Seven years is a rather long time. Even so, it passes by much quicker than you'd ever think possible. The town of Ponyville is no exception to the rule. Seven years after the birth of the twin alicorns the once humble town found itself growing at a surprising rate.
The Sparkle branch of the royal family built a new, larger home just outside town, and the tourists soon followed. As soon as some noble in Canterlot got the idea that Ponyville would be a wonderful place to get away from the bustle of the big city the rest of the nobles weren't far behind. Now many rich ponies lived in a new section of town called the Paradise Estates. The Sparkle home was at the center of it all, and it was an unspoken rule amongst the nobles and rich entrepreneurs that no home could be bigger than the local royalty's. This at least guaranteed that the city wouldn't become too huge, as well as helping keep the rustic aesthetic of the old Ponyville.
If someone were to look out the window of one of the cafes, bookstores, or restaurants in the new downtown of Ponyville they'd see three preteens walking down the sidewalk toward the gated community of Paradise Estates. One thin pink unicorn colt, a rather insane looking pink earth pony filly in a beanie, and a lanky white dragoness in a pink hoodie.
Upon reaching the check-in station at the front of the gate the dragoness reached into her pocket and pulled out a plastic card. The stallion in the check-in booth took the card and swiped it through a scanner. Once the light on the scanner showed green the gate slowly creaked open. The guard passed the card back to the dragoness and saluted as the group left.
"So why do we have to watch the twins again?" The filly asked the dragoness as they headed toward the biggest home in sub-community.
Pearl groaned and massaged her temples with her pointer claws. She was already getting tired of the question, and it was to be a long day. She calmed herself and turned back to the swirly-eyed filly while keeping her pace.
"Auntie Twilight and Auntie Trixie are going to speak at some big thing about magic in Canterlot today. I've told you that literally four times in the last hour already Screws." Pearl replied, failing to hide her annoyance.
"Well I'm sorry, but today is Saturday and I should be sleeping right now. School starts in two weeks Pearl. TWO. WEEKS. We should be getting all the laziness we can in before we're forced to go to Lamesville five days a week." Screwball whined.
"Wouldn't trying to be lazy defeat the purpose of laziness since your making an effort to be lazy?" Cinnamint asked aloud.
"Lazy is still lazy even if you have to try really hard to do nothing." Screwball replied, beginning a back and forth between the pink ponies about the definitions of laziness.
Pearl sighed at pointlessly heated discussion between her best friends. Cinnamint had become more talkative in the last seven years, but him and Screwball usually ended up arguing about things. They were polar opposites as Screwball was practically chaos itself and Cinnamint was more reserved than a lot of ponies and was often too polite for his own good. Even while arguing he kept a fairly level tone and expression, further annoying Screwball.
Pearl would never call Cinnamint boring, he was the least expressive of her friends, but that wasn't always bad. She could always rely on him, and he was always supportive and actually listened intently. Many members of her extended family thought he was a lot like her father when he was a whelp, even her Pa thoughts so.
Screwball was a truly free spirit, and couldn't be chained down very long by anything, even actual chains. They offset each other perfectly, as long as Pearl stayed in the middle to keep things from getting out of hand. Lately however Pearl had lost the patience to mediate them, making arguments happen even more than normal.
After another twenty minutes or so of unnecessarily loud walking the group made it to Sparkle Manor. A luxurious, but not overly showy home more than large enough for the family of four living there. Pearl let herself and the others in, knowing full well they were expected. Cinnamint especially was impressed as always with the house. His family lived in a quaint home up above his mother's candy shop. He wouldn't want to live anywhere else, but the difference was pretty noticeable.
The moment the trio arrived they were automatically bombarded by two mulberry blurs. Pearl was able to hear them coming and braced herself for impact, but her sudden movement distracted Cinnamint causing him to be off guard. Screwball floated out of the way just in time while Cinnamint was toppled to the floor and Pearl caught her attacker.
"Good morning Dusk. Good morning Dawn." Pearl giggled as she placed Dusk back onto the ground.
