A Feeling of Renewal - 4
If Canterlot was made of pure gold, then Ponyville was made of stone bricks and hay. Though, judging by the structures of the houses, I can expect the latter to be true. Nearly every building I pass as I walk from the train station is a thatch-roofed cottage. They give off a medieval village feeling. Once I reach the main street, however, I notice several unique buildings. One looks like a massive gingerbread house with a cupcake on top, presumably Sugarcube Corner. Farther down the street, to my left, is an enormous building that looks like a carousel. Another, in the exact center of the street, is a tree. It is literally a monstrous tree with windows, balconies, and a door.
I approach the tree, suspecting it to be the same one Princess Celestia had told me about. The one Twilight Sparkle had replaced her castle with. A large sign by the door confirms my suspicion: "The Elements of Harmony Memorial Library." I stare at the door for a moment. My hand traces over its wood; it feels soft and welcoming. I enter the library.
"Good morning! Welcome to the Elements of-" The little teal unicorn stops speaking as she stares at me. I stare back. She looks neither curious nor frightened. She looks at me with an expression of awe and surprise.
"Are you alright?" She closes her mouth, swallows, and nods.
"Y-yes. Yes, I'm fine. What are you?" She takes a step forward.
"I'm a human. Name's Anonymous." Her head tilts and she takes a few more steps toward me. I kneel down so she can get a better look at me.
"Neat! Well, welcome to the Elements of Harmony Memorial Library. I'm the head, and only, librarian here, so if you need anything special, just ask!" She smiles. I stand back up and look around.
"I'm actually looking for some information on the Elements, actually. I wanted to learn more about who they were, and what they did."
"Oh! You'll want to check the Magic wing. It's down those stairs -" She points behind me, "- and the series will be on the 'E' shelf. You'll find five books labeled after their elements. Unfortunately, we don't carry the sixth book, due to it constantly being updated and rewritten."
"Five out of six books? That works out, I guess. Thanks." I turn from her and walk toward the stairs, but stop before descending. "I didn't get your name."
"It's Reverie." She brushes a bit of her muted rainbow mane out of her face, showing her magenta eyes off.
"Cute name." I walk down the stairs as she goes back to sorting books; a glimpse of her cutiemark reveals it to be a lightning bolt dipped in ink. Candles in the basement light up as I walk by them, similarly to how they lit up back in Canterlot. I find what I'm looking for, quickly enough. Five books, each named after one of the Elements of Harmony. I pull them from the shelf and carry them to a small table nestled between the "E" and "F" shelves. As I place them down, I pull the first book in the series from the stack.
Elements of Harmony: Legends and Facts Vol. 1. I skim through to learn the general gist of this book. Oddly enough, it only details one of the ponies: Rainbow Dash. It talks about her early life for a few chapter, up until she meets the other elements. It details her roles in all of their adventures, and it details her later life. The last few pages are torn out.
I pick up the second book, curious to see if it hints at what happened at the end of the previous volume. This one details Rarity, and features a lot of the adventures of the previous book, but skips some and features others. I suppose they weren't always together. Just like the first book, the last pages are torn out.
I check the third, fourth, and fifth books. They detail Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie respectively. They miss some adventures, and they feature exclusives. The books are definitely different in a lot of aspects, but they're very similar. Similar, not in the adventures, but the last pages are always missing. Someone might be trying to hide things.
***
The books teach me a lot about the elements. Who they were, what they stood for, how they acted in a lot of situations. I feel like I really know them, just from reading about them. But, there's one that's missing, according to Reverie. I reshelve the books and walk back upstairs.
Reverie whistles as she stacks and sorts books. She turns to me as I approach.
"Find what you were looking for?"
"Aside from the sixth book, and the last pages of the other five volumes being torn out? Yeah."
"Torn out?" The librarian taps her chin with a hoof as she thinks. "Oh! I remember. Princess Twilight came by and tore the pages out. She said she didn't want those parts to be recorded anywhere in history."
"What about other editions of the books?"
"Oh. Those five were the originals that she published. The only first-editions in all of Equestria. I suppose she forgot to remove the pages before publishing them. Every other edition omits those parts."
