Part One: Introduction

Professor Hooves
Chapter One
Professor Hooves sighed as she slid a bundle of envelopes through the next door in Ponyville. It appeared that they were largely cards celebrating Hearth Warming Eve, judging by their rigidity. But it was none of her business what was inside the envelopes she was delivering.

The Pegasus ponies responsible for the weather were going rather overboard with the snow, she thought as she glided over to the next house. It was already at least a hoof thick, with more drifting down. It looked lovely for the ponies enjoying the warmth indoors, and for the young fillies and colts out sledging and playing, but for hard-working ponies like herself, it was simply cold. And wet, of course, once it melted into her coat.

The next door was the one with the stiff letterbox, so she used one hoof to lever it open while posting the envelopes through. More cards, it seemed. She did enjoy Hearth Warming Eve, regardless of the extra workload. The extra pay she received for the overtime was welcome when it came to buying gifts. The only drawback was that since the unfortunate incident involving the dropped parcels on her first day, she was not allowed to carry parcels, which really did limit her earning potential. But, she didn't mind too much. Her main income from the university was plenty.

Few, apart from her students, were aware of the fact that her main job was not delivering the post in Ponyville. It was probably a good thing that it wasn't, anyway; her colleagues at the post office never allowed her to forget her only mistake on the job. They thought that overfilling her bag, and stuffing it with rocks, was an amusing prank, and once the bag overturned and spilt letters everywhere it was her fault. Well, you can't win them all, she thought.

Her postbag was nice and light now, so she was using her wings to zip around. When the bag was heavy, it put a strain on her wings so she preferred to walk. Not now, though. She could keep her hooves out of the snow and simply land gracefully next to the letterbox she had to post through. It was definitely an improvement, but it wasn't going to dry her soaking wet mane and tail. She sifted through her remaining letters to see which houses remained. It appeared that there were two more residential houses then a final visit to Cupcake Corner, to give them their post and pick up a muffin. Derpy was very keen on muffins. The elaborate cupcakes were delicious, but a warm muffin fresh from the oven with soft chocolate chips... it was the perfect end to a hard shift.

The final two houses behaved themselves as Derpy expected, so she was soon weaving through the streets to Cupcake Corner, which was easily visible from above thanks to its distinctive roof. She allowed the aches to leave her back by doing a couple of slow barrel rolls, and rued the fact that her teaching job didn't pay enough for her to live comfortably. Thus, she had to deliver the mail part-time.

“Welcome welcome welcome!” Came a familiar voice as Derpy pushed the traditional door open and stepped into the warm shop, with the doorbell ringing above her head. Stamping her hooves on the doormat to dislodge the snow, she beamed at Pinkie Pie, who was hopping on the spot next to the counter.

“Hi Pinkie.” Derpy replied, stepping forward and up to the counter. “Are Mr and Mrs Cupcake around, or are you running the shop?”
“Oh, I'm running the shop.” Pinkie zoomed behind the counter. “They trust me. What would you like, Professor?”
“One fresh muffin, if you please.”
“Coming right up!” Pinkie disappeared into the back, full of her usual energy.

Derpy pulled the post out of her bag and placed it on the counter. There were a few cards for Pinkie, so she put those on a separate pile to make it easier for her favourite pink pony.
“One freshly baked super-duper muffin!” Pinkie placed it in front of Derpy, beaming.
“Thank you Pinkie.” Derpy said, handing over a couple of coins in payment. “Here's your mail.”
“Thank you thank you thank you!” Pinkie replied, eagerly tearing into her cards and then oo-ing at the contents.

The Professor decided to eat her muffin indoors, rather than braving the cold again.
“So Pinkie, are you looking forward to Hearth Warming Eve?” She asked, knowing the answer well before the words came out of her mouth.
“Oh YES!” The party pony replied, looking especially happy at the thought. “I'm throwing FOUR parties and going to TWO others!! Can you believe it??”
“Sounds very exciting, I hope you have a lovely time.” Derpy nibbled at her muffin.
“It is, it is! Gummy is coming with me for ALL of them, I wouldn't want to leave him out.”
“Gummy is certainly welcome to join in.”

Pinkie trotted off to hang up her cards, or do whatever Pinkie did with her cards, so Derpy continued eating her muffin, savouring the taste. She spotted a calendar on the wall, counting down the days until Hearth Warming Eve, and she realised that it was the last day of the term at the university the next day. So, one more day of lectures then she was free to enjoy the holiday season like all the other ponies. That was certainly cheering her up.

She finished the muffin and thanked Pinkie, who seemed to be busy with something mysteriously Pinkie Pie-like, then headed back into the cold. A chill wind nipped at her neck, reminding her to wear her scarf tomorrow. Her wings were a blessing in the cold weather, allowing her to head home straight as an arrow and minimise her time in the wet snow.

Welcoming her home was a large pile of her students' work, which she had left on her desk when she went out to do the post. It couldn't dampen her mood, though, as she put some music on and sat down to mark it. The falling snow and decorations filling her house were perfect for making her feel better. It was even a Hearth's Warming Eve-themed pencil that she put between her teeth as she got down to the last of her work.

Chapter Two
The day dawned bright, which meant that there was no fresh snow falling. The alarm clock woke Derpy at six, and she quickly had breakfast and dressed in a warm scarf and hat. She'd heard somewhere that ponies lost most of their heat through their ears, so she tried to cover them up as often as possible when she was feeling cold.

Her route to the university was one well-travelled, and it took her over the outskirts of the Everfree Forest en route to Canterlot. The Forest looked beautiful with the boughs bending under the weight of the snow, and Fluttershy's cottage nestled in the snowdrifts. The winter winds seemed to blow all the loose snow there, but Fluttershy enlisted the help of Spike occasionally to keep her path melted and clear.

The mountains just looked white, so Derpy kept her eyes fixed on the towers of Canterlot to guide her to her place of work. She never seemed to be without her saddle bags full of marked work lately, but it didn't feel like much this time. Skirting round the mountain side, Derpy saw the observation tower of the university on the far side of Canterlot and made straight for it.

She landed in the courtyard near her department and brushed herself down. Flying through winds always left her looking a little dishevelled, and that was no way to present herself to her students. Unless, of course, she had worked in the school of magic, in which case she could turn up looking like whatever she pleased, but the university had rather higher standards of dress.

A sign on the wall nearby indicated that Derpy, or rather, Professor Hooves, was entering the mathematics department of Canterlot University.

She laid the marked work down on her desk in the lecture hall and shrugged off her saddle bags. It was five minutes until her students were due to arrive. Thankfully, mathematics wasn't particularly popular in Canterlot, so there were only about fifteen ponies in her class. Less students meant less work, and she couldn't complain about that.

“Good morning Professor.”
“Good morning Sweet Barley.”

“Good morning Professor.”
“Good morning Flower Dust.”
This repeated as Professor Hooves' students arrived, all with heavy textbooks and pencil cases in their saddle bags. They took seats near the front of the lecture hall, sitting eagerly. The Hearth Warming Eve spirit was infectious and the entire university was happier than usual.

“Welcome everypony to the last lesson before the Hearth Warming Eve break. I have marked your assignments, and you can pick them up on the way out at the end.” Derpy said, smiling at them all. “I was very pleased with the quality, so you have nothing to worry about. Anyway, let's move right on to the lesson today.”

Some of the students sighed a little at the idea of working on the last day of term, but Derpy ignored them with a small smile to herself. They would get over it.
“Today we're addressing the principles of fluid dynamics once again. I know we've been over this at least twice, but it was your weakest point on the assignment.” She picked up some chalk between her teeth and began drawing a diagram of a curved pipe on the wall.

“Professor?”
The question startled Derpy. Normally her students sat quietly and took notes, saving their questions until the end. To be interrupted mid-flow, as it were, was very unusual.
“Erm, yes?”
“How did you get your cutie mark?”

In any other lecture, Derpy would have ignored the question and gone back to the work. However, this was a special case. Partly because of the relaxed feel to the university, but also partly due to what she was actually teaching.
“Well, what would you guess?” Derpy asked, putting down the chalk and smiling.

The students looked a little confused, looking at one another and raising their eyebrows.
“Any guesses?”
“Professor, is it because you go swimming, or scuba diving?”
“Excellent guess, but no.”
“Um, do you blow bubbles for fun?”
“Also no.”

