//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: The Stars of Darkness // by D4ftP0ny //------------------------------// Everypony was up early the next day in Ponyville, barely waiting for the sun to rise before filling the streets to try and finish the hurried preparations for the arrival of the refugees from Whinnyapolis. Twilight Sparkle stood in the center of town, checklist and quill hovering before her as she awaited reports from the ponies in charge of the myriad of projects still left undone. Her lavender eyes swept the square as she waited, watching the flurry of activity with the curiosity that only a scholar can have. After all, Twilight grew up in Canterlot, a far cry from the rural Ponyville, so besides being interested as the official organizer of what Pinkie Pie had dubbed “The Great Pony Sleepover”, she was fascinated by how well these ponies worked without the aid of magic. Not to say magic was discouraged, per se- this wasn’t Ponyville’s Winter Wrap-up Day, after all- but there far fewer unicorns in Ponyville than earth ponies or pegasi, too few to be able to take care of all the preparations themselves. She stepped forward and her saddlebags settled gently against her flank; they held extra paper and ink- Twilight felt that she might need it today. She watched as Applejack and her brother Big Macintosh pulled a huge wagonload full of apples into town, sweat dripping from their manes as they stopped in front of Twilight. “Reportin’ for duty, sugercube,” Applejack said as she tried to catch her breath. “That there’s… the last load.” “Eeeeyup,” Big Macintosh said. He really was a stallion of few words, that one. “Great job, you two,” Twilight said; her quill danced over the clipboard and put a check mark in one of her many boxes. Behind the wagon, pegasi had swarmed in and were removing the bushels of apples, emptying the wagon with amazing speed, lifting them from the bed and onto the backs of ponies, who carried them to the market. She turned her eyes to her orange friend, and her brow furrowed; the earth pony had removed her harness and had simply flopped down onto the ground, her well-muscled legs curled beneath her and her hat tipped low over her eyes as she panted for air. Applejack was a stout pony, and it surprised Twilight to see her so worn out. “Are you OK, Applejack?” she asked, her voice heavy with concern. True to form, Applejack looked up, tossed her golden mane back away from her face and gave the purple unicorn a determined smile. “O’course I am, Twilight… I was just up late las’ night clearin’ out the barn t’ make room for some o’ them there pony folk comin’ in from Whinnyapolis.” She groaned as she rose to her hooves, but her green eyes were strong as she stretched first her right foreleg, then her left. “I’ve got room for at least a dozen of ‘em in the barn alone, not to mention three or four in the house. That ought to make it a mite easier to find room for the rest of ‘em.” “Applejack, that’s amazing!” Twilight beamed. “You’ve gotten in touch with Dovetail about getting some beds set up in the barn, then?” “Sure as my name’s Applejack,” she said. “Dovetail’s sendin’ a dozen over; in fact, that’s our next stop, Big Mac!” “Eeeyup…” Big Mac sighed. Even the muscular workhorse, well known to be one of the strongest ponies in the area, was getting tired. “Aaah, buck up, big brother!” Applejack said, trotting over and giving Big Macintosh a solid hoof to the shoulder. “It’ll be worth it t’ see all them ponies settled in nice an’ comfy.” Big Mac sighed again and nodded, his small smile returning. Applejack turned back to Twilight and her smile melted into a sigh. “Oh, and Twi- would you mind tellin’ Rarity that she dun’ have to match the colors in the barn, or make sure her sheets dun’ clash with the day-core of our house? I swear, if that unicorn comes snoopin’ around my farm again, I’ll lasso her an’ leave her tied up in her shop.” Twilight giggled and jotted a note down on her paper. “I’ll be sure to let her know, Applejack.” “Thanks, Twilight. C’mon, Big Mac! Them beds ain’t gonna move themselves!” The orange earth pony reared up on her hind legs, tossed her mane and galloped off down the street, leaving Big Mac to pull the now-empty wagon. He shook his head slowly and trundled off, looking no more bothered by the large vehicle attached to him than Twilight would have felt with her saddlebags packed with books. The unicorn shook her head at the Apple siblings before turning back to her checklist. She’d already spoken to Pinkie Pie at Sugarcube Corner where she was helping Mrs. Cake bake extra portions of everything that could be baked for the new arrivals; Pinkie insisted that she was planning the most amazing party that anypony would ever see, EVER, and tried valiantly to talk Twilight’s ears right off before Mrs. Cake managed to get her