//------------------------------//
// Assignment 
// Story: a Sudden Train Ride to Hoofington 
// by bearcat 
//------------------------------//

	Twilight paced about the library's main room again, seeing motes of dust fail to settle. Much like her stomach. But sadly even if the motes settled she'd just feel forced to dust them off, which would more than likely, not secure the motes to her feather duster, but stir them to float anew. Much like how her pacing was stirring the butterflies in her stomach.

There was a knock at the door but by its lack of volume she already knew who was there. The door creaked open a tiny bit, and Fluttershy's head poked in. "Twilight? Are you alright? Pinkie said you would be looking for me by the time I got here."

Of course she did. For an earth pony she seemed almost telepathic at times. "Technically I haven't seen her all morning but yes, Fluttershy. Come on in. Hopefully Pinkie will be along soon herself. Uh." Twilight's stomach tried to emulate Rainbow Dash's acrobatics demonstrations. "Are your animals OK? We might be asked to disappear for a while."

Fluttershy's mouth made an "O" of surprise, but before she said anything she ran inside and turned around quickly, revealing Applejack had approached silently, with Rarity in the distance, trotting carefully toward them.

Applejack spoke with clipped syllables. "Pinkie said some dangnabbit combo o' hers made her think you'd be asking for the Elements o' Harmony thing. I see she told Fluttershy about the same but you're obviously th' one t' ask. So Ah'm askin'."

Twilight nodded her head a little too quickly. "I got a letter about three hours ago from the princess. She's en route and riding quickly for Ponyville to find us. She didn't feel comfortable telling me by letter what she's going to ask of us. She didn't ask me to round you guys up either but I just sorta assumed I'd have time to find you later. Anyway yes Applejack." Twilight remembered to breathe. Speaking is easier when you take deep breaths once in awhile. "Have a seat. Rarity!" she trotted to the front door to give her friend a quick hug, and to repeat herself as she closed the door.

Rarity said "Yes, Pinkie Pie sent me too. I expect she'll be along pretty soon with Rainbow Dash." Looking at Twilight carefully, she squinted and added "Calm yourself, dear. You're up to the task; that's why the princess has contacted you. And for heaven's sake let me brush that mane into shape!"

Twilight held her head still as Rarity's brush ministered to her somewhat frazzled mane, although that did little to ease her nerves. About the time the brush started to float away, there was a loud knock at the door, which was revealed to be a panting, sweating pink earth pony who breathlessly explained her inability to find Rainbow Dash. "She's not in Ponyville proper but I saw the royal chariot not too far off so I thought." She stepped into the middle of the room and dropped gracelessly to her belly, laying her muzzle on one foreleg. "That a breather is good. Before the princess, you know?"

Pinkie's voice had faded in both volume and clarity, and her deep easy breathing revealed her current state of unconsciousness. "Ah wish Ah could unwind that easy." opined Applejack, who was scooting a couch around to make room for the extra ponies that Twilight was not expecting during this officially not-official royal visit. Twilight felt her stomach doing loop-de-loops.

Hyperventilating aside, about twenty minutes later there was a stately knock at her door. Twilight hadn't even heard the chariot touch down. Rushing to open it, she found only Mayor Mare, looking as stately as she ever does. "Oh! Twilight Sparkle, dear! I suppose you may already know but I've been told there's an official visit from the princess herself, and while she doesn't expect to stay long I know she likes to say hello to you when she's in town so I thought I'd warn you she was coming." Mayor Mare glanced past Twilight to see her friends gathered, and her stately smile slowly morphed into a knowing smile. "Yes I see she did write to you. She'll notice me but let her know I'll just be, hmm," the mayor looked behind her at the town street, spied a park bench and indicated it with a hoof. "I'll wait over there and watch for her to finish her visit with you, OK dearie?"

Twilight nodded, but could hear a wave of gasps coming from just out of sight, down the street a ways. Mayor Mare stopped long enough to wave widely before proceeding to her indicated park bench.

The purple unicorn stood transfixed as her teacher's chariot, already on the ground, eased with more speed than was completely seemly down the road until slightly past the mayor's bench and immediately in front of the front door to Twilight's home.

Again, with just a little more haste than seemed comely, the brilliant white alicorn stepped off her chariot towards her star pupil, only to stop at the halfway point. Looking behind to the path her entourage had just come from, she called loudly, "Rainbow Dash! Hello! Do you have a moment!" Her inflection didn't actually imply it was a question, although there was none of the worry or command in voice that her haste into town might have implied.

Cantering ahead of the princess came a bright blue mare, rainbow'd mane flying as she nearly plowed into Twilight getting inside in time to seat herself and look totally natural when Celestia asked permission to enter. Twilight's stomach wasn't doing loops anymore; too much lead. Now it was stuck firmly to her ribcage trying to fall to the floor. "Please come in princess. It seems we're all here although technically you didn't mention any of my friends."

Striding to the middle of the room, Celestia levitated the door shut, and cast a spell to teleport a necklace with a fine gold chain, ending in a deep purple ruby mounted in a mesh work of several different metals. "Saves you time that they're here. Twilight can you put this on?" The necklace levitated towards the unicorn, who reached out with levitation of her own and was rewarded by seeing the glow of Celestia's magic fade, as Twilight placed the necklace over her horn and down her neck. "OK so I don't know who's watching so I'll be vague and brief. There are strange creatures. Well or possibly just one right now, but they're entering Equestria at the southern edge of the Everfree forest near the coast. West of Hoofington but not at the coast yet. Whoever it is, they're sucking down a great deal of pony magic doing it so I want you to be my ambassadors. Except there's just so many ways this could go I want to avoid official involvement for a little while.

"Here's the official story. You're going on vacation. To the beach. Alright? I hope you'll all agree?" Here she stopped to look around at the stunned faces surrounding her. "Twilight that necklace is capable of receiving a sizable amount of mass via a teleport spell. Take Spike so you can write a letter to say that the Elements of Harmony are called for ... I'll trust your judgment on that ... and I can teleport them to just in front of that new jewelry of yours."

"Yes, princess." Twilight heard herself say somewhat numbly.

"I've never been to Hoofington. Do you have a map? Of how far from Hoofington it is, I mean. Though I'd kinda like a map of Hoofington too since I hope since we're supposed to look like we're on vacation we can sight see a bit. Does the train even go straight there?" Pinkie Pie was bouncing in her seat, into which she had moved sometime between Mayor Mare knocking, and now. Twilight couldn't guess when, but Pinkie was clearly excited at this prospect for travel.

Rainbow Dash squinted, lowered her nose a bit to ask "I hate to be crass, but is there any pay in it for us? I mean that could take, what, weeks to accidentally present ourselves as ambassadors from Equestria to ... we don't even know what?"

A bag appeared in front of Celestia, jingling as it plopped onto to the floor. "I'll pay a suitable per-Diem, and if you can rein in your tourist appetites you should come out well ahead. In addition of course to the undying gratitude of the history books, once I'm sure it's safe to write all of this down." Rainbow Dash grinned widely, rubbing her chin with a fetlock joint. "No, Dash, I won't recommend Soarin go out with you as payment. Do you know how many Dukes in my kingdom have asked I lean on you to date them? I haven't even let you know, and I won't let Soarin know either." Rainbow Dash sighed deeply, a sly grin still visible on her face.