//------------------------------//
// Chapter 13 
// Story: Pearl's Travels 2: Canterlot 
// by Makitk 
//------------------------------//

The princess Twilight Sparkle gave a look of painful empathy to my stating I would need to find an assistant to plan conversations with ponies. Knowing she at least had Spike to perform that task for her, I could not help but think she had a hoof up on me in that regard.

I levitated my mug of tea up to my lips and taking a thoughtful sip at it, an act which was copied a moment after by Burst.

"Now all of this is well and good," Applejack posited, "but if we're really dealing with that bothersome cloud, how are we going to get rid of it with the princesses all locked in her tower like a snug bug burrowing their way through a fresh apple?"

I lowered my mug a slight bit so I could talk over the rim of it at the orange Earthpony. "You and the others from Ponyville basically keep forgetting your friend counts as a princess as well, don't you?"

"Ah, well," Applejack started, giving a thoughtful rub with her forehoof under her iconic Stetson hat. "I guess it's not something we think about unless Twilight has us help her with her royal duties. It's not what defines our friendship with her, in any case."

"No, I get that," I agreed, "after all; you guys knew her from before she suddenly grew wings."

Twilight, on her part, raised an eyebrow while looking between Applejack and myself. "Is this going somewhere?"

I put my mug back down on the table and gave a quick nod. "There must be a reason why the map sent the Element of Honesty along with the Princess of Friendship, independent from our call for help."

"Oh, right; we only sent a message out to Ponyville today," Camellia realized. "Roseluck would have needed a few hours to get out by train, more than that to walk the distance or go by cart."

"Yes, you two arrived way too soon," Oval added to the group's growing realization.

"Which means," I continued, "that there may still be a response to our message. If we don't get things moving soon, Starlight Glimmer or Moonshine may take things into their own hooves."

"Ah," Twilight Sparkle gasped, her face showing she was going through a mental list of potential steps either her Unicorn or Changeling pupil may take without her guidance.

"It's not like that's such a bad thing," Oval supposed. "I mean; we had some great luck in the past when Moonshine and Starlight Glimmer helped us prevent an invasion."

"Yes, but what would Moonshine do when she realizes there's a hundred of our cousins trapped in Canterlot's dungeons?" I asked of my sibling. "Do you think we can count on her to stay calm or will she rally all our family into an army to force an escape?"

"She is rather hot-blooded," Burst mused, clearly seeing the problem looming on the horizon.

"Starlight has come a long way," Twilight Sparkle suggested to calm our nerves. "I trust her to not rush into things."

"Either case, I'm with the grey one in front of me," Applejack nodded over the table in my direction. "Whatever we're gonna do, let's put our backs into it and get movin'."

"We will need to get to the princesses," Twilight mused. "None of us can take the tantabus alone."

"If there is any way for us to get to the dungeons unseen, we may be able to get our family on your side as well, even if we can't shapeshift," I proposed. "We have some leverage with them, and a lot are from the same world I am from. They may be starving right now, but that's nothing new: They were almost dying from starvation when we freed them from our Queen's bad planning just a few months ago. All they need is a plan to follow and they'll be your greatest asset."

"Pearl is right. The trick is to not get captured ourselves while explaining our plans to them," Oval added.

"I can probably help with that," stated Meadowsweet, a pensive look on her face. "There may still be a few friendly guards in the palace who owe me a favor."

"Okay, so princess Twilight and Applejack will both try to get through to the princesses Luna and Celestia," Camellia summarized, "Meadowsweet will try to find a friendly guard to sneak Pearl and Oval into the dungeons, and what would my task be?"

"Well, there is a relatively private spot in the gardens which would be perfect for the two of them to hide in," Meadowsweet proposed to her Unicorn friend. "Even so, there may be the occasional guard doing his rounds in the area. You could help them stay hidden by being the more obvious pony present."

"Like a lightning rod, you mean?" I asked of the Earthpony. "Do they know you two are friends? The idea of a pony waiting for their friend to be done with work should quiet most of their paranoid thoughts, no?"

"Something along those lines, yes," the Royal Gardener agreed. "Any noise or movement which drew them to the spot could be attributed to Camellia being there."

"That might work," Burst agreed with a slow nod.

"Then it's just a matter of getting them into the palace gardens in the first place," Twilight Sparkle mused. "And, at this hour, visitors are usually ushered out, not let in."

