//------------------------------// // Marked Changes // Story: The Royal Fillies REDUX // by blazikenking //------------------------------// Mr. Lens had a bunch of pictures at the front of the classroom on the first day of fifth grade, and even after a few seconds of thought, I couldn’t figure out what the common thread was between flowers, candy, some odd emblems, and gears could possibly be. “Today and through the year, we will be learning about cutie marks, their history, and what they mean,” Mr. Lens said as he gestured to the pictures with a wing. “These images appear on a pony’s flank when they discover their special talent and accept it. Some ponies take longer to discover and accept their talent than others. Some ponies’ marks may not appear until adulthood, and in very few instances, not at all. “The same or similar images do not always mean the same thing. Gears, for example, could represent a talent for machinery, teamwork, or understanding how a system works. A rose could be a talent for growing roses, having a romantic charm, or making things with roses.” Sunflower raised a hoof and was called on. “What if we get our marks during the year?” “Then you can share your cutie mark story. You won’t get any extra credit for it, though. There’s no way to predict when a cutie mark will appear, or what it will be.” One day, during a crazy game of H&H, it happened. Quick Quip was making his usual quips and having Jester do his usual crazy physics defying stuff while we were fighting a wild dragon, when there was a flash of light from his flanks. “Le gasp! Une marque de cutie!” Quick Quip exclaimed when it happened. Brooke glanced down at his flank to look at the mark. “A speech bubble with speed lines. That looks about right for him. Congratulations, Quick Quip.” She started applauding, and the rest of us followed her lead. “Thank you, thank you everypony,” Quick Quip said while bowing. “But really, it was all of you that made this possible. I would especially like to thank Soapy for all the gestures of guidance-” Soapy promptly bonked the back of his head as she’d done many times before with her wing. “-Brooke for the books-” Brooke bonked his forehead with one of her books. “-and everypony else’s incredible support and encouragement.” We all promptly started booing him and telling him to get new jokes, as we’d done so often in good spirit before. “What kind of cute ceañera party will it be?” Diamond eagerly asked. “I don’t know, but there will be laughter! There will be silliness! There will be. . . Improv!” I immediately remembered my two weeks with Pinkie and the scriptless shows we put on. “What kind of audience will you have?” “That. . . Is something I haven’t thought of yet.” He went from serious to dramatic in a flash. “Princess, oh Princess Inova, will you hear my petition?” “I make no promises,” I flatly said. “Could you set an empty stage in the middle of the market for our improv show one week from today?” “Our show?” Sunflower asked. “Whose show?” “All eight of us, of course,” Quick Quip said. “And I have no idea what we’ll be doing either.” Instead of H&H the next Tuesday, we went to the spot I'd claimed in the market for Quick Quip and started the show. After hearing the story of my time with Pinkie Pie, he had chosen to make and set up some spinners. One had our names on it, the other had different themes and things on it, and both were set up for any present audience members to spin. Above the stage was a banner explaining that this cute caeñera was open to audience involvement with the spinners. We had no props, backdrops, or costume pieces, so to play the role of a guard, I had to really act the part. “Halt, citizen!” I firmly said as Brooke approached. “What brings you to these dangerous woods?” “Ohoho!” Brooke laughed, playing a snooty noble. “I am merely on my way to survey my newly purchased lands. Isn’t that right, my trusty attendant?” “Yes,” Girder said in a very deadpan voice. “We are here to ask the lands some questions.” We stopped as somepony spun the spinners. “Quick Quip as a ninja!” The star of the show landed behind me. “Behold, my incredible sneaking skills!” He loudly proclaimed before stomping across the stage. “I will now-” “Too loud. . .” Sunflower, playing a tired pony and laying on the stage, grabbed Quick Quip and kept him in place. Her name hadn’t come up on the spinners for a while, and it looked more and more like she was about to actually fall asleep. “No! Ensnared by my own trap! Not again!” The day was certainly interesting, to say the least. I collapsed onto the couch when I got home. The many roles I’d played and switched between kept bouncing around in my head, and thinking had become difficult. “So, how was Quick Quip’s cute ceañera?” Mom asked from the