Wings of Tomorrow ~ Lament of the World

by Keeper of Jericho

12. Fluttershy's decision

Wings of Tomorrow
Lament of the World

12. Fluttershy’s decision

“Thank you, Bon Bon, those toffees look delicious. I’ll be sure to enjoy them,” Fluttershy said gratefully to the other mare behind the counter of the candy shop. She accepted the paper bag handed to her and placed it in her saddlebags, then dropped a few bits on the counter.

“You’re quite welcome, Fluttershy,” Bon Bon replied, giving Fluttershy a warm smile. “When Lyra came home some days ago telling me that you had returned, I have to admit I found it a bit hard to believe. You were gone for so long, after all. Now how long was it again…” The earth pony tapped her chin thoughtfully with one of her hooves and her eyes stared briefly at the ceiling.

Fluttershy blushed and directed her gaze at the stone floor of the candy shop to avoid looking at Bon Bon directly. She didn’t like lying, but had little choice. It wasn’t as if she could tell the other pony the truth, after all. “Oh, it has been years,” she answered. “I was just a filly when I went on my journey, as were you, Bon Bon. I’m surprised you even remember me.”

“Of course I do, dear,” Bon Bon said, still smiling. “I couldn’t forget one of the kindest, most innocent faces in all of Ponyville, after all.” She gathered the bits Fluttershy had deposited on the counter and put them in her till. “You’ll have to forgive me for being so lost in memory, Fluttershy. I didn't intend to keep you, I’m sure you have places to be. Enjoy the toffees!”

Fluttershy now looked up again and peeked from behind her mane, smiling at the other pony. “I’ll make sure to do so. Though I think I’ll save some for Rarity when she comes visiting,” she said. “Thank you again, Bon Bon. Hopefully we’ll meet again soon.” And with those words spoken, she turned around and trotted towards the door of the shop. There she paused briefly to wave at the shopkeeper one last time, and then she walked out of the shop.

Truth to be told, Fluttershy left the building feeling decidedly happy. Ponyville looked very different, to the point where she could no longer recognise it, but the ponies she knew during her life were still there. Many of them hadn’t even changed much. Bon Bon still was an earth pony with a light yellow coat and a blue and pink mane, running a candy shop. Even if she did wear a blue dress now that covered most of her body. That and the fact that she didn’t remember the old Ponyville were, in fact, the only true differences between the two versions of Bon Bon.

Not that the shopkeeper was unique in that aspect, Fluttershy thought. Twilight had made it perfectly clear to her that it seemed only the Elements of Harmony and her critters had memories of both their lives. The odd thing was that even if nopony remembered the old Ponyville, they did remember Fluttershy in some fashion. It was odd, if not a bit unsettling, for the timid pegasus. A lot of ponies had welcomed her back and asked her how her journey had been. They all seemed to believe that she had just been on a long journey beyond Equestria, just like Applebloom had.

Personally, Fluttershy couldn’t quite grasp how everypony seemed to go with that story, because to her it sounded ridiculous. She had always been a timid and calm pony, who preferred a peaceful life at home to a life of adventure and excitement. And of all ponies, everypony in Ponyville thought she had made a big, yearlong journey to see and explore the world? Her friends had admitted that, when they thought about it, it indeed was quite a silly idea. But since it was the general opinion in the town, they had advised her to just go with it, and she had heeded their words. If only because she couldn’t come up with a better excuse herself.

She let the matter drop and moved on, trotting quietly through one of the crowded streets of Ponyville’s market district. Now that she had bought some sweets from Bon Bon, she had finished her necessary purchases, and could thus meet up with Twilight and Pinkie at the town square. It wasn’t a long walk, but she would still be happy to be out of these claustrophobic streets. She was no longer as intimidated by them as on her first day here, but she still didn’t feel entirely comfortable or at ease. At the very least nopony was staring at her anymore. She blended in perfectly with the rest of them, and that was a good thing.

Fluttershy stopped for a moment to rearrange one of her saddlebags on her back a bit. The added weight of the candy had tugged it down a bit, and caused her green dress to get folded underneath. Nothing major, but it did itch. Her dress wasn’t overly fancy or very special, but that didn’t matter. She still liked it, and her friends had assured her that it looked nice.

The long-sleeved dress had the colour of grass, and covered most of her body from the neck down. The ends of her sleeves were laced, and cut in a floral pattern that looked very lovely. Red and yellow flowers had been stitched onto the hem of her dress as well, and she wore a belt around her waist that looked like a wreath of flowers. Above all, however, was that it was a dress made for a pegasus like her, and so there were openings on the back for her wings to poke through. No longer were they squeezed to her sides as they had been when she had worn Twilight’s dress. The final touches to her new attire were a necklace with a blue butterfly attached to it, which rested comfortably on her chest, and two pairs of comfortable green shoes. The entirety of her ensemble reminded Fluttershy a bit of the dress Rarity had made for her for the Grand Galloping Gala, only a bit less fancy.

