//------------------------------// // Chapter 36 - Looking Back, Looking Forward // Story: Off The Mark // by Goldfur //------------------------------// When I next spent the weekend in Ponyville, I didn’t need to explain to Penumbra anymore why some of the citizens of that town always called me “Your Highness”. Naturally, she insisted on calling me “Princess” from then on. Of course, I was indulging in wearing my Marklestia form, so she had a good excuse, but I resorted to calling her “Penny” until she got the hint. Didn’t stop her from snickering every time I was addressed as royalty though. I would have stuck to my normal stallion form, but this was a special occasion and the townsponies wanted to see both of me. I had hoped Steady could join us but he was hosting family visiting Canterlot. One side effect of Tirek’s attack was the renewed appreciation of relatives living across Equestria. Steady’s family was no exception and they made it a priority to get together much more frequently. The special occasion? The anniversary of my arrival in Equestria! Yes, one whole year in this land of magical and colorful equines. However, the residents of Ponyville were told it was to celebrate my move to Canterlot to take up the role of Grand Vizier to Princess Trixie, a fiction that my fiancée happily maintained whenever she was asked. Of course, Trixie was there too! You didn’t think I’d leave my future wife behind while I went to party with my friends, did you? She brought along Raven Inkwell also and persuaded Moon Dancer to get away from her books and join in the fun. In hindsight, that might have been a bad idea. Our entourage had arrived at the Ponyville station, traveling in the Royal Coach, of course. It was a first for Twilight’s new advisor and she had apparently enjoyed the experience. There was a carriage waiting for us as Trixie had insisted, so we rode through the town in style, flanked by her personal Guards and of course, Penumbra. Trixie regally waved at the townsfolk who greeted us, but I didn’t dare tell her that the majority of the reception was actually for me. Between my hero status and all the friends I’d made, the residents of Ponyville enjoyed my visits as much as I did. I made sure to keep close by my fiancée’s side though so that they seemed to be focused on her. We pulled up outside of Twilight’s castle and we alighted. The Royal Guards stationed by the door saluted as we entered to find Twilight and my friends waiting to greet us in the entrance hall. Twilight welcomed us and especially Moon Dancer who had never been to Ponyville before. She then introduced her friends and finally asked Spike to fetch the last guest. Twilight said to Moon Dancer, “I asked my stallionfriend to hold back until I could introduce him. He’s not like other ponies, and in fact, you may be shocked, but I want you to know that he’s a good person. Moony, I’d like you to meet Thorax.” As soon as Moon Dancer saw the changeling, she started to tremble and excused herself, visibly upset. Twilight was offended for Thorax’s sake and started to follow the unicorn, but he stopped her. “It’s alright, Twilight – I understand how she feels,” Thorax said. “But you’re not like those other changelings!” the alicorn protested. “It doesn’t matter. You were there and you saw some of the terrible things that my kind did during the invasion. Lots of ponies were mentally scarred by the experience. That’s not going to go away anytime soon.” “I know that, but it also won’t go away without doing something about it!” “You’re right, but she needs reassurance, not a lecture,” he replied softly. “We can’t force her to accept me. Let her come to me on her own when she’s ready.” Twilight bit her lip and nodded. “I’ll do that, but she also needs to know how different you are from your former hive-mates.” Different was right and in more than one way. Thorax’s wings glittered more than ever, and the holes in his limbs had nearly filled in. Twilight speculated that because he was getting a steady diet of positive emotions including a healthy dose of love which he didn’t need to share with the other changelings, he was finally getting nourished properly. That led to the corollary that all the other changelings had to be perpetually malnourished, something that had given Twilight, Trixie, and me considerable food for thought. But Moon Dancer wasn’t going to be interested in any of that right now. I approached Twilight and said, “I’ll go with you to help reassure Moon Dancer.” She nodded, gave Thorax a kiss, and then we trotted off together. We found Moon Dancer in the castle library. She had backed herself into a corner between two bookshelves and was shaking uncontrollably. I shared a look with Twilight as we walked up near to her. We both lay down on the floor and waited for her to acknowledge us. Eventually, she noticed us. