//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 // Story: Shadows Watching // by SaltyJustice //------------------------------// When work resumed for the department, I noticed that my house-sitting list no longer included any warehouses downtown. Fancy that. It also included two foals, finally allowing me to show off my skills. I was to be watching a colt named Clean Sweep on Mondays and Wednesdays, and a filly named Nina Twinkle on Tuesdays and Fridays. I'd like to say we got on well, but... Clean greatly enjoyed, ironically enough, getting dirty. Somehow, every time we went outside, he would find a mud puddle and throw himself into it. No amount of effort was enough to keep him from finding one, if I turned away for even one second, the little Unicorn would break and run towards the nearest pile of muck. I had at first considered tying him up on a leash, but once he managed to filthy himself up, he became surprisingly amicable, ready to listen to anything I had to say. So, rather than fight the inevitable, I just let him roll and would give him a bath when we it was time to go home. If anything that meant he had more baths than any other colt his age. Maybe that's why they called him Clean, somehow. Twinkle was a rich pony's daughter, cute as a button but quite shy. She liked being around other ponies, just not talking to them, so I'd take her out into the market or the park and we'd just exist where others were existing. It wasn't quite my own personal dream, but it was close enough. We didn't talk much, but she was happy, and my job was easier for it. On Thursdays I made my rounds to the houses I was taking care of, cleaning their yards of any trash that had found its way on, and checking the plumbing to make sure everything was as expected. Time flew by, and June 20th approached quickly. My parents had wanted to go to the festival with me, but I had already made plans with my friends. They understood, so they said, but Dad seemed a little dejected. Mom understood completely, she said something about independence as she kissed my cheek before I headed out. Ever since the... incident, she had been giving me a lot more hugs and kisses. Dad always had a worried look on his face, and telling him not to worry hadn't stopped him. I hoped they'd get over it someday, I felt bad for having put them through this. Who knew how much worse it'd have been if- "Cadence, come on!" Gabby shouted from the entrance. She was early, the sun hadn't even set yet. "Gabriella, please don't raise your voice in the house," my Mom said. Once again, using somepony's full name meant you were serious. "Sorry Mrs. Cadenza", Gabby said, looking embarrassed, as I tucked my money into my saddle bags. "Just hold on, I'm double checking here," I said, in a normal, indoor speaking voice. I set my bags down in front of Gabby and started rattling off the contents. "Picnic blanket, spare cash, four water bottles, fair passes, frisbee, event map – did I miss anything?" I asked. Gabby thought for a moment. "I think that's it, come on," she said. I put my bags on and we left. I had to carry everything since I had drawn the short straw when we were picking jobs. Gabby had to acquire the event maps and passes, while Minty and Squeaky were in charge of refilling the water bottles if we drank them. Pegasus ponies could always grab a drink from the clouds, you know. I hadn't been to a Summer Sun festival since I was little, since I wasn't old enough to travel and it wasn't really my thing. They held it in a different city every year, not just Canterlot, and it had been 11 years since they had held it here. I had gotten too tired to actually see the sun rise last time, but not this time. It was strange too, since it was originally supposed to be held in Trottingham this year, but the Princess abruptly changed the locale a while back. It was her decision, of course, and she usually picked the town whose economy could use the tourism boost, but it was still an unusual change of plans. The papers had been all over it, and like always, conspiracy theories abounded. The big one was that the mayor of Trottingham had done something big to upset the Princess, but it was all rumors to me. Minty would know more, though if she knew what actually happened, or merely what was the most sensational possibility, I cannot say. All the stops had been pulled out, it was a huge bash, to say the least. Some towns had little parties and gatherings, but Canterlot always had a grand fair. Carneys flocked in from everywhere to get permits to set up booths. Games and performances from all over Equestria convened on the palace grounds to compete for our bits. My friends and I had planned on going to a few of the bigger events, but for the most part I just wanted to hang out, since I had been seeing them less and less as work picked up. Gabby and I made our way towards the palace, the twins