29 - Enthusiasm is Overwhelming
Really? I thought you'd be really...I don't know...upset with the hues or something,” Rainbow Dash remarked as they walked down one of the less busy roads in Canterlot.
“Just because I'm a fashion designer,” Rarity countered, “doesn't mean I'm blind to other cultures. I know perfectly well how to judge the value of an ensemble based on its cultural relevance. I'm quite fond of certain foreign styles, such as the Prance Deux Series at High Lines right here in Canterlot. For your information, the bed sheets back in our room are the highest quality fabric available in Saddle Arabia or most place else for that matter. Pure iridian silk.”
Rainbow leaned over to Twilight with a mischievous grin and whispered. “Didn't mean to trigger a fashion rant.”
Twilight stifled a laugh and it came out as a snort. She then reached up and magically hid the changeling crown Chrysalis insisted she wear and continually unhid atop her head using green interspacial magic. A look was exchanged. Chrysalis relented for now.
“My sister Maud loves iridium,” Pinkie added in.
“Iridian silk has nothing to do with rocks,” Rarity corrected on point. “I'm sure your sister knows a thing or two about rocks but it's simply not what I'm talking about, dear.”
“Ooh,” Pinkie droned out and then cheered up instantly. “I wonder what an iridian golem would look like.”
It was dark but not the deepest black of night since the sun had only recently set and the streetlights along the roads kept everything in healthy illumination. They had been walking for a while now and found themselves out of the nobles-infested area around the castle. Now they were in a business area that was so high class that there weren't even signs on any of the buildings to identify which business was which. One was expected, at this point in the city, to simply know where one was going without the need for directions. If one needed directions, one didn't need to be there. Or so the logic of the area seemed to be.
A few unicorns were walking about, all dressed so sharp that they could cut steel with their outfits or dressed so insanely that the high-brow fashion circuits would faint at the “futuristic creativity.” Rarity just cringed. To her, fashion was a finely tuned balance of boldness and artistic reserve. One without the other only lead to something too bland or too ridiculous. The reasoning that weaved through Rarity's mind on this matter was actually so many worlds more complicated that nopony else could hope to comprehend it.
The girls were talking about something else now, perhaps about golems, but Rarity couldn't steal her thoughts too far from her recent decision. What would it be like to be in Twilight's hivemind? Oh, she knew everything Twilight had relayed to her, but she also knew the difference between knowledge and experience perhaps more than any of the others. It was one thing to imagine a dress. It was quite another to make it work out in reality.
Her eyes kept wandering to the little dragon that walked beside them just barely above a waddle. What would it be like to share not only a mind with Twilight and the girls but also...him. It honestly made her nervous. She may not be as mathematical as Twilight but her sewing did require a considerable amount of science for that crucial exactness. That science showed her the otherwise overlooked variables of the decision and sometimes she wondered if the others noticed as much as she did how Spike had matured over the years.
If the dragon really was immortal as the royal sisters had indicated, it certainly made sense that his body had yet to catch up to the rest of him. Back when Rarity first considered Spike as a real equal, she had dared to do the math. Maybe it was his small frame, big eyes, or natural innocence but most just assumed him to be no more than a baby. He wasn't actually that much younger than herself or any of the other girls, minus Chrysalis of course.
It made her nervous again to think of how he might react when he saw her memories – her very thoughts in the hivemind. Rarity's eyes shifted about as they turned another road to reach their destination. It flustered her that all of this was distracting her from one of the places she had been dreaming of visiting all her life. The Hallowed Hanging Gardens. It seemed less important now with her immediate relationships poised to change in ways she couldn't even fathom.
Spike wasn't as oblivious as he let on. He knew she was stealing glances at him and he started to feel nervous himself. Was something wrong with him? Rarity had been increasingly nice to him of late. Not that he didn't like it. Oh, he loved it! But it still made him nervous. What was he supposed to do with the attention? He was too used to just being ignored that it made him feel out of place.
Without any precedence, Rarity made the most non-reproducible squeal of delight. They had come a ways down the sidewalk and were now at the dead-end that the road led to. The buildings on either side had scrunched inwards until a claustrophobic entryway remained between two large office buildings at the end. Said entryway was dimly lit in the night, which was still young but quite dark within that part of the city.
Twilight would have felt less sure about traveling these particular streets if it wasn't for three facts. First, Queen Twilight Sparkle was quite capable now of handling herself. Little doubt remained in her mind as to the raw magic she could bring to bear in an emergency. Second, she had her friends as well as her four guards. The deepest pity would go to anyone who mistakenly believed they could somehow manage to get past all of them and still have enough fight left over to deal with her changeling. Third, there were also two guards outside of the claustrophobic entryway they were destined for. Bouncers. Big ones.
