Ch21 The Camping Trip, part three [edited]
Jake and the Kid
Chapter 21
The Camping Trip, Part three
***
Jake was a single-minded sort of pony, with a tendency to concentrate on one subject to the exclusion of all else, which was a trait that Curry and Old Ben had often used to good effect by luring him into a crush stall with a bucket of apples for his annual checkup. When he saw the tiny pinto foal, all his old longing to romp in the fields with the other young colts, and which had caused him so much grief back home, returned full force. With no thought beyond meeting the little colt in his mind, he had rushed forward and introduced himself to his fellow colt, and asked if he’d be friends.
Having asked his question, Jake had to wait for an answer, and that caused an awareness of his surroundings to sink in one pony at a time. And in particular, the large adult mare right next to him, with the most peculiar look on her face, which reminded him of the reason he had never been able to play with the smaller colts before. Other than the six-foot fences, that is.
Mares took a very dim view of over-sized stallions, or colts, crowding their foals, and were not slow at expressing their displeasure, even if the stallion in question was four times their size. In the case of this particular mare, Jake could not help but notice the long sharp horn jutting from the middle her forehead, and which was currently aimed right between his eyes as she stared at him. That horn looked like it would hurt. A lot.
A feeling of dread had the hairs on the back of Jake’s neck standing up straight. He was about to bolt for safer pastures when he remembered he had options in this world he hadn’t had back home. He could explain himself, and she could understand. “Sorry, sorry, sorry,” he babbled. “I won’t hurt your foal. I promise. I just wanted to play with him.”
For a moment the tableau held, Jake, holding his breath and hoping for the best. The sound of coltish laughter caused him to blink and lower his gaze to where the small pinto colt was laughing.
“You think Princess Luna is my mom?” the colt burbled out between spurts of laughter. He drew himself up and looked down his nose at Jake, quite a feat given their respective heights. “Bow down before Prince Pipsqueak The First, commoner,” he declaimed.
“She’s not your mom?” Jake asked, looking back and forth between the tiny piebald earth pony and the large dark-hued mare with the sharp horn and broad wings. “Oh, yeah. I guess she isn’t,” he said sheepishly.
Jake’s eyes widened slightly and he stood up straight so that he was looking down on the mare from his full height. “Oh, I know who you are. You’re the Evil Princess Of the Night.”
The mare flinched backward slightly, and a look of hurt appeared in her eyes. A second later a stinging pain in Jake’s shin caused him to jerk his left foreleg backward and shake it. Looking down he saw that Pipsqueak had bucked him hard in the leg and was getting ready to do the same to his right leg. He quickly stepped back, shuffling his hooves in the dirt.
“You take that back!” Pipsqueak demanded. “Princess Luna is not evil! She’s the best princess in Equestria.” He advanced on Jake, and Jake backed away. Soon the large stallion was shuffling in a large circle, the tiny pinto in full pursuit, pausing only to buck at Jake whenever he felt he was in range.
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, who had crept close to overhear the conversation between the two Alicorns, scrambled to get out of the way as Jake’s backside bore down on them. Diamond Tiara stumbled and almost fell. Just before she lost her balance completely Curry dashed in and gave her shoulder enough of a nudge to stabilize her. Then, to the proud filly’s total humiliation, the girl wrapped her hand in Diamond Tiara’s mane and all but dragged her to a safe distance while muttering about, “Some ponies not having the sense to get out of the way of a steam roller.”
“Sorry, sorry,” Jake babbled. “I’ll be the Evil King Of The Night, and she can be the Ninja Princess who fights for Truth and Justice,” he said as a peace offering. Really, it was all the same to him, as long as he got to be part of the playgroup.
The over-sized colt continued to frantically shuffle backward, till he noticed that Pipsqueak had finally stopped pursuing him. Jake stopped moving, but he swayed back and forth, ready to bolt if it looked like the other colt would take up the chase again.
“You wanted Princess Luna to pretend to be the Evil Princess Of The Night?” Pipsqueak asked hesitantly, clearly wanting clarification.
It was Jake’s turn to look puzzled. “Of course. What else?” he asked.
“Oh,” the smaller colt said in dawning comprehension. “Well, that’s different. Princess Luna does a great Evil Creature Of The Night. You should have been here last Nightmare Night. It was the best Nightmare Night ever. Of course, it was my very first Nightmare Night, but all the other foals said it was the best one they’d ever had. You should have said you wanted to play pretend,” he accused Jake.
“Sorry,” Jake rumbled sheepishly, digging the toe of his hoof into the ground and making little circles.
“Well, if you’re really sorry. Then sure,” Pipsqueak said, trotting up so he could look straight up into Jake’s downcast eyes.
“Sure what?” Jake asked.
“I’ll be your friend, dummy,” Pipsqueak said. “Want to go camping with us?”
Before Jake could reply, Pipsqueak’s expression turned worried, and he looked over at the princess. “Is that all right Princess Luna? Can Jake come on our camping trip? He didn’t mean to be mean. He just wanted to play a game of pretending.”
“But I can’t,” Jake blurted out. “I’m already going camping with my big sister, Curry.”
‘Oh,” Pipsqueak said in a disappointed tone. His expression brightened almost instantly. “Maybe we can all go camping together?” he suggested.
Jake twisted his head until he located Curry, standing beside the new pony, Diamond Tiara. Jake felt a slight twang of jealousy when he saw how Curry’s hand was resting on the filly’s head, her fingers stroking through Diamond Tiara’s mane. The feeling was only momentary, as he had far more important things to worry about. “Can we all go camping together, Curry?” he pleaded.
At the same time, Pipsqueak was making the same plea to Princess Luna and Twilight.
Before any other pony could step in and correct the colt’s mistake, Applejack, with much more experience with foals under her saddle, stepped up and said, “I think that’s a right good idea. You all can help Apple Bloom to make sure Princess Luna has a great time on her first camping trip.”
Twilight’s bemused expression at the colt’s antics switched to dismay as she parsed Applejack’s words. “Wait. Does that mean you’re not coming with us, Applejack?”
“I’m right sorry, Twilight, but I just can’t.”
“It’s Rainbow Dash, isn’t it? She’s been gossiping about my crush on Princess Luna. I mean, I don’t have a crush! Oooo, I’m going to stomp her so bad! Where is she? Rainbow Dash! Come out here!” Twilight called out loudly, looking around and up for her tale-telling friend.
“Rainbow Dash isn’t here, Twilight,” Scootaloo said as she buzzed up on her scooter. “Cloud Kicker came by a minute ago and she had to leave. Some sort of unexpected weather emergency.” Scootaloo sounded disappointed at this news.
“Now, calm yourself down, Twilight. I ain’t bailing on your account because of anything Rainbow Dash might have said. The truth of the matter is that the first snowfall is scheduled for just a few weeks from now. Big Mac and I have our hooves full getting the last apples harvested and Sweet Apple Acres ready for winter. I just don’t got time to take off for a camping trip.”
Twilight looked contrite, “I am sorry, Applejack. Could you use some help?”
Giving a shake of her head, Applejack said, “No need. We got it well in hoof. And don’t worry. I learned my lesson that time Big Mac was out of action with a cracked rib. This time if I need help, I’ll ask my friends.”
***
The farmyard turned into a beehive of activity as all the ponies, with two exceptions, made ready for the camping trip.
One of the exceptions was Jake. He didn’t see what the fuss was about. He’d been on lots of camping trips. Sooner or later Curry would harness him up and they’d go for a long walk in the woods. Once they arrived there would be lots of fun pulling heavy logs, or more walking in the woods with Curry while Old Ben yelled at fish with his friends. He was far more interested in getting to know his new colt friend, Pipsqueak, who was the other exception.
While everypony else was busy, Jake and Pipsqueak happily cavorted around the barnyard. They said hello to some cows and sheep in a nearby pasture, who were much more interesting than the cows and sheep back home, even if their conversation was a bit limited in terms of subject matter. They had no interest in pulling at all.
When Granny Smith heard Jake’s belly rumbling, and that Pipsqueak had rushed out without breakfast, she’d whipped up some tasty brown hotcakes swimming in butter and apple preserves just for them. That distracted them quite nicely, and they happily filled their bellies and ignored the chaos behind them.
