The Hunt of a Lifetime
On a sunny summer day, Twilight, Boltsinger, and Spike sat in the library. Twilight was doing some of her research on the stallion’s Cutie Mark, accounting what she’d witnessed and heard from other ponies into the book with his mark on the cover. Boltsinger was reading more Daring Do, while Spike read up on Dragon lore. Twilight took a glance at the stallion’s flank every now and then, just to see if anything had happened, but to no avail.
“I think I need to go with you next time your wings take you somewhere.” Twilight pointed out, moving to sit next to him. “I can’t observe the phenomenon if I’m not there when it’s happening, after all.”
“That’s easier said than done.” he told her, looking up from his book. “You would have to be touching me right when it happens. And even then, there’s still a chance you could get hurt.” He marked his book and closed it. “I don’t know if I want to risk that…”
“But it would let me get so much data on how your Cutie Mark behaves!” She pleaded, looking at him with baby-doll eyes. “For the sake of magic! For all of Equestria!”
Boltsinger looked at her. Her face was shining like Flurry when she wanted a toy. He giggled and patted her on the head. “You’re adorable when you want to make Equestria a better place through magical research, you know that?”
“So will you take me with you?” she asked.
“If we can find a way to do so without risking your life, yes.” He told her. “I don’t want what happened to my parents to happen to you.”
“Okay.” She said, closing her book.
As the ponies got up to leave, Spike’s cheeks puffed up as if he was nauseous. He brought a claw up to his mouth, beginning to heave. Twilight floated the book he was reading to a safe distance, knowing full well what was about to happen. With a loud belch, Spike spewed green flames from his mouth that formed into a scroll. He clutched it in his claws, opening it up.
“Who is it from?” the Princess wondered.
Spike looked closely at the letter. “It’s from Princess Cadence and Shining Armor!” He announced. “It says they want to plan a visit soon, and want to know if you’re free.”
Twilight took the letter from her assistant, looking it over. “Seems a bit random to want to come over… But I don’t have any plans this weekend.” She rolled the scroll up, putting it aside. “Take a letter, please.”
Twilight began dictating the letter as Boltsinger looked fondly at her. He knew why the two would suddenly decide to visit. It wasn’t so sudden from his perspective. His plans were coming to fruition, and to get it just right, he was going to need some help from the stallion that knew Twilight best. The two had been exchanging letters back and forth for a while now, and it was time to set everything up. He had an excited smile on his face as Spike breathed a burst of flame onto the scroll, causing it to turn into smoke that made its way out the nearest window.
“So they’re gonna be coming over soon?” he queried. Twilight gave a nod, turning to leave the room. “Awesome!” He got up to follow her, letting an excited laugh escape as he trotted past.
“What’s got you so happy all of a sudden?” Spike wondered, catching up with him.
“I get to see family! Why else would I be excited?” he stated. “It’s not like there’s some ulterior motive to it! Family is wonderful!” He looked back at Twilight with the barest hint of a dopey grin sliding onto his muzzle. “Yup… family…”
Days came and went, and the ponies all gathered at the train station, where the Friendship Express pulled in. Twilight had invited all of her best friends to come with them, but they all declined, saying something about having important business to attend to. She stood on an empty platform with Starlight, Spike, and Boltsinger, watching the doors slide open to reveal Shining Armor, Cadence, and a carriage. An unmistakable orange Unicorn stood behind the carriage, holding up a number of bags.
“Sunburst!” Starlight cried out, leaping over the sleeping baby and tackling her special somepony in a big hug. “I didn’t know you were coming!”
“Well, as Crystaller, I have responsibilities.” He explained, sitting up and adjusting his glasses. “And it was a good opportunity to see you, so…” He was cut off, Starlight’s hug tightening.
Shining Armor smirked back at Sunburst. “With how close you two are, it makes me wonder when the proposal is coming.” He teased.
“Proposal?!” The resident orange stallions shouted in unison.
“I dunno what you’re talking about!” Boltsinger continued, his eyes darting around as he searched for something to say. “Psssh! Proposals! That’s a long ways off!” He laughed nervously, sitting on the platform. “Uh… But, you know, you ponies seem to have this all in hoof. I have some… important business to attend to.” He spread his wings, running up and giving Twilight a kiss on the cheek. “Love you! See you later!” He shot off into the distance, heading into town.
Starlight got up, taking the load Sunburst carried. “I’ve got some things to do, soon, as well. Let’s get everypony settled in!”
Twilight followed her student, walking alongside Shining Armor. “Is it just me or does everypony seem to be acting strange today?”
Shining Armor feigned ignorance. “From what I’ve seen, everypony seems pretty normal. Isn’t Bolt always this jumpy?”
“Nowhere near that jumpy anymore. And he said the same thing all of my friends did when they told me they couldn’t be here to see you!” The Alicorn explained. “Something fishy is going on… And I’m gonna get to the bottom of it!” She flared her wings, trotting ahead to the castle whilst taking the entire load of luggage with her.
Cadence giggled as she caught up to her husband, pushing the carriage in front of her. “So, do you think she knows?”
“I think she’s probably figured it out.” He affirmed. “Bolt is pretty bad at actually keeping a secret this close to the fact. If anything, she’s at least suspicious.”
When they entered the castle, Sunburst took the parents’ luggage up to their room while Starlight disappeared entirely. Twilight, Shining Armor, and Cadence headed into the throne room, where a familiar scene awaited them.
