“So what’s Ponyville like?” asked Max over the clatter of the train as it ate up the miles between Canterlot and Ponyville. He and Fragrant were on their way to the town to spend some time with her niece Fluttering. Max was quite looking forwards to the trip, he hadn’t had that much time away from the capital recently. It would be good to spend some time with the local ponies and see a bit more of Equestria.
“Hum?” hummed Fragrant as she turned away from watching the trees flash past though the window. “I have not actually spent that much time there in the past. I normally try to keep my visits to Fluttering low key. Usually I take my chariot and land near her house. Unfortunately, its enchantments need to be renewed at the moment. It’s very poor timing but Forming did use it quite a bit over the summer and it’s better to be safe than sorry.” She shook her head for a moment in annoyance. “Anyway, the town seems nice enough. It used to be out of the way but it’s gained a bit more interest since the events of the last year. There’s quite a lot of building work going on after the riot.” She glanced down and picked at her dress a little nervously. “It’s still quite a small place, lots of farmland, I believe there is an Apple Trust orchard there.”
“Sounds nice,” said Max. “It’s good to get out of Canterlot. The place is huge and I’ve probably seen less than a tenth of it, but it’s nice to get out into the countryside.”
Fragrant nodded. “Yes, although there are some dangers. The town is rather close to the Everfree Forest. After all, that’s what the province is named after.”
“Is it as bad as I’ve heard?” asked Max peering out the window. He almost expected to see the dark forbidding forest rising in the distance, but all that was present were rolling hills and a meandering river. “I’m surprised there are any settlements close to a place where so many monsters live.”
“Says the noble whose lands include a dragon!” Fragrant raised an eyebrow. “You did report its presence to the military like I asked you? They must have a procedure in place to keep ponies safe from such creatures.”
“She’s called Vorel’aurix-levethuix Maekrix-book-rasvim,” said Max with a little difficulty, “and she doesn’t seem to be causing any harm. According to Piste, a few ponies have visited her and she didn’t eat any of them. Plus the lands around her mountain are very fertile now that they aren't covered in smoke all the time. A few homesteaders have moved in to take advantage of them and she hasn’t given them any problems. Captain Wyrm Slayer said his people would keep an eye on the situation, but they didn’t think they’d need to do anything at the moment.”
“Yes, well, I don’t think the Everfree is quite as bad as others say. There have been a few problems now and then.” She winced a little. “Well maybe a little more often than that,” her ears drooped a little. “There was an incursion only a few weeks ago actually, but the locals seem to be used to it.”
“Hardy folk then! Just like us in Nulpar!” exclaimed Max with a grin.
Fragrant rolled her eyes. “Maybe not quite that barbarous,” she said dryly. “They have rail and I think telegraph. You’d probably fit in, but there are not all that many mountains, though. It’s largely flat land with some woods.”
“Whose province is North Everfree?” asked Max. It was a bit of a surprise to him how easily the thought came to him mind. He hadn’t used to think about who owned each part of Equestria. Maybe he was becoming something like a proper courtier.
“Nopony. North Everfree is somewhat unique, as it was formed as a conglomeration of land grants which have since coalesced into a province. It’s never had a noble appointed to it by the Princess. I think she might be keeping it as a reward for a noble in the future.”
“That can happen?” asked Max. “You can have a province without a noble?”
“It’s not all that common, but yes, it happens sometimes. Why Baron Max, it is almost like you are actually interested in politics!” She smiled.
“Who, me?” exclaimed Max, “You must be thinking of somepony else.” He glanced out of the window and saw a few ponies working the fields stand to see the train go past. One waved a hoof and he had to resist the urge to wave back. “I think we’re almost there. Are you sure about this?”
“Yes, I’m sure Fluttering will be alright with you visiting, but it’s probably best if I give her some time to prepare for you. I’ll head straight to her cottage once we reach Ponyville. If you could amuse yourself for, say, two hours before you follow me, that would be best. Please try not to be too put out if Fluttering doesn’t say all that much. She can be very shy.”
Max nodded. Fragrant had been a little vague as to exactly what had happened to her niece, but from what he understood she had some sort of break down and had moved to Ponyville to convalesce. Fragrant seemed to feel guilty for her niece’s condition, although Max was sure there was nothing she could have done about it. Sometimes things like that just happened. The important part was that she cared for her family and Max wanted to meet all of that family. After all, one day, he secretly hoped they might be his family as well. Of course that meant that Fragrant would have to formally meet his mother at some point, or maybe even House Martin as well, though that thought left a bad taste in his mouth. His mother’s last letter to him had continued to rave about her relationship with the doctor but it still didn’t feel right to him. He shook himself. That was a problem for another day. “I’m sure things will be fine," he said, hoping that by saying the words, the result would naturally follow.
“I hope so,” said Fragrant leaning against Max. “Have I mentioned her pets?”
“There are a lot of them, some of them quite exotic,” said Max. “Don’t worry. I’m normally quite good with animals.”
“You might be surprised,” muttered Fragrant, “I just want you to know what you’re getting yourself into.”
Max rested a leg across Fragrant’s back and felt the tension there. “Don’t worry, I’m sure me and Fluttering will get along famously.”
“I really do hope so.”
With a shudder, the train came to a stop and around the couple, ponies started to get up from their seats and grabbed for their luggage. Following the crowd, Max and Fragrant alighted and stood on the small station’s platform. Max took the opportunity to stretch his legs a bit after being constricted in the train for the last few hours.
“Now, are you sure of the way to Fluttering’s cottage?” asked Fragrant.
“Yes, I have your map,” said Max waving the piece of paper.
“Good,” said Fragrant glancing around the platform for a moment before quickly nuzzling against Max. “I’ll see you in a bit. I should have Fluttering ready by then.”
“I’m sure I can find something to do with myself for that time,” replied Max.
