//------------------------------// // Chapter 11 - Training Montage (Day I) // Story: Ghosts from the Future // by Pix //------------------------------// Chapter 11 – Training Montage (Day I) “Oh, they’re just so pretty!” Lieutenant Lance Arcus sighed impatiently. He didn’t care how important this mare was, if she didn’t start following his orders like everypony else then he would… he would send her to the naughty step! Cut Lustre wasn’t helping matters. The crystal pony colt had clearly developed a crush on the unicorn mare, and his head was inflating with every compliment laid upon his diamond arrowheads. The boy was a talented smith, Lance couldn’t deny that, but he was far too easily distracted. “Of course, since these are the finest quality arrowheads I have ever produced,” the colt explained, “it seemed only fitting to offer them to a mare of equal beauty.” “Ooh please, stop it.” The white unicorn waved a hoof bashfully. Lance cleared his throat. “Cut, I don’t remember giving you the authority to decide who should use which ammunition.” “Right, of course, sorry sir…” “Oh, but you simply must let me have them. I’ve never seen such finely crafted diamond!” Cut Lustre’s head inflated a further few inches. The lieutenant shook his head. He would not be swayed by a pretty mare fluttering her eyelashes. “There are plenty of barbs for everypony, but it is only fair that the best quality ammunition is given to the most adept unicorns.” He gestured to the line of, very patiently waiting, guardsponies beside him. If you would like to join the line, Miss Rarity, we could move this session along?” The white mare finally did so, joining the back of the queue. It was a disappointingly short queue. The Crystal Empire was mostly made up of crystal earth ponies, with few pegasi, and even fewer unicorns among them. Lance wondered if he would have been forced to put up with such an undisciplined mare if not for the shortage of spellcasters. Of course, just because you were a unicorn did not mean you were a good spellcaster, particularly when it came to offensive magic. Lance had to admit that even he, an aging platinum unicorn stallion with lengthy experience as a guardspony, had little variety of spells in his repertoire. That was where these arrowheads came in. Almost every unicorn was capable of levitation, and since Shards had turned out to be fairly resilient to magic, but could be injured or even destroyed with a sharp impact, it was an obvious tactic. And thus they had set up a makeshift archery range to practice on. They did of course have some earth pony guards who were decent archers themselves, but a unicorn would always be more efficient in a battle. Even the best earth ponies couldn’t fire multiple projectiles in different directions at once. Unfortunately, it was looking like these unicorns couldn’t do that either. Lance supposed he couldn’t blame them. Equestria was normally a peaceful place, and the royal guards’ usual duties were far more ceremonial than anything else. Lance strolled along behind the unicorns who were currently practising, offering suggestions for improvement and giving praise when he could, which was frustratingly rarely. He had been given a large supply of targets, which were set up at the other end of the range at various distances, and he had assumed that he would be replacing them often. As it was, only a few of them had even been hit, and only one or two with enough force to make a sizable dent. “Guards, rotate!” he yelled. There was a flurry of salutes, and the ponies at the front of the line moved forward to replace those in the range, who walked over to a viewing area at the side of the yard. Lance wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but the next set of guards seemed to be performing significantly better than the first. He could see a couple of targets that had been broken into splinters already. It was probably coincidence that this second group was more accurate, but Lance allowed himself to believe that it was because they had been listening to his advice. As he completed another pass of the range, making suggestions as he went, he noticed that Cut Lustre was still jabbering away to that prissy mare at the back of the line. If Lance hadn’t had other things to attend to, he would… he would send that boy away without supper! “Guards, rotate!” A few more rotations later, and Rarity had finally taken her place at the range. Lance knew this, because he could immediately identify her shrill voice commenting on the equipment. “What are these things?” “They’re the standard arrowheads,” replied the colt’s voice. “Made of flint.” “Ugh, they are so drab.” “Well of course I don’t have so much to work with when compared to the diamond ones, but I’m sure in the hooves of such a beautiful mare, they would-” Lance couldn’t listen to this any longer. “Cut! Get out of here. Go…. Go to your room!” A part of Lance wondered whether that was really a suitable command to give to a pony. Ever since his wife had birthed two fillies a few years ago, his disciplining had been noticeably affected. Cut nodded and whizzed out of