Chapter 17 Colt Campout
Over a week went by for Luster and her friends. After their vacation from the Kirin Village, they backtracked across Equestria from Griffonstone, to Yakyakistan, and then to the big city of Manehattan.
Letting out a deep breath, Luster couldn’t help but grin at her friends as the train made its way back to Ponyville.
“This was such an adventure!” she said. “And best of all, I got to share it with all of you!”
“It was so great to go to all those places!” River Song said. “Manehattan was just amazing, the Crystaller building, the Statue of Marety, Bridleway Theater. Oh, and the food at the Cantering Cook was just to die for! I can’t believe there was so much in that place!”
“Good thing you’re the student of Princess Twilight and the daughter of the Stewardess of her old castle,” Georgia said. “We probably wouldn’t have had enough bits to do all that otherwise. I feel like we’ve seen the entire land of Equestria in just a short time! We were sure lucky to make friends with you, Luster!”
Luster smiled as she looked over the photos they had taken at the top of the Statue of Marety, in the Theater, eating at Cantering Cook. She’d even at one point gotten lost in the big city and had to ask for directions back to the hotel where they were staying. “Not as lucky as I was to make friends with all of you. I feel we’re getting closer to each other. I feel like-”
Luster stopped before she could say the next few words on her mind. She’d almost said she felt like the next time they ever got into a fight with a villain they could unleash a rainbow laser. She might be wrong, of course. But she stopped herself from voicing that out loud. She didn’t want to make it sound as if she was in friendship solely to learn how to use it as a weapon. Still, she did hope for that strength someday.
“Hello, earth to Luster Dawn!”
“Hmm?” Luster said, realizing that Gallop and the rest of her friends were staring at her, she blushed. “Sorry, my mind must have wandered off for a moment. You were saying?”
“I said, what did you mean when you said 'I feel like...'?” Gallop asked.
“Um… n-nothing,” Luster replied.
“Oh, come on. Luster can tell friends,” Yelena said. “It’s nothing bad, is it?”
“I don’t know… it just sounded selfish in my head so I didn’t want to say it,” Luster said.
“Even if Luster didn’t want to hurt our feelings, Luster can tell us,” Yelena said. “Yelena say it best to tell the truth. Even if it's not something your friends might want to hear.”
Luster hesitated. “I just felt since we’ve gotten closer, maybe we could perform a rainbow laser next time. I didn’t want to say that because I was afraid you might think I was just being friends with you for the chance to become powerful.”
They all looked at her. For a second, Luster cringed, fearing that at that moment they might think she was selfish and using them.
“Are you kidding? We’d love to be able to perform a rainbow laser!” River Song said.
“That would be the coolest thing ever!” Gallop said. “I could really be a lot like Rainbow Dash was in her day. I think we’d make a pretty good team of heroes. I mean… you’re a lot like Princess Twilight back in her day. I’d probably be loyalty, River is definitely a laughter one, Georgia is kind, and Yelena is honest.”
“We’re still missing a generosity element,” Luster noted. “Maybe that’s why we haven’t been able to perform it.”
“I’ve seen you be generous before,” Georgia said. “You gave that homeless pony a few bits.”
“Oh, well, I guess that could be generous,” Luster said. “But Princess Twilight and her friends all represented a different element.”
“So? Celestia and Luna wielded multiple elements in their day,” Georgia said.
“Oh yeah,” Luster recalled. “Celestia used them all to banish Nightmare Moon.”
“That was sad,” River said. “Guess every hero has something they might regret in their lifetimes even if it's for a good purpose.”
Luster looked at her kirin friend. Noticing this, River smiled.
“Oh, don’t worry about me. I’m okay now. This vacation has really brought me some new joy. I… I still feel the regret in my heart. I might never be free of it, but I can still do a lot of good. Someday I might get the chance to save another creature’s life. That would probably be enough,” River said.
Luster smiled. “Good. If you say so. I’m glad you’re feeling better.”