attention again. Twilight glanced up at the sky, and just barely in sight she could make out another small squad of pegasi, this one making the rounds outside of Ponyville, keeping an eye out for the refugees; Rainbow Dash was with them, and they would help bring the injured or sick into town as quickly as possible. “Fluttershy,” Twilight muttered. “Where has she gotten herself off to?” “Um… I-I’m right here, Twilight,” Fluttershy’s quiet voice answered her suddenly. Twilight blinked, then turned to face where the voice had come from, but there was nopony there. “Fluttershy…?” she asked. To her right, one of the bushes in the park shivered, and a single big blue eye became visible in the foliage. A lock of soft pink mane dropped in front of it, and Twilight smiled. “Oh, Fluttershy,” she said as she trotted over to the bush, her clipboard floating along behind her obediently. Sure enough, the overly-shy yellow Pegasus was cowering in the bushes, her wing feathers dotted with small green leaves. Twilight smiled fondly and shook her head. “Fluttershy, why are you hiding in the bushes? You’re supposed to be helping keep the animals safe and out of the way.” “Oh, I already did that,” Fluttershy answered, her voice barely loud enough to hear. “I asked all the little animals to move and the ones who couldn’t, because they were sick or old or young, I brought them to my house.” Twilight arched an eyebrow. “Your house,” she said flatly. “Oh yes… I just couldn’t leave them outside if they were old or young or sick. My house was the only place in Ponyville that they would be safe.” “And… exactly how many animals do you have in your house now?” “Um…” Fluttershy’s smooth brow crinkled just slightly as she thought. “Forty seven bunnies, twenty five squirrels, a very old badger with shingles, a-about a dozen finches, and, um… Spike.” “Spike??” Twilight asked, bewildered. “What’s he doing there?” “Well, you know he hasn’t been feeling well,” Fluttershy said, poking her front hooves together gently. “And he really didn’t want to be in your way, but he wanted to do something useful, so… he asked if he could help me, and I told him that he could stay with the animals while I was out … oh, I hope that was the right thing to do…” Fluttershy blinked hard, and Twilight could tell that her sensitive Pegasus friend was on the verge of tears. “Oh, of course it was, Fluttershy,” she said, waving a hoof dismissively and smiling. “Spike needs his rest, and if he can help out in some way while doing so, that’s perfect.” Fluttershy brightened and her wings stood up a little. “R…really? You mean you don’t mind?” “Of course not. Spike is a huge help to me, but his health comes first. I wouldn’t want him running around out here, chasing me around with this clipboard when he should be resting. I will need him to come back tonight, after things have calmed down- I need him around in case Princess Celestia sends me a message.” The unicorn frowned. “Do you have any idea why Spike is sick, Fluttershy? I’m worried about him.” Fluttershy perked up even more; she always liked it when one of her friends was interested in the well-being of animals. “Oh yes, I do. It’s dragonpox!” “…Dragonpox? That doesn’t sound very good…” “Every little dragon comes down with dragonpox at some point,” Fluttershy said with a small smile. She prided herself on knowing all sorts of animal ailments, be they common or rare or magical, and Twilight could tell that she was very happy to know exactly what was going on. “It makes little dragons tired and sore, and he might break out into little green spots. It’ll probably stay with him for a week or so, but he’ll start feeling better after that. Nothing to be worried about!” she assured Twilight. “Well if you say so, I believe you. Just let me know if I can do anything for him, OK?” “Will do,” Fluttershy said, closing her eyes and smiling a pleased smile. Twilight arched an eyebrow at the Pegasus, and her frown turned into a teasing smile. “One more question, Fluttershy,” she said. “Yes?” “Why are you hiding in a bush?” Suddenly, Fluttershy seemed to remember that she was, indeed, hiding in a bush; she let out a small eep! and ducked back down. Twilight sighed and stuck her head into the foliage. “That doesn’t answer my question, ‘Shy.” Fluttershy blushed. “Um… it’s because, well… a lot of new ponies are coming into Ponyville today… and, well… you know how I am with strangers.” Twilight giggled. “Well, yes, I know, but you do realize that if you hide in this bush, eventually somepony will see you, right?” Fluttershy’s eyes widened until Twilight thought they might pop out of the Pegasus’ head. With a smile, she said, “I have an idea; why don’t you go help Rainbow Dash? She’s looking out for our guests, and she’ll help them get here if necessary. That way, it’ll be less like they’re coming to YOU and