//------------------------------// // Bloom // Story: By the Unfaltering Light of the Sky // by CandleEyes //------------------------------// Pinkie gave the supplies she had set up one last look, nodding in satisfaction. It would be perfect as long as she could convince Twilight to let her use the library. In hindsight it would have been smarter to take care of that first, but she hoped things still worked out. Sometimes you had to just go for it. "I'm home!" announced Scootaloo before plopping down on the couch and sighing. What a morning she'd had... "Did you have a good time?" Her mother eyed her, eagerness shining in her eyes. She looked up lazily. "...yeah. We, um. We flew an' stuff. My wings are tired," she whimpered. "Aww..." The mare leaned down and kissed her cheek softly. "Then go ahead and rest, dear." "I've still got work to do though. Oh, fine. I guess I won't be able to do much if my wings are all sore. Can you tell me in half an hour or something?" "Of course." "Oh, and one more thing, mom." "Hm?" "Could you get me a pillow?" She smiled fondly. "No problem, sweetie." "Alright, my dear Twilight, where shall we go first?" "That is a very good question. There's a lot of places I could show you." "I suppose it'd be easier for you if we started with one of your friends." "Hm." She gasped. "I forgot to ask about where the party would actually be!" She blushed. "Erm... Rose, do you like bakeries?" "I do love confections." "Then I know just where to take you." Trixie sighed. "It's been a while, hasn't it?" "Only two weeks or so." "It certainly seemed like an eternity to me. Of course, I don't expect you to feel the same. For you I must have just been another random mare, successfully seduced." "Hey, don't be so mean. I remember all the faces I see." "Oh, I'm sure. The flanks too, presumably?" "Hey, quit it!" "Fine." Dusty attempted to steer the conversation towards a more delicate topic. "So... how you been?" "Quite pleasant. Except that you managed to completely demolish my worldview." He gave her a look of regret. "The one good thing you did. Well, two good things." "Huh?" "It's... a bit difficult to explain." "I've got time." "Well, maybe it isn't only about you? Maybe it hurts me to divulge the details? Has the idea that other ponies in the world matter ever even occured to you!?" She became painfully aware of the owner watching them with interest and blushed. "...sheesh. I'm sorry." "I should be the one apologizing. One doesn't snap like that. Even if you deserve it." "Yeah. I do. So..." "Yes?" "Are you going to tell me what I did?" She muttered something about mules, then turned to the counter. "Do you serve alcohol here?" Celestia sighed once more, watching the skies. "It's beautiful, isn't it? That sun is so familiar and yet wondrously fresh every time. The way it unabashedly lights up the world..." "Yup. Amazing," commented Spike, feigning interest. "Um, Your Majesty?" "Yes?" "Why exactly am I here?" "I do believe only you can answer that question, seeing as you came here by your own will." Spike sat in stunned silence for a moment. "Well, yeah, but... I don't usually stay this long." "You usually aren't offered a wide selection of fine gems for your enjoyment." The dragon looked at the bowl before him again, filled to the top with a scrumptious assortment of stones. He decided it wasn't worth arguing against. "So. Anything interesting you'd like to share?" "Not really," he answered, attempting to decide between sapphire and turquoise. He took a bite of each. "Has Miss Sparkle had any developments, or any of her friends?" "They're doing great. It's amazing how... sociable Twilight is now, though. I mean, a year ago-! Well, you know how she was." The alicorn nodded. "I believe a messenger of mine is meeting with her today. Please ask your friend about her after your return." "Will do." "That's everything, then. You may resume gloating about that unicorn of yours." "Hey! Rarity's more than just a unicorn..." Celestia smiled softly. "One more thing. Please stop chewing so loudly." As the two ponies entered the Corner, they were warmly greeted by a (equally warm-hued) stallion. "Hey, Twilight. Who's your friend?" "Hello, Mr. Cake. This is- oh." "Allow me, please. I am Rose Petal, one of Miss Sparkle's cousins." "Pleasure to meet you, Ma'am!" "Mr. Cake, do you know where Pinkie is?" "She's upstairs, planning a- whoops. Almost spoiled the