Another Equestria

by Lamia

~ Chapter 4: The Home

~ Chapter 4: The Home ~

I regained consciousness with a start, my eyes groggy and not wanting to open right away. Stretching my legs out and yawning, I found I had something attached to me. I rubbed my eyes and looked to my left side; seemed like I took the doll of the princess while I was sleeping. Letting out a giggle at having done that, I placed her back in the corner where I originally saw her.

Raising myself up in bed, I looked around, still somewhat asleep. I felt quite rested after that great meal lastnight, and sighed happily. Looked like I was still in Prairie Fabric's house... Then everything that had happened the day before wasn't a dream. Prairie herself was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Angel. Where could they have gone? I hopped out of bed and then used my quick bed-making spell to make it look nice and tidy. There, good as new; I smiled to myself.

There was a large mirror hanging on the wall next to the end of the bed, so I went over to take a look at myself: typical bed-mane. I straightened my coat and my mane and tail carefully with magic as with every morning. As usual, I couldn't help but turn my head and give an enchanting glare at my reflection. I guess that sort of thing is unavoidable. In any case, one thing down for the morning routine.

The next was breakfast. I always have some lettuce in the morning. I hope Prairie won't mind if I take a couple leaves off one of the heads in her basket here... Opening the vegetable container, I saw a small head of lettuce and a few celery stalks and carrots. It was rather empty; she no doubt used most of it for lastnight's dinner. I could go with her later today to shop while we're out for the festival. Ripping out three broad leaves with my magic, I carried them in my mouth as I left the rest in the basket, closing the lid.

Munching on one while holding the extras in levitation next to me, I mentally checked off the breakfast portion of my morning routine. After breakfast was a little bit of cleaning; however, this wasn't my house, so I couldn't impose, could I? Still, it did look like it needed some dusting and bits of straightening up here and there... I'm sure she won't mind. I performed a recall spell on the nearest dusting tool within the house. A simple feather duster flew in my direction from one of the upper cabinets that just opened. This should do fine.

---

I was happily cleaning for a little while when I heard a knock at the door.

"Who could that be?" I automatically looked in the direction of the sound. Setting the small feather duster down on the counter, I trotted over to the door and opened it. There was a well-dressed unicorn mare to greet me, who was holding a scroll out in front of her; I couldn't see her face as a result. She cleared her throat and began reading it out very officially.

"Prairie Fabric, your estate's tax is past due. Please provide us the required one hundred-fifty bits or your... ahem... dwelling will be confiscated and you and your possessions evicted by this evening." A hundred and fifty bits!? That's crazy for such a small house! Even the tax on my old house in Canterlot never rose past seventy! Trottenheim must be seriously inflated... I saw her close the scroll and look at me, making her widen her eyes.

"Oh...! My mistake, milady! I had thought that a hornless was living at this... location." Her look of disgust with the mention of this house made me a bit irritated. I answered respectfully, of course, as I always do to these types.

"It's quite alright. Shall I fetch the required tax?" I began turning around to go get the bits from where Prairie put them, but she stopped me.

"Nonono, I suppose you are from another town... but the horned are always welcome to stay free of charge in the outer circle. I assume you've kicked out the riff-raff?" I turned back to her as she kept talking. I was becoming more and more annoyed at her arrogance, but I kept my head. "Either way, you should try and look for a home in the inner circle, milady. There are plenty of those that will help you find one to your liking. If I may have your name for the records, then?"

"...Viola Étoile," I answered straightforwardly.

"Take that down. Can you spell it?" The mare seemed to be speaking to somepony else. An earth pony who was carrying the tax money in bags on his sides was behind her, and now was writing down my fake name for the registry on this house.

"Good day to you," the tax collector said with a respectful bow, and I returned one of my own. She and her assistant walked off while consulting her list again, no doubt going to the next house for such things. I closed the door and turned around, thinking to myself as I slowly trotted over to the reading table, its candles illuminating the same book that was there lastnight, though opened to a different page. She must have done a little more reading before I woke up. I absent-mindedly gazed at the closed book cover.

Was that the right thing to do? It was practically tax evasion, what I just did. Now, officially, the house belonged to me, in just a short conversation! I can't imagine that Prairie would be too happy with me. When she comes back, I'll try and explain everything and we can go to the proper office later. Speaking of her, where could she have gone to?

Looking around, I found that I did a really nice job of tidying up down here. Everything was straight and orderly, Prairie's knick-knacks and other belongings dusted, the floor and bookshelf and counters spotless. I smiled and climbed upstairs to take another look at my cleaning work up there.

