Promises of the Future
Chapter 17: Promises of the Future
Rainbow Dash awakened to a familiar trilling sound coming from the window below. With a yawn, the cerulean mare pulled herself out of bed and began making her way down to the living room of her house. As she went, she could hear Soarin’s voice from below, the stallion speaking softly, probably so that he didn’t risk waking her up. That’s sweet of him.
As she reached the bottom, she entered the living room and saw Soarin’ standing near the window. Perched on the sill was the familiar, vividly-colored phoenix that’d played with her a while back. The bird turned his head to look at her and let out a musical chirp, which Rainbow took to be a greeting.
“Hey yourself,” she said back, giving the bird a wave with her hoof. She wasn’t fully awake yet and couldn’t manage more than a weary greeting.
The phoenix apparently noticed and began to sing, lilting gentle chirps, trills, and warbles that seemed to course in through Rainbow’s ears and sweep the cobwebs out of her brain, picking her up in a way that surpassed the best coffee that ponykind had ever concocted. Once he had finished, the phoenix lowered his head and began to examine his wing, looking quite pleased with himself, if Rainbow was any judge of phoenix expressions.
“That is the most awesome way to wake up ever,” she said with a chuckle.
“Yep, it’s a treat,” agreed Soarin’.
Looking at him when the stallion spoke, Rainbow found her eyes drawn to the note that Soarin’ had been reading. She began to suspect that it was the phoenix that had brought it. “What’s in the letter?”
A startled “Eep!” escaped the stallion before Soarin’ hastily crumpled the note, looked around frantically and, upon realizing that there was no place he could hide or dispose of it in the room while Rainbow was watching, crammed it into his mouth, chewed and then swallowed.
“What the hay was that about?” asked Rainbow, eyeing Soarin’ dubiously.
“Uh sorry,” said the stallion, grinning sheepishly, “It was…confidential information…”
“Sooooooaaaaariiiiinnnnnn’!” Rainbow’s voice became an agitated growl as she began to stalk towards her coltfriend.
“Eek! Come on Ouranos! Little help here?”
The phoenix looked at Soarin’, then at Rainbow Dash, before he pointedly turned his attention back to his feathers and began to preen.
“Et tu Ouranos,” groaned Soarin’ dramatically, affecting an expression of mock despair, “What’s a guy gotta do to get a break around here?”
Rainbow paused in her advance and gave the phoenix a confused glance. “So his name’s Ouranos?”
Seizing on the chance escape his predicament, Soarin’ grinned eagerly. “Yep. Sorry. I forgot you two haven’t been formally introduced to each other yet. Rainbow, this is Ouranos, Spitfire’s friend and partner.”
“Partner?” Rainbow looked at the bird in confusion.
“Yeah,” replied Soarin’, “It’s not something that she likes to show off in public, but Ouranos is actually her closest friend and companion. During really serious situations, the two of them can fight together. It’s pretty awesome to watch and I’m sure you’ll get the chance to see it sometime.”
“Huh,” mused Rainbow, “It must be pretty cool to have a phoenix…friend like that.” She had to stop definitively to avoid saying the word “pet” instead of friend. She got the impression that the extremely intelligent bird was likely to take offense to such a term.
Soarin’ chuckled. “Yeah. He’s a hoofful though.” That remark earned him a peck on the top of the head, which startled a yelp out of the pale-blue stallion before he settled back down.
“Anyway,” said Soarin’, rubbing his head, “Ouranos actually brought us some good news. It looks like Dawn’s tip panned out.”
“His tip?” asked Rainbow, raising an eyebrow at Soarin’.
Soarin’s eyes widened when he realized that he’d forgotten to inform Rainbow about what Dawn had told him and, by proxy, Spitfire. He groaned and smacked his hoof against his forehead. “Me and my memory issues…
“Apparently, Willow used her last words to tell Dawn how she’d found he was in Ponyville. As it turns out, it was Fleetfoot who contacted Willow.”
“WHAT!?” exclaimed Rainbow, her horrified shout drawing a startled squawk from the phoenix.
Soarin’ sighed. “Spitfire investigated and confirmed it. Fleetfoot’s been a member of the Cult Solar since shortly after she was admitted into the Wonderbolts. It seems that’s the reason she was always so gung-ho whenever we got missions from the Princess.
“When she saw Dawn with you in Cloudsdale, she realized that he must have been living in Ponyville. That’s how Willow found out.”
“How is this good news?” demanded Rainbow.
Soarin’ smiled wryly at her. “As it turns out, we got lucky. Thanks to Willow’s tip, we managed to nail Fleetfoot before she could inform anypony else in the Cult Solar. She contacted Willow directly, so Willow was the only one who knew. That means that the rest of the Cult Solar doesn’t know that Dawn’s in Ponyville yet.”
Rainbow worked her mouth silently as she thought over what Soarin’ had just told her. Once all the information clicked in her brain, a wave of indescribable relief descended upon her and she found herself happily looking forward to being able to tell Dawn that they wouldn’t have to worry about anypony else showing up and trying to kill him for a little while yet.