With that, everypony was stumped.
“Want to know the story behind my cutie mark?”
None of the ponies were enthusiastic enough to say anything, but they all looked intrigued as Derpy surveyed them. Actually, their keen gaze made her feel uncomfortable. She was acutely aware of her wall eye, which gave her a strange look. Coupled with her occasional clumsiness, she got a reputation she felt she didn't deserve. Excited young ponies were especially good at whispering to each other about her eye, which made Derpy self-conscious.

Thankfully, this time they simply looked at her and said nothing.

Chapter Three
“When I was a filly, younger than all of you, I really enjoyed learning. I enjoyed school. In fact, I enjoyed it so much, I was surprised that my cutie mark didn't appear sooner. But I was last in my class to get my cutie mark, by quite a long way. And everypony knows that the last in the class to get their cutie mark is the awkward, shy one, right?”

The students nodded.
Derpy continued. “Well, I became concerned that school was holding me back. Surely if it didn't give me my cutie mark, it wasn't my special talent. So I left Ponyville, where I live, and came to Canterlot to look for other things to try. Which is when I first encountered Canterlot University.”

This twist brought an even more confused look to the faces of the ponies listening.
“Strange, isn't it. But I tried the library in the university, which you will all be familiar with. The only problem was, when I asked for directions to the story book area, I was laughed at. The ponies all thought I was a backward, country pony who had no place at the university.”

“Well, I ran away and cried. I ran straight past them, and hid in the furthest corner of the library. And in those days, that corner was full of dusty, unread mathematics books. When I was a filly, nobody studied it.”
This dramatic point was lost on the students, for whom Derpy's childhood sounded like a million years ago.
“Anyway, I lay in the corner and cried until I was sure nobody was looking for me. They turned off all the lights and locked the door, so I was stuck in the university library.”

“It was dark and a little cold, so I just stayed in my corner and waited. But boredom got the better of me, and I pulled a couple of the dusty books off the shelves to look at. The first few were boring, lots of text and nothing a young filly could understand.”
“But then, the best thing happened. I pulled out a particularly dreary looking book, and opened it to find a beautiful coloured diagram. I looked closer, and I actually understood all of it. By the time they came back to open the library, I had finished the book.”

Some of the students were staring to fidget with their manes, so Derpy hurried the story along. “Anyway, the book was all about... Fluid Dynamics. And the diagram I saw was the same one I've drawn here.” She tapped the diagram on the blackboard with her hoof. “As soon as I got back to Ponyville, I did some experiments in the bath with the flow of liquids around bubbles of gas. When I got out, not only was I clean but my amazing cutie mark had appeared.”

There was silence in response to the story.
“OK, I accept it's not the best story. But everyone's cutie mark means a lot to them.”
“Professor, were you doing an experiment when you pulled the plug out of the apple bobbing barrel on Nightmare Night?”

Derpy couldn't help but laugh. “Ah yes, rumours really do spread quickly. Where did you hear about that?”
“A few ponies from the university live in Ponyville and were there...”
“Well, yes. I wanted to experiment on the flow of water in a non-linear shaped contained of high-volume, but they are very hard to find. When I saw the barrel, I had to take my chance.”
This made everypony laugh.

Derpy returned to her lecture, glancing at her cutie mark occasionally and smiling. By the end of the lecture, she didn't even feel like setting an assignment over the holidays.
“OK, that's it everypony. You may go. Please pick up your assignment on the way out, and make your corrections over the holiday season.” She said, watching her students hastily packing their books into their saddlebags. “Have a merry Hearth Warming Eve.”

“You too, Professor.”
“Happy holidays, Professor.”

And then the lecture hall was empty, but for Derpy's drawings and the pony herself. She used a cloth to clean the blackboard, tidied a little then left herself. No point hanging around in the cold.

She had her dinner in the university cafeteria, enjoying some toasted hay and, of course, a dessert muffin, before making her way back to Ponyville for the holidays.

Chapter Four
The highlight of the season, apart from the complimentary muffins offered by the mayor's office, for Derpy was the play. The previous year she had played Rainbow Dash's assistant, and she was quite pleased with the performance. Auditions were being held in the town hall that day, so Derpy dressed up warmly and flew down to try and get a role in Equestria's favourite tradition.

“OK everypony, we will begin auditioning. Earth ponies, you will audition with me. Unicorns, with Cheerilee. And Pegasi, head for Big Mac.” The mayor called out as soon as Derpy arrived. Derpy smiled and headed for the short queue of Pegasi, keen to get started and show what she could do.

“Derpy Hooves?” Big Mac said, in his usual slow manner.
“Present.” Derpy replied, nodding and doing her best to look presentable. Big Mac raised an eyebrow, clearly recalling her previous clumsy incidents.
“OK Derpy, I'm not going to audition you... Twilight Sparkle wants a word.” He said, reading off his clipboard.
“Why?” Derpy replied, feeling worried that she might miss out.
“Just go, I'm quite busy. Sorry.” Big Mac said, before calling out the next name.

Twilight was waiting at the back of the town hall, where the stage was beginning to be set up.
“You wanted to see me, Twilight?”
The purple unicorn beamed when she heard Derpy, and turned around from whatever she was doing.
“Hi Professor!”
“You can call me Derpy when I'm not at the university, Twilight.”
“Oh, OK, well, anyway... I have a favour to ask of you.”
“What is it?”

“You see, the Princess has invited Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rainbow, Rarity, Applejack and I to participate in the Canterlot production this year...”
“Oh, wow! That sounds like an amazing honour!”
“Yes, it really is! I'm certainly very excited. Anyway, the Princess has invited a number of ponies from Ponyville to go to Canterlot and join in... just minor roles, though.”
“So?”
“Well, since you were so good last year, I'd like to extend an invitation to you!”
“Oh my, what an honour! The Canterlot production is the centre of all the celebrations. I'd love to go.”
“Excellent! I'll tick you off on my list.”
“Wow, thank you for the offer.”
“It's quite alright. You'll probably have a role in the Pegasus crowd or something.”
“That's the role I've perfected here in Ponyville!” Derpy grinned, flexing her wings a little.

Twilight giggled. “Very good. OK, the train will be leaving on the day of the festival, if you'd like to ride with us.”
“That sounds perfect. I will see you then.” Derpy said, before heading back into the cold, feeling very pleased. Participating in the Canterlot show was... amazing. She might even see some of her old students in the audience!

On the way out, she was stopped by none other than her partner from last year, Rainbow Dash.
“Hi Derpy! How's it going?”
“Oh, good thank you Rainbow. You? I heard about your part in the Canterlot play.”
“I know! I'll be Captain Hurricane again, super awesome and the best in the whole play.”
“You'll be great, just like last year!” Derpy smiled.
“With you in the play, it'll be even better! You are going, aren't you?” Rainbow questioned her.
“Oh, of course!”
“Great! Well, I'll see you there... I need to rehearse my lines!” Rainbow said, before disappearing off with a flash of her signature Rainbow.

Chapter Five
In the excitement about going to Canterlot, and the too-frequent rehearsals organised by Twilight Sparkle, the time until the festival slipped away until it was the dress rehearsal, just the day before.
“Come on Rainbow, try harder!” Twilight complained, pointing her hoof up at the scenery.
“Okay, okay, it's not easy flying around with these massive wooden clouds up here!” Rainbow snapped back.
“Fluttershy can do it!”
“Oh, no, I'm just following Rainbow.”

Derpy was sat in a chair, watching. She didn't have a speaking part this time, so she was only needed towards the start, when there were crowds of Pegasi.
“Let's try it again!”
Really, everyone was perfect. It was just that Rainbow Dash got impatient and rushed things, leading to Twilight getting angry. They had been rehearsing almost constantly since the play had been announced, and Derpy had spent hours upon hours sat in the chair watching the others performing.

Rainbow didn't crash into the cloud this time, but she did clip it with her wings, and it looked like she might have done it deliberately. The cloud swung crazily, before the wire supporting it broke and it plunged towards the stage. Rarity just looked up in fear as the block of wood fell towards her, but a helpful hoof from the lightning-quick Pinkie Pie pushed her clear before she was crushed.
“RAINBOW!” Twilight yelled, her eyes wide with anger.

