Letters From a Little Princess Monster

by Georg

First published 4th of November, 2013

Monster finds problems fitting in and getting used to her new world in Ponyville. To help adjust, she reaches out to Princess Luna who has many of the same problems now that she is recovering from being Nightmare Moon.

Now that Luna has returned to the throne, and the aftermath of her brief appearance as Nightmare Moon is being cleaned up, the story is over. Right?

Not quite.

Twilight Sparkle had nearly been destroyed in the chaos of Nightmare Moon’s return, but now with the assistance of her five friends, she is facing a fascinating new world filled with wonderful things. No longer the scarred monster who nearly destroyed Canterlot and raged through the Everfree Forest for over a decade, now she has been healed by the Elements of Harmony and is living at the edge of town with her adoptive mother Zecora. Not all the fears of her past can be left behind that easily though, and now she must face the consequences of her actions as she faces the most daunting challenge of her life.

Ponyville.

Letters is a sequel to the alternate universe story The Monster in the Twilight. In this story, Twilight Sparkle exchanges letters with Princess Luna, two ponies with a common problem of fitting in and making friends after the destruction of Nightmare Moon.

Normally I would try to talk you into reading the sequel even if you haven’t read the original story, but in this case, you’ll probably be more confused than entertained. But go ahead. I don’t mind if you don’t read the first story. You’ll never find out what an Urlock is, but that’s fine. It’s your funeral.

Editing Assistance by Alicorn Priest, Peter and Tek

Credit for the incredible picture All Night Study Group goes to Bibliodragon at Deviantart

Physical books are available on Lulu.com (up to Chapter 82)
Letters From a Little Princess Monster (Paperback) 726 pages
Letters From a Little Princess Monster (Massive Hardback) 780 pages

1. The First Day and Night - Part One

As the moon rose, it spread a thick coat of silver light across a single hollow tree towering quietly just outside of the Everfree Forest, tucked into the last few trees of an apple orchard. The tree had not been there last night. And it certainly had not gotten up and walked there on its own. That meant somepony had moved it there.

In that tree lived a small filly who had once been an adult unicorn named Twilight Sparkle before she had embarked on a terrifying journey of discovery and growth that ended when she saved a goddess from certain destruction. It could be said that the adult unicorn died and was reborn after having had her entire body turned into energy through an ancient artifact that had once created Equestria, but that was a bit confusing to explain to normal ponies, so it had been decided to simply declare Twilight Sparkle had gone ‘away’ for a while. The little alicorn filly with the muddled colors went by many names, both Monster and Twilight to her friends, Flower to her adoptive mother, and Menace to the new librarian of the town, but with a brand new world at the end of her nose, she wanted to pick a new name that would fit her new life.

Also in this hollow tree were many ponies, exhausted by a day of hard labor. There were six older ponies who had found themselves drawn together by some most unlikely friends, and they were still adjusting to the situation. Two zebras relaxed around a bubbling caldron in one room, one of them laying sprawled out across the ground while the other massaged her tense back and shoulders with great expertise and skill. He still cast the occasional disbelieving look at both the adopted child scratching a note by the fire and her mother lying contentedly under his hooves, but he seemed perfectly happy to remain in the situation he had fallen into. Five little ponies huddled nearby in a warm pile of multicolored bodies, having fallen asleep with little flecks of pie crust still on their face from dinner. And curled up around the bubbling caldron was a baby dragon, his tail inside the flames while a warm purr of happiness surrounded him, much like a cat.

Snuggled up next to the dragon was the small alicorn filly, a quill grasped in her magical field while she very carefully inscribed letters onto a scroll with the same exacting concentration a gemcutter would have for cutting a million-bit diamond.

Finishing the first line, she examined it with sparkling eyes, finally giving a sharp nod before bending down to continue.

dear princess luna.

today we moved our house in to town. we found a place by appleblooms house and the zapaple trees to put it and your sister even helped. i finally met appleblooms brother named big mac. he’s a nice pony. you would like him.

Big Mac took a moment to wipe the dripping perspiration off his face before taking a long look at the hole they had dug in the ground. It matched almost perfectly against the painstakingly drawn diagram that Apple Bloom was proudly double-checking, due to the carefully arranged strings and stakes that had been laid out before their arrival.

The hot summer sun had been almost directly above them while they dug the huge hole, and the heat made the labor brutal despite all the water they were drinking. Even Rainbow Dash had quit trying to get shade clouds to stay put overhead this close to the Everfree Forest and vanished off to somewhere cooler, probably for napping purposes.

“Does the hole meet with your approval now, oh Royal Observer?” asked Applejack with a particular quirk to her tone that indicated the bucket of fresh water she was drinking out of was about to get a secondary use.

“Huh?” Trixie jerked awake and tilted her chaise lounge forward, tilting her new hat backwards to look between the papers Apple Bloom showed her and the muddy hole. “Yes, I suppose. There’s just one thing missing.”

“Ah don’t see nothing wrong,” said Applejack, looking down into the hole while ignoring the distinctive tinkling of ice cubes as Trixie shook her empty glass. “‘Cept it might be missing one obnoxious royal observer and a few shovels of dirt on top.”

“Applejack, please!” Rarity adjusted her parasol for an increased angle of shade, peeking out the top of her sunglasses at her friends. And Trixie. “You’re only encouraging her.”

“Well, I don’t…” Trixie trailed off, looking down the trail that led into the Everfree Forest with sudden interest. Something was moving this way, slowly, deliberately, and casually pushing trees to either side as it approached.

“Monster!” squealed Apple Bloom, running around in circles. “She’s here! She’s here! We’re going to get our cutie marks in moving!”

“Moving what, mountains?” said Trixie in a daze, unable to tear her eyes away from the huge thing moving through the trees with slow, ponderous steps. With a crashing noise, the emerald green forest canopy opened to reveal… more emerald green foliage, only with a certain rainbow-maned pegasus perched on top and waving.

“Hi, Trixie!” called Rainbow Dash, waving a blue hoof cheerfully. “Remember when you said you were going to be living in the largest hollow tree in Ponyville. I think you meant the second largest hollow tree in Ponyville.”

The huge tree slowly began to rotate its roots in the direction of the hole as the Apple family moved forward to get a better look at the tree. A thick coat of vines and leafy branches accumulated during the trip made it almost impossible to see what creature was carrying it, or even if it was walking by itself, but a brisk rustling along the forward edge of movement showed the answer was soon forthcoming. With a snort to clear a leaf from her nose, a little multicolored unicorn filly poked her head out from under the branches and looked up at Big Macintosh with an expression of curiosity, as if she were trying to remember where she had seen him before.

There was something familiar about the eyes to Big Mac, those entrancing violet orbs that drew his own gaze and triggered a memory he had tried to forget. An affectionate memory from a terrifying, scarred adult unicorn with the scent of estrus in the air who would not stop pressing up against him in a clumsy attempt at mating. He had almost managed to stuff that memory back into whatever closet it had been caged inside when the little unicorn filly took a sharp sniff at the air, extended her wings, and a look of happy recognition filled her face.

“mac!”

The stories his sisters had told him of Monster’s epic battle with Nightmare Moon suddenly crashed in on him, combined with the memories of his own encounter with the scarred unicorn she had once been (and possibly a little bit of heatstroke). With a soft sigh, the stallion collapsed in a faint.

… i think i scare him a little but celesta says hes sweet.

The huge hollow tree finished lifting up and gently floated over above the carefully crafted hole, paused for a moment, then slipped its roots down into it just as neatly as a puzzle piece. As the golden light that grasped the tree faded away, a shout of joy rang out from Apple Bloom, followed by a number of joyous fillies (and one colt) who bounded out of the door to the hollow tree. Moving much slower after the little ponies were Zecora and a rather unsteady male ‘zebra’ who, from his somewhat tilted and squiggly black and white coat, had not quite figured out just how to make stripes look right⁽*⁾.

Princess Celestia regarded the tree with a great deal of pride and no small amount of dripping perspiration. It had been centuries since she had pitted her physical strength against something this heavy for this long a time, and muscles long-dormant gave happy little twinges that flushed her cheeks and other body parts with a vigorous bloodflow they had not experienced… Well, since technically she had shed most of her physical form while imprisoned in the sun and reformed her alicorn body from the solar plasma, she was feeling a little bit young again, in particular around certain bits.

Twilight Sparkle was hovering around a large red stallion she recognized as one of the Apple family, fanning her little filly wings over his face as the rest of her friends clustered around and discussed various resuscitation techniques that might induce a cutie mark. Her magic showed a strong heartbeat within the powerful stallion, with the scrambled thoughts that indicated a severe mental shock. She strode over to the fallen warrior, still next to his shovel, and listened to his friends.

“No, you corn-fed country hick,” snapped Trixie, her blue magical aura wrapped around the bucket Applejack was trying to dump on her brother. “If he’s having heatstroke, that could send him into shock. We need to wipe his face with a damp cloth and get him under some shade. Or more normal shade,” she added with a glance at the towering tree above her.

“A’m saying ah know how to treat mah own brother, you city-bred hussy. You just want to get your hooves all over his sweaty hide.”

“I’m sorry, but you’re both wrong,” said Celestia gently, moving closer where she could breathe in the thick scent of the stallion’s healthy sweat mixed with the rich dark earth that the excavation had displaced. “He needs mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.”

“Princess?” asked Trixie, somewhat stunned by a look in those big violet eyes she had never seen before. “I’m not certain that—”

“Hush, student. Your princess knows what she is doing.”

The world was a vast field of floating clouds and light breezes with only the distant sounds of the forest and rich scents of freshly turned earth that could differentiate it from Elysium Fields, where ponies went after they died. A heavenly choir sang sweet praise in the background, while a rich wave of scents swept gently over the stallion’s nose. It smelled of a summer day, bringing back memories of when the sun baked the grass underhoof to a crisp rustle as he walked through the pasture to the drone of bees and the taste of fresh wildflowers. Somehow there was also the scent of cake, a sweetness that wafted along with another scent. A familiar scent. It was a sweaty odor, but not the stale reek of stallion. Instead, it smelled of mare, a strong and powerful mare who had been out in the fields all day alongside her stallion. It smelled of mother, of memories he had nearly forgotten as a colt. His nose tingled with the smell, and his lips felt hot, as if the sun were shining down upon them and lighting a bonfire of pleasure. Somewhere in the distance he could hear a voice saying meaningless words that wanted to pull him from this heavenly place. Insistent words. Whining words. Unimportant words.

“Princess? I think he’s breathing now. You can quit any time. The kids are watching, and I think Menace is taking notes. All right, you asked for it. Applejack, give me the bucket.”

“Ah thought you said it weren’t a good idea to dump water on Big Mac?”

“It’s not for him.”

(*) [Translated from the original zebra:]
My husband has a problem, as you can clearly see
His stripes are not quite the same as the ones that cover me
While my stripes start at the top and go directly down
His stripes go from down to up, which makes him frown
While learning a zebra’s way is now his goal
His stripes will come before the foal
What? You say you did not know?
Certainly you will see when I begin to show.
The stars have written his fate quite clearly
And to Luna I am grateful, for I love him dearly

2. The First Day and Night - Part Two

...to celibate our first night in ponyville mom says we can have a sleepover. i did not think i wood like it much because nopony ever stayed at night in my house before but we all stayed in the work room except princess celesta who went back to the city and big mac who said he had to take a cold shower or twelve. it was a lot more fun than i thought but mom threw her back out playing twistar and trixie kept trying to leave to take a shower too. i wish you could stay here and help me not be scared but i know princess celestia really needs you and i have all my friends not to be scared with. i hope you and miss smarty pants make a bunch of friends too and visit me a lot so we can be friends too.

the end
i just remembered. i dont know if i should use my old name any more. that part of me seems gone and faded like it was in the sun. i remember some things so well and other things are like a dream, so i was thinking about making a new name. like twinkle. or star. trixie says i should be menace and applebloom says monster is just fine, and mom is really liking flower. i could use them all like trixie i suppose.
good night. good dreams

monster star twinkle flower menace.

The little alicorn filly blew gently over the paper until all of the ink had dried, and after one quick review for damp spots, she wrapped it around a stick and held it over the baby dragon’s mouth. Tickling the dragon on the side the way Trixie had taught her made the little dragon burp out a belch of green fire just big enough to consume the scroll, and Monster watched in fascination as the sparkles of the burning scroll wafted out of a nearby window and on their way to the light princess. This new world was just filled with exciting things, and although there was a lot to be scared of, there were so many more things she was looking forward to experiencing.

Listening to the faint whistling snores of her friends, Monster curled up against the little purple dragon and closed her eyes, asleep even before the letter reached its target.

Morning dawned brightly over Sweet Apple Acres, the first blinding beam of light breaking through the window outside of Big Mac’s bedroom to illuminate the room and bringing him to that drowsy state of wakefulness that always preceded the thought of the long line of chores awaiting his attention. He rolled out of bed to trudge to the bathroom, a routine that had occupied nearly his entire life at the farm ever since he had gotten old enough to put on a yoke and pull a plow. It was a welcome routine, so well worn and polished that he could have followed in pitch darkness through the familiar dents he had worn in the floorboards of the house. But today, something was different.

For one thing, it was not morning yet.

And for a second thing, the light was not coming from the sun.

Thick silver rays of moonlight cascaded down from the radiant sphere in the sky, formed into a beam so coruscatingly bright that it seemed solid enough to stand on. It certainly was solid enough for the dark figure that Big Mac saw up in the sky, sliding down the ray of moonlight as if it were the silver road beneath a goddess, lowering herself from the heavens where she belonged to touch one hoof upon base earth. Or in this case, the floor of Big Mac’s bedroom as four silver-clad hooves touched upon the floorboards with faint clicks, and Princess Luna looked down at the prostrate stallion bowing before her.

“Arise, Son of Equestria.” Her voice was as delicate as a summer breeze, and it drew Big Mac to a standing position as smoothly as if he had been levitated there, although his knees shook and bumped against each other.

“We have come to apologize for the actions of our sister, Macintosh of the Apple clan. She did force herself upon thee in a manner not appropriate in any locale, let alone a public gathering of thy family.”

“T-that’s f-fine, Your Highness,” blurted out Big Mac. “It’s fine. R-really.”

Luna’s brows drew together as she regarded the nervous stallion at closer range. “Do you fear me, Macintosh Apple?”

“Jest a tad, Your Highness.”

“Oh.” The gentle roil of stars and nebulae in Luna’s mane slowed to a halt as she turned for the open window. “We see. We apologize for our actions in addition to those of my sister, Macintosh Apple. We meant to assuage thy fear of my sister, and we did naught but add to thy discomfort.” Princess Luna made a small gesture and a ragged lump of cloth appeared, which she held against her chest as if it were made of priceless diamonds.

“Smarty Pants,” said Big Mac, startled into speech by the sight of the ragged doll. Two mismatched buttons had been sewn on for eyes and a few precise stitches around the outside edge showed the frayed edge of what appeared to be a small tablecloth, but it was recognizably the same doll he had returned to Monster a few short weeks ago.

“Y-you know of our gift?” Luna looked perplexed for a moment before taking a deep sniff of the ragged cloth, then moving up to Big Mac and placing her nose into his mane. A second sniff seemed to bring the glitter of a thousand sparks dancing down his neck and across his flank before Luna backed up a step with a smile. “Thou art the stallion. The one who earned the trust of Twilight Sparkle, who saved me from my darkness. Thank you.”

Big Mac twisted in embarrassment, grinding the toe of one hoof into the floorboards.

“Tweren’t nutting, really. She just needed a little trust and some friendship to get over her fears.”

Her enigmatic smile slowly faded as Luna turned back to the window. “I shall not trouble thyself with my fearsome presence any more this evening. Good Night, Macintosh.”

His big head came up abruptly, eyes wide in realization. “You’re scared of me too, just like her.”

Luna hovered at the windowsill, her wings extended much as a goddess would do to ascend back into the heavens, only a goddess probably would not have a rag doll hovering beside her in a tight magical grip. “No! We are… a princess. We do not fear.”

Big Mac did not reply at first. He just stared at Miss Smarty Pants for the longest time before walking up to Luna’s side and looking out his window at the glittering farm, laid out in silver moonlit tracery in the beautiful night.

“Everypony is afraid of somethin’ they can’t do nuttin’ about. Ah was just a little one when Pa took me camping my first time. We was all the way out in the west pasture watching the stars when a big ol’ hydra sounded off a couple miles out in the Everfree Forest. Ah plum near tore that tent in half tryin’ to get out, but my Pa, he sat me down and told me somethin’ I’ve been tryin’ to live up to ever since. He said sometimes when you’re afraid, you can think your way out of it, and sometimes you just gotta hit it head-on with the biggest shovel you can find. The hard part is finding out just which kind are thinkin’ problems and which ones are hittin’ problems.”

Luna leaned towards Big Mac, almost at the end of his nose before whispering, “I’ve tried to think this one out, and it didn’t work. Now what?”

Big Mac shrugged and leaned closer. “Improvise.”

Her lips were as cold as ice. But they warmed throughout the night.

It may not have lasted forever.

But it felt that way.

3. Gifts and Presence - Part One

On a small balcony on the side of a large hollow tree sat a tiny alicorn filly, her writing desk propped up in front of her where she could watch the evening sun illuminate Ponyville and the ponies who lived there as they prepared for the Night. They still frightened her, a chaotic mix of so many bright colors and loud voices that made her want to run away and hide, but the initial fears she had yesterday were muted, blunted somewhat by familiarity. The dictionary she had received today as a gift was fascinating by itself, and such an insidious temptation that she had decided it would be best if she were only to read ten pages of it a day, rather than sit down and try to absorb the whole thing in one sitting. The rest of the new books also called out their siren call to be read, but instead, she raised her quill decisively over the paper and began to write, with frequent references to the dictionary.

dear princess luna.

today i received a multitude of presents from various friends and confidants within the boundaries of ponyville, and i desired to share my experiences with you. initially we proceeded to fluttershys residence…

Monster huddled near her friend as they tip-hooved through the frightening yard, filled with horrible monsters that chirped and squawked at the intruders into their mistress’ property. In particular, a herd of fierce feathered creatures that looked like legged cockatrices rushed to the edge of their steel-wire pen and cackled loudly, undoubtedly seeking to petrify and peck to pieces the pony poking around where she did not belong. The two ponies circled around a predator disguised as a rock who slowly poked his head out and blinked at them, then past a deadly hive of killer insects who droned sleepily in the warm morning sunshine before arriving at the thick wooden door that protected the timid pony inside from her undoubtedly vicious neighbors.

Twist managed to get a hoof free from her clingy escort to knock at Fluttershy’s door, smiling broadly when Angel Bunny opened the door “Hi, Angel. Is Mith Flutterthy done with the You-Know-What?”

It was very cold in Monster’s mind as she looked into the piercing dark eyes of the tiny bundle of harmless-looking fluff, a deceptive wrapper around an undoubtedly lethal creature who glared at her with unmatched hostility. No wonder Fluttershy was so frightened all the time, with this horrible creature holding her in captivity, forcing her to do his will.

“Monster!” Sweetie Belle bounded across the floor to hug Twist, and by proximity, Monster, who was holding onto her friend so tightly that her multicolored coat seemed to blend in with Twist’s colors like camouflage. The devilish little bundle of rabbit fur went tumbling in Sweetie’s wake, winding upside-down in the corner as the three little ponies were swept inside to examine something.

It was weird. It was a clothing. A cape, to be specific, although after a brief check, there was no picture in the dictionary Twist had given her this morning. Trixie had worn something like it, but more burnt than this. It itched when Fluttershy draped it across her shoulders, but it made Twist and Sweetie smile. It was a little bit heavy over her new wings, but she really did not use them very often anyway, so it was no great bother. With a proud flourish, both of her friends produced capes of their own in much the same type and stayed right by her side as Fluttershy introduced her to all of the animals, who turned out to be much less frightening than she had initially thought.

Except for the rabbit…

...after the post-benefaction celebration, we proceeded to the abode of scootahlough scoots for additional merriment…

Monster froze up at the door to the ‘machine shop,’ rooted to the floor at the sight of the hideous monsters that filled scoot’s house. Bare ribs stripped of any flesh towered to the top of the ceiling, supporting a shiny skin of cold stone that scoots called ‘tin.’ Hanging from clanking metal vines were the corpses of other skeletal monsters, peeled and skinned to be turned into some sort of devices that could be dragged behind a pony on the ground or in the air. Round things called ‘wheels’ and ‘pulleys’ turned as they moved around, never falling off or bending while the air was filled with the clang and rattle of ponies working on the strange things.

It took her quite a long time to realize the wheels were simply larger versions of the little devices that were under scoot’s scooter, but when she did, it was as if a lightning bolt had gone off inside her brain. There were so many kinds of this new ‘metal’ far different than mom’s giant pot, or the rusty flakes of iron that still stuck out in places by the bones of the fallen stones where it is not safe to go. There were little golden discs called ‘bits’ and long ‘steel’ bars with notches called ‘wrenches’ and shiny clear things called ‘windshields’ that sparked memories and new ideas in her head until she could hardly see. Scoot’s ant, although she did not really look like an ant, but more like a pony, gave her a ‘chiltons’ to go with the ‘pocketknife’ scoots had given her, and gave her a tour of the ‘wagons’ and ‘harvesters’ that ended far too soon as they left for their next stop.

Monster lifted a hoof and brushed it across the books received as gifts today, feeling the whisper of the words trapped on the pages, the dead wood and ink that held little meaning on their own except for the order in which they were arranged. She lifted her own quill and held it hesitantly above the half-finished letter, unable to place the damp tip down. There was unlimited potential in that remaining ink and paper, able to transform into a story or mathmagical equation or drawing at the whim of the writer much as the blank flanks on her friends represented their own potential. How weird was it for the princesses to see their own lives in that fashion, as a huge roll of untouched paper on one end and a library of books on the other, with the endless scratching of a quill sandwiched between. Or something other than a quill...

when we went to featherweights house, he gave me a book, but not like the books at moms house. this was a book without words that made us all point and laugh until we could not breath. best of all we can make copies and send them to you and celestia but we are not sure how they would travel by dragon fire so we will have them sent to your house by a male. we are only sending one copy so you both will have to share but that is the best part…

There were only a few sheets of newspaper wrapped around the square package that a royal courier had delivered just a few minutes ago to Princess Luna, who unwrapped the parcel with nearly the same care in which it had been wrapped. An album of photos lay within, made up of the most brilliant colors and hues, far different than Luna had been accustomed to seeing in the past. Back then, the pictures were rather dull posed ponies with the subjects all tight-lipped and glum as if they were afraid to smile in the presence of the huge mechanical monstrosity that converted their images to paper. On the smooth glossy pages of the marvelous book, five little fillies and their friends seemed to come alive with joy, embracing life and light as a field of happy flowers and bringing a ray of cheerful moonlight into her gloomy thoughts.

With a decisive snap, the Princess of the Night closed the book and took it with her on a very short walk to Celestia’s bedchambers. Joy and laughter like this was good, but Twilight was right.

Sharing was better.

...i think you would like to visit sugar cube corner when you visit because they have very good food there, although it is very sweet. you will need to be cautious though because of the indigenous species…

Monster remained curled up under the table, the long heavy tablecloth making her hiding spot a dark abnormality in the brightly lit bakery. Outside she could hear the sounds of tiny hooves skittering around, accompanied by the buzz of tiny wings. The sounds grew closer, until the tablecloth was whisked away and her hiding place was revealed. Or at least it would have been if the tablecloth had not fallen over Pumpkin Cake and Pound Cake, who protested their imprisonment with loud cries.

“Found you! Found Monster!” cried the twins, as Monster pulled away the concealing cloth and the two little ponies danced around the room. “Again!”

“She’s making good progress,” whispered Pinkie Pie to the Cutie Mark Crusaders as they observed their friend playing with the little ponies through a window in the bakery door. “In a few days, I should be able throw her a quiet ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party if we keep the guest list small, and next month a ‘One Month Anniversary’ party with games. Then she should be experienced enough to go to the Sweet Apple Acres cider squeezing party I have planned this year and she can meet all the little ponies that she’s going to start school with this fall.”

“School?” asked Apple Bloom with a wrinkle of her nose. “That’s like months away. Can’t we just enjoy summer?

“But in school you get to spend all day with your friends, and learn things, and read books—”

“Books?” came a suddenly insistent voice as Monster poked her nose around the edge of the door.

“Yes, I did get you a book for a present,” said Pinkie with a grin. “It’s right over—”

“Books!” shouted Monster with a cry of joy as she ripped the wrapping paper off the package and hugged the revealed book, Proper Party Preparations for Ponies. “Books! Books!”

Scootaloo shook her head and sighed. “I think she’s going to explode when we take her to go see the—” she stopped and concentrated “—L... i… b… a… r… a… r… y…”

“Um. Scootaloo?” called out Sweetie Belle from the window. “I think we should save that part of the tour for another day.” All five of the little ponies crowded around the window looking out over the town square which was normally only sparsely populated at this time in the afternoon, but today held a crowd that normally was only seen during Ponyville’s yearly Yard Sale weekend. Only these ponies were not looking for a bargain.

Ranks of photographers, hordes of reporters and battalions of microphone-waving ponies surrounded the Ponyville Golden Oak Library, much as an invading army would besiege a fortification. Instead of artillery, they ignited flashbulbs in volleys that made the tree seem to stutter in reflected light. Instead of battering rams at the door, a solid barrage of hooves rapped furiously on the ‘Closed’ sign. And instead of scaling ladders thrown up against the walls, pegasi reporters floated forlornly around the green tree, tapping at closed windows and locked balcony doors with a certain reluctance that only became understood when one of the reporters suddenly recoiled, streaking across the sky in a trail of pie crust crumbs before impacting rather abruptly against the roof of a nearby building, covered in cream pie.

“I loaned Trixie my party cannon,” said Pinkie Pie from behind them. “I ran out of confetti, so I loaded it with cream pies.