Screwball helped Cinnamint right himself, as Dawn took to flying around the foyer once again. The seven year old alicorn foals had really surprised everyone, earning their cutie marks simultaneously at the age of six. Dusk's mark was a setting sun with a full moon above it, while Dawn's mark was a brilliant sun with a fading, translucent moon below it. The pair had caused quite a stir nationwide when they combined their magics to move the sun and moon in a circle, momentarily prying them from Celestia and Luna's control.
They received praise and scoldings for it, but Luna and Celestia seemed just as giddy about it as the foals themselves. When the children turn ten they had both been promised to be tutored in magic by the royal sisters. Dusk would learn from Luna, while Dawn would learn from Celestia. Twilight and Trixie were extraordinarily proud of their children, and had agreed to it with little debate.
Dawn and Dusk were to be the official back-ups for Celestia and Luna, should an emergency arise. It was decided that even still, the children would be given the choice of whether or not to be involved in day-to-day politics. For now they lived relatively normal lives, going to school in Ponyville like anypony else.
Much like their predecessors the twins were as different as day and night, barring their excitability. Dusk liked to be indoors, drawing and painting the day away. Dawn however felt more at home outside, playing games with others and exploring anything that caught her attention. Naturally this made them unable to agree on things most of the time. Dusk and Dawn were too much for any normal babysitters, leaving Pearl, Cinnamint, and Screwball as the only option.
All four equines and one dragon were alerted to the immediate presence of Twilight and Trixie by a flash of light and whiff of ozone. Dawn and Dusk took off and joined their mothers almost too quickly for anyone to see. Twilight and Trixie were both dressed in formal attire and had an overnight bag each. They greeted everyone with smiles and hugged their children before actually saying anything.
"Hey there kids. We really appreciate you being able to watch Dusk and Dawn for us." Twilight said gratefully.
"It's no trouble Auntie, we're practically grown up now. We can handle anything!" Pearl replied confidently with a salute.
Twilight looked over the group, and then back to her children. She seemed a little less than certain, but a reassuring hoof on the shoulder from Trixie put her at ease. Trixie reached into her pocket with her magic and floated a bit-note over to Cinnamint who took it into his own aura. The bit-notes were a new development in Equestria, but they were already everywhere due to the convenience. Cinnamint's eyes widened as he unfolded the bill, revealing the number fifty on each of it's four corners.
"That's so the five of you can order pizza for dinner, and be sure to get plenty. You're all still growing. We'll be at the conference until late, so the you three are having a sleepover with Dusk and Dawn. Your parents all already know, and the guest bedroom is all made up for you." Trixie explained.
Screwball and Pearl looked at Cinnamint jealously, as this sort of thing happened rather often. The adults knew Screwball was too impulsive and Pearl didn't stop and think things through enough, leaving Cinnamint as the responsible one that the parents trusted with everything. They didn't really want the extra responsibilities the title came with, but it was more of a matter of principal and youthful jealousy.
"Okay then, the phone is in the study as you already know. If there are any problems Pearl can send us a letter, or you can call the castle. The twins need to be in bed by nine-thirty, and you three can stay up until eleven. There's a shelf full of family-friendly books and movies in the game room, and there's microwaveable popcorn in the kitchen. We should be back around ten tomorrow morning. Any questions?" Twilight read aloud from a mental list.
Once no one said anything Twilight and Trixie took turns hugging and kissing the twins, despite their embarrassed protests. Once the twins had been adequately snuggled they exchanged I love yous and love you toos. Soon the adults vanished in the telltale light of teleportation, leaving the preteens and alicorn children alone in the house.
"So, what do you guys wanna do?" Pearl asked, trying to take control of the situation.
"We've got Mega Melee Mares on the Joystation. Did you bring your memory card Pearl?" Dusk asked.
