“Aurora.” The care pony at the orphanage called to her.
“Yes, miss Flower?” Aurora said politely.
“Goodmorning dear, we have a surprise for you.” Gentle Flower said.
“A surprise?” Aurora said in a monotone mood.
“Yes, follow me to the front and I’ll tell you all about it.” Flower said.
Aurora followed behind Miss Flower as they went to the front desk. Aurora notices Promenade talking with the Head Mare at the orphanage and over heard the end of the head mares sentence. “...well we wouldn’t normally do this but you’ve done so much for us here and she--” the Head Mare stopped as Aurora and Flower approached. “Oh hey there!” Head Mare said.
“Morning Mrs Hazel.” Aurora said then looked over at Promenade with a gentle smile saying. “Morning Promenade!”
“Hello Aurora, I wanted to share some news with you.” Promenade started. “Hazel Eyes has agreed to let you spend some time with me outside the orphanage. I’d get to introduce you to my friend and her little sister who’s about your age.” Promenade added.
Aurora looked happy at the thought of spending more time with Promenade but pulled back when she mentioned meeting others. “Is.. is that alright?” Aurora asked looking over at Hazel Eyes.
“Of course sweety. I know the other kids here are either way younger or almost old enough to leave on their own. This would be really good for you to meet somepony else your own age.” Hazel said.
“Of course it’s up to you Aurora.” Promenade said with a smile.
Aurora paused for a second, looked down and kicked the ground. “But I’d have to come back here after?” she asked.
Hazel, Flower, and Promenade looked at each other before Hazel broke the silence saying. “Yes. dear. But we managed to push the law as far as we could and secured at least one night and two days a week over at Promenade’s place of choosing provided it meets child safety guidelines.”
Aurora tilted her head confused asking. “Like a sleep over?”
“Exactly!” Promenade said. “So what do you say? Want to go meet Sunny Side and her little sister Meryl Strudel?” she added.
Aurora allowed herself to get excited and with a big smile jumped up on Promenade as said joyfully, “Absolutely!”
Promenade finished signing the last page of paperwork and she and Aurora headed to the train station. Aurora had brought her backpack and her stuffed bear that was securely hanging out of the top. “Are we really going on a train?” Aurora asked excitedly.
“We sure are!” Promenade replied.
“Wow! That is amazing, we don’t have trains where I come from….” Aurora said thinking back to her home growing a little depressed at the thought.
Promenade picked up on her sadness immediately and quickly changed the subject. “Hey look there’s the train!”
Aurora quickly looked up and brushed off the thoughts of home. “Woooow! There it is! It’s a lot bigger than I was expecting!” She said in awe as it pulled into the station. The conductor released the passengers and gave them 10 minutes to unload after which he checked his watch and shouted “ALL ABOARD!”
Aurora pounced excitedly as she boarded and Promenade walked in behind her. They found a booth seat and Aurora had been taking in all the sights and sounds of passengers, the conductor making his rounds and the engineers swapping out for the shifts. Once the train started moving Aurora’s eyes were glued to the window as the train took them through Canterlot and along the mountain pass that gave a clear view of the city and the castle.
The trip was a few hours but to Aurora it felt like seconds as she experienced the new world she never knew existed. The trees flew by as the train made its way to Ponyville and the country side kept her attention even as the complimentary snack cart traveled through the cars. Promenade secured two drinks and two bags of crisps and Aurora was still unaware how hungry she was getting.
The train was pulling into Ponyville and Promenade corralled Aurora and brought her over to the doors. “So Sunny and Meryl are going to meet us at the station. She and Meryl have been making dinner so we’ll go straight from here to the Barn and Stable.” Promenade said.
“Umm Promenade…..” Aurora said quietly.
Promenade looked over with a warm smile and a caring look in her eye and asked gently. “Yes Aurora?”
“What if… what--” Aurora began to ask her question but the doors opened and cut her off.
“Hi miss Prom!” Meryl said.
“Oh hi Meryl!” Promenade replied. “Sunny, how was work, pretty busy aye?” she continued.
