Author’s Note: I do not own MLP
Two Weeks into the Program
The crane held over the planetarium swung back, ready to demolish the empty building and turn the lot into another estate.
Though the filly standing in front of it was making things rather difficult.
“Look, I have a busy schedule today, I’m sorry you loved hanging out with your friends here, but we were paid to tear it down and tear it down we shall,” Pinkie Pie glowered at the construction pony, ears flat. She was lucky her Pinkie Sense had told her to come to Canterlot, otherwise she might’ve been too late.
This was the HAA (Human Appreciation Association), the place where she became part of a group and had friends who didn’t think she was weird, and she would not let them tear it down.
One of them tried to grab her in his magic but she dodged it, to his shock, and produced a key that she used to unlock the chain blocking entrance into the building. Before they could stop her she jumped in and shoved gum into the locks and a bunch of objects in front of the doors before disappearing into the planetarium.
They couldn’t tear it down when someone was inside, right?
With a groan the stallion tried to open the door, but found his magic unable to grasp the gum for some reason.
“Come on! We need to get that filly out, now,” he stomped his hoof, before a soft voice caught his attention.
“Um, E-excuse us, what are you doing?” the pegasus family that appeared looked at the construction with confusion, “Why are you tearing down this building?” the colt was looking at the equipment with awe and he made a mental note to monitor him.
“Because we were hired to, the owner made it quite clear she wanted this place gone,” there was a cleared throat.
“Funny, and here I thought I held the deed to this place,” with a roll of his eyes, he turned, yet again to give the stallion who spoke a piece of his mind.
Then he saw him and gulped.
“F-fancy Pants, y-you own this p-place?” the rising socialite did not look happy.
“Yes I do, and I remember rather clearly gifting it to my niece as a hideout, I do not remember giving permission for its demolition,” he did not stomp his hoof, but his eyes narrowed and Meteor Strike swallowed.
This is not going to look good on his record, especially if his boss finds out he accepted a bribe to tear down this place.
He was going to get fired, wasn’t he?
Once the entire crew left, Fancy rubbed his head, looking rather annoyed, before he spoke to the Shy family.
“I do apologize about our interrupted lunch, I’ve been wanting to speak to the family of at least one of my niece’s friends, and yet,” Mr. Shy shook his head.
“Not your fault, our Fluttershy told us about this planetarium and it being the group’s meet-up, we owe a lot to those three fillies for helping her get out of her shell, bit by bit,” then he frowned, “But why would someone tear down this planetarium, and without your authority?” Fancy scowled.
“I know exactly whose behind this, and I will express my displeasure with her thoroughly,” his sister needed a firm reminder that destroying the property of her own daughter was not going to get her to stop. That Bow Hothoof was giving her the wrong ways of dealing with Lyra and he was going to make sure that stallion was never going to come near their house again, Royal Guard or not.
But first, he gestured for them to follow and walked around to the back where a section of the wall was a bit paler than the others. Pressing his hooves in the correct sequence, he walked in, waiting for them to come in as well and pressing a button that closed the section up again.
There was a gasp before a pink form darted across the room, disappearing into a room and slamming the door shut.
“Was that Pinkie Pie?” Mrs. Shy asked, looking worried, “I do hope those stallions weren’t thinking of wrecking the place when she’s still in,” she walked over to the door and knocked on it, “Pinkie? It’s Mrs. Shy, it’s fine, the demolition ponies are gone,” it was silent for a moment before the door opened and a blue eyes peeked out.
“They’re not going to tear this place down?” she asked anxiously, Fancy shook his head.
“No, I own this place and have no intentions of destroying it,” her eye narrowed.
“Or taking any scrolls out and burning them?” Mr. Shy frowned.
“What do you mean?” Pinkie opened the door further, stepping out and giving them a serious look.
“Windy’s dad came in her with Lyra’s mom, took a whole shelf of her research and burnt it, just like her uncle did in Cloudsdale because its not pegasus related,” she bit her lip, “Your not going to do anything to Lyra’s human research right? Because I’ve seen it and don’t doubt it,” Zephyr almost scoffed but his mom’s quelling look stopped it.
“I see,” Fancy rubbed his head, “Oh Harper what am I going to do with you,” then he lowered the hoof and bent down to look Pinkie in the eye, “Is it alright if I at least take a look at the research? I promise not to destroy it,” she stared at him, a mysterious look in those big blue eyes.
