A Herd of my Own

by Dafaddah

It's a Sign!

Twilight stared at the sign. It was so freshly painted that some of the letters still dripped, adding a rather gruesome frisson to the otherwise cheery message:

“Capital City of the Friendship Rainbow Kingdom!?” she exclaimed to Applejack and Apple Bloom.

The three of them stood in the road that passed by Sweet Apple Acres, in plain view of the farm itself.

“But Ponyville only has two thousand five hundred and forty two residents!” Twilight looked at the sisters. “It doesn’t qualify as a city. And it’s the only town in the entire kingdom! Did anypony see who put this thing up?”

Applejack scratched the back of her head and put her stetson back on. “It was the mayor and her new assistant, Pince Nez, you know, the sickly green stallion with a roll of red tape as a cutie mark. He moved into town last week.”

“Hmmph! I guess that makes that two thousand five hundred and forty three,” said Twilight. “I’m going to have to meet this Pince Nez guy, and the mayor, and straighten out a few issues.”

The sisters glanced at each other. “Say, Twi,” ventured Applejack. “It kinda looks ta me like all this Friendship Rainbow Kingdom stuff has done put a bee in yer bonnet.”

Twilight’s expression softened. “Is it that obvious?”

“Eeyup!” said the Apples in unison.

“Well,” said Twilight blushing, “I guess I just really liked things better the way they were before. Don’t you?”

Applejack grew very serious all of a sudden, while Apple Bloom looked down at her forehooves.

“The way things were before when, sugarcube? Before Tirek, or before you was coronated, or before you even came to Ponyville?” She smiled ruefully. “Or before our Ma and Pa passed away?”

Twilight suddenly couldn’t meet her friend’s eyes. Her feelings about her situation were real, but she had to admit, the hardships she was complaining about were pretty trivial compared to what the Apples had been through. As the personal student of Princess Celestia she had lived a life most of her friends could only dream of, a life not only blessed with attention and privilege but also sheltered from the daily struggles and perils faced by most ponies.

“Ya know, Twi, ah done made my peace with the past. Ah can treasure it, but ah cain’t live in it. Ah live in the present, an’ ah work for the future, an’ that’s good enough fer me and mah kin.” She put a hoof on Twilight’s elbow. “I suggest y’all think about doin’ the same, sugarcube.”

Twilight looked down at Applejack's dusty, scuffed hoof. The hard pitted surface bore the scars of toil, hardship and not just a few victories. No wonder she doesn’t want her hooves polished, she thought, she’s proud of how her whole life story is written on them! It struck her how much she admired this mare, and how precious their friendship had become.

“That’s very wise advice, Applejack. Thanks for setting me straight.” Twilight smiled and briefly wrapped her in hug. “I guess I still want to talk to the mayor and her assistant, but at least I won’t go in with my horn blazing.”

Applejack slapped her on the back hard enough to make her stagger. “That’s the spirit!”

Apple Bloom had been quiet during the exchange, but there was a look of concern on her young face. “Twilight, what about Zecora? She was supposed to be back yesterday mornin’! What if she’s lost? What if she got hurt?” When the filly’s lower lip started to tremble her sister pulled her in close.

“Well, her whereabouts have been unknown for over twenty-four hours,” said Twilight tentatively, “so I can legally declare her missing and call out a search for her. The only problem is that we don’t have a clue where she went, and the Everfree is a big place!” She patted the tearful filly’s foreleg. “If only we had an idea of what she went looking for we might be able to narrow the search area.”

Apple Bloom rubbed her wet muzzle with a fetlock, and then got a look in her eye. “Ah could figure it out!” she exclaimed.

Twilight and Applejack looked at each other in confusion.

“Waddaya mean, sugarcube?” asked Applejack.

“Ah mean, ah know Zecora better’n any other pony in Ponyville. If ah was to go to her cottage to investigate ah might be able to figure out what she was after, an’ where she was fixin’ to go!”

Applejack smiled apologetically at Twilight. “Ah think that’s a pretty tall order for a little filly.” She looked her sister in the face. “This here ain’t no game like y’all crusadin’ with yer little friends.”

