Discord's Parting Gift to the CMC

by silvadel

Changing Dance Partners

The door to the train opened, and one of the guards approached the crusaders. "We have orders to escort you to Princess Celestia."

Scootaloo glanced about self-consciously.

Sweetie Belle was perfectly still, clearly weighing her options.

"What about my sister?" asked Apple Bloom. "If the train arrives without us, she will worry."

"Not my problem, Ma'am," replied the guard.

Scootaloo shrugged and exited the car, followed by the other two crusaders.

The guards formed a perimeter around the crusaders as they wordlessly left the station. Ponies parted like water, letting the contingent pass through. They kept a brisk pace as they climbed the path up to the castle. The guards at the gate stepped aside, and they entered without pausing.

One set of stairs, and a couple of hallways later, they stopped at a large marble door. The guard knocked twice, then opened the door revealing a rectangular room with an oval table, several ornate cushions, and a fireplace. Seated at the far end of the table was Princess Celestia, who was just finishing the task of moving many papers into a pile with her magic.

"Welcome Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom," said Celestia. "Please have a seat and be comfortable."

The crusaders entered the room, and the door shut behind them.

She waited while they took seats across from her before continuing. "I apologize for the brusque way in which you were brought here, and the manner in which I have treated you during the past month. I had insufficient information, and I truly thought it was in your best interest to test your resolve when it came to remaining as alicorns. As for intercepting your train, I wanted to warn you about Discord at the earliest possible moment. He was released from his stone imprisonment earlier today, and I have no doubt that he will be trying to contact you in the near future. He is dangerously unpredictable and if he tries anything, I would like you to notify Twilight or me immediately."

The crusaders' eyes drifted from Celestia to each other. They nodded as one, then turned back to Celestia.

Scootaloo frowned. "We are not babies who need to be brought around on a lead."

"You could've just asked," added Sweetie Belle.

"It was imperative that you came here quickly and without much notice," replied Celestia. "It is my experience that the ponies of Canterlot were looking at the guards and not you during your way here."

Celestia sighed and looked toward Scootaloo. "We are going to have to work together, and I just want to try to get onto the right hoof."

Scootaloo met Celestia's gaze and calmly asked, "This wouldn't have something to do with griffons, would it?"

Celestia softened a bit. "So you noticed the books." She thought to herself that this might not be as bad as she thought it would be. "What have you learned about the griffons?"

Scootaloo grinned. "I learned that King Piercing Crest probably made an error invoking the Treaty of Claw Falls."

Her grin widened as Celestia's shock was momentarily evident. "And if he thinks he can convince me to give up what they consider the illegitimate colony of Prance at the upcoming conference, he has another think coming."

"Discord was right," she mumbled to herself. "That was fun."

"So it was Discord that told you about all this then," replied Celestia with a small sigh.

Scootaloo smirked. "Nope, I knew about it over a week ago."

"And how did you figure this out?" asked Celestia.

"I have my sources," replied Scootaloo as she tapped her wing against the side of her nose.

"Uhm, Celestia," said Apple Bloom. "If it wouldn't be a problem, I'd like to try to catch the train before it reaches Ponyville. My sister will be awful worried if we aren't on it, and I have some pressing business to get to as well. Scootaloo can tell me everything that is said here."

Celestia momentarily grimaced before assuming a practiced neutral expression. "If you find that more important than this meeting, I won't stop you."

"Thanks," said Apple Bloom as she got up from her cushion.

Celestia called out to the guards, who opened the door. "Apple Bloom has pressing business in Ponyville. She is free to leave."

"Actually, I have some pressing business myself with Princess Luna," said Sweetie Belle. "If that is okay?"

"Really?" replied Celestia. "Stout Shield, please escort Miss Belle to Luna's quarters."

One of the guards entered the room. Sweetie Belle stood up and gave a quick bow to Celestia before following the guard out.

The door shut behind them and the room became suddenly quiet.

"Hopefully you will prove to have better manners than your friends," stated Celestia. "You will be needing good manners, and a lot of training to be ready to meet with Piercing Crest, regardless of what you already know. I can provide this here in Canterlot."

"And if I were to refuse," asked Scootaloo.

"Then I suppose Piercing Crest would come to you in Ponyville, which would be quite a bad thing," replied Celestia.

Scootaloo nodded.

"This way, you can also have the pony I trust most, to be at your side during the negotiations," said Celestia.

Without any horn glow whatsoever, Celestia's wings retreated into her form as her mane turned pink and she shrank to Scootaloo's height.

"Sunny Days can be your assistant on this," said Celestia.

"Neat, Sweetie Belle was trying to teach me how to do that," replied Scootaloo. "She said the most difficult part of the illusion was doubling your magical frequency so it wouldn't glow. I tried it and produced a blinding violet light instead. She frowned when that happened and made a comment that stealth might not be my strong point. I wonder what would happen if I halved the wavelength instead?"

"You would burn your horn off," replied Celestia.

"So you would be my assistant eh?" asked Scootaloo.

"Yes, Sunny Days, lowly government worker unicorn, at your command," said Celestia with a small bow.

------

Apple Bloom trotted briskly through the halls of the castle. As she approached the main gate, she broke into a canter, then took to the air.

She looked in the direction of Ponyville as she gained altitude. As she expected, the train was completely out of sight. If she was going to beat the train, and stop her friends and family from worrying, there was only one way to do it.

Magic for Bloom, was mostly an extension of herself. She could reach out to the clouds, just like she could reach out to a tree, and they would do what she wanted. Almost any spell she cast had that same feeling to it. There was only one form of magic thus far that kind of unnerved her. This was teleportation. There was simply something unnatural about it that did not fit with the way everything else worked.

She thought back to the safety lessons that Twilight had imparted strongly on the subject. "You must not ever teleport over a distance of two miles," said Twilight. When Scootaloo smirked, she continued more loudly, "That is the maximum distance where the safety measures can overcome the error of the spell. A one mile teleport could have you arriving a hoof's length below the ground, then shunting you back to rest on it. A five mile teleport could have you arriving entirely underground to die a horrible death."

Of course being alicorns, she and her crusader friends had easily discovered exactly why the princesses always did long range teleports by air. In clear air, it didn't matter even if you were off the length of a hoofball field.

She stretched out her wings, going into an easy glide, and steadied her nerves. She picked out a point in the distance maybe a third of the way to Ponyville, and pumped magic into her horn.

She felt a touch of teleportation vertigo as the scenery changed. She modified her glide to suit the different air currents, and cast about for the train. It was in the distance ahead of her. She flapped her wings and accelerated into a shallow dive, allowing her to both catch up to the train, and to attain the proper altitude to come along side it.

She peered into the window to make sure the car was empty, and blinked onto the couch.

-----

"I know the way there myself," said Sweetie Belle to Stout Shield as they slowly walked through the corridors.

They passed a pegasus who was going in the opposite direction.

"Do you attend to Luna often?" asked Sweetie Belle.

A unicorn with a serving tray crossed in front of them.

She entertained the notion of ditching the guard and heading up to Luna's quarters alone, but it wasn't worth the trouble if she were caught, and it would cause a lot of awkwardness when the guard arrived later.

The traffic reduced abruptly as they left Celestia's part of the castle.

She listened to the sound of their hoofsteps as they moved through the empty hallways.

When they arrived at the onyx door, the guard knocked twice upon it.

It slowly opened revealing Luna, who was sporting a fairly bad case of bed mane. "Are you here with my coffee?" she asked the guard before the door opened fully. She stretched and turned to Sweetie Belle. "And what brings you here at this hour?" Upon seeing the look that Sweetie Belle was giving, she added, "It's all right. I was already awake."

"I saw an art exhibit featuring you at the Maretropolitan Museum of Art," said Sweetie Belle.

"Yes, I heard they were putting that together but I was not aware that it was open," replied Luna.

"It isn't open to the public yet," said Sweetie Belle. "We just had the opportunity to see it."

"I trust it was done well?" asked Luna.

"Oh yes," said Sweetie Belle. "It was great, but I noticed something from the pictures. You have an interest in music?"

"After a fashion," said Luna. "I used to play all the time, and even composed a few works, but that was many centuries ago."

Sweetie Belle took a deep breath. "Do you know how to play the wind harp?"

Luna stared past Sweetie Belle for a moment. "How did you even? Yes, I am proficient in the wind harp."

"Could you teach me?" asked Sweetie Belle, her pupils dilating, an anticipatory smile on her muzzle.

"Now wait a minute," said Luna. "The wind harp is not an easy instrument to learn."

"I'm willing to do whatever it takes to learn it," said Sweetie Belle enthusiastically.

"I am not the best teacher," said Luna.

"You are a great teacher," replied Sweetie Belle. "We never would've been able to help that poor pony with the bad dreams if you weren't, and no other pony knows how to play."