"Were you able to read them before she tore them out?"
"Unfortunately, no. Though, I suspect it has something to do with how the Elements passed away." Great. The more interesting parts of the books are missing, and the only pony that knows is Twilight. Maybe I can send a letter to Celestia or Luna and ask about it.
"Well, thanks anyway. I still have some exploring to do around town." She waves as I leave. Something about that pony seemed a little familiar. I can't place it, because I only know a few ponies. I think back to the books I just read. She looked a little bit like Rainbow Dash, except with a horn instead of wings. Her mane was different too. I already know Pingpong looked a lot like Pinkie Pie. I can hazard a guess that pony genetics cause ponies to look like their ancestors. Or, there's always magic. Magic seems to be the cause of a lot of things in this world.
As I walk toward Sugarcube Corner, I notice a glint of metal out of the corner of my eye. It disappears as I look toward it. Must have been a cart or something. I shake my head and continue on.
After a short walk, I stand on Sugarcube Corner's porch. A table with four chairs sits to my right, and a bench to my left. The smell that wafts from the windows is intoxicatingly sweet. As I enter, the smell becomes even more powerful, and I feel as though I might become diabetic just from the scent. I walk over to a glass counter that displays an assortment of treats. Hoof-steps sound from a door to the right. I look up, just as a yellow-coated, brown-maned earth-pony mare walks through.
Words don't even leave her mouth before she starts screaming. Before I can react, a second set of hooves rushes through the door. A lanky, tan-coated, black-maned pegasus stallion rushes through. He takes a brief look at the mare before looking up at me. I don't know what happens, but I find myself lying on my back with this stallion on top of me. My saddle-bag has been knocked from my shoulder and lays just out of arm's reach.
"What are you, and what've you done with my wife?" The stallion asks, in the most raspy, calm, and intimidatingly terrifying voice I have ever, and probably will ever, hear. If I don't answer this question carefully, I may die before even having the chance to go home.
"I'm a human and I just walked into your store and I guess she came out to greet me and I don't know what I did, please don't kill me, I want to live." I sob and nearly urinate myself. The only thing that could have made this worse, and possibly could have actually caused me to soil myself, would be if this stallion had a knife on him. They are obviously bakers, and I know that bakers have knives.
"You some kinda spy, come t'take our recipes?!"
"No! I just came to Equestria yesterday, and moved here after meeting the princesses, and all I want to do is not die before I get to go home!" I struggle to reach for my bag. The stallion leaps off of me and kicks the bag away.
"Wonder what's in here. No, no. Don't bother gettin' up. Wanna see what yer hidin'." Oh, good. He'll find the letter from Pingpong, and then I'll be okay. "What's this?" I look over at him, my sobs finally stopping. He sits and reads over Pingpong's letter, shoots me a sharp glare, and then walks over to the mare.
"Wh-what is it, Eccles?" I sit up as the mare starts to read the letter. The stallion scoffs and returns to the back room, while the mare just stares at the letter in awe. I get a glimpse of his flank: scoop of ice cream and a slice of cake.
"What's it say?" I ask as I stand and walk over to the mare, who seems much less afraid of me than she was just moments ago. She passes me the letter, and I look over it.
I stare at it, flip it over, and flip it back over. The letter is literally just a crude drawing of a stick-human and a stick-pony with a poofy mane, with the words "friends forever" written on it. I think I put a little too much faith in Pingpong. It's an endearing picture, I'll give her that, but I'm worried it doesn't explain much to the owners of this fine establishment.
"It seems you've met dear Pingpong." The mare smiles and giggles to herself. "She has a very unique way of communicating with us. Though, if you two are 'friends forever' then I suppose it's safe to say you're a good po- er... human."
"I can't say anything bad about her. She's a good pony. A bit hyper, but good nonetheless." I walk over to my bags and put the letter back. "I'm Anonymous, by the way."
"Cheese Cake, nice to meet you. So, dearie, are you new in town?" I glance at her flank. She has an icing bag for a cutiemark. I don't understand what the princesses meant when they said they represent who the pony is. Talent I can see; personality, I cannot.