Pearl reached into her hoodie and pulled out a black plastic rectangle that made Dusk's eyes fill with joy. Dawn flew out from behind Pearl and grabbed the memory card while Pearl was surprised. Dusk and Dawn giggled like mad as they headed off to the game room. Pearl gritted her teeth with a sinister sneer and took wing, easily turning the corners of the mansion effortlessly. Screwball buzzed after them with her beanie, sounding like an overexcited parasprite.
"And I guess I'm walking." Cinnamint sighed as he began trotting off after the others.
Once Cinnamint rejoined the others he found Pearl setting up the game. Cinnamint knew that there were only four players, leaving him out, as usual. Cinnamint wasn't overly fond of video games, but it was always nice to be included. He instead took his place on the sofa on the other side of the room and levitated a book off one of the many bookshelves of the Sparkle home.
Before long Cinnamint found himself engrossed in the story. However he was ripped back into reality when he felt someone else join him on the couch. He looked over to see Pearl sitting beside him, watching the others play. Cinnamint looked over to see Dawn, Dusk, and Screwball playing against each other, practically dead to the world.
"Why aren't you playing with them?" Cinnamint asked Pearl, shutting his book and placing it back on the shelf.
Pearl looked to Cinnamint, barely registering the question. It took her a minute to come up with her response, as she had clearly been caught off guard. Cinnamint found Pearl at a loss for words more and more lately, and like now he found her unable to meet his gaze.
"I uh... I've noticed you get left out of stuff a lot, and I don't think that's right. Screws is fun and all, but she's so random it makes it hard to be serious with. You're the normal one, and I need some normal sometimes." Pearl explained softly, obviously not wanting the others to hear.
Cinnamint wasn't really sure what to say to that. Pearl had seemed off lately, but whenever he asked she said she was fine. She had snapped at Screwball once or twice and sometimes she'd just quietly fume in the corner with black smoke coming out of her nose. Now Pearl was being more like herself, but there was something in her voice that seemed sad.
"Is something bothering you Pearl? You've been kinda different lately, and I'm starting to get worried. Mega Melee Mares is your favorite game, you never pass on an chance to destroy people." Cinnamint asked in concern for his best friend.
Pearl just sighed and tilted her head back against the couch. She looked like the weight of the world had suddenly been dropped on her. Cinnamint immediately regretted the question, feeling like it had been the worst question he could have asked.
"Skyla sent me a letter a few weeks ago. She was really upset because Grandma and Auntie Lulu came to see her as soon as she finally got her cutie mark. Her hair started doing that floaty thing theirs does and now she can control the weather or something. She's gonna live forever, just like Grandma and Auntie Lulu." Pearl told Cinnamint.
Cinnamint wasn't entirely sure what was the proper thing to say to that. He wanted to be happy for Skyla, but the way Pearl made it sound made him think otherwise. Cinnamint had very little experience with the concepts of mortality and immortality, but he knew enough.
"I asked my dads about the twins, and they couldn't answer me for sure, but probably them too. Screwball too, cuz her dad told her, but I don't think she gets it yet. Then my dads decided to tell me about dragons. I'd never really cared about being a dragon instead of a pony before then.
"Dragons get fire breath, and most of us can fly, but we also live a really long time. We can take a nap for a hundred years like it's nothing. I learned that Me, Daddy, Grandma, Screws, Skyla, the twins, Aunty Lulu, and Screw's dad all have keep going while everyone else we know dies. Daddy and Pa both started crying with me, and we just sorta stopped talking about it after that. They keep asking me if I need to talk, but I dunno how that'd help." Pearl continued, tears flowing from her eyes.
Cinnamint did the only thing he could think to do and pulled her into a hug as powerful as he could muster. Pearl was surprised, but didn't try and fight it at all. It actually made her feel a lot better than she had felt in awhile, much to her surprise. Cinnamint had tears welling up in his own eyes, as he felt the tremendous sadness in Pearl. He couldn't wrap his head around what Pearl was going through, but he knew she needed someone right now. Luckily the loud video games kept the twins from hearing, since this was something they were nowhere near ready for.