She had bought it four days ago, when Twilight, Pinkie and herself had gone shopping for a new wardrobe so she could show herself in public again. Soon enough she would be living here in this changed era for almost a week, and Fluttershy had to admit to herself that she was really beginning to feel settled in. Once she had overcome the shock of all the new sights and surroundings, adjusting to life in this altered timeline was surprisingly easy. Perhaps because there was in fact little to adjust to, as far as her personal, daily routine was concerned. She still took care of the animals at her home and in Ponyville, she just had to wear a dress now while doing it. Her friends were still mostly the same and the ponies of the town still knew her to some degree. In a lot of ways, it felt just like picking up your life again after moving to a new village. Only she had just moved to a different timeline instead of a different town.

As far as the new technology and inventions went, Fluttershy honestly still had had little contact with them. Inside her house everything was still the same as it had always been, technology and furnishing alike. Since she spent most of her days at home, there was no great need for her to work with or adjust to new machinery and tools. Even the occasional shadow of an airship passing overhead no longer made her look up in fright. She was getting used to it all, she was finding her footing again, and it felt good. The support of her friends had helped a lot, of course. They hadn’t really done anything special, just helped her clean her house to make it liveable again, but they didn’t need to do something extraordinary. Simply being there with her was enough.

All in all, Fluttershy could say she felt comfortable again. No doubt there was still a lot of adjusting for her to do and new things waiting for her to discover them, but they no longer frightened her. She would always have her familiar, unchanged cottage to go back to, and her friends to confide in. That was all she needed to make it through, that much she was sure of. The only thing that still saddened her was that she hadn’t seen Rarity yet. The white unicorn’s letter had said she’d visit at the ‘earliest opportunity’, but failed to mention a specific date. It had been four days since Twilight had brought her the letter, and still Rarity had yet to visit. Fluttershy wasn’t prone to impatience, but she really missed the fashion pony’s company.

There was another pony whose presence she missed, but sadly there was nothing that could be done about that. It was a fact she had accepted, if reluctantly. Fluttershy could only hope that Rainbow Dash was doing well.

She arrived at the town square to find it as crowded as it had been on her first day here in this new Ponyville. But now it bothered her less, for the square was wide and open, offering room for having that many ponies packed together, unlike the narrow streets. Fluttershy moved on towards the fountain at the centre of the plaza, where she had agreed to meet with the others. They had decided to take a tour around Ponyville today, to help her familiarize with the new layout of the village and to show her the places that remained unchanged by the shifts in time. Though the prospect of spending so much time in the claustrophobic streets wasn’t very appealing, seeing the unchanged parts was, and so Fluttershy had agreed.

“Fluttershy, over here!”

She heard Twilight before she saw her, and Fluttershy quickly tried to find the source of the voice. She found Twilight and Pinkie sitting on a bench placed at the west side of the fountain. The pegasus hurried to meet up with them.

“I’m sorry, girls,” she apologised once she had arrived there. “I took a bit longer at the candy shop than I had planned, but Bon Bon was just so happy to see me again.” Fluttershy reached back to her saddlebags and fished out the paper bag that contained the toffees she had bought. “She insisted on giving me a small discount, as a gift for my return.” She opened the back carefully and then offered it to her two friends, allowing them to take a piece of candy.

“It’s okay, Fluttershy,” Twilight replied kindly. She smiled while she used her magic to levitate a toffee out of the bag. The unicorn thanked her friend for the treat and then eagerly put it in her mouth. Shifts in time or not, Bon Bon still made excellent candies.

“Yeah, everypony knows you can take all the time in the world to spend at a candy shop!” Pinkie Pie agreed, with a hint of her usual eagerness in her voice. She also fished out a toffee from the bag. “Even if it means letting your friends wait for you at an ugly, based-on-a-total-dirty-sneaky-filthy-lie statue in a fountain.”

Fluttershy timidly took a glance at the construction Pinkie was referring to. She had seen it before, and agreed that it was a hideous thing. Not because it was chiselled in an ugly or distasteful way, but because of what it represented. Standing in the middle of the elaborate fountain was a grand statue showing the victory of the first Noble’s Court over Princess Celestia. The inscription under it read ‘In honour of the valiant braves who freed us from the tyrant’. The entire thing was like a symbol for everything Fluttershy felt was wrong with the world, and she understood perfectly why Pinkie hated it.

Fluttershy rubbed her hooves together nervously. “I’m sorry, Pinkie, I didn’t mean to…” she apologised again. Inside, the pegasus felt bad for making such a foolish mistake. Her pink friend had been making slow but steady progress towards recovery in the past few days, and now she had made her wait at a place that reminded Pinkie of everything that had made her sad in the first place.

Pinkie Pie waved her hoof in a dismissive gesture. “Don’t be silly, Fluttershy,” she said, with a hint of a smile. “You gave us candy, so it’s all alrighty! Right, Twilight?” The pink mare paused for a moment, then tapped her chin with her hoof in thought. “Hey, that rhymed!”

Twilight rolled her eyes, and she patted Pinkie on the head. “You have no idea how relieved I am to see you’re beginning to have your thoughts jump all over the place again, Pinkie.” Then she turned to address Fluttershy. “But she’s right, Fluttershy, we don’t mind the wait. I took the time to read the newspaper.” She lifted said paper up with her magic to show it briefly to her friend, then rolled it up and put it away again.

Next to her, Pinkie shook her head, completely ignoring the conversation about the newspaper. “Twilight, don’t be silly. My thoughts don’t jump all over the place. They’re in my head!” she exclaimed, her face all serious.

