Chapter 2 - Monsters are boring

“I’m so sorry Twilight…” Fluttershy apologized. Her ears were down as she stared in her cup of jasmine tea.

“Ids okay Fluttershy. Id was as accident.” Twilight responded with a slightly nasal voice. She was holding an ice pack against her sore muzzle.

“Nodings broken and id doesn’t hurd much anymore.” It had hurt much more right after Fluttershys impromptu hug/headbutt, but Twilight wasn’t going to say that aloud. Fluttershy was already feeling bad about accidentally giving her a lesson about kinetic energy and the aerodynamic qualities of a unicorn and she didn’t want to make it any worse. Besides, a simple pain numbing spell and an ice pack were already doing wonders, and all she could feel was slight sting in her muzzle.

“Wads god you in a rush anyway?” She asked as she lowered the ice pack to take a sip of her tea.

“Oh…I got…really s-scared and wasn’t watching where I was going…” Fluttershy responded and took the tea cup carefully in her hooves.

“What happened?”

“I was in the Everfree forest…Ms. Woodpecker had asked me to come and check her chick…she was feeling sick…a-and I couldn’t just say no, it’s my job to help animals after all.” Fluttershy took a sip of her own tea now that she had calmed down a bit.

“Oh no, you didn’t come across a monster, did you?” Twilight asked, and immediately Fluttershys ears went down again.

“Y-y-yes…I mean…I-I think I did…”

“You…you think?”

“W-well…I mean uh…I don’t k-know what it was…that I saw.”

Twilight tilted her head slightly.

“It was…very tall…and it was hiding in a bush.”

Twilight drank the rest of her tea and made a motion with her hoof for Fluttershy to continue.

“I didn’t see much of it…half of it was hidden behind the bush…and the rest of it was covered in clothes.”

“Clothes?” Twilight gently rubbed her still slightly sore muzzle.

“…It didn’t…have someponys clothes…did it?” She asked hopefully.

“Oh, nonono…those clothes seemed to be its own. They were so huge that nopony could wear them.”

“Are you sure it was a monster? I don’t know any monsters that wear clothes.”

“Well I…I don’t know…”

“What else can you tell me about it?”

“It looked like it had a beard, it had quite a lot of hair on its chin. And small eyes. I couldn’t see them very well because of the hat.”

“…It wore a hat too?” Twilight asked confused.

“Yes. But it was a camouflage hat.”

One eyebrow was raised.

“T-the same type you had…w-when you had when you went to watch the dragon migration. Its other clothes were the same too.”

“Hmm…So what you saw was a tall creature with a beard and it wore camouflage pattern clothes?”

“Yes.”

“Perhaps it was a minotaur?” Fluttershy seemed to think about it.

“No…I don’t remember seeing any horns. And it didn’t seem as big as Iron Will when he was here.”

“A diamond dog?” Twilight asked, trying to think. Fluttershy shuddered.

“No, it didn’t look like a diamond dog at all…a-atleast, not the kind we saw that one time…”

Twilights frown deepened as she tried to come up with creatures that matched Fluttershys description. She got up from her seat and walked to a bookshelf. Soon books started levitating down, encased in a lavender aura.

“Well perhaps it was…no, those don’t live in the Everfree. Well maybe…hmm, but they have only one eye…” Twilight muttered to herself as she searched her books for anything. Fluttershy sat still, drinking her lukewarm tea, and waiting for Twilight to find something. All she got, however, was a slightly frustrated sigh.

“I’m sorry Fluttershy, but I don’t know what it was that you encountered.”

“Oh, that’s okay.”

“Still, we shouldn’t ignore it.” Twilight mused.

“Especially if it is native to Everfree forest. I’ll make sure to inform the guard that something has been sighted in the Everfree and they should be on the lookout for a minotaur like creature with camouflage clothes, possibly another monster.” That was the problem with living so close to the Everfree forest. There was always the danger of a monster attack.

“Okay.”

“If you see it again, or if any of your animal friends spot it in the Everfree forest, be sure to tell me or the guard about it.”

Fluttershy nodded.

“Now, with that settled, would you like to join me? I was just about to go and buy some groceries when you…uh, visited me.” Twilight said with a smile as she opened the door. Fluttershy blushed a bit, but nodded nonetheless.

“Great, let’s go then.”

********************

Life continued on in Ponyville as normal. The populace had long since accepted the possible dangers associated with the Everfree forest and weren’t that bothered with the prospects of another monster lurking around. Most ponies were more annoyed than scared by the announcement that an unknown creature had been sighted in the Everfree. It was a rare occurrence that a monster caused any serious harm. More often they would only manage to scare a pony or destroy one’s property, rather than cause an injury, or in the worst scenario, take one’s life. Ponies made sure to avoid going to the Everfree forest (not that many wanted to go there anyway) for the time being, and if they had to go, they wouldn’t do it alone. Weeks went by without anypony seeing or hearing anything about the mysterious creature.

********************

Rainbow Dash was lazily flying around in the fields outside of Ponyville. She had been practicing her tricks all morning, and was trying to find the perfect cloud to nap on.

“Well deserved sleep for well done practice.” She muttered to herself and let out a yawn as she spotted one. She flopped down on the cloud, letting the fluffy goodness engulf her. She peered down the edge, enjoying the sights of another beautiful day, and feeling the tiredness of hard practice catch up to her. She didn’t have anything else she needed to today, luckily, and could spend as much time as she wanted napping. Perhaps she could go and get some cupcakes from Pinkie later. She felt her eyelids drooping, and yawned again. However, just as she was about to pull back from the edge and go to sleep, movement caught her eye. Something was moving close to the edge of the Everfree. It was quite the ways down, but Pegasus eyes were sharp, and Rainbow could make the shape of something large moving.

Feeling more alert, she tried to make out what it was. Tall, seemed to move with two legs, really odd looking. For a moment, she thought she was looking at a minotaur, but then she remembered what Twilight had said a few weeks back. A minotaur like creature had scared Fluttershy when she was helping animals in the forest, and they all should be on the lookout for it. Rainbow scowled at the creature that was walking along the edge of the forest, as if with no care in the world.

What is it doing, she thought as she grabbed the cloud and gently flapped her wings to propel the cloud forward. She glided along towards the creature, staying hidden by the cloud. It was indeed wearing camouflage clothes as Fluttershy had said, although its jacket was tied on its waist, and it seemed to be wearing a gray shirt instead. But it didn’t seem to be trying to hide at all, just walking around in plain daylight. Rainbows cloud was now on top of the creature, high above.

It doesn’t look very tough. Rainbow entertained the idea of flying down and giving it a good kick in the rump for scaring Fluttershy as it had. It was, however, walking to the opposite direction from Ponyville, and Twilight had said that they had no idea if the creature was actually a dangerous monster or not. What kind of monster would wear clothes anyway, especially if it lived in the Everfree forest?

“I don’t think that Raritys clothes are that popular.” Rainbow said to herself and snickered. Rarity would probably faint if the creature came to her looking for something to wear. Its current clothes seemed to be well worn as indicated by the many patched they had. Rainbow could also see that the creature was carrying a basket with it, although what was in the basket, she couldn’t tell. It wasn’t very large, so there wasn’t anything like a pony in there.

Rainbow kept following the creature as it seemed to walk without any destination, occasionally stopping to look around and to pick flowers.

Maybe it really is just an oddly shaped minotaur…without horns and all that, she thought as the creature sat down to rest. She jumped off from her cloud and glided silently downwards, landing on one of the trees close to it. She wanted to take a closer look, just to be sure that it wasn’t up to anything nasty. Her ears perked up as she heard a weird noise coming from the creature. It was really deep humming, almost like Applejacks big brother. It was humming a pleasant tune to itself while checking the contents of its basket, which was full of mushrooms.

Hmm, maybe it’s like Zecora, and lives in the Everfree and makes potions and stuff, Rainbow thought to herself. It didn’t really make any sense otherwise. Come to think of it, had they even asked Zecora if she knew anything? She should definitely bring that up with Twilight when they saw each other the next time. Twilight did visit Zecora quite often. Something to do with tea or some such.

Is it really going to be looking at stupid mushrooms all day? Irritation was starting to get to Rainbow as she tried her best to stay still and quiet. She was losing perfect napping time by sitting here, and the creature could only sit and do nothing. Eventually her patience ran out, and Rainbow decided to just leave and let the creature do its own, boring things.

Unfortunately, when she took flight, her wing smacked one of the branches and it let out a loud crack. The creature instantly put the basket away and turned around, scanning the treetops with its gaze.

Not good, Dash mentally cursed and tried to gain altitude, only for the leaves to make even more noise as she flied up. Her cover blown, she decided to fly back to Ponyville, staying near and above the treetops in hopes that the creature wouldn’t see her.

With her hasty retreat, Rainbow hadn’t noticed that one of her primaries had fallen off, gently fluttering to the ground next to the creature. It picked it up and examined it, turning the large, pristine blue feather around. Mystified by what could have left it, the creature put the feather in a pocket of its pants, picked up its basket, and begun its somewhat hurried trek back in to the Everfree forest.

Chapter 3 - For whom the bell tolls

View Online

“This creature you speak of, I have not seen. For how long in the Everfree, has it been?” Zecora asked as she lowered Twilight's and Fluttershy's cups of tea on the table, before taking her own seat.

“Well, Fluttershy saw it almost three weeks ago, some ways in to the forest, and Rainbow saw it yesterday on the west edge of the forest. Apparently, it had been collecting mushrooms.” Twilight responded as she took a sip from her tea.

“Ahh, on a trek in the forest, I noticed that many had been taken. A pony I had suspected, but it seems I have been mistaken.”

“What mushrooms were those? Hopefully not something you needed for one of your concoctions.”

“They were tasty and perfect for a meal. So, worry not, they were not that big of a deal.” Zecora said with a smile.

“But if it was just looking for mushroom, why would it wear camouflage clothes?” Twilight asked and turned towards Fluttershy, who had been content to just sit and listen for now.

“Well, many creatures use camouflage to hide from predators. For many it is their only way to protect themselves.”

“I…I guess that makes sense. So, it forages for food in the Everfree and hides from monsters with clothes that blend in to the environment?” Twilight hold her hoof to her chin in contemplation.

“That is possible…although I don’t know any animals that make clothes…or hats.”

“Yes, that does seem a bit weird.” Twilight admitted.

“Perhaps Everfree is not its home, and instead, it likes to roam?” Zecora interjected helpfully.

Twilight hummed and tried to find something, anything from the vast amount of information in her head to help shed light in their current situation. Nothing came to mind.

“That is possible, but without being able to talk to it or even see it up close, all we can do is speculate.” Twilight finally admitted. She finished the last of her tea and got up with Fluttershy.

“Thank you, Zecora. If you see it, please let us know.”

Zecora offered them a smile and a nod.

********************

“What’s wrong Twilight?” Fluttershy asked as they made their way out of the forest. Twilight had been silent and in deep thought from the moment they had left Zecoras hut, and her head was low, as in shame. Twilight looked up to her friend and sighed.

“It’s nothing Fluttershy, I just…it’s just starting to get frustrating that we know nothing about this creature. Nopony seems to have any idea what this creature could be, none of my books have mentioned anything at all and even when I visited Canterlot last week, I couldn’t find anything from the Royal Archives. It’s like this creature doesn’t exist at all!” She finally stopped and threw her hoofs in the air.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Fluttershy said meekly and hid behind her mane.

“It’s not your fault, Fluttershy.” Twilight let out another sigh and they continued walking.

“You’d think that there would have been at least something, even rumors or old tales, but I couldn’t find anything that matched this creature.”

The two continued in silence, Twilight going back to thinking and Fluttershy feeling sorrowful for being able to help her friend. She had tried to search from her books on animals too for something, but there hadn’t been any mention of a creature like this. Not that there was much information available on creatures that lived deep in the Everfree forest in the first place, but to find absolutely nothing was unexpected.

After some time of walking, Twilight and Fluttershy emerged from the forest and were greeted by a raspy voice.

“There you are! I have been waiting for you for ages!” Rainbow exclaimed as she swooped down next to them. Twilight looked up at the sun. It was a little past its zenith point, so she and Fluttershy had been gone for little more than an hour.

“We haven’t been gone for that long.”

“Never mind that, look!” She said and showed them what she had been holding in her hoofs. It was a rectangular, gray object with some weird markings on it. It had cracks going across its glassy looking face, while its sides were made of metal.

“What is it?” Twilight asked as she studies the weird object.

“I don’t know. I went back where I saw the creature yesterday to see if I could find something, and this thing was where it had been sitting!” Rainbow explained energetically.

“This…this belongs to the creature?” Twilight asked and examined the thing with more interest.

“I think so, yeah. And that is not the best part. I found it because it was making a noise, like ringing a bell! It stopped after a while, and I don’t know how to make it do it again. I do however, know how to do this.” Rainbow said and pressed what looked like a button on the face of the object. The face lit up with bright colors, weird symbols, and a picture of a field full of flowers.

“Woah.” Twilight and Fluttershy said with wonderment, and Rainbow smiled smugly. Soon the face of the object went dark again.

“Isn’t it totally awesome?” She asked.

“It was very pretty.” Fluttershy said.

“How did it do that?” Twilight said and gently tugged at the object with her magic so that she could examine it more closely. After a moment, Rainbow let Twilight take it.

“Be careful with it. It is already cracked, we don’t want to break it!” She said, but leaned closer nonetheless in case Twilight could understand the thing better than her, which was more than likely, and which was also the reason she had been impatiently waiting for them to return from Zecora. Fluttershy also took a step closer.

Twilight spun the object around, looking at it from every angle. There seemed to be two more buttons, one on each of the long sides, different shaped holes on its top and bottom and weird squares on the back of it. There was also the button on the bottom of the front side, in relation to the picture of the field. Pressing one of the other two buttons made the thing lit up again, while the other didn’t seem to do anything.

Then there were also the markings. Weird symbols both in front and in the back, that seemed to be the same thing. Most likely it was some sort of language, but it wasn’t anything that Twilight had ever read. And when the buttons were pressed, there were even more symbols, some of which she could understand. There was tiny little alarm clock in the top right corner and what looked like a camera on the bottom right corner. There were more of that same language, and what must have been numbers, because some of them kept changing and Twilight was sure she had seen something similar before.

“Well, what is it?” Rainbow finally asked. Twilight turned to her and blinked.

“I…I don’t know. I don’t recognize this language, if it is one. I haven’t seen this kind of a device before.”

“What? But you are the smartest pony I know, and this thing looks totally like something an egghead would have.” Rainbow said.

“I’m sorry, but whatever it is, I don’t- “

The device lit up again, and soon started making sounds like a ringing bell. Twilight was so surprised that she accidentally dropped it, but Rainbow's quick reflexes saved it from smashing against a rock. She lowered the thing on the ground before anything else would happen to it.

The three of them looked at the device expectantly, as if the ringing would give them all the answers they so desperately wanted. The picture of a field had changed, and there was now more weird marking, numbers and things that Twilight didn’t understand.

“What do we do now?” Twilight asked, nervously hopping in place.

“I don’t know.” Rainbow admitted. “It did the same thing when I found it, but it just stopped after a while.”

“Maybe it’s an alarm clock?” Fluttershy interjected. She had seen the small picture of a clock in one of the corners too earlier.

Rainbow gently nudged the thing with her hoof, but nothing happened.

“Well, how do we turn it off then?” Twilight asked. As if by command, the device went quiet again. The three of them gave each other looks of uncertainty.

“What do we do with it?” Rainbow eventually asked.

“We are going to study it of course.” Twilight replied immediately, the prospect of studying some kind of never seen before device bringing a smile on her muzzle.

“I mean, how does it work? What is its purpose? What else can it do? How was it made? There’s so many questions! It is so sophisticated yet I cannot detect any kind of complex spell work from it you’d expect! Ohh, there’s going to be so many interesting avenues I can explore that- “

“Shouldn’t we return it?” Fluttershy said. Twilight snapped out from her excited rant.

“What?” She blinked at Fluttershy owlishly, as if she had spoken a different language.

“Oh…umm, sh-shouldn’t we return it? I don’t think the creature left it on purpose, it seems like a very important, umm, device. So, it must have dropped it by accident. Oh, it must be worried sick for having lost it.” Fluttershy gently picked the device up from the ground.

“Oh…but, but I…”

“Maybe it’s looking for it even now in the forest. We should return it to where Rainbow found it, if the creature comes looking for it.” Fluttershy said and turned to Twilight with a rare kind of determination on her face.

“But, but…studying…new discoveries…” Twilight tried weakly, but Fluttershy wouldn’t budge.

“Now now Twilight, we can’t just take things that belong to others without permission. I’m sure that if we ask really nicely, we can ask the creature to lend it to us.” She gently placed a hoof on her friend’s shoulder.

“I’m sure you wouldn’t like it either if somepony took one of your books without asking first.” Twilight looked at the mysterious device sadly for a moment before sighing, her ears drooping in disappointment.

“I guess you are right, Fluttershy. I’m just not sure if it will allow us to study its device…”

“I’m sure we can sort it out.” Fluttershy offered an encouraging smile.

“Then what are we waiting for?” Rainbow asked as she took to the sky. “Let’s take this thing back.” She did a couple of lazy loops in the air.

“Yeah…let’s go.” Twilight agreed, not as enthusiastically as her daredevil friend.

“Aww come on Twilight. Maybe if we are lucky, we can return it, hide somewhere and see the creature come pick it up.” Rainbow tried to lift her spirits as she started to lead her friends back to where she had found the device. It didn’t quite manage to make Twilight as excited as moments before, but it did manage to bring a small smile to her face.

********************

The walk to the west edge of the Everfree forest was uneventful, if a bit more enjoyable than walking in the forest itself. At least you could enjoy the sunlight and feel the wind in your mane. The friends passed the time by pondering why the creature would carry an alarm clock with it, if the device was actually that.

Eventually they started to near the place where Rainbow had encountered the creature yesterday.

“I think it was around here somewhere…” She muttered as she flew slightly higher so that she could see around her better. Twilight and Fluttershy took a moment to look around. They were some ways away from Ponyville, and with the trees in the way, they couldn’t even see the town. The Everfree forest seemed to keep on going, the tree line clearly marking where the forest ended and the open fields and hills started. For a brief moment, they wondered if the picture in the device had been of this field during spring.

Suddenly, Rainbow zoomed back down from the sky and pulled them in to a nearby bush without any warning.

“Ack, Rainbow, what are- “ Twilight tried to ask what was wrong before Rainbow quickly jammed her hoof in her mouth.

“Shh!” She shushed and motioned towards further along the tree line. Twilight pulled Rainbows hoof from her mouth, and with a frown, looked what Rainbow was motioning at.

There, amidst the trees, was the creature. Twilights eyes widened, and she glanced towards Fluttershy, who nodded, confirming that it was indeed the one she and Rainbow had seen, before focusing back on the creature. It was walking around with two legs, circling the trees, and looking every which way, clearly looking for something. All three ponies turned to look at the device Fluttershy was holding.

“What do we do now? The creature is already here!” Rainbow whispered.

“Umm, we could just go and umm, give the device to it?” Fluttershy asked unsurely.

“Are you crazy? We can’t just walk to it! We know nothing about it, what if it’s dangerous?” She shot back exasperated.

“Rainbow is right. What if it is angry that we took its possibly very important device? It might never let us study it.” Twilight said and turned to look at what the creature was doing. It was kneeling on the ground, still searching.

“Well maybe we umm…leave the device somewhere where it can find it?”

“I could fly close to it and leave it somewhere easy to see.” Rainbow said and flexed her wings.

“But what if it sees you? There isn’t much to hide in between here and where it is.” Fluttershy noted. There creature was far enough from them that it hadn’t seen or heard their approach, and there wasn’t anything in-between for Rainbow to hide in. And since it was constantly turning around as it searched, it would be difficult for Rainbow to time her flight.

“Well, how about Twilight teleports it next to the creature. Or floats it?” Rainbow asked after a quick look to confirm that it would indeed hard to do this without being noticed.

“Or I could go back and circle closer to the forest so that- “

“What is it doing?” Twilight suddenly asked. Fluttershy and Rainbow turned to look at the creature, who had stopped searching and was holding something. Rainbow narrowed her eyes as she tried to see what it was.

“I don’t know Twi, it seems like it’s doing something with a thing it’s holding…strange, it almost looks like- “

The device sprang back to life in Fluttershys hooves, the gentle, but loud, sounds of a ringing bell filling the air. All three ponies turned toward the device, horror etched on their faces, before turning to look at the creature.

It was staring right at the bush they were hiding in.

Chapter 4 - The terror that is Fluttershy

View Online

“What do we do, what do we do, what do we do?” Twilight whispered to her friends, panic clear in her voice. The creature had started to walk towards their hiding spot as soon as it had heard the device starting to ring. It wouldn’t take it long to reach them with its long stride, and they didn’t have any other place to hide.

“Calm down Twilight!” Rainbow urged her friend quietly, while taking a look at the approaching creature. “If it wants to fight, I’m going to show it that nopony messes with my friends!” She flexed her muscles and took a stance, clearly ready to fight. She didn’t know if the creature was actually a monster or just some weird animal, but it could still attack them, and Rainbow wasn’t going to let it hurt either of her friends.

“Umm, girls?”

“Nonono! We don’t want to fight it! We don’t even know what it can do! You could get hurt!” Twilight’s voice was starting to rise slightly.

“I’m not scared!” Rainbow shot back, her voice too getting heated.

“Umm…girls…?”

“It’s not a question if you are scared or not, I just don’t want anypony hurt!”

“Umm…what if we just-”

“Then what are you saying, Twi? That we just run away?”

“No! I mean…I could just teleport us away and the we could reassess the situation so that we can conclude what’s the best way to proceed!”

“I don’t even know what that means!”

“Girls!” Fluttershy finally said loud enough to catch their attention.

“What?” They half yelled back at her in unison. They both instantly clamped their mouths shut when they remembered the situation they were in. They turned to look at the creature from their hiding spot. It was still some ways away, but it’s speed had slowed to a crawl. It had clearly heard them bickering, and was hesitating on coming any closer.

“Girls, we didn’t come here to fight. We came here to give the creature back the device it lost.” Fluttershy said as she held the thing against her chest. “So, that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to go and give the thing back to it.” She said in a voice that brooked no argument. Both of her friend’s jaws hung open in shock.

“Fluttershy!” They both hissed to try and stop her, but it was too late, as she had already fluttered away from them.

Admittedly, Fluttershy had felt a lot more brave with both of her friends next to her, and as she circled the bush to get face to face with the creature, she felt her courage drain from her. As the creature came in to her view, her hooves started to shake a bit. What had she been thinking, she knew nothing about this creature. Even if her job was to take care of animals, she knew that there were many that were quite dangerous, and could attack a pony if you weren’t careful with them. Maybe it didn’t like to be near ponies and would react badly if she tried to approach it without permission. Maybe it was really shy, and didn’t really interact with ponies, and maybe it would try to run away and-

Fluttershy blinked and stopped, her brain finally registering what was happening in front of her. The creature had stopped, it had even taken a few steps away from her. It had lifted one of its hands in front of it, as if to block her. The creatures whole body was shaking slightly, but the worst was its eyes. They were wide open, fearfully looking around, but quickly snapping back to her again. The realization made Fluttershy feel like bursting to tears.

The creature was afraid of her.

It opened its mouth, as if to say something, but all it could do was take a shaky breath and one more step backwards. The creature looked like it was about to run away in terror. From her. From Fluttershy.

“No…nonono…” She gently whispered and flew a bit closer. The creature took another step backwards.

“No, I’m not going to hurt you.” She tried again, but the creature was starting to hyperventilate. It tore Fluttershy’s heart apart to see any creature so full of fear. She had to think of something fast.

“H-here…” She held the object with her hooves, which had stopped ringing, towards the creature. It looked at the object for a second, before fixing its eyes to her again.

“It’s yours, isn’t it? We came to give it back to you…” She said in the gentlest voice she could muster, and carefully flew even closer. Fluttershy could see sweat forming on its face, its legs were shaking, and its breathing hadn’t gone down at all. But it had stopped moving away from her.

“I don’t want to hurt you…I just want to give this back…” She soothed, and finally, painfully slowly, flew close enough to the creature that it could touch her with its long arms. The creature alternated at staring at her, her wings, or the device she was holding. Fluttershy held her breath, did her absolute best to appear as non-harmful as possible, and waited.

Almost a minute ticked by when the creature finally, with a shaky hand, reached for the device, and gently took it from her hooves. Fluttershy let her hooves fall and flew a tiny bit backward to give the creature space.

The creature looked at its device, caressing it with its hands, as if not believing what was happening. It raised its head and looked at Fluttershy again, its mouth still slightly open. Fluttershy finally took a breath, and offered a small smile to the creature. It just kept staring at her, before giving a nod so small that Fluttershy almost didn’t see it. The creature took few more steps away from her, before kneeling (Fluttershy feared that the creature would fall over, its legs were shaking so much) and then sitting down on the ground.

Fluttershy slowly lowered herself on the ground level too. The creature seemed to be calming down, its breathing was slowing, and since it was sitting, there was no fear of it hurting itself from falling over. Its eyes were still full of fear, never leaving Fluttershy for a long period of time. She kept the smile on her face, and took a few gentle steps closer. It didn’t react to her moving, it just kept dumbly staring at her.

Encouraged by this, she slowly moved next to the creature, and sat down. She took the opportunity to take a better look at the creature. Fluttershy could see, that besides the grayish beard the creature had, that was covering its entire chin and went under its tiny nose too, the creature didn’t seem to have much hair or fur. It had eyelashes and eyebrows, but otherwise it had slightly wrinkly skin. Its eyes were a bit small, and its ears were on both sides of its face. They didn’t seem like they would move much, and the tiny nose didn’t seem particularly effective either, further giving proof that the creature probably foraged its food, and hid from predators with the help of its camouflage.

It was also tall, but not terribly big, like a bear or a minotaur. Fluttershy’s head would reach just past its waist if they both were standing. It had hands similar to minotaurs, but it seemed to wear shoes. It probably had soft feet, she concluded.

Speaking of hands, Fluttershy noticed that one of the creature’s hands was slightly raised towards her, as if to reach out to her. She looked up and saw the hesitant look, which was thankfully less fearful now.

“It’s okay.” Fluttershy said and leaned her head slightly closer. The creature hesitated for a moment longer, before reaching out and gently touching her cheek. Its eyes went wide again, and it pulled the hand back. Why was it so surprised from the touch? As the creature contemplated it, Fluttershy leaned even closer, and nuzzled its hand. It jerked its hand back, but then reached out again and gently rubbed her cheek. Fluttershy giggled quietly and pressed her head against the hand lightly.

The creature looked unsure about what was happening, and it was still shaking slightly, but it was getting better.

“There is nothing to fear.” She soothed. “Nothing bad is going to happen.”

“Fluttershy? Is everything okay?” Came Twilight's voice from behind her.

Oh no, Fluttershy thought as the pleasant moment was shattered. The creature immediately turned its head towards the voice, and its breathing was starting to get faster again. Fluttershy turned and saw both of her friends peeking past the bush, Rainbow floating in the air, wary look on her face, and Twilight half out from her cover.

“Girls, you shouldn’t- “

She stopped as the creature pulled its hand away. It crawled back a bit, before stopping and pointing at Twilight. It said something that Fluttershy didn’t understand, before its eyes rolled back in its head and it promptly passed out. Fluttershy immediately went to its side, quickly followed by Twilight, while Rainbow floated next to the bush, blinking at what had just happened.

“This is the lamest monster I have ever seen.” She muttered, not sure how disappointed she should be, before joining the others.

Chapter 5 - If at first you fail, try, try again

View Online

“I’m so sorry Fluttershy.” Twilight apologized. Her ears were down as she stared the waving grass.

“It’s okay Twilight. You didn’t mean to do it.” Fluttershy responded with just barely noticeable edge in her voice as she fussed around the unconscious creature. “The creature doesn’t seem to be hurt and I’m sure it will be fine once it wakes up.”

Twilight blinked at the sudden sense of déjà-vu, before shaking her head and looking again at the creature resting against a tree. After it had passed out, Fluttershy had quickly made sure it was okay, before giving her and Rainbow both the kind of talking to you’d usually reserve for a foal who had hurt somepony’s feelings and who now needed to apologize. The creature had obviously been scared, and they should have let Fluttershy make sure that the creature was comfortable before showing themselves. Why the creature was so afraid of them, they didn’t know.

After that, she and Fluttershy had carried the creature closer to the forest so that they could put it in a more comfortable position against a tree. Rainbow had flown off towards Ponyville to get some water, for there wasn’t any suitable clouds in the area.

Twilight went some ways away and allowed Fluttershy to look after the creature, while she spent the time examining the device they had found, and the new one the creature had brought with it. They were very similar, although the one the creature had with it this time seemed to be more old and worn. It was smaller and blockier, and she could see that it had numerous scratches, and some of the symbols had faded with use. It had way more buttons on its face than the other one, but Twilight had no idea what they were for. Pressing them caused a smaller section to lit up, just like in the other one, and again there was a picture there. This one was of water, perhaps a lake or the ocean. It wasn’t as good quality as the other one, but it was still something that Twilight thought was incredible. How had the creature gotten the picture there? It seemed like it had been taken with an incredibly tiny camera. And when the device went dark, Twilight couldn’t see anything in the place it had been. Like the picture just disappeared in to nothingness. There was just a smooth, glassy surface.

Eventually, Rainbow returned with a bucket filled with water and a small towel. Fluttershy dipped the towel in the water, squeezed excess water out of it and then gently run it across the creature’s face. Rainbow awkwardly stood there, kicking the dirt, and watching Fluttershy work. Then she noticed something.

“Hey…is that…is that feather one of mine?” She blurted out when she saw the blue feather sticking from the creature’s hat. Fluttershy walked to the other side of the creature to take a look.

“It…it does look like one of your primaries.” She blinked in surprise, before taking the creature’s hat off with her mouth and placing in on the ground.

“It is one of mine! Why is it on its hat?” Rainbow exclaimed. She had noticed that one of her primaries had fallen off, but she didn’t know where she had lost it. Not that it mattered much to her, she wasn’t big on collecting her old primaries like some pegasi were, and a new one would grow back soon enough.

“Well…maybe it umm…maybe it thought that it was pretty?” Fluttershy offered, not really having any other idea why the creature would want to keep one of Rainbow's feathers. Some of her animal friends wanted to keep the feathers she dropped. Cats especially liked to play with them, and birds sometimes took them to their nests.

“P-pretty?” Rainbow stuttered, a small blush making its way on her face. Any pegasus worth their feathers made sure to take good care of their wings, and Rainbow was no different. They were the most important part of their bodies, after all, and you could tell a lot from one’s feathers. While she would have preferred words like “cool” and “awesome”, having her feathers, and by extension, wings, complimented made Rainbow Dash feel good.

“I guess it’s fine then.” She huffed and made her way to Twilight before Fluttershy could notice her blush. Fluttershy watched Rainbow go, her tail swishing happily, and giggled to herself.

********************

Fluttershy stayed near the creature, waiting for it to wake up. They had agreed that it was probably better if Twilight and Rainbow stayed further away, and would only approach when Fluttershy called them.

The creature had stayed unconscious for the better part of an hour, and she was starting to worry a bit. Twilight had suggested on moving it to the Ponyville hospital, but since it had had such a strong reaction to just them, waking up in a totally different place would probably cause it to panic again.

Why was it so afraid of them? Had some pony mistreated it, and it was scared that they would too? Or maybe it hadn’t seen ponies before, and didn’t know they wouldn’t hurt it. Fluttershy vowed to show the creature that it was safe to be with ponies.

A groan snapped Fluttershy out of her musings. She watched the creature slowly come to, lifting its hand to its face and finding the cool towel Fluttershy had left on its forehead to provide relief from the hot sun. It seemed to ponder about the towel for a while, its hand gently moving it around, before it suddenly sat upright, its eyes snapping wide open and quickly focusing on Fluttershy. She flinched a bit from the sudden movement, but then smiled kindly at the creature.

“How are you feeling?” She asked. The creature blinked a few times, before looking around, and eventually settling back to looking at her.

“Are you wondering about my friends? They are over there.” She said and nodded towards further along the tree line. Rainbow was leaning against a tree, her eyes closed, and Twilight had summoned herself a scroll and a quill and was writing furiously. The creature stared towards them for a while, before leaning back against the tree, its gaze directed towards the sky.

Good, it’s not scared anymore, Fluttershy thought as she allowed the creature to get accustomed to her before she would try to get close again. It kept looking at the cloudless sky, while using the towel to brush its face. Fluttershy noted that the creature had a short mane, which had been hidden by the hat earlier. It was also grayish like its beard, and Fluttershy wondered if the creature was getting old, or if it was a natural look for it.

After a while, the creature turned to look towards Fluttershy again, who kept smiling to it. Then the creature seemed to blush, and it rubbed its neck awkwardly. Fluttershy got up, and since the creature didn’t react to it, she walked next to it and sat down again. The creature followed her with its gaze, but now it was filled with curiosity rather than fear. She nudged the water bucket that it hadn’t seemed to notice yet.

“Here’s water, if you want some.” She said. The creature looked at the bucket, and with a small smile, took some water on the palms of its hands and splashed it across its face. It did this a few times more, before drying itself (mostly) with the towel. They lapsed into silence again, Fluttershy looking across the fields, while the creature seemed to be studying her with its gaze. Had it really not seen a pony before? Or perhaps it had only seen earth ponies before, it seemed to be mostly interested in her wings.

The creature's hand gently lowered on her head, and Fluttershy almost giggled when it started to pet her. She closed her eyes, and leaned in closer. Fluttershy was often the one who was doing the petting, and she had to admit, it was nice being the one being petted for a change.

I wonder what the creature is thinking. Is it feeling nervous, is it happy, is it trying to calm itself by petting me. Different thoughts drifted in Fluttershy’s head as the pair sat there, Fluttershy being in no hurry to stop the petting. Eventually, though, the creature seemed to be done with its ministrations. It pulled its hand away, and carefully stood up. Twilight noticed that the creature was awake, and gently poked Rainbow awake. Fluttershy looked up and met the creature’s eyes.

“Do you want to meet my friends?” She asked, and motioned towards her friends. The creature looked at Twilight, who was shyly waving her hoof back. It looked back at Fluttershy, who had taken the bucket and the towel, and placed them on her back. It smiled, and together they walked to where Twilight and Rainbow were.

“Hey Fluttershy. So, how’s the big creature doing?” Rainbow asked as they came close enough to talk.

“It seems to be doing fine.” Fluttershy said back. “It has calmed down, and doesn’t seem to be afraid of us anymore.”

“Heh, that’s Fluttershy for you, able to make friends with any sort of creature.” Rainbow said and nudged Twilight.

“That’s wonderful Fluttershy.” Twilight said and smiled at the creature, who gave an unsure smile back.

“So, what do we do with it now?” Rainbow asked as she flapped her wings and hovered a few meters in the air. “Do we just give it its things back and send it back in to the forest?”

“I guess so.” Twilight replied. “That’s what we came to do, isn’t it?” She looked at Fluttershy for confirmation.

Fluttershy nodded, sad by the prospect that the creature would leave just as they became friends, but happy that they at least managed to accomplish what they set out to do. Twilight turned towards the two devices she had been studying, and with a quick burst of magic from her horn, brought them infront of the creature. The creature's jaw hung open as it watched the floating objects with wide eyes full of surprise. The ponies glanced at each other, unsure of its reaction.

“Umm, they are yours.” Fluttershy tried when the creature didn’t seem to take them. It alternated at looking the devices, and Twilight's glowing horn.

“Has it not seen unicorn magic before?” Twilight asked.

“Perhaps that’s why it fainted when it saw you earlier?” Rainbow added and poked the devices to show that it was safe to touch them. The creature brought its hands under the floating objects, and Twilight lowered them down.

“But if it didn’t know I could do magic, why would it be scared?”

“Maybe it…uhh…maybe…look, I’m not the animal expert here.” Rainbow huffed and crossed her forelegs.

“I don’t think it has seen many ponies before. I noticed that it kept looking at my wings a lot too.” Fluttershy said.

“Weird…” Twilight muttered and picked up her quill and scroll and started writing again. The creature blinked owlishly at Twilight. It put the devices in a pocket on its pants.

“So it hasn’t seen ponies before and got scared of us. Maybe it is some sort of super rare creature that lives deep in the Everfree?” Rainbow asked and flew closer to be face to face with the creature. It leaned back slightly.

“That is a possibility, yes. Although I have to wonder, why would it leave its home if that is the case? If this species lives so deep in the Everfree that nopony has ever seen one before, and there isn’t any recording of such a creature anywhere, why is it here?” Twilight pondered, a hoof on her chin. The creature seemed to find this amusing, if the smile was of any indication.

“Perhaps it’s lost?” Fluttershy said.

“Can’t you talk to it and ask?” Rainbow said as it was her turn to lean away. The creature was studying her rainbow-colored mane with curious eyes and it was making her a bit uncomfortable.

“It hasn’t really…said anything. I’m not even sure if it understands when I talk to it.” She said, feeling a bit dejected.

“But I thought you could talk to all animals?” Rainbow pressed her snout against the creature’s nose and frowned, causing it to lean back again. Twilight giggled at the tuck of war that they were doing.

“Not all animals. There are some that I can’t talk to, and with them, it’s the tone of your voice that matters more than the words you use.” Fluttershy also smiled at what they were doing. The creature broke eye contact with Rainbow and took a step back, rubbing its neck again. Rainbow smiled triumphantly, pleased in her small victory.

“Sooooo…we have no way to communicate with it?” Twilight surmised, her ears drooping.

“I wouldn’t say that.” Fluttershy said, and smiled at the creature, who returned the smile.

“It doesn’t seem like a dumb animal to me.” Rainbow said and held out a hoof to see if it would bump it. The creature looked at her hoof for a moment, before grabbing it with one hand and shaking it.

“I take that back.” She said with a snicker.

“Are you going to send a letter to the princesses?” Fluttershy asked Twilight.

“Yes. This is, after all, an unknown creature we are talking about.” Twilight said and motioned towards the creature. “If nothing else, we need to record everything we know about it, so that if somepony else ever meets one, there is atleast something, somewhere about it.”

“Oh. I guess you are right Twilight.” Fluttershy said, suddenly feeling a bit more excited. She hadn’t really thought about it before. They had possibly found an entirely new species, and Fluttershy was the first pony to ever befriend one. It made her heart soar with pride.

“Well, if we are done here, how about we head back to Ponyville?” Rainbow interjected with a yawn. “All this thinking is making me tired.” Twilight turned towards her with a deadpan look.

“Rainbow, you napped the entire time we waited for the creature to wake up.”

“So? I need my energy to do practice later.” Rainbow said and did a loose loop up in the air and a quick corkscrew back down. The creature seemed to be impressed.

“And besides, I haven’t eaten anything in a while. I’m hungry.” She continued, rubbing her belly. Twilight's own stomach let loose few noises too, indicating its opinion in the matter.

“I suppose we should head back.” She admitted. Fluttershy seemed to be torn about the matter, which Twilight noticed quickly.

“I’m sure that we’ll meet the creature again later, if it likes to forage around here. We can come here looking for it tomorrow again.” She said with a smile.

“Okay…you’re right, I need to check on my animal friends too…” She said sadly, and turned towards the creature. It seemed to be confused by what was going on.

“We need to go now.” She said and nuzzled its stomach. “But we’ll come here again tomorrow, so hopefully we’ll see you here again.” She said and took a few steps back. The creature blinked a few times and tilted its head, clearly not understanding what she had said.

The ponies took a few more steps away from it, and waved their hoofs, indicating that they were going now. The creature seemed to understand this, and waved its own hand at them. But before the ponies could turn to leave, it snapped its fingers, and took the hat from its head. It took the blue feather that was attached to it, and offered it to Rainbow.

“Aww, it’s okay big guy, you can keep it.” She said, and gently pushed the hand back. The creature looked at the feather, and smiled brightly at them.

With that, the ponies waved one more time, and departed back towards their hometown.

And great galloping galoshes did they have a story to tell.

Interlude - Penpals

View Online

Dear Princess Celestia,
I write you today for a slightly different reason than my usual reports about friendship. Today, I, together with my friends Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, have encountered a creature that I believe to be of a previously undiscovered species. I have looked through every book I could get my hooves on, and I have found nothing. Even when I visited in Canterlot last week, I couldn’t find anything in the Royal Archives (I’m sorry I didn’t have time to come and say hello to you and Princess Luna, I spend most of the time with my parents).
This creature was first encountered by Fluttershy several weeks ago, when she was helping animals in the Everfree forest. She crossed paths with it, and ran away from it before it could see her. We had initially thought it to be a monster from the Everfree forest, or possibly a minotaur for its shape and the use of camouflage clothes. Rainbow observed the same creature yesterday, when it had been foraging for food near the west edge of the forest. The creature carried with it a very strange device that Rainbow found today, and brought to us for examination.
This device appears to be extremely sophisticated, although I do not know its purpose. It is able to produce sound, and when activated, it displays a picture of scenery. There are also numerous symbols on display, some of which I believe to be letters for a language that the creature uses. Again, even through all my research, I have found nothing pertaining to this language, or the symbols. Few of the symbols appeared to be something easily understood, like one that depicted an alarm clock, but the others were more abstract, and most likely have more meaning to the creature itself. I also did not detect any magic signatures from the device, indicating that it does not function through arcane methods, which in on itself is extremely baffling.
After a brief examination, we concluded that we should return the device to where Rainbow had found it, in case the creature came looking for it. The creature, however, was already there when we arrived. We initially hid from it, but it did notice us, and Fluttershy went to meet it. Its reaction was that of fear, and it seemed like it was about to run away from her, but Fluttershy managed to calm it down. However, due to my own poor judgement, I thought it would be fine to come out of hiding with Rainbow. The creature fainted after seeing us.
We allowed Fluttershy to tend to the creature, while I concluded my study on the device, and another similar one that it had, as best as I could, not finding anything new. Fluttershy stayed near the creature while waiting for it to wake up, while Rainbow and I stayed further away so that we didn’t scare it again. After it woke up, Fluttershy managed to befriend it. It didn’t seem to be scared of us anymore after that, approaching us and interacting with Rainbow. After we had given its device back to it, we returned to Ponyville.
We are planning on going back tomorrow, hopefully meeting it again. I would, however, like to ask for your advice before that. I find it unlikely that there has not been any contact with this kind of creature before. It seems to be more than just a simple animal, as indicated by the device it carries and the possibility of a written language. It is possible, however, that it has simply found the device from somewhere, and it wasn’t the one that made it. It also seemed to understand us in some level, responding to us as we waved to it.
Regardless, we should record everything we can about it for the Royal Canterlot Foundation of Plants and Wildlife, in case anypony else encounters such a creature. How should we proceed in this matter? I have written everything I know about the creature and its device on the accompanying scroll.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle

********************

My most faithful student,
It is good to hear from you again. It always brightens my day when I receive a letter from you, even one as formal as this.
I wish you would have come to meet me before diving in to the Royal Archives, I would have joined you in your research. You know I always have time to meet you, even on a busy day.
I have asked my sister, but neither of us can offer you any more insight on the matter, unfortunately. This creature you have met does seem to have numerous similarities to minotaurs, as you mentioned in your report, but it is as strange to us as it is to you. It is entirely possible, that if this species lives in the deeper parts of Everfree, as per your hypothesis, they have managed to avoid any contact with ponies up to this point. The device that you saw would even indicate a level of civilization, if it truly belongs to it.
If you wish to pursue studying this creature, then I will leave the matter in your capable hooves, Twilight. You are one of the brightest ponies I have ever encountered, and with the help of your friend, I’m sure the two of you can accomplish this task. I would, however, advice against trying to find more of its kind in the Everfree. If this species is as reclusive as it seems, we might cause them harm if we try to find them. Not to mention all the dangers that Everfree possesses. If you must enter the forest, please do not do so alone.
I will eagerly await your next report.
Your mentor and friend,
Celestia

Chapter 6 - Friends and family

View Online

“Aww come on Twilight, cheer up.” Pinkie Pie said as she placed a cup of hot cocoa infront of Twilight. Twilight sighed as she pulled the cup closer.

“I’m sorry Pinkie, I was just so looking forward to seeing the creature again today…and then this had to happen…” She grumbled as she watched the rain hit the window next to her. She was sitting in Sugarcube Corner, waiting for hours to go by. She was unable to stay in her library any longer, else she might go crazy. Usually she would have loved to listen to the rain in her tree home and read a book, but not today.

“It’s okay Twilight. I mean, who would have thought that just when you were about to go to the place where you met the creature, a huge storm would blow from the Everfree right in to Ponyville.” Pinkie said over her shoulder as she went to serve the other ponies. With the unscheduled storm outside, many ponies had come to Sugarcube Corner, seeking shelter from the water and the wind, after making sure that everything important was either covered or stashed away safely.

“Hmph.” Was Twilight's response as she took a sip from her drink of hot cocoa with whipped cream and marshmallows.

With the storm raging outside, there was no reason to go out in to the fields to look for the creature. It was most likely staying in whatever place it called home, and wouldn’t come out until well after the storm. And with her brain too preoccupied by the creature, she couldn’t focus on doing anything else today either, which vexed her greatly. All she could do, was to let the hours tick by, and wait for tomorrow.

********************

“Come on Thunderlane! Put your back in to it!” Rainbow yelled over the sound of rushing wind and water.

“Yes ugh…Yes ma’am!” He yelled back as he wrestled with the rain clouds.

The Ponyville weather team had been in the sky from the moment the storm had reared its ugly head, trying in vain to halt it. This was a storm from the Everfree, and they all knew that their chances of actually stopping it were slim at best. What they could do, instead, was to make sure that it wouldn’t turn in to a thunder storm. With the last few hot days they had had, it was a real danger, and combined with how wild an Everfree storm could get, something like that would definitely wreak havoc in Ponyville.

But not if Rainbow Dash had any say in the matter.

“Come on everypony, just a bit more and I think we are set!” Rainbow yelled again, and a chorus of cheers rang from the weather ponies.

The storm had lost some of its edge by now, and with ponies busting up any charges before they could form in to lightning bolts, the danger eventually subsided. With the storm prevented from escalating from merely annoying to possibly dangerous, the weather ponies pulled back and congratulated themselves for a job well done. Some wanted to get to their homes to get out of the rain and warm up, while others decided to head for Sugarcube Corner for hot cocoa, or Tipsy’s Tavern for some well-earned cider instead.

Usually, Rainbow would have been all over the idea to have a few mugs of cider with her pals, but being completely soaked, cold and tired made her want to curl up somewhere warm and just go to sleep instead.

“Sorry guys, but I think I’m gonna pass it for today.” She said as they made their way back towards Ponyville proper. “Kicking so much flank has tired me out.” She would have yawned, but the rain would have filled her mouth with water.

“Yeah, can’t keep our boss from her nap time, she might stay awake more than half a day otherwise.” Thunderlane joked good-heartedly. The ponies gave a light laugh, many of them aware of Rainbow’s tendency to nap often.

“Hmph, you are lucky you are cute.” Rainbow said with a devilish smirk as she zoomed past him and gave his behind a small smack with her tail. Thunderlane blushed and coughed awkwardly, while the weather ponies’ laughter grew. As they came in to Ponyville, Rainbow waved goodbye and veered off from the rest of them. At first, she headed for her home, but soon changed her course more west, towards Sweet Apple Acres instead. It was closer than her home, and with the rain preventing Applejack from working, maybe she could spend some time with her and she’d allow Rainbow to wait the rain out in their guest room. Maybe she would even arrive in time for a free lunch, too.

As she flew towards Applejack’s home, Rainbow noticed something moving near towards the Everfree. She had almost missed it, with the rain reducing visibility, but the bright colors made it stand out. Something yellow with a blue thing was moving vaguely towards Ponyville/Sweet Apple Acres. Almost like a huge mushroom had decided to start moving around.

“What the…?” She muttered before altering her course again to see what it was. As she came closer, she saw that the blue thing was actually an umbrella.

Who the hay is out in this weather? She thought, but it soon became clear to her as she realized how big the creature was.

“No way…” With a burst of speed, she lowered closer to the ground, and flew next to the creature.

“You? What are you doing out here in this weather?” She exclaimed as she hovered next to it. There stood the creature, with a pleasant smile on its face, as if it didn’t have any cares in the world. It was wearing a yellow raincoat and a hat, it had long rainboots on its feet and the blue umbrella on its hand. It waved at her, not reacting to Rainbow’s words. Rainbow reflexively waved back, before she caught herself and frowned at the creature instead.

“No! Don’t just greet my like nothing’s wrong!” She said with a slightly frustrated voice and slapped (very gently) the creature’s hand down. “Why are you out here in a storm? Shouldn’t you be at…wherever it is that you stay at, taking shelter from the rain?” She asked. The creature blinked a couple of times, before bringing its free hand to its chin, as if to contemplate what she had said.

Oh of course, it can’t understand a word I’m saying, Rainbow though. And now it’s giving me a look like I’m the weird one here.

The creature rubbed its chin for a while, before giving her a small, kind smile and bringing the umbrella over her, protecting her from the rain.

“Thanks for the effort, but it’s a little bit too late for that.” She quipped with a deadpan look. The creature’s smile seemed to widen slightly. It pointed at Rainbow with its hand, before waving around and raising one eyebrow.

“What…?” Rainbow looked at the creature, who seemed to expect her to say something. What was with the waving? Was it trying to ask her something?

“Wait wait, hold on a second.” She lifted one hoof to stop the creature from saying anything as she tried to wrack her brain.
It pointed at me, then the scenery, and one eyebrow rose, as if it had asked a question. Hmm…me, scenery, question...

The creature waved its hand again, and then pointed down where it stood.

Me, scenery, question, here…uhhh…me...question…here…me, here, que-

“Are you asking why I’m here?” Rainbow blurted out as it hit her what the creature had asked. Its smile widened even more.

“Why am I here?!? I’m the one who’s asking-…!” Rainbow stopped, threw her hooves in the air and groaned in frustration. When she looked back at the creature, it atleast had the decency to look slightly embarrassed. She gave the creature the most unamused look she could muster.

“You are like a lost puppy, you know...” She said. The creature tilted its head slightly, still smiling with its pleasant smile. “…and I’m not good with those. It’s more of Fluttershy’s job.” They looked at each other for a while, the rain continuing to fall around them. Rainbow snorted and rolled her eyes.

“Horseapples…I was going to go see my friend Applejack. Do you want to come with me?” She said and nodded towards the approximate direction of Sweet Apple Acres. The creature perked up, and held its free hand towards the direction Rainbow had nodded. The message was rather clear.

Lead the way.

Rainbow gave another snort, and started to slowly fly towards Sweet Apple Acres. The creature took a few hurried steps after her, holding the umbrella for her. Rainbow noticed that the umbrella did not entirely cover the creature, but it didn’t seem to mind it at all.

“…You are a dork...” She said, as the duo made their way in the rain.

********************

Applejack was setting the plates on the table, when there was a sudden knock on their front door.

“Who in tarnation is out and about in this weather?” She said to herself, and left Big Mac to setting the rest of the table as she made her way to the door. On her way, she looked out of the window. It was still raining heavily, and it probably wouldn’t let up for another couple of hours. Applejack opened the door, and saw Rainbow Dash trying to shake any possible water out of her. She was about to ask what the soaking wet pegasus was doing here in this kind of weather, when she noticed the much larger thing behind her. Her eyes climbed up the yellow thing. She took a step back and fell on her rump when she finally reached the pair of friendly looking eyes staring back at her.

“Wha…” She muttered.

“Hey AJ, sorry for coming to visit so suddenly. Can we come in?” Rainbow asked as she tried desperately to shake the water out of her wings.

“Wha…What’s that?” she asked and pointed at the creature.

“Oh, it’s the Everfree creature. You know, the one we talked about yesterday?”

“This is…? Why’s it here?” Applejack asked after she finally got up again.

“I dunno. I found it walking in the rain, and since I was going to visit you anyway, I decided to bring it along.”

“Bring it along? Here?”

“Well I couldn’t just leave it standing in the rain. Can we come in or not?”

“Oh, my bad.” Applejack said and moved out of the way. The creature hesitated outside the door.

“Don’t just stand there, come on it.” Rainbow said and motioned with her wing. The creature gingerly stepped in, having to crouch slightly. It took off its raincoat, hat, and boots, and left them outside on the porch where they would still be covered from the rain. Applejack noticed a blue umbrella as well.

“Can I have some towels?” Rainbow asked, dripping water everywhere.

“Uh, yeah, sure.” Applejack said and left to get some towels.

“Applejack? Who was at the door?” Applebloom’s voice came from the kitchen as she walked past it.

“It was…uh, Rainbow…and her friend…” Applejack responded in daze.

“Her friend? Who is it?”

“It’s uhh…j-just add a few more plates on the table, would you sugarcube?” She said and continued on her way before Applebloom could ask anything more. After getting the towels, she returned to Rainbow and the creature, who were still standing in the same place. The creature was looking around, clearly curious about everything it saw, and seemed to be restraining itself to not touch anything.

“Thanks AJ. Whoo, that storm sure is something.” Rainbow chatted as she begun to dry herself.

“Yeah…so why were you in the rain in the first place?” Applejack asked, keeping her eyes on the creature, who was fidgeting where it stood.

“Well, me and the weather team had been up there to make sure that the storm didn’t get any worse. It’s fine now, there is no chance for it to turn in to a thunder storm anymore. I wanted to head home after we finished, but I decided to come here instead, because it's closer. Saw the big guy on the way, and here we are." Rainbow finished and bumped the creature a bit.

“Uhhuh.”

“And I think I smell something delicious.” Rainbow added, taking a sniff of the air, before turning towards Applejack. Her disheveled mane, matted fur, and wings in a desperate need of preening made her a pitiful sight. The puppydog eyes weren’t helping either. Applejack rolled her eyes.

“Rainbow, you know you are always welcome here. There’s no need for that.”

“Thanks AJ, you’re the best!”

“What about this fellow here?” Applejack asked and looked at the creature, who shyly smiled back.

“I don’t know if it is hungry or not.” Rainbow said and poked the creature to get its attention. She made a show of sniffing the air and rubbing her belly. The creature brought its hands up, shaking its head, unsure.

“It seems to be a bit on the shy side.” Applejack commented.

“You are telling me.” Rainbow said and tried to use her wing to push the creature’s leg forward. It took a few awkward steps before stopping again.

“If the critter wants to join us on the table, I ain’t got anything against it, I guess. I reckon it can decide if it wants to come on its own.” Applejack said and went back to the dining room. Rainbow looked at the creature, before shrugging and following Applejack.

“Hey there Rainbow.” Applebloom greeted her as she stepped in.

“Heyja Applebloom. Have you and the Crusaders remembered to not get in to trouble?”

“Ofcourse. Are you gonna join us for lunch?”

“Yup.”

“Is your friend gonna join us too?”

“If it ever gets its lazy rump here, sure.”

“It?” Applebloom blinked, and nearly shrieked when the creature peeked in.

“W-w-w-what’s that?”

“It’s okay Applebloom, it’s not going to hurt you. Me, Twilight and Fluttershy found this creature yesterday. Apparently, it’s some kind of super-secret creature from the Everfree forest, because Twilight couldn’t find anything about it in any of her books.”

“Really?” Applebloom asked, unsure if Rainbow was trying to prank her or not.

“Yeah. I found it walking in the rain as I was coming here. I couldn’t just leave it there, so I brought it here with me.”

Big Mac was eyeing the creature with his trade mark neutral look, who was standing half hidden behind the doorframe. Rainbow rolled her eyes, walked behind the creature, and started pushing it in to the room with her head. The creature took a step in to the room, awkwardly rubbing its neck and waving its other hand. Applebloom studied the creature for a while.

“It’s from the Everfree? I thought only monsters lived in the Everfree. Besides Zecora.”

“Well, this creature is as far away from a monster as you can get. When we first met it, it fainted after seeing us.”

“What? No way.”

“Yeah it did. We had to let Fluttershy deal with it alone because it was so afraid of us.” Rainbow sat down on the opposite side of the table from Big Mac and motioned the creature to sit at the end of the table next to her. The creature hesitantly sat down, slightly closer to Rainbow than Big Mac. Applebloom looked at the creature fidget nervously.

“Well, if it is scared of us, then we need to show it that we are not going to hurt it.” She said and walked next to the creature, who was looking at her. She lifted her hoof in greetings.

“Hi there, I’m Applebloom.” She said. The creature grabbed her hoof and shook it, even managing a small smile.

“Oh, I don’t think it understands our language.” Rainbow said. The creature looked over to Big Mac, who nodded, and it nodded back.

“Oh. Well that’s a bummer.” Applebloom said. “So, is it like one of Fluttershy’s animal friends or something?”

“Something like that.” Rainbow shrugged, not really knowing what else to say.

“Now who is this here young’un?” Came Granny Smith’s voice from the kitchen doorway.

Rainbow explained for the third time what the creature was, while Granny Smith kept looking at it with a critical eye.

“Well, I don’t see no reason to turn down a guest. If this critter of yours can behave, it can stay.” She declared. After that, Applejack and Big Mac started to carry all the food to the table. They brought in a cooking cauldron full of vegetable soup, bread, strawberry jam, apple juice and an apple pie for dessert. The items got passed around until everypony had enough on their plates. Even the creature, after some hesitation, and coaxing from Applebloom, took some food. As the ponies started to eat, the creature stared as the ponies held spoons in their hooves with no effort what so ever. It blinked a few times, shook its head, and begun to eat too.

As with all of Granny Smith’s cooking, the food was absolutely delicious. When the ponies started to chat with themselves, Rainbow asking how was the farm doing, and Applebloom asking if Rainbow had done any tricks lately, the creature was mostly content on sitting there, listening, it’s food forgotten. It had a wistful smile on its face, something that didn’t go past Granny Smith.

After everypony had eaten their own share of food, and started to collect the dirty dishes, the creature got up and motioned for them. It clearly wanted to help.

“If it wants to help, let it.” Was Granny’s response. They allowed the creature to gather all the dishes and carry them to the kitchen, where it started to wash them in the sink. Rainbow and Applejack looked at each other.

“Hey, if it wants to do it, I’m not going to stop it.” Rainbow said and made her way to the living room, with Applejack in tow.

********************

The rest of the day was spent mostly in silence. Rainbow had asked if she could stay in the guest room until the rain stopped, and had almost immediately fallen asleep as she got on to the bed. A slight snoring sound could be heard if one listened closely enough. Applejack was content on sitting on the couch and reading a book, a rare pleasure she only allowed herself to do when there wasn’t any work for her. Big Mac had also gone to his room to rest, for there would be much work to do, if not today, then tomorrow. Granny Smith was sitting in a rocking chair, sewing. Applebloom was laying on the floor, doing her homework, and the creature was watching her do said homework. It seemed to have equal amount of trouble understanding it as Applebloom.

After a while, Granny Smith got up from her chair, and made her way out of the room. She returned shortly after, carrying with her a heavy book. She got on to the couch next to Applejack, and with clopping her hooves together to get the creature's attention, patted the spot on her other side. The creature, slightly unsure, got up and carefully sat down next to her, afraid that its weight would break the couch. Granny Smith opened the book, which was their family album. Applejack placed a bookmark on the page she had been reading, and closed her book. Even Applebloom had stopped her homework and had made her way on the couch. With the creature taking so much space, she had to sit on its lap to be able to see the book. The creature didn’t seem to mind this in the least.

Granny Smith started to show them photographs, everything from her younger days to today, telling stories on why each picture was taken and when. The sisters listened to her every word, finding the tales she told captivating, even if they had heard some of them before. The creature on the other hoof, was closely examining each picture. It had taken out small reading glasses from the pocket of its shirt. Even if it could not understand the words she was telling, it still enjoyed watching the photographs.

********************

As Granny Smith closed the book, all the ponies and the creature blinked owlishly when they looked outside the window at the rays of sunlight, peeking through the clouds. The rain had stopped. None of them had noticed, each too absorbed in the old album in their own way. Applejack got up and went to wake up Rainbow. Rainbow yawned and stretched her limbs as she entered the living room again with Applejack.

“Oh Lunas stars finally.” Her exclaimed as her bones made satisfying popping sounds. “I thought the rain would never let up.”

“And if it hadn’t, you could have continued to sleep all day.” Applejack responded with a smile. Rainbow frowned at her.

The creature had gone outside to smell the clear air after a rain with Granny Smith and Applebloom following after it.

“Woah. Are these your clothes?” Applebloom asked as she studied the raincoat. “It’s so big I could probably use it as a tent!”

Rainbow stepped outside and immediately zoomed in to the sky, stretching her wings. She landed shortly after, when she realized the shape her feathers were in, and started preening. The creature gave a quiet chortle, before starting to put its boots and raincoat back on.

“Aww. Are you leaving?” Applebloom asked. The creature must have picked up on her disappointed tone, as it gave her a smile and patted her head.

“Now now Applebloom, I’m sure this creature here has lots to do. And so have we, now that the rain’s gone.” Granny Smith said.

After the creature had its clothes back on, it stepped out of the porch and looked around. Since the rain was not obstructing its view, it could look around the Sweet Apple Acres for the first time. It was smiling as it looked at all the fields, the rows upon rows of apple trees and the barns.

“You are always welcome here, young’un.” Granny Smith said to it as its gaze locked to them again. Perhaps it had understood what she wanted to say, as its smile widened and it bowed its head. Rainbow, finished doing a quick preening, floated next to the creature.

“You going to take it back to Everfree?” Applejack asked from the doorway.

“I don’t know if that’s where it is headed. If it goes to Ponyville, I guess I could take it to see Fluttershy and Twilight. I bet they are dying to see it again.”

“Well, y’all take care then.” She said as she and her family each waved a hoof.

“Thanks for the amazing food. And the bed.” Rainbow said and waved back together with the creature. They turned around and started to make their way out of Sweet Apple Acres.

The Apple family watched them go, and when they were gone, started to do their normal chores again. Each felt their spirits a bit more lifted than during the rain.

Chapter 7 - Old fashion, new fashion (Edited)

View Online

“I still can’t believe you didn’t come and get us.” Twilight muttered as she, Rainbow, Spike, and Rarity made their way along the edge of the Everfree forest.

“Look, I already said I’m sorry Twilight.” Rainbow said exasperated as she floated along. “After we left Sweet Apple Acres, the big guys thingy started ringing again and it went back in to the forest. Maybe it had something it needed to do.”

“Twilight, darling, you are getting way too worked up about this. You need to relax, the creature is not going anywhere…erm, so to speak. I’m sure you will have plenty of time to study it.” Rarity said from behind them.

“Yeah Twilight, Celestia didn’t give you any time limits for your report on this creature, so we can take as long as we want.” Spike added.

“I know…” Twilight said, her ears folding back.

“Chill out Twilight, we’ll crack all the secrets the big guy has in no time!” Rainbow encouraged her as she saw the ears.

“Talking about cracking secrets, shouldn’t Fluttershy come with us too? I’m sure we could use her expertise on this matter.” Rarity asked after a while.

“She had to look after her animal friends, she’ll join us later.” Twilight replied.

The four of them continued their walk in silence after that. It was late morning, the sun was shining warmly again, but there were still many signs of yesterday’s storm. The ground was mostly dry, but puddles had formed in many places. Twigs and branches were strewn across the landscape, and there was even a tree that had tipped over from its precarious position downhill.

After a few more minutes of walking, they found the place where Twilight, Rainbow and Fluttershy had met the creature two days ago.

“So…are we just going to wait here for the creature?” Spike asked.

“Yes.” Was Twilight’s reply, as she set her saddlebags down.

“Really?” Spike said in full deadpan.

“Well, we don’t really know where the creature lives. We just know it’s somewhere in the Everfree, most likely. That is where it seems to go back to, after all. We also don’t have any way to know when it is going to come and go.”

“But if we don’t know when it is going to come here, we could sit here all day waiting for it.”

“If the creature is willing to come here in the middle of a storm, I’m sure it will come here on such a lovely day as today, too.” Rarity piped up as she levitated a picnic blanket from the basket she had been carrying. “And don’t you worry, Spikey dear. I’ve prepared us a lovely picnic while we wait for the creature.”

“I’m surprised that you were so eager to come all the way here to meet the creature, Rarity.” Rainbow said as she landed next to her.

“Oh but of course! Ever since you mentioned that the creature likes to wear clothes, I’ve been dying to see what kind of fashion it is interested in. Maybe it’ll even give me some new ideas!” Rarity exclaimed happily as she set out to put the picnic together.

Twilight and Rainbow both stopped, and looked at each other. They both turned away awkwardly, neither having the heart to tell Rarity that the clothes the creature wore weren’t exactly at the top of fashion.

With the picnic set, the ponies and the dragon sat down to enjoy the weather and the treats Rarity had brought. There were daffodil sandwiches, fresh fruit, several different pastries from Sugarcube Corner and even a couple of gems for Spike.

After getting their bellies full, each one of them focused on their own way to pass time. Rainbow had immediately decided to take a nap, and flew to the sky to find a cloud. Spike followed her example, and propped himself against Twilight as she laid down and took to reading. Rarity took out parchment and started planning out her next line of fashion.

********************

An hour later, Twilight’s ears twitched as she heard a rustling noise come from the forest. The creature slowly emerged from behind the trees, wearing the same camouflage clothes as last time (minus the hat), a smile forming on its face it spotted her and Spike. Rarity had left a bit earlier when she got an idea for a dress, and wanted to find some flowers.

“Spike, wake up.” Twilight gently nosed the little dragons head to wake him up. He let out a massive yawn and stretched his limbs.

“W-w-what time is it?” Spike asked as he got up.

“It’s around noon. The creature showed up.”

Spikes mouth clicked shut and he spun around towards the forest. The creature stopped, and they both stared at each other with curious eyes.

“Wow you are tall.” Spike commented and walked towards the creature, who kneeled down.

“Hi there, my name is Spike, I’m Twilight’s number one assistant!” He said and extended his claw. The creature responded with a strange sound and shook it.

“What was that? Was that your name or something?” Spike blinked.

“I don’t think it speaks Equestrian Common, Spike.”

“Oh yeah…but it did say something back, right?”

“Maybe? If it was a language, it wasn’t anything I’ve ever heard of.” Twilight’s face scrunched up as she thought about it. “Then again, I didn’t recognize any of the markings in its device either, and they looked something like a language. Hmm…”

“What are we going to do now that the creature is here?” Spike asked and walked back to the picnic blanket with the creature right behind him.

“Well, Spike, I was planning on taking it back to the library with us, so that I could run some tests on it and take some measurements. Like its height, weight and such.”

“Why?”

“Because it is of an unknown species, Spike. Nopony knows anything about it, we need to record everything we can about it so that other ponies can read up on it if they meet another creature like it.”

“I guess that makes sense.” Spike scratched his head. The creature had found the scrolls that Rarity had been drawing on, and was examining them with interest. “So are you going to write a book about it?”

“No.” Twilight chuckled. “As much as I would like to do something like that, I don’t think this one species warrants an entire book.” She turned head towards the sky and scanned the nearby clouds.

“Rainboooow? Rainbow!” Twilight yelled. The creature also turned its head up to see what Twilight was yelling at. “Do you know which cloud she was napping on, Spike?”

“Umm…” Spike looked up and shielded his eyes with one claw as he looked around. “There, on that cloud!” He said and pointed at one of them.

Twilight and the creature turned to look where Spike was pointing at and sure enough, if you squinted and looked really hard, you could see a rainbow tail poking out from the clouds.

“RAINBOW!” Twilight hollered even louder. For a moment, nothing happened, but then the tail disappeared in to the cloud, and a sleepy eyed pegasus peered down at them. Rainbow rubbed her eyes before taking flight and floating down to them.

“Oh..." Rainbow yawned. "...big guy is finally here.” She said as she landed and started to stretch her muscles. The creature just stared at her for a moment, before snorting to itself in amusement.

“And what are you laughing at?” She challenged the creature with a stern stare. Her act was broken when she let out another yawn. The creature just smiled and patter her head.

“Why do you keep calling it ‘big guy’?” Spike asked.

“Eh, it just kinda stuck with me when I first thought about it. And it’s pretty accurate too.” She said and pointed at the creature. “It’s big and it looks like a stallion with its beard and all.”

“You mean male, not stallion.” Twilight corrected. “And just because it has a beard doesn’t mean it’s a male.”

“Of course it does. Mares don’t have beards.” Rainbow said with one eyebrow cocked.

“Mares, no. But some females of other species do.”

“What? No way. You are pulling my leg.”

“Have you ever heard of trolls?” Twilight asked. Both Spike and Rainbow shook their heads.

“I’m not surprised, they don’t usually live in Equestria, but they are native in some parts of where the griffins live.”

“And their…mares have beards?” Spike asked. Twilight grimaced.

“What I have read about them, and seen some…artistic renditions of them, apparently, the members of their species are very…hairy.” She said and shuddered. Rainbow and Spike tried to imagine what a troll would look like. None of the images were particularly pleasant.

“Well, I don’t want to call this doofus ‘it’ all the time, so I’m going to stick with big guy.” Rainbow said and held her hoof for the creature to bump, who just grabbed and shook it instead, confused.

“I suppose we should think of something better than ‘the creature’ or ‘it’.” Twilight admitted.

“Then why not just call it big guy?” Spike pointed out.

“Because that is not a correct, scientific name.”

“But it’s a good nickname we can use until you do figure one out for the big guy.” Rainbow said.

“I guess you’re right…” Twilight was about to say something else, but a sudden gasping noise made them all stop and turn towards it.

“What. IS. THAT?” Rarity gasped in horror at the sight. The flowers she had been collecting fell on the ground and were carried away by the wind.

“Oh, Rarity, this is the creature we came here to see.” Twilight said gently. Rarity’s eye twitched.

"I know...but why is it wearing those...those...those horrible rags?" Rarity cried and quickly walked to the creature and started circling it like a shark, tugging and poking its clothes.

"They are so worn out that you'd think they would have fallen off long ago...the colors are dirty and washed away...and, and these patches..." Rarity stopped in front of the creature and looked it straight in to its eyes. Her lip started to quiver. "WHY ARE THEY ALL IN DIFFERENT COLOHOHOHORS?" She wailed at the creature, who had the look of utter bewilderment on its face. It kneeled and petted her, trying to comfort the distraught fashionista.

Twilight, Rainbow and Spike had to admit, the clothes the creature was wearing had seen better days. The colors were faded, there were numerous patches (all different shades of green, brown and black) used to repair tears in the fabric and the pants looked too loose for the creature. The jacket’s zipper seemed to be broken, and it was held closed by snap fasteners instead. Calling them worn out might have been too kind.

The creature looked at the others, asking for help. Twilight and Spike cautiously approached.

“Ra-Rarity...uhh, I think you are making the creature nervous. The clothes are atleast...umm...still useful?” Twilight tried.

"Useful?!?" Rarity sprang out of the sadness and smooched Twilight's cheeks together with her hooves. "They are not useful! They are barely holding together! How the creature can wear them and not faint, I haven't gotten the faintest clue." She said as if the very mention of said clothes would bring disaster to Equestria. “Those clothes are an affront to fashion and every seamstress in all of Equestria. I will not allow it to wear those…those hideous garments for any longer!” She stomped her hoof.

"So...what? Are you going to take off its clothes?" Rainbow asked, and rested her hoof on the creatures shoulder, who very much wanted an explanation of what is going on.

"If it were my decision, I would burn those clothes the moment I could. No creature should have to go through wearing anything like that." She declared. "And that is why I'm going to take it to the boutique, right now, and make it some new clothes." Both of the ponies and dragon blinked once.

"Now?" Twilight repeated.

"Yes. The less time the creature is in those clothes, the better off Equestria will be." Twilight looked at Rarity's serious expression for a while.

"I...suppose we could do that." She tilted her head, her gaze wandering to the ground. "I was interested to see what the creature looks like under those clothes..." Her head turned towards the creature, who was still trying to figure out what just happened.

"Then we have no time to lose!" Rarity said and started to trot towards Ponyville. Her horn lit up with magic, and she tugged the creature from the cuffs of its jacket to get it to follow her. The creature stood there, looking at the others with mostly confusion and a little bit of worry on its face, before following after Rarity.

“Rarity, wait for me!” Spike shouted and sprinted after them. Twilight and Rainbow stood stock still for a few moments, before shaking themselves out of their stupor.

“I…guess we need to go after them.” Rainbow finally said.

“Yeah...Rarity sure was energetic about this...” Twilight added.

“Right...”

They stared at the retreating forms a moment longer, before starting to pack the picnic supplies and hurrying after them.

********************

The walk to Rarity’s boutique had been a fast one. Rarity had a determined look on her face the entire time. The creature calmed quickly, but his confusion, clearly etched on his face, didn't disappear in the least.

When they neared the town, it changed to wide eyed wonderment instead. The creature’s head turned every which way, trying to look at everything before Rarity pulled him along. They met a few ponies on their way, who stopped to stare at the strange sight before them. The creature tried to nervously wave to a few of them, but most were too busy wondering what was going on to notice.

When they reached the boutique, Rarity wasted no time in urging the creature inside and leading him to her work area. As soon as they got there, she turned around and faced the creature.

“Now, take them off.”

The creature was taking deep breaths after the rather brisk walk and looked at her in confusion again.

“Come darling, we have much to do and no time to waste!"

“Rarity.” Twilight said when she entered the room. Rarity turned towards Twilight. “The creature doesn’t understand our language, remember?”

Rarity tilted her head and her mouth made a small 'o'. She turned back towards the fidgeting creature.

"Well, then we shall help it undress." She said and lit up her horn again. She started to undo the snap fasteners and the belt the creature was wearing. He exclaimed something and grabbed hold of his garments before Rarity could yank them off, a blush making its way on his face.

“Are you sure about this?" Rainbow asked as she looked at Rarity trying to pull off the creatures pants. "Maybe the big guy doesn't want new clothes?"

"How could you say that, Rainbow Dash? Who would want to wear those?" Rarity responded and pointed at the clothes.

"They do look really bad..." Spike commented as he poked one of the patched.

"And inefficient." Twilight added.

"...And not cool at all." Rainbow admitted. Perhaps it would be better to get something more awesome for the creature to wear.

"So we are all in an agreement. Let's get those off of it so I can take some measurements." Rarity said as her horn lit up again. The creature commented something, embarrassed and blushing. It took a few steps backwards.

"Wait Rarity, maybe we should try to explain to it first why we want it to take off its clothes." Twilight said before Rarity would rip apart the creature's clothes.

"And how do we do that? If the creature can't speak, how do we tell it?" Rarity replied and powered down her horn again.

"Umm...well...hmm..."

The creature turned towards Rainbow with a questioning look in his face, pleading her to make sense of what just happened.

“Oh horseapples…uhh, look big guy…” She began, trying to think of a way to do this. Twilight suddenly clopped her hoof on the floor.

“I know! Come here.” She said and tugged at the creature’s jacket to get him to follow her. He hesitantly followed her to the main area of the boutique, where all the ponyquins were. She went ahead and pointed few of the ones with dresses on. The creature studied them for a while before looking back with a small, confused smile.

“Do you think he got it?” Spike asked.

“I don’t think so.” Twilight replied.

“Let me try it.” Rainbow said and went to one of the ones nothing on it. She pointed at the creature, then the one with no clothes on, then to the creature again, and lastly the ones with clothes on. The creature scratched his head.

“Oh come on, it’s not that hard to understand!” She said and took to the air.

“I know!” Spike said and went to take two hats. He put one on his head, the other one on one of the ponyquins with clothes on, and went to stand in front of the creature. He pointed at the creature and himself, took off the hat and placed it on the ponyquin with no clothes, and then taking the other hat and placing it on his head. The creature had a small frown on its face as it thought about it. It shrugged at them helplessly, before suddenly its eyes widened. It motioned towards its clothes, before hesitantly pointing at one of the dresses.

“Yes!” Twilight said happily and clopping her hooves together in excitement. The creature looked like it wanted to flee.

“No, not one of the dresses you doofus.” Rainbow said and shook her head. She motioned towards the room where Rarity was. “She is going to make you new clothes.”

The creature crossed his arms and huffed.

“Look big guy, Rarity isn't going to let you out of here until you get better clothes, and I kinda agree with her on this one.” Rainbow said and started to nudge the creature towards Rarity’s workroom again. Reluctantly, he followed them back in. Rarity was waiting for them with expectant eyes and a smile.

“Well?”

Rainbow pointed at the creature and tugged its clothes. The creature looked around uncertainly, starting to blush again.

“If you aren’t going to take them off yourself, I will.” Rarity declared and took a step forward. The creature looked at her for a minute, before admitting his defeat with a sigh and starting to take off his clothes.

“Worry not darling, I will make sure to make you a new set of...perfect…clothes…” Her jaw fell as the creature took off his clothes. Under the camouflage clothes was another set of garments, and in all of her life, Rarity had not seen uglier clothes. The creature had a gray shirt and baggy, black pants. He had also taken his shoes off, and he seemed to wearing socks too. And they were all in a horrible state. The shirt looked to be decades old, it was so worn and full of holes. The pants also had a hole that seemed to have been worn through on the left knee, and there were few brown splotches of something. The thick, woolly socks smelled terribly, and had few loose thread poking out of them. Rarity's eye started to twitch again.

The ponies and the dragon looked at the creature, unsure what to say, while he just squirmed in place.

“You…you should probably take those off too…” Rainbow said and reached for the creature’s shirt’s hem. She tugged at it, and there was a ripping sound as the fabric split in two.

“Oh…uuh…oops?” She said.

Rarity shrieked.

Author's Notes:

*I have rewritten the latter half of this chapter, because Rarity's behavior was...wrong. Now I think it's better, hopefully. *

This is a bit of a two parter for a chapter. Next time we get to see what happens when the human is set loose in the town of Ponyville.

And yes, there are people who wear clothes that are in such a bad state. My father is one of them. I too, to a certain extent, but never that bad. If my sock or shirt has one teensyweensy extra hole in it I won't just throw it away. I just wear it when there are no other people to see and comment about it.

Is ponyquin the right way to say it? Or is it simply pony mannequin?

