A strong blow against the center of her breastplate made Ruby grunt with pain and almost staggered her. She jumped at her attacker to retaliate, but the other mare took a few quick steps back and was out of reach again. Then she continued to circle around Ruby, waiting for another opportunity to dash forward, strike, and retreat back to safety.
"You fight like a rabbit!" Ruby snarled.
"Save your breath, slowpoke. You're gonna need it," Emerald shot back, her voice muffled and distorted by the heavy helmet she was wearing.
Ruby was grinding her teeth in frustration. She could have chased after Emerald, but the only thing she would accomplish was wasting her strength. When Emerald played serious, she easily had her beat in terms of speed and agility. Ruby needed her to stay close long enough to get at least one good hit in.
Soon, Emerald rushed at her again, little more than a silvery blur and the rapid pounding of steel clad hooves on the floor. Ruby didn't even have the time to turn and face her before she was hit in the side two times in rapid succession.
Two times!
Immediately, Ruby spun around and lashed out with her hind legs. Emerald had grown impatient, and instead of striking once and then falling back, she had attacked twice, trading a few additional fractions of a second for a second blow. Ruby's retaliation had been almost instant, but her hooves still barely grazed the retreating Emerald. However, it had been enough to throw her off balance and make her stumble for a second, and when Ruby turned around, Emerald was still close enough for her to strike.
Ruby reared up on her hind legs and hit Emerald on the head and shoulder. The blows threw her to the ground, and when she tried to get back up, Ruby planted both her front hooves firmly on the fallen pony's side. "You stay right where you are, Master Hare."
Emerald gasped and squirmed. "Great Crystal, Ruby! You're smothering me!"
That comment elicited an offended frown from Ruby. "Well, I'm wearing full plate. The rest is muscle, and only muscle mind you. But still, you're exaggerating."
"You're right," Emerald wheezed. "I'm joking. You hardly weigh anything at all. You're as light as gossamer and morning dew. Whatever you want to hear! Now get off me, or they'll have to use a ladle to scoop what's left of me out of this armor!"
"Sheesh. Fine," said Ruby, but then she added, "Wait, you yield right?"
"Yes!"
Ruby grinned fiercely underneath her helmet. "Say it."
"I yield! I give up! Uncle! You win!" By now, Emerald's voice sounded a lot like the last bit of air escaping from a deflating balloon.
"Great," Ruby said and stepped away from her defeated friend. "Well fought."
"Bite me, Ruby," Emerald said while sitting up. She fumbled around with her helmet for a while, before letting out a frustrated groan. "Awesome! Now the blasted thing is stuck!"
Ruby stepped closer and took off her own helmet to take a closer look. "What do you mean stuck?"
It was a little hard to read Emerald's facial expression at the moment, but Ruby assumed that she was giving her a blank stare. "Stuck. As in: I can't get it off. As in: You went and knocked it out of shape, and now I can't get it off. As in: This is totally your fault!"
"What? No it isn't! I didn't even hit you that hard!" Ruby protested.
Emerald was still pulling and tugging on her helmet, and her speech was interspersed with groans and grunts. "Of course you'd think that. You're a freak of nature! Like the Amazing Bulk, only you're stuck in constant rage mode."
"Hey now! That's just uncalled... wait, amazing who now?"
Emerald halted her attempts to rid herself of the steel headwear for a moment, and stabbed an accusatory hoof in Ruby's direction. "I knew it! You didn't even read the book I gave you."
"Those comic things you keep reading are not books," Ruby said.
"They are so!"
Ruby rolled her eyes. "Look, I'm not having that discussion with you again."
Emerald's helmet bopped up and down a few times. "You're right. Let's talk about something else." She cleared her throat and continued in a pleasant conversational tone, "Hey Ruby. The darndest thing happened to me just now: There's a helmet stuck on my head. Is it noticeable? Ponies keep telling me I shouldn't worry, but I think they are just being polite. I really think I should do something about it. Got any ideas?"
