//------------------------------// // Fireworks // Story: Quest To Unite // by JazzieQ //------------------------------// All opinions are Hasbro's; I have none. (In my opinion.) ===================== Princess Celestia sat nearby the rarely used fireplace reading various documents but her mind was far. She pondered on the well being of her faithful student and her friends. She slowly arose from her place to the window looking out toward the sunset. “Are you alright my sister?” a very familiar voice said. Celestia shifted her eyes towards the door. “Luna… I was just thinking about Twilight and her friends. I hope that they are fine. This task is not an easy one. Many have tried in the past to contact the earth ponies but was never successful.” “I sense that they are fine sister.” “I can only hope so…” ================== Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo peered out the window admiring the ongoing fireworks in the distance as Applebloom lay on the bed staring up at the ceiling. Their occasional ‘ooohs’ and ‘aahs’ were starting a little bit annoy Applebloom. “Don’t you guys have fireworks back in uuuuh….?” Applebloom began. “Equestria? Only for really posh parties who can afford to pay the great and powerful Trixie to perform which is totally rare,” Sweetie explained. “Who’s Trixie?” Applebloom asked. “She’s a travelling entertainer. Really neat fireworks displays but super expensive to hire!” Scootaloo explained. “Life must really tough for you guys huh?” Applebloom asked. “It is. My sister dreams of being a fashion designer but she cleans houses for a living…” Sweetie Belle started. “…and my big “sister”… well I call her sister but she’s not really… she takes on odd jobs like construction whenever someone is building or messenger. Weather jobs are saturated.” “Weather jobs?” Applebloom said looking confused. “Yeah. Pegasi control the weather,” Scootaloo said proudly. “Who controls your weather?” “Ummm… nature?” Applebloom said which was met by an ‘Oh’ from both fillies. “Hey… wanna go out and see the fireworks?” Applebloom asked, “The festival goes on all week. The fire dance is tomorrow and the princess’ balad is the nex’ day. You may not be here all week so I might as well show you guys somethin’!” “I’d love too!” Scootaloo exclaimed with her wings buzzing. “I dunno… you sure we wouldn’t get caught?” “Naaaaw… come on!” just as Applebloom opened the door, there stood two towering guards looking at them. Scootaloo and Sweetie cowered in complete fear and Applebloom was absolutely shocked. “You three… come with us now.” the guard commanded. “RUUUUN!” Applebloom shouted and ran inside the room toward the window. Scootaloo and Sweetie followed hurriedly and the three fillies scrambled through and jumped out onto the awning and then onto the ground below. “They’re getting away! After them!” Wild Strikes bellowed. The guards scrambled to get out of the building and back onto the street. “FIND THEM!” The guards chased into the direction that the fillies went. The girls ran zigzagged through a crowded area and ducked into an alleyway. Only because they were going so fast that nopony noticed that a unicorn and a pegasus just ran past them. They stopped, panting heavily trying to catch their breaths. “Oh no! Oh no! The guards must have imprisoned Spike and Gilda!” Sweetie suggested through heavy breaths. “I dunno but I dun think mah brother would do such a thing without reason. Maybe we shouldn’t have run away…” Applebloom said. “I’m scared.” Sweetie said. “Come on girls. We can’t stay here.” Applebloom said as she walked down the alley. As they came out from the other side a massive fire flower bloomed in the air right before them with the loudest bang. “OH LOOK! We made it to the fire works show! Come on!” Applebloom said joyfully. “We can’t go out like this!” “Oh right..” Applebloom said and she snuck onto the back of a taxi carriage and pulled out somepony’s coats. “Here.” “That’s stealing!” Sweetie said adamantly. “We’re just borrowin’! We’ll put it back!” Sweetie and Scootaloo covered themselves and followed Applebloom toward the giant display of fireworks in the city center. They looked on at the works of giant waterfalls, fishes, crossettes, horsetails, dragons, and willows. It was an amazing display that lasted almost forty five minutes. By the time, the show was done and the crowd dissipated, the girls were heading back to put the coat back