The lone earth pony trudged along the dirt road, his head held low, brooding eyes staring forlornly at the ground beneath him. He shivered slightly as the cold autumn wind cut through his thin black blazer, the only piece of clothing he had and one ill-suited to the current weather. The path he walked twisted slightly as it approached its conclusion. Leaves of varying shades of brown fell from the trees flanking his sides, crunching loudly under his hooves in the otherwise silent wood path. Stars glittered brightly in the sky, made visible by the absence of leaves on the twisting branches of the trees below them. A bright full moon shone amongst them, its strong beams the only illumination to guide the solitary wanderer.

You did it again you fool he thought bitterly to himself. You ran without thinking, and now you’re here alone in the dark, freezing cold, wandering into a sleeping town. He sighed at the train of thought, knowing the mental berating was pointless. He was always going to be here, he just wished he had chosen a more suitable hour of the day to travel. Instead, his patience, or lack thereof, had gotten the better of him, and he set out in the dark of night. It must be past midnight at this rate, nowhere is going to be open. I’m going to end up sleeping outside like a vagrant. He chuckled darkly at the thought. Serves me right for being such an idiot. One day I’ll find some patience.

So lost was he in his thoughts that a near collision with a signpost almost announced his arrival. "Welcome to Ponyville’’ read a modest little rectangle of dark wood perched upon a rounded post, its text painted in the crude mouth-writing of an earth pony. He regarded the familiar site for a moment, searching his memory for the last time he graced the small town. It had been years easily. He was surprised the little sign still stood as it did all that time ago. The ponies of this town clearly were not ones for elegance or flair.

He strolled into the perimeter of the town, hoping against hope to find a building showing some signs of life. He didn’t have much luck at first, finding himself in a familiar marketplace. Wooden stalls lined either side of the unpaved pathway, empty of their vendors or wares for the night. He glanced about, taken aback by how little the town had changed since his last visit. I guess some things do stay the same. He smiled at the thought, enjoying the nostalgia of the moment and momentarily forgetting his situation. He was snapped back to the present by a glowing yellowish hue emanating from the windows of a ... tree? He stared in stunned silence at the sight that lay before him. The giant oak tree that had been a landmark of the town had apparently been transformed into some kind of building. He laughed quietly to himself at the strange architecture before him. So much for not having flair he thought. I wonder what kind of pony lives inside a tree. Probably some oddball he decided, it would explain why they are still up at this hour too. He approached the strange building, taking note of the sign outside its front door depicting an open book. A candle emblem was emblazoned across the red front door. Multiple lights were on inside the tree, thought he couldn’t hear a sound. He braced himself for what manner of pony he was about to meet, and tapped a hoof on the door.

Papers, books, ink and other literary paraphernalia glided aimlessly around the ground floor of the library, floating in place or flying violently across the room under an external influence. Some met the oaken walls of their home and slumped gracelessly to the floor, joining their fellow stationery in the growing pile that was amassing in the room.

“Oh where did I put it?” a distressed unicorn asked the room as she dashed around it, her voice slightly ragged from her fervent searching. The stationery and furniture in the room kept ignorantly silent to her enquiry. She growled angrily to herself, disappointed in her unusual slip in organization. A door upstairs creaked open.

“Twilight, do you have any idea how much noise you’re making?” a sleepy dragon asked, poking his head out the bedroom door. “What’s the problem now?” he enquired irritably.

“The problem Spike, is that I’ve somehow managed to lose a ten page report to Princess Celestia that I was going to have you send tomorrow morning,” she explained angrily, ignoring the dragon’s complaints. “I’ll never have time to write it again, and if I do I’m going to be way behind on everything else—“

*Tap* Tap* Tap*

A knock sounded from the front door of the library. Twilight leered at it with an expression that one might wear if the door had murdered a loved one. “Who in Equestria would be calling at this hour?” she demanded.

“Who in Equestria would be awake turning a library upside down at this hour,” Spike retorted sarcastically.

“Shut up Spike,” Twilight sneered back. She stomped furiously to the door, flinging open its top half haphazardly.

