Ponyville Bouquet

by Cascadejackal

Chapter 4: Journey

"Haven't you ever seen the sun before?"

I stretched, basking in the wonderful, warming glow of Celestia's sun, before responding to Twilight Sparkle. "Never." I looked up at the clear blue sky, where a distant shape could be seen circling; Ibis, soaring freely with no fear of the Enclave for the first time in his life. He was so high up, I could barely make out Shot Glass, the little filly held securely in his arms. "It's so bright..."

Twilight laughed. "Well, it is the sun. How does it feel? I mean, seeing and feeling it for the first time..."

I blinked and turned to the purple mare slowly, taking in the beautiful little park we'd all come to after getting over our shock and sun-blindness after leaving the hospital. Ibis and Shot were above us, lost in the cloudless sky. Rose had put her duster on the grass like a blanket and was stretched out on her back, a scratched and chipped pair of sunglasses on her muzzle. Me and Twilight were seated on a comfy bench in the shade of some luscious green trees. "It's... amazing... I've never felt so warm, and there's no clouds..." My eyes went back to the sky. "I feel like... like if I fell, I'd fall into it, forever and ever..."

"You know you won't fall into the sky, right?" Twilight gave me a funny look, and I smiled sheepishly.

"I know, but... look at it." I waved my hoof, encompassing the whole amazing view. "It's just so... big... and empty... I kinda miss the clouds..."

"You'll be happy to know that there's a rainstorm scheduled later this week, then."

Wait, what? "Scheduled? How do you schedule the weather?!"

The purple unicorn looked confused. "Don't you have pegasus weather teams... oh!" She must have remembered some of what we'd already told her about our time, giving me a meek grin. "Well, the pegasi are responsible for scheduling our weather and making sure everything runs as smoothly as possible. Don't worry, though; they won't try and close up the sky."
 
We sat in companionable silence for a moment, watching butterflies drifting from flower to vibrant flower, listening to the gentle wind in the emerald leaves, before Twilight spoke up again. "Can anypony really do that?" I gave her a curious look. "Close up the skies like you described, I mean." This time, I nodded. "Why would anypony do that?"

With a sigh, I shook my head. "I don't know... I really don't. All I know is that that's what they did..."

The next couple of hours were spent talking about Ponyville, Twilight herself and us Wastelanders. Eventually, as the sun began to set, painting the sky with colors that took my breath away, we all set off back to the hospital, Shot riding on Ibis' back as usual.
At the doors we parted, but Twilight had one final thing to say. "Oh, Caravan, I forgot to tell you. I've informed the Princesses about you, and they want to meet you in a few days. Isn't that great?"

I glared at the proud-looking pudgy purple pony, too irritated by the use of my first name to really get what she said. "Lily. Not Caravan. Lily. And yeah, that's great..."

Twilight blushed. "Oh, sorry. Anyway, I talked to the hospital, and they'll release you in a couple of days for the trip. Oh, I can't wait to show you Canterlot! It must be so different from what you know! And I'm sure Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are eager to meet you!" She set off down the path, leaving Rose staring at her in shock. Ibis looked dumbfounded, while Shot was half asleep on her walking featherbed. "Bye!"

I waved back. "Bye, Twilight!" Something clicked in my brain. Princesses. Celestia and Luna. Canterlot. "Luna's Moonpies! Was she talking about the Goddesses?!"

 
The next couple of days passed in a blur of fretting and freaking out. Twilight told us that she was actually the Goddess Celestia's student, a little detail Rose's books hadn't included, and that from day one she'd been passing on everything we said to her mentor.

Apparently, the thought of an Equestria filled with radiation, pyschotic raiders, slavers and half-drowned in blood and the ashes of the past was worrying to the Goddesses. Go figure.

We had more important things to worry about than why the Goddesses wanted to see us... like the fact that Luna and Celestia wanted to meet us!