Sunny was still in full armor. She stood stoically and Aurora couldn’t help but be reminded of the guard from her home. Aside from the armor being gold, the design resembled her guards armor rather closely. Sunny had the friendliest of faces, unaffected by the long day, and full of joy. “It sure was, but it’s my weekend so full of energy tonight.” Sunny said. “Plus we get to meet you!” she continued gesturing to Aurora.
Aurora just barely tucked away behind Promenade but found some new confidence at the Sunny’s gesture. “I… I’m Aurora Mane.” She said standing tall to emulate Sunny.
“Well met Aurora! I’m Meryl!” Meryl squeaked. “Sunny’s my sister! But I’m sure miss Prom told ya all about us!” she continued.
“She did… on the train ride.” Aurora said. “And she spoke about some of the adventures she and Sunny had.” she continued.
Sunny chuckled. “Did she! I gotta admit, they were pretty exciting. But we can talk all about that when we get home!” Sunny said. “Meryl made dinner tonight!” she added.
“Yeah without your help.” Meryl said smiling and gently headbutting Sunny.
“Hey I said today might be busy, that’s why I helped prep yesterday. Now come on you two I’m starving!” Sunny said wrestling Meryl off of her.
The four make it to the Barn and Stable in short order and Meryl had already set out the dinning set. There were no guests that night as it was mid work week but they had full reservations the next day due to Promenades performance at the Canterlot Stadium. The orchestra and Promenades dance troupe had been gaining popularity and creatures flocked from all over to visit Ponyville the day prior to concerts and performances. This caused the Barn and Stable to spike in business.
Prior to the rush of tenants, Promenade and Sunny closed up shop to participate in the Sister Hooves Social. The admissions pony who worked at the orphanage as a way to help get young creatures out of the stuffy building, allowed Promenade and Aurora to compete together as she knew the situation. Naturally Sunny and Meryl would be together during the events and games.
It was the first time any of the mares or fillies had done anything like this and with each new event would build a lasting memory. Even though neither Promenade’s or Sunny’s team won any events they definitely had fun. The events wrap up and Promenade, Sunny, Aurora, and Meryl start to head back to the Barn and Stable. The tenants were informed ahead of time that checking in would start later in the evening because of the Sister Hooves Social. This gave the party time to clean up after.
On the way back Aurora seems happy for the first time in many moons. “Hey Promenade thank you for doing all this for me!” Aurora said.
“No worries little one!” Promenade replied.
“Do I have to go back to the orphanage tonight?” Aurora asked.
“Not this night. Even though the agreement was two days and one night Hazel is allowed to tweek the rules.” Promenade said.
“Besides, we got one more thing for you while we still have you!” Meryl said.
“Oh come on Meryl try to keep it a surprise will ya?” Sunny said.
“Sorry but it’s so exciting! I can’t help myself!” Meryl replied.
“A surprise?” Aurora asked.
“Well it’s not that big a surprise.” Promenade said. “I just worked out a way to get one more night so you can see one of my performances.” she added.
“Yeah! I asked Promenade to see if she could get you some tickets to her show because I thought you might like it!” Meryl said excitedly.
“More like pleaded with Promenade.” Sunny said. “Turns she got more than just one and now Meryl and I can both show up.” She added.
“It’s not just tonight though! It’s a season pass!” Meryl announced.
“Wow! That sounds awesome! I remember the plays back… home…” Aurora said.
The mood shifted quickly as they all caught that Aurora was starting to feel home sick. “Oh I’m sorry Aurora…….I didn’t mean to bring up…. You know” Meryl tried to apologize.
Silence drew out the long pause before Aurora smiled and replied. “It’s okay! I… I am happy that you all accepted me so quickly…”
“Of course dear.” Promenade said patting Aurora on the head. “Let’s go to the Barn and Stable, clean up and head out for some dinner at Canterlot before the play.” she added. Aurora hugged Promenade before smiling and trotting ahead towards town. Meryl followed shortly after.
“Well that was a close save Promenade.” Sunny said.
“It’s all I could do. Let’s get going!” Promenade said with a gentle smile.