Taismo: The Equestria Games

by RockStarMLP

Passing Time: Part I

Two of the Royal Guards found Princess Luna to inform them of a blue blur that was appearing around the Crystal Empire, and at some points beyond the borders. The princess showed no concern for this, but instead addressed the guards about interrupting her when with honored guests of the Royal Four. The two bowed their heads in shame, to which Luna couldn't help but laugh and offer them forgiveness for the misunderstanding.

"You have none to fear," Luna said, "for the 'blue blur' you hear of is only a joyous run."

Both guards were confused about what she meant, looking at one another as if they were lost. One of the guards then asked "A joyous run, Your Highness?"

"Yes," she replied, "of a friend who wished to get out and stretch his legs for a few minutes."

"It's a normal thing for him," added another. This voice belonged to another female's voice, and one of the guards saw it coming from a pink hedgehog neither could recognize.

"For who, exactly, do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, Sonic, of course..."

"And I wouldn't call it a blue blur; more like a blue streak faster than the speed sound."

All of a sudden, the aforementioned hedgehog appeared, just having returned from one of his runs. He stepped around them to rejoin Amy, the majority of Team Sonic, Luna, Applejack and Rarity. They were in one of the castle's living rooms, the second largest one to be exact, invited by the dark blue alicorn to relax with some refreshments and to spend time with to get to know more about the otherworlders while the equine guests were in their own suites. Sonic took a seat on the room's sofa with Amy, Cream and Cheese and Knuckles. Rouge, Shadow and Maria sat on an adjacent loveseat, Applejack and Rarity on another, and Luna resting on a large pillow of Cadance's.

"I believe that addresses your concern, so please leave us," Luna said. Both guards saluted and exited the room, shutting the double-door entrance behind them. She turned to Sonic to say "You seem to have made yourself present, Sonic, a surprise considering your group was amongst the crowd in the stadium."

"Yeah," he said with a shrug. "I guess I have a way of doing that sometimes."

"And even in adulthood you're so charismatic," Rouge stated sarcastically, to which the hedgehog only chuckled semi-apathetically.

"Neither positive nor negative, but it is not a problem for ponies. Just be more careful with your actions during your stay," advised Luna. "I am glad you have decided to rejoin us. I've been asking about your home world of Mobius, and I have wanted to ask you about it as well."

"Sure. What do you want to know?" Sonic asked.

"Well, Rouge and I were just holding a nice conversation about your world's fashion sense and sophistication," Rarity said. "It seems that Mobius has a good taste in the former and a fair amount of the latter."

"But then we talked about the wonderful world of diamonds and jewelry, and all things that have a nice, bright shine," Rouge added. "That ended up telling Luna here more about the Chaos Emeralds and the fun adventures we've had with them."

"Hmph. That depends on what you define 'fun' as," Shadow humphed. He had been mute throughout most of the conversation since it started, predictable but disrespectful to their host. Fortunately for the others, Maria acted as his better half.

"Don't start, Shadow," Maria told him. She then told Luna "I'm sorry, Princess, but Shadow tends to have a more 'negative' outlook on some topics."

"More like 'a lot' of topics," joked Sonic. "Lighten up a little, won't you, Shadow? This is supposed to be an enjoyable trip but you haven't turned over a frown in... Well, too long really."

The black and red hedgehog's face remained its typical way, frowning and apathetic, as he shut his eyes and said "I'm only here because Maria wanted me to come with her. That's it."

"Well I'm sure your attitude will get better when ya get to know everypony and Equestria more," Applejack stated, but the looks across most of the Mobians faces responded to that grimly.

"Something tells me you might be incorrect," Rarity whispered to her friend.

Luna took it upon herself to lead the conversation back to where it was before. "As we were saying, Sonic, you possess these Chaos Emeralds that, when used in certain ways, allow you to control the most unwanted affairs. These gems sound as if they mean to you as the Elements of Harmony mean to ponies such as Applejack and Rarity." She motioned her hoof towards the two ponies present.

"Well that all depends on who gets them. The Chaos Emeralds aren't always used by us," Sonic said.

"Such as who?" Luna asked.

"A Chaos Emerald can be used by almost anyone who has a way to tap into their energy and use it for what they want. The more that you collect, the more power you have," Cream explained first. Following her was Amy.

"And what they're used for depends on who uses them. Individually they can help do great things, like boost Sonic's speed, power a device, or even let those like Shadow use Chaos Control."

"Chaos Control?" Rarity pondered, with Applejack adding "What in tarnation is that?"

"It is the ultimate power, only accessed when all seven Chaos Emeralds come together," Knuckles explained. "Those such as Sonic or the Master Four can use their combined energy and ascend themselves to powerful states of being known as their Super transformations. Only those who serve for good can use that power to combat an opposing force that threatens the balance of chaos and harmony. But for those who serve for the darker motives, the power can only create chaos and destruction everywhere and to everyone in their wake. The Metarex, the Brotherhood, any villain or enemy who can collect them all could bring about the end of whatever the power is applied for."