However, looking over, she saw that Soarin' wasn't exactly sharing in her happiness. It must be hard for him, she realized, One of his teammates turned out to be a traitor.
"Are you okay about this?" asked Rainbow.
Soarin' sighed despondently. "I wish I could say that I feel great...But yeah, it kinda hurts to think that Fleetfoot would do something like that. That's really low."
Closing the distance between them, Rainbow gently nuzzled Soarin's cheek. "I'm sure it'll be okay," she said softly.
"Yeah," agreed Soarin'. Suddenly, a new thought seemed to perk him up. "Hey Dashie."
"Yeah?"
Soarin' pulled away from her and gave Rainbow a sly grin. "Let's go on a date."
Rainbow blinked and tilted her head slightly. "A date? Um...sure... But haven't we gone on plenty of those already?" They'd gone out to dinner almost every night since they'd arrived in Ponyville together. Technically, if you wanted to look at it from a certain angle, Soarin's two weeks of leave was constituting one long, extended date already.
"I kinda meant something a little fancier," said Soarin', "There's this restaurant in Cloudsdale that does great food that all the Wonderbolts like. I'd love to take you there."
"Okay. That sounds great," said Rainbow, still feeling a little suspicious. Her suspicions grew when Soarin's grin widened.
"There's one catch though."
"What's that?"
"You're gonna need a dress."
Scootaloo yawned widely before leaning back to flop onto the grass, staring up into the almost-clear skies above. After so many weeks of the sky being achingly, chillingly clear, many residents of Ponyville were more than a little pleased to see it dotted with little clouds once again, now that said clouds were no longer being hoarded away and reserved for emergency rainstorms. The filly wryly thought that there probably wouldn't be many requests for clear skies for a few weeks after what Ponyville had gone through.
Normally, Scootaloo and Dawn would have been at the quarry, training, probably with Dawn insisting that the day off was a perfect time to get extra practice in. That had been their attitude on Saturday after all. However, with the events of yesterday, both their respective mothers had declared a unilateral ban on any further training for the weekend (aside from their, once again, regular session of practicing their forms) and had ordered that their foals spend the morning relaxing so that they didn't tire themselves out before Scotaloo's cuteceñera that afternoon.
A shiver of excitement ran up Scootaloo's spine as she thought that word. How long had she spent desperately seeking a cutie mark, throwing herself pell-mell at different activities in the hope that she would spontaneously find the one thing she was good at? It was a bit silly that, after all of that, her mark had finally appeared when she had finally settled into something that she wanted to apply herself to and pursue to the fullest extent of her abilities. All those lectures from adult ponies, about how getting a cutie mark wasn't something you could force, how it was about more than just being good at something, all made sense now. Looking back, she was amazed at how silly she was. It's funny, she thought, looking down at the image of a white swan decorating her flank, One little thing suddenly changes the way you look at everything.
Even the fact that she was thinking so hard about such things was a substantial change from the norm. Scootaloo had never been big on the whole silent contemplation thing. She'd always been about motion, using her energy to move her body, propel herself faster and higher. Who would have thought that getting her cutie mark would suddenly make her so calm? Or maybe it wasn't the cutie mark itself, but rather, what she had done to earn the cutie mark. Not so long ago, Scootaloo would have never applied herself to one thing with so much dedication. Even practicing on her trademark scooter had been more of an exercise of whimsy than it had been any kind of serious training. She often threw herself into various tricks because she thought that they would be cool and exciting, sometimes crashing as a result.
That had changed a bit when Dawn had started teaching her. She'd learned the importance of dedicating herself, applying herself, disciplining herself, from watching the colt at work, both in how he trained her and how he trained himself. He didn't simply waltz her from one exercise to another, but kept her working on each one, making sure she had it down right before moving on to the next. Scootaloo had chafed under it at first. But now, she truly understood the importance of what she had been taught. More importantly, Dawn had shown her in the way he practiced, the sight of him dutifully going through his forms every morning burned in her mind's eye. She realized that his strength didn't come from some kind of "special talent," but years of practice, building upon the things he had first been taught.
And Dawn wasn't the only one she saw it in. Thinking back, when she had been watching Rainbow Dash practicing her stunt flying, Scootaloo realized that she had always been too obsessed with the idea of Rainbow's "awesomeness" to see the cerulean mare's training for what it truly was, a grueling practice regimen that Rainbow put her all into in order to prepare herself for the day that she joined the Wonderbolts. Even after earning her cutie mark as a foal, Rainbow had never been content to rest on the laurels of her "special talent," but had instead continued to push herself to the next level.
The more Scootaloo thought about it, it didn't just apply to her idol. Her mind turned to Apple Bloom's big sister and Scootaloo thought back to the sight of Applejack bucking tree after tree, divesting each one of its fruit with just a single blow, then to Rarity as the alabaster mare worked her way effortlessly through dress after dress, or even Twilight Sparkle and her constant studies in magic, in spite of the fact that she was already known as one of the most magically powerful unicorns in all of Equestria. They had all discovered something with their cutie marks. But rather and simply being the end of their quest to discover their self-identities, they had instead turned and built upon what they had learned about themselves in the marks' discovery and had had turned that "end" into a beginning.