"Yeah. I've just been wandering around. Haven't had a chance to see the place I'm staying at yet."
"Well, if you need work, we could always use a helping hoof around here."
"Thanks for the offer, but I don't think your husband likes me very much."
"He doesn't like anyone, to be honest. The offer still stands if you ever change your mind."
"Do you think he'd warm up to me?"
"Nah." She frowns and shakes her head. "He really only likes children. Says they're more inclined to appreciate our sweets more." She giggles for a second. "But, I know him better than that. He likes children, but the problem is, we can't have any."
"Why not?"
"Some of our parts don't work."
"Wow, okay. Really didn't need to hear that, or know that." To think, I'd get a birds-and-bees talk from a colorful little pony in a magical land where everything seems ridiculously innocent, and nothing can go wrong.
"Oh, dearie. It's only a natural thing."
"If you promise to never ever bring any of that up ever again, I'll work here."
"Deal. You can start immediately." I feel as though I've just been shanghaied. Though, if I never have to hear about pony reproduction, or any kind of hint at it, I'll be happy for the rest of my time here. Even if I'm stuck here for the rest of my life, I will never see a pony in such a light. I hope.
"Mind if I at least head over to where I'll be staying to check it out? Maybe put my stuff away?"
"You go right ahead." Mrs. Cake smiles and waves me off. "It's cupcakes and muffins day, so the mail-mare will be coming by to snatch all of the muffins up. Such a sweet thing, shame about her wings." I feel like Mrs. Cake might be a bit of a gossip. I won't mind a little gossip, as long as it gives me information about this world.
I leave the bakery and head to my right, in the opposite direction of the tree house. Another glint of metal shines in the corner of my eye. I don't think it's a cart or a wagon. The glint seems like it comes off of something chrome, or even highly polished. This doesn't seem like the kind of town to have highly polished moving objects. I ignore it and carry on.
I pass by the building shaped like a carousel on my walk. I take a look at it. A sign out front reads: "Carousel Opera House." Interesting. A small town with an opera house. Ponies around here must be huge fans of it. A smaller sign just beneath the first catches my eye. It reads: "Element of Generosity Banquet Hall." I look around. It doesn't seem like many ponies around are affluent at all. Why there would be such an upscale place is beyond me, but I shrug and walk away.
On my way, I come across a large, four-story building with banners splits the road, similarly to the tree-house. Must be the mayor's office. I go inside and look around. It seems pretty empty, aside from a lone pony sitting at a desk.
"Are you the mayor?"
"No." She doesn't even bother to look up at me.
"Oh. Is she in?"
"Not right now, can I take a message?"
"Sort of." I take the princesses' letter out and place it on her desk. "I was told to give that to her by the princesses in Canterlot. Can you see that it gets to her?" The mare offers an annoyed nod. I roll my eyes and leave. Rudeness is a universal trait, it seems.
One long and uneventful walk later, I arrive at my new house. Two stories tall, plain, ordinary, and nothing exceptional.
Perfect.
I pull the key out of my bag and unlock the door. As I enter into the foyer, I flip a switch on the wall, causing a light in the foyer to come on. Magic-powered lights? I didn't see any power lines anywhere in town. Must be some kind of generator. I look around, and make note of the living room on my left, kitchen on my right, and stairs leading up directly in front of me. A hallway leads directly to the backyard.
I decide to walk into the living room first. A bookshelf stands against the far wall, with another doorway leading to a dark room beside it. A grandfather clock sits in the left corner, beside a window. A large couch sits against the wall on my right, accompanied by a small coffee table. I place my bags on the couch and walk over to the dark room.
With the flick of a switch, the room lights up. A study, with a desk, chair, and more book shelves. No other doorways lead into here. I turn the light off, back out, and head to the kitchen.
One refrigerator, oven, dishwasher, a table with three chairs, and a trash can are all I find. A second doorway leads out of the room, back into the hallway behind the stairs. I exit through that doorway, take a right, and head towards the back door. Just before it, on the right, is a utility room. Washer, dryer, water-heater. This isn't a bad place. I look out the back door. The yard is completely barren, save for freshly mowed, lush green grass.