sight, clearly not wanting to get caught in Lance’s anger. The lieutenant turned to his newly discovered nemesis. “Miss Rarity, do you have an issue with the equipment?” “No, I was merely commenting on their less than stellar appearance.” Everypony else had stopped their practising and they were all eagerly watching the bubbling confrontation at this point. “These barbs are sufficient for everypony else. They will be sufficient for you.” His voice brokered no disagreement. “Perhaps, but they could be so improved with some colour, dear.” “They do not need to look good! They are for killing!” Rarity gestured to the diamond arrowheads. “Yet those look exquisite. I’m sure, for morale at least, we could have nicer looking equipment.” “These arrowheads,” Lance huffed, trying to keep his temper in check, “are made of diamond because it is strong. Not because it looks nice.” He slammed a hoof. “And besides, they aren’t for your use. Can you even hit a target?” The white unicorn turned around to face the targets in the distance, and lit her horn. The flint arrowheads around her were all levitated into the air and, in one swift movement, laced out to hit every remaining target simultaneously. About half of the targets broke apart upon impact. “And of course I could do better with the diamond ones,” Rarity commented as she turned back to the stunned lieutenant, over the sounds of impressed applause from the guards around her. “Working with precious gems has always been a talent of mine.” “It…. It has?” “And I’ve been thinking about how I would carry them.” She smiled pleasantly. “I’ve seen that one usually straps one’s ammunition to the barrel, but I can just picture a gorgeous coat, with the arrowheads neatly embedded along the sides. Why, it would be fashionable in and out of battle. Or perhaps…” Lance Arcus stopped listening to the mare at this point. She was insufferable. Brilliantly, magnificently insufferable. --- Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash stood to varying degrees of attention. The orange pegasus in front of them looked them over with a critical eye, causing Fluttershy to duck her head behind her mane automatically. Rainbow remained standing proudly, imagining that she was back at the Wonderbolts Academy. “Shards have been seen closer and closer to the Crystal Empire over the last few days,” Lieutenant Flash Sentry began, turning away from them. “The increased guard presence has been noticed, and citizens are getting nervous. We absolutely cannot afford to let Shards get close to the empire undetected.” He turned back to stare at them, face inscrutable. “There aren’t many pegasi in the Crystal Empire, and we need good reconnaissance teams to scope out the mountains as soon as possible.” Rainbow saluted. “At once sir!” “Actually, Miss Dash, I do not think this task is for you. I believe the Element of Kindness would be better suited for this role.” He stepped up to Fluttershy, who quailed slightly but stood her ground. “Miss Fluttershy, would you be able to join our scouting teams?” “Oh, I think Rainbow would do better than I could. She’s a lot faster than I am…” “It’s true,” Rainbow agreed, feeling somewhat dejected. “Don’t get me wrong, Fluttershy’s awesome. But I am quicker.” Flash nodded. “I know. But you aren’t exactly subtle. What we need are fliers who can scope the environment without drawing attention to themselves.” He turned to the shy pegasus once more. “If I know anything about Miss Fluttershy, it’s that she’s well practised at avoiding attention.” Rainbow tried hard not to feel offended. It was natural for her to want to be the best at flying in all its forms, but she knew not to argue with a superior in a situation like this. Instead she fell back onto what she felt was a good default action and saluted. “Understood, sir.” Fluttershy’s eyes were wide, and she looked as though she had frozen up, so Rainbow stretched out a wing and brushed it against her. After a few moments the quivering mare seemed to have calmed down, and determination flashed across her face. “Alright. I’ll do it.” “Very good. You will report to Winter Tempest at once. She will be leading a scouting trip within the hour.” “That soon?” Fluttershy quavered. “No time like the present.” Fluttershy glanced over at her friend, and Rainbow smiled back encouragingly. After a deep breath, she walked off in the direction she had been pointed, heading towards a congregation of crystal pegasi guards. As she left, Flash turned back to Rainbow Dash. “Miss Dash?” She saluted automatically. “Let’s not overdo the salutes,” he suggested. She lowered her hoof and blushed, causing Flash to smirk at her embarrassed reaction. “So, uh, what will I be doing sir?” “I’ve heard good things about you from some of my friends in the Wonderbolts,” he began. “You… you know the Wonderbolts?” Rainbow couldn’t stop herself from gushing. “You have friends in the Wonderbolts?” He laughed. “I always wanted to be a Wonderbolt when I was younger. In fact, I think every pegasus foal did,” he added, to emphatic nods from the young mare. “After a lot of practice I entered the Wonderbolt