Geez, mused Scootaloo, When did I get so philosophical...And when did I turn into Sweetie Belle?
Scootaloo's thoughts were interrupted by the rumbling clopping of approaching hooves. Rolling over onto her stomach, she saw Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle cantering in her direction. The fluttering of wings drew her attention upwards, where she saw Rumble descending from above.
"Hey everypony," said Scootaloo, getting up, "What should we do today?"
"Well, we can't go too crazy," said Sweetie Belle, "After all, we don't want to tire ourselves out before your party."
Rumble looked around in confusion before turning to Scootaloo. "Where's Dawn?"
"Uh, he said he went to get something," said Scootaloo, shrugging. The ebony colt had joined her out in the park after they'd been told that they wouldn't be allowed to go to the quarry and run themselves ragged on Scootaloo's special day. Instead, they'd simply relaxed and enjoyed the scenery. Scootaloo was pretty sure she'd seen Dawn doze off for a little while before awakening and saying that he'd needed to get something from his mom and flying off.
As if on cue, she spotted a black speck in the near distance. To her surprise, it was Dawn. He was doing one of the last things Scootaloo ever expected to see him doing, namely struggling while flying. As he came closer, it became apparent why Dawn was struggling. His foreleg fetlocks were wrapped around the handle of a picnic basket nearly as big as he was. The entire load made the colt wobble and dip as he fought to keep airborne.
Scootaloo and Rumble sprang into action, shooting off to intercept Dawn. Flying up close, they would see that the ebony colt had worked up a decent sweat carrying his load all the way from Fluttershy's cottage.
"You are crazy," was all Scootaloo said. She and Rumble exchanged a look and nodded. "Give it to us."
Dawn looked as though he wanted to protest, but the glare that Scootaloo shot him apparently burned through any sense of defiance that he had. Shrinking under her look, Dawn let Scootaloo and Rumble grasp the handle of the basket between them, leaving barely enough space between the two of them to keep their wings spread as they fought to keep aloft.
As Dawn relinquished his load, Scootaloo let out a yelp as the weight of the basket began to pull her down. With Rumble helping, she managed to keep flying. Together, the two of them began to ferry the basket back towards the others. "What the hay were you thinking try to carry this all the way from your place without any help?" demanded Scootaloo over her shoulder.
Dawn blushed and shrugged noncommittally. "It didn't seem so bad at first."
Scootaloo was a bit surprised that Dawn would make an oversight like that. Still, with Rumble's help, she was easily able to carry the basket. But she'd never have considered the idea of trying to carry the whole thing on her own for any substantial distance.
Arriving back at the gathering, they lowered the basket to the ground and opened it to see what was inside. The foals' eyes widened gleefully at the veritable smorgasbord of snacks and treats packed within the basket. Fluttershy had assembled a lovely picnic lunch and had made enough for all five of them. Being split five ways made the quantity of the food sufficient that they wouldn't starve, but not so much that they would be stuffed by the time Scootaloo's cuteceñera rolled around.
Settling down around the basket, the five friends passed the snacks around and enjoyed themselves, chatting amiably as they whiled away the time until the party.
"So Scootaloo?" asked Apple Bloom, "What does yer cutie mark stand fer anyway?"
"Uh..." Scootaloo took a look down at the white swan on her flank before looking back at Apple Bloom. She wasn't sure she could explain it. It seemed odd. Nearly everypony they had asked about their cutie marks had always ended the story with something along the lines of "That's when I realized..." followed by some profound truth they had discovered about themselves. She realized that, while she'd had some profound revelation about the truth of herself during her performance the previous day, she didn't quite know how to put it into words, or even describe it to herself in concrete terms.
"I...uh...I'm not sure," admitted Scootaloo, looking down sadly.
"Huh? But shouldn't a pony know what her cutie mark means?" asked Sweetie Belle, "I mean, didn't pretty much everypony we ask say they knew what their cutie mark was about when they got it?"
Scootaloo shrank back, not liking the idea behind Sweetie Belle's question. There was the implication, unintended or otherwise, that there was something wrong with her because she didn't know exactly what her cutie mark represented.
"It may not be so easy," said Dawn, gently brushing his wing over Scootaloo's back, "The ponies you spoke to were generally speaking after having years to think over what their cutie marks stand for." He looked at Scootaloo. "Getting your cutie mark was a revelation of a truth about yourself. But discovering the meaning of that revelation is a lifetime process. At least, that's what I remembered my Master saying."
"Can you at least figure something out about it by what it looks like?" asked Rumble.
Dawn turned and looked at Scootaloo's cutie mark, a gesture that made the filly unconsciously blush, before turning back to Rumble. "I'm not sure. I'm not all that familiar with anything about swans. Perhaps we can ask my mom at the party."
