A New Perspective Ch. 10
The road down Lily Street was slick with rainwater, the Canterlot pegasi having decided to schedule a rainstorm for that evening. Not that it was really needed in a big city, but that was of no concern to the lone hooded figure walking in the nighttime gloom, illuminated only by the few street lamps that he happened to pass. He had business to attend to, and he wasn't going to let a little rain discourage him.
Through the darkness, he made out a large manor down at the end of the street, and knew that he was where he needed to be. It was resplendent, and showed that a pony of high stature lived there. The lone pony sauntered up the front door and rapped on it with three quick knocks.
A frantic scuffling of hooves from inside brought a smile to his face. It seems that his acquaintance had been kept on his hooves. Good, he would need that alertness later.
The door swung open to reveal a very harried and obviously tired unicorn in his dressing gown. He tried to mat down the few knots and tangles in his mane, with mixed success.
"May I come in," asked the lone pony, "or do you expect me to stand out in the rain all night?"
"Oh, goodness no! Please, come in, come in, make yourself comfortable. Do you want some tea?"
"Some nice warm green tea would be just lovely after a walk in the frigid rain," he said, stepping over the threshold.
"Right, I'll get High Society right on it. SOCIETY!!" he yelled up to the second story. "We have a guest, and he wishes for some green tea! Snap to!"
An earth pony with a light cream coat came down the stairs, and without a word set to his master's bidding.
"There we go. It should only be a few minutes. Please, come into the living room, we have much to discuss."
"You mean that I have much to discuss with you?" asked the mysterious stallion.
"Oh, um, yes, of course sir. Please, this way," he added, pointing to the double doors on the far end of the foyer.
The living room was very decadent, with tapestries covering the walls and oriental rugs covering the floors, but he wasn't there to inspect the furniture. They both settled down onto two plush cushions set around the coffee table.
"So, I take it word has gotten to you about the senate's decision?"
"Yes, it has, courtesy of my better half. He was downright heartbroken to hear about it, but I assured him that it was for the best."
"As I'm sure it was. Still though, I was somewhat saddened by it. It will be hard for that pegasus, having to traverse the wilderness outside our fair land. Especially since he has found so much in the short time he has been here. Friendship, a home... love. It will be difficult for him indeed."
"It is only through his travails that he will be able to ascend to what our brotherhood needs him to be. You saw it in the ruins, he is indeed the one, but he has yet to fully realize his potential. Only through hardship can he hope to be more than what he is."
High Society came through the double doors, a platter balanced across his back with two steaming mugs of tea and a dish of sugar cubes. He gently set it in between the two unicorns.
"Will that be all, sir?" he asked.
"Yes Society, thank you. You are dismissed."
As soon as the word left his mouth, the butler pony turned on his heel and left, not wanting to disturb his master's visit.
"I tell you, you just can't find help like him these days. Most ones you find have a complete and utter lack of refinement."
"Yes, he is indeed a good butler, and you're lucky to have him. Now back to the topic at hand," he added, taking a sip of his tea.
"Oh, yes, that. We have set up a perimeter around Ponyville, just to monitor events there."
"Are you sure that our brothers and sisters won't be spotted?"
"As sure as I can be, given the circumstances. All of the unicorns we sent out have been taught a simple disillusionment spell, which will render them invisible and silent. As for the rest, they were given extensive training in stealth tactics, so they should be alright, at least for now."
"Good, good. If my better half has told me one thing ad infinitum, it's that a great catastrophe is about to strike Ponyville, and we need to make sure that our mutual friend is well out of harm's way before it strikes. It would be such a shame to have put in so much time and effort into bringing him here only for him to be rubbed out."
"Yes it would. Still, wouldn't it be more expedient to simply have him kidnapped? It would certainly save time, manpower, and the risk of him being obliterated by what ever cosmic wrath is coming."
"It would, but it would also completely alienate him from us, and what we truly need is his cooperation in this matter. The last thing we want is for him to put up a fight. We all saw how well that went at the ruins. No, he needs to think that we are in the right."
