• Published 21st Jan 2013
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Apple of My Eye - musicalreader



What happens when you make a wish on a falling star? well, if you're dreaming, Princess Luna might just help you out with it. And you may find yourself transformed, and living a life of romance, adventure, and craziness befitting Pinkie Pie... m

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Welcome to Ponyville: Take 2

Apple of My Eye- Ch. 28

Welcome to Ponyville: Take 2

AKA- Reintroductions Are Weird…



No matter how he looked at it, Orion couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of déjà vu...

They were currently about five minutes out from Ponyville air space, but instead of the golden chariot that he had ridden on the first time, he was in the same chariot that Luna pulled out on Nightmare Night, alongside the six element bearers and Princess Luna…

“Are you sure that nopony’s going to give you grief, walking around town without a disguise?” Orion asked, turning to Luna and noting that she had not donned her usual disguise.

“Of course… our subjects may not spend as much time outside at night as I would prefer, but they have come to at least afford me the same respect as Celestia.” Luna said, reassuring the grey Pegasus wedged between her and the side of the chariot.

“Besides, she’s not coming into town in the middle of a magically induced lightning storm and wearing a cloak made out of living bats!” Rainbow said, poking fun at Luna’s first attempt at a real public appearance in Ponyville.

“Well Rainbow Dash, we could always shoot YOU into the future by a thousand years or so and see how well YOU adjust…” Luna replied icily.

“Now will the two of ya just simmer down already? It’s bad enough flyin’ way the hay up here… Ah don’t need tha two of ya rockin’ tha cart and flippin’ us over.” Applejack begged, leaning over the side and looking green.

“Ooooh! Does this mean that you’re susceptible to your personal sense of equilibrium going on the fritz?” Pinkie asked, staring intently at the side of Applejack’s face.

“…… Twi’, little help… Ah’m too sick ta translate Pinkie inta normal Equish.”

After thinking for a second Twilight nodded to herself and patted her friend gently on the back. “She asked if you were prone to getting motion sickness… but since you handle train travel just fine, I’m assuming that she meant specifically getting sick in the air.”

“Not normally… but those Night Guards of Luna’s fly lahk a bat outta Tartarus!” AJ replied, shooting the bat winged Pegasi what was probably meant to be an angry look, only to have the expression interrupted by hurling up her breakfast over the side of the carriage, glad that they were flying over a deserted patch of woods.

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Meanwhile, in an isolated wood, Lucky Clover, so named for the astounding luck that he brought to those around him, was just exiting his tent and taking a deep breath of fresh morning air. Letting loose a deep yawn, he stared out from the copse of trees and admired the picturesque view of the morning sun gently peeking over a hill in the distance. Not for the first time, he was appreciating the fine work that was Celestia’s sun…

“Wow… I have to remember to go camping out here more often…” he said to nopony in particular, as the sounds of chirping birds pierced the quiet.

As he closed his eyes to appreciate their soft melody, he felt a shadow falling over his face, and cracked an eyelid open just in time to see a glob of… something… careening right at him!

“Buck!” he swore, diving to the side just in time to avoid the wet projectile. He picked himself up off the ground and walked over to inspect the offending glob.

“…… Seriously fellas?” he said, looking up at the trees, and more particularly, at the birds, “Who just tried to crap on me, huh? Was it you? Yes you, the blue one… no not you… the OTHER blue one… Well come on, I’m not going to get mad, I just want to know who did it.”

While he was busy interrogating the local wildlife, Lucky failed to notice the much larger glob of ick heading straight for his head…… a glob that was most definitely not the fault of even the largest bird…

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“……… Did anypony else hear that?” Orion asked, looking at the group of mares seated in the chariot with him. “I could have sworn I just heard a filly screaming her head off…”

“It was probably just the wind.” Rainbow Dash said dismissively, relaxing against the side of the chariot and somehow managing to push her way in between Orion and Luna. “Happens to me all the time when I race over Sweet Apple Acres. Except that it usually sounds like somepony yelling at me to stay out of their trees…”

“Cuz that’s me, ya idgit!” Applejack said crossly, no longer throwing up over the side (a side effect of no longer having anything left IN her stomach to get rid of), and now lying on her back staring at the clouds in an attempt to avoid further feelings of wretchedness.

