//------------------------------// // The Foundation // Story: Trail Blazer // by MagicS //------------------------------// The Castle of the Two Sisters as it would come to be called was still under construction when Trail Blazer, Lustrous, and Steel Wing visited it as the guests of Princess Celestia. Two months previously the Princess had received a letter from Thunderstorm detailing the mission that the representatives had come up with as well as the three ponies undertaking it. Princess Celestia decided that when they came to this part of Equestria she would surprise these courageous and groundbreaking adventurers and meet with them personally. Thus she had her personal guards on the lookout for ponies matching their description for weeks. So when one of those pegasi found a suspiciously abandoned campsite along with a journal belonging to one “Lustrous” he alerted the Princess immediately. The rest was mere good fortune. Although if it wasn’t for Steel Wing’s actions the adventurers may not have been seen and the hollowed hill not discovered until much later. The Princess herself had come out to aid the search and possibly fend off any dangerous creatures that might have been responsible for the disappearance of the three travelers. She knew Equestria, even this part of it so close to her home, was not entirely safe. Although she had no idea that such ponies were hiding out here. The traitors being discovered and rounded up was the one thankful part of this entire ordeal. After that the belongings of the three adventurers were gathered up and brought to the castle along with them (Steel Wing was also given field surgery for his wing). The Princess told each of them that she would love to speak with them tomorrow morning but by now it had gotten well into evening and they probably all needed to rest. After Steel Wing was given more treatment she had them escorted to one of the finished rooms in the castle where they could retire for the night. Unbeknownst to any of them, Princess Luna visited their dreams that night to make sure they all slept well. It was the closest they ever came to meeting her at this time, for she was asleep during the rest of their visit. So it was that the conflict between Rolling Fog and his followers and the rest of Equestria was ended before it even began. Thanks in part to luck, Rolling Fog’s own excessive ambition and lack of understanding of his grandson, and the valor of of several young ponies. Rolling Fog himself was chained up and taken somewhere that the three map makers are currently unaware of, Steel Wing intended to find out tomorrow morning. Not for any lingering feelings but merely because he felt it was his duty as his last living relative. Lustrous was absolutely speechless in the presence of the Princess and had absolutely no idea what was going on. She was not a pony Lustrous dreamed he would ever meet in a million years and here she was offering them a place to stay in her home and saying she was looking forward to speaking with them later. Them! Of all ponies he couldn’t believe it. Shocked to be in the presence of one so regal, after getting personally rescued by her no less! He knew she said that she had heard of their mission but the fact their ruler took notice of it and them just failed to register in his mind, to him he just couldn’t fathom that she would have the time or desire to acquaint herself with three nobodies. Trail Blazer was far more reserved. She was just as surprised and in awe but she didn’t let it get to her like Lustrous. Instead the map mare had been just as busy looking at the land and everything else around the castle while they were being brought to it. Keeping to her duty allowed her mind to focus instead of thinking too hard about the Princess, their present situation, and the craziness they had just been through. It was a pretty place around here, that much she knew for sure. And now that they’ve physically been to the castle instead of just near it Trail Blazer could mark its exact location on her map. So when morning came around and the three were invited to tea with Celestia they all had something different on their mind. “It is a pleasure to formally meet with you all,” Princess Celestia told them while gently sipping from a cup of tea. Since so much of the castle was unfinished they were “dining” together in the main hall. Some of Celestia’s servants had set up a table and chairs for them and draped everything in white cloth to keep it pristine. Lustrous was just straight up gaping at the monarch when she spoke to them, his mouth flapping uselessly. Trail Blazer saw this and sighed, deciding to be the first one to respond. “Thank you, your majesty, the pleasure is all ours,” The earth pony said. “And if my unicorn friend here could find