***
Twilight, from past experience, knew that she might as well try to herd cats as to organize a group of foals but felt she had to do her best for the sake of Princess Luna.
Luna for her part, quickly discovered that there was a very large difference between giving orders to well trained royal guards and castle servants, and trying to lead a bunch of young foals who were filled with sweet syrup and candy. Matters were not helped by the fact that at some point while their backs were turned, Applejack and Big Mac had headed out into the field to do their chores.
It wasn’t till Apple Bloom and Granny Smith took charge of the organizing that things got sorted out. Most of the improvement was on account of Apple Bloom’s leadership skills (still tragically un-cutie marked), while Granny Smith’s one contribution was a story about one of her camping trips. It calmed the excited little ponies down to a remarkable degree and helped them focus on their goal, with only one little bump in the road.
They had to wake Silver Spoon up.
The last chore before they set out was when Curry went off to drag Jake and Pipsqueak out of the barn, where Pipsqueak was learning the joy of jumping out of a hayloft.
In the end, it was only a few hours after the original start time that they began walking down the lane-way in a long strung out stream of ponies, with Apple Bloom proudly leading the way.
Princess Luna and Twilight Sparkle were a few paces behind Apple Bloom, heads close together as they discussed the various magic formula they intended to use once they were settled at the campground.
Curry, due to having only two legs, found herself at the rump end of the group; or so she thought of it, as that was what she was mainly staring at, was puffing along at a steady jog.
Jake and Pipsqueak were loyally accompanying Curry, although a series of distractions had them moving at a less than steady pace. Every few feet it seemed they would spot an interesting flower or funny shaped rock and have to detour to examine it. And, of course, there were the small streams that simply demanded they be waded in.
The rest of the fillies floated up and down the column like leaves in a stream, each little divergence in the pathway causing eddies and shifting of the various parties. Diamond Tiara, in particular, couldn’t seem to make up her mind which end of the marching order she wanted to be a part of. Walking with the princess was, of course, the proper place for a pony of her stature, but thirty seconds of listening to Twilight and Princess Luna talk shop made her head spin. Jake was the next obvious attraction, but every time she tried to open up a conversation with him that tag-along Pipsqueak would divert him.
She barely avoided getting splashed with mud or worse, when the big colt jumped with all four hooves into a mud-puddle.
Curry was the third point of attraction, but the one time Diamond Tiara tried to start a conversation with her, she received a lecture about keeping away from mud-puddles, and that she wasn’t to expect Curry to drop everything just because she got herself splashed by not watching where she was going. It was really quite rude, and it was hardly Diamond Tiara’s fault that Curry was so hot, sweaty, and out of breath.
The small girl was jogging to keep up with the ponies. She could have gotten a ride from either Twilight, who had offered, or Jake, who wouldn’t have even noticed her weight, but she was determined to build up her stamina so she wouldn’t feel so handicapped around her four-legged friends.
“So she’s your big sister?” Pipsqueak asked Jake as they returned from their latest divergence and took up position along either side of Curry, effortlessly matching her pace, much to her annoyance.
“Eeyup.”
“Well, I sorta see now how you could think Princess Luna was my mom. Compared to your sister and you, you and I could be twins.”
“Eeyup.”
“I’m right here you know,” Curry puffed out, a bit annoyed at being talked around.
Irrepressible as always, Pipsqueak simply added her into the conversation instead of feeling abashed. “So, was your mom sick when she had you? Or, did an evil Sorceress put a spell on you?”
“No, and no. And it wasn’t Poison Joke either before you ask. Whatever the heck that is. There are lots of folks back home like me. Fact is, all folks back home are like me.”
“No ponies? That must be a really weird place.”
“There are ponies,” Curry panted, her words coming in time with her jogging stride. “They just ain’t all that smart. Jake was special. He was always smart. Just couldn’t talk.”
“Couldn’t talk? That must have been awful,” the talkative Pipsqueak said. “Did you learn sign language? I heard that mute ponies learn sign language so they can talk to other ponies with their hooves and body. For instance, if you stick one ear up like this, and the other forward like this, that means, hello, how are you,” he said, suiting actions to words.
The small colt was starting to puff a bit himself. He might have had four legs, but they were short, and he was making rather bad decisions in regards to what was more important, talking, or breathing.
“So, are you really only five years old?” Diamond Tiara asked as she trotted into line directly in front of them and looked over her shoulder at Jake. “However did you get so big and strong at such a young age?” she fluttered her eyelashes as she spoke, but the superior drawl she couldn’t keep out her voice spoiled whatever effect she was going for.
“I ate a lot,” Jake replied in a matter of fact voice.
Curry stifled a laugh as the filly stared hard at the big colt, but there was nothing in Jake’s tone of voice or expression to indicate he was being anything other than fully honest in his reply.
Before Diamond Tiara could continue the interrogation, Pipsqueak interjected himself into the conversation. “What did you eat? Do you think I’d grow as big as you if I ate the same thing?”
“I ate whatever Curry fed me,” Jake answered with a shrug of his shoulders, although there was a certain amount of grievance he couldn’t keep out of his voice. In his opinion, his diet had been decidedly less than balanced. There should have been a much larger proportion of apples for one thing.
This time it was Diamond Tiara that jumped in first. “So Curry is responsible for your amazing body. Did she give you your horn and wings too?”
“Don’t be silly,” Pipsqueak said with a laugh. You're born with wings or a horn. Or both. It's not like anypony can just give them to you or buy them from your daddy's store."
Diamond Tiara scowled at Pipsqueak, and growled out, “Listen brat—ouch!”
“Sorry,” Curry apologized to Diamond Tiara while rubbing her stinging palm on her leg. “You had a big hairy bug on your flank.” She made a face. “You better come see me in the camp so I can brush all the icky bits out of your hide.”
“Where, where,” Diamond Tiara cried out, spinning in circles as she tried to see.
“I’ll get it, DT” Silver Spoon cried out. “Ouch!” she cried out a moment later and spun to face Curry, who was rubbing her other hand against her leg this time.
“Boy, there sure are a lot of bugs out here in the woods, ain’t there?” Curry said innocently.
Whatever remarks the two ponies might, or might not, have made were effectively cut off when Apple Bloom called out from the front, “We’re here.”
Jake lifted his head so he could see over everpony in front of him, “Oooh, pretty,” he rumbled.
Next, to Jake, Pipsqueak was bouncing up and down with all his might, trying to see over the top of Diamond Tiara, who was right in front of him while calling out, “What? What is it?”
Seemingly by accident, Diamond Tiara kept shifting herself so Pipsqueak could not get around her, at least till she let out another pained cry which accompanied the sound of a bare palm smacking against her cutie mark.
“Really hope somepony brought some bug repellent,” Curry said in a nonchalant voice as Pipsqueak dashed by the distracted pony.
Jake longed to follow after his new friend, but there was no way he could duck and weave between the ponies in front of him the way Pipsqueak was doing. Not without bowling them over and shoving them into the bushes that lined the lane. He gave a sad snort and let his attention wander from the pretty thing that nearly filled the clearing up ahead to Curry. While he had been preoccupied with Pipsqueak he hadn’t noticed, but now he saw that Curry was watching Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon as well, with a clear intent in her eyes.
Jake had seen that look before. For all her grumbling about spoiled ponies, Curry always took her duties at the boarding stable seriously. This was especially true the last couple of months when she’d been entrusted with the primary care of some of the pony tenants rather than simply being an extra pair of hands. The proprietary way she was looking at the two pretty fillies now was exactly the way she had looked at the mares under her care then.
Jake found this of interest because one of the results of that behavior on Curry’s part was to include Jake in her activities, pretty much forcing the ponies to socialize with him. She had joked at the time that she was auditioning them for places in Jake’s future harem. Jake had translated the unfamiliar term into future friends and had been anticipating the results. Things had never gotten that far, but now Jake was wondering if Curry was going to train the two fillies to be his friends. He vowed to be on his best behavior around them to make Curry’s job easier.
Jake stepped off the trail and into the clearing, joining the group of ponies who were staring at what filled it. He looked up. Way, way, up. The object in front of him was well worth the first, and second, look. It was the biggest tent he had ever seen, and the most garish. The bright silk of the huge tent extended four times the height of the barn at Sweet Apple Acres and covered a correspondingly huge amount of ground. Close by he heard Princess Luna mutter a soft word he was pretty sure he didn’t want to repeat anywhere near Curry.