"I dunno if there's anything else I could do to help, but talking about it did kind of help didn't it?" Cinnamint asked hopefully.
"I think it did. Thanks Cinnamint." Pearl replied as she separated herself from Cinnamint.
After their talk Pearl excused herself to get cleaned up. Cinnamint attempted to talk to the trio playing video games, but it was a lost cause. They had switched to adventure mode and were united on a campaign to reach the final boss. Screwball had summoned up sodas nearly the same size as the foals themselves to keep them well fueled. Cinnamint instead opted to watch until Pearl returned.
When Pearl returned she was carrying a bowl of popcorn. She sat beside Cinnamint once more, if just a little closer. She seemed much more together than before, causing Cinnamint to smile. Pearl placed the bowl between them as she hopped onto the couch.
"Figured we'd watch the zombies play for awhile so I made some popcorn." Pearl explained, taking a handful of the snack.
Cinnamint laughed and they watched the story play out in the video game through the occasional cinematic. Mostly it was still game-play, leaving them to talk amongst themselves. Both of them found it refreshing, since they were having fun without really having to do anything. It was very rarely the two of them, as someone from their enormous extended families were usually with them, and then it was usually more fast paced.
"So has your dad beat up anything cool lately?" Cinnamint asked casually.
"Nah, all the monsters have figured out that he's gonna clobber them if they mess with towns and stuff. Lately Daddy's been working on the farm with Pa and writing his book about dragons. Doesn't seem like being a knight is that exciting anymore." Pearl replied.
"Sooo, does that mean you don't wanna be a knight anymore?" Cinnamint inquired curiously.
Pearl knitted her brow in thought, as though she was having trouble deciding on her answer. She drummed her claws on the arm of the couch, as though that would somehow help. Eventually she gave in.
"I dunno now, now that you mention it. I'd be super bored most of the time, and I definitely don't wanna be a full-time princess. Besides, Daddy can take pretty much any monster by himself now. By the time I'd get to be a knight he'd be even bigger than he is now. I still wanna help ponies somehow, but I've kinda always thought I was gonna be a knight. I haven't really thought about anything else." Pearl replied as she continued pondering the matter.
"Well, I read a book Twilight loaned me not too long ago, it might help. I think it's over there." Cinnamint told Pearl as he pointed to the shelf.
Cinnamint used his magic to take the books out of the shelf one after another. Eventually he came to the volume he wanted and floated it over to Pearl as he righted the other books. Pearl examined the book, staring at the worn out cover. It had probably been red at one time, but now it was a grayish-pink color. The gold-leaf lettering on the spine was faded, but legible.
"The Dragon's Heart? Care to summarize it for me?" Pearl asked skeptically.
Cinnamint flipped the book open, showing Pearl an old-fashioned drawing of a mare standing in front of a dragon many times her size. Unlike most books the dragon wasn't overly threatening, and wore a smile on his face. In his outstretched claw was an enormous fistful of treasures and valuables.
"In the story a lonely male dragon falls in love with a beautiful mare he sees walking through his woods and offers her his entire hoard to stay with him. She declines, since she's already in love with a stallion in the her village. The dragon pleads with her to no avail. He became so furious he leaves her in the forest and sniffs out the stallion that smells of her and tries to kill him in a fit of jealousy."
Cinnamint flipped through the pages, stopping on another page. The picture showed the mare on the forest floor, staring up at the distant figure of the dragon in the sky. A look of utter terror painted on her face out of concern for her love.
"To his surprise the mare races back to the village and jumps in front of his claws at the last second, saving her love's life. The dragon was so moved by the act of love and sacrifice that he lifted the mare into his claws and bathed her in flames. At first the stallion tries to rush the dragon with a sword, but once the flames cleared the mare was totally unharmed. The dragon then gave the couple his blessing in the form of two gold rings from his hoard, and they got married. The couple lived happily ever after, and the dragon protected the village for generations after that." Cinnamint explained.
