the Equestria dialouges

by Paradise Oasis

chapter two- pony holidays

Chapter two- pony holidays

Morning arrives, and Wind Whistler and I are flying back towards the Canterlot Ruins. My companion is already laying plans to excavate the treasury vaults, while I am going to take measurements of the grand ballroom. There is so much we want to accomplish, in so very little time. But knowing the two of us, I'm sure we'll be able to pull it off. And I am also of the hope that we will run into that extremely knowledgeable unicorn again... there are so many questions I wish to ask her.

"Did you bring all the measuring and excavating tools?" I ask her with a teasing smirk, glancing at the pouches she has slung over her saddle. "I'd hate to have to have us dig with our hooves, and ruin our new manicures."

"Of course! Do you ever think I would be one to forget such an important and decisive detail?" The blue pegasus asks, annoyed. I roll my eyes... Wind Whistler never understands a joke, and takes everything so literally. No wonder Gusty is always teasing her about not having any feelings, though I don't think it's right that she teases her in the first place.

We land near one of the old canals that run though the city, feeding the city's fountains, wells, and troughs. The city's water supply flows from the natural river that rushes down the mountainside through Canterlot, so water still gushes though channels that have not had maintenance in five centuries.

"I would recommend against drinking from that water, North Star." Wind Whistler commented, seeing me stare into one of the Canals. "While the H2O in that canal is certainly not stagnant, there could be any sort of bacteria or parasite, festering in the rusty old plumbing throughout the city."

"Oh Wind Whistler, I'm not going to drink this water." I reply with a laugh. "I'm merely waiting for the friends I asked to help us today."

At that point, the heads of three ponies burst up through the water of the canal, causing Wind Whistler to jump back in surprise.

"Shooby doo, Shoop Shooby Doo!"

"Hello, Girls!" I greet the three of them. "Glad you could make it!"

"Glad to be here!" They replied in unison.

"The Sea Ponies? You asked the Hippocampus to help us? Really, North Star?" My companion asked skeptically. "Are you planning to do a musical number as we dig through the ruins?"

"Hey! We can do more than sing, sister!" Seawinkle, the blue-colored leader of the Dream Valley Sea Ponies, snaps.

"Yeah! We came to help you search for stuff in the underwater parts of the ruins!" Wavedancer, her pink second-in-command, adds.

"We can get into places, and find sunken stuff, far better than any other kind of pony!" Sealight, the Purple sea pony, finishes.

"Many of the basements and lower-level buildings are flooded." I tell Wind Whistler. "I figured they cold explore the submerged sections of the city."

The Blue Pegasus thinks for a moment. "A very intelligent plan, North Star! The lower galleries of the treasure vault are indeed submerged!"

"All right then! Wind Whistler, you take Sealight and Wavedancer with you." I tell them. "Seawinkle, you're with me."

"Sounds good to us." The sea ponies reply in unsion.

The two other Hippocampus swim down the canal, with Wind Whistler flying overhead. Seawinkle and I follow the canal the other direction, towards the palace.

"It's really far out hanging with you again, North Star." The Sea Pony leader tells me. "You're one of the few land ponies who's hip to all the jive on the surface."

I hold back a snort of laughter... Sea Pony euphemisms are so amusing; 'hip', 'funky', 'far out', and other such oddities.

"I'm glad to talk to you again, Seawinkle." I reply with a smile. "The other ponies can be so boring sometimes."

"I can dig it, sister." Seawinkle says with a laugh.

"By the way, there's something I've always wondered." I ask her. "Why do you sea ponies sing so much, anyway?"

"Same reason dolphins do." She replied. "What your ears hear as 'Shooby Doo' works as a form of underwater communication."

"Wow." I reply. "And how do you girls keep your perfect manes and hair ribbons, when you're underwater all the time?"

"Waterproof hair spray?" She replied jokingly.

We both burst into laughter at that.

As we enter the castle, I make my way up the stairs towards the ballroom, with Seawinkle following me up through the pipes. If there was a fountain up there, she would be able to surface.

Since I was a little filly, I had heard stories of Princess Celestia's court in the Equestrian age. I grew up dreaming of meeting all the pretty ponies here, eating the most delicious foods, and dancing with a handsome stallion at the grand galloping gala, in what would have been the best night of my life. I had intentionally not come up here yesterday so as not to spoil the effect when I first gazed upon the ballroom.

All of those dreams were shattered, as I came up the stairs into the ballroom. The place was a wreck... the curtains had long since rotted away, and the windows were cracked and broken. The once shiny dance floor was cracked and dirty, with a shallow offshoot from the stream from the mountain waterfall, running though the middle of it. I held back tears, as the shiny-eyed little filly inside me died, at the sight of all her childhood fantasies broke into a million pieces.