having planned on meeting up with us at the entrance. The palace was a ways away from my house, I had never really had occasion to visit except once, a few years ago, when we took a field trip to visit. Didn't see any royalty, but we got to check out some of the paintings and statues in the big museum there. In other words, it was boring, if beautiful. "So, uh, you've been quiet," Gabby said. There weren't a lot of ponies on the streets yet, the sun was just setting and casting long shadows. We could talk in privacy, sort of. "Hmm," I grunted. "You been okay, lately?" Gabby was starting to pry. "Yeah, I'm fine," I grunted back. "Okay, okay. No need to get defensive, we're just worried about you," she said, "You can talk to us if something's bothering you." "I'm fine, really," I said. Everypony else was taking this a lot harder than I was, or I was just refusing to feel the full extent of it. "I just want to block it out. I've had a lot going through my head, okay?" "All right," Gabby said. We walked in silence the rest of the way to the park. The twins met us a block away from the big entrance where you got your leg stamped, if you had the passes we had acquired earlier. This way we wouldn't get nickeled and dimed for every bit in our bags, the water-soluble stamp indicated we got free admission to all the rides and shows. Cost us a lot to get them, but I had done the math and figured it'd be worth it. This sort of event doesn't come by often. The rides and games stretched on for a mile, occupying every inch of the outer palace gardens, and the big shows were going to take place in the inner gardens beyond the walls. Soldiers were out and present patrolling through the area, but their job seemed to be to pick up litter. Nopony was anticipating trouble – at least I hoped not. We wandered around for a while, since we had about an hour and a half before the Tumbling Trio Sisters did their big acrobatics show. The Haunted House was foal stuff, but the Teacups were fun. Minty had absolutely refused to ride on them, since she was afraid she'd get sick. Her face looked green just watching us zip around on them. I personally just liked the feel of the wind in my face, the turning and twisting was nothing compared to the speed. The Dunk Tank gave us a bit of trouble. The colt inside was tossing out insults at everypony who went by, trying to get them to cough up the bits for a chance at dunking him. I knew it was his job, but - "Hey you, leatherface!" he shouted as we passed. I looked over at him, mistakenly. If I hadn't reacted, then I wouldn't have implied I had leather for a face. Damn it, I thought to myself, never gonna live this one down. "Yeah you! You think you can hit a bullseye from twenty paces? Didn't think so, you probably couldn't toss a salad with those toothpicks!" He jeered at me. I tried to ignore it, but Gabby was having none of it. She pressed herself up against the glass that kept the water from splashing out of the tank. The colt inside reared back slightly when he saw her. "You're lucky there's glass in the way," she snarled. I didn't say anything, I walked over to the mare handling the tickets and bought 3 balls for a bit. Minty, Squeaky and Gabby came over to stand behind me as I lined up my shot. "What's that? Did I hit a nerve?" the colt kept taunting. I lifted up one of the balls and aimed carefully, throwing it a bit too slowly. The shot arced and caught the bottom of the target, the ball landing on the ground for one of the assistants to pick back up. "Oh I'm sorry, maybe you should get your granny to come and show you how to throw!" the colt yelled. You're going down, I thought. I threw the second ball too hard, it sailed past the target and got caught in the net behind it. "Gah!" I shouted, frustrated by my own incompetence. Down, but not out. I still had one ball left. "Let me take care of this," Gabby offered. I stepped the side and let her try. "Yeah that's right, get your friend to -" the colt started. Gabby picked up the ball in her mouth, looked at the target, then tossed the ball into the air. She spun around and bucked it with impressive strength, the ball shooting like a rocket straight into the bullseye. The colt dropped off his platform in mid sentence and landed in the slimy, filthy water below him. "And that is how you do it ladies," Gabby said, lifting her head and accepting our praise. I gave her a hoof-bump and she gave me a big smile back. "Nopony screws with my friends and gets away with it," she said, making sure it was just loud enough that the blubbering colt in the tank could hear it. We walked off before he could climb back out. The Tumbling Trio were a group of earth pony sisters who did a big trapeze act. While juggling. Chainsaws. That were on fire. Worth every penny. After that, the next show was Aurora Lullamoon's magic act, and I found it to be genuinely delightful. The larger-than-life