Petunia Paleo was a small blue filly who lived with her parents in a medium-sized house at the end of a side street in Ponyville. She didn’t have wings to lift her up, but she had a giant smile that tended to lift others up around her. She didn’t have a horn to help her make magic, but she had dreams big enough to seem like magic. She also had a great big skull-and-bones cutie mark on her flank. Now that one made her parents nervous sometimes, because they were the quiet sort of grown-ups who expected life to go a certain way, and for that way to be unremarkable, well-organized, and sensible, which a skull-and-bones cutie mark definitely was not. But they’d been reassured by ponies they trusted that there wasn’t anything to worry about, because Petunia’s mark meant that she loved paleontology, which was the study of the bones of old dead things, which was kind of weird and icky in their estimation, but not bad or wrong. And so they told themselves not to worry as Petunia went on digs around town anywhere she could get ponies to let her dig, which usually meant she dug mostly in her backyard, but it was amazing what she could find even there! Petunia’s parents told themselves not to worry pretty frequently, in fact. But Petunia didn’t worry about that too much. Instead, she had her dreams, and her digs around town, and the books on paleontology she checked out from the library sometimes, and the nature magazines the mailmare brought once a month. One day, Petunia’s favorite magazine said something that made her smile even bigger than usual: Something very special had been discovered off the coast of Zebrica. It was more than just a fish; It was a Coelacanth. The article called it a “living fossil,” something that had somehow survived since the time of dinosaurs, millions of years before. And it was alive. There and then. Or, well, it was half a world away, in Zebrica. But that was just a detail in Petunia’s mind as she bounded off her bed and trotted down the stairs as quickly as her short legs could trot, clutching the magazine in her mouth. She leapt over a basket of laundry to be folded and skidded to a halt in front of the kitchen table, where her parents sat drinking coffee and reading halves of the morning paper. “‘Om!’Ad!” she said, removing the magazine only as an afterthought. “Did you see this? There’s a Coelacanth! A living fossil!” Her parents looked up from their papers and met each other's eyes. Identical looks of concern crossed their features. “That’s… amazing, honey,” her mother said, not in any way convincing her that the sentiment was genuine. “A… living fossil, you say?” “Yes! And we have to go see it! “Heh, heh,” her dad non-laughed. “Well, sport, that sounds… pretty interesting…” “I know, right?!” she beamed. “The thing is that we [b]need[/b] to go visit the pod that’s been discovered off the coast of Zebrica before we lose the chance! Who knows, maybe there’s only a few of them left, or they could be endangered… or I didn’t really finish reading the whole article, but that’s not the [b]point[/b]!” Her parents looked at each other again. The look they shared wasn’t just a look; it was a [b]look[/b]. And when they looked at her again, that too was a [b]look.[/b] “Here’s the thing,” her dad began. “Honey, your dad and I…” her mom added. “Really, both of us…” “Well…” “See, going on a trip to… [i]Zebrica[/i], of all places…” “It’s going to cost a lot…” “A [b]lot[/b]...” “Of money.” Both her parents nodded once, the gesture making it clear that their answer was final. Petunia’s smile cracked only a little. “Okay,” she said, nodding slowly. “So what you’re saying is that if I could come up with the money, we could go?” The two looked at each other again, nervous tension dancing across their faces. “...Maybe?” her mom said, turning back to her. “It would take a [i]lot[/i] of money, though,” her dad reiterated. “Don’t you worry!” Petunia leapt up and bounded toward the door. “I know just who I can talk to about getting lots of money!” [hr] Filthy Rich sat back in his chair in the Rich family’s atrium, chuckling slightly. “Well, I must say, young Petunia, that is truly an [b]ambitious[/b] dream.” “I know, right?!” Petunia’s grin intensified. She turned to share it with her fairly new friend Diamond Tiara, who sat in a nearby chair, keeping her expression even. “And just think, it would be a chance for [i]you[/i] to see some of the beautiful plants you have here growing in their natural habitat, as well! That’s a Zebrican lily, isn’t it? Oh! And that one’s a goat’s-foot!” Filthy nodded. “You know, it’s rare to meet a youngster who has such a deep appreciation for the natural world.” Petunia shifted in her chair, showing off part of her flank. “Well, Mr. Rich, sir, the natural world is what I’m all about! Normally I focus on the dead stuff, but suddenly the dead stuff is alive again!” She paused, running back over the words in her head. “Or, it was here all along. Whatever! The point is, we can go [i]see[/i] it! All we need is money.” His smile turned a bit sad. “I’m afraid that isn’t [b]all[/b] we’d need for such an expedition. See, a find like that is going to draw attention from the local authorities, and conservation officials, and scientists from the world over, all coming to study just what you are.” She nodded. “...And…?” He sighed. “Well, Petunia, what I’m saying is that money by itself isn’t going to get us through all that. We’d need… [i]connections.