Ruby tapped a hoof against her chin a few times, and her brow furrowed. "Leave it on," she finally said.
"Ruby..."
"We'll drill a little hole in it, and you can eat soup through a straw."
"Ruby!"
"You know, I actually think this is a great opportunity for you. Believe me when I say that this is a massive improvement in terms of..."
"Ruby, I will murder you in your sleep!"
"Oh my, this is fun!" Ruby said through a broad grin. "Is this what it's like being you? Because I could get used to this."
"You still have to work on actually being funny. That part is kind of important. Now kindly lend me a hoof here," Emerald pleaded.
"Fine. Joke time is over." Ruby sat down and reached for Emerald's helmet. "Here, let me see if I can get it loose."
Emerald was in such a hurry to get away from Ruby's extended hooves that she almost fell on her back. "Oh heck no! You'll twist my head off!"
Ruby's nostrils flared. "Would you stop it? I know my own strength just fine. Now stand still."
This time, Emerald actually did fall over in her haste to get away. "No! Forget I said anything! I like the helmet. I like my head even more! Gracious Glacier, I don't want to die like this! I want to die in an airship crash during a rock concert at the age of a hundred and fifty. I already wrote the obituary, you can't take that away from me!"
Ruby wanted to say something in return, but then she heard the barely repressed snorts and giggles behind her. When she turned around, she saw that all the other members of the Lance currently in the training hall had interrupted their sparring matches, and were staring at them. They still wore their helmets, but the sounds they were making made it clear that they found the situation highly amusing.
At first, Ruby started to frown, but she quickly turned it into a pleasant smile. "Hey. Looks like I'll need a new sparring partner. Anypony interested?"
"All right Lapis, nice break. Let's keep going," Beryl Bright said without missing a beat.
"I think I'm getting a cold. I should lay down for a bit," Frost Grape said before turning around and letting out an unconvincing cough.
"I'm getting some water. Does anypony else want some water?" Morning Chill called over her shoulder. In her haste to leave the room, she almost stumbled over the water barrel next to the door.
"Wha... wait a minute Emerald. Is that helmet stuck on your head? Don't worry, I'll fetch the armorer," Moonstone said, before hurrying after Morning Chill.
Ruby laughed and sat down to wait for the blacksmith. They were not actually afraid to face her in a spar of course, it was just a little jape that they were going along with. While it was true that sparring matches with her often ended with bruises and a dented armor, Ruby had also earned herself a reputation as a very skilled fighter, and the members of the Lance agreed that it was better to face a strong opponent in the training hall, where you could still learn from a defeat.
Singing Steel, the Order's personal smith, arrived a few minutes later, still glistening with sweat from the heat of the forge he had just left, and he was as cheerful as ever. "Why do I even bother with your armor? You should just strap pans and pots to your bodies and put buckets on your heads, then I wouldn't have to cry myself to sleep at night thinking about how you are mistreating my work." He took a quick look at Emerald's helmet and whistled through his teeth. "Milady Ruby Chip, the next time you try to murder one of your fellow knights during practice, at least try to make it look like an accident. This dent could hold a melon."
"The helmet already has a melon on the inside, we don't need to put one on the outside as well," said Ruby.
"If you say so milady," Singing Steel replied, before pulling a tool from his belt that looked suspiciously like a can opener. "Hold still," he instructed Emerald Breeze with his teeth clenched around the tool's handle, and then went to work.
It took him a while, but he managed to cut into the helmet's steel and bend one of the warped parts out of the way, and Emerald pulled it off with a breath of relief. "Finally!"
Singing Steel put his tool back on his belt and looked at Ruby. "Can I go, or are you planning to bust up anything else today, milady?"
When Ruby had first met the smith, his behavior had struck her as highly disrespectful. However, it was his armor that was keeping them alive in the field, and not only was Singing Steel an artist when it came to shaping metal, but Ruby had quickly learned that he had nothing but the highest regard for the Knights of the Lance, even if he had a peculiar way of showing it. "I'm sorry about that, master Singing Steel. I'll be more careful from now on."
