The journey to the promised palace was relatively brief, but very strange. As soon as they crested the ridge, Trixie had felt herself passing through the invisible barrier the Doctor had pointed out before. In truth, there was no ridge at all. The barrier was a spell, ingenious in its simplicity. Instead of creating a physical barrier to keep enemies out, there was the most intricate illusion that made it appear that the field came to a ridge and then steeply dipped into nothingness. Any who were not welcome, presumably any beast that might be unfriendly towards ponies, would see the drop and simply turn back. So finely was the magic of the illusion woven that even the most skilled unicorn should not have noticed it until she was right on top of it. Clearly, it was the work of a master.
Beyond the barrier though, was an even more fantastic sight: the city of Cantaerloth. It had the look of newness to be sure, and was even yet unfinished in some places, but for the most part the city just looked all the more inspiring for it. Buildings stood tall with fresh mortar and paths twisted and twined throughout, all with the look of being walked for the first time. In some places, there were collections of tents where there had presumably not yet been time to build housing. Even so, earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns alike looked to be living together in the tents, all smiles and cheer. It reminded Trixie very much of Ponyville. The whole city felt familiar in fact. Not the places or the ponies, but the feel of the place itself.
If Trixie had forgotten any of her Equestrian history, it would not matter for the presence of the eager to please Dennis as their guide. Still believing his followers to be tourists, and not being entirely wrong, he was more than enthused to give the visitors every bit of trivia he could about his home. The alliance of earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns had only come there relatively recently; the past ten years or so. Of course, Trixie knew of the discovery of Equestria by the three tribe leaders that came to be celebrated as Hearths Warming Eve, but the immediate aftermath of the discovery had been more than a little lost on her.
As Dennis told it, the party of six that had discovered Equestria had returned to their former lands and made it their first effort to unite the tribes into a harmonious union. They spoke of their experiences and the land they could share together and, eventually, all three communities joined as one in a mass exodus to the promised land. Picking the most fertile, prosperous, and relatively safest patch of land, the first settlers developed Equestria’s capital city: Cantaerloth. It was there that the bulk of the three tribes, including their most influential leaders, came to call home and worked to build a harmonious society. Together, each pony pitched in to build a community in record time, including the great Cantaerloth Palace, where influential leaders and representatives worked together. There, they did everything from discussing domestic policy to the raising of the sun and moon. Everything had been peaceful, until recently, when one particular issue began to divide the court. That was why outside representatives and not just those within the city had been called.
Throughout Dennis’s entire tour, Trixie could tell that Doctor Hooves was distracted. She could not tell if he was preoccupied with something or if he was just disappointed that he was not giving the tour himself. The more she considered it, the more she hoped it was the latter. Dennis’s lack of knowledge about Princess Celestia did not weight quite as lightly on Trixie’s mind as she might have wanted. While Trixie had never met the Princess herself, nor her royal sister, it had always been a given that her presence in the world granted her some safety from anything truly threatening. It would have been nice had she not thought that if the Princesses were so infallibly powerful, then she would not need to be on this adventure in the first place, but the Doctor’s penchant for actually considering things seemed to be rubbing off on her. Regardless, she couldn’t help but wonder what it would all end up meaning. Doctor Hooves had said they had gone back to around the time the Princesses took the throne. Had history altered more than they thought?
Finally, Dennis brought them to the final stop on their tour: Cantaerloth Palace. Trixie was not sure how to describe it, but the word ‘impressive’ came to mind. She did not know how, it must have been some kind of magic, but the entire structure looked to be carved from a single piece of stone. Lacking in any discernible masonry, like many of the buildings in town, the stately structure looked like it had been carved out of a cliff face, if only there had been a cliff around. Despite its seemingly singular construction, the palace rose tall, towering above everything around it. While it had been visible as soon as they had passed through the magic barrier, it was only now, up close, that Trixie truly appreciated the scale of the monolith. Every which way, towers extended out from all sides, presumably serving as housing for all those who stayed within its walls. Dennis said that the conference room at the structure’s base had been the primary consideration in its design and that it could hold over a hundred ponies at any one time. Trixie believed it. In a way, with its wide base and branching towers, she thought the palace did not look unlike a great tree of stone.
“Well,” Dennis said, turning to his two charges, “this is the palace then. I am afraid I must leave you now.”
“Brilliant! Dennis, thank you, so much, for all your help, really.” The Doctor looked positively enthused, but Trixie could not tell if he was excited to see the castle or that he would be the center of attention again. No stranger to attention seeking herself, Trixie had to admit that the mutual admiration association worked far more efficiently with two, but she was still a bit put out to see Dennis go. She liked the way he bowed.
“Thank you, Dennis. The Great and Powerful Trixie will not forget your kindness.”
“Not at all, my lady, my lord.”
Doctor Hooves jumped from where he had been ogling the palace. “What do you mean, ‘lord?’ Who said anything about me being any kind of lord? What just with the, this . . . .” He trailed off and began nodding to Trixie and then back to the hourglass on his flank.
“Cutie mark.”
“Yes. That.”
Dennis seemed truly taken aback. Trixie could scarcely blame him. “I just assumed, sir, what with you being in the company of a unicorn of such great power. I meant no offense.”
Doctor Hooves blinked blankly. “Oh! Of course! Dennis, I’m so sorry. I wish I had something I could give you in thanks. And apology.” He paused, considering who knows what. “Next time I’m in town, I’ll have something for you. Promise. We’ll do something. We can play pony ball. That should be fun, never tried it with four legs. Also, you probably have not invented it yet. Um,” clearly, he was babbling now, “we can watch telly! No, wrong planet. Do you . . .” his entire face clenched in a some sort of contemplative grimace, “have books?”
It was all Dennis could do just to nod.
“Dennis,” Doctor Hooves began, all formality, “would you like to read a book with me?”
“Are . . . are you asking me out?”
“I . . . we,” he looked at Trixie, but she was already hiding in her hat, “are leaving. Thank you.” And then they bailed. So hard.
For a moment, the pony named Dennis did not move. He chewed at his lip vigorously, trying to sort out the last hour, which must have been the strangest of his life.
“Wasn’t a ‘no.’”