Spike woke up feeling rested and relaxed.
No matter how comfortable the beds were in the castle’s guest suites, there was nothing like his own bed in his own room. The smell of the living wood around him, the slight dustiness that reminded him of what Twilight had likely forgotten to do the entire time he was gone, it all relaxed him like nothing else could.
He’d gotten home the previous evening well after sundown. Not wanting to start a panic in the populace of Ponyville, he’d had the pegasus guards pulling Celestia’s chariot set him down well outside town, and had walked home from there. By the time he’d gotten home, the library was dark and empty, the inhabitants having apparently gone to bed.
He’d been more than a little disappointed, but knowing Celestia was recovering physically from her magical strain, he had reasoned that she was getting as much sleep as she could. Rather than wake anypony, he’d just gone to bed himself, after reading through a few comic books that had gotten delivered while he was gone.
Upon waking up, he knew not to expect Twilight yet. She tended to be a late riser. Even if she had gone to bed relatively early for her, he had little doubt she’d still been up for a while, reading. Likewise Pinkie, assuming she’d stayed the night, would be long since gone to Sugarcube Corner since the Cakes tended to need her to watch the shop while they took care of the twins first thing.
But there was a pony staying here that tended to be as predictable as the sun on her flank when it came to waking up. So it was without any surprise that he opened his door to find Princess Celestia having morning tea in the main reading room.
He did blink for a second when he saw what she was reading, though.
Since when is the Princess into Daring Do?
She glanced up over her book as his door opened, looking mildly surprised herself. “Oh, good morning, Spike. When did you come home?”
“Yesterday. A little later than I’d wanted, actually. Got caught up in some stuff, then I got caught up on some stuff. It took a while,” he replied, smiling. Inwardly, however, he was just a little weirded out. She was a bit shorter. Not as short as Luna had said, but she didn’t quite tower over him in quite the same way as he was used to, and only part of that was due to his own growth spurt.
Everything about her was just a little... diminished, a bit like a candle that had been burning for way too long and was about to go out. But even as she was, in the morning sun she glowed ever so slightly, so maybe less like a candle and more like a lantern that needed more fuel. He liked that one better.
“You um... you look kinda tired,” he said sheepishly, cursing himself even as he said it.
“I am. But I’m getting my rest, thank you,” she replied, patting a seat next to her. “Sit. Pinkie will be back with breakfast once she gets her break.”
“Uh. Good,” Spike said, sitting down. “So, uh...”
“You’re confused, I imagine?” Celestia asked.
“Little bit. I mean, Luna filled me in on a bunch, but yeah, it’s a lot to take in. Still not sure about everything she said, but you are a little smaller, so I guess I can check that one off the list of things she might have been making up.”
He briefly told her everything that had been shared with him by Rarity, Fluttershy, and Luna. She blinked when she heard just how much Luna had shared, but she didn’t deny any of it, even volunteering a detail here and there that had been missed.
After he’d finished, he gave her a long, assessing look. “Are you okay?” he asked finally.
“Mentally, physically, or emotionally?” she asked with a little laugh. “Nevermind, I’ll tell you all three. Mentally, I feel more well-adjusted than I have in far too long.”
“Really?!” he demanded skeptically. “I mean, you got that thing in your head...”
“We’re calling her ‘Astra’, and yes.”
“Okay,” he replied, blinking. “That’s two for Luna, I guess.”
“I understand, Spike. Believe me when I say that I was worried too. But in all other ways I am perfectly fine.”
“Kay, how about emotionally?” Spike asked.
“That’s more complicated, but I believe... better, at least. Happier, certainly. I count myself lucky to be invited into Twilight’s life, and doubly so that Pinkie did so as well.”
“But... I mean, are you gonna be okay, if... you know, things don’t work out?” Spike pressed, feeling far more concerned for the Princess than for either Pinkie or Twilight.
“I... I believe I will be, Spike. But... I care about them both far too much to worry about myself in either case. I’m just trying to enjoy their company and be as open-minded as possible. We’ll see what happens.”
He frowned, but nodded. It was a weird situation to be in. But if she was happy... he couldn’t help but be happy for her.
“So... that leaves physically?” he asked with a little smile.
