It was a cold morning and the land was riddled with fog. Celestia’s Sun barely pierced the fog and it looked more like daybreak than it did mid-morning. The sound of pony feet trotting could be heard as Twilight Sparkle, the Royal Princess Celestia’s Prized Scholar, had galloped up to the imposing walls of the city of Trottingham. She had worn a scholar’s hat on her head with an outfit that bared the royal crest of Canterlot to signify the importance of her position. However what was heard wasn’t Sparkle’s hooves at all, rather it was the sound of her loyal Assistant, Spike, a baby dragon, banging together 2 halves of an empty coconut.

From above those castle walls, another pony, he was wearing a bit of chainmail armor over his brown coat and light brown mane, with a shield as his cutie mark looked down at the pair who had just arrived at the city walls. “Who goes there” he asked the pair”.

Twilight had looked up at the pony and then began her well written introduction with a smile on her face as she began “It is I, Twilight Sparkle, Royal Princess Celestia’s Prized Scholar. Solver of the world’s greatest mysteries. Seeker of Truth. The Voice of the Princess.” She said her last part with a bit of swagger in her voice.

The guard pony looked over towards the baby dragon on Twilight’s back. “And whose the other one.”

“This is Spike” Twilight began to respond. “And he is my loyal and faithful assisstant. We have Ridden all the way from the capitol of Canterlot to gather Knights in my search of friends as ordered by the Princess.”

The guard pony then raised one of his eyebrows “Why does he have coconuts?

“Huh?” Twilight responded

“Coconuts”, said the guard pony “he was banging them together to make it sound like it was ponies trotting about. You are a pony. What was the point of that”

It was at that moment that Twilight had even started to think about why her assistant Spike had brought those coconuts in the first place, let alone why he was banging them together to make it sound like they were horse hooves. Then she responded to the guard pony’s question. “I am not quite sure but that’s irrelevant, go and tell your lord or lady that we have come to ask him or her to join my friendship-”

The guard pony then interuppted “Where did he get them”

Both Twilight and Spike looked bewildered as they looked at the coconuts and began to try and think of how they got them. The only response that twilight could give them was “We found them?”

The guard pony looked skeptical at this. “Found them? On the ground? But that’s impossible”

Twilight looked at the guard pony and responded with a furrowed brow “How exactly do you figure that

The guard pony showing much more knowledge than a normal guardspony would normally show than responded back “the coconuts are a tropical fruit grown on trees in a tropical zone. Trottingham is a temperate zone.”

Twilight than gave him a drop of knowledge of her own. “It is known by us scholars that a swallow may fly south for the winter to seek a warmer climate, yet you are questioning how is it that a coconut could be found around Trottingham and Canterlot.”

The guard pony stopped for a moment. Twilight had a smile on her face, thinking that she had educated the poor common guard pony, but then suddenly the guard pony came back “Are you suggesting coconuts migrate?” A sudden look of bewilderment hit Twilight’s face as she was struck dumbfounded by this statement.

Twilight looked up with her brow furrowed “Not at all” she responded. “I was simply saying that a swallow could have carried it across from Zebrabria”

the guard pony didn’t hesitate on his comeback “A tiny equestrian swallow carrying a coconut?”
` `
Twilight was quick to come back, interested now in this argument. “It could grab it by the husk”

The guard pony came back just as fast “It’s not a matter of where the darn swallow picks up the dang coconut it’s a simple question of weight ratio”

Twilight was completely bewildered by this, she was definitely not expecting a simple guard pony to bring this point up, not even scholars would’ve pointed this out to her.

The Guard pony didn’t let up “There’s no way a five ounce bird could pick up a 1 lb cocunut, much less fly it from Zebrabria all the way back to Equestria” It was at this moment though that Twilight Sparkle was stricken with an Epiphany. This argument was pointless.

Twilight looked up at the guard and then remarked at this “Look this argument is pointless, could you tell your lord or lady that we have arrived and wish to ask-”

But the Guard pony continued “In order for a swallow to maintain Airspeed Velocity it needs to beat it’s wings 43 times per second right?

Twilight began to grow frustrated “Sire would you PLEASES go and tell your-”

The guard pony once again interrupted “Am I right Miss Scholar?”

Twilight furious yelled out “I’M NOT INTERESTED IN THIS DISCUSSION SIR, I HAVE A MISSION IN WHICH I-”

She was cut off with the appearance of another guard this one with the same armor and her coat was red with a grey mane. She had joined in her companions discussion “Perhaps if it was a zebrabian swallow it could have lifted it.”

The male guard pony returned her statement with his own “Well of course a zebrabian swallow could have lifted but surely not an equestrian swallow and that’s the point I was making”

Twilight almost pleading with them cried out “PLEASE Ask your MASTER IF HE OR SHE WILL JOIN ME IN MY QUEST”

The female guard pony almost ignoring her continued on “But the zebrabian swallows don’t migrate now do they.”

The male guard responded “Oh no of course not, that’s my point again”

Twilight just shook her head, and instead continued onward as the two guards continued to debate about swallows and coconuts, as informative as this might sound to scholars, however Twilight has a mission she must accomplish. As she walked though she could hear the two still continuing their debate.

“Suppose two swallows carried it.”

“Now that’s just silly”

“No not really all they would need is just....”