Chapter 23 - The Festival
~~~~~~Golden Oaks Library~~~~~~
Morning in Ponyville shimmered as bright as the Northern Star as Tia awoke to the sound of birdsong and the bright laughter of a town ready for something to celebrate. She let off a huge yawn that set her jaw to creaking and smacked at her lips as she assessed the state of her room. The day of the storm had passed, and at first glance the Library appeared to have survived both the storm outside and the storm within mostly intact. True, there were scatterings of cider bottles, empty wax paper bags of potato crisps, and the liquor cabinet was suspiciously cleaned out; but still, the wreckage was no different than when she’d had her first or second party here.
The following conversations she’d had with her sister had not been the most awkward conversations she’d ever had. Those had been when Twilight had marched up to her one day as a filly and demanded to know what sex was. But they had been quite close, given the pointed nature of Luna’s questioning. Speaking of Luna - she was apparently still wrapped tightly around Tia’s torso, still snoozing happily away next to her in bed. It had been nice to simply have someone to... what was the term? Cuddle. Yes, Tia had very much enjoyed that. Oh bother, Tia. You’re really going to have to deal with all that naivety if you intend to live normally. Vinyl had seemed very earthy in the sensual regards - perhaps she could provide her with some lessons on the subject?
She’d have to ask later. Right now, there were much more important things to do while Luna was still asleep - namely, she needed to get Spike’s ritual rolling before Luna started asking too many pointed questions about it. That unfortunately meant slipping out of Luna’s rather enthusiastic grasp without waking her up. Oh, bother. Her mind reiterated, and she began the slow and squirming process to get free. Fortunately, Luna appeared to be deep in the throes of sleep and dreams - or perhaps she was exploring the dreams of other ponies who were snoozing through the morning. Whatever it was, she wasn’t showing any signs of waking up by the time Tia squirmed herself loose.
Then came the descent to the floor, one hoof gently placed and then the other, practically tip-hoofing to keep as quiet as she possibly could. The journey to the door was also one of caution, though with every step she became just a bit bolder in her speed. Tia softly took magic into her horn - silently manipulating the latch and cracking open the door for her to slip through, then shut it with equal caution. At the last, she exhaled a deep breath, “Phew.” and then quickly trotted down the stairs.
Spike was predictably waiting outside the door to the basement, looking oddly pensive for a dragon of his age. His head came up at her approach and he smiled faintly. “Gonna be a big day, huh?” he quietly said, the emotion in his voice a mixed bag of anticipation and trepidation. “I mean, it’s not every day you change your life forever,” he continued, obviously trying to dispel any doubts he might have had. The ploy didn’t seem to have had much effect, other than to boost his confidence - but Tia couldn’t blame him. In his shoes, she’d have been nervous too. “S-so, anything I ought to expect?” he asked as he turned the latch to the basement door and began to trundle his way down the dark steps.
Tia shook her head. “You’ll probably have some very vivid, very intense dreams - but I cannot say what the content of them might be. You’ll need to be aware that you won’t wake up until the transformation is complete... and that I am unaware of any means with which one could change a pony into a dragon.” Tia kept her voice quiet and calm as they descended the steps - only the ethereal glow of the magic from the ritual providing any illumination. She dared not cast any spell within close proximity of the circle, lest it somehow disrupt the delicate magic.
“Ah,” Spike replied, his voice gone quiet in the presence of the arcane. “So, no turning back from this one, huh.” That wasn’t so much a question as it was a statement, and Tia had to wonder what was going through his mind right then. Spike exhaled deeply as they came to the bottom of the stairs, and stopped in his tracks. “Tia... Thanks for doing this for me,” he said with a quiet sort of smile on his face. “You’re a good pony,” he continued, turning those bright eyes of his upon her. “And I won’t listen to anypony who tells me different.”
Tia felt her cheeks color and shook her head firmly. “I’m just doing what I can, Spike. Speaking of which - are you going to take a new name?” she quietly asked as they passed around the corner and into the main basement room. Tia had always enjoyed ritual magic - there was just something about meticulously planning out and building up a complex spell and setting it to life with only the barest touch of magic: the careful use of ingredients, the alchemy of using the worlds ambient magic to craft a powerful spell out of seemingly ordinary things. And of course, the very best part was the result that lay before her.