“Much less complicated. I’m recovering a little more every day,” she lifted a bit of her mane, which looked especially odd because of how still it was in her hoof. “I’ve gotten the color back. That took a while, though seeing the pink after so long was interesting. I expect to be back to something approaching my former stature in a matter of weeks, but there is no rush.”
“Huh. And how’re Twi and Pinkie doing?”
“Better as well.” Celestia replied. “Pinkie Pie was very happy that she and Twilight managed to have a ‘normal first date’ the other night. They went out to do some stargazing.”
Spike scratched his head for a second, not sure how to respond. “Uh—”
“I don’t claim to understand her logic either, Spike,” she said with a little laugh. “But I enjoy seeing her happy, and it’s having a positive effect on Twilight as well.”
“Well, that’s good,” he said, sharing her smile. “Honestly, that’s about all I could do for them, too. Be happy, I mean. I was always a little worried it would all fall apart for them. Twi gets so...” he paused, not sure how to describe what he wanted, and settled for twirling a claw around one of his ear fins. “I was afraid she was gonna spaz out and get mad at Pinkie for something silly. And silly is all Pinkie is!”
Celestia’s smile turned a little sad. “You’d be surprised, actually. But the important thing is that they’re trying.”
“So what are you doing?” Spike asked.
“Reading, resting, trying not to worry overly about Luna, more reading...” she thought for a moment. “Oh! I made pasta with Pinkie the other night, that was fun.”
Spike looked at her curiously, saying: “I think Luna’s gonna be fine, Princess.”
“Oh, I know she will be, Spike. I just... I know what awaits her. I know exactly what she’s dealing with now, and most importantly, I know her...” Celestia trailed off, shaking her head. “ It’s not Luna I fear for. It’s not even really the populace. I suppose I just feel a bit—”
“Out of the loop?” Spike offered.
She considered, then nodded. “Close enough, yes.”
“You could go back, you know. I mean, Luna’s worried about you, too.” Even as he said the words, Spike kicked himself. He was supposed to make sure she didn’t do that before she was ready, but he could tell the Princess wasn’t relaxing. Mostly she was just sitting around and trying not to worry. And if she wasn’t recovering here, maybe she would at home.
“I could... I could probably even maintain a simple illusion spell by this point to mask myself in public. But I want Luna to experience a bit of what it’s like to lead, and that means leaving her room to make mistakes without her big sister being around to fix them.” she blew a strand of her mane from out of her eyes. “And that leaves me sitting around eating donuts, growing ever more worried about the strange and dangerous artifacts that Ms. Yearling keeps finding and not reporting. Also doing my best not to interfere in Twilight’s relationship with Pinkie while they get themselves figured out a little. And all the while this little voice in my head keeps insisting I should just sweep them both up and snuggle them until they promise to stop being so silly and just love for a change!”
“Whoa.” Spike said, taken aback.
Celestia closed her book decisively. “That’s enough of that, I think. What about you, Spike?”
“Just getting home and finding out my friends are crazier than usual.” Spike replied offhandedly. “But why aren’t you doing that snuggling thing? That sounds like a good idea!”
The Princess rolled her eyes, something Spike had never witnessed before, and strongly suspected he never would again. “Don’t encourage her. She’s insufferable as is.”
“Encourage who?” Spike asked, then after a moment added: “Oh, the voice in your head thing, right. Um... so she wants you to—”
“She wants me to just sweep them both up, yes. I’d rather not interfere. They are working it out without my help.”
“Well, no, they aren’t.” Spike said with a frown. “From what you and Luna tell me, things kinda fell apart because Twi is a big bundle of issues wrapped up in a purple shell and Pinkie doesn’t know how to say what she means in a way a normal pony understands. They only got better when you did help. Why would you stop now?”
“You’re making it seem far less complicated than it is.” Celestia replied, though even in saying it she seemed conflicted.
“Nah. Love is pretty simple. Two ponies like each other, they get together. It happens a lot. Ponies make it complicated because they worry.” Spike threw his hands up as he jumped down from the chair and ran around in a simulated panic. “ ‘What if they don’t like me back? What if I pick the wrong flowers!’ ” he stopped, grinning up at Celestia as he hopped back into his chair. “I watch ponies do that all the time. Twilight did it for months before she finally talked to Pinkie.”
