The carriage landed safely on the gravel road leading up to the towering gates. The six ponies and Spike stared out the windows of the carriage and watched in awe as they passed through the opened gates and approached the magnificent castle of marble with teal shingles and trimmed with gold filigree. Twilight suddenly remembered something, and as the others continued to watch the scenery, she turned around and used her magic to remove her tiara from her saddlebag, taking care to position it properly and securely on top of her head.
An elegant three-tiered fountain stood in front of the doors, and as the carriage passed around it, they saw smartly dressed servants standing on either side of the stairs leading up to the front doors. The two servants at the bottom of the stairs trotted to the carriage, opening the doors before the carriage had completed its stop. Thankful to finally be back on solid ground, the ponies and dragon filed out of the carriage and stared around them, speaking to each other excitedly in hushed voices. A tall unicorn wearing a dark-blue suit descended the stairs towards the ponies. He bowed deeply to Twilight.
“Welcome to the Kingdom of Windermare, Princess Twilight Sparkle,” he said in a very deep voice. “I am Vasa’le, head butler to His Gracious Majesty King Azimuth. Please allow me to escort you inside. The footcolts shall take your luggage up to your apartments.”
The ponies and Spike followed the head butler up the stairs, Rarity falling behind as she continued to glance nervously over her shoulder at the footcolts who were unloading her heavy luggage from the back of the carriage. The heavy doors decorated with golden coral designs swung open, revealing a massive entry room with towering pillars and an elegant double staircase which led to the second floor lined with white doors trimmed with more gold and teal. A massive portrait of a rather stern-looking grey unicorn wearing a regal uniform and crown hung on the wall on the right.
The ponies and spike filled the room, and the footcolts walked past them and up the double staircase, carrying their luggage up without difficulty, or at least without any noticeable difficulty.
As the doors closed behind them, the large doors in the center of the double staircase opened, and a beautifully dressed pegaus adorned with gems and pearls walked towards them, flanked by two hoofmaidens dressed in simpler dresses. Twilight and the others could immediately tell that this was the queen, and they all bowed as she approached.
“Welcome to Windermare, Princess Twilight Sparkle,” the queen greeted in a warm tone and a slight foreign accent, bowing her head to Twilight. She looked to the others and continued, “And welcome, honorable guests. I am Queen Cremella, wife to King Azimuth. It is with regret that I must inform you that King Azimuth is attending an important council meeting at the moment, but he looks forward to meeting you tonight at the banquet. Please make yourselves comfortable, the servants shall escort you to your rooms and will attend to your needs.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Twilight replied. “My friends and I are honored by Your Majesties’ invitation, and we appreciate the carriage ride to your beautiful castle.”
“You are most welcome, Princess.” She glanced around her with a slight smile. “I wish that the other guests had already arrived, you might find it a little quiet around here before they come.”
“Other… guests?”
“Oh yes! When we received the news that you and your companions had accepted our invitation, we decided to make it a bigger gathering. I hope that we will be able to keep you all entertained during your stay here. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask them.”
“Where’s the beach?!” Everyone started and looked back at Pinkie Pie, who had somehow dressed herself in a snorkel, a flotation ring around her waist, and flippers on her hooves. Horrified, Twilight could only manage to smile sheepishly at the queen and she began to apologize, but Queen Cremella seemed rather amused at the sight.
“The private beach can be accessed by the pathway through the gardens,” she told the excitable Pinkie Pie. “Vasa’le shall escort you all down late if you wish, although I believe the weather is rather inclement at the moment, and it is likely to rain this evening.”
“We look forward to seeing you and King Azimuth tonight also,” Twilight replied, “and to the return of Prince Admiralty.”
Queen Cremella smiled sweetly at Twilight. “I look forward to you meeting him as well, Princess Twilight Sparkle.” Something in the way she said that while smiling at Twilight was rather suspicious, but Twilight mistook it as her own nervousness. “I must leave you now,” the queen concluded, “and attend to the preparations for the banquet tonight. I bid you a good day, and I shall see you all this evening.” Everyone bowed to the queen as she and her hoofmaidens turned and walked back through the doors between the staircase. Once the doors had shut behind her, Vasa’le escorted the ponies up the staircase and directed them to their rooms.
