An attack on Ponyville means that the Cutie Mark Crusaders must reveal a deep, dark secret. And, face off against a threat that would harm all Equestria.
Apple Bloom. Scootaloo. Sweetie Belle.
We see them every day, Crusading for their Cutie Marks. Going to school. Trying to be good foals and living a life with their families.
But, they possess a deep, dark secret. This secret is revealed one day, and all of Equestria is now in danger from a religious order that will do anything to call upon the Nightmare Moon.
The amazing thing for them was this-they were surprised that anypony couldn’t do this.
A, B, and C tended to wake up within about a half hour of each other. Almost always, it was A, then C, then B. Even though they had names these days and all that-at some point in their brain, they still thought of themselves as “A”, “B’, and “C”.
So, any big plans for today? A asked.
Not really, B replied.
It wasn’t magic, it wasn’t telepathy...just that A, B, and C could always “talk” to each other without other ponies noticing. Even when they were doing other things, they could chat with each other. Even when one of them was lying on a cloud about half-way between Ponyville and Cloudsdale.
Hey, at least I got the paper done, A noted, as she came up to a house. “Hey,” she said up to the house as she was walking up. “Ready to go?
“Just a minute!” a small, squeaky voice replied, as Snips came out with his saddle bags on, running right into Apple Bloom and Twist. “Good morning to you!”
“Good morning,” both Apple Bloom and Twist said, smiling.
Sorry, A commented. Just meeting up with Snips. Are you going to…
Ugh, B said. Don’t ask. I’ve got to be with them…
“I don’t know why we’ve got to all meet up to go to class, especially with a blank flank like you,” Diamond Tiara sneered.
“Because,” Sweetie Belle said, “this is Ponyville. You know, walking distance to the Gates of Tartarus? Where we have a God of Chaos as a next-door neighbor? The first place that Nightmare Moon came after she was freed? Better that we all walk to school when we can.”
“Why would anypony live in Ponyville?” Silver Spoon asked, curiously.
“The good schools?” Diamond Tiara said, half-sarcastically.
“Well, Miss Cheerilee is a good teacher,” Sweetie Belle said, somewhat worryingly.
My sympathies, C nodded in their little shared communication. She came in for a landing and met up with her companion. Normally pegasui flew into school, but one of them couldn’t fly, so…
“Hey, Scootaloo,” Featherweight said, coming in for a landing, “how are you today?”
“Pretty good,” Scootaloo said, watching him and Dizzy Twister came in for a landing beside her. “Got some awesome tricks to do with my scooter today,” she smiled. “So, get the paper done?”
Classes at Ponyville’s school were always interesting for A, B, and C. They knew most of this stuff. C was wickedly awesome with math-the students were working on long division, she knew how to do differential calculus and vector equations in her head. But, they had to be careful and the trick was to stay in the high B/low A grade range-good enough that they were not going to have trouble when they got home (except for C), not so good that they would get put in a gifted program or attract too much notice. And with enough statistical range so that it didn’t look like they were throwing tests.
So, it was mostly trying not to fall asleep. And internal chatter. Will have to sneak by the library today, A said. Need to check on the book that I ordered.
How did you sigh in the realm of communications that they shared? B did that, and asked, Please tell me you didn’t ask for an interlibrary loan of an advanced magic book again? We were barely able to get it out of there before Twilight Sparkle noticed!
Nope, A replied, a touch smug. New book on post-Discord history. We’ve got a paper due for it in a few weeks and my cover is good for the concept. I’ve been working on an idea about the Canterlot Parliamentary Moot and I’m trying to find out what Princess Celestia and Luna were doing during the meetings.
It was possible to facehoof in this space, and C did that. You’re doing your doctoral thesis early, aren’t you? So you can chase colts with impunity at college, aren’t you?
Well, you were the one that did the statistical analysis of college-educated mares and the marriage/divorce rate based upon age and university time, B retorted. And, if I want to be sure to have the statistically best marriage, I need to really find my special colt by by junior year, before I become a grad student.
Miss Cheerlee let the class out to the playground, and they went out as well. A knew immediately that if they wanted a ball to play with (without some bratty student grabbing all the good ones), she had to be at the ball pen first. B and C ran interference with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, which gave A enough time to get a good ball.
They found a spot on the playground to play with it, bouncing it between their hooves. Really need to pratice my telekinesis, A said. She’s starting to get a little suspicious that I’m not as good as I should be.
Yea, B said. I need to practice some more as well. Tomorrow night? Sneak out after everypony else is asleep?
Sounds like a plan, C replied. She caught the ball, and suddenly something causes her and her friend’s hairs to raise up. What is…
From the center of Ponyville was an explosion, a massive one. Everypony at the school looked at the rising cloud of smoke from the explosion, and they heard something.
Cheerlee had a special whistle, and the students knew when they heard that, they were to run, not stopping for anything, for the basement. After the last few incidents, Twilight Sparkle had written up a checklist for just this kind of emergency. One of her check-off items was reinforcing a number of the largest basements in Ponyville. Once she’d worked the magic out and tested it completely (and made several very large holes in the middle of the desert near Las Pegasus), nothing short of the combined power of all four princesses were going to breach those walls and ceiling and floor, the basement would always have air and water, and a large stockpile of emergency supplies were left in the basement as well.
Cheerlee was blowing the whistle for all she was worth.
She didn’t see three of her students running away from the school.
What, what is going on? A asked, as she ran towards the center of town.
Somepony did a summoning! Multiple beings! B yelled in their minds. How many, how many and how powerful…
Six! C yelled. Oh no, oh no, oh no...they’re Liger Diablocus! And, oh no…
C pulled up a map of Ponyville in their minds, and the six red dots radiated out from the town center. They were making a direct line for six blue dots.
They’re going after the Bearers! A started to panic as they turned the corner into town.
Oh no! But, they can stop them, right? B said, peering around the corner at the devastation in the center of town.
Twilight’s the only one that has enough magic, A replied. And, she can only be in one place at one time! She can stop them, but…
...but so many other ponies are going to get hurt, C finished.
The three of them huddled in a corner. A started to cry a bit. We...can’t stop them, can we?
We can...but, if we did, we’d have to reveal ourselves, B replied. And, that’s when it all goes to Tartarus.
We’ll do it, C said. Because, I’d rather apologize to our friends, than go to their funerals.
Silence, and then…
Well, if we’re going to do something this stupid, we might as well do it smart, A noted.
Rarity was running.
She didn’t like running. Not at all. Hated it in school, did enough exercise so that she had to avoid doing it as much as she could.
Being eaten by a demonic dog/lion hybrid with jaws twice as big as your body? She liked that idea even less.
So, running away from the very large demon that just exploded out of the town square ranked very high in the category of “A Very Good Idea”. She had taken a few experimental stabs with her magic at the demon, but clearly this was in the “Twilight Sparkle Alicorn” territory, so she was leading the Liger Diablocus chasing her out of town, where they couldn’t hurt any other ponies.
The massive monster stormed behind her, stomping on anything in it’s way. Drool flew back from jaws filled with obsidian teeth. Blood foamed from the corner of the creature’s bloodshot eyes, bellowing it’s rage and it’s hunger at Rarity. She could hear the rippling sound of flesh and bone tearing and healing instantly as the creature ran. Almost all of Ponyville’s residents had shown their usual good sense and headed away from the ravening monster at top speed.
Except for one little blank-flanked filly that was going to get stomped on. Rarity, with a flick of her horn and her magic, managed to get the filly out of the way of the Liger Diablocus’ massive paw. But, in doing that, she missed a small number of rocks in the way, and she tripped, falling head over hooves. She managed to turn it into a skidding tear across a garden plot on her side, but Rarity got up onto her hooves-and her right front hoof gave out from under her. She could feel the wrenched and sprained hoof, but there was no time to do anything…
Just at the instant the massive jaws were about to swallow her whole, they...stopped.
Rarity opened her eyes-not realizing that she had even closed them-and realized that a magic shield was keeping the Liger Diablocus from eating her. But, it wasn’t hers…
She looked down a bit, and she saw...legs. They were like foal legs...but, a big longer. Something in her head connected the shape and form of the legs to old, old pictures she was of the foal-age Princess Celestia and Luna, but it was a light pink color and she recognized the curl and shape of the tail and… “Sweetie Belle?” Rarity asked, half-shocked and half-curious.
Sweetie Belle was straddling over Rarity’s head, her horn ablaze with magic, her wings spread out and slightly crackling with raw magical overspill. Ripples of power ran down her legs into the earth, grounded out from the scale of her power. Her expression was fixed in a frown of concentration and effort. “Can’t...talk…,” she said in a voice that was slightly deeper than normal, “one second…”
With an audible grunt and crack of magic, the Liger Diablocus exploded in a shower of magic and bits of tissue. Sweetie Belle gasped, and staggered on her hooves, nearly falling down. Rarity caught Sweetie Belle on her shoulders and said, “Sweetie Belle, what...who are you?”
With a gasp, Sweetie Belle began to breath again. “Rarity, it’s me, Sweetie Belle,” she said with gasping breaths of air. “But, we’ve got five more Liger Diablocus to deal with, before they eat our friends…”
Rainbow Dash knew this wasn’t a game.
But, damn, she was good at baiting Liger Diablocus! This one was on her tail for a while, and it kept trying to get her, but it couldn’t leap up high enough to catch her. This bit of demon-bating allowed all the other ponies around to escape safely. And, Rainbow Dash could play keep-away with a ground-based pony or monster for hours on end.
Which was why after about the fifteenth attempt, the Liger Diablocus stood stock-still for a second.
Then, in a shower of blood and gore, two massive sets of leather wings erupted from the Liger Diablocus’ shoulders, flinging the demon into the air with a massive roar.
“Oh, not fair!” Rainbow Dash yelled, taking off and away from the flying Liger Diablocus. The creature followed, wings beating with the sound of thunder behind her. And, it was gaining ground…
Rainbow Dash saw off in the corner of her eye something that just might help, and she banked hard and down towards a huge fire-scar in the forest. The Liger Diablocus made a hard bank, trying to follow as well, it’s jaws nearly snapping on Rainbow Dash’s tail.
The fire scar was all new growth-thick with brambles and small trees and brush. Rainbow Dash knew-with fierce instinct-how to dodge and weave through the scrub and come out under the treeline proper, where there was enough space to fly properly and with a bit of speed. “Ha,” she whispered, “let’s see it try…”
With a tearing roar of wood and scrub, the Liger Diablocus punched through the fire scar and into the forest. It’s wings shattered the smaller trees, and hunks of greener-some almost as big as Rainbow Dash herself-flew past her. With an angry bellow, it tore through small trees and bounced off larger trees, tearing them out of the ground with it’s mass, and was making up for good time to catch up with Rainbow Dash.
“Oh, so not fair!” Rainbow Dash yelled, trying to pick up speed. The Liger Diablocus was catching up, making up for it’s size by sheer strength and tearing out anything in it’s way.
And, Rainbow Dash was running out of forest. Her instinctual “map” of the area around Ponyville meant that she knew that for options to keep the Liger Diablocus busy, she was running short on all but one.
Pure speed.
She began to build up a good bit of acceleration. Once she got out of the treeline, she could really show the demon her flank and let it try and catch her then!
She was nearly at the end of the forest, when she felt something clamp down on her tail. No! she thought, as the Liger Diablocus gave a good swing and flung her into a tree.
And, suddenly, Rainbow Dash stopped in mid-air, as if she was floating. Somepony was using magic to catch her, but who…
The Liger Diablocus looked around angrily, and before it even knew what hit it, four hooves and a lot of attitude clocked the demon across the back of the head. This knocked the demon down, looking angrily for what hit it.
Rainbow Dash landed a bit rough, but on her hooves, and rolled up to look around. Who was using magic? Only pony that could have even caught me was Twilight, and she’s on the other side of town…
An orange/brown blur snapped across the sky, and nailed the Liger Diablocus in one of it’s legs, causing it to buckle. It bellowed angrily, and tried to catch whatever hit it, but the same blur hit the demon so hard across the side of the head that Rainbow Dash could hear it’s jaw crack. A fourth hit took another one of the demon’s legs, causing it to stagger.
Then, landing off to Rainbow Dash’s right was a pegasus...no, it couldn’t be! The young orange/brown alicorn foal looked at the demon and said, “Hey, over here, ugly! Yea, I was the one that bucked you! And, I’m going to do it again!”
The Liger Diablocus bellowed through a broken jaw, and lept, as the alicorn’s horn flashed with magic. Rainbow Dash could feel in her wings and each and every one of her feathers that magical discharge, and the Liger Diablocus more-or-less exploded from it. A rain of gore and bits flew from the exploding monster, and Rainbow Dash almost expected to be covered by the spill. But, the alicorn had put up a shield over both of them, and the gore merely hit the shield and slid off slowly.
Rainbow Dash looked over at the alicorn. She looked oddly familiar, but Rainbow Dash didn’t know of any alicorn foals that were out there. “Hey,” she asked, getting to her feet. “Thanks for the help, but who are you?”
When she had gotten to the “you”, Rainbow Dash had put two and two together. It was the wings that fooled her, of course. “Scootaloo, is that you?” she asked, looking at the alicorn in amazement.
“Yea, it is,” the alicorn said, looking very, very sheepish with her wings fully extended in impressive glory. “I’m sorry, but we’ve got to help our friends. Can you fly?”
Rainbow Dash checked her wings, and gave an experimental twitch. “Yea, I can.”
“Good,” and Scootaloo smiled happily at Rainbow Dash. “I want to see if you can keep up with me!”
Pinkie Pie and Applejack were in serious trouble.
The two Liger Diablocus that were tailing them were working as a team-every time they tried to split up and give the other a chance to escape, they would do something to keep them together.
Applejack knew exactly what they were doing-the demons were herding them somewhere. And, considering what Liger Diablocus did to ponies, that was not a good thing. As they were running, Pinkie Pie was giving a stream of thought, going along the lines of, “Custard, no, no, too thin...applesauce, even thinner! What can I do, what can I do…”
“Pinkie Pie!” Applejack gasped. “Y’got any ideas!”
“Only this!” Pinkie Pie smiled, and tossed something behind them. It exploded in something that sounded like a mixture of a huge firecracker and a very large bubble in a pot full of stew popping, and the Liger Diablocus made a very angry sound as they tumbled into something.
“Caramel and taffy!” Pinkie Pie said, “that’ll keep them busy for a while!”
They turned a corner, and saw Fluttershy flying for all she was worth, barely keeping ahead of the Liger Diablocus that was after her. Applejack gave it a very impressive buck to the legs, and smiled as she heard the demon make it’s own massive tumble. “Fluttershy! We’ve gotta get to the library!”
“I’m flying there now,” Fluttershy said, looking at her friends. “Are you being…”
There was a roaring sound, as trees flew away from the shapes knocking holes in the forest. Trees wider around than the length of Fluttershy’s wings were shattered like rotten twigs, thrown like shrapnel all over the place. Covered in whatever caramel and taffy wasn’t needed to be removed to make their escape work, the first two of the Liger Diablocus came up behind them. The third followed, limping but starting to pick up speed.
“Yea, we are!” Applejack yelled up to Fluttershy and tried to pick up the pace some more. She had slowed down a bit when she thought Pinkie Pie’s snare worked, so he had rested a bit. But, she could feel the fatigue in her legs, and was wondering how well her friends were keeping up. Something that worried-and scared her immensely-when she saw Fluttershy start to stagger a bit in the air.
“I can make it,” Fluttershy said, just about out of breath. “I can make it,” she repeated, and flew a bit harder.
And, with a sudden and terrifying lurch, her wings gave out and she fell to the ground. Applejack was able to catch her, but it knocked the wind out of her with a staggering “ooof!” and Applejack looked back at how close her pursuers were.
Which was why she had ring-side seats when the Liger Diablocus opened up it’s jaws and was about to eat the two of them in a single swallow. The only thing that went through Applejack’s mind was Damn it, I won’t be able to see what Apple Bloom gets as her cutie mark!
Then, the Liger Diablocus exploded. A bit of the creature-probably part of the jaw-hit Applejack and dazed her for a second, causing her to fall over and almost drop Fluttershy. From the sky, Princess Twilight Sparkle was flying, her magic casting out for targets.
“Are you okay?” Twilight Sparkle said, landing beside her friends.
“Yea,” Applejack said, “but what happened to the other two?”
They all looked back to see Apple Bloom, covered in blood and gore. Her horn, her wings were dripping with the remains of the Liger Diablocus, and she panted as she got her magic back under control. She tried to take a step forward, and staggered. Then, she tried again, and fell down onto her belly.
“Apple Bloom!” Applejack yelled, starting to run up to her. “What happened to you?!?”
“Stay...back…,” she groaned out through clenched teeth, then with a massive bellow, she tilted her head to the sky and released the wild magic she had called. It screamed from her mouth, and erupted from her horn, every color and no color at once and beautifully terrifying to look at. The geyser of energy ripped into the sky and tore open the clouds, revealing the blue sky of Equestria.
It seemed like hours, but it only took a minute, and then Apple Bloom collapsed into a boneless fall onto the ground, soaking in what remained of the Liger Diablocus. Applejack ran up to her, and lifted her out of the gore, carrying her away on her shoulders. A few seconds later, Apple Bloom started to awaken.
“Applejack…,” Apple Bloom started to say.
“Hush now,” Applejack replied. “Save your strength. Twilight’s here and we’ll get you all fixed up.”
Apple Bloom started to chuckle, which surprised Applejack slightly. But, as she heard it, it mutated into a sort of laughing hiccup. It was the sort of laughing that you did when you didn’t want to cry-or scream.
Applejack knew that kind of laughter well. She’d done it quite a few times when she was a foal, remembering her parents.
“Applejack, I’ve got something I’ve got to tell you, all of you. And, you’re gonna hate me when I’m done, I promise,” Apple Bloom said, starting to laugh through her tears.
As you can see in the second and the follow-up reports, somepony summoned a pack of six Liger Diablocus in Ponyville a few hours ago. Our rough assessment is that they did the summoning in a stolen, fully enclosed cart that they had wheeled up to the middle of the Ponyville Square.
The chariot pegasui were flying for all they were worth. The magic bubble that kept Princess Celestia from being blown away by the wind was definitely being tried to it’s fullest.
Another scroll appeared in a belch of green fire, forming a small pile at her hooves. All of them were unopened.
She had started to wear the corners of the scroll she had opened a bit raw.
All six of the Liger Diablocus, I suspect, were targeted on the Bearers of the Elements. Reports from other ponies indicated that they chased after Bearers to the exclusion of all other targets, including small foals and pregnant mares. To summon so many of them and to control them so well probably required at least four to five very skilled unicorns. Probably more, but from the size of the cart the upper limit is six unicorns.
Princess Luna stopped reading over Princess Celestia’s shoulder a while ago. She picked up the second scroll and started to read it. “Twilight Sparkle is very complete,” Princess Luna said, “But, anypony that could pull off this kind of summoning-assuming they were not suicidal-would be very certain to cover their tracks against magical and forensic tracking. Perhaps we will be lucky.”
Princess Celestia ignored Luna’s distraction. She kept reading the same words over and over again.
During the attack, a few ponies were injured. Most will recover shortly, with even the worst injured being out of the hospital within a few days. Our preparations and planning helped with this, as they ran for the shelters as soon as trouble started.
Princess Celestia said, “I thought Twilight Sparkle was a bit paranoid about this and her testing. I am happy she was as paranoid as she thought she was-and she was right.”
“Yes,” Princess Luna said.
However, during the attack, something else happened. Three ponies revealed something that nopony had known previously. They saved lives, but there is a story behind it.
One you must hear as soon as you can get here.
Thank you.
Your Faithful Student, Princess Twilight Sparkle
Princess Luna tugged at the letter with her telekinesis. “Sister, she is all right. We would know if she sent that letter under any kind of duress or compulsion.”
“But,” Princess Celestia asked, “what happened there? And, why will not Twilight Sparkle tell us by letter?”
“We will find out soon,” Princess Luna replied, and nodded out of the chariot. Princess Celestia looked over the rim of the chariot as well.
They were coming in for a landing in front of the Ponyville Library.
Ponyville was very, very good at picking up the pieces after a major disaster. Ponies were clearing up messes, measuring for damages, doing emergency repairs, and in general getting things done. A few carts of debris were being taken out of town, boards and bricks and windows were being brought in. Ponies were filling out insurance paperwork, soon to be the bane of insurance adjusters all across Equestria. Mostly because they had to be processed and paid for rather quickly. Nopony wanted to be Manehattan Mutual, that tried to delay payment on a Ponyville claim and was on the wrong end of two Royal Canterlotian Voices.
And, some entrepreneurial pony had set up a muffin-and-coffee stand, which quite a few ponies were using.
Princess Celestia saw the town square where the summoning happened, and mentally approved that the area was cordoned off and Crown Investigators were searching the remains. As she came in for a landing, she could feel the trickle of active magic around the Ponyville Library, magical reinforcing spells built into the structure of the tree itself.
And spells so powerful that even if the rest of Ponyville was blasted clean off of Equestria, nothing in the library would even be disturbed. Princess Celestia smiled and sighed to herself. So like Twilight Sparkle, she thought, and carefully dismounted from the chariot.
The guard ponies were waiting by the door, and one of them let her and Princess Luna in. “Twilight, are you all right?” Princess Celestia asked, coming in.
“We’re all fine,” Twilight Sparkle replied. She looked a bit nervous and looked around. “The problem is...well, this.”
Twilight Sparkle stepped aside, and saw the three alicorn foals. All of them stood there, looking sad and trying not to cry. Princess Luna stepped forward, and looked at them, stopping when her eyes found Scootaloo. “Scootaloo, is that you?” she asked.
“Yea, it is,” Scootaloo replied, her head down. After the fight, Twilight Sparkle had insisted that they get showers in-and Rarity had fully groomed them. “I’m sorry, Princess Luna. We all are.”
“For what, my children?” Princess Celestia asked.
“For everything we’ve done over the last two years. Just, if you’re going to execute us or exile us to the Moon...can we say goodbye to our friends first?” Sweetie Belle replied, looking beaten.
“What have you done that would make you fear that?” Princess Celestia asked, looking across them all. “I will not believe that you have done anything except be as good as you can be.”
“Y’might want to pull up a cushion,” Apple Bloom said, “this is gonna take a while.”
The first memory they had was of a old unicorn mare, playing with wooden blocks above them. Her fur was so black as to almost suck in light and her mane was short and white.
The pony that would later call herself “A” remembered those blocks, and how she liked to assemble things out of them. Palaces of dreams, towers set so precariously that even a slight flutter of wing could knock them over, houses and homes...all of them were in the domain of A.
B, on the other hand, first remembered the fuzzy little doll she got. It was a stuffed unicorn doll that was almost as big as she was, with a very impressive horn. That, and lots of ice, were what helped her to get through her teething time.
C was in love with a set of small toys, My Little Wonderbolts, and she still smiled when she thought of Bitty Dash and all of her friends.
“Hey!” Rainbow Dash said, with bright, smiling eyes, “did you get the ones that had the full wing articulation action?
“Yep! And, the Training Center playset, too!” Scootaloo said, with bright and smiling eyes as well.
Both of them had the warm glow of nostalgia over some of the best toys of their foalhood.
“Ahem,” Princess Celestia said. “Shall we continue with the story?”
Princess Luna whispered to the two of them, “I think I still have my Shadowbolt Babies collection, you can see them when we are done.”
The unicorn mare would feed them, play with them, and take care of them. One day, B learned a word.
That word was “mama”. The unicorn mare looked shocked, then smiled. “Well, yes. I am-as much as any pony could be-your mother.”
Then, she used her magic to lift B up and hugged her close, whispering into her fur, “I won’t ever let you be lost again.”
The next memories they had were of some time later, when they had just started to walk, fly, and the unicorn mare was starting to teach them how to read. All three of them called her “Mama”, and they asked her many, many questions.
“Why can’t we go outside, Mama?” A asked.
“We promise to be really, really quiet and everything,” B said.
“And, not show off our wings and such,” C said.
Mama smiled, and said. “Another year or two, I promise. We can’t let any pony see you yet.”
“Why not?” B asked.
Mama thought about it and said, “We’re spies.” She smiled. “We’re hiding out in the big mean city from big mean ponies and when you know enough and can go out without the big mean ponies finding us, we’ll go out to the park and play.”
“Yay! Spies!” The three fillies cooed and hugged their Mama tight.
“And, tomorrow, we’ll start to learn how to do magic,” Mama said.
All three of the fillies knew that magic was a Very Important Thing and that Mama wanted to teach them, and they were starting to get the sparks out of their horns that means they could learn it now. It was only a slightly better thing than apple tarts and flying!
“I’m surprised you believed that,” Twilight Sparkle said, absolutely deadpan.
“We were two years old,” Apple Bloom replied in a huff. “If Mama had told us that the moon was made out of cheese, we’d have sliced some to make sandwiches!”
“Twilight,” Princess Celestia said. “They are right. So, you were hidden in…”
“Manehattan,” Sweetie Belle said. “We figured that out about two years ago. After Mama got in that argument with the men that came by. And, somepony killed her.”
“She was murdered?” Rarity said. “Who would do such a horrible thing!”
“All I know is that the day before she died, two unicorns came by where we were living. Apple Bloom snuck down and listened to their conversation, and…”
“Are they ready yet?”
There were two unicorns sitting in the chairs facing Mama’s chair. The only thing that they could tell was that one was tall with a long horn, and one was short with a medium-length horn. A had snuck down because Mama didn’t have many ponies come by to visit. Next year, they’d be starting school and Mama was happy that all three of them could do body-changing spells, and hold them even through their sleep. It was very important to Mama that A could keep looking like an Earth pony, B could look like a unicorn, and C look like a pegasus all the time. They were very, very good with their magic, and Mama was very happy.
But, the two ponies that had come in? They scared Mama, and all three of them could tell.
“We don’t even know who the Pegasus bearer of the Elements is,” she said. “Yes, the time is coming close, but that doesn’t mean we should accelerate the time-table.”
“You were given them to raise, because you were the one who could teach them. They are the servants of our Mistress’ will, as are we,” the tall pony said. “We will find the Pegasus bearer in time. Our brethren have the spells ready to prepare their bodies and minds to be the proper servants.”
“We can’t...not until we know who the Pegasus is!” she almost yelled at them. A was starting to get scared, Mama never yelled. “If we can’t insert one in, it will be as bad as if we don’t have any to replace the Bearers. I just ask for confirmation that we know who the Pegasus bearer is, so we can prepare properly.”
The tall unicorn rolled off the chair, and nodded to her. “I will take your objection to the brethren. I expect to have a reply within two to three days. For the last sunset, sister.”
“For the coming of the eternal night, brother,” Mama said, and escorted the two ponies out the door.
“Apple Bloom, are you certain that was what they said?” Princess Celestia asked.
“Yes,” Apple Bloom said. “Ah got photographic memory, probably like you do.”
“And, it has been as much a burden and a blessing for me, as well,” Princess Celestia replied. She face-hooffed and shook her head in anger and sad frustration. “The Order. Why did it have to be the Order?”
“Um, Princess,” Fluttershy asked, “but, what is the Order?”
“The Order of the Eternal Night,” Princess Celestia said, getting settled into lecture mode. “According to what the Order believes, I am a ruthless tyrant that killed her sister Luna when she became powerful enough to end my dominion over the world. I used the Sun to hide thetrue Universe, keeping the power of everything under my own control. But, before the Nightmare Moon came and attacked me, she left her eight disciples information and spells so that when a thousand years had passed, she could be resurrected and resume the war so they could claim the power I had stolen for their own.”
There was a shocked silence, and Princess Luna looked at Princess Celestia, a pleading look in her eyes, “Sister, I did no such thing! My fight against you was mine alone, and nopony else! I told nopony else, had no disciples, and this creation is...is...horribly wrong!”
“Luna, I know,” Princess Celestia raised a hoof in a “peace” gesture. “I also know where the Order comes from, and if there is anything I am disappointed about, it is this. There are so many ponies out there that when given a choice between a complicated and difficult to explain truth or a simple and easy to understand lie, they will pick the lie. And, it did not help that Emperor Gustav Grimorus helped push this...this pack of travesties upon us!” Princess Celestia nearly rose from her cushion in anger, paused, took a deep breath, and settled back down.
“Emperor Grimorus?” Twilight Sparkle asked, not sure where the non sequitur came from about one of the historical emperors of the Griffin Kingdoms.
“Emperor Gustav Grimorus, he was Emperor about...209 ANM, Twilight Sparkle?” Princess Celestia asked.
“Yes, 209 ANM to 244 ANM,” she replied. “I heard we had a lot of problems with him during his reign.”
“Heh,” Princess Celestia laughed mirthlessly. “‘Problems,’ Twilight Sparkle, is a massive understatement. Between border incursions, provocations, planting stories in newspapers and libraries and very nearly causing us to have a Rainbow Factory-scale incident, I have absolutely no idea how he managed to sire no less than sixty-two potential heirs to the throne and keep up with all the other conspiracies that he was involved in. And, the Order of Eternal Night was him written all over it.
“He hid books in libraries all over Equestria, hired some ponies to serve as mouthpieces, forged documentation, and soon enough, we had a ‘Order of the Eternal Night’ ready to try and bring back the Nightmare Moon sooner. And, they were all waiting for his command, through his puppets, when he died of a heart attack plowing his newest concubine. One, I would note, was only a year younger in developmental terms than you, Twilight Sparkle, when we first met. Sour Time’s History of Winged Madness is a good book on him, and he pulled no punches in his description.”
“So, what happened to this Order thing?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“What happens to most cults that survive its original leadership-it mutated and went fractal. The outer church-the ‘causal’ believers-drifted away, but the hard core inner church went into the mystical underground. I suspected they were going to be a problem when Nightmare Moon came back, and I thought I had prevented it about...oh, fifteen years ago,” Princess Celestia replied.
“Now I knew where I’d heard those phrases,” Applejack said, her head and ears picking up. “Miss Pearbottom and the Church of the Black Worm! Big radio drama and everything, Granny Apple has the tapes still.”
“Yes, I worked with the writers of Miss Pearbottom, and we created the ‘Church of the Black Worm’. But, used all the phrases and theories of the Order of the Eternal Night, with the serial numbers filed off. The goal was to expose them, and make a mockery of them,” Princess Celestia replied. “How did you like the story, Applejack?”
“Shucks, one of the better Miss Pearbottom stories out there,” Applejack smiled. “Loved the pacing.”
“I wrote most of the dialog for the radio adaptation,” Princess Celestia beamed with pride. “Under a pseudonym, of course, but I was very happy with my results. And, I thought I’d made them into a joke. But, clearly, I did not.”
She looked at the three foals in the room. “I apologize for interrupting. What happened to your mother?”
The three foals looked at each other, and Sweetie Belle said, “After those ponies came by the house, Mama was scared. She had…”
A, B, and C had full saddle bags. These were the “in the event we have to run” bags, and Mama had given them instructions. “Go to the park. Stay there at least four hours. If I don’t come to pick you up, come back home. Don’t let anypony follow you home. If, for any reason, you can’t find me when you come home-run. Head for the train station, and open the notes in the bag.”
“Mama, everything will be okay!” A said, hugging Mama tight. “You’ll be all right!”
“I know,” Mama said, sadly. “But, it’s like having an umbrella when they say it might rain-you may not need it, but it’s nice to have when you do.”
So, A, B, and C went to the park. They could make themselves look like older foals, so it wasn’t too hard to go and play. They were there only two hours when an explosion rocked the park. A, B, and C looked, and B gasped.
“That’s near home!” B said, and all three of them ran home.
They were good girls-they make sure nopony followed them home. But, when they got home, their house was a smoking hole in the ground. City Guard and the Fire Department had the entire area blocked off. And, ponies were gathered around, looking at it.
“What happened?” some pony asked.
“Big fire at the house,” another said. “Gas leak, from what the firemares said.”
“Wow, anypony hurt?”
“Yea, unicorn by the name of Midnight Bloom,” one of the observers said, “main roof beam collapsed on her and crushed her instantly.”
As they watched, the paramedic pegasus brought out a sheet-wrapped stretcher. The three fillies could see one of the legs of the pony on the stretcher-and Mama had those scars on her leg.
They snuck back out of the crowd, and ran for the train station as soon as they were clear.
They cried in a bathroom stall together. They needed to cry now, so they could be stronger later. Mama needed them to be strong, they needed each other now.
A remembered the letter, and took it out of the bag with her telekinesis. She opened it and let all three of them read it with her.
The letter read-
My lovely daughters, if you are reading this, the worst has happened. The Order has learned of my betrayal of them, and I cannot let them use you as weapons in a war that was a lie a thousand years ago.
In these bags are enough bits to get you to a town called Ponyville. In Ponyville, there are three ponies. One is a Unicorn named Rarity, a dressmaker and fashion designer. One is an Earth pony named Applejack, a farmer of apples. And, in Ponyville, there is a third pony, a pegasus, whom you will know when she reveals herself.
She, like the other two ponies, are the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, a powerful magical artifact that is capable of many beautiful things.
Find a way into their lives. Stay with them. Princess Celestia has been preparing for the return of the Nightmare Moon for a long time and she will have prepared the Bearers with a great deal of magical power to win the battle she could not a thousand years ago.
They will protect you from the Order.
Please, with my love and blessing, live.
With love,
Midnight Bloom (aka Mama)
A rolled the letter up again, and put it in her saddle bags. They finished crying, and figured out how they should look.
And, three foals-a pegasus, a unicorn, and an Earth pony-walked out of the bathroom.
“So, you took the train from Manehattan to Ponyville. And…,” here, Twilight Sparkle’s voice trailed off.
“Did...did you...kill Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle? Snuck yourself into their places?” Twilight Sparkle asked very softly.
“No,” Apple Bloom said, sadly. “An’, here and now’s where we get to the point where you start hating us. Especially you, Applejack. Here’s the first part. There never was a Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle before two years ago. None. We made ‘em up the same time we figured the best way to hide a pegasus was one with wings that didn’t quite work.”
“Now, just hold on there,” Applejack said, confused and angry. “We got photos and papers and all that! You were here more than two years!”
“And, Sweetie Belle, Mom and Dad write letters asking about you on their trips all over the place, after they…,” here, Rarity’s voice trailed off, “after they left you with me…”
“Yea, that…,” Scootaloo said. “This is the part where it gets interesting. We got into town, and we figured that we’d best start with Applejack. I mean, a farm on the outskirts. If anything went wrong, we’d have time to fix it.”
“And, of course, we said the exact wrong words,” Sweetie Belle said.
“What could possibly go wrong?” A said.
They were in Sweet Apple Acres and tracking down all the pony inhabitants took only a few minutes. A few sleep spells, some levitation to get them all into place, and the three of them were ready to get to work.
“Yea, but I was thinking…” B said. “I mean, you can still sort of smell Applejack on Big Macintosh, can’t ya?”
“So, they’re big huggers,” A retorted. “You got the script ready?”
“Yea. I don’t like doing this, A,” B replied. “It feels wrong to mess with their memories.”
“Better start calling me Apple Bloom from here on out, Sweetie Belle,” A, no Apple Bloom, said. “And, we can’t just show up. We gotta be their siblings, else they won’t have reasons to keep us around.”
“Yea, I know, Apple Bloom,” Sweetie Belle said with a sigh. “I still don’t like doing this.”
“Neither do I,” Apple Bloom nodded. “But, y’got a better idea?”
“If I did, I’d be telling you, not having Scootaloo pretend to be a deformed pegasus. We could have made the story work with working wings,” Sweetie Belle said, looking at the three Earth ponies.
“She’ll let them ‘grow in’ in a year or two,” Apple Bloom said. “Now, let’s get to work.”
The two of them concentrated, and started to work on the memories of Applejack. Memory modification was a very dangerous thing, and they didn’t want to rush-or have any of the steps go wrong. Carefully, they inserted the three of them as foals into the lives of the Apple ponies. Other siblings that came by the farm would need only slight manipulations, easily done by alicorns.
Even alicorn foals.
With a sharp inhale of breath, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle sat down on their flanks and rested. “Scootaloo should be done, and…”
Scootaloo came running up. You could see that she was trying very hard to not pop her disguise magic and fly. “Did you modify their memories? We need to alter the script!” she whispered insistently.
“Why’s that?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Applejack and Big Macintosh! They’re not brother and sister, like we thought. They’re…”
“WHAT!?!?I”Applejack yelled. “Me and Big Macintosh, married! We’re brother and sister, how does that work?!?!?”
“Big Macintosh was a foundling, nopony knew who his parents were,” Sweetie Belle said sadly. “Your parents adopted him. He fell in love with you, and after you went to Manehattan and got your Cutie Mark, he came after you to bring you home. At some point, the two of you gushed at each other, and he admitted that he was going to ask you to marry him. And, the two of you did before you came home from Manehattan.”