Her two friends tried in vain to hide their giggles behind one of their hooves. “Definitely improving,” Twilight said, winking at Fluttershy.

“Oh, yes, for sure,” the pegasus agreed. Then she changed the subject again. “Was there anything interesting in the paper that I should know, Twilight? I’m kind of out of it when it comes to the news these days…” A blush appeared on Fluttershy’s cheeks and she hid behind her mane. Even back in the old Ponyville she didn’t often read newspapers. Unlike most of her friends, she wasn’t subscribed to a daily one, instead being satisfied with having a weekly newspaper instead that told her only the truly most important things.

Twilight shook her head. “Nothing of noteworthy importance. Fear not, Fluttershy,” she said, giving her friend an encouraging smile. “If anything happens in Equestria that you have to know, I’ll be sure to tell you.”

Fluttershy gave her purple friend a grateful look. “Thank you, Twilight,” she said, smiling as well. Suddenly she realised that she still had the bag of toffees in her hooves, and she hurriedly put it back in her saddlebag. When that was done, Fluttershy looked questioningly at her two friends. “So, um… Were we going to see Ponyville now?”

The two ponies on the bench snapped to attention. “Yes, of course,” Twilight confirmed, and she climbed to her hooves. “I know you don’t really like crowds very much, especially not here, so I planned out a calmer route and…”

She was interrupted by the steadily growing sound of humming engines, as well as the gasping and surprised outcries from virtually every pony on the square. All around them, the three friends could see how all activity on the plaza had stopped, with ponies looking up at the skies, some of them pointing at something with their hooves. Twilight wondered what had gotten them all so stunned. She recognised the sound as that of an airship’s engines. That was nothing special, airships flew over and docked in Ponyville on a daily basis. She wondered what could be so special about this airship that it silenced the whole town square.

It was then that she finally caught sight of the flying ship herself, and when she did, her jaw hit the ground with an audible thud. Her eyes grew to the size of dinner plates, and for a moment, she was speechless. When she finally found her voice again, she could utter only three words:

“The Prima Vista?!”

---

The three friends hurried to the industrial district, to the airship docks where the grand airship would without a doubt touch down. As they ran, Fluttershy was feeling quite confused. She got the impression that she was missing a vital, important detail about the newly arrived vessel, because Twilight and Pinkie looked exceptionally tensed and serious. As she looked around her, she noticed that they weren’t the only ones. Everywhere she could see, there were ponies running towards the docks. Some of them looked excited, others appeared almost frightened.

“Twilight, where are we going? And, um, why are we going?” Fluttershy asked quietly, gasping for breath. It wasn’t easy to talk while running. Next to her, Twilight didn’t so much as blink. She kept running, looking straight ahead and giving no indication that she had heard her pegasus friend.

“That airship that just arrived isn’t just any airship, Fluttershy,” Twilight replied, and she sounded somewhat worried. As she spoke, she still focussed only on the road ahead of her and didn’t look at Fluttershy, not even briefly. “The Prima Vista is the flagship of the entire Republic. It’s the personal vessel of the Nobles’ Court, flying the court nobles to wherever they need to be. If it’s here…”

“It means that one of the great-great-great-grandchildren of one of those nasty meanies who imprisoned the Princess has come for a visit,” Pinkie added, surprising Fluttershy by how angry she sounded. The pink pony even had a nasty frown on her face and looked positively displeased.

“I don’t get it, though,” Twilight said. “There wasn’t any visit planned in the foreseeable future! And I would know, I often have to work on Mayor Mare’s schedule. So why is one of the Court Nobles here now?”

Twilight’s question remained unanswered, for neither of her friends knew the answer to it, especially not Fluttershy. At least she now understood why everypony was so excited and so eager to go see the airship. It wasn’t because they wanted to see the ship itself – though it looked magnificent, from what Fluttershy had seen, almost like a grand, flying castle – but because they wanted to see the pony who would be coming with the ship. It reminded her of when Princess Celestia came for a visit. Everypony had also always dropped whatever they were doing to go watch her arrival, hoping to catch a glimpse of their ruler.

This was no different, and Fluttershy had to admit she was kind of curious to see a Court Noble herself. The Nobles’ Court was, after all, her new ruler, even if she didn’t like what they had done to Princess Celestia. There was nothing she could do about that, however, and she felt some kind of morbid fascination as well. She tried to picture what a descendant of one of the twenty ponies who had taken down the Princess would look like, but couldn’t come up with anything except for ‘scary’. She supposed she would probably see for herself soon, if they managed to get close enough at least.

The three mares took a few shortcuts through some narrow alleyways and side-streets, before emerging on the main road that led from the airship docks to the town square again. The walkways on both sides of the street were packed to the brim with excited ponies, and a long line of guards on each side worked hard to keep these lines contained. They pushed the ponies back to keep the middle of the street free, to give the approaching delegation from Canterlot a clear path to walk over. The ponies drummed, pushed and shoved to try and get a place at the front row, rearing up and looking excitedly in the direction of the docks in an attempt to catch an early glimpse of their ruler. Parents put their foals on their backs or heads, to lift them above the crowd so they had a better view.

