Chapter 22
Nopony from Nowhere
Somewhere, there was a city where the streets sparkled like diamonds and the roofs of each building gleamed with silver and gold. There, the creatures were happy, living their lives as though they were in a dream that was dreamt just for them.
In a city plaza, where a fountain spewed the clearest water ever seen, many artisans prepared their works to put on display for the masses to enjoy.
Among them, a single, solitary earth pony walked to the front of the fountain. Though he was not tall, handsome or wise, he was by and large one of the most impressively talented ponies the city had ever seen. And he was going to show why.
He flipped the coffee can he was carrying off of his back, letting it wobble around on its base until it stopped with a metallic clink.
Reaching into his jacket, the stallion produced three juggling balls Then, he began his performance.
Every toss of a ball was in sync with his dance steps. His dance steps ranged from slow and hypnotic to erratic and acrobatic. No matter what he did, his juggling balls followed his steps with all the finesse and grace of a truly living partner.
For all of his impressive display, not one creature stopped to watch him. Nopony even dropped a coin in his coffee can as they walked by. That was alright. Some days were slower than others.
Finally, he had a taker.
The spectator looked like a black and white sphinx. One that was hugely fat, and wore a red turtleneck sweater beneath a brown jacket.
“Dat’s some kinda show ya got dere,” Pete said, after watching the performer execute a masterful backflip and catch all of his juggling balls.
“Thanks. You wouldn’t want to pay for what you saw, would you?” the performer inquired, before clipping his hoof on the edge of his coffee can, making it flip toward Pete and land upright in front of him.
Pete eyed the coffee can, debating whether or not to pay for the performance. A quick glance inside the tin revealed there was no money for him to simply take. In that case, there would be no harm in letting the performer have a little something for him to take later.
“Hm...And ot’er day: no. But, since I’m feelin’ all charitable-like, I t’ink ol’ Pete can help ya out,” the heavy said, as he reached into his pocket.
“Great. Who’s Pete?” the performer wondered.
“De guy what’s takin’ time outta his busy day to give ya a pittance. Dat’s who,” Pete impatiently answered.
The performer looked around, as though he were looking for somepony.
“I only see you here. Is Pete somewhere else? Or just really, really small?” the performer asked.
“Bah! Ain’t no point wastin’ my time explainin’ stuff to a nobody like you,” Pete said.
“Actually, it’s Nopony,” the performer corrected.
“Don’t go givin’ me dat grammar-tical runaround! I don’t care how ya say it in dis wacko, mixed-up world! I says how I likes!” the heavy said, as he produced a nickel from his pocket, which he dropped into the performer’s tin.
“Dere. Let it never be said dat Peg-Leg Pete ain’t a generous soul,” Pete said.
“Who’s Peg-Leg Pete?” the performer wondered.
“Rrrgh! It’s me! De guy wit’ de peg-leg!” Pete snapped.
“You have a peg-leg?” the performer innocently asked. He glanced down at Pete’s feet. His head passed between the two appendages, once, twice, and finally thrice. “Oh! I see. I just thought you had a funny-shaped foot. Are you related to the other Pete you mentioned?”
Pete grumbled and walked on his way.
The performer looked into his tin, and was delighted by the sight. Never before had anypony placed a piece of silver in his tin. With something that valuable, he could finally buy the gift he needed. But, what to get?
There came a sudden commotion a short way away.
“Why ya gotta put a storm grate in de middle o’ de plaza!?” Pete blustered, as he tried to wrench his peg-leg free from its entrapment.
The performer saw the predicament and quickly offered his help, along with several others who were passing by.
“Watch de leg, willya!? I only got one o’ dose!” Pete shouted, as his peg-leg was slowly freed.
The performer backed up for a running start and jolted forward. With a graceful sprint, he ran straight up Pete’s side and kicked off hard to vault high into the air.