more of you going to THEM?” “Oh, I don’t know, Twilight… I really don’t know if that’s a good-,” “You want to help, don’t you?” Twilight leaned closer to Fluttershy. The demure Pegasus blushed at the thought. “Well, of course I do, but…” “Then go help Rainbow! It’ll be easy. And that way, they’re meeting you while you’re doing things, and they won’t be able to engage you in direct conversation. Plus, you won’t be alone, Rainbow Dash’ll be there.” Fluttershy’s big blue eyes widened slightly, and after a moment she nodded. “O-okay, Twilight… if you really think it will help…” She stood up out of the bush, shook her wings free of leaves and took to the air, flying away towards where Rainbow was reorganizing her squad in the light clouds above Ponyville. Fluttershy rarely flew high or fast, being afraid of heights and all, but Twilight knew that as long as one of her friends was there, she’d be just fine. The lavender unicorn giggled after her friend before turning back to her clipboard, but before she could check off Fluttershy’s box from her list, another voice interrupted her thoughts. “Twilight! Oh, thank goodness I found you before it was too late!” Rarity galloped up to Twilight, her purple mane blowing elegantly in the breeze. “What is it, Rarity? Is something wrong?” “Is something wrong? Is something wrong?! I should say there is!” The white unicorn brushed her mane back, teasing the large curl in it as she did so. “That silly Applejack won’t let me anywhere near her farm, and I simply must find a color scheme to match that ridiculous barn of hers.” “Yes, I heard that Applejack was having problems with you… she told me to tell you-,” Twilight squinted and read her note aloud. “She wanted me to tell you that if you ‘come snooping around my farm again, I’ll lasso you and leave you tied up in your shop’.” Rarity made a shocked squeak and pouted. “But..! Ooh, that pony… I swear she does this to make things harder on those of us with taste. Do you have any idea how hard it is to design something that will go with a barn, dear Twilight? Do you?!” “Um… well… I guess you could always do something red,” Twilight suggested. Rarity smiled at her, but it was the same kind of smile Twilight had seen Cheerilee give Snails when he said something ridiculous. “Of course I could do something red,” the unicorn said. Even her tone of voice is the same, Twilight thought with a frown. “But that simply won’t be enough, darling! I must do something brash, something bold!! Something to capture the true spirit of the…” she floundered for a word, then sighed and dropped her head. “… the barn. Oh for heaven’s sake, it’s a barn, Twilight!!!” she said, bringing her hoof to her forehead in frustration. “How can I be expected to work with something so… plain?!” Twilight rolled her eyes before smiling slightly and patting Rarity on the shoulder with her hoof. “Rarity, you do know these sheets and things don’t need to be special, right? Just plain old sheets and blankets.” Rarity looked at Twilight like she had just insulted Rarity’s whole family, including adorable little Sweetie Belle. “Just… plain old sheets, Twilight?” But instead of working her into a frenzy of Rarity-fashion-rage, the statement seemed to bring Rarity down to earth, and the unicorn shook her head slightly at Twilight. “Darling, try to think about these poor ponies coming to our town. They’ve just lost everything! Absolutely everything that they owned, their livelihoods, everything tied to their memories; gone in one horrid night of fire. Now they’re coming here, depending solely on the kindness of strangers to survive.” Rarity’s azure eyes suddenly filled with tears. “The least I can do is give them something beautiful, something a little extravagant to make them feel even the least bit pampered in this, their time of desperate need!” She sniffled. “And that apple-headed Applejack is getting in my way!” She stomped her front hooves on the ground and huffed. “Ooooh, if only she would just..!” The unicorn trailed off with a frustrated, “Grr!” Twilight looked at her for a moment, but then she sighed and smiled. “I think I understand, Rarity.” Rarity arched an eyebrow at Twilight before she continued. “I’ll tell you what; I’ll talk to Applejack. You go ahead to Sweet Apple Acres and make your plans. But you’d better hurry, because the ponies from Whinnyapolis will be here any time.” Twilight gave Rarity a wink. “I’ll make sure Applejack doesn’t lasso you, OK?” The white unicorn looked at her unblinking, and after a moment she smiled broadly before leaping forward to pony-hug Twilight, neck across neck. “Oh! Oh thank you, Twilight! I promise you I won’t be long, and those poor ponies will have luxurious sheets and blankets by tonight!” She turned and dashed away, leaving Twilight shaking her head again as she crossed her note off of her list and