his wits for two seconds I’m sure he’d say the same. The Princess actually giggled. “It’s quite alright.” “I think we’re just all surprised that you know about us and, well, wanted to talk with us like this,” Trail Blazer awkwardly rubbed the back of her head. Celestia took another sip of her tea before setting the cup down. “I care deeply about all of you, my little ponies.” “Well, we’re definitely grateful for that, thanks for rescuing us yesterday,” Trail Blazer took a sip of her own tea before wincing at the taste. A sadder look overcame Celestia’s face as she was reminded of this. “Truly I feel guilty about not knowing they were so close by. You have my sincerest apologies for making you undergo such an ordeal. This land should be much safer for any travelers, the fault is with me.” “You don’t need to apologize!” Lustrous near shouted, practically slamming his hooves on the table. “For anything! You’re the Princess, if anything we should be apologizing to you for imposing like this!” Trail Blazer sighed and held a hoof to her head while Princess Celestia raised one of her own to her mouth to disguise her chuckling. “Why thank you, Lustrous,” She said. The unicorn blushed intensely before sputtering some more and shrinking in his seat. Embarrassment and wonder frying his brain in equal parts. “Princess Celestia? Now that we’re on the topic, if I may, can I ask what became of my grandfather?” Steel Wing asked, his first words and action at the table. A much sterner expression came over the Princess. She seemed to be internally debating with whether or not she should actually tell them. In the end her desire for transparency and gratitude to the three ponies won out and she decided to tell them what had been done with Rolling Fog. “Your grandfather has been imprisoned in Tartarus,” She told Steel Wing as evenly as she could, unsure how the stoic pony would take it. Unsurprisingly though he didn’t have much of a reaction, only a measured “I see” escaped from his lips before he stared down at his teacup. Princess Celestia continued. “I do not plan on keeping him there forever, however in the end the decision to leave rests on him.” “Thank you, Princess. I don’t have any problems with his punishment. I just felt it was only right to ask,” Steel Wing said. Trail Blazer and Lustrous looked between each other. They were concerned for their friend and the somber tone this morning get together had taken. He seemed perfectly fine but it was difficult to tell with him sometimes. Maybe this recent experience had affected him more than he let on. Regardless, they’d have plenty of time to talk with him about it on the rest of their journey. Winding down as it was. “So,” Princess Celestia brought things back to normal with a sip of her tea. “Would you care to tell me about your journey so far? What sort of things have you seen? What’s your opinion of our new country?” A friendly smile broke out across her face. “And I would love to hear how you three little ponies have come closer together on your mission.” They started from the beginning. Princess Celestia proved to be a great listener and was happy to hear every little tale of theirs. And Lustrous being Lustrous he was happy to blather on about every little thing. From the good to the bad Celestia wanted to hear it all so she could learn as much as possible, naturally certain things they didn’t tell her, such as Trail Blazer’s past, but everything else was laid on the table for their ruler. She was dismayed to hear about the earth ponies who hated unicorns and pegasi, troubled by the criminals in the swamp, elated to learn of all the small villages popping up, curious and excited by all the natural beauties Lustrous described to her, and most of all her heart was overwhelmingly warmed by how the three adventurers had gone from complete strangers to acquaintances that sometimes got on each other’s nerves to great friends. “It seems the three of you have had quite an adventure,” The Princess said to them. “I never figured just walking around Equestria would be so… everything,” Lustrous said, causing the Princess to giggle at his words. “Yeah I really didn’t know what I was in for when Cheese came around asking me to make this map. If only I could go back in time and warn myself,” Trail Blazer sarcastically remarked. “But then you would have missed out on so much,” Steel Wing gave a rare jab, smirking at the earth pony. “Yes, think of all the bedmates who’d be so sad if Trail Blazer hadn’t set out across Equestria,” Lustrous teased. “Oh so the stallions are ganging up on me?” Trail Blazer grinned, an evil twinkle in her eye. “Well if you’re going to talk about bedmates… hey, Princess? Care to hear about how Lustrous here-” Lustrous knew exactly what she was about to say and to silence