I walk back to the stairs and mount them. At the top, a door stands immediately in front of me. I open it to find a large bedroom, complete with a bed, dresser, mirror, and a closet on the far left wall. A window sits to the right of the closet. To the right, is another doorway that leads to the master bathroom. Shower, sink, toilet, roman tub. Impressive.
I leave that bedroom, and take a right down the hallway. At the end, on the left, is another bedroom. Completely empty. As I walk down the opposite end of the hall, past the stairs, a bathroom sits on the right. It's much smaller than the master bathroom, but contains a sink, toilet, and bath tub. Past the bathroom is one final door. Another bedroom; again, completely empty.
"A three bedroom, two bath house, for one person. I feel spoiled." I chuckle to myself as I head back downstairs, making a quick note that everything is just a tad small for my size. For the third time, a glint of metal catches my eye. This time, just outside the kitchen window. I'm being stalked, and I don't like it. I leave through the front door and lock it behind me, pocket the key, and start walking back to Sugarcube Corner.
Hurriedly, I rush into the building. Mrs. Cake peeks her head out of the back room and waves at me.
"Welcome back, dearie. How was the house?"
"Big. Do you know of any ponies around town that stalk new arrivals?"
"You mean since Pingpong's family moved to Canterlot? No." Pingpong. Oh, please tell me she didn't manage to follow me here. Celestia and Luna will have my head. I walk into the back room, which turns out to be the kitchen. Mr. Cake rolls a rolling pin over some dough as I pick up a broom. Before I can head back into the lobby, I notice a small bit of pink bouncing idly by the window over the sink. I sneak over, jab the broom out of the window, make contact with something that emits a soft grunt, then throw myself over the sink, grab it, and pull it into the kitchen.
With a loud "clang" and a crash, one Pingpong pony now lays on her back in the kitchen. She still wears her armor.
"Nonny! Don't hit me, I can explain!" I stare at her. I'm not even holding the broom anymore, and she honestly thinks I'd hit her. A thought pops in my head: what if even she's afraid of me, on some deep, primal level? I kneel down, pick her up, and hug her.
"I'm not going to hit you, little wizard. Just tell me what you're doing here." Mr. Cake rolls his eyes and continues baking as Mrs. Cake sits a little ways away to watch us.
"Well, I got really sad after you left, so I hopped on the train as it was leaving, and I've been following you around since then. I'm really sorry, but I didn't want you to leave!" I chuckle a little bit and let go of Pingpong.
"The princesses told me not to let you come with me."
"But you didn't let me! I did it all on my own!"
"You have to go back. I told you I'd write to you as often as I could."
"I just wanted to make sure you'd get settled in and ready to meet your special somepony." She pouts a little bit.
"What's a 'special somepony'?" Pingpong glances back at Mrs. Cake, who nods at Mr. Cake. "Oh." I stand up, pick Pingpong up, and walk toward the door.
"Where're we goin' now, Nonny?"
"I'm taking you back to the train station. You're going to go back to Canterlot, and come visit only when it's okay with the princesses, alright? I don't want you getting in trouble."
"Aww! Alright." Mrs. Cake gives me a bag with a few treats inside. I carry Pingpong all the way to the train station, buy her a ticket, give her the bag, and watch her step onto the train. I watch the train leave, keeping my eyes locked on her, as she waves. I wait until it's completely gone from sight before returning to Sugarcube Corner.
And to my new life in Equestria, however temporary it may be.
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Anon feels like a door-mat... not sure how I feel about this yet... kinda wish he would nut up a bit.
Really impressive with the reimagined world that is 'Equestria 3 centuries to the future'
Keep it up
4539889
Never gonna happen.
It's actually a plot point for most of the story.
Actual spoiler:
Like how he's a "hero"
No complaints here, just complements
I like how the story is progressing, not to fast, not too slow. I find it funny that "Nonny" just picks Pingpong just like that. Keep it up!
Cause F#ck yo castle b&llsh*t Hasbro, we like our princess's in TREES!