…
The train finally arrived in Ponyville and Luster got up from her seat and levitated her bags beside her. They contained a few souvenirs from each place they’d visited. She’d purchased her mother and Aunt Trixie each a necklace from Manehattan, and her father the kirin vase he had requested. As for herself, Luster had a scrapbook with a few new memories of her friends.
She soon entered the Castle of Friendship with her friends.
“Mom, Dad, Aunt Trixie! I’m home!” she called.
Starlight suddenly teleported into the hallway, her horn lit up, and her eyes narrowed. She looked ready to attack! Luster took a step back for a moment. Then Starlight’s expression softened. “Oh, it's just you, Luster! I was afraid it might have been Chrysalis again!”
“Mom, you seriously need to let it- wait… did you say again?” Luster asked in surprise.
Starlight nodded. “Chrysalis is here in Ponyville! I fought with her just after you left! But don't worry, I kicked her flank.” Luster’s mouth fell open. A smirk appeared on Starlight's face. “What? Your old mother helped to save Equestria in the past too, you know.”
“Um... I'm not saying anything, Mom. But, how did you see through her disguise?”
"Ah, glad you asked that!" Starlight suddenly levitated an amulet toward Luster. “I want you to take this with you. The changelings made a few of them. It allows one to see through their disguises. I was able to find Chrysalis in the crowd thanks to it.”
Luster took the amulet in her magic. It was blue with a gold chain. She put it around her neck, noticing her mother had one as well.
“Never take it off,” Starlight said. “If you see Chrysalis do not engage, do you understand?”
“Yes, Mother,” Luster said.
“And from now on, never go anywhere alone!” Starlight said.
“Don’t worry, I’ll stick by her side at all times!” Gallop said, walking up beside Luster and putting a foreleg around her. Luster turned bright red. “No changeling is gonna get near her. Give me one of those amulets!”
Luster’s eyes widened. Starlight likewise looked a little uneasy.
“Uh… I’m not sure that’s such a good idea… I mean… you’re a boy pony and all. Boys don’t usually wear necklaces.”
An image of Gallop walking around Ponyville with the amulet on popped through the unicorn’s mind. Everypony might point and laugh at him for wearing a necklace.
“This is no time to worry about looking cool!” Gallop snapped. “If it's to protect my special… friend.”
“I have a better idea,” Georgia said. “Let me have one of the other amulets.”
Starlight nodded and levitated the last remaining amulet toward the griffon.
Luster felt her heart skip a beat. Had Gallop almost called her his special somepony? The thought began to fill her cheeks with the familiar warmth, again. She decided to change the subject before anycreature could see her blush.
“A-are Dad and Aunt Trixie here?” Luster asked. “I got you all something from Manehattan.”
“Oh, that was sweet of you, Luster,” Starlight said. “But I’m afraid they’re out getting some supplies for lessons tomorrow. You just leave the gifts with me.”
Luster dug through her bags. She got out the necklaces and vase.
“Oh, they’re beautiful, Luster!” Starlight said as she levitated the sapphire necklace her daughter had gotten her.
“You think Aunt Trixie will like yellow diamonds?” Luster asked. “Blue goes good with yellow, right?”
“I think so,” Starlight said. “And your father will certainly love the vase. Thank you.”
…
Luster and her friends walked out of the castle. As they did, Gallop looked at Luster.
“Um… Luster, would you like to maybe… grab a bite to eat?” he asked. “We could head to the Hayburger.”
“Uh…” Luster started, turning red again. “You mean… all of us?”
“No… just the two of us,” Gallop said.
Luster looked at her other friends.
“You two go on!” River Song said.
“Yelena say friends should go!” the yak said.
Luster looked at Gallop.
“Okay, I guess-“
Before she could finish, a scroll from Princess Twilight appeared from out of Luster’s horn.
“Oh,” she giggled. “A letter from the princess!”
