Bolting out of the cave, bag in tow, Dreamer was fueled on adrenaline alone. Until, that is, he realized that fact, and collapsed only a few feet into the forest.
He awoke. His head, neck, shoulders and flanks burned. He felt upheaval in his joints and in his bones. They cried out. That, he realized, was what had awoken him. Opening his eyes, the colt saw he was inside of a wooden shack. Light dimly streamed in through windows and cracks, but most of the light was ambient, coming from candles.
He rose from a cot near the center of the hut, and took a more thorough look around, scanning over the masks, fetishes, ingredients, and effects within the hut. In its epicenter was a cauldron of boiling liquid that, if scent was anything to go by, was a heavily-spiced vegetable stew. Dreamer called out.
"Hello? Is anypony there?" No reply came. As Dreamer smelled the air again, picking up the tantalizing scent of the cooking stew, he realized that he hadn't eaten since yesterday morning! Come to think of it, he wasn't even quite sure what time it was now. This hut was in the middle of the same forest he'd come into, and it appeared to be mid afternoon. He cautiously approached the boiling cauldron, and sipped from it. It tasted good.
After scooping more out with a bowl he'd found on the floor next to the cauldron, Dreamer lapped it up vigorously, and scooped out more, holding the bowl in his mouth. When he had eaten his fill, the pegasus colt left the bowl where he'd found it. Nobody needed to show him the door.
The air outside was gloomy and humid, the forest was dark. Dreamer Glisten followed the path leading away from the hut he had been in. Eyes seemed to watch him from behind the tree line, but he whistled to himself, and kept walking. His legs still burned from yesterday's exertions, so he took flight, and soared over the canopy of trees.
Surveying the landscapte, to the north he saw the mountains that Canterlot was perched atop, to the east he saw the ruins of a castle, above him was the great metropolis of Cloudsdale where he had been born, and just a mile or so to the northwest was his destination! Ponyville!
Gliding down from high in the air, Dreamer watched the ground coming closer and closer to meet him. He dove and pulled up with intuitive timing, and landed trotting into the vibrant streets of Ponyville. Ponies, mainly of the Earth and Unicorn variety, but also a few pegasus foals who had yet to come into their gift of flight watched him. One such foal who was playing in the streets galloped off. Poor colt must be frightened. Dreamer thought.
He continued moving, only walking now. The first day of one's expedition into an unfamiliar but friendly land should be spent scoping it all out, and getting a sense for how everything worked here.
His first stop was the spa. He had done a fair bit of research on the popular hangouts and locales of Ponyville, and was happy for it. This place was renowned for its ability to give an exhausted pony a youthful glow, and its comfortable atmosphere was said to be first rate. Dreamer cursed his own thoughts. He was really beginning to sound like a Canterlot pony. A part of him had always wished he'd stayed in Cloudsdale, but on the other hoof, he wouldn't trade his experiences in Canterlot for the world. They had shaped him into the capable, elegant pony he was today.
Paying at the counter, Dreamer had himself signed up for the "royal treatment" when a snow white mare with a mane of fine magenta walked in beside a yellow pony with long pink locks.
"Oh hi! You must be new in town! I am miss Rarity, pleasure to meet you." The first one said. The other looked like she wanted to say something but couldn't. Dreamer smiled, happy to be getting acquainted with the locals.
"Hello, I'm Dreamer Glisten," he began, "I'm visiting Ponyville to do research on forms of local government across Equestria. This is actually my first stop." Rarity turned to the mare at the desk and spoke calmly.
"The usual, please." She then turned back to Dreamer. "Your mane is quite nice, do you put product in it?" She asked him.
"I do! Just generic conditioner, but it goes a long way." He blushed at the compliment. Rarity paid for her treatment and the three of them went into the spa to receive their treatments.
Rarity and Dreamer talked for several minutes, mainly of Rarity complimenting his mane and accessories, before the third pony finally spoke up. Her name was Fluttershy, and it was a name she lived up to.
"Dreamer, dear, what was it you said you did again?" Rarity asked him.
"Well, I studied political science in Canterlot, and now I'm going on a bit of a field study, travelling Equestria to learn about local governments." He replied with a small measure of pride.
"Well, the pony to talk to about that would be Twilight Sparkle, I think." Said Rarity, with confidence. Fluttershy piped up.
"Yeah, she or the mayor, but it might be hard to get an appointment with the mayor, so probably start with Twilight."
It was at this point that a comet of cyan and rainbow hurtled through the front door.
"There you are! I've been looking all over for you!"