Six hoof-crafted beeswax candles were aglow with arcane energy, their wicks alight with dancing flames in a rainbow of colors. Between each, a line of soft white chalk connected them with the geometric runes of Harmony magic. Glittering gems set where the lines converged with one another gave off sparkling beams of light that scattered around the room, turning it into a dim echo of a nightclub - or perhaps a fireworks display. The entire edifice practically vibrated with stored power, carefully gleaned from the world around it. “Okay, Spike.” She said quietly, gently picking him up by the scruff of his spines and tossing him into the center of the design. “Last chance to back out,” she remarked quietly, feeling as though she needed to give him the opportunity.
Spike shook his head firmly. “Do it.” He said with finality, and Tia nodded - her horn lighting up with a bright golden power. She pressed it into one corner of the design and gave it the little burst of energy it needed to activate the ritual. Golden energy rushed along the chalk lines - bright light blazing through the runes laid into the ground. Tia quickly retreated as Spike’s body slowly began to lift off the ground - the energy laiden gems defying the laws of gravity to follow him up. “Whoa! Hokay, that’s kinda tingly...” Spike commented with some small amount of surprise as he tried to remain stationary - the candle flames blazing up higher with each passing moment until each was a column of colored flame.
“Uh... hey Tia? J-just in case...” Spike said, as the power began to coalesce into a curtain of pure magic. “I... I just want you to know that... That Twilight s-still loves you..” He said in a trembling voice - his eyes beginning to go glassy with the effects of magical sleep. “S-she loves you just as much as she ever has... Just... just talk to her, okay?” He gulped out quietly, the shimmering bubble of magic slowly going opaque as the spell wove about him. “It... It’s important,” were the last words he spoke as sleep overtook him, the ritual finally locking into its magical rhythm and shutting out the world around it.
Leaving Tia to stare at the glittering shell of power, her mind racing as to what Spike’s words could possibly mean.
~~~~~~~~~~
“Oh yeah! It’s a great day to Paaaaaar-tay!” Vinyl Scratch bellowed into the air - her mane was stylin’, her shades were equally stylin’, and Tavia was wearing one seriously hawt outfit. To be more specific, Tavia was wearin’ this sweet looking, gothy, long-skirted black dress with a tightly laced midnight blue corset, her mane tied up in electric blue ribbons and laced with sparkling sapphires. She had on heeled blue hoofboots that went alllll the way up, and Oh-ho-ho-ho Vinyl was having a really rough time not drooling at her every time she took a hip-swaying step. The phrase ‘dat flank’ was not nearly appropriate enough.
Luckily for Vinyl, there was plenty to keep her mind occupied. DJ-P0n3 was in da house, and the entire town was just getting off its flank for what was guaranteed to be the biggest celebration in Ponyville history. There was a stage to prep, speakers to set up, and phat beats to lay down for the peeps of Ponyville. Course, there was lots of other stuff to do too, but Vinyl figured most of it would take care of itself. Jazzy Beats, her sound-tech, was showing her the plans for the system they were setting up all over the town square, where the main stage would be. “Aiight, go get Breaker and Neon and tell em to get to it.” Vinyl said once Jazzy had finished her quick overview. “I gotta go meet with th’ Bugpony DJ.”
Heh. Bugpony. Who’da thunk that just by givin’ somethin a new name you could make it seem way less scary? But then, Vinyl had been dealing with those kindsa prejudices for most of her life. No few of which had come from her stupid parents- not that she really gave two bucks about them anymore. She had Tavia, and that was what mattered - even better, Tavia was slowly becoming as open minded about stuff as Vinyl was, even if she was still occasionally kinda stuck up about other stuff. Oh well, nopony was perfect.
Still, it kinda made sense to her when she thought about it. Changeling was the kinda word that conjured up all kinds of scary, kidnapped-in-the-night images of terror and fear and being turned into this mindless bug-like thing. Bugpony... well, it sounded kinda like batpony, and ponies had been using that term forever. Thestrals were alright folks, even if they got a little stuck up themselves from time to time. And the best of em knew how to party like nopony else could. So... why couldn’t the bugponies?
Sure they were kinda weird - all up in each others heads with that hivemind thing they had going on. But then, when you got right down to it - a lotta unicorn communities were pretty weird too. Lotta pegasus communities were the same. All ponies had their own weirdness, in some way or another. Example prime - Pinkie Pie. If I can get along with Pinkie, why can’t I get along with this... what was her name again? Vinyl pulled the scroll out of her DJ bag and examined it. Uh... Kli’kyet? She blinked at that name, then looked up and asked, to no one in particular. “How the buck do you pronounce that?”
