Canterlot Part 1 - A Maze of Confusion
It wasn't long after that rainbow trail streaked from Canterlot, over their train, and toward Ponyville that five aliens to the pony world reached the base of the mountain, but it took quite a while for the train to snake around and through various tunnels in its ascent.
At least fifteen minutes before the group had arrived at the first of their chosen Canterlot train stations, an identical streak had passed back overhead, from the opposite direction of the first, to land above on the city of Canterlot. Of course, this was also while the train was just entering another tunnel and it was impossible to determine where in the city the streak had landed. So, the girls decided to stick with the plan and head to their agreed upon two separate destinations rather than to try and seek it out.
*** B-Team ***
They arrived at the station Team Boutique was waiting for and Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie stepped out of the train and onto the platform. Shifting to the side to let other ponies board, they turned and waved to Applejack as the train began to depart for its next stop. Rainbow Dash was still asleep.
Over the previous few minutes, while the train approached and finally entered the city, Rarity had become more and more enrapt with the views she was able to sneak through the windows. The architecture, the majesty. And now, standing within that city on her own … four legs, the full giddiness could no longer contain itself.
“Wha-haa, he-he,” she squealed, dancing her hooves on the platform like a mildly inebriated natural. “Isn’t this all so lovely, darlings?”
“It is quite pretty,” Fluttershy agreed. “Not at all like Ponyville. Not that Ponyville wasn’t pretty, but that was a different kind of pretty. More trees, more animals—” Fluttershy stopped, her eyes widening, before looking around. “Animals …,” she mumbled to herself.
Meanwhile, also mumbling to herself, Pinkie walked into a pole.
“I did—? Ow!”
The sudden bonk and yell drew Rarity and Fluttershy’s attentions while Pinkie rubbed her forehead.
“Pinkie? Are you okay?” asked Fluttershy.
“I’m fine. But these voices are being mean. Good thing I’m not a unicorn. I bet that would have hurt.”
Rarity looked up to her horn, then the pole Pinkie had run into, then thought about the throbbing from still having to tweak her horn to let go of things she picks up in her magic. “I can imagine.”
“I can’t! It must be awful to be horny all the time,” Pinkie replied, turning to Rarity. “How do you do it?”
“W-what, I—you do not have to word it quite that way!” sputtered Rarity.
“Why not? It’s true. I mean, your horniness is just right out there all the time for anyone to see. It’s standing straight out and—“
“Stop, stop, stop, stop!” Rarity shushed her. “I’m quite sure the ponies don’t use such phrasing to discuss their horns.”
“Then how would they discuss them?”
“My preference would be to not until we find out properly,” Rarity insisted.
“Okay, let’s ask that guy about his horn!”
Rarity and Fluttershy turned around and saw a rather fancy unicorn pony wearing what appeared to be a tuxedo jacket, purple bow-tie, a monocle, and a conspicuous absence of pants, just as Pinkie began pronking in his direction.
Their eyes grew wide. Fluttershy eeped, Rarity gasped. Pinkie giggled.
“I vote we hide before Pinkie gets there,” whispered Fluttershy.
Thinking she had an idea that was better, Rarity lit her horn and grabbed onto all four of Pinkie’s hooves intending to drag her away from the unsuspecting stallion.
She quickly learned that Fluttershy’s idea would have been the better one when her ability to hold a moving Pinkie was not sound. She recalled Fluttershy’s escape from the hospital and how attempting to help untangle the resulting pony pile caused in an inexplicable neck ache.
It seemed even with the lack of a physical connection, magic or no magic, levitation requires some sort of leverage and a solid grip.
Rarity failed at least one of those.
She managed to encircle her aura around Pinkie’s hooves as intended, but Pinkie kept on pronking before Rarity could begin to pull. And with each pronk, Rarity’s head was shoved up and down as if her horn were tied to the excited pony.
Up Down Up Down
And Rarity still hadn’t learned how to let go.
Worse, Pinkie took the scenic route to the stallion, circling around poles, potted plants, and ponies with luggage rather than just going down the length of the platform.
“Rarity!” Fluttershy gasped at the display and quickly tried to help with the first idea that came to mind.
A quick double flap of her wings got her up and over her friend.
And then she let herself drop on top of her.
This succeeded in only pressing Rarity to the platform while Pinkie pronked on.
They learned that Pinkie had quite the power in those legs as each pronk now bounced not only Rarity’s head, but all of Fluttershy as well.
"This … is … not … help…ping!" Rarity cried between faceplants. The angle was just off from tweaking Rarity’s horn against the platform, possibly the one time where such a thing could have been helpful. Instead, it was mostly her muzzle being pressed into the hardwood.
They were saved as one bounce succeeded in Fluttershy falling forward and brushing Rarity’s horn hard enough to tweak it, releasing her from the invisible tether.
Of course, this happened only one pronk away from Pinkie reaching the fancy stallion anyway.
A dazed Rarity and Fluttershy watched as their pink friend got the pony’s attention with a cheerful greeting.
“Hiya!”
“Well,” he answered her, looking up from the newspaper in his magic, “Miss Pinkie Pie, a pleasure.”
“You know me? Does that mean I know you too?” Pinkie scratched her chin, trying to place his face against non-pony faces in her large mental inventory.
He paused. “Yes? I should hope so.”
