Today, Ponyville was unusually quiet. Why, you ask? Because almost every pony had gathered at Sweet Apple Acres.
At the entrance to Sweet Apple Acres, Spike sat by the gate, noting down the name of every arriving pony, collecting the admission fee, and letting them through. Spike usually helped Twilight Sparkle with some paperwork and considered himself quite good at it, but today he was truly overwhelmed.
He shook bags of gold coins to check if the amounts were correct, tossed them aside, recorded the next name, and let a pony pass. Looking at the seemingly endless queue stretching behind, Spike felt he might be stuck sitting right here all day.
Chapter 17