***
A number of highly inappropriate words needed said, possibly enough of them to blister paint and knock a few stars loose from their position in the sky, but Luna managed to restrain herself to just one, said under her breath, which luckily nopony seemed to have heard. The tent that filled the fairgrounds to overflowing was quite definitely not what she had requested from Kibbitz, and if her darling sister's hoof was not behind the swap, she would eat alfalfa. Raw.
Acres of multicolored silks and satin stretched up above the tree-line, several times the height of Honesty's barn and many times the width. Huge cables the diameter of a pony's ankles were tied to anchors buried deep within the soil in order to support the massive structure, and the flags of every past Saddle Arabian king flew proudly at each crest and peak. Or at least they were the flags of the Saddle Arabian monarchy the last time she and Celestia had visited the desert land, far too many years ago. The Grand Royal Tent was the crowning (literally, for it had put more than one king on their throne) achievement of their mystics and tentmakers, with enchantments and spells woven into the fabric that allowed the most magically gifted, meaning the Sultan and themselves, to view tales of the past. It had fascinated the two sisters for weeks during their sweaty trip. And now it, or a very, very, good copy, was here. On her camping trip.
It didn’t make any sense. It was too much. What was Tia thinking? This was like swatting a horsefly with a sledgehammer. It wasn’t merely escalation, it was Shock and Awe, and Tia wasn’t that blatant. If there was one word to describe her normal modus, it was sneaky, and a fifty piece brass brand would be sneakier than this monstrosity. Luna didn’t even know where to start with plans for retaliation.
This was going to take a prank of world-shaking proportions to top. But there would be time for that later.
“It’s a Saddle Arabian, Grand Royal Tent,” Twilight Sparkle gasped from her position next to Luna. “I didn’t think they were ever allowed out of the country. By Royal Decree, no other tent is allowed to exceed them in size or magnificence. According to my book, only two were ever constructed, the second only after the first one was lost centuries ago. This must be the legendary lost tent. How did it get here?”
“I do not know how it came to be in Equestria, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said through gritted teeth, “But, as for how it came to be here, I would think the answer obvious.” Luna turned her attention to the pony who had been waiting for them in the clearing in front of the tent. “What is the meaning of this, Goose Down?”
While Luna was not one to take her annoyance out on innocent bystanders, nowadays anyway, but she could not keep all of her emotional turmoil out of her voice. This became clear when her brand new, still shiny from the package, personal maid flattened herself against the ground as if she had been stepped on. Luna was instantly contrite. Goose Down shouldn’t even be here. Luna had only spent one night in the Nocturne’s dreams, working to untangle her deeply ingrained fear of the open sky. Her ouranophobia was so ingrained that it would take many more sessions before she would be comfortable outside in the city, let alone far out in the woods, miles from the nearest solid building to hide inside. The oversized bowl-shaped hat, which her Hoofmaiden, Laminia, had graciously made for Goose, covered her down past her nose and halfway to her chin, to block out the sky in all directions, but that was a fragile barrier with which to gamble her sanity.
She would be having words with her maid about her interpretation of Luna’s instructions. “Familiarize yourself with my quarters and belongings while I’m gone,” did not mean take yourself off to the back of beyond and help set up a monstrosity of a tent. But, that could wait for a more private time, when her temper was not quite so engaged.
“Rise, Goose Down,” Luna said in a much more gentle tone of voice. “Explain please.”
Rising to her hooves, Goose Down kept her face downcast as she said, “Forgive me, oh Divine Princess of the Night, Guardian of the Ebony Veil, Matron of Dreams, Holder of the Sacred …” Goose may not have been able to see Luna’s face, but she could see one royal hoof tapping against the sod in front of her. “Ahem. Your Sister, her most glorious Princess Celestia, Diarch of Equestria, Ruler of the Sun, sent it for your use. She said it was just some old thing that had been gathering dust in the basement since before she could remember. A gift from a Saddle Arabian Sultan who was courting her at the time.”
Luna startled slightly when Twilight Sparkle shouted out, “Nailed it!” giving a hoof pump of triumph. Realizing everypony present was now staring at her, the librarian blushed. Luna took the luxury of taking a few seconds to enjoy how cute Twilight was in her flustered state. She made a mental note to induce it again when she had the time to really enjoy it.
Princess Luna took several deep breaths, her expression shifting through a gamut of expressions and finally to a rather blank calm. “Please forgive me my previous ire, Goose Down. This was not your fault. I am merely slightly peeved that my sister chooses to ignore my request that I am allowed to ‘rough it’ for a short period of time.”
Goose Down, her face still concealed by the large hat, quivered slightly as she said, “There is no need to ask Princess Luna, you have it without question. But I fear I may have expressed the matter incorrectly. Your sister was quite specific in the way she filled your request. This is the guest tent. Your tent is over there.” The pony extended one of her proportionally over-sized wings to its full extent. She used the tip of the wing to point toward a small rickety two-wheeled cart filled with a bale of tattered canvas. “She sent this two-pony guard tent for your use, my Princess.”
Behind her, Luna heard Scootaloo let out a whistle, and then exclaim, “Niiiice.” She assumed it was in appreciation of Goose Down’s wings. Though, this was Scootaloo, who as she recalled, was rather enamored of all things related to the Royal Guard. So the little filly could have been merely reacting to the tent, although that was highly unlikely given its disreputable appearance.
As for herself, Luna felt a wave of relief as the universe tilted back onto an even keel. This was much more like the sneaky, conniving, big sister she loved.
With all once again right with her world, Luna shifted her attention to Jake. Back at the palace, exposure to Goose’s ‘attributes’, had rendered more than a few staid stallions speechless, and in more than a few cases, there had even been signs of drool. She was curious to see how Jake would react. The big colt’s eyes widened as he took in the broad stretch of dragon-wing.
“Wow. Your wings are nice. And they’re bigger than mine,” Jake said, spreading his own wings wide to illustrate his point.
He wasn’t correct. Not even close, Luna noted absently. The size was a matter of perspective. Goose was small, even for a Pegasus, and therefore her wings appeared much larger as a result than Jake’s did against his much more massive body.
The important thing was that Jake’s interest in Goose seemed to be because she was new to him, and something different from what he was used to, and not because she was built like a Cumulonimbus cloud. He was merely curious and hopeful that he had met a new friend. There was no sign at all that the fact she was an extremely well-endowed mare had any impact on him at all.
The same could not be said in reverse, however. Behind her she heard a pair of gasps as Jake flexed his wings wide, prancing slightly in his eagerness at meeting somepony new. The two older fillies, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, seemed clearly impressed and just a bit glassy-eyed by Jake’s display, unlike their peer, Twist, who didn’t seem interested in the least, and merely smiled indulgently at the big colt. Twilight Sparkle was another who seemed less than impressed by Jake’s display, Luna was pleased to note. In fact, Twilight was not paying the least attention to Jake but was instead staring at Goose with great interest. Luna frowned inside, surprised to find herself slightly jealous.
“My, what an impressive wing to body ratio,” Twilight commented. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a pony with such a large one.”
Luna gave a slight chuckle. That was her Twilight all over. Still smiling, Luna turned her attention back to Goose Down. She wondered how her new maid would react to Jake. While she had not been briefed on him directly, she had been present while his circumstances had been discussed. She was aware, for instance, that for all his size, he was just a young colt.
Goose’s customized hat cut off her vision just below her natural eye level, and as a result, restricted her vision to a circle about twenty feet around her. In her present position, all she would be able to see of Jake were his hooves and ankles. As Luna watched the brim of Goose’s hat tip upward, she could imagine Goose slowly scanning higher and higher, her eyes taking in more and more of Jake. She wished she could see her maid’s face as his size started to become more and more apparent.
Luna had fought with and had tea with, Dragons who could hold her in the palm of their hand. Size didn’t impress her. But, as someone who had experienced so much, lost so much, she found she could regain some of the wonders of the world vicariously, through sharing the discovery with her ponies.