Every waking moment was spent preparing... well, every moment not taken up by interviews with the councilor. There was a lot about these ponies that baffled me, and their concern for our mental well-being was... wierd. Really wierd.

Despite that, we all managed to be ready when Twilight came to get us in the morning... kinda.
 
"You should have let me cut your mane, Shot. It looks terrible."
As we walked through Ponyville I fussed over the filly, but she wasn't having any of it. "Lily, leave my mane alone! Big brother cut it just fine!" Since we all had our bags and gear on she couldn't ride on Ibis' back, but she made do with darting behind him to avoid my questing comb.

"He used a knife!"

"So?" She glared at me from underneath him, and the featherbrain chuckled while trying not to trip over her.

"Leave her alone, Lily. She looks fine." Shot stuck her tongue out and starting trotting alongside Ibis. I growled and turned to Rose for help.

"Rose, would you... GAH! Rose!" She was ahead of us, talking to Twilight about something and ignoring the rest of us. I caught the words "Daring Do" and rolled my eyes. Of course my book-obsessed sister would make friends with the librarian.
 

It was early morning, so we didn't see many other ponies on our way through town, which was a bit of a relief. Shot had been getting kinda... antsy being around the ponies at the hospital, since they were always trying to talk to her.

The attention our little group would have gotten would have been a bit much for her to deal with, so-

"What is that?!"

In front of us there was a small building, almost a shack, with a wooden platform stretching from each side of it. Behind the platfom was what I was staring at: A metal behemoth, bellowing smoke from the pipe on top, with a bunch of carriages behind it.

"It's a train, Lily." Rose said helpfully. Twilight looked between us, confused.

"You mean you don't even have trains in the future? How do you move things over long distances then?"

I stared at her. "Uh, yeah we have trains, but none of them work. When we're travelling we usually just harness Rose up to the wagon and make her pull us."

Twilight frowned. "Why would you do that to your sister?"

I shrugged. "Because it's her fault that a giant spider ate our brahmin."

"I like trains."

The metal behemoth was amazingly quick, chugging along the tracks faster than Jacknife after a Sparkle soda and a bowl of Sugar Bombs. Add to that the comfortable seating, the lack of raider ambushes and the pony with the cart full of snacks (Twilight payed for us, since we didn't have many bits between us), and you had my absolute favorite mode of transportation.

Rose yawned before responding; the rocking of the carriage had already lulled Shot into dreamland, and my serious sister wasn't far behind. "T-they're... nice... but I miss the wagon..."

I rolled my eyes. "Rose, think how much business we'd get if we had a train in Atrium... hey!" Inspiration struck and I sat up straight, grinning. "When we get home, let's see if anypony has a working train!"

"Lily..." Rose yawned again, her head drooping. "You... need... tracks... for... a train..." With that, she fell asleep, leaning against the window.

I snorted and watched the scenery go by outside, lit by the morning light shining from Celestia's sphere. Why'd Rose have to ruin my great idea with her stupid logic? Getting the trains running back home would be a huge improvement! We'd be able to run supplies in much larger quantities than when we were still caravanning, and the business a train station would bring to Atrium would make the Wasteland Bouquet the greatest bar in the wasteland!

 
When we got home... I sighed and pressed my forehead against the cool glass. I really hoped we'd be able to get back. Shot had complained about missing Magpie, Rose didn't seem comfortable in Ponyville, Ibis was... well, he was Ibis. As long as he had us, especially Rose, I think he could have lived anywhere. As for me... I missed the wasteland. Sure, the world before the war was wonderful to look at, every breathe of the pure air was incredible, the fresh food and water were amazing, but... it wasn't home.

I looked around the carriage, idly floating a packet of sweets Twilight had bought me from the snack cart out of my saddlebag. Rose was fast asleep and drooling, her duster buckled tightly around her like a security blanket. Shot was curled up and snoring next to Ibis, who was discussing present-day griffin society with Twilight quietly. Our gear was stowed under our seats, including our guns.