The heavily muscled stallion growled through his beard. "You always say that milady. Perhaps I should have you visit my forge sometimes and help me pound the steel into shape. I doubt you would even need a hammer." Then he picked up the helmet and inspected it carefully. "I can still fix this. Come see me tomorrow milady Emerald Breeze, I should have it done by then."
"I will. Thank you, Singing Steel." Emerald said.
The smith bowed his head slightly. "Not at all, milady."
On his way out, the smith almost bumped into Malachite. He wasn't wearing any armor, so apparently he hadn't come to the hall to train, and when he spotted Emerald and Ruby, he quickly headed straight for them. "There you are. I have an assignment for you, and I think you are going to like it."
"Can we say no if we don't like it then?" Emerald asked while trying to get her helmet-compressed mane back into shape as best she could.
Both Malachite and Ruby ignored that.
"That can't be right Malachite." Ruby said after a short pause. "I am still on guard duty within the city for another week."
"Well Ruby, you will most likely not be leaving the city for this, but you can still consider it to be the end of your penalty service." said Malachite. He smiled warmly when he saw how those words made Ruby's ears perk up. "The prince asked Lieutenant Cherry Blossom how you were doing under her command, and she said that you had a bit of a rough start, but performed admirably during the last couple of weeks. Under those circumstances, he was willing to reduce the sentence."
Ruby shot a glance at Emerald, who in turn beamed brightly at her. She knew that she probably had her friend to thank for this, because despite her early reservations, Emerald's advice had turned out to be very helpful. Socializing with her comrades and finding ways to meaningfully occupy her time had helped to drive away the constant feelings of gnawing resentment and frustrated anger. The frightful dreams had not returned, and while Ruby still saw her service with the Equestrian soldiers as a pointless waste of her time, the support of her friends and her greatly improved mood had at least made it bearable, and allowed her to put her best efforts into it.
"However," Malachite added, "that is not the only reason. The prince considered Emerald here to be best suited for the task he had in mind, and he knows that you two work well together. Let that be a lesson to you my dear Ruby Chip: It always pays to be well connected."
"Haha!" Emerald cheered upon hearing that. "How about that Ruby? You are moving up in the world because you are an acquaintance of mine." She turned around and wiggled her backside in her friend's direction. "Don't worry, I'm gonna draw you a picture later to show you all the places where you can smooch my shapely butt to repay me."
Ruby just stared blankly at Malachite, while Emerald was repeatedly flicking her tail over the right side of her face. "Why? Why did you have to tell her that?"
With a mesmerized expression, Malachite looked at the scene in front of him. "I desperately wanted to see how she would react, and the results are infinitely more glorious than I could have ever imagined." He stood in silence for a few moments before continuing, "And what is more, the fact that the mission you have been chosen for is a diplomatic one makes this so much more humorous than it already is."
Emerald stopped shaking what her late mother had so graciously seen fit to bestow upon her. "Wait, what?"
Malachite cleared his throat. "Indeed Emerald. The prince is under the impression that you are remarkably good at socializing with other ponies. And since the Equestria Games opening ceremony is only three days away now..."
Ruby's head snapped up. "Wait, those start three days already?"
That seemed to break Malachite's concentration. "They... what? You didn't... I told you about that! Several times! The entire city has been tearing itself apart preparing for it! You must have noticed that!"
"Come on Ruby, you can't be serious," said Emerald.
Ruby shrugged. "Well, yes. I knew that there is a Crystal Fair being prepared, and I have been looking forward to that. But to be honest, I didn't really think about those games recently. We still have other things to worry about."
"Not right now, no," Malachite said. "The games are really the only thing we should worry about at the moment, and just so you know, the Crystal Fair is taking place as an opening for the Equestria Games. I get it Ruby: The games don't interest you, but they are an important event, and we have to make sure they go over without incident. So you two have been assigned as the escort for some of our guests of honor, who will be arriving tomorrow."