A pocket of air floated in the air above the center of the map, with the dating book sitting at the edge, a letter used as a bookmark. “Oh, he did not do this again!” The lilac pony fumed, running over to the book and opening it. She felt a wash of relief in not seeing Boltsinger’s pendant marking the book, and took out the letter. “Pop the air pocket…” she read, “... And mind the page number?” She looked at the number of the page the letter had marked, committing it to memory. She looked at the air pocket curiously, whipping one of her wings forward and sending a small burst of wind towards the floating ball of air. It burst, sending a familiar baritone voice through the room.
“Surprise!” it started, in Boltsinger’s voice. “If you haven’t already guessed, I’ve had a bit of a plan for today. First of all, I want to tell you the reason Cadence and Shining Armor came over. It wasn’t a surprise to me, ‘cause I kinda invited them! Shining Armor told me how much you love scavenger hunts, so I decided that would be a good way to do this thing! Rather than pieces of paper for clues, there’s gonna be more air pockets at the locations you go to. But they won’t be easy to find! At each location, there will be somepony that needs your help. When you help them, they’ll guide you to your next clue. Now, here’s the first clue.” a deep breath was heard. “When in this place, please keep in mind, the seeds of love grow intertwined. In helping your friend, I do believe, the honest truth you shall receive.”
Twilight looked back at her brother and sister-in-law, eyes narrowed. “So everypony was in on this, huh?”
“Yup!” Shining Armor confirmed. “It’ll be nice to see what it’s like in the receiving end of a scavenger hunt for once!”
“And don’t worry about Flurry.” Cadence added. “Sunburst will be watching her. That’s part of the reason he came.”
Twilight’s expression shifted from suspicious to excited, thinking about what lay ahead. “Okay! Let’s go!”
“So, where do you think the clue leads?” Cadence asked. “Seeds of love grow intertwined… Where would something like that happen?”
“I think the important part is the bit about the ‘honest truth’.” Twilight suggested. “He’s talking about the most honest pony around!”
Spike jumped onto her back, raising a claw. “Applejack!” He declared. “So that means we gotta go to Sweet Apple Acres and help her!” Twilight nodded, galloping out of the castle with family following close behind.
At the farm, Twilight and company cantered up to the barn, where Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo came out to head for their clubhouse. Apple Bloom looked back at the Crusaders, noticing the Princess in the distance.
“Oh! Hi, Twilight!” she called. “Whatcha doin’ here?”
“Hi, Apple Bloom.” she replied, skidding to a halt. “Do you know where Applejack is?”
“Yeah, she’s in the barn.” the filly informed her. “She’s been fussin’ over some rope fer hours.”
“Thanks. You have a good day!” the Princess said, turning to the barn.
Shining Armor leaned up to his wife. “Since when does Applejack ever have problems with rope?”
“I don’t know…” Cadence answered. “She’s always been handy with a lasso.”
They entered the barn, where Applejack was looking long and hard at a rope on the ground. There was a parchment on the floor with diagrams on it. “Now how d’ya do this here part?” she asked herself, puzzling over the instructions before her.
“Hey, Applejack. What’s going on?” Twilight wondered, looking at the rope and parchment.
“Big Mac told me I couldn’t figure out this here knot!” she declared, raising her head to look at her friend. “I wanted to show ‘im just how wrong ‘e is, but I’ll be darned if this ain’t the toughest ropin’ I ever did see!”
“Can I help?” she offered, lifting the rope into the air.
“If you can make sense o’ this thing and tell me how ta do it, I say go right ahead!” The Earth Pony stated pointing to the diagram.
Twilight looked over the paper, seeing the final result as a knot that was so complicated it was almost spherical, woven all over. She brought her hoof to her muzzle, carefully going over the instructions. As she read them, the rope rose into the air between her and Applejack, slowly weaving its way into place at a pace that Applejack could very easily observe. When the studious pony lifted her head from the parchment, the knot was tied, and Applejack took hold of the rope.
“Wow, Twilight... “ Applejack began, looking at the rope. “You sure got that quick!”
Twilight puffed out her chest, rubbing her hoof against her pendant. “So, can you do it yourself?”
Applejack took another rope, slowly working it into the desired shape before her friend. She hung it from her foreleg, dangling it in front of Twilight. “Yeah, I think I got it.” She took both ropes and put them aside. “And now, I gotta show y’all sumthin’! Follow me!” She trotted out of the barn, heading for the orchard with her lilac-coated friend following closely.
Shining Armor turned to Cadence. “I see what they did there…”
Cadence giggled. “Tying a knot, huh? Ironic.” The two of them walked together, following the younger mares as they went.
Twilight was led far into the orchard, right to the edge of the farm, where she saw a number of pear trees growing. She had heard about this area, but never got to actually go there before. She admired the view around her, thinking on what it must have been like back when the Pears still lived in Ponyville.
“All right, we’re here!” Applejack proclaimed. Twilight, Shining Armor, and Cadence looked ahead to see something they had never imagined. Applejack had her foreleg raised in presentation, showing the group a pair of large trees grown in such a way that they twisted around one another, their branches intertwined. One of the trees was an apple tree, and the other, a pear tree. In the middle, near the top, there was an opening in the shape of a heart. Inside that opening, another pocket of air spun in place, blowing slightly at the leaves around it. “This is where my parents got married… They planted the seeds of these here trees as a special way of sealin’ their vows. We all come here sometimes just to… Well, to think about ‘em. Seein’ what they grew together. Both the trees, and their children.”
