It occured to Easle Splash, that perhaps making the Equestrian Friendship Ambassidor 20% cooler with a coat of paint was not the best idea, his punishment, three years at Princess Sparkles School of Friendship.
It has been 500 years since the begining of Princess Twilights reign and Darning Weave has found a promising new student for the School of Friendship. Getting Easle Splash to agree could have been an issue, until said student decided to paint Equestrias Draconic Friendship Ambassador during his nap, and as the closest figure of authority, Darning Weave decreed the colts punishment should be three years of Harmoney approved school work.
Follow the Crusader six, Easle Splash, Silent Knight, Dream Catcher, Chenin Grape, Jade Star and Liqurice Toastie as they match wits with one of equestrias most nutorius villans, face eternal day, complete home work, contront the Alicorn at the end of time, a librarian who knows a little to much and very sticky tree sap.
Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria…
Deep within the halls of Princess Sparkle’s School of Friendship…
Four weeks before the new academic year.
Headmare Gozy Glow examined four folders upon her desk. She moved her hoof over the first, pausing a moment to inspect the chips in her hoof, after all these years they remain visible if somepony looked close enough, a reminder of darker times. She returned her attention to the forms, four new members to the School of Friendship but more troubling, four new members into the Crusader Dorms.
With a sigh, she examined the files infront of her. A Colt and three Fillies were to be admitted into the cursed dorm and already images of the disaster and carnage that would inevitably follow were playing through her mind, along with strategies to prevent them. Brushing the pale blue curls of her fringe away from her eyes she stamped the last of the paperwork, officially marking the young ponies as her new students.
“Well, the pieces have been set. Show me your worst, Crusaders. This is my castle, and you will all graduate and I will prevent you from destroying my school,” She said to herself, “even if no headmare has managed it.”
No one could quite explain the phenomenon about this one specific dorm. The school contained 33 dorms, each containing a social area with a basic kitchen and three double bedrooms where for three years six students would call the dorm home. However, one dorm had never once maintained occupation for the full three years, the cursed Crusader dorm.
Of course who could blame the one Yak stampede for destroying load bearing walls and subsequently causing the dorm to collapse. Or the changeling ladybug incident, or when an ill fated hedge of miniature Dragon Sneeze Trees caused a dragon crusader to send their room, the contents of the next room along with its two residents, and the hedge to the dragonlands. The school partially burning down was almost a footnote compared to the fallout caused by Friendship Ambassador Spike introducing Dragon Sneeze Trees to the Dragon Court. Then there was the period with reports completely redacted or covered in red tape that only S.M.I.L.E and an Alicorn or two could have been responsible for covering up.
Cozy Glow let out a sigh, and looked over to the portrait of the Third Headmare of the School of Friendship. “I have no right to ask this, but please give me the strength to do this right, Sweetie Belle.” The mare let out another sigh, meeting her predecessor's red eyes.
“Sweetie Belle didn’t have red eyes!” The mare exclaimed.
“Maybe I'm just wearing contacts, green was so five centuries ago you know,” exclaimed the painting, now animated and leaning out of the portrait.
“Gaaah, that’s really not funny ……. Discord?”
Out of the painting slithered a creature that had not been seen in Equestria for a very long time, with mismatched antlers, one lion's paw paired with a gryphon’s talon, and a head of a goat hosting red and yellow eyes.
From what Cozy Glow had managed to learn from history books and conversations with Flurry Heart, Discord himself disappeared over 400 years ago, before a period of time Cozy Glow had coined ‘10 years of why Princess Sparkle needs friends’. Some time later, the area around the Everfree and White Tail woods was bequeathed to a new Draconequus, Fluttercord, the spirit of Chaotic Nature. Over the course of several tea parties she’d learnt that Discord had feared the death of Fluttershy, and had offered to share a life with her. Apparently for a Draconequus a life together didn’t mean marriage was much more literal since they had become a single creature. Apparently all Draconequuses do it, whatever else could have been divulged from this topic was not something that needed to be discovered, so Cozy Glow made sure to never broach the topic again. However Discord, the Spirit of Chaotic Harmony himself and by himself, now stood in front of the headmare.
“Hello again my dear Cozy Glow, it is indeed I, Discord in the flesh. I’m not completely happy to be here on my own, but Chaos to sow and all that. Besides, I hear that we had a new group of Crusaders who have some deliciously chaotic promise.”
The headmare sank into her seat, unfurling a wing to massage her head. “Yes, Discord, we have four new residents entering those dorms. I'd have preferred to keep it closed but the Princess was quite adamant that it be opened for the new cohort and personally assigned two mares as roommates. At least there's only four residents.”
“Would that include a certain little filly who is so often seen with her nose in a book at the Canterlot Royal Archive? Oh, what was her name? I do believe it was on the tip of my tongue…”
Cozy Glow looked at Discord, who was currently holding his tongue in a talon, inspecting it through a magnifying glass he was holding with a scaled pink tail.
The mare grinned. “That would be Jade Star, yes. Dream Catcher has also been enrolled. When did you decide your tail should be pink? I know it usually is these days but since no one has seen this side of “you” for centuries, is everything alright with you and Fluttershy?”.
The Draconequees paused, and looked towards the mare with confusion, an eye looking at his tail. For the first time since she’d known the Spirit, it would seem he had been rendered speechless.
“Yes,'' The Draconequus replied slowly, “Just need some time to organise a few things and scheme for the future. Oh. but never mind me, it's been ages since we were together. Have you heard from the others? How has Chryssie’s parole been?”
“Badly, turns out attempting a coup against somepony you hate when most of said pony’s guard are changelings is a bad idea. Her statue is currently in Tartarus.”
An eerie silence passed between the two, Discord tried to say something, but no words came. On his third try he finally managed to speak.
