Chapter 22: Season's End
Twilight Sparkle didn't know where to look. Her eyes darted up and down, right and left, as she tried to take in everything at once. There was so much to see, so much to do, so many things to try. "Where do we start?"
"Wherever you want," said Arkenstone from beside her with an amused chuckle.
The two of them had enjoyed a delicious (albeit rather unhealthy) lunch of hayburgers and fries from one of the festival's concession stands. Twilight was looking forward to trying some of the games. There was something here for everypony, from the classic carnival games to specialized magic games designed to test a unicorn's skills. Speaking of which...
"Time's up."
"Darn it!" snapped Lyra as she set a mid-sized box back down on the game stall. She'd been holding it in her magic for the past few minutes, staring at it intently.
The unicorn running the stall gave the mint-green mare a cheeky grin. "Wanna try another round?"
"Oh no, I think you've had enough." Bon Bon practically materialized behind a frustrated Lyra and began to drag her away from the game. "I'm not letting you waste any more bits on that thing."
"Awww...But I almost had it that time!"
"Sure you did dear."
The mare at the stall chuckled as she watched the couple moved off before her eyes found Twilight and Arkenstone. "Why hello there! Can I interest you in a game?"
Twilight trotted over and examined the box. It was a perfect cube of black-lacquered panels, about the size of a pony's head. "A puzzle box?"
"That's right," agreed the mare running the stand, "It's the ultimate mystery box. Nopony knows what's inside. I've been to five different towns and had hundreds of unicorns try their horns at opening, but no luck. The mechanisms reset and reconfigure after every attempt, so that they never work the same way twice. I've heard a priceless treasure resides inside."
"Sounds exciting," said Twilight, grinning as she continued to examine the box.
"Care to give it a go?" asked the mare, "It's five bits for five minutes."
"It's a deal," said Twilight, levitating the requested number of bits out of her money pouch and setting them onto the counter. The stall's proprietor swept them off and stepped back.
"The box is all yours."
Even though the clock was ticking, Twilight took her time examining the box, levitating it off the counter and turning it to examine every angle. It vaguely reminded her of the small, steel box that had been used to ship her arcanasteel ring to her. However, this was far less durable, and less complex as well, lacking the incredible inlaid enchantments that Princess Celestia had put on the box the ring had come in.
As the box dangled in her levitation field, Twilight felt the faint hum of a foreign magic brushing up against her own. Refining her focus, she configured the aura of her levitation field and suddenly the mechanisms of the device were visible to her eyes. There were levers and tumblers, switches and gears that all meshed together in strange ways, none seeming to serve any specific purpose. That must be because they aren't in the right arrangement. It struck Twilight that this was similar to the puzzle cubes she used to play with as a foal; rotate the different sections so that the panels of the same color were all on the same side. What she needed to do was manipulate the positions of the mechanisms within the box and align all the components together so that they functioned unlock the box and release its contents.
Behind the counter, the mare frowned as she watched Twilight. Normally, the player would immediately start fiddling with the mechanisms the moment they picked up the box. However, it had been over three minutes now and Twilight had done nothing but stare carefully at the device. It continued to rotate slowly in Twilight's telekinesis, allowing her to study every angle.
Twilight was studying every aspect of the mechanisms, her mind actually running through the numerous possible configurations to see what fit together where. After that, it became a matter of figuring out how to get them into position. Moving one component affected the position of at least four others. Twilight needed to account for that and map the shortest path to aligning all of them together. She continued to work slowly and carefully.
"Is she going to try anything?" asked the mare in the stall.
Behind Twilight, Arkenstone smiled politely at the mare. "She will succeed. Of that, I have no doubt."
Finally, with only a minute remaining, Twilight began to move the components, using a second, smaller telekinesis spell to manipulate them. From within the box came a series of clicks as they moved into place. The clicking noises seemed to come in more rapid succession as Twilight continued to position the pieces of the puzzle. Thirty seconds remained, then fifteen, then ten, then five...
Finally, in the last three seconds, there was a final, much louder click. A whole panel rotated and detached from the side of the box, revealing a smaller box. Once again, Twilight was reminded of the box her ring had come in. Setting aside the puzzle box, Twilight lowered the smaller box to the counter.
"You did it," gasped the mare, her eyes wide as she stared at the small box on the counter, "I've lost count of how many times ponies have tried to open that thing. I can't believe you got it on the first try."
