Three from the Forest

by Zodiacspear

Chapter Four

“Friendship is not about whom you’ve known the longest. It’s about who walked into your life, and said, ‘I’m here for you,’ and proved it.” – Unknown

Chapter Four

The sun rose over the town of Greensborough like it had for countless days before. For one pegasus filly, it was a day she had been eagerly waiting for. What made this day special was that it was the eve of the Summer Solstice.

Her eyes snapped open, and she scrambled over to look out her bedroom window. The street below was mostly empty, save for a few lumberjacks on their way to the lumberyards. This didn’t matter to her, however. With a squeal of delight, she dashed towards her dad’s bedroom. The pegasus was snoring loudly in a content sleep, but that ended rather abruptly as she ran in and jumped onto his bed. He sat upright with a pained grunt as she landed on his stomach. Before he could object, she wrapped her forelegs around him tightly.

“Dad! Dad! Are you awake? Come on, it’s the Summer Sun Celebration today! Get up!” Tourmaline released him, her wings fluttering in excitement.

He coughed before his breath came back to him. “Tourmaline, we have all day to enjoy the festival. Why are you up so early?” He rubbed at his sleep-crusted eyes.

She stopped in her flight. “Dad, Princess Celestia is going to be here this morning. I want to go see her when she gets here.”

He gave a tired sigh. “You can see her when she raises the sun tomorrow.” He nestled in his bed, pulling the covers over his head.

She started bouncing on his bed, causing the whole things to shake. “But, Daaaaaaaad! I want to see her before that. I might even get a chance to talk to her. Come on!”

He huffed and rolled his eyes. “Fine.” He knew that further attempts at trying to sleep were only going to elicit more begging.

“Yay!” Her wings beat the air so fast that she blew over a number of things on her dad’s dresser. “Oops…” she said quietly, watching her dad for a reaction.

He sat up in his bed with a sigh before a yawn overtook him. “Go get your brother up. He’s going too.”

She blinked in surprise. “I forgot about Tormod!” She zipped out of the bedroom and down the hallway in a teal blur.

“I wonder if other parents are so fortunate?” he muttered aloud, setting the items back on his dresser. An annoyed shout from down the hallway and the excited ramblings of his daughter brought a warm smile to his face nevertheless.

-0-

A short while later, the three of them made their way towards the town square. Tourmaline flew ahead of the other two, who both still looked like they’d rather still be in bed than trudging along the streets in the early morning.

“Come on, Dad, Tormod. She could be here any minute,” she called back to them.

“Calm down, Tourmaline. We’ll get there with plenty of time,” her dad said, walking at a slower pace to keep in step with his trudging son.

The colt yawned. “Did we really have to get up so early? I bet even the princess is still asleep.”

Tourmaline gestured to the morning sky, where the sun was completely above the horizon. “The sun’s up, Tormod. She’s awake.”

He glowered at her. “Ever heard of sarcasm?”

“All the time. Besides, more beauty sleep wouldn’t do you any good. Come on already.” She took off towards the square as they rounded the street.

Her dad called after her, “Don’t get too far ahead.”

“Are you sure she isn’t adopted?” Tormod muttered to him with a pleading look.

He laughed quietly. “I’m sure.”

“Of all the luck…” The two trotted ahead to catch up.

-0-

As they arrived, they found that they were not the only ones who had arrived early with hopes of catching a glimpse of the princess. It seemed as if the whole town had turned out to greet her. The square was packed with ponies, all chatting among themselves excitedly. It was well known that the princess would arrive in the early morning and visit with the city that was hosting the Summer Sun Celebration. Many business owners and citizens alike looked forward to getting the chance to speak with the princess in the pony.

Tourmaline flew around to see if there was a way to the front of the packed crowd. “Dad, how are we going to get up front to see the princess? I don’t see a way to get up there.”

The older pegasus looked to the crowd of ponies with a grimace. “We might not be able to.”

Tourmaline groaned. “There’s gotta be a way.”

Her dad flattened his ears at the whine in her voice. “Maybe the two of you could squeeze up front and see her. I can wait back here for you.”

Tormod looked to the crowd with a frown, but one look at his sister and the big sad, puppy-dog eyes she gave him, he could only sigh in defeat. “All right, fine. But stay with me, all right?”

“Yay!” she gleefully cheered.

Before they could start to push their way through the crowd, a voice called out to them. “Tormod! Tourmaline! Over here!”

They looked toward the voice and saw Wanderer waving for them to join him.

“Good morning, Wanderer. Did you come to see the princess too?” Tourmaline asked as they trotted up.

A wide grin erupted across his muzzle. “You bet. I’ve been looking forward to this for months.”

Tormod looked around for a moment. “Did you come alone? I don’t see your mom.”

“Nah, Mom brought me.” He gestured to a nearby bench, where his mother sat alone. She looked disheveled with her mane in a mess and dark bags under her eyes. Her tired, bloodshot eyes made her look like she was ready to incinerate the next pony to attempt to talk to her.

“Your mom doesn’t like mornings either?” Tormod asked.

Wanderer shrugged. “Not when she worked the night before.”

“Wanderer.” Tourmaline frowned at him.

He sighed. “I know, I know, but she promised to take me if I did my chores for a week without arguing and I did.” He looked at his mom again as the siblings’ father sat next to her, albeit cautiously. “I’ll tell her sorry later.” His smile returned. “But come on. The princess will be here soon. Let’s get up front while we can.”

