Dazzling fashions, and Timberponies
Our story begins, on top of a mountain. High above the kingdom of Equestria, a large group of Diamond dogs were hard at work. They were jewel harvesters, mutts who cut and hauled huge diamond blocks from the mountain sides. Empty sleds rested off to the side of the lake, waiting to be filled. The gem filled blocks were hoisted into the sled; soon they would be taken down to the villages to sell. It was a dangerous business. One slip could send a block hurtling down the mountainside-or worse, falling on a dog and crushing him.
A young drake stood in the shadows watching the workdogs. He kept a small sled at his side. His name was Spike, and he desperately wanted to join the gem harvesters, but he was too young. He was a baby dragon after all. Hovering next to him was his best friend Tank, the tortoise. Tank was faster than most tortoises, mostly because he had a helicopter like device strapped to his back. Spike had hired a mechanic to make it for him, and for this, Tank was eternally grateful. Spike imagined the two of them taking a sled full of sapphire blocks into the village of Canterlot. Tank sniffed the freezing cold air and glanced at the big blocks of stone. He coughed, but didn't move a claw.
As night approached, Spike finally convinced Tank to carry a small block of rubies on their sleigh. By now, the Diamond dogs had lit several lanterns and were finishing loading their own wagons. Spike crept forward and was able to grab a small gem encrusted block of stone without any of the workdogs noticing him. He slid the block of jewels onto his sleigh and attached Tank's harness.
Sled by sled, the gem harvesters headed down the steep mountain roads. Spike trailed behind with Tank, steering his own small sleigh down the bumpy path.
Above them all, the northern lights spread across the dark sky, creating waves of gossamer green light. The magical glow pulsed as it rolled over the mountains, down toward the kingdom below.
In a grassy valley next to a deep, rushing river, the Canterlot Castle lay silent in the night. The brightnes of the northern lights danced across the windows, waking a small filly. She sat up and grinned to see the wonderful, beautiful light.
The unicorn filly leapt out of her bed and silently ran across the room to wake her gorgeous elder sister. "Rarity, psst! Rarity!" she said urgently. "Wake up, wake up!"
Rarity, who was an eight year old unicorn, with a normally perfectly combed purple mane and tail, sighed, and ducked under the covers. "Sweetie belle darling, you simply must go back to sleep."
But Sweetie wouldn't give up. "I just can't. The sky's awake, so I'm awake, and so we have to play! Right now! Come on Rarity!" Sweetie said, as she jumped and pranced around the bed.
Rarity shoved Sweetie belle off the bed and said, "Go play by yourself. I need my beauty sleep."
Sweetie belle frowned and thought for a moment, her face lighting up with an idea. She crawled back onto the bed and said, "Do you want to build a jewelpony?"
Rarity's eyes popped open. That got her attention.
The fillies were the daughters of Equestria's King Magnum and Queen Pearl, and the very best of friends. Rarity couldn't resist Sweetie belle's begging. The sisters ran down the hallway in their nightgowns, laughing as they hurried along. Entering the Great Hall, where all the royal balls were held, they turned to each other, huge grins on their faces.
"Are you ready?" Rarity asked, smiling.
"Yes, yes!" Sweetie cried.
Rarity chuckled, and suddenly, gem shards seemed to burst in a flurry from her horn.
Sweetie clapped happily. She knew that her sister had a very special talent, as apparent by her cutie mark. Rarity could create gems and jewels, and also great fashions, all throughout the castle and town!
With a twirl and wave of her horn, Rarity magically brought about her dazzling powers. Quickly, she filled the Great Hall with mounds of emeralds, sapphires, diamonds and rubies, turning it into a jewel encrusted playground. Then she stomped her hooves and gold swept across the floor. She laughed to see little Sweetie belle hopping around joyfully.
Together, they went to work building their jewelpony. Sweetie belle did her best to pick out choice diamonds for the jewelpony's body. Then she ran to the armory to get a spear head for the nose."Jewelpony!" she exclaimed proudly.
Rarity laughed at the lopsided jewelpony, it looked more like a bunny than a pony! "Hi, I'm Angel bunny," she said in a squeaky voice, pretending to be the jewelpony. "And I like pretty fashions."
"You should go meet my sister Rarity! She has lots of fashions for ponies." Sweetie belle said kindly.
"Maybe I will!" Rarity then made the jewelpony walk lopsidedly toward her fashion studio. Sweetie belle giggled and followed them. Rarity soon had made more jewelponies to join in the strange procession. The parade of jewelponies soon made it to the sewing room, where Rarity was soon hard at work, making a whole array of suits and dresses for the gem creatures.
"There, what do you think?" Rarity asked hesitantly. "It might not be my best work, for I was a little rushed, but I trust that you like it?"
"I love them Rarity! You look amazing Angel!" Sweetie exclaimed, giving the jewelpony a hug.
Then Rarity gathered her bedazzling magic and made a long, sapphire fashion runway. Sweetie belle squealed with delight. She raced up the stairs of the slippery runway, then strutted down and ran up again along the sapphire curved runway. Rarity quickly created a beautiful dress for Sweetie belle to model as she went down the runway again.
"Oh, Rarity! This dress is amazing!" Sweetie belle cheered.