“Oh wait!” Pinkie shouted. “You’re Fancy Pants! Or at least your name is. And having ‘Fancy Pants’ for a name is pretty fancy pantsy, but if you have any fancy pants you should know you forgot them at home. Anyway, I read your file in Pinkie’s party cavern! You prefer yellow cake with vanilla frosting and red rosettes. You like ballroom dancing and collecting Wonderbolts memorabilia, and your guilty pleasure is watching mares walk by and staring at their tails while pretending to read a newspaper!”
Fancy Pants took a step back and his monocle dropped to hang from its string when his eyes widened too far to hold it. “Uh, m-mares take good care of their tails,” he sputtered. “I’m simply … r-recognizing, and appreciating, their efforts.”
“Good for you!”
“T-thank—thank you.”
“You like mine?” she asked, turning to the side and giving it a wag.
Taken aback, Fancy Pants nevertheless followed the curled curl of curls that was Pinkie’s tail. “Quite entrapping, my dear.”
“Is it ever!” Pinkie shouted. “I’ve got so much stuff in here! You want a party hat?” Without waiting for an answer, Pinkie whipped her tail up and down and a few party hats gained momentary freedom and upward momentum. Pinkie caught one in her teeth allowing the rest to be re-trapped within her tail, then placed the chosen one on Fancy Pants’s head.
He looked up at it, then used his magic to reposition it to be on top of his head, rather than covering his horn.
“Hey!” Pinkie pronked once in place, “So, I was talking with my friend, Rarity”—she pointed to Rarity and Fluttershy, still flat on the platform and wishing they had hidden themselves far away—“You know Rarity too, right?”
“Why, yes of course. Always a delight.” Though baffled, and embarrassed, Fancy Pants still greeted them with a polite bow.
Rarity meekly waved back at him.
“Well we were wondering …”
The waving ceased and Rarity cringed.
“How would you describe your horn?”
Fancy Pants paused again. Eventually he answered with a modest, “Serviceable.”
Pinkie turned to face Rarity. “Rarity! He said his horn is serviceable!”
With a blush, Rarity took notice of a small gathering of other ponies, mostly unicorns, watching with confused expressions and groaned, covering her face with her hooves.
Fluttershy did the same but added her wings.
Riding a high, Pinkie felt the need to continue and turned back to Fancy Pants. “So would you also describe yourself as being horny all the time?”
Quietly, Rarity moaned into the floor, “Someone shoot me now.”
Fancy Pants just stared, a blush beginning to grow on his face. He too noticed the other ponies.
“I say; would you look at the time?” he squeaked. “Quite, quite. I believe it is quite late. I’m afraid I must take my leave.” After another quick look around, he added, “Promptly.”
As he walked away, Pinkie waved. “Okay! Nice meeting you!” She then pronked back to Rarity and Fluttershy, still hiding behind their hooves and wings respectively. “Well I made a new friend and we haven’t even left the station yet!”
Fluttershy and Rarity uncovered one eye each and glanced at each other, thinking maybe they should have gone straight to the castle after all.
*** C-Team ***
The first station came and went, sending Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie on their way. Still on the train, Applejack took command of Team Castle. Her first task: wake up the other member.
“Dash!” she called, receiving only continued snoring as a result. “Rainbow!” she tried a few more times a little louder, though not so loud as to annoy the passengers that had boarded at Team Boutique’s stop.
Meanwhile, Rainbow snored on.
With a roll of her eyes, Applejack began rocking her back and forth with her hooves, then called again. When Rainbow still failed to wake, she gave the bench beneath her friend a quick punch, or kick. Since she was technically using a foreleg and a hoof rather than an arm and a hand, she wasn’t sure what to call it.
“Next stop,” an announcement called out, “Canterlot Castle.”
“Shoot!” Applejack looked out the windows and noticed the train already slowing with ponies lining up to depart.
“Come on, Dash, ya lazy …. Get your ‘butt flank’ movin’ before Ah kick/punch it movin’. We gotta go!”
The car doors opened and ponies began filing out.
Applejack gently punch/kicked Rainbow onto the floor with a resulting thud.
Rainbow snored.
Applejack groaned.
Rainbow snorted. “Huh, wha’?”
Applejack halted halfway into punch/kick number two. “Dash! We’re at our stop!”
“Great!” Rainbow exclaimed from the floor while stretching. “Time to kick some—“
“Time to get off the train before it leaves!”
“Huh?” Rainbow looked around, noticing sophisticated ponies getting onto their train car and a rather large castle outside. “Whoa. Oh! Uh ….” She tried to flap her wings to get herself righted but felt pins and needles throughout one of them. “Gah! I slept on my wing!” Instead she tried to use her hooves to work herself upright and standing but was still having trouble with her pony legs, having used only her wings since coming through the portal.
The group of new ponies had nearly finished crowding in and Rainbow had only just gotten standing. Applejack figured there was only one way to get off the train in time.
She flipped her hat off and caught it between her teeth. Then, ducking her head low, she rushed toward Rainbow and got underneath her barrel to lift her up and on to her back just like she had carried Fluttershy earlier.
“Holy—! AJ! Wha—Put me down!”
Applejack ignored her and focused on plowing through the boarding passengers. Unfortunately ponies are longer than they are wide and a perpendicular pegasus pony perched precariously upon her posterior made things difficult.
She managed to wade into the throng and pass the initial wave, but shortly thereafter, Rainbow’s head and/or rear clipped some oncoming ponies and knocked her to the floor. Along with the poor civilian(s) her end(s) collided with.