“I’m sorry, I had heard you were an advocate of giving her another chance, Headmare Glow, and I hope Chrysalis didn’t cause any lingering problems for you and Flurry. You’ve been far more loyal to her than I was to Twilight after I changed my ways.” He turned to walk away, paused, and walked back towards the Headmaster's Desk. With a snap of his talons two new folders dropped in front of the mare.
“I thought I’d save everyone some time and bring you some more student applications. Twilight's getting a few things in order and is rather distracted, so asked for a favour during our last tea party. I’d have preferred to come with Fluttershy, but Twilight needs her, and we’re trying to do things …. separate for awhile.”
The pause caused the Headmare to almost forget about the folders. Something had happened important enough to split the Spirit of Natural Chaos, but if they planned to stay separate for the first time in centuries, something was either very wrong, or was soon about to be.
“I’m sorry, Discord, but there's no space left in the dorms. To get any more students we’d have to build another dorm and that can’t be done before the new term starts.”
“Oh? But you said there's only four ponies in the crusaders dorm, just enough room for another colt and filly right?”
The Headmare took the files and paled. While the first file, a pegasus colt with a tri coloured mane, seemed normal enough, her attention had focused onto the second file, an application for an Earth Pony filly, with an unforgettable smile.
“This has to be a joke, Discord! You can’t be serious! You know exactly who that is and she surely doesn’t need to atten-”
The headmare was cut off by a talon to her muzzle.
“Oh, my dear Cozy Glow, I’m never serious, but these applications came from Twilight herself, and I just know, we’ll be in for lots…
“...of…
…“laughter!”
With a snap and a flash, the Spirit of Chaos disappeared from the office. Leaving Cozy Glow with six applications for the Crusader Dorm, her plan to manage the dorm was completely torn to pieces by the new applicants.
Jade Star, unicorn and daughter of the one and only Darning Weave, Twilight's previous “lady in waiting”. While no one in Canterlot’s upper crust had enough brain cells to realise the fillies parentage, there was only ever one candidate in Cozy’s eyes and since no pony had been exiled and imprisoned to the place they were exiled to by an enraged Alicorn, it was a good indication that she was correct. Controllable, but potential for neurotic breakdowns and high magic potential. D1 Queen.
Dream Catcher, kirin, apparently the daughter to the Guard Captain of the Royal Guard, not that she’d been aware the mare had a child, though been admitted by Princess Twilight. Perhaps she would need to keep an eye on her. A1 Castle.
Silent Knight, unicorn, with aspirations of joining the Royal Guard after school according to his application. Cozy felt a pang of guilt and hoped that the future guard was up to the task of protecting the school from the others. B1 Knight.
Chenin Grape, Pegasus, the overseas student probably deserved better than to be placed in the crusader dorms, but between her application and the simple fact that Dream Catcher and Jade Star should make excellent friends for the Prench filly. F1 Bishop.
Then came the two new applications.
Easel Splash, Earth pony. While seemingly unassuming, the colt was apparently the ward of Darning Weave, though all contact details were directed to an orphanage in Manehattan. While strange, Cozy needed more information before determining how best to manage the colt. Unknown piece.
Liquorice Toastie, Earth Pony. Except for a photo, no information was provided. E1 King or White player.
Celestia preserve her, the element of laughter had returned to Equestria and was going to be her student, Headmare Cozy Glow was doomed.
In a small house in Hollow Shades, a Unicorn paced back and forth in his room. It had been weeks since his application to join the School of Frienchip had been posted and currently the lack of a reply was causing him no end of fright. He’d planned it out, graduate from the School of Friendship, join the Dusk Guard, eventually become Captain of the Night Guard itself, marry a beautiful princess and together their love would defend Equestria from the great evil that heralded the return of the Revered Mistress of the Night, who along with Princess Sparkle would usher in a new golden age for Equestria.
Even he had to admit, he tended to get a little carried away with the tale of his own life towards the end but what good Oubliettes Master didn’t plan big? Of course something would go wrong, these stories always did, no matter what plans were made, in any Ogres and Oubliettes story the party ALWAYS goes on a path the OM least expected.
Pausing in front of a mirror, the reflection showed a blueish grey colt with a short silver mane and tail named Silent Knight. Though one of less than a dozen Unicorns living in Hollow Shades, his tufted ears and Draconic slitted blue eyes marked him as one of the Thestral Bloodline, and his devotion to the Mistress of the Night was as strong as any Thestral in the town. He’d show them he was not just some half blood!
A knocking at the door almost caused Silent Knight to jump out of his skin. Racing out of his room and down the stairs to the front door, he arrived in time to see his mother tipping the Mailmare some bits but most importantly, holding a large letter under her wing, a letter addressed to him. He could barely contain his excitement, it was finally here! The letter that would decide his fate, his journey towards the guard, his quest towards love and the return of the Mistress of the Night. It was everything he could have hoped for, until he finished reading the letter.
“You will be living in Crusader Dorm 1, at this time no other roommate has been allocated however please be aware that these rooms are designed to be shared between two creatures of the same gender but any race within the Harmony Coalition of Creatures, please be considerate while packing and recommended list of items and the list of prohibited articles.”
….
Crusader Dorm 1.
His dreams shattered like a giant mirror. He was going to be a crusader, and every creature in Hollow Shades knew what that meant. It had been 130 years since the last Thestral Crusader, Cheese Crater, had joined that dorm, and 13 months later he, two dragons, and a changeling had decided to send a rocket to the moon. The dorm had to be closed down due to the damage the rocket caused, and after Cheese Crater had been retrieved from the moon, the crusaders were quietly asked to not return to the school, but Cheese Crater was never seen again!
Ok, so Cheese had apparently joined the Changeling space program but since he never returned to Hollow Shades saying he was never seen again made a much better plot hook.
