Chapter Seven
Dreams and Disasters
by Quillery
Chapter Seven
West Coast Friendship
“Say something else in Prancy, Twi,” Dash asked, stepping out of the train station. The air was cool and crisp, still clinging to the morning chill. The mist settled into Dash’s feathers, and her body shivered with delight.
Twilight giggled softly and brought a hoof to her chin. “Well… Let’s see…” Her mouth frowned in thought before it curved into a thin smile. “Que voulez-vous faire en premier?”
Dash scratched her head, tilting it from side to side. After a while, she sighed. “Oh, ok. I give up. What did you say?”
Twilight laughed again. “I said: what do you want to do first?”
“Ohhh… Well, I thought we could look around.”
Outside the station, Dash and Twilight found themselves on a wide street branching in several directions. The pavement was far smoother underhoof here than it had been in Buckingham. There wasn’t a stone out of place along the road or the sidewalks, and instead of roughly hewn stones, the streets were made of a white marble very similar to the ones that graced Canterlot’s roads.
The ponies walking the streets, on the other hoof, were something Dash recognized all too quickly. They walked about with excessive rigidity, staunch superiority or overwhelming smugness.
Dash sighed wearily. Buckingham had a charming hominess with a level of politeness she hadn’t expected. She had only been in Cheval for less than an hour and had a feeling why Rarity was so upset she couldn’t come. Prim and proper ponies as far as the eye could see, lavishly decorated buildings and pristinely cleaned roads.
Twilight’s expression brightened as she looked around. “Oh my!” she exclaimed, lowering her book. “The streets are so clean, and the buildings are so well made. It’s almost like being back in Canterlot.”
“Yeah… Just like home…”
Twilight either didn’t notice Dash’s sardonic tone, or didn’t mind it enough to stop her excited trot down the road.
It wasn’t long before Twilight stopped again. She was staring at a row of white brick buildings on both sides of a wide street. She spun around, facing Dash with a wide grin on her face. “What should we do first?”
“Uh, well…” Dash thought a moment. “What’s the plan for this leg of the trip?”
“Um…” Twilight floated out a small piece of paper and scanned its contents. “We aren’t scheduled to meet with the Queen of Prance until tomorrow morning.”
“Are we having breakfast with her?”
“I don’t think so. I got the feeling from Celestia that Queen Victoire was busy, and we wouldn’t have much time to talk with her. We might not meet her at all, to be honest.”
“Queen Victoire?
“It means ‘victory’ in plain Equestrian. History tells that all her female ancestors were born on the same date, which happens to be an important moment in Prance’s history. So as homage, the royalty name their firstborn daughter Victoire, to celebrate their victory of ages past.”
“And that victory would be…”
“Ah, ah. One step at a time. Let’s have a look at the map and see where we can go. There must be a museum around somewhere.”
Twilight popped open her bag and pulled out her map. Dash strode up beside her as she unfolded it, and looked over the spiderweb of streets drawn on the sheet.
“Wow,” Dash said. “This place is huge.”
“Yes, Cheval is one of the largest of the eastern colonies. It had the greatest diversity between the clans and their cultures, and experienced a rather explosive growth in the first few centuries.”
Twilight scanned the map, placing her hoof on a spot near the city’s edge. “We should be around here, so there might be something—"
A gust of wind lanced through the lane, bristling the map in Twilight’s magical grip. Her horn glowed brighter to hold on, but the wind proved relentless in its gale. The map was torn from her and sailed down the street. Twilight let out a strangled noise as she took off after it.
Dash flared her wings and bounded into the air to take chase, but the winds picked up again and caught her off guard, sending her back to the ground. She tried to right herself for another attempt, but Twilight had stopped running, and the map was nowhere to be seen.
Twilight’s head slumped down as she turned back to Dash. She was breathing heavily and frowning. “Now—huff—what? That was my only map of Cheval!”
“I’m sure we can get another one, Twi. There has to be a visitor’s center somewhere.”