Queen Cremella had given Vasa’le strict instructions to provide Twilight the best apartment as she was the guest of honor, and once the others were taken to their rooms, Twilight and Spike were shown into a magnificent apartment facing out to the sea. Their luggage had been placed at the foot of the canopied bed which faced the bay windows covered by teal curtains trimmed with gold brocade. Her apartment was also furnished with a writing desk, a bookshelf on the far side of the bedroom, a vanity with a wash basin and pitcher, and a door leading to her private bathroom.
While Spike immediately made himself comfortable on the bed, Twilight trotted straight to the writing desk and began composing her letter to Princess Celestia.
“Dear Princess Celestia,” Twilight began, speaking the words aloud as she wrote them, “I am writing to you from my apartment at the Kingdom of Windermare. We have just arrived and have already met Queen Cremella. We will meet with King Azimuth tonight at the-”
Her writing flow was interrupted by a knock on the door. She walked over and opened the door to find the other ponies standing outside.
“Wow, Twilight!” Applejack exclaimed as the other ponies entered the room. “You sure got a fancy one! I mean mine is a little too fancy for me, but this room sure is nice!”
Rainbow Dash dived into the pillows on the bed, startling Spike from his nap.
“What’s going on?” Twilight asked, looking around at her friends.
“We’re planning on goin’ down to that private beach the queen was talkin’ about,” Applejack explained.
“I agreed to come along, but not for too long, as we simply must be back in time to prepare for the banquet tonight,” Rarity added as she admired herself in the vanity mirror.
“It’s gonna be soooo fun!!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed happily as she rolled around the room in her floatation ring. Twilight looked back at the desk with her unfinished letter to Princess Celestia.
“Well… I guess it won’t hurt to check it out for a little bit,” Twilight replied with a smile; she would just have to send the letter before the banquet. After finding a footcolt who would be able to guide them to the private beach, the ponies and Spike gathered a few things to take with them and followed their guide downstairs and through the doors under the double staircase. A long hallway lined with portraits and candelabras on one side and on the other were full windows with curtains drawn to let the afternoon light fill the room. They walked through a series of doors leading out to the castle gardens, and down the gravel pathway they passed through a door lined with ivy.
The door lead out to the grass-covered cliffside. At first the path seemed to lead straight to the end of the cliff, but with the guidance of the footcolt they found a path carved into the side of the cliff leading down to the beach. When they reached the bottom Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash made a beeline straight to the water while the others unpacked their blankets and laid down and admired the view. Fluttershy gathered up all the courage she could muster and asked the footcolt if there were any tidepools on the private beach.
“Just around the corner, mi’lady,” he gestured around the cliffside. “It might be filling up with water, mi’lady, with it getting later in the day and the tide coming back in.”
“Oh I see, thank you,” she replied to him. She told Rarity and Twilight Sparkle who were sitting on the blankets her intentions to see the tidepools. She left the group and made her way up the beach. Sure enough, as Fluttershy turned the corner she saw the dark rocks of the tidepools. Excited to find some interesting sea creatures, she trotted over to each pool. A few of them had small crabs or a couple of starfish. She felt she would have better luck when she moved to the tidepool on the farthest outreach of the tidepools, which was higher than the other rocks and just at the water’s edge.
She was admiring some brightly colored fish when she heard a loud whistling sound overhead, and a shadow passed over her in the sky. She looked up and saw a white sea bird with massive wings circling overhead.
“An albatross!” Fluttershy said with excitement. She waved to him and called out, “Hello there!” Suddenly the albatross dived, heading straight for her. He stopped just short of colliding with her, flapping his giant wings around her head while whistling and squawking loudly. This unusual and unexpected behavior caught Fluttershy completely off guard, and she backed away suddenly. Her back hooves slipped on algae-covered rocks, and with a cry of surprise she tumbled backwards into the water below.
The churning waters and frothy waved disoriented her, and she clamored to find her way back up. Fluttershy sputtered and coughed as she climbed back onto the rocks. The albatross hopped onto her back and nudged the back of her head as she tried to move her sopping wet mane out of her face.
“Albert!” a voice called out sharply. There was a sudden flapping of wings, and through her tangled mane Fluttershy saw the albatross land on the rocks beside her, looking at somepony she could not see. She heard them walking towards her, and she saw a large, feathered hoof reaching out to her.