Apple Bloom pulled out of her sister’s hug. “Ah know this is serious! And ah already know this much: she weren’t goin’ more than half a day’s walk away.”

Intrigued, Twilight faced the filly squarely. “And how do you know that, Apple Bloom?”

“Cause she didn’t take her hammock like she always done when she went away for a day or more. It was still hangin’ on its pegs in the cottage when we went there yesterday!”

“Hmm,” said Applejack. There was a hint of sadness in the glance she gave Twilight. “Ah dunno. Seems like pretty slim evidence to me.”

Her sister’s words only seemed to make Apple Bloom mad.

“An t’other thaing is she only took the smaller green saddlebags she uses to go collectin’ plants in the forest. If she was fixin on a longer trip she’d a worn her big set, which was hanging on another peg next to the door!”

Applejack was still looking apologetic, but Twilight had to admit the filly was making a good inferences based on facts. She came to a decision.

“I think it’s worth a shot. Apple Bloom has already reduced the search area size by close to an order of magnitude. We all know very well how much time she spends with Zecora. If anypony has a chance of finding some clue as to where she went, it’s Apple Bloom.”

Applejack looked at her little sister, conflicting emotions washing over her features. “Is this really what you wanna do, sugarcube?”

Apple Bloom nodded. “More than anythin’ in the whole world!”

The elder Apple’s smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Then I guess y’all had better git to it! Go pack a lunch for the both of us, and then we’ll head on over to Zecora’s.”

With a loud “Yee-haw!” the filly galloped off.

Twilight gave Applejack another quick hug. “Thanks, Applejack, but I know you have enough to do at the farm. I’ll go with Apple Bloom.” She held up a hoof before the orange mare could object. “Besides, I have a few spells that might help us in our search. And don’t worry. I’ll take good care of her.”

“Ah know you will, Twi,” Applejack sighed. “Ah jus' hope my little darlin’ ain’t comin’ up on a whole heap ‘o hurt.”

Twilight’s eyes widened as she suddenly understood what Applejack was alluding to.

“Applejack, rest assured I’ll do everything in my power to prevent such an outcome.”

The mare nodded.

“Ah jus' hope Zecora’s alright.”

“So do I, Applejack. For Apple Bloom’s sake as well as Zecora’s.”

When they arrived at Zecora’s cottage Apple Bloom made straight for the tidy workbench that occupied most of one wall. The space above it was occupied by tiny drawers, many of which showed the slight glow of magical seals. On the pitted table surface rested mortars, pestles, glass tubes, crucibles, oil lamps and a variety of other alchemical equipment used in the preparation of medicines, potions and charms. The filly immediately began examining these in minute detail, sorting them into two piles, one on the left and the other on the right side of the table.

Twilight observed all of this with great interest. She also noted that Apple Bloom’s earlier assertions had been correct, at least in regards to the hammock and saddle bags. She saw the filly pull back and stare perplexed at the result of her work.

“What’s the matter, Apple Bloom?”

The filly scratched the back of her head in unconscious imitation of her elder sister. “I know she probably used this equipment jus’ before she left. It don’t have much dust on it compared to the rest. If only I could tell which ingredients she used I might figure out what she was trying to make.”

Twilight’s eyebrows rose. “That’s really a very smart idea! And I think I can help you find the ingredients she used.” Her horn glowed and several of the little drawers flared brighter. “There, these are the drawers whose seals have been most refreshed in the last two days!”

“Thanks!” the filly said, and immediately started writing down the symbols engraved on the front of those drawers.

Twilight’s eyes grew wider. “Apple Bloom, you can read Zebrili?”

The filly smiled and blushed. “Ever since that cutie pox thaing it’s been purty easy for me to learn new languages. And ah done been practicing with Zecora.” She pointed to the items in the list. “This here is sulfur, an’ that there’s coal dust, an’ that's saltpeter, an’...” she stopped short when she saw the look on Twilight’s face.

“Fireworks!” they exclaimed in unison.

Apple Bloom sat back on her haunches, her ears flagging. “That don’t help us none.”