"I am nocturnal," said Luna. "The only time such a thing could be done is at night."

"That isn't a problem," said Sweetie Belle. "I have to get up early for school anyway. I could adjust to waking up even earlier."

"And you would have to go to Canterlot and back all the time," added Luna.

"Flying here is no problem," said Sweetie Belle. "I could use the endurance training, and it would serve to make sure I was fully awake for the lessons."

Luna sighed. "You are dismissed," she said to the guard. "Come in then," she said to Sweetie Belle.

Luna shut the door without even looking at it as they crossed her chambers. On the far side, Luna moved a tapestry revealing a spiral staircase which Luna started to ascend. Sweetie Belle followed.

Hung on the walls were various musical instruments including the lyre she had seen depicted in a painting.

"As you might have guessed by now, I never lost my love of music," said Luna.

The stairs ended at a trap door in the ceiling which Luna opened.

"I come out here to play sometimes," said Luna as they passed through the opening and onto the roof of the bastion. "The acoustics are magically perfect, and the whole area is soundproofed so no other pony can hear what is played."

Her horn glowed with magic as two slots in the roof parted and the paired harps rose into view. "The wind harp can only be played outside. It never sounds right without a good flow of air." She flexed her wings and started to gently flap them. The wind currents from off her wings caused hauntingly lovely music to erupt from the harps.

Sweetie Belle instantly fell in love with the instrument. "Why?" she asked. "How could they ever have let something this beautiful fade from the world?"

"It is a very hard instrument to play," said Luna. "Only the most talented pegasi, who devoted themselves to it could ever master it. That was a different time. With the tribes coming together, something that set them apart didn't seem as important. Then the hard times during and right after Discord... No pony really had the time to learn it, and the ponies capable of doing so had more important things to do. I considered trying to revive it when things settled back down, but my sister thought it was better to let the new musical trends occur naturally and not to interfere. An instrument of pre-unification times that was already on the way out before Discord, that only a few pegasi could possibly play, was better left to the past."

Sweetie Belle cautiously walked up to the instrument, and carefully flapped her wings. The sound that came off the wind harps was awful.

"And that is why so few played it," said Luna. "Precise pegasus magic control in concert with her wings is the only way to do it. Now, are you certain you want to do this?"

"I want to learn," said Sweetie Belle.

"Then mind where you are," said Luna. "I will expect you here nightly, two hours before sunrise. You will have to come here directly by air, as coming through my chambers every night would cause the castle staff and myself undue hassle. If you are late then no lesson will be taught that night. If you do not show significant progress in three weeks, it is hopeless, and you will never ask me of this again. Do you agree to these terms?"

"Yes," replied Sweetie Belle.

"The first thing you will have to learn before you can even approach the harp is how to channel the air off each individual primary on your wings during a flap with no air being sent from any of the others," said Luna. "You will practice that during the day and be ready to perform that action off each feather correctly for me tomorrow night. You must be able to do this before the lesson."

"I will," replied Sweetie Belle.

"Good," said Luna, as she stared up at the darkening sky. "I must alight to my sister and perform my nightly duties. Be sure to master basic wind control before tomorrow night." With that, Luna took to the sky and flew off toward another distant balcony.

-----

Apple Bloom relaxed in the couch, and lazily watched the world go by as the sky darkened.

When the sunset had faded to blue, she stretched and looked at her giant stuffed teddy bear. She wondered what would have become of their possessions if the train had returned empty.

Her horn glowed as she gathered all their stuff into a pile. She held the pile steady as the train came to a halt.

Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack came into view as the train doors slid open. She trotted out of the car, the pile of stuff floating behind her.

"Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle are in Canterlot," said Apple Bloom. "I would be too, but I couldn't let the train arrive empty and scaring you all. Yes, we had a good time in Manehattan."

The welcoming committee stared amongst themselves before Rarity asked, "When should I be expecting Sweetie Belle?"

"I have no idea," said Apple Bloom. "Celestia warned us about Discord and was mostly asking Scootaloo a bunch of questions."

"So, you trotted out on the Princess?" asked Rarity.

"I had her permission to leave," replied Apple Bloom.

"What exactly did she say," asked Rarity.

"I think her exact words were, 'If you find that more important than this meeting, I won't stop you,'" said Apple Bloom.

Rarity fainted into her couch, while Applejack cringed, and Rainbow Dash snickered.

Apple Bloom looked back at the pile of objects for a second before looking at Dash. "Are you busy tonight, I have some...things I would like to discuss..." She turned to Applejack, "...if you don't mind that is."

"I was planning on spending some time with Scootaloo," said Dash, "so I'm open."

Applejack shook her head then said, "I guess if you can put off a princess, we can keep your dinner warm."

Apple Bloom's stomach growled. "Actually, Olov's?"

"Sure thing," said Dash.

Apple Bloom split the items between her sister and Rarity, then took off after Dash.

They flew at a brisk pace into Cloudsdale, landed directly in front of Olov's, and seated themselves in a secluded spot near the back of the restaurant.

Moments later an orange pegasus with a black mane presented them with menus and glasses of water. "My name is Jet Streak, and I will be serving you today. The soup of the day is minestrone. The special is Eggplant Involtini. The griffon cuisine special is a honey glazed salmon, if you are feeling adventurous." He looked up at Apple Bloom. "I'll let Olov know he has VIPs."

Olov was at the table soon after. "And where are your other friends," he asked.

"In Canterlot," replied Apple Bloom. "I ditched."

"Mhmm," said Olov. "Both specials are exquisite tonight, but I am always partial to salmon."

"I think I'll stick with the eggplant tonight," said Apple Bloom.

"Make that two," added Dash, "and a sparkling cider if you have it available."

"We do," said Olov. "Just got a new shipment in yesterday."

"Ever have sparkling cider?" asked Dash. "Two of those as well."

Olov bowed and backed away from the table.

"I'm surprised AJ doesn't make sparkling cider," said Dash.

"She thinks it's good enough as it is," said Apple Bloom. "At least she hasn't failed to sell out yet, so there has never been a need."

"Yeah, she sells out," grumbled Dash, then she downed her water in one go.

"You should ask her to save you a barrel," said Apple Bloom. "She would do that for you."

Dash looked straight through Apple Bloom. "She does that?"

"Well, thirty barrels goes to the Rich family each season," said Apple Bloom. "Putting aside one extra barrel wouldn't be a problem."

"I could have had..." said Dash quietly to herself. "Yes, please do that. Two barrels, no three."

"Ooookay," said Apple Bloom as Olov pushed a tray next to their table.

"Two eggplant specials and sparkling ciders," said Olov as he placed the meals in front of the ponies, the aroma from the eggplant wafting tauntingly from the plates, "complements of the house as always."

Olov wheeled the cart away.

Both ponies tore into their eggplant, contented smiles rapidly gracing both their muzzles.

Apple Bloom tried some of her cider and sneezed, eliciting soft snickers from Dash.

She tried a lesser amount, and considered the taste while minding the bubbles. "I think I like our normal cider better."

"It tastes better the second time," replied Dash, "but I don't think you just invited me here to drink cider and eat eggplant."

"Well," said Apple Bloom, "when I was in Manehattan I was pondering about my cutie mark, and the troubles I had with Mayor Mare."

"Mhmm," said Dash, as she finished the last bit of Eggplant.

"Since I can't make houses in Ponyville without problems," said Apple Bloom. "I had the idea of building some pegasus housing in the Whitetail Woods. It only takes a few houses to form a new town, and..."

"Fourteen," interrupted Dash. "It takes fourteen houses to form an official town."

"So you have already considered this?" asked Apple Bloom.

"Looked into it before I built my house," said Dash. "Then I found out that Ponyville still has to provide some basic services even if I am not part of an official town."

"But it would be better if you had an official town," said Apple Bloom.

"I guess," replied Dash, "but I like my privacy anyway."

"The other houses wouldn't have to be right next to yours," said Apple Bloom. "I could build them a mile away and it would still count."

"Two miles actually," replied Dash, "and beyond a hundred trots, I couldn't stop you from placing a town anyway. That's one of the problems of simply staking out a homestead."

"I wouldn't want to cause you any problems," replied Apple Bloom. "I just thought you might want to be a part of the new town."

"Well, there is more to founding a town than just building a few houses," said Dash. "Have you even thought of what it takes to be mayor of a town?"

"I was actually thinking of you as mayor," said Apple Bloom.

"Me?" asked Dash.

"Yes, I mean you are well known by all the pegasi," said Apple Bloom. "Many of the ponies who would live there work under you on the weather patrol, and just think of the look on Mayor Mare's face when she hears you are the mayor of a new town right next to hers."

"And where are you going to be getting the materials for these buildings?" asked Rainbow Dash. "You can make one cloud house from wild materials, but if you want to make dozens..."