"Um...well..." Twilight rubbed the back of her mane sheepishly, blushing at the praise, "I'm just really good at puzzles."
Arkenstone chuckled. "I'm not surprised," he said, gently sidling up against Twilight, "So then, what's the prize?"
Twilight looked down and lifted the lid off the smaller box and gasped at what lay within. The jewel was small, about the size of a large cherry. It was pitch-black in color, but refracted the outside light through its many facets to give the impression of a glittering starscape. "A midnight diamond!"
"Oh my," said Arkenstone, "That's an incredibly rare gem." He paused and his ears turned to swivel towards the stall's proprietor. "Not exactly the kind of thing one would expect to find as a prize at a carnival game."
The mare chuckled and shrugged. "I've had that thing for ages. It's been so long since somepony actually solved the puzzle box I've gotten a pretty decent return from all the different attempts. For a while now, I've actually been hoping that somepony could solve the darn thing and take it off my hooves so I can retire."
"Wait!" said Twilight, "I thought you said nopony's solved the puzzle box before and that you didn't know what was in it."
The mare shrugged. "Just a bit of embellishment to up the excitement. If you want, you can hold onto the puzzle box too."
"That would be amazing," said Twilight eagerly, "It's a wonderful design. Where did you find it?"
"My late husband made it," replied the mare with a grin. She chuckled at the shocked look on Twilight's face. "Don't be like that. He'd be happy to know it was in the hooves of a discriminating mind like yours."
"Thank you so much," said Twilight, dipping her head.
"Aw, think nothing of it," said the mare with a grin, "It's your prize, fair won, after all."
Twilight nodded and lifted the box and jewel. Her horn blazed and the items vanished, teleported back to the library for safekeeping.
"You two have a wonderful time," said the mare with a wave as she began to close up her stall, now that its purpose had been served.
"She doesn't seem that old," observed Twilight as they walked away from the stall.
"Perhaps not," agreed Arkenstone, "However, after spending so long accumulating bits, I'm willing to bet that she's more than willing to try something new."
Twilight nodded and the two of them proceeded onward.
They played a few other games, tried a couple of the rides, but Twilight was simply happiest that she got to do all of this with her stallion at her side. The two of them wandered the festival side-by-side, their tails intertwined, drinking in the sights, sounds, and smells. It was all so very wonderful and yet, not so wonderful as the feeling of gentle warmth that Twilight felt from having Arkenstone with her.
"Oh come on!" exclaimed Sweetie Belle, throwing her hooves up in frustration. In her last throw, she'd seemed to succeed in landing the ring on one of the pegs in the booth. However, the ring had slipped off and fallen to the wayside. "I totally had that one too!"
"Sorry hon," said the spindly pegasus running the booth with a chuckle, "But it's still a miss. If you want to try again, you're gonna have to pony up some more bits."
Sweetie frowned as she glared past the stallion at the pegs. The ringtoss booth was like many of its kind, a simple counter serving as a barrier, across which ponies would throw the rings to try and land them on a peg and win a prize. The color of the peg determined the type of prize that one won. Sweetie had set her eyes on the large stuffed bear nearly as big as she was that was the designated prize for the red pegs. As the most valuable item to be won, the red pegs were the least-numerous on the board, which made them the hardest targets. To make matters more difficult, there was an antimagic barrier on the inside edge of the counter, ensuring that a unicorn couldn't cheat by using her magic to levitate the ring all the way to the pegs...not that Sweetie had any intention of cheating.
Rumble stepped up next to Sweetie and put down the required bits. "Let me try," he said, giving Sweetie a smile. The stallion managing the booth retrieved the three rings and set them on the counter. Rumble extended one wing and looped the first ring over his leading primary. Stepping back, Rumble began to twirl the ring about his feather before tossing it straight up and catching it as it dropped back down.
"What are you doing?" asked Sweetie as Rumble repeated the process a second time, then a third.
"Getting a feel for it," replied the colt as he hefted the ring, trying to get a feel for its weight and balance. Not so long ago, he would have used his hoof, or even his mouth to toss the ring. But after his weeks of practicing under Storm Front's tutelage, Rumble had learned to appreciate how dexterous his wings and feathers could be once he learned how to use them.
Twirling the ring about his feather, Rumble let fly. The throw drifted upward, much higher than the usual arc ponies regularly used. The ring hit the canvas ceiling of the stall and fell short of the pegs entirely.
"Shoot," muttered Rumble as he picked up the second ring, "Need more spin..."