"What guest?" Ruby wanted to know.
"You two will like this, I am sure." Malachite said. "After all, being the escort for a princess is no trivial task."
Ruby and Emerald looked at each other, then back at Malachite.
"One of the princesses?" Ruby asked, her voice gently trembling with excitement. Not only did her punishment end sooner than she had expected, but she could also look forward to a very important and prestigious task now.
This week was going to be amazing.
* * *
"Are you sure you don't want some funnel cake Ruby?"
"Leave me alone Emerald," Ruby mumbled.
"I would love some, if you don't mind," said Malachite, and Emerald immediately shoved her plate into his face.
To say that Ruby was in a foul mood would have been a severe understatement at the moment. Even without having to pull Emerald away from another food stand every ten steps, navigating the bustling city streets while constantly being harassed by tourists asking for directions or quick photo shoots was a serious strain on her nerves; Ruby would never admit it, but cameras still creeped her out just a little. Now they had finally reached the train station, but while the streets had been busy, the crowd on the platform was worse still. It had taken Ruby and her two companions almost half an hour to push their way through the throng of ponies to the train tracks, and now they were the only ponies on the platform who were not trying to get anywhere, which of course meant that they were in the way of pretty much everypony else.
Fortunately, Ruby was fairly certain that they would be easy to spot. With the armor the three of them were wearing, it was all but impossible not to stick out, and Ruby had the additional advantage of being a good bit taller than most of the ponies around her. Otherwise, she might have worried that the princess would just fail to notice her escort once she arrived.
Which brought up an interesting question that had bothered Ruby ever since Malachite told them where they should expect their guest. "What the hay are we doing here?"
Malachite gave her a slightly puzzled look and swallowed a mouthful of greasy sugar paste. "Well, we are waiting for the princess..."
"I know that!" Ruby snapped. "But why are we waiting for the princess here of all places? Why is she arriving on a darn train? Don't they have chariots? Pegasus guards? Airships?! Why is she taking a train like a tourist?"
"Excuse me, miss. Would it be all right with you if I took a picture..."
"Go! Away!" Ruby snarled.
The cross-eyed pegasus mare with the light gray coat and blond mane who had approached Ruby with a camera jumped with fright and almost fell on the pony beneath her when her wings locked up for a second.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to bother you," she blurted out, before turning around and hastily flying away.
Emerald looked aghast. "Ruby!"
"Oh, for Pete's sake," Malachite said in a tone of voice that passed as indignant by his standards, before quickly disappearing into the crowd while calling after the startled mare.
Emerald still stared at her friend in shock. "Really Ruby, that was horrid!"
"Oh, come on Emerald!" Ruby shot back. "Why do all these ponies think we would make a good souvenir picture? It's humiliating."
"No it's not. They've all been incredibly polite. You're just touchy because you're in a bad mood. And besides, in this armor, we look like a dragon's hoard on legs. I would want a picture of that too."
Ruby grumbled, but Emerald did have a point. A regular suit of full plate looked impressive enough, but the armor the Knights of the Crystal Lance wore on special occasions was something else entirely, since it was not only masterfully crafted, but also richly adorned with precious stones and elaborate gold and silver inlays. Considering that they were here to welcome an important guest of state, the armor was appropriate for the occasion, but on a train platform, in the middle of a crowd of tourists, they looked more than a little out of place.
Malachite reappeared beside them and looked at Ruby with obvious disapproval. "That was uncalled for. Control your blasted temper, Ruby."
Ruby Chip pressed her lips together and poked at the ground for a few seconds. "I'm sorry," she finally said. "But again, why does the princess arrive here? It's crowded, it's loud, and it's just so –" she paused and searched for the right word "– common. It really doesn't seem very official."
Malachite shrugged. "I have been told that the princess does not care much about formalities. Or titles and courtly protocol for that matter, so if you want to ask her yourself, I doubt she will take offense to it. And you will have the opportunity to do so quite soon, I think. That is her train, if I am not mistaken."