“Pinkie Promise?” a shiver hit his spine but he nodded, bemusedly copying the movements, the other three doing the same when she looked at them.
“Okie dokie lokie,” she lit up and hopped to an unfamiliar room, opening the door and leading them into a room filled with scrolls, “We had to rearrange everything when Fluttershy and I came, the first shelf is party books, the second shelf is animals, third is magic, and fourth is all about humans and other creatures,” one half of the shelves were filled with books on the subjects she pointed out, but the rest looked like bound journals, “Windy did the journals, they’re the research she put together,” something about that caught his attention and he took one of the journals from the magic shelf, opening it to see the contents.
“She did all the journals?” Mrs. Shy gaped at the shelf, “I mean, I know she likes taking notes, she summarized her and Fluttershy’s books in one of their study sessions, but all of these subjects as well?” Pinkie shrugged.
“She likes research, she pointed me to books to help study party planning and even put together a list of all the different parties that ponies throw,” Zephyr went to the corner where there were scrolls piled up and took the one from the top.
“Ble-” Pinkie Pie tackled him to the ground, grabbed the scroll, and shoved it into her hair.
“No!” she pointed at him with a stern stare, “Those shelves,” while Mr. and Mrs. Shy looked shocked at seeing their son tackled to the ground and Zephyr himself was stunned, Fancy was still reading the journal.
“I say, this is remarkably similar to the study guides I’ve seen Lyra use when she’s working on her magical studies, and,” he flipped through the pages, using the table of contents (this filly was rather thorough) to find a spell and after glancing at it, put down the journal and cast the spell on a stuffed toy in the corner, its eyes glowing blue as it stood and started dancing, “My word, even the notes make sense,” he looked giddy, before seeing their expressions and clearing his throat, “Apologies, the Inanimate Animation spell always eluded me because the instructions never made any sense! But just reading the notes and I was able to cast it on the first try,” he picked the book back up and read even further, “If I had these kinds of primers in scho-” he trailed off, a lightbulb flashing that almost blinded them.
“Oopsie,” Pinkie hopped on top and turned it off, “Forgot to fix it,” Fancy gave the bulb a weary look before shaking his head and clearing his throat.
“I-i don’t suppose your friend would mind if I published these books,” she climbed to his head and stared straight into his eyes, he smiled, “Then you won’t have to worry about them being destroyed and those who are having difficulty with their magic can learn from these notes.” she pursed her lips, “How about this, I pay for them to be published, and I will put all royalties in a safe for your group to use at your leisure,” she hopped off his head and to the floor, sitting down and staring at him with her hooves pressed firmly against the ground.
“Her family cannot know she’s the one who wrote them,” he let out a breath.
“Well a pen name will work then, I know you are unsure, but the magic guides they have now are too dry for students. How about you think on it for a bit while I’m still in Canterlot,” he had to go to a diplomatic meeting after the month was over, and he wasn’t really looking forward to it. Then, remembering himself, he turned to the Shy family, “How about attending the Canterlot Garden party tomorrow as my guests? I do feel bad about our lunch meeting being cancelled and wish you to experience some of what Canterlot has to offer,” they looked taken aback.
“Garden party?” Mrs. Shy’s eyes lit up while her husband looked a bit unsure, but seeing his wife’s enthusiasm he agreed.
Pinkie Pie rejected the invitation in favor of having something else to do, while Zephyr did not have much of a choice, though he did look interested in seeing the castle.
He took them to his house, not wanting them to put up bits for a hotel, and when he was sure they were comfortable, made his way to Harper’s house.
They were due for a very long talk.
Pinkie Pie reinforced all the doors and windows before heading into the basement where she would spend the night, thinking about Fancy’s offer.
It sounded fun but should she wait to ask for Windy’s permission to publish her notes? She didn’t want the nine year old getting mad at her, but if they published all the books and they became popular, North wouldn’t have to worry about her dad or uncle destroying them.
At that thought she got up, staring at the wall as she shivered, today had been a very close call, and she was scared that next time it wouldn’t be a bribed demolition but an ‘accident’ that would end up destroying everything.
Which would sadden North and Lyra, and Fluttershy would be upset of course, but the place had been the former two’s home away from home and seeing it destroyed with all their work down the drain; they might not recover.