The second ring did indeed have more spin. However, the angle of the throw was too shallow. This time, the ring sailed right over the board and the pegs projecting up over it, all the way to the back of the stall.
"Last try," said the stallion, eyeing Rumble curiously as the colt picked up the third and final ring.
"Here goes nothing," said Rumble as he spun the ring about his feather before launching it. The ring drifted in a lazy arc, just barely avoiding hitting the ceiling and suffering the same fate as the first one. The ring slowed and began its descent. It drifted down near vertically and settled almost perfectly over one of the red pegs in the center of the board.
Sweetie's eyes lit up and she broke into an exuberant grin. "You did it!" she squealed, throwing her forelegs around Rumble's neck and hugging him tightly.
"I haven't seen a toss like that before," claimed the stallion who was already taking down the large stuffed bear.
He gave it to Sweetie, who immediately hugged it tightly. "Oh I love it! Thank you so much Rumble!"
Rumble blushed and looked away slightly. "Aw, it was nothing," he said.
"Well it's special to me," said Sweetie, using her magic to levitate the bear out of the way so she could give her date a light peck on the lips, "That's my thanks for you being such a gallant gentlecolt."
"Y-you're welcome," stammered Rumble, unable to stop the goofy grin from spreading across his face even as he looked away again.
"Come on," said Sweetie eagerly as she began to tug Rumble away from the stand, "There's more fun to be had."
The day was drawing to the close, with the sun finally dipping below the horizon. Already lamps had been lit to keep the festival going, even as stars began dotting the skies. Everypony was still enjoying themselves. The sheer volume of things to do was staggering and no one quite felt like calling it a day just yet.
Fluttershy glanced about worriedly, her wings beating an anxious tempo as she hovered above the festival. Her eyes roved across the expanse of canvas roofs, searching for any hint of a cerulean coat or rainbow mane. Where could she be?
"Any luck?" Fluttershy glanced over towards Flitter, who was approaching, Storm Front not far behind her.
Shaking her head, Fluttershy sighed. "Nothing. Where could Rainbow Dash be?" At first, it had merely been a little perplexing. Rainbow Dash was not one to skip out on a good party. Nor was she one to try and keep a low profile during said party. She liked to be at the center of things, attracting attention, causing spectacles. The fact that, after wandering across the whole of the festival grounds, none of the group of friends had encountered her even once was more than a little worrying.
The trio swooped down to where Applejack, Red River, and Caramel were waiting.
"No luck Ah take it," said Applejack tensely at the forlorn look on Fluttershy's face.
"None," said Fluttershy, shaking her head, "Oh Applejack...where in Equestria could she be?"
"Now take it easy sugarcube," said Applejack, draping a hoof over Fluttershy's withers, "Ah'm sure she's 'round here somewhere."
"But what if she's in trouble?" asked Fluttershy, "What if those awful ponies from Cloudsdale came after her again? She could be hurt! She could be-"
Fluttershy's tirade was cut off by Applejack gently planting a hoof against her lips. "None 'o that now," said Applejack firmly, "Ya ain't gonna do any good gettin' yerself worked up in a tizzy. Rainbow'll turn up. Ya'll see."
Caramel also sidled up against Fluttershy and gently nuzzled her cheek. "It's going to be okay," he said softly. Fluttershy leaned back against him, wrapping a wing tightly over his back to pull herself closer as Caramel continued to whisper reassurances into her ear.
"Hi everypony!" Suddenly, Pinkie Pie was in their midst, as though she had been standing there the entire time, her unexpected presence causing everypony, even the two seasoned martial artists, to yelp in surprise.
"Dagnabbit Pinkie!" snapped Applejack, pressing a hoof against her chest, "Yer gonna give somepony a heart attack doin' that."
"Sorry about that." The group turned to see a panting Mayweather coming towards them. "She's hard to keep track of."
"Oh! You're still here!" squealed Pinkie, bounding over and giving Mayweather an enthusiastic hug.
"Um...yeah," said Mayweather a bit dully, having been in Pinkie's company for the entire festival until a few scant seconds ago.
"Anyway," said Pinkie, bouncing back away from Mayweather who, in spite of her exasperation at Pinkie's energetic antics seemed disappointed that she'd abandoned the embrace so soon, "I just wanted to tell all of you that it's almost time."
"Almost time for what?" asked Caramel.