Cinnamint flipped to another picture, one of the couple being wed in the dragon's presence. The dragon was crying happy tears, and there were numerous ponies cheering in the background. Underneath the touching artwork was a large fancy script Fin, as it was the last page.
Pearl listened to the story intently, as Cinnamint was a pretty good storyteller for a twelve year old. She hadn't heard this particular story before, but it was admittedly refreshing. Most dragon stories ended up with at least one dead drake coming before the happily ever after. Unfortunately, the message didn't seem to sink in.
"So the dragon became good and protected them? We've got our knight already, my dad. We just went over this, there's no point in being another knight." Pearl sulked, to which Cinnamint rolled his eyes.
"Not that, the thing about healing fire. Your dad can use magic to send and get letters, and you can do it too. Maybe there's some truth to the story, and you can use it to heal ponies." Cinnamint elaborated further.
Pearl blinked a few times, trying to figure out how she had missed that. Going back through what Cinnamint had said it seemed obvious. That left only the question of whether or not it was actually possible. Pearl stared at her claws and tried to feel the magic she could feel when she breathed fire. She balled her claws around her thumb, and clicked up, scratching it across her middle and pointer claws like flint. She was elated to see a small and wavering blue-green flame sitting atop her thumb.
"Whoa, that's pretty cool. I didn't know you could do that." Cinnamint said as he watched the little flame flicker.
"I wasn't sure I could. My dad does it to light candles and stuff. He says it's good for focus too. I kinda believe it, this is a lot harder than I thought it would be." Pearl replied as the flame went out, "If I keep trying I can probably learn to do all sorts of new stuff with my fire."
For the second time today Cinnamint had made Pearl feel better about everything. She felt better about the future, and now she had an idea of how she could help ponies. Pearl had been aware she was maturing faster than ponies her age for some time, but lately it had become more frustrating. She wouldn't even be thirteen for another week, but still the only thing on her mind other than her troubles was Cinnamint. She was in need of a distraction, immediately.
"Cinnamint! Can we order pizza now?" Dusk yelled.
"We're starving!" Dawn chimed in.
"Can we get one with peanut butter and pop rocks?" Screwball added.
Pearl's stomach provided the fourth vote for dinner, and Cinnamint could only laugh. The five of them headed to the study and took a vote on what to order. Thanks to Pearl and Screwball's abnormal appetites they decided on four pizzas, just to be certain there would be enough. Pearl was chosen to use the phone, as it was a rotary model and she was the only one with fingers. The others could have used magic, but it was easier this way.
Pearl dialed the number in the phone book of Ponyville's best pizza place. After several rings the phone was answered. Pearl could tell it was a stallion, maybe a teenager.
Deep Dish's Pizza Parlor, how can I help you? The voice asked.
"I'd like to place an order for four large pizzas please. Are you ready to write down the order?" Pearl asked.
Hold on just a second. The stallion replied.
Pearl heard some momentary rustling before the stallion returned.
Okay, shoot.
"I'd like one veggie lover's deluxe, one double cheese with pineapple and stuffed crust, one with mushrooms, olives, and onion, and a cherry dessert specialty pizza. Did you get all of that?" Pearl listed off.
The stallion on the other end was silent for a minute before reading the items back to Pearl. After giving the stallion the address of the Sparkle Mansion Pearl flipped through the phone book once more. On the inside of the front cover was the number of the phone at the gate of Paradise Estates. The guardstallion was much quicker to answer the phone than the pizza parlor had been.
Front gate speaking, please state your business. A gruff male voice answered.
"This is Princess Priscilla Falstaff Equestria calling from Sparkle Manor. We've ordered some pizza's so expect the delivery-pony in around thirty minutes. Is that alright? Or do you need my ID card number?" Pearl instructed.
I do need the number to authenticate the command princess, my apologies.
"No it's fine. The number is P1-4tt779g2ef0225." Pearl read from the card she had taken out of her pocket.
Okay, all set. Will that be all?