No, this wasn't our home.

Our home was under the clouds, in the blasted hellscape we were born to, running the Bouquet or taking our caravan from town to town. This paradise wasn't for us.

As I munched the candy, I found myself sighing again. It really would be a shame to leave, but we couldn't risk changing anything... and, as much as I hated to admit it, we didn't fit in. Of course, it would be a shame to go home empty-hooved. Trade some of our supplies before we go, get some pure water, some fresh food, maybe even-
"Whoa." My breath caught in my chest at the sight of something enormous and white, clinging to the side of a mountain and gleaming in the morning light. It was something I'd seen once or twice in Rose's books, something that I'd only glimpsed from a distance for myself, almost completely hidden behind a thick pink haze.

Canterlot.

 
I made a quick guess based on the speed we were travelling at, the few trips we'd made through this area back while we were active caravaneers and our approximate distance from Ponyville. Factor in the rate our destination was growing in my view and... we were still pretty fucking far away.

I gave a small snort. I bet dad would be able to tell me exactly how far away we are... I wonder if he'll believe any of this? Mum'll probably think we're crazy or something; I'll have to get her something as proof.

The ivory towers, the graceful waterfalls, everything about the city must have been enormous to have been visible from so far away, but even from the moving train I could tell it was a place of beauty. It had to be; it was the home of the Goddesses. I couldn't wait to get there.

"I hate this place."
I raised my eyebrow at Rose, curious. Twilight had been giving us the tour on the way to the castle (the castle! To see the Goddesses! EEEE!), showing us all her favorite study spots, like a place called Donut Joe's. Apparently, donuts were round doughy things covered in icing and sprinkles. I wanted to stop and get some, but Twilight wanted us to get to the castle as in time for our appointment. She promised to bring us back after, though.

"What's wrong?"

Rose stared at me. At least, I think she did, since her eyes were covered by her sunglasses. "These ponies. They're so... fake."

I looked around as we walked, following Twilight's lead through the cobblestone streets. Most of the ponies around us looked really fancy, well-fed (fat), clean and... they all stared at us as we passed them, our rough little group getting plenty of attention. They weren't good stares, or even the kind we were used to... they looked disgusted, like we were beneath them. Ibis was ignoring it, but I'd noticed Shot snarling from her post beside him whenever anypony got too close. I don't think Twilight noticed, since she was so busy playing tour guide to us out-of-timers.

"C'mon, they're not that bad, Rose." I plastered a grin on my muzzle, trying to convince her. It didn't seem to work.

"They're worse than the ponies in the hospital, Lily." She waved one hoof, her voice low enough that only I could hear her. "They don't feel real. They're so... so..." My pale sister floundered, looking for the right words, then frowned. "Ugh. Nevermind, Lily." She sighed and I rolled my eyes before bumping my side against hers with a grin.

"Forget them. Aren't you excited? We're going to see the Goddesses!" I did a gleeful little dance as we walked, ignoring the staring ponies we passed. Rose nodded but didn't say anything, so I bumped her again and pointed to Ibis, Shot and Twilight, who had gotten ahead of us. "C'mon, sis. Let's catch up or we might miss out on getting into the castle!"

 
That made my antisocial sister pick up the pace, and we caught up to the others in no time. The rest of the way to the castle was a mix of Twilight's history lesson about Canterlot and the Goddesses (who Twilight insisted were Princesses, not Goddesses. None of us believed her for a second, of course. Being the student of Celestia Herself must have warped the poor mare's brain).

The only hiccup was when we actually got to the castle (Twilight said it was a palace, not a castle, but I honestly couldn't see a difference between the two even after she explained it). There, before the enormous gates that shone like polished silver, some guards cast the same spell that had been cast back in the Ponyville Hospital: A changeling detection spell.

