//------------------------------// // Episode 3: Even the Smallest Star (Might One Day Shine Bright) // Story: Canterlot Tails Season 1: Star Power // by Sunnyside //------------------------------// One of the mail ponies on the delivery airship approached Long Tail with an envelope in his mouth. She levitated it and opened it. "As I suspected," she said. "I will need to be away for some period of time." "Away? Why?" Sunny asked. "I can't say," Long Tail said. "Which, in itself, is enough information for you to assign high probability to the likelihood that it is a secret military contract matter. So I suppose I shouldn't have said anything at all." "Oh! But, how do we contact you if something comes up with our secret matter?" "Here," Long Tail levitated a scroll to Sunny. "This spell can be cast by any unicorn, and will let you contact me, briefly." The airship docked at Canterlot. "Now, I must be going!" She galloped off. Meanwhile, Glitterdust was valiantly trying to avoid taking responsibility for six large sacks of mail. "In fifteen seconds, I need a distraction on that side of the ship," she whispered to Fizzlespark as the mailponies approached her with the sacks of mail. "Glitterdust, you're supposed to-" One of them began. "Look there! A distraction!" Glitterdust pointed with one hoof at the space between two piles of mail. Nothing was there. Dammit Fizzlespark. Something rose into the air from behind the empty airship, Glitterdust's hopes rose, but were quickly dashed as she stared into the eyes of her boss, Ditzy. Well, she stared into one eye at a time, anyway. The mailponies buried Glitterdust up to her mane in the six sacks of mail, then turned to Sugar Scoop and Sunnyside, who were chatting nearby. Sunny had mail! "Oh, a note from my cousins in France. I think I'll head to the tower and read it in peace and quiet. Care to come, Sugar?" "I've got writing to do! Catch you later, Sunny." With that, the Pegasi flew back to the city. When Glitterdust surfaced, she was alone, with only six huge sacks of mail for company. *** After a grueling morning delivering mail, Glitterdust reported back to the post office mailroom, where a mountain of mail waited to be delivered. As she walked in, she heard Peaches and Cream, two pegasi, speaking in hushed tones. She picked out two words: "conspiracy" and "stars." The pegasi left – without even punching out. Glitterdust looked after them, then looked at the mountain of mail. There was no time to follow them and deliver all this mail. Unless... Glitterdust snatched a couple of bags of mail in her teeth and dropped them into Peaches and Cream's bins, then followed after the pegasi. *** At the palace, Luna was surrounded by ponies of the nobility, all dressed in splendid socks, as was the latest fashion. They walked through the gardens, talking. Well, Luna wasn't talking very much. A line of guards blocked the gate leading outside, where a herd of commoners tried to get a peek at the Princess. Sunnyside was young, but would one day be important enough that he was able to get into the inner circle, at least briefly. He noticed General Gemesis striding toward Luna with extreme confidence, regarding her almost as an inferior. "Princess," Sunny began, before the General could speak. "What do you think of the skirmishes with Griffindor?" "Well," she said, eyes downcast. "What do you think?" She looked up and seemingly realized that Sunny was a new arrival, not one of the overbearing ponies trying to push her this way and that. "And how are the Egg family hatcheries?" Sunny was surprised. "Er... The hatcheries are producing nicely, but eggs do have many non-military applications. It seems to me that there must be a diplomatic solution with the Griffons. There's really no good reason for us to be at each other's throats, not that I can see." The General snorted. "It is fortunate that your brother is more hard-boiled. He understands the basic strategic reality that we simply cannot permit an egg gap. At present, a strategic egg exchange between Equestria and Griffindor leads to acceptable losses. But Griffons... Griffons produce their own eggs. Monstrous things. Our projections show that, within five years, they would have an overwhelming advantage in egg power." The projections