“We got there three days after the two of you came home,” Apple Bloom continued, sadly. “And...we caught Big Mac out of bed, you weren’t wearing any wedding rings, ‘cause you wanted to have Mom’s ring resized to your leg. For what it’s worth, sis, you went to the altar a virgin and you weren’t one when we got to the farm.”
“I’m not your sister,” Applejack hissed angrily. “Y’nothing but a nest-stealing cuckoo bird, lying about me and Big Mac to confuse us. You three mixed up that Love Poison stuff to get Big Macintosh and Cheerlee together!”
“It was a stupid mistake!” Sweetie Belle replied, trying not to cry. “We were hoping to keep things confused and get our Cuite Marks!”
“You’re lying! We can’t be married!” Applejack yelled.
Scootaloo hung her head between her legs. “Twilight Sparkle, behind the ‘Mythology’ section, fourth row, third shelf, is a loose board. Behind it is a saddle bag. Could you bring it over, please?”
Applejack glared angrily at Apple Bloom, Apple Bloom was trying not to cry, Rarity didn’t know what to think, Fluttershy was as nervous as she could be without wetting herself, and Pinkie Pie was starting to look a little grey and grim. Rainbow Dash kept looking curiously at Scootaloo, and the Princesses didn’t know what to say.
Twilight Sparkle left, found where Scootaloo told her, and brought back the saddle bag. Scootaloo opened up one of the compartments and spread the contents out in front of Apple Jack.
Wedding invitations for the whole Apple clan. The marriage license from Manehattan. Mom and Dad’s wedding rings. A cheesy photo of Big Macintosh and Applejack kissing. Love letters, in Big Macintosh’s and Applejack’s hoof writing. Applejack fell onto her haunches in shock, and looked at the pile, her mouth open.
“We couldn’t mess with the memories any more-I mean, we’d gotten dangerously close to doing real damage from what we did. So, yea, it was easier to keep the lie going. After that, that was why we formed the Cutie Mark Crusaders. We made a promise that the day we got our Cutie Marks, whatever else happened, we’d tell you all the truth,” Apple Bloom said. “And, we kept trying because it was wrong for us to mess with your heads and make you think we were family.”
“It was easier with Rarity. We worked on her memories, kept my history vague,” Scootaloo said in the silence, “and we kept working really hard and fast to get our Cutie Marks so we could...well, do what we’re doing now.”
“Applejack,” Apple Bloom said, “I’m very sorry. Ah hated doing what I did, but...thank you.”
“What?” Applejack asked in shock, looking at Apple Bloom.
“Whatever else happens, I’had a sister and brother for two years that loved me. Couldn’t ask for anything more than that,” she said, sadly.
“Well, our Cutie Marks,” Sweetie Belle said, “but that’s about it.”
“Some more stuff, but family and Cutie Marks, yea,” Scootaloo said.
A stunned silence filled the library.
“Did you keep a list of what modifications you performed?” Princess Celestia asked, breaking the silence with a calm voice.
Scootaloo opened up the second saddle bag and handed the huge scroll to Princess Celestia. “We kept very complete notes,” she said, “we knew that one day we’d have to fix our mess. And, while we’re scared of how it’ll all end, I’m glad we can fix it now.”
Princess Celestia took the scroll and looked at the three alicorns. “Twilight, do you have a bedroom they could use for tonight?”
“Yes,” Twilight Sparkle replied. “Spike, can you take them up there?”
“Children,” Princess Celestia said to the three, “We will leave tomorrow for Canterlot. You are not under arrest right now. If you try to escape, however, you will be. But, until a decision has been made, you are my guests. Now, go with Spike, and I will talk with you in the morning.”
“Come on,” Spike said with forced cheer. “Made some hay and raisin muffins for you to have before bedtime.”
As they left, the ponies looked at each other, and waited until the bedroom door closed.
Then, the argument began.
Before the argument even started, Princess Celestia said, “Applejack, Rarity, I will have healers over to Sweet Apple Acres before dawn tomorrow to undo the memory alterations. They cannot be erased, because that would do actual damage. But, they will be repaired so that the hidden memories are revealed and you know which memories are false and which memories are real.”
“Thank you,” Rarity said. “But, what will we do about them? My own sister...is she my sister?”
“She ain’t family,” Applejack ground out through clenched teeth. “Family don’t do this to family. If she’d asked…”
“And, what would you have said if she had asked, AJ?” Rainbow Dash retorted. “‘Oh, hi, Applejack, an evil cult out of radio dramas gave birth to me and my two sisters and they think you’re going to be an important pony, so can I hide out with you, pretending I’m your sister?’ You’d have called for a doctor and a cart to the nuthouse!”
“And, you aren’t upset about this?” Fluttershy asked quietly.
“Damn right I’m upset-Scootaloo’s been hiding how good of a flyer she’s been for years. She’s a natural, almost as good as I am now-and a damn sight better than I was at her age,” Rainbow Dash nodded at Fluttershy. “I’m wanting to train her, ‘cause she’s going to be one of the greats.”
“But, what about this ‘Order of Eternal Night’?” Twilight Sparkle asked. “Did they do the summoning, to lure the foals out of hiding? And, if so why?”
“You’re all missing the most important thing,” Pinkie Pie said.
They all looked at her.
“ALICORN BIRTHDAY PARTY!” she exploded in a shower of confetti from behind her.
“Pinkie Pie! Do you know what they did?” Rarity very nearly stood up and wanted to hit the pink pony across the face with a hoof. “It’s not material for a party!”
“Well, of course not, we’ll have to figure that out later, but they were so scared and so afraid of what happened to their Mom and if you thought some big mean and nasty ponies were out to get out and you could hide like they did, wouldn’t you hide and make sure nopony knew who you were, so that nopony else would be hurt and…” Pinkie Pie ran on with her mouth, starting to turn slightly blue.
“Pinkie Pie!” Princess Luna commanded, “BREATHE!”
Pinkie Pie stopped, and took a huge gasping breath. “But, yea, they might have to go to bed without cupcakes for a few weeks because they did a bad thing, but they didn’t want to hurt anypony.”
“What they wanted,” Princess Celestia said, “and what they did are two entirely different matters. But, their intentions should be factored into our decisions, whatever they may be.”
“I’ve got a decision that I’ve made,” Rainbow Dash said. “How do you adopt a foal? ‘Cause, there’s no way I’m letting Scootaloo not have a family anymore. I've been thinking about this for a while-and now makes it more important. And,” she glared at Applejack and Rarity, “if they won’t take their family home, I’ll adopt the rest of them, too.”
Applejack looked ready to jump at Rainbow Dash-anger, frustration, shock, whatever was the trigger-but Rarity stepped in front of Applejack and said, “I don’t care where she came from. Sweetie Belle is as much my sister, even if she was not born of my parents. Tell me what paperwork needs to be done, Princess Celestia, so I can keep my sister.”
“I will look into the paperwork immediately,” Princess Celestia said. “But, there are three questions that we have not had answered.”
“Which are?” Rarity asked.
“Why do Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom look so much like their 'sisters', how did they become alicorns in the first place, and what was the Order of Eternal Night planning to do with them?” Princess Luna replied.
“There’s a fourth and most important question,” Twilight Sparkle said. “What is the Order planning on doing now?”
Detective Sergeant Misty Drops was trying not to think about murdering his superior, Detective Crown Sergeant Runny Banks. Really, he wasn’t.
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
It wasn’t that DCS Banks was a bad investigator. On the contrary-as quite a few evil ponies in graveyards and as long-term guests of Her Majesty’s Penal System could testify to. He worked hard, put in long hours, would follow clues and criminals to the end of the world.
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
It was just that about six years ago, DCS Banks’ wife died from horn rot. And he went out drinking one night, like he had pretty much every night after his wife died, after work. Which wasn’t that much of a problem-he was a very, very happy drunk.
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
DCS Banks was still a very happy pony when he nearly trampled a bar patron to death in a bar fight. Really, he was. He was especially happy that it could be ruled self-defense.
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
So, DCS Banks realized that he Had A Problem with booze. So, he quit. Cold turkey. Didn’t even go to AA. Just stopped drinking. DS Drops was pretty damned impressed.
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
Except, to deal with the oral fixation from drinking, DCS Banks had turned to candy, gum, lollipops, celery, and finally...to popcorn.
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
Had a huge-ass bag of it in his saddle bags, and any time he wasn’t doing anything, he’d take a small scoop out with his telekinesis and nibble on it. Crumbs got in his grey-and-black mane, all over his grey fur, it got a bit messy at times. Oh, it mostly shook off as he walked, but there were still bits.
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
DS Drops was happy that his boss had something to keep him out of trouble.
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
But, one day, he was going to go Discord on DCS Banks and no jury in the land could convict him with a tape recording of DCS Banks munching. All DS Drops could do was fly just far enough away from DCS Banks as to avoid some of the worst of the crunching.
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
Fortunately, he had finished with the last scoop before they crossed the crime scene tape, and they watched as the CSI ponies were finishing up their work. “So!” DCS Banks said with a cheerful smile, “What’s the story so far?”
CSI Tech 4 Griffin, wearing his crime scene overalls covering his cutie mark, looked over at DCS Banks and said, waving his clip board with his magic, “Good evening, Banks. And, Drops. We’re taking everything back to the lab in Canterlot, but I can give you what we have so far. It was a six-pony wagon,” CSI Griffin was referring to how many ponies it would take to pull the wagon, “and, it was a pretty new one. It had hydraulic shocks, not leaf springs, so it was made in the last ten years. I can get you more details when we pull the serial numbers off. And, it’s a Class 3 Unauthorized Reality Excursion, as you can tell by that poor soul there.”
The remains of the burnt-out cart mostly hid the bed, where pony bones-brittle from the heat and broken from what looked like nails driven into the summoning grid-rested. The skull was mostly intact, except for the broken stub of a horn and most of the lower portion cracked. “Live summoning, and if I had to make a guess, they were using a sound-dampening spell to cover the torture.”
“Torture?” DS Drops asked, curiously, getting his wings settled in.
“For a Class 3 in a small summoning grid, even using the new reduced spell character set? You’d need to have a sacrificial goat-the more powerful, smarter, and the more pain you made it suffer, the better. And, they weren’t idiots-well, beyond actually summoning a Class 3. You can tell by the candle marks there. They’d set candles on the main points of the grid-my bet is dragon hair in manticore grease, can confirm that in the lab-and lit them when they had the summoning hot. Give it an hour or two, the wax melts down, the grid is open, and you have six Class 3’s going to eat ponies,” Griffin said.
“Professional work?” DCS Banks asked, looking at the rest of the cart.
“Still need to confirm at the lab, but so far no hoof prints, no fibers, the magical signatures got scrambled when the grid went down, so can’t offer you anything there. I know this is a Priority One case, and I’ll have the lab ponies go over this whole cart with a fine-tooth comb,” Griffin replied. “And, as soon as I know anything, I’ll let DI Cracken know anything we find out.”
“Thanks. So, roughly about three hours before the monsters came out?” DCS Banks asked.
“Call it three for now. Time-of-death is going to be nearly impossible with the burn damage,” CSI Griffin replied, and looked around. “Can you get out of my crime scene? We’re about to bring the cart in to take the remains to the lab.”
“Certainly,” DCS Banks and DS Drops got out of the crime tape and the crime scene. As DCS Banks left the crime scene, he looked around at the general layout of Ponyville’s main square.
“Going to be a hard one,” DCS Banks sighed. “Bet you two bits they made sure to come in without passing any bank or security cameras, looked as plain as could be, and made sure to be very, very far away when it finally happened.”
“Yea, but we might get lucky,” DS Drops said, waving a wing in the general direction of one of the larger streets for Ponyville. “Only three, four ways they could bring in a six-pony cart?”
“Three,” DCS Banks agreed. He trotted over to a uniformed Guardspony. “Start doing a canvas, ask any pony around here if they saw anything or any pony that was suspicious from about 1100 hours to 1400 hours. Also, start pulling statements of any pony that might have seen a six-pony cart from the main streets leading in to the square. Check for cameras, all the usual details.”
“Yes, sir,” the Guardspony left and started to relay his instructions to other Guards. DCS Banks looked around and made a loud huffing sound.
“Best go find ourselves some coffee,” DCS Banks said, pulling out a scoop of popcorn from his saddle bag. “It’s going to be a long, long night.”
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
“I’ll go see if the muffin stand still has coffee,” DS Drops said, trying not to grind his teeth when he heard the popcorn chewing.
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
“Welcome back,” DI Cracken said from his office, waving as DCS Banks and DS Drops came back in. “Any luck with the Ponyville case on your end?”
“They just had to take it down the only street in Ponyville that didn’t have a security camera,” DCS Banks sighed, coming in and flopping down in one of the chairs. “Witness canvassing is going on, but I’m not optimistic.”
“‘Six ponies, thought they were all Earth ponies, with a cart.’ ‘Four Earth ponies, two unicorns, with a rickshaw,’” DS Drops quoted from his notes in mild disgust. “Witness statements are going to be nearly useless.”
“The lab called, they were able to figure out where the cart came from,” DI Cracken replied, taking up a pile of papers in one of his hooves. “Somepony stole it from a green grocer about seven days ago in Manehattan. Finn and Munch are on their way there to get information. Haven’t been able to ID the sacrifice yet, but they know that it was a middle-aged male unicorn. Other than that, we got a link from the Princesses about the case. Apparently, there’s also an unsolved arson in Manehattan that is connected to the case-some sort of organized cult or something. I’m having the arson inspector pull her files and bring them here.”
“Do we know anything else?” DCS Banks asked. “More about this cult we might be able to use?”
“Yea, just that they appear to be very bucking ruthless,” DI Cracken nodded. “I’ll get copies of the briefing papers to you, as well.”
“Thanks,” DCS Banks replied, and the two of them left his office.
“DCS Banks?” the small reddish-grey unicorn female asked, making sure her badge was noticeable on the chain around her neck. “Hi, I’m Firemare 3 Earnest Ashes,” she said. “You were wondering about one of my cases?”
“Yes, yes I was,” DCS Banks said, sitting at his desk. “This is DS Drops, my partner. So, what can you tell us about the arson?”
The unicorn nodded, and pulled out a file folder from her saddle bag. “It was an amateur job, but a pretty good one. Lots of accelerant-wood alcohol-scattered over a lot of surfaces, paper scattered all over the place. I thought it might have been a torching to cover a homicide, but we didn’t have enough forensic evidence. The only victim’s body was too badly damaged for us to determine otherwise.”
“Did you find any proof of foals living in the house?” DS Drops asked, curious.
“Yes, three from the beds and toys. My guess, they were all female. But, there were no remains and no missing foal reports, so I thought it might have been an illegal day care center,” Firemare Ashes nodded. “What happened?”
“Well, as of now, your case is being reopened as a homicide,” DCS Banks replied. “We have reason to believe that your victim was murdered by somepony that was involved in an incident recently.”
Firemare Ashes flipped through her notes. “I have a description of two ponies, unicorns, that visited her prior to the fire. I thought we could find them, and at least exclude them, but we were short on a lot of details.”
“But, you said, ‘two unicorns’, right?” DS Drops asked, looking at his notes. “‘One tall, long horn and one short with a medium-length horn,’” he quoted from the notes.
“Sounds about right as a rough description,” Firemare Ashes said. “They were seen near the crime scene about an hour before the whole place went up. Why?”
“We have a witness that says the victim was arguing with two unicorns of the same description,” DCS Banks replied, and shook his head. “We’ll have to go and try to get more information.”
“After two years?” Firemare Ashes asked. “They put a whole new building there and everything. I got all my witness information paperwork here…”
“Thank you,” DS Drops took it from Ashes’ telekinesis and trotted over to the copier.
“It’s a Priority One case now,” DCS Banks said, shrugging. “We’ll have Guards run down the witnesses and ask any pony they can find more details. And, pull all the materials out of storage to run more tests on.”
Two ponies trotted into the squad room. One was a thin, almost gaunt grey unicorn with glasses on his muzzle and a Cutie Mark of a magnifying glass over a scroll. The other one was a dark brown Earth pony who looked less like a Detective Sergeant and more like the enforcer of a major Happy Dream cartel with huge hammers for his Cutie Mark. “Hey, you’ll be happy to hear that we got some information on that cart,” DS Big Finn, the Earth pony said.
“And, something even better,” DCS Green Munch, the unicorn, noted, pulling photos out of his saddle bags. “Photographs. Not a lot of details, but we can tell that it’s about six unicorns that took off with the cart.”
DCS Banks took the photos and looked at them. “All wearing cloaks?”
“Weather was scheduled for a serious rainstorm, but we got that they’re all unicorns, and you can tell some of the size differences,” DCS Munch nodded.
“And, two of them are girls,” DS Finn noted. “Unshorn fetlocks,” he smiled, “and, general leg shape.”
“Of course, you’d look there,” DCS Munch said with a smile.
“Hey, I’m a heterosexual leg pony,” DS Finn grinned. “I notice these kinds of things.”
“Okay, so we’re looking for six unicorns, two of them female,” DS Drops said, and shrugged. “And, the females have ‘cute, unshorn fetlocks’.” He sighed and put his pencil down, carefully. “Well, we’ve started with worst descriptions. Not much worse, mind you.”
“DCS Munch, DS Finn, this is Firemare 3 Earnest Ashes,” DCS Banks introduced her to the rest. “She’s the lead investigator in an arson that is related to the attack.”
“Pleasure,” DCS Munch said, and shook her hoof. “What’s the connection?”
“Organized cult activity,” DCS Banks replied. “We think that the summoners murdered and committed arson to cover up a death in Manehattan two years ago.”
“I’ll get you copies of my notes,” DCS Munch said, and went over to the copier.
“...and, that’s about all we have right now, your Highness,” DCS Banks said, looking at his notes. “We’re running down the leads we have right now, and if we can identify even one of the unicorns involved, it’s a start.”
DCS Banks remembered from the days when he was a mere Detective, learning under the tutelage of the famous and brawling DCS Green Hunt. This was back in the “good old days” of police work-when colts were colts, mares were mares, and lesbian sheep were nervous. DCS Hunt had a lot of great expressions for this, and one of his favorite was “managing the managers.”
“You want to figure out how to tell your bosses,” he said over donuts and booze one night, “that you’re getting everything done, you’ve got scalds of witnesses you just need to interview, flank-loads of physical evidence, and everything else. Even when all you have are two busted-ass donkeys and half a biscuit to your case, and you really want to get back out on the street and start running down where the biscuit came from rather than answering silly questions to a DI that hasn’t worked a case in ten years.”
DCS Banks realized that “managing” Princess Celestia was simple-the truth, and as much as he could give. So, he gave it to her in full.
“Do you have the identity of the sacrifice victim,” Princess Celestia asked, looking grim at the thought.
“Not at this time, your Highness,” DS Drops said, “Considering his condition, he was probably a transient or homeless, and the summoners just grabbed the first unicorn they could find.”
“Thank you,” Princess Celestia said, and sighed. “Do you need any more resources? Ponies?”
“Not at this time, your Highness,” DCS Banks said. “Cases like this are like a whole mixed up pile of jigsaw puzzles. Nothing really happens until you can figure out how to put enough pieces together to start getting a coherent image. A bit of forest, the borders of the puzzle, it takes time and work, but right now we have all the eyeballs that we can make use of on the case.”
Princess Celestia nodded. “I will not keep you from your work, then. Once again, thank you.”
As DCS Banks and DS Drops turned to leave, there was the sound of an explosion from within the Royal compound. Not a large one, but easily audible in the audience chamber. And, DCS Banks noticed, Princess Celestia didn’t flinch when it happened.
“Your Highness?” DCS Banks asked, curiously, “What was that explosion?”
Princess Celestia looked out the window and sighed.
“That, DCS Banks, is what happens when you are silly enough to allow foals to play with steam,” Princess Celestia said with a sigh. “We’ll have to rebuild the workshop. Again.”
Before they left, Princess Celestia has brought the three foals in front of her, with Princess Twilight Sparkle and Princess Luna there, as well.
“Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle,” she said without preamble. “Do you understand what the concept of a parole is?”
The three foals looked at each other. “It’s a promise for prisoners, isn’t it? Prisoners promise something to their captor, in exchange for something from the captor?” Sweetie Belle asked, curiously.
“Very close, Sweetie Belle. What I propose is this-we will depart today. All of your friends will be told that you have sustained injuries that require treatment in Canterlot. While you are ‘recovering’, you will be allowed freedom within Canterlot, you will not be confined, and you will have tutoring and assistance to help your academic studies,” Princess Celestia agreed. “In exchange, you will cooperate in our efforts to find out your full origins. You will not escape from Canterlot or leave the city boundaries without our agreement. And, you must maintain your current identities as ‘normal’ ponies. I am willing to make an exception for Scootaloo, she can have her wings in full.”
“And, what if...you decide to do something about us,” Scootaloo asked. “If we’re some sort of danger to you or other ponies?”
“If that happens,” Princess Luna said, “you will be fully within your rights to defend yourself, and escape. Our protection is for as long as you are Our guests. The moment that changes, the relationships change.”
The three foals looked at each other, and Apple Bloom nodded at the Princesses. “I agree to your terms, Princess Celestia.”
“Me too,” Scootaloo said.
“I agree,” Sweetie Belle said, as well.
They left in the same chariot that Princess Celestia and Luna had arrived in. Apple Bloom looked at Princess Celestia and said, “Do y’know how Applejack is doing?”
“The healers will arrive before the end of the day today, and they will repair her memories. Your notes were very helpful, we can probably minimize the amount of conflicts within their minds from the memory manipulations,” Princess Celestia replied.
“Did she...say anything about me,” Apple Bloom asked softly.
“Nothing that is worth repeating,” Princess Celestia replied. “She is very angry with you, and with good reason. But, her anger comes from her love for you-you are her precious sister and you have made a place for you in her heart, honestly. Which is why it hurts her so much to be angry with you.”
Princess Celestia looked away from Apple Bloom for a second, then back at her. “I understand her feelings, all too well.”
“Oh,” Apple Bloom said, and she settled onto the floor of the chariot.
She deliberately hadn’t said anything about the tears in Princess Celestia’s eyes.
Princess Celestia allowed them to make a single loop around Canterlot, as she pointed out sights and particular things about the city. Then, she brought the chariot in for a landing, as the Royal Guards snapped to attention.
Waiting in the landing area was Polished Brass, the castellan of Canterlot Castle, and Kibutz, the pony in charge of all the schedules. They both bowed as Princess Celestia and Princess Luna left the chariot, and waited patiently.
“Polished Brass,” she said to the Earth pony, “these three foals are my guests-Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle. Is the West Tower available for them?”
“Yes, your Highness,” Polished Brass replied, pulling notes out of his saddle bag. That Princess Celestia was asking for a whole tower for three foals surprised him slightly, but he was too well trained to show it. “The West Tower is almost entirely empty, I think we can put them all up on the fourth floor.”
“The West Tower?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Isn’t that the Sunset Tower?”
“You know your history, Sweetie Belle,” Polished Brass smiled. “Yes, rebuilt in 870 ANM, and again only a year ago. It has all the modern conveniences and is a very secure tower. The fourth floor is a full suite of eight rooms, each has their own bathroom, and there is a landing platform for pegasus there as well. The kitchen on the third floor is fully modern, and the staff there can prepare just about anything if you give them enough warning.”
What he didn’t say was that the only way in or out of the tower was two sets of doors in the ground floor, easily defendable by the occupants of the tower. Also, historically, the West Tower was a tower for visiting dignitaries and foreign rulers-and the furthest away from the main keep.
And the Princesses.
“Princess Celestia,” Kibutz said, “yesterday’s disruption put all of our schedules off! I’m trying to re-arrange the Day Court schedule, but…”
“Kibutz,” Princess Luna said, with a smile that showed far too many teeth. “If you would be so kind as to put the worst complainers on the schedule for Night Court, I think I might be able to accommodate them.”
Kibutz shivered for a second. The last time that happened, the only thing that kept Prince Blueblood from a quick trip to the executioner for High Treason was that he tripped on the carpet in the Night Court’s chamber. “Ah, but Princess Luna, did you not say that your digestion was affected by the last time we did this?” Kibutz replied, recovering quickly.
“Yes, but I am feeling an urge to do battle,” Princess Luna chuckled. “I did not get the chance to do so when we went to Ponyville.”
“Luna, that is highly unfair to our subjects,” Princess Celestia shook her head. “Revise the schedule so that Court begins after lunch, Kibutz. But, if Prince Blueblood is anywhere on the schedule, he goes to Night Court for the rest of the week.”
“Ah, yes, Your Highness,” Kibutz nodded and pulled out his checklists.
“And, arrange for tutors for our guests. I also know that Sweetie Belle has some small talent in singing,” Princess Celestia continued.
“Hey!” Sweetie Belle said, trying not to be embarrassed.
“And, that Apple Bloom is a knowledgeable mechanic. Is Steam Heart here?”
“Ah, yes he is, Your Highness,” Kibutz said.
“See if he would like an assistant while he is here,” Princess Celestia replied and looked at Apple Bloom. “Steam Heart is one of the best ponies that I have ever met in dealing with steam power. He got his Cutie Mark from developing several new techniques in steam locomotive and marine power, and he is working on further improvements.”
“I will ask immediately, Your Highness,” Kibutz made notes on his note pad.
“And,” Celestia looked at Scootaloo, “Scootaloo here has finally come into her wings and will need to fully exercise and practice them. There should be guest quarters for Rainbow Dash when she comes to help train.”
“I will make sure that there is guest space in the West Tower for her as well,” Polished Brass noted. “With your permission, Your Highness?”
“Granted, Polished Brass,” Princess Celestia nodded. Polished Brass departed swiftly and Princess Celestia kept walking into the palace, tailed by Princess Luna, the foals, two guards, and Kibutz. “Anything that requires immediate attention?”
“Ah, yes, a Crown Investigator is requesting information from the sealed stacks,” Kibutz asked. “As that particular stack was flagged with a Royal seal, you need to authorize it.”
Princess Celestia took the scroll and read it quickly. “Granted. Make sure DCS Banks gets his information immediately,” she said, finding the Royal seal and stamping the document.
“There are a few ponies asking about your plans for this year’s Summer Sun Celebration, mostly location,” Kibutz said. “It’s critical because Cloudsdale and Trottingham are both requesting that we reassess the choice of New Harmony for the Celebration.”
“Unless Princess Twilight Sparkle can figure out how to make the ‘solid cloud’ formula cheaper and more permanent, Cloudsdale is out. And, Trottingham does not have enough facilities to handle the Summer Sun Celebration,” Princess Celestia sighed. “Sadly, New Harmony is our compromise choice for now. I will deal with the bruised egos later, Kibutz. Anything else?”
“‘Solid clouds,’ Princess Celestia?” Apple Bloom asked, curious.
“There is a potion that allows non-pegasus to walk on clouds, but it only lasts for a short time and cannot be consumed too often. Princess Twilight Sparkle has an idea that maybe we can apply the potion to the clouds, and make them solid enough for ponies to walk on,” Princess Celestia replied. “So far, she has gotten it to work, but the clouds break down much more quickly than normal, which means that it is entirely possible for somepony to walk on a “solid” cloud and fall right through.”
“Could ah take a look at the notes, too?” Apple Bloom asked. “I’m a bit of a chemist, too.”
“I will see that they are made available,” Princess Celestia nodded.
A unicorn female in a maid’s outfit came up to the Princesses and bowed. “Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, may I escort your guests to the West Tower,” she asked.
“Certainly. They do not have much luggage, but they may need some things.” Princess Celestia turned to look at the three foals. “This is Shining Button,” she said, pointing out the unicorn maid. “If you need anything at all-within reason, please!-she will help you to find it.”
“Thank you, Your Highness. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, right?” She trotted beside the three and started to lead them down to the town. “I heard you’re sister is Rarity, Sweetie Belle...I saw her Grand Galloping Gala dresses and I’m so impressed…”
As the three foals retreated out of hearing, Princess Celestia took a deep breath and looked at Kibutz. “What do we know about the list?”
“Considering the foal’s age, there were about twenty ponies involved in the project, mostly monitoring and planning,” Kibutz replied.
“The list?” Princess Luna asked.
“About one hundred years before you came back, I began to plan for the return of Nightmare Moon. I had been tracking and watching the genealogies of ponies that lived near and around Ponyville. That way, I could find and nudge the ponies that would be the best for the Elements of Harmony,” Princess Celestia replied. “All of them were descendents of ponies that had done great and beautiful things that had resonated with the Elements in the past. And, when I did the list…”
“You sorted by species,” Princess Luna finished. “Pray tell, did You think of including any thestrals on Your list? Or Crystal ponies?” Princess Luna’s tone was withering in this instance.
“All of the thestral candidates were gone by this time,” Princess Celestia sighed. “Not even in the low probability categories. There were no pure-blooded Crystal ponies anywhere in the kingdom until about a year ago when the Crystal Kingdom returned. And, to be quite honest, I was surprised when we discovered that Twilight Sparkle was the potential Element of Magic! She was not even on the list, and she was not a resident of Ponyville. I honestly expected a pony from town that was one of my students to be the Element of Magic.”
Princess Luna sighed. “‘Heisenburro makes fools of us all,’” she quoted the standard textbook on divination magic. “Who was the student You thought was going to be the Element from Ponyville?”
“Lyra Heartstrings, I believe-absolutely amazing telekinesis control, very good at improvisational magic,” Princess Celestia replied. “So, they chose the top three. But, they missed the pegasus...I know that Rarity and Applejack were the top members of the list, and if they did not know there were six elements, the Order may have thought they only needed one pony from each species.”
“Who was the top pegasus candidate?” Princess Luna asked.
“A racer by the name of Comet Tail,” Princess Celestia replied. “Rainbow Dash was low on the list, and Fluttershy was another surprise candidate. Pinkie Pie, on the other hand…”
“Probably snuck onto the list on her own,” Princess Luna smiled. “Do we know where the twenty other ponies are?”
“I am having the Guard find them, if they are not working for us anymore. In addition, we ran down the name of Midnight Bloom,” Kibutz said, flipping through his notes. “She was at the University of Canterlot until about six years ago, when she just vanished. Nopony knew what happened to her, or why she was gone. Her apartment had been cleared out prior, she said she was moving somewhere else...but, there was no sign of her afterwards.”
“What did Midnight Bloom do at the University?” Princess Celestia asked.
“Biology, more specifically she was a professor of magical genetic modification. She developed one of the spells used by mares to have foals with other mares, one of the ‘official’ versions that gives a random chance of having a colt,” Kibutz replied. “You did also request that we do genetic tests on the three foals, and I have two technicians from the CSI lab here to do the tests.”
Princess Celestia took out from where she kept things a set of eleven numbered vials. In each vial was a number of hairs. “The ones with letters on them are the ones that are to be tested, the ones with numbers are their potential parents,” she said.
“Who are the potential parents?” Kibutz took the vials and slipped them into his saddle bag.
“Let us keep the information between ourselves right now,” Princess Luna replied. “If necessary, Princess Twilight Sparkle has a copy of the list.” Here, she sighed. “I do not want to do what might be necessary, Celestia.”
“We will not, if we can avoid it,” Princess Celestia replied.
The West Tower was huge. Even larger than any of the places they had lived before. Sweetie Belle and Shining Button were exchanging stories of dresses and fashion. Apparently, there were a number of tickets for the Grand Galloping Gala and other events that went on a lottery system to those that worked in the Castle-every pony got one ticket, and high performance results gained additional tickets. Shining Button had been doing everything she could to get as many tickets so she could go to the Grand Galloping Gala.
“I’m really wanting to open up a high-end boutique in Canterlot in a few years,” Shining Button said. “And, I’ve seen your sister’s work-once I get some real clients, ponies that’ll show up on the front pages of fashion magazines and society papers, I was going to see if Rarity wanted to be a partner in my shop.”
“Have you done any dresses or such?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Oh yes,” Shining Button blushed. “Duchess Twopenny wore one of my dresses to several of the major parties before last year’s Grand Galloping Gala. The only reason she didn’t wear mine to the Gala itself was that she had promised Coco Rarrel to wear one of her dresses. Mostly, a lot of the smaller nobility likes my work-more modern, easier to dance in.”
“The blue and green dress, sweetheart neckline with pearls?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Rarity was upset for a week because she hadn’t thought of it. And, that is very high praise, Shining Button. When I get a chance, I’m writing her a letter-you two should be working together now.”
“Ah, ah...thank you, miss!” Shining Button blushed like a storm.
“You’re welcome,” and the four of them got on a brass cage elevator that was set into one of the walls of the tower.
“There are stairs, of course,” Shining Button said, pointing out the stairs through the elevator cage. “But, the elevators make it so much easier.”
When they reached the fourth floor, the bell went “ding!” and the doors opened up, to reveal a circular hallway with a set of eight doors surrounding it. “Any room you want, except for Scootaloo-room five and six have landing platforms for pegasui, and Princess Luna left something for you in room six,” Shining Button said, leading the foals out of the elevator.
The foals trotted over to the rooms-Apple Bloom choosing room two, Sweetie Bellle choosing room eight, and Scootaloo opening up room six with her hoof.
It was a pretty large room-dresser, closet, a bed that looked only slightly less comfortable than a good cloud, a door that had to lead to the bathroom...and there were boxes on the bed. “What the?” Scootaloo asked, trotting over to the bed.
“Shadowbolt Bitty Babies," she said, reading off the top of the boxes. “Star Call, Echo Storm, Radiant Bliss...these are all of the first series of Shadowbolt Bitty Babies!” Scootaloo said with a shout. “And, the playsets!”
She turned over one of the boxes. “Made in 903 AD, these are original Shadowbolt Bitty Babies,” she gushed, and saw the note on the bed, addressed to her.
Scootaloo opened it up. Inside the letter read-
Dear Scootaloo,
It turns out that I had bought three sets of everything of the first series of Shadowbolt Bitty Babies when they came out. My sister is right, I am just a big foal at heart when the right toys are around.
This set is yours-play with them, collect them for your grandchildren, put them up to admire them-the choice is yours.
May you always find the dawn and the moon,
Princess Luna
Scootaloo sat on the bed, and was somewhat shocked. “She...she gave me toys that go up for auction at six figure bids…,” she whispered. “To play with…”
Scootaloo took them and carefully put them up on the nightstand shelf. “I’ll...have to think about this. But…,” and here she broke out in a smile, “so very cool!”
“Once again, from the top,” the Earth pony, Meera said, in the practice hall at Canterlot Castle. She waved her folding fan around, in time with the musical exercise that she was using.
She was an immigrant from Saddle Arabia, having come to Equestria when she was very young. She had escaped from an arranged marriage with a colt that was nearly three times her age and mostly prefered young, virginal foals. She had somehow managed to find herself on the border of Equestria after trekking across several thousand miles.
Her Cutie Mark, a middle C and high A note, was from her skill as an opera soprano. She had literally sung for her supper in more than one circumstance, and her first performance at the Royal Faustia Opera Hall was to a standing ovation for her role in Faustia and Caramel.
Princess Celestia had become friends with the nut-brown mare, and on several occasions Meera had been a good companion when Princess Celestia needed it. So, when Princess Celestia had asked-asked!-her if she could teach a student, privately, she immediately came over with all the materials she needed.
Sweetie Belle took a long, deep breath, and began the vocal exercise again. Meera wasn’t disappointed, mind you-she suspected that Sweetie Belle was probably going to be a mezzo-soprano, which wasn’t too much of a sin in the modern opera. But, at her age, she clearly should have more training for this talent. “Where did you start your studies?” Meera asked after Sweetie Belle finished this round of exercises.
“I, well, I grabbed one of those ‘teach yourself how to sing’ records from our local library,” she said, blushing a bit. “I was nervous, I don’t think I’m really that good...ow!”
Meera swatted her head with her fan. “Sweetie Belle, I will not allow you to have any false modesty or ego of your skill. True, you are a mezzo-soprano, but you have a superb range for one. If we were to be on stage, there are many roles that your voice can handle. It is merely unskilled, and we will learn that skill, here. Let us take this vocal exercise-one of my favorite pieces, Amneris in Aida. Once upon a time, I was able to perform it superbly, but now I am a bit too rich for the role.” Here, she smiled. “With the music, following the notation.”
Meera put the needle on the record in the record player, and waited as it reached the point where Sweetie Belle started to sing again. The rich sounds of the seductress Amneris came as she sang, and Meera listened with rapt pleasure at knowing that Sweetie Belle had nailed the vocals.
As Sweetie Belle neared the end, her flanks started to glow softly, and Meera watched in joy as her Cutie Mark came in. The glow ended with a pink heart linked through with a bridging gap symbol, three small and three large stars surrounding the heart.
Sweetie Belle looked at Meera and said, “Um, what…” Then, she saw herself in the mirror and looked at her new Cutie Mark, her jaw dropping. “Wow...that, that is beautiful,” Sweetie Belle said.