Goose’s head tilted way back, and Luna got her wish. Goose’s face was fully exposed. It was everything Luna could have hoped for. Goose’s expression was absolutely priceless as Jake lowered his head to nuzzle her muzzle.
***
Curry was enthralled by the glory of the tent in front of her. This was what circus tents should look like. It was like something out of a fairy tale movie. Most certainly it was nothing at all like the tent used by the single circus that had set up for a week in town back when she was just a kid. Everywhere she looked, there was a new wonder revealed. Looking closely, she saw there were even pictures stitched into the fabric. They could only be seen if you looked at them in just the right way. She had to squint up her eyes just so, and really focus to see them. As the fabric rippled in the breeze they appeared and disappeared. Proud Arabian Stallions and mares, frolicking and romping across fields of grasses festooned with flowers of every color imaginable. Central among them was a particular Stallion, larger and more proud than the rest.
There was a story being shown Curry realized. The central Stallion traveled across the land, crossed the ocean, and met a beautiful white mare with wings and a horn, surrounded by a soft golden glow. He knelt to her and she knelt to him, and together they rose and walked off into the sunset. The breeze stilled and the images faded away.
Letting out a sigh of delight, Curry reluctantly looked away from the tent. Now that she wasn’t focused on the story-telling edifice, she realized that there was something interesting going on down at ground level. There was a rather strange looking pony wearing an over-sized hat who was standing in front of Jake. Her head was tipped up and she was nose to nose with Jake. Curry’s eyes widened in delight as she took in the huge partially extended dragon wings the pony sported instead of the typical Pegasus’s feathered variety. What really clinched the growing impression in her mind though was the pair of huge lambent yellow eyes staring upward at Jake in wonder. That clinched it for the small girl, and she let out a cry of delight, “Oh. My. God. A Toothless Pony!” drawing looks from everypony in the clearing.
***
It was strange how disasters tend to happen in slow motion when you are watching them, Luna thought. Time seems to slow down and you think you would have all the time in the world to stop it, but you can’t move, can’t speak, just stand and watch it happen.
Luna watched Goose jolt when Curry’s voice rang out. The little maid unconsciously ran her tongue over her teeth even as she broke eye contact with Jake. Her head shifted, and her pupils dilated to their full extent as she found herself staring upward into the pure blue china bowl of a cloud-free sky. Goose’s eyes watered from exposure to the bright daylight, but she didn’t squint or close them, just stood there, frozen, an expression of sheer terror twisting her face into a parody of its normal pretty appearance until her legs could no longer support her.
With a despairing moan, Goose collapsed to the ground, her wings folding over and around her body so that she looked more like a hassock than a pony.
***
Curry was oblivious to all else as she shoved past everpony and ran across the clearing toward what had to be one of the Nocturne ponies Spike had told her about. A look of concern occupied her face as she raced up to the huddled form of the clearly distressed pony. “What’d you do to her?” she said accusingly toward Jake, who was standing there looking both puzzled, and after Curry’s question, a bit guilty. It wasn’t that Curry really believed Jake was responsible, he just happened to be the nearest warm body she could vent her worry on.
“Don’t know,” Jake said in a meek tone of voice. He shuffled backward away from the mare, giving her some space.
“Do not fault Jake. This mistake is of my making,” a contrite, but firm voice said from behind Curry. She turned to see the beautiful dark mare, Princess Luna hurrying toward them. The royal pony dropped to her knees in the dirt next to the downed Nocturne mare and gently stroked her dragon wings with the tips of her own feathered ones. “I should have stepped in quicker when I realized that poor Goose Down had forgotten she was not indoors. Alas, without a ceiling above her, old terrors have overwhelmed her.”
“She’s afraid of the outside?” Curry asked in a probing tone, dropping into the professional mode that had started out as a childhood game as she mimicked visiting vets, and become something more during her three years helping out at the boarding stables.
“It is true. A childhood trauma.”
“That’s different,” Curry said thoughtfully. “Ponies being nervous or afraid of close spaces ain’t that uncommon. There was a pony at the boarding stables who had been in a horse trailer accident. She panicked anytime someone tried to put her in a trailer or a stall. It got so bad she wouldn’t even come inside the barn. The grooms had to rig a tarp out in the field so she’d at least have a little shelter. Never heard of one who was afraid of open spaces, except for...” Curry trailed off. She looked up at Jake and said. “Jake, you come over here and kneel down alongside her. Lay a wing over-top of her to block out the sky.”
As Jake gingerly lowered himself in place Curry explained her actions to Luna and the rest of the ponies who had gathered around. “Only time I ever knew of ponies being upset in an open field was when they were all alone, with no other pony to watch their back. I figure a little close company should make her feel a bit more secure, and Jake’s wings are big enough to block out the sky if she peeks out from under her own wings.” While she talked, Curry gently caressed the soft skin of the Nocturne’s wing, her fingers mingling with the feathers on the tip of Luna’s wing while the princess did the same thing.
“That’s a good idea, Nocturnes dislike solitude. They sleep in communal huddles, the entire family in one room,” Twilight said, falling back on information she had gleaned while supplying room and board to two Nocturne a few months previously, not to mention helping in the transcription of over two-hundred Nocturne family journals.
“So, the more the merrier, eh,” Curry said. She looked around and spotted Diamond Tiara hovering on the outskirts of the other fillies. “Come on over here on the other side from Jake,” Curry ordered in a no-nonsense tone of voice.
For a moment it looked like Diamond Tiara was going to refuse, but then a calculating look appeared in her eyes and she trotted over with a flip of her mane, showing that she was only doing this because she choose to do so. She nestled down beside the small Nocturne, which by happenstance slipped her between Princess Luna and the downed pony.
“Come on, Y'all, huddle in closer. Even if you can’t touch her directly, get as close as Y'all can,” Curry said, waving to all the other ponies, indiscriminately including the princess in her imperious command.
“Yeah, group hug,” Pipsqueak cried out as he wiggled in between Jake’s forelegs, laying down just under the bigger pony’s chin and resting his own muzzle on the mound that was the shivering Goose.
The rest of the ponies were uncertain and looked to Luna for instruction. In answer she gestured toward Twilight, indicating that the unicorn should take a position at her side as she herself lay flat against the ground and extended a wing so it sat over-top of the one that Jake had reached out with from the other side. This pressed her body up against Diamond Tiara who looked like she might swoon at any moment from sheer smugness.
The rest of the ponies quickly huddled as close as they could get to Goose. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle hopped up on top of Jake for lack of anywhere closer. Apple Bloom, being more daring than her fellows, wiggled her way in between Jake and Goose. She vanished from sight under his wing. Every other pony who could manage made some sort of physical contact with Goose, a hoof, a wing, a muzzle.
Curry flushed red as she looked around at the pile of ponies surrounding her and Goose, and thought about what she was going to do next. She’d never actually been allowed near a pony who was in the midst of a full-blown panic attack. But, she was the smallest, least threatening person, at the stables. So, she was often allowed to sit in the stall with a pony who was recovering from an attack. It was her habit at those times to sing softly to herself and the pony. The lyrics didn’t matter, just the tone of voice and the rhythm of her words. But this pony, these ponies, were likely to be a much more critical audience. Her throat felt dry, and almost she decided that it wasn’t really needed, but then, she felt Goose trembling under her hand and her mind firmed. Maybe she’d be laughed at, but that didn’t matter. All that mattered was the poor terrified pony who needed help. Curry searched her mental playlist. After running through dozens of Disney songs, and discarding them, she paused as she thought of “Lesson Number One” from Mulan Two. The tune wasn’t that great, and it was about learning Kung Fu, something ponies would have zero interest in, but the words seemed right to her.
Taking a deep breath, she began to sing, trying to put her entire heart into the music.
Earth, Sky
Day, Night
Sound and Silence
Dark and Light
One Alone Is Not Enough
Luna stiffened slightly and looked at Curry intently. Curry returned the look, a hint of challenge in her expression. She hadn’t thought about how the lyrics might sound to the Dark Mare, but she was danged if she’d back down. Luna quirked an eyebrow but didn’t seem inclined to reduce Curry to dust. Much to the small girl’s relief. Inside Curry felt a bit smug. There were more ways than one to fight an Evil Princess Of The Night, especially if she was of the misunderstood variety.