Turning around, Applejack saw Rainbow Dash looking a bit dazed as if watching stars flying around her head. Better that end than the other, she thought to herself before noticing the small pile of peeved ponies, underneath Rainbow, looking back at her. “Uh, sorry folks. We, uh, kinda of in a rush here.”
Suddenly multiple glows appeared all around Rainbow and she was lifted into the air and rudely dropped back over Applejack’s back, knocking the wind out of her.
“Thank’ya kindly,” she wheezed, “whoever which of y’all unicorns did that.” Finished with her farewell, she turned back to rush the doors.
She was just shy of them when she realized she was missing something important and turned to face the crowd again. “My hat! Has anyone seen—Mmmph!” She was cut off when it was shoved onto her face. “Much obliged,” she muttered and turned and finally jumped forward, only to bounce her hat-covered face off the closed train doors.
“Aww nuts,” she muttered through her hat as the train began moving again.
*** B-Team ***
“I’m really sorry about that, girls,” Pinkie apologized again. “I just got so excited and the voices were so encouraging. They kept saying things like ‘keep going’ and ‘he so horny’ which I thought meant talk more about horns, but then others were saying things I shouldn’t repeat. And they’re all so loud now.”
With Fancy Pants having escaped, Rarity and Fluttershy had decided to do the same. In their haste, they neglected to check the train station for a more detailed city map, though they had at least gotten a good enough look to conclude there were neither boutiques nor malls within the station itself so they felt no particular need to brave a return.
Instead, they’d found a secluded place to regroup and began walking away from any ponies to have seen the commotion. They knew they had to be in the correct district; they just needed to find the correct building.
“I thought you couldn’t understand them,” recalled Fluttershy.
“I usually can’t. Usually it’s like I can feel kind’a what they mean, and other times I get real words. But most of it doesn’t make sense. That’s starting to change though. I’m getting a lot more words.”
“Well, at least you shouldn’t have to worry about them too much longer,” Rarity consoled her. “We need only get to my boutique to acquire some help, and we’ll be off, back to our world.
“I’ll be nice to get some peace and quiet up here,” Pinkie replied, stopping her pronks to tap her head. “Gotta literally clear out my head.”
“Should we ask for directions?” asked Fluttershy. “Maybe that will help us get there faster.”
“After the fiasco with that stylish stallion,” Rarity said with a cringe. “I would prefer to not involve other ponies if possible. He knew our names! Our ponies must be well known here, and why would we need directions to a shop 'I' own? It would be too strange and I don’t want to impact pony Rarity’s image …,” Rarity shot Pinkie a look, “more than we already have.”
“That makes sense,” sighed Fluttershy.
“I’m not being a party-pooper am I?” worried Pinkie. “For wanting them out of my head?”
“Oh, Pinkie,” Fluttershy laid a wing over Pinkie’s back, ”It’s your head. They should, um …, find their own?”
“But I don’t want to end their party if they’re still having fun. I don’t feel them bowling anymore, and I don’t smell pizza. But what if they’re still having dessert? Many kinds of cake and ice-cream don’t really have a strong smell. Maybe I’m just not noticing it.” She gasped, “And what about sleepovers? Are they staying in there all night? What happens if I go back through the portal while they’re still in here? And will they snore?”
Rarity and Fluttershy traded glances. “Perhaps we could ask for directions after all?” Rarity changed her tune. “Oh, Fluttershy!” she called out, pointing at a tree. “I see some birds in that tree. Could you ask them if they’ve seen ponies walking out of any shops wearing any particularly stylish fashions anywhere?”
Fluttershy shied back. “Um, I don’t know if that’s a good idea. I’ve tried talking with the animals in Ponyville a few times but it never seemed to go well. Animals are very perceptive, after all. I think they might have known something was strange about me. Many animals can be very …,” She looked at the tree. There were at least three birds in that tree but, were they staring at her? “Territorial.”
Sensing the deflation in Fluttershy’s voice, Rarity attempted to give her a hug, stumbled, and caught herself. “Darling,” she said instead, “If you feel it’s for the best, we’ll just have to explore the marketplace. Which could even be a bit of fun while we're here!” she finished with a cheer, spying a set of outdoor stands and shop signs.
Gaining a smile, Fluttershy perked up. “Maybe we'll see a florist? See what kinds of plants ponies grow? Applejack mentioned earth pony magic.”
“That’s the spirit!”
“Maybe some pony pizza shop?” Pinkie popped in. “Smelling the pizza from before got me a craving.”
“I’m afraid most of the eateries are in another district. This area is more artistic in nature. For instance …,” Rarity looked around, “Oh! An antique shop.”
Fluttershy giggled, “There are old horseshoes hanging in the window. And a black saddle and a … is that a bridle and bit?”
“Dear me. I hope that’s an antique shop, and not something more of the adult variety. It’s right on Main Street.”
“Is there also a Tail Street?” Pinkie asked.
“Maybe on the other side of town?” Fluttershy offered with a giggle.
“Ooooh,” Pinkie ooohed. “ ‘The Canterlot House of Enchanted Comics’! I wonder what kind of comics ponies draw.”
“Oh, Fluttershy! Your cosplay idea might work out after all,” Rarity pointed out a shop next to the comics by nodding her horn at it.