Also, did I do the ' marks right when they talk about if they should call the human big guy? I never remember what's the correct way to do it, and I can't search the internet for help cuz I don't know what to search for.

Hopefully you enjoyed the chapter.

Chapter 8 - In to Ponyville

View Online

“Honestly darling, how could you wear such old clothes? I’m surprised they haven’t been reduced to shreds a long time ago.” Rarity said as she sat in front of her sewing machine, guiding the cloth she was currently working on. It was more to herself, as the creature couldn’t understand her words.

The creature was sitting on a huge pillow, waiting for Rarity to make him new clothes. After Rainbow had accidentally made another hole in his shirt, and Rarity calming down, the creature had agreed to remove his shirt and socks. He gave them to Rarity for examination so that she could make him new ones. He had absolutely refused to take off his pants, and had gently bopped Rainbow on the nose when she had tried to indicate he should take them off.

After Rarity had taken the necessary measurements to work on the creature’s new shirt, Twilight set out to do an examination on the creature. She measured his height, weight, size of hands, length of legs etc. The creature was feeling bashful about the treatment, blushing at the mare who was examining him with interest.

“Why does the big guy have nipples?” Rainbow asked as Twilight was busy making a sketch of the creature. She stopped to look at Rainbow, before turning back towards the creature.

“I’m not sure Rainbow. Maybe it’s a female after all?”

“I don’t know about that Twilight.” Spike scratched his head. “He seems like a stallion to me. Deep voice, a handsome beard and a mustache.”

“We don’t know for sure, Spike. Only way to know would be to find others of its…his species, or to conduct a complete examination.” She said and looked at the creature, who was nervously rubbing his hands together. “And I don’t think his going to allow us to do that anytime soon. As for your question, Rainbow, they could also serve some other purpose we don’t know about.”

“Weird.” She said, and went back to watching Twilight draw.

Fluttershy arrived a little later, just as Twilight was finishing her sketch. She had initially flown to the edge of the forest, and since she hadn’t found them there, she came back to look for them in the town. The creature was happy seeing Fluttershy again, and she gave him an affectionate hug. After explaining to Fluttershy why the creature was missing half of his clothes, the ponies continued their examination.

Twilight and Fluttershy came to the conclusion that the creature must be getting slightly old. His skin was looking a bit dull and wrinkly (as far as they could tell), his beard and short mane were grayish, which they had noticed before, and the creature seemed to carry reading glasses with it, which could indicate poor eyesight due to aging. He certainly wasn’t as old looking as Granny Smith, but maybe he was getting on the years like Mayor Mare.

Fluttershy made another observation as she examined the creature’s teeth. “Oh.” She said, a bit surprised. The creature just crossed his arms, resigned to the fact that the ponies were conducting a full physical on him. “He has sharp canines and incisor teeth.”

“Really?” Twilight asked as she was writing all their findings on a scroll. “Doesn’t that mean…that he eats meat?” She asked cautiously. Even Rarity stopped her work for a while, ears perked.

“Mmhm.” Fluttershy confirmed. “It is probably a part of his diet. But he also has flat molars after them. He can probably eat lots of different things.” She said and took her hoof off the creature’s chin. He closed his mouth, and seemingly pouted at her. She shyly hid behind her mane.

“So he’s an omnivore?” Twilight said and took another look at the creature. He certainly didn’t look like a predator. No claws, no huge maw filled with razor sharp teeth, no wings. Nothing to indicate that he was from a species evolved to hunt in the Everfree.

“I think so.”

“He did eat some of Granny Smith’s cooking when we were at Sweet Apple Acres yesterday.” Rainbow said.

“Do you think he can eat gems?” Spike asked.

“We can check what he can eat later when we go to town.” Twilight said and continued writing.

“Just a few more…aaand…there.” Rarity said as she examined the shirt she had just finished. She trotted to the creature, the shirt levitating behind her. “Here you go darling.” She said and gave the shirt to the creature, who looked at it with surprise. He got up from the pillow, giving a quick once over to the shirt in his hands. It was a dark blue dress shirt, with a small pocket on the left side and gems etched on the collar. The creature carefully put it on and buttoned it up. He smiled happily as he looked at his new shirt.

“Wow Rarity, you did an amazing job for something you have never tried before.” Twilight commented. The new shirt looked good on the creature, and fit perfectly.

“Heh, looking good there big guy.” Rainbow smiled and nudged the creature.

“Now if I only could say the same of his pants…” Rarity lamented. The ponies and the dragon looked at the dingy looking pants the creature was wearing. When he noticed where they were looking, his happy expression morphed in to a light frown. He gently bopped each of them on the nose.

“Okay okay, we get the idea…” Rainbow muttered with her face scrunched.

********************

After Rarity had made the creature a pair of socks too, they decided to get something to eat and show the creature their town. Now that the creature knew where Ponyville was, he could come here whenever he wanted, and it would be good to show him around so that he wouldn’t get lost. After doing that, they would take him to Twilight’s home where she could conduct a few tests on him. Twilight placed the creature’s camouflage clothes in her saddlebags, and while Rarity was horrified by the mere thought of it, they also put his previous shirt and socks with them too.

The four ponies led the creature out of the boutique, with Spike riding on Twilight’s back. The creature smiled widely at them, and looked like he was about to burst in to laughter.

They decided to head to the market square to eat in one of the cafés or restaurants near it. They would go through the less busy areas of Ponyville, so that the creature wouldn’t get overwhelmed by having too many ponies around him at once. Of course, they couldn’t avoid all of them, and they crossed paths with several ponies doing their chores. As with before, many stopped to look at the strange being that four of the six element bearers were escorting.

“What’s that?” Cloud Chaser, one of Rainbow’s colleagues from the weather team asked as they walked past her.

“This is the creature from the Everfree forest. You know, the one from few weeks ago that Fluttershy saw.” Rainbow said as she landed next to her. “Turns out that he’s completely harmless.”

“Oh.” She said, and hesitantly waved back when the creature raised its hand and waved.

“Yup. And now we are kinda showing him around.”

“What do you mean showing him around?” Fast Glide, another pegasus, asked.

“He seems to be a very friendly creature, and likes to interact with ponies. He travels in and near the Everfree, and might make his way in to Ponyville in occasion. It would be good to show him around, in case he comes to visit.” Twilight replied.

“Okay…if you say so.” Fast Glide said and looked up and down the creature, who was rubbing his hands again behind his back.

The group continued on their way towards the market area and met several more stares on their way, but none stopped them, except for a single guard.

“Miss Twilight. Is there…something going on?” The guardsmare asked her as she raised an eyebrow at the creature. He waved at her, which she didn’t return.

“All is fine, miss Stalwart. I informed the guard three weeks ago about a potential monster sighting. This is the said creature, although there has been no indication that he is of any danger to anypony.” Twilight explained. The guardsmare scrutinized the creature for a few more moments before turning back to Twilight

“As you say, miss Twilight.” The guardsmare saluted, and continued on her way. The creature again looked like he was about to have a giggle fit for some reason.

The group walked around a few more buildings and finally emerged at the edge of the Ponyville market square. As with most days, there were quite many ponies walking about, buying their groceries, or just talking to their friends. They decided that they would stay at a nearby café for their lunch. As they sat down around the table outside, they noticed how the ponies on other tables were following the creature with curious eyes. A friendly smile and wave of hoof from either Twilight or Rarity caused them to stop outright staring at the creature, but they still kept sneaking glances at him and their conversations turned to hushed whispers (not that you noticed with all the noise from the market next to them). With so many ponies looking at him, the creature kept his gaze either at the table or one the others sitting on the table.

“Ah, good day to youuuuu…” The happy smile that was on the stallion waiter’s face turned in to an unsure look as he approached their table, spotting the creature.

“Good day. We would like to place our orders.” Rarity replied, quickly bringing the stallions attention away from the creature.

“Y-y-yes…of course…” He said and took their orders on a notepad. They ordered 5 sandwiches with different fillings on them, so that they could check which one the creature would like, as well as a serving of hay fries for Spike and some cool water to drink. The stallion hurriedly went back inside the café as soon as had the order. The creature looked disappointed for having elicited such a reaction from him.

“Maybe eating out wasn’t such a good idea after all.” Twilight remarked to the others. Fluttershy moved closer to the creature to offer comfort for him, who smiled back at her. The creature kept his gaze downwards, despite having been excited to see everything when they first arrived in Ponyville.

“Ponies are staring at him quite a lot, he must be a bit unnerved.” Rarity agreed. “Perhaps we should head to your library as soon as we have finished our lunch.” She continued, noticing yet another pony stopping to look at the creature, but who quickly kept walking as he noticed Rarity staring back.

“Oh, I hope he is not feeling scared because of them.” Fluttershy said and petted the creature’s leg with her hoof.

“Silly Fluttershy, ponies are not scary.” Pinkie suddenly bounced from behind the creature, and landed between Fluttershy and the creature. The creature only flinched a bit from Pinkies sudden appearance. Fluttershy almost fell over from surprise.

“Oh, hi Pinkie.” Fluttershy said meekly.

“Hi Fluttershy. Hi everypony. Hi mister.” Pinkie said and smiled brightly at the creature, who smiled back despite Pinkie’s rapid-fire greetings.

“Hey Pinkie. What’s up?” Rainbow asked.

“Clouds.” She giggled back. Rainbow rolled her eyes. “I was heading back from my break and saw all of you, so I decided to come and say hi.”

“We were just going to have lunch ourselves.” Twilight said. Pinkie turned back towards the creature, who was looking at her poofy mane. He looked like he wanted to immerse his hands in it.

“So you are the creature from the Everfree who has everypony scratching their manes.” She said and smiled again. “Don’t you worry about it, I cause that a lot too.” She grabbed one of the creature’s hands with her hooves and shook it. “I’m Pinkie Pie, but most of my friends call me Pinkie, and since I know we are going to be the bestest of friends, you can too!” She almost bounced up and down on the ground from excitement and the vigorous hoofshaking.

“Pinkie, he doesn’t-…”

“What’s your name?” Pinkie asked, completely ignoring Twilight. The creature, getting his hand free, patted Pinkies head and smiled. This caused Pinkie to giggle again.

“Pinkie, we don’t know if he has a name.” Rainbow said and smirked a bit at Pinkie’s wagging tail.

“What?!?” Pinkie cried and turned towards the others. “But…but he must have a name!” She exclaimed.

“Maybe. But none of us can talk to him, so we can’t ask.” Fluttershy said.

“Oh yeah, he doesn’t speak our language.” Pinkie suddenly seemed to remember. “Wait! If I can’t ask him his name, then how can I throw him a welcoming party?” She asked with desperation in her voice. “I can’t have a ‘Welcome to Ponyville The One Whose Name I Don’t Know’ on the banner!”

“Well maybe you can call him ‘big guy’ like Rainbow does?” Spike said. The stallion waiter returned to their table, setting their orders down, and hurrying to the next table.

“Hmm…” Pinkie hummed.

Twilight levitated the plates in to a row, and presented them to the creature. She pointed at the sandwiches and then at the creature, indicating he should take one. He scratched his head a few times, before understanding that she was asking him to choose one, and the others would take the rest. He looked like he was about to shake his head, but then sighed with a small smile and took a closer look. He skipped over the ones with flowers in them, before choosing from the rest a sandwich with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and mayonnaise. The ponies (except Pinkie) divided the rest of the sandwiches and everyone went silent as they enjoyed their food.

“I need to go now.” Pinkie finally said. “I need to get back to Sugarcube Corner before my break time runs out. And you, mister.” Pinkie turned towards the creature with a serious expression. “I’m going to come up with the most amazing name for you ever, so that I can give you a welcoming party, and it’s going to be amazing and funny and everypony is going to be invited!” She cheered and there was a sudden shower of confetti around them, which startled the creature.

“But now I need to go. Bye!” She waved and started hopping back to Sugarcube Corner.

“Bye Pinkie.” The others said after her, the creature unsurely waving his hand.

Chapter 9 - Welcome to Ponyville

View Online

With their lunch done, the group made their way to Twilight’s library. The creature kept taking in the sights of Ponyville, but every time he met a pony’s eyes, he seemed to become increasingly shy from their staring. After a quick walk, they found themselves in front of the library. The creature’s eyes opened wide and a grin made its way on to his face as he went to examine the tree. He was pleased to find out that it was an actual tree, and not just a building made to look like one.

The group entered the library, the creature having to watch his head a little bit as he came in. Twilight set her saddlebags down near the front door.

“Spike, could you go and make us some tea?” She asked her draconic assistant.

“Sure thing Twilight.” He said and made his way in to the kitchen.

“I’ll go and help him.” Fluttershy offered and followed after him. Rarity and Rainbow had already made their way towards the shelves, Rarity doing a bit of tidying up and Rainbow looking for any interesting books to read. Of course, by Rainbow’s standards, an interesting book usually meant either a Daring Do book or something closely resembling one. Twilight had tried her best to get Rainbow interested in other forms of literature too, but it was a slow process.

The creature’s jaw was hanging open as he walked around the library, looking at all the bookshelves and the architecture. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, before reaching out and picking up a book from the shelves. Twilight’s ears perked up in excitement and she made her way next to him. Could it be possible that the creature can read? It would make sense. He has that device after all, and if the symbols were indeed a language, then perhaps he could also read their language.

She held her breath as she watched the creature flip the pages in the book. It was almost comical watching him squinting and studying the book that looked slightly too small in his hands. After a while, Twilight let out a small, disappointed sigh. It didn’t look like the creature had any idea what was written in the book. He seemed to be more interested in the pictures in the book that he was currently holding. When he noticed Twilight standing next to him, he placed it back on the shelf and rubbed his neck awkwardly, like a foal who had been caught with his hoof in a cookie jar. She giggled slightly, and patted his leg to let him know that it was alright for him to look at the books. She then made her way down to the basement to get some items she needed for the tests she planned on doing with the creature.

Fluttershy and Spike returned to the main area with a tray full of teacups, and Twilight joined them soon after, levitating a bunch of different gadgets and gizmos with her. They sat down to enjoy the tea while Twilight sorted her devices, except for Rainbow, who flew up to a small alcove and focused on a Daring Do book instead. Spike also found a comic book that he started to read with the creature, who had an amused look on his face as Spike read it out loud to him. Rarity and Fluttershy focused on talking about the juicy gossip that Rarity had heard yesterday.

“Ahha!” Twilight exclaimed when she got her devices set up. Spike and the creature looked up from the comic book.

“What’s that Twilight?” Spike asked as he looked at a weird device.

“It is a Thaumatic Resonance Analyzer, or Thaumometer for short. I’m going to use it to measure the creature’s thaumatic capacity by channeling my thaumic energy in to this highly sensitive crystal, which will cause his thaumic pool to resonate, which I can then measure!” Twilight said enthusiastically.

Two ponies and one dragon blinked, confused. Twilight’s face fell slightly. Fluttershy she could understand, magical theorem wasn’t her field of expertise. Spike, he should have had at least some idea after being her number one assistant for so long. But Rarity? She was a unicorn, and even she looked to be completely lost.

“I’m going to measure how much magic he has.” She said in a slightly frustrated deadpan.

“Aaaah.” They responded in unison.

Twilight motioned for the creature to come closer, who was looking at the contraption with some suspicion. The Thaumometer wasn’t a terribly large device. It had a bracelet with wires going in to box that had all sorts of blinking lights, crystals and weird indicators which purpose only Twilight knew. It looked a little bit like it had been designed by a supervillain from one of Spike’s comics. The creature eventually sat down next to Twilight, who took the bracelet and attached it on to his arm. She also gave him the crystal to hold in the same arm, and made last few adjustments on the device.

“Okay, it should be good now.” She said and turned back towards the creature, who was closely examining the two things he was holding. Twilight motioned for the creature to hold his arm out straight and keep his palm open that she could see the crystal. All the other occupants in the room were watching in anticipation, Rainbow having flown down since things were getting slightly more interesting.

Twilight started to power up her horn to channel her magic in to the crystal, but the creature flinching made her stop immediately. He looked unsure about what she was doing.

“It’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you.” She said in what she hoped was a reassuring voice. Fluttershy gently leaned against the creature to give her own support to him.

“Twilight, let me.” Rarity said and walked next to Twilight. She powered her own horn, and instead of directing it at the creature, she levitated one of the library’s books up and showed it to the creature, before putting it back to where she picked it up. She then pointed at Twilight, and then the crystal he was holding. The creature looked at the book, then back to Twilight, and nodded slightly.

Twilight powered her horn again, and slowly reached out with her magic for the crystal. The creature was nervous, yet had a spark of curiosity in his eyes as he watched the crystal starting to glow. The ponies noticed his arm shuddering slightly as the glow intensified. Some of the glow from the crystal seemed to seep in to his arm, and the machine started to make beeping noises as it came to life.

They sat there like that for a few minutes, before Twilight stopped the flow of magic from her horn. The crystal slowly dimmed as the last of her magic dissipated from it. The creature blinked a few times, and looked at Twilight as if to ask if that was all. Twilight took off the bracelet from around the creature's arm before she focused on the machine and the data she now had. The creature scratched his arm, and Fluttershy noticed that the hairs on his arm were all standing up.

“Hmm…” Twilight mumbled as she examined the paper that the machine was printing out.

“What does it say, Twilight?” Rainbow asked as she looked over Twilight’s shoulder at the paper.

“According to the Thaumometer, he has about 21,8 thaum capacity.”

“Okay...How much is that?”

“Well, a unicorn foal usually has 10 to 20 thaum capacity, although they can go over it if a magical surge happens. A unicorn filly or a colt can have up to 45 thaums, and an average unicorn adult has about 100 thaums.”

“Okay…how much do you have, Twilight?”

“Oh. When I was last measured, I had 196,7 thaum capacity.”

“Woah. That’s like, twice as much as an average unicorn.”

“I’m the element of magic, that has helped me out. I’ve noticed a steady increase in my magic for some time now.”

“So, what does this all mean for the big guy?” Rainbow said and turned towards the creature, who was patiently waiting for them.

“It means that he most likely doesn’t have any active way to channel thau-…erm…to use magic, like a unicorn. His magic probably manifests in passive ways, like with pegasi and earth ponies.” Twilight said with her lecturer voice.

“Okay…hey, how come I have never seen this kind of device before?” Rainbow poked at the machine.

“Thaumometers are usually only used in magic schools, research work or maybe in a hospital. Knowing your thaumic capacity is not something you usually need to know, except for unicorns when they are practicing magic. Knowing your capacity allows teachers to know what kind of spells you are able to cast, and thus teach you accordingly. Since pegasi and earth ponies can’t cast spells, it is not as useful to measure your thaumic capacity.”

“I…I think I understand…” Rainbow scratched her head, trying to wrap her head around all of it.

“So wait.” Spike said. “Are you saying that he has just slightly more magic than a foal? Isn’t that…too little?” He pointed at the creature, who seemed to be wondering what they were talking about.

“Not necessarily. Like I said, this is compared to unicorns, who have higher thaumic capacities. For example, most animals rarely have over 20 thaums. Adult pegasi and earth ponies might have anything between 30 and 60 thaums, depending on what kind of work they do. Since we don’t know what the average is with his species, we can’t really say if his capacity is low or high.”

“Hey Twilight, can you measure me too?” Rainbow asked and flapped her wings in excitement.

“Sure, if you want to.”

********************

After measuring Rainbow’s capacity with the Thaumometer, Rarity, Fluttershy and Spike also wanted to take a turn to see how much magic each of them had. Fluttershy had the least of them, with only 31,7 thaums. This wasn’t a big surprise to any of them, considering that Fluttershy doesn’t fly for long periods of time that often, which would help it grow. Spike turned out to have 72,0 thaum capacity due to his draconic heritage, and it would grow even higher once he grows up. Rainbow had an amazing capacity of 78,5, undoubtedly contributing to her high speed when flying. While not knowing it for sure, Twilight theorized that many of the Wonderbolts would probably have a number close to Rainbow’s. Lastly, Rarity was just barely above the average, with her thaumic capacity being 100,1.

After recording the creature’s magic potential in her report for Celestia, Twilight continued on with a few more tests she had in mind. She tested his hearing and sense of smell, both which further gave proof to the theory that the creature wasn’t a predator by nature, since he seemed to lack any way to best the other hunters in the Everfree. She also took a small blood sample, just to make sure that the creature didn’t have any diseases.

While Twilight was furiously writing on a scroll, the creature’s device suddenly started ringing. The tone was slightly different than last time Twilight had heard it. He took the device out of his pocket, and flicked his finger across it, which silenced it.

“Wow.” Spike said as he put the comic book he had resumed reading back down again. “That’s neat. What is it?” He asked and leaned in to look at the device.

The creature gave him a smile and moved his finger across the device. Soon the rest of the ponies gathered around him to see what he was doing with it, and hopefully get some answers. As the creature moved his finger on the device, the pictures it was displaying changed.

“What is he doing?” Rainbow asked.

“I don’t know.” Twilight responded. She could see a smaller picture of a camera, a letter, and a clock, but there were other ones that she didn’t understand. The creature pressed one with a music note on it, and a bunch of symbols covered the face of the device. He kept moving his finger, making all the symbols move so fast that Twilight could hardly follow them with her eyes. Finally, he stopped, and pressed his finger on a string of symbols. Beautiful music filled the room.

“Wooooah.” The ponies and a dragon said in amazement.

“His device can play music? How can it do that? Where’s the record?” Twilight asked as she practically pressed her snout against the device, trying to wrap her head around the fact that this small device could play music.

“It’s very lovely and relaxing.” Rarity said, her eyes closed and a small smile on her face.

“Mmhm.” Fluttershy agreed.

“Eh, kinda boring.” Rainbow said. “But it is cool that he can just have music wherever he goes with this thing. I wonder if he has any music with more speed to it?”

They went silent and listened to the music until it ended. The creature pressed a few things again on the device, before he looked up to them and smiled widely. He ushered them close to each other, before bringing the device up to his face. There was a noise, after which he motioned them to come closer again. There, on the device, was a picture of them.

“WHAT?” Twilight said, aghast.

“Hey look, it can take pictures too! That’s so awesome!” Spike said enthusiastically.

“It’s a really good picture too.” Fluttershy said.

“It can play music and take pictures? But…but how? How can it do that? Why can it do both of those things? It doesn’t look anything like a camera! Or a record player!” Twilight paced back and forth.

“That. Is. So. Cool! What else can it do?” Rainbow said excitedly as she practically sat down on the creature’s lap to get a better look. The creature blushed slightly from the sudden contact, but luckily, only Rarity seemed to notice. She hid her amused smile behind a hoof.

The creature pressed another picture on his device and started humming a song with his deep voice.

“I wonder what he’s doing now.” Spike said while they waited. The creature stopped shortly after, before pressing a few more things. His humming started again, but this time, it came from the device.

“It can play music. It can take pictures. It can record sounds. How can his device do all that?” Twilight said, completely baffled.

“I do not know, darling, but it does seem to be a rather useful device. Perhaps it’s from outside of Equestria?” Rarity asked.

“Maybe…”

“I wonder if I could get one of these?” Rainbow said. “It would be so cool to listen to music while I’m working out!” She turned towards the creature. “What do you say big guyyyyy…” It finally registered to Rainbow that she was sitting on the creature’s lap, and was now nose to nose with him. Her ear twitched when she started to hear giggling from behind her, and she turned her head around to notice that the other occupants in the room all had smiles on their faces. With a quick flap of her wings, Rainbow shot upwards, a furious blush on her face. “I didn’t…! I mean…uhh…”

“Aww, you looked so sweet sitting with him like that, Rainbow.” Twilight said.

“I often sit close to my animal friends too. It's usually me who is holding them, though.” Fluttershy continued with a smile. The creature rubbed his neck awkwardly.

“You’re not helping!” Rainbow squeaked, much to the amusement of others below.

********************

With all the tests done, and Twilight quickly writing down notes on what she still needs to add to her report for Celestia, the group left the library. The creature had taken out his clothes from Twilight’s saddlebags, and looked like he was going to head back to the Everfree for today. It was already dusk, and soon the sun would make way for the night. There were fewer ponies around than during the day. Most shops were closed, and some ponies were heading home for dinner and to relax after a long day. There seemed to still be one pony, however, who was full of energy.

“Heyja everypony!” Pinkie said as she merrily trotted to them.

“Hi Pinkie.” They greeted back.

“I was wondering how long you were going to stay in Twilight’s library. I was on my way to get you all.”

“What for?” Rainbow asked.

“For his ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party of course!” Pinkie bounced excitedly and pointed at the creature.

“Now? Isn’t it getting too late for that?” Spike asked.

“Silly Spike. It’s never too late for a party!” Pinkie patted Spike’s head.

“I think he was going to head back to where he lives, so I don’t know how long he will stay.” Twilight said.

“Perhaps only a quick visit then?” Rarity said.

“It would be nice to welcome him here officially, if he wants to come to Ponyville again.” Fluttershy agreed.

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go to the party!” Pinkie said and started to hop towards Sugarcube corner. The others indicated to the creature that they should follow Pinkie. The creature looked at where the sun was, before shrugging and walking after Pinkie.

When they arrived to Sugarcube corner, the creature did a double take at the building in front of him. He had been excited to see Twilight’s library was a tree, but seeing the gingerbread like house made him chuckle to himself in amusement. He looked like he wanted to climb to the roof to see if it actually was gingerbread, and then possibly take a bite if it was. Pinkie had already gone in to the building, and when the creature followed her inside, he got startled when Pinkie blew in a party blower.

“Surprise!” Pinkie announced loudly and threw streamers in to the air. There were a couple of ponies waiting in the building, including Mayor Mare, Mr. and Mrs. Cake and Applejack. There were pastries and drinks on a table and a few party games as well. There was also a banner attached to the rafters that read ‘Welcome to Ponyville Scruffy’.

“Really, Pinkie? ‘Scruffy’ is what you came up with?” Rainbow asked.

“Eh, good enough.” Pinkie replied with a grin. “It’s at least as good as ‘big guy’, right?” She said and giggled.

“While I can agree that it’s something I would maybe use to describe his clothes, I’m not sure if that is something we should call him.” Rarity said.

“Aww but it’s just a nickname. I’m sure that Twilight will come up with some fancy name for him soon, like hippomuspotammus or something.”

“It’s hippopotamus.” Twilight corrected.

“Or maybe she’ll teach him to talk our language, so we can just ask what his real name is.” Pinkie said as she jumped up and wrapped her forelegs around the creature’s neck in a hug. The creature caught the pink mare in his hands and looked at her in bewilderment. “So until then, welcome to Ponyville, Scruffy!” Pinkie cheered.

********************

Twilight had to give it to Pinkie Pie, the party was actually a rather good idea. It was the perfect way to inform most of the town about Scruffy, as he was now dubbed. They would be able to recognize him, and would know that he’s harmless, so there wouldn’t be any misunderstandings, hopefully, if Scruffy decided to visit Ponyville again. Most of the ponies were curious to see the new creature that had been seen walking around in the town, and made sure to wave at the creature, who waved back at them. Scruffy was content to sit against a wall and watch as the ponies partied, and eat some of the delicious pastries that Pinkie had prepared.

As with all Pinkie Pie parties, it was top notch. Ponies were dancing and playing party games, or just hanging around with their friends and enjoying the treats. Or in Rainbow’s and Applejack’s case, having a friendly competition with each other. True to her word, Pinkie had invited the whole town to have a good time, and it seemed like most had decided to at least pass by. When the interior of Sugarcube Corner threatened to get too crowded, the ponies decided to move outside and keep dancing in the open air instead. With so many ponies there, they could easily move some of the tables and refreshments outside.

Twilight and Fluttershy had taken some time to try to tell Scruffy that that would be what they’d be calling him from now on. They would point at him and pronounce his new nickname clearly to him. They would also point at themselves and say their own names, and eventually he understood that they referred to him when they said Scruffy.

“S-S-Sh-Sh-Shru-Shruhhy.” He tried to imitate them, much to their surprise, since he hadn’t talked up to this point. However, it seemed that he had considerable difficulty getting the enunciation correct, no matter how much he tried. The same was met when he tried to say their names. They concluded that this was something they should look in to later, when they weren’t in the middle of a very loud party.

The party lasted for a long time, with ponies coming and going all the time. Eventually, Scruffy slipped out of the building in to the cool and fresh evening air. Fluttershy followed him outside, having noticed his absence. He smiled at her as he stretched his limbs. They both stopped and stood still when they suddenly heard an instrument playing that wasn’t coming from Sugarcube Corner. They followed the sound around the block to find a mint green unicorn sitting on a fountain with her eyes closed, playing a harp.

“Hey Lyra.” Fluttershy greeted as they approached.

“Oh, hey Flutters-…Woah!” Lyra almost fell backwards in to the fountain when she opened her eyes and noticed Scruffy. “So...you must be Scruffy, huh?” She continued.

“Pinkie came up with that name.” Fluttershy responded for him as they sat down next to Lyra.

“It does sound like her.” Lyra grinned and shook Scruffy’s hand.

“Why are you out here alone? If you…umm…don’t mind me asking.”

“Wanted to play my harp. Couldn’t play it at the party, with all the noise everypony is making.”

“The song you were playing...it sounded very beautiful.”

“Would you like to listen?”

“Mmhm.”

Lyra picked up her harp again, and started playing. All three of them closed their eyes as Lyra weaved her magic in to the night, and calm music filled the air. Scruffy had a serene smile on his face as they listened to Lyra’s music. He opened his eyes just in time to see the sun dip below the horizon, the last rays of sunlight disappearing, marking his first day in Ponyville to be over.

Interlude - Sun and Moon

View Online

“Bright Light, could you take this letter to Swift Wind before your departure for today?” Celestia asked. A pony with a bright yellow coat and a azure mane looked up from her desk. She had just finished tidying it before heading for home.

“Sure thing.” She took the letter and placed it in her saddlebag.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t overwork yourself, princess.” Bright light said as she walked to the door.

“I won’t, my little pony. See you tomorrow.” Celestia responded with a smile. The pony smiled back and nodded, before walking out and closing the door behind her.

Celestia stopped her writing and stretched her stiff limbs. Sitting on one spot for hours on end writing and reading scrolls had a tendency to make Celestia feel like an old mare. Her back made an audible cracking noise as she continued her stretching, and she could feel a surge of warmth and coldness in her limbs as she stood up. Celestia suspected that she would have crumbled in to a pile of sore muscles many centuries ago if not for her alicorn physiology.

She finished writing the last few lines on the scroll, before deciding to call it for the day. She could work on the rest of the documents tomorrow, it wasn’t like they would go anywhere overnight (even if she hoped they would). There was one scroll, however, that she did want to look over again. Celestia smiled as she picked up a scroll from Twilight. It was the newest report about the strange being she and her friends had encountered recently.

Celestia blew out the candles in the room and allowed it to be engulfed in darkness. It was already very late, but that didn’t mean that the castle would go silent. She stepped out of her office, and it made her heart soar to see all the ponies walking about. With the return of her sister, the castle was truly always bustling with activity. Many ponies had chosen to take the night shift over the day shift, and work together with her sister instead. Even Canterlot itself was slowly adapting to the schedule, with many businesses offering their services during both day and night. Celestia walked along the hallway while reading the scroll that Twilight had send, greeting the ponies she occasionally came across.

“I can see where your student picked up some of her bad habits.” Came a voice from ahead of her. Celestia lifted her head from the scroll. A loving smile made its way on to her face.

“Luna, good evening.” She responded.

“Good evening to you too, sister.” Luna said and walked next to Celestia. They shared a hug before they continued to walk. “You seem to be deep in thought tonight.”

“Hmhmm.” Celestia hummed. “Twilight sent me a report on our mysterious guest.” A spark of interest flashed in Luna’s eyes.

“And what does it say?” She said with slight eagerness.

“The good citizens of Ponyville have named him Scruffy.” Celestia said, holding back her amusement when her sister’s face went completely neutral.

“…Scruffy?” She said in deadpan.

“Yes. The element of laughter wanted to throw him a welcoming party, and she needed a name for the banner.”

“I…they named a member of a species, that nopony has possibly ever seen before…Scruffy?”

“Apparently, the clothing he wore were old and almost falling apart. Perhaps that influenced her decision?”

“…” Luna tried to think of something to say, but nothing came to mind. Celestia allowed a small giggle to escape and gently bumped her hip against Luna’s.

“There’s more to her report than that, Lulu.”

“Yes…of course. Let’s hear it then.”

********************

“This is an interesting development.” Luna said after Celestia finished telling her what was in Twilight’s report. They were standing on a balcony that was overlooking Canterlot. “And you are sure that the device, and the creature carrying it, haven’t just come from lands outside of Equestria? A simple traveler, perhaps?” She asked her sister.

“The creature, perhaps. But his music device?” Celestia stayed silent for a moment, contemplating. “If it is from some other country, then I do not know which. If Twilight is correct, that the device doesn’t require any complex enchantments to function, it could have been made virtually anywhere. It could also be, that the spell work used in it were done so well, that it’s hard to notice it with a quick glance.”

“Or perhaps it doesn’t require magic at all.”

They both lapsed in to silence as they pondered this new revelation.

“That would make it the most advanced machine in Equestria.” Celestia said finally.

“How peculiar.”

“Luna, when you are dream walking tonight, could you check the Everfree forest? I want to know if there are more of these creatures living there. Scruffy can’t be the only member of his species, and if there is a group of them in the Everfree, then perhaps the device could have come from them.”

“That seems plausible. I will do so, sister.”

“Thank you.” Celestia said and yawned.

“You should get some rest. I’ll make sure to see to that undoubtedly enormous pile of paperwork you have on your desk while you slumber.”

“Thank you, Luna.”

“Sweet dreams…”

“…And pleasant days.”

Chapter 10 - Neighbourly

View Online

“I’m heading out now. See you at lunchtime, Big Mac.” Applejack said to her brother as she stepped out of the front door.

“Eeyup.” Came the reply from the kitchen.

It was early morning as Applejack trotted to the barn to start on the day’s work. The sun had barely risen past the horizon, yet the entire Apple family were already up and getting to work. Today, Big Mac would go to the market to sell their products, leaving Applejack to tend to the orchard alone. She took several baskets and placed them in a cart, before hooking herself in to it and trotting out of the barn. She was heading to the south field, and she would be working on it for today. Applebloom was left to take care of the other minor chores around the house with Granny Smith before she would head for school.

As Applejack made her way amongst the trees, she could see a rainbow contrail moving in the sky. Contrary to popular belief, Rainbow could be a very early riser on some days. Her sleeping schedule was a bit skewed at times, which led to her napping often. Twilight introducing books to Rainbow hadn’t helped the matter, with her staying up at night, reading.

“Mornin’ Rainbow!” Applejack hollered. She could see Rainbow slowing down, before changing direction towards her.

“Hey AJ. You’re up early as always.” Rainbow commented as she landed next to her.

“Of course. I need to take a good bite out of south orchard today so that we don’t fall behind schedule with the harvest.” Applejack noticed that Rainbow was carrying saddlebags. “Where are you heading off to so early in the morning?”

“I need to visit Cloudsdale.”

“Weather stuff?”

“Yeah. I have to submit this month’s weather report and make a visit to the weather factory. Might as well make the trip myself.”

“Mmhm. Well, seems like we both are busy today, so better get to it.”

“Yeah. See you later Applejack!”

Rainbow gave a mighty flap of her wings and ascended back to the sky. Applejack waved her hoof at Rainbow, before resuming her walk. A gust of wind blew past her, making the leaves rustle, and causing a few lose strands of her mane flow in the wind. A small smile made its way on to her face. Today promised to be a pleasant day.

********************

Applejack swiped sweat from her forehead and sat down against a tree, deciding to take a small break. It was getting close to noon, and the sun’s scorching heat was beating down mercilessly on the poor farmer. Taking shelter in the shadow of a tree felt heavenly.

Applejack looked around the orchard and at all the trees she had harvested. She had managed to get a bit more done than she had estimated earlier. She decided to harvest the current row to its end, then stop for lunch. It would be too hot to work while the sun was so high up anyway, so she’d have to wait for it to get a bit cooler before continuing.

Just as she was about to get up and continues working, she spotted movement amongst the trees. Soon, Scruffy emerged from behind them. He was wearing his camouflage clothes again. He quickly noticed her, and waved with a smile.

“Hey.” Applejack greeted and got up. “What are you doing here, sugarcube? Nopony else with you today?” She looked around but didn’t spot anypony.

Scruffy looked around the orchard in wonderment. He looked like a foal in a candy shop. But then he suddenly turned around to look at her, then at the apple trees, and then finally at the baskets. He frowned, before pointing at her and then an empty apple tree.

“What’s wrong?” Applejack asked. He repeated the motion, but also pointed a tree with apples still hanging from it.

“What? Are you asking why I haven’t collected the apples yet?” He nodded. “Hmph. I’m allowed to take moment to rest, thank you very much! It’s a mighty hot day, if you haven’t noticed!” Applejack said a bit heatedly. The nerve of the creature, waltzing in and immediately asking why she isn’t working.

The creature blinked at her a few times, clearly not having expected her reaction. He scratched his cheek with one finger, before walking to a tree. He pointed at her again, picked a low hanging apple from the tree, and places it in a basked. He looked at her and shrugged with a questioning look.

“What in the name of Celestia are you on about?” Applejack asked. The creature scratched his head. He pointed at himself, then at his right hand. He then pointed at her, and then at her hooves and shrugged again.

“Yeah, you have hands and I have hooves.”

Scruffy went back to the tree and picked another apple from it easily, before pointing at her, then one of the apples higher up, and rising one eyebrow.

“Oh…oh…you weren’t telling me to get back to work, you were wondering how I get the apples down from the tree!” Applejack realized. A small blush lit up on her cheeks. “Erm...aw shoot…sorry I got a smidge angry at you, sugarcube.” She said remorsefully and kicked the dirt.

Scruffy again looked like he hadn’t expected her reaction to be what it had been. He knelt and patted her head while saying something that Applejack didn’t understand. He had a understanding smile on his face.

“Let me show you how we do it.” Applejack said and walked to one of the trees. She leaned forward and bucked the tree hard and all the apples rained down. Scruffy looked at her with jaw hanging open, before he burst in to laughter. Applejack didn’t quite know what the creature found so funny in the situation, but it was pleasant to listen to anyway.

“I gotta get back to work, so uh…you do whatever it is that you do.” Applejack said and started to collect the apples from ground. To her surprise, Scruffy leaned down and also started to pick them up. When they were done and Applejack moved to the next tree, he brought empty baskets with him in a clear indication that he wanted to help.

“Thanks, sugarcube.” Applejack said with a smile, and together they made a quick work of the row they were in. With all the apples collected, Applejack hooked herself in to the cart and made her way back to the house to store them. Scruffy followed after her with a brisk walk.

After the apples had been stored away, Applejack headed to the town with Scruffy. She had agreed to help Fluttershy with some repairs around her house, but she would meet up with her brother first and have lunch.

Now that Scruffy had been introduced to the ponies, he got far less stares than two days ago. It might have been Applejack’s presence, but many ponies greeted them as they walked past, although some of them seemed to be slightly unsure. Scruffy offered them a smile and a hand wave.

“Hey Big Mac.” Applejack greeted her brother as they finally found their way to the stall Big Mac was in at the market square. His greeting was a simple nod to both of them. “How’s the market doing today?”

“Well, I guess. How’s the south field?” He said with a calm, baritone voice.

“Got more done than I anticipated. Scruffy here helped too, and we got one more cart than usually.”

“That so?” The stallion eyed the creature up and down.

“Eeyup.” Applejack did a very good imitation of her older brother, much to his chagrin.

“He seems mighty helpful. Helped with the dishes when he first visited, and now with the harvest.”

“I recon he just wants to leave a good impression, if he ain’t seen ponies before he came here like Twilight suspects. I just wish we could talk to each other, so that I could properly thank him for his help.”

“Mmhm.”

“Enough ‘bout that. Let’s go get something to eat.”

********************

While Applejack and Big Mac were eating, Scruffy had wandered off when he had seen Lyra. The two of them found him and Lyra sitting on a park bench, while Lyra was playing her harp. There were a few ponies gathered around them, listening. Applejack and Big Mac sat down with the rest of the small crowd.

After Lyra had finished her song, Scruffy searched his pockets and pulled out a harmonica. He took a while to prepare, and then started playing. Jovial music filled the air as he expertly played a music piece nopony had ever heard before. Lyra closed her eyes, her ears twitching as she listened, before she took her instrument and adjusted herself. For a moment, she pawed the air with her hooves, waiting for the right moment, and then she joined Scruffy. Together the two of them weaved the magic of music together in Ponyville’s market square, and for a moment, everypony stopped to listen.

When the music ended, the gathered crowd stomped their hooves in approval. Scruffy hadn’t seemed to notice how big the crowd had gotten and was slightly startled by the sound.

“Hehe. That was really good Scruffy!” Lyra cheered when the crowd started to disperse and get back to what they were doing.

“That was really fun to listen to.” Applejack agreed as she and Big Mac walked to them.

“Eeyup.” Big Mac nodded. Scruffy seemed to get the meaning behind their words as he blushed slightly and rubbed his neck.

“We have to play together again at some point. But for now I need to get going before BonBon starts wondering where I have run off to.” Lyra said as she hopped down from the bench. Scruffy also got up. “See you later Scruffy!” Lyra said and waved at him, before trotting off.

“Well ain’t you full of surprises?” Applejack said. Scruffy turned towards her and tilted his head slightly.

“Eeyup.” Big Mac nodded. “I better get back to our stall. Those apples won’t sell themselves.”

“And I need to go help Fluttershy. See you in the evening, Big Mac.” They waved each other goodbye and headed off to their own directions. Scruffy seemed to ponder for a while before following Applejack.

“Heh. Still coming with me, are you? I’m sure Fluttershy will be happy to see you.” Applejack said with a smile.

********************

The walk to Fluttershy’s house was done mostly in silence. Not much to talk to a creature who can’t talk back. They were greeted by a few of Rainbow’s colleagues on their way, but other than that their only company were birds singing in the trees. After a quick walk, they found themselves outside of Fluttershy’s cottage. Applejack knocked on the door.

“Fluttershy, it’s me.” She announced loudly. They both could clearly hear a cacophony of sounds coming from inside.

“Just a minute.” Came a soft reply. Scruffy turned his head towards a window. There were many different animals looking at them on the other side, most of them curious.

After a few moments, Fluttershy opened the door and peeked outside.

“Hey Applejack…Oh! Hey Scruffy.” She greeted them both with a big smile.

“Hey Fluttershy. I came to help with the knickknacks as I promised.”

“Oh, right! I almost forgot about that, I have been so busy today.” With the door open, all the noises Fluttershy’s animal friends were making were much louder.

“Uh, everything all right, sugarcube?”

“It’s…it’s okay. Ms. Fluff is on a bad mood because of a tooth ache, so some of them are a bit agitated, and I was just about to feed everyone.” Just when she finished speaking, angry hissing could be heard inside. “Oh dear.” Fluttershy said and went back inside. Scruffy nudged Applejack and when she turned to look, she could see worry on his face.

“Everything’s okay sugarcube. We’ll just have to wait for a minute.” She said as they patiently sat down to wait for Fluttershy.

“Sorry about that.” Fluttershy said when she returned to the door.

“It’s okay. So, what did you need help with?” Applejack asked.

“Um, well, when we had that storm a few days ago, my chicken coop got hit pretty hard. The coop is unusable, so the chickens are staying inside with me.”

“I hope none of them got hurt.”

“Nothing serious, fortunately.”

“Anything else you need fixing?”

“Well, if you could also patch up the fence, I’d really appreciate it.”

“Ain’t no problem at all Fluttershy, I’m always happy to help. And if Scruffy here wants to help too, we’ll get it done lickety-split.” Applejack said and bumped Scruffy's leg, which made him look down on her and raise one eyebrow.

“I’ve already gathered some material near where the coop is.” Another angry hiss came from inside the cottage. “I uhh…I need to go tend to Ms. Fluff. I’m so sorry that I’m just leaving you to do it by yourselves.”

“It’s okay sugarcube. You need to look after your animal friends. We’ll manage.”

Fluttershy nodded with a smile and disappeared back inside. Applejack motioned for Scruffy to follow her. They circled the house to find a chicken coop in desperate need of repair. The ramp leading in to the coop seemed to have been completely blown off its hinges, one of the legs was broken and needed to be changed. The roof would also need to be repaired so that it wouldn’t leak in the rain.

“Seems like our work has been cut out for us.” Applejack said as the two of them surveyed the damage. She also noticed a hammer and box of nails, a saw and a couple of wood planks set aside for the repairs. When Scruffy noticed the tools, he smiled and nodded eagerly.

********************

Applejack was pleasantly surprised yet again when it became clear that this wasn’t the first time Scruffy was using a hammer. They quickly figured out what was the best way to approach repairing the damage, and got to work. The broken leg was easily changed, and they noticed that one other leg was slightly wobbly, so they changed that too. Scruffy worked to change the boards on the roof while Applejack took a quick trip to town to get a few items they didn’t have. With the roof made waterproof again, the last thing was the ramp. The ramp also served as a door for the coop, so it took them a moment to figure out how to best repair it.

Those hands are mighty useful, Applejack though as Scruffy hammered the last few nails in place. They were much more flexible than pony hooves, and could manipulate objects much more easily. Applejack had to cringe each time Scruffy hit a nail the first time, however. She was afraid that he was going to miss the nail and accidentally hit his fingers with the hammer, which would undoubtedly hurt much more than hooves would. Luckily, he didn’t miss even once. With the coop repairs done, they used the remaining wood they had to replace a few of the fence poles.

“Thank you so much.” Fluttershy said and hugged both of them.

“It was no problem at all.” Applejack suppressed a snicker at Scruffy’s embarrassed smile as Fluttershy affectionately hugged him.

“I’ll make sure to repay you.”

“Aww, you don’t have to pay me, Fluttershy.”

“Well I’ll think of something else then.”

“Aw shucks. If you really want to.”

“Mhm.”

“I better get going now. I still have a lot of apples to harvest today.”

“Thank you one more time.”

“You coming?” Applejack asked Scruffy and indicated towards Ponyville with her head. He looked from her to Fluttershy, and after a moment, shook his head.

“Okay. You two take care then.” Applejack said and waved.

“Bye.” They waved back. After Applejack had left, Fluttershy turned towards Scruffy with an excited smile. “Let’s go inside so that I can introduce all my animal friends to you!”

********************

Applejack returned to Sweet Apple Acres to continue working. It was already well past noon and approaching early evening, and the temperature was getting to be more tolerable for working. As she walked past the house, she could see Granny Smith sweeping the floor with a broom.

Good old Granny Smith, even her old age can’t prevent her from making sure the house is as spotless as Winona’s food bowl…except when she falls asleep I suppose, Applejack though to herself. She trotted to the barn to get the cart, then making her way back to the south field.

********************

“Hey sis!” Applejack turned towards the voice. She could see Applebloom galloping towards her. She angled her head to look at where the sun was and surprised to see how low it had gotten. She hadn’t realized how long she'd been working.

“Hey Applebloom. How was school today?”

“Boring. We had a long history class today. We even had somepony visiting from Canterlot as a guest lecturer, but he was just. So. Boring!” Applebloom allowed herself to fall on the ground. “Half of the classroom was asleep after the first 5 minutes. Even Cheerilee seemed to be nodding off.” She muttered.

“I see.” Applejack chuckled. She remembered her own school days and how boring they often seemed. “You aren't crusading with your friends today?”

“Scootaloo was almost sleepwalking when the class finally ended. I think she headed straight for bed when school was over.”

“Would you like to help me with the apple harvest then?”

“Yes. If I stay put for another minute, I feel like I’m going to be as rickety as our old barn!” Applebloom hopped up from the ground. Applejack chuckled again.

“Then let’s get to it!”

********************

The two sisters toiled at the orchard for the rest of the day, with Big Mac joining them after the traffic at the market died down. The three Apples worked hard in to the evening hours, and only when the sun was starting to get behind the trees did they decide to call it in for the day. They were surprised, however, when Fluttershy and Scruffy walked to them.

“Hey everypony.” Fluttershy greeted them.

“Oh. Hey Fluttershy. What brings you here?” Applejack responded.

“I came to thank you for your help today.” She said and nudged the basket Scruffy was carrying. “I wanted to bake something for you as thanks. Scruffy also wanted to bake something, after he saw me doing it. He went and got some ingredients from his home in the Everfree, I think, and he baked…well…I don’t really know what they are.” Fluttershy explained.

Scruffy places the basket down and the Apples gathered around, curious. Fluttershy lifted the cloth that was covering the basked, and instantly a smell of freshly baked goods hit them. There was a blueberry pie in the basket, and then several things that none of them recognized. They looked like some sort of small rice pies.

“They do look a little…weird…but they are actually quite tasty.” Fluttershy said. She pointed at a small bowl with something yellow in it. “He made that from eggs and butter. It’s supposed to be put on the, uh, rice pies.”

“Why are they so wrinkly?” Applebloom asked.

“I don’t know. That’s just how Scruffy made them.” Fluttershy admitted.

“Well, let’s go get Granny Smith and test them. We don’t want to make them go to waste.” Applejack said.

“Eeyup.” Big Mac agreed.

The group marched towards the Apple household, with Applebloom galloping a little in advance to get Granny Smith. They set up their impromptu picnic close to the house under an apple tree when Applebloom and Granny Smith walked to them.

Just like Fluttershy had said, Scruffy’s creations were quite tasty, if very odd looking. Applejack had to admit that she preferred them without the butter/egg topping, and she could easily imagine these being done by Granny Smith. Scruffy seemed pleased that everypony had taken a liking to his rice pies, and he chuckled to himself when initially they all looked at the butter/egg topping suspiciously. The rest of the evening was spend together talking and enjoying each other’s company. Applebloom told in more detail what had happened at school, and even Big Mac told about a thing or two that happened in the market.

Yup, Applejack thought to herself as Applebloom and Fluttershy giggled at Big Mac’s tale. Today was definitely a good day.

Chapter 11 - Magic Duel

View Online

“Bucking pony feathers!” Rainbow Dash swore as she wrestled with a banner. It had been a few hours since Trixie made her ‘triumphant’ return and took control of Ponyville. She immediately started to bully and order everypony around, and anypony who refused was swiftly made to understand that there was no denying the magician.

Poor Pinkie Pie, Dash thought. Preventing her from opening her mouth was perhaps one of the worst things Trixie could have done to the party planner. Dash hefted the heavy banner, which had Trixie’s face on it, onto somepony’s balcony. With a few unenthusiastic hoof strikes, she secured it there with nails. Trixie had ordered Rarity to make banners with her face on them, and then demanded that Rainbow and the rest of the Ponyville weather ponies stick them up all around town. She had even told them to make sure that “...there is no square inch in Ponyville where one cannot see Trixie’s beautiful face.” Rainbow had tried to refuse, but a quick flick of Trixie’s magic and Rainbow’s wings shrunk, making them too tiny for flight. There was no way around it, Trixie was going to bully them until she got what she wanted.

The banner smacked her in the face as it pillowed with the wind. Rainbow growled in rage and punched the banner with all her might, which of course didn’t have much of an effect. As if to make sure that everypony’s day would be as miserable as possible, shortly after conquering Ponyville Trixie summoned a giant glass bowl and covered the town with it, before filling it with storm clouds. There was a constant strong wind and drizzle, and Rainbow could barely see anypony outside, besides the weather team.

She’s acting like a second-rate villain from a Daring Do book. How did she get so powerful anyway, Dash thought to herself as she flew under a tree to take shelter. From what she remembered when Trixie was last in town, she hadn’t seemed quite so powerful. The spells she was casting were on a different scale to what she was doing previously. And the heroine of the story isn’t here to give her a good kick in the flank. Rainbow looked towards the Everfree, where Twilight had run off to when Trixie threw her out. Even with all her magic, Twilight hadn’t been able to stand up to Trixie. She must have felt awful for having lost to someone like Trixie when it came to magic, and it stung Rainbow’s heart to know that there wasn’t anything she could do about it. Nopony could leave Ponyville, or come inside for that matter, as long as that stupid bowl was there.

No, don’t think like that, Rainbow mentally slapped herself. There has to be something we can do! She got up and took flight. Maybe there would be something that could help them in Twilight’s library. She would need to get the others, and together they would be able to think of something to help them.

********************

A lone figure approached the outskirts of Ponyville. It had noticed the weird structure around town from afar, and now that it had gotten closer, it could hardly believe its eyes. An upturned, giant glass bowl was encircling the entire town. It scratched its head in confusion and experimentally tapped it. Nothing happened, and it tried knocking instead, but all that produced was echoing thuds.

The creature scratched its head again, before looking around, trying to spot anything that would help it. When it found no such thing, it turned around, and marched back into the Everfree.

********************

“Perhaps for now, we should stop. Tea will help you focus, so I shall make us a pot.” Zecora said as Twilight tried to catch her breath. She had been practicing nonstop from the moment Zecora had agreed to help her, but progress was slow. That was to be expected, since she wasn’t just trying to learn a new spell, which could be quick to learn for a seasoned spellcaster. No, she was training to get better control of her magic and tap into all the magical potential inside of her, instead of just a part of it. She had done similar training with Celestia, of course, but she was much younger then and hadn’t had nearly as much magic under her control. The magic boost she had gotten when she became the Element of Magic increased her magical reservoir considerably, but that didn’t mean squat if she couldn’t bring it all out in a controlled fashion.

Twilight’s thoughts wandered back to Trixie. She just didn’t understand how Trixie could have improved so drastically in such a short time. The last time they met, while not being a below mediocre magician by any means, she had hardly been as powerful as her. She had to be somewhere in the same level as Rarity at the time. Skilled in the magic her cutie mark pertained to. Now, it seemed like she was more powerful than any archmagi Twilight had ever encountered.

I wonder how my friends are doing, Twilight thought remorsefully as she got up from the ground and tried to get some of the dirt out from her fur.

“Tea would be nice,” she finally said back to the zebra that was patiently waiting for her. Zecora nodded, and they started to make their way back to her hut. Suddenly she stopped, and Twilight could see her ears pivot around. There was a rustle further along in the dark underbrush.

“Quick, hide in the brush! This creature seems to be in a rush!” Zecora whispered, and they both hid. The rustling intensified as the creature moved towards them with no desire to stay hidden. It didn’t seem to be running, but neither was it on a casual stroll either. Soon Twilight could see the creature’s legs, and she immediately recognized them.

“Scruffy?” she said as she got out of the bush. Scruffy let out a small yelp from the unexpected voice, but calmed down as he noticed her. “Oh, sorry.”

He opened his mouth, but then closed it again when he spotted Zecora. His expression morphed in to the most adorable confused pout that Twilight had ever seen.

“Ah, so you are Everfree’s mysterious guest. And pray tell me, Scruffy, is that your name, or just how you are addressed?” Zecora said as she took in Scruffy’s appearance.

“Oh…That’s just something Pinkie came up with. He can’t speak our language, so we can’t ask for his real name.”

“That is a great shame. Perhaps one day, you’ll find a way to tell us your real name.” Zecora said to Scruffy, who looked like his brain had ground to a halt. He muttered something in response before shaking his head. He pointed roughly towards Ponyville, then making a vaguely bowl shape with his hands before looking at them questioningly.

“So you have seen it too.” Twilight’s ears drooped. She turned towards Zecora. “Let’s head back and I’ll try to explain to him what happened.” Zecora nodded, and they continued the walk back to her home.

Once they arrived outside of her hut, Scruffy blinked a few times, before rubbing his eyes as if not believing what he was seeing. Twilight had to admit that it was quite an interesting sight. Strange concoctions, weird masks and other small items were littered around the tree.

After going inside, Twilight used her magic to draw shapes in the air in an attempt to explain the situation to Scruffy. It took a few tries, and a lot of confused shrugs, but eventually it looked as if Scruffy understood.

“Sorry Scruffy, but I don’t have time to spend with you right now. We need to figure out a way to defeat Trixie.” Twilight drew an image of Ponyville in the air, and crossed it over with a big red X. “And you shouldn’t go to Ponyville either. It’s not safe.”

Scruffy scratched his head and Twilight could see worry on his face. She gently stroked his leg.

“It’s okay. We’ll figure something out. It’s probably better if you head back to your home for today,” she said and drew a stick figure representing him and made it walk away from Ponyville. Scruffy crossed his arms and harrumphed.

“He isn’t one to be easily scared,” Zecora said with a small smile, before her expression turned very strict, “but unfortunately, for this, you are woefully unprepared.” Twilight made a Trixie figure shoot a lightning bolt at the Scruffy figure. It spasmed for a second before falling over. Small stars circled its head. Scruffy’s expression faltered.

“I promise you we’ll figure something out,” Twilight said encouragingly. A Twilight figure zapped the Trixie figure, and all the ponies cheered. A ghost of a smile touched Scruffy’s lips, and he petted Twilight’s mane. He got up from the floor, rubbing his lower back and muttering something. He gave them one more unsure look. Twilight and Zecora responded with encouraging smiles. Scruffy nodded, and walked out of the hut.

A few minutes later, Fluttershy came inside the hut wearing a slightly torn, yet still adorable, ninja bunny suit. With the information from Fluttershy, Twilight came up with a plan for getting the amulet away from Trixie.

********************

As soon as Scruffy got sufficiently far away from Zecora’s hut, he changed direction. He had a determined frown on his face as he marched right towards Ponyville.

********************

It was a few hours later when Twilight and Zecora arrived outside the barrier that was over Ponyville. Twilight could see the angry clouds over Ponyville, and knew instantly that those were most likely created by Trixie. For what purpose, Twilight didn’t know, but it wasn’t a good sign. All these large spells Trixie was casting only hastened how quickly the amulet would corrupt her. She needed to work fast. Twilight pinged the barrier several times with her magic and waited. Eventually, Trixie showed up to see what was happening.

“You?!” she exclaimed in a mix of shock and annoyance. “What’s the matter, Twilight Sparkle? Not enjoying your exile?”

“I know about the Alicorn Amulet,” Twilight responded. “I know you cheated.” She said nothing about the amulet’s corrupting powers, so that Trixie wouldn’t get suspicious.

“Cheated? Moi?” Trixie feigned ignorance.

“Yeah, and I thought you might want to see what a real magical amulet looks like. Zecora gave it to me. It’s from beyond the Everfree forest, and it’s way more powerful than your measly little Alicorn Amulet.”

“Hah! Nothing’s more powerful than the Alicorn Amulet, and nopony’s more powerful than the Great and Powerful Trixie!”

“Care to put your amulet where your mouth is?” Twilight goaded. She needed Trixie to let her inside to duel her again, so that she and her friends could enact their plan. “How about another duel?”

“Why should I? I already beat you.”

“That’s up to you, but I guess you’ll never see the totally awesome magic from beyond the Everfree forest. Come on Zecora.” Twilight and Zecora started to walk away from Ponyville. Please take the bait, Twilight thought to herself. She almost smiled when she heard Trixie speak.

“Wait!” In a flash of red light, Trixie dispelled the glass bowl she had used to block off Ponyville from the rest of the world, and teleported next to Twilight.

“Okay, okay you’re on! A second duel,” Trixie said menacingly. Twilight smirked, and with a flash of light, Trixie teleported them into Ponyville.

********************

Scruffy had been circling around the glass bowl, trying to find a way in. He tried to break the glass with rocks, but they had just harmlessly bounced off it, so his only option was to find a hole or a crack or something he could use to get inside. Or so he thought, until the whole thing disappeared in flash of light. Scruffy blinked a few times, before frowning again, and marching inside.

********************

Trixie insisted that there needed to be an audience for their second duel, so it took a few minutes before they started. A good number of ponies gathered around to witness what was happening, including Twilight’s friends. Rarity gave Twilight a wink, telling her that they had received her plan and everything was okay.

“Are you ready Trixie?” She asked.

“The great and powerful Trixie is ready to humiliate you again,” she responded.

The two of them took a few steps closer to each other, both intensely staring at their opponent. A lightning bolt flew across the sky to mark the start of their duel.

“Let’s start with a simple age spell, shall we?”

“Let’s.”

“Snips! Snails!” Trixie commanded. After they both quickly galloped in front of her, she shot them with a spell, turning them in to foals. They both started crying. “An oldie but a goodie, heh. Now, let’s see what your little charm can do.” She smirked and her eyes flashed red. Twilight looked down on her amulet, taking one more second to get herself ready.

“No problem! Umm, Applejack, Rarity could youuu…” Twilight’s words died in her throat. The crowd let out a few surprised gasps and started murmuring. Oh no! I told him to go home!

“Huh?” Trixie said and turned around. There was Scruffy, walking towards her and scowling at her angrily. “What is that?” she said, perplexed.

He’s going to ruin everything, Twilight thought, trying desperately to think of what to do now.

Scruffy stopped in front of Trixie. He was looking down on her, his hands on his hips.

“What do you want?” Trixie asked annoyed. “Trixie is in the middle of a very import-…” Her sentence was cut off when Scruffy’s hand grabbed Trixie by the ear, and pulled. “Ow! Hey, what are you doing?” Trixie demanded.

Scruffy heard none of it, and pulled Trixie along with him to the nearby statue of two Trixies rearing up and looking at each other.

“Trixie demands that you unhoof her at once!” Trixie complained.

Before Trixie could so much as to start gathering magic, Scruffy had sat down on the edge of the base. With a few swift motions, he pulled Trixie closer, and over his knees. Her front hooves were firmly planted on the ground, but her back hooves were wiggling in the air.

“Let go of me at once, creature, or the Great and Powerful Trixie will-”

SMACK

All at once everypony went silent, the only sound being the howling wind and the rustling of the banners. Most ponies jaws were hanging wide open, and some parents were covering their young ones eyes. Trixie’s eyes were wide open in shock

Did…did he just…Twilight thought before there was another smack.

SMACK

“H…How dare you!” Trixie screeched. “How dare you to- “

SMACK

Scruffy paid no attention to what Trixie was saying, and instead delivered another painful smack on her backside.

SMACK

“Ow! Stop that!”

SMACK

“You insufferable creature! Let me go at- “

SMACK

Twilight couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Scruffy had pulled Trixie on his lap and was giving her a spanking. A few strands of hair sprung from her mane at the sheer absurdity.

SMACK

“Ow! This is not how you treat the Great and Pow-“

SMACK

“I WILL MAKE SURE YOU SPEND THE REST OF YOUR LIFE IN AGO-“

SMACK

No matter how much Trixie tried to squirm, it seemed that Scruffy had a good grip on her, and wasn’t going to let go. Her hind legs flailed helplessly in the air as Scruffy administered one painful spank after another. She tried to pull herself away with her front hooves, and kick Scruffy’s leg, but it had no effect on him. Every time she tried to concentrate for a spell, it was broken when Scruffy’s hand connected.

SMACK

“Let me go!” Trixie screeched in rage, only for it to fall on deaf ears.

SMACK

Twilight found what was happening in front of her eyes to be cathartic. All the practice she did with Zecora, the plan she and her friends had, and Scruffy just walked in and…started spanking her. Like a naughty foal who had refused to behave after repeatedly being told to. The only thing preventing Twilight from bursting into manic laughter was the knowledge that Trixie still had the amulet, and what she could do to Scruffy with it. Not that there seemed to be much of a danger anymore.

SMACK

“Let go! Let go! Let go!”

SMACK

“Trixie begs you to let her go!”

SMACK

Twilight turned to look around at what kind of reactions the others had. Applejack had pulled her hat in front of her eyes, and her tail was protectively between her legs. Twilight could hear her mutter something about “not being the one this time”, and she had to wonder if Applejack had found herself in a similar situation with Granny Smith when she was younger. Rarity looked like she was about to faint, and a small blush was coloring her cheeks. Fluttershy was blushing furiously, but it was a surprise to see Pinkie Pie blush even more than her. The blush had even reached Pinkie’s ears. Her eyes were constantly darting around, as if not sure if she wanted to see what was happening to Trixie or not, before snapping back to her with each smack. Rainbow looked like she didn’t know if she wanted to burst in to ravenous laughter or feel pity towards Trixie. Zecora had a bemused look on her face.

SMACK

“P-please let go!”

SMACK

“TRIXIE IS SOHOHOHORRYYYYYYYYYY.” Trixie finally wailed and started to sob.

Scruffy was panting from the exercise of having to keep Trixie from escaping. While not knowing exactly how strong Scruffy was, it had seemed like a real struggle to keep Trixie where he could…deliver his punishment. Scruffy was weakly waving his right hand. It probably stung, but definitely not as badly as what Trixie was going through, if the wails were of any indication.

Now’s my chance! Twilight quickly trotted to Scruffy and Trixie, the latter of whom was still bawling.

“Uhh…Trixie?” The show mare switched from crying to sobbing as she turned to look at Twilight.

“You should take off that amulet of yours, and I’ll make sure to tell Scruffy to stop and let you go. You don’t want him to start again, do you?”

Twilight’s words hit like sledgehammer, and Trixie’s eyes widened in horror. She scrambled to take off the Alicorn Amulet, and after a few tries, she threw it away. Rainbow quickly scooped it up and took it to Zecora, who placed it into a small box.

“Scruffy? It’s okay, you can let her go now.”

Scruffy turned to look at her and raised one eyebrow. Twilight nodded to him, and he let go of Trixie. As soon as Trixie felt him letting her go, she hopped off his lap, and made a beeline for the nearest building, which happened to be the town hall. Unfortunately, it was directly away from most of the gathered ponies, and a chorus of hisses of sympathy could be heard from the crowd. While absolutely, 100% totally not meaning to take a look, Twilight also winced slightly. By Celestia, she could almost feel heat radiating from Trixie’s rump. It had almost completely turned red! There was a loud slam as Trixie shut the door when she entered the building. After a while, Twilight could hear something heavy being dragged in front of the door.

“Ahahaha…” Twilight chuckled weakly. “The day is saved, hurray!”

********************

A lone figure watched the ponies that had come to see the duel disperse. It briefly flicked its gaze towards the human still sitting on the statue’s base, before quickly scanning the crowd. Its eyes settled on the six mares who were talking to themselves, before continuing on to the zebra, and the small box she was carrying.

Chapter 12 - Aftermath

View Online

“How are you feeling, Trixie?” Twilight asked as she levitated two cups of tea down.

“Trixie is fine…” Trixie muttered in response and levitated her cup closer. It wavered slightly, but didn’t fall.

The two of them were sitting (or lying in Trixie’s case) in Twilight’s library. After Scruffy’s…handling of Trixie, she had barricaded herself in the town hall. Twilight had to teleport inside, and even then, it took nearly half an hour of coaxing and reassuring that Scruffy wasn’t going to do anything to her before Trixie agreed to follow her to the library.

Now that Trixie didn’t have the amulet anymore, life in Ponyville was getting back to normal. Rainbow and the weather team were still in the process of getting the last few black clouds under control, and Rarity had agreed together with Fluttershy to take down all the Trixie banners. Applejack had decided to take Scruffy to Sweet Apple Acres, so that there wouldn't be any more conflict between Trixie and him. After Twilight had undone the spell put on Pinkie, the usually so jubilant party mare had quietly slipped away somewhere, and nopony had seen her since. The only thing they couldn't do anything about was Snips and Snails, who would have to stay as foals until the spell ran out, or until Celestia's arrival later that evening.

Twilight glanced at Trixie, who was in her own world as she drank her tea. She looked tired, haggard, and slightly ill. She must be feeling terrible, Twilight thought. With the amulets removal, Trixie's body was now able to slowly purge its corruption. The tainted magic that the amulet had imbued in her would dissipate as her thaumic pool worked to replenish itself with her own magic again. Trixie had said that the corrupted magic felt like rubbery sludge trying to get out of her body. Twilight shuddered at the mere thought. Luckily the amulet was removed before there would be any serious consequences.

"Trixie, you must still be feeling the effects of the amulet’s corruption. I could go and ask Zecora if she has a potion that would help, or maybe-"

"No, Trixie...Trixie will be fine..." Trixie replied and smiled weakly.

The two of them went quiet, neither being able to think of anything to say. Twilight’s thoughts wandered towards the imminent visit from Princess Celestia and the Saddle Arabian delegates. What should she say to her? Should she tell her what happened today? Would Celestia punish Trixie further for what she did? The Alicorn Amulet was a concern, although Twilight trusted that Zecora could keep it hidden away. With good luck, Zecora would be able to hide it so well that it wouldn’t see the light of day ever again. Not that Twilight doubted if Celestia could keep it safe. She probably had dozens of artifacts hidden somewhere in Canterlot castle, but Twilight didn’t want to bother her about it today. She surely had enough on her hoofs already with the delegates.

“T-Twilight Sparkle…” Trixie snapped Twilight out of her thoughts.

“Yes?” She turned to look towards the azure mare, who debated with herself a moment longer.

“Trixie…Trixie wishes to apologize...for what she did today…”

“Huh?” Twilight blinked.

“Trixie acted horribly towards all of you. Trixie never meant to take it so far…” Trixie gazed downwards at her teacup and fiddled with it lazily. When Twilight didn’t say anything, she continued. “Trixie only wanted to show you that she too was good with magic. That she wasn’t a…a liar…Trixie had trained and prepared her magic to show you…but when Trixie found out that you were the bearer of the element of magic…” Trixie’s ears went down. It took a moment for Twilight to understand.

“You thought it wouldn’t be enough?”

“…Trixie searched high and low for anything that could help Trixie’s magic…”

“And you found the Alicorn Amulet.”

“Yes…Trixie had heard of it, that it would make its wearer stronger. Trixie didn’t know it would also make you so…mean.”

“Well, according to the book that I read, the amulet was created before the unification by a unicorn leader, whose weak magic often made others question her ability to lead. The amulet works by leaching magic from its surroundings and storing it, which it then gives to the user when worn. This mix of different ambient magics, however, isn’t good for you, and prolonged use will cause…erm…well…” Twilight smiled sheepishly when she realized that she was rambling again.

“And that caused Trixie to…to do what she did?”

“Ehm ehm…yes, the overcharge of mixed magic would also affect you in a way similar to alcohol. It would have lowered your inhibitions and made you more impulsive and aggressive. It made you drunk on magic, so to say.”

“…Trixie never should have bought it…”

“Trixie, it’s okay.” Twilight said as she circled the table to sit next to Trixie. She brushed her mane in a calming manner. “It wasn’t your fault. I’m not angry at you, and I’m sure that if you apologize to the others as well, they too will forgive you.”

“You…you’ll forgive Trixie?” Trixie turned towards Twilight with hope in her eyes.

“Yes. After what you went through today, I think you’ve learned your lesson,” Twilight said devilishly with a smirk. Trixie immediately blushed and turned away with a pout on her face. Twilight had to admit, it was a bit cute.

********************

As Princess Celestia’s personal student, Twilight often had the privilege of seeing a different side of her mentor than most ponies had. Celestia was known to have a legendary poker face, and she would stay calm in any situation. When she talked to her subjects, she always had that warm, motherly smile on her face. Twilight, however, had also seen what she was like around those she was close to. She had seen Celestia be embarrassed, frustrated, and once, she had even see her cry, but this was something she had never witnessed before.

Celestia, the bringer of the dawn, co-ruler of Equestria and her mentor, was rolling on the library floor, laughing her flank off.

After Celestia arrived with the delegates and after Twilight’s magic show for them (Trixie had asked to help with it, to make up for all the trouble she caused.), Celestia unexpectedly decided to visit her in the library. As they enjoyed a cup of tea together, Celestia asked her how her day had been, and Twilight decided to tell her what had happened.

At first Celestia’s expression was serious, and Twilight noticed her eyes narrow slightly when she mentioned the Alicorn Amulet. Undoubtedly, she had encountered it before. She nodded approvingly when Twilight told of her plan for getting the amulet away from Trixie. When she told her what actually happened, however, Celestia’s expression turned in to bafflement. Twilight saw the smile that was tugging at her mentor’s lips, and eventually a single snort of laughter escaped. Celestia tried desperately to prevent it, but after a brief struggle she started to giggle. When Twilight mentioned that as soon as Trixie got free, she had sprinted towards the town hall and barricaded herself there, all the barriers broke down, and Celestia fell on the floor, laughing.

Just when Celestia’s laughter was finally dying down, Trixie chose that unfortunate time to arrive in the library with Spike. She and Celestia locked eyes for a moment, before Celestia burst in to renewed laughter. After Trixie figured out why one of the rulers of ponykind was rolling on the floor and laughing at her, she blushed and tried to hide her face behind her pointy hat, which only caused Celestia to laugh even harder. Spike eventually joined in the laughter, although not entirely sure why.

As Twilight watched Celestia desperately trying to gasp for air, with tears streaming down her face, she realized that she had rarely seen her laugh before Luna’s return. She wondered if this was the first time she had properly laughed in centuries.

“I…ahahaa…I-I’m so s-sorry my little pony…” Celestia finally managed when she had gotten up. Twilight offered her a handkerchief, and Celestia levitated it onto her face to dry her tears. “I shouldn’t have laughed.”

“It’s…fine…” Trixie responded tersely.

“No, I shouldn’t have acted like that.” A few more giggles escaped Celestia as she blew her nose. “I sincerely apologize for my behavior,” she said and bowed her head. Trixie sighed.

“Trixie accepts your apology…although she is afraid that at this rate, Trixie will never live this down…”

“Don’t lose heart, my little pony,” Celestia said with her usual smile. “We all make little mistakes at times, and that in turn will shape us. I’m only happy that you got away from this with just a scare, and nothing permanent. How are you feeling? Has the amulet’s magic worn off completely?” Celestia walked next to Trixie, who shied away from her slightly.

“Trixie is fine…She doesn’t feel sick anymore.”

“That’s good. Don’t hesitate to go to the Ponyville Hospital if you start feeling nauseous.” Trixie’s response was a simple nod. “Now Twilight, there is one more thing I wish to discuss with you.”

“What is it?”

“Let’s go have a walk outside.”

The two of them walked outside, and went on a path that led away from the town.

“Twilight, there is something I wish to ask you to do.”

“Yes? Does it have something to do with the delegates?”

“No, my faithful student. It involves Scruffy.”

“Huh? What about him?” Twilight asked as they made their way to a tree and sat down. The sun had long since gone below the horizon, and a beautiful canvas of stars was on the sky.

“I asked my sister to try to find more of Scruffy’s kind in the Everfree forest while she was dream walking. I wanted a confirmation if he and others of his kind live in the Everfree, if there’s a town or a community there.”

“And?” Twilight asked eagerly, but her enthusiasm was dampened when Celestia looked back with seriousness.

“Luna could only sense a few ponies and your zebra friend in the Everfree. She couldn’t find anyone like Scruffy there, not even a trace. Even if the creatures don’t dream, she should have been able to sense something if they are asleep.”

“Oh…how can that be?” Twilight asked with a raised eyebrow.

“We don’t know. She said there was something in the forest, but she couldn’t make it out what it was. It was as if something was masking it from her.”

“But how can I help with this?”

“From your reports, and what has happened today, I think it’s safe to say that Scruffy considers the citizens of Ponyville as his friends.”

“Yes, I would say so.”

“I would like to ask you to persuade him to stay in Ponyville overnight, so that my sister can try to sense him when he is asleep. Once she is familiar with what she is looking for, perhaps she can try to search the Everfree again.”

“I see. I’m sure I can get him to stay overnight. I won’t let you down Princess!” Celestia chuckled.

“Twilight, you don’t have to be so formal when it’s just the two of us.”

“Ehehe…sorry.”

Celestia offered a warm smile, and the two of them simply enjoyed each other’s company as they sat under the stars.

Chapter 13 - Lessons

View Online

As per Celestia’s request, the next day, Twilight found herself trying to figure out a way to get Scruffy to stay in Ponyville overnight. The language barrier was proving to be problematic yet again, since Twilight couldn’t simply ask Scruffy to stay. Well, she could, it was apparent that Scruffy understood imagery very well, but Twilight wasn’t sure if she could explain why she wanted him to stay.

On the other hoof, she also thought about simply trying to ask him if there were more beings like him in the Everfree, but the Princess hadn’t brought that up, and she must have thought about it. She must have her reasons why she doesn’t want to ask directly, Twilight reasoned. No, she had to come up with a way to get Scruffy to spend the night in Ponyville, even if she felt a bit bad about tricking him like this.

“But how do I do that?” Twilight said in exasperation and smacked her head against a table.

“Do what?” Spike asked from behind the comic book he was reading.

“The Princess asked me to find a way to keep Scruffy in Ponyville overnight.”

“Can’t you just ask him?”

“But what if he doesn’t want to? How do I persuade him?”

“Tell him it’s important or something.”

“Spike, he doesn’t speak our language.”

“Oh, right. Hmm…tie him up and throw him into the basement like Mane-iac?” Spike shrugged. Twilight gasped in shock.

“Spike! I can’t do that!” Spike lowered his comic and looked at Twilight, his face expressionless.

“Twilight. I was joking.” Twilight blinked a few times, before frowning.

“I think you read too many comics.”

“I don’t think I read enough of them,” he said and giggled as he found something funny in the comic.

“I think you have chores to do,” Twilight said, a smirk forming on her face.

“Oh come on Twilight, there’s only a few more pages left.”

“I don’t think so, mister! If you aren’t going to put it down willingly, then I’ll have to do it for you!” Twilight proclaimed.

“Wha-“ Spike was cut off when Twilight suddenly pounced. He only had enough time for one frightened yelp before Twilight snatched him in a loving embrace, and started to tickle.

“H-hey! T-that tickles!” Spike said and tried to squirm away. He put up a valiant effort to resist Twilight’s machinations, but soon they both were giggling on the floor. A bleary-eyed Trixie opened the guest bedroom door and looked at the pair, before simply shaking her head and going to the kitchen to make coffee.

********************

A little past noon, Fluttershy arrived at Twilight’s library with Scruffy in tow. Fluttershy had encountered him while on her way to town.

“Hi Fluttershy. Hi Scruffy,” Twilight greeted. “Good that you are actually here, I had something I wanted to do with Scruffy.”

“What is it, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked as they went inside the library.