Apple Bloom toyed with the last of her eggplant.

"But, I know a pony who deals in such things at pretty cheap prices," continued Dash. "He lives just one level below here."

"So you're game?" asked Apple Bloom.

"Argent Core," said Dash, "and I won't make any promises, but if things come together right, I'll give it a try. Let's go though or we'll be waking him up."

They left the restaurant and dove down the level. They passed several workable middle class cloud houses and business offices before stopping at a particularly bland square cloud building that abutted two others.

Rainbow Dash knocked on the door.

A stallion the color of dust answered the door. "Hey Dash, Ponyville need some extra cloud?"

"Not today, Argent," said Dash. "A friend of mine needs some class B residential for some houses she wants to construct."

He grabbed a clipboard off the wall with his wing, and flipped it over to his right forehoof. "And how much cloud are we talking about?"

"Two, maybe three houses of this size per week?" said Apple Bloom.

He pulled a pencil from off the clipboard with his mouth and checked a couple of boxes. "Delivery point?"

"Sweet Apple Acres, Po...Actually could you take it to the Whitetail Woods, two miles east of RD's house?" asked Apple Bloom.

"Block size?" asked Argent.

Apple Bloom looked to Rainbow Dash.

"He is asking if you need the cloud separated into uniform smaller units with a quick spray of grease, or if you prefer the cloud in larger blocks that you would have to manually split with your magic," said Dash.

"Can I have a mix?" asked Apple Bloom.

Argent checked another box.

"Length of contract?" asked Argent.

"At least a couple of months, but probably much longer," said Apple Bloom.

"Indefinite, with a one month notice of cancellation okay?" asked Argent.

"That would be perfect," said Apple Bloom.

"Method of payment?" asked Argent.

"Gemstones would be easiest for me," said Apple Bloom, "but it would depend on how much we were talking."

Argent checked a couple more boxes, then wrote a few figures with a flourish, and reversed the clipboard.

"Six thousand bits per month?" asked Apple Bloom.

"Try getting it for under ten anywhere else," said Argent.

"Cloud ain't cheap," added Dash.

Apple Bloom gulped and considered the pencil. She took it in her mouth and signed her name at the bottom of the page.

"Pleasure doing business," said Argent. "Your first delivery will be Friday evening, payment for the first month due on inspection." He separated the carbon from the form and passed a copy to Apple Bloom, then brought the clipboard back inside, closing the door behind him.

-----

"Your coronation as a princess is set for Tuesday," said Celestia, "a private affair that only a few select ponies will be attending, but something that must be done before the conference. I had hoped to wait for you to mature, but you declared yourself an adult the second your Alfredo went down your gullet.

"You are also going to need your own Captain of the Royal Guard. I would recommend Lieutenant Ardent Spear. He has been one of my most trustworthy guards for many years, and has had significant actual experience in the field. He also speaks fluent griffish."

"I already know who I want for my Guard Captain," replied Scootaloo. "Ruffled Bearing, the guard who was assigned to us on the trip to Manehattan."

"This is not a joking matter, Scootaloo," said Celestia. "Your Captain will be charged with protecting you from the many dangers that you may face. Your choice also reflects upon how you project to other ponies. Ruffled Bearing isn't even an officer. He has no major distinctions. Do you really want such a pony leading your guard?"

"He is exactly what I want," repeated Scootaloo. "The only reason he hasn't been promoted is because his talent is to not stand out among other ponies. I want a guard who will not stand out. Plus he talks to me, not over me, or around me. He is a pegasus, so he can go with me to places by air, and if he is as unnoticed as you say then no ponies will care that he wasn't an officer before this because they simply won't know. By the way, he also knows griffish."

"He wasn't supposed to be talking to you at all during that trip," replied Celestia. "He was supposed to be guarding you."

"Like that would have worked," said Scootaloo.

Celestia dispelled her illusion and glared at Scootaloo.

"He entertained us on the trip down," replied Scootaloo. "If he had done what you said, we simply would've teleported past him, and explored the rest of the train. Oh, and whoever's idea it was to dress him in that tuxedo is the one who should be talked to. It restricted his wings, and was about the worst possible disguise that could have been chosen."

Celestia sighed. "Ruffled Bearing it is then."

Celestia called out to the guards, and one entered. "Scarlet Sunset, please fetch Kibitz for me, then draft transfer orders for one Corporal Ruffled Bearing. He is to be brought to the castle with utmost haste."

The guard saluted and left, closing the door behind him.

"Kibitz is the very best at what he does," said Celestia. "It will be a burden losing his talents for the next month, but you need him more than I."

A bearded unicorn wearing undersized wireframe glasses entered the room.

"Ahh, good afternoon Kibitz," said Celestia. "I trust you have prepared the schedule for young Scootaloo here?"

"A little tight, your highness, but she will be adequately prepared," said Kibitz.

"I have every confidence," said Celestia. "Please brief Scootaloo, and get her settled into her room."

Kibitz bowed and walked toward the exit. Scootaloo followed after a moment's hesitation.

"I have done the preliminary work, and hoof-picked the best six ponies for your training," said Kibitz, "but it will take a strict adherence to schedule if you are going to be ready for your meeting with King Crest. You are a very lucky pony that they could fit your training into their own busy lives. Tonight, you are to meet each of them for a half hour introduction, followed by a meeting with Argent Spear, and then I will show you to your quarters."

"Argent Spear isn't going to be my guard captain," said Scootaloo. "I went with Ruffled Bearing."

Kibitz looked over his spectacles at Scootaloo. "Then I will schedule a meeting with Bearing, and advise Gerolt that he has an extra hour to use."

"Or we could, maybe, just settle in after the meetings?" asked Scootaloo.

"Every hour is precious," said Kibitz. "You are looking at twelve hour days until the conference, and it just wouldn't do to lose an hour this early in your preparations."

They walked briskly down several passageways and up a set of stairs in silence. "At the end of this hallway is your quarters," said Kibitz. "It is a diplomatic level suite and has all the amenities." He turned down a side passage. "The room behind the first door on your left has been converted into a magical training room. You will be taking your poise class and magic class there. All other classes will take place in the room behind the first door on the right. Meals will be served at the dining room at the end of this hallway. If you want to go anywhere else, or have any particular needs, pull the tasseled cord by your fireplace. It rings a bell downstairs.

Kibitz pulled a pocket watch from his vest, then said, "Steady Hooves should be waiting for you in the magic training room," and walked back the way they came.

Scootaloo tentatively approached the door and opened it, revealing a large rectangular room with a plain red carpeted floor that extended almost up to the ceiling.

"Positively ugly, I agree," said Steady Hooves, "but I was told it was the easiest way to ward the room against stray magic for your other class. I am Steady Hooves, and beyond teaching you how to avoid announcing your dislike for something to all who would notice, I will be showing you poise, court manners, and the basics of heraldry. I also hope to include a lesson on dance."

She opened her satchel and pulled out a measuring tape. Holding it between her hooves, she flew gently over to Scootaloo and took her measurements. "You will be needing a full set of clothes, and training in how to wear them correctly."

She flew back across the room. "Now let's see how you walk...No, head higher, slower, not so animated."

Scootaloo went back and forth several times, sometimes with china stacked on her head, some of which happened to break.

"We have a lot of work to do," said Steady Hooves, "a lot indeed." With that she left the room, and a youthful unicorn the same color as the rug entered.

He paced around Scootaloo. "I hear you have a lot of power, heck, I can tell that just looking at you, but no control. I also suffered from a lack of control, but worked hard over several years to bring my abilities under my command. You have not had the luxury of years, but hopefully in the next few weeks, we will be able to get you to the point where you aren't a danger with your magic."

"What does your cutie mark represent?" asked Scootaloo.

"That is a ball of fire," said the unicorn. "I am Crimson Blaze, by the way, but I prefer to be called Crimson." His horn glowed a soft red, and a ball of flame flew out toward the far wall. Before it reached there, it dropped to the floor and vanished in a puff of smoke. "Good, they didn't spare expense on the wards," he said.

He looked back at Scootaloo and his horn glowed brightly. Scootaloo teleported behind him.

"Very good, an appropriate level of action," said Crimson. "You never know who might be a potential threat. Magic defense is another thing I have been tasked to show you, how to judge and mitigate threats. Of course it would be an overreaction to teleport whenever a pony lights their horn, but in that case you were justified."

His horn glowed moderately and he teleported in a pitcher of water. He pulled a cylindrical device from his saddlebag, filled it most of the way with water from the pitcher, dropped a metallic ball into the water with a small splash, then capped the device. He placed it in front of Scootaloo. "I want you to levitate the ball to the middle of the range and hold it there."

She reached out to the ball, but it wouldn't move. Her horn glowed brighter and the ball shot up to the top of the device, the device itself floating into the air before it dropped to the floor.

