Story Time
“This statue depicts the former bearers of the Elements of Harmony,” said Rainbow Stars, a white unicorn with her orange-striped mane and tail tied up with blue bows. Chickadee stared up in awe at a marble statue depicting two Earth ponies, two pegasi, a unicorn, and above all of them, an alicorn. The tiny, orange hippogriff had come all the way from Ponyville on a class trip to Canterlot. “It was erected in their honour after they saved the world from the combined forces of Tirek, Queen Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow, with the help of all the friends they had made along the way.” In front of the statue, a middle-aged white unicorn with a curly, pink mane had her photo taken with a younger-looking, brown, hawk-faced griffon, before they both walked away.
“I wanna be like them!” exclaimed Peppermint Swirl, the green pegasus filly next to him, excitedly jumping up and down.
“Calm down,” said Rainbow Stars. "Now, any questions?"
Chickadee nervously raised a claw. “Miss Beau... Is it twue that these ponies saved the hippogwiffs?”
Rainbow Stars opened her mouth to answer, but she was interrupted by the pink-maned unicorn, who turned around.
“Yes!” the other unicorn exclaimed. “I used to be friends with Princess Twilight Sparkle!”
Chickadee gasped in delight. “You was?”
“You were,” corrected Rainbow Stars.
The other unicorn nodded. “We went to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns together.”
“Who’s Celestia?” asked Midnight Horizon, a purple unicorn filly behind Chickadee.
“Oh, I forgot!” the other unicorn chuckled, facehoofing. “Celestia used to be the ruler of Equestria. The school belongs to Twilight now. My name is Twinkleshine, by the way.”
“Would you mind telling us more about how the Princess saved the hippogriffs?” asked Rainbow Stars.
“I was just about to get to that!” exclaimed Twinkleshine. “Many years ago, during the annual Festival of Friendship, Canterlot was invaded by the Storm King and his army!” Her voice became overdramatic and ominous, as if she was telling a ghost story at a campsite. In response, several of the children screamed.
“You’re scaring them!” shout-whispered Rainbow Stars.
“What does ‘invaded’ mean?” asked Geralt, a grey griffon and the only child in the group who didn’t scream.
“It means that he took over Canterlot,” said Rainbow Stars patiently.
Twinkleshine’s voice became more sincere, but still dramatic. “Three of the princesses were turned into stone, and all of us ponies were enslaved by the Storm Army. It was terrible!” All of the children gasped, including Geralt. “Our only hope was Twilight and her friends. Princess Celestia had sent them to find the queen of the hippogriffs. To cut a loooong story short, they arrived at Mt. Aris, but the hippogriffs were nowhere to be found! It turns out that Queen Novo had transformed all of the hippogriffs into seaponies, and hid them in an undersea cave known as Seaquestria,” Twinkleshine said in a tone of voice that inspired wonder. “Unfortunately, the queen was not too happy about Twilight trying to steal the Pearl of Transformation, but her daughter, Princess Skystar-”
“She’s the queen now!” Chickadee interrupted.
“Oh? I didn’t know that. Anyway,” Twinkleshine continued, “Former Princess Skystar joined Twilight and her friends in the fight against the Storm King. With the Storm Army defeated, the princesses were restored, and the hippogriffs were finally able to return to Mt. Aris and rebuild their kingdom. The end.”
“I’ve never been to Mt. Awis,” said Chickadee. “I was bworn in Ponyville. What’s it like?”
“I’ve never been there,” said Twinkleshine, “but a train leaves from Ponyville to Mt. Aris once a week. You could go there with your parents one day!”
Rainbow Stars paused to think. “Hmm... maybe we could visit Mt. Aris on a field trip one day,” she thought out loud, before turning to address the children. “For now, who wants to go to the Canterlot Museum?”
“Me! Me! Me!” most of the children cheered.
“Museums are boring...” complained Geralt.
“I’ve heard the remains of the Storm King after he was turned to stone are on display there!” exclaimed Rainbow Stars in a sing-songy voice.
“Yay!” exclaimed Geralt.
Grizelda the griffon sat on a fancy, white chair outside of a café, impatiently stirring her drink with a pale yellow talon. The sound of trotting caught her attention. “Took you long enough,” she said.
Twinkleshine sat down opposite her. “I got distracted,” she said.
“By what?”
“Nothing much,” Twinkleshine said meekly. “I just told some kids about the Invasion of Canterlot.” She took a sip of her tea, that Grizelda had already ordered for her.
“You would make an excellent tour guide, y’know.”
Twinkleshine put down her cup of tea on the white, circular table. “Howcome?”
“Think about it! You know the Princess personally. You’re even on first-name terms with her!” Grizelda gestured enthusiastically with her talons. “You could write a biography! Imagine how much money you’d make from autographs alone!”
“But I don’t want to be famous,” said Twinkleshine.
“Why’d you say that?”
“I’m perfectly happy with the way I am now. If I were famous, I would never have any peace and quiet again. Besides, I’ve already had enough adventure for one lifetime.”
Grizelda had started to down her entire glass, but spat her drink out in surprise. “You went on an adventure? When?”
“I was one of the many, many creatures who fought alongside the Elements of Harmony all those years ago,” said Twinkleshine. “You were very young then, so you probably don’t remember it. After that battle, I met your parents, and we’ve been close friends ever since.”
“Really?” exclaimed Grizelda.
Twinkleshine nodded. “After the battle, I sought to do more good in the world. Your parents and I helped Griffonstone to recover from poverty... but we didn’t want any fame. Good deeds should be done for their own sake, not because we expect a reward.”
Grizelda’s eyes widened in appreciation. “That’s great! I still think you’d make a great tour guide, though,” said Grizelda. “Do you know any famous tour guides? Because I don’t.”
“Perhaps,” chuckled Twinkleshine. “Or perhaps it could be your career. That’s the great thing about you other creatures - you’re not bound by destiny.”