Besides, Fancy Pants could have decided to publish the books without her consent and not let her friend have any of the royalties; but instead he’s letting her think about it and give the decision.
Oh, she wished part of the plan didn’t involve cutting off contact with one another, she wouldn’t be able to join them for another few months. Plus, if she waited those few months and the planetarium did get destroyed, Windy had a good memory, but with all the research she’s planning on doing, Pinkie had a feeling she wouldn’t remember what she did before. So, maybe it is a good idea to publish the journals?
Oh, why did this have to be hard?
Zephyr Breeze watched his shrinking parents in boredom and a bit of embarrassment. His mom thought the ‘garden’ part was literal and bought a straw hat and gardening implements. Not wishing to see his parents embarrass themselves (Fancy Pants had been dragged away by some other nobles) he went looking for the snacks table. Filling a plate, he then left the party to find a quiet spot to eat his food. He sighed and took out a book his sister had given him in the hopes of piquing his interest in the subject and while he could see why she thought so, did he really want to put all that effort in this kind of study area? The past year had been blow after blow as first his parents were treating him with a firmer hoof than before and they forced him to look at his behavior.
How was he supposed to know cutting a filly’s hair and keeping it was creepy? The other colts dared him to and even after he did it they didn’t want to hang out with him. Fluttershy also got after him more and told him in no uncertain terms that he wasn’t allowed to tell anyone about North Wind or ‘spy’ on her if they request it. Whether that was because she overheard Rainbow Dash talking to him about it he wasn’t sure, though the filly gave up asking him halfway through when he asked what was in it for him.
“Ooh, is that a copy of Wing Chi?” the voice startled him from his thoughts and he turned, only to gulp at the sight of Princess Celestia standing there,
“U-uh it is, my sister gave me it, but I don’t understand it very well,” he wanted to hit himself at the admission, maybe he should leave before he embarrassed himself any further? But instead of insulting him, she gave him an encouraging smile.
“Well, it is something relaxing, if I had the time I would be doing it as well, to at least release the stress and all,” wait, what did that mean?
“Stress?”
“Yes, Wing Chi has you doing motions that involve graceful movements where you use your entire body, including your wings. There are Earth Pony and Unicorn versions as well, but I’m still waiting for the Alicorn version,” she winked at him and his cheeks turned red, to his mortification and he hastily looked down, causing her to giggle.
“But graceful isn’t something I’m good at, I’m more of a go with the flow kind of guy, and I don’t think I will be able to focus into all of those movements. Compared to my sister, I’m not very good with putting my effort into anything. This isn’t the only book she gave me either, but they all have the same kind of thing about helping ponies relax and that kind of thing,” what he did not know was that North had likened him to having the attitudes of those zen like guys if he could put in the effort and with the amount of care he puts into his mane, she figured he might as well learn about it properly.
“Well I don’t see anything wrong with that, we could use more ponies that can do that, and going with the flow? Sometimes that can lead to the most interesting situations and adventures, so long as you know when you should not go with the flow,” she looked and a small grimace appeared as some nobles came their way before she smiled, wiping the frown away, “Well, looks like I have to get back to work. It was nice speaking with you,” she left and he returned to his book, intent on finishing it now that the princess herself spoke of how useful it was when a sneering voice cut into his reading time.
“Think you’re a big shot now that Aunty Celestia spoke to you?” he turned to see an older colt who was giving him a mean look.
“U-uh,” who was this colt?
“Why are you even here? It is obvious you have no nobility about you, maybe I should call a guard and tell them you are trying to steal something,” he stiffened and felt burning anger well up as he stood up, fur standing on end as he opened his mouth to lash into the obnoxious unicorn when Fancy Pants appeared.
“There you are Zephyr, your parents got worried, would look rather bad if I lost my invited guests in the castle,” he turned to the unicorn colt who looked as if he had bit into something sour, “Prince Blueblood, I do hope you are treating the guests properly, I would hate to tell your aunt that you’ve been spouting unicorn superiority again and trying to make trouble for your own amusement,” Blueblood paled, gave Zephyr a glare as if it was his fault and pranced off. Fancy Pants gave a sigh as he led the green Pegasus colt back to the garden party.