The three began slipping past the legs of the adults, working their way to the front of the crowd. The crowd suddenly started cheering loudly. Tourmaline saw that they were all looking to the sky and waving excitedly. With the crowd, however, she couldn’t see the sky herself.

She looked back to the two colts. “Hurry up! She’s here!”

Trying to push past the crowd of excited adults proved to be a very difficult task. Each time Tourmaline thought she’d make it through, an adult would step in her way, forcing her to mutter a half-hearted apology and go around. She could hear a majestic voice speak to the crowd but wasn’t able to make out what was being said over the din.

Finally, she pushed her way to the front right as the crowd started cheering again. She looked around wildly for the princess, but groaned as she only caught a glimpse of a majestic, billowing tail make its way through the crowd.

“Darn it,” she muttered, crossing her forelegs in a pout.

The two colts appeared from the dispersing crowd, they also looking around quickly before looking at her.

“Did I miss her?” Wanderer asked.

Tourmaline blew at a lock of her mane irritably. “I saw her tail go that way.” Wanderer’s shoulders slumped at her news.

“We got up early just to see the princess’s tail,” Tormod remarked dryly.

The other two glared at him.

If he was intimidated by their glares, he didn’t show it. “Just saying.”

Wanderer sighed. “Now we’ll have to wait until the next sunrise to see her.”

“Ha! Like the princess would want to see the three of you,” they heard a snarky voice say.

Their hackles stood on end as they recognized the voice of Rogue. They turned to see that he was accompanied by Stone Hoof and Scarlet Scroll.

“What do you want, Rogue?” Wanderer growled through clenched teeth.

Rogue grinned slyly. “Want? I don’t want anything from you three. But it seems to me that you three want something.”

“I don’t see how it concerns you though,” Tormod remarked, looking at the three with narrowed eyes.

Rogue glared at him. “It doesn’t concern me, blank flank. I heard you three wanted to see the princess, so I’m here to tell you not to waste your time.” His lackeys snickered.

“How thoughtful of you.” Wanderer snorted. “How did you know we wanted to see the princess?”

Rogue ignored the question. “I just wanted to let the three of you know that I will get to see the princess. She’ll have a luncheon with all of the major business owners in town, and my father and I will be there.” He grinned sardonically. “Maybe if you three ask real nicely and do something for me, I’ll ask a question for you.”

The three instantly glowered at him. “Get lost, Rogue.”

Stone bristled at Wanderer, but Rogue kept him back. “Since I’m so nice, I’ll ignore that. Come on, what would you do to see the princess?”

Tourmaline had just about enough of the bully. “Don’t you have some candy to steal from little foals or something?”

All three glared hatefully at her, but Rogue again brushed it off. “Fine then, waste your chance. Not like the princess would have bothered with the likes of you three noponies.” He walked off with an infuriating laugh, which was shared with Scarlet. Stone Hoof glared at the three a moment before following after his friends.

Tormod watched them wander off. “One could really grow to not like him.”

“Grow? I already do,” Wanderer groused and sat down on the pavement in a huff.

Tormod sat down as well. “He’s right though. We can’t see the princess, not until the rising of the sun ceremony.”

“No way! I’m going to see her, and I’m going to talk with her. No matter what Rogue says.”

The two colts looked at Tourmaline, her eyes practically blazed with determination.

“How are you going to do that? We can’t just walk up to her and say ‘hi,’” Wanderer said.

“Rogue said that she will be attending a luncheon later on. Maybe we can get inside to see her there.”

“But it is for business owners only. We can’t get in there,” her brother objected.

She grinned wickedly. “They don’t need to know if we are business owners or not.”

Both colts blinked in surprise, but Wanderer was quick to match her grin. “The sneaky approach? I like it.”

Tormod looked at them as if they were crazy. “Are you both nuts? We could get in serious—“

“Trouble,” the other two deadpanned.

He looked at them helplessly then finally sighed in defeat. “Fine, but it doesn’t have to be the luncheon.”

They scrunched up their faces in confusion. “What do you mean?” Tourmaline asked.

“I overheard some of the ponies talking about the princess. Apparently, she’s going to attend a meeting with the town’s officials. I guess she’ll want to see how well the town is doing. Maybe we can try there first?”

Tourmaline’s eyes lit up in excitement. “We could see her before Rogue does.”

Wanderer chuckled evilly. “Oh, he’d love that.”

“Beat you there!” Tourmaline challenged, and the two quickly took off in the direction of town hall.

“Wait!” Tormod called after them. “We should tell our parents first…” He trailed off as the two raced away. “Why do I even try?”

-0-

“What do you mean ‘no?’” Tourmaline glared at the guard who was blocking her way into town hall’s front entrance.

“It’s what I said, kid. No admittance,” the royal guard said in a gruff, business-like tone. He looked ahead, not directly looking at the three foals who had demanded entrance.

“Come on, we just want to see the princess. We won’t get in the way,” Wanderer said.

“No.”

Tormod stepped forward. “Pardon us, sir. We missed our chance to see her when she arrived this morning. We only wish to see her and perhaps ask a question. Nothing else.”

The guard turned his stoic gaze to him. “If I allow every foal to ask a question of the princess, she’ll never have time for herself, let alone important matters. My answer stays.”

Tourmaline gave him the cutest, widest, most innocent-looking eyes she could muster. The same look worked wonders when she’d wanted something out of her father. “Please?”

The guard remained unmoving. “No.”

She stamped a hoof. “You’re mean!”

“Move along.”

The three reluctantly turned away, grumbling to themselves.

“So, now what?” Wanderer glared back where the guard allowed a pair of ponies into the building.

“Try the luncheon?” Tormod suggested.

