The Gift of Life Chapter 9
Seven months later…
The city of Stalliongrad came into the view of Celestia’s vision just as the chariot finally cleared the mountains that separated the eastern part of Equestria from the western provinces of Stalliongrad and Germaney. She could tell they were still about an hour away from the city but that didn’t curb the excitement that had built up in her over the past few days. She couldn’t wait for her mother, Luna, and herself to finally touch down in the square that sat out in front of the biggest tourist attraction in the eastern part of the nation. A giant tower loomed over the city along with a Ferris Wheel and a couple of really large rollercoasters that were built off in the outskirts of the city.
Both she and Luna had been waiting for this day for months since their parents first mentioned about attending the annual Stalliongrad Fair. The fair only lasted for three weeks but during that time tens of thousands of equines would travel to Stalliongrad to participate in the games, go on the rides, eat the food, and watch the fireworks spectacle that happened every day at midnight. It is the second most anticipated event of the year only coming in second to the Winter Solstice Celebration when ponies have the day to spend with their families and exchange gifts.
As the chariot flew closer to the city Celestia turned to look at her sister. “Hey Luna, what ride should we go on first? The Rodeo or the Last Scream?”
Luna looked at her sister and pawed her hoof on the floor of the chariot. “Um, shouldn’t we go on something easy first?”
“Oh, come on Luna. Don’t you want to feel the rush of adrenaline as we make a thirty meter drop to the ground?”
“Maybe not at first…”
“The lines will be too long if we go on all of the easy rides-“
“Hush now, Celestia. We can go on the easy rides first if Luna isn’t feeling up to riding the larger rides. We are going to be here all day after all.” Galactica said, leaning her head down so her eyes were level with the two fillies.
Celestia huffed but nodded her head in acknowledgement. “Okay, fine, let’s go on the smaller rides first.”
“Thank you, ‘Tia.” Luna said, lowering her head.
Celestia frowned and looked at her sister. She sometimes forgot that Luna was not as old as she was nor was she as tall as her older sister. She might not even be able to ride on some of the rides Celestia will be able to go on. The elder sister suddenly felt ashamed of trying to goad her sister into going on rides she might even be afraid of go on. She scooted over to her sister and brought her into a little hug.
The chariot started to make its descent into the city and Celestia saw the large office buildings start to pass them more and more slowly. The guards pulling the chariot gradually slowed their pace to ease the landing on the cobblestone square in front of the fair. Upon landing, the chariot made a complete stop in front of the gates into the fair and slowly the three alicorns exited the chariot as a mob of onlookers watched the family stride up to the gates. Before they could reach the gate, however, they were blocked by a group of photographers and a pony holding a microphone with her magic. She had a tan coat and a deep burgundy mane and tail with a microphone similar to the one she was holding as a cutie mark.
“Hi, Queen Galactica. I am Lillypad and am part of the Equestria Inquirer. I was wondering if you would be interested in answering a few questions.” she said.
Celestia looked to her left and saw that there was another similar group of ponies moving towards them. Lights were flashing and clicks from the cameras could be heard everywhere as more and more ponies converged on their location. Celestia saw that her sister had moved directly under their mother.
“I am sorry but I will not be answering any questions today. Thank you.”
The two guards that had been accompanying the family politely asked for the photographers to move, who graciously complied. Galactica was still receiving an onslaught of questions, however, as she made her way to the gates of the fair. She paid for three tickets to gain entrance and then quickly hurried with her daughters into the crowds of ponies. After walking for a few minutes and finding a table next to a stand that sold elephant ears, Galactica stopped and paid for a quick snack.
“I’m really sorry you two. I should have expected that we would be greeted with such a welcome from the largest city in all of Equestria.” Galactica said.
Celestia smiled at her mother while Luna focused on eating the elephant ear that her mother had bought for her. Celestia couldn’t help but giggle every time she saw her sister’s little wings flutter out of pure ecstasy from eating the cinnamon sugar.
“So, what would you two like to do first?” their mother asked.
“Can we go on that ride where we spin around a lot?” Luna asked, cinnamon sugar coating her face.
“Yes, we can go on the teacup ride, Luna.” Galactica chuckled, levitating a napkin over to Luna’s mouth and cleaning it off.