sounded like something Long Tail would compute. Or be able to refute, at least. He looked about for his friends. Red Velvet was keeping Photo Finish busy talking about socks. At the gates, he saw Sugar Scoop passing Officer Snapdragon a tall cone of soft-serve. He looked the other way as she slipped through the lines. However, she was stymied by the phalanx of nobilities who regarded her with an icy glare, then studiously ignored her. She tried her best ambush journalism, but en masse, the nobility ignored her. Except, of course, Sunnyside. "Where's Fizzlespark?" he asked. "How should I know?" "He should be here. If there is war, it's the common ponies who will suffer most. But Princess Luna is letting these courtiers insulate her from them. If Fizzlespark were here, I think she'd go and speak to him." "Well, he knows how important this is." "You're right. I'm sure he'll get here in time. You try and stall them. I'll watch for Fizzlespark and get him past the guards." "Sounds like fun." Sugar grinned and darted back to the group of courtiers, ramping her antics up. Sunny flew over to the line of guards and gazed out over the crowd, watching for Fizzlespark's distinctive purple and green colors. Gemesis and his flunkies guided the Princess over to the edge of the courtyard, shoving Sugar Scoop casually aside. Sunny glanced back and forth between the Princess and the Crowd. One of the general's burly peons sat on Sugar Scoop as Princess Luna was led through a doorway. As the door shut, Sunny frantically searched the crowd. The door shut with a thud, and Sunny slumped over a crenelation on the castle wall, resting his chin on his hooves and sighing into his white-and-gold socks. "Fizzlespark... where are you?" *** Sugar found Sunny on the wall. "There's another way into the area where they took Luna," she said. "But we'll need a mail delivery pass to get in there. We'd better find Glitterdust." "Maybe her boss knows where she is." Sugar and Sunny flew to the post office and found supervisor Ditzy Doo. "We're looking for Glitterdust," Sugar said, getting right to the point." "Derp. Half price at Chic Boutique." "Chic Boutique, eh?" "Derp. Or the scroll shop. Level 2. Conjuration. No Save." "Chic Boutique or the scroll shop, okay. Are those the only places?" Ditzy hesitated. "Please, Ms. Doo," Sunny put in. "It's very important that we find Glitterdust." Whisper: "Alley behind the Prancing Pony. Uncut. Derp!" "Oooookay!" Sugar said, dubiously. "Thanks," said Sunny. Ditzy chomped joyfully on a muffin as Sunny and Sugar galloped out. "The Boutique first," Sunny said. Sugar looked at him curiously. "I'm almost out of my imported shampoo," he explained. They arrived at the boutique short of breath and scanned the shop. "Aha!" Sunny declared. Sugar perked up, only to see him pointing to a bottle of French shampoo. "Just put it on my account and deliver it to Egg Manor, won't you?" "Very good, monsieur," the shopkeep responded. "But no sign of Glitterdust," Sunny said. "I wasn't sure you'd noticed," Sugar responded wryly. "Gleettehrdust, eez eet?" the shopkeeper asked. "We do 'ave zee dust. For you, 'alf price." He gestured to a shelf bearing a variety of tins. "'Glitterdust,'" Sugar read. "'A delightful sight to light up your night'?" "Ooh, a glowing cosmetic powder? I'll take a tin." "Sunny!" "Look, when the Sun goes down, I lose my pizazz. I'm just no good at moonlight!" "Whatever. We've wasted enough time here. Let's try the scroll shop." "Okay," Sunny agreed. The pegasi trotted out of the shop, passing Peaches and Cream on the way. As they departed, Glitterdust arrived outside the shop, hot on the trail of Peaches and Cream. *** Sugar and Sunny landed at the scroll shop, the downdraft from their wings sending papers flying. The wizened unicorn mare behind the counter flailed with her horn and her hooves. "Glitterdust!" Sugar shouted. "Is she here?" "Oooooh yes," the unicorn crooned. "Heh heh." "Well?" A scroll tipped off of a shelf, landing on Sugar's snout. A small quantity of glitter spilled out. Sugar's nostrils flared, and her eyes crossed. "Looks like another dead en-" Sunny began. Sugar inhaled sharply. "Sugar? Are you-" "Ah-CHOOOO!" Sunny flailed and tumbled backwards. Sugar wiped her nose with one hoof and shook