Equestria Exiles: Dawn of Dream Valley

by Paradise Oasis

intergration

intergration

"Honestly, can you believe it?" Golden Harvest asked her friend, aghast at the news she had just heard from another mare. "The queen is actually letting those... those nasty beasts stay at the castle!"

"Now ya jest calm down, Carrot Tawp!" Cherry Jubilee told the other mare. "North Pole tol' me they have those ornery critters under control! Ah don't think th' queen would let em' be heah if they were actually a threat to everypony!"

The two of them were on their way to the cafeteria, having just finished picking the day's allotment of vegetables. Golden Harvest was looking around every corner nervously, afraid a changeling would pop up at any moment. The nervous mare was terrified the shadowy shape shifters were still carrying a grudge.

"Aw, would y'all calm down, Carrot Tawp?" Cherry Jubilee snorted angrily. "They ain't comin' ta get ya, so ya'll can jes calm down!"

"Yes, your friend is correct." Shadowvale responded, materializing from a spot near the wall. "If we were going to do something to you for penetrating my disguise, you'd be extinct by now!"

"AHHH!" Cherry Jubilee yelled in surprise, jumping backward. "It's the changelin' leadah! Ya'll was raight Carrot Tawp, he's come for ya!"

"Yes, I have." He said calmly, looking over the jewel-eyed mare who was frozen in fear. "I've come to apologize for causing you so much discomfort, and would like to accom-pony you to the mess hall, as a gesture of goodwill."

"You're kidding, right?" Carrot Top asked incredulously. "You can't seriously think a pony would trust one of your kind, do you?"

"Oh, please!" Shadowvale scoffed. "Do you really think I could do anything, with the exilir having taken my draining abilities away forever? Besides, we're surrounded by Dream Valley guards here... not to mention all the civilian ponies are watching us like hawks."

"All right...." Golden Harvest replied suspiciously, eyeing the changeling leader. "Let's go to the cafeteria, then."

The Pegasus stallion nodded, and led her through the doorway. Behind them, a bewildered Cherry Jubilee was trying to figure out what the heck had just happened.

"Carrot Tawp?" She asked silently, her ears drooping as the stallion led her friend into the dining hall.

...

"Wow! So you've been a unicorn this whole time... and you never told anypony?" Cherry Cola asked in shock, shaking his mane. "It's hard to believe a celebrity like you, kept this a secret for so long!"

"Yeah, well it really wasn't that hard to keep it from everypony!" Sapphire Shores scowled. "Until little spoiled princey over there blew my disguise, and gave me away to the whole castle!"

The pony of pop glared over at the royal unicorn stallion, who merely hid his face in shame. Blueblood had royally bungled it again, and her knew it.

Following the incident at the dining hall the previous day, the castle guards had tracked Sapphire back to her room and captured her. After holding her for half an hour and asking several questions, the crown finally had her released. Tired and humiliated, the newly outed unicorn made her way back to her room.

It wasn't long, however, before gossip quickly spread to every mare and filly in the castle, about Sapphire’s secret. Depressed and dejected, the pop star had made her way back to the mess hall, where she had drowned her sorrows in seven milkshakes. The kitchen staff, feeling sorry for what had happened to the pony of pop, had come out to comfort her.

"But I don't get why you disguised yourself as an earth pony!" Apple Cobbler whinnied, dumbstruck. "Why decieve your fans for all these years? You would've had it much easier building your career as a unicorn!"

"I wanted to appeal to the common pony, not those stuck up unicorn elite in Canterlot!" Sapphire replied with a sigh. "I guess it really doesn't matter out here anymore... I just wish I could have told everypony myself instead of this disaster happening!"

"No offense, Sapphire... but I really don't think that's going to matter her anymore!" Apple Cobbler replied with a chuckle. "If the queen can integrate changelings into our society without much trouble... then I don't think many of the old prejudices are going to hold in Dream Valley."

"Hey... you're right!" Sapphire’s ears suddenly perked up. "That's what we are here, one big family! Earth ponies, sea ponies, Pegasus, changelings... we're all one herd now!" The unicorn mare suddenly squealed in delight. "Ohhh, I think this has inspired me to write a new soooong!"

On the other side of the Cantina, Nurse Redhart was enjoying her lunch. Spying the nurse out of the corner of his eye, a nervous Noteworthy trotted up with his tray.

"E-excuse me, is this seat taken?" The earth stallion asked nervously.

"Huh? No, go ahead." The mare smiled politely, moving her tray a bit. "You're Noteworthy, the stallion from Ponyville, right?"

"Yeah." He replied nervously. "So, how things in your new clinic?"

"Oh, not bad. Kind of odd to be in charge of everything myself." She replied with a sight, taking a bite of her hay sandwich. "And most of the ponies helping me down there don't know very much about medicine. I've been having to read up on a lot of the medical books and journals the Changelings brought me."

"Wow, you must not have much time to yourself." Noteworthy whinnied sympathetically. "I never have a moment's peace from all the songs Sapphire wants me to write!"

"That's right! You're a musical composer!" Redhart smiled, remembering. "You wrote all the music for our annual Ponyville recital last year!"

"Yeah... that was a long time ago, feels like." He replied sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck with his hoof. "I miss writing all those different types of music, too..."

"I love listening to good music, Noteworthy. I always loved going to concerts when they were held in Ponyville." Redheart sighed. "I'd love to come and listen to you play some of the classics on the piano sometime."