The three alicorns left the table and headed off in the direction towards the lesser rides that were not so intimidating to look at. Celestia noticed that as they walked along her mother was constantly nodding her head and returning greetings from ponies that walked past them or along with them. She felt a little irritated that they were not being given the same treatment as they had been given back in Voltenice but then she remembered that the culture from Stalliongrad was much different than that from Voltenice. The ponies who lived in this city went on with lives that were very busy and very politically and socially orientated compared to the more traditional life styles of the ponies from Voltenice.
When they reached the teacups ride the line was relatively short so all three of them were able to board the ride within a matter of minutes. Celestia ran after her sister who had hopped through the gate to the ride and jumped into a pink colored cup. She climbed in after her sister, followed closely behind by their mother who shut the door to the teacup behind them. Shortly thereafter a pony went around to all of the teacups to make sure that all of the doors were securely shut.
“’Tia, let’s make this cup spin super-fast!” Luna exclaimed, throwing her hooves into the air.
“Okay, let’s wait for the ride to start.” Celestia said, looking around and seeing that the last teacup had been filled and securely shut. She reached over with her hooves and clamped the wheel of the teacup between her stomach and the tips of her hooves. Luna reached over and did the same.
“Alright, are you ready Luna?” Celestia asked with a smile on her face. The ride started to slowly move.
“Ready!” the little sister replied. Together they both started to pull the wheel in the same direction, causing the teacup to start spinning as the ride was going around and around. The two fillies were able to get the teacup spinning much faster, spinning until the whole world around them was a blur. They could hear their mother giggling from the ride.
Slowly the ride came to a stop and so did their teacup. The door unlocked and Celestia was the first to step out of the teacup, although it was more like she stumbled out and fell right onto her face instead. Next came her mother who was careful not to step on her daughter and stood swaying back and forth. Lastly came Luna who did a similar reenactment of how Celestia got out except she plowed face directly into Celestia’s back and then rolled over to the side.
“Oh, come on you two. Let’s go, we can’t end the day with you two throwing up in a trashcan already.” Galactica said, picking her two daughters up in her magic. Celestia and Luna groaned.
~~~
Half an hour and some bottled waters later, Celestia and Luna were running off down one of the wide streets that led to one of the smaller rollercoasters. The rollercoaster only went around in a circle and had a few ups and down but Celestia knew that Luna wanted to start out on the smaller rides before they moved on to the larger ones on the other side of the park.
Queen Galactica stayed back and ushered her daughters to go onto the ride as she was too big to go on herself. After convincing Luna that their mother would be okay, Celestia and Luna finally got onto the ride. They had managed to get the cart at the head of the rollercoaster and took up both seats that were available. Celestia pulled the lap bar onto them and they both patiently waited for the ride to start.
They didn’t have to wait long. The two fillies heard the ride give a really loud hiss and it began to creep forward, slowly climbing the first small incline. When it reached the top, Celestia threw up her hooves and felt the wind brush against her hooves as the rollercoaster made its small and quick descent and rounded the first bend. It cleared some humps on the other side of the track and then came around another bend to rush up that first hill. This repeated a few more times until the rollercoaster came to a full stop at the gates again.
The two sisters exited the ride and went galloping back to their mother who was eagerly waiting for them at the exit to the ride. They both jumped and hugged their mother’s leg and she smiled.
“I take it you both liked the ride?” she asked.
Both fillies nodded their heads in unison.
“Well, let us go find another ride. Do you want to still do these small rides or are interested in one of the bigger rides, Luna?”
“I think I’m okay with riding one of the bigger rides.” Luna said, glancing over at her sister for a second.
“Woohoo! Let’s go on the Timber Wolf!” Celestia said, pointing to the very large wooden rollercoaster at the far end of the park. It wasn’t nearly as large as some of the other rollercoasters around it but it was still considered to be pretty big compared to the rest of the rides in the park.
“Is that okay with you?” Galactica asked, looking at her younger daughter.
Luna nodded her head and turned to start walking between her mother and her sister. She was still very skittish over all of the ponies in the park. Celestia knew it was common for fillies Luna’s age to be a little shy around other ponies but the meekness her sister expressed all of the time was strange. It took a lot of encouragement for somepony to even convince Luna to say hello to a new pony, although there have been a few exceptions where she did break character and was very friendly.