"Visitors, yes, but I'll betcha they won't turn down a cart chok-full of delicious apple pies courtesy of Sweet Apple Acres," Applejack stated eagerly. "And with all the business we've been doing with Canterlot over the years, my family and I still have a cart stored in the merchant district so we don't have to haul it back an' forth all the while."

"You want us to hide under a pile of apple pies?" Oval asked incredulously.

"It should be a viable plan already to just have a tarp over the cart and an apple pie or two to take out from under it in case the guards ask questions," Twilight Sparkle mused.

"Most of the bakers in town should be closed by now," Camellia sighed. "I guess it was some foresight on my part that I bought the apples which are on the table, no?"

"Hmm-mm. If you'll allow me to use yer kitchen, miss Camellia, I'll be able to bake us a couple of pies lickety-split!" Applejack offered with a tip of her hat.

Camellia threw a glance back at her kitchen in a moment of worry at having another pony potentially make a mess of it, but then made up her mind and gave a decisive nod to Applejack. "On one condition; I want to help. I know where everything is in my kitchen and I want to know how you fluff the dough the way your family has been known for."

"Ah, that only seems fair," Applejack chuckled in return. "It ain't like it's that difficult a thing to do, and Granny Smith still has her secrets not even I'm privvy to. Ya got yerself a deal. Let's get bakin'."

I watched as the pair of ponies trotted off into the kitchen, then turned my attention back to the others. Princess Twilight Sparkle was sipping at the last of her tea, Oval was looking at Meadowsweet, and the latter sat in quiet contemplation.

"What's on your mind, Meadowsweet?" I asked of the mare.

"Getting you both into the castle is not going to be the problem," Meadowsweet started. "Especially with Applejack's plan."

"But?" Twilight Sparkle interjected.

"But getting everypony out again once the guards become aware something is wrong is," Meadowsweet sighed. "I can only help so much. There are limits to my level of access in the palace; the palace grounds, the equipment rooms, storage for seeds and the like."

"But we've got a princess on our side," I pointed out, motioning my head toward Twilight Sparkle.

"Given the level of paranoia between the princesses which Meadowsweet described earlier, how much is princess Twilight Sparkle going to be able to accomplish, I wonder?" Oval queried.

"Ah, yes," Twilight Sparkle realised. "Given the princesses are holed up in their respective bedrooms without talking with one another, we're in a worse situation than when I had to convince princess Celestia that Nightmare Moon was about to make her appearance. That was a whole ordeal which we only narrowly managed to turn to a positive outcome, I'll have you know. Equestria was almost taken over by a shadow worse than the Tantabus."

"Nah, Nightmare Moon isn't that bad," I posited. "You should have seen the fanworks made about her back where I came from. A lot of people in my world think she had redeeming qualities."

Twilight Sparkle looked at me with a thoughtful expression. "About that..."

I stared back with my blue eyes. "Yes, princess?"

Twilight Sparkle opened her mouth, then closed it again as her ears perked up. Her whole demeanor changed to one of alertness and she rose to her hooves. "You two, head into the kitchen and stay out of sight."

Burst and me shared a quick glance, but hurried to do as Twilight ordered. I barely caught a glimpse of Meadowsweet rising to a standing position while Twilight moved past her to the front door before following Oval into the kitchen, where Applejack and our host Camellia were busying themselves getting the apple pies ready.

Camellia looked up with a raised eyebrow and Oval motioned back the way we came. "Princess' orders."

"She headed for the front door," I added. "Maybe something to check on?"

Camellia looked at Applejack. "Can I leave this to you?"

"Ah, of course," Applejack returned with a broad smile. "Ain't the first time I had to bake pies on my own. Go see what's up."

Camellia quickly trotted off to the front of the house while Burst and me took position in a corner which was the least visible from the doorway giving entry from the living room.

Applejack's coring and cutting of apples, mixing batter, and prepping the pie tins made it difficult to make out what was being said in the front of the house, but I could hear the sound of agitated voices rising up into a clearly heated discussion before long.

Oval nudged my shoulder with her own. "What do you think that's about?"

"Passing guard going door-to-door to try and find us, maybe? You heard what Meadowsweet said about that; they have unicorns with spells that disrupt our guises," I considered, having seen enough movies about dystopian governments in my time back on Earth to fill in the blanks.

"I wish we had an easy way out of town; I'd prefer going back to my mare, but the thought of leaving our siblings trapped in the dungeon is too much to bare," Oval sighed. "Even if it might be dangerous, I can't come home without having at least tried to save them. I can't face Celery if I run away from my responsibilities."

I gave my sister a sympathetic nudge back. "The things we do for love..."