Twilight looked in awe at the vision before her. She flapped her wings, Spike jumping off of her back to join the other ponies as she flew up to the air pocket. She reached a hoof out, only slightly disturbing it as it blew out forcefully enough to blow some leaves off of the tree, and the message began.
“Congrats on finding this clue! I figured you’d figure it out without much trouble. Now for the next one! A vision of white is what you must seek, and if you help the owner, you’ll look tres chic! With the outfits she makes, you’ll never look stale, but inside this domain, there is much to unveil!”
Spike brought his claws together by his face, walking up to the landing Princess in a slight delirium. “So, we have to go and help… the most beautiful pony in the world…” he told her, swooning.
“That was a pretty obvious clue…” Twilight affirmed, tusseling Spike’s spikes with her hoof. She turned to face Applejack, giving her a heartfelt hug. “Thank you for bringing me here. It’s the most beautiful part of the farm, and that’s saying a lot!”
Applejack reciprocated the embrace, putting her hat over her heart as they separated. “You’re most welcome, Twilight. I’m happy to help!”
Twilight floated her swooning assistant back onto her back, walking over to the whispering pair that was Shining Armor and Cadence. “And what are you two whispering about?”
“Oh, nothing.” Cadence fibbed, earning a nod from her husband. “Just talking about the execution of these clues! It’s definitely something only Boltsinger can pull off!”
“Definitely.” the stallion repeated. “I can’t wait to see what’s next!” he turned to walk with Twilight, the trio making their way to the Carousel Boutique.
The bell rang at the boutique, catching Rarity’s ear. She turned to the door, seeing Twilight, her siblings, and Spike entering. “Ah! Twilight! Just the pony I wanted to see!” She turned her attention to Cadence, offering the Crystal Princess a hug. “And it’s been far too long since I’ve seen you, Princess! Could I interest you in an outfit while you’re here? I’m running a special on white gowns today!”
Cadence smiled warmly at the fashionista, accepting the embrace. “White gowns? Why are you pushing those today?”
Rarity walked over to one of the dresses on sale, coyly looking back. “No particular reason.” She put a hoof around Twilight. “Now, I was wondering if you could help me to better organize some pieces to a project I’m working on, and then maybe… model it for me?” she requested, fluttering her eyes at the Princess of Friendship.
“Of course!” Twilight exclaimed, excited at the idea of organization. “What kind of project is it?”
“Only one of the most elaborate gowns I’ve ever designed!” she told her. “Why, it may very well be my magnum opus of couture!”
“That’s a pretty tall order.” Shining Armor pointed out, following the mares.
“Yes, well, let a girl dream!” Rarity replied, leading her guests to the inspiration room. Strewn about the room were patterns and fabrics and all of the parts required for an exquisite outfit. On a stand at the edge of the room, a parchment lay with a design for a magnificent dress, featuring a starry pattern and a veil on the head of the pony wearing it, whose large wings were splayed out dramatically.
Twilight looked around the room at the pieces, getting an idea of the task at hoof. “Wow. This is going to be a big outfit…” She lifted each piece into the air in front of her, eyeing them all and arranging them according to what she had observed of the dress-making process. Before long, each piece had its own place on a table next to the stand.
Rarity lit up, taking up a position next to her sewing machine. She began her work, becoming what Twilight would describe as a paragon of efficiency. In a matter of minutes, the dress was complete, adorning a mannequin. Despite the scope of the project, it was fairly simple in its execution. The star pattern was a beautiful silver, connected in a way reminiscent of constellations along the skirt, lines of lace along the waist and hem. The front half of the dress had no back, but featured an intricate star pattern leading from the base of the neck and spreading all over with knotwork patterns connecting each of them. The hind legs had stockings that went all the way up to the haunches, ending in silver shoes that reminded Cadence of Luna's, with the same kind of shoes on the hooves of the forelegs. At the top of the gown was a silver adornment, once again bringing the other Princesses to mind. Atop the mannequin’s head was a bejeweled decoration, a veil protruding out from it and over the face.
“This is… beautiful!” Twilight declared, awestruck at the dress before her. “And you want me to model it?”
Rarity gave a solemn nod. “I need to see how it moves, and where it needs adjustment!” She stood beside the outfit, removing it from the mannequin and looking at Twilight. “Besides, I think it would look simply gorgeous on you!”
Twilight looked longingly at the gown, imagining how it would look on her. “Well, okay. I guess I’ll model it, then!” She took a place behind a nearby changing curtain, Rarity joining her.
“Excuse me, Spike…” Rarity started. “Would you mind moving ever-so-slightly… across the room? We are changing, after all!” Spike ran out from behind the curtain, hiding behind Shining Armor.
Cadence leaned into the present stallion, putting her mouth up to his ear. “That certainly looked like a fitting dress for somepony like Twilight, huh?” she whispered.
Shining Armor brought his hoof up in front of his mouth, staring intently at the curtain. “Shh… I wanna see this!” he told her, watching with a vested interest as a silver-shoed leg stepped out from behind the curtain. Twilight made her way forward, looking at her companions with her wings flared and a foreleg gingerly raised. Shining Armor’s face scrunched up, the water in his eyes welling up ever-so-slightly.
Spike came out from his spot behind Shining Armor, dropping his jaw when he saw the pony he so faithfully served. “Twilight… You look…”
“Beautiful…” Cadence finished, trotting up to her. “Rarity, you’ve really outdone yourself!”
