The next morning, the ponies of Ser'ta'ta were gathered to wish the three travelers goodbye.

"It's been nice having you!"

"Hope you find the Technician!"

"I'll be on the lookout for your friends!"

Brook smiled, walking up to Pinkie and clasping one of the pink hooves in her own. "I have a cousin in Ser'ta'al, the next town on the path. Ask for Windstream, he'll give you anything you need if you just say my name."

"We will!" Pinkie said with a grin on her face. "I hope I'll be able to come back someday!"

"I share the sentiment," Brook admitted. "But few of your type ever return, no matter how much they may want. The world is just too expansive to backtrack all the way for us. You need not feel obliged to return - just know that you gave our lives a spark for a day."

"Aww, don't mention it!" Pinkie said, jumping onto the roof of the Prowler, landing right next to Crypt. "GOODBYE EVERYPONY!"

Brook, Antimony, and all the others waved them on.

"HIT IT MYRRH!" Pinkie yelled.

"Aye-aye ma'am!" Myrrh said with a strange arm-waving gesture - likely her culture's equivalent to a salute. She jumped into the Prowler, pulled a lever to jumpstart the engine, and they were off, crawling once more over the rocky hills at a leisurely pace.

Eventually, the ponies of Ser'ta'ta grew tired of waving at the receding engine, soon leaving only Antimony, Brook, and a mare who had hung around Myrrh a lot the night before.

The mare sighed. "Well... It was good while it lasted." She smiled softly at Brook and Antimony. "Back to the farm, huh?"

Antimony nodded slowly, dropping his head as he did so. "Ser'ta'ta's legacy will continue on, as it always has. The meetings with travelers are fleeting, but we are not!"

"Yeah... keep telling yourself that." The mare trotted away, going back to her cherry bush farm.

Brook looked to Antimony with an unreadable expression. "She offered you a seat, didn't she?"

Antimony shook his head vigorously. "Bah, it was nothing, she offers it to just about everypony, I'm sure. Wasn't for me and you know it. My place is here."

Brook raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't mean you can't take a vacation."

"...Vacation?"

"Vacation. Yes. A break. All those times you go camping, you're not at your 'post'." She smiled warmly. "We can survive without you for a few weeks."

"Are you saying I can... leave?"

"So long as you're back before next harvest."

"Ma, thank you!" He pulled her into a tight hug. "I never thought... Bless you!" He let out a laugh.

Brook smiled. "Now, if you happen to find a mare while you're out there, be sure to bring her back, y'hear?"

Antimony's smile dropped. "Ma..."

"What? You clearly aren't going to hook up with any of the mares around here, and you're getting a little old to wait for one to just pass through. I've got to get heirs to the family legacy somehow."

Antimony facehooved. "Egads, Ma, you have an angle for everything don't you?"

Brook smirked coyly. "You'd think you'd know me by now. Of course I do. Now go out and have fun. Just, please don't bring the dragon back."

"Yes, Ma," Antimony said with a roll of his eyes. "I won't fall for the dragon that flirts with everything."

"Good! Now git - they're going to outpace you on that thingamajig of theirs if you don't hurry."

"Right! Farewell, Ma! Love you!"

"Make your father proud!"

"I will, I will!" He finally turned his head forward and ran at a gallop toward the form of the Prowler. It took him a few minutes to catch up - it was moving pretty speedily. "Hey! Wait up!"

Pinkie was the only one who heard him. "Oh my gosh! Myrrh, slow us down, we've got another pony in the party!"

Myrrh jumped out of her harness and into the Prowler once again, pulling the lever to slow the craft. Antimony was able to catch up to them in less than a minute. "I'll be joining you - only for a short while, I need to be back by next harvest - but until then we can go hunt this Technician!"

"Welcome to the team!" Pinkie said, pulling him up and placing him next to Crypt. Crypt did his best to pretend Antimony didn't exist.

"Well, I say, a bit rude..." Antimony observed. "I'm sure he'll open up in time."

"How much time though?" Pinkie asked with a chuckle. Spontaneously, she looked up at the sky - and noticed the Sun wasn't round. It was hard to see over the intense lighting but... it was crescent shaped?

"We're gonna get an eclipse!" She shouted, giddy. "Oh this is going to be awesome!"

"It's just a Lurse transition," Crypt muttered. "Nothing to get excited about."

"Nothing to get excited about!?" Pinkie gasped. "That's it, I'm showing you all how to have a proper eclipse party. Myrrh, I'm turning the top of your Prowler into a temporary observatory."

"S-sure thing! I can stop i-"

"No no, keep moving, it'll add to the challenge!"

"...What's an observatory?" Antimony asked.

"...I am going to blow. Your. Mind," Pinkie said, grabbing him by the cheeks. "Probably agian, considering how much stuff I crammed into your head last night."

"Sounds boggligly fascinating!"