[/i] Somepony on the inside of that feeding frenzy of explorers and discoverers who could get us in, too.” Petunia’s smile quirked down just a bit, though it held firm in the end. “But… I thought money was the only thing my parents needed?” Filthy shrugged. “And I’m sorry too, Petunia. It’s a very big dream, but without the right connections, all the money in the world wouldn’t help us here.” She looked away, brow furrowing. Then her eyes brightened. “So what you’re saying is that if I could find somepony with the right connections, we could go?” Diamond Tiara and Filthy Rich looked at each other, then both shrugged. “...Maybe?” Filthy said, turning back to her. “I don’t know [i]who[/i] might know somepony in that kind of community, though.” “Oh, don’t worry!” Petunia jumped up so quickly that the chair clattered over behind her. “I know just about the best-connected pony in the whole wide world!” [hr] It was the Cutie Mark Crusaders who made Petunia’s introduction at the Friendship Castle, and who led her down its central corridor toward the Map Room, where the Princess Twilight Sparkle sat in conference with her fellow Element-Bearers of Harmony. Petunia pranced in place and tried to keep her breathing steady as she waited outside its large doors for their meeting to be over. The Cutie Mark Crusaders tried to engage her in chit-chat to help pass the time, but it just bounced off Petunia’s bubbly but single-minded soul. At last, the doors swung open, and five of the Element Bearers filed out with determined looks upon their faces. Twilight trailed behind them somewhat, and paused when she saw the four fillies flagging her down. “Girls?” “Hey Princess Twilight!” said Petunia, pushing forward past the Cutie Mark Crusaders. “Did you hear about the coelacanth that was discovered off the coast of Zebrica?” Twilight smiled. “Actually, yes, Petunia! It’s so exciting to think a living piece of history is out there swimming in the oceans of today!” “YES!” Petunia shouted, throwing back her head with glee. “FINALLY somepony else who really understands!” “It’s really special having someone to share exciting news with, isn’t it? But what brings you here today?” Petunia held up a hoof and started rattling things off: “Well, I [i]really[/i] want to go see the Coelacanth, but I asked my parents, and they said that we’d need money. So I went to see Filthy Rich, and it sounds like he could help with the money, but he doesn’t have the right connections. So I figured [b]you[/b] probably have all the connections in the world!” Her smile grew deeper, and she nearly vibrated with the effort of containing it. But Princess Twilight frowned. “Oh… yes, I suppose I do have connections here and there in the scientific community… and I probably could pull some strings with the Zebrican and Equestrian authorities to get us in if I needed to…” “Really? Really [i]really [b]really?![/b][/i]” “Well, yes, I [i]could,[/i] except the only problem is that I don’t know when I’d have time to make the trip. My friends and I are off to save the world right now, and we end up having to do that so often, I’d hate to be away for how long it would take to get to Zebrica and back!” Petunia’s smile faltered. “But… surely if we have the money and the right connections…” Twilight frowned. “And I’m sorry too, Petunia. It’s a very big dream, but without the time to take you on the trip, my connections might not accept you.” Petunia stood motionless, but then her lip began to quiver. “Well, I know my parents don’t have time to take me… they both have to work. And Filthy Rich has got his business to run…” “I’m very, very sorry,” Princess Twilight said. “I can maybe say something to one of my friends, but I don’t know how to make this work right now.” “It’s okay,” Petunia said. Only, her voice quavered and her nose sniffed in a way that told all those around her that it was very much [i]not[/i] okay. Both Twilight and the Cutie Mark Crusaders offered to walk her home, but she waved them away, preferring to trudge back slowly, and all by herself. And so she came home to find her parents sitting in a different room, and reading different things, but still not any [i]different[/i] than she had left them. “How’d it go, sweetie?” her mother asked. Petunia didn’t answer. Or at least not with words. She let loose all the tears that she had bottled-up on her walk home, and wailed so loud the neighbors surely heard her. She turned away, and climbed the stairs, and slammed her bedroom door, and locked it, and threw herself upon her bed, and she was still crying, and she felt as though the crying would never, ever stop. And for a long time, it didn’t. Because deep down, Petunia knew that it’s worth crying when a dream dies. And an extra-big dream deserves an extra-big cry if it comes to that. [hr] Petunia had long since cried herself quiet and passed-out facedown on her bed, when three loud