Pinkie giggled at the tan stallion's inquiry. "It's a surprise," she said, "But everyone needs to head out to the fields outside the festival grounds. I'm just letting everyone know now. Make sure you spread the word."
"Wait!" As Pinkie began to bounce off, Applejack shouted after her, raising a hoof to try and forestall her departure. Pinkie paused and looked over her shoulder. "Have ya seen Rainbow Dash anywhere."
Pinkie blinked at the inquiry before turning her gaze upward in thought. "Hmmm...nope!" Not waiting any longer, Pinkie continued on her way, a harried-looking Mayweather trotting in her wake.
Applejack looked after Pinkie, staring in surprise. "Okay...now Ah'm worried."
Slowly, but steadily, ponies began to trickle away from the grounds of the festival itself and into the open fields of the rest of the park just outside. They brought out blankets, laid down on the grass, and made themselves comfortable. Pinkie Pie had promised a spectacular surprise and nopony wanted to miss it. A Pinkie Pie Surprise (TM), when it didn't involve a prank, was something not to be missed.
Fluttershy, Applejack, and Flitter, along with their respective companions for the evening, had moved out into the open spaces, still looking anxiously for any sign of Rainbow Dash. With all the ponies streaming out into the field, her vividly-colored mane should have been visible somewhere, easily distinguishable from the press of ponies. However, there remained no sign nor trace of the cerulean mare.
However, Fluttershy did spot someone else. As she fluttered back and forth anxiously over the moving ponies, she spotted the telltale gleam of turquoise, the eyes of her son staring up at her. Scootaloo was there with him, both watching Fluttershy with concerned expressions.
"Oh hello Dawn," said Fluttershy as she landed in front of them, "Are you two enjoying your date."
"Yeah," said Scootaloo, "It's been a blast."
"However, you don't seem to be enjoying your day near as much," Dawn pointed out, "What's wrong?"
"It's just..." Fluttershy lowered her eyes. "Nopony's seen Rainbow Dash all day. I'm worried."
"What?" exclaimed Scootaloo, "Rainbow Dash is missing! We have to find her!"
Dawn's wing immediately draped itself over Scootaloo's back. "Calm down," he said softly, "It won't do any good if you panic." He turned back to Fluttershy. "Have you asked after Pinkie Pie?"
Fluttershy nodded slowly. "Not even Pinkie has seen her anywhere."
Dawn raised an eyebrow. "But Pinkie Pie didn't seem to be worried?"
Fluttershy blinked for a moment. "Uh...no..." Now that she thought about it, that would have been strange. As enthusiastic as she was about her parties, Pinkie wasn't one to simply ignore the fact that one of her closest friends was not attendance. If anything, she would be even more concerned that Rainbow was missing out on the celebration. However, she had answered in a resounding negative to Applejack's earlier inquiry without batting an eyelid. But what does that mean exactly?
Even as Fluttershy pondered over the question, Pinkie Pie bounded out in front of the assembled mass of ponies, standing tall and proud, grinning from ear to ear. "Hey there everypony! Are you having fun?"
A chorus of cheers echoed across the field as the enthusiastic crowd answered.
"That's good," said Pinkie, her voice carrying across the whole group of assembled ponies with ease, in spite of any lack of magical amplification, "But the party's not over yet. This year, we're celebrating something extra-special-super-duper-awesome. Because of that, we have some special guests visiting just for this year's Harvest Festival!"
Grinning widely, Pinkie reared back, spreading her forelegs upward and outward. "So let's all clop those hooves and cheer like there's no tomorrow, 'cause now it's time for Equestria's greatest flight team! Presenting the WONDERBOLTS!!!"
The sound of cheering was drowned by a rumbling roar as a score of pegasi swept across the sky in close formation, trailing contrails of lightning-charged storm clouds and, in one case, flame. The group flew in a close V-formation, flying wingtip to wingtip. After executing a pass over the crowd, they pivoted into the turn, the entire formation sweeping about like a single airborne entity, with the pony on the innermost line of the V practically pivoting in place as the entire formation banked around her. The formation continued its turn even as its members swooped down towards the ground, coming in for a landing at the space that Pinkie Pie had recently vacated. The Wonbderbolts set down to raucous cheers as they landed in perfect unison.
From the center of the formation, Spitfire stepped forward, pushing back her goggles to let her orange yes take in the crowd in front of her. "HELLOOOOO PONYVILLE!!! Are you folks enjoying the show?"