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I just… I just…” She trailed off and started sobbing. Twilight came up and gave her a hug with both her forelegs and her wings. They stayed like this for some time, with Moon Dancer crying gently and Twilight stroking her mane. When Moon Dancer had calmed down a bit I said, “Thorax has been helping Equestria develop better spells and defenses for use against Queen Chrysalis. He let Shining Armor cast spells on him and has provided samples of resin so we can find potions and spells that counteract it. He’s not an infiltrator, just a common drone that was forced with many others to join the attack on Canterlot. He has earned our trust and I think, if you give him a chance, he can earn yours.” Twilight pulled back and said, “I trust him, Moon Dancer. Other than my brother and sister-in-law, nopony held a bigger grudge against changelings than me, and I’m happy to call Thorax my close friend now.” Twilight gave her another hug. “Can you tell us what happened to you during the invasion? We’re here to support and help you, Moony.” Moon Dancer took several deep breaths before she spoke. “T-Thank you, Twilight. I just... I can't talk about it right now. I'm sure Thorax is a nice... pony... but I just can't right now.” She gulped a couple of times. “I’ll… I’ll be alright, but… I just need to be alone for a bit. Thank you, Twilight.” “Can I help?” Twilight and I turned around to see Spike standing behind us. That gave him a line-of-sight to Moon Dancer. He craned his head. “Hey, Moon Dancer. Long time, no see.” She sniffed and brushed away tears with a hoof. “H-h-hi, Spike. I’m sorry you have to see me so upset.” Spike rolled his eyes. “Are you kidding? I’m the terrifying, fire-breathing, ferocious dragon of Ponyville. If ponies aren’t fainting at the sight of me, I think something is wrong.” He held up his claws and gave out a very half-hearted, “Roar.” Everypony just blinked at him. He smiled. “Well, it’s official. Either I’m losing my touch or you are definitely not related to the Flower Sisters.” Moon Dancer smiled a bit. “You have no idea how long Twilight paced around this very library worrying about how all of her old friends at school think about her now.” He raised his voice in a decent falsetto impersonation of his sister and started walking around, miming her nervously nibbling on a forehoof. “I don’t know, Spike. I’m sure all of my school friends hate me for just forgetting about them! I mean, who just moves on from their friends like that?” Spike returned to his normal look. He arched an eyebrow and crossed his arms. In his regular voice, he said, “Everypony in the history of ever?” Back to Twilight’s voice and walking around. “No! But I’m the Princess of Friendship! I’m exempt from the rules that everypony else lives by!” That got a chuckle out of both me and Moon Dancer. Twilight narrowed her eyes and frowned. Spike resumed his ‘himself’ pose. “Twilight, why don’t you just talk to them?” Back to Twilight’s voice. Spike threw his hands over his head. “No! I get much more accomplished by walking around in circles and pretending I can just think the problem away!” That got a bigger laugh out of Moon Dancer. It was obvious that Spike had a lot of practice at paraphrasing his sister’s manic episodes. Twilight said levelly, “I don’t remember the conversation going exactly like that, Spike.” “Pretty much nailed it, I think.” Spike walked up to Moon Dancer. “In any case, you’re in just the right spot. This is the ‘Castle of the Two Sisters’ wing of the library. No book here is less than a thousand years old.” He held out a clawed hand to the unicorn. “I read your graduate thesis, by the way. Did you know that Elderberry the Unready wrote about the same topic almost fifteen hundred years ago?” “Really?” Moon Dancer’s ears perked forward and she let Spike help her up. “He wrote about underground ley lines?” Spike lead her to a nearby bookcase. “More than that. He even experimented with diamond dogs, a dragon, and a pegasus to map their strength in the caves under what would later be Canterlot. Can you guess what he hypothesized about their strength compared to earth and air magic in any given area?” Moon Dancer gasped. “No! I never thought about that.” Spike grinned. “Fortunately, he included the raw data so you can decide for yourself if his conclusions were justified.” He pointed. “Sixth shelf up. The second and third books from the right side.” As Moon Dancer’s magic glow surrounded the books in question, Twilight and I slipped out. Once we were in the hallway, I gave Twilight a bump in the side with my hip. “You’ve got a great little brother, you know.” “Yeah, I know.” She frowned. “I still don’t think the conversation happened that way.” I smiled. “Just the gist of it.” Her ears flattened back, but she didn’t dispute what I had said. When we rejoined the others, I escorted Trixie up to her room. She had a separate one because we were still keeping our engagement a secret, but it was right next to mine so we didn’t have to go out of the way to be together. My fiancée was amused by how protective Twilight was of her stallionfriend and I wondered if Trixie realized how deep the feelings between them really were. Actually, I wondered if even Twilight knew. She had the superpower of denial, but it was obvious from Twilight’s body language that our nerdy alicorn was badly smitten. The time spent with him during the Season had certainly done much to build that relationship, and I couldn’t say that it was a bad thing. Heck, I liked the guy! We had a light luncheon, saving ourselves for the big party this evening. I wasn’t sure if Pinkie was going to last that long – she was already vibrating from excitement. Actually, she