“No way!” Tourmaline declared firmly. “We’re getting in there. No matter what that stick in the mud says.” She glared back at the guard.

Her brother rolled his eyes. “And how are we going to do that? I don’t think he’s going to move even if the sky falls around his ears.”

Tourmaline looked at the building with a downtrodden expression, her mouth tugged into a gentle downturn. The thought of not seeing the princess did not sit well with her. They just had to find a way inside.

“How about up there?” Wanderer pointed to a number of shuttered windows that appeared to lead into an attic.

Her smile beamed as an idea hit her. “That could work. Come on!”

The three made their way towards the back of the building, out of the wary watch of the guard. When they got to an out-of-sight window, they realized a snag in their plan.

“How are we going to get up there?” Wanderer asked.

“I don’t see the problem,” Tourmaline said with a smug smirk, flapping her wings in the gentle breeze.

The two turned their unamused glares on her.

She swished her tail in irritation. “I was joking.”

Tormod looked around before he pointed to a number of empty barrels that sat outside a shop. “Maybe we can stack those?”

“That’s awfully useful,” Wanderer remarked.

Tormod looked at his sister. “Better make sure we can get in. See if the window is unlocked.”

She nodded and flew up to the shuttered window. When she managed to open them, she started for a second before she turned her head sideways to listen. “Guys, I can hear the princess talking. Hurry up!”

“Help us stack!” Wanderer yelled up. He ran across the street towards the barrels and used his muzzle to roll them across the dirt towards the window,.

Between the three, they managed to stack the barrels in a stair-like construct. Tourmaline looked at it with a cringe, it didn’t look that sturdy to her.

As did her brother, who looked at the stacked barrels like they were a snarling dog. “You sure about this?” he asked, looking at Wanderer doubtfully.

Wanderer thumped his chest. “’Course I’m sure. I helped put it together didn’t I? I bet it’ll hold ten ponies at once.”

“Right.” Tormod's expression didn't change any.

“Come on, you two!” Tourmaline called down impatiently.

“Let’s go, Tormod.” Wanderer began to climb the barrels, and Tormod reluctantly followed.

Tourmaline watched them and shivered in excitement. Soon she would get to see Princess Celestia, and she might even get a chance to talk with her. The thought of speaking to royalty made her giddy. She wanted to squeal but kept quiet so the guards wouldn’t hear her and find them sneaking into the building.

“What are you doing? Get down from there!” A shout from the corner of the building startled them. Unfortunately, both colts jumped at the shout, which caused the rickety stack of barrels to shake and collapse—taking the two along with them. They landed with resounding thuds, scattering barrels everywhere. Tourmaline could only look down at the mess with her hooves over her muzzle in shock.

Tormod groaned as he pushed Wanderer off of him. “I’ll never trust anything you build again, Wanderer.”

Wanderer shook his head to clear the dizziness. “Guess I won’t get my cutie mark as a builder.”

“You three, halt!” a guard yelled.

“Go!” Wanderer shouted, and the three took off, leaving being a flustered guard.

He shook his head at the three as they kicked up a trail of dust in their retreat. “Dang kids.”

-0-

After the barrel incident, the three realized they needed a new plan. They headed towards the building where Princess Celestia was to meet with the business owners. They arrived just as the business ponies and their families were arriving.

Tourmaline peeked around the corner of the building, watching the ponies filter in. “I don’t see any of the guards. They mustn’t be here yet.”

“So we’re just going to waltz in there, just like that?” Wanderer asked Tormod, his expression skeptical.

Tormod nodded firmly. “It’s not that hard, Wanderer. We just walk in with a group, sit somewhere quiet and out of the way, and we get to see the princess. Easy peasy, simple and breezie.”

His sister glared at him for the horrible saying. “We’ll have to watch out for Rogue though. He’ll rat us out in nothing flat.” She scanned the growing crowd of ponies.

Tormod nodded. “If we see him, we’ll have to sit somewhere he won’t see us.” He smiled. “If this goes right, we’ll get a free lunch and we’ll get to see the princess.”

Wanderer rubbed at his belly. “Lunch does sound good.”

Tormod stood and walked towards the crowd. “Well, let’s go.”

The three waited near a building for a moment and walked behind a larger group of ponies—inconspicuously following them inside. Any of the other attendees who looked their way thought they were foals from another group and didn’t question them.

The dining area of the building was adorned with a number of banners and decorations, all welcoming Princess Celestia to Greensborough. A number of dining tables were set in a semicircle in front of an elevated platform, where a podium and two other tables waited.

The foals looked around, eyes wide and jaws hanging slack. The tables were all set with formal diningware and arranged in ways they hadn’t seen before.

“Wow, I’ve never seen a place like this,” Wanderer said. “They have three different forks. Why do they need that many to eat?”

Tormod shrugged. “You got me.”

Tourmaline pointed at one of the tables. “Look, they already have fresh rolls out.” Her head darted to the side and she took a sharp intake of breath. “There’s Rogue. Hide!”

The three hid behind chairs and tables as Rogue and his family walked past. He walked by without so much as a glance towards their hiding place.

“He didn’t see us, did he?” Tormod asked from behind a chair.

Tourmaline peeked out from under her table. “Don’t think so. He’s sitting up front, so we can sit anywhere else.”

Wanderer climbed out from under the table he had hidden beneath, and he saw a pair of ponies looking at him oddly.

He looked between them for a second. “Dropped a bit.”

The two seemed to accept that and moved on.