“Really? Huh… Well then you need a sign or something so I remember.” Rainbow replied dismissively.

“Ah already put up a dozen of em right under yer nappin’ spots!”

“Okay… everypony calm down…” Orion said, rubbing his temples with a hoof, “I’ve got a headache, and the arguing isn’t helping.”

“I’m sorry about the headache Orion… that one is most likely my fault…” Luna said softly, looking at him guiltily.

“…What do you mean?” he asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. Normally he wasn’t this surly, but his head was hurting him more than one of Berry Punch’s hangovers.

“Well… we may have sort of accidentally dropped you last night…” Luna said, looking over at Applejack and Rainbow and glaring, “SOMEpony distracted me last night while I was carrying you back to the castle…”

“Hey! I said I was sorry.” Rainbow answered, her wings ruffling slightly with irritation, “Besides, it’s your own fault for losing concentration when me and AJ started talking abou-”

Her words were swiftly cut off as Applejack shoved her hoof in Rainbow’s mouth, shutting her up rather quickly.

“What she’s sayin’,” the orange apple farmer said, glaring daggers at Dash, “Is that we were all getting’ in a heated discussion about some things, and Dash said somethin’ that threw Luna fer a loop, an’ she dropped ya… ta be fair, Ah was a bit too stunned ta catch ya mahself…”

“What were you three talking about?” Orion asked, a growing sense of concern nibbling away at the back of his mind. “I mean, what the hay could possibly distract a goddess?”

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As the three mares trudged up the main road towards the castle, Rainbow Dash began to lag a bit behind, getting suspiciously quiet…

“……Have either of you ever noticed that Orion has a birthmark on his sheath?” Rainbow asked, looking around his haunches at the other two mares curiously.

“What?!” Luna exclaimed, her magic faltering from the shock of such an absurd question, and sending Orion crashing to the ground on his head in the process.

“Rainbow!” Applejack shouted, blushing furiously and glaring at the Pegasus indignantly. “What the hay were ya doin’ lookin’ there, and what the buck is wrong with ya that ya gotta go and do that kinda stuff without his consent?! There’s a reason Luna an me are walkin’ up here!”

“I don’t wanna wear the tie to school…” Orion muttered weakly from his place on the ground, prompting the three mares to crowd in around him to inspect the damage. “All the other kids are gonna laugh at me…”

“Uh oh… I think that I broke him…” Luna said, concern flooding her tone as her horn lit up and she did a cursory scan to look for any serious damage.

“Ah, he’s fine… Pegasi are built for crashing into the ground. I do it all the time and I’m doing alright.” Rainbow said dismissively, “Besides, his leg’s twitching! So he's probably fine.”

“His leg’s twitchin’ cuz SOMEpony had ta go and gawk at the poor fella! … An Ah’m willin’ ta bet that fallin’ on his head ain’t helpin’ none. Besides Dash, ain’t nopony built ta go crashin’ inta the ground as much as ya do… if it weren’t fer the fact that the ground around Ponyville’s nice and soft, ya woulda cracked yer head open ages ago…”

“Perhaps we should hurry back and have one of the palace doctors take a look… just to be safe?” Luna suggested, looking at Applejack, who nodded in agreement.

“This time, why don’tcha set him on mah back, that way he doesn’t fall off if Rainbow says somethin’ ELSE stupid…” AJ muttered to Luna, who nodded, the two of them shooting a look of shared annoyance at the loud Pegasus, who was currently poking Orion’s flank with a hoof.