her head before glaring at the unicorn. "Never mind. Let's go, Sunny." Sunny extricated himself from the pile of scrolls and the two launched out of the scroll shop window. Peaches and Cream landed outside and walked in. "Hey," Sugar said. "Weren't those two pegasi at the Chic Boutique?" Sunny looked. "Yeah, and I see what you're getting at – their cosmetics look like they came from a chain store!" "Er, right." "Well, that's suspicious and all, but we can't get distracted. We need to find Glitterdust." "Fine, let's go." They launched and vanished into the night sky. Glitterdust crept up to the scroll shop and peered in, keeping her eye on Peaches and Cream. *** In a dark alley behind the Prancing Pony, a dark pony waited in a trenchcoat. He beckoned to Sunny and Sugar, who were standing at the end of the alley, and grinned slyly. The pegasi shared a dubious look, then shook their heads. They started to turn away, then did a double-take. Glitterdust was just galloping past the other end of the alley. They took flight after her. *** Peaches and Cream had enjoyed a quick steam at the Chic Boutique's spa – during which they had steamed open a secret letter – written in code. They stopped at the school shop for a quick deciphering spell. As the words became readable, they shared a look of horror. "They have Princess Luna already! We have to get to the hedge maze!" Peaches cried. Glitterdust, listening in, resolved to get there first. She galloped off at top speed, stopping only to deliver mail at the mailboxes along the street. At one such stop, Sunnyside and Sugar Scoop caught up. She filled them in on the way to the hedgemaze. Sunny thought it was possible that Peaches and Cream were trying to investigate, and weren't part of the conspiracy at all. Glitterdust, knowing the two postal pegasi to be self-centered social climbers, didn't think it was likely they were doing anything out of altruism. If only Long Tail were there, she could tell them the likelihood of each possibility. They came upon Fizzlespark, fiddling with an unidentifiable contraption near the hedge maze. Fizzlespark could contact Long Tail, he had the magic scroll she had provided. "Magic, schmagic." He was not impressed at the suggestion. "There are much better ways to get a message to her." "'Better'? Or..." Sugar was dubious. "Behold!" Fizzlespark reared on his hind legs and held aloft a bird strapped to a long tube... with a fuse. "My rocket propelled homing pigeon." The unicorn quickly jotted down the group's question, lit the fuse, and tossed the pigeon into the air. With a burst of sparks and a trail of black smoke, it rapidly made its exit. "The poor bird," Sunny observed. "How does it find Long Tail?" Sugar asked. "The pigeon knows," Fizzlespark responded smugly. "Okay... but how does the pigeon steer the rocket?" "Ah. Well. That feature will be included in Version 2." Glitterdust put one hoof to her forehead and sighed. But Fizzlespark wasn't ready to give up. "Just to be sure, I'll send a rocket propelled messenger tortoise, too. Just a moment..." Sunny changed the topic. "In the meantime, if Peaches and Cream have something to do with this conspiracy, they'll probably the heading to that trap door in the maze." Sunny and Sugar flew overhead and guided the others to the door. Sugar was jumping up and down on the panel, trying to get it to open. Glitterdust walked into the intersection. "Let me he-" The ground gave way under her hooves and she slid face-first down the chute. "-eeeeeeeelp!" Sugar and Sunny flew down after her. Fizzlespark finished strapping a rocket and a pigeon onto his messenger tortoise, gave the pigeon a tiny pole to hang onto, and tied a carrot onto the end. The pigeon looked around, picked a direction, and steered the tortoise using the dangling vegetable. Fizzlespark nodded, ignited the rocket, and the tortoise shot straight through the hedges, unerringly seeking Long Tail. Down below, Glitterdust, Sugar, and Sunny found themselves back in the Star Chamber. A light was emanating from one side passage, and they headed that way. Their progress was quickly blocked by a sleeping dragon. It was one of the ones they had faced before, and it was now wearing Sugar Scoop's hat, which she had dropped in the escape. Fizzlespark caught