making a new one. “Applejack, don’t… lasso… Rarity. Got it. Now I just have to make sure that Applejack gets it before she goes home.” Just at that moment, a Pegasus flew over carrying what looked like a large pack. Then two more pegasi, with an injured pony slung between them on a makeshift stretcher. Then more pegasi showed up, each carrying something, from belongings to ponies. Twilight’s eyes widened and she tucked her clipboard away into her saddlebags. “Oh wow…” Overhead, the sky suddenly filled with a wave of pegasi, some she recognized, some she didn’t, and as they flew above her a large group of ponies came into view around the buildings of Ponyville, steadily advancing towards her. The sheer number of them blew Twilight away; she’d known that a good number were coming, but this dwarfed even her estimates. Everywhere she looked there were ponies wandering in to town, led by Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, who had a brown stallion with a large pair of glasses slung between them; the stallion had his leg bandaged and it was clear that he had broken it. The refugees looked to be in rougher shape than she had imagined. Each and every pony was dirty, stained with the muck of the road and soot and ash from the fires of their town. Stallions, mares, fillies and colts were all walking along at the same pace, their faces and eyes downcast as they entered Ponyville. Twilight felt her heart begin to ache as she watched a very small filly, younger even than Applebloom, lean up against her mother as she stumbled forward, her big blue eyes tired and glazed. These poor ponies… Twilight thought. Rarity was right… Pinkie Pie was right. They need everything we can give them, and especially a party. She couldn’t believe she thought that, but she did; every fiber of her being screamed at her to make this situation better, to make these ponies smile, make them happy again. Suddenly she understood Rarity’s frustration with Applejack about the sheets; she knew the sheets were her way of helping, and she wanted them to be perfect so they would bring smiles to weary faces. “A forlorn sight indeed, Twilight Sparkle,” Mayor Mare said as she walked up to stand beside the young purple unicorn. The older mare shook her head before adjusting her glasses. “Truly, these are ponies in need of every ounce of assistance we can give.” Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy steered over towards Twilight with the stallion in tow; they hovered over Mayor Mare so the brown pony could speak to her directly. “Mayor Mare,” he said, his voice calm and even. “On behalf of the citizens of Whinnyapolis, I thank you for your hospitality.” “No thanks is needed, Mayor Quill,” the Mayor said with a sad smile. “I’m only sorry we couldn’t do more.” The brown stallion, obviously the mayor of Whinnyapolis, shifted in his sling and winced as his broken leg moved. “Whether it is needed or not, my citizens owe you a debt of gratitude for opening your town as you have.” The sling shifted, and Twilight saw his cutie mark; it was an elegant writing quill, scrawling across an official-looking document. “I can only hope that someday we may return your kindness.” “Shush now,” Mayor Mare said sharply, and Twilight looked at her aghast, but the Mayor was grinning at the brown pony. “That’s quite enough talking from you, Mayor Quillby Haypenny the Second. You need to get that leg looked at and get settled into a bed. Now off with you! I won’t hear any more of thanks or repayment.” Mayor Quill opened his mouth then closed it again with a grin. “Well, I guess there’s still no arguing with you, Mayor Mare. Anypony in town you recommend?” “Indeed. See Nurse Redheart, she’ll look after you properly.” “Very well, thank you, Mayor Mare.” He looked up to Rainbow and Fluttershy. “Do either of you lovely pegasi know where to find Nurse Redheart?” “No problem, Mayor!” Rainbow Dash said. “C’mon, Fluttershy, let’s get this guy some healin’.” “O-okay.” And away they went, lifting the Mayor over the incoming crowd and off across Ponyville to the hospital. Twilight looked at the Mayor of Ponyville with a disbelieving smile and shook her head slightly. “Mayor Mare, how can you-,” “Oh, come now, Twilight. Mayor Quill and I have known each other for many years.” The Mayor smiled. “He’s a dear friend, but he can be as stubborn as a two-day-old grape juice stain. Sometimes I swear I have to look after him like I was his mother!” She laughed lightly. “But don’t worry yourself about Mayor Quill; he’ll be just fine.” The Mayor looked over the crowd of ponies and sighed. “Twilight, start spreading the word that we’re going to all gather at the stage in the town square to assign sleeping arrangements; that will be the quickest and most efficient way of dealing with this crowd.” “Yes ma’am,” Twilight said. She gave the Mayor one