Pete was pushed free and the performer fell on top of him, landing in the crumpled heap of himself, Pete, and all the other creatures who tried to help. It was there that the performer saw exactly what he needed.
There on the ground laid a jewel box that had popped open, revealing a green jewel that shined like a verdant sun.
It was unbelievable. He had only seen a jewel like it before when he was a foal, and knew somepony who would greatly appreciate it as their birthday gift. And, as luck would have it, he had exactly the means to pay for it.
Pete tumbled his way off of the pile of other creatures on top of and beneath himself.
“Alright! Alright! Move aside, all o’ ya! I got me some business what can’t be held up!” Pete said, as he pushed every creature who helped him away. He picked up the closed jewelry box, and clomped away.
The juggler watched Pete go, hoping he would be happy with the payment, and returned to his spot in front of the fountain.
For many miles now, everything was well. And it was a most welcome break after the fiasco in the mines.
As Rarity, Mickey and Twilight followed the magical light, the three of them merrily practiced their magic, letting their imaginations run wild with the unlimited possibilities that the world offered them. Well, at least two of them did.
Mickey jumped to the side of the path and started tap dancing across the surface of a series of rocks. With every step, his feet created a musical rhythm. At the end, he jumped into a ring of stones, and tapped his toes and slammed his soles against the sides of each rock to create more rhythms. He ended by picking up a pair of sticks and drumming the tops of the rocks, before hamboning his own body with the sticks and leaning on one like a cane.
Rarity followed up by grabbing one of the nearby bushes, and took one of its branches as though it were a handsome stallion's hoof. As if by magic, the bush started to move on its own accord and took a gentlemanly bow to Rarity, before the two of them began an elegant ballroom dance. Back and forth they went, leading and following, until Rarity took the lead and spun the bush around. Perhaps too hard, as all of the leaves on the poor plant flew off in all directions, revealing a pair of polka dot boxers on the bush's bare trunk. The branches of the bush covered its underwear, and the entire plant sank into the ground.
Mickey laughed heartily, then started playing the stick he held like a flute, and all the little flowers nearby lined up in a neat row to form a conga line. Shuffling along their roots, they all followed after Mickey like rats after the pied piper.
Twilight watched the performance and tried to think of a way to add to it. Maybe some streamers and confetti? That always worked for Pinkie. But, she had neither at her disposal. Instead, she grabbed a hoofful of the leaves from the bare bush and threw them into the air.
Instead of adding to the show, the leaves all caught on the wind and blew back into Twilight's face.
Rarity watched the performances of her two friends.
"Amateurs," she thought.
Taking the stick from Mickey's hands, she leapt as gracefully as a deer, the top of her mane brushing the flowering low branches of the trees. When she landed on a rock, her mane was decorated with flowers, and a necklace of buds was around her neck. She tapped the stick to the rock and started waving it like a conductor's baton.
Twilight wasn't sure what Rarity was going for, but all of a sudden the entire world around her came alive. The wind carried the leaves that were thrown by Twilight over to Rarity, and swirled about her as they whistled a merry tune. Birds in the trees started to chirp in tune with the wind, while crickets played their music like a string symphony.
The wind passed through a hollow log, emulating the sound of deep brass. A family of squirrels was blown out of the log, which all started to knock the nuts they had stored in the log like a percussion segment.
Finally, with a grand crescendo, Rarity's impromptu symphony was finished, and she took a bow.
"Hot dog! That was somethin' else, Rarity!" Mickey said, as he emphatically applauded.
"Yeah. That was really something," Twilight said, half happy for her friend, and half wishing she had done it.
Rarity giggled as she stepped down from her pedestal, and the birds nearby gently plucked the flowers from her mane and neck.
"These things can only come naturally, when you strive for elegance and perfection in all things," Rarity said, as she rejoined her friends.
"You know, I knew someone who thought like that too. He was a real stickler for makin' sure everything was top notch,'' Mickey said.
Twilight thought maybe that was what she was missing. Maybe it was that she didn't have enough drive and motivation to make her attempt at magic perfect.
