3/12/14 10:00am Ponyville
Rarity was just closing up Carousel Boutique for the day so she could get a last spa visit with Fluttershy before leaving for Earth. The fashionista turned Ambassador had combed her Indigo mane and white coat in order to look her best. She had decided to leave her purple chapeau in the shop because it was such a beautiful day out and headed along the dirt path through Ponyville to Fluttershy’s cottage.
As Rarity crossed the small bridge to her friend’s cottage which was inside a tree, she noticed the cages spread throughout the yard. When the white mare knocked on the front door, she was greeted by a bedraggled looking Fluttershy. Her butter yellow coat was spotted with dirt and her rose pink mane was unkempt. “Fluttershy darling, it looks like I came just in time for our weekly spa visit.”
“Oh, I’m terribly sorry, but I can’t make it.” Fluttershy responded before flying off after a small white rabbit.
“What’s wrong dear?” Rarity asked worried for her friend.
“Oh, Angel bunny is not feeling too good, but I can’t get him to lie down and rest.” The pegasus stated as she tried to keep her hooves wrapped around the fighting Angel. “And Elizabeak got out again.”
“I’m so sorry. Would you like some help?” The unicorn asked, but not really wanting to get dirty.
“Go to the spa. You’ll be leaving soon; I’ll just see you at the party.” Angel used this opportunity to get out of his caretaker’s grasp and ran out the door. “Angel bunny.” Fluttershy stated as she flew out the door.
Rarity left to try and find somepony else to take to the spa with her.
Rarity found herself in the southern end of Ponyville looking at a newly constructed house. Not knowing who else to ask she decided to see if her counterpart would like to go, her treat. The building was a two story affair, not too unusual for Ponyville, but the style was unusual. The walls were all completely straight with only a few outcroppings, the ceiling was made out of small pieces of ceramic they called ‘shingles’ instead of thatched. The bottom half looked like brick, but the top half looked like a traditional Ponyville house with cream walls and strips of wood providing a pattern. The humans said it was a ‘Tudor’ style.
Rarity went up and knocked on the front door, she was surprised when the door was answered by the exact human she was looking for, and he wasn’t wearing a suit. Anthony looked down at the unicorn mare, surprised to see her. “Um, did you need something Rarity?”
He’s wearing THAT? Rarity asked herself at seeing the human Ambassador in a t-shirt and shorts. She shook her head to break her stupor. “Yes, I was wondering if you would like to visit the spa with me today. My usual spa buddy is currently indisposed. I would be more than willing to treat you.” She offered. I don’t want to spend my last day here by myself. At least Anthony is in a similar position and could help prepare me some, or just talk. She hoped.
“I’m sorry; the spa isn’t really my thing.” Anthony stated.
Rarity felt dejected, everybody was too busy, and then the human spoke up again. “However, I’m sure my wife would love to go with you.” He offered.
Rarity could hardly keep her joy contained. OOOHHHHH an actual girls’ day out. “That sounds delightful.”
“If you can just wait right here. And if she asks, you announced yourself first.” He winked as he headed up the stairs.
That must be unusual, being married to your chief bodyguard. I just hope I won’t be that constrained. I would love to walk around the city of Paris and look at the stores I choose. Rarity just waited, and a few minutes later he came back down the stairs alone. “Is there a problem?” She queried.
Anthony gives her a small smile. “No, she said she would be happy to meet you there, she just has to change first.” He informed her. “How about I walk you there?” The human ambassador asked.
“That would be delightful.” The Equestrian ambassador responded.
Rarity was enjoying her walk with the human Ambassador; they just talked about little things like where they grew up and how they ended up as counterparts. The kinds of things people would talk about to better know their friends or people they would be working with as equals. The fashionista failed to notice how other ponies tried to avoid them, when she did see one, she thought it was out of deference for their high positions. She also failed to notice the things these other ponies were saying.
“That’s one of the creatures responsible for those poor foals’ deaths.” A cerulean earth pony said to her friend.