Rarity blushed, standing between the Alicorns and gazing upon her current model. “I do believe you’re right…” She paused, really taking in the vision that was Twilight. “You truly are beautiful, darling.”
Twilight smiled, going in for a hug. “Thank you. I hope the lucky pony that gets to own this dress looks even better, though!”
Rarity let out a satisfied sigh. “Well, I’ve seen everything I need to. Let’s get you out of that… beautiful gown… and I’ll take you where you need to go.”
Twilight stepped back behind the curtain, and in a flash of magical light, the outfit was off and floating in Rarity’s telltale blue grip. She put the dress back on the mannequin, then guided her friend to the main room, where she pointed straight up. There, in the center of the room, was another air pocket, waiting patiently. Twilight shot a tiny blast of magic at it, sending the message through the room.
“I know, that last rhyme was way too easy to solve! But, to be fair, the key to the clues isn’t the same as what you’re used to. And I’m bad at riddles. Speaking of riddles, though, here’s another one! The music from nature meets music that’s not. From somepony’s perspective, that could be quite ‘hot’! In this pony’s case, she isn’t so sure. Perhaps some help from a friend is the cure?”
“Music from nature?” Twilight wondered, reflecting on the rhyme. “Fluttershy often does music for gatherings with her songbirds… But what about the ‘Music that’s not’?”
“Well, who do you know that makes music that doesn’t sound… natural?” Cadence lead.
Twilight’s eyes widened. “DJ PON-3!” She exclaimed, galloping out the door.
Fluttershy was pacing in front of a house in Ponyville’s residential area, trying to convince herself to knock on the door. “You know these ponies, Fluttershy! You can do this!” She told herself. “It’s not like we’re… performing together... “ she sat down. “... for the first time…” Her pupils shrank. “... for a really big event!!!” she brought her forelegs up, clutching her head with her hooves as her teeth began chattering.
“Fluttershy? What’s going on?” came a voice she both expected to hear and didn’t. The Pegasus looked up, seeing Cadence standing over her. Twilight stepped forward shortly after, with Shining Armor and Spike close behind. “You look scared.”
“Oh! Princess!” She began, getting back up. “It’s nothing, really… I just have a… performance… I need to prepare for, and I have to coordinate it with… well…” she pointed her hoof at the door. “... them…”
“But, Fluttershy, you know DJ PON-3 and Octavia!” Twilight pointed out. “You have for years! What’s so different about this?”
“This is going to be the first time that my songbird choir is going to perform alongside them, though!” Fluttershy stressed, spreading her forelegs. “They’re such… big-shots… in the music world… I don’t know if our styles can even mesh well! I don’t want my adorable birdies to get drowned out!”
“Are you forgetting something?” Twilight asked.
Fluttershy tilted her head, falling back to all fours. “Um… I don’t think so…”
“It was your songbirds that performed for a royal wedding!” The lilac pony continued. She pointed her wing at the other ponies present. “Their wedding! If anypony is a big-shot in the music world, it’s you, Fluttershy!”
Twilight’s words rang in Fluttershy’s ears for a moment. It was true. Her songbird choir had done several very prestigious events, at the request of Princess Celestia, even! “You’re right!” She informed her friends, a new level of confidence appearing in her eyes. “I can do this!” Twilight, Cadence, Shining Armor, and Spike let out a cheer as the Pegasus turned to the door, raising her foreleg high. She brought her hoof forward faster than anyone had ever seen and… gently tapped the door three times, almost inaudibly. She waited for half a second, then turned around and shrugged. “Well, nopony home! I guess I’ll try again another ti--”
Twilight ignited her horn, stopping her friend in place and rotating her back towards the door. She stepped forward, knocking firmly on it. She waited a few moments, seeing the latch turn and releasing her shy friend from her magical grip. The door opened, and a white-coated Unicorn mare with a blue mane that alternated from light to dark and a pair of sunglasses and headphones poked her head out, bobbing her head to a beat that only she could hear. She gasped slightly at the sight of Twilight and Fluttershy, opening the door the rest of the way.
“Oh! Hello, there!” Fluttershy nervously greeted, stepping forward. “Is this where you live? It’s... “ she looked inside, seeing the living room’s decor split down the middle according to the tastes of the residents. “... quite lovely! But I see you’re busy! I don’t want to get in the way of your important business, so I’ll just be on my wa--” As she turned to leave again, a magical force pulled at her tail. She looked back to see DJ PON-3’s horn alight, pulling her into the house. “Ah… So you were expecting me…”
Twilight laughed at the scene, looking back at her companions. “I’ll be right out.” She entered the abode, where Fluttershy and Octavia had already engaged in conversation. DJ PON-3 stepped up to Twilight and tapped her shoulder, directing her attention to a spot just above her setup, where another air pocket spun in place. She walked up to it and lowered her head, poking it with her horn. In an instant, the other sounds in the room were drowned out, the message playing.
“Didn’t expect this result, did you? The pony to help was definitely Fluttershy, but the one with the clue? That would be our favorite DJ here! So? Are you ready for your clue?” Twilight nodded. “I’m gonna guess you nodded. So… here it is… To dance in the sky is the easiest feat! But down on the floor? Not doing so sweet. Balance and poise are learned in one place! And you’re gonna love the look on her face!”
“So… Rainbow Dash is learning to… dance?” Twilight asked herself. She turned to DJ PON-3, slightly lifting her headphones. “Thank you.” She told her, heading for the exit.