Celestia was wondering if it had something to do with the way her sister had been sleeping. Ever since her sister was first born she had seen her toss and turn in her sleep and sometimes whimper during the night. Meadow Free, Regality, and her parents would often reassure her that it was the typical Night Terrors that conflicted young ponies when they slept. That answer did very little to ease Celestia, though.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sudden approach of the Timber Wolf. As they crossed under a beam that marked the entrance to the ride there was a whoosh of air and a really loud ricketing sound as the carts from the rollercoaster passed by overhead. Both Celestia and Luna looked up and followed the cart’s path, seeing it rise and fall and spin around in a corkscrew to the ground only to get pulled back up to take another dive down a large drop. Celestia could feel butterflies start to flutter in her stomach.
“That looks like fun!” Luna exclaimed anxiously as she trotted ahead of her mother and sister and led them along to the back of the line.
Luckily the line would only be about a fifteen minute wait, Celestia judged, so she decided to try and steel herself for the upcoming ride. She was glad to see that her sister was now excited about going on this particular ride but now she wasn’t so sure about herself. She had been eager about visiting the fair, and riding all of the rides but now that she was actually here and actually going to go on one of the larger rides at the park she starting to feel like she should opt out.
They were now next in line to get on the cars for the rollercoaster. Celestia started to sweat a little as the ride took off and she turned to look up at her mother.
“Um, maybe I should let you and Luna go first and I’ll wait-“
“Nonsense. You and Luna can take the front car while I’ll take the rear car with this lovely mare here.” Galactica said, smiling at her daughter as she gestured next to her. A turquoise mare with silver hair and a flute for a cutie mark was standing next to the large alicorn with a smile.
“Wait, who is she?” Celestia asked.
“Oh, this is Crystal Flute. I just met her. Hey, look, the cars are pulling up for us to get in.” her mother said, pushing Celestia forward with her sister.
Celestia tried to resist a little at first but eventually she did get into the car and strapped herself in with the lap bar next to her sister. Luna was smiling ear to ear and shaking her hooves in anticipation for the ride to start. Celestia looked forward with a dead stare and tried to think of that one dream where she was on the beach soaking in the sun.
She yelped a little when the car started moving and she slowly hung her head over the edge. There was at least a twenty meter drop below her that was now gradually getting bigger as they started to climb the first hill. Celestia clutched onto the lap bar for dear life and shut her eyes as she saw the top of the hill. She could feel the car start to level out and then edge forward. She could hear her sister squeeing in excitement. She could sense that her mother had put her hooves into the air for the drop.
And then the car dropped. She couldn’t remember if she had ever screamed that loudly before in her life but by the time the car had reached the bottom of the drop Celestia now had her hooves in the air similar to her mother and was now screaming out of pure delight just like her sister. The car was weaving in and out of caves, up and down hills and drops, around that corkscrew, and then the final finale drop before the end of the ride.
All four ponies wobbled out of the car and gave themselves a few seconds to right themselves before continuing on to the exit. After the rickety ride on the wooden rollercoaster, Celestia's legs felt a little like jello.
“So, how did you two like the ride?” Galactica asked, still walking next to Crystal Flute.
“It was so fun! Let’s go on another one!” both fillies shouted at the same time in complete unison. Crystal Flute gave a chuckle and Galactica smiled.
“Well, how about that one over there?” she said, pointing at an even larger rollercoaster that had a few loops and twists located throughout its track. It was called The Night Guard.
“Yes, yes! Let’s go!” Luna exclaimed enthusiastically, hopping forward with her sister quickly following behind her.
~~~
A few hours and six rollercoasters later, the group of ponies, Crystal Flute included, finally came to the largest rollercoaster in the park: The Executioner. Accelerating from zero to a hundred kilometers per hour in two and a half seconds, containing three loops that will take ponies upside down, two corkscrews, a one hundred and twenty meter drop, and to top it all off the cars had no bottom so ponies were strapped into seats while their back hooves dangled over the edge. This ride was arguably the most dangerous and fastest ride in the whole fair.
Celestia and Luna gaped in awe at the rollercoaster as they watched the cars plummet the first drop, ponies screaming and laughing the whole way down. Without giving another second to think about it, both fillies bounded into the line that lay backed up all the way to the entrance of the ride. Celestia guessed that there had to be at least a hundred and thirty ponies waiting in line for the ride.
“I think I’m going to sit this one out” Crystal Flute said, edging herself out of the line.
“Oh come on you wimp. You have gone on all of the other rides with us!” Galactica teased, extending one of her wings and using it to motion for the turquoise mare to join them.