Me, Shot and Ibis all got through fine, but the spell reacted to Rose. The next thing I knew, Rose was surrounded by guards with spears (Spears! I was starting to think they didn't have any guns at all!), Ibis was trying to pry Shot from the face of a guard she'd attacked for trying to arrest Rose, and Twilight was frantically explaining that the spell was reacting to Rose's talisman and that my sister was not a changeling.

A few minutes later Twilight had managed to calm things down and we were being escorted into the castle by a pair of blank-faced guardsponies, while the one Shot had attacked was nursing a black eye courtesy of the charcoal filly and her Pipbuck. Rose and Ibis were scolding Shot, but I could tell the filly was proud of herself.

Frankly, I didn't see what the fuss about changelings was. It was almost like everypony was expecting an invasion or something.

I'm not gonna describe the inside of the castle too much. Huge halls, pretty stained glass windows, fancy carpets (including some on the walls. Who hangs a carpet on the wall?), that sort of thing. A far cry from the Bouquet, that was for sure.

Eventually, though, we were lead to a room about the size of our bar's public area (and a million times fancier) to wait for the Goddesses. To my utter delight, the table inside had a fruit bowl. To my utter confusion, one of the fruits was a yellow crescent shaped thing. While I was puzzling out the freaky fruit, Rose got into a discussion with Twilight about the proper ette... ettiqeu... the right way to address the Goddesses ("Princesses", Twilight kept reminding us.) while Shot glared at the guards, who had stationed themselves next to the door, in case they made a move against Rose again. Ibis was content to keep an eye on our baby sister, occasionally distracting her with some jerky from his belt.

We'd been waiting for almost half an hour, and had offloaded our bags in a corner of the room. Surprisingly, nopony had tried to take our guns away, but Twilight had no idea what guns even were. The more I learned about the prewar ponies, the weirder they got.

Shot had given up trying to intimidate the guards (their poker faces were too good for her to break) and instead turned to cleaning Rose's rifle, under Ibis' supervision. I'd gotten distracted from the mysterious yellow fruit by a round orange one, which Twilight said was called an Orange. That had kicked off an argument between me and Rose over whether a fruit could be called a color, or if you could taste a color. Our lavender guide looked utterly bemused by our debate, but that came to an end when Rose sat up straight, her eyes wide, ears swivelling as she stared at the door.

"Lily... I-I think... is that... Them?"

"Huh?" I cocked my head and stared at her, but the sound of the door opening made me turn around and what I saw banished all questions from my mind.

The Goddesses.

Celestia and Luna. The Sun and The Moon. The alicorns of myth and legend.

Tall, graceful, powerful. The moment they stepped into the room, their ethereal manes shifting in some ghostly wind, their eyes focused on us (on us!) I felt my knees go weak. Tall, radiant Celestia, her coat so pure and brilliant white it made Rose seem almost muddy grey, with her color-streaked, ethereally shifting mane and a patient, kind expression. Not-so-tall but no less regal or radiant was Luna, her mane embodying all the beauty of the night sky, her coat a deeper blue than anything I'd seen, her eyes shining like two azure jewels.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw movement; Twilight stepping forwards to greet her mentor. Dimly, I was aware of Rose bowing beside me and did the same, prostrating my unworthy self before these living deities, my mind racing as I tried to decide what to do or say.

"Rise, my little ponies." I dared to raise my head a little and, seeing the Goddess Celestia smiling at us, felt all my worries wash away. Beside me, Rose and Ibis stood straight and proud, with even Shot visibly relaxing.

"I- We- It's..." Rose stepped forwards, saving me from making an idiot of myself.

"It is an honour to meet you, Goddesses Luna and Celestia." She dipped her head in a respectful bow to the heavenly beings before us. "Your student, the Lady Twilight Sparkle, informed us of your interest in our origin. I am afraid, however, that we are unable to reveal much, for fear of changing the future of Equestria."