As for Fluttershy and her friends, they managed to find a spot on some stone stairs next to a house. This way they had a good look on the street, even if they were located all the way at the back of the crowd. Fluttershy didn’t mind, the thought of standing in that heap of ponies made her nervous. The citizens of Ponyville were packed together like sardines in a can, an experience the pegasus was glad to skip. Next to her, Twilight and Pinkie were doing their best to imitate giraffes, with how they were stretching their necks as if doing so would allow them to see better.

“There they come!” Twilight exclaimed, pointing in the distance. Fluttershy’s eyes followed the direction Twilight’s hoof was pointing at, and settled on the sight of an approaching chariot pulled by no less than eight stallions. Each of them looked identical to the other, all of them having pristine black coats and white manes. They all wore very stylish and ceremonial gear, with red clothes and silver armour. The chariot they pulled was no less marvellous, for it was made of pure gold and adorned with silver and gems. Its occupants were seated on the finest of pillows, red as rubies and with golden lining.

As the carriage came closer, Fluttershy caught herself holding her breath, purely because of how nervous she felt. She could now see the ponies sitting in the chariot clearly. There were four of them, three mares and one stallion, sitting in pairs across of each other. Sitting on the frontbench, with her backs to the ponies that pulled the cart, was a deftly dressed pony that Fluttershy recognised ad Mayor Mare.

Next to her sat a mare wearing a dress that strongly reminded Fluttershy of Rarity’s dress for the Grand Galloping Gala, but she could not see the pony’s face due to the grand hat the mare was wearing. It looked just as chic and high-class as her dress, but it obscured the pony’s face and mane from Fluttershy’s view.

On the backseat of the carriage sat the third mare, a unicorn with an elegant horn that was longer than average, with a pristine white coat and pink mane and tail. Her body was slender and amazingly well-shaped, and her legs were long and graceful. She was wearing the most daring, risqué dress that Fluttershy had seen so far. Given how this new society seemed to be so prudish when it came to clothing, she hadn’t thought anypony would dare to go out in public wearing what that mare was wearing. Not because her white dress was immodest, or showed inappropriately too much. It was simply the design, the way it clung to her excellent figure and accentuated it, that made it so bold.

Fluttershy got the feeling that she had seen the white unicorn before, somewhere, but she couldn’t exactly put her hoof on it. Not yet. She turned her attention to the last occupant of the chariot, the stallion whose shoulder the daring mare was affectionately clinging to. When she saw him, Fluttershy’s eyes widened and she couldn’t suppress a gasp. She recognised him, and knew in that very instant that he had to be the Court Noble.

The stallion was a unicorn with a long horn, white coat and an azure mane and tail, as well as a small moustache. Both were combed in an excellent fashion, and he was wearing a white shirt with a blue gilet over it. Over that he had a black tailcoat, which matched his black pants perfectly. Lastly he wore a purple bowtie around his neck, and a monocle was perched over his left eye.

“That’s the stallion we met in Canterlot when we held your birthday party there, isn’t it?” Fluttershy whispered to Twilight. She threw a brief, questioning glance at her friend before looking at the approaching chariot again. The stallion was calm and composed, sitting regally on the backseat while smiling politely. Every now and then the noble spared a moment to wave at the many ponies that had gathered to see him.

“Yes. That’s Lord Fancypants,” Twilight confirmed with a nod. “Here he is one of the twenty Court Nobles, and he has some of the greatest personal power and influence a pony can have in the entire Republic.” She paused for a moment to take another look at the subject of their conversation. “As far as nobles go, he’s alright. He’s a capable ruler, and one of the few nobles who concern themselves with the fate of the lower class. I heard he funds quite a number of charity projects for homeless ponies and the reintegration of former convicts into our society. If the entire Nobles’ Court was like him, Equestria would be a lot better off.”

“I… I see…” Fluttershy muttered, not sure of what else she could say. The memories of her brief encounter with the noble in the other time seemed to support what Twilight had just told her about him. It relieved her, somehow, to know that not all ponies who stood at the top of this new Equestria cared about themselves only. Not that she thought that his good works and kind deeds were any kind of excuse for keeping the Princess imprisoned.

“The mare at his side is his wife, Fleur de Lis,” Twilight added, completely unaware of the fact that Fluttershy was lost in thought. The unicorn narrowed her eyes and stared intensely at the pony who sat next to Mayor Mare, a deep frown forming on her face. “Though I wonder who that third mare is… Not a member of Lord Fancypant’s usual entourage, that’s for sure.”

The next moment the carriage passed by where they were sitting, and suddenly Fluttershy and Twilight could hear Pinkie gasp dramatically next to them. The two friends glanced uneasily at each other, silently wondering what had Pinkie worked up this time. When they looked at her, however, they saw that the pink pony wasn’t upset at all. In fact, she looked quite happy.

“Oh, wow!” Pinkie exclaimed, while a small grin hesitatingly emerged on her face. “I can’t believe Rarity got to ride along in that shiny cart, having everypony wave all excitedly at her! It must have been fun!”

---

Rarity gladly accepted the hoof that Fancypants offered her to help her out of the carriage, and gracefully climbed out of the vehicle, which had stopped in front of the town hall. The Court Noble was such a gentlecolt, a perfect example for anypony who wished to treat a lady properly. When her hooves stood safely on the ground, Rarity took a moment to straighten her gown. It was naturally one of her own design, and she had based it on the dress she had made for the Grand Galloping Gala during that other life.