He pointed down the train tracks, and where they vanished over the horizon, little clouds of smoke were rising skywards. Soon, a small dot appeared in the distance, and quickly grew into the distinct shape of a locomotive as it came closer to the station.
"Finally." Ruby sighed and stood up, while Emerald and Malachite took up positions as well. Then Ruby realized something. "Wait Malachite, which one of the royal sisters are we welcoming? You never told me."
Malachite looked at her and smirked. "I didn't? Now that you mention it, I guess you're right. In fact, I don't recall ever saying anything about the royal sisters at all."
Ruby blinked. "Come again?"
Malachite didn't even try to hide the mirth in his voice. "I know you don't go out of your way to keep up with foreign politics Ruby, but surely you have heard that Equestria has had three princesses for quite a while now?"
"Yeah, so wha..." Ruby's eyes grew wide. She looked at the train that was just entering the station, then at Malachite. "Wait so we're not actually... so the princess we are waiting for is..." Then Ruby was hit by a realization she would have considered to be utterly unthinkable just a few moments ago. “Malachite, did you seriously play a prank on me?"
Her friend seemed to ponder over that question for a short while. "I suppose you could say that I did," he then said musingly, as if that idea had not even occurred to him until that moment.
Ruby was left speechless for several long moments. She then quickly checked the sky for flying pigs, before shifting her attention towards Emerald and saying, "This is your bad influence, you realize that, right?"
Emerald just stared ahead with a completely unreadable expression. "I apologize for nothing," she said flatly. The train had pulled into the station by now, and ponies were starting to spill out of the wagons and onto the platform.
Ruby suddenly felt a hint of suspicion. "You knew about this, didn't you?"
"Maybe," came Emeralds answer. "Maybe I asked him who we would be escorting. Maybe you didn't hear it because you had already left the training hall to polish your ceremonial armor, and didn't even think to ask afterwards." She was doing her best to retain her stoic exterior, but by now there were little snorts and giggles interspersed with her words. "Maybe in hindsight, that wasn't the most sensible way to prepare yourself for this, you dolt."
Ruby briefly glanced at the reflection of her face on the flawlessly shined surface of her steel gauntlet. "I hate you both," she said.
She was not really angry however. Serving as the escort to one of the royal sisters would undoubtedly have been the more esteemed task, but their guest was still a princess, and Ruby had most certainly not forgotten that the Empire owed a great debt of gratitude to this particular pony and her companions. It was unexpected, but she saw no reason to complain.
"All right you two, follow me," she heard Malachite say. "That there is our mare."
Most passengers had already gotten off the train and left the station, but the crowd on the platform was still thick and hard to navigate through. However, Ruby could look over the heads of the ponies surrounding them fairly well, and she had quickly spotted the mare Malachite was now heading for. Of course Ruby had already seen her just after the Empire had reappeared, but only from a distance, and while she had occasionally visited the Empire since then, Ruby had never gotten an opportunity to meet her personally.
Right now, the princess looked a little drowsy, as if she had just awoken from sleep. She still had the typical delicate build of a unicorn, and her coat was the same hue of purple, her mane and tail still the same dark blue with single strands of pink and violet in them. But there were some subtle differences. Ruby thought she noticed a few additional inches in height. And then there were the pair of feathered wings folded to her sides. When she saw the three knights heading towards her, the princess seemed a little surprised, but gave them a friendly smile regardless.
Malachite approached her and bowed his head respectfully. "Princess Twilight Sparkle. I am Sir Malachite the Trollslayer of the Crystal Lance. In the name of Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor, I welcome you to the Crystal Empire. By order of his Majesty, the Knights of the Lance stand ready to serve and assist you in whatever way we can." He lifted his head back up, and his tone became a lot less formal, "We are overjoyed to have you here with us once more."