With a nod Fragrant spread her wings and with a few flaps jumped into the air and circled for a moment before setting off towards her niece’s dwelling. Max enjoyed his marefriend’s form for a moment as she flew off into the distance before dropping his gaze back to the ground.
Time to do some exploring.
Emerging from the train station Max quickly found his way to the main street. The ponies of Ponyville certainly seemed friendly enough, several nodded to him or wished him a good day as he passed. In a way Fragrant had been right, the town was quite similar to Sadlzberg, larger but not by all that much. Maybe Sadlzberg would be like this in a decade or so, a more modern town: not only did Ponyville have a railway but some of the buildings seemed to have gas lighting as well. He gazed into various shop windows as he passed, the selection of goods was a little wider than at home as well, and the construction of the buildings a bit more eccentric, the idea of a cake shop shaped like a cake had never occurred to him before, and a library in a tree! He shook his head, not something they’d thought of in Nulpar; Conn probably preferred his more normally shaped house.
Glancing around the street, his wandering eyes caught on a fantastic quartet of legs, with a fairly attractive white mare perched on top of them. He felt a little guilty for a moment, checking out this mare while he was with Fragrant; he was loyal to her, but he wasn’t blind. He’d always liked his women with long supple legs, Fragrant was a case to point but this mare had her beaten. He frowned, the mare did look rather familiar, her pink and white mane was mostly covered by a plain brown cloak from which a long horn emerged. He was certain he’d seen her somewhere before...
“Fleur-de-Lis!” he called, suddenly working out who she was, “Funny to see you here!”
The mare in question jumped a little at hearing her name being called and swung around, her horn glowing and her limbs arranged in what almost looked like a fighting pose. She relaxed after a moment. “Baron Max!” she exclaimed in Prench accented Equestrian.
“Fleur,” said Max trotting over to her. He actually didn’t know all that much about the mare, he remembered she was Fancy Pants’ wife and that she and her husband were quite friendly with Fragrant, but apart from seeing them a few times at parties and around court he didn’t actually know all that much about them. They seemed nice enough, a little dim maybe but quite generous. “What are you doing here?”
The normally icy mare looked rather panicked for a moment. “I am... I am here on family business,” she admitted fiddling with a letter she held in her aura before tucking it away in her stylish saddlebags. “What brings you here, Max?” she asked.
“Oh, just visiting, you know. This place is not far from Canterlot and what with the element bearers living here and all I thought I’d see what the place was like,” he said, quickly trying to come up with a cover story to explain himself.
Fleur frowned. “You know that the Princess has warned the court away from interfering with the bearers.”
“Well, I wasn’t going to impose. I, I just wanted to look around. Ponyville seems a very nice place.”
“Yes, it is a very sweet town, rather eccentric in its own way, but the locals are very friendly.”
“Yes, well, I suppose they are.” The two of them stood there awkwardly for a minute or so, their well of conversation seemingly run dry. “Well I better, um, leave you to your business, then,” said Max.
“And you to yours. Oh, if you happen to see Duchess Posey soon,” her eyes glimmered with humour for a moment, “Remind her of mine and Fancy’s charity auction next week. We are still awaiting her RSVP, if you happen to bump into her of course.”
“Oh, um right. Yes, if I see her I’ll mention it,” said Max hurriedly turning away.
“Actually, Baron Max,” said Fleur again in a rather more serious tone, “could I ask you another favour, s'il vous plait?” Max turned back, she once again had the letter in her aura and was turning it around and around in the air. “Could you... could you please deliver this for me?”
“Deliver? To Fragrant?” asked Max in surprise.
“No, to... to Fancy’s daughter.”
“I didn’t know you had any children!”
“We do not, yet,” said Fleur looking a little flustered, “Vinyl is Fancy’s daughter by his first marriage. Her mother died several years ago. The two of us, we do not get along, I think she thinks I am not good enough for her father, that I am a... as they say a gold digger.” She blushed. “Her father has tried to connect with her but I fear that I may have damaged their relationship. It is Fancy’s birthday in a few months, a rather significant age and I was planning to organise a surprise party for him. I know it would mean the world to him if Vinyl was to come.” She shuffled nervously, clutching the letter closer to herself. “I had meant to deliver her invitation in person, but I think that would make it all the more likely she would just destroy it without reading it. If somepony... neutral in this matter were to deliver it, then maybe she would at least consider it, for her father's sake if not my own...”
Max bit his lip, he really wanted to help. It was a shame to see a family torn apart in this way, but did he really want to get involved? It might be better if Fleur did deliver the letter herself, it might help the relationship between her and her stepdaughter. “Well, I don’t know...” he stuttered.
“Please!” she pleaded looking down at him with large purple eyes. “I would owe you such a favour!”
Max felt his will waver, he could never say no to a pleading mare. “Oh very well,” he finally mentioned.
“Thank you!” she exclaimed handing the letter over to him before leaning down and giving him a peck on the cheek. It would probably not be a great idea to tell Fragrant about that, he thought. “She’s called Vinyl Scratch. She doesn’t live all that far from here, just take that turning there,” she pointed across the street, “then down for about a block, well the closest to a block this town has, turn right then go straight on, she lives above a music shop.” Max nodded, trying to memorise her directions.
“I think I’ve got it.”
“Thank you again. I should be going, I’ll see you back in Canterlot.” She turned to go. “Even if Vinyl doesn’t accept, thank you for trying,” she said as she trotted off.
Max shook his head, he really shouldn’t get himself involved in things like this but he supposed it was a good cause, he didn’t like to see families fall apart like this. Still, he hoped it wouldn’t take all that long, he didn’t want to be late for his meeting with Fluttering. Turning back, he headed off down the road that Fleur had indicated.