You Need Both Together
Winter, Summer
Moon And Sun
Lesson Number One
A rush of something wonderful filled Curry, trickling up from the ground and running across her skin like electricity. Was this her magic? She was sure she could see it swirling in the air all around her. No. It wasn’t coming from her. She could see the strands running from the ponies to her, and from her to Goose. It wasn’t her magic. But, somehow, she was part of it. That was nearly as good. The words of the song poured out in a long, warm stream, wrapping around the frightened Nocturne with a swirl of happiness that slowly began to drive back the cold. As she sang, she could hear other voices rising to harmonize with her own, the gentle but powerful voice of Sweetie Belle, the clear soprano of Pipsqueak, the bass rumble of Jake, and even Apple Bloom enthusiastic alto, all combining into a perfectly balanced chorus. Lost in the magic, Curry didn’t even wonder how they knew the words, she just accepted it.
Like Rock
You Must Be hard!
Like An Oak
You Must Stand Firm!
Come Quick
Like My Blade
Think Fast
Unafraid
Curry reached out to stroke Jake, while between his legs Pipsqueak stood up, steady on all four legs, his chest thrust out. Scootaloo mimicked Pipsqueak’s posture on Jake’s back, her tiny wings out thrust and gently humming, the sound blending in perfectly with Sweetie Belle’s voice. From under Jake’s wing, Curry could just make out Apple Bloom’s voice joining in.
Under her hand, she felt Goose’s trembling slow, and her wings start to move. She lowered her voice and focused on putting as much feeling into the words as possible,
Like A Cloud
You Are Soft
Curry winked at Diamond Tiara, who sniffed, and turned her face away, coincidentally, right into Princess Luna’s side.
All the rest of the ponies by now were singing along with her. Even Princess Luna. Curry twisted her head around, taking in all the raised muzzles and closed eyes. She began to tremble a little bit at the powerful emotions flowing in from all around her. She put all her will into pushing that emotion into her voice, directing it at Goose.
Like Bamboo
You Bend In the Wind
Goose’s trembling had come to a complete stop and her wings started to shift. Looking down without stopping her singing Curry could see one great golden eye staring out at her, with just the smallest sign of the earlier panic present.
Creeping Slow
You're In Peace Because You Know
It’s Okay To Be Afraid
Goose’s wings parted fully, exposing her head. Her hat had tumbled away when she’d covered up with her wings, and lay on the ground between her legs. Jake and Luna’s wings lifted slightly, but remained bridged overtop of Goose, blocking out the endless blue depth of the sky.
It’s Okay To Be Afraid
Curry crooned again, letting her voice trail off as she held the note for several seconds as she reached out and picked up Goose’s hat. Holding it in both hands she placed it firmly on Goose’s head as solemnly as if she were crowning the pony Queen. She looked deep into Goose’s large eyes, and softly, just loud enough for the two of them sang the last line.
You Can Fly
You Have Begun
***
Twilight Sparkle and Princess Luna stood silently, watching as Goose Down was hustled into the Tent. Only after all the little ponies, and the one very big pony, and the one, not a pony at all, were out of sight did Twilight speak. “Princess Luna...” she paused, unsure of herself.
“Let us examine my tent, Twilight Sparkle. I am most eager to begin roughing it,” Luna said in a loud voice while matching actions to words and trotting over to the rickety cart containing the weathered canvas guard tent.
While examining her overnight accommodation was merely an excuse, Luna did wonder where her sister had found it. Sergeant Chert would have gelded any private who allowed his equipment to become this neglected. Luna doubted any other sergeant in the guard would have been any more forgiving.
“You were saying, Twilight Sparkle?” Luna said softly, vocally nudging Twilight whose eyes had the faraway look she got when pondering a particularly difficult conundrum.
“Ahh, well, I’m not sure. But when Curry was singing, it seemed to me . . . Well, if she were a pony... I’d suspect she had enormous magical potential. That was as classic a display of high-level natural magic as I have ever seen. If she were a pony, that is. I checked, and as far as I could tell, there was no more energy flowing to her from Jake than from any other pony in the group. You and I contributed far more to the effect then he did.”
Twilight entire statement had been presented in a questioning tone of voice. Luna could understand why. If what they had just sensed was true, it totally destroyed Twilight’s earlier hypothesis that Curry was a creation of Jake’s young, but powerful, magic because she had no magical signature of her own. It was to Twilight Sparkle’s credit that she did not try to explain away the facts merely because they conflicted with her earlier conclusions. Clearly, however, discovering she had been mistaken had left her feeling doubtful about her present observations.
“You are correct, Twilight Sparkle. Unless there was a factor I was not aware of, Curry did indeed unconsciously expend an enormous amount of natural magic.”
Ponies possessed many and varied types of magic, some of it species dependent, some of it individually orientated. The term ‘natural’ was applied to the sort of magic that was inherent in a pony and required no training or even conscious awareness on the part of a pony for them to use it. The most visually obvious example of such magic was the ability of pegasi to walk on clouds. But, all ponies had their own special natural magic on top of such obvious manifestations. While not always, that sort of natural magic often led to the development of a pony’s special talent, the one that would cause their cutie mark to appear.
“Should we be checking for hazardous spell residue?” Twilight asked, thinking about the aftermath that had resulted from when she had first manifested her own natural potential. Which was also when she gained her cutie mark and learned her special talent was magic. It had taken Princess Celestia to clean that mess up.
“I have already done so, as soon as I became aware of what was happening,” Luna reassured Twilight. “The effect was tightly focused and directed by Curry’s desire to help Goose Down, and channeled as well by all the ponies in the group’s mutual desire in that regard. I suspect that it is difficult for Curry to externally project magic, physical contact is likely a requirement. It is unlikely she could create a chaos field such as I understand you once did.”
Luna had been speaking in a thoughtful tone, while unconsciously adopting the cadence of an instructor, the familiar turn of speech did much to sooth Twilight’s agitated mind. She took a deep breath, and asked, “Did she cure Goose Down? Of her phobia I mean.”
“I find it unlikely,” Luna said in a thoughtful voice. She considered for a moment and then continued, “I believe Curry scrubbed the chemical triggers generated by Goose Down’s panic attack from her blood, allowing her to regain her self-awareness and to mitigate her terror. Goose Down’s condition in all likelihood still exists, and will likely emerge again if she is confronted with that which she fears. In this case, the sky and heavens above.”
“That is so sad,” Twilight said, radiating sympathy at the idea of a Pegasus who was afraid of the sky.
Luna leaned down and nuzzled the smaller unicorn. “Fear not, Twilight Sparkle. I held out great hope previously that Goose Down’s condition could be alleviated. I am even more sure of that now. Indeed, I feel that Curry might just have mitigated her condition in such a way that Goose Down’s cure may come much sooner than I had originally supposed.”
“We need to scan Jake as soon as possible. This situation can’t be allowed to continue. We have to understand what we are dealing with,” Twilight said, her eyes losing their expression of uncertainty. Even as she said it she knew, right this instant was not a possibility. Twilight drew a deep breath and thought calming thoughts in order to hold off her, I-have-to-do-it-now! tendencies. Once she had control, she continued talking, “But, it would be pointless at the moment. He is far too highly agitated due to the other foals and the situation. We need him calm and relaxed while we do the scan, or we cannot be sure of the results.”
“Agreed,” Luna said with a nod. “Which is why I shall erect my dwelling for the evening and indulge in ‘camping’ activities. Would you care to join me?”
“I would be most honored to do so,” Twilight said with a smile, matching Luna’s speaking style.
The two of them extracted the canvas tent from its carrying cart with their magic and unfolded it. Luna examined the result as she and Twilight held it suspended above the ground. She looked into the cart at the random jumble of pegs and poles and asked, “Now, how does one go about erecting this?”
“I thought you knew,” Twilight said.
The two mares looked at each other, and then back at the various parts and components. For such a simple device there seemed to be an awfully large number of both and not an instruction manual in sight. “This may take a little longer than I had anticipated,” Luna said.
***
Curry hadn’t really expected elephants, but she had hoped for possibly a camel or two. Would camels be able to talk here? How about tigers? A talking tiger would be great. What they found inside the entrance to the big tent instead, was a small, relatively speaking, room about twenty feet on a side. The walls were smooth fabric and the floor made up of dozens of rugs seemingly haphazardly laid out, yet still managing to merge together as a whole to present an attractive pattern. There didn’t seem to be any way to proceed from it, however. There was no evidence of any openings in the walls.