The earth pony on the other side of the door yelled in surprise as the wood flew towards his face. His neck retracted reflexively, saving him from what would have been a broken snout, if not decapitation. Behind it lay the top half of a purple unicorn who looked set to kill.

“WHAT?!” she yelled abruptly.

The earth pony stood stunned by the attempted assault on his snout and ear drums. After a few moments of staring dumbly at the unicorn, he coughed.

“Ahem um ... good evening!” he replied nervously.

The unicorn’s eyes narrowed. She took in the pony standing in front of her. His coat was a deep blue, his mane and tail a dark brown. He had a posh looking black blazer around his torso. “I really hope you have a good reason to be knocking on doors at this hour. Do you know what time it is?” Twilight lectured loudly.

“I know it’s kinda late, sorry,” the earth pony entreated. “My name is Sonic Gear. I’m looking for a place to stay. Would you know anywhere that would take me in at an hour like this? I called because you were the first building I saw with lights still on.” Stop rambling he thought angrily to himself.

Twilight took a deep breath to calm herself. The pony had been quite polite despite her outburst, so she deigned to try being more civil.

“Well you are calling at quite an odd time,” she explained, her voice lowering in volume. “But if you head in that direction” she pointed with a hoof “you’ll eventually reach a farm called Sweet Apple Acres. They usually have spare board, but don’t be surprised if you get an even less civil welcome from them at this hour.”

“Thank you Miss ...“

“Sparkle, Twilight Sparkle.”

“Thank you Miss Sparkle,” he bowed his head. “Sorry to have bothered you.” With that Sonic turned and began making his way to his new destination.

Fool he thought to himself. What else did you expect knocking on random doors at this time of night. He sighed again, getting more and more irritated with the ridiculous situation he had landed himself in. Couldn’t just wait ‘til morning, had to set out on your big ‘adventure’ right away. He dreaded what lay ahead of him, knocking at another door to most likely another yelling. Well you made your bed Sonic, sleep in it. He began to trot down the path, wanting to escape the cold night air as quickly as possible.

Rainbow Dash lowered her altitude as she approached the center of Ponyville, enjoying the gusts of cool night air massaging her wings as she did so. She loved this time of year, the colder temperature complementing the excessive body heat that she built up with her speedy flight. This particular night was gorgeous, not a cloud covered the bright stars (thanks to her handiwork she thought smugly) causing the slumbering town below her to be lit up by the shining moon. She surveyed the scene below her with artistic appreciation, taking pride in the fact that she was partly responsible for the pleasant scene. It bolstered her already fantastic mood. A huge grin covered her face. She had just gotten back from an awesome Wonderbolts show, and she was still ecstatic from the adrenaline that her idols always instilled in her. She dipped and rolled through the sky to expel the energy that the evening had built up in her. That’s when she noticed an odd sight. A lone pony was walking down the street in the direction of her house, looking somewhat lost. Usually Rainbow would keep to herself, but her current joyful mood caused her to feel a little extra sociable. Plus, she didn’t recognize this pony. She knew most of the ponies in town, so curiosity had gotten the better of her. She flew towards him.

Sonic Gear craned his neck upwards upon hearing the sound of flapping wings above him, the usually silent activity made audible by the extreme silence of Ponyville at night. He saw a pegasus with a multi-coloured mane flying towards him. He began to feel nervous as he realized she was coming straight towards him, and he took on a defensive stance.

“Hi there!” the pegasus greeted, alighting beside him. Sonic looked at her warily.

“Umm, hello,” he replied carefully.

“Hey relax,” Rainbow instructed with a smile when she noticed the pony’s uneasiness. “I’m from around here, and I thought you looked a little lost. Need some help?”

“Oh umm, yeah. I’m looking for ... Sweet Apple Farm I think it’s called?”

“Sweet Apple Acres you mean,” Rainbow corrected. “You’re on the right path. Follow me, my place is that way.”

“Alright,” Sonic agreed.

The pair began to trot side by side down the path. After a few moments silence, the pegasus spoke up again.