In spite of the fact that the "show" in question hadn't actually begun yet, it was still unsurprising that Spitfire's greeting was met with a roar from the Ponyville ponies. The Wonderbolt captain smirked to herself, amused to find that the ponies of this rather moderately-sized village could match some of the biggest crowds she'd flown for in enthusiasm. She lifted a hoof, bidding them to calm down. As the cheering died down, Spitfire couldn't help but grin at what was going to be the best part of the whole night.
"I'm guessing this was pretty unexpected for you," said Spitfire, "I have to admit, we don't normally do our shows in places like this. But tonight is a special occasion. It's not just because it's your Harvest Festival though. Tonight is the debut of our newest member, one of your own neighbors..."
Fluttershy's eyes widened as the truth dawned on her. Nearby, the others were going through a similar revelation, their previous worry giving way to excitement.
Spitfire continued. "She's a mare with more spirit that almost any other I've seen, with a heart as big as the wide-open skies, and undoubtedly one of the best fliers I have ever seen in my whole life. Give it up for the one and only RAINBOW DASH!!!"
Though the audience did indeed lose it after that revelation, their cheering vanished in an instant as it was drowned out by a roaring boom from above. The stars and moon faded into the background, completely eclipsed as a coruscating ring of color expanded outward from a single point, washing outward in waves of light that filled the sky to the horizon. Emerging from the center of the explosion, a streak of color, a blazing rainbow contrail moving almost too fast to be tracked, lanced out, sweeping into a rapid series of dives and tight turns. It moved with lightning speed across the sky, the trail forming lines that eventually became a shape. As the flying pony peeled away, she left behind her a stark etching of her cutie mark in the night sky, floating in the epicenter from where the Sonic Rainboom had originated.
Rainbow Dash, clad in her very own blue and gold mithril-mail suit, swooped down into a graceful landing, rearing upwards as she backwinged and settled her hind hooves onto the ground, her trademark cocky grin in place as she posed for the crowd, who were beginning to be heard again over the fading roar of the Sonic Rainboom.
"Thanks for coming everypony!" Rainbow shouted over the roar of the cloud, "But you aren't here for me. Let's get this show on the road!"
Rainbow took her place on one side of Spitfire while Soarin' fell in on the other side. The rest of the team moved up to join them and, together, they took to the sky. The Wonderbolts went through their full routine; full-team formations requiring incredible precision and trust between members, splitting into smaller groups before flying in complex and intersecting patterns, and splitting off into individual members to show off their trademark moves. Rainbow had already shown off her signature Sonic Rainboom, but she was far from tapped out, mesmerizing her audience with the Buccaneer Blaze and Fantastic Filly Flash. Graciously, the rest of the Wonderbolts pulled out of their own indivdual routines early to let the mare take center stage in front of her hometown.
In the audience, Fluttershy swiped at her eyes, wiping away tears of joy to see her oldest friend living her dream after so many years of hard work. Caramel settled in next to her, nuzzling her neck, keeping one eye on the mare performing above while keeping the other fixed on Fluttershy's blissful smile.
Nearby, Dawn and Scootaloo watched the display, eyes wide in admiration. Scootaloo had snuggled up under her coltfriend's wing, gasping and cheering as she watched Rainbow go through her maneuvers. The filly had seen her do them hundreds of times during practice, but watching Rainbow perform them now as an actual member of the Wonderbolts seemed to infuse those moves with new life and vitality, making them brand new to Scootaloo's eyes. Dawn simply watched, taking in everything, marveling at Rainbow's skill and ability. She is a master too, in her own way.
In another part of the crowd, Twilight looked up at the performance with a wry smile. "So that's why Spitfire said they had a show tonight," she commented.
"Yes, they appear to have gotten the drop on us," said Arkenstone with a throaty chuckle, "Spitfire always did like her pranks. A lot of her subordinates share that trait of hers apparently. It seems Rainbow Dash will be in good company."
Applejack was crying unabashedly as she enjoyed the show. Red River leaned up against her, gently tucking her head underneath his chin, careful to angle his own head so that he wasn't blocking Applejack's view of the show. He smiled as he heard Applejack whisper, "Ah'm proud 'o ya sugarcube."