“I guess, but mine had all kinds of annotations and notes. Now I’ll have to redo them.”
“Or we could wing it,” Dash said, smirking.
Twilight returned the smirk. “Let’s just go find the visitors center.”
Dash pointed down the lane. “After you.”
*****
A small bell above the door rang as Dash and Twilight stepped inside a small office. As best as Twilight was able to explain, the building was labeled ‘Cheval City Tours’ and had a good chance of offering maps of the city.
The bell rang again as the door shut behind them. The lobby was decorated in wooden racks filled with magazines and sheafs of paper with bright colors. Behind the desk was a large framed map of the city in many different colors.
The desk itself was vacant. A steaming cup of tea sat alone on the desk with a small stack of papers and some quills.
“Hello?” Twilight called out. “Anypony here?”
“Juste un moment!” a voice called from the back room.
After a minute, an earth pony mare entered from the door behind the desk. Her curly golden mane bounced with each step, and her light blue dress skirted the floor gracefully. Her deep, olive eyes were brightened by her brilliant smile as she seemed to float into the room.
“Bonjour,” she said. “Comment puis-je vous aider aujourd'hui?”
Twilight chuckled. “Nous avons perdu notre carte. Nous nous demandions si nous pouvions en acheter une ici?”
The clerk tilted her head. “Vous étes pas de Cheval êtes-vous?”
Twilight giggled, followed by a sigh and turned to Dash. “I guess I can’t hide my accent no matter what language I speak.”
Dash chuckled. “Well, can we get a map here or not?”
“Ah,” the clerk said. “You are Equestrians. Now I see.”
“Oh,” Twilight said, “you speak Equestrian.”
The clerk waved a hoof. “I dabble in most languages. It makes helping tourists much easier if you know what they are saying.” She grinned.
“Oh I agree. You speak Equestrian quite well.”
The clerk bowed her head. “Thank you. And you speak Prançais expertly. My name is Vanille, and welcome to my shop. What can I help you with today?”
“Well, we lost our map to a gust of wind, so we were wondering what kinds you might have here.”
“Ah, yes, the summer winds can do that. Well we have a large selection of maps fit for tourists.”
Vanille walked around her desk towards her magazine display. “As you can see, we have a selection of maps split between the various districts of the city, or the city as a whole, if you wish a broader sense of Cheval.”
Twilight stepped up to the display and browsed through with her magic. “Hmm, these all look so detailed. I wouldn’t even know where to start!”
“Is there anything in particular you are looking to see?”
“Oh, we were definitely looking to see some of the art galleries.”
“Yeah…” Dash said. "Gotta see those galleries.”
Vanille glanced at Dash, eyebrow raised. She quickly shook her head and turned back to Twilight. “Well, if it’s the galleries you seek, we do offer personal tours if that interests you.”
“Ooh! That does sound like a good idea, doesn’t it, Dash?”
“Uh… I thought it woulda been cool to just search around on our own, Twi. Y’know, just to two of us exploring the city. Feels kinda cheap if we just have somepony showing us around.”
Twilight turned to face her, eyes bright. “But think of the insider knowledge we could learn from somepony who knows the city. We would see so much more detail than if you just wandered aimlessly.”
“Eh…” Dash said. She rubbed her neck. “If you really want to, I guess.”
“Wonderful!” Vanille exclaimed. “Let me see who is available to guide you.”
Vanille walked towards the back, shouting. “Chercheur! Nous avons un client!”
She stopped at the door, listening. There was no answer, and she tilted her head. “Chercheur, où étes-vous?” she called again.
Still no answer. After a moment, a brown spotted stallion stepped into the lobby from the back. “Desole, madame. Chercheur est deja on mission.”
“Êtes-vous le seul ici, Bastille?”
The stallion nodded, and Vanille sighed.
Dash frowned and leaned towards Twilight. “What’s going on?” she whispered.
Twilight shook her head. “I’m not sure.” Twilight took a step towards Vanille. “Is something wrong?” she asked.