seemed a little out of kilter today. Her smile was a little too wide and her left eyelid twitched a little too much. I put that down to being barely able to restrain herself – Party Ponies take themselves seriously! After the meal, I excused myself to slip into something more comfortable. Although I had invited Trixie to accompany me, she had begged off, preferring to hang around with the other mares. I pointed out that I was going to be one of the mares very soon, but she was uninterested. What does a shape-changing alien from another universe have to do to impress his fiancée? Penumbra came up to my room with me and waited while I changed – both form and clothing. I managed to stun her for a whole five seconds when I showed off my faux leather outfit. The thestral whistled and said, “Wow! You’re lucky you’re spoken for. I’d be so all over you right now otherwise.” I grinned. “Sorry – you’re not my type.” “Too bad your type isn’t smart, sexy, and dangerous mares. Best to leave those to Maxi, and now Thorax.” Penumbra gave me a triumphant grin. I smirked. “And now Trixie.” “Meh.” Her smile fell and she tilted her head. “We’ll get you there eventually.” I sighed and shook my head. I don’t know why I still tried to get the best of her. We headed out to visit my Ponyville friends, and Penny learned all about what I did during my previous visits to the village. We passed by the former library tree and we paused to admire its regrowth. With Tree Hugger and Applejack’s guidance, Twilight had been using her earth pony powers to stimulate budding of new branches from the blasted stump that had remained after Tirek’s attack. On weekends, she always spent at least a half hour pouring her magic into her former home, and it had responded marvelously. While it still had a long way to go, the tree now had a crown of leafy growth that displayed its renewed health. She had consulted books on the construction of library trees and had made it her personal goal to have it once again serve that purpose, although I doubted that she would ever live there again. There were some things that a Princess of Equestria just could not do. On the way, I saw Fluttershy buying produce at the Ponyville market. I separated myself from the two princesses and their guards to say hello, my thestral shadow right behind me. She saw Penumbra and I coming and pranced up to us, happily carrying the handle of a woven basket in her mouth. She set it down and gave both of us a hug. “It’s great to see you two again, Mark and Penumbra.” “Just want to make sure you know about the party tonight, Flutters.” “I wouldn’t miss it! I can’t believe it’s been a whole year already.” “And who else would I celebrate it with than all of my friends?” Fluttershy looked uncertainly at Penumbra then back to me. “Mark? If you don't mind, may I ask why you didn't bring your other bodyguard with you?” I gave her a sad smile. “I'm afraid Crimson Boulder isn't my personal bodyguard any longer.” Fluttershy's eyes went wide and her pupils shrunk to pinpricks. “Wait. Was this because of me?” She started to tremble. “No, Fluttershy. I can't go into the reasons, but no.” She stopped shaking and glared at me. “If I hadn’t burst into your room that night, would he still be your bodyguard?” I hesitated. “I'm afraid it was inevitable.” “I thought so. It was because of me.” She frowned. “Did you know that he came to my cottage the evening after you finally left for Canterlot?” “He did?” I was genuinely surprised. She nodded. “It was not long after the last train came into town, I think...” Fluttershy jumped at the knock at the door. Discord looked up from his knitting. The free ends of the ramen noodles took that opportunity to hiss at him, which Discord quickly swatted back into limpness. “Would you like me to get that for you, my dear?” Fluttershy swallowed. “Umm... no. No thank you, Discord. I'll... I'll go see who it is.” Taking a deep breath, the pegasus opened the upper door far enough to peek outside. A slightly familiar earth pony stallion stood on her front porch. He wasn’t wearing any clothes that would give her a clue as to his profession. The stallion held a very grumpy badger by the nape of its neck. “Good evening, Miss Fluttershy. Would you mind asking your friend here to stop trying to bite me?” She flung the upper door open with a bang. “Reginald! What have I told you about attacking ponies?” The badger proceeded to let out a long series of growls and chirps combined with various arm and hand motions, most pointing back at the stallion. Fluttershy held up a hoof. “I won't hear a word of it. Now I want you to apologize to the nice pony.” Reginald made one final plea that had no effect on the mare. He collapsed into a limp heap, letting out a soft moan. “That's better. Off you go now.” The earth pony stallion gently set the badger down. It scampered off, but not before giving a glare over its shoulder at the pony. Fluttershy smiled as she opened the lower door. “I am so sorry, sir. He's usually the gentlest soul in the whole town. I don't know what got into him. He didn't actually bite you, did he?” He shook his head. “That's quite alright, miss. I'm Crimson Boulder, by the way.” Her face lit up in recognition. “Oh, that's right! You've come to Ponyville before with Mark and