Over near the edges of the crowd, Sweetie Belle gasped and squealed at each new stunt and every exciting dodge. Rumble was seated next to her. Every time Rainbow or one of the other Wonderbolts pulled some sort of daring move, Sweetie used the opportunity to snuggle up closer and closer to the colt with each exclamation, until she'd tucked herself securely beneath Rumble's wing and was nuzzling up under his chin. Rumble, for his part, was too enthralled with the show to be overcome by shyness at Sweetie's behavior, something the young unicorn planned to use to her fullest advantage. Behind them, Rarity watched, alternating between watching the display above and monitoring her sister's behavior below, grinning slyly at the latter.
Spike and Apple Bloom were also engrossed in the display. The young dragon cast a look over his shoulder at the stubby wings slowly growing out of his own back. The two appendages fluttered slightly, but that was the limit of their motion for the time being. For all the pain and itchiness that had accompanied their arrival, their growth into something workable and useful was painfully slow.
"Feelin' a bit jealous?" asked Bloom, nuzzling Spike's cheek.
"A little," admitted Spike, "I'm just worried about how long it's gonna take for these things to grow. I want to fly, but I don't want to have to wait a pony's lifetime just for them to get big enough."
"Ah don't mind," said Apple Bloom under her breath. However, Spike's sharp ears picked up her words anyway.
"Why?" he asked.
"'Cause..." Bloom paused to take a deep breath. "'Cause, if ya start flyin' all over the place, yer gonna leave me behind."
Shifting his position, Spike wrapped his arms around the filly and pulled her up against his chest so that he could rest his chin on top of her head. "Bloom, I'd never leave you behind. In fact, you only make me want to learn how to fly faster."
"Why?"
"Because," said Spike with a grin, "Once I learn how to fly, I can take you with me. We'll go to the sky together."
Tears collected in Apple Bloom's eyes as Spike's words sank in. "Ya promise?"
Spike nodded. "It's a promise." Leaning down, he captured her lips with his, the spectacle of the performance above fading away as the two of them lost themselves in a world all their own.
"Wow, when Applejack talked about how you knew to put on parties, she wasn't kidding," observed Mayweather as she and Pinkie Pie looked over the crowd of ponies gleefully watching the display above, "I can't believe you managed to wrangle in the Wonderbolts."
"Oh that was easy," said Pinkie, grinning widely, "I'm just glad I got to her before Twilight did. Of course, I've been planning this festival since forever and it was the perfect chance for them to show off Dashie as their new member."
Sighing, Mayweather looked down. Noticing her companion's sudden melancholy, Pinkie looked over at Mayweather in concern. "What's wrong?"
"It's just..." Mayweather sighed again. She turned her eyes over to where she saw Dawn and Scootaloo lounging together, the two of them looking happy and content. "I just don't understand how the Order could be so wrong...about everything..."
"It happens," said Pinkie, "You should have seen us the first time we saw Zecora. We all gasped and played hide and seek, even though she didn't want to and made up terrible rumors about her being some evil witch. Now she's just as important to this town as everypony else."
"But..." Mayweather wondered, "Can you ever be sure. I know you believe in Ni-I mean...Princess Luna. But can you truly trust her."
"Of course we can," said Pinkie with a cheerful giggle, "Because Luna's super-fun on Nightmare Night. All the foals love her. And besides, even if Princess Luna really were Nightmare Moon, Nightmare Moon is just some mean old ghosty and my granny taught me how to deal with them a long time ago."
"How."
"You giggle at them silly," said Pinkie, leaning in and nuzzling Mayweather's cheek, "You giggle and guffaw and then they can't scare you anymore." Pulling away, Pinkie hesitated slightly before planting a light peck on Mayweather's cheek. "If you want to stick around, I'll show you how."
Mayweather sat, flummoxed by the unexpected gesture, her eyes wide. Pinkie was already bouncing off to see to the rest of the festival, leaving Mayweather to her own thoughts. Raising her hoof, Mayweather gently touched the cheek Pinkie had kissed, before smiling slightly. "You know, I may do just that..."
Once the show had ended, the moon was high in the sky, but Pinkie Pie was far from done. Fireworks launched up into the air, exploding in blossoms of fiery color, signaling the event's close. Ponies curled up against their loved ones and enjoyed the spectacle. Some were already returning to their homes, simply enjoying the show as they walked away.
Panting from her exertions during the show, Rainbow Dash swooped down for a landing in front of Twilight and Arkenstone, the rest of their friends quickly coming to congregate at the same spot. Rainbow took a moment to bask in their congratulations before she suddenly had the breath forced from her lungs as Fluttershy seized her in a vice-like hug.
