//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: The Families of Canterlot and Ponyville (Rewritten) // Story: A Little Girls Love // by darkmage1997 //------------------------------// Morning had broke over the town of Ponyville, and at a certain cottage on the outskirts of town, a certain, kind hearted family were all tending to the animals and their Pokémon, making sure they were fed and properly groomed, "There you guys go," Toby said, handing his Fire Pokémon some Pokémon Food adorned with red berries, which they were happy to chow down on, "Next up is Tsareena," he commented, as he prepared the Grass Pokémon her food. "Eat up little ones! Plenty for everyone," Fluttershy said, pouring plenty of feed to the rest of her animals. A mouse then leaped up, and stole the box of feed, pouring it down it's mouth, making it very, very chubby. Fluttershy giggled at the mouse's shenanigans. "You always look so pretty Lopunny," Serenity commented quietly, as she brushed her ace Pokémon's fur. "Ahh, you're like a master stylist Serenity," Lopunny sighed contently, as she munched on some Pokémon food. As they were finishing up their duties, a knock came from the door. Fluttershy went over to the door, and opened it. To her surprise, it was Cory, who looked like he had just run a marathon. "Cory? What brings you here?" Fluttershy asked. "We have been summoned to the Crystal Empire at Aunt Cadence's request," Cory replied, giving Fluttershy a scroll. Reading over it, Fluttershy frowned, a concerned look etched on her face. "When did this come in?" Fluttershy asked. "Moments ago. The others are probably being assembled now as we speak," Cory replied, as he remembered what had happened. 15 minutes ago, The Sparkle Family had just settled down for breakfast, which consisted mainly of pancakes, when.... "Twilight!" they all saw Spike rushing in, "Message from Cadence!" he said, panting and wheezing. He then took notice of the pancakes, "Ooh, pancakes!" Spike said, as he went to help himself. Twilight couldn't help but roll her eyes at the young dragon's antics. She opened the scroll and began reading. 'Dear Twilight, Last night on our way back from a date night, Shining Armor and I found a young human girl, lost and abandoned in the alleys of the Crystal Empire. She is extremely well mannered, but it also easy to frighten, more so than any other child we've met. I ask that you and your friends come at your earliest convenience. Maybe one of you could help her out with her fears? See you soon, Your Sister In Law, and Fellow Princess, Cadence.' Reading over the scroll, Twilight made sure she didn't miss anything. She frowned at the thought of a young girl being so easy to scare, "Kids, once you're all done with breakfast, I need you to go and fetch our friends. We have been summoned to the Crystal Empire to help Cadence out with something," Twilight said. "Sure thing Mom," Cory said, as they began to eat their pancakes quickly. With that done, they headed out the door to gather up their friends. Twilight couldn't help but wonder what could've happened to this young girl. Present Time, "And that's pretty much what happened," Cory explained. "Alright. We'll join you guys as soon as we can," Fluttershy said. With a nod, Cory took off, back to the castle. Turning to her kids, who were looking worriedly, she said, "Toby, Serenity, we need to finish up our daily tasks. We're needed up at the Crystal Empire." "Ok Momma," Toby replied. "Y-Yes Mommy," Serenity whispered, as they got back to their original tasks. "Angel, you're in charge while were gone, ok?" Fluttershy asked her pet bunny rabbit. Angel saluted in understanding. Later, at the train station, The Mane Six and their children were all assembled on the platform of the train station. The kids were all conversing amongst each other, while the parents were discussing the details of the letter, "Did Cadence ever say anything about what makes this kid so scared?" Rainbow Dash asked. "No, all that she's a good mannered child, but is just as equally timid. I just hope we'll be able to help her," Twilight commented. Just then, some of the Fujiyama Brother's friends from the Alicorn's Wish Guild came rushing onto the platform, along with Raiden. "Did we miss the train?!" Simon