“Enough of that.” Luna said briskly, her magic enveloping Orion and hovering him over to lie across AJ’s back, not unlike a young foal.

“Awww… but it was so funny. His leg would twitch every time that you poked him where his cutie mark should be…” Rainbow commented glumly, pouting a bit as they continued walking back to the castle.

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“…… Hello? Is anypony gonna give me an answer?” Orion asked, looking between the three blushing mares.

“Nope.” Applejack said, shaking her head vigorously, “Don’t worry about it sugarcube… It was just Dash bein’ herself… startled me and Luna is all…”

“Don’t worry about it too much Orion… let’s just say that it was a minor bit of plot development.” Pinkie said, patting him on the back gently and giggling as her friends gawked at her for her choice of words.

“… Were they telling stories or something?” he asked, confusion written clearly across his face.

“Orion, remind me when we get back to Ponyville to give you a crash course in Equestrian slang…” Twilight said, shaking her head.

“Okay…. Why?”

“Because sometimes your obliviousness is painful to watch…” she muttered, turning away and rolling her eyes as she pulled a book from her saddlebags titled, One Thousand and One Great Dates.

“What is that you are reading, Twilight Sparkle?” Luna asked, leaning over curiously.

“It’s a book that I bought in Canterlot. With Hearts and Hooves coming up, and Sunny getting the time off to come to Ponyville, I’m trying to get ideas to make the day something to remember.” Twilight answered, blushing embarrassedly. “I don’t usually read these kinds of books, but this one is less of a self-help guide, and more of an index, so it’s not so bad…”

“Well, the most important thing to remember is this Twilight, no matter what you do to show your feelings to somepony, make sure that they’re sincere, and flashy isn’t always as important as the meaning behind certain things…” Orion said, sounding uncharacteristically sage.

“He’s absolutely right darling.” Rarity chimed in, nodding her approval at the grey Pegasus, “For example, a bouquet of flowers can be a wonderful gesture, but any stallion or mare receiving flowers would rather receive a single flower that is their favorite, than a dozen flowers meant to simply be a hollow gesture.”

“And something that you both have fond memories of can seriously make the difference between a great date, and a horrible one. Like, if you know that the other pony enjoys walking a forest path and simply talking. Just doing that with them, especially if it’s not necessarily something you enjoy doing, will mean a lot more to somepony than spending a thousand bits on renting out a restaurant for the two of you…” Orion added, smiling softly.

“Well said Orion.” Rarity commented, smiling at her friend and mentally taking note of the three mares staring intently at the stallion; their faces a mix of awe, confusion, and contemplation.

“And uh, just how didja get so smart about datin’?” Applejack asked, leaning forward anxiously. “Ya never really struck me as the kind a pony that was all that interested in relationships…”

“Well, it’s not that I’m not interested in relationships… I’m just not always the most noticed out there… so I kind of just stick to the background. It’s less hassle, and I get to see so many amazing things that happen around me. It’s kind of like being in a play… you know that you can interact with the actors on stage, but you’re just as happy to sit back and watch how everything unfolds… I probably sound a bit weird, but I just don’t see why anypony would notice me when there’s all these other amazing folks in Equestria.” He answered, looking down and halfheartedly smiling.

If he had taken a second to look up, he would have no doubt been more than a bit shocked by the teary eyed stares of most of the mares in the chariot.

“Well… maybe this week will surprise you…” Rainbow Dash said, unusually soft spoken, her usually rough tone somehow sounding smoother. “I mean, this is the week when everypony seems to find the guts to tell the pony they like, just how they feel… and, you’re more special than you realize Orion…”

“Ya got that right.” AJ agreed, smiling warmly.

As more murmurs of agreement filtered over to his ears from the others in the chariot, Orion felt a comforting sense of warmth washing over him… as if the mares were chipping away at a layer of ice that had entombed him… Before he had a chance to respond though, one of the guards yelled back that they were beginning their descent into Ponyville Proper.