Steady. Umm... would you like to come in?” “If you wouldn't mind.” “Oh... umm... of course. Please have a seat in the living room. I'll make some tea and be with you in a moment.” Fluttershy found the guardspony sitting on her sofa when she brought in the teapot and two cups. Discord floated upside down on the other side of the room, now somehow lacing his knitting needles together using woven squares of ramen noodles. She blinked and looked away before the sight gave her a headache. Angel Bunny was standing on top of a prone Harry, apparently trying to get the bear's attention by tapping a rear leg. Crimson Boulder took the offered cup. “Thank you, Miss Fluttershy.” “Oh, you're very welcome. Umm... if you don't mind my asking, does this have something to do with Mark?” “Yes, ma'am. But first, is it alright if I talk about what happened two weeks ago?” He glanced around the room, earning a raised (or in this case, lowered) eyebrow from the upside-down Discord. “Oh! Yes, that's fine. All of my friends here know about my condition and what happened to me.” Crimson nodded and sipped his tea. “Thank you. Well, I don't know if you remember, but I had the opportunity to stop you when Mark called for help. Instead, I refrained from doing so and I am here to apologize. My actions put both you and Mark in much greater danger than if I had simply used my training to subdue you. Because Mark is not proficient at defending himself, he could have potentially maimed or killed you, or he could have been overwhelmed and you would have gotten pregnant, entirely outside of your ability to choose.” Harry Bear loomed over the back of the sofa, glaring down at Crimson. Discord had righted himself and floated in from the left. Angel hopped menacingly in from the right. If Crimson noticed the trio converging on him, he didn't show it. “There was no excuse for my failure to take proper actions, Miss Fluttershy. Keeping all citizens of Equestria safe is—” “Colts,” said the yellow pegasus firmly, all trace of shyness gone from her voice. They stopped moving forward and looked at her. Her level stare moved across each of them. “At what point were you part of this conversation?” Angel and Harry's eyes went wide and they retreated until they left the room. Fluttershy then settled her stare on Discord, who wilted visibly. “Uh... I'll just... leave you two to work things out then.” At her continued glare, he trembled a bit, then finally added, “I won't do anything to him.” He held up his clawed hand and paused. “I promise.” Fluttershy nodded and Discord disappeared with a snap of his claws. Fluttershy smiled and turned back to the guardsman. “Now then, Crimson Boulder.” She took a sip of her tea. “What were you saying before we were so rudely interrupted?” “... but the important thing is that your friend was genuinely sorry for his mistake and was willing to do whatever it took to atone for it.” I nodded. “That was very commendable of him. Thank you for telling me.” She narrowed her gaze. “Are you still friends?” I hesitated. “I still consider him such, and he teaches me self-defense on a weekly basis.” “You didn't answer my question. Since you fired him, have you gone out and done anything that friends do with each other?” “No.” Fluttershy moved a little closer. I had heard of her ‘stare’ that could cow even the largest of dragons, and what I was experiencing now couldn't be far from that. “Mark, if I couldn't forgive my friends—truly forgive them—every time they made a mistake, I would be very lonely.” I sighed and looked down. “I'll give that serious thought. Thank you, Fluttershy.” She nodded, picked up her basket of vegetables, and trotted off. Penumbra moved up next to me. “And here I thought Twilight Sparkle was the Element of Friendship.” I grimaced. “Well, apparently I fall a bit short.” Our meandering about town eventually brought us to the train station. I had steered us there upon hearing the locomotive’s steam whistle in the distance. I was joined by Twilight and Trixie as we were expecting important visitors. Right on schedule, the Crystal Express pulled up at the platform and it wasn’t long before Princess Cadance and Shining Armor stepped out. After the usual round of greetings and hugs, we headed back to the castle. Shiny used the opportunity to have a chat with me. “It’s really good to see you again, Mark. Are you going to the party like that?” I shook my head. “Nah – I was just enjoying schmoozing with the townsponies. I’ll switch back to stallion form later.” “I hear you have something extra to celebrate,” he said with a wink. I smirked. “Seems royal gossip supersedes protocol. We’re not ready to announce the date yet, so it still has to stay hushed up. It’s a pain.” Shining nodded. “I hear you. I hated keeping the news of my wedding to Cadance a secret from Twily and my parents, and then the state of emergency screwed things up even more. I hope yours goes a lot smoother.” “As long as it isn’t boring. I won’t jinx myself by saying anything more.” He chuckled. “Somehow, I won’t be surprised if something does happen.” “Me neither.” My life was one long series of weird happenings, so why would it change now? “Anyway, as you can’t say anything yet, Cady and I will step up instead.” “Oh? What are you planning?” He gave me a wink. “Can’t tell