where they got it when they heard the shout. “THERE THEY ARE!” The girls took off in the opposite direction only to be captured by the other guard who had a devilish smirk. “Got yer.” =============== Earlier on... It was a calm peaceful day for the Argillian flower field. The sun was shining bright the birds were singing and the butterflies seemed to dance around the rainbow of colors the flowers created. Then that peace was shattered as two gliders rocketed along over the field to Willow City. “Oh my…. I’m sorry, we ruined your fun, but this is an emergency.” cried Fluttershy to the insects, “Pinkie would you please take me back to properly apologize to them later.” “Not if I have anything to say about it. This is the first and hopefully last time I’m not looking to make friends. I am hoping to get you and Applejack to Willow City and be done with you.” Pinkie responded. . “Oh come on you don’t even know us, I’m sure if you gave us a chance… “Rarity started. “If I gave you a chance it would get very difficult for me to survive in Argil, even if the princess herself pardoned me for grand treason.” countered Pinkie. Twilight turned to Pinkie and gave her a confused expression. “Huh?” Pinkie sighed and began explaining. “Look I don’t know how much about Argillian history. But from the sound of it you underestimate just how much you are hated here. We actually have a few major organizations that were built on the hatred of your races.” Rainbow Dash turned to Pinkie with a furious look on her face. “What!! Why of all the…” “Rainbow! Quiet! I knew we were disliked here in Argil. But to have a whole club dedicated to hating us, that seems to me to be a little much.” said Twilight. “Yeah they don’t even know us. How can these ponies be so ignorant as to hate us, without even giving us a chance!” said Rarity. Pinkie suddenly had a very annoyed look on her face as she said. “Okay four things. First I said a few as in plural. Second I said organization not a club. A club is a group of friends with a common interest. An organization is a body of ponies formed for a particular purpose. “Pinkie I don’t really see the point of this…” said Twilight. Pinkie held her hoof up and said. “I’m not done. Third at least one of those organizations, Weeping Stone or ignorant ponies as you call them has a lot of pull in our government. And have a lot of positive PR. If they wanted to they could make it almost impossible for me, or my family to find work. “Impossible to find work?” Said Twilight. “Yes!” Pinkie said. “Impossible to find work. Nopony would willingly want to hire anypony accused of treason. And even if we could find jobs, if we were branded traitors to Argil any place that did hire us would probably go bankrupt.” “Bankrupt?” Said Twilight. “Yes!” Pinkie said. “Bankrupt. You see if I was branded a traitor, Weeping Stone could and probably would use its influence to launch a smear campaign against where I worked, even worse! Kick me out of Glory Glider league! They would insure that no matter where I worked it would never get a customer or an order to provide a service again!!!” Twilight had a frightened look on her face and said “Okay I’m beginning to see the point of this.” Pinkie held her hoof up again and said. “I’m still not done. Fourthly, I don’t know why Applejack was helping you but my family comes first. If I feel for any reason that you or your group will put my friends, and or family in danger I won’t hesitate to take action. I will turn you over to the guards myself.” The mane four had a look of shock on their faces after hearing that, Except for Fluttershy who looked to Pinkie and said with a smile. “Thank you, for all you help.” “Really Fluttershy your greatfull for that” Said Rarity. Fluttershy looked to the rest of her group and said, “What it could have gone a lot worse. And she’s being quite reasonable.” “How?” asked Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy responded with “She said she would only turn us in if she feel we are putting her friends and or family in danger. That’s pretty reasonable.” “How is that reasonable?” asked Rarity. “Rarity if it was to protect your family would you not do the same as her.” asked Fluttershy. “Of cours nooo…. Hummmm… well um I would, I guess I’d I, I, I, I, I, I, I, AAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGG!” Rarity said frustratingly. Pinkie began to slow atop of an incline on the eastern road