kitchen as she made dinner. The sizzling sounds sounded very appropriate for my fried brain. “Too wild,” I answered after getting the brainpower together that I needed. “It reminded me of my time with Pinkie Pie.” “I can imagine that. Oh, Skyla won’t be home tonight. She’s out celebrating Comet Kicker’s cute ceañera and it’s going to be a sleepover.” I raised my head at the information. “Didn’t she just go to a cute ceañera last week?” “And the week before. At this rate, she’ll be attending a cute ceañera every week, and she has enough friends for it too.” I let the two rocks fall from my telekinetic grip. “Hey, dad?” “Yes, Inova?” dad asked. “What do you think my cutie mark will be?” He shrugged. “I have no idea. When I was a blank flank colt, I wanted to try my hoof at making armor, since that’s kind of my name.” I dramatically gasped. “No! Really?” “Oh, yes! Anyways, it turned out that I didn’t really have the fortitude to handle the heat of a forge, so I had to give that up after nearly a month of effort. Later on, while I was playing with my friends, I heard a flare spell go wrong and I saw it land on the other side of a stone wall by the playground. Before I knew it, I was right in front of the wall and had a shield up. The flare exploded, along with the wall, right onto my barrier.” “Did you die?” “Yes, but I got better!” We took a moment to chuckle at the banter. “When the dust cleared, I had my cutie mark, along with dust and debris in my coat, and a pretty bad headache. Nopony else was affected by the blast, and I was glad about that.” “Cool! Wait, how did you know it was a flare spell gone wrong?” “I saw it on a field trip once. It made a very loud whistling sound and had a dark red glow. Twilight was with me, and she immediately tried to tell the recruit what he did wrong. She was only four years old at the time. Anyways, let’s get back to your levitation practice.” I found Brooke during lunch outdoors one Monday and sat with her. Not only because she was a friend of mine, but also because her presence provided me with some protection from Nightshade. “What’s up?” I asked. “I’m working on tomorrow’s plot,” she said. “So no peeking.” “Can I read one of the H&H volumes then?” “I’ve only got this one with me right now.” She floated volume 15 onto the table and opened it for me. “Thanks.” I ate my salad at a leisurely pace while I read her story of the events. While I did remember them clearly from the games we played, reading about them from the way she wrote it was a very different experience. As I got more absorbed in the story, I started forgetting about my lunch. As I reached the conclusion of the encounter, a magic sound caught my attention. “Inova!” I looked at Brooke, and she was very excited. “Yes?” “My cutie mark appeared!” She got out of her chair and turned so I could see the mark, which looked like an open book and a quill over a flowing stream. “Congratulations!” I was very happy for Brooke getting her cutie mark, but I also felt a bit of dread. She was probably going to have a cute ceañera, and I didn’t feel entirely ready to celebrate another one. One thing I was really happy about was that everypony around us didn’t join in on the celebration. Brooke and I had more than enough positive energy between us. “Let’s see. . .” Brooke went back to writing, and I wasn’t about to stop her. I also wasn’t about to mention that I caught a glimpse of a new name she wrote: Wrhai. As much as I wanted to know more, I knew it would be better to wait. On Saturday, we all met up at a place that had opened recently in the Empire: the Tsunami Water Park. “Thanks for showing up, everypony,” Brooke said at the entrance. “I ordered VIP day passes for us. All we have to do is get them and we’ll have access to expedited lines, the spa, and free snacks.” I looked around, then let out an exaggerated sigh of relief. “Good thing Skyla didn’t hear you say that.” My comment got some laughter from everypony, including me. We went to the ticket booth and Brooke talked to the mare behind the counter. Once she confirmed the list (and looked surprised when she noticed I was there), she levitated out some thin blue bands and put one around the base of each of our necks, except for Girder. His band went closer to the middle of his neck, and the mare took care to make sure it wasn’t uncomfortable with his short mane under it. “So, where first?” Sunflower asked. “That big slide looks fun!” “That was my first idea,” Brooke said. “Follow me, everypony.” As we followed Brooke, I couldn’t quite shake the weird feeling that I was underdressed for the water park. Nopony except the park staff was wearing anything, as was normal, but the confusion I felt kept hovering over me like a strange cloud. I quickly became glad that we had the