"R-really?" Noteworthy's ears perked up. "That'd be great! I'd love to come down, and help you out in the clinc sometime, if your ever shorthoofed!"

"That would be helpful." She replied with a grin.

As they were talking, Sapphire Shores suddenly game galloping up, almost out of breath.

"Noteworthy, come on! I have a new song idea!" She pushed him away from the table. "Bring your lunch with you, and let's get to the piano before I lose the inspiration!"

"Hey, wait!" Noteworthy protested, as the pony of pop shoved him out the door.

"What a funny stallion!" Redhart giggled to herself, finishing her meal.

At another table, Caramel and Sassaflash watched the proceedings with interest. The two were on their brakes, and were enjoying a plate of spaghetti together- a rare occurrence, given their hectic schedules.

"He likes her." Caramel noted, watching Nurse Redheart leave. "He likes her a lot."

"And I think she may like him back." Sassaflash responded. "But Redheart's too wrapped up in her work to notice him."

"Think we should help them, love?" Caramel asked, feeding her a fork full of spaghetti off their plate. "It' pains me to see the two so lonely... and besides, Noteworthy's an old friend!"

"Yes, I agree we should help." Sassaflash replied with a smile. "You talk to Noteworthy first chance you get, and I'll speak with our good Nurse next time she's off duty."

"Maybe they can find the happiness we've found, m'love." Caramel replied, gazing into her eyes, as he fed her another meatball....

After Sapphire had left, Cherry Cola and Apple Cobbler were sitting around, tapping their hooves. A furious Inky, having returned from one of the kitchens on the floors above, came out to the table and glared at them angrily.

"What are you two doing out here? You have orders to fill!" Inky demanded angrily, tapping her hoof. "Get back into that kitchen this instant!"

"Awww, don't be such a nag, Inky!" Apple Cobbler grumbled, waving a hoof dismissively. "We'll get to it, when we're good and ready!"

"Yeah, chill out!" Cherry Cola agreed. "We're not gonna fall behind!"

"Urrgh!" Inky yelled aloud in frustration. "Can't I get anypony to do anything?"

At that, Prince Blueblood suddenly stood up and trotted over to the table where the two lazy ponies sat. A look of anger spread across his face, as he stared down at them

"Excuse me, my good ponies, but I wish to have a word with you." The unicorn stallion snorted angrily. "You two make think it is funny to just sit their and laugh at your superior. But I will NOT TOLERATE your insubordination to this fine mare!" Blueblood's eyes seemed to blaze, with a fire none of these ponies had ever seen before. "Now, I suggest you both make haste to that kitchen, before I am forced to make you regret your actions!"

The two ponies stared disbelieving for a few moments... before galloping back towards the kitchen in a panic. Inky stared at the stallion in shock, amazed that he had done something right.

"Blueblood, that... that was amazing!" Inky replied in shock. "I can never get those two to listen to me, how-"

"A prince must have a commanding authority about him." The prince replied simply. "Even if I cannot use the royal Canterlot voice, I can still make ponies listen when I speak!"

"So the one thing you're good at, is telling people what to do." Thinking for a moment, a smile spread across Inky's face. "Your highness, I think you're about to become the king of the kitchen!"

...

"I must say, I can't believe how cleverly you handled that changeling situation, North!" Minuette grinned at him, as the two trotted towards the throne room. "You not only eliminated a major threat, but you gave our queen a valuable new set of assets to work with!"

"Why thank you, my dear!" Pole replied, trotting a little closer to Minuette. "And I must say, you do a splendid job of keeping the queen's day to day affairs running smoothly!"

"Thank you, North, that's sweet of you." She moved in close to him, and suddenly began nuzzling his thick, blue mane. "But the way you craftily handled your political power, like the skillful manipulator you are... oh, the power, North Pole! The power drives me crazy!"

"Minuette, control yourself, please!" North Pole commanded, pulling away from the blue mare. "We're about to enter the royal court!"

The two unicorns trotted into the throne room, where Queen Rosaline was already speaking to the two Flutter Pony envoys.

"So we have an agreement, then?" Rosaline asked them, her eyes shifting between the two flutters. "Our terms are amicable to you and your illustrious ruler?"

"Indeed, my lady." Ploomette, the pink mare with rainbow wings, replied. "Queen Rosedust accepts your offer of alliance, and looks forward to Dream Valley's aid, should we come under attack by Equestria."

"And we shall expect the same, should my Aunt Celestia decide to bring her wrath down upon us." Rosaline snorted. "But tell me, has your queen been able to secure Princess Cadence's support?"

"Our queen has already dispatched two ambassadors, Diamond Rose and Sweet Song, to the Crystal Kingdom to secure her aid." Daisy Dreams, the purple flutter pony with the pink mane, flexed her wings. "It is our queen's belief that a untied, three-kingdom front will be enough to force concessions from the royal princesses of Equestria!"

"And I quite agree." The queen snorted. "And that is why I am dispatching several ponies on a mission to Canterlot, that will give us the intel on what Celestia is planning to do!"

"Intelligence gathering... an excellent strategy, your highness!" Ploomette agreed, nodding. "Allow us to send a squad of flutter ponies to aid your team."

"They are called the Windy Wing Ponies, and they will serve your mission well." Daisy Dreams agreed. "But what if it should turn out Canterlot is plotting against us?"

"If my aunt and her bureaucracy are readying any kind of attack on us..." Rosaline narrowed her eyes. "Then all of Caterlot will pay dearly for that decision!"

Comments

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wow wow wow! you brought the wingers in? excellent