The three ponies' faces were gasping, each of them incredibly intrigued by this new information. The echidna continued with his explanation of Mobius's greatest magical tools, his eyes having shut as he focused on an old saying used by his clan for generations.

"The Chaos Emeralds are the servers. Our hearts intensify their power. The controller serves to unify the Chaos..." He reopened his eyes before continuing with "The emeralds can only serve who takes control of them, but can only be controlled by the Master Emerald that alone can stop the use of the Chaos Emeralds altogether...

"If not siphoned by those who take their use so far."

A moment of silence fell amongst the group. Knuckles's description of the emeralds may not have been the full history of their existence, but enough to keep their hosts amazed. The Princess of the Night was very fascinated by this, as it sounded like another form of the Elements of Harmony, making her imagine what more can be known beyond Equestria, and Mobius.

"My goodness," said Rarity, breaking through the silence, "that sounds very... well, dare I say, dangerous. We have only seen what one of your Chaos Emeralds can do when dear Cosmo and Tails were here the first time, but this..."

"Sounds crazier than Granny Smith high-divin' off Canterlot Castle," added Applejack.

"You can say that," Sonic said with a smirk, "but we've handled the evil side with the emeralds before. Nowadays we keep them locked up tight where no one can get them, especially after what happened a few months ago with the Metarex."

"Ah yes, the ordeal that helped you discover Equestria, if I'm not mistaken," stated Luna. "I only know so much of that from what your friends have told Twilight Sparkle. She knows most about your worlds and history than most ponies do, or likely will."

"Well with all the time she invested helpin' them get back home, she's our out-of-dimension expert," Applejack said.

"Speaking of Princess Twilight, where did she go?" Cream asked. "We haven't seen much of her since we first arrived."

All that Rarity and Applejack knew was that she had to take care of royal business, and then check in on Spike and the Cutie Mark Crusaders, making their friends busy until dinner. Only Princess Luna knew what the true intentions were, seeing the mare ask Celestia for a private time to talk a while before she met with the Mobian guests. It was clear from how she heard it that Twilight was very angry and putting her position as Nyx's guardian far above her royal position; predictable, and notable, but still inexperienced of the newest Princess to do so.

It did, however, provide Luna the opportunity to spend time with Twilight's guests and get to know them better as the Mane 6 have. The only time Equestria's royalty really spent time with them was the entire group's visit to Canterlot, and when Cosmo saught out help from Celestia when she first arrived in their country. In order to provide a better foundation of peace between Equestria and all, it was decided on the Royal Four, excluding Twilight, that they would need to get to know their new friends better as Twilight and the others have, with great hopes for success for all sides. They continued on with their conversations regarding Mobius and worlds beyond, starting with another question from Luna.

"The Metarex Wars you spoke of, what severities did you have to endure on your journeys?"

/)∞(\

"Okie dokie, looking good so far."

Pinkie Pie was keeping herself busy in the dining hall with a small troop of guards. She nominated herself to decorate the hall with more than its crystal interior to give all who would be attending a fun atmosphere to be in. "Now we need to line the tables with streamers, and I'll need two cannons for me to party-ize like my party cannon. Then I'll get the balloons done and hang them around each door,..."

As she trailed on with preparation ideas, her troop attempted to keep up with her pace in order to get everything done. Some kept on working even as they began feeling tired, others grumbled behind their teeth, and the rest just silently wondered why the Crystal Princess would want all this done. The dinner was supposed to be a formal evening with the Royal Four's honored guess after all, but now, it began to look and feel like a party for the foals attending the event.

The grand dining table, originally one long table but now U-shaped with the use of multiple additions, was draped with a royal-designed cloth that showed three images of the Equestrian flag, but was covered with streamers and confetti squares. There was a grand centerpiece that was a duplicate of the Crystal Heart sitting on a golden holster, but going across the table included several little crystals that were heavy enough to hold four balloons each, and each balloon having the coat colors of the Royal Four. The walls hung with multi-colored streamers over the crystal shine the walls tend to give, and all the windows having beautiful, untouched curtains tied to the sides to look out over the Crystal Empire. Even the outer rims of the main entrance and the kitchen doors got decorated with a colorful blast from the party cannon.

The pink party pony's attention was so focused on getting things ready, she failed to notice the Princess that entered the hall. She was looking at an empty corner of the room very, very seriously, as if its bareness was making a mockery of her attempt to decorate every cubic foot of space there was. But what would she do to make it match with the rest of the room's party decor? For all the ponies and otherworlders that will be in that one room, what was the best thing Pinkie was to do?

"You have done quite well in here, Pinkie Pie."

Pinkie snapped out of her focused thinking as she heard the kind and elegant voice of Princess Celestia. She turned around to see the alicorn walking her way across the room, everypony else bowing down to her as she did. The pink mare bowed as well, and then immediately jumped back up to say "Thanks, Princess! I'm giving it the best party makeover I can think of right off the top of my Pinkie party thinky-tank!"