4. Gifts and Presence - Part Two

there were a lot of scary ponies by the library today so we did not get to visit trixie, but we did get to hear her yelling at them and it sounded like she was having fun…

“That’ll teach ‘em,” muttered Trixie, pulling the cannon back inside the library window and beginning the reloading process. “Call me a pompous twit in your next review and see what you get.”

There was a distinctive noise of Official Disapproval from Sincerity, the Assistant Secretary for Cabinet Office of Public Affairs, who stood at a fairly safe distance behind Her Royal Highness’ Private Student, although the disapproval was muted by a certain amount of chuckling from Linchpin, the Adjunct to the Permanent Under-secretary of State for the Home Office standing to her side. Officially, the reason Assistant Secretary Sincerity and Adjunct Secretary Linchpin were present at the library was simply to assist Trixie in her integration with the local populace as well as several other rather important sounding buzzwords, but the far more important reason was to prevent her from embarrassing herself in public. It was, after all, a task they had become quite accustomed to accomplishing with an imperfect success record to this point, although at times it seemed as if Trixie was competing against them.

Shooting reporters out of the air with a pie cannon was not on the twelve page ‘Forbidden Activity’ list Linchpin had been given before their departure from Canterlot, and he had even checked twice, certain that the exclusion would be corrected for any future visits to the delightful small town. He had been uncharacteristically quiet since the duo had arrived at the library just moments in front of the flood of reporters seeking a hoof-up on their peers, although that was probably due to a certain amount of distraction provided by Rarity instead of the disapproval of Sincerity, his co-worker in the bureaucracy.

“Miss Trixie, if we could please put your artillery on hold for a few minutes and go over the talking points again, I think we may be able to begin our press conference only—” Sincerity made a show of checking her watch, an intricate golden device of many knobs and dials that could easily have adorned a wealthy sophisticate or banker “—two hours late.”

“They’re not ripe yet,” said Trixie, carefully adding a pie to the cannon and licking the meringue off one hoof. “The evening train to Canterlot is still over an hour from arriving.”

“Whatever do you mean?” asked Linchpin, surreptitiously dipping the tip of one wing in nearby ammunition with the intent of a quick taste later. Lunch had been a disaster in the incoming train with all the reporters in the press junket snagging the good pickles out of the lunch car before the two civil servants could finish their organization. Two pieces of wilted watercress and a cracker just were not enough to fuel his engine for a proper press conference, and the subsonic rumbling was starting to become more irritating than Trixie.

“I mean… how long do you want me answering questions out there?” Trixie jumped into motion, poking the barrel of the cannon out the window and yanking the lanyard in a noisy explosion that sent a noted gossip columnist on a graceful pie-covered trajectory in the direction of the town fountain.

“Ah.” Sincerity gave a little nod that sent her perfectly coifed red and orange curls bouncing in a way that could distract any red-blooded male reporter, and several female ones too, from a line of awkward questions. The same inspiration seemed to fly straight over Linchpin’s head and he cleared his throat with an inquisitive expression in hopes that the inspiration might fly back.

“What she means, darling,” said Rarity with a flutter of her eyelashes at the handsome pegasus, “is that once the press conference starts, that horde of ruffians outside will bombard Trixie with questions until the train arrives, at which point they will depart en masse for Canterlot to get their stories filed before their colleagues. Oh! Trixie, could you bring Pinkie’s cannon over here please? There’s a fashion reviewer outside the window who always seems to insist on using the word ‘plebeian’ in their paper when describing — Oh, never mind. He’s moving away.”

There was an explosive ‘Splat’ and another pegasus soared through the air into the distance, making Rarity clap her hooves in applause. “Good shot!”

“You just have to lead them a little when they’re moving that fast.” Trixie paused in her reloading to check her reflection in a nearby mirror and adjust her new purple cloak and hat. “Thank you again, Rarity.”

“Au contraire, thank you, Trixie.”

“No, I mean for…” One hoof trailed hesitantly through a curl of snowy mane, wrapping it gently until released in a bouncing display of properly applied manespray. “Thank you for everything.”

“Think nothing of it, darling. I had the fabric just lying around, and dying those mane extensions was no trouble at all. After all, you do represent Ponyville, and having your press conference in your previous state of dishevelment would have been a horrible… well, I just had to make you look proper. As much as possible.”

The youngest of the two civil servants, the young unicorn mare standing uncomfortably on the top of the stairs, regarded Trixie and her artillery loading with the faintest tension in her lips, causing a faint wrinkle to form at the top of her brow. Naturally it only lasted a moment before Sincerity regained her tranquil pose of perfect composure, the concept of a wrinkle in her silky golden coat being almost unthinkable to the universe in general, and any pony who had spent time with the perfectly coifed civil servant in specific. Still, there had to be some way for her to get Trixie to take this job seriously, even with as many times as Princess Celestia had thrown her hooves up in frustration over the actions of her student over the last few years.

“I think you will find Her Highness’ intent quite plain,” started Sincerity, trying not to think of how many long years she had before retirement. “Pins and I are well aware of the true story of what happened out in the Everfree Forest—” A shiver traveled the length and breadth of the perfectly arranged mane and coat of the golden unicorn mare, matched almost exactly by Rarity’s similar shiver “—and the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters, having been taken into Her Royal Highness’ confidence, and we have produced a very extensive list of approved talking points that you have not been looking at.”

Linchpin gave up trying to sneak an extra wingtip full of cream pie from the reserve ammunition, and straightened as his associate looked at him for support. “That’s correct, Lady Trixie. You’ve barely even glanced at them once. How in the world do you expect to handle a simple interview, let alone all of the reporters out there making such a mess out of the lawn.”

“With style,” said Trixie, taking a moment to examine her reflection in the mirror and adjust her new cloak and hat. “A proper presentation involves a great deal of planning, and even though I appreciate the two of you coming to Ponyville on such short notice, I assure you, we have the situation well in hoof. Didn’t you check the qualifications of those little scoundrels who befriended Twilight Sparkle?”

At the befuddled expressions of the two civil servants, Trixie continued, “We had a little meeting, and we agreed the last thing that frightened little filly needs is a bunch of reporters sticking their noses into her mane. Therefore, Gabby Gums has written a most explosive exposé on the adult Elements of Harmony who participated in the event, with in-depth interviews and some of the best photos by an anonymous photographer who just happened to witness the whole thing. He has some beautiful shots of the Element bearers, Nightmare Moon, the run through the Everfree Forest, and he even managed to catch a somewhat out of focus photo of the elusive secret student of Princess Celestia, Twilight Sparkle.”

Trixie reached under her hat and tossed a copy of the Foal Free Press onto the table, landing face up with the headline “Nightmare Moon Defeated! Princess Luna Freed!” blaring out in a huge headline across the front, and a picture of the two alicorns(*) in question side-by-side beneath.

“B-but...” stammered Linchpin, pointing one hoof at the paper like it concealed a vicious spider, or, worse, an uncontrolled press story. “What about our talking points?”

“Celestia’s Secret Student Unveiled,” said Sincerity, turning the page to look at a blurry photograph of a unicorn mare with a huge question mark stamped on top of it. “Trained in an undisclosed location by a Zebrican shaman, selected at foalhood to act as a secret agent for the Princess… The only thing they don’t claim is that she’s secretly a Neighponese Ninja.”

“Page four,” said Trixie. “But it’s only a rumor. Although I really like the part about her living on a volcanic island with giant robots that shoot laser beams out of their eyes.”

“Really?” asked Linchpin, looking at the paper with a glint of momentary youthful fascination in his eyes before shaking his head. “Wait a minute. Hold on here. You can’t make me believe that Princess Celestia approved this kind of… fantasy.”

Trixie shrugged. “Has approved, will approve, no big difference. They got done with it late last night and the first printing went out by Pegasus Post about an hour ago. It will be on the newsstands and sold on the streets long before that horde of incompetents gets back to their ink-stained caves. Spike sent the very first copy to Princess Celestia before sacking out for a nap, and it’s fairly close to the notes you showed me, so I doubt if she’s going to object too strenuously. Or at least I haven’t heard any screaming yet.”

“So why are we even here?” asked Linchpin with a frown.

Trixie fidgeted with her hat, looking to Rarity for support before taking a deep breath. “Because I’ve been so horrible to both of you over the years. All the times I’ve fouled up or done something spectacularly stupid, you’ve been the ones to step into the line of fire and deal with these idiots. Once I’m done with the presentation, I’m treating you both to dinner at Gustav's with all the trimmings, including ice cream at a certain small shop here that will knock your shoes off.”

Both civil servants exchanged skeptical glances until Sincerity turned to Rarity and asked, “Not that we’re objecting, but are you certain she’s not a changeling?”

The distant sound of the Ponyville clock tower striking the hour made Trixie jump to her hooves and race over to the balcony door, counting down the seconds. “Three… two… one… Showtime!”

Flinging open the balcony door, Trixie stepped out in full view of the reporters and shouted at the top of her lungs, “Mares and Gentlecolts! May I have your attention?”

The sudden flurry of fireworks that burst into scintillating sparks high above the town made certain all eyes were on the showmare, and Trixie bowed nobly towards the photographers as the crowd shouted questions in one huge incoherent blast of noise. Off in the distance by Sugarcube Corner, she could see the little pests all walking carefully alongside a slow-moving cardboard box on their way back to the edge of the Everfree Forest where Zecora and the freaky bug thing — that is, the distinguished new members of the diverse community of Ponyville awaited. Truth was becoming an addictive habit, and for this press conference she had actually considered telling the truth about her terrifying trip into the dark forest, but after a few intense words with Princess Celestia that first night about the little multi-colored menace’s shyness and a bit of thought, the wisdom of lying creative storytelling was self-evident.

Plus it was a lot more fun.

Firing up a speech amplification spell that would rattle the fillings of any reporter in the first row, she gently threw back her new mane curls to glisten in the sunlight and began to spin her tale.

“As you may have heard, Princess Celestia’s private student, Twilight Sparkle and five plebeian ponies from this ordinary town did indeed free Princess Luna from the dark clutches of Nightmare Moon just a few nights ago. This press conference was called to answer any questions you might have about the events of that horrible night, and the secret training program that began twelve long years ago when Princess Celestia revealed her plan to us. It all started when…

Inside the library, Rarity and Sincerity flipped back and forth across the several pages of talking points and the newspaper as Trixie talked, while the adjunct made little checkmarks on notes at their request as the ‘press conference’ progressed.

“She’s making this Twilight Sparkle out to be a real secret agent, somewhere between a spy and a superhero,” said Linchpin, marking off ‘Elements to be stored in Canterlot’ off the list.

“Well, she did seem like a very interesting pony,” said Rarity, pointing to a line that said, ‘imply visits to Zebrica’ which the adjunct had missed checking. “And I can hardly wait to make her an outfit for when she is feeling more social. My darling sister Sweetie Belle told me a great number of stories about their adventures which I thought were just adolescent fantasy, but frankly, if I had believed her at the time, I would have been frightened to death. I’m just glad that their adventures are over for the time being, and we can settle down to a certain degree of normalcy around the town for a while.”

i bet there are a lot of scary ponies yelling at you in canterlot, but you can get a friend to yell at them like trixie, it feels a lot better. tomorrow i think we are going to the library and i will look for a book to send that should make you feel better about being in a scary place with scary ponies.

your friend
monster until i find another name. tallgrass says i should consider nova or quasar but mom clopped him upside the head and said his head was numb and his idea was dumb so i will think about it some more. maybe i can get an idea from the library.

The little multicolored alicorn blew gently across the paper to dry the ink before rolling it up into a scroll and regarding the owl that sat on her balcony, keeping a close eye on his razor-sharp beak and cruel talons. It was late, and her vision was blurring a little from fatigue, but she could have sworn that when she presented the scroll to Owlowiscious, she saw the owl blink one eye.

“Can you take this to Spike in the library, please?”

“Who?”

“Spike. He’s a dragon.”

“Who?”

“Spike. He’s purple and about this tall. Breathes fire.”

“Who?”

“Mom!”

A tired voice echoed through the tree-house.

“Please take her letter, little owl, for it’s late, you see.
Don’t make me come up there from the bottom of my tree.”

Monster watched the owl carry the scroll away into the darkness before blowing out her candle and snuggling up in her bed. It was a cool night with friendly stars shining down on the town, and although there was a gap missing to her side where It… that is, Miss Smarty Pants normally rested, she slipped away into slumber without a care.

Tomorrow would be here very soon, and she could hardly wait to see what it would bring.

(*) The introduction of changelings caused great changes in Equestrian social structure, in particular the basis behind photojournalism. Still, there was a stiff honesty behind any changelings who agreed to take a form to be photographed for the news. They insisted on historical accuracy in both the subject and pose, which was not a difficult thing when Featherweight asked Tallgrass to pose for a few shots disguised as Nightmare Moon for their newspaper article. After all, his memories were still entirely too fresh when recalling just exactly how the infuriated alicorn looked at close range.

5. Breadcrumbs - Part One

The sun had not risen yet when a small alicorn filly opened the shutters to her room and looked out across the soft twilight that filled the Ponyville valley, highlighting the slow moving apple cart that creaked down the dirt path in shades of violet and gold. She had planned on getting up to watch the sun rise into the sky and face the fear that still trembled somewhere in her mind, hidden below faded memories of ponies she feared to think about. Such things were best treated slowly, like the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Complete Treatment Guide book that mom had gotten from—

Monster paused, placing the phrase carefully together in her mind like the book said and attempting to associate it with positive things. Trixie. The sound of razortooth-bitey fish splashing in the sunshine. Spike sleeping in a sunbeam. That was better.

—Princess Celestia. The dividing line between the Everfree magic and the town was just a few trots outside the shadow of their home, and as long as she stayed inside that line, the giant blazing ball of fire in the sky would not hurt her.

The dark pony… Monster stopped and thought again, of stars dancing through the sky as mom sat to her side, pointing them out by name and telling of the events they foretold. She turned her head and leaned out the window to look at the moon, sitting impatiently on the horizon and looking so empty. The darkness that had been imprisoned inside was now gone, turned to magic and destroyed, leaving only Luna. She was probably afraid of the sun too, and if Monster were to go out and face her fears, she could write a letter to Princess Luna and make her less afraid of the light too.

The moon sank beneath the horizon, the sparkle of brilliant lights in the sky vanishing one at a time in a cascade that swept across the sky. Normally she would hide in the basement or in a thick bush whenever the sun rose, but this time she held herself to the window and concentrated as the sphere ascended slowly, as if the alicorn in charge of raising it had been reluctant to bring the dawn.

Luna landed gently on her bedroom windowsill while the first rays of sunshine illuminated the Royal Gardens below in a glorious exchange of colorful flowers as the evening blooms closed and the morning blossoms opened their faces to the sun. The surge of beautiful colors and perfumed wave of air made her hesitate on the balcony, taking several large breaths of the intoxicating scent while admiring the gardens below before a pained yawn forced her to turn and enter through the thick curtains that protected her bedroom from the blazing rays of her sister’s sun.

“Late night, Luna?”

Celestia lay half-curled up on Luna’s gigantic bed, her golden regalia scattered around the floor in disarray, nearly as tangled as her pastel mane which had begun to show its natural pink. The Princess of the Night giggled and nuzzled her warm sister, fetching a manecomb with her magic and running it through her neglected pink mane, bringing the pastels flowing back to life with every stroke.

“Oh, Tia. You stayed up all night waiting for me? I told you I just wanted to get out and stretch my wings.”

“I didn’t stay up all night, dear sister.” Celestia yawned with an astonishing powerful blast of morning breath. “Your bed is just too comfortable to play the proper worried sister, watching the window in concern and love for her wandering little sis. It’s far too soft for old bones like mine. My back hurts like I slept on rocks.”

Luna gave her own yawn as she kicked off her shoes and accoutrements, curling up on the bed behind her big sister. “You know there’s a perfectly good cure for a sore back, Tia.”

With a roll of her eyes, Celestia kissed her sister on the forehead. “I’ve only done that once or twice in the last century, and I’m far too old to carry on that way any more, sis. What would our subjects say?”

“They would say,” started Luna with a yawn as the manebrush slowed in its pastel pathways, “that my older sister is still young enough to have a little fun. And go brush your teeth first.” A faint snore began as Celestia caught the falling manebrush, tucking her sister beneath dark covers before slipping silently out of the bedroom.

Luna was right. It had been a good many years since she had really enjoyed that particular physical activity, and the Court was buzzing like a hive of kicked bees. If she stayed around the castle, they would just pester her with hundreds of questions for which they already had the answers, which was one reason she had decided to hide in Luna’s bedroom in the first place.

It only took a few minutes to pass word through the guards that their princess was going to skip out on Court today for a little recreation, which was greeted with considerable smiling and winking among the royals. She made sure to brush her teeth and her coat before stepping out on her own balcony, spreading her white wings and soaring upwards on the warm summer breeze. After all, flying was the best treatment for a sore back.

Well, the second best.

Monster carefully arranged her ink and quills before bringing a pristine sheet of paper onto the desk and frowning at it. There was something written on it already.

Monster, we decided to make this a Cutie Mark Crusader Scavanger Hunt today to celibrate your going to the library….

Just the tiniest squeak of pure joy escaped Monster as she scurried around the room, trying to figure out just what to bring to a ‘Scavanger Hunt.’ After a quick check of the dictionary and correcting ‘Scavenger’ and ‘celebrate’ on the note, she dashed down the staircase to mom’s room and opened the door cautiously in case the older zebra was still asleep.

At one time, mom had told her that a zebra’s stripes were a magical defense to confuse predators by making multiple zebras look like one big zebra. She had never really believed mom until now. Ever so quietly, Monster closed the door to mom’s bedroom, writing a note for when she and Tallgrass finally woke up before slipping out the front door of the tree house to meet her friends.

Big Macintosh regarded the endless trees of the orchard with a sense of rising joy, a sea of gold and red that would soon be bucked into an array of wicker baskets and sent to the farthest corners of Equestria. Now that the foolishness of a few nights ago was all over, life was returning to normal, and that suited him just fine, although a few thoughts about last night still echoed through his mind in little pleasurable memories. It was probably a dream, just a silly foalish dream about princesses that had no business being in an earth pony’s head, although the sweat-soaked sheets and lingering perfume of lilacs in his bedroom still gave him the occasional pause.

And speaking of pausing, he stopped to look at a golden apple, just sitting on the ground a ways away from the tree line. Making a mental note to look for any of Fluttershy’s rabbits, he nipped it on the stem and tossed it onto the basket on his back before continuing his journey to the trees that needed bucking. Until he found the next apple on the ground. And another. And another.

The trail seemed to lead to Ol’ Lady Alice, a large distinguished tree with many children scattered throughout the orchard and other Apple family orchards across Equestria. He looked up into the thick green foliage and tapped the trunk cautiously with one hoof, triggering a rustling in the leaves and a scattered rain of apples before a large white pony seemed to plummet out of the tree and onto the ground at his hooves.

“Ooof! Well, that didn’t go as planned.”

“Princess Celestia!” Big Mac spared no time dropping to his knees and bowing, even going so far as to spit out the stalk of wheat he had been chewing.

“Oh, get up, Big Macintosh. Ow! I was just trying to find someplace to get the kinks out of my back. Ow!” The Princess of the Sun rose up in front of the trembling earth pony and stretched, the popping from misaligned vertebrae sounding much like popcorn as it echoed between the trees. “I used to sleep in apple trees all the time when I was a little filly. Guess I’ll have to find some other way to get my back unknotted.” Celestia swung her nose down to press against Big Mac’s nose. “Any ideas?”

“Um. Eeyup.”

dear princess luna
today my friends had a scavenger hunt. they left a trail of hints through the town to follow starting with one on the inside of our house door that read…

...Your first clue is this:
It’s something you always want to eat more
Something that you might buy at the store
Her name is Twist, she makes what you cannot resist
She’s waiting down at your front _____

“Door!” exclaimed Monster as she flung open the door with the note written on it and bolted outside, catching Twist in a crushing hug and scattering little wrapped pieces of candy in all directions. “Twitht! Candy!”

The two-pony pileup as Twist and Monster tumbled around the ground suddenly added Sweetie Belle as they rolled under her hooves, the two larger ponies succembing rapidly to little feathered filly wings in the resulting tickle fight.

“Twitht! Sweetie! Thank you! Can we eat the candy?”

Sweetie Belle grinned and waved a note. “Don’t you want to get your next clue first?”

Monster paused, one unwrapped piece of taffy almost at the end of her tongue, before picking the wrapper up and deliberately rewrapping the candy, putting it with the rest in Twist’s saddlebag. “Share later. Note!”

In this place we put in stitches
the stuffy air it makes me itches
the something is moot, I can not toot here
I’m over in the big building that looks like a carosal.

The front door to the Carousel Boutique creaked slightly open until the bell hanging over it went ‘ding,’ which triggered a sudden scratching, a noise much like a little pony inside a cardboard box might make when they recoiled away and tried to keep from running.

The resulting silence was broken only by whispering of, “Go ahead, it’s just my sister’s store,” and “Do you need another thinnamon thick?”

Finally, a little mottled purple filly nose poked back into the open doorway, and a small voice called out, “Scoots?” The remnants of a cinnamon stick vanished into her mouth with a crunching sound, and the rest of the little alicorn pony slipped into the store, looking at a little ponyquin in the middle of a patch of sunlight with the rest of her friends standing to its side.

“Scoots!” The hesitant trot Monster started as she crossed the store grew to a frenzied gallop as she flung herself forward, turning their hug into a ticklefest that quickly added the rest of her friends. Apple Bloom was the first to gasp in surrender, quickly followed by the rest of her friends as they rolled around on the floor, giggling and opening candy wrappers.

“Oh, Sweetie Belle,” caroled a soft voice from the other room. “I’m almost done getting the breakfast things ready for you and your little friends. We have healthy whole-wheat low-gluten bagels with diet orange juice, a delicious selection of granolas, bran muffins, zwieback toast, and some plain yogurt to tie the whole meal together. Sweetie?” Rarity looked out into her presentation room with a gasp of shock. Empty candy wrappers lay scattered around toppled stacks of cloth, while the little saddle bag she had put so much effort into was missing, as were all of the little ponies.

My brother Big Mac is no quitter
and my sister Applejack was my best sitter
My name is Apple Bloom, and on Scootaloo’s scooter I like to zoom
The goal of this clue is a yummy ______

“Fritter!” exclaimed Monster, gathered around the cardboard box with the rest of her friends as big sis carefully slipped a short stack of delicious apple fritters onto their impromptu breakfast table. The short leafy bush that concealed the little ponies from the rest of the marketplace muffled the normal discussions between merchants and customers to a level that the tasty apple fritters were able to overcome, letting Monster dig in to her sugary breakfast nearly as energetically as her friends. The high-speed trot across town with the box being towed behind her in case of emergencies had been less terrifying than Monster had thought, with happy hoof-waves by the town’s ponies, and a frequent “Good morning, girls. And Featherweight.” that seemed to echo no matter where they had run. Her little friends chattered as they ate in such a warm interplay that she could only chew and listen, hearing about the ‘newspaper article’ and the ‘photo shoot’ that seemed to invigorate them so much. Writing for a ‘newspaper’ seemed to be such fun, and she could write, so maybe she could help. After all, she had a saddlebag now to carry her writing materials.

“How’s this?” asked Princess Celestia, soaked in sweat as she adjusted her hind hooves.

“Bit higher,” said Big Mac, trickles of sweat working their way down his mane as he carefully moved a white forehoof a few inches. “It’ll give you more leverage. There’s a sweet spot right about… there. How’s yer back?”

“A lot better, actually. I really need to tell my sister about this. Ok, are you ready?”

“Eeyup, if’n you are.”

“Here goes.” Celestia leaned forward on her forehooves, her wings spread for balance as her hind legs lashed out backwards at the tall apple tree. A rain of golden and red apples cascaded all around, dropping flawlessly into the wicker baskets scattered around under Arthur Turner, a middle-aged tree heavy with fruit.

“Pretty good, for a novice,” said Big Mac, hefting a basket of apples up onto a nearby wagon.

“Novice?” scoffed Celestia. “I’ll bet these old bones can buck more apples than you can before noon. Winner gets a back massage.”

Big Mac looked out at the south field and considered the substantial progress they had already made. It was nice to have some help bucking this field, and when he won, a solid massage from Aloe and Lotus at the Ponyville Spa would feel mighty good.

“Yer on.”

...i’ve never really had many things of my own before, but now i have a place to put them. the castle where you live is where you put your things, but do you still have things after being away for so long? i’m sure Princess Celestia would share her things with you. sweetie says Princess Celestia owns all of equestria, and that you get half of it, but when i asked which half, she just looked funny.

is that what caused the bad dark pony before? it seems silly not to want to share, but now that i have something of my own, it feels weird to give it to somepony. i can remember trying to take the sun away from Princess Celestia now, but it seems so far away and faded like somepony elses memories. i didn’t want to share either. all of my friends share and Trixie shares her books, so maybe you can share the country with your sister and it won’t feel that bad…

Applejack trotted back home in the afternoon sunshine, the lightness of the market cart she was pulling counterbalanced by the happy jingle of bits inside. It was a temporary condition, to be sure, soon to be converted to fertilizer and irrigation pipe and the myriad other expenses a farm racked up every day, but an early end to the noon market meant she would have a little extra time to help Big Mac buck that huge field of apples in the south—

The clatter of the cart died away as Applejack looked south. Row after row of clean trees met her eyes, with stacks of apple baskets filled and awaiting pickup, and no Big Mac to be seen.

“Consarn it, Big Mac. I done told you we didn’t need to hire nopony to help out around the farm,” she muttered, loading a few baskets onto the market cart for the evening rush. “Leastwise I can get a sit down lunch today afore I blister your rump for goin’ around my back this way on the business.”

