The sun had barely come up, and a cool breeze was blowing between the trees at Sweet Apple Acres. Out in the south field sat a pony, a tall dark stallion, and he was sitting at a desk, in a field.
It was a new day and Cloud Storm was working through a list of repairs needed on the long-house.
Sort sleeping arrangements in the Apple Family barn: Check.
Arrange work details: Check.
Find materials for the restoration: Mostly check
Clear out the animals living in the property: ….... Unfinished.
Obtain disguises for guard patrols: In progress
Ensure favourable weather for restoration: Undone
Cloud sighed, looking up from the piles of parchment and over to the barn where his guards ponies were currently bunking down. Thankfully, guards ponies spent a fair bit of time training in the wilds and camping was part of that. The fact that Cloud had managed to wrangle out of wilderness training one way or another for the last four years didn’t mean he’d forgotten how to set out a bed roll.
Bedrolls or not though, here he sat in a high backed chair, at his personally made one of a kind rosewood inscribed by Princess Luna herself desk and basking in Celestia’s sun amongst sweet smelling apple trees. It could be worse he reflected.
“Hey there mister.”
Three little fillies, yellow, orange and white.
“Why hello there little ones,” Cloud rumbled, giving them all a wide smile, “How are you all this morning?”
The three little ones gave each other a look, before smiling back.
“You’re the guy my sister lent the barn to right?” The yellow filly with red bow piped up.
“Ahh, so you must be Apple Bloom then? It’s good to meet you at last. Please thank your sister for letting us use the barn.” He finished by smiling warmly down at the three little fillies and then going back to his piles of paperwork. Quill back in his lips the commander incognito signed off on one of the invoices for fresh wood.
“So whadda ya doing?”
“Gah!”
Somehow, all three fillies were on his desk and looking through his papers.
“Whoh there lill’ fillies!” He pleaded, “Get down from there!”
“It’s ok Mr!” the white one, the unicorn perked up, “We’ll help you organise your things!”
“Organise, that’s right!” The orange pegasus added, “You’ve got such a mess going on here that we’ll be able to make it all easy to work with and stuff!”
Cloud Storm was panicking now, this was getting out of hoof, fast.
“Girls!” He pleaded, “I don’t need organising, everything’s just fi-”
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADER DESK ORGANISERS! YAY!”
“-ne....Oh Luna save us.”
Despite the commander’s protestations, the three determined fillies were well on their way to ‘organising’ his papers.
The orange one was using her wings to blow his in stack onto the dirt, presumably for sorting later, while the yellow earth filly, Apple Bloom, had lifted his out pile onto her back and was walking past the white unicorn who was trying to open the drawers with her magic.
Well....the poor stallion wondered, maybe they could lend a hoof, he hadn’t seen the surface of his personally made one of a kind rosewood inscribed by Princess Luna herself desk since the day before when it had been placed at the acres.
Then the little unicorn’s magic set the drawer on fire.
“...Oops?”
----------------------------
It was like a million ice cubes had been dumped down her spine.
Atop her throne in the court chambers of Canterlot Castle, Princess Luna shivered uncontrollably as the feeling of a thousand dead spirits walking across her grave crawled through her skin.
“Are you all right Princess?” The petitioner before her asked, timidly, noticing her sudden shift in expression.
Turning to look through one of the large castle windows the Princess had taken on a look of quiet consternation.
“I am fine....but I fear for another....”
----------------------------
Lieutenant Shelly Stone was having a wonderful time. Around their little camp fire last night outside of their barn at the Acres she had been assigned to carry out her idea of obtaining costumes for their patrols. It made sense, in her mind, that if they needed to carry out patrols or actions in and around Ponyville, they would need disguises. It was generally agreed by the other command staff that this was a practical suggestion and she had volunteered to be the one to go and make it happen, since it was her idea after all. The fact that she planned to visit the Carousel Boutique and meet the most chic and magnifique of fashion ponies hadn’t factored into her decision. Much.
“Why darling your coat is simply divine,” The alabaster seamstress was saying as she looked for matching bolts of fabric, “And your mane is such a wonderful complementary colour, it reminds me of the ocean, so clear and beautiful.”
Shelly blushed at the compliment, but didn’t dare move, transfixed as she was by sheets of fabric and a small arsenal of pins all about her person.
“It makes such a nice change to work with somepony who has an eye for fashion darling,” the other unicorn continued, “Most of my friends have no idea what I’m on about. Fluttershy is the only real exception, but...”
“Fluttershy!?” Spluttered the sea blue mare on the dress stand, “You mean that super model from a year ago who appeared and disappeared faster than a wonderbolt from the fashion scene and left about as much mess in the wake? You know her?”
“Why yes dear, she’s been my close friend for a long time.” the fashionista took on a slightly glum countenance, mouth turned into a slight frown and eyes looking down in sorrow. “In fact, it’s kind of my fault she ended up getting into modelling in the first place. She’s so shy you see and hates the limelight. It took a lot of courage for her to stay in it as long as she did, and even more to walk away. I will always be proud of her.”
There was hint of a tear near those deep blue eyes, but it was quickly blinked away. Shelly wasn’t even sure she had seen it at all.
“That’s quite the story Miss Rarity,” she breathed reverently, “I never knew it was so hard for her. I’d always admired her poise and natural grace. Did she ever model any of your designs Miss Rarity?”
This provoked a short harsh laugh from the other pony as she added and extra ruffle to the dress on her model.
“No, she didn’t. She was supposed to, that’s how it all started ironically enough. Photo Finish had come to take pictures of my dresses and designs, but instead ended up falling for Fluttershy as a model and didn’t give me a second glance.” Rarity sighed, “Still it didn’t matter in the end. I still ended up getting all the exposure I needed, and more, in other ways.”
Shelly almost couldn’t stop herself bouncing on the spot in excitement. “Yes I know! That dress you made for Princess Cadence was amazing! I’d wanted to come and meet you while you were working in the castle but I couldn’t get the time off...”
This got the white gossip pony listening, ears perking up as the sea blue mare on the stand began to blush as she realised her slip.
“So you work in The Castle do you darling? I never did ask what it is you do?”
Shelly was scrambling to remember her cover when she suddenly realised, they hadn’t agreed on individual roles yet. Thinking fast the Solar Guard came up with the first thing she could think of.
“I work for a logging company as their....business representative! That’s it....I sometimes attend big events to work up business contacts. Were you at the Gala by any chance?”
The Lieutenant already knew the answer, and she hated to do this, but she needed something, anything, to avoid the inevitable questions she couldn’t answer.
Rarity's face darkened at the mention of that frightful night "Don't get me started." she growled tightly.
She became so lost in daydreams of throwing Blueblood off of Canterlot Castle that the designer missed the look of abject relief which flooded over the face of her guest.