and stopped atop of it. Rainbow came behind and slowed as well. “There’s Willow City.” Pinkie pointed to the view. Glistening in the distance stood a wonder never before seen by the foreign four. A towering imperial palace, ten times bigger and more majestic than Canterlot Castle and it sparkled, even in the twilight. “By the Princesses!” said the Foreign Four at the same time. They seemed to be ten times more stunned than when they first saw Argil. The city skyline that surrounded it formed a magical quality of master craftponyship and architecture. Tall majestic buildings, which were never seen by the foreign four, only outmatched the height of the palace but they had in no way the field of grandeur that the palace had, even if a pony-made waterfall was built into one of the buildings. And even in this city plant life seemed to flourish abundantly. Even from the distance they were from the city they could make out hanging gardens everywhere, parks and other miscellaneous plant life. Twilight noticed that a lot of the plant life in Willow City seemed to have some form of food growing on them. Twilight almost could not believe her eyes as she said, “Fascinating even after Gunther told us all about how Argil was the most magnificent place to be, I had my doubts. But now that I see Willow City, there is no longer even a shred of doubt in my mind. Even in its heyday before the great famine, Canterlot could never even come close to the majesty of Willow City.” “Yeah! Canterlot is a slum compared to Willow City.” said Rainbow Dash as she looked at it in amazement. Fluttershy simply looked at it all the plant life of Willow City with longing. “I never imagined there would be a city I would not mind living in. Look at those gardens and the all of the animals in them. Oh, how I’d love to get to know them.” Rarity seemed to be the most astonished at the sheer beauty of Willow City. She cried as she gazed longingly at its beauty, and looked at it as if she found heaven on earth. “Amazing never in my wildest dreams could I even have imagined a place like Willow City could even exist let alone be built by Earth Ponies.” “Thanks. We……… WAIT WHAT!!!!!!” shouted Pinkie. Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy just looked at them with fear. “To think of all those years I wasted wanting to live in Canterlot. Thinking even if it was slowly crumbling, it was the height of Pony culture and prosperity. I mean even if I left Equestria it would be even harder to live elsewhere. Who in Equestria would ever have believed that the Earth Ponies a race without magic or flight could ever make a place like Willow City, and who in Equestria would have thought Willow City would be the true height of pony culture and prosperity” Said Rarity. “Wait! What did you say! Never thought what? The Ponies in Equestria would never think what? How little do you four think of Earth Ponies anyway?” shouted Pinkie now looking quite angry. Fluttershy put her hoof in her mouth and started biting in a panic. Rarity just continued. “But now that I see this I now know it’s my destiny, nay! My very reason for being to open a boutique here.” “You boneheaded whippakrak!” shouted Pinkie now red in the face, “Didn’t you listen to what I said before?!” “No need to call us that!!” Rainbow Dash replied very annoyed. Twilight just put her face in her hoof and shook her head. Rarity continued to talk with a twinkle in her eyes, “Yes! That sounds very rude!!... Willow City I think here I can finally live my dream of making and selling fabulous dresses. I mean in Equestria no one can afford to spend any bits on a luxury like fashion so I never got a chance to show off my true talent. Oh the jobs I had to take to make ends meet. Cleaning houses and bathrooms! Urgh! But just look at that city surely they can afford to be fashionable!!” “You’re not allowed here!” shouted Pinkie now looking like she would blow a gasket any minute. Rainbow Dash closed her eyes, looked down and clutched her head with one hoof like she had a migraine while somehow still doing a good job flying the glider. Rarity continued. “Back in Equestria, I never had a chance to live my dream. It was always survival first and we all had to struggle just to stay alive. But here in Willow City…. No! Here in Argil, I can finally live my dream to make dresses, beautiful, beautiful dresses! Why in a year, tops, I’ll be known as the best seamstress, with