you yet. It’s going to be a big surprise for Twily though.” I turned over the possibilities in my mind, then I considered the timing. I glanced over to Cadance who was looking exceptionally cheerful today. I tried an experimental probe. “So – how did you feel when you got the news?” A slow smile spread on Shining’s face until he caught himself and flattened his expression. “What news?” “Uh-huh.” That answered my unspoken question. Most ponies weren’t half as good at keeping secrets as they thought they were. We continued to converse about what had been happening in our lives since we last talked, waving and greeting ponies along the way. Abruptly, we were halted by three excited fillies who came up to give me a hug. They were practically bouncing on their hooves! “Mark! Guess what!” Applebloom squeaked. “You’re hyped up about the party?” I asked with a smile. “No! We got our cutie marks!” they chorused. The Crusaders turned sideways to proudly display their no longer blank flanks. I grinned and said, “Congrats! I see that they all are themed alike. Did you get them at the same time?” “Yes, we did!” Scootaloo replied. “It was awesome!” “I’m sorry I wasn’t here for your cuteceñiera, girls.” “That’s okay, Mark. We can celebrate at your party,” Sweetie Belle said. “Awesome. You can tell me all about how you got them there.” “We will. Seeya!” And then they were gone at their normal precipitous rate. I chuckled and resumed my trek. Back at the castle, after the usual round of greetings, I slipped away to change. By the time I rejoined them, I discovered that Twilight and the other Element Bearers were going off on a kind of scavenger hunt, urged on by an extremely hyper Pinkie. That left just Trixie, Cadance, Shining Armor, Thorax, Spike, and myself until the party was due to begin. Spike played the host and went to fetch snacks for the visitors. I noticed Thorax gazing intently at Cadance’s barrel and I wondered if he could sense something that I couldn’t. Cadance noticed and put a hoof to her lips with a soft “shhh” sound. I decided that I might as well say something as the target of the surprise was currently absent. “By the way, Cadance, I believe congratulations are in order.” The Princess of Love gave me a surprised look before glaring at her husband. Shining waved his forehooves in denial. “I didn’t say anything!” “He really didn’t. I’m just good at putting together clues, which is why I’m Trixie’s advisor.” Trixie was startled. “You mean, you’re pregnant?” Cadance nodded. “We took advantage of the Season to ensure conception, but we always wanted it to be a surprise for Twilight. When we got the invitation to Mark’s party, we thought it was the perfect excuse to visit Ponyville and spring the news. We sent a note ahead to the Cakes to prepare something special. Pinkie got wind of it accidentally, so she promised not to say anything until we could do so. The poor dear has been practically bursting to spill the beans. Hopefully, the scavenger hunt will help keep her occupied for a little longer.” Trixie got up to hug Cadance. “Trixie is happy for her fellow princess. So – are you hoping for a pegasus or a unicorn?” “I’m leaning toward a pegasus like I was before I ascended, but Shiny doesn’t care as long as it’s a colt that he can play hoofball with,” she said with a chuckle. Knowing the odds of a male birth, I kind of hoped it would be a unicorn like the father. Time would tell though. Pony pregnancies were a lot longer than human ones, so we all had a considerable wait for the answer. We had a chance to converse for a while before the scavenger hunters returned a bit sooner than expected, no doubt hustled by a now-manic Pinkie Pie. Cadance and Shining got to make their announcement, and it was adorable how Twilight freaked out at the news. And so, we had one heck of a combined party to celebrate both the pregnancy and my anniversary. Many of our Ponyville friends joined us, and I found out that Vinyl Scratch had volunteered her services for a dance session later. It was quite a blow-out, and Trixie and I enjoyed ourselves immensely. Thorax had to leave earlier than most, citing bloating from overeating. While his capacity for consuming love had increased over the weeks, there was more than enough to feed dozens of changelings at that event. Twilight excused herself to help Thorax work off some of that excess energy. Yes, Twily, I know how you plan to do that. When are you going to realize that the rest of us aren’t blind? Then again, Trixie was quite frisky herself that night. I wondered if our eventual wedding announcement would be an unsurprising event for our friends too. Not that I cared. I was with my mare and I was happy. At the party, Rarity had announced her plans to open a boutique in Canterlot. It had been a dream of hers since foalhood and long in the planning. The perfect location had finally opened up but the catch was that she needed to raise some funds to afford it. Since I had saved so much money due to the aluminum ring debacle, I had cash to spare, so I offered to help her out. She accepted on the condition that I was a silent partner rather than a mere investor. Considering all she had done for me, I was happy to accommodate her wishes. After several weeks spent extensively remodeling the shop, making