“How do we get from here to anywhere else,” Apple Bloom asked what everypony was thinking, while she walked along the walls looking for a seam or other indication of a potential opening.
“It’s obvious, blank flank,” Diamond Tiara sneered. “You heard Twilight Sparkle. This is a magical Royal Tent. It is not about to allow commoners to track muck into it. Clearly only the most high class of ponies will be allowed to proceed. Observe.” With the familiar toss of her mane, she marched forward and bumped her muzzle into a wall that declined to get out of her way. It dimpled, and then rebounded, shoving her back onto her hindquarters and leaving her rubbing her abused nose with a hoof.
“Looks like you were right. It won’t let any low-class ponies in,” Apple Bloom teased her.
“Shut up! Clearly, it is because of your presence. You farm pony! Leave at once with your grubby friends so we may proceed.”
“Here it ith,” Twist said from where her nose was buried in an over-sized book. Looking up, she said in a firm voice, “Tent, we need some plath for our friend to lay down. Open thethame!” With a flutter of cloth, one of the walls parted as the fabric drew itself up and formed folds giving definition to a doorway.
“How’d you do that?” Scootaloo asked, her eyes wide in amazement.
“Where did you get that book?” Silver Spoon demanded while looking around for anything else she might have missed seeing.
“Mith Twilight gave it to me while you were helping Mith Gooth into the tent. It hath a thection all about the Royal Tent. There should be three corridorth leading off from the entranth.” Twist pointed at the doorway which had just opened. “That leadth to the guetht quarterth.” She pointed toward the left wall, “That leadth to the grand retheiving thalon, where the Thultan would spend the day meeting emiththarieth.” Twist looked down at the book and read out loud, “The right thide leads to his private quarterth including the harem.” Twist turned the page and the fillies who were watching noticed that the next one contained pictures, though they could not make out details. Twist blushed profusely and slapped the book shut.
“Harem?” Jake asked inquisitively. “Is that where the Sultan played with his friends? Can we go play there?”
***
“This doesn’t look right,” Twilight said, after a few seconds of silence. She and Princess Luna were examining the tent they had just set up. Twilight had tried to use what she remembered about Saddle Arabian tent architecture, but it would seem that Equestrian guard tents used a very different design. Some parts of the tent sagged, and other parts were as tight as a drum. One side had extra material laying on the ground, and on the other, there was a good six-inch gap. Looking inside the tent she had to concede that only a snake could find it comfortable. There had to be over a dozen poles holding up the roof. She wrinkled her nose at the rather musky smell of mold and mildew emanating from the canvas, much like a slice of bad cheese, or Spike’s bed when she forgot to make him clean it on wash day.
Luna had been examining the situation as well. Unlike Twilight she had actually seen a guard tent set up, though she had never done it herself. She knew what it was supposed to look like, and this was not it. She stuck her head inside the tent alongside Twilight’s and grimaced. “I believe that it is possible there were more parts in the cart than were needed,” she said.
Twilight gave a sigh. “Take it down and start over?”
“I see no other option.”
***
“Y’all going to be okay in here, sugar?” Curry asked Goose Down as she helped the Nocturne settle down on the over-sized pillow that passed for beds in the tent. The room it was in was like a small tent in its own right, with the roof rising to a point directly over the middle of the bed and the walls straight up and down but wavering slightly in an unfelt breeze. It was light and airy with a very faint fragrance perfuming the air.
“I really should be o-outside, helping Princess Luna,” Goose protested, looking down at the floor as if the tent were about to vanish above her.
“Sweetie Belle tells me you Nocturne sleep during the day, so you gotta be pretty tired right now.”
“I’m used to long hours. Really, I don’t need to rest.”
“Now you know Princess Luna ordered you to rest. You planning on disobeying a direct order?”
“No,” Goose said, ducking her head in shame.
“Can you sleep without company?” Apple Bloom asked from the entrance.
“I’m used to sleeping by myself.”
“Well, okay, if you say so,” Curry said, getting off the bed reluctantly, and unable to resist stroking one of Goose’s wings gently before leaving the room.
“You think the tent can maybe dim the light a bit?” she asked Twist who was standing in the hallway. They had discovered fairly quickly, and much to Diamond Tiara’s disgust, that the only pony the tent seemed to listen to was Twist.
Twist lifted her head slightly and addressed the section of tent over-top of the entrance to Goose’s guest room. “Tent, turn down the lightth in Gooth’th room, pleath.”
Sections of fabric folded down over the doorway even as they saw the light dimming inside.
They walked down a billowing hallway to another room, this one about ten times as large as the one Goose was in, and with a pillow/bed big enough that even Jake could bounce on it, which he was doing, along with Pipsqueak and Scootaloo. The two small ponies were making a game out of bouncing between Jake’s legs when he was in the air, and over his back when he was coming down. It looked dangerous as heck.
“Yeaha! Cannonball,” Curry cried out running forward and launching herself at the huge pillow.
***
Luna set her hoof on the hard lump under the groundsheet and pressed down. Nothing happened. “I do not understand,” she said, a touch of petulance in her voice. “We have swept the ground clean three times. How can there still be something under it?”
The problem with the floor aside, the tent itself was looking a great deal more presentable than it had seemed at first glance, but only because decades of dirt and grime had been transferred from it to something else.
Twilight rubbed her forehead with a hoof, leaving behind a smear of dirt, that matched many other such smears covering her body. Princess Luna’s normally immaculate coat was no better off. It too bore testament to their wrestling match with the heavy canvas tent.
“Why don’t we go wash up? Maybe the floor will have settled by the time we get back?” Twilight asked.
Luna examined herself with distaste. “That is a worthy idea. I certainly have no intention of spending any more time than possible in this condition. Which spa shall we use? I realize that a private spa is unlikely, but I would prefer one that is not too crowded.”
“Ahhh, about that.”
***
“I don’t believe it,” Diamond Tiara said in an awed voice.
“How can they have a bathing pool in a tent?” Silver Spoon asked.
“Who cares,” Apple Bloom cried out as she launched herself through the air and curled up in a ball just as she hit the warm soapy water. The pool was so large that the resulting splash just barely reached the side.
“Wait for me,” Twist yelled as she sprang forward, spreading her legs out in all four directions and landing on a huge pile of bubbles. An instant later there was a loud splat as she belly flopped into the underlying water. The bubbles churned and heaved for a moment, and then a faint, “ouch,” was heard.
“You okay, Twist?” Sweetie Belle called out in concern.
“Fine,” Twist replied in a voice that was just a touch breathless.
“Oooh, just right,” Diamond Tiara cooed as she lowered herself in a much more decorous manner into the steaming water. She draped a towel over her forehead and sank into the pool till only her forehead and muzzle were showing.
Sweetie Belle and Silver Spoon followed quickly after her, duplicating her actions while emitting their own coos of delight.
“You’re taking a bath?” Curry said in disbelief as she walked into the room with Jake right behind her. An expression of total disgust crossed her face, though there was a certain wistfulness as she looked at Apple Bloom cavorting with Twist.
Looks fun,” Jake boomed, and before anypony could say anything launched himself into the pool on a high trajectory.
Apple Bloom and Twist had fortunately been climbing out of the pool, so they could jump back in, and thus were out of the impact zone. Nothing could save them, or any other pony in the room, from the wash of water that greeted Jake’s entrance into the pool, however.
“Oh, it is on,” Curry growled as she wiped soap bubbles from her face. Barely taking time to shuck her clothes, she dove into the pool after Jake.
***
“B-b-b-bracing” Luna said through chattering teeth as she stood up to her withers in the icy stream.
“V-v-v-very,” Twilight replied, wishing she had a set of wings she could wrap around at least part of her body.
“S-s-s-still, maybe we should vacate the s-s-stream. I f-f-fear we are disturbing the local animals.”
Frankly, Twilight thought the sounds coming from the bushes more resembled laughter. And, was that popcorn she smelled? But she wasn’t considered one of the smartest ponies in Equestria for nothing. “I a-a-agree. M-m-maybe Jake and the foals are relaxed enough that we can do a s-s-scan.”