her he leaped over the table and tackled her, covering the lascivious mare’s mouth with his hooves. “N-Not a word!” “My, aren’t you all quite rambunctious,” Celestia laughed at their antics. Lustrous and Trail Blazer both looked up in embarrassment, the unicorn took note of the knocked over chairs and the fact he had just flown over their dining table to tackle another pony, and a mare at that. He blushed profusely before jumping off of his friend and bowing his head repeatedly to the Princess. “I’m so sorry for my behavior!” The map mare merely groaned and rolled her eyes, getting up and smacking him on the head. “No need to apologize, please. It’s refreshing to meet with ponies who are comfortable being themselves around me,” Princess Celestia told him. “Yes, well...” Lustrous got up and dusted himself off, still blushing. He and Trail Blazer returned to their seats while Steel Wing chuckled at their expense. “Uh, now that the conversation has shifted a bit there was something else I wanted to talk about,” Trail Blazer said, getting Princess Celestia’s full attention. “You remember what we told you about the city of Tri-Point?” Celestia sighed, briefly closing her eyes as if trying to not get too annoyed. “Yes. What you’ve told me of it and its ruler is troubling to me.” Trail Blazer nodded. “He gave us a letter for either you or the representatives. I have it in one of my saddlebags back in our room. Sorry to leave you with such a downer but...” The Princess raised a hoof to silence her “No need, it is one of the many consequences of ruling Equestria. I must deal with the bad as evenly as the good,” Their monarch said. “Princess? When it comes to your rulership there is also something I wanted to ask,” Steel Wing said, raising his hoof like a good student. “Ask away,” Celestia smiled at him. “How long do you think it will take before you centralize the governing and management of Equestria here? How much longer will Thunderstorm and the other representatives… be representatives?” Was his question. Princess Celestia pondered his question for a bit, Trail Blazer and Lustrous also keenly interested in her answer. “Hmm.” She hummed to herself. “As of right now it will still be a long while before Equestria is truly unified. The reason for this as I’m sure you well know by now is how sparsely populated the country is and the lack of communication between ponies. Soon I will call Thunderstorm here and his weather and mail projects will extend from this castle out to the rest of Equestria. The roads will begin their construction as well. Once the foundation is laid I will thank the representatives for a job well done and reassign them to other duties. At that point my sister and I will officially take up our rulership and truly begin the new age for a unified ponykind.” “I can’t wait to see it,” Lustrous giddily clapped his hooves together. “Well, this will still likely be several years out. Your map will help quite a bit in speeding things up though,” Celestia said to them. “Speaking of our map I’m sorry to kind of just spit in the face of your hospitality or whatever but I think the three of us should get on our way later today,” Trail Blazer. “I’m not bothered at all, Miss Trail Blazer. I know you’re taking your job seriously and wish to wrap it up,” Princess Celestia smiled. “While I did wish to speak with you all and have enjoyed our little tea time you’re more than free to leave whenever you want.” “You honor us too much, Princess,” Lustrous bowed his head. “Would it be that we could stay for longer.” Trail Blazer snorted at him. “Yeah, yeah, sorry to disappoint you but we’re gonna be knee deep in the snow soon enough.” “When your journey is done and the map completed I would like a copy of it. And I would be most pleased if all three of you came back to deliver it and visit with me again,” Princess Celestia warmly smiled. Although what she said didn’t exactly sound like a “request”. “Gladly, your majesty,” Lustrous smiled back at her. Steel Wing nodded and Trail Blazer shrugged, grinning. The earth pony could certainly think of worse ways to spend her time after this mission was complete. Although she probably would want to rest for a bit before setting right back out again. After that the Princess got ready to go about her daily business, she was still preparing for the future and taking care of quite a number of things even while her castle was still under construction, and the three travelers soon excused themselves to gather up their things. Princess Celestia said a final goodbye to each one of them and it would be the last they saw of her during this visit. Only an hour later were the three heading out from the castle and walking through the woods to the north, the last leg of their journey right ahead of them.