“I do apologize for his behavior, colts like him feel like they hold the world around their hooves and expect everything to be given to them on a silver platter. I feel bad for Princess Celestia who must cater to his family, they are descended from Princess Platinum you know, the whole ‘aunty’ business only relates to the fact he’s descended from royalty and she is royalty. Now, I asked the kitchens to prepare some special treats that I know a growing colt like you will enjoy,” as they were led off, Zephyr thought over the words, colts who feel entitled to stuff right? He compared his behavior with Bluebloods and while he wouldn’t deliberately make trouble for someone, he had a feeling the ponies see his actions as such. Cheeks burning, he lowered his head, staring at the floor, no wonder everyone thought him an idiot, he wouldn’t want to be friends with Blueblood either, but then again, no one wanted to be his friend in school.
He was silent the rest of the Garden Party which his parents noticed and after begging off invitations (ponies wanting to get in with ponies who were acquainted with Fancy Pants, they weren’t comfortable with ponies like that.) led him to a donut shop to talk with him.
“Am I a bad colt?” he asked when they had sat down and the two shared a startled glance,
“What makes you say that?” his father asked and he sighed,
“I ran into Prince Blueblood and his behavior rubbed me the wrong way, and Fancy Pants said something about him being one of those colts that feels everything has to be handed to them on a silver platter. Then I remembered that I pretty much acted the same, and you probably wish I was more like Fluttershy instead of a demanding son,” tears trickled down his cheeks and his mom took him into her hooves.
“You are still a colt, at this young age you are expected to act like that, you should have seen your own father when he was younger, or even his brother,” Mr. Shy rolled his eyes which were surprising, “Your uncle for years couldn’t find something he truly enjoyed doing, and he expected your grandparents to put up with him every time he failed, it got to the point he stopped trying altogether. But then your grandfather broke his wings on a route and your uncle after much prodding, delivered letters and packages, and he realized that he did enjoy doing that kind of thing, especially the traveling part. He never realized his Cutie Mark’s usefulness till that moment. So yes, I admit that your father and I would not mind looking after you for a long while in the future, we know that there are times when parents must be strict with their children. Luckily that won’t happen for a long while yet, so you do not have to worry about that kind of thing, unless it is improving your grades in school. Oh! Did you want to attend flight camp? I forgot in all the excitement these past few days, registration is at the end of the month, we still have time too,”
“No,” they looked at him surprised and he blushed, raising a hoof, “I don’t mean that in a bratty way, but I’ve heard from Fluttershy that Flight Camp isn’t all that great. Actually, I was wondering if you can send me to a different camp, it involves the use of wings, just a different kind,” he had seen the flyer at the end of the book and while he wasn’t sure if the practice was something he would enjoy, it would not hurt to at least try.
His parents took the pamphlet and looked at it, their eyebrows raising at the kind of camp it was then back at a nervous Zephyr Breeze who was sipping at his Boba Tea, focusing all of his attention on it.
“I don’t see why not, it sounds like a delightful place, and they even hold gardening courses, I have never heard of this style before,” his mother looked interested, his father had a smile on his face.
“Well, I guess we better get you signed up, if that is what you want,” he hastened to add, Zephyr’s face broke into a grin.
“Yes!” maybe, he could get his Cutie Mark as well, he wondered what Fluttershy was doing and winced, he better write her an apology letter for being such a bratty brother, and maybe apologize to North Wind, if he even knew where she was (her running away was a big thing, and even he knew the whole Rock Camp thing was a farce to avoid being found out.)
Meanwhile Fancy Pants approached a publisher, a saddlebag filled with different scrolls and journals.
“Can I help you?” the bored secretary asked, not even phased at his presence, having dealt with many a noble who wished to spread their ‘brilliance’ in the world of literature.
“Yes, I would like to start an entirely new magazine, with different articles on magic and other subjects,” Written Records gave him an incredulous look, books were one thing, but a magazine?
“What is the name of the magazine?” there is no way it’ll become popular, but he was willing to humor them.
“North Star,” Fancy Pants answered, a secretive smile on his face.
“Alright, fill out these forms please,” he accepted the papers and started filling them out. He wanted to turn them into a book series, but after a talk with Pinkie, decided a magazine would work better.
“Ah, is it alright if we do separate accounts?” He wanted to do one for the fillies and a separate one to help pay off the amount it took to publish them.
“Depends on how popular it gets,” he said, but his tone said he did not believe that it would.