“Can you believe how uncivilized they are, never hearing of magic before.” A different pony scoffed.
“And once they appeared, their ugly building went up. They didn’t even care about it being subtle and fitting in with the rest of the town.”
“I can still smell meat on it!” A mauve pegasus said.
“Did you know that some of them even eat their food while it’s still alive? Or they just drop the squirming animal into a boiling pot of water.” The mauve pegasus’ friend responded.
The mauve one had hurriedly left, trying to find the nearest bathroom.
Rarity and Anthony were waiting outside the twin-spired, tent-like spa. They had only been there for a few minutes when a female human in a black tank top and pants came running up from down the road. Even though Rarity had been warned by Lyra about the state of female human mammaries, she was still surprised to see them so obvious.
“Thank you for your delightful invitation Rarity.” Aiko Marcus greeted in Equestrian, not even remotely out of breath after jogging the entire way to the spa.
“Oh, it’s my pleasure Mrs. Marcus. I do hope you will enjoy yourself.” Rarity replied, and used her magic to open up the door.
“You two ladies have fun.” Anthony said as he made to leave. She needs to enjoy herself a little. He thought.
Aiko grinned. “Not so fast. You are not allowed to go anywhere unescorted and since you volunteered me for this, you get to come along too.”
“How delightful!” Rarity enthused. “We can even make sure you have a special couples massage. Oh you will absolutely love Aloe and Lotus, they are simply fabulous.”
3/13/14 9:00am Bridle Lake, Earth
Oh, I wish I could be back at the spa right now. Even though it wasn’t as relaxing as I’d hoped, they don’t even have a spa here. Rarity pouted. Remembering Aiko’s constant vigilance and silence and Anthony’s surprise at how soft hooves could be. It was still more relaxing than this.
When Rarity had arrived at her desk that morning, there was a letter waiting in front of her chair.
Dear Lady Rarity,
Seeing as you are a new political appointee, I am willing to offer you my significant talents in learning how to deal with politicians and to consolidate your power base. All I ask is a small position on your staff from which to help you. Feel free to send your acceptance to the address at the end of this letter
Sincerely,
Prince Blueblood
All Rarity could do was stare at the letter in utter disbelief. After how he treated me at the Grand Galloping Gala; he thinks I will accept anything from a…a…charlatan that is only royal in that he is a royal pain! The ambassador quickly grabbed the letter and threw it in her office’s fireplace. I will have to make sure that my secretary disposes of anything else from him in a similar manner. She humphed and went back.
Rarity’s office was on the third floor of the Equestrian Embassy located in Nevada. The desk was designed to give her significance and had a lush ‘executive chair on rollers to go with it. Rollers are ingenious; you can just push yourself away and hop down to the floor. There were two large glass windows to let in light. Upon the recommendation of the United States though, the glass was dense and contained a barrier in case some nut came after her with a gun. They can be so violent. The ambassador thought. So fractured. The office also contained a couch facing two chairs with official looking books covering the wall that doubled as a dedicated bookcase. Which is nothing like the one for Twilight or Lyra.
The embassy itself was just designed for work; it might as well have been a castle. The first floor was clerical and was in charge of visas; keeping track of who went where (both pony and human) and all of the paperwork needed to keep it running and part of the guard contingent. The second floor contained the offices of minor officials and room to expand for when Equestria opened up relations with other countries on Earth. The third floor was reserved for the Ambassador’s office, a sitting room, and a few others officials that needed the quiet; Lyra and Twilight were among them. The entire top floor was a suite for Princess Celestia when she decided to visit and was done in marble with red and violet fabrics. There were houses about a mile away that were constructed to house all of the workers and Equestrian officials.
Rarity could not get back to thinking after reading such a disturbing letter. I think I’ll take a break and work on a new design based off of human haute couture. Her office was designed to be used for only her political jobs; she had a whole separate room dedicated to her fashion, including a stack of Earth fashion journals, and her standard ponyquins for sizing her designs. It’s not like there will be much work until the press conference later this week.