“…… It’s gonna be a bit weird… I haven’t been me in Ponyville in a while… hope I still remember some of that stuff Big Mac taught me.” Orion commented, speaking more to himself than anyone else.

“I wouldn’t worry about anything Rory. The random stampede of mares isn’t due for at least another chapter, and you won’t be the only stallion, so at least you’ll have some company!” Pinkie Pie interjected, complete with one of her signature ‘shouldn’t-physically-fit-on-her-face’ smiles.

“…… Does anyone know what the hay she’s talking about now?” Orion asked, looking around at six other totally confused faces.

“Just smile and nod…” Fluttershy suggested, speaking for the first time since they took off… wow, she REALLY didn’t like being off the ground this high up.

“And get ready partner… yer about ta get off a private ride with four single mares, an ex-model, the most powerful Unicorn in Equestria, and a Princess… it’s gonna get interestin’.” Applejack said, standing between Orion and the exit to the chariot.

“HEAR YE HEAR YE, THE PRINCESS OF THE MOON, THE NIGHT, AND THE STARS, IS AMONG YOU!” One of the guards belted out, his compatriots opening the back of the chariot, “ALL WILL BOW FOR HER MAJESTY, PRINCESS LU-OW!”

The herald was cut off in the middle of his little speech by a hoof smacking him in the back of the helmet. A hoof that belonged to none other than Luna, who was frowning and trying not to look too embarrassed by the stallion’s antics.

“That will be enough from you for now Private…” Luna said through gritted teeth, letting out a breath and trying to remember what her plan had been for introducing herself to the town for her extended stay…

“Princess… not to rush you or anything, but everypony’s staring now…” Twilight said, stepping out of the chariot along with the rest of the group that was now shuffling their respective hooves and trying not to look in the direction of the Night Guard nursing a sore head.

“Errr… right…” Luna responded eloquently, looking around at the crowded plaza of ponies staring at their little group curiously, “As I was saying… Citizens of Ponyville! It gives me great pleasure to announce that I will be taking up temporary residence in your town. In order to better know the common pony, I have chosen to come here as myself. Should anyone wish to speak with me for whatever reason, they may approach as if I were any other mare of the land. I do not wish to be viewed as your Princess, but as your friend.”

A number of nods came from the crowd, who were now looking at each other and smiling. For all the chaos that living in Ponyville usually brought with it, it was moments like these that made it worthwhile. After all, royalty seemed to visit Ponyville much more often than they did a place like Manehattan.

“Well, that seemed to go over well.” Twilight commented, surprised at how different Luna seemed to be received as opposed to her annual visit on Nightmare Night. “Now I think that we should probably go over to the Mayor’s office. Orion will need to fill out some paperwork to receive his royal stipend for his new home, and you’ll probably have to fill out something or other since you’ll be staying for a while with armed guards…”

“I can take Luna to the mayor’s office.” Orion volunteered, “I’m sure that you all have things you need to do, seeing as we all took a bit of an impromptu vacation…”

“Ah’m comin’ with ya.” Applejack said matter of factly, “Even with Luna walkin’ next ta ya, yer gonna have ta go past the Flower Trio, and Ah trust em about as far as Ah can throw em.”

“… We’re not so sure that you would have difficulty in throwing anypony should the need arise….” Luna commented, less than happy about having an escort, but not one to actively object.

Without much more discussion (partially due to the Lunar guards being mobbed by a small army of mares) everypony went their separate ways, Luna, Orion, and Applejack heading off to the center of town; Rarity, Twilight, and Fluttershy heading for their respective homes to make sure that nopony/bunny/dragon had razed their house to the ground. Rainbow and Pinkie meanwhile, had seemingly vanished…

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She was a ninja… there was no way that anypony could see her, much less follow her… her very being was made of shadow, and her every action an exercise in control and stealth.

