//------------------------------// // New arrival // Story: In the Spotlight // by Lvl11Bard //------------------------------// Spotlight Gleam woke up one beautiful Saturday morning to the sound of one of her mothers talking excitedly. The young, pale purple unicorn leaped out of her bed and started towards the door. However, the teen only got half way there before skidding to a stop and turning to retrieve the bright blue cape her other mom gave her. Fastening her cape, Spotlight trotted to the castle's main hall, where her mother, the princess of friendship, was talking into one of her magic mirrors. “Yes, alright. I'm looking forward to it. Yep, I'll make sure to take good care of her. I think Spotlight will be thrilled. OK, see you soon,” Twilight concluded with someone on the other side. “What will I be thrilled about, mom?” Spotlight asked as she approached. “Oh, Spotlight, I didn't realize you were awake,” Twilight turned and smiled to her daughter. “I thought you'd be excited to hear that your Aunt Cadence and Uncle Shining are coming to visit later today.” Spotlight's grin grew as she jumped in place, the bangs of her dark blue and silver mane bouncing over her eyes. “Wow, I can't wait! It's been like, forever since I've seen them.” “And that's not all, they're bringing your cousin, Rosegold as well,” Twilight added, amused by her daughters energy. Spotlight stopped jumping and stared at her mother in shock. “Rosegold? But she never leaves the Crystal Empire.” “I know and she may feel uncomfortable. Can I trust that you'll make her feel welcomed and show her around town?” Twilight asked, already knowing the answer. “Of course! I'd love to introduce her Ponyville!” Spotlight beamed, but began to look around the room. “By the way, where's mamma Trixie?” Twilight rolled her eyes. “She's still asleep. You know her. Not only did she have a late night show last night, but there was an after show party that she 'absolutely had to go to'. I just hope she won't be grumpy during your Uncle and Aunt's visit.” Spotlight's ears flattened and her grin disappeared. “She had another show last night...” Twilight's face softened as she smiled sweetly at her saddened foal. “Don't be sad, Sweetie. You know Trixie would love to have you as an assistant. Someday you'll be able to perform magic with her.” “I can perform magic,” Spotlight muttered, “just not in front of other ponies.” “I know. Hey, how about you go get cleaned up and and we'll prepare the castle for our visitors.” Spotlight lit up again with a smile. “OK!” The filly ran into the bathroom to get clean, put her mane into a ponytail and try to make herself look presentable for her family. Later that day, horns sounded to signal the arrival of a chariot drawn by two pegasi. Twilight, Spotlight and a very groggy Trixie were outside waiting when the carriage landed. One of the guards opened the door and Princess Cadence stepped out. “Twilight! It's so good to see you again!” “Cadence, I'm so glad you could stop by!” Twilight returned the greeting. Trixie yawned before she gave a halfhearted wave. “Greeting, the Great and Powerful Trixie is pleased that you came to visit.” Cadence giggled. “Hi Trixie. What's the matter? Twilight keep you up all night again?” Trixie snickered as Twilight's face went red. “Girl's, not in front of Spotlight,” the newest princess whispered angrily. Spotlight made a gagging sound before she waved. “Hi Auntie Cadence!” “Spotlight! My, you get bigger every time I see you,” Cadence hugged her niece. “Where are Uncle Shining and Rosegold?” Spotlight asked. “Well...” Cadence trailed off as she looked back at the carriage. The four turned to the still opened door to of the carriage. “Come on Rosegold, we're already here and it'll be fun,” Shining Armours voice came from within. “But what if something happens to the Crystal Empire while we're goofing around?” A younger more feminine voice questioned. “The other guards can handle it. Besides, think of it this way: Your mother and I are on a diplomatic visit to another castle and we chose you to be our personal guard,” Shining replied. “I guess... that does make it a little better. But what about the training regiment I planned for today?” “Spotlight always skips her magic practices to come visit you. Do you think you could return the favor?” “I, uh, fine.” With that, Shining stepped out followed by a pegasus with pure white fur to match her fathers and a dark pink mane in one large braid. Her bright blue eyes stared forward without emotion as she marched behind the crystal prince. “Hi Uncle Shining. Hey Rosegold,” Spotlight waved excitedly. “Good afternoon, Spotlight,” Rosegold responded professionally. “Spotlight! How's the greatest magic performer of Equestria doing?” Shining hugged his niece. Trixie coughed to prevent herself from making a comment. Tied for greatest, she thought to herself. “Great, Uncle Shining. Wanna see my new trick?” Spotlight asked. Shining chuckled. “Maybe later. Your parents, your Aunt and I have something we need to discuss first.” Spotlight looked a little disappointed until Trixie spoke up. “Why don't you show Rosegold around town?” Spotlight perked up again. “OK!” “I thought I was suppose to be guarding you,” Rosegold accused her parents. “Do a perimeter check. That's an order, soldier,” Shining said, trying to keep a straight face, but couldn't contain his smile. “Guh, yes sir,” Rose gold sighed as she trudged behind a happily trotting Spotlight. The four older ponies entered the castle as the two fillies entered the town. After a few