“No no, this ride just looks… Well, let’s just say that I warned you. You might become sick at the end of it all.”
Upon finishing her sentence a pony stumbled down the stairs off of the ride and plopped his face right into a trashcan, emptying the contents of his stomach very audibly. Celestia cringed a bit.
“Ah, well, then I won’t stop you. So, what will you do while waiting for us?” Galactica asked.
“I think I’ll go get some ice cream and maybe visit one of the street performers. That one dance instructor we saw earlier looked pretty handsome.” Crystal Flute smiled.
“Oh fine. Just make sure you come back. I’d be terribly sad if you suddenly vanished.” the Queen giggled.
“Don’t worry, your majesty, I’ll be back waiting for all three of you when you stumble off of the ride.” And with that Crystal Flute turned and trotted off towards the nearest ice cream stand, leaving the three alicorns to begin their long wait in line.
The wait went by excruciatingly slow of Celestia. The line moved at a pace that could match that of a snail. There were times when all three of the alicorns were stuck under the heat of the sun and she had started to sweat slightly by the time they had returned to the shade and started up the stairs where the ride could be boarded. Along the way her mother had been able to strike up some conversation with other ponies who were stuck in the line for the ride with them but she noticed that the way the ponies conversed with her mother was rigid and ordered almost like they were afraid they might offend their queen. Galactica noticed this too and she frowned, lowering her head so she could whisper to her daughters.
“Sometimes being royalty is such a pain in the flank. Any kind of conversation I manage to strike up with these ponies is met with compliments or agreement. It’s like they are afraid that I’ll bite their heads off if they say something I don’t necessarily agree with.” she said.
Luna noticeably flinched but Celestia took no notice of it. “Why did Crystal Flute openly talk with you so easily? I can see that many of the ponies around us stare and only look away when we turn our heads their way.”
“I’m not entirely sure. I guess she understood that I wasn’t trying to test her loyalty.”
All three of them fell silent as they reached the top of the tower that marked the entrance to the ride. Celestia watched as one of the cars pulled in, allowing for the ponies to get off and have the ponies who had been waiting to get on the ride. The cars were three ponies wide and ran seven ponies in length, managing to take twenty one ponies at a time. The alicorn family squeezed themselves into the line that led to the front of the car as the next group of ponies got onto the ride and then watched as the ride launched itself into full speed in a matter of seconds.
“Hm, it looks more intimidating up close” Celestia’s mother mused.
After two more cars passed, they were able to board the ride and pulled the harnesses down tight and securely. A pony walked along each row of the cars and pulled on each of the harnesses to make sure they wouldn’t unlatch during any portion of the ride and then closed any harnesses that were not occupied. The pony then left the platform and signaled another pony who was in a booth to lower the platform.
There was a hiss and Celestia, Luna, and Galactica all waited in anticipation for the ride to start.
“Attention all ladies and gentlecolts. Please keep all hooves and tongues outside of the vehicle at all times and do not attempt to restrain from screaming for mercy at any time during the ride. If you fail to comply with any of these requirements then you will look very sad when we take your picture halfway through the ride. That is all.” the conductor of the ride said over a microphone.
Upon saying the last word, the conductor pressed the button to start the ride and shot the car off to a hundred kilometers per hour. Celestia felt the g-forces push her back against her seat and she let out a scream to match the ones she could hear on either side of her. As the car approached the top of the first drop it managed to slow down only a little bit before it plummeted to the ground and ridiculous speeds. The princess could feel her heart thumping in her chest and her mane and tail rippling in the wind as they reached the bottom and pulled up into a corkscrew.
After the corkscrew the car rose up to take another drop and then looped around twice, giving everypony who was on the ride a clear view of the sky above them before traveling back down to earth in another drop that brought them all very close to a pond that was built under the ride. They were pulled back up into the second corkscrew and then a twist that caused them to build up speed in the drop that fell immediately after it. They traveled one last loop and then pulled back into a straight set of rail that would slow them down enough to dock with the ride entrance and exit.
Celestia stumbled off of the ride when the harnesses were released and quickly ran over to the rail to get some support. She looked back and saw that her mother was carrying Luna on her back who was groaning in agony from another upset stomach that day. She couldn’t suppress the laughter that started to rise in her throat.