And then there were the four black and very changeling-esque royal horseshoes that Chrysalis had finished earlier. They were not yet functional but did have jagged green glow lines running through them as part of their partially-constructed inner functionality. Chrysalis needed more time to work it out but had assured her queen that the concept was feasible. For now, they provided their wearer with some considerable comfort as well as basic defense. Twilight dared not consider what it would be like to be bucked by hooves still wearing them. If Applejack wore them then they could very well be fatal weapons.
All of this was neither here nor there, however, because they had arrived at their destination and had no reason to bother with worries. This was a time for relaxation and that was precisely what Twilight intended for the girls – and guards – to do. The two large ponies at the entrance were intimidating but not so much as to sour the mood. One gestured to a sign above the entrance that was titled “Hallowed Hanging Gardens: World's Finest” under gentle and indirect blue lighting. When she spoke, it became apparent that the bouncer was indeed a “she” in spite of her massive physique.
“Welcome, Princess Twilight Sparkle,” her deep voice held at a respectfully low volume so as not to seem a dramatic announcement. “Do you wish to grace us with a visit?”
Twilight's brows had raised since she didn't honestly expect any recognition. At least not like this. “Um, yes,” she answered a tad quizzically. “I'm sorry but have we met...?”
The bouncer grinned and seemed to want to laugh but didn't. “Of course not,” she replied. “Not somepony as low on the rung as me. We were instructed to welcome you specifically if you ever happened by. The highest royals are the highest priority as far as the bosses are concerned.”
The other bouncer, a male, gave her a dead glare for the unfiltered frankness. The honesty may have sounded less refined than the business they worked for.
“Why does this place look so shady?” Pinkie blurted out with a totally happy expression that didn't match her question.
Rarity went wide-eyed in horror and shot to the pink mare, shoving a hoof over her mouth. She'd have to give Pinkie another lecture about high class businesses having subtle and less flashy advertising because, obviously, the last lecture failed to click. “We'd love to engage a visitation at this most inviting and refined establishment.”
The bouncers looked to Twilight, who nodded. The mare of the two spoke again. “Okay, but your guards will have to wait outside.”
Past Twilight would have agreed. Present Twilight was continuing to leave Past Twilight's reservations behind. “No,” she disagreed bluntly. “They come with me or we won't go in.”
Rarity's face paled in shock, a curious reaction considering the natural paleness of her coat. Rainbow Dash, on the other hoof, grinned like a foal. The look on the faces of the bouncers were remarkable. Twilight's firmness made Rainbow want to either give her a hoof bump or just hang her mouth open in awe. The latter was what Spike went for.
Chrysalis raised her head high as if to look down her nose at the two strong ponies. She almost wished that they had mentioned keeping out all changelings as well since the inevitable reaction from Twilight on that point would have been spectacular to witness. As it was, Twilight's guards were amusing enough. They all – even the older one – appeared just as shocked that Twilight had thought of them like this.
“Servants are not allowed in,” the male bouncer explained in a tone less sure than he tried to use.
“So,” Twilight's face went stern, “am I to assume that the owner of this establishment wishes to undermine my personal safety?”
The bouncers felt very awkward about that question.
“Or,” Twilight continued, “perhaps that they wish to take advantage of my lapse in security to bring me physical harm?”
The bouncers wilted.
“Your highness,” the female nervously spoke, “we meant no offense...”
“Nor did I,” Twilight returned quickly. “So let us all through and I will personally deal with your superiors if they have any issue.”
The two mulled it over for a few seconds before deciding that Twilight's rank really did overrule any decision made by the owners. And, anyway, the rule had never been one they agreed with. Personally, neither of them wanted to enforce it in the first place. Thus did they allow the full party through.
The path only allowed one pony through at a time. Midnight Strike stepped in first followed by Direway. Twilight was next and all others followed until Centurion was last in. As for the path itself, it matched the mood of the front. Vines covered the sides thickly almost to the point that the old brick walls couldn't be seen. Soft-glow night lamps were situated in rare free spots on the brick and gave the corridor a surreal bluish lighting.