Rainbow Dash was not a happy pony right now. She knew she’d have to do something for this thing Boltsinger had planned, but this was pushing it. Dancing was something she was already okay at, but that was when she was flying! On the ground, it was like she had four left feet! She grumbled a number of things to herself as the foals around her mirrored the movements of the instructor at the dance class. Before long, a knock came at the door. The instructor called out to let the students, Rainbow Dash included, rest as she opened the door.
“Oh! Princess Twilight!” The instructor greeted, her accent as thick as ever. “How lovely to see you. You here for the lessons?”
“I’m actually here to see one of your students!” Twilight corrected, walking in with Spike on her back. “Is Rainbow Dash here?”
“Twilight!” Rainbow cried out, rushing over to the Alicorn and putting her hooves on her shoulders. “You gotta get me outta here! I can’t take any more of this namby pamby dance fluff! I gotta get out and stretch my wings!!!”
“You will leave when class is over, Dashie.” the instructor interjected, putting a hoof on her back. “You, of all ponies, need to work on your skills before big party! Elsewise, you would not have been enrolled, yes?”
Rainbow’s face sank, retreating her forelegs from their contact with her friend. “I know… I just don’t like how stuffy it feels in here!”
Spike looked around the room, eyeing the foals that occupied it. “That, and you’re embarrassed to be taking a class with a bunch of foals!” he stated, soon breaking into laughter.
“Spike!” Twilight yelled, glaring at him. His laughter stopped, and he soon sat up. She turned to look at the cyan mare. “Don’t listen to him.”
“Why not? He’s right!” Rainbow affirmed.
“He is?” Twilight repeated, confused.
“I am?” Spike repeated, also confused.
“Yeah! It’s not exactly hard to see.” She led them into the room, sitting Twilight down on one side and then taking a position on the other. “Lemme show you…” She turned to a pony working a nearby phonograph. “Hit it!” The colt nodded, turning the crank as the music began to play. After the first couple measures, she started taking some tentative steps alongside a filly that stood beside her. For every ten steps the filly took, Rainbow Dash was only able to take one. Halfway through the song, she attempted to pick up her pace, stumbling around the floor. Her legs started to twist together, and she fell to her side, causing the younger pony to run for dear life as the record came to a screeching halt. Rainbow laid on the floor with a sour pout on her muzzle. “Ya see? This is what happens every time I try to dance on the ground!” She untangled her legs, working her way up into a sitting position. “And then there’s the actual students here!” She motioned a foreleg to a young orange colt with a purple mane and tail who was dancing so well and so rapidly that they could hardly see his legs, doing flips off of the wall and various other advanced steps. “How do I compete with that?!”
“I don’t think you’re supposed to.” Spike deadpanned. “It’s a class. You’re supposed to learn the stuff, not show off!”
“As crude as that was, he has a point.” Twilight added. “If you’re set on learning it, then you need to stick to it. Why are you having such a hard time learning it, anyway?”
“I don’t know! I just… keep tripping over myself!” Rainbow explained.
“Have you tried learning it your way?” the Princess suggested.
“What do you mean? This isn’t some test I have to study for! And it’s not like I can just fly around the room and wat--” her mouth hung open, thinking about her words. “That’s it! I can fly above everything and see how they do it! Then imitate that in the air where I won’t fall over!” She jumped into the air, hovering in place and looking around the room.
“There you go!” Twilight exclaimed, joining her friend. “So, is there anything you need to show me?” she got a little closer, quirking her eyebrows.
“Yeah, but after class!” Rainbow Dash confirmed. “It’s not here.”
Twilight let out a fond sigh and returned to the floor. She sat in a chair next to the door where Shining Armor and Cadence had snuck in, getting comfortable as Rainbow flew around the room. The students would all go through their routines, performing complex steps that Rainbow would look at and flail her legs in the air in an attempt to imitate. Over the course of the class, her movements went from flailing to a more refined step. At the end of the class, she went back to the floor, stepping alongside them. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a vast improvement.
“So, how was I?” Rainbow inquired, rushing up to Twilight.
“Well, it was certainly an improvement, but…” she started. Rainbow’s face showed a hint of a grimace at the last word. “Buuuut I would suggest keeping at it.”
Rainbow Dash hung her head, ears lowering. “Okay…” she lifted her head, a new determination in her eyes. “Then I’ll keep going!” She made for the exit, beckoning everypony along with her wing. “Come on, everypony! You’ve got another clue waiting!” She took off into the air, Twilight and Cadence following suit.
Twilight caught up to her Wonderbolt friend, looking at her as they flew. “So, why are you suddenly taking a dance class?”
“Rarity insists that I have to learn ‘formal’ dancing for the we--” she forced her mouth shut, catching herself on her words. “The Gala! You know, the Grand Galloping Gala!” She laughed nervously, pointing her foreleg at a spinning cloud that had a circular hole right in the middle of it. “Hey! Look! We’re here!”
Twilight’s expression brightened as she shot ahead towards the cloud. Cadence snickered a little, coming up beside Rainbow. “Almost let it slip, huh?”
Rainbow Dash crossed her forelegs, putting on a cool expression. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Cadence giggled, starting towards Twilight. “I’m sure you don’t.” She took a position next to her sister-in-law, looking at the cloud. “So, the clue is in the middle of the cloud?”
