//------------------------------//
// Part One: Chapter 1: Engaged 
// Story: Secrets of the Everfree 
// by PaisleyPerson 
//------------------------------//


Part 1



Chapter 1
Engaged


“Torchwood? Have you seen my hat?” I called.
“You hung it on the easel again,” came the reply. I trod quickly down the stairs to see if this was true. Indeed, the worn, purple plaid beret was hanging from the corner of the wooden frame. I sighed in relief and set it over my deep blue mane. I was always losing things, but I didn’t often misplace my hat. Rarity had given that to me. She was one of my closest friends, as well as my neighbor; my art supply store, Art Life, was just up the road from the Carousel Boutique. While I kept a stock of art supplies, I’d started accepting commissions for business fliers, posters, or any other kind of painting my customers could think of.
The hat now situated on my head, I walked out of the sun-drenched studio and into the main shop. Torchwood was propped against the counter, browsing a magazine. I smiled at the sight of the stallion. He was very dark brown, and extremely tall- about Princess Luna’s height. He had a narrow muzzle but a broad, squared jaw line, and coal colored eyes. His mane was jet black with mere wisps of blond emerging from the void, all brushed over to the side. He’d let his tail grow out a bit lately, but I kind of liked it although it was considered a little long for stallions around these parts. Really, it only brushed his hocks. His cutie mark depicted a flaming torch, tinged with green on the edges. That was the color of his thestral fire. 
That’s what we are. Thestrals. Ponies with dragon wings. A thousand years ago, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna defeated thestrals, who had turned evil, and thought them extinct. Now we had returned- with permission from the royal sisters, of course. It was an interesting return, to say the least. Torchwood temporarily turned evil and nearly conquered Equestria, I almost died, and we somehow summoned a seventh Element of Harmony... it was weird. But that’s a whole different story. Now we were starting a new story, and a new life. Last week, Torchwood asked me to marry him. Of course I said yes.
He looked up with a smile as I entered, and kissed me over the counter. I returned the gesture, and looked down at the catalogue beneath his hooves. It advertised wedding invitations of every color and style imaginable. “Find anything good?” I asked.
“You could do better,” he shook his head.
“Too much work,” I dismissed. “Not that Graphite isn’t keeping me busy enough with all his new requests.”
“He’s ordering again?”
“Sure is. Almost twice as much as he used to.” Graphite Sketch was a very prestigious artist from Vanhoover. I’d met him at my first Grand Galloping Gala the same night I met Torchwood. Back then, Torch was working for Graphite. That earth pony did everything in his power to make his life miserable. He could get away with it, too. He’d found out that Torchwood was a thestral long ago, and used this fact to blackmail him. Now that the whole world knew about thestrals, it didn’t really matter. He’d tried to start a romantic relationship with me, but as it turned out, his butler was the one for me. When we got together, Torchwood quit his job to come work for me in Ponyville. Spiteful Graphite had stopped placing orders with me after that. But ever since the thestrals made a formal return, we’d settled our differences.
“I suppose that’s a good thing,” Torchwood finally said. “You know, I’m thinking of asking him to be my best colt.”
“Really?” I exclaimed. I knew Torchwood said at the last Summer Sun Celebration that he’d forgiven Graphite, but after all that earth pony had put him through, I wasn’t sure just how far that extended. Torchwood simply nodded at my outburst, somewhat amused. I smiled back. “Good for you.” I now represented the Element of Forgiveness. I was all for it.
“And you? Have you decided on your bridesmaids yet?”
“I’d have thought that would be a given,” I laughed. There was no way I could choose between my six closest friends. I’d want them all up there with me. And Blaze would be our ring bearer, of course. Blaze was my little dragon friend. I had been very close to his mother, Ignition. When she died, I swore to her that I’d take care of her two boys, Blaze and Garble. Garble was old enough to take care of himself, and rejected the idea of staying in Ponyville. He went back to the wild dragon flock to rejoin his friends. Still, Blaze, Heckley, Torchwood and I visited them as often as we could. (Heckley was my pet snake.)
“Fair enough,” Torchwood said, turning back to the booklet. “What’s our color scheme again?”
“It’s just like our flames: green, orange and white,” I answered. “Rarity keeps complaining the colors are too hard to work with. She’s been obsessing over our wedding day, analyzing everything down to the last detail.”
“I must admire her persistence,” Torchwood chuckled. 
“By the way, we both think it would be a good idea to add blue to the color scheme. It’s a brilliant compliment to orange, and might make things a bit easier on Rarity. What do you think?”