"Who was it that wanted that kind of perfection?" Twilight asked.
"My..." Mickey stopped briefly, realizing who it was that had taught him how to use magic in the first place. It was something he didn't want to talk about, but he knew his new friends had a right to know. "It was my teacher. Yen Sid."
"You can't mean the same Yen Sid who wanted Pete and that badger to steal that magic metal?" Twilight said.
"The same," Mickey answered. "When he was teachin' me magic, he taught me that everything you do has to be a product of passion and love. And by doin' that, you can have that passion and love returned to you. But, unless you put everything you have into your dreams an' actions, you won't get anything back. He said that's where real magic came from. An' that's how I know for a fact that Pete's lyin' about Yen Sid bein' the one muckin' up this land. He'd never do anything if he knew folks would hate him for it!"
Twilight then had another thought. What was she passionate about? Was it that her passion for learning magic simply didn't apply to the magic that Mickey used? Was that why she was learning so slow, while Rarity was learning it so fast?
The light they were following drifted ahead of them, and stopped at a bend in the path before them.
Taking the cue to follow it, they somehow knew that it was telling them they were near where they were going. They walked up to the light, and were awed by the sight.
"Wah-ha-ha-haaaa!" Rarity said.
There, mere miles away was the grandest city they had ever seen. It was even grander than Canterlot. The entire city stood out like a jewel in the dark, sparkling in the sun as if to welcome all who were approaching from miles around. Spires stood tall and whitewashed stone could be seen, as flags of many nations and families flapped in the wind. Gold and silver were seen dotting the roofs of buildings, while glossy paints added patterns and murals to the already opulent architecture.
"That's where we're goin'?" Mickey excitedly said.
"Oh, yes! Yes! We must go! We must!" Rarity said, as she took Mickey by his arm and led him toward their destination.
"Wait!" Twilight called.
For her friends' excitement, she was somewhat wary of this new locale. She had read many books, but never read about any place like this in the world. Wherever it was, whatever it was, she was going to find out one way or another.
Pete stomped his way through the city streets, until he reached his destination.
A stage and a catwalk for a fashion show had been set up, but Pete walked to the tent that was set up behind it.
The second Pete walked in, he found the place was crowded with creatures taking off clothes and putting on new ones. Makeup was applied and touched up to others. In one area, a stallion shouted at his hippogriff assistant, before continuing work on the dress he was stitching together.
The heavy pushed his way through the crowd of creatures, caring not a hangnail for who or what he bumped into.
A kelpie who was walking by was pushed off her hooves by Pete, making the poor creature spill the water she was carrying all over herself.
“An’ spit in yer drink too, ya great, fat lummox! Ya got no roit be treatin’ ot’er folk t’is way!” the kelpie said, as she pushed her seaweed-like mane from her eyes, and shook the water from her moss-like fur.
“Ya shoulda stayed outta my way, doll. I got me an important appointment to keep,” Pete guffawed.
“T’e nerve o’ ya! Souris be ‘earin’ aboyt this!” the kelpie said.
“Ain’t dat a co-inky-dink? I’m goin’ to see Souris too. An’ I got somet’in real important for her. Do ya wanna be de one dat slowed down me gettin’ her de finishin’ touch to her show?” Pete provocatively said.
“N-No, sir. ‘Ead on down t’e way, t’en,” the kelpie nervously said, before she hurried away from Pete.
Pete spat on the floor, and he continued walking.
He came to an area at the back of the tent. There, it was cordoned off by a makeshift wall of rods and curtains, and a single door made from a curtain that slid to the side.
Pete slid the door open, and walked inside, closing the door behind himself.
This new ‘room’ was loaded with papers, plans, sketches, easels, pencils, pens, dummies, finished clothes and more scrapped pieces of paper than Pete could count (however low that may have been).