VIP passes, since the normal lines were pretty long. We still had to climb the spiral stairs and wait since the mare up top was alternating between the normal and VIP lines, sending two ponies at a time. As we waited, I suddenly realized I had never taken any swimming lessons and a knot of nervousness made its home in my chest. Knowing I was immortal helped a little bit, along with the mare sending two at a time from a line on a double inner tube thing. I had the mixed fortune of being with Quick Quip for my ride down. He seemed comfortable with everything, which calmed me down a bit, but I had no idea what the goofball would do. “Our turn!” He happily said when it was our turn. “Inova, how about you take the front end?” “Why?” I asked. “If you point your horn forward, we’ll be more aerodynamic and go faster!” The mare watching the slide had a hoof over her muzzle as she struggled to hold back a chuckle. “Whenever you’re ready, go.” Not wanting to hold up the lines, I got on the front part of the dual tube. Once Quick Quip was on, we were sent down. The slide had twists, turns, and crests where our speed nearly launched us off, with water falling from above occasionally soaking us. Towards the end, there was a sign telling us to not get off the tube. Shortly after the slide ended and we floated along, the reason became clear when a lift came up from below, picking us up and moving us along until getting dumped out and into a shallow pool where other ponies on dual tubes were getting off and out. Brooke, Diamond, Girder, and Sunflower were waiting for us. Soprano and Hearthstone weren’t far behind, and all of us were soaked. “Where next, oh fearless leader?” Quick Quip dramatically asked. Brooke looked around, then made her decision. “Let’s go to the rapids next!” After a multitude of fast and slow things that soaked us repeatedly and left us feeling chilly in the Empire’s cool air, we went to the VIP exclusive spa to wind down and warm up in a hot tub. While everypony was chatting about the fun we had, I found myself nodding off. The pleasantly scented air, the warm water, being surrounded by my friends, and the thrill of the rides wearing off made it difficult to stay awake. I chose not to fight it too much. The next thing I knew, I wasn’t in the water. There was a towel over my back and I was moving on something. “What happened?” “You used Soapy as a pillow in the hot tub,” Sunflower said. I looked down at her, then realized I was looking down. “We moved you to Girder’s back and called it a day.” “Huh?” I worked through the warm and fuzzy haze of sleep and figured out what happened. “Wait, did we leave because of me? I’m sorry!” “It was just a coincidence, Inova,” Brooke calmly said. “The spa was our last stop at the park anyways. Just stay up there and we’ll take you home.” I glanced around and saw that Diamond, Hearthstone, Quick Quip, and Soprano weren’t with us. “Where’s everypony else?” “They went home,” Girder said. “Different routes, you know?” “Oh.” By the time we got to my place, I was already feeling sleepy again. After I was gently dropped off, I made my way inside. “Hey sis!” Skyla happily greeted me as I closed the door. “Was the water park any fun?” “Yeah, it. . .” A big yawn escaped me. “It was fun.” “That’s a nice towel you got. It looks good.” “Huh?” “The towel on your back.” I looked back and saw the towel draped across my back. The ends had a blue wave pattern while the middle was white. “Oh. I guess it’s mine now? I’m going to bed.” “But mom hasn’t even started supper yet.” “I’m tired. Good night, sis.” I went to my room, climbed into bed, and fell asleep without my blankets on me. The towel was good enough. A random question struck me during a break in Princess practice. “Mom, are there any special laws around cutie marks?” “Can you be more specific?” Mom asked. “Well, like, do you need a cutie mark before you can be a parent?” I caught a glimpse of an exasperated look before mom answered with a smile. “No, you don’t, although there used to be laws around that centuries ago in Equestria. Unfortunately, some ponies actually think such laws are current.” “There were?” “Yes. Celestia got rid of those because it turns out that some ponies’ special talent is being a very good mother or father. Those marks tend to appear much later than others, for obvious reasons.” I nodded in understanding. “That makes sense.” “Before that, there were also laws that dictated what jobs a pony could have based on their cutie mark. That led to the Artists Rebellion in. . . Around 340 A.N.M., I believe. The ponies involved stormed Canterlot Castle, defaced much of the interior, and actually killed a number of guards and staff, stopping only when Celestia caught them all in a telekinetic bubble.” “What happened