"I want you to practice with that until you can easily hold the ball in the middle of the device," said Crimson.

Next Scootaloo crossed the way to what she considered a boring lecture on Equestrian law by a snooty old unicorn mare.

The history lecture had a little more hope because she was to be taught "some things that a pony wouldn't see in a normal history class."

Her current events lecture, on the other hoof, failed to show her anything that she didn't already know.

This left her waiting on the final lecturer, who turned out to be a griffon. She found Gerolt's lecture on griffon culture to be somewhat interesting. She was also taught a few basic words in griffish.

Her bedroom turned out to be a very opulent affair, but the only aspect of it that she noticed was the four poster bed which she sunk into without ceremony, falling to sleep almost before she hit the overstuffed pillows.

-----

What remained of the candle on Celestia's writing desk started to gutter and fail. She sighed and opened her nightstand with her magic. A new candle floated out and replaced the dying one.

Her eyes moved back and forth between the Equestrian constitution and the ancient black book that contained Starswirl's unfinished spell. She took a sip of cold coffee and trotted into her bathroom. She applied a minor illusion to cover the small bags she saw under her eyes, and returned to her writing desk.

A knock came at her door. She hadn't missed the sunrise in centuries and knew it was just a formality. She made her decision, and opened the door.

She wrapped the book in plain brown paper, and passed it to the guard. "Deliver this package discretely to my student in Ponyville," said Celestia, as she left her chambers to bring the new day to Equestria.

-----

It was a long, slow flight back to Ponyville. With each flap of her wings, Sweetie Belle tried to focus the wind off specific feathers, but no matter what she tried, the magic flowed off her wings uniformly.

She landed quietly in front of Carousel Boutique, and cast a simple spell to muffle the sounds of her hooves. Her horn glowed softly as she carefully opened the door. She climbed over a sleeping Opalescence, and walked up to her room without waking Rarity.

She sat on her bed and moved her wings as slowly as she could, concentrating carefully on each tiny movement, but it was to no avail, and she started to wonder if she was ever going to manage Luna's task. Reluctantly, she fell into a light sleep.

She awoke the next morning and flexed her wings. After a few more failures, it became obvious that she needed help. She rushed through her morning routines, then bounded down the stairs.

She said, "Hi Rarity," as she breezed past her, and into the kitchen. One quickly gulped glass of orange juice later, she said, "Bye," as she exited the boutique.

"Have a nice...day," said Rarity to the empty room.

She hoped she would make it on time as she cruised toward Rainbow Dash's cloud house. She stopped at the entry and gave the door a couple of rapid knocks.

The door opened and Rainbow Dash took a look at the winded crusader. "Whoa, what happened to you?"

Sweetie Belle shook some of the sweat off her mane, and replied, "Can you show me how to control the wind coming off each feather when I flap my wings?"

"Why in Cloudsdale would you need to do that?" asked Dash.

"I, it's for my sister, and for Princess Luna," said Sweetie Belle. "She will only teach me if I can do so and it is so hard."

Dash pondered this. "Well, in flight training we learned how to do quarters for some maneuvers, and I managed eights for one or two of my key tricks, but what would you need sixteenths for?"

"It is to play an instrument," replied Sweetie Belle. "The pegasus wind harp. Playing it requires that level of control, and I do not have it."

Dash looked at Sweetie Belle askew. "A musical instrument?"

"Yes," said Sweetie Belle, "the nicest musical instrument lost to time. It plays beautiful music and Luna will only show me if I learn this by tonight."

"By tonight eh?" said Dash. "They took over a week to teach the class quarters in flight school." She noted Sweetie Belle looking downcast and added, "But they didn't have a teacher as awesome as Rainbow Dash."

"So you'll show me?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"Sure," said Dash. "The weather is supposed to stay partly cloudy all day so there isn't much to do there. Nothing I can't ditch."

"Oh thank you," said Sweetie Belle. "I thought I was never going to be able to make the wind go off single feathers with no wind off any others."

"Wait a minute," said Dash. "You need no air off the other feathers. Not just all of the magic flowing to single feathers."

"Yes," said Sweetie Belle. "Any wind would make the wrong notes play."

Dash shook her head. "Now that's harder. She seriously only gave you one day?"

"Mhmm," said Sweetie Belle.

"Then the first thing you have to learn is wing neutral stance," said Dash. "In essence it's flapping your wings while using your magic to negate the wind coming off them. Your instincts will want you to have the magic flow out with each flap. What you need to do is reverse it. Think of lifting your wings while lowering them. Think of lowering your wings while lifting them. This will feel...weird."

Sweetie Belle took a few experimental flaps and grimaced.

Dash chuckled. "I need to go get some equipment, and find some pony to cover for me, so keep working on that, and feel free to raid the kitchen but mind Tank. He tends to be floating around somewhere, and you don't want to bump into him. This is going to be a long day."

Sweetie Belle watched Dash fly off as she continued to flap her wings.

-----

Apple Bloom awoke to the sound of a muffled explosion directly above her.

She shook the sleep from her eyes and examined the ceiling. Seeing that it was sound, she placed a small defensive shield around herself, then quietly crept out of her bedroom.

She checked each room of her house for intruders in turn. Finding none, she exited through a window, and flew a ways away to allow the entirety of her house to fill her view. She quickly noted a blackened spot on the roof.

A second explosion rang out and she saw a fine stream of ash fall onto the same spot that was already covered.

She examined the ash, but found nothing special. She got a cloth bag from her kitchen and levitated the ash into the bag in case she had missed something or needed evidence of what had happened.

She waited about as long as she could without being late for school, then sighed and departed.

Her brisk flight was barely fast enough for her to enter the building before the bell rang. All of the chairs were filled except for the three larger chairs set aside for the crusaders. The otherwise full room felt ominously empty without her friends, as she took her seat.

Cheerilee was marking the attendance in her book when Apple Bloom called out.

"Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were called to Canterlot last night by Princess Celestia," said Apple Bloom. "They are probably still there."

"I'll mark them as excused then," said Cheerilee. "Please give them their assignments when you see them."

She walked up to the blackboard, and started her lecture on the history of farming in Equestria. Apple Bloom's mind wandered off the lecture topic to what her friends were doing, if that black spot was anything, how long she would have to harvest gems to meet the upcoming payment, and how she would lay out her new town.

The topic was easy enough that when Cheerilee called on her with a question, she was able to answer it correctly despite not paying attention to the lecture.

The bell sounded for recess, and her thoughts turned to her lack of saddlebags. She had prepared nothing for lunch.

"You seem sort of lost," said Diamond Tiara.

Apple Bloom turned to Diamond Tiara who was the only other pony left in the room. "I've had a lot to think about lately."

"As have I," said Diamond Tiara. She moved her forehoof in lazy circles near the ground. "I-I'm sorry for how I've treated you. I never really had anything against you specifically, but when you joined up with the other two and... It just kinda happened."

"Really?" asked Apple Bloom.

"I just wanted to see if, if you would like to bury the hatchet and maybe be friends," said Diamond Tiara. She looked closer at Apple Bloom. "Do you want some of my lunch?"

An even more shocked Apple Bloom followed Diamond Tiara into the schoolyard, where they sat together at one of the tables.

Diamond Tiara removed her lunch from her saddlebag, and portioned the contents equally. "I hope you like peanut butter and raspberry jam."

They ate the meal in silence, then shared a bottle of apple juice.

"That is a cool cutie mark," said Diamond Tiara. "Have you set a date for your cutecenara?"

"No, things have been too busy," said Apple Bloom. "I reckon it will be sometime next week though."

Some time passed then Diamond Tiara asked, "Are we okay?"

An uncomfortably long time that was closer to half a minute went by before Apple Bloom said, "Yeah, we're okay."

The bell rang, and they and their classmates got back into their seats.

Apple Bloom was even more distracted during the math lecture that followed. She was thankful that she wasn't called on to answer any questions.

When the bell rang, Diamond Tiara trotted up to Apple Bloom.

"Oh, my father wanted me to give this letter to you," said Diamond Tiara, pulling a blue envelope from her saddlebag. "See you in class tomorrow."

"Til tomorrow," said Apple Bloom.

Apple Bloom watched Diamond Tiara trot away, then she turned toward the marketplace. She took to the air, the letter floating just behind her. She watched the ponies below, who were playing and talking as she passed. Landing a few trots away from her sister's stand, she closed the rest of the distance on hoof.

Applejack glared at Apple Bloom for a bit. "Finally found some time for you sister, I see," she said.

"Sorry, things have..." started Apple Bloom.

"I understand," interrupted Applejack, bringing Apple Bloom into a hug. "Things get more complicated as you get older."

"You don't know the half of it," said Apple Bloom. She passed the letter to Applejack with her magic. "Letter from Filthy Rich."

Applejack opened the envelope. "This is for you, not me."