"Something wrong, sister?" Seawinkle asks me, emerging in the small river.

"It's nothing, my friend." I tell her, trying to stop my tears. "Nothing is wrong at all."

"If it t'was nothing, thou wouldst not be crying like that."

Both of us spin around, to see the same unicorn from yesterday standing at the entrance, looking at us.

"Scuse me, sister... but who are you?" The sea pony asks curiously.

"A friend, of your friend here." The unicorn replies. "Tell us, child... art thou weeping over the broken dreams of thine childhood?"

"How... how did you know, elder?" I ask sadly.

"T'was the dream of many young fillies... to dance and meet thier true loves at the grand galloping gala." The unicorn noted. "If they did know how dull of an event it trully was, they wouldst not base their hopes and dreams on that night."

"Was the gala really such a funky, unhip gig?" Seawinkle asks curiously.

"Indeed, good hippocampus." The Unicorn replies. "Even the Princess Celestia hated it. T'was not a popular date on the calendar, like nightmare night."

"Nightmare Night?" I ask, thinking for a moment. "Oh! You mean Halloween! Yes, kids still love that holiday! Trick or treating, games, jack 'o lanterns-"

"Jack 'o lanterns? What beith Jack o' Lanterns?" The unicorn asks, puzzled. "We hath never heard of these strange sounding things."

"Pumpkins that land ponies carve creepy faces on, and light candles inside." Seawinkle tells her. "We Sea ponies use plastic ones, and put glowing kelp inside to light them up."

The unicorn shook her mane. "Modern ponies hath... such odd customs." Clearly, I realized that whatever kingdom this pony came from, was a far more traditional place than Dream Valley, and adhered closer to old Equestrian traditions. "We are certain that preparing for this elaborate 'Hallo-ween' must costeth ponies a lot of Bits."

"Bits?" Seawinkle asked.

"Currency... money, like the humans and elves use." I explain to my Sea Pony friend. "The ancient Ponies of Equestria earned salaries at jobs, and bought and sold what they needed, istead of just trading and bartering goods like we do now."

"Ponyland doth use the barter system now?" The unicorn asks in suprise. "How can anypony aquire wealth under such a system?"

"We trade for what we need. Ponies have no use for wealth." Seawinkle replies. "Ponykind just isn't that greedy anymore."

"Did Equestria have Christmas?" I ask her. "A winter festival that is all about Trees, lights, and presents?"

"They did have Hearth Warming day." The unicorn replied. "On Hearth Warming Eve, they would put on a play, reenacting the founding of Equestria."

"So that's where that tradition comes from!" Seawinkle replies. "We Sea Ponies have done the founding of Equestria as a water ballet every Christmas eve, as far back as our history goes!"

"You also string glowing kelp on coral trees." I add with a whinnying laugh.

"You have any idea what would happen to a lit Christmas tree underwater?" Seawinkle grumbles sarcastically.

"Doest thou still hath winter wrap up?" The old unicorn asks. "Or the fall running of the leaves?"

"Those have become the Spring and Fall festivals." I tell her. "We no longer need to change the seasons, the weather takes care of itself."

"As do the animals." My Sea Pony companion added. "Ponykind has nothing to do with it's spare time anymore!"

"So much hath changed about holidays and special events." The unicorn sighed. "Yet so much remains the same." She looked over at me. "Know this, good North Star, the dreams of your childhood may hath crumbled like these ruins. But you can haveth new dreams to strive for... do they not drive you onward?"

"Yeah, I do... now that you mention it." My face lightens up. "There are always new places to explore, and I have my family! Thank you for reminding me, elder!" I bow to her gratefully.

"Always happy to be of help, my child." She replies with a knowing smile. "You doth remind me of another adventurous young Pegasus I once knew."

"Really?" I ask. "Who would that b-"

But in the blink of an eye, she is gone. Vanishing once again, just as she had the first time.

"Where did she go this time?" I ask, looking around.

"She just... disappeared." Seawinkle shivers. "Wind Whistler, were we just rapping with a spook?"

"I don't think so, Seawinkle." I reply nervously "But it looks like the sun is setting, so we had best get back to our work."

As we continued with our task, I wonder when my strange new friend will show up next...

Comments

[JV ElEven]

Interesting....

And confusing....

Spelling's a little bit clunky at times, but it's an interesting concept, so I'd like to know more. Do keep it up, old chap.

[Marisher]

I read it and... yes. Where are you going with this? I'd love to find out! Mystery and intrigue... oooh...

[LadyMoondancer]

As both a G1 and G4 fan, I'm loving this story. The sea ponies "hip and groovy" way of talking is hilarious. Well, it certainly makes sense that their culture would be a little "off" from mainstream land-pony ways!

[Leave a Whisper]

Fun stuff