“Why not?” asked Twilight.

“'Cause she can git those without havin’ to go into the Everfree,” she replied miserably.

“Oh.” Twilight thought furiously. “Well, maybe she needed the fireworks to get something else. But what could that be?”

Apple Bloom’s ears lifted up, and her eyes grew wide. “Ah think I know what she was after! A basilisk!”

“What!?” Twilight couldn’t believe her ears. “What do fireworks have to do with such dangerous monsters?”

“Zecora told me that there are some special medicines that can only be made from basilisk venom. And that Zebras use fireworks to stun the critters so they can be milked.”

“Ewe!” replied Twilight making a face. “That sounds disgusting, even with the fireworks!”

That got a momentary smile from Apple Bloom. “Yeah, but it's mighty dangerous work.” Her lower lip started trembling again.

Twilight pulled her into a hug. “Hey, kiddo! Don’t worry. You solved the mystery, now we know where to go!”

“Huh?” her eyes were already swimming on the edge of tears.

“Basilisks live in caves. That means hills or mountains, and there’s only one such place in the Everfree that’s within a half day’s trot from here!” She levitated the filly and placed her on her back. “Hold on tight because we’re flying back to town! We have a search party to set up!”

They were out the door and into the air before Apple Bloom could even wipe her tears.

After dropping Apple Bloom at Sweet Apple Acres, Twilight flew straight to Ponyville’s Town Hall. After a mostly acceptable landing, she trotted up to the building and stopped in her tracks. Her chin dropped as she stared up in dismay at the new signage over its main door. The plaque now read Royal Government & Administrative Center, and right above the plaque hung a life-sized copy of Twilight’s somewhat cheesy coronation portrait.

She had always disliked that image. She felt that it made her look like a little purple filly play acting at being a princess. Even worse, it had taken almost two hours of posing to get that shot and, even though nopony else would admit they could see it, she thought the strain was glaringly evident in her expression.

“That’s a great picture of you!” said a voice into her ear.

Twilight almost jumped out of her skin. This would not have been a problem before her ascension, but in her present circumstances it meant her wings shot out to either side in a panicked flap, projecting her up and backwards. As she was still not used to her pegasus reflexes or the mechanics of flight, she began trying to flap her wings while pedalling in the air furiously with her legs. Of course, she stalled. Unbalanced, and unairworthy, she fell back onto the ground in front of the entrance to Town Hall, landing on her rump with wings extended to either side and legs stretched out in front of her.

Feeling rather undignified, Twilight blushed furiously. She also had a great view of Rainbow Dash, clutching her stomach with one foreleg, pointing at her with the other and rolling around on the balustrade next to the entrance while laughing her lungs out.

“Ohmygosh! The look on your face!” said Dash. “Pure gold! You popped just like a weasel! Ha, ha, hah!”

Twilight folded her wings against her body and got back onto her hooves. Some things will never, ever change! She smiled wryly as she approached the laughing pegasus, but then the seriousness of the situation erased her smile.

“Rainbow Dash! Just the pony I was looking for!”

“Huh?” Dash stopped mid roll. She looked up at Twilight, her own face suddenly serious. “What’s up, Twi? You look like a mare with something important on her mind.”

Despite being an irrepressible prankster, Dash had the reputation of being a skillful leader. She’s also a friend who knows you and can read you like a book! Twilight was glad Dash picked up on her anxiety.

“Well that’s because I do,” she said. “It looks like Zecora’s gone missing in the Everfree, and I want to assemble a team to go looking for her. I was just on my way to see the mayor about calling for volunteers.”

The edges of Dash’s mouth turned down. “I’ll help you find Zecora, Twi, but good luck with trying to see the mayor. Even since she hired that unicorn assistant of hers she’s been harder to approach than Fluttershy when that rabbit of hers is feeling extra protective!”

Twilight’s eyebrows rose. “That’s the third warning in the last few days I’ve gotten about this new assistant. Do you mind joining me, Dash? I don’t want to risk any miscommunications slowing down the effort to find Zecora.”