The three foals took a seat at one of the tables that was out of the way and not within sight of Rogue. As the waiters walked past, they set a basket of fresh, buttery rolls and glasses of fresh, cool water in front of them. The three dug into the rolls and emptied the basket before the waiter had gone far.

“Can we get another basket, sir?” Tourmaline asked as she wiped the excess butter from her muzzle.

“Of course, young miss.” The waiter took the basket and made his way towards the kitchen.

Tormod looked at her as if she had suddenly grown a second head. “Did you just use manners?”

Her ears flattened in her annoyance. “Shush.”

The three watched as more ponies began to filter in, and soon the conversation around the room became a dull drone. After they devoured a second basket of rolls, Wanderer looked to them with a butter-covered smile.

“So what are you guys going to ask the princess?”

Tormod’s face brightened. “I’m going to ask how she manages to keep everything so organized. With everything she does every day, how does she manage to do it?”

Tourmaline rolled her eyes. “Boooring.” Wanderer chuckled, using his napkin to clean his face.

“Oh, come on. Aren’t you interested at all how she does it? It’s a good question,” Tormod protested.

“If you wanted to put ponies to sleep.” Tourmaline’s comment only made the earth pony next to her laugh the harder.

Tormod snorted dismissively. “And what oh-so-exciting question have you got to ask her?”

She held her head up. “I’m going to ask her what she does for fun. All the work she does has to get boring after a while. I wanna know what she does in her own time.”

Wanderer considered that a moment, then shrugged. “Not a bad question, but she may not want to share that with everypony. Even a princess needs her own time.”

“I can still ask though.”

“I guess.”

Tourmaline waited until after the waiter refilled their glasses. “What are you going to ask her, Wanderer?”

He took a big, healthy drink of his water.“I’m going to ask her if she knows Daring Do. If anypony would know about who she really is, it would have to be Princess Celestia.”

Tormod rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “You think she would know?”

Wanderer took another drink of his water. “She has to. She’s the princess. I bet she knows everything.”

Tormod shrugged. “Only way to find out, is to ask.”

They sat quietly and watched as the serving staff began serving the meals. Their excitement only grew as the lights of the room dimmed and applause from the crowd went up. A stallion dressed in business attire stepped up to the podium and cleared his throat before speaking.

“Distinguished guests, the guest of honor will arrive momentarily. She bids you all enjoy your meals, and she will join you in five minutes. Good day.”

As the announcer stepped back, the waiters pushed carts of cooked food around the tables. The smell of freshly prepared food had the three foals near to drooling.

Wanderer widely smiled. “We get to see Princess Celestia, and we get a free lunch. This was your best idea ever, Tormod.”

The unicorn puffed up in pride. “Yes it is.”

“And best yet, nothing can go wrong,” Tourmaline said and they began chatting excitedly.

That was when Tourmaline felt someone approach her. She turned with a smile to order her food.

“Yes, I’d like to have the—“ she gave a soft squeak of surprise that had both colts looking at her curiously. They both gave similar squeaks as it turned out that the waiter was actually a familiar-looking guard.

“You three, need to come with me,” he said in a tone that brokered no argument.

“But sir, we’re here with our—“ Tormod started.

The guard glared at him. “I know who you three are. Let’s go.”

“But—“

The guard’s eyes narrowed. “Now.”

The three quickly found themselves ushered out of the building.

“You kids get on home. Just be glad that your parents won’t be told about this. I don’t want to see you three around here again, understand?”

The three lowered their heads. “Yes, sir,” they said in unison.

He nodded firmly and shut the door behind him. The three stood there for a moment before groaning in frustration. “How did he find out? We tried being extra careful this time.” Wanderer asked as he sat down in a huff.

Tormod frowned. “Do you think the waiter pointed us out?”

“I don’t know. It—“ They looked towards a window as they heard a knocking. A smugly grinning Rogue waved at them from the window.

Wanderer snarled. “Rogue!” The other colt laughed insultingly and turned away.

Tourmaline was seething in rage, feeling more than a few feathers fall free. “I really don’t like him!”

Tormod scowled fiercely. “He just cost us our chance to talk with the princess.”

“Worse yet… we didn’t get our free lunch,” Wanderer lamented.

The two looked at him before a loud rumbled erupted from their bellies. They gave a collective, disappointed sigh before walking away.

-0-

The cool, summer morning was a pleasant way to start the day Tourmaline thought as she walked beside her dad and Tormod as they made their way towards the town square. She couldn’t wait until she got to see Princess Celestia raise the sun. It seemed a poor consolation prize after her high hopes of the previous day. If there had been a chance to speak with her in the pony, it would have made for the best day ever.

“So, are you two excited?” their dad asked.

She nodded eagerly. “Uh huh. I didn’t get to see her yesterday, so I’m excited to see her raise the sun today. I can’t wait.”

“Me too.” Tormod looked at his dad. “How much longer until she’s supposed to start, Dad?”

The pegasus stallion pensively looked at the large clock that adorned the tower on town hall. “Should be in less than an hour. We better hurry if we want to get a good spot.”

The two cantered ahead of him, and he followed close behind. As they arrived, they saw that many other families had already gathered. Fortunately, the crowd wasn’t too large yet, and they found a comfortable spot to sit and wait.

Tourmaline looked towards the stage that the town’s workers had constructed for the princess. It stood about four feet off the ground and was wide enough to accommodate the princess and her guards. A backdrop curtain, which was adorned with Equestria’s banner, had been set up to give the princess some privacy.

She turned her head as she heard someone address them.