“I’m afraid that was my fault, Spike.” Celestia replied with a wince.
Spike frowned, shaking his head at her. “Not really. I mean yeah, I get what you’re saying, but she’s always like that about everything. I didn’t really know what was up with her, but I remember her fussing over that card like it was the most important test ever. I get it more, now. It also explains why she just kinda... moped for like, a year or two. Like, she shut down even more than usual.”
“Thank you for your candor,” she said quietly.
He looked at her curiously, then cursed at himself as he realized all trace of her earlier good mood had vanished. “Shoot! Not helping, sorry. I just mean that she just kinda... worries. It’s just her, and if it hadn’t been over you, it probably would have been somepony else—”
“But it wasn’t. If I’d had enough presence of mind to pay attention to her emotional state as I did her education and lack of social adjustment... She’d be happier.”
“Maybe,” Spike allowed. “I mean, yeah, she could be a little bit less screwed up, but it wouldn’t have changed who she is, really.”
“Wouldn’t it have? If I had sat down with her and explained why I couldn’t be that for her, just as Rarity did for you...”
“Not the same thing,” Spike replied. “Rarity accepted my feelings, she just... didn’t feel that way back. Could you have said that about Twilight?”
She was silent for quite a while before answering. “I can’t say. I keep thinking about how I could have helped her. I wouldn’t have wanted to reject her, or even give that impression. But I couldn’t have done anything about her advances, either. Not then, at any rate.”
“Yeah, the age thing.” Spike replied. “Not like it would have changed her mind, but I get it.”
“I could have declared my intention to marry her with a decade long engagement...” Celestia said, laughing bitterly almost as soon as she’d said it. “I’m sure that would have gone over well with the press.”
“Yeah, they’re probably gonna have a bunch to say about you dating them both, too,” Spike shrugged. “So what?”
“ ‘So what?’ “ she repeated in a flat tone that made it sound less like a question and more like a simple statement. “I only wish I could think that way.” she laughed suddenly. “I could have Luna announce it, I suppose. She has this lovely disregard for them. That might actually be fun.”
“You’d probably start a new trend,” Spike replied, grinning mischievously. “I mean, c’mon, do you really think ponies will think you’re so bad for falling in love? What’ve you got to be afraid of?”
“It’s not fear, exactly. I’m just aware of what my industrious little press ponies can do with very little. You have to be cautious as to what you give them, to minimize the damage they can do with it.”
“Just like you’re being cautious with Pinkie and Twilight?” he asked, affecting his best wide-eyed look and adding a big old smug smile on top of it.
She simply stared at him for a long while, seemingly taken aback. Eventually she shook her head, slowly returning his smile. “You do have a point. I’ll think it over, Spike. Perhaps I am being too hooves-off.”
“Like I said, you were doing great. But no point in stopping when you were helping.”
Pinkie chose that moment to burst into the library, all smiles and a teetering stack of donut boxes. Upon seeing Spike, she gasped, leaping at him in a single smooth motion. As she approached and Spike braced himself, he noted distractedly that the stack of boxes hovered in midair for a few seconds before landing on the ground, still stacked despite their apparent instability.
“Spike!” Pinkie shouted just before impact, swooping him up in a tight hug and showering him with kisses. “You’re home! How was Canterlot? Is Moony okay? How about Minnie and Lemons?”
“T-they’re all fine.” Spike gasped out when he could catch a breath. “How’s things here?”
A split second after he had asked, he realized what a horrible mistake he had made. Pinkie took a deep breath, and proceeded to tell him everything he’d just learned over the last couple of days, in one long stream of words.
He cast a despairing look to the Princess, who only smiled, opening her book once more. He sighed, settling in inside the curve of Pinkie’s arms. It was going to be a while before he could get a word in edgewise.
Still, it was nice to be home.
Luna eyed the cup with trepidation. Eriskay had set it down in front of her with confidence, and was now looking at her expectantly.
“This is Tanyang Gongfu, it’s got quite a kick!” Eriskay said, a twinkle in her eyes. When Luna looked at her blankly, she sighed. “Sorry, that joke doesn’t really translate well. It has to do with the little pictograms the Chineighse use to write out their sentences and a style of martial arts practiced there... In any case, please, try it.”