The rehearsal broke down into arguments over who did what wrong, while some of the younger ponies dragged the broken cloud away for repairs. Derpy felt a little bad, because their rehearsals were always running over because of problems like this, and the Ponyville play was losing out on valuable time.

“That will have to do.” Twilight sighed, sinking down onto a bench and shaking her head. Spike comforted her and Derpy decided it was time to go back home for the evening. After all, it was the big day soon, and she needed to be well-rested.

Arriving home, she made sure she had her scarf and hat ready for the next day, since the train journey went through the mountains and got pretty chilly. Her warm bed was now calling her name quite insistently, so she gave up and had an early night. As she lay with her eyes closed, she was thinking about her role the next day and how exciting it was going to be to be back in Canterlot.

Part Two: Hearth's Warming Eve

Chapter Six
The following day, Derpy arrived at the train station bright and early, to find Twilight Sparkle in the midst of one of her traditional panics.
“Oh hi Professor, you're in compartment one. I need to find Rarity, have you seen her? Have you?”
“Twilight, I said you may call me Derpy away from the university. And no, I haven't seen Rarity. I can fly down to her house if you like?”
“No, no, she will probably have left by now. Oh my, there's so much to be done. Wait, Pinkie! Don't touch that!” Twilight rushed off to prevent Pinkie's latest mishap. Which was more likely to turn into a mishap for Twilight, Derpy thought, as she loaded her overnight saddle bag onto the train. Her allocated seat was by the window, so she put the bag in the overhead locker and took a good look around outside.

The platform was busy with ponies coming and going, mainly at the orders of Twilight Sparkle who was now looking through a weighty checklist, the bulk of which was being held by an overworked Spike. Rainbow Dash was her usual self, relaxing on a trolley which was being pushed by Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked far from impressed, and spent most of their time glaring angrily at Scootaloo, who appeared to be enthusiastic about pushing her idol across a railway platform.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders' misery was cut short when Applejack spotted what was going on and delivered a short, angry lecture to Rainbow Dash about the evils of letting young ponies do work for you. The sight of this made Derpy giggle. Chastised, Rainbow Dash got off the trolley and zoomed into her carriage, which Derpy assumed she would be sharing with the rest of her friends. There was no way Twilight would lose the opportunity for extra time rehearsing on the train.

A shrill peeping sound came from the chuffing engine, suggesting that the drivers were ready to go. This sent Twilight into a double-panic, and she ran down the platform, eyes wide. Derpy decided this was the time to withdraw to her seat, to prevent being press-ganged into triple-checking the luggage or something.
A few ponies that Derpy recognised were in the compartment with her, so she shared a good-natured laugh about Twilight's organisation before settling into her seat for the journey. The window offered an excellent view of the route she normally took to work, but from a wholly different perspective.

It transpired, of course, that Twilight would be last one onto the train, almost missing it in her haste to round up the remaining ponies on the platform. Once the purple unicorn was safely on board, the train whistled again and the gears began turning, pulling the carriages into gentle motion, speeding up as they left Ponyville Station behind them.
“I'm so excited for the play later!” One of the ponies who had a market stall in Ponyville said.
“I totally agree. I just hope that my clumsiness doesn't strike midway through, I wouldn't want to embarrass the Princess.” Derpy replied, laughing a little.
“So do the rest of us, Derpy! You'll be fine, I'm sure.”
Derpy smiled, pleased to have the encouragement.

“Oh, and thank you for delivering those cards the other day. I'm sure your post bag was quite heavy.”
“You're very welcome. It is my job, after all.” The clumsy pony beamed, hoping that her wall eye didn't diminish her sincerity.
“Still, it was very cold then. With the snow falling and everything.”
“It's okay. It didn't take too long.”

Looking back out of the window, Derpy admired the scenery. Travelling through the mountains was always a treat, but with the snow everywhere turning them white, it was an extra bonus. Glancing down at the carriages behind, Derpy noticed a few ponies waving at Ponyville in the distance. She followed suit, sticking her head out and smiling at the buildings which appeared tiny all the way back there.

Canterlot quickly approached from the front of the train as the mountains gave way to the capital city. Derpy felt a little rush, as she always did when she saw the beauty of the city in which she worked. The towers and spires were were inspiring.
Canterlot Central Station was as busy as ever, perhaps even more so due to it being the holiday season. Derpy alighted as soon as she could, glad to exchange the interior of the train for the crisp air outside. Her saddle bag was thankfully light as she bounded towards the city, careful not to lose the rest of the ponies.

It turned out that she didn't really need to worry, since everypony was keen to do their own thing and see the wonders of the city. Derpy waited to see if anyone wanted to go with her, but in their haste she seemed to have been forgotten. Twilight and the others steamed past, in quite the hurry, which surprised Derpy a little. She had expected Twilight to be a little indifferent, since she was an ex-pupil of Canterlot Magical Academy and had lived in the city prior to moving to Ponyville.

Derpy blinked as her eyes watered, wondering whether it was the cold or the sting of loneliness that was causing it. She resigned herself to be the forgotten one and thought about visiting the university library before a small voice caught her attention.
“Professor? Professor?”
Her head whipped around, maybe a little too quickly, her blonde mane flying in all directions.
“Yes?”

The voice belonged to a small filly named Apple Bloom, whose thick red mane was swaying slightly in the breeze.
“We're not sure where my sister and the others have gone... did you see them?”
Apple Bloom was with her friends, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, all of whom looked a little shy and embarrassed.
“Oh, they dashed off a minute or so ago. Sorry.”
“I knew they'd do this. And we even pushed Rainbow Dash on that stupid trolley to try and get her to let us tag along.” Sweetie Belle moaned, scraping her hoof through the snow in frustration.

“Sorry to hear that, girls.” Derpy said, smiling. “Hopefully you can find someone else.”
“Aww, and I wanted to see all around Canterlot.” Scootaloo complained, looking at Apple Bloom. “Why couldn't you have been nicer to your sister?”
“Well, you made us push Rainbow Dash!”
“So? Sweetie Belle should have got Rarity to show us round!”
“I asked her and she said she was busy! It's not my fault!”
“It's Rainbow Dash's fault, which makes it Scootaloo's fault!”

With this, the three friends descended into a quick tussle, blocking the path out of the station. Derpy was not used to dealing with kids, but did her best in the situation.
“Come on girls, break it up.” A well-placed hoof prised them apart and pushed them aside, so that the path was free again.

Chapter Seven

All three of the Cutie Mark Crusaders looked a little embarrassed to have been fighting on the path.
“We're sorry.” Apple Bloom said, addressing Derpy.
“That's quite alright, Apple Bloom. Just try not to fight in people's way, okay?”
“Hey, we should ask Derpy to show us around!” Scootaloo suggested excitedly.
“Yeah, that's a great idea!” Sweetie Belle confirmed, looking at Apple Bloom expectantly.
“Why do I always have to ask the grown up ponies when we want something?” Apple Bloom replied a little angrily.

“Hey, girls, calm down. Of course I'll show you around.” Derpy said, hurriedly, anxious not to have to break up another brawl.
“Yaaaaaay!” The Cutie Mark Crusaders said in unison.
Maybe their special talent is falling out... or speaking at exactly the same time, Derpy thought as she led the way into the city.
“So, where would you like to go first?” The grown-up pony asked, looking down at her companions.

“Um... how about the Princess' palace?” Apple Bloom said, touching her hoof to her chin in thought.
“Yeah!” Was the reply from the other two.
“Okay then, we should go left here. It's really not far away.” Derpy said, keeping an eye on them to make sure they didn't fall behind. “I don't think we can go inside though, because the Princess is living there at the moment and we weren't invited. Just look from the outside.” She advised, using her working knowledge of Canterlot to take a short cut and avoid the busy marketplace.

The Palace appeared at the end of the boulevard, resplendent as normal.
“Woooow!” The Cutie Mark Crusaders said, looking up at it with wide eyes.
Derpy also drank in the beauty of the spires and towers, mirroring the majesty of Celestia herself. It really was the crown jewel of Canterlot.
“So which bit does the Princess live in?” Scootaloo asked.
“She lives somewhere in one of the towers. Most of the main part is banqueting halls and the royal garden and stuff like that.” Derpy replied, trying to sound knowledgeable.