"I guess..." agreed Sweetie Belle while Rumble and Apple Bloom nodded their agreement. That seemed to satisfy their curiosity for the time being. Scootaloo struggled to hold in her relieved sigh, a bit upset by the fact that she couldn't easily explain her cutie mark or what getting it meant to her.
"Please darling, I know you hate standing still for such an extended period of time, but bear with me. Once I have your measurements I can get started and we won't need to do this again until it's time for the finishing touches."
Rainbow Dash groaned, struggling to keep the force of the sound from moving her head out of place as Rarity levitated her measuring tape around the cerulean mare, examining Rainbow's body in extreme detail that would have made Rainbow uncomfortable in and of itself had it been anypony but Rarity. As it was, the idea that Soarin' was sitting there, right now, watching Rainbow go through this was making her feel extra squirmy. To Soarin's credit, the stallion hadn't said a word if he could help it, apparently aware that any attempt at conversation on his part was just as likely to disrupt Rarity's efforts as it might help Rainbow cope with them.
"I still don't see why we couldn't just dig out my gala dress for this," complained Rainbow.
"Even if that's what we ended up doing, I would still need to refit it," said Rarity as she made some notes in a hovering notebook, "Your measurements have changed since I made that dress for you. You've put on some extra muscle."
"R-Rarity!" exclaimed Rainbow, flushing brightly.
"What?" quipped the fashionista as she made another note, "It's a compliment, if I may say so myself. You have a figure most mares would kill for. Not an ounce of flab, a sleek, lithe figure that gives the impression of strength without being grossly out of proportion. Honestly, you have a better figure than any of those stick-thin, starved wraiths that call themselves models. Any dress I make for you must accentuate those qualities and showcase them to their best advantage."
Off to one side, Soarin' found himself blushing as well as the thought of Rainbow, garbed with some light gown that hugged her athletic figure floated in his mind. He was briefly so enraptured with the thought that he didn't notice Rarity look his way and smile deviously.
"I don't know," said Rainbow uncertainly, her voice falling a little, "I remember them always telling me that I was way too muscly for a mare." Though she didn't often speak about it, her dedication to her own flight training was not the only reason she'd not invested a great deal of time in trying to find love. Rainbow had always been a bit self conscious about her tomcoltish nature and the idea that it might have made her less attractive.
"Hmph!" Rarity snorted, tilting her nose sharply upwards, "As if the words of a jealous cad who has the gall to say anything like that have any real worth." She turned her gaze back to Rainbow and smiled warmly. “Besides,” she said, dropping the volume of her voice as she stepped closer to Rainbow so that only she could hear what Rarity had to say, “It seems that your coltfriend is quite enamored with that ‘muscly’ figure of yours.”
Rainbow’s cheeks went from a light pink to scarlet in ten seconds flat.
With an amused chuckle, Rarity stepped away. “Well, I have your measurements and I think I know what kind of dress to make you. Now all that’s left are a few details…” She tapped her chin thoughtfully. After a moment’s pause, she turned to Soarin’. “Perhaps you could provide some insight. Any dress I make is going to need to accentuate Rainbow’s features. Is there anything about her appearance that particularly draws your attention?”
Without the slightest hesitation, Soarin’ answered, “Her eyes.”
Both Rainbow and Rarity stared at the stallion in surprise. Rainbow Dash was especially thrown off. Most other ponies she had met tended to fixate on her mane and tail, with their extremely rare multicolored appearance.
“What, pray tell about her eyes strikes you as so appealing?” asked Rarity after she had regained her composure.
“The color, I guess,” said Soarin’, “There’s just something about the way it goes with her coat that really draws attention to them. A lot of the time, I just can’t make myself look away from them.” Soarin’s expression developed a wistful quality as he looked at Rainbow, whose entire face had gone bright red.
Rarity chortled. “Oh yes, I can understand what you mean. That particular shade of cerise compliments the color of her coat quite nicely. An excellent notion.” She quickly sank into a deep thought as she contemplated how this would affect Rainbow’s dress.
“Alright,” she said after a moment, “I believe I know what I’m going to do.” She turned to look at Rainbow. “You can come down from there darling. I have your measurements now.”
“Thanks,” said Rainbow, suddenly feeling strangely self conscious as she stepped down from the stage.
“Now then,” said Rarity, “When is your little date planned for? I must know, just to make sure that I have the dress ready by then.”
“It’ll be on the last day of my vacation,” said Soarin’ simply, “I wanted to do something special for Rainbow before I went back on duty.”
Though she blushed at the compliment, Rainbow couldn’t help but nuzzle the pale-blue stallion fondly. That’s sweet of him.
From the glazed expression Rarity was wearing, it was clear that she shared the sentiment. After a second, she coughed. “Well then, that’s plenty of time. I’ll need you to come back the day before, so that I can make some final adjustments on it.”
“Okay then,” said Rainbow, “I guess we’ll see you at Scootaloo’s cuteceñera.”
“Of course dear,” agreed Rarity.
Rainbow headed for the door, but paused when she noticed that Soarin’ wasn’t following her. Looking back, she saw that Soarin’ hadn’t moved from his spot.