Vanille turned to Twilight, frowning. “It seems all of my tour guides are currently occupied. It is just me and my assistant left.”
“Oh…” Twilight slumped her head slightly and turned back to the displays. “I guess we can survive with some maps then if no pony is available to show us around.”
Bastille cleared his throat. “Madame, je peux surveiller le magasin si vous voulez.”
Vanille scoffed. “Vous ne pouvez pas être sérieux. Ça fait tellement longtemps que j’ai personnellement guidé.”
Bastille shrugged. “Un client est un client. Vous étiez le première d'entre nous.”
Vanille rolled her eyes and turned back to Twilight and Dash. “My assistant suggest that I guide you myself.”
“That sounds like a wonderful idea!” Twilight said. “You probably know all the best places if this is your business.”
Vanille’s face reddened softly. “Oh please, you flatter me. It is true that I started this service, but it has been so long since I’ve personally guided anypony.”
“We wouldn’t mind, would we, Dash?”
“Uh, no. It sounds like it could be fun.” Dash let out a weak chuckle.
Vanille’s expression brightened. “If you two don’t mind, then I would love to be your guide.” Her grin widened. “And I know exactly where to start!”
*****
Following Vanille, Twilight and Dash were led deeper into the city, passing by dozens of shops, homes and galleries. They traveled at a generous pace, and eventually found themselves in the middle of a large city square. Rows of stone posts lined the ends of the street, and vacant carriages sat beside them, too wide to pass through.
The ground beyond the posts was covered in smooth stone blocks. As Dash stepped up past the barrier, she scuffed her hoof across the pristine surface. She didn’t even leave a mark as she cut across them, and the tips of her hooves almost glided at the touch.
The sun was cresting high in the sky, and there were few clouds hanging in the sky above. An enormous fountain lay in the middle of a network of roads all meeting in the center.
“Where are we?” Dash asked.
“I think we’re in the cultural district of the city,” Twilight said.
“Correct,” Vanille said. She pointed at the fountain. “That fountain is the work of one of Prance’s most famous sculptors, Marble de Chevalier. His artistic mind built half of Cheval.”
“Oh my... I’ve only seen pictures of this place, but to see it up close...”
Dash took a second look at the fountain. It stood storeys tall, and had many different layers, not unlike an extravagant cake. The bottom-most layer had pairings of every pony race, mare and stallion, spitting gouts of water from their stony mouths into the bottom pool. The next few tiers were of creatures Dash had never seen before. They looked like ponies on one end, but their other halves looked more like fish. “What are those?”
“I think they’re sea ponies.”
“Sea-Ponies?”
Twilight nodded. “Sea-Ponies are one of the oldest legends of the eastern colonies. Their stories had a pretty big impact on artisans over the centuries, and de Chevalier was no exception.”
“H-uh.” Dash shrugged and looked at the top of the fountain. Suspended by the waters was a shimmering blue stone. It spun and bobbed in the hold of the water, but did not waver or lose balance. The light of the sun struck the stone in such a way that the waters of the fountain glowed a deep, sapphire blue.
“And what the hay is that?”
“It is the Heart of Prance,” Vanille said.
Dash stared at her.
“It is a very rare gemstone that our ancestors discovered deep within the earth. Prance is known for supplying the world with valuable gemstones. It is thought that Prance sits on one of Equus’ main ley lines, which is why their minerals are so enriched with it.”
“And they just let their most precious gem sit in a water fountain in the middle of the road?”
Vanille laughed. “That is not the real Heart of Prance. It is merely a gemstone that resembles it. The real one sits on the crown of the… well, the current crowned queen of Prance.”
Dash blinked, and then narrowed her eyes on the floating gem. “I bet Rarity would love to have seen it. The real one I mean.”
She grinned and glanced at Vanille, but her smiled quickly faded. Vanille was staring with a peculiar look. Her smile was soft and her lips pursed. What startled Dash the most was the look in her eye. The look of wanting, desire, that Dash was all too familiar with. And it was aimed directly at Twilight.
