//------------------------------// // chapter2.2 // Story: My little pony:Adventure of Seresia // by Dreamy //------------------------------// Roseluck pushed open the window and basked in the warmth that came with the first rays of sunlight at the break of day. She enjoyed a deep breath before deftly placing the small pots of daisies she had planted on the windowsill. "Sisters~ It's a gorgeous day today! Let's get all the flowers outside while it’s sunny!" She turned back to Lily and Daisy, both still dozing under the covers, and pulled back the curtain with a swoosh, letting the vibrant color of the sun fill up the bedroom. She trotted over to the bed and pulled the blanket softly. "Just five more minutes...." Lily grabbed the blanket and tucked herself in tightly, stealing Daisy's part as well, forcing Daisy out of the coziness of her dream. "What…? Is it bright already...? Aaaww~" Daisy rubbed her eyes, yawning and trying to adjust her eyes to the brilliant brightness illuminating the room. "Rise and shine, sleepyheads~ I'm going to get to work now, just don't keep me waiting, girls!" Rose trotted out of her cottage and into the streets of Ponyville, bouquets of flowers on her back, humming as she set up her stall. To her dismay, there were several occasions in a row when ponies passed by her stall, but paid no attention to her fresh flowers. Their interests seemed all to be somewhere out of town. This unconventional behavior from her usual patrons had especially intrigued her, so she stopped the next passing pony. "Princess Twilight is back in Ponyville! And there are a bunch of ponies dressed in strange clothes with things nopony has ever seen before!" "Princess Twilight is back?!" Rose replied in surprise. "Yeah, I heard from the mayor that the princess and those exotic ponies are going to build a city market outside of town! Do you want to come and check it out?" "Of course! But I still have to wait for my sisters, you go ahead!" After sending the filly away, Rose galloped back inside and threw off the cover on the two snoozing bugs, "Wakey-wakey, sisters! Princess Twilight is holding a market outside of town!" A slight grin hung on Meng Yu's face as she looked on at the curious Ponyvillans gathered not afar. Twilight stood next to her, watching as the strong stallions manipulated the props on the ground. Once the Tian Ya Chu was erected, the construction ponies drew four more circles on the ground with the Tian Ya Chu in the center. They then drew a smaller circle concentric with the four larger rings, followed by carefully carving intricately shaped runes into the interval between the concentric circles until it was filled. Twilight’s attention was locked on the movement of the workers and the strange runes on the ground, her curious mind filled with speculation about the property of the spell and the props. "We are ready to begin, Princess Twilight." After a construction pony trotted up to Meng Yu and reported in their language, Meng Yu nodded and informed Twilight. "Ambassador, please, go ahead." After receiving Twilight's permission, Meng Yu waved her hoof, signaling the oriental unicorns to quickly stand in front of the spell formation and begin chanting with each pony summoning a magical array. As the spell formation was slowly lit up, the unicorns’ magic was channeled to the center of the formation, forming a faintly glowing sphere of magic. After the sphere was properly charged up, it immediately shot into the Tian Ya Chu. As the runes on the surface of the pillar grew brighter and brighter, the beast's head installed at the top began to rise mechanically, as if it were the hands of a clock, chiming after each tick. Following the fifth chime, the beast's mouth opened and a beam of light shot out of its mouth into the sky, leading everypony’s vision skyward as the beam disappeared into the clouds. In the blink of an eye, the beam of light then crashed back down from the sky and landed squarely in the runic spell formation, striking up a dull rumbling noise. When the dust settled and the noise all dissipated, a bundle of goods appeared where the beam light had landed. The dazzling display drew many cheers from the audience. "Woah…!" "What is that thing?" "Maybe it’s another creation of Princess Twilight?" While the onlookers from a distance conversed enthusiastically about the incredible feat, Twilight was just as surprised and curious as the next pony. After the stallions hauled their wares out of the ring’s reach, the unicorns began a new cycle without a moment's delay. "What a marvelous apparatus! I can’t believe my eyes!" Twilight's exclamations were beyond words. Standing next to her, Meng Yu smiled proudly and introduced her how the Tian Ya Chu worked. "Twwwwilight!!!" A familiar gleeful voice called out her name while Twilight was still captivated by Meng Yu's introduction. Twilight spun around to see Pinkie Pie greeting her warmly among the townsfolk. "Hi~ Pinkie!!!" Before Twilight could even react, Pinkie already had her in a passionate embrace. "Too... too tight..., can’t... can’t breathe…" After several attempts, Twilight finally managed to escape Pinkie's "intimate" greeting, and then hugged her again, this time much more gently. "I miss you so much, Pinkie! How have you been doing?" "Couldn't be better! I was going to deliver a cake, but then I saw there were sooooo many ponies here, so of course I came over to join in the fun!" Pinkie revealed to Twilight a small gift box she had stashed in her tail. "Why didn't you say something when you came back? Twilight, I was so ready to throw you a super-duper welcome-back party!!!" "You don’t have to go to all that trouble, Pinkie~ I was going to get the gang together today anyway." "Wow! New friends! Hiya, I'm Pinkie Pie, nice to meet you!!!" When Pinkie finally noticed Meng Yu beside Twilight, she immediately pushed her aside and hugged her warmly. "Hello, Pinkie Pie." "This is the ambassador from the Eastern Continent of Seresia, Meng Yu." Twilight managed to stand up and then introduced the ambassador to Pinkie. “Wow! The Eastern Continent? You must be a long way from home! Welcome to Ponyville! Are those two ponies behind you with you as well? Super!! I can throw an awesomely spectacular party today!! To celebrate Twilight's return and the Ambassador's visit! I need tons of cake... And balloons!!! Oh no no no... I have to hurry back and start making those cakes right now! See ya later!!" One second she was still rambling on to herself, the next second she had already disappeared into thin air, leaving only a trail of smoke behind her. "Is she one of the friends the princess mentioned earlier?" Meng Yu was riveted by the effervescent pink mare, raising her conclusion based on the interaction between the two. "Ahem~ Please don’t mind her, Ambassador, that's just how she is. Pinkie Pie gets excited when she meets a new friend, hehe…" Twilight muttered as she gazed in the direction Pinkie had gone. "Oooooh, by the way, where are you staying in Ponyville, Ambassador?" As soon as Twilight's words had left her mouth, Pinkie once again bounced back to Meng Yu's side. The two guards behind her each took a step forward, ready to reveal what was hidden under their cloaks, only to be stopped by Meng Yu. “She is temporarily staying with us at the Friendship Castle right now, Pinkie. Also, please don’t flash out of nowhere like that, you'll startle the ambassador." Twilight obviously noticed the guards’ actions; although she still had no idea what exactly was hidden under the cloaks, judging by the guards’ ready stance, she still had a guess or two in her mind. "Okay, got it!!! See you at the castle at noon!!!" Pinkie said, disappearing with another puff of smoke. "Looks like a grand party is already in order~ You simply must try the cupcakes she made; they taste amazing." Only after making sure that Pinkie wasn't coming back did Twilight take the initiative to break up the awkward silence. "Of course, I'm looking forward to the party, Your Highness. Allow me to apologize for my guards if they frightened you or your friends, they were just doing their duty." Meng Yu apologized. Twilight replied with a gentle smile. "It's all right, Ambassador. What are your plans for today?" "I would like to take a stroll around town and learn more about the local culture and customs of Equestria." "Local culture and customs? …I think I have just the place!"