Pete knew she was there. Whenever he was near her, he always felt a lingering sense of unease and fear. And right now, that feeling was prominent as if she was standing right next to him. After a brief scan of the room, in the middle of this mess, Pete found who he was looking for.
Souris had her back turned to the heavy, as she worked on a sketch. On the paper she was drawing on, there were sketches of six models arranged in a circle, with a seventh placed in their center.
“You’re back. Do you have it?” the lady said, as she looked over her sketch.
“Yup. I got yer moy-chandise right here, witch woman!” Pete said, as he produced the jewel box from his jacket, but didn’t dare to walk it over to her. “So, when do we start wit’ our little wakeup call for dis dream town?”
Pete yelped as the jewel box was suddenly enveloped by crackling bolts of starlit magic.
The tiny box floated across the room, into the waiting, clawed hand of the lady in the room.
“Not just yet, Peter. We still need to find one more vessel. But, that’s the easy part,” Souris said, as she stroked the box. “In the meantime, we can go about our work, knowing that we’re only one step away from the Afflatus Blessing.”
With a wave of her hand, the lady magically opened the box.
“It seems I spoke too soon,” Souris muttered.
“Somet’in’ wrong?” Pete wondered when he saw his partner’s dismayed face.
“You tell me,” the lady said, turning the box to face Pete.
“WHA--!!?” Pete shouted.
There, instead of a jewel that gleamed like verdant sun was a single shiny nickel. A pathetic parody of a payment, and a slap in the face to the heavy who had spent so much time finding exactly the right jewel.
“I suppose I should have expected this much from a cat who’s been bested by a mouse for nearly a century,” Souris sneered, as her hand crackled with magic.
“Wait-Wait a second! I got it here somewhere!” Pete said.
Souris didn’t even bother to wait for Pete to find the jewel. Though Pete had served her well up to that point, she knew she would have to take initiative eventually.
With an aggravated sigh, the lady walked to a table, where she opened the drawer and produced a single white candle. With a click of her claws on the wick, the candle was lit.
Her hands crackled with magical stardust, and six jewels rose from a nearby pedestal. Each of the jewels carried a distinct color: gold, violet, orange, white, black and yellow all swirled in a circle around the candle’s flame.
Souris’ mind was focused completely, with the image of the missing green jewel clearly pictured in her mind. Her thoughts sternly beckoned for what was lost to be found.
Find her. Find your lost sister and be united once more. Become whole. And once more orchestrate your divine inspiration. Find her!
Though it was only for a brief moment, a face could be seen on the surface of each jewel. There was a flash of fear. And in an instant, they were gone.
Each jewel clattered to the table, and the candle’s flame snuffed out. The smoke that billowed from the wick began to take a more defined shape, until it was the distinct form of an earth pony who was dancing and juggling many balls in the air.
Though unsettled by Souris’ magic, Pete immediately recognized the image.
“Dat’s him! I ran into dat guy, before I came here!” Pete said.
“And he’s the urchin we’ll have to find to get that jewel back,” Souris said.
“I getcha! I’ll get right on it!” Pete said, before turning to leave. He froze completely when he felt a cold, clawed hand on his shoulder.
“We will look for it. I can’t risk letting you go out there alone and botch things up further,” the lady said. She walked past Pete, her steps almost seeming to make her glide across the ground.
“*Whew*” Pete exhaled. In spite of her calm tone, he knew how irritated and enraged Souris was. And when she was mad, bad things happened.
“Peter, this needs to happen today,” the lady called.
With a sudden surge of haste, Pete stumbled on his first step forward, then followed after.
Their luck couldn't have been better. Twilight, Mickey, and especially Rarity were thrilled to find that the new town was the exact polar opposite of the mine they were previously in.
There, the cobblestone streets and marble sidewalks were clean and unlittered. The pedestrians all seemed to be smiling as they went about their days, entering and exiting buildings, waiting for a bus, or just simply enjoying a cup of coffee on a restaurant patio. Even the traffic that was traversing the streets was flowing with all the ease of a river. No jams, no wrecks, not even a rude gesture from another driver.