"Well, good luck convincing him. He's already dead set aginst us after we nearly sacrificed those two pegasus mares. It would take nothing short of saving his life to even come close to him thinking we are the good guys."
"Hmm... perhaps," said the stranger, taking the last few drops from his cup. "You've given me quite a bit to think on. I won't intrude upon your hospitality any further." He rose to his hooves and made for the door.
"You do have a pleasent evening, master."
"And you as well, Mr. Prime Minster," he answered, stepping back out into the rain, hood pulled over his horn. He had many things to ponder, but none would dominate his thoughts more than this simple one.
"...It would take nothing short of saving his life..."
Maybe he could arrange that. Maybe.
==============
Another day, another tick on the countdown clock. My life here had almost slowed to a standstill as I desperately tried to savor every experience that I could before the jackbooted thugs came to take me away.
That isn't to say that I wasn't enjoying myself. On the contrary, I was having a great time. In fact, Pinkie Pie had just invited me to help Mr. and Mrs. Cake with a big catering order that they needed to fill later that evening. While I wasn't going to be accompanying them to the event, they were more than thankful for the extra help in the baking and whatnot.
Sugarcube Corner looked just as busy as ever, and through the windows I could make out Mr. Cake running with a bag of flour balanced across his back.
The little bell tinkled as I opened the door, and Mrs. Cake jumped to greet me.
"Oh, thank goodness you're here! We are way behind schedule, and could certainly use your help."
"Well, I heard that you required a strong back and weak mind, so here I am," I replied, humor in tow.
"Oh, you're definitely going to need a strong mind today, dearie," she said as she shoved me through the doorway. "Our client wanted us to make the Choco-motion, one of our most complicated dishes. It's a solid chocolate train set, tracks and everything, and he sprung it on us just this morning. What's worse is that he also wants three of our sampler platters, and they have about a hundred different pastries each! We've already finished one, but the other two haven't even been started!"
"Sounds like you're in a little bit over your head. I'll help as best as I can, but I'm not that much of a baker."
"Well, while Pinkie and I get cooking, I think Mr. Cake needs help bringing in the rest of the ingredients."
"I'm on it, ma'am." I ran through the kitchen, pausing to wave to Pinkie, and made my way to the loading dock out back. Mr. Cake was straining to get a big sack of sugar out of the wagon.
"Here, let me help you with that," I offered, moving toward the wagon.
"No, no, I've got it. I've been doing this all morning, I can get this."
He struggled and strained for the better part of five minutes while I got five bags out and took them into the kitchen. Exhausted, he finally relented, and let me help him with that truly gargantuan bag of sugar.
"Finally come to your senses, Mr. Cake?" I asked as we laid the burden across our backs.
"I guess. I'm not as young as I once was, and I guess it's starting to show a little. Thanks," he added as we grunted our way into the kitchen. Who was going to need this much sugar, anyway? My teeth were rotting just looking at it.
We shuffled off the load in the kitchen, much to Mrs. Cake's relief. "Oh, thank you so much sweetie! Pinkie accidentally ordered a fifty pound bag of sugar when we only needed a five pound, and I was worried about how to get it in. I swear, I would give you a job here if you weren't leaving so soon."
"You...you know about that?" I asked, dumbstruck and horrified. Had Pinkie told them? I know she can't keep her mouth shut, but PLEASE tell me she didn't tell them.
"Oh, Pinkie told everypony about it."
"E...EVERYPONY?" This isn't happening, this is not happening.
"Oh, yes. It's a shame that you have to go back to Fillydelphia, but when she told us that you were getting transferred there for their regional weather team after the excellent job you did here, I was simply overjoyed. I'm sure you'll do as well there as you have here."
My relief was almost palpable. My secret was safe, and it even gave the townsfolk a believable excuse for why I was leaving. I would kiss Pinkie if it wouldn't be weird.
I glanced over to Pinkie, who had been listening in, and she offered a wink and a smile. I swear, I was going to take her out for dinner in gratitude.
You know, that's actually not a half bad idea. Maybe after we were done here, we could get the other five and go out for dinner. It'd be a nice thing to do, and seriously, when were we going to be able to do something like this again?