“Name’s Rainbow Dash by the way,” she said confidently, raising a hoof to her chest. “I recognize most ponies around here but you look new.”

“Uh yeah, my name is Sonic Gear. I’ve been to Ponyville before but that was a few years back.”

“What business you got at an apple farm at this hour?”

“Well, I was told at the library that they might have a place for me to stay for the night.”

“They might but, I feel sorry for any pony who has to wake up Applejack at this hour,” she grinned to herself.

“Applejack?” Sonic asked, feeling slightly more comfortable as he felt the pegasus meant him no harm.

“She runs the place, and she’s a good pal of mine,” Rainbow explained. “But I know her well, and she’s not gonna be happy with a pony waking her up at this hour!” she grinned again.

“Well, I’ll take my chances. I’m not quite up for sleeping rough tonight. Say, what are you doing up at this hour?”

Rainbow’s eyes lit up at the question.

“I was at the Wonderbolts show!” she explained, her voice gushing with enthusiasm.

Sonic stopped dead in his tracks.

“The ... Wonderbolts show?” he repeated, staring ahead of him.

“Yeah it was amazing, as always!” she gushed, not noticing Sonic was no longer following.

“So you’re a ... fan,” he spat out the last word as if it left a bad taste in his mouth.

The disgust with which Sonic had expelled the word caused Rainbow to stop as well. She turned to see the pony a few steps behind her, staring at the ground.

“Uhh ... yeah? You ok?” she asked, giving him a questioning look.

“I’m fine just ... I think you should fly on home now, I’ll find my way from here,” he said, staring at the ground.

“Oooooookayyyy,” Rainbow said nervously at the sudden awkwardness that had built. “See you around then ...” with that she took off, leaving the strange pony to himself.

Sonic continued staring at the ground, trying to quell the anger building in his chest. He took a few deep breaths, surprised still by how furious that one word could make him feel. He began to trudge along the path again, trying his best to rid his mind of the anger that had dominated it at the mention of their name.

He eventually reached a large plot of tilled land surrounded by a picket fence. Hundreds of apple trees dominated his vision, spread across rolling hills and covering the horizon. A sign above him read Sweet Apple Acres. He’d never visited the farm before on his few trips to the town. He was impressed with its size. He wandered down a path between the trees towards a large red farmhouse. To his disappointment not a single light was on in the house’s many windows. He was going to have to wake someone up. He sighed and braced himself for another verbal assault as he knocked loudly on the front door. No response. He knocked again. This time he heard some shuffling from inside. He continued knocking, knowing he was going to have to be persistent. Eventually a light came on inside. Sonic took a wide step back from the door this time, not forgetting his near death encounter from the last door he knocked on.

Sure enough the top half of the door swung violently open, revealing a disheveled, half-awake orange pony with a blonde mane.

“WHO IN TARNATION IS KNOCKING AT THIS HOUR?” she yelled.

Sonic decided to get straight to the point with this one. The sooner everypony could get back to a bed the better.

“I was told you have a place I could spend the night in here,” Sonic replied flatly.

“This ain’t no late night motel mister!” she replied angrily.

“I know, but I really need a place to stay. So do you have one or not?”

The earth pony grumbled and disappeared into the house, reappearing moments later with a key in her mouth. She tossed it at Sonic’s feet.

“That opens that room over there,” she pointed to a small shack beside the house. “There’s a bed in there and nothing else. Like ah said we’re not a motel, so there’s nothing for you to be stealing in there neither. Ya'll can pay in the morning, or not, in fact ah wouldn’t mind if ah didn’t see you again.” With that she slammed the door shut.

Charming Sonic thought to himself, picking up the keys with his mouth and approaching the shack. Placing the key in the lock, he pushed the door open and was instantly greeted by the unique odour of a farm building: a mixture of hay, various animals and other unpleasant scents. Better than out in the street he mused. He crawled eagerly into the bed, realizing how much his hooves were aching after he released them from the weight of his body. He wrapped himself in the thick quilt that adorned the bed, grateful for its warmth.