“I think so…” Twilight answered. She flew into the cloud, seeing a spinning ball of air that whipped it around from the center. “Yup! There it is!” She gave her wings a hard flap, dispersing the cloud as the bubble of noise popped.
“I told you you’d love the look on her face!” It began, laughing hysterically. “Anyway, yes. Rainbow Dash is learning to dance. Although I don’t know if that class is the one she needs for a ‘formal gathering’ like Rarity insists. But, I digress! After this, there’s only two clues left! Partially because making air pockets of this high a quality that can last this long is really hard on my wings and lungs... But mostly because you’re almost done!” A deep breath was heard. “After all this, you deserve a rest. There’s one sweet place I think is best! And while you go to have a break, have yourself a slice of cake!”
Twilight and Cadence looked at each other, smiling. “Sugar Cube Corner!”
Cakes. Cakes everywhere. Mr. Cake, Mrs. Cake, Pound Cake, Pumpkin Cake, and then there were the baked goods! Chocolate cake, lemon cake, carrot cake, fruitcake, apple cake, pear cake, spice cake, every kind of cake to ever cake on a cake! And sitting in the middle of it all was a lone pie... A Pinkie Pie. All this cake, and only one thing was missing... And the entry bell chimed, signalling their arrival.
Twilight, Spike, Cadence, and Shining Armor entered the confectionery shop, looking around at the towers of pure sweetness. Twilight’s stomach rumbled as her eyes fell on all of the baked wonders, a small amount of drool dribbling out of her open mouth.
“The Cakes have been working overtime, huh?” Shining Armor commented as he felt a rumbling of his own.
“Oh, you’re right about that one!” Mr. Cake told them. “We’ve been asked to cater for a really big event! But we don’t know what kind of cake needs to be our centerpiece, so Pinkie suggested we make samples and have somepony come in for taste testing! You all are just in time, too!”
“Just in time?” Cadence repeated. “I don’t understand…”
“Boltsinger was supposed to be our taste tester, but something came up and he had to help somepony named Sunburst with something involving mashed peas…” Mr. Cake elaborated. “But we just finished all of our baking, and we still need somepony from outside the shop to be our taste tester! Would you all like to help us?”
Spike took in the sweet sights surrounding him, then turned to look at Twilight with pleading eyes. “Can we? Please?”
Twilight smiled, rolling her eyes. “Well, we have been walking around all day… and I am pretty hungry after all of that…” she nodded, causing the little dragon to jump for joy.
The four of them sat down at the only empty table in the room, where a bouncy pink mare emerged from the floor wearing a false moustache and bow tie. She bowed curtly to the guests, placing a plate in front of each of them.
“Our first selection is a classic chocolate cake with chocolate icing!” She told them, trying her best to sound as proper as possible as she placed a multi-layered brown cake in the center. She picked up a knife and, with one swift motion, sliced the cake to be split evenly amongst the five of them. “The filling between each layer is made with a raspberry jam, with extra sugar for sweetness!”
Everyone at the table raised a fork, digging into the morsels placed before them. As always, the Cakes made the best cakes in all of Ponyville. The chocolate maintained a hint of its natural bitterness, so as to not completely overwhelm their pallets with pure sweetness. Twilight could detect a hint of some ground-up ingredient in the icing, providing some of that bitter taste, eventually giving way to the raspberry filling that washed over the bits of cake to fill her mouth with flavor. They all brought a hoof up to their faces, overjoyed by the pure confectionery art they were experiencing, and quickly gobbled up their portions. As soon as their plates were empty, Pinkie rose, fetching another cake and setting it in front of them. Each cake was just as delicious as the one before it, all of them beautifully decorated and flawlessly proportioned so as to never be too much with each slice. When the cakes were finished, the room was empty once more. The guests at the table leaned back, patting their bellies as Pinkie Pie appeared beside Twilight.
“So? Which one was your favorite?” she inquired.
Twilight sat up, looking at Pinkie quizically. “I have to choose one?” Pinkie nodded rapidly. “But they were all so good! I can’t possibly choose just one! When is this big event?”
“Well, that’s the big question.” Mr. Cake stated. “We don’t know, just yet.”
The Princess if Friendship's eyes narrowed, looking at the proprietor suspiciously. “And who is organizing it?”
Mr. Cake looked nervously at Pinkie Pie, who reeled back at the sudden gesture. Her eyes darted back and forth between Mr. Cake and Twilight, teeth chattering.
“I can’t tell you!” She shouted, retreating into a corner. “Your clue is in the party planning cave! Please don’t ask any more questions!”
Twilight recoiled from the shout, a part of her not expecting such a response from Pinkie. She relaxed a bit, letting her face go back to normal. “Okay, okay. No more questions. Let’s go get that clue!” She slowly got up, straining a bit from having a slightly engorged belly thanks to all the cake.
Pinkie Pie walked over to a cake on the counter, pressing down on the cherry on top. Twilight and company heard a mechanism crank from beneath them as they lost all semblance of footing. They fell through four trap doors onto a set of slides that converged into one, taking them down into a room full of file cabinets, balloons, streamers, and other decorations. One electric blue balloon in the center of the room was twitching erratically, as if something inside it was making it behave in an unusual manner. Pinkie came down the slide behind the group, a needle in her forelock.
“You’re gonna need this…” she said, bringing the needle forward. “It hurts to pop an innocent balloon… but the show must go on!” She raised a foreleg emphatically in her declaration, her face more serious than ever.