surprise!" "She already told me about the party." "Oh." His ears drooped. "Well then. I'll tell her you want to talk to her." He disappeared, leaving the Element of Magic to voice her concerns. "Cousin? Really?" "You should be flattered." Twilight sighed, bewildered. After a few moments, a magenta mare came down, beaming at them. "Hi again, Twi! And you're... Rose Petal?" "That is correct." "Huh. What did you want to talk to me about, Twilight?" "Well, see, Pinkie, about that party... where exactly is it going to be?" "Right! See, Mrs. Cake asked me not to host it here, so I... kind of planned for it being held at the library. Sorry." "That's fine. I wasn't planning anything today, really- Spike's away for his regular Canterlot meet, so I'm free." "Alright! Then I guess you're invited. Does your cousin like parties too?" "I am rather fond of them." "That's the spirit. I'll be going, then. Nighttime's coming and I've still got ponies to invite." "So, um... What did you want to talk to me about?" "Well. Fluttershy, you know how you're kind of... mellow?" "Yes, I guess you could say that." "Yeah, well, you wouldn't describe me like that, would you?" "I- I suppose not. I mean. You're a bit..." "Rough and tumble?" "Let's go with that. Oh! I should go see how the tea's doing." As Fluttershy departed, Rainbow closed her eyes and groaned. Why was this such an awkward situation for her? The yellow mare was the friendliest pony she knew. A bit reserved and difficult to actually befriend, but once you got there... Her mind drifted off and was only awakened by the scent of lavender. "I hope you like it. It's a personal favorite of mine." "Thanks." She stood up, a tray with two steaming cups before her. She took one of them and sipped slowly. "It's good." "You're welcome." "So, as I was saying. I realized I haven't actually felt that way... since I was a foal, really." "Does this... have anything to do with Gilda?" "Wha- oh, Fluttershy." She closed her eyes and cursed her friend's intuition. "I'm really sorry for what she did." "I already knew that; it's nothing, really." "It isn't. She..." The mare sighed. "We used to understand each other, back at flight camp. We just kind of clicked. Sometimes I wish it hadn't happened. But still, I kept behaving like that- it had brought me friendship before, so why should it bother anyone now? Then she came back." She took another sip, swallowing heavily. "You know how that went..." Fluttershy nodded slowly. "That's when I realized just how dangerous a pony like that could be- so searing with meanness. I don't remember what I felt when it hit me the first time. Fear, shame, anger at myself... But I knew I had to something." "When did that happen?" "A month ago, I think." There was no answer. "It took me a while. Until last night, actually. I was in a funk again, just lying there, trying to get to sleep, and I figured I'd go for a flight. Then I met somepony. She showed me how beautiful it is to..." She looked the yellow one in the eyes, smiling elatedly. "To just be yourself." "Isn't it? We all fit into this whole world so nicely." Dash noted the observation and kept going. "And the funniest thing is, I never even expected that pony to connect with me like that! I mean, sure, I knew she pretty much worshiped me, but... that was different." She laughed. "I guess surprises really are the best. Hey, that reminds me! I should go see if I can find Pinkie." There was a polite knocking. "I'll go see who it is, Rainbow." The blue pegasus mumbled in agreement and leaned back in her seat, relaxing. She heard two voices engaged in conversation- Fluttershy and somepony who she felt she really should be able to recognize by now... "Oh, Rainbow's here too." Her eyes snapped open and joyous recognition spread across her face. "Hey, Pinkie. What's up?" "Well, see, I was just inviting Shy here to a party I'm hosting tonight, and I was going to invite you too. So now I managed to get two for the price of one. Again!" "That sounds great. I'll definitely be there." "I heard you were looking for me earlier." "Yeah, that's been taken care of, thanks to Fluttershy. But thanks for asking." "Of course. I wouldn't forget about my friends." Dash laughed. "And that's why we love you!" "...are you sure there's nothing else you need to do?" "Yes," answered Scootaloo, trying hard to not sound frustrated. "You know Ms. Cheerilee's nice." "Yes, but... oh, okay, I'll