“It's so pretty!” Apple Bloom exclaimed.
“I want to live in a palace like that some day.” Sweetie Belle added, her hooves on the railings so she was as close as possible.
“Maybe your special talent could be living in a palace.” Scootaloo smirked.
“Hey, be quiet Scootaloo!”
“I'd prefer a palace with a couple of ramps, and maybe an obstacle course.”

Derpy decided it was time to move on before the three of them got into a pickle.
“Okay, so where next?”
“Umm...”
“Well, I think we should go to the grand theatre last, since it's where the show will be. That leaves, well, the market... the restaurant district, the main park... um... and the university, I suppose.” Derpy said, racking her brains for places that wouldn't bore three young fillies out of their minds.
“The university sounds boring.” Scootaloo replied. This was what Derpy had hoped nopony would say, since the university was the bit she knew most about.

“I say we grab some food! I missed breakfast because of Rarity's fussing.” Sweetie Belle said, excitedly.
“Seconded!”
“Thirded!”
Derpy sighed and laughed a little. “Well, okay then. We'll grab some famous Canterlot doughnuts to be going on with, how's that?”
“Sounds excellent.” At least Sweetie Belle knew what she wanted.

Derpy took the three of them to Doughnut Delight's Delicious Doughnut Deli. It wasn't really a Deli of any description, but Derpy knew it was for the alliteration. Anyway, on a street with at least four other doughnut shops, it was pretty obvious what was being sold.
“Could it be... Professor Hooves?” Doughnut Delight said when Derpy entered, with three fillies in tow.
“Hi Doughnut Delight.”
“Please, call me Delight. It's been a long time since you were last in here! Not since your days as a student, I suppose.”

“You must have a long memory.” Derpy said, blushing a little at the memories of late night doughnut feasts.
“I sure do, I can remember almost everypony who I've sold a doughnut to. But anyway, who are these delightful girls you're looking after?” Delight said, looking down at the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
“We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders!” Scootaloo announced.
“And we are here to earn our cutie marks!” Added Sweetie Belle.
“Maybe we'll get the doughnut eating cutie mark!” Cried Apple Bloom.

Delight looked sceptical.
“Sorry. This is Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom.” Derpy explained, pointing to each one in turn. “And I suppose I'd better get them... a chocolate whirl each. But only one, mind, they're only little.”
“Would those chocolate whirls be with sprinkles?”
“Girls?” Derpy thought she might as well let them decide for themselves.
“Yes!” Once again, they spoke in unison.

Derpy took them over to a table where everypony sat down, before Delight appeared with a tray of four doughnuts. Derpy paid with the coins she had in her saddlebag, treating her young friends.
“Thank you Derpy.”
“Thank you Derpy.”
“Yes, thank y'all Derpy.”
“You're welcome. Hopefully this will make up for your missed breakfast, Sweetie Belle.”
“It sure will!”

Three hungry young fillies really didn't take long to wolf down their doughnuts, so Derpy rushed hers a little to keep up. It certainly was a delicious doughnut, but it didn't really compare to a nice, warm muffin. Still, better than nothing.
“Okay, so where next, Cutie Mark Crusaders?” Derpy asked, looking down the table at them.
“Is there anywhere we could try and earn our cutie marks?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Probably not, I'm afraid. This is more of a sightseeing visit.”
“Aww.”

“How about we go to the main park? It's really nice there with the snow, and you could probably make a snowpony?” Derpy tried. She really needed to be better with kids.
Scootaloo didn't seem convinced. “A snowpony? Aren't we a little old for that kind of thing?”
However, her answer was provided by the other Cutie Mark Crusaders, who stared at Derpy with huge grins.
“I love making snowponies!”
“I'll race you!”

As soon as they said it, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle ran out of the shop, despite the fact that they had no idea where the main park actually was.
Unimpressed, Scootaloo got up to follow her friends, and Derpy did the same, waving goodbye to Delight as they left. Exploring Canterlot was reminding her a little of her own days as a filly in the big city, and it was giving her a warm nostalgic feeling.

“Uh, Derpy?”
“Which way is it to the park?”
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom looked suitable embarrassed for running off without directions.
“Follow me. It's not really very far from here. In the summer, ponies eat their doughnuts on the grass, but it's a bit cold at the moment.” Derpy explained, leading the three of them through a couple of twisting streets that came out at the side of the huge park, which was a pure white colour with fresh snowfall relatively undisturbed.

“Yaaaaaaaay!” It took a fraction of a second for all three fillies to be charging towards the snow, eager to make a snowpony. This included Scootaloo, despite her earlier reservations.

Chapter Eight

The snowpony was actually surprisingly good, much better than anything Derpy had made when she was younger. Although, she totally lacked any artistic talent, and hers usually ended up looking like snow piles rather than snowponies.
More tired, and a lot colder and wetter, the Cutie Mark Crusaders checked their flanks for signs of a snowpony-building cutie mark. As normal, though, there was nothing there. They returned to Derpy no less enthusiastic, however.
“Can we go someplace else?” Apple Bloom asked, hoping to see more of Canterlot.
“Sorry girls, but we've got to make our way to the theatre now.” Derpy said, having spotted the clock tower saying it was only three hours until the curtain went up.
“Awwww.”
“You might be able to persuade somepony else to take you out tomorrow, though. The train doesn't leave until the afternoon.”
“Okay Derpy.”

Derpy pointed out a few more sights as they wound their way to the theatre. Normally the theatre was used for putting on plays and musicals, but it always set aside Hearth's Warming Eve for the special play. The good news was that it could seat hundreds upon hundreds of ponies, and the facilities were the best in all of Equestria.
The four ponies arrived at the front door and were quickly ushered backstage. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were clutching their tickets and disappeared off to some corner to make trouble as soonas they got inside.

Looking around, Derpy tried to find a friendly face that wasn't the crazed face of Twilight Sparkle. Although, to be fair, Twilight had calmed down quite a bit. Listening to the general hubbub, it seemed that Derpy had missed a visit from the Princess earlier, which has probably done wonders for Twilight's nerves.
“Professor! The Pegasi are rehearsing over there.” Twilight said as soon as she spotted Derpy on the way in. This time Derpy didn't bother correcting her and simply went over to join Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and the others.

“Hi Derpy. Are you r-ready?” Fluttershy stuttered. She seemed to be suffering from stage fright, even this far before the show.
“Yes, thank you. I'm all ready to go. Once I put my costume on.” Derpy replied, trying to reassure the quiet pony.
“G-good, I suppose.”
“How about you?”
“Oh, oh m-my. I'm a tiny bit ready... just a t-tiny bit.”

Derpy donned her costume quickly, adjusting the helmet so that it sat squarely on top of her head without flattening her ears too much. Rainbow Dash was prancing around, acting as if she was the greatest Commander Hurricane in history, which seemed to be putting Fluttershy off. To try and keep the peace, and subdue Rainbow Dash as much as possible, all the Pegasi rehearsed their lines and did their best to perfect the cheers and boos they needed in the play.

Swept up in the excitement, Derpy didn't notice as the time slipped away until it was merely a few minutes until the curtain went up. There had been some bickering over the windows to the theatre which threatened to worsen, largely because of Rarity's arrival in immaculate clothes.
Derpy had to deliver a list of ticket-holders to the security ponies on the door, to resolve some dispute over seating. She took this as a good excuse to get away from the tension, and removed her costume before she went so as not to spoil it for the audience.

On her way back from delivering the list, she heard her name being called.
“Hey Professor Hooves, over here!”
Looking to see who was asking for her, she discovered it was a few of her old students, who must have graduated at least four years ago.
“Hi there, how is everypony doing?” She asked politely, not wanting to stop for long because the curtain was imminent.
“Wow, Professor, I didn't expect to see you here! You're in the play?”
“Indeed. Look out for me in the Pegasus crowds.”
“Good luck, break a leg! Oh, and could you wave to the student ponies in the middle, near the front? We know them from the university and you probably taught a few of them.”
“I'll do that. Nice seeing you.”

Derpy returned backstage, then made her way to the curtain. Peering out, she spotted the ponies in question and gave them an enthusiastic wave – they cheered and all waved back.
A tapping on her flank made Derpy look back behind the curtain, where an angry-looking Cherry Pop was waiting.
“Stop that. We're about the start.” He scolded.
Feeling a little silly, Derpy made her way back to the other Pegasi and put her costume back on. Being told off was never a nice feeling, and she was still stinging a little as the curtain was raised and Spike began the narration.