After finishing loading the market cart, Applejack trotted off to the farmhouse where Granny Smith would have lunch waiting. She had plenty of time to eat today, due to Big Mac’s unwarranted expenditure, but as she passed the barn, Applejack was forced to revise her opinion of the day’s events. The garden hose was uncoiled behind the barn, having been used recently by evidence of the wet towels tossed over the fence and a few leftover suds, and the strangest noises were emerging from behind the closed barn doors. They sounded like… moans? She crept closer to listen, just in case.

“Oh, yes. That’s the spot. Harder, please, Big Mac.”

“Yes ma’am. How’s that?”

“Oh, yeah. Long strokes, please. And a little higher up. Mmmmmm…”

Applejack retreated with a bright red blush before trotting quickly to the farmhouse. Neighbors helped neighbors, but that second voice coming from the barn had been definitely female. Although she never had any problems with their next-door neighbor, Golden Harvest, lending a hoof whenever needed, this was just a little… much. Still, it wouldn’t be very neighborly to go interrupting… whatever she and Big Mac were doing, so Applejack decided to just grab a quick lunch and pack a picnic basket for Big Mac and his… marefriend. They wouldn’t even notice if she closed her eyes and just slipped it in the door before trotting back to town to sell at the evening market.

Meanwhile in the barn, Big Mac applied another glop of Granny’s Apple Family liniment to Princess Celestia’s back and continued to rub the smelly concoction in with gentle hooves, trying not to look at the golden royal regalia sitting in a heap to his side. He had been taken just like a foal in the bet, and he was still puzzling out just how she had managed to pull it off, but the losing side of the bet wasn’t all that bad as the Princess of the Sun stretched out flat on the straw in front of him with a glorious relaxed sigh, swishing her tail from side to side in the warm sunshine that poured in through the open loft doors above them.

To be fair, the tail should have warned him.

6. Breadcrumbs - Part Two

Full of books and fine learning is he
Standing tall as it possibly could be
Her name everypony knows, as her reputation grows
For Trixie lives in the Golden Oak ______

Monster peeked out from under the cardboard box much like a shy turtle, looking between her encouraging friends and the huge tree that shadowed cool darkness over her box. In the distance, she could see the charred stubby structure of Town Hall as ponies erected scaffolding and went about the business of reconstruction. It reminded her far too much of her blurred memories of the changeling’s hive, blasted to tiny splinters and green goo by her uncontrolled power. There was an air much like the hive around the hollow oak tree, filled with power and potential. Each book was a tiny fraction of a pony’s life, written down with ink on thin flammable paper. Or was in inflammable? She got them confused. It triggered a response that she could not resist, and a faint purple glow filtered out of the holes in the box as she wrote.

... the things we do that hurt ponies, can they be forgiven? i mean the dark pony hurt ponies long ago, and nopony is alive who felt that now. but i killed hundreds. maybe thousands. how can they forgive me? Tallgrass says i did what i had to do, and that if i had not done it, the changelings would still be trapped in their curse, but that does not change what i did.

“Hey. Menace.” The cardboard box rustled, and a light pink glow lifted it off Monster. She blinked in the unexpected brightness and looked up at an uncomfortable Trixie. “C’mon inside. You’re driving away the customers.”

The six little friends all trooped into the empty Golden Oak Library after Trixie, lining up nervously on the edge of the rug in front of a series of six nametags. Behind Trixie, Spike paused in his job of reshelving books to wave encouragingly from the top of a ladder. A sense of gloom filling the building seemed to drape over Monster, and Trixie started several times on what was obviously a memorized speech before she shook her head vigorously, dislodging one wisp of white mane that landed on the bare floor with a slight click of the little clip that was supposed to attach the extension to what was left of her natural hair.

“IwantedtosayI’msorry,” blurted out Trixie, gaining bright pink cheeks as she turned her face away.

“Huh?” Monster blinked away her tears and reached out for the trembling unicorn, only to have Trixie dash away, throwing a hooffull of cards behind her as she fled up the stairs and slammed the door to the bedroom.

“They’re our library cards,” said Scootaloo picking up a card and wincing. “Ouch. They’re brand new, still have the sharp edge to them.”

“You’ve got a library card now,” said Sweetie Belle, holding the card out in front of her. “It’s got a kind of fuzzy picture and everything on it. Twilight Sparkle.”

Monster twitched. “Not Twilight. Monster. Monsters hurt ponies. Monster hurt Trixie.”

Five little reassuring hooves patting Monster on the back gained a compassionate claw. “You’re not a monster to me,” said the dragon with an extra stroke down her streaked mane. “You hatched me out of my egg. I can still remember it.”

Brilliant rainbow expanding across the sky. Magic bursting in all directions. The explosion of the egg that scattered shell fragments across the room. Green eyes looking so deeply into her soul. Roaring of magic that surrounded, screaming for release, demanding more and more…

“I… remember too. Spike.”

“Doeth thith mean Monthter is a mother?” asked Twist with an insightful look between the dragon and the alicorn filly.

“No, my mother is a dragon,” said Spike. “Princess Celestia raised me in the castle, and I kind of think of her as a mother at times,” he said rather rapidly. “But I’ve always been able to remember Twilight Sparkle as a… big sister, of sorts.”

“Well, who’s Trixie then?” asked Applebloom.

“A bratty older sister who picks on you?” said Featherweight, speaking from experience.

“An annoying older sister who is all overprotective and stuff,” said Sweetie Belle. “Who washes behind your ears even when you don’t need it.”

“Spike, I should get a family photo of the four of you in a nest,” said Featherweight. “If Princess Celestia is kind of your mom, and Twilight is kind of your sister, and Trixie is kind of your sister, we could call it the Elements of Kind-Nest”

There was a brief break where the rest of the fillies engaged in an educational activity with couch cushions to remind Featherweight just why puns were discouraged in the library, ending with a giggling pegasus colt trapped under a couch cushion with Apple Bloom and Twist sitting solidly on top of him to prevent an escape. The dark gloom that had fallen over Monster felt shattered into small pieces from the giggles, and she turned to look up the stairs where Trixie had fled.

“Spike, do you think of Trixie as your sister?” she asked, still slightly off her balance from finding out she had a new little brother with fangs and claws.

“Yeah. Guess I should go up and see what set her off this time.”

“No,” said Monster, putting a hoof on his shoulder as he turned to leave. “Me.”

Trixie lay on the old lumpy mattress in the librarian bedroom and attempted to bury her head beneath the covers. The entire library reeked of elderly pony from the previous resident, now off somewhere in Acapulcolt at a retirement stable with a bunch of other geezer pony stallions and mares. Trixie had stayed in more distasteful hotels across Equestria, even waking up in the occasional Econostall or some flea-bitten dive with an empty warm spot beside her that had once been a stallion claiming to royalty or alcohol-induced true love. But never had she cried in any of them.

Never.

Until now.

Over the years, she had papered over the memories of that horrible day when she had gotten her cutie mark, but seeing that little terrified filly down in the library main room had brought them all cascading back. The burst of rainbow light in the sky. The fire. Giant blocks of stone falling all around. The fraction of a second when she had simultaneously seen a place to hide and the terrified baby dragon. The feeling of Spike’s heart hammering against her chest as she grabbed the little dragon an instant before a block of stone smashed into the supposed sanctuary she had planned on hiding inside. Her muffled shriek of terror as she dragged the two of them into a dark shadow and tried to keep the frightened dragon from crying. The darkness crushing in on all sides.

And worse, it was all her fault. She could still see the terrified purple filly, hiding as the other little fillies and colts went into the testing room. Twilight had only been pretending to read her book, never turning a page as Trixie paced back and forth, practicing her routine. Trixie had been so angry at the little purple filly, shouting in an attempt to transfer some of the gut-clenching tension that was paralyzing her magic to anypony else. When Trixie strode out into the testing room, the little purple filly she left behind was sobbing into her unread book, crying nearly as hard as Trixie a few minutes later, fleeing the room with the unhatched dragon’s egg silently taunting her from behind.

It was her fault Twilight Sparkle cracked under the pressure of the test.

It was her fault Twilight Sparkle had almost died.

It was her fault Canterlot was almost destroyed.

It was her fault.

She had spent her entire life pushing that fault onto others, her teachers, her fellow students, anypony in the vicinity, but now it snapped back at her with all the viciousness of a frayed rubber band. Celestia should have been furious at her instead of accepting the bratty little filly into her heart and teaching Trixie everything she was willing to learn, and even more. Twilight Sparkle should have lashed out at her for stealing her Element of Magic when she returned to the ancient castle, she should have been angry, or even irritated, but no. The little filly who had once been Trixie’s own age had simply gone trotting off with her little friends, wings and all, accepted by her new peers without the slightest bit of concern.

Loved.

Even after all Luna had done, Celestia allowed her back into her life without reservation, loving her with every fiber of her being. It used to infuriate Trixie when she would drag back into the castle, all unkempt and smelling of stale booze only to find Celestia patiently standing in front of her door just as if she had been waiting all the weeks Trixie had been gone. Snacks would be ready, the bath would be run, and the jasmine soap suds all heaped up in fluffy stacks would envelop her in blissful ecstasy. There was never any shouting or discouraging words from the Solar Princess, merely a few words to ask how her trip had been, and where Trixie was to resume her educational schedule. In all probability, Luna was already moved back into her old room with furniture retrieved from storage, awaiting her just the same way as she had stepped away from them so many years ago. Trixie had been in Celestia’s presence for over a decade without ever realizing just how much of a hole Luna had left in her life and her heart. She had always seen the calm, cool Princess of Equestria, reserved and in control, and to see her sobbing with her sister cut Trixie to the core.

Nopony loved Trixie. At best, she was tolerated by Spike and Princess Celestia. And those five other hick ponies from this little town. And even though Zecora seemed more than happy to clop her upside the head for no reason, there was a certain amount of love there too. Even the goofy changeling who still had problems getting his stripes right on his zebra disguise didn’t really hate her, but then again the half-dozen changelings who had decided to stay in Ponyville all had that fuzzy lovey feeling around them anyway, so maybe that explained it.

The door to her bedroom creaked as it opened, yet another thing she needed to have fixed in this ramshackle collapsing pile of tree branches and dusty books she was doomed to spend the rest of her life managing. “Trixie?”

It was exactly the last pony in Equestria she wanted to see. The universe hated Trixie, and this was just the most recent example. Pausing her well-earned tears for a moment, Trixie managed to take a breath and snap, “Go away. The Great and Powerful Trixie is not accepting any visitors.”

The creaking door gave a little thunk as it closed, the broken latch failing to catch. “Not even from your… sister?”

Trixie shuddered and tried to tunnel deeper under her damp covers, surreptitiously wiping the tears from her eyes. “You’ve got your own family, Menace, complete with weird parents. Heck, you’ve got two sets of parents, which will make a heck of a display for Family Appreciation Day at school. Not to mention Prince Consort Shiny Britches and his Pretty Pink Princess sister-in-law for you. What would you need with a washed-up student for a sister?”

The resulting silence drew Trixie’s curiosity, and she peeked out from under the smelly blanket to look at Menace. The little multicolored filly was standing in the middle of the bedroom floor, her chest twitching in and out as she panted in panic while tiny tears began to trickle down her cheeks. “Oh, no,” said Trixie in as reassuring manner as she could while tossing the damp blanket to one side. “Don’t cry. Everypony has embarrassing relatives. My Uncle Homer was once arrested for indecent liberties with a goat, and my Aunt Breezy thinks she’s the reincarnated spirit of Bucephalus⁽*⁾. Spends most of her free time writing military strategy advice letters to Princess Celestia.”

Trixie stopped partway across the bedroom floor before moving up beside the little filly and trying to give her a hug. It was awkward as anything she had ever done before, and that included several birthday parties she had entertained. The little filly just trembled in her grip, never relaxing an iota even after a single word emerged.

“Parents.”

After a few moments of thought, Trixie asked, “You mean Night Light and Twilight Velvet?” A single convulsive twitch at each name only seemed to make the little filly more frightened, and Trixie awkwardly tried to hold the little filly tighter. “Yeah, you haven’t see ‘em in years, have you? Are you afraid they won’t want to come see you now?”

“Dead.”

The word shocked Trixie to the core, and she held Menace at hoofs-length for a moment. “Dead? That can’t be. My parents still exchange Hearth’s Warming cards with them every year.” The reality of the situation sunk in on Trixie with the impact of a well-thrown brick. “Oh. You thought you killed — No! Nopony died when you lost your marbles at the exam. You scared the tar out of me and Spike, and Shiny got a little banged up, but he got his pink bubble up in time to save all the parents and the kids.”

The trembling slowed slightly. “Alive?”

“Happy, hearty, and well. If you want, I can have Spike send a message to Princess Celestia and I’m certain all of your family could make the trip to Ponyville by tonight.” Trixie considered the sudden violent trembling and panting for breath from the little filly. “Or not. They’ve waited this long to see you, so I’m sure they’ll be willing to wait until you’re ready, however long that takes.”

The panic fit slowed and the little filly returned some of the hug, which made an unaccustomed warm spot in Trixie’s chest in addition to the damp spot on her shoulder. She patted the little filly on the head and whispered, “Yeah. Don’t keep things like that bottled up inside. Go ahead and cry it out. You’ll feel better for it.”

They stood together as Monster snuffled into her shoulder for a while, a few mothball-scented kerchiefs retrieved from a nearby dresser keeping both of them from making too much of a mess. It took a long time of leaning into each other as the destructive sounds of little ponies at play in the library downstairs filtered up, until finally the little filly spoke again.

“Thank you, sis.”

“Hey, wait a minute. I told you, I’m not your sister. At best, I’ll be your teacher.” Trixie looked down at the little trembling filly tucked under one foreleg and blinked away a bit of library dust that had somehow lodged in her eye.

“Can’t be both?” Menace poked her nose in that warm spot under a foreleg that tickled Trixie, making her cough to cover up the giggle.

“Well, maybe. Being a teacher is a lot of hard work. Besides, you’ve been out in the woods so much, I’ll bet you don’t even remember how to read.”

The little sniffs that had been coming from the vicinity of her shoulder stopped almost instantly, and little intense purple eyes met Trixie’s with a glare of insulted dignity. “Do too.”

“Really?” Trixie levitated the door open and walked slowly back out into the library with her new ‘student’ following at her side. “Let’s just just go down into the Foal’s Literature section and see.”

(*) Bucephalus the Great (Βουκέφαλος) Ancient Greek King who conquered most of Neighsia from the Ponian Sea to the Horsalayas Mountains. Honestly, you didn’t know that? Go read a book.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I think Twilight Sparkle suffered worse mental injuries than you thought. She’s got some sort of crazy idea in her head that I’m her sister, she’s terrified of meeting any of her real relatives, and her reading comprehension is all over the map. Some things she can barely read at her apparent age level, and some of the advanced spells that I have problems with she just absorbs like nothing.

Please send a certified professional in head injuries and trauma to treat her.

Your former student,
Trixie

P.S. Talk to Spike and tell him not to charge me ten bits for every letter I send. He also isn’t cleaning up the kitchen like he’s supposed to after breakfast. I swear I’ve got a sliver of emerald stuck in one hoof that’s driving me crazy.

P.P.S. How am I supposed to build a hoard if I can’t collect for my services? Besides, we’re supposed to share our jobs in the kitchen, and everytime Trixie cooks, all we get is peanut butter on toast. Yuck!

Dear Trixie, My Dependable Student.

I have passed along your observations to Twilight Sparkle’s relatives, and although they are all quite eager to see her again, they have reluctantly agreed to put off their visits until Twilight is completely ready for them.

I think you underestimate your abilities, as well as those of Twilight Sparkle’s adoptive parents and friends. After all, Zecora has known her for more than a decade, and Tallgrass will be quite able to read her emotional state and provide positive reinforcement as well as a male role model. And of course her friends will be the most critical part of her treatment and reintegration into society.

The Canterlot Library will be forwarding a collection of psychological and physiology books on treatment of injuries such as Twilight’s, and I expect you to study them and assist in her treatment. You may consider it homework.

As for your student stipend, I have directed that it be sent to the town by way of the mayor. From what I understand of the situation, there are a number of repairs that are being conducted on the Ponyville Town Hall that you graciously permitted the town to bill you in recompense. The payments will be deducted before you receive what is left, but I’m sure that the deductions will not last more than a few weeks or even months. Until then, I suggest that you see about getting your friends to help out for the short period until the damages are paid.

Don’t forget to return the favor and repay your debt.

Your Teacher, and Diarch of Equestria
Princess Celestia

P.S. I understand Sweet Apple Acres always has chores that need done. Perhaps you could apply yourself there for a few bits. It’s very good for the back.

Monster trotted back into her house with a farewell wave at her friends in the waning sunlight. Night would soon return to the quiet valley, and there were still a few things she wanted to add to her letter before sending it to — Princess Celestia. Trixie had talked so much about her teacher that there was almost none of the frightened tremble that still wanted to emerge whenever Celestia’s name came to mind. The memory of that first terrible day filled with fire and pain was muted somewhat by Trixie’s explanations of the event from her point of view, the words seeming to cascade out of her new teacher as if under pressure. They fit into gaps in her memory like puzzle pieces, each surviving pony being one less weight of guilt on her heart. There were still moments of that day she could not see in her mind, but Trixie had reassured her that the memories would return in time, and that she always had somepony to talk to about them: Zecora.

Trixie had even talked about things that happened after the destruction, and made such vivid descriptions that Monster could almost see them when she closed her eyes. There were a lot of hesitations as she talked, as if Trixie had fears much like Monster, and even if she was not willing to talk about her own fears, she was still willing to talk about other things. Like how Shining Armor had been awarded a medal for his bravery, and the fireworks that filled the sky after Princess Cadence’s wedding.

Monster could even remember the fireworks, although she had trembled in fear and hidden in the root cellar when they had first burst across the mountain in the distance, radiant sparkles of red and green floating down from the sky. They still frightened her now on some deep level, reminding her far too intensely of the hive, the flashpaper spell, the rumble of shaking earth beneath her hooves as hundreds of changelings died.

Tallgrass touched her shoulder gently and led her to dinner, a wide variety of foods both similar to their diet in the Everfree and new foods purchased from the town. The changeling had his stripes nearly right this time, a distinct pattern different than mom’s and yet somehow merged with hers, as if they had been one large zebra broken in two parts, now rejoined. As much as she tried, she could not be afraid of the changeling, or even feel guilt around him. He truly loved her, as well as mom, and that made even the worst that she had done against his hive melt into vapor and blow away in the wind. Luna was afraid of ponies too, and maybe having a changeling around her would help the fear.

As soon as she was done with dinner and had helped clean up the leftovers, she returned to her balcony desk to finish her letter while looking out into the beautiful night.

...i never thought about sharing until i had something of my own that was not shared, and now i see sharing everywhere. i shared my worries with Trixie, and now there are less fewer of them to trouble me. it’s strange. when i share good things, there are more of them afterwards, but if i share bad things, there are fewer not as many afterwards. you are lucky to have a big sister to share things with like Trixie. it makes them so much better.

your sister’s student’s student
Monster Twilight Sparkle, Ponyville Library Patron #574

P.S. i am sending you Grumpy Bunny Is Afraid by mail, as soon as i get something called ‘stamps’ from Trixie. i will need it back in two weeks so it does not become overdue.

Big Mac gave a brief yawn while working on the dinner dishes after the rest of the family had gone to bed. The liniment had left his hooves nice and warm, although the splatters from what had happened after the backrub had taken forever to get shampoo’d out.

If not for the picnic lunch that somepony had slipped inside the barn door, he might have made his excuses as they each departed for lunch with their own peers, but a romantic lunch in the hay had turned into something else in the hay, which had resulted in a departure far into the afternoon. Still, it had been an extremely productive day for the farm, with all of the wagons of apples brought into the barn in the late afternoon to early evening, and even AJ had helped pull wagons as the sun had begun to go down. Although his sister did have a rather curious tale about meeting Golden Harvest in the marketplace that still didn’t make sense to him, but then again, Big Mac had never really understood mares, and sisters were even harder to understand. Far better just to nod and ‘Eeyup’ once in a while.

After blowing out the light in the kitchen, Big Mac plodded quietly through the house towards the stairs that led up to his bedroom. It was a path he had walked for many years, and had gotten familiar with every step, except for tonight there was something a little extra on the staircase.

A single rose petal.

He bent his head low and sniffed, picking up the petal in his teeth and thinking while chewing. It tasted a little like a Cajun Moon rose, but with a certain aftertaste he could not place. There was a second petal several steps above that one, and another at the top of the stairs, turning into a delicious trail that led to his own closed bedroom door.

Nosing open the door let a gentle breeze flow by from the open window in his room, and revealed the curtains floating softly in the flickering light of a half-dozen candles surrounding a neat pile of royal accoutrements sitting on his nightstand. Guarding the pile was a carefully folded Miss Smarty Pants, mismatched button eyes turned away from the soft beam of moonlight that diffused across the occupant of his bed, the sparkle of nebulae and planets on her flowing mane wafting across her body as she beckoned to him.

“Come in and close the door,” she whispered.

He did.

7. Sibling Revelry - Part One

“Cutie Mark Crusader Pirates!”

Monster bounced around the Carousel Boutique with the rest of her friends, leaping over the low angled sunbeams that traced their way through the dust motes floating in Rarity’s main room. On the other side of the room, wearing identical expressions of nervous concern, were two zebras and a unicorn discussing the day’s activities among themselves.

Various implements of piracy were piled in a wagon at the back door, including wooden swords, shovels, and a rather dramatic looking flag of proper pirate type. After all, it was not every day that Sweetie’s sister went out prospecting for gemstones, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were going to make the most of it, having decided that gemstones were indeed proper pirate treasure, and it would be more fun to dig them up that way.

dear princess luna

today my friends and i went out to help sis prospect for gemstones outside of the town. Trixie said it seemed like a fun way to get to know Rarity and Spike. i can remember Spike’s birth now, and he thinks of me as a big sister, which is weird. Trixie even says my wings make me a little bit like your sister too. when things calm down, maybe you can spend some time in Ponyville with us, like a big family. i don’t think we should dig for gems though.

Spike had volunteered for the job of pulling the wagon while they went out to the gem digging area (even if he didn’t get an official Cutie Mark Crusader cape), and everything was ready to go just as soon as the older ponies got done talking.

“I’m going to dig up a bunch of doubloons and triblooms and even quadblooms,” said Featherweight, stopping to snap a picture of the rest of his scurvy crew of pirates. His eyepatch had proven to be more of a detriment than useful, and had been flipped up to rest on his forehead.

“Well, I’m going to become a famous archeopteryx just like Daring Doo,” shouted Scootaloo from the top of the wagon, her cape blowing in an imaginary wind.

“You mean archaeologist, right Scoots?” said Sweetie Belle, adjusting her pith helmet and checking her supply of bug repellent.

“Whichever one lets you dig up more cool treasures and stuff. I don’t see what’s taking so long! I mean, let’s go already. Nothing bad could happen to us just digging up stuff.”

“Shut up,” snapped Scootaloo. All around them in the creepy cave, every other Cutie Mark Crusader looked back at the grouchy pegasus filly and rolled their eyes.

“Didn’t say a word,” said Apple Bloom, trudging along behind her Diamond Dog captor.

“Me neither,” said Twist, looking uncomfortably at the stalactite-encrusted ceiling as they walked deeper into the cave.

“I think it’s our destiny!” said Featherweight, doing a flip in midair while adjusting his camera.

Rarity tossed back her curls and sniffed. “I might have mentioned something about ‘Tempting Fate’ when we left my boutique, which I may never see again, but I certainly did not intend for it to be considered anything but a helpful critique of your verbal skills. Besides, I’m certain these ruffians are simply taking us to their real leader, most probably a refined and noble individual with—”

“Quiet! Why can’t you ponies be quiet!” snapped Rover, the leader of the Diamond Dog pack, a greyish individual with a red vest who had been repeating the same phrase for much of the last half-hour. It did as little good as the more recent times he had shouted the phrase, as Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle got into an argument about Fate and Destiny, and whether or not they were actually the same thing.

Monster huddled under her cape and trotted along with her friends in the middle of a dozen or so of their mismatched captors. The group had only been digging for pirate treasure/gems a few highly successful minutes out in the field before the dogs had popped up all around them and attacked. It had been a rather peculiar fight, and she had watched with great curiosity the way Spike had flung himself into protecting Rarity and the rest of the Crusaders, blasting Diamond Dogs with flames and even biting one of them on the leg. Now the little dragon struggled soundlessly, gagged and tied to a long stick that one of the dogs had propped up over his shoulder.

She wanted to be afraid, she really did, but there was a presence in the ground here that seemed to whisper through her hooves in words just a tiny bit away from understandable while urging her to go with the dogs and her friends. mom had tried to teach her to talk with the earth spirits as a Wise One of the Sky should be able, but they had always been stubbornly silent to her ears until now. She still could not understand them, but their words sounded comforting even if she could not respond to them. They were a lot like the new magic, unable to be forced, only able to be cajoled and enticed into doing what needed to be done, and no more. Her old Magic was too brutal, too strong, too loud to speak with these spirits, and her new magic was too weak and raw. Still she tried, and although every step they took into the caverns the voices grew stronger, they still could not be understood.

“Here we are!” announced Rover, gesturing to a dirty underground corridor that looked identical to the last dozen or so corridors they had been down. “Ponies will find gems now, and dig them up for the Diamond Dogs. Dig!”

“I most certainly will no—” started Rarity before she was drowned out by a strident cry.

“Cutie Mark Crusader Gem Diggers!”

The five little ponies dove on the hapless Diamond Dog carrying the shovels and picks, grabbing and wrestling for the best tools. With sharp cries of “I want it!” and “I grabbed it first!” they began to fling themselves around the dusty cavern, jabbing shovels and picks into every available patch of dirt, including a few patches that were not that available.