the best boutique in Argil.” Pinkie rolled her eyes and plugged her ears with her hooves. The glider started to sway a bit. Twilight suddenly steeped in and said. “Please calm down Pinkie I’m sure Rarity didn’t mean to offend you.” “Huh? What did I say?” said Rarity. Pinkie just grumbled and said. “Okay were almost there, once you get off, I don’t know you.” “Wait Pinkie you have to help us please. A unicorn and a pegasus filly are there all alone with Apple Bloom. And we were headed to Willow City to bring them back to Equestria.” shouted Twilight. Pinkie’s eyes widened with shock as she heard that. “What?! Applebloom?! That changes everything! I may not trust you but even I would not leave Applebloom and two whippakrak fillies to die like that, no matter what tribe they are. And even worst leave Apple Bloom to be branded a traitor at such a young age!” Pinkie reached into a compartment in her glider and took out a pen, a map, and a pink clasp change purse with her cutie mark on it. First she marked the map, and then gave the map to Fluttershy. “This is one of my emergency maps and it has been marked to lead you to the Sweaty Stable.” “The Sweaty Stable.” repeated Rarity looking disgusted. Pinkie continued as she gave the change purse to Twilight. “And that is one of my emergency change purses and it should contain more than enough seeds to get a room at the Sweaty Stable. It’s a cheap motel in the worst district of Willow City. Just tell Moonshine that the Pinkster sent ya! ‘Party Animal’ is the password.” Rarity looked at Pinkie horrified “Is that what you call that helping, you little…” Pinkie just looked at her hard and said, “It’s a place that won’t ask questions or ask about your wardrobe. And might I add I feel I’m being quite generous paying for your room. While you’re hiding out I’ll get you some better disguises. And then we can look for the girls.” “Thank you Pinkie. We appreciate all your doing for us. Right girls?” said Twilight. “Of course we do.” said Fluttershy. “I suppose, I guess beggars can’t be choosers.” said Rarity. “I guess, but I still don’t like her attitude.” said Rainbow Dash. “I guess now I don’t have to work as hard finding them all of them disguises that they will like,” thought Pinkie to herself with a smirk. Finally they made it to the outer wall of Willow City. Just as they arrived at the entrance to the city they encountered a sight that put the Foreign Four in a state of panic, three guards approaching them. “HALT! Inspection.” said the guard. “Oh hey! It’s Pinkie Pie y’all! Welcome to Willow City! Hey… my son just bought a new glory glider card set. Do you mind signing it for him?” “Hi Meadow Song! Sure.” Pinkie pulled out her pen and signed the card set. “Ummm, why are they checking? They never checked before.” said Pinkie. “Orders from the top. We have to check all arrivals to Willow City. Now have your friends remove their hoods and give their names for the inspection.” said the lead guard. Twilight got close to Pinkie, and whispered to her. “Okay what’s the plan how are we going to sneak past the guards? Oh, I know you make a distraction with a song and dance number while we… hey where are you going!!” said Twilight in a panic as Pinkie rushed to the guards. Pinkie grabbed the lead guard, stuck her face right in his, looked him directly in the eyes and shouted. “We don’t have time for this. We have a medical emergency here. This pony is in critical condition and needs urgent medical care stat.” The guard suddenly became a very nervous as he said. “Sorry, it seems you have an emergency but orders are…” Pinkie got angry and said. “Lieutenant Archer. I am not afraid of reporting you. This pony in critical condition is Applejack. That’s right! Captain Big Mac’s little sister! I’m sure you know how much he loves his family. So unless you want to explain to him why you just stood around and let his sister’s condition get worse instead of getting her help, I suggest you let us in!!” Meadow Song rushed to the glider carrying Applejack, and got a good look at her. “By Terra!! This is the captain’s sister!” he shouted. The lead guard now identified as Archer started to panic and shouted. “Well don’t just stand their Meadow Song! Get her to the military hospital. If we don’t hurry Captain Mac will make us eat our own armor.” “What about the other four?” asked the last guard. Archer just said. “Forget our orders! Just let them in!”