"Yeah, thanks." Pearl replied before hanging up the phone.
"And now we play the waiting game." Screwball said as she pulled a deck of playing cards from her beanie.
For the next twenty five minutes the group played cards, with Screwball winning the majority of the rounds. That gave her the right to decide which slice of each pizza she wanted first, much to the twin's dismay. Before the next round could start they heard the doorbell, and they all made another mad dash to the door. Cinnamint chuckled as he teleported to the door, making it there well before the others.
Cinnamint opened the door himself, while the others halted upon seeing the race's victor. They settled for trying to burn a hole into the back of his head with their glares. The delivery stallion was a pizza sauce red color, with a yellow, white, and orange mane and tail of dreadlocks. His cutie mark seemed to be a pizza missing a few slices. Atop his head was a cap for the restaurant they had ordered from, and sitting on his back was a special delivery-bag that kept pizzas warm.
"Hi there. I've got four pizzas here, did you kids order them?" The stallion asked in a chipper tone.
"Yes sir. How much do we owe?" Cinnamint asked respectfully.
"It's forty-two bits, and for every purchase over twenty bits you get a free two-liter bottle of Mountain Magic soda." The delivery stallion replied, passing a receipt over to Cinnamint.
Cinnamint passed the stallion the fifty-bit note and Pearl stepped forward to grab the pizzas the stallion offered. The stallion reached into the side compartment of his bag and handed Pearl the soda which she took in her tail to let her keep holding the pizzas. After fishing another smaller zipper-bag bag out of his larger one the stallion opened it to make change. After giving Cinnamint the change the stallion put the zipper bag back into the delivery bag, and tipped his cap at the kids.
"You kids enjoy the pizzas, and next time you order tell them you're friends with Steve. That's me, they'll give you a discount." With that, Steve trotted of to his next destination.
Pearl passed the soda to Screwball and carried the pizzas to the dining room. Cinnamint got plates and glasses from the kitchen and they all sat down to eat. Screwball got first pick, but decided to leave the first picks on the dessert pizza to the twins. As they ate they emptied the bottle of soda in the first five minutes, but everyone got some.
"Anyone else think that the pizza guy had a weird name?" Cinnamint asked through a mouthful of pizza.
"Yeah. Steve, right? Who names their kid something like that?" Screwball agreed with a roll of her eyes.
While the others ate in silence something had boiled to the surface in Pearl's mind. She looked over her friends, and at their various cutie marks. For the first time in her life Pearl was noticing something that seemed ridiculously obvious now.
"Have you guys ever noticed that ponies usually end up with talents related to their names? Like, Cinnamint and his mom Bon Bon both make candy?" Pearl asked.
Everypony stopped and thought about it, and all was silent for a moment.
"Nah, I don't see it. Steve is a pizza delivery pony, and Steve doesn't have anything to do with pizza." Screwball reasoned.
"But what is a Steve anyway?" Dawn asked, Dusk shrugging his shoulders as he continued devouring his current slice.
Once again, nopony could answer. The whole name discussion was dropped, and dinner continued. The leftover pizza was put into the fridge, and the twins were put to bed not long after. Cinnamint, Pearl, and Screwball played a few rounds of video games before turning in themselves. Cinnamint offered to take the floor like a gentlecolt, and Screwball and Pearl shared the bed in the guestroom.
The five slumbered peacefully, but there were no dreams to be had. All across Equestria there were a great number of ponies who slept soundly, but without dreaming. On the roofs of these ponies were several black silhouettes, each of them carrying a large seed shaped pod, pulsing a dull green. As soon as the moon was at it's highest in the sky green mist began flowing out of the homes, drawn into the pods.
"More satisfied customers." One of the silhouettes said softly to itself.
As soon as the pods stayed lit, the silhouettes bagged them up and carried them off into the night. Being naturally dark colored nopony that was out noticed the sky full of changeling drones against the starry backdrop. However, in Canterlot there was a certain alicorn trying desperately to figure out where thousands of dreams had gone.