“Yeouch! Ponies will watch where they dig!” bellowed Rover hopping on one foot before being beaned upside the head by Scootaloo, who turned around with her overly-long shovel while not watching what she was doing.

“Oops! Sorry, mister. You want us to put a bandage on that?”

Rover looked up at six pairs of eager eyes and felt the rising lump on the back of his head. If the little ponies went after bandages the same way they dug gems…

“No! Want you to dig gems! Dig!”

“Got it!” shouted Sweetie Belle, grabbing a pick in her teeth and swinging it vigorously at a support pillar.

“No!” screamed Rover, diving across the room to grab onto Sweetie’s pick before it could collapse the whole tunnel. “Not there!”

“This looks like a good place.” Featherweight swung his pick at the center of the ceiling, causing some falling rocks to make a group of brawny Diamond Dogs run for cover.

“Girls!” called out Rarity, moving to one side to avoid some falling rocks.

“Hey!”

“And Featherweight,” she added.

“Mummgmph!”

“And Spikie-Wikie. This is not the way to go about a proper gem hunting excavation. You’re getting dirt all over the place, and not making any progress at all. You there, what is your name again?”

“Me? Rover.” The red-vested dog reddened from anger and began shouting again. “You ponies will dig gems or I will—”

“Yea!” With a renewed burst of enthusiasm, the little ponies threw themselves into digging holes all around the tunnel, dirt flying in all directions without a single gem to be seen.

Which was perfectly fine for Rarity.

... but i did not have a book with me to look up the names of all the rocks we saw. the diamond dogs were loud, and looked over us a lot. being short and weak is different. do you think you will ever grow up to be as big as your sister? some of the dogs were short too, but i think they are that size forever. i want to get bigger and grow up, but i don’t want to lose my friends. things are changing so fast, and that’s one thing i never want to change, even though i know it will. im a little jealous of you and your sister. Trixie told me i would grow up and never get old, but i don’t want to see my friends get old and die. maybe thats what made me so sad when we were in the caves. i tried to keep it hidden, but it leaked out all over.

Monster just could not get as worked up about digging as her friends. They should be panicked by the growling dogs, nervous about being underground, or at least more careful about digging large chunks of dirt out of load-bearing walls and pillars, instead of dashing around having the time of their lives. The spirits of the earth seemed to enjoy watching her little friends, and Monster could swear they giggled whenever one of them would knock over a dog by accident, or run happily around the room with a sparkly rock that they thought was a gemstone. The one time Monster accidentally managed to see an emerald glitter at the bottom of the hole she was digging, she quickly shoved some dirt over it and began digging a new hole.

Even Rarity seemed to be enjoying herself as much or more than her friends, having walked over to the trapped dragon and freed him while the rest of the Diamond Dogs were chasing Sweetie Belle, who had discovered something called ‘dinomite’ in an old wooden crate. By the time they returned, Rarity had settled herself into a chair with a goblet of water to watch the ongoing chaos, with Spike at her side.

It was fun, true, but even with as much fun as her friends were having, it pained her that the other creatures were miserable, even angry. And worse, they were angry at her friends. It twisted her gut in agony somewhere deep inside when she looked at their scowling faces, and the whispering under her hooves surged into a single word that would make the hurting go away. Monster put up her shovel and trotted over to the red-vested dog, who had apparently decided to test just how far he could pull his ears up in the air while howling in frustration. He didn’t notice the little red-cloaked unicorn at first, even with a soft nudge into his abdomen, but one little multicolored hoof onto the end of his foot worked wonders in getting his attention.

“Yeouch! Why did pony do that? Pony should be—”

“Share!” declared Monster, loudly and with no apparent effect on the dog, who continued to shout. She swallowed, all of the stress from today churning her tummy into an acidic mess, while the noise and the dust made her feel edgy, and having a Diamond Dog screaming in her face was the final bit that pushed her over the edge. The solution to the equation seemed so obvious, and even as one tiny fragment of her mind fed on the red thread of rage that wanted to turn the screaming dog into a bloody smear on the wall, the rest of her felt hopelessness sweep up her body and wrap around her in a crushing grip.

And Monster burst into tears.

8. Sibling Revelry - Part Two

Rover was a good dog. All of the dogs in his pack agreed, even the ones who snarled a little and whined when he said it. He was also the Top Dog on the Heap, undisputed master of the entire caverns, and very good at sniffing out gems for other dogs to dig up.

The world was a very simple place. Rover ordered others to do things, and they got done. Outside in the bright sun, the shiny ponies and the little lizard had been digging up gems much faster than even a whole pack of dogs, so they would work just as hard for the Diamond Dogs and dig up even more gems. All the dogs would say how smart Rover was and how many pretty gems they had dug up because he was so smart.

Now the littlest pony in the bunch had burst into tears at his paws, and no matter how he whined or begged, she just screamed and cried louder. Every single pony looked at him as if he were a piece of chipped feldspar found in a box of diamonds, and his own dogs clutched paws to their ears and whined for Rover to shut the little pony up. Rover had puppies of his own, but this little pony just howled louder when tried to calm her down, and even licking her face didn’t do any good. The only intelligible word that he could make out was that infernal ‘Share’ word that kept repeating, over and over. It was a stupid word, one that made no sense at all.

But if it would shut her up.

“If we share, pony shut up? We share! What is it that pony want to share?”

“Now, darling. Calm down, please.” The white pony with the soft voice touched the tiny little pony in what must have been a reassuring way for ponies, before turning on Rover with a icy glare. Diamond Dogs had an innate ability to tell when a tunnel was on the verge of collapsing, and the sensation of thousand of tons of shifting dirt overhead seemed to crush in on all sides when he met those penetrating blue eyes.

“First of all, her name is not ‘pony,’ it is—” The white pony hesitated momentarily “—Twilight. When you address her, you may use her proper name, or you may refer to her as Miss, or even Miss Twilight.”

Rover must have looked like he was going to say something because the angry pony suddenly became even more angry. “And I think you owe Miss Twilight an apology, don’t you?”

The little mottled pony looked so pathetic, snuffling as the little lizard mopped her face with the dirty cloak, barely looking up when Rover mumbled, “I’m sorry, Miss Twilight.”

“I’m sorry, Mister Rover,” the little pony — no, Twilight mumbled back. “I don’t want to hurt anypony.”

“Nonsense, darling,” said the white pony, patting her on the shoulder. “As a matter of fact, Mister Rover and I have enjoyed watching your little friends play so much, we totally forgot to inform you of our little game.”

“We have?” said Rover, turning it into a sharp nodding of the head as he met the cold blue eyes again and shuddered.

“Of course! Why Mister Rover and I go way back. Every few weeks when I collect gems for the boutique, he graciously provides some of his friends to assist his Lady Rarity, and we share the proceeds fifty-fifty.”

“You do?” said Twilight, mopping away a tear as a sparkle returned to those bright purple eyes, adding their paralyzingly intense look at Rover.

“Oh, of course!” she purred, pulling Rover in closer to one shoulder and placing one delicate lady-like hoof on top of his rear paw with only the lightest of gentle touches, but filled with the promise of impending violence.

“But where are my manners? Rover, I would like to introduce the rest of Twilight’s little friends. First, we have Spike, the cutest little baby dragon in all of Equestria. That handsome young lad up by the ceiling is Featherweight, and then we have...”

‘Lady Rarity’ pointed out and named all the rest of the little ponies, who lined up with bright shining faces (although quite dirty) and digging implements gripped firmly in teeth. With a glow from her horn, the unicorn used a nearby stick to mark several X’s in the ground, and the dirt began to fly.

Once all of the little ponies were quite busy digging, Rarity leaned over and whispered in Rover’s ear. “Fair split down the middle, one of us divides the gems, the other gets to pick which pile they want. Deal?”

“But we lose half of gems,” whined Rover quietly, until the rapid accumulation of gems in the little wagon gathered his full attention. “You take whiny pony away when we’re done? I mean take Lady Twilight away?”

Before she could answer, the strange pony with the stubby little wings came dashing up to Lady Rarity and Rover, carrying a dozen gemstones on top of her head and shouting with joy. “Rarity! Look at what we found! There must be a hundred of them in the hole! Can we come back every week and help dig?”

“Week?” said Rover weakly.

The Ponyville First Equestrian Bank and Trust prided itself on a sterling reputation of generous banking and stingy trusting ever since the founding of Ponyville, and was quite conservative in whom it loaned money to and just exactly why. After all, ponies from all around Ponyville trusted them with their valuable bits, both as depositors and lenders, and that trust had been unbroken from the time Stinking Rich deposited the first twenty bits he had earned from Zapapple Jam sales, all the way to the present. In all of its history, the bank had only been robbed once, and the president of the bank, Silver Note, had somehow managed to make the robber leave the bank with less money in his pockets than when he had entered. It was widely assumed that his son, Sterling Silver, would have been able to top the old skinflint’s stunt and make any robber sign up for the Silver Saver’s Club with automatic payroll deductions in addition to cleaning out his pockets down to the loose lint and any spare buttons.

The Great and Powerful Trixie sat uncomfortably across the desk from Sterling Silver and considered the trappings of true greatness and power that filled his office, from little brass plaques on the walls that testified to the bank’s loyal support of the community to the relatively short line of photographs that showed the former bank presidents, all earth ponies who had ‘Silver’ somewhere in their name. And this was not even his main office in the center of the building, but simply the loan ‘approval’ office that was open to the comings and goings of common ponies doing business at the bank windows, all of which could not help but gawk through the window to see her humiliation.

“Mister Silver, all I’m asking for is some of my student stipend so I can support myself in the community for the next few months while the Town Hall is being rebuilt with my money. Princess Celestia is already allowing me to stay in the library, rent free, provided I look after the place, but there’s only about three prunes and a bag of dry raisins in the icebox. I don’t even have the bits for a train ticket home!”

Sterling Silver nodded in a pose that simply radiated sympathy, while his words proved otherwise. “I’m sorry, ma’am. The instructions in the transfer of your stipend were quite clear. I understand your predicament, but I’m powerless to free up any of your money until— Silver checked a sheet covered in calculations “—thirteen to seventeen months from now, depending on cost overruns in the construction. We could, of course, arrange a personal loan to tide you over for the duration.” The grey-coated bank officer slid a paper over to Trixie and sat back in his chair, fiddling with his silver cufflinks while she scanned the details and began to fume.

“At that interest rate!”

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but without collateral of some sort, and with your history of erratic behavior, you are quite a credit risk. Perhaps if you were to take up a second job, such as foalsitting or—”

“Hi Trixie!” Trixie barely had time to turn her head and recognize the dirty orange streak running down the hallway as Scootaloo before she was gone, but the next little pony moved slow enough for her to recognize as a dust-covered Twist and actually exchange a rather confused wave before she too had trotted down the hallway and been lost from view.

“What in the—”

“Smile!”

-=Flash!=-

By the time Trixie had blinked the spots away from her vision and stumbled out into the hallway, the sound of heavy hoofsteps from the front of the building was quite apparent, and it took little thought to realize just why nopony was paying her any attention.

After all, three wagonloads of gems were being wheeled in the front door of the bank.

“Oh, there you are, darling.” A dirt-smudged Rarity fairly glided across the bank lobby floor and smiled at Trixie warmly while the bank employees dragged the gems towards the vault. “I just can’t thank you enough for permitting me to bring Spike along with the girls—”

“Hey!”

“—and Featherweight to dig for gems. We had a simply marvelous time, and quite productive too.”

“Really,” said Trixie, trying to estimate the value of the gems rolling past her nose and not coming up with any number more accurate than ‘lots.’

“I really cannot thank you enough, darling. Will this be sufficient for a down payment?” Rarity floated a small red chip of a gem over to Trixie and scurried off to oversee the placement of the rest into the vault. Trixie regarded the little red chip for a moment before floating it over to Sterling Silver and dropping it on his desk.

“Every little bit helps. Can you cash that for me, Mister Silver?”

“Why of course, Miss Trixie,” said the bank president with a bright, happy smile. “But wouldn’t you rather deposit your proceeds rather than carry that amount of cash around with you? Our institution offers a wide variety of accounts, starting at our Silver Saver level for this amount of a deposit and in addition—”

“Just. No. Deposit it and get me some petty cash, please. I need to do some grocery shopping. And maybe pay back a few debts.”

…we all went to something called the spa afterwards, where Rarity showed us how to sit in hot mud with cucumber slices on our eyes to open our pours. afterwards we all rinsed in hot water and had a waterfight until we were all wrinkled like prunes. Trixie even paid for mom and Tallgrass, and took us all out for iced cream afterwards. It was very delicious, but it reminded me of some thoughts I didn’t like thinking. part of me knows my first mom and dad and brother just want to see me and that they don’t want to hurt me, but when i think of them, i also think of the bad things ive done. it sounds silly, i know, but i don’t want to see them because of it. maybe if you were here with me i could try, but i don’t want to be a bother. maybe later.

your friend
Monster

Princess Luna closed the letter with a gentle touch of her magic, placing it inside the silver coffer on her dresser for later perusal. Twilight Sparkle was such a sweet little filly, and it made her heart sing to read one of her letters. Triggered by the letter, the thought of the Royal Baths danced through her mind, with a long midnight soak and preen to bring her feathers to a glossy shine, followed by a long flight through the stars until the dawn. With perhaps one or two visits along the way.

She gathered her bath things together and placed them into the basket for the short trip downstairs. A squeaky yellow duck, two different preening picks, and a selection of lilac shampoos and oils filled the basket, covered by a bright pink towel with fuzzy bunnies embroidered on it to complete the collection.

“Guards, we shall be attending the Royal Baths this eve—” Luna stopped cold as she stepped out of her door, the basket dropping unheeded from her magic to spill its contents out along the floor. Where a few hours ago her guards had been a grey-coated unicorn and earth pony dressed in the dark purple of the Night Guard, now two bat-winged and yellow-eyed pegasi stood beside them, turning to look at the startled princess.

A thousand years ago, she had created three new races of ponies in the darkness of her worst moments as Nightmare Moon, ‘blessing’ them with dragon wings and yellow slitted eyes to rule the Night, only to destroy them all a few hours later as Nightmare Moon pulled their power back to battle Celestia and the Elements of Harmony. Only a few infant Nocturne pegasi survived the murder of their ancestors at her hooves, and from those few, the race of night-dwelling pegasi had grown and prospered, serving Princess Celestia in her name ever since. She had always known she would have to face the descendants of her murders. Someday. Just not tonight. Please, not tonight.

The larger of the two Nocturne dropped to his knees as if he had been hit with a hammer, followed slowly by his compatriot. Serving Night Guard were forbidden to bow more than a brief nod to their liege, but the stallion placed his head upon the floor and began to speak, as if the words had been bottled up inside him under immense pressure, and he could not prevent them from escaping any more.

“Princess of the Moon, your subjects hereby request an audience with you about issues of the greatest importance.”

“No,” she whispered. “I can’t.”

“By ties of blood and bone we are your subjects. Your magic created us, we live to serve your will. What you speak, we shall do, as you command. A second time we call out to you, hear our plea.”

“No. NO! BEGONE!” Flinging the remnants of her basket, Luna darted back inside her room and slammed the door just as hard as she could.

And stayed there for the rest of the night, shivering in her bed while wrapped around a doll.

9. Synergy - Part One

Darkness enveloped the small town of Ponyville in a cool all-encompassing embrace, bringing cool night breezes in through open windows and a peaceful serenity to the empty streets. Nothing moved except a few pieces of laundry put out to air overnight, throwing faint shadows on the paths that intertwined between the houses and shops.

Only one of the shadows moved.

No ground-bound observer noticed the motion of a mottled shadow who never seemed to touch moonlight, but slid past instead. For several nights now, the small town had been the host of the small shadow. Unnoticed. Unseen. A shadow hidden inside a shadow. It had visited many houses, peeking in through open shutters and windows as if looking for something that it was unable to find. Several of the town pets had seen it, from the curious barking of a dog who was willing to play despite the lateness of the hour, to a cat, who had ignored it the same way as cats ignore any other creature beneath the majesty of cats, which is to say all of them. Even the library owl had caught a glimpse of it on occasion and inquired about its name. But it did not answer, merely slipping away into the night.

The shadow paused this night outside a small house, from which a haunting melody drifted on the cool breeze. The music faded and rose, with occasional pauses and repeats as the players went back and retried difficult places, but even the mistakes seemed to blend into the night and echo back from the stars. Four small hooves rested in familiar hoofprints, growing deeper every night the shadow visited to listen to the entrancing music and water the concealing bush with her tears. The silent moon kept watch as the music swept her away for hours, until the musicians could no longer play and silence once again filled the streets.

And the shadow was gone.

But golden eyes in the darkness watched as she left.

“Miss Zecora, it’s been almost a week. Can’t Monster… I mean Flower come out and play?” Scootaloo and the rest of the crusaders fixated the zebra with their best mournful eyes, which she met with a sleep-deprived look of her own.

“My little Flower has spent much time in our herb cellar with the thyme.
She’s been most upset and does not wish to speak of it yet.
We have been through times like this before
And it will do no good to knock upon her door.
The best we can do is to wait out her sorrow too
Perhaps today, or even tomorrow, Scootaloo.”

Five little ponies plodded away in the bright sunshine, feeling as dark and gloomy as if it were pouring rain on a school vacation day.

“Ah can’t believe there’s nothing we can do to cheer her up,” groused Apple Bloom, kicking a pebble down the road.

“Well, I’m not going to just sit around anymore,” said Featherweight. “It’s time for action! Who’s the best pony for cheering up somebody with a case of the gloomies!”

“Pinkie Pie!” chorused the little ponies.

“I’m sorry girls. And Featherweight,” added Pinkie Pie before the little colt could finish swallowing one of the delicious cupcakes the five friends were eating. “I’ve already talked to Miss Zecora, and she says whenever Flower is having a grumpy grump day like this, anything she does to cheer her up only makes her grumpier. I mean, you’d have to have somepony even grumpier and crankier than her to cheer her up, and that’s not easy, because even Trixie is not as grumpy as she used to be. I just can’t think of anypony grumpy enough to do the trick.”

“Rainbow Dash when she wakes up from a nap?”

“No, Thcoots.” Twist shook her head, knocking a few small candies out of her mane that she had planned on smuggling in to Monster. “Thee needth thombody who feelth like thee doeth. Thombody who underthandth how bad thee feelth.”

“I suppose. But the grumpiest pony I’ve ever met was—” Sweetie Belle bounced out of her seat and dashed over to the window, pointing into the distance where Canterlot was visible in the brilliant morning sunshine. “I’ve got it! What we need is the gloomiest, grouchiest glum grump in existence to talk with her so she feels happy by comparison. And I know just the pony.”

The cool breezes of summer nights whispered quietly through Ponyville, carrying the sorrowful music through the silent streets once again. Monster stood in her accustomed spot, floating away in her mind as the music enveloped her in darkness and grief. She could feel the spirits of the earth once again under her hooves, whispering to her as she shifted her weight on the dark, rich soil beside the bush. Their words still did not make sense, but their meaning was very plain.

She was being watched.

Monster turned to face the street, knowing where the charcoal-grey pegasus with the golden eyes was even before as she stepped out of the shadows. There was something familiar about her, an undertone of grief and sorrow that struck a chord of harmony in Monster’s heart even as she took in the sharp teeth and unnatural eyes that marked the pony as an exile from normal society. The mare wore an an elaborately embroidered cloak over her concealed wings, and carried herself with a certain level of grace that reminded Monster of — Celestia, although the princess would not have been impolite enough to simply stand there and stare at Monster. It seemed as if words had failed the pegasus, and Monster decided to supply her own.

“What do you want?”

The strange mare fumbled for words, looking back and forth up the street before blurting out, “I’m looking for Twilight Sparkle.”

“So am I,” whispered Monster, turning back to the music.

“No, I mean…” The mare scowled and looked back over her shoulder momentarily. “How did I let myself get talked into this? My name is Laminia, and I’m here to ask for a favor.”

The light tapping at Princess Luna’s bedroom door could only be from one pony, and after a brief untangling of obstinate sheets, Luna opened the door to glare at her sister.

“Tia? I don’t want to talk to you right now.”

Celestia nodded and stepped back, revealing a pair of unicorns Luna had never seen before. “I can understand your apprehension, my sister. That is why I was hoping you would agree to speak with Twilight Sparkle’s parents. She is having a rather rough time in Ponyville at the moment, and I was hoping you might have some insight that would ease her troubles. Lord Night Light. Lady Twilight Velvet. This is my sister, Princess Luna. I understand you have a number of things to speak about, so I will allow you some privacy.”

As the Princess of the Sun strode quietly away, Twilight Velvet stepped forward and bowed along with her husband. “Princess Luna, I understand you have seen my daughter. Is she… well?”

Luna considered the word ‘well’ for a moment, trying to figure out just how it would apply to a young mare who had been nearly killed by magical overload from the sun, raised in the Everfree Forest, and reborn through the Element of Magic in the form of a small alicorn filly. “Considering her circumstances, she is quite well. She has friends,” added Luna wistfully. “She writes of them and of you in her correspondence. Would you like to read them?”

A few minutes later, Luna opened the silver coffer on her desk and floated out the letters she had received, watching Twilight Sparkle’s parents read through them with an intensity that bordered on disturbing. They held themselves well, limiting themselves to a few damp sniffs that were muffled in some tissues, and eventually giving the letters up to be tucked back inside the coffer.

“Thank you, Princess,” said Night Light, his golden eyes moist with tears, reminding Luna far too much of the golden eyes of the Nocturne outside her door that night. The frightening incident had not been repeated, and that single glance was the only time she had seen them since, although the golden glint of hiding eyes seemed to fill the darkness whenever she peered out the curtains at her beautiful night.

“We would not have bothered you this evening, Your Highness,” said Twilight Velvet with one last dab of a damp tissue on her nose. “But we were approached by one of your guards with a problem that was very synergistic with ours.”

The dark pony named Laminia had curled up in the damp grass of the garden and wrapped her cloak around her, shivering in the warm breeze as she looked at the distant moon. Monster could not concentrate on the music with the other pony in close proximity, as the faint glint of sharp teeth and the rustle of anxious membranous wings beneath the cloak were poorly hidden signs of her obvious discomfort at being in Monster’s presence. They remained side by side in the garden for a while, but after a long period of time had gone by without any further words, Monster asked, “Why?”

“Because I was asked by a friend. A very annoying friend, but since I don’t have very many of them, so I thought it would be…” Laminia trailed off, seemingly entranced by the silver glow of the strange empty moon in the sky, so different than all the years she had watched it with mom. “You saw her, did you not? Our Queen of the Night, who we have waited a thousand years to return, striding across the sky in majesty too great to be comprehended. I felt her that night as she called to me, but I was unable to answer, and when I woke, she was gone.” The dark mare slowly turned from looking at the sky to stare into Monster’s eyes. “What was she like? Where did she go? Will she return again soon?”

“No. She’s gone. Not coming back. Ever.” Monster shivered at the burning look in Laminia’s eyes, but did not look away.

A deep voice in the darkness much like a warm foghorn said, “Peace. We don’t want to hurt you or your friends.” A similar dark pony emerged from the night beside Laminia, only he was a stallion dressed in dark purple steel armor with a look of concern focused on his counterpart. “You were supposed to only ask her to intervene with the Princess of the Night about our kind, as we discussed with Night Light and his wife.”

Monster backed up underneath the comforting darkness of the bush next to the house, her eyes wide in the darkness. “No. Not them too. Please. Just go away.”

“Smooth move, Lumpy,” muttered the dark mare, moving to stand in front of the armored stallion. “Look, Twilight Sparkle. We only want you to speak with Luna about talking with Lumpy and his ilk. It seems he put his hoof in it pretty solidly when he ambushed her on the way to the baths, and—”

“Not Twilight. Monster,” she whimpered, trying to draw magic for an escape and feeling the spirits of the earth struggle against her instead.

“No, no, no!” Laminia sat down abruptly and laid her head down between her forehooves, followed in a rather slower fashion by the dark stallion. “I’m sorry. And so is Lumpy. If you want us to go away, we will, but we only want to talk to you about Luna. Even if she isn’t really Celestia’s sister.” Laminia twitched as if she had been solidly poked in the side and let out a pained grunt before she continued. “Anyway, Lumpy and a bunch of his tin-headed idiot friends are all impatient to meet her now that they think she’s back. He did a stupid and made her cry, but some of your friends visited us in Canterlot and came up with a smart idea. We would come here and talk with you about our problem, while… another couple would talk with Luna about their problem.

Luna’s bedroom felt very cold as the Princess of the Night regarded the two quiet unicorns sitting nearby. “You wish me to speak with your daughter and convince her to meet with you. Is that correct?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” said Night Light with a nod of his head that made his mane bob.

“You do realize she was traumatized greatly by her time in the Everfree Forest, correct?”

“Of course, Your Highness,” said Twilight Velvet, a small catch in her voice the only sign of the stress she was going through. “Our son kept us informed of their attempts to reach her. From what he and Princess Cadence told us, our little Twilight seems to have traumatized the Everfree Forest quite a bit in return too.” A nervous giggle broke away from the mare’s iron restraint, and Night Light moved to place one comforting hoof on hers. “I mean, she was so uncontrolled, I was always afraid that they might actually be able to catch her, and then what? When Princess Celestia told us about Zecora, I couldn’t make up my mind whether I was furious somepony else had taken our little Twily away from us, or just thankful she had found somepony to love her like a mother. Do you understand, Your Highness?”

“No,” said Luna flatly. “I’ve never had foals of my own. Even your Twilight Sparkle is as close as I have ever been to becoming a big sister.” The dark alicorn turned away from the compassionate looks of the couple and tapped the silver coffer with one hoof. “From her letters, I understand she had an encounter with the changelings in which she killed a number of them. The act of taking a life can be quite strenuous on the young, and I can see why the deaths would weigh heavily upon her soul. But with therapy, I’m sure she will get over her—”

Night Light’s face had become more and more emotionless as Luna spoke, finally breaking in with a low voice tinged with an arctic chill. “Cadence told us after Twily and her friends were captured and imprisoned by the changelings, she killed their entire hive, thousands of them, just as coldly as if you or I had stepped on a bug. Turned the entire hive into an explosive of some sort and rode out the blast in a magical bubble inside the hive.”