preparations, and hiring a mare to manage the store, the fashionista was ready for opening day. Regrettably, it coincided with a Day Court morning session that I had to attend, so I was not there for the grand opening. Instead, I had arranged with Rarity to have a tentative luncheon date that day so that she could tell me how it went. I quietly hoped that she would be so busy making her new clients happy that she would ask me to just bring her back something. I arrived at the shop a little after midday, finding it satisfyingly full of customers. To my surprise though, the range of dresses that I had seen Rarity prepare were absent, replaced by multiple copies of a design that Trixie had worn at a recent major event that my fiancée had commissioned Rarity to make. A sign at the counter said, “Order your Princess Dress here”, and apparently many mares were doing just that. I raised an eyebrow at the obsession for the current fad. Even as a mare, I had never felt the urge to wear the “in” thing, but whatever made these mares happy, I suppose. Rarity had to be making a lot of money from all the sales. It just felt odd to me that she was making so many of a single design. It just didn’t seem like… Rarity. Speaking of whom, she was nowhere to be seen. Only her shop manager, Sassy Saddles, whom I had met briefly once, was in attendance, cheerfully taking orders. I was surprised that Rarity wasn’t out here with the customers as she loved to be. However, I knew where to find her. I headed towards the back room. Abruptly, I was confronted by Sassy who blocked the way. “I’m afraid that is off-limits to customers, sir,” she said politely but coolly. “It’s alright, Ms. Saddles – I’m here to meet Rarity for a luncheon date.” Apparently, she recognized me then. “Ah, yes – Mr. Wells, isn’t it? I’m afraid Rarity will be unable to go out today as she is quite busy. Her Princess Dress is overwhelmingly popular, and she is committed to giving her customers outstanding service, so she is currently hard at work.” “I see. Well, I’ll just pop in and have a quick word with her to see if she needs a short break instead of a long lunch.” “I’m afraid I can’t let you do that, Mr. Wells.” The tall mare emphasized her words by looming over me. My eyebrows raised. “You can’t let me?” I echoed. Sassy wasn’t aware that I was Rarity’s business partner, but that didn’t give her the right to stop me from seeing my friend, especially for a prearranged date. I called over my shoulder, “Penumbra – this mare is in my way.” Suddenly, a leathery wing intervened between us and the thestral hissed at Sassy menacingly. Sassy squealed and jumped aside. I thanked Penny and headed through the door into Rarity’s workshop. I found my friend working just as hard as Sassy had implied. Several finished dresses hung on hangers while many more were in various stages of construction. Materials and tools were flying around in a bewildering display of telekinetic talent, assembling more dress components as Rarity diligently worked at the sewing machine. How one mare could coordinate so many things at once, I had no idea, but it left me in awe. Eventually, I cleared my throat loudly to get her attention. The aerial ballet paused as Rarity turned around to face me. “Mark, darling! Forgive me for not being ready for our luncheon date. I… I’m afraid that I am going to have to beg off as the response to my opening day has far exceeded my expectations.” “So I see. Can I get you something to eat and drink anyway?” “Thank you, but no. Sassy has that well in hoof.” “Okay. Would you like to reschedule for tomorrow then?” “That would be wonderful. I look forward to it.” I gave her a nuzzle. “Keep up the good work, and I’ll see you then.” She nuzzled me back. “Have a nice day, darling.” She was back in full production mode before I was out the door. Sassy glared at me as I passed through the shop, but I merely smiled politely and said, “See you tomorrow, Ms. Saddles!” That was sure to piss her off. I left with a grin on my face. The shop seemed no less busy the next day, but at least Sassy Saddles didn’t try to stop me this time. She gave me the stink eye though and said, “Do make it quick. Mr. Wells.” The workshop was filled with even more dresses than yesterday, all of the same design. Rarity was hard at work still and barely noticed when I greeted her. “Oh, dear! Is that the time? I’m truly sorry, Mark, but the sales orders have been coming in so fast that I can barely cope. I’m going to be busy for the rest of the day and until late into the evening.” “So, luncheon is cancelled, I presume?” “I’m afraid so. Perhaps I can find the time tomorrow…” “I’m afraid not. My time is already committed tomorrow – the day after too. Trixie and I have to be out of town.” “I see. Perhaps when you return, we can catch up then? I’ll surely be on top of this rush by that time.” I smiled. “It’s a date. Take it easy, Rarity. Don’t let this run you into the ground.” She smiled faintly. “I will do my best. Thank you for coming, Mark.” “Anytime, Rares.” I left feeling glum. In all the time that I had known Rarity, she had never been less than upbeat about her dressmaking. It was a passion and raison dêtre of her life. Right now though, she more resembled a harassed factory worker. It was difficult to see how the