"Well, if that's all of the bags, then I guess you can help Pinkie with the sampler platters," continued Mrs. Cake. "Are you up for it?"
"Wuh?" I uttered, lost in my thoughts. "Oh, sure. As long as Pinkie does all of the complex stuff, I should be able to help."
"Oh, that'd be just super-duper," Pinkie squealed. "I could definitely use an extra hoof over here."
I trotted over to Pinkie, took up a rolling pin, and started spreading out some dough.
"Pinkie, thank you so much," I whispered so the Cakes wouldn't overhear.
"For whaaat?" she asked, in that I-already-know-what-for tone of voice.
"For covering my exile with the town. I never thought I'd say this, but thank goodness for your loudmouth-edness."
"That's alright. I was going to tell everypony anyway, so I just thought I'd come up with something that everypony would be happy with."
"And you did marvelously. Really, I want to do something to make this up to you. What say after the Cakes leave for their catering job that we get the others together and go out for dinner? You know, as a sort of send off?"
"OOH, that would be SO FUN! I don't think that we've hung out together since Twilight's party, and that was SOOOOO long ago. I mean, there was that time when we were all walking back from the forest, and the time we went to Canterlot, but those got really sad, so I don't think that they count as hanging out. No, hanging out is when you get together and go pla-"
"Pinkie, Pinkie, slow down, stay focused. Was there a 'yes' in that rant?"
"Definitely! Ooh, this'll be so fun! Let me just make sure the Cakes don't need me tonight."
She bounced over to Mrs. Cake, who was busy assembling a tiny chocolate engine, and asked. Her barely contained joy was evident in every sentence she spoke, putting a smile on my face. It's nice to see that one of us was getting a kick out of my going away dinner.
Mrs. Cake lit up at the idea, and Pinkie just about hit the roof from sheer joy. She bounded back over to me, smile illuminating her face like a sunbeam.
"They said yes! They really don't need anypony else at the party tonight, so as soon as we're done here we can go round up everypony else! There is a perfect little restaurant on the far side of town that I have been DYING to show them for so long, but now I finally have an excuse to!"
"Sounds great, but let's focus on the two hundred or so desserts that we have yet to make, hmm?"
"Oh, right."
We spent the better part of the afternoon rolling dough, filling pastries, and baking cupcakes. It provided some nice, mind numbing repetition to take it off of the fact that this was my last week here.
That, and Pinkie would not stop talking, but I was willing to overlook that. She had done me a solid, and listening to her chatter was the least I could do to thank her.
===============
The seven of us made our way over to the restaurant Pinkie had mentioned, Fluttershy and I walking side by side. Rounding everypony up had been relatively easy, although trying to pull Twilight away from her studies was like asking an inferno to not be hot, in my own humble opinion. Still, we all had nothing better to do on a Friday night, and Pinkie was touting this restaurant as one of the best in Ponyville, if not in Equestria.
Rounding a corner, it was pretty plain to see that she wasn't kidding.
A large white pavilion stood in the middle of a field, with a small awning leading to the dining area. A small one room building was assembled to the right of it, which is probably where they housed the kitchen. The marquee read "The Gilded Lily" with a subtitle reading "The Finest Cuisine in Ponyville." A gasp behind me jolted my mind out of it's stupor, and I turned to find Rarity with a hoof to her mouth, awestruck.
"We're... eating... HERE!?!" she squealed with glee.
"I guess," answered Applejack, somewhat underwhelmed. "So what? It's just some hoity-toity restaurant."
"Just some hoity-toity restaurant!? This is the finest eating establishment in Ponyville! It was voted Best Fine Dining in Modern Equestria magazine seven consecutive times! Oh, I am so underdressed," she whined, which was saying something seeing as how she wasn't dressed. "How does my hair look? Is my coat alright? How's my masca-"
"Rarity, you look fine," interjected Twilight. "Still, it does beg the question of how Pinkie Pie found out about this place."
"Oh, that was easy-peasy! You see, a few months ago we catered a big fancy wedding party here, and they were so impressed with our yummy, delicious, super-duper treats that they had me and the Cakes put on the VIP list! They said we could bring as many ponies as we want anytime we want!"