Luna blinked, taken aback by the carnage of the mental image. “I see.”

“And then she carried her friends out of the blown-up hive still wrapped in their cocoons, just so five little fillies wouldn’t see all the deaths she had caused. She waded through their blood and guts so her little friends would not have to see what she had done.”

Words would not come to Luna as she thought of the screams from that horrible night of her own so long ago, as Nightmare Moon drew the power out of all of her new creations, burning them to ashes in a futile attempt to fight Celestia and the Elements of Harmony. Their charred remains had been left behind when she was banished to the moon, but the memories of her dying followers were just as sharp and clear as the night they happened.

“Then afterwards she met the Queen of the Changelings, and came within a whisker of using her magic to kill every single one of them. She didn’t, and even Princess Cadence says she’s not sure why, but you know what, Princess? I don’t care. My Twilight could have done far worse, and we still love her and want to be with her. I want to believe she needs us, even with her friends and Zecora. We’re her parents, for pony’s sake. She’s our own flesh and blood, and she will always be that on the inside, no matter how she looks on the outside.”

The limitless power of the Everfree flowed through Nightmare Moon, wrapping the group of pegasi in front of her in a crimson flow as the spell took hold. Feathered wings warped with a crackle of reshaping bones, and the screams of agony slowly gave way to a hushed silence as she leaned into the spell, adding just the smallest portion of her own soul to the newly formed creatures who stared back at their creator with adoring golden eyes.

“What do you really want?” whispered Monster to the two subservient pegasi, both still laying on their bellies with the faces in the damp grass. Even with their eyes closed and looking down, she could still feel little flickers of gold as if they had never quit looking at her with those mournful eyes.

“Just speak with her about us. That is all we wish.” The dark stallion remained face down as he spoke, sounding somewhat muffled from his position.

“I only send letters.” Monster shifted uncomfortably, the music forgotten as she looked up into the starry sky. “Nothing back. She’s afraid of me. Everypony is. I think. Maybe.”

“She is our Princess of the Night,” intoned the stallion. “There is no fear or doubt in her heart, only love.”

“She’s a fraud,” snapped the mare. “Created by Celestia for whatever weird purpose she has in mind, probably just to reduce her workload.”

Monster looked back and forth between the two dark pegasi, one large and bulky in his purple armor, and the other small and well-dressed with what looked to be a perpetual scowl on her otherwise beautiful face. They seemed so different on the surface, despite their matching golden eyes and dragon-like wings, and yet there was a harmony between them that fairly crackled with power, as if they were two different parts of the same whole. For twelve seasons, mom had been an inseparable part of Monster’s life, as unchanging as the moon and the stars. In just the last few weeks, mom had changed beyond all comprehension, showing overwhelming feelings much the same as these two. And with a changeling.

The earth spirits beneath her hooves spoke of other changelings in the huge town, all quiet and peaceful now despite their strange appearance and her first violent encounter with them. They could be accepted despite their appearance, even as her friends had accepted her, but they had not done the horrible things she had—

images danced through her head as the music stuttered and stopped. visions of pale ponies streaming green goo being pulled out of shriveled changeling pods, their motionless bodies being carried to a heaping pile of refuse. small ponies being carried away from villages and stuffed into pods without number, all packed into the darkness of a much larger hive. burning trails of wagons with heaped bodies all around, and other prisoners being carried by lines of changelings, returning them to feed the insatiable hunger of the enormous hive. and over them all, a huge changeling queen, watching with approval as she feasted on the captured love energy, traces of which still resonated within Monster’s body.

10. Synergy - Part Two

It was difficult to keep her royal demeanor as Luna shifted uncomfortably under the intense scrutiny of Twilight Sparkle’s parents. She was used to petitioners approaching the throne with selfish requests or demands, looking for just one more wedge to use against their fellow ponies, but it was rare for her to be faced with a request so close to her heart, and she could not say no. Just the same, it was extremely difficult to say yes, but after a moment of contemplation, it had to be said.

“We are sorry for the two of you, but we are only a ruler of Equestria, not the ruler of Twilight Sparkle’s mind. We shall write her a letter advocating your position, but we fear it will not be very effective. Fear can be a powerful controller of the mind, and in particular the fear of having to face somepony she loves and confess to a horrible crime. There is always the thought that forgiveness will not be granted, for our insecurities grow heavy in times of stress.”

“She is loved so very much, which is why it hurts us so much.” Twilight Velvet paused, but before she could go on, Princess Luna interrupted.

“Yes, we all know how much we are loved by others, but that love is distant and her supposed crimes are right under her nose. I have no idea how she is able to tolerate a changeling in her house as her mother’s paramour, when I’m afraid to have one of my own Night Guards outside my own door!”

“Stop it.” The dark stallion moved up beside Laminia and held a hoof on her shoulder. “You’re frightening her. It’s no wonder Princess Luna doesn’t want to see us, if all we are good for is frightening foals.”

“Not afraid of you,” whimpered Monster from inside the bush she had backed into, still shivering under her cloak. “Don’t want to hurt you.” They remained in place, looking at each other while the music started again and drifted through the night.

“Not afraid of them,” said Monster in slow, deliberate words. “Afraid of what they think.”

“Who?” Laminia’s eyes seemed to glow in the darkness, a warm fire that spoke of a desire to help.

“Mom. Real mom. And dad. And Shiny. And C-c-cad…”

“Princess Mi Amore Cadenza,” muttered Laminia with a fierce scowl that extinguished all the warmth she had been displaying. “The cheerful one.”

“Who?”

“Cadence,” said Laminia after a brief pause.

“Oh.” Monster shifted uncomfortably under the bush, trying not to whimper at the thorns digging into her thin hide. “What should I write to Luna?”

The stallion opened his mouth to respond, paused at a look from Laminia, and returned to a stoic guard position. “The truth,” said Laminia, pointedly ignoring Lumpy. “Tell her that her subjects love her and only want to be able to serve her. Don’t put anything in about how long we’ve waited or how they’re so angsted up with worry that they sent Lumpy, of all ponies. Or me. Don’t mention me at all.”

I have killed far too many with my hate.

“What did she do to you?” asked Monster, twitching in reaction as Laminia cringed back.

“Me? Nothing! I’m perfectly fine.” The dark mare lashed her tail back and forth, catching Lumpy across the face as he opened his mouth to say something.

“No you’re not. You hurt inside.” Monster stepped out of the bush with tiny steps, approaching the dark mare with her head held low until she reached up with one hoof and placed it carefully on her charcoal-grey chest. “You hurt, and you’re mad at everything. I can feel it inside you, burning like fire. It’s not good for you.”

“Well, it’s not good for you either,” snapped Laminia. “You’re scared of your own birth parents just because of what they might think. They’ll probably kiss your hooves, while my birth father can kiss my sweet—” The mare winced, and deliberately continued. “Flank. I was going to say flank, Lumpy. Remember you’re wearing shoes the next time you kick me in the leg.”

“Sorry.”

The little unicorn stepped forward and placed a hoof on the stallion’s chest too, Laminia rotating in place with her as she moved. “You’re afraid. Like me. You’re mad, and you’re afraid of being mad. Like me. You’re afraid of killing, because it feels good, and you don’t think you could stop. Like me. Are all of you pegasuses like this?”

“No,” interrupted Laminia before Lumpy could speak. “Only us.”

“Yes, in some small regard,” said the dark stallion, his golden eyes closed as he seemed to lean into the little hoof on his chest. “All of the Nocturne bear the touch of Luna on our souls. It was by her actions we were born, made to reflect her immortal glory as the Moon doth reflect the Sun.”

“Then why is she afraid of you?” The moonlight seemed to shine down more intently on the three ponies standing by the house, the dusky red of Monster’s cloak taking on a shimmering aura, as if it were a flowing mane filled with stars. Both dark pegasi shifted uncomfortably in the light, looking between themselves as if they were afraid to say the words.

“Nighty,” said Twilight’s mother, her eyes never leaving Princess Luna startled face. There was a particular timbre to her voice that Night Light seemed to catch at once. The unicorn stallion stood up and bowed formally to Luna before turning and leaving for the hallway, the quiet thump of the closing door sounding like a falling anvil in the silent room.

“Princess, I recognize that look on your face, and before I go any further, I have to ask you something. Have you talked about your time as Nightmare Moon to anypony? Other than your sister,” added Twilight Velvet with a caring nod.

Luna’s hackles rose as she looked away from the smaller mare, trying to maintain her composure. “Of course I’ve talked to Celly about — I mean other ponies. There was the Royal Historian. The Chirurgeon, who didst give me a number of quite painful shots. And…”

The silence stretched tightly as Twilight Velvet waited far longer than protocol required before continuing her end of the conversation. “How long has it been since your mother — passed?”

“What matter is this?” snapped Luna, turning back to Twilight Velvet and pausing at the look in her eyes, those blue eyes seeming so much like the ones that looked back at her from the mirror every day, only without a trace of her shame or guilt, only compassion. It took a long dry swallow of a suddenly closed throat to respond after a few more moments had gone by.

“Far too long. I can scarce remember her anymore.” Luna was not aware of Twilight Velvet approaching any closer, but there was a warm hoof resting on her own, and her eyes seemed so much larger.

“Mothers can forgive anything from their children. Whenever I had done something wrong, I always knew, whatever it was, my mother was always there for me.” Twilight Velvet paused to wipe away a tear and accepted the tissue Luna passed to her with a sniff.

“When I told my mother about Twilight’s entrance exam and the destruction she caused, I was absolutely positive it was all my fault. I had pushed her too hard, I had not put my hoof down when she tried to stay up all night studying, we had never pried her away from her books to get out in the sunshine so she could have friends of her own. All the excuses that had rattled around in my head until they had worn ruts in the carpet just piled up until I talked to her, and then they all spilled out in one huge confession about how I had k-killed her granddaughter. And do you know what she did?”

Luna shook her head, as Twilight Velvet continued. “She listened to it all before she pulled me up close to her chest and patted me on the head until I quit crying. Didn’t say a word, just sat there and held me for what seemed like hours. Then she said, ‘Don’t worry, dear. It will be all right.’ And you know what? It was. That’s what I see when I look at you now, Princess Luna. I see myself, with no mother to listen to your heart break and tell you everything will be all right.”

“It won’t be all right,” said Luna weakly. “I’ve done horrible, horrible things. They plague my dreams and waking hours with memories.”

“I know,” said Twilight Velvet in a whisper. “It makes your gut feel like it’s full of broken glass. If I can’t be there for my daughter, let me at least be here for you.”

The silent stars twinkled outside the open window, bringing a warm glow to the coldness in Luna’s heart. They had shone down upon her when she was just a little filly, still weak and terrified of the world as she had nuzzled up to her warm mother as a source of comfort and love. Now she could feel their touch as a welcome friend as she placed her cheek tentatively against Twilight Velvet’s warm neck and began to speak.

“It all began after the defeat of Discord, just after my sister and I entombed him in stone forever. Our ponies celebrated the entire day…”

As she rested with one hoof on each of the dark pegasi, Monster could feel their thudding heartbeats beneath swirling miasmas of fear and anger. It was wrong to think about just fixing them, as mom had spent many long hours teaching her that kind of restraint. To forcefully change their symptoms without touching the source would only twist them more, and possibly interfere with the harmony they both shared. Spells touched her senses as she ran her hooves across their coats and the heavily-enchanted armor of the stallion. The armor’s powerful protective wards were complex and enticing, but a faint, almost wispy touch of a blindingly complex spell lurked beneath both of their bodies, written deeply in their flesh and blood in such a way that to remove it, even if she could, would undo them totally. She ran her hooves over the membranous wings of the stallion, gently tugging at his firm grip that kept them both tightly clamped against his sides, but when she reached for the mare’s cloak-concealed wings, Laminia crabbed sideways to remain out of her reach.

“Don’t touch, little one. My wings are injured.” The words fell off Laminia’s lips so easily that Monster almost believed her, but there was a subtle shift under her cloak that gave the lie to her words. The motion was unnatural, and Monster reached out without thinking to touch the misshapen lump under the cloak that should not have been there, only to have the dark mare jerk away and bare her teeth in a snarl. “I said don’t touch me!”

“Sorry.” Monster shuffled backwards towards the safe darkness of the bush, only for the dark pegasus to stop her with a compassionate hoof, and look deeply into her eyes.

“No, don’t go. I’m the one who should apologize. You don’t know the ostracism and pain I’ve had to endure for as long as I can remember. Behold,” she added softly, drawing her wings out from under her elegant cloak and spreading them wide in the starlit night. The unblemished membranes of one wing glistened in the dim light, but it was not matched on the other side. The other wing only bore the dark membranes of their ancient legacy out to the elbow joint, but from there it was a twisted and distorted parody of her other wing, bearing a mix of feathers and membranes that could never have borne her weight in flight.

“This is my legacy from our true Princess of the Night,” hissed Laminia, in obvious pain from the way her warped wing trembled and the beginnings of tears in her eyes. “When She once again returns, I shall be made whole again. She will bless me as no other pony has been blessed for remaining true to her memory. The scorn and resentment of the ponies of the Day shall be returned to them a thousand fold as she takes her rightful place, and rules over all of Equestria.”

“With her sister,” added Monster after a moment of silence.

“By herself!” snarled Laminia in a low voice that barely echoed from the narrow alleys of the silent dark homes around them, although after enduring Monster’s intense gaze in the darkness, she added, “Or with her sister, if she wants.”

One outreached hoof from Monster touched the distorted wing gently, tracing both the physical deformity and the subtle twists of the underlying spell, a wrongness so faint that she could barely tell it was there, let alone the actual error. Highly complicated spells designed to last had deep self-correcting mathmagical formula to them, and although the defect was blatantly apparent in her wing, any future progeny would revert back to the original transformation. As if the thought had been triggered by some subconscious observation, her hoof drifted lower, feeling the matching sensation of a much smaller version of the spell, but growing.

“Are you two a mommy and daddy?” asked Monster, checking to see if perhaps there were two small spell signatures in the mare.

“Yes. How did you—”

“No!” snapped Laminia. “I was drunk. Besides, I don’t even think that Elvis Przewalski impersonator even had a license.”

“No, I mean a mommy mommy.”

Laminia seemed to grow abruptly pinker, a thin ribbon of metallic silvery blue in her mane sparkling in the silver moonlight as she shook her head violently. “Just because I miss one heat cycle, doesn’t mean anything. My next one will start soon, and just how is this related to you speaking with Luna about my husband’s — I mean Lumpy’s problem?”

“I want to know why do you need her so much,” said Monster flatly.

“She is our Princess of the Night,” intoned the stallion. “Our race was created by her a thousand years ago when she was possessed by Nightmare Moon, and our kind were nearly wiped out in the resulting war. Princess Celestia saved what few of us remained, and in return we promised to guard Equestria in service to the Crown forever. We serve the Princesses. We owe them our lives.”

“No. I didn’t mean Luna. I mean her.” One trembling purple hoof stroked across the indignant mare’s side, making her promptly quit tucking her wings back under her cloak and blink in momentary confusion.

“Make it good, Lumpy,” she growled, returning to her careful arrangement of her crippled wing.

“She fills a hole in my heart,” said Lumpy without a pause. “I was lost, afraid of losing control and drifting away from reality. She is my anchor, and won’t let me lie to myself. Your turn, dear.”

Lamina tucked away the last joint on her wing under her cloak and turned to face her little accuser. “He’s a giant lump of stupid who’s too dumb to see me as the cruel sadistic bastard that I really am. There’s this fuzzy picture of some worthwhile pony in his mind that he somehow associated with me, and as long as he’s around me—” She looked away from the both of them “—I can be that pony, just a little bit.”

Monster thought about it for a while before nodding slowly. “Mutual codependency(*). Are you afraid Luna will take him away from you?”

“No!” The dark mare twitched around her mouth as if she had inhaled a bad-tasting bug. “He’s mine,” she added in a much softer voice.

“How do you know Luna is not your Princess of the Night, then? Is it written in a book?”

Laminia nodded sharply. “Yes. Each of the clans of the Nocturne have a Book of Tradition where they keep their family history all the way back to the Night of Creation. I was raised on stories from that book that tell of her glory and majesty ever since I was old enough to walk.”

“Can I read it? I’ve got a library card.” Monster stroked Laminia’s side and tried to make the big-eyed mournful look that all of her friends were so experienced with, but only managed to make both of the strange pegasi chuckle.

“I’m sorry, little one,” rumbled the big stallion. “The families consider their Books of Tradition very private. It would take an order from Luna herself for you to look through one of them. There are over two hundred family groups now, and each of the families has a book of their own that is undoubtedly different from each of the others as the various generations have recorded their own histories.”

“Oh. If all the books are different, how can you know if your idea about a queen of the night is right?” As Laminia paused with her mouth open, Monster kept talking as if the words could not be stopped. “If a bunch are wrong and only one is right, shouldn’t we ask somepony who was there? Like — Celestia?”

“Princess Celestia has already made her opinion quite vocally known about the legitimacy of her sister both inside the court and to anypony who will listen, which includes—” Lumpy nodded at Laminia “—her. Twice.”

“Oh.” Monster fidgeted, looking back and forth between the two dark pegasi, trying to ignore the rising anger she saw in the mare’s face. “You know the princesses fought when you were made. There are… things still in the ground there. Rusty metal and bones scattered around the fallen stones. The sky still echos with their fight. Bad things happened. The dark pony — Nightmare Moon fed on hate and fear, just like yours. It can be used for magic, but it hurts. Or kills. She made them only to destroy them. I know Luna fought, but the dark pony was too strong. She killed your ancestors.”

Laminia bristled, turning around and facing Monster with a fierce glower and an upraised hoof. “Liar! Our Princess of the Night would not harm—”

A chill breeze swept across the grass, and a fourth presence appeared, pulling back the darkness like a curtain and stepping up directly beside Monster. Her star-speckled mane barely flickered in the moonlight, but her blue eyes flashed at Laminia, who stood like a statue, her hoof still raised to strike.

“Lower thy limb, or thou shalt find thyself in great pain, young mare,” said Princess Luna.

(*) The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders which was delivered to the Golden Oaks Library had gone mysteriously missing the night after it had arrived. The mystery would have been solved if Trixie had looked under Monster’s bed, or in the library checkout box where the card had been carefully filed under ‘D’ and signed, as well as cards from several other checked out books.

11. Synergy - Part Three

All of the gloom and depression that had been hanging off Monster seemed to vanish in an instant as the Princess of the Night appeared in the moonlit garden. With a happy shriek of ‘Luna!,’ Monster launched herself at the larger alicorn, wrapping around her warm neck and burying her nose in her starry mane.

She did not see the look of pure consternation on the face of the Royal Guard at the sight of a Princess of Equestria being assaulted in this admittedly cute fashion, or the mixed look of fear and amusement that Laminia wore before giving into the humor of the situation and sitting down with a hoof over her mouth to muffle her laughter, but Monster did sense something else that caused her to freeze in place after her initial exuberant hug. It was the faint crunch of dried tears along Luna’s soft neck, mingled with a scent that traveled around her mind with several detours around damaged sections under repair, before it lodged quite firmly in a sensitive location. A spot which had been the exclusive domain of a loving zebra for the last twelve years, through pain and fear smothered by love and care at her gentle hooves, until the night she had set Luna free from Nightmare Moon. Giving one last squeeze to the warm hug, Monster sat back and blinked as she looked up into Luna’s blue eyes, looking so much like the compassionate eyes that she could barely remember.

“You saw mom tonight?”

“Yes, little one. Both of them.” Luna ran a hoof down Monster’s tangled mane and sighed. “Your birth mother sends her love, as well as reassurance beyond what I thought possible for mortals, while your adoptive mother—” Luna paused with an introspective look, eventually shaking her head and continuing. “They are much alike, despite the gap of nations which separate them. You are indeed doubly blessed.”

“I can share. Sister.”

“Sister? Ha!” scoffed Laminia, her arrogant sneer fading as Luna turned her attention back to the dark pegasus. The Princess gave her a deliberate look before turning back to Monster and continuing as if the pair of pegasi did not even exist.

“As your big sister, of sorts—” There was a most peculiar look that flittered across Luna’s face in the moonlight, only showing for the briefest instant, but taking away the sharpest edge from the tension that showed through her tranquil mask. She remained without speaking for several breaths as the music drifted through the night before giving her head a shake and continuing as if she had never even paused. “I must balance your good with that of your family. It would be highly premature for you to be forced into any meeting with your parents in your current state of mind. Once you have had a few weeks to get accustomed to your new situation, we can see if you are more prepared for such an encounter.”

“Will you be there?” Monster sniffled as she looked up at Luna, standing silhouetted against the night sky.

“I-I shall… check my schedule,” said Luna, sparing a glance at Laminia, who had reacted to her words with a snort of derision. “Pardon me for a moment.”

Turning to the watching dark pegasus mare, she continued by pointing her hoof at Canterlot, seeming to glow in the moonlight in the distance. “Since you do not seem to be able to recognize a private conversation, we shall make this perfectly clear. You are dismissed. Return to Canterlot, where we shall consider your request in due course.”

“While you continue to hide in your room like a frightened foal?” Laminia’s voice had a sharp undertone that cut through the air and brought a sharp roiling to Luna’s mane that matched her virulent response. Thunder rolled in the distance as the Princess of the Night rose to her full height and glared down at the dark pegasi.

“That is the last straw. Thou art dismissed from our service as a member of our Royal Seamstresses. Begone from my sight and the castle!”

“Then there’s nothing to stop me from saying just what I think, is there?” Motioning carefully and fairly slowly at Monster while ignoring a fuming Luna, Laminia stepped forward to rest one hoof gently on the little filly’s shoulder. “True Princesses are not afraid. They face their fears and conquer them. If you let your fear fester inside you, it will grow stronger. I was afraid to tell my father what I thought when I was growing up, and by the time I could, it was too late. Fortunately I was taken in by two of the Royal Seamstresses and they gave me a home, and as much love as I could stand, or I might have turned out even worse than I am now. Go to your parents. Set a date and meet with them, or you’ll just hide in your room like some cowering little wimp until time gets away from you.”

“W-would you b-be there with me?” Monster asked in a very small voice, cringing away from Luna’s shocked gaze.

It took a moment for Laminia to respond, considering the request with an uncomfortable look over her shoulder at her former employer. “Yeah. I suppose. It’s not like I have a job anymore. Next weekend work for you? There’s an 8:00 train.”

“Yes.” Her voice was very small, but once Monster had finished saying the word, she lifted her head up and blinked. “Yes. Yes I can! It’s a little less scary now.”

“Good.” Laminia patted the filly on the shoulder before turning around to leave. “See you then. Come on, Lumpy.”

“Stop!” Luna’s command made the dark mare hesitate, slowing her pace to an eventual halt as she turned around and gave the bare minimum of a bow. Laminia looked tired and only recoiled slightly under the venomous glare Luna was directing at her, but did not drop to her belly with her hooves over her head like Lumpy did. Instead, she met Luna’s eyes with a defiant look just short of a sneer.

A faint peal of thunder continued to echo far in the distance as Luna remained motionless except to speak. “Thou art the disbelieving one, who watched with the rest of the court as we raised our moon not three days ago. We did not recognize thee as one of my Nocturne with thy disguise, and we did not recognize the voice of the mare whom my sister Celestia did speak with words most severe until we heard it now.”

“So what if I am?” said Laminia with a sudden upward jerk to her chin as she shuffled a step sideways to avoid a panicked poking on the ankle done by Lumpy. “I’m not your problem any more. You fired me.”

“Thy insolence within my court is forgivable, but thy threat of violence against my… Against my friend was not. I shall not permit you to be in her presence until I am satisfied with your behavior.” Luna stepped forward, so close to Laminia that their noses nearly touched, but the dark pegasus did not back up one step, matching Luna’s sapphire gaze with her own golden eyes even while a muscle twitched in her cheek.

“You two be nice!” blurted out Monster as her horn flared a soft purple in the darkness.

“Pardon me for a moment.” Luna turned from Monster to face the dark pegasi mare, who was watching them both carefully with an inscrutable look.

“Since you do not seem to be able to recognize a private conversation, we shall make this perfectly clear. You are dismissed. Return to Canterlot, where we shall consider your request in due course.”

“Can they stay?” asked Monster in a soft whisper.

“No!” snapped Luna. “They are most distract—” With her royal lips set in a thin line, the Princess of the Night turned her back on Laminia and looked down at Monster, who was utilizing her most mournful eyes. After fighting their effect for a while, she nodded in resignation. “I shall accede to your request. The annoying one may stay, little sister.”

“Sister? Ha!” scoffed Laminia, her arrogant sneer fading into a confused look. “Or did I say that already?”

“Why are you mad that I called Luna my sister?” asked Monster

“Because she’s not. You’re a brave little unicorn filly, and I don’t know what happened in that forest, but even if everything the newspaper said is true — You’d be a lot older.” Laminia blinked and looked between Luna and Monster. “You’re a fake, just like her. That’s why you don’t want to see your parents. They’d see through your disguise, just like I can see this imposter is not our true Princess of the Night.”

“That’s not a nice thing to say!”

“I’m not a very nice pony!” snapped Laminia, turning to face her little accuser. “I’m a bitter excuse for a —” She dodged farther out of reach from Lumpy’s jabbing hoof and paused at the sight of Monster’s trembling bottom lip and the watery tears welling up in her eyes. Heaving a heavy sigh, she looked away from both princess and filly, adding in a much quieter voice, “I’m a jerk. I’m a jerk and I’m sorry for calling you a fake. You too, Princess Luna. Or whoever you really are.”