Just as I was marvelling at my finished job of cleaning the house, I noticed the door was being opened up. I looked down from the upper landing at a very happily-smiling Prairie Fabric trotting through the door, closing it after coming in. She had her brown robe and hood on, carrying two full bags on her sides dragging along the floor; they were strewn tightly closed and I couldn't see their contents from here. I saw her stop and gasp, looking around down there. I went to the edge of the second level's landing and greeted her.

"Good morning, Prairie Fabric! Did you go out to buy some things with the money I helped you get?" Prairie gasped again and looked up, surprised at my sudden appearance above her. She lowered her ears and looked a little guilty.

"M-my apologies, milady, please tell me if you would like some bits or any of what I bought..." Cowering again... I really did need to watch what I say, didn't I?

"No, no, I didn't mean it like that..." I tried to give her a comforting expression as I jumped down to the first level. With curiosity, I glanced at the bags she was carrying on her sides. "What did you buy?" She seemed happy to answer, her face lighting up.

"Oh, I bought lots of food from the market, high quality veggies..." She jiggled the bag on her right side, and I could hear the tumbling of plants. I saw two rabbit ears perk up out of the opening of it; Angel popped out holding a small carrot, jumping down to the floor. He looked fairly happy with the food.

"There you are, Angel! I've been wondering where you were." I smiled and looked down at him, and he looked back at me happily. "Did you have a good time with Prairie?" The rabbit nodded matter-of-factly, then hopped away up the steps. Prairie watched him go up to the second level with her own little smile.

"He insisted on coming with me... I hope it was alright. I suppose he wanted to see the town a bit." I shook my head, dismissing it. "I also bought some more raw materials for making clothes..." Prairie started to walk towards the back cabinets, looking around in awe at the cleaning work I did.

"Oh, Prairie, while you were out, I cleaned up a little bit... I hope you don't mind; cleaning is part of my morning routine." I felt a little embarrassed, but she shook her head, looking happy.

"I-it was really nice of you, Miss Viola..." She hoisted up her bags with difficulty and placed them on the counter, heaving out a tired sigh. "The house looks so lovely, you did a wonderful job..." The vegetables looked really heavy, and I knew she kept her food up top. It would be really difficult to carry that up there, so I began charging my horn to take the bulging bag, hovering it past her and towards me, then moving it to the upper level, placing it on the floor just out of sight. She stared at me, blinking for a moment before saying "Thank you so much, Miss Viola..."

"Oh, before I forget, I have something for you..." As she took off her cloak, draping it on the counter, I noticed she had another bag on her back, straps around her shoulders. She placed it on the counter and brought out a few things; it was a knapsack, rather than a simple bag. Curious as to what she got me, I trotted over to take a look.

There was some rolled-up parchment that she revealed as I looked down at it; it was a map! Well, at least, a map of Trottenheim and a little area around it. I could see two villages nearby, and a couple more on the edges when I unraveled it completely. Pretty much everything was surrounded by trees; and unfortunately, no place was recognizable in the least to me. I was consequently giving the map a disappointed look automatically.

"O-oh, um, is it not to your liking, Miss Viola? I can look for another...!" I looked at her curiously; she must have seen me make that face. I shook my head and smiled at her.

"Oh, no, this is great, actually; it's better than what I have, which is... Well, nothing! This'll be of much help, Prairie." She seemed glad that I was accepting of her gift, bringing out more of the bag's contents onto the counter. There was also a compass and a small drawstring pouch full of money that jingled as it was placed. My smile widened at my gratefulness. She seemed to be embarrassed at all my thanks.

"Thank you so much, Prairie! This saves me a lot of time... And, well... I wish I could say I didn't need the bits... but I'm completely broke and without posses-" I paused for a moment, remembering what just happened earlier. Embarrassed, I rubbed the back of my head with a hoof and looked at her guiltily. "Ah, um, something happened earlier..."

"Wh-what was it, Miss Viola...?" She looked to me inquisitively.

"Well, see, the tax collectors came, and I-"

"Oh no!! I forgot! I wasn't here to pay, and, and, I might lose my house, and-"

"No, no, you're fine... I guess you sort of did lose the house, since, well... They saw just me answering the door and registered the house to me instead in their hurry. Eheheh..." I gave her a guilty smile. She simply stared at me for a few moments; no doubt she was holding back her frustrations. However, she ended up turning a little pink out of embarrassment, not anger.