Twilight nodded turned her head towards Vanille, whose expression vanished the second she did, melting into a plain smile. “What else is around here to see, Vanille?
“De Chevalier’s museum is just over there,” she said, pointing beyond the fountain. “I imagine if you enjoyed this, you will enjoy his other work as well.”
“I’d love to.” Twilight smiled and turned to Dash. “Doesn’t that sound fun, Dash?”
Dash stared in the direction Twilight was facing, but her mind was elsewhere. The way Vanille was staring at Twilight raised a full alert in her brain. Dash had enough trouble with handling her own feelings for Twilight, but the look in Vanille’s eyes was sign enough that she had somepony else to worry about.
She looked at Twilight, who was still staring at her, waiting for a response. And this Vanille knows exactly what to do to show Twilight a good time here. I’m gonna have to keep an eye on her. “Yeah, sound’s good, Twi. It’s just gonna be a bunch of pretty pictures, right?”
*****
A few pretty pictures were the least of Dash’s problems, as she staggered through the marble halls of De Chevalier’s gallery. Twilight kept ahead of her in an energetic skip, chatting excitedly with Vanille. “That was so interesting! I never knew that modern art was so integrated in Prance’s culture. I always imagined them to still hold to the Reneighssance’s standards.”
“That held true until De Chevalier’s passing many centuries ago,” Vanille said. “He had amassed a selection of potentials under his tutelage that were to carry on his legacy. Many did. Some, however, were quick to find ways to evolve the medium.”
Dash stopped just behind them as they arrived at the entrance to another exhibit. She didn’t notice any more sculptures in this room. Instead, it was filled with various paintings along the walls. They were framed in gold, and hidden behind glass panes, keeping the attendees several feet away.
She kept her attention on Vanille as best she could without either her or Twilight catching on. The deeper into the museum they got, Vanille found plenty of reasons to get closer to Twilight, while Dash kept feeling pushed aside by Vanille’s explanations.
“As you can see, the way of the easel also grew in popularity under De Chevalier’s students. This hall is dedicated to the most prolific of his descendants, Jolie Image.”
Twilight’s eyes widened as she looked around the room. “Jolie Image? Really? Her paintings are all over Canterlot. I remember seeing them when I was little.” Twilight started into the room, glancing in every direction. Dash moved to keep up with Twilight, and Vanille filed in beside her. She didn’t say anything to her, instead continuing her descriptions.
“Indeed, Jolie Image is known throughout the world. She is not even so ancient compared to De Chevalier, perhaps only five centuries at most.”
Dash looked at the pictures along the wall. Many of them were depictions of untouched valleys. Some of them reminded her of Equestria, some of Great Brayton, and others of places she had never seen before. “Hey, Twi. Look at this one.”
Dash turned her head and saw that Twilight and Vanille had already moved on to the next exhibit. They were still chatting, and Twilight was laughing and smiling. Dash frowned and focused her glare on Vanille. She broke into a quick trot to catch up, catching bits of their conversation as she caught up.
“...Oh yes.” Vanille continued. “She strove to see the world and paint it all, and she almost succeeded. There were many places beyond her reaches at the time, but there was little she did not see in her journeys.”
“Oh, that’s amazing. I would love to see the world like her. She sounds so adventurous.”
Dash grinned. “Just like Daring Do, huh?”
Twilight didn’t answer. Her attention was focused on another painting that Vanille had pointed out. Dash’s frown deepened and she started to grit her teeth.
Twilight stopped suddenly and collapsed to her haunches, staring up at an enormous painting that filled an entire wall. Dash glanced up, her eyes widening as she saw what was on it.
“Is that...”
“...Celestia?” Twilight completed.
On the far wall of the exhibit, in a frame of carved gold, silver and jewels was a giant portrait of Celestia, standing in her throne room. Her smile seemed to glow in the brightly painted piece, and she almost seemed ready to awaken and step out as if she were actually there.