As for the civilians themselves, they were more varied than anywhere they had ever seen. Not only did ponies walk those streets, but griffins, minotaurs, donkeys, harpies, sphinxes, camels, llamas, zebras, changelings, dragons, buffalo and at least a dozen others were seen walking about.
They followed their glittering guide through the city streets, and found that it led them to a place that was even more wondrous.
They ended up in a plaza where there were sparkling lights that could be seen even in the daytime. A fountain with glittering water fed a river that ran through the terracotta-tiled ground. What appeared to be clear crystal covered the aqueducts that the water ran through, allowing all to appear as if they were walking on the glittering liquid. Lamp posts were dotted about. And all around, artisans of all crafts and skill levels were present.
Mickey finished watching a chef, who masterfully flipped the kabobs on his hibachi. The chef himself looked like a bipedal mixture of a turtle and a frog. Something Mickey had read about in a book of fairy tales from the east. A ‘kappa’ they were called, if Mickey recalled correctly.
The kabobs the chef was cooking looked as beautiful as they did delicious. Each ingredient was arranged in a pattern of black, yellow, turquoise, red, white, green and blue.
“Gosh, that looks good,” Mickey said.
The chef used a pair of tongs to remove one kabob, and briefly fanned it before he offered it to Mickey.
“無料のサンプルを持ってください,” the chef said.
Though Mickey did not understand a word the chef had said, it was easy for him to guess.
“Thanks, pal,” Mickey said, before taking the kabob.
“ご愛顧いただきありがとうございます,” the chef said, with a small bow of his head.
Mickey walked away, and looked around the area as he ate his kabob. Between the rampant creativity, the varied creatures, and the abundance of happy smiles, Mickey almost felt like he was back home in his own magic kingdom.
The mouse was spinning now to see everything around him. This was exactly what led to him bumping into someone’s knees.
"Oh! Oh my goodness! Are you alright, my friend?" asked the camel Mickey bumped into.
Mickey had stuffed the entire kabob down his throat when he fell over. After an initial choke, he reached down his own throat, and removed the now-empty kabob.
"Nothin' to sweat. But, thanks fer askin'." Mickey strained.
“I’m happy to see you’re not hurt,” the camel said. He then noticed exactly what he was talking to. “Oh my. Never before have I met an oversized rodent with a face like a spooky clown. From what land do you hail, my friend?"
"Mouseton. An' I came a long way to be here. An' darned if I'm not happy I came."
"Then, I must bid you all a warm welcome to Avalon. The happiest place in the world."
"That's fer me, pal."
The camel went on his way, but not before bidding Mickey and his friends a polite, "With peace to you," as he bowed his head, and continued on his way.
Rarity's eyes were locked squarely on the clothes the creatures were wearing. One that particularly caught her eye was the pink fabric of a dress that a particularly tall, slender creature who walked by was wearing. The dress was unlike any she had seen before. Every frill, every lace, every seam was strategically placed in a way that almost gave the dress a personality of its own.
Twilight too was enraptured by the place she was in. The way these creatures behaved so harmoniously, it was almost as if it were natural for them.
"Creatures are so friendly around here. I almost feel like I could take lessons from a place like this," Twilight said. She suddenly felt a pang of despondence. Had she not done everything that she could as the Princess of Friendship?
"And such marvelous merchandise," Rarity said, as she plastered her face on the display case of a jeweler’s stall. Her eyes were set upon the merchandise the llama jeweler was making.
She had never dreamed such beautiful things could be made from something like black onyx, wood and tagua nuts. To her, it was nearly a transcendental experience to see crafts as gorgeous as the ones she made, but from material she would have otherwise deemed inelegant.
Twilight continued to look around herself at all of the creatures who got along as if friendship, or simply treating others with dignity and respect, were second nature to them all. She sighed internally, knowing that her skills and services as the Princess of Friendship were not needed in a place like that. A look to her cutie mark, and she knew the skills it represented were also moot, now that her magic was taken away.