Academy. Realised pretty fast that it wasn’t for me, but made some good friends while I was there. Still keep in touch with them to this day.” He gave Rainbow a bemused look. “They’ve all mentioned you, you’ve been making quite a name for yourself. I’m sure you know them better than I do by now.” Rainbow kicked at the dirt bashfully. “I don’t know them that well. I joined the reserve team recently, but I’m still a bit inexperienced to be a fully-fledged member.” Rainbow’s expression darkened somewhat. That was the reasoning Twilight had suggested anyway. Rainbow was pretty sure she could fly better than at least half of the current team. “Well, in the meantime.” Flash gestured for Rainbow to follow him as he started walking towards a courtyard nearby. “We’re creating a sort of aerial strike force. Dive in quick, smash some Shards to pieces, get out fast.” He grinned at the increasingly excited looking mare. “That sound up your street?” Rainbow Dash could not have been happier. “When we’re actually fighting we’ll wear these,” The lieutenant continued, pointing out some intricately crafted shoes with spikes on the soles. “But for practice, that would be an unnecessary risk.” Rainbow looked around with interest at the courtyard they had entered. Flying around were eight different pegasi, some crystal ponies and some not. They looked vaguely as though they were in pairs, and their movement was rather haphazard, nothing like the choreographed routines of the Wonderbolts. “What’s going on?” “We’re practicing.” “But there’s no dummies or Shards here. What are we practising on?” Flash Sentry grinned wickedly and tossed her a helmet, before scuffing at the ground. “What do you think?” --- The market stalls in the centre of the Crystal Empire were bustling with ponies of all types, many of whom were there to exchange pleasantries and gossip as much as to exchange money and products. This was not the usual excited gossip though, of celebrity affairs and royal fashion trends. This was a nervous gossip, of mysterious rumours and speculative stories. “They’re saying the Shards are an army King Sombra has created to take back the Crystal Empire.” Gasps. “I heard Shards can change shape to look like anypony. There could even be one among us right now!” Panicked whispers. “My husband’s in the guard, and he flew into the Crystal Mountains the other day. I heard he saw her.” More gasps, followed by a confused silence. “Wait,” somepony finally asked. “Who is ‘her’?” “Well, Black Fractal of course. You must have heard of her?” Understanding dawned, and murmurs followed. “They say she can kill you with a look.” Nods of agreement. “Princesses Celestia and Luna haven’t come to help us this time either, have you noticed?” Angry mutters. “Well I heard, that we’re going to defeat all of the nasty Shards, and drive away whatever icky magic is in the Crystal Mountains, and everything will be fine!” Stunned silence. Slowly, everypony turned to the source of the most recent voice. That was not how this went. You weren’t supposed to be positive. Who would dare ruin their mutual pessimism? Pinkie Pie smiled as widely as she could. A few of the gathered ponies seemed to recognise her, but most of them did not. She didn’t care though. The important thing was that they would have hope, and that they would all know that everything was going to be okay! She was slightly disheartened by the grumbles that some of the ponies were making, but she was sure that they most of them must have been made happier. Duty fulfilled, she continued her trip back towards the Crystal Palace. She had originally been sent, along with Applejack, to the magnificent stadium that had been recently used for the Equestria Games. As earth ponies they were both expected to join with the standard training that most of the Royal Guard were taking part in. The stadium was being used because, in this emergency situation, an unprecedented number of guards were being trained at once, and there was nowhere more suitable. It hadn’t taken long before the pony in charge had dismissed her, telling her to find somepony else to bother. She was evidently not shaped to fit any of the guard moulds they had. Pinkie could have told them that herself, she used moulds all the time when baking and knew all about different shapes. Instead she decided that she would return to the palace and bother anypony she could find there. A decent number of guardsponies had been left to guard the northern borders of the empire, which were the ones most at risk of attack from the Shards in the mountains, and there were also lookouts at the exits to the nearest tunnels. Some ponies who lived near the outskirts had moved closer to the centre of the city, staying with relatives or the like. It was common knowledge now that creatures called Shards were living in the mountains, and that they might attack at some point. Although, if Pinkie thought back to some of the gossip she had been hearing, it also seemed to be common knowledge that Shards were impossible to destroy, and could kill you with a touch. While this wasn’t quite true, Pinkie didn’t think she’d tell