The Goddess Celestia smiled (I'd never seen an expression radiate such warmth and love before) and nodded. "Please, you don't have to be so formal. We are not Goddesses, merely princesses." Rose nodded, and I managed to as well, still awestruck. "Now, I understand that you don't want to change the future, but your story is deeply troubling. Would you be so kind as to tell us more? Perhaps, together, we can change things for the better." Rose thought for a moment, then nodded again. Celestia gave a small laugh and waved her gold-clad hoof at the table which held the much-emptier fruit bowl. "Very good. Would you like some tea or cake? I find they help these things go by much smoother."

This time, I was the one to nod. Being offered cake by a Goddess? You'd have to be crazy to turn it down!

As we all took our places around the table (Twilight and the Goddesses on one side, our ragtag little band of wastelanders on the other), I nudged Rose and whispered, "Where'd you learn to talk like that?"

Getting comfy on her cushion, she whispered back "One of my books. Principles of Proper Pony Speech."

"And you do not know the cause of this war?" In response to Luna's question, we all shook our heads. As it turned out, we didn't actually know much about the war or what caused it. Just that ponies and zebras fought, then the world ended. The Lunar Goddess turned to the Solar Goddess with a frown. "Sister, I cannot believe we would simply allow such a thing to happen, for Equestria to be reduced to dust and rubble in such a way." She turned back to us. "Do you at least know where We were, and why We did not prevent this tragedy?"

Me, Shot and Ibis shook our heads, but Rose spoke up. "Papa said that, during the war, so many ponies went bad that it broke your hearts. When the world ended, you left to watch us from the heavens and wait until there were Good Ponies again... but... there aren't enough Good Ponies yet, and you can't see the ones that are there because of the clouds." She fidgeted, playing with the straps on her duster, obviously wanting to say something else, and Celestia gave her a kind smile.

"Speak your mind, my little pony. What do you want to say?"

Rose cleared her throat once, then twice, before getting up the courage to speak. "I... I just want to say that, even though there are lots of Bad Ponies, there's lots of Good Ponies as well. Jacknife, Doctor Needles, Auntie and Uncle, Miss Gossamer, all the ponies in Atrium, they're all good ponies. Even Lily and Shot are good ponies, and I... I try my best, like mama and papa taught me, so..." She looked down at the table. "Please, even though you won't be able to see them, please remember that they're there, and they're all doing the best they can."

The Goddesses (and Twilight) just stared at Rose in silence for a moment, before Celestia stood and came around to our side of the table. My breath caught in my chest as she rested her neck against Rose's in what could only be described as an Alicorn Hug. "I will never forget that there are good ponies in this world. I promise." Then, the unthinkable happened: Celestia did the same to me! Her coat, pressed against me, was softer than anything I'd ever felt. She radiated a warmth that put Her sun's heat to shame with its depth and vitality, so comforting it was like being hugged by my mother. When she pulled away from me, I was left gasping for air, watching dumbfounded as the heavenly being repeated the gesture with Shot and Ibis before returning to her seat.

The four of us were in varying states of shock and awe, staring dumbly at the Goddesses. Luna nodded, evidently less inclined to be huggy (Another Heavenly Hug might have been too much for us so, even though I was sad she didn't hug us, it was probably for the best), and said her piece. "We will not let our ponies meet this fate, nor condemn them to a life without Our Moon or Sister's Sun. This, We swear."

Thankfully, things took a lighter turn when the alarm on Shot's Pipbuck went off and scared the living daylights out of us all. I glared at her, and she grinned sheepishly as she hit the button to stop it. "Um... sorry?"

One by one we all started laughing, the tension and somber mood broken. Soon, we were telling the Goddesses and Twilight about some of our less depressing mishaps and adventures. Before long, Shot was yawning, and a glance out of the window revealed that the day was getting late.

"Um, not to be rude, but shouldn't we be getting back to Ponyville? It's kinda late..."

