My Little Pony: One as a Family. "Life in Canterlot"

by SaburoDaimando

Arc 7-2: A Spectacle of a Telescope

A Spectacle of a Telescope

It was a beautiful afternoon at Moondancer’s house. Artemis Light was busy mixing up a mixture of oats and black beans in a bowl. She proceeds to add some spices to the mixture before stirring it up again. Nearby at another counter, Starlight Glimmer was spreading mustard sauce on the bread with a butter knife. She looked content in doing so.

“So I take it you enjoyed this kind of task with your mother, Starlight?” Artemis asked.

“Not just my mommy,” Starlight said. “But also my daddy. He used to make these great salads for the big meals back at Sire’s Hollow. Carrots, peppers, and a garlic and onion sauce.”

“Sounds like your mom and dad have a passion for food,” Artemis Light said as she placed the mixture onto the frying pan and drizzled some olive oil on it.

“I miss them both,” Starlight said. “I promised them I would do great at the School for Gifted Unicorns. And while I’m glad to have Sunburst by my side, I do miss being back at home in Sire’s Hollow.”

“Do not worry little one,” Artemis Light said. “I’m sure they’ll be proud of what you’re doing, and what you’ll accomplish.”

“Thanks Mrs Light,” Starlight said as she spread mustard on the last bread.

“I’m sure your friends also appreciate your presence,” Artemis said as she pan fried the oat and bean mixture. “Especially with helping out in the kitchen.”

Starlight blushed for a bit and closed her eyes. And yet, she also smiled a bit, knowing that those words mean a lot to her. But she also looked up at the ceiling where her friends were up in Moondancer’s room in their attempt to fix the telescope.

“I wonder if they are having any luck in repairing that telescope,” Starlight wondered.

“I’m sure they’ve figured it out by now,” Artemis Light said.

Upstairs in Moondancer’s room, Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle, Sunburst and Danged Spell looked at the broken telescope. The main tubel was bent in one direction, the objective lens popped out and cracked. And the back portion that kept the focus lens intact was opened.

“Thankfully, the focus lens is okay,” Twilight Sparkle said. “but replacing the cover would take a miracle. The Finderscope is on the floor, separate from the main scope. And the tripod looked crooked.”

“So,” Danged Spell asked. “What the hay are we supposed to do? It looks like a mess.”

Sunburst opened the repair manual and looked through the pages. He said “Well first we have to remove any lens before we repair the tube casing.”

“Leave that to me,” Sunset said as she picked up the telescope tube with her magic. She looked inside, taking a good look at the focusing lens before carefully pulling her head upwards. With a careful and gentle tug, she was able to remove the focus lens from the telescope. And not a single scratch was on the glass.

“Well that was easy,” Sunset said as she placed the lens on a piece of cloth on the table.

“So now how do we place it back once the frame is fixed?” Twilight said.

“We’ll worry about that later,” Sunset said. “Right now, we need someone to help rebend that back into shape.”

Sunset then turned to Danged Spell and said “Spell, are you up for bending this telescope frame back into place?”

Danged Spell picked up the broken telescope frame with his magic and said “Should be as easy as smashing clay with my hooves.”

Danged Spell placed the bent telescope frame on the floor. He then raised his hooves in the air before delivering a repeated flurry of punches on the telescope frame. His howl echoed throughout the room as everyone else looked at him like he was some kind of mad stallion.

“I’m beginning to regret asking him to do this task,” Sunset whispered to Twilight.

“I think that makes two of us,” Twilight whispered back.

In almost an instant, Danged Spell halted and pulled his arms back to reveal the telescope. The dent that bent the whole thing was gone. But at the same time, it looked a bit crooked as if it were in a zig zag shape. Twilight, Sunset and Sunburst looked at Danged Spell like he was a bit crazy.

“I don’t think that was the right way to fix a telescope dent,” Sunburst said as he read the manual.

“I think you might be right,” Danged Spell said as he raised his arms into the air. “Lemme try that again.” But before he unleashed another flurry, Sunset Shimmer pulled the telescope away with her magic.

“Uhh,” Sunset said. “Let’s refrain from your kung fu flurry. I think I may ask Crescent to fix this up when he gets the chance.”

“But what about the objective lens?” Twilight asked as she held up the cracked telescope lens.