"Oh." The princess seemed a little overwhelmed, but happy. "Thank you Sir Malachite. That's very kind of you. But please –" she giggled a little awkwardly "– the title isn't necessary. Just Twilight is fine."
"Hey, your Royal Laziness!" called an annoyed sounding voice from inside the train car. "Don't help us with the bags or anything. It's not like Rarity's luggage weighs a million tons all by itself."
"Don't be ridiculous," said a second voice. "I restricted myself to the barest of necessities. For myself that is. I just packed a little something extra in case anypony needs a change of clothes."
The princess sighed. "Just one minute Rainbow, I'm in the middle of something."
"Well, what is it?"
Right after the sentence was finished, a cyan colored pegasus mare stepped out of the train car. Her ruffled mane and tail were made up of several different colored strands of hair, displaying vivid shades of blue, green, red, yellow, orange and purple. In comparison, her cutie mark looked almost plain, since the lightning bolt striking from a white cloud was merely blue, yellow and red. She clearly had the build of an athlete, but Ruby could tell that her training favored speed and stamina over strength.
The first thing she did after leaving the car was to unfurl and stretch her wings. When she saw the three knights standing next to the princess, she tilted her head and studied them with a curious expression. "Oh. Hey there. What's up?"
"They are our welcoming committee Rainbow," the princess explained, before turning back to Malachite. "Sir Malachite, this is my friend Rainbow Dash. Rainbow, this is Sir Malachite of the Crystal Lance. And I'm afraid I haven't been introduced to his companions yet."
"Yes, of course." said Malachite. He called Ruby forward with a gesture and took a step back.
"Dame Ruby Chip the Mighty, at your service my ladies," Ruby said with a bow of her head.
Emerald appeared beside her a second later. "Dame Emerald Breeze the Green Lightning, at your service. Nice to see you again, my ladies, and even better to finally get introduced."
The Pegasus smirked when Emerald mentioned her title. "The Green Lightning eh? I really like that."
Emerald beamed at her. "Thank you, my lady. I'm quite fond of it myself."
"Yeah, but you know there is a..." she stopped when the princess nudged her in the side with a hoof.
"Rainbow, stop it! That's just a coincidence. Don't tease her."
The Pegasus frowned and swatted the offending hoof aside. "Who's teasing? I think it's great."
"Just leave it be," the princess pleaded.
The other mare rolled her eyes. "Fine. Whatever."
"Applejack, be careful. Careful! I said carefu... What are you doing!?" shrieked a voice from inside the train car.
Then an enormous suitcase was launched out the open door, immediately followed by a blurry streak of white and purple that turned out to be a very distressed looking unicorn mare. She actually managed to outrun the flying piece of luggage, roughly shoving several startled ponies aside on the way, and caught it with her magic just before it hit the ground. The sudden exertion was enough to bring her to her knees and make beads of sweat form on her forehead, but she still managed to put the suitcase down very gently.
All of this had happened within less than three seconds, so Ruby was still struggling to take it all in when she heard a heavily accented voice behind her. "Well, looky here. That pony can move if she wants to." Turning her head to investigate, Ruby saw an orange earth pony with a blonde mane and tail step out of the train, wearing two well-filled saddlebags and a worn looking, wide-brimmed hat. "Rainbow, I reckon she just broke your short distance record."
The Pegasus snorted and waved her hoof dismissively. "Yeah, that wasn't even close."
During this short exchange, the unicorn had managed to stand back up and take a few menacing steps towards the earth mare. Her knees were still trembling slightly, and she was breathing hard, but her eyes were spraying pure murder. "Applejack, you brute! That is no way to treat other ponies property!" she hissed in a tone of voice that was so full of venom Ruby could have sworn a snake just spat in her ear.
The thusly addressed mare tilted her head ever so slightly, and smiled in a way that made the freckles on her face stand out very prominently, turning her into a picture of perfect innocence and sweetness. "Why, no reason to get all cross with me, Rarity. I just saw that you bag was stuck, so I gave it a little nudge."