“Go on ahead,” said Soarin’, “I’ll catch up to you in a minute.”
Rainbow frowned, but nodded and headed out the door. As soon as it closed behind her, Soarin’ turned back to Rarity.
“I need your help with something…”
Storm Front rested quietly on the roof of Sugarcube Corner, his ears picking up the sound of the party going on inside, the joyous yells of foals as they enjoyed the games and treats laid out in celebration for Scootaloo’s cutie mark. Somewhere in there, his new little protégé was probably frolicking about with his friends. Storm Front’s smile widened as he thought about how it felt to have a student, somepony to guide and nurture, to help a young colt hone his skills, to pass something on to the next generation. It was a good feeling, one that Storm had never thought about having before, certainly not while he was on an assignment.
He was roused from his thoughts by the soft fluttering of wings. Looking over, he noticed Flitter settling next to him. The evening light brought out the highlights of her pale-green mane as she smiled at him. Storm struggled to put a name to the feeling that was rising within him. It wasn’t something he could rightly call an emotion, but rather a state of being. He felt lucky. That’s it! This beautiful mare, for some incomprehensible reason, had chosen to give her affections to an aloof stallion whose face rarely had a greater range of emotion than the average piece of statuary. She listened to him, drawing out things he’d never told anypony else simply with her polite attentiveness. When she talked, it was about mundane affairs and everyday events. But her voice was so full of life and a genuine appreciation for even those mundane experiences that Storm could scarcely not listen to what she had to say.
“I thought I’d find you out here,” said Flitter softly, reaching out to brush her primaries against Storm’s own.
“Shouldn’t you be inside with your sister and friends?” asked Storm, “You don’t need to keep me company.”
“I know I don’t need to,” said Flitter, “But I want to.” She scooted over so her side pressed up against his and tucked her head beneath his chin so that her own chin was resting across Storm’s forelegs. Storm instinctively relaxed his neck to put a gentle pressure on top of Flitter’s head as she sighed happily.
Storm’s mind went back to his earlier conversation with Raindrops. “I…” He paused, hesitating for a moment. “I have something to tell you.”
“What is it?” asked Flitter, her head shifting slightly beneath his own. Though he couldn’t see it, he could feel her eyes tilting upward to look at him.
“I have not been completely honest about the reason I’m here in Ponyville,” said Storm.
“I thought so,” said Flitter, her answer causing Storm’s jaw to lock temporarily, “When you told me you were a mercenary, I thought it was strange that you’d want to be a weather pony all of a sudden. And even though you were, you’re still always practicing. You’re still a mercenary, aren’t you.”
Having no other option, Storm answered, “Yes.”
“Is it Dawn?” she asked, “Is he why you’re here?”
“In a sense,” agreed Storm, “It’s not that we are here to protect him. Rather, we are here to protect the rest of Ponyville. It’s for incidents like what happened with Willow, to try and keep bystanders from being caught up in those conflicts.”
“I see,” said Flitter, “So…does that mean, when this is over…you’ll leave?”
“I doubt this will be over anytime soon,” said Storm, “But…I am beginning to doubt that I will be leaving if it does.”
“Oh?” He could practically hear her eyebrow rising. “Why not?”
“Because…” Storm pulled his head back so that he could look directly down at Flitter’s face. She looked up at him expectantly, her expression neutral, as though she knew what she would feel regardless of what his answer was. “Because I think I’ve found reasons to stay.”
Flitter’s lips curled up into a serene smile. “That’s what I thought you’d say.”
“You don’t mind then?” asked Storm, “That I’m a mercenary, that I sell my skills in violence for bits.”
“No,” replied Flitter, “I don’t mind. Because, no matter what else you are, you are you…and that’s why I liked you in the first place.”
She tilted her head up a little further. Almost by instinct, Storm’s head dipped down in response. Before his lips met hers, Storm barely had time to whisper two final words. “Thank you.”
"You want to know about swans?" asked Fluttershy, a bit surprised to be approached by Scootaloo under these circumstances. After all, it was a party. Scootaloo's cuteceñera was in full swing. Sugarcube Corner was full of ponies, adults and foals, all present to enjoy the games, taste the treats and congratulate the bright-orange filly for earning her cutie mark. Given the circumstances, Scootaloo herself should have been in the thick of things with her friends. However, as soon as the initial waves of well-wishers had passed and Scootaloo had played a few of the games, she had located Fluttershy and approached her.
"Yeah," said Scootaloo, "My cutie mark is a swan..." She turned about to give Fluttershy a clear view of the mark itself. "But I'm not quite sure what the swan is supposed to stand for."
Fluttershy tried not to stare too much as she examined the cutie mark in question. "Well...A lot of times, swans are used to represent things like grace and poise." Scootaloo nodded, having expected that a little bit. To her surprise, Fluttershy blushed fiercely. "They are also a symbol of...well...love." Now it was Scootaloo's turn to blush as that latter part sank in. Fluttershy took a second to look in closer. The swan's neck was drawn up in a tight curve, almost tucking its head between the partially raised wings. "Oh my," she said, "It's busking."