mare was in the tabloids now and then, she was a big celebrity magician who traveled around Equestria doing public magic shows. It was rumored she'd never done a private performance since she would never allow another pony to deduce her magic tricks. She was a master of cloaked casting, a technique where a Unicorn could cast a spell without leaving any visible marks or letting off a glow from her horn. That was impressive enough, but she could use it to cut a pony in half and then put him back together again right in front of an audience of over a thousand. The tabloids focused on her personal life instead of her professional life. Her husband had dumped her after she became pregnant, she was sick with a rare disease, she had gotten her magic powers by making a pact with space aliens, and chocolate ice cream was good for you, that sort of thing. As soon as I saw her act, all the rumors melted away, this was a pony who could stun you every time, and that was all that mattered. Her finale was a heartwarming little shtick where she brought her daughter out on stage and got her to do a magic trick. She was too young to really use magic, but her mom did the trick behind her and made it look like she was rewinding a clock without touching it, telling her it was a time travel spell. "Careful, if you wind it back too far, we'll have to start the show over," she said, stopping the clock. Her daughter was legitimately terrified, and frantically started winding the clock forward. The audience laughed and awww'd, and they both gave a big bow as the curtain closed. We watched some more shows and went on some more rides. The need for sleep started creeping up on me, but I was determined not to pass out before seeing the sun rise. Nothing like a bit of adrenaline to wake you up. "Let's go on the Ferris Wheel!" I said as we finished off some cotton candy. Gabby looked at me in shock, while Minty and Squeaky exchanged looks before hoof-bumping. "Yes! I knew she'd come around," Minty said. Squeaky shot a look at Gabby. "See, told you. Not such a feather-brain now, am I?" she said. Gabby, I ought to mention, was mortally afraid of heights. "There is no way I'm going on that death trap. No way, no how, it's not happening," she folded her forelegs and sat on the grass in front of us. "Absolutely not." As the four of us boarded the Ferris Wheel, Gabby was muttering aloud, "How did I let them talk me into this?" For the twins, the Ferris Wheel was no big thing, they'd been higher before on a routine basis. For us wingless ponies, height was a rarity. I wasn't particularly fond of it, but there was a certain thrill in seeing the landscape so far below you, the ponies on the ground become smaller than a hoof-print. We'd also be in perfect position to watch the dawn that was approaching, the scheduled raising of the sun was in twenty minutes. As we started to ascend, Gabby was busy holding onto her seat. Minty and Squeaky sat on either side of her, holding on, as per our agreement to "not let her fall". I sat on alone on the other seat, facing them. The wheel was aligned such that we could see the horizon to our side, glowing orange and projecting pink onto the clouds above. As the wheel did its circuit and we reached the top, I looked out onto the plains of Equestria, studying all the little details. Gabby kept her gaze pointed up, so as not to see the ground so far below. The twins were loving the whole situation, probably too much, and talked excitedly about trying to get us to try skydiving next. No thanks, I thought, and I knew Gabby was thinking it too. I saw a white blob moving across the terrain, off in the distance. Should have brought some binoculars. It was a Pegasus pony, far off, close to the distant mesas that bordered with the badlands. It flitted about the horizon, stopping and landing very close to where the sun would soon pass. After a minute, it started traveling on a direct line towards us at high speed. As it got closer I could make out the features more closely. Minty figured it out first. "Hey is that the Princess?" she said, pointing her hoof over and releasing her grip on Gabby. Squeaky, facing the other way, turned around and loosened hers as well as she tried to spot what Minty was pointing at. Gabby didn't take it well, and I thought quickly before grabbing her myself from across the aisle. I lost my view as I couldn't look to the side, while Minty and Squeaky tried to get a better look. "We were going to see her when we got off, literally! The raising is five minutes away!" Gabby yelled at them as the wheel started to bring us down. The twins grudgingly regained their grip and I looked over the side of our pod. There were no other ponies lined up to get on the wheel, practically the entire fair looked deserted as everypony was drifting towards the raising podium. "Come on, we're gonna miss it!" Minty ran ahead of us