Apple Bloom read the letter and sighed. "Seems I have been invited to the Rich estate for dinner. I don't suppose I can be too busy for it. It wouldn't be a lie."

"The Rich's are very important to the family business," said Applejack. After a short pause, she added, "You don't want to get into the habit of being too busy for ponies either."

Apple Bloom sulked.

Applejack sniffed at the air. "And be sure to take a bath and wear your fancies for the dinner. You want to make a good impression."

Apple Bloom kicked a rock across the square and started for the farm house.

"Don't act like it's a funeral," said Applejack loudly.

-----

Scootaloo awoke to a knocking at the door.

"Breakfast," said some pony outside.

Scootaloo opened the door with her magic without getting up.

A servant wheeled a tray into the room. "Eggs and," voice dropping to a whisper, "bacon." She placed a few letters onto the nightstand. "Also a letter from the Princess, and a schedule from Kibitz."

Scootaloo devoured the meal, too hungry to really care about what it was, then looked at the schedule. Her gaze wandered to an ornate grandfather clook which rested against the far wall.

The "letter" from Celestia was simply an invitation to tea, something that was already confirmed in the schedule.

She went into her bathroom and ran some water over mane, then wiped herself off with a nearby towel.

She opened the other door which led to a study. The room had a desk, a low set chair, and an empty bookcase. She opened a drawer in the desk and was rewarded with paper and ink. Another drawer had quills.

She hastily wrote a letter to Apple Bloom, and folded it into thirds. She thought of her clubhouse, the cloud dwelling Apple Bloom built above it, then she visualized it as if she were seeing it from above.

Keeping this image in her mind, she pumped large amounts of magic into her horn, and concentrated on the letter. It erupted into flames and vanished.

She looked up at the ceiling, sighed, then pulled out another piece of paper.

She rewrote the letter, then concentrated on the air around it. Her horn glowed brightly, and the second letter also burned, albeit less dramatically as it vanished.

She closed the desk and went to class.

-----

Sweetie Belle could see Rainbow Dash well off in the distance. As she got closer, it looked like she was carrying a small chest, and two fans.

Dash called out to Sweetie Belle as she landed, then she placed the fans to her left and right. "These are anemometers and will tell me just how badly or well you are doing with your exercises." She paused a bit then said, "When you are ready."

Sweetie Belle beat her wings and the meters started to spin. She tried again and they spun in the other direction. After a dozen more attempts she managed a single beat without them moving at all. Ten minutes later, she was happily flapping her wings up and down with no motion.

"Very good," said Dash. "You might have a future in stunt flying, but then of course that isn't what you are trying to do."

She opened the chest. "If you thought you felt weird before, that's nothing like you will be feeling in a minute." She grabbed one of the clip on discs with her mouth and mumbled, "These are dampeners. They are rarely used in the training of quarters when a pony can't get it down as a last resort. I never understood why though because they are so useful. I'd have started training with them."

She carefully attached one to each of Sweetie Belle's primaries except the first one on each side. "These will stop your magic from affecting your flight off the ones that are clamped. Hopefully you will be able to get a feel for how your magic flows, but even eighths are hard to do."

Sweetie Belle took an experimental flap and ended up doing a poorly choreographed flip, landing on her back. She returned to her hooves and pushed less magic into her wings as she tried again.

Dash moved the dampener from the second primary and placed it on the first, and she did a few more flaps. They repeated the process for each feather a good half-dozen times before Dash removed them.

Dash stood to the side of Sweetie Belle, and spread her wings. "I should be able to tell if you are doing it right, and by the way, it is definitely doable. I tried myself earlier and it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. After playing with it a while, I even discovered that a three-sixteenths made more sense for Spitfire's Hairpin than using a quarter, so this exercise improved my flying as well."

Sweetie Belle took a few flaps and Rainbow Dash frowned. They put the dampeners back on and tried again.

The sky was totally dark by the time Sweetie Belle managed her first successful attempt, and three hours later before she could consistently isolate each feather.

"I think you are ready," said Dash. "I hope it was worth missing a night's sleep over. Will you be okay to fly to Canterlot?"

Sweetie Belle flexed her wings and stifled a yawn. "I haven't gone this far to give up now. I'll make it to Canterlot and back for...Well, I can sleep through detention tomorrow."

"Good luck, kiddo," said Dash as she watched Sweetie Belle fly off into the night.

-----

Filthy Rich's Mansion seemed very plain compared to similarly sized houses that Apple Bloom had seen in her forays to Canterlot and Manehattan. If not for the size of it, the red masonry building would have fit anywhere in Ponyville.

She walked past a pair of columns that flagged the entryway, and pulled on a cord that hung next to the door.

Bells rang inside the structure and an elderly earth pony opened the door.

"Follow me," said Randolph. "Mr. Rich is expecting you."

The relatively plain exterior contrasted with the opulent interior of the mansion. Fine oak paneling with gilded design work covered both sides of the foyer, and continued down the hallway. The occasional painting graced the walls.

Randolph knocked once on a dark stained door on the right side of the hallway, then opened the door, and stood beside it.

Filthy Rich was seated on the far end of an oblong mahogany table. A single, ornately carved wooden bench was on the other side. Apple Bloom entered and sat down.

"Welcome to the Rich estate," said Filthy Rich.

A pair of servants emerged from a side door that blended right into the wall. One produced a very familiar looking bottle and poured a glass of sparkling cider into goblets for both ponies. The other placed bone colored neighponese plates, filled with some sort of crepe before each pony. They silently exited.

Filthy Rich gently picked up a goblet with a hoof, and said, "May our families prosper together for generations to come."

Apple Bloom reached for the goblet of cider with her hoof.

"Go ahead and use your magic," said Filthy Rich. "It doesn't bother me. I know I'd use it if I could."

They drank some cider then started in on their meals.

"Fascinating how a little extra processing can make a good product even better," said Filthy Rich as he took another drink of cider.

Seemingly the second they finished their meals, the servants took the plates away, and refilled their glasses.

Filthy Rich stretched out a bit then said, "Word has it that you signed a contract for a large amount of building supplies from Cloudsdale last night."

Apple Bloom glared subtly at Filthy Rich.

"Oh, don't be surprised," said Filthy Rich. "I have contacts in high and low places, even low places in high places, throughout Equestria. One doesn't get where I am in business without them, and it doesn't take a Manehattan MBA to figure out that when a pony with your talent makes such a contract that new buildings are about to be erected, cloud buildings, and the pegasi that will be occupying those buildings will likely be vacating housing here in Ponyville.

He took another swig of cider.

"This will have an effect on the local economy," said Filthy Rich. "Now we have had strong business ties to the Apple family for generations. It would be a sad state of affairs if anything got in the way of that."

"Is that a threat?" asked Apple Bloom.

"No, of course not," said Filthy Rich. "I just want to be here to help, and make sure you don't make any major mistakes. I know you aren't stupid enough to just give away the cloud houses you will be building, so you will be needing a realty. I just happen to run one."

"Sounds awful convenient," said Apple Bloom.

"Yes, it is," said Filthy Rich. "I want to be sure you aren't swindled by my competition, and that the houses go for a reasonable price. New businesses often make many missteps and I would like to be there to make sure you do not. Argent Core was about as good a choice as you could have made for materials without a business license, which is something you need to get as soon as possible. I can also line you up with a good accountant."

-----

Kibitz escorted Scootaloo to a small outdoor area off one of the castle's many towers. Celestia was seated on a cushion before a small round table, sipping tea. Scootaloo sat on the empty cushion on the opposite side.

"So, Scootaloo," said Celestia. "How are you settling in."

"I've been...busy," said Scootaloo. "Kibitz has me going all day, and any time I might have to myself is quickly devoured by overstuffed pillows in four-poster beds."

"Welcome to a princess sized schedule," said Celestia. "You never know how much time you had until you become a princess, and then it's too late."

"Doesn't it get better with time?" asked Scootaloo.

"That is the thing about responsibility," said Celestia. "If you actually care, you find yourself doing more as you get better at it, not less. And then you look back, but this is about you not me."

"But so long as you have friends," replied Scootaloo. "This coronation, I know you want it to be a private thing, but can't I at least invite my sister and fellow crusaders?"

Celestia sighed. "While that might make things easier for you in the short term, it is very important to keep this quiet for now. You need to prepare, and once it is common knowledge that you are a princess, you will find you have even less time than you do now. Maybe now you see why I tried so hard to discourage you from your current path."

"I still would have wished for being an alicorn," said Scootaloo. "It just feels right, beyond having usable wings."

Celestia drank some more of her tea. "I see you haven't touched any of yours."

"I never liked tea," said Scootaloo. "Rarity and Sweetie Belle tried it on me a few times, but it tastes like bitter grass."

"You get used to it," said Celestia. "You actually get used to a great many things."

