Maud Pie and The Smooze arrived just after sunrise at the door of the Palace of Friendship. Princess Twilight Sparkle was there to greet them. “Good morning.” Twilight called out as the grey mare and her green ooze lifeform fiancé approached. They were moving slowly. Twilight had to wait thirty seconds before Maud was close enough to respond in a normal voice.
“Good Morning, Your Highness. Pinkie and I have a big day planned. I need to go meet her soon. May I leave The Smooze in your hooves?” Maud asked.
Twilight twitched her eyebrow. “Sure.” She said.
“Thank you for your generosity, Your Highness.” Maud said. She turned to The Smooze. “I will pick you up here in the evening. Pinkie will cook dinner for the three of us tonight.” Maud said.
The Smooze nodded in the best way a neckless being can. It was more of a bow.
“I will see the two of you later then. Have a nice day together.” Maud said. She trotted away.
“See you later, Maud.” Twilight said. She turned to The Smooze. “You have a suitcase. May I take your luggage?” Twilight said.
The Smooze nodded. Twilight used her magic to lift the suitcase into the air. “This is heavy. Did you bring gems to eat?” Twilight asked.
The Smooze merely followed Twilight. Twilight gazed at The Smooze. “There is something different about you. You are not the same as before, and I don’t mean your hat. I’ve got it. You have eyes. You didn’t have eyes before now. Why do you have eyes? You could see without them before this morning.” Twilight said.
The Smooze moved his head side to side.
“Is it because Maud prefers you with eyes?” Twilight asked.
The Smooze nodded.
“I like them. They’re beautiful.” Twilight said.
The Smooze grinned broadly. The Smooze oozed silently next to Twilight Sparkle for the next minute or so as she showed him to the guest room.
Twilight opened a door on a spartanly decorated, but warm bedroom. “This will be your room while you’re staying with us. It has an en suite bathroom through that door.” Twilight said as she trotted into the room. She placed the suitcase on the floor. “I will have to leave you now, but I will be sending my assistant Spike down to you in a minute to see to your needs. Don’t hesitate to tell him if you need anything. I apologize for being a poor host at the moment, but I will be leading tour group of school colts through the castle in a few minutes, and I need to prepare for them. Please, make yourself at home.” Twilight said.
The Smooze moved almost imperceptibly.
Twilight made a face of anger. Her lips moved into a sneer. “You wish to marry a good friend of mine, and you wish me to conduct the ceremony. I won’t put my hoofmark of approval on your union unless you demonstrate to me you are a sapient creature. If you are trying to say something to me, you better try harder because if you can’t prove you aren’t just a glorified pet rock, I will do everything in my power to separate you from Maud. I care about my friends and I won’t let them ruin their lives because they’re lonely.” Twilight said.
The Smooze blinked.
“Not good enough, Smooze. Spike will be here in a moment. Perhaps he will be able to get through to you.” Twilight said. She trotted out in a huff, and closed the door behind her. Twilight did some deep breathing exercises as she trotted to the front door. “Get it together, Twilight. You can’t let the foals see you like this.” Twilight said to herself. Twilight arrived at the front door. She stood still on the steps and enjoyed the warmth of the morning sunlight on her face.
Cheerielee and her class arrived at the castle right on time. “Good morning, Princess Twilight.” Cheerielee said. She bowed as did her entire class.
Twilight took some flashcards out of a small satchel she was wearing. “Good morning, Ms Cheerielee. Good morning, students. I am happy to have you here. Why don’t you come on in and we’ll start the tour.” Twilight said. After the ponies had trotted into the entry room, Twilight stopped and spoke once more. “Nice place. Isn’t it. Does any pony known how this castle was made?” Twilight said.
Many hooves shot into the air. “Ooo ooo ooo!” Cried out a Unicorn foal.
“Yes, Snails.” Twilight said.
“You made it with your friendship magic.” Snails said.
“Not exactly. It wasn’t my magic that grew this castle. I am going to tell you the tale. I am going to tell you the tale of how my friends and I faced and overcame the threat of Lord Tirek.” Twilight said. She breathed in and out. She took a comfortable pose. “It all started for me with a summons from Princess Celestia.” She began.
Forty five minutes later Twilight had finished regaling the students with her tale of triumph and answered most of the foals and fillies questions. She couldn’t tell them why Lord Tirek was so mean. “That’s enough of that subject for now. Let’s move on with the tour. I am going to start with my favourite room, the library. Follow me.” Twilight said. She trotted joyfully ahead of the students. “Come right in.” Said Twilight at the door to the library. “Take a look around. You’ll find books that even foals and fillies can enjoy. The illustrated Equestrian guide to history is one of them. Have a browse. You may be surprised what you find.” Twilight said.
Applebloom spoke up. “Ah’m already surprised. Who’s the green guy eating your books?” She said.
Twilight glared into the library. There was The Smooze. He had lost his eyes, and a book was inside of him.
Twilight gasped. “That’s my signed first edition of Celestia’s Sensational Solar Spells. Not even The Princess has any more of those. That was a coronation present from my parents. It only survived the blast from Tirek because I keep it in a special locked case. You chose the wrong book to chow down on, buddy.” Twilight charged The Smooze. “Heyaaaa!” She screamed.
As Twilight Sparkle neared The Smooze she caught sight of the students watching her with rapt attention. Twilight skidded to a halt. “That my little Ponies is the wrong way to deal with a disagreement with a friend and houseguest. Twilight cleared her throat. “The Smooze, if you are hungry, we have a kitchen that is well stocked. I am sure Spike would be happy to prepare you something. However, I must inform you that none of the books here are for eating, and food is not allowed in the library at all. Please, return my book.” Twilight said.