He had barely gone more than a few body lengths before he heard his name being called again. “Hey it’s Max!” came a screech from down the road. He turned and saw an orange coated pegasus filly hurtling down the road towards him on a scooter, her wings a blur. Galloping after her was a small herd of other foals of various tribes and shades.
“Scootaloo?” asked Max as he recognised the filly from a school trip to Canterlot several months ago. She skidded to a halt next to him, her scooter throwing up a spray of gravel.
“Hey Max, what are you doing in town? Are you going to go climbing?” she asked without pausing for breath, “Can I come with you? Can I? Please!”
“Woah, slow down,” said Max resting a hoof on the excited filly’s head to stop her bouncing up and down. “Sorry Scootaloo, I’m just visiting at the moment, I’m not planning to go climbing.”
“Aww!” cried the filly, echoed by some of her companions. “Can you at least play with us? Like you did at the gala? When that monster thing galloped past and all the adults stampeded and you grabbed me and Miss Duchess pulled us into the air and...”
Max tuned out the fillies’ nattering for a moment, it would be fun to play with them for a bit but he was on a mission, two really, and he didn’t want to get delayed. “I’m sorry Scootaloo but I’m in a hurry at the moment. I might have some free time later.” Maybe after he’d seen Fluttering him and Fragrant could play with the foals before they had to catch their train.
“But I wanted to show you what I can do with my scooter!” complained the pegasus, “And go climbing, I’ve been practicing!”
“Sorry Scootaloo, maybe later.” He paused for a moment. “You are staying safe?” he asked noting the helmet and knee pads the filly was wearing.
“Of course,” she said with an exasperated sigh, “I don’t want to get hurt and have to miss any fun!”
“Good,” he said with a smile, “I would like to see what you can do. Maybe you could write to me in Canterlot about how things are going? I might be able to visit later,” he suggested.
“Sure,” said the filly with a nod. “Oh, hey, do you at least want your hat back?”
“My hat?” he asked surprised.
“Yeah, Truffle kept it after the gala,” she explained pointing to a plump grey coated colt who was shuffling away nervously.
“Don’t send me to jail baron,” he pleaded, “I just meant to borrow it! Then everypony was running around and I just forgot about it, I didn’t mean to keep it!”
Max frowned, then he remembered he’d lost the hat that went with his red suit at the gala. He’d thought it had gotten destroyed in the chaos. “That’s alright lad,” he said kindly, “you can keep it if you want.”
“No,” mumbled the colt looking down at the ground, “it doesn’t fit me anyway.”
“Well it might in a few years, but I’ll certainly take it back if you want.” It did tie the suit together, and it was hard to get a hat that fit his ears just right.
Nodding, Truffle looked back up at the baron and smiled. “It’s at home,” he explained and set off through the streets with Max and the foals trotting along behind.
“What have you done since the gala?” asked Scootaloo pushing her scooter alongside the group. “Anything awesome?”
“I went home to my province,” said Max, “it’s right at the top of Equestria, and I went on a long trip all through my lands, I climbed some mountains, got caught in a landslide and found a dragon’s lair!”
“A dragon!” exclaimed the foals around him, their ears pricking up.
Max grinned, he thought that might peak their interest. “Yes! You see, I climbed down into a mountain and found this steaming lake full with what I thought were golden boulders...”
Max carefully adjusted the brim of his hat, it still fit, Truffle had been taking good care of it. It had taken a while, and a few stories, before he could get away from the foals but now he was back on his quest. The only problem was that he wasn’t entirely sure where he was anymore, let alone where Vinyl’s house was. He guessed he’d probably have to ask a local. Looking around he thought that the sweet shop across the road looked like a good place to start, he might even pick up a snack while he was at it. He just about had time to do a little shopping, deliver the letter and still get to Fluttering’s cottage at the expected time, as long as he didn’t have any more interruptions.
“Hey dude!” came a cry from one side, “Can you give a mare a hoof?”
Max turned to see a young white coated unicorn struggling to carry a large, and rather worn out sofa in her aura. She was obviously having some difficulty, sweat plastered her two tone blue mane down and she was panting with the effort of moving the thing. Oversized blue tinted glasses covered much of her face and hid her eyes. He rushed over and positioned himself under one side before it tumbled over. The unicorn’s aura flickered and the item of furniture dropped onto him, almost causing his legs to buckle. “This thing is heavy!” he gasped.
“Yeah! Good solid workmareship,” said his companion trying to get another grasp on it. Now that Max had a moment to examine the sofa he had to admit it was rather striking, if not in a good way. It was upholstered with an eye watering yellow, green and pink plaid material. It stunk of what he decided was probably cat based on the gouges in the side. “Can you believe that somepony just threw this thing out?”
“Did somepony say you could have this?” he asked, trying to position himself to stop the sofa from falling again.
“Whoever had this thing just threw it out on the street! I don’t think they’ll miss it!” came the cheerful reply. “Can you help me get this thing home?” she asked, “If I leave it lying about somepony else will nab it!”
“Is it far?” asked Max with a grunt.
“Nah! Just a few blocks!” Max felt the thing shudder as it was covered by a blue sparkling aura and the weight on his back reduced for a moment before it crashed down again against his neck.
“Woah!” cried Max as he felt the sofa start to roll off of him; he grunted and tried to reposition himself, taking a few painful hoofsteps to keep himself under the thing.
“That’s the spirit,” called the mare from the other side of the behemoth, “This way!”
“Ok, just a little bit to the left... a bit right... that’s perfect!” cried the unicorn as Max let the sofa drop to the ground. It had probably taken the best part of half an hour for the two of them to drag the thing through the streets of Ponyville and to her house. Unfortunately the mare lived on a second floor above some sort of shop and they’d been forced to try and manoeuvre the thing up the stairs as well. Max could have sworn it wouldn’t fit but eventually they’d managed to figure out the angles and shoved the thing into her apartment before dropping it into place in the Livingroom. Max sagged back onto the floor gasping for breath. “Nice work dude!” called his companion equally out of breath.