"I noticed the bacon," said Scootaloo.

"Yes, while you have eaten meat, you will be needing to be comfortable with a wide variety of it," said Celestia. "If you don't want to show weakness in front of the griffons, you need to be able to eat it without your body betraying yourself."

"I understand, and really it isn't that bad," said Scootaloo.

"It was never something I managed to enjoy," said Celestia, "but you would never know it at a griffon dinner table."

"When will the coronation take place," asked Scootaloo.

"Noon, when the sun reaches it's apex," said Celestia.

Scootaloo tried a bit of the tea and winced, then put the cup back down. "I don't think this is something I will ever manage to enjoy."

"Give it a few years," said Celestia. "Either you will, or at least no pony will know that you don't."

Celestia drank a little more tea, then got up from her chair. "This was nice, but I have court to get to." Her horn glowed and she vanished.

Kibitz entered the veranda and fidgeted with his watch. "You are five minutes late for..."

Scootaloo teleported to the lecture room.

-----

After so much precise control, it was refreshing just to fly normally. Sweetie Belle relished the feeling of her magic and the crisp night air flowing through and around her wings. She continued to ascend, and turned toward Canterlot.

Canterlot was utterly dark, the ponies having long since gone to bed. She noted just how few ponies enjoyed Luna's night as she passed over the normally bustling, but now tranquil city. She made one final adjustment and turned toward the castle. She could see Luna, playing the wind harps, in the distance. The silence turned to music as she pierced the sound shield, and came in for a landing.

Luna finished her score and turned to Sweetie Belle. "You are prepared?" she asked.

"Yes," said Sweetie Belle. "I did as you asked."

"Verily?" said Luna in a half question as she walked away from the harps.

Sweetie Belle took her position, then inhaled a deep breath and closed her eyes. She reached deeply for her magic and channeled it through her first feathers while holding the air still with the others. A single pure note came from the harps.

Luna nodded, a faint smile across her muzzle, as she listened to Sweetie Belle cover the notes corresponding to all sixteen feathers.

"Next we will try a chord," said Luna. "Focus your magic through the first, fourth, and eighth feathers on each wing."

"What?!" exclaimed Sweetie Belle.

"That is a basic chord, a feather, a feather four below, and a feather three below that," said Luna.

"Yes, I know what a chord is, oh never mind," said Sweetie Belle.

"You will be using up to six feathers at a time when performing," said Luna. "One couldn't play much just using single notes. Maybe an exercise first. Try the first feather and the rest of the them in turn."

The first note pair worked fine, but Sweetie Belle struggled through the rest of them. On her third try, she mostly succeeded.

"Now try the first and the fourth," said Luna. "And the second and fifth, good."

The moon was nearing the horizon by the time she managed to pull off a chord.

"I did not expect you to even manage my original task," said Luna. "I figured it would dissuade you. I am proud to admit to being wrong. Be here tomorrow at the same time, and we will continue."

Sweetie Belle watched a tear fall to the ground as Luna launched herself into the air.

-----

Scootaloo crossed the hallway to her last class of the night, and sat down at the lone desk.

Professor Memorial Script started droning into his history lecture.

Scootaloo wondered how he could remove any sense of fun from a discourse on the first contacts of the zebra and equestrians, a topic that should have been interesting. It was then that she noticed the book he was reading from. She raised her hoof.

A couple of minutes later Memorial noticed, and paused his exposition.

"What is that book made of?" asked Scootaloo.

"It is bound in dragonscale," said Memorial. "The residual magic of the scale helps fuel the preservation spell on the paper, and of course it helps protect the contents from damage."

"I find this topic fascinating," said Scootaloo. "Could I borrow that book so I can read more about it after class?"

"Those were good times," said Memorial. He levitated the book across the room to Scootaloo. "If you are going to be reading it directly from the source, I will move on. With the successful diplomatic missions with the zebra under Celestia's belt, Equestria turned its attention to the south. In a show of strength, both diarchs led a force a thousand hooves strong into the badlands. They hoped that Jade, the then current changeling queen, would finally give them an audience, and maybe normalize relations...

"...And so the second invasion into Equestria by the changelings ended with a dead queen. The changelings were not seen in Equestria after this for thousands of years. Thus concludes the lecture."

Scootaloo trotted directly to the writing desk in her back room.

She carefully unwrapped the binding of the book, and placed the insides into one of the drawers of the desk. She calmly wrote a letter to Apple Bloom, then folded it in half, and placed it inside the dragon scales.

She thought back to her lecture on magic, and wrote out the formula for the energy requirements of a long distance teleportation. She plugged in the distance to Ponyville, and used the minimum weight as her letter weighed under half the weight of a pony, then stared at the number.

She glanced at her letter, resting in the binding from the history book. She would only have one chance. Her calculations were rough and her control marginal. Though the formula came out to about half what she used before, she thought the scales should help protect the letter, and if she put in too little magic then this would all be for nothing.

She took a deep breath and visualized Apple Bloom's cloud house from above, then carefully channeled about two-thirds the energy she used this morning. The scales glowed then vanished.

-----

Apple Bloom awoke at the crack of dawn. She packed her lunch, some extra water, a shovel blade, and a mining pick head into her saddlebag. She tested their balance then walked out her door.

She leapt into the air and flew out a few trots, then turned around to look back at her house. There was a hole in her roof.

She re-entered her house and climbed up to the attic. The floor was slightly bowed and in the depression was a metallic looking rectangular object.

She reached out with her magic and drew the object to herself. It was two cut dragon scales with a piece of paper inside.

"Apple Bloom,

I hope this reaches you safely and on time. I am still at Canterlot and will be for the next few weeks. At a private ceremony with no ponies I know, I am going to be crowned a princess at noon tomorrow (Tuesday). It would be so much better if you, Sweetie Belle, and Rainbow Dash were here with me for the ceremony. They are treating this like a state secret, and have kept me busy constantly since I arrived. There have been some good times as well though. You should have seen the look on Celestia's face when I chose Ruffled Bearing as the head of my guard.

Soon-to-be Princess Scootaloo.

PS: I removed the binding from a really old book to protect this letter. Please bring it back with you."

Apple Bloom descended the stairs and removed her mining implements from her saddlebag. She exited her house and flew straight to Rainbow Dash's cloud house.

She knocked on the door, then again a few seconds later.

A frazzled looking Rainbow Dash emerged. "Kind of busy today, Apple Bloom."

"Too busy for Scootaloo's coronation," said Apple Bloom, showing the letter to Dash.

Dash blinked twice, read the letter, and then smiled. "Give me a minute."

Dash rushed back into her house and Apple Bloom heard the running of water. A short time later, Dash re-emerged wearing her gold laurel from the best young flyer's contest, and the gold sandals from her gala dress.

"I hope Sweetie Belle is back from Canterlot," said Apple Bloom. "She wasn't in school yesterday, and she wouldn't want to miss this."

"Oh, she's around," said Dash, as they both took to the air.

Rainbow Dash and Apple Bloom landed in front of Carousel Boutique. Apple Bloom gave the door a couple of firm taps.

They heard movement inside the house, then the door partially opened revealing Rarity. She looked at Apple Bloom and said, "Sweetie Belle isn't feeling up to school today. She caught a feather virus and looks awful."

Dash stepped up to the opening. "Oh my," exclaimed Dash. "Feather viruses can be serious. I should really take a look at her."

Rarity looked concerned. "Is it really that bad?"

"Well, if it worsens into feather croup she could be laid up for weeks without treatment," said Dash.

Rarity opened the door, and admitted Dash only, standing in the way of Apple Bloom when she tried to follow. "She is upstairs."

Dash quietly climbed the stairs, opened the door, and closed it behind her. Sweetie Belle was sleeping soundly on her bed.

Dash bit the edge of her sheet and pulled it off Sweetie Belle with a single practiced motion. "You're lucky your sister knows nothing about pegasus ailments. There's no such thing as a feather virus."

"I didn't feel..." said Sweetie Belle.

"No time," said Dash. "Scootaloo is being crowned today, and you're invited, well by her if not by Princess Celestia, so if you're up to crashing a coronation, we have to go."

"But my sister," said Sweetie Belle.

"I'll handle Rarity," said Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash climbed back down the stairs with Sweetie Belle shakily following. "She is already starting to cough. Thankfully, we have the proper remedies in Cloudsdale, but I have to get her there immediately before she worsens."

Sweetie Belle coughed twice.

"I'll take good care of Sweetie, I promise," said Dash. "She'll be right as rain tonight."

Rarity was about to make a comment about what Dash was wearing but they were already out the door.

Apple Bloom passed the letter to Sweetie Belle, as the three of them took to the air.

"Rarity isn't going to be pleased she missed this," said Sweetie Belle.

"It looks like all of Equestria is missing this," said Apple Bloom. "That letter broke through the roof of my house, and I am guessing that was her third attempt at sending it."