success of her store had so backfired on her. After so much time planning the boutique, what had she done wrong? Rarity looked and sounded like a wreck when I returned to Canterlot. If I didn’t know better, I would have said that she hadn’t left the room since I had last visited her. I didn’t know a lot about the fashion industry, but I knew that this had to stop. “What are you doing to yourself, Rarity? You look awful!” The unicorn looked as if she was ready to burst into tears. “I know! I had finally caught up to all the orders when Cosmare magazine came out. My boutique was the cover story with an article by Fashion Plate enthusing over my fashions. Then even more orders for the Princess Dress poured in!” “You must be making a stack of money. You’ll be able to buy out my share of the business already.” “I don’t want to buy you out! I want to make fashions for the ponies of Canterlot. I want to pour TLC into every dress!” She bowed her head. “I have achieved everything that I dreamed of, and I’m miserable, Mark. How can I put in the TLC they deserve?” TLC – the mantra that Rarity lived by. Time, Love, and Couture. I had learned all about that when she was making the fashions for me. Her enthusiasm then was infectious. I glanced around me at all the identical dresses and shook my head. “Where’s the TLC here, Rares?” She stiffened and looked about her workshop. I saw her expression firm and she got up off her chair. “You are quite right, Mark. Pardon me – I need to talk with Sassy Saddles.” She marched out to the shop with determination. “Sassy, we need to talk!” “I know!” enthused the blue unicorn. “Isn’t it marvelous how successful this week has been? I took another hundred orders for the Princess Dress today!” “Cancel them. I can’t keep up this rate of production.” “I have the perfect solution for that,” Sassy replied, undeterred. “Assemble the assembly line! You’ll never have to sew again.” “What? No! You’re missing the point.” “Yes! Then the Canterlot Carousel never closes and Sassy Saddles’ boutique succeeds!” “Stop! This is not your boutique – it’s mine, and I want nothing to do with your vision for this store. As such, I have decided to close the shop. Make up some flyers for a going-out-of-business sale.” “WHAT?! You can’t, Rarity. I’ve worked too hard to make this a success. I can’t be a part of another failed boutique!” “It’s a victim of its own success, Sassy. You got what you wanted but neglected everything that I dreamed of achieving.” She firmly closed the shop door, flipping the ‘OPEN’ sign to ‘CLOSED’. Rarity gathered up all the Princess Dresses on display and stashed them in the workshop, returning with all the other dresses that she had designed. “So nice to see you out here again,” she said with a smile as she put them on display. “What am I supposed to do?” Sassy asked helplessly. “Get started on those flyers. Oh, and deliver the finished dresses to those who have already paid for theirs. Cancel all the other orders.” The unicorn sighed in resignation. “Yes, Rarity.” “And as for you,” Rarity said, turning towards me, “we have an overdue luncheon date to keep.” I smiled, happy to see my friend back to her normal self. “Anywhere in particular you’d like to go?” “Anywhere they won’t mind us lingering for a few hours, darling.” Rarity looked in one of the shop’s full-length mirrors and tidied up her mane and tail with her magic. I waited until she decided she looked presentable again and walked next to me. “I have the perfect place in mind. Shall we?” I offered her an arm. No, it’s not a leg when you do this! She took it in hers and replied, “We shall!” We had a marvelous luncheon, even if Rarity fell asleep after dessert. I tipped the staff well to ensure we weren’t disturbed. I passed the time chatting with some of the patrons who were delighted to be able to bend the ear of one of the princesses’ advisors. I was going nowhere until my friend had her richly deserved nap. I was able to be at the boutique the next morning when Rarity opened the store. Sassy sulked in the background while Rarity personally welcomed the waiting mares to the closing down sale. She was almost run over by the stampede, and I could tell she was a little surprised. I listened and watched as the customers circulated around the shop, but while there were several inquiries about the Princess Dress, every one of them was happy to consider one of the other wonderful designs on display. Now that the other dress was taken off the market, the customers didn’t have the option of the fad to follow, so they chose what actually suited them better. One by one, each mare admired her reflection while wearing a dress that she had fallen in love with. And with each sale, I saw Rarity light up with delight. Rarity was positively giddy with glee when she saw how delighted the mares were with her dresses. I knew that feeling well. When you wear something that speaks to you and makes you feel wonderful, it stokes the fires of the creator, and right now, Rarity was near exploding with joy. “Attention, everypony!” Rarity suddenly called out. “I would like to announce that Canterlot Carousel will not be closing after all.” There were many cheers from the customers. A goth-looking pony queried whether the dresses were still on sale and Rarity reassured