The glittering light that guided them to that place hovered in front of Twilight.
“I know you brought us here for a reason. But, I don’t think I’ll be much use this time,” Twilight said partly to herself.
Her eyes followed the cluster of starlit magic, until it burst into stardust and dissipated into nothingness.
It was then that Twilight’s gaze caught something that greatly stood out among the exquisitely dressed creatures and their beautifully crafted wares.
Around one side of the fountain, there was a single, solitary street performer. An earth pony stallion who was juggling for the crowd that simply walked right past him. All but two foals who weren't even watching his show. From where she stood, Twilight couldn't quite hear what they were discussing, but heard one of them mention they needed only a little more money to buy a birthday present.
It was then that the juggler stopped performing, and looked at the foals before him. After a moment of watching them talk, he tilted over the coffee can to his side and four bits rolled out one after the other. The coins rolled between the foals, and clattered to a stop. With a bright smile, they both picked up the coins without even looking in the direction they had come from, before running off to buy that needed present.
Twilight found herself staring at the performer, who had given up his own money to help the foals without so much as a thought. Slowly, she felt her hooves walking toward him, as though she were drawn to him.
The performer was still juggling for nopony when she arrived. She stopped and since she had a closer look at him, she could take a good look at his face. And from what she could see, he looked perfectly ordinary in almost every way.
He was not tall. He was not handsome. Rarity may have thought he didn't have much sense in style. His coat was white and unbrushed. His black mane was completely uncombed. His sunglasses were worn crooked on his ears. The rest of him was clothed with a black jacket, white t-shirt and black pants, all of which were at least one size too large for him to be wearing.
Still, for just one moment, Twilight thought that he was looking at her. Unknown to herself, she was smiling when he did.
"Oh boy! A busker! I used to do this to pay the bills!" Mickey said, as he and Rarity arrived.
Twilight glimpsed at her friends, feeling as if a private moment had been intruded. And it was all the worse when she saw Rarity smiling at the stallion.
Now, with an audience before him, the performer knew it was time to pull out all the stops.
He began by waving his front hooves back and forth, and shuffled his hips in tandem. Then, he jumped into the air and spun twice as he bounced two juggling balls off the ground that seemed to magically fly from his sleeves.
A third ball appeared in his hooves, which he passed between his front hooves, catching the third ball in one hoof and using his free hoof to keep the other two balls in the air. All the while, his back hooves danced about in a merry jig.
With a spin, he was now standing on his front hooves, and juggling the two balls in the air with his rear hooves. Meanwhile, he alternated standing on each of his front hooves to keep the third ball bouncing just in front of himself.
Twilight, Rarity and Mickey watched the performer's kinetic, energetic act, awed by his impressive dexterity and coordination. Mickey himself had danced, juggled and performed magic, but this performer must have been on a completely different level to do all three at once. If anything, he wanted to stay around and take lessons from this performer.
The performer somersaulted backwards and caught all three balls: one in his rear hooves, one in his front hooves and one in his teeth.
He whipped his head back, and bounced the ball in his teeth down his back. Then, he swept his hooves forward, throwing the other two balls up and catching one with his teeth and the second in his front hooves. The one he threw to his back was caught in his rear hooves, and he performed the process again. Now, the balls were spinning along the length of his body, and he continued to flip about. It almost looked like he was a hamster caught in some acrobatic wheel.
Twilight was completely enamored by the show. The way the performer's mane whipped about when he performed his acrobatic stunts was completely captivating to her. And how his mane set itself in a roguishly messy fashion when he landed made it all the more fascinating for her to watch.
To her side, Twilight realized that Rarity was watching with the same undivided attention as herself, and hoped that she was more enthralled by the show than the stallion.