Her mark was approximately twenty feet below, flanked by the enemy on both sides. Both enemy forces could just as easily outpace her mark if they tried to run for it, and one of them was a magic wielder that could probably match her own speed in the sky… this would not be easy… she would need perfect timing, the element of surprise, as well as a safe house for her and the mark to rest at once they had escaped to safety…
She needed complete focus… no distractions…

“Hey Dashie! Whatcha doing?”

“BUCK!” Rainbow swore, almost jumping out of her skin and the cloud she was hiding in. “Pinkie Pie! What the hay are you doing inside a cloud?! And why the hay did you interrupt me? Can’t you see that I’m trying to be awesome!”

“Sorry Dashie.” Pinkie replied, obviously not sorry, and tapping her hoof on the thatched roof she was standing on, “But I mean, it’s not very hard to find you when you’re the only cloud on top of Lyra’s house, and your tail is poking out. Besides, I’m here to help you out silly!”

At her friends words, Rainbow had to take a moment to admit to herself that, as amazing as she was… puttering around at roof level in Ponyville might not have been the most subtle way to spy on Applejack and Luna…

“…Okay… so you’re here to help, huh? Pinkie, do you even know what I’m doing?” she finally said, appraising the pink pony critically.

“Well duh.” Pinkie said, blowing a raspberry at her pragmatical, prismatical friend and rolling her eyes in ways that should not have been physically possible. “You want to make sure that Luna and Applejack don’t steal away Orion before you have a chance to tell him how you feel in a really dramatic and awe inspiring way that will make him fall in love with you, then you two will kiss and cuddle and do all kinds of things that can’t really be said explicitly in a story with a Teen rating because it might ruin whatever innocence the readers have left! And I’m just the mare to help back you up in all that! I’m stealthy, clever, always have something for the occasion, and above all else… I have moustaches for us to wear when we’re planning our next cunning plan!”

“………you know what, I’m not even going to try and make sense of half of what you just said… you’re in…” Rainbow said, resigning herself to the fact that Pinkie was now her partner in crime. Well, not really crime… more like amorous mischief, but whatever…

“Great!” Pinkie exclaimed happily, “So… what are we doing?”

“You… but… huh?! Pinkie! I thought you already knew what I was doing!” Rainbow said exasperatedly

“Silly Dashie. Just because I break the you-know-what doesn’t mean that I understand it all… so what are we doing besides stalking our friends?”

“……Well right now I’m just trying to see where Orion’s going to be living… then I’m thinking I can fly ahead and be the first to greet him when he walks in… you know, something kind of sweet, but not all mushy…”

“Awwwww… That’s so sweet Dashie! Tell you what, you stay here, and I’ll go find out that address for you!”

“Really? Thanks Pinkie!” Rainbow replied, giggling, “And here I was scared that you were gonna turn this into one big game or something.”

“Nah… I don’t play around when I’m trying to play matchmaker.” Pinkie said, rolling her eyes and waving a hoof dismissively. “Now you stay put, and your Auntie Pinkie Pie will be right back.”

In a poof of pink and white, Pinkie Pie materialized on the street of Ponyville…… somehow squeezed into a full body latex stealth suit with night vision goggles……

“……It’s just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie…” Rainbow started chanting to herself, watching as the extremely conspicuous mare dodged, dove, dipped, ducked, and dodged from one piece of cover to another.