last smile before turning and trotting off through the crowd, telling everypony where to find the town square, and helping wherever she could. She wandered through the crowd, greeting the newcomers with the biggest smile she could muster; she was met with blank stares, but by the time she walked away from somepony, they were almost always smiling, even if it was just a little bit. The young purple unicorn tried to catch everypony walking by, smiling and asking if they were OK or if they needed help. “If you’re not injured, could you please make your way to the town square?” she asked a filly and her mother, both earth ponies who looked absolutely exhausted. The mare looked down at her filly, who was staring at Twilight, her green eyes wide, before looking back to Twilight. “No, we’re fine, thank you…?” “Twilight Sparkle,” Twilight said, raising her hoof to her chest. “And you are…?” The mare smiled wearily; her coat was a deep purple, and her dark green mane fell around her face in gentle waves. “My name is Thistledown, and this is Honeysuckle.” The mare’s cutie mark was a small green plant with a fluffy purple patch on the top, and the young filly didn’t even have her mark yet. “Good to meet you, Thistledown,” Twilight said, extending her hoof towards Thistledown, who held out her own hoof and touched it to Twilight’s. “And you too, Honeysuckle.” She leaned down to get closer to the filly, and Honeysuckle backed away slightly, hiding behind her mother. “Do you like gardening, Honeysuckle?” she asked, her voice soft and kind; she called it her “Fluttershy voice”. After a long moment, the small light orange filly stepped out from behind her mother and nodded, her pink and white mane falling over one of her eyes. “I… I like gardening, Mizz Sparkle.” Twilight giggled slightly at being called “Mizz Sparkle”. “Well, I have a very good friend named Applejack who runs the apple orchard here in Ponyville. Do you like apples?” Honeysuckle nodded, stepping out a little more from behind Thistledown. “I do!” she answered, a little more enthusiastically. “I think they’re my most favoritest fruit!” “Well, maybe you can stay on her farm while you’re here. She has a little sister about your age named Apple Bloom. Would you like that?” Honeysuckle looked up at Thistledown, who was smiling at Twilight, tears in her big green eyes. “Momma, would that be ohkay? I know you like gardening too!” A tear trickled down Thistledown’s cheek and she nodded. “Yes, of course that would be okay, Honey dear.” She tried to speak again, but she had to clear her throat before she could do so. “I-I would love that,” she said to Twilight. “Is there room on that farm for us? I can’t imagine what you Ponyville folk are going through for us…” “I’ll make sure you two end up on Sweet Apple Acres,” Twilight promised with a firm nod. “And don’t you worry about us,” she added with a caring smile. “We’re more than happy to help, and we know that any of you would do the same for us.” Twilight stepped out of the way and pointed towards the town square with her hoof. “That way is the square, where we’ll be organizing everything.” Thistledown nodded. “Thank you very much, Miss Sparkle.” “Please, call me Twilight.” The amethyst mare smiled again and nodded. “OK, thank you so much, Twilight.” She started down the street. “Come along, Honeysuckle.” The filly started off after her mother, but stopped and turned around, her eyes wide. “Will we see you around, Mizz Sparkle?” Twilight smiled. “Of course you will! This is my home, and I’m not going anywhere.” This seemed to satisfy the filly, who trotted off after her mother. The lavender unicorn smiled fondly after the mare and her daughter, and deep down she felt a warm, bubbling happiness that only came from helping those in need and making new friends. She shivered slightly, and her smile widened as she turned back to the crowd. She spoke to many other ponies as they wandered by; families worried about how they were going to find shelter for everypony, ponies who had lost loved ones in the confusions, ponies who were just glad to have made it to civilization alive, and Twilight did her best to comfort and contain. She directed everyone to the square, summoning some of the pegasi if a pony needed medical help. She had never seen so many completely exhausted ponies in her life; most of them were barely able to keep on their hooves, and Twilight reflected that it was a blessing that Ponyville was so close to Whinnyapolis. She had no idea how other groups of refugees were fairing, but she hoped to Celestia that somepony had met them half-way. Otherwise, Twilight found herself wondering how they could possibly make it. As the purple unicorn filtered through the crowd, a sudden chill ran down her back; like a drop of cold water had just dripped from her mane to her flank. She whipped around, her