"Busking?" Scootaloo raised her eyebrows skeptically. "Isn't busking that thing Lyra does when she's between concerts and wants some extra bits?(1)"
That earned a giggle from Fluttershy. "I'm afraid that's a different kind of busking,(2)" she explained, "Busking is a pose that a swan takes when it's trying to scare away intruders from its territory."
"That's it?" asked Scootaloo.
"Well..." demurred Fluttershy, "If busking doesn't work, a swan can get very aggressive."
"Eeyup."
Scootaloo and Fluttershy both yelped and jumped at the sound of Big Macintosh's voice. Turning, they saw that Big Mac had come up to them at some point during their conversation. The stallion was chewing the stalk of grass he habitually carried in his mouth, but the look on his face was haunted and harried.
"You know about swans?" asked Scootaloo, surprised.
"'Bout angry ones anyway," replied the large stallion, his gaze growing distant as he relived a vivid memory, "Don't ever cross a swan sugarcube."
"Wow!" exclaimed Scootaloo at the empathetic tone in Big Mac's voice, "Are they really tough! That would be awesome to see maybe...!"
"Nope!"
Fluttershy and Scootaloo backed away at the incredibly stern tone of Big Macintosh's voice. Scootaloo hadn't heard the normally gentle red stallion use that tone since the time he'd overheard Apple Bloom suggest they try getting their arsonist and insurance fraud cutie marks. Just one word from the stallion had put paid to all their carefully laid plans. And now, he was using that same tone in a conversation about swans.
"Don't mess with swans sugarcube," said Big Mac in that same tone, giving Scootaloo a stern almost-glare that left her trembling, "Don't ya even think about it." Not waiting for a response, he turned and clopped away, his hooffalls making the floorboards shudder beneath the filly's hooves as she watched him go.
Scootaloo and Fluttershy shared an uncertain look. "Are angry swans really that bad?" she asked.
"Oh they can be very dangerous," replied Fluttershy, "There are even stories about them drowning and killing full-grown stallions."
"Uh..." Scootaloo turned around to regard her cutie mark once again, "...Wow."
"It suits you," said Dawn, smiling as he came up to them. He'd stayed with Scootaloo and her friends throughout the course of the party and had been discreetly listening to Scootaloo's conversation. "Graceful...but also powerful and fierce."
Scootaloo had to avert her eyes from Dawn as she felt her cheeks heat up, prompting a giggle from Fluttershy as she leaned over to nuzzle her son. "That is very true," she agreed. Turning back to Scootaloo, she also nuzzled the orange filly affectionately. "You can worry about what your cutie mark means later. Right now, you have a party to get back to."
"Right!" agreed Scootaloo eagerly, before she turned around to jump back into the fray. Dawn smiled and followed her at a sedate pace.
Fluttershy sighed happily as she watched them go. The sound of a set of hooves separating themselves from a nearby crowd and trotting over alerted her to the fact that Caramel joined her well before the tan stallion stepped close enough for Fluttershy to lean against him. "They grow up so fast," she said softly.
"I guess so," agreed Caramel, "What do you think Dawn's cutie mark is going to be?"
"I honestly don't know," admitted Fluttershy, "I would have thought that it would be something to do with his martial arts, but he's been practicing those for most of his life now."
"Well, whatever it is, he'll probably take his time," observed Caramel, "That colt doesn't seem to be much for rushing."
"I suppose," agreed Fluttershy. Strangely, the thought that it could be some time before Dawn found his special talent warmed her heart. Getting a cutie mark was an important step onto the path to adulthood. Given how little time she'd spent with Dawn as her son, Fluttershy would not object to anything that extended her perception of him as a foal for a little longer. He was already very adult-like in quite a few ways already. There was certainly no need for him to rush.
The two of them stayed together and watched from a polite distance as Dawn played with his friends and enjoyed the party meant for the one who had saved him from the darkness of his own heart.
"Holy Father, have you read the news?"
The stallion who had just stepped into the room was a massive specimen to be sure. His dark-brown coat, the color of freshly-turned earth, ready for planting, did nothing to conceal the massive, solid muscles that stood out beneath it, giving the impression that he had been hewn from the side of a mountain. The color of his coat was offset by his mane and tail, which were a light green, giving the impression that a field of fresh wheat was sprouting from his neck. Though his tone was politely urgent, the stallion's steely gray eyes were impassive, indicating his impressive self-control as he sought his superior's attention.
With a sigh, the other stallion in the room, a rosy-pink specimen whose mane and tail sported layers of orange that washed out to a sunny yellow from top to bottom, coloring him much like the rising sun at dawn, rose to greet the other pony. As he turned to regard the new arrival, his pale-cyan eyes were equally impassive, giving no indication of what the thought of the unexpected arrival. He was smaller than his counterpart, much slighter in build, fairly average for a unicorn.
"I am afraid that I have not read the latest edition of the Equestrian Times," he admitted softly.
The dark-brown earth pony frowned darkly. "It just came out that Fleetfoot of the Wonderbolts was discharged and arrested recently."