Regardless, Silent knight was DOOMED!
*************************************
Equestria???
Two weeks until school.
The sound of scratching quills on paper filled the air as three quills worked in parallel writing up a report, on what could be summed up as, far too many rules to follow at a dinner party, not falling asleep during a formal dinner is apparently one of them.
All three quills stopped, and Dream Catcher's ears flicked to attention. She could hear someone crying. Forgetting the assignments (that could be done later), the filly rose and trotted off towards the new noise. Through the star spangled door, along a corridor, down a chimney and along the roof and into a window. There was no mistaking it now, on the other side of this door there was a crying colt and she couldn’t allow anyone to be sad and on their own.
Three knocks on the door and no responses later, Dream Catcher let herself into the colt’s room.
As Dream Catcher adjusted to the new place, she found herself in the middle of a rainstorm, a crack of lightning revealed she was in a large field, with rows of grapevines as far as the eye could see. Closing her eyes, Dream Catcher allowed herself to be led towards the sound of the colts crying. Weaving between rows she eventually found herself in front of a small mound, hollowed and reinforced out to create a small den with wooden shutters and a door. Inside was a large enough space where several ponies could lie down and rest, however presently only one small green Colt with a yellow mane huddled inside.
“Hello? Are you alright?”
The colt jumped at the sound of Dream Catcher's voice and looked around with wide eyes, “Who’s there? What are you doing here?!”
“I heard you crying,” Dream Catcher said, “so I came to help”.
The colt looked at Dream Catcher and narrowed his eyes. “Who are you? I’ve never seen you before, what even are you?”
Dream Catcher raised her hoof to her mouth and giggled. “Why, I’m a Kirin, and my name is Dream Catcher, my coat is black as the night, topped with a mane of sky blue for all to see. Fear not these teal pools which give me sight, for nopony’s eyes should give thee fright.”
Hearing her words, the colt seemed to calm down. With a sniff, he slowly uncurled himself and dried his tears on a fetlock. “My name's Tender Vine, it's nice to meet you.”
“The pleasure is all mine, Tender Vine,” Dream catcher sang in a sweet voice as she entered the small hole under the hill. “If you would forgive me for being so bold, please tell me why are you alone in this cold?”
Again Tender Vine sniffed. “Everyone’s gone, they left me here all alone. First my sis, then ma and pa. I’m all alone and I don’t know what to do.”
The skies darkened and a crack of lightning streaked through the sky, causing the young colt to jump. As he landed he found himself in the embrace of Dream Catcher.
“Where did they go?”
“My sister left to join the School of Friendship, she even got invited to join the Crusader dorm like great great grandma Wine. I don’t know where Ma and Pa went, I just can’t find them anywhere.”
Looking into his eyes, Dream Catcher asked “Is there truly no one else around? No one's company to be found? No friends with whom you play? With whom to pass the hours of day?”
“I have my friends,” the colt said, “There’s Creme, Fleur, and Blanc. This is our hideout, we come here everyday after school.”
As the last word left the colt's mouth, a trio of voices could be heard over the last drops of rain, calling the young colt's name.
“It's my friends!” he exclaimed in excitement, “They haven’t forgotten about me!”
Dream Catcher released Tender Vine from the hug. “Indeed. now run along, but do not be gone long. Your parents are cooking your favourite, but don’t tell them you know, it's meant to be a secret.” The colt's face beamed with glee, as he ran out of the den to join his friends.
The rain had gone and the skies were a peaceful blue, as if blessed by Celestia herself. Dream Catcher smiled to herself, she knew the colt would not remember her but that was fine. “It seems your sister is going to be my school mate, I promise I’ll make her write to you every week.” She turned and found a door to leave that had not been there a moment ago and after a short walk she found herself back in her room.
A yawn escaped Dream Catchers maw and she decided that now would be a good time to get some sleep. She wrapped herself in her favourite cloak, an oversized dark blue that matched the night sky embroidered with tiny motes of light as if the cloak held stars within its thread. Wrapped up and curled on top of a pillow, she allowed herself to fall asleep.
*** Canterlot - Magnus Boulevard
5pm
In Canterlot, inside one of the fancier mansions, there was a room, where no light could breach the darkness where a certain filly was fast asleep, wrapped in a midnight blue cloak with flecks of white. The door to the room opened, and while no light entered, two slitted teal eyes shone in the darkness, guiding the intruder towards the sleeping filly.
“Dream, you should awaken.”
The filly stirred, and opened an eye to see who had woken her from her sleep. “Five more minutes?” she said through a yawn.
The mare chucked, “That would depend, daughter of mine. Did you complete your assignment?”
Dream Catcher gulped. Oops.
*************************************
Five miles East of Manehattan docks.
Two weeks until School.
Seagulls sored over the heads of the many Ponies and Gryphons journeying on the cruise ship. The ship had set sail from Prance seven days ago, and the luxurious ship ensured that all its guests had a journey second to none. All its guests except for Chenin Grape.
Chenin Grape had elected to spend her voyage in her cabin, stating to any who had asked that she was busy preparing for her entry into the prestigious School of Friendship. In truth, Chenin did not dare travel more than several hoofs from the nearest toilet, or bucket at a stretch, and she would never allow someone to see her in such a state. One might even say that Chenin was currently a crumpled mess on her cabin’s floor.
The usually pale green pegasus was looking a little extra green than normal, the result of discovering early into the week-long cruise that boats did not agree with her. She knew her poor leaf green mane was simply a disaster and in desperate need of an emergency spa treatment. Though the ship's spa was located only a short canter away it might as well have been several leagues away for all the good it would do her.