Luna lifted the cup in her magic, taking an experimental sniff. The tea scent was strongest, which struck her as odd, as she could tell that cream and sugar had been added. She took an experimental sip, and found it palatable, at least. After a moment or two, however, she felt the familiar quickening of her heart that she normally only felt from her beloved coffee. She looked at the cup in surprise, taking another sip.
“When you said you normally drank coffee I picked a nice black leaf for you. Celestia tends more towards the blends, she likes the variety of taste.” Eriskay said conversationally. “The region this comes from is experiencing a bit of turmoil, and much of the crop was ruined in a flood when the great green serpent Yinglong awoke from his three thousand year slumber and terrorized the land.”
“Hmmm.” Luna said as she took a longer drink. The black tea did not have the bite that she was used to. She wondered if perhaps the cream took too much of the edge off. She resolved to ask Eriskay to make her another cup without it to see if that made the difference.
She listened with half an ear to what Eriskay was saying until she heard about the large serpent, at which point her full attention was given. “Yinglong, you say? Roughly... three miles in length, scales of green and gold, scar above his right eyebrow?”
“I... I’ve never seen it myself, Princess,” Eriskay replied, taken aback. “I believe he is that long according to legend, however. More recent reports only describe him as ‘impossibly long.’ ”
“And he’s woken, finally?” Luna said, having real interest in the conversation now. “I had wondered whether he had survived. It seems it took him some time to lick his wounds.”
“He’s... terrorising large portions of Neighsia... yes...” Eriskay said breathlessly.
“Well, at least he had the sense not to attempt to leave his own territory, for the moment.” Luna said with a nod. “Still, I shall have to inquire with the Dragon Lord about this matter. If Yinglong has recovered it’s only a matter of time before he attempts to encroach on the Dragon Lands once more.”
“I’m sorry... you know the rampaging sky serpent?” Eriskay asked with wide eyes.
Luna’s mouth quirked up in a wry grin. “I know of him. Or, at least, I knew of a dragon who called himself Yinglong and who attempted to take control of the Dragon Lands some three thousand years ago. I very much doubt any other dragon would have the temerity to take that name.”
“But... you said you were not aware of Chineigh.” Eriskay pressed.
“We knew not from whence he came, only that he had traveled from past the high mountains to the east. We had presumed him mortally wounded and did not follow him into the mountains, as the ice and snows there make flight treacherous, and traveling on hoof is equally troublesome.” Luna shook her head. “So, he lives. My sister will want to know of this as well. He swore a lifelong vow of enmity on us all, and for a dragon, that is a very long time.”
Eriskay said nothing, simply staring at Luna in apparent awe.
“Talking with the Dragon Lord is going to be awkward.” Luna said with a grimace. “He’s never quite forgiven me for those idiots who kept slaying his kinsfolk to gain my favor.” She waved her nearly empty cup around in annoyance, the last bit threatening to slosh over the sides. “Dragons! They forget favors you did them a mere thousand years before but deal them an insult and they will never forget.
“I wouldn’t know, I’ve only met one, that little fellow that called himself Spike. He seemed pleasant“
“Spike is very pleasant. But he’s not anything at all like his brethren. Trust me.”
“Admittedly they are said to be very savage creatures, and Yinglong seems to be no exception. Are you going to slay him?” Eriskay asked as she poured herself a fresh cup of tea.
“If he can be slain, certainly. It’s that or wait around for him to attempt to wreak vengeance, and that would cause collateral damage in my own populace. We’ll have to fly south around the high mountains but he won’t be expecting a flight of dragons and me in his own territory.” Luna said with a slow, sinister grin. “Truly, it has been overlong since Our Blade was tested. I only wish my dear sister could join in on the fun.”
“She can’t join because she is weakened?” Eriskay asked.
Already deep in contemplation of her battle strategy, Luna looked at the other mare in surprise. “No, even weakened as she is she would be a force to be reckoned with. You cannot fight the likes of Yinglong with magic, after all. His scales deflect concussive blasts and fiery breath alike. Blades and claws will work, but only when delivered with enough force. When last we faced him, only Celestia, myself, and the Dragon Lord were able to wound him, the rest of the dragons merely served to distract him while we clashed.”
