Chapter 7

The six ponies had been brainstorming forever, but Twilight somehow felt like she was even farther away from finding the spell than before. The conversation kept going in circles. They all seemed to have very different ideas about what they would do if they were in charge.

"There should be an official Cake Day!" Pinkie said, licking her lips. "Everypony in the kingdom just eats cake all day like a giant birthday party!"

"A royal guard made up of the fastest Pegasus ponies would be totally awesome," Rainbow Dash chimed in. "We could hold a race to find out who's the best." Then she pointed to herself. "Other than me, of course."

Twilight took note, but knew this was not the sort of information she was looking for. She sighed heavily. "Applejack? Rarity? Any thoughts?"

Applejack's eyes lit up. "Oooh! How about making everypony have dinner with their families every night like the Apple family does?" she said earnestly. "Strong families build a strong community."

"Okaaay," Twilight said, thinking of her own brother and parents and how far away they lived. It was a nice thought, but it wasn't a practical suggestion. Not everypony was lucky enough to live near their family like Applejack.

"I have an idea!" Fluttershy offered.

"You do?" Twilight replied, her ears perking up. Fluttershy was soft-spoken, but she could be very creative and surprising. "Tell me!"

"I was just thinking how great it would be if there were a place where all the baby animals could play together in safety, far from the scary creatures of the Everfree Forest. Like a nature reserve, but just for baby animals! That's what I would do." She stared dreamily out the window, imagining playing with all the adorable animals.

"Ummm… okay," Twilight said, and wrote down the idea.

Twilight was starting to rethink her plan. She needed real ideas about how a kingdom works, not silly ones about baby animals and cakes. "Rarity, any ideas? You've been awfully quiet over there."

"Well, sure. If you actually want my opinion now…" Rarity grumbled. Ever since she'd tried to warn Twilight about the necklace and was shut down, Rarity hadn't felt like saying a peep. "I would design a fashion line, just for the kingdom. Exclusive pieces made from extravagant fabrics so that everypony would look and feel their best!"

Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy nodded in excited agreement, but Twilight wasn't impressed. "Fashions, Rarity?" Twilight shook her head in defeat. "Come on, you guys! Think outside the box!"

"Well, sorry if my idea wasn't good enough for you, Princess," Rarity replied, and stuck her nose in the air. "I wish you luck in coming up with a better one." Then she trotted out of Twilight's cottage in a huff.

"Whoops," Twilight said, finally realizing she had hurt Rarity's feelings. "I didn't mean to make her feel bad. Guess I got a little carried away. Sorry, everypony. I guess that's enough for tonight."