eyes wide; it felt as though she was being watched, and watched closely. Her lavender gaze went from pony to pony to pony, but none of them were paying her any special attention, just walking past her, following the crowd heading for the center of Ponyville. Suddenly, the crowd shifted slightly, and her gaze met a dark one; eyes so dark blue they appeared almost black, gazing at her from beneath a flowing sky-blue mane streaked with light orange and soft pink, like the color of the sky on a clear summer morning. It was a white unicorn, and for the briefest of moments their eyes locked, and Twilight found herself feeling… afraid. A sliver of fear slid into her heart, sending a wave of bone-chilling cold through her body as she stared into those eyes, eyes like twin dark pools of midnight, waiting with unknown peril to swallow her. Then the crowd shifted again, and the unicorn was gone. Twilight felt as though someone had removed an unseen weight from her chest, and she gasped for breath, causing a few of the ponies moving around her to glance at her sideways. She took several deep breaths before she felt the cold and shakiness subside; she shook her mane and shivered one last time. “Who was that..?” she muttered. Nopony she’d ever seen in Ponyville, that much was certain; she must have come in with the refugees. Twilight Sparkle stared towards where she’d seen the pony for another few moments before trotting that direction, hoping that perhaps the unicorn would be there, just on the other side of the knot of ponies that had moved in her way… but when Twilight got there, she wasn’t. She looked around, her eyes seeking, but there was no sign of the white unicorn. How strange… Twilight shook her head again and sighed. Don’t be so jumpy, Twilight, she said to herself. I’m sure there’s nothing to be worried about. She looked around one more time. Still… there was something strange about her… maybe I should look some more…? “Miss?” a voice called off to Twilight’s left; she turned to see an injured Pegasus limping towards her, leaning on another pony. He wobbled dangerously, and his voice suddenly became shaky. “I think… I might need a doctor, miss…” the Pegasus said before his eyes rolled back in his head and he passed clean out on the ground. “Oh no!” Twilight galloped over, her horn glowing brightly as she tried to get the attention of the nearest pegasi squad, and just like that she forgot the cold feeling she’d gotten from the white unicorn and the desire to find her in the sea of equine. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ “Yes, I suppose that will have to do,” Rarity said as she trotted back towards Ponyville, leaving Sweet Apple Acres behind her. She let out a vexed sigh and tossed her indigo mane. “Honestly, I’ve never seen a less attractive place to sleep! Oh, I’ll have to make these sheets extra special just to keep these ponies from trying to find somewhere else to stay! And that simply won’t do!” As she approached Ponyville, she noticed a great deal of commotion going on; pegasi were flying everywhere, carrying packages and ponies alike. Rarity gasped. “Oh no, they must have arrived! Now I’ll never get these sheets done in time!!” She stomped a hoof dramatically. “Oooh, Applejack! If only you hadn’t been so stubborn about letting me around your farm, this wouldn’t have taken so long!” She sighed. “Well, no matter. I’ll get these sown up and out to her by sunset! No two ways about it!” She nodded to herself and galloped off towards her boutique, her mind whirling with a million things; her color options for the sheets, the patterns she wanted to use around the top fold, the length that they would have to be to fit the beds Dovetail had made… There were a great many details, and it was much more difficult than Twilight made it sound! Plain old sheets, she said! Not from Carousel Boutique, I say! These ponies may be unintentional guests in our town, but they are guests nonetheless! And they shall leave Ponyville and go back to Whinnyapolis when the time comes and tell everyone about how magnificent their sheets were, and how beautiful the new clothes they bought here are, and everyone will ask “Who is the pony, the enchantress who made these for you?” and they will all smile fondly and say-! Suddenly, Rarity’s daydream was interrupted by the impact of her head into another pony. She hit hard enough to make her vision go white for a brief moment as she sprawled backwards onto her rump, her head spinning. “Ooh… Oh my…” she said, blinking furiously. “I… I do apologize, darling, I was… I was in a hurry.” She reached gingerly up and touched her hoof to her horn; thank Celestia it was whole and undamaged! The very thought of losing it was more than Rarity could bear. The pain from the impact was fading quickly and being replaced by a feeling of embarrassment. Here