She tipped her hat right, and then curtsied gracefully before Fancypants. “Thank you, my lord, you are most kind,” she said, while keeping her head low and her eyes focussed on the ground. That was the proper attitude to assume before a pony of such great importance.

“Not at all, Rarity, my dear,” Fancypants replied with a kind chuckle. “Helping a beautiful lady such as yourself out of a chariot is any gentlecolt’s duty, and delight!” Upon speaking the last two words, the noble’s handsome features were graced by a small smile.

“Always the charmer, darling,” Fleur de Lis crooned slyly, while wrapping her forelegs coyly around her husband’s neck. “A mare might get jealous.”

“Fleur, please,” Fancypants said, with played exasperation.

“I am certain his lordship was merely being polite, milady Fleur,” Rarity interrupted, and she stood up from her curtsied position to flash a knowing grin at the other unicorn. “After all, a stallion who would give up a mare as wonderful as you would be quite the foal indeed!”

Fleur de Lis pressed a hoof to her mouth in a vain attempt to stifle her giggling. “I would agree, were it not vain for me to do so,” she said, while running a hoof down the neck of her husband. “Bragging is so uncouth, as they say, and a proper lady should not indulge in it.”

“Quite,” Fancypants agreed, before offering his hoof to Mayor Mare to help her out of the carriage as well. “And proper etiquette demands that I apologise for dropping in so unannounced, Mayor Mare. Fleur and I thank you for nevertheless welcoming us to your charming town.”

“Nonsense, your lordship,” the mayor replied, and she bowed her head respectfully. “It is an honour to receive you, both for me as well as for Ponyville.” Her words, while welcoming and spoken with the proper reverence, nevertheless carried a hint of nervosity in them. “Though I fear that you have caught us completely off guard, your lordship, and proper arrangements for your stay have not been made.”

Fancypants held up a hoof and gestured for her to calm down. “Peace, mayor, such things shan’t be necessary. Fleur and I do not intend to stay very long, there were merely some things that I would like to discuss with you about the event coming up in three weeks.”

The mayor’s visage relaxed, and she was obviously greatly relieved. “But of course, your lordship. Do you wish to take care of these matters immediately, or may I persuade you for an early cup of tea first?”

The Court Noble opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by the sound of somebody crying: “Rarity!”. The four upper class ponies looked in the direction of the voice, puzzled, and saw a trio of ponies trying in vain to break through the ring of guards encircling the town hall. The guards would have none of it, however, and forcefully pushed the ponies back, despite some heavy protest from a pink earth pony and a lavender unicorn. Fleur de Lis and Fancypant looked onto the spectacle with as much curiosity as their status allowed them to show, while Mayor Mare was devouring her hooves, glancing nervously from Fancypants to the guards and back to Fancypants again.

Rarity, however, reacted in quite a different manner. In another life, at another time, this situation might have embarrassed her and put her in quite a difficult position: torn between acknowledging her friends – who obviously didn’t know that ponies were not supposed to approach a Court Noble uninvited – and pretending to not know them in order to save her social status. This time, however, she felt no such conflict. In fact, her eyes had widened considerably and she had a huge, pleased smile on her face. She felt no conflict because these were her friends, and no matter how they behaved she would stand by them. And she was smiling so excitedly because of a certain shy, timid pegasus who was standing there alongside her other two friends.

Fancypants turned his head to look at Rarity. “Ah, friends of yours, I take it, dear Rarity?”

The fashion pony didn’t deny it, she merely gave the noble an apologetic smile. “Yes, your lordship, they most definitely are. I do apologise for the… ah, commotion, shall we say… But we haven’t seen each other in such a long time, and I’m afraid I failed to notify them of when exactly I’d be arriving. It seems that they thus decided to come to me, instead of me simply visiting them at home.” She curtsied before the Court Noble. “My apologies, again.”

The noble stallion simply stared in silence at the younger unicorn for a few moments, but then he smiled and cleared his throat. “The young mares may pass, gentlecolts,” he called out to the guards, much to the surprise of almost everypony present. Nevertheless, his command was obeyed immediately, and the guards stood down. They parted just enough to make room for the three mares to pass through.

Twilight, Pinkie and Fluttershy on their part found themselves rooted to the ground, uncertain of what to do next. In all honesty they hadn’t intended at all to create a ruckus. Twilight and Pinkie had wanted to go home to wait for Rarity there, knowing that their friend would no doubt do so as soon as she got the opportunity. It had been Fluttershy who had insisted on following the chariot to the town square. When she had seen her friend descend from the vehicle, the pegasus simply hadn’t been able to contain herself anymore and had called out to Rarity, hoping to catch her attention. That it had certainly succeeded in doing, unfortunately Fluttershy had also succeeded in drawing the attention of everypony else.

When Fancypants waved his hoof at them to come over, the three friends hesitatingly and nervously complied. The short distance from the guards to the chariot seemed to take forever to cross, and they were very much aware that the eyes of all ponies who had gathered on the town square were focussed on them. So when they stood before the Court Noble, all they could do was bow as deeply as they could without simply throwing themselves on the ground.

Rarity noticed how nervous, if not frightened, her friends were, and tried to ease the tension. She politely turned to address Fancypants and his wife. “Your lordship, milady Fleur, may I introduce you to some of the finest friends a pony could hope for?”