“Princess Celestia asked me to get Scruffy to stay in Ponyville overnight. Princess Luna had tried to find him or others of his kind in the Everfree forest, but she was unable to do so. She wanted to test if she can sense him in the dream world when he’s not in the forest.”

“You mean like a sleepover?”

“Uh…sure.”

“Can I join?” Fluttershy asked excitedly.

“If you want to.”

“Wohoo!” Fluttershy cheered (quietly) as she flapped her wings and floated a meter off the ground, before smiling sheepishly and coming back down.

“I also wanted to test something else. Fluttershy, do you remember how we tried to teach him how to say his nickname at the party?” Twilight asked.

“Mmhm. I remember him having some trouble with it.”

“I wanted to try it again and see if we can teach him our language, so that we can actually have a conversation. Because he did try to say it at any rate, so he should be able to learn if we teach him.”

“That’s a wonderful idea Twilight.”

The three of them walked inside the library, where Spike was wearing an apron and dusting the shelves.

“Hi Fluttershy. Hi Scruffy,” he said and waved. Scruffy tried to hide his smile with his other hand as he waved back.

Twilight set out to gather some tools she could use to help with her language lesson, while Scruffy and Fluttershy headed to help Spike.

“Scruffy,” Twilight called when she had her items on a table, and when she looked up from her setup, she had to jam a hoof in her mouth to prevent herself from laughing. Scruffy was holding Spike up with his hands as he dusted the upper shelves. The being turned towards her with a smile, before depositing Spike on the ground and walking over to her.

Twilight conjured an image in the air with her magic, depicting Scruffy and herself. They were both speaking, but different symbols were coming out of their mouths. Twilight crossed them out with her magic, before making the pony in the picture speak a symbol, and Scruffy’s image repeating the symbol. Eventually, they both had the same symbols coming out of their mouths.

Scruffy was nodding excitedly once he figured out what she was trying to say. It seemed like the ponies weren’t the only ones who were eager to have a talk. They started with something simple and easy. Twilight levitated an apple onto the middle of the table and clearly enunciated: “Apple.”

“Ah-...A-ah-ahkle.”

Twilight and Fluttershy glanced at each other.

“Apple,” Twilight repeated.

“Ah-ahble,” Scruffy tried again.

“Ap-ple,” Fluttershy offered.

“Ahb-ble.”

“Hmm,” Twilight mumbled as she brought a hoof to her chin. “Perhaps we should try something else?” She said and pointed at a chair. “Chair.”

“S-seeir.”

“Chair.”

“S-s-tseir?”

“Let’s try another one,” Twilight said.

Twilight and Fluttershy tried several different items, including books, a candle, different fruits, but Scruffy was unable to say any of the words correctly, no matter how much he tried.

“What are you doing?” Spike asked as he walked over.

“We are trying to teach Scruffy to speak our language…but it seems that it’s going to be more problematic than I thought. He seems to have considerable trouble enunciating any of our words correctly. I had hoped that last time it was just because the party was loud…” Twilight said. Spike turned towards Scruffy, who was rubbing his beard and had his eyes closed.

“Hmm. Well, maybe you should try a different language then? Like griffonese.”

“Spike, that’s an excellent idea!” Twilight picked up the apple again, and tapped the table to get Scruffy’s attention. “Apple.” She said in fluent griffonese.

Scruffy raised one eyebrow, but tried to say the word anyway. What came out was a mangled mess that made no sense.

“It was worth the try,” Fluttershy said.

“Why can’t he say the words properly? It shouldn’t be that hard,” Spike asked.

“It might be due to his biology,” Fluttershy said. “Some creatures are unable to make certain sounds because their vocal cords are not suited for it. Maybe, um, Scruffy can’t either?”

“I…I hadn’t even thought of that…” Twilight said contemplatively as she looked at Scruffy. Scruffy also seemed a bit crestfallen that they had hit a snag so quickly. “I remember reading that minotaurs had hard time speaking some griffonese dialects because of that. Their voices are too deep.”

Scruffy was intently staring at the apple, like it would give him a solution to their problem. Eventually, he picked it up from the table and held it in his hands, before looking at the rest of them.

“-Apple,-” he said.

“Did he…what language was that?” Spike asked.

“I didn’t recognize the language he used. Sounded almost like something from the Saddle Arabian region.” Twilight tried to mimic what Scruffy had said, but unfortunately, she had the same trouble as Scruffy has with their language, and Scruffy shook his head. They tried a few more times with different words, but none of the them were able to say any of the words correctly.

“Hrmh.” Twilight grinded her teeth as she paced across the library. “This is so frustrating! I can’t even think of any spells that would help in this matter!” she steamed. She walked back to the table and let out a frustrated sigh as she lowered her head on it, her ears splayed back. Scruffy reached out and gently ran his fingers through her mane.

“Uhm, maybe the princesses would know?” Fluttershy asked.

“Possibly. I’ll make sure to send her a letter, but maybe we should take a break for now,” Twilight suggested.

“Oh man, I’m starving! Let’s get something to eat,” Spike said as his stomach grumbled loudly.

“I need to check on my animal friends at the cottage. I can also get a few things for the sleepover while I’m there. Ooo, I’m so excited!” Fluttershy said and smiled brightly.

After a moment, Twilight managed to convey to Scruffy that they were going to take a break and buy some groceries for lunch. He decided to follow Twilight and Spike to the market, while Fluttershy headed back to her home.

They were greeted by the ponies that were out and about, many of whom were happy to see Scruffy again. They also came upon Pinkie Pie, who was talking to somepony else as they walked closer.

“Hey Pinkie Pie,” Twilight greeted her as they got next to her.

“Oh, hey Twilight. Hey Scruuuuuffy…” Pinkie’s voice went quiet as her eyes came upon Scruffy. A huge blush lit up on her face, and with nervous giggle, she quickly turned around and pranced away before anypony could stop her.

“What’s up with her?” Twilight asked.

“I don’t know,” the mare who Pinkie had been talking to said back. “I guess it’s just Pinkie being Pinkie Pie.” Scruffy could only scratch his head in confusion at the fleeting pink mare.

********************

No other distractions presented themselves as the trio gathered all the necessary ingredients for their lunch. Twilight had decided to make omelets with different fillings for each of them. Spike would get an assortment of gems in his, she would have vegetables, and Scruffy, after a bit of persuading that it was no problem at all to make him lunch too, agreed on mushrooms.

With the shopping done, they returned to the library. Twilight and Spike got to work on their lunch, and while Scruffy offered to help, there wasn’t enough room in the small kitchen for all three of them. He went back to the main area of the library and busied himself with exploring the many books that were present. However, in the middle of their cooking, a frightened scream rang through the building.

“What? What’s wrong?” Twilight asked as she galloped out of the kitchen. Trixie had come back from her errand.

“Wh-wh-wh-why is that thing here?” Trixie stuttered. She and Scruffy had locked eyes, the latter of whom had a light frown on his face. Twilight let out a small sigh.

“Trixie, calm down. Scruffy is not going to do anything to you. He is here because we were trying to teach him to speak our language, and because Princess Luna wanted him to stay in Ponyville for the night.”

“He’s going to stay here?” Trixie asked fearfully.

“Yes.”

“Overnight?”

“Yes.”

“…Twilight Sparkle. The great and humble Trixie thanks you for letting her stay in your library, but Trixie thinks she is going to find an inn for tonight,” Trixie said and slowly backed away towards the door.

“All your belongings are in the guest bedroom,” Twilight rolled her eyes.

“Trixie can get them later.”

“That includes your bits.”

“…Oh.”

“Trixie, I promise that there’s nothing to fear. I’m sure if you both get to know each other, you’ll be great friends.”

“Friends…? Trixie is uncertain if this is a good idea…”

“Trust me, Trixie.”

Trixie looked from Twilight to Scruffy, whose frown had been replaced with curiosity, before reluctantly following Twilight to where Scruffy was sitting.

“Trixie, this is Scruffy, Ponyville’s resident...umm…something. We don’t know what he is. We encountered him in Everfree one day, and now he visits Ponyville almost daily. He also doesn’t speak any language I know of. Scruffy, this is Trixie.” Twilight pointed at Trixie when she said her name. Scruffy kept a neutral look as he nodded slightly. “Maybe you should shake hooves…erm, and hands, as a sign of friendship?” Twilight suggested.

Trixie slowly offered her hoof to Scruffy, who equally hesitantly shook it.

“Great! Now, we were just in the middle of making omelets for lunch. What type do you like, Trixie?” Twilight asked as she made her way back in to the kitchen.

“T-Trixie is grateful that you have given her a place to stay, but Trixie has to ask, why?” Trixie hurried after her. Twilight stopped and turned around to look at her with surprise.

“Trixie…we might have started off a bit on the wrong hoof, but I don’t want to hold a grudge against you. You already apologized to me and the rest of the town yesterday. As far as I’m concerned, you are free to stay here until you get yourself a new wagon. How did it go, by the way?”

“Trixie talked to the carpenter. He said Trixie would get her new and amazing wagon in a few weeks.”

“Better make it ursa proof,” Spike teased as he removed one omelet from the frying pan and began to make the next.

“Hmph,” Trixie harrumphed.

After all the omelets were done, the four of them gathered around the table to eat. Fluttershy came back from her cottage just as they were finishing up. She had her saddlebags with her.

“Hello Trixie,” she said a bit meekly.

“Hello.”

“Are you going to join us too?”

“Join what?”

“We are going to have a sleepover.”

“We are?” Spike asked.

“Yes. We need to keep Scruffy here overnight, remember?” Twilight said.

“Oh, right.”

“Twilight Sparkle is allowing Trixie to stay in the library for now, so Trixie is here regardless.”

“That’s wonderful then,” Fluttershy said and clopped her hooves together happily. “I haven’t had a sleepover since I was a filly.”

“Where is he going to stay?” Spike asked.

“We have extra mattresses. Spike, could you wash the dishes? You can have the rest of the day off after that,” Twilight said.

“Sure thing, Twilight.”

“Now, let’s focus back on the matter at hoof. Even if Scruffy can’t speak our language, we could still teach him to write it, which would allow us to communicate.”

“Why can’t he speak?” Trixie asked.

“We think that he might not be able to produce the necessary sounds to speak our language properly. We tried previously, but everything he said sounded like gibberish,” Twilight answered. “He could also have something wrong with his throat, maybe an injury or something else, that prevents him from speaking normally. It doesn’t seem like he’s in any pain when he speaks though.”

“We tried Equestrian Common and griffonese, but Scruffy couldn’t replicate either language. We also couldn’t speak his language, whatever it was,” Fluttershy said.

“Have you tried a voice transmogrification spell?” Trixie asked.

“What’s that?” Twilight questioned.

“You don’t know what a voice transmogrification spell is?”

“I don’t remember reading about a spell with that name.”

“Hah, then let the great and knowledgeable Trixie teach you,” Trixie said pridefully. “The voice transmogrification spell is used by some stage magicians, whose performance might need it. For example, a ventriloquist might change their voice to sound different, or a puppet performer for the different characters. Trixie has seen such a spell be used many times when she was training.”

“How would that help?” Fluttershy asked.

“Trixie thinks you could cast it on your friend there, and it might allow him to produce the necessary sounds to speak our language.”

“That…that could work!” Twilight said excitedly, but quickly became thoughtful. “It would need some modifications. It sounds like that on its own it would only cause his tone and pitch to change. What we need is something more complex.”

“Unfortunately, Trixie herself does not know the spell, so she can’t help with that. Trixie never needed that spell in her own performance.”

“I could ask Princess Celestia for the spell! I’m sure she knows it, or at least has a spell book for it somewhere in the Canterlot Archives.”

“Then we could finally have a conversation with Scruffy,” Fluttershy said and flied up to give him a hug. Scruffy looked a bit unsure as he petted her mane.

“It’s going to take some time to get the spell to work as we want it to,” Twilight mused. “In the meantime, we can teach him to write.”

********************

The rest of the day was spent in teaching Scruffy the basics of writing Equestrian Common. It was rather easy in theory: write down a word, then point at what the word means. Twilight concluded that it would be more beneficial to teach him some basic words first, like yes and no, instead of starting from the very beginning with the alphabets.

To Twilight’s pleasure, soon after they started, Scruffy had asked for a quill to write with, and had scribbled the same type of symbols that were on his device under every word they wrote on a scroll. Twilight still didn’t recognize the language Scruffy was using but just as he was learning from her, she could also learn from him.

His device also proved to be very useful, as Scruffy could take pictures of the scrolls that they were using. He wouldn’t need to carry the scrolls around, or commit all of them into memory immediately. Once they could properly converse, Twilight vowed to find out how the device worked.

As they were taking a break, Scruffy happened to look outside and grimaced. It was raining rather heavily, and none of them had noticed it. The library was good at muffling outside sounds, not in small part due to an enchantment Twilight had put on the tree. In Twilight’s opinion, a library needed to be quiet and serene. Twilight, of course, knew that it was going to rain today. She had asked Rainbow earlier to have an unscheduled rain in the evening, so that they could dissuade Scruffy from leaving Ponyville for the night.

With her magic, Twilight did her best to tell Scruffy that he was free to stay at her library overnight and that they could have a slumber party. He looked unsure at first, indicating that he should go, despite the rain. However, one pleading, teary eyed look from Fluttershy made his resolve shatter. He took one more look at the rain outside, before coming back to continue their lesson.

********************

Luna drifted in the dream world. She lazily floated around, from one dreamer to the next, making sure that everypony was peaceful in their slumber. Her own mind was restless, however, as she waited to see if their plan worked. For several days now, she had tried to sense the elusive creature that Twilight and the other bearers had encountered in the Everfree forest, hoping to find something to tell them where it came from, or if there were more of its kind living in the Everfree forest. But despite her best efforts, she had been unable to do so.

Luna frowned angrily as her spirit flew in the currents of magic to explore the Everfree once more. It vexed her greatly that there was something hiding in the forest from her, and she was certain that there was something, because she could feel it in the back of her mind. A presence, or perhaps multiple presences, lurking in the shadows. Every time she tried to focus on it, it slipped away. It was like a dream that you could barely remember after waking up. The harder you tried, the more it faded away.

But what could cause this? she wondered. There were, of course, several spells that could hide the sleeper from her, but this didn’t feel anything like that. For one thing, she shouldn’t have been able to sense anything at all if those spells were used. No, this was something different. To her, it almost felt like whatever she was sensing was far away. Luna turned her gaze upwards, towards the moon. It almost feels like when I was-…

She could feel it. A new presence in Ponyville. She smiled and giddily hopped into flight. It seemed like Twilight had managed to convince the creature to stay in Ponyville, and whatever magic was preventing her from sensing it in the forest wasn’t blocking her now.

Luna examined the glowing star that represented the creature’s being. To Luna, or any experienced dream walker, a dreamer was a shining star in the dream world, and you could learn a lot from simply observing it. The shape, its color or colors, whether or not it was warm or cold, all of it could tell you something about the dreamer. This star was very conflicting, however. It seemed dull, yet the colors were warm and happy. The star seemed old and weathered, but there was certain spryness to it. Luna felt a sense of dread from looking at it, even if she couldn’t find anything that would indicate a nightmare. No dark colors, no sharpness. It didn’t even feel cold.

“No use in thinking about it,” she said to herself and dived in.

Luna found herself in a calm, dark space. A dreamless sleep. The creature wasn’t currently dreaming of anything, undoubtedly because he had just fallen asleep. Luna concentrated her magic and with a spell, stimulated the creatures thought to cause a dream to manifest. The world around her changed, as the town of Ponyville emerged around her. A sun climbed into the sky to bring light, and a gentle breeze blew past her.

Now where is the dreamer? Luna walked along the maze like alleys in an effort to find something. Everything was so quiet and calm, and she couldn’t see any ponies around. How strange that he would dream of Ponyville. Then again, I suppose he visits regularly. Luna’s ears perked as she heard something. Voices coming from somewhere. Sounds like a crowd.

Luna increased her pace slightly as she begun to search for the source. All the alleys and streets went in impossible directions and looped around in on themselves in a way that would have made Discord jump in joy. He is still unfamiliar with the town, he can’t remember where everything is yet. My magic might also be messing with his thoughts. Luna charged her horn and a beam of moonlight shone her a path.

Eventually she found herself in front of the Ponyville town hall, with a crowd of ponies gathered around her. Most of them were featureless, but Luna could see a few that were more sharp and in focus, the ones that Scruffy had had more interaction with. She also noticed that Twilight was standing next to her, and she almost laughed when she noticed the ridiculous glasses she was wearing. She also looked incredibly fluffy for some reason.

Twilight was intently watching something past her, and Luna turned around to see another unicorn, this one looking far more menacing. Dark clouds were gathering in the sky, but Twilight stood her ground defiantly. Red lightning sparked from the other unicorn’s horn, and she opened to her mouth to speak, but only unintelligible sounds came from it.

Ah. Twilight had mentioned that the creature didn’t speak our language. I wonder if this is how he hears us. Luna pondered. The two unicorns took a few steps closer to each other, magic sparking from their horns, ready for battle. Just as they were about to attack, bombastic music started to play.

Luna had to do a double take at the sight before her. An incredibly muscular being rode in between the two unicorns, riding on the back of a reddish green earth pony with yoke and a ferocious grin. The being itself had more muscle than most minotaurs she had seen, and it was brandishing a sword of some kind. The ‘evil’ unicorn let out a few garbled words as it backed away. The creature jumped off from the pony’s back in an incredible feat of acrobatics, and landed next to the unicorn. Luna was afraid that the creature was going to strike the mare with its sword, but instead, it just hoisted her up, and carried her to a chair.

Luna looked in utter bewilderment as the creature proceeded to ‘punish’ the evil mare. His sword had turned into a bundle of birch tree branches that it used to mercilessly whip the mare’s backside. The evil sorceress tried to buck him several times, but nothing worked, and soon she burst into tears. Twilight appeared next her and said something, which caused the mare to throw away a necklace of some kind. As soon as she did that, she turned equally fluffy looking as Twilight, and a pointy hat was now adorning her head. Oddly enough, she also had a long beard. The creature let the poor mare go, who immediately ran away to safety.

As the ponies started to cheer, Luna looked around. Ever since the dream began, she had a nagging sense that something wasn’t quite right. Not just the scenes playing in front of her, she knew that those were mostly likely just a product of an imaginative mind. As she had used her magic to start the dream, it was probably even weirder than normal.

Luna walked closer to the creature, who was still sitting, unmoving. She looked him deep in the eyes. She was still just observing, and wasn’t a part of the dream, so the creature didn’t see her. Luna turned around, and noticed that all the ponies had disappeared. Everything was silent. All the buildings were gone, and she couldn’t spot anything at all as far as she could see. She turned to face the creature again, only to notice that he too was gone.

Luna blinked as the colors started to fade away. An empty feeling grew in Luna’s heart as she started to walk. She didn’t have any destination, for there was nowhere where she could go. Slowly all the colors drained away, and only a gray landscape was left. Luna couldn’t see anything, feel anything, or even hear anything. Not even her own hoofsteps. Everything was dull, motionless, featureless.

Lifeless.

The empty feeling in her heart grew into an ache, an ache she was all too familiar with. She shook her head and steeled her resolve. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, before slowly letting it out. She repeated this several times, before opening her eyes again. Luna charged her horn, and soft moonlight illuminated the area around her. She kept walking forward, searching.

After a walk that felt like eternity, Luna stopped. In front of her was the creature, sitting on a chair, unmoving, with its gaze down. He was as lifeless and gray as everything else. The oppressive feeling threatened to come back, but Luna ignored it and kneeled. The creature didn’t react to her in any way. She leaned closer, and gently pressed her horn against the creature’s forehead. Slowly, color started to flow down from the point her horn touched. The creature stirred, and raised its eyes to look at her.

“You are not alone,” Luna whispered.

The creature’s eyes slowly opened as the colors returned. He focused on her, and Luna could see a spark of life return to his gaze.

Luna blinked as she spun around in the dream world, having been ejected from the dream as the creature woke up. She used her wings to steady herself and brought her momentum to halt. She gazed at all the dreaming stars in Ponyville, lost in her own thoughts.

Interlude - Look before you sleep, take two

View Online

“So, what do you want to do first?” Twilight asked as the group gathered around in a circle. A fire was crackling in the fireplace next to them, and Twilight was already anticipating the moment they would make s'mores.

“Are we supposed to do something different than what we normally do?” Spike asked with a shrug.

“There’s loads of things we could do!” Twilight said as she levitated a book down from a shelf. “I have a book here that has-”

“Slumber 101…” Trixie read aloud as the book went past her. “Who needs a guide book for slumber parties?” she continued with one eyebrow raised.

“I…well…it’s a good reference guide…”

“Let’s see then,” Spike said as he snatched the floating book and started to read.

“Oh, when I was a little filly, I always loved it when we gave each other makeovers.” Fluttershy giggled at the memory.

“It is listed as one of the things in the book,” Spike said somewhat unenthusiastically as he flipped through the pages.

“Yeah, we had lots of fun when I did it with Rarity and Applejack,” Twilight said.

“The great and illustrious Trixie could do with a little bit of pampering,” Trixie said while running her hoof through her mane.

“Bleh, I’m not interested in some girly stuff like that. And I bet Scruffy isn’t interested either.” Spike patted Scruffy’s leg, who was sitting with his legs crossed close to the fire. He had a content look on his face.

“Aww, come on Spike, I’m sure you would enjoy it,” Twilight coaxed, then leaned closer to whisper. “Besides, I bet that if we used some of that scalepolish that we got some time ago, you could really impress Rarity tomorrow.”

“Really?” Spike asked with a slight tinge of red on his cheeks.

“I’m sure of it.”

“W-well…fine, I’ll join you then.”

********************

“Remind me again why I agreed to this,” Spike said with a flat tone as Twilight carefully applied a mud mask on him.

“Trixie doesn’t understand why you complain so much,” Trixie said behind her own mud mask. Fluttershy was also currently putting rollers in her mane. “Trixie thinks this is quite pleasant.”

“At least I don’t look like a dork,” Spike muttered silently enough that nopony heard him.

“I just wish Scruffy would also take part,” Fluttershy said sadly as she glanced at where Scruffy was still sitting, looking at the ponies with an amused expression. When they had tried to offer to give him a mud mask too, he had just simply shaken his head, no matter how disappointed of a face Fluttershy tried to make.

“Maybe he doesn’t understand what we are doing? I wonder if his kind have slumber parties,” Twilight pondered.

“If they have, they probably are more exciting than this,” Spike said. “What are we going to do after this?”

“Trixie believes ghost stories are a traditional part of slumber parties.”

“Now that sounds better!”

“G-ghost stories?” Fluttershy said squeamishly.

“It is one of things mentioned in the book,” Twilight confirmed.

“B-but…I don’t really like ghost stories…” Fluttershy looked uncomfortable by the mere prospect of having to tell ghost stories. Trixie smiled impishly.

“You wouldn’t happen to be scared of ghosts…would you?”

“N-no?”

“Good, because they don’t exist…EXCEPT FOR THAT ONE RIGHT BEHIND YOU!”

Fluttershy’s wings shot open in surprise, and the momentum caused her to stumble backwards a few steps and fall on Scruffy’s lap, who also had flinched from the sudden increase in voice. He leveled an unamused look at Trixie, who stopped her giggling and looked away nervously.

“T-Trixie thinks that perhaps we could skip this one…”

“Maybe it’s for the best. Scruffy wouldn’t be able to participate in it,” Twilight added.

“Maybe we could just tell normal stories?” Spike offered. “I was wondering if Trixie has any interesting things to tell, since she travels so much. And you could still use your magic to draw images for Scruffy.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Fluttershy said as she got up from Scruffy’s lap.

“I’d also like to hear about your travels, Trixie. I bet you have travelled all over Equestria,” Twilight said.

“You’d like to hear…about Trixie’s travels?” Trixie asked surprised, before smirking. “Well, allow the great and powerful Trixie to tell you a story…”

********************

After Trixie had finished regalling everypony about the more exotic places she had travelled to (during which Scruffy learned not to scratch a pony’s ears, for it was usually considered an intimate act to touch them, and doing so uninvited could lead to embarrassing misunderstandings), the group moved on to making s'mores.

“Wow, that’s so neat!” Spike said.

“What are you guys doing over there?” Twilight asked from near the fireplace where she and Fluttershy were holding the marshmallows over the embers, while Trixie assembled the s'mores. Scruffy had moved over to a different spot with Spike.

“Come look at what Scruffy can do,” Spike urged.

“What is the creature doing with his hands?” Trixie asked as the three mares came closer. She made sure to stay out of Scruffy’s reach.

“Look at what’s on the wall,” Spike pointed.

“Is…that a rabbit?” Twilight asked perplexed.

“It is!” Fluttershy said excitedly.

Sure enough, on the wall was a shadow that resembled a rabbit that was sitting down. Scruffy held his hands close to a lamp, which projected the shadow on to the wall.

“Yeah, Scruffy can do all sorts of shapes with his hands, and it’s really neat!”

Scruffy adjusted his hands, and another shape took form on the wall.

“Trixie thinks that one is a swan.”

“It looks more like a duck to me,” Spike said.

“Ducks don’t have necks that long,” Twilight said while examining the shadow.

“Shouldn’t it have a larger wing then?”

“Scruffy can’t make his hand grow bigger.” Fluttershy pointed out.

“Point taken.”

Scruffy kept making different shapes while the ponies and Spike tried to guess what he was trying to show while they all enjoyed the s'mores.

********************

“I think we should head to bed. It’s getting late,” Twilight announced with a yawn.

“Aww, but that pillow fight was actually kinda fun,” Spike said.

“Except for the part where Trixie threw one of the pillows in to the fire," Twilight replied.

“Trixie did not know that the pegasus had such good reflexes,” Trixie argued back.

“Her name is Fluttershy, you should already remember that, and you shouldn’t have thrown something towards the fireplace anyway,” Twilight said annoyedly.

“Luckily Scruffy was quick with his hands though,” Spike commented.

“Oh, did I miss something?” Fluttershy asked as she returned from the bathroom.

“I was just thinking that it’s getting pretty late,” Twilight said back.

Trixie let out a yawn, “Trixie agrees that we should head to bed.”

“I’m also feeling tired,” Fluttershy said, also yawning.

“Well let’s get yours and Scruffy’s beds ready then. Trixie already has my guest bedroom, but I have extra mattresses.”

“I think Scruffy might need two or three of them,” Spike said as he looked over to where Scruffy was stretching his arms and legs after an entire day of sitting down.

“We could make his bed near the fireplace, so it’s nice and warm. It’s a bit chilly because of the rain.” Twilight looked outside, where the rain had calmed, but not entirely stopped.

“My bed can be next to his then.” Fluttershy said.

“Trixie shall retire to her bedroom then. Good night.”

“Good night. Come on Fluttershy, let’s get the spare mattresses.”

********************

Celestia felt slight excitement bubbling inside her as she walked along the castle hallways towards the throne room. Yesterday, she had asked Twilight to try to get Scruffy to stay in Ponyville overnight, so that Luna would have a chance to enter his dreams. Now, she would find out if their plan worked.

“Good morning,” Celestia greeted the guards as she stepped in to the throne room. She could instantly tell that something had happened during the night, as Luna seemed to be lost in her own thoughts, not reacting to her presence in the slightest.

“Luna?” She asked as she made her way closer. The only response she got was a slight flick of an ear. When she got next to her, Luna finally broke out from her trance and turned her head towards Celestia.

“Ah, good morning sister,” she greeted with a tired voice.

“Good morning, although you seem to have something else on your mind.”

“…” Luna’s gaze shifted down and she frowned slightly.

“…Luna? Is everything okay?”

“Yes…yes, everything is fine…I managed to locate and enter Scruffy’s dreams last night.”

Celestia sat down, and waited patiently for Luna to continue.

“Sister…I wish to meet him.”

Author's Notes:

Oh look, an update. It's been a while, hasn't it? Ehehehe...heheeeeeee...

Sorry that I have been on an unofficial hiatus for the past...too long. :/ Real life is just taking some of my time, and I have been trying to focus on getting some other stuff out of the way. I don't think I have mentioned it anywhere, but I graduated recently and I'm currently looking for a job, so that takes time.

Anyway, I'm trying to get back to writing, so my plan is to try and get a chapter out at least once a week. I will try my darnest to do that. To that end, I have been thinking about getting a patreon page, so if there are people who want to support me and allow me to buy more tea to fuel my late night writings, that will probably happen at some point.

Other than that, enjoy the small interlude. Although, it's unedited, and thus has a chance to drastically change tomorrow. I just wanted to post it now, so that people don't sign me off as captured by aliens or something.

Chapter 14 - Music Is In the Air

View Online

“I’ll be off now, Bonbon.”

“Okay. I’ll see you later at the park, then.”

Lyra stepped out of the house she shared with Bonbon to a bright, sunny day in Ponyville. It was the perfect kind of day in her opinion. A warm summer day, yet there were enough clouds in the sky that it didn’t get overbearingly hot, and, most importantly, it was windy. Lyra loved the wind, how it would tousle her mane, make the leaves in trees rustle and carry sweets scents with it (like the scent of a freshly baked strawberry muffin coming from the Sugarcube Corner). She also liked to imagine, that when she played a song, the wind would carry the music wherever it went for other ponies to hear.

It was good that the weather was so promising, for Lyra had plans for the evening. She and a few other ponies were planning to hold a small concert in the Ponyville Park later this evening, and it would do no good if they got a sudden storm from the Everfree.

Lyra greeted the ponies that she walked past. She needed to check up on the others to make sure that everything was ok for this evening, and the first on her list was to meet up with Vinyl Scratch. Vinyl and Octavia lived on the edge of the town, whereas Lyra and Bonbon lived quite close to the center of town. Sometimes, she wished that they didn’t live so close to all the hustle and bustle, but it did certainly make Bonbon’s job a lot easier when one’s workplace and home were in the same building.

As Lyra neared the Carousel Boutique, she saw the easily recognizable form of the town’s newest resident (even if he didn’t officially live in Ponyville, he sure liked to spend a lot of time there) having tea with Rarity outside.

“Hi there Miss Rarity, Scruffy!” Lyra greeted them as she trotted closer.

“Good day Miss Heartstrings,” Rarity pleasantly greeted back. Scruffy offered a warm smile and a wave of a hand.

“What are you two up to?” Lyra asked when she noticed the stack of parchment and a quill on Scruffy’s side of the table.

“Oh, just making sure that our student here keeps up with his homework while Twilight is away.”

“Huh?”

“Our dear Scruffy here has been studying our language with Twilight for the past week or so. He can’t speak it, unfortunately, something to do with his vocal cords not being the same as ours, but, he can still learn to read and write it.”

“Oh, that’s so neat!”

“He has made great progress with Twilight, but she had to go to Canterlot for today, so I’m here to assist Scruffy instead.”

Lyra circled the table to take a look at the content of the parchments. There were rows upon rows of words on each one of them, often with pictures to illustrate what the word meant, and all of them also had some other symbols written after the pictures, which Lyra didn’t recognize. There were also a few easy sentences here and there, something a foal might get when they were first learning to read, but Lyra couldn’t tell if they were written by Scruffy, or given to him to translate.

“Looks like he has made a lot of progress.”

“Indeed he has. Twilight told us that the princesses were considering meeting with Scruffy, but they decided to postpone it for now, since they couldn’t communicate with him. When Twilight explained this to Scruffy, he seemed to be all the more determined to learn our language.”

“Are these symbols his own language then?” Lyra pointed at one of the parchments.

“Jes.”

Lyra almost jumped when the deep voice came from close to her ear. She turned to see the mischievous smile of Scruffy looming over her. Rarity tittered behind her hoof.

“Ah, yes, while his vocal cords prevent him from speaking our language fluently, he has picked up some words that he can say.”

“H-he-hellu.” Scruffy greeted Lyra.

“Oh you…! You scared me there!” Lyra said in mock anger, before beginning to giggle. “Hey there Scruffy. So, hard at learning, eh?”

“Jes. A-ai…ai k-trai.”

“Well, you’re doing good, so keep going, and we can have a proper conversation in no time!” Lyra encouraged. Scruffy chuckled and nodded.

“Oh, he and Twilight have already had small conversations just through writing,” Rarity said as she sipped her tea. “She wanted to ask what his real name was, but since we don’t understand each other’s languages enough, we don’t know what it means.”

“Aww. I’m sure we’ll get there eventually.”

“Mmhm. But what about you? What are you up to on this fine day?”

“I was on my way to meet with Vinyl Scratch about today’s event.” Rarity’s eyes widened and color drained from her already white cheeks.

“Oh heavens! The concert is today?” Rarity exclaimed.

“Uhh…yes.”

“Oh, how could I have forgotten?” Rarity lamented as she hopped from her chair and started to pace back and forth. “It completely slipped my mind…and I haven’t finished my dress yet!” Horror was apparent in her voice, but it only caused Lyra and Scruffy each to raise one eyebrow.

“Umm…”

“And I need to modify Sky Blaze’s jacket today, too!” Rarity spun around so that she was nose to nose with Lyra. “I’m terribly sorry to ask you this, dear, but I really need to get back to work, and I can’t help Scruffy with studying our language while I need to concentrate. Could you perhaps help him today, instead?”

“Umm…I mean…sure, I just need to check up on the others to make sure that everything is ready for tonight.” Lyra agreed hesitantly. Rarity turned towards Scruffy.

“My most sincere apologies, but we have to cut our tea time short. I know I promised to help you today with your studying, but I completely forgot what day it was.”

“Umm…” Scruffy scratched his chin unsurely.

“Oh…hmm…Today. Music.” Rarity said while conjuring images with her horn. Ponies were dancing around a music note. “I. Forgot.” An image of Rarity trotted in to view, who was surprised at what she saw. “I. Need. To. Make. A. Dress.” The image hurried to her boutique, where she soon emerged wearing a fabulous dress.

Scruffy blinked at the images, wracking his brain, and nodding slightly at Rarity. He turned to look at Lyra, who was trying to hold back her laughter.

“I must be off now. I’ll see you at the concert tonight!” Rarity said over her shoulder as she hurriedly trotted inside her boutique.

“That one is always so worried about her appearance,” Lyra shook her head, and turned to Scruffy, who looked like a puppy who had just been told that they weren’t going to go on a walk after all. “I guess you are stuck with me for today then, Scruffy,” Lyra said with a smile.

********************

Knock knock

Lyra stepped back from the door. For a long while, she couldn’t hear anything, but eventually, a shuffling sound approached the door. There was a rattling sound before the door slowly opened, and the unmistakably sharp, blue mane of Vinyl Scratch emerged.

“Good morning Vinyl,” Lyra greeted the disaster that was Vinyl’s unkempt mane, for she couldn’t actually see the pony’s eyes behind the tangled mess.

“Hmmrrrmm…mornin’…” Vinyl’s voice murmured back.

“A rough night?”

“Mmmm…”

“Can we come in?”

“Mmmm…”

Vinyl turned around and shuffled back in to the house. Lyra followed her in, and motioned for Scruffy to come inside too. Vinyl headed slowly towards the kitchen, bumping against things in her stupor.

“Do you need some help there?” Lyra asked.

Vinyl continued on as if not having heard anything, but soon stopped and let out a small sigh.

“Coffee…” Came the tiny, squeaky voice.

“One cup of extra strong coffee, coming right up.”

Vinyl nodded, and changed her direction for the table instead, while Lyra went ahead to get the coffee machine running.

“So…what were you up to last night? Some late-night fun with Octavia, perhaps?” Lyra asked playfully while she fiddled with the machine

“Hmrm…I wish…had a gig at Canterlot…” Came the muffled response as Vinyl pressed her head against the table. Scruffy sat down next to her, but soon stood up again because he spotted a brush on the other side of the room.

“Ah…I guess you took the night train back?”

“Mmmm…”

Scruffy sat down again, and tapped Vinyl’s leg to get her attention.

“Hrmh…wha…?” Vinyl rotated her head on the other side. Scruffy could see bloodshot eyes squinting at him past the mane.

“…that a bear…?” Vinyl muttered.

“No, silly. That’s Scruffy. You know, the one who’s been visiting Twilight’s library for the past week or so? The one who showed Trixie what-for when she was all mad with power?”

“…Hrmh…” Vinyl brought one of her hooves up in front of Scruffy, who made his hand in to a fist and slightly bumped it. “…Cool, dude…”

With Vinyl still being half-asleep, Scruffy scooted a bit closer and took it upon himself to sort out Vinyl’s messy mane. Soon, the pleasant smell of coffee filled the kitchen, and Lyra placed a hot cup of coffee in front of Vinyl, who eagerly reached out for it.

“Aaah.” Vinyl let out a satisfied moan as she took her first sip of coffee.

“Feeling better?”

“Give it a moment,” Vinyl responded as she tried to get as much coffee in her system as possible without burning her mouth.

“Are you still feeling up for tonight? Can you get everything ready before the concert starts?” Lyra asked after a minute

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll get everything ready. Made sure to do most of the work yesterday when I had the time. I just need to set it up at the stage.”

“Thanks Vinyl, you’re the best.”

There was a sound of a door opening and closing, and soon another pony entered the kitchen.

“Oh…I didn’t know we had visitors,” Octavia said when she noticed Lyra and Scruffy.

“Sorry about that. I came to check with Vinyl to make sure that everything was ready for tonight.”

“Ah yes, the concert you are organizing.” Octavia nodded. She turned her gaze towards Scruffy, who nodded at her with a pleasant smile. Octavia nodded back.

“Hey sweetie,” Vinyl greeted from her slouched position, muzzle half buried in her coffee mug.

“And I see you even got our zompony to rise from her grave.” Octavia eyed the brush that Scruffy was still holding in his hand.

“It was a long and hard battle,” Lyra said in a tone one would use to tell an old story. “But after obtaining the mystical liquid called ‘Coffee’, we knew the day was ours.”

“Har har,” Vinyl said, disappointed that her mug was now empty.

“There’s still more coffee if you want some,” Lyra said.

“Yes please.”

“Don’t worry about your coffee,” Octavia said as she sauntered next to Vinyl. “I got more effective methods to get you awake,” she said and nuzzled Vinyl’s cheek. Scruffy could see a small blush forming when Octavia moved towards Vinyl’s ear.

“Octy…we have guests…”

“Mmm, they won’t stay here all day.”

“Ehehee…” Lyra laughed awkwardly. “Yeah…I think we should go, Scruffy.” She motioned for Scruffy to follow her, and the two of them left the lovers alone.

********************

“I think that’s the last one,” Lyra said as they walked away from where Sky Blaze and his band were staying for the concert. “All ponies ready, and accounted for.” Lyra ticked off the last box from her mental checklist.

“All…kood?” Scruffy asked.

“Yes. All good.”

They walked to a nearby bench and plopped down to rest. They had gone through all the ponies who were to perform tonight, and no problems had presented themselves.

“All we need to do now is wait for the evening.”

Lyra sat there in silence, letting the wind carry all of her nervousness away. There was no need to worry about tonight, all would go well, and even if there was a small hiccup, they could fix it. Maybe she should practice her own song one more time though. Just in case.

“Hey,” Lyra suddenly said. Scruffy turned from his studies to regard the mare. “I haven’t heard you play anything in a while.” She smiled at Scruffy, who tried desperately to understand what she had just said. Lyra mimicked playing the harmonica, which caused Scruffy to snap his fingers in understanding. He fished out his harmonica from one of his pockets.

“Ai…pley?” He asked.

“I’d love to hear you play. I really liked it the last time.”

Scruffy closed his eyes and leaned back, thinking. After a while, he opened his eyes, brought the harmonica to his mouth, and started playing.

When Scruffy stopped playing and turned to Lyra, he was slightly shocked by the teary eyes that greeted him.

“Th-that was so sad,” Lyra said as she dried her eyes. “But beautiful nonetheless.”

Scruffy let out a small chuckle and pocketed his harmonica again.

“I wonder if you are some sort of musician,” Lyra pondered to herself. “There’s so little we know about you.”

Scruffy tilted his head, and Lyra smiled lightly.

“But hopefully that’ll change soon.”

********************

“Is everything set?” Lyra asked from the band that were getting ready to play.

“Yep. We are ready when the curtains open,” Sky Blaze replied.

“Fantastic.”

Evening had finally come, and with it, the Ponyville park had filled up with eager ponies. It wasn’t every day that somepony decided to organize and put together a concert. Rows upon rows of ponies were talking to themselves excitedly, waiting for it to start.

“Looks like we sold out,” Lyra murmured to herself as she peeked at the audience. “Deep breaths Lyra, deep breaths,” she calmed herself.

“Everything is set up and ready to go,” Vinyl said as she emerged from around the corner.

“Thanks, Vinyl.”

“No problem Lyra. Now go out there and make these ponies cheer!”

Lyra nodded, collected herself for a few more moments, and walked on to the small stage they had set up for this event. As ponies noticed her, the talking lessened, but didn’t cease completely. Lyra walked to the microphone that Vinyl had set up, and carefully tested that it was on. Satisfied with the result, she picked it up with her magic.

“Good evening everypony!” She greeted the audience, and a chorus of cheers came back. “Thank you all, who have decided to attend this little concert today. After weeks and weeks of preparing, tonight, we are ready to have a blast!” The ponies cheered again. “Good, you all seem very excited. First of all, let me thank everypony who contributed for today’s concert, and all of those who are here to play today. Special thanks goes to Vinyl Scratch, or as you might know her, DJ Pon-3, for providing the necessary equipment for this event.” The ponies cheered and stomped their hooves. “Now, what do you say that we get this show started?”

“Yes!” Came the answer from the audience.

“Then, without a further ado, our very first performer today is a band that got its origins from our very own town of Ponyville: Nightwings!”

Lyra stepped aside as the curtain was opened, which revealed a band of five pegasi. Each of them wore dark outfits, themed after Princess Luna’s night in some way. The ponies cheered loudly, and as it subsided, the band started to play.

********************

As the evening turned to night, and the ponies kept playing, Scruffy quietly slipped away from the concert area. As much as he enjoyed listening to the music they were playing, his back unfortunately didn’t agree on him sitting in the same place any longer. Especially without a proper chair. He made his way to a nearby tree to take support from it as he stretched his sore muscles.

Today had certainly been an interesting day, helping the mint green one to organize this event. Or that’s what he had gathered anyway. They probably were just making sure that everything was fine. If all of this was done in a single day, these ponies were the most efficient organizers he had ever seen.

Scruffy let out a pained grunt as his back made a cracking sound. As much as he loved these little creatures, and spending time with them, not having a proper chair was starting to get to him. Or to his back, to be precise.

“-Maybe I ought to bring my own.-” He chuckled to himself.

He leaned against the tree, and gazed over towards where mint green pony was getting on the stage to play. A small smile made it’s way on to his face. These ponies were certainly an interesting bunch. Each one was so full of life, and very much like humans. He turned his gaze towards the sky, and the moon. For a moment, he was sure he could see a shape on the surface of the moon, but when he blinked, it was gone.

“-And so strange too…-” He mused to himself, while listening to the song that the mint green pony was playing, while the specter of the moon continued its vigil over him.

Author's Notes:

I'm here I'm here I'M NOT LATE DAMNIT! *Slams the big red button that says "Publish"*

Oh, why can't I do these things beforehand, and not at 3 am in the morning in a tea induced haze. Well, it's done, and technically I didn't even break my promise for one chapter per week.

Also, as I eluded earlier, my Patreon is ready for the public! Wohoo! I will be sprucing it our later, but it should work for now. If you are wondering, the banner was done by my sister, so go check her out too.

Now, about my patreon. I'm not planning on doing lots of stuff only in my patreon. I don't want to do "hey, if you wanna see my stuff, pay me". But, I do have plans to create something for those who decide to become patrons. Maybe once a month, or every other month, I'll try to write a one-shot fic for patreon, or pester my sister to draw some cool art for someone. But, if I do write something there, I will also, eventually, put it here (or somewhere else if it isn't a pony fic). So I'm not going to be creating stuff that is patreon exclusive permanently. Also, only become a patron if you truly wish to support me, if you want to give me something little back for writing, and doing lets plays, and whatever else I might create (I might do commissions at some point). I'm not planning on living off of patreon, but little extra money to buy more tea is always a plus.

As for the chapter, huge thanks to lordelliott for helping with proofreading and editing. He also went through the last interlude chapter, so some typos were fixed. Hopefully you enjoy it, and I hope my music choices hit the spot.

(Thanks MonsterMyrr, my silly sister, for becoming a patreon.)

Chapter 15 - Sleepless in Ponyville

View Online

“AJ. V-vord?” Scruffy asked the apple farmer while holding a leaf in his hand.

“That there is a leaf, Sugarcube. It’s…that word,” Applejack said and pointed at the parchment in front of Scruffy. She had to smile a bit. After Scruffy had heard Rainbow refer to Applejack as ‘AJ’, he also started using it, since it was something he could pronounce, along with Rainbow Dash’s moniker ‘RD’.

Applejack let out a small sigh as she leaned back against an apple tree. She had agreed to help out with Scruffy’s language lessons when the others asked, but Celestia knows why anypony thought she would make a great teacher. She didn’t have any idea what she should be teaching him, or how for that matter, so she chose to teach him simple nature related words.

Applejack opened her mouth to correct a mistake in the sentence that Scruffy was writing, but stopped when she heard somepony approaching.

“Hey Applejack, hey big guy,” Rainbow’s raspy voice greeted them as she touched down next to them.

“Hi there, Rainbow.”

“RT. H-hellu.”

“No, big guy. It’s RD, not RT!”

“Mmh…R t-t-t…D…RD.”

“There you go! You got it right.” Rainbow cheered and hoofbumped Scruffy.

“What are you doing here Rainbow? I thought you had something important to do today,” Applejack asked as Rainbow sat down next to her.

“I do. I need to go to Cloudsdale to fill in my application paper, but I decided to stop by here first.”

“Application? For what?”

“For the Wonderbolt Academy of course!” Rainbow exclaimed and sprang to her hooves excitedly. “The Wonderbolts have a training academy to find potential new recruits for the Wonderbolts! They only take applicants in once a year for a week-long boot camp, and I finally have a chance to apply!” Rainbow flitted back and forth in a manner that reminded Applejack of a hummingbird.

“Geez Rainbow. I bet you are over the moon for all of this.”

“Of course! This is a big deal for me, as Spitfire, the captain of the Wonderbolts, is going to be at the academy. If I show them what I’m truly capable of during the boot camp, I’ll be a Wonderbolt in no time!”

“V-v-vanter…plot?” Scruffy asked, clearly trying to think what the word meant.

“What? No! What the hay is ‘waterplot’? It’s ‘Wonderbolt’, you doofus,” Rainbow said, slightly exasperated, which caused Applejack to chuckle to herself.

“How quickly do they tell you if you got in?” Applejack asked.

“Umm…you need to send your application during this week, next week they’ll have a test to make sure only the best make it to the academy, and they’ll have the boot camp week after that. Why do you ask?”

“Well, me and Applebloom are going on a camping trip to Winsome Falls this weekend with the rest of the CMC and Rarity. I reckon you would have wanted to come too, and it’d be nice for Scootaloo. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle have me and Rarity there, but Scootaloo doesn’t have a big sister.”

“Wait, what? Rarity? On a camping trip?” Rainbow smirked at the mere thought of it.

“Don’t ask me how, but it seems Sweetie Belle managed to convince her to join us.”

“Hah! That I want to see. I’m in!”

“Great! We’ll head out on Friday, but we can work out the details later.”

“Sure. I should get going anyway, I need to file that application.”

“Best of luck with that, Rainbow.”

“Thanks AJ, but with my skills, there’s no need for luck.” Rainbow waved goodbye to the two of them, and zoomed off towards Cloudsdale. Scruffy watched her fly away, before turning towards Applejack with a questioning look. He wrote down a sentence on the parchment, and showed it to her.

What you talk?

“Oh hayseeds…uh, well, there are these ponies called Wonderbolts…”

********************

On the next Friday afternoon, Applejack was waiting at the start of the hiking path that would lead to Winsome Falls for everypony else to show up. Well, except for Rainbow, who would meet them at their first stop. Applejack’s ears perked up when she heard soft laughter come from some way down the road. Applebloom and Scootaloo soon came trotting towards her.

“Hey there. Where did you leave Rarity and Sweetie Belle?” Applejack asked the duo when they were close enough.

“They were just about ready when we went to check. They should be right behind us,” Applebloom responded.

“Okay then. Last minute check. You pack the bug spray?”

“Yup. You got the canteens?”

“Yep. Looks like we are all set then.”

Just then, a huge shadow fell over the three ponies. Applejacks jaw fell as she looked at the enormous pile of luggage that Rarity had brought with her.

“Hey!” She greeted them enthusiastically, as Sweetie Belle dragged the cart with her.

“Gee Rarity, did you remember to pack?” Applejack asked her, with a hint of resignation in her voice.

“Oh well let’s see who gets the last laugh when you are absolutely desperate to curl your lashes, and you realize you didn’t bring your eyelash curler,” Rarity responded happily. Applejack could only shake her head.

“Well, I guess we are almost ready to go. We are just missing-…”

“Trixie does not understand how you could mix up ‘water’ with ‘river’.”

The group turned around to see Trixie and Scruffy making their way towards them.

“Also, Trixie wishes to know who thought the word ‘aquatic’ was something you needed to know when you can’t even tell somepony else what time it is.” Trixie was scrutinizing several levitating parchments in front of her as they walked. No doubt they were full of ‘homework’ for Scruffy, Applejack thought.

“Hi there.” Applejack’s greeting broke Trixie out of her rant, who flinched slightly when she noticed all the other ponies around her.

“Oh…hello.”

“Hellu,” Scruffy greeted them with a smile. He was wearing his camo clothes again, much to Rarity’s chagrin, and a large backpack.

“Hello, darling,” Rarity smiled back

“Hi Mr. Scruffy,” Applebloom and Sweetie Belle greeted back, while Scootaloo looked around, searching.

“Well, I guess we are all here now,” Applejack said. “We should get going so that we’ll reach our first stop before nightfall.”

“But…what about Rainbow Dash? Isn’t Rainbow Dash coming?” Scootaloo said desperately.

“Course she is Sugarcube. She’s going to meet us up at our first camp site.”

“Oh…” The disappointment was clear in her voice, but Scootaloo perked up knowing that Rainbow would be on the trip.

“All right y’all, let’s move ‘em out,” Applejack said, and started walking along the path towards Winsome Falls. The rest of the group followed after her, with Rarity and the CMC in the middle, and Scruffy and Trixie taking the rear.

********************

“Ugh.”

“What’s wrong, Scootaloo?” Applebloom asked. They had been walking for about half an hour now. Rarity and Applejack were talking to themselves about something, while Scruffy and Trixie were lagging behind a bit. “Don’t worry, Rainbow Dash will be there, so you’ll see her soon enough.”

“It’s not about that…”

“Then...pant…what is it?” Sweetie Belle asked. She was breathing heavier than the others, having to drag Rarity’s cart with her as they continued their trek. Scruffy had tried to help, but considering how tall he was, it would have been a bit difficult to pull the low riding cart.

“I just didn’t realize that they would be coming too,” Scootaloo said, looking behind her at Trixie and Scruffy. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom exchanged glances.

“What’s wrong with having them with us? More the merrier, right?” Applebloom asked.

“I guess so…”

“If you are worried about…pant…Trixie, Rarity said that she’s been working on being nicer.”

“Not her…him,” Scootaloo said with her ears down.

“What? Scruffy? What’s wrong with him?” Applebloom asked, appalled.

“He’s just…just so weird…I mean, he’s so tall! How does he even stay upright?”

“Really?” Applebloom had one eyebrow raised. “You think it’s weird that he’s tall?”

“I think that it’s…pant…silly how he wears those old clothes all the time. I don’t think I have ever seen him…pant…without at least some clothing on. If his clothes were fashionable…pant…he would be worse than my sister!”

“Yeah, that too!” Scootaloo agreed.

“Oh, quit being silly you two,” Applebloom rolled her eyes. “Scruffy is a nice old…umm…stallion…uhh…whatever he is.”

“Maybe Scootaloo is just jealous that Rainbow’s been so preoccupied with him lately…” Sweetie Belle said with a teasing voice.

“Hey! I’m not jealous!” Scootaloo pouted.

“I bet that’s totally it!” Applebloom agreed, and giggled together with Sweetie Belle.

“Hmph!” Scootaloo turned her head away.

“Aww, don’t be mad Scootaloo. We were just teasing a bit,” Applebloom attempted to calm her friend.

Sweetie refocused on pulling her sister’s cart before replying. “Yeah, don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll get to spend time with Rainbow...pant…since Trixie is here.”

“Why is she here, even?” Scootaloo asked.

“My sister told me that Scruffy has been trying to learn our language. She and her friends have taken turns to teach him. My guess is that today’s Trixie’s turn to be the teacher,” Applebloom answered.

“Why would they get Trixie to do it? Seems kind of strange to me,” Scootaloo said.

“Maybe…pant…it’s her punishment for bullying the town?” Sweetie Belle offered.

“Well let’s just hope she doesn’t get any crazy ideas during our camping trip.”

********************

After several hours of walking, the group finally made it to the first resting point on their trip. Rainbow was already waiting for them there, and she had spruced up the camp site by collecting rocks for a fire place, and logs for seating.

“Finally. What took you guys so long?” she asked when she noticed them approaching.

“Well, some of us didn’t pack as light as the others, so we were slowed down a bit,” Applejack said, and grimaced at the cart with all of Rarity’s luggage.

“Was there any trouble on the way?” Rainbow asked, while looking accusingly towards where Trixie and Scruffy were entering the clearing.

“Rainbow, darling, Trixie has already apologized for her actions. You don’t need to be so distrusting of her,” Rarity admonished.

“That’s right Sugarcube. She’s not here to cause harm.”

“Hrmh…fine,” Rainbow muttered.

“Hey Rainbow!” Scootaloo said happily as she trotted up to Rainbow, but unfortunately, she didn’t look where she was going, and tripped over a loose rock, planting her face firmly in the ground.

“Uhh…hey there Scootaloo…you okay there little buddy?” Rainbow asked as the young pegasus rubbed her banged up head.

“Ehehe…n-never better.” Scootaloo pulled her hoof away, and it had a few drops of red on it.

“Uh oh. I guess you got a small cut there. Here, let me take a look,” Rainbow offered.

“I-it’s fine…just a small scrape, no big deal.”

“Hold on dear, I have a band-aid here somewhere,” Rarity said and looked over her pile of luggage, pondering which bag to open first.

“I-I don’t need a band-aid. It’s no big deal.”

“What happened?” Trixie asked as she and Scruffy walked next to them.

“Scootaloo tripped and got a small cut on her head,” Applejack explained. Scootaloo was sitting, and everypony could see a small red spot on the side of her head. Scruffy kneeled to take a closer look, which made Scootaloo squirm uncomfortably.

“Trixie advises you to clean up the cut. You don’t want to get an infection.”

“Luckily, we have a river next to us.” Applejack pointed out the stream just a dozen meters away from them. Scruffy looked up, and when he noticed what she was pointing at, picked up Scootaloo.

“Hey! Put me down,” she squirmed. Scruffy lowered her down next to the river, and took off his backpack. He fumbled around for a bit, searching the different pockets, until he found a pack of tissues. He took one out, dipped it in the water, and started cleaning the cut. Scootaloo complained first, but stopped fussing after a while.

Stupid band-aid. Somepony as tough as Rainbow wouldn’t need a band-aid for something so small, she mentally complained.

While Scruffy was taking care of Scootaloo, the rest of the group were putting away their saddlebags, and taking out their tents. Applejack had brought an extra tent with her, since Rainbow didn’t own one. Applejack and Applebloom had been out camping before, so it took no time at all for them to set up the two tents.

“Looks like you’ll be sharing a tent with me, huh,” Rainbow said to Scootaloo and gently bumped her. She was now sporting a band-aid over the cut, which she grumpily rubbed.

“Heh, if that’s okay with you.”

“Sure. As long as you don’t snore.”

“Wait,” Trixie said as she lifted her head from her saddlebag. “We are sharing tents?” she asked with mild trepidation.

“Uh, yes,” Applejack said. “We don’t have enough tents for everypony to have their own. Besides, that would take too much space.”

PSSSSHOOOOOOMMMMM

Everypony’s jaws dropped as they watched the giant, almost castle like tent fill with air and emerge from the ground. Even Scruffy’s eyebrows seemed like they were in danger of detaching and flying off if they climbed any higher.

“You’ve got to be kidding me…” Rainbow said.

“Sweetie Belle, do be a dear and see if you can find some fresh flowers for my bedside vase,” Rarity said and offered a vase to Sweetie Belle.

“Trixie think’s that is quite impressive…wait, uh…who does Trixie share a tent with?”

“Well that’s easy! You…uhh…you…who does she share a tent with?” Rainbow asked confused.

“Hmm…well me and Applebloom take one, Rarity and Sweetie Belle have their…whatever that thing is, and you share my other tent with Scootaloo. So…that leaves…” Applejack and Rainbow both turned towards Scruffy. He had just taken out his own tent, which he had brought with him, and was in the process of setting up. Scruffy’s tent was old and worn, much like its owner, but otherwise similar to Applejack’s. He still had a look of disbelief on his face as he kept glancing over at Rarity’s enormous lodgings, before focusing on his own, much simpler, tent.

“WHAT? With him?” Trixie asked in horror.

“I uhh…ehehe…there might have been a slight miscalculation…” Applejack said, embarrassed.

“Trixie can’t share a tent with…with him!”

“Worry not darling,” Rarity said as she walked out of her tent. “There’s enough room for you in my tent, if you want.”

“Trixie would be grateful for that,” Trixie sighed in relief.

“Well, anyway. Scootaloo, could you get us some wood so that we can get a fire going?” Rainbow asked.

“Of course. Applebloom, want to come with me?”

“Sure.”

********************

As the evening started to turn towards the night, the group gathered around the fireplace that Rainbow had prepared earlier. Applejack was using a bow drill to get the fire going. Scruffy had with him a bag of marshmallows, which he was putting on sticks and handing over to the ponies.

“Okay, everypony get comfortable, cuz I’m about to tell you the best story you ever heard!” Rainbow said while floating above the camp site.

“Trixie highly doubts that, but go on,” Trixie said dismissively. Rainbow frowned at her.

“Is it about the time when Rarity had wings, and then they got ruined, and then you saved her from plummeting to her doom?” Scootaloo asked excitedly. Rarity blushed and looked away awkwardly.

“Oookay, maybe it’s the second-best story you’ve ever heard.”

“You had wings?” Trixie asked, surprised.

“Erm…yes. Twilight found a spell that can give anypony temporary wings. I uhh…got a bit carried away with them.” Rarity adjusted her mane, embarrassed by the memory.

“Anyway!” Rainbow interrupted. “This is going to be the scariest story you ever heard. You like scary stories, right?” Rainbow asked the three fillies, who all let out a small gasp and nodded.

“It all happened on a night, just like this one…”

********************

“And then, the olden pony asked: ‘Who’s got my rusty horseshoe?’” Rainbow stated, her story nearing its end.

“Not me!” Sweetie Belle said fearfully, and the three fillies clung to each other. Unfortunately for them, none of them had noticed Trixie getting up from her seat, and sneaking behind them. Rainbow had frowned at first, but after realizing what she was going to do, said nothing.

“You do!” Trixie announced from behind them with a booming, croaky voice. All three fillies screamed in surprise and fear, with Applebloom and Sweetie Belle hopping up from their seats and sprinting away. Scootaloo managed to stay put long enough to turn around, and when she saw Trixie was behind her, let out a sigh of relief. Trixie and Rainbow were both laughing, and neither were deterred by the frown Scruffy was giving them. Both Sweetie Belle and Applebloom had sprinted right on to his lap, as he had been the closest, and were desperately hugging each other. Scruffy was patting their heads in an effort to calm them down.

“Eheh…g-good story…” Scootaloo said, trying to appear nonchalant,” but it didn’t s-scare me at all…”

“Then why did you scream?” Trixie asked with a smile.

“Y-y-you just surprised me…didn’t s-see you sneak behind us.”

“Knew you wouldn’t be scared,” Rainbow said and ruffled Scootaloo’s mane.

“Except when she was,” Trixie said to herself, quietly enough that nopony heard her, but Rainbow frowned at her nonetheless.

“Don’t worry,” Rarity said to Sweetie Belle while brushing away a strand of mane from her face. “Rarity is here to keep you safe and sound.”

“Think it’s about time for me to hit the straw,” Applejack said while yawning. Soon the others were yawning too, and most were heading to their tents.

“T-that sure was funny, wasn’t it? How they were all afraid of the olden pony. But not me,” Scootaloo said with short bouts of nervous laughter to Rainbow Dash after the others went to their tents. The only other one who hadn’t gone to their tent yet was Scruffy, who was gently stoking the fire.

“That’s because you are tough, just like when I was your age,” Rainbow said and encouragingly bumped Scootaloo’s shoulder. She was about to pick up the water bucket and put out the fire, but Scruffy stopped her.

“What’s wrong? Aren’t you going to bed?” she asked. Scruffy scratched his beard as he processed Rainbow’s words, before pointing at himself, then the fire. “Well, suit yourself. I’m hitting the sack. Come in whenever you feel like it,” Rainbow said the last bit to Scootaloo, and went inside their tent.

Scootaloo watched Rainbow’s colorful tail disappear in to the tent, and turned towards Scruffy. He kept stoking the fire, but when he noticed that Scootaloo was staring at him, turned towards her and gave her a small smile.

“Ah…uh, hi,” Scootaloo said awkwardly, before turning her gaze away.

As the minutes passed in silence, Scootaloo fidgeted on her seat. She didn’t want to admit it, but the story Rainbow had told was making her feel nervous. Every twig snapping in the distance, every rustle from the leaves, and every crackle from the fire was making her flinch and pivot her ears.

“All kood?” Scruffy asked.

“Wah! What?” Scootaloo turned around in panic.

“All kood?” He repeated and pointed at her.

“Oh, it was just you…uh…yes, all’s um…good,” she said unconvincingly. Scruffy looked at her worriedly, but didn’t know what to say. They both turned their heads towards the path they came from when they heard a wolf howl in the distance.

“Wellit’stimeformetogotobedgoodnight!” Scootaloo’s voice was high pitched as she quickly ran in to the tent and dived in to her sleeping bag. Scruffy stared at the tent for a few moments, before turning back towards the fire, and continued stoking it.

********************

Luna flew through the dream realm, searching and pondering. She had been doing that a lot lately, aimlessly wandering, deep in her thoughts, as if she was searching for something, but had forgotten what it was. Ever since seeing that creature’s dream... She shook her head and tried to get back on the track of seeing to it that ponies’ dreams were peaceful, but soon she was lost in thought again.

“Hum humm hummm, hmhmhmm hmm hmmm,” she hummed to herself, not really knowing what the song was.

Luna’s restless drifting was brought to a halt, when she sensed somepony having a nightmare. With a mighty flap from her wings, she soared over the dark landscape, and arrived to the one in trouble.

“A young one…I wonder why these ponies are in the middle of nowhere?” she mumbled to herself as she entered the dream.

Luna found herself in the middle of a forest, possibly the one the filly was currently residing. It had been transformed by the dream to a more wicked reflection of itself, with long shadows and menacing looking trees. Even the sun that was in the sky seemed to only increase the shadows in the landscape, instead of banishing them.

Thump Thump Thump

Luna’s ears perked up as she heard stomping coming from somewhere behind her. It sounded like it was far away, but still echoed around her.

“Who’s got my rusty horseshoe?” came a voice from the thicket.

“Ah,” Luna said to herself. She had heard that phrase before. Many, many times. “Reassuring to know that old tales are still in fashion.”

“Aaaahhh!” Came another, much younger voice.

Luna spread her wings and used them to give her speed for a mighty leap. She glided gracefully over the trees and landed far enough that the dreamer didn’t see her. The olden mare was slowly stomping after her, and paid no heed to Luna who watched her go. Luna spread her wings again, and with another leap, made it ahead of the filly, hidden behind some bushes.

The filly in question was running away with all her might, occasionally turning to look at the form of the olden pony behind her. The filly entered a small clearing, and slowed down to catch her breath.

Luna observed the filly, taking in the dreamscape around her, looking for small clues in the dream to figure out what had caused the filly to have a nightmare. Many ponies, especially those who knew nothing about dream magic, often thought that Luna’s job as the guardian of dreams, was to enter a pony’s dream and blast whatever horrors she found with a bit of magic. That was, of course, not the case, as most nightmares usually had a reason behind them. An underlying fear, a traumatic experience, regret over a choice; there were many different reasons, and unless Luna could figure it out, she couldn't truly banish the nightmare.

She is afraid, but of what? Luna mused to herself.

Luna watched the filly backup towards what she thought was a tree, but it morphed in to something else while she wasn’t looking. To Luna’s surprise, the new creature looked a nightmarish version of Scruffy. The entire being was covered in darkness, and it seemed to be incredibly tall. Its hands were the size of carts as it loomed over the filly. She bumped in to him, and turned around. Her eyes opened wide as she craned her neck to look up. The nightmare version of Scruffy leaned forward towards the filly.

“AAAAHHHHHH!” she screamed and sprinted away, only to smack right in to the olden pony.

“Who’s got my rusty horseshoe?” she asked the filly again, who only screamed harder and ran away in a different direction.

Whatever she’s afraid of, she doesn’t want to admit it. To Luna, the filly’s fear felt more like a desire to deny the scary apparitions, rather than being just afraid of them. She followed after her, wanting to see where she would go next. As the filly was sprinting, she happened to look towards her, and Luna decided to make herself visible to her. Unfortunately, either the filly was too scared, or didn’t see her properly, as she kept running away from her regardless. Soon they approached a camp site, and the filly jumped in to the only tent there. Luna walked closer, and could hear her talking to somepony.

“Rainbow Da-“ the filly began, but another voice interrupted her.

“You do!” a voice that belonged to the olden pony shouted.

Luna felt the dream collapse as the dreamer finally woke up, and was soon ejected from the dream.

“Hmmm…” Luna hummed to herself. This problem required some thought, but luckily for her, she had all night to think.

********************

“Aaah!” Scootaloo gasped as she woke from her nightmare. Sweat dripped from her brow as she frantically looked around for the olden pony. When she noticed Rainbow sleeping and snoring next to her, she realized that she had been dreaming. She hugged her blanket tightly, still feeling unnerved. Tears threatened to fall as she rocked back and forth, until she heard the gentle crackling of a fire.

“Huh?”

Scootaloo got up from her bed, and opened the tent. There, still sitting on the same spot, was Scruffy. He heard the zipper open, and turned around. He tiredly looked at Scootaloo, before turning back towards the fire. Scootaloo hesitated for a moment, but walked out of the tent, and sat on a different log around the campfire.

Minutes passed without either of them doing anything other than staring at the fire. Scootaloo flinched a few times when she heard something in the distance, but didn’t turn to look.

Tap tap

Scootaloo turned to Scruffy. He was tapping the seat next to him with his hand. She looked at him, and a bit reluctantly, changed seats next to him. Silence fell over them again. Scruffy threw a few more sticks in to the fire, the last they had. Scootaloo idly kicked her hindlegs back and forth, not knowing what to say, or if she should try to go back to sleep, regardless of how scared she was.

After a while, Scruffy stood up and walked to his tent. He rummaged around for a while, before returning with parchment and a pen. He sat down next to Scootaloo again, wrote a few words on the paper, then gave it to Scootaloo.

You no sleep good?

Scootaloo looked up at the tired eyes of Scruffy, who gave her a small smile. She shifted her eyes back towards the ground and her ears went down

“No…” she shook her head.

Talk?

Scootaloo rubbed her forelegs together. She didn’t know if she wanted to talk about it. Because then she would be admitting that she was scared, and Scruffy might tell Rainbow.

“I’m…I’m fine.”

Scruffy seemed a bit disappointed by her answer, but didn’t press the matter. He gently stroked Scootaloo’s mane.

“Hey, stop that!” Scootaloo said, annoyed.

“Seems like you can’t sleep either,” another voice said, which made both of them flinch in surprise. Trixie walked out of Rarity’s tent, yawning widely.

“Oh…we didn’t wake you up, did we?” Scootaloo asked.

“No…Trixie couldn’t really sleep. Trixie is used to being alone on her travels,” Trixie said while running her hoof through her mane. Scruffy patted the other side of the log he and Scootaloo were sitting on. Trixie’s only response was a deadpan look.

“Oh…doesn’t that get lonely?” Scootaloo asked. Trixie blinked a few times, caught off guard by the question.

“…Sometimes. But Trixie thinks you are too young to understand such things.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’ll understand when you are older,” Trixie said, which caused Scootaloo to pout to herself. Trixie sat down on the other side of the fire pit, and looked up to the sky. “Looks like Princess Luna has gone all out tonight.” Scruffy and Scootaloo both turned to look.

“Woah…the stars are really pretty,” Scootaloo said in awe, while Scruffy smiled happily. The sky was clear of clouds, and the three of them could see the countless stars blanketing the sky, twinkling happily.

“Trixie has always liked the stars,” Trixie mused to herself. “Trixie has spent many hours stargazing, and even memorized the constellations.”

“Const-…what are those?” Scootaloo asked. The word sounded familiar, but she didn’t remember what it was.

“The constellations are patterns in the stars that some old pony, or maybe Princess Luna herself, came up with. It is like cloud watching, seeing shapes and images using your imagination.”

Scootaloo turned to look at her wings, which she experimentally flapped. She turned her gaze back towards the night sky and the stars, trying to find these patterns Trixie was talking about.

“Would you like Trixie to show you?”

“What?”

“You heard what Trixie said. Would you like Trixie to show you the constellations, since it doesn’t look like any of us are getting much sleep tonight.”

“I…uhh…” Scootaloo hesitated. On one hoof, she didn’t want to go back to the tent and to sleep. She was feeling too nervous to sleep. On the other hoof, what Trixie was proposing sounded really lame, and not something somepony cool as Rainbow Dash would do. As Scootaloo wrestled with her choice, Scruffy asked Trixie what they were talking about, and Trixie summarized it on the parchment.

“Trixie will go do some stargazing up on that hill,” Trixie said and pointed at the small mound about a hundred meters away. “If you want to come too, you are allowed to,” she said and started to walk away.

Scruffy looked at Scootaloo, who was still indecisive about the whole idea. He gently bumped her with his leg, and when she turned to look, nodded towards Trixie. Scootaloo turned her head towards the ground and kicked it. Since Scootaloo didn’t say anything, he followed after Trixie.

“Uurrgh! Hey, wait for me!” Scootaloo said and galloped after them when it became apparent that she would otherwise be alone in the darkness. Even the camp fire had died out, with only small embers left. The group didn’t return from their stargazing until many hours later.

********************

As the night turned to morning, and the sun rose above the horizon, the camp site was teeming with a group of energetic ponies. At least, if you didn’t count Scruffy, Trixie, and Scootaloo, who were all huddled around the small camp fire. All of them had gotten little to no sleep, and were eagerly awaiting getting a cup of coffee (or tea, in Scootaloo’s case).

“Aaahhh!” Rainbow sighed as she stretched her back and limbs. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I slept like a filly.”

Trixie glared at Rainbow with her slightly bloodshot eyes, and pondered if anypony would notice if she punched her.

“Yeah…” Scootaloo mumbled. “Totally rested up, heh…”

“Glad to hear that,” Applejack said as she joined the three around the campfire. She had several apples with her for breakfast. “We’ll have a long way to go today.”

“Trixie can barely contain her excitement,” Trixie yawned.

********************

After everyone had finished their breakfast and the tents were dismantled and packed, it was time for the group to get moving. Applejack, Applebloom and Rainbow were in the front, while Sweetie Belle and Rarity were on the rear this time. Most of the trip was spent in silence, with the only talking coming from the front.

Scootaloo eventually started to nod off as she walked, and Trixie had to prevent her from walking face first in to a tree, and getting another small injury. Trixie agreed to carry her on her back, when it became clear that Scootaloo couldn’t stay awake. She silently grumbled to herself about it all the way until they stopped for lunch.

“Y’all just rest while I get the fire going,” Applejack said when she noticed the state some of the group was in. Trixie didn’t need to be told twice, and almost immediately dozed off with Scootaloo. Scruffy also took the opportunity to rest his eyes, but not before taking a small bottle from his backpack, and swallowing a pill from it.

“Darlings, are you alright?” Rarity asked the sleeping forms of Scootaloo and Trixie. Both jerked awake, rubbing their eyes and yawning.

“Yes, Trixie is alright, if slightly tired,” Trixie replied a bit snappily.

“Darling, your eyes! They are completely bloodshot. Did you not manage to sleep last night?” Rarity gasped in horror, while fetching a bag from the cart.

“Trixie admits she had trouble sleeping,” Trixie said with a yawn.

“And I suppose you weren’t the only one,” Rarity gave a poignant look to Scootaloo and Scruffy.

“N-nope, totally rested up and raring to go!” Scootaloo said unconvincingly as she squinted her eyes from the bright light.

“Uhhuh,” Rarity hummed as she started to apply a bit of makeup on Trixie.

“Agh! Trixie demands you stop that.”

“Hush, darling. A lady needs to look enchanting at all times, not like she just rose from the grave with a bad case of bed mane,” Rarity reprimanded Trixie and continued her work. “Besides, this will bring out your elegance.”

Trixie was too tired to bother stopping Rarity, and submitted herself to the treatment.

********************

With lunch done, and a small rest after the meal, the group continued on. Applejack and Rainbow were up front again, discussing something vehemently. Applebloom had pulled back and was talking together with the other members of the CMC, as Scootaloo was now awake again. Trixie, looking more invigorated than she felt, was talking to Scruffy, asking him simple questions with ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers, helping him to get used to the pony language.

The group kept walking all day, stopping only for short moments of rest and a quick dinner, except for once or twice when they found something interesting to look at. During those times, Scruffy took out his device to take pictures of the landscape, which immediately piqued the interest of the CMC. He showed them how it could take pictures and record sounds. For the rest of the day, the ponies talked about Scruffy’s device, trying to ask him questions about it with varying degrees of success, and wondering if he had any other strange devices.
Eventually, a little after the sunset, with darkness encroaching, the group arrived at their second camp site.

“No need for tents tonight y’all,” Applejack said as they gathered around. “We’ll just take shelter in that cave.”

“All right! A deep, dark cave, hah! Perfect for the story I’ve got for tonight. All we need is a camp fire, and we’re good to go,” Rainbow said while floating next to Scootaloo.

“Ah…o-of course…I’ll be right back, with lots of firewood f-from the deep, dark, not scary at all forest…” Scootaloo said with a wavering voice and smiled unconvincingly at Rainbow.

“Thanks,” Rainbow said and flew back to where the rest were unpacking their belongings.

Scootaloo gulped audibly as she turned towards the forest. She could hear rustling and creaking coming from the forest, and she could swear she saw something moving in the shadows.

“Okay…I can do this,” Scootaloo said as she tried to encourage herself. She took a few steps towards a pile of twigs she saw, before noticing what looked like eyes peering at her, and backed away instead. As she backed away, she bumped in to something, and yelped in surprise.

“What are you doing?” Trixie asked with one eyebrow raised.

“O-oh, Trixie! D-didn’t see you there.”

“Yes, Trixie figured. Well, let’s hurry up then.”

“Huh?”

“The firewood. Let’s go and get the firewood. Trixie doesn’t have all night to stand here.”

“What? I-I-I can do it myself,” Scootaloo protested. Trixie rolled her eyes.

“Then why are you shaking like a leaf?” Scootaloo blinked in surprise, and when she looked down at her legs, they were indeed shaking slightly.

“Because it’s chilly?” she tried desperately. Trixie frowned with one eyebrow raised. “…Okay fine! I thought I saw something move in the shadows…it made me feel nervous…” Scootaloo’s ears went down as she looked away. Trixie sighed.

“There’s nothing to worry about. We are not in the Everfree forest, which Trixie is immensely grateful for. It’s unlikely that there would be anything dangerous here. You probably saw an owl or something. Now hurry up, Trixie is tired, and wishes to warm herself next to a fire,” Trixie said and, without waiting for a response, walked further in to the forest to find some dry wood. Scootaloo looked around herself, still certain that she could see something, but galloped after Trixie anyway.

Scruffy, who was helping Applejack prepare their dinner, noticed the two of them enter the forest. A small smile made its way to his face as he focused back to the task at hand...or hoof, as it might be.

********************

Luna stared deeply in to the star that represented Scruffy, and lightly ran her hoof across the shimmering orb. She wanted to go in. She wanted to go in and talk to the creature that kept pestering her thoughts day after day, night after night. Today had been a good day in that sense. She had been quite busy, and hadn’t had the time to think about the mysterious creature, but as soon as she sensed him enter the dream realm, he started to occupy her thoughts again. Her reverie was broken though, when she sensed a nightmare in the same vicinity as Scruffy.

Ah, I suspected as much. It was the same filly who had had a nightmare last night. Luna had sensed her enter the dream realm several times during the day, but each time it was for only a moment. The filly, or Scootaloo as her name was, hadn’t gone back to sleep until very late last night, so she must have been exhausted all day.

“Worry not. Tonight, I shall make sure your nightmares are banished,” Luna said to the shimmering star that was pulsing with darkness and entered the filly’s dream.

Luna touched down to the same forest as last night, looking equally demonic. However, she also noticed that some parts were less scary looking. Bright, calming colors with no shadows or sharp shapes. To Luna, it indicated that the filly was less afraid than last night, but the fear still clung to her.

Luna pivoted her ears and listened. She could hear a pony galloping in the distance, but with the sound echoing around the forest, she couldn’t pinpoint the location. She focused her magic, and cast a spell on the moon that allowed her to survey the dream from a better vantage point. Instantly she noticed where her charge was, and that the headless horse was the manifestation of her fears tonight.

“Aaaaaaa!” the filly screamed as the creature got closer to her, and covered her eyes with her hooves.

“A warm welcome to you, Scootaloo,” Luna said as she charged a spell, which she used to make the monstrosity disappear. Luna propelled herself upwards with her wings, and gently hopped over the landscape to land next to Scootaloo.