But she was not the only one in the picture. Beside her was another mare. Smaller by comparison, but no less beautiful. She was an alabaster white unicorn, with dazzling blue eyes. Her mane, too, was a sapphire blue, and seemed to radiate in the skillfully painted painting. A flowing white dress trimmed with blue completed her image, almost matching Celestia’s brilliance.
“Who’s that?” Dash asked.
“That,” Vanille said, “is Queen Victoire.”
Dash raised an eyebrow. “She’s been to Canterlot? How come I never heard of it?” She scratched her head. “And how would Joile Image have painted this if she was five hundred years old?”
Vanille giggled. “Because, that is Queen Victoire, the First. The first queen in the current royal line, ruling over Prance during Image’s time.”
“Oh, right... Duh.”
Dash glanced down at Twilight, who was finally picking herself off the floor. Her eyes were still fixed on the painting and her mouth was hanging open just a bit.
“What do you think of it, Miss Twilight?” Vanille asked.
Twilight didn’t answer at first. She approached the painting with cautious steps until she was as close as the glass barrier would allow. “It’s amazing. I’ve never seen Celestia like this before. Image had a real gift to create this.”
“Indeed,” Vanille agreed. “It was a sad day when she passed, even more so than when we lost De Chevalier. Prance is defined by many things, but its artists are one of its greatest treasures. It is unfortunate that they are treasures that we cannot truly keep forever.”
The three mares stood in silence. The occasional quiet echo of other hoofsteps rang out from the other guests as they regarded the giant portrait. Vanille and Twilight started to quietly whisper between themselves in Prancy, and Dash started to grumble to herself.
It isn’t bad enough that they’re ignoring me, now I can’t even understand them. Dash sighed and sat down, casting a glare in Vanille’s direction. And she’s probably flirting with her or something, right in front of me, and if I say anything against it, I'll end up admitting everything.
“What else do you think we should see, Dash?” Twilight asked.
Dash shook her thoughts from her head and shrugged. “I dunno.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Oh, come on. There must be something you want to see.”
Dash rolled her eyes. “I’m not sure, why don’t you ask your new best friend?”
Twilight blinked, and then frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Well, I’ve been feeling kinda ignored since we got here. You keep going ahead without me and leaving me like the third wheel.”
“What are you talking about? We’ve all been enjoying ourselves here. Haven’t we?”
“Well, the paintings are pretty cool, I guess. But I wasn’t all that excited about the galleries in the first place.”
Dash slapped a hoof to her mouth, but it was too late. Twilight’s expression wilted and her eyes drifted to the floor. “Twi… I didn’t mean it like that.”
She glanced to Vanille, who had draped a hoof around Twilight’s shoulder. Dash scowled a moment, when Twilight lifted her head again.
“I guess I wasn’t thinking. I should have realized that you might not enjoy this, Dash.”
Vanille cleared her throat. “Now, now. The galleries of Prance are not for everypony. And I would think that anypony who would accompany you through something she herself might not enjoy is a special friend indeed.”
Dash watched Twilight bring her head up and peer at Vanille. She smiled and nodded, and then Twilight turned to face Dash herself.
Dash swallowed a lump in her throat. “I’m sorry, Twi. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I guess I just wanted to share the experience with you."
Twilight sighed, then she smiled. “It’s ok. I’m glad you wanted to come.” Twilight stepped forward and placed her hoof on Dash’s shoulder.
Dash tensed at the contact and turned her head away, rubbing the back of her neck hastily. “Since it’s just me, I’d hate to leave you alone.”
“Spoken like a true friend,” Vanille said. “Now, if you would like to see a different side of the city, I think I know just the place that might entertain you, Miss Dash.”
Dash hid her disapproval as she regarded Vanille with a terse nod. “Lead the way, I guess.” But I got my eye on you.
*****
After the museum, Vanille led Dash and Twilight away from the brilliant white streets of the cultural district. The roads shifted from white to a pale red as the marble roads turned to brick. The buildings, too seemed to change from immaculate design to plain storefronts.