"Why, if it weren't so utterly against my nature, I think I should like to give your head a little nudge." the unicorn said, her bright blue eyes narrowing to slits.
The green eyes of the Earth mare mimicked the movement, and her smile warped into a mocking smirk. "Well, a shame that it is so utterly against your nature then, because I think I'd like to see you try."
"Oh, it is on!" the unicorn snarled and charged.
While Ruby was still standing there gaping, and wondered what exactly was going on and if she should do something about it, the princess seemed remarkably unfazed by the whole thing. "You'll have to excuse them," she said with an apologetic smile. "They are usually a lot more..." Her brow furrowed and she stopped, seemingly uncertain where exactly she had been going with this. "They really are wonderful ponies once you get to know them."
Since the princess was obviously not overly concerned about it, Ruby decided that there was no need for them to intervene. So she turned her back on the rolling knot of limbs and bodies the two ponies had transformed into upon impact, and did her best to sound as noncommittal as possible when she said, "I'm sure they are."
"Get your filthy hooves out of my mane, you savage!"
"First and only rule of roughhousing, Rarity: Ain't no rule against that."
Malachite nodded sagely, but his eyes twinkled with amusement. "In that case, I am certain that you will find my two sisters in arms to be very agreeable company. They are much the same in this regard."
"Yes, we are quite honored, Princess," Ruby said absentmindedly, still listening to the sounds of the struggle going on behind her. When the meaning of Malachite's words got through to her, her ears perked up and she scowled at him. "Hold on, what was that?"
"Wait, what in tarnation are you... Hey! Confound it Rarity, the hat's off limits!"
"Oh, is it now? As said by a mare who is wise in the ways of roughhousing and little else: Ain't no rule against that!"
"I'm serious! Give it back here!"
"I think not. Instead, I shall adorn this atrocious piece of headwear with ribbons and feathers until it can be seen from space."
"That ain't funny, Rarity!"
Ruby turned her head to look over her shoulder. The unicorn was currently prancing around the giant suitcase and levitated the earth mare's hat in the air, just out of the visibly agitated pony's reach. "Are you certain that they will be fine?" Ruby asked carefully.
"Oh, abso-tutely-lutely. It's been a long train ride, and they're just letting off some steam. It's all in good fun," said a high and perky voice right beside her.
Ruby jumped and let out a shrill sound that she immediately tried to convince herself had been a battle cry, and not a startled squeal of fright. She turned around and barely got a hold of her reflexes in time to stop herself from smashing an armored hoof into the beaming face of the bright pink pony that was sitting right beside her all of a sudden.
"Galloping Glaciereels!" Ruby cussed through clenched teeth.
"Tap-dancing Timberwolves!" the mare facing her shouted cheerfully. Then she grabbed the raised hoof Ruby had almost shoved down her throat and began shaking it with remarkable enthusiasm. Her impossibly fluffy looking pink curls made Emerald's look tame by comparison, and right now they were bobbing up and down on her head so much it almost made Ruby feel seasick. "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie!"
That was good to know, but Ruby was more interested in something else at the moment. Namely the fact that the mare had seemingly appeared from nowhere in the time it took Ruby to turn her head. "How did..." Ruby started eloquently. "You weren't..." she continued, pointing at the ground under the pink pony's hooves. "Where did you come from?!" she finally said, after she managed to pick one of the twenty different questions currently bouncing around in her head.
The pony beside her seemed to think very carefully about that. "Wow, that is a good question. I guess I came out of that train car right now, but before that, I was in Ponyville. And last week, I was in Trottingham at a bakers' convention, so I guess you could say I came from there, too, but then I would have to name all the places I've ever been to, and that would take forever, especially if I include previous generations..."
"It's just something she can do," the princess stated without the slightest hint of surprise. "The sooner you learn not to question it, the happier you'll be. I sort of learned that the hard way."
Not in the proper state of mind to listen to perfectly reasonable advice, or even show enough diplomatic tact to acknowledge that Twilight had spoken just now, Ruby pointed at Emerald. “Did you see that?"