“A costume shop?” Fluttershy guessed, seeing pony-shaped suits and various accessories such as pirate eye-patches and peg legs (sold as sets of one to three), superhero capes, mermare tails, hair and fur dye, and temporary, heat-transfer cutie marks.
While passing by the costume shop and taking in the other sights, a loud bang brought their attentions back as a large creature began grumbling in the doorway that was clearly not designed for its stature.
“Will of Iron is still getting used to this pony architecture!” Even when speaking to itself, the creature’s voice was deep and booming.
Their eyes went wide taking in the large, muscular … man? It stood perhaps three times taller than any of them in their pony forms. This was clear as, due to shop signs running along the ground, it was possible to only see the creature’s top two-thirds or so and only a pony’s mane would be visible if standing behind those signs. It had a pair of horns on its cow-shaped head, and a ring through its nose. It was vaguely humane-shaped as it walked on two legs with hands instead of hooves at the end of its arms.
It had slicked-back blond hair and was covered in red fur.
“Oh my goodness!” squeaked Fluttershy.
“What is that?!” Rarity followed suit.
“This guy’s also horny. Twice over!” Pinkie felt the need to point out.
The large creature, unaware of his audience struggled a bit and managed to dislodge his horns from the wooden doorway’s top bar leaving behind two large notches alongside several matching pairs throughout the bar. He picked up a barrel of costume accessories and carried it to an empty stand in front of the shop.
“And huge,” Fluttershy gawked.
“It could almost be humane if not for the cow head,” said Rarity.
“And red fur,” added Pinkie.
“That’s clearly a bad dye job, the hair too. Those are most definitely not their natural colors. Quite overdone.”
“I think it’s a minotaur,” breathed Fluttershy.
“Well it sure isn’t a pony,” Rarity concluded. “Is that why ponies wear saddles here?” Rarity pondered. “Do they give rides to minotaurs and other creatures?”
“It may not be a pony, but It sure is naked like most of them!” Pinkie also pointed out.
Rarity and Fluttershy blushed deeply.
“N-not completely,” Rarity countered. “It at least has a tie, and I’m sure with that body shape it must be wearing pants behind those signs. Especially since it’s clearly male. A ‘bull’ I suppose.”
“So many muscle. Much male,” droned Fluttershy.
Rarity turned to Fluttershy. “Darling, are you … are you drooling?”
“He could ride me all—“ Fluttershy blinked and backed up a step, her wings fluttering for a moment. “Droo—?” She quickly wiped her mouth and pretended her fur didn't get wet. “I’m not drooling.”
Rarity was about to press when they were startled by the creature’s booming announcement.
“Get your wings here! Give them a try, and you will fly! Wings all shapes and colors. Look like an alicorn princess for just twenty bits!” In a quieter, quicker voice, the creature added, “Wings don’t actually grant flight. Not responsible for injuries made in flight attempts. No refunds after two hours. See terms and conditions.”
The girls turned back to watch the creature holding up a pair of wings, seemingly made out of foam or cardboard, in each hand. Both were purple.
“Those look like Twily’s wings when she pony’s up,” Rarity noted.
“Thank you M. A. Larson!” Pinkie suddenly shouted.
“What was that?” asked Rarity.
“I don't know, but a bunch of the voices started saying that I should say that.” Pinkie rubbed her ears with a strained expression. “And they don’t seem to like it when I ignore them.”
“What’s a Larson?” asked Fluttershy.
“There’s a company named Larson that makes wonderful sofas,” answered Rarity. “They apparently exist here too. I saw a camelback Larson in Ponyville. Sadly, it had a large hole in it.”
“What does that have to do with a red bull giving out purple wings?”
“I have no idea!” Pinkie cried. “The voices never tell me what any of this stuff memes!”
“Memes?”
“And now the voices are telling me this gag is getting too forced and meta and that it should end so we can get on with the plot.”
There was a pause as Fluttershy and Rarity looked between themselves and Pinkie a few times. Confused, Fluttershy looked back at her rear end. “Um, what kind of, um … ‘plot’?”
“Perhaps we should just continue on,” Rarity suggested. “At the rate we’re going, the other team will have gotten help and will be waiting at my boutique before we’ve even found it.”
*** C-Team ***
Having disembarked the train at the following station, Applejack and Rainbow Dash found themselves covering the distance back toward their intended destination on hooves and wings respectively. Thankfully not only did they have a railroad track to guide then, but their destination was simply too large to miss. Seemed the castle was large enough to be seen throughout much of the city. All they needed was to find their way to an entrance.
“So this is a pony city, huh?” commented Rainbow, hovering beside Applejack.
"There's so much to look at here. I feel like my durn eyes are gonna pop right outta my head," Applejack marveled.
“Yeah. It’s not packed solid like our Canterlot City, or Manehattan, but it’s really …,” she trailed off.
“Flashy?”
“I was going to go with bright … and colorful,” Rainbow finished. “These ponies really like their colors.”
“Mmm,” Applejack nodded. “Ah still much prefer the countryside, but this place sure is right pretty.”
“Not as many pegasus…es though. Is that how you say it?”
“We can ask our ponies when we meet them.”
“You sure you don’t want me to just pick you up and fly you there?”
“Ah am very sure! Ah’m keeping my fee—hooves firmly on the ground, thank you.”
“It’ll be faster if we fly.”
“It’ll be safer if we walk.”
“Okay. You walk, I’ll fly!”