"Is that so?" inquired the unicorn, raising an eyebrow, "I'm surprised that news didn't come out immediately. Do we have any information on what she was arrested for?"
"None that has been publicly admitted," said the earth pony, "However..."
"You think it may be related to her association with us," suggested the unicorn.
The earth pony nodded. "Fleetfoot is a decorated member of the Wonderbolts. For her to be arrested so suddenly..."
"Can you think of anything that might have happened recently that might lead you to that conclusion?"
"Not really..." admitted the earth pony, "It's more of a hunch than anything else."
"Which does not make it invalid," commented the unicorn, "Your hunch is born of experience bypassing conscious thought. What is needed is for you to determine what this 'hunch' of yours is about."
"I suppose," said the earth pony pensively.
"Is there anything else you wish to report, Terra Heart?" asked the unicorn.
"Nothing yet, Holy Father."
"Please don't be so stiff with me," said the unicorn, "I may be the Supreme Pontiff of the Order, but that is no reason for you to be so formal, my friend."
"True," replied the Terra, "But it is only proper. You are the head of the Order and must be treated with due respect and deference."
"Considering that you are my second, there is plenty of room for leeway," replied the unicorn with a wry smile, "Besides, hearing my title over and over again tends to grow stale after a while. Our Radiant Light tends to feel the same way with ponies calling her 'Princess' all the time."
Terra let out a sigh. "I'm sorry."
"It's alright. I was just about to begin my meditations. Would you care to join me?"
"Not right now Holy-I mean...Not right now...Morning Star."
Morning Star, Supreme Pontiff of the Order of Celestial Light, chuckled as he turned back to the window, the fading light of the setting sun glinting off the harsh white horn that extended from his forehead. "Then see if you can find out any more information on the events leading up to Fleetfoot's arrest. It would be a shame to see any of ours imprisoned for their association for us, particularly since we work for the greater good of Equestria."
"I will do so," said Terra Heart.
Morning Star took one last look at his friend and subordinate. "One more thing. How is the construction of the temples coming along?"
"Everything is going according to schedule," replied Terra Heart, "There have been grumblings from those in the interior regions of Equestria. It appears that Nightmare Moon's popularity is beginning to rise and ponies are forgetting her crimes in an attempt to curry her favor. They have asked us to do everything in our power to ensure she is stopped before others fall to her wiles."
"Urge patience," replied Morning Star, "The Nightmare is a cunning creature and ever watchful. If our people falter in their vigilance, she will root them out in their dreams and learn our true intent. However, neither can we afford to rush. Anything worth doing is worth doing right. We must ensure that she will not return to plague us yet again a thousand years from now after all. If we rush now, all that we have worked for could be undone."
"Of course," replied Terra, dipping his head.
As the earth-colored stallion left, Morning Star turned back to look out the window, his eyes never leading the setting sun. "Yes. Impatience is the bane of such carefully-laid plans. You showed me that personally, Celestia."
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Good I really hope the fight scene is soon I'm curious of Arkenstones abilities. As for Morning Star I wonder if his horn works fully and who will end up having a death match against him. Maybe all 7 knights vs him.
Morning Star.....
........HOLY SHIT I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING
edit: surprisingly enough the bit about swans i already knew. swans are scary
Dayum...
First, I wanna say... SHIP EVERYPONY, SHIP!!!!!!!
And this chapter was done well. Nice job.
Oh, no. Morning Star? The same sociopath/psychopath that Celestia personally removed all records of and banished because of his experiments? This... might be a problem. I really liked the short vignette with Flitter and Storm Front. It was really quite touching!
Can't wait to see what happens next!
Bad dirty mind! Bad!
You know I'm not religious in the slightest so it just clicked home now.
Chosen one of the great solar deity, cast down for opposing her benevolent rule with his own self righteousness, powerful enough that he almost won, very familiar with demons. You know, I'm really hoping Morning Star doesn't title himself as the Light Bringer (though in this case it would be somewhat ironic as the Latin translation is in reference to the light of the moon). He does seem to be for-filling the role of great deceiver though...
Otherwise great chapter.
Dawn looked as though he wanted to
progressprotest, but the glare that Scootaloo shot him apparently burned through any sense of defiance that he had.oh, hoh! big mac's tragic swan-related backstory... why is this interesting
And suddenly a cry of DOOM was heard, faint almost as if born from a distant breeze.
All joking aside though, great job on the chapter.
3757787 No kidding unless it happens to be a VERY large bird of prey, a swan will pretty much bitch smack anything the bird family has to throw at it.
I can't wait to see what happens next! I've really been wondering about Arkenstone's weird behavior...
Wooo! Love the chapter
Arkensone better kill that mother fucking noble xD And Twilight better not get angry at him. It is a duel to the death after all.
derpicdn.net/img/2013/6/11/345708/large.png
Sorry it's not pony, but you get the idea.
I still reckon Wight Shade is Morning Star, even more so now. Unless Wight Shade knows about Morning Star and is perusing his works in an attempt to stop him. Either way, a mage that can bring matter into the world does not bode well for Dawn.
