The Prowler, at long last, crested over the final bump in the dirt between them and the town that had been their goal all this time. Now that they were close to it... well, it was decidedly underwhelming.

It was a collection of small, pony-sized houses largely constructed out of wood. There weren't any bright colors or even well-kept lawns, although the buildings themselves were well-constructed and clean. The structures jutted out of the earthy ground like chocolate chips on a cookie. A river ran through the town, feeding a handful of smaller fields growing plants Crypt couldn't identify. Not that he could identify much out here.

Clearly, the people of the town had seen them coming from a long ways off since roughly sixteen ponies had lined up at the edge of town they were approaching. At the moment, Crypt couldn't read their faces, so it was easy for him to assume they probably weren't welcome here. He prepared himself for a confrontation. Not likely a fight, but perhaps a stand would need to be made, a show of dominance.

"I think they're judging us. Are they judging us?" Myrrh asked.

Pinkie rolled her eyes. "We can't even see their eyes, what are we supposed to know about what they're doing?"

"They're standing in a line," Crypt added.

Pinkie facehooved. "I mean why they're doing that. We can't see any emotion yet!"

"My eyes are better than yours, then," Myrrh said. "I... well I see their ears twitching, that means they're angry, right?"

"My ears twitch all the time," Pinkie said.

"Oh. Then I don't know."

"I'm not normal."

Myrrh's nearly endless stream of words was stopped once again as her mind was unable to reconcile what she wanted to say with what had just happened. Crypt had seen this happen several times over the course of the last few hours. She clearly hadn't been around people in a while. Understandable, given the desert she had apparently come out of.

"We still need to say hi," Pinkie continued. "Myrrh, the Prowler does have a stop setting, right?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, it's just... inside." She jumped out of the harness and swung the door open. "Wow, you really made a mess in here."

"Sorry!"

"Oh, uh, it's... It's not a problem! It was already a mess! Really, in fact, I think I like your mess better than mine. Ahem. Got it! Initiating 'slow down' with this lever... here."

The Prowler started speeding up with a dramatic lurch that knocked Crypt off the top.

"SORRY! SORRY! WRONG WAY!" She pulled it back the other direction, bringing the Prowler to a slow crawl as it crawled to the town. They stopped a fair distance out, allowing the smoke to die out with a pathetic sputter. Pinkie bounced forward, the dragaina and the stallion following close behind - though Myrrh locked the door of the Prowler before leaving it behind.

As they approached, the buildings didn't suddenly gain new details. They were just as simple and basic as they had always been. However, the ponies did. There was a roughly even mixture of mares and stallions, with coat and mane colors generally sticking to a green-blue-brown pattern, indicating either that most of them were closely related or that there wasn't much variety in pony colors around here.

There were two ponies in the center of the line who clearly had more authority than the others simply by their position and forward-seeking stares. One was an older, frail mare in a silvery hat and a short blue mane. She was the only pony in the line that was completely blue, no sign of green or brown anywhere on her. To her side was a young bearded stallion - younger than Crypt - with a cheesy smile plastered on his face. His coat was white while his facial hair was a pale, shimmering blue with a green stripe through it. On his head sat an extremely tattered and dirty hat that kept the sun out of his eyes.

Pinkie waved to them. "HIIII!" she called.

"GREETINGS!" The stallion shouted, still smiling. "I WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME YOU T-"

"YOU SHOULD WAIT FOR US TO GET CLOSER SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO SHOUT AT US!"

"OH! OKAY! THAT'S VERY CONSIDERATE OF YOU, MY PINK DAMSEL! I AM FILLED WITH FAITH IN YOUR GOOD INTENTIONS!"

"YEAH! WE'RE PRETTY NICE! CAN'T WAIT TO GET THERE AND ACTUALLY MEET YOU!"

"LIKEWISE! I A-"

The blue mare nudged him at the same time Crypt nudged Pinkie.

"Heheh... guess I was still yelling..." Pinkie rubbed the back of her head.

A few moments later, they were close enough to shake hooves. Pinkie met not the bearded stallion's hoof, but the elder mare's. "Greetings, travelers," she said with a slow but authoritative voice. "I am Shimmer Brook. Welcome to Ser'ta'ta."

"Oh wow that's such a unique name!" Myrrh said, hands on her face in wonder.

"You really aren't from around here," Brook observed. "...I do have to ask you, are you from within the mountains?"

"Nope," Pinkie said with a smirk. "I'm not from anywhere you'd have ever heard of, Myrrh here came from the desert, and Crypt... Uh... Where are you from?"

"N," Crypt said.

Brook raised an eyebrow. "Come again?"

Crypt pointed west. "That way."

"Egad!" the bearded stallion laughed. "You say you come from beyond the Devil's Trees? That's absurd!"

"Your existence is much the same."

The bearded stallion scratched his beard. "Hmm... Is it possible that there are two groups of ponies on opposing sides of the Devil's Trees, unaware of each other's existence? Ma, I think I know where I'm pitchin' the next tent."

"You are not going to the Devil's Trees, " Brook said. "Nopony would be foolish enough to accompany you."

Pinkie raised a hoof before Crypt made her lower it. "Awww..."

"I am honored by your devotion to discovery," the stallion said, removing his hat in respect. "May I know your name, driven madam?"

Pinkie chuckled. "Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie, what's your name?"

"Antimony Blaze," he said, putting his hat back on. "And like my grandmare here, I welcome you to Ser'ta'ta! Come, make yourselves at home - I'm sure you all have a bunch of stories."

"Oh, I do!" Pinkie said with a giggle. "I bet Myrrh does as well!"

"Yes!" Myrrh said, raising her hand into the air. "There are many wonders in that desert to the north. It is known by many names - Servill, Ahastra, the Biting Grain - but I've come to know it as my eternal tormentor. ...I will probably have to change my mind, considering how I'm finally through the endless dust, bu-"

"Maybe wait until we actually get to the tavern?" Pinkie asked.

"O-oh, yes, by all means, tavern. Right."

Brook nodded curtly, a smile forming on her features. "I think everyone would very much like to know a lot more about you - and you more about us, from what I've seen. A trip to the tavern seems perfect."

One of the mares gasped. "You haven't stepped foot in the tavern since... Since the Prince from Ser'pi visited four years ago!"

"That was six years," Brook corrected.

"...I was estimating..."

"Regardless, it's almost eight, we should move there before we end up talking out here and get caught in the cold of night." She encased her metallic hat in a telekinetic aura, adjusting it - revealing herself to be a unicorn. The only one, as far as Crypt could tell from the bare heads on the rest of the townspeople.

At least her magic makes sense, unlike everything else out here.

"Come. A fresh meal awaits..."

"Oh, thank Celestia!" Pinkie said, starting to drool. "I was so done with those food bricks!"