ponies just how close to accurate it was. Of course, with all the unicorn guards training ballistics, the earth pony guards either training or guarding the borders, and the pegasi guards training or making reconnaissance trips, Pinkie had never seen the palace itself so unguarded. There was nopony to stop her from just walking inside. It seemed that only force of habit was stopping everypony else from doing the same thing. She hummed to herself as she made her way through the tall rooms, laughing at the distorted echoes that rung back at her. Within a few minutes she had returned to the room they were using to make their plans, and burst inside unannounced. “Oh, Pinkie. What are you doing here?” She bounced over to stand next to Twilight, who had clearly just been in the middle of a conversation with Cadance and Maud. Shining Armor was also there, although he looked a little restless. Pinkie wondered whether he would prefer to be out training too. “I don’t make a good guard,” she said, matter-of-factly. “You’d make an awful guard,” Twilight agreed. “But this isn’t supposed to be about guarding.” She turned to her brother. “What training is everypony actually doing?” “They’re doing the usual drills, plus some extra that are specifically Shard related.” “So Pinkie should be able to join in?” Shining Armor looked Pinkie up and down. “If she could cope with military-grade discipline, sure.” “Ah.” Pinkie Pie decided to change the topic to something more interesting. “I was listening to some gossip on my way over.” She cast her mind back. “Who’s Black Fractal?” “Black Fractal is the name we gave to the Shard shaped like Princess Luna,” Shining Armor explained. “Word got out that there was an alicorn Shard, and we wanted to make sure it wasn’t linked with Luna. We gave the media a few suggestions of names, and that’s what they chose. Not many ponies have spent much time with Luna, so hopefully nopony who sees ‘Black Fractal’ will be able to make the connection.” “Most ponies still don’t know Luna’s gone,” Pinkie said sadly. “No,” Cadance replied. “We thought we’d leave it to Celestia to decide how and when to share that information.” She frowned. “Or at least, that’s the plan for when she’ll let us contact her anyway.” “Also, I heard ponies say that the Shards are an army that King Sombra created.” Pinkie looked at the others questioningly. “I know we wondered ages ago whether it might be leftover magic of his, but he’s definitely gone, right?” “I don’t think we could have been more thorough in getting rid of him,” Cadance muttered, scowling at his memory. “Ponies like to have somepony to blame. They like to put faces on things.” Twilight tapped her chin. “I think a known threat, however big, is slightly less scary than an unknown one. It’s easier for ponies to believe that these Shards are the work of King Sombra than it is to believe the truth.” “Which is…?” Pinkie prompted Twilight slumped to the table. “Which is that we’ve no idea where the Infection could have come from, and we don’t even know if there is somepony behind it all.” She gestured wildly with a hoof. “Shards generally seem pretty mindless, but there’s clearly some intelligence there.” “And the alicorn Sha- I mean, Black Fractal, was definitely intelligent,” Shining Armor cut in. “After I started creating shields it learned to target me, and it was able to identify that we were trying to collapse the roof.” “Right. And not only that, but Maud’s descriptions make it clear that the shadowy mist, which we’re assuming is the Infection, also seems to have some sort of consciousness.” Twilight sighed. “In a way, I’d want there to be a pony mastermind behind all this, because then at least we’d have an obvious target. We could see if we could retrieve our elements from the Tree of Harmony, if only temporarily, and face him or her head on.” “Until we find out though,” Cadance began, “our priority needs to be defending my empire. The Crystal Heart is a great resource, but its use can only be a last resort. It should be able to expel Shards and the Infection, but it cannot bring back the dead. I do not want a single Shard to come close enough to infect any of my ponies.” She looked with resolve at her fellow princess. “Twilight, are you still willing to help me learn better offensive magic?” “I’ll practise with you, if that’s what you mean.” “No need to be modest Twilight, you know far more than I do. I was hoping you could be my teacher.” Twilight nodded, blushing. “Excellent. Maud, I’ll leave you to decide what best to do while I’m busy.” “I will join Applejack and train with the other earth pony guards.” “Very well. Shining?” Shining Armor looked eager to get to work. “I’d better make sure everypony’s on task. Maud, I’ll take you to the stadium.” He turned to Pinkie, who was currently swaying from side to side in her seat. “Pinkie, you can come with us. If you’re not suited for any of our standard roles then I’ll find something else for you to do.” “Okie-dokie-lokie!” And with that the five ponies departed. --- It was snowing. Fluttershy couldn’t get over how strange that was. She did at least somewhat