"Oh, Pinkie, this is just MARVELOUS!! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!" Rarity was beside herself with joy, and I couldn't blame her. While I had never been one for fine dining, it made me happy to see everypony else so happy.
"Hey," said Rainbow, interrupting the revelry, "are we just going to keep air conditioning the backs of our teeth out here, or are we going to get some chow?"
"Oh, yes quite right," said Rarity, regaining her composure and getting off of the ground, where she had been kissing Pinkie's hooves. "Just PLEASE everypony be on your best behavior. That means you, Rainbow Dash," she added with a glare.
"Hey, that incident at the museum was a set up! I was framed, I tell you!"
"Yeah, with the painting hanging around yer neck," added Applejack with a smirk. I would have to ask about that one.
We sauntered up to the awning in one big happy group, with Pinkie heading us up. The unicorn at the entrance recognized her almost on sight.
"Ah, mademoiselle Pinkamena, so wonderful to see you again, and with a full entourage I see."
"Yep, just me and my bestest buddies ever! Do you have a table for seven available?"
"Let me check. Just one moment, please." The maitre'd walked through the red velvet curtain, and everypony else took up small talk while they waited.
"It was really nice of you to suggest this," Fluttershy said. "It really has been too long since we have hung out as friends."
"Well, I thought that we should all be able to have one last little get together before I leave. That, and I sort of owed it to Pinkie."
"What do you mean?"
"She covered my exile with the town. She went around saying that I'm getting transferred to the Fillydelphia weather team, and from the looks of things everypony in town bought it."
"Well, that's good. It would be better if the senate weren't forcing you out at all, but it's still better than you turning up missing one day and everypony wondering where you went."
"Yeah. But let's get these unhappy thoughts out of our heads. We are here to have a good time, and I will see to it that we do."
"Hey, you two lovebirds coming?" asked Rainbow Dash from the entrance. I looked up to see the others being escorted to our table by the maitre'd.
"Coming," I called back. "Well, shall we go, my dear?"
"I think we shall," answered Fluttershy with a giggle.
The maitre'd showed us into the biggest dining room I'd ever seen. Tables were all set out in the grass, each with their own candle and place settings. He showed us to the largest table in the corner, where two waiters were just putting the finishing touches on it. One even had placed a single rose in a small vase, as if this weren't fancy enough.
"There you are, mademoiselles and monsieur. I will let you get settled and will be out with your menus shortly." the maitre'd turned on his heel and left us in peace, the waiters following in his wake.
We all settled onto the nice soft grass and took in the ambiance of our surroundings. The night air was cool against my fur, and through the mesh roof I could see a beautiful starlit night. Luna had really outdone herself, I could tell you that much.
"What're you staring at?" asked Fluttershy
"You know, I never really noticed how beautiful the night sky is," I replied, not taking my eyes off of the beautiful midnight blue tapestry that had been woven before me. Fluttershy followed suit, turning her gaze on the moon.
"I never really took much time to appreciate it, to be honest. Before Luna came back, there used to be a unicorn's head made of craters in the moon's surface. We used to call it the Mare in the Moon, and it always reminded us of how Nightmare Moon nearly destroyed Equestria as we know it."
"But now that Luna's back, she can tend to the nighttime sky like she was supposed to. It really shows. Hey, come with me," I said, getting to my hooves.
"Where are we going?"
"Just a little place I know," I answered, before turning to Twilight. "Hey Twi, if our waiter gets here before we come back, just tell him that Fluttershy and I went out for some air, okay?"
"Alright."
Fluttershy and I walked to the curtain that led to the outside, and I took off with out a moments hesitation. It took her a few seconds to get the message, but she quickly caught up with me.
We flew for a good five minutes or so, until we got to the northern border of the Everfree Forest. There was a small patch of open grass in the middle of a ring of trees, and we alighted upon it.
"What are we doing here?" asked Fluttershy.
"You'll see. Lie on your back, and you'll see."
She did, laying softly on the grass and looking up. The expression on her face was priceless as I joined her on the ground.