"She sent it straight from Canterlot," asked Sweetie Belle.

"That she did," said Apple Bloom. "and it kind of explains the loud noises and ash on my roof yesterday."

"But that distance," said Sweetie Belle to herself.

They kept up a brisk pace to Canterlot, then flew rapidly over the bustling city itself, landing right next to the gate guards at the castle.

Rainbow Dash walked up to the guard. "We are here to see Scootaloo."

"Scootaloo is busy at the moment and is not seeing any pony," said the guard.

"Well we're her friends, and she is going to be having a coronation soon, and we have been invited," said Rainbow Dash.

"Unless you have a note from Princess Celestia to that effect, you are not cleared to see Scootaloo," said the guard.

"Then let me see Princess Celestia," growled Rainbow Dash.

"Princess Celestia is busy at the moment," said the guard.

"Let me handle this," said Sweetie Belle to Rainbow Dash. "May we see Ruffled Bearing then?"

She overheard the guard asking the other guard, "Wasn't he the one who was just attached to Canterlot?"

"I'll go fetch him," said the second guard.

"I don't see how..." started Rainbow Dash only to be interrupted by a hoof motion by Sweetie Belle across her muzzle.

After silent minutes that seemed like hours, the guard returned with Ruffled Bearing in tow.

"Hey Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom," said Ruffled Bearing. "Here to see Scootaloo?"

"Yes, we're here for her coronation, and these guards were giving us a hard time," said Sweetie Belle.

Ruffled Bearing presented a paper to the guards, and they choked as they read it. They assumed a formation, then saluted Ruffled Bearing, and as one said, "We are sorry, sir. We didn't know, sir."

"At ease," said Ruffled Bearing. "Knowledge of my promotion wasn't to be formally announced until later today. Now I hear you were giving these fine ponies a hard time."

"We are sorry, sir," said one of the guards, "but we were given strict orders that no pony was allowed to see Scootaloo today, and we were following those orders."

"And the coronation is being held where?" asked Ruffled Bearing.

"In the western courtyard, sir, in twenty minutes," replied the guard.

-----

Scootaloo awoke to a frenzied knocking at her door. She reached out with her magic, revealing a quartet of servants, and Kibitz.

"Up up," said Kibitz. "Big day today. It wouldn't do to be late to your own coronation."

Scootaloo yawned and stepped out of bed, then was practically shuffled off to her bathroom.

Two servants started drawing a bath while the other two started working on Scootaloo's hooves. She balked a bit but that just led to her hooves being held tighter.

Resigned to her fate, she tried to think of other things like if her friends would be coming, while the ponies scrubbed her fur, then oiled her wings.

When they were satisfied with her appearance, she stepped back out of the bathroom to see Kibitz looking at his pocket watch. He slipped it into his vest, shook his head, then said, "Special class with Steady Hooves, then the coronation proper, a meeting with your guard captain, and classes in the lecture hall."

Scootaloo cantered out of her room, down the hall, and into the training area. She saw Steady Hooves holding the ugliest dress she had ever laid eyes on.

She fidgeted a bit, as the ungainly thing was placed upon her. She felt constricted as her wings chafed a bit through the holes in the dress. Fabric trailed behind her, threatening to trip her with any movement.

It took over an hour before she could even trot in the thing to Steady Hooves' satisfaction. Steady Hooves then went over the ceremony, and corrected Scootaloo's responses several times.

She opened the door and Scootaloo passed through it. Kibitz was waiting. The pair walked down the hall, carefully down the stairs then hung a right, and snaked their way around the castle into a wide passage.

Ahead of them, they saw Princess Celestia, Prince Blueblood, and a couple of guards waiting outside a pair of large double doors. They swung open on their approach and the group passed through the opening.

The solar and lunar flags flanked the entry to the courtyard. The rays of the sun on the bright green of the grass provided a more natural look than the stale marbles and stonework of the castle interior.

Celestia walked across the grounds to a raised dais on the other side. Kibitz and Prince Blueblood sat to either side of Celestia, while her guards stood behind her.

Scootaloo slowly marched to the center of the courtyard, and sat.

"We are gathered here today in celebration of a momentous occasion," said Celestia, who then paused for effect.

"While Scootaloo ascended through unusual means, her heart is pure and her motivation sincere.

"Do you Scootaloo, accept the responsibilities and privileges of being a Princess of Equestria, to serve to the limits of your abilities, and never betray the harmony of this land?"

"I gladly accept the responsibilities of being a Princess of Equestria," said Scootaloo. "I pledge to serve the ponies and to protect the spirit of this land to the best of my abilities for as long as I shall live."

Celestia levitated a crown onto her head, and she was suddenly able to see the true forms of the guards in front of her through their uniforms.

"Stand Scootaloo, Princess of Equestria," said Celestia.

She met the gaze of Celestia, both doing an eighth bow, then met Blueblood's gaze who did a half bow.

She did an elegant turn in place, and saw her friends waving to her from the entrance to the courtyard.

She cantered straight toward them, and into a giant group hug complete with nuzzles.

Comments

[Night_Moon60606]

dont take so long with the next one please...i know it will likely take quite a while, but i greatly enjoy this story, and would like to see it continue...

[Mad Maudlin]

Poor Celly must be shitting flaming blood over all this. Things are spinning out of her control and this time the cause is immune to the Rainbow Enema.

[silvadel]

5510724

It shouldn't take nearly as long. The next chapter is a "special" chapter though. "Pandemonium in Ponyville" will be taking place during the time of Magical Mystery Cure. I'll go more into why it is special when the writing of it gets closer to completion and I am certain it works as well as I think it will.

[TheGreatEater]

5510725

, Who would ever have guessed that Discord would one day make something that could have full imunity to the Friendship Pwnlazor of Doom? And yeah Celestia isn't all that subtle over her unbriale dislike of things messing with her master plans. Thus the book she's giving to Twilight.

Wonder how the CMC are goin to react to Princess Celestia dangerously interfereing with their families lives (Rarity's switched CM. Cooked ponies red, Coated them in layers of ice, massive bodily injuries and property damage; Pinks murdered large swaths of Sweet Apple Acre's, and Dashie almost got cooked in a stew by Apex predators and even non carni/omnivores wanted her cooked.), as well as the horrible shift of treatment from CMC compaired to Twilight Sparkle? (CMC get no fiancial, mentorly, princessly support from Tia (Sweets has Luna at least).

Yet Twilight gets stipends, a schedual to shape as she pleases (which is filled with friendship Spend Time, which she gets paid for.), has very few Royal Duties, and has the friendship, support, and aide of Luna, Tia, and Cadance. Pluss the biggest, most oppulent, most extravegant Coronation ever ... after being a Princess for a day. The CMC have been Alicorns for like a week now. No love.

[silvadel]

5511873

Yes, Celestia had a lot more reason to give that dangerous book to Twilight here, than she did in canon. It seemed pretty reckless to me for her to have done it when she did and how she did in the actual series.

As for their reactions to Celestia over MMC, Twilight never really came clean in MMC. If she had, the town would have reacted negatively toward her. The only ponies who actually knew the truth of the whole matter were Twilight herself, Celestia, Spike, and eventually the other bearers, who (from what we saw in the episode) wouldn't believe her until she figured out the whole memory thing late in the episode. I don't even think she told the bearers about Celestia's involvement in it. You certainly didn't see her trying to get Discord to fix things in canon. Assuming she asked Celestia about her woes upon messing up the elements, Celestia certainly would NOT encourage her to go cry to the town that she had made a terrible mistake. That said, if you are looking for a touching moment where Twilight confesses her sins to the CMC and apologizes for what she did to their sisters: That won't happen(at least not THIS century). She is living with her guilt. It wouldn't even be likely for any of the bearers to volunteer that information to the CMC after the fact because all it would serve to do is cause a rift with Twilight Sparkle.

Also, the time is currently weeks, not week.

[TheGreatEater]

5512066

I wanted to say weeks, but I wasn't sure. As for the CMC. I thought they would've been smart enough to figure it out seening as how at first their sisters (or in Scoots case, honorary sister (did that happen in this universe?)) go from nomal to having switched CMs. And if it's a magically induced problem it's usually Twilight that causes it, if it wasn't caused by the CMC themselves.

But with how awesome the CMC are, and how they know that accidents happen. They'd forgive her. After all she's a friend of their sisters, and later on in the show their friend as well. As well as them knowing way more than most ponies, that ponies make mistakes that they never thought of, and things happen. It's not like Celestia's note started off with "Do not read these near the Elements of Harmony, and don't read it out loud. This is the unfininshed ....".

But yeah MMC needed to be a multi-parter and better written. They really rushed that entire episode, and did a lot of lazy writing to spead on the birth of Princess Twilight.