“That’s enough rollercoasters for one day I think.” her mother said as she started to ungracefully walk down the flight of stairs to the bottom. Celestia carefully followed after her mother down the stairs, saving herself from falling twice and then propping herself up against the wall of a building. She looked and saw that Crystal Flute was approaching them with a smug smile on her face.
“So, how did you three like The Executioner?” she asked.
“It was probably the most fun I’ve ever had!” Celestia exclaimed.
“How about we go visit the commercial part of the fair?” Galactica suggested, nodding her head back to Luna who was still groaning from an upset stomach.
Crystal Flute nodded and fell in next to Galactica while Celestia walked on the other side of her mother and looked up at Luna. She made a funny face at her sister who only returned the action with a groan and a burp. Celestia giggled and then tuned into the conversation being had between Crystal Flute and her mother.
“Luna looks like she could be sick at any moment. Are you sure she is alright?” asked the turquoise mare.
“Don’t worry about, her. You should have seen us when we went on the teacup ride. None of us could stand up straight for fifteen minutes. She just needs some rest and she should be alright.” Galactica replied, looking back at her younger daughter.
“So, what brought you to the Stalliongrad Fair? Is there some meeting you must attend?”
“Oh no, my husband and I have been thinking of taking our fillies to the fair for a few months now. He wasn’t able to come with us unfortunately due to some more of that business with Germaney.”
“Have they been asking to secede from Equestria again?”
“Yes, this is the third time in fifteen years. They are getting more and more aggressive with each request. I fear if we don’t take action against them soon we might get a revolt starting up in that province.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Hey, look, a magic show. Let’s check it out and get off of the topic of politics, hm?”
Galactica nodded and then led Celestia over with Crystal Flute and together they found a couple of pillows laid out on the ground towards the front right side. As they sat down Celestia caught sight of the magician noticing the Queen and give a lengthy bow to her. Galactica nodded her head in return and then turned back to Crystal Flute to start another conversation Celestia couldn’t hear.
Luna had finally begun to regain her composure and was now sitting upright and laying herself against her mother’s side. Celestia smiled at her sister and leaned forward so that their faces were close.
“How are you feeling, little sister?” she asked.
“Better, ‘Tia.”
“Did you like The Executioner?”
“It would have been fun if I didn’t feel so sick afterwards.”
Celestia opened her mouth but was cut off by the screech of a microphone and turned to look at the front of the stage. She now had a full view of the magician pony and could see that he was rather large for a unicorn and had a dark red coat with a black mane and tail. His eyes were both yellow but she suspected that it was from the use of magic instead of him being born with yellow eyes. He wore a black cape to match the color of his hair.
“Good afternoon Stalliongrad Fair goers! How are you all doing this fine evening?” asked the magician.
There was a cheer that roar up from the crowd. Celestia and Luna clopped their hooves a few times happily.
“That’s good to hear. My name is The Wonderful Blackened Steele but you all may call me Steele if you so wish. How would you all like to know a little bit about me as I get ready for my first act?”
There was another round of applause so Steele cleared his throat and began moving some boxes around.
“Well, I was born off in the coastal city of Fillydelphia to a pair of ponies that I grew very close to and loved.” He shot one of the boxes with his magic which caused it to explode and release some sparkling dust into the air that formed to outline three different ponies in different colors. There was a male red pony, a female blue pony, and a yellow colt.
“They raised me and taught me to be a good unicorn. I always read my books.” He used a blast of magic to change the picture from the ponies to one of the yellow pony reading a book. “I always did well in school.” He used another blast to change the picture to the yellow pony holding a paper with an A+ on it. “And I always respected my elders.” With this blast he changed the picture to that of the yellow pony bowing before an orange alicorn. This earned a few giggles from the audience and the magician glanced over at the Queen and winked.
“I got my cutie mark when I was eight years old.” He used his magic to change the picture to one of the yellow pony performing a levitation spell on multiple books. “I had always been proficient in magic and since the time when I first learned to read I delved into the studies of many forms of the art. It was only a matter of time before I had a cutie mark appear on my flank.”
Steele shot off a few more blasts of magic with his horn to change the picture to a symbol of the Everfree Academy and paused, looking over the captivated crowd of ponies. “I soon applied for the Everfree Academy after I got my cutie mark and was quickly accepted due to my talents and passing the entrance exam. From there I was taught under some of the greatest unicorns of the era, although I didn’t have the pleasure to be one of Starswirl the Bearded’s protégés.”