“That sounds dreadful. Would you like another cup?”
Luna drained the rest of her tea, holding out her cup for Eriskay to pour her another, but she shook her head when offered cream. “No, thank you, sugar will be enough.”
“As you wish.”
Luna took an experimental sip, decided she did like it better with the cream, and poured a dollop of it into the cup herself. “In any case, Celestia needs her rest. She is long overdue for some time off, and I have ordered her to take it until she feels fit once more. I will tend to the matter, rest assured.”
“I admit I had hoped Celestia would send aid in some fashion, but I was thinking more of funds to aid reconstruction...”
“There will be little point to that while the beast roams free. After he is dispatched I am sure We can see to Equestrian aid for Our far-flung ponies of the eastern lands past the high mountains.”
Eriskay was silent once more, merely looking at Luna and occasionally taking a sip of tea. Luna took that as a sign that the immediate discussions of Chineigh and its troubles were over, and picked up the two proposals Eriskay had given her, comparing them side by side.
The one which had been prepared by the merchant empire painted a bleaker picture than the one presumably influenced by the Scoltish government. Where the former told of the hardships facing the farmers in the flooded regions, the latter seemed oddly apologetic and simultaneously hopeful that the crop yields would rebound quickly.
Luna knew nothing of farming, but she knew a family of farmers, and theorized that having one’s fields flooded would not be something so easy to recover from.
This was assuming, of course, that the cause of the floods was ended. And while she didn’t know farming, she knew how to end a threat.
“You know, this is very different than it is with your sister.”
Luna looked up in surprise. “I would expect so, yes. We are very different ponies.”
“Yes!” Eriskay said, “But I don’t mean that in a bad way. Talks with Celestia tended to have meanings within meanings. She always spelled things out at the end just to be official but it wasn’t always easy to know what she was thinking. You’re... much more to the point.”
Luna considered the words for a moment, then nodded. “I will assume your words are complimentary.”
“They are. Don’t get me wrong, your sister is the literal model for a crafty diplomat and spending a week with her makes all the other negotiations and talks I have to do for the rest of the year seem easy by comparison... but you’re refreshingly direct. At times worryingly so.”
Luna cocked her head to one side, giving Eriskay a puzzled look, but she didn’t comment on the ‘worryingly so’ statement. It was not the first time a pony had expressed that, after all. “There are times when one should talk, and times when one should act. I relied upon my sister for the former, and I tended to lead the charge for the latter. I firmly believe this is not a time for discussion.” she looked at Eriskay shrewdly as a thought occured. “Though perhaps We shall need both, on this occasion. The Chineighse... do they speak Equestrian?”
“They do not...” Eriskay replied, “I had to become fluent in theirs. It’s quite a beautiful language—”
“I am certain it is,” Luna interrupted. “But I am more concerned with being able to coordinate Our efforts with existing governing bodies and armed forces. I would, for instance, like to know where there are populated areas, as I have no wish to cause casualties on the ground when the serpent lands. I recognise what I am asking is perhaps beneath you, but I know of none other who could assist.”
“Well... I... I suppose...” Eriskay said, her mouth quirking into a frown. “I admit I had hoped to spend some vacation time here with Midnight after we had closed negotiations—”
Luna’s eyes widened, and she held up a hoof to silence her breakfast companion for the moment. “Wait. You are his wife!”
“Err, yes?” Eriskay replied, nonplussed.
“So you would know where he would like to vacation! Perhaps in the same place you two honeymooned?” Luna said, smiling beatifically.
“Well... we didn’t actually take one, Majesty.” Eriskay said, casting her eyes downward with a blush. “Between his schedule and mine we simply couldn’t do it. We’d barely made time for the Princess to perform the ceremony, then I had to go on to Prance a mere two days afterwards.”
A high-pitched squee was emitting from somewhere. It took Luna a moment or two to find it was from herself, but much longer to care about stopping it. “You. Never. Had. A honeymoon.”
“No.” Eriskay admitted. “I always wanted to, but as I said—”
“You will come with me to your Chineigh.” Luna said firmly. “You will help me plan an assault to end this Yinglong.”