understand why it was snowing, despite it being, in her mind, entirely the wrong season. Apparently, like the Everfree Forest, the weather in the Frozen North was completely uncontrollable. That meant that the occasional snow storm drifted south, covering the Crystal Mountains with a soft layer of powder. This was according to Winter Tempest, who was actually a weathermare who had volunteered to lead trips north because of her experience with these conditions. She would normally be in charge of dispersing the snow clouds once they had reached this point in the mountains, before they could drift any further towards the empire. Winter was one of the few crystal pony pegasi, coloured a brilliant white and with a swirling silver mane. Fluttershy was trying to like her, but her temperament was as abrasive as the conditions. When Fluttershy had meekly suggested that they could clear away the snow clouds to make it easier to see, she had been immediately shot down. “Do you have a brain in that pretty head of yours? The whole point of these recon trips is that we are trying not to be seen. Don’t you think it would be quite obvious if we started clearing the skies?” Fluttershy had been quiet since then. It was hard to see though. They had split into twos to cover as much ground as possible, and Fluttershy could no longer even see any of the other pairs. There was nothing to see looking down at the ground either. The mountains were desolate at the best of times, but now, when ponies had been explicitly warned not to journey through them, there was nothing interesting in sight. There was little greenery, even less wildlife, and the further north they flew, the more the earth was covered in snow anyway. Winter had pointed out that the snow was a good thing, as it would make tracks left by Shards easier to spot. Unfortunately it also meant that they were not allowed to go to ground themselves, because their own tracks would be just as easy to spot. Fluttershy was not the best at endurance flying, and her wings were already beginning to ache. She was afraid to mention this to Winter though, who seemed completely unfazed by either the conditions or the distance they were travelling. “Right Floaty, there’s clearly nothing in this area. The last party said they saw some Shards a distance to the west of here, we’re gonna scope that area out and see if they’ve moved. I want to have an idea of exactly how far away our nearest enemies are.” “Um, okay.” Winter streaked off without another word, and Fluttershy followed numbly. The wind was beginning to howl more fiercely, and her wings were feeling beaten. After a while she thought that Winter might have been talking to her, but she couldn’t hear anything over the wind. They seemed to fly for hours, and Fluttershy felt like even her brain was slowing down from the cold. And then, abruptly, Winter halted in the air. “There, do you see?” Fluttershy wearily stared into the distance. This far from the empire the mountains were completely blanketed with snow, and so the group of Shards was immediately obvious. There must have been about twenty of them, and they were congregated closely together, as though huddling for warmth. “Wh-What are th-they do-doing?” Fluttershy asked, teeth chattering. “No idea, but they’re even further away now than they were before, which is good for us.” The brilliant white mare spun around in the air to face the shivering pegasus. “Good work Floaty! I was expecting you to complain at some point, but you hung on in here. That’s what I like to see!” “Oh… Th-thank you,” Fluttershy mumbled, without much feeling. “Let’s fly back home and get you warmed up.” “Oh, th-thank you!” she replied, this time with a lot more feeling. --- It was pandemonium as Shining Armor arrived into the packed stadium. He could almost make out the various stations where ponies were training each different skill, but they did not seem to be delimited well, and ponies were spilling from one group to another all over the place. Were his guard really this undisciplined? This would never have happened in Canterlot when he was the captain. He walked over to the nearest group, where ponies were practising their manoeuvrability by slaloming between some hastily erected posts, and grabbed a guardspony who looked like they knew what was going on. “You. Remind me your name?” Always a useful phrase when you had no clue who you were talking to. The crystal mare bowed hastily. “Jade Softhoof, your highness.” “Jade, where is…” he trailed off and looked curiously at the scarlet-coloured crystal pony. “My mother didn’t know what colour Jade was,” she explained, in a resigned voice that made it clear she had given this explanation more often than she would care to mention. “Right.” The prince cleared his throat. “Jade, where is the Captain?” “Uhm… Captain Union, your highness?” Shining Armor recalled the resolute mare who had saluted him before being concealed behind falling rocks. He swore under his breath. “The vice-captain,” he corrected. “Vice-captain Watcher? He’s been on leave for the last week. Uhm… His wife was unfortunately one of the first