Celestia smiled nicely and replied "Indeed you have, and I can't thank you enough for you volunteering to decorate the dining hall in honor of all the guests that are here for the Equestria Games. I didn't expect that you would go to your great lengths for this formal gathering." The tone in her latter sentence didn't sound as positive as the former did, and Pinkie picked up on that.

"What's the matter, Princess?" The pink mare asked as if she had done something wrong.

"Well, I have to admit that I'm afraid you've done too much of your signature party preparations," the alicorn said as kindly as she could sound. "I wished I had the extra moment to explain that I wanted you to make the room have a more festive feel of the Equestria Games. You have done the marvelous job I know you're always capable of, but I feel that you've done too well in doing so."

The pink mare didn't think twice of what she's done. Of course she was doing more than marvelous work, as she always aimed to do for any occasion, and doing too well was always her objective to boost her morale and her drive for making the best parties she could. But the way Celestia, the Princess that brings day to Equestria, told her that it was beyond what was needed, she felt that her work must be defended.

"But everypony has done such a great job helping me set things up. I couldn't just tell them to tear down so much of their hard work, especially with what's still left to be done," Pinkie said.

A curious, yet awkwardly smiling, expression crossed the Princess's face. "You still have more to do?"

"But of course," Pinkie replied. "I mean, we do have little kids coming to this, so they should feel like they're in a super important and super special place like how all the guests and Princesses will, so why not make it look so colorful and fun? Plus we have Cadance and Shining Armor's new foal joining us that should LOVE all the bright colors and balloons, and she's a baby pegasus, so the balloons can help be cushiony if she starts flying around like crazy." She then gave the Princess a very serious look drawn from certain foalsitting memories. "Trust me, those balloons can save her if needed to stop her from crashing into crystally walls."

"Well, Pinkie, I..."

Before the alicorn could say anything more, one of Cadance's messenger ponies entered the hall. On their back was a large square box, but judging by the pony's posture, not too heavy to haul. "Excuse me," said the pony, "but I have a last second flag banner for Pinkie Pie...

"Princess Celestia! I am so sorry for interrupting. I had no idea I was walking in..."

"It is quite alright," Celestia said. "You have no need to apologize..."

"YAY! My new flags are here!" Pinkie yelled, and as if she was the fictional Fili-Second, left from the spot she was at to where the messenger pony was. She took the box and ripped open its top and pulled out a large string with flags, and the more she pulled out, the even more different appearances each flag had. Celestia saw each one and recognized them all too well.

"Pinkie Pie, those flags have..."

"The flags of every place in Equestria? I know!" Pinkie said excitedly. "I managed to get these printed at THE very last minute to string around the entire room, just as if they were the flags mounted on the field in the stadium earlier. That way we have a symbol of every corner of Equestria for everyone to see!"

Celestia found herself at a loss of words for several moments. Pinkie would always find some of the most unique ways with decor when it came to parties, but this flag banner was a perfect way to display the diverse nation of ponies to the guests. Then again, anypony could leave it to Pinkie Pie to do anything unexpected to give any kind of party an extra special treatment. The alicorn could only put on a happy grin, and chuckle to herself.

"You know Pinkie," said the Princess, "you're decorating the hall just right. I'm sorry for ever questioning your actions. Continue with your preparations and do what you wish." She did, however, wait for Pinkie to walk back over so she could lower her head and add "But, if you could take it easier on the streamers, and finish this corner before the Master Four, Tails, Cosmo, Nyx,..."

Nopony could ever explain how, but Pinkie Pie's head began to rattle like it was the bell of an alarm clock, and her face having a smile a mile wide. "THAT'S IT! The Master Four! Thanks, Princess Celestia!" After that yell, she quickly instructed the working guards to hang the flag banner, and then raced out the door.

Celestia started in shock at Pinkie's outburst, but only for a few moments before having an open laugh to herself. She wouldn't wonder exactly what was going on with Pinkie's 'thinky-tank,' but it seemed that the party pony got an idea that would soon be revealed later. The Princess decided just to wait and be surprised, and made her way towards the kitchen, hoping to have a small spoiling of her dinner with a slice of Crystal Empire double chocolate cake with cherry toppings. Much to her chagrin, it was an addictive delicacy.

Author's Note:

Welcome to the first of three special updates! There will be a Passing Times trilogy revolving around interactions between most of the characters, all of them happening at a near simultaneous manner. Here we have some downtime with the Royal Sisters and their respective situations, and next time will focus on two new groups of characters, including one involving the title couple!

The next update time, however, is still up in the air, mainly because I'll be very busy for the next few weeks...

Including a weekend in Baltimore for Bronycon! Can't wait to see the massive gathering of fans and attend my first MLP convention! Check out my next blog that will explain my plans for the con and more.