“Good morning, everypony,” Wanderer’s mom greeted them. Her son stood next to her, appearing as if he had just gotten out of bed, considering the heavy bags under his eyes and messy mane.

“Good morning to you as well,” Tourmaline’s father said, moving aside so they could join them. “You look better rested than yesterday.”

The two sat down, and Wanderer gave a healthy yawn.

She smirked. “I got enough sleep, though the same cannot be said of someone else.” She gave a humored smile to her son.

“Didn’t get enough sleep, Wanderer?” Tormod asked.

Wanderer grumbled, lying on his belly in the grass. “I would have, but I just couldn’t fall asleep. No matter how hard I tried, I just… couldn’t.” He rubbed at his eyes. “It was horrible. It felt like I had just fallen asleep when Mom woke me up.”

Tourmaline’s father chuckled. “It happens to me all of the time. It’s never any fun.”

Wanderer gave him a hopeful look. “Does it get any easier?”

He shook his head sadly. “No, it doesn’t.”

Wanderer sighed and another loud yawn escaped him.

The five chatted for a while longer as more families entered the town square. Soon, the entire square was filled with excitedly chatting ponies. The longer Tourmaline waited, the more she began to dwell on the events of the previous day. Twice they had almost succeeded in speaking to the princess, and twice they had the rug pulled out from under them. Yes, she was going to see the princess raise the sun, but now it didn’t seem enough for her. She wanted to talk to the princess, but it seemed as if it were too late.

Or was it? A devious smile crossed her face as she looked at the stage, and the beginnings of a plan formed in her mind.

She was pulled from her thoughts when Wanderer nudged her in the ribs. “What’re you thinking about?” he asked in a whisper.

She turned her grin to him. “I’ve got a plan,” she whispered back. She looked to her dad and spoke louder. “Hey, Dad, can we go up front to see the princess?”

Her father blinked in surprise. “What for? You can see perfectly fine from here.”

“But, Dad, we can see a whole lot better up front. We won’t get in anypony’s way. We promise.” She batted her eyelashes at him.

Her father looked at her cute expression for a moment and melted under the adorable eyes. “Fine, as long as no one else minds. If you are asked to leave, you come back. You hear?”

She gave him a heart-melting smile and a hug. “Thanks, Dad. Come on, Tormod.”

He looked to her in confusion. “What? Why?”

“Because you want to.” She gave him a pointed look.

“I—“

“Go with your sister, Tormod,” their dad said to him. “Keep her out of trouble.”

Tormod’s shoulders slumped in defeat. “Fine,” he muttered.

Wanderer looked at his mom and tried to use the “cute” eyes on her. “Can I go with them, Mom?”

She gave him a flat stare. “Stop trying to sucker me with those eyes, and yes, you can.”

“Yes, Mom.” He hugged her quickly.

“And stay out of trouble,” she hollered after them as they ran off.

“We will,” Wanderer called back before vanishing into the crowd.

She sighed. “Why does that not reassure me?” she asked the sibling’s father.

He laughed. “Experience?”

She chuckled as well. “Still, I’m sure they’ll behave.”

-0-

As Tourmaline led the other two towards the stage, it readily became apparent that she was not heading directly towards it.

“Tourmaline, where are you going? I thought we were heading for the stage?” her brother asked.

“We are,” she called back

“But—“

“Just keep up, Tormod.”

The three wound up along the edge of the stage when Tourmaline finally stopped. She looked around as if searching for something.

Her brother took a moment to catch his breath and noticed that she was looking at the area behind the stage. “All right, Tourmaline, what are you up to?”

“What did you have planned?” Wanderer asked as he stepped aside for a pony to walk past them.

“We’re going to talk to the princess, and I know how.” She turned back to them with a confident smile. “And we won’t get in trouble either.”

Wanderer interrupted Tormod before he could protest. “How?”

She pointed towards the stage. “We’ll wait back there for her.”

Tormod looked like he wanted to pull his mane out. “Are you insane? We can’t go back there, we’ll get caught! Can you imagine what will happen if we do?”

She looked at him and her expression showed that she would not be swayed. “We won’t. Not if we do it right.”

Wanderer frowned, glancing around. “What about the guards?”

“Once we get over there—“ she pointed to one of the landscaping shrubs that ringed the back of the stage. “—I’ll explain everything.” She didn’t wait for an answer from the other two, once she saw the coast was clear, she dashed for the shrub.

The two shared a look before Wanderer smirked and gave chase. Tormod gave a pleading look to the sky before he ran after them.

Tourmaline ran as quickly as she could and dove into the brush. She pushed aside the leaves as she looked around warily. She realized with a smile that she could see perfectly backstage and was close enough to get to it without being seen. The two colts crashed into the shrub shortly after her.

“All right, Tourmaline, what is this big plan of yours?” her brother asked as Wanderer spit out a few leaves from his less-than-graceful crash.

She took in a breath. “We’ll wait here until Princess Celestia gets up on stage. When she and her guards are facing the crowd, we’ll get back stage and wait for her to finish. Once she’s done, she’ll walk back stage and we’ll be the firsts to speak with her. The guards won’t do anything since the princess will be there. It’s a win-win.”

Wanderer gave a thoughtful frown. “But won’t we miss the rising of the sun?”

She smiled wanly. “It’s the sun, Wanderer. We’ll be able to see it anywhere.”

He was about to laugh but found Tormod’s hoof over his muzzle. “Quiet, we don’t want to get caught beforehoof.” He turned back to his sister, letting Wanderer go. “As crazy as it is, I admit it sounds like a good plan.”

She was about to squeal in delight but he stopped her with a firm glare. “If anything goes wrong, I’m blaming you.”