Opening it, Luster read aloud:
My dearest Luster Dawn,
I hope you enjoyed your vacation and that you have arrived safely back in Ponyville. I heard that Starlight fought with Queen Chrysalis there while you were gone. There still hasn’t been any word of Tirek and Cozy Glow, so please keep your eyes open. I can only hope we will catch them quickly and no pony will be hurt. I fear for your safety, as well as Starlight’s. Please be careful.
But aside from that, I hope you are ready to enjoy a night of fun at the Grand Galloping Gala happening in just two days! I will see you then!
Yours Sincerely,
Princess Twilight Sparkle.
As Luster read the second paragraph, every creature gasped.
“The Grand Galloping Gala is only two days away!”
“I completely forgot!” Gallop said.
“We should have bought something while we were in Manehattan!” Georgia said. “There was that 'Rarity for You' shop we passed by!”
“We need to get our outfits!” River Song said.
Luster gave her an annoyed look. “River, you and I already have our outfits!”
“Oh yeah!” River giggled. “Silly me!”
“Luster and River more prepared than Yelena!” the yak said.
“We need to move fast to get our outfits!” Gallop said before looking at Luster with what looked like remorse. “I really wanted to be able to go on a date with you first.”
Luster could barely find her voice. “It’s… it’s okay. We can do it later.”
Gallop nodded. “Come on, let's all go to the Carousel Boutique!”
“Uh uh ah! Luster is not coming! She can’t see you in your suit!” River Song said, but seeing Gallop's confused frown, she quickly explained. “You’re not supposed to see your date in their outfit before the actual date. It kills the surprise!”
“But… we can’t just leave her alone!” Gallop pointed out. “Chrysalis is around here!”
“Gallop right, we need to be more careful than ever now!” Yelena said. “At least one of us has to stay with her!”
“I’ll stay, I already chose my dress,” River said.
…
They split up; Gallop, Georgia, and Yelena headed for the Boutique to pick out their attire for the gala while Luster and River Song went back to the Treehouse of Harmony to drop off their bags from the trip. They levitated not only their bags but those of their friends as well. Then they returned to Ponyville.
“So how does it feel to almost be going on a date?” River asked.
Luster let out a deep breath then said, “I’m a bit nervous. I meant to just go to the gala with him as a friend, but now I’m wondering if maybe we’ll end up being more than that. Call me crazy, but I think he almost said I was his special somepony when we were in the castle.”
“Well, it seems you’re really special to him,” River Song said. “I’d love to see you two together!”
Luster could imagine it a few years from now. Her in a white dress walking down to Gallop. She let out a sigh of happy longing.
“That’s probably a long shot though, marrying your first ever mare or colt friend is rare,” Luster said.
She’d heard of other mares that had been dumped by their colt friends or vice versa. It was a hard thing, and she’d seen how Gallop had been hurt by his first crush.
“It still might happen, though!” River said, putting her face close to Luster’s.
“Since Gallop’s not around, why don’t we go and have lunch together?” Luster suggested.
“Okay!”
They headed to The Hayburger.
“Gallop and Yelena will hate to miss a trip here!” River Song said as their food was served.
“Yeah, too bad!” Luster said before a thought occurred. “Maybe we should bring them all some hayburgers for when they arrive at the treehouse!”
“Golly, that’s a generous thing to do!” a voice said from behind them.
Luster looked and saw a chalk white-coated mare with a curly blue mane standing behind her, the cutie mark of a rook on her flank. Beside her was a red unicorn stallion with a white mane and beard.
“Bringing your friends some hayburgers when they might be hungry! I’d say Princess Twilight taught you well!” the mare said.
Luster wondered briefly how this mare knew who she was if not for the fact that many ponies in Manehattan had recognized her. This mare likely saw her picture in the paper after the Starcutter Crisis.
“Oh, I’m just doing what any friend would do!” Luster said.
“Twilight must be so proud!” the red and black stallion said.