“Attention all passengers,” a gruff voice called from the room's speaker. “This is your captain speaking, we will be arriving in Equestrian waters any minute now, and will be docking in Manehattan in approximately two hours. Passengers are welcome to remain onboard or disembark immediately, those of you who are leaving us at Manehattan please remember to empty your room by 11am tomorrow, we are not responsible for any valuables left behind after this time.”
Two hours. That's how much longer she'd have to put up with this. Chenin could feel her anger boiling to the surface, she was stronger than this, she shouldn’t be reduced to a wreck on the floor, by The Heart she could fly that far! She might even beat the ship into dock. To feel the wind through her feathers and the salty spray against her face.
No.
A lady would never do such a thing, and Chenin Grape was a well to do Lady, she would not have her grand entrance into Equestria as some uncouth feather brained brute. She breathed, regaining her composure and finding the strength to rise.
“I am an elegant lady, I am going to the most prestigious School in the civilised world, the school founded by Princess Sparkle herself, and right now, I am going to wash myself and find a dress to look at least moderately presentable for my arrival.”
First impressions were important, though somewhere in her brain she knew that countries didn’t really care about your appearance, and would certainly not notice a single mare. She could hear that small part of her laughing at how ridiculous she was being, and how much harder she was making it for herself.
She shook her head and put the voice to the back of her mind. “I am going to be a Crusader, I am even sharing a room with the daughter of the most fabulous mare to ever walk this world.” She had met Darning Weave once before. Well, she’d been in the crowd at a fashion show some years ago, and since that day had sworn to be just like her.
And her daughter Jade Star was going to be her room mate, it just had to be fate.
With her determination gathered, she finally found her footing and walked into her shower for a much needed grooming session.
With a sudden lurch of the boat, Chenin found herself once again a crumpled mess, only this time in her room's tub as once again the room's speaker came to life.
“Hello again all passengers. It would appear the tide is a bit rougher than anticipated, and we will likely be delayed at least an hour”.
At this moment, a bottle slipped from the shelf, landing painfully on Chenin’s head.
Deep within the Canterlot Archives, concealed behind numerous shelves and surrounded by towers of books,sits a white coated unicorn filly with a mane of jade green which was split in two by a single stripe of pink, and emblazoned on her flank was a trio of jade green stars. While the moon currently held dominion over the skies, and all the candles in the archive had been extinguished, a single mote of light served as illumination for the filly, along with several tomes, while initially grabbed for reference, had long since been forgotten as she focused on the text between her hooves.
“According to Starswirl's treaties on harmonic meta enhancements to magic, as observed from several wielders of harmony, it is possible with strong connection to harmony, along with a foci dedicated to one of its aspects, for a creature to channel the natural magicks of our plane to alter the intention of certain spells.
An example of this can be witnessed from my good friend Rockhoof, whose connection to the aspect of strength enhances his natural earth pony abilities, granting him strength beyond any other creature I have met.
Through discussion with the sisters, I believe this energy is in fact drawn from a plane of existence tied to our own. While many names could be attributed to it, either ‘Harmonic Plane’ or ‘Passage of Souls’ seem to be fitting names to this location. I shall elaborate more upon this place in a future text.”
Jade Star sighed. Of course this book would lead towards yet another tome, it seemed that each book the ancient unicorn had written would inevitably reference a book that he intended to release at a later date. Of course, at her current count, five of those books were un-accounted for within the archive, possibly six since she had not come across any text that could be a study into this “Harmonic Plane”. But whoever these “Sisters'' were, they were starting to get on Jade’s nerves. Several references to the “Sisters'' could be found scattered throughout all of Starswirl’s works, however their names, or even any indication of who they could be eluded her.
Then there was the difference between the names, ‘Harmonic Plane’ or ‘Realm of Souls’. She’d heard of the latter, it usually came up in religious texts about the afterlife, a rite of passage where a creature’s soul is judged on its way to Elysium. What a place like that could have to do with Harmony however was lost on her. Maybe these Sisters shouldn’t be considered as reliable sources.
Jade’s eyes twitched, the clip and clop of hooves started to fill the silent archive. Some pony else had entered the archives, but at this hour who could it be?
Her mother, Darning Weave? They had gotten into an argument just a few short hours earlier. When Jade had heard that her mother had returned to the castle, she was initially excited, but that changed when the mare opened her mouth.
“Jade, darling, there you are. I have the most exciting news! I managed to get you a spot at the School of Friendship, you’ll even be staying in my old dorm, the Crusader lodge. Isn’t that marvellous, darling?”
Jade couldn’t quite remember what happened after that. She knew she’d been angry, she’d shouted, her mane had caught fire, and then she had managed to cast a teleport. Why was it always this way? Deep down she knew her mother was trying to do something nice, but she didn’t have time for distractions now. She also vaguely remembered her mother saying she had to leave again, so this intruder couldn’t be her.
The hoof steps grew louder, and Jade noted that each step took slightly longer than a regular pony’s, which reduced the options down to three ponies, two of whom were in different countries, and meant that they were no intruder.
Rounding a corner, a large lavender alicorn stepped into the light, ethereal mane blowing as if caught in a non-existent wind, the light reflecting off her polished regalia.
“Hello, my little star. I see you’re having a late night study session, may I join you?”
Princess Sparkle, Ruler of Equestria and leader of the Harmony Coalition and her teacher.
“Of course, Princess, but I was just er … leaving! Big day tomorrow, lots of work to do, it is very late and I should be going!”
Jade Star knew of course that what she was studying wasn’t exactly forbidden. She also knew from experience that the princess would happily join her and help in a late night study session. What she wanted to avoid was the princess figuring out why she was researching Harmonic meta magic, that was definitely illegal.
“Hmm…” Princess Sparkle, seemingly unfazed by Jade's statement, moved up and sat down on a cushion beside Jade. “Let’s see… oh one of Starswirl's books, which one … harmonic enchantment. Jade Star, that … ia a most interesting choice of study.”