Chapter Nine

Once the play was over, Derpy felt really pleased. Her role had been minor, but exciting, and now that her costume was safely stored, she only had the rest of the holiday to enjoy.
This feeling of freedom was quite short-lived, though, because just as everypony else was packing up to go to the wing of the town hall that was available for the actors to stay in, one of the university librarians hurried up to Derpy with a concerned look.

“Professor, may I have a minute? It's very important.”
“Of course. What's the problem?”
“It's, well, it's terrible, actually. It's the library.”
“What about it?” Derpy asked, alarmed. Normally, the library was so quiet over the holidays that they barely needed the librarians.
“We're not sure what it is... but it's eating the books.”
“Eating them?!?”
“Yes, eating right through them. Biting the pages and leaving nothing, only the covers.”
“Oh my. I'll come right away.”
“Do you think Twilight Sparkle could help?”
“I'm not sure where she's gone.”
“I'll keep looking. Please go to the library.”
“I'll be there in a flash, don't worry.”

The librarian hurried off, looking very worried, and Derpy quickly weaved her way through the crowd leaving the theatre and took off, heading straight for the distinctive roof of the university.
Once there, she hurried into the library complex, almost running straight into a librarian who was also rushing around.
“Professor! Thank Celestia you came so quickly!”
“What's the problem? The books are being eaten?”
“Come with me.”

In a corner of the library was a stack of book covers... with no paper between them. There were scraps, with huge bite marks taken out of them.
“It started this evening... we can't figure out what's done it. We just go to an area of the library to find chaos, and eaten books everywhere.”
“Oh my, this is terrible!” Examining the books that had been eaten, it appeared that the plague had eaten its way through the 'Magical Diseases' and 'Rare Herbs' sections, and that was merely the tip of the iceberg.

“Have you ever seen anything like this before, Professor? Or read about it?” The librarian asked, sounding worried.
“No... I'm the Professor of Mathematics, not magic, or literature. It's way outside my field.”
“Well, all the other Professors are home for the holidays and we can't reach them until tomorrow at the earliest. I'm afraid you're our only hope, along with Twilight Sparkle, if she arrives. We've heard she's solved many of the problems in Ponyville, from Parasprites to Ursa Majors.”

Derpy felt like she should tell the librarian the truth about both of those incidents, but decided it was not the time.
“Well, if anypony knows, Twilight knows. Just hold on, and try and save any books you can about magic, books, eating... diseases, anything relevant.” Derpy said, surprising herself with her serious tone of voice. “I'll go and search the library for whatever's doing this.”

The search was futile. Derpy went up and down every section, every shelf, and found nothing. She turned the corner into the Gardening section to find it ravaged, with two librarians quickly collecting all the ruined books and taking them to the growing pile. But apart from that, whatever the mysterious plague was, it was invisible and impossible to find.
Frustrated, Derpy sat down at a chair and began leafing through the books that had been saved. Most of them were meaningless, academic tomes meant for students of Horticulture or Medicine, not Mathematics. The Mathematics section, however, was still untouched, which meant a lot to Derpy. Nothing else to do, she nipped over and rescued her precious book on Fluid Dynamics, the one which had inspired her all those years ago. If any book was going to survive, it was that one.

Salvation arrived, however, as soon as Derpy got back to the foyer clutching her book. Twilight Sparkle, standing defiantly with her horn raised, had obviously been found and was ready to save the library.
“Professor! I'm glad you're here. Did you discover anything about this?”
“No, I'm sorry Twilight. This is much too difficult for me to figure out.”
“Of course it's not. If we work together, this... this, whatever, we can defeat it.”
“Have you come across this before?”
“No... this is advanced magic. Far more than I've never encountered, apart from the magic of the Princess and Discord.”
“Do you think it's Discord returning?”

“No... Discord's style is more open than this.” Twilight was deep in thought, so Derpy didn't pry any further.
“Whatever this is... it's ancient magic. Older than even the founding of Equestria.” Twilight finally said, narrowing her eyes. “The sort of thing Star Swirl the Bearded would have been battling.”
“Can you do anything?”
“I'm not the Element of Magic for nothing. Hopefully if I use my unicorn magic, the unseen plague will reveal itself... at least, in theory.”
“Well, do it!” Derpy said, hoping for the best. “Anything that might give us a clue.”
Twilight nodded, and focused her energy. Her horn glowed purple in its usual way, bathing the library in its magic. Derpy looked around for any sign, anything that might help them defeat whatever was attacking the library.

“It's no good!” Twilight moaned, giving up abruptly and collapsing in a heap on the floor. “I can't do anything! And it's going to spread back to Ponyville and eat all of my precious books!”
“Come on Twilight. You have to try more.” Derpy said defiantly. The library in Ponyville was important to Twilight, but the library in Canterlot meant so much more to Derpy. This was the university, the seat of learning for all of Equestria! Allowing its most precious resource to be lost forever was unacceptable.

“I-I can't!”
“You have to, Twilight.” Derpy helped the unicorn to her feet. “You're the only one who can act in time to save these books. The same books you must have learnt from when you were a student at the Magic Academy.”
“You're right... but this magic is too powerful.”
“Nothing is more powerful than the Elements of Harmony. Use your magic, Twilight.”
“Um, okay, I'll try again.”
The purple glow returned as Twilight doubled her efforts.
“Think about those books you learnt from as a filly.” Derpy said, doing her best to encourage.
Twilight nodded and closed her eyes, concentrating extra-hard.

Chapter Ten

This time, it did the trick.
A strange glowing white appeared, somewhere amongst the shelves, so Derpy cantered up to it to see what was going on. The white blob of energy slowly formed into something... it looked like some kind of fat worm or caterpillar.
Twilight's magic continued, focused on the blob, which grew larger and more defined. It definitely looked like a caterpillar now, and Derpy was forced to retreat a little because of its size.
The magic suddenly stopped with a flash of white, and the white blob appeared in its true form.

It was some kind of caterpillar, as Derpy had guessed, with huge round markings on its face. It was jet black in colour, with white feet that were distributed along the length of its body. Two beady eyes stared straight at Derpy.
“Were you the one who... who found me?”
“No... that was the magic of Twilight Sparkle. Who are you?” Derpy demanded, angry that this creature was destroying books.
“I commend you on revealing me. That was truly powerful magic.”
“Who are you?” As Derpy repeated the question, Twilight and the librarians came running up behind her.
“Oh, my...” Twilight said, lost for words at the huge being that was looking down at them.
“It is of no consequence who I am. I must know who my foe is... whose magic revealed me? Who is this Twilight Sparkle?”

“I'm Twilight Sparkle. Why have you been destroying this library?” Twilight demanded, angrily. “Nobody should destroy books, it's, it's awful!”
“Ah, you are Twilight.” The thing said, ignoring the accusations. “You are certainly a powerful unicorn. In the interest of fairness, I suppose I should tell you... who I am.” After saying this, the caterpillar fell silent and simply looked at the ponies before it.
“Well, who are you?” Twilight asked.
“I... I have no name.”
“What are you, then?”
“That's a much better question. I am a Vermilibri.”

“A Vermilibri? I've never heard of that in all of my reading.” Twilight said, a little confused.
“That does not surprise me. A unicorn with magic as powerful as you must spend time practicing spells, yes?”
“Well of course. Why is that important?”
“You have wasted precious time practicing... and not reading, Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight looked exasperated. “Well, why are you destroying these books? Why do you need to destroy our library?”
“That is a good question as well. Clearly no other Vermilibri have appeared in your time. Very well, I will explain.”

“I am... similar, to what you call a library. I am made of pure knowledge, which is why I am black like this. A library is full of knowledge... and so am I.” The Vermilibri smiled, exposing razor sharp teeth.
“When I appear, I must... find more knowledge. My goal is to know everything. I already know more than anything else on this earth, but I must know, everything.”
“No-one can know everything.” Twilight said, trying to reason with the Vermilibri. “You just have to specialise, and read what's important.”
“Twilight Sparkle, you are mistaken. I am never mistaken, as I am perfect. I will know everything, because as I learn more, I grow larger. Once I know everything, I will be the size of the universe.”