"Oh! I'm so glad you're alright!" exclaimed Fluttershy, blissfully unaware that if she kept hugging Rainbow much longer, the cerulean mare's status would soon be modified by the word, "formerly." In spite of that, Fluttershy continued to hug Rainbow for all she was worth. "You had us so worried when you didn't show up at all. What happened?"
Rainbow sharply tapped Fluttershy's foreleg, which made the yellow mare pause to look up as Rainbow gasped, "Air!"
With a startled squeak, Fluttershy relinquished her grip and Rainbow settled onto the ground. gladly sucking air back into her much abused lungs. After taking a few minutes to catch her breath, Rainbow was ready to answer the question.
She looked sullenly at her friends and settled onto her haunches, folding her forelimbs. "Soarin' pranked me...again!"
"What do ya mean?" asked Applejack.
"Well, he got some of the other Wonderbolts to come to my house this morning and basically had them jump me, blindfold me and haul me off. For a little bit, I'd thought those darn tribalists had come back for revenge or something. But then the blindfold comes off and there's Spitfire with my suit, telling me it's time for my first show, just like that." Rainbow huffed irritably.
"Oh my," said Rarity, "I suppose you gave that stallion a piece of your mind."
"Clocked him a good one," replied Rainbow with a grin that could be labeled as only "slightly vindictive." "I had that goof crying uncle in ten seconds flat."
Now that their curiosity concerning Rainbow's whereabouts had been addressed, the group simply dissolved into more normal conversations as many of them dispersed to spend the remainder of their evening with their special someponies. However, as she flew off to join her own stallion, Rainbow noticed a certain filly and colt had been curiously absent when she had come down. However, she was soon smirking when she spied her targets a short ways away on a grassy knoll, lounging without a care in the world.
Away from the festival grounds, in an unoccupied section of the park, Dawn and Scootaloo settled into the soft grass, which was beginning to yellow as the season continued to turn. They had decided to get some time to themselves and enjoy the remainder of the Harvest Festival from an appreciable distance.
"That was fun," said Dawn as Scootaloo slid under his wing once again.
Leaning her head against his, Scootaloo let out a happy sigh. "Yeah, that was pretty good for a first date. We'll have to do something like this again." She turned to look at her dress, which was still in surprisingly good condition given how active she had been that day, a testament to Rarity's craftsmareship. "Maybe without the dress next time. I feel silly."
"I think you look beautiful like that," said Dawn, something in his words making Scootaloo's heart shudder, though she couldn't quite place why. Pausing Dawn smiled and admitted, "But you are plenty beautiful without the dress as well."
Scootaloo frowned. The last statement sounded a little too much like a consolation to her. However, she chose to ignore it for now. The last thing she wanted was to end the night on a sour note. Instead, she chose to change the subject. "Are you happy?"
"Of course I am," said Dawn.
"But what about everything that happened?" asked Scootaloo anxiously, "The Cult..."
"Will be dealt with in its own time," sad Dawn softly, "Now that the harvest is finished, Twilight Sparkle and I can put our plan into action. I think that we still have some hard times ahead, but I'm no longer as afraid of them as I used to be."
"Are you sure?"
Dawn nodded. "Back before I came here...and even during my past few months living in Ponyville, I had grown used to settling things by myself for myself. I was used to fighting my own battles and expecting nopony to act on my behalf. When Willow first came for me, I realized that my presence could be a source of danger to you and everypony else. I was afraid that, if I remained, I would only make things worse."
Leaning over, Dawn nuzzled Scootaloo. "You were the one who showed me how foolish I was being, that you and everypony else were willing to stand up for me, to stand with me...I have something to protect now, reasons to stay, ponies besides myself to fight for. And..." His smile widened. "...I think I am stronger for it."
"That's good to hear," said Scootaloo, returning the nuzzle, "So, you'll fight for me too?"
"Of course," said Dawn, "I would be happy to fight for one of the most important ponies in my life."
Frowning, Scootaloo pulled away slightly so she could slug the colt in the shoulder. "Shouldn't that be the most important pony in your life bub?"
"Well...I can't exactly say that," replied Dawn earnestly, "After all, there's still mom, whom I think is just as important as you. Oh, and there's Caramel too..."
"That's not the kind of thing you say to your filly pal," said Scootaloo sharply.
"Oh?" Dawn smirked at her. "Does that mean that I am the most important pony in your life?"
Scootaloo's cheeks exploded in color and she suddenly found the grass in front of her completely enthralling. "Well..."