The path was just long enough to start feeling as if it was, in fact, long just before it ended. Twilight's two forward guards split to either side and she stepped forward out of the confining corridor path to find herself in a place she would never have dreamed existed inside of Canterlot's city walls. The others felt much the same way as they filed in, Pinkie Pie being the quickest to recover with her enthusiastic bouncing and claims of the place being perfect for the “perfectest” parties. She had said as much about Canterlot Castle earlier, but that didn't really mean anything for a pony that saw every venue as “party exploitable.”
“It's even more beautiful than I heard it was,” Rarity whispered in awe as she covered her mouth with a hoof.
They were in the city but one could hardly tell. There was no concrete or steel. No neon lights or advertisements or really much of anything artificial at all. The air was fresh, without pollution and faint with the aroma of fresh grass and pine. The sound of trickling water was nearly the only other audible thing besides their own breathing. Before them laid a view dominated by deep greens of plantlife, deep blues of slow running water, and the smallest amount of dark gray from the old stones used for uprisings from which both the water and plants stretched downwards. The darkness of the hues may have been natural or perhaps only portrayed by the lack of glaring lights and the exclusive illumination by the moon itself.
A few fireflies hovered around without much concern as to whether or not they had anywhere else to be and it made Twilight sad again that Fluttershy was not with her. She would have to come again with the pegasus some other time. Chrysalis, however, seemed to enjoy the presence of the tiny bugs. She walked up to one, let it land on an outstretched hoof, and smiled at it as she brought it close to her face. She seemed to consider the small thing as a kindred spirit. Rainbow Dash withheld a cruel joke.
A ring of magic encircled the entire area, preventing the gloomy lighting from the city from degrading the clear air and crystal night sky. What it would cost to have such magic maintained was beyond simple imagination. The stars could be seen as easily as if one was looking through the highest grade telescope, only with their natural pin-point smallness. The ebb and flow of the nearest arm of the galaxy could be seen stretching from one side of the night portrait to the other.
“Wow,” Spike was next to speak. “I heard even some nobles have a hard time getting in here. I feel like I'm violating something holy.”
Rainbow Dash made no sarcastic remark or move to dismiss the moment. Her wings remained locked at her side and she sidled up to Twilight, exchanging a content look with the queen. Whether it was contentment for the location or the fact that she knew Twilight was happy was, in this case, nearly irrelevant. In reality, it was both. She was, after all, not without a sense of appreciation.
The magic surrounding the place made the buildings behind them appear to be tall outcroppings of rock. This was true for all others surrounding, which effectively made the locale reminiscent of an alcove in some untouched mountain range. Clean grass laid before, swooping down slightly before going back up to stop before a tall uprising of stones in the center. Two willow trees were situated on either side within the expanse of grass and one darker area was nestled on the far left side of the center uprising, leading down as if it was some kind of burrow.
Twilight felt herself drawn - almost pulled – forward on impulse. She started towards the center as if it was an enormous magnet. To describe any of the Garden as being small would be horribly inaccurate. Whether by magic or by history's greatest accomplishment of spatial engineering, the Garden was huge.
The stretch of grass before the center was gigantic, the willows were even larger than the one Fluttershy visited with her animal friends, and the center assembly of stones was no miniature fountain. In fact, it was rather inaccurate to call it an assembly of stones when it more resembled a small mountain. It was a conglomerate of dark-colored boulders towering hundreds of hooves into the air, varieties that only Pinkie among them had a chance of identifying. They had moss and vines creeping across them as if they had been there hundreds of years, which for all Twilight knew they had been. But equidistant from the left and right, there was an easy path of rich soil leading up into the rocks. It winded to the side and hid behind various boulders but could be seen appearing and disappearing further up as it snaked around the miniature mountain.
It was as Twilight stepped up to the beginning of this new path that she stopped to see the trickling of water that flowed like a gentle waterfall down the boulders. It pooled in a thin and neatly-kept moat around the rocks, which only existed in natural zig-zags rather than an artificial circle. A little water crossed the path up into the mini mountain, which made Twilight realize that she was half standing on a small wooden bridge that went over the stream. It blended in naturally with the soil but might have been more noticeable if it was not for the dim glow of the moon.
Twilight also noticed at that moment that a pony was making his way towards her from the burrow she had noticed earlier. He had on a pair of glasses and was obviously a unicorn since he was levitating a clipboard beside him. There was also a very elaborate uniform that seemed to wear him more than he wore it. Old reds and browns curled around in patterns Twilight had only seen in Equestrian history books pertaining to the early years of the nation.
The queen's friends and guards had accompanied her across the grassy field and were at her side as the unicorn approached with an “ahem.”