"M-Miss Viola...! This... could potentially work in both our favor, milady..." She seemed a little nervous, but... devious?

"How do you mean?"

"W-well, you could just live here for free, with me for as long as you're staying... And if you're out and an official comes by, I could just say I'm the help..." She looked at me with rather shifty eyes. I was fairly taken aback by the notion.

"Prairie, that's dishonest! I can't approve of that..." I looked at her with a criticizing glare, which made her look down in guilt.

"M-my apologies, milady! I-I won't mention such things..." She bowed to me, looking for my acknowledgement. The act made me feel a bit guilty for talking down to her like that.

"It's fine, Prairie... But we shouldn't keep the house registered in my name. We'll fix it while we're out today, okay?" I gave a gentle smile, which she nodded to. "Honesty is a very important virtue; it's one of the things that keep ponies together. That's what my teacher taught me." She smiled a bit, looking at me with hopeful eyes. Hopefully that'll get to her. Perking up a bit, I could see that she just remembered something.

"Oh...! Miss Viola, I have something more for you..." I looked at her curiously as she knelt down to one of the cabinets; a moment later she pulled out a flowing cloak, with several gemstones adorning it. I stared at it with awe; it was not unlike something wonderful Rarity would make! The cloak was a blue cape layered over a dark blue robe with a matching hood. What made it special were six gems embedded on the front ends, which would come almost together when I put it on, along with a seventh that was at the base of the hood. They were all different colors; they seemed familiar, somehow, but I couldn't remember just now what they reminded me of.

"Y-you can't go to the festival without something to wear... Especially since it's in the inner circle... S-so, I made this for you to thank you... Again..." She smiled and spoke nervously as she explained it; I took the robe with my magic and set it on me, tying it on and leaving the hood down. I looked around my front and sides, but I needed to see it completely.

"I have to see...!" Running to the front of the house, I climbed the stairs quickly and went to see myself in the mirror. Prairie quickly followed. This was really me! She captured my style pretty well. "Thanks so much, Prairie, it re-... ah, it's beautiful!" I caught myself about to tell her it reminded me of Rarity's work, but she once told me very sternly that you should never compliment an artist like that. Prairie stiffened up as I suddenly went to hug her; she patted my back after a moment, and I broke it, staring at her gratefully as she seemed to be rather red in the face again.

"Really, thank you. And, um... If you don't mind my saying so, you've been rather prone to flushing lately. You might want to see a doctor about that." I'm starting to get worried she might be coming down with something, but she shook her head, turning even more red. "Well, if you say so... Anyway, what time does the coronation start? I need to make a proper plan for the day..." She thought for a moment, looking around absent-mindedly.

"O-oh, at sunset... To test how well her magic is progressing, as well." She smiled at the mention of magic. I was interested at that now, too; I wonder what sort of magic she'll show us?

"Maybe we should get over to the festival, then, while we can?" I smiled at her for a moment as I looked over my new robe again. Since she took care of some of the stuff I needed to get today, it saved much needed time. Perhaps I should just relax and enjoy myself at the festival before getting back to the serious work of getting back to Ponyville... It's been a while since I had a good time with my friends. I hadn't been to one of Pinkie Pie's parties for quite some time, busy with my magical research... I felt a bit guilty about that at this point. It's important that I spend time with friends.

I looked to Prairie and she seemed to have an excited face, though also holding back so as not to outburst. She somewhat calmly spoke again.

"I-I can't wait, Miss Viola...! The festival is open all day... Please let me know when I may accompany you..." She bowed pleasantly and then walked past me, going to her study table and opening the book she was using most recently. As she sat to restart her reading under the candlelight, I wondered what sort of activities could be there again.

Carefully placing my new cloak on the countertop, I straightened it out so it would be ready for later. No doubt Prairie wants to rest some after spending the morning shopping before we go out. That's no problem. I'll make the preparations while I wait. I took a look at the bag and called out to Prairie.

"Prairie, can I use this knapsack for carrying this stuff in?" She turned to look at me and nodded.

"Y-yes, of course, Miss Viola... I got it all for you, pack included." She smiled coyly and resumed reading. Very convenient and nice of her to get me my own bag. I wrapped up the map and clipped it closed; it came with its own clip to keep it wrapped up. The compass I put in afterward; another thing I needed to bring was some rations. No travel bag is complete without them.

"Prairie, do you have any bread?" I asked yet another question; hopefully I wasn't distracting her too much from the book she seemed to be fairly into.