One of the librarians pitched in. “But, if you're so small now, surely you know barely anything compared to what you need to learn?”
Twilight saved the Vermilibri the bother of explaining. “There's far more knowledge in the world than just in books. If you know everything, you know every thought that everypony has ever thought, and every animal and every blade of grass.” She said. “That would be... knowing everything.”
“Thank you Twilight Sparkle. That is correct. The fact that you have revealed my true form is regrettable, since now I can no longer hide from you ponies who value paper so much.”

“It's not just paper. It's about teaching, about spreading knowledge!” Derpy said, angry that this Vermilibri should still want to eat all of the books.
“I care nothing for... spreading knowledge. That is why I am here. This university... it is worthless. So much knowledge, yet you spend your time trying to force it into the minds of younger ponies. This knowledge will serve me... much better.”
“No! You can't eat the books! We won't let you!” Twilight said, pointing her horn at the Vermilibri's mouth.
“Twilight Sparkle, I cannot be... stopped. The more knowledge I consume the more I know. I could know exactly what all of you are thinking... and stop you before you even begin.”

With that, the Vermilibris slithered back onto the shelf and began eating. Its jaws passed through the covers, like a ghost, but tore through the pages and swallowed them down. As it did so, the being grew very slightly larger.
“Stop it!” A librarian cried.
“Wait... it's pointless.” Twilight said, hanging her head. “The Vermilibris is right, it can't be stopped. What we must do is look for information that tells us about it... if they have appeared before, then someone might have written down their weakness.” She said.
“Can you find something like that?” Derpy asked, curious.

“I have an ancient magic section to my library back in Ponyville. I'll go straight back and have a look. Someone needs to tell the Princess about this, and Derpy, could you search here?” Twilight said, in an authoritarian voice.
“Of course, Twilight.” Derpy said, nodding.
“I'll send Owloysius with any news.” Twilight added, before leaving the library in a hurry.

Left alone suddenly, as the librarians hurried off, Derpy retreated from the horrible eating sounds coming from the Vermilibris. She headed for the history section, hoping to find something there that had information on Vermilibris appearances in the distant past.

Part Three: Collisia

Chapter Eleven
The history section was one that the Vermilibris had yet to reach, so Derpy grabbed a few promising looking books in her mouth and dashed back to place them safely with the others. Once all the worthwhile books were saved, she began checking the indices for mentions of a Vermilibri, or anything similar.

She finally found the only lead in a list of illustrations for a book named 'Ye Olde Magicks & Poweres', which looked as if it had been written before Equestria was even founded. It turned out to be hoof-written by a scribe, but the illustration was beautifully coloured and detailed. It showed a much larger Vermilibri engaged in some kind of combat with a unicorn wearing a cape, but the text that accompanied it was vague.

'Ye Vermilibri hath batteld fairely, nott that the magicks unicornia cud effekt. Nowledge muste bee employede.'

This was almost meaningless to Derpy, who could barely read the dense script. There was no further mention of a Vermilibri, and the dating system used in the book was older than anything used in Equestria. Frustrated, Derpy put the book with her mathematics book for safekeeping, meaning to show it to Twilight later so that she might be able to have a go at deciphering it.

To pass the time, Derpy went to see what the Vermilibri was doing. It had finished the section it was on and had doubled in size, and was now using its fearsome jaws to chomp through two shelves at a time, systematically reducing the cookery and art sections to empty covers. A librarian was tidying up what was left of the library, and looked very nervous and afraid.

“Professor, what are we going to do? You can't wait here for Twilight's reply!” The librarian said, standing beside Derpy and watching the monster.
“I must wait for the reply... there's nothing else I can usefully do, I'm afraid.”
“There is... one thing. Please come with me.”

She led Derpy to a corner of the library, away from the Vermilibri.
“Well... you could fly to Cloudsdale and find some warriors... they might be able to attack and defeat it.” She said, her voice trembling.
“The illustration I found shows the Vermilibri battling with a unicorn, so I think magic is needed to defeat it, not just strength and speed.”
“Are you sure? It's just sitting there... helpless.”
“I'm sure, sorry. We need a powerful unicorn, like Twilight Sparkle, or powerful magic like Princess Celestia's. Have you heard back from the Princess?”
“No, sorry Professor.”

However, as the words left the librarian's mouth, a messenger dropped off a tightly-wound scroll at the library door. Derpy unrolled it and read the message, which bore the royal seal.

Professor Hooves,

I request that you come to the palace at the earlier opportunity. I must discuss the emergency with you.

Princess Celestia

Since there was no reason to hang around, Derpy quickly said goodbye to the librarian and took off for the spires of the Royal Palace at top speed. She was nothing like as fast as Rainbow Dash, but she could put on a turn of speed when she needed to.

One of the Royal Grooms was waiting at the front gate to guide Derpy to the throne room. The impressive carpets and ceilings always filled Derpy with awe, but this was the first time she had been permitted entry to the throne room, where the Princess sat. She just wished it had happened in happier times.
“Professor?” The Princess said in her soft voice, calling down the length of the room as the groom opened the door for Derpy.
Derpy hurried forwards to stand before the Princess, who was seated on her elaborate throne.
“Yes, your highness?” She enquired, curtsying deeply.

“Professor, I have received word of the problem at the library. This Vermilibri infestation could have serious consequences for the whole of Equestria, if not the world. I cannot impress upon you enough the graveness of the situation.”
This was the first time that Derpy had heard the Princess sound worried, and it sent a chill through her body.
“Of course, your highness.”
“These Vermilibri have not been heard of since times of old, and I believed that they simply did not exist in Equestria.”
“So you know about them?” Derpy was hopeful that the Princess, in her infinite wisdom, might have a solution.

“I'm afraid not. I have only heard myths from times gone by, passed down by my ancestors. However, I do know that if this Vermilibri is unchecked, it will grow to unlimited size and consume everything in its path, pony or not.”
Derpy nodded, her mind reeling.
“Professor, I do not think that you will find anyone in Equestria who is able to tell you anything about the Vermilibris. They were nearly forgotten in the days of Commander Hurricane and Chancellor Puddinghead.”
“So what do you suggest, your highness?”

The Princess paused for a few moments to consider her reply.
“Professor, I must ask you to fly west again. Do you remember the city you found?”
“Of course, your highness.” Derpy blushed a little at the memory of flying west instead of south during winter wrap-up. It wasn't really her fault – she'd followed the wrong fork of a path in the ground and flown miles before realising her mistake. The advantage was that she spotted a pony city in the distance that wasn't on any maps of Equestria. Upon her return, she'd informed the Princess of the discovery.

“Well, I have been communicating with the Mayor there, and their community is an ancient one. Far older than Equestria. Their library may be of some use. Professor, I think you should fly there.” The Princess finished, bowing her head a little.
“If that is what you ask, your highness.” Derpy said, curtsying again and stepping backwards. “I will report back as soon as I have visited.”

Chapter Twelve
Before setting off, Derpy wanted to get some rest, since she'd been up since early that morning. By the time she had gone back to the library to collect the book and flown to Ponyville in the pitch black, it was almost dawn. She dropped off the ancient book in the care of Spike, then flew hope and collapsed onto her bed. She needed her energy for the long journey, and she had soon fallen asleep.

The next day felt very cold, so Derpy put on a scarf and wrapped it tightly around herself, so that it wouldn't fall off in flight. No time to waste, she packed some apples into her saddlebags then took off, heading due west.
The path she had accidentally followed the previous winter was clearly visible below and the trip was not a difficult one. Being at altitude meant that the cold was biting at her wings, but Derpy was determined to do her bit for the Princess and reach the city. The thought of the library being consumed in her absence also drove her onwards.

The only problem was, as she approached the far west, a swirling mass of icy clouds descended and soon Derpy found herself diving and ducking towards the ground, avoiding the stinging sleet and hail that the weather was bringing.
The pegasus wondered why the weather ponies would schedule such a vicious storm so soon after Hearth's Warming Eve, but then she caught herself wondering. Of course, outside of Equestria, other ponies didn't celebrate the holiday.

