A grand explosion lit the air like sparks of metal flashing in the dark. Tiny dots of gold and red faded into the night sky, only to be followed by a giant burst of aqua and green. Following each thunderous blast were exclamations of amusement and admiration that erupted from the academy commons lawn. Every pony present, from student to staff member, sat gazing at the late night sky and the phenomenal fireworks that shone against its jet-black blanket.

Every pony, that is, except for Starlight and a few others. The three class representatives lighting the fireworks had headed out after Princess Luna raised the moon from the academy lawn to start the Winter Solstice celebration. The group made their way to a designated spot close to where the beachfront and Northern Woods met half a mile away. Accompanying the trio was one of the teachers, Doctor Marie, who taught the elemental track.

“Be sure to pace yourselves,” Doctor Marie had told the three students, her voice somewhat motherly but peppered with a coat of authority.

Starlight's task consisted solely of lighting the fireworks. Having practiced all week, Starlight found his job simple; it was coordinating everything with his two fellow students that took some getting used to. Seven Seas seemed to have absolutely no trouble with finding soft spots for planting the randomly shaped and sized fireworks carried over to him. The third student, though – a stallion by the name Gadgeteer – worked at a pace too quick for the others' liking. Even Doctor Marie did not seem comfortable with every demanding “Next!” the stallion from Hoofington gave.

While preparing for the next rally, Starlight looked over to his friend. “Hey Seven Seas, how is it that you're working with the earth so well, especially in the dark? Weren't you saying at the beginning of this week that you'd never worked with the element before?”

Seven Seas stomped on a patch of ground nearby and marked the spot with a big X with a stick he found. “Starrrlight! Don't ye know why a sailor wears an eye-patch?”

The young stallion shook his head.

Seven Seas continued, “Keeps the covered eye ready fer seein' in the dark. Surely a studious pony like yerself already knew that?”

Starlight chuckled, “Well, I've never really studied sailing and stuff before.” Gadgeteer lifted a giant firework over to Seven Seas's mark and plopped the wooden post into the ground. Starlight stared at the device that stood taller than himself, then spoke as he started to light its thick wick. “That brings up a question; what's a sailor like you doing at this academy?”

The titanic firework rocketed into the air, shrinking as it shot up and over the bay of the moon-shaped island. The entire color spectrum shot out like a ring, mimicking a sonic rainboom over the water. White swirls spun out and away from the center, then dove down to the water below.

“Arr, to be honest,” Seven Seas began, “I came to master me skills with the water and the air. I've got me a plan to become the greatest sailor in all o' Equestria! And, o' course, as me family don't have it very well in terms o' gold, the only way to improve our sailing is to use magic. Control the winds, control the waters. You know, stuff like that.”

“So... you want to become the best transporter of goods?” Starlight asked.

Seven Seas looked to Gadgeteer, who held a batch of smaller fireworks with his magic hold, and draw a long line across a patch of dirt nearby with his stick. “Arr, Starlight, ye be mockin' me. I plan to be in the great Equestrian Sea Race someday. If only someday. Winnin' first in that would help me fam'ly recover from our most recent losses.”

“Recent losses?” Starlight asked.

“Aye, business has been slow for sea travel,” Seven Seas told. “With these new hot air balloons and fancy flyin' machines, it's hard to compete. Pegasi have always been able to fly great distances, but earth ponies and unicorns depended on travelin' along rivers and the wide waters for years. Well, now they don't. The fam'ly doesn't know what to do; we all used to live close t'gether, but now relatives are movin' off. I told ye of a little cousin of mine from Trottingham-”

“Next,” said Gadgeteer in a bored tone.

Starlight looked at the line of pyrotechnics lined perfectly along Seven Seas's line. With a fabricated matchbox he struck eight matches at once, lighting the bunch of fireworks simultaneously. When the wicks burned down they whistled off into the night sky, erupting into a flurry of white sparks and flashes, their bursts the loudest of any the group had lit yet. Starlight could hear ringing in his ears, but he smiled at the bright display nonetheless.