She smiled challengingly, but turned as she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. She saw two royal guards walking towards the stage, but they were quickly forgotten as her eyes widened at the sight of the Princess of the Sun.

Standing head and neck above her guards, Princess Celestia walked with the grace of a swan. She was as beautiful as Tourmaline was lead to believe. Her multi-colored mane flowed with a life of its own, and her lilac-colored eyes held a motherly warmth to them. Looking at the princess now, Tourmaline felt nothing but awe.

“She’s amazing,” she said.

“She’s beautiful,” Tormod said breathlessly.

“She really is tall,” Wanderer said. He turned to see the other two staring at him. “What?”

They shook their heads and watched as the princess and her guards climbed the stairs to the stage.

“Okay, once they go up front, that’s when we get back stage. Nopony will hear us over the crowd cheering,” Tourmaline whispered so that her voice wouldn’t carry beyond the dubious cover of the shrub.

Tormod gave her a surprised look. “You came up with all of this on the fly?”

The corners of her mouth turned up in a proud smile. “Sure did.”

He shook his head helplessly. “You really surprise me sometimes.”

They only had to wait a moment more before the trumpets began to blare. The citizens of Greensborough eagerly stood and crowded towards the stage. Cheers rose up to greet their princess as they awaited her appearance. Once the trumpets died down, the guards walked through the curtain, and the princess shortly followed. When she entered the stage, the ponies all cheered and applauded.

“Go!” Tourmaline shouted to the two and they bolted for the stage. Tourmaline and Wanderer hid behind one of the curtain support posts while Tormod hid by the other. As soon as they’d gotten to their spots, the cheering died down, and Princess Celestia addressed the crowd.

“Citizens of Greensborough, I wish to welcome you all to this year’s Summer Sun Celebration.” The crowd erupted into another cheer, and Tourmaline and Wanderer dared a look past the curtain. The princess had her back to them, and all eyes of the crowed were upon her. The two foals quickly ducked behind the curtain as a guard glanced behind him.

“Did he see us?” she asked, tensing as if she expected the curtain to open and blow their cover.

Wanderer shook his head. “Don’t think so.” He squirmed a bit. “Move over, you’re crowding me.”

She nudged him in annoyance. “Am not! Your behind is taking up all the space.”

Wanderer was about to retort sharply when Tormod gave them a look that clearly said, “Will you two shut up?”

Fortunately, the princess kept going with her speech. “I wish to thank each and every one of you for the warm welcome. It makes me proud to know that there are such kind-hearted ponies in Equestria.”

The crowd cheered again for their princess.

“And now to commence with the rising of the sun ceremony!”

The crowd fell to a quiet hush, and the three foals could see the princess levitate above the curtain. The princess’s gaze settled on the moon and its visage for a quiet moment before her horn began to glow. Responding to the magic, the moon began its descent. Only after a moment’s pause did the sun begin its rise.

Many times had they seen the sun rise before, but seeing it respond to their ruler’s call only sparked amazement and awe. Every set of eyes were wide and every jaw hung slack. They had all heard the tales, but seeing it firsthoof was unlike anything else.

The three foals stood speechless, their expressions alight with wonder. The rising of the sun was everything they had hoped and then some. Tourmaline leaned forward in her wonder, not paying any mind to the world around her.

“Tourmaline, back up. You’re shoving me,” Wanderer whispered sharply.

She didn’t heed him and leaned forward even more.

“Tourmal—” Both of them overbalanced and stumbled into a support for the pole holding the curtain, snapping the plank in two. The three could only look on in horror as the sudden shift in weight caused the other beam to snap, and the curtain fell outwards—right towards Princess Celestia and her guards.

The princess turned in time to see it coming, and with a gasp of surprise, she flapped her wings to get over the falling curtain. Her guards were not as fortunate, and the heavy curtain draped over them, and the backdrop fell to the stage with a loud bang.

The entire population of Greensborough watched in shock as the stage came crashing down with a resounding thud and cloud of dust. The princess hovered in the air, and the guards struggled to free themselves from the curtain as all eyes turned to the three utterly horrified foals who stood on the now-ruined stage. Two ponies among the crowd slunk low as they realized whose foals they were.

Finally, one of the guards freed himself and glared at the foals. “You three!”

“We are so dead…” Wanderer said in a squeak of a voice.

-0-

“Do you three have any idea what you have done?” Wanderer’s mom yelled at them as they stood with head and ears lowered in shame. “You almost brained the princess of Equestria! How could you be so… reckless?”

Wanderer cringed, it wasn’t as bad as she was making it sound. The guards had rounded them up after the stage had collapsed and had ushered them to their parents while the princess had assured the crowd that everything was alright. The rush to his home had been quiet, unsettlingly so. Wanderer had expected to be yelled at right away, but it was not until he’d gotten home that his mother had exploded in an inferno of raw emotion.

“But, Mom, we only—“

“I don’t want to hear it, Wanderer. You three have done something that will not be fixed with excuses or an apology.” Her gaze swept over the three of them “If the guards wanted to, they could punish you legally. Did you even think of that? Going to jail at a young age? Is that what you wanted?” Tears began to form around her eyes.

Tourmaline was trying to fight back her own tears, her lip quivering as the words sunk in. “We just wanted to talk to her…”

“Tourmaline,” her father barked at her. The stallion stood to the side, giving the three a stern, disappointed look. Tourmaline quickly shut up and looked back down, the tears now running down her face. Wanderer gave her a quick look and sympathized—he too felt like crying at that moment. “Regardless what you intended, it doesn’t change what you did. You three are in serious trouble, and we don’t know what is going to happen yet. You three need to think long and hard on what you have done.”