“You have a voice for music, Sweetie Belle,” Meera replied with a smile. “All the Cutie Mark says is that you have that talent. And, it is a beautiful talent. Shall we do something a bit more modern?”
Meera found a new record, and put it on. The musical portion of Building A Mystery began. Sweetie Belle smiled, and found the place in the music where she should have started.
“Three quarters wrench,” Steam Heart said, his legs sticking out of the engine box.
“Three quarters wrench,” Apple Bloom replied and handed it to him with her hooves.
The annoyance that she was back to hooves and mouth was easily overshadowed by the fact that she was working with Steam Heart, probably one of the most famous inventors in Equestria. He was one of a few ponies that went after the “white dragon”-steam power. And, he had invented half a dozen different devices to make steam engines even more efficient and powerful.
It used to be that on some of the Ponyville-to-Appleacha routes, they actually had to have ponies help tow the train across some sections, as it wasn’t powerful enough to climb some hills. Last year, the CSW (Canterlot Steam Works)-1002 engine, a powerful 4-4-0 engine could do the work of two older CSW-907 4-2-0 engine at once, went into service. They didn’t need ponies to haul the train over the worst portion of the hills.
And, Steam Heart was the reason why.
Around steam, he was an obsessive-compulsive that made Twilight Sparkle look sloppy in comparison. He spent the first two days yelling at Apple Bloom, when she nearly burned herself a few times on portions of the steam engine he was working on. She did understand why-Steam Heart had fought the White Dragon and knew the only way to truly fight it was to be methodical and thorough.
His newest idea was a new fuel for engines-using a petroleum distillate called kerosene instead of wood or coal. This, however, dictated a modification to the engine boiler and how the fuel was used to heat the water.
“Three-eights gripley,” Steam Heart asked.
“Three-eights gripley,” Apple Bloom replied.
A series of banging noises from inside the engine assembly. “Damn,” Steam Heart said, and scooted out from inside the fuel box. Covered in grease, his horn having several nicks in it from working in close quarters, Steam Heart sighed, and rolled onto his back in front of the engine. “Yea, that bolt is stuck,” he said. “We’ll probably have to go in later with a breaker bar. I put some penetrating oil on it, maybe that’ll loosen it up.”
“That bad?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Yep,” Steam Heart replied. “Rust is what you get when you do a lot of hot water in places, even with the new steel alloys.” He sighed and rolled back onto his hooves. “But, I’m really optimistic about the whole kerosene thing. Probably double the range of an engine, and it’s not as dirty or as grimy as coal. With that, we can see locomotive power really take off-and for marine applications, as well.”
The two of them sat in the workshop, in companionable silence. “Gotten a letter from your sister yet,” Steam Heart asked.
“No, sent two, worried about that,” Apple Bloom replied sadly. “But, I was thinking and I had an idea.”
“Oh?” Steam Heart asked.
“Yea, it was when you were talking about the danger of high-pressure steam and such,” Apple Bloom said. He had one great demonstration where he stuck a full-sized log between two clamps and turned on a mid-pressure steam line. The steam vaporized the log where it hit, and Steam Heart pointed out that ponies were softer and squishier than logs. “I was thinking-you ever seen one of those aerometer thingies they use to measure wind speed?”
“Sure,” he said.
“What if we built one that instead of measuring wind speed, we blew it with high-pressure steam, made it spin really fast and attached to a drive shaft. Wouldn’t we get some power out of it?” Apple Bloom asked curiously.
“Hm…,” he said, thoughtful. “It might not be too efficient at low speeds...but…”
He got up and immediately started to make sketches at his drafting table. “We might need to use multiple blades on the fan, but it might work…,” and he stopped for a second, setting down his pencil with telekinesis. “This...this might actually be something pretty darned awesome. Have to build a serious casing to hold the fan blades, but that wouldn’t be too hard…”
He stopped, and looked at Apple Bloom, “You realized, if this works, you might just be a very rich pony. High-speed shafts are very useful in quite a few applications.”
“Shucks, as long as I’ve got enough money to keep Sweet Apple Acres in the black, I’m a happy pony,” Apple Bloom smiled. “So, how soon can we get to building the casing?”
Which was why, two weeks and one (small) explosion later, the Apple/Heart Steam Turbine Casing Mark II was sitting in the middle of the workshop. They had built it so that it was relatively easy to take apart and install drive shafts with more fan blades. “If we ever get to application,” Steam Heart said, “we’ll have to install reduction gearing of some kind. But, for now, we can test RPMs and such.”
The newest blade they had in the Casing was a twenty-four blade turbine, and Steam Heart was already seeing some of the potential forms that the turbine blades could be built into. Apple Bloom was just happy to have it work. “Everything tightened down?” Steam Heart asked.
“Made sure of it twice,” Apple Bloom replied.
“Fuel flow good for the boiler?” Steam Heart asked, looking over his own check list.
“Yep.”
“Henway?” Steam Heart smiled from behind his clipboard.
“What a henway?” Apple Bloom asked, catching what he had said.
“Oh, about four to five pounds,” Steam Heart smiled as Apple Bloom groaned. She knew that Steam Heart would pun at the drop of a hat and she found a piece of scrap paper to throw at him.
“Silly,” Apple Bloom grunted, and the two of them got to the test control area-walled off from the steam engine room, with thick walls, cables to control the engine, instruments to read, and periscopes to look at everything that was going on. “Ready on my end.”
“Ready here,” Steam Heart said and began to add fuel to the burners under the water tank. Pressure began to build up in the water tank, and he looked happily at the gauges. “We’re nearly up to working pressure,” he said. “Ready to open the steam valves?”
“Ready, ready, open at ten percent,” she said, and watched with joy as the turbine shaft RPM counter began to go up. “Turbine is nearing 500 RPM.” They had learned from the Mark I that trying to add power too fast to the turbine when it had stopped was a very bad thing, and resulted in explosions. “And, we’re at 515 RPM.”
Steam Heart made a note of the time and the speed, and said, “Take it up to twenty-five percent.”
Apple Bloom spun the wheel a bit more, and watched as the valve to the steam boiler opened up to twenty-five percent. The turbine was spinning even faster, and the RPM counter went up even higher. “We are at...1020 RPM,” Apple Bloom said, looking at her set of dials. “So far, we’re in the green over here.”
Steam Heart made another note, and looked at his set of dials. “Thirty percent steam,” he ordered.
Apple Bloom turned the wheel a bit more, and waited a second. “1510 RPM,” she said, we’re steady at thirty percent.”
“Great!” Steam Heart smiled. “Next, we’ll…”
He never finished that sentence.
The later reconstruction of the accident worked out like this-
First, the kerosene they were using was especially rich. So, at the fuel settings they thought were the right ones, they were getting nearly twice as much energy out of the burning kerosene.
Second, the pressure gauge and thermometer had both suffered from water corrosion and were slow and inaccurate in responding.
And, third, the emergency pressure relief valve (another Steam Heart creation) was sticky, and it hesitated for just long enough for the overheated boiler to explode.
Steam Heart was a careful and thorough research pony. He cut no corners and took no chances. Which was why he and Apple Bloom were alive after the explosion. Like all steam research workshops, it was built with thick stone walls, and a very thin ceiling (to ensure that any blown-up research ponies had as quick a route to Heaven as possible), and the blast wasted it’s energy on exploding into the open air. The debris-mostly light wood and roof shingles, didn’t fall very far and nopony was hurt in the explosion or the aftermath.
Princess Celestia looked out the window and sighed.
“That, DCS Banks, is what happens when you are silly enough to allow foals to play with steam,” Princess Celestia said with a sigh. “We’ll have to rebuild the workshop. Again.”
Steam Heart shook his head and instantly regretted it. When the room stopped doing a samba in eight dimensions, he found the fuel cut-off valve and closed it, and then closed the emergency valve that led directly from the fuel tank to the boiler. After he secured that, checked to make sure that he was okay, and nothing else was going to blow up, he trotted over to where Apple Bloom was and started to pull debris off of her.
“Are you all right?” Steam Heart half-yelled, his ears still ringing from the blast.
“I’m fine,” Apple Bloom said, her head shaking with the ringing sound of the explosion as well. “Did we get the last RPM reading from the engine?”
It hurt to laugh-hell, it hurt to do anything-but Steam Heart had to laugh at this. “Yea, 1510 RPM at thirty percent, but I think that number might be a bit off…,” he giggled, and used his telekinesis to clean off what other debris had fallen on Apple Bloom. He then gasped. “Okay, I’m glad you’re all right, and clearly you have a talent for this kind of thing.”
Apple Bloom followed his eyes and gasped as she saw that she had a Cutie Mark. It was a crossed hammer and wrench, and, with joy in her eyes, she knew that she was an Apple.
The head of the hammer was made from a Kingston Black Apple.
“So, how has it been,” Rainbow Dash asked.
For the past three weeks and change, Rainbow Dash flew in every Tuesday, spent Tuesday through Friday at Canterlot, and then came back to Cloudsdale to handle weather duties. Scootaloo was happy, and getting into good shape was part of it.
Scootaloo had the opposite problem of most pegasui-great leg muscles, not-so-good wing muscles. Her disguise as a “wingless runt” meant that she hadn’t had much chance to work out the larger muscles. Oh, she was pretty good in a lot of ways-Rainbow Dash knew that Scootaloo was probably as agile and her equal as a sprinter. But, she didn’t have the sheer power and endurance that another pegasus of her age would have had.
So, wing lifts, barrel rolls, elevator pushes, a dozen and one other exercises that left Scootaloo sore and tired four days a week. But, it did let her do two things.
First, she was actually flying. In public! Where every pony could see it. She had to stay within the boundaries of Canterlot, but that was still a lot of airspace to cover.
Second, she was flying with Rainbow Dash. Her hero for years, even before she was an Element of Harmony. And, Rainbow Dash was training her! What more could a pony ask for?
“Pretty good, but I’d have to say I’m envious,” Scootaloo replied. “I mean, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle both got their Cutie Marks. And, I’m still a blank flank.”
“But, they’re still your friends, right?” Rainbow Dash asked, curiously.
“We’re still the Cutie Mark Crusaders,” Scootaloo noted, catching a particular thermal nearby. “Now, we’re all crusading to help other ponies find their Cutie Marks and what is good for them in life. I mean, you got to feel sorry for Dev Mark, whatever his Cutie Mark means appears to be a one-way ticket to a serious case of CMFIS in the near future.”
“So, you’re trying to help?” Rainbow Dash found the thermal as well, and got additional altitude to join up with Scootaloo.
“Hell yes! I mean, how can you find what you’re good at when you’re Cutie Mark is two abstract math shapes, you’re flunking algebra, and you're not even an unicorn? I feel sorry for him, and I remember how crazy I got when I thought things were going wrong,” Scootaloo replied. “So, we’re all helping as much as we can.”
“Always knew you were awesome, and I’m glad you keep confirming it,” Rainbow Dash replied.
“So, how’s Ponyville?” Scootaloo asked.
“Doing good, got most of the damage patched up. Everypony’s out of the hospital, and things are good. Pinkie Pie already has your “welcome back” party planned, and Fluttershy is getting things ready for a full songbird orchestra when you all get back.”
“How’s Applejack?” Scootaloo asked carefully.
Rainbow Dash was quiet for a minute, but she said, “She’s...still not taking this well. I mean, her and Big Mac, half the time they’re acting like school foals in love, the other half they’re scared they’ll hurt each other. And, any time the conversation comes onto Apple Bloom...she really starts to lose it. Rarity has had to slap her down a few times, I mean, she’s pretty much waiting for Sweetie Belle to come home.”
“What about you?” Scootaloo asked, flying close.
“Still stand by what I said that night, kid,” she replied. “You’re occasionally crazy and do things that no sensible foal should do, but I gotta hand it to you three, you’re great foals.”
Scootaloo smiled, and carefully shook her head to get the tears out of them. “Thanks, I’m glad and...what’s that?!?”
Rainbow Dash’s head turned to follow, and she saw it.
A young foal, probably no older than two or three years old, had fallen into one of the large and swift rivers that served Canterlot. How the foal had gotten into the water, didn’t matter.
What mattered was that the river was leading directly to one of the largest waterfalls that came from Canterlot.
And, the moment she noticed that, Rainbow Dash noticed that Scootaloo was gone.
Oh, this is a very, very bad idea…, Scootaloo thought, as she dove towards the river.
First of all, she might not be able to take back off again.
Second, the edge of the waterfall was really bucking close to where she was going to land.
And, third-Princess Celestia might count her falling over the waterfall as a violation of her parole, which meant that Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom would be in trouble. Hey, she thought, speaking to her friends, we might have a problem.
What is going...oh, Sweetie Belle replied. Can we get to you in time?
Not unless you teleport, Scootaloo said, sadly. Or fly, and either way, you might be breaking parole. Just as I’m about to in...two minutes…
What do you mean...oh, my, Apple Bloom noticed where Scootaloo was. Don’t think that Princess Celestia will call trying to save a foal a violation of your parole.
Well, Scootaloo said, with a tinge of sarcasm as her hooves entered the water, we’re about to find out.
She landed at the water at a speed just below that would break bones, having braked at the last instant to keep from killing herself (if such a thing was possible). The splash was pretty spectacular, and under water she swam hard for the foal, taking him up in her front legs. “I’ve got you!” Scootaloo said, and held onto the squirmy, wet, scared foal as she tried to get her wings above the water.
And, there wasn’t going to be enough time. She could feel the undertow of the water, pulling her in and under, and decided, well, if I’m going to be punished for breaking my word, it’ll be for saving somepony else.
As she fell, she clutched the foal close to her breastbone, folded her wings over them both, and released the body change magic. She could feel her horn glow with power, and she wrapped herself in the most powerful magical barrier that she could generate.
Then, she hit the rocks and water under the waterfall.
A few moments later, Scootaloo and the foal had come up to the side of the river near the waterfall. The foal was making “awesome!” sounds, and had clearly wet his diaper.
Scootaloo had remembered to restore her body change magic as she dragged herself onto shore, clutching the foal in one leg. The Guards waiting there carefully took the foal from Scootaloo’s grasp, and headed off for the hospital and his parents.
The last thing Scootaloo remembered was saying, “Banana figs and fruity nut bread…,” as her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she fainted dead away.
“Well, as escape attempts go,” Princess Celestia said, “this one was certainly...unique.”
She had brought all three of them before her and Princess Luna, as well as Rainbow Dash, to discuss what had happened.
“Do you have anything to say for yourself,” Princess Celestia asked.
“Yea,” Scootaloo said, “If you call this an attempt to break parole, I’m gonna rebel, right here and now!”
She was still battered and bruised from the fal, and clearly hadn’t wasted any magic on unnecessary healing. “The foal was going to die and I was the only pony that could be there to save him. How is he doing?”
“Very well,” Princess Celestia replied. “You did save his life, so I suppose I do owe you a little gratitude.”
“Buck your gratitude,” Scootaloo said, rolling up fully onto her hooves, not flinching. “Call it whatever you want, but I’d have done the same thing yesterday and today and tomorrow and Saturday and Sunday and…”
Scootaloo stopped, and realized that everypony was looking at her.
No, they were looking at her flanks, as they glowed so very brightly, even in the audience chamber of Canterlot castle. The glow continued...and, when it ended, Scootaloo gasped as she realized that she had her Cutie Mark.
Even Princess Celestia paused, and looked at Scootaloo’s new Cutie Mark. “Well, Mother does have a sense of humor,” Princess Luna noted.
“Yes, she does,” Princess Celestia replied. Scootaloo’s Cutie Mark was of wings-long, white, and feathery, with a golden halo surrounding them about half-way up the wings.
Princess Celestia coughed slightly, and smiled, “If I was half as much a fool to claim that you broke parole, Scootaloo, you would be justified in your rebellion. And, I have news. Rainbow Dash, if you could stay the night?”
“Why, Your Highness,” Rainbow Dash asked.
“I sent a letter to your friends an hour before this meeting,” Princess Celestia replied.
“I have come to a decision and I will tell you all, tomorrow.”
The healers came to Sweet Apple Acres and asked her to lie down. “This is going to take a while,” the unicorn, Mended Heart, said. He pulled out some odd crystals from his harness and put them around her head. “I promise, it won’t hurt, but it will be strange when it happens.”
“Ah, what happens here?” Applejack asked, curiously.
“What we’re going to do is ‘tag’ the false memory and sort it out so that you can know which one is the fake memory and which one is the real one,” Mended Heart replied. “So, nice, deep breaths, and from the report I got from Princess Celestia, this is going to be pretty easy for you.”
“What happens when it’s ‘hard’,” Applejack asked, trying to get over her fear.
“Trust me, there are some memories that should stay buried,” Mended Heart sighed, and got to work.
That was three days ago.
Every time Applejack looked in the mirror since then, she felt...displaced. Who is the silly pony looking in ‘th mirror, why it’s you, Applejack!
She couldn’t help thinking that. And, every time she looked at herself, she felt silly. And angry.
Because, somehow, she should have known that Apple Bloom was lying to her. She was the Element of Honesty-and she should have been the first pony to have known that something was wrong.
And, for two years, it had been so very, very wrong.
“Ah can go sleep on the couch,” Big Macintosh said.
They had been married for two years, and this was only their first week as husband and wife.
Applejack...just found herself here the second night after her memories were worked on. Didn’t even know how she got here, half-asleep from waking up to go to the bathroom, and now…here. And, she was here every night since. She realized why, why she liked being with her brother so much, why she occasionally took a sniff too long when she had gotten all the sheets washed.
Big Macintosh smelled right. He smelled of what felt like comfort and home should smell like. The feel of his legs, the caress of his cheek, the touch…
Her mind flinched from that next thought. Brother! Incest! Inbreeding! Bad! the thoughts screamed, refusing to calm and quiet down. Applejack grabbed those thoughts and stomped them between her hooves.
“D’ya love me, Big Macintosh?” Applejack asked, scared.
He looked at her, and let the thoughts work in his brain. He nodded to her.
“Always,” he replied. “Have since we were both foals. Haven’t changed now, just remembered everything I love about you.”
“Just stay,” Applejack cried into his chest. “Just...stay, please.”
And, he did.
It took a week, but she could handle it now. Going into town. Dealing with the anger, the shame, the guilt. Some Element of Honesty I am, she thought, trotting down the street with a cart of apples hooked to her harness. Just can’t find when somepony is lying to me…
“Hey, Applejack!” she heard, and saw Miss Cherlee, coming up to see her. “How are you doing?”
“Been a rough couple of days,” she said, and gave the cart a tug. “And you?”
“Big Macintosh came to see me, two days after the attack,” she said. She looked like she was about to cry, and looked at Applejack. “He told me what he could, I know there’s some things that you can’t talk about still...and, he apologized. He apologized.” Cherlee looked at Applebloom in sad wonder. “How many colts would have apologized for what happened? He told me that he was sorry that he led me on. How many colts would have come and asked forgiveness for that?”
Applejack looked at Cherlee and she started to say something, when Cherlee hugged her, hard and tight. “Applejack, you are the luckiest mare I have ever known. You have a colt that is worthy of the name. He was less scared about his own emotions, and more worried about hurting me. For something that wasn’t his fault.”
She stopped hugging Applejack, and smiled sadly. “I’m just sad that they don’t seem to make many like him these days. The world could use many, many more like Big Macintosh.”
Applejack didn’t know what to say. But, she had to be honest. “Thank you...I’m...just not sure what to do next.”
“Do you love him?”
That question hit her like a ton of bricks across the head. It deserved an answer, even with the tears that just exploded out of her eyes.
“Aye, I do,” she cried. “And, maybe, one day…”
“Find that day,” Cherlee said. “For both your sakes.”
Pearls.
How that kept showing up, she didn’t know-her dreams ever since the night that she had learned the truth had been of pearls.
Her Momma’s wedding dress had pearls on it. She remembered when Momma had taken it from the closet, and little Applejack had admired the pearls on it more than anything else. They seemed so perfect, so white and shiny like a apple made of clouds.
Momma had held the dress up and said, Applejack, one day, y’find somebody that loves ya so very much, makes your life complete, makes your world better, and even when you’re down brings you up. On that day, your Daddy will walk with you down that aisle and you will know that the pony beside you is the right one for you.
You’ll find your angel, right beside ya. And, that is what your Daddy is to me.
A sharp crash, thunder and lightning, and Mamma falling away from her forever. Applejack would wake up, nearly screaming, and Big Macintosh would stir as well. Applejack bit down on her screams, wiped away the tears and snuggled back up with Big Macintosh in bed.
Her angel shouldn’t have to be woken by her demons.
“Sweetie Belle sent me a letter,” Rarity said, pinning some fabric onto Applejack as she poised in the Carousel Boutique.
“Hm,” Applejack commented without saying anything. Rarity was preparing for some gala or event and it was one of the sort that an appearance of the Elements was mandatory. Applejack was not one for fancy, but Rarity seemed to be handling it well enough. She was going for simplicity’s sake, but fashionable enough to be suitable.
It wasn’t that Applejack couldn’t do fancy-she had been to Manehattan after all. She could be a very fancy mare indeed. It just seemed like so much work for so little gain or effort-getting all worked on and made up for a party that was a few hours and then you had to take it all down because you couldn’t do anything with it other than be fancy. Little bit foods that you could eat a dozen of and never get full, fuzzy wine, music you couldn’t really dance to...never Applejack’s idea of fun.
“Oh yes,” Rarity replied, taking some measurements. “Pull yourself in dear,” she asked, and pinned some more fabric onto her body. “She’s gotten her cutie mark, and I’m very happy for her. Training with Meera! Last time I was in Canterlot, I had to trade shamelessly on my history as an Element to even get box seats for her opera.”
“Mn,” Applejack nodded. She was thinking of apple trees-probably the Northern field would need bucking in a few days. The Western field was in good shape, but they had to keep an eye out for leaf rot, and with the rainstorm that the weather ponies were talking about in a few days, it might be worth putting some mulch down.
“I swear, Applejack, you’re not listening to me,” Rarity huffed. “Meera, Applejack, Meera! There are maybe only three sopranos her equal, and none her better. And, Sweetie Belle has real talent for singing, which makes me happy for her.”
“Hm,” Applejack nodded again. Southern field was fully bucked as of last week, but if they had an outbreak of vampire fruit bats again…
“Have you heard anything from Apple Bloom,” Rarity asked innocently.
Applejack’s train of thought derailed with all the subtlety of a train loaded with nitroglycerin hitting a mountainside. With about the same results, as well.
“Why would I have heard anything from that cuckoo?” Applejack sneered angrily.
“She’s your sister…,” Rarity replied in shock.
"SHE AIN’T MY SISTER!” Applejack yelled. “If you wanna believe in your little fantasy of a having a sister, go ahead, but...that...thing ain’t family!”
Applejack tore off the clothing she was wearing. “Gonna be sick that night, so don’t need to be here anymore.” She tossed the material into a corner. “And, I don’t wanna talk about this ever again. Or we ain’t talking ever again.”
And, to Rarity’s stunned silence, Applejack walked right out of the door of the Carousel Boutique.
“Got another scroll from Canterlot,” Big Macintosh said.
Applejack was busy organizing the apple baskets. It was pretty obvious that the Northern field needed to bucked either today or tomorrow. Organizing the baskets meant that she didn’t have to listen to Big Mac.
“Second one this week,” he said. “She’s working with a pony named Steam Heart, heard of him. Big colt in the field of steam engineering.”
They were definitely going to have to get new baskets in a few months. The last two she took down had some dry rot in them, and that wasn’t good for apples.
“Am I an Apple, Applejack?” Big Mac asked, without changing tone in the slightest.
Crack.
Applejack put a hoof through a basket. She staggered and couldn’t think, then looked up at Big Macintosh. “What sort of silly question is that? ‘Course you are!” Applejack replied, nervously.
“I’m a foundling, Applejack,” he said.
“Doesn’t matter, you’re family,” she replied.
“Your parents found me, lost and alone and I had no home to go to,” Big Mac said.
“Apples don’t turn away foundlings,” Applejack said. “We don’t turn away ponies that need a home, want to work, want to make a life for themselves.”
“And, how is Apple Bloom different from me, Applejack?” Big Mac asked.
Rage filled Applejack’s heart. How DARE he use that against me! How dare he try and defend that cuckoo, she thought. She just wanted to step over to Big Macintosh and hit him and beat him and…
Make up for the lost two years, the years where she knew, somewhere deep inside that she had lost her angel, thought that Rainbow Dash, Rarity, maybe even Twilight Sparkle was her angel, because she knew, deep in her heart that her angel was close by…
Applejack fell to her knees and panted. Her heart was racing, roaring, like she had done the whole Running of the Leaves by herself. Big Mac came over and nuzzled her, sitting down beside her. His cheek was wet with her tears.
“She...she made me lose you,” Applejack cried. “She stole you from me, and made me think that I hadn’t even had you!”
Big Mac didn’t say a word. He just held her close.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he said. “But...where will you go?”
“I...I don’t know yet,” Applejack said.
And, she cried into his mane.
It rained that night. Thunder and lightning. A downpour that was nearly at the level of the Biblical Deluge.
Rainbow Dash explained it before she left for Canterlot. “We’ve got a monster of a weather system coming down from the North,” she said. “And, at a certain point you just have to let weather have it’s way. The question is-do we just let it pour over a week, or do we just flush the whole thing in three or so days? Ground team says the rivers and viaducts are good, so we’ll just give the system a good and proper slam, and it’ll rain itself out in three or four days.”
The rain roared against the house. Granny Apple was asleep, and so was Big Mac.
Applejack couldn’t sleep. She kept staring at the ceiling. She wanted to sleep...but, she couldn’t.
Then, with a sudden impulse, she carefully got out of bed, got her hat and cloak, and left the house.
She had to visit somepony.
The graves were still there. Did Applejack expect their tombstones to walk off somewhere?
Momma and Pappa wanted to be buried on Apple land, but they had never recovered their bodies after the accident. The graves were merely stone markers to remember two lost Apples.
Empty graves. Empty world.
Empty Applejack.
She stood there in the rain, listening to the thunder and the lightning, and she didn’t know why she was here. “Well,” she said, loudly to be heard over the storm. “You asked me here, what do you want?”
Silence.
“Well?” Applejack yelled.
The rain fell. The thunder rolled. The lightning crackled.
“WELL?!?” Applejack screamed.
And...just as the sound of her voice stopped ringing in her ears.
Click.
The sound of something like falling marbles in the rain filled Applejack’s ears.
Click.
One marble at a time.
Click.
Falling.
Click.
Falling.
Click.
But, it didn’t sound like marbles.
Click.
It sounded like pearls falling off a string onto the floor.
Click.
Once upon a time, Applejack wondered where pearls came from. So, she had looked it up and was amazed by what she found.
Pearls came from oysters, according to her foal-level biology book, that took a small bit of irritating foreign material and wrapped it up in layers upon layers of materials that eventually became a small round ball that could be polished and cleaned to eventually create...a pearl to be worn upon a wedding dress.
From an irritation-a foreign invader, a lie...came a beautiful truth.
From a lie, came a truth.
Applejack looked up at the sky, and understood that revelation.
Apple Bloom might have started as a lie-a scared foal needing a home, running from an order of religious nuts that would summon monsters to try and find them-but she had become a truth well before Applejack had become the Element of Honesty. A scared foal that wet the bed for some time, needed to see the dentist, tried hard to work very hard on the farm...and, in truth, had been irritating and annoying.
But…from that irritating lie came a truth. My sister, Applejack thought. Apple Bloom...she is my sister, in every way that matters.
And, family forgives. Because Apple Bloom is a foundling, not a traditional one, yea...but a foundling.
And, she’s ours.
Applejack came back into the house, put up her hat and cloak, and dried herself off. She climbed back into bed, and snuggled up to Big Macintosh. “Have a good walk?” Big Mac asked.
“I didn’t want to…,” Applejack said, being interrupted by Big Mac kissing her.
“Woke up after you left,” he said. “Guessed where you went. How are you feeling?”
“Better,” Applejack replied. “Y’right, Apple Bloom is family, and she is a foundling. She’s an Apple to core, and she’s ours as long as she wants to be. I’ll go to Twilight tomorrow and send her a letter.”
“Good,” Big Mac replied. “I’ve got all the letters she sent, you can read them tomorrow.”
Applejack teased Big Mac’s flanks with her hooves. She could feel the pressure along her side from his hips. “You feeling up to playing with me?”
Big Mac smiled. “I am now.”
The next morning, Applejack took a shower. Just long enough to clean up. She wanted to smell of Big Macintosh, to prove that his name wasn’t a lie.
Momma, you’re right, she thought, I did find my angel. And, I have an angel of my own to care for, as well.
As she came out of the bathroom, she heard a soft pop and a scroll appeared at her feet. Applejack opened it up and read it.
“What’s it say?” Big Mac asked, coming down the hallway.
“It’s from Princess Celestia,” Applejack replied, reading it. “They’re...going to make a decision about Apple Bloom tomorrow. I’ll be going over there tonight, for when it happens.”
The day that Mom and Dad had brought Sweetie Belle by to the Carousel Boutique (but, that was a lie, Sweetie Belle had shown up the day after and inserted herself into Rarity’s life), Sweetie Belle asked why Rarity always had roses in the Boutique.
Rarity stopped to think for a second, and said, “Do you see there?” She held up a rose, and rotated it to show the thorns. “These thorns will hurt you if you hold the rose wrong, or try to get a rose that is not within reach.” She rotated the rose to show the long, wooden stem. “And, this,” she continued, “takes time and effort to trim, to properly care for the rose bushes, to prepare. All, to finally result in this,” and she showed Sweetie Belle the rose blossom. “This beautiful work of art.”
She turned herself around in the Boutique, showing off her studio to Sweetie Belle. “In the soil of Ponyville, I am somewhat prickly, but with time and effort I bloom with dresses and scarves and a thousand and one other things. I am a garden of fashion, a rose of Ponyville.”
Sweetie Belle smiled, and perhaps on this day, the two of them truly began to understand each other.
After the demon attack, after the interviews, after the talk with Princess Celestia, Rarity came back to the Carousel Boutique and looked around.
Tomorrow, Princess Celestia promised, healers would come and help with the memory modifications that Sweetie Belle and her friends had done on her.
Applejack, Rarity could tell, was still fuming under her hat about everything that had happened to her. Oh, Applejack deserved her anger-for the last two years, the three of them had been lying to everypony else in town. However…
Dreams of conquest, dreams of anger, dreams of vengeance, the Night Shall Never End!
...Rarity took a deep breath. She remembered being the Nightmare. She had been Nightmare Rarity for just long enough for her to know what the depths of anger-and the lust for power-could drive a pony. Ponies organizing, summoning monsters to call forth the Nightmare and gaining such power?
That scared her, more than Rarity would ever admit.
And, to a foal barely three years old, seeing their mother scared? Her burnt body being taken out of the house they lived in?
Any pony had to sympathize with that. Being the Element of Generosity? Icing on the cake.
Rarity looked around, and started to put things away that had fallen off of shelves. She looked at the fabric that had fallen, dresses that needed to be altered.
Her life, in cloth and fabric and form.
She cleaned up her rose garden, removing the weeds that other ponies had scattered in her life. She sympathized with the weeds-they were not there by their choice.
The ponies that had scattered the seeds that had grown the weeds? Summoned the demons? Tried to bring back the Nightmare?
Rarity would prune.
Without mercy.
The first letter from Sweetie Belle came a week later. Rarity was in her Inspiration Room when it appeared in a puff of green smoke. She caught it with her magic and opened it up to messy but legible hoofwriting.
Dear Rarity,
You won’t believe who is teaching me to sing! Meera! You remember when we went to Canterlot last? We were able to get the last open box seats at the opera, and Meera was the top soloist at the Royal Canterlotian Hall and she sang so beautifully!
She was very, very happy with how I did. According to her, I have a great deal of talent as a mezzo-soprano, and we are working through exercises and lots of voice training. It’s hard work, but I’m learning a lot!
Rarity smiled, and put the letter down for a second to work through sketches for an upcoming event. She had three custom dresses to make, and about five days to make them. Two of them were adaptations, a third was going to be all new. But, it was going to be interesting work.
Finished with the drawing and fabric swatches, she returned to Sweetie Belle’s letter.
Apple Bloom has been working with an engineer named Steam Heart down at the Canterlot Steam Works. She comes back to the castle every day, grease on her muzzle and hooves, and a smile on her face. She says that Steam Heart is a taskmaster, and very demanding, but he wants to keep her safe while she’s working there.
Apple Bloom wanted me to ask you-how is Applejack doing? She’s sent two letters by magic post, but hasn’t gotten any replies yet.
Rarity closed her eyes for a second, a deep breath, and she stopped reading the letter, to consider fetlock covers for her customers.
Applejack still hadn’t taken it well. Big Macintosh had come into town and Rairty had found out from him that she was sticking close to the farm, nightmares every night, and anytime somepony mentioned “Apple Bloom,” she started to get very angry. She even snapped at Granny Apple, which worried Big Macintosh.
Once she got her breathing under control, she picked back up the letter again and got to reading.
Scootaloo...Rarity, she’s so happy that she can really fly now. Rainbow Dash was by this week and the two of them were flying all over the place. Scootaloo has endurance issues, but the two of them have been training and exercising like mad.
I hope I can fly like that, soon. Princess Celestia made us promise to be “normal” while she finds out what happened, but I’ve been watching Rainbow Dash and doing the same exercises as well.
Also, I made a friend you might want to meet. Her name is Shining Button and she was the one that made the dress for Duchess Twopenny for last year’s Grand Galloping Gala pre-party that you loved so much. She showed off her scrapbook to me and I think the two of you would get together so well! I told her I’d tell you about her, and I hope the two of you can talk.
I miss you, I miss Ponyville, and I wish you were here.
Hope to hear from you soon,
Sweetie Belle
Rarity smiled softly, and took down with her telekinesis a book from the shelves. She carefully put the letter in the book, closed it, and took a deep, long breath.
More gardening in her Inspiration Room.
More roses to be raised.
Rarity got her second letter from Sweetie Belle five days later, just after two of her clients had left with their dresses. It was a dance, always-client would ask for something. Rarity would politely offer an improvement. Client would want something garish just to show they knowed something. Rarity would smile and agree. Customer would be convinced to do things Rarity’s way by making the customer think it was their idea in the first place. Money would be exchanged, the customer left with a dress, and Rarity had a bag of bits in one hoof and she looked for a dance partner with the other.
The customers had just left, she was thinking about the work on the last custom dress, when the scroll appeared in a puff of smoke. How rude, Rarity thought. Could it smell or seem like anything other than a dragon burp?
This one was thicker than usual, and Rarity could see that the scroll had a photo rolled up inside of it. Hm? she thought, breaking the seal and unrolling the scroll and the photograph.
The photograph was of Sweetie Belle, slightly offset to show her...yes, yes, yes!...Cutie Mark. Her Cutie Mark was so lovely and stylish-a pink heart linked through with a bridging gap symbol, three small and three large stars surrounding the heart. And, it said everything that Sweetie Belle was-a bridge of love, under the stars.
Rarity could almost feel the enthusiasm coming through the note, like a shower of rainbows and love.
Rarity! I GOT MY CUTIE MARK!!!
I wanted to give it a day to make sure it didn’t fall off or get eaten by a dove or something, but I GOT MY CUTIE MARK!!! Meera and I were doing training and I just was absolutely spot-on perfect with the song. When I was done, my flanks felt warm, and I had my Cutie Mark! It means a lot to me, and I know so much of what it means to me.
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo threw a Cutie Mark Crusader First Cutie Mark party that night, we got a chance to meet with some of the guards that work the palace. Did you know that one of them, Flash Sentry, knows Twilight Sparkle? Wow!
Anyways, back to school and training tomorrow, and hoping Apple Bloom doesn’t blow herself up again. Have to explain that-her and Steam Heart have been working on this new idea for a steam engine and they had a small explosion in their lab. Nopony was hurt, but they definitely are ready to get back to work-once they put a new roof on the lab.
Scootaloo is zipping around all over Canterlot-and Rainbow Dash keeps saying words like “twenty percent more awesome” around her. I don’t think I’ve seen Scootaloo this happy in years, and I’m glad she’s happy.
Got a photo of my Cutie Mark, hope you tell everypony in town about it that you can, and hope to hear from you soon!
Love,
Sweetie Belle
Rarity smiled, and pulled the book down from the shelves. She found two matching blank pages, put the photo on one, and the letter on the other. With a long, slow breath of joy, she put the book back and started to get ready for the next customer.
In her mind’s eye, an orchid in a hot house had just finally begun to bloom.
“Sweetie Belle sent me a letter,” Rarity said, pinning some fabric onto Applejack as she poised in the Carousel Boutique. The White Elephant Gala was only a few weeks away, and it was the sort of event that everypony that was anypony had to be at. So, that meant the Elements (and especially Princess Twilight Sparkle) had to be there, and Rarity knew she’d be running interference for Fluttershy that night, to help with her shyness.