Busted, her reaction said it all, but the divine fury, anger or mild annoyance that Jade expected was absent from the alicorn. In fact it was almost as if the alicorn was terrified.
“Jade … I’m sorry.”
The universe was mocking her, Princess Sparkle was now apologising to her, but that could mean only one thing.
“Princess, does that mean you know? About my mother?”
Silence now reigned in the library. Jade Star hardly dared to breathe.
“I’m sorry, Jade Star, but yes. I am very well aware of your mother’s … condition, but I must ask you not to follow this line of research.”
“But Princess - ”
“Your mother wouldn’t want this. The cost of using this type of magic caused this, it won’t reverse what has been done.”
“But there has to be something that I can do, she’s dying!”
She’d said it, Jade wasn’t angry about been sent to some school. Jade often argued with her mother for many reasons, but the real reason, the one that she had never said to anypony, was that Darning Weave's magical signature was growing weaker and should a unicorn's magical signature disappear, all prognosis were terminal. Her mother was dying and instead of spending time together, her mother was galavanting around Equestria and she was either starting an argument or burying herself in research.
The filly didn’t know when she started crying. She didn’t realise when a magenta glow brought her into the embrace of the alicorn, and she wouldn’t remember how long they stayed together before she cried herself to sleep wrapped in lavender wings.
***
Twilight walked through the castle with the wreck of a unicorn she had failed on her back. Jade should be still finding her place in the world, but what did she have? A mother who had sold her magic in service of Equestria, a home surrounded by insufferable nobles who gossiped about the young pony, and a second parent who might as well be absent from her life. Quietly, Twilight slipped into the quarters Jade shared with her mother, and brought the filly to her bed, tucking her in for the night.
“Sleep well my little princess, I hope someday you will forgive us.”
He’d been persuaded to attend a charity art gala and auction tonight, a mistake he’d definitly not make again. The event was to raise money for his orphanage, and while he was happy to help raise money for his and the other colts’ home, dealing with snooty ponies at an art gala had not joined his list of cool things. The snobby ponies, with their muzzles up their own flanks, only agitated Easel.
“Oh, this piece is not very original now, far too much colour.”
“I suppose it's not too bad, for an Earth pony.” “When I see it I don’t feel anything, it's just a random assortment of paint.”
“This piece lacks any sort of Avant-garde.”
“I suppose it could be worth a few bits, just to give the orphans something.”
“Clearly all this painting shows is the inner turmoil of a colt without their parents.”
The light brown colt pushed his way through the backdoor of the art gallery, relishing in the cold breeze now blowing through his red, yellow and blue mane. Tonight was definitely not awesome. His art submission had been an expression of a recurring dream, a dream of freedom, colour splitting apart and no longer being bound to the earth. But despite putting his heart onto canvas, he’d simply been mocked and pitied. While he could admit that his submission wasn’t exactly what the other art pieces were, those were more of what ponies would consider “modern,” shapes out of proportion, random splotches, apparently they were meant to be, ‘thought provoking’. The painting merely called “Void” inspired Splash to think, sure, but that thought was: “The void could do with some new colour.”
Walking away from the gala building and into the adjoining park, Easel found a secluded bench upon which to rest on. It was a clear night, and thankfully the stars shone in all their splendour upon Equestria. The music from the gala was mostly muted, the breeze blowing through the trees, but something else was also in the wind. Was some creature snoring?
After a brief look around, Easel finally found the source of the snoring, and was surprised to find that it was not a pony, but a dragon. A large, purple and green dragon was sleeping by a nearby pond, defenceless and practically a blank canvas begging for some creativity pranking.
Taking out his name sake and a selection of paints from his tattered old saddlebag, Easel walked over to the sleeping dragon.
************
Darning Weave was having a delightful evening, if delightful meant hobnobbing with some of the worst examples of what upper class society had to offer instead of spending time with her loved ones then yes, delightful. Her fight with Jade Star still weighed heavily upon her mind, she’d gotten so caught up in planning her daughter's future, she’d lost track of what was much more important. At least Twilight promised to arrange some extra time with Jade while Darning went to visit their friend, Sunny Skies. Having her dear draconic friend Spike personally fly her to Manechester however had proven to be the highlight of the day. She had always gotten along well with the drake, and having a chance to say goodbye before his return to the dragonlands was a very bittersweet gift Twilight had arranged.
The (usually) pegasus Sunny Skies had invited Darning to attend an art auction with the intent of raising money for a local orphanage. Had any creature else sent the invite, Darning would have refused due to a more pressing deadline. Darning scolded herself, happy thoughts not morbid ones thank you, but she knew that if Sunny was requesting her presence, then there was more going on than an auction to raise some extra bits.
For Darning Weave’s entire life, she had been searching for a solution to a near impossible problem. “How do you fix a problem that wasn’t meant to be fixed?” The answer apparently was rather obvious, ‘Gathering the Elements of Harmony to open the way ’. What the stupid prophecy neglected to mention was that finding a group of creatures who could wield all the elements, when harmony itself had no interest in intervening, was nigh on impossible.
“Darning Weave! Is that you?”
Snapped away from her thoughts, Darning’s attention was drawn to none other than Sunny Skies herself. Though she would never admit it, Darning envied the pegasus, her poise, posture, short cut pink mane and fabulous tail were the perfect ensemble. What the unicorn wouldn’t give to look so effortlessly perfect.
“Hello darling, thank you for inviting me. I do hope you forgive me for not arriving sooner. I only received your letter yesterday, and had it not been for a certain gentle drake I doubt I would have managed to attend.”
“Well I am glad to see you. Just the news that an invitation had been sent to you increased the interest in tonight's auction tenfold, but I shall not waste your time. While I'm glad I managed to see you again, I hadn’t realised how far your condition had progressed. Should you not be home with Jade and Twilight?”