It didn't take long for Derpy to be disoriented and lost. The path below her was nearly obscured by the total whiteness, and she decided the best course of action was to land and then continue on foot. It would be slightly warmer and less dangerous too.
The path wound its way through gentle hills that appeared suddenly out of the blizzard as Derpy walked along. Her hooves were feeling the cold as the snow stacked up and crunched underneath them.

All the while, the storm just kept getting worse. Having worked with Rainbow Dash and the weather team in Ponyville, Derpy couldn't understand why the storm was so intense. It seemed as if nopony had control over the weather, and it was just running wild and untamed. Surely the earth ponies responsible for growing food would object to such a storm being unleashed?

Derpy sheltered in a thicket while the storm raged. The snow was freezing, but it had nothing on the wind, which was blowing the snow into Derpy's wings where it stuck fast and froze.
To pass the time, Derpy watched her breath rising into the trees and thought about Ponyville, and how calm the weather was there. All the time she kept an ear out for Timberwolves and Windigoes, hoping that she would hear nothing but the wind whistling.

Thankfully the wind died down and the storm just turned into steady snowfall. Derpy made a move, taking off carefully and hugging the ground. Flying higher was too cold. She flew quickly and hoped to break through the storm and hit clearer skies further along. But it was obvious that something was up. As she flew she was getting colder and colder, yet the weather was merely improving. The snow was thinning and Derpy thought she could see the sun occasionally break through.

Derpy could feel the ground rushing by below her as she pushed through the final curtain of snow, her teeth chattering. But then she looked up and stopped suddenly, her hooves skidding across the pure, unbroken white snow on the plain.
Ahead, the landscape was amazing. Just seeing it struck a bolt of dread into Derpy, and her eyes widened.

The sun was sitting in the middle of a huge disc of blue in the middle of the sky, but the sky was a perfect circle, surrounded by a swirling circle of clouds. The snow was dazzling as Derpy tentatively stepped forwards. The improved weather was better than flying through the snow, but it was intensely cold. Derpy could see her breath floating in the air. Spooked, she set off at a gallop before taking off and flying as low as possible.

The perfect circle and the sun was scarier than the most vicious blizzard, so Derpy made straight for the other side, passing trees and fields as she did so. The stillness was also unnerving, with nopony or animal in sight. Nor was there any wind.
The swirling wall of cloud approached quickly, and Derpy was glad to dive into it and find herself pelted by snow once again. It was much better than the creepy silence that she had been stuck in. A violent gust blew her to one side, but she was determined to reach shelter in the far-off city before she rested again.

By forcing herself to keep going, the Derpy found that the weather began to clear. As she reached the clearer fringe of the storm, the wind was suddenly behind her and pushed her onwards over the mountains that had suddenly appeared. Derpy remembered the mountains being on the edges of the city, much like in Canterlot. But she did realise that if the wind was blowing the storm towards the city, they were in for a pretty hard time very soon, unless the weather ponies had a trick up their sleeves.

Derpy skimmed over a mountain top and found herself looking down as a bustling, snow-covered city in the valley below. It looked exactly as she recalled, with a river running through the centre and reflecting the bright winter sun.
She dived down and headed for the city centre, hoping to bump into someone who knew how to get to the mayor's office. She needed to ask about the ancient knowledge, and warn them about the storm.

Chapter Thirteen
Derpy didn't know the name of the city when she first touched down on the wide central avenue, scattering the powdery snow. A glance around told her all she needed to know; Collisia Antiques, Collisia Café, Collisia Grand Park. Derpy tapped a passing unicorn and smiled politely.
“Um, hi? I'm looking for the mayor's office.”
“Le Mayor's offeece?”
“That's right... the town hall?”
“Ah, oui. Er, take ze fourst rud a droit...”
“I'm sorry, I don't really understand.”

The unicorn nodded and scratched a map into the snow with her hoof.
“Yez?” She asked, pointing to it.
Derpy examined the lines, and worked out which was was which.
“Yes, thankyou.” She said, nodding her head.
The unicorn went on her way, and Derpy noted the directions mentally before following them. The ponies in Collisia spoke in a strange accent, and used words she didn't understand properly. She had never encountered this.

The town hall was a small, modest affair, little more than a grand house on a side street. Derpy knocked on the door and waited to see if anyone would answer.
“Bonjour?”
“Er... hello. I'm here to see the mayor?”
“Oh, you are from the east? Please, come in.”

Derpy pondered the comment as she stepped inside and shook the snow from her hooves and mane.
“Please, go straight up. He's expecting you.” The secretary who had welcomed Derpy said.
Derpy nodded her thanks and made her way up the stairs. At the top were a few doors, but one had the official-looking plaque that suggested it was an important person's office.
She knocked gently on the door.
“Entree!”
Derpy took that to mean 'come in' and stepped inside.

The office was very lavish, with potted plants and expensive paints adorning the walls. The mayor himself was sat in a huge armchair behind an impressive wooden desk.
“Professeur? Oh, apologies. Professor?” He said, correcting himself.
“Mayor.” Derpy took a seat in the offered chair across the desk.
“May I just say, it is a pleasure meeting such a delightful mare such as yourself.”

Derpy blushed at the compliment.
“You're very kind.”
“So, Professor, I hear you have come to see me with some kind of problem? Your Princess and I have been exchanging letters.”
“Yes, Mr. Mayor. Well, I'm not sure where to start.”
“Start wherever you want. I am not in a rush today.”

“Well, are you aware that a storm is heading straight for Collisia?” Derpy tried first.
“Ah yes, our weather ponies have reported that. Hopefully we can just weather it... we often get winter storms coming from the eastern plains.”
“It's a particularly vicious one... worse than anything I've ever seen in Equestria.”
“Hmm. I'll send a weather pony to check it out. We don't want to be complacent.”

The mayor stepped outside and had a quick discussion in the strange Collisian language with his secretary, before returning to his seat behind the desk.
“So, I assume that is not why you came to see me? The Princess was very insistent that you be allocated the highest priority.”
“No, Mr. Mayor. I... may I ask a question, first?”
“Of course. I am at your disposal.”
“Why do you speak... well, in the way that you do?”

“Ah, you mean the Collisian tongue? Everypony in Collisia speaks Collisian. Just like everypony in Equestria speaks like you do.”
Derpy considered this for a moment. “I didn't know that. I thought everypony spoke the same language.”
“Well, now you know. Few in Collisia can speak like you and I are now.”
“That explains it. The unicorn I stopped in the street found it hard to understand me.”
The Mayor laughed kindly. “That was to be expected, I'm afraid.”

Derpy smiled at the friendly Mayor.
“Thank you for speaking with me like this... it must be difficult for you to learn both languages.”
“A Professor, telling me it's difficult to learn? Non non non, I must thank you. For, of course, I was educated at the university of Canterlot.”
“Wow... that's amazing.”
“Your university is the very best. But we must not get sidetracked. Why are you and Princess Celestia suddenly interested in Collisia?”

Carefully and slowly, Derpy explained about the Vermilibri and the lack of knowledge about them in Equestria. While it was unfolded, the Mayor nodded and listened closely.
Derpy finished, sounding a little worried. “So you see, we were hoping you might be able to help us.”
The Mayor smiled and flicked his lavish mane back across his shoulder. “I cannot help you, but the magical institute here probably can. You have heard of Starswirl the Bearded, yes?”
“Well, I must admit that I hadn't until my friend Twilight explained who he was recently.”
“He founded the magical institute of Collisia. Short of Princess Celestia's personal tuition, I believe it may be the best place for magical knowledge.”

“There is an extensive library of ancient magical texts there. The Professors there will be glad to translate for you.” The Mayor chuckled. “I think they may be very pleased to meet you. I'm afraid we're a little old fashioned here in Collisia, and we have few female academics. I hear it's quite different in Equestria.”
“I suppose. If you don't mind, Mr. Mayor, I'll go straight to the institute now. No time to waste.”
“Of course. I wish you the best of luck.”

The institute was in a funny garden area on the outskirts of the city, but Derpy found it easily from the air. The magical aura was unmistakeable, and the plants around the building grew in twisted shapes.
Derpy found herself knocking on her third door of the afternoon, but this one was made out of a strange wood, one that seemed to sparkle when the sun shone on it.
A short, bespectacled colt opened the door, causing a small amount of snow to topple across the doorstep and into the building.