“Hm,” Applejack commented, without saying anything. Rarity was always disappointed that Applejack didn’t realize just how beautiful she looked. There were ponies that would murder for her form, her style, and her hair. But, something in Applejack rebelled against the fancy, as she called it.
Rarity assumed it had to do with Applejack’s time in Manehattan, before she got her Cutie Mark. Manehattan was not a city for a pony that didn’t have their own self-worth imbedded in bedrock. One only had to see how much Coco Pommel was used by Suri Polomare to know how that worked out! Still, Applejack was her friend, and short of Rarity doing a confidence transplant spell, she wasn’t going to change Applejack.
And, why should she? Applejack was her friend, she’d support her in any way she could, and Applejack did clean up nicely when she put her mind to it.
Rarity just wished she put her mind to it more. The world tended to be an ugly place, like a giant pile of garbage. Having more beautiful things made it worthwhile, like flowers blooming in the muck.
“Oh yes,” Rarity replied, getting some breastbone measurements. The dress she was thinking of needed to fit perfectly here, and good measurements were essential. “Pull yourself in dear,” she asked, and pinned some more fabric onto her body. “She’s gotten her Cutie Mark, and I’m very happy for her. Training with Meera! Last time I was in Canterlot, I had to trade shamelessly on my history as an Element to even get box seats for her opera.”
“Mn,” Applejack nodded. Just like Applejack, to not understand what this meant for Sweetie Belle. Meera was the sort of teacher that any pony would dream of having, and like all things, having her as a friend and mentor meant that Sweetie Belle was a bit more noticeable in the competitive world of opera.
“I swear, Applejack, you’re not listening to me,” Rarity huffed. “Meera, Applejack, Meera! There are maybe only three sopranos her equal, and none her better. And, Sweetie Belle has real talent for singing, which makes me happy for her.”
“Hm,” Applejack nodded again. Applejack was definitely distracted, which wasn’t normal when Rarity was talking about Sweetie Belle. Like parents sharing cleaning tips for what the foal burped up after dinner last night, Applejack would almost always respond about any Sweetie Belle stories and comments with something about Apple Bloom. So, she had to ask.
“Have you heard anything from Apple Bloom,” Rarity asked innocently.
Applejack stiffened up, almost as if she was having a seizure. Rarity was scared for a moment that Applejack might be having serious trouble. Then, through her hooves, she could feel Applejack’s body. She was quivering...in anger.
“Why would I have heard anything from that cuckoo?” Applejack sneered angrily.
“She’s your sister…,” Rarity replied in shock. Did Applejack think that Apple Bloom wanted to hurt her? Why couldn’t Applejack see that the foal that came to her home needed Applejack’s strong shoulders and wanted her approval so much...
SHE AIN’T MY SISTER!” Applejack yelled. “If you wanna believe in your little fantasy of a having a sister, go ahead, but...that...thing ain’t family!”
Applejack tore off the clothing she was wearing. Some of Rarity’s latest works were torn apart like tissue, balled up into a sea urchin of fabric and needles. “Gonna be sick that night, so don’t need to be here anymore.” She tossed the material into a corner. “And, I don’t wanna talk about this ever again. Or we ain’t talking ever again.”
And, to Rarity’s stunned silence, Applejack walked right out of the door of the Carousel Boutique.
Rarity fell off her back legs and watched at Applejack stormed off. Well, she thought, that was rude!
But...how well was Applejack tracking the latest round of events and revelations?
Rarity had to be generous. Honesty, once betrayed, tends to heal very slowly. So, Rarity wasn’t going to pick at that scab for a while. Perhaps it was her fault, for seeing how deep the wound went by poking it with her horn.
Rarity took a deep breath, got back up onto her hooves, and started to clean up the mess. Almost as if she was raking out fallen leaves in her garden.
Twilight Sparkle, once you got her interest, tended to be so predictable.
Her eyes were so wide you could put coffee cups on the pupils, her wings were at full extension, and she had that goofy grin that indicated that either she was having somepony give her the most amazing invisible orgasm or she had discovered something very, very interesting.
“Yes, yes, yes!” Twilight Sparkle pronked around the library, a smile on her face, as Rarity came in.
“Oh, hello, Twilight,” Rarity said, carefully avoiding the prancing Twilight Sparkle. “What did you find out?”
“I just got a letter from Apple Bloom! She needed my help with a math problem,” Twilight Sparkle replied, and she actually giggled. Which was such a unique thing for Twilight Sparkle that Rarity had to enjoy it. “Turns out that while she’s good with differential calculus, n-dimensional manifolds are still new territory for her, and I’m glad that I can help her.”
“Oh?” Rarity had to hear about this.
“Yes, indeed. They made a new friend by the name of Dev Null, and he’s gotten his Cutie Mark, and it’s a sixteen-variable manifold intersecting a spherical cone. Which is utterly fascinating because Dev Null is a pegasus and shouldn’t even be dealing with theoretical thaumaturgy in non-Euclidian environments,” Twilight Sparkle gushed. “So, he got his Cutie Mark standing in his room, doing nothing, and when Apple Bloom and Scootaloo saw it, they just hadto help him and…”
“Twilight, darling,” Rarity interrupted. “How are they helping him?”
“Well, they decided-all of them-to reform the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Instead of going after their Cutie Marks, they’re going to help other ponies with theirs,” Twilight Sparkle replied, happily waving around the letter she got. “So, to get help with their problems, they’re asking me for help!”
Rarity smiled at this. “Are they still trying to find Apple Bloom and Scootaloo’s Cutie Marks?”
“Oh, no,” Twilight Sparkle replied, sorting through the photos she had gotten from Apple Bloom. “Well, they’re still trying to get Scootaloo’s Cutie Mark, but Apple Bloom got hers two days ago! Here!”
With her telekinesis, Twilight Sparkle held up a photo of a bruised and a bit bedraggled Apple Bloom, but with her new Cutie Mark-a hammer with an apple for a head and a wrench crossed on her flank. It does so look like her, Rarity thought, and, Applejack will be happy that Apple Bloom is an Apple to the core. “Have you told Applejack about Apple Bloom and her Cutie Mark?” Rarity asked.
That definitely deflated Twilight Sparkle’s good feelings. “No, I haven’t seen her for about four days, and I know she got a copy of the photo and Apple Bloom has been asking me how she has been doing. But, the last time we talked about Apple Bloom, she nearly bucked me in the head! I’m starting to get really worried about her, she even snapped at Fluttershy. And, when Pinkie Pie went over to ask about what kind of cake she’d like for her return party, she left in tears.”
Rarity sighed, and considered. “Have you seen her and Big Mac together since?”
“Yes,” Twilight Sparkle considered. “I mean, the two of them-between the times when they feel silly about it, and feel stupid about it, look like they’re very much in love with each other and trying to figure out what they’re doing.”
Rarity thought about this. “If we write a letter to Big Mac, I’ll sign it with you. Applejack...she needs our help.”
“What will we say to Big Macintosh?” Twilight Sparkle asked.
“The truth,” Rarity replied.
You had to be honest about your garden. Surprises are nice, but pointless optimism means that a fungus or a rot might get past you and go too far. And, Rarity had some cleaning to do.
As Rarity walked home, she felt a sudden urge to walk through her rose garden.
The sun was setting, and she knew that in a few days the weather ponies were going be dropping a huge rain system on Ponyville. Sadly necessary, the world did not run according to clockwork or schedule, and sometimes you had to let the rain fall when it wanted to. So, she looked around the garden, and for some reason, she stopped at the roses.
She always planted roses, anywhere she could. Some said it was an effort at privacy (there was a reason why she lived on the second floor, and when Sweetie Belle moved in, she invested in soundproofing). Some said she just like roses. Others were less complimentary and said that Rarity needed something that made her look good.
Rarity always ignored the last, but she looked around her rose garden. And, from Elsewhere, she pulled out gardening shears and string. Within a few minutes, she had increased her mulch pile, and...she had bundled whole sets of roses. A little voice in her mind whispered...white roses for innocence and purity, pink roses for grace, burgundy for her unconscious grace and charm, and blue for the mystery that she is.
Rarity looked at the bundle of roses in her telekinesis. White and pink, burgundy and blue. Red and yellow in pairs, wrapped up into four bundles of two and two each. Twenty-four roses floated in front of her, and Rarity had to laugh, a full-bellied laugh and not the “polite” laugh of the aristocracy. “I seem,” she said to nopony in particular, “to have re-created Sweetie Belle in roses.”
And, then she laughed again. Even louder, until the tears came out. Even more, until she fell onto her belly, and cried.
She looked at the bundle of roses again, blew her nose on a hankerchief she had in Elsewhere, and smiled. She knew just the vase to put them in...and, if Sweetie Belle didn’t come back this week, Rarity would find some other way of expressing her thoughts.
But, she did have one thing she could do…
Rarity looked, and found one rose. One perfect, beautiful, red rose. With careful work, she prepared it-cleaned it up, trimmed any leaf that wasn’t perfect, checked each petal for perfection.
She went inside, and pulled out paper, a pen, and a inkwell. Rarity felt her horn glow, and the rose vanished-to reappear when the scroll was opened. She dipped the end of the pen in the inkwell, and began to write.
Ponies have gone mad trying to figure it out. The problem was...they were looking for complexity in something that was simplicity.
Every pony had a Pinky Sense.
Only, Pinkie Pie listened to hers.
Thirty-three muffins today, it was thirty-two yesterday and will be thirty-one tomorrow and there are only sixteen buttons on those two vests and those nineteen days of cucumbers and eleven hours of dogs and cats and puppies and kittens and puppet time and all ice cream goes to heaven...
Pinkie Pie walked through the restaurant, as the noise grew. She could feel it in the crinkling of her hair, the twitching of her tail, the ripple of time and flow and space that she knew was all hers.
It was beginning again.
Ponies didn’t understand how much of their world was afloat on a sea of chaos, whorls of probability, and the flutter of butterfly and breezie wings. Pinkie Pie sailed on those seas, floating on the confusion, and was as much a part of those flows as was the ship of her soul. She existed in the moment-and she was forever sailing on the stormy seas of possibility.
Having friends helped. The more people on her ship, the easier it was to keep it trimmed. The more noise, the more she could focus on what was important.
The less noise...the soundtrack of a universe of madness began to flow into her.
Bring us the girl and wipe away the debt, would you kindly?, don't gain the world and lose your soul, the flesh of fallen angels, make us whole again, the darkness cannot be breached, remember: Science is the future, and the future starts with you, the Left Eye, our treasured Left Eye, will never fall into the hands of another!, You Did It, Zagreus sits inside your head, Zagreus lives among the dead, Zagreus sees you in your bed and eats you when you're sleeping, I am a son of earth and starry heaven, I am thirsty, give me a drink from the fountain of memory…
The hair began to grow even more curlier and the tail twitches grew more and more detailed. Pinkie Pie knew what that meant...a storm was coming. The glass was dropping, and the clouds were forming on the horizon. Her nose twitched with increasing possibility, and she knew dark things were ahoof because her left ear was twitching clockwise and her right ear was twitching counter-clockwise. Like a sailing ship captain, Pinkie Pie knew-at the most instinctual levels-when things changed. There was time-time to trim the sails, to turn to face the ship to the storm, to start the pumps, but only if she acted now…
The sparrows are flying again, they haunt minds, neither can live while the other survives, everything that has a beginning has an end, do you know how to get to Shell Beach?, think on your sins, look at us, look at what they make you give, something fell, try to remember-it's only a game, it's a strange world, let's keep it that way, cast in the name of God, ye not guilty, three hundred and twenty years have passed since the coven sank in the dark, two by two, hands of blue…
Pinkie Pie found a seat, and looked out across the whole town of Ponyville. She could feel the storm coming, as color drained ever so slowly out of her fur, and she realized that the choices that were coming would save or damn souls. There would be bodies. There would be blood. There would be consequences.
Such was what Pies did. They were the very stones of Equestria, that which storms broke upon. She never asked for this. She never wanted this. And none of this would happen if they would just stop. All of them. Every monster that came through Equestria...Pinkie Pie knew they were coming...and couldn’t do anything more than be ready for them. Never preventing them. Just preparing for those that could stop them.
Fulfill the prophecy, may those who accept their fate find happiness, may those who defy their fate find glory, a small wish, Survival Strategy, no rain but thunder, and the sound of giants, you brought this on yourself, it was time, four places at once, rise and rise again, until lambs become lions, hunt the Engineer, and the Engineer hunts you, an Angel touched me, he thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts, the wheel of fate is turning, the seed of the Prophet shall sit the throne, and drown in flame the mountains of man…
“Here you are, Pinkie Pie! El Grande Nachos!” the waitress pony said around the tray in her mouth, putting in front of Pinkie Pie a huge plate of nachos. Stacked to nearly the ceiling in chips, onions, cheese, and peppers, it was a huge mass of perfect comfort food.
The Pinkie Sense stopped.
Her color returned, a bright and beautiful pink.
The twitches ended, her body restored to hyperactive normalcy.
Her main returned to normal, as wild as the wind-swept moors.
Silence. And, nachos!
“Golly, gosh gee, thank you!” Pinkie Pie burbled.
And, so, Pinkie Pie ate. In her mind, she remembered the two most important things she needed to know right now.
Here and now, we're alive.
And…nachos!
TWILIGHT SPARKLE
She stood in the middle of her basement, and took a long, slow, deep breath.
She was the Element of Magic. A Princess and an alicorn by the simple fact that she had earned it. She had created the reduced character spell sets, which lessened the amount of effort a unicorn needed to cast magic spells. She was one of only thirty ponies that even knew of the Great Orrery, the magical artifact that Princess Celestia created to help her after the Night that Never Ended. Indeed, she had made two modifications that had lessened the energy that Princess Celestia needed every day to move the Sun and Moon. Discovered the Final Spell of Starswirl the Bearded, and recreated his work perfectly. Ascended to the rank of Princess and transformed into an alicorn.
She was the founder of a whole new theory and school of magic, Friendshipology.
And, this problem was kicking her flank like no other problem ever had.
The walls were studded with notes. She had divided them between the various aspects that the problem embodied. North wall was the foals-birth, origins, theories. She had found the newspaper reports of the house fire in Manehattan. The name of their mother, Midnight Bloom, and everything she did in magical research. Twilight Sparkle might not have been as deep into magical biology as Midnight Bloom was, but she knew the dance steps and many things she had worked on also related to Midnight Bloom’s work.
South wall was the demon summoning-how they did it, location, why they chose Liger Diablocus over any number of other creatures of the night. Which she had solved, mostly...ease of summoning, ease of “programming” for targets, and all of which could be done in a six pony cart with a single sacrificial goat.
Of course, Twilight Sparkle had plans to...talk with the summoners once she had a chance to figure out who they were. Mostly, said talk was going to involve her working with a full summoning grid. And showing them how a proper summoning took place. That doing so was probably illegal and most certainly highly immoral was irrelevant. Twilight Sparkle was a Princess, she could just pardon herself.
East wall was everything she knew about the Order of Eternal Night. Files borrowed from Celestia’s secure archives. Notes from the few defectors that had escaped or ran from the Order. And none in the past hundred years, Twilight Sparkle noted. Use of spell oath geas to keep the inner circle under control? If so, what does that say about the leadership? She used her magic to push another piece of paper and a note pin into the wall. The connections the Order had with the magical underground-sexual slavery and artifacts to ensure the loyalty of their slaves, specialized (and highly illicit) foal breeding, creation of magical potions-were detailed as well.
West wall was the wall that Twilight Sparkle was the wall she was most disappointed with. It was the “I can’t figure out where else to put it” wall. It was also the most crowded of walls. Random notes, ideas, concepts...a thousand and one things. And, all the notes she had on one Dev Null, a pegasus pony with a most unique Cutie Mark...and one that made so little sense. How does a pegasus get a sixteen-variable manifold intersecting a spherical cone, which is something you only see in theoretical thaumaturgy...
Twilight Sparkle looked at the walls. Obsession was always a danger in ponies-something in their brains made it so easy to hold onto things that they should just let go of. And, Spike knew the warning signs, which was why he had snuck up on her and dumped a bucket of ice water on her head.
She emerged from the rain of water sputtering and gasping. “SPIKE!” she yelled, causing the corkboards on the walls to rattle. “Why did you do that?”
“You’ve been in the basement for three days consecutively,” Spike replied without guilt, holding the bucket up in his claws. “You gave me written instructions on this kind of thing, Twilight! And, I was to start with the bucket of ice water and work my way up.”
Twilight Sparkle took a deep breath, pulled a towel out of Elsewhere and dried herself off. “That I did. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner?”
“Lunchtime,” Spike noted. “Made your favorite, as well. But, only if you come out of the basement to the kitchen.”
Twilight Sparkle sighed, but she left the basement.
Two hayburgers, salad, and a soda later, Twilight Sparkle looked around the Ponyville Library. “So, what day is it?” Twilight Sparkle asked.
“Tuesday,” Spike sighed. “So, new book day. The EPS mare hasn’t gotten here yet, and since they don’t normally send new books by 8am delivery, we’re good for a…”
The doorbell rung. Spike came over, and Twilight Sparkle could hear, “Oh, hi there Derpy, what do you…”
Sudden silence. Then, “Twilight, could you come here please?”
Twilight Sparkle came over, saying, “Spike, are they requiring me to sign…,” when she saw it.
There were...six Equestrian Postal Service delivery trucks there. And, Derpy Hooves was offering up a clipboard. “Here you are,” Derpy said around the clipboard in her mouth. “Your packages are here, Princess.”
Spike looked at Twilight Sparkle and sighed, “Twilight, did you really have to order all that stuff to do the research on what happened two weeks ago?”
Twilight Sparkle looked at the contents on the clipboard. “No, I didn’t…”
“Good,” Spike said.
“But, one box is the stuff I ordered, the rest is the backlog of new books because of the weather back East. You remember what Rainbow Dash was saying-pretty much every weather pony on the East Coast is working their flanks off because there’s a huge system out there. Snow, thunder flurries, windigos, rain, all the huge nasty stuff,” Twilight Sparkle continued.
“Oh,” Spike replied. “How many boxes of new books?”
“Sixteen,” Twilight Sparkle replied, smiling. “But, there is some good news at the huge mass of boxes we’ve gotten.”
“Twilight, that’s going to take us most of the day to shelve! How is it a good thing?”
“New Honor Hoofington novel, as well as some of our other favorites, including Quantum Mechanics with Stellar Physics!” Twilight Sparkle giggled.
“Ugh, romance novels,” Spike sighed. “I suppose you’ll be ‘busy’,” and here, Spike made air quotes, “all night tonight, right?”
“Spike, it’s the next book in Quantum Mechanics with Stellar Physics!” Twilight Sparkle gushed. “It’s here where they’re going to solve the quadratic equation of ero…”
“Ah, sorry, Twilight,” Derpy Hooves interrupted, “could you please sign?”
Twilight Sparkle realized that she was pronking again and blushed. “Ooops, sorry,” she said, and signed the clipboard. “Thank you!”
As the mail mares were pulling the boxes off their carts, Twilight Sparkle took the box that she requested from the Royal Archives down to the basement. “Spike, I’ll drop this box off, and I promise I’ll be up to help with everything else,” she said over her shoulder as she left.
Spike sighed, but he started to get the invoices for the other boxes. Twilight was going to be back down in the basement for hours and…
“So, what box do we open first?” Twilight Sparkle asked, sneaking up on Spike.
“Uh, Twilight?” Spike asked in reply, looking at her.
“I said I’d just drop the box off,” Twilight Sparkle looked at Spike funny and while she was developing the little twitch of an unsolved problem (Spike knew what those looked like from when she was short on a friendship report), at this stage it should be a medium twitch in the ears and a bit of the lower left eyelid. Nope, just a slight twitch of her right ear.
“Well, normally, when we get stuff like this, you’re down in the basement and are there for days. I’d have to bring down your ‘special’ toybag, dinner, and Quantum Mechanics with Stellar Physics. So, why are you back so soon?” Spike asked, curious.
Twilight Sparkle was shocked, then she blushed. “After listening to what happened with Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle I realized that occasionally I’m insensitive and silly. Applejack, and her anger issues,” and here she rubbed her cheek where Applejack had nearly bucked her when she got to talking about Apple Bloom and her working with Steam Heart, “reminded me that occasionally I’ve got to be a better pony. I backslid the last few days, but I’m really trying to do better. And ‘doing better’ means that I’m helping you with the sorting, the cataloging, and the shelving,” she finished.
Spike’s jaw dropped. “Twi...wow, I mean...wow!”
“Why so surprised?” Twilight Sparkle asked.
“There’s a bit of history with you and mad science, remember? Moth-apple ponies, trees that buck back, the frog-orange spell, the Cutie Mark Crusader Cutie Mark Accelerator, and of course the ‘Want It, Need It’ spell…” Here, Spike trailed off. “But, if you’re trying, I’ve gotta help-you keep saying you want to be better.”
Here, Twilight Sparkle smiled, “And, with my number one assistant, I’m going to succeed! To the sorting!”
Twilight Sparkle turned to the library, lifting two boxes with her telekinesis. Spike sighed as he saw her tail.
It was definitely starting off at third-stage twitching. He was going to have to organize a whole new set of warning signs for Twilight Sparkle…
Spike was sitting in his room, reading A Rising Thunder, and trying to ignore Twilight Sparkle and her “audience participation” bits while she was reading Quantum Mechanics with Stellar Physics. His own room was a new thing for Spike-for years, he’d have nightmares (and not the interesting kind) if he slept anywhere other than in close proximity to Twilight Sparkle. He had a room of his own, of course-but he always slept at the foot of Twilight Sparkle’s bed or at her hooves if they were anywhere else.
Twilight Sparkle was curious as to why, but dragon mating and rearing practices tended to be rather vague (mostly due to dragon parents eating pony researchers). However, Twilight Sparkle didn’t mind having Spike there, she was the nearest thing he had to a parent and she wasn’t going to leave him, ever.
In the last few weeks, he’d wanted to “grow up” a bit, and have some space of his own. Seeing how Rarity had responded to Trenderhoof was another sign that he needed to “grow up”. Either Rarity would see how much he loved her, or he would find the power to break out of her orbit-either way, he needed the strength. So, it was time to start being a bit more independent of a dragon, able to stand on his hooves without more help.
And, while he had bad dreams, they were only once a week at most. Okay, for a few days after the demon attack, but they were demons-and Spike should have been big enough and strong enough to take them on. One day, soon-which gave him even more reason to be stronger.
So, it was to his entire surprise when Twilight Sparkle came through the door, wearing nothing but color-coordinated lingerie and stockings, a scroll in her telekinesis, and a wild look in her eyes. “SPIKE!” she gasped, her eyes bright. She strode into the room and picked up Spike as well with her telekinesis.
“I’mgladyou’reupbecauseIneedyoutosendascrolland…,” she gasped, heading downstairs with Spike in tow.
“Twilight! What’s wrong!?!” Spike asked, trying very very hard to not think of what Rarity would look in lingerie and stockings as well, mostly by keeping his eyes on a particular knot in the ceiling and ignoring the clutching in his hips.
Twilight Sparkle realized what she was doing, had the decency to look embarrassed, and set Spike down on his feet. “I’m sorry, I just figured it out...I was right in the middle of the part where Linear Equation shows Sequential Calculus that thing he learned from Dirac Sea, the one where…”
“Twilight! TOO MUCH INFORMATION!” Spike gasped, holding his hands over his ears.
“Ooops, sorry,” Twilight Sparkle’s blush was bright enough to light the room. “Anyways, as I was...oops, almost too much information again...I realized that you could use quantum resonance to track the demon summoners! Especially using the reduced character spell sets, you have to tie in your own personal harmonics much tighter. So, I wrote it all down and I wanted to have you get it to CSI Griffin by dragon post now, so he can see it in the morning.”
“Okay, Twilight,” Spike sighed, found the address tag on the scroll, and gave it a good belch. The fire burned the scroll and it vanished nearly instantly. “So, now what?”
Here, Twilight Sparkle blushed even more-if that was even possible. “Well...I’m going to go back to my room, and see if Linear Equation learned to do his new thing very well...and, thanks, Spike.”
“No problem, Twilight,” Spike replied, keeping a firm focus on that one particular knot of wood and working through fast multiplication tables to try and help get his mind off Twilight Sparkle and lingerie and Rarity…
“Spike, are you okay?” Twilight Sparkle asked. “Is there something wrong?”
“If I said ‘it’s a dragon thing’, you wouldn’t leave me alone, would you?” Spike asked, trying to work through the powers of nine table…
“Well, if you tell me what’s wrong…,” Twilight Sparkle said innocently, “I might be able to help…”
“Well…,” Spike said, keeping his eyes on that knot of wood and working randomly through the multiplication tables.
From outside the library, there was silence, and then an explosive “WHAT!!!” from inside the tree that lit up and rattled all the windows. Then, silence again.
Inside, Twilight Sparkle gasped, and Spike was very, very quiet. Between them was a large scorch mark where Twilight Sparkle had kept a very powerful explosive spell from going off. Both were covered in soot, and Twilight Sparkle’s lingerie was completely blown off.
“You did ask!” Spike said loudly over the ringing in his ears.
“I did,” Twilight Sparkle replied, and sighed. “I’m sorry I did, Spike. I’ll clean up the mess, and thank you.”
Spike smiled cautiously and said, “I’ll help. I mean, you did ask. But, I did answer.”
FLUTTERSHY
Fluttershy was pacing. Her nerves were tight, and she knew that she was a scared little foal in the world that was so terrifying and something that had made sense made no sense anymore…
“So, what has you up in a tizzy,” Discord said, appearing behind Fluttershy. “I mean, you’re safe, the monsters are gone…”
“Um…,” Fluttershy asked, “when they attacked, where were you?”
Discord considered this for a second. “Here,” he said, pointing at the floor of the cabin. “If I showed up, dramatic tension would have been ruined, and Twilight Sparkle wouldn’t have been able to save you, which would make this story, well...kind of boring, don’t you think? Especially with the spectacular way she blew apart three Liger Diablocus in one blast…”
“One,” Fluttershy corrected softly. “She took out one.”
Discord looked at Fluttershy with an amazed expression, then smiled. “Oh, she only got one? Who got the other two?”
“Apple Bloom did, both of them with one blast,” Fluttershy finished, a bit more loudly.
Discord froze stock-still, his jaw dropping a bit, then he tossed in the air, laughing, “BWAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! Oh, come on, Fluttershy, Apple Bloom is an Earth pony, did she trample them to death? Annoy them into submission?”
“No, she’s...she’s an alicorn, like Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, they’ve been hiding here in town for the last two years,” Fluttershy corrected.
Discord just looked at her, and waggled his lion paw at her. “Now, now, Fluttershy, stop pulling my leg, this one has bells on,” as a soft ringing of church bells came from his goat hoof. “The Cutie Mark Crusaders were alicorns? For two years and I didn’t even notice them?”
“Well, um...yes,” Fluttershy replied softly.
Discord’s jaw dropped. Literally, it dropped onto the floor, and he had to grab it and reinstall it. “Damn. Just a second,” and with a single gesture he opened up a blue portal to reveal...another Discord. “Hey, you were right and you won the bet,” Discord said, grumpily.
“I was?” Discord replied. “Damn, I thought I’d be wrong. So, got the cookies?”
“Here,” Discord said, handing Discord the chocolate chip thumbprint cookies. “Next time, I’m betting on Applejack secretly being one of the Lost Princesses. I’m not going to guess that Rainbow Dash is Scootaloo’s mom!”
“You’re just a sore loser,” Discord smiled. “But, I got cookies, so it makes it much more worthwhile. Thanks!”
“You’re welcome,” Discord replied and closed the portal. He looked at the air where the portal was and grumbled, “Silly -1313 version of me, seems to always know what’s going on…”
Fluttershy looked at Discord and shook her head. “Um...what were you doing there?”
Discord looked at Fluttershy in a bit of shock, and said, “Well, I was talking with another one of me in another branch of reality. One of the main lines, I mean. If we went for branches and small alternates, we’d never get anything done.”
“So...there’s other universes?” Fluttershy asked curiously.
“Oh yes, pretty nearly an infinite number of them, but only the major ones are worth my time,” Discord replied. “I mean, if I went everywhere, I’d spread myself a touch too thin and that’s never fun.”
“So...does it matter, what we do here?” Fluttershy asked. “I mean, if the universe is infinite, there are an infinite number of possibilities, so why should we do anything.”
Discord looked at Fluttershy, and thought for a bit. “Fluttershy, I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Let us pretend that reality is infinite,” he said.
“But, you said it was,” Fluttershy interrupted softly.
“Yes, but the possibility of an infinite reality also implies the possibility, no the probability that it might not be infinite. Don’t think too hard on that, it’ll give you a headache. But, let’s play with that thought experiment for a minute. Let’s pretend that reality is infinite. For example…”
Now, Fluttershy was watching as Twilight Sparkle and Discord were in front of an altar, Princess Celestia behind it, Discord in a suit, and Twilight Sparkle in a wedding dress…no wings, she was still a unicorn, but that made no sense as it had been soon after Discord being nice that Twilight Sparkle ascended, “There’s a universe where I married Twilight Sparkle. No mind control, I promised-well, none other than the magic of love.”
“And, you may now kiss the bride,” Princess Celestia said, to the cheering crowd.
Another sudden shift of perspective, and Fluttershy was in the wedding dress, with Discord standing beside her, with Luna officiating the wedding. “We got married here, as well,” Discord said with a smile.
Another, sharp shift of perspective, and Fluttershy was standing in a darkened room, watching as a sleeping Pinkie Pie was snuggled into...a pony in bed together? A pony with black and red eyes and a face that seemed so familiar… “Oh, this one? I lost a bet with Princess Celestia, that I couldn’t ‘fake’ being a pony for a month. And, when I came to town, the first pony I met? Pinkie Pie. Fell for her, head over hooves, and I realized that a few decades of me being a pony was a small price to pay for her happiness.”
“Is that Applejack,” Pinkie Pie whispered softly, half-asleep.
“No, love, tonight is the training montage for Fluttershy-616, tomorrow night is the training montage for Applejack-723,” Discord said softly into Pinkie Pie’s ear, snuggling into her mane.
“Okie dokey, Loki,” Pinkie murmured, falling back asleep again, snuggled up tight.
“And, as a slight aside, you want to see what chaos is? Look inside her head,” Discord whispered conspiratorially, “Just, don’t ask for cupcakes.”
Another, sudden jarring shift of perspective, as Fluttershy stood-stood!-in the middle of a street, as Discord rested her head on her shoulder, hordes of satyr-like caribou coming from ahead, and Twilight Sparkle, in armor, looking more like a satyr than a pony (she had hands...fingers! And, wearing armor and a helmet that had a hole for her horn), waved at Rainbow Dash (whom looked like a satyr and was flying on her wings overhead), and she raised a staff in her hands. “This universe? Last free city of Equestria, as the Caribou hordes came from the North, raping and enslaving and killing any pony that didn’t know their place…,” Discord said. “Never did like any universe where Equestria fell to the caribou. So, I’ll do my small part here to keep it from falling.”
The perspective shifted again, as Fluttershy was standing in a hospital maternity room. Her hooves (hooves again!) were on the bed, as Twilight Sparkle, visibly pregnant, was moaning as Discord held a hoof in his hand. “Just keep breathing and pushing, dear,” Discord said, as Twilight Sparkle moaned in pain, her wings fully spread out on the bed and she kept pushing.
“I am pushing!” she moaned, and her legs twitched hard, and Fluttershy could hear the bones in Discord’s hand cracking as she squeezed.
“Here? First foal with the Princess Twilight Sparkle,” Discord said to Fluttershy, as all of her friends were around her, being enthusiastic about their first child.
Then, he winced, and pulled the hand up from Twilight Sparkle’s grasp. “You don’t even have hands, just hooves and somehow you can squeeze them so hard…”
Another perspective shift, and this time, it was Twilight Sparkle...no...it was a boy that looked like Twilight Sparkle (Dusk Shine, she knew, somehow), was holding onto Discord...no, a female Discord (Eris, that was her name) as she was giving birth, her belly huge with child. Surrounding her was the male versions of all of her friends, Rarity (no, Elusive), herself (Butterscotch, she knew), Applejack (same name), Pinkie Pie (Bubble Berry), and Rainbow Dash (Rainbow Blitz, here). “Just keep breathing, dear,” Dusk Shine said, his voice with a unique accent that sounded more like Trottington. “Just keep pushing,” he said.
“If I push any harder,” Eris groaned, with her own version of the same Trottington accent, squeezing her hand hard enough of Dusk Shine’s hoof to make him visibly wince, “the bloody foal is going to pop out like a cork!”
Eris moaned, and said, “Oh, and Fluttershy? This universe-gender switch. And, I remind myself, again, why I remain a boy as often as I can…,” then a loud moan, and the crying of a foal...
A sudden slam, and Fluttershy was surrounded by corpses. Impaled corpses of ponies-all of her friends, the Princesses, everypony she knew, and even her body with a long stake driven through the anus. The whole world seemed as if it was painted on black-dyed canvas, even the few bright colors were underlayed by the black tone and loss of everything, even hope, as fires burned from horizon to horizon.
Here, Discord was the most changed. His face was white...with red dots like clown blush, his body twisted, marked...distorted in ways that didn’t make any three-dimensional sense. His fur was a sharp, sharp white and his mane and tail were a vivid, neon green. And, his face...his face, somepony had carved past the lip line to the base of his horns with a knife, drawing his face up into a permanent smile, the scars twisting his lips into a leer.
“And here,” Discord rasped, a voice torn by laughing for hours and hours and hours and hours…, “here, dear sweet Fluttershy, I made the world burn. Because, creation is hard. But destruction, chaos, confusion-now, that’s fun!”
Another shift of perspective, then the world seems so much more...real to her. She was sitting on a stool, in a room, with a human male. She was wearing something over her ears (headphones, she knew), and she was sitting in a room (recording studio, she knew), and she (her name wasn’t Fluttershy, it was Andrea Libman, here and she was human) was recording something.
“Or, here, where we’re reading out the script of a fan fiction-technically, we shouldn’t even be reading that, but the author won a contest at BronyCon and he just wanted one particular script he created read,” John DeLance said, speaking into the microphone.
“Um, John,” Andrea Libman said in her best Fluttershy voice, “this whole thing is getting a bit too meta for me…”
“As you wish,” John De Lance said, and with a snap of his fingers and a flash of light...they were back in Fluttershy’s cabin. With Fluttershy as Fluttershy, and Discord as Discord.
“So, as you can see, the universe is full of so many infinite possibilities. But, there is one thing, most important of all, Fluttershy,” Discord said. “And, do know what that is?”
“Um...no,” Fluttershy said softly.
“This moment,” he said. “Here, in this moment, you can be anything-yell at me, comfort me, curse me, love me, hate me, adore me, despise me, walk out of the room, fly out of the room, cut your throat with a knife-and it is you who decides. Nopony else does. Just you, you are the creator of your own worlds, the builder of your own dreams.”
“What about all the other moments?” Fluttershy asked, curiously. “Their moments?”
“Oh, those are important, too-as well as my moment, but this? Your moment,” Discord said. “Does that help any?”
“It does, a little,” Fluttershy said. “So, what matters is not what one of the versions of myself in a universe far far away does, it’s what I do that matters.”
“Excellent! Tomorrow, we’ll deal with multiple perspective cognitive dissonance,” Discord smiled, and looked around. “And, actually, I was wondering…may I ask a favor from you?”
“Sure, what’s the favor?” Fluttershy asked.
With a pop!, four pony foals appeared. One was a dark pink Earth pony with a brownish/white mane and eight legs, another was a unicorn with purple-ish fur and a purple-green mane, a third was a brown/orange Earth pony foal with beautiful green eyes and hair, and the last was a pegasus foal with...hummingbird wings? Blue with brown highlights, and just sort of floating over the ground with his wings a blur… “Well, kids this Auntie Fluttershy. Fluttershy, this is Slepnir,” Discord pointed out the eight-legged pony, “mine with Pinkie Pie. The cute little unicorn here is Slippy Time, mine with Twilight Sparkle. The other cute Earth pony is Cider Press, mine with Applejack. And, last but not least,” and he nuzzled the flying pegasus, “is Hummingdash, mine and Rainbow Dash.”
“AUNTIE FLUTTERSHY!” they all yelled, and clutched onto her legs, hugging and nuzzling her.
“Unfortunately, I’m stuck babysitting today, so if you could just watch them for a few hours while I go deal with a griffin in Georgia about grease guns, I’ll do double chores for a week and bring you a dozen of the chocolate hoofprint cookies you love,” Discord pleaded.
“Double chores for two weeks,” Fluttershy said, over the four foals playing around with her legs.