“Sure, I got your back, Twi.” She smiled and tilted her head. “Always do. You know that!” She proffered a hoof.

Twilight knocked it with her own. “Yeah, I do know that, and I really appreciate it, Dash.”

The two mares entered the building.

Inside, Twilight first noticed the additional portraits on the wall at the back. The town offices – consisting of the Mayor’s office and the town’s clerical counter – were located under the large platform that was often used for speeches and concerts when inclement weather preempted holding events outside. The two portraits hung in a diagonal arrangement between the counter and the door to the Mayor’s office, which was uncustomarily closed. The upper portrait showed the mayor, with the caption below it: Prime Minister Mare. The other one, lower and to the right, showed a rather thin pale green stallion with a thin pale grey mane sporting a starched white collar and dull black tie. The plate below it read: High Chamberlain Pince Nez.

“Prime-minister Mare?” Twilight looked at Dash, who just rolled her eyes.

“I told’ja,” she said with a shrug.

The clerk at the counter, a lemon yellow stallion sporting a short brown mane, a white starched collar, a black tie and spectacles, swallowed nervously as the mares approached. Dash leaned nonchalantly on the counter wearing a somewhat predatory smile.

“I’d like to see the mayor, please,” Twilight declared with what she hoped was a more pleasant expression.

“Yes, Your Majesty! Of course!” said the stallion. He pressed a buzzer somewhere on the counter below Twilight’s line of sight.

“I said the Prime Minister is not to be disturbed, Mr. Card File!” said a tinny voice.

“But sir, it’s the Princess!” He glanced at Rainbow Dash. “And the minister of climate control, too.”

Dash reached over with a hoof, no doubt pressing the hidden button. “Hey Nez-guy, we’re coming-in. Tell her exaltedness the Mayor to open the door.”

There was quiet for a moment, although Twilight could have sworn she heard muffled voices from the room next door. A different buzzer sounded and the door to the mayor’s office opened.

Without further antics Dash fluttered right in. Twilight followed a moment later, stopping at the doorway itself. She glared at the room’s occupants – or at least she tried to by squinting her eyes a bit and pursing her lips. Mayor Mare stood up behind her desk, grinning nervously and waving a hoof, until a thin green unicorn stallion next to her – the Pince Nez from the portrait outside – poked her in the ribs before bowing deeply to Twilight. The mayor’s eyes widened briefly at the nudge, and she did her own obeissance.

“Your Royal Majesty,” said Pince Nez in a high, nasal voice, “what a pleasure it is to be blessed with your presence on this fine day!” He glanced morosely at the mayor. “Isn’t it, madame Prime Minister?”

The mare seemed to need a second before recalling that the unicorn was speaking to her. Her chin trembled. “Oh. Yes, indeed! It’s truly wonderful for you to come visit, Twi... I mean, your Royal Highness, ma’am.” She glanced sideways at the unicorn and bowed again.

Twilight noticed both the slight nod of approval from the stallion as well as the mayor’s obvious relief when getting his approval. Being Canterlot born and bred she had a fair idea of what was going on here. It was precisely the type of aristocratic obsequiousness she had barely tolerated then, and that had been refreshingly absent in nice, rural Ponyville. She no longer had to squint her eyes, and she doubted even Rarity could purse her lips to any greater degree.

“Mayor Mare, what’s up with all this Prime Minister stuff?” Twilight asked.

The mayor blushed. “Well, Twilight, I mean Your Highness, I er... that is we... er, Pince Nez and me that is, we–”

The stallion in question shuffled forward and bowed yet again. “Your Majesty, since your coronation the town of Ponyville has also been elevated by royal decree to become the Friendship Rainbow Kingdom. As such, it has the status of an independent city-state, and since she is the highest civil authority in the new kingdom, the former mayor is the de facto Prime Minister of the kingdom. It’s all quite simple, really.”