“Princess Luna?” Scootaloo asked in confusion. “I thought you were the headless horse.” With the filly’s fear momentarily curbed by Luna’s magic, she instantly calmed down.

“You were mistaken, but I hope not disappointed,” Luna said and smiled.

“You are so, so much better than the headless horse! But what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in Canterlot?” Scootaloo brought a hoof to her chin.

“I am the Princess of the night! Thus, it is my duty to come in to your dreams.”

“Oh yeah! Wait! This is just a dream?” The filly asked and looked around perplexed. “But it feels so real.” She reached out with her hoof, which caused ripples to appear in the air.

She’s moving in her sleep, she probably won’t stay asleep for much longer, Luna thought.

“I assure you, that you are asleep. But when you wake, the thing that frightens you most, will still exist.” Luna knew that the filly wasn’t just scared of the old stories and the fiendish characters in them. She had seen this kind of nightmare thousands of times before, and the subtle hints the dream was giving her made for a rather clear case, like how the filly seemed to be more scared of the manifestation of her fear catching her, and not so much of what it would do to her. Even the manifestations only seemed intent to chase her, Luna could feel no malice from them.

“Uhh…the headless horse?” Scootaloo asked.

“Hmm. Is the headless horse really what frightens you the most?”

“M-mm…” Scootaloo’s gaze turned down in defeat. Princess Luna knew, there was no point in hiding it anymore. “I’m afraid Rainbow Dash will find out I’m not as tough as she thinks I am…” she said sadly.

“Everypony has fears, Scootaloo. Everypony must face them in their own way. But they must be faced, or the nightmares will continue,” Luna warned the filly. The filly looked unsure, and another burst of bright ripples appeared as she leaned back. The filly was waking up, so Luna spread her wings to depart the dream.

“Face your fears!” she said one more time, before exiting the dream. Immediately after that, the dreamer woke up, and the star disappeared from the dream realm.

“Face your fears…” Luna said, turning her head towards where Scruffy’s dream star was gently floating.

********************

“What were you doing out here in the middle of the night?” Rainbow asked Scootaloo, slight anger in her voice. The two of them were in the middle of the forest, dripping wet, as Rainbow had just saved Scootaloo from a waterfall.

After Scootaloo woke up, she had been spooked by what she thought was the wicked whinny of the headless horse (while in actuality, it was Rainbow’s loud snoring), and had taken her scooter and gone off in to the forest, not really sure if she was still dreaming or not. Unfortunately, as she was riding her scooter, the darkness caused her to miss a rock on her path, and she fell over in to a ravine with a river at the bottom. Luckily for her, Rainbow had noticed her departure, and had saved her just in time before she plummeted down the waterfall at the end of the river.

Now that they were safely on dry land again, Scootaloo felt ashamed. Running off in to the forest at night had been a terrible idea, even if she had been scared, and no amount of explaining could save her, without also revealing that she was a scaredy-cat. She tried to bite back tears that were threatening to fall, when she heard Princess Luna’s voice, and saw her silhouette on the moon.

It is time for you to face your real fears, Scootaloo.

Scootaloo blinked as Luna’s voice drifted from the moon. She turned her gaze to Rainbow, who was looking slightly annoyed, and waiting for her answer. She took a deep breath, and prepared herself.

“I’m so, so sorry Rainbow Dash! I just wanted you to hang out with me and see how cool I was so you’d take me under your wing, and teach me everything you know and become like my big sister.” Rainbow looked slightly surprised by the sudden outburst, but waited patiently. “But then you started telling those spooky stories, and I got scared! I thought I heard the headless horse, so I ran out here by myself and…” Scootaloo rambled. She sobbed a few times, and took off her helmet. “…well…I guess you know the rest…” she sobbed a few more times, and wiped her muzzle with her foreleg.

“Hey,” Rainbow said and sat next to her, while extending her wing protectively over Scootaloo. “I’m going to tell you something...but, if you ever tell anypony else, I’m going to deny it.” As Rainbow said that, she looked around, just to make sure there was nopony else around. “First time I heard those stories, I was scared too,” she finally admitted.

“Y-you were?” Scootaloo asked, her voice quivering slightly.

“Sure,” Rainbow said, and briefly smiled as she remembered how she had acted similarly to Scootaloo. “I mean, I got over it, because I realized pretty quick that if there was such thing as a headless horse, I could totally take it on,” she said and smiled confidently.

Scootaloo smiled, feeling a bit sad that she had allowed fear to control her like that. It was comforting to know, that even somepony as awesome as Rainbow Dash could be scared of stories, and that you could get over the fear.

“So, you’re looking for somepony to take you under their wing, huh?”

“Mmhm.”

“Yeah, I might be up for something like that,” Rainbow said and pulled Scootaloo slightly closer.

“Really?” Scootaloo asked hopefully.

“As long as you don’t go falling in to anymore rivers in the middle of the night,” Rainbow said with a bit of a teasing smile.

“Heh, it’s a deal,” Scootaloo agreed, and they both hugged.

“Also, remember not to tell anypony what I told you. Don’t want any rumors to spread,” Rainbow said good naturedly and winked.

“I promise.”

“Don’t…tell…anypony…”

Both Scootaloo and Rainbow yelped as they heard another voice next to them. They turned around to see Trixie sitting next to them, imitating that she was writing something.

“What? You?” Rainbow asked in horror.

“That…Rainbow…Is…Afraid…”

“Wait! No, I’m not! You got it all wrong!” Rainbow desperately pleaded and jumped at Trixie, who nimbly dodged away.

“Of…Scary…Stories…There we go! All memorized,” Trixie said happily, while Rainbow looked absolutely mortified.

“Hey…Trixie. What are you doing here?” Scootaloo asked.

“Good night to you, Scootaloo,” Trixie replied with an all too pleased, singsong voice. “Well, since you asked, Trixie woke up in the middle of the night to use the little fillies room, and just so happened to see you and Rainbow burst out of the cave. Naturally, Trixie was curious where the two of you would be going in the middle of the night, so Trixie followed you.”

“I uhh…see,” Scootaloo said, not really sure what else to do in this situation. Rainbow looked like her world was ending.

“Trixie…” she asked in a pleading voice.

“Yeeeeees?”

“Please…don’t tell anypony.”

“Tell anypony what?”

“What I just said!”

“And what did you say?” Trixie teased.

“Urgh!”

“Come on Trixie, cut it out,” Scootaloo scolded. Trixie held her smile for a few seconds, before rolling her eyes.

“Calm down, Trixie is not interested in telling your ‘dark’ secret to anypony. Trixie doesn’t even understand why it’s such a big deal for you.”

“Are you crazy? It would totally ruin my image!” Rainbow argued.

“Right...” Trixie deadpanned. “Anyway, if you two are done with your venture in to the night, Trixie suggests we head back,” she said and yawned loudly.

The three of them turned around and headed back to the cave, to get a good night’s sleep.

********************

Early next day, the group finally made it to the Winsome Falls. Sweetie Belle had called for a race to the gazebo that was at the end of the path. Most of them had soon started sprinting, leaving Scruffy and Trixie watching them go. Scruffy had been half tempted to pick up Trixie and run after them, once he understood what was going on, but concluded that it would have ended terribly.

“How pretty,” Trixie commented as she and Scruffy watched the waterfalls on the other side of the lake. The colors of the rainbow were reflecting off the rushing water, making the Winsome Falls a wall of color. “It really does look like actual liquid rainbows.”

Scruffy nodded, not really sure what Trixie had said, and fished out his device. He started taking pictures of the falls.

“Trixie has to admit, it’s been nice to have somepony else along for the journey,” Trixie idly commented as they both sat down. Scruffy took off his boots and socks, and rested his feet in the water. “Trixie usually travels alone, going from place to place. Trixie loves the freedom it provides, yet…all of Trixie’s friends stay in one place. Trixie only sees them when she returns from her travels,” she kicked a pebble in to the water, “and you seem like someone who knows the pain of being alone.”

They sat there a long while, watching the ripples spread out in to the lake. Scruffy raised his hand and gently ruffled Trixie’s mane.

“Would you stop that?” she said with faux irritation.

“Hey, what are you two sitting there for? Come join us here!” Applejack hollered from the gazebo, their friendly competition long finished.

“Hum, Trixie thinks we are being called,” Trixie said as Scruffy rose to his feet. “Shall we go then?” she asked Scruffy, who smiled and nodded in return.

Author's Notes:

Oh look, it's an updaoH MY GOD LOOK AT THE LENGTH OF IT!

So yes...if you did read my blog about last weeks chapter, I had planned to do a double update this week. That didn't happen, unfortunately, since I encountered a few problems and this chapter took a surprising amount of time. But even if there wasn't a double update this week, hopefully this extra long chapter compensates for that.

I have a patreon nowadays, so if anyone wants to go check it out, here it is. I have plans to write a story that I will put in patreon first, and then later (month, maybe two) I will upload it here also.

Thanks to MonsterMyrr and Atronosthelast for enabling me to buy more tea.

PS: If anyone guesses what Luna is humming, then you deserve a pat in the back.
PSS: Give lordelliott some love for helping me with proofreading. Thanks man.

Interlude - Tea Time in Dream Time

View Online

“Face your fears…” Luna repeated to herself for the fifth time as she paced back and forth in the dream realm.

It had been several days since she encountered the filly in the dream and helped her, and the words of advice she had given to her still rung in her head. Luna wanted to meet with Scruffy for over a week now, but hesitation and fear was preventing her from doing it. She so easily said those words to the filly, so why couldn’t she follow them herself?

She moved closer to Scruffy’s dream star. Tonight, it was calm, and Luna could feel warmth emanating from it, indicating that all was well.
What would happen if she went in to his dream? What would the creature think if he saw her? Would he remember their first meeting? Would he even realize that she was real, or would he think she’s just another part of his dream? Of course, she could tell him that she was real, but what would he do then?

“Would you be my friend?” she asked the emptiness around her, flinching when she realized she had said her thoughts aloud.

It could go wrong. It could go wrong in so many ways if she tried to meet him in his dreams. Maybe the force that prevented her from sensing him in the Everfree forest was made by his people. Maybe they feared her, or Nightmare Moon. He might also distrust her for entering his dreams, when he wasn’t a pony. She had encountered some creatures, minotaurs and griffons, that didn’t like her “poking around” in their dreams. Maybe he would-

“No!” Luna shook her head. This spiral of ill thoughts was getting her nowhere. She could be here all night, thinking of excuses and what-ifs for her meeting him or not.

Luna shifted closer to the star and sat down. In the end, what mattered was that she wanted to meet the creature, and if that was what she truly wanted, she should go with it. If the creature wanted her to go away, she could apologize for her intrusion and leave him to his slumber. If he was afraid of her, she could try to amend that when they would meet in the waking world.

“Face your fears,” Luna said to herself one more time, before tentatively reaching out with her hoof, and entering Scruffy’s dream.

She found herself in a verdant meadow, with a forest behind her and a lake down a hill. It was a beautiful summer day, and the wind was gently blowing across the landscape. But all of it seemed a bit off in a weird way. She could recognize the trees and flowers she saw around her, but they looked…different. Like she was inside a very realistic painting. Luna wasn’t sure what had caused this, but she didn’t stop to think about it. In the distance, she could see a lone tree next to the lake, and she could see someone sitting next to it.

Luna made her way down the hill at a slow pace. A rogue thought came to her mind that she could still leave if she wanted to, but she squashed it and continued forward. As she neared the being sitting against the tree, she could see that it was indeed Scruffy. He was holding what seemed to be a fishing rod in his hands. Luna allowed herself to be seen as she got closer; she didn’t want to suddenly appear next to him and scare him. A few moments later, Luna noticed him shifting his head slightly and then turn towards her. He had a smile on his face, but it disappeared almost instantly when he saw her, and was replaced with confusion. Luna stopped and stayed still as the creature scrutinized her. Luna felt at the same time very nervous and the need to giggle at the utter bafflement that was showing on Scruffy’s face.

“G-good evening,” she greeted him, which made him wince in surprise. Luna could feel the dream waver a bit.

“-Ah...uh, hello?-“ Scruffy said back, while blinking owlishly. Luna had no idea what he had said, but assumed it was a greeting.

“I…umm…wanted to come and meet you! My name is Luna, Princess of the Night,” Luna said. When Scruffy kept blinking at her, she awkwardly shifted her weight from one side to the other. “I was h-hoping…perhaps you’d like to talk?”

“…-What?-“ Scruffy mumbled, while still trying to understand what was going on. He looked around, seemingly noticing the lake and the meadow for the first time.

“Scruffy?” Luna asked. “Twilight Sparkle told me she had been teaching you our language.” Scruffy turned towards her again.

“Lankuag?” Scruffy asked numbly, to which Luna nodded. He looked around the landscape again, before turning back to her. “Vher…?”

“We are in a dream.” When Scruffy didn’t seem to understand her, she continued. “You are asleep.”

“Ase…shee…r-rest?”

“Yes. You are resting.”

Luna could imagine the cogs in Scruffy’s mind grinding to a halt as he tried to process what she had said. Eventually he turned back towards the lake and leaned against the tree, still confused. Since he wasn’t yelling at her to get out, Luna walked closer, and sat next to him. Scruffy turned to look at her briefly, before going back to gazing across the lake. He haphazardly picked up his fishing pole, and cast the line in to the lake.

They lapsed in to silence, trying to come up with something to talk about, and waiting for fish to bite. Luna could see Scruffy’s lips moving, as he tried to find the correct words from his limited vocabulary. Luna felt too awkward to ask anything, and ruffled her feathered wings nervously. Wanting something to break the silence, she used her magic to summon a fish to bite Scruffy’s line. Scruffy was too deep in thought to notice at first, and Luna had to cough to get his attention, and pointed at the bopper. Luna had never fished herself before (although she had eaten it on occasion with foreign dignitaries), but she could see how expertly Scruffy reeled in the fish, detached the hook, and then released the small fish back in to the lake.

“Do you fish often?” Luna asked.

“Huh? Uh...j-jes?” Scruffy replied, not entirely sure what Luna had asked him.

“Where did you learn to do it?”

“Uuuh…”

“Ah, I’m sorry...I guess I should keep with simpler questions.”

“No...uh...s-sb...spack...sh-slov-v,” Scruffy said as his brow scrunched in concentration.

“Oh, sorry...okay...Where. Did. You. Learn. To. Fish?” Luna spoke slowly, while gesturing with her hooves.

“Ai...umm…uh…” Scruffy massaged his temple, trying to find the words. He patted his pockets, searching for something. “Umm...p-p-pen?”

“Right. Twilight Sparkle said that it was easier for you to write,” Luna said as she recalled a conversation that she, Celestia, and Twilight had had a few days ago. She summoned a scroll and a quill for Scruffy, which he took and started writing in. Soon, he offered the scroll back to her.

I learnt many ago, father teacher.

“I don’t know much about fishing. It’s not common with ponies, but minotaurs and griffins practice the art.” After receiving a blank stare, Luna wrote what she had said on the scroll.

Ponies fish?

“Some do. Myself and my sister knew a fisher pony by the name of Silver Line a long time ago. He was always so infuriatingly...optimistic,” Luna said with a hint of a smile. She had to write it all down again for Scruffy to understand what she had said.

Tell me?

“I would be happy to,” Luna said happily, and summoned a pair of small cups full of steaming hot tea. Scruffy scrutinized his cup for a moment, before writing down a sentence.

How you do that?

Chapter 16 - Trixie's Farewell Party, Part 1

View Online

Boink

Pinkie Pie was bouncing merrily along the streets of Ponyville. She greeted each pony she passed by with her usual wide smile and energetic wave. Today was such a perfect day! Not that everyday wasn’t amazingly, fantastically fun, but today was especially so! Sunshine, smiling ponies, and most importantly of all, today was a day for a party! Trixie’s new wagon was finally finished, and Pinkie was going to throw her a house-warming party! It was going to be a bit of a sad party, since the new wagon meant that Trixie would probably leave soon, but that gave Pinkie all the more reason to make sure that today’s party would be an exceedingly exceptional extravaganze!

E-extravagante?

Extravaganzo?

Ex-extravagan…extravagan…

Anyway!

Before the super-duper mega amazing party, however, there was one problem Pinkie had to solve. Namely, what kind of gift to give Trixie. Normally, something like that wouldn’t be a problem at all for Ponyville’s premiere party planner. Pinkie Pie knew everypony in Ponyville, and through ingenious observation and clever use of her noggin, knew what most ponies liked, but she had no idea what Trixie liked, and the gift needed to be something better than a crystalberry cake and a box of banana-chocolate cupcakes with whipped cream and a grape on top. Trixie had been on a trip with Applejack and Rainbow and Scruffy and Rarity and the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and had returned with a happysad smile, and Pinkie didn’t know what to do about it. She didn’t even know what had caused it, and neither did anypony else she asked. And why wasn’t she invited? It would have been a perfectly fun time to go camping and see the Winsome Falls, and if she had been there, nopony would have had any sad times.

Pinkie sighed. No, she shouldn’t think like that. She can’t be everywhere, she already learned that lesson. She had only so much time in a day, and it didn’t matter if she couldn’t be everywhere. What mattered was that she used her time wisely, so she should totally stop thinking about other things and focus on Trixie’s gift!

“Hmmm, but if I can’t figure it out, who can I ask about it?” Pinkie pondered while rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

“Uh, ask about what, Pinkie?” Lyra asked the pink pony who had suddenly invaded her lap. She was sitting in a upright position on a bench, and Pinkie had laid next to her and placed her fluffy mane on her outstretched hind legs.

“About the gift of course, silly!” Pinkie exclaimed before booping Lyra and hopping off the bench, leaving the musical pony rubbing her nose in confusion.

There weren’t many ponies Pinkie could ask for help. Only the girls really. Trixie didn’t seem to spend too much time with anypony else. Applejack and Rainbow hadn’t even known Trixie had been feeling a bit down, so they probably wouldn’t know how to properly cheer her up either. Fluttershy had spent the least amount of time with Trixie out of all of them, so she might not know either. Twilight and Spike would probably have some ideas, but they were still in Canterlot, and Pinkie had no way of contacting them before the party. Rarity, on the other hoof, was often very perceptive, and liked to spend time with Trixie, so surely she could offer some thoughts on the matter. With that in mind, Pinkie started hopping towards the boutique.

“Hmm, maybe I could ask Scruffy for some ideas,” Pinkie pondered to herself as she continued towards Rarity’s. Scruffy had been on that trip too, and Rarity had said that they had been getting along better than before. He was currently playing with Rainbow Dash at the park, so she could easily hop her way there instead. “But what if he has already noticed that Trixie was feeling sad? What if he already has some super-duper present planned, and he’s going to blow all of our minds with it tonight with how awesome and great it is?”

A few onlooking ponies watched with curious eyes as their town’s pink party planner had started to hop in circles with a slight, concentrated frown on her face and mumbling to herself.

“Which would mean that it would totally ruin the surprise if I went and asked if he has a super-duper present prepared!” Pinkie said with a horrified gasp. A couple of the onlooking ponies exchanged glances at the sudden outburst. “I mean...there’s no surprise, y’all heard nuffin!” Pinkie said to the few ponies in a manner that would have made Applejack proud, before hurriedly bouncing away towards the boutique.

********************

“Oh Rarityyy!” Pinkie announced her presence as she opened the front door of Carousel Boutique, along with the ringing of a bell. She mentally sighed at how cliché a shop entrance it was.

“Coming! Hello, Pinkie darling. What brings you to my boutique today?” Rarity asked with a pleasant smile as she came from the back room.

“Oh, it’s so terrible, Rarity!” Pinkie complained while holding a foreleg to her head in a very theatrical manner.

“Oh dear, what is it, darling?” Rarity played along, trying her best to make her face as neutral as possible in faux seriousness. She used her magic to summon a fan to use on Pinkie, as the mare swooned right in to Rarity’s outstretched forelegs.

“Today’s Trixie’s party, and I do not know what kind of gift I should get her!” Pinkie lamented.

“My my, that does sound serious,” Rarity agreed. Pinkie threw her forehooves dramatically in the air.

“I know! I knohohohooow! She needs the perfectest gift ever to cheer her up, but I just don’t know what would do it. What ever shall I do?”

“Worry not, madam Pinkie! Together, the two of us shall come up with the ‘perfectest’ gift a mare has ever seen!” Rarity declared enthusiastically. The two ponies looked at each other, before bursting in to giggles.

“Oh Rarity, I knew you would catch on,” Pinkie said between giggles as she stood up on her own legs again.

“Mhmhmhmm, I do enjoy the occasional chance to perform and act, even short and silly moments like these. Now, you mentioned something about cheering Trixie up?” Rarity asked intrigued.

“Mmhm. She seemed a bit sad when you returned from your camping trip to Winsome Falls, and I wanted to give her something to lift her spirits.”

“Yes, I did notice that she wasn’t quite her usual ‘charming’ self after the trip. She acted like nothing was wrong, but I could sense she was feeling a bit melancholic,” Rarity said while leading Pinkie to the kitchen.

“That’s why we need to figure out a gift that will surely make her giddier than a foal in a candy shop,” Pinkie said and sat down at the table. Rarity gave a brief giggle at the metaphor while setting down a tea set for two on the table and putting the kettle on.

“It is nice of you to think that I’m the one who can help you with this, darling.”

“You and Twilight are the ones who have spent most time with Trixie, but Twilight’s not here, so that only leaves you.”

“What about Scruffy?” Rarity asked with one eyebrow raised. Pinkie looked away, trying to act nonchalant.

“I’m sure Scruffy has some su-...I mean nice gift planned already, there’s no need to bother him,” Pinkie said. Rarity could see Pinkie’s ear twitching nervously ever so slightly, but decided not to say anything.

“Well, if your goal is to get Trixie out of her sullen mood, I can at least tell you what not to get. While Trixie puts great deal of effort in to her own persona, I do not take her as sompony who cares about vanity items. So if you were planning on getting her something for her wagon, I don’t think that would work very well.” Rarity took the kettle off the stove, and levitated it over to the table, where she prepared them both nice cups of tea.

“So balloons are out of the question. I remember Applejack saying that she and Rainbow had both decided to get Trixie a traveling kit of essential knick-knacks, so there’s probably nothing of that sort left for me to get her either,” Pinkie mused as she put four cubes of sugar in her tea, making Rarity suppress a cringe.

“Your gift would also need to be something durable, since she is going to be traveling so much. Something she can enjoy for a long time.” Rarity put a tinge of honey and milk in her tea, stirred it, and took a sip.

“Hmm, I could offer to paint her wagon, maybe?” Pinkie suggested.

“I’m sure she would appreciate the gesture, darling. However, I do believe she already decided to paint it herself today. She’s probably doing it right now,” Rarity replied and carefully blew on her tea to cool it down.

“What? Aww…” Pinkie said sadly and tasted her own tea. It was perfectly sweet.

“Perhaps you could get her a book? I’m sure Trixie would enjoy a good mystery novel, like Shadow Spade for example. Or, since she is an accomplished magician, a book about spellcraft?”

“Wouldn’t that be exactly what Twilight would get her?” Pinkie said with one eyebrow raised

“Erm…that’s a good point.”

“So what do we know that Trixie likes, then?”

“She likes to spend time with her own thoughts, with only nature keeping her company. She is interested in magic and anything that can make her better, and by extension, make her magic show better,” Rarity intoned.

“Oh oh oh! Scootaloo said that she likes stars.”

“Really?”

“Uhhuh! She said that they had gone stargazing together,” Pinkie explained.

“Hmm...Perhaps you could get her something related to that, then? If she likes astronomy, you could get her a telescope, for instance.”

“Ooh! That’s a great idea Rarity! With a telescope, she’ll be able to looksie Luna’s stars so much better.”

“And since she is so often traveling outside of cities, she’ll have plenty of chances to use it. Big cities sometimes have so much light during the night that it can be hard to see the stars from them. Hmm, perhaps I should make her some warm clothes to use on chillier nights,” Rarity said thoughtfully as she took a sip of her tea.

“Fantastic! Now I have something I can get Trixie. Thank you so much Rarity!” Pinkie exclaimed giddily. She drank the rest of her tea, making a face having slightly burned her tongue, and went over to hug Rarity.

“Pleasure was all mine, Pinkie dear,” Rarity hummed and hugged back.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a telescope to hunt down. See you at the party, Rarity,” Pinkie saluted as she trotted towards the front door.

“Happy hunting,” Rarity replied, finishing her own tea.

Once Pinkie was outside, she switched to galloping. While the party wouldn’t happen until evening, and it wasn’t even close to noon yet, that didn’t mean Pinkie had time to lose. She still needed to find the telescope, and then she would need to giftwrap it, and write a nice card to go with it, then maybe bake some more pastries for the party, and then-…

“Focus Pinkie! Gift first,” she said to herself as her thoughts threatened to gallop past her.

Now where could I find a telescope in Ponyville? Maybe Silver Spanner’s ‘Gadgets & Trinkets’. Hmm, or perhaps Tinkerhoof would have one. Or maybe I could ask that one stallion, doctor…hmmm…doctor…who was it again? I’m sure it’ll come to me.

Pinkie went to see Tinkerhoof first, but unfortunately she didn’t have anything on hoof, and Pinkie didn’t have time to wait for her to make one. She decided to try Silver Spanner’s shop next.

“Hello?” Pinkie called as she entered through the front door.

“Oh. Hello Pinkie Pie! What brings you to my shop today?” Pinkie was greeted by a unicorn mare with a tawny-brown coat and white mane.

“I’m looking for a telescope, for stargazing. Would you happen to have one?”

“A telescope? Hmm, I might have one, if you’ll wait for a moment while I’ll go look.”

“Sure.”

While Silver Spanner disappeared to the back room to look for a telescope, Pinkie took a look around her shop. Silver Spanner had all kinds of items on her shelfs, ranging from lamps to clocks to a pair of flocculent manacles, a shining, blue cube that seemed to have another cube inside it, a weird green blob with four claws at the bottom of it, a glowing green shard that made Pinkie think of something very cold, a chunk of tumbleweed that looked like Scruffy, a pickaxe with a notch on the handle, four different colored crystals in the shape of ponies, red boots and a white cape, an emblem with a crowned lion holding a sword while trampling another one, a bust of an unicorn with glasses and a funny red and white hat on his head, and even what looked like a burner for a hot air balloon.

Hehe, wouldn’t it be funny if Trixie had a hot air balloon instead of a wagon? Pinkie idly thought to herself while she inspected some metal thing which she had no idea what it was for. She could just fly everywhere, and she could make a dramatic entrance for her magic shows. Pinkie cleared her throat.

“Welcome to the amazing show of the great and powerful Trixie, skydiving from her floating home!” Pinkie mimicked Trixie’s voice, making occasional ‘wooshing’ noises and gesturing with her hooves. “I bet she would also have a great view from up there. Might be a bit hard to see the stars with the balloon in the way...hmmh...but otherwise, seeing the landscape below you as you drift along, all by yourself, no one to keep you company. Hehe, that actually sounds kinda roman-...”

Pinkie suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes opened as wide as they could as she stared in to nothingness. A brilliant idea was forming in her head. But could she do it? She might not have enough time to get it. But if she could…

“Ah, here it is miss Pie. One ‘Farsight’ telescope. It’s not the newest there is, but it’s certainly serviceable...uh, what are you doing?” Silver Spanner asked Pinkie, whose mouth was hanging open, her body not moving at all. Pinkie turned her head to stare at her, causing Silver Spanner to get slightly unnerved, especially when Pinkie let out a loud gasp.

“I’VE GOT IT!” she declared loudly. “And I would have never figured it out without you! I’m so happy I could kiss you!” she said before leaping towards Silver Spanner. The mare let out a frightened yelp as Pinkie grabbed her in a hug before promptly kissing her. “Oh, this is going to be the perfectest gift ever! Thank you so much, Silver!” she declared before galloping out of the store.

“Eh, ah...you’re welcome?” Silver Spanner said in flustered confusion, still clutching the telescope in her hooves.

********************

Trixie sighed as she sat down on the grass. She had been painting her new wagon all morning, and it was almost done now. She still needed to work on the interior, but she would worry about that once she knew what kind of furniture she would have. The outside was completely done, and dare she say, it looked absolutely marvelous. She especially liked the stars she had painted on the roof and on the window shutters, much in the same style as in her cape and hat. It made it look like it belonged to somepony eloquent and powerful, worthy to be Trixie’s new home.

Trixie sat there for a few more moments and allowed herself to relax. Even having access to magic, it was still hard work to paint an entire wagon all by yourself. Having to keep constant concentration on the paint brush had given Trixie a slight headache, but it would go away after a moment of rest and some lunch.

Eventually she got up and grabbed all the paint cans and tools she had with her magic, before making her way to the library. Trixie was very grateful that Twilight had allowed her to use her guest bedroom while she waited for her new wagon to finish. It still baffled Trixie as to why Twilight had shown her compassion after she had bullied the town the way she did. She had done nothing to earn it, and yet Twilight had not asked anything in return, save a simple apology. Maybe it had something to do with her being an element bearer. Regardless, it was nice to have somepony she could consider a friend, even if they had had a bit of a rocky start.

Trixie opened the door to the library with the spare key she borrowed and walked inside. She took a sniff of her coat and blanched. Sitting under the sun for several hours had made her sweaty, and there were small blotches of paint in her fur. She put away the items she was carrying before heading to shower, after which she would get lunch. Being a performer, and having to pull her wagon with her wherever she went, Trixie didn’t usually bother with fast foods, since her own cooking was sufficient and cheaper. Fast food was often too greasy, and she needed to watch her figure. However, since today was a special day, she decided that she could spoil herself a little bit by getting a pizza, and maybe some ice cream for dessert.

As she was taking the shower, Trixie’s thoughts turned to tonight. When she heard that Trixie’s new wagon was going to be ready today, Pinkie Pie, the overly energetic party pony of Ponyville, had wanted to throw her a house-warming party and was insistent despite Trixie’s disinterest. Trixie had momentarily entertained the idea of just leaving with her new wagon before the party, but she didn’t have any furniture, or food, or interest in hurting the element bearers feelings just because she didn’t want to attend a party. It wouldn’t be too bad. Only Twilight and her friends would be there, along with Scruffy, for some reason. He wasn’t too bad of company, now that they weren’t constantly looking at each other warily, although his inability to speak Equestrian was a bit inconvenient.

Trixie stepped out of the shower, feeling refreshed once again. With a quick spell she got most of the water out of her coat, mane, and tail, and then used a towel to completely dry herself. After brushing herself and fetching her bits, she headed out to ease her grumbling belly.

********************

“Mmh…this is heaven,” Trixie purred to herself as she licked her mint chocolate ice cream. She was making her way towards the Ponyville park. She had decided to relax and enjoy her dessert there after the exceptionally tasty pizza had been consumed.

“See? Told ya I could do it!”

Trixie’s ears stood up as she heard the rather familiar raspy voice talking. After a bit of searching, she spotted a rainbow-colored tail swishing from behind some tree branches. Weighing her options, Trixie decided to head in another direction, preferring to be alone, but she didn’t make it very far.

“Oh. Hi,” Rainbow greeted Trixie stiffly as she spotted her while hovering a few meters from the ground. Scruffy, who was sitting on the ground and leaning against the tree, peeked over his shoulder, and waved at Trixie.

“Hello,” Trixie greeted back. Since they had spotted her, she changed her direction again and reluctantly joined them.

“So. Your new wagon is done, huh?” Rainbow asked in a boorish attempt to make small talk.

“Yes, it is. Trixie vetted its quality last eve to verify that it would indeed be up to Trixie’s eminent standards, and arrived at the conclusion that it was certainly something that Trixie could utilize as her new abode,” Trixie said with a posh accent while taking another bite from her increasingly diminishing treat.

“…Hey, I can understand your fancy talk just fine. I am not dumb,” Rainbow said, crossing her forelegs and furrowing her brows, irritated.

“Truly? Well, it was certainly worth a try,” Trixie said, going back to her normal manner of speaking. Rainbow held her stare for a little while longer, while Scruffy was looking at the two, noticing the tension in Dash’s words. Eventually Rainbow just rolled her eyes, coming to the conclusion that this was just Trixie’s way of trying to rib at her.

“So, you are leaving then?”

“It is Trixie’s livelihood to travel and perform before ponies.”

“Right,” Rainbow said, rubbing her forehooves awkwardly together. “Do you know wh-”

“As much as Trixie appreciates your effort, you don’t have to force yourself to come up with something to talk about.”

“I wasn’t…!” Rainbow flapped her wings in agitation. “I didn’t want to be rude,” she eventually managed to say as she lowered herself to stand on the ground.

“Ms. Dash, it is quite clear that we are not the best of friends. Trixie would appreciate if you didn’t try to force it,” Trixie said matter of factly.

“Hrmh,” Rainbow grumbled in response.

“That does not mean that we have to constantly bother each other, however. Trixie is aware that you pranked her yesterday by swapping her shampoo with ketchup. So Trixie proposes that we both just concentrate on enjoying this beautiful day.”

Rainbow smirked at the memory of her deed, but then softened her expression. “...Deal,” she agreed reluctantly, before taking off to the skies again.

Scruffy looked at Trixie for a few moments, a frown almost making its way on to his face, before dropping the matter and leaning against the tree.

A comfortable silence encompassed the area, the only noise coming either from ponies that were passing by, or Dash’s cheers as she was doing tricks in the air. Trixie noted that Scruffy was reading a book, and on closer inspection found out that it was a book for foals, designed to help them learn reading. He also had his weird device on his lap that he occasionally looked at.

“What are you looking at?” Trixie eventually decided to ask. She had to repeat the question before Scruffy realised that she was talking to him.

Learning, came the written reply on parchment that Scruffy pulled from a pocket.

“Trixie meant your device,” she said while pointing at the rectangular object. Scruffy made an ‘ah’ sound, and showed it to her. He showed Trixie that there were numerous pictures on the device of what appeared to be notes on Equestrian Common.

“Are all of these your notes? Your device is very handy,” Trixie said while examining the pictures. Indeed, with how many pictures there were on the device, it would have taken at least a dozen scrolls to hold them all.

Easy to look word that not remember, Scruffy wrote down.

“Trixie knew that it was very advanced, but it doesn’t cease to amaze. Where did you get this device?” Trixie asked. She had to write down some of the words and repeat herself for Scruffy. He wasn’t quite adept enough yet to understand more complex words when spoken.

Bought it. Market with many like it.

“Trixie bets it was very expensive. It would probably cost more bits than Trixie has ever had,” Trixie said with a bit of wistful note.

They both went quiet for a while as they looked at Rainbow doing loop de loops in the sky before rocketing forward with a burst of speed.

“Trixie has to admit, despite being so boisterous, she does know what she is doing,” Trixie commented as Rainbow dipped down close to the ground and zoomed past them fast enough for Trixie’s mane to billow slightly. Scruffy let out an amused hum, before going back to staring at his parchment. He considered what he wanted to say for a moment and then wrote it down.

You are leaving?

“Yes, Trixie is leaving tomorrow once she has everything she needs on her travels,” Trixie idly stated as she finished the last of her ice cream and chomped down on the remaining waffle cone.

Can ask why?

“Trixie has to earn her living.”

I not understand.

“You didn’t know that Trixie is a traveling showmare?” Trixie asked surprised. She had to write it down, and even then she needed to further explain what the words meant before Scruffy understood what she had said.

Oh, was Scruffy’s only response to that.

“Why do you ask?” Trixie asked, slightly curious. Scruffy seemed to get embarrassed and looked the other way before replying.

I think you not like me or someponies and leave. Trixie burst in to laughter and laid down on the grass close to him.

“Trixie can see why you’d think that,” she said and shook her head. “You don’t have to worry. Trixie was going to leave regardless, it’s not because of you or anypony else.”

I not know, I think you only liked travel. Pink told you have party for home before you leave.

“Yes, she insisted on having a party. Trixie would have been fine without having one,” Trixie said dismissively.

Good to have fun sometime.

“Trixie prefers events that are…that have higher standards.” Trixie had to write it down again so that Scruffy would understand her words better. “Trixie heard you would attend too.”

If you not…upset? Scruffy had to check his device to find a word for the end.

“Trixie is not, and the word you want to use is ‘mind’. For example: ‘Do you mind?’” Trixie instructed and wrote it down on the parchment, which Scruffy took a picture of. “Trixie finds your company more enjoyable than most others in Ponyville.”

Thank you.

A group of ponies that were on a walk noticed the two of them, and waved them a greeting as they went by.

You know where go?

“Where Trixie’s going to go? Trixie is not sure…perhaps towards Manehattan, to go meet some ponies Trixie has not seen in a long while.”

Somepony waiting?

“Wha…Trixie does not have anypony waiting! Trixie has no time for such distractions,” Trixie said and huffed. Scruffy chuckled at Trixie’s insistent tone and patted her head until she zapped him lightly, pouting at the treatment she was getting.

It amazing you live inside wagon only. Never know anypony is like that.

“Trixie doesn’t have the bits to travel and stay in hotels only. Besides, it is nice to travel in the wilderness with only your thoughts to keep you company,” Trixie said and smiled, until Scruffy’s head scratching got on her nerves and she had to write it down for him. “What about you? Trixie has heard that you live in the Everfree forest.”

Repeat?

“The Everfree forest?” Trixie repeated while pointing in the vague direction of it.

What the first word mean?

“It’s just the name of it. Here, let Trixie write it down for you,” Trixie offered, and even wrote down what the words ment.

I not live forest, live on other side it. Close to it. Live there many years, build home.

“Wait, you live on the other side of the Everfree forest? And you walk through it every day to get here?” Trixie asked suspiciously.

Walking good for you.

“You are crazy. Everfree is a dangerous place, you shouldn’t just waltz through it,” Trixie said aghast.

Walk it many times, know it well.

“Right…” Trixie shuddered at the thought of having to go through Everfree forest every day. She had been at the edge of the forest a few times, and that was enough for her. “Do you live alone then, or do you have a family?

Trixie could instantly tell that it had been exactly the wrong question to ask. Scruffy’s whole demeanor turned to the polar opposite of what it had been. His face went neutral, his shoulders became rigid and his breathing slowed down. He was looking towards her, but his gaze was going past her, somewhere far away.

Horseapples, Trixie mentally swore. “Trixie is sorry, you do not need to answer that.”

Scruffy’s eyes focused on her, and he offered a weak and sad smile. He did eventually write her a reply.

Two foals. Mare and colt. Old now, but both my little one. Scruffy gazed at the paper, his stare boring through it, before he added few more words. Not talk long time.

“Trixie is sorry...to have brought this up…” Trixie said with her ears down.

It okay. Just make sad for time.

“Trixie is...uh...do you want to talk about it?” Trixie asked carefully. Scruffy made a ‘hmmh’ with a hint of amusement in it and ruffled Trixie’s mane again, although with less enthusiasm.

They have own family. Own- Scruffy stopped for a while, trying to find the right words. Own path. Home far away. Not see often. Again he paused for a long time, staying still and breathing deeply in, before letting it out slowly. Love, can never see again.

Trixie, despite her usual self, sat up and offered Scruffy a hug, which he accepted. There was a hint of mist in his eyes, and Trixie suspected that he had shed his tears a long time ago.

“Glad the two of you have gotten over your first meeting,” Rainbow remarked, completely oblivious to the mood as she touched down a few meters away from them. Trixie shot her a venomous glare that Rainbow didn’t notice as she was stretching her back. Scruffy calmed Trixie with a gentle pat on her back.

“For your information, we are very friendly with each other, and Trixie appreciates it greatly,” Trixie said tensely.

Rainbow turned towards her with a look of disbelief on her face. Slowly, a massive grin made its way on to her face, and she tried to stop herself from snickering.

“Y-yes, I’m sure you are,” Rainbow paused to let out a few barks of laughter. “You a-appreciated it so much the first time that your red flanks outright RADIATED ‘friendliness’! Bwahahahahahahaaa!” Rainbow fell on the ground, laughing hard.

Trixie, after taking a moment to understand what had just happened, blushed furiously as she glared at Rainbow with all her might.

“N-NOT LIKE THAT YOU PERVERTED FEATHERBRAIN!” she yelled indignantly. A passing mare with her foal quickly covered her little one’s ears and ushered them in the opposite direction.

“I-I-I don’t know, it c-certainly sounded like you meant that! Sneaking off f-for another round during our camping trip?” Rainbow managed to say between giggles and gasping for air, before bursting forth with another round of laughter, tears streaming down her face.

“TRIXIE IS GONNA SNAP YOUR WINGS OFF YOU IMPERTINENT-!” Trixie tried to lunge at Rainbow who was clutching her stomach on the ground, but luckily Scruffy had seen where the conversation was going and snatched up Trixie in a bear hug before she could move. Seeing this, Rainbow’s laughter grew two folds.

“LET TRIXIE GO! SHE’S GOING TO WIPE THAT SMUG GRIN FROM HER FACE AND REPURPOSE HER AS AN ORNAMENT FOR TRIXIE’S WAGON!” Trixie screamed, her voice shrill like a banshee as she thrashed around desperately, trying to get free. Scruffy was holding on to the livid unicorn for dear life, and eventually somepony thought to call the guards.

********************

“Dear Celestia, what on Equestria were you three doing?” Rarity asked aghast with a hint of disappointment as she looked over the two ponies and one Scruffy, all bruised as they sat on Ponyville’s guardpost floor. The two sullen mares were sitting on either side of Scruffy, firmly held in place by Scruffy’s arms that were wrapped under their forelegs and around their barrels. The sight brought to Rarity’s mind the grumpiest and most painful looking family photo ever.

“That would be fighting, Ms. Rarity,” the guardsmare, who was keeping an eye on them, spoke up. “The guards who arrested them, that would be Bright Steel and Star Wing, found them in the middle of hoof fight between Ms. Trixie Lulamoon and Ms. Rainbow Dash, with...uh...him trying to stop them,” the guardsmare said unsurely while pointing at Scruffy. “He has refused to let either of them out of his hold, which is why their hooves haven’t been clapped in irons yet.”

“I see…” Rarity said in dismay. “They don’t have any serious injuries, right?”

“We are right here, Rarity!” Rainbow said, annoyed.

“Just bruises. We are not sure about him, though, but he doesn’t seem to be in much pain, so nothing serious I think.” Scruffy just huffed loudly as they were talking about him. He was sporting a bruise on his left cheek, and his short hair was haggard and dirty.

“Thank you, miss...um, guardsmare. Let me have a chat with them.”

“By all means,” the guardsmare said and walked away. Rarity waited for the door to click shut before turning towards the trio on the floor.

“Now, would anypony care to tell me what in thrice damned tartarus happened?!” Rarity asked angrily, making the two ponies and Scruffy flinch.

“We uh…” Rainbow started.

“Trixie did... That is…” Trixie tried to continue.

“Well?” Rarity asked impatiently.

“We had a bit of a fight…” Rainbow said lamely, only to shrink away as Rarity leaned in closer and stared at her right in the eyes.

“Clearly. What I would like to know is why you would decide to have a hoof fight in the middle of the day at the center of Ponyville’s park.”

“It was not Trixie’s fault! She only-!”

“She only what?” This time it was Trixie’s turn to shrink away as Rarity turned towards her.

“Rainbow did it!” Trixie squaked.

“You punched me!”

“You said insensitive things!”

“You tried to pull my wing out!”

“ENOUGH! Both of you, you should be ashamed of yourselves. Not only did you manage to get yourselves arrested for fighting, but you even dragged Scruffy in to it too!”

Both of the blue mares clicked their mouths shut as they glanced at Scruffy, who looked like he wished to be somewhere else right about now. They both turned away, ears down in shame.

“Now, if the two of you are done acting like foals, I would much like to hear an apology from both of you,” Rarity said with a clear voice, leaving no room for argument.

“Sorry…” they mumbled. Rarity frowned and stomped the floor hard enough to leave a dent. “We’re sorry!” they both squaked in unison.

“Much better. Allow me a moment to talk to the guard so that we can leave.”

********************

After managing to convince the senior guardsmare to give Rainbow and Trixie both a fine instead of assigning them community service, the trio headed to Rarity’s boutique to “dress their wounds.” Rainbow would have complained if Rarity didn’t make it sound “cooler” than it actually was. Scruffy informed Rarity that he still needed to get his gift for Trixie, so he left for the Everfree, promising to be back before the party started.

After Rarity was finished with them, Trixie and Rainbow left to do their own chores. Rainbow had weather duty to attend to, and Trixie wanted to work on her wagon a bit more before tomorrow. As they left, Rarity noticed a letter on her kitchen table from Pinkie Pie, next to the seat she had been on when they had tea earlier. The letter said that Pinkie had “figured out what the perfectest gift was” and that Rarity should make sure the party starts normally, because she had to go and get the gift.

Checking up on it, Rarity found out that all the pastries and decorations that Pinkie had prepared were in Sugarcube Corner, packed neatly in boxes, so all she needed to do was to set them up at Trixie’s wagon. Now, it was only a matter of waiting until dusk to start the party.

Author's Notes:

Oh looksie, it's a new chapter.

And this chapters theme is references, because apparently those are cool and we need more of them. Makes more people like my stuff, keeps them happy. Or that's what lordelliott, my ACCOUNTANT, says. Well, he's not actually my accountant, but he sometimes seems to fuss more about my story than I do, so it's totally almost maybe the same thing. Anyway, references, see if you can spot them all, and while doing that, listen to this. Silver Spanner sure has lots of weird stuff in her shop. Wink wink nudge nudge

Another one I advice to listening is this.

I have a Patreon nowadays, and there's the early access to the first chapter for my second story available for those who become my patrons.

My patrons:
MonsterMyrr
Atronosthelast

Have a nice read everyone.

edit: Oh oh oh, I just thought of something. When people figure out what the references are, maybe I'll put a links to relevant places in the story so that other's can see what they are?

Chapter 17 - Trixie's Farewell Party, Part 2

View Online

As the sun started its descent towards horizon, Rarity loaded all the essential party supplies Pinkie had produced on to a cart outside of Sugarcube Corner with the help of Mr. and Mrs. Cake.

“Thank you for kindly helping me carry these,” Rarity said as they loaded the last of the boxes.

“It’s quite alright dear. You girls always do so much for Pinkie, helping with this is no trouble at all,” Mrs. Cake said, and smiled warmly.

“It is quite unlike Pinkie Pie to take off just before a party,” Mr. Cake idly pondered as he took the boxes from his wife’s back and placed them on the cart. “I wonder where she could have gone, and what she is going to get?”

“When Pinkie and I talked earlier today, we came to the conclusion that a telescope would be something that she could get for Trixie, and unless our missing merriment mistress has gone to drag the entire Royal Observatory here, she should have been able to find one in here Ponyville,” Rarity said back as she used her magic to tie all the boxes with a length of rope so that they wouldn’t fall off. “The letter she left for me didn’t mention anything either, but presumably the ‘perfectest’ gift wasn’t something you could find in Ponyville.”

“Do you think she’ll be back before the party ends?” Mr. Cake asked her.

“Oh, bfft, please. This is Pinkie Pie we are talking about. Nothing could stop her from making it back tonight. Nevertheless, it’s always good to be prepared,” Rarity said with a smile as she hooked herself to the cart.

“Good luck with the party!” Mrs. Cake wished as they said their goodbyes to each other.

********************

After a short trot to a lake outside of Ponyville, Rarity arrived at Trixie’s wagon with her cart. Rarity had to admit, she was truly inspired by the paint job Trixie had given her wagon. It perfectly complemented its owner. Rarity spotted Fluttershy and Trixie hanging up curtains inside the wagon.

“Hello darlings!” she greeted them.

“Oh, hello Rarity,” Fluttershy peeked from the doorway. Trixie briefly nodded from the window.

“Well, I see the two of you have gotten the wagon in tip-top shape,” Rarity said as she unhooked herself from the cart and examined the curtains from the outside.

“Yes, we, um, met while Trixie was shopping for furniture and drapery, and I offered to help her carry them back,” Fluttershy responded as she fluttered out of the wagon. “What’s in the cart?” she asked, curious.

“Those are all of Pinkie Pie’s party supplies for tonight’s party.”

Flummoxed, Fluttershy replied,“Huh? But where’s Pinkie then?” Rarity leaned in conspiratorially.

“She’s getting her gift for Trixie,” Rarity whispered.

“Right now?” Fluttershy whispered back, surprised.

“Yes. I think. She had little trouble finding the, ehem, ‘perfectest’ gift for Trixie, so it took her until today to figure out what she wanted to get.”

“Okay. Uh, what’s that then?”

“I have no idea,” Rarity said with a mystified shrug.

“...Okay...Ah, what are we supposed to do with all the party decorations?” Rarity turned towards Fluttershy, blinking at her owlishly.

“Put them in place?” she asked unsurely.

“...Do you know where everything is supposed to go?” Fluttershy questioned. Rarity opened her mouth, thought for a moment, then closed it. Both of them turned to look at the pile of crates they had.

“I...we can’t just leave them in crates, Pinkie asked me to make sure that everything would be set if she didn’t make it back before the party started. We have seen Pinkie do this a dozen times, so we should be able to set up one little party,” Rarity said while opening the first box and found it full of confetti.

“Uhh…” Fluttershy murmured.

“Not to worry, I’m sure we’ll find use for it...later. Let’s just put it aside for now,” Rarity said while placing the box on the ground, and taking another one. It, too, was full of confetti.

“Oh dear…”

********************

“You two did WHAT?” Applejack’s loud voice echoed in the orchard, scaring a flock of birds. Rainbow didn’t budge, grumpily covering her ears with her hooves.

“Yeah yeah, I know,” Rainbow said in resignation, rolling her eyes.

“Rainbow...I can’t believe you sometimes,” Applejack said, rubbing her forehead with a hoof.

“She’s the one who punched me first…” Rainbow muttered, only to be met my an extremely unamused glare from Applejack.

“And she wouldn’t have had any reason under Celestia’s sun to kick you up and down like a startled heifer, would she?” Applejack asked while slowly lifting one eyebrow.

“I get it already! I did bad, now let’s move on and forget about it... It already stings enough…ouch.” Rainbow rumbled exasperatedly while carefully rubbing a bruise on her chin. Thanks to Rarity’s efforts, many of the bruises on her face were cleverly hidden with careful applications of foundation and concealers, but not all of them. Her black eye Rarity had simply covered with an eye patch, which had prompted several questions from Rainbow’s co-workers. None of these, however, covered the bruised elsewhere on her body.

“Fine, but I expect you to behave at the party. Don’t want you to ruin all the work Pinkie has put in to it.”

“One fight for today was enough. She doesn’t look like it, but Trixie can throw one mean punch.”

“Uhhuh.”

The two of them made their way to the main house, where Applejack was going to pick up her and Rainbow’s gifts for Trixie. With her previous wagon destroyed and all, they came up with the idea to get Trixie essentials for her new wagon. Pans and pots, a travel cooker, dishes and more. For most of the way, Applejack didn’t say anything, just staring in front of her with a neutral look.

“Did you at least get her good?” she finally asked.

“Heh, she was as banged up as I am.”

“Don’t be gettin’ too proud about that,” Applejack reprimanded, but Rainbow could detect a hint of amusement in her voice, and saw the tiniest of smiles. Once they got to the Apple family household, they picked up the gifts, and departed for Trixie’s wagon. They didn’t get very far before Rainbow got an idea.

“Hey AJ.”

“Yeah?”

“You know, since today’s Trixie’s last day in Ponyville…” Rainbow dawdled.

“I reckon I’m not gonna like this, am I?”

“...how about we bring one barrel of Sweet Apple Acres special brew to it?” Rainbow winked and smiled.

“No.”

“Aw come on. It’s her farewell party and all.”

“Rainbow, I’ve had a long day of working in the orchards. I’m tired. I wager getting buzzed is a none-too-bright idea.”

“Oh don’t say that. What better way to relax than with a mug of cider and your best pals?”

“Rainbow…”

“I bet Trixie would appreciate it too, right? Pretty please,” Rainbow pleaded, while straining to give her best imitation of the look Scootaloo liked to give her. Applejack let out a long, defeated sigh.

“Fine.”

“Wohoo!”

“But only one barrel and you have to carry it! Consider it part of your penance.”

“You’re the best, AJ.”

“Tell me that after you lug it all the way to Trixie’s party.”

“No sweat, Applejack. It won’t be a problem at all.”

After a short detour to get a barrel of cider, the two of them continued on their way.

“What’s with you two anyway?” Applejack asked after they had walked for a while. “You seem to be at each other’s throats the moment nopony is looking.”

“Huh? I guess we just don’t get along,” Rainbow said dismissively.

“Funny you should say that. I for one thought you would actually be great friends.”

“What? Me and Trixie? Hah!” Rainbow laughed and winced, her bruises hurting slightly. “What makes you think the two of us would be good friends?”

“Why wouldn’t you be? You’re two peas in a pod.”

“What? We are nothing alike! She’s-...!” Rainbow was cut off by Applejack’s hoof in front of her mouth.

“Let me finish. You both have egoes more massive than Luna’s night sky. You both like to do tricks for everypony and enjoy the attention that gets you. You are very stubborn and refuse to show any kind of weakness to anypony else.”

“That’s…” Rainbow tried to interject, but Applejack wasn’t listening.

“Furthermore, both of you seem to get yourselves in weird trouble every now and then. You have an obsession with being the greatest flyer, and Trixie outright calls herself ‘the great and powerful’! That enough similarities for you?” Applejack asked with a teasing smile

“Hmph!” Rainbow stomped.

“Sugarcube, all I’m saying is that there’s enough there that you could be great friends.”

“Yeah, well we aren’t for some reason.”

“And I think I know why,” Applejack said confidently.

“And that is?” Rainbow asked back with a hint of irritation.

“You’re jealous of her.”

“What? Why would I be jealous of Trixie?”

“Because she already has what you want. Both of your dreams are to perform in front of ponies and to be the best amongst your peers. While I don’t know if she is the best there is, Trixie already lives her dreams, traveling and performing wherever she wants, while you are still finding out if you’ll make it as a Wonderbolt.”

“Wha…”

“How about you keep that in mind the next time you talk to her, sugarcube?” Applejack offered a kind smile, and pulled ahead, leaving the conflicted pegasus to think about her words.

********************

Back at Trixie’s wagon, Rarity and Fluttershy had managed to find the boxes that contained everything else besides confetti, and had done their best to set it all up. Streamers and balloons were tied all around Trixie’s wagon and the only nearby tree, foods and drinks were placed on top of the upturned boxes near the wagon, and several party games were also prepared.

“I think that’s most of it,” Fluttershy said as she placed another empty box on the ground.

“Ugh, finally,” Trixie whined, not at all happy that the she had to take part in preparing her own party, with no sight of the elusive party mare.

“There’s still one more box,” Rarity said as she levitated it off the cart.

“What’s in it?” Fluttershy asked.

“It seems to be more party streamers,” Rarity answered as she shook the box slightly and peeked in. Trixie grabbed the box with her magic and flung it over the wagon in a wide arc, splaying some of its contents on the wagon.

“There, done,” she happily announced as the box crashed in to a bush.

“I suppose that’s one way of doing it…” Rarity admitted. Everywhere they looked was already covered in Pinkie’s party decorations, so they certainly didn’t need any more of them.

“Howdy there, everypony,” Applejack greeted the group as she walked closer, with Rainbow lagging behind.

“Hello,” they greeted back in turn.

“Whoowie! Now this looks like a proper party,” Applejack said as she looked around at all the decorations.

“Glad that somepony likes them,” Rarity giggled at Trixie, who just rolled her eyes, not really caring.

“Hi Dash,” Fluttershy greeted her fillyhood friend.

“Huh? Oh, hi,” Rainbow answered after a delay, her thoughts elsewhere.

“Oh, why did you two have to fight,” Fluttershy bemoaned as she started to fuss over Rainbow, taking the barrel off of her back and producing a first aid kit that she had already used on Trixie.

“Fluttershy, there’s no need for that. Rarity already gave me a once over.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

Fluttershy reluctantly backed off, allowing Rainbow room to flex her wings and back to relieve the stress built up from carrying the barrel.

“Applejack, you wouldn’t,” Rarity gasped, smiling coyly at Applejack. “That wouldn’t be a barrel of Sweet Apple Acres cider, would it?”

“RD insisted that we bring one,” Applejack huffed back in response.

“Cider?” Trixie asked, intrigued. “Trixie rarely spends her bits on such beverages, but Trixie remembers that the last time she did, it was more pleasant than she anticipated.”

“Thanks...I think?” Applejack said, unsure if she should be happy with Trixie’s comment. Applejack noted that Trixie indeed had gotten her fair share of bruises from her fight with Rainbow, having a small bruise to the left of her horn, a small cut on her lip, and surely several others that were most likely hidden by Rarity.

“Applejack, may I borrow your ear for a minute?” Rarity asked.

“Sure. What’s up?” Applejack replied as they walked a short distance away from the group.

“I’m noticing that a certain pegasus seems a tad...apprehensive?”

“Me and RD had a bit of a talk on our way here. Don’t you worry none, sugarcube. She’ll be back to herself soon enough. A mug of cider will help with that, if nothing else.”

“Hmm, are you sure that’s a good idea?” Rarity asked, glancing at Rainbow who was chatting with Fluttershy. Trixie had gone to put Rainbow’s and Applejack’s wrapped gifts next to the steps leading in to her wagon with the other presents, once again working for her party and grumbling for her efforts.

“I’m sure. Now, I see that Pinkie has outdone herself again with the refreshments, and since I haven’t had a chance to eat dinner yet…”

“Oh, by all means.”

A few minutes later, Scruffy joined the party, looking more refreshed, even if he was sporting a bandaid or two. He also had less disastrously worn clothes on, to Rarity’s immense relief. He had a short sleeved, dark blue t-shirt with a comfy looking vest on top of it, and gray pants. He sat down next to the ponies, who all greeted him. They were using the boxes that were filled with confetti as an impromptu table and chairs.

“My my, aren’t you a dashing gentlecolt tonight. If you own such nice clothes, you should definitely wear them more often,” Rarity said as she examined the hoofwork on Scruffy’s clothes.

Not always, wear nice for good occasion, he wrote a reply on a notepad.

Applejack handed him a plate with a slice of cake on it, while the ponies started to talk among themselves. Trixie and Rarity were having a chat regarding Trixie’s new wagon, while occasionally asking Scruffy a few things, and Applejack and Fluttershy started to talk about their days and how busy they had been. After a few minutes of talking, Rainbow got up from her seat and walked around the table, in front of Trixie.

“Trixie…” she began, her nervousness starting to show when everypony else went quiet. Trixie turned towards her with a neutral look.

“Yes?” Her voice was calm as she got up from her own seat. Fluttershy and Scruffy both looked like they were about to jump in between them, but Applejack and Rarity respectively, calmed them down.

“I uhh…umm…” Rainbow hesitated.

“If you have something to say, out with it.”

“...I’m sorry,” she finally said. Trixie lifted one eyebrow.

“For what?” she pressed. Rainbow sighed.

“For saying insensitive things and being a jerk.”

“...And what caused you to bring this up now?”

“Because..!” Rainbow irritatedly snapped, before looking away, her ears down. “Because somepony showed me that you and I are actually alike.”

“Oh?” Trixie asked, a spark of interest in her voice.

“I don’t like you Trixie,” Rainbow admitted, turning to look Trixie in the eye. “I don’t like how you refer to yourself, I don’t like how you act, I don’t like how you want to be the center of attention,” Rainbow listed while Trixie frowned slightly. “Or so I thought. Maybe...maybe I just saw you as a rival. Somepony who’s competing for the spotlight, just like me.”

“...”

“And maybe it was the whole fiasco that happened when you first came to Ponyville, and it not giving us a good first impression of each other. Whatever it was...sorry, for acting like I have been.”

Everypony held their breath as Trixie seemed to mull Rainbow’s words over. They stared at each other for a long time, until eventually Trixie averted her gaze first and lifted a hoof to massage her temples.

“Rainbow Dash...like Trixie said earlier today, Trixie does not think that we are, or maybe will ever be, friends.” As Rainbow opened her mouth to reply, Trixie simply closed it with her magic, and turned back to look at her. “And like Trixie suggested, that doesn’t mean we have to constantly get on each others nerves. Trixie...also, apologizes for her behavior. Neither of us have been exemplars of class. Trixie thought you a boisterous simpleton who thinks she can do more than her abilities allow. But Trixie has seen you can do what you claim. So...for whatever it’s worth, let’s stop our ill behavior here and start over,” Trixie finished, while holding out her hoof.

Rainbow looked at Trixie’s outstretched hoof, glanced back at Trixie, and smirked.

“Deal,” she agreed, and bumped Trixie’s hoof. Sighs of relief came from Fluttershy and Rarity, while Applejack took another cupcake and smiled knowingly. Scruffy huffed amusedly, having been able to mostly follow the conversation. He went over to the two ponies, kneeled and ruffled their manes.

“Would you quit that?” the two ponies said at the same time, before turning to look at each other and promptly bursting in to giggles.

“Oh, I’m so happy you two have made up!” Pinkie suddenly said from in between them, causing Rainbow and Trixie to scream in fright and surprise (Scruffy almost tipped over from from his precarious position, but to his credit, only grunted in surprise), before bringing both of them in to a mighty hug. “This is even better than I had hoped!” she added happily.

“Gah! Pinkie! Where did you come from?!” Rainbow exclaimed while trying to wiggle free.

“From behind the bush!” Pinkie giggled, her happiness unending.

There was a loud pop from behind them where Twilight and Spike arrived. Twilight looked tired and was panting heavily.

“Pinkie...just...slow...down…” Twilight gasped before collapsing on the ground, Spike took to patting her barrel encouragingly.

“Good heavens, are you alright?” Rarity asked as she and Fluttershy went to their friend’s side.

“Ah, she’ll be fine,” Spike reassured. “She just needed to do several rapid teleportations in a row to keep up with Pinkie Pie is all.”

“Here, have some water,” Fluttershy offered.

“Thanks…” Twilight wheezed and drank from the cup Fluttershy had given her.

“Oh, it’s so great that you two are finally friends!” Pinkie said, before gasping loudly. “Ohohoh, maybe we should change the party theme to congratulate Trixie for her new wagon AND her new bestie!”

“As if!” Trixie grunted as she tried to get free from the bear hug. Scruffy finally tapped Pinkie on the nose, and indicated that she should let Rainbow and Trixie go, which she did.

“Sorry that we are so late,” Twilight apologized as she got back on to her hooves. “We got caught up in few things.”

“Yeah! Like when I tried to take the train to Canterlot, and then there were sheep on the tracks, and I had to gallop all the rest of the way there, and then I went to meet Twilight, because I knew she was in Canterlot, and then we-”

“Ahem!” Twilight coughed. Pinkie made a small ‘o’ with her mouth, and then went back to smiling.

“And now we are here!” she concluded.

“We took a pegasus carriage as soon as we were ready. The plan was to stop by the library to drop off something, and then come here, but as soon as we were close enough to the ground, Pinkie leaped off and galloped over,” Twilight explained.

“And it shows. Here, darling. Allow me to freshen up your image,” Rarity offered Twilight, whose mane had seen better days. Pinkie’s was as naturally poofy as ever.

“Wait a darn minute. You went all the way to Canterlot?” Applejack incredulously inquired of Pinkie.

“Yepperoony.”

“What for?”

“For this!” Pinkie said and dangled an exceedingly, elaborately, emblazoned present in her mouth. “Ish fer you,” she said and gave it to Trixie. It was a fairly small one, but the golden ribbon and the sun emblems clearly piqued Trixie’s interest, and she reached as if to open it. “Ah ah ah!” Pinkie said while gently bopping her on the nose. “No peeking at your presents early,” she smiled.

“And here’s the one from me,” Twilight said while levitating her own gift from her saddlebag. Everypony could tell it was a book.

“And this is from me!” Spike said while handing his small present to Trixie.

“Thank you,” Trixie thanked them and added the presents to the pile.

Scruffy rubbed his neck, embarrassed, and wrote a sentence on his notepad.

I not wrap my gift. Give when is time. He patted his backpack for emphasis.

“Oh Celestia’s sun! What happened to you two!” Twilight suddenly asked, noticing the bruises on Trixie and Rainbow for the first time. The two just glanced at each other.

“Well, they, um…” Fluttershy started quietly, but her voice soon died out.

“They had a good old fashioned brawl,” Applejack interjected bluntly.

“WHAT?” Twilight screamed in horror.

“Oh boy,” Spike facehooved.

“Why would you...I thought...wha...what happened?” Twilight stammered. Rainbow and Trixie looked at eachother again, and Rainbow got a small smile on her face.

“Friendship,” she said happily. Twilight’s jaw dropped open.

“Wha...f-friendship?” she asked, and turned to Trixie.

“Friendship,” Trixie repeated with as serious tone as she could muster, and nodded.

“Bu-...but you...how can...what do you mean friendship?! You beat eachother up!”

“Yeah,” Rainbow agreed.

“So we did,” Trixie added.

“Want some cupcakes? Pinkie is an expert at making those,” Rainbow offered.

“Trixie can give it a try.” And with that, the two of them turned towards the assortment of foods available, leaving the confused Twilight staring at them, mouth hanging open and strands of mane springing out every which way. The rest of the ponies giggled behind their hooves, and Spike fell on the ground, laughing.

“Now that we are all finally here, let’s get this party started!” Pinkie cheered.

********************

The group partied on through the evening and all the way until the stars were spread across the sky. They enjoyed Pinkie’s pastries, chatting with each other, and playing the provided party games. Scruffy had taken out his device and it was playing pleasant music for them. Eventually, Applejack and Rainbow decided it was time to move on to the cider they had brought, since it was time to start opening Trixie’s housewarming gifts.

“Ohohoh open mine first, open mine first!” Pinkie bounced excitedly on her seat as Applejack hooved over mugs of cider.

“Trixie will open them in the order they happen to come from the pile,” she said as she took a sip from her mug and pulled the first gift over to her. It was Twilight’s gift.

“That one is mine,” Twilight said, as if nopony could tell. Trixie used her magic to unwrap the book.

“Brightmind’s Compendium for Expanding Your Magic…” Trixie read aloud.

“It contains tips to keep your magic focused for longer periods of time, useful incantations for learning new spells, and some other advice. It’s not the most well known book, but I found it useful when I was learning under Celestia’s tutelage.”

“Thank you,” Trixie smiled as she quickly skimmed over some of the content, before levitating it inside the wagon.

Next in line was Fluttershy’s gift, which included an assortment of beddings, a plush carpet that she hadn’t wrapped and which was already in the wagon, and a bunny plushie.

“Now, whenever you need a hug, Mr. Fluffles is there to give you one,” Fluttershy beamed happily, while Trixie had an awkward smile on her face.

“Erm, yes. Thank you…” she said as she again, levitated the gifts in to her new home.

Next came Applejack’s and Rainbow’s gift, which was a large assortment of household essentials.

“It’s a gift from both of us,” Applejack said while pointing at Rainbow. “We thought it would be nice to give you something practical for your gift; something you definitely need. Saves you all the trouble of hunting these down in Ponyville.”

“Ponyville’s a great town to live in, but sometimes it can get crazy if you try to find a store that sells all the things that you need,” Rainbow added, thinking of stores like Quills and Sofas dotted around town.

“Trixie was definitely going to need to get these. Thank you.”

Next was Spike’s present, which turned out to be a hoof sized sapphire that was carved to look like Trixie with her trademark pointy hat and polished to a sparkly, clear finish.

“I had lots of free time while we were in Canterlot. Decided to make you something with my own claws,” Spike stated proudly, causing Trixie to smile. Truthfully, he had eaten a few bits, to save time of course.

“Why, thank you. Trixie will treasure this.”

Rarity’s gift turned out to be, to nopony’s great surprise, several sets of clothes for different occasions.

“One needs to always be dashing, no matter the occasion, and I hope these clothes help you bring out your...greatness,” Rarity said with a little bit of dramatic flair.

“Trixie thanks you, although she is not sure when she’s going to have a chance to use all of these,” she said as she examined the neatly folded clothes, finding a set of moon and star print pajamas amongst them.

Pinkie was practically gnawing a hole on the edge of her mug as Trixie finally picked up her gift and unwrapped it. A simple scroll fell out of the wrappings, and while everypony else looked at it in confusion, Twilight and Spike were smiling to themselves.

“What is this?” Trixie asked as she undid the fine, red silk ribbon with Celestia’s symbol tied around the scroll, and looked inside.

Slowly, as Trixie read over the scroll, her eyes widened in surprise, and she had to read through it again to be sure. Pinkie was smiling excitedly as Trixie finally lifted her head from the scroll.

“This is…”

“Right from the Princess herself,” Pinkie said.

“What is it?” Rainbow impatiently asked.

“It’s a very special spell,” Twilight said. Trixie kept staring at the scroll, completely and utterly speechless. “It’s the Dragon Fire Correspondence spell. The one that allows Spike to send letters to Celestia and vice versa. It is one of the rarest spells in Equestria, not because of its difficulty, but because of the time and effort required to master it, and there not being a great need for it anymore since we have the Equestrian Royal Postal Service now. The spell can be used in two ways, either to send a scroll to the recipient, which is harder, or you can enchant scrolls to return to the user, which will still take time to learn, as you need to encircle the whole scroll with the spell runes and one mistake will ruin it.”

“Wooah,” the other ponies all let out, and even if Scruffy didn’t understand the words, he could understand that the gift was rather special.

“With this, once she masters it, Trixie will be able to send and receive mail wherever she’s in Equestria, and I have to agree with Pinkie, that is truly an amazing gift,” Twilight said.

“Wohoo!” Pinkie hopped up and down, circling Trixie. “What do you think Trixie, isn’t it the most perfectest gift ever?” Pinkie happily asked.

Trixie lifted her head from the scroll to look at Pinkie, tiny tears in the corners of her eyes. She hurriedly brushed past Pinkie, and went inside her wagon, closing the door audibly and leaving Pinkie looking at her friends in confusion.

“But...I thought it was a great gift?” she asked, lower lip quivering. Rarity walked next to Pinkie, a smile on her face.

“It was. Give her a moment,” Rarity gently assured.

After a few minutes, Trixie exited her wagon. She appeared nonchalant, but there was slight redness in her eyes. She gulped as she turned towards Pinkie.

“Trix-...” Trixie’s voice cracked, and she cleared her throat. “Trixie...greatly appreciates your gift,” Trixie said, her voice wavering at the end.

Pinkie looked at her for a moment, before the warmest, gentlest smile made its way on to her face. She sat down on the ground, and opened her forelegs wide for a hug. Trixie didn’t need much prompting, and hugged Pinkie tightly.

“You’re welcome.”

The rest of the group had smiles on their faces, and they decided to quietly slip away to look over the lake.

********************

After some time, Pinkie called the rest of the group back, and the party continued. Scruffy’s gift for Trixie turned out to be a small, slightly worn looking camera and several extra rolls of film. Despite its aged look, it was far better than what any of them had ever seen. It took nearly half an hour, but Scruffy managed to teach Trixie how to operate it, and how to change the film, which ended with another hug from Trixie.

As the ponies decided to have more to eat, and Twilight started to chat with Trixie and Rarity about her visit to Canterlot, Rainbow challenged Applejack to a drinking contest with the rest of the cider they had. Applejack, already feeling tired and not wanting to get tipsy, refused at first, but after a few less-than-flattering remarks from Rainbow concerning Applejacks bravery, she accepted the challenge. Fluttershy was drafted to be the referee. Scruffy was talking with Spike and Pinkie, asking clarifications as to what the scrolls was, and what they had been up to.

“It’s really neat that you gave Trixie such a cool looking camera like that, Scruffy,” Spike said.

My old one. Not use long time, goes good use now.

“Were you a photographer once?”

Some. Daughter like take pictures when filly, buy camera for that and take pictures with her. Now, move on, she do other things.

“You have a daughter? Oooo, do you have a picture of her on your thingy?” Pinkie asked.

Scruffy took out his device, and after fiddling with it for a little bit, showed it to Pinkie and Spike. On the screen was a smiling creature just like Scruffy, but her features were more petite. She a had long, flowing, blonde mane, and she wore a white dress while standing in front of a flower bed, holding a bouquet in her hands.

“Aww, she’s so cute. What’s her name?” Scruffy looked at Pinkie and raised one eyebrow. “Oh right, darn. We’ll just call her...umm...Flower Smile.”

“That’s...actually a kinda good name,” Spike said while scratching his head.

As Pinkie started bombarding Scruffy with questions about his daughter, Trixie went over to see what Applejack, Rainbow and Fluttershy were up to.

“What are you doing?” she asked, as the two competing mares gulped down mugs of cider, throwing the empty ones to the side, and starting to guzzle the next ones in a rather short line.

“They are...they...Applejackie and Dashie are competing for drunkness...erm, drinking competition,” Fluttershy did her best to explain, sipping from her own mug from her position on the ground.

“Uhhuh,” was Trixie’s response as she eyed Fluttershy, who smiled happily in return. Trixie went to her wagon, and returned shortly after.

“What’s that?” Pinkie, who had seen Trixie go inside the wagon, asked as she walked up to her.

“This, is a bottle of Moonshine, a type of spirits that was brought back with Princess Luna’s return. Trixie bought a bottle when she was visiting Canterlot before coming to Ponyville for the first time. Since it has a Break Ward spell applied to it, it is one of the few things to survive from Trixie’s first wagon.”

“Oh wow.”

“Trixie never had the chance to drink it, but, Trixie thinks now is a good time,” she said, loudly popping the bottle open, which caught the attention of most ponies. Pinkie had luckily stashed some smaller plastic mugs with her party supplies, so they used those instead of the large wooden mugs AJ brought for the cider. Trixie only poured a little bit on most of the mugs, and a little bit more on two of them, before closing the bottle again. She turned towards Rainbow and Applejack to see them both throw away their last mugs at the same time.

“HAH!” Applejack burped. “Ah win,” she said, her words heavily accented.

“In your...your dreams. I was clearly faster,” Rainbow responded, flaring her wings out for balance.

“Ah reckon ah wa’ faster. Fluttershy, whi’ uh us wa’ fas’er?”

“Trixie thinks, that you both still have one more mug to go,” Trixie said as she placed the more filled up mugs in front of Rainbow Dash and Applejack.

“Wha’s th’s ‘en?” Applejack murmured as she sniffed the mug.

“Something a bit stronger. Trixie advises to enjoy it,” Trixie simply said, while offering one mug to Fluttershy, who happily took it.

“Trixie, darling, you wouldn’t happen to be throwing more wood in to the fire with those two, would you?” Rarity asked as Trixie and Pinkie walked to where the rest of the party’s attendees were gathered.

“Trixie wouldn’t dream of such things,” Trixie said with a smile and offered a mug to each of them.

“This is...alcohol, right? Strong alcohol,” Twilight questioned and looked at her mug suspiciously.

“Yes, Moonshine to be precise, created to honor the return of Princess Luna.” Scruffy sniffed his drink, and looked at the mug with some surprise.

“Moonshine? I remember hearing about it when it was first introduced,” Rarity thought back.

“Don’t I get any?” Spike asked hopefully.

“Spike, you are too young to be drinking something like this. And besides, don’t you remember what happened that one time?”

“Twilight, I’m a dragon, and I’m like, the same age as Golden Harvest. Also, no I don’t actually remember,” Spike said, genuinely confused.

“That Summer Sun celebration you and me attended together with Celestia before we came to Ponyville? Where you accidentally got given a strong drink?”

“Uhh...Oh...oh right, that one.”

“Yeah, that one! It caused you to set half the streamers on fire with your breath,” Twilight said, exasperated.

“Really?” Trixie and Rarity asked in unison.

“Ahaha...maybe?” Spike said, embarrassed by the memory.

“Unfortunately, you’ll have to stay content with less flammable drinks,” Twilight said.

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Pinkie asked. “Let’s see if it’s worth all the fuss,” she declared, and took a generous sip from the mug, while the others watched. As soon as the liquid hit her mouth, Pinkie’s expression changed to surprise, then panic, next struggling, to surprise again, before she swallowed the liquid.

“Ackh...ahem...that...ahem, ahem...that was....quite something…ah,” she coughed out, few tears dripping down her cheeks. She smacked her lips together several times, slowly. “It was...ackpftb...really tasty...but really burny…”

Rarity and Twilight looked at their mugs calculatingly, while Trixie and Scruffy eagerly took a little taste of their own, both of their reactions similar to Pinkie’s, if less strong. Scruffy smacked his lips after the first taste, before eagerly taking a full swig. Eventually, Rarity dared to try her luck, and she didn’t fare any better than the rest of them. Twilight, never having been one for alcohols, but only really liking ciders Applejack had convinced her to try, took the tiniest of sips, before gladly putting the mug aside.

The rest of the night was spent emptying Trixie’s bottle and playing the party games available. Luckily, Twilight and Rarity, both of them content to hold back partaking of the liquor, were there to keep the more adventurous ones in check, and give helpful advice, such as not to play “pin the tail on the pony” with an actual pony. Scruffy and Spike had decided to go look over the lake again, both feeling a bit tired after a long day, and not up for all the excitement.

Rainbow, Applejack, and Pinkie were constantly competing in the provided party games and in any physical activity they could think of, including hoof wrestling. Fluttershy and Trixie were cheering them on, while Twilight and Rarity just shook their heads, hoping that nopony hurt themselves, and talked amongst themselves.

“Is not faaaiiiirrrrr…” Pinkie moaned to Rarity, after tiredness and alcohol finally started to catch up to her. She was half lying on the ground, half leaning against the seamstress. “Why does ‘rixie get all the fun with S’ruffy?”

“Pinkie, darling...I have no idea what you are talking about,” Rarity said to her drunken friend, fanning her with a box lid.

“S’ruffy only likes Trrrixie... I wanna be lik’d too,” Pinkie complained sadly, holding on to one of Rarity’s marshmallow forelegs like stuffed toy.

Twilight helpfully supplied, “I’m sure that Scruffy likes you, Pinkie. He was very happy when you threw that party for him after he first arrived”.

“Weh?” Pinkie turned to Twilight, hope sparking in her eyes.

Rarity added, “Yyyes, I’m sure that Scruffy thinks you are the best party planner in whole of Equestria”.

“Really?”

“Really,” Rarity said with a caring tone.