Above us was possibly the clearest, most beautiful night in all of Equestria. The stars twinkling in the midnight blue, the moon providing just enough light so that we could see each other as we lay there in the night's soothing embrace.
"Oh... oh my," she stuttered. "It's so... breathtaking."
"Isn't it? This is one of my favorite spots."
"How did you find this place?"
"Well, Rainbow and I were out late one night roping in a rogue storm from Everfree about a week ago, and we got seperated. I went hunting all over the forest looking for her when I came across this little slice of heaven. Just one look up into that night sky and I thought 'Fluttershy would love this place.'"
"And I do. This is simply marvelous. It's like a can see for miles into the sky. Ooh, look, there's the Little Dipper," she added, pointing to an indiscriminate region of the sky.
I followed her hoof, and sure enough there it was. Just off to the right there was an even brighter light that drew my attention like a moth to a flame. "Hey, see that just to the right?" I asked.
"Ooh, it's so pretty. I think that might be a planet."
"I never took you for a junior astronomer."
"Well, Twilight loaned me a book once. It was a really interesting read, and I learned a lot from it. It said that planets look like stars from a glance, but are much brighter."
"Cool. *sigh* Is there anything more peaceful than this, just the two of us laying out underneath the stars?"
"Nothing could be better. Hey look, a shooting star!" she added, pointing a quick hoof. I only caught a quick glimpse of it, and boy was it bright.
"Well, go on," she said.
"Go on what?"
"Make a wish, silly. You have to make a wish."
"Oh, right. I wish... I wish that this night could never end, that the two of us could just stay here for all of eternity." It may have been a fools hope, but what the hay. "Look, there's another," I added. "Well, go on, you make a wish."
"Oh, I don't know what I'd wish for. I already have everything a pony could ask for. A good home, great friends, and a love that will never die."
"You've got that right." We laid there, Fluttershy resting her head on my chest, and we stared into the nighttime sky. Apparently there was some sort of meteor shower going on, because the shooting stars were coming down like tomorrow wasn't a thing.
"Weren't we supposed to be having dinner with everypony else?" asked Fluttershy after a good half an hour.
"Yeah, I guess we should be getting back. The waiter is probably
wondering where we went. Hey, do you hear a whistling sound?"
"A whistling sound?" she asked quizzically.
"Yeah, listen," I answered. Cocking my head to one side I could just barely make out a very faint whistling, like the sound a mortar would make before it-
"FLUTTERSHY, GET DOWN!!" We both had barely any time to react. All I could do was jump on top of her as she scrunched up to the ground in a desperate attempt to protect her.
"CRAAAAAAAAAASH!!" went the foreign object as it slammed into the ground not twenty feet away from us. The sheer heat from it felt like it was lighting my back on fire, and the gust from the impact whipped my mane forward and into my eyes. I only dared to look up when the dust had finally settled.
I walked over to the crater to investigate as Fluttershy got to her hooves, one shaky step at a a time. In it was a smoldering chunk of rock about the size of my head, still glowing from the heat.
"Wh... what was that?"
"It looks like some sort of meteor or something. It must have come from that meteor shower we saw earlier."
"But, if this one hit so close to Ponyville, then the other might have hit in the town. We need to go check and make sure everypony's okay."
"Right," I said, taking to the skies. I did a quick scan of the horizon, and saw a faint glow off in the distance. Right in the direction we had come from.
Oh no.
"Fluttershy, we need to move fast! I think the town might have been hit!"
"OH NO!" she yelped. "Oh, this is just awful. I hope everypony's alright. Oh, this is simply DREADFUL!"
"Well we aren't going to solve anything by sitting here. C'mon!"
"Oh, right, sorry," she squeaked as she joined me in the air. We both made a beeline for Ponyville, and for what I was afraid was going to be the utter ruination visited upon it.
One thing kept echoing through my head, though. What the unicorn had told me the last time we spoke.
"...The eyes of fate are about to look unfavorably on Ponyville...Do what I say, and you might survive this reckoning..."
I just couldn't stop thinking about it. He was apparently right about this, but why had he bothered to warn me? He had tried to murder Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, and now he wanted to switch sides?
What in the name of Celestia was his deal?