Waking up from deep, dreamless, Twilight Sparkle quickly decided that the first thing she needed today was a bath. It was Applebuck season, and a bumper crop lead she and her friends to help Applejack with the harvest. After her stubborn pride lead to several disasters in Ponyville, including the worst baking accident in their town’s history, AJ had been eager to accept help offered to her, and her friends happy to oblige. Even though Twilight had mostly used her magic, there was no denying that it was dirty, tiring business, and, too exhausted to take a bath when she got home, went straight to bed.

Feeling like a new pony when she finally separated herself from the hot, steaming water, Twilight quickly did her hair wand went downstairs, hungry after yesterdays hard work. Her head assistant, Spike, had woken up early (rare enough, considering he might be an even heavier sleeper then Twilight), and had made a large breakfast consisting of pancakes with maple syrup, fresh apple slices from yesterdays harvest, toast smothered in jam with a single slice of butter, and, for Owlowiscious, who he had come to deeply appreciate after helping to rescue him for a dragon, ground earthworms with bits of daises.

“Good morning, Twilight!” Spike said cheerily, having just gotten himself some of the pancakes.

“Spike, this looks wonderful! How long did it take you to make all this!” Twilight exclaimed.

“It ain’t nothing! You work so hard yesterday, you deserve it!”

“Thank you so much! I might have to go find you some gems once I'm finished!”

After a long, filling breakfast (Twilight ended up eating too much, and had minor stomach cramps for half an hour), and a short excursion to find Spike his gem (a large ruby, which he greedily ate), the three of them returned to the library, where Twilight returned to her books, while Owlowiscious went to sleep for the day and Spike took a short nap, stomach full almost to bursting.

A knock on the door caught Twilight’s attention. Leaving her books, Twilight Sparkle went to answer, and found Applejack waiting.

“Good morning Applejack!” Twilight said merrily.

“Good mornin’ Twilight! Ah’ just wanted to thank you again for helping meh’ out yesterday with the harvesting! Ah' ain’t seen so many apples in years!”

“Not a problem! Spike made quite a meal with them! I think there’s still a bit left, if you want some.”

“No t’anks! Ah’ already had a big breakfast, and ah’ doubt I could eat another bite!”

“Same here! Anything else you need help with?”

“Not at all! I’ll be seeing you later!”

“See ya!” Applejack turned for Sweet Apple Acres as Twilight closed the door.

“Who was it?” Spike asked, having been woken from his nap by the sound of the door knocking.

“Just AJ coming to thank us for our help yesterday.”

“Whatever!” He stretched and let out a large yawn. “You need anything? Looking for any books?”

“Actually, I'm almost finished with A Treatise on Magic and Magic Creatures, and I was wondering if you could find a book called Myths and Mythos: On Legends of Ancient Times. One of the other books said it offered interesting speculation of the time before Celestia’s reign.”

“You got it!” Spike had already found the book, and handed it over to Twilight.

“Thanks!” Having just marked her place, Twilight eagerly took the book, and started reading.

She examined the title page, frowning slightly when it said the author was anonymous. It might just have been her, but she didn’t usually trust books whose writers didn’t put their name on. Usually, they were full of errors and inconsistencies, and as a scholar, she chaffed at such sloppiness. However, once she got started, she realized that whoever wrote this had great talent, flawlessly seaming together countless details on various legends of ancient pony tribes, presenting it in an interesting, well-flowing manner, even adding personal speculation and bits of humor. If only she could find out who made this...

With a start, Twilight realized it was nearly time for lunch. Marking her spot, she had nearly closed the book when the book flipped to an interesting picture. It was a green valley, and in it were many kinds of creatures of every shape and size, resembling gryphons, zebras, buffalo, dragons, birds, rabbits, phoenixes, and even ponies. With a double-take, she even saw what looked like incredibly young Celestia and Luna. She would have to examine it closer when she got back, but she didn’t want to be late for her friends’ get-together at Sugar Cube Corner! Next Chapter: Chapter 2: Immortals Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 12 Minutes