next?” “Celestia picked out the leader and talked to him first, after getting him to calm down. That was the first she’d heard of that law, and she spent the next week looking for its documentation. In one session, she struck the law down and punished those who had raided the castle. Their punishments involved repairing and replacing what they’d damaged, under armed guard watch, and she personally painted the phrase ‘was it worth it?’ in gold on one wall of each of their cells. Seeing the question every day eventually made them break down in tears, one by one, and she was there to help them come to terms with the results of their methods.” “Would things have turned out differently if they petitioned normally?” “At the time, they couldn’t. Things were very different back then. However, I think that if they could have petitioned, they would have gotten the positive change without any bloodshed or punishments.” Mom’s attention was caught by the announcer clearing his throat. “Back to Princess lessons, Inova.” One day, during a slightly less crazy than usual, but still pretty crazy game of H&H, it happened again. Soprano was singing a beautiful song she’d come up with for Aurora, and just as she finished, there was a flash of light from her flanks. Quick Quip did not hesitate. “Le gasp! Une marque de cutie!” “He said the same thing when he got his mark,” I told dad. “Really?” Dad asked. “Come on, Soprano. Let’s see your mark.” Soprano got out of her chair and let us see her cutie mark. It was a simple music note, except for the straight parts having a slight curve to them, like it was in motion. It looked and felt very appropriate for her. “Any cute ceañera ideas?” Brooke asked. Only a few seconds of thought went into her request. “Prince Armor, can we have a karaoke party in the castle auditorium?” “With or without an audience?” Dad asked as he got a spare piece of paper and a pencil from Brooke. “Can it be just us and our families? I don’t want too much of an audience.” “I can look into it and have Inova give you the answer tomorrow.” “Thank you!” Soprano sat back down and turned to Brooke. “So, did the song of peace appease him?” Brooke made the call after a few seconds and no dice rolls. “Despite being a literal god of war and the embodiment of rage, Wrhai is moved by your song, and decides to leave you and the party alone for now, leaving everyone free to explore the fiery bloodscape that his attacks created.” She checked her notes. “And due to unforeseen circumstances, today’s session must be cut short.” We all gave our customary halfhearted groans of disappointment that accompanied the end of a session. “Is everything alright, Inova?” dad asked as we went to the castle. “You look a bit tense.” “It’s alright,” I said. “I’m happy for Soprano getting her cutie mark.” “Is it because the game was cut short?” “No. It’s. . .” My voice trailed off as I failed to find the words I wanted. “I don’t know what it is.” It turned out that most of my friends had siblings, which surprised me. Nopony mentioned any of them before, so the herd in the auditorium made me only a little bit nervous. The only friend without any siblings was Diamond. “Thanks for coming, everypony,” Soprano, surrounded by her family, said from the stage. “I know karaoke is a rather silly thing for a cute ceañera, but I believe we can and will have fun with it!” Soprano and her family went first. Her voice was very nice, her parents’ voices were good, and her two little brothers were way off. While it was a bit rough to listen to, it was still fun to watch. Hearthstone, along with his big brother, little sister, and parents, did their best to match Soprano and her family. All of them sounded off key, and any attempts to remain serious faltered with the silly song the machine had randomly picked for them. Quick Quip apparently inherited his silliness from both of his parents, and so too did his two older sisters and little brother. All of them managed to get comedic jabs in at each other between verses, and turned a serious song into something entertaining. Diamond and her parents got a sappy romance song that left her face with a deep red blush and her parents happily leaning against each other. Sunflower was the middle of three sisters, and as they sang in front of and with their parents, each one tried to take the middle position. It almost turned into a fight, which I found rather amusing. Girder and his dad were both heavily muscled while his mom and older sister were slim and elegant, kind of like mom. The fact that Girder was the second biggest pony in the group, behind his dad, was surprising.  Brooke and her dad sang together onstage. Her mom stayed in the seats with a three week old colt in her forelegs. To my relief, Brooke’s little brother, the main source of my nervousness, was happy with the karaoke party and wasn’t raising a fuss.  