Rarity decided she would first visit Twilight’s new study room. Twilight had just received a new device when they had arrived through the portal, some sort of a gift to better understand humanity; a television. As a result the purple mare had been spending hours each day in front of the device and watching some sort of philosophical show.
As Rarity entered she saw Twilight staring at the large screen which had an elderly balding man in a red outfit talking to a very dark skinned lady that was much younger than him and dressed all in purple. “Twilight, darling.”
“Shhh.” Twilight said, asking her friend to be quiet.
“Maybe he did the right thing for the wrong reason.” The white haired male said.
“How so?” Asked the female.”
“Well…perhaps what we needed was a kick to our complacency – to prepare us for what lies ahead.”
Twilight was quiet for a moment as the credits rolled and whispered, “wow.”
“Was it good?” Rarity asked, worried about how absorbed her friend was getting into this new technology.
“Yes.” Twilight said, still entranced. The scholar turned around to her friend. “It had this villain who wasn’t a true villain. He tried to prove how much there was still unknown in the universe. But there was still something about him that I don’t like.” Twilight turned contemplative, pondering a line from earlier in her show.
“Perhaps it’s because he is the villain.” Rarity had seen that character before and couldn’t stand him. “Anyway, I came to ask if you would like to head back into town to get some lunch together.”
Twilight looked at her friend, and then at the clock. Need to start setting alarms for studying. “Sure.” Twilight said excitedly as her stomach rumbled.
3/15/14 8:00am
Avery was making his daily rounds, making sure that all of his personnel were in there designated locations. His picked up his walkie talkie to double check the roster. “PFC Martinez, state your location.”
A voice responds over the radio. “At the main gate, sir.”
“Roger that. Sergeant Wade, state you location.”
“Walking the perimeter, sir.”
He continued to check in with the other 14 guards on duty, they all checked in until he got to the last name on the list. “PFC Chang. State your location.” After several seconds Avery still hadn’t gotten a response. “PFC Chang. State your location now!” The officer in charge of Embassy security double checked the security log and noticed that PFC Chang never checked in that morning. “PFC Martinez, do you know the location of your bunkmate?”
“He went for a run this morning in his camos. He said something about a run towards the woods.” The voice responded.
“Sergeant Wade.” Avery called through the walkie talkie.
“Yes sir?” The young sergeant replied.
“Gather up some marines and get them ready to head out in five. I don’t care if you have to shake them out of their bunks. Get them to the front gate now!” The CO ordered.
“Yes sir!” the sergeant replied again.
Shit. Avery ran up the stairs to the Ambassador’s office, clearing two steps at a time. As he reached the second floor he headed for the back of the building and stopped at the receptionist’s desk in front of the hardened door to the Ambassador’s office. “Mrs Randall, I need to speak to him immediately. It’s a priority.”
“Head on in.” The blonde behind the desk allowed.
Avery ran into the room, not even bothering to knock. “Sir, we have a marine that we believe headed into the Everfree Forest on his own. I need to take a group of marines to look for him. We need permission to take guns through the city.”
The Ambassador quickly grabbed a phone off of his desk and hit one button. “Mayor Mare please. It’s urgent!” He then set the phone down and set it to speaker.
“This is Mayor Mare.” A matronly female voice said over the phone.
“This is Ambassador Marcus. We have a human that seems to have wandered into the Everfree Forest. I need permission to let some soldiers go through town with their weapons to fi-.” The Ambassador wasn’t allowed to finish.
“I’m terribly sorry, but any humans moving through Ponyville with weapons will be considered an attack. If you like I can send some guard ponies to assist you.” She offered.