“...Okay,” Pinkie said, before snuggling as deeply in to Rarity’s embrace as she could and falling asleep with a slight snore. Rarity gave one look at the pink menace, and turned towards Twilight with a tired and defeated look.

“Well, at least one of them is finally asleep. Too bad she’s attached to me more tightly than Opal is to her favourite toy…”

“‘s no ‘roblem... Theee generous and accomommommodating Trikshie shall lend you two her car-...carriag’…” Trixie mumbled, drunkenly swaying from side to side next to Twilight. She had stayed mostly in control of herself during the night, if not as coherent in her speech.

“Here, Trixie. Have some water, it should help with the alcohol,” Twilight offered, Trixie gladly taking hold of it.

“Where are Rainbow and Applejack, or Fluttershy for that matter?” Rarity asked, trying to turn around, but was hindered by Pinkie clinging to her.

“I think they went behind the wagon,” Twilight said.

“We should go check up on them, but we need to get Pinkie off of me first,” Rarity said, while hopelessly trying to disentangle herself from Pinkie’s forehooves that were wrapped around her like glue.

“Allow me,” Twilight said, and after a moment of concentrating, teleported Rarity out of Pinkie’s hold.

“Thank you. Trixie, darling, would you mind looking after Pinkie for a moment?”

“Trikshie is...is good baby si’er,” Trixie happily announced, and fell face first on top of Pinkie, both snoring.

Twilight and Rarity circled around the wagon and found their three missing friends there. Rainbow was leaning against Trixie’s home, Applejack’s hat on her face and snoring loudly behind it. Applejack was sitting still in the open grass, her mane undone from its usual braiding, slightly swaying while her head nodded off repeatedly. Fluttershy was prancing around her, giggling happily.

“Uh, girls?” Twilight coughed and asked.

“Oh, Twilight!” Fluttershy said in a very Pinkie-esque way. She wobbled towards Twilight, her wings being the only reason why she didn’t fall over in her gait. “Hey Twilight,” she greeted the space left of Twilight’s head, blinking rapidly and wondering why Twilight had never told her she had a sister.

“Hey Fluttershy...uhh...how are you feeling?” Twilight asked, while Rarity went to check up on Rainbow.

“Great!” Fluttershy professed, while somehow managing to stand up on her hindquarters and thrusting her forehooves in the air without falling over, her wings having folded in.

“Ahaha...I see... It’s getting very late, maybe we should all head home to bed?”

“Oh Twilight…” Fluttershy giggled as she lowered her forehooves to the ground again, and hiccuping slightly. “You silly filly you…”

“Yes... I’m a very silly filly…”

“Teeheehee...I knooow…” Fluttershy sat down and lifted her hooves to Twilight’s cheeks and started playing with them.

“Sho...bhed?” Twilight murmured as Fluttershy did her thing

“Sure! Let me...let let let’s wake Jackie...and Dashie and go,” Fluttershy stuttered. She released Twilight, got up and turned around, and walked to Applejack.

“At least she’s very cheerful about all of this,” Rarity piped up, gently shaking Rainbow to wake her up.

“Jackieee!” Fluttershy said while giggling madly, circling her friend once before coming face to face with her. Applejack’s ear twitched and she lifted her head to look at Fluttershy, who batted her eyelashes at Applejack several times. A small, drunk smile formed on Applejack’s face.

“Yer purtty,” Applejack mumbled, before leaning in closer and kissing Fluttershy. Fluttershy’s wings shot open in surprise, while Twilight’s and Rarity’s jaws slowly fell open as they tried to process what they saw.

Applejack held the kiss for a minute, she and Fluttershy looking each other in the eye, before she pulled back and licked Fluttershy’s nose. Fluttershy stood there, her wings still flared open, surprise etched on her face. Applejack kept smiling pleasantly at Fluttershy for a long time, until she leaned in closer so that their noses touched.

“Ye ‘eard the l’dy, it’s bed time,” Applejack said in a as suggestive a voice she could muster, being surprising charismatic, while giving Fluttershy her best bedroom eyes.

“Oh goodness, she didn’t just…” Rarity gasped, trying to find her voice. Fluttershy looked Applejack over, and slowly started smiling again, her previous giddiness returning.

“Right,” she nodded. “Bed time. Spare beds. I have many of those. We can have a sleepover. I love sleepovers,” Fluttershy giggled. “Also kisses. I think I reaaaally like them,” she added, before doing a giggle-snort.

“Le-...lea’ the whay,” Applejack said, burping, and leaning to nuzzle Fluttershy.

“W-w-wait…” Twilight tried to interject as her two friends started to walk towards the general direction Fluttershy’s cottage. “Rarity, what do we do?”

“Huh?” Rarity asked, snapping back to reality.

“Rarity!” Twilight said, exasperated, and with a hint of desperation in her voice.

“Le’ ‘em go,” Rainbow, who had just woken up, said as she walked to and pressed herself against Twilight for support.

“What? But Rainbow…!”

“Hey, hey Twilight! I’ll be taking Jackie home!” Fluttershy laughed merrily, waving back to her friends.

“Dun call me Jackie…” Applejack silently complained, but didn’t stop her attempts to nuzzle Fluttershy behind the ear.

“Fluttershy, wait!” Twilight lifted her hoof.

“It’s ‘kay Twi... They’ll be fine, let ‘em go,” Rainbow weakly draped her wing over her friend to stop her from bolting after Applejack and Fluttershy.

“What do you mean ‘let them go’? We can’t just let them go!” Twilight argued. Rarity looked unsurely from Twilight to the retreating pair.

“Why not? If they wanna ‘ave fun, le’ ‘em. HAH! AJ kissing Flutters!... That was a funny sight…” Rainbow barked the laugh, pressing herself harder against Twilight as she started to feel nauseous. Both Twilight and Rarity blushed at Rainbow’s words.

“Rainbow, are you alright?” Rarity asked as she gently patted Rainbow’s back.

“I’m fine... Jus’...feelin’ a bit unsteady,” Rainbow nodded. Twilight was nervously tiptoeing on the spot.

“Ooh, what are we going to do? We shouldn’t just let them leave like that,” she worried, looking in the direction of Applejack’s and Fluttershy’s forms shrinking in the distance.

“Twi...calm down. Luna’s sake...they are adults, you don’t need to worry about them...blech... I think I’ll stick to cider next time…”

“Come, darling. Let’s get you some water, that should make you feel better,” Rarity suggested to Rainbow.

“But…”

“No buts, Twilight,” Rarity stopped Twilight. “Like Rainbow said, they are adults, and they will be fine, if very embarrassed when the dawn comes. Now, let’s help Rainbow, Pinkie, and Trixie to their respective beds.” Rainbow let out a giggle.

“Oh Celestia...I think Applejack’s cheeks are gonna be red as apples fo’ the next few days… Kissing Flutters like that…”

The three of them turned around and circled to the other side of the wagon, where Twilight levitated a cup of water to Rainbow. Pinkie and Trixie were still sleeping where they left them, Pinkie having moved enough to embrace Trixie. They almost looked like cats, the way they were curled around each other.

“Hey, hey Twi?” Rainbow suddenly asked after drinking the water.

“What?”

“C-...can I get a kiss?” Rainbow asked between hiccups, the words coming slurredly out of her mouth.

“WHAT?” Twilight yelled in surprise, a red tinge on her cheeks. Rarity held a hoof to her mouth.

“Can I get...get a kiss?” Rainbow swayed slightly, and held up her head in her hooves.

“Wh-wh-...why are you asking me for a kiss!” Twilight panicked.

“Is...is that a no?” Rainbow asked, sounding disappointed.

“No, Rainbow. You can’t get a kiss. You are drunk,” Twilight stated, her embarrassment increasing.

“I’m not drunk all the time… Can I get one then?” Rainbow mumbled, confused by how hard it was to get a simple, Celestia damned kiss.

“What I think Twilight is trying to say...” Rarity swooped in to save both of them from further embarrassment, “...is that you should wait until you are sober to ask that kind of question,” she helpfully advised. Rainbow thought it over, and started nodding.

“Yeah...yeah…” she agreed, rubbing her temples.

“Hey, is the party finally over?” Spike asked as he and Scruffy walked back from the lake to the wagon. “We saw Fluttershy and Applejack head off.”

“Yes, I think we are just about to pack it in,” Rarity said.

Scruffy walked over to Pinkie and Trixie, looking at them, clearly amused. With some effort, he managed to lift both of them up, and took them to Trixie’s wagon.

“I don’t think we are in any shape to start cleaning this tonight…” Twilight said while looking over the party area. It was littered with mugs, plates of food, and everything else Pinkie had included with the party supplies. Twilight gathered most of the big objects in her vicinity in to a pile with her magic, and deposited them on anything that looked like it could fly away if a strong gust of wind came by. “That’ll have to do for now. We’ll come back to clean it all up once we have gotten some sleep.”

I hate ask, but can stay in library tonight? Scruffy questioned Twilight with his notepad.

“Absolutely you can. I wouldn’t dream of making you walk through the Everfree forest at this time of night.”

“Can I stay with you too?” Rainbow asked.

“Um, sure. You may spend the night with me.”

“Really?!” Rainbow asked rather eagerly as Twilight quickly discerned why.

“I meant at the library!” she hurriedly added, feeling embarrassed for Rainbow and her poor attempts now.

“Aww…” Rainbow moaned with disappointment and discomfort, as another wave of nausea hit her. Rarity tittered behind her hoof again.

“Rainbow dear, perhaps it’s better if you stay at my boutique tonight? I believe I have something that could help you with your stomach.”

“R-really?”

“Mmhm.”

“...Ah…” Rainbow mumbled, and without warning, barfed over Rarity’s hooves. Rarity stared at the mess, sighed bleakley, and summoned a napkin with her magic.

“All the things you do for friends…”

********************

“Urgh…” Trixie moaned, cracking one eye open, and immediately closing it again due to the piercing light. Her head was pounding, she felt sick, she desperately needed to go the bathroom, and she had no idea where she was. All signs of an evening gone good, she thought to herself while bemoaning her state and recalling every vile curse in Griffonese she knew.

As she tried to get herself in a more comfortable position, she felt something against her back, and froze. Almost reluctantly, she turned her head around to either confirm or disprove the cause of the sinking feeling she had. What greeted her was a very sleepy looking, smiling Pinkie, who pulled Trixie a little closer when their eyes met.

“Good mornin’ sleepyhead.”

“AAARRRGGGHHH!”

Author's Notes:

A NEW CHAPTER AHOY!

And a very naughty one at that.

As it turns out, we still need a part 3 to conclude this little arc. So look forward to the final installment of the "Trixie's gonna bugger off" saga at some point, where it's gonna be the morning, and everypony can regret their decisions in life.

That means you too Rainbow.

And if you want to know what went through Rainbow's and Pinkie's head at the prospect of having a barrel full of cider at the party, have a listen.

I have a Patreon nowadays, and there's the early access to the first chapter for my second story available for those who become my patrons.

My patrons:
MonsterMyrr
Atronosthelast

As always, huge thank you to Lordelliott for his help.

Have a nice week everyone.

edit: Completely forgot about this one. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/photography/buying-guide/15-film-cameras-you-can-still-buy-brand-new
The camera that Scruffy gave to Trixie is the first one on the list.

Chapter 18 - Trixie's Farewell Party, Part 3

View Online

It was noon of the next day. Twilight and Rarity, being the ones who had partaken the least in alcohol, had managed to get up just a little bit later than they usually would. Scruffy had also woken up early, but had been feeling under the weather and thus remained at the library, while Twilight and Spike met up with Rarity.

The trio proceeded to Trixie’s home to clean up after last night’s revelry. Pinkie was already up and as chipper as ever, even if her mane was messy, and she had small bags under her eyes. She explained that Trixie was still sleeping, feeling a bit woozy after last night, and that they should let her sleep for now. Trixie had a long day ahead of her, after all.

Once all the cleaning was done, and Pinkie had woken up Trixie (and Trixie finished complaining), they decided to head in to town to have something to eat. While on their way, they wound up bumping in to Fluttershy and Applejack. Everypony could tell that Applejack was more bashful than her usual self, but they didn’t press the matter. Since Rarity had left Rainbow to sleep off a headache at Carousel Boutique, and none of them had eaten yet, Fluttershy suggested they should head there to join Dash for brunch.

Rarity agreed that it was a splendid idea, but told them that they needed to make a quick visit to the market to ensure that she would have enough to feed them all. During the trip Applejack seemed to very conscious of herself around Fluttershy, constantly making sure she wasn’t in her way. Fluttershy, despite making both of them to blush slightly whenever their eyes met, kept telling Applejack that she was fussing too much, and calmed her down.

Eventually they arrived at the boutique, where Rainbow had managed to crawl out of bed, and was in the process of brewing coffee, to the immense relief of Trixie. While Rarity and Pinkie got arranged to prepare some simple and quick food, the rest of them gathered around the dining table at the other end of the kitchen.

“So...how’s everypony feeling?” Twilight finally asked. A chorus of groans from all around Rarity’s table was the answer.

“Terrible,” Rainbow croaked, slumped against the table. “I feel like Little Strongheart’s whole tribe is stampeding inside my skull.”

“Whose?” Trixie asked.

“They are a tribe of buffalo living near Appleloosa,” Pinkie explained.

“We’re...I’m fine,” Applejack said, pausing mid sentence and coughing awkwardly.

“Um, a bit tired, but I’m fine too,” Fluttershy stated next.

“Trixie wishes it wasn’t so bright…” Trixie complained, holding her pointy hat over her eyes. “Trixie also wishes for some coffee.”

“Here you are, darling,” Rarity said while offering a cups of coffee to Rainbow and Trixie, and cups of tea to the rest.

“Thanks, Rarity,” Rainbow mumbled gratefully and took a gulp of the life giving nectar. Trixie also politey thanked Rarity, and grasped for her cup.

“Do you need anything?” Applejack asked Fluttershy.

“It’s okay, Applejack. You don’t need to fret so much,” Fluttershy responded with a hint of amusement.

“But…”

“Hush now. Focus on your tea.”

“I see somepony’s night was a success,” Rainbow noted. If there had been music playing, it would have screeched to a halt. Everypony turned towards Rainbow, before snapping towards Rarity, who unfortunately had been in the middle of cutting vegetables and half embedded her knife in her cutting board with an audible splintering of wood.

“Rainbow!” Twilight hissed, closing Rainbow’s mouth with her magic. “Ehehe...don’t mind her. She’s just talking nonsense! That’s all!” Twilight tried to explain to Pinkie and Trixie, who both looked on questioningly.

“What’s this then?” Trixie asked.

“How suspicious,” Pinkie added, turning towards Applejack and Fluttershy, both squirming under her gaze.

“Did something happen last night?” Spike asked.

“Nothing. Nothing at all!” Twilight declared, a slight red tinge crossing her cheeks.

“Me thinks something did happen,” Pinkie smiled devilishly, putting two and two together. Applejack sighed.

“Anypony seen my hat? I’d like to hide under it,” Applejack grumbled, and with no sign of her hat, hid under her hooves instead.

“Um, Pinkie darling, maybe you should-...” Rarity started, but Fluttershy stopped her.

“It’s okay. We...probably should talk about it anyway,” she interjected, her blush slowly increasing.

“Trixie is very intrigued, do tell,” Trixie mused, sipping her coffee and steepling her hooves.

“Sorry…” Twilight apologized to Applejack and Fluttershy, but they just waved it off.

“There’s nothing to tell,” Applejack said, straightening herself. “Nothing happened.”

“Applejack, you’re a terrible liar. I saw you kiss Fluttershy,” Rainbow replied, before getting her mouth closed by Twilight’s magic again.

“Oooohh!” Pinkie and Trixie went in unison.

“Well...I’ll admit, that happened...but nothing after that!” Applejack loudly declared, but her red cheeks and red ears told another story. Pinkie let out a loud gasp.

“Oh my gosh, that party is getting better and better even after it’s stopped!” Pinkie giggled maniacally, while rushing to Fluttershy’s and Applejack’s sides and grabbing them both in a hug. “So, sneaked off for some snuggle time, eh?” Pinkie asked, eyebrows lecherously wriggling, although her genuine smile betrayed her. Both mares’ reaction was to blush even more.

“Pinkie!” Applejack pleaded in embarrassment.

“Oh my…” Fluttershy half hid behind her hooves.

“Ah told you, nuttin’ happened!” Applejack repeated, her accent getting thicker.

“Trixie does not understand why you are trying to deny it. Normally something like this is to be celebrated,” Trixie casually remarked.

“Because, nothing-...!” Applejack tried to repeat again, but Fluttershy gently nudged her with her hoof.

“It’s okay, Applejack,” Fluttershy said and offered an encouraging smile. Applejack sighed and stopped. “It’s the truth. Nothing...um…’happened’ last night,” Fluttershy meekly continued.

“What?!” Rainbow and Pinkie asked, greatly surprised.

“But what about the kiss?” Twilight asked, accidentally revealing that she too was interested in what had happened. She quickly clamped her mouth shut with her hooves.

“Yes, I did k-kiss Fluttershy,” Applejack sighed. “After that, we went to Fluttershy’s cottage, and went to sleep.”

“Tooogeeether?” Pinkie asked with a wide smile.

“Yes, Pinkie! Together,” Applejack said, getting slightly exasperated.

“If nothing happened, then why are you both acting like an shy, new couple? It can’t be over that one kiss,” Rainbow asked.

“Yeah. The way Fluttershy keeps nudging Applejack is like me and Twilight’s parents during dinners,” Spike added. Applejack sighed again.

“Forgive me for asking but...nothing bad happened, I hope?” Rarity asked, getting worried by her friends behaviour.

“No, nonono,” Fluttershy quickly assured. “It’s just…” she continued and glanced at Applejack, who suddenly found herself at the center of attention again, which caused her blush to return anew.

“Just tell ‘em,” she said, defeat clear in her voice.

“W-well...uh...umm…” Fluttershy fiddled with her mane, trying to think up how to say it.

“Out with it. Trixie’s going to sit here all day if she must,” Trixie implored them to continue.

“...Ah...t-that is...w-when we got to my home...we d-did...uhh..we were going t-to…” Fluttershy stuttered in embarrassment. Everypony was on the edges of their seats. “...w-well you know!” she squaked. “B-but...um...be-before we could...Applejack fell asleep,” Fluttershy finished, and Applejack smacked her head against the table.

Pinkie and Rainbow made a silent ‘oooh’ as they realised why Applejack had been so embarrassed. For a mare with pride like Applejack’s, passing out on your “date” like that would have been quite a thick pill to swallow, especially since Applejack prided herself as somepony who could hold her liquor quite well. Trixie held back a guffaw, shaking her head at the situation. She had been expecting something far, far more embarrassing than that from the way they were acting.

“Oh heavens…” Rarity amusedly muttered to herself, holding a hoof to her mouth.

Rainbow got up from her seat, walked to Applejack, and patted her back with her wing to show Applejack her camaraderie.

“Happens to the best of us,” Rainbow noted.

“Glad that you agree…” Applejack murmured.

“Dash is right,” Fluttershy said and gently stoked Applejack’s hoof with her own. “You don’t have to feel bad about it,”

“Yes I do...not only did I...kiss you like that, but then I failed to treat you rightly…”

“Oh Applejack,” Fluttershy giggled slightly and hugged her friend. “I admit...I...umm...am slightly disappointed…” Fluttershy almost whispered, deeply embarrassed, “...but umm...if I say that it really is okay, it’s okay.”

“But…” Applejack lifted her head to look at Fluttershy, who smiled her usual gentle smile. Fluttershy reached closer and nuzzled Applejack’s forehead.

“If you ever decide to kiss me again, just make sure to do better then, hm?”

“Oooooooooh!” almost everypony else went again in the room, snapping Fluttershy and Applejack out from their tender moment. Having momentarily forgotten that they were not alone, they both blushed all the way to their ears. The rest of the group started to laugh merrily.

“Well, I guess it’s official then!” Rainbow said enthusiastically. “Pinkie, I think you need to start planning the wedding!”

“Ooohohooo! I love weddings!”

“Hmm, and I need to start designing the suit for the groom and the dress for the bride,” Rarity added.

“Trixie can take care of the entertainment,” Trixie idly thought.

“I’m sure we can ask Princess Celestia to hold the ceremony, right Spike?” Twilight decided to add for her own part.

“Of course!”

“Girls!” Applejack and Fluttershy complained, thoroughly embarrassed, but soon they joined the laughter with everypony else.

********************

After the group had teased Applejack and Fluttershy enough, they finished the brunch they had started, and it was time for Trixie to leave. The group headed for Twilight’s library, so that Trixie could pick up the last remaining items she still had there, and also to say goodbye to Scruffy.

Everypony gave Trixie a hug, with Pinkie bursting to tears and hoping that she would come back soon. When it was Scruffy’s turn, he held out his hands until Trixie finally relented, and accepted the hug.

Take care now, Scruffy wrote on his notepad.

“Trixie will. Make sure you keep on improving your Equestrian, and maybe you can be the Great and Powerful Trixie’s assistant in the show!”

One of Scruffy’s eyebrows rose in amusement. Scruffy is great and strong too?

“Hah! Sure.”

After one final round of well wishing and Trixie gathering her things, she said her last goodbye and walked out of the library.

“I miss her already,” Pinkie complained, causing the others to roll their eyes.

“I’m sure that once she has had time to study the spell you gave her, she’ll send us a letter,” Twilight helpfully noted.

“I can’t wait!”

“Oh! That reminds me!” Twilight suddenly said, and went to her bedroom. She soon returned with an ornate box of wood and gold.

“What’s that?” Applejack asked.

“It’s very pretty,” Fluttershy admired.

“And elegant,” Rarity added.

“This is the reason why Spike and I spent so much time in Canterlot,” Twilight explained and turned to Scruffy. “This is for you.”

Twilight opened the box, and inside was a beautifully crafted amulet. The amulet was a golden disc, with an oval shaped, vibrant amethyst in the middle, and the necklace itself was composed of deep blue cords that looked like they were plucked from the night sky. The gem pulsed with magic runes.

“I crafted this together with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. It’s an Voice Alteration Amulet. With this, you’ll be able to speak Equestrian!”

Mesmerized, Scruffy looked at the amulet for a long time. He carefully took it, turning it around and looking at it from every angle, before writing down with shaky hands:

It real gold?

Author's Notes:

And here we have it, end of the "Trixie's gonna bugger off" saga. Now it's just a question of time until it hits the big screen. Ya'll are invited for the premiere.

Unfortunately, I also have to give some...less-than-jubilant news. I'm gonna be taking a small hiatus, since I'm gonna be moving. I don't remember if I mentioned this anywhere, but I'm moving this coming Wednesday back to my parents place for a while until I find a new apartment. That might take a few weeks, or it might take a month. So probably not much writing gonna happen at that time. If I do something, it's gonna be for my YT and possible streaming career.

All is not bad, however. I do have something something that I can upload next week possibly, so look forward to that.

I have a Patreon nowadays, and there's the early access to the first chapter for my second story available for those who become my patrons. I have some new goals set, so do at least check those out, if you will. There might be something interesting.

My patrons:
MonsterMyrr
Atronosthelast
Special Thanks to Lordelliott, show him some love.

Have a good read, and happy start of the week for everyone.

Interlude - Preparing For...

View Online

“Where is it?”

“Luuuna…”

“I could swear I saw it just yesterday!”

“Luuunaaa…”

“Blasted thing is always missing when I need it.”

Celestia sighed as she watched her sister rummage around her bedroom, turning mahogany wardrobes, cupboards, and even her night desk inside out as she searched for...something. The search had been going for over 10 minutes already, and Celestia had forgotten what the thing they were looking for even was.

She watched Luna scurry around from one side of the room to the other, tossing items every which way. Acting angry over the lost item was an obvious charade to mask her nervousness, but Celestia didn’t have the heart to tell Luna that she wasn’t fooling anypony.

“Luluuu,” Celestia called out again, only for it to fall on deaf ears.

“The bewitched bottle acts like it has a will of its own, and decides to disappear the only time it is required! I swear to my moon, if this is some kind of delayed magic prank from Discord, he’s going to-”

“Luna, sister,” Celestia calmed her younger sister with a comforting nuzzle and a sisterly hug. Luna held the pillow that she was about to rip in two out of frustration for a few seconds, before letting it fall to the ground and allowing herself to be fully embraced. She let out a long sigh as Celestia patiently waited, all the while nuzzling the back of her head.

“I-I’m not sure I can do this…” Luna finally admitted.

“Luna, what has gotten you so skittish? Just over a week ago you were practically dancing with excitement to know that our little gift had worked. And just yesterday, I was almost afraid that you would skip sleep to be ready today.”

“Nnngh…”

“It’s okay to be nervous, Lulu. I’m just not sure why you are. You have met with him several times while dream walking, no?”

“Yes, but...I…” Luna mumbled silently to herself and slumped down on the floor, which Celestia took as an invitation to massage her back, hoping to reduce the tension in her body. “I’m not certain if he has fully understood that I’m a real pony who guards ponies dreams, and not just some apparition in his dreams that he conjures up,” Luna sighed again.

“How so?” Celestia asked for a clarification.

“His kind, or at least he, seem to have considerable trouble focusing in dreams. He stays in a half sleeping state no matter how much I try to reinforce his dreams with magic, and he seems to forget parts of our meetings regularly.”

“And you are afraid that he wouldn’t recognize you?”

“No...not so much that...but I am worried about how he’ll feel that I’m...well, real. I wouldn’t desire for our first meeting to be...unpleasant,” Luna finished with dread. Celestia let out a short giggle.

“Luna, you have read the same reports from Twilight as I have. You know that he’s a kind soul and as long as you take your time with him, everything is going to be fine.”

“...I know... Knowing that doesn’t make me any less uneasy…” Luna quipped and curled up more.

“I know,” Celestia comforted, “but you mustn’t let it stop you. ‘Feeling nervous about meeting somepony only means that you want to meet them that much more’.” Luna rolled her eyes.

“Yes, I remember all of Starswirl’s lovely quotes too. They can be shoved in the same place today as they could be back then,” she remarked humorlessly.

“I believe the statement you used was, ‘Where the sun don’t shine’,” Celestia smiled.

“I believe so too.”

The two sisters leaned against each other, Celestia having opted to join her sister sitting on the floor, as they went silent. Celestia used a technique to calm Luna that she had learned when they were small fillies. By matching their breathing, eventually, she could feel Luna loosening up, the tension in her body lessening.

“I suppose it’s not of any use to postpone this then,” Luna announced and got up from the floor.

“Ready to go?”

“...As ready as I’ll ever be,” she said with a nervous grimace, but with determination in her voice. Celestia smiled brightly.

“Let’s go then, to Ponyville.”

Interlude - A Morning Detour

View Online

“Oh my, the two of them really did? And what did he do?”

“Hehehe! Well, the good Doctor hurriedly trotted over to where I was, dancing on the tips of his hooves the entire way, and slammed down his entire bit purse. He told me that the ‘fate of Equestria was in the balance’ and that he ‘needed to borrow one of my finely crafted bouquets’. He didn’t even wait for me to get my mouth open before snatching one after a quick glance, and then running like his tail was on fire after the diminishing form of miss Doo.”

“He most certainly could have been correct, a mare’s wrath is a terrible thing to behold, afterall. Although I’m sure he didn’t mean any harm, I’m suspecting it’s going to take a few more bouquets to make up for his little slip of the tongue.”

“Oh, I’m sure the two of them will be fine in no time. But, I’ll make sure to keep a few ready at a hoof’s reach from now on, just in case he happens to need another.” Rarity and Junebug both giggled as their gossiping reached its end, and with it, the two of them parted ways after saying goodbyes.

Rarity smiled to herself as she trotted down a street. For being an early morning, today was already promising to be yet another splendid and beautiful day in Ponyville. Rarity greeted the many hustling and bustling ponies on her way, who certainly had good reason to make Ponyville feel like the busy streets of Manehattan.

The Princesses would make a visit to Ponyville that afternoon and everypony was running head over hooves to get everything ready. Rarity, having had the foresight to see this happening, had already done everything crucial she needed for the day, and was free to help others, as she had just done with Junebug. She and several other mares needed a tiny bit of assistance and an artistic eye to get their assortments of flowers arranged just so. When she spotted a lone apple farmer pulling a cart, she knew she had found the next mare in need of a helping hoof.

“Applejack! Good morning,” Rarity greeted enthusiastically over the many ponies scurrying about, causing Applejack to halt and look around.

“Oh! Mornin’, Rarity,” she greeted back once she spotted her.

“You have the looks of a busy bee, much like everypony else. Would you happen to need any help?”

“Well, if you could help with one thing, I would be awfully grateful for it, sugarcube.”

“Say nothing of it, I will gladly assist.”

Applejack nodded, and they made the short distance to the Apple family stand. Even on a busy day like this, the market was running normally, the ponies getting ready for the impending visit making everything so much more lively.

“Here,” Applejack said as she placed a small crate of Apples on the stand. “If you could deliver this to Pinkie, I’d be mighty obliged. I meant to do it earlier, but with how much everypony else is galloping around, I’m running late as it is.”

“Of course, darling. I assume these are going straight in to the catering for the visit?”

“You betcha.”

“And you’ll be staying at the stand?”

“Since school is canceled for today, Applebloom is taking care of the chores at Sweet Apple Acres, and Big Mac is taking care of the other things around town. I’ll be staying here for as long as the market stays open.”

“Oh, it must be very hard for you,” Rarity said with a devilish smile. “I bet you are dying to meet your winged sweetheart,” she teased.

“Urgh...I’m never going to live that down…” Applejack moaned, slumping over her market stand while Rarity giggled.

“Oh, Applejack darling. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this is probably going to last for a while longer. Seeing either one of you blush from the simple mention of the others name is too adorable, and when you are in the same room...ah, you two are so precious,” Rarity stated and brushed her friend’s mane with her hoof.

“It was just one kiss…” Applejack bemoaned.

“One kiss in the right place can make all the difference,” Rarity giggled again and hugged Applejack. “Besides, a little bird told me that you two have been spending some time at her cottage,” Rarity asked, eager to know every detail.

“Hmh. I helped her with a few things that needed fixing, and uhh, she had some tea. So, I stayed for a while after,” Applejack explained as she stood up.

“Mhmm,” Rarity hummed with a singsong voice, but noticed the unsure demeanor of her friend. “What’s wrong?”

“I umm... I need... I could do with some advice,” Applejack rambled, awkwardly twiddling her hooves.

“Of course, darling. What’s on your mind?”

“It’s...well, Fluttershy…umm, Fluttershy asked if I wanted to go on a picnic with her. Just the two of us,” Applejack disclosed, a slightly pensive look on her face. Rarity smiled warmly.

“She’s asking you for a date, darling.”

“Yes, uhh, I got that.” Applejack rolled her eyes with a wry smile.

“Then what’s the problem?” Applejack’s ears went down, and her posture became more reserved.

“I’m not sure how to answer.” Rarity pondered the reply for a while, waiting for Applejack to perhaps add something, but the usually forthcoming mare kept silent.

“Don’t you want to? Go with her, I mean,” Rarity finally asked.

“Well, that’s just the darndest thing… I-I don’t know. I would like to...but…”

“But?” Rarity encouraged.

“Rarity… I’m not really looking to, to settle down...with anypony.”

“Oh.”

“I mean I do like Fluttershy, I really do!” Applejack hastily added. “She is a great mare, and we are very close friends. But I don’t know if I can…’date’ like that,” Applejack explained as she gestured animatedly with her hooves. “I mean, I have the whole Sweet Apple Acres to take care of, for heaven's sake! Not to mention looking after Applebloom and Granny Smith, and on top of that, we are the gosh darn Elements of Harmony, and we have all that business to worry about! It’s just... I don’t know.” Applejack slumped against the stand again after finishing her small tirade.

“And you are afraid that if you, hmm, got together, with Fluttershy, it would interfere with everything else?”

“With how many irons I already have in the fire, I’m not sure if I’d have the time to date her properly. And if I made the time for that, then something else would have to give. That’s umm, why I never asked her out before.”

“But you did consider it?” Rarity wanted to confirm, to which Applejack nodded.

“Me and Fluttershy have always done well together, and I think she is...v-very good lookin’,” Applejack blushed slightly, similar to a filly admitting her first crush. “We both work hard to take good care of what’s important to us, me with Sweet Apple Acres, and her with her flock of animals, and we often help each other out. It has bound us together in that regard. But like I said, I never got far with any thoughts about dating her, because I knew it would be hard to balance dating anypony with all the other work I have. That, and I have no need to settle down with anypony when I’m still so young. I didn’t even know she was open to the idea of...uhh, me, I guess.”

“Hmm…” Rarity hummed, processing all the information.

“Rarity, what do I do?”

“How have the two of you been doing otherwise? Have you spent any time with each other beyond having some tea?”

“Not more than usual. I reckon we have talked more often. And uhh, Fluttershy smiles more, I guess? We haven’t gone on any ‘dates’ or anything.” Applejack went back to fidgeting with her hooves.

“But now she asked you for one.”

“Yeah. It took her a minute to gather her courage... Was afraid she was going to fly off, with how nervously her wings were a twitchin’,” Applejack added with a tiny smile.

“Still, it was very bold, especially from her, to ask you out. It shows how much effort she’d be willing to put in to the relationship.”

“Yeah...and that’s why it makes me feel so bad to even consider turning her down…” Applejack replied, her ears drooping sadly.

“Oh, Applejack,” Rarity comforted her friend with another hug. “I know it must be a terrible feeling, but promise me you will not go on a date with her just because you don’t want to make her sad. That will only hurt both of you more in the long run.”

“Y-yeah.”

“Other than that, I’m afraid that there’s isn’t much help I can give you, Applejack,” Rarity told her friend, and placed her hoof over Applejack’s barrel. “This is a matter of your own heart, and you need to be the one to decide what you are going to do.”

“Hmmmh…I know. I just...I just feel so unsure,” Applejack sighed disappointedly.

“If you truly are of the opinion that it would be too hard for you to date her because of how much time other things in your life take, then you should decline, and explain this to Fluttershy. She will understand, I’m sure of it, even if it is going to hurt for a while,” Rarity offered with a sympathetic smile.

“Hmmh.”

“However, if you ask me, I’d hope that you give this a second thought.”

“Huh?”

“Applejack, love is never an easy affair,” Rarity explained with a gentle smile. “It demands time from you, no matter who you end up going out with. There’s never going to be a perfect time for when you can start dating somepony. It’s only a matter of recognizing when the opportunity presents itself, and taking it.”

“...”

“I know that you and Fluttershy could be happy together, if you just gave it a chance. And if you are still worried how you will have time for everything, you can support each other, and ease your burdens while spending time together. Dating is not only about going out to do something exciting, but little things as well.” Rarity caressed Applejacks cheek with her hoof, to which Applejack slightly leaned in to. “But if you are feeling unsure, you should talk to Fluttershy about it too. I’m certain you two will be able to talk it out.” Applejack let out a genuine smile.

“Thanks, Rarity.”

“You’re welcome, darling,” Rarity concluded, and the two of them hugged briefly. “Now, let’s put that to the backs of minds for now, and focus on today. We have an important day ahead of us, after all.”

“Yeah. Do you think we’ll get everything ready for the Princesses visit?” Applejack asked, while both of them glanced at the flurry of activity all around them.

“I certainly hope so. I know that both of the Princesses have wanted to meet with Scruffy for a long time now, but waited because of the language barrier. It would be terrible if their first meeting would go awry.” Rarity shook her head, remembering one particular visit from princess Celestia and her phoenix. “Let’s hope that Scruffy is not feeling too overwhelmed by all of this. He has been feeling a bit under the weather recently. You stopped by the library this morning, didn’t you? Has Twilight gotten the amulet working properly yet?”

“Oh...erm…”

“Applejack?”

“Ehm...T-Twilight probably has everything under control, heh. I reckon everything’s fine.”

********************

“Everything’s not fine!” Twilight moaned.

Chapter 19 - A Royal Visit

View Online

“Everything’s not fine!” Twilight moaned. Her tail was swishing from side to side in agitation as she paced around the library. Spike and Scruffy followed her with their eyes, the latter feeling nervous himself, and constantly fidgeting with his hands.

“Twilight, maybe you should calm do-”

“Calm down? Calm down?! How can I possibly calm down?” Twilight half shouted while hopping in place. “The Princesses are coming Spike! And we are nowhere near ready!”

“Twilight…” Spike tried to interject, to no avail.

“The town’s not ready, everything’s still being set up, and Pinkie’s still in the middle of baking, and and and…”

“Twilight!” He tried with more force, and managed to snap the mare out of her spiraling thoughts.

“Ooooh...why did Princess Celestia only inform us yesterday evening that they were going to visit TODAY?” Twilight sat down, eyes and ears downcast.

“Twilight...i-it okkay. Jou kalm now, ples?” a voice rather similar to Twilight’s asked, making the other two beings in the room cringe.

It had been nine days since Scruffy was given the voice transmogrification amulet by Twilight and the Royal Sisters, and each day Twilight had helped him learn to use it to speak Equestrian Common. It was a tiresome task for both of them, Scruffy having to not only further his studies in the new language, but also learn to speak again. Since the amulet widened the range of sounds that he could effectively produce, he often caught himself accidentally making a different sound than what he intended. Luckily, the amulet worked by drawing energy from Scruffy’s own thaumic pool, so at least Twilight didn’t have to charge it constantly.

Twilight, on the otherhoof, had to constantly make minor adjustments to the amulet, fixing errors and tweaking the translation matrix. The translation matrix, which she had provided for the amulet, acted as the framework for the amulet’s ability to alter Scruffy’s speech. When he said something, it would compare the way he said the word, to how Twilight would say the word, and alter Scruffy’s voice accordingly. They had managed to nail most of it down, except for one, small, tiny, little oversight.

It also altered the sound of Scruffy’s voice to somewhat resemble Twilight’s, if Twilight was several decades older, and had spent several of those years smoking a Saddle Arabian hookah.

Despite her best efforts, Twilight hadn’t found a workaround for the unwanted feature yet, short of adding another layer of spellwork to the already complex array of runes adorning the amulet. Since it hadn’t been hindering Scruffy’s learning of Equestrian Common, it hadn’t been much of a problem. At least, not until today.

“Look, Twilight,” Spike began. “I’m sure that Celestia and Luna will appreciate whatever we manage to get done, even if it isn’t as grandiose as what they are used to.”

“J-j-yes...She yo-our...teackher? Vill love, uh, liitl disblay. I sure,” Scruffy added, although his jittery fidgeting wasn’t easing Twilight’s own panic.

“I’m really sorry, Scruffy. You must be so nervous, and I’m not helping at all…”

“I uhh, njot met roojal...ro-royalts. It eexiiting, yes. Also, uh, c-c-skaary,” Scruffy admitted.

“But Princess Celestia is the nicest pony there is! And Princess Luna is too, once you get to know her,” Spike said.

“I, I trast jou, Spike. But, new...umm, feel? Uhh...esk...esberience, I mean. Not easi.”

“It’ll be fine, I promise,” Twilight responded, standing up. If she could have reached, she’d have patted Scruffy on the back, but calmingly stroked his leg with her hoof instead. “Just don’t be surprised when you see them. Remember, they are Princesses. They have both wings and a horn, and they are close to being as tall as you.”

“Jeah. S-S-Sealestia, and, Ljunna. Llluna. Hmm, hart-d say.”

“You’ll get the hang of it. There’s still a bit time left, if you want to practice,” Spike offered.

“Umm...atvice? I greet how? Are spesial greet do?”

“A respectful way to greet would be a bow, but you aren’t an Equestrian citizen, so it is not required. As long as you remember your manners, and greet them as you greet any other pony in Ponyville, it will be fine. Although, if you want to, I remember reading how ponies used to greet each other when Equestria was formed, where you-” Twilight explained, before she was interrupted by a crash from the front door.

“Hey Twilight! Hey Spike and Scruffy!” Rainbow gleefully greeted them.

“Gah! Rainbow, how many times do I have to tell you not to slam my front door like that!” Twilight admonished, before gasping, and quickly turning around with a huge smile. “Rainbow! You’re back!”

“Yep! In all my glory!” she boasted happily, wearing her Wonderbolt cadet uniform with the leadpony insignia on it. The two of them shared a hug.

“Hey, Dash. Great that you made it back in time,” Spike greeted Rainbow with a hoofbump.

“I wouldn’t leave you guys hanging like that. I took off as soon as Spitfire released us,” Rainbow smiled, and flew up to Scruffy. “How’s it going big guy? Everything in check for the big visit?”

“Jes. Feel little sca-aret, but, do faine...I hope,” he responded, and ruffled the baffled pegasi’s mane.

“Uhh, Twilight? Why does he still sound like you?” Rainbow asked, which caused Twilight to grumble unhappily to herself.

“Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a way to solve the issue in the limited time we’ve had. He’ll just have to...sound like that, for the visit.”

“Huh. That’s gonna be a bit weird.”

“Yes, well, can’t do much about it right now, but enough about that,” Twilight dismissed the matter, not wanting to talk about it “How did the rest of your week at the academy go after our visit?”

“Oh, it was awesome being the leadpony, and I did great together with my wingpony, Cloud Nook. We got along...perfectly! We did even more intensive training than before, like training to fly in a storm, what to do if you hurt one of your wings during a performance and emergency first aid, and all other kinds of cool stuff! Too bad that you two couldn’t come visit me at the academy,” Rainbow said to Spike and Scruffy, who both shrugged their shoulders. Spike had unfortunately been sick on the day they visited Rainbow, and couldn’t make the trip. Scruffy had been interested in the idea of visiting the academy, but once he realized what their mode of transportation would be, had quickly agreed that perhaps it was better he stayed in Ponyville, nursing Spike back to health.

“And what about Lightning Dust?” Twilight asked. Rainbow made an annoyed grimace.

“As much as I wanted to tell that featherbrain to just beat it afterwards for endangering you like that, I didn’t. I...I guess talking with Trixie made me see things in a different light... So I talked with Spitfire after you left. We agreed that she would fail the academy, of course, but I, uh, argued that she should be allowed to apply again next year. Spitfire agreed after giving it some thought. She had kinda allowed her behavior, after all.”

“That was very mature of you, Rainbow,” Twilight smiled happily.

“Uh, thanks,” Dash muttered, her ears twitching happily.

“Veri goot, RD. Like this, jou be big, uhm, resibonsple pony quick, ah, so-on,” Scruffy added with a cheeky smile, causing Spike and Twilight to giggle.

“Ha ha ha, very funny,” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Anyway, anything I can do to help with the visit?”

“I was going to ask if you could do a weather inspection, and make sure everything is right on that front,” Twilight said.

“Leave it to me!”

“But!” Twilight stopped Rainbow as she went airborne. “Instead, I would like to ask you to repair the door you just broke,” she finished with an unhappy stare at the unhinged door.

“Ehehe...oops?”

********************

“Luna, would you quit fidgeting and just sit down?” Celestia said with faux annoyance to her sister, who couldn’t stay in place as the pegasus chariot took them towards Ponyville, constantly turning in place and flexing her wings. When Luna turned to look at her, Celestia offered a smile, and wrapped her wing around Luna.

“I-I apologize, sister. I’m just really nervous…”

“It’s okay Luna. But I promise, everything’s going to be fine. I’ll be there with you.”

“Yes, of course...I’m just being silly. It’s just...you know I don’t do well with, informal meetings like this...” Luna dawdled, hating that she couldn’t control her anxiety, which resurfaced after her return. She hadn’t felt so uncomposed since the time before they became princesses of Equestria.

“I know, Lulu,” Celestia replied, and leaned her head against Luna’s. “It’ll take awhile to become comfortable spending time with your friends again, but I’m here for you. Think of this as a ‘formal introduction to a foreign delegate’.”

“I very much doubt that our wayward visitor is a foreign delegate,” Luna scoffed.

“You never know. It would certainly be an exciting development,” Celestia replied with a chuckle, allowing her imagination to run wild for a moment.

The two of them went back to watching the scenery around them, Luna continuing to fidget despite Celestia’s efforts. She needed another strategy, or Luna would start chewing the rails of the chariot before they reached Ponyville. Something to distract her. Hmm…

“So, on a scale of 1 to 10, he’s a 10, right?” Celestia suddenly inquired. Luna froze, and Celestia could see Luna’s train of thoughts crashing and burning in fiery wreckage.

“I...what...?” she asked, not sure if she had heard right.

“I’m asking if he’s good looking,” Celestia helpfully added, face completely neutral, and her voice matter-of-fact.

“Wha...but...huh?”

“You spent so much time and effort getting your mane done, and all that time applying makeup, polishing your regalia, choosing the dress...I just assumed you did it because you wanted to impress him.”

“...” Luna just stared at her sister in complete and utter bafflement, mouth hanging open, her anxiety completely forgotten, and her brain in a desperate need of a repairpony.

“Maybe I should have worn a dress too, after all…” Celestia idly thought, trying to hold back her laughter for as long as she could.

“B-b-but...I w-what? I di-...I mean...uhh...” Luna stuttered, trying to formulate a response. Celestia finally started to giggle, pulling her sister closer in to her winged embrace.

“Oh, Luna. I was just teasing you a bit,” she said between giggles. “But, just between us...he’s a looker, right?” Celestia whispered not-so-quietly as she leaned closer with a big smile.

“Sis!” Luna shouted, forgetting her formal tongue as embarrassment finally caught up with her. Celestia laughed merrily as Luna pouted, and the two pegasi guards pulling the chariot kept pretending not to listen, smiles on their faces.

********************

“And what about the decorations?” Twilight inquired of the ponies present.

“All done!” came from somewhere in the crowd.

“Cupcakes?”

“Yepperooni!” Pinkie’s unmistakable voice rang from a different direction.

“Drinks?”

“Eeyup!” Big Mac nodded.

“Weather?”

“Good to go!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

“I think that’s everything then. We’re all set,” Twilight sighed, relieved, as she examined the small area they had prepared for the princesses’ visit. They had set up several tables in the town square, with most of the catering provided by Sugarcube Corner and the Apple Family. They had decorated the whole area, set up a small stage where miss Octavia and miss Vinyl could play some music, and of course, arranged two seats of honor for the princesses.

“And none too soon. I believe that’s our guests arriving,” Rarity piped up, trotting next to Twilight, her eyes scanning the horizon. Amidst the sparse clouds, there was glint of gold from the royal carriage as it made its way towards them.

“Good eyes, Rarity,” Rainbow said, spotting the carriage too.

“Where’s Scruffy?” Twilight asked, not able to catch sight of their tall friend anywhere.

“He, umm, wanted to lie in the shade until the princesses arrive,” Fluttershy answered. “I think it’s the hot sun that’s making him feel dizzy. Oh, I hope he doesn’t push himself too hard,” she added, worryingly tiptoeing on the spot.

“We’ll have to make sure that he doesn’t stay out too long and get a sunstroke. Now, let’s go greet the princesses,” Twilight urged, and the group headed to the small landing area marked with clouds.

“Princess Celestia, Princess Luna!” Twilight happily greeted the two alicorns as their carriage settled down.

“My most faithful student,” Celestia warmly greeted back, hugging Twilight.

“Good day, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna greeted as well, although Twilight very quickly noticed her stiff stance and the restless, back and forth shifting of her balance.

“It is wonderful to see all of you again,” Celestia said to the rest of the element bearers, who greeted both of the princesses back in return.

“Princess Luna, I must say, your choice of gown is exquisite!” Rarity exclaimed, in awe of its stitchwork and design. Luna’s see through dress was made of thin, black silk with silvery lines woven in intricate patterns and reached slightly past her knees. A sash wrapped around her forelegs, ethereal blue like her mane. It snaked all the way up each of her legs and connected behind her neck. The collar of the ensamble was composed completely of silver, reminiscent of the bracer she usually wore, now absent. The other’s agreed, with even Applejack nodding approvingly.

“T-thank you for your kind words, miss Rarity,” Luna replied bashfully.

The group moved to where the rest of the townsfolk were gathered, Celestia taking note of all the decorations and refreshments present. Her plan to circumvent Twilight’s tendency to make her visits into huge events by informing her of said visit the previous evening had unfortunately backfired. Then again, she admitted to Luna later that perhaps it wasn’t one of her cleverer plans.

While the princesses were greeting everypony else, Rainbow sneaked away to inform Scruffy that they had arrived.

“Hey! Scruffy, wake up!” Rainbow said loudly as she glided down next to him. Scruffy was outside of Twilight’s library with eyes closed, resting on a chair that he had brought from his home to Ponyville.

“Hmm? I nott sleep,” he muttered, straightening his back and blinking owlishly.

“Never mind that! The Princesses are here!”

“Oh...Oh!” Scruffy blurted, suddenly feeling more awake. He clambered up from the chair to his unsteady feet, giving himself a once over. He was wearing the shirt Rarity had made for him together with gray, neat trousers.

“Are you going to be okay, big guy?” Rainbow asked, placing a hoof on his shoulder.

“Yjes. Just, lidtle...feal little veak,” Scruffy replied, offering a smile and reaching to ruffle Rainbow’s mane, but she was too fast and ducked away from him.

“If you’re sure. Just take it easy, I don’t want to carry your sorry rump all the way to the Ponyville hospital because you got heat exhaustion or something.”

“Okay,” Scruffy agreed with a smile.

The two of them headed towards the town square, where the other ponies were starting to party. Octavia and Vinyl were on the stage, playing jovial music for the crowd, which had prompted many to dance along. It was funny to see the two of them standing hip to hip, staring at each other in a way Rainbow could only describe as “making the googly eyes”, while still somehow flawlessly playing the same cello together. It was also odd to see Vinyl not behind her DJ set. Rainbow’s guess was that Vinyl had learned to play this one piece for Octavia, so that they could play something together.

Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy were talking to the Princesses, who had taken their seats, while Applejack and Pinkie had decided to join the dancing. Rainbow, having skipped any kind of breakfast to get back to Ponyville as soon as possible, was more eager to plunder herself some cupcakes.

“Hey, do you mind if I go nab myself something to eat? Because I’m starving,” Rainbow asked as she turned around to face Scruffy, her belly rumbling unhappily. Scruffy let out a brief chuckle.

“Yes. I kan go.”

“Sweet. The Princesses are just over there,” Rainbow pointed towards them, and zoomed off.

“-Princesses…-” Scruffy muttered to himself. He ran his hand through his short hair, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. He would shortly be meeting real life, actual, magical princesses from a mystical pony land. Scruffy scoffed, taking a few more calming breaths. Keep it together… You have come this far, no use getting cold feet now.

He continued his trek slowly, giving himself time to go through in his head how he should behave, and how to avoid embarrassing himself in front of everyone. Or ‘everypony’, as they would say it. Walk up to the Princesses, take a bow, greet them and introduce yourself. Or, wait...do I have to wait for them to introduce themselves first? Whatever you do, don’t forget to address them formally and remember to be respectful. Scruffy was so deep in thought, that he only realised that he had reached the Princesses when Celestia addressed him.

“Greetings. You must be our esteemed visitor,” Celestia offered with a bright smile as she got up, Luna following soon after her. Celestia took in Scruffy’s appearance, from head to toe, excitement bubbling inside her at meeting a creature she had never seen before.

“Uh, hail, my friend! It’s good to see you again!” Luna nervously greeted, knowing very well that several pairs of eyes were following their every movement. For heaven’s sake, Luna! You are a Princess, it shouldn’t be so hard to greet somepony you know without acting like a foal.

Scruffy lifted his head and glanced at the Princesses, before realising that he was already before them and took a knee somewhat hastily.

“Ah, h-hallo,” he greeted back, almost slipping back to his own language. He kept his head down, staring at the intricate shoes the Princesses were wearing.

“Friend, uh, S-Scruffy, you do not have to bow to us,” Luna said, taking a further step forward. Scruffy frowned slightly, something tingling at the back of his mind. He knew that voice but couldn’t tell from where. It sounded uncannily familiar...

“Yes, please rise,” Celestia urged.

Scruffy lifted his head, and as he was about to stand up, he locked eyes with Luna, and halted. They stared at each other for a moment, Scruffy’s expression morphing to that of a confused puppy whose favourite toy was just taken away, while Luna’s ears went down as she smiled awkwardly.

“Hi!” she greeted again, her voice becoming high pitched.

“Huh…? But think…” Scruffy mumbled under his breath. Luckily, for the both of them, Twilight came to save them from just staring at each other awkwardly for the rest of the day.

“Ehehe, so, uh, why don’t you formally introduce yourself to the Princesses?” she instructed Scruffy, gesturing towards the Princesses.

“Oh. Uh, sory… Um, I name Scruffy. Pleased, ah, meet you?” he said unsurely, still staring at Luna, while quickly glancing towards Celestia.

“My name is Celestia, the pleasure is mine,” she greeted with a small bow, and took a step closer to her sister to offer her moral support.

“I-I’m Luna, we have, uh, met before,” Luna said and held out her hoof for a hoofbump, hoping that her more casual greeting would relieve some tension from them both.

Scruffy, being confused beyond measure by the presence of someone he had only ever seen in a dream, completely forgot how ponies greeted each other, and thus couldn’t figure out why Luna was holding out her hoof, as it certainly wasn’t for a handshake. As he tried to scrounge the depths of his mind as to why, something Twilight had said came to his mind. She had mentioned some other, older way of greeting the Princesses, so this must have been it. How it was supposed to go? He had no idea.

Seeing that the dark blue Princess was getting nervous keeping her hoof outstretched, and not wanting to appear rude, Scruffy fell back upon old tropes he knew about greeting royalty. He carefully took hold of her foreleg with one hand, brought it closer, and kissed her royal hoof above the silver shoe.

There were gasps erupting for portions of the crowd, while other ponies, Twilight included, had their jaws hanging open. Pinkie was bouncing with a huge grin on her face, while Applejack pulled her hat down to cover her face. Rarity swooned right in to Spike and Fluttershy’s outstretched limbs, while Celestia simply covered her mouth with a hoof in surprise. Luna, on the other hoof…

This was the second time that same day she froze in place, shock on her face, all of her thoughts scrambling in to a mess and scattering to the winds. She recovered faster this time, and the surprise quickly changed to a spreading wave of crimson upon her cheeks. Her wings fidgeted hesitantly, like she wanted to hide behind them but had managed to stop herself. Her gaze fixated on the floor as the blush spread to the tips of her ears, turning them a striking pink color.

Scruffy blinked owlishly and alternated looking from the blushing Princess of the Night to the Princess of the Day, who seemed to be on the verge of a giggle fit.

“Scruffy!” Twilight finally managed to say, equal parts surprised and shocked.

“Uh...I...do ting bad?” Scruffy asked, turning towards Luna again, who had a smile somewhere between awkward and happy.

“No, not, not at all,” Celestia explained between giggles. “It’s just, it’s just such an old practice, I didn’t think anypony remembered it anymore!” she continued, allowing her giggles to turn in to proper laughter.

“How did you even know about that?” Twilight muttered more to herself, rubbing her forehead with a hoof.

“Huh...? But, jou say the-ere otther way, greet Princess?” Scruffy asked in confusion.

“I didn’t mean that!” Twilight denied when Luna, Celestia, and several other ponies turned their gazes towards her. “I meant the cheek kiss! It was a common greeting at one point, and was often used between ponies of high class!”

“That was also several hundred years ago,” Spike helpfully noted.

“I didn’t mean that he should do it! I just...I mean...I thought that maybe his people had something similar, so I just wanted to mention it!” Twilight rattled off in embarrassment.

“Oh,” Scruffy said lamely, feeling suddenly very silly.

“Well, sister?” Celestia said, holding a hoof over her mouth to stop herself from chuckling more. “Are you going to respond, like it’s tradition?” she further added with a huge smile.

“I... Do I…uh...” Luna mumbled, her blush returning with vengeance. She gathered herself for a moment, before leaning closer to Scruffy. “W-we, the Princess o-of the Night, accepts thy pr-proclamation of adoration with gratitude,” she recited from memory with an old accent, before tapping Scruffy’s forehead with the tip of her snoot. After she was done, with a quick charge of her horn, she used a teleportation spell and disappeared in to Twilight’s library, causing Celestia to fall on to her chair with laughter. Scruffy was left in a state of perplexity, still on one of his knees, looking at the equally bemused expressions of most other ponies, and asking himself one simple question.

What the heck just happened?

********************

After everypony had had a chance to calm down, Twilight and Celestia explained to Scruffy that kissing mare’s hoof was an even older tradition than the cheek kiss that Twilight had mentioned. The gesture was used before Equestria was born and sometime afterwards to proclaim one’s devotion and respect towards others among high-society, especially when seeing a princess.

It eventually fell out of fashion, because a millennia ago personal hygiene wasn’t as good as it is in modern Equestria. Kissing somepony’s dirty hooves wasn’t a pleasant experience, no matter what the intent. Which is why it was supplanted by the custom of cheek kissing, which only lasted for a little over a hundred years. Members of other races didn’t find it quite as charming as the ponies did, griffon’s especially finding cheek kissing to be rather hard to reproduce with their beaks. Eventually, ponies settled on a simple hoofbump in everyday situations and a small bow for formal occasions.

“So, uh, hello...again,” Luna meekly greeted Scruffy for the fourth time, as the two of them walked calmly on a small path through Ponyville park. After Celestia had managed to help Luna calm down again, she had suggested that maybe the two of them should have a walk together, so that Luna could do some explaining without anypony else bothering them.

“Jes, hallo…” Scruffy replied, still in a bit of a daze.

“I, um, take it that you recognize me?” Luna questioned, deciding to start with something simple.

“It, jes...jou from dream.”

“Yes! Um, allow me to explain.”

“Please,” Scruffy replied with anticipation. The two of them stopped, as Luna turned towards Scruffy.

“I am Luna, co-ruler of Equestria, and the Princess of the Night. One of my tasks, as a Princess, is to guard the dreams of ponies.”

“Dream?”

“Yes. Twilight Sparkle has told you a little about magic, correct?” When Scruffy nodded, Luna continued. “Using my magic, I am able to enter the dreams of ponies and help them banish any nightmares they might be facing. I, uh, visited you in your dreams, before.”

“O...okay?” Scruffy scratched his beard, trying to absorb all the information. It was all a bit too much for him, honestly.

“However, you differ, somewhat, from my usual charges. Whether this is only you, or typical for all of your kind, I do not know.” Luna indicated with her hoof that they should keep walking, and they continued their stroll. “Ponies dream easily, and most are able to, hmm, ‘be awake’, during dreams. They can experience most sensations the same way they would as if they were awake. This allows me to more easily become a part of their dreams. Your mind, however,” Luna stopped her explanation, turning to look Scruffy in the eye. “You only seemed to be partially conscious as to what was happening in your dreams. Even a small amount of stimuli would wake you up, and my magic had a hard time keeping you in a dreaming state while I visited.”

“I never, uh...hart, hard to wake. Sleep light.”

“Hmm, nevertheless, I brought this up because I wished to explain why you might not remember some of the times I visited, for your dreams are fleeting.”

“Yess, uh, I ra-remammber tsome.”

“What do you remember?” Luna asked, suddenly a bit excited.

“We...talk fish. Fiishin. Jou ask, I teach you. There trink tea,” Scruffy rubbed his temples, trying to remember.

“Indeed. Maybe we can...continue, our lessons, someday? With a real fishing pole,” Luna hopefully asked. Scruffy was surprised by the request, but soon had a small smile.

“If jou want,” he replied and was about to tousle Luna’s mane, before remembering she was a Princess, and sheepishly pulling his hand away. They walked in silence for a while, Scruffy mulling over what Luna had said, and Luna preparing herself for her next question.

“Umm...Scruffy? I, I hope you are not mad with me?” Luna carefully asked, ears slightly drooping.

“Uh...no?” Scruffy blinked, cocking an eyebrow. “Why I m-m-m-...angrey?”

“I wanted to make sure. Not all creatures want me meddling with their dreams, and since I haven’t encountered your kind before,” she explained, letting out a breath she had been holding, “I wasn’t sure how you’d feel after I reminded you of my visit.” Luna was clearly relieved that Scruffy wasn’t upset with her.

“Mmh. I... all very strangke for I,” Scruffy said, rubbing his neck. Luna let out the tiniest of chuckles.

“I’m sure of that.”

“...Umm…”

“Yes?”

“I sorry,” Scruffy apologized, to Luna’s confusion.

“Sorry for what?” she asked.

“For...for kiss hoof.”

“Oh,” Luna mumbled, getting slightly embarrassed by the memory. “How, um, did you know about that old custom?”

“I not know. Uh, Twilight and S-Selestia say me.”

“Then...why did you do it?”

“I, uh, I konfused. I-it too much at then. Twilight say oldt way hov greet Princess, so think jou ask old when kive hoof.”

“Ah.” Luna looked in different direction, trying to hide her small blush.

“I do thing in come mi-mint-d...head,” Scruffy rubbed his neck again nervously.

“Does your kind have similar tradition then?”

“Aah, old tale-s. Not now done many...much.” Luna turned back towards Scruffy with a pleasant smile.

“Whatever your reason was, I thank you for it. Ponies don’t practice that tradition anymore, and it reminded me of...well...a different time,” she explained, a tinge of sadness entering her voice. Scruffy noticed it, but decided that perhaps today wasn’t the best day to ask about it.

“Can ask?” Scruffy questioned, feeling more comfortable now.

“By all means.”

“It true? Are you Princess...uh, Pri-Princessesses really...really old?” Luna almost missed a step when she turned towards Scruffy again. She quickly started to chuckle.

“Hehehe… Yes, my sister and I are both quite old compared to everypony else.”

“But...1000 year? Seem long time.”

“It is, but it is something you get used to. Neither of us really know how long of a lifespan an alicorn has.”

“There no more?”

“There is a third alicorn, niece Cadence, Princess of Love. Has Twilight not mentioned her?”

“I not remember. Maybe forgot.”

“My turn to ask now,” Luna said, smiling giddily.

“Okay.”

“I would like to know your real name. Twilight told in one of her letters how your name is written in your own language, but I would very much like to know how it is pronounced.”

“Ah. Hmm… I name, Toivo,” Scruffy said, turning off the amulet when he spoke his name by tapping the gem ensconced in the amulet with a finger two times.

“T-...T-Toj-Thooijwo?” Luna’s face scrunched as she tried to say the foreign word. Scruffy held a hand to his mouth to hide his amusement when Luna tried a few more times.

“Thooiivo.”

“Almost,” Scruffy encouraged, while Luna rolled her eyes.

“What does your name mean?”

“Huh? Repeat?”

“What is the meaning behind your name?”

“Oh. Aah...it not m-mean, like poni. I learnt pounies have mark, and name, umm, important detail.”

“Your kind doesn’t have descriptive names?”

“Uhh...no?” Scruffy answered, only mostly sure what Luna had asked. “Name, kan mean, thing. My name mean, ah, ‘hope’, like word...but... When sai name, not say laik vord mean. Name Toivo, not ‘hope’. If you, untterstand?”

“I see. It is a great name, regardless.” Luna smiled.

“Thank you...L-Llluna,” Scruffy replied. They both blinked at each other at the same time, and burst into chuckles.

********************

“How was your talk with my sister?” Celestia asked Scruffy, taking a sip of tea that Twilight had brewed. After Scruffy and Luna had returned from their walk, Rarity had insisted that Luna come with her to the boutique. She excitedly tittered about her newest line of fashion as she dragged away the helpless Princess of the Night to model for her. When Luna turned to Celestia with a pleading look, hoping that Celestia would save her from the jabbering fashionista, Celestia warmly and genuinely smiled at Luna and mouthed to her ‘Have fun’. Luna should have fun with her friends more often anyway, Celestia mused. With no other interruptions forthcoming, Celestia decided to have her own talk with Scruffy.

“It go weel,” he smiled stiffly. Something about the white alicorn was a bit overwhelming.

“That is good to hear,” Celestia said, lowering the teacup down on to a small table next to them. They were sitting on the balcony of Twilight’s library, the party having ended as the day turned to evening. “My sister doesn’t often spend much time free from work. It is nice to hear that she has a friend she can visit and talk to,” Celestia smiled her usual motherly smile.

“She no many frients?”

“Not many, unfortunately. Not in Canterlot at least, and those that she has, all have something to do with her duties as a Princess.”

“Hmm. Maybe go she to vaca-ation?” Scruffy suggested. Celestia let out a few chuckles.

“If only I could make her do that, I would,” Celestia said, taking another sip of tea. “My student told me in her letters that you have spent a lot of time studying our language ever since you received our gift,” she stated, poignantly glancing at the enchanted jewelry hanging from Scruffy’s neck.

“Jes, thank you, this,” Scruffy replied happily, holding the amulet. “Much easi not carry scroll and pen all places.” They both chuckled.

“But I do have to wonder… Don’t you have anything else you need to do during the days? Twilight reported that you spend almost all of your time in Ponyville.”

“I, not much do-doingk. It exciting, ah, meet both you. Not want, take longe.” Scruffy tried his best to explain.

“Is that so?” Celestia said, mulling over the information.

“I not...not work anymore, spe-end time hoome. Do...umm, other thing, like fish.”

“Oh. Why is that?” Celestia’s inquiry caused Scruffy to burst in to laughter.

“I old, Se-...uh, Princess. No work hard, I health not kood when young.”

“Don’t sell yourself short. I can still see plenty of strength in you. And please, call me Celestia.”

“Okay, uh, Selestia,” Scruffy rubbed his neck, bashful about the compliment. Celestia smiled, and took another sip of tea as she contemplated her next question.

“Still, it must not be an easy task to walk through the Everfree forest each day to visit Ponyville.”

“It not long walk. I walk forest many, um, time. Walk young, walk old.”

“Truly?” Celestia asked surprised.

“It I like. Calm a-and nice. Kan find ber...berryyyee...flauwer and, and other...food too.”

“And you are not afraid of...that you might encounter any animals?”

“No. Nevver seen, hmm, big animal. Not seen bear, or other.”

Celestia frowned. For somepony who regularly walked in the Everfree forest, he seemed awfully cavalier about all the dangers lurking there. How would he be able to avoid all the perils of Everfree? Surely it can’t be because of simple camouflage clothing. She needed more information.

“Do other’s venture in to the forest often?”

“Uh...no understand word?”

“Oh, my apologies. Are there others of your kind who like to take walks in the forest?”

“Jes, fev,” Scruffy replied, thoughtfully playing with his beard. “Other go forrest get foodt. But if like walk? No know.”

“And yet, there haven’t been any other visitors in Ponyville.” Scruffy gave her a smile and patted her hoof resting on the table.

“Other not know pony live here. Not worry, I not reveal sekret.”

I didn’t know that Ponyville’s existence was a secret. Unless he means something else, Celestia pondered, but smiled back nonetheless. There’s something strange going on. She decided to change the subject, just in case Scruffy was getting suspicious of her questioning.

“I hope you have enjoyed visiting Ponyville.”

“It wontterful,” Scruffy replied happily. “All like a tale, hmm, for foal.”

“The word you are looking for is ‘fairytale’,” Celestia helpfully noted. To him, visiting Ponyville is like a fairytale? Hmm. Twilight did mention in her letters, when they first met him, he had been surprised when she used magic. Have he and his kind really come from so far away that they have no knowledge of Equestria?

“Jes, thank you. It fun meet all poni liwe town, most nice, all so...so li-liv-lively,” he continued with a chuckle. “Also, quick. Make partyi for Princ-...uh, you and Llluna fast.” Celestia giggled at how Scruffy pronounced her sister’s name.

“Yes, so they did. It was a bit unexpected. They didn’t have to go through all the trouble for us.”

“Huh? You no like it?” Scruffy asked carefully and looked around, hoping that Twilight hadn’t heard them. Celestia quickly caught on and also lowered her voice.

“I do appreciate everything they did today, and it was a wonderful little event.”

“...But?” Scruffy persisted, and suddenly Celestia felt a bit self-conscious.

“But… When my little ponies hold a party or have prepared an elaborate event every single time I go somewhere, it can get...predictable,” Celestia admitted, smiling bashfully.

“Ah. Do many time, it get dull.”

“I, wouldn’t quite say that. But, I would have hoped that we could have had just a normal, uneventful visit this time.”

“Umm...no say Twilight no make party?”

“I won’t go in to details over it, but suffice to say, it could have led to a certain other type of ‘predictable’...reaction, had I told her not to do anything for our visit,” Celestia smiled apologetically, leaving Scruffy to scratch his head.

“Kan ask question? I want ask, but forget talk with Llluna.”

“Please.”

“Twilight tell you Princess. But you also ru-ule, uh, area? Umm...land!”

“That is true, yes.”

“Twilight not say...I not know word, but, umm, what Princess faather and momther be.”

“Hmm? Oh! Are you wondering if there is a Queen or a King? Somepony else who rules besides us, but higher?”

“Jes.”

“Hehe, I have had that question asked of me several times by foreign dignitaries, but there is an explanation for that. To put it simply, before Equestria, unicorn lands were divided for the different Princesses to rule over, with the capitol left for the Queen and King of the head noble family. Both Luna and I rose to be Princesses at one point, and when Equestria was formed, we decided to keep our titles of ‘Princess’, rather than take the mantle of ‘Queen’. There is more to it than that, but it’s probably best if you ask my student about the details. I’m sure that she would be more than happy to tell you.”

“I ask her later. But…”

“Go ahead,” Celestia encouraged.

“I think, jou and Llluna live long, 1000 year, but I not never hear Twilight say king, queen…”

“Ah, I see,” Celestia hummed, keeping her gentle smile. “It is quite alright. Our parents passed away a long time ago. Only me, my sister, and our niece are Alicorns. They were a normal unicorn couple.”

“I, sorry,” Scruffy said, feeling uncomfortable for having brought the subject up.

“You do not have to apologize for asking a question with no malice,” Celestia said, reaching with one of her wings and gently brushing Scruffy’s forehead with the tips of her feathers.

“I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS!”

A loud bellow caught both of them off guard, their heads snapping towards the unmistakable voice of the Princess of the Night.

“But Princess Luna, I-”

“No! No more! I refuse!”

Soon Celestia’s sister galloped in to view from behind a building on the street below with Rarity in tow right after her, and the two onlookers who had been quietly conversing were at risk of being drawn off the library’s balcony as they leaned over the rails to do a double take. Somehow, someway, Rarity had managed to convince Luna to wear the most vibrantly pink and abundantly frilly dress either of them had ever seen.

“But I was almost finished! Just a few more touches, and it would have been perfect!” Rarity complained, running after the Princess. Levitating after her were pins, measuring tape, several illustrations, and some more of the garishly pink fabric.

“I do not care if you are a famous seamstress or not. This. Does. NOT. SUIT ME!” Luna complained right back.

“Careful with the dress!” Rarity wailed as they continued out of sight, leaving Scruffy and Celestia to stare back at each other before bursting into uproarious laughter.

********************

“Uuurgh…” Luna moaned pitifully as the two sisters were sitting on the chariot, heading back to Canterlot.

“What’s the matter, Lulu?” Celestia asked, still chortling slightly.

“What’s the matter? What’s not the matter…” Luna muttered, leaning against her sister.

“I thought that today was an excellent day.”

“I made a complete fool of myself.”

“Luna, dear, if there’s anything that I have learned from our little ponies, it’s that if whatever you do makes them laugh, they usually view you in brighter light afterwards.”

“Mmmh...doesn’t feel like it in the moment.”

“Still, you were able to have a conversation with Scruffy, weren’t you? And he didn’t run away from you, like you were afraid of.”

“Mhmm,” Luna mumbled, tired from everything that had happened. “It was strange to hear a voice similar to your student's from him. except more...scratchy.”

“It certainly was, and it is a shame that I forgot to ask him to take the amulet off so that I could hear his own voice,” Celestia giggled. “Perhaps next time.”

“Mmm.”

The two of them leaned against each other as they watched the Sun finally reach its destination on horizon. Celestia charged her horn with great magic, and with her help, the Sun sunk below the horizon completely. Luna powered her own magic, bringing the Moon to its proper place in the night sky.

“Luna?”

“Hmmh?”

“After you went walking with Scruffy, you didn’t feel anxious any more, did you?”

“...No. No I did not.”

Celestia smiled and wrapped a wing across Luna in a hug.

********************

A lone figure made its way on the beaten paths of the Everfree forest, clearly agitated. How was it possible that it still hadn’t managed to find that thrice damned amulet the zebra had hidden? It had looked everywhere, yet there was barely any sign of it! I know it’s here somewhere, it must be! There’s no way that simpleton would have the means to destroy it! It angrily snarled to itself.

The figure stopped for a moment and kicked one of the nearby trees, scaring several birds from it. Not being able to find the amulet wasn’t the only reason for its anger. In its thoughts it had accidentally wandered near that village at the edge of the Everfree. A foolish mistake that could have revealed its presence, but thankfully, there hadn’t been a soul in sight. What there had been, however, was a golden chariot that had taken off from somewhere inside the village. The creature had followed it with its gaze, frowning angrily until it disappeared in to the clouds.

Not feeling any calmer, the creature had decided to stop the searching for today, and return. Patience, it reprimanded itself. It needed to focus on finding the amulet and not get sidetracked with other business before it was time. But when it found the amulet, then...then there would be tartarus to pay.

Author's Notes:

Poor Luna. I think her brain got a bit scrambled there, bless her soul.
(A bit of an intense gif, so epilepsy warning, just in case)
http://grumpyluna.tumblr.com/image/145685863954

Yay for a new chapter! It has been a long week writing this, as I have been sick for the most of it. But me and my editor persevered, and here it is for your reading pleasure.

Now, I still haven't found an apartment for myself, so I'm not "back" from my hiatus per se. I just have had enough time to write, and since my hands have been itching to continue the story, I have done just that.

I did a blog post some time ago, where I asked if I should put all the FSxAJ stuff on a different story, and most who commented on that though it'd be a good idea. So I might do that, as I really have nothing against it. Might write something for it or my second story next time I write.

I have a Patreon if you want to support me and my tea addiction. It would be greatly appreciated, and you will also get a shout out at the end of each chapter if you do.

My patrons:
MonsterMyrr
Atronosthelast
And as always, a special thanks to Lordelliott, who helps me edit this mess that I write.

Have a nice read, and a nice weekend.

Chapter 20 - Friendly Visit, Part 1

View Online

“Hiyah!”

THWACK

The loud noise reverberated throughout the orchard and was soon joined by the sound of raining apples filling baskets.

“Easy there, pardner,” Applejack chuckled. “You trying to uproot the whole tree?”

“Ah… Sorry AJ… Didn’t mean to go at it so hard,” Rainbow sheepishly apologized, examining the slightly crushed bark on the side of the tree.

“You’ve been going at it pretty darn hard all day… What’s eating at you sugarcube?” Applejack asked, putting down her baskets and walking to Rainbow.

“Just a bit frustrated, I guess… Haven’t had a good workout in a few days.”

“Well, what’s been stopping you? As far as I know, there hasn’t been any hard weather work you’ve needed to be doing, just clear skies as far as the eye can see.”

“Mmmh… I got used to the morning routine at the academy, flying with a wingpony… Sky feels empty now, when flying alone.” Rainbow kicked the ground, ears half mast. Applejack smiled encouragingly and patted Rainbow on the back.

“You’ll get there someday, Sugarcube.”

“Mmh, yeah.”

The two friends sat down to take a break from the work, overlooking the hills filled with apple trees and allowing the wind to cool their bodies.

“Plus, I totally haven’t had a chance to show off all the new tricks I learned at the academy,” Rainbow continued after a while, feeling more upbeat.

“I reckon it has been a couple of busy days,” Applejack admitted.

“I was going to show them to Scruffy, because he didn’t get to visit me at the academy, but the doofus hasn’t been to town ever since the princesses’ visit,” Rainbow explained, her tail flicking against the ground a couple of times.

“Still? I’m gettin’ right worried that we haven’t seen hide nor hair of him for so long now…” Applejack sighed with clear worry.

“It is a bit strange, I guess,” Rainbow agreed, her brows furrowing. “I mean, I don’t think that ever since we met him, there’s been more than two days in a row that he hasn’t visited us.”

“I hope nothing bad happened.”

“Nah, he’s a grown stallion...eh, whatever he is. He can take care of himself,” Rainbow replied, yet a slight hint of worry crept in.

“I hope you are right with that one.”

********************

“How about this one? ‘Around the Equus in 80 days’, written by Jolly Verse.” A book grasped in Twilight’s magic levitated down from one of the many shelves in the library, allowing a petite earth pony filly with a golden brown coat and hazelnut mane inspect it closer. “Azure Twinkle, a unicorn mare, takes on a bet to prove that it’s possible to travel around the whole of Equus in just 80 days. On her journeys, she’ll meet many new friends and have exciting adventures,” Twilight explained while the filly was looking at the characters on the front cover.

“Aah, that book. I remember reading it myself when I was little,” the filly’s father said, a smile coming to his face.

“Really?” the filly looked up to her dad, and when he nodded, she turned back towards Twilight. “T-then I want to read it too!” she declared rather timidly.

“Great! I’m sure you’ll love it,” Twilight said back with a bright smile and led the filly and her father to the reception desk. “Just sign this card here so I’ll remember who I loaned the book to.”

The filly wrote her name down on to the card with rather blocky but clear letters and once done, enthusiastically hugged the book.

“Thank you so much miss Twilight,” she said.

“You’re welcome. Happy reading!” Twilight wished, and the two ponies left the library.

“And that’s another happy customer,” Spike said from the doorway leading to the kitchen, mimicking ticking off a box with his claw.

Twilight shook her head amusedly, “You sound like a salespony when you say it like that, Spike.”

“I’m just saying, I don’t think there’s been anypony who hasn’t been happy when they’ve left the library.”

“I’d certainly hope so. I wouldn’t be a very good librarian otherwise.”

As soon as Twilight finished her sentence, Spike’s cheeks bulged, and he burped out a green jet of flames. A scroll materialized in the middle of them, which was snatched by Twilight’s magic as soon as the flames died out. Spike climbed on to Twilight’s back so that he could read over her shoulder.

“Hmm, it doesn’t seem like Princess Luna has had any success…” he muttered.