Thunder rumbled over Ponyville as Luna’s eyes flashed white. “We have had enou—”

There was a flash of purple light, and then nothing.

“Pardon me for a moment.” Luna turned from Monster to face the dark pegasi mare, who was watching them both carefully with a perplexed look.

“Since you do not seem to be able to recognize a private conversation, we shall make this perfectly clear. You are dismissed. Return to Canterlot, where we shall consider your request in due course.”

“You better go,” said Monster quickly before Laminia could open her mouth. “Bad things will happen if you stay.” The little filly darted over and wrapped both hooves around her, smearing tears across her soft neck. “You’re not a jerk inside. You just hurt. I know what that’s like.”

“No you don’t,” said Laminia reflexively, although she made no effort to remove the little filly who was wrapped around her neck and sniffling. “I’ve lived my whole life in pain, shunned by my family for something I had no control over. For one brief shining moment when our Queen of the Night returned, I thought… I don’t know. Maybe I was trying to find a reason other than me for why my life sucked so bad.”

“Badly,” corrected Monster with a sniff.

“Yeah. I guess you don’t have to tell your friend there about us after all. Take care, and let us know if there’s anything you need, ok?” Laminia sat Monster back down on the ground and turned to leave, stopping as a dark-blue hoof rested on her shoulder.

“Thou art the most stubborn of ponies,” said Luna, sounding much calmer. “Obstinate. Opinionated. Headstrong. Insulting. I hath watched you both from the shadows since the first moment of your arrival in this town, and cannot believe you are cut from the same stock as that gaggle of subservient yes-ponies that infest our court. Art thou always this much of a pain in the flank?”

The soft music that floated across the night air could not completely cover the sound of Lumpy, still laying on his stomach and repeatedly whispering, “I’m so fired, I’m so fired…” Laminia considered the question, with several glances between the little filly and her sovereign ruler as if she could not make up her mind which one deserved the most attention.

“Yes,” she finally answered. “I used to be worse. But at least I do not hide from my problems.”

“Why was Luna hiding?” asked Monster, blinking her eyes in the moonlight.

Luna glanced sharply at Laminia before responding. “A princess does not hide. I was cleansing my residence. Our rooms have been recently restored to their previous decor, and the previous resident left considerable debris behind in the various nooks and crannies, including a quite disagreeable odor of peanut butter and onions that has been substantially resistant to the most powerful of spells.”

“A Great and Powerful odor,” added Laminia. “Princess Celestia’s student was well-known for her eccentric tastes in entertainment and food. I used to have to clean her pockets out when she returned garments to our office for mending. I hate mice.”

Monster looked quizzically at the seamstress. “She ate mice?”

“Ohnonono! She used to display them as a trick. And rabbits. I’m just grateful Princess Celestia put her hoof down when she asked for an elephant.”

“As am I,” said Luna with a restful sigh that turned into a sharp inhalation as she looked up into the sky. “That’s strange. They moved.”

“No they didn’t,” whimpered Monster.

“Yes, I think they did,” said Laminia, moving up beside Luna as they looked up into the sky. “That one over there had just come up over the horizon when—”

Purple light washed over the darkness and they were gone.

“Pardon me for a moment.” Luna turned from Monster to face the dark pegasi mare, who was watching them both carefully with wide eyes. “You felt it too?”

“Yeah, the worst sense of déjà vu I’ve ever felt. I wonder what’s causing it.”

“You mean who.” Luna looked down at Monster, who cringed back, lighting her horn again only to have the purple glow abruptly go out with a burst of indigo magic.

“Sorry.”

Luna breathed out a long sigh, leaning down to nuzzle the little filly across one ear and whisper, “Twilight Sparkle, that was exceedingly dangerous. Didn’t anypony teach you the proper precautions when you learned the time spell?”

“Sorry. Wanted to help. She hurts. Like you. In here.” Monster touched Laminia on the chest, then slid a hoof up to her cloaked wings. “And here. Broken. Can’t fix.”

Lamina slid away from the small hoof, her lips tense and thin. “When our true Princess of the Night returns, I shall be made whole.”

Monster pointed at Luna. “She is.”

“She is not!” snapped Lamina. “A true Princess has no fear.”

Luna jerked her chin up and looked Laminia in the eyes. “I shall not fear.” A small grubby scrap of cloth floated out from Luna’s tunic and over to Monster, who tucked it away. “Thank you, Twilight Sparkle, for permitting your Miss Smarty Pants to visit, but I shall not need her now.”

“It’s not that easy!” shouted Laminia with an angry stomp of one hoof, her wings flaring out behind her instinctively, only for the crippled pegasus to collapse into the garden grass, clutching herself in agony.

“A true Princess would be able to make the pain go away!”

Luna recoiled as she looked at Laminia’s crippled wing, caught half-out of her concealing cloak. “I-I cannot make you what you wish. I could reverse part of the spell, and make you the wings of a pegasus, perhaps. But that is all.”

“Then you are not our Princess of the Night.” The dark pegasus struggled to her hooves to pull her wings back in, only gasp in pain again as a purple glow extended across her crippled wing and spread it open in the moonlight.

“You can,” said Monster.

“I lack the skill,” said Luna in a soft whisper.

“Our Princess of the Night had the skill,” gasped Laminia as tears poured down her face. “In tens and hundreds she transformed her followers.”

“I no longer have the power.” Luna bowed her head. “That curse was justly removed from me by Twilight Sparkle and her friends, never to return.”

“You do have the power,” said Monster. “I can help.”

“Is this what you want, child?” Luna’s voice was barely audible in the dark garden. Even the music from the house had quit, as if to listen to her response.

“Are you afraid?” Laminia gritted her teeth and ripped her cloak off, flinging it down into the dirt before lifting her crippled wing up as far as she could. “I am not afraid of you. If you are truly our Princess of the Night, I shall face the dawn whole and unblemished. If you flee, you shall always be a fraud in our eyes.”

“A true Princess does not run.” Luna’s eyes flashed white as she lifted her horn and indigo magic began to flow over the crippled pegasus.

12. Synergy - Part Four

The world vanished to Luna’s vision, turning into a crystalline vision of light and colored threads connecting fragile glass and brilliant gossamer towers in clouds of pinks and greens. Spells surrounded her, from the simple and brutally strong armor enchantments on the Night Guard cowering in the dirt at her feet, to the distant tug and whisper of enchantments on the town library. The world was magic to her senses, and the solid sensation of Twilight Sparkle to her side contributing her magic to the effort stiffened her resolve. The arrogant dark pegasus a mere hoofs-reach in front of her was a blaze of light, a tracery of spiderwebs covered with dew in the full moonlight. There was a power trapped in that web that held the pony together, quite unlike ordinary ponies, and a faint whisper in the back of her mind froze her hooves to the ground.

Take the power. Use it. Bring me back.

There was a warmth at her back, the unseen but welcome presence of her ‘little sister’ contributing her own power to her spell. That warm glow broke Luna out of her hypnotized state, and with a sharp breath, she began her work. The webbing of the spell on Laminia was subtly different than the spell she had cast so many times through Nightmare Moon a thousand years ago, through changes and variations in the spell as it passed from mother to daughter and mixed with the other ponies of Equestria. It was softly faded in places where wisps of Nightmare’s power still lingered, while other portions had seemed to strengthen with age in adaptation to the circumstances of its existence. Once Luna had gotten over her initial hesitancy, she found it was a fascinating experience, even taking the time to point out the changes between past and present to the little alicorn inside the spell with her. Time ceased to matter in their work, the welcome presence of the moon continuing to shine down as portions of the spell were examined and placed carefully to one side. It was odd to sort through a spell this way with Twilight Sparkle, who seemed to understand the spell as a whole, but unable to verbalize any of the individual portions as they picked through it on the way to the faulty section. Admittedly this was magic far beyond the scope of ordinary unicorns, but the newborn alicorn was taking her trip through the spell with the joy of a child exploring a new playground, only without stomping in the puddles. The flawed section of the spell unwound in front of them, a complicated failsafe Nightmare had crafted when initial attempts at wings had proved less than useful. It only took a moment to move the spell connections into a new configuration, and Luna smiled as she closed the last portion of the spell and focused all the power she had available into it. There was a slow reluctance before the reshaping of bone and flesh started, beginning an unstoppable cascade that swept through the newly rebuilt spell…

Towards a small knot of growing tissue concealed beneath the stronger spell that bound the mother.

It’s just one little foal, not even a few months old. Nopony will miss it.

Memories of that horrible night flashed before her eyes, of pregnant mares subjected to the transformation spell curling up in agony as their unborn foals were rejected by their new bodies. Nightmare Moon had no sympathy for the pain and the loss of the mothers, but Luna had cringed in disgust at the sight, and raged impotently against her jailor. The youngest and most innocent had died first at her hooves from Luna’s mindless desire for praise, just as their parents had all died a few hours later, but they had all died because of her stupid desire to be loved and adored, just like now.

Never again!

Time slowed to a crawl as Luna forced more of her magic into the transforming spell, causing it to blaze with light and fury. There had to be a way to stop the change, to divert it around the fragile new life without destroying either mother or filly in the process. Twilight Sparkle worked frantically at her side, tracing the complex spell with astonishing competency, but even with the two of them focusing their will upon reality, they did not have the power to stop the inevitable result.

Twilight Sparkle, remove thyself from our conjuration. You should not see this.

no.

Magic twisted and turned in the spell, and a glittering array of sparks spread out before Luna, each twinkling to each other like her beloved stars in the sky, only with infinitesimal threads connecting them in a blazing tapestry of life.

change one, change them all. connected.

Luna could feel her heart hammer for a moment despite her concentration on the dizzyingly complex enchantment. The possibility tickled at the edge of her senses, the ability to bring her creations irreversibly to life instead of their present existence at the whim of a spell holding them from their natural pegasus form. It would take the power of creation to change all of them, no matter where they were.

It would take the power of the gods.

Or the sacrifice of one.

No, Twilight Sparkle. I dare not attempt it. I have killed so many in my mindless search for fame and glory. I lack the power to try.

mom says do not try. do.

A rush of power began to flow through Laminia’s body, filling the spell with light that touched every spot, every dark blotch laid by Nightmare and every silvery thread Luna had placed. The power grew, resonating with the tiny fleck of incomplete spells in Laminia’s chest until the spark passed to it. And then to the stallion nearby. Then it burst into threads that lanced out into the darkness, shining silver in the moonlight. Luna did not need to see to know that the threads would reach the rest of the Nocturne, splitting and duplicating as they went to touch every one of her creations in a vast web of power, every motion and change replicated to the thousands of her children. Luna poured her power and skill into the spell, feeling more than seeing the isolated dark patches of Nightmare’s power burst into light as they were touched. The power felt different than she had ever experienced before, a warm flood of trust and love that loosened her deeply held anger and swept it away in the deluge. The cascade of changes through the spell paused, held in limbo a few inches away from the unborn foal as all of the forces of Magic waited on her command.

Begin.

Far away in Canterlot, six stones sat wrapped in protective runes and charms, surrounded by steel and lead barriers in the most secure tower in the castle. It was less an attempt to restrain their power than it was to protect them from those who would have stolen them just for pleasure or the challenge, for their powers were just as effective within their material prisons as if they still were around the necks of their counterparts.

One of these stones, a tourmaline star, shifted slightly in the golden tiara it had crafted for itself when it had found a suitable bearer. It could feel the touch of the little alicorn, not demanding, not attempting to force its power like the other alicorns who had betrayed it before, but pleading, even begging. The spell it was attempting was familiar, a complicated song of making similar to the original purpose of the Elements, but different in some fashion. Where the previous song had been so close to perfect, this song was perfection, not simply a change in the existing order, but finalizing the creation of a new being. It would take far more power than the original spell, and even though it was barely a trickle to Magic’s ability, it still was far more than the small alicorn, or even her larger friend could ever hope to release on their own. The song would fail, and possibly destroy the bearer without assistance.

They would require help.

All who had ever touched Magic could never again be separate from it. There was a bond beyond physical between them and the Element, a bond that could only be broken by death. Magic considered for a timeless moment before calling, and felt the power flow through it again into the joyous song of creation and making. It would take all of them to sing the song together, every one of them, even the annoying one who sang without a tune, but the song of making would be complete.

In the tallest tower in the Canterlot castle, Princess Celestia stirred in her restless sleep. Images rushed through her mind in a torrent, of power and spells she had long thought forgotten. Luna had consulted with her when she had first attempted to create the races of the Nocturne, and although her plans were brilliant beyond any comparison, Celestia had still turned her down. In addition to the moral issues, there were too many unknowns in the spell, and despite Luna’s innovative work-arounds, the possibility for disaster was far too high. In the thousand years of her banishment, Celestia had studied the spell in great detail, and had designed a counter-spell to return the transformed Nocturne to their original form in relative safety, but had never gotten any of them to accept the transformation, and had never pressed the issue against their will. Now the crystalline structure of the spell floated in her mind, with such intensity that long-forgotten sections that had been so much guesses and estimates now became perfectly clear. Lines extended through the ether at her touch, connecting there to here with a branch through this section over to here...

Uncomfortably sprawled across her lumpy mattress, Princess Trixie dreamed of flight, of wind streaming through her soft feathers as she ascended up into the sky. Power beyond her wildest dreams flowed through her alicorn body, the limitless magic of her kind, twisting in the structure of a spell she could barely fathom, although there were sections far too simple and limited for her taste. This section needed to be over here, with glorious light cascading down though this section across the darkness and trailing sparks to turn the emotionless columns and pillars of this into something glorious and worthy of…

The dream continued even as her physical body began to float up off the mattress and up into the air. And out the library window.

Far, far away in a mountain cave sealed away from the light, a dragon whose name was unpronounceable by ponykind dreamed of a star-shaped gem he had once owned, and the one time he had tapped its power. It tasted sweet as a ruby, with overtones of lemony orchedellum and a thousand other crystalline flavors all mixed together into a spectrum of power that only a dragon could appreciate. Leathery wings flexed and opened wide in the pitch-black cavern as the faintest purple glow began to spread down his body, drifting out to the very tips of his powerful wings as if they were being measured, analyzed, and stroked in admiration, as they should be. Dragons were more than powerful magical beasts, they were magic in some way, one with both the earth and the sky, and the rumble of unleashed power began to echo through the cavern as he slowly ascended up from his centuries-long nap at the inescapable call of his treasure.

Absolute silence reigned supreme in the little garden plot next to the house, without even a single note escaping from inside. The rumble and flash of released power had barely died away when the front door creaked open a fraction of an inch, just enough for two curious ponies to peer out into their moonlit garden and consider the tired occupants it contained.

The door closed with a quiet click, followed by the sound of a chair being pulled over and wedged under the doorknob. There was a long pause, with quiet whispers, and then the music began again in a much quieter duet.

The night air felt cold in Princess Luna’s nose as she breathed in deeply, taking a moment to readjust to her physical form before looking down at the unconscious dark mare with a spell she should have used before if she had been thinking straight. The tiny form inside Laminia was barely the size of a chipmunk at this stage of development, apparently unharmed by the release of magical power in her vicinity, and even different in such a small subtle way that it took Luna a moment to accept it, even after checking her work twice.

There was no spell on her. There were not even traces of the ancient spell on any of them. The transformation spell that Nightmare Moon had placed on the Nocturne had always been unable to be fully completed, a coiled spring of magical power inside the dark ponies. Now it was gone, and the result was almost unnoticeable without magic. The faint trace of metallic blue in Laminia’s mane was still there, even more vibrant than before as it shimmered throughout her entire mane and tail to make her glitter in the night as if microscopic stars twinkled between the hairs. Her husband stirred on the ground, slipping a wide wing around his mate as he slowly began to awaken. His wings had been changed slightly too, looking more powerful and broad than before, rippling with a sheen in the moonlight that was nearly animalistic and brought an urge to her mind that she firmly suppressed.

Laminia shook herself free from her husband’s embrace, standing up on her hooves and lifting her own broad wings out to either side for inspection. Even Twilight Sparkle ran her little hooves over the soft membranes, making little twitches as she hit ticklish spots.

“T-they don’t hurt. Princess, they don’t hurt any more.” She paused a moment, looking into Luna’s eyes before going down on one knee with wings outstretched to her sides. “You are truly our Princess of the Night.”

“Finally,” muttered Lumpy, lifting his head off the ground. “What did she have to do, hit you over the head with a—” The Royal Guard looked at his wife’s wings, took one look at Luna, and promptly returned to his face-down position on the ground.

Luna turned in a deliberate fashion, looking down at the dark pegasus stallion who could not have been flatter against the ground if he had just been run over with a wagon. A heavy one. Twice.

“Specialist Pumpernickel. We have given due consideration to your petition before our court, and have decided to grant it on a limited basis. You may select twelve, and only twelve of my Nocturne to serve on our personal protective unit.”

The stallion lifted his head, managing to get out the word, “But—” before Laminina stuffed a hoof into his open mouth so briskly Luna could hear it hit his teeth.

“He says, ‘Yes, Your Highness.’” A hint of sourness crossed Laminia’s face as one of the musicians inside the house hit a wrong note, and she turned to look away. “At least one of us has a job. I think I remember I’m still fired, right?”

“Certes. My decision is final. However…” Luna looked at Canterlot, shining in the distance. “A True Princess must be cordial and polite at all times with all ponies, including the most disagreeable and obstinate.”

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. I mean, Your Highness. It won’t happen again.”

“Pity. I was rather wishing it would.” Luna turned so she could wink at Twilight Sparkle without Laminia seeing. “I have found myself in need of a pony of your talents over the last few weeks. There are certain ponies who cannot be reasoned with, and for those, I have found myself wishing for some disagreeable underling to pit them against. One who could hold her tongue when needed, and unleash it at the proper time. Somepony observant enough to spot small details such as a star moving when it should not, courageous enough to stand up even to a Princess, and kind enough to offer a small filly moral support when she is facing something she fears.” Luna smiled as Twilight Sparkle leaned into the mare’s soft grey coat and nuzzled her along the neck, earning a brief hug from the stunned Laminia.

Laminia shook her head, her mane glittering blue in the moonlight. “You don’t want me. There must be hundreds of servants who would break all four legs to be at your side.”

“All I ask is for you and Pumpernickel to consider my offer.” Luna frowned minutely, and glanced at the stunned stallion, who had not moved since Laminia had taken her hoof out of his mouth. “Why do you call him Lumpy instead of his real name?”

A bright red blush spread over Laminia’s face as she kicked him gently in the armored ribs until he staggered to his hooves. “It’s a nickname,” he blurted out. “I’ve got a pretty lousy sparring record. Your Highness. I don’t like it much.”

“Well, perhaps you will like your new name more in a few months when the foal is born.” Luna nodded at Laminia with a subdued smile. “Should you accept the position, we shall add maternity benefits to your employment compensation due to your gravid nature. Something to ‘sweeten the pot’ as they say.”

Laminia blinked. “I'm pregnant?”

Laminia’s whoop of glee caused several lights to go on in various windows around town, in particular after her initial altitude gain was overcome by gravity and inexperience, resulting in Octavia’s house gaining a pegasus-shaped skylight, the subsequent destruction of Viola’s violin, and a much more reserved Nocturne mare leaving by way of the front door in a flurry of apologies and promises to reimburse any damages. It took all three of them to wedge Pumpernickel off the ground, where the stallion was holding himself rigid and repeating “pregnant” over and over with no indication of stopping. They managed to carry him through the dark town on the way back to Monster’s home with only one interruption as Laminia tripped and the steel-clad stallion fell into the rather deep and quite cold fountain. Or at least that’s what he complained about during the rest of the trip.

In the end, they went their separate ways, the two prospective parents to the train station, Luna flying off into the night, and Monster to her soft bed. It felt good to have Miss Smarty Pants back, although there was still a strong tendency for her to think of the doll as It. She smelled of Luna, of fears taken away and turned to stardust and light, and just the smallest bit of mac. Monster had offered to give Miss Smarty Pants back to Luna for a few days, but the princess had been very adamant (and Monster even looked up the word to make sure she had used it right) about her keeping it, at least until her parents…

A strange thought occurred to Monster as she lay in bed with the doll clutched to her chest. Perhaps they missed her as much as she had missed It. Even as tattered and worn as It had become, changed so much from her vague memories of a stuffed doll with an actual tail, It was still Miss Smarty Pants, no matter how much she changed. There was a lot to think about over the next week, and Monster curled up around her doll to drift off to sleep while making an imaginary checklist.

She was asleep before completing the first imaginary page.

Morning had dawned brightly over Sweet Apple Acres several minutes ago, the first blinding beam of light breaking through the window outside of Granny Smith’s bedroom having long illuminated the room beyond her ability to ignore its call. She dragged herself out of bed and into a nightgown, limping out of her room with the arthritic popping of old joints and tendons. It was a welcome routine, so well worn and polished she often followed it with her eyes closed by way of the dents her hooves had worn in the floor with decades of repetition. Three steps, pause for Big Mac to go past on his way out of the bathroom…

Granny Smith opened her eyes and squinted into the cold and unused bathroom. There was a first time for everything except for Big Mac being late, but his toothbrush was dry and unused. She hobbled over to his bedroom door and peeked in, considering the possibility of his schedule being delayed due to another tree outside his window.

Well, it was not a tree.

A beautiful dark unicorn… no, she was a pegasus… Granny dug her reading glasses out of a nightgown pocket and took another look. That was better. A beautiful alicorn with a star-strewn mane lay draped across the bed, holding Big Mac wrapped quite securely in all four limbs and both wings much like one would hold a life-sized pillow or a large life preserver in a tumultuous sea. Her grandson was awake, and looked back at Granny with uncertain eyes as if he were unsure just exactly what he had gotten into, or how or even if he wanted to get out of it. That colt had more stallion in him than his grandfather, rest his soul, and Granny had to be right on the tips of her hooves for years to keep ahead of the old coot. The situation called for a solution Granny was intimately familiar with, and she closed the door with a gentle hoof.

“Gonna be a pancake morning, I see. Better make a double batch and get out the Zapapple syrup.”

The Great and Powerful Trixie luxuriated in her conquest, feeling the warm coat and delicious lips of her stallion as she rolled around with him on the softest bed she had ever felt. Passionate hooves stroked her mane, roaming all over her body as their lips locked with a roaring fire that threatened to consume her. This was what she wanted from Big Macintosh for three years now, and finally she had exactly what she desired. She could barely breathe as his teeth nipped at the exact areas she wanted nipped, as if her handsome stallion could read her mind, knowing her body as intimately as she did. The sheets tangled around their writhing bodies, catching on unwary hooves as they rolled, lost in their passions. She could hear his panting breath, finally culminating in a desperate gasp of, “Oh, Daring!”

Daring?

Trixie opened her eyes at almost the exact moment Rainbow Dash did, the two mares frozen in embarrassment as they stared at each other.

“You’re not Big Mac.”

“Well, you’re not Daring Do!”

“Why did you think I was Daring Do?” shouted Trixie, backing out of the cloud bed and tripping on the sheet. With a panicked look around at the cloud walls, cloud ceiling, and cloud furniture, she added, “Why am I up in a cloud? And why am I in your bedroom!”

“That’s what I’d like to know!” shouted Rainbow Dash at a Trixie-shaped hole in her floor.

“Uh-oh.”

13. Thoughts, Shots and Lollipops - Part One

“He who has overcome his fears will truly be free.”
— Aristrotle

The early morning sun shone through the Ponyville Golden Oak Library windows at a low angle, illuminating both a multicolored little pony who peered at a top bookshelf with a thoughtful frown as well as the sign that had caused her displeasure.

Reference books may only be checked out with special written permission from the librarian.

Getting through the locked front door of the library had been easy now that she knew how the lock worked. Monster had spent some time examining it several nights ago, repeatedly disassembling it and reassembling it in the darkness until she had fully understood the concept, and then once more to make all the little discs and wheels lined up the way they had been before she started. It had been far easier than the camera, but with her new magic, she did not have the strength to reforge broken parts any more, so she had been exceedingly careful. There were rules in her new life that could not be broken so easily as before, strictures that were enforced over other ponies that now applied to her, and much like the camera and the door lock, it was fascinating to examine how they interacted and what purpose they served. The sign was another mystery to her life that needed to be opened up and explained, and the source for her enlightenment was obvious.

It only took a quick trot up the stairs before she stopped for a careful examination of the broken lock on Trixie’s bedroom door. It was different than the front door lock in both form and function, so after removing it from the door she tucked it into her saddlebags carefully so she could see if Scootaloo could fix it later. For now, learning about the sign was more important.

In the Everfree, it was a very bad idea to awaken sleeping creatures, in particular anything large and potentially dangerous, like mom. The synchronized snoring of Trixie and Spike as they snoozed through the morning hours next to each other made Monster a little reluctant to reach out with a stick and gently poke her ‘sister’ in the hind leg, but after a few minutes to get her nerve up and a few hopeful throat-clearings that had no effect, she did.

Nothing. Not even a twitch.

Monster poked harder with the stick.

Still nothing.

She briefly considered applying the stick to somewhere more sensitive, but discarded the idea quickly. The Urlock had not liked it very much, and Trixie probably would be even more angry than it. A series of waking-up attempts that even included sections from Sleep Science and Theories (Shelved incorrectly under the foals literature section) were similarly unsuccessful, and Monster sat down with a thump. She was hungry, frustrated, and angry, but at least she could resolve one of those before trying again.

The scent of delectable ambrosia brought Trixie slowly to that fuzzy state between sleep and wakefulness, a drifting sensation much like floating that made her want to stretch her wings and just coast through the air far above the jeers and scorn of her mortal existence. But no matter how much she tried, she felt herself sinking back down slowly to the leaden ball of dirt that defined her life. Even tugging the covers over her head did not prevent reality from brutally intruding into her fantasy, and in a vain attempt to prolong nirvana, she poked her nose out from under the sheets and announced, “Missus Peony, my usual for breakfast, with extra aspirin. And something for Spike too.”

