Chapter 37
Ghost Lights
Chapter 37
"A hayburger, and fries, a giant pile of 'em," Azure said. "All of it drowning in ketchup. That's what I'm gonna eat first when we get back to a town with a restaurant."
"Don't forget a soda to go with it," I said.
"Ooooh yeah, another thing I haven't had in six months." Azure nodded.
"I just want chocolate," I told her. "I don't even care what kind. It's been my traditional junk food of choice after I got back the two times before. Just thinking about it right now is kinda giving me a wicked craving."
"You never realize how much you take something for granted until you can't have it," Azure said.
"Darn right." I smiled and nodded. "Although..." My smile faded. "That works in both directions." I turned my head and looked back over my shoulder to the northwest. There was no real hint from where we were now that anything special lay that way, since we were well into Equestria at this point and our journey was almost over. That was, in fact, why the conversation had come up. We expected to reach a town soon. We weren't sure which one it would be, exactly, but they were spaced closely enough together now that we were back in this inhabited part of the world that we were sure to pass through one inside of a few hours.
"Right," Azure said. There was more thoughtful inflection in her voice now.
We kept walking. Azure had remained a unicorn since we'd been at the henge. With no difficult terrain and the roads kept cleared, we no longer had our ostensible reason to fly, and the signs of habitation and travel made it very likely that we'd run in to other ponies. It was doubtful that they'd ever be able to tell in an immediate sense that Azure Sky wasn't actually a pegasus if they didn't witness her transformation themselves, but it still seemed best not to tempt fate with the distant odds that she'd be seen in both forms by the same pony and recognized.
After a while of walking east down a small but well-kept dirt road we were following, we came to a fork where it continued in the direction it was going but also branched south. A sign made of two perpendicular wooden arrows, one above the other, stood at that fork, fastened to a post anchored into the ground. One arrow pointed east and was marked, 'CANTERLOT'. The other indicated the southerly branch of the road. It stated, 'PONYVILLE'.
Azure stopped there at the fork and stared at the sign. I stopped with her.
"Guess we're not far from the city now," I said. "Should be the next thing we run into if we just keep following the road this way." I pointed to the east with one forehoof.
"Yeah, I... I know," Azure said. "But, uh... we don't have to show up there right away, do we?"
"No, I guess not." I shook my head.
"Then would it be alright with you if we took a detour down this way instead?" Azure pointed south.
"Ponyville?" I asked. "What's in Ponyville?"
"It's a who, not a what," Azure said. "There's somepony who might be there, although I'm not sure if we'll catch her at home. I honestly don't know if I'd be lucky or unlucky to find her, actually, but I have that feeling that I should at least try to find out. And... either way, it's something I'd like to explore before I move on to facing Princess Twilight."
"If that's what you want." I nodded. We turned onto the southern fork of the road and continued moving.
A couple hours later down the road, we passed a large sprawling apple orchard that seemed to mark the edge of the town we were headed to. Once we got beyond that, into the town proper, it seemed to be just about run-of-the-mill for a community of its size. Walking through the main strip in the center, I saw that it had a number of cleverly designed stores and shops. Most of the houses and buildings were modern styles and seemed fairly nice.
It wasn't hard to recognize some of the history lingering in the layout of this Ponyville. The town I grew up in was smaller, but followed many of the same themes. The orchard we passed and the neatly planted land outside town said that this started as an earth pony farming colony, but now earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi roamed the streets in about equal seeming proportion and it was obviously fully integrated for a long time, in the usual planned pattern of newer Equestrian settlements. The cooperation helped everypony. Little vegetable and flower gardens were well-tended in lawns and planting boxes, while the sky overhead was also maintained with care and magical streetlights and other devices of convenience helped keep good order.
We walked along and made our way through most of the town and into the southeast section. There was a circular building there with an ornate structure and style and a roof that had a conical shape imitating a round pavilion. It brought to mind the impression of an old-fashioned carousel, and when we got closer, I could see that it was labeled fittingly enough with a small sign in one of the windows identifying it as 'Carousel Boutique'.
Azure walked up to the door. "Well..." She looked around. "No sign posted saying she's on a business trip. She'd usually do that when she's out of town, so she's probably here."
Azure's nervous hesitation was glaringly obvious. "Is that a good thing?" I asked.
"I think that's what I'm here to find out," Azure said. She steeled herself and pushed at the door tentatively, as if testing it. It wasn't locked and it easily starting swinging open a crack at the touch of her hoof. After a moment's pause, she kept pushing and opened it all the way to pass through it. I followed her in. The front door we'd come in through opened into a showroom filled with a great number of clothes, mostly dresses. As we entered, a little bell overhead rang out in softly melodic sound as it was jingled by the opening and closing of the door.