Finally, it was time for me and my family to go onstage. Our song was, appropriately, a song of royalty. It was one I’d heard a few times before, so I knew most of the words. At the end, there were a multitude of surprised faces, including my own. As the praise for my singing voice died down, I admitted that I had no idea I could sing as well as I did. As the cute ceañera went on, we went up in different groups to sing, with the exception of Brooke’s mom and brother. All in all, it was pretty fun. “You’re very easy to please, Inova,” Aunt Celestia said one evening during the regular Hearth’s Warming trip to Canterlot. “I like the quiet,” I said from under Aunt Celestia’s wing. The lit fireplace we were laying in front of was one of my favorite parts of the Canterlot trips since there wasn’t one at home, and it was away from everything else that was going on. “As do I. Would you like to hear one of my lesser known skills?” “Sure.” My intrigue turned to confusion when I heard and felt a soft rumbling sound coming from her. “Are you. . .” “Yes, I can purr like a cat. It took lots of practice, but I can do it.” “Why?” “I’ve been around a long time, so I’ve had time to pick up odd skills. Luna freaked out shortly after her return when I did that, then told me she never said to stop.” I smiled at the scene I was imagining. “Did she call you Catlestia?” Aunt Celestia lightly laughed. “She did. I still have the litter box she got me as a prank gift. It may be a common mundane item for dirty stuff, but it holds a special place in my heart since it was the first thing she gave me as a gift after her return.” I was just leaving history class when Diamond almost crashed into me. “Inova! Guess what?” Before I could guess, she turned, and on her flank was what looked like a heart shape carved out of a diamond. “I got my cutie mark!” “When?” I asked. Her flanks were blank earlier in the day, and I obviously hadn’t seen the event. “You know when I was holding Cherry back so you could get to class on time earlier today?” Cherry, one of Nightshade’s herd, liked to block me in the halls from time to time. Despite her unassuming name and stature, she was a very strong earth pony. Her blockade game was one that I usually played by standing still and doing nothing. “What happened?” I started walking to my next class as Diamond told the tale. “It was after you’d left. Nightshade and the rest of her herd showed up and tried to tell me how pitiful I was for taking pity on you, and then offered to let me join her herd.” “Which you didn’t.” “Of course I wouldn’t. You’re my friend. I think my mark means that I’m good at being. . . Uhm. . . What’s the word for not backing down?” I gave it some thought. “Does ‘resolute’ sound right?” “Yes! I’m good at standing resolute for those I care about. Unbreakable, even!” I smiled at Diamond’s story, even as what I could only describe as preemptive fatigue seemed to settle in the back of my head. I had no idea what the cute ceañera would be like. I knew I’d go and have fun, but I also wanted it to just be over. I stopped at the familiar door to Diamond’s home and knocked. I was feeling both tense and tired at the same time, but I did my best to push those aside and keep a smile on my face. I was not about to be the party pooper. Nick opened the door. “Inova, come on in.” “Thanks.” I went in and saw that the house was decorated with banners, paper chains, and other shiny things. Various party games were set up around the house, and I noticed that I wasn’t the last one to arrive. “Where’s Quick Quip?” “He’s probably running late,” Diamond said. “Who wants to play pin the tail on the pony?” Hearthstone volunteered to go first, quickly got blindfolded, spun around, given the tail, and sent in the general direction of the pony on the wall. The fact that the picture was Pinkie Pie was both surprising and made sense. While we encouraged and tried to guide Hearthstone, I heard Ruby quietly singing to herself as she took a cake out of the oven. The promise of fresh cake lifted my mood quite a bit. Hearthstone got the tail on the mane, and we laughed at how far off he was. Girder went next, and he missed the picture entirely. The rest of us missed as well, though Diamond got close.  