"What about your mom...and Rainbow Dash?" prodded Dawn, chuckling at her discomfort.
"Sh-shut up!" snapped Scootaloo, "I-I mean...Of course they're important to me!"
"But am I more important than them?" asked Dawn.
"Ye-no...I mean...I don't know...I guess not," admitted Scootaloo. For all that they were special someponies now, she realized that she was hesitant to think of Dawn as truly the most important pony in her life just yet. They were just starting out after all.
"You see," said Dawn, "I think...I think saying something like that is...premature. Perhaps we will get there someday. But we have lives to live and other ponies to treasure in the meantime."
"I guess," admitted Scootaloo, frowning in frustration as Dawn chuckled and nuzzled her. With a snort, she settled turned her head pointedly away from Dawn. "You're still the least-awesome coltfriend ever," she grumbled petulantly.
This earned another chuckle from the colt. "But still yours," he said.
Those words wiped away Scootaloo's frustration as a warmth rose in her chest. "Yeah," she said smiling, turning her head back to face Dawn, "Still mine..." They slowly pressed their lips together, kissing each other tenderly as the moon and stars looked down from above.
After all the excitement of Saturday's successful festival, it took all of Sunday to get cleaned up. At the same time, the train station and roads were clogged with crowds of workers leaving with their season's pay, heading off to the places where they wintered. Some were heading south to warmer climes, where other farms could be worked, while others sought out towns with cheap housing to stay the winter.
As it was, it wasn't until Monday afternoon that Dawn was summoned by Twilight. At the time, he had been working at the teahouse, having taken on extended hours, now that school was out for the season. Arkenstone was glad for the colt's help as the shop, and the warm drinks that it served, was growing more and more popular as winter approached.
Dawn was in the middle of clearing a table that had just been vacated by its customers when Spike burst in. The young dragon ran right up to the colt. "Twilight says it's time," he said quickly.
Nodding, Dawn finished loading up the tray and began to carry it towards the back room. The other Crusaders noticed and watched warily as the colt reemerged, having apparently already settled things with Arkenstone in the back. Dawn trotted over to Rumble and quietly asked the other colt to fetch Fluttershy. Rumble nodded and abandoned his own task before rushing out the door and taking to the sky.
Dawn followed Spike on the short journey to the library. Spike opened the door and beckoned for Dawn go inside, which he did.
As soon as Dawn stepped past the threshold, a brilliant light blazed in front of his face. His eyes, more sensitive to light than most ponies, were instantly blinded and snapped shut instinctively. Dawn let out a loud yelp of surprise and pain and he shook his head vigorously, trying to clear the spots that were dancing behind his lids.
"Hey!" Twilight and Spike shouted simultaneously, both of them sounding angry and affronted.
"I thought I told you to wait before taking any pictures," snapped Twilight as she stomped over to the other pony in the room.
Even though his eyes were blinded, Dawn's wind-sense picked up the outline of another pony, a mare by her profile. Even though she had blinded him with that flash of light, the lack of anything resembling hostility had kept Dawn from reacting violently.
"Just doing my job," said the mare, her voice cool and composed, "If you warned him, he'd close his eyes whenever I tried to use the camera. I need to get at least one good shot of them before I left."
"Couldn't you have done it without the flash?" demanded Spike, "You could have hurt him!"
"It's fine," said Dawn, still rubbing feebly at his eyes, "My eyes may be sensitive to light like that, but they're not that sensitive. Still, that stings..."
"Sorry kid," said the new mare, "Just be glad we got this over with at the beginning. No need to have that hanging over your head for the whole interview."
Giving his head one last shake, Dawn finally pried his eyes open and looked at the pony before him. The unicorn mare standing in front of him was a warm, chocolate color, with a dirty-orange mane interspersed with streaks of red. Her cutie mark was a notebook and quill, not at all unlike the notebook and quill currently dangling from her magical grasp. She looked at Dawn with crystal-clear blue eyes, her face set in an eager grin as she looked him over. "Wow, so Twilight Sparkle wasn't kidding. Your eyes really do look like Nightmare Moon's. This is pretty neat."
"And you are...?" asked Dawn, raising a curious eyebrow.
"Right," said the mare with a chuckle, "Introductions...almost forgot...My name's Limelight, reporter for the Equestria Times. You and I have a little interview scheduled."
"Of course," said Dawn, gulping nervously. There's no turning back now...
Story 5: Fin