"I... see her now. She's right there. Somehow." Emerald looked just as baffled as Ruby felt, and even Malachite appeared to be caught off guard by the pink pony's sudden appearance.
The princess let out a sympathetic sigh, while the pink mare released Ruby's hoof and turned around to introduce herself to the other two knights with just as much gusto.
"I suppose we should get the introductions out of the way in any case," princess Twilight said. "Girls, would you stop it please? You are not making a very good first impression."
The unicorn stopped and looked confused for a second. The earth mare seized this opportunity to jump in the air and snatch the hovering hat with her teeth. "I am sorry Twilight, I don't quite follow," the unicorn said, but when she noticed the three knights standing next to her friends, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, the contrast to her pristine white coat making the red seem even brighter. "Oh. Terribly sorry about that. I'm afraid I didn't see you there." She then glared at the mare next to her. "I can't believe this. Now I look just as uncouth as you!"
The earth pony snorted. "Can't even imagine how horrible that must feel."
In the meantime, Princess Twilight had taken a quick look into the train car, and now turned to the odd mare who had just finished her attempt to dislocate Malachite's shoulder. "Pinkie, are Spike and Fluttershy coming?"
The energetic pony shook her head. "Nope. They're sleeping."
Apparently hoping for further explanation, the princess was quiet for a few seconds. When she received none, she asked, "Well, did you maybe try waking them up?"
The pink mare's eyes widened. "What?! No! I can't! I couldn't!" she gasped, as if the very idea horrified her to the core.
The princess looked alarmed. "Why not? What's wrong?"
Ruby didn't actually see Pinkie Pie move, but a moment later, she was sitting right in front of the princess, their faces separated by a mere inch of empty air. Pinkie Pie's expression was so solemn that the contrast to her earlier behavior made it almost unsettling, and when she spoke, Ruby had to lean forward to hear it, because her voice was little more than a reverent whisper, "They look really adorable."
The princess stared at her for a second, and then rolled her eyes. "Pinkie..."
"No, you don't understand Twilight!" the other mare insisted. "They fell asleep on the same seat, and Fluttershy is lying there with this little smile like she's dreaming something super nice, and Spike is lying right next to her with his head all snuggled up in her mane, and she has one of her wings draped over him like so, and it's just the most adorable thing I have ever seen in my life!" Apparently convicted that mere words could not do proper justice to the thing she had witnessed, the pink mare was doing her best to illustrate it with pantomimes and wild gestures, sometimes flailing all of her four limbs around at the same time, while somehow still managing to remain upright.
Obviously growing impatient, the princess pushed her friend out of the way and headed for the door. "Yes, Pinkie, I'm sure it is cute. But we have to get going, and the train has to leave the station in five minutes. I don't think they'll be thrilled if they wake up and find themselves on their way back to Ponyville."
The other mare's voluminous curls seemed to deflate a little. "But... but..."
"No buts, Pinkie. It's not like I'm going to dump a bucket of water on them," the princess said and disappeared into the train car.
Ruby leaned over to Emerald, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. "I really don't know what to make of this," she whispered.
Her friend looked back at her with a baffled expression. "You want to know what I make of this?" she asked. "If they act like this all the time, we are going to have so much fun that the prince will probably try to charge us for it once it's over!"
Ruby groaned in frustration. "Of course! I'm the problem here. Everypony is acting perfectly reasonable except me. Why do I even talk to you?"
Emerald shrugged. "Beats me. I don't know what you still expect."
At that exact moment, Princess Twilight appeared in the door of the train car again, her face showing an expression that was equal parts gleeful and amazed. "Pinkie Pie, I'm sorry. I never thought... girls, I need a camera right now. This is uncanny. Future generations will never be able to forgive us if we allow this moment to elapse without proper documentation!"
Ruby looked at Emerald. Her friend was wearing one of her little grins that were actually a whole lot bigger on the inside. "This week is going to be amazing."