Quick Quip arrived right after my failed attempt. “Sorry about the delay, everypony. I got held up helping at my sister’s coffee stand.” “Coffee stand?” Sunflower asked. “You could say I’m latte to the party now.” A look of realization crossed his face. “She set me up! Again!” “Who wants to play Twister for my amusement?” Diamond asked in as haughty of a voice as she could. “Twenty bits on Girder!” Nick called out from elsewhere in the house. “Twenty on Soprano!” Ruby responded. “It is on!” Girder went to the Twister mat, followed by the rest of us. Diamond spun the spinner. “Right forehoof on yellow!” I was the first to fall, and I sat by Diamond as the game continued. Soprano and Quick Quip had the extra challenge of keeping their wings out of everypony’s way. Ruby was waving a fan over the cooling cake and cupcakes, all fresh from the oven, and it was having an effect. Everypony’s attention was split between the game and the dessert. Seeing my friends get tormented like that was actually pretty fun. “Oh, I still need to make the icing,” Ruby said in what had to be a deliberate taunt. “And the second layer. Keep having fun, everypony!” The Twister game continued, and eventually, Girder emerged as the winner. There were more games to play and things to do, and Diamond’s parents got in on the fun with their own commentary. Finally, it was time for the cake. It was red velvet cake with a hint of citrus that made it incredibly delicious, and it was the perfect way to wrap up the party. The cupcakes were given out as parting gifts in varying amounts. I got four, which was enough for me to share with my family. “Are you okay, Inova?” Mom asked over dinner. “You look exhausted.” “I’m fine,” I said as I poked at my meal. I felt fine, but I also felt drained. “Did something happen at Diamond’s party?” “No, it was good. I had fun.” “Maybe Diamond’s party wasn’t exciting enough?” Dad suggested. I repeated myself. “No, it was good. I had fun.” “Was it too much party?” Skyla asked. “Pinkie wasn’t there, so no.” Mom made a decision. “Inova, how about you go to bed early? We’ll save your cupcake.” “Okay.” I left my dinner and slowly walked to my room. Going to bed sounded good. Seven foals sat in a circle. The group of eight was missing its one alicorn, as she was taking her Princess lessons and couldn’t make it. “So, what’s up, Diamond?” Sunflower asked in her usual upbeat voice. “It’s gotta be something important, right?” “Well. . .” Diamond awkwardly started before briefly glancing at the spot where Inova normally would be in the circle. “It’s something I’ve noticed about Inova.” Naturally, Quick Quip made a smart remark with a dramatic gasp. “Don’t tell me she’s an alicorn in disguise!” “She’s an alicorn not in disguise,” Soprano dryly said. “Whew! That was a close one.” Diamond spoke up before things got more out of hoof. “Did any of you notice how drained she looked at my cute ceañera?” Brooke telekinetically held Quick Quip’s muzzle shut before he could say anything. “She did look a bit tired from the start when she arrived.” “She did have some difficulty playing Twister,” Girder said. “I thought that was just her normal hoof issues,” Hearthstone said. “It may have been that,” Sunflower concurred. “But even before that, she wasn’t quite as. . . Lively as usual.” “What do you think, Diamond?” Soprano asked. “You’re her closest friend, so you might know something.” Diamond gave it some thought as Brooke tentatively let go of Quick Quip’s muzzle. “I think she just doesn’t have the energy for all our cute ceañeras,” Diamond concluded. “How can that be?” Brooke incredulously asked. “There was over a month between each cutie mark we got, and you’re saying it takes her longer than that to get the energy to celebrate another one?” “Or maybe one party just sticks with her longer,” Quick Quip suggested. “I heard Skyla’s been to a cute ceañera every week for her friends this school year.” “Every week?” It was Girder’s turn to be surprised. “How does she have the time and energy for that?” “It’s obviously the lure of cake,” Soprano said. “She’s there to celebrate and make sure there are no leftovers. As a Princess, she is doing the work of cleaning up after her subjects.” “Quick Quip’s been a terrible influence on you, Soapy,” Brooke pointed out. Quick Quip stood a bit taller and puffed out his chest at the praise. “Why thank you.” Diamond got things back on track. “The point is that Inova may want to skip the next cute ceañera, so we need to tell her that she can.” “But she’ll probably do the tough girl thing and show up anyways,” Sunflower said. “I never said she would take the offer. I’ll see if I can tell her later.” Hearthstone was waiting for us at the entrance to Pristine Pearl one Sunday. He’d sent letters out to us the day before with Soapy’s help asking us to meet up there in the morning. I had a funny feeling about what he had to say. He got right to the point. “Everypony, as you may have known or suspected, I’ve gotten my cutie mark.” He turned and revealed the mark he’d gotten: a stone block fireplace with a fire inside it. “Audible gasp!” Quick Quip exclaimed. “I would also like to announce my cute ceañera party.” At those words a groan escaped me. I’d