There were in fact no other vehicles in sight, but there were crowds of young ponies standing about. They mingled with one another with beaming faces, clustered in groups of familiars and unfamiliars, carrying out their introductions, small talk, and catch-up conversation. Aria secretly wished that she had woken up on time. It felt as though everypony already knew each other.

“I wonder where all of the others from Canterhollow went,” Harper said as she scanned the area, her delight nearly lifting her hoofs off the ground to which she had just returned.

“I think I see a few of them by the gate,” Cosmo said.

The trio inspected the field’s northern entrance to which Cosmo motioned. A black metal fence twisted atop large, brick columns to form a sound arch over the exit. In the gap underneath it were surely enough a number of familiar faces.

“Aria! Cosmo! Harper!” one of them called, bouncing up and down in place as the three made their way over.

The thin mare that approached had a pinkish lavender body and a very straight, silver mane and tail. Her rose-colored eyes glowed like her body as a bonfire does on a sunny day. Aria knew her name to be Dove..

“What took you all so long to get here?” Dove asked the three newcomers.

The three looked to one another, silently arguing as to who would have to speak up first.

“I accidentally slept in,” Aria finally said with a blush.

Harper raised her head to the sky and wailed, “It was such a sad goodbye for me, I could hardly manage!” Her eyes dropped back down to the others as her crying quickly changed into joviality. “But I made it. Here we are!”