The performer sideflipped out of his wheel and continued to juggle the wheel of balls from the side. With a one-hoofed cartwheel, he passed through the center of the wheel and juggled from the other side.
Rarity and Twilight both emphatically clopped their hooves, while Mickey clapped and whistled. Twilight herself clopped louder to be heard over the other two.
With a jump, the performer grabbed all of his juggling balls and threw them to the ground, where he spun around in the center of the balls, as they bounced in a circle around him.
Finally, the performer took his coffee can and laid it on the ground in the path of the bouncing balls. From there, he mimicked a motion of magically guiding the balls into the can with his hoof, until they were all inside. Once they were in, he flipped the coffee can into the air, caught it on his hoof and thrusted it toward Twilight.
Twilight was having so much fun watching the show, but the sudden gesture took her aback for a moment. She looked at the can, then past it to the smiling face of the juggler. She realized that he was putting his full attention onto her. And she stared back at the juggler, feeling like she could look at him all day.
"Twilight, darling. Don't leave the good stallion waiting," Rarity gently admonished.
"Uh-huh?" Twilight said, snapping back to reality. She then realized what the stallion was waiting for. "Oh!" She reached into her mane and produced a single coin to drop into the stallion's coffee can. "Here."
She dropped it inside with a surprisingly empty-sounding clink.
"Thank you, little lady," the stallion said, briefly taking Twilight's hoof to twirl her like a ballroom dancer.
Twilight giggled and flushed red. It was the first time her hoof was held by a stallion in years. She was about to ask him where he learned to dance like he did, when Rarity threw her payment into the can.
“Now, Twilight. That’s hardly appropriate for such a dazzling performance,” Rarity said, as she dropped not one, but ten bits into the juggler’s coffee can.
Twilight's jaw dropped a half-inch when she saw what Rarity had done. Now, the stallion's attention was squarely on her. And for the amount paid, he may well have picked her up and danced off into the sunset.
Instead, the juggler simply peered into his can, then looked back up at Rarity.
"Ten bits? Wow. That’s the second best payment I’ve got all day," he said.
"Believe me, the show was worth every coin," Rarity answered.
"You think so? Thanks."
Mickey wanted to say something to the stallion. Instead, Twilight spoke before he could.
"What's your name?" Twilight asked.
"Nopony," the performer answered.
"Darling, don't be so modest. You must be somepony," Rarity eagerly said.
Twilight felt a pang in the back of her mind. She tried to think of something she could say to learn more about the stallion. But, the performer answered Rarity's question first.
"No, I mean that's my name. I'm Nopony,” he said.
“I see. Charmed to meet you. I’m Rarity,” Rarity said, offering her hoof to the performer.
Instead of the expected kiss on the hoof, Rarity was slightly surprised when Nopony tossed a ball with such precision that it landed on her hoof without wobbling. The performer touched his hoof against Rarity’s, and sent the ball rolling up her leg, across her chest, across her other leg when Nopony raised it, and back to the performer’s hoof.
Twilight felt another pang in her mind when she saw Rarity giggling like a filly at the trick, and asking that it be done again. She would have to take the initiative to learn more about the stallion.
"What about your real name? What do others call you?" Twilight said.
"They call me Nopony too. Whenever I hear a foal asking their parents who I am, they always say I'm nopony. Sometimes, a tourist will ask the guys in the shop on my corner who I am, and they say I'm nopony. Just some juggler. One time, some mare stopped to watch me, but her sister led her away. She said she wanted to know who I was, but her sister said I was nopony special. That one hurt a little bit," the performer answered.
“What about your family and friends?” Twilight asked.
“Um...I don't think my dad's called me by name in years. And all my friends--” The performer stopped briefly, as if something had occurred to him. "Huh. It's kind of weird. Now that I think about it: I don't have any friends."
Mickey was flabbergasted that a performer like himself was without any friends. But as surprised as he was, Twilight and Rarity both gasped like they had just found a bomb in their closet.