minutes, Rosegold decided to give in and try to start a conversation. “So where's Spike? I thought he would've been here to at least say hello.” “Oh, he's in Manehatten helping Sweetie Belle with one of her shows. They should be back in a couple days,” Spotlight replied. “Hmm. It's a shame that we'll miss them,” Rosegold drawled. “Why do you sound so gloomy?” Spotlight asked. “Don't take it personally, but I had a lot of responsibilities to take care today before mom and dad dragged me here,” Rosegold answered. “You always have responsibilities. Can't you take a break?” “Not if I plan on becoming the captain of the Crystal Guard some day.” “Well, there's no helping it now, so you might as well try to enjoy yourself. Ponyville can be a pretty fun place and I can introduce you to all of my friends like...” Spotlight scanned the surrounding area, “her! Bright! Hey Bright!” A Lavender pink unicorn with a permed steel blue mane walking across a nearby street turned her head at the sound of her name. “Spotlight?” The two picked up the pace to meet up with Spotlight's friend. “Hey Bright,” Spotlight greeted before she noticed the horrible looking neon green scarf that Bright was wearing. “Oh hello Spotlight. How wonderful to see you. And who's this?” Bright asked politely, though the nervousness was clearly etched on her face. Spotlight eyed her cousin, hoping that Rosegold's abrupt personality wouldn't come into play. Please don't say anything about the scarf, Spotlight prayed in her head. “My name is Rosegold Crest.” “Ah, Spotlight's cousin, correct? I've heard so much about you,” Bright seemed to relax. “Pleasure to meet you, Rosegold. I am Bright Palette.” “Likewise,” Rosegold responded as Spotlight let loose the breath that she had been holding, glad that Rosegold didn't say anything. “So what's with the scarf? Lose a bet?” Spotlight cringed as she looked to Bright with concern. Said unicorn's face had dropped as tears began to form in her eyes. “It looks that bad?” Spotlight intercepted before Rosegold could do anymore damage. “No, no. I think it looks cool. I think I'll get one-” However, Spotlight was interrupted by Bright's sobbing. “Of course it's bad! Every time I try to be fashionable, it ends in disaster!” “What's the big deal. So what if you're bad with clothes?” Rosegold asked casually. “That's easy to say when both of your parents aren't renowned fashion designers while you can't even put together an outfit,” Bright continued to cry. “Renowned fashion designer? So you're the daughter of the Element of Generosity I presume?” Bright just nodded as the tears came. Spotlight, a little disappointed at her cousins lack of sympathy, frowned. Just then something fast flashed by and Bright's scarf was gone. Bright stopped her sobbing and turned with the others to find a pastel orange pegasus with a short, pink and blue swirled mane wrestling with the article of clothing. “Soothe, what are you doing?” Spotlight asked. The pegasus grunted as she answered. “Grr, I know Bright isn't the best with clothes, gah, but even she wouldn't wear this thing. Oof, clearly it's some sort of brain controlling monster that took over Bright's mind.” Rosegold just stared, confused, as the unicorns giggled. “Thanks Soothe. You always know how to cheer me up,” Bright wiped her eyes and smiled. The pegasus fell to the ground and laughed herself. “No prob, Bright. So who's the pegasus? You're not replacing me, are you?” “This is my cousin Rosegold. The one I'm always telling you about,” Spotlight explained. “The famous golden rose? Wow, you've never visited before. I was starting to to think that Spotlight made you up,” the pegasus chuckled to herself, “after all, she does tend to take after her mom when it comes to fantastic tales.” Spotlight stuck her tongue out as Rosegold rolled her eyes. “I assure you, I am real. And you are...” “Soothe Feather. Hero to all of Equestria, funniest pony alive and leader of an ancient cult,” Soothe introduced herself. “All self given titles,” Bright whispered to Rosegold. “Hey, I am pretty funny and I am a hero... though that cult thing might have been a little stray from the truth,” Soothe giggle nervously. “What makes you a hero?” Rosegold asked, a little interested. “I've saved plenty of lives,” Soothe bragged, “it's even how I got my cutie mark, see.” Soothe spun around to show off what looked like a red cross in a life preserver. It was then that Rosegold realized something. She's known about Spotlight's cutie mark, which was a magic diagram on a book cover, and she looked back at her own, which remained a golden rose, but she saw that Bright didn't have one. “Sorry, um, Bright, but I couldn't help but notice, you don't seem to have a cutie mark yourself.” Spotlight face hooved as Soothe let out a sigh. Bright's face once again became saddened as she looked away. “Um, yes, well, you see, I haven't found out what my special talent is yet.” “At this age? That's a little concerning,” Rosegold commented. “I'm sure that it will come soon,” said a new voice, making the four fillies jump. They all turned to a chocolate brown earth pony mare with a straight, magenta mane and bored green eyes. The newcomer continued in the same monotonous voice. “We still have a couple of years left in school, which is plenty of time for her to discover her special talent.” “Cookie! How long have you been there?” Spotlight asked. “A couple minutes. I didn't want to interrupt your conversation,” Cookie replied, her tone never changing. “Cookie? As in Cookie Dough?” Rosegold asked. “Do I know