Picking himself up Max glanced around the room, the rest of the furniture was just as eclectic and damaged as the sofa, even the walls were each painted a different colour. One was covered in posters for musical groups Max had never heard of, another contained photographs and cuttings from newspapers with string connecting them in a complex web.
“Thanks for the hoof!” called the unicorn from another room, “would you like a cider?”
“Love one, but I’m short on time, I’ve got to go,” called Max still trying to take in the room he found himself in, here and there were piles of magical and technological equipment seemingly dumped at random.
“You haven't been talking to Rarity have you? I really don’t drag strange stallions in off the streets to ravage, well not often anyway,” she stuck her head around the door sipping something from a can. “Besides, no offence, but you’re waaaaay too old for me.”
Max sighed, he was rather thirsty and by the time he found Fancy Pants’ daughter he’d probably be late anyway. “Just a water then.”
“Huh, water,” she said as if it was some exotic substance, “I think I’ve got some somewhere.” She ducked her head back out of the room.
Continuing his examination of the room he noticed a photograph set in a small frame sitting on a side table, it was one of the few places clear of general detritus. It showed a filly, presumably the house's owner, several years ago judging by her age. She was clinging to the mane of a short light grey unicorn mare with a long light blue mane and tail and huge pink eyes. Leaning up against the mare stood a grinning white stallion with a darker blue mane and moustache. All three wore stylish clothes. Max blinked, the stallion was Fancy Pants, a few years younger but clearly the courtier. That must mean...
“Are you Vinyl Scratch?” he called just as the mare wandered back into the room holding a rather grubby glass of water in her aura.
“The one and only!” she said with a smile, “You a fan? I never did ask your name.”
“It’s Mounty Max, Baron Mounty Max, I was sent to talk to you.”
The mare’s reaction was swift and surprising. “I knew they’d send something eventually!” she cried as she threw the water at Max. He gasped and spluttered as it splashed over his face. Blinded, he staggered back into a pile of cables and crystals and almost toppled to the ground. Before he could recover he felt himself being lifted into the air by the unicorn’s aura and slammed into the nearest wall.
“Huh! W-what!” stuttered Max trying to regain his bearings.
“Now let’s see what you really look like!” snarled Vinyl. Her horn pulsed and her glasses glowed for a moment, then she paused. “Huh! Not one of them then, I should have known by the tail! You must be one of their thralls then, probably hit by their stupidity ray!”
“Stupidity ray? What are you talking about! What’s wrong with my tail!” exclaimed Max.
“Well Duh! Everypony knows that the bug ponies can’t disguise the creepy tail antenna things they use to communicate, so they have to wear false tails! Yours is far too short to hide an antenna! Wow, they must have double dosed you with the stupidity ray!” Her horn shut down and Max felt the pressure drop from him.
Max blinked, obviously he’d walked into the house of a crazy pony. He hoped the whole town wasn’t filled with ponies like her, although to be honest Scootaloo was a little overenthusiastic and Fluttering had had a breakdown, so maybe Ponyville was some sort of asylum. He shook his head to try and clear it, now he was thinking crazy thoughts. “I don’t know anything about bug ponies or stupidity rays, I’m just here to give you a message.”
“You’re a member of the night court right? You’d know about the bug ponies that have infiltrated it, they zap the other courtiers with stupidity rays to make them keep making stupid decisions, like my dad.”
Well that would explain a few things, though Max, and now that he came to think about it most of the court did wear their tails rather long, they’d get in the way of any real physical work... Nope, he wasn’t going to follow down that path, that would result in seeing bug ponies everywhere. “You are Vinyl Scratch right? Fancy Pants’ daughter?”
“Yeah, look sorry about throwing you about, did Dad send you to check on me? I can get you another water if you want,” she picked up the glass from where it had fallen and started to trot back into the kitchen as if nothing had happened.
“No it wasn’t your father, it’s your step mother. She asked me to give you...”
There was a crash from the other room. “That vapid empty headed buggy bimbo is not my mother!” roared Vinyl. “And I don’t want anything from her!”
Max winced, he probably should have recognised that Fleur might be one of Vinyl’s triggers given what the elder mare had said about Vinyl and how unstable she seemed to be. “I know Fleur isn’t your mother, but she just wants to give you an invitation to your father’s birthday party.”
Vinyl stamped back into the room and slammed a glass of water down onto the table, spilling most of the contents. She slumped down onto the new sofa and curled up into an angry ball, her pouting head sticking up out of the cushions. “Yeah, like I want to go to a party where dad acts like a moron all the time! ‘Oh have you heard the latest fashion news, stripes are in again, I’ll just have to change my entire wardrobe don’t you know’” she tittered in a passable copy of her father's accent. “I hate it! Why can’t he act how he used to? he’s a smart stallion, he wanted to make things better.”
Max cautiously sat down next to Vinyl and found himself sinking into the sofa cushions. He struggled to stop from getting entirely sucked in, but once he positioned himself properly it was surprisingly comfortable. “Your father does a lot of good at court, he helps a lot of charities, the Princess herself takes his advice very seriously.”
“Yeah, well he could do so much more! Make a real change to Equestria, he gave up so much! Stupid stupidity ray, stupid bug ponies! It’s all that Fleur’s fault, she saw dad was lonely and swooped in on him! She’s probably the bug queen, she sucked dad’s brain out through his horn!”
Max tried to force down a chuckle at that double entendre. Fancy Pants could seem a little vapid sometimes but Max couldn’t help but think Vinyl might not be giving her father enough credit, the Princess didn’t listen to just anypony. “Look, have you talked to your father recently?”