“I’m so dreadfully sorry about that,” the stranger apologized profusely as he helped Fluttershy back up to her feet; he continued to express his concern for her and to hold onto her as he guided her towards safety on drier land. “Albert gets so awfully excited when he sees new ponies, I’m afraid he gets carried away.”
“Oh no, that’s alright,” Fluttershy replied. She pushed her forelock out of her face and saw a tall and handsome alicorn standing before her. He had a scruff of a beard and a flowing mane and tail the color of the sea, and eyes to match. He wore a crisp white vest with gold trim on top of a shirt with billowy sleeves, his grey hooves showing beneath the heavy feathering on his legs. Despite the cold wind on her face dripping with salt water, Fluttershy felt her face growing warm, and her legs weakened.
“Are you hurt at all?” the alicorn asked her, his expression full of attentiveness and concern for her.
“N-no, I’m- I’m alright, thank you,” Fluttershy stammered, suddenly unable to bring herself to look at his face.
“Fluttershy!” The two of them looked up and saw Twilight leading the others in a gallop towards them. They gathered around them, bewildered by the sight of Fluttershy in a disheveled state and the presence of a stranger and his pet bird. Once they finished asking Fluttershy what happened and if she was hurt, and she had responded that she was simply startled by the albatross and fell in the water, they all turned their attention to the handsome stranger. Twilight noticed that the footcolt was bowing to the stranger, and had an immediate suspicion on his identity.
“Are you Prince Admiralty?” she asked him.
He gave her a sheepish smile. “Indeed I am, although I wish we could have met on less alarming terms. You must be Princess Twilight Sparkle.”
“Yes, and these are my friends- Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Spike, and I guess you’ve met Fluttershy.”
“I suppose so,” he replied, then turned to address Fluttershy, “though I hope that you might permit me a second chance to a proper introduction later this evening.”
“Oh yes, of course!” Fluttershy replied. This seemed to relieve the prince, and he turned his attention back to Twilight.
“My ship is just arriving at port. I was so anxious to be back on land that Albert and I flew ahead of them. I am expected to return there, but I would not think to leave you unescorted back to the castle.”
“Oh that’s ok,” Twilight replied brightly as she gestured to the footcolt. “We got that covered.”
“Very well then, I shall look forward to seeing you all again this evening at the banquet!” The prince bowed deeply to the ponies, and as he turned away he cast a quick glance at Fluttershy. The prince stretched out his enormous wings and leapt into the air, his albatross companion flapping after him. The ponies watched until he disappeared around the cliffside, and they all began to talk excitedly amongst themselves.
“Well can you imagine that!” Applejack exclaimed. “He sure seemed like a nice fella!”
“Not only that,” Rarity sighed, “but did you see how handsome he is! I most certainly need to find my best dress for the banquet tonight!”
“And he was making googly eyes at you, Fluttershy!” Pinkie Pie hugged a befuddled Fluttershy.
“No he wasn’t!” she insisted. “At least, I don’t think he was. But if he was, it must be because he things I’m clumsy or, or, or uncouth-”
“Nahhh, he was totally into you,” Rainbow Dash teased as she gave Fluttershy a wide grin. Fluttershy blushed and looked down at her hooves.
“We should head back now,” Twilight announced. “If the Prince is already back, then we should head back and clean up before the banquet. Besides, the sky looks like it wants to rain any minute.”
Taking Twilight’s cue, the ponies and Spike gathered their belongings and followed the footcolt back up the path to the castle. When they returned to their rooms, Fluttershy made sure to take a quick bath to get the salt water out of her mane and tail. She wrapped them in towels in hopes that they would dry faster. She was uncertain of what exactly would be proper for her to wear to a banquet, so she picked out the dress she last wore to the Grand Galloping Gala. Worried about her mane not drying in time, she went to Rarity’s room and asked to borrow her hairdryer.
Rarity, who was already dressed and ready for the banquet, dried and brushed and styled Fluttershy’s mane, made some slight readjustments to her dress, and added a couple of pearls to her breastcollar. “We are in a seaside castle,” Rarity explained, “and pearls are back in fashion!”
Once all the ponies and Spike were ready, Twilight led them down the hallway and double staircases. The sounds of music and voices and laughter echoed from down the hall. Twilight stopped just before the grand doors between the double staircase, and she looked back at her friends with a determined smile.
“Here we go!” she said to them.
She held her head high as the servants opened the door, and they entered the hall together.