Luster frowned. She found it a little disrespectful to her mentor hearing a pony not address her by her title. Though Princess Twilight might not have minded.
“Do you two know Princess Twilight?”
“Oh, we’re old friends of hers. She taught me a little as well,” the white mare said. “Names Pale Palace, by the way, and this is my… father, Strong Stuff!”
“Nice to meet you,” Luster said, extending a hoof to shake.
“You as well! That’s a pretty amulet there,” Pale Palace said, pointing to the ornament around Luster’s neck.
“Oh, thanks,” Luster said. “My mom just gave it to me.”
“Ah, I’m sure being the stewardess of the Castle of Friendship allows Headmare Starlight to buy many valuable items. Well, have a wonderful day.”
The two walked off and sat at a nearby table. Luster and River ate their burgers, then ordered five more to go. They met the rest of the Future Five back at the Treehouse. As they saw each other, Luster was reminded of something. She needed to make sure they were all themselves. Especially now that Chrysalis had been spotted in Ponyville.
“Read!” she started.
“Run!”
“Swim!”
“Fly!”
“Eat!”
Luster passed the bag of hayburgers to her friends.
“Eat up Yelena, and you two as well!”
“Wow, thanks, Luster!” Gallop said as he choose one.
“Yelena owe you!” the yak said as she began munching down on one of her three burgers.
“Oh, don’t worry about it!” Luster said. “I knew you guys would probably be hungry. Did you get your outfits?”
Georgia shook her head. “Not yet, but we at least put our order in. We paid extra for them to have it ready in time for the gala!”
“I got mine at least,” Gallop said.
“Good,” Luster said. “I hope everything works out! Can’t wait!”
“Me neither!” Gallop said.
“It's gonna be so much fun!” River Song said.
“I just hope they get them done on time! They better for the extra bits I paid. Uggh! I’m talking like a greedy old griffon!” Georgia’s face twisted in disgust.
“Well I guess-”
Knock-knock.
The Future Five all looked toward the entrance to the Treehouse of Harmony and saw Cheese Sandwich and Pinkie Pie waiting outside.
“Surprise!” Pinkie screamed.
“Oh hello, Mrs.Sandwich,” Luster said. She recalled calling Gallop’s mom that.
Pinkie giggled. “Just call me Pinkie. I can’t really call myself Mrs.Sandwich as I don’t have a sandwich cutie mark. I’m not like Mrs.Cake! She had the perfect cutie mark to change her name when she got married to Mr.Cake!”
“Okay, so what brings you out here, Pinkie?” Luster asked.
“We came to ask a favor,” Cheese Sandwich said.
The couple parted and allowed three young creatures to be seen behind them. Two colts and a young griffon. Lil Cheese, Big Sugar, and-
“Iggy!” Georgia exclaimed as she looked at her little brother.
“Hey, sis,” the shy young griffon said as he walked up to his sister. “I missed you while you were gone.”
Georgia smiled warmly and scratched his head. “Missed you too, kid,” she turned to the Cheese Family. “Thanks for taking care of him. I hope he wasn’t too much trouble?”
“Oh, not nearly as much as Lil Cheese!” Pinkie Pie said. “He’s been staying with Big Mac and us ever since you and River left the dorms of the School of Friendship.”
“We came to ask if Lil Cheese and Big Sugar could spend the night with you here in the Treehouse?” Cheese Sandwich requested. “They weren’t quite ready to call their sleepover quits just yet. They wanted to make it last for the whole month!”
“Wow, a month-long sleepover, huh? Sounds fun!” River said.
“Yeah, Iggy sort of missed his big sister, so we thought we’d come by!” Lil Cheese replied. “It's gonna be like camping outside! We even brought sleeping bags, marshmallows, and chocolates!”
He motioned to his back where he carried a saddlebag and a rolled-up sleeping bag.
“Oh, this does sound fun!” River Song said.
“So, you agree to it then?” Cheese Sandwich asked.