“Sorry to take so long,” he apologized in a crisp tenor that one might expect from a choir member that had decided to change careers and explore the executive assistant route. Yet there was a little friendly warmness to his voice that contrasted with the cold professionalism usually found in both executive assistants and choir members. Of course, such judgment was based solely on Twilight's personal experience and did not necessarily equate to fact. (Though she was quite good with extrapolating probabilities based on statistics, such point was rather beyond the interests of her current situation. In other words, over-analysis was pointless.)
“No, it's quite alright,” the purple pony queen dismissed it and smiled.
Mr. Executive Assistant smiled back. “It is an honor to have you with us, Princess Twilight Sparkle. I assume the others are your party for tonight?”
“Partay!” Pinkie screamed as if she were going crazy, which she was.
“Not that kind of party, Pinkie,” Rainbow restrained the overjoyed mare.
“Yes,” Twilight confirmed and noted that the stallion took no offense at the presence of the guards.
He kept his smile while a quill whipped from some fold in his ancient uniform. The writing utensil darted across the other side of the clipboard so fast that Twilight barely had time to wonder what he could be writing let alone how the tip wrote without being dipped at least a dozen times in an ink pot.
“Your stay is most welcome,” he continued as the quill retreated and the clipboard lowered a bit. “Though, I'm afraid one spa is not enough to contain all present. It will take three.”
“Oh my,” Twilight couldn't help but blurt out.
“Most of our clients are regulars since there are so few, but perhaps I might have a change of pace and answer some rare questions as I show you to the spas.”
Twilight nodded silently as her logical mind burned rubber trying to figure out his age. He sounded young and his face agreed. He couldn't have been much older than herself. But then there was the practiced way in which he walked about. Was it years of experience or just the odd uniform that made him so careful. She realized with embarrassment that she was supposed to have asked a question.
“Oh, um,” she floundered. “The city.”
“Yes?” he encouraged as he began walking around her and onto the trail heading up into the center mountain.
She followed. “What kind of magic masks it and keeps such a massive area like this within the cramped inner-city of Canterlot?”
“Yeah,” Rainbow added in as she flew just above them. “I never saw anything like this from the sky above the city.”
Mr. Executive Assistant seemed rather happy to answer that. “I never get to tell anypony about this, you know. We're not allowed to talk about it openly to anypony outside of here and everypony that does come here already knows. The answer is the sole reason I never want to leave this place.”
“Oh?” Rarity said almost to herself.
He lead the party around the left branch of the path, which became steep and rocky. “The magic,” he explained almost in awe, “is not ours. It's Mt. Canter's.”
“Like the Everfree,” Twilight said more than asked.
“I knew a princess would gather as much,” he praised. “I understand you are very knowledgeable about magic, your highness.”
“Oh, 'highness' isn't necessary,” the alicorn corrected. “Just Twilight. Are we getting higher?”
“No duh,” Rainbow gave a raspberry. “Want to see how high? Might cure your vertigo.”
“No thanks,” Twilight paled. “We get back to flying lessons after we get back to Ponyville.”
“Me too!” Pinkie added cheerfully as she bounced up from rock to rock, not even breaking a sweat.
“The princesses, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna,” the stallion with ancient garb continued, “chose to begin a settlement on Mt. Canter because of its strong magic. There are other special places like this one, but this is the only one that became privately held and used as a recreational establishment. There is a special peace to this place that I adore. The regulars do as well. It's almost as if...as if there is no evil here.”
Twilight noticed him glance at Chrysalis. It was without the shock, fear, or awe that most gave, however. Perhaps he believed there was no evil in her, as he seemed to indicate with his words and tonality. It would certainly be a nice change of pace from the more common doubt.
The steep path finally leveled out, even though it was only for a few hooves distance before it ascended sharply again and continued wrapping up the mountain. To their right was a solid wall of rock and to their left was a outcropping of stone just high enough to prevent one from looking down the side of the long drop back down. There was, however, a wooden door amidst the rocks on that side. It opened with Mr. Executive Assistant's magenta magic aura.
With the stallion's nod of encouragement to follow, he lead the group inside. They barely all fit in and the guards patiently looked on from outside the door. The inside happened to actually be much more like the outside. Or rather, the door revealed an open area that had no rocks baring view of the way down the cliffside of the small mountain but maintained the old moss and vine covered stone landscape. It was a miniature plateau with a small pool of water in the center. That same pool was being fed by a tiny stream of water flowing out of a hole in the rock near the door. It continued out the other side of the pool to the very edge of the cliffside, where it dropped and became one of the waterfalls below.
