//------------------------------// // Chapter One—Where Ponies Celebrate Freedom, Debate Interior Design, and Read Letters // Story: Tirek's Shadow // by LiterarySerenity //------------------------------// Twilight soared high above Ponyville, letting the wind wash against her face and seep through her broad feathery wings. More often lately, the young princess had taken to the skies in fast-paced flight. Doing this cleared the mind, and somehow she thought she could see why Rainbow Dash enjoyed racing so much. Up here a pony was free to move unfettered and simply be herself, without any special titles or obligations, although Twilight also understood the importance both these responsibilities had in her life. She was the Princess of Friendship, one of four alicorn princesses in leadership positions within Equestria. That role had once frightened her, admittedly. But as Twilight broke through a particularly thick cloud layer, lunar crispness giving way to celestial warmth, a great fondness for the town below overtook her. It many ways Ponyville was the same cozy place as when Princess Celestia had first sent Twilight and her number one assistant Spike there to oversee the Summer Sun Celebration. At that time, all she had wanted was to dash to the closest library and research the possible coming of Nightmare Moon, a great threat that she worried would attack Equestria. Twilight chuckled at the thought, of how Nightmare Moon had turned out to be an imperiled Princess Luna. A friend out of a perceived danger. That is what she had discovered with ponies who wielded the Elements of Harmony alongside, and would become, her best friends. Her friends. They would be waiting for Twilight at her new palace, gleaming tall and proud in Celestia’s sun beside the lake. The resemblance to the Tree of Harmony was clear, with a broad trunk and crystal branches. Yet what Twilight thought of when she saw it was— No. Twilight had to put that behind her for the time being and simply enjoy the moment, especially for her friends’ sake, and after getting sidetracked by the mayor. She had indeed spent many hours during the past night creating tentative plans for how to design and divide the counsel room, taking into consideration what each of her friends would probably like to have there. Striving to create that balance had been fun and made her unfamiliar, spacious bedroom disappear just a little bit. And then the mayor’s message had come, sounding so urgent Twilight feared another terror had unexpectedly crept upon Ponyville. Strange beings and villains had the tendency to come around when Equestria seemed the most peaceful. Usually, these warnings came in some form from Princess Celestia. But perhaps the mayor had noticed something that could become a problem. What Twilight hadn’t expected was to sit in the mayor’s office for over an hour, listening to a possible election and acceptance speech, followed by needing to assure the mayor that hers was still an important role in Ponyville. The confession had surprised Twilight, since the mayor had never acted this way when she first became a princess. It was only the appearance of her palace that had become worrisome. “Everything is the same as before.” Twilight had told the mayor, which had earned her another half hour-long speech begging for her support. Now Twilight was free at last, winging it towards the palace. She supposed things like this would happen once in a while, yet nothing could keep her from her friends. Ah. Twilight could hardly wait to spend a quieter afternoon in their company, simply having a good time and discussing all the things only the closest friends shared. A movement out of the corner of her eye caught Twilight’s attention. Turning her head, she saw the vast tangled maze that was the Everfree Forest. Huh. Nothing wrong there. That is, until Twilight noticed a serpentine being spiraling downwards towards the area near where the ruins of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna’s old castle stood. A pony with an assortment of body parts, including a bird’s wing, snake’s tail, and eagle’s claw. Discord? *** “Spikey-wikey, would you be a dear and move my chair just an inch to the right?” Rarity asked, standing before a high-backed marble chair with her diamond cutie mark at the top. She wore her red sharp-framed glasses, the kind she usually used when scrutinizing the details of the stitch work on a dress or other fashionable accessory. In fact, the white unicorn had levitated several boxes of fabric into the circular counsel chamber in Twilight’s palace and stacked them behind her chair, which had magically come with the building. “Right away, Rarity.” Spike responded with a dreamy sigh, the way the young purple dragon did whenever Rarity asked him to do anything. The top of his head, excluding the green frills, was only a little higher than the armrest, and the chair towered above him. Yet Spike shoved its side with all the strength he could muster, until sweat sprinkled down his brow and his feet slid backwards across the slick floor. “Ah, Spike?” Applejack, a gingery earth pony, entered the room carrying a crate on her back. “What’re