“No. I suppose whatever it is that’s interfering with her dream walking is still stopping her whenever Scruffy is in the Everfree forest. Oh, I wish we could have made the amulet smaller and comfortable to wear at all times. I’m sure if he wore it, it would lead Luna to his dreams,” Twilight lamented.

“I don’t know Twilight. If I had a necklace or something, I wouldn’t wear it to bed, no matter how comfortable it was.”

“I know Spike… I’m just a bit worried.”

“It’s okay, Twilight. Maybe he’s just busy with something else?” Spike offered and patted Twilight’s crest. They both turned towards the front door when they heard it creak open.

“Um, hello?” Fluttershy asked from the doorway.

“Hey, Fluttershy! Come in,” Twilight beckoned. “What brings you over?”

“I wanted to ask if you’ve gotten any news yet?” Fluttershy asked hopefully.

“I’m afraid that Princess Luna didn’t have any success contacting Scruffy during the night.”

“Oh…”

“Aww, cheer up you two!” Spike said, hopping down from Twilight’s back. “I think both of you are making too much of a fuss. Scruffy is able to take care of himself. I bet it’s just some other stuff he has to worry about, and that’s why he hasn’t been around the last couple of days.”

“But it’s been five days, Spike! Surely he would have informed us if he was going to be absent for almost a week,” Twilight argued back.

“Maybe it was something urgent?” Spike replied with a shrug.

“W-what if something bad happened? What if he got hurt while traveling here? The Everfree is full of, of scary m-monsters afterall. Maybe he encountered some timberwolves, or a manticore, or what if he twisted his ankle and can’t get anywhere because of that!” Fluttershy blubbered in escalating dismay, while Spike resisted the urge to bury his head in his claws.

“Even if he hurt his leg or whatever, that doesn’t mean he can’t get back to here or his home! Sheesh. He’s a tough guy, but you act like he’s a puppy or something…” Spike frustratedly exhaled.

“L-let’s not jump to conclusions, Fluttershy,” Twilight reassured her friend. “Scruffy told us that he has never had any trouble walking through the Everfree forest, so it would be unlikely that he has had any now. But if he’s had an accident and hurt himself, that could be bad. He was feeling a bit woozy on the day the Princesses visited after all…”

“So, what? Are you saying that we should go check up on him or something?” Spike asked, shrugging noncommittally.

“Spike! That’s an excellent idea!” Twilight turned towards him. “Not only could we go check to make sure that everything is alright with him, but we could see what kind of conditions he lives in, what other mysterious gadgets he might have, or maybe even meet others of his kind!”

“W-what…? But I didn’t mean-”

“That would be wonderful!” Fluttershy agreed with Twilight, her attitude having completely reversed. “I’d really love to visit his home actually, and meet other...um, ‘Scruffys’.”

“But we don’t even-”

“Then it’s settled! We’ll go visit Scruffy to make sure that he’s okay. We’ll have to go get the others. I’m sure they’ll want to come too,” Twilight chattered, and the two mares left the library in joyous excitement, contrary to the usual dread associated with a trip to the Everfree forest. Spike stared at the door the two had just trotted through, trying to find some word to say.

“Drat…”

********************

Nearly an hour later, the six mares were trekking through the Everfree forest, followed by a rather grumpy looking Spike. They had gathered a few essential supplies in Applejack’s saddlebags, including food, a compass, and some parchment, incase Twilight needed Spike to contact the Princesses. Knowing Zecora’s familiarity with the woods, Fluttershy suggested that the secluded, rhyming mare could guide them through the forest to their destination, helping them find Scruffy’s home quicker.

“My friends, I’d be happy to help you!” Zecora replied rather enthusiastically once the entourage had reached her hut. “But first, please allow me to finish my stew.”

Once Zecora had finished her meal, the group of eight continued their way deeper into the forest. Since they knew the rough trajectory from which Scruffy usually came, they could pick a direction to go towards.

“Do not balk, these paths are like a gentle breeze; so while we walk, you may be at ease,” Zecora said to the others when she noticed their constant vigil and wariness of their surroundings.

“I ain’t never gonna feel easy walking in these woods…” Applejack muttered, her tail flicking from side to side.

“What’s the matter, AJ? Sca-” Rainbow taunted, but a loud crash from somewhere deeper in the forest cut her off, causing the entire group to flinch.

“Erm...Might I suggest we put a bit more pep in our steps, everypony?” Rarity proposed, to which nopony complained.

“So how are we gonna find Scruffy’s home anyway?” Rainbow asked once they were sufficiently far away from whatever caused the noise.

“I’m not really sure…” Twilight answered. “Based on what Scruffy has told me, his house must be on the western edge of the Everfree forest, somewhere. He says the walk from there to Ponyville isn’t too long, and if he takes it almost every day, I’d say it can’t be more than an hour or so.”

“Hmm, for safety, circling the forest edge would be the best. But, since that is his pace, we could follow the river southwest,” Zecora piped up. “There are many good paths here that I know. Our friend must heed them too, for he is not so slow.”

“That sounds plausible. With how many times he has walked the forest, it’s likely he knows several good routes too,” Twilight agreed with a nod. “Once we are getting closer, I can use my magic to, hopefully, sense the magic amulet Scruffy has and lead us the rest of the way. But, since Princess Luna hasn’t been able to find him, I’m not confident I can either,” she said with some chagrin.

“Then it is settled. Onward we move, so try not to be nettled,” Zecora smirked to Applejack and Rainbow, who were itching to get going.

“It’s a good thing that Zecora is here! I bet she can sniff the trail right to Scruffy’s front door. Kinda like Winona,” Pinkie said, garnering a bemused look from the zebra in question as they headed out again.

“There’s no need for that. Once we get there, I can just fly up and see where his home is,” Rainbow boasted, flapping her wings for emphasize.

“But if his home is in the forest, you won’t be able to see it through the canopy,” Fluttershy pointed out.

“We don’t know where he lives. For all we know, he could live in a...in a tree house or something,” Rainbow shrugged.

“Now that’d be something,” Applejack smiled.

“I bet it would be fun to live in a tree house! Imagine the view you’d have,” Pinkie said with an excited giggle.

“In any case, I think it’s too early to think ‘bout any of this. Once we get there, we’ll sort out how to find his house,” Applejack said.

“I agree. Let’s focus on getting out of this dreadful forest first, and finding our friend’s home later,” Rarity nodded in agreement. After they continued on a few paces, she kicked some dirt from her hooves and muttered, “I do hope he has plush carpeting.”

********************

It was an hour and a half later when the ponies and one dragon approached the western edge of the Everfree, having nearly passed through the arm of the forest that bordered Ponyville. Once the chatter of beasts had quieted, the group settled into a relatively peaceful pace, filling the silence around them with conversation and stopping once when Fluttershy wanted to make friends with some hedgehogs they met.

“Hey, I think we’ve made it!” Spike suddenly announced, causing everypony to drop their conversations. Up ahead, they could see bright sunlight peeking through the cracks between tree trunks.

“Finally!” Rainbow cried, spreading her wings and launching herself through the canopy and in to the sky. Applejack and Rarity seemed to be in a hurry to get out in to the sunlight as well, trotting faster, while the rest hung back with Zecora.

Once they had all reached the open and were basking happily in the warm sun, Spike asked, “So what are we gonna do now?”

“Now we need to locate Scruffy’s home,” Twilight began. “I did try to sense his amulet while we were walking, but I didn’t get any results,” she shook her head, before turning towards her pegasi friends. “Rainbow, Fluttershy, could you two make a sweep of the area. See if you can spot anything from above. Even if it’s hidden in the forest, like Fluttershy thought it might be, perhaps there’s a smoke trail from a chimney or something?”

“Sure thing, Twi!” Rainbow acknowledged and headed north, while Fluttershy headed south.

“I’m going to focus my magic again and hope to sense his amulet somewhere in the forest, but if neither search method yields results, then we’ll just have to find it by hoof.”

********************

“Anything?”

“I’m sorry, Twilight,” Fluttershy said, meekly kicking the ground. “I didn’t see anything that could have been Scruffy’s home…”

“It’s okay, Fluttershy,” Twilight consoled. “There wasn’t anything on Rainbow’s side either, and I failed to divine the amulet’s location too. I feel like there must be some sort of magic at play here,” she continued, pacing back and forth. “I worked on the amulet’s enchantments together with the Princesses. I should be able to sense my magic in it, but I haven’t felt even the slightest spark! Whether it’s because of something caused by Scruffy or his people, or because of the Everfree, I can’t say,” Twilight pondered, rubbing her chin.

“Well, then it’s time to do it the old fashioned way,” Applejack concluded with a determined stomp of her hoof.

“I suppose that is the only course of action left for us to take,” Rarity sighed apprehensively. Hoofing it and blindly searching musty, muddy woods for the home they came to visit wasn’t how she had planned this outing to go.

“Heh, cheer up, sugarcube. I reckon with us all here, it should be an easy enough job for us to find Scruffy’s home, especially if’n we split up.”

“S-split up?” Fluttershy whispered.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea, darling?” Rarity pensively objected.

“There’s a lot of ground to cover, and I’d like to be back at the farm before nightfall. I don’t fancy the idea of trotting through the Everfree forest in the dark,” Applejack countered. All the ponies and one dragon shuddered at the idea, Zecora looking only mildly bothered by the prospect.

“Y-yeah, hadn’t thought about that,” Rainbow agreed.

“Besides, we ain’t needing to go too deep in to the forest, if he’s supposed to live close to the treeline?” Applejack confirmed with Twilight, who nodded. “We could go in pairs, with two pairs heading one way, and the other two pairs heading the other. Put a little bit of distance between the pairs, and we can cover a wide area. We can meet up back here in two hours or so to say if we found anything.”

“Then what are we waiting for? I’m dying to see Scruffy-Wuffy’s cool house and all the neat things he probably has! Let’s go already,” Pinkie complained, hopping back and forth.

The group split up in to four pairs, with Twilight and Pinkie together with Applejack and Fluttershy going north, while Rarity and Zecora headed southwest with Rainbow and Spike. Rarity and Zecora stayed near the forest edge, keeping it in sight as they peered through the trees, while Spike and Rainbow went a little ways in to cover more ground.

********************

“Celestia’s flank, all this walking is boooring,” Rainbow yawned when they had been walking for approximately 25 unbearably exciting minutes.

“You’re telling me. I still don’t think we needed to come all this way to check up on Scruffy. Don’t get me wrong, it’ll be fun to see him and I want to find out if he has any other cool gadgets like that ‘teeliibhuune’ he always carries around, but Twilight and Fluttershy act like he’s one of Elizabeak’s chicks who’s wandered off,” Spike shook his head.

“That’s what I was saying to Applejack. Scruffy’s a tough guy, he can take care of himself,” Rainbow agreed with a nod.

“I bet he’s just busy with something else, and that’s why he hasn’t been around.”

“Hmm...maybe. Or maybe he’s got something cool planned.”

“Like what?”

“I dunno...uh, maybe he has some kind of super device that’s he’s gonna bring to Ponyville, and, it can fly through the air. Or something,” Rainbow shrugged. Spike stared at her with one eyebrow raised.

“Where did that come from? Sounds more like something Pinkie would say.” A gust of wind blew past them, and Spike could swear he heard a girly sneeze in the background.

“Eh, Scruffy promised to show me something a while back. Said he had something on that thingy of his that I might like to see. So I just thought it would be something to do with flying, you know?”

“Oh… You don’t actually think he has something that flies, do you?” Spike asked after a while.

“Honestly? That would be wicked awesome, and if he has cool stuff like that tiny device of his, I wouldn’t be surprised if he had something like that too,” Rainbow said, and giggled at the idea of Scruffy flying in the sky with some weird contraption.

The pair kept walking forward, occasionally glancing towards the forest edge to make sure that they hadn’t drifted too far or too close to Rarity and Zecora. They could occasionally glimpse their white coats poking out amidst the trees and foliage.

“I’m gonna go check up on Zecora and Rares. Be back in a minute!” Rainbow suddenly declared and zoomed off towards them without giving Spike a chance to reply.

“Hey…” he said to the empty spot next to him, and groaned. “Great…” Though feeling more wary of his surroundings now that Rainbow wasn’t there, Spike nevertheless decided to keep on marching forward. Rainbow would catch up to him easily enough, and he was in no mood to wait around for Dash. The sooner we find Scruffy, the sooner I can prove it was a waste of time worrying about him.

Just a short walk later he found a pond with a flock of small birds drinking from it, which took flight when they noticed him approaching. As Spike strolled past the pond, he came upon a raised ledge blocking the path, tall enough that he couldn’t easily climb it. Seeing nothing to aid him in getting over the ridge, Spike circled around instead, taking a path under a tree. The majestic timber was bent at an odd angle, one heavy branch laden with sprigs and leaves leaning over and resting against the ridge to form an archway beneath. The tree looked sturdy enough that it could withstand a hydra trying to use it as a back scratcher without a hitch. Perhaps it had.

“Woah. That’s pretty cool, but not as cool as me and Twilight’s home,” Spike said in awe to the tree, patting its trunk, before going through the archway. As he did, a shiver went through his dragon spines, causing him to stop in his tracks and shudder. “U-u-u-uhhh… What was that?” As the tree didn’t reply, he continued on the path, leading him past the ridge.

Looking around him, Spike noticed that the terrain seemed to have changed somewhat. It wasn’t as grassy anymore and sported more moss and an incredible amount of lingonberry patches. It must have also gotten brighter, because everything looked...different, somehow. He couldn’t quite put his claws on it.

Hesitatingly glancing around, Spike noticed that even the ambient sounds of the forest had ceased. At least, until Spike heard a single bird call coming from somewhere in the canopy. All around him, it didn’t feel like the Everfree forest anymore, what with the leafy trees of the Everfree having suddenly changed to spruces and pines instead. If not for the trees, Spike would have been sure he was in the sunny Whitetail woods right now.

“Uuh...Rainbow?” Spike called out, quickly starting to feel unnerved by the abrupt change, but no answer came back. “Rainbow!?” He called out again, to no avail. “Rarity? Zecora? ... Anypony?”

With no answer coming back, Spike wrapped his claws around himself as his uneasiness grew and started to hurriedly walk towards the edge of the forest. Maybe the other’s just hadn’t heard him, or maybe they had drifted apart a bit more than he realised.

“Hello?” he called out again, with only a gust of wind and the gentle rustle of trees as his answer.

When Spike emerged from the treeline, he found himself in a wholly unfamiliar place. It wasn’t just that the forest had suddenly changed, but everything else had too. He was on top of a small hill, overlooking farm fields and another smaller forest some ways away. He saw what looked like a small town, which shouldn’t exist as far as he knew, to the southeast with strange buildings. There were also many sounds he couldn’t recognize coming from that way, and there was a long gray stone road snaking through the fields and trees.

“...Where in Equestria am I?”

Chapter 21 - Friendly Visit, Part 2

View Online

As Spike was wondering what he had gotten himself in to, he spotted a house a little ways to his left. It seemed like a nice two story building, with smoke rising from its chimney. Feeling a little overwhelmed, Spike headed for the building. Spike really hoped it was Scruffy’s house. He didn’t want to go back to wandering through the forest again.

When he closed in, Spike noticed a smaller building next to the first one, which Spike surmised to be a shed or barn of some kind. There was also a small garden, although he wasn’t sure if it was just for show or had vegetables growing in it. There was also a strange metal contraption with wheels and windows on it, which certainly looked like something Scruffy would have; it was so strange. It looked a little aged with some dirt on it. Perhaps it was a carriage of some kind? This one wasn’t as high as the ones Spike had seen in Appleloosa, but it looked like it could be pulled, and if he wasn’t mistaken, it had flashlights in the front.

Once Spike reached the house, he took notice of how big it actually was, and hesitated for a moment. This wasn’t a pony house, as it was clearly built for somepony much taller. But was this Scruffy’s house? Maybe it belonged to somepony else, and Spike was intruding on their property. Spike remembered his first encounter with Scruffy, and how odd it had been. If it wasn’t Scruffy who lived here, they wouldn’t be able to understand him at all, and might even be a little shocked to see him. Hopefully they won’t just try to drive him away.

“I guess there’s only one way to find out…” he said to himself, walked to what seemed to be the front door, and knocked four times.

At first there didn’t seem to be any reaction. Spike listened patiently, even pressing his head against the door, but when he heard nothing, he knocked again. This time, Spike could hear soft thuds coming from inside, circling around the house before finally coming to the front. A disheveled Scruffy opened the door, wearing lounge pants and a black and white striped shirt. His hair was a mess, his nose was runny, and he had a slightly ragged breath. Huh, Twilight and Fluttershy were right. He doesn’t seem to be feeling too well.

Because of Spike’s small stature, Scruffy didn’t spot him immediately, looking left and right for whoever knocked on the door. Spike had to cough to get his attention.

“Hi!” he greeted enthusiastically, glad that he had actually found Scruffy after all. Scruffy almost jumped back in surprise when it dawned on him that it was Spike outside his door.

“Shböig?” he asked in a nasally voice, and slapped a hand on to his mouth when he realized he didn’t have his amulet. He stared at Spike and mumbled something before sneezing. Scruffy looked much scruffier than usual.

“We came to check up on you, since you haven’t been to Ponyville. I guess you’ve been sick,” Spike exclaimed as he gave Scruffy a once over. “Did you catch a cold or something?” Scruffy nodded and blew his nose, sounding like an elephant using a trombone. He gazed at Spike with questioning eyes.

“-We?-” he muttered and tried to see if there was anypony else outside.

“Oh, ah, I accidentally got separated from the others... They’re still in the forest,” Spike sheepishly admitted.

“-How did you…-” Scruffy muttered to himself, before turning around and going inside. Spike gingerly peeked in from the doorway, observing the house as mysterious as its owner. Although, on a closer look, apart from the architecture, it didn’t seem as odd as he hoped it would.

Spike had imagined all sorts of super advanced things and gadgets in every corner of the house, but, boringly enough, it all looked fairly normal. There was a coat rack where he saw several coats hanging, including the camouflage jacket Scruffy had used the first few times they had seen him. There was a folding door past that and a small desk on the other side with a flower vase on top. Spike saw several narrow doors in the wall opposite to the desk, which were probably closets or something, and stairs leading up further down the corridor. The only strange thing he noticed was a weird metal panel up near the ceiling, which had over a dozen cylinders and switches on it.

Spike didn’t have the time to ponder its meaning, as Scruffy returned, sporting his magic amulet. He blew his nose again, and had to clear his throat before he could speak.

“Okay...ahem...hello, Spike,” Scruffy greeted back finally, his voice hoarse. “Jou here with...poni too?” When Spike nodded, he continued. “We go, mh, find pony. They no find here. I surpr-...supra-...a-amazed you findt heare.”

“Yeah. We split up to look for your house. Twilight, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Applejack went the other direction, and Rainbow, Rarity and, Zecora came in this direction with me. I did lose sight of them… Though they should be somewhere close.”

“It njot easy, Spike. Come, we look where them. I tell you vhen walk,” Scruffy replied and knelt to put on some shoes.

“Are you sure? You don’t seem to be feeling too well…” Spike noted and patted Scruffy’s back when he had to cough again.

“It okai. I, uhh, sick latter when see Selestia and Lluna. Work too many I lhearn speak, now feel not well. It not bad; I walk.”

“Mmm, if you say so… Just make sure you don’t overexert yourself again. You’re way too big for me to carry you back here.” Spike’s comment caused Scruffy to chuckle.

“I try.”

********************

“How could you have lost him!?” Rarity angrily hissed at Rainbow. The poor pegasi’s head bobbed back and forth as Rarity vehemently shook her.

“B-b-but I j-just talked t-to you f-for a m-minute,” Rainbow desperately pleaded, her entire world shaking around like she was inside a ping pong ball.

“That was ONE minute too much!” Rarity said back, spitting fire, while Rainbow worried if her eyes would ever stop rolling in their sockets after this.

“Please, try to keep your emotions calm. We need to find our little friend; there is no time for qualm,” Zecora tried to reason with the enraged unicorn. After considering her words, Rarity finally let Rainbow go, who then held her head in her hooves to stop the world from spinning.

“You’re right… That was very unladylike like of me, I apologize,” Rarity said to Rainbow and helped her stand up. “But how do we find him. There’s no sign of him anywhere,” Rarity asked worriedly.

“H-he couldn’t have gone far. It’s only been a little while. And if he had seen something, I’m sure he would have shouted for us,” Rainbow pointed out.

“Then for the dragon’s tracks we must seek. Let’s search every nook and over every creek.”

The ponies and the zebra went to where Rainbow had parted from Spike. They knew the direction the little dragon had been heading, and with the aid of subtle clues Zecora found in the grass, they reached the pond shortly after.

“How do we know which ones are left by Spike?” Rarity asked once she realized that there were other tracks left by animals who had visited the pond. After studying them for a few moments, Zecora could only shake her head.

“Ponyfeathers…” Rainbow swore. “Should I fly ahead to see if I spot him?” she offered.

“This is not something you should do. The number of lost might go up to two,” Zecora said back.

“Hmph,” Rainbow harrumphed.

“We must simply go forward. We can’t just stand here idly,” Rarity complained.

“Perhaps it would be best to send for Twilight, and inform her and the others of our plight?” Zecora suggested.

“Sure, just tell me, and I’ll send the letter,” the newly arrived Spike said from behind them, with Scruffy in tow, surprising Rainbow badly enough that she smacked Rarity right in to the pond with her wings.

“Oh shoot!” Rainbow exclaimed, and, together with Zecora, quickly helped the flailing fashionista out of the water.

“Rarity! Are you okay?” Spike asked worriedly once Rarity was standing on dry land again.

“I-I-I’m f-fine,” she said between trembling lips, her usually immaculate mane and tail drooping and dripping with the dirty pond water.

“Uhh...sorry Rares...I didn’t meant to do that…” Rainbow quietly apologized, shrinking away when Rarity glanced at her mirthlessly.

“Home klose. Towel in hjome, I give jou,” Scruffy said, leading the group to the fallen tree.

“...W-well, at least we found Scruffy, eh?” Rainbow pointed out, hesitantly trying to brighten the sopping wet pony’s spirit, but gulped nervously when Rarity’s expression morphed in to a unamused frown.

“Yeah, I stumbled upon his home, and we were on our way to get you girls,” Spike piped up.

“Here,” Scruffy instructed, walking through the archway the tree formed with the ridge. To everypony’s surprise, the air within suddenly rippled, like a thin sheet of water, blurring everything on the other side. It returned to normal after a second, but Scruffy could not be seen.

“What was that?” Rainbow asked.

“I don’t know, but apparently, this is the only way to reach Scruffy’s home. Or, that’s what he said to me,” Spike explained and walked under the tree as well, causing the spectacle to repeat, even if he himself did not seem to notice. Spike, too, vanished.

“Spike!” Rarity exclaimed, dashing after him, with Rainbow and Zecora quickly following suit. When she reached the threshold, Rarity could feel pressure building up in her horn, like she was gathering magic in it, and it even let out several turquoise sparks. “Ouh…” she moaned, suddenly feeling weak in the legs.

“All okay?” Scruffy asked, having noticed the unexpected reaction, taking out a handkerchief and sneezing again.

“I feel...a bit dizzy,” Rarity replied, sitting down while Zecora looked her over.

“Woah! Scruffy, you don’t look too hot either,” Rainbow exclaimed when she finally realised the state he was in.

“Yjes, feel not, ah, well. I sick,” Scruffy replied, coughing several times.

“Ayyayyay. Sore throat and runny nose, that is clearly a flu. With the right herbs, I could mix you a brew,” Zecora offered.

“Thank you, but, not know hrerp, h-herrr-...uhh...flower,” Scruffy lamely said.

“It is fine. I can find many in the forest that will give you zest. Everypony go ahead. Our friend needs his rest.”

“Wait. Ah, when get all, kome un-unter tree, and, home k-k-close,” Scruffy instructed, pointing in the rough direction where his house was. Zecora nodded and trotted back, disappearing from sight.

“Let’s get you both quickly back to the house.” Spike looked to Scruffy and Rarity, urging them to go.

“I’d...appreciate that very much,” Rarity shuddered miserably, and the group proceeded forward.

“So, uhh, what was that thing?” Rainbow asked, nodding towards the archway.

“It ah, it...door. Go to….hmm, Egu-...Equustrrria,” Scruffy tried his best to explain. “I not really know.”

“Fair enough, I guess,” Rainbow shrugged. The party quickly made the few minute walk to Scruffy’s house and went inside.

********************

“Where are they?” Twilight muttered, pacing back and forth. She and the others who had gone north had waited for nearly 20 minutes at the designated meeting point.

“M-maybe they are just late?” Fluttershy hoped.

“But how could they be late? Rarity and Zecora are both very punctual, and I can’t imagine they’d fail to notice the passage of time...” Twilight countered.

“Y’all don’t think something bad happened?” Applejack worried out loud.

“But what if they found a huuuge berry bush, and ate all the berries, and now are too tired to move?” Pinkie pondered, getting funny looks from the others. Her muzzle was adorned with purple splotches from the blueberries she had found earlier and mercilessly devoured.

“Erm, I don’t think that’s what’s happened, Pinkie…” Twilight replied.

“Wait, I think I see Rainbow coming now,” Fluttershy interjected, pointing above the trees. Sure enough, the prismatic pegasus soon landed close by.

“There you are! We were starting to worry something had happened,” Twilight sighed in relief.

“Eh, sorry about that. We were busy and lost track of time,” Rainbow apologized with a nonchalant shrug. Twilight facehoofed to the amusement of Pinkie Pie.

“What were you busy with? Did you find Scruffy?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yeah, we did. And it turns out you two were actually right, after all. The big doofus got himself a flu with all that hard studying he did for the Princesses’ visit. He’s been sick ever since that day.”

“Oh no,” both Twilight and Fluttershy gasped.

“It’s good that we came ‘n’ checked up on ‘im then,” Applejack noted.

“Yup. Zecora got some herbs from the forest, and she’s making something to help with his flu. We should probably hurry... She had hard time using Scruffy’s doohickeys,” Rainbow somewhat urgently nodded towards the direction she came from. They headed out without further delay at a brisk canter, Rainbow leading the way.

“So you found his home then? Where does he live? Is it a house? Are there others of his kind there? What about-” Twilight inquired in rapidfire mode, before Rainbow cut her off with a snort.

“Jeez Twilight, give me a chance to answer!” Rainbow exclaimed. “Yes, we found his home. He lives in a boringly ordinary looking house, or ‘quaint’, as Rarity put it,” Rainbow rolled her eyes.

“O-oh?” Twilight’s disappointment seemed almost palpable.

“He does have lots of weird stuff lying around though, so don’t you worry that little egghead of yours. I’m sure you’ll be plenty busy,” Rainbow snickered, to which Twilight decided to simply boldly stick her tongue out, but could not help cracking a smile.

“Poor Scruffy, being sick for a week…” Fluttershy lamented. “I hope there was somepony to take care of him.”

“I don’t know. There wasn’t anypony else around at least. I did see a village in the distance,” Rainbow replied.

“A village? Wait, you could see a village?” Twilight interrupted.

“Yeah, it was, maybe, a few kilometers away and down the hill. And as far as I saw, the houses looked similar to Scruffy’s, so I guess his kind live there. I didn’t get a good look though, only glanced at it. Didn’t bother to look carefully.”

“But I thought there ain’t any villages between Ponyville and Appleloosa,” Applejack pondered.

“There aren’t. At least, not on any map I’ve seen. Was it out in the open?” Twilight pressed for details.

“Yeah, like I said, just down the hill from Scruffy’s home, and I can tell you why it isn’t on the maps. You actually have to go through some fancy magic thingy to get to his house, I think.”

“‘A fancy magic thingy?’ What do you mean?” Twilight asked.

“There was this bent over tree that you have to walk under, and it gave me chills when I did. Rarity’s horn even sparked a couple of times,” Rainbow explained. “Scruffy said that it’s a ‘door’ or something.”

“A door… I’d have to study it to be sure, but it could be…hmm,” Twilight mumbled to herself, going so deep in to her thoughts that Applejack had to subtly guide her so that she didn’t veer off and run right in to a tree.

“What could it be, Twilight?” Fluttershy prompted when the purple unicorn didn’t seem to offer any answers.

“Hm? Oh! I thought that it could be a portal of some kind, but that’s just a hypothesis. It could be something entirely different. Fluttershy, have you ever heard of the Breezies?”

“Oh yes! They are the most adorable, tiny creatures ever. I’d just love to meet some one day,” Fluttershy gushed, a happy smile etched on to her face.

“What the heck are Breezies?” Rainbow quietly asked Applejack and Pinkie, who both shook their heads uncertainly.

“Then, as you might know, Breezie lands are actually usually protected by portals. The portals are kept closed most of the time, to make sure that no outside dangers get to where their homes are, which can be in an entirely different place from the portal. We don’t actually know all that much about the Breezies, or their homes, but they do need to gather pollen from outside their lands for their own crops, we presume. I mean, they could just eat it for all we know, but various experts on Breezies claim that the pollen is necessary for the well being of their ecosystem.” Twilight took a short breather as she recalled any other relevant information. “Ponies actually often help Breezies when they migrate, during which the Breezies also gather the pollen. In return, the Breezies take care of the forests in which their homes are located. Except for Everfree, of course, no Breezies live there. Anyway, I just wondered if Scruffy’s people had something similar to protect them, and that’s why we haven’t had contact with them before?” Twilight explained in a long ramble. Everypony else’s eyes glazed over as they tried to processes the tsunami of information.

“Erm...w-well, I’m sure we can ask…” Fluttershy finally answered once she regained her wits.

“Let’s just hope Twilight can keep herself from going crazy long enough to ask any questions,” Rainbow snorted quietly to herself, but not quietly enough.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” the annoyed purple pony turned and asked.

“Because Scruffy just has so much strange stuff in his house! That small thing he carries around with him? It has nothing on the other stuff.”

“N-nothing? Are you saying he has even more advanced non-magical devices?” Twilight stammered, her eyes going wide.

“Yup, although I don’t know about the magic part. For example, he has this huge, boxy thing which kinda looks like the big brother of the small doohickey. It’s so cool! It has moving pictures and the things in the pictures make sounds!” Rainbow explained with excitement usually reserved only for topics such as the Wonderbolts or Daring Do.

“Now hol’ on a minute,” Applejack stopped her while Twilight’s jaw was hanging open low enough for her to trip on it. “What do you mean ‘moving pictures’?” she asked, confused.

“The things in the pictures move, AJ! Like, if you took a photo of Granny Smith, uh, I dunno, cooking or something, she would still move in the photo!”

“Oh!” Applejack exclaimed, finally understanding what Rainbow was saying.

“That sounds super-duper-mega-ultra-AMAZING-fun-time! Hurry hurry, I want to see it!” With that, Pinkie picked up the speed to full gallop, forcing the others to speed up as well or be left in the dust.

“T-this...this is...what...how…b-but it has to be some kind of magic, there’s no way...” Twilight sputtered, trying to wrap her head around the fact that Scruffy had such brilliant sounding devices that seemed to defy all logic. Rainbow glanced at the librarian and could imagine the gears in her head struggling to keep up. Pity. She would have liked to mention the rest but was afraid her friend’s head would explode from the sheer awesomeness.

With the speed they were moving at, it didn’t take too long for them to reach the fallen tree, with Rainbow guiding the rest of the mares to it.

“Under here,” she said, unceremoniously walking through the passageway, causing the air to ripple again. The others followed after, with Twilight going last. But as she entered the threshold, instead of the usual reaction, the air surged around her. Twilight’s horn seemed to power up on it’s own, sparking, and there were even a few arcs of power that shot out from it, illuminating rows of magic runes on the bark of the tree and the stony ridge forming the archway. Twilight was too surprised by the stormy reaction and simply stood still for the few seconds as it petered out.

“Twilight!” the others exclaimed once the light show ceased. A slowly blinking Twilight walked the rest of the way through the archway, her mane singed and pointing every which way. If they hadn’t been worried for her, Pinkie and Rainbow would have burst out laughing.

“I-I’m fine,” she managed to say as she took a few shaky steps towards them.

“Oh no,” Fluttershy immediately started to fuss over her, checking for burns and other possible wounds.

“N-no, it’s okay... I’m fine. It was just... Well I’m not sure what it was exactly… Something seemed to react with my magic in a very unexpected way. It- … It felt like something tried to access my magic, but failed...” Twilight said as she sat down, trying to calm her beating heart.

“Wow, it’s all so pretty,” Pinkie piped up, examining all the glowing runes that were now visible. Countless white runes, like tiny stars, were etched for the entire length of the passageway, shining with what seemed like renewed energy. There were lines and swirls in complex patterns amidst the runes.

“Careful there, Pinkie. We don’t know if it’s safe to get close to,” Applejack warned, content to stay as far away as possible.

“It… It should be fine. Rainbow, didn’t you mention that Rarity also got a reaction when she went through?” Twilight asked.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Her horn sparked a few times, but nothing even close to that,” Rainbow replied, also eyeing the magic scribbling with suspicion.

“I think the magic that’s in there only responds to unicorns… Or maybe just large quantities of magic. It should be safe, as long as it didn’t get damaged or anything,” Twilight explained.

“Hmm, there’s a few spots that are empty,” Pinkie said, tracing the bare spots with her hooves. It felt like there should be something in them, as the rings of twinkling lights around each spot seemed incomplete without them.

“Oh horseapples,” Twilight swore under her breath, quickly getting up to examine them, but staying far enough to not accidentally trigger anything else.

“Oh, be careful Twilight,” Fluttershy worriedly called out.

“Is it still working? Please tell me it’s still working, and we are not stranded in...wherever this is!” Rainbow hoped.

“...It seems to be fine for the most part...since the spellwork is glowing and all,” Twilight mumbled offhoofedly, carefully scanning the entire length of the archway. “There are empty spots, like you said Pinkie… I wonder what’s missing from them...and if they are missing because of what happened.”

“Well, one way to test if it works is to try it out!” Pinkie said jubilantly and, before anypony could react, hopped forward.

“Pinkie!” the others cried out, but Pinkie had already disappeared in to the rippling air.

Chapter 22 - Friendly Visit, Part 3

View Online

The four ponies had their jaws hanging open as they watched the rippling air slowly peter back to regular, innocuous air.

“W-w-what do we do?” Twilight gasped, the first one to get her voice back.

“Shou-should we go after her?” Applejack asked.

“Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness!”

“Bu-but it might not be safe! If the portal got damaged, who knows what’ll-” Twilight began to say, but was cut off as the portal activated again.

“Yepperoni, seems to be working just fine!” Pinkie declared with a bright smile as she hopped back through. “What?” She eventually asked as the others just kept staring at her.

“Pinkie! Don’t just go jumping in to magical...uh, doohickeys if we don’t know if it’s working or not!” Rainbow reprimanded angrily.

“But it’s working without a hitch,” Pinkie complained.

“But we didn’t…! Ugh, nevermind…”

“I’m just glad you’re okay,” Fluttershy tried to ease the situation.

“As am I. But please Pinkie, don’t do that again,” Twilight pleaded emphatically.

“Okie dokie loki.”

With that, the group decided to continue on their way, as Twilight would have needed a lot more time to get anything useful out of the magic in the gateway. While Twilight kept lecturing Pinkie on the dangers of unpredictable magic, Applejack kept scrutinizing the pink mare with her eyes. She could have sworn the pink mare looked slightly pinker than usual, but then again, everything looked strange around here. It must have just been her imagination.

********************

“I’m back! I brought the rest of the girls!” Rainbow called out as she opened the front door. Twilight and Pinkie were already bouncing in anticipation of exploring the house, while Applejack and Fluttershy’s interests were piqued by the outside, in particular by the garden and what seemed to be an apple tree.

“Oh oh oh! What’s this? And that? And all of these!?” Pinkie hopped from side to side, examining everything from mundane to peculiar. The three of them quickly wiped their hooves and trotted inside.

“Eeeee!” Twilight silently squealed in a very Pinkie-esque way, also paying close attention to anything and everything that seemed out of the ordinary to her.

“Ah, friends! It is great that you have arrived! With your help, our host shall soon be revived!” Zecora called to them, followed by loud clattering.

“Is everything okay?” Twilight called out.

The hallway opened up to a tightly packed living room. In the middle of it was a round table surrounded by a couch, an armchair, and a stand with a big, black, rectangular object. That must be the device Rainbow mentioned, Twilight thought. Next to it on both sides were shelves positively brimming with various items and knick knacks.

On their right hoof side, there were stairs leading up, and next to them were several small cabinets with drawers and a dresser. They were covered with numerous photographs and potted plants, with the bigger plants being on the floor. A large double window on the opposite wall gave plenty of sunlight to the flora.

On the left hoof side, right around the corner, were two doorways leading to the kitchen area with a long bar built in to the wall between. It gave a good view of the kitchen and made the combined area feel more spacious. Above the stand hung a dozen small candle holders, each made of metal and glass of different colors. Past that was an open doorway to a hall that went left and right.

“Wow, just look at all of this stuff!” Pinkie gasped happily. Both she and Twilight looked like fillies right before Hearth’s Warming, sparkly eyes scanning the room.

“Twilight Sparkle, your aid would be quite appreciated, in spite of all these oddities having you so fascinated,” Zecora urged from the kitchen.

“Ah! C-coming,” Twilight replied, ruefully tearing her gaze away from everything that needed researching, and trotted to Zecora. However, the kitchen also sported numerous items of interest. She immediately spotted a large, metallic cabinet with two doors, which Twilight assumed to be a more advanced ice box, judging by its shape. Then there was the oven, which looked similar enough to a pony one, except it had more knobs on it. Incredibly, it also had a top with burners on it! It neatly combined two different machines in to one. It must have required lots of complex spellwork and fire enchantments to get them work together without accidentally burning the whole house down. O-or however Scruffy’s people get their devices to work, I suppose, Twilight conceded. One more item that caught her interest was a smaller device (Why is everything here rectangular?) on top of the counters, but from her position, she couldn’t see much except for one small lever on its side. Twilight wasn’t sure what such a small device could do in a kitchen. There was other stuff too, of course, but she didn’t have time to focus on it all.

In the middle of these wonders was Zecora, balancing on her backhooves atop a stepladder as she tried to operate the alien looking machinery. Several pots were bubbling away as she mixed and stirred them. One of the smaller pots seemed to be in danger of boiling over.

“Stir this if you could, otherwise it will be gone for good,” Zecora asked bluntly. She picked up a spatula with her mouth and stirred another pot, while adding what looked like herbs to it with her hooves.

“Why do you have so many pots here?” Twilight asked as she picked up another spatula with her magic and stirred.

“In my home, it would not require as much to make a batch. But in here, everything must be done from scratch,” Zecora explained once she got the spatula out of her mouth.

“Oh...right.”

“Hey, Pinkie,” Twilight heard Spike say from the living room. “You all finally made it here.”

“Yep! All of this stuff is sooo cool! Everything just screams ‘Scruffy’!”

“I know, right. But wait until you see what it all does!”

“Hey, where is he? And where’s Rarity?” Rainbow asked.

“They’re upstairs. Scruffy is having a lie down, and Rarity is doing her mane,” Spike explained and pointed towards the stairs. Pinkie immediately started to hop up the stairs. Somehow she managed to do it with barely a single creak of the wood.

“What? Here?” Twilight shot out.

“Ehehe...I might have accidentally pushed her in to the pond before the magic door thingy…” she heard Rainbow answer awkwardly.

“Hey, Twilight,” Spike greeted as he walked in to the kitchen.

“Hi.”

“You look a bit more frazzled than normal. Is everything okay?” he asked, noticing the state of Twilight’s mane. Zecora also took a quick glance.

“What do you mean ‘more than normal’?” Twilight objected and heard Rainbow giggling. “It’s fine. The portal to get here just acted up a bit when I went through.”

“Oh geez, you too? It made Rarity’s horn throw sparks when she walked through.”

“It reacted much more strongly with me, but nothing bad happened. Well, except to my mane, that is,” Twilight reassured.

“That’s good to hear. Wouldn’t want you out of commission when we start cataloging and researching every tiny thing in this house,” Spike responded with a jovial smirk. Twilight’s could only muster an bemused frown.

********************

While the others were exploring the inside of the house, Fluttershy and Applejack had taken a short stroll around it. They saw and waved to Zecora as they walked past a window, and she had nodded back to them with a smile, her hooves too busy.

“Oh my. What a beautiful flower bed,” Fluttershy sighed happily as she sniffed the blooms of a small garden. It was next to another, smaller building apart from the main house, which Applejack surmised must have been a tool shed and storage building. It had a large metal door, big enough that the strange carriage outside could fit through.

“It’s all very pretty. Heh, didn’t take Scruffy as a flowery sort of fella,” Applejack smirked. “Now this here is a fine apple tree!... If a mite small, with how everything else seems so much taller.” The tree seemed just about high enough that Scruffy could walk under it without getting leaves stuck in his mane.

“I wonder if he uses the apples or the red berries we passed earlier for anything. Perhaps for baking, maybe?”

“A freshly picked apple is best for an apple pie,” Applejack nodded. “Never seen those kind of berry bushes before, though. I ain’t got any idea what they can be used for. Still, eight bushes seems a plenty to last until the next harvest, if he just eats them by himself.”

“Mmhm.”

“Hey, what’s that over there?” Applejack pointed to the side, and Fluttershy turned to look. Amidst a field of dandelions was an peculiar mound with something on top of it, too far for Applejack to make out what it was. Fluttershy’s sharp pegasi eyes, however, could make out the gray stone.

“...”

“Hm? Fluttershy?” Applejack asked as the pegasus kept staring at it.

“E-erm...h-how about we go inside? We h-haven’t seen Scruffy yet, and I’d like to make sure he’s okay. We can...we can check whatever that is later,” Fluttershy fumbled with her words and ushered Applejack towards the house.

********************

“Oooh Raaarityyy!” Pinkie called out with a singsong voice as she climbed the stairs to the second floor.

“In here darling,” came Rarity’s reply.

At the top of the stairs was a sitting room with comfy looking arm chairs around another round table and several bookshelves. There was also an empty aquarium near the window, dingy and worn. Right in front of Pinkie was a wide, open doorway in the middle of the wall, and to the right from that went a hallway through the length of the house which had two doors on both sides.

“Where?” Pinkie asked, and Rarity peeked her head in from the connecting room ahead.

“It’s nice to see you again. I hope there weren’t any complications on the way.” Rarity had a towel lying on the floor next to her, and she was in the process of combing her mane with a brush.

“Nope! Except when Twilight’s horn went all ‘BZZZT POW PEW ZHOOOM’ when we went through the portal thingamabob,” Pinkie explained with her best ‘thinking’ face.

“Oh my... Is she alright?”

“Yep, although she got a cool new mane style.”

“I...I see.”

“Oh you did? Isn’t it cool? But wait! If you did see it already, why did you ask?” Pinkie asked in confusion.

“...Erm, moving on. Is Twilight helping Zecora make the remedy?”

“Yep. They’ll have it ready before you can say ‘anachronistic’.”

“Ana- what?”

“Exactly. Where’s Scruffy?” Pinkie asked while swiveling her head every which way.

“He’s resting in his bed room. He’s had hard time sleeping, so we should- ... Pinkie?” Rarity looked around, but the prancing party pony was gone. “Oh ponyfe-”

“HI SCRUFFY!”

********************

“Here. Zecora’s remedy should get you back to your hooves...erm, feet, in no time,” Twilight said while levitating a mug to Scruffy. “Careful! It’s still hot.”

“Thank you. I sure I fine now,” Scruffy replied with a smile, carefully sipping the steaming concoction.

“You have a very lovely home. I really liked the garden,” Fluttershy commented, she and Applejack having finally joined the others inside.

“Thank you. I...I try keep allt, um, well,” Scruffy said, and blew his nose. Only a few of the ponies noticed the tinge of melancholy in his voice.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I took some berries from one of your bushes,” Applejack held out her hat holding some. “What are they? I have never seen any berries like these before,” she explained, and the others leaned in to observe.

“You no have them? Many have here. They poopul-lar make...uhh...berry drink?” Scruffy questioned, having forgotten the word.

“Juice,” Twilight supplied. “I don’t recognize the berries either. Zecora?” Twilight asked, but the zebra shook her head.

“Ah, jes. I like mmmake pie, also tsuise...tjuice…” Scruffy’s pronunciation caused some giggles to erupt from the ponies, but he huffed good heartedly in reply.

“So they are safe for eat’n?” Applejack asked, to which Scruffy nodded.

“Hey, I wanna taste one!” Pinkie complained.

“Yeah! Don’t hog them all for yourself!” Rainbow continued.

“Allow me,” Rarity said, and levitated a few berries from the hat to each of them so that all of them could have a taste, and down the fruit went. However, none of the equine tongues were prepared for the taste.

“Ackh!” Twilight exclaimed as the sourness hit her, shaking her head. Fluttershy’s and Zecora’s eyes had shot open, while Applejack had shut hers. Rarity’s muzzle scrunched, and Pinkie simply looked delightfully surprised. Rainbow was the one who had it worst, as she had decided to eat all of her ‘treats’ at once, and had to fly to the kitchen sink to spit them out.

“Pth pth! Luna’s flank, argh…” she spat, using her foreleg to desperately wipe the rest of the bad taste out.

“Whoo wee… Now that was something,” Applejack said, and after a moment's consideration, she ate the rest of the sour goodness she had.

“You could have warned us, darling,” Rarity complained, once she successfully un-scrunched her nose. Zecora was mumbling something in Zebrican to herself.

“I think more fun not sai,” Scruffy said back with a mischievous chuckle.

“Ehehehe, good one Scruffy!” Pinkie giggled.

“Eh, I don’t think they were that bad. Tasted a bit like some of the flawed gems I’ve had,” Spike said, taking it all in stride.

“Are you sure they were fine? Those were very sour. What are they called anyway?” Twilight asked, examining the berries she still had in her hoof.

“Jes, I sure. That berry, we say…-redcurrant-. Ah, can t-t-translate, red, red drink berry. Not sveet berry...ber-berriiis...berries.”

“Oh my gosh! You have to give me some!” Pinkie suddenly exclaimed, the startled biped catching her with one hand as she bounced and latched her hooves behind his neck. “Think of all the ponies I could prank with them!”

“Pinkie!” Twilight reprimanded, but the stopped to think. “Although...if you were willing to give us some, I would love to study them! We could test how the seeds respond to earth pony magic, and if it works, I’m sure there would be plenty of ponies who would like to cultivate them.”

“Think take leaf bush is goodt too… If rememper, dry leaf, and make tea. It kood, help with, hmm, with ill...ills,” Scruffy tried to remember some of the stuff he had heard his grandparents told him a long time ago. He drank the rest of Zecora’s brew and placed both the cup and Pinkie down.

“Hmm, they could be good for a brew. With them, I might make something new,” Zecora held her hoof on her chin, lost in thought.

“Who cares about all that egghead stuff,” Rainbow said dismissively.

“I do actually, and-” Twilight began, but Rainbow cut her off.

“We’re all finally here, and Scruffy has lots of cool stuff all around his house,” Rainbow continued, winking at Twilight, who immediately remembered what she had mentioned earlier.

“Scruffy,” Twilight began, turning around. “Is it true that you have a machine that can show full motion moving pictures? In color? With synchronous sound!?” Twilight asked, putting her best puppydog eyes at full force.

“Umm...jes?”

“Pleasepleasepleaseletmeseeit!” Twilight begged, grabbing Scruffy’s trouser leg like a drowning mare would latch on to a life preserver.

“U-uh...sure…”

Scruffy led the group to the living room, where everypony managed to crowd themselves on top of the armchairs and couch comfortably enough. He took a long, rectangular device from the table, and pointed it at the big device. It must be the control rod, Twilight surmised. Scruffy seemed to ponder for a moment, scratching his beard, before pressing some of the buttons on the thin slab. Soon after, the screen on the big device sprung to life.

Twilight couldn’t believe her eyes, even if Rainbow had already warned her, and Scruffy had confirmed it. The pictures on the screen moved! And there were sounds coming from the device too. Most of the other ponies were also mouth agape, except for those who had already seen it. Rainbow was grinning from ear to ear, while Rarity and Spike were giggling at Twilight’s reaction.

On the screen itself was shown a somewhat odd looking, large kitchen, where two of Scruffy’s kind were cooking. One, a stallion with the biggest belly Twilight had ever seen. How can he even function with that, Twilight questioned. The other one must have been a female, with her longer mane, more delicate facial structure, and the large, barely covered udders on her chest. Both of them were talking to each other, showing and examining some boxy objects. Twilight had no idea what they were.

“This is so amazing!” Pinkie said, her voice dangerously high pitched. Fluttershy smiled pleasantly, while Applejack was scratching her mane, most likely trying to understand what was going on in the show, instead of marveling at the beauty of the device itself.

“It can show much cooler stuff than that, right Scruffy?” Rainbow countered with a grin and gestured for Scruffy to do something. He let out a huff, as if saying “of course it can”, before clicking another button. A loud “BOOM” filled the room, and something exploded on the screen, making all the watchers scream in terror, before Scruffy quickly pressed another button and the previous pair where on the screen again. Silence reigned for a few moments as the ponies tried to calm down, several turning towards the tall being.

“Ehm...oops?” he sheepisly said.

********************

“Scruffy, can we talk? There’s some things I’d like a answers to, if you don’t mind.” Twilight asked her tall friend on the next seat Now that she had finished taking notes on the Rapid Image Projector (or R.I.P. for short), the name she had given to Scruffy’s machine, she had to admit they amounted to disappointingly little. It was more of a report of what the machine did and how it looked, as she could only speculate on how it actually worked. Scruffy hadn’t been able to explain the intricacies, since he wasn’t a craftspony. He had been absolutely adamant that it didn’t require any magic to work, and instead used lightning somehow. He had even shown a cord that transferred the lightning from the wall to the device.

All this lack of information and unanswered questions about anything related to Scruffy was finally starting to get on her nerves. All this time he had spent with them, all the magnificent devices he had shown her, all the possibilities in front of her, and nothing to show for it. It was high time she drove for some solid answers!

“Um, jes. What talk apout?” he replied, setting the control rod on the table. On the screen was something a little bit different from the previous show. Scruffy had described it as a story you could read from a book, and this one was about lions and other animals. As much as Twilight would have loved to watch it, there were more pressing matters.

“Could we go somewhere else? It’s kinda noisy in here…” The others were excitedly talking to each other about the ‘visual story’, or trying to sing along with the two lion cubs on the screen, and Twilight could hardly hear herself think.

“Okay. Take walk. Zecora drink make I feel good, no sjick.”

“You are most welcome,” Zecora chimed in, a pleased smile on her face. Scruffy made a small bow of his head.

“Sure, I didn’t get much time to look around the outside before,” Twilight replied happily.

The two quietly went outside, leaving the other’s to enjoy the show. Twilight hadn’t noticed it, but with so many ponies in one place, the air had gotten a bit stuffy, and so the outdoor air was more than pleasant. Being outside again, however, made her realize how everything looked a bit off on this side of the portal. She had taken note of it the first time too, but with how weird everything looked inside Scruffy’s home, she had momentarily forgotten. It was like all the colors were a few shades off from what she expected.

“Aaah, good have air,” Scruffy sighed and breathed in deep.

“It was getting a bit stuffy in there.” Twilight chuckled, “It’s so exciting to be here. It didn’t really hit me until just now.” Scruffy bashfully rubbed his neck.

“So, what talk?” he asked after a moment.

“Right. I wanted to ask about, and I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, the portal that we took to get here.” Twilight took note of the pensive look Scruffy’s face adopted. Understandable, it might be something he isn’t supposed to talk about with outsiders, considering there hasn’t been contact with his kind before. The portal is there for a reason. “I-I’d like to ask you, if you can tell me, why...why is it necessary for your people to have the portal?” Twilight finally asked, after figuring out how to word her question without sounding accusatory.

Scruffy looked Twilight right in the eyes, his brow slightly furrowed, scratching his beard. He didn’t say anything for a minute or two. Twilight was sure he was going to say that he can’t tell her, but then he finally sighed deeply.

“Come,” he simply instructed. They circled around the house, to the garden Fluttershy and Applejack had seen before. There was a white, wooden bench amongst the greenery. Scruffy sat down, and patted the spot next to him. “Twilight...this not easy tell…”

“It’s fine, you don’t have to-”

“No, I no mean...need think word,” he asked, and closed his eyes for a moment as he thought. Twilight took the chance to look around the garden, and she had to admit, it was quite lovely. She wasn’t much of a gardener, but if she ever had one, she wished it would be like this. “Okay… One…” Scruffy started after a while.

“Yes?” Twilight prompted, the anticipation and possible revelations making her feel as if she was about to bounce around like Pinkie Pie.

“About...uh, ‘majgic door’...my kind not do it.”

“Huh?”

“I say pefore, we all not have m-maaagic. We no make it, no kan make it.”

“Then who did?”

“I not know. I only know it the-ere, not all kind.”

They don’t know? How is that possible? Was it done by some outside force? But for what purpose would they do that for?

“Also...this uh...umm...Twillight, veere you think jou, we are?”

“I don’t know. Traveling through the portal could have taken us almost anywhere on Equus.”

“What you say, if I say njot anywhere?”

“...What do you mean by that?”

“I...I not know if...if thees right, but I think njot in, um, Equestria, or anyi place, uh, there.”

Well what do you make out of that? Twilight thought as she blinked owlishly. “...Sooo...what you are saying...is that we are not in Equestria...or that we aren’t on Equus?”

“Um, second one.”

Twilight searched the being’s face, looking for any hint that this was some kind of elaborate prank, or perhaps he was trying to obfuscate the truth by telling her something completely ludicrous, which she would have to grudgingly believe because there wasn’t any evidence to show it wasn’t true...

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE ARE NOT ON EQUUS!?” Twilight yelled, grabbing Scruffy by the cheeks and pressing their faces together. Several ‘sproing’ noises came from her mane, and she could feel her panic starting to rise.

“Twilight, calm,” Scruffy simply said, taking hold of Twilight’s hooves and lowering them back on to the bench. “Twilight...we not p-p-believe in magic. I kind think magik no real, not possible. We...uh, seek? No, um, search all...land, there no poni or other not pony here. Think I only vho know door, and pony, hmm, ponies.”

“B-b-but that doesn’t mean that we are not on Equus!”

“Say, ah, I not sure. I think no. Eg-Equestria different, it seem like not...not this,” Scruffy said as he motioned to the world around them. “Equestria many thing kind no think paossible, just story. Mahgic, talkking ponies, pegasus, unicorn, all storry.”

“Okay...okay, that still doesn’t mean that we are not on Equus. There could be any number of explanations...uhh...l-like perhaps you are just in a different part of the world, separated from the rest! Maybe you don’t think magic is real because your people are unable to utilize it! See, perfectly good reasons!”

Scruffy shrugged unsurely, some of Twilight’s response having gone over his head. This is impossible! There’s no way that there would be a portal to another w-world! Twilight screamed to herself, ...even if it would explain some of the mysteries.

“I no k-know what tell, but I sure thjing. Me kind not, um...do magic door. I uh...I uh...I bet all...for? No, bell all at? Uuh…” Scruffy mumbled, scratching his head and trying to come up with the required words. Twilight didn’t hear him, her head felt like it was spinning. Scruffy believes that he’s traveling to another world when he goes through the portal... How is it possible that his people have been so completely separated from Equestria that this is the case? I have to bring this up with Princess Celestia when we get back.

“Scruffy, you said that your people, um, ‘don’t believe in magic’?”

“Jes. I kind thonk magic unicorn use no real. Whenn say magjc, it, hmm, ba-b-party trick. Or, what Trixie do with lights, but use matshine do.”

“Is that...why you were so afraid of me when we first met?” Twilight asked with a sad frown.

“I not real...really afraid you. I uh, think head kone crazy,” Scruffy admitted, twiddling his thumbs in embarrassment.

“Oh…”

“Um, sorry.”

“No, you don’t have to be sorry. Do you remember when you first came in to Ponyville with us?”

“Jes...you take shirt.”

“Ehehe...w-well, it was in terrible shape.”

“Mhm.”

“A-anyway, when we went to the library, I took some measurements of you, and you needed to hold a crystal for one of them.”

“I remember.”

“I used that to measure your tha-...how much magic you have. It wasn’t very much, but you definitely have some.”

“I...I have majgic?” Scruffy said, extremely surprised. He experimentally flexed his fingers.

“You have, but comparatively, it’s not very much.”

“Uhh...word?”

“Oh, um…proportionately to others?”

“...”

“...Relatively?

“...”

“Ugh! You don’t have as much magic as others have.”

“Oh.”

“Every living being has magic, but the amount differs from species to species. Since your kind believes magic isn’t real, it might be that you are incapable of using it actively, as in, to perform any spells.” Twilight lifted a rock with her magic as an example, but even with it, she had to repeat herself slower so that Scruffy could keep up with her. “It’s possible that your species magic manif-...uh, shows itself in a way that you might not notice. It could allow you to do incredible feats of strength, or have really great stamina, or in any number of ways, if your race is able to tap into it.”

“I...okay,” Scruffy muttered, still wiggling his fingers as if he was expecting something to happen.

“If you want to, I would happy to do some tests to see if you can perform any spells sometime later.”

“I like idea,” Scruffy said, and smiled happily at the prospect of it.

********************

“H-H-HOW COULD HE DO THAT!?” Fluttershy wailed, crying in to the armrest of the couch she was on. None of the other viewers were doing much better, even Rainbow and Applejack were on the verge of sobbing.

“It, it’s o-okay. I-I’m sure a-all’s going to be f-f-fine... It ha-has to be…” Pinkie tried to comfort her friend, before bursting in to tears herself.

“T-that was so totally not cool…” Rainbow sniffed loudly.

“How tragic... Poor little thing, losing his parent... This is absolutely terrible…” Rarity dabbed her tears with a handkerchief.

********************

“Pfft, come on Scruffy, there’s no way there’s seven billion of your kind living here. You’d run out of space and natural resources! You must be confusing millions and billions,” Twilight said, unconvinced despite Scruffy insisting it was true. Nevertheless, it was so nice to finally be able to ask all these questions of their mysterious friend. All that time spent preparing Scruffy for the Princesses’ visit didn’t leave too much time to learn more about him.

“I say it true. You say it no true, I kan no say other,” Scruffy shrugged.

“Well, could we talk to others of your kind? Maybe there’s a craftspony who could explain how all your devices work at the town?” Twilight proposed, clopping her hooves together.

“Ah...I think no go-od idea. They maight come afraid you. Remember, other think pony all story, magic story. I not know happen if go see town you.”

“Oh...I suppose that’s right…” Twilight sadly replied, ears down.

“It safe you not go.” Scruffy gently ruffled Twilight’s mane, eliciting a small giggle from her.

“Maybe one day?”

“Heh. One day.”

********************

“Hacluhaha mhathakak, hm hmhmm hmmm! Hmm hm hmhmhm hmmmm!” Pinkie happily hummed to herself. Quiet enough to allow the rest to follow the story, but loud enough to annoy Rainbow.

“Oh for pete’s sake… She’s going to be humming that for the rest of the week, isn’t she?” Rainbow whispered to Rarity.

“That may be the case. Rainbow dear, although there might be a more mesmerizing tune to catch her fancy later,” Rarity amusedly whispered back.

“Let’s hope so.”

Rarity turned back to the screen, intently following what was going to happen next. Rainbow, however, had something nagging at the back of her mind.

“Uhh...Rarity?”

“Hm? What is it, darling?”

“I uh… You’re not mad at me, are you?”

“Huh? Why would I be mad at you?”

“Because…” Rainbow vaguely gestured at her mane and tail.

“Oh. I suppose there was that little incident,” Rarity said, acting aloof.

“I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to do it!”

“I’m sure you didn’t.” Rarity kept facing the screen, as if not acknowledging Rainbow.

“Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?”

“Hmm… Now that you’ve said it...” Rarity turned towards her with a friendly smile, draping one hoof over her. “I’ve been dying to have you join me and Fluttershy for one of our spa dates,” Rarity grinned deviously.

“S-s-spa?” Rainbow gulped.

“Why yes. I would just love to have you join us.”

“I...uh…” Seeing the discomfort on her friend’s face, Rarity relented.

“Rainbow. I was just teasing. You do not have to join us if you do not want to. I’m not mad at you, and I have already forgotten that little mishap. Still, I genuinely wish you’d join us. You’re always flying in the sky, and you never have time for little old me,” Rarity sorrowfully exclaimed, fluttering her eyelashes. Rainbow ground her teeth.

“Eugh… I suppose I could...to make it up to you,” Rainbow grudgingly agreed.

“You would? Eeeeee!” Rarity giddily squealed, causing everypony else to hiss for them to be quiet.

“Hmmhmm hmhm, hm hmhm hmhmhmhmmm!” Pinkie continued to hum.

********************

“Scruffy, there was one more thing I wanted to ask about.”

“Jes.”

“The visual story you made your device show, the one that the rest of the girls and Spike are watching… Before we trotted out, I noticed that there were creatures that looked like zebras in it, except their proportions were a bit off, and I am wondering, how come your species doesn’t think ponies are real, if you know what a zebra is? I mean, there are differences between zebras and ponies, but we are very similar species.”

“Ah… Um, Twilight… I need say thing,” Scruffy carefully began. “Many animal here, but too in Egguestria. Kat, dogi, birt, many other. But, too, also ponies, and zzzeebrah...zeebrrra.”

“But you said-”

“Twilight. Thjere animal laike jou here, and pony like yjou here, but not same. Thay no talk, no like you, not magic. Stoory I show, it no real. It story tell childrens, it fun. It not real happen.”

“Oh… So it’s fiction, made for entertainment?”

“Err...jes?” Scruffy scratched his head, reminding Twilight for the tenth time to slow down so that he can keep up.

“And you are saying that there are creatures very similar to ponies, but…” Twilight couldn’t find the words to finish her question.

“Jes...there is. Like earth pony, no pegasus or unji-...uuunicorn. Less color too.”

“Right...right.”

“It like us. My kind come from...uh...what wrod...um...oh! From m-m-monkey.”

“Oh. OH! You mean you have ponies that haven’t evolved to be the same as Equestrian ponies?”

“Erm…not know word, but think jes.”

“Well why didn’t you just say so? There are many tribes and societies of ponies outside of Equestria, and their lifestyles and living conditions have made them waaay dif- WAIT! YOU ARE A MONKEY!?”

********************

“Go on! Kick his butt! Rainbow cheered, as on the screen the two male lions enacted their most epic, most badass duel of all time. Rainbow had sprung up from her seat, and was hovering just above the others.

“Yeah, show that good fer nothing what for!” Applejack joined with her own holler. All the ponies were on the edges of their seats, leaning in towards the screen. Except for one who seemed most ready to jump at it instead.

“SHOW THAT...MEANIE PANTS JUST HOW HORRIBLE HE IS, AND THEN HE CAN GO THINK ABOUT WHAT HE’S DONE, THAT INCREDIBLE. TOTAL. JERK!!!” Fluttershy stepped forward and screamed. The others looked at her in shock, before turning around and looking at the freshly returned Twilight and Scruffy.

“Uhh…” Scruffy mumbled with wide eyes.

“Was...this a bad moment to come back?” Twilight quietly asked.

********************

“That. Was. So. Awesome!” Rainbow cheered, stretching her wings. After the story had ended, the ponies took a quick snack and bathroom break, and were now outside. It was getting late, and they needed to get moving before it would get dark. Oddly enough, the sun seemed to be much higher in the sky than anypony assumed it would be.

“I agree, it was simply marvelous.”

“Oh um...ah, it was nice…” Fluttershy meekly commented, trying to hide behind her wings.

“Hehehe, I think the last time I heard you so loud was when Iron Will was in town,” Pinkie giggled and gave Fluttershy an encouraging hug.

“Thank you so much for showing that to us, Scruffy, even if I only saw the beginning of it. Maybe I’ll get a chance to see the rest of it the next time we visit,” Twilight inclined.

“Sure. Allt velcome here,” he said with a wide smile, and they all shared a hug.

“Now take care of yourself. Next time you come to Ponyville, I want you see you in fine shape, mister!” Applejack commanded and gave a friendly hip bump to Scruffy.

“Yeah,” Rainbow added. “We don’t want to bust our chops coming here all the time because you got sick again! I’ll personally kick your rump in to shape if I have to.”

“Heh, okay. Sure kan go Ponyville? It late, I can show you way, it fast,” Scruffy offered.

“It’s okay Scruffy, I’m sure we can manage. Although, I’d be interested to know which path you take to Ponyville,” Twilight replied.

“Do you follow the river? Cuz that’s what we did!” Pinkie announced and hopped in a circle around Scruffy.

“It go Ponyville? Maybe take next. When walk, I go rocky area, with big...uhh...stoni wall. No, um, cliff! Big cliff, see it far when walk. Go there each time, like walk the-”

Scruffy’s last word was cut short when he noticed the look on the ponies faces. All of them had their jaws hanging open, and some of them even looked horrified. Pinkie looked like she was frozen mid jump, tiptoeing on her two front hooves.

“Y-y-you…! O-on the rock field...is there a tall stone pillar?” Twilight asked, a hopeful look on her face.

“Um...jes?” he said. Twilight’s face fell, and her left eye twitched a couple of times.

“ARE YOU CRAZY?” she bellowed, pulling Scruffy closer with her magic so that she could grab him by the cheeks for a second time that day.

“Heavens to betsy…” Applejack mumbled, pulling her hat down and shaking her head.

“Huh? What?” Scruffy mumbled past Twilight’s grip.

“You don’t know? You don’t know!?” Twilight screeched, slightly shaking Scruffy’s head back and forth.

“Oh, um, Twilight, um, please calm down?” Fluttershy pleaded.

“C-can ask, uh, what happen?” Scruffy asked Rainbow when he managed to yank himself free from Twilight’s hooves and magic, only to recoil back a bit. Rainbow was leaning forward, and seemed to look at him with unabashed admiration. He could swear he saw sparkles in her eyes.

“I feel I must congratulate you, for you are certainly mad! Yet such temerity spared you stumbling through many other dangers, and for this I am very glad,” Zecora sighed wearily.

“Why?” Scruffy asked again, hoping somepony would finally tell him what he did wrong this time.

“Because there’s an URSA living in that area! You are walking right by it’s cave!” Spike explained breathlessly.

“Huh?” Scruffy blinked. “Word?”

“Uuurgh!” Twilight groaned.

“There’s an ursa cave in that cliff face. It’s a huge bear, bigger than your house!” Spike continued. This finally got Scruffy’s attention.

“...I never see bear,” Scruffy flatly replied.

“And thank Luna’s lucky stars for that! Do you have any idea how dangerous ursas are?” Twilight vehemently admonished.

“...Really? Big like house?” Scruffy asked, not really believing them.

“YES!” the others shouted, making Scruffy hop in place and remember that he was currently talking to magical equines and a fire breathing dragon.

“Scruffy...please please please promise me you won’t walk through there again,” Fluttershy pleaded.

“Uhm...okay.”

“Pinkie promise!” Pinkie shouted.

“Ah...I Pinkie promise…”

With that, the ponies finally relaxed again. They couldn’t believe how much danger Scruffy put himself in every time he walked through the forest. Sure, walking through the ursa’s territory probably gave him a relatively safe passage from all the other dangers of the Everfree, for they would keep their distance from the ursa’s den. But how he had never encountered or even seen the ursa was a mystery.

Twilight took the chance to further educate Scruffy about ursas, and some of the other potential dangers. She further advised him to follow the edge of the forest to reach Ponyville safely when he would next visit them.

“Twilight, we really ought to get going if we want to reach Ponyville before night fall,” Rarity tugged her friends shoulder.

“I...of course, you are right. Just...be careful, Scruffy.”

“Not worry. I safe. You too k-kaerful.”

“We will.”

“It nice visit, I many better now. Hope I get goot sleep when bed.” Scruffy yawned widely, causing the equines to yawn as well.

“You should wear the amulet to bed. It’ll allow Luna to help you if you have trouble sleeping,” Twilight explained.

“Oh… I try that. Thank you.”

“Bye Scruffy!” the equestrian party waved.

“Bye!”

********************

“What’s wrong Twilight?” Pinkie asked once they had been walking for a good fifteen minutes. Luckily, this time the portal hadn’t reacted badly when Twilight went through it, so they managed to cross without an incident.

“Huh?” Twilight gasped, snapping out of her thoughts.

“You’ve got this really grumpy face ever since we left.”

“Oh… It’s nothing. Just a lot of things to think about.”

“Don’t worry about Scruffy! He Pinkie promised not to go through the ursa territory again.”

“Can you believe it? That’s the path he walks to Ponyville. The recklessness, the disregard for his own safety, the foolhardiness,” Rarity dramatically bemoaned.

“...The guts…” Rainbow whispered to herself.

“What was that sugarcube?” Applejack asked, leaning in with a teasing smile.

“Uh, nothing!”

“It’s not just that, girls. While you were watching the visual story, I had a talk with him and...and we talked about a lot of things…”

“Like what? Oh oh oh, did you ask when it’s his birthday?” Pinkie excitedly inquired.

“Erm...no.” Pinkie frowned sadly. “But a lot of other things… And I promise to tell you later, once I have talked to the Princesses.” With that, Twilight delved back in to her thoughts, the script of a letter already forming in her head. The others also fell into silence, digesting everything that happened that day and what other wonders awaited them when they would next see-

“Celestia’s flank! I forgot to ask him to show me the thing!” Rainbow exclaimed.

Author's Notes:

So, there's a few things we should probably address so that there won't be a 100 comments about them or something.

1. So in my story, ponies don't have as much technology as in the show. This already came up in the previous chapters, but I'm gonna mention it anyway. I'm gonna diverge from the canon show, because I feel like there's many items that don't really fit the world of equestria, and are mostly used for gag purposes, or to get the story forward etc. Like pinkie just happens to own a humongous tank the size of a manor for shooting party supplies out of? (Correction, that was actually Cheese Sandwich, and it wasn't as big as I remember it.)

That doesn't mean that they live in the middle ages or something. They might have a magical version of some things, like some ponies might just have ice boxes, others might have enchanted versions that function just like our freezers.

This is not to say "don't comment about it", this is just to say that y'all don't need to point out that they totally should have seen moving pictures before.

2. I'm also going to give a friendly reminder that Equestria and Earth don't look that much different. Both look realistic, comparing to our point of view atleast, so Equestria is not a cartoon world. This is just because if people are pondering what's with the "everything looks a bit odd around here" business in this chapter.

3. If you haven't checked it out, there's a rough layout of Scruffy's house in my most recent blog post. It might shed some light on what's the building layout, because there were some confusion when we were writing this chapter.

4. If you are wondering about the "thing" RD is talking about, refer to parts 1 and 2.

5. Darn tootin' if that ain't some fine humming from Pinkie Pie!

...

I hope... Someone make sure it's correct!

Well, hopefully you enjoyed it, and have a nice week everypony.

Interlude - ???

View Online

…

…?

It was peaceful. Everything was peaceful. All was still, nothing moved. No...something did move. A gentle breeze blew past him, gently tussling his hair.

Then it was gone.

Everything was peaceful.

Hello.

A voice. It reverberated around him, like the voice was everywhere. It felt like it began from him, and expanded to all around him.

Silence.

Nothing.

How are you this night?

There it was a again. A soft voice, yet strong and unyielding. Inquisitive and beautiful. Full of confidence.

Why thank you. I think you have a nice voice too.

The voice tried to flatter him.

I’m serious. Your voice is very comforting. That is why others listen when you talk. That is why others like to spend time with you.

So the voice claims, but he had always thought it was his rugged good looks. A soft giggle chimed all around him.

That too is a part of your charm. That must be why your new friends like to spend so much time with you.

They are so curious, so lively. It felt good to be with them. To not be...alone.

…

It was nice of them to give you the amulet.

Yes. He still couldn’t believe that they had given it to him. A real, magical amulet. Made of gold too.

Really? How lovely.

Those Princesses probably did it to show off. Celestia seemed very caring when he met her, but he was sure she had a wicked sense of humor too.

I’m sure of that.

The voice was sharp, and loud. Now it felt like it pierced him and stayed inside of him, instead of going outwards. Everything around him felt colder.

You know, it makes me jealous to see you with such a beautiful amulet. Wish I had one too.

There were probably many other amulets.

Of course there are. You must have seen others before.

H...had he? The ponies don’t wear much, except for Rarity. Luna’s dress was also pretty.

Yes yes. You have seen another one, haven’t you?

He...there was...Trixie’s amulet. He recalled it.

That’s right. It was a very beautiful amulet.

Maybe… He didn’t care for it.

I would love to wear something like that.

Would you?

Yes. It would go well with my style. What happened to it?

It...but it was...it was bad...Twilight told him.

Who cares what ‘she’ thinks.

He does.

You shouldn’t. You can make your own decisions. You shouldn’t have to do what someone else thinks. If she doesn’t want it, fine. But I want it. And I want to know where it is.

No. The amulet was bad. The voice shouldn’t use it. It would just cause more trouble.

Where. Is. It?

The voice had become bombastic. It echoed around him with the force of a thunder.

Tell me.

It requested.

Tell me.

Insisted.

Tell me!

Demanded.

But he couldn’t say.

Where. Is. The. Amu-

“BEGONE, NIGHTMARE!”

A spear of light. Soft and glowing. A rush of wind, the coldness went away. Silence.

“Your nightmares have been banished. You are fine, my friend.”

A sweet voice.

“Rest now. Sweet dreams to you.”

And a soft touch.

********************

Huff huff

…

tip

tap

tip

tap

tip

tap

…

click

…

...

“Tartarus damn it, he didn’t know.”

Interlude - R&R (April Fools)

View Online

In any other small town in Equestria, ponies would consider it abnormal to see somepony sneaking about in a trench coat, dark glasses, and a wide brimmed hat. However, Roseluck lived in Ponyville and, like most of the town’s residents, had become desensitized to such odd behaviour. Having the pink one living there would have been enough, but after Twilight Sparkle had assumed the role of librarian of Golden Oaks, things in town only got weirder. Roseluck pondered this for a brief moment and wondered if she should be worried that she was not more worried.

Rose sighed before shrugging to herself, smiling and waving at the “incognito” pony as she looked her way. Despite the occasional behemoths, power-mad unicorns, and other oddities stopping by, Ponyville wasn’t so dangerous of a town that you needed to be afraid of every single strange thing you saw. Not that Lily didn’t seem to think otherwise, with all of her conspiracy theories and what not. Some ponies really had too much time on their hooves.

The cloaked pony yelped with a start, jumping up several hoofs before turning to duck behind a bush and “sneak” behind a house, and Rose noted the rainbow tail zipping away. Of course. Rainbow Dash is just up to her old tricks again, finding somepony to prank. Usually, she was much better at hiding than this. Why she wasn’t darting about the clouds was beyond Rose.

“I suppose she has her reasons…” Roseluck resolved to stay out of it and continued watering her flowers. The annuals were smelling extra tasty this year.

********************

Rainbow Dash was sweating bullets. She was not even halfway through town and already her cover had been blown! She had a reputation to protect and was not going to allow anypony to catch her engaging in any “fru-fru” activities. She pulled her hat back down and proceeded to stick to the alleyways, as planned. Normally she would just fly quickly from cloud to cloud to sneak up on ponies, but she didn’t want to risk anypony seeing her rainbow dashes… Heh, she snickered. No, Dash, focus! You can think about your awesome name later. Can’t let even your buds from the weather team see you going to the…

“Ugh,” Rainbow groaned. She was a loyal pony and put up with a lot for her friends. The day had finally come for her to join Rarity for the spa day Rainbow Dash had promised. Sure, it’s not like she’d never been to the spa before and maybe having a hooficure doesn’t automatically make her the most fru-fru pony that has ever fru-frued in all of Equestria. It would, however, get the rumor mill going with her co-workers, and she didn’t need another “Gabby Gums” incident on her hooves.

Still, Rarity was right. They really did need to hang out more, and Rarity really wasn’t a physical activities pony, was she? “Heh, that drama queen would ‘faint at the very idea!’ for pony’s sake,” Rainbow Dash mocked with her best Rarity impression.

“What’s that, Rainbow Dash?” Doctor Whooves asked.

“Uh, um, Rainbow Dash? I don’t see that pony anywhere!” Dash replied in a deepened voice.

“Oh, right. What was I thinking? Good day, sir,” the good doctor conceded, bowing with a flourish.

Too easy, hehe. Rainbow Dash quickly trotted off, her identity successful concealed.

********************

A bell rang as the door to the boutique was quickly flung open and then violently slammed shut, sending a reverberating shudder through the building. Rainbow Dash had made it too her first destination, Carousel Boutique, where she would meet up with Rarity and proceed to the target.

“Excuse me, please, but would you kindly refrain from... Rainbow Dash?” Rarity looked her up and down, “By Celestia’s flowing mane, what on Equestria are you wearing? And why are you breaking my doors?”

“Oh, sorry, Rares. I was in a, uh, hurry,” Dash apologized, nervously shifting from hoof to hoof. “Um, Rarity? I don’t suppose you’d have water proof, um, ‘face stuff’ you could put on me before we go to the spa? So that… You know, everyone doesn’t think I’m a… a fru-fru mare,” Rainbow sheepishly asked.

“Rainbow, darling, I know you have reservations about going to the spa for anything else but washing up, but trust me. Nopony is going to bat an eyelash at you, and you’ll be so enamored by the expert hooves of Aloe and Lotus that you wouldn’t even care!” Rarity grinned broadly, doubtless her friend would be begging to go back to the spa before she knew it. “But for the sake of your piece of mind, not to worry. One must know a thing or two about discretion in my business, and some of the dresses I’ve made for a few ‘private affairs’ have made sure of that!” she winked.

“Ah heh,” Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but blush under Rarity’s teasing stare once the fashionista knew that Rainbow had gotten her meaning. “... So, are you ready to go?”

“As soon as you take off that ludicrous outfit,” Rarity swiftly replied with a dismissive hoof, turning to fiddle over a dressed ponnequin as she waited.

“But! You said-”

“Rainbow Dash, you’re such a dear. Do you really believe that’s fooling anypony?”