you?” Cookie turned to the pegasus, one eyebrow raised. “Your parents were hired to organize my last few birthday parties,” Rosegold explained. “They talked a lot about you, although you're not what I imagined.” Cookie gave a sigh before what she started what looked like a rehearsed speech. “When you're the daughter of two ponies that literally try to throw you a surprise party at least every other day, at some point it just stops being surprising.” “I see...” Rosegold muttered. “Hey, the gangs almost all here,” Spotlight exclaimed. “We just need to find Appleslice,” Bright, no trace of her depression evident anymore, spoke up. Soothe gave the unicorn a knowing smirk. “I knew you'd try to find a reason to go see Appleslice.” Bright's face lit up as she sputtered. “W-well of course. Sh-she would be upset if w-we didn't let her see Spotlight's cousin.” “I believe she is at Sugarcube Corner, assisting with the baking right now,” Cookie interrupted. “Cool. Let's go see her. Come on Rosegold,” Spotlight chirped as she started off, followed by her friends. Rosegold rolled her eyes once again before she went after them. The group arrived at Sugarcube Corner and entered to see a stallion pegasus, not much older than them, working the register. “Girls! How can I help you today,” he greeted. “Hi Pound. Is Appleslice here?” Spotlight asked. “Sure is,” Pound nodded, “in the back, baking with Pumpkin. I'll go fetch her if you want.” “If you don't mind,” Bright asked timidly. Pound went through the door behind him and returned with a dark green earth pony with a dirty blonde mane. Her gently teal eyes, highlighted by her freckles, lit up as she saw her friends. “Well, howdy there gang! What brings you around?” “Hey Appleslice,” Spotlight greeted. “Hey A-slice,” Soothe, now upside down, saluted. Cookie just nodded as Bright nervously waved. “H-hi Appleslice.” Appleslice smiled warmly to her friends when her eyes rested on Rosegold. “Well ah don't think ah've seen you round these parts before. Got a name, stranger?” Spotlight was about to answer for her cousin, but was cut off. “My name is Rosegold.” Appleslice whistled. “Like as in Spotlight's cuz? Well stick twigs in my mane and call me a timberwolf, it's a pleasure to finally meet you.” Rosegold shook hooves with the Earth Pony. “Yes, it's been fun meeting you all, but I'm afraid my time here is short. I'll be returning to the Crystal Empire today. Spotlight, I believe we spent enough time wondering around. Let's get back to the castle.” Rosegold started to trot out as Spotlight looked to her friends, who were giving her curious looks. “Heh heh... well that's Rosegold. I guess I'll see you guys later.” Rosegold and Spotlight walked back to the castle, the unicorn a little annoyed about how her cousin treated her friends. When they entered into the main hall, they could see their parents still happily talking. Shining, the first to notice them approaching, waved them over. “Hey girls, how was the tour?” “Fun!” Spotlight exclaimed. “It was fine,” Rosegold replied, “but when are we getting back to the empire?” The four adults looked between each other until Shining spoke up. “Well, you see about that... we have some news for you.” “Oh? And what is it?” Rosegold asked. Cadence stepped forward and knelt down to be at eye level with her daughter. “Rosegold, your father and I have decided it's time for the next step of your training.” Rosegold's eyes lit up as she stood straighter. “Really!? What is it!?” Cadence paused. “ahem, while you were out, we spoke with Twilight and Trixie and it's decided that you'll be spending some time here with them to learn about friendship.” Rosegold completely deflated. “What? Friendship?” “That's right soldier,” Shining stepped up beside his wife. “You're well on your way to becoming a great guard, but you still need to learn how to work with others. You don't even have any friends back in the crystal empire.” “I don't need friends to protect our land!” Rosegold protested. “Are you sure? Twilight saved the day plenty of times with the power of friendship. Even our wedding day,” Cadence asked. “But, but, but-” Rosegold stammered. “Don't worry Rosegold,” Twilight smiled sweetly to her niece, “we'll set up a gym in one of the spare rooms so you can continue your training and you can finish your studies at Spotlight's school.” “It'll only be for a little while,” Shining offered. Rosegold, although she hated to, relented. “Very well. I guess I can't fight this.” “I'm sure you'll have fun.” Cadence, happy that Rosegold complied, relaxed. “Well go back home tonight so you can get want you want to bring and then we'll drop you off tomorrow.” Spotlight, who was watching the scene with wonder, jumped forward. “Oh wow! This is going to be so much fun! Don't worry Rosegold, I will make it my personal duty to make sure you enjoy your stay in Ponyville. And you can hang out with all of my friends!” “Swell,” Rosegold rolled her eyes yet again. A little while later, the ponies said their goodbyes for the night and Rosegold departed with her parents. Spotlight said goodnight to her moms and hurried off to bed, excited for the next day. Trixie said she wasn't tired, which sparked a small argument with her spouse about her sleeping habits until Twilight decided she was too tired and headed off to bed by herself. However, when she opened her bedroom door, she froze at one of the most terrifying sights she had ever seen. Standing across the room from her was Discord... with a serious expression. “Twilight, we need to talk. It's important.”