Sunburst flipped through a few pages of the book to find answers for Twilight Sparkle. Once he found the exact page, he flipped the book over to show Twilight a picture of the objective lens, along with some numbers right next to it.

“That looks like the exact frequency needed to fix up the lens,” Twilight said as she looked at the book.

“Set your magic to that frequency and you should be set,” Sunburst said.

WIthout a second thought, Twilight charged up her magic and focused on the objective lens. .She fired off a beam of magic from her horn and into the lens. Slowly, the cracks in the lens faded as the surface was restored to its former luster. Sunset and Danged Spell’s jaw dropped to the floor as they observed Twilight working her magic.

“How...what in the?” Danged Spell said as he was at a loss of words.

“Sunburst ain’t the only bookworm on the team,” Twilight said.

“Though personally, I think you read way too many comic books,” Sunset joked as Sunburst and Twilight laughed.

“Ha ha, really funny, bacon mane,” Danged Spell snorted.

“But there’s still the frame of the telescope that needs to be taken care of,” Sunburst said. Even with the lens fixed, it would take a miracle to get it back on. And that’s regardless of Danged Spell’s skills with his hooves.”

Sunset placed the telescope frame in front of Sunburst as the young colt placed the book down on the table. He looked down at the telescope and observed the frame.

“So, what can be done about it?” Sunset said.

“I believed Danged Spell may have applied too much pressure on the frame with his attempt, considering that the material is made from aluminium. But if I gave a lighter tap, it would pop out just right.”

“It’s worth a shot,” Twilight said.

Sunburst closed his eyes and placed his hooves together. He takes one breath, pulls his right arm back, thrusts forward and delivers a light tap to the bump in the Telescope frame, emitting a small ding that echoes through the room.

Sunburst pulled his arm back and said “Well if my calculations are correct, it should…” But before Sunburst could finish, the Telescope frame splits into two smaller shells and scatters on the floor. Everyone’s jaw dropped to the floor.

“Break apart into two pieces,” Sunburst said, dumbfounded by his results.

“I don’t believe it,” Sunset Shimmer said. “That wasn’t even enough pressure to do that.”

“Moondancer will not be happy by this result,” Twilight said as she started to freak out.

But as Sunburst began to sweat, thinking of what he had done, he overheard the sound of Danged Spell saying “I am not worthy. I am not worthy.” Sunburst turned around and saw Danged Spell bowing to the nerd, continuing his chant of “I am not worthy.”

“Spell,” Sunburst said. “That disturbs me more than the idea of you mocking me for my failure.”

“Sorry,” Danged Spell said as he got back on his four hooves.

Twilight and Sunset stared at the now split telescope frame. They tried their best to fix it up. But even with the manual, they couldn’t even fix up the frame, and instead made it worse.

Twilight let out a sigh and said “Well we tried. But it feels like our friendship with Moondancer is fading away.”

“We did our best, Twilight,” Sunset said as she placed her arm on Twilight’s back. “But it wasn’t enough.”

“I heard someone say their best isn’t enough.” Twilight, Sunset, Danged Spell and Sunburst turned their heads to see Crescent Eclipse. They all had the look of despair on their faces.

“Mr Eclipse,” Sunburst said. “We tried to fix up the telescope. But even with your how-to-repair book, we only made things worse. Please forgive us.”

As Sunburst bowed down, awaiting the worst to come out of the older stallion, Crescent Eclipse just let out a chuckle, much to the surprise of everyone.

“Did he just...laugh?” Danged Spell said, confused.

“You’re not the only one who could barely figure out how to fix that thing.” Crescent Eclipse said. “I’ve actually had a hard time assembling that telescope together, even after reading the instructions manual. And the irony is that it actually split apart when I accidentally touched a part of the Telescope and it broke just like that.”

“But,” Twilight said. “Doesn’t that make it defective?”

“Oh no,” Crescent said. “It was made for a quick and easy disassembly. You must have hit a part that allowed it to disassemble into two. Look on page 65.”

Sunburst picked up the book and turned to the exact page Crescent Eclipsed stated. He looked at the page and his jaw dropped completely.

“Oh dear,” Sunburst said. “I did not see that page.”

“I’ve had that same problem when I first put this telescope together,” Crescent Eclipse said as he approached the pieces of the telescope. “And it took me two days to figure this out. I was even in a rush to get this done for Moondancer’s birthday. But now that I know how this baby works, let me show you how it’s done.”