"No friends!?" Twilight said. "That's impossible! Somepony like you should be up to your ears with friends! You're the most talented stallion I ever met!"
"Not to mention handsome and generous! It was so altruistic what you did for those foals. Anypony would be lucky to have you in their lives," Rarity added.
Mickey rolled his eyes when he caught on to what was happening just then between the performer and the mares.
Twilight caught it too. Somehow, Rarity had noticed what he had done and latched onto him for it. It was starting to make sense, since this stallion certainly was nothing like the primping, preening, pompous prettyboys she typically zeroed in on. In fact, Rarity called him handsome, when he was rather plain. If she was going to attach to him based on his less tangible qualities, Twilight knew she was in for a tough fight.
"I think any mare would count themselves lucky to be your friend," Twilight said. "Horse apples! I shouldn't have said 'friend!'" she thought.
However, anything the mares were implicating went right over the head of the performer.
"Thanks," was all Nopony said. "Does this mean you're my friends now?"
Maybe it was the earnest tone of the performer’s question, but Twilight could barely contain her laughter when she heard the juggler's remark. Slowly, she got a hold of herself and answered him.
"Of--Of course it does," she answered. "It's my job as the Princess of Friendship."
"You're a princess? I'm sorry. Should I be kneeling?" Nopony asked.
Twilight and Rarity both burst into laughter, but Mickey didn't get what was so funny.
"You--You're something else,” Twilight panted, as her laughter died down.
Nopony raised a curious eyebrow and briefly examined himself.
"No, I'm a pony. See? I have hooves and a long face," he said
Rarity almost started laughing again, but wasn't sure whether the performer was joking or not.
Twilight stopped laughing and continued talking, "But, to answer your question: no. You don't need to bow to me, even if I am an alicorn. And please, call me Twilight."
"You're an alicorn too?" Nopony said. He craned his neck up and lowered his sunglasses to examine Twilight's forehead, then craned to the side to examine her sides. "Oh. That explains why you have wings and a horn. I just thought you were sick, or something."
Rarity had to bite her lip to keep from bursting into hysterical laughter.
"Now--of course being an alicorn makes her a princess. Even if she lacks certain qualities," Rarity said, flaunting her styled mane and batting her groomed eyelashes.
Twilight pursed her lips and growled quietly.
"Actually, that's what threw me off. When I saw you all, I thought you might be a princess," Nopony said to Rarity.
Twilight's eyes popped wide, and her jaw dropped almost to her chest.
Rarity's did too, as she loosed an excited, "WAH-HA-HA-HAAA!!!" She grabbed the performer by his hooves, and practically dragged him down the street. "Follow me, darling. If I'm to be your princess, then I'm going to make a prince out of you!"
Twilight watched the two trot off. She had failed with magic. She had failed with friendship. And as a cherry on top, she was now failing with stallions.
"Heh...You know, I don't think he was really your type anyway," Mickey said.
Rarity pulled Nopony around the plaza, taking him to the various stalls and booths that were set up.
“Here. Won’t this just look dazzling on you?” Rarity said, using her teeth to place a hoof-made hat on Nopony’s head.
“Uh--” Nopony said.
“Or how about this one?” Rarity said, replacing the hat on Nopony’s head with another.
“Uh--”
“I know: this one,” Rarity said, placing another hat on Nopony’s head. “What am I thinking? They all suit you.”
“That’s nice of you to say. But, I don’t know if I can afford any of this,” Nopony said.
“Fret not, darling. It’s all on me today,” Rarity answered.
“Actually, I think it’s on me,” Nopony said, glancing up at the hat on his head.
Rarity couldn’t help but giggle at the performer’s earnest reply.
As peaceable as Rarity was feeling in that moment, she became aware of a familiar noise among the chatter and footsteps of the creatures around them. A step of a heavy shoe, followed by a clomp of a wooden peg.
Turning around, Rarity saw the heavyset form of Peg-Leg Pete stomping toward her.