compulsively flipping a tiny coin. Meanwhile, Pinkie was picking a candy stick from a paper box and jamming it in her mouth. Somehow, smoke came out of the end. “Yeah, see?”

“What are you even talking about?” Dusky turned to Moonstone and Comet Trail, but they couldn't offer an explanation either. Slim bars of light were falling across Moonstone's face, as if she were standing in front of Venetian blinds, even though the only sources of light were a few open windows and Luna's myriad of stars.

“Yeah, see?”

“Cut that out! Seriously, what are you talking about? I have plenty of friends back in Canterlot, not to mention all my responsibilities and the fact that it's my home and I love it. I mean, Moonstone and Comet Trail and Penny Bun are nice ponies, but I can't just move here.”

Comet nodded. “Sure. You have a life, we have lives, they happen to be crossing briefly, whatever.”

“Exactly.” Said Moonstone, “Dusky, I like you perfectly well, but it's not like I want to...I don't know, attend a slumber party with you or something.”

Pinkie looked utterly crestfallen. She was wearing such a miserable expression that Dusky was just about to say something vague and comforting when she noticed that a tan pegasus with a dark pink mane was hovering above their conversation. Hanging from her left ear was a rather irritated looking fruit bat. Dusky frowned. “How long have you been up there?”

“Oh, uh...only since the thing about the feelings. I didn't hear much, just something about Dusky and purple and ponies being nice, but I wasn't eavesdropping or anything.”

“You were listening in that long and I didn't notice you? What the hay? What are you even doing here? Who are you?”

The pegasus kicked the air nervously. “I'm, uh, I'm Shydolon. I was going to ask Pinkie not to blow anything else up please because it scares my bats but you were all talking and Pinkie was playacting a gangster again and I know how much she loves that and I kinda didn't want to interrupt.” She landed gently, and though Dusky knew she was full grown she seemed to take up as much space as something half her size. Dusky wondered if it would be possible to simply walk through her.

Pinkie removed her hat and held it over her chest. “Oh no, I totally forgot about your bats! Don't you worry, Shydolon, I'll be as quiet as a really quiet thing from now on. You won't even know I'm here. Unless you look at me, I guess. Oh! I know! Me and Gummy can go on a sneaking mission! Come on, Gummy! We have to stop my evil identical twin sister who for some reason has a green mane and totally different facial features to mine!” Pinkie stripped off her suit in one fluid motion to reveal a skin-tight outfit made of some dull silver material underneath. She tied a bandanna around her head and placed a darker outfit on Gummy, who seemed pretty nonchalant about the whole affair, before tiptoeing off under a cardboard box. The sound of muffled humming followed her down the street.

For several seconds, all Dusky could do was blink. “OK, what?”

Comet Trail patted her on the back. “Yeah, that's Pinkie for you. She's not always as weird as this, but sometimes she's just totally chaotic, you know? I mean, don't get me wrong, she's great and all, but it was pretty unlucky that you caught her like this.” Moonstone nodded her agreement.

Dusky sighed. “You know what? I don't think I care at the moment. I just want to find the other heads of department and take an early day. It's been one of those nights.”

Shydolon raised a hoof. “If you want to get it done quickly, I could fill you in on the, uh, music. I'm not the head of department, but I'm her second in command.” A few seconds after she said this, she noticed that she had left her hoof up, and withdrew it sheepishly.

Dusky grinned. “Perfect. So, how's the music going?”

“It's, um, it's good. We have a choir all set up, and there's this one bat who can – well, you'll see.”

“That's great! And who's the head of department, anyway? You know, not to impugn your statement or anything, just so I know. I mean, if I can't fill out certain forms in certain ways, it'll be a daymare.”

“Oh, sure.” Shydolon, Dusky noticed, was standing somewhat taller than she had been at the beginning of the conversation. She was still slouching, and her mane was still hanging in front of her eyes, but she seemed less like a terrified child and more like she was simply timid. Even her voice was steadier. “Her name's Lyra Heartstrings. She's teal, with a lyre cutie mark.”

“OK, great. I'll just go look for the others and then I'm done for the night – and I'll tell you what, I'm darn well looking forward to that.”

Shydolon agreed and they went their separate ways. 'Such a nice little town – and such friendly ponies! It'll almost be a shame to go back to Canterlot.'