“Clee-kai-yet.” Said a bright and buzzily cheerful voice right next to her ear. Vinyl whirled in place, the little scroll of paper flying out of her hooves and sailing up into the air as she tumbled in a not particularly graceful heap onto the ground. A burst of giggling laughter followed her superb fall, and Vinyl had to take a moment to regain her bearings “Ah, apologies. I could not resist. You are the Dee-Jay, yes?” The voice was... rather pleasant, actually. Bright, cheerful - the buzzing sound not at all off putting. Actually gave it this cool sort of accent, like she was feeding her voice through a sound board.
In her dizzied state, Vinyl already wanted to take that voice and set it to a slick beat. “Ayo, that’s me.” She replied with a goofy grin - her dizziness finally settling down to reveal.... “Whoa,” Vinyl said, lifting her shades in astonishment at the sight before her. The bugpony—or changeling or whatever—was very clearly feminine, which was quite the shock given how few of them had had noticeable sexual characteristics up to this point.
She had very bright golden eyes, and her ‘mane’ was a healthy and vibrant green that spilled down around her shoulders and fetchingly over her face. Like all changelings, she had that cute little pair of fangs legend said could turn you into a changeling if they bit you with them - but on her, they looked kinda smexy. Her wings were bright and utterly lacking in the ‘swiss cheese holes’ Vinyl had been told was indicative of all changelings. Her body was very lean and svelte, giving her a sort of Fleur De Lis look that Vinyl had to admit made her just a wee bit jealous. She giggled again, a bright sound that Vinyl couldn’t help but grin at. “You like what you see?” The bugpony named Kli’kyet intoned saucily, fluttering long eyelashes at Vinyl. “Lord Blackedge suggested that perhaps it was time we chose our own forms to better integrate with our new neighbors, and I found this particular shape pleasing.”
Vinyl blinked rapidly as she processed that. “Oh, well that makes sense.” She said, trying to suppress being flustered at the... rather alluring sight of the creature before her. “But yeah, I’m Vinyl Scratch.” She shoved herself up off the ground and extended a hoof in greeting - and much to her delight, Kli’kyet gave her a hoofbump in greeting. I gotta figger out a nickname for her. “So uh, the Mayor said you’re gonna be performin’ with me an’ the other Ponyville artists?”
“Mhm!” Kli’kyet buzzed brightly. “It will be a superb way to merge our cultures together. It’s quite amusing really.” Her eyes flashed through several different colors before settling down on the gold again - it was kind of disturbing to watch, but also kind of cool. Vinyl wished she could do that. “Most of your species do not think we have a culture, or that we’re all stupid little drones.” She paused for a moment then sighed gustily. “While it is true that the drones of our specie are not precisely the brightest stars in the sky, they are most certainly not indicative of the rest of us.”
“Heh. No one ever said all ponies were particularly brilliant either.” She grinned toothily back at the bugpony, tilting her head to one side and pulling down her shades again. “So tell me, Clicky. Whaddaya know about music?”
~~~~~~~~~~
Tia nervously adjusted her saddlebags as she stepped out into the bright morning sunshine, hoping Luna would understand her need to get out and about. Granted, Luna was so deep asleep that it was possible she wouldn’t wake up until sunset. Tia could simply not wait for her sister to get her lazy flank up. She had work to do. So with a deep breath and something resembling a song in her heart, she quickly trotted down the street towards the bustling town.
All around her, the signs of work being sloughed off in anticipation of fun were everywhere. The work crews who had been diligently repairing, rebuilding, and refurbishing the town had shut down their job sites in favor of various rather dangerous looking games. One crew had apparently constructed a catapult and was using it to lob lumps of mud and occasionally water balloons at a work crew down the street. Said opposing work crew were hard at work building what Tia was certain was a trebuchet and stockpiling less-than-fresh vegetation with which to return fire.
Tia simply shook her head at these antics, dodging past another group of ponies who looked like they were having the time of their lives chasing one another with pillows. Overnight it seemed the town had gone from nervous and edgy to a massive outburst of enthusiasm. Maybe it had been the oppressive storm yesterday that had finally quenched the fires of anger and prejudice... though Tia privately doubted that was so. Of course, even that doubt was beginning to take hits as she passed into the town proper. Six days ago, the local ponies had been more than merely nervous at the sight of the changelings. There had been real fear, tension, and anger on the part of no few citizens.Yet that fear and tension was continually ebbing away... and the reason why was incredibly obvious.
The changelings... had changed.