Chapter Fourteen
“Uh, bonjour?”
“I... um, hi. I'm here from the Mayor's office?”
“Je ne... une moment.”
The little colt disappeared, but a taller looking pony appeared moments later, wearing a pointed hat.
“Welcome to Collisia Institute of Magic. May I ask your name?” He said, bowing slightly.

“I'm Derpy Hooves, from Equestria. The Mayor sent me...”
“Of course, please come in. I'll take you straight to the library.”
He trotted away, expecting Derpy to follow along. “I am Professor Dusk Music. I can translate for you.”
“Why thank you.”
“You should ignore the others at this institution. Many of them are merely frivolous students.”
As he said this, Derpy noticed ponies standing around looking at her, muttering to one another in lowered voices.

The library wasn't very big, not even half the size of Ponyville's. Professor Music stood to one side to allow Derpy entry.
“You may look at anything you like, just be careful with the older books. They can be fragile. The section on magical foes is at the back, in the corner.”
“Thank you, Professor.”
Derpy made her way to the appropriate section and began picking out the books. The only problem was, the Vermilibri still seemed elusive, and all the books were in Collisian.

“Professor Music? Could you translate these indices for me? I'm looking for mentions of a Vermilibri.”
“Of course. Give me a few moments.”
The stiff Professor used one hand to steady his hat while he checked the tiny text for signs of the right word.
“I'm afraid there's nothing... Miss Hooves.”
“Oh, you can call me Derpy. Or Professor.”

“You are a Professor?” He didn't seem convinced.
“Of course. I am Professor of Mathematics at Canterlot University.”
“Oh... my apologies, Professor.”
“Thank you.” Derpy said, a little righteously. “Now, please look in the next few books. There must be something in these older ones.”

Their search was not in vain. Two books had writings on a Vermilibri, but neither of them were very descriptive and said that it was 'ye olde magick'.
Frustrated, Derpy scanned the remainder of the library for anything promising, but there didn't seem to be anything.
“Can I be of any further assistance, Professor?” Professor Magic said, holding a stack of books.
“You could keep looking through the books for anything about a Vermilibri. If you find anything, tell the Mayor. He can contact the Princess in Equestria.”
“Of course, Professor. I will do that.”

He left Derpy to show herself out. She opened the door to the library to find a large number of students, and members of the faculty, rapidly retreating from the door.
She made her way back towards the door, but before she could get there, an elderly pony in an impressive hat stopped her.
“Excuse me Professor, but I am Professor Tree. I couldn't help overhearing your conversation with Professor Music...”
'Couldn't help overhearing', more like 'wanted to hear more', Derpy thought to herself.

“And well, I may be able to help with your problem... about the, ahem... Vermilibri.” He said the last part in a quiet voice so that nobody would hear the word.
Derpy smiled. Hopefully he would know something... he looked old enough.
“Excellent... would you like to go to your office?”
“Yes, please follow me.”

Professor Tree's office was full of stacks of dry books and paper, with pools of dried ink stuck to everything.
“Excuse me Professor Tree, you don't sound as if you speak Collisian.” Derpy commented, noticing his lack of accent.
“Ah, I do speak Collisian. But you are right, I'm not from Collisia. I'm from Canterlot. I moved here years ago.”
“Wow...”
“Anyway, that's not important. What is important is your Vermilibri problem.”

“You know what they are?”
“Yes, I do. But before I say why I know that, I must ask. Do you know of the Apple family, in Ponyville?”
“Of course.”
“Is... is Granny Smith still, well... with us?”
“Yes, she is. Why do you ask?”
“Oh, she and I go way back... before Ponyville was even built. I haven't heard any news from her since she decided to settle down. But anyway, let me get to your problem.”

“There have never been any Vermilibris in Equestria. I believed that they were extinct, or simply weren't around when Equestria was founded. Clearly I was wrong.”
“Yes... it seems to have been thousands of years since the last time a Vermilibris appeared. Not even Princess Celestia can remember one.”
“That would be correct. Now, Vermilibris are ancient magic, and by ancient, I mean even Starswirl the Bearded would have struggled to find information. And he lived in the pre-Classical era. But, they are so dangerous that you still hear myths about them. This is important.”

“Really? I have never heard a myth about the Vermilibri...”
“The Vermilibri is from the same kind of old magic as Windigoes and that sort of thing. It is a reaction to something in Equestria... they, like Windigoes, which of course you will know all about, only appear when something is wrong.”
“But what could be wrong in Equestria? Everything is just as it's always been.” Derpy said, thinking hard and flexing her wings slightly. “In fact, the university's knowledge is increasing in leaps and bounds!”
“That may be the problem.”

Derpy was shocked, and looked at the Professor.
“What do you mean?”
“If Equestria is bursting with new ideas and new knowledge, then it might have attracted the Vermilibri. Maybe in future, you need to just pull back a little...”
The idea of trying not to learn made Derpy feel strange. “But... surely.”
“It's only a theory. But anyway, you're more concerned with how to defeat them.”
“Yes... it's urgent.”

Professor Tree thought for a few moments.
“I don't know how much I can help you. I don't wish to see Equestria destroyed, and a Vermilibri has the capacity to destroy the whole world. But they are tricky creatures to handle.”
“So, you know know any more?”
“What I can tell you, from the myths, is that the creatures have always been defeated by unlikely heroes.”
“That doesn't make sense.” Derpy was confused.

Chapter Fifteen
The office was a little stifling, and there was no window. Derpy was gasping for some fresh air, but the Professor seemed at home.
“In the mythology, the heroes are always powerful. The invasion of Cockatrices was defeated by a strong earth pony. Equestria was founded by the knowledgeable assistants to powerful leaders.”
“I see what you mean.”
“The Vermilibri is always defeated by somepony who is otherwise unknown. It's strange... the moral of the story is always that unlikely people can save the day, I suppose.”
Derpy nodded. “Do you know how we can find... an unlikely hero?”
“No.” The Professor chuckled.

“I don't know any more than that. You have to return to Equestria and wait for the hero to appear, I'm afraid.”
A little disheartened, Derpy thanked the Professor before heading for the door. The students, who were all male, were still gossiping to one another about Derpy right up until she stepped out of the dingy institute and into the bright winter's light.

She wanted to take off and fly back to Equestria, but she wouldn't arrive until after nightfall. Plus, the huge storm was still just over the horizon and would be equally traumatic on the way back. She decided it was best to head for a hotel and stay the night, despite the fact that she really wanted to get back home. Once it got dark, the path would disappear, and Derpy would be totally lost.

The nearest hotel looked okay, so Derpy asked for a room and was pleased to find that it was spacious and luxurious.
The only problem was, it was still a few hours until Derpy would be able to go to sleep, so she decided to take her chance to see Collisia and have a look around. It seemed that sightseeing had been happening frequently lately, with showing the Cutie Mark Crusaders round Canterlot just two days ago. It seemed like an eternity.

Collisia was centred around the river going through it. Derpy didn't want to chance talking to anyone or going into a café, because she didn't understand the language. So she just took a stroll along the riverfront and saw the sights, especially the boats floating on the river. Normally ponies weren't so keen on water, especially in Ponyville, but in Collisia it seemed that everypony liked sailing a boat down the river.

The snow was actually starting to thaw a little on the streets, melting into surface water that covered everything. Derpy, knowing that the storm would probably hit overnight, knew that it wouldn't last long, but some of the younger ponies were out enjoying what could have been the last snow of the winter. Their snowponies were a bit wet, and had flecks of grass in them, but if you saw it out of the corner of your eye, they almost looked realistic. If realistic was a pony that had fallen in the river.

A gust of chilled wind hit, ruffling Derpy's wings and surprising a few of the ponies sitting at the cafés. The sun was dipping towards the horizon, and it seemed that the storm was already approaching. The wind began to get up, gusting more often and more strongly. Derpy decided that it might be a good time to retreat to the hotel room to get good and warm. Nothing like spending the night listening to the blizzards pounding the window panes while you're wrapped up warm in bed.

It turned out that Derpy was just in time, since she got a little lost on the way back to the hotel. By the time she gratefully found it again, snowflakes were already sprinkling down and the wind was blowing them all over the place.
In her room, Derpy shut the curtains and made sure she was nice and warm, then tried to fall asleep while the wind whistled past the window, blowing the most vicious storm Collisia had ever seen closer and closer.