“Two weeks and two dozen cookies,” Discord replied, “we have a deal. Kids,” and all the foals looked up at Discord, “I’ll be back in a few hours, don’t make too much trouble for Auntie Fluttershy, and we’ll all go out to have ice cream if you’re really good.”
“Yay!” they all said, “Ice cream!”
Discord pulled a jacket and a hat off a hat rack that was just there-and vanished just as he got the jacket off. “I’ll be right back, and we’ll have fun with the universe again!” He opened the cabin’s front door, closed it, then teleported away.
“Okay,” Fluttershy said, and went over to the bookshelf to find a book. “I’ve got some good ones here…”
RAINBOW DASH
Rainbow Dash wasn’t the greatest student in the world. She was very much a “learn as you do” sort of pony, which wasn’t a bad thing.
But, Rainbow Dash realized that she needed some help, and she went to Ponyville’s #1 Egghead for help. “Hey, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said as she flew into the Ponyville Library. “I need some help,” she said.
“Oh?” Twilight Sparkle looked around a bit. “So, how can I help you today?”
“Well, I’m going up tomorrow to see Scootaloo at the castle, we’re going to do flight training. And, I was thinking that she might have problems, since she hasn’t been doing a lot of flying. Sort of the reverse problem Fluttershy and I had when we got our Cutie Marks,” Rainbow Dash replied, feeling sheepish.
“Oh?” Twilight Sparkle asked, as she looked around for the card catalogue.
“Yea,” Rainbow Dash blushed a bit. “I mean, up until she got her Cutie Mark, she’d never been on the ground, let alone walked any amount of distance. I’d been down to the dirt a few times, but not for long periods of time. Scootaloo, it’s the reverse-she’s been pretending to be a ‘deformed’ pony for so long, she’s probably as good as any pony on the ground, but her wings…”
“Ah, I got it,” Twilight Sparkle said. “Physical rehabilitation, I think...yes.” She walked over to the bookshelves and started to pull a number of books off the shelves. “There’s a lot of information on this-I mean, you get some ponies that have been sick in bed for a while, and they need to get their wing muscles back in shape...so, why are you asking me? Princess Celestia probably has a horde of experts you can ask.”
“Hey, you’re my favorite egghead-and you know Scootaloo. I want somepony that cares about her to help me get her into shape,” Rainbow Dash noted. She looked at the books. “So, how do we figure out what exercises she needs?”
“And, what about Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle?” Twilight Sparkle asked. “Don’t they need help?”
“Well…,” Rainbow Dash prevaricated, looking up at the ceiling, then back at Twilight Sparkle a bit. “For that, I need your help, as well.”
“So,” Sweetie Belle said, “do you know why Rainbow Dash wanted us here?”
“No clue,” Scootlaoo said, “just that she asked Princess Celestia for permission to use the Grand Banquet Hall for three hours a day when she was here, and that she wanted to make sure nopony else came in while she did.”
As the three of them came in, Rainbow Dash was standing there-clipboard in her wing, a whistle around her neck, and a smile on her face. “Hey, Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle-could you make sure all the doors are closed before we get started?”
“Sure,” Apple Bloom replied, and they went and checked all the doors. “All shut, what’s up, Rainbow?”
“One thing left to do,” Rainbow Dash said, pulling out a sack from the saddle bags she had on the floor. “Scootaloo, could you put these up on all the walls and the roof, as high as you can?” The sack opened up to reveal a number of gem-like items, all about the size of a baseball.
“Rainbow Dash, these are anti-scrying wards-powerful ones, too. Why…” Scootaloo asked, and Rainbow Dash moved her wings.
“Less talk, more explanations when you get them up,” Rainbow Dash cut her off. “So, get them up and I can start explaining.”
Scootaloo shrugged, and then flew as hard as she could to put up all the wards. This took a while-the Grand Banquet Hall was huge. Easily seven hundred yards long by four hundred yards wide, the ceiling of the Hall was so high that it was possible to move a huge number of clouds inside to do...well, to hold a full pegasus party without any issues. It took her nearly twenty minutes to get all the wards up, and Scootaloo flew down in front of Rainbow Dash. “All done, now what?”
“Well, first things first, I show you this,” Rainbow Dash said, holding out a scroll with Princess Celestia’s seal on it.
Apple Bloom took it, and gasped, “Rainbow Dash, how…”
“Had Twilight Sparkle ask her,” Rainbow Dash replied, and smiled.
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle came to look over Apple Bloom’s shoulder. It was a short scroll, but as scrolls went, it was a bombshell.
The scroll said simply-
As a condition of your parole, you are to remain in your “normal” forms unless I give you permission otherwise.
By reading this scroll, it serves as an indication of my permission.
You have my permission that-so long as you remain in the Grand Banquet Hall and use proper anti-scrying protection-you may release your body change spells so you can train with Rainbow Dash.
Princess Celestia
-and below her hoofprint signature was the Royal Seal again. All three of them looked up, and saw Rainbow Dash smiling.
“Yea, I thought it would be stupid to just train Scootaloo when all three of you probably need the help. So, if you can just let your wings out…,” Rainbow Dash said.
Without a moment’s hesitation, they all released their body change spells, and Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle flexed their wings. Rainbow Dash got a good look at their wings, and groaned, face-hoofing herself.
“What’s wrong, ‘Dash?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Your wings...you’ve never preened them, have you?” Rainbow Dash sighed, looking at them. Feathers out of place, pinions in good need of cleaning...there were pegasus foals with better wings than Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom.
“Well, Scootaloo tried to help, and…” Sweetie Belle replied, and Rainbow Dash cut her off.
“So, that’s our first lesson of the day. That, and wing exercises. Scootaloo, if you can help with Sweetie Belle, I’ll help with Apple Bloom. If it’s not as bad as I think, you can all have about twenty minutes at the end to fly,” Rainbow Dash replied, trotting over to Apple Bloom. “Lie on your belly, Apple Bloom, ‘cause I’m probably going to have to get started from the top.”
Three weeks, several painful preening sessions, and some more painful exercises later, the three of them were playing “catch the balloons”. “It’s a Wonderbolt training exercise,” Rainbow Dash said. “Normally we start out from the training clouds, but we’ll start out from the floor here. I yell out a color, and you find that color balloon that is furthest from you, and you fly back and put the balloon in the basket as quickly as you can. It’s a tricky exercise, and it’s as much about coordination and observation as speed.”
“Scootaloo, blue balloon!” Rainbow Dash yelled, seeing the balloon up near one of the furthest corners. Scootaloo took off like a shot, carefully braked, caught the balloon in her tail, and flew down to the basket where they would “score” a capture.
“Good timing!” Rainbow Dash replied, clicking the stopwatch and noting the time. “Sweetie Belle, red balloon!”
Sweetie Belle took off, but she misjudged the balloon, instead getting one that was about half-way down the hall. And, she used her telekinesis to get it-not a problem, but Rainbow Dash was disappointed that she missed the furthest balloon. “Good catch, but the balloon you want is over there!” Sweetie Belle looked sad, but she got into place. “Apple Bloom, green balloon!”
They kept doing this for about an hour, then Rainbow Dash called for a break, drinks of water, some snacks, and more preening exercises. One of the things that Rainbow Dash had tried to do was make sure nopony preened another pony twice in a row, and every pony preened another pony in their small group per week. “Ooof,” Apple Bloom said, “d’ya have to be so hard on my wings, Rainbow Dash?”
“Got to,” Rainbow Dash replied. “It’s been a few weeks of good care, but they still need to get into some sort of shape…”
“And,” a majestic voice said behind them both, “I am glad you’re helping them out.”
All four of them were surprised to see Princess Celestia, standing in the middle of the room. “I admit it,” she said with a small, sly smile, “I snuck in and cast an invisibility spell to watch you exercise. You have all made remarkable progress, and I am glad Twilight Sparkle was able to convince me to help.”
“Thank you,” Rainbow Dash said. “But, I’d really like to get them out into the open air, it’s the only place to really learn how to fly.”
“Unfortunately, until I have come to a decision about them, it is better for everypony that they remain a secret,” Princess Celestia sighed. “But…”
“But what?” Apple Bloom asked.
“As it happens to have happened, the weather ponies have built a pretty heavy and low cloud layer over Canterlot tonight. Dangerous flying, but once you break through the cloud cover, you should be clear,” Princess Celestia mused. “And, if some ponies were to fly out after sunset, they might even be able to see the Night Watch changeover.”
“Oh?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“But, of course, this is just idle musings. After all,” here, Princess Celestia smiled, “the sun will not set until 6:35 pm exactly. Just...idle musing of a pony that might have some problems seeing some ponies flying tonight.”
“Ah,” Scootaloo said. “I see.”
“Well, I think there is a chocolate cake slice with my name on it,” Princess Celestia said. “Literally-the head cook put my name on the last slice with frosting to make sure somepony else did not eat it… See you tomorrow!”
As she left, the four of them looked at each other. “So...how long…,” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Three hours and some change,” Apple Bloom replied. “So…”
“What are we waiting for?” Rainbow Dash said. “We’ve got to get this place cleaned up, a nap in, and food eaten before 6:35 tonight!”
“So, what time is it?” Apple Bloom asked. All four of them were waiting inside Scootaloo’s room, body change spells released, looking out the window.
“6:33,” Sweetie Belle said with a sigh. “We’ve got some more time to go, the sun is still going down…”
As they watched, the sun slowly dipped below the horizon. This close to Canterlot, the three alicorns knew what they had long suspected. Princess Celestia had to have built some form of artifact to have helped her move the Sun and the Moon, and how she did it was going to be very interesting to find out. But, as the Sun dipped below the horizon, the Moon began to come out from behind the hills, they all looked and saw the low deck of clouds that began to form.
“Now!” Rainbow Dash said, and all four of them took to the air. “Remember, follow me, keep your eyes open for me,” she said, and they flew through the cloud deck as quickly as they could. The biggest danger was losing track of their orientation-pegasui and alicorns were good at knowing what direction they were flying in, but the thickness of the clouds could get confusing. But, they made it through, and with a solid swing of their wings, they were above the cloud deck and looking at the crystal clear sky over Canterlot.
They all landed on the clouds, and got used to another pegasus trick-cloud walking. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were not used to it, but they quickly got the hang of it as the moon rose slightly. Then, they could hear it.
The beating of a thousand bat wings.
Thestrals, the so-called “bat ponies” had been one of the most slandered of the Six Races of Equestria. For the most part, they didn’t care-as long as they had their cairns, as long as their homes were safe, the thestrals maintained their watch on the dark places of Equestria. With the return of Princess Luna, they had resumed their posts that their ancestors had promised to uphold a thousand years ago.
The Night Watch was taking over from the Day Watch.
Over a thousand thestrals, armed and in armor, flew in organized lines of three to the walls of Canterlot Castle. A trio landed next to a member of the Day Watch, and whispered something. The Day Watch guard saluted, and they trotted or flew off. One thestral assumed the position vacated by the Day Watch guard, shouldering their weapon and preparing for the night. The other two thestral turned clockwise about forty-five degrees, and flew off to the inner guard posts, where the process repeated. The last thestral turned forty-five degrees counter-clockwise and flew to the Canterlot Castle itself, replacing the guards there.
“Wow,” Scootaloo said. She had pulled up a distant viewing spell and was sharing it with the four of them, watching as the precise sequence of military procedure and choreography continued. “That’s impressive.”
“And, if you will wait a minute…,” a voice said behind them, and all four turned in shock to see Princess Luna was standing on the clouds as well, looking at them. “Princess Celestia admitted She was going to let you ‘play hookey’ tonight, so I came to watch as My Watch assumes their positions. And, if you will watch this…”
The five of them watched, as nothing happened for a few minutes. Night Watch guards settled into position, waiting for the night to come. Then, in silence, guards came out of Canterlot Castle, flying outwards from the castle in groups of three. The entire process of manning the posts happened in reverse, but no pony left their post. Instead, each post was manned by two thestrals, the thestrals flying out from Canterlot Castle proper with weapons drawn and ready to fight any opponent they faced.
“The schedule of their departure is randomized,” Princess Luna said. “As is the rotation of guards and locations. A smart foe might try to sneak in just behind Our guards, but as they do, they will encounter armed and ready members of the Watch. And, they will encounter them head-on.”
“Me too,” Apple Bloom said. “Never got a’chance to meet thestrals before, but knew some lived around the farm. Always wanted to have them say hello, be neighborly.”
“Most ponies do not like thestrals,” Princess Luna sighed. “They fear and distrust them.”
“Most ponies ain’t Apples,” Apple Bloom retorted. “If they’re civil and good ponies, don’t got any problem with ‘em, however they look.”
Princess Luna looked at Apple Bloom with a bit of a shock, and smiled, “I will ask if some can visit you soon.”
“Say, Princess,” Rainbow Dash asked, wanting to break the flow of conversation. “Have you heard anything about what Princess Celestia has decided yet.”
“No, I have not,” Princess Luna replied. “She normally plays Her cards very close to Her breastbone, but I have never seen Her play Her cards this close before. Never. And, that worries Me a great deal.”
“Why’s that?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Because, My sister has one very predictable thing about Her,” Princess Luna said sadly. “She will sometimes be so cunning that She tricks Herself.”
Despite every story to the contrary, most criminal investigations were relatively boring office jobs. Even Priority One investigations.
Paper was crunched. Information was worked. Evidence was run down. DCS Runny Banks went through several bags of popcorn.
But, a week after the attack, they got a lead. DCS Munch and DS Finn were at the open-air market where the cart was stolen, and they ran into one May Fields, an Earth Pony that sold fresh clover honey to restaurants, hotels, and...enthusiasts.
“Yes,” she said, looking at one of the photos. “Cute little unicorn, that one. She came by here every day for about two weeks, was looking for something for her and her girlfriend. Always wore a vest, but I did get a look at her Cutie Mark.”
“Oh?” DCS Munch asked, “could you describe it to a sketch artist?”
“Don’t need to,” May Fields replied with a smile. She rummaged around under her cart and found a sketch pad. “This is it,” and she flipped to a page where she had drawn a good likeness of a female unicorn, and a Cutie Mark of three intertwined salmon.
“May we have it?” DS Finn said, around a cracker that he had put some her sampler honey on.
“Sure,” May Fields smiled. “Oh, and she had teal fur and a short, coral mane. Always thought she should grow it out, but she said her job was easier when she had it short. Never did say what her name was.”
“Thank you,” DCS Munch said, and put the picture away with his notes in the notebag. And, struck by a sudden impulse, he pulled out his purse and bought two jars of honey. “And, thank you.”
“It’s on the house, dear,” she said, hoofing DCS Munch his money back. DCS Munch looked at the money and put it in the tip jar.
“It’s a great tip,” DCS Munch smiled, and the two investigators left.
“The description is one that matches up with a Fluke Scale, seventeen, female unicorn that has form,” DS Drops said, taking a file out from under his wing. “Previous arrests, but no convictions, for traffic in illicit spell materials and prohibited potions.”
“Why hasn’t she been busted yet?” DS Finn asked, sitting back in his chair.
“Cases were dropped due to ‘lack of evidence,’” DS Drops said, looking through the file. “Always caught around, but never holding and she never gave anypony else up.”
“So, what would a small-time mule be doing around in a high-end joint like where the cart was stolen,” DCS Banks asked. “When is the last report on her?”
“Six months ago, when she was thought to be working with a gang that was moving manticore spleens,” DCS Munch said. “Once again, no convictions or charges, but we do have a recent address.”
“Well, I think we need to ask Fluke Scale why she was honey shopping,” DCS Banks said, and pushed himself away from the desk.
The address they had for Fluke Scale was for a large, somewhat rundown apartment building in a poor but somewhat bohemian area of Manehattan. DCS Banks and DS Drops went up to the twentieth floor, and knocked on her door. No answer. “I’ll make sure to leave her notice,” DS Drops said, pulling out a notification pad as they heard the elevator open up, and a pony trot around the corner with a bag of groceries in her saddle bags.
Teal fur, coral mane…, DCS Banks observed, and said, “Fluke Scale, I’m DCS Banks and…,” with a start, Fluke Scale shed her saddlebags and was running for the stairs.
“Ooops!” DCS Banks said, starting to chase after her as DS Drops found the nearest window and flew down to the street entrance.
Fluke Scale came bursting out of the emergency exit, panting. DS Drops saw her around the corner and took off with a powerful burst of his wings. He tackled her to the ground, managing to keep himself out of sight and off her hooves until DCS Banks came down and managed to secure her hooves and put an anti-magic collar on her horn. “Fluke Scale, in the name of the Crowns and Court, I am placing you under arrest,” DCS Banks said, dragging her up to her hobbled hooves. “You have the right to remain silent and full legal council. Do you understand your rights as I’ve said them?”
“Flank off!” Fluke Scale hissed.
“I’ll take that for a yes,” DCS Banks said, dragging her off to their cart.
Once the official notices had been read, DCS Banks looked at Fluke Scale in Interview #1 and asked, “So, what have you been up to lately, Fluke Scale?”
“Flank off, flathead,” Fluke Scale sneered. “I want my lawyer.”
“Your Legal Aid attorney will be here soon, but don’t you want to know why you’re here?” DS Drops asked.
“Doesn’t matter,” Fluke Scale snorted. “You keep busting my chops and get nothing for it.”
“This isn’t your usual run of moving dodgy stuff, you might have just become a conspirator in a Class 3 Unauthorized Reality Excursion,” DCS Brooks said. “Which means you were involved in a murder, dearie. That’s hard time, probably Isle of Hoofington, for at least fifteen years. And, if the Court thinks you were actually an active participant…”
“Hey, I wasn’t doing any summonings!” Fluke Scale yelled, angry and scared. “Flank you, you’re trying to pin something on me!”
DS Drops started to lay the photos out. “This is the unicorn they tortured to get the summoning to work. That’s at least fifteen to twenty. Add the summoning, attempted murder charges…,” he ticked off items that happened.
“WHAT?!? What murder charges?” Fluke Scale screamed.
“Attempted murder,” DCS Brooks corrected. “Nopony got killed, but it was a near-run thing.”
The door to Interview #1 opened and a female unicorn in a Legal Aid vest came in. “Are you badgering my client?” the unicorn lawyer said. “Trying to get her to say something without proper legal counsel?”
“Just trying to let her know what sort of trouble she’s in,” DCS Brooks smiled. “Didn’t harass her in the least.”
“Now, may I speak with my client?” The unicorn lawyer shooed the two detectives off, and they went into the observation room, where Crown Prosecutor Kiwi Pips waited.
“Pushing her a bit hard?” Pips asked, flexing her wings as they watched the Legal Aid lawyer and Fluke Scale talk with each other in low whispers.
“I don’t think she did it, or at least she wasn’t one of the summoners,” DS Drops replied. “I think she was involved...but, sort of on the side.”
“I agree with Drops,” DCS Banks said. “I’m just not sure how she fits in…”
The Legal Aid lawyer nodded, and knocked on the window with the one way glass. DCS Banks, DS Drops, and CP Pips came in, the lawyer looking ready for a fight and Fluke Scale looking a bit frazzled.
“I’m willing to have her talk, but I want immunity from prosecution for my client. At most, she’s accessory to a Class E felony,” the Legal Aid pony replied.
“If we like what we hear,” CP Pips said, “she has it. Let’s hear it.”
The Legal Aid pony nodded at Fluke Scale and she took a deep breath. “Look, I’ve been clean and out for six months. Found a girl, she loves me, and I’ve been trying to turn my life around, okay? Problem is, money has been tight lately, and one of my old buddies came up and asked me to do a favor for him.”
“Who’s the buddy?” DCS Banks asked.
“Earth pony by the name of Sip Can,” Fluke Scale said. She looked around, depressed and nervous. “He was the guy that ran me when I was into, well, stuff. Still in the business of moving stuff, and he runs an off-the-books club down near the Waterfront, place called ‘Chinos’. He met up with me after work a few weeks ago, and he told me that all I had to do was find a new, enclosed cart that could be towed by six ponies and was near the South Gate. So, I told him of this place that I saw that had a cart on my way to work, and next day he hands me a bag of about a thousand bits-says it’s ‘my share’ of a ‘good thing’ he’s got going.”
“Did he say why he needed the cart?” DS Drops asked.
“No, and I didn’t ask,” Fluke Scale said. “He told me that he might need another cart soon, and to keep an eye out.”
“Well, what do you think?” the Legal Aid pon asked.
“If we can confirm the information and she’s willing to testify under a truth spell about this-and only this-we’ve got a deal,” CP Pips said.
“So, let’s go and find Sip Can,” DCS Banks said.
“You got nothing,” Sip Can said, sitting down in Interrogation #2. “What you busting my mane for?”
Sip Can was a wiry Earth pony, dark brown fur with a slightly darker mane. The dripping can for a Cutie Mark was...unique, to say the least.
“Well, we can start with your club,” DCS Munch said. “Off books, so you probably don’t have any licenses, which is a problem.”
“Hey, have you tried to get a liquor or music license lately? Flanking backorder of six months and I can serve during the application process,” Sip Can grunted. “And, all my paper is in order, and I run a clean shop.”
“Not according to Vice,” DS Finn retorted. “You seem to have an awful lot of working mares in your place every night, and it seems like you get a lot of action.”
“This isn’t a Vice bust,” Sip Can sat back and smiled. “You want something. What is it?”
“Who did you get the cart for, the new six pony one a few weeks ago,” DCS Munch asked.
“Don’t know,” Sip Can replied. “Colt came in, said he knew I used to move product. He gave me two plat that night, told me that if I could find a new, six pony enclosed cart near the South Gate, I’d get two more.”
“And?” DS Finn asked in the silence.
“Found him a nice, eight year old cart, sweet thing, and got it to him outside the South Gate. Paid me two plat right there,” Sip Can smiled.
“Describe him,” DCS Munch said. “Who pays a colt four thousand bits for a cart?”
“Unicorn, tall as I am, long-ass horn, blue eyes. Black fur and mane, but I could tell they were dyed. Never saw his Cutie Mark, always wore a cloak,” Sip Can said. “So, you going to bust my flank over this or am I now a Material Witness?”
“How did he get in touch with you after you found the cart?” DS Finn asked.
“Came in every third night, bought drinks, asked, left. Night I got the cart, he shows up with five other unicorns. Cloaks with hoods up, paid me and took the cart,” Sip Can said.
“Still not much use, and I wonder how many of the mares that wander in and out of your place are legal,” DCS Munch said. “I suppose we’ll have to go there tonight and check every single pony there for outstanding warrants.”
“Lots of squad carts, lots of Guards going in and out,” DS Finn said, with a smile that suggested that he’d like to indulge in a little Guard brutality with Sip Can.
“Yea, I caught a look at one of the female unicorn’s flanks. Had a Cutie Mark of three small blue elephants, two on top and one on the bottom,” Sip Can said. “You want to keep busting my flank?”
“Only if your information is bad,” DCS Munch said, and the two of them left as the sputtering Sip Can tried to retort.
“...and, that’s about all we have right now, your Highness,” DCS Banks said, looking at his notes. “We’re running down the leads we have right now, and if we can identify even one of the unicorns involved, it’s a start.”
DCS Banks remembered from the days when he was a mere Detective, learning under the tutelage of the famous and brawling DCS Green Hunt. This was back in the “good old days” of police work-when colts were colts, mares were mares, and lesbian sheep were nervous. DCS Hunt had a lot of great expressions for this, and one of his favorite was “managing the managers.”
“You want to figure out how to tell your bosses,” he said over donuts and booze one night, “that you’re getting everything done, you’ve got scalds of witnesses you just need to interview, flank-loads of physical evidence, and everything else. Even when all you have are two busted-ass donkeys and half a biscuit to your case, and you really want to get back out on the street and start running down where the biscuit came from rather than answering silly questions to a DI that hasn’t worked a case in ten years.”
DCS Banks realized that “managing” Princess Celestia was simple-the truth, and as much as he could give. So, he gave it to her in full.
“Do you have the identity of the sacrifice victim,” Princess Celestia asked, looking grim at the thought.
“Not at this time, your Highness,” DS Drops said, “Considering his condition, he was probably a transient or homeless, and the summoners just grabbed the first unicorn they could find.”
“Thank you,” Princess Celestia said, and sighed. “Do you need any more resources? Ponies?”
“Not at this time, your Highness,” DCS Banks said. “Cases like this are like a whole mixed up pile of jigsaw puzzles. Nothing really happens until you can figure out how to put enough pieces together to start getting a coherent image. A bit of forest, the borders of the puzzle, it takes time and work, but right now we have all the eyeballs that we can make use of on the case.”
Princess Celestia nodded. “I will not keep you from your work, then. Once again, thank you.”
As DCS Banks and DS Drops turned to leave, there was the sound of an explosion from within the Royal compound. Not a large one, but easily audible in the audience chamber. And, DCS Banks noticed, Princess Celestia didn’t flinch when it happened.
“Your Highness?” DCS Banks asked, curiously, “What was that explosion?”
Princess Celestia looked out the window and sighed.
“That, DCS Banks, is what happens when you are silly enough to allow foals to play with steam,” Princess Celestia said with a sigh. “We’ll have to rebuild the workshop. Again.”
“Got an ID for you,” Firemare 3 Ashes said without preamble, coming into the squad room. “Cafe owner near the arson said a male and female unicorn were at his cafe near both times, and he recognized the female unicorn’s Cutie Mark. Never got her name, but she was there then.”
“What about the male?” DS Drops asked.
“Wore saddlebags, can’t recall what much more about him,” Firemare 3 Ashes replied, looking at her notes. “But, he matches the general description we got-tall male with a long horn.”
“So, we just need to find…,” DCS Banks said, as CSI Griffin came in.
“Got some good news for you, we were able to find one of the summoners in our database,” he said, laying out a file. “Female unicorn by the name of Grey Parade,” revealing the photo of a pony with a three elephant Cutie Mark. “She’s got form-got a six month stint in Black Marla for love poisons and some other nasty stuff. And, I can tie her to the summoning. The other five signatures, not in the database.”
“How did you figure that out?” DS Drops asked.
“You can thank Princess Twilight Sparkle, got her scroll when I came in today. We did a quantum magic resonance test, and we picked up Grey Parade’s signature,” CSI Griffin replied.
“Well, DCS Banks said, “we should talk with her and ask why her signature’s on a summoning grid.”
Grey Parade slouched in the chair, looking insolently at the two detectives. Her last photo had her looking a bit gaunt-but, now she looked relatively well fed. She wasn’t cuffed, but she did have an anti-magic ring on her horn.
“So, what have you been up to, Grey?” DCS Banks asked, looking at her.
“I want my lawyer,” Grey Parade said, simply.
“Absolutely. Legal Aid is on it’s way, and while we’re waiting, you might want to know that we have your signature on a Class 3 summoning grid. And, there was a live sacrifice on it. So, the sooner you talk to us, the sooner we can get the Crown Prosecutor in and cut you a deal,” DS Drops said.
“Filly flanker,” Grey Parade snorted. “If you had that, I’d be in chains right now.”
“Yea, but like my partner said, we want all your merry crew and the guy in charge-the tall one that dyes his mane and tail black,” DCS Banks smiled. “So, I think my boss and the Crown Prosecutor are willing to cut you a deal in exchange for him.”
Grey Parade looked at the both of them. “I’m not talking,” she said.
“Well, we might as well wait for your Legal Aid lawyer,” DS Drops noted. “Be back in a bit.”
The two of them went into the observation room, where DI Cracken and CP Pips were watching. “Something wrong here,” DI Cracken said. “She’s too...controlled?”
“I read her arrest report from six years ago-she should be cursing up a storm,” CP Pips said, looking at the detectives. “When her Legal Aid pony gets here, I’m going to request a geas check and...oh, flank me…,” as her voice trailed off.
All of them looked inside and saw that Grey Parade was shaking, as if she was having a seizure, and her horn was glowing. “Get the EMT!” DCS Banks said, as he and DS Drops charged in, dragging Grey Parade off from the chair and onto the floor. “You’re trying to cast a spell!” DCS Banks said, “You’ve got to stop before you hurt yourself!”
Grey Parade gargled something that DCS Banks could barely make out, then she hissed, “For the coming of the eternal night!”
And, DCS Banks knew exactly what she was trying to do. Which was why literally tackled DS Drops to the other side of Interview #1 and used his telekinesis to flip the heavy wooden table so that they could be shielded behind it.
The entire world vanished for DCS Banks in a roar of sound and fury, as Grey Parade exploded from a magical backfire.
“Well, with the exception of me,” DS Drops said, waving his bandaged wings, “and you here for a few days for burns and cracked ribs, the only casualty was Grey Parade. How did you know she was going to try and do a magical backfire like that?”
DCS Banks was in a hospital bed, several wires stuck in him, and bandaged pretty much from the shoulders down. “Saw it a couple of times when I was in the Service,” DCS Banks shrugged carefully, trying not to wince. “Unicorn with a damaged horn trying to do serious magic, and when they do, boom.”
“If I haven’t said it before, thank you,” DS Drops said. “Wings are bruised, not broken, so I’m clear to go. Doctors said they want to hold you for a day or two, just to be safe.”
“Yea, and I’m gonna let them,” DCS Banks replied. “Getting blown up is a young pony’s game,” he grinned. “Besides, it’s now a four day weekend for me.”
“You’re a lazy old flank,” DS Drops chuckled. They both knew that the doctors wanted to hold DCS Banks for a week, and four days was the only compromise they had all been able to accept. “Try not to starve on hospital food, okay?”
“Will do,” DCS Banks smiled, and DS Drops left. After the door closed, DCS Banks let his smile drop, and looked up at the ceiling. “Six years, six flanking years…,” he muttered.
From Elsewhere, DCS Banks pulled out a small clear pentagonal gem at the end of a gold chain. He picked up the phone handset with his telekinesis and wrapped the chain around the handset. Then, he dialed a number on the phone. After he dialed, the gem started to blink a soft yellow, then it became a solid green.
There was a hissing on the line for a second, a chirp, then, “Secure connection” from a flat, tinny, androgynous voice.
Had anypony tried to tap that line, they would have heard...nothing. As far as the Royal Phone Exchanges were concerned, there wasn’t a call being made, the line wasn’t connected to anything, and nopony was connecting to anypony else.
“This is SI Runny Banks,” he said. “Authentication is Victor-Echo-Three-Eight-Nine-One. Confirm, please.”
An androgynous voice replied on the other end. “Authenticate Hotel-Golf-One-Zero-Seven-Two. Welcome to the net. Query?”
“I’m currently on sabbatical, working for the Canterlot Royal Investigations Division. Case file is Eight-Three-Two-Six-Six-Two-Zero-One-Four. During the interrogation of Grey Parade, she said something that I can’t put in the official record because I’m the only pony that made it out clearly.”
“Understood,” the voice said. “What was it that she said?”
“She said, and I quote, ‘You’re too late, we’re almost there.’ Considering that Grey Parade may have been a member of the Order of Eternal Night, she might have known something that made her commit suicide and avoid interrogation,” DCS Banks said.
A short pause, then. “Information noted. It’ll be passed up the chain, Special Investigator.” Another pause. “Your file has a flag, a request for information. Query-’Are you still on sabbatical?’”
DCS Banks sat and thought about that for a second. “I am, for now,” he replied. “If case circumstances change, I’ll request reinstatement.”
“Understood,” the voice said. “Any other queries?”
“None, thank you.”
“Thank you, SI Banks. Disconnecting,” and the line went dead.
DCS Banks hung the phone up, unwrapped the chain, placed it back in Elsewhere, and looked out the hospital window. “Well, that put the griffin among the chickens,” he sighed.
Princess Celestia considered the clock in her office. In, as she thought of it, the office.
Click. Click. Click.
The clock was a present from Princess Luna, about fifty years before the Night That Never Ended. A small thing, barely larger than her leg below the knee, using a tricky little bit of self-winding magic but otherwise purely mechanical. Luna and gadgets...she had built this clock, with it’s odd sound of the escapement that was a high pitched click rather than the more traditional sound...she always smiled when she saw that clock. After that night...she lost it until about a hundred and twenty years later, after a day of blood and nausea and vomit when she found out exactly what the Pigmenters did at the Rainbow Factory.
And solved that problem with a brutality that even made her quiver on occasion.
Click. Click. Click.
The problem was, it made her quiver in lust. For more.
Power was a dangerous drug, even more than any other. So few ponies ever faced how intoxicating the level of power that being a Princess of Equestria meant. Which was why she had found the clock. It reminded her of what power meant.
It meant a lost sister.
It meant the heads of nearly six thousand pegasui, the stumps of their necks still bleeding.
It meant soldiers and sailors that she would send off to war. In Her name.
It meant executions, anonymous “accidents”, and lost families.
And, no amount of cakes, lovers, art, stained glass windows, or other bribes could make up for that.
Click. Click. Click.
Which was why it was here, in what she thought of as the office. Plain white marble walls. Plain but solid-and sturdy-wooden desk. Plain file cabinets. No windows. Two doors, one leading to a bathroom and one leading to a office chamber that many ponies thought she worked in on a regular basis.
The office was where she made the harsh and brutal decisions that being Princess required. No distractions. No trappings. Nothing that boosted her ego. She had to confront her decisions without any buffers, any justifications. Only what she had to do, and why, and how.
Click. Click. Click.
There was a soft knock on the door. “Enter,” Princess Celestia said.
Princess Luna came in, and looked around. “You have never invited Us here,” Princess Luna said, looking around. Her eyes fell upon the clock. “Here?”
“I could not think of a better place for it, sister,” Princess Celestia said softly. “It reminds me of what my duties are and I’m required to be.”
Princess Luna said nothing, but she instantly nuzzled her cheek into Celestia’s cheek. “Sister, please, let Me help with Your burdens…,” she whispered into her fur. She could feel Princess Celestia’s tears, running down her face.
“Do you want this burden, sister?” Princess Celestia whispered hoarsely. “Do you wish to decide if three foals that are guilty of being nothing but pawns must die? To be hated by the student that has become as much your daughter as if she was born of your own flesh and bone? To know that you will make enemies of some of the greatest ponies to walk Equestria, ones that I wish, I wish I could be more than their Princess to?”
“Celestia…,” Princess Luna whispered.
“Do you want that, sister?” Princess Celestia said, hissing through her teeth.
“I am Your sister,” Princess Luna said. “We sit upon the Diarchy Throne, and I know what My duty is. I will not let You, no matter how much You love me, take that from Me. I will not let You do this alone. No matter how much it hurts. Sister...I was lost for a thousand years, You took an insane risk to free Me from the Nightmare. I cannot be anything other than Your sister-and stand beside You, come what may.”
“‘Come what may,’” Princess Celestia repeated. She took a deep breath, pulled some kleenex out of Elsewhere, blew her nose and dried her eyes. “Have you sent the notes?”
“I have informed all of the Bearers,” Princess Luna replied. “They will be brought here tonight, for tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow, stand with me,” Princess Celestia said. “I have made a decision. And, I need to have a choice decided.”
“What is Your choice?” Princess Luna asked, looking at her sister.
Princess Celestia told her.
“Sister, one of the problems with bait...is that it is sometimes eaten by what You wish to catch,” Princess Luna said after a moment.
“Can you think of any other options? SI Banks report...if the Order thinks it is close to summoning the Nightmare,” Princess Celestia said, “And, they let their hook dip into the demon-haunted void, what they pull out will only be one thing-something we dare not allow into Equestria.”
“It is a danger,” Princess Luna replied. “And, I cannot think of any other options. Not for lack of trying, My sister!”
“If you can find a solution, let me know. I wish for a different one,” Princess Celestia said simply.
The chariot had arrived outside of the Ponyville Library promptly after sundown, and the five of them climbed into it.
Pinkie Pie was her enthusiastic self, trying to drag a bag twice the size of the chariot of what had to be party favors with her. Fluttershy was nervous, but something about her expression suggested that she was going to hold onto her courage with all her hooves. Twilight Sparkle looked a touch frazzled, but it was the “intense curiosity” sort of frazzled, not the “going mad” frazzled.
Applejack and Rarity had just looked at each other, said nothing, and retreated to opposite corners of the chariot.
Rarity’s expression was blank.
Applejack’s was ashamed.
About an hour into the flight, Applejack cleared her throat. “Got something I need to say to all of ya,” Applejack said without preamble. “I’ve been an awful friend and pony the last few weeks.”
“Oh, really,” Rarity drawled, but Twilight Sparkle gave her a solid bump with her flank to stop the sarcasm.
“I’m serious,” Applejack said, ignoring Rarity’s sarcasm. “Had my whole world turned upside down a month ago, and still trying to figure out all it means. But, I do know something and it shouldn’t matter what else happens-you’re all ma friends, and I should have been nicer to ya all. Shouldn’t have had to vent my anger on ya all because you were handy.”
“Applejack,” Rarity said, coming up to her friend. “I forgave you a long time ago. Thank you for saying that you understand.” And then Rarity gave Applejack a huge hug.