***
“Pillow fight!” Scootaloo cried out, choosing her weapon from a very wide selection and pegging it at Jake, who stood still and let it bounce off his chest.
“You're supposed to at least try to duck,” Scootaloo cried out. “Hey, wait, don’t,” she protested as Jake leaned down and picked up a pillow that was four times bigger than the Pegasus filly. Scootaloo’s protests became muffled as Jake brought the air and feather filled pillow down on top of her with a loud, whooomphf!
“I don’t think they’re tired,” Twilight said.
“I concur,” Luna replied.
It had taken very little effort for the two of them to locate their small (and one large) charges. All they had needed to do was to follow the ear-piercing shouts of joy and laughter (as well as a few damp hoofprints).
Aside from Jake and Scootaloo’s uneven pillow fight, there was Apple Bloom and Pipsqueak seeing if they could bounce their way all around the room without actually touching the floor.
Over in a corner, Sweetie Belle was laying back on a chaise lounge, her mane wrapped in a large towel, another around her body, and cucumber slices over her eyes. She removed one so she could glare at Pipsqueak as he bounced off the end of her chaise, and then put it back on as she settled back with a sigh.
Next to her on a similar chaise, Silver Spoon lay back, wrapped in towels as well, but with an avocado pack covering her face and her glasses resting on a small table beside the lounge.
Apple Bloom scooped a dollop from the concoction on Silver Spoon’s face as she raced by and sucked it off her hoof as she pursued Pipsqueak. Silver Spoon didn’t even move.
In the middle of the room, Curry sat cross-legged on a small pillow, her body almost lost in a pony-sized towel while Diamond Tiara and Twist combed out her hair. She was making no move to escape but was making her displeasure with the procedure clear with a steady stream of vocalizations. Diamond Tiara seemed quite pleased with the results going by the smile on her face, which got wider and wider the more Curry groaned and moaned.
“I’m sure they’ll become tired soon. The room is quite warm,” Luna commented.
“Yes, it is very warm. Maybe if we wait quietly, they will settle down soon?” Twilight suggested, laying down on the soft, smooth, and oh so warm, floor.
“I think it worth the time,” Luna said, kneeling down herself with a weary sigh.
***
“Huh, whatsis,” Twilight sputtered as a hoof was laid over her mouth.
“Please be quiet, Twilight Sparkle. I have just finished raising the moon and the foals have finally settled down,” Luna whispered, her muzzle no more than an inch from Twilight’s ear. Twilight nodded in reply while wondering how she’d managed to sleep away most of the afternoon.
Walking carefully, the two magical mares approached the slumbering Jake, he was very nearly buried under a pile of pillows and foals. Twist was lying draped over his head, her legs wrapped around his horn, a beatific expression on her face. She was muttering in her sleep, and as Twilight got close enough she could make out the words. “Betht candy twitht ever.”
Luna carefully stepped over Diamond Tiara and then had to stutter step to avoid stepping on Curry who was nestled up against the filly, her face nestled in Diamond Tiara’s soft mane.
“This should be close enough,” Twilight said as she knelt down on the soft floor. Luna made no reply but knelt beside her.
Twilight spread out a set of magically infused papers and together she and Luna focused on Jake as their horns began to glow softly.”
***
Twilight and Luna huddled close together in their tent, looking at the scan papers laid out in front of them. “So now we know,” Twilight said.
There were three pages, each with a stylized image of a pony. On the left side page was an image of a Unicorn, showing a moderate magic level. It was about what you would expect from a five-year-old Unicorn of average ability. On the right-hand side, was the image of a Pegasus. It too indicated magic levels appropriate for a young colt. In the middle was an image of an earth pony, and for a colt, the magic level was phenomenal. Easily in the upper ten percentile.
All three types of pony magic represented in one pony, which on the surface was what an Alicorn was. Only that was not how it worked. Alicorns possessed a fusion of all three types of magic which blended together to form unique magic all their own. And their power levels were not merely three types of magic added together, it was magic cubed. The power of a Earth pony times the power of a Pegasus times the power of a Unicorn.
“Jake isn’t an Alicorn,” Twilight said, voicing what both she and Luna now realized. “He’s a very strong earth pony who somepony has given unicorn and Pegasus attributes.
“It seems very likely that Curry is responsible, But, now we have another mystery,” Luna said.
Twilight nodded and said, “How can somepony who has no wings, no horn, and is not, in fact, a pony at all, be an Alicorn?”
“A very worthy question. And a mystery that may take some time to solve. For now, there is something else we must address.”
“What is that, Princess Luna?”
“I believe that this is the point in our camping trip where we are supposed to engage in ‘girl’ talk.”
***
The autumn-colored Alicorn gave a snort while stamping all four hooves into the soft ground of the meadow. She lowered her head, bending her front legs at the same time, so her nose was just inches from the ground. She lifted her rear end as high as she could, and then lowered it, flexing her hind legs up and down a few times to make sure she was loose and limber. She lifted her head slightly so her horn was pointing straight at her target, a small grassy hill.
“Go!” she shouted to herself as she sprang forward with all her might, all four legs churning, while her wings snapped out and started to flap furiously. Closer and closer to the small hill she came. She focused on her wings; this time she was going to get it right. She’s seen Rainbow Dash and other Pegasi do this. Hold the wings like this, flap them like that. Unfortunately, she focused so much attention on her wings she lost track of her legs, which was not that hard to do when you were used to only having two. One foreleg crossed in front of the other and before she knew it, she made a spectacular nose dive, plowing up a long furrow of soil with her nose. “Horseapples,” she swore, swishing her tail in agitation.
“Thou art thinking too much, young one,” a familiar voice said from a few feet away. “Let your body do what is natural.”
Curry sprang to her hooves and whirled around. “Princess Luna,” she exclaimed as she spotted the familiar Alicorn standing up to her knees in the lush meadow grass. She blushed furiously at having been seen performing such an epic fail. “What are you doing here?”
“My companion was wearier than she knew. She sleeps at the moment, and I thought you and I might have a conversation, Moonlight On Water.”
“My name is Curry Comb!” Curry snapped out and then paused. “How’d you know my real name?”
“Do you not remember? You told me the last time we met here.”
Curry’s brow furrowed and both ears laid flat against her head. “I... sort of remember. Wait. This is a dream. Isn’t it?”
“I am the Princess of the Night. Dreams are part of my domain.”
“So, you’re really here? You’re not just me, dreaming you’re here?”
“As you surmise. That is indeed the case.”
“Why are you here? “Are you snoopin’ on me and Jake?” Curry asked with a stomp of one hoof and a snort.
“Tomorrow it is my intention, with the help of Twilight Sparkle, to balance your little brother’s nature. My Sister and I believe that this is necessary if he is to have a happy colthood.”
“Just what all do you mean by balance?” Curry’s tone went past suspicion and was on the verge of accusation.
“Jake is a young colt in the body of a mature stallion. We have taken steps to insulate him from the possible consequences of that. However, these measures were never meant to be more than short term solutions. We have used that time to develop a procedure which will be much more effective.”
“I still ain’t understanding just what you’re getting at.”
For the first time, Princess Luna looked uncertain, even a bit embarrassed.” Jake is an Alicorn. The culture of Equestria, due to thousands of years of ingrained tradition, assigns him a very high position in our society. In short, he is a prince. More than that, he would become the fourth most socially prominent pony in Equestria. Do you understand?”
“Well, some of it. Jake is important just because of his breed? Alicorns being top of the heap hereabouts.”
“Very true. He is also the only stallion Alicorn. That has implications,” Luna said, waffling a bit, and clearly not sure how to proceed. She reminded Curry a lot of Old Ben when he had tried to talk to her about girl stuff. That realization caused the pieces to fall into place.
“You think they’re going to want to use Jake as a stud?” A moment later her triumphant expression at figuring it out turned to one of disgust. “Oh, eeew, no way. He’s just a kid. I don’t care how big he is.”
“Then you do understand,” Luna exclaimed in obvious relief.
“I don’t understand nothing except they’d better keep their cotton-picking hands... hooves, off of Jake.”
“That is what we wish as well. And it is why we wish to balance Jake tomorrow.”