He shot off some more magic, changing the picture to show the yellow pony walking down a red carpet aisle with a graduation cap on. “I graduated as the tenth of my class and earned a chance to give a speech in front of the whole school. Afterwards I was presented with my diploma and medal for successfully completing the rigorous studies that this school gave.”
The magic then dissipated and the red stallion stepped into the middle of the stage and bowed his head. “And here I am today. Although I had many chances to join the many research teams studying magic or even be one of the professors at the academy, I chose to become a magician for my own reasons. My audiences are great and I can get out and see the world without traveling being so expensive. Any questions?”
“Mr. Steele? Can you do more magic tricks for us?” Luna said from the edge of the crowd. Blackened Steele turned to look at the little princess and smiled.
“Ah, I almost forgot. How rude of me to not recognize our guests of honor. I’d like to offer a humble welcome to my royal majesties over in the corner of the audience.” he said, bowing and raising a hoof in the direction of the alicorns. There was a round of applause that followed and some cheering.
“Hey, I have an idea. How would you ponies like to see your royal queen turned in an animal of your choice? With the queen’s permission of course.” Steele said, side glancing over to the queen with a smirk on his face.
Galactica giggled and nodded her head in ascent. A cheer rose over the crowd and there were a few inaudible shouts being thrown out for what animal she should be turned into. Celestia turned to look at her mother with a quizzical expressions etched on her face.
“Don’t worry, Celestia. I have met Steele once before when he attended the academy. It was me who passed him into the school after all.” her mother said with a reassuring smile.
“A flock of toucans!” somepony shouted from somewhere behind the alicorn family.
“A flock of toucans you say?” Steele asked to confirm. There were shouts of agreement ringing throughout the crowd. Galactica huffed.
“Toucans? I was hoping for something a little more graceful.” she said with a false pouting face.
She rose from her pillow and started to walk onto the stage, standing next to the red stallion. Celestia was surprised to see how large the stallion actually was. He was only half a head shorter than his queen and he was much thicker than her. He turned to look at Galactica, whispered a word into her ear to which she returned with a bright smile and then he turned back to the crowd.
“Ladies and gentlecolts, I present to you your Queen of Equestria, Queen Galactica!” he shouted, raising a hoof up to present her and giving a bright smile. Galactica stood tall and graceful as the crowd cheered and roared in excitement from seeing their queen about to be turned into some toucans.
Steele magicked a drawstring out of nowhere and pulled it down, causing Galactica to be encased in a curtain so no one could see her. “Watch and be amazed everypony as your queen is turned into…” he pulled the string again, raising the curtain and revealing a very large box in place of where the queen was. “…a box? Hold on everypony, let me fix this tiny mistake.”
The crowd chuckled as he pulled the drawstring again, shielding the box from view. When he pulled it again, however, the box was now gone to be replaced with nothing. “Hm, that’s the wrong spell. Oopsie, it appears we are having some technical difficulties with our queen, ladies and gentlecolts. Please stand by.”
As the crowd giggled some more, Blackened Steele closed the curtains again and then hopped inside of them. Galactica suddenly teleported on stage and raised a hoof to her lips, asking the crowd to be quiet. Celestia couldn’t help but start laughing with her sister as Galactica’s horn lit up with an orange hue and she gripped the string with her magic. She pulled the string down, revealing a cyan colored mare with turquoise hair and a magic wand for a cutie mark. She was wearing a black cape.
“Oh who… Hey! Everypony, look, I found the queen!” Steele shouted in his now effeminate voice.
The crowd erupted in laughter to see that Steele had now been turned into a mare. The cyan mare turned to look at the crowd with a puzzled look and then looked down at herself, seeing the change in color of his coat and whispering a little to himself to hear the change in the tone of his voice. He blushed and turned to look at Galactica who was snickering herself.
“Hey! You had something to do with this, didn’t you?” Steele asked in a huff.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Galactica replied, masking her voice with pure innocence.
“Turn me back this instant!”
“Can’t we have a little fun first?”
“What? No! Hey! What are yo-“
Steele wasn’t able to finish his sentence as he was suddenly mauled by Galactica with an array of beauty supplies. He pushed and squirmed against Galactica’s magic while the crowd laughed and hooted on at the spectacle, enthralled over the fact of seeing their queen play with the magician of the show. Both Celestia and Luna were on their sides giggling over seeing their mother on stage.