after we got off the wheel. Gabby very nearly kissed the ground before thinking better of it, though only I noticed her do it. The crowd gathering around the podium was huge, though there was an unoccupied hill on the perimeter that we decided to make use of. We were about a hundred yards away, which would be decent, really, you don't exactly need to be in the front row to watch the Sun rise up. I set out the picnic blanket and we all sat down on it. Minty wanted to fly closer but Gabby grabbed her wing and held it. The message was quite clear. The trumpets blared out and the crowd quieted, as Princess Celestia walked up onto the stage. Everypony's eyes were focused on her as she surveyed the crowd. It took a moment, but that moment seemed to drag. She was scanning the crowd, back and forth, looking for something. I don't know if she saw whoever it was she was looking for though, she focused herself and straightened up, perfectly parallel to the path of the sun. She flapped, rising slowly off the stage and aligning with an angle measure just behind her. Once she was in the perfect position in the air, she stopped flapping, and the sun lifted behind her, turning white and radiating with an intensity I'd never seen before. The feeling was incredible, a rush that shot through me like a strong wind, threatening to bowl me over. Everywhere the invisible wind touched, goosebumps set off, and I shook internally. The moment passed and the stunning white sun returned to its usual yellow. A great cheer went up from the crowd as I thought I was going to pass out from the shock. "Well that was a bust," I heard Minty say. What? How? "Yeah, I thought something awesome was gonna happen," came Squeaky's voice. "Hey, that was pretty cool. When did you last see a white Sun?" Gabby asked. Had none of them felt it? "Hey, Cadence, are you okay?" Gabby was looking down at me. "Oh, yeah, just fine. Almost fell asleep I think," I said. "I'm not saying it's overrated, I was just expecting more," Minty continued, totally oblivious to what had really happened. The Princess had a smile on her face as I sat up, and the crowd kept cheering. "Do you think we were too far away?" Squeaky asked. Minty shrugged. Princess Celestia stood on the stage, looking around again, but she was not searching this time, she was following something. Her eyes traced a path along the crowd, starting from where we had entered and zigzagging across the field where all the ponies stood, still cheering, but not as loud as before. She traced the path all the way up until she reached the base of the hill we were sitting on, and stopped. She looked up. She looked right at me. I felt a cold chill as I realized it. My friends stopped talking. She left the stage after giving another wave to the audience, as the trumpets played her out. Minty was the first to break the silence. "Whoa, did you see that? Did she look at us?" Minty asked. "No, Minty, she was probably just sizing up the crowd," Gabby said dismissively. "All the acts do that before they take a bow, didn't you see Aurora?" Gabby was referring to the magic act earlier that night. "I don't think it's fair to compare magic tricks to this," I said with reverence. Gabby turned to look at me. "To what, a white sun? Big deal. Let's go get some tofu dogs," Gabby said. I let them fold up the picnic blanket while I struggled to comprehend everything. My mind was racing, but in a good way, I felt all right. I didn't think it was anything important, she had just been scanning the crowd and probably saw us sitting on a blanket on a hill. Maybe she got a chuckle out of it, seeing four teenagers who had showed up late and sat in the back. What bothered me was that my friends hadn't felt anything that I had. Maybe it was a Unicorn thing, or maybe we really had sat too far away, and I had just been more sensitive to it, in any case, I was starving and it was time to get some greasy tofu dogs, slathered in mustard. All in all I'd say it was a good night, we had a lot of fun. It was good to spend a full evening with my friends, just like when school was still on and we'd spend the weekends hanging out. Summer jobs had started to cut into that, especially since the twins were always busy delivering pizzas on the weekends and Gabby had to go to concerts to help with the promotion. When I got back home that day, there was some mail waiting. Poor postal workers, I wonder if they got the night off I thought to myself as I took it into the kitchen. It was addressed to me, from the central office, but looked different than my usual assignments listing. It was too thin, for one thing. I tore it open and read the contents. "Dear Miamore, please report to the head office for a reassignment meeting as soon as possible. Yes, that means today. -The Administrator". The signature, J. S. Lemma, was scrawled underneath it. Ah crap, I thought, that's that robot lady.