up, and the group crept past together. Sugar waited until the others had passed, then pulled out a hat of folded newspaper. She carefully, tensely placed the hat on the dragon's head next to her own hat, then snatched up her prized hat before the dragon noticed the change in weight. The dragon snorted, and Sugar remained stock still. It settled down, she flipped the hat onto her own head in triumph, and started walking away. Just then, a hissing noise rapidly approached and the rocket-powered pigeon collided with the dragon's flank, causing it to awaken with a roar that shook lose stone from the walls. Sugar galloped off after the others, a wall of flame close behind. The four ponies scrambled through the tunnels with the dragon hot on their hooves – and gaining. Sunny shouted to the others. "Find the Princess! I'll lead the dragon off." He turned and tossed an egg to the dragon, who crunched it and gobbled it up. "There's more where that came from." Sunny dodged a burst of fire and flew off down a side passage, with the dragon in pursuit. The others caught their breath for a minutes and proceeded through the tunnels after some searching, they came to an elaborately decorated door bearing the arcane sigil of Starswirl the Bearded. "This looks like the place," Glitterdust observed. A high-pitched voice spoke from another passage leading into the area. "What was your first clue, Glitter-Clutz?" Glitterdust scowled. "Peaches." She turned to face the newcomers, and was surprised to see Sunnyside walking between the two fillies. Sunny noticed the surprise. "After I lost the dragon in the hedgemaze, I ran into these two. We were heading the same way, and they seemed to know where they were going, so..." "The dragon's loose in the hedgemaze?" Sugar asked. "Er. Do you think it's smart enough to get out?" *** Flames engulfed the castle and surrounding buildings. The screams of children were heard from all around. One enormous, scaled claw cracked off the tallest castle spire. Then the camera zoomed out. The dragon had burned a path out of the hedge maze and found children playing with a dollhouse castle. Its godzilla instincts had kicked in, but the children had safely galloped away. *** "Nah, I'm sure it's fine," Sugar said. Just then, a tortoise arrived with a note from Long Tail, bumping into Sugar's hoof. Seventy percent chance they really are trying to save Luna, for personal fame. Fizzlespark mumbled to himself. "The tortoise needs to be faster... maybe a propeller?" Sugar read the note and shrugged, then returned to the task at hand and got her camera ready. "Let's go." Peaches and Cream shoved Sunny out of the way and charged toward the front. "Us first!" "You're not taking the credit for this rescue!" A few collisions between ponies and doors later, the rescuers made their dramatic entrance, mostly lying in a pile behind the stunned Glitterdust, who had been nearest the door in the first place and found herself shoved to the fore, sitting on her rump. Princess Luna was trapped in a magical circle of sparkling energy. Photo Finish stood outside with her lackeys and cameras. All of them stared uncomprehendingly at Glitterdust, who swallowed hard. "Um..." she began. The ponies behind her started to get their act together. Sunny flew in and posed behind her, hooves on his hips and golden feathers resplendent. Fizzlespark rose and nodded reassuringly at the Princess. Peaches and Cream tried to move to the front, but made the mistake of getting in the way of Sugar's shot, and were themselves bumped off to the side as Sugar sprang to her hooves, camera at the ready. "Vat ist hahppening?" Photo Finish cocked her head. Glitterdust rose to stand on all fours. The camera zoomed in on her face. The soundtrack went silent. "... We're rescuing the princess?" The other ponies clamored their support behind a crescendo of dramatic soundtrack music. "That's right!" "Especially us, Peaches and Cream!" "I'm here for you, Princess." "Everypony will know of your scheme!" "She ist yours," Photo Finish said, grinning. "If you kan reach her." The sparks around Luna flared and she was engulfed in darkness. Photo Finish turned to Sugar Scoop. "But no pictures of mein self. I belong on ze other side of ze kamera." "Not this time, Photo