“Sure! So long as you stay right down here. No more splittin’ up. It ain’t that far.”
“Boring!” Rainbow moaned.
“Aw, would you—just take in the sights if you’re bored. We’re on an alien world here. Plenty to see.”
Rainbow simply pointed up and Applejack followed her hoof to see pegasus ponies flying about. Most pushing clouds around, others seemed to be shopping with laden saddlebags. A group of younger ponies were playing some kind of mid-air game, kicking around a ball tied to a cloud. Goals were above and below the playing “field” and kept in place with glowing propellers.
“Well, there’s plenty on the ground too!” Applejack insisted, looking around and pointing things out. “There’s a library, Ah think. A cafe. Is that grass they’re serving? Over yonder there’s, uh, guards picking up trash? Cleanly folk here.”
“Books, grass, and trash-pickers?” scoffed Rainbow. “Come on, AJ. I gotta fly!” She pulled off a loop that twisted into a barrel roll before settling beside Applejack again.
“You’ve done enough flying in Ponyville, what with the broken windows and all.”
“That was an accident!”
“But there’s more stuff to break here, and taller buildings.”
“Fine,” Rainbow groaned, her tail flicking in annoyance. The sudden appendage movement startled her and she looked back and flicked it again. “Huh, neat.”
“Hey, lookie here,” Applejack called and pointed to the side with her muzzle, since she didn’t know how to walk on just three hooves. “Now, ain’t that a big stack of fruit? Wonder if them apples are from Sweet Apple Acres.”
Rainbow stopped playing with her tail and looked off to the side where Applejack was pointing. She saw bins, barrels, crates, and simple tarps on tables all covered with apples, oranges, mangoes, kiwis, watermelons, and other juicy fruits. A few ponies were around with clipboards, seemingly taking inventory. “Uh, yeah. Ponies must love fruit.”
“But that ain’t a shop or anything. No sales are being made, and they’re even keepin’ ‘em roped off.
“Saving them for later?”
Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked at each other and shrugged—which was easier for Rainbow as she wasn’t using her forelegs to walk with.
They continued on, following the train tracks around a corner. Not long after, they heard a familiar voice from behind them. “You think that’s enough kumquats? Anypony get anymore? I know it wasn’t on the list, but that’s such a fun word to say! Kumquat, kumquat, kumquat! … Oh, really? I’ll help you with that!”
“Was that Pinkie?” asked Rainbow. “She’s supposed to be with ‘Shy and Rarity.”
“That’s right,” Applejack answered, turning around.
They rounded the corner again and saw an unmistakable pink mane attached to an equally unmistakable pink pony helping another pony lift a crate, presumably of kumquats, on top of another.
Afterward, the pink pony giggled and joined some other, mostly earth ponies, having just arrived with folding tables and were setting them up—using both teeth and hooves. “Isn’t it funny how we take for granted how easily we can do so many things with our hooves? I mean, dragons and gryphons, and hippogriffs, and minotaurs, and Discord all have these claws and things on the ends of their not-hooves parts that are great for gripping stuff, and if you think about it, isn’t it strange we can do that just with our hooves? Imagine if we didn’t know how to do that! Wow! What would that be like? That would make life crazy difficult. Am I right?”
Most of the earth ponies gave her strange looks, or nodded in agreement, and kept working. A unicorn pony with a table in his magic grasp looked to an earth pony near him and tried to copy her method of unfolding a table with hooves only and ended up getting trapped inside it when it folded up on him.
“Yeah! Like that!” said the pink pony who was most definitely a Pinkie Pie of equine origin, before helping him out with two flicks of her mane. “You ponies all set here? I have a lot more to check on and I’m running a little late.”
An earth pony wearing an official and important-looking helmet nodded at her and Pinkie began to bounce away humming a happy tune.
A few bounces in, Applejack and Rainbow Dash stopped staring, realizing their chance was literally bounding away. “Pinkie!” shouted Rainbow.
“Get her!” Applejack called out.
Rainbow took off as fast as she could get her wings going—which, as she had yet to pace herself with her pony counterpart, she could only assume was both awesome and radically fast—with Applejack galloping after her.
Meanwhile, Pinkie had already bounced out of sight.
The wake created by Rainbow’s speed directly over where Pinkie had been caused several displays of fruit to topple and scatter.
“Dash!” Applejack called to her. “Watch it! Fly higher!” Passing by the displays, she looked over her whither and apologized to the workers. She then plowed right into a pair of unicorns in fancy shirts and scarves with their muzzles pointed up too high to see her coming. “Awful sorry ‘bout that,” she uttered as quickly as she could before continuing on.
“Hrumph,” scoffed one of the unicorns. “Country ponies.”
Continuing down the street Pinkie had disappeared into, Applejack quickly came to realize that Pinkie and Rainbow had both vanished.
“Consarn it!”
*** B-Team ***
Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie walked on. Thankfully, while many were curved around the mountain, the streets were roughly in a grid, like many cities in their own world, so they weren’t lost, they could return to the train station if they needed to. However, while there was a main, or “Mane” street and the signs spelled it, many of the nearby streets were just as populated with shops and activity, if not more so.
They didn’t know how many streets there were, they didn’t even know how long the streets were. That boutique could be anywhere.
Walking around aimlessly wasn’t working.
They needed a map.