"Com-ing!" A distant voice inside the building half-sang in response to that bell. A white unicorn rounded a curving hallway to emerge in the far end of the showroom, approaching us.
"Welcome to Carousel Boutique," the unicorn said. "Where every garment is chic, unique, and--"
As she came around the hallway and saw us, her eyes went wide. Whatever that next word she meant to say was, it was dropped along with her jaw and she halted in her tracks, one forehoof still poised in mid-step. She had a rich purple mane and tail, flowing with elegant waves and curls and streaked with silver hairs that showed her age but in way that conveyed grace in how she wore it. Her cutie mark was three pale blue diamonds.
"Magnifique?" Azure finished for her.
"Why... yes," The unicorn said. She sounded a little surprised, but she set her hoof down and began to regain composure. "You remember."
"Of course I remember it, mom," Azure said. "I heard that one so many times I'll never forget."
"My goodness, this is a surprise. It's been so long since the last time you were here." The unicorn started to walk forward toward us. "You were so little then. But now... well, look at you!" Pride swelled in her voice. She came closer, then looked Azure up and down for a second before she reached out and pulled her into a hug. I moved aside sort of awkwardly and pretended to check out some clothes on the nearest rack of hangers, leaving them to have their moment.
"It's so good to see you again, Azure," the unicorn said warmly.
"It's good to see you too." Azure returned her hug.
"Oh, but I don't mean to be rude," the unicorn said after a few seconds, and broke off from the hug. "And who is this lovely pegasus you've brought with you?" She turned to face me, suddenly making me a little self-conscious about being the new momentary center of attention.
"This is Sunburst, one of Princess Twilight's royal guards," Azure said. "Sunburst, this is my mother, Rarity."
"A royal guard? Well, you honor my little boutique with your presence," Rarity said. "I'm pleased to meet you, Sunburst."
"Likewise." I felt inadequate, but couldn't think of anything more sophisticated to say. I felt out of place in an establishment like this. "You have a... very nice shop, Ms. Rarity."
"Oh, just Rarity, please." She turned back to Azure. "This is certainly unexpected," she said. "In the last letter I received from Twilight, she informed me that you had been stationed at a distant observation post. Something called a seawall, out in the northwest coast past the edges of Equestria."
"Yes, I was." Azure nodded. "I've been there for the last six months. I just now got back. Actually, it's sort of funny. I'm... not really back yet, exactly. We're ahead of schedule and not expected to reach Canterlot to report in for another couple days, I think, so I decided to take some of the extra time and stop by here."
"I see," Rarity said. "Both of you were out there, then? Twilight said she was sending you with somepony that she trusts very much."
"Yes," Azure said. "We were both there."
"It sounds like an adventure," Rarity said. "I haven't had one of those myself in goodness knows how many years now. I used to in some of my younger days, you know. I must admit, for however... uncouth... they sometimes were, the excitement can grow on you. Sometimes I actually miss it."
"Eh, well, I don't know how adventurous it was," Azure said. "There's nothing out there, really, so most of the time wasn't all that exciting. I guess the uncouth part applies, though. I think my mane could desperately use some attention after six months. We didn't even have conditioner."
"That we did not," I agreed. "We must look pretty torn up."
"I didn't want to say anything, but... well, alright, yes, you rather do," Rarity said. "There's an excellent spa in town, however. Why don't we go there? My treat, to celebrate your return home. We can be done just about in time for dinner and stop in a little restaurant I know of that's not far away."
"That actually sounds pretty alright," Azure said. She turned to me. "If you'd like to. I'm not sure how much the spa is your sort of thing."
"Not usually, but I could stand a trim and something to smooth out the frazzle in my mane and tail," I said.
"Certainly they can help with that," Rarity said. "It's settled, then. Just give me a few moments to get ready."
We were soon on our way to the spa, where a pair of earth ponies greeted us enthusiastically and then proceeded to practically buzz back and forth busy as bees as they worked us over. I told them I just wanted a trim and conditioning of my mane and tail, but while I was waiting for Rarity and Azure to finish the various arcane beautification rituals they were undergoing (involving mud, cucumbers, steam, and other interesting things) the spa ponies insisted on adding on a free coat conditioning and brushing. I had to admit that it did help restore some shine and softness. They also wanted to mist-clean and powder the plumage of my wings, but that was where I decided to draw the line. I'm sure they meant well and knew what they were doing, but preening is a very personal thing and I already had myself groomed exactly how I wanted. I was really not comfortable having my feathers touched and messed with that way by ponies I didn't know.
