(A/N: Disclaimer - If I owned My Little Pony, they would come in cooler colors, glow in the dark, and they would, like, all be flutter ponies. So, yeah. I don't.)

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"Miss Pie? Please, I need to speak with..." Rose Blossom stopped and sighed as the mare spotted her and ducked into the Cotton Candy Cafe. She really had needed someone to speak with this time, but she was sure she'd scared away the town's councilmare after the first couple of political discussions. After all, poor Pinkie was great with public relations, but frankly didn't know how to deal with issues that required more...intelligence.

The filly walked into the cafe and headed straight up to the counter. "Cotton Candy?" When Candy turned around in at the sound of her name, Rose saw her eyes widen as she whipped back around and pretended to be busy mixing a milkshake. A waitress snatched it away in mild irritation and handed it to a waiting customer, leaving Candy no choice but to turn to face the filly again.

"Uh...oh hi, kiddo. Didn't see ya there..."

Rose Blossom flicked her ears back briefly, but tried not to make her irritation at the nickname clear. There weren't nearly as many ponies in her age grouping, so although she was now in her mind-teens, she still had to deal with being one of the babies of the town. "Mm-hmm", she said off-handedly at the greeting. "Pinkie came through here. Did you see which way she went?"

Cotton Candy played with a strand of blue hair from her forelock. "Um...Pinkie? Pinkie Pie?"

"There aren't any other Pinkies in town."

"Right. Well...uh... No, I really didn't see her come through."

Rose raised an eyebrow. "I saw her come in here a few seconds ago."

"I...I've been really busy with customers for a while...", Candy attempted apologetically. When Rose Blossom maintained same skeptic gaze, the mare added, "So, kiddo... Was there anything you needed? Something maybe...I could help you with?" The manager of the cafe started twisting her apron in her hooves, clearly not wanting to be held captive by the filly any longer.

"I did want to talk to Pinkie..." Cotton Candy looked relieved, but Rose immediately took a seat at the counter and continued eagerly with, "But sure, why not?"

"This doesn't have to do with taxes being spent on candy cane production, does it? Because I'll have you know, it's a well-loved tradition, and it is nice to have steady income when I need to be going gift-shopping-"

"It's not that, Candy," Rose cut in with a twinge of guilt at her complaint at the last town council meeting. "I was just... See, I've been reading more into Dream Valley lately, and I have some new theories."

Shaking her head, the older mare said gently, "Oh honey, again?" She seemed even more uncomfortable, and bit her lip before continuing, "The town really isn't going to back you up on this one. It's...it's just a myth."

Frowning at Candy's condescending tone but remaining persistant, Rose pressed on, "There are so many books about it in the library-"

"You would know, wouldn't you?" Cotton Candy shook her head. "You need to get outside - take a ride in a hot air balloon. I just know Merriweather could teach you to use one. All the other fillies-"

"You're trying to change the subject." The filly pinned her ears back.

"No, that's not true. You just dwell on it too much!"

Her patience wearing thin, Rose's voice grew stronger and more urgent. "There are descriptions - of the geography, of the culture, of the residents-"

"And what about Friendship Gardens? An entirely different set of descriptions - surely that wouldn't make any sense, would it?"

"Different time periods!", the filly cried insistently. "There was plenty of time-"

"Oh, you don't really believe in both of them, do you?"

"There are accounts of both, extremely detailed-"

"There are also...very detailed fantasy stories, kiddo."

"'Fantasy stories'? How can you say that? I-if we could just send out a few ponies to explore the surrounding areas... I mean, these are our ancestors!" Rose leapt to her feet as Candy moved back a step.

"Whoa...easy, kiddo, don't snap at me. I'm only trying to look out for you," the mare said softly.

Rose blinked, startled at how worked up she'd let herself get. "Oh. Right. I-I'm sorry, Candy. I should...go find Pinkie." With that, she spun around and ran through the doorway, ponies staring confusedly after her as they side-stepped out of her way.

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(A/N: This is my first fanfic, so reviews will be much appreciated. I obviously can't stop flames, but I don't think I've done anything controversialto merit one with a story like this anyway. I'd also like to know specifically if I've done something wrong, so if you want to tell me calmly why you hate it I'll be able to take it into consideration. Of course, nice reviews are always good for the ol' ego - either one, I guess, just so long as I know people are reading.

I intend on updating soon, so please stick with this if you like it! I'll be writing for as long as there's any living soul that wants to read it, so I hope to hear from you all soon!

-Jelly

Note: Edited 9-6-07.)