The Cave of Elements

by Sage Probo

Chapter 3: Gettin' ready

All three inhabitants of Ponyville’s one and only “Golden Oaks Library” awoke around the same time, like an alarm clock shrilled throughout the tree. The two mares stood up and went through their respective morning routines.

Twilight went to her sideboard, where her mirror and her brush were located, then magically took the brush and began brushing her mane. Normally, she would spend a little more time on it, but today she rushed it. Afterwards she went to the fillies’ room and then went down the stairs into the kitchen, where Spike was already preparing breakfast.

Stella’s mornings were slightly different from her mother’s. She stood up from her bed, and then went straight to the bath to take a hot shower. After that, she dried herself with wind, or if she felt like it, took the water from her body and dropped it in the shower. She then brushed her mane and tail until she was satisfied with its look, and proceeded to brush her teeth. She had a bad run in with the local dentist once, Minuette - or Colgate as she was sometimes called - now the sound of a tooth drill gave her the shudders. So she took that part of her morning serious. Finished with her routine, she went down into the kitchen to join Twilight and Spike for breakfast.

Spike’s morning routines hadn’t changed much from when he was young. Usually he was the first one to be up now, meaning he was also the one who had to prepare breakfast for his family. This change surprised Twilight the most, since in the past he would do anything to sleep in. But as he grew up, slowly but surely he began to enjoy waking up early to prepare breakfast. They always got the same: Twilight a bowl of oatmeal and a freshly brewed cup of coffee; Stella some toast with strawberry jam, two eggs with hay bacon and cup of black assam tea. Spike got a sandwich with lettuce, tomatoes and cheese, and of course some gems.

Spike’s mornings changed only slightly from before. Most of the time he was the first one to get up. He took a quick shower, brushes his teeth (He also had a bad meeting with Colgate) and then went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast for his family. Twilight got a bowl of Oatmeal, as always, along with a fresh brewed cup of coffee. Stella, on the other hand, had a different taste. She ate a toast with strawberry jam, 2 eggs, some hay bacon strips and a cup of black assam tea.

After the three of them had eaten their breakfast in silence, Twilight spoke up. “Alright, since I woke up I’ve been thinking about the letter, and yesterday before I went to bed I wrote it down, so the only thing left to do is to send it, Spike.” She said to him, as he takes the dirty tableware to the sink. Now looking at Stella, she continued: “I have written everything you told me and what we have done so far, as well as asking for permission. I don’t think the princesses will deny us our request. Would you be so kind and book two tickets to Canterlot, my dear? I want to stay here and wait for the response.”

“Only two? What about Spike, doesn’t he come with us to Canterlot? Maybe you can go and see Rarity?” Stella asked with a raised eyebrow, and looked fast enough to see the dragon with a light blush when she mentioned Rarity. Twilight just closed her eyes and let out a small sigh.

“As much as I want to take him along as additional help, somepony has to keep watch over the library in my absence, and the only one I can ask and who knows the place is Spike. Besides, if we take him along to Canterlot, we would need a crowbar to get him away from Rarity,” Twilight answered with a small laugh, which earned her a glare from the now visibly blushing dragon.

“Just so you know, I’m fully capable to divert my attention from the mare of my dreams to more important matters at hoof. And I don’t know why you still need to make jokes about it. I have already been with her on a date, which we both enjoyed. But, I guess you’re right, somepony has to look after the library, and who is better suited than an actual resident?” Spike said in a flat voice, followed by a sigh.

Stella, who had been quiet after her question, smiled and stood up. She went from the kitchen into the main room and headed over to the reading desk, opened one of the drawers and took the purse stored inside. Taking her saddlebags from the entrance area and placing them on her back, she stored the purse inside and, before leaving the tree, shouted back into the kitchen.

“Alright Mom, I’ll be going now. Two Canterlot tickets for the morning train tomorrow, coming right up. See you later,” Stella yelled, and walked out of the library, closing the door behind her.

Stella trotted down the path to the market, waving and greeting the occasional pony that was already awake. Most of them greeted her back, and those who didn’t were busy setting up their stands/booths, or preparing their shops for the day. At the market Stella made a stop at the “Sweet Apple Acres” booth, to have a small chat with whoever was behind the booth today. Lucky for her, Applejack was there. She always cherished the small talks she had with AJ, because every tipp she gave, was honest and worked every time she needed it.

“Well, Ah’ll be. Ah didn't think after what happened with you and MacGie, y'all would be brave enough to leave your house again. He told me by the way, to tell you that even after you caught him in that place, he’d still like to go on that date with you,” Applejack greeted Stella with a warm smile. “Ah jus’ hope it’ll work out between the two o’ you. You two make a sweet couple.” Stella began to blush furiously, looking shyly to the left, then to the right, as Applejack finished her sentence.

“Ssshhhh... please don’t shout it out aloud. It’s still embarrassing to talk about that. However, it’s wonderful news that he wants to go on a date with me. So, how are you, auntie AJ? I heard you had a small accident back on the farm,” Stella said after calming down.

Applejack frowned when Stella mentioned the accident. “Well, Ah guess Twilight told you about it. While Ah was busy hauling the apple buckets to the barn with the cart, one of the wheels suddenly broke off and the whole cart flipped to the side, while Ah'm still strapped to it. Took me by surprise, but thank Celestia, nothing serious happened. Ah just sprained my hip, but after Nurse Redheart took a look at it, she said to rest the day, cool it, and all will be fine and dandy. If Ah feel it actin' up again, Ah'll stop by there an' they'll do some X-rays.”

Stella let out a small sigh of relief, before returning a smile. “Glad to hear that you’re on the road to recovery. But I have to go now, Mom and I want to go to Canterlot tomorrow to visit the Royal Library to check something. And mom said I should go and buy the tickets in advance, so we’ll be on time in Canterlot tomorrow.”

“All right sugarcube. Take these apples with ya, you know how long those train rides can be,” AJ stated with a wink and handed Stella a few delicious looking apples that Stella put in her saddlebags. She turned around towards the train station and bid Applejack farewell and well beings.

Stella followed the road until she was directly at the station. She went to the ticket booth, in which a rather dissatisfied looking pony was standing behind the counter.

“2 tickets to Canterlot, tomorrow for the morning train please,” Stella said.

“That’ll be 30 Bits. Would you like to purchase return tickets as well?” the stallion behind the ticket window asked as he grabbed 2 tickets from his roll.

“No, thank you.” Stella replied, searching for her purse in her bags. She pulled out the purse, hoofed over the bits and placed the tickets in her bags. “Well then, good day, sir.” With that, she turned away and began to trot home.

The trip home was uneventful. The marketplace was now bustling with ponies eager to strike a bargain. Stella was halted by Rainbow Dash, who asked how Twilight was doing. They then shared a brief conversation about yesterday's events, which still seemed to amuse the hot blooded pegasus. They parted and she continued to go towards the library, and Stella arrived without other distractions.

“I’m home! And I got the tickets, morning train, so we can be in Canterlot as soon as possible tomorrow.” Stella yelled as soon as she entered her home. But there was no reply, which was unusual and caused Stella to wonder why neither her mother nor Spike were answering her call. She went into the kitchen to see both sitting at the table, with a letter in front of Twilight. Stella was just about to ask her mother what was wrong, when Twilight whispered,

“We have been summoned by the princesses. Urgency: 3 red ribbons...”

Author's Note:

Happy new year everypony.