“I tried right, but he was all, ‘I’ll tell you later’, ‘I have secrets to keep’, ‘I have a duty’, ‘could you be nicer to Fleur?’” she growled, “Mom had only been... been gone a few years when she turned up, he never would have even looked at her if he hadn’t gotten his brain all scrambled.” She turned away, sniffing a little and rubbing at the bottom of her glasses.
Max sighed. “Look, I, I lost my father. A long time ago now and recently my mother found somepony else as well. I’ve found it pretty hard to get used to him. I used to like him actually until I found out he was seeing my mother, now I’m, well maybe I’m a bit jealous,” he admitted. “It doesn’t seem right that my mom is with somepony who isn’t dad, it... it feels like a betrayal. Still, I do want my mother to be happy and, well it seems like she is. Now I know your mother hasn’t been gone as long as my father, but maybe you’re feeling the same?”
Vinyl grunted, still looking away from him. She was biting her lip and looked so young to him, barely out of fillyhood, hardly even a mare.
“I don’t know your father all that well,” continued Max, “but he does seem to love Fleur and she loves him as well. I’m sure you love him even more, and well, it’s his birthday, and you want him to be happy right?” Vinyl nodded.
“Y-yeah,” she said a little shakily.
“And I think Fleur wants him to be happy as well, which is why she’s inviting you.” He took out the letter and placed in on the table away from the pool of water around his glass. “I’ll leave this here and you can open it or not when you’ve made up your mind. It’s just one night and at least it’ll be a chance to talk to your father, maybe he’ll tell you why he acts how he does.”
“Maybe,” said Vinyl turning back towards him, the light reflecting in her glasses, “but I’m making no promises, maybe I’ll just burn that stupid thing!”
“If you want, but at least read it.”
Vinyl nodded. “Sorry to hear about your mom getting a special somepony... It must be really gross ‘cause she must be so old now.”
Max grimaced a little. “It’s just something I have to get used to. Now I’m afraid I’ll have to go, I’ve got an appointment to keep.” With some effort he pulled his way out of the sofa.
Just as he’d reached the door Vinyl called out to me. “Thanks for giving me a hoof with the sofa, I owe you one.” He glanced back to see her turning the letter around in her aura.
“Any time.”
To try and get there on time Max was forced to gallop most of the way to Fluttering’s cottage. It was surprising how far it was from the town and he was a little worried how close to the Everfree Forest it was. It didn’t seem the best place for Fluttering to recuperate, but he guessed different ponies had different tastes. The immediate surroundings of the cottage were picturesque though, a pleasant copse of trees surrounded the building and a small stream flowed past it. The cottage was actually larger than Max had thought it would be, maybe twice the size of his mother's home, it could easily house three or four ponies and still be spacious. The house was of sturdy construction and its roof was covered by turf making it blend into the background, Max had almost run past it without noticing it. All around it sat small hutches and houses for birds and small animals, Fragrant had not been joking about the number of pets her niece kept. Max wasn’t entirely sure of the time but he guessed he was probably at least a bit late for the meeting, hopefully that wouldn’t cause a problem.
He crossed the small bridge over the stream and knocked on the front door. Listening carefully he could hear voices from within but couldn’t make out what was being said. For a moment he considered knocking for a second time but before he could the door swung open a crack. Through the gap Max could just about make out the shape of a pony. The figure opened its mouth and emitted a slight squeak.
“Uh, hi!” said Max. The figure in the dark flinched and the door moved to shut, then it froze and opened a little more.
“H-hi,” whispered the figure at the other side of the door. Max could just about make out another figure standing just behind the first. “C-c-come in,” it finally managed and the door was slowly opened to allow light into the house.
Max blinked. The figure in front of him could at first glance be mistaken for Fragrant, there was such a strong family resemblance between her and her niece that he could easily believe that they were mother and daughter, or even sisters if it wasn’t for the age difference. Fluttering had the same long flowing legs, mane and tail as her aunt, and the same aqua eyes, although they were downcast. Her coat was maybe a touch darker, her hair a little lighter than the elder Posey and Fluttering’s mane was curlier than Fragrant normally wore hers, but still it was like looking back twenty years in time to how Fragrant must have looked when she was a young... younger mare. Fluttering hurriedly trotted back away from the door and stood slightly behind her aunt, whose gaze was nervously flickering between Max and her niece.
“Hi,” said Max again, as gently as he could, “I’m baron Mounty Max.”
“Fluttering,” muttered Fluttering, her eyes fixed on the floor at Max’s hooves, “I’m Fluttering Posey,” she tried again with a little more volume.
Max held out a hoof but Fluttering just stared at it and backed away a little more, leaving him standing there awkwardly. Fragrant broke the silence. “Max,” she said, “I had been expecting you a while ago.”
“Sorry, I got caught up in a few things in town,” he explained.
“I, I made tea,” said Fluttering. Still unable to meet Max’s gaze, she gestured towards a table where a pot of tea and several slices of cake sat.
“Thank you,” said Max politely, glancing around the room as he moved to sit down. It was certainly unique, and rather cramped despite the size. Just as outside, a number of pens and houses had been built into the walls and ceiling. Several inquisitive little faces were sticking out from them and there was movement from other animals all around. Max shuddered a little as something small and furry ran over his hoof and struggled not to jump. Lots of pets indeed. He carefully positioned himself on a chair so as not to crush anything. Fragrant gracefully sat down next to him, seemingly not affected by the riot of animals around her and rested one hoof on a large furry lump next to her. Fluttering climbed onto another seat opposite the two of them and sat there shivering slightly in silence.
“So, um...” said Max trying to think of some way to break the ice. Fluttering fitted the description Fragrant had given him, the nickname Fluttershy really did fit her.
“Shall I pour?” asked Fragrant after a moment. Not waiting for a reply, she made three cups of tea and placed the cake onto smaller plates.