“But of course, Rarity dear, I’d be delighted,” Fancypants replied casually, treating the white unicorn to another one of his small smiles. Fleur de Lis remained silent, being content to simply hang on to her husband while looking expectantly at the three mares bowed before them. Her eyes briefly met Fluttershy’s, who had dared to look up and take a peek from behind her mane. Fleur smiled kindly at the pegasus, causing Fluttershy to let out an almost inaudible squeak and retreat behind her mane again.

Rarity placed a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder and helped her friend to her hooves. “Mares and gentlecolt, may I present you Twilight Sparkle? A honest and hardworking unicorn who is currently under the employment of Ponyville’s wonderful mayor, if I’m not mistaken.”

“No, that is quite correct,” Mayor Mare confirmed, taking a brief moment to smile and her office clerk. “Young Twilight here has been working at the town hall ever since she’s arrived here at Ponyville. And I couldn’t ask for a better clerk for my office.”

Twilight blushed slightly under the praise, and felt very self-conscious standing there before the four upper-class ponies in her relatively simple dress. She curtsied to the best of her abilities before Fancypants. “Your lordship, it is an honour. My deepest apologies for intruding so insolently.”

“It’s quite alright, lady Sparkle,” Fancypants assured her, sounding nothing but good natured and forgiving. “We’ve all done reckless things when we’re young, and wishing to be with your friends is hardly a grave offense.”

“And even if it were,” Fleur added coyly from where she stood, leaning on her husband with her head resting on his shoulder. “I’m sure his lordship would make an exception for the sister of our well-respected Marshal of the Republic, as well as for her friends.”

Unnoticed by everypony but her friends, Twilight tensed upon hearing Fleur’s words, as if they invoked some sort of unpleasant memory within her. Outwardly, however, the purple unicorn merely forced herself to smile. “You are too kind, your lordship, milady,” she said, remaining polite.

Rarity, who saw that Twilight was growing uncomfortable, decided to intervene by introducing the next of her friends. “My lord Fancypants, milady Fleur, this is Pinkamena Diane Pie,” she said, while helping Pinkie to her hooves, just like she had done with Twilight. The pink earth pony followed Twilight’s example and curtsied before the Court Noble.

“Pleased to meet you!” Pinkie exclaimed on a casual tone, making all her friends wince at the informality. She did keep her head respectfully bowed, however, so she could have done worse. To their credit, Fancypants nor Fleur de Lis were disturbed by it.

“The pleasure is mine, miss Pie,” the Court Noble said. Fancypants then shifted his attention to Fluttershy, who was still pressing herself closely to the ground at the noble’s hooves. She was hiding behind her mane and trembling slightly. The noble stallion glanced questioningly at Rarity. “And who is this lovely mare, Rarity?”

The white unicorn with the purple mane didn’t immediately reply. She was helping Fluttershy to her hooves, quietly assuring her that everything was alright. But as she did so, Rarity was overcome by emotion. She looked at the hoof of her dear friend that she held in her own hooves, and could barely believe she could really feel it, that it was real. Despite all her efforts to retain her composure, the reunion was too much for her emotions and tears welled up in Rarity’s eyes.

“This is my dear, dear friend Fluttershy,” she said, smiling tearfully at the mare in question, for once not caring that she was ignoring etiquette by not looking at a Court Noble while speaking to him. “Who I have had to miss for years!” Rarity couldn’t resist the temptation any longer, and she pulled Fluttershy against her in the deepest, strongest embrace her body was capable of.

“Oh, Rarity,” Fluttershy whispered timidly in reply, hesitatingly returning the hug. She wasn’t sure if it was appropriate to do such a thing in public, with a Court Noble watching, but for some reason felt sure that Fancypants wouldn’t mind even if it wasn’t. “I missed you, too.”

“Ah, so you are the reason why our dear Rarity undertook this trip!” Fancypants said, understanding dawning on him. “She did mention that one of her friends had returned from abroad. I take it she meant you, miss Fluttershy?”

“Indeed she did, your lordship,” Twilight answered in Fluttershy’s stead. The young unicorn looked at her two embracing friends, feeling moved beyond words. A smile was spread on her face while tears of happiness welled up in her eyes at the same time. Twilight delicately wiped those away with one of her hooves. “Though I must admit, your lordship,” she said to Fancypants. “When Rarity wrote us saying that she would come to visit, I hadn’t expected her to use your private airship to make the trip.”

Fancypants chuckled gently. “I fear I am entirely to blame for that, miss Sparkle,” he explained calmly. The noble gestured at Rarity, who was still sharing an embrace of pure friendship with Fluttershy. “You see, during one of Fleur’s tea gatherings Rarity here mentioned that she would be going to Ponyville for a few days. Seeing as I had some business to take care of in this town myself, I gave her the offer to come along. An offer she accepted with both hooves, I must add.”

“But of course, my lord,” Rarity said, finally letting go of Fluttershy. She straightened her dress neatly again and tilted her hat until it sat right on her head once more. “How could I refuse such a generous offer, from a Court Noble no less! I honestly could not refuse, it would not have been proper!”

“Nonsense, you are a free mare with the right of choice, my dear Rarity,” Fancypants corrected her, gently but firmly, making it clear he would have no other view on the matter. “But Fleur and I were nevertheless delighted when you decided to take us up on the offer. You were a wonderful travelling companion, milady.”