“That sounds just fine. You always did look good in blue,” he nuzzled me. 
“It might open up new possibilities for the stationary, too,” I noted, glancing back down at his catalogue.
“Well, you take a look and see what you can find,” Torchwood said. “I have to get these orders delivered.”
“Are you sure you’re up for that? We can always set the mail service to work.”
“I’m fine. Just between us, I don’t quite trust the mail mare.”
“I suppose living with wall-eyes can’t be easy,” I agreed. I knew he was speaking of Ditzy Doo, the gray pegasus mail mare with crossed eyes. She did her best, but wasn’t always entirely reliable. “Alright. But be back in time for lunch.”
“Can I treat you to lunch at the Hayburger?”
“Sounds good. I’ll go pick up Blaze right after I finish here.”
“Don’t work yourself too hard,” he joked, picking a bundle off the ground from beside the door. His large wings unfurled, and he took off. 
I halfheartedly poked around the magazine before getting bored. He was right. These designs all looked tacky. I moved it behind the counter along with another stack of similar catalogues. Torchwood proposed at the Summer Sun Celebration in front of most of Canterlot. Since then, we’d been getting all kinds of wedding magazines. 
I went back into the small kitchenette at the back of the house, and pulled out the snake food Fluttershy had given me. It didn’t take much for her to fall in love with my pet. He was waiting for his lunch upstairs. I still had a few hours before Torchwood got back, but it was best to take care of him now. 
I found my snake curled up on top of the wardrobe where he liked to perch. It was still a mystery to me how he managed to wind his way up there, but I assumed he somehow used the neighboring coat hooks to make the transition. He got up and down just fine, so I didn’t really concern myself with it. I whistled for his attention, and he groggily looked down at me. I set his food on the chair, and left him to it. He didn’t move until I was gone. By the clamoring he caused once I left the room, I could tell he’d been hungry.
Now I could finally return to my work. I had a couple of landscapes for Graphite left to do. I only had a week left until the end of the month, and while that sounded like a lot of time, it really wasn’t. Oils took forever to dry. I didn’t want to rush through these, but I would have to use a faster drying paint on the under layers. It would produce the same effect for what I had in mind. I’d just set everything up; the canvases were primed, my paints were organized, and I had all the brushes laid out. I selected the fan brush to cover more surface area. I’d just dipped it in the goldenrod when the bells at the front door jangled, alerting me of a customer. I quietly growled in irritation. Timing.
“Hello? Anypony home?” Oh, it was okay. That sweet sing-song voice belonged to the one and only Rarity.
“Back here,” I called, setting the brush back on the palette. Rarity met me halfway, looking back from the counter as I came around. “Hey, Rarity. How are you?”
“A bit frazzled, honestly. Come along. I need you at the boutique.”
“What for?”
“I’ve got your new wedding dress prepared!”
“Another one? Isn’t this your third edit?”
“Well, yes. I haven’t quite perfected it yet.”
“Rarity, your work is always beautiful. You got Cadence’s wedding gown right off the bat, remember?”
“That was Cadence’s wedding,” Rarity protested. “Yes, she may be royalty, but she isn’t my best friend. Yours must be flawless!”
“So what was wrong with the last one?”
“It just wasn’t... you. I must admit, I’ve been having trouble coming up with anything ever since those wings of yours showed up. It’s a whole new side to you!” I wouldn’t admit it to her, but I had been feeling a little guilty for hiding who I was since our return. 
“So do it like you would if I didn’t have the wings.”
“They’re part of you, darling. No need to hide them anymore. It just poses some new creative challenges, is all. Now, I hope you’ll be pleased with the results. And you must tell me what changes to make. No more of that indecisive nonsense.” 
“Well, since you mentioned it, Torchwood and I were going to add blue to the color scheme after all. I don’t know how that’s going to affect what you’ve already got.”
“Oh!” Rarity froze on the spot. 
“Did we completely ruin you? I’m sorry. I know how hard you’ve been working...”
“No, no, darling, this is perfect! I just need to make a few minor changes... don’t go anywhere. I’ll be right back!” With that, she galloped back the way she came, and I returned inside with a chuckle. I was done with the first two layers before she came back to retrieve me.