be there, but I simply was not made for parties every few months. “We’re going to build an outdoor arrangement at my place.” I perked up a bit. “That’s it?” “Well, not all of it. We also need to pick up the materials. Thankfully, my parents already have that paid for, and we even have a wagon we can use.” He pointed to a wagon that was next to us. “How did I not notice that?” Sunflower asked. “And why are there three harnesses on it?” “Stone is heavy.” Girder said as he went to the middle harness, which was also the biggest. “Diamond, Sunflower, you’re helping me.” Brooke looked between the harnesses and our group. “Why isn’t there a fourth harness for Inova? She’s got earth pony strength too. I think.” “If something goes wrong, I need ponies with better hoofwork and control than she does,” Hearthstone pointed out. “He’s right, you know,” I added. While I was glad to not be pulling, part of me really wanted to help with that part of it. After a few rocky starts, Girder, Sunflower, and Diamond were pulling as a decently coordinated team. Along the way, Hearthstone revealed how he got his cutie mark: he was at home drawing layout after layout for his backyard after his parents started talking about building something there. He presented his ideas to them, and when they chose one of his instead of a professionally designed one, he realized his talent for designing and planning. By his own admission, his budgeting skills still needed some work. The materials we picked up consisted of stone blocks, stone slabs, a few metal frames and pieces with no immediately clear purpose, a crate of miscellaneous stuff, and some outdoor furniture. The distinction between indoor and outdoor furniture was almost meaningless in the Crystal Empire, but it was still there. Girder, Diamond, and Sunflower had a hard time moving the fully loaded wagon, so Hearthstone and Brooke, flanking the wagon, used their levitation to make the load a little easier to move. Quick Quip flew ahead and announced the incoming block party while Soprano kept an eye on the cargo from the air. With my limited levitation abilities, I occasionally gave the wagon a telekinetic push from behind. It wasn’t much, but there was definitely a small burst of speed when I helped, and that actually made me smile. Once the wagon was parked and the earth ponies detached, we all collapsed into a pony pile to rest and catch our breath. “Maybe we should have gotten it delivered,” Diamond got out between breaths. “My parents couldn’t afford that,” Hearthstone replied. “Not after my miscalculations.” After a few minutes of rest, I was the first one off of the pile. There were markers planted in the ground already, with a circle in the middle and two identical curved sections a distance from it. “So, what’s the plan?” I asked. “Fire pit, tables, decorations,” Hearthstone said. “I’ll get the plans for the stone stuff in a bit.” Once everypony had recovered, it was time to unload the wagon. Brooke and Hearthstone levitated groups of things off while Soprano and Quick Quip took individual items off. Girder got the crate open, then Sunflower, Diamond, and I took things out and organized them for later use. The box of tiki torches was pretty odd to me, but I trusted that Hearthstone had a plan for them. “We’ll start with the fire pit,” Hearthstone decided. “It’s sixteen wedges to a circle, and we’ll start with two circles of red blocks. We’ll also need the stone glue.” We moved and got the materials over to the fire pit area. “Do we need glue on the sides of the blocks?” Brooke asked. “Nope, just the top.” Once Hearthstone put the first block down, the rest of us went to work. He made sure the blocks were perfectly placed before we put down the glue and the next layer of blocks, offset by half a block. The next layer was red wedges and hollow black metal pieces. After that, Hearthstone started being more specific with the block colors, mixing in tan, then dark gray. The stones that capped it off were all dark gray, and once it was done, we stepped back to look at our work. “Is there some sort of design in there?” Soprano asked. “I’m not seeing it.” “Think of a campfire,” Hearthstone explained. The design became clear to me with those words. I could see the red flames, yellow glow, and gray smoke in the design. “That’s so cool! But what about the hollow parts?” “That is to let heat out to warm more of your body at once. It also lets the fire burn better. Just make sure to watch your tail.” By the time we finished one table, we were all thoroughly exhausted and sore. “Hey, Hearthstone?” Diamond asked from atop the pony pile we were in. “Yes, Diamond?” Hearthstone answered. “Can we stay here tonight? I’m too tired to walk home.” Her statement got a chorus of agreement from the rest