Of course, Fluttershy had to join in, then Twilight Sparkle, then Pinkie Pie trying to hug them all at once…
The pegasus flying the chariot realized that this was going to be one of those interesting flights.
And, kept their eyes looking forward.
When the chariot landed, Kibitz was there, checklist in hand. “Ah, Princess Twilight Sparkle,” he said. “I have word from Princess Celestia.”
“Oh?” Twilight Sparkle asked, watching as her friends got out.
“Yes, your Highness. Your friends will all be quartered in the West Tower tonight, and will see Princess Celestia before Dawn Court,” Kibitz replied. “She also asked me to inform you that she wishes to see you for tea when you get settled in, in the Lotus Gardens.”
Twilight Sparkle looked at Kibitz and sighed. “Is everything in my room?”
“Yes, your Highness,” Kibitz replied. “And, I will lead your friends to the West Tower.”
Twilight Sparkle trotted off, as the rest were lead towards the West Tower. “Hey, where is the sugarcube going?” Applejack asked.
“Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have requested that Princess Twilight Sparkle meet them in the Lotus Gardens,” Kibitz said as he signaled off to the staff to carry the luggage (and Pinkie Pie, who was hiding in a box) to the West Tower. “It is...let us just say that for the Princesses, it is probably the only place that they can truly let their hair down with companionship.”
“It’s where the Princesses meet with ponies that they need to see them without a whole layer of court formality and such. It’s like being an honorary Apple and invited to the big family reunion,” Rarity translated.
“Ah. But, ain’t Twilight her important student and such?” Applejack asked, being lead by the rest of the ponies towards the West Tower.
“I suspect that the Princesses need to say something to Princess Twilight Sparkle in a way that there is...a buffer?” Kibitz mused. “And, the Lotus Gardens are the most private portion of the Castle short of the Princesses’ own bedrooms. The scandal if Princess Twilight Sparkle was in the Princesses bedroom would be terrifying!”
“I suppose that would be an issue,” Rarity mused…”But, regardless, shall we be on our way?”
“Apple Bloom,” Applejack said. “Can I speak with ya before I get settled in?”
“Sure,” Apple Bloom said, letting Applejack into her room.
Apple Bloom hadn’t heard a thing from Applejack since the night of the Liger Diablocus attack. She had sent scrolls, but…
“Could ya…,” Applejack was about to ask, but Apple Bloom released the body change spell the moment the door closed. Applejack stopped, sighed, and looked at Apple Bloom’s flank. “Y’got your Cutie Mark.”
“I did,” Apple Bloom said.
Applejack looked at her Cutie Mark. “Kingston Black,” she said, remarking at the apple that was the head of the hammer. “Good cider apple, bit tart otherwise. You look good, Apple Bloom.”
“Thank you,” Apple Bloom said, and took a deep breath. “Applejack…”
“Wish you had been, damn it, wish you could have been honest with me up front,” Applejack interrupted. “It’s looking back at the years we spent, and I know ya didn’t want to screw things up.” Applejack sighed. “Look, sugar plum, y’screwed up bad. But, Big Mac and I...if you want to come home, you’re welcome to. Apples don’t turn away foundlings, and you’re family.”
Apple Bloom looked at Applejack. “But, why…”
“I was angry,” Applejack said, holding her temper in check. “Two years, Apple Bloom, that I thought Big Mac was ma brother. That I knew that ma angel was near me, the one I loved...and didn’t even know his name!”
Apple Bloom looked at the floor. “I can’t say any more than sorry, and be better,” Apple Bloom said softly. “What more do ya want?”
Applejack looked at Apple Bloom, tilted her chin up with her hoof, then hugged her. “Ma sister to come home. Can ya do that?”
Apple Bloom started to cry, tears of joy. “Yea, I think I can do that.”
“I’m glad to see you,” Rarity said.
Her and Sweetie Belle were looking at each other in the bedroom they were sharing that night.
“Letters are nice, but the personal touch...always important,” Rarity said, walking around Sweetie Belle. “You have grown out very well...Mom and Dad would be happy to know that.”
“Are they my parents?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“I got a letter from them. They’re...not happy as to what happened, but they’ve always wanted another daughter,” Rarity replied. “Once the issues are resolved here, Mom and Dad want to get the paperwork filed. As Applejack so aptly put it, ‘we don’t turn away foundlings’.”
“What about…,” Sweetie Bell started to ask.
“Me? I’m angry, yes. But, Sweetie Belle...remember, I was the Nightmare Rarity for a while,” Rarity interrupted. “I know what that kind of power does to a pony’s soul. And, I know how that would scare a foal to do...desperate things to avoid.”
Rarity looked around...and saw the rose that she had sent to Sweetie Belle, floating over the dresser, without a drop of water around it or a vase or anything. “Sweetie Belle, what is going on with that rose?” Rarity asked.
“Oh, that,” Sweetie Belle blushed. “It’s an experiment-well, besides the long-term levitation spell. If you can see the bottom, near the cut, there’s a very, very small teleportation portal around the base of the rose. It’s connected to one of the garden ponds, and the angle of the portal is very tricky, but when done properly the flower is still watered…”
“Sweetie Belle, this is…,” Rarity looked in shock at the work.
“Twilight Sparkle helped me with a lot of it!” Sweetie Belle blurted out. “She worked out most of the calculations! I just...made them work…”
Rarity looked at Sweetie Belle and sighed. “I’m almost feeling silly having brought this…,” and she brought the bundle of roses that she had been working on out of Elsewhere to show Sweetie Belle.
“Wow…,” Sweetie Belle gushed, “I mean, the symbolism alone...purity, innocence, grace, and charm...is...this how you think of me?”
“How else should I think of my sister?” Rarity asked.
Sweetie Belle began to tear up near the corner of her eyes and lunged at Rarity, hugging her without mercy. “I’m...I’m glad to be your sister, Rarity.”
“And, you should have seen her diving,” Rainbow Dash said to Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, using her hooves to demonstrate what Scootaloo did that day. “WHAM! Huge splash, she grabs the foal, makes it safely to the bottom, and dragged her and the foal to the shore safely. Easily the most awesome thing that I’ve ever seen.”
“Hey, if you’d seen the foal first, I’d be diving in after you, Rainbow Dash,” Scootaloo blushed.
“And, hey! You got your Cutie Mark!” Pinkie Pie said, noticing Scootaloo’s side. “But, what does it mean? I mean, big wings and a halo don’t seem to scoot around a lot and…”
“Princess Luna just smiled and said that ‘Mom had a sense of humor’ when I got it,” Scootaloo replied. “I’m hoping they’ll explain it to me one day…”
“I am glad you got your Cutie Mark,” Fluttershy said, looking at Scootaloo and her wings. “And, I’m glad you can finally fly. You look very, very happy.”
“I am,” Scootaloo replied. “But, I’m worried about tomorrow-Princess Celestia just said she ‘came to a decision’, and we don’t know what it is yet.”
“Come on, this is the Princess,” Rainbow Dash said. “She’s gonna let you come home with me tomorrow.”
“How do you know that?” Fluttershy asked.
“Okay, I’m guessing...but, I’m still serious about what I said that night, Scootaloo. You need a home, I’m willing to give you one,” Rainbow Dash retorted.
“I hope that Twilight learns something from Princess Celestia,” Pinkie Pie said. “I tried to find where they went, but I can’t find her or them.”
“So?” Fluttershy asked.
“But...but…,” Pinkie Pie began to tear up a bit, “I always know where they are! Except, right now, I don’t!”
“Pinkie Pie, she’s probably just with the Princess,” Rainbow Dash tried to comfort Pinkie Pie.
“You don’t understand,” Pinkie Pie began to sob, “I always know where my friends are, but I don’t know where they are now. I don’t know where they are, but I know they were here and they’ll be back, but I don’t know where they are right now…”
Fluttershy hugged Pinkie Pie. “She’ll be back, soon enough.”
“Oh, no,” Pinkie Pie said, stopping her tears, “I know exactly when she’ll be back, and we won’t see her until tomorrow, at the meeting about what happens to the CMC.”
“How do you know this?” Rainbow Dash asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.
“I stole a look at the script. There’ll be a transition, then Twilight Sparkle’s going to meet with the Princesses, and then it’s tomorrow,” Pinkie Pie smiled gleefully.
“Pinkie Pie,” Rainbow Dash face-hoofed herself, “sometimes, you are so random.”
“Occasionally!” Pinkie Pie agreed. “But, it does make for a great scene transition!”
Twilight Sparkle sighed. Princess Celestia’s entire concept on protocol could be summed up as “only as much as needed, otherwise to Tartarus with the rest.” Oh, there were rules to the Day Court, and you broke them and protocol at your own risk. But, Princess Celestia didn’t demand the impossible or the implausible from ponies. She was more interested in the substance of ponies doing well, over the formalized dance of court protocol.
One of the few exceptions to this was the Lotus Gardens. And, here, Princess Celestia’s rules were cold-forged from a steel billet, hammered into shape by relentless Gods. Which was why she had spent nearly an hour under the ministrations of the various hoofmaidens and why she was walking down this anonymous hallway in a full kimono. The kimono was a deep silk purple, embroidered with the symbolism of the Element of Magic and Twilight Sparkle’s Cutie Mark, formally tied with a full obi. Her hair done in the full style that the outfit demanded, with hair sticks of bleached lacquered bamboo and woven ribbons. Her tail intricately braided and tied behind her in the same pattern. Ribbons woven into her wings, perfectly prepared so that she could open or close her wings without issue. Jewelry hanging from a horn ring and her ears in silver and rubies. Her hooves tapped in the shoes that she was wearing, a soft wooden sound on stone. Oh, and a cloth-wrapped package in her mouth, as well.
She stopped at one spot along the hallway. Counted bricks. Counted again, and then her horn glowed slightly. The wall...did not so much open as merely the massive bricks in the wall seemed to move aside, like soldiers in a formal drill. The opening was barely larger than Twilight Sparkle in her full regalia, and as the very end of her tail passed the threshold, the doorway closed again. She lit her horn again, and walked carefully down the hallway that she was in.
A few moments later, she turned the corner, and her hooves stepped onto the grass of the Lotus Garden. Somehow, despite Twilight Sparkle’s efforts to map the Castle, she never quite understood where everything was kept, at times. And, the Lotus Garden was one of those things. By any conventional three-dimensional map of the Palace, the Lotus Gardens should be a foot under the surface of the middle of the Eastern Moat. Yet, she strode out onto soft turf, maple and cypress trees carefully organized around a number of small nooks and tables. The entire area was under a circular dome of stone, but lit within and around by soft fairy lights. If needed, the dome could glow to slightly less than daylight, but the lighting here was only slightly brighter than “normal” night-time, the stars perfectly recreated and flowing on the ceiling. She looked around, and saw that the main house, near the center of the eight square acre circle that was the Gardens, was lit.
More calmly than she felt, Twilight Sparkle walked carefully towards the main house, stopped at the porch to remove her shoes, and walked carefully across the wooden floor to the main area of the house. With her front hoof, she opened the sliding wooden-and-paper door, and saw that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were waiting for her there. Both were fully, and formally dressed in kimonos as well-Princess Celestia in eggshell white and Princess Luna in a dark blue that was only slightly offsetting her own fur. Between them, sat an iron teapot and four cups. Twilight Sparkle bowed at the door, and waited.
“Please, come in, Princess Twilight Sparkle,” Princess Celestia said formally. Twilight Sparkle rose from her bow, and came around to the opposite side of the table, putting down her package beside herself. Princess Celestia set out the tea cups, and Princess Luna poured all three cups with tea. They all waited, lifted the cups with their front hooves, took a sip, and set them down again.
“A gift from Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto, Princess Celestia?” Twilight Sparkle asked.
“Yes, Princess Twilight Sparkle,” Princess Luna replied. “Do You enjoy it?”
Twilight Sparkle considered this seriously. “I am not usually a fan of green teas, Princess Luna. This one is good for a green tea,” Twilight Sparkle said, considering. They took another sip of tea. “I’ve gotten a letter from Princess Cadence, Princess Luna.”
“And, what does Our sister have to say?” Princess Luna asked.
“She wishes she was here, of course,” Twilight Sparkle nodded. “Her and Shining Armor are working hard to get the capital ready for the Equestrian Games. And, they hope to be ready in plenty of time.”
“Princess Cadence was always the sort that would make sure everything was perfect,” Princess Celestia said. “Which was one of the reasons why I did not suspect the Changeling Queen was her just being a nervous Bridezilla.”
They all took a sip of tea.
That was what they did for an hour, polite and calm conversation, then the last of the tea was finished, Princess Celestia put away all the items-the cups, the pot, and the mats the tea cups rested on-they had used, leaving the table clean. Twilight Sparkle lifted her package to the table. “A gift, Princess Celestia,” Twilight Sparkle said.
“Thank you,” Princess Celestia replied, unwrapping it with her hooves to reveal cinnamon-dusted gingerbread cookies. They all had two of the cookies, then Princess Celestia set the rest aside. She sighed softly, and looked at Twilight Sparkle. “Princess Twilight Sparkle, before we speak further, I must ask for your confidence-and discretion-until tomorrow morning. May I have that?”
Twilight Sparkle looked taken aback at this. “You always have that, Princess Celestia,” she said, getting over her shock.
“This moment may strain that,” Princess Celestia sighed. “I have kept you away from the investigation into the Order to concentrate on your friends. Despite that, I have allowed you to gather information on what has happened so you might be ready for what might happen next. And, what happens next is...dangerous.”
“During Our investigation,” Princess Luna said, “We have found that three of the ponies that had the list of potential Element candidates have vanished or died in the last three years. We have no way of determining which one released the information, if any of them did. The remaining seventeen have passed truth spell examination-they have not shared the list outside of those that have been cleared for the information. In addition, the Guard had found one of the ponies responsible for the summoning on Ponyville. After her capture, she committed suicide by unraveling herself.”
Twilight Sparkle winced at that thought. A unicorn using unraveling to power their spells...the act of unraveling itself was one step short of suicide, but to get that much power meant she was planning on doing as much damage as she could during her death. “Are there any other leads, Princess Luna?” Twilight Sparkle asked.
“None,” Princess Celestia said simply. “And, we may be running short on time. There is an unconfirmed report that the Order is ready to move soon. If this is the case...we must gamble on the foals.”
“I don’t like the sound of that, Princess Celestia,” Twilight Sparkle said. “What is your gamble?”
Which was why she was standing in the throne room, the day after, as her friends, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle were standing there before the Day Court officially began. Princess Celestia and Luna looked out across the crowd, and nodded. “DCS Banks, I’m glad you’re able to make it here.”
DCS Runny Banks and DS Misty Drops came from the main hall doors, DCS Banks still wearing some bandages from his injuries. “Downed, but not out, Your Majesty,” DCS Banks smiled. “How may I help you today?”
“First things first,” Princess Celestia said, looking at Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle. “Your greatest fear is relieved-I was never going to execute or put you in a prison cell or anything else for just being...well, you. Mind you, some of your stunts to get Cutie Marks…” Princess Celestia shook her head. “And, I can tell you something else-who your parents are, in a genetic sense.”
“The hair samples,” Apple Bloom said. “So...who are we related to?”
“Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, you are, well...my daughters. Mine, and Applejack’s, in the case of Apple Bloom, and mine and Rarity’s in the case of Sweetie Belle,” Princess Celestia said. “They contributed half of your genetic material, which means in a sense, they are your parents, as much as your sisters. Which makes getting the adoption paperwork properly settled only required me to glare at some of the ponies in charge.”
“And, what about me?” Scootaloo asked.
“You are My daughter, Scootaloo,” Princess Luna said. “And, the daughter of a pony named Comet Tail. I am sorry to say that you cannot meet her-she died two years ago, stopping a major storm system from hitting Trottingham. Without her sacrifice, thousands would have died.”
“Oh…,” Scootaloo said softly. Then, she perked up a bit. “That’s why you were able to be in my dreams so easily!”
“Yes, because you are My daughter, we share a link that I did not understand at first, but now I do,” Princess Luna replied.
“So, does that mean you’ll be adopting her, Princess Luna?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“No, it means that WE will be adopting her,” Princess Luna looked at Rainbow Dash with a raised eyebrow. “You have helped to raise her more than I have. That I was on the Moon at the time does not quite excuse my lack of care.”
Everypony in the room gave a low, soft sigh of relief. Princess Celestia smiled. “Next, DCS Banks-I need you back. Now.”
DCS Banks looked around, and sighed. “I suspect you’d wanted me back in when you asked me to take the case. If I say no?”
“If you say no, I will honor your sabbatical,” Princess Celestia said. “I am sorry about your wife and her death, and I would never ask you back to duty unless I truly needed your services.”
“‘Back to duty?’” DS Drops asked, looking at DCS Banks. “You were on the job the entire time your wife was suffering from horn rot, I know ‘cause I was a patrol colt at the time. What does she mean?”
“What she means,” DCS Banks said with a sigh, “is that besides being one of Canterlot’s finest, I’m also a Special Investigator. When Dream Valley got horn rot...I asked for sabbatical time, as you can never leave the SI. You can retire, you can take a sabbatical, you can be sent to prison, you can be executed, but you can’t just quit. And, as it turns out, I’m back on that job again.”
DCS Banks firmly squared his jaw, stood straight on his hooves, and saluted in the style of the Royal Equestrian Army to his horn. “If you can use one worn out investigator, your Majesty, I’ll do my best at the job.”
“Runny Banks, you are a well polished and well tuned investigator, with a most sardonic sense of humor,” Princess Celestia corrected gently, and pulled out of Elsewhere a simple sheet of black metal, about as big as one of her eyes. She used her telekinesis to float it over to Runny Banks, whom took it in his telekinesis. When he did...the metal seemed to change, and to the ponies looking at it.
In his telekinesis, the black metal sheet had a picture of Runny Banks, as he was right now. Also, in formal words, written in softly glowing golden calligraphy under the picture-”This Pony is my servant and trusted right front hoof. Extend all aid and comfort to him that you would to me” and the official seal of the Diarchy Throne.
The metal did not change color. It did not change shape, and the black metal could clearly be seen where the picture and the writing and the seal were. Neither were covering each other, but one could somehow make out the metal and the words at the same time.
It was a badge of authority that very few ponies were given.
It was the badge of the Special Investigators, Princess Celestia’s ghostly corps of spies and truth-seekers. And assassins.
And, Runny Banks looked at his badge and made it vanish into Elsewhere. “Well, what is my assignment, your Majesty?”
“That will depend entirely upon what Our children decide,” Princess Celestia said, looking at the three foals.
“Um, yes?” Apple Bloom asked, looking up at her.
“I am confronted by a problem, and I need your help to make a decision. We have been trying to find any evidence to lead us back to the Order of the Eternal Night and have failed. All we know...all we suspect, is that they plan upon moving soon. This leads to what I must ask you. First of all, as long as you are in Canterlot, you are safe. You are as protected as We are, and as long as you wish to stay, you may.
“Or, you can return to Ponyville. This will, I am afraid to say, make you into a target. But, while you are there, we have been making preparations in case there is another incident of this type,” Princess Celestia said.
“The Guard is being expanded from a reinforced platoon to a full company,” Princess Luna said. “In addition, members of the Night Watch have been moving into position and have established a caern near Ponyville. You may get your wish very soon, Apple Bloom, to meet thestrals. There are other forces, that Runny Banks will be in charge of, to keep you safe.”
“By placing you back in Ponyville, openly as alicorns,” Princess Celestia said, “You will be in danger from the Order. But, by your return, they must come into the open to strike at you. By doing that, they can be captured and their threat ended.”
“It is risky,” Princess Luna said, “and, if We had any other option, we would take it. But, We must ask now-will you aid Us in this?”
As the Princesses laid out their plans, Twilight Sparkle listened with half an ear. She had heard all of this last night. And, she remembered the last part of the conversation between her and Princess Celestia. The part that they weren’t going to tell the three foals. “And, in the event that we cannot prevent them from carrying out their plans...you will have to do what is necessary. The Nightmare cannot return to Equestria, Princess Twilight Sparkle. Without the Elements of Harmony, we lack a way of defeating the Nightmare and permitting it’s power to fuel whatever dreams of horror the pony that possesses it has.
“If worse comes to worse...you may have to destroy them, Princess Twilight Sparkle, to keep them from being used. It is a cruel burden, but one that you must take if they say yes.”
The three foals looked at each other, and considered silently. “I want to know,” Apple Bloom said, “why they killed Mama. We all do. And, more. We agree, Princess Celestia.” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle nodded in agreement.
“Then,” Princess Celestia replied, “we will send you home today, with your families. But first, today, all of you will stand with us and face the Day Court. For, I will not let my daughters be hidden anymore. And, for any reason.”
The flight back to Ponyville that night was a lot quieter than the flight there.
Scootaloo insisted upon bringing every single one of the Shadowbolt Bitty Babies back with her, and they wanted to go directly to Rainbow Dash’s cloud house. Apple Bloom and Applejack wanted to get home right away, as well as Rarity and Sweetie Belle. Fluttershy needed to go right back to her house (apparently, a deer mare in the North Woods was having a hard pregnancy and she wanted to check up on her), as did Pinkie Pie (whom had agreed that they’d have the Alicorn Return Party tomorrow night). Which, of course, left Twilight Sparkle to mediate everything.
So, she chose the simplest of solutions.
Which was why the two chariots were flying towards the Ponyville Library.
It just made more sense that way...to her, but everypony else started to point out the problems with it.
Fortunately, they had stopped complaining about twenty minutes into the flight.
“So, do you think the Princesses are right?” Rarity asked, looking at Twilight Sparkle.
Twilight Sparkle thought about this for a bit, and nodded. “This is one of those sorts of circumstances where we have to take a gamble. If the Order is moving soon...Rarity, they tortured somepony just to summon monsters to kill us. And, we weren’t even the targets, just bait for Sweetie Belle and her friends to reveal themselves. We need to find them, and the only way to find them is to put what they want out to be taken.”
“I really wish we had the Princesses here,” Applejack said. “It’s a big risk, Twilight.”
“If they were here,” Rarity said, sighing, “just their presence alone would be noticeable-by their absence from Canterlot, if anything else. The Order wouldn’t strike because they don’t want to face that kind of strength head-on. I understand the logic of it-I don’t like it, but I understand it.”
“But, we have a Princess here,” Applejack said. “No offense, Twilight, but you’re not exactly the lightest of weights.”
“I’m only one pony, Applejack,” Twilight Sparkle replied. “The Princesses are two, and ponies keep underestimating me.” Here, she grinned manically, “It makes my life a lot easier at times.”
“Ponies underestimating you?” Applejack asked curiously with a flick of one of her ears.
“Yes. I mean, I could have handled every single demon that came out of that summoning. With casualties, but I could. Had they known better about me, there’s quite a few things that are dangerous on the alicorn scale of power that you could summon on a Class Three grid. Fewer of them, yes, but they had control over the Liger Diablocus and that’s not something you do easily. They might have brought over two or three balrogs, and that would have been a challenge,” Twilight Sparkle lectured. “Or, even a single entity like a shoggoth...hm…”
“Twilight, dear,” Applejack said. “Y’starting to worry me.”
“Ooops,” Twilight Sparkle replied with a blush, “sorry. Anyways, we’re ready to handle this. I’m very, very confident about that.”
“So, sprout, what are we going to do first?” Rainbow Dash asked.
The three alicorn foals rode in the same cart with Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Scootaloo’s new collection of toys. Scootaloo was still in a bit of shock-she now had a family. “Do I get to call you mom now, Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo asked.
Rainbow Dash blushed hard and said, “Hey, that’s not too cool...well, actually, it kind of is. Wow…,” her voice trailed off for a second. “That means I really get to tell you to eat your alfalfa and go to bed in plenty of time to see Princess Luna, right?”
“Well, duh, yea,” Scootaloo replied. “And I get to mouth off at you, you get to ground-well, cloud-me and all the other fun parent/child interaction things.”
“I do know the first thing we’ll do,” Rainbow Dash said. “We’ve gotta make your room. I mean, I’ve got all that cloud house up there and you deserve your own bedroom…”
Fluttershy looked nervous about the whole “making a room” issue, and Rainbow Dash looked at her and sighed. “Fluttershy, I promise. Your parents won’t find you up there, not after what Rainbowdad did to your dad the last time they ran into each other.”
Sweetie Belle looked at Fluttershy curiously, “Fluttershy, what happened with you and your parents? You only said you never wanted to see them again.”
“I’m…,” Fluttershy said softly. “It’s hard to explain…”
“Her parents are huge jerks,” Rainbow Dash interrupted. “Huge jerks. And, trust me, the only thing they’re good for is fertilizer in a few years.”
“Yes,” Fluttershy agreed, softly.
“So, are we going to let Pinkie Pie organize the party or what?” Apple Bloom asked, realizing this was a good point to change the subject.
In a shipping crate, Pinkie Pie dreamed of parties. And cupcakes.
Nopony had the heart-or the nerve-to wake her up after she had fallen asleep, so they just boxed her up and shipped her home with them.
Twilight Sparkle did insist upon installing air holes in the box, mind you...
The chariots landed two hours after noon, and they got everything offloaded in good order. “So, what now?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Well,” Sweetie Belle said, looking at the ground, “could I go with Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash, help them get her room set up and all that?”
“Of course, dear,” Rarity said. “Just send word if you can’t make it home tonight, please.”
“Ah, can I go too, Applejack?” Apple Bloom asked, flexing her wings a bit.
“Same thing, sugarcube,” Applejack said in reply. “Don’t get into too much trouble.”
“Well,” Scootaloo said, “you can all help me with the packages and such…”
The three of them wandered off to find saddle bags and left the rest to look around, wondering. “Twilight, is it…,” Applejack asked.
“They all have tracking spells and I know where they are at all times,” Twilight Sparkle replied softly. “In fact, Sweetie Belle made a few suggestions on how to improve the tracking spells. And, there’ll be some ponies watching, always. The Special Investigator had his team come into town yesterday.”
“Wow,” Rainbow Dash replied. “You’re ready for anything.”
“That, we are,” Twilight Sparkle said.
The three alicorn foals came back, with saddle bags. “Rainbow Dash,” Apple Bloom asked, “could you help us get the bags on right?”
“Sure!” Rainbow Dash replied, and they got to work getting the saddle bags on right.
Once everypony was off-Rainbow Dash flying off with the foals, Fluttershy flying off to the North Forest with some books on deer foal birth, Rarity lifting Pinkie Pie with her telekinesis and going off with Applejack to take her back home-Twilight Sparkle opened up the door to the library.
And ran immediately into a yellow rump and blue tail. “Ooof!” the rump said, and Twilight Sparkle realized lightning bolt and shield Cutie Mark, blue tail, pegasus wings…
“Hey there, cheeseball,” Twilight Sparkle smiled. “How did you get in?”
“Hey there yourself, sparklebutt,” Flash Sentry smiled in return and waggled one of his wings. “Spike let me in, I just got into town a few hours ago.”
“Okay, so why are you here?” Twilight Sparkle asked curiously.
“Yesterday, Shining Armor called me to his office. Before I walked fully in the door, he asked me ‘you got your crash bags packed’? I said yes, he said, ‘next train for Ponyville is in about an hour-don’t stop for anything, get your bags and get to the station. Oh, and here’s your promotion to Captain, congratulations, you’re in command of the Ponyville Guard detachment.’ And, he pretty much threw me out of his office to get more speed,” Flash Sentry said in wonder. “The barracks are full, even the hotel is full, but I know you have a spare bed and Spike let me in.”
“Yea, I do, but...do you know what you’re here for?” Twilight Sparkle asked. “Besides the promotion-congratulations, by the way.”
“Thank you. And, yea, I know. Liger Diablocus, cult of Nightmare Moon worshippers, and that I’m here because Princess Celestia doesn’t want a repeat incident,” Flash Sentry said. “Oh, and half-way here I got a note from Princess Cadence, ‘last orders before you take your new assignment,’ she said.”
“Oh? What did the ladybug said for you to do?” Twilight Sparkle asked curiously.
Flash Sentry blushed, and then kissed Twilight Sparkle on the cheek. “Well, that’s what she told me to do!” Flash Sentry gasped.
Twilight Sparkle blushed, and curled her head up shyly. “What did you want to do?”
“Well, this,” Flash Sentry replied, and kissed Twilight Sparkle on the lips.
“I do feel a need to do actual field experiments…,” Twilight Sparkle replied after a breathless moment, and kissed Flash Sentry back.
All four of them-Rainbow Dash and the three alicorn foals-managed to find a good thermal and it got them up to Rainbow Dash’s cloud home in good time. She landed and watched as the rest of the ponies landed as well. “Wow,” Rainbow Dash said, “I’m impressed. You three are damn good fliers, if I say so myself!”
“Hey, we had a good teacher,” Apple Bloom said, and looked around. “You live here? It’s huge!”
“Well,” Rainbow Dash blushed, “cloud is cheap to work with and Dad just keeps giving me more money than I can use, so I spend it on making the house bigger and everything else…”
A head stuck out off the porch overhang. “And, you invested in darn good locks, RD.”
All four of the ponies looked at the pale blue male pegasus that popped his head off the porch overhang. “Been waiting here for a while, was wondering if I could get crash space with you,” Soarin said, pulling a large set of saddle bags down with him, as well.
“Ah,” Rainbow Dash said, looking sheepish. “Um, do you know…”
“Sweet Celestia!” Soarin said, looking at the three alicorn foals. “You’re…”
“Alicorns, yes,” Sweetie Belle said, thinking that this was going to be their life for a long time...
“...some of the best young pegasus foal flyers I’ve ever seen,” Soarin finished, looking at them. “I mean, most foals would need to glide here, I assume you flew all the way.”
“That we did,” Apple Bloom said, a little shocked. “You’re Soarin, right? Fly with the Wonderbolts?”
“Yep,” Soarin smiled. “And, a Guard Reserve pony-they reactivated me and told me to report to Ponyville for the next few weeks. Sergeant Major Soarin, at your service.”
“Princess Celestia said they were expanding the Guard around Ponyville,” Scootaloo said. “You’re a reservist?”
“Had to pay for college somehow,” Soarin said sheepishly. “So, I’m here for the next few weeks while they get everything settled and ready to go.”
“Anyways,” Rainbow Dash said, interrupting, “we’re gonna expand my house a bit and that means more clouds. Did you see any good ones on your way in, Soarin?”
“A few,” Soarin agreed. “I’ll go round ‘em up and bring them over.”
About thirty minutes later, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo had some ideas for how to set up the new clouds and Apple Bloom was making dinner for all of them. Soarin came in with a huge smile. “Hey, foals,” he said, “we got some perfect clouds for Scootaloo’s new room.”
“Awesome!” Scootaloo said, and came outside of Rainbow Dash’s house. And, there were a LOT of clouds…
“So, what are we going to add onto the house?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Bedroom and bathroom,” Scootaloo said. “Probably next to your room, save us trouble with the plumbing. I was thinking about a magic practice room, but cloud and high powered magical spells don’t mix very well.”
“Oh,” Rainbow Dash said. “So, let’s get started?”
“Sure! But, first we need to eat,” Apple Bloom replied. “Made a snack-ish dinner while you all were working. Oh, and a table.” Pegausi tended to eat a lot of little meals over the day, mostly because of how much energy they used to fly.
“You did what?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Figured something out,” Apple Bloom replied. “Did you know that when pegasui make clouds more permanent, they use their magic kind of like a unicorn preservation spell? Not exactly the same, but I think I might be able to make that whole ‘solid cloud’ formula work properly!”
“What ‘solid cloud formula’?” Soarin asked, right eyebrow and ear raised.
“There’s a potion that lets ponies that aren’t pegasui and thestrals walk on clouds. Well, alicorns as well, but yea. Anyways, Cloudsdale wants to host the Summer Sun Celebration, but when you can’t have two-thirds of the ponies come to it, it’s exclusionary, right?” Apple Bloom replied. “So, we’re trying to make more ‘solid’ clouds that allow ponies to walk on them like they were soil. The table’s an experiment-I’ve tweaked the spell nodes and did some other tricks…oh no, I’m startin’ to sound like Twilight Sparkle!”
Rainbow Dash did a long, comical look at Applebloom. “You don’t look like her, so you’re safe. Anyways, let’s eat!”
They all sat down at the table, and Soarin took a look at it. And thumped his hoof against it hard. Didn’t move, didn’t even twitch. Hit it harder, didn’t even bend. Which made him look at it even weirder. “You trying to break my table, Soarin?” Rainbow Dash asked curiously.
“It looks like normal cloudcrete, but this stuff is strong,” Soarin replied. “I mean, I can normally make a mark on the regular stuff. We might need power tools to do something with this kind. Did you do something alicorn-magic to it, Applebloom?”
“Nope,” Apple Bloom sighed. “It’s just a team magic effort-a skilled unicorn and pegasus could do it, easily. I can do it myself because I have both kinds of magic at hoof.”
“‘Alicorn magic’ isn’t that special,” Sweetie Belle said, bringing out a huge tray of food with her telekinesis. “Oh, it’s powerful, no doubt about that! We’re still fillies and we’re probably as powerful as Twilight Sparkle was when she came to town in raw magic. But, it’s the cooperative effort in one body that makes us so capable-we can do Earth, Pegasus, and Unicorn magic, separately and together. What takes three ponies, one alicorn can do.”
“But, we’re just one pony,” Scootaloo said. “I mean, you could just swarm us with enough ponies to do serious damage or harm us. Killing us, that’s difficult, mind you. And, we kind of show up anywhere we go. I mean, right now, how old you think we are?”
“Hm, five, six years old? You got the height and the legs, and that’s at the ‘almost done with being a filly’ stage,” Soarin noted.
“Try four years,” Apple Bloom replied. “We were all born in 998 ANM.”
“No way, you’re too tall to be four years old!” Soarin said in denial. “Maybe five or six-a tall five or six, but not four years old!”
“Celestia is over six thousand years old,” Sweetie Belle said. “Oh, she’s not growing anymore, but she’s nearly half again as tall as any other pony. Faust, even Cadence is taller than Big Macintosh and he’s the tallest pony we know of. And Cadence is barely out of her teens. My bet, she’ll be as tall as Luna when she finishes growing up.”
“When we were hiding out,” Apple Bloom said, “we had to use all our magic to fuel the body-change spells. Mostly to keep us from being like giant flares of power to anypony that can see magic.”
“One thing I’m curious about,” Rainbow Dash asked. “I’ve heard of thestrals. Even seen ‘em. But, you said you’re three ponies in one-does that mean you don’t have thestral in you?”
“Thestrals are pretty much a species of the Pegasus genus,” Scootaloo said. “You just have to spend an hour with a taxonomy chart and Twilight Sparkle to know that! All ponies are of the same family, we just split off at the genus level. Alicorns are their own genus and species, so are unicorns and Earth ponies. Pegasus on the other hand, split off at the genus levels into pegasus with feather wings and pegasus with leather wings. And, that’s because of the Era of Warring States.
“Nearly six centuries after the end of Faust’s reign, before the Sisters came,” Scootaloo shook her head. “Faust! Trust me, thestrals are good ponies. But, lot of the hate of them came during the Era of Warring States, because quite a few of the warlords used them as slave shock troops. Very often against their will.”
There was a moment of quiet at the table, and Sweetie Belle looked around. “I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry. Let’s eat!”
Two pegasus and three alicorns made quick work of the construction. Especially telekinesis-probably the best thing ever made for cloud shaping work. A few arguments later-mostly over coolness-they finished and stood back to admire their work.
Soon enough, they had gotten Scootaloo her own bathroom (with a very nice gravity-fed cloud shower), and her own bedroom. It was half the size of Rainbow Dash’s master bedroom, but with a large closet and lots of bookshelf space made of cloudcrete that could hold up bowling balls safely.
Scootaloo promised that she wasn’t going to start a bowling ball collection, but it never hurt to be prepared. Rainbow Dash was one of the victims of the Cutie Mark Crusader Cutie Mark Accelerator and being ready for unlikely incidents was always a good idea around Ponyville. Which was also why Rainbow Dash had several very powerful fire extinguishers and a fully stocked first-aid kit in the house, as well.
They looked around, and realized the sun was starting to go down. “Think you can make it home without problems?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Sure,” Apple Bloom said. “We’ll head right down to the Carousel Boutique and I can walk back to the farm, no problems. See you at the library tomorrow, before school?”
“Of course,” Scootaloo said.
“So, what are you doing for school?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“The problem is that we’re flanking brilliant, Rainbow Dash,” Sweetie Belle replied. “We’re working on college-level materials these days, mostly for fun. If we wanted to, we could have tested out of everything at school a year ago. So, we had an idea for how to handle things and still be in school and such. We’ll talk to Cheerlee about it tomorrow, before school starts.”
“Which is?” Soarin asked, curiously. He had been briefed on the Cutie Mark Crusaders, after all…
In perfect harmony, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle cheered, “CUTIE MARK CRUSADER TEACHER’S ASSISTANTS, YAY!”