Some of the things she pulled off didn’t even make sense to the observing Pegasus. There was one moment in particular, where she jumped headfirst into a rain barrel, managed to not disturb the water in the slightest, didn’t even push any of it out of the barrel, then SOMEHOW managed to reappear on the opposite side of the street, poking her head out of a display of carrots… she then proceeded to follow the trio of ponies INSIDE THE TOWN HALL, with a cardboard box on top as her only cover… and ponies just moved out of the way like there was nothing out of the ordinary…

“…One of these days, I’m going to figure out how she works…” Rainbow Dash swore to herself quietly, peeking out of the low hanging cloud and rubbing her temples with her wingtips and relaxing into the fluffy cumulus, resigned to waiting the remaining time out…

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“Well Mr. Borealis, it seems that everything’s in order.” Mayor Mare said kindly, rolling up a scroll and handing it to a messenger, waiting off to the side, “All you have to do now is go to the realtor’s cottage to the right of the Spa, and they’ll have a list of possible housing options for you based on your available stipend and personal preferences… as for the remainder of your stipend, I believe that the bank will have more information on that once you are squared away in terms of housing. Do you have any other questions?”

“No ma’am, you covered just about everything.” Orion replied, smiling warmly, “I’ll just wait out in the hall while you and Luna work out whatever you need to.”

“Alright then dear, and you come see me if you need anything else.” The tan Earth Pony said, holding the door open for him and ushering the waiting Princess inside.

“Thank you for seeing me on such short notice Mayor.” Luna said, nodding in greeting.

“Oh it was no trouble at all. In fact, things have been quiet, even by Ponyville standards, so there wasn’t much on my plate for today besides a meeting later tonight with the planning committee for a Hearts and Hooves Day dance.” The Mayor shrugged off, waving a hoof dismissively and settling behind her desk. “So, we’re here to set up a temporary housing situation for yourself and I believe three guards? I also received the stipend order from your sister this morning, so it’s just a simple matter of discussing some living options for you and getting you to sign some paperwork.”

“About the stipend Mayor…” Luna said, interrupting the grey maned mare, “I actually checked my old bank account with the First Royal Bank of Equestria… and I don’t believe that funds or stipends will be an issue…”

“Oh? Well that’s wonderful, cuts down on my paperwork at least. How much would you like to withdraw from the local bank?”

“Well obviously not all of it… as I’m sure that were I to take everything out of my account at once, I’d end up bankrupting Ponyville for a little while…” Luna commented, looking away a bit embarrassed.

“Oh I’m sure that it couldn’t be that much…” Mayor Mare said comfortingly, “Our bank is more than capable of handling just about any monetary withdrawl.”

Luna didn’t say anything, simply materializing a notarized copy of her bank statement and showing the total figure to the elected official.

“…………wow…… that’s a lot of zeros…” Mayor Mare said dumbly, a small string of drool escaping her mouth as her eyes quadruple checked the number in front of her.

“As I said, I’m not going to be withdrawing all of it… but I was wondering if I might be able to get your assistance in a small matter…” Luna said, her regal air returning the politician back to her senses.

“Oh! Yes, of course… and what might this matter be, Princess?”

“Well… I wish to participate in this ‘Hearts and Hooves Day’ holiday… and I’m trying to get a certain somepony to see em the way that I see them… and since courtship practices have changed severely since I was last interested in anypony, I was wondering if you could offer some suggestions.” Luna admitted, blushing slightly and secretly thankful for her dark coat.

“… I’m afraid that I don’t exactly follow…” Mayor Mare confessed, looking at Princess Luna quizzically. “Do you need help finding a date for Heart and Hooves Day? I’m sure that there are more than a fair share of available stallions that would be happy to date you… or if mares are more to your liking, this town certainly has an abundance of eligible bachelorettes… but I’d think that Canterlot has more ponies to choose from.”

“I-wha-but-NO!” Luna objected adamantly. “No… Mayor… I’m asking if you can recommend any places to take a stallion for a date, or any idea for how to woo said stallion… picking a pony to pursue is not the issue here, but figuring out how to get his oblivious flank to see me the way I see him IS!”

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Outside in the hallway, Applejack and Orion were chatting happily about nothing in particular, when Orion’s ears suddenly started twitching.

“Huh… that’s weird… somebody must be talking about me…” he noted idly.

“What makes ya say that?” Applejack asked, looking at her companion curiously.