“Excuse me!” yelled the professor, Doctor Marie, suddenly. Her soprano voice was very rich but sounded somewhat silly as she rarely spoke above her 'indoor voice'.

Starlight turned his neck quickly to see whom she addressed, but as soon as he looked he could tell it was not himself. It wasn't one of the other two lighting the fireworks, either. When the stallion looked into the distance he could make out a figure facing the edge of the darkened forest.

“You're not allowed to venture in there at this time!” Doctor Marie shouted at the stranger, who turned to face the four onlookers.

“Why not?” came the reply, the voice one of a female.

“It's Headmare Luna's orders!” Doctor Marie replied. “Would you be so kind as to step away from the woodland's edge and come over here, please?”

“Okay, okay. Sheesh.” The stranger backed away from the tall line of trees and approached the group.

“Next,” said Gadgeteer monotonously.

Starlight turned around quickly and lit another firework that had been planted. He didn't bother to watch it go off as he turned to identify the newcomer; her voice had sounded familiar.

When his eyes fell on the figure again the pony was drawing closer. When the firework he had lit exploded Starlight could make out a dissatisfied-looking mare of blue hues and a white stripe on her mane.

“Colgate!” Starlight said in surprise. “What are you doing over here? Isn't everypony up at the commons lawn watching the show?”

“Yeah yeah, it's nice and all, but I think I've seen enough,” Colgate replied, brushing off the idea as if it were unappealing. “What I really wanted to see tonight were the Northern Woods; I heard they're quite a sight when it starts to snow-”

“Young mare, I will have you know that the woods are currently off-limits to students and staff alike,” Doctor Marie said with a huff. “And in any case you would have to request permission to be venturing about in this area so late. Judging by your lack of knowledge regarding the current state of the woods, I'm assuming you failed to receive such permission from an instructor?”

Colgate rolled her eyes, which went unseen in the dark. “So... maybe I forgot. Why're the woods off-limits? Aren't students encouraged to explore them at least once this winter?”

“The Northern Woods are undoubtedly going to be a beautiful sight during the winter. The Headmare has said so herself!” Doctor Marie suddenly declared with sudden delight, which slumped away in a second. “However, recently there has been a possible spotting of strange activity inside the forest.”

Starlight nodded fervently, “I-It's true, Colgate, earlier this week I saw-”

“Now what kind of ridiculous pony could possibly think that something weird is going on in there? Who reported that!? Hasn't this island been abandoned for a thousand years?” Colgate growled. She let out an angry exhalation and quickly tried to compose herself. “Starlight, were you saying something?”

The stallion gulped. “N-Nope. Nothing.”

He looked over at his fellow two peers, the latter of which stood staring at Colgate and Starlight with a smirk on his face.

Not missing a beat, Seven Seas glanced over Gadgeteer and gave a mimicking, “Next.”

Gadgeteer's grin quickly turned upside down, and he turned to retrieve more fireworks with a snarl. Starlight and Seven Seas contained their laughs behind pressed lips.

Colgate looked at the two and shook her head slowly. “Sometimes I worry about you, Starlight. Anyway, I'm headed back to the castle. If there's no adventuring to do out here, then I'm not interested in staying. Have fun lighting the fireworks.”

“All right, see you around!” Starlight said, then returned to his work.

Colgate headed back in the direction of the academy with a heavy burden of small shame and burly boredom on her neck. She tried to shake the weight a number of times but couldn't get it off. Once she arrived back at the academy grounds, Colgate stopped and turned to look north one last time for the night. The mare's eyes followed the colored silhouettes that sat in tiers, from the low olive plains to the middle emerald forests to the tall smokey mountains.

Is there anywhere I can go on this island..?

Next Chapter: Chapter 10 (Episode 3): In for the Thrill Estimated time remaining: 9 Hours, 59 Minutes