After we finished at last, Azure and I emerged startlingly different, restored and refreshed in appearance. We sure didn't look like we'd just come back from six months of roughing it in the middle of nowhere.
The promised restaurant we headed to afterwards was nice, very upscale for a town of this size. Rarity seemed to be a familiar guest to the staff and we were seated quickly. Surprisingly, they actually had hayburgers on the menu. It was dressed in some fancy terms and a far cry from greasy fast food, but it was a burger nonetheless. True to her word earlier, Azure ordered it with a big pile of fries. Rarity raised an eyebrow at this but didn't say anything. She ordered a garden salad with mixed flowers. I had a bowl of tomato soup and grilled cheese, which maybe seemed like another odd choice, but tomatoes and cheese were also things we hadn't had the opportunity to eat in six months, so I was eager to take my chance to have them again just to revel in the variety.
"So, Sunburst..." Rarity addressed me as we ate. "I've heard your name before. If I'm not mistaken, I believe you're the pony who gave Rainbow Dash the little push in the right direction that made her and Princess Twilight an item."
"Oh, that?" Surprise ran through me that this was being brought up. For however logically it made sense that it was possible, given that this was an old friend of Twilight's, intuitively it felt surreal that this pony I'd never met in a town I'd never been to would know about it. "Umm... I guess I did."
"It was a wonderful thing for them, you know," Rarity said. "Just wonderful. They've been very happy together for a long time now. For that matter, I'm honestly not sure why they haven't just finally gotten married already. I keep telling them they should."
"That kind of thing is a little bit complicated when you're a princess," Azure said.
"Mmmm. I suppose it is." Rarity nodded.
"It gets political really quick," Azure continued. "I think they're happy enough just to have each other that they don't want to make it into this whole big thing to deal with in the newspapers and whatever by trying to have a royal wedding. It would be a three-ring circus already if it was a mare and a stallion. I can only imagine the way everypony would lose their minds if they announced it would be two mares."
"Well, as long as the two of them are happy with their situation." Rarity shrugged. "That's what really matters, isn't it?"
"They are," I said. "Very much, I think."
"Well, good." Rarity seemed satisfied by that.
When the waiter came around asking if we would care for dessert, I ordered chocolate mousse. The sweetness and richness of the chocolate hitting my tongue on the first bite was a little bit overwhelming, as I expected it to be. For a few seconds, I didn't try to do anything other than just let it soak in.
"Are you married, Sunburst?" Rarity asked, just as that sublime saturation of flavors was dying down. "Special somepony, anything like that?"
"No, I'm not," I answered. "I've really never had a special somepony."
"Never?" Rarity seemed a little incredulous at this. "But that's an experience everypony should get the chance to have at least once. It may not always work the way we want it to, of course, but it's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all, as they say."
I wasn't sure what to respond with, if anything. The silence was awkward, but Rarity seemed to catch on to it and glossed over the topic quickly, moving to another subject in an easy way.
After dinner was over, Rarity led us back to Carousel Boutique, which I found out is not just her shop but also doubles as her house. The train to Canterlot would run tomorrow, she informed us, and we could catch that to make the last little bit of our journey back quick and easy. She also insisted that we could spend the night in her home rather than paying for a hotel room. It was hard to argue, with as nice a place as it was. Even sleeping on the couch was a huge and luxurious step up from the rough straw barracks mattresses and bare ground of the last half a year.
Breakfast the next morning was muffins and fresh milk, after which both me and Azure Sky were herded into the boutique's main showroom.
"You're not leaving here without a new dress," Rarity said. "Either of you. My gift." She turned to her many racks of clothing creations and started searching through them, humming softly to herself.
I turned to Azure, hesitantly, unsure about this. "I don't really think I need--"
"Yeah, don't fight it," Azure interrupted me. "It's how you know she likes you. Dogs lick your face, cats rub themselves up against your legs... and my mom gives you a dress. That's her nature. Just let it happen."
"Umm... alright..."
Rarity rummaged for a few more moments. "Ah, here it is." She telekinetically pulled a dress out of the bunch she was looking through. It was a striking sea-green hue, and was more simple in design than most of the rest that I saw but still very nice looking with graceful lines and smooth elegant curves. She turned and held it up next to me. "I made this not long ago for a pegasus friend of mine, but I just could not get the color to work quite right with her more pale yellow coat and pink mane, so I started over and made her something else. Still, I knew that eventually it would be perfect for somepony, so I kept it, and with your slightly more golden tone and that fiery orange mane I think it may be exactly what's called for."