The Royal Sisters shared a look, then Luna nodded. Celestia smiled at us. "You are welcome to stay the night, all of you. But first, Luna and I would like to show you something." Twilight looked confused, but a nod from her mentor seemed to reassure her and the purple pony grinned knowingly.
 

We all filed out of the room, following the Goddesses of Sun and Moon through the corridors of the castle and up spiraling staircases towards whatever it was they wanted to show us. Rose stayed far away from windows as we climbed, her fear of heights kicking in.

As we reached the top floor, passing through gilded doors emblazoned with images of the sun and moon, the Sisters stood on a balcony, with Twilight just behind them. Me, Ibis and Shot stood behind Twilight, and the view took my breath away. Far beneath us, Equestria was spread out in the evening glow, towns and cities the size of a foal's playthings. Rose hoofed at the floor nervously, inching closer to me, but was stunned like the rest of us when Celestia and Luna raised their spire-like horns and spread their enormous wings. It took a moment before I realised what they were doing, but as the sun set and the moon rose in response to the glow of their horns, it struck me.

They really do move the sun and moon!

Their heavenly duties done for the day, they smiled at our awestruck expressions.

"You've come such a long, long way, my little ponies and griffin." Celestia approached us and, for the first time since the teleporter malfunctioned, I felt at peace. "It's time now for a new change to come. Here, in Equestria, your new lives have begun."

Morning found us on the train back to Ponyville after saying our farewells (and raiding the fruit bowl in our room and convincing Twilight to stop at Donut Joe's on the way to the station), with some paperwork allowing us to get a house in Ponyville.
As the scenery wizzed by, Shot and Rose talking excitedly about the Goddesses, Ibis and Twilight talking about the teleporter that blasted us back in time, I remembered the yellow crescent-shaped fruit I'd absently stuffed into my bag the night before. I pulled it out and inspected it, but I still had no idea what the thing was. Then Twilight noticed what I was doing.

"Lily, do you like bananas?"

After arriving in Ponyville, the next few hours were spent in the town hall with Twilight and the Mayor (who was called Mayor Mare. Again, prewar ponies are weird!) arranging our housing. We ended up with a three bedroom house towards the outside of town. The mayor said it was a Fixer-Upper, but it looked fine to me. Hell, it had three beds, a working stove and, best of all, clean running water! We could live with peeling paint, loose floorboards and broken window shutters for that!

After putting most of our stuff away in our new home (Twilight had to go back to her library. Something about a spike), we spent the rest of the day exploring Ponyville. We didn't have many bits to our names, so I made a point of asking around for any work that might be available. Hey, we had to earn our keep somehow.

There were a few jobs available, and I even got some leads on work for Rose and Ibis. Of course, actually following the leads would have to wait until morning, so the four of us went home as night fell. On the way, I couldn't help but look up at the moon and stars, admiring Luna's work...

Which is why I walked into Rose when she stopped dead in front of our house. "Rose, what're you doing?" I glared at her, and she blinked.

"Lily, there are ponies in our house."

"Huh?" I stared at her.

"A bunch of them." Shot piped up, and I suppressed a sigh. One of the few things I missed since giving her my pipbuck was the Eyes Forward Sparkle. At least she was putting it to good use. The filly turned to Rose. "Can I have a grenade?"

"Shot! You're not blowing up our house!" I yelled, but she ignored me. When Rose shook her head, the filly jumped onto Ibis' back to sulk.

"They aren't hostile, Shot. They..." Rose paused, staring at the dark windows of our house; there was no sign of life. "They want to surprise us. And I think one of them is going to explode if we don't go in soon. Lily, you first."

I rolled my eyes and took point. "Don't be such a foal, Rose. I'm sure it's- AAH!!!"

As soon as I opened the door, the lights came on and what looked like half the town shouted "SURPRISE!" I got a glimpse of a banner that said WELCOME TO PONYVILLE before a hyperactive pink thing with enormous blue eyes filled my vision.