“This is very nice,” said Max. In reality the tea was rather cold, it seemed he had been later than he thought. He bit into the cake, it was much better, lemon flavoured. “This cake is excellent!” he exclaimed.
Fluttering managed a weak smile and for a moment her eyes flicked up to look at Max. “Thank you, I-I made it myself. I-I have a le-lemon tree in my garden,” she whispered.
Silence reigned for another eon and Max turned to Fragrant for support. He noticed a large canine head emerging from the furry pile next to her, followed by another. The creatures peered cautiously around the mare seeming unsure of Max. “Um, I like your dogs,” said Max holding out a hoof to one of the animals which sniffed it cautiously before both of them pulled back slightly revealing, to Max’s surprise, that both heads were attached to a single body.
“Schwarz-Weiß, is an Orthros,” explained Fluttering with more strength than anything else she’d said so far. The dog slinked over towards her keeping at least one head glancing at Max all the time, and she gave it a pat. “It’s a very rare breed. He’s such a good doggy, isn’t he!” The dog gave a happy bark and its tail thwacked against the ground.
“I got him for Fluttering over the summer, Vicereine Wallflower was kind enough to give him to me,” said Fragrant. “I’ve always like bow-wow’s haven’t I baron,” said Fragrant grinning as she used Max’s pet name.
“I’m rather more partial to kitty cats, duchess,” said Max returning the compliment.
“Oh, I couldn’t choose, I love both cats and dogs just as much,” said Fluttering, hugging the two headed dog as the older ponies’ humour went over her head.
“He’s certainly a big guy,” said Max nodding at Schwarz-Weiß, glad to be having a conversation that Fluttering seemed comfortable taking part in.
“Oh, he just a puppy really,” said Fluttering running a hoof down the animal’s back, “Orthos can grow to twice the size of a pony.”
Max frowned, how could this pony seemingly scared of her own shadow talk so casually about keeping such a huge creature as a pet. “Well he seems to be very happy with you.”
“Oh, yes, it’s my special talent, knowing what animals want, how to take care of them,” she explained, actually making eye contact with Max for the first time. Inside Max cheered a little at this small victory.
“Interesting, my talent’s nothing as exotic as that, I’m just good at climbing,” he gestured to his own mark, “I drove my mother to distraction as a foal, I was always clambering over the house.” He grinned. “Still, it is rather handy to get around at home.”
“Max’s province is rather mountainous,” explained Fragrant. “You remember the letters I sent you about my time there?”
“Of course, it sounds very beautiful, there must be all sorts of birds and animals that live in the mountains,” said Fluttering with interest.
“I guess there must, I’m afraid I don’t know too much about them. I suppose I’ve seen some eagles and hawks and the like, well and a dragon, I suppose.”
“A d-dragon!” squeaked Fluttering, her wings spread in panic almost knocking herself off her chair.
“Fluttering!” exclaimed Fragrant worriedly, “It’s alright, it’s a long way away, you’re safe here.”
“Yes, sorry, I shouldn’t have brought that up,” said Max sheepishly as the younger pegasus started to calm down a little.
“You do tend to say just the wrong things,” said Fragrant a little sharply.
“Maybe that’s my real special talent,” said Max, trying to add a little humour into the situation.
“So-so auntie’s letters said you met her at Canterlot?” asked Fluttering taking a sip of her drink, the cup rattling a little in her hoof.
“Yes, my first day there, I decided to try climbing the Canterhorn rather than taking the train. It took a bit longer than I thought, by the time I got there Fragrant was the only member of the welcoming committee to wait for me.” He turned towards his marefriend and gently nuzzled against her.
“Yes, him being late has become something of a repeating pattern to our relationship so far,” admitted Fragrant, leaning back against Max.
“We went out for dinner afterwards and got talking. It took a while for us to actually begin to date formally. Well, almost half a year actually,” he frowned, looking back he couldn’t entirely remember why it had taken that long.
“We formally began to court just before the summer, I don’t think I mentioned it last time I was here but we’ve had a few actual dates now, of varying quality,” admitted Fragrant.
Max grinned, the second date which Fragrant had organised last week had gone rather better than the first, although it hadn’t been quite as exciting or memorable as the one he’d organised. “And hopefully we’ll have many more successful ones in the future. Of course we get to talk to each other at work sometimes as well, between meetings and court and the like. Running the country can be rather stressful but there are some quiet moments.”
“Meetings... court...” breathed Fluttering, grasping her cup tightly between her hooves, “Stress...” she gave a hiccup.
Fragrant gave Max a glare before hopping off her chair and resting a wing around her niece. “Don’t worry,” she whispered, “It’s not your responsibility, it’s a long time ago and a long way away.” She gently rubbed Fluttering’s back in a circular motion.
“I know,” said Fluttering gently putting her cup back down again and taking a deep breath, “I know.” She looked up at Max for a moment, “I’m sorry, I don’t like thinking about the Night Court,” she tensed for a moment and Fragrant rubbed her back with her wing again before slowly drawing away to return to her seat.
Max frowned, he understood that Fluttering had acted as Fragrant’s proxy for a summer a few years ago, what could have happened to her to have caused her to react this way to just the mention of the court? While he was thinking, Max noticed that a large rabbit was clambering onto the young mare’s seat. It tapped its hind leg against the mare’s barrel. “Oh, excuse me I have to feed my little friends now.” She looked down at the mostly finished meal in front of her. “I’ll-I’ll make you something else to drink, it won’t take that long to feed them all, but they get so very cross if I don’t feed them on time, I’m really sorry I should have thought about this before I started...” her voice speeded up as she explained until it became little more than a babble.
“Don’t worry dear, I know you have responsibilities,” said Fragrant soothingly, “why don’t Max and I help you?” She prodded Max with one hoof.