Rarity cocked her head sideways a bit and looked me over briefly. "You're a more slender athletic build than her, I think, but it'll only be a few minutes of alteration at worst. I'll just need a measurement or two."
Before I knew what was happening, a telekinetically levitated tape measure was wrapping itself around me in numerous places. It encircled my barrel at the chest, then the waist, around my flanks, then measured the lengths of my front and back legs, all in quick succession while Rarity rapidly wrote down numbers on a small sheet of paper. After gathering her measurements, she whisked herself and the dress away to a sewing machine in the corner and began working.
After a few minutes, she repeated the same process with Azure and another dress. In short order, we were both in possession of our respective new pieces of clothing.
"I... uh... I don't really know what to say," I started, in awe of the beautiful sea green gown. This was an embarrassingly valuable gift to be given by a mare I'd just met the day before and it was hard to know just how to respond exactly. "I'll be honest, I don't really own any other dresses. It's the nicest piece of clothing anypony's ever given me. Just saying thanks doesn't seem like enough, but it's all I can think of. Thank you, Rarity."
"Oh, pfffft." Rarity waved one forehoof dismissively. "Really, it's nothing, for a friend of my daughter and a royal guard of Princess Twilight. She's a very important pony to me. Tell her I said hello, won't you?"
"We will," Azure said. "And speaking of, we'll need to be leaving to catch the train for Canterlot soon."
Rarity glanced at a clock on the wall. "Of course." She nodded.
"Before we do, I wanted to ask something, though." Azure fidgeted in hesitation. "Ummm... this is hard to say, but it's something I have to be honest about. We don't see each other very much, do we? We haven't for years."
"No, I'm afraid not," Rarity said. "Scheduling, you know. It's just so hard to make it intersect."
"It is." Azure sighed. "But about that... In the last six months, I've had a lot of time out there alone to think, and I've realized a lot of things. One of them I keep thinking about is that I feel like we're basically strangers. It really bothers me to have to say that about my own mother. It's a problem because there's a lot of things I'd like to know and a lot of questions I want to ask, but they're not the types of things I think ponies talk about with strangers."
"Oh..." Rarity looked taken aback. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize..."
"A lot of it is my fault," Azure said. "I thought for a long time that things just had to be the way they are and that nopony really gets a choice about it. I mean, life certainly seems that way sometimes. But something I discovered out there is that you don't always just have to be swept away with the tide. When you decide what you really want, it's a matter of being willing to do what it takes to make it happen."
Azure walked closer to Rarity and affectionately rubbed cheeks with her. "I'd like to take the time to see you more often, and if that means having to tell Twilight no once in a while, then that's what I'm willing to do. Studying magic nonstop isn't the only thing in life. I want you to be somepony I actually know."
"I'm so sorry. I never... I never saw it that way. I've always avoided interfering in your time as Twilight's student, because I felt like it was best to not be a distraction to your studies," Rarity said. "But truth be told... I would love nothing more than to have my daughter back again."
Azure and Rarity scooped each other into a warm hug. They held each other for a long while.
"How does getting together for something next week sound, to start with?" Rarity asked in a soft voice. She rubbed Azure's back gently with one foreleg.
"It sounds great," Azure said. Her face had a smile on it that radiated happiness. "That would be perfect."
It was a very inspiring thing to have the privilege of witnessing the moment when two ponies became a family again. There should be no illusion that this fixes everything, or maybe even anything, but it was good to see some hope for a new beginning.
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Aww, that was so sweet. I knew as soon as Ponyville came up on the sign that they'd end up going there. Still, it definitely was a nice reconciliation/reunion between Rarity and Azure.
As soon as the Ponyville sign appeared, I was bouncing in my seat. "Please go to Rarity, please!" :D
And they did! Squee! Love how that scene turned out! Azure was pitch perfect with her words. :)
"Mum, I have been dabbling in forbidden magics and I think I have species dissociation disorder."
As 6063622 and 6064948 mentioned, I am certainly glad Azure got to meet with Rarity. Here is hoping they con work towards reconciliation.
6067700 Lol!
Mum: Well then, sending you to a daytime talk show will get you sorted out in no time! xD
/not
6067747
Coming up next after "Stallions in Socks Marrying Diamond Dogs" on the Hayseed Springer show: Princess Twilight's star student's exposé!
"I Was a Pegasus Trapped in a Unicorn Body!"
6067897 If this ends with chairs being thrown while someone cries in the corner, it'll be perfect. xD
6068031 Well, great. I had the ending planned out exactly how I thought I wanted it, but now I'm going to have to completely rewrite it to make this happen.
(not really, but it is a funny mental picture
)
This made my day! Such a perfect comparison! Thanks for the giggle.