"...Oh, of course, the bread is in the small basket in the corner of the kitchen... Help yourself, milady." She didn't look up. It must have been a good part.

I walked over to the stepladder and went up there. Angel was looking at the doll of Trottenheim's princess. Wonder what her name was? In any case, I walked over to the kitchen and went to the corner, scanning the tidy area for the basket. Oh, here it is; I adjusted it in a better position, earlier, but I didn't know what was in it. I rose the lid and saw three and a half large rolls of bread. Taking a sniff, they smelled quite good; but, lunch wasn't for a little longer. I levitated two whole rolls out of the container, closing it and headed back down the steps to place them in my bag.

The last thing I usually put into my travel bags were one or two books for some reading, when I wanted to rest... However, I didn't have any, of course. Even so, I think it would be far too much to ask for me to borrow a book or two from her. I personally find it somewhat difficult to lend out my own books! I didn't want to cause her the trouble. Closing the knapsack and eyeing it and my festival clothing, I had felt I was ready.

Of course, I didn't want to go until Prairie Fabric had finished catching her breath. Although, just as I was thinking about that, I heard her close her book, and looked over to her.

"I'm really excited, Miss Viola...! May we go to the festival together?" She looked over to me with a clear sense of anticipation in her face.

"Right now?" I said teasingly with a smile.

"Yes, yes!" she gleefully responded, clopping her hooves together.

"Sure, let's go!" I can admit that I started to get a bit excited, as well. I realized that a new festival in a new place was sure to be an interesting and unique experience. Double-checking that everything was in my knapsack, I took the straps around my shoulders and set it on my back, fidgeting around to make sure it was secure. Satisfied, I carefully placed the new cloak around me. All set to go! I looked over to Prairie who seemed to continually admire my use of magic in everyday tasks, but she stopped staring and remembered to get ready, herself.

Prairie came over to the cabinets, crouching down next to me and opening one. A moment later she pulled out a dark red cloak, one that matched her mane and tail color. I grinned as she draped it over herself.

"You look great, Prairie!" A blush went over her face as she silently looked away in embarrassment. Rolling my eyes at her modesty, I trotted to the front door, eager for some excitement. "Ready to go?"

"Yes...!" I waited by the door as she prepared her own belongings, and I double-checked my own, which seemed to be in order. I noticed Angel was looking down at us from the upper landing.

"Angel, want to come with us to the festival?" I said with a smile. He simply waved out a paw in dismissal; I figured he wanted some quiet time. It made sense, since it's normally quite crowded and noisy at Fluttershy's cottage back home. Back home... I really hope that everypony isn't too worried about me. As long as I'm still walking, I'll find a way back.

Prairie stepped towards me cheerfully, breaking my train of thought. I smiled and turned to open the way out, heading outside to the sunny, clear day. Ponies all over were heading towards the right, the way to the castle. Most were unicorns, but I did see some earth ponies here and there. However, I still didn't see any pegasi anywhere. Where could they be?

After Prairie came to my side, we smiled at each other and I turned back to the door. I couldn't let her -- well, my house be unprotected. I conjured up a simple seal to keep the door locked, as there was no physical lock on it. When I was satisfied, I nodded at my companion and started up the dirt road, her following close behind. I can't wait to get to the festival.

~ Another Equestria ~

Comments

[Harwick]

I'm so glad to see this continue! It has a really nice, sweet tone coming from Twilight's narration that makes it a pleasure to read. Your character work is quite charming, and the idea of pairing Twilight and Angel together for an adventure is really unique. I'm curious to learn more about the rather extreme social injustices of this new land, and just what the deal is with ponies here... As well as figuring out exactly where they've ended up.

Great job, and please keep it coming!

[Zobeid]

This story gives me joy.

Incidentally, it also seems to have a lot of parallels with another excellent one I've been following: My Choices: Twisted Tales Through Time

That's not meant as a complaint in any way. I love both stories and am eager to see where they're going.

[Lancethefox]

This story is simply a wonder to read. I tend to read a lot of dark stories so this is a welcomed change. The detail you place into Twilight's thought and mannerism really bring out the narrative. The character of Prairie has also grown on me quite a bit. I hope to learn more about her in coming chapters. I truly look forward to the festival and all that it brings.

[Menoshe]

So, my big suspicion?

This "princess of Trottenheim"?

Celestia.

White alicorn with pink mane?

Filly Celestia.

That's how I think it's gonna go down. You're welcome to your own ideas.

[KTKomedy2813]

When will the next chapter be up?

[Zobeid]

Story too good to let die. Needs updating!