Rarity was still amazed by how quickly Appleloosa had grown in the last decade. It was certainly no Manehatten, but there were at least half a dozen cranes at work on any given day, and several darling little dress shops dotting the so-called ‘mane drag’. Since the discovery of torrential leylines in the mountains to the west, it had become a bustling crossroads for apple farmers, rock farmers, gem miners, and the local Buffalo, not to mention the largest Guard barracks for five hundred miles.

It certainly seemed like everycreature within five hundred miles was in town for today. The streets were thick with milling ponies and buffalo, speckled with the occasional gryphon. Every house and hotel was full, the railroad had parked a string of spare sleeper cars on the siding, and a tent city had popped up outside of town.

Everyone wanted to see Twilight.

This was all fine and proper, of course. Twilight was a princess—THE princess, now!—and she was a lovely pony, due every bit of praise that came her way. If some of that praise landed on the ponies around her, that was also perfectly fine. But they’d been on the rails for three months now, traveling across Equestria to give everypony a chance to see their new ruler.

The train was three cars longer now than when they’d started. Every city and town wanted to impress Twilight with the thoughtfulness of their gift to the new princess. Rarity had thought the locomotive had sounded particularly concerning hauling it all up the last mountain pass.

But gifts, yes. Everyone had a gift, and Twilight hadn’t been prepared for any of them. She hadn’t stopped being surprised until the second month. And now, this… latest.

For whatever reason, the gangly, awkward teenage envoy from the Dragon Lord Ember had met them here, in Appleloosa, rather than in Canterlot. He’d mumbled an apology and an excuse about having made a wrong turn before presenting his gift.

Rarity had the distinct suspicion that Ember had sent him off with instructions something like, “Ponies like cute and soft, right? Get her something cute and soft.” That seemed like the sanest way to explain why it was then that he’d held out, wriggling in one hand, enraged and biting futilely at the dragon’s scales, a live ermine.

Fluttershy had stepped in immediately, of course, and Rarity was quite proud of how little Twilight had hesitated before tendering her grateful thanks. That had been two hours ago. About one hour ago, the creature’s temporary wicker cage had been found, gnawed open and empty. And so Rarity found herself creeping through the unfinished interior of a very fine and very new piece of architecture, looking for the slightest sign of movement.

Something streaked across the open doorway to her right, low and long and a very fetching shade of ticked brown. Her head snapped over to stare at the opening, and she began to creep up, barely lifting her hooves, horn glowing with a faint, ready corona. Slowly, slowly, she eased her head through the doorway, staring down in the direction she’d seen that streak move. It was a long hallway, cutting across the back of the building with the morning sun streaming in through the still and dusty air.

Nothing. Not so much as a hint of a tailtip or a swirl of dust to mark disturbed air. She frowned, then abruptly stood up with a huff. That’s when, with a a quiet dookdookdookdookdook, the ermine dropped from the top of the doorframe onto her glowing horn.

The scream and the flashBANG of magic were simultaneous and the crash of broken glass only a split second later. The ensuing silence was only broken by the quiet tinkle of the broken windowpane that Rarity had catapulted the weasel through.

***

Applejack doffed her hat and gazed up, misty eyed, at the apple tree in front of her.

Bloomberg had gotten so big since she’d brought him here. It seemed like only yesterday she’d been wrapping up his roots for the train ride to Appleloosa, and now here he was—as fine a tree as any of hers back home and absolutely loaded with apples.

She spread baskets out on the ground around the tree, replaced her hat, and then, with one more fond look at Bloomberg, she turned and delivered a ringing blow to his trunk with both hooves. Apples rained down into the baskets. A weasel rained down onto Applejack.

***

When Rainbow Dash stuck her head out of the leaves of the tree she’d been catching a nap on, it didn’t take long for her to find the source of all the hollering.

“GETTIM OFF!” Applejack bucked wildly, and a little brown, fuzzy streamer flapped up on her back, but stayed doggedly latched on by one end.

“OW! GETTIM OFF ME!”

AJ bucked again, but the weasel would not be deterred. Rainbow rolled off her branch and, with one powerful downbeat of her wings, aimed for just above Applejack.

“GETTIM OFF!” With one last more powerful windup, Applejack bucked the weasel right off her back, and Rainbow had to brake frantically to avoid having a weasel in her wings. They both watched it take off back toward the unfinished building, gaping.

It was Rainbow who recognized the creature first, streaking off after it in hot pursuit while Applejack, grumbling, checked her hat for damage. Rainbow was faster than any puny weasel, and she immediately caught up to it! Then it suddenly streaked off to her left, and Rainbow ran into a tree while she was watching where it went.

No problem! She caught right back up to it only moments later, a rainbow blur through the sky! Then it suddenly took off to the right, and Rainbow hit one of the posts supporting the water tower, which sloshed over and dumped fifty gallons or so over her head.

Rainbow was not so easily deterred. She shook herself, pegasus magic coursing through to the tips of her feathers to dry herself off instantly, and resumed her pursuit. This time she was ready when the weasel swerved right, and didn’t hit anything when the weasel juked left. She had him now! Staring him down, watching for any sign of sudden direction changes, she wound up to dive down and grab the little critter. The entire building shook as she pancaked straight into the ‘Province of Appleloosa’ sign above the double doors back into the unfinished building.

***

Fluttershy paced back and forth across the hall on the second floor of the building, fretting. She hadn’t been able to find that sweet little ermine anywhere. Twilight was just through the door behind her now, out on the building’s balcony with Braeburn, about to make her speech. Fluttershy was going to have to tell her that they’d lost her gift, and oooh, she’d be so disappointed.

She stopped. An ear flicked toward the bend in the hallway. Had that been a little dook? Gently, so as to not scare the little dear, she turned her head and lowered herself to the ground. There he was! Peering at her cautiously from the end of the hallway was the dragon’s ermine. Fluttery smiled, a mixture of relief and the joy that she felt every time she met one of her little friends, welling up from some inexhaustible source deep in her heart.

The ermine scurried forward toward her and they met in the middle of the hallway, nose to nose, and Fluttershy was radiant as she cooed reassuringly at him. His fierce little face softened under her gaze.

She never saw the net before it landed on both of them with a cheer of triumph from Pinkie. It was a good net for catching ponies, but not much good for catching little brown slinkies.

***

Twilight smiled the smile that Celestia had taught her, sweeping her gaze across the assembled creatures of Appleloosa at a carefully measured pace as she counted off the pause in her head. Proclaiming Celestia and Luna’s retirement and introducing herself as the new Princess of Equestria had gone perfectly, just as it had at the last forty-seven stops. Now on to the next bit, the special bit just for Appleloosa.

“It fills me with great joy to see you all here today, and even greater joy to officially make this announcement! Now, I’m sure this won’t surprise some of you—” Twilight paused for a chuckle from the townsfolk, who had been watching the building behind her going up over the last few months and knew perfectly well what it was for, “—but as Princess of Equestria, I hereby proclaim the new Royal Province of Appleloosa and this—” her voice rose half an octave abruptly. Something had just climbed her back leg “—fine building as the new sssaaaahhEAT of your first Governor, BraebACK!”

There was a hush. Braeburn turned to Twilight almost hesitantly and seemed to need a moment to find the right thing to go down as the first official words of the first Governor of Appleloosa.

“Ah… Princess? You got a weasel on your face.”