Rarity curtsied again before the Court Noble. “You are too kind, your lordship.”

“Now then. I am certain that Rarity wishes to catch up with her wonderful friends, so I suggest we take our leave, Fleur my dear,” Fancypants said, with a tone of finality. He turned to Mayor Mare. “Mayor, you mentioned having some tea before we get to business?”

The mayor appeared startled upon suddenly being addressed again, but quickly recovered. “Oh, yes, of course, lord Fancypants,” she replied. “Shall we move to the lounge room of the town hall?”

“I see no reason to object, milady,” the Court Noble answered. “Please be so kind as to lead the way.” Then Fancypants turned around to address Rarity and her friends one last time. “Thank you again for your pleasant company, my dear Rarity. Fleur and myself enjoyed it greatly. I wish you and your friends a wonderful time.”

“I’ll be expecting you at my next tea gathering, Rarity,” Fleur de Lis added with a smile.

The four friends said their farewells and curtsied as one before the noble pair. They quietly watched as lord Fancypants and lady Fleur de Lis accompanied Mayor Mare up the stairs into the town hall. And only once they had vanished from sight did the four mares dare to rise up from their curtsy and stand up straight again.

---

“Do you have any idea what this business is that lord Fancypants wishes to discuss with Mayor Mare, Rarity?” Twilight asked curiously. She lifted her glass of water up with her magic and took a small sip. The purple unicorn and her three friends had relocated from the town square to the ‘Golden Clover’, the most expensive restaurant in all of Ponyville. Rarity had insisted on giving her friends this treat, in celebration of Fluttershy’s return.

While it was very generous of her, it did leave her three friends feeling a bit nervous. The ‘Golden Clover’ was truly a place for the high class, and while Rarity herself certainly fit in, Twilight, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie most definitely felt out of place in their more simple clothing. Some of the other guests weren’t even very subtle about their disapproval concerning their presence. That was probably why they had taken place at a table in a secluded corner of the restaurant.

Rarity delicately nipped from her wine before answering. “He didn’t say specifically what it was, darling,” she said. “But I’m guessing he just wants some information about the delegation that Ponyville will be sending for the grand parade. It’s in three weeks, as you know.”

Twilight couldn’t help but grow tensed again upon hearing the answer. She snorted in disdain, not even attempting to hide it. “Truth to be told I had almost forgotten, and I would have been glad to.”

Rarity gave her fellow unicorn a sympathetic nod. “Oh, I know, darling. And I agree completely. I think all of us here agree that we utterly despise that barbaric, disgusting event. Canterlot is always in such high spirits in the days running up to it, though. For them it’s a grand feast. Ugh.” She shook her head in unladylike disapproval. “I’d say it’s one of the few things I don’t like about our magnificent capital. I was thinking of spending the weekend of the parade here in Ponyville, just to be away of it all.”

“That would be super!” Pinkie piped up, and she took an eager gulp from her pint of cider. “We could spend the whole day together again. With Applejack too, of course. It’s a bit sad she’s not here now, otherwise we’d have a complete reunion of the bestest of friends!”

“Nearly complete, Pinkie my dear,” Rarity corrected her friend with a small, sad sigh. “And I would truly not object to having dear Applejack with us here now, though I’d think she would refuse even if we had invited her. I don’t think this fine establishment is up to her… Ah, standards.”

“You’re probably right,” Twilight agreed, and she laughed softly, her friends soon joining in. Once their laughter had died down, Rarity adressed Pinkie Pie again.

“But I must say, it was an absolutely delightful surprise to not only see dear Fluttershy again today, but to also see that you regained some colour, darling,” the fashion pony complimented her friend, reaching across the table to briefly put one of her hooves on top of Pinkie’s to give it a gentle pat. “Not to mention you finally got rid of those horrifying rags. Dreadfully sorry, my dear, but those were painful to look at.” She gave Pinkie’s clean, proper shirt, gilet and pants a look of approval.

“You have Fluttershy to thank for that,” Twilight explained. “It was her idea to drag Pinkie with us when we went shopping for her new clothes.”

“Well, in that case I must thank you for a job well done, Fluttershy,” Rarity said, turning to smile at her pegasus friend. “And I simply must compliment you on your own choice of dress. You look simply lovely.” It was then that the three ponies noticed that Fluttershy was being rather silent, staring absentmindedly at her glass of grape juice as if she wasn’t there. “Fluttershy, darling, did you hear what I said?” Rarity took one of Fluttershy’s hooves in her own, feeling worried.

The contact startled the pegasus out of her trance. “Oh! Um, oh… Sorry, Rarity, I’m afraid I was a bit distracted,” Fluttershy apologised. Her cheeks were tinted slightly red with embarrassment. “Um, you were saying?”

“You really must have been lost in thought, Fluttershy,” Twilight observed. “What had you so distracted?”

“Oh… It… It’s nothing,” came the hesitant answer. “I… I was just wondering… Ehm, Twilight, what is this parade you and Rarity were talking about? Is… is it that parade you told me about before, where… where they… you know, with Princess Celestia…?” Fluttershy looked fearfully at the faces of her three friends, as if she was afraid of hearing the answer. Her suspicions that she had guessed correctly were further fuelled when she saw the expressions on each of her friend’s faces turn grim.