“Oh, yes,” he responded, “I’d really like to help you, get to see more of your pets.” He supposed it would be a way to try and bond with Fluttering.
“Oh, you really don’t have to,” said Fluttering.
“We would love to dear,” said Fragrant.
“Oh, ok, then, follow me,” said the younger mare, hopping off her chair and leading them towards the backdoor to her house.
The next half hour or so was very informative to Max, he probably learned more about what various critters ate than he had in the whole of his life to date. Mice were fed grain, rabbits vegetables, rather disgustingly birds were fed worms and grubs, and a family of otters were fed fish. Although for that last one he had to turn away as the smell gave him the dry heaves. Fluttering was almost a different mare in her own environment, she was actually commanding as she passed tasks off to Max and her auntie and carefully explained about her various animals in what was almost a normal speaking voice. She even shouted in joy when she somehow discovered that a fox she was caring for was pregnant. Fragrant followed her niece around the large garden clearly doting on the younger mare as if she was her own daughter. However, eventually every one of the creatures under Fluttering’s care had been fed.
“Do you think you’d mind if you made another pot of tea auntie,” asked Fluttering, “I’d-I’d like to show Baron Max my lemon tree.” Now that her animal related tasks were completed a little of her composure seemed to be draining away.
“Oh, well if you think you’re going to be alright with just the two of you, of course,” said Fragrant sounding surprised and rather pleased. “I know how proud you are of that tree.” She turned to Max, “She grew it all by herself when she first moved here.”
“I’m sure we’ll be fine together,” said Max with a nod, it was unusual for pegasi to have much to do with plants but then Fluttering was hardly a normal pegasus, maybe she’d picked up something from her aunt's botany talent. Fragrant gave him a smile and set off back to the house.
“So which one is it?” asked Max turning to scan the garden. “I might be an earth pony but I don’t actually know that much about growing things.” He turned back to look at Fluttering again.
“My auntie,” whispered Fluttering. The filly looked like she was ready to collapse at any moment, she swayed on her hooves, sweat flowing down her brow. Max took a step towards her, wondering what had come over her only to be frozen by her surprisingly strong gaze as she met his eyes. “My auntie,” she repeated in something approaching a normal speaking volume, “is a very good mare, she... she deserves a good stallion. She’s been-been alone for a very long time, and she deserves a special somepony, somepony who won't take advantage of her. She was hurt very badly by another stallion she... she was hurt.” The mare stopped again, seeming to gather her strength once more. “If you... if you do the same, if you hurt her, then I... please don’t hurt her!” she begged, then lowered her head and seemed to curl up into herself, apparently her supply of bravery extinguished for the moment. Her large white rabbit pet hopped up to her leg and gave it a comforting squeeze.
Max was very touched by the amount of effort Fluttering must have put into trying to warn him off from hurting her aunt. The filly must really love Fragrant, but given that Fluttering seemed to be about as dangerous as a summer shower the warning really lost some power; her father had been far more intimidating when he’d tried the same thing. “Look Fluttering,” he said taking a step towards her.
There was a growl off to his right and his head snapped around to see Schwarz-Weiß who had apparently lost his earlier timidity and was slowly padding towards him, both sets of teeth bared. Max swallowed nervously, he was aware the dog was only a puppy, but it was still almost as big as he was. The creature stopped next to Fluttering and sat there staring at him in silence. Max was suddenly aware of the total lack of noise from the area around him. He tried to look around without actually taking his eyes away from the dog, every one of the animals in the area were sitting and staring at him, every one. There was a crash from his left and he tried to prevent himself from shaking as the grey furry mass of a fully grown bear made its way into Fluttering’s garden on its hind legs. Max’s own legs instinctively tried to peddle away until a warning growl from the dog behind him made him stop. His panicked eyes flicked to the figure of Fluttering standing in the middle of the sea of animals, she raised her head and just managed to meet his gaze for a moment.
The rabbit hopped in front of her, it had produced a large carrot from somewhere and staring into Max’s eyes it slowly drew it across its throat in a slicing motion. Then it lowered the carrot to between its legs and gave a few lewd hip thrusts before bringing the vegetable up to its mouth, its surprisingly sharp teeth glistening for a moment as they cleaved the carrot swiftly in two, the smaller part of it dropping to the ground with a thud. Max’s hind legs instinctively crossed in horror.
“Um, Fluttering,” Max managed after a few moments, “I promise you I will do anything I can to keep Fragrant happy. She is a good mare, the best, I often wonder what I’ve ever done to deserve somepony as special as she is.” He glanced from face to face of all the animals staring at him. “I don’t know who this other stallion was but I’m not him I lo... I really like your aunt and I don’t want to ever do anything that’ll hurt her, ever.”
“The tea’s ready,” came Fragrant’s voice from the doorway to the cottage. Suddenly, as if a switch had been flipped every animal in the garden returned to acting normally. The bear dropped to all fours, drawing a look of alarm from Fragrant before it turned and slowly shuffled off. Fluttering had lowered her gaze again and was trotting, tail tucked between her legs, towards her aunt. The large rabbit and Schwarz-Weiß followed her. Max had to wait a few moments before his breathing returned to normal. Fragrant’s family were full of surprises. “Are you alright?” asked Fragrant trotting over from the house, “You look a little pale.”
“I’m... I’m fine thanks,” said Max giving his best smile, “I just had a nice talk with Fluttering for a few minutes. She really cares about you.”
“And she’s very special to me as well,” said Fluttering, “I’m glad the two of you are getting on so well.”
The three of them made their way back into the house and once again took their places around the coffee table. Max took a sip at his tea and grimaced, it might have been rather warmer than the last batch but Fragrant’s brewing skills weren't anywhere as good as Fluttering’s were. He guessed his marefriend didn’t have to make her own food or drink very often.