her that they were. Then Sassy came over and started to apologize. I hung around close enough to hear what they were saying, and it seemed that her shop manager had finally learned the Rules of Rarity. Unsurprisingly, she thought she had lost her job, but I knew my friend better than that. Rarity made it quite clear that she trusted Sassy to follow her philosophy from then on when Rarity returned to Ponyville. With that cleared up, I joined Rarity. “Looks like everything has worked out for the best, Rares.” “It would seem so. Thank you for helping me realize what I was doing to myself.” She turned to Sassy. “If you run into any unexpected problems, you can let my partner know if it’s truly urgent.” Sassy blinked in surprise. “Your partner? Oh, I’m so sorry, Mr. Wells! I had no idea.” “It’s just Mark, please, and that’s why it’s called a silent partner. But Rarity and I have had a close relationship fashion-wise for about a year now.” “Is that so? What do you do, Mark? Promoter? Distributor?” “Model,” I replied with a wink. Rarity and I shared a laugh as we left the bewildered unicorn to look after the shop. It was time for us to celebrate! For the next few months, life in Equestria proceeded without any of the extremes that had dotted my existence since arriving in Equestria. Sure, there were a few highlights, especially when Twilight or one of the other Element Bearers went to check out a friendship problem, but overall, we had a relatively peaceful period. I took advantage of that to do as many romantic things for my fiancée as I could within the restrictions of the stupid secrecy. When Hearts and Hooves Day rolled around, I took Trixie to a theater restaurant followed by a moonlit walk through Canterlot Gardens. We didn’t stand out amongst the many other couples celebrating the day, and if anypony read more into it… well, rumors always abounded anyway. When Pinkie organized a charity event featuring Countess Coloratura, I made sure to schedule a visit to Ponyville to see the concert, not to mention make a contribution. We were both surprised when the star led off the event with a beautiful song in a totally different style to her normal one, but she did do some of the classics later with her dance troupe. It was a roaring success despite Pinkie having some sort of hiccup with Coloratura’s manager. Nightmare Night was especially fun for us. I pasted on an artificial unicorn horn and pulled off a number of magic tricks to the puzzlement of Twilight. In actuality, Trixie had been teaching me a lot of her stage magic and she was helping me from behind the scenes. A lot of ponies would have figured out what was happening sooner, but Twilight had a habit of taking things too much at face value. We kept her bamboozled for half the night! Eventually, winter rolled around and it was Hearth’s Warming Eve for the second time since I’d been here. The first time had been subdued because I had not fully acclimated to being a denizen of this magical world as yet, although I did see the traditional play about the events that had inspired the celebration. However, I threw myself into the festivities with gusto this year. Twilight invited Trixie and me to spend the holidays with her, Thorax, and Spike. Despite the friction that existed between the two of them occasionally, my fiancée graciously accepted and we had a wonderful time. “Weirdest thing happened during my lecture at Celestia’s school this morning,” Twilight said as she met us for lunch before she started the afternoon session of Friday’s Day Court. “Oh? What happened?” I asked. “I could swear that I saw Starlight Glimmer in the audience. When I looked again though, she was gone.” I frowned. “We haven’t seen or heard from her in all this time. Do you suppose she’s up to something?” “Trixie doesn’t know why you two are in any doubt. If it was Trixie in her position, she would have had her revenge by now. What’s more, Trixie knows how she thinks. She will want to rub your muzzle in it. She is going to make a big, dramatic entrance complete with over-the-top speeches.” Unfortunately, that made a whole lot of sense to me, but until Starlight moved against us, it was difficult to decide what course of action to take. Twilight said, “I’m probably her biggest target, but I’m sure Mark isn’t far behind. Perhaps all of us should stay together for the next few days. Trixie, you can bring some extra Royal Guards to my castle. I’ll increase the defenses there too. At worst, we will have run a training exercise, but if anything happens, we will have the other Element Bearers nearby to help.” I looked over to my fiancée who was nodding thoughtfully. “Trixie agrees. She will also send out agents to try to spot your elusive enemy. They will be equipped with the rogue unicorn counter-measures developed by Twilight’s research teams. If she is finally showing her hoof, she may be easier to find.” “Okay, it’s decided,” I said. “I’ll get the Captain of the Guard to strengthen security immediately, then tonight, straight after Twilight finishes her Day Court session, we’ll head off to Ponyville. I’ll arrange some sky chariots and an extra squad of Guards to accompany us.” Twilight nodded in satisfaction. “If Starlight tries anything funny in Ponyville, she’s in for a big surprise!” # # # # # # # # #