“Sure, I snuck by plenty ponies on the way here! How could they possibly know it was me?” Dash protested, hovering up with a few frustrated wing flaps.”

“How many ponies do you know who’d have a bright rainbow tail sticking out behind their trench coat!?” Rarity insisted. Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened and she quickly turned to look behind her.

“...”

“Fine.” Rainbow quickly flung her outfit off and unceremoniously dumped it on the ground. “I’ll just leave everything in… somewhere?” she asked, looking to Rarity.

“Hanging up in the closet here will be safe,” Rarity rolled her eyes. She picked the clothes up, straightened them, and put them on hangers in a closet all in a swift motion of magic, sighing out, “Honestly. Do I really want to see how you treat the dresses I made you?”

“Hey! I’ll have you know I take great care of those, thank you very much,” Rainbow pouted and held her nose up.

Rarity politely feigned hiding a giggle and motioned for Dash to follow her out. “Good.”

********************

Rainbow Dash and Rarity made it quickly to the spa, Rarity conceding to the former’s need for less chit-chat and more hop-to-it-edness. As they approached the entrance however, Rainbow finally asked, “Hey, so is Fluttershy meeting us here? I was kind of looking forward to it being the three of us.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry. In the rush over here I forgot to mention it. She stopped by early this morning looking dreadful and said she wasn’t feeling well, and the poor dear clearly wasn’t. It will just be the two of us,” Rarity sadly informed. “But do not fret! I’ll make sure you’ll have a wonderful time, and Fluttershy said to enjoy her usual.”

Oh, Luna, mistress of dreams, please let me wake?

“Rainbow Dash?” Rarity tilted her head.

“Oh, nothing. Just hoping Fluttershy is feeling better. L-let’s just get in there already.” Spending time with Rarity certainly had its own perks, but typically Rainbow liked to take her in smaller doses, or with a friend or two to act as a buffer while she nodded and pretended to listen to the fru-fru talk. She didn’t like not being able to talk to her friends about their interests, but all this fru-fru stuff might be a bit too much for her.

With that, they trotted into the lobby and were greeted by a pink mare with a sky blue mane and tail seated behind a small desk.

“Ah! Miss Rarity! Welcome, welcome!” The mare proclaimed with her unique accent, getting up and trotting over to give Rarity a hug.

“Hello, Aloe. It’s nice to see you.” Rarity let their hug last for a brief moment longer. “The usual for myself and my friend here,” Rarity said as she motioned towards Rainbow.

“Ah! Welcome Miss Flu- Oh? Hello, Miss… Dash?” Aloe fumbled for words, “Um, yes! Welcome! Thank you for joining us. So full treatment for miss Dash?” she asked Rainbow while glancing questioningly to Rarity.

“Yes. Unfortunately Fluttershy is not feeling well today, but Rainbow Dash will be joining me for Fluttershy’s usual routine.” Rainbow nodded in confirmation.

“Very well, Miss Rarity,” Aloe bowed. “Lotus?” she called.

“Yes, Sister?” Lotus replied as she walked in from beyond a curtained doorway.

“The full Princess Platinum treatment for Miss Rarity and the Deluxe without seaweed for Miss Dash. I will join you after fetching Suave Moustache to attend the front desk,” Aloe bowed once more to the VIP’s and excused herself.

“Welcome Miss Rarity, Miss Dash. Please, right this way.”

“You’re going to absolutely love this, darling,” Rarity tittered to Rainbow, “and the last bit of pampering will have you positively dying of delight, I’m sure!” Rarity smiled brightly, genuinely excited.

“Sure,” Dash replied, but not without a small amount of dread. “What exactly does Fluttershy usually get anyway?”

“Oh, mostly what I get minus the full facial and seaweed leg wrap,” Rarity explained. “You may always skip anything you’re not comfortable with, but please trust me when I say you won’t regret a second. Aloe and Lotus are very professional and skilled ponies.”

“I’ll give it a go,” Rainbow smiled back.

********************

After spending time in the sauna, in the hoof bath, and getting a hooficure (which, Rainbow had to admit, was excellent), Rainbow Dash was starting to feel “fabulous” in addition to her usual awesome. It was not a bad feeling. Maybe not the same as feeling awesome, but still, it was pretty good.

She and Rarity had spent much of their time chatting about friends or simply relaxing in silence, although Rarity had much more to talk about than her. It was kind of interesting to hear about all the stuff she has to deal with, running the boutique, even if Rainbow had much preferred to keep talking about Wonderbolts, or the crazy stuff Scruffy had. During their talk, Rainbow Dash got an extra hoof bath while Rarity got her wrap and facial, and they were just finishing up a vigorous massage.

“Ahhhh…” Rainbow sighed.

“Enjoying yourself?” Rarity proffered.

“Yeah… You were right, Rarity, this really is awesome. Aloe’s hooves here are more than magical…” Rainbow mumbled from the table, feeling like she was about to become pudding in the masseuse’s hooves.

“Thank you, Miss Dash. We aim to please.” Aloe chirped happily, then leaned in closer. “Miss Fluttershy usually has me move to the more… sensitive areas at this point. Would you like to continue?” she whispered in Rainbow’s ear, the suddenness of her hot breath tickling her earlobe and sending a shiver down her spine.

“S...sensitive areas?” Rainbow carefully asked back, feeling tense as the mood shifted. Well, if Fluttershy’s okay with it, it can’t be that bad… “Um, okay,” she finally answered.

“Excellent.” Aloe gently unfolded Rainbow’s left wing and began with soft circular motions at the joints, working her way slowly to the tips. She repeated this three times before moving on to the right wing.

“Mmmmmh,” Rainbow Dash groaned. On any other day, she’d never let anypony touch her precious wings, but right now, she felt too much like puddy to care.

“Ah!” Rainbow heard Rarity letting out a soft squeak. She tried to lift her head to look over, but Aloe’s continuous massage kept her from being able to turn enough.

“Rares… What’s going on?” Rainbow asked, letting out a pleasured gasp as Aloe hit a really sensitive part.

“Yes, that’s the spot- Umh!” was the only response Dash got.

“Relax, Miss Dash. Miss Rarity is merely...” Aloe leaned down to whisper again, “...enjoying herself.”

Rainbow Dash was getting unsure what to think of the situation, but that’s when Aloe bit down, and all thoughts escaped her in that moment.

Rainbow Dash jolted, flicking her free wing open as Aloe started carefully preening the other in the most old fashioned and intimate way. Rainbow had never allowed anyone since her mom to do… that! Still, somewhere in the back of her head, she remember how good it felt to have somepony gently preen your wings to be perfect, and could only muster a few silent moans as a response Aloe was so good with her hooves and mouth that Rainbow suspected her to be better than most pegasi were. Must be- Ah!... Must be because she does this all the time...

Aloe slowly caressed and arranged each feather and moved on to the next wing. Rainbow could only imagine what Lotus was doing to Rarity, as Aloe insisted she keep still with her muzzle down so as to not ruffle her wing as Aloe preened. But, all the gasps and moans seemed to hint that Rarity was getting exactly what she wanted.

Having finished one wing, Aloe closed and opened it a few times before folding it against Rainbow’s side, and moved on to the other wing. Once she was done, Rainbow let out a breath she hadn’t realised she was holding, and buried her face in her forelegs to hide her blush. Sure, so far this had been the best thing in a long time, but it was really getting her heart thumping.

“I shall now move on to the glutes,” Aloe easily announced.

“The wha-AHh-Ah-t?!” Rainbow yelped loudly and whipped her head around, barely holding back the reflex to buck the very fortunate masseuse. “Woah, Aloe, let’s uh, skip that part,” Rainbow asked, heavily blushing. Aloe immediately released the most awesome flanks in town and bowed.

“As you wish, Miss Dash. My apologies.” Rainbow Dash breathed sharply and rubbed her own neck with a forehoof. “You seem to have twisted your neck,” Aloe continued. “Allow me?” she proposed, once again asking for permission.

“Y-yeah, go ahead…” Rainbow gulped, and allowed the mare with the magic touch to fix her neck while she breathed deeply and let her heart rate go back down. Once the ache went away and she had centered herself once again, Dash’s thoughts went back to Rarity, hearing her sigh contentedly.

“Hey, Rarity, how you doing over there?” Rainbow inquired.

“Simply divine, darling. My ears detected that Aloe is treating you well? I hope you’ll want to do this again,” Rarity probed.

“Y-Yeah, all good here, Dash turned to Rarity and nodded. With the massages done, Aloe and Lotus helped the mares up and led them to one of their more secluded baths. They had their manes wrapped in towels and eased down in to the tub of just bearably steaming water to sit next to each other.

“So, Rarity, you and… and Fluttershy? This is what you do here every week? You didn’t pull any strings to make it uh… ‘extra’ special for me, right?” Rainbow prodded verbally and physically as she poked Rarity’s shoulder.

Rarity pretended to be aghast and looked back at her multicolour friend with obviously false shock, saying, “Whatever do you mean, Rainbow dearest?”

“You know what I mean! What was with that last part?!” Rainbow retorted, impatiently crossing her forelegs.

Rarity simply laughed lightly, “I’m sorry, darling. I was only teasing. Yes, Fluttershy loves it when Aloe gets to end and says she knows just how to treat a pegasus.”

“Seriously? Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash stressed, certain that Rarity was trying to pull her leg.

“Yes?” Rarity offered with a confused smile. “Personally, I prefer the bath after.” She smiled as she explained, “The way they get your blood pumping really let’s the heat and minerals of the bath seep into you all the better; do you not agree?” To emphasize her point, Rarity wiggled for a moment to get to a more comfortable position and leaned back contentedly.

“Wow… I never knew Fluttershy of all ponies would be so ready to do something like that. I guess you can never tell.” Rainbow Dash looked forward, losing herself mulling over her newfound perspective of her foalhood friend.

“Rainbow Dash, I may have been a teensy bit too caught up in my own pampering to notice, but did something happen?” Rarity questioned, concerned.

“I- … Um, Aloe just kind of, uh… Let’s just say that I think Aloe was getting a little carried away,” Dash relented.

Rarity looked downcast, “I’m sorry to hear that. I’ll have a talk with Aloe to get this straightened out.”

“Don’t get me wrong! It was so much better than I expected, but I just wasn’t prepared!”

“Prepared for what, exactly?” Rarity asked, arching a well groomed eyebrow.

“For the uh… What’s the word? Flank massage?” Dash tried to explain.

“...”

“Rarity?”

Rarity held back a snicker, “Dash, darling, I never took you for such a prude. You didn’t even get to the best part!”

“... What?”

“Here, let me help you,” Rarity said as she leaned closer with a seductive stare.

“Rarity? W-what are you doing!?” Rainbow Dash asked, eyes opening wide as she scampered backwards.

“We have to workout that tongue of yours, of course,” Rarity exclaimed, nimbly pinning Rainbow against the edge and puckering her lips.

“Eww! Rarity! Stop that!”

Much flailing and splashing of water followed.

********************

“WHAT?! Where’s the rest! Discord, you promised that we’d see a good time!” Twilight yelled as she rebuked the draconequus with an outstretched hoof pointed squarely up at his nose.

“Yeah!” Pinkie piped up happily.

“I didn’t think it was so bad…” Fluttershy softly mumbled.

“I told ya’ll. Never trust a snake to deliver in the end,” Applejack remarked.

“Girls, girls,” Discord chuckled, motioning down with his hands to literally lower the volume, “One cannot simply bend the whims of chaos magic. Besides…” Discord’s Cheeky Grin™ was on full display and his voice became more giddy, “it got pretty steamy before the end, right?”

Twilight sighed. “I suppose,” she stated, still disgruntled.

“Yeah!” Pinkie piped up happily.

Applejack hemmed and hawed before admitting, “Rarity’s horn definitely has never been cleaner. I’ll give ya that much.” Discord laughed and clapped approvingly before hoof/claw bumping the farmer.

“The preening was nice,” Fluttershy pointed out, “Um, no offense AJ.”

“None taken,” the cowpony quickly dismissed.

“Yeah!” Pinkie piped up happily.

“Are you just going to keep saying that?” Discord asked.

“Yeah!” Pinkie piped up happily.

“Just ignore Pinkie. Everypony else does.” Twilight cut in.

“Yeah!” Pinkie piped up happily?

“On to more important matters. Discord, you promised me some hot action tonight-”

“Twilight, you flatter me! I’d be more than willing to-”

Twilight growled, shutting Discord up for the moment, “and if you don’t keep your promises, we may have to put you in timeout again. Stone cold timeout, savvy?”

Discord assumed the Thinking Man pose as rusted gears slowly began to creak and turn above his head. He suddenly mentioned towards Applejack, who had been slowly scooting her way closer to Fluttershy on the couch, “You can always get these two to snog.”

“Pfft! They’re always doing that,” Twilight bemoaned. “It’s starting to get kind of annoying really. I need some variety!”

“It’s true,” Fluttershy conceded before locking lips with her marefriend.

“Well, if that’s not good enough, how about this!” Discord shouted as he threw his hands up in frustration and turned to Pinkie Pie. “Pinkie, my dear… Wanna makeout?”

“Yeah!” Pinkie piped up happily!

As Pinkie and Discord added to the foray of kissing ponies, Twilight clapped her forehooves together. Smiling wickedly she added, “Excellent. Finally, I’ll be able to get full marks on that stupid sex ed test from last year! You hear me Celestia? Nothing can stop me this time, muahahahahaa!”

“Enough of this! Twilight Sparkle, all the rest of you, out this instant! Out!” Trixie berated.

“Aww! But it was just getting good!” Twilight cursed this interruption!

“No, Twilight, this is far too silly. Quite too silly,” Trixie rebutted. “Now, off you go. Get on with it.” Trixie turns to face you, “GET ON WITH IT!”

********************

Rainbow Dash awoke in a sweaty bed and was breathing heavily. Once her breathing was back to normal, she threw the bed sheets in to the air and lazily flew to the shower. As the clean water cascaded over her with an initial chill, she thought about the dream she just had and could come to only one conclusion. She couldn’t wait to go to the spa tomorrow.

Interlude - Letter From Twilight

View Online

“Good morning...um, Princess?”

“Good morn to you.”

The maid who had greeted Luna watched her happily gait along the castle hallways, eyebrows raising in surprise at the Princess’ behavior. Normally, such acts of carefreeness would have been far from the Princess of the night’s routine, but she was feeling most pleased, and for once, she didn’t give two flicks of a tail how the staff viewed her.

Last night had been most excellent. The night sky was impeccable, there were many subjects who visited her night court, several amicable deals were negotiated, and, even if it had only been for a moment, she managed to visit her most beloved friend in his slumber. Scruffy had finally worn his amulet at home, and it worked perfectly as a beacon even outside of Ponyville. It allowed Luna to find him in moments. Unfortunately, the moments after had also been the one single detail that which marred the most perfect of nights.

Something in the nightmare she banished struck Luna as strange, although what it was, she didn’t quite know. In the moment before her spell dissipated whatever terror stalked her friend’s dream, Luna felt the ambient magic shift and recede, as if something had left the dream realm.

If only you hadn’t been so hasty, Luna reprimanded herself. When she sensed the nightmare haunting Scruffy, she had made her way to him and planned to deal with it as with any other dreamer she visited. However, this time something was impeding her entry to the dream. It felt as if some force pulled her back, preventing her from helping him. She had to use all her might to force her way in, and once the barrier gave, there was an odd sensation of rapid movement, and she was unceremoniously dumped in the dream. Disoriented, she simply cast her magic to make the nightmare break apart, not even taking a moment to examine it, to allow her friend to return to his rest.

“Pleasant morning, Princess,” a solar guard saluted.

“Morning, sergeant,” Luna curtly nodded.

Once Scruffy was dreaming peacefully again, and she departed his dream, the same feeling of accelerated momentum grabbed her and made her feel adrift, but amidst it she noticed something else. For just a split second, it felt as if there were far more dreamers than normal all around her, but after the strange sensation had passed, she found herself gently floating in the dream realm above Equestria.

“Good morning, Lady Luna.”

“Bright Light,” Luna bowed her head slightly. Bright Light was one of the ponies Luna was immensely grateful had decided to work for the Diarchy. If it wasn’t for her, Raven, and their other aides, Luna feared the Kingdom would have fallen to an avalanche of paperwork a long time ago. “Punctual as ever. It is remarkable how you manage to always arrive here even before my sister.” The yellow earth pony tittered behind her hoof.

“Only when I’m assigned the early morning shift. When I was first starting my job here, one night I couldn’t sleep and decided to come here an hour early. The look on Celestia’s face was priceless when she came in and realized I had already sorted all the paperwork for her in advance. After that, it became a thing between the two of us that I would always be earlier than her when I get this shift.” Bright Light had switched from slight giggling to proper laughter as she recounted the reason behind her early arrivals.

“...” Luna nodded in reply, pondering if this ‘thing’ was something modern ponies did, and if it was something she should be aware of.

“How was your night, Lady Luna?” Bright Light asked, now noticeably closer to Luna than a moment ago.

“It was as we hope each night to be. We managed to fulfill our duties as the Princess of the Night most excellently!” Luna proclaimed with great pride in her voice and her chin held up high. She had gone back to using the ‘royal we’ without noticing. Bright Light gave a small smile, slightly disappointed that the intricacies of small talk still eluded the Princess of the Night.

The two of them made their way to the Princesses’ office, which was located in the east wing of the Royal Castle and away from most of the more publicly available areas. The room lacked the usual decor found in the castle, instead being sparsely furnished with bookshelves, file cabinets, and six desks arranged around the room. The two bigger desks, incidentally also sporting the larger stacks of scrolls, letters, and other documents, belonged to Luna and Celestia, while the other four belonged to their secretaries and assistants. They sat down to their respective places, and had barely had enough time to start before Celestia walked in, levitating a steaming cup and a stack of paper with her.

“Good morning,” Celestia greeted them both with her usual warm smile. Bright Light waved at her while Luna walked to Celestia and gave her a brief hug.

“Morn to you, sister.”

“Good morning, Celestia. I hope you are not planning on adding to our already teetering pile of paperwork,” the colorful earth mare quipped joyfully.

“Good heavens, I would never do that,” Celestia answered back equally jovially, depositing the papers she had been levitating on to her desk. “There’s a few urgent documents I need to look over here. The rest,” she explained as she separated the papers, “is a letter from my dearest student.” Luna and Bright Light both looked at the new pile questioningly.

“...There’s over ten letters worth of paper in that, Sister,” Luna marveled.

“So there is,” Celestia happily exclaimed, clearly eager to read it. The two other mares glanced at each other. “Lulu, how long are you planning to stay awake? I would love to have lunch with you in the garden while we pour over what my student has to say.” Bright Light snickered behind her hoof at Celestia’s pet name for Luna, much to the Night Princess’ chagrin.

“I’ve rested well, I’ll retire to slumber when we have gotten everything done.”

Celestia hummed happily in response.

********************

Once they had gone through most of the paperwork and had a quick meeting with a few nobles, the sisters left for an early lunch. They were seated across a small table in the garden beneath a tree, a tray full of treats and delicacies that would have made anypony’s mouth water on a small trolley next to them. They both had finished their meals and were enjoying a cup of tea as a dessert. And a piece of cake for Celestia as an actual dessert.

Now that they had a moment of free time, Celestia summoned Twilight’s scroll from their office.

“You could make a banner out of that…” Luna commented amusedly as the scroll slowly unfurled. There were several separate pieces of paper tucked within the folds of the scroll, which Celestia levitated to a small pile, held together with her magic so that the wind couldn’t blow them away.

“Seems like she’s been taking a lot of notes,” Celestia pointed out. Once they got to the end of the scroll, Celestia’s eyes widened, before letting out a very unprincess like gigglesnort. She turned the scroll around, and it didn’t take long for Luna to see what amused her sister so. On the very end of the scroll seemed to be a smudgy imprint of Twilight’s face, with several splotches that Luna could only surmise to be drops of drool.

“Perhaps it would be wise for you to impart some lessons in going to bed at the right hour to your student?” Luna ventured with a straight face, only causing Celestia go renew her giggling.

“If only anypony was capable of doing that,” she replied, shaking her head.

“So, what has your esteemed student been up to?” Luna asked, intrigued. Celestia returned to the start of the letter, and began reading.

“Hmm… It appears she and her friends were so worried that they hadn’t heard from Scruffy in over a week, that they decided to visit him,” Celestia said after a moment, curiosity evident in her voice.

“Truly? They went to the Everfree Forest? And they found where he lives?” Luna asked, her excitement growing with each question.

“It would appear so. One of the separate notes should have a map on it.” Luna shifted through the pile, quickly finding the note in question. On the note was a rough sketch of Ponyville and the Everfree forest, and the approximate path the group had taken to reach Scruffy’s home.

His home is located on the other side of the forest, and not in the forest itself? That is an...odd revelation. Celestia too noted the oddity, and they continued reading.

“Good, they asked Zecora to lend her expertise to navigate the forest safely,” Celestia said with a hint of pride in her voice. “They didn’t encounter any dangers passing through the forest… And it appears Twilight already knew that our friend lived at the edge of the forest, so she knew where to start looking.”

“Oh? I don’t remember her mentioning that in any of her reports. Perhaps she just forgot then,” Luna idly commented.

Celestia continued to read further, but soon a small frown etched on to her face, slowly growing bigger and bigger.

“Sister?” Luna prompted when Celestia had kept silent, but Luna’s call made her lift her eyes from the paper and her face returned to neutral.

“...Things might have just gotten a bit more complicated.”

********************

“That two legged fool! This is unbelievable!” Luna vehemently muttered, glaring at the ground while she paced back and forth.

“...” Celestia kept examining Twilight’s notes, so deep in her thoughts she hardly heard Luna stomp her way next to her.

“How is it possible he had no idea what kind of danger he put himself in?”

“Hmm? Sorry, Luna, what did you say?” Celestia asked, lifting herself from the scroll.

“Hmph!” Luna harrumphed and proceeded to angrily brew herself another cup of tea.

“Remarkable…” Celestia idly commented as she reread the scroll again.

“If by remarkable you mean it is very lucky that Scruffy hasn’t gotten himself killed, then we agree.” That finally got Celestia out of her thoughts.

“Yes... You are, of course, right. It is worrying that our new friend has put himself at such risk, with an Ursa den no less,” Celestia shook her head.

“Thankfully, now that your student has warned him, he’ll know to stay away from that area.”

“Indeed… Luna, what do you make of this, portal?” Celestia asked after a moment. Luna lifted her gaze from the teacup she was stirring and locked eyes with Celestia.

“It seems too unlikely. Another world? Who could have possibly made the portal? And why there?”

“Everfree would be a perfect place to hide something you don’t want anypony to find… But as to who could have made it, I don’t have the faintest clue.” Celestia gazed across the garden, enjoying the gusts of wind and rays of sunlight as she pondered what ramifications this new piece of information would have.

“I suppose the next question is, how long has it been there?” Luna said, sipping her tea.

“Hmm… If I had to hazard a guess, I would say it hasn’t been there for long. It is too out in the open, somepony would have found it, either from our side or his side, if it had been there even for decades. But, since it’s located in the Everfree, it is possible that Scruffy is the first one to remain unscathed after finding it.”

“Let’s hope that is not the case,” Luna dismissed. “While it is true that the gateway is not hidden, it’s certainly not something everypony would simply stumble through. I’m more interested in the reaction it had to Twilight. Perhaps the portal hasn’t been active all the time, and it requires a charge from an unicorn to function?”

“That is also a possibility,” Celestia frowned. “We know too little to make any conclusions. We must investigate this matter further.”

“I agree, but I think it best we not examine the portal ourselves, least we incur another violent reaction from it.”

“I’ll make sure to get a research team together the moment I have free time today. I’m sure there’s many ambitious gentlecolts in the Ministry of Magic that would be eager to examine it. I’m sure Twilight would be equally eager to help them,” Celestia said with a slight smile.

“Then I’ll leave that matter to you,” Luna replied, standing up from her seat.

“Heading to bed, Lulu?” As Celestia asked that, Luna let out a long yawn and stretched her limbs.

“In a moment, there’s one more matter to be taken care of before I head to bed.”

“And what is that?”

“We need to make sure Scruffy doesn’t put himself in needless danger again.”

Chapter 23 - Roommate, Part 1

View Online

Scruffy slowly blinked himself awake. He sleepily stared at the ceiling, which quite clearly was not his bedroom’s. It took his groggy mind a minute to understand that he was staring at his living room’s ceiling and that he was lying on the couch. He had accidentally fallen asleep watching the news, the result of a week’s worth of poorly rested nights. He was feeling much better, thanks to Zecora’s medicine from few days back, but all he needed was a few calm nights to get his energy back.

He sat up, rubbing his eyes. A quick glance at a clock showed that he had been sleeping for little over an hour, and it was almost noon. Not that he was in a hurry to be anywhere, but he had plans to go visit his friends today, and those excursions tended to last longer than he anticipated. Scruffy was almost certain that if he did not go there today, there would be an annoyed pegasus banging on his door soon.

Knock knock knock

Maybe it was too late already, Scruffy thought as he dragged himself to his feet. It was unexpected to get so many visits in such a short time, but by all means it was not unwelcome. He was not sure who it could be this time. It was unlikely for any ponies to visit again so soon, unless it really was Rainbow coming to tell him to stop lazing around and get a move on already. There was one other it could be, but she probably would not come for a few days hence.

As he shuffled to the door, Scruffy tried to shake off the last cobwebs of sleep, and straighten his clothes so that he did not look too scruffy. If it was by some chance his pony friends, he did not need to see Rarity in another fit of rage over attire. He took a few more seconds to try to fix his bed hair, before giving up and opening the door.

“Greetings! You must be mister Scruffy. Sergeant Strawberry Dazzle of the Equestrian Royal Guard, at your service!”

Scruffy stared at the rose red maned pegasus, completely caught off guard by the energetic greeting and the winning smile she was giving him. She had a dusty brown coat and was clad in impressive, shining steel armor, although the overall effect was diminished somewhat by how small she was compared to him. Staring at the waist high pony, ‘delightfully huggable’ is what came to mind rather than ‘stoic defender of people’.

“Uhh...hjello?” Scruffy carefully greeted once he found his voice again.

“By personal wish of Princess of the Night, Lady Luna, I hereby inform you that I have been asked to serve as your escort and guard while on Equestrian grounds,” the pony declared, splaying open her wings and doing a little bow.

“Um...ahha?”

“When the Princesses received the report from Celestia’s pupil, Twilight, they became concerned for your safety travelling through the Everfree forest, as you seem to be unfamiliar with the dangers within it. Lady Luna wasted no time searching for candidates to fulfil this duty.” Strawberry Dazzle folded her wings and took on a more relaxed posture. “I’d certainly wish you’d accept their offer to have a guard around, if for no other reason than to give them some peace of mind. To borrow Lady Luna’s words, ‘If that damn fool gets himself hurt, there’s going to be a reckoning’,” Dazzle chuckled. Scruffy let out a loud, unamused snort.

“I never see tanger in forest.”

“Just because you have been lucky enough to avoid it until now doesn’t mean there isn’t any,” Dazzle huffed and gave him a piercing stare.

“I think poni warry too much, but thiis, um...if make them not worry…”

“It’ll make them worry less, but since worrying is practically the number one item in their job description...” Dazzle shrugged, letting the words hang in the air.

“...I kuess I not mind.”

“Good choice!” Dazzle gave a wide, eager smile. “So...where do I stay?”

********************

After quickly introducing Strawberry Dazzle to the many wonders of his home, Scruffy informed her that he planned to visit Ponyville today, and the two of them soon set off.

“So...you kuard?” Scruffy awkwardly asked after several minutes of walking. Dazzle had absolutely forbid him from going through the forest, instead taking the initiative and leading him around it. Scruffy was confident he could have just walked past her, but not wishing to be rude, he instead allowed her to lead.

“Yes, part of the Royal Guard of Canterlot. I’ve only been posted there for...hmm, nearly ten months, I think?”

“Huh? That look, no um...sjeem little? You not look new,” Scruffy pondered. Scruffy didn’t know much about military, and pony military even less so, but Strawberry Dazzle seemed to carry herself with professional military poise.

“That’s because I’m not a new recruit. I have been assigned to the Royal Guard for only ten months, but I have many years of experience in the Equestrian National Guard.” Since Scruffy did not quite seem to understand what she was talking about, Dazzle quickly clarified. “The National Guard is what all military personnel are part of. Ponies commonly use it to refer to just the individual forces stationed in each town and city, and not the entire military force of Equestria, so that is a bit of a misnomer. The Royal Guard are the forces stationed in Canterlot, and they are called that because, you know, it’s the capital and the royal castle is there and all,” Dazzle shrugged with her wings.

“Ah. So, uh, Royal Kuard is all best kuard since protect Princess?” Dazzle let out a merry laugh.

“I wouldn’t say ‘best’, but you need to have a very good record to land a spot in the Royal Guard. It is a very sought after position, not just anypony can get there. I’ve heard the Guard Academy at Canterlot is absolutely brutal.”

“Good know I have very good kuard then.” Dazzle let out another burst of laughter.

“Those aren’t exactly the words my previous commander would have used, but we’ll roll with it, yeah?” she smiled.

To pass the time during their walk, the two of them talked about Strawberry Dazzle’s life in the guard and how the Princesses were doing back in Canterlot. Scruffy was unsure of the route they were taking, but he trusted Strawberry to know the way. After a much longer walk than he would have liked, they started to getting closer to Ponyville proper. They had gotten a glimpse of Sweet Apple Acres, and Scruffy could almost smell the sweet scent of apples. Except, when he took a deep breath in, he did smell something, and it was anything but sweet. It was a rancid, fetid smell, wafting in from among the trees.

“Horseapples! Quick, get away from the forest!” Dazzle commanded, having caught the scent as well. She took a defensive stance, her eyes immediately alert for anything dangerous lurking further in the woods. They had been walking barely within the tree line, and Dazzle backpedaled her charge in to the clear.

“What wro-” Scruffy tried to ask, but was interrupted by a stern look.

“Come on already! There’s-”

“TIMBERWOLVES!”

They both snapped their heads towards the voice which rang out from the direction of the apple farm. It was unmistakably Twilight’s.

“Twilight! Strawperry, what happen?” Scruffy asked nervously.

“There’s timberwolves around! Hurry, we need to get you to safety!” Dazzle insisted, and when it was apparent that Scruffy was not making any quick getaways, she turned around and tried to push him away from the sounds while keeping vigil for any attacks.

“But...Twilight…” Scruffy objected, only taking a few steps before halting.

“My job is to keep you safe, first and foremost. So would you get a move on already?!” Dazzle pleaded. She didn’t doubt her ability to take on a timberwolf or two, maybe even three if she was alone. But with a frail, old stallion as her charge, taking on the monsters and keeping him safe would be problematic.

“We not let Twilight harm,” Scruffy insisted, digging his heels in and refusing to be pushed. They heard another loud scream ring through the orchard, followed by an echoing howl. The menacing cry made Scruffy’s skin crawl, but he didn’t relent. “W-we help. Must.”

“Stupid, brave old goat,” Dazzle swore under her breath. She glanced towards where the screams had come from, then turned back towards Scruffy. The howl had spooked him, that was much clear, but he seemed to be adamant about wanting to make sure his friends were alright. “Fine. Let’s get a move on then, and for Celestia’s sake, do NOT go near the timberwolves.”

********************

“Spike, duck!” Applejack yelled and bucked the boulder next to her as hard as she could. A lance of pain shot through her legs and she grimaced, but the large boulder slid over and fell down from the top of a pile on to the unsuspecting timberwolves below, who had just about enough time to let out surprised yelps prior to being crushed to bits of firewood. Before Applejack could celebrate or even take a breather, the rock pile she stood on wobbled uncomfortably as she tried to balance herself and promptly collapsed from under her.

“Applejack!” Spike yelled.

If she wasn’t currently screaming for her life, Applejack would have laughed at how unbelievable all of this was. What were the odds that real timberwolves would show up just as they were about to trick Spike with their fake timberwolf, so that he could save her and not be indebted to her anymore? Normally, encountering them twice during the same season was rare, but twice in the same week? Unbelievable.

Once the rumbling of stones finally ceased, Applejack found herself lying on her belly, face in the mud, but mostly okay. Sure, she felt bruised and battered, but nothing serious.

“AJ! Are you okay?” Rainbow asked as she galloped to her. Applejack lifted her head and saw the remains of the timberwolf she had been fighting with.

“Y-yeah...ain’t nothing broken, I think,” she hacked. “What happened to Rarity and Fluttershy?”

“They ran in to the orchards with two timberwolves in tow. But don’t worry, Twilight and Pinkie galloped after them. I’m sure they have already reduced them to two piles of toothpicks,” Rainbow explained, kicking her left hind leg for emphasis.

“Um...girls?” Spike nervously called. “I...I think we might have big problem…”

Applejack and Rainbow both turned to what Spike was gawking at. Their jaws fell open as they watched the remains of the timberwolves slowly start to reanimate and coalesce in to a much bigger one, an alpha.

“Umm...I think it’s time to run,” Rainbow nervously gulped.

“Good call,” Applejack muttered and tried to stand up, but to her horror, her left hind leg was stuck in the rubble. “I...I can’t! I’m stuck!” she gasped.

Spike and Rainbow quickly moved to help her. They attempted to shift the rocks so that Applejack could pull her leg free, but too many were piled on top of her. They didn’t have enough leverage to move them.

“Hngh!” Spike strained as he tried to lift a rock up. The large timberwolf was forming piece by piece, and it would not take long for it to be complete.

“Forget it Spike! You two have to get out of here!” Applejack commanded and was immediately face to face with an angry Rainbow Dash.

“Are you crazy?! I’m not gonna leave you here! I’m going to…” Rainbow turned around, locking gazes with the timberwolf alpha, and gulped nervously. “...I-I’m gonna show this hunk-a-junk not to mess with my friends…”

The alpha timberwolf, now fully constructed, took one unimpressed look at Rainbow’s defiant glare and let out a mighty roar. Nervous but undeterred, Rainbow shot forwards, striking the beast squarely in its wooden muzzle with her forelegs. The timberwolf reeled back, surprised that its prey hadn’t scampered off. It let out several odd huffs, almost like it was sneezing, before focusing its piercing eyes at Rainbow and snapping its jaws at her.

“Woah!” Rainbow exclaimed as she dived away, avoiding the clumsy beast’s attempts to catch her. She weaved and dodged around the creature, striking it whenever she had a chance and flying away whenever the beast swatted at her.

“Yeah! Go Rainbow!” Spike cheered.

“Have some of this!” Rainbow screamed as she made a wide circle away from the timberwolf, before slamming in to the side of its head with full force. This version, however, was much sturdier than its smaller counterparts, and the attack only caused minor cracks to form. The big wolf merely shook its head in annoyance before going after Rainbow again.

With all the training in the academy and the crazy stunts she always practiced, Rainbow managed to stay well out of the lumbering monster’s reach as she flew, delivering punch after punch. The beast roared in frustration as it chased after Rainbow, jumping back and forth in hopes of seizing its prismatic prey. Eventually, once the pest proved to be too elusive to catch, it huffed in anger, and focused on other, more easily available targets.

“Hey! I’m over here, you big, stupid mutt!” Rainbow taunted, delivering another strike in the back of the wolf’s head, but it only made a single snap at Rainbow before losing interest. The alpha wolf hungrily stared down at Applejack, who was still stuck in place. Sap drooled from its mouth as it deemed her to be good first pick.

“Applejack!” Spike exclaimed and hopped in front of the mare as the timberwolf stalked towards them.

“Spike, RUN!” Applejack commanded the dragon.

The wolf snarled, reared its head back, and grinned viciously, ready to jump on to the hapless mare, before another streak of red and gray interrupted it by slammed in to its jaw, shattering one of the fangs completely. The shock and force of impact was so much as to cause the wolf to fall on to its back as it scrambled away.

“What the... Who is that?” Rainbow asked no one in particular as the newcomer stopped and surveyed the immediate situation. She only got a moment’s reprieve, as the now enraged timberwolf sprung back up to its legs and snarled menacingly. The pegasus in guard armor quickly glanced at Applejack and Spike, before focusing on the monster again.

The wolf swung one of its claws at the guardsmare, but she dodged out of the way easily with quick dive down. Her wings beat furiously as she went under the beast’s belly and flew behind it, before rocketing forward with full force and delivering a powerful strike to the back of the monster’s neck.

“Grr,” the mare snarled, flexing her legs as she flew to safe distance. The armored boots she was wearing absorbed some of the blow, but that did not change the fact that she had flown straight in to a creature made of solid logs hooves first. Even Applejack would feel that if she applied so much force while apple bucking. As the mare avoided another angry attempt to squish her like a mosquito, she finally noticed Rainbow.

“You. Sergeant Strawberry Dazzle of the Royal Guard. Get your friends and clear the area!” she barked orders as she flew next to Rainbow.

“What? No!” Rainbow objected and got a withering glare in return. “Erm, I m-mean, Applejack’s hoof is stuck in the rocks. She can’t get away!” Rainbow hastily added.

“Perfect. Just perfect,” she murmured. She dived back down, with Rainbow quickly catching up to her to fly in unison to distract the timberwolf.

“We have to take it down,” Rainbow said resolutely as they dodged another paw.

“‘We’? You should get to safety and let me handle this.”

“No! I can fight, and there’s no way I’m leaving my pal right in the middle of danger.”

“...What qualifications do you have?” Dazzle asked after a moment of consideration. The situation was already dire enough, some help might prove to be necessary, and she didn’t have the time to argue with an obstinate pegasus anyway.

“Wonderbolts Academy boot camp, and I’m the Element of Loyalty.”

“The Element of-...Fine. With me then! You are my wingpony!” Dazzle yelled, and they both dived down as the timberwolf tried to snatch them with its jaw. The two pegasi circled around it, and with Dazzle in the lead, they struk one of its knees from behind, causing the beast to topple over as the leg gave from under it.

“It’s just too heavy, Applejack. We’d need a stick or something,” Spike said. While the two pegasi battled the timberwolf, he was trying to help Applejack get her hind leg free, but no matter how much he huffed and strained, the rocks just would not budge.

“Hnrgh!” Applejack growled as she attempted to pull her leg out. “Ain’t any sticks around. That big lumbering beast took ‘em all,” she said, glaring at the timberwolf. “Consarnit all.”

“AJ, Spike!” Scruffy panted, jogging in to view from behind the rock pile

“Scruffy! What in the blazes are you doing here?” Applejack asked.

“I-I come visit, with kuard. You okay?” he asked worriedly, leaning to examine her leg.

“I’m fine, just stuck,” she explained. She quickly noticed how his hands were shaking, and how he flinched when the timberwolf growled. “Scruffy, you should get out of here. That timberwolf is no joke.”

“W-what? AJ, we have get you free,” Scruffy countered.

Before Applejack could reply, the timberwolf stomped one of its legs next to them as it tried to turn around to get to Rainbow and Dazzle. The tremor caused Scruffy to fall over, his mouth hanging open in shock as he craned his head to look at the timberwolf. Thankfully it soon stepped away as it chased the pegasi, allowing Applejack and Spike let out the breath they each had been holding.

“Are you okay?” Spike asked Scruffy, patting his shoulder in a calming gesture while nervously biting his other claw.

“Spike, you should take Scruffy out of here,” Applejack demanded more calmly this time.

“But what about you?” Spike argued.

“Nevermind me! I’m stuck here, no matter if you’re gawking at me or not, but you need to take Scruffy to safety!”

Spike turned towards Scruffy, who was still focused on the fight. The elder stallion was shaking and sweating, and it was clear to Spike that he was terrified of the timberwolf. Considering what they learned a few days back, this must have been the first time he had come face to face with the Everfree Forest’s dangerous inhabitants.

“It’s gonna be okay Scruffy. Rainbow and that guard mare will defeat the timberwolf, just you see!” Spike encouraged, giving another pat to his shoulder. As Scruffy turned his gaze from the wolf to him, Spike noticed that Scruffy looked much paler than normal. He was not sure if that was because he was afraid or not, but it could not be for any good reason. Scruffy stared at him for several seconds, unblinking and unmoving. Finally something seemed to click as he placed one of his hands on Spike’s chest.

“Fire,” he said.

“Huh?”

“Spike, fire!” Scruffy repeated, more insistent. He seemed to have shaken most of his fear off, although his trembling had not stopped. “It made of tree. Yjou set fire it!”

“M-m-me? B-but I can’t breathe that much fire! And I’d need to get really close!” Spike stammered in terror.

“Fire is a good repellent for timberwolves, since they are made of bits of dead wood, leaves, and moss. If we could somehow get just a bit of fire on it, it would burn down to a crisp lickety-split,” Applejack explained, but then looked at Spike. “But you’re right, you’d have to get near it first, and the way it’s rampaging, it’s too dangerous.”

Scruffy turned towards the monster again, examining it with wary eyes. The two pegasi’s pestering seemed to be too much for the timberwolf to ignore, since it was completely overlooking the three of them. It madly swung around, trying to hit the bothersome ponies out of the sky with its paws or catch them in its maw. For now, they were keeping ahead of it, but with one unlucky hit from the monster, it would be all over.

There has to be something, Scruffy thought to himself, searching around for something, anything, they could use. But there were only rocks. Nothing that they could set fire to and throw at the monster. The few small sticks that were left on the ground were too tiny and light. They would not reach. He took a napkin from his pocket, wiping the sweat from his brow, trying to think. Then the idea hit him. He did have something on him they could use.

“Spike...I have idea.”

********************

While Scruffy was carrying out his plan, Rainbow and Dazzle were having a hard time with the timberwolf. That damn thing is just too tough, Rainbow silently cursed. Their hooves just did not have enough power to cause any major damage to its armor-like bark, no matter how many hits they got in. If they tried to go any faster or harder, they would risk breaking their own bones in the process. Rainbow could already feel a dull ache in her hooves, although there was no chance she was going to let that slow her down. At least they could keep the beast’s attention away from the others for now.

“Ready for another pass?” the guardsmare yelled.

“Ready!” Rainbow replied, and they went for another dive.

The beast snarled and snapped its mouth to catch them, but they dodged at just the last second, one dodging to the left and other to the right. They made a tight circle, before they crashed in to both sides of the wolf’s head. It howled in pain and anger, swiping at the duo, but they once again retreated before it even had a chance to fight back.

“Horseapples! This is going nowhere. We’ll tire out before we can make a good enough dent in that thick bark,” Dazzle swore as they caught up to each other again.

“We don’t have any other choice! If we let up, then that log face is going to go right after Applejack again!”

“We don’t have to take it down, all we need to do is keep it busy long enough to get you all out of here! Go help your friend, I’ll keep it dis-”

“What the...is that Scruffy?!” Rainbow asked, cutting Dazzle short.

“WHAT?” Dazzle screeched, losing focus momentarily and almost failing to dodge away quickly enough when the wolf made another attack.

“...What the heck is he doing?”

Scruffy was kneeling besides Spike, and for some reason, he had taken off his pants. He was holding them in his hands, and it looked like he and Spike and Applejack were examining them carefully as he did something to them.

“What in tartarus is that stallion doing here?! I ordered him to stay at a safe distance!” Dazzle bristled. They saw Scruffy fumble with the pants for a moment, before Spike took a deep breath and set them on fire.

“Fire! That’s it! We can set the timberwolf on fire!” Rainbow exclaimed once she saw the pants alight.

“Wait. How is he going to…” Dazzle began, but stopped when it became apparent that Scruffy was going to do exactly what she did not want him to do. Scruffy stood up with his flaming weapon in hand, tied and weighted with the belt from his pants and possibly some rocks inside the folds. He eyed the beast warily, and began to jog towards it. His steps seemed unsure, but he pressed on as Rainbow and Dazzle made another pass, trying to keep the timberwolf’s attention on themselves. But despite their best efforts, the beast eventually either saw Scruffy or smelled the fire and turned towards him.

At that moment, Scruffy spun the leggings two times around his head, before tossing them as hard as he could. Rainbow realised he was using them like a bola, like Ahuizot’s minions in the Daring Do books. The beast, seeing the fire, immediately scampered backwards, but Rainbow could tell the flaming garments would not reach it.

“Keep it busy!” Rainbow yelled to Dazzle and sped up towards the most unlikely weapon she had ever witnessed.

Dazzle, spotting her opportunity, flew down, striking at the creature’s joints again, unbalancing it so that it would not get away in time. Rainbow caught the fiery trousers mid flight and headed towards the timberwolf. The wolf had regained its footing, but thanks to Strawberry it was already too late. Spotting the flaming payload she was carrying, it made one last, desperate attempt to bat Rainbow away, but she weaved past the attack and stuck the ablaze pants between the sticks of the giant beast’s leg.

The timberwolf immediately panicked, swinging its limb to try to dislodge the fire, but it was stuck firmly. The dead leaves easily caught fire, rapidly spreading the beast’s demise along its limb. The timberwolf yelped in pain, bouncing up and down in futile attempt to escape the flames. In its rampage, one of its legs managed to clip Dazzle in the head, stunning her. Rainbow dived after her, catching her before she hit the ground but not managing to slow down enough to entirely avoid a crash. The timberwolf cried in terror and ran as fast as its paws could carry it in to the depths of Everfree forest.

“We...we did it. We did it!” Spike cheered once the wolf completely disappeared from view. Scruffy let out a breath he had been holding, sitting down then lying on the ground as his wobbly legs could carry him no longer.

“Whoowee,” Applejack exhaled. “Hopefully that shows those darn timberwolves to never come back again!” Almost as soon as she had managed to say that, they heard somepony calling them.

“Applejack! Spike! Are you alright?” The two in question turned towards the voice. Twilight galloped towards them with Pinkie, Fluttershy, and a very sour looking Rarity in tow.

“Twilight! You’re okay!” Spike happily responded, running to meet Twilight and giving her a hug.

“I’m sorry we’re late, but Rarity and Fluttershy managed to run pretty far before we caught up to them and fought off the timberwolves, but everypony’s fine.”

“I’m not fine, Twilight!” Rarity bemoaned and turned sideways to show her tail, which seemed to be missing a bit and was drooping with sap. “That ghastly beast chomped on my beautiful tail, and now it’s ruhuhuhuined!” she wailed. All the other ponies rolled their eyes.

Twilight took a moment to survey the area. They had heard the howls and echoing bucks on wood coming from here, but it seemed Applejack and Rainbow had defeated whatever it was that had made those noises, as there was no sign of timberwolves.

“Is that Scruffy? Is he okay?!” Fluttershy gasped once she noticed the prone figure. She galloped to his side and promptly began to fuss over him.

“Twilight, Pinkie, could you help me out here?” Applejack asked when nopony was coming towards her.

“Applejack! Why are you standing in the middle of all these rocks? Have you decided to change from an apple farmer to a rock farmer?” Pinkie asked with a giggle as she bounced to her friend and began lifting the rocks.

“Not quite,” Applejack quipped, stretching as much as she could. With her leg numb having been trapped under a heavy rock all this time, she had to limp over to the rest of the group.

“Scruffy, how did you get here?” Twilight asked as the old stallion was trying his best to assure Fluttershy he was fine.

“I uh, come visit,” he replied with a tired voice. He looked exhausted, his hair was a mess and he was covered in sweat, but he appeared to be mostly okay.

“Oh...uh, well, sorry it wasn’t the best time for a visit,” Twilight apologized with an awkward smile.

“Hey, where’s Rainbow Dash?” Pinkie asked, trying to spot the flier in the sky. “Is she napping somewhere?”

“Huh? Oh no,” Applejack exclaimed worriedly. “I saw her go after the guard when the timberwolf knocked her out. I thought she caught her, but… We have to go make sure they’re okay.”

“The guard?” Rarity asked as Applejack began to lead them towards where she had seen them fall. Spike and Fluttershy stayed with Scruffy, who was feeling too weak to get up right away.

“I think she’s with Scruffy. Her name was...Strawbale something. I couldn’t quite hear,” Applejack elaborated.

“Raaainbooow! Where aaare youuu?” Pinkie yelled as they searched.

********************

“Urgh,” Rainbow moaned as she came to, her head pounding painfully. She was lying on top of the guardsmare in a bush. Rainbow had not had the time to correct her course when she caught Dazzle, and the extra weight from the guard’s armor turned it from freefall to a crash landing. By far not the worst Rainbow had ever had, but when they hit the bush, she had unfortunately bonked her head on the guard’s barding. Strawberry groaned as she too started to wake up, one of her hooves reaching up and fiddling with the straps to get her helmet off.

“Raaainbooow! Where aaare youuu?”

“Hey, you okay?” Rainbow asked as she attempted to shake the dizziness off.

“Hrmh...could be better,” Dazzle croaked and coughed. “Could be dead too, so I shouldn’t complain too much,” she continued, finally getting her helmet off.

“Heh, no worries! There was no chance you would have reached the ground with me around,” Rainbow boasted and tried to strike as good of a pose as she could over the mare. Dazzle blinked, focusing her eyes on Rainbow and smiling charmingly.

“It’s good to know that there was somepony strong and handsome like you to take care of me, then,” Dazzle sweet talked, her voice slow as she fluttered her eyelashes.

“Err...thanks?” Rainbow said back unsure.

“Mmh… It certainly shows that you’ve had some Wonderbolts training. Well toned body and pristine wings…” Dazzle practically purred as she brushed an errant strand of Rainbow’s mane to the side. Rainbow blushed at the sudden tone the conversation had taken.

“Erm...this is getting a bit-”

“So, wanna go ****?” Dazzle eagerly asked, giving a wide grin. Rainbow couldn’t have bolted backwards any faster, her wings snapping fully open as she scrambled to stand up and take a step back.

“WH-WH-WH-WHAT?” she yelled, her face turning beet red.

“You know what I’m talking about. Go have some fun? Have a romp in the hay? Go r-”

“I KNOW WHAT YOU SAID!” Rainbow shot back, her voice a mixture of anger and embarrassment. “WHAT KIND OF... That’s not... You can’t just ask THAT!”

“Why not?” Dazzle pouted. “We seemed to be doing well up there, and I just thought that if we had good synergy in the sky, maybe we would have even better synergy...in bed,” she said, waggling her eyebrows and making rude gestures with her hooves while Rainbow wished she could bury herself under the rocks to escape this conversation. “Besides, you’re hot. We should totally get to know each other, pretty colt.”

“PRETTY CO- I’M A MARE YOU FEATHERBRAIN!” Rainbow screamed, flapping her wings angrily.

This caused Dazzle’s expression shift to surprise, as she stared Rainbow in the eyes. Her gaze lowered for a moment, before climbing back up to meet Rainbow’s.

“Oh.”

“OH?!”

“Huh. I thought you were one of those pretty, feminine stallions. You know, with your raspy voice and all.” Strawberry casually explained, like she had simply mistaken the day of the week. “And here I thought I had finally gotten lucky…” When Rainbow did not seem to be placated by her words, she continued. “Uh, my bad,” she said, followed by an awkward chuckle.

Rainbow was at a utter loss for words. She could not think of any words to convey exactly how much she wanted to punch the cheeky mare right in her muzzle, which was just as well because it was at that moment she noticed the rest of her friends, watching from the sidelines. Fluttershy and Rarity both had blushes on their faces, while Pinkie’s cheeks were bulging as she held back her laughter as long as she could. Twilight’s and Applejack’s expressions both seemed to say, “I’m too tired to deal with this.” Applejack gave one look at the two before burying her face in her hoof.

“So...erm…” Strawberry coughed to clear her throat as she got up from the ground and turned towards the newly arrived mares. “Sergeant Strawberry Dazzle of the Equestrian Royal Guard... Nice to meet you!”

Author's Notes:

Oh my, well that took an interesting turn didn't it?

As you might have noticed, this scene went a bit differently than in the show. When I watched that episode, I thought to myself "what in the rooting tooting tarnation was THAT!" I mean come on, Applejack gets trapped by a pebble! They have lifted heavier things with one hoof than that small rock. And the end. A big, mean timberwolf is about to attack AJ and Spike, but not to worry, because Spike has another pebble! AND THE TIMBERWOLF CHOKES ON IT!!!! THAT'S HOW THEY DEFEAT IT!

Well anyway, hopefully you have a pleasant week everypony.

Oh, but before you go! Would you like to commission me for a short story? Because I'm planning on doing some commissions soon. I'll make a proper blog post about it all once I know what I'm doing, so make sure to keep an eye out for that if you are interested.

Chapter 24 - Roommate, Part 2

View Online

It was with great relief that the group finally left Ponyville General Hospital. Both Rainbow and Strawberry Dazzle had checked up mostly fine after their little crash, although they both had a minor concussion. Of course, a strict order from nurse Redheart to stay on the ground for the rest of the day had Rainbow groaning and grinding her teeth the moment those cursed words were uttered, but there was not much she could do when Applejack threatened to tie her up and carry her for the rest of the day if she so much as thought about flying.

“Hmph,” Rainbow snorted angrily as they marched out.

“Now now, Rainbow. It’s not so bad to take a day off from daring tricks every once in a while,” Rarity offered in an attempt to calm her fuming friend.

“Yeah! Especially since you already daringly defeated that giant meanypants wolf! No wait, the pants were Scruffy’s…AND they were on fire… Does that mean he’s the meanypants? Hmm…” Pinkie silently pondered to herself as the others gave her odd looks.

“How about we all celebrate our little victory with some ice cream?” Rarity suggested. “My treat.”

“Oh oh oh yes!” Pinkie immediately waved her hoof in the air. “With cream, and chocolate, and sprinkles!” she listed with a dreamy smile.

“And maybe some gems for me?” Spike hoped.

“All that fighting done left me mighty parched,” Applejack agreed.

“How about you two, Strawberry, Scruffy?” Twilight asked, turning towards the two. Scruffy seemed to snap back to reality with a jolt from the purple pony’s question, earning a wince from her.

The encounter with the timberwolf seemed to have rattled Scruffy, despite his assurances of the contrary. This was the third time he had been staring off in to space, and Twilight had noticed him rubbing his hands absentmindedly while they were in the hospital. Twilight had wanted to ask a nurse to give him a once over, but he had declined, saying that he only needed some time to calm down.

“Certainly we’ll have ice cream. The whole reason we are here is because Scruffy wanted to see you, and what better way to hang out?” Strawberry Dazzle quickly replied, extending her wing to give a friendly pat to Scruffy. However, realizing that the height difference put her on the level with Scruffy’s waist, she had to stop herself and awkwardly reach with her wing to give him a pat on the back instead of his rump.

Scruffy looked down to the pony, who was now also giving him an encouraging smile, then back to Twilight. A small smile curled his lips and he nodded.

“Then it’s settled! Onwards to Sugarcube Corner!” Pinkie declared, grabbing Rarity and sprinting towards Ponyville as fast as the two tangled ponies could go.

********************

A short trot later, the group found themselves around a table in a nook of the busy Sugarcube Corner. Most tables were occupied with ponies, and it had been lucky that they found one empty and sizeable enough to serve their group. Rarity and Pinkie sat down, having finally managed to get all of their orders in.

“So, miss Dazzle,” Rarity began while they waited for their ice creams to arrive. “May I ask, how is it that you find yourself in Ponyville today?” Dazzle suddenly found several eager sets of eyes looking right at her along with one grumpy magenta pair.

“Oh, sure. As I said earlier, I’m part of the Royal Guard, and I’m here on a mission to serve as an escort for our visitor here while he travels on Equestrian lands,” she explained matter-of-factly, motioning to Scruffy with her wing.

“What, really?” Rainbow exclaimed in surprise.

“Jes,” Scruffy confirmed.

“But… It’s only been a day since I sent that letter,” Twilight commented curiously.

“What letter?” Applejack asked.

“I sent a letter to the Princesses after we visited Scruffy the other day.”

“Indeed, and after reading it, it was Princess Luna’s wish to assign a Royal Guard to offer protection for Scruffy post haste,” Dazzle continued. Scruffy seemed to grumble to himself at that remark.

“So, what, you are just gonna follow him around?” Rainbow snorted.

“That is what escorting means,” Strawberry flatly replied. “I’m sure that everypony’s minds will be a little more at ease if there’s somepony with Scruffy whenever he has to travel here from his home.” There was a chorus of silent agreements and nods, even from Rainbow.

“I…yeah,” Scruffy mumbled to himself.

“…So, uh, how are you gonna do that then?” Applejack asked, and the guardsmare raised one eyebrow. “What I mean is, how’ll you know when ‘n’ if Scruffy needs to go somewhere?”

“Simple, I’ll stay somewhere close by so that I’ll be available whenever my services are required,” Dazzle shrugged.

“But Scruffy lives a nearly one and a half hour walk away from Ponyville… Isn’t that a rather long distance to travel to him each day?” Rarity questioned.

“It is, but certainly nothing I haven’t done before. However, I took the opportunity to ask my charge if he wouldn’t mind providing my lodging so that it’s easier for me to be available whenever he needs my services,” Dazzle absentmindedly shrugged. “He didn’t seem to mind.” Dazzle turned to Scruffy with a smile and gently bumped him with a hoof. Scruffy let out a soft grunt.

“You’ll be living with him?” Rarity asked in surprise.

“What!?” Twilight jumped in her seat, having to brace herself with her hooves so that she didn’t fall off. The other members of their group also eyed the guardsmare with eyebrows raised.

“I suppose so?” Dazzle shrugged again.

“But…that’s…” Twilight began, but stopped and blushed slightly.

“What? If Scruffy doesn’t mind this arrangement, then there should be no problems with it.”

“No, it’s just…you get to be surrounded by all of his amazing contraptions and discover what applications they have and who knows what else,” Twilight quietly mumbled to herself in embarrassment. A few of the ponies and Spike smirked, and the draconic assistant gave a sympathetic pat on Twilight’s withers. “But hold on a minute,” Twilight continued after collecting herself. “The Princesses wouldn’t have relied on Scruffy lending you a room to stay in. My brother was the Captain of the Royal Guard, so I know enough about how they operate. The proper procedure would have been to give you a field kit and-”

“Yes yes, I left all that stuff at the Ponyville guard post,” Dazzle interjected. “Look, the Everfree forest isn’t exactly prime real estate for prolonged camping trips. I’m not keen on spending any more time in that forest than necessary. Nopony is,” the sergeant argued. “And if you were worried that I would impose myself upon his pantry, I have rations provided to me, which I can refill whenever we are in Ponyville. However, if Scruffy just so happens to sometimes accidentally cook too much food for himself, and takes pity on me and my poor field rations, that would just be a happy bonus,” Dazzle finished with a smile.

“Is it really okay?” Fluttershy asked, looking between Scruffy and Dazzle.

“It fine,” Scruffy nodded with a tiny amused smirk at Dazzle’s roundabout request and the trembling lip Dazzle was giving him. “Have ekstra bed, not use anyway.”

“Attaboy!” Strawberry cheered.

“Are you sure you are up to this?” Rainbow questioned. “Aren’t Royal Guards supposed to be tough as nails and super professional? You sound like you just want to make your job as cushy as possible.” Dazzle gave an unimpressed snort and leveled a stare at Rainbow.

“If I didn’t have the necessary expertise for this job, Lady Luna wouldn’t have chosen me. Out of all the candidates that were gathered, I had the most training in wilderness survival. I have more than most, in fact, even amongst the veteran officers, especially when the Everfree is a concern. So do not take my reluctance to be there as a sign of incompetence,” Strawberry finished with a huff.

“So, how did a lovely mare such as yourself end up joining the Royal Guard then?” Rarity swiftly cut in, diffusing the tension before Rainbow could shoot out another remark.

“Huh? Oh, um,” Dazzle bashfully muttered at the compliment. “I-I was never for the quiet farm life in my hometown. Even if my cutie mark is related to it,” the mare chuckled, getting up and turning sideways. Adorning the croupiere of her barding was a bright red, sparkling strawberry. “I still like to practice horticulture as a way to calm down and relax. I have my own garden that I take care of. But, I have always been a mare of action, and joining the Equestrian National Guard seemed like an obvious choice when I was old enough.”

“Hmm…” Scruffy hummed, staring at the symbol.

“What is it, Scruffy?” Twilight prompted.

“Oh. Ah, you tell, um, mark poni have is what they guut at, tell, um, de-estini?”

“And you are wondering why Strawberry Dazzle is a guard and not a farmer?”

When Scruffy nodded, Twilight continued.

“What a cutie mark represents is a pony’s innate talent for a specific task, such as Applejack’s talent for apple farming, my aptitude with magic, and Pinkie Pie’s excellent sense for parties and making ponies smile. All ponies have magic, no matter which tribe they belong to, and each pony’s magic is unique. What follows is that different ponies have natural aptitudes for certain tasks based on their particular magic. The reason why ‘destiny’ is often used in conjunction with cutie marks, even though there hasn’t been any observable outside force that affects cutie marks in such a way as to warrant the use of that word, is because performing actions that one’s magic is suited for helps one’s thaumic energies attune with the rest of their body. When one’s magic is in harmony with the rest of themselves, a pony feels a sense of accomplishment and fulfilment, like having completed a task that was meant just for them, thus, the feeling of fulfilling your ‘destiny’, which is of course simply your body reacting by releasing endorphins and other hormones,” Twilight explained, seemingly unaware of the glazed over eyes of her friends. Spike coughed in to his claw a few times to draw Twilight out of her lecture mode. “B-but uh, ehehe, to answer your question, a cutie mark doesn’t mean that a pony can only be good at that one thing, nor does it mean that they never want to do anything else.”

“Uh…huh,” the rest of the group unanimously murmured.

“So…yeeeah,” Dazzle awkwardly continued, shaking her head. “Adventure seeking was my reason for joining the guard. Not that every moment of guard life is filled with excitement,” she snorted. “Plenty of standing around with a frown on your face, trying to look important when you are guarding a bush.” There were a few giggles when Dazzle made a very grumpy and stoic face. “Luckily all the eyecandy makes it worthwhile.”

“Uh, the what now?” Applejack raised an eyebrow.

“Oh come now, as if you hadn’t ever noticed that the Royal Guard just happens to be full of big, strong, hunky stallions?” Dazzle asked with what could only be described as a lecherous smile. “Or pretty mares, if that’s your preference,” she added with a shrug. “Imagine doing training outside, their sweaty pelts glistening in the morning sun, their strong, muscular bodies swaying in the cool breeze as you do rep after rep, helping each other stretch, pressing yourselves together...” Dazzle’s expression turned more dreamy as she looked off in to the distance, lost in her daydream.

“Uhhuh,” Applejack deadpanned, while Rainbow, Rarity, and Fluttershy tried their best not to blush, eagerly hiding behind their bowls of ice cream when Mrs. Cake finally brought them their order.

Ponies really seem to like ice cream, Scruffy thought as he glanced between the three oddly excited ponies and the still daydreaming guard, pondering what big and strong stallions had to do with it.

********************

“Is something wrong, darling?” Rarity asked, aiming the question at their two legged friend.

After the ice creams were finished, the group had split up. Pinkie had stayed to help with the busy cafe, while Applejack had returned to the farm with Rainbow in tow, the rainbow maned mare probably hoping to catch some sleep and perhaps a free dinner. The rest were on their way towards Twilight’s library, where she and Scruffy where hoping to do some tests on the latter’s magic.

“Uhm…” Scruffy mumbled, somewhat awkwardly shuffling forward. He looked down at his bare legs, an uncomfortable expression on his face. “It feel odd, um, valk here with not pants,” he admitted.

“But you do have pants, although these are clearly less appealing than your other pair,” Rarity noted. Incredibly enough, Scruffy had worn another pair of smaller, muted gray pants under the ones that had to have been sacrificed to chase away the timberwolf. When they were at the hospital Twilight asked Rarity why he would need two pairs, but the fashionista could only shrug.

“You aren’t cold are you?” Fluttershy asked, placing her wing against his exposed thigh, Dazzle moving to do the same on the other side.

“Tickles,” Scruffy snorted, moving Fluttershy’s wing aside. “Ah, my kind like we-ear clothes, it uh, embarrass to not wear. More with pants.”

“Oh,” Twilight muttered, before the implications of what he had just said clicked in to place in her head. “You mean that...your species doesn’t wear clothes just for warmth, but for social reasons too?”

Scruffy only grunted in response, since he was focused on shooing Strawberry away so that she would stop tickling his leg, much to the merriment of the guard pony.

Twilight glanced at Rarity and Fluttershy, and it was apparent that they had also remembered the first time Scruffy had come to Ponyville, as each of them had a tinge of blush on their muzzles.

“Oh my. Dear, I’m so sorry if we have ever done something to offend you regarding your clothes. We didn’t realize clothing was so integral to your culture,” Rarity apologized, her ears drooping. Scruffy only offered them a reassuring smile, since some of what Rarity said went over his head.

Twilight could only chide herself for not asking about his clothes sooner. It was one of the many questions on her list she had made during the weeks Scruffy had spent studying their language. She had pushed it aside in favor of other things, however, since it was also apparent that Scruffy would need clothes to keep warm during the winter months, something she and Fluttershy had concluded together.

“Couldn’t we get him some new pants then? You’re a tailor, right?” Dazzle offered to Rarity.

“Oh, but certainly. I will need some measurements and time, but I’ll make sure to replace the pair you lost,” she said to Scruffy, excitement at being able to create something completely new bubbling inside her. “And Strawberry, darling, I’m a fashionista, not a mere ‘tailor’,” Rarity harrumphed good naturedly.

“I don’t get it, what’s wrong with not wearing pants?” Spike asked.

“Not wrang, ah, but make unkomfartable with others and not wear,” Scruffy tried his best to explain.

“Does it make you uncomfortable that we don’t have any clothes?” Twilight asked, suddenly feeling a bit self conscious. Scruffy scoffed.

“Twilight, I old. Have seen other not with pants. I not bother.” The finality in Scruffy’s voice made it clear that the ponies did not need to be worried about it.

The rest of the way to Twilight’s library was spent with Rarity inquiring what kind of pants Scruffy would like. Once they were inside, the dressmaker borrowed Twilight’s measuring tape to take all the measurements she needed, and then left for her boutique so that she might deliver the much needed pair of pants to Scruffy as soon as possible.

“I hate to have to ask this, but my head is feeling a bit fuzzy,” Dazzle lamented, rubbing her ears and temples. “Could I go have a lie down somewhere?” Her gaze was directed as much to Scruffy as it was to Twilight.

“Of course you can. I have a spare bedroom which you can use.” Twilight looked to Scruffy to see that he did not mind, and once he nodded, she lead Strawberry to the guest room.

“So… What do?” Scruffy asked as he, Twilight, and Fluttershy sat down around a table. Spike stayed nearby, but he was immersed in a comic book and only half paid attention.

“Well, first, I would like to ask a little bit more about what your kind knows of magic. As you have said before, your kind doesn’t believe in magic, although it seems that you simply didn’t have any idea it existed, but the way you talk about it makes it sound like you have some expectations as to what you think it should be. Could you elaborate?” Twilight asked with a big grin, summoning a dozen rolls of parchment, ink, and a quill with her magic from the tables around the library. Then she had to repeat her question slowly enough that Scruffy had time to parse what she had said.

“Yes, um, my kind have meny tale of magic. Wiiizarts use magic for make rain and, uh, fire and many o-other thing. Things.” Scruffy worked his jaw, trying to get the words right.

“Hmm…” Twilight pondered, scribing everything down. “Is the way we ponies use magic, mm, expected? Or are the spells you have seen completely foreign conce-, uh, ideas to you?”

“No. How you lift thing up, that oftten, uh, often...a zpell in story with magik.”

“Okay, levitation. Any others?”

“Um...this!” Scruffy triumphantly exclaimed after a moment of thought, pointing at the amulet around his neck. “Magic put in thing. Vitzards have magic staff or ball glass to see far.”

“Enchanted items. Not very common, but certainly something any magic capable civilization would think about at some point.”

“Not alwayz magic, but hear of people who, who sit and sleep but not sleep, and can see other b-place and move but body not move. Some story it magic, but some not, teep think...ing.”

“Like Princess Luna’s dream walking?” Twilight thought as she twirled the quill against her chin. “It is interesting that despite your lack of magic, your kind’s ideas for magic thus far have clear parallels with pony magic.”

“Hmm. It accident?” Scruffy pondered.

“Seems a bit unlikely if you guys haven’t ever had any magic,” Spike voiced his opinion from behind them.

“I agree, but it’s not something we can definitively conclude,” Twilight said, furiously writing on her first parchment until it was completely full, then switching to a fresh one. “How about the method for casting spells? How would one of your kind perform a spell in a story?”

“Mm, magic vord. Word. Zpell come from finger.” Scruffy wiggled his fingers for emphasis. “Sometime need also move hand, but magic word very common.”

“Like Zebrican chanting. Zebrican spellcasting often involves the use of a verbal and a somatic component, but in some cases only one is needed,” Twilight explained.

“What’s somatic mean?” Spike asked, but went unheeded.

“Do you mean, like Zecora’s rhymes?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yes, although I don’t think Zecora can use that kind of magic. Her skills are in potion making, and while I believe some of the rhymes she uses may be spells, I assume they are at most simple incantations to, for example, heat water.” Twilight told them, but finished with a unsure shrug.

“Magic b-b-potion is too in story,” Scruffy added, which Twilight acknowledged with a nod.

“Hmm, I wonder if the fingers are a magical focus point for your species, like horns are for unicorns,” Twilight mused. “It would be a rather odd evolutionary path to have your focus point be in a limb that you use for everything else as well.” Twilight leaned closer, taking Scruffy’s left hand in her hooves and experimentally prodded it. “I mean, if you held something in your hand, wouldn’t that make it impossible or at least severely hinder your ability to cast spells? Not to mention that if you were to hurt your arm, you would both lose the ability to hold objects and cast spells. And furthermore…” Twilight continued to mutter to herself, examining and moving Scruffy’s fingers, her quill ceaselessly continuing to write the words that were too soft for the other two to hear.

Scruffy and Fluttershy looked at each other and each took a deep breath. They let their eyes wander around the library, trying to find something to amuse themselves with while Twilight did her thing. It did not take long for the second scroll to be filled with words, and as the last word was finished, Twilight froze. She slowly lifted her head to look at Fluttershy and Scruffy with an apologetic grin.

“Ehehe, I might have gotten a bit excited there. Sorry,” she murmured and placed the scroll with the first one. Fluttershy giggled behind her hoof.

“How pony use magic?” Scruffy asked as Twilight retrieved her third scroll. The unicorn in question opened her mouth to start off on another tirade of articulate discourse, but Spike intervened.

“What you mean is how unicorns use magic, right?” Spike clarified as he lowered his comic book. Twilight clicked her mouth shut, much to Spike’s satisfaction. Heh, nipped that one in the bud, he thought as he returned to his comic.

“Yes. J-junicorn,” Scruffy nodded.

“Oh. Ehem… This is going to be a technical explanation, but I’ll do my best to go for the easy version,” Twilight said, powered her horn, and a blackboard levitated in to the room soon after from the basement of the library. She straightened her back and took hold of a piece of chalk. “The process for a unicorn to cast a spell is comprised of three stages. The first part for spell casting is to gather the power necessary. All living creatures that have magic, including you, have something we call a thaumic pool.” Twilight drew a large and simple stick pony on to the blackboard. She tapped the pony’s middle section and drew a horizontal line across the pony and a half circle under it.

“This is the natural reservoir of thaumic energy, magic energy, that a living body generates. Or absorbs from its surroundings, I suppose. See there are some creatures that don’t have the ability to create their own thaumic energy, but instead they-... Erm, nevermind. What you need to know is that a living body generates this magic energy, and that energy gathers in one place.” Twilight colored the half circle to indicate that it was full, and then drew arrows from it to the horn.

“Unicorns have a natural focus point,” Twilight tapped her horn, “which allows us to very easily gather magical energy to one point and hold it there. The other pony races lack a natural focus point, making it harder to gather large amounts of tha- magical energy to any specific point. That is why pegasus and earth pony magic manifests mostly in physical qualities, as the magic radiates throughout their bodies when they call upon it. It is easy for them to use magic to boost their resilience and speed, for example.” Twilight drew two more stick ponies, one pegasus and one earth pony, with arrows going to their wings and hooves respectively.

“The next part of a spell is visualization.” When Scruffy shrugged, Twilight let out a small, slightly annoyed sigh. “Imagination? Having an image of something in your mind?” She tried with a hopeful smile. It took a moment, but Scruffy finally got what Twilight was saying, and the unicorn continued. “In this part you visualize what you want your spell to do. For example…” Twilight looked around the library until she spotted a candle holder with a candle and levitated it over. She placed it and the chalk in her magic on the table. “If I’d want to light this candle, I must visualize the candle lit, or a fire that’s lighting the candle.” Twilight closed her eyes. The usual magenta aura enveloped her horn, and soon a single spark appeared next to the wick of the candle, lighting it.

“The more complicated the spell you are attempting, the more steps there are that you need to consider. Being able to visualize what you want your spell to accomplish will help keep your mind on track and focus all of the magic energy in to the spell. If you fail to do it properly, the spell might fizzle out due to loss of concentration, or some of the magic may leak in to your surroundings, leading to an underpowered spell.” Twilight drew a thought bubble above her stick pony with a lighting bolt inside it and the same lighting bolt shooting out of her horn. She then drew another stick pony with just random lines in her thought bubble, and a much more feeble looking lighting bolt coming out of her horn.

“Spells that heal injuries are amongst the hardest spells in terms of visualization, simply because of the many aspects to consider, even with a moderately deep cut. You could end up healing the wound only superficially and leave it unhealed inside, or some parts might mend the wrong way and cause pain and discomfort. Or much, much worse things.” Twilight shuddered, remembering the times she had practiced healing magic on fish. Some of the results had been...less than ideal. She stopped studying such spells soon after, not having the stomach for it.

“The last part of spellcasting is codification and release, or spellweaving if you use the old Unicornian term.” Twilight smiled gleefully. “This is by far the most important part of casting a spell, as it determines what your spell will do. To put it as simply as I can, what you are doing is giving ‘instructions’ to your magical energy that you have collected on what it needs to do, and what it must not do. This is called a spell matrix.” Twilight pointed at the candle again as she snuffed out the flame. “If I do it properly, the spell will only produce a single spark of flame to light the candle.” Twilight then lit the candle again as she had done earlier, only to extinguish the flame again after a moment. “However, if my ‘instructions’ are lacking, or too broad and imprecise, this can happen instead.” This time Twilight had a more stern look as she focused on the candle. A veritable shower of sparks was produced, shooting every which way and eventually lighting the entire candle stick with a loud ‘fwoosh’ of flame. Twilight quickly encompassed it in to a shield bubble, making sure that the flaming wax did not melt onto the table.

Scruffy and Fluttershy both watched the burning candle with astonishment, but also with a healthy dose of trepidation.

“I exaggerated the effect here. A simple, low powered spell is unlikely to go wrong in any dangerous way,” Twilight continued, the flames dying out as they were starved of oxygen and the bubble started to fill with wispy smoke. Twilight released the shield with an added flash, and neither smoke nor candle remained. “The more complex the spell, however, the more potential it has to go wrong in a disastrous way. That is why the last step is the most important step as it makes sure that a spell doesn’t get out of control… Like what happened with my smarty pants doll incident.” Twilight sulked with remorse, her ears and head hanging low. Fluttershy grimaced slightly at the memory, but quickly pushed it aside and shuffled closer to comfort her friend with a compassionate hug.

“Wow. Magik komb-kompliicate,” Scruffy muttered, his head swimming with the overabundance of information, half of which had been too complicated for him. He had to ask Twilight to go over what she had said one more time with plenty of illustrations to confidently say that he still had no idea what he was getting in to.

“I should mention that it’s not entirely accurate to say that the last step is giving ‘instructions’ to the spell, per se. It’s...hard to explain to someone who can’t use magic in the same way as a unicorn, but it is much more instinctual than making a list of do’s and don'ts,” Twilight added as they finished going over the steps a second time.

“I never realised how hard unicorn magic could be. You and Rarity make it seem so easy,” Fluttershy admitted.

“Practice makes perfect, as the saying goes,” Twilight replied with a smile. “When you have cast the same spell a hundred times, it comes like second nature.” Fluttershy nodded in acknowledgement and the both of them turned to look at Scruffy, who was eyeing the blackboard in thought and stroking his beard.

“You think I kould do ma-agic?” he asked, unsure. This whole thing was becoming much more complicated than he had anticipated.

“Well, that’s what we are here to find out, right?” Twilight answered with a wide grin.

Chapter 25 - Roommate, Part 3

View Online

A lone figure stood in the midst of the Everfree forest, its eyes closed. A hum and a soft glow of magic encompassed it as it focused on a scrying spell. Eyes like glowing embers darted around in the shadows, eyeing the enticing morsel, but the many wards the figure had placed on the ground made them hesitant to approach, especially after one of them got zapped.

The location of the Alicorn Amulet was still eluding the creature, despite weeks of searching. All the power it could ever desire somewhere in this tartarus damned forest, and it could not find it. At first it had roamed around the forest, thinking that it could find it easily by searching for sources of concentrated magic. Even if the amulet was protected by spells to prevent others from sensing it, it was confident that its magic could overcome whatever meager tricks that zebra had. But the Everfree’s ever erratic ambient magics and numerous powerful creatures had made it unexpectedly hard to find the amulet amongst them. After accidentally walking in to a dragon’s den several days ago and getting its bits and bobs singed, the creature decided on a far less haphazard (and dangerous, although admitting that would be a sign of weakness) approach.

A sigh escaped the figure’s lips as it let the spell die off. Nothing again, it thought to itself, stretching its limbs. The spell it was using now was the most powerful divination magic it knew, rivaling even magic known by the princess. It would be able to, through repeated use, filter out unwanted signals it was getting and find the amulet. The downside was, that since the creature did not have alicorn levels of magic (yet), casting the spell was a long and arduous process, and the scope would be rather narrow. Still, it would eventually find it, it would just have to be patient.

“Maybe I could just force the information out of the zebra…” the creature idly said, toying with the idea of blasting the doors off that bothersome witch doctor’s home and demanding the location of the amulet. It quickly dismissed the thought, for it had an equal chance of succeeding or of undoing all the work it had done. No, now was not the time for rash decisions that could ruin everything. Patience, patience…

A growl snapped the creature out of its thoughts. An entire pack of timberwolves was stalking towards it, finally overcoming their unwillingness to approach. Perhaps it had something to do with the recently arrived giant alpha standing behind them, which for some reason looked oddly charred.