Darning cringed, Sunny Skies had the most horrifying ability to read a pony, at least she hadn’t picked up on yesterday's fight.
“But you seem stressed, did you have another argument with Jade Star? What happened this time?”
MIND READING OLD HAG!
Darning cleared her throat and collected herself.“ Yes, Sunny, sadly we had an argument before I left. I thought that she could join the candidates at Twilight’s school for the coming term. I know she’s not a match for any of the elements, but she’s around the same age as the candidates and there's a spot open at the school, some friends will be good for her. Friends I hope will help her move on. Speaking of candidates, I am rather hoping you might have a creature or two to introduce me to?”
“Indeed, only one I'm afraid. It took some doing, but I believe I have enough evidence that there won’t be any cost to you. His name is Easel Splash, he’s actually one of the orphans I teach, would you believe?”
“I would, though I struggle to see how arranging an art gala of all things would be relevant.”
Sunny skies smiled, and led Darning to one of the auction rooms. The room was filled with mostly ponies, though the occasional changeling and hippogryph were in attendance.
A portly gryphon stood on the podium, waiting for two stage hands to bring on the next item. “Now showing lot number 15, titled ‘Breaking Through to Freedom’ …”
Darning saw the picture and froze, noise faded away as the world around her seemed to blur away. She felt free, fabulous and weightless. She could feel awe from the gathered ponies all around her, then horror, she was falling then, an explosion of colour, relief and salvation.
“... going twice”
“One hundred thousand bits!”
Gasps erupted from the audience. Creatures looked around, as did Darning, now snapped out of her daze, searching for the creature to place such a ludicrous bid, only to realise, the mare who’d made the bid was none other than herself. Darning looked to her companion, only to see Sunny Skies with a camera in her hooves and a large grin plastered on her face.
“Gotcha.”
************
As the auction drew to a close, a merry Sunny Skies led a slightly comatose Darning Weave out into the cold Manechester air.
“I must thank you, Darning, that was indeed a most generous bid.”
“One Hundred.”
“With that much funding, and the resulting crazy bids, we should be funded for the next decade. If I'd known art could be this lucrative I would have given it a second at some point.”
“Thousand.”
“If you don’t mind, I'd even like to name something in your honour, perhaps a new art room?”
“Bits”
“Ok, Darning, it’s time to come back to reality.”
From seemingly nowhere, a bubble of shimmering golden water appeared above the unicorn. With a pop, the water came crashing down, soaking Darnings mane.
“AAaahhh, thank you darling. I'm fine now, but that painting, I don’t understand.”
Sunny smiled. “It reminded me of a competition I had the pleasure of viewing long ago, two ponies were in the arena, showing off their flying skills. One of the ponies, a generous unicorn, had gained the most beautiful butterfly wings, but she flew too close to the sun, burned her wings and she began to fall.”
Sunny chuckled, holding up a hoof to stop the question she knew Darning was about to ask. “Before you say anything, I had nothing to do with the accident. The other pony, a pegasus fortunately, saw the unicorn fall and hurried to rescue her, but not even the fastest of pegasai would have been able to reach the unicorn. Then a miracle happened, she went faster than any pegasus possibly could and saved the unicorn mere metres from the ground, and created -”
“The Sonic Rainboom?” Darning asked.
“Indeed, a feat only one whose soul resonated strongly with loyalty could achieve. Easel Splash, the colt I want you to meet, painted that piece from his heart, from a dream if I remember correctly.”
“Thank you Sunny, when would I be able to meet him?”
Sunny smile only widened. “We’re on our way to meet him, Darning. I believe that he's … right over there…”
Sunny Skies and Darning Weave froze, in front of them were two creatures.
A young earth pony colt with a tri-colored mane, and a dragon.
Last the mares had checked, the dragon was purple scaled with green spines. The dragon in front of them however now sported blue scales and his spines were six different colours. Looking to her companion, Sunny could only chuckle. If Darnings jaw dropped any lower, it would touch the ground.
“Look at the bright side, Spike looks about 20% cooler now,” Sunny whispered.
Hearing her voice, the colt tensed and slowly turned to look at the recently arrived mares.
“Oh crud.”
*************************************
Four weeks and two days before school,
Canterlot
ACCHOOOOOO
During an early, Canterlot morning, a young mare was awoken by an inconvenient sneeze, bolting upright the mare takes a look at her environment.
“Inconvenient sneeze? Check, forgot what I was doing? Double check, oh oh and a twitchy nose! That's seventh sense telling me that something plot related and requiring me to do something is going on!”
Speaking to no creature, the golden coated mare rolled out of her bed, and began to trot to the room's vanity mirror.
“Messy hair? Check, white, blue, yellow, black and pink mane? check check! Still a slightly overweight earth pony who’s cutie mark is a toastie, with rainbow syrup filling? Yep thats me, now I exist as more than a statement from a past chapter that's not chronologically happened yet, oh and my name is Liquorice Toastie by the way”
I have no idea what's going on here …
“That's fine, don’t worry, chapters and segments that involve me as the focus will be very rare to the point where unless something changes, I probably won’t get to do this till Chapter 13.
Hey, that's not set in stone yet!
“Of course silly, but what else were you planning to do with me in this chapter?”
Well …
“And how else were you going to explain my inclusion? After all, you need my flank to be a plot hole filler”
Why are we going for the teen rating in this chapter?
“Welllll, if you don’t want to get censored on certain platforms, if you add a random bit of non-PG content you don’t need to worry about being labelled childrens content!”
And why is that our problem?
“Oh thats easy, its to let everyone know that everypony in this fic going forward is a legal adult, since everyone's age is a bit ambiguous, here is the clarification”
Thanks I think, why am I having this conversation with you again? You’re a fictional character, I'm starting to think I'm going a bit crazy?