“It's been a while since I had Iggy around, so I’d love to! If Luster doesn’t mind, that is,” Georgia said. “This is her house after all. I’m just here to protect her and keep her company.”
The unicorn shrugged. “It's fine with me.”
“Yes! Yes! Campout! Campout!” Lil Cheese said. “This sounds fun, right Big Sugar?”
“Yep!” Big Sugar agreed in the manner of his father before him.
“See you later, my Lil Cheese!” Pinkie said, ruffling her son’s mane.
“Bye, Momma!” the pink-haired colt said.
“Now you make sure not to go wandering off into the forest after dark, okay?” Cheese Sandwich said.
“Nope!” Big Sugar agreed with a small smirk. “No wandering after dark!”
“Okay, see you later!” Pinkie said as she and her husband left.
…
Night came and the group lit a fire in front of the treehouse. Luster and her friends, as well as the young trio, sat around it.
“This is the first time I’ve done anything camping like!” Luster said excitedly.
“So, anycreature wanna hear some scary stories?” Gallop asked with a mock wicked grin.
“Uh, I’m not so sure I wanna!” Iggy shivered.
“I love the feeling of being scared!” Lil Cheese said.
“Yep!” Big Sugar agreed.
“Alright you two young stallions, prepare to be scared out of your horseshoes!” Gallop said. “In a forest of Equestria, there are legends of a headless horse…”
Iggy shivered while Lil Cheese and Big Sugar looked eager.
“It was once a stallion that served as an executioner. It took other ponies' heads, but the job took its head!” Gallop continued putting his hoofs on his head. “He was driven insane by all the killing he had to commit! He began to want more, and he came into the streets, beheading innocent ponies!”
Luster and River hugged and had frightened expressions as they listened. Iggy held onto his sister as well.
“So the townsfolk came out, and they got him! The head-taking pony became headless! They never found his head, for it fell into a river. But after they buried him, he would not rest! He wanted his head back, and his spirit would return every so often on full moons! Looking for a pony to behead… anypony who was found… was never seen again!”
Iggy, Luster, and River all gasped.
“Oh that is so scary! I love it!” Lil Cheese said.
“Yep!” Big Sugar agreed. “Great story! It gave me chills! More!”
Gallop smirked at the request.
Half a dozen stories later, everycreature finally had heard enough. They all lay on their backs and looked up at the stars. There were so many up in the night sky; Luster smiled at the sight. Then suddenly, there was the sound of bushes rustling in the distance.
“Hello?” Luster called, “Is somepony there?”
There was no response.
“I don’t like this forest,” Iggy said.
Georgia nodded. “There are a lot of monsters out there. I think it would be better if we don’t sleep outside.”
“You’re right - everycreature get back into the treehouse,” Luster said.
They made their way back inside while a certain pony watched them.
…
Cozy Glow waited. She didn’t make a sound from her hiding place, but she heard their voices. She waited a while, then looked up and saw Luster Dawn and all the others retreat into the glowing structure. She knew now that the rumors were true, that Luster Dawn was living in the Treehouse of Harmony with her friends. She flew back several rows of trees to where Tirek waited.
“They’re there, alright! What do we do?”
“Attack them now, I say!” Tirek said, beginning to move into position. But Cozy grabbed him by the shoulder.
“Hold on! What if that treehouse has some sort of protection on it?”
“Sombra was able to destroy it once!” Tirek pointed out.
“And it grew back! Who knows what else it's capable of doing now?” Cozy Glow said. “Maybe it will form some roots of harmony or something that could attack any evil force that comes near it?”
Tirek folded his arms. “So what should we do?”
Cozy put a hoof to her chin. “I think we should test it somehow.”
“And who’s going to test it? You? What if it does something harmful to you?” Tirek asked.
Cozy shook her head. “We need something else to test it with then. But what?”
They thought for a moment.
“A monster?” Tirek suggested.
Cozy nodded. “That should do, if we can just find one. Oh, that shouldn’t be too hard in this forest!”