The creature grinned and called forth its magic again, the numerous wards it had placed earlier coming to life with the approach of the timberwolves. It could certainly do with some exercise to vent some of its frustrations, and, calling forth a roaring fire, walking bundles of firewood would do just the trick.

“Concentrate, take it slow…”

Strawberry Dazzle slowly blinked herself awake, taking a moment to look at the unfamiliar oaken bedroom. Quickly remembering where she was, she laid her head back on to the pillow, enjoying the softness of a civilian bed. While she insistently attempted to snuggle back under the blankets and return to sleep for a few more minutes, years of military conditioning soon kicked in. Dazzle found herself fully awake and alert, softly grumbling to herself as Luna’s sweet slumber eluded her.

“You’re doing it!”

“Shh!”

Dazzle’s ears flicked at the voices emanating from the library’s main area, straining to hear what was going on, but most of what was said was too muffled for her to understand. Sighing, and reluctantly getting up from the comfy bed, the guardsmare stepped from under the cozy sheets and began stretching her limbs.

“Now bring it back...slooo-”

“Ah!”

“You were so close! Here, try again!”

Standing straight back up again, Dazzle inspected herself within a full body mirror that was on one of the walls. She ran a hoof through her short mane to get it (mostly) in order, flared her wings to make sure they were good to go, and gave a few brush strokes to her petite tail as well.

“Go forth, you sexy beast,” she said to herself with a cocky grin, giving a cursory glance at her neatly stacked barding and deciding not to put them on for the purpose of just hanging out. She could retrieve them once they left for her charge’s home. With that, she turned and left the room for the library’s main hall.

The library looked like a herd of foals had been playing there, with piles of books, scrolls, pillows, and odd devices strewn about. Most were covering the center table of the room, so much so that it could hardly be seen from under them. There were also two neat towers of books stacked some meters away.

Fluttershy and Twilight’s dragon assistant were sitting a little bit to the side, silently cheering on Scruffy, while he had Twilight on his lap, one hand held out while the other was grasping the unicorn’s horn, a soft purplish blue glow emanating from both of his hands. He had a look of hard concentration on his face as he gently moved his hand from side to side, and Dazzle noticed a quill levitating between the twin towers of tomes. She also quickly noticed a neat stack of broken quills next to his charge, some cleanly snapped in two, others in many more pieces.

“Just a little bit more…” Spike encouraged as the levitating quill made full circles around both of the towers and wobbled dangerously as it made its way back towards them.

“You can do it,” Fluttershy joined in, holding out her hooves as the quill came near. With a final tired grunt, Scruffy’s hands stopped glowing, and the quill dropped down to the waiting hooves below.

“Success!” Twilight shouted happily, clopping her hooves together. Scruffy, for his part, snorted loudly and leaned back, propping his elbows on the table to gaze at the ceiling. For a moment it looked like he was trying to act as if it was nothing, but Strawberry caught the tired smile on his face.

“Well, seems like you have been busy,” she grinned, trotting the short distance to the rest of them.

Spike greeted her with a wave. “They’ve been going at it pretty much since you went for your nap.”

“How are you feeling?” Fluttershy asked.

“Much better now, thank you. Doesn’t feel like there’s an angry bee buzzing inside my head anymore.”

“Mhm.”

“If you start feeling disoriented again, you are free to stay the night here,” Twilight offered over her shoulder as she was nose deep in scrolls and writing once again. Curiously, she had not left Scruffy’s lap. “Concussions are not something to be taken lightly, even minor ones.”

“Oh I’ve certainly had my fair share of bumps and scratches in the military, so I know. I should be fine now,” Dazzle said as she dismissed Twilight’s worries with a wave of a hoof.

“Right, of course you have. My apologies,” Twilight said with a chagrined smile.

“So… Seems like those experiments had some success,” Dazzle commented as Scruffy straightened himself again.

“Jes. Can imagine, I can floot things!” Scruffy laughed. He then picked up one of the broken quills from the floor. “Not eazy. Uh, sorry,” he said to Twilight.

“Don’t worry, I have plenty in stock and I can always get more.”

“So what did you figure out? Is Scruffy going to be the next alicorn princess to rule over them all?” Dazzle asked with a cheeky grin, causing the others to giggle at a harrumphing Scruffy.

“Not quite, but we did find plenty of interesting data!” Twilight squeed excitedly, but was cut off by a loud rumble. “W-which I would be more than happy to share after some dinner.”

A lone figure stood in the midst of the Everfree forest, a massive frown on its face. It was currently standing on the shore of a rather small but exceedingly fetid swamp, located somewhere close to the middle of the forest. It had been excited for the barest of moments when the spell had pinged something in this direction, but once it saw the swamp, all of its mirth fell away and scattered to the winds.

Not only had it no interest to go wade in swamp muck that would undoubtedly reach uncomfortable heights, but it was also pretty sure that the greenish black mound in the middle was a sleeping hydra. It moving up and down and the growly snoring emanating from its direction were a kind of a giveaway.

It looked at the dirty water, looked at the hydra, and let out a long sigh, before stealing its resolve.

“I’m going to get that amulet, and one stupid swamp or one stupid hydra isn’t going to stop me,” it spat and called forth its magic again.

“Thank you for offering to cook something for me as well, although I could have just gone to the guardpost…”

“Nonsense, it’s no trouble at all,” Twilight reassured as she and Spike busied themselves in the kitchen.

“Besides, it’s better when you have more friends,” Spike helpfully added.

Dazzle smiled at the two of them, and returned to the main room where Fluttershy was giving a massage to Scruffy, whose shoulders had started to ache from all the magic practice.

The figure gritted its teeth, having to focus hard on the shield spell as one of the hydra’s heads tried its damnedest to gets its jaws around the creature that had given it ouchies, only to be stopped by the glowing barrier. The other heads looked in confusion, not understanding how the tiny creature was able to fend them off. They growled and bellowed, spraying saliva all over the shield.

“Oh be quiet,” the creature muttered, finally managing to collect enough magic for another spell, and promptly bopped one of the hydra’s heads with a floating tree trunk.

“You go?”

“Yes, I have to go tend to my animal friends. Sorry I couldn’t stay longer,” Fluttershy said.

“No, it okay. Impordant to look after,” Scruffy replied understandingly. “Tell animals I say hi,” he offered. Fluttershy gave back a beaming smile.

“And don’t come back!”

The figure panted heavily, watching the hydra scamper into the forest with massive stomps and a great rustling of branches. A singed nose would have been a good sign for most beasts to back off, but having four at once was outright terrible, as the retreating wail clearly attested to. The figure took one last look before it fell down on to its rump, letting the build up magic disperse and slowly calming down.

Until a manticore jaunted in to the arena, confusedly looking around for what had made all the noises earlier. It locked eyes with the prone figure for a moment, both processing the situation, before the manticore, seeing what it thought to be an easy meal, leapt forwards with a battle cry.

“AND YOU CAN GO TO HELL TOO!” the figure screeched as it summoned another shield.

“So, Scruffy is able to cast magic…”

With their dinner done, the conversation had turned back to the magic tests that had happened while Strawberry slept. And the results were many and varied, so much so that she feared Equestria would soon face a shortage of scrolls and would be plunged to an economical nose dive with the amount of notes Twilight had taken.

The first order of business Twilight had set her eyes on was to figure out how Scruffy’s magic worked compared to pony magic using several tests and the numerous apparatuses she had. Fortunately for Dazzle, it only took a minute of helpless, deadpan staring from her to get the short and sweet version.

Scruffy’s (and hopefully, by extension, his kind’s) magic bared many similarities to pony magic, which in itself wasn’t unexpected. Many of Equestrians races that strongly utilized magic had plenty of similarities between them on how their magic worked, the differences usually being more in the details. Scruffy’s thaumic pool, for instance, Twilight described as less of a pool and more of a river, constantly churning through him. There also seemed to be differences on how his pool would replenish itself after being used, as Scruffy seemed to have some ability to absorb and convert ambient magic to restore his own in addition to what his own body generated, which Twilight described to be an uncommon trait.

What also garnered particular interest from the bookish unicorn was how rigid Scruffy’s thaum pathways were, to the point that he had felt moderate physical discomfort from using magic at the beginning. Such a condition on a pony would only occur in extreme cases of not being able to use magic for decades, such as long term comatose patients. Furthermore, while the pathways seemed to suffer the effects of atrophy, they were still functional. This lead to Twilight hypothesizing that there must have been instances where they had been used, accidentally or not, for they would have been in much worse condition or entirely non functional otherwise.

Satisfied with the knowledge that Scruffy’s body seemed to hold everything needed to make use of magic, the next step would be to figure out how, exactly.

“…and it’s based in emotions?”

“Yes! It’s just so… I mean… It’s incredible! It’s bonkers!” Twilight ranted excitedly.

“Uuh, and why is that, exactly?” Dazzle looked to Scruffy, who shrugged in amusement and pointed at Twilight.

“Because magic that is based on emotion is very powerful! And it doesn’t make any sense that his magic would be based on that and then he somehow is oblivious to its existence!”

It turned out to be rather hard to figure out how a creature’s magic works when the creature in question has no idea himself. Twilight had tried to take various readings and use highly specialized equipment to get Scruffy’s magic to react to her prodding, but none of it had provided any results. Next, they attempted to have Scruffy gather up some magic himself. As he seemed to have no natural concept about such a task, Twilight offered him several different techniques taught to unicorn children to get their magic energy to flow. None of them had worked either.

Going back to the drawing board, Twilight had Fluttershy try to teach him how pegasi were taught to harness their magic to shape clouds and winds, while she consulted some of her books for ideas. With Fluttershy’s methods not proving any more fruitful than the previous attempts, Scruffy remembered that when Twilight had measured his magic the first time he visited Ponyville, there had been an odd sensation he had not been able to describe. With her books not providing any alternatives, Twilight retrieved the thaumometer, hoofing the bracelet and the crystal to Scruffy, and activated it with her magic.

With the crystal constantly making Scruffy’s thaumic pool resonate, he was finally able to get a feeling of the magical energy inside him, although it was a rather fleeting one. The moment Twilight stopped channeling her magic into the crystal, it vanished, leaving Scruffy to grasp at nothing. Even repeating the process several times didn’t offer much help, as Scruffy seemed to be unable to gather or use his magic while he felt it.

Baffled by Scruffy’s inability to access his magic, it seemed like the group had hit a wall again, until Fluttershy offered another idea based on how pegasi were taught on cloud manipulation. Younger ponies who had trouble with this particular aspect of their magic, especially when it came to thunder clouds, would often be taught in a way where two pegasi would work on the cloud together. The more experienced pegasus would use their magic to keep the cloud stable, so that the inexperienced one could get a good hold on the flow of magic required with clouds. And since Scruffy seemed to have trouble gathering his own magic, perhaps Twilight could assist him with that.

Twilight concluded that she should be able to coax Scruffy’s magic to gather by filtering some of her magic in to his thaumic pool and “tugging” at it. This type of magic sharing was very rarely practiced, and as such had not crossed her mind, because having somepony else’s raw magic inside you could feel terribly invasive if not done properly. However, in a few unicornian cultures it was a sign of kinship and could also be used to produce more powerful spells if the participants were closely synced with each other. A prime example of this was the shield spell her brother cast during the changeling invasion of Canterlot.

However, in Scruffy’s case, Twilight would not be trying to perform spells together with him, merely helping him along and making the process much easier. This worked flawlessly, as during the very first test Scruffy managed to levitate an unexpectedly large object for a first timer. Unfortunately, that object was Twilight, and she was not very thrilled to be floating five meters off the floor and doing several backflips before the magic finally ran out.

“Magic fueled by emotion can be several orders of magnitude greater than normal. It is what allowed my brother, Shining Armor, and Cadence to drive off the changelings. Not only did they join horns, but the love Cadence shared with Shining boosted his shield spell to such a level that even in his tired state it was powerful enough to outright fling all of the changelings out of Canterlot,” Twilight explained.

“But, thought you say pony magik not, uh, like that,” Scruffy asked.

“Normally, no. Regular magic that all the tribes use is not based on their emotional level. Only in specific situations does it happen that a pony manages to tap in to the emotional spectrum to increase the strength of their magic. How and why this happens still baffles arcanists to this day.”

“How do you know that his magic is based on emotion, then?” Dazzle asked for clarification.

“It was actually Spike’s observation that sparked the idea,” Twilight pointed out, which made the small dragon puff up with pride. “He noticed how weird it was that Scruffy managed to lift me the first time, but the more I emphasized to him to clear his mind and focus only on the spell, the harder it became for him to move the quills at all.”

“Yeah. And when he started to get frustrated, they snapped,” Spike added, which made Scruffy blush.

“At first I thought it had something to do my proximity to him, but there was only a slight increase in efficiency when I got as close to him as I could, but it was in fact his excitement that fueled the first spell. Once this became the hypothesis, we um, ‘tested’ it out.” It was Twilight’s turn to blush as she scraped the floor with her hoof.

“What she means is that she scared the living tartarus out of him with a loud sneeze,” Spike helpfully supplied with a grin.

“I didn’t mean to do that!” Twilight denied and blushed furiously. “But, uh, it did help prove the point.” Twilight levitated a book in front of Dazzle, and she quickly noticed the small hole in the front. It went through the hard cover and several pages deep. “The quill he was levitating made that,” Twilight explained, slightly miffed.

“Sorry,” Scruffy mumbled.

“Wow,” Dazzle whistled. “I guess I better be on my best behavior around my charge then. Definitely no sudden sneezes.” Twilight did her best to ignore the friendly jab and Spike’s giggling.

“Well, that’s just the thing. Even after all these tests, Scruffy still can’t seem to gather up any magic on his own,” Twilight noted. Scruffy shrugged and shook his head.

“It weird. I feel ma-agic very good vhen Twilight help, but now...not feel thing.”

“I really can’t make heads or tails of it. Are we missing something? How has Scruffy, and I must assume the rest of his species, ended up in a situation where they aren’t aware of their magic potential? It just doesn’t make sense.” Scruffy stroked his beard.

“Longt ago, magic bad thing. Not know if do magik then, thinck not, but when think somepony did, seen as very bat...bad.”

“That’s a bit odd. Why did something like that happen?” Twilight asked.

“It...not thing I have word for tell,” Scruffy shrugged uncomfortably. “It not very good to happen. But, maype it make magic hard?”

“Hmm, I suppose anything is possible, but without any details, there’s no way for me offer any definitive answers. There could be any number of things to cause this condition, or maybe we just don’t know something about how your magic operates yet,” Twilight explained and shook her head.

“Mmh,” Scruffy nodded.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure you two ‘ll figure it out. Soon you’re gonna be flinging spells left, right, and center,” Dazzle smiled while rapidly bucking the air with her hind legs.

“I not know. Maebi not learn more magik,” Scruffy said.

“What?! Why?” Twilight questioned with great surprise. Scruffy laughed and gave a gentle pat to Twilight’s head.

“I thank you for let me know I have magic, but I not want, uh, ‘flinking spell left, right, center’,” Scruffy explained with hearty laugh. “It very tairing and hard. Not have, hm, big ache long time.” Scruffy rotated his stiff shoulders. “And njot use it. Need you to help, so not juse when not here.”

“Oh…” Twilight’s ears drooped in disappointment.

“Not mean kan not help you learn,” Scruffy smiled. “But maeybe take easy?”

Knock Knock Knock

The four turned towards the door.

“Who could that be?” Spike wondered.

“Maybe it’s Rarity with Scruffy’s new pants. She did seem to be full of inspiration, so maybe she managed to finish them early,” Twilight shrugged, and quickly trotted to the front door. Behind the door, however, wasn’t Rarity, but rather Ditzy Doo, who was precariously balancing on her hind legs as she fumbled with her large postmare’s satchel.

“Heyja Twilight,” she greeted, finally yanking the stubborn snap holding the bag’s flap down open with a mighty pull and promptly fell on her back, scattering all the letters on top of her and burying her head under them completely.

“Uh, hi,” Twilight greeted with a mix of bemusement and humor at the grumbling pile of letters.

“Got a letter for you here somewhere,” the pile replied back as two hooves started to blindly paw at the pile.

“Let me help you with that.” With a sharp burst of magic, Twilight gathered all the letters into straight rows that floated in the air, allowing the postmare to get back on to her hooves.

“Thanks,” she smiled, and quickly set to looking through the letters. “Here you go,” she said after a while, snatching one of the floating envelopes with her mouth, and offering it to the lavender mare. Twilight took the letter, and neatly deposited the rest back into the mailmare’s sack. After saying their goodbyes, Ditzy Doo left to deliver the rest of her mail, and Twilight returned inside.

“Who was it?” Spike asked.

“Ditzy Doo on her daily rounds. We got a letter,” Twilight replied happily, already guessing who had sent it.

“A letter?” Spike asked with a sense of peculiarity from Twilight receiving a normal letter. “Who’s it from?” Twilight waited until she reached the table and sat down again to check.

“It’s from Trixie,” she replied, which had the effect of Spike and Scruffy both perking up.

“Trixee?” Scruffy asked, a smile reaching his face. “First letter since go?”

“Yes,” Twilight nodded, using her magic to neatly open the envelope. It contained a short letter and two sheets of enchanted paper. Even Dazzle eyed the contents with some curiosity.

“Can look?” Scruffy asked.

“Of course!” Twilight happily replied, and spread the letter so that all of them could see.

Greetings and sa
The great and powe
Trixie
Hi
This
Trixie does not know what to write here. Trixie supposes she should just write normal things. How are things in Ponyville? Trixie hopes no Ur Trixie hopes it has been calm. Ponyville seems to often be the center of Luna knows what, so Trixie would be sad to find out the town has been flattened the next time she is there.
It
Trixie is currently in Vanhoover, preparing for the most grand display of majestic magics the city has ever seen! Well, not counting the last time Trixie was here.

The group each lifted an eyebrow at the next large paragraph of text, which had for some reason been entirely blotted out, before moving on to the next legible one.

Trixie has practiced the Dragon Fire Correspondence spell every night. It’s difficu mildly cha No, it is very hard. This is one of the hardest spells Trixie has ever tried to learn. She has had to read through the spell so many times, Trixie can probably recite it from memory! But the great and powerful Trixie is not about to give up! She’ll train long and hard, and she’ll make sure it is worked out to the tiniest detail before she makes her triumphant return!
Trixie has enclosed two enchanted scrolls with the letter. Trixie is pretty sure that the first one would was okay but...just to be sure.
Your friend acquaintance I hate letters
The Great and Powerful Trixie Lulamoon

“Wow,” Dazzle laughed. “That was certainly something.”

“Yeah,” Spike agreed. “Trixie certainly has a bit of personality,” Spike continued, to which Scruffy let out a loud snort and a laugh. “She’s a bit like Twilight actually, with all the craziness, and the ‘talks-a-lot’ syndrome, and apparently with how they write their letters full of crossed out sections,” Spike giggled and turned to look at his sister. He was surprised to find, however, that the mare in question seemingly had not heard him at all. Her eyes were fixed on the letter, slowly scanning it from side to side, and a certain expression on her face that very much brought to Spike’s mind Celestia, and how she looked when reading a letter from Twilight.

“Hmm? Did you say something, Spike?” Twilight finally asked, realizing that the others had said something and it probably had something to do with her.

“Uh, nothing, nevermind,” Spike said, and offered his own smile back to the happy lavender mare.

After a few more moments of friendly talk and Dazzle inquiring who this Trixie pony was, it was time for Scruffy and his escort to head back. Twilight, having often helped her brother out, assisted Dazzle with putting her barding back on, while Scruffy looked on and wondered how difficult it must be to put on the armor without hands.

Once they were done, Twilight decided to accompany them to the edge of the Everfree, while Spike stayed at the library. Twilight was undoubtedly going to dive nose first in to all the research material their experiments had produced, so some fresh air before that would be good. But before they could leave, there was a pair of new pants in the making for Scruffy to pick up, and as such the three of them headed to Rarity’s boutique first. When they arrived, Sweetie Belle let them in. Rarity was still hard at work, and thus, they had to wait.

In truth, she had finished the new trousers for Scruffy over an hour ago with nary as an out of place hair in her mane. However, in her usual generous fashion, she had decided that due to the tribulations Scruffy had to go through today thanks to that uncouth timberwolf, she would make something else for him as well. Namely, a much more elegant version of the smaller pants that Scruffy was currently wearing.

“Darling, I simply cannot fathom your dress habits sometimes. Why you would insist on wearing those...dull, and insipid clothes that you seem to have an endless supply of is beyond my reasoning, especially when I know that you have such fine clothes in your closet as well. A dashing gentlecolt needs not only to act chivalrously, but to look the part as well,” Rarity chattered as she added the finishing touches to her latest design. “Especially your current pair of pants. They are...gray,” Rarity shuddered.

“Uhhuh,” Scruffy murmured, utterly unconvinced that there was anything wrong with his choice of undergarment.

“But not to worry, for Rarity shall save you from this drab destiny,” she proclaimed dramatically as she lifted the newly sown small pants for all to see. Pants that were the color of deep magenta, seemed to be very form fitting, and were definitely not boxers.

“...” Scruffy looked at the finely produced garment with resignation, and covered his face with one hand, while the other two mares seemed to be very impressed with Rarity’s newest creation. With some trepidation, Scruffy accepted the...eye catching pants, vowing to stuff them somewhere far back in his drawers, never to be seen again. He did accept the other, less flamboyant trousers graciously and put them on. Unsurprisingly, they were a perfect fit for him. There was only some disappointment amongst the mares that he had not tried the other garment on first.

Scruffy having offered his thanks, the group left for the Everfree Forest. When they passed closeby to the Sugarcube Corner, as if having sensed their approach, Pinkie hopped her way out of the cafê and made a quick circle around the group, giving Scruffy and Dazzle a hug and a goodbye. She then bounced her way back inside, and it was only at that moment Dazzle noticed the strawberry glazed donut that had somehow found it’s way in to her mouth.

“Scruffy?” Twilight spoke up when they neared the point they would split up, Twilight returning to the library and Scruffy and Dazzle returning to the former’s home. When they had started to get close, both of the ponies had noticed the wary and outright hesitant looks the tall creature was giving the woods.

“...” Scruffy lowered his head, absentmindedly rubbing his hands together.

“You don’t have to be worried,” Dazzle reassured with a smile and a gentle bump. “I’m here specifically to make sure you don’t have to worry.”

“...Mmh,” he mumbled, resting one of his hands on Dazzles head.

Twilight wanted to offer that they could stay in the library for tonight if they wanted, but she had a feeling it might be inconsiderate towards Scruffy. Stallions had their pride, after all. Without saying anything else, they waved each other goodbye, and Scruffy and Dazzle continued on their way.

A long figure shambled it’s way forward in the Everfree forest, a very special kind of frown on its face. The kind that can banish even an ursa major would it be so unlucky as to gaze upon it, for it very clearly indicated just how pissed off the creature was. And tired. So very tired.

In reality, while the scowl on its face could make dragons cry, it did not have much fight in it at this point. The day was long over, the pale moon making its way high across the sky, and its search had been long and ultimately fruitless. It was a small comfort at this point that even though it did not find the amulet, the scrying spell would be more accurate the next time. Right now, all the creature wanted was a warm bath, a good meal and a soft bed. Of which the ground was not, the creature having tripped over a root that was sticking out. The creature briefly pondered if it was worth spending the energy to set the tree on fire.

It did not bother getting up right away, the ground being comfortable enough to rest its aching bones for a moment. It had been so tired in its wandering, that it had not even realized that it had wandered right to the edge of the forest already. The forest on the opposite side of the portal. Its exhausted eyes scanned the area just in case there was anything nearby, although it knew there would not be. Except for a single house some ways away, with merry lights in the windows.

Did I accidentally wander this far off? I must be more tired than I thought.

The creature lifted itself up, dusting most of the dirt off itself. While it would be better if he would not spot the figure outside like this, it would not be too big of a mistake. Still, it would be prudent of it to make sure such mistakes did not happen again.

“Focus. Be patient. You are making too many mistakes, and that is not acceptable,” it mumbled to itself, shaking its head to try and get the cobwebs out.

It looked at the house again and the warm light pouring out of it. Its stomach grumbled pitifully, for it was sure there would be food in the house. Tired and hungry, the creature weighed its options. Maybe it was time to visit him again.

Chapter 26 - Keep Calm And Visit Your Neighbors, Part 1

View Online

Despite how unpredictable his life had become during the last few months, Scruffy still found himself caught completely off guard when he walked through the portal, not paying much attention to his surroundings, and almost colliding with a group of three ponies converging at the entrance. Their excited prattle cut off mid sentence and their jaws were left hanging open as they turned to stare at Scruffy.

Jerking his head back in surprise as he tried to avoid a collision, Scruffy banged it against the tree frame, involuntarily crying out in pain and jolting his arms upwards. One of the two mares in the group, whose nerves had already been on the edge since they arrived at the Everfree forest, mistook Scruffy’s grunting and subsequent lurch forward as an attack, letting out a sound somewhere between a whinny and a gurgle, before promptly passing out. The stallion of the group, getting past his initial shock, tried to take a step back to give Scruffy more space, only to collide with his recently fallen compatriot and tripping on to his back, all limbs flailing. One of which kicked the remaining mare on her backside, sending her careening right in to Scruffy and causing them to fall on the ground as well.

Observing the scene before her, including the pony sprawled over Scruffy's lap, Sergeant Strawberry Dazzle let out an annoyed huff. "Oh come on! How come he can make three ponies swoon and fall for him just like that? It's not fair," she grumbled, stomping forward and leaving the others to pick themselves up.

Once the initial confusion and awkwardness were done with, Scruffy was introduced to the research team sent by the Royal Sisters to study the portal, lead by Professor Pastern. The other two were Professor Astral and Professor Flower, and they were a group of two unicorns and one earth pony, each of them showing some age in their features. There were also two royal guards who were accompanying them, one pegasus and one unicorn, who had been sweeping the perimeter when Scruffy walked through the portal. Scruffy noticed Strawberry and the guards exchanging salutes and a few brief words.

It was Twilight’s report and the mention of the strong reaction the portal had had with her that prompted Celestia to send the research team there. It was imperative to make sure that the portal was safe to use if the ponies would make any more visits to Scruffy’s side of the portal, a sentiment he wholeheartedly agreed with. They were also trying to figure out the origin of the portal if at all possible, although the unicorns in the group were a little skeptical of finding anything. Even a cursory glance revealed to them that the portal was very old, so any physical or magical traces would be long gone. Scruffy raised some concerns of the ponies being noticed by his kind, but the team assured him that they had no plans on going to his side.

Satisfied with their answers, and the team being eager to get to work, Scruffy and Dazzle said their farewells and continued with their original plan, going to Ponyville. Scruffy had been unable to go in to the forest for a few days, visions of a lumbering beast haunting his mind. But, not willing to let some barking puppy prevent him from walking the woods that had always felt like a second home to him, and with a gentle reassurance from Dazzle that she was there, Scruffy took the lead as they started walking, determined not to let the fear get to him.

The creature angrily grumbled to itself. It was positively seething as it stared at the portal. He had gone through the portal, with that thrice damned pony sticking right by his side. The figure wanted to screech and snarl and vent its anger with a few hundred sets of pyrotechnic displays. But it knew that it would be a terrible idea in all regards, so it instead chose to stomp on one of the flowers in the nearby flower bed. Take that flower!

The creature sighed, slumping on the ground. Why was that damn pony here? And why was it staying with him? It made no sense. It was as if that flank kisser was there just to taunt the creature! No doubt Princess Celestia was behind this, curse her to tartarus!

With that stupid pony constantly running around him like a guard dog, there was no way it could approach him. It was too much of a risk. Not that it could not overpower the guard, there was no question of that. Rather, the problem was that any altercation with the pony could potentially alert the Princess, and that had to be avoided at all costs.

And it was not as if the figure had not noticed the activity on the other side of the portal as well. It could easily sense the changes in the ambient magic around the gateway, as somepony probed it with magics. Could be more guards, could be something else. Again, the risk was too high to do anything about it.

The creature looked at the flower it had stomped, a moment of remorse crossing its face. It should not have done that. The flowers had always been important to her, and now to him, so the creature should not harm them like this. It kneeled down, and with a flick of magic, repaired the damage it had caused to the flower.

“Come! Comecomecomecomecome!” the insistent voice of Pinkie Pie demanded as she stood on her hind legs, leaning against Scruffy for support as she tried to walk forward and pull him along, all while an amused pegasus guard watched on the sidelines. The two visitors had barely managed to set foot or hoof down on to Ponyville proper before being snatched along by the precariously parading party planner.

“Pinkie! For Celestia’s sake, could you just walk normally?” Rainbow grumbled as she slowly floated alongside them.

“No! I got my hooves shined just for the occasion, and I don’t want to ruin them before I get to show Rarity,” the pink pony replied, wobbling back and forth as she and Scruffy very slowly proceeded towards the outskirts of Ponyville.

“Urgh!”

“It good take slouw sometime, RD,” Scruffy said with a smile, supporting Pinkie with the arm she was holding on to. They got more than a few giggles from other ponies as they slowly made their way along the streets of Ponyville.

“Bhah! If you could go as fast as me, you’d never want to go slow again,” Rainbow huffed, resigning herself to the fact that they would be going at a snail's pace. “Well whatever. It’s not like we are in a hurry since I can’t see our local egghead running around in panic yet.”

“Where we go?” Scruffy asked.

“OH OH OH! Princess Sunnysunsun wanted to visit Ponyville!” Pinkie said and was about to start bouncing, but remembering her polished hooves she stopped herself and instead tugged on Scruffy’s arm insistently.

“Oh?” Scruffy and Dazzle both went at the same time.

“Yeah, and she’s bringing a guest with her! Didn’t say who though, so it’s gonna to be a surprise!”

“Guest, hmm? Imbortant guest? It okay I there?”

“Sure it is,” Rainbow said with a casual tail flick. “Why wouldn’t it be? Besides, if it was some super important guest on some super important business then I’m sure the Princess would have said so.”

“Hmm, would laik to talk Selestia again.”

“I’m sure the Princess would enjoy a few minutes of casual conversation,” Dazzle piped up from behind them.

For the rest of the way to the meet up point, Scruffy asked about Celestia’s duties and what her usual daily routine was like. When Pinkie needled him with a sly grin as to why he was suddenly interested, Scruffy shrugged and said there were not many magical princesses from where he came from, so he was curious. When they eventually arrived, they found Twilight, Spike, and Rarity waiting for them.

“Hello everypony! Hi Scruffy,” Twilight greeted the group with a wide smile, and they greeted back. “It’s been a couple of days. How have you two been? Anything interesting happen?” she asked Scruffy and Dazzle.

“It all good. We meet phr-p-prohffessoors when come here,” Scruffy replied, working his jaw around the new word.

“Oh! That’s right, they completely slipped my mind even though I saw them just this morning.” Twilight tapped the side of her head with one hoof. “Did they make it to the portal without trouble?”

“Affirmative. They seemed to be very eager to start examining the portal… Especially after Scruffy made them all fall over backwards for him,” Dazzle interjected and looked away with a mischievous smile.

“W-what?”

“Uhm, y-you meet they today?” Scruffy quickly asked.

“I, uhh, yes… Professor Pastern taught me when I attended Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, so I wanted to say hi. I was also asked to help with the research of the portal if I have the time, but that depends entirely on this guest the Princess is bringing. I have this feeling that it’s not going to be as simple as it sounds.”

“When is it ever,” the group could hear Rainbow Dash muttering in the background as she enjoyed the riveting conversation Rarity and Pinkie were having about hoof polish.

“So. How have you been holding up, Sergeant Dazzle? There haven’t been any problems acclimating to Scruffy’s home have there?” Twilight asked, while in truth she was hoping to garner some new information about all of Scruffy’s curiosities.

“Umm. Nope! None whatsoever!” Strawberry insisted with a tiny smile, but the shifty eyes she had did not give Twilight a lot of confidence in her words.

“Uhhuh. Scruffy?” she turned to the tall being.

“Well, there one thing…” he started with a smile.

“Ah! Don’t tell her!”

“Tell me what?”

“Heh, if want know, Straewperry-”

“Hey, I think that’s Celestia’s carriage!” Spike suddenly yelled, derailing the conversation as Twilight immediately snapped her head towards the sky.

Whew, saved, Dazzle mentally sighed.

The royal carriage emblazoned with Celestia’s sun soon touched down close to them, and while it in itself would have made most ponies gasp for breath at the majesty of it all, what made the current crowd hang their jaws open was the second carriage to touch down next to Celestia’s. The one that was carrying the petrified form of Discord in it.

“Greetings my little ponies, and one not-so-little non-pony,” the Solar Princess greeted with a warm smile as she stepped away from her pegasus carriage. When Spike walked closer to her, dubious expression on his face as he watched Discord’s statue being unloaded, she reached down and gave him a brief nuzzle, making his cheeks flare up a bit in embarrassment.

“With all due respect, Princess Celestia…” Twilight began as she marched closer, her tail swishing a few times and ears half mast, “HOW COULD YOU BRING DISCORD HERE?! Ehem, your majesty?” The outburst left the other members of the entourage looking at Twilight with wide eyes.

“I’m fully aware that the last time Discord was here, he created serious havoc,” Celestia replied calmly, an amused tinkle in her eyes.

“If by serious havoc you mean turning Ponyville in to the chaos capital of the world…” Rainbow countered.

“And tricking us all into being the opposite of our true selves...” Rarity continued.

“And making yummy, delicious chocolate milk rain all over the place without a single dollop of whipped cream to go with it anywhere in sight! NOT A SINGLE DOLLOP!” Pinkie finished with a rather dramatic screech.

“Uuh…” Scruffy mumbled as he tried to keep up. “What?”

“My apologies Scruffy. This is Discord,” Celestia said and nodded towards the chaotic amalgamation of animals. “He is a spirit of chaos and disharmony, a creature whose powers are comparable to mine and my sister’s.”

Scruffy looked at the mismatched creature with great curiosity in his eyes, never having seen or even imagined something like it could exist. What an unimaginative mind, an amused male voice said somewhere, causing Scruffy’s eyes to turn from wonder to suspicion.

“As Rainbow Dash so aptly put it, the last time he was in Ponyville, the town was left in a state of chaos, to put it mildly.”

“...And milk?”

“There was plenty of that too,” Celestia nodded. They all noticed how Pinkie had started to drool.

“But...this rock, uh...s-saatue?”

“Statue,” Celestia supplied. “Twilight and her friends were able to petrify him using the Elements of Harmony, trapping him in stone and allowing all the chaos he had caused to disperse, returning everything back to normal.”

“The chocolate milk,” Pinkie sniffed. “ALL OF IT GONE!” she wailed, grabbing Rarity and Dazzle in a mighty bearhug, the unfortunate mares both letting out a gurgle as they fell to the ground together with Pinkie.

“It’s ah...a common trick of his,” Celestia informed, giving the two mares a sympathetic smile.

“So why did you bring him here then?” Rainbow asked.

“Discord is a powerful creature. His magic would be of great use to us if he could be convinced to use it beyond causing chaos and trickery,” Celestia explained, smiling at the ponies. “I believe you are the ponies who would be able to convince him to have a change of heart.”

“That’s never gonna work! How would we ever get him to listen to us? And if he doesn’t, and decides to pick up from where he left off, we are doomed!” Spike moaned, holding his head in his claws at the idea.

“Wait,” Scruffy interrupted. “You make him...rock?” he asked, an expression of surprise and some shock on his face.

“That is what...urgh...the elements did...grah...serves him right...Pinkie I can’t breath…” Rarity rasped from the ground, tapping the ground with one hoof and fruitlessly using the other to pry herself free.

“Is he live?”

“He is alive, yes,” Celestia said, giving Scruffy a sidelong glance as she observed the petrified draconequus. “But, with the help of the elements, we will be able to set him free once again.”

“Hmmh,” Scruffy rumbled, an unsure look crossing his face.

“W-we probably need somepony to go and get the elements, heh, so uh…” Spike nervously stammered, taking steps backwards.

“No need, I have them right here,” Celestia informed as two royal guards brought out an ornate chest, setting it down. “And I have cast a spell on them so that Discord can’t take them and hide them again.”

Celestia opened the chest with her magic, revealing the elements of harmony. Scruffy’s face changed to excitement once again as he saw the magical artefacts.

“Now where is Fluttershy? I believe she may know best how to begin reforming Discord,” the alicorn asked, looking around just in case the lithe pegasus had not decided to hide somewhere.

“Fluttershy? Really?” Rainbow asked with a skeptical look.

“I am quite certain,” Celestia replied with her usual serene smile.

“Well...if you say so. She’s at the Sweet Apple Acres with Applejack, there seems to have been some critter problem.”

“Oh dear.”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure Flutters already has it under control. I’ll go get them right away!” Rainbow said, and before Celestia could even lift a hoof to try to tell her it was alright since she could simply teleport, Rainbow had already left in a wake of dust.

“Reeinbow is sure fast,” Scruffy pondered, walking to stand beside Celestia as they watched the fleeing pegasus, while Twilight turned to save Rarity and Dazzle from Pinkie, who was still holding on to them like stuffed toys.

“Perhaps even the fastest,” the alicorn replied with a far off smile, before collecting her thoughts and facing the enigmatic creature next to her. “How are you, my friend?”

“I am good, but it seem wen vi-isit, always thing happen,” the being chuckled with an unmistakable hint of weariness in his voice. Having read Twilight’s missive about the matter, it was not hard for Celestia to figure out what was the cause for it.

“Twilight sent a letter after your last visit. She told me you practiced magic together,” she mentioned with a smile, steering the conversation towards a happier part of his visit.

“Jes! It very strange know I kan magic.”

“How did it feel?”

“It feel...odd.” Scruffy waved on hand in front of himself, curling and uncurling his fingers. “I not fjeel it now, only with Twailaight. But when feel, it feel...like always knjow it there. Like it…”

“Fits?”

“Mmh.”

“I remember there being a mention that you did not wish to pursue learning more about magic.”

“Wat would old stallion need magic?” Scruffy chuckled.

“I would have thought you’d jump at the chance to learn more. After all, you did take to learning our language with quite the enthusiasm.”

“Mm. Want talk to poni. More easi than wraite. Magik, not need, and give ache. It inkr-incer-i-incre-ediple know I have magik, but… Maybe learnt more in time.”

There came a lull in their conversation as they both turned to look at statue Discord at the same time, neither really knowing what had prompted it. They then turned around just in time to see Twilight wrangle Strawberry and Rarity out of Pinkie’s grasp, and give the sheepishly smiling prankster pony a stern glare.

“Princess, do you really believe Discord can be reformed?” Dazzle asked once she found her voice again.

“I do. Every creature has the capacity to change, if they only so wish.”

How positively precious, the male voice yawned in Scruffy’s head again.

“Tell more of him,” Scruffy asked, nodding towards the statue with a suspicious squint. “What is he?”

“He is a Draconequus, a very rare creature. While even a normal member of his species combines many different characteristics in to one being, as the spirit of chaos, Discord is decidedly unique.”

“He re-eally...look that weird?”

Not weirder than you.

“I suppose if one were not used to seeing creatures like him, he might seem a bit...peculiar,” Celestia giggled.

See, what did I-... Hey wait a minute!

“Mmhm,” Scruffy nodded in satisfaction.

“Back when my sister and I were still young, he gave us quite the hard time. It was like a game of cat and mouse as we chased him across our fledgeling nation, trying to shoo him away from wherever he set up shop to spread chaos from.”

I’d call it ‘livening up the evening’.

“Pranks and mischief are Discord’s forte,” Celestia continued, taking steps closer to the statue. “But make no mistake, what he does is not always harmless.” Celestia still kept her usual serene smile as she stared down the statue, but every onlooker could see a fierce fire in her eyes. There were no smart quips sounding in Scruffy’s mind.

As they waited for Rainbow to return with Fluttershy and Applejack, Celestia caught up with her student, Rarity, and Pinkie, while Scruffy kept a watchful eye on the statue with Dazzle right by his side. On several occasions, Scruffy could have sworn the statue stared back at him, despite the eyes being closed.

After some time, the rest of the element bearers arrived.

“I realize that this is a tall order, but I wouldn’t ask if I weren’t confident you could get him to use magic responsibly, of his own free will,” Celestia explained to Fluttershy once she and Applejack were briefed on why ‘in bucking tarnation’ Discord was here, as the apple farmer had put it.

“And… You really think I’ll know best how to do that?” Fluttershy asked, not entirely convinced. Celestia reached out with her hoof and lifted Fluttershy’s chin up.

“I do,” she said with a reassuring smile, making Fluttershy blush slightly.

“You can count on us, Princess!” Rainbow saluted, landing next to her friend and wrapping her wing across Fluttershy’s back.

“Now, I must return to Canterlot...” Celestia began, glancing at her pegasus carriage, seemingly hesitating for a moment, before turning towards Scruffy. She kept silent for a second, calculating. “...but it comes to mind that our friend hasn’t seen much of Equestria besides Ponyville. Would you care to come visit our capital, dear Scruffy?” she smiled, waving towards the distant city with a wing. “I could give you a tour, and I wouldst think a certain night blue alicorn would also enjoy seeing you.”

Scruffy’s expression morphed to something between intrigued and dreadful as the words loomed in the air. He took several glances at the vehicle he would be riding on if he were to accept and the invitingly grinning pony.

“...On that?”

“Yes.”

“It’s totally safe, y’know,” Dazzle piped up, seeing the hesitation.

“Uhhuh,” Scruffy muttered. “It have one seat.”

“That is quite alright,” Celestia rebutted. “I do not mind us sharing it.”

Scruffy stared at the now positively mischievously smiling (at least to him) Princess, and he could hear quiet snickering coming from his trusted escort. He let out a huff.

“It nice see moar place, and sity on mountain, very excitink,” Scruffy relented with a tiny smile tugging his lips.

“Wonderful,” Celestia beamed.

“Ah, if it’s all the same to you, I’d like to stay here,” Dazzle interjected. “It’s not like you would be needing me there anyway, and I could use that time to...uh, get used to the town,” she continued.

“Very well,” Celestia acknowledged and led Scruffy to the carriage. When they came to it, the alicorn leaned down slightly. “So, do I sit on your lap or you mine?” she quietly asked, and Scruffy did not need to turn to look to see the beam on her face. He simply looked on unperturbed, to which Celestia rolled her eyes

Celestia gracefully hopped on, sat down, and gently patted the space right next to her. Scruffy hesitantly climbed aboard and sat down next to the taller Princess, and even though he tried to pout very hard, Celestia still wrapped one wing around him and tugged him close. Once he was comfortably seated, Celestia turned towards Twilight.

“You may release Discord when you are ready.”

And with that, the carriage took off towards Canterlot.

Chapter 27 - Keep Calm And Visit Your Neighbors, Part 2

View Online

“Scruffy”, the celestial diarch started, her tone a mix of worry with a hint of amusement as she turned towards her travel buddy.

“Hngh,” Scruffy grunted back as he glanced over the rim at the swiftly changing landscape below them and tightening his hold onto Celestia’s barrel.

“I promise you won’t fall…” she soothed the old stallion, affirmatively tugging him closer with her wing. He was pressed tightly against the royal pony, only his head peeking out from under the blanket of feathers wrapped around him. The sight would have been adorable had his trepidation not been evident on his face.

“Hrmh.”

“…and even if you did, I would catch you. You have nothing to worry about.”

Scruffy simply nodded, the words doing little to assuage his anxiety, or to lessen his grip. He peeked downwards again, and cursed himself and his own damn curiosity for doing it.

“I-I know. Just…there not mutch t-to, uh, hold to…”

“You are holding on to me,” Celestia said with a hint of smile and laid her head on top of Scruffy’s in an effort to calm him down.

“Uh, mean there no…belt, or…roupe.” Celestia considered why a belt would have made Scruffy feel safer than being held by her wing. “Neever laik high, or flai, but not scare before.”

“I’m sorry my friend, it did not occur to me that flight on a pegasus chariot might make you feel uncomfortable,” Celestia said remorsefully.

“It…okay. I sure felt…feel beatter, when, um, r-r-graund.”

There came a short lull in their conversation as Scruffy closed his eyes, breathing in deep and slowly letting it out. He did not let go of his safety blanket of feathers, though.

“Have you flown before then?” Celestia prompted after a while, lifting her head to gaze towards Canterlot.

“Mmm. Have flai three taimez…ta-times when must. Prefer not, laik other way better.” Scruffy managed a small smile, and while Celestia did not see it, she could hear it. She gave a silent hum back, and considered for a moment.

“Hopefully it was a more pleasant flight than on this chariot ride.”

“Um, little. Not fli on s-sa-saariot, but fly on matsine.”

“I see. Was it a hot air balloon, perhaps?” There was a note of curiosity in Celestia’s voice. When Scruffy’s face showed a blank stare, she conjured an image with her magic, something that her student mentioned in one of her letters.

“No,” Scruffy shook his head. “Would, uh, not go fast, and…njot sure like high. Fly on mashine, made…of…?”

“Of.”

“…of meetal. It fly high, but there roof, not fiil wind, and not fall. It make go to place fast. I not like, but…need go then.”

“I see,” Celestia nodded, her gaze wandering as she mulled over the information. “I will make sure to offer you a train ticket first next time, although I do believe there is a hot air balloon aeronaut in Ponyville, should there be no trains available or you need to travel via the sky.”

“Mrmh.”

“Or if you want to simply admire the landscape. The view is lovely high up above.” Even if Celestia felt bad for the old stallion’s uneasiness, the way he tightened his hold on to her each time he peeked at the ground was most certainly delightful.

********************

“Thank you, gentlecolts. You may retire the chariot and return to your regular duties." The two royal guard stallions gave respectful nods to the diarch and left to take the chariot into storage. Celestia turned towards her companion, who had sat down on a nearby bench with a heavy sigh.

While the flight had not been all that long, Scruffy was still happy being firmly on the ground again. Had the slight feeling of nausea not been there, he would have ran giggling into the city to explore all the majestic, spiraling towers and white marble buildings he had seen on their approach, but any quick movements would have most likely resulted in a poor first impressions to the residents and extra work for janitors. Celestia sheepishly tiptoed her way next to him and encouragingly ran a wing up and down his back.

Once the vertigo and complaints from his stomach had passed, the two of them continued their way towards the castle interior, Celestia enjoying the pure fascination on Scruffy’s face towards everything he saw.

“I take it you have never been to a royal castle before?” she asked with an amused, but calculating, smile.

“No. Never see, place, like tis. Visit old place, uh, broken place…”

“A ruin?”

“Yes, visit k-kaastle ruj-ruijn, a-and know there be place, um, not broken, but not laik this. It amazing, it so...so...” Scruffy waved his hands around, unable to think of a word to describe the city.

Celestia attempted to recall any nations that did not have any ostentatious palace grounds, or heavily fortified castles that would leave an impression. This only brought to mind a few city states outside of Equestria that were either too poor or too practical to waste bits on lavish decorations for their seats of power, none of which seemed likely to be Scruffy’s homeland. Then again, she did not quite know his frame of reference. Or perhaps he had simply meant the size, or that the entirety of Canterlot was of similar design to the castle.

Celestia’s musings were cut short when she spotted a group of ponies who, judging by their subtly quickening steps towards her and competitive glances amongst themselves, would soon swarm her. Nobles in fancy clothing, aides with clipboards and stacks of paper, and several dignitaries from different cities.

“It seems that my presence is needed,” Celestia said with a smile, nodding towards the horde of ponies that were about to clamour for her attention. “If you don’t mind, I’ll have to postpone the promised tour for a bit.”

“Oh. It fine, seem you be busy,” Scruffy said with a brief chuckle.

“It won’t take long, I promise. Perhaps you’d want to explore the castle by yourself in the meantime?”

“Hmm...I not get lost?” The princess let out a chuckle at that.

“As long as you don’t wander too far, I doubt that will be a problem. You can also always ask the guards to-...” Celestia cut herself short when she spotted a certain pink mare daintily trotting behind the mass of ponies. “Ah, then again, there is another pony here besides Luna who I think would be delighted to see you.”

Scruffy followed Celestia’s gaze with his own, and soon spotted the mare with the royal regalia. She had a pleasant smile on her muzzle, which only widened when their eyes met. She eyed at the crowd and seemed half tempted to simply jump over the road block and glide over to them, but decided to allow Celestia address her subjects first.

“That is my niece, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. She is the wife of Twilight’s older brother,” Celestia informed, before standing upright and taking a few steps forward towards the group, who formed a semi-circle around her and opened their mouths simultaneously.

Scruffy did not even bother to try follow what was discussed. With so many voices speaking all at once, he was not sure if Celestia even understood half of what was shouted at her. A few curious glances were given towards him, but as he did not seem to be anypony important, he was promptly ignored. Several of the aides held their gazes long enough to give a polite nod to Scruffy before focusing back on to Celestia.

Cadence seemed to be much in the same boat as Scruffy. Her ears swiveled about in hopes of finding at least one thread of conversation to latch on to, before seemingly giving up with a show of rolling her eyes (to which Celestia smirked just the tiniest of amounts). She instead turned back towards Scruffy, and, seemingly deciding it best to allow Celestia to be swallowed in the cacophony of voices, trotted up to him.

“Greetings.”

“Hellou.”

“I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza of the Crystal Empire, although I prefer just Cadence. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Mmm… I Scruffy. Nice meet you.”

“Ahha! I was wondering if you were!” she beamed. “Twilight has told me about you in her letters. It seems the two of you have hit it off well, even if she’s gotten herself into a bit of a tizzy trying to figure out you and all of your mysteries,” the alicorn finished with a giggle. Scruffy simply nodded along.

“Learnt many thing with Twail...Twilight. Make meni freend too.”

“I did hear something about you making quite the impression on a certain ‘dreamy’ alicorn,” Cadence said with a playful smirk, the intended meaning of which was lost to Scruffy.

“You te-each Twilight too?”

“Hm?”

“Um, hear Selestia is, uh, Twilight teachir. You knowt Twilight, when you teach her?”

“Oh. Well, I suppose you could say that I taught her. I used to be her foal sitter when she was just a little filly. We keep much more regular contact now, regardless of the fact that I’m married to her brother.”

Scruffy blinked a few times, before asking the princess to repeat herself slower.

“Twilight brother, hmm… Shhaaainiing?”

“Shining Armor.”

“She tell abbout Shh...Shaa...Shaing...Armmor, uh, few time when talk. He here?”

“He is staying at the Crystal Empire to overs-” Cadence halted, remembering Twilight’s advice to use as simple words as possible. “...umh, to look after things while I’m here.”

“Hmmh. Maeby meet other time.”

“I’m sure he would like that.”

“Niece Cadence.”

The two of them turned towards Celestia, who seemed to have finished placating the crowd.

“Aunty Celestia.”

“It is wonderful to see you again.”

“And you as well.”

“How are things in the Crystal Empire?”

“Everything is fine, although I’m sure we can talk more about that during the summit or the luncheon.”

“Very well,” Celestia acknowledged with a smile as radiant as the sun. “Could I ask for a favor? I promised our dear friend here a tour of the castle grounds. However, since there seem to be a few ‘urgent’ matters I need to attend to…”

“Of course. I would be more than happy to show you around, if you want,” Cadence offered to Scruffy.

“Jes, I like see kastle.”

“Wonderful! Then come with me! Ooh, I wonder what I should show you first,” Cadence giddily cheered and lead Scruffy towards the castle grounds.

Scruffy’s jaw was practically scraping the floor the entire way as the two of them walked. Everything around him was so fantastical, from the gilded marble walls to the meticulously kept gardens, the banners… There was no one bit that did not evoke some sense of wonder in him. Cadence could only giggle behind her hoof at his expression. She recognized the look well, as she had seen it many times on her husband’s face whenever his more ‘idiosyncratic’ interests were discussed.

She first took him in to the gardens, as it was the closest, but it also provided them shelter from the wandering dignitaries that could and would disturb them if they noticed her.

“It very pretty,” Scruffy happily pronounced as he surveyed the flora before him. He recognized many of the flowers in the beds, but there were blooms aplenty which Scruffy could not tell whether he had ever encountered them, or if they only existed here.

“They are,” Cadence remarked poignantly.

“...But?”

“Buuut… I have seen them so many times, they have lost some of their luster for me,” she shrugged sheepishly. “Besides, I have always thought flowers are more beautiful when they are wild and not arranged neatly. More tasty too.”

“Hmmh,” Scruffy hummed with amusement. “Trick is not make pretty sheip. When in s-shaip, see it, not flauwer.”

“I see,” Cadence nodded to hide her smile at how he pronounced some of the words.

“It what...waife say, when plant floower. Me, not care, they all pretty all same.” Scruffy barked a short laugh.

There was a tugging feeling in Cadence’s cutie mark, but before she had time to ponder the meaning behind it, two ponies made their presence known with loud bickering. The two of them shared a look, and scampered off with Cadence in the lead before they were seen.

They took a few moments to observe the hedge maze and the variety of statues strewn about it from a distance. However, once ponies started to take notice of them, they headed inside the castle once more before anypony could make their way to them. They barely made their way in when a posh voice called out.

“Princess Cadenza!”

Cadence clicked her tongue in mild annoyance, her plan to avoid the nobles now apparently ruined. She turned towards the hallway the voice had come from, spotting a green unicorn stallion striding towards them. His muzzle was held up high and he was scanning the ceiling as if he had spotted something more interesting in the rafters than the princess he had just called out to. His immaculately crafted vest and overly designed golden pocket watch firmly established which stratosphere of nobles he belonged to.

“Ah, Mister Copper Flame,” the princess greeted sweetly, washing away any indication of her feelings regarding his presence from her features.

The unicorn’s eyes slowly trailed downwards from the ceiling, as if he had just ‘seemingly’ noticed the princess for the first time. His eyes flicked to Scruffy, and if his muzzle had not already been pointing towards the sky, he would have no doubt turned his nose up and scoffed. The latter he did regardless.

Cadence was almost certain that if she let him open his mouth again they would be doomed. He would either talk their ears off regarding the summit and all the ‘ideas’ that he undoubtedly has, or say something so incredibly inane, most likely directed towards aunty Celestia’s guest, as to make the second entry in Cadence’s list of ‘nobles I have punched’. So she made a snap decision.

“Excuse me, I didn’t notice you immediately as I was talking to the ambassador here.”

This seemed to give the noble pause, as he stopped and gave a more thorough once over to the odd being.

“Ambassador?” he questioned with pursed lips, and only a swift nudge stopped Scruffy from asking the very same question.

“Yes. We were on our way to meet Princess Luna,” she replied, but then took on a surprised look. “You...do know who he is, correct? Forgive me, you are always so well connected that I simply assumed-”

“O-oh but of course!” the stallion replied, puffing his chest slightly and turning his nose up again. “I simply hadn’t had a chance to talk to him before, so it, uh, took me a moment to...know who we were talking about,” he said and coughed into this hoof. “Uh, but you were off to see Princess Luna, so, um, don’t let me stop you! I’m sure I’ll have a chance to rub shoulders with the ambassador later during the summit.”

Copper Flame gave a respectful nod towards the princess, and after a moment of hesitation, to Scruffy as well, before hastily walking away. Scruffy raised one eyebrow at the stallion, before turning it towards his innocently smiling partner. She gave him a quick wink.

“Come, there are many things to show inside the castle, and we only have so much time before somepony else finds us.” With that, she took the lead again, with Scruffy attempting his best not to gawk at everything... too much.

Due to the throne room being in heavy use during the entirety of the summit, Cadence took Scruffy to the other impressive, if less glamorous, attractions of the castle. A quick visit to the royal archives, a sneak peek into the grand dining hall and the catering the many chefs of the castle were working on, and few detours to see what Cadence considered to be the more interesting works of art strewn about in the many hallways, with the last stop being a grand hall of stained glass windows.

“I like these, uh, kolor wiintoows. See few pefore, but not so big.”

“They are very beautiful, especially when the sunlight hits them right and their colors bloom.”

“Mmh,” Scruffy nodded, looking over each one carefully. “See you have one own too,” he said and pointed. Cadence rubbed one of her forelegs with the other.

“Aheh, yes. It’s a bit embarrassing to be honest.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s there and everypony can see it! These windows mark special moments in Equestria’s history, acts of bravery, harmony, and magic, and every time I see myself depicted there I can only think of how badly I was in a need of a shower that day. Or how I emptied most of the banquet table by myself when nopony was looking.” The alicorn blushed slightly and her mouth formed a straight line.

“You say...all here happen?” Scruffy asked and waved his hand at the various images on the wall.

“Yes, although they are obviously only artistic depictions of those events, so don’t take them completely at face value,” the alicorn replied with a giggle.

Scruffy gave a nod in reply as he gazed at the windows, taking particular note of the one that had a creature very similar to the one he saw not too long ago, and to the one that had a rather striking dark pony in it. He then turned back towards Cadence.

“What happen when you, uh, got wiintoow?”

“It’s…” she began, brow furrowing and nose scrunching. “Bad things happened that day, and even if it all ended well...I would rather not talk about it,” she gave the creature a small and apologetic smile. “It might be better if you asked Twilight for a book about it, or maybe if she wants to explain it herself.”

“Mhm.”

“There you two are.”

The pair turned around to see the diarch of the sun approaching them in her usual reserved gait. Two aides were following her, one looking at a clipboard she was holding with her wing and saying something to Celestia, the other focusing on a stack of papers she was levitating with her. They both put their work aside as they approached.

“Seems like you were able to escape the mass of ‘tar ponies’,” Cadence quipped with a cheeky grin.

“Eventually, yes. I very nearly needed to bring out the rolled up newspaper,” Celestia replied with her usual smile almost evolving into a giggle. “How has your tour gone?”

“You have huge home. Not whant think how longt take klean,” Scruffy shrugged nonchalantly, but quickly relented with a laugh. “It very am-aamaazing. Better what I could think! There so many place, could go all day, still fint more wanderful thing to see.”

“I’m very glad that you have enjoyed yourself.”

“But, maibe better, uh, look kastle other time agein, when less pony here and everypony not busy.”

“You are most welcome to come visit on a later date as well,” Celestia nodded. “Shall we go searching for my dear sister? Perhaps we can untangle her from all the ponies that are undoubtedly vying for her attention.”

“I am sure she wouldn’t mind you saving her. Whoops, I meant ‘diverting her attention to something less stressful for a few moments’,” Cadence said, trying to look like she had not purposefully said the first part. “Unfortunately I can’t join you as I also have a few ponies I need to get ‘tangled’ to. We’ll talk later at dinner?”

“Certainly. Good day, Cadence.”

“Talk to you later aunty. See you again, Scruffy.” Cadence gave each of them a brief nod.

“Goodbye,” Scruffy replied, waving his hand as Cadence left towards the direction the white alicorn had come from.

Once Celestia had given instructions to her aides and they had left as well, she unfurled one of her wings towards the other end of the hallway, leading Scruffy back outside after a few twists and turns. While she held her smile the entire way, her mind was meticulously ticking away like clockwork.

“Did you come upon anything particular that caught your interest during the tour?” she asked, basking in the sunlight as they stepped outside.

“Hmm,” came a hum and a scratch of a beard in response. “Kolor wiintoow not think to find. Library, big hall, gaarten, think all are part kastle.”

“But not that hallway?”

“Mmhm, not in where live. Uh, I live.”

“Tell me about your, home.” There was a pause between the words, just noticeable enough. Celestia was unsure what she was expecting from the conversation, but centuries of meticulously constructing her every sentence with care and caution prevented her from being simply straightforward.

“...It...tifferent. Where live, there no magic.”

Celestia nodded. She had read about this in Twilight’s letter.

“And, not so many kolor. Koolorf-kolorf-...”

“Colorful.”

“Kolorful...k-colorful. Here, all, uh, bright, fine.” Scruffy furrowed his brows, searching for the words. “It calm here, not busy all time. Heh, unless big thing ha-appen in Ponyville,” he chuckled.

“Calm?”

“Where live, everypony all hurry, all rush. Feel, not have time for calm.”

“I can assure you, ponies are busy here as well. You have yet to experience the early morning rush of Canterlot,” Celestia hummed in amusement.

“I knov, but feel that pony-...ponies have time to…”

“To just be at ease?” One blank stare later, Celestia continued. “To sit down and enjoy the moment.”

“Yes.”

Celestia closed her eyes, letting her thoughts wander and allowing her companions words to bring forth thoughts of distant worlds.

“There no meny matsine here. Pony have magic, so no need all matsine. Where live...where I live, have many matshiene to help. Big and noisi.”

Celestia though back to the drawings and diagrams Twilight had made of the various objects she had observed. Many of them seemed advanced, yet mundane at the same time. While Twilight had, to put it in professional terms, ‘enthusiastically gushed’ about the device that projected moving pictures, Celestia’s interest had been on the advanced cooking appliances she had described. A greatly improved icebox would certainly make many ponies’ lives easier.

“And not tink all good. Some are help, but...not help. Hard to tell.” Celestia heard him shuffle, and imagined him shrugging.

“Hard to explain,” she gently corrected. There was a grunt in response, and a minute of silence.

“But not all tifferent. Where I live, uh, n-na-naatioon?”

“Nation.”

“Natioon. Have many forest, large, in all part of natioon. Importtantt. Many like vishit for forest, and, uh, nature. Many leiks...lakes too. My kind like have home, or, other home, near lake. Visit when summer, for…”

“For calm. A place to relax and find peace.”

“Mmh. Where live, many not live near other… I not live near anypony. Take time when want visit others. Go with...uhm…’carr-c-carriege’ when visit tauwn sometime. A quick matsine, go like when, uh, fly here. Othervise, take over hour walk there. Not want all, uh, no… Not want each day walk that longt.”

“I can see how that could get inconvenient for a stallion of your age.”

“Hmph.”

“Your machine… It must make it easy to visit any larger cities as well, if there is something you can not get locally.”

“Yes. Would not want walk that far.” There was a chuckle and a shake of a head.

“Perhaps you could visit Canterlot for any such shopping in the future? It might be quicker to travel here, as it is not that far from Ponyville. At least if you take a pegasus carriage.” Celestia opened her eyes and flashed a quick, sly smile to Scruffy. “Or a train,” she added, and closed her eyes again.

“Hmh, not know if Kaantterlot is quick visit, um, when think other place, but sure want visit again. Want to see what can find here, maybe buy thing to take home.”

Outwardly, Celestia smiled and nodded. Inwardly, she was busy contemplating Scruffy’s descriptions and calculating.

“Canterlot is certainly a large city. I am sure there is something here to pique your interest. Unless you are accustomed to a city of this size?”

“Not visit big place often, but you not think I not know how travel. I not that old that get lost,” Scruffy said indignantly.

“My apologies, it was not my intention to insinuate anything of such. I merely thought that since you mentioned many of your kind are apart from each other, there wouldn’t be many cities of this size close by to you.”

“Hmm, where live, have big sity too, but, when tink of other natioon, much biiger place there.” He snorted, but she could hear the smile in his voice. “Twilight not believe when tell her there big place.”

That there are seven billion of your kind? It is hard to believe.

An errant gust of wind blew past them, making Celestia’s mane billow. She focused on the feeling and the scents the wind brought, relaxing and clarifying her many crisscrossing thoughts spurred by the conversation. She opened her eyes again and turned to Scruffy with a warm smile.

“Your home certainly sounds interesting. Perhaps I need to visit you as well some day.”

“You welcome to visit all time,” Scruffy replied with his own smile.

Whatever would have come next was stopped by the sound of doors slamming open and hooves hitting the tiled floor. The pair curiously turned their heads to the right to see what was going on, and the sight made even Celestia’s heart skip a single beat. It was not often one saw an uninhibitedly charging alicorn heading straight towards oneself, and it does not matter at that point whether the alicorn in question is a sister you love greatly or not.

The blue alicorn was heading straight towards them, her mane swishing around wildly, and her hooves like thunder as she galloped. Had she been on ground, she would have kicked up a dust cloud large enough to block out the sun. It was only Celestia’s steel nerves that prevented her from jumping out of the way or flitting into the sky.

Mercifully, she slowed down the closer she got, switching to a canter, and then a brisk trot. They also spotted an earth pony advisor trailing far behind Luna, wheezing and gasping for air as he tried to catch up.

“Scruffy!” she finally called out after taking a second to catch her breath. “Uh, f-friend! I had no idea you were going to visit Canterlot today. I-I would have certainly come greet you earlier had I-”

“It was a bit of a spur of the moment decision,” Celestia interjected, causing Luna to click her mouth shut and look from one to another. “It was just something that came to mind while I was at Ponyville,” she continued sweetly. There was a thump behind them as the aide finally caught up to the moon princess, graciously collapsing on the ground to catch his breath.

“Hjello Luna,” Scruffy greeted with an amused smile as Luna tried her best to swiftly make herself presentable.

“...Hello friend.”

“Sorry, kome visit when everypony busy.”

“No, no it is, it is most fine. There’s always time for a friend when they visit, even on busy days.”

“Without a doubt,” Celestia added.

“The royal summit has had each of us running around like there was a fire under our tails,” Luna snorted, visibly trying to relax.

“You do fine, I sure.”

“Oh, um, of course we will. It’s not like we haven’t done this a hundred times. I, uh… W-would you perhaps like a tour of the castle grounds? We could-”

“Ah, have tour with, um, k-ka-kaddensa? Go see many place in kastle, there many intteresting thing to see.”

“Oh…” Luna muttered, seemingly deflating.

“But, not see all. Too many poni here, but when visit again, then show place I not visit today?” Luna perked up immediately, giving a bright smile.

“It would be my pleasure.”

“As much I hate to be the one to rush things along, we only have limited time before we absolutely must return to our duties,” Celestia reminded.

“Unfortunately,” Luna scoffed, again attempting to relax herself by breathing deeply in and out.

“But, there is enough time for us to have tea and something light to eat. We’ll definitely need the energy to work through all these meetings, and I am sure you must have worked up some appetite by now as well, Scruffy,”

“Yes.”

“A salad and a bagel would be nice.”

“Why don’t you take our friend to the tree, and I’ll ask the kitchen staff to bring us refreshments.”

“Very well. Come Scruffy, we have a perfect spot in the garden.”

Celestia watched the two go, and turned towards the earth pony aide who had finally managed to climb back to his hooves.

“Quick Note, would you kindly go to the kitchens and tell Miss Leek to prepare a light snack, salads and bagels for three, and to bring it out to the garden in our usual place.”

“Certainly, Princess.”

“Oh, and another thing,” Celestia said as Quick Note turned to leave. “Would you also find Raven, and tell her… Tell her to go to the archives, and see if she is able to find any location, in any map of Equus, that matches the following parameters…”

Chapter 28 - Keep Calm And Visit Your Neighbors, Part 3

View Online

“Your people really do this for fun?” Luna asked. The two sisters were aghast at what they were seeing, yet glued nose to nose to the screen of the small device held in Scruffy’s hand, the elder stallion having an amused grin plastered on his face while he sipped his tea.

“Some, yes,” Scruffy replied.

The little group of two ponies and one not pony had been enjoying their snack break in the gardens at a perfect spot under a tree. There hadn’t been many interruptions to the tranquil atmosphere; only one from the aids to inform that a dignitary had arrived early, and another was a progress report from Twilight.

They had attempted their best to relax for their brunch, the princesses opting for smalltalk with Scruffy instead of discussing their upcoming responsibilities. When Celestia had recounted their flight to Canterlot in a dramatic fashion, with the image of Scruffy being buried in Celestia’s feathers making Luna giggle, it suddenly reminded the mysterious being that he had something that he had planned to show to Rainbow. He retrieved a thin, metallic device from his pocket, and after a moment of fiddling with it with his fingers, presented it to the princesses. What followed was an incredible show of moving pictures and music, where beings like Scruffy flew machines in the sky while doing rather precarious-looking stunts outside on its wings.

“I’m not entirely sure if I would call that display brave or foolish,” Celestia muttered, one eyebrow raised. While she did not doubt the expertise of whoever had crafted the machine or the nerves of the performers, putting one’s life in the care of a parachute with no apparent way of anypony else helping should that fail…

Naturally, Celestia had been far less interested in the actual show, although that did not stop her being nose glued to the device like her sister, than what was going on in the background. Cities, vast farmlands, long paved roads, glimpses of the unknown. It was intriguing to look at.

“Tis clearly bravery. They have the same spirit as our own Wonderbolts, and to dare to brave the skies when none of them can fly on their own… It is most certainly commendable.”

“Scruffy, you said that you had been on one of these flying machines before. Was it like this?” Celestia asked, motioning towards the display with her muzzle.

“No. Matsine, it old, old style. Have new kind, bigger, fly fast, carry many together. Hyndred.”

“So it’s perhaps something like a flying train?” Luna mused.

“Hmm, think yes.”

“Fascinating…” Celestia quietly said, staring at the small device even after the pictures had stopped moving. So many questions were racing through her mind. Some good, some dangerous, but amidst all of them, one thought crept to the surface.

The priority to investigate the portal had suddenly grown tenfold.

“Thank you very much for showing this to us,” Celestia said, adorning her usual smile once more. “It is always a great pleasure to see and learn something new.”

“Indeed,” Luna added.

“Yet, duty calls to us once again,” Celestia said, straightening her back and flexing her wings, working to get rid of any stiffness in her joints. She slipped back on her regalia with a sparkle of magic, and rose to her hooves.

“I…suppose we must,” Luna grumpily admitted, laying her head on the table with ears folded. She was only mildly invigorated when Scruffy gave her a conciliatory head pat.

“There will be a chance to show him around on some other day,” Celestia offered as well.

“Yes, will come see here again.”

Luna’s eyes moved between the two, before she too let out a small smile and prepared herself for the long meetings and anxiety-inducing swarms of ponies ahead. Once the two princesses appeared to have regained their regal composure, Scruffy got up as well.

“Um, how I…go back Poniville?” he asked.

“The crown will provide thee with transportation back to Ponyville,” Luna replied.

“And from what I learned of our pegasus ride, I think you would prefer a more grounded option,” Celestia added.

“Yes please.”

“Very well then. If I’m not mistaken, there should be a train leaving in little less than an hour,” Celestia continued, her head bobbing slightly as she attempted to recall the schedules. With a flare of magic, she summoned a scroll and a quill. “I shall write you a writ of passage to board the train, and the railway will invoice the castle for your fare.” When Scruffy seemed to have trouble parsing the meaning behind the piece of parchment, Celestia doodled a picture of a train on the other side. Scruffy then accepted it with a nod.

“Thank you.”

“The train station is some ways away from the castle, so I’ll ask some of the guards to-”

“No need, we shall escort him,” Luna interjected, taking up position next to Scruffy.

“Luna-”

“We’ll. Escort him,” she repeated, punctuating her statement with a pouty face.

“Luuna, not have to, I can-” Scruffy started, but was silenced by a large blue primary feather pressed against his lips, Luna keeping her eyes locked with her sister.

The staring contest lasted a good ten seconds between the sisters, but eventually Celestia caved in with a short giggle.

“Fine. I’ll make sure to hold off the dignitaries for 30 more minutes,” she said. “But if you are late even by a second, I’m sleeping in tomorrow.”

“Wha- Sister!” The complaint fell on deaf ears, as Celestia had already turned around and began to trot away, a number of aides having seemingly materialized from nowhere and flanking her. Scruffy tried his best to cover his smile with a hand, but Luna frowned after her sister regardless.

“Hmph, she always does things like this,” Luna harrumphed. “And thine smile is insufferable.”

“Better go, not be late,” Scruffy simply said, holding his smile, and motioning with his hand for Luna to take the lead.

“Yes, let us head off. But first, a bit of spellwork.”

Luna’s horn flared with cyan magic, her eyes closed as she concentrated on the spell. Scruffy’s heart skipped a beat when the magic encompassed him, a tingling sensation slowly going through him from head to toes. Once the spell was over, he couldn’t stop a full-body shiver.

“What, uh…”

“Tis a simple spell to dissuade ponies from getting flummoxed by your appearance… We won’t be obstructed by curious ponies, is what I meant. We have no time to tarry.” With another burst of magic, Luna wreathed herself with the spell as well.

Wasting no time, the pair headed off from the castle towards Canterlot Central Station. To further avoid any chances of being spotted and to save time, Luna made sure to take them through side paths whenever she could. However, even the dingy sidepaths seemed to hold endless curiosity for Scruffy, for it seemed that had they not been in a hurry, he would have wandered off to examine every little nook and cranny they passed. Luna made sure to keep him going with a constant light magical tug of his shirt.

With the help of the spell from the princess, the two of them went mostly unnoticed by the people of Canterlot. Anypony who happened to look their way simply gave them a singular glance before allowing their gaze to drift off to something else, just as the spell was intended. There were several creatures who seemingly managed to pierce the veil Luna had cloaked them in, mostly the royal guards giving them raised eyebrows. A single unicorn mare in strikingly fancy robes stopped and stared at them for a moment before continuing her way, as well as one griffon who gave them the most profoundly suspicious glare as they passed by him.

“Scruffy?” Luna tentatively began after they were most of the way to the station.

“Hm, jes?”

“We, um, th-that is I, uhh… I was wondering if perchance...you would...have some f-free time…?” Luna asked with an awkward smile on her face.

“Uummm…” he waffled in response, looking upward.

“I-in a few days, I mean! Uh… In three days, once the summit is over.”

Scruffy scratched his beard and gave a neutral stare at the stiffly grinning princess.

“Hmmm… I vill see,” he said after a moment of thought. He took out his device again and ran his fingers across its surface. “Think have no time, all time taken,” Scruffy continued after a while, now tapping his fingers against the device.

“R-really…?”

“Yup. See, it say ‘notting’ in all part.” Scruffy shrugged in disappointment and showed the machine to Luna, not that she understood any of the symbols showing.

To her credit, Luna managed to hold off bursting into tears for the few seconds it took her to figure out what Scruffy was doing. Once she was onto him, she gave him a most unhappy deadpan stare, followed by a shove with one hoof, causing Scruffy to burst into laughter.

“I do not appreciate thine teasing,” Luna complained with a pout.

“Sorry.” Scruffy gave her a pat on the head as a way of apology. “Why ask?” Luna tapped the ground with the tip of one of her hooves in an effort to calm down.

“Umm...we were just wondering, if thouest...would liketh to spend a days noon with me?” Luna’s attempt at a casual smile came off more as if she was bracing to get punted in the face.

“Jes, wha-”

“REALLY?! Oh most joyous of days!” Luna exclaimed and happily clopped her hooves together. “Your acceptance has pleased me most greatly! I had wished to ask thee for a fortnight already but had not come up with a way to do so a-a-and we had many ideas how we could use this time if you sayeth yes and uh...I, aheh...krhm…” Luna coughed awkwardly and composed herself.

“I think iddea fun, uh, ve do thing. What you think do, or whiere?

“Well…we- I uhm…mayhaps…the fishing trip we conversed about? Tis something simple and what thouest would enjoy, and, ah, I would certainly relish the opportunity to take a flight from the castle and have serenity if but a spell…”

“Will happy take princess to fishing,” Scruffy said with a silly grin and a nod. “Have all we need, kan brink with when go.” Luna let out a small squee of joy, her tail swishing from side to side.

It wasn’t long after that they arrived at the station. It had three tracks in total with walkways going over the tracks so that the ponies could reach all of them. There was a ticket master’s office at the edge of the concourse, away from dozens of ponies that were dotted around the place, waiting for their trains to come. Surrounding the concourse were also small gift shops for tourists to get something to remember their visit to Canterlot by, as well as food stands and even a newspaper stand.

“This is as far as I can go my friend. I must return to my duties,” Luna informed, before allowing the spell she had cast to dissipate. They were in a side alley with no other ponies, and the only one who was currently observing them was a single Royal Guard. Seeing the princess, however, they turned their focus back on the crowd. “We do not think there will be any trouble, as many a creature of different origin commune in Canterlot, but should something happen, there are members of our Royal Guard present.”

“I think it fine, Lluna. Thank you. Hope all go good with you and Shelestia and…thing you doing in kastle.”

“We sure hope as well. We- I shall send a message to be passed on to thee of mine plans when I can. Safe travels, my friend.” Luna gave a small bow of her head and waved goodbye. With a quick charge of her horn, she disappeared in a wispy flash of cyan light back to the castle.

Stranger in the Forest

by TrixterCat

Chapter 1 - A chance encounter

Chapter 2 - Monsters are boring

Chapter 3 - For whom the bell tolls

Chapter 4 - The terror that is Fluttershy

Chapter 5 - If at first you fail, try, try again

Interlude - Penpals

Chapter 6 - Friends and family

Chapter 7 - Old fashion, new fashion (Edited)

Chapter 8 - In to Ponyville

Chapter 9 - Welcome to Ponyville

Interlude - Sun and Moon

Chapter 10 - Neighbourly

Chapter 11 - Magic Duel

Chapter 12 - Aftermath

Chapter 13 - Lessons

Interlude - Look before you sleep, take two

Chapter 14 - Music Is In the Air

Chapter 15 - Sleepless in Ponyville

Interlude - Tea Time in Dream Time

Chapter 16 - Trixie's Farewell Party, Part 1

Chapter 17 - Trixie's Farewell Party, Part 2

Chapter 18 - Trixie's Farewell Party, Part 3

Interlude - Preparing For...

Interlude - A Morning Detour

Chapter 19 - A Royal Visit

Chapter 20 - Friendly Visit, Part 1

Chapter 21 - Friendly Visit, Part 2

Chapter 22 - Friendly Visit, Part 3

Interlude - ???

Interlude - R&R (April Fools)

Interlude - Letter From Twilight

Chapter 23 - Roommate, Part 1

Chapter 24 - Roommate, Part 2

Chapter 25 - Roommate, Part 3

Chapter 26 - Keep Calm And Visit Your Neighbors, Part 1

Chapter 27 - Keep Calm And Visit Your Neighbors, Part 2

Chapter 28 - Keep Calm And Visit Your Neighbors, Part 3