“I... I will.” Eriskay replied, looking askance. “But what does that have to do—”
“Then you will come here, to Equestria, and you will take Midnight with you to wherever you would like, for however long you would like. You will take my fastest fliers and my personal chariot, and you shall both be treated as royalty.” Luna said, staring at Eriskay with the intensity of one thousand suns. “You know where you wish to go?”
“I... I had thought of visiting Las Pegasus...”
“A private suite in their best hotel. Tickets to all of the shows you wish to see, and a generous fund for gambling.” Luna replied with an even bigger smile. “Would you prefer to travel by airship? The crown owns a very gaudy airship with many foolish extravagances on board.”
“I...” Eriskay opened and closed her mouth several times before she came up with anything else to say. “I suppose that would be lovely, yes.”
“Good. Now, I need Midnight. We are going to be gone for a time, and he will want to know for how long.”
“Are we going right now?” Eriskay asked in surprise.
“Soon, madam.” Luna replied. “You will have time for visits and long goodbyes. I will need time to make contact with the Dragon Lord. Please, go to him, be with him. Tell him We will meet for lunch.”
“But... the proposal—”
Luna nodded, signing off on the merchant empire proposal with a flourish. “You may tell your ‘Queen’ that relations with Equestria are as strong as ever, and that while We appreciate her government’s efforts to affect our tea drinkers as little as necessary, my sister and I both understand that desperate times lead to price increases.” she closed folded up the document, magicking a scroll tube from her room, and sealed it up inside with a wax seal. “Now, go, madam.”
Eriskay nodded, dipping into a respectful courtesy after she had placed the proposal back in her bags. “Thank you, Princess.”
“You may thank me after your trip, madam. And please remember that I will need to borrow Midnight from you during lunch.”
Luna watched her go, feeling very very pleased with herself. She then teleported directly to her study to begin penning letters to Celestia and the Dragon Lord. Her sister’s would of course prove the easier of the two, though it would be difficult to once more order Celestia into inaction for her own sake.
The letter to the Dragon Lord she absolutely dreaded, enough so that it was souring her good mood just a little. Even if he was a nice enough fellow once you got past the bellowing threats from across a battlefield stage, there was still the need to ‘break the ground’ with him, or he was unlikely to want to be helpful.
She wondered idly if old Torch still had a sweet tooth, and where she could get a ten story cake on short notice.
Her little pout turned into a grin once more. She knew a baker. She knew a family of bakers. And her sister was dating one of them, at least in theory.
“Um... if you could just—”
An outraged roar made Fluttershy jump. “Harry! You leave that pony alone!” she called after him as he attempted to drag one of the workers towards his den.
Again.
The pony in question was a little busy trying to work the crane lifting Angel’s hutch. Fortunately, Harry wasn’t lifting him bodily from it.
This time.
But the tugging on his tail was getting more than a little distracting. He glanced back in her direction, rolling his eyes. “Lil help, Miss?”
“I’m so sorry,” she muttered as she gently placed her forehooves on the upper and lower parts of Harry’s jaw and separated them from around the pony’s tail. “Harry, they’ll get your cave cleaned out soon, I promise. But we have so much more to do, first.”
“Um... darling? I think your chickens are revolting.”
“I think they’re nice-looking for chickens...” Fluttershy replied, somewhat wounded. “I mean I try to take care of them—”
“No, sweetness, I mean they are staging a revolt. I think they might be upset about the workers trying to fetch the bags from under their coop. Could you be a dear and talk them down?”
“Lady, I told you this was gonna be trouble...” Hard Hat said from inside of a circle of angry chickens being lead by Chanticleer, who was wielding a large stick in his beak and swinging it menacingly in the workponies’ direction.
“Yes, well, disruption of their home was going to be a bit of an issue. The key is convincing them it’s for the best in the long run. And trust me when I say you will be well compensated for your efforts here.” Rarity said while maintaining a shield around the two workponies.
“Just so you know, I’m tacking on the cost of a round or two for these guys.” Hard Hat replied, staring down Chanticleer with a sneer. “C’mon, try it. I could use a new pillow.”