The Smooze spat the book into Twilight Sparkle’s outstretched hooves. Twilight looked the book over. “It’s just a little slimy. It’s still good.” She said. Twilight hugged the book to her chest and teared up a little. “Thank you, Smooze.” She said.
Spike wandered into the library. “There you are, Smooze. Sorry, I spaced out for a few moments. I was licking on an especially tasty segment of my dragonite. Would you like to go see the sites around Ponyville, now?” Spike asked.
The Smooze slowly glided in Spike’s direction.
Twilight groaned. “Spike, I think the Smooze is hungry. Would you like to take him to the kitchen and figure out what he eats? No, I’ll do it. We can all go to the kitchen. You can make the students your famous nachos. That’s alright, Ms Cheerielee?” Twilight said.
“Yes Princess, the students could use a little snack.” Cheerielee said.
“I can handle The Smooze and making nachos. I am used to multi-tasking in the kitchen. You can guide the class to the dining room. I’m sure they’d love to hear the tale of how we saved the crystal empire. Here’s a spoiler foals and fillies. I’m super heroic.” Spike said.
“Wow!” Some of the students said. The foals and fillies galloped about with enthusiasm.
“You youngsters sure do love my stories. Come on. Follow me.” Twilight said. She used her magic to return her beloved book to its appropriate place.
Hours passed, and the rest of the students’ tour went perfectly. Twilight’s mood was improved after she waved goodbye to Ms Cheerielee and her class. The Smooze was out with Spike, so Twilight decided to go visit a friend.
It was mid-afternoon when Twilight Sparkle arrived at Fluttershy’s cottage. Fluttershy was an expert on communicating with all creatures, great and small. If anyone could help her reach The Smooze, she could. Twilight knocked on the door. There was no answer. Twilight heard a roar from behind the cottage. She raced to investigate.
Behind the cottage she found a bear on top of a cyan Pegasus. “You think you’ve got me. We’ll see about that.” The Pegasus said. She pulled her legs out from under the bear and used them in an extraordinary feat of flexibility to free herself. “The battle continues.” The Pegasus declared. Her rainbow mane flowed dramatically in the wind.
Twilight grimaced. “Rainbow Dash, why are you wrestling a bear? Where’s Fluttershy?” Twilight asked.
“Bears need exercise like everypony else. Might as well make it fun exercise. Fluttershy is going to be away for a few days. She’s going to assist her friend Tree Hugger with some field research someplace.” Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth. “And I am not jealous at all.” She breathed in and out. “So, she asked me to keep an eye on her place as my house is made out of clouds and does not need watching.” Rainbow Dash said.
“Uh huh, well, I guess I’ll get going then.” Twilight said.
“I know you came to see Fluttershy, but maybe I can help you. Come on in the cottage. I can mix you up my new protein shake. It’s guaranteed to improve muscle tone, and add shininess to your coat.” Rainbow Dash said.
“You can’t believe flashy marketing in magazines and on bottles.” Twilight said.
“Marketing! This is an RD guarantee. This shake is of my own concocting.” Rainbow Dash said. She flew close to Twilight and whispered into her ear. “The key ingredient is powdered walnuts.” She said.
“I’ll try a small glass.” Twilight said.
Rainbow Dash turned to the bear, “You’re welcome to join us. I’d bet you’d love the stuff, Buddy.” She said.
The bear roared with delight.
The three entered the cottage together. Five minutes later they were drinking a thick brown mixture from different sized containers. Twilight Sparkle took a sip from one of Fluttershy’s teacups.
“Well, what do you think?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“There’s certainly a lot of a lot things in this. It’s so thick.” Twilight said.
“The bear seems to love it. He can’t get enough of the stuff.” Rainbow Dash said.
The bear was eagerly licking the bottom of a large jar.
“I think it’s all the honey, Honey.” Twilight said.
“Funny.” Rainbow Dash said. “I’m dying to know what your business is with Fluttershy. Is that owl still spitting up on your floors. Maybe I can talk to him. I’m getting better with animals. I think I got a little bit of Fluttershy’s special talent from when I had her cutie mark. If I really truly listen, I can almost understand them. If I pay attention to their actions, I can figure out there needs. Fluttershy’s animals are pretty smart, so that helps.” Rainbow Dash said.
“You’re still being affected by the cutie mark swapping spell. Is that why you freaked out when Tank was about to hibernate? Did he satisfy some kind of caring compulsion?” Twilight asked.
“Yes, he did, but it was more than that. Tank came from Fluttershy. He is a living symbol of the bond between us.” Rainbow Dash blushed and turned away.
“The two of you are really going to have to sort out your feelings one day, but I know this conversation makes you uncomfortable, so we can talk about The Smooze.” Twilight said.
“What about The Smooze?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“What do you think of him?” Twilight responded.
“I think The Smooze was out of control at the Gala. Getting drunk like that is not awesome.” Rainbow Dash said.
“I’m not sure the gold and jewels drunkened him, but do you think he was thinking about his actions?” Twilight said.
“Who knows, but it wasn’t cool.” Rainbow said.
“Would you say he was an animal?”
“When The Smooze was drunk, yeah. I had an uncle like that. Took almost dying to get him to quit the sauce.” Rainbow Dash said.
Twilight stood up. “We’re not getting anywhere like this, Rainbow Dash. Would you be free to come with me right now?”
“Where are we going? I can’t be gone long. The animals get restless when left alone for too long.” Rainbow Dash said.
“We are going to find The Smooze.” Twilight said dramatically.
“Right.” Rainbow Dash said. She stood bravely next to Twilight Sparkle. She smiled at her fiend. “But I can’t be gone more than a few hours.” Rainbow Dash added.