“So, um, baron Max,” said Fluttering, Max liked to think she was sounding a little stronger than she had before their confrontation in the garden as if she was accepting him. “Auntie said that you wanted to meet all of her family.”
Max nodded. “Well as much as I can, I spent some time with your sister when she was at cou...” at the last minute he remembered Fluttering’s trigger, “in Canterlot.”
“He bumped into your parents just before the gala as well,” added Fragrant.
“Um, what does daddy think of you dating Max,” asked Fluttering timidly.
“Your father does not get to decide who I date,” noted Fragrant, causing Fluttering to flinch a little. “Sorry dear, his first meeting with Max was a little tense, but I think the two of them have sorted things out now.”
Max nodded, his first meeting with Thunderous had resulted in the giant stallion warning him off his sister. Once Max had stood his ground he felt that Thunderous had grown to respect him a little bit, but he hadn’t really spent all that much time with him. “I think your brother is the only one of you I haven't actually met now.”
“And you know how hard he can be to pin down, now that he’s finished school he’s forever out and about moving from here to there,” Fragrant sighed. “Maybe we’ll see him for Hearthwarming.”
Fluttering actually seemed quite surprised by this. “Will Max be coming to Cloudsdale for Hearthwarming then?”
“That’s the plan,” said Fragrant squeezing Max’s hoof. “Will you be able to join us this year?” she asked gently.
“Oh, I don’t,” Fluttering shifted so that her face was covered by her mane, “I don’t know, my animals need me so much, but I’d like to...”
“Well you can make your mind up later, you have several months, but I’m sure your parents and siblings would love to see you this year,” she said in a slightly pleading tone.
Fluttering turned her gaze to the ground and mumbled some platitudes.
“Anyway, Fragrant told me that you took part in a concert last week,” said Max hoping to change the subject before Fluttering froze up entirely. “You um, ‘play’ a flock of birds, I don’t think I’ve heard of that being done before.”
“It’s, it’s not all that uncommon in Cloudsdale,” whispered Fluttering, “I’m not very good really, my birds are really talented but I’m not all that good a conductor.”
“Nonsense dear,” exclaimed Fragrant, “You’re very skilled, you put on a whole concert by yourself. Maybe you could give Max a sample?”
“Oh, I don’t know, my birds aren't ready and I don’t know if I can deal with an audience.”
“Please,” said Fragrant, “you managed to play in front of a big audience last time, now it’s just me and Max.”
“I did, didn’t I?” said Fluttering seemingly surprised, “I’ll-I’ll try.” She stood and made several whistling sounds. Small feathered forms started to emerge from the various nests built into the house, one or two flew in through open windows. The small flock formed up in front of the pegasus and she stood there whistling to them. Max really was amazed by Fluttering’s power. After a few moments Fluttering stopped and turned to her small audience. “My birds are happy to put on a short performance, but Miss Tit has a bit of a sore throat at the moment so she might be a little out of tune,” the bird hopped around on its perch, “but she’ll try her very best for members of the court.”
Taking up a small baton from a nearby table Fluttering tapped it against the table. There was total silence in the house, next to him Max saw Fragrant lean forwards towards her niece, apparently holding her breath. Then Fluttering gestured with the baton and the birds began to sing. Max was amazed by the variety of sound that they could produce, not just chirps and whistles but he was certain he could make out the sound of a flowing stream amongst the music. The sounds transported him back to his home, on the first day of spring as the snow was just starting to melt and life was starting to spring from the soil again. He leaned back against Fragrant and sank into the tune.
The concert went on for about an hour and at the end Max stomped his praises so hard that he worried that he might damage the floor boards. By that time darkness was starting to draw in and it was time for him and Fragrant to leave to catch their train back to Canterlot.
“I’ll try to visit you again soon dear,” said Fragrant hugging her niece. “And I’ll write as often as I can.”
“Thank you auntie,” said Fluttering returning her hug.
“Maybe I could meet some of your friends next time?”
“I’ll ask them,” said Fluttering quietly.
“It was very nice meeting you,” said Max holding out his hoof. To his surprise the young mare leaned forwards and gave him a feather light hug.
“Please look after my auntie,” she whispered in his ear.
“Of course,” he replied, not sure whether to treat the words as a threat or as acceptance into the family.
“If Max wants he could visit me by himself, if he has the time,” said Fluttering at her normal volume.
Fragrant blinked in surprise. “Well, if you’re ok with that dear.”
“I’d be honoured, I might want to pop back to Ponyville every now and then,” said Max, maybe he could see about giving Scootaloo some climbing lessons while he was here.
Fluttering nodded and after giving her another hug Fragrant led Max away from the cottage and back along the path towards the town.
“I think that went very well,” she said with a smile once they were out of hearing range of the house. “Fluttering really seemed to warm to you, I’m so glad.” She gave Max a nuzzle as they walked along.
“She seemed like a nice pony. You seem very close to her.”
“We are close, as a foal, well let's just say that she helped to pull me out of a rather dark part of my life, she was my little ray of sunlight. I saw an awful lot of myself in her growing up, I used to be very shy myself.” Max raised an eyebrow at one of the most powerful mares in the land. “I’ve come a long way, maybe I’ll tell you about it someday.” She smiled sadly. “Fluttering used to be so bright, so happy. To see her like this now,” she sighed, “well at least she is getting better, it’s slow, but I can see it, she accepted you, she wouldn’t have done that to anypony a year ago. It’s good to hear that she has new friends.”
Max nodded, he’d have to take Fragrant’s word for that, the filly seemed painfully timid to him but she had certainly shown a stronger side in the garden. It was surprising the lengths she would go to to protect her aunt.
“Now,” said Fragrant breaking Max from his thoughts, “When do I get to meet your family?”