“Dad, it wasn’t like that. Please let us explain,” Tormod tried to say.

His father looked at him, frowning deeply. “I expected better out of you, Tormod. You were supposed to keep your sister out of trouble, not get yourselves into it.”

“But—“

“No excuses,” he said firmly.

The three slunk even further, their bellies resting on the floor, feeling absolutely rotten. The two adults began conversing with each other intently while the three didn’t move. Wanderer again stole a glance at his friends and saw that Tourmaline was sniffing repeatedly as she tried to suppress her sobs. Tormod was trying to bottle up his anger, though it was obvious he was angry. His eyes practically blazed and his legs trembled in suppressed rage.

Wanderer couldn’t blame them, he felt like he wanted to cry out in fear, scream at the world, or a mixture of both. They had never wanted the stage to fall, or to almost injure the princess. All they had wanted was to talk to her, nothing else. Why did nothing ever work out for them? The more he thought on it, the more he wanted to shout. He closed his eyes, trying to force back the tears that threatened to fall.

Finally, the adults turned back to them, their expressions firm. “So, whose idea was it to go backstage to begin with?”

The three didn’t immediately respond, but Wanderer felt Tourmaline freeze up at the question. It had been her idea to go backstage, but he and Tormod had gone along with it. They were all just as guilty.

“Well?” their parents pressed, looking to them expectantly.

Wanderer took a breath and spoke.

“It was mine,” he and Tourmaline said together.

The two stared at each other in shock.

“Tourmaline, it was mine.”

“Wanderer, that’s a lie and you know it. You don’t have to get in trouble too.”

He gave her an intense expression. “You don’t have to cover for me!”

“Wanderer!” She glared at him.

Both parents could only sigh. “Whose was it, Tormod?” his father asked.

The colt looked between the two for a moment before sighing. “It was all of ours, Dad.”

“Tormod!” the other two shouted.

He continued on despite their objections, holding his head high. “No matter whose it was, we all had a hoof in it. We should all be punished.”

Both adults watched the exchange for a moment before slow, proud smiles crossed their faces.

“You three—“ They all started in surprise as there was a firm knock at the front door of the home. They stood still, hoping it had been a figment of their imaginations, but when the knock came again, both parents slumped in resignation.

“I’ll get it,” the stallion said and headed for the door.

The three hunkered down as the knock sounded a third time before they him open the door and speak.

Wanderer’s mom looked at them, her expression a mix of worry and grief. “No matter what happens, we’ll be there for you three.”

The sibling’s father looked around the corner. “We need you up front,” he said to her.

“I’m coming.” She gave the three foals a quick hug before following the stallion to the door.

They listened anxiously to the muffled speech from the other room.

“What’s going to happen to us?” Tourmaline whispered.

Her brother shook his head, a growing fear in his eyes. “I don’t know. I don’t want to know.”

“What if Princess Celestia puts us in jail or banishes us from Equestria?” Tourmaline’s voice cracked in her fear.

“S-She wouldn’t do that,” Wanderer protested.

“We almost hit her with a pole! She could send us away, and we’ll never get to see our parents again. I-I don’t want to go away.” Tourmaline all but sobbed.

Tormod rested a hoof on her shoulder. “Tourmaline, that won’t happen. Princess Celestia wouldn’t do that to us. We’re just foals. She only does that to bad ponies.”

She looked at him with wide scared eyes. “But we almost killed her! She could do anything to us!”

“No she won’t,” Wanderer said, standing tall. “I don’t care what she does, I won’t let—“ He stopped as their parents returned, grave looks on their faces.

“You three have a visitor,” Wanderer’s mom said and stepped aside.

The three expected it to be the guards coming to take them away and punish them for their crimes. They were going to face their fate with pride and show that they were not newborn foals anymore. That all flew apart as Princess Celestia walked gracefully into the room. Their eyes widened in fear as she looked down at them. It seemed as if doom itself was looking down on them.

“So you three are the—“ She stopped as she found three foals clinging to her front fetlocks, each one bawling for forgiveness.

“Please, Princess Celestia, don’t punish us!” Tourmaline cried.

“It was an accident, we swear it! Don’t send us away!” Tormod begged.

“We’re so sorry!” Wanderer cried.

Their parents gave strangled sounds and were about to scold the three when the princess looked to them to wait. She lowered her head to speak to the three softly.

“Please, stop crying, I am not mad.”

They looked up at her with watery eyes and noses.

“Y-You’re not?” Wanderer asked in a broken voice.

Celestia gave him a small smile. “No, I wanted to make sure you three were not hurt in the collapse. You’re not hurt, are you?”

Tormod shook his head, quickly wiping his nose. “No, we’re not. You’re not hurt either, are you?”

She again gave them a smile, as they released her tear-soaked front legs. “I am not. I am glad you are unhurt.” She levitated a box of tissues from nearby.

“Are you going to—“ Tourmaline gave a little hiccup as she used a tissue. “—send us away?”

Celestia looked at them with a startled expression. “Of course not. Why would you think that?”

“But we almost hurt you. What, aren’t you mad at us?” Wanderer sniffled and wiped at his watery eyes.

“Because nopony got hurt, and that is what is important. The only thing you really did was cause my guards some embarrassment. Which, now that I think on it, was kind of funny.” She gave them a disarming smile.

The three gave weak little laughs, and wiped at their faces.