“So where were you planning on taking us next, Vanille?” Twilight asked.
“I thought you would enjoy seeing the old city as well. There aren’t many museums here, but it is a cultural marvel of its own. This is where Cheval began, with the hard workers of this wonderful city.”
Dash glanced around. “It kinda reminds me of south Manehatten. It might not look like much, there is a lot more life in places like this than you can see.”
“Oui, exactement. Most ponies forget that these hard workers are the lifeblood of our great country. I make a note to visit as often as I can.”
Twilight narrowed her eyes on Vanille. “In those expensive clothes? I know at least one pony who would have a fit if she saw you getting those dirty.”
Vanille waved a hoof. “Bah, clothes like these can be replaced easily.” She gestured out at the ponies surrounding the roads. “But them… They are invaluable to keep the city strong.”
Twilight lifted her head to scan the crowds. They all had smiles on their faces as they moved about, exchanging pleasantries with their coworkers, friends, or family. It took some time, but eventually, Twilight began to smile herself. “I guess there is something special here. More so than the art galleries, I guess.”
“I did not mean to devalue the galleries, Miss Twilight. They too are a vital piece of our culture. Many ponies merely mistake it to be the only part worth noting. How did you like them?”
“I enjoyed them a lot. There is a lot of Prance’s history and culture that I am unfamiliar with, so it was a nice experience.”
Vanille smiled and turned to Dash. “And you? What did you think of our history?”
“Well…” Dash scratched her neck. “The art was… interesting. But I was hoping to learn about these wars I’ve been hearing so much about.”
Vanille laughed. “Wars? There hasn’t been a war in centuries, and Prance was hardly involved, if at all.”
Dash stared at Vanille. “Then why would they name their queen ‘Victoire’ if they weren’t involved in the war?”
“Well, we had some involvement, as history recalls, in the Gryphon Rebellions many years ago. Prance supplied a great deal of relief to Germane, as well as the diplomats necessary to end the conflict before it got worse.”
Dash sat up in her seat, wings flaring. “The Gryphon Rebellions? Germane?” Dash looked at Twilight, who was nodding. “Is that one of the places we’re scheduled to go to?”
Twilight nodded again, and Dash began to grin. “That sounds so awesome!”
Vanille giggled. “You certainly have interesting tastes. I always thought that Equestrians were—oof!
Vanille was cut short when she walked into something, or rather, somepony. The three mares looked up and saw a towering pair of stallions in black caps and dark clothing peering down at them. They were smiling with crooked smiles and twinkles of malice in their eyes. Vanille was the first to gasp and back away slowly, Twilight and Dash eventually following suit.
“Quel bonheur, mon frère,” The larger stallion said to his companion. “Nous avons trouvé trois petites souris, toute seule.”
“Et ils semblent précieuses,” the smaller one said. “Monsieur Ruby sera très heureux.”
The two stallions advanced towards the mares with slow, purposeful steps. Dash ducked in her hover between Vanille and Twilight to the ground. “Uh, who are these guys?”
“I don’t know Dash,” Twilight said. “Vanille, what are they talking about?”
Vanille met Twilight’s gaze, if only for a moment before looking back at the approaching goons. “I believe they mean to procure us for monetary gain.”
“Huh?” Dash said.
“We need to run, now!” She spun on her hooves and bolted down the street, Dash and Twilight close behind. The two stallions growled and chased after them.
Twilight gasped as she glanced behind her. “They want to ponynap us?”
“Why can’t we just fight these goons?” Dash asked.
“Because there will certainly be more of them very close. If we stay, we only delay capture. Please, believe me when I say that running is our best course of action.”
“If you can lead us out of here, Vanille, I can distract them,” Twilight said.
Vanille nodded again “Of course.”
Twilight screeched to a halt and spun on her hooves, facing the two stallions. They stopped, frowning. They soon continued their advance, splitting apart to surround the three mares, their frowns shifting to amused smiles. “Cette petite souris est aggressive. Ca va sûrement doubler la valeur.”