“We know we need a map,” said Pinkie. “But where should we go to get one?“
She looked over to her friends, currently sidetracked by a pony shoe store. “In our world,” she answered herself, “I’d go to a gas station. But something tells me that won’t work in a pony world. A feed supply and water trough maybe?”
She cocked her head. “You’re right, Fifty-Nine, drinking out of a shared drinking trough that’s left outside all day would be icky. That’d be like a bunch of people all eating the same cake by just taking bites out of it without cutting out slices first, and also after licking it too! I bet the pony world ponies would prefer a water fountain or a cooler. But that’s getting further away from the concept of a gas station. What about a restaurant or convenience store, or a touristy-type place?”
“What’s that, Sixty-Three? We passed one a little while ago?” Pinkie turned around and gasped, reading a sign above. “The Tacky Yak Gift Shoppe! Yaks best at smashing prices on tacky gifts’! We did pass one a little while ago!”
Giggling, Pinkie pronked not one block back the way they had come to a small store selling models of Canterlot and other castles, figurines of the royal alicorns, chintzy trinkets, and maps of local celebrity homes, eateries, and shops. “Now that’s a convenient touristy place!”
Once inside, and after hugging several of the cute, little plush pony Twilights, all of which squeaked, “Friendship is Magic,” it was a simple matter of picking up a thankfully free, considering Rarity was the one with the bits, map of the city. “I agree, number Twelve. Take that, plot convenience!” Pinkie cheered. “What’s that, Forty-seven? Plot contrivance?”
She shrugged and began heading back. “Eh. Either way we have a map.”
Once back outside, with the map in her tail, she heard her name being called.
“Pinkie? Pinkie Pie?”
With the bright sun a contrast from the darker store she had emerged from, the pony the voice belonged to was just a dark, blurry outline.
“Oh, good,” the pony continued, “We’ve been looking for you.”
As the outline sharpened, Pinkie made out a simple, straight tail and mane that curled to the pony’s right. No frills, no fuss. Very familiar. There was also something on top of the pony’s head.
“A horn? Twi? Is that you?” Pinkie asked. “Who’s that Pony?”
“Twi? Twilight? I’m not …, oh, the mane,” she said.
“It looks just like Twilight’s.”
A slight change in the head of the pony’s outline suggested she rolled her eyes. “Actually it’s her mane that looks like mine. Back when we were fillies, even before we became classmates, we met at the library and she copied it when she realized it’s possible to have a flowing mane that’s still easy to maintain. She didn’t bother with the topknot though. Wanted to completely get rid of the bun she used to have before her PCSGU interview.”
Pinkie’s eyes, now having adjusted to the light, saw before her a unicorn with yellowish fur and a mostly red and purple mane and tail, that was a little on the frizzy side, wearing egghead glasses and a sweater. “Oh, that’s Moondancer!”
“Oh, sorry, I’m in the sun aren't I?” Moondancer moved to the side, making it easier for Pinkie to see her without squinting. “We started wondering if you got held up at the fruit banquet.”
“That sounds like a delicious place to get held up at.”
“I can’t argue there, but we still need to prepare for the procession and we can’t eat the guests’ food.”
“Of course not! That’s party planning one-oh-one!”
“Don’t want to,” Moondancer lowered her voice, “offend and create an international incident.”
“That’s party planning one-oh-two!”
“Speaking of which,” Moondancer adjusted her glasses, “I was looking through their history books and stumbled onto a sensitive cultural issue that we need your help to avoid.”
“Wait? My help?”
“We can’t find Twilight.”
“Neither can we!”
“She must be taking care of something that came up. I’m sure she’ll be back soon. For now, you are second in command of the planning committee.”
“Wow! That’s impressive!”
Mouth still parted slightly, Moondancer paused to give Pinkie a look. Her bushy eyebrows tilting. “Yes … so … we need you in the planning room.”
“Oh, alright. Lead the way!”
Moondancer turned and set off. A few pronks into Pinkie following suit, Pinkie suddenly stopped and let herself drift to the ground, whipping her tail in the process to eject the map she just picked up. “Wait! I have to get this map to Rarity and Fluttershy!”
“Can it wait? I don't want to have to go all the way to her boutique and back.”
“Oh she’s not there yet,” Pinkie assured her before turning to the shoe shop. “She’s there now!”
Moondancer looked to follow Pinkie’s pointing muzzle and considered that with a confused expression. “She’s shopping for shoes now? Didn’t she already …?” she trailed off with a shrug. “Then again, what do I know about fashion? I wear sweaters all year.”
Before Pinkie was able to reply to that, Moondancer’s horn and the map lit in a pale, pinkish color. “Just a sec., I’ve been practicing.” Moondancer bit her lip and pointed, first to the map and then toward Rarity by the shoe shop. A moment later there was a flash and the map was suddenly landing on Rarity’s back. The sudden appearance making Rarity let out a loud whinny and jump to the side, into a bush.
“Ha! A new personal best!,” Moondancer cheered.
“Oooh!” Pinkie awed. “Nifty!”
"And nothing burst into flames this time!" Moondancer's face paled right after she finished her sentence. "Maybe I shouldn't have aimed directly over Rarity … but it all worked out. Let’s go before she realizes that was me!”
“Sure thing, Mooney. But shouldn’t we tell them we’re leaving?”