A bounty of plants occupied the space, giving merit to that part of the location's title. There were flowers both common and rare as well as ferns and exotic plants. Some were strewn about in plots of soil arranged gracefully about while the majority were hung in ornate pots. The cables they were hung in the air with looked as natural as vines and some extended down from outcroppings a hundred hooves above them on the higher parts of the mountain. There was nothing that could give justice to just how unmatched the place was.
Chrysalis touched a holey hoof to the edge of the pool and her lips betrayed her two pointy teeth in a smile as the water moved through the holes. “It's warm.”
“Always,” the guiding stallion replied. “We have masseurs that will attend to you all upon call,” he gestured to some kind of bell near the door. Various stands and supplies were near it, such as towels and lotions.
Rarity closely inspected the area of supplies and felt her heart race at the variety. There were some items that even the Blossom twins in Ponyville only dreamed of acquiring for their spa. If only Fluttershy was with them, she thought. The shy pegasus may not have been as enthusiastic about spas as she was, but Fluttershy could still tell the difference between imported Soyeux and common lotion brands.
“The others are much like this,” the stallion proceeded to explain. “There is only room for three per, though the esteemed Spike may be small enough to accompany a full group of three.”
Spike perked up at hearing his name called out as it was. He only ever got that kind of recognition from the crystal ponies.
“Therefore,” still-unnamed-stallion concluded, “now might be the time to decide how you wish to divide your party. I will show each group to their spas.”
Twilight suddenly appeared troubled. It wasn't because of the math. That was easy. She had done it a hundred times already even as they had walked up the scraggly natural path. Ten individuals, three per spa, one allowance per Spike, three resulting groups, four guard ponies, one changeling...
Rainbow Dash was the one to beckon them into a group huddle near the door where they could reason it out. “Alright, gang,” she began her talk, “I hope you all are okay with taking Group Two and Three because I got dibs on Twi.”
“Dashie,” Twilight began to rebuke.
“I had pre-dibs,” Chrysalis buzzed in to challenge the blue mare's lead.
“Oh, oh!” Pinkie added just for fun. “I had dibs before she was born.”
“You don't really mean that, dear,” Rarity doubted her pink friend.
“I'll stick with Rarity...if that's okay with you?” the dragon looked hopefully to the female who meant so much to him.
Rarity tried to hide a blush but nodded silently.
“You guys can have votes too,” Twilight called over to her guards, who had kept outside the door.
“The three of us can be the last group,” Centurion spoke up for them as he motioned to himself, Direway, and the orange guard. “But maybe one of your groups will take Midnight?”
“Alright,” the queen allowed so long as it was what they wanted. She took a hoof signal from Midnight that indicated he would take any spot. “I guess we just have to decide who will be in the first and second group and then the one with the last spot will have Midnight to fill it.”
“Twi,” Rainbow repeated which group she'd be in.
“My queen,” Chrysalis matched.
“That is quite alright,” Rarity relented. “I will consent to being in the second group – or the one not with Twilight.”
“That would put Pinkie and Midnight Strike with us, right?” Spike came to the conclusion at the same time as their head alicorn did.
“Actually,” Twilight lifted a forehoof up in point, “I really want to talk to Pinkie about something so I'm going to exercise my authoritative powers. Dashie is in group two with Rarity, Spike, and Midnight Strike.”
“Yay!” Pinkie bounced.
“What?!” Rainbow protested. “No way!”
Twilight reached over to her friend. “C'mon, Dashie. The world isn't ending.”
“It is for me!” the pegasus cried bitterly.
Chrysalis would have made some remark about Rainbow blowing it out of proportion except that she felt the same way about being in Twilight's group and she also knew the bond the two winged ponies had been building. She sympathized in spite of her general annoyance with the mare.
Twilight waved the group huddle into dispersing, all but Rainbow content with the arrangement. She then grabbed a fully depressed Rainbow Dash to the side.
“I'm going to miss spending the night in the most awesome place ever with the one pony I...I...” Rainbow sniffled.
“Goodness,” Twilight furrowed her brows in concern. “I didn't think it meant that much to you. It's not like this is the only time we'll come here. I wanted to come back with Fluttershy anyways.”
No response.
“You know I could probably reproduce this entire place in our hivemind...”
Rainbow remained inconsolable.
“I'd just talk to Pinkie another time but her application of my knowledge of magic could be dangerous. And Chrysalis has me worried too.”