“Chanticleer, you put that down!” Fluttershy said, scrambling over to the latest crisis. She briefly looked at Hard Hat, smiling apologetically. “Mr. Hat, I am so very very sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it, Miss Fluttershy. Just keep 'em out of our manes. We only got a couple more bags to fetch out from under there.”
“Thank you,” she said for what must have been the tenth time that morning.
She herded the chickens away from the workponies and back into their coop, firmly closing and latching the door behind Chanticleer as soon as she nudged him inside. She took a look around, seeing workponies everywhere hauling the heavy bags that she’d painstakingly hidden all around her home and depositing them in one of the two wagons they’d brought along to take all of the money away.
It had been a nice morning, before they’d shown up. It was not entirely bad now, just noisier.
She’d woken up feeling wonderful, which was good, because Rarity had needed help to wake up. That was fine too, as Fluttershy had greatly enjoyed helping to steady Rarity, getting to wash her hair (she’d snuck just one of Rarity’s special shampoos into her own luggage, reasoning that Rarity wouldn’t mind and that she could just add it to the rest of the toiletries coming by train later) while Rarity kept muttering something about earmuffs. After a few cups of coffee and some breakfast, Rarity had managed to look her usual stunning self, and only her closest friends could have recognized just how tired she was.
They’d fetched a few bags of coins from under the floorboards and had gone back to Hard Hat’s office, Rarity triumphantly holding forth the coins with a self-satisfied smile. Hard Hat had apologized to them for not arriving the previous evening, saying he’d only meant to have a few drinks with his workers and had ended having quite a few and then playing some pool with them, but that he’d managed to get the best night’s sleep he’d had in over a week and was going to help his workers with the job at Fluttershy’s home.
It had taken them a few hours to arrive, which had also been nice, as it gave her plenty of time to feed all of her friends and do her best to explain that strange ponies were going to be coming soon to take away all of the shiny hard things that you couldn’t eat or sleep on.
Apparently her friends had taken away a different message than she’d intended. But it was still going to be okay, as eventually all of the money would be retrieved, and then she could begin helping her friends forget all about the mess that had been made of her home.
“Keep an eye on Angel. I don’t like the look in his eyes.” Rarity muttered from her side.
“I thought you two had stopped fighting?” Fluttershy asked, obediently watching Angel, who did seem to have mischief in his eyes.
“We did, more or less, it’s a tenuous peace at best. But that doesn’t mean I trust him, and he wouldn’t respect me if I did..”
Fluttershy giggled quietly. Rarity wasn’t wrong. Fluttershy didn’t know if Angel respected her, but he was at least smart enough to listen when she put her hoof down, which was sort of the same thing. If Angel did mind Rarity, even a little, that put her on a short list of ponies that had managed that feat.
“How many more places do they have to check, exactly?” Rarity asked out of the corner of her mouth as she kept her eyes on Angel.
“Well... it’s going to take them some time to get everything from under Angel’s hutch.” Fluttershy replied.
“You... you put quite a bit under there, didn’t you?” Rarity asked as the pony operating the crane lifted the hutch clear, revealing dozens of bags underneath. That was of course just what hadn’t fit in the hole.
Fluttershy nodded. “It was a deep hole. My mole friends and beaver friends worked on it all day. But I made them stop when the sides started to cave in.”
Rarity blinked, looking at the wagon that was already growing full after the workponies had cleared out the crawlspace under the chicken coop and the big hollow log near the edge of her property. The workponies still had the other one empty, which was good, because the hole under Angel’s hutch would probably fill that one. But Harry’s cave would probably need another empty wagon, and maybe another half of a second one.
He had a big cave.
In the end, it took two trips (Harry’s cave actually took up both of the wagons for the second trip) but before they could go back for the rest, they first had to put the first load of money somewhere. Rarity knew exactly where.
“Hello!” she said as she entered Ponyville branch of the Equestrian National Bank, all smiles and brandishing her document from Luna. “Is the president free? I need a word, please.” There were some concerned looks exchanged by the tellers, but after a moment a middle aged grey-coated earth pony emerged, smoothing his yellow mane while adjusting his tie.