asked. "No, I think I see it in the distance," Rarity replied. "Well, that's good," Cassidy commented. "Off on another job?" Applejack asked. "Yeah, something about unstable cliffs, threatening a farm in some town," Claire replied. "By the way, where are all of you heading to?" Naomi asked. "The Crystal Empire. We were asked to help out with something," Twilight replied. "What a coincidence. Cadence sent an emergency request, asking me to come to the Empire right away," Raiden said, holding the flyer. "Well good luck in whatever it is you need to do," Simon said, as the train pulled into the station. "Thanks. To you kids as well," Twilight said, as the train took off. Meanwhile, in the Crystal Empire, The Crystal Couple had just woken up, and were getting ready for the day, "Here's to hoping that Twily and her pals can help Mavis," Shining Armor commented. "I hope so too. She's too young to feel this scared and alone," Cadence replied. "Speaking of which, one of us should go check on her. Just to make sure she's not having a panic attack," Shining Armor suggested. "Good call. I'll do it. You go on to breakfast with Nathan. I shouldn't be too long," Cadence said. With a nod, the royal couple exited the room, and went in separate directions. Cadence soon arrived at Mavis' room. Gingerly knocking, she poked her head in, "Mavis, sweetie? Are you up?" she asked, looking over at the bed, where she saw the sleeping form of the little girl she and her husband rescued. Upon walking closer, she could faintly hear Mavis whimpering in her sleep. Cadence couldn't help but feel her heart break at the sight. She gingerly nudged the little girl. This turned out to be a bad move, as Mavis shot up, looking frantically around, completely panicked, "Mavis, Mavis, just calm down sweetie," Cadence said, rubbing the young girl's back soothingly. Mavis was calming down, but was still rather uneasy. "B-bonjour princesse," Mavis said, trying not to be rude to her hostess. "Now Mavis, you really don't have to call me by my title. I won't be angry if you don't," Cadence said. But Mavis looked unsure. Cadence saw the uncertain look on the girl's face, "You know, why don't we drop the whole title thing, and go have some breakfast? We'll be expecting company soon," Cadence said. "O-oui," Mavis replied, sounding unwilling to meet any more new people. She and Cadence then left the bedroom, and made their way to the dining room. "So, would you like something to eat? We can always make more toast if you want?" Cadence offered. Mavis solemnly nodded, as they entered the dining room, where Shining Armor and Nathan were already seated in. The moment Mavis saw Nathan, her blood ran cold. "Morinin' Mommy. Mornin' to you as well, Mavis," Nathan greeted, trying to be friendly. Mavis shrunk when the Texas boy talked to her directly, "Hmm, well, can't blame me for tryin' to be nice," Nathan commented. "Well, like I said last night, Mavis is still extremely timid, so just give her some time," Cadence reminded, as she began preparing Mavis some toast. 'That human is p-probably waiting for p-perfect moment to f-fry me up and e-eat me!' Mavis fearfully thought, as she took a spot that was a few seats away from Nathan. 'Is it my breath?' Nathan wondered, as Cadence gave Mavis some toast, and a glass of milk. "Now Mavis, I know you're just adjusting to things here, but you don't have to worry. And, if it'll make you feel any better, my Sister In Law is to visit us. She's bringing her family and friends to come to meet and help you," Cadence said to the timid girl, who began eating the meager breakfast.. Mavis didn't seem too excited about meeting more people, "And on top of that, I also asked someone smart to try and help you and use to understand what's troubling you," she added. Mavis slumped lower in her seat, 'I hope Raiden can help out,' Cadence thought to herself. Just then, a guard came into the dining room. "Princess Cadence, you're guests from Ponyville have arrived at the Train Station, and your aunts will soon be arriving themselves," he said. "Very good. Please escort them to the main foyer when they get here," Cadence instructed. "Yes Princess," the guard said, as he dashed off to carry out his task. "With that being said, Nathan, go and freshen