“It is,” Twilight confirmed. “I’d totally forgotten about it, but in three weeks it’ll be the night of the Great Parade in celebration of the three hundred and forty-eighth anniversary of the Republic… And Princess’ Celestia’s defeat.”

“A truly atrocious event, as I mentioned before,” Rarity added. She took another sip from her wine in an attempt to have it calm her down. Talking about the parade and the treatment of the Princess always made her feel upset. “The way they treat Princess Celestia, it is truly despicable. I try my best to avoid any involvement with it every year. It is not easy though, since a lot of nobles commission for new dresses and suits for the occasion. I hardly can refuse, for it would sadly mean the end of my business.”

“But no worries, Fluttershy,” Pinkie Pie said, trying to smile encouragingly at the pegasus but failing miserably. No matter how hard Pinkie did her best to feel better to make her friends smile, she wasn’t quite recovered enough yet to be able to talk about something as terrible and the parade and not have it drag down her spirits. “It’s a Canterlot event. There’s usually a celebration held here in Ponyville as well, but nopony is forced to go. Most actually prefer to go to Canterlot for the celebration of the Republic’s anniversary.”

“Meaning we’ll have some peaceful days here in Ponyville,” Twilight added, and she smiled warmly at the prospect. “It’s one of the few times in the year where Ponyville feels a bit like the old Ponyville again. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy bowed her head and hid behind her mane. She looked down at her hooves, which she was rubbing together nervously. “Actually, I’d like to go see the parade,” she blurted out, and she dared not look at any of her friends as she said those words.

Pinkie, who had just been taking another sip from her cider, spat her drink back out, not caring that doing such a thing was totally unheard of in a restaurant as classy as the ‘Golden Clover’. Twilight and Rarity were stunned as well, their mouths hanging open in a most unladylike fashion. The two unicorns shared shocked glances, and neither could believe that they had really understood what their shy friend had just said.

“F… Fluttershy… You… what?” Twilight stammered.

“D… Darling, what in Equestria did you say?” Rarity asked, flabbergasted. Her eyes were as wide as dinner plates, and she repeatedly opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of the water, as she tried to say more but no words would come out.

Fluttershy took a deep breath, then let it out as a deep sigh again. She looked up and hesitatingly peeked at her utterly astonished friends from behind her mane. “I said I would like to go to Canterlot,” she repeated, a bit more loud and firm this time. “I… I want to go see the parade.”

End of chapter 12.

Comments

[Thespurgin]

I can sense the monkeys turning on the fan and preparing the defecation...

Curious, does the difference of Celestia not being in power mean that ole' Zecora is not in everfree? Or is it simply that she's not interested in "modern" equestria?

[Reader Wolf]

Prepare for a s***storm...

[Lord_Of_Lagaard]

Cannot wait until the next chapter. I'm guessing that Fluttershy wants to be there to cheer up Celestia, but this will eventually degrade into a plot to save her.

[Chill Mists(Chilly)]

That dialogue... so... polite and formal...and posh aaaaaarrggggggghhhhhhh. I feel about 40% more British now.

[Barbecue Sauce]

Heh. Fluttershy said what I would have. Now, granted, Fluttershy probably can't do anything to save Celestia on her own. Though if it were me, I'd plot an attack on the parade, and free the Princess.

My genre saviness tells me something will happen at the parade, and one the mane characters will be involved, at least some of them. Perhaps Rainbow Dash?

[Tygerburningbright]

Odd I was expecting the court nobles to be more like the world nobles from One Piece.

[Dead Turtle]

Ah, I'm feeling this fic's a "take that" to those guys who actually think Celestia is a tyrant (*cough* the anti-TCB folks *cough*).

And I suppose RD is going to try to free Celestia at that parade.

[Keeper of Jericho]

1780569

Ah, I'm feeling this fic's a "take that" to those guys who actually think Celestia is a tyrant (*cough* the anti-TCB folks *cough*).

Not just to them, as further events yet to be posted will prove.

[Nova_Blast]

699097 trust me, I live in Britain. Most people don't talk like that, most say 'aah yeh mate' and 'init' every other sentence, wear hoodies and have there trousers tucked into there socks (god I hate chavs). Then again I live up north in north Lincolnshire (look it up on Google maps)

[Fury of the Tempest]

.... DUN DUN DUN....

So... Shining Armour is mentioned at last... and Twilight isn't happy... wonder how Cadence plays a part in this...

[Crazy the Clone]

I have half a mind to reach through my phone screen and vandalize that statue with broken nails and sour milk.

[Crazy the Clone]

I haven't read through the whole chapter yet, but I read "Prima Vista" in an environment that involves steam-powered ships...Is there a group of thieves on it?

EDIT: Aw man...Ah well. Anyway, sorry for the multiple comments. I just get excited for stiff like this.

[Insane]

2167456

I Imagie also People like me who Think Democratic is Great, Monarchy Suck.

Res Publica you Plebeian.

(Serious, All Is Repbuilc is Bad, Monachy is good since 12 chaptar of this i hope this revoke for more grey and more understand meaning of thing, Otherwise I stop read this work because clear it doesn't deal with reality of Republicanism, Is nothing but propaganda for monarchy )