raps on the front door awoke her, soon followed by the faint sound of the door opening. “I hear your daugher has been seeking to leave home,” a muffled voice said. “She seeks the land called Zebrica, from where I roam.” Petunia pushed herself up on her elbows as she strained to hear the rest of what was said, but it seemed the grownups were speaking in their quiet voices, so she didn’t catch much. But soon she heard the sound of hooves on the stairs. She sat up in bed, feeling curious. Then she trotted over and unlocked her door. No sooner had she unlocked it than the knob turned, and it opened, and she saw a stripy figure standing there, smiling, and flanked by her parents, who once again had a look on their faces that said they were telling themselves not to worry. “Greetings, young Petunia Paleo,” Zecora said. “I’ve come to show you where your dreams can go.” Petunia’s smile made a tentative return. “Does that mean… you can take me to Zebrica?” "Not exactly as you mean, but something downstairs should be seen!" [hr] Petunia crinkled her nose at the smell of the pouch on Zecora’s hip, which only grew stronger as the zebra gradually transferred its contents to her mom’s largest cookpot set up on the stove. “Many dreams seem impossible,” Zecora said. “Many waits seem forever. But time can be an ally, child, and you never should say never.” Petunia shuffled closer to the pot. “What… [i]is[/i] that stuff?” she managed. Zecora smiled; first at Petunia, then at her parents, who watched from the safe shelter of the hall. “What matters isn’t what it be, but what this brew will help you [i]see.[/i]” “And… that is?” “Take a look inside, and it will seem that yours is really not too big a dream.” Petunia pulled over a small step stool. “All right,” she said, looking into the pungent, bubbling green contents. “But I don’t see what I--” [hr] Petunia Paleo was a strong and pretty mare who closed her eyes and grinned into the stinging salt-air that was kicked up by the powered boat. Ponies milled to and fro around her, readying equipment, or handling the myriad things necessary to keep the boat clean and in good working order. She listened to their bustle, and allowed herself to forget all about her high-strung parents, and the medium-sized house she had grown up in, and the dream she never thought would become real. Because it [i]was[/i] real, now. She’d waited years; worked harder than she thought she could; studied for long hours; and earned not only a degree, but a research grant, to continue the study of her first love: the [i]living[/i] fossil. Well, her second, after fossils in general. She felt a nudge on her shoulder, and opened her eyes to see a handsome black-coated stallion--her assistant--pointing off the starboard bow. “Doctor Paleo, there they are. We found them!” Petunia followed his hoof with her gaze, and smiled, and dashed up to the railing at the edge of the boat. There, not ten meters away and maybe just one meter down, was the pod. They were ugly, to be sure, with big eyes and gills and clammy faces; and they were shorter than she thought they’d look, considering that they should be almost leg-length on an average-sized pony. Yet they were beautiful, for they were [b]coelacanths,[/b] and seeing them in-person put a smile on her face that couldn’t be contained by smiling alone. Instead, she whooped, and leapt, and hollered, scaring half the crew away in the process. “Doctor Paleo!” her assistant shouted. “Please, we need to start taking measurements!” Instead of listening, she hugged him, then took his hooves in hers, and whirled him around in a mad dance. “Don’t you understand?! We’re here! We [i]found them[/i]!!” “Yes, but doctor…” “I’m taking a swim,” she declared. Then she alit upon the railing, looking back at him for just a moment… and then she smiled, and jumped. And as she landed in the middle of the pod, they scattered; and the ponies on the boat began to shout “[i]Mare Overboard![/i]” and scurried to and fro to “save” her; but she knew she didn’t [i]need[/i] saving. Not in the bigger sense, at least. Instead, she swam, and laughed when she had breath for it, and treaded water, knowing that while her crew did what they did best, she had at last made it to Zebrica, and to the coelacanths, and to her [b]dream.[/b] [hr] Petunia’s parents furrowed their brows as they took the small, sleeping filly from Zecora’s hooves. “Are you sure she’s quite all right?” her dad asked. “She just fainted all of a sudden…” Zecora shook her head and smiled. “She’s better than all right, if I may boldly say. She’s learned her dreams are not impossible today.” “We didn’t want her to think they were [i]impossible,[/i]” Petunia’s mom said, looking guilty. “But finding every reason why they will not fly, is just as good as telling her she should not try.” “We’re very sorry,” her dad said. “I didn’t come to make you feel sad,” Zecora said. “I came so she could start to feel glad. Your child has a gift, strange as it may seem; a massive smile, and even bigger [i]dreams[/i].” “We’ll go tuck her in now,” Petunia’s mom said. “She must’ve had a big day.” Zecora winked. “Not yet, she hasn’t; but she will, someday.”