Twilight lit up her horn, lifting the needle from her friend’s mane and walking over to the twitchy balloon. She closed her eyes, bringing the needle forward to pierce the outer layer.
“POP!!!” The message began alongside the popping noise, pausing for a moment. “Don’t ask me how this pocket got inside a balloon. It was all Pinkie. She did her… Pinkie... thing. I’ve stopped trying to understand it. I hope you enjoyed your cake! It should give you the energy for your next location! Okay.. here we go…” Once again, a deep breath sounded from the message. “Rock. You are a rock. Shiny. You are quite shiny. Like a piece of coal that has been compressed underground under intense heat and pressure to the point of becoming one of the hardest known substances ever discovered. You are underground. And so am I.”
Twilight shook her head, trying to wrap her mind around what she had just heard. “Was that… Maud?” she queried.
Pinkie’s excitement bubbled up inside her, her smile growing wider than her muzzle would allow as steam shot out of her ears. She rocketed up from her position on the slide, spreading all of her limbs out in joy. “IT’S MAUD!!!” she confirmed, running up to Twilight and leaning against her. “Can I go with you? Please? Pleeeeeeease?” she begged, fluttering her eyelashes.
“Don’t we have to get out of here first?” Cadence asked.
“I think so…” Shining Armor agreed, looking at the slide with a confused expression. “But… how do we get out?”
The gem cave was lit up by luminescent stones of every color imaginable. Starlight Glimmer and Maud Pie walked through, hard hats equipped and ready for anything.
“Why are we looking for a diamond?” Maud wondered, dry as ever. “I could find several hundred if you really needed it. They’re not that rare.”
Starlight gave her rigid friend a soft smile. “Well, it’s not that we’re looking for a diamond, per say. I’m learning a locator spell that will help me to find gems in a way that’s not totally reliant on your skills. Twilight can help me get it down and then--”
“What’s that about a locator spell?” a familiar voice asked from deeper within the cave. Twilight, Spike, Cadence, and Shining Armor came into view as the two kept up their pace. “Are you working on the spell Rarity uses?”
Starlight jumped, a little surprised, even if Twilight’s appearance was expected. “Oh! Hi, Twilight. Yeah, I wanted to get that spell down. I was hoping to find some diamonds today, but it’s a pretty hard gem to find even with this spell.”
Maud pointed over to a nearby wall. “There’s a bunch of diamonds right over th--”
Starlight put a hoof over the Earth Pony’s mouth. “Let’s… try and find it ourselves, shall we?” Maud groaned to herself, rolling her eyes and turning to leave. She grumbled to herself as she went back to her cavern, slightly annoyed with the fact that nopony was trusting her to perform such a simple task.
“Well, okay.” Twilight stated. “So, I only know how to look for gems in general, but I’m sure we could refine it for something specific if we work at it.”
“Okay.” Starlight agreed, looking around at the cave. “So, we’re after diamonds. What are the properties we’re looking for?”
Shining Armor smirked to his wife. “Diamonds, huh? What use do they have for diamonds, I wonder?” Cadence giggled as the ponies conversed further on the properties of the precious jewel, discussing how it’s made, what differentiates it from other gems, along with many other details, lighting up their horns as they talked. Around the cave, several white lights popped up, indicating diamonds in each of the locations. Spike looked around, licking his chops as he saw the rocks lighting the area.
“Oh! Looks like we found some!” Twilight pointed out, moving towards a nearby wall. “Is this all you needed help with?”
“It was supposed to be, but… I do need your help with… one other thing.” Starlight informed her. “It’s about… well… Sunburst.”
Twilight tilted her head. “What about Sunburst?”
“Well, as you know, he and I have been seeing each other… romantically… for almost as long as you and Boltsinger have been together.” she went on, dancing around her main point. “And I go visit him all the time, and we write back and forth, but that’s been happening ever since we found each other again… But I…” Starlight looked at a gem in the wall, blasting the surrounding rock to reveal a beautiful vein of pure diamond that shone her reflection in every facet. “I don’t… see him enough. Not anymore. And… I was wondering if I could, maybe… fix that?”
“By ‘fix’, do you mean…?” the Princess began, getting a reluctant nod from her student. “Ah… Well, let’s discuss this further when we get home. I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time to talk it over.”
Starlight breathed a heavy sigh. She knew that Twilight was more interested in finishing the scavenger hunt at the moment, but at least she had listened to her. That was a good start. “Okay. The clue is this way.”
Starlight led them deep into the caverns, into a large chamber filled to the brim with naturally-growing gems. They all lit up in different colors, leading up to a small stone spire in the center of the chamber, where a pocket of air spun innocently. Twilight marveled at the room for a moment, but quickly focused her attention on the objective at hoof. From what she had heard before, this was the last clue with a rhyme in it. She knew she was nearing the end, and was excited to see just what kind of prize Boltsinger had in store. She flew up to the pocket, quickly poking it with her horn to send a wave of wind through the entire cavern.
“Congratulations, Twilight! You’ve found this clue!” heavy breathing was heard for a moment, mumbling coming from the background. “What? Flurry is what?! Oh, not again! Okay, I’ll be right there! I just gotta finish this! These pockets only last so long, after all! I’ve had to do these all day while staying ahead! All right, just keep calm and do what I told you! Okay!” the voice cleared his throat, becoming more audible once again. “So, you know how I’ve been leading you around with poems or rhymes or… Maud-poetry? Well, this last one is something a bit more my speed. Follow the clue in this song, and it’ll lead you to where you need to be.” Once more, a deep breath sounded, giving what felt like a few beats for atmosphere.