she had been, planning grandiose plans, and she had run smack into somepony like a filly running about with her head in the clouds. Rarity blinked again and saw a set of hooves approach her; she blushed severely and couldn’t bring herself to look up at the pony whom she had rammed. “I do apologize,” she repeated sheepishly. “If you would be so kind as to pardon me, I fear I have a great deal of work to do…” She rose to her hooves, wobbling only slightly. “Of course,” a gentle voice answered. “As long as you are all right, that is.” The hooves stepped closer, and Rarity found her eyes drawn upwards to the speaker’s face. It was a unicorn, white as she was, with a beautifully styled mane the color of a sunrise; she had deep blue eyes, and they were full of concern as she looked carefully at Rarity. “I’m afraid that if you’re injured, it’s my duty to take you to the doctor,” the unicorn continued. “After all, it simply wouldn’t do to have a lovely mare such as yourself wander away hurt to further damage yourself.” Rarity blinked then blushed ever so modestly at the compliment. “Well… I thank you for your kind words, mademoiselle, but I assure you that I am quite all right.” She sighed slightly. “At least I will be once I get a certain job finished.” Now that her eyes were clearing a bit more, Rarity took a closer look at the other unicorn. She was very becoming, and as she stepped even closer to Rarity she noted the ease and grace with which this mare moved, every hoofstep planned, every shift of her body precise. She was certainly nopony Rarity had ever seen around Ponyville, meaning she had to have come into town with the refugees. Suddenly the other unicorn giggled slightly, and Rarity frowned for a moment before realizing that she had been staring intently at the newcomer. She lowered her eyes, blushing again. “Oh, how rude of me,” she said. “I do apologize, but it’s just that… I’ve never seen you here in Ponyville, so I deduce that you must be from Whinnyapolis?” The mare nodded, tossing her orange, pink and blue mane over her shoulder where it settled with a natural wave before smiling sadly. “Yes, I am from Whinnyapolis,” she said. “I wish I could say that I traveled here with somepony, but unfortunately, I’m alone.” She dropped her eyes for a moment before bringing them back up to smile bravely for Rarity. “Well, I’m sorry for keeping you. You said you had business to attend to, and I’m chattering your ears off.” The unicorn sighed and turned away from Rarity. “Before I go, however,” she said over her shoulder, “I thought you should know… I think your mane is absolutely gorgeous; do you think you could show me where you get it done?” Rarity laughed lightly in spite of herself. “Oh darling, I never let anypony else style my mane!” She teased the curl of her purple mane unconsciously, and the mysterious unicorn turned back, a small smile on her face. “Well, you do a beautiful job, Miss…?” “Rarity!” she said, blushing yet again. “I’m Rarity, and I own the Carousel Boutique here in Ponyville.” “I’ll have to look you up while I’m here… once I find a place to stay, that is.” The unicorn dropped her eyes back to the ground, and Rarity found herself struck with such profound sadness that she felt tears well up in her azure eyes. To think that this beautiful, graceful creature had nowhere to stay was suddenly more than Rarity could bear; it was as though she were staring at herself, lost and alone. Her eyes narrowed and she stood up straighter, puffing her chest out proudly. “Well, look no further for a place to stay- you can stay with me!” The unicorn looked up at Rarity, her eyes wide. “W-what..?” “Yes! I have a little extra room at the Boutique, and I can’t think of anypony I’d rather share space with in this adventure than you!” “But you don’t even know me,” the unicorn said softly. “Why would you do that?” “Don’t you worry your pretty mane about it,” Rarity said, waving her hoof dismissively. “You’ll stay with me, and that’s that!” She tossed her tail about excitedly. “I shall inform the Mayor of this, and once she has given instructions to everypony, I’ll show you around Ponyville!” Rarity let out a small squeal of delight. “Oooh! This is going to be ever so much fun! I’ll see you after the Mayor’s announcements!” Rarity turned and started to gallop off; suddenly she dug her hooves into the ground and turned back. “Oh… um, I, hehe… Forgot to ask your name..?” The unicorn smiled demurely. “My name is Morning Mist.” Rarity smiled brightly and danced to the side excitedly. “An absolute pleasure to meet you, Morning Mist! And I shall see you afterwards!” She turned and darted away, her purple tail trailing after her. She was in such a hurry and so very excited about being housed with such a lovely, clean unicorn that she didn’t see the sly smile that darkened Morning Mist’s features.