Twilight, Sunset, Sunburst and Danged Spell watched as Crescent Eclipse picked up the pieces of the telescope. With quick hooves, he assembled the pieces of the telescope together, working as fast as possible. The younglings were at a loss for words as the telescope was completely assembled back to the way it was, without any of the dents on the frame, and back on its tripod mount.

“How….” Danged Spell said as he couldn’t believe his eyes. “How did you do that?”

“Well shortly after I finally figured out this one,” Crescent said. “I was asked to help a neighbor build his telescope for his son here in Canterlot. It almost felt like it was an easy task.”

“But I thought you were willing to let us give it a try,” Twilight said.

“That’s true,” Crescent said. “But as I wrapped up my report, I had a feeling you kids could use my help. So I had to jump in. Maybe I’m too used to assembling these kinds of telescopes.”

“So this isn’t the first time this happened?” Twilight said.

“Not exactly,” Crescent said. “Though I do appreciate the fact that you fixed up the lens of the scope.”

“Err, thanks,” Twilight said as she rubbed the back of her head. “But you can thank Sunburst for finding those coordinates for the lens.”

“Well what matters is that the telescope is now fixed up,” Sunset said as she felt relieved. “Wait till Moondancer gets a load of this. At least she has one less thing to worry about.”

But as Sunset finished speaking, another baseball went flying into the window and ricocheted off the walls, startling everyone in the vicinity.

“What in the world?” Twilight said as she freaked out.

Suddenly, the ball bounced off a nearby wall and smacked Danged Spell square in the forehead. The young colt went tumbling down to the ground completely dazed as the baseball bounced off and rammed right into the inside of the telescope, smashing the objective lens completely before dropping to the ground.

Sunset Shimmer looked at the once again broken telescope. Only this time, she was completely dumbfounded. Everyone else who was conscious was also shocked by the baseball that bounced around in Moondancer’s Bedroom and the telescope now with a completely shattered objective lens.

“After all that was done to fix up that telescope,” Twilight said as she was pulling her mane done. “And now this happened.”

“Oh dear,” Crescent Eclipse said as he picked up the baseball. “Guess I’m going to have to get a new lens for the telescope.”

“Excuse me. Did I knock the baseball into your house?” Everyone turned towards the window as a gray filly pegasus with yellow hair and crossed eyes flew through the window and landed on the floor. Her cutie mark was a bunch of bubbles. She looked at the telescope and looked ashamed at it.

“Oh no,” The filly Pegasus said. “What have I done? Now I’ve gone and broke it.”

“Who are you?” Sunset said as she approached the pegasus.

The Pegasus turned her attention to Sunset and said “My...my name is Ditzy Doo.”

“You broke the telescope with that baseball?” Twilight asked, startled by Ditzy’s actions.

“Yes,” Ditzy said as tears filled her eyes. “I did it. AND I AM SO SORRY!”

With that, Ditzy broke down crying as twin waterfall tears gushed out from her eyes. Twilight, Sunset and Sunburst looked like they took pity on Ditzy Doo.

“She looks troubled,” Sunburst said to Twilight. “Do you suppose something happened to Ditzy?”

“Judging by her tears,” Twilight said. “I’d have to say yes.”

Crescent Eclipse walked up to Ditzy Doo, who tried to hide her face with her wings.

“Ditzy, is it?” Crescent said.

“Please don’t be mean to me,” Ditzy said. “I didn’t mean it.”

“Actually,” Crescent said. “I was wondering if you could do me a favor and accompany me to the telescope shop. You would be a big help in getting the damage undone.”

Ditzy pulled one of her wings back and said “You mean it?

Crescent extended his arm out and said “Do not worry. I’m not mean-spirited.”

Ditzy extended her arm out as Crescent got her up. Crescent then walked out the doorway as Ditzy followed from behind. Sunset, Twilight and Sunburst watched as the two walked out the door and went downstairs.

“Wow,” Sunset said. “Guess we all are one as a family, even if we’re not related.”

“You got that from Princess Celestia, didn’t ya?” Twilight asked.

“You mean mother?” Sunset said. “Well when you’re dealing with an altruistic society, you know we’re supposed to help each other out. No one has to pull themselves up by the bootstrap.”