The stallion in question was very nice. His name was Two Bit, and he was the sort of pony that just put you at ease, even if you were very nervous because you had lots of checks you had to cash and weren’t quite sure how to handle that. Fluttershy had talked to him on a number of occasions after he had realized she had been coming in on a regular basis and that the tellers were starting to have trouble with her. He’d asked her to give him some ideas of how much he should expect her, and when, and roughly how many bits she was going to need, and afterwards she’d never had any trouble beyond figuring out where to put it all.
“Miss Rarity, a pleasure as always.” He said as he ushered them both into his office. “Oh, and... Miss Fluttershy as well? You’re a little early, ma’am. I won’t be ready for you for another few days.”
“Oh, no, I’m not—”
“Actually, she’s here to make a deposit.” Rarity interjected. “Well, first to start an account, then to make a deposit.”
He sat down behind the desk, motioning for them to do the same in the chairs facing him. “Well, I must say that’s welcome news! How much were we going to deposit, Miss Fluttershy?”
“Um... a lot?” Fluttershy replied, not quite able to meet his gaze. After all the trouble he’d gone to to make sure the bank had bits for her every time she came in, it felt a bit ungrateful to be returning it all.
“I see...” he said, his eyebrows raising. “Are we depositing bits or checks?”
“A combination of the two.” Rarity said. “You’ll probably need a few cashiers, actually.”
Having said that, she reached into her saddlebags, pulling out some of what had previously been the contents of Fluttershy’s bottom drawer and fanning out several of the checks. “You can add these up to start, there are many more. Once the checks are dealt with they can begin counting out the bits.”
He snatched the checks nimbly with his teeth as they levitated towards him in Rarity’s magic, laying them out and scanning them, mumbling under his breath. The checks always varied a little, but she usually didn’t cash so many at once... Well, in this instance she wasn’t cashing them, so maybe it wouldn’t bother anypony. He jotted a running tally down and nodded to Rarity, who pulled out the rest of the checks and placed them in neat stacks on his desk.
“Um... sir, there are some ponies outside with some wagons full of bags asking about a deposit—” a young-looking teller said as he opened the door a crack to address the bank president.
“Yes, let them bring it all in, and then I need you and the others to start counting. Actually, send somepony out for lunch, we’re going to be here a while, I suspect...” Two Bit said without looking up from the pile of checks.
“Splendid!” Rarity said with a smile. “I trust this will solve some issues with cash availability, sir?”
His eyes flicked up to meet hers as he filled in another line in a ledger. “Hmmm? Well, I suppose it does, yes.”
“Well, then. After we’re all sorted, I’ll need to make a withdrawal of my own, sir. But that can wait.” She turned to Fluttershy, letting out a little squeal of happiness as she reached out to hug her. “It’s happening! It’s finally happening!”
“Um... I’m happy you’re happy, but we still need to get the bits out of Harry’s cave. I promised him—” Fluttershy let out a squeak as Rarity hugged her harder.
“Yes, yes of course.” Rarity said as she released her death grip. “Let me tell Hard Hat to go fetch the rest. And then I need to pay him for my repairs, and after that we need to go back to the market and buy the best pair of earmuffs that money can purchase, and a new bed for my room, and furnishings... and we’ll need to pick out paint for the kitchen and my bedroom...”
Fluttershy just smiled and nodded, letting Rarity plot out the rest of their day. For her part, she wondered about maybe adding a room to her cottage where Rarity could at least work on designs when she was visiting, and how much it would cost to get to Mareis for a trip.
She really did need to thank the juice company. To a pony like her, the money they had given her had been a big burden. But now, it was going to help Rarity, and Rarity didn’t have to feel bad at all since she was going to be using the money Luna had promised her, now that the bank had bits to give out to her.
Maybe she could even send a nice ‘thank you’ note to Photo Finish. She still didn’t want to ever be a model again, but she could do that much. And... maybe she could hire her to take pictures, during the wedding. That would be good. As long as she wasn’t too pushy.
Fluttershy felt a little smile grow on her face. All around her, she could hear the busy tapping of hooves on little machines, and pens writing tallies, and to her side, Rarity was gushing about making new drapes. At home, Harry would be waiting impatiently, and Angel might be plotting something bad, but at that moment, she was content.
It was happening. It was finally happening.