Silence. Rainbow wouldn't even look her in the eyes.
“You can be real stubborn, you know that?”
“You know that, Twi,” Rainbow finally talked. “You know that...”
“I'm trying, Dashie,” Twilight begged, finding herself becoming suddenly more emotional without intending to. “Really I am. But everything is racing in my mind and it's hard-”
Rainbow's heavy sigh interrupted her. “Forget it. I'm sorry for being selfish. I know it can't be easy. I have all the same stuff that you do in my head and I have to admit it kind of hurts. I'll try to be better about this.”
Twilight, however, shook her head. “No, you're fine. But to keep us from fighting over apologies, how about we settle for having time together tonight. You can have Chrysy's spot next to me on the bed and we can even do stuff in the hivemind while we sleep.”
“She won't be happy about that,” the blue pegasus cast a glance to the changeling waiting by the spa wall's door.
“I'll work it out. She can have the other side.”
“You sure?” Rainbow looked worried.
Twilight brought her forehoof to the mare's cheek and stroked it, careful to use an angle that wouldn't be sharp or otherwise unpleasant because of her royal changeling horseshoes. “You're worth it, Dashie.”
With a pink tint adding itself to her face and bolstering her bountiful array of colors, Rainbow happily trotted out of the door to her own spa with Group Two further up the mountain.
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4556961 there is on everyone's user page
Please can I use this? Please?
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i627.photobucket.com/albums/tt358/BlackWaterG29/MLP/mlp-twilight-this2_zps0efc0b4d.png
Question. If spike was hatched from an egg during the exam. And this was around the time Twilight was seven / eight in canon timeline, putting him at CMC age. How old was Twilight when hatched in this timeline to put him near Rares and the other's ages?
Yes its an oft overlooked variable when talking about SpikeXRares shipping, although to be honest. Spike's mind, and emotional maturity are equal to Twilight's if not slightly more mature [99% of the time]. Well that and he's been working an adults job / responsibilities since before S1. That and he's hit adulthood twice so far, so yeah, dragons are weird when it comes to Dragon vs. Every other mortal age/developement.
Just wondered since that sentence was a little weird. Probably could use some clarifying.
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Holy Frell! That's an awesome visual. I'd so pay to see her with some Changeling battle armor with Changeling runes / glowing lines. She'd look so boss. And that comment on being bucked by them sounds like something that'd be interesting to see someday.
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D'awww! So much feels! I really enjoyed this fic, and I really love seeing the interaction between Dashie and Twilight. I also need to re-read this someday, it's such an adorable fic. I can't wait to see the next chapter. *Is excited
*
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(Spoilered but not because I'm implying there might be something in here that in fact IS a spoiler.
The three parts of your comment, in order and in response:
1. The whole age thing can indeed be a little vague, especially since the show itself is so vague with it. I'll answer it here since it might not come up explicitly in the story. This AU has Twilight entering Celestia's tutorship around the age of five. So you might take the current age of the girls as X and have Spike as (X - 5). Everyone has their own view on standards for age differences and other ponies in the story might actually believe five years to be a significant difference. However, in this story, Rarity doesn't perceive her own age and that of Spike as being that big of a deal. Such a perception may include consideration of Spike's mental maturity and well as the peculiar aging of magic dragons. Most authors never actually give a number to the age of the girls because an actual number is rarely ever important. If you wanted a hard number for Spike in this story then I'd say late-teenish (maybe 16-19). His body is significantly behind where it should be based on the customs of magic dragons. Basically, maturity dictates a size of about 5x that of a pony but humility should give him about 2-3x.
2. There will be a few visible pieces of Twilight's changeling outfit in the new cover art I'm working on. Not the whole thing though. I might draw everything in the future - perhaps for this story's sequel.
3. I'm glad you're enjoying it.
My Little Comment: Censorship is Magic.
1) That actually isn't that bad of a gap. Good points, and I'm happy that Rares is as intelligent as she is.
2) Squee! *Dies*. I'm going to explode into confetti and rainbows when the sequel comes around someday.
3)
thanks for the update!!
Thanks for another great chapter! Love this story.
Sounds like my house during the summer, on a clear or semi-clear night.
It's awesome having no light-pollution. And then I look to the horizon and see how everything goes blurry and kinda orangish because of the city to the northwest.
why is it turning into a 4 way between twilight rainbow dash Fluttershy and Chrysalis?
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I am thinking it is going to turn into an nth dimensional way as the hive grows.
That spa does sound like a really nice place.
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I want to go there