Gone were the swarms of identical-looking drones, and vicious chitin plated warriors. Gone were the eerie dragon slitted eyes and wings and hooves filled with holes. Gone was the faceless, nameless ‘swarm’ and in its place something new had appeared. True, most of them retained their black and green primary coloring, but now a rainbow of other colors and patterns had appeared on their chitinous bodies.
Their wings and hooves were whole, and they bounced and moved like any other pony in town. A thousand different eye colors flashed across the streets, and glittering wings had transformed into a thousand different variations on shape and size - from glittering slender wings to short buzzy wings. They were mimicking things ponies were familiar with - bees, dragonflies, even butterflies flitted about the place, as though it was the most normal thing in the world.
Not changelings. Bugponies.
It was brilliant. Even Tia, terrified by the implications, could admire the cunning mind which had to have come up with the idea. How best to deal with terror? Make the thing you fear commonplace and familiar. What pony in Equestria would fear a butterfly with beautifully colored wings and a bright disposition? What was there to fear in a little swarm of honeybees just cheerfully going about their daily work - swarming over a job and getting it done with maximum efficiency. Who feared the display of glorious dragonflies soaring through the skies, flitting and dancing amongst the pegasi?
Tia did not even realize her hooves had become rooted to the ground, her violet eyes flicking from one group of changelings to the next. Drinking in the beautiful and insane sights that now lay before her. Many of Ponyville’s citizens were just as startled as she, yet shock was giving way to curiosity. Several burly earth ponies were standing with a bulky changeling in a bee-getup as a swarm of drones constructed a stage for some kind of performance - the three of them were speaking in quite enthusiastic tones about how the swarms could speed up reconstruction of the town by several orders of magnitude.
As Tia’s hooves slowly returned to life, carrying her into a town that was far busier than she’d ever seen it before, the whole of the picture became startlingly clear to her with a single scene. Oh, there were arguments - there was still anger and fear that bubbled in the hearts of many citizens. There were disapproving stares and muttered words of disapproval at this or that custom or action. There was still tension between the new citizens of ponyville - between pony tribes, between newcomers and old, and more.
But there in the town square, not far off the main thoroughfare, an aged pegasi mare and an equally aged looking changeling stallion sat on a park bench holding hooves. They watched as the many races of ponyville passed by them with gentle smiles and soft words meant only for one another. It was so clear, so blindingly clear that they were in love. More incredibly, that they had been in love for a very long time. How long had that changeling lived amidst her ponies? How long had they loved one another in secret, hiding the truth from everypony around them? The couple looked up at her and smiled together, the mare lifting up her hoof and waving gently at her. Tia felt a smile tug at her lips, and raised her hoof to wave back at them before continuing slowly on her way.
Only to be blindsided a moment later by the blur of a grey coated, blonde maned pegasus who tackled her in an enthusiastic hug. “Gooooooood morning, Tia!” Ditzy Doo proclaimed for all the world to hear. Tia fell practically head over tail and was half pinned to the ground by the mailmare - a loud ‘Ooof!’ the only sound she was able to make while Ditzy did her best to squeeze the breath right out of her. “Oh, it’s so good to see you!” Ditzy continued, utterly oblivious to the fact that Tia was gasping for breath. “And look, I brought Dinky!”
Tia was finally released as Ditzy swung the little periwinkle coated filly out from her muffin-themed saddlebags. She sucked in a couple of deep breaths and Ditzy presented her cute daughter to Tia like some kind prize - and Tia unconsciously brought up her hooves as Ditzy deposited Dinky into Tia’s lap. “Hi! You must be the nice mare momma has been talking about!” Dinky proclaimed in a squeaky-cute voice. “I’m Dinky Hooves, it’s nice to meet you Miss Tia!” she continued on, then planted an incredibly adorable kiss on Tia’s nose.
Tia stared for a moment and then shook her head slowly and laughed. “And it’s a pleasure to meet you too, Dinky,” she said with a shy smile - and Dinky responded to said smile with a little a cheer and a smaller version of of her mother’s tackle hug. Tia gently squeezed the filly close to her, looking up into the bright golden eyes of Ditzy... and saw her blush a very bright, very obvious red before turning her head away and covering her face with her hooves.
It took Tia a moment or two to absorb that reaction... only to have Dinky spell it out for her in a quiet whisper. “Mommy really likes you, you know,” She said with a twinkle in her filly eye. Tia felt a lump form in her throat as Ditzy continued to blush like a schoolfilly
Oh dear. It’s going to be... an interesting week, it seems.