“Emeralds, please,” mumbled Spike as he rolled over in his bed.

There was a long uncomfortable pause before Trixie added, “Spike. We’re not in Canterlot anymore, right?”

“Yeah, thanks to you.”

“Then who’s in our kitchen making breakfast?

The door to the kitchen gave out a raspy creak as two individuals armed with a box of overdue book notices and a pointed stick peeked inside in momentary horror at the carnage revealed. Open cabinets with boxes and bags of ingredients were scattered around the counters, and wisps of smoke filled the air, although those wisps of smoke did carry one of the most delicious scents Trixie had ever smelled, although with a twist she did not expect. Two intruders stood over the antique oven, one with a frying pan and the other with a cookbook she was frantically scribbling inside, but both turned and looked for the source of the squeak.

“Good morning, Mith Trixe. Thorry about the methth.” Twist stuck a spatula under a gooey pancake and gave it an experienced one-and-a-half flip in the air until it dropped securely back into the hot frying pan.

“That’s…” Trixie took a step inside the kitchen and sat down solidly on a chair with a wheeze. “That’s fine. I’m exhausted. I had the strangest dream last night. What kind of pancakes are those?”

“All kindth. Monther brought thome herbth and thutph, and thaid we could cook over here until you got up. They’re a little thrange for pancaketh, but good.”

“Good, good.” With a quick flare of her magic, Trixie filled her plate and began buttering and peppering a few of the multicolored pancakes, adding a pinch of cloves and smearing some peanut butter and mustard on top. “Spike, did you get the garlic like I asked?”

“No, it must have slipped my mind. Thank you, Twist.” Spike accepted a stack of pancakes from the two little bakers and drooled as Monster sprinkled it with ground-up emeralds. “So what are your plans for today, Oh Great and Powerful One?”

“Eat breakfast. Go back to bed. Sleep until tomorrow. What’s this, Menace?” Trixie looked at the little slip of paper that had been slid next to her plate. “A permission slip? I suppose.” With a flourish, she scrawled her name at the bottom and returned to her breakfast. “I’m just too tired to care right now.”

Spike abruptly coughed, a sharp sound that went on for a few seconds before he spat out a hefty roll of paper that landed on the floor with a thud. There was a rather thick black ribbon around the scrolls, marked in silver with a crescent moon sigil and a rather elaborate signature indicating it had been sent by ‘Princess Luna, Diarch of Equestrian, Keeper of the Moon and Stars, Matron of Shadows and Guardian of Dreams.’

After taking a moment to eye the papers suspiciously, Trixie returned to her pancakes with a growl. “Menace, you’ve got mail.”

The little alicorn gave a squeal of delight before descending on the roll of papers. The ribbon was tucked away, the various bundles spread across the kitchen floor, and she was eagerly reading out loud before Trixie could get her first bite of pancakes.

“Dear Trixie Lulamoon, my sister’s private student.” Monster looked up with a tiny frown. “Lulamoon?”

“Menace! Give me that!”

Trixie read quietly to herself with only the occasional interjection of “Immunizations?” and “Evaluation?” as Monster leafed through the rest of the papers, a fascinating collection of forms and records detailing her previous life, with titles such as “Canterlot Medical Center Immunization Records” and one blank sheet labeled “Magic Kindergarten Disciplinary Record.” There were even a few photographs of a purple filly with a striped mane and a nervous expression that looked familiar to her, although they bore little resemblance to her now. Still, with a manecut and some dye, she might be able to look that way again. It would not change the way she was on the inside, and her friends would not mind. sweetie had tried several times to style Monster’s mane back when it was only a short stubble, and now that the Elements had regrown it to a somewhat unmanageable mess, she had taken great pleasure in experimenting with something called ‘moose’ and ‘spray’ to make it curve and bounce in ways she had never felt before. Even mom had tried the same shampoo on her that she had traded with the river serpent, and Monster had to admit the results felt nice, even if it took some adjustment in her reactions when it would unexpectedly bounce against her neck.

As twist leafed through the papers to her side and “d’aww’d” at the pictures, Monster tried to think. The other mom and… Her mind slowed to a stop as it brought together an image of Tallgrass in his zebra form, and the blue stallion called Night Light. There were so few memories of dad in her mind that she could not put either of them in that category. Tallgrass had run into the Everfree Forest after them just because Trixie had told him to watch Monster and her friends, and after catching them, had even briefly helped her friends in the fight. She could still remember his face when he came skidding into the ancient throne room disguised as Celestia, only to come face-to-face with Nightmare Moon. He had been terrified, but he faced his fears, literally, and nearly died because of it. If Tallgrass was that brave, what had Night Light done to be her dad? Did he fight lions? Climb mountains? Fight lions on mountains? The answers were somewhere inside her head, and she knew without a doubt that she would be able to remember eventually, but that did not help what her family was going through now.

Family. It had only been a few months ago that her family was just a single zebra in the middle of a forest. Now she had two dads and two moms and enough brothers and sisters she would have to stop for a moment to count them. As well as her friends. It made her want to climb back inside the root cellar and close the door for a few months, but she was not sure if that would be a valid response to the situation. They would all still be there when she got out, and probably even more worried about her. What she needed was some orderly way of dealing with her situation by taking care of each problem as it arose.

“Can you believe this, Spike?” Trixie waved the letter over her head and took a vengeful bite of pancakes, continuing in a slightly more muffled manner. “Princess Luna hasn’t even been sitting on the throne long enough for her butt to warm it up, and she’s already ordering me around just like her sister!”

“...sitting on the throne long enough,” muttered Spike, his quill scratching away on a piece of paper. “Are there one or two t’s in butt?”

Azure magic snatched the letter away from the little dragon and Trixie tore it into teeny tiny shreds. “Spike!”

“What?” he responded, getting out another blank sheet. “It said she wanted an immediate response.” He paused, pen glistening with ink as it prepared to descend onto the writing surface. “You want to write it, or should I?”

“Dear Princess Luna,” growled Trixie with a low grinding noise that Monster determined must have been her teeth from her tightly clenched jaw muscles and the vein that was beginning to throb in her neck. “I have received your letter and checklist of activities, and assure you I will take your…” Trixie ground to a halt and cast a resentful look at Monster, took a deep breath, and continued. “Your little sister on her appointments as scheduled.

Your most obedient and faithful servant,
The Great and Powerful Trixie.”

“...powerful Trixie,” muttered Spike. “P.S. Double or nothing she doesn’t get through next week? Signed, Spike.”

“Can I add… um… something?” asked Monster. “Can you tell Luna thank you?”

“Thank you for what?” asked Trixie while ignoring her little secretary scratch away at his letter.

“She’s going to bring…” Monster paused to take a few breaths of air while Trixie tapped her fork on the table.

“Groceries? Some new curtains for the library? Night Eternal? What? We haven’t got all day here. According to the schedule Princess Luna sent, I need to have you over at the dentist’s office for a checkup by—” Trixie paused to flip through pages “—five minutes ago! Come on!” In a flurry of loose pages, Trixie galloped out of the library with two little ponies in close pursuit, leaving Spike to look around the batter-splattered kitchen with a great deal of resentment.

“I should have known she was going to stick me with the cleanup.”

14. Thoughts, Shots and Lollipops - Part Two

“Just one last tooth to check. I told you this wouldn’t take long.”

The continued rasping of the pointed wire prodding her teeth made Monster’s mane stand up on end, but she kept her mouth open and her horn quiet while the oddly-familiar dentist worked. Minnette. The name seemed comforting for some reason, as well as the unicorn’s cheerful laugh and the way she had greeted both Trixie and Monster with the familiarity of somepony who had not seen a friend in a long time. She had even allowed Trixie up into the dentist’s chair first, and her teacher had only moaned and groaned a little when she was being dentisted, barely flinching for the needles and the drill that had Twist quietly slipping back into the waiting room before she hy·per·ven·ti·lated herself. It was a nice word, and the nice dentist had taught her several new words like bi·cus·pid and mo·lar, carefully explaining her actions the whole time she was jamming cotton balls in Trixie’s mouth and injecting anesthetic. Minuette had even offered to let Monster poke Trixie a few times with the needle or use the drill, but it was probably a bad idea.

After all, Monster had gotten a look at Luna’s checklist, and it looked like the whole day was pretty well scheduled with no time for accidents.

“There we go, nice and clean. Unlike your teacher.”

Minuette packed her collection of medieval torture devices back into their steel box and pointedly avoided looking at Trixie, who returned the favor. After all the misery she had endured, Trixie had taken to huddling up against one wall of the examination room, holding her jaw while a thin line of saliva trickled unnoticed out of the corner of her mouth.

“Sadist,” muttered Trixie with a little excess splatter, scowling at the sudden way that Monster’s ears popped up and swiveled to point at her. A flicker of blue light and a Ventriloquist spell later, Trixie’s voice began coming out of Menace’s mouth. “I mean, thank you Doctor Whatsyourname for taking time out of your schedule for a cleaning, three cavities, and a fluoride treatment. And Menace’s cleaning. Are you sure there’s no cavities in there?” Trixie smiled, or at least showed her nice clean teeth when she pulled her lips back and dripped drool onto the floor.

“You’re welcome, Trixie,” said Minuette, lifting the paper napkin off Monster’s chin and rubbing a hoof in the little filly’s sparkly mane. “Never thought I’d say that.”

“What?”

“Nothing. Anyway, I’d like to see you both in six months for a checkup. Make sure you’re brushing every morning and every night.”

“So our teeth will be all shiny and bright,” echoed the little alicorn, looking at her plastic package of tooth cleaning devices with the joy normally given to a Hearth’s Warming present. “Bye Miss Minn…” She paused and took a breath. “Minuette. Thank you.”

The dentist grinned as the little filly fairly bounced out of the room, waving her new toothbrush and accessories overhead as if they were a flag. And, of course, somehow during her exit, the dentist had slipped a bright purple lollipop into her little mouth mid-bounce, which only made her bounce higher.

“Cute kid. Still bright, polite and sweet as ever.” Minuette looked at Trixie. “So how’d you wind up with her?”

“Very funny.” Trixie mopped her face with a paper towel and cast a longing look at the jar of lollipops, which the dentist finally acknowledged.

“Paperwork first. Sign here. And here. Initial here. Sign and date here for the bill.”

“I thought the Crown was picking up the bill,” slobbered Trixie, holding the paper towl under her chin and splattering a little saliva on the paperwork.

“Oh, that’s right. Then you’ll need to sign these other forms. Here. There, there, and there. All done.”

“What about the lollipop? I’m sure somewhere in the paperwork it says I get a lollipop.” Trixie held the paper towel over her mouth while she looked fruitlessly around the floor for the scrolls and forms.

“The little fillies and colts get regular candy. Old ponies who don’t brush their teeth right get the sugar-free ones.”

The lollipop that Minuette popped into Trixie’s numb mouth had only one ‘taste’ to it, and that flavor fought viciously against the residual flavors of anesthesia, mouthwash and fluoride treatments to emerge as a combination that locked her jaws together so she could not even spit out the horrible thing.

“Well, you better hurry up.”

“Why?” choked out Trixie in a splatter of saliva.

“She took your checklist.”

... went to the dentist and it was not nearly as scary as i thought. Minuette taught me how to hold the tools and all about growing teeth, but i’m not sure about the tooth flutterpony. it dosn’t seem very likely that there are little flutterponies who collect shed teeth and leave coins. they would need to sell something to get the coins or have a job.

next we’re going to the doctor and i’m getting shots to keep me from getting all kinds of diseases i didn’t know of before. Trixie has been a good big sister and went first at the dentist, so maybe she will do the talking to the nurses and doctors at the horse pistil.

This is going to be so much fun!

“This isn’t fun,” groused Monster as she glared up at where the nurse was laying out hypodermic syringes across a metal tray.

“You don’t see Trixie complaining, do you?” asked Sweetie Belle, sitting at her side with an innocent look.

“Actually, yeth,” said Twist from her other side. “I don’t think the’s thtopped. The’s jutht a lot quieter.”

“No, I’m fine,” growled Trixie while limping back and forth in the doctor’s office. “I needed to have my vaccinations updated anyway, what with all the traveling I’ve done as the Princess’ student. I still say I’ve already had my Pony Pox shot.”

“Booster shot,” chirped Nurse Redheart with a cheerful grin. “As our new librarian, you’re going to come in contact with a lot of little foals when they come in to check out books, and we wouldn’t want any of them getting sick, now would we?”

“What do you mean, check out books?” grumbled Trixie. “I don’t think I’ve seen anypony in the library since I moved there.”

“Yes, I was wondering about that. It seems the last four times I’ve dropped by the library to check out a book, the door has been locked.” The nurse produced a sheaf of papers and fanned them out in front of Trixie before she turned to the little fillies all watching with wide eyes. “Now if you just turn a little bit… That’s it. You may feel a little sting.”

“In the wallet,” groused Trixie, signing away on the forms. “I don’t even recognize half of these immunizations.”

“That’s because nearly all of those diseases have been knocked down to nuisance levels by a broad immunization program. A well-immunized population — there we go — provides herd immunity for the few that catch a disease, and prevent it from becoming an epidemic. Just two more, Twilight.”

“There needs to be a shot for paperwork. There, finished.” Trixie looked up as Nurse Redheart slipped an even thicker stack of papers in front of her. “What!”

“Those were for her. These are yours. Only one more shot left, kiddo. How are you doing?”

“I’m confused. How does it work?”

“Well, it’s a little complicated for a little filly, but the shots have just a little of a really weak disease that your body can fight off, and then it knows what the disease is like and can fight it off even better if it gets attacked again. There we go, all done. Now hurry on down the hall to room 105 for your school physicals.”

Trixie paused in her paperwork as the three happy little ponies all skipped out the door, each happily sucking on a lollipop, and Twilight with a bundle of informational brochures. With a pained sigh, Trixie turned to the nurse and asked, “Can I have one too? I’m done signing.”

“Yes,” announced the nurse, peeling the wrapper off a lollipop and sticking it into Trixie’s waiting mouth. “It’s Sour Apple, just like you.”

“Urk!”

“Whoops,” said the nurse after reading the wrapper. “I gave you one of Pinkie Pie’s Ultrasour Puckermaster Pops by mistake. You better hurry up if you’re going to get to the physical exams. Down the hall, first door on the left.” The nurse fairly shoved Trixie out the door and waved with a cheerful grin as the sour unicorn limped away, lollipop stick poking out of the side of her mouth.

“That was fun, and vaguely cathartic. So why do I feel guilty about it?”

“Miss Trixie, you can get off the scales now. It’s going to give you the same answer no matter how many times you try.”

“But they’re lying! Are you sure you’re moving the little weights around right?”

Doctor Stable took a deep breath and tried not to smack his fellow adult unicorn. It was difficult, but the big eyes of four little ponies, one of which had a camera, helped. The little alicorn seemed to attract her little friends like electrons around a nucleus, which was a fairly good analogy for the speed at which the little ponies tended to dash around the examination room.

The papers he had been so abruptly presented with described the little alicorn, “Twilight Sparkle,” as being over twenty years old, but from physical appearance and developmental progression, he could not make up his mind just exactly where she fit on the chart, in particular when he caught her reading her own records. Hearing phrases like “Widespread diffuse axonal injury” and “Orbital part of inferior frontal gyrus” from a pony that was even smaller than Sweetie Belle was a little disconcerting, but when she stumbled on simple words such as “chair,” it really sank in just how injured she must have been. Still, from the papers Trixie had given him, it seemed that alicorns could regenerate nearly any amount of physical damage, and the primary concern of Princess Luna was the environment in which she would be recovering. Around the office, there had been a great deal of speculation about the identity of the bearer of the Element of Magic, and with the little alicorn showing up at nearly the same time as Princess Luna…

Doctor Stable paused with his stethoscope on the little alicorn’s back and considered the probability of an adult alicorn being freed from the moon at the exact same time a little filly alicorn ‘just happened’ to show up in Ponyville. It was not unheard of for a young mare to vanish from town and reappear with an infant ‘cousin’ a year or more later, but then again, alicorns did everything on a much larger scale. And as a small scale unicorn doctor, he preferred it that way.

“Sol omnia regit,” he sighed. “You can put your cloak back on and go play with your friends. You’re as healthy as a horse, other than a few issues what I’m assured your friend will be helping—” Doctor Stable glanced over at where Trixie was nudging the counterweights around on the scale with her magic while standing on tip-hooves.

“We have an appointment at school,” said Twilight. Her big eyes blinked once and seemed to become limpid pools he was in danger of drowning in. “How’s my sister?”

“Fat,” he responded without thinking. The sudden pained look he got from both the arrogant blue unicorn and the little filly knocked him back a step, but before he could recover, something even stranger put him at a loss for words.

“I’m sorry,” said Trixie. “I know you’re angry at me, and I’m sorry for saying you only had six weeks of medical school when I was here the last time. You did a fine job with the cast last year, and I can’t even remember which foreleg I had fractured any more. And I’m not fat. I’m…”

“Tubby,” suggested Twist.

“Large and in charge,” said Featherweight.

“Big boned,” said Sweetie Belle. “That’s what my sister says whenever any fat ponies are fitted for dresses.”

“Out of shape,” suggested Twilight. “But we can fix that.”

“Cutie Mark Crusader Personal Trainers!”

Trixie watched the four little ponies gallop out of the exam room with an unfathomable expression, and slowly turned to face the doctor, but before she could say anything, Doctor Stable opened up his cabinet and rummaged around inside. Four lollipops floated out in his green magic and he passed them to Trixie with a nod.

“Where’s mine?” she asked.

“They’re all yours. The Cutie Mark Crusaders have just adopted you as a project,” he said with a subdued smile. “You’re going to need some unburnt calories in the next few weeks.”

15. Thoughts, Shots and Lollipops - Part Three

...never thought of putting fish in a box before. Miss Cheeralee’s house has several boxes called ‘tanks’ with little fish, some in just water, some salty, and some warm. they’re all pretty in their own way, but none of them have teeth or teniticles like the ones from home. some of them even glow in the dark without magic, or stick to the side of the tank. she said i could have a guppy which is a little like a parasprite but swims, but i said no. it would be too much like being a mom. have you ever thought about getting a pet? i don’t think a fish would be good for you because it would have to be in a tank all the time, but maybe a frog or a lizard. i’ll go with you to flutter shy’s house if you’re scared of them, because she has a whole lot and they kind of look at me when im there.

Trixie and Miss Cheeralee talked about school while we looked at the fish, and im a little scared, but not much now that i have Miss Smarty Pants back. you can borrow her to go visit flutter shy’s if you want to go by yourself. scoots was being neutered tuterd at Miss Cheeralee’s house for part of the summer so she will not be held back a grade only instead of magic like Trixie is teaching me, Miss Cheeralee is teaching her multiplication, which made me a little scared when i tried to multiply 7 times 8 and could not remember the number. i can get all the rest of the table, as well as the first sixteeen cubes, but numbers around 7 just seem to fade away when I turn my back. i was worried that i would not be in the same class as my friends but Miss Cheeralee looked at me real funny and talked with Trixie and mom real quiet while we watched the fish and fed them some stinky flakes. when the lid comes off the fish food, it makes a real mess but i got most of the food back in the jar so the fish will only be a little fat, like Trixie. i shouldn’t have writtne that because Trixie is only a little padded and even though she gets out of breath when following us, we’re going to get her into shape so good that stallions will be panting all over her…

At any other time, the concept of the Cutie Mark Crusaders surrounded by large tanks made of glass and filled with her various expensive and fragile fish would have driven Cheerilee into a nervous frenzy, but with the addition of Trixie, a zebra, and a changeling disguised as a zebra in her house, her sense of impending doom did not know which way to turn. Finally, after sitting quietly and listening to all three of them talk about Menace/Flower/Twilight Sparkle, one of whom declaimed in iambic pentameter when she was worried, Cheerilee held up a hoof and asked them all to be quiet just for a moment so she could think.

A faint glow around Trixie’s horn was the only sign of the curtain of silence she put up, and the Crusaders were being suspiciously well-behaved by her fish tanks, making every minute that passed without the sound of breaking glass and running water a little additional stress that was tying her neck up in knots. In her few years in Ponyville, she never had a student like this in her classroom, and she was willing to bet the previous teacher, Miss Chalks, had not either. Twilight was such a strange little filly and after listening to the stories from Zecora and Trixie, Cheerilee could not figure out if she wanted to run away screaming, or to pick the little alicorn filly up and cradle her gently, telling her everything was going to be all right.

Looking at Trixie for inspiration, which felt a little weird, Cheerilee sorted a few pieces of paper around and decided to start at the beginning.

“So Twilight Sparkle, the same pony who was featured in the school paper that I approved for publication, is not really a unicorn your age living on a volcanic island, but for the last twelve years, she has been living in the Everfree Forest with Miss Zecora, suffering from… issues.” Continuing quickly before Trixie could respond, she added, “Oh, and that she and her little friends somehow used the Elements of Harmony to free Princess Luna and turn herself into a little alicorn filly.” Cheerilee looked at the zebra, who nodded in return.

“That is quite correct, in each regard. Her life indeed has been quite hard.

“Now that her body has become transformed, into a pony both winged and horned,
her life indeed has become much better, as each night she writes to her Princess, a letter.”

“Uh-huh.” Cheerilee turned to look at the uncomfortable ‘zebra’ stallion, who was splitting his attention between watching the little ponies with the fish and the teacher with the headache. “And how do I know you’re really Tallgrass? If you’re a changeling, you could be anypony.”

Tallgrass paused before changing forms in a blaze of green fire that drew the little ponies attention momentarily away from the multicolored fish. The now muscular earth pony touched her on the shoulder and shook his head, his blonde mane cascading down his neck in a way that caused Cheerilee to surreptitiously suck in a breath of air and try not to look at Zecora. “Turn around and let me work on your neck and back. You’re broadcasting so much pain it’s hard to think.”

“Well, that’s certainly a unique opening line.” Cheerilee tried to make herself comfortable as strong earth pony hooves began working the kinks out of her back, zeroing in on every twinge and pain. “Anyway, -umph- you want me to put a dangerous adult into -umm- their classroom disguised -ahh- as a little filly, and hope -mumph- she doesn’t relapse or -uhh- wait a minute.” The teacher looked up at Zecora and frowned. “Featherweight’s pictures were real?”

“His cameras are perceptive eyes, but show only whats, and not the whys.”

“I had always thought the Cutie Mark Crusaders would bring some sort of hydra or dragon into Ponyville someday, not…” Cheerilee waved at the little ponies around her fish tanks feebly as Tallgrass moved up to rub her shoulders, but Zecora only sat back on her cushion with a smile and took a sip of tea.

“I will admit my surprise when my house was invaded,
by five little friends, traveling the forest unaided.

“Bringing a day filled with chaos, noise and great fright,
but ending in joy with the end of the night.

“Small friends are indeed what my Flower had found,
in numbers quite large, and big hearts unbound.

“Flower loves them all dearly, from their hooves to their manes,
so our future is clear, in this town we remain.

“While healing she needs from that terrible fight,
she needs love even more, against the return of the night.”

“And someday a few decades from now,” added Tallgrass, “We’re all going to Zebrica, which doesn’t really rhyme with anything. Zecora says the land there needs her, and when the time is right it will bring her to it. How’s your shoulder?”

“Heavenly,” grunted Cheerilee. She opened one eye and looked at Zecora. “Are you two married?”

“Not quite, but we might.”

“Well, you better hurry before somepony else nabs him.”

A little earth pony bounced happily into Cheerilee’s crowded home with a grin. “Hi, Miss Cheerilee! Hi, girls! I got to have breakfast with Princess Luna!” Apple Bloom joined her little friends and chattered away at full speed, while the adults watched with justifiable curiosity once Trixie dropped the sound muffling spell.

“Princess Luna just dropped in on Big Mac and his family for breakfast?” said Cheerilee as if the words would make more sense spoken than rattling around in her mind.

“Sounds a little more like she spent the night,” said Trixie with a smirk. “Sounds like Luna may introduce some more interesting traditions from the past, like droit du seigneur.”

“Or les majeste,” growled Cheerilee, switching from a scowl to a happy smile as the little alicorn came trotting up to her.

“Um. Miss Cheerilee?” Twilight seemed to be nervous, and looked back and forth between her and the disguised changeling rubbing the knots out of her back. “If Tallgrass marries mom, and you marry Tallgrass, would that make you my mom too?”

“No!” she responded almost instantly. “That would be bigamy, and it’s illegal.”

“Oh. Well, we were watching the fish, and I said it looked like one of the male fish was having sex with a bunch of—”

“Well, Miss Cheerilee!” interrupted Trixie as she grabbed her hat and cloak. “It’s too bad we can’t stay any longer, but we need to get going. Things to see, ponies to meet. If you need anything else from me, you know where I live. Come on, Menace.”

“But—”

“We need to get to the next thing on the checklist. Which is…” As Trixie trotted down the path, she leafed through the mess of papers with six little ponies trotted along behind her.

“Treats!” announced the little alicorn, floating the checklist up to Trixie so she could see the entry.

☐ Enjoy treats with student and friends

“Treats, yeah. We could go get—” Trixie looked behind her at the six happy little ponies who regarded her with the reverence older ponies only got when there was sugar involved. “Wait a minute. Where did you all come from?”

Featherweight popped up in the air with a grin. “Mom always said she found me under a cabbage leaf.”

Sweetie Belle scoffed with a disparaging snort that she only could have learned from her sister. “Don't be silly. Pegasuses are delivered by storks. Earth ponies are found under cabbage leaves.”

“Nuh-uh,” objected Apple Bloom. “Earth ponies have sex and have babies in their tummies afterwards. Then they go to the hospital where—”

“Ice cream!” snapped Trixie. “Right now! No more talking.”

But one little pony was not listening.

ice cream…

”I’ll be right back, Shining Armor. The ice cream vendor is right around the corner, so you just sit here and keep your sister safe while I’m gone. Do you understand?”