“Oh no,” Rainbow Dash face-hoofed. “And you don’t plan on getting back at Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon?”
“Why would we?” Apple Bloom asked. When there are so many more interesting ways to torment them, she thought.
“Be highly wrong and unprofessional,” Scootaloo replied. And, why would we be like them? I mean, living well is the best revenge…, she thought.
“And, we want to set a good example!” Sweetie Belle finished. And, let them demonstrate that they’re the bad example, she finished to the mental cheering of her friends.
“Okay, you’d better get off now, it’ll probably be dark by the time you get home,” Rainbow Dash said, shaking her head. “See you both tomorrow.”
As Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle flew off, Rainbow Dash turned around, seeing Soarin and Scootaloo still standing there. “Hey, why are you still here?” she asked.
Soarin raised his front hoof. “Need a place to stay, was hoping to stay with you.” Soarin replied.
Scootaloo raised her front right hoof, as well. “I live here, remember?” Scootaloo replied.
Rainbow Dash face-hoofed and sighed. “Sometimes, I wonder seriously if I’d forget my own head if it wasn’t attached. Come on in, then.”
They all went in, and Rainbow Dash looked around. “Well, Soarin, grab your bags and get them settled in. I need to talk with Scootaloo for a minute,” she said sheepishly.
Soarin smiled, and wandered off down the hallway, looking at Scootaloo. “Um, you see, I’m in a, well, a relationship with Soarin, and…,” Rainbow Dash tried to say.
“Rainbow Dash...Mom, I know,” Scootaloo sighed. “And, I’m extremely happy for you. If I’m suprised with anything, you’re dating a stallion, not a mare. Mind you, I lost the pool-I thought you were a lesbian.”
Rainbow Dash broke out in a huge blush and gasped, “I’m not a lesbian, or one of those heterosexuals you hear about, I like both stallions and mares!”
“Damn it,” Scootaloo said with a smile. “That means Sweetie Belle wins the pool.”
“Um…,” Rainbow Dash blushed even harder and looked sheepishly at the floor. “You weren’t…”
“Nope, I’m pulling your hoof,” Scootaloo smiled. “I promise. And, also, call it a housewarming gift, Mom-I wove anti-scrying spells into your bedroom. They work when the door is closed, only thing somepony scrying in will see is rude commentary about lack of respect of a pony’s privacy.”
“Oh, wow, that’s cool…,” Rainbow Dash replied. Then…, “Do you like Soarin?”
“I think he’s pretty cool. Always talked to me when I was back down and pretending to be sort of wingless. You can easily do worse-and only with great difficulty do better,” Scootaloo smiled. “And, I’d better let you go, or else he’ll think you got lost in your own house.”
“Ooops! Leftover’s in the fridge, cloud is great soundproofing, and see you tomorrow before you head off to the library!” Rainbow Dash blurted, and dashed for her room.
Scootaloo smiled as she left.
It was good to have a home, finally.
After she dropped Sweetie Belle at the Carousel Boutique, Apple Bloom trotted home and made good time. One of the great things now was that there were no less that five spells she could use to make it seem-to her, at least-as bright as day under the trees that came up to Sweet Apple Acres. And, best of all, three of them were undetectable by anypony else. So, she trotted along, happily, until she noticed something.
She wasn’t sure what, exactly, she noticed at first. A shift of the wind, a sound of something that shouldn’t be there, a faint scent of something that was wrong. But, once she felt it, Apple Bloom slowed down a bit. Let her pace slow slightly. And, she looked around a bit, as if she was curious.
Then, Apple Bloom let her wings open up, allowing them to feather slightly, and a soft glow to begin from the tip of her horn. “Y’ either friend or foe, and y’re tresspassin’ on Apple lands. Show yourselves, or I assume foe,” she said, in a slightly raised voice.
There was a faint rustle in the trees, and a chuckle from one nearby tree. “You’re not unobservant, filly,” the accented voice said, and from the trees came about eight thestrals, three males and five females. All were in the black and purple armor of the Night Guard, and they formed a rough half-circle in front of Apple Bloom. One of the males-a huge one nearly as tall as Big Macintosh, with a bright golden sunburst for his Cutie Mark and a leather eyepatch over his left eye-strode up with his helmet off and bowed to Applebloom. “My apologies for the surprise, Apple Bloom. I am Sunrise Smiles, in charge of this small coven of thestrals.”
“A pleasure,” Apple Bloom replied. “And the rest of your friends?”
“The rest of my soldiers,” Sunrise Smiles corrected, “My second, Frolicsome Meadowlark…”
“A pleasure,” the other large male thestral replied with a smoother version of the same accent as Sunrise Smiles, nodding his helmeted head. His flank had a Cutie Mark of a whole field of wild flowers.
“...and that’s Moonshot over there,” Sunrise Smiles continued, as the third male thestral waved his wings over his Moon-and-spaceship Cutie Mark and smiled back at Apple Bloom. “The ladies, of course...right here is Star Struck…”
“An honor, Apple Bloom,” Star Struck said with a smile that showed off her beautiful yellow eyes and she flirted slightly with her flank to show off her three shooting stars Cutie Mark.
“Stop flirting, I don’t know if she likes mares,” Sunrise Smiles chuckled. “Of course, we have the lovely and always welcome Midnight Blossoms,” he nodded at the cute female thestral with the beautiful yellow eyes, white lilies for her Cutie Mark, and a cheerful expression on her face.
“Glad to meet you, Apple Bloom, wish it wasn’t on my night off…,” Midnight Blossom said with a distinct middle-class Trottingham accent.
“Why’s that?” Apple Bloom asked, curiously.
“Got a hot date,” she blushed slightly, and flicked her ears.
“A hot date with Cloud Skipper,” Moonshot grinned.
“Sitting in a cloud,” one of the unnamed female thestrals continued, her Cutie Mark of a blue crystalline eye surrounded by a veil and starts flashing in the rising Moon.
“K-I-S-S-I-N-G!” all the female thestrals sung, just a touch off-tune, to the embarrassment of Midnight Blossom.
“Oh, grow up,” she hissed at them. “Or at least learn how to harmonize. I’m sorry for my so-called friends, Applebloom. I have a boyfriend in the Day Guard, a pegasus named Cloud Skipper, and we rarely get enough time off together.”
“Oh,” Apple Bloom said, “Sorry to hear about that.”
“Don’t worry too much about her,” Sunrise Smiles said. Then, he smiled-a terrifying wonder to behold, “I managed to get her and him passes for a whole week’s leave when we’re done with this job.”
The crystalline-eye Cutie Mark thestral smiled and bowed to Apple Bloom. “My name is Night Watch, and I would warn you now-three steps forward, then two steps to the left. Or you will regret it.”
“Eh?” Apple Bloom asked with a raised ear and eyebrow.
“Night Watch can occasionally see bits of the future,” Sunrise Smiles sighed. “Or, at least she claims.”
“Hush now!” Night Watch hissed in exaggerated patience. “I kept you from marrying that harpy, didn’t I?”
“And, since they’re about to have an argument,” another female thestral, with an absolutely lovely blooming jasmine as a Cutie Mark and black hair that Rarity would have killed for, “I’m going to introduce myself. I’m Jasmine, and I’m in the same town as Rarity. Rarity! I have every single magazine that her fashion has ever been featured in and…”
“You’re obsessing again,” the last female thestral, with an odd cocoon-like Cutie Mark sighed. “Anyways, I’m Echo,” the thestral finished. “And, occasionally Jasmine will get a bit...enthusiastic about things. She’s a good soul, trust me.”
“Now that we’re all introduced,” Sunrise Smiles said. “May we join you for dinner tonight at Sweet Apple Acres?”
Apple Bloom looked out at the eight thestrals and said, “Y’know we probably don’t have any meat at the farm. I know your habits-not a complaint, just an observation.”
“We ate things that might be...objectionable to other ponies prior to coming here,” Frolicsome Meadowlark nodded. “We are omnivores, and the other parts of a standard pony diet we can enjoy with you.”
Apple Bloom considered. They had a large enough table when the rest of the Apple Clan came to town, but… “Have to ask when we get there, so I can’t promise anything. Fair enough?”
“Entirely,” Sunrise Smiles said. He gestured with his head and a wing. “After you?”
Apple Bloom started to trot towards Sweet Apple Acres, as Sunrise Smiles slip in beside her. The rest of the thestrals assumed guard positions around and behind her, and Applebloom wondered how they would react if she told them she knew where each and every one of them was well before she crossed the hill.
The walk to the house was relatively short, and she came over the last hill to see the barn and the house and everything else for Sweet Apple Acres.
She had seen Canterlot in all of it’s glory. Seen pictures of the Nehipon capital, a dozen other cities. But, Sweet Apple Acres in all of it’s worn glory could still take her breath away. And, she sighed as she thought about the notes in her saddle bag. It was not going to be easy to talk about this with Applejack…
A few minutes later, she was at the door, and she knocked. The door opened, with that little squeak from the bottom hinge that was still there, and Big Macintosh came to the door. Apple Bloom smiled softly, and realized…right front leg…
On his right front leg was a wedding band. Applejack’s father’s wedding band, fixed to fit his leg properly. Good for him, she thought. “Hey, Big Macintosh...they followed me home, can we keep ‘em?”
Big Macintosh looked over the thestrals, and looked at Apple Bloom. “Got enough table space and food. Any problem with apples and oatmeal?”
“None at all,” Sunrise Smiles said. “I’ve had some of the preserves from here, and fresh-from-the-tree is even better.”
Big Macintosh smiled at this. “Good to hear, leave your gear on the pegs,” and Big Macintosh stepped aside to let them all in.
As they all came in, Apple Bloom saw Granny Smith sitting in her rocking chair. This one was going to be the hardest...even harder than Apple Jack. She walked up to Granny Smith and took a long, deep breath, starting with, “Granny...I’m sorry…”
“Heard all about what you were threatened with,” Granny Smith interrupted. “And, you’ve been sometimes silly, sometimes a fool, sometimes a foal, but never evil or bad. Keep being a good pony, granddaughter.”
Apple Bloom’s heart skipped a beat. Then, tears formed in her eyes and with a lunge, she hugged Granny Smith. “Thank you,” she whispered into Granny Smith’s cheek, “thank you.”
“Ahem,” a voice said behind Apple Bloom. She turned, to see Apple Jack. With Mom’s wedding band on her front right leg. “Glad to see you’re back. So, who’s all the friends?”
“Sunrise Smiles, ma’am,” the large thestral said, nodding to Apple Jack. “Your daughter invited us home, and I was wondering if we could talk about moving into the large caverns near here. Our initial investigation suggests it would make for a great caern.”
“Caern?” Apple Jack asked, curiously.
“Back when things were bad,” Sunrise Smiles said, “we found places for our families and foals that were easily defendable and hard for other ponies to get at them. Mostly caverns, which we call caerns. And, we’re willing to pay rent on the space we use.”
“And,” Apple Bloom said, “I’ve been thinkin’, there’s some financial assistance programs for small farm ponies like us, I’ve got the paperwork and…”
“Oatmeal’s on!” Echo interrupted. “Let’s eat!”
The next morning, they all met early at the Ponyville Library. Twilight Sparkle was there, as well as Cheerlee, whom looked in shock as the three alicorn foals walked in. “Wow...I mean, I didn’t even know, didn’t even suspect,” Cheerlee said, in shock.
“We were hiding out,” Sweetie Belle said, “and if you’d figured it out, we’d have failed. I’m sorry we have to lie to you.”
“Considering what came after you...and, Princess Twilight Sparkle told me what you want to do. Do you think…,” she asked, letting her voice trail off.
“We’re not going to grade them or anything, but I know a couple of the unicorns in class need help with their magic,” Apple Bloom said. “I’m just wantin’ to give back to the school.”
“And,” Scootaloo said, flexing her wings, “I think we got some strong fliers in class. Want to help them out, too.”
“Okay, but I think this is going to be hard to explain…,” Cheerlee noted. “We’ll give it our best shot.”
“Class,” Cheerlee said, “I’ve got some news about Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle.”
A few of their friends were listening intently, but Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were chattering softly with each other in the back. Cheerlee sighed to herself. Those two had so much potential...but she couldn’t seem to get through to them. Maybe…
“They’ve come back to town today, and it turns out that they’ve been wanting to tell you all something,” she continued, and waved her hoof to let them in.
As they came in, the entire classroom went silent. All the foals were looking at the three, and they had decided that Sweetie Belle was going to speak for all of them. “Hi there, everypony. Yes...we’re alicorns. We always have been. And...we had to hide because our mother was hurt very badly by some very mean ponies.”
She looked around, and smiled. “Well, we can’t hide anymore. It would be wrong for our mother, and wrong for us. And, since we are going to be out...we want to help.”
As everypony else was listening, two ponies were not. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were looking at the three alicorn foals. Strong, capable, confident, with their Cutie Marks, and presumably friends of the Princesses. And...coming back to school, to help other students. They chose to be here.
“So, since we’re here, we’re volunteering. All of us are going to be teaching assistants. I’ll help out all the unicorns in class with their magic.”
The sound they heard was of their worlds collapsing. The dreams they had made of what they were...falling apart.
Silver Spoon would swear, later, that she had felt her jaw hit her hooves at that moment.
“Apple Bloom is going to help with general education, and potions. Oh, we’re all qualified, but she’s good at it.”
What were they if they didn’t have those three blank flanks to tease? Their jaws had dropped, in shock and amazement.
And absolute terror.
“And, Scootaloo is going to organize the school’s Skyball team. We might not be able to beat Cloudsdale or Pegalot, but we’re going to try our hardest to do so.”
The fall of their world kept growing more, and more, and more. Money didn’t matter at this point, or who their fathers were. Those three...had more potential power in their hooves than the two of them combined.
“There’s some stuff we can’t talk about, but what we can, we will. And, we really do want to help. So, we’ll see you all at morning recess, where we’ll start organizing the Skyball team and doing some basic magic help.”
So...clearly, at least in Diamond Tiara’s mind, the alicorn foals had to be destroyed.
Or else every other pony would pull the mask off her face and reveal just how hollow she was underneath.
“Thank you, everypony,” Sweetie Belle finished. “And, we’re glad to be back.”
And, the Battle for Ponyville School begun in that instant.
There is an expression of unknown origin that goes-”the more petty the reward, the more vicious the politics in getting that reward.”
Nowhere was this seen in clearer detail than the Battle for Ponyville School.
The first engagement was planned out during morning recess by Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Their objective-to find some new blank-flanks to bully and harass. Their target-a small, albino white-furred, black-mained, highly petite, almost dwarfish unicorn that had gotten from his parents the name Simple Dawn. His parents, chemical engineers, had moved into town a few days ago and this was his first day at the Ponyville School.
This was his first day at school. At all. His parents had finally managed to get a position that was settled, rather than the semi-nomadic life of working various chemical processing stations all over Equestria. If his parents hadn’t been teaching him, he was mostly in the small class groups that his parent’s work maintained on distant work sites. And, the “bullies” there tended to be slapped down very quickly by parents and teachers. Bullies and that sort of mindset when dealing with dangerous natural and magical chemicals tended to get ponies killed.
So, still in a bit of shock, he looked around, and found a ball pen. He loved playing with balls, and Simple Dawn trotted over to get a ball for himself. There were two balls left in the pen, and he began to screw up his magic to get one. Before he did, Silver Spoon “accidentally” bumped into him, knocking him off balance for just long enough for Diamond Tiara to get both balls out of the pen and tossing one to Silver Spoon. “Hey,” he said, his voice squeaking, “may I have one of the balls?”
“Oh? What would you do for it, blank flank?” Diamond Tiara asked. “We got to them first.”
“You’re going to play together,” Simple Dawn said, trying not to cry. Big colts don’t cry… “You don’t need two balls.”
“So, the blank flank might know something?” Silver Spoon said. “Of course he’s wrong. Silly blank flank colt! What makes you think you should get a ball?”
“Well,” a voice from behind Silver Spoon said, “he shouldn’t need to get a ball, because he’s always had one.”
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon turned around, to see Scootaloo standing there. Somewhat looming over them.
Oh, and smiling. A very happy sort of smile. “I mean, Simple Dawn, you don’t know where your ball is?”
“Um, I don’t have a ball…,” Simple Dawn said softly, not sure where this was going.
“Well, it’s not here…,” and Scootaloo reached around herself, semi-comically, to check. “Or here,” she rummaged around a bush that was close by, but only came up with a bit and a mine cart wheel. “But, maybe...it’s here?”
She waggled one of her hooves behind Simple Dawn’s head, and after the third waggle, a ball came out. A blue-and-green striped one. One that, that instant, vanished without even a sound or a flash, from Diamond Tiara’s hooves. Scootaloo handed Simple Dawn the ball with a smile. “Turns out you had it with you, after all.”
“Yay!” Simple Dawn taking the ball.
“If you go over there,” Scootaloo said, pointing at some foals playing, “I know that there’s a little pony named Twist that loves playing with balls. Go on, she won’t bite.”
Simple Dawn blushed, but he took his ball, and trotted off to the other side of the playground. Diamond Tiara began to wind up to screech, when Scootaloo just..looked at her. Her protest died instantly, and Diamond Tiara wondered what was going to happen next…
“First day I was here,” Scootaloo said-in a voice that was so calm and controlled it could put you to sleep, even if it was screeching blood-curdling threats, “you pulled the same stunt with me. You need new material, Diamond Tiara.”
And then, Scootaloo trotted off to break up a fight over some peanut butter crackers. The two foals looked at each other in shock. Diamond Tiara could feel a bit of her hair starting to slip out of it's immaculate coffure.
“What..what just happened?” Diamond Tiara asked. Her right eye began to twitch a little bit...
“I think we were just played,” Silver Spoon whispered.
Diamond Tiara’s eyes narrowed and she could feel her temper rising. “Oh no, we’re not going to let them beat us! Ever! And, we'll get that blank flank the next chance we get!”
The second engagement was during class. Diamond Tiara knew that Simple Dawn was the newest and weakest of links, and they were going to put the proper fear of Diamond Tiara into him. That meant getting him into proper trouble, and that meant making sure a note got passed to him, and Cheerlee saw it. Something nasty about Cheerlee and maybe that she was still secretly doing Big Macintosh behind that silly apple farmer’s back.
(Silver Spoon didn’t quite know what “doing it” was, only that it was a naughty thing and little foals like them shouldn't know about it. Of course, Silver Spoon suspected it was something interesting. Diamond Tiara had watched her maid and her coltfriend in secret doing it, and she knew in a few years she could lead colts around by their assets, easily.)
So, the note was ready, Silver Spoon was in the right spot on the chain to pass the note along, the timing was perfect for Simple Dawn to be caught with the note...and, the passing began. From Diamond Tiara to Twist, from Twist to Grand Slam, from Grand Slam to Simple Dawn…
...and Miss Cheerlee didn’t see a thing...What was wrong with her?, Diamond Tiara thought…
...and finally from Simple Dawn to Silver Spoon, whom took the note, shrugged, and wrote something naughty details that she heard in a movie in the note. She was about to pass it to Simple Dawn when she heard a very familiar voice say softly, “Nice note. Needs some grammar improvements, ‘fucking’ is a bad word but ‘copulation’ is a much better one that means the same thing. I mean, if y’going to lie, you might as well lie with good grammar.”
Silver Spoon turned around to see Apple Bloom looking at her, with a smile. “May I see that?” she asked, taking the note away from her with her telekinesis. Then, with a swift little flip, she turned it over, and things began to fall out of it.
Diamond Tiara looked in horror as their entire supply of prank materials-disappearing ink, itching powder, a few illicit bottles of like dust, and other such appeared on the floor. It was like Apple Bloom was shaking out a saddlebag full of things they had gotten. And, the items were theirs-she could tell because one of the bottles of disappearing ink had a chipped bottom that made it look like it was a pony hoof. At the end of this, Silver Spoon was only able to look in shock, and Diamond Tiara's right ear began to twitch in time with frustration to her right eye.
There was a long, drawn out moment of silence. Everypony was looking at the final results of Apple Bloom’s shaking. Even Cheerlee was looking at the pile in shock and amazement.
Apple Bloom sighed, and gathered everything up in her magic. “Sorry, Miss Cheerlee, I’ve made a bit of a mess. I promise to clean up after myself.”
She quietly trotted out of the classroom, note and prank materials in her telekinesis and Diamond Tiara started to fume. Her tiara was starting to slip off her head, and off to the right side.
We had been played, Diamond Tiara thought.
Again!
That just meant that their next prank had to be even more spectacular. And, somewhere in Diamond Tiara's mind, something was making the sound of a coil of metal being tightened way too far...
The third engagement was later that day, during afternoon recess. A few of the unicorn foals were sitting around Sweetie Belle, and she was helping them with learning their magic. Most of them were “sparklers”-they could make their horn shoot out sparks, but that was about it.
One of those ponies was Simple Dawn, whom could get an impressive shower of sparks out of his horn, but nothing else. And, he kept trying so hard to figure out how to make his horn do...something! Books, “how to” guides, a “unicorn stabilizer” drink made by the Flim Flam Brothers...nothing worked. He just...sparked.
And sprayed.
And spewed sparkles out of his horn like a fountain.
And, every time he did, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon made farting noises. Long, intricate, elaborate farting noises. Usually when Sweetie Belle was busy with another unicorn, but always when she couldn’t see the two teasing ponies. A few times, they made some very rude noises that sounded like when Mommy and Daddy were having fun. Simple Dawn kept getting more and more embarrassed and more and more frustrated and more and more irritated and more and more…
“Simple Dawn,” Sweetie Belle said firmly. “Stop.”
He didn’t even realize he was panting. He felt like he’d done triple PE and he was so tired and frustrated with himself. He couldn’t even lift things with his horn! Some unicorn he was…
“Simple Dawn,” Sweetie Belle said, looking at him. “Please, look at me.”
Where had the tears that were in his eyes come from? He looked at her, wiped his eyes clean, and could feel the tears again on the corner of his eyes. Suddenly, it was silent. Even the sound of the wind and the leaves was gone-let alone the mocking sounds of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.
“I wrapped us up in a silence spell. The only pony that can hear you is me, and the only pony that can hear me is you. Telekinesis is one of the first things a unicorn learns. Without it,” she said, “you can’t learn anything else. Until you can unlock the ability in your mind to lift things, you can’t progress.
“But, there is a story passed along, from stallion to colt, from mare to filly. It’s not written down anywhere, and nopony will ever admit to knowing it.”
Sweetie Belle smiled softly, and touched Simple Dawn’s forehead with her hoof. “I want you to close your eyes, and imagine something you have lost. Something you have lost forever, and can never, ever find again.”
The Sun, Simple Dawn thought. He remembered being in Saddle Arabia, and remembering just how bright and beautiful and spectacular Celestia’s Sun was. He’d learned how to make a pinhole box, to sketch out the Sun, its spots...everything about it. The Sun here was the same...but, somehow, different. Palid. Simple. Not as brilliant, not as beautiful as the purity of its intent as the Sun swept across the sands.
“Can you see it now?” Sweetie Belle asked. Simple Dawn nodded, not wanting to lose this thought, lose this memory. “Now, I want you to lift your right hoof, and imagine that you’re holding it in your hoof again. That you can hold it again, and nothing can stop you from having it back.”
Now, things were getting silly. How did you get back the Sun? It was right up there in the sky! How did you lose it in the first place and…
The day before they left Saddle Arabia for Equestria, Simple Dawn had built the biggest pinhole box he had ever made, he remembered. Made from a huge cardboard box, he had to use bricks to brace it properly and to elevate it to the height needed. A sheet of butcher’s paper on the bottom was there, waiting, for him to sketch on. He watched, and waited...and waited...and then…
From just under the mountains to the East, the Sun began to rise. He glanced into his box, slipping under the heavy black blanket he used as a light shield. The first radiant disk of the Sun appeared on the back, and he grabbed his pencil in his mouth and began to sketch what he saw. Once he had, Simple Dawn made a note of the time, moved the sheet of butcher’s paper along the roll, and waited for more of the sun to appear.
He did this for nearly three hours-sketch, note, date, move paper.
Sketch, note, date, move paper.
Sketch, note, date, move paper.
Finally, when the last bit of the disk of the Sun vanished off the top of his box, Simple Dawn looked in wonder at what he had done. The resulting scroll of observations was nearly as thick-wrapped as a scroll-as his leg! For three hours, he had seen and found new sunspots, watched in joyous wonder at the results of his work, and Simple Dawn smiled as he realized just how much he had learned about the Sun...and how much he so wanted to touch that glory…
Sweetie Belle could feel it. She could see it, as small pebbles and leaves and twigs around Simple Dawn began float off the ground. Sweetie Belle could feel him finally take some control of his magic. He stood on his hind legs, feeling that he could touch what he had lost…
And then, Sweetie Belle called out to Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. I think I’m going to need your help here, very quickly, she sent.
What’s going on, Sweetie Belle? Apple Bloom asked.
In between Simple Dawn’s hooves...a bit of the Sun...a piece of Celestia’s brilliant Sun...hovered between his hooves. Barely larger than a hoofball. But, with enough concentrated energy to reduce Ponyville to a very large crater on the map if Simple Dawn ever lost control of it…
Well, Sweetie Belle replied, Simple Dawn just summoned a small bit of the Sun for us to all play with…
Thank Celestia the sound-damping field was still up! Other ponies were running away in terror from what Simple Dawn had done, and the last thing Sweetie Belle wanted was for him to lose his concentration! She was already preparing a teleportation and shield spell-to teleport Simple Dawn away, and to keep the explosion of that bit of stellar plasma from taking out Ponyville.
Or, at least most of it.
“Simple Dawn,” Sweetie Belle said, with precise calm, “can you send back what you brought here?”
Simple Dawn opened his eyes, then they started to sparkle...in wonder. “WOW!” he gushed. “I was right, right there! There’s a sunspot storm that shows up every fourteen days that I can always tell, and I know how fast the Sun spins because I can time it taking so long across the Sun!”
“Simple Dawn...that actually is the Sun, or at least a bit of it…,” Sweetie Belle began to say.
“And, it’s here!” Simple Dawn gushed. “It makes such lovely sense…”
“And,” a very royal voice from behind them said, “it’s so very beautiful, isn’t it?”
They turned, to see a very winded Princess Celestia and Princess Luna looking over them. “So...you’re the pony that has a bit of the Sun…,” Princess Celestia said with a smile.
“Um…,” Simple Dawn blushed, “I’m sorry if I took any of it. May I give it back?”
“Certainly,” Princess Celestia replied, and took from his hooves the bit of the Sun, and then lifted it to the sky, where it shot off towards the Sun and vanished in an instant. “That was something I have never seen before, a unicorn that all by himself could even touch the Sun, let alone bring down a bit of it safely. Your name?”
“Simple Dawn, your Highness,” Simple Dawn said, blushing even brighter and bowing. Sweetie Belle bowed as well, and waited.
Princess Luna looked at Simple Dawn, then at Princess Celestia. Then, again at Simple Dawn. “Sister, why does that foal have Your Cutie Mark on his flanks, but in white and platinum? Should there be something You need to tell Us?” Princess Luna asked, an eyebrow raised archly.
All of them looked at Simple Dawn’s flank, and he started to tear up in joy. His Cutie Mark had appeared, without any warning, and it was...Celestia’s Sun. But, in platinum and white, not the gold and bronze of her flank. Princess Celestia looked at Simple Dawn and said, “Well...I keep saying I wanted to have a new personal student…”
“Um…” Simple Dawn said. “What just happened?”
“Well,” Princess Celestia said, “you’ve gained your Cutie Mark. And, I once knew another young unicorn, very powerful and very much wanting to learn about magic. Would you like to go to Princess Celestia’s School for Talented Unicorns, Simple Dawn?”
“My parents...I know they make good money, but they can’t afford it…,” Simple Dawn said sadly.
“Who said anything about needing to pay, Simple Dawn?” Princess Celestia asked gently. “There is a scholarship program and anypony that can directly manipulate the Sun itself shouldn’t have a problem getting a scholarship. And, it pays for everything, from books to a place to stay in Canterlot.”
“Simple Dawn,” Princess Luna said, “if you are not given a scholarship and remittance for the education of your skill, I will be most displeased and the ponies in charge will feel My wrath on this matter.”
“Don’t use the Royal Canterlotian Voice on them,” Princess Celestia sighed. “Manehattan Mutual is still not happy with us over the damages.”
“They were playing legal games with Our ponies money and lives,” Princess Luna sniffed. “They should feel fortunate that was all that My anger did.”
At some point, Sweetie Belle had dropped the silence spell. And, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon heard it all. Silver Spoon felt her jaw drop around her withers again for the second time that day. She turned to look in shock at Diamond Tiara, and that shock became horror.
There was no expression on Diamond Tiara’s face. There was no expression at all on Diamond Tiara’s face. Her hair began to collapse into a messy pile, the tiara settling down one eye. Something inside her brain made a soft, but very very loud breaking sound. A sound that, years later, Silver Spoon could swear she heard when something let go in Diamond Tiara's mind. Suddenly, there was an expression on Diamond Tiara’s face. Absolute calm, absolute conviction. “Well,” she said, just softly enough to be heard by Silver Spoon, “we’ll just have to see about that.”
The hair snapped back into her immaculate coiffure, the tiara exactly where it should normally be. Then, Diamond Tiara trotted off as quickly-and as quietly-as she could.
Silver Spoon followed, and she could feel the worried frown on her face. Something said this was not going to end well.
Diamond Tiara had a Super Secret pouch in the bottom of her saddle bag. She tore it open, and lay out a pony sling on her desk. “Where is it, where is it…,” she muttered, searching through the lining of the other half of her saddle bag.
“DT,” Silver Spoon said. She hated that nickname, and Silver Spoon was using it deliberately to get her attention. “We’ve got to stop. This has gone on way too far, and way too long. We’ll tease some of the other blank flanks tomorrow.”
“No,” Diamond Tiara replied, still rummaging around the other saddle bag. “We’ve got to get Simple Dawn, and get him good. We can’t let any blank flank show us up.”
“He’s not a blank flank any more, and the Princesses are here, and…,” Silver Spoon whispered, trying not to back away from her friend in horror.
“NO!” Diamond Tiara half-yelled, then calmed her voice down. “No! If he can get away with it, those three blank flank ‘Cutie Mark Crusaders’ can think they can get away with anything with us! We’ll be made outcast foals! And, I’ve got just the solution for that…”
Diamond Tiara had found a small, thick-walled clear glass bottle in the lining of her other bag. Inside of it was something small, black, the size of a brussel sprout, and it made Silver Spoon’s eyes hurt to look at it. Silver Spoon remembered reading something about this… “Diamond Tiara,” Silver Spoon whispered in horror, “is that mordite?”
“Took me nearly a month’s worth of allowance to get it,” Diamond Tiara said in a brittle, too-cheerful voice. “I’m gonna sling it at the blank flank and let him get what he deserves.”
Silver Spoon looked at her friend in horror. “Diamond Tiara, just owning mordite is six years in prison! And, the Princesses are there! If you hit Simple Dawn with it, you’ll get them too, and that’s not just murder, but regicide! They still give ponies death by torture for that!” Silver Spoon gasped. She looked around for the door. “You’ve got to stop this, now!”
“NO!” Diamond Tiara yelled, and kicked Silver Spoon in the head. Silver Spoon fell down and didn’t move, blood coming from her scalp. Diamond Tiara started to giggle a bit. “You’ll see, when I’m done...you’ll see…,” she whispered, putting the bottle of mordite in the sling and running out of the school.
By this time, Princess Celestia had contacted Princess Twilight Sparkle, and the three Princesses and the three alicorn foals were talking enthusiastically with Simple Dawn. Princess Luna was impressed, and Princess Twilight Sparkle wanted to do some tests on the foal.
“Direct stellar manipulation!” Princess Twilight Sparkle pronked around, happily. “You were touching the Sun itself. I need to take notes, notes, ink, quills, paper!”
“Twilight Sparkle,” Princess Celestia said gently. “You’re starting to worry Simple Dawn.”
Twilight Sparkle stopped, and looked at Simple Dawn, who was still looking a bit scared being surrounded by six alicorns. “Ooops, sorry,” Twilight Sparkle said sheepishly, scratching the back of her head. “But, a full scholarship to the School! I had one, and I’m glad I went.”
Diamond Tiara had used slings before, and she found the perfect spot for this. Hidden enough so that she could use the mordite without being seen, but far enough away to get good trajectory on her sling. She set down the bottle, after opening up the cork on the top. With a pair of long-arm tweezers in her mouth, Diamond Tiara pulled out the mordite and set it in the cup of the sling. Trying not to sneeze from the dust from the mordite, she got the tails of the sling in her mouth, and took a quick glance over the hedges to see where the ponies she wanted to hit were.
Diamond Tiara braced her feet, took a firm stance, ignored the nosebleed she had from the mordite dust that had gone up her nose, and started to swing the sling around her head. The cup of the sling started to gather up speed.
“I’ve already sent a scroll to his parents,” Princess Celestia said. “They’re at work now, but we’ll meet with them and talk about everything.”
Holding the sling, Diamond Tiara sneered. Any pony that had to do something as silly as work was poor, and Diamond Tiara wasn’t poor. She was rich, and she could do whatever she wanted.
Because she was rich and powerful.
Because she was Diamond Tiara.
Including...this!
She felt the slight surprise as the perfect release of her sling happened, and the mordite went flying.
Scootaloo saw the flying chunk of mordite first, and by instinct, tried to grab it with her telekinesis.
And...nothing happened. Her telekinesis touched the mordite, and felt it slip off like jamming fingertips onto a hot greased skiddle. Scootaloo hissed in pain, “What the flank was that…”
Princess Celestia turned her head, and then yelled, “Mordite! HOLD ON!”
In a sudden flash, all seven of them lept into the air, as Princess Celestia teleported all of them out of the path of the mordite stone. It hit where Simple Dawn would have been, and shattered into a malevolent black cloud of dust. Twilight Sparkle caught Simple Dawn with her telekinesis and got her wings open to hover. “Princess Luna, where did…”
It was an instant later when they saw that the three alicorn foals had flown down to a small clearing, where another young pony was there, trying to hit them with...a sling? Princess Celestia looked back at the trajectory of the cloud, then back at where the sling-armed pony was. “Twilight Sparkle, do you know how to clean up a mordite cloud?”
“Um, yes,” Twlight Sparkle replied.
“I think I know where the attack came from, and I want to know why it happened,” Princess Celestia said, and carefully levitated Simple Dawn onto Luna’s back. Simple Dawn clutched onto Princess Luna’s neck with all the strength he could muster, and all she could do was wince slightly. “Please protect him, Luna. Twilight Sparkle, please clean up the cloud while I find out what is going on.”
After that, Princess Celestia flew down to the clearing, where the three alicorn foals were trying to not be hit by the sling. Princess Celestia looked around, and realized that she had to stop this and find out what happened. She took a deep breath and let out her Royal Canterlotian Voice.
“STOP THIS, NOW!”
Everything seemed to vibrate except Princess Celestia for a few seconds, and all the ponies stopped moving. Princess Celestia’s eyes tracked onto the small pony foal with the tiara on her immaculately coffered head and the sling in her mouth.
“WHY DID YOU DO THIS, MY CHILD?”
The foal looked at her, then leapt at her, screaming, trying to hurt her with her hooves. “You made me miss the blank flank! I have to get the blank flanks, I have to get all the blank flanks!” she screamed angrily.
Princess Celestia let herself be buffeted by the weak blows of the foal, and then reached out and found the spell she needed. Diamond Tiara fell asleep in mid-strike, landing with a soft thump on the ground and an angry expression on her face. Princess Celestia looked up at the three alicorn foals. “Do you know this pony,” Princess Celestia asked the three of them.
“We know her,” Apple Bloom said. “Her name is Diamond Tiara and she ain’t a friend of ours. She teased us mercilessly when we were here, because we were still blank flanks.”
“We were keeping an eye on her and her friend, Silver Spoon,” Sweetie Belle continued. “They made our lives here miserable, and we didn’t want them to do it to other ponies.”
“But, I have no clue what set her off,” Scootaloo finished. “And, hey, where’s Silver Spoon?”
There was a blood-curdling scream from the schoolhouse. “Somepony call an ambulance!” Cheerlee screamed from inside.
“I’ve called for ambulances,” Princess Celestia said to the three of them. “And, I’ll need to find out the contact information for her parents.” She looked at Diamond Tiara, sleeping at her feet. “What happened to you, my child?” Princess Celestia whispered softly.
The shockwave of his passage probably meant that Filthy Rich was going to be paying a lot of fines over the next few weeks.
He had hired, the moment news had gotten to him, the fastest pegasus chariot you could get short of a Royal chariot. And, only because he didn’t want to waste the time to use the favors needed to get one. He had gotten the letter by dragon post, and was in the hospital as fast as wings could carry him.