“Hey by the way,” Sunburst said as he pointed to a still knocked out Danged Spell. “We still have a problem.”

“Oh dear,” Sunset said as she approached Danged Spell lying on the ground completely dazed. “And he got on the receiving end of a bean ball.”

“I think he’ll be alright,” Sunburst said. “Though I’d better get some ice to help with his accident, just in case.”

As Sunburst walked out the room and Sunset looked after Danged Spell, Twilight looked under Moondancer’s bed. There was Baby Spike, cradling himself underneath as tears flowed from his eyes.

“You okay Spikey?” Twilight said as she reached out to Spike. “It’s about Abigail, right?”

Baby Spike looked at Twilight and nodded his head yes. Twilight knew that Spike was missing little Abigail, Wanda’s companion. She reached out and rubbed Spike on the forehead.

“Don’t worry, Spikey,” Twilight said as Spike rubbed his head on Twilight’s hoof. “Like I said, she’ll be back with Wanda and Moondancer. So you don’t need to worry.”

Meanwhile, Wanda, Abigail and Moondancer were out and about on the streets of Canterlot City. There were earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns wandering about, taking care of the events of the day. While Wanda and Abigail were content, Moondancer felt depressed, slouch about alongside the Man’s Cub and her kitten.

“You okay, Moondancer?” Wanda asked.

Moondancer let out a sigh and said “Yes.” That didn’t assure Wanda.

“You do have good friends here in Canterlot,” Wanda said. “None of those types of bullies who would want to put you down because of what you like.”

“Easy for you to say,” Moondancer said.

“You were willing to accept Twilight’s friendship because you saw something in her,” Wanda said. “And any friend of Twilight Sparkle is a friend of mine.”

“I guess you’re right,” Moondancer said as she let out another sigh.

As the trio came to a stop, they were in the middle of the park where the trees surrounded them with their majesty beauty. Up in one of the trees, the mother bird and the baby bird flies towards the nest. Wanda looked up and cracked a bit of a smile while shedding a small tear.

“Moondancer,” Wanda said as Abigail rubbed her body on her leg. “Do you recall that day when Danged Spell gave me his slingshot?”

“Y...yes,” Moondancer said.

“Well I told you while I was sick that I once accidentally shot down a baby bird,” Wanda said. “And you knew why I did that.”

“You mistook it for a roc?” Moondancer asked.

“Yes,” Wanda said. “Once I realized what happened, I broke down crying, had a nightmare, and believed that I would live with this mark for the rest of my life. I was relieved after realizing that it was alive and well.”

“So it seems we both have something in common,” Moondancer said.

“Yes,” Wanda said as she picked up Abigail. “But my problem was a whole lot worse. At least you have something to look forward to with what you’re going through. That being said, my story doesn’t end there.”

“What happened?” Moondancer said.

“Yesterday,” Wanda said. “As I was starting to feel better, I came down to this park to feed the mother and baby bird. As I was doing so, I noticed a gray pegasus filly around my age crying her eyes out. She looked like something bad happened to her and I wanted to provide some comfort.”

“Oh dear,” Moondancer said. “Sounds like I wasn’t the only one with problems.”

“I wanted to do something to cheer her up,” Wanda said. “But all I had was some bits that I carried with me. I gave her some coins and said to her ‘Use that to find whatever will make you happy.’ She actually gave me a hug, thanking me for being a kind friend.”

Moondancer let out a small chuckle and said “Looks like you want to be friends with everyone.”

Wanda placed Abigail down and pulled out her coin sack. She shook it up and said to Moondancer. “Hey, I’ve got some bits left. How about I buy you an ice cream?”

“Sounds fine to me,” Moondancer said.

WIth that, Wanda, Moondancer and Abigail walked in another direction, away from the park.

Not that later in the day, Wanda, Abigail and Moondancer arrived inside the Canterlot Ice Cream Parlor. Ponies of all sorts of ages were enjoying their ice cream, milkshakes and other delicious desserts. There was no line, so Wanda and Moondancer were all set to order.

“Come on,” Wanda said to Moondancer. “What sounds really good to you?”

“Well,” Moondancer said. “I was always a fan of chocolate grape milkshakes.”

“Sounds good to me,” Wanda said as she, Abigail and Moondancer approached the front counter.