I'm not worreid over a rift of them and Twilight. I can see Scootaloo, venting to Twilight, or even talking to her and her friend Luna eventually. But I can see them becoming friends. If not a more Princess oriented version of Twilight Time. And I know that while Twilight never told them of Celestia's involvement, and lived with the memory of her mistake (like with the Smarty Pants Incident, or when she tried stopping time forever), I can also see the Element Bearers trying to keep it a secret. But with Discord pre-released, and "friends don't keep secrets from friends" excuse. I can see him letting that slip to his "Alicorn buddies". After all what sort of friend would let such a "deep", and "potentially harmful" secret stay that way? Especially since "it could cause more harm than good if it ever gets out later rather than sooner."

*Dies laughing* Not only would that be the perfect excuse of a Discord learning friendship, but would let him stir chaos without doing anything implicitly wrong. Other than pissing off Celestia. Although as I said above. The CMC wouldn't blame Twlight, and would know that accidents happen. Celestia on the other hand for not making it set up to be safe for their sisters? I can see either confronting Celestia (scootaloo), or talking to Luna before going to Celestia (the rest, and Scoots if the rest talk her into doing the smart thing).

Edit:

Sorry for the long reply. I just can't help but be excited and invested in this fic.

[Bugsydor]

Glad to have you back.

And what a grand re-entrance you've presented us with! So many plans have gotten rolling, and their collisions are a sight to behold. Discord would be proud of the fruits of his labors.

[ChibiChabot]

Cute! I like this fic. Thanks for sharing!

[LostUmbrella]

I always thought strange how many ponies acted towards the CMC after their ascension and in light of their future coronation... I'm glad somepony is getting on a saner conduit, even if it surprises me it's Diamond Tiara...

Anyway, always a wonderful work, continue like this

[silvadel]

5515273

Consider the timing of when DT came around, and the actions surrounding it.

Also no pony really knows about the coronation except those that were there (including the gate crashers), the ponies involved, and a few more guards.

Plus there is no such thing currently in the immediate plans of Celestia for the other two crusaders.

[ViktornovaMk2]

Celestia seems to be doing a great job at alienating the newest alicorn fillies of Equestria
That is probably going to bite her in the plot later

[Jphyper]

It's nice to have an update, and the chapter was interesting, but the OOC behavior really spoiled things for me. It seems strange to have anypony besides Twilight using technical terms. I'm certain that canon Dash wouldn't even be able to pronounce half the words she used here, let alone known what she was talking about. You have her talking about stuff she supposedly learned in school, but you seem to have forgotten that she's a dropout. It's unlikely that much of it stuck. She's no idiot, but she doesn't have the booksmarts shown here. Almost all of what she knows about flying is due to talent.

tl;dr version: What you have in this chapter isn't Rainbow Dash; it's Twilight Sparkle wearing a Dash costume.

[silvadel]

5526347

Well, Dash does know what an anemometer is. As for dampeners, they were something she used to figure things out faster herself as opposed to doing it "the hard way." What other technical terms did Dash use in the chapter? She just was a bit in her element training a pony for flight stuff. I went and looked at the Dash/Sweetie segment and I didn't see much in the way of technical. I looked at the Dash/AB segment and even more there, she was herself. She remembered how many people there was needed to found a town because she was interested in knowing that at one point, and she doesn't really seem to forget stuff.

Just looking for examples where you thought Dash was "off."

[Jphyper]

5526526 I think it's mostly just Dash knowing about magic. I can buy that she knows what works and what the procedures are, but I doubt she'd know or be interested in the specifics of how or why it works. That's book smart stuff, and it's been shown that Dash isn't very good at learning that way. In addition, the innate magic used by pegasi has never been directly referred to as such in the show; it's only been strongly implied. They never actually use the word "magic" to describe it. For example, it wasn't said that Tirek stole "pegasus magic"; Celestia said he stole "flight". Maybe "energy" would be a better word for Dash to use instead of "magic".

Having made that suggestion, my mind went off in a tangent, picturing Sweetie Belle correcting Dash whenever she said "energy" instead of "pegasus magic", but Dash keeps forgetting and uses "energy" every single time. That part's not seriously part of my suggestion; I mostly just wanted to share a mildly amusing mental image.

[silvadel]

5526832

Well I will say that Testing 1-2-3 broke a lot of headcanon for me with regard to Dash. I *REALLY* didn't like the changes in Dash that that episode made (which were not supported before that). Dash knows how to read and is not rusty at it. If she were that very averse, she wouldn't have been able to easily read Daring Do in 2/16. Skills unused tend to fade. Beyond the (I remember everything I see gimmick) and the ADD disorder in a classroom environment (which paradoxically would end up driving her to books as she is shown to pick up NOTHING in a classroom), what hurt the most was an utter disregard for pegasus history. Up until then, it was pretty strongly implied that she had at least a thing for Commander Hurricane and such, IE pegasus history at least from a heroes point of view. To find she had no interest at all just smashed into headcanon. It also did affect this chapter. It kind of pained me to show her as having no interest whatsoever in the wind harp, just interest in helping a friend and defeating a challenge. Such was not initially planned and had this chapter come out last year, that section and some things coming off it would have been done a bit differently.

One other thing about her teaching methods. She taught by doing, even going so far as to obtain the props to support such a style. There was not a whole lot of background given into the whys or hows.

I still hold though, that whether she likes it or not, she does have to do some planning for her tricks and such, and she does have enough technical knowledge in that field to come off the way she did with Sweetie Belle. It just means that her focus is more narrow than I would have assumed before that episode in season 4.

[Jphyper]

5527858 I suppose you have a point. However, there's still the small issue of the fact that ponies rarely, if ever, refer to pegasus magic as magic. I stand by what I said about Dash using a different word for it.

[silvadel]

5527933

And I'll agree that it could have been funny to do...

"You will feel the energy flowing through..." said Dash

"Magic, not energy," said Sweetie Belle

"Whatever," said Dash...

...but it is not something I would add after the fact, and it is debatable if having that in the scene would have made up for how much it would have broken the scene up.

[Jphyper]

5527963 The correction thing wasn't a serious suggestion. It was just something funny. It was the part about not using the word "magic" that was the serious part.

[HarmonyRain]

I half expected scoots to snarl at blueblood as she walked past him!

[Dragonlover553]

Dash failed to account that there were almost definitely more students than teachers when she learned.

[FacadeArt]

Oh hey that cover...

I...

I made that cover, I drew it, its my work O_o

You...probably asked me to do it? I have forgotten

[silvadel]

6255410

Um, actually, you volunteered. It was fanwork.

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[FacadeArt]

6255849

RIGHT! Yes! Well Im glad youre using it

I read a story and realise I made its cover 2 years ago, still an awesome story even after all this time

I could do more fanart, I have improved a lot

[silvadel]

6257104

I have been thinking. The picture I was going to use for the outside chapter (the tsc xover) was the screenshot of discord twirling his baton in the truancy uniform. Thing is in reality of the scene, Sweetie Belle is in a defensive posture talking to discord at that moment with the diamond between them and her horn lit green (as opposed to the blue it would normally be in my fic, green being her her canon color). Another potential one from the early chapter/sidefic would be SB(TSC) looking off the edge of Luna's tower in the before sunrise pensively. Anything else would be far too complicated scenewise to be worthwhile, especially with how very small the pics are on fimfiction these days. If anything that made your initial picture all the better because it stands out even in a very small picture, while something more complex would not.

As it is there are a very limited number of chapters left before the main story completes.

[josue]

6260548 more you beautiful bastard you mad genius

[silvadel]

6748696

Was very busy over the whole month of December. Things are finally quieting down. Note I am following the order stated in the blog. The last thing I wrote was between Misty Midnight and Scootaloo in the PH prequel (and no, do NOT read PH right now -- that thing will be getting a ton of changes/updating to(or in a couple of places from) canon that hadn't happened yet when the original was written depending on what is being talked about).

[TheGreatEater]

and the pegasi that will be occupying those buildings will likely be vacating housing here in Ponyville.

needs end " marks.
_______________

[Luckyfanisaac]

A stallion the color of dust answered the door. "Hey Dash, Ponyville need some extra cloud?"

I picture his voice like Batman or someone who smokes.

The topic was easy enough that when Cheerilee called on her with a question, she was able to answer it correctly despite not paying attention to the lecture.

Reminds me of a movie where a girl was sleeping in class then the teacher called on her. She got every question right and then the teacher say, “You can go back to sleep now.”

She went into her bathroom and ran some water over her mane, then wiped herself off with a nearby towel.

Try the first feather and the rest of the them in turn."

Sweetie Belle watched a tear fall to the ground as Luna launched herself into the air.

Awwww

"Stand Scootaloo, Princess of Equestria," said Celestia.

Might I suggest that Scootaloo be the Princess of Awesomeness?