Celestia stood straighter. “But, tell me, what were you three doing on the stage to begin with?”

“We—We just wanted to talk to you, Princess Celestia,” Tormod started.

“But we kept getting stopped every time we tried,” Tourmaline continued.

“We only wanted to ask you a few questions,” Wanderer finished.

Celestia nodded in recognition. “I see. So you were the ones my guard mentioned. Didn’t you ponies know I was going to speak to everypony after I had raised the sun?”

All three had sheepish expressions, rubbing at the backs of their heads. “Uh, no. We didn’t,” Wanderer said.

Tourmaline looked at her. “But, Princess, would you have talked to us? We are just foals. The adults would have more important questions.”

“While it is true I couldn’t have spoken to everypony, I would have made time for you foals. It is only right that I try to answer your questions.”

“So, we’re not in trouble?” Tormod asked carefully.

Celestia looked to them with a serious expression. “I will leave your punishment up to your parents. You still disobeyed what they had told you to do. That is their job as your parents, not mine. I will say that you three must really consider the consequences of your actions before you choose to follow them.”

All three lowered their heads again in shame. The princess observed them for a quiet moment before she smiled warmly. “You three really are the best of friends, are you not?”

They looked back at her with confused expressions. “Y-Yes, Princess Celestia,” Wanderer answered.

Tourmaline tilted her head curiously. “Why do you ask?”

The princess looked at them with a mysterious but warm smile. “I can tell that you three will do something great one day. I do not know what, but you will. The bonds of friendship will be the key to what you will do, but you must always be careful of your actions. There are always consequences, but as long as you stay true friends, you will succeed. Always watch out for each other, all right?”

The three gave wide eager smiles and nodded vigorously. “We will, Princess Celestia,” they said together.

She chuckled. “All right then. I will turn you over to your parents for now. Just remember what I told you and always think first.”

“Count on us, Princess.” Wanderer raised a hoof in determination.

“We promise!” Tourmaline said in agreement, her brother nodded firmly along with her.

“That is good to hear. Farewell to you three.”

“Bye, Princess Celestia!” they said in unison.

She turned to regard their parents. “I have spoken to the mayor, nothing will come of this as long as they are made aware of their actions.”

They both nodded in appreciation, and Wanderer’s mom brushed a tear of relief from her eye. “Thank you, Princess Celestia. This means so much to us.”

She smiled softly and nodded. “You are most welcome. Farewell then.”

They showed her out the door before returning to the kitchen to find the three foals excitedly talking with each other.

“Can you believe Princess Celestia herself came to talk to us?” Tormod asked, his expression almost giddy.

“I know, I know! I can’t wait to tell everypony at school.” Tourmaline clopped her front hooves together, a wide happy smile on her face.

Wanderer’s grin was like a cat watching a mouse. “I bet not even Rogue got to talk to her like we did. I can’t wait to rub it in his face.” The two joined in his evil grin.

“Even with that,” his mother said. “You three are still in trouble. Wanderer, you are grounded for the next three months. You can visit your friends at—“

She was cut off as Wanderer suddenly grabbed the sides of his head and yelled in horror.

The others jumped at his sudden scream, looking around wildly for what had spooked him. “What?” they shouted at him.

Without a word, he bolted for the front door. He yanked it open and looked to the sky desperately. He slumped in despair as he saw the princess’s carriage fly above the trees and vanished from sight.

“Oh, come on!” he yelled at the sky in frustration.

His mother gave him a look of outraged concern. “Wanderer, what has gotten into you?”

He looked at his friends. “We forgot to ask her our questions!”

It took only a second before the other two reacted much the same way he had.

Tourmaline tugged her ears downward. “We totally did! How could we forget?”

“And we had the perfect opportunity too! I don’t believe this!” Tormod buried his face in his hooves.

The two adults looked at the foals with disbelieving stares before simultaneously facehoofing.

Comments

[Zodiacspear]

5262497 As a writer, I cannot tell you how good that makes me feel. I am glad to know that my story and characters have left somewhat of a mark on my readers. This lets me know I am doing well with them. There are many more chapters ahead and their antics only continue.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

Oh, that ending. My sides. I hate you so much right now. Great chapter, here. *Hands Wanderer the baseball bat mentioned earlier* Now, go bludgeon Rogue with it!

[Zodiacspear]

5268742 It was incredibly helpful. Thanks for pointing out those issues to me. I corrected a number of them, and I do believe it reads a bit better. I hope you can continue reading the other available chapters, I feel you would enjoy them as well.

Thanks again!

[Zodiacspear]

5267394 Rogue is so very cuddly isn't he?

Glad to know you like the chapter so much, I enjoyed writing it a lot. I laughed at more than a few lines between the characters.

[Draco Dei]

“Did you just use manners?”

Tourmaline used Manners!
It was Super Effective!

[BronyDad]

It is said that the fog that drifts through the forest is rumored to originate from this tree. The fog is known to bring some of the dangerous creatures of the forest with it.

Holy crap, the tree spawns random encounters!

The cool, summer morning was a pleasant way to start the day Tourmaline thought as she walked beside her dad and Tormod as they made their way towards the town square.

This is the single most horrible sentence you have ever written....

She was as beautiful as Tourmaline was lead to believe.

*led*

Ok, I really like this. I admit that I was getting a little annoyed with this chapter because it just kept going and going and it didn't seem like it had anything to do with the actual story, but it all clicked together with Celestia saying that they would one day do something great. That little bit is some excellent foreshadowing, and I'm sure it will carry over into the sequels. Also, that was a really cute moment when Celestia visited them at their house.