you doin’?” “Just.” Spike strained. “Moving.” He groaned. “Rarity’s.” The dragon grunted. “Chair.” He plopped onto the ground, gasping for breath. “Sorry to tell ya this, but I don’t think it’s gonna budge.” Applejack said, pausing beside the chair designated with her apple-shaped cutie mark. In a single swift motion, she half-bucked the box onto the floor alongside. A noticeable aroma drifted up from it. “I think it’s rooted firmly as an apple tree.” “Unfortunately, I think Applejack is right.” Rarity agreed, resigned. “I suppose I will have to do my best to make it fabulous.” Here she trailed off, sniffing the air. “Applejack! Did you bring in a bunch of apples?” “I sure did.” Applejack said, wrenching off the lid to the crate and showing Rarity the bounty inside. “I grabbed some of the best apples from Sweet Apple Acres. After all, we did agree to each add our own touches to this here counsel room.” Her smile faltered on seeing Rarity’s indignant expression. “Is somethin’ the matter?” “Well, I have no issue with your family’s apples.” Rarity seemed to grope for the most tactful way to put what she wanted to say. “Yet did you have to bring quite so many? The smell will fill the whole chamber.” “What’s wrong with that?” Applejack asked. “You like the smell of apples, don’t ya?” “Not all the time.” Rarity blurted out before she could bite her tongue. “Is that so?” Applejack’s eyes narrowed. “I didn’t mean it quite like that.” Rarity backed a step back before her friend’s glance. “Well, then what the hay did you mean?” “Well….” “Hey, guys!” The blue and rainbow blur that was the Pegasus Rainbow Dash burst into the room, loaded down by T-Shirts, medals, hats, and other Wonderbolts memorabilia. “What do you think would look better on the wall right my chair, a “Join the Wonderbolts” poster, or the medals I won in the Best Young Flyer’s Competition and the Equestria Games?” Rainbow Dash zipped about, her voice growing shriller and more enthused all the while. “Maybe I can put in a bookshelf with my whole collection of Daring Doo books, including my very special first edition of Daring Doo and the Quest for the Sapphire Statue.” “I think that’s just fine, RD.” Applejack said. “How about you, Rarity?” “Yes. It’s all right.” Rarity replied. “Listen. Applejack, about the apples.” “Yes?” “I wanted to apolo—“ “Hello, everybody!” Pinkie Pie, an earth pony pink as bubblegum (and often just as flexible), flounced into the room with a party hat on curly mane. Her tail held onto a small group of balloons, which added height to her bounces. “I’ve got a super duper idea for the counsel room.” In typical Pinkie fashion, she reached behind her back and pulled out a party cannon. Aiming it at the ceiling, the pony tugged the string. The high-pitched squeal echoed throughout the room, and streamers stuck to the room’s highest point and rolled downwards until the frilly ends tapped the ground. One streamer flipped right over a photograph of Rainbow Dash standing alongside the Wonderbolt’s team. “Pinkie.” Rainbow Dash flew to the offending streamer and tugged it off. “Your party supplies are going over all my stuff.” “Oops. Sorry, Rainbow Dash.” Pinkie Pie said. “Although, you do have a lot of stuff.” This was true enough. In the last minute or so, Rainbow Dash had managed to cover a great section of the wall behind her chair (and beyond it) with Wonderbolt materials and Daring Doo merchandize. They hung cobbled together in a tight-fitting collage. “Huh.” Rainbow Dash allowed herself a slight blush. “I guess I might have gotten carried away.” “That’s okay.” Pinkie Pie said with a grin. “I have a lot I want to put in here too, like balloons, and cakes, and board games, and bubbles, and—“ “I get it.” Rainbow Dash interrupted her. “Oikey-dokey lokey!” Pinkie Pie sat down, reached into her mane, and began pulling out strings of taffy. “I hope we can find plenty of space for the candy I’m going to bring here. You can’t have a fun meeting without sweets, right?” The hyperactive pony sprang into a pile of wrapped candy that seemed to have suddenly manifested on the floor. No pony knew how Pinkie did this. Of course, they had stopped trying to do so ages ago. “We certainly do have different ideas for the council chamber, and we need to figure out the best way for our elements to flow together.” Rarity said, turning back to Applejack. “I’m sorry for snapping at you over the apples.” “Already forgiven, Rarity.” Applejack and Rarity shared a hoofbump. “I know you’re gettin’ stressed as the rest of us about putting together the council room. Maybe even more so, since you understand a ton about fashion and style.” “Aww.” Rarity chuckled. “I do have a talent, and you are right. We need to figure out the best way to make our individual styles complement each other in this important place.” “Ooh.” Pinkie Pie piped up, bounding around the room in a wide circle. “We should ask Twilight. She’s great with organization, and the Princess of Friendship.” “Where is Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked. “I thought she would be the first pony here, with plans drawn up and everything. She’s the one who wanted us to meet