“Oh, am I a fictional character? OR, is what you’re writing just a window into a parallel universe that will end abruptly once you get bored, so to stop that I secretly devised a plot spanning 500 years to -”
And Scene change.
*************************************
Four weeks and one day until school.
Canterlot Castle - Throne room
The bells of Canterlot had not rung today, though the sun had risen, it did not shine and while Princess Twilight Sparkle was holding day court, mentally she was absent.
The events of yesterday had not come as a surprise, Twilight knew this day was coming, she’d tried to be prepared, but it hadn’t helped. Yesterday morning, Darning Weave had passed away peacefully in her sleep from a rare and undiagnosed magical deficiency disease. That was the official story of course, what really happened was that Darning weave had traded her life force to power far too many divination spells, all in an attempt to find the answer to Equestria's salvation.
Three hundred years ago, Twilight had accepted that the end was inevitable. It was a fact, mathematics proved it and astronomical data backed up the calculations, you can’t fight against that kind of evidence.
Thirty years ago, her heart was stolen by a beautiful mare, who had made her feel more alive than she had in centuries. Friends came and went, filling her days with joy, but this mare was different.
Eighteen years ago, that silly mare had convinced her to help Cadence with a ritual that the other alicorn had devised, a year later they greeted their daughter, Jade Star.
Now, the pony whom she vowed to share a life together, had left her all too soon. Twilight desperately wanted to see her again, but more than anything, she wanted to make sure that the greatest gift Darning had left her, could have a future. A future that was currently in danger.
Taking a few moments to focus on court, Selene Sentinel, Captain of the Night Guard was proceeding over matters in her stead, though with news of Darning Weaves passing, most petitioners had rearranged their appointments to a later date, but there seemed to be a mare entering now.
The mare walked closer to Twilight's throne, perhaps a little too close. Then the world froze, the mare had pulled something from her saddlebag, and thrown the projectile towards her. She couldn’t react, even Selene had been caught off guard.
“Surprise!”
The world went dark, she’d been hit. She felt a trickle of something trickle into her mouth, was it blood? No, it was …
Syrup?
It was vinegar and strawberry flavoured syrup. Studying her hooves, most of a tart now lay between her hooves, the rest was smeared all over her face.
Twilight looked up from the tart to where her pastry armed assailant had been. What was there now was a pile of guard ponies, attempting to subdue the pony. Said pony however, was currently standing next to twilight with a large grin.
“Hiya Twi, did you like the balsamic vinegar and strawberry tart? I also brought you some hay burger, just how you like it” the intruder leaned in closer and whispered conspiratorially into Twilight's ear “a second burger and three servings of hay-fries, no cheese on the burgers.”
Twilight took a few seconds to inspect her assailent, fluffy hair, crazy grin and light blue eyes filled with joy.
At this moment Twilight decided to do the only thing that made sense, she laughed.
The whistle of the Friendship Express announced to the creatures crowding the Ponyville station's platforms that it was departing, though it seemed that no creatures paid it any mind. Tomorrow would be the start of the new academic year at the School of Friendship, much to the joy of every creature present, with one exception. Easel Splash.
Squashed on the crowded platform, it was a miracle that no creature had gotten hurt yet, and while the crowd was slowly making their way, it was far too slow for Easles' liking.
"Oh, come on, move it, why are you all so slow."
The last few weeks had been a bit of a blur, and while the dragon's reaction had been hilarious, painting the drake had set off a cascade of events that resulted in his enrollment at the School. While he’d heard that his punishment had been dismissed, what he wasn’t made aware of was that, as recompense, he was to become a ward to the unicorn he’d seen with Sunny Skies...
Easel had no ill will towards the unicorn; in her weird upper-class way, she seemed a lot cooler than the other upper-class types he'd encountered; she’d also donated tons of bits for the orphanage; and then there was her letter.
Dear Easel Splash
It was truly a privilege to meet you, and while I wish it were not so, if you’re reading this letter, I am sadly dead.
Please forgive me if I haven’t had a chance to mention my condition, but regrettably, while writing this letter, I do not know if I will have time to explain things to you.
First off, I wish you all the best. I know you have a bright future ahead of you. You have promise as an artist. Let your heart guide you. You have no idea the effect that a piece of art can have on a creature to whom it speaks to.
Second, Spikey Wikey wasn’t able to clean all the paint off before his return to the Dragon Lands. While he and those around him will see the funny side, Dragons don’t forgive easily, so expect to become a victim of one of his pranks. I hope the two of you bond when you get the chance.
Third, my daughter, Jade Star, is now your legal guardian, as you have been named her ward. Please try to get along; she needs a friend regardless of how she might act.
Finally, my last piece of advice to you is to follow your heart, make friends, and learn what is truly important to you.
May Harmony be with you.
Darning Weave.
Easel sighed, he wished he could have gotten to know the mare a bit more. Very few adults had been interested in adopting or fostering him, to the point where he was almost old enough to make his way in the world without ever being adopted. He’d given up on the prospect of finding a family and became more of an older brother to the younger colts at the orphanage. It was hard to admit, but he was starting to miss them a bit, not that he was willing to admit it.
Lost in his own thoughts, Easel failed to avoid a manoeuvring Yak and was knocked into the luggage of another creature. With some flailing and failing to maintain his balance, he was quickly aware that he had ended up flat on his back.
"Oh, quel bordel! Watch where you are going, you ruffian".
After struggling to his hooves, Easel notices a few things:
First, the creatures on the platform had somehow managed to make a clearing around him. Second, there were five luggage bags of various sizes scattered around him, with their contents scattered on the platform. Third, there was a tall, slender pegasus before him, she had a light green coat, leaf-green hair, and the most stunning emerald eyes. Finally, and what Easel quickly decided was most important, said mare was furious.