She flew up above the treetops and looked down. Within a few moments, she spotted something big on the ground. It was an Ophiotaurus like the one that had attacked Tirek and her the last time they attempted to get Grogar’s bell.
Cozy Glow flew down at it.
“Hey!” she called.
The beast turned and roared at her. Cozy felt a familiar surge of fear. She was a bigger mare now, but inside she was still a psychopathic filly. But this time, she had a plan. She blew a raspberry at it.
“Come get me, you overgrown bullsnake!”
She flew through the forest with the Ophiotaurus following her. Within a few moments, Tirek came to her rescue. The large stallion (really a centaur) took the beast head-on. He’d been scared of the other one because it was larger than him and had taken him by surprise. But now that he was in his strongest form, he was able to wrestle the Ophiotaurus and subdue it with ease. He took hold of its horns as it struck at him and threw it against a nearby tree. The impact knocked it unconscious.
Cozy Glow flew to its limp form.
“Now let's use this Ophiotaurus to see if that treehouse has any defenses. If it doesn’t, we go in!” Cozy said.
Tirek carried the monster back to the area of the Treehouse. He approached it then swung the creature over his head (though thanks to the illusion hiding Tirek’s arms it appeared as though it were being levitated without magic) and threw it toward the entrance. But instead of going inside the treehouse, the Ophiotaurus disintegrated in a flash of light just before hitting the door.
Cozy and Tirek’s eyes widened at the display. Then Cozy made a fearful expression.
“I think we better try and catch Luster Dawn outside the treehouse.”
“I agree!” Tirek said.
They turned and walked back to Ponyville.
…
In the house they returned, they found Queen Chrysalis lying on a couch. The changeling looked up as the two of them walked in.
“Well, did you find her?” Chrysalis asked.
“Affirmative, your majesty!” Cozy Glow said, giving her a wicked grin. “We saw her in a hayburger restaurant!”
“There was no opportunity to grab her without being seen, though,” Tirek informed her.
“We followed her into the Everfree Forest. As rumors said she was living in the Treehouse of Harmony,” Cozy said. “We stuck around till after dark, but we found there’s a barrier that disintegrates monsters that try to enter. We won’t be able to take her while she’s there.”
“We will wait for the time to come then. Maybe can either lure her here. We must be patient,” Chrysalis said. “A good evil plan always takes time to come to fruition. Did you find out if she has an amulet like Starlight did?”
“It appears so,” Cozy Glow said. “She had an amulet that she said Starlight just gave to her. From what I saw, her griffon friend had one as well.”
“We’ll need to figure out a way to get around that,” Chrysalis said, putting a holed leg to her chin.
“Perhaps the two of us could simply nab her, and then we can come back to you.”
“Silence! I shall think of something myself!” Chrysalis said. “I will have the daughter of Starlight Glimmer! Revenge will be mine!”
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Aww thats so sweet of him to do that for luster and he almost say that lol 😁
“Golly, that’s a generous thing to do!” a voice said from behind them.
Luster looked and saw a chalk white-coated mare with a curly blue mane standing behind her. The cutie mark of a rook on her flank. Beside her was a red unicorn stallion with a white mane and beard.
Gasp oh no its them its cozy glow and Tirek but they don't know they're in disguise
Ok wow so Luster and her friends made it back home from their trip and they stopped at the Friendship Castle to give the stuff to Starlight and she gave her an amulet that thorax and the other changeling made which will come in handy and I really like how Gallop and luster are getting so close to each other but it looks like the grand Galloping Gala is around the corner but it looks like they're babysitting the little ones as well but unfortunately the Legions of Doom are here I mean they were here for a while but still looks like they're planning on kidnapping luster this is not good and they don't know about the ambush from the 3 villains this is a pretty good chapter I wonder what's going to happen next guess we'll find out next time
Just wondering, is it supposed to be in the center? Like right after the ***
11334182
That might be a typo.