“Yes, mommy.”

The familiar purple and whites of the one who gave milk receded out of her vision, to be replaced by the white and dark blue of the one who made funny noises. The pretty light in the sky was shaded by the leaves of the giant plant she was propped up against, which was a nice break from the heat. The two of them brought her to this place often, ever since she had first been able to think, and sometimes even played in the tasty green stuff with the dark blue one who smelled of smoke and papers. It was great fun, and she cheered and clopped her little hooves in joy when they laughed.

“Hey, Twiley. Hi there. Can you make a smile for me? Say Shiney. Shiiii--neee. You can do it. Come on. Ow!”

Shiney turned to glare at a number of other ones at the edge of the plant’s shade and spoke in an angry voice she had never heard before.

“Hey, that’s not funny. You could have hit my baby sister with that!”

“Oooo, we’re so scared. Hey, guys. Five points for bouncing an acorn off the little purple twit.” Little bits of brown flew through the air in a strange game, and Shiney jumped to block them from reaching her, but as the other ones spread out, he could not block all of them. He darted out at the other ones, but that only let more acorns hit her, and she wailed in fear at the pain. Something dark in her lunged upwards with every impact, creeping up her horn in little sparks that snapped and bit at her skin. They were bad. They needed to be punished.

And then the pain stopped.

When she opened her eyes, Shiney was standing in front of her with a new splotch of color on his rear and a beautiful pink dome covering them both. She could see the little acorns bouncing off it like raindrops, until the purple and white one returned and chased all of the bad ones away. And all the while, Shiney repeated the same thing over and over.

“Don’t worry, Twiley. I’m here. They won’t hurt you.”

The main room of Lickety Split’s Ice Cream Shoppe was nearly empty except for Trixie and her guests, which were all doing their best to bankrupt her of any remaining bits by repeated trips to the counter and a particularly ill-fated ‘milkshake race.’ Trixie morosely regarded her second scoop of Diet Vanilla Maple Crunch in mourning for lost calories, but could not help but be distracted from her own depressive moping by Twilight’s experiment in melting ice cream sculpture. It had been an impressive if somewhat disconcerting representation of some creature called an ‘Urlock’ that Trixie was quite glad was located deep in the Everfree and not anywhere nearby, although melting had reduced it to something much less menacing. Scooting her chair over next to the despondent little alicorn, she took a quick spoonful of the defunct monster and asked, “So, what’s got your tail in a knot?”

“Don’t want to hurt somepony.”

“Is that all?” Trixie scoffed and took another bite, intentionally ignoring the small pointed glare she got in return. “Everypony gets hurt or hurts somepony. Heck, I’ve hurt more ponies than anybody. Which reminds me.” Raising her voice, Trixie called out to the ice cream vendor. “Hey, Split. Have I done anything to you that deserves an apology?”

“You tipped me two bits on a fifty bit bill, but other than that, no.”

Flipping her coinpurse upside down and shaking it a few times, Trixie floated a small pile of bits over to the counter before turning back to Twilight. “Some hurts are worse than others, I guess. It’s part of what makes life. We get hurt, we learn, we try again. I guess that’s why I don’t like books very much. They’re too much like cheating. We get to see everypony else’s mistakes and try to learn from them, while I like to make my own, thank you very much.”

The little alicorn huddled deeper into her cloak. “What if you hurt somepony really badly?”

“Well, I…” Trixie paused with a third filched spoon of ice cream partway to her mouth. “You know, I’ve never thought of that.”

“What if you do something that gets you killed?”

A single drop of melted ice cream fell from Trixie’s spoon onto the table before she placed the spoon down and blinked a few times. “I never really thought of that either. I’ve always thought of myself as immortal, I suppose.”

“Am I immortal?”

Trixie picked up her spoon and fiddled with it for a while before dunking it firmly into the melting ice cream monster and taking a big bite. “Doesn’t matter. Whether you live for the next forty years, or four hundred, or four thousand, what really matters is what you do today. Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero. That means—”

“Seize the day, and put little trust in tomorrow,” declared the little alicorn with one upraised hoof.

“You can remember that, but you can’t multiply — never mind. Yes, exactly.” Trixie grinned as she dug out another spoonful of the melty ice cream and tossed it onto Twilight’s forehead.

“Hey!” The little alicorn scooped up a spoonful of ice cream and hesitated before turning it upside down over Trixie’s nose in return, matching her grin tooth for tooth.

“Ice cream fight!” shouted Featherweight, diving for his own spoon before getting splattered by several of his friends as the combat began in full fury.

...and i really had not thought about how messy that much ice cream would be but after we were done and cleaned up i gave Mister Split two gems out of what Miss Rarity gave us and he said everything was fine and that we could come back whenever we wanted. i keep remembering new things every day, and they’re not as scary when i have friends to tell about them and play with and find new things like how we don’t all six fit into a bathtub without sloshing a lot of water on the floor.

im not as afraid of my parents any more and i think they’ll not be afraid of me. i thought a lot about what Miss Redheart R.N. and Doctor Stable M.D. said about immunizations, and i’m going to try it out for the rest of the week.

your friend and sister
Monster

Monster blew across the paper to dry the last of the ink, rolling it up into a scroll and addressing it with great care. There was no owl at her window tonight, and it would be a long night walk through the dark town to the library to have Spike deliver the letter to the Princesses, but there was a spell she had been thinking about ever since she had first seen Spike belch out a letter, and this was the perfect opportunity.

First she added a little purple gem inside the scroll, carefully sticking it in place with a piece of ‘gum’ twist had given her. ‘Paying for things’ was a new concept for her, but it seemed as if one gem was always enough, particularly for the little dragon. Then she placed the scroll down on the windowsill and concentrated.

Curls of purple magic coiled around the letter as she reached through the featureless nowhere that filled the world, reaching out for that one draconic signature to hook the other end of the spell onto. Spike was just a few clearings away, but distance meant very little to this magic, and it took her the longest time until she could feel his rumbling snores and furnace-like heat. With the most gentle flick of magic that she could use, the scroll curled up and vanished out into the night, leaving Monster free to curl up under her covers and dream about how excited Luna would be when she read her letter.

In a dark cavern half a world away, a tiny spark of purple light flared into existence for a moment, and then snuffed out, the only sign that it had ever been there being a small paper scroll on top of a mountain of gold and gems.

And one gigantic dragon, scratching his nose at the sudden itch that had awoken him.

16. Trains, Strains, and Explosive Pops - Part One

There was a certain cresting point to trends that defies all logic. One week, millions of ponies have little pet rocks with clever little names like Chip or Pebble, and the next week they all are thrown out in the backyard while their owners are now trying to make a hoop-de-hoop loop, or a yo-yo do whatever a yo-yo did. The initial newspaper articles about the Elements of Harmony were quite informative, but there was one tiny detail that had been left out entirely by accident.

Marital Status.

An unmarried stallion by the unfortunate name of Stamen was the first to notice the omission, and his inquiry to the Canterlot Times rebounded throughout the system, gathering velocity and numbers as it traveled. Eventually the response that he received was rather vague and filled with enough words such as “assumed” and “indeterminate” that it piqued his curiosity. After all, their photographs had been on the front page of every newspaper in Equestria, and even if Twilight Sparkle’s whereabouts were as hard to track as A.K. Yearling, that still left five perfectly eligible young fillies in the small town. Certainly one of them might be willing to enter into a profitable long-term relationship, if properly wined and dined. Fluttershy had a cutie mark that fit rather well into his favorite hobby, and there certainly could not be anything wrong with a quick trip to Ponyville to introduce himself and see if perhaps there was some sort of spark between them.

So Stamen packed a few things and bought a train ticket, unaware that his idea was not unique among the population of Canterlot as the rumor mill kicked into full speed. Although the beautiful young fillies in the town were unaware of the upcoming influx of suitors, a certain older stallion in the employ of the castle bureaucracy had seen the signs too, and quickly took action to inform his liege.

After all, one of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony was his daughter.

It took a very early rising pony to get ahead of Prince Blueblood of Canterlot. Not that Blueblood ever dragged himself out from under the covers before the sun was up unless absolutely necessary, but he didn’t need to get up early to beat his rivals to a young mare or choice tickets at a popular event. He had something better.

Connections.

Tickets came to his door, often still warm from the printing press and in the hooves of a sycophantic praise-spewing social climber begging for a tiny little boost up that infinitely tall ladder. His employees and those few Royal Guards who were assigned to his protection would receive discreet inquiries from romantically inclined mares. Sometimes, less than discrete. The really silly part of it all was that Blueblood could care less about them, and that indifference only drove the insatiable rabble into more and more desperate attempts to gain his attention, and therefore his theoretical favor.

But making connections was his special talent.

So on the day a young statistician at the newspaper mentioned this ‘Twilight Sparkle’ having a library card at the Ponyville library while passing on a tip about the five desirable unmarried Element bearers, a young and nubile chambermaid had dropped a reference about his aunt having said ‘Rainbow Dash teaching Twilight flying would be as dangerous as Pinkie Pie teaching her how to throw parties.’ It took little effort for Blueblood to remember Twilight Sparkle, because having the sun almost dropped on your head in your youth tends to make certain names stick, and after a little evening contemplation over a particularly fine apple brandy, he retired from his associates with the excuse of attending to ‘Royal Duties’ early the next morning.

In a way, the excuse was true. One of the duties of a scion of House Blueblood was to produce an heir. And if the unicorn Twilight Sparkle had indeed been spirited away into some secret training program so that she could use the Element of Magic against Nightmare Moon, and if the maid’s off-hoof remark had been correct, it was possible that she had been transformed into an alicorn. Unlikely, but possible. And even the vague possibility of a marital bond between House Blueblood and a real princess was worth pursuing.

Admittedly, Princess Luna was more accessible, and quite definitely real, but she had displayed a way of seeing right through him like his skin was a window and his thoughts were written in letters of fire on his soul. After their first disastrous meeting, he had wisely side-stepped the various courtiers who had approached Luna and attempted to ‘plight their troth’ in her words, finding an inner satisfaction in seeing her disassemble their clumsy attempts at romance and sending them away in despondent misery much the same way Celestia did on the occasional odd royal bird who rose from the flock on a self-appointed mating flight. Since Celestia’s pet was a phoenix, it would only make sense for her sister to select a majestic eagle, for their ability to take a well-armored and secure royal turtle and drop it from a hundred feet up onto the jagged rocks below.

So with that avenue blocked, his planned mission in the morning was two-fold, and both folds were firmly around a certain arrogant student who liked nothing more than to set his tail on fire. Whatever was the real story behind ‘Twilight Sparkle’ and her present location, Trixie would know, and with a few bottles of his best house bourbon in her, the information would flow out as fast as the bourbon flowed in.

Little puffs and clusters of clouds scattered across the sky began to glow in shades of gold and red as the sun made its way to the horizon, still a few minutes from actually peeking over the distant hills and bathing Ponyville in warmth and light. The train station was nearly empty at this time of morning, with the distant sounds of the town slowly coming to life behind Monster and the glow of dawning light in front.

It was so much different than mornings in the Everfree, where the shrill cries of the tooth-toads would fade away as the light began to arise, giving way to the deep rumble of distant hydras beginning to stalk around their territory and the cutting shriek of razorbeaks as they began to forage for their ravenous offspring. The meaning behind the noises was the same, even if the noises were different. Food, sleep, family, transportation, territory. Even the ‘station master’ for the train stalked around the outside edge of the train station much the same way a hydra would walk the perimeter of its territory, although instead of eating intruders, he welcomed them and helped with any ticket purchases. He even was quite polite and welcoming to a little unicorn who just wanted to stand at the end of the platform to watch the sun rise—

“Those clouds are just so bland. I wish we had some colors for them.”

—or more correctly, a little alicorn with her wings securely tucked under a cape and a youthful photographer who had set up his tripod and was fiddling with the exposure settings on his camera. Although Featherweight was right; the few scattered clouds around the sunrise were rather dull this morning, making her wish the spirits of the air she could feel darting about and singing their usual mindless songs would listen to some colorful suggestions. Monster extended a wingtip and waved it up and down a few times before tucking it back under her cape with a sigh. The air spirits were being oblivious to her entreaties again, and she had even looked up the words to make sure she was using them correctly. The spirits of the earth at least were talking to her today, with words about the rumbling monster that was still a long ways away down the train tracks. The earth spirits had grown to accept the mechanical creature as the rails and ties of its path had settled into the ground, although the spirits of the water still tried their best to wash them away, as they did all things that stood in their way.

She took a moment to look back at Featherweight, still fluttering around while adjusting his camera and taking the occasional picture of the rising sun. The spirits of the air danced around him with every beat of his wings, delicate touches and spinning swoops that were so much different than the way they treated Scootaloo. She tried so hard to dance with the spirits in the same way as her hero, Rainbow Dash, but each pegasus wing touched the spirits of the air in different fashion, and for scoots, they fled in mortal terror as soon as she opened her little wings. Monster extended her little wings from under her cape and tried to reach for the spirits again, frustrated in the way they skittered away from her touch and danced into the distance. She could grab them with her magic and force them to do her will, but that felt wrong.

Rainbow Dash could make the spirits rush to her, eager to be flung under her wings and bear her up into the sky. For her, they begged to be commanded, to be roughly caressed by her wings and flung away by the dozens during loops and spins that crossed the sky in a blaze of color and light. The morning air was empty of her touch today, with only the golden rays of the rising sun as it lit up the clouds and painted the town in light to start the day.

Immunizations used a weak or dead form of the disease to build immunity, and standing at the train station watching the sun rise was a lot like that. Without touching magic, the temptation to reach to the sun for power was easier to resist. The fear she felt whenever looking at the ‘train’ could be treated the same way, through small exposures over a number of visits. The train was not really the same as the giant landsnakes that wound through the Everfree Forest, crushing trees and shrubs to a thin green smear as they slid forward. They were actually friendly in a fashion, and mom had taken her to be introduced to one several years ago. She had sat next to mom as the rumble and crash through the forest had turned into a huge wall of teeth and scales, a monster that her natural fear had wanted to blast into pieces. But the zebra had not moved, even when the creature slowed in its approach to halt only a hoof away. The two of them had sat there for over an hour, hooves buried in the dirt while the landsnake breathed over them, until mom had permitted Monster to approach and touch it. The frightening creature had been warm, with a low vibration that jittered against her hooves in the long-lost song of some ancient race of beings. It had placidly allowed the two of them to examine it in the most intimate of fashion, from teeth to tail, until the sun was setting and mom had allowed it to proceed into the forest. The train was not a creature, but a machine much like Trixie’s lock or Featherweight’s camera, and as much as she wanted to take it apart and examine it until she understood it, there were other ponies who depended on it for transportation.

It took a long time for the morning train to arrive at the station, but eventually it came chuffing up the tracks with little puffs of water vapor coming out of the front cart. The research books she had read allowed her to put words with the various parts of the train, from Chuffy the Engine, Percy the Personal Car, Sally the Sleeper Car, Dan the Dining Car, Freddy Freight Car, and Chatty Caboose, all in a neat line but none of them with the happy smiling faces of the book. The stallions and occasional mare that emerged from the trains hustled about, pulling carts filled with luggage or occasionally luggage that was its own cart. The new arrivals walked by Monster with a smile or a polite nod, which she returned while trying not to show her teeth when she smiled. There was a spell from the library she had looked up last night which would have made her fade into the background, but after the first dozen or so ponies had passed by without a fuss, she realized something wonderful.

She was normal.

Nopony pointed and shrieked in terror at the monster who stalked the Everfree Forest, or who had killed thousands of changelings with a single spell. At worst, they gave her a rather introspective look while examining her multicolored coat, then a smile and a shake of the head as if they thought she had intentionally rolled in paint, and it seemed humorous to them.

Monster had just started to relax when two new ponies stepped out of the train and began to move in her direction. They both wore the golden enchanted armor of the Royal Guard, the spells embedded into the steel an unmistakable touch on her senses, but her heart began to beat faster as they grew nearer and recognition dawned. One was a disguised changeling, who looked directly at her with the same peculiar gaze of mixed thanks and regret that she was still getting from the various changelings who had settled in Ponyville, but the other was an earth pony whose face looked familiar. She was still puzzling on it when there was a faint pop from Freddy the Freight Car…

And the world exploded.

The Prince of Canterlot, Blueblood the forty-somethingist, barked orders at his servants while his two guards tried to stay out of the way in the narrow confines of the private train car. In a matter of moments after the train had stopped in Ponyville, they were ordered in no uncertain terms to go out and ‘secure the area,’ which was what they were wanting to do anyway. So Sergeant Chives and his new partner slipped out of the noisy train car and took a moment in the fresh air of Ponyville just to look around for any possible threat to their Royal Cargo, which coincidentally gave Chives a few moments alone with Specialist Stanchion, whom he had been trying to talk with ever since they had departed from Canterlot.

“So,” started Chives. “You’re a changeling, then. Right?”

“Yep.” The presently palomino pegasus nodded slowly even as his eyes made a quick scan around the area in a manner nearly identical to his superior officer. There was very little in the small town of Ponyville that could be considered a threat, but the guards took no chances even here.

“Princess Celestia know?”

“Yep.” His scan of the area completed for the moment, Chives’ partner seemed placidly interested in a small unicorn filly sitting quietly at the edge of the train platform next to a young photographer.

“Talkative, ain’t ya?”

The smallest of smiles crept onto the guard’s face, and he responded, “The Guard-Commander suggested that I keep my normally ebullient and verbose comments to a bare minimum after I apologized to him after our liberation from Queen Chrysalis. It seems I cornered him in his office for over two hours without letting him get in a single word, and he viewed that as a new record that should not be challenged. Then again, I was a little excited. Anyway, you may be assured that I have sworn loyalty to Princess Celestia and Luna along with the rest of the Royal Guard, and that I shall serve her will with unshakable loyalty. In other words, yep.”

There was something familiar about the little unicorn filly at the edge of the train station platform, and even though he could not remember her splotched coat and mane from anywhere, that kind of coloration was rather unmistakable. Still, his instincts were seldom wrong, and Sergeant Chives decided to walk over to her and take a closer look, even if it was nothing after all.

“Be careful, Sergeant,” whispered Stanchion as they walked. “Don’t frighten her.”

“I’m not some sort of monster,” growled Chives, feeling a little upset that the little filly had begun to stare up at him with huge eyes as they approached. There was something familiar in those mournful eyes, a hint of purple around huge pupils that really should have been smaller in the bright morning sunshine.

With a slow trickle of ice down his back, Chives finally remembered the eyes.

17. Trains, Strains and Explosive Pops - Part Two

The sweltering heat of the Everfree Forest sent long trickles of sweat down the inside of Sergeant Chives’ mottled armor, making the sensation of the two heavy magic suppression donuts strapped to his sides feel much like wet bags of concrete smushing up against him with every step. They had been following Princess Cadence and Prince Consort Shining Armor through a narrow forest trail for several hours now with no sign of the monster and no sign of a break. His first encounter with the creature had been several months ago, and if not for the few minutes of stark terror and the giant glassy crater of devastation left behind then, it would have been easy to dismiss their trips into the trackless forest since as some sort of cruel hazing ritual. He had just stepped over a rock with his eyes tracking to the left when it happened.

An iridescent flying insect with multiple body parts had caught his attention, glittering a spectrum of colors as it flew by. Before he turned his eyes back to the path, a small flicker of purple in the deep green forest nailed his hooves to the ground. It was only for a few moments that he was captured in that piercing gaze from the scarred and tortured face before Monster vanished into the forest like a ghost, but the image still could bring him wide awake in the middle of the night with a muffled scream.

Chives felt naked.

Even while wrapped in his Royal Guard armor, standing on the train platform within sight of a few dozen other ponies all wearing far less than him, he still could feel a chill breeze blow through the thin steel and evaporate the sudden film of sweat that had suddenly covered his body. The heavily-enchanted mottled armor that he had worn so many times into the forest was safely sitting on a shelf in Canterlot, miles away, as well as the two heavy magic suppression donuts that he had cursed so many times on their long slogs through the Everfree. There were many dangers he had faced in his years as a Royal Guard, but he had never pictured himself wishing for an entire regiment of reinforcements to face off against one small unicorn filly with mournful eyes.

But even his ongoing panic was abruptly interrupted by a loud pop from off to one side, and then what seemed like every firework in Ponyville began screaming and roaring off into the sky. He stumbled as he tried to look both ways at once, feeling a crushing pain around one leg that triggered a certain disconnect in his panic.

Training kicked in despite the weirdness of the situation, or perhaps because of it. The blossoms of red and blue were fairly pretty, and distracting as all heck, particularly when one would whizz down the train platform and explode fairly close, which caused him to wince in pain. It took effort to look around the train platform for any possible assassin taking advantage of their inattention in order to attack Prince Blueblood, but it seemed the residents of the little town were either watching the light show with awe, or ignoring it as if the explosions were routine.

He took the time while the fireworks banged and popped to revise his opinions on the little filly, who seemed so much smaller and much different up close. There was something going on that was definitely above his pay grade, or perhaps several somethings that would require a few quiet words to the Prince Consort when they returned to Canterlot. But until then, he had a job to do. After one last scan of the area as his duty commanded, he turned his attention to calming down the little filly, her trembling body wrapped around one armored foreleg and with her nose buried in his neck.

It is extremely difficult to be afraid of a monster who is clutching frantically to your leg and whimpering in tears.

Prince Blueblood came striding out onto the train station platform, giving a brief annoyed glance at the fireworks show the locals were putting on for his arrival. Their timing was atrocious, starting before he even made an appearance, without a brass band of any sort, and not nearly enough fireworks for a proper display, but then again, he had not scheduled this trip so perhaps that was as good as this plebeian little village could scrape together on short notice. With a disparaging snort, he sent the rest of his servants to procure a suite at the local hotel before striding over to his auntie’s two guards, who seemed to be playing with some of the local ragamuffins.

“You there! The photographer. Direct me to the library at once. I have business with Beatrix Lulumoon.”

The little pegasus aiming the camera at the sun-drenched village ignored him, of all the gall, but Blueblood did get a response. There was a small unicorn filly who had been the victim of some sort of horrible painting incident wrapped rather firmly around Sergeant Chives’ foreleg, and she looked up with a blubbering sniff and a curious expression. “Beatrix?”

Blueblood bent down and looked at the little mottled filly’s tear-smeared face while trying not to frown at her untidy appearance. She blinked back tears and looked back, dividing her attention between him and the few pops and sizzles of leftover fireworks detonating. “She’s at the library. It’s a big building full of books. You know what books are, don’t you?”

Both of her little ears folded back and the terrified glances she was casting at the few popping fireworks remnants turned into an intense glare at him, with a cute little squint that was supposed to be intimidating. “Yes.”

“Well, direct me there at once. I haven’t got all day, you know.”

“Go ahead, Twilight,” said Featherweight, who had not moved from his camera viewfinder. “I’m doing a timed exposure. We’ll meet you over there.”

Blueblood trotted through the little town with his nose properly held up in the air, following the little filly with his two clanking guards trailing behind. There was something he was missing in the situation, and that missing puzzle piece itched at the back of his mind, but Trixie could be counted on for at least this one bit of information.

At least with a little bourbon.

Monster obediently stood outside the library with the two guards, waiting for Mister Prince Blueblood to come back outside. He had been very insistent about having a private conversation with Trixie, and the two guards had settled into a stoic position at either side of the library door to prevent any interruptions, but something still bothered Monster about one of them. She eyed the earth pony, feeling the touch of the spirits of earth on his metal-wrapped hooves, but realization did not dawn until she stuck her nose into his mane again and gave a deep sniff.

She sat back on her haunches and looked up at him. There should have been some fear in her liver, but she could only see the terrified soldier in mottled armor deep within the hostile forest, and think of how she had hurt him.

“I’m sorry.” Monster sniffed. “I’m sorry for scaring you so much in the forest. And for throwing rocks at you. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

The earth pony guard blinked a few times, then got down on one knee to wipe away her tear with an armored hoof. “Apology accepted. And on behalf of all of the ponies in our task force, I’d like to apologize to you.”

“Why?” Monster reached out and gently tapped his armor with one hoof. “I was a bad pony. I hurt other ponies. I hurt you. You protect ponies.”

“Well, yes, but…” The guard trailed off and a small smile began to make its way onto his face. “I tell you what, let’s try this again.”

He stuck out a hoof. “Hello, my name is Sergeant Chives and this handsome lug to my side is Specialist Stanchion. What’s your name?”

“Y-you can just accept me like that? But I killed. I’m a murderer.”

The big guard shook his head. “Nopony in the task force was seriously injured while we were trying to catch you, other than Specialist Beeswax, and it was his own fault for hitting that bee’s nest with a stick. He may have been friendly with normal bees, but your forest bees pack a wallop.” The jocular smile on the guard’s face slowly melted away as the expected joke fell flat, but before he could go farther, the other guard knelt beside him.

“Twilight Sparkle, the race of changelings owe you gratitude beyond measure. The invasion of Canterlot could have cost the lives of hundreds of ponies and changelings alike. When you were captured, you had every right to use every tool at your disposal to escape, even to the destruction of our hive. Had you not thinned our ranks, the love of our new Queen could never have broken us of our cursed hunger, and we would still be a slave to our baser instincts, monsters preying on the ponies that Sergeant Chives here is pledged to protect. As am I. You were the one who saved us, and you should never feel guilt for that victory.”

Her voice was very small in the morning air. “I almost killed you all.”

“But you didn’t.” The disguised changeling picked up Monster’s hoof and held it to his warm breastplate. “I felt your confusion and anger when you confronted Queen Chrysalis; all of us did. Our lives were yours to take, and for just a moment, I was glad. I had become a monster, stealing what I could not be given and plotting to destroy the ones who I had pledged myself to protect. You took those chains away, and had it taken the sacrifice of all of us to save even a few from that fate, I would have given my life willingly for