“You keep saying balance. Just what does that mean?” Curry’s eyes narrowed and she laid her ears back. “Y’all had better not be talking about cutting him,” she said in a furious tone. “I won’t have it!”
“What? No!”
Luna’s expression looked truly shocked, much like the time Old Ben caught Curry sneaking out with the baseball he kept on his desk to use it in a pick-up game. That reassured Curry more than any words could.
“Nothing at all like that. What I mean by balance is that we wish to match his body to his mind. In short, we wish to reduce the age of his body so that it is the same as his mind. He can then, hopefully, grow at a normal rate into a fine and well-balanced stallion.”
“You can do that?” Curry asked in amazement. “Well. Yeah. I guess you can. You’re a magical Princess, after all.”
“It is not quite so simple. But, yes, Twilight and I believe we can do it. We merely need your permission.”
“Why?” Curry blurted out.
“You are his big sister, and he has no parents here. Who else would we ask for permission?” Luna said in a matter of fact tone.
“Well. Okay. Sure. I guess.”
Luna disappeared from sight like a soap bubble popping.
Curry blinked. “Well, that was rude,” she muttered.
***
Twilight leaned over and examined Luna’s sleeping face. When the princess was relaxed in this fashion, she really did not look like the stern Princess of the Night, But in fact was just slightly … cute. Luna did not have an easy time of it, Twilight knew. She had so many responsibilities and felt so guilty for her past sins. Twilight wished there was some way she could ease the burdens weighing down her friend. She lifted a hoof and used it to brush Luna’s mane off of her face.
A blinding light filled the tent, followed instantly by a crash of thunder so loud the ground shook.
***
The crashing rumble of the thunder that had jolted Luna awake was still vibrating in the air as she became aware of her surroundings, and the fact that she was being strangled by something purple.
There was another crash of thunder, even louder than the one that had woken her. Twilight screamed in Luna’s ear and the legs that were wrapped around her neck tightened even further as Twilight buried her face in Luna’s mane.
***
“I’m so sorry,” Twilight apologized to Luna in a mortally embarrassed tone. “Honestly, I’m not usually afraid of thunder. I was focusing on something, and it took me by surprise.”
“There is no sin, Twilight Sparkle. I was startled as well.”
“I don’t understand,” Twilight said. “There was no rain scheduled for tonight. I checked.”
“Oh, I believe you, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said in an even tone just as a drop of water fell onto her forehead from the suddenly leaking roof. She quickly used her magic to repair the small flaw in the canvas in order to keep her and Twilight dry.
“This situation is none of thy fault. I know exactly which pony is to blame here. There shall be consequences. Many and numerous consequences.” Luna chuckled, her eyes lighting up and a manic grin began to creep onto her face. She would come up with a perfect idea, a response worthy of the prank that had triggered it. She laughed in sheer joy, throwing back her mane and proclaiming her happiness to the skies in a peal of wild laughter that echoed across the clearing and caused more than one small woodlands creature to flee in panic.
Simultaneously, there was another crash of lighting that silhouetted Luna against the open door, followed by a truly horrendous boom of thunder as the skies opened up to drop what seemed a solid wall of water on their tent.
“O...kay, then. I guess smores are out of the question?” Twilight asked from where she was backed up as far as she could go into a corner of the tent.
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I say this chapter came together pretty well. That is the way I prefer to go camping.
Yeah, you're still rocking the Cruel Bitchlestia I see.
3892421 It is mostly just how IN YOUR FACE! the whole thing has been so far.
It had gone for way too long and you always made sure that it overtook every other plot every time it happened. People were definitely squicked with the mere idea of including what amounts preteens into the running joke
3892388
It's not so much of cutting the shipping, it's of it making sense. Build up and stuff. Nothing hinted to anything between them until suddenly they have feelings. If you go back and write about how Luna and Twi have had correspondence on their own, how they have found shared interests or something like that, it wouldn't be so jarring when it happens.
Something other than "Oh yeah, and these two have feelings for each other"
I have to agree with Georg this chapter really is well put together, and it is also the first chapter where all of the different elements you've been prepping have finally come together with you having all of your characters in one place and having met now, showing how well you've balanced the work as whole
Celestia prevented them from having smores? Gentlemen at times like these our capacity must be and has to be massive to deter all forms of aggression. TONIGHT THE ENTIRETY OF CANTERLOT'S CAKE SUPPLY BURNS!!!!
Nice to see Goose and Curry finally meet, I also se that Curry is a fan of HTTYD
3983924 It was Rainbow Dash... the clever, unsubtle Rainbow Dash indeed... at least I thnk she was.
Awesome
And Goose appears! So if Curry and Jake's adventures are far from done does that mean there will be a sequel? And would there be a change in theme? Maybe Curry gets that epic adventure she's been wanting.
3983197
Blame my skill as a writer. I tried to imply that Twilight and Luna had become closer right from their first appearance in this story, with Twilight linked to Luna's magic as she raised the moon and stars, and Twilight's fear that something bad had happened to Luna when she sensed Curry and Jake coming into this world.
I tend to let the characters take over the story when things are going well.
Right from the very beginning when I was working on them the two characters seemed to interact well together and it felt natural for them to have a connection.
3984713
the problem is that you never let the readers into that connection the two are supposed to have.
ANY hint towards their feelings would have helped immensely.
3984472
I have written in other fandoms, and one of my biggest problems was starting and not finishing. My biggest goal and focus is to simply make Jake and the Kid a complete story.
There is slice of life material I want to cover, like going to school, developing Curry's relationship with Fluttershy and making it official, and so on.
and not every single plot point in this story is going to be wrapped up, there will still be at least one major mystery that will need looking into.
3984717
Sorry about that, but 'I' didn't even know that they had those sort of feelings till they started interacting pony to pony and it just seemed natural chemistry at the time and I went with the flow.
Much the same thing happened with Fluttershy. I had every intention of keeping Curry and Jake together at Sweet Apple Acres, and then boom, Fluttershy put down her hoof and wouldn't take no for an answer, and I think the story is better for it.
One reason for the upcoming side story is to have a venue to address some of your concerns as far as showing character development leading to romance. Luna and Twilight at this point are not a couple. They have an attraction. Not the same thing.
now this type of interactions between Luna and Twilight would have been nice twenty chapters ago, things wouldn't feel so out of nowhere as they are now. It would be more of nice character development rather than I SHIP IT
Nice job using the show's singing segments into actual plot elements. Quite a nice touch having the parallels between the experiences of both groups.
Also, did Celestia fill in Rainbow into the pranking war, or they are both acting on their own?
3984985
Celestia arranged the rain storm out of revenge for Luna hanging 'that' picture in the main entrance way. Rainbow Dash is part of the weather team. So she did help round up the clouds and create the storm, but not because she was trying to prank or force Twilight and Luna together, but because it was an assignment.
3984409 Then why was it Luna who knew who created the rain? And declared revenge so massively?
3985044
I was thinking that Luna remembered Rainbow's MO from her first Nightmare night, you know single lighting at the worst possible moment, and Luna knows Twi thinks RD is messing with them.
3985292
Because there wasn't suppose to be rain according to the schedule, which meant that someone up high in the chain of command had changed it.
Plus, she knows that Celestia had gone out of her way to put Luna into a rickety old tent (where the storm would impact her), and the others into a protected, magical tent (where the storm wouldn't touch them).
3985292 you are right... my bad.
195,777 words, only 112 likes....
West's disrespect to work makes lenin cry
drawception.com/pub/panels/2012/6-29/NDEKgm2Q3Y-8.png
I really liked this. Thanks.
This... THIS CHAPTER.. it...
DAMN YOU. My feels hurt!
YES CURRY HAS POWERS NOW I HAVE BEEN WAITING TO SEE AND YEEEEEEEESSSSSSS
Sorry, I've been on a reading spree and don't quite remember if that was in this chapter. 
Balloons are always good. I love balloons.
remove
This is what I found for chapter 21.
9437171
Got. Thanks
Shouldn’t that be you’re?
9912250
I think you are right. I took this off a webpage that gave the lyrics, but maybe they got it wrong, or I transcribed it wrong.
I guess, that, was the weather "emergency", Rainbow was called away for.
I like your taste in music, that was just perrfection