"I'm glad you think so!" Rarity declared happily. The little filly ran faster down the runway as Rarity made it higher. Rarity had to work fast to keep pace with Sweetie belle. She kept making more dresses, each one longer than the last, so her sister could stay modeling.
"Sweetie belle, slow down," Rarity said, starting to get worried. "It's much too high!"
But Sweetie belle was having too much fun. The little princess was fearless, strutting and running with each new dress as quickly as Rarity made it. Rarity raised her horn to create the next dress, and raise the floor, but suddenly, her hoof slipped. As she stumbled her magic went awry. Her ruby blast caught the side of Sweetie belle's head, right through her lavender curls.
Sweetie gasped and fell to the ground, unconscious.
"Sweetie belle!" Rarity shouted, running to her sister's side, levitating some cloth to cover her sister's freezing body up. She lifted Sweetie belle up and felt her cold, shivering body. A lock of Sweetie belle's hair had turned bright pink where the magic had hit it. "Mother! Father!" Rarity cried desperately.
As she called for help and her worry increased, huge stalactites made of amber formed on the ceiling, and amber spikes grew tall around the fillies.
The king and queen burst into the Great Hall to find their daughters huddled in a shining, almost blinding, landscape. They knew that Rarity had a special ability to create jewels, but this was more than they had ever seen. "Rarity," Magnum cried. "This is getting out of hoof!"
"I'm sorry," Rarity replied in distress. "I never intended to hurt her!"
"Sweetie belle!" Pearl gasped, and ran toward her little filly. "Oh, she's stone cold!"
"I know what must be done, come Rarity." The royal family flew off into the brisk summer night, leaving a trail of gems and jewels behind them. They soon came upon a grove of logs and small trees. "Please help me! It's my daughter! I don't know what else to do." Magnum cried out into the night.
Meanwhile, Spike had been riding along the bumpy dirt path when he saw the king and queen pass by. "King Magnum?" He said curiously. "Cmon Tank, let's go check it out." The pair of reptiles raced off into the night, chasing the alicorns. They came upon the same clearing and watched as the logs rolled in a circle around the king and his family. Timberwolves soon joined the group of log ponies that were slowly being formed from small twigs and logs. "Timberponies!" Spike gasped.
"Shush please, I'm trying to listen! That is, if you don't mind, it's fine." The shy timberpony beside them said. She soon noticed that these two weren't timberponies like herself, they were reptiles! "Aw, you're so cute! Why don't you come live with me?" She asked with a small smile.
A more ornately pink decorated timberpony rolled forward into the clearing where the royal family was. "Alright, who interrupted my nap? I was in the middle of a dream about frosting! Ah, creamy delicious frosting." The timberpony drooled.
"Um, I did." King Magnus said confused. He had heard that this timberpony, who's name was Pinkie Pine, was the wisest, and weirdest, of them all.
"Alright you crazy ponies, what are ya'll doing up this late? It's three o'clock in the morning!" Another timberpony, named Applewood, complained.
"Applewood! It's the King and his family! You need to be more polite." The shy timber pony, named Fluttertree, reprimanded.
"Ah apologize yer majesty, it's just that you woke up mah little sister and it takes forever to get little Apple bloom back to sleep." Applewood apologized.
"Your apology has been accepted young timberpony. Now, can anyone tell me how to help my youngest daughter!"
"I can, but first I need to call upon the aid of my assistant. Twilight Sapling! Get over here!" Pinkie Pine called. A timberpony who had a unicorn horn, walked forward.
"You called ma'am? What can I do to be of service towards you?" Twilight Sapling asked.
"First, we need to figure out what is wrong with the older filly, then we fix the younger filly, and at the same time, we eat ice cream and cake and have a party. Do I make myself clear?" Pinkie Pine asked.
"Of course your Looniness. Now, was your oldest daughter born with the powers or cursed? Or simply, blessed with them at birth?" Twilight asked as she pulled out a clipboard and checklist.
"Umm," Magnum hesitated. "I don't know."
"That's fine I suppose, now what kind of jewel blast hit the younger filly's head?" Twilight asked as she took notes.
"If I may interrupt, it was my ruby blast that caught the side of darling Sweetie belle's head." Rarity said.
"Thank you Princess Rarity. Now, Pinkie Pine, are you going to heal this filly?" Twilight Sapling asked, waking Pinkie from her nap.
"Huh? It's not my weasel! Oh, yeah. The princess. I'll heal her in a jiffy." She walked over to an oven, then proceeded to sing.
All you have to do is take a cup of flour,
add it to the mix!
Now just take a little something sweet, not sour,
a bit of salt, just a pinch!
Baking these treats is such a cinch,
add a teaspoon of vanilla,
Add a little more,
and you count to four and you never get your filla!
Cupcakes!
So sweet and tasty!
Cupcakes,
Don't be too hasty!
Cupcakes,
Cupcakes,
Cupcakes,
CUPCAKES!
She slid a pan of cupcakes out of the oven, and popped one out. After covering it with frosting, she brought it over to Sweetie belle.
"Here, feed her this and she should wake up in the morning, right as rain." Pinkie Pine said.
"Thank you my lady. We are forever in your debt." King Magnum said.
"Aww, don't mention it! Now you just go tuck her in bed. A good nights sleep is what she needs." Pinkie Pine said, waving as the royal family flew off into the night.