So, they know Fleet-bitch has been arrested, but not why nor where Dawn is. Good, still gives me time to find and remove this stupid cult.
Morning Star...
Somehow, whenever I think of him and see how he speaks...
This guy pops in my head:
static1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130406163102/assassinscreed/images/e/ef/ACB_Rodrigo_render.png
Anyways, to Soarin and Rainbow...
Let Rainbow do this for him:
derpicdn.net/img/2013/8/31/415554/large.png
th04.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/f/2011/285/2/6/cereal_guy_spitting_by_rober_raik-d4clu6f.png
Also, do horns grow back white?
Soaring gonna get on his knees and say those words. Isn't he.
I think I know what Morning Star is doing... he replicate the Elements of Harmony and will not only Luna ban to the moon, but Celestia to the sun.
And why Celestia you will ask?
The answer is: To see if it work.
Thank god that didn't work out for them.
Hah! Morning Star! We had it coming! Btw I think he became the leader of the cult Solar simply because he wants to exact his revenge on Celestia by killing off her sister.
And he pretends to worship her like every other blind foal there.
3757755 My money is on Twilight and Dawn vs him. Or just Dawn!
needs end quotation marks.
_________________________
Well that's an answer to the Cutie Mark Q. Somewhat. Although while graceful and feirce. She isn't the type of pony to rip out someponies eyes, or shatter their kneecaps for a laugh. So much less of an 455 than a Swan. But yeah Graceful and fierce are Scootalooish qualities. Although I thought it'd be more along the lines of her internal monologue of "A leaf in the wind".
________________
3764593
Remind me again who Morning Star's sister was?
Hmm... Wight Shade, perhaps?
3764595 As a fellow disregardent of the laws of physics, I suspect Discord will become involved in some way.
Ohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrap!
He's using the cult to sate his own curiousity.
It might be more poetic if instead of Dawn becoming A Celestial Knight, he became a Lunar Knight.
leaving
Figure's the Solar Cult is nothing more than pawns of Morning's plan of revenge
...
Oh, Christ, this is really developin'.
.... *pulls out gun, places gun to forehead and pulls the trigger* ....
goddammit i was fucking right again HAHAHAHAHAHA
..... called it
Great the leader of the cult is a sociopath with a vendetta against Celestia.
STOP SCREWING WITH PEOPLE'S LIVES ASSHOLES! JUST STOP IT!
4889377 I've Actually been thinking that since the concept of the knights was introduced.
Oh god
Truly the Solar Cult are children using a blanket of lies to hide from a world that does not desire them.
jk
3759698 Yeah, that was my response, too
You know, the possibility of his being the leader, or at least a member had occurred to me. The best revenge would be for him to use the cult to destroy Celestia. Besides, what better place to hide?
...Morning Star...leader...whaaaaaaaaa? Okay, there have been several plot events that I have called, but this was not one. You, sir, have blown me away again.
I am glad I am not the only one who Finds Dash's Eyes to be her most striking feature. Whilst her mane and tail are her namesake. Mmf, Those eyes.
In character design, eyes are simply the best feature. You can tell so much about the will of a character by the set of their eyes. That's why anime has such large, expressive eyes.
Eyes are the window's to the soul. When I was younger, I saw a picture of Jon-Benet Ramsey done up like a model. I couldn't help but see that though her eyes were beautiful in the picture, I could also see that they were completely empty. No happiness at all. For a child, that's frightening.
I think that eyes are one of the single most overlooked things where beauty is concerned. Often, what attracts me to a girl is her intellect, and the best way to see that is to see the way her eyes light up when she expresses it. A pair of cute eyes framed by glasses is such a beautiful thing to me because they draw attention to those mysterious orbs.
i wonder what happened to Diamond Tiara
Storm Front and Flitter are so cute!
7294476
This is so true! Everytime I'm watching a new movie/tv show, I always pay close attention to the actors/actresses' eyes. That's when you can tell what makes a good actor or a bad one. If they can convey everything with just their eyes and nothing else, then you got a great actor!
When Christopher Eccleston was Doctor Who, he blew my mind and broke my heart in two scenes with his eyes. And one of those scenes was in profile, so that made it harder for him to project his emotions, but by golly he did it!
Ohhh Raaarrittyyy
Soarin my good sir, that smile is telling you that you're not getting away either
If it's not i suit, i will hit you
....... What ?
7244165
I’ve never heard of Morning Star out of this story. Please elaborate?
10420455
Earlier chapter. When Twilight was escorted to the hidden library with Arkenstone by Wight Shade, Morning Star was mentioned, and it was mentioned that he started off by putting inorganic matter into ponies ; and last story when the Doctor was talking about being a student of someone that the Princess erased all knowledge of in Equestria, and he learned how to do what he did with feathers by studying under said person (whom you can guess now was Morning Star).
So there was some hints to Morning Star before now, and we even get a hint that Morning Star the Supreme Pontif is the one banished when he said the lines