“Messieus,” Twilight said as her horn began to glow. The two stallions halted again. “Avec respect, doublez çela!”
A bright violet glow encircled the larger of the stallions. His eyes widened as he floated off the ground. He kicked his legs out as he rose higher, and uttered a strangled cry before he went sailing into a nearby wall with a crack!
The smaller stallion stared, bug eyed at his accomplice and then back to Twilight. “Sacre—”
He almost finished his statement before he was given the same treatment as his friend, and thrown into an opposite wall.
Twilight smirked, and turned to Dash and Vanille. They stared in stunned silence, mouths hanging open and eyes wide.
“How did you do that, Twi?” Dash said.
“I grew up with Shining Armor. My BBBFF made sure I knew how to defend myself.”
“Incroyable…” Vanille muttered. “I’ve never met a unicorn with such power.”
Twilight chuckled. “That? Power? You can learn something like that from elementary school, easy. Although, even I couldn’t sink that much power into it back then.” Twilight glanced down at the two thugs, who were completely still. “Maybe I went a little overboard.”
Dash darted forward and grabbed Twilight’s hoof. “You can worry about that later. We gotta get out of here.” She spun on Vanille, who was still muttering under her breath. “You said you knew somewhere to hide?”
Vanille shook her head, her eyes regaining their focus. She stared at Dash a second and nodded. “There are a few places that I think we could go. It depends on how many they have looking for me, though.”
“Good enough for me. Start leading the way, and I’ll keep an eye on the skies. Maybe I can find some guards.”
“Good idea, Dash. We’ll find somewhere to hide, you know how to find me.”
Dash nodded and peeled off into the sky in a streak of color.
“She is easily excited, that one,” Vanille said
“Vous n'avez aucune idée.” Twilight replied. Now let’s get going before more of them show up.”
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The scary thing is that I was able to read the french no problem, despite having only taken two years in high school, where the class was treated like a joke.
I can't decide if 'Cheval' counts as a horse pun or not
I have only the slightest of ideas what was being said in French, but hey, still loved the chapter and can't wait for more XD
J'ai remarqué quelques problèmes avec les parties en français, mais rien de trop grave.
In the first french phrase said by twilight, you used vous, witch is a realy formal form of speach usualy used with people your not close to or that are due great respect from you ( teacher, boss, royalty, elder ...).
It might have ben intentional to make it obvious for the clerk but this sentence as some mistake:
Twilight chuckled. “Nous avons perdu notre carte. Nous nous demandions si nous pouvions en acheter une ici?”
“Chercheur! Nous avons un client!” Typo.
“Madame, je peux regarder le magasin si vous voulez.” This one is more of a translation mistake yes regarder means watch but here surveiller would be a better term since regarder means like watch the tv, a painting, or a women.
Ok this one i can understand it's what make french sutch a dificult langage to learn: gender.
“Un client est un client. Vous étiez la première d'entre nous.”
“Nous avons trouvé trois petites souris, toute seule.” Didn't forgot the gender this time it was the plural
“Et ils semblent précieuses,” the smaller one said. “Monsiueur Ruby sera très heureux.” Gender again and a typo since you get it right like 5 line later.
“Monsieurs,” Twilight said as her horn began to glow. The two stallions halted again. “Avec respect, doublez çela!” When i said right, it seems i was wrong: plural of monsieur is messieurs.
and that's all.
Btw great stories and i'm not sure if i was already but from now on you got a stalker
Literally about to go to bed when I saw this updated. Glad I didn't, great chapter!
I almost burst into laughter when they started speaking "Prancais", as it were.
This is because am currently in french class. Mad timing.
It helps when I can understand what they are saying.
You have no idea how much I like this story
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The fun has only begun...
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Merci beaucoup, votre aide est très appréciée.
3298974
Il n'y a pas de quoi.
P.S. J'avais manqué deux phrases et quelques autres petits détaillles
“Desole, madame. Chercheur est deja on mission.” en is the good word here.