Avery shook his head and mouthed the words ‘NO TIME’ before running back down the stairs and out the building. As he reached the gates, five marines were waiting for him in full combat gear. They were all wearing tactical vests, combat boots and were carrying M4’s. One of the marines handed Avery a gun which he happily took. “We have to go around the town. Keep a lookout for anything! If you see something in the forest, call out a warning and what it looks like, some things in here you don’t want to stare down.”
As they ran for the forest, Avery had some time to think. Dammit. Why the hell would ANY marine head into that forest, and alone? How stupid do you have to be? Didn’t he read his intelligence on this mission? He had read every facet of Equestrian life that could pose a risk to humans, and the Everfree was one of those places that scared the crap out of him.
As they reached the forest path, a pair of tracks stood out in the dark. The tracks ended approximately a mile into the woods, at a cliff with a human body in marine fatigues at the bottom. Avery looked around the ground for any signs of what happened. There were several pairs of what looked like wolf tracks and one that belonged to a pony. Avery looked around the woods to identify any remaining threats, only to see a black and white striped creature with a hood fade into the darkness.
“Alright marines, stop standing around. We have a body to retrieve.” And an investigation to work out. Thankfully PFC Chang didn’t have any family that we have to contact. Most of the people here won’t be missed if something happens. Avery mussed and stood guard with Sergeant Wade, while the other four marines worked at getting Chang’s body back from the bottom of a cliff.
3/15/14 8:00am Ponyville
Aiko was taking her morning jog around Ponyville after escorting the Ambassador to his job, enjoying the crisp morning air. Off in the distance she noticed six forms running around the perimeter of Ponyville towards the Everfree Forest in full combat gear. Must be some sort of training exercise, I wouldn’t want to train in the woods but it is a good spot. The bodyguard thought as she continued her run.
About halfway through her run she found Sweet Apple Acres and slowed to admire the pegasi moving clouds around the farm. One grey mare in particular was jumping on a cloud to create rain for a small clump of trees.
“Can I help ya, sugercube?” A southern-accented voice asked.
Aiko looked down at an orange earth pony. “Just admiring their work.”
“Huh?” Applejack looked up confused. “Guess ya’ll don’t have a weather patrol were you come from. They were supposed ta be makin’ snow. But they had to warm up the weather a little.”
“We just let it happen.” Aiko responded, still looking at the cloud movers.
Applejack shivered at the thought. Unnatural weather patterns just like the Everfree. How does anypony stand it? Sure hope Twi and Rares are doin’ ok. “Well, I’m gonna get back ta work.”
“Huh? Wait a minute.” Aiko stopped the departing pony. “I heard you and Rainbow Dash were skilled fighters.”
“Yeah.” Applejack said, unsure of where this conversation was going.
“I was hoping for a sparring match.” Aiko replied. “I wanted some exercise and figured it would help us to get to know each other.” And it could teach me how to defend against ponies if the need arose. Aiko didn’t voice those thoughts.
“Well, sure. Just need ta finish mah chores.” Applejack conceded “If you can come by tomorrow afternoon. I’ll make sure RD is here.”
“You sure she’ll be fine with it?” Aiko asked.
“Sure as sugar. That pony loves competition, just be warned, she has a black belt.”
3/15/14 11:00am Ponyville
Avery had finished bringing back his marines, and the body. It was hard coming back through the forest; several times there were eyes staring at them from the woods. He was now waiting for a meeting with the Ambassador.
“He can see you know.” The secretary advised him.
Avery got up from his chair near the receptionists desk and opened the door. The guard stood at the front of the Ambassador’s desk and stood at attention.
“I’m sorry to hear about the man you lost.” Anthony apologized. “Is there anything you need?”
“Just answers sir. What about the figure I saw in the forest?’ Avery asked.
“Yes. The figure you saw was most likely the local zebra. I got ahold of the Mayor and she’s setting up a meeting for as soon as possible. She sends her condolences.” Anthony consoled.
“Then she should have done something to help. Sir.” Avery had lost men before, sometimes all of his men. It never got better and he wouldn’t forgive anyone who cost his men their lives.