“~Leaves from the vine….
Falling so slow,
Like fragile, tiny shells
Drifting in the flow….
Little__ soldier boy…
Come marching home!
Bra__ave soldier boy…
Comes marching home…~”
Twilight lingered on the last note. The song was short and simple, but she could feel a deeper meaning behind it from some source she didn’t quite understand. She turned to her brother. “Soldier? Is he talking about you?”
“I… think so.” Shining Armor affirmed. “Something about… marching home… I think that’s where we need to be.”
“Well, then, let’s go home!” Cadence declared.
Twilight nodded in agreement, trotting past the other ponies and lifting the hungry-looking Spike onto her back. “Starlight, you coming?” she asked her pupil.
“Y-yeah… I’ll be along in a bit… Just go on ahead without me!” she stated, looking into the diamond some more. As the others all made their exit, she sighed. “I just don’t know what to do... I wanna stay at the castle with Twilight, but… Things between me and Sunburst have been so great lately… But I can’t just… Oh, I’ll explain it to her later!” she shook the idea from her head for the moment, finally turning away from the diamond and heading towards the cave exit.
The castle doors opened once more, and the sound of snoring echoed throughout. Twilight recognized it outright, considering who she slept with. But for it to be this loud, he couldn’t possibly be comfortable. She attuned her ears to the sound, following it to its source with Cadence and Shining Armor trailing close behind. She didn’t have to travel very far, as the sound grew to its peak when she approached the throne room.
There, in his usual spot on the floor between the thrones, Boltsinger lay curled up. Cuddled up next to him and nestled under his wing was a peacefully sleeping Alicorn filly. Cadence and Shining Armor smiled at the sight of their foal, the mother stepping forward and magically lifting the toddler into her foreleg.
Flurry stirred, slowly opening her eyes. “Ma-ma!” She called out, spreading her forelegs happily.
Twilight walked over to her special somepony on the floor, sitting next to him. From behind her, she heard the hoofsteps of everypony she had visited that day. The Apple Siblings, Crusaders included, Rarity, Fluttershy, their musician friends, the entire Cake family, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Maud, Sunburst, and Starlight. They all gathered around the room, encircling the map. The Princess heard them come in, but paid them no mind. She leaned in close to Boltsinger, poking his side with her hoof. “Bolt… Wake up, Bolt!”
Boltsinger’s eyes shot open. He rocketed up from his sleeping position, hitting his head on the ceiling with a distinctive ‘thud’. “What? Yes? I’m awake!” He looked around, seeing the gathering of ponies. “Oh… Right…” He slowly fluttered back down to the floor, standing in front of Twilight. “So, you’ve completed the scavenger hunt, huh?”
“Why, yes. I would say I have!” She confirmed. She tilted her head to look behind him, seeing nothing but the same book opened to the same page. “So… What’s the prize?”
“Ah! Yes! Your prize!” He repeated. “So, you made sure to remember the page that book over there was marked on, right?”
Twilight nodded. “Yes. What does that have to do with the prize?”
“Why don’t you have a look at the contents of that page?” he suggested. “And while you’re reading it, think about all of the things you did to help your friends today.”
Twilight walked past the Pegasus, floating the book in front of her face. She heard Boltsinger going over to each of the other ponies in the room, stopping at Starlight and Maud. “Chapter fifty… Tying the… Applejack had me tying a knot at the farm… When you and your special somepony have been living together for a very long time, trust each other completely, and are naturally comfortable with each other… it will have become time to take the last big step…” her eyes widened dramatically. She brought a hoof up to her muzzle as she began pondering out loud. “After we saw Applejack… Rarity needed help with… a veiled white dress… Then Fluttershy needed to talk to DJ PON-3 and Octavia about a performance for a really big event… Rainbow Dash was learning to dance at a formal gathering… And Pinkie was wanting my opinion on cake! Then underground… Starlight wanted to look for diamonds…” she returned her attention to the book. “... the last big step... “ she turned around, seeing her favorite stallion knelt before her, a glorious diamond ring in a box in his hoof, just the right size to fit snugly at the base of her horn.
“Marriage.” he finished. “So, what do you say? Want to take that last big step with me?”
Twilight looked around at the ponies in the room, all of them smiling warmly. Her eyes began watering as she looked at the orange Pegasus in front of her. Her smile kept growing bigger as she lingered on his words. “Of course…” she started, inching closer. “Of course I want to!” She leaped forward, wrapping her forelegs and wings around him tightly. “I told you I need you in my life… I’m more than ready to spend the rest of it with you!”
The two of them got up from the floor, facing each other. Boltsinger took the ring out of the box, grasping it delicately with his wing as Twilight lowered her head. He lifted the ring, placing it on the edge of her horn and gingerly parting the hair around it, sliding the jewelry all the way to the base, resting against her forehead. Everypony in the room stomped in applause, Shining Armor breaking down and gushing liquid pride from his eyes.
Twilight leaned her forehead against Boltsinger’s, sheer joy present in her eyes. “Best… prize… ever!” she told him. Boltsinger laughed, the two leaning in for a passionate kiss as the cheers echoed throughout the castle.
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I have been waiting for this to happen ever since it was mentioned in one of the previous chapters
I can't for the life of me picture how Bolt would propose, like how does he kneel?