The cashier turned to the three, and took notice of Wanda. He said “Wanda. I heard you got sick a week ago. How are you feeling?”

“Better,” Wanda said. “Anyway, I’d like to order two chocolate grape milkshakes. One is for my friend.”

“Two chocolate grape milkshakes, eh?” The cashier said. “You got it. That will be four bits.”

“Okie dokie,” Wanda said as she reached into her bag. “Lemme pull them out.”

But before Wanda pulled out the coins she needed to pay for the shake, a familiar hoof placed down four bits before she said “That will be on me.” Wanda looked up and saw Chancellor Abacus Cinch.

“Uhhh,” Wanda said as she was a bit confused and scared by Chancellor Cinch’s presence. The cashier was also startled as he saw the face of the Chancellor.

“I know what you’re going to say, man’s cub,” Chancellor Cinch said with a smile. “But this one will be on me for now.”

Cinch raised her hoof as the Cashier accepted the four bits on the table. He wasted no time mixing up the milkshakes, adding in the grapes and chocolate before placing them on the counter. Cinch lifted the shakes with her magic and gave them to Wanda.

“Err, thanks,” Wanda said as she accepted the milkshakes.

“Don’t mention it,” Cinch said as she turned towards the exit. “Besides, I wanted to at least make up for the tone from your previous day at school, princess.”

As Chancellor Cinch walked out of the creamery, Wanda handed Moondancer her milkshake and took a sip of her own.

“You know,” Moondancer said as she accepted her milkshake. “I think you and Sunset may be gifted with being the adopted daughters of Princess Celestia.”

“Even if that is true,” Wanda said. “I’m beginning to prefer the nickname man’s cub.”

Later that day, Wanda and Moondancer were sitting on a nearby bench, observing the city and sipping on their milkshakes. Abigail was sitting next to Wanda, feeling confident by the warm sun and the cool breeze.

“Hey Moondancer,” Wanda said as she took a sip from her milk shake.

“Yes Wanda?” Moondancer said.

“Have you ever been to the Ponyville Providence?” Wanda asked.

“I don’t think so,” Moondancer said. “It was just here and Cape Coltnaveral. And Sire’s Hollow for the funeral of Starlight’s uncle Meteor Flare.”

“Mommy told me about the Ponyville Providence,” Wanda said. “There are a number of towns like La Maresa and Del Mare. But the main city of San D’NeighGo is said to be a place of beauty.”

“San DiNeighGo, eh?” Moondancer said. “I heard they have two iconic landmarks that I want to check out one day: The BalBronco Park and their World’s famous Zoo.”

“Mommy also mentioned that the fair is coming up in Del Mare,” Wanda said as she took another sip of milkshake before opening the cover.

“I believed I used to go to a fair in Cape Coltnaveral,” Moondancer said as she continued to sip on her milkshake.

“The fair has a lot of cool things there,” Wanda said as she took out a dab of milkshake on her finger and held it out for Abigail, who proceeded to lick her finger.

“Do they have rides, good food, fun music and great exhibits?” Moondancer said.

“And a whole lot more,” Wanda said. “Mommy once brought home some Cinnamon roll mix. Sunset and I had a lot of fun baking those goodies, even if we messed up on what it looked like.”

“Baking cinnamon rolls?” Moondancer said. “That I got to do.”

“Believe it,” Wanda said as Abigail lapped up the last of the milkshake dab from her finger. “The best part about baking is how much fun you have, all the way to the end.”

“Do you think she’ll invite us to the Ponyville Providence Fair?” Moondancer asked.

“That might be possible,” Wanda said as she rubbed Abigail’s right ear.

Wanda and Moondancer continued to stare at the bustling city of Canterlot as they enjoyed the milkshakes. Abigail rubbed her head against Wanda’s fingers, purring without a care in the world. For that time, things were content with the duo and they couldn’t think of a better way to relax.

To be continued in…

The Derpy Hooves From Ponyville

Author's Note:

So there you have it. If you wondering who Ditzy Doo is, it's fan favorite Derpy Hooves under her original name. She's the first of many Ponyville-related ponies that will show up in the next few arcs(Though Ponyville will be different compared to how it was described in Friendship is Magic).

The next part will introduce three familiar faces who will serve as the prime bullies.