When the queen had finished her beautification of Blackened Steele she turned him to face the crowd and lifted one of her hooves in his direction.
“So, how well of a job did I do?” she asked.
There were a few whistles and cat calls from the crowd before they all erupted into another round of laughter at Steele’s expense. The former stallion sat upon the stage sulking in his own embarrassment while the queen continued to snicker next to him. After a few more seconds he finally turned to look at the queen.
“Alright, can you change me back to a stallion now?”
“Oh, fine. You look really cute as a mare, though.” Galactica winked.
The crowd snickered a little more and Steele frowned as he was turned back into a stallion again. However, Galactica had forgotten to remove his make-up so there was another roar of laughter from the crowd and the Queen quickly apologized as she removed the make-up. Steele then turned to the crowd with a smile.
“Thank you, everypony! You have been a great audience. I will be having another show in an hour, if you wish to attend!” he said.
The crowd gave a thundering cheer, Celestia and Luna squealing and clopping their hooves in the corner. Their mother exited the stage with Steele followed closely behind her and then stopped in front of the little fillies.
“That was a great show, Mommy!” Luna said, bounding up to her mother an hugging her leg tightly.
“Yes, that was really funny! Did you really turn Steele into a mare?” Celestia asked as she nuzzled her mother on the neck.
“Actually, I only put make-up on him.” Galactica said, glancing over at Steele who nodded his head and then lit his horn up in a red hue. A wave of magic spread over his body and he slowly changed form into that of a Flutterpony with black hooves, a black mane and tail, and blood red butterfly wings that were rimmed along the edges with a black hue. He bowed low to the two princesses and then gave them both a very handsome smile.
“Wait, you’re a Flutterpony!?” Celestia gasped.
“Yes I am, young princess. Changing form is a difficult trick that only members of the Flutterpony race can actually learn, although that kind of magic takes decades of study and practice to learn and perfect. I have practically dedicated my entire life to the study and, as you can see, have become very proficient at this magical art.” he said in the singing voice that was common among the Flutterponies.
“Why would you pose as a regular pony instead of a Flutterpony when on stage?”
“I find that when touring Equestria it is easier to get a larger crowd of ponies if you are a pony yourself. I’m sure the same could be said when a pony tours The Eternal Valley as well. We seem to like to keep within our own ethnic circles yet we call ourselves allies.”
“That we do. Pardon, Blackened Steele, but would you be willing to have dinner with us? You do have an hour break after all.” Queen Galactica asked.
“Yes, of course I would be glad to join your four.” he said, giving Galactica a look and then turning and lowering his head so that it was level with between Celestia and Luna.
“So, where would you two like to go to dinner tonight? I know of an excellent salad and ice cream bar that is just around the corner down the street.”
“Okay, let’s go there.” Celestia said, pulling her head back a little from Steele’s yellow and intimidating eyes. She could have sworn she had seen this Flutterpony before. She recognized the wings and the hooves but she just couldn’t place the eyes. His eyes locked with hers and he slowly blinked, seeming to understand that she seen him at one point in their lives. He smiled faintly enough for her to see and then turned to look at Luna.
“And what about you, little princess?”
“Yes! Let’s go!” she said excitedly, fluttering her wings and then skipping up next to her mother who had already begun to move down the street. Crystal Flute quickly caught up to them. Before Celestia could make her way to her mother, she was stopped to walk behind them with Blackened Steele.
“You’re more perceptive than I realized. I can see that you inherited that trait from your father.” he said.
“How much of that story that you told on stage is true?” Celestia asked, feeling a little nervous walking next to him. She could feel a dark aura emanating from him, like there was a heavy presence that sought the bring suffering to any it comes in contact with.
“Oh, that was all true. I really did attend the Everfree Academy and accomplished everything that I said. I just felt as though there were a few things that I should leave out. Popularity reasons. I’m sure you understand being royalty yourself.”
“I don’t quite follow.”
“You are so naïve, Princess Celestia. One day you will understand. I just hope it will be after you make the right decision.”
~~~
Some more character building for this chapter and I also put a little twist if some of you may have missed it. Oh and some foreshadowing dun dun DUN. I apologize how long this chapter took to get out too but as you know, with this past week and weekend being Halloween weekend I was tied up in partying and scaring the little chitlins that demand candy. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Things also begin to pick up after this chapter so get ready for some more action!
Get ready for Chapter 10: I Believe You Can Fly