The mayor nodded perhaps a bit too enthusiastically. “Since then my office has been swamped with requests from every department and ministry in our... I mean, in the Equestrian government.” She grinned sheepishly. “I and the town clerks really don’t haven much experience at running things at a national level, you know, so the Equestrian Guild of Administration and Documentation kindly suggested I hire Mr. Pince Nez here to help us out while we figure out how to handle our change of status.” Her left eyebrow twitched and she swallowed audibly.

Pince Nez cleared his throat loudly.

“Your Majesty!” added the mayor with a blush.

Twilight was stunned. She hadn’t put much thought to how the change of status would affect Ponyville’s administration. Her pursed lips relaxed into her own sheepish grin and bright blush.

“Er, I wasn’t totally aware of all of the ramification of kingdom status on Town Hall.” She scratched at the back of her head. “I guess we all have some adjustments to make.”

The mayor’s expression seemed to relax quite a bit. “Of course, Twi... I mean, Your Majesty! I’m sure we can get through this patch just fine if we all put our shoulders to the wheel and push together!”

Twilight smiled at the mayor’s resumption of her usual platitude-laden speech. She did not miss the narrowing of Pince Nez’s eyes as the mayor spoke however. I’ll have to keep an eye on this one, she noted mentally.

“Okay, let’s cut the politics and get to reality here!” interjected Rainbow Dash in a frustrated voice. “Zecora’s gone missing and we need to set up a search party to comb the Everfree for her.”

The stallion frowned at the blue pegasus. “And just who is this Zecora? I don’t recall seeing her name in the town register.”

“She’s the Zebra who lives in the Everfree forest just a few minutes out of town. C’mon, time’s-a-wasting, call out the volunteer brigade.”

“Ahem,” said Pince Nez sourly, “this Zecora is not a subject of the Princess and not even Equestrian.” His voice dripped disdain. “Why should the Kingdom expend its limited resources to find her?”

Dash’s jaw fell open and her eyes bugged out. She grabbed Pince Nez’s collar in one hoof and shoved her snarling muzzle a paper’s width away from his.

“Because, Nez-face, she’s our friend and friends help each other! Write that in your rule-book!”

The stallion merely glanced away. “Worse still, as most of the Everfree is Equestrian territory, we have no legal basis with which to justify such an incursion. The repercussions on the Kingdom could be severe.”

“Twilight!” growled Dash. “Are you gonna let this chair-warming paper-pusher get in our way like this?”

Twilight stamped her hoof loudly. “That’s enough! Both of you!” Dash’s eyebrows rose, but she let go of Pince Nez.

Twilight looked all three ponies in the eyes one at a time.

“When Cadence and Shiny were sent to the Crystal Empire I wondered at a lot of the just plain silliness they had to put up with. I hardly thought I’d have to put up with the same thing here, but maybe that was just me being naive.”

She faced Pince Nez. “First, as Princess Regnant I believe I have the right to grant citizenship to any being I so declare, and I hereby declare the Zebra called Zecora a citizen of the Friendship Rainbow Kingdom. Pince Nez, add her name to the town register.”

Dash beamed at her.

“Second, I will send a request to Princess Celestia to give the Kingdom permission to engage in emergency rescue operations in the adjacent Equestrian territories, as long as such operations do not interfere with Equestria’s own interests. I’ll have the signed declaration within the hour. Mayor... I mean, Prime Minister Mare, please call out the volunteer brigade to assist in a search and rescue operation to be lead by Rainbow Dash. Please follow any additional instructions she provides, and have everypony ready to leave in one hour.”

The Prime Minister nodded in obvious relief. “Yes, Your Majesty!”

She pivoted on her hind hooves and stormed out of Town Hall.

Twilight, she scolded herself, you’ve been lax, and it’s starting to affect everypony in Ponyville!

She and Spike had a lot to do and little time to get it done. As she braced herself for takeoff to fly back to the castle, a familiar voice called out.

“Hey, Your Majesty!” said Sweetie Belle trotting up to her. “When are you gonna do another shift at the Princess Burger?”

“Princess Burger? What’s that?” she asked the little white filly, who just pointed a hoof over Twilight’s shoulder. She turned around and for the second time in fifteen minutes her jaw dropped when she saw the new sign on top of the Hay Burger franchise.