to be slain by Shards, remember?” Now that he was reminded, he did remember. He clearly had too much on his mind at the moment. “So who is in charge now?” “Uhm… I’m not sure, your highness.” “Do you mean to say there aren’t protocols for this situation?” But even as Shining said it, he knew that there likely were no protocols. Or at least, none that had been used in living memory. Equestria was usually peaceful, and even during the worldwide calamities that had taken place, it was exceptionally rare for a guardspony to lose their life. “Sorry, your majesty. Each station has one of the higher ranking guardsponies leading it, but other than that…” The ex-captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard made a quick judgement call. “Jade Softhoof, you are in charge of this station?” he gestured to the slalom track, just in time to point at a stallion who was tumbling face first into one of the poles. “Uhm… yes?” “Could you tell me what is happening at every other station?” She looked around the hectic stadium. “Uhm… Probably?” Shining Armor saluted. “Good answers, Captain.” “I… what!?” “You’ll want to get these stations in order, and I recommend you-” “But I can’t be the captain!” Shining Armor raised an eyebrow. “I don’t see why not. Now, first things first, there are two ponies here I’d like you to get acquainted with.” He turned around, only to see empty ground beside him. Just where had the two Pie sisters gone? As if in answer to his question, a noise that sounded like a small explosion erupted from nearby. He, and everypony else in the stadium by the looks of it, turned to see what had caused the sudden detonation. Standing over a pile of shrapnel that had recently been a training dummy was a grey earth pony mare, looking down at the wreckage with an impassive expression. After the shocked silence died down, an orange mare with a familiar hat walked up to her and raised a leg for a hoof-bump, which the grey mare looked at quizzically before cautiously pressing her head against it. From the stands on the other side of the stadium came some exuberant cheering and a scream of “Go Maud!” Shining Armor turned back to the recently promoted captain. “Never mind about the mares. I suggest you find somepony else to lead this station, and then visit each of the others. Get them in line, give them time limits, rotate the guards every so often, decide how regularly to allow breaks… You know the drill.” Jade nodded blankly. “Good.” He then turned to walk towards the stands in the distance where Pinkie Pie was sitting munching some popcorn she had found Celestia-knew-where. As he closed the distance she noticed his approach and leapt out of her seat to meet him halfway, before giving the messiest salute he’d ever seen. “Pinkie, do you even want to join in?” She drooped her head to the ground. “I… I don’t think I like this stuff. When you saved me from those meanie Shards in the mountains I was so scared. I don’t ever want to have to face them down.” The change in attitude was enough of a shock to the prince that he forgot what he had been intending to say. “Listen,” he said, more gently. “You don’t have to fight if you don’t want to. There are plenty of other ways to be helpful. What is it that you’re good at?” “Throwing parties and baking cakes?” she suggested. “She’s real fast,” interrupted a voice from behind them. Shining Armor turned to see that Applejack had strolled up. “Sorry, Ah saw you two were talkin’ and thought Ah’d come and see what was up.” “You’re quick, huh?” Shining queried, turning back to face Pinkie. “Fast as Rainbow Dash if’n she puts her mind to it,” Applejack vouched. Shining tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Then you could definitely be useful. If we send several groups on trips up north, there’s always the need for couriers to pass messages between different parties. Even if you girls go off by yourselves, you might need to get a quick missive back. I’d normally suggest a pegasus for that role, but there’s no reason why a fast earth pony shouldn’t be just as suitable.” He looked challengingly at the eager mare. “If I said I had a message for Rarity, what would-” There was a sudden puff of pink and the mare was gone. “Uh, I was expecting her to ask where Rarity was, and what the message was…” Shining Armor turned to Applejack. “Maybe give me time estimates, that sort of thing…” A thundering of hooves and a blur of pink and white heralded Pinkie’s return, this time with a very dazed and sickly looking Rarity on her back. It had evidently been a bumpy ride. Pinkie beamed, expectantly. The Prince of the Crystal Empire glanced at the Element of Honesty, who shook her head as if to say ‘don’t ask.’ Right. This was the pony who his sister had written so often about. The one Twilight reckoned could walk on clouds if she wanted to. He turned to the perplexing party pony and smiled. “Okay then Pinkie Pie, it looks like we’ve found you a role.” That news was enough to make her vibrate up and down in excitement, at which point Rarity groaned, slid off Pinkie’s back onto the ground with a thud, and emptied her stomach.