this afternoon.” “Oh, that’s right. The mayor sent a message asking to see Twilight right away.” Spike brushed himself off, giving Rarity’s chair one last tentative push. He shrugged his shoulders. “She sounded worried about something, though she also said it shouldn’t take long.” “Huh. I guess Twilight has been pretty busy ever since the palace appeared.” Applejack mused, calling to mind the rowdiness surrounding the past week. Twilight’s new home had seen guests and visitors day and night most of that time. And although Applejack and the others had helped in every possible way, the purple alicorn princess had needed to live amid those bustling hallways. “Especially after losing the Golden Oak Library, it’ll take her the longest to get used to things, I think.” All the ponies agreed on this point. “It isn’t like she’s late or anything.” Rainbow Dash shrugged her shoulders, as if to say when has Twilight ever been late? “Twilight said ‘noon exactly’.” “And my watch says noon is still half an hour away.” Pinkie Pie chirped. She had crayoned a watch onto her leg again. However, none doubted this was the correct time. Knowing the hour was right up there with her Pinkie Sense. It never failed and made no sense whatsoever. “She will be along shortly.” Rarity stated. “We need to have some patience, as her best friends.” “Right.” The ponies declared. “Hmm. Excuse me?” A pony whispered. The friends’ attention turned to a yellow pegasus half-crouched in the doorway, her pink mane and tail cascading upon the floor as much as Pinkie Pie’s streamers had. “Fluttershy, sweetness.” Rarity said. “Where have you been? You haven’t even started personalizing your part of the room yet. We were discussing our plans for it.” “Oh, I’m sorry.” Fluttershy said. “I was going to come right away, but I had forgotten Angel Bunny still needed his weekly ear massage.” The small white rabbit poked his head out from Fluttershy’s mane and flexed his ears. “Also, the mail pony was at the door to the palace.” Fluttershy continued. “She was delivering the mail, and…” At this, the soft-spoken Pegasus bit her lip, hesitant to press onwards. “Well, don’t keep us in suspense, darling.” Rarity came over and laid a comforting hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “That’s right. Was there some sort of problem?” Applejack added. “Not exactly.” Fluttershy answered. “Did the mail pony deliver mail to the wrong place again?” Rainbow Dash guessed. “No.” Fluttershy stepped to one side. “The right mail is here, as well as the mail mare.” As if on cue, a grey cross-eyed pegasus pony with bubbles on her flank appeared in the doorway, dressed in the traditional mail carrier uniform. “Here’s your mail!” Derpy Hooves announced, followed by a rumbling sound that reverberated throughout the chamber. The ponies barely had enough time to cry out in alarm before an avalanche of letters came sweeping into the room, rushing across the floor, burying Spike, and pushing the recipients off their hooves (except for Rainbow Dash, safe overhead). A collective groan arose from the ponies. “My work is done.” Derpy rejoined in glee, before flying away towards her next destination. *** “I can hardly believe it.” Applejack said, after the ponies had pulled themselves out of the letter landslide and begun shifting through the contents. “There must be ponies writing from as far away as Manehattan. Some of them are to Twilight, others are to each of us, and yet more are for all of us. ‘The Rainbow Ponies,’ huh?” “We have a nickname.” Pinkie Pie giggled, digging through the letters. Then she paused, eyes widening at the sight of one letter in particular. Pinkie gasped. “What do you see?” Rainbow Dash asked. “It’s a letter from Cheese Sandwich!” Pinkie Pie hugged the yellow envelope smelling vaguely of limburger to her chest, coiling her tail underneath and using it to spring her high into the air. “And he addressed it to Boneless and me.” “Hey, here’s one from Silver Shill.” Applejack pulled out a regular envelope, written upon in fine calligraphy. “Well, what do you know?” “Ah. Coco Pommel sent me one as well.” Rarity reported several moments later. A smile tweaked her lips. “Oh, yeah.” Rainbow Dash swooped down and snatched a letter jutting out of one small paper hill. “Spitfire, the captain of the Wonderbolts, wrote to me.” “I hope Seabreeze is doing well.” Fluttershy said. “In his cozy home with all the nice breezies.” The pegasus knew, as did her friends, that Seabreeze lived in another world altogether. Yet even if she had not received a letter, Fluttershy could somehow sense her breezy friend was well and thinking kindly of her. So Fluttershy smiled nonetheless, and for several moments the incomplete circle of friends revisited the memories of those special ponies they had met while trying to unlock the chest from the Tree of Harmony. Each one had needed help in some way, and following a hard choice in favor of the elements they represented, the ponies had managed to set these newfound friends on the right path. With the letter pile forgotten, the ponies sat and enjoyed their letters. After all, they could not start decorating until Twilight arrived.