4540322 i2.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/212/253/twilight_glasses_by_j_brony-d4d2lt9.png
Anon does seem like a little bit of a wimp, he needs to man the F*** UP!!! Otherwise, I really like how this story is progressing and I also like the regular updates!
4540172
>Some connection with pinkie
From Chapter 2:
"And what? Am I supposed to recognize her? I don't really know a lot of ponies, if you've forgotten."
"She is a descendant of Pinkie Pie, though she decided she wanted to be a guard in order to be more like her ancestor." Luna explains.
4540651 hey bakers are scary.........
i always wanted to be a baker....
Honestly, I mite have done the same thing... Being all like... "Holy Crap this mini horse just flipped me up side down and backwards onto my back and is leering over me... I'ma gonna die!"
Twilight defaced books. Everyone panic!
I would have been so fucking angry if I was the one on the floor with that horse standing over me. Oh my god I would have flipped shit.
4542711 i totes agree
4541984
Its a changeling... Its the only thing that makes since!
Shoot if I was Anon all I'd want to know is, "Is this how you welcome your customers in Ponyville?"
"Building"
Lyra confirmed for still alive and this fic confirmed for best.
dreams... crushed
The plot and pony-butts thicken.
They're so nonchalant about revisionism in Equestria, aren't they.
"Most interesting part(s)" makes more sense here. Current phrasing would really only work if Twilight did a more throughout redaction throughout the books.
RD x LH FTW 10EVA
So basically 2:37
^ typo
Anon confirmed for biggest wimp ever.
Huh. It felt like longer. Awfully prompt for the princesses to start trusting a never-before-seen creature to go free dontcha think? Maybe they've totes seen peeps b4 b r jus kepin et kwyett
Orly she hands it. I'd suggest "passes me the letter" atleast.
Foreshadowing with the ENTIRE FRICKIN' MOON right here.
More like you've just been...
SHANG-HIRED!!!
goobypls.movpeg
(Nuke is apparently not finished proving he is a monster).
so uhm 0:29
mfw I realize the Mane 6 were rich all just rich, privileged pony illuminati, merely Celestia's tools for keeping the worker down.
I guess it's barren if you don't eat any grass.
Also
>implying lawnmowers
so at 23:10
Good.
This last line is a little confusing to me, partly because it's not even a full sentence, but a fragment.
Pingpong, he's never gonna find his special somepony...the story doesn't have a romance tag
4583767
Lol that's terrible.
4552593 Your starting to sound like one of those grammar nazi's
So many oc'sssssssss
Aw man what a pussy, getting knocked down and started to sob, i really hate people that cant stand up for themselves. And thet dude just went through his things like he owned them.
You guys know what would have been funny? A Mrs Smith version of apple bloom, but that would have been impossible she would have been over 200 some years then.
I literally cringed at this. I'm sorry, but this part completely killed my interest in the story.
5310869 That, and she screams, and then 20s later is completely friendly with no reservations.
That, the utter retardedness of the main character, 'I eat meat' - when he's just gone over how these are all-powerful horses,
the razor thin defense of the reason for 'anonymous' - which is a stupid 'tense' and not even being interested in his name - utterly retarded cartoon cutouts that give the impression of being minimum wage actors, ...
Thumbs down from me I'm afraid.
Ok this story doesn't feel like it has much energy to me and it seems to come down to a very reactionary protagonist that just isn't interesting. He also doesn't call the guard/police on the guy who just committed battery and robbery. I'll probabl give this a couple more chapters to draw me in but so far, it's not pulling me in and stories actively push me away when there are no real consequences for criminal behavior.
This makes me oddly sad...
Man people are being real dicks here. Get over yourselves
And with this chapter I'm done.
Let it be known that if a small horse were to pounce on me I would immediately try and break one of its legs that way I could take it out back behind the tool shed with my old 20 gauge shotgun.....or just try and eat it.
Cause humanity, that's why.
7211224 And if this was in Equestria where shotguns are scarce?
Chapter would be kind of meh if it werent for pingpong. I must keep reading.. for the cute pink pony descended pony guard.