“Why? We’re just going to meet up again in a few hours. And I’d prefer Rarity doesn’t know I’m the one who startled her into a bush with a remote teleport spell. She saw what happened with my previous attempts on those bottles of mane and tail conditioners she threatened to use on me, right after she tried to replace my sweater with a gown! I’m keeping my distance.”
Pinkie shrugged and, following along again, began narrating, “So, Rarity and Fluttershy now suddenly have that map they needed, and I’m off on a mysterious side-quest that came out of nowhere and is likely to lead to random, unexpected, shenanigans. I guess this was both a plot convenience and contrivance! Maybe even a twist!”
“Who are you talking to?”
“Everybody! I think?”
***
***
“It’s fascinating all the different styles and designs ponies have come up with just for hoofwear,” beamed Rarity, looking into the shop window. “They’re not as varied as shoes for feet in our world, but some of them are quite beautiful.”
“Maybe you and pony Rarity could adapt shoe designs from our world for ponies,” offered Fluttershy.
“I’ve been thinking along those lines. I’ve not explored much into making footwear myself, and I suspect pony Rarity may be the same, but she could sell the designs or partner with a shoemaker, or farrier as it may be.”
“Maybe the opposite would work too.”
Rarity giggled. “Pony-themed footwear in our world, and their clothing in general. At the very least I’ll be able to add to my gift idea list for Applejack. I suspect pony designs would be wonderful at a rodeo. And sturdier than my typical work.” She gained a slightly dejected expression. “It can be so hard to get her into my designs, but something about her just makes them looks so beau—uuywhnniiieee?!”
Suddenly feeling something land on her with an almost electric shock, she bounded to the side with a whinny. The offending object drifted to the ground just after she landed in a bush.
“Rarity!” cried Fluttershy, stepping around the thing to check on her friend.
“Did I just whinny like a horse?” asked the bush.
“Um. I would say like a pony, actually.”
“Should I be embarrassed?”
“About the whinny or being in a bush?”
There was a pause. “Yes.”
Fluttershy poked her head up and looked around. “Well, I don’t think anyone was watching, so, no?” However, before turning back to Rarity, she spotted a tree with at least five birds in it. There was no question this time. They were all clearly staring right at her.
Rarity cleared her throat, grabbing Fluttershy’s attention again, and slowly emerged from the bush, smoothing down her mane and dress along the way. “What happened? It felt like a static shock through my … fur. Still odd to say that.”
“S-something landed on you,” Fluttershy answered, turning to the discarded object but huddled close to Rarity, giving both the object and the now empty tree uneasy glances.
Rarity picked up a stick from under the bush with her magic and, from a distance, used it to poke the thing. When it failed to react, she used the stick to turn it over. Still nothing, they approached cautiously.
“Paper?” asked Fluttershy, gently tapping it with her hoof.
Rarity picked it up in her magic and read the cover. “ ‘Things to do in Canterlot.’ It’s a map!”
“How did it get here?” Fluttershy looked up. “Did a pegasus drop it, or … birds?”
More interested in the contents of the map than its sudden appearance, Rarity unfolded it to reveal a cartoonish map of the major city streets with large labels pointing to various landmarks, homes of famous ponies, and shops. “My logo!” she pointed gleefully to a shop on the corner of Spur and Trotway.
“The ‘Canterlot Carousel’?” Fluttershy read.
“That’s it! In Ponyville it was The ‘Carousel Boutique’! Keeping to a theme. That’s my shop!” Rarity squealed, tapping her hooves on the ground. “I wonder if the third one is called the Manehattan Carousel. Hrmm, though I'm not sure that would fit with the fashion mystique there.”
Continuing to look over the map in Rarity’s levitation aura, Fluttershy pointed elsewhere. “I think this is the train station where we got off.”
“And where are we?!” A giddy Rarity prompted, looking around for nearby street signs.
“So, um, here’s the comic shop we passed, and, um, well … we went the wrong way.”
“Oh, you have got to be kidding me,” Rarity sighed. “Well, no matter. We now where it is, we should hurry and make up for lost time. Where’s Pinkie?”
They turned to their friend’s last known location.
Then the surrounding areas.
Then off in the distance in all directions.
“Pinkie?!” Rarity called.
“Oh dear,” Fluttershy fretted.
*** C-Team ***
“What the—? Where did—? How in—? Pinkie!” Rainbow had called out, zipping back and forth along the street looking for the elusive native pink pony. And the next street, and the next. She had flown up, over, and around buildings. Looked into shop windows. Accidentally accosted a hot-air balloon pilot, among others. Took a quick break to score a goal in that cloud-ball game the younger pegasus ponies were playing. Then realized she was lost and had left Applejack behind.
“Whoops.”
She flew to the end of the street she was currently in for one last attempt of finding the Pinkie Pie they hadn’t brought with them, and began retracing her flight-path.
“Let’s see …. Around that statue, over the motel that looked like horse stables, past the restaurant that smells really good.” She made sure to check inside the restaurant, but no pink ponies. At least none that were pink enough to be a Pinkie.
She eventually found herself back at the fruit display and asked the ponies there about Pinkie, but they said they weren’t expecting her back for a few hours.
At no point did she find Applejack, nor any other familiar ponies.
“Well, at least one of them must have gone to the castle,” she decided. With a shrug, she gained some altitude and shot straight for the highest spire of the royal building.
***
***
Vanished Pinkie Pie or not, vanished Rainbow Dash or not, Applejack pursued the two in the direction she recalled seeing them last before her unicorn body-checking incident. She had given chase for a while, searching for her blue friend or her pink friend's pony counterpart. Or, really, just any familiar face.