up. I'll be helping Mavis with that," Cadence said to her son. "Ok Mommy," Nathan said, as he took off. "As for you, let's go and make you more presentable," Cadence said to Mavis. Mavis fearfully nodded. Cadence looked sorrowfully at the young girl, as she took Mavis to the bathroom. There, she gave Mavis a toothbrush, some toothpaste, and a towel, "Do you want to wash your face first?" Cadence suggested. Mavis fearfully nodded, taking it as an order. Cadence sighed sadly, as she turned on the water, making sure it wasn't too hot for Mavis. With that, Mavis carefully splashed some water on her face. After that, she put some toothpaste on the toothbrush, and began brushing her teeth. After a few minutes, she spat out the toothpaste, and washed out her mouth, "Ok, now are you ready to make some new friends?" Cadence asked. Mavis nodded, even though she really didn't want to. With that, Cadence led Mavis through the castle, eventually, reaching the courtyard. 'I really don't want to do this, but I must obey the princess,' Mavis thought to herself, as they waited out in the courtyard for their guests to arrive. In only a matter of minutes, their guests had finally arrived. Cadence and Twilight proceeded to do their nursery rhyme that they used to do as kids. However, for Mavis, it was drowned out by her fear, as she saw, too her horror, the large number of human kids. Images of them looking all demonic and evil filled her mind, as they were all preparing to cook her up in mermaid form. Mavis gripped her heart, trying to catch her breath. ".....vis? Mavis?" Mavis fearful thoughts about her impending doom were cut off, as she looked up to see the worried look on Cadence's face, "Are you alright?" she asked gingerly. Mavis realized she was being rude in front of the princess' guests. "Eek!Je suis désolé!" Mavis squeaked fearfully. "Whatever for?" Cadence asked. "F-for being rude to your g-guests," Mavis replied quietly. This certainly was a shock for everyone there. "But you weren't being rude. You were just feeling overwhelmed slightly by the sudden large group," Cadence soothed. "I'm guessing introductions should wait for now," Raiden commented. Mavis shrunk out of guilt. "Well, it would seem like the appropriate move for now. She doesn't even seem comfortably around Nathan," Cadence said, cradling the little girl. She then noticed one of her Ponyville friends was missing, "Uh, where's Rarity?" she asked. "Apparently, having one of her fashion panic attacks," Rainbow Dash bluntly replied, pointing to a tree. On one of the branches, Rarity's back was arched up like a cat, with feline eyes. She was also hissing at the sight of Mavis' dress, "She apparently has a bad history with Gothic Lolita," the rainbow maned Pegasus explained. "Je suis désolé. I did not know that my dress was offensive," Mavis sadly apologized. "No, no, no! Your dress isn't offensive! Some ponies just don't like the style," Cadence tried to reassure Mavis, who still looked guilty, "I know. Why don't you at least try to make friends with each of these children? I assure you, they are friendly, and very nice," Cadence suggested. "I'm sure we can find some way of having some fun," Lucky Joy commented, as she took a hold of Mavis' left arm. With a yelp, the timid French Girl was dragged away. "Just stay close to the castle, alright?" Twilight called out. "So, I can see why you called each of us here," Raiden commented to Cadence. "Yes. Mavis is a very well mannered young girl, but for some reason or another, she is absolutely terrified of just about everything around her," Cadence explained. "Hmm, this doesn't seem like a typical case of pantophobia," Twilight commented. "What do pants have to do with that girl?" Applejack questioned. "No, pantophobia isn't the fear of pants. It's the psychological fear of everything. But I guess pants would fall into that category, so...." Raiden explained. "Rest assured niece, we will do everything we can to help you, and Mavis," Celestia said. "Thank you aunt. Now then, as for you, Raiden, I assume you got my emergency request?" Cadence asked. The Thunder Teen showed the flyer, "Good, now then, if you'll all come inside, I'll explain the details of your job, Raiden," Cadence said, as she led the others into the castle.