“Un client est un client. Vous étiez la première d'entre nous.” gender, again seriously it's everywhere in french.
“Cette petite souris est aggressive. Ça va sûrement doubler la valeur.” Ç is used in front of a,u and o, never before e or i
“Mesieurs,” Twilight said as her horn began to glow. The two stallions halted again. “Avec respect, doublez cela!” typo and look just above
“Vous n'en avez aucune idée.” Twilight replied. Now let’s get going before more of them show up.” I don't honestly know if this one's a mistake, but it sounds better so...
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I am sad that my joke seemed to go out the window
THANK YOU for having Twilight not be useless in a fight. It always bugs me in fics, and even the show itself, how Twilight doesn't just trivialize fights with more mundane opponents due to ludicrous magical power and the infinite possibilities of simple levitation. Seriously, unless your opponent is another caster the only thing you need do to beat them is pick them up with magic. What are they going to do to get out of it? Wiggle? And Twilight is so absurdly powerful that she shouldn't have problems holding up a small handful of aggressors (seriously, she picked up an ENTIRE DAM once).
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I'm sorry! I must have missed it
I can't wait for Twi and Dash to get into Germane and especially for Dash/Twi to drink Germane beer. I'm sure they gonna love and I really hope that it will help to ease their damn tonuges to either start talking romantic stuff or get to the kissing already. It's nice that Dash got a rival in Prance so early on, hopefully that will push her to get abig more direct with Twilight. Then again I hope for somepony in Germane to have some likings to Dash so that Twi is the one who feels left out and "somehow weird" that she's kind of jealous to see somepony else being so close to Dash.^^
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Agreed. It's always nice to see Twi using her overpowered horn for something besides tossing quills around or turning apples into oranges. Even without training in combat magic, she has the raw strength to thoroughly beat down pretty much anything that gets in her way.
3299134 I don't know. I always thought that regardless of race casting a spell on another living thing is more difficult. I mean the time travel spell that sent Twilight back in time seems easier to cast than the 'age spell' that Trixie could do with the Alicorn Amulet.
good chapter finally caught up again on it too bad i never learned french so i could not figure out what was being said but heck me being an anime fan and watching anime in japanese is about the same thing
Sorry for the nitpicking, but that's something that really annoys me. Wrong your
Great chapter, though!
Wowsers, not everything is as nice in Prance as it sounds.
Also, I was able to understand most of the french, so it couldn't have been that bad.
"Now lets
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Great chapter, Vanille better not make moves on Twi. *Goes to read next chapter*
So, you're telling me that Twilight Sparkle, personal student of Celestial and brother of Captain of the Guard, and Rainbow Dash, extreme athlete and solid fighter of the Canterlot invasion was anything to go by, are going to immediately decide to run from two stallions in a crowded street... There is a lot wrong with everything here, even with TS slamming the pair of them later on.
I have only taken half a year of French so far, and I only had to use google translate (cuz I'm lazy) about half the time!
I have to say I enjoyed this chapter, even if the French was Greek to me.
Oh I can't believe I just did that.
Well, the french isn't too bad. I can understand everything you wrote. It's just some gender differenciation that's wrong and a few grammar errors. Otherwise it's good. Nice story by the way :)
Ignore submaniac your french was actually spot on i studied french in college so i know what all of it said there were no misspells so i sir have to give you a
take good care of it
Honestly, I don't really know French (although I am going to study it next year), but it many cases I could pick up on the general idea of what they were saying.
Im not sure but the bit with the goons feels like a 'Taken' reference to me :P
Y’know, just to two of us exploring the city.
She grinned and glanced at Vanille, but her smiled quickly faded.
It might not look like much, [but?] there is a lot more life in places like this than you can see.
Dash sat up in her seat, wings flaring. she wasn't sitting... I guess it's just a figure of speech? =P
bloody French
What about those of us who are learning French, huh? Actually, this is being educational to me, since half of what was being said I had to look up. So, thanks!