“It’s a thing from my old home… basically if your ears were burning, someone was talking about you.”

“Huh… sounds lahk Pinkie Sense if ya ask me.” AJ responded nonchalantly, waving a hoof dismissively at a box in the corner of the room that was shaking ever so slightly as it edged towards Orion and Applejack.

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“……You mean that young stallion standing out there right now?” Mayor Mare said dumbly, wondering not for the first time that day, whether or not her ears were still working the way they were supposed to.

“Yes, for the fourth and final time, YES. I’m trying to get him to look at me the same way that I have begun to look at him. Now can you help me? Or should I find someone else to get advice from?” Luna said, a bit snippy, but she’d answered the Mayor’s question more than an acceptable amount of times already.

“Well, I’m not exactly the best to talk to about dating stallions… I’ve always been more interested in mares personally, but I would think that the whole process is similar…” the grey maned mare replied, her brain finally deciding to come back online.

“And just how does courtship happen these days?” Luna pressed, letting out an agitated sigh. They were making headway, but not nearly fast enough for the Lunar Goddess’s taste.

“Well, I’d suggest finding something that the other pony either really enjoys, and using that to get their attention long enough to show them how you feel… a common one for stallions is to bring them flowers or something equally pretty. And a little physical contact, like an affectionate nuzzle or a kiss on the cheek wouldn’t hurt… just be careful not to be too aggressive, or you’ll scare them off, and probably get slapped with a sexual harassment charge.” Mayor Mare continued, tacking the last part of her advice only after she saw the scheming look quickly overshadowing Luna’s face.

“Hmmm… this is indeed interesting… thank you Mayor. If this all goes well, then I shall be back to get further advice from you. In the meantime, please, accept this as a token of my thanks.” Luna replied, regaining her self-control enough not to let a cheshire grin run across her face as she handed the Earth Pony a small slip of paper with a number written on it… a number that could be cashed at the nearest bank for immediate use… and what a number!

“Oh it was no problem at a-HOLY HORSEFEED!” Mayor Mare exclaimed, her eyes bugging out as she saw what was written on the slip of paper. “…… Well… looks like we’re going to be getting that new roof for City Hall after all… and probably a new building to go with the new roof…… and a pool…”

“I hope that the gesture is not too much.” Luna said, feeling a little awkward after seeing the Earth Pony’s reaction. “I do not wish to offend.”

“No, no, no… it’s perfectly fine Princess… just, unexpected…” the Mayor responded bashfully, trying her best to regain her composure. “And, like I said, if you would like any more relationship advice, this is the week to ask around, or come talk to me if you’d like. I’ll share what I can with you, and there’s no charge, and no tip required.”

“Thank you Mayor. Now, I believe that I have kept my companions waiting long enough, so we’ll be on our way. Oh! I almost forgot, can you recommend any good local attractions that might help in wooing him?”

“Well… I haven’t had any really personal interaction with him, but I believe that there have been a few mares talking about a grey Pegasus that will sometimes walk through town singing to themselves… so maybe a nighttime stroll through one of the local trails? Or one of the musical performances that the local hangouts have throughout the week?”

“Excellent!” Luna said loudly, beaming as she hugged the Mayor, “Thank you madam Mare, I believe that this will be more than enough for a starting place! And I do hope that that money will serve you well in your post.”

“Oh it was my pleasure Princess Luna. Now, you go enjoy your stay in Ponyville, and remember, my door is always open.” The tan mare responded, waving at Luna as the Princess left her office.

“We shall remember that, and visit you then!” Luna responded, throwing open the doors to the office and practically prancing out to the main lobby.

As the door shut, the grey haired pony breathed a sigh of relief.

“I swear… this town gets nuttier and nuttier every week… but at least now we have a Princess around, what could go wrong with royalty visiting?”

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Somewhere in a tower in Canterlot, Celestia watched the whole exchange in one of her mirrors and tried not to choke on her tea as she laughed…