of us. “I dunno. Mom!” His mom, a soft pink unicorn, showed up. “What is it, Hearthstone?” “Can my friends sleepover tonight? We’re all really tired.” She looked between the pile of us and somewhere inside the house. “I’ll prepare for it while your dad informs your families.” “Thank you,” I and a few others said from the pile. It took most of an hour before Hearthstone’s dad came back, his saddlebags close to breaking and three flat boxes on his back. “I got pizza.” Those three words made us cheer, and Hearthstone levitated the boxes to the dining table. As we had supper, I couldn’t help but overhear Hearthstone’s parents talking. Being closest to them and turning my ears towards them made it easier. “What were you thinking, getting pizza?” She quietly chided. “How much did it cost?” “Mr. Slice gave them to me,” he explained. “I told him what was going on, he had some leftover pies, and he let me have them for free. I also got the foals’ saddlebags from everypony since they have school tomorrow.” “You didn’t have to. Pristine Pearl allows absences for cute ceañeras.” “I will not. Hearthstone may have decided to have the most subdued and productive cute ceañera of all time, but celebration or not, these are also the final weeks of the school year. None of them can afford to miss a day.” I turned my ears forwards and my attention towards the pizza. As I ate, I realized that Hearthstone’s party really didn’t feel like a party. We were all working as a team to make something, and that felt much more satisfying to me than a normal party. I decided that my cute ceañera, whenever it happened, would be similarly productive. Sunflower, Brooke, Diamond, Soprano, and I slept in a pony pile on the floor in Hearthstone’s sister’s room. She was incredibly excited that I was there, and if it weren’t for Diamond talking her down, none of us would have gotten any sleep. After school on Monday, we all went back to Hearthstone’s place to finish construction. The second table went up with little issue, followed by putting together and placing the furniture.  Each of us planted a tiki torch at the corner of each table to finish it off. “I declare this cute ceañera complete!” Hearthstone stated once we were done. “Thanks for sticking through the whole thing, everypony. I was worried some of you would leave before it was done.” “What kind of friends would we be if we didn’t stick through it?” Brooke teased. “Besides, I needed a break from writing, and I got some ideas out of it too.” “Not gonna lie, I’m actually feeling really good after all that work,” Sunflower added. “I feel very satisfied with it.” The smile on my face felt more honest to me than in previous cute ceañeras, and I was much happier than when we were at the water park. I decided to voice something that had been on my mind for a while after another perfectly executed flop during wing practice. “Mom, why haven’t I met your parents?” She tensed up immediately at the question. “Ah, that.” She looked around while I got back to my hooves. “Well, you know I was born a pegasus, right?” “Yeah.” “After getting my cutie mark and becoming an alicorn, my parents. . . They kind of went a bit mad with pride. They even came up with the name Mi Amore Cadenza to make me sound even more important. I put up with being trotted around like a trophy child and using that name for a while when I wasn’t in Canterlot and taking magic or Princess lessons from Celestia.” “Oh.” I was starting to understand why I’d never seen mom’s parents based on the glimpse I’d been given. She continued, and I understood more. “Celestia did reasonable things to try and get them to back off a bit. Foalsitting Twilight was one of those things, but they spun it into yet another thing to brag about. From what I’ve heard, they’ve only gotten worse since you and your sister were born.” “Is that why you don’t want to go to Vanhoover?” “Yes. My parents are so bad about bragging, the rest of the city decided to simply give them a lot of land for free just to put a whole extra mile between them and the town. It was unanimous from the city council and the citizens, and that was before you were born. If you ask the ponies there, they all get this particular look on their face. It’s hard to describe, but it’s very understandable. Coincidentally, my parents are the only ponies in the world not allowed to travel to the Crystal Empire.” I didn’t know what mom’s parents looked like, but I could imagine the chaos that would be caused by them going around bragging about their relation to us and demanding special treatment just for being mom’s parents. It was not a pleasant picture. The only silver lining I could see was that it would be something Nightshade and I could be friends over, but that wasn’t worth torturing the Empire.