"If you have quite finished with your staring, you should fix this mess that you have created; it is most uncouth not to properly make up for one's misdemeanours."
Hey, look, I didn’t mean to crash into your stuff like that; I got knocked ok, but sure, I’ll help you pick up your stuff". Easel apologised, but looking around at all the bags, he just couldn’t stop himself from asking, "Why the hay do you even have this many bags? Are you opening up a shop or something?" Sometimes, Easel really needed to learn not to open his mouth.
The Pegasus was taken aback, if only momentarily, before glaring at Easel. He decided that he really needed to learn when not to open his big mouth.
"For your information, you ruffian, I’ll have you know that, oh, why are you turning purple?"
The question caught Easel off guard. Green? Though he was looking at a fetlock, he could see a faint purple shimmer around his coat.
"I err, don’t-".
The mare didn’t get a chance to hear what the earth pony was about to say, with a lavender flash and a pop, he was gone. Leaving her luggage sprawled out across the platform.
The mare twitched and, under her breath, swore very quietly.
-----------------------------------------------
"-Know?"
The world had flashed purple before Easel's eyes, and while it had only been for an instant, he somehow felt like an eternity had passed since he’d been at the platform, being glared down at by the angry mare on the platform. A rather cute mare, Easel ideally thought to himself.
Blinking stars out of his eyes, Easel took a moment to gather his wits and survey his surroundings.
No longer was he on the platform; as was easily evident from his surroundings, he was now in a town square. Ponies were walking around, going about their daily tasks. Market stalls lined the street, selling flowers, books, and what looked like some of the juiciest apples Easel had ever seen, but what truly shocked Easel was what he saw beside him. Rising tall into the sky was a giant oak tree. At its base was a door with a plaque at its side.
"Shining Oaks Library, gifted to the town Librarian after the destruction of the previous library, may its bark and branches forever protect and shelter those who seek knowledge." A sense of ease and familiarity washed over Easel as he looked at the tree library; it almost felt like a second home, somewhere he could have sworn he had been here before.
"Ahem."
Broken from his thought and spinning around, Easel found, for the second time in far too short a time for his liking, a green-coated mare giving him a disapproving stare. He was really hoping this wasn’t going to become the norm.
"Since I don’t make mistakes with my magic, you must be Easel Splash" said the unicorn, whose horn was still aglow with the last wisps of a spell. "My name is Jade Star, and I believe you have been informed that I am to be your guardian until we have both finished our time at school. Do you have any questions?"
Easel took a second to compose himself and see who exactly he was speaking to. Jade green Unicorn, with a darker green mane, her long bangs mostly covered her eyes, but he did see a glimpse of amethyst.
"Eeeerrr, yeah, actually. Why did you teleport me?"
"You were in range and were on the busiest train from Mane-chester, it would have taken you far too long to leave the platform. I grew bored of waiting for you, so I brought you to me. You should probably be thanking me."
"Yeah, thanks, I guess." At least he was no longer on the receiving end of an angry Pegasus. "So, er, what now?"
"Now we go to school, and you get registered. Since I registered yesterday when it was nice and quiet, I'll be relaxing with a book. You, however, left registering until the busiest time of the day on what is probably going to be the busiest day; you'll have a long wait ahead of you. Since we will be sharing a dorm. I shall meet you later to discuss food arrangements."
Indicating the conversation was over, Jade turned abruptly and started making her way to the edge of town.
*Well, it seems the welcome wagon woke up on the wrong side of the bed today* Easel thought to himself, hoping that the unicorn wasn’t currently reading his mind. She’d somehow managed to teleport him a fair distance; he couldn’t even see where the train station was now. What else was his grumpy unicorn capable of? No, never mind; that was a question best not answered. "Please try to get along; she needs a friend regardless of how she might act," the only request for Easel on Darnings letter and he was already failing, at least today couldn’t get much worse.
----------------------------------------------- Four hours!
Jade Star wasn’t joking when she said it would be busy. After standing in a queue for his student pack, another line for a photo, waiting for his ID, and then waiting for a stack of paperwork, Only then was he released to find his dorm room, his little space of home away from—well, the orphanage wasn’t really a home, but this would be his space, with the exception of the other colt he was to share the room with. It was time to see if his roommate was already home.
*Knock knock* After knocking for courtesy, Easel reached for the door handle only to find the door beginning to glow in a pink hue. "It's open; come on in," came the voice of a colt, presumably Easel's new roommate.
Oh, great, more magic," Easel thought to himself as he took the first step into his new life.
Equestrian Bugle
Breaking news - Monarch resting or Theatral Coup!?
Dear readers, today the unthinkable happened, our, oh-so-glorious leader, Princess Twilite Sparkle has announced to Equestria that she is required to enter the heavens, for “Important Alicorn stuffs.”*
But is this true?
By royal proclamation, the Princess is to be replaced by two ponies, a school teacher by the name of “Sunny Skies,” and Hallow Shades own, “Selene Sentinel,” as Stewards of the throne.
While some of you may believe that the appointment of a school teacher who sources say hails from Manechester, is nothing but a distraction.
What is truly going on is a Coup by none other than Princess Flurry Heart, the banished princess herself. We believe that this is the start of revolution to bring an ancient Equestrian nightmare back to life. Who you may ask? Nightmare Moon of course!
We believe that Princess Flurry orchestrated the princess’s disappearance in order to install herself as ruler. Please flick to page 7 where we will go into everything you need to know from - “How to detect a cultist”, “Best places to hide from evil shadow demons” and “What's a perfect Sundae for our guard captain.”
*Quote source - One of the Princess’s personal Dawn Guards at the “Burping Sea Pony.”