He had gotten to the reception desk as fast as hooves could take him.
“My name is Filthy Rich,” he said to the nurse at the front. “My daughter, Diamond Tiara, is here. Where is she?”
The nurse flipped through the chart quickly and said, “I need to make a call, Mr. Rich. If you will please sit down, the doctor will see you very shortly. I will impress upon him how urgent it is.”
For what seemed like hours and according to the lying clock was only five minutes, Filthy Rich waited in a chair. The nurse said, “Mr. Rich, the doctor is here.” He turned his head to see a unicorn in a doctor’s coat and the Princesses.
“Princess Celestia, Princess Luna,” he said, trotting up, and bowing. “I...why are you here, your Majesties?”
“That...unfortunately, requires some explanation,” Princess Celestia said sadly. “I will let the doctor explain first. Doctor Stable?”
“If you will come into my office, Mr. Rich,” Doctor Stable said, and Filthy Rich wanted to scream what is wrong with my daughter!, but he followed the three of them into Doctor Stable’s office. “First, the good news. Physically, Diamond Tiara is fine. She has some bruising and some minor cuts and contusions, but otherwise she is in good shape.
“The bad news,” and Doctor Stable flipped to another page in his file, “your daughter has had a psychotic break. Serious enough that we’re having to restrain her and medicate her. She attacked four nurses-all of them larger and stronger than her, and unicorns-trying to clean her so we could treat her injuries. She will be getting a psychiatric consultation tomorrow…”
“Why tomorrow, and not today?” Filthy Rich interrupted. “Why isn’t she being helped now?”
“We don’t have a staff psychologist-we’ve been trying to get one for years-and one is being flown in from Canterlot tomorrow,” Doctor Stable replied calmly. “In addition, the medications she’s on...we had to knock her out to keep her from hurting herself. She was trying to chew her way out of her restraints. There’s also another issue...a legal issue. Princess Celestia?”
“Mr. Rich, I’m sorry to say that your daughter very nearly committed murder. She had a small supply of mordite, and she flung it at us,” Princess Celestia said, head bowed and eyes closed. “We’re lucky that the pony that saw what happened was able to give us enough warning before she killed seven ponies with mordite. And, to get to there, Diamond Tiara attacked one of her friends, Silver Spoon. Badly enough that she must remain overnight in the hospital due to a concussion.”
Filthy Rich listened for a moment, then fell on his haunches. “How...what...why did she do that?” he whispered, softly.
“Silver Spoon was reticent about telling Us the details,” Princess Luna said. “But, she finally admitted that the two of them have been harassing and abusing any blank-flank foal they have come across. Silver Spoon believes she is being loyal to your daughter...and has been hard to question.
“The trigger incident may have been the return of some of the students to Ponyville-Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. That they were hiding out and pretending to be blank-flanked normal ponies, then came back as alicorns and were taking your daughter’s ‘teasing’ because they couldn’t risk being exposed may have over-strained her psyche,” Princess Luna continued. “The snapping point may have been Simple Dawn.”
“Simple Dawn, your Highness?” Filthy Rich asked, still in shock.
“A young unicorn foal,” Princess Luna said. “She was apparently trying to ‘break in’ a new blank-flank to tease and the three alicorn foals kept exposing their efforts. Only after Diamond Tiara committed the actions, mind you. The final trigger was that Simple Dawn gained his Cutie Mark-in such a manner that We felt it happen. After Our arrival was when she attacked Us-but her target was Simple Dawn.”
“I am hesitant to press criminal charges,” Princess Celestia said. “Your daughter...I do not know, to be honest, what must be done. Only that I want to help her-if she can be helped.”
Filthy Rich considered this. “May I speak with Silver Spoon?” he asked carefully.
“Of course. Doctor Stable, if you may? We will wait right here,” Princess Celestia said, and nodded to the door.
Doctor Stable and Filthy Rich left, and the two Princesses looked at each other. They waited in silence for about an hour, when Filthy Rich returned to the office. His eyes were those of a strong pony that didn’t quite know how to cry. “Princess Celestia,” he said, softly, hoarsely.
“Princess Celestia,” Filthy Rich said, a bit louder, but still hoarse. “My daughter...it is hard to see the pony you love having done something this...monstrous. Please, if Simple Dawn needs for anything, let me know. And, for the foals she had abused...may I speak with them?”
“You may,” Princess Celestia said.
“I will not wash my hooves of her,” Filthy Rich said. “But...if she has committed a crime, she must be punished for it. I can only ask for mercy, Princess Celestia, for my daughter and her foolish actions.”
“When she has recovered her mind,” Princess Celestia said, “I will consider what has happened. Until then...I will stay my hoof and my will. She must recover, for I will not leave her in a place of harm that she has found herself in.”
Filthy Rich looked at Princess Celestia, and for the first time in years, for the first time since his wife had died...the tears flowed down his cheeks.
Princess Celestia swiftly took Filthy Rich into her embrace and held him.
In the end, Ponyville School was closed for four days.
Teams of ponies-trained and knowledgeable in how to handle mordite cleanup-searched the entire area with a fine tooth comb. Probably the only fortunate thing was that you just had to remove the mordite itself, and not any surrounding soil or plant life. However, you had to be very, very thorough-as plutonium oxide would have been safer to have around anypony.
They did the last bits of cleanup, checked again, and departed. Mayor Mare had gotten their bill-twenty second after a stipend notice had come from Canterlot with the Royal Seal attached.
The weekend was soon thereafter, and a different team made one more sweep, just to be sure.
Notices went out that the school would reopen on Monday. Many parents kept their kids at home for one more day, just to be sure.
One of the ones that didn’t was Filthy Rich, whom was splitting his time between a sanitarium in Manehattan and his house in Ponyville. Diamond Tiara, drugged unconscious and strapped to a carrying tray, was taken there after the initial intake psychiatrist and Princess Luna both stated that her psychotic break was complete. Her mind was so chaotic inside that Princess Luna had come out of the Dream Realm in a cold sweat, fearful of entering that vortex again. Removing her from Ponyville and the possible source of what caused her break was the first thing they should do.
Silver Spoon left the hospital the day after, one day before school restarted. It was a short trot to her house, and Silver Spoon spent the remaining Sunday packing up Diamond Tiara’s stuff “for the duration.” Filthy Rich offered to find a school in Manehattan for her, but Silver Spoon refused. She wanted to go back to Ponyville. She wanted…
What did I want? she asked herself, as she walked into class on Monday. She would have been laughing and talking with Diamond Tiara and planning out pranks and japes at this time, normally…
The thud as her hooves connected with her head, waking up with the doctor peering over her and his panic-stricken face and the pain in her head and her scalp and the pain in her heart as her friend has bucked her so hard…
She shivered as the thought passed, but managed to keep trotting into the classroom, and found her chair. About half the chairs were empty, mostly pegasui and unicorn students. Miss Cheerlee called the roll, and when they got to Diamond Tiara, there was a general sort of raspberry sound from the students. “Children!” Miss Cheerlee snapped. “Diamond Tiara is sick, and she needs our help-and our thoughts to her recovery.”
The class settled into a sullen sort of silence, and Silver Spoon couldn’t blame them. Diamond Tiara was her friend, and her feelings about her were mixed at best. She had come with her from Manehattan so that Diamond Tiara would have a friend. Filthy Rich had her live in Ponyville after the last incident with the boarding school, and Silver Spoon had to look at that critically. Who, exactly, was Diamond Tiara?
Silver Spoon was fearful that she was a star orbiting a destructive black hole named Diamond Tiara, and she wanted to break free.
These thought carried Silver Spoon through until morning recess, when she trotted out…
And every other pony looked at her. Silently.
Judging her.
Making her feel like a blank flank, alone in the crowd.
Then, a ball clocked Silver Spoon upside the head. She fell onto her belly with a moan, her head hurting from the impact.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” a young female voice said, and Silver Spoon saw that it was Twist, running up to her...then, skidding to a stop a few steps away when Twist saw who she had hit. There was a pregnant pause as everypony looked at the two, wondering what was going to happen next.
Silver Spoon leveled herself onto her hooves, then looked at the ball. No blood on it, she thought, and picked it up. Twist held her breath, not knowing what was going to happen next.
Silver Spoon considered the ball, then gave it a good bouncing toss back to Twist. “Nice throw, good spin on it. Just...warn me next time you want to play with me, so I don’t get hit by a ball, please?” Silver Spoon asked.
Twist’s jaw dropped. Then, she picked up the ball, and tossed it back at Silver Spoon. Silver Spoon caught it deftly-if a bit wobbly-in her hooves. “I know a spot where we can play ball,” Twist said in reply.
“Lead the way,” Silver Spoon said, and she followed, as the sound of a normal day’s recess began to sound across the playground.
Twist was about to make a new friend that day.
Rarity was in a panic.
No, Sweetie Belle thought, she’s merely in a tizzy. Not a panic yet, but getting very close.
Between the call to Canterlot Castle, the disaster of the past few weeks, and a whole run of orders, Rarity realized that she was short at least five dresses for the upcoming White Elephant Ball in Canterlot. She was pacing around the Carousel Boutique, pulling fabric swatches, and going, “This cannot be the worst possible thing! I know what the worst possible thing is! This is not the worst! Possible! Thing!”
And variations on that theme.
“Rarity,” Sweetie Belle asked, “are you all right?”
Rarity realized that Sweetie Belle was there, and smiled raggedly. “Oh, no, I’m sorry. It’s just that I have five dresses-well, four dresses and a suit-left to fit, and have to do that in a week to make it for the White Elephant Ball! And, I’m glad you’re here, because…”
Rarity used her telekinesis to pick up Sweetie Belle and levitated her into her Inspiration Room, taking measurements all the time. “And, all my measurements of you are off, oh I know why, dear, but between that and the wings…,” Rarity began to chatter as she got to work.
“I’ve fitted the Princesses before, so I have an idea of how to do it properly for three alicorns, but this will be your first big event and I want your dress to be perfect,” Rarity continued, taking more measurements. The tape measure snapped and the pencil scratched across the clipboard while Rarity took the measurements. “But, between your dress, your friend’s dresses, Applejack’s dress, and Spike’s suit...I don’t know where I’ll have the time, let alone anything else…”
“Um, what am I going to?” Sweetie Belle asked. Sweetie Belle loved her sister, but sometimes she forgot important steps, like telling ponies what they were going to do.
Rarity looked at her for a second, then sighed. “Oh dear, I forgot! The White Elephant Ball-it’s the unofficial open to the Spring season for court, an auction for several charitable causes, and one of the places for any pony to be seen and known. The Princess sent you an invitation, and I must assume that Apple Bloom and Scootaloo have one as well. And, also I need you’re help running interference for Fluttershy…”
“Oh?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Poor dear, shy as she is, she has to be at this event. Because Fluttershy is one of the Elements of Harmony and because it’s one of those sorts of events,” Rarity shook her head in annoyance. “So, the rest of us run interference for her-somepony starts to make her uncomfortable, we find a way to peel them off. Or, somepony is bad for her to be around, we intercept them and keep her out of trouble. I mean, we didn’t do that for the Grand Galloping Gala and look how that turned out! So, if I could…”
“Help?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Certainly! Fluttershy is a good friend, and keeping the social vultures off of her would be a pleasure. I’ve got an idea to help, if you’re interested.”
“Dear, I’m willing to try just about anything except that tacky Alicorn Amulet at this point,” Rarity noted. “What are your ideas?”
“What is Coco Pommel up to these days?” Sweetie Belle asked.
Rarity stopped, then contemplated with a hoof under her chin. “Well, yes, she would want to help if she has the time...I’ll ask.”
“And,” Sweetie Belle continued, “there’s a pony who works at Canterlot Castle by the name of Shining Button, and she’s a pretty good fashion designer as well. Did the dress for Duchess Twopenny for last year’s Grand Galloping Gala pre-party. I think she’d be honored to work with you, too.”
Rarity looked at Sweetie Belle with a shocked expression, “So, she was the one that did that dress. Sweetheart neckline, the pearls were daring, but perfect. That, my dear, is something to consider, seriously. I’ll be seeing Spike this afternoon, so I can get the letters off. But, until then...more measurements!”
A week later, Rarity stood back and admired the work.
Coco Pommel was busy that week (Countess Hayfeather needed a new dress, and she was paying premium rates), but Shining Button made the first train from Canterlot the moment she got the letter. And, the two of them had worked wonders. Shining Button had thrown herself into the work on Applejack and Apple Bloom’s dress, sharing stories of her times working on various gardening projects to keep the two of them interested in what she was doing. One thing that Applejack had insisted on suprised Rarity when she heard it.
“Mother and daughter, if you can do it,” Applejack said firmly as Rarity walked by with some silk for Scootaloo’s dress. “Still a bit upset with her, but Apple Bloom’s ma daughter and I want every pony to know it.”
Rarity had to stop long enough to blow her nose and wipe the tears away.
Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Spike were Rarity’s responsibility and Spike was easy. Jacket, top hat, and he was ready to go. Scootaloo...she was definitely taking after her pegasus mother and developing the long-bodied, long-limbed form that was going to be positively lanky when she fully grew up. And, well-defined with muscle. That made most dress styles tricky.
But, if it was easy, Rarity would be out of a job.
Sweetie Belle...Rarity knew she was having difficulty with getting her dress done because there were so many images of Sweetie Belle in her mind, the one that she was now was difficult to find. Even her usual trick of merely considering her at that point right now, tabula rasa, was almost impossible. But, Rarity took a long, deep breath, and started to lay out white silk and satin.
The finished product was spectacular for Sweetie Belle. Sweetheart neckline, a daring mid-length skirt in silk, brocaded vest in patterned satin with perfect articulation for the wings, and Rarity splurged for the Lotus Spa to do up Sweetie Belle’s hair and makeup in a stunningly understated style. When she was finished, Rarity had gotten as many photos as she could of Sweetie Belle, to make sure this day was burned into memory.
Scootaloo was a careful blend of taffeta and lace, designed to emphasize her long limbs and athletic nature. At Scootaloo’s insistence (and testing), the dress had to be able to allow her to fly, and she could in it.
And, when Shining Button had finished with Apple Jack’s and Applebloom’s dresses, Rarity was impressed. She had taken Rarity’s original fitted corset-and-saddle design, and added a daring blend of satin to emphasize the firm muscles on both ponies. And, somehow managed to find a brocade pattern in apples for the corset panels, which had to cost a pretty bit. But, it suited the two of them perfectly-mother and daughter, but neither overwhelmed each other.
Rarity sighed and checked the clock. There was enough time to go to the Lotus Spa, get a sensible meal, and put on her dress before they caught the chariots to head to Canterlot for the Ball. So, happy with her results, Rarity put everything away, and trotted swiftly towards to the Lotus Spa to get ready.
Fully cleaned, polished, brushed, fed, groomed, and attired in a stunning white silk sheath dress, Rarity trotted up to where the chariots were waiting. Captain Flash Sentry, in a newly fitted dress uniform, was pulling inspection on several ponies that were members of the Guard and Night Watch that were going to the party with dates. Following behind him was Sergeant Major Soarin, making notes on any deficiencies in dress or deportment, and found none. Lieutenant Sunrise Smiles was making extra certain of his thestrals, especially those that were assigned to guard duty. Their Night Watch armor was polished to a fine obsidian mirror shine, and they were as ready as could be.
Flash Sentry stopped, turned to face the soldiers, and said, “Tonight is the White Elephant Ball. For those of us that are unfortunate enough to have gotten tickets,” and here a chuckle went through the troops, “command’s intention is as follows-we’re going to have a good, dignified time at the party and demonstrate that the Guard and Watch are able to be presented in public.
“Execution of this intent,” Flash Sentry continued, looking at Midnight Blossom and Cloud Skipper, standing perhaps half a trot too close together in their dress uniforms. “Be polite. Keep all comments within the Articles of War and obedient to ranks and good discipline. Politely ask other ponies to dance, respect any rejections and demonstrate skill and ability. Alcohol consumption is either abstinence or one glass of wine, cider, or mixed drinks per hour, after which juice or water consumption is mandatory. Any pony that is found intoxicated will be brought back to the Canterlot barracks and I will be very unhappy.
“Continuing-the White Elephant Ball history is in your briefing papers. If you haven’t read them yet, read them, somepony might try to trip you up with the history. Event schedule is polite mingling until 1800 hours, then dinner. There will be toasts-one glass of wine or champagne only, juice the rest of the time. After dinner is the dance and mingling from 1900 hours to 2300 hours. Remain with your date except when they are asked to dance by other ponies. Single ponies that have passes will cycle to check in with their unit NCOs at about every hour, barring specific events and/or dancing. Ponies on security detail will maintain their bearing and will remember to guard their protectees.
“The official end of the dance and party is 2300 hours with a small speech by Princess Celestia. We will have reveille and physical training at 0600 hours tomorrow morning, so if any of you are involved in the horizontal tango, make sure you have enough time to make it back to barracks,” and here, Flash Sentry smiled. “Also, note that any partners in the horizontal tango have to be of age of consent, sober, and willing. Any pony involved in a Article 120 offence will only die tired if they try to run. Don’t forget your VD classes as well-if you’re short on supplies, draw some now.”
“Any questions?” Flash Sentry waited a minute, then said, “Dismissed to your officers. See you all tomorrow,” and trotted off as the lieutenants came to command their platoons. Sweetie Belle could hear out of the side of her ear Sunrise Smile’s distinct Trottingham brogue saying, “And, if any of ya gobs screw this pooch, you’ll be lucky if the Captain gets his hooves on you first.”
Sweetie Belle saw the rest of her friends, Big Macintosh, and the rest of the Elements come up to her. “Wow,” Rainbow Dash said, smiling. “You look great, Sweetie Belle.”
“You do too, Rainbow Dash,” and Sweetie Belle smiled. Rainbow Dash’s dress was a simple rainbow silk sheath and it fitted her lines perfectly. “Waiting for Soarin?”
“Have to,” Rainbow Dash said, “it’s now as much military protocol as social protocol. Was reading up on this when I learned that I had to go to this thing.”
“But,” Pinkie Pie, in a hazy cloud of pink lace and satin, “why the formality of this? It’s a party! We should be having fun!”
“Contrast, dear,” Rarity replied. “The formality is like plain crackers between cheese plates-to clean your palate for the next dose of excitement.”
“Oh! I get it, sort of like having water and such between cookies,” Pinkie Pie said, smiling.
“Yep,” Big Macintosh said. He looked uncomfortable in his suit, but it seemed more “not used to wearing a suit” uncomfortable. “It’s a whole formal dance in itself right now.”
“I just hope you all have a good time,” Fluttershy, in a simple skirt and vest of green and gold, said softly. “I want to have a quiet time, myself.”
Sweetie Belle looked around, and realized, “Hey, where’s Twilight?”
“She’ll be here shortly,” Rarity said, “her dress takes a bit to put on, and…”
There was a sudden, hushed silence as everypony looked off to the side, to see Twilight Sparkle coming. She was in a intricate ball gown of white silk and velvet with a sweetheart neckline, her hair done in gold and purple velvet ribbons to symbolize the link between her and the Princesses of the Diarchic Throne. Her own crown rested on her head-simple gold with emeralds and a ruby star of the Element of Magic in the center, resting softly on her head. Captain Flash Sentry stood in front of the assembled ponies, uniform hat in his right front hoof, and Twilight Sparkle stood in front of the assembled ponies.
Twilight Sparkle offered Flash Sentry her right front hoof.
Flash Sentry took it and bowed. Rarity gasped softly at the exchange, and Sweetie Belle could almost feel the mixed envy and lust at the action. After all, Flash Sentry was being courted by a Princess…
Princess Twilight Sparkle and Captain Flash Sentry climbed into the first chariot, and the chariot lept for the skies, heading for Canterlot. As soon as they were out of sight and hearing, the call of “load up!” came from the officers and NCOs of the various Guard and Watch units. Before they were to leave, Sunrise Smiles trotted over and adjusted his dress uniform cap, saluting when he finished. “Ladies, gentlemen, if you would grant me the honor of riding with the Night Watch?”
“Certainly,” Rarity replied. Rainbow Dash made a small huffing sound, but she knew that Soarin would be busy until they arrived at Canterlot.
The chariot that they were to ride in was a massive one, easily able to carry two dozen ponies. The members of the Night Watch that had invitations (twice as many as last year) filled up the space that the Elements, Big Macintosh, and the three alicorn foals didn’t take up. The twelve thestral team pulling the chariot lept skywards, and the flight towards Canterlot began.
Sweetie Belle watched as Midnight Blossom and Cloud Skipper edged closer to each other, trying so hard to not look like they were together. Meanwhile, Sunrise Smiles trotted up to the Elements and said, “Thank you. Going to be a long night, lots of little children,” he gestured with his wing towards Midnight Blossom and Cloud Skipper, “to keep out of trouble.”
“Oh dear, is that…,” Rarity was asking.
“No, I’m glad she found somepony that she likes,” Sunrise Smiles shrugged. “Good pony, bit of a goof but a good pony, otherwise. And, thank you, Applejack-turns out the cavern was perfect for a caern, and we’re getting settled in nicely.”
“Not a problem,” Applejack smiled back. “Y’going to meet up with somepony in Canterlot tonight?”
“Not me,” Sunrise Smiles said sadly. “I have to keep my ring of this three-ring pony circus going right, and...well, I’m not seeing anypony right now.”
“Oh,” Applejack said, not sure what to say next.
“But, if you’ll look over that way, you can see Canterlot,” Sunrise Smiles changed the subject smoothly. “And, tonight, it’s going to be a show piece. Even more so than usual.”
With that invitation, everypony was looking over the rail of the chariot to see Canterlot.
Chariots, carts, even ponies walking or flying themselves to the events competed with each other to try and make their way to the Great Hall Of Clover The Clever, where this year’s White Elephant Ball was being held. To keep this chaos in order, the Canterlot Day Guard and Night Watch had organized everything. With only a little help from the Princesses, it was all working out perfectly.
The first and biggest thing was control of Canterlot airspace. Teams of pegasui and thestrals were flying in circuits, leading chariots to their destinations. Depending upon what color ropes were wrapped around the sideboards (and was only told to the chariot teams the day before), they were shuttled off to various locations or holding circuits around Canterlot. As the Element Bearers and their security team had the coveted white/white/green rope set, they were more-or-less waved through the first two holding circuits and put on the innermost ring of the third holding circuit.
Teams of unicorns on the ground cast glowing color change spells on a two-by-two square that could be seen from the sky. The chariot teams knew what their color sequence was, and began to prepare for landing when they saw their sequence. Similar systems were being used for the carts coming in, with smaller panels and teams of trained unicorns to search the carts for anything that might be dangerous.
Second was entry access. Each guest had been given a ticket made of Oath Paper, and part of the agreement of acceptance was to sign it. They could only bring one guest each, and violating the terms of Oath Paper was an embarrassing thing for ponies. The name of their guest had to be written on the Oath Paper, and the guest had to sign as well. So, as the guests came into the hall, the Day Guard knew who was coming in. And, the only points of access were controlled by the Day Guard and the Night Watch-any reporter or party crasher had better be very good at getting in, or would have a lot to explain to very unsympathetic guards.
Guards that were going to spend most of the night on their hooves or wings. Guards that were listening to the party inside and smelling good food they couldn’t have until the end of their shift. Sympathy was going to be very low indeed for any party crasher.
Third, and finally, was the simple fact that there were Names at the Ball. Names like Princess Celestia or Princess Luna or Princess Twilight Sparkle, or several other lesser names that were pretty dangerous indeed. Anypony that thought that doing something at the White Elephant Ball was possible would have had better odds of a snowball juggling act in Hell.
As their chariot landed, Rarity watched as Twilight Sparkle and Flash Sentry went into the hall and handed over their tickets. She took a deep breath, and looked over at her friends. “Shall we be going?” she asked.
“Ayep, let’s do that thing,” Applejack smiled, and they walked towards the Ball.
The White Elephant Ball started, nearly seven hundred years ago, as a military celebration. And a joke.
The War of the White Elephant was a war that defined “pointless conflict” to an almost ideal degree. It was a border incident between the Griffin Empire and Equestria that started over an elephant visitor eating from Afrenca eating a prized set of daisies that the current Emperor had planted in the capital.
As incidents go, this one was hideously minor. The elephant even offered to replace the daisies and pay damages. But, the Emperor at the time wanted to execute the elephant for high treason (using torturous logic that the eating of the daisies was an attack on the Imperial Family). The Elephant Kingdoms asked Princess Celestia to negotiate a release of their citizen, and so she did.
The current Emperor of the Griffins was more than willing to negotiate. He was even willing to release the elephant, in exchange for some border territories that he wanted from the Equestrian government. Territories that were poor for the defense of Equestria-but great for the invasion of Equestria by the Griffin Empire. It did not take long for Princess Celestia to realize that the Griffins were looking for any excuse to claim the territory and the elephant was merely a pawn to be played. And, sacrificed if needed to advance their goals.
Princess Celestia also knew the best thing to do with a pawn was to remove it from play. Which was what happened a month after the incident, when a small team of mercenaries led by the legendary Special Investigator Blue Glare went into the Griffin Empire and “extracted” the elephant. He was on a ship, heading home, a full two weeks before the Griffin Emperor knew what happened.
Celestia had known, instantly, after they had succeeded, and moved troops into position to fight off a border incursion. Not only did she fend of the attacks of the Griffin Empire, she pushed back the borders by a good thirty miles, securing several points of defense against further attacks. And, the Griffin Emperor suffered the usual fate of an Emperor that failed against Equestria-he “slipped and fell in the bath,” his heir taking the throne a few days later. With six griffins to make sure that the Emperor’s slip and fall took.
The resulting three week conflict would be called “The White Elephant War” mostly because of a random statement made by somepony in the ranks.
“All of this filly-flanking mess for a single white elephant,” was said by somepony at some point. Then, the cry was taken up through the ranks...and Princess Celestia heard those words.
A month later, the first ever White Elephant Ball, a charity event for the soldiers, sailors, and flyers of Equestria, was held. And, every year, she held it to honor those that served and defended Equestria from all threats.
And to tweak the beaks of the Griffins, but that was merely frosting for the cake.
The Element Bearers, the three alicorn foals, and their guards walked into the massive hall and the majordomo announced them in, “Entering! Applejack, Element of Harmony and her husband and sister! Fluttershy, Element of Kindness! Pinkie Pie, Element of Laughter! Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty and her daughter! Rarity, Element of Generosity and her sister! Sunrise Smiles, Captain of the Night Watch!”
The crowd applauded at the end of the announcement, and they all came in, looking around in wonder. “Wow…,” Pinkie Pie gushed. “So many ponies!”
Fluttershy made a soft eep sound and started to shy close to Applejack when she finally got to the bottom of the stairs. A few of the more courtier ponies started to head towards Fluttershy, when a white unicorn mare trotted in front of them and said to Fluttershy, “Dear, allons-nous trouver un endroit calme et partager des histoires?”
“Mais oui, bien sûr, Fleur De Lis,” Fluttershy said softly to Fleur De Lis and she smiled to Rarity. “I’ll be fine for a while, Rarity, I promise.”
“Je vous promets que personne ne la harceler,” Fleur De Lis smiled and nodded towards Rarity. She looked ready for somepony to harass her or Fluttershy.
“Je vous tiendrai à cela, Fleur De Lis. Prenez bien soin de mon ami,” Rarity nodded, and watched as Fleur De Lis and Fluttershy started to share stories with each other in perfect Pranch. All of her friends looked at Rarity oddly, and she smiled. “Fleur De Lis is a good friend and I can trust her.”
“She’s speaking fancy,” Applejack said, shaking her head. “I didn’t know that Fluttershy knew that.”
“Fluttershy knows about eight languages,” Apple Bloom said, smiling. “She’s fluent in Pranch, Nehonese, and Saddle Arabian. Passable in Standish, and can keep herself out of trouble in a few others.”
“How many languages can ya speak?” Applejack asked, curious.
“Do you understand the difference between middle-era Proto-A and late-era Proto-A and how it relates to the early Equestrian language?” Sweetie Belle replied.
“Beg ya pardon?” Applejack’s eyebrow was hitting the brim of her hat from that question.
“Well, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom know something like twenty or thirty languages well enough to pass as native, but I love linguistic theory. Well, up until Chapsky became the ‘pony of the hour’ in linguistic theory. Ultimate proof that if you can polish manure enough and shovel it fast enough, you can fool anypony,” Sweetie Belle sighed in frustration.
“Wow,” Applejack said. As they kept trotting in, they ran into ponies they knew and said hello, traded stories. As they came in, Fancypants came up and said, “A pleasure to run into you all.”
“Pleasure as well,” Big Macintosh said, “been a while, hasn’t it?”
“You’re always welcome to come back, Big Mac,” Fancypants said in return and looked at the shocked expressions. “You never told them…”
“Never saw the need, it was the right thing to do,” Big Macintosh shrugged.
“You are sometimes too modest for you own good,” Fancypants sighed. “A few years ago, I had gone checking into a rental property I was thinking of purchasing in Manehattan. Unfortunately, I was...ah, harassed by a street gang. They would have robbed me if Big Macintosh here hasn’t knocked them into next week.”
“Wasn’t a problem at all, they didn’t know how to fight,” Big Macintosh replied sheepishly. “Earned most of the money to get the wedding band resized bare-hoofed fighting. Thirty-three fights, thirty-two wins by knockout and one by decision.”
“And, I always said that you would have a place if you needed one,” Fancypants said, then looked at the wedding bands on Big Macintosh and Applejack’s legs. “Married? How long?”
“Well, if you work out the details,” Applejack blushed, “it’s anywhere between three months and two years. Long, long story…”
“And, if you would join me, all of you, at the bar, it’s a long story that I would love to hear,” Fancypants smiled.
“Oh no,” Rarity said suddenly, and everypony looked to see what she was looking at.
Prince Blueblood had caught sight of Rarity, and was trotting over to meet her.
Prince Blueblood hadn’t changed much since the last Grand Galloping Gala. Horn and hooves polished to a mirror’s shine, a small fixed sneer on his face, hair brushed artfully...he was a perfectly prepared pony and wore a fine velvet and silk waistcoat that probably cost enough to feed a family of three for a year. In Manehattan. “Ah, Rarity,” he said smoothly. “A pleasure to see you again.”
“Oh dear,” Rarity giggled and smiled insincerely, “I didn’t know you would be here tonight.”
“Why wouldn’t I be? This is an important event for important ponies,” Prince Blueblood half-sneered. “I’m just wondering why you’re here. Trying to find another star to hitch yourself to?”
Rarity could feel Sweetie Belle starting to bristle at her flank, and she smiled at Prince Blueblood. “Why should I? I mean, a star is just so...plebeian a goal to attain. A mere star is a bagatelle in comparison to the galaxies of fashion I have yet to attain. Or, more importantly, I have something that matters much, much more to me.” Rarity nodded to Sweetie Belle. “My sister, Sweetie Belle. This is Prince Blueblood, and we met at the last Grand Galloping Gala.”
Prince Blueblood half-smiled at Sweetie Belle. “A wonderful costume, little foal-how do you keep your wings on? Tape, glue?”
Sweetie Belle sighed, then opened her wings up to their full extension. “The same way Princess Celestia and Princess Luna keep their wings on. They’re mine.”
Prince Blueblood took a step back, and tried to regain his composure. “I...I didn’t know, I mean…”
“Not a princess,” Sweetie Belle said. “Don’t have to be. Which means that I am able to challenge you if I need to.”
“Challenge?” Prince Blueblood squeaked at Sweetie Belle. “You would…”
“Of course, as the challenged party, you would be able to choose to what extent we faced each other, but nopony insults my sister,” Sweetie Belle’s smile was the sort that a rabbit might see last when facing a wolf. “Insult me? I don’t care-I’m reminded of your great-great-great-grandfather, Noble Blueblood, in this. He had a great saying for gossipy ponies, ‘Let nopony challenge your honor or your integrity, and to the crows with the rest.’ My honor is intact, and so is my word.”
Prince Blueblood turned even more pale under his white fur, and stumbled off. Sweetie Belle sighed, and got her wings settled back in. “I think I did something wrong,” Sweetie Belle said softly.
“On the contrary,” a deep, gravely voice said behind them, “Watching that little plot-hole run away scared was probably the best sight of my evening.” Both Rarity and Sweetie Belle turned to see a huge Earth pony, grey fur with a short white mane, loom over them. He was one of the few ponies they had ever met that was as tall as Big Mac. “My apologies, my name is Helpful Hoof,” and he smiled at them both, “and you are all the ponies I wanted to meet tonight.”
“Oh?” Applejack asked.
“Mostly to say thank you. The Elements of Harmony have been some of Equestria’s most steadfast guardians, and I can’t think of anypony else that does not deserve some recognition for their actions,” Helpful Hoof said.
“A pleasure as well,” Rarity replied, and nodded.
“Not quite,” Helpful Hoof smiled back. “If I was in time, Prince Blueblood would have ran into me first. We don’t get along well outside of the level of his fiscal ‘handlers’, and the only color they respect is gold. So, I can cheerfully insult him all night, and not lose a bit of sleep over it.”
“Hey,” Applebloom asked, looking around, “where did Pinkie Pie go?”
“And, I said,” Pinkie Pie was telling the crowd of onlookers a story, “‘Oatmeal, are you crazy?!?’ And, that’s when he said, ‘Sure, I’m crazy, but I’d never put applesauce in my oatmeal like you!’”
The crowd laughed, and one of the younger ponies asked. “Go on! What happened next?”
“Well…,” Pinkie Pie continued her tale.
“Princess!” Twilight Sparkle said.
It had taken a while for her and Flash Sentry to make it through the necessary meet-and-greets that events like this generated, and she finally had found Princess Celestia, cheerfully and charmingly talking with a very tall, leggy unicorn colt. “Ah, Lighthouse,” Princess Celestia said, finally catching Twilight’s eye, “This is Princess Twilight Sparkle, whom I’ve told you so much about.”
“Charmed,” Lighthouse said, his eyes bright and smiling. The Cuite Mark of a lighthouse was oddly too bright for a pony with fur as black as night. “Princess Celestia has been saying a great deal about you, Princess Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight Sparkle blushed. “Still getting used to the whole ‘princess’ thing,” she replied. “I’ve heard about you, Lighthouse. You are the head of the Sea Safety Program, yes?”
“Proudly so for the last few years,” Lighthouse grinned. “And, I have to thank you, Princess Twilight Sparkle. The new spell lanterns means we don’t have to ship tons of kerosene to lighthouses all over the coast, and they’re even brighter than the torches we used to use. Desperation Bay alone has seen a decrease of shipping accidents of nearly twenty percent.”
“Gosh, I mean, thank you!” Twilight Sparkle blushed and looked away for a second. “The spell lanterns are something I’m very proud of, especially when I was able to figure out a way to mechanically control them, so anypony can use them.”
“I’m looking into development of smaller spell lanterns,” Lighthouse said. “Small enough you can replace the kerosene lanterns on ships. That would reduce the fire hazard from lanterns and increase safety across the board.”
“Wow,” Twilight Sparkle nodded. “That’s amazing!”
“And, I think I saw Bitter Greens around over there,” Lighthouse said. “If I may?”
“A pleasure as always,” Princess Celestia said. As Lighthouse trotted off, Princess Celestia looked at Flash Sentry and said, “Flash Sentry, could you get us three glasses of the rasberry punch before they run out of it again. It is a very good punch.”
“Of course, Your Highness,” Flash Sentry nodded, and as he left Princess Celestia came closer to Twilight Sparkle.
“How are the two of you getting along?” Princess Celestia asked.
“Very well,” Twilight Sparkle blushed. “But, I mean...well, I was wondering…”
“There are reports of the Order disappearing, which means they’re planning something,” Princess Celestia sighed through her smile.
“If they attack here, I mean, if they were to summon something meaner to try and get the foals, they would…” Twilight Sparkle considered.
“They would run into teams of combat-trained unicorns from the Guard, that have been stalking the streets for days looking for the signs of demon summoning. And, the Great Hall is warded sufficiently to hold off anything short of Tirac,” Princess Celestia interrupted gently. “We’re safe here.”
“Thank you, Princess,” Twilight Sparkle sighed. “That was my greatest fear.”
Flash Sentry came back hold a tray in his mouth, three glasses of raspberry punch on the tray. Princess Celestia and Twilight Sparkle lifted the glasses up with their magic and Flash Sentry picked up his in a hoof. “So, what were you talking about?”
“Major concerns to be dealt with,” Princess Celestia said. She looked and found the main clock in the Hall. “You may want to find your friends, Princess Twilight Sparkle. They will be serving dinner in about fifteen minutes, so I need to get to my chair.”
Twilight Sparkle looked at the clock. “Oh, no problem,” she said. She looked at Flash Sentry and said, “Let’s get them rounded up so we can get seated in time.”