Finish," Sugar replied. "You're exposed!" As the bulb flashed, Photo Finish pulled a backdrop between her and the camera. Only the tip of a blue hoof could be seen. She reappeared behind her own camera. "Who ist to say, was not ze notorious Feezlespahk making ze black magicks." Photo Finish's bulb flared, and her camera spat out a photograph of Fizzlespark standing over the magic circle, his horn aglow. He was speaking to Glitterdust, and pointing one hoof towards the magic circle. In the light of the flashbulb, Luna could be seen, watching the two ponies with concern. "Dammit Fizzlespark," Sugar shouted, pointing one hoof at Fizzlespark. "Stop looking so suspicious!" "Und ze mastermind," Photo Finish narrated. "Fraulein Scüp, ze outkast, directing ze konspirators." She snapped another shot, but a golden blur entered the frame at the last minute. The picture came out awash in white, unrecognizeable. "Vat?" Photo looked back at the scene, and the reflective pegasus Sunnyside stood on his hind legs with wings outstretched. He dropped to all fours. "You can't dress this up in a fabric of lies and expect people to buy it!" He declared. "Just vatch me! Ist vat I dü." The fashion pony backed into the shadows. Her flunkies brought her replacement bulbs for her camera. "Sunny," Sugar said. "I need better lighting, and I need to get Luna in the background. Cover me. I'm heading for that pillar." Sugar galloped from cover to cover as flashbulbs flared. She hoped Sunny could cover here if she found herself caught in the open. Meanwhile, Glitterdust steeled herself to enter the ritual circle. Luna had been looking to Fizzlespark for help, but now seemed wracked by pain, and was no longer watching them. And Fizzlespark couldn't help her – the circle would take him. As an Earth Pony, it should have no effect on Glitterdust, though. She stepped through the dark curtain. As Glitterdust dragged the kicking Princess from the circle, Photo Finish noticed. Sugar Scoop had evidently been chased off by her fiendishness, so she turned her attention to the new threat. "Do not. Deesturb. Ze magicks!" She charged, goggles gleaming murderously, and Sugar Scoop leapt from hiding. "Now, Sunny!" The golden pegasus spread his wings once more – this time at an angle to the flash, to provide lighting for Sugar's perfect shot: Photo Finish delivering a painful blow to Glitterdust's kidney as the Earth Pony dragged Luna from the darkness. Glitterdust staggered, and Fizzlespark pulled Luna the rest of the way out, with the help of his mechanical dragon Spring, how had also entered the darkness. "We knew thou wouldst save us," Luna said weakly. Glitterdust clutched her side in the background as Fizzlespark grinned back at Luna. "Vere? How?" Photo Finish looked around for Sugar. The reporter pony popped up next to her. "They don't call it ambush journalism for nothing!" she gloated. "I can see the headline now: Photo FINISHED!" Sugar Scoop turned, swishing her tail in Photo's face. "Well, I'll catch up with you all later, I've got to get this to print, pronto!" Sunny grabbed her tail with his teeth. "Ftop. Iff we pubbif it, vey'll know we know. We fhould at leafk afk fome queftionf firfth." "Fine." The ponies interrogated Photo Finish, using the threat of exposure as leverage. They decided to hold onto the incriminating evidence. But what to do with Photo Finish now. What to tell everypony?" Princess Luna had recovered, though her coat was darker, and her mane sparkled. "We shall imprison her. We see no need to explain this action to anypony. We are one of the Royal Pony Sisters, after all. Besides, we may have a use for this one. Dost thou recall the six ponies from Ponyville? The wielders of the Elements of Harmony? If this one will use her abilities to investigate them and report back, perhaps she should be spared." Luna's horn flared with magic and Photo Finish disappeared. "Your Highness," Sunny said. "There is one other thing we should mention, about this conspiracy. We overheard some ponies talking and it sounded as if their intention was to target... your sister." Luna looked shocked. The camera flew out of the tunnels, up to Celestia's tower, where she was lowering the Sun. There was dramatic music and then... darkness. *** *theme music and credits*