We’d arrived at her shop just down the road, and the doors swung open. Like a grand centerpiece, what I realized must be the wedding dress, set at the center of the shop. I suddenly realized what Rarity meant. The other gowns were beautiful, but this one topped them all. It was silky and slim before flaring out into a flowing skirt. Its train was just long enough to brush the floor. The skirt had four layers, each stacked like a cape to the one above, the bottom being a dark blue, the next a little lighter, the third very light, and the top ultimately white. A crimped navy hem closed each layer off. A similar crimped ribbon twirled around the entire body, adding a nice decorative touch. The design for the wide slots for my wings had improved dramatically; they no longer sagged, and were outlined in the thick, rich blue. It looked like they were held in place by stiff wires inside the hem. The veil that sat atop the mannequin’s head was long, rimmed at the front with a small ring of blue and white flowers sitting atop a ruffled blue base. There was no way she had ‘edited’ the last design. It was entirely blue and white, so she must have used the last hour to put a whole new one together. 
“Well? What do you think?” Rarity probed, beaming at her latest creation.
“It’s... gorgeous...” I breathed.
“That’s what you said about the last two,” she pouted. 
“No, not that kind of gorgeous. This one’s... really gorgeous.”
“Well, let’s have you try it on, then. I must admit, I’m quite thankful you did decide to add blue. It makes my job a lot easier.”
“About that,” I said, taking the dress, “this means that we’ll need a whole new flower arrangement. Any suggestions?”
“Oh, darling, I have tried and tried to come up with something, but I’m afraid flowers just aren’t my area of expertise. I hate to back out on you, but I think you would be best off hiring a true professional for that.”
“That’s probably a good idea,” I admitted. Rarity had offered to be in charge of the decorations, but she’d been having a lot of trouble with the flowers. “I do think the blue and orange will go wonderfully together, as long as we can get the right colors to complement each other. That’s hard to do with flowers, sometimes.”
“Quite right. Perhaps Twilight knows some way to fix that. You may want to consult with her, as well.”
“Good idea.” I finished slipping into the dress, and sidestepped back out into the shop. Rarity looked away from whatever she’d been jotting down to look at me. I could see the prideful glow return to her face, but she extinguished it instantly. She wanted my input first. I almost rolled my eyes.
“What do you think?”
“Oh, Rarity, this is the one!” It was perfect! Rarity finally allowed herself the liberty of a victorious expression. Her eyes sparkled just looking at her creation. 
“Yes, it is much better than the last one. Is there anything you want changed? Anything at all?”
“Now that you mention it...” I pretended to rub my chin in thought.
“Yes?” Rarity instantly took up her notepad.
“Nothing,” I teased, giving her a grateful hug. Rarity finally realized the joke and let out a short burst of laughter herself.
“Alright... if you’re sure...”
“I am. No more changing it,” I warned, pointing a hoof at her.
“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” she vowed, performing the hoof motions that went along with the rhyme.
“Okay,” I nodded. Satisfied, I returned to the stall to change back out of the gown.
“But now, what do I do with the hair?” I heard Rarity mutter to herself. “Do you mind if I play with it for a little while?” I peeped back out the door.
“Let’s worry about it later, okay? The wedding isn’t for another two months, but I do have a lunch date with Torchwood in about an hour.”
“Oh, very well. Though I don’t understand why you keep putting everything off. If I was the mare getting married, I would want everything to be settled as soon as possible.”
“Too much stress,” I answered, gently pulling the gown back over my head. “I don’t want gray hairs in my mane before the wedding.”
“Fair enough. Shall I keep the dress here for you?”
“Would you mind? Torchwood’s been coming over a lot more lately, and I don’t want to risk him seeing it before the wedding.”
“It’s bad luck for the groom to see you in your wedding gown before the wedding,” Rarity understood, levitating the dress and sliding it back over the mannequin.
“I don’t believe in that superstitious nonsense,” I rolled my eyes. “I just want him to be surprised!”
“If you say so.”
“I do. Now, I’ve got to go. Blaze is still over at the Golden Oaks Library. I’ve got to pick him up for lunch.”
“Is Spike still giving him lessons on how to be your ‘number one assistant?’” Rarity chuckled.
“Yes,” I smiled, “which is pretty ironic. They haven’t actually been over to Art Life at all together, except to meet up.”
“I’m sure they’ll get to that point eventually,” Rarity assured.
“Oh, I don’t mind a bit. I think it’s great that they’ve been spending so much time together. It’s good for Spike to have someone his own age- and species.”
“That’s true. Twilight is an exemplary caretaker, but it isn’t the same.”
“I hope I can do as good of a job as she does,” I sighed.
“You’ve already done more for that dragon than anypony else could have,” Rarity assured. “Speaking of whom, you should probably go get him. It’s well past noon; he must be hungry.”
“You’re right. Thanks again, Rarity. See you later!” Realizing I’d spent more time than I’d meant, I kept up a brisk pace all the way to the library.