~~~~~Canterlot Castle~~~~~~
Queen Mi Amore Cadenza shot up out of her bed, her chest heaving heavily as she struggled to catch her breath. Something was wrong. Terribly, terribly wrong. Shining was nowhere to be found - likely busy with Twilight on some matter relating to the situation in Ponyville. She’d elected to grab a few extra hours of sleep this morning after raising the sun— an act which still felt odd and unnatural to her, in spite of the incredible comfort and stress relief she felt from doing it.
Yet even the warmth of the sun that pulsed deep inside of her chest now was not enough to chase off the chill of fear that had settled over her. What in the name of Harmony is going on? she wondered as she rolled out of the wide and soft circular bed and elected to ignore the royal jewels for the moment to quickly trot out into the hallway. As if by second nature, the trio of royal guards fell in behind her in formation as she strode purposefully down the hallway - her mane flowing with intense arcane power in the bright gold, purple, and violet of her once much more normal mane.
She followed her instincts, stalking down the hallways of Canterlot Castle with a single minded determination. It did not take her long to reach the balcony which overlooked the Stone Garden, and there below the subtly guarded statue of Discord. Even from this distance, Cadence could tell the statue was utterly unchanged. There was no sign that the spell that held the dark creature imprisoned was weakening... and yet something was definitely wrong here. She turned to one of her guards and spoke quickly and quietly. “Find Queen Twilight and bring her here immediately.”
The stallion in golden armor saluted and quickly ran off down the hallway. That taken care of, Cadence turned her vision back to the statue - narrowing her eyes as she called up her magic. No longer was it the quiet yet passionate warmth of the love she felt for her husband... The Sun was a power of order, magnitude, and great presence, even if she now was certain that the power she shared with Shiny was its superior. Still, the force of the Sun was terrible in its majesty, and the light from her horn shone like the Sun itself as she peered into the labyrinthine depths of the spell that held Discord in check.
For several long minutes, she stood motionless as she tried to contemplate what all of his chaotic energy was doing. She stared and stared for what felt like an eternity, trying to fathom why Discord’s power would be... draining out of his physical form. Was he dying? But that was impossible! Cadence had to dig deeper into the spell, trying to trace where the energy might be headed. It was only after another eternity of examination that Cadence’s pupils retracted to pinpoints, the meaning of the energy drain becoming terrifyingly clear to her.
She recoiled from the spell in shock as Twilight appeared out of the ether next to her, staggering as she tried to calculate the implications of what she had just seen. “Cadence?” Twilight said in a bright but concerned voice - her broad wing quickly supporting the staggering Sun Queen. “What’s wrong?”
Cadence sucked in a deep breath and exhaled. “We have bigger problems in Ponyville than we had first thought, Twilight,” Cadence said with a quiet determination. “Round up your friends and unpack the Elements. We may have need of them before the week is done.”
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He might also be mutating into something new and unsettling.
ok, first
that should be "Queen Mi Amore Cadenza"
and second
if Dinky Hooves gets any sweeter, we all gone die from diabetes.
2961610 Ugh, how did I miss that one? *facehoof*
Hmmm this is promising.
I love that little tidbit about old mare and changeling stallion up there and how they were in love. It just seems... so sweet.
And this is another good chapter! Love to see Celestia being way more relaxed, although the last scene feels ominous, did Discord escaped his prison?! O:
Oh god... that ending. That cliffhanger. I'm not even angry about the cliffhanger this time. Bravo!
So. Stuff is going well in Ponyville. Bugponies are settling in, trying to help the citizens of Ponyville feel more at ease. Festival is starting to get on to progress. Ditzy has a MAJOR crush on Tia and Tia might actually know it.
Brain is weak from work, so whatever... great chapter. Can't wait for more.
Great chapter, glad to see things are starting to move along story wise.
So, Discord's power is being drained out? I'm curious how it's getting past the binding spell? Fun times ahead!
Thing are going down and I don't know what they are, but I can't wait till they do.
Couple of minor continuity glitches I've noticed. First, Tia was surprised to learn that Mayor Mare was Cheerilee's mother when they met in chapter 18, but she already learned that back in chapter 5. Second, here in chapter 23, Dinky introduces herself to Tia for the second time - the first was the party in chapter 7.
It bothers me that neither spike nor tia considered twilight when they entered into turning spike into a pony as a dragon he could be there for twilight for millenia to come as a pony he only gets 100 or so short years
Well that’s ominous
2961435
He's just going with the flow!
11306097
Quite.
We aren't told if it also shone.