trust you." Her father smiled at her knowingly. "Well then. Since you're free for the rest of the day-" He was interrupted by the sound of knocking. "I'll get it." Scootaloo skipped over and was greeted by the smiling visage of a pink earth pony. "Hey, Scootaloo!" She looked at the other ponies. "Hey... Scootaloo's parents." "You're Pinkie Pie, right? Dash's friend?" "That's me." "She was looking for you earlier." "Yep, I heard. Which is great, because I wanted to host a party today. Then I heard you two are friends now, so I figured that if you want, you could come by too." "Oh. Um. Could you give me a sec?" "Sure. I'll be out here." The filly turned to her parents. "So. What do you guys think?" "If you want to go, that's fine with us." The stallion forced a smile. "It's just..." He sighed, and his wife took over. "We wanted to celebrate today. You know, take you out somewhere, have fun together. It's alright, dear. We just want you to be happy." "Then I'll..." She sighed. She hated decisions. They always tore her from things. "I'll have to go with the party. Sorry." "Oh, don't be! Just remember to have fun!" The stallion nodded at her weakly. "Don't worry about me. I'm just afraid we might lose each other. As a family, I mean. It's silly, but-" He stopped as he found his daughter embracing him. "I understand, Dad. Listen, tomorrow we'll all go out together. As a family." She backed off, smiling. "And now I'll go." "Have a good time!" her mother called out as the pony left. Then she turned to the one next to her. "You little tease!" "Hey, I need to get her thinking, don't I? Besides, don't think I didn't see you grinning there." Dusty grinned. "You were expecting something... classier?" Trixie glared at him from behind a mug of ale. "It's quite good, actually. Sometimes one has to step outside their comfort zone, you know? Anyhow. You. You came in at a point in my life where I had just been humiliated, something that hadn't happened in a very long while. I had entered a town, done a show, and been ready to move on.Then by some misfortune a pair of colts managed to anger an Ursa Minor as a result of my boasting-" "A what now?" "A very large bear made of cosmic energy." "Right." "The creature followed the colts to the town I was in, and I attempted to stop it. Of course, my talent, as I would later realize, doesn't extend very far beyond putting on a nice performance. Luckily for everyone involved but me, another unicorn managed to summon her powers and gracefully incapacitate the menace. Then I... sort of ran away as fast as I could. And that's how I found you." "Ouch. That sounds rough." "I thought that too until a certain carpenter decided to rub salt in the wound." He smirked apologetically. "But I only have myself to blame. I was so desperate to just get back to what I was convinced was right that anything could be sacrificed in exchange for a cart. Which isn't to say it was incredibly rude and degrading of you to offer that as a form of payment." Dusty shook his head. "You'll never let me live that down, will you?" "No." "Thought so." "And yet, I wouldn't be anywhere without it. You opened my eyes- showed me that one can in fact go too far. A pony's talents guide their lives, but they should never endanger it. As much as I hate to say this, Mister Wood... thank you. So much." "About time I heard that." "Oh, hush." "What'll you do now?" "I'm... not sure. I was planning on heading to Fillydelphia next, possibly leaving the country for a while... what are your plans?" "Oh, I always go back to Manehattan after this. Never really leave that city all that much." "I'm afraid that means we'll part soon. I do hope your business continues to thrive, however. Though I'm sure you already know this, seeing as you taught me it so recently, always follow your dreams. They know exactly where they're going." "Yup. I knew that." He pretended to yawn. "Gee, I'd love to chat, but for some reason I keep falling asleep." "You really are impossible!" She scowled. "No wonder you ask poor showmares to pander to your needs." "I thought we agreed we'd stop talking about that." "Agreements? With you?" He whistled casually. "...you know, you oughta finish that drink." "It's certainly more interesting than you, I find." They both knew she was lying. Outside, the sun was slowly reddening, awaiting its fall. The way it lingered made her wonder if it didn't want to leave them yet.