It was the failed Ponyville plan all over again.
But this time with two focus targets.
Two focus targets that had completely outpaced her.
She knew Rainbow was simply too fast for her to hope to catch up to, especially with those new wings of hers.
And there was no telling what a fully magical version of Pinkie would be capable of.
She wouldn’t be finding them on her own.
With a sigh, Applejack took in her surroundings.
She frowned when she realized she had gone too far to have any chance of finding any rail tracks.
Then her ears dropped when even the castle wasn’t visible anymore with the nearby buildings being particularly tall.
Though she was pretty sure she knew which direction she had come from.
Pretty sure ….
*** B-Team? ***
Pronking along behind her new friend, Moondancer, and no longer on the lookout for a specific building, Pinkie was free to take in the sights.
Colorful shops. Pleasant parks. Deliciously odoriffic restaurants, bakeries, and candy stores.
Suddenly, she spotted a big, pink mass of cotton candy in the corner of her eye, and she giggled.
“He-he-he, that’s just my hair and tail reflecting off a window, silly.”
But another glance later, she realized there was more than two.
“Oooh! A cotton candy factory!” Pinkie exclaimed.
“I know, right?” a voice answered.
“It’s so neat to watch it get made in those spinny machines, huh?”
“So mesmerizing.”
“Yeah, but you have to be careful, I got my hair caught in one once.”
“Oh me too! Pulled me right in! Got really dizzy!”
“That part was fun!”
“Yeah, but I also got cotton candy all in my mane, tail, and fur!”
“Takes so long to clean that up.”
“Yeah. I tried to just eat it, but I also kept getting bits of mane. They were the same colors!”
“I tried that too. It just doesn’t work.”
“I had to get help from my friends to scrape it out and a hot bath to dissolve the rest.”
“Same here. All that cotton candy lost.”
“Yeah. That was so sad.”
“I was trying a new recipe too.”
“I lost that recipe in the cotton candy.”
“And I wasn’t able to remember what I wrote down.”
“It was a tragic loss. It was so good!”
“We’ll never have that recipe again.”
Pinkie sighed, the sad memory washing over her and she turned from the shop window to her new friend.
That friend also turned to look back at her.
She looked awfully familiar.
|
Pink fur: 
Pink mane:
Mane that looks like cotton candy:
A Tail that looks like cotton candy:
A cute nose meant for sniffing yummy foods:
A mouth to laugh with and spread smiles to others:
Light blue eyes that twinkle anytime someone else smiles:
|
She lifted her front-right hoof and the pony lifted her front-left in exactly the same way.
She lifted her back-left hoof and the pony copied with her back-right hoof.
She stuck her tongue out and blew her a raspberry, receiving one in return.
She giggled and the pony giggled back at her.
""That’s a very realistic mirror,"" they both said.
When her giggling intensified, with two hooves in the air, Pinkie lost her balance and fell over.
The mirror pony remained standing. “You okay?” she asked, stepping closer to help Pinkie up.
“Yeah,” Pinkie replied, holding out her hoof to receive the help. “Thanks.”
Pinkie hooked a hoof around Pinkie’s pastern and Pinkie helped get Pinkie standing again. Pinkie giggled at Pinkie.
“I actually haven’t been a pony for very long,” Pinkie told Pinkie through her giggles. "But it’s always fun making new friends. One of the funnest kinds of fun!” she cheered.
“Fun?” Pinkie asked.
“FUN!” Pinkie reiterated with a cheerful pronk.
Pinkie blinked. Her giggling stopped.
Pinkie also stopped giggling, taking a closer look at Pinkie.
“Wait a second,” Pinkie said.
“Hey!” Pinkie whooped. “Aren’t you—?”
Pinkie was cut off when Pinkie suddenly screamed, startling Pinkie who let out a matching scream.
Both Pinkies ran off in opposite directions.
One yelling, “Twilight! I found another one!”
The other yelling, “Why am I yelling?!”
***
***
Meanwhile, Moondancer had just noticed there were no Pinkie ponies following her anymore.
"Perhaps Spike wasn't kidding about getting a cupcake-flavored leash."
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Part 1 of 4 and we already have took much Pink hitting the fan... I love it. Keep at it, good sir
Oh my my.
So much FUN.
So much Chaos. :Discord:
wait another one, please don't think she's a mirror pool clone.
BUSTED!
Yeah, what's up with that?
No, for some reason you broke the trend with that one.
Pinkie continues to be pretty much the best part of this whole fic.
This isn't like the Ponyville plan.
This is worse
I can’t see this ending very well, but at least we will have some fountain
Get it? Became fountain sounds a lot like: fun-time, but also because the clone pinkies cane from a fountain...
...
...
...
I will se myself out
9866618
What are you smokin... because that must be some powerful stuff. For one... it was the mirror pool, not a fountain. For two fountain sounds nothing like fun-time, they don't even rhyme at all!
Well, you had my curiosity. But now? You have my attention.
DANCER-CHAN! <3 <3 <3
B-Team and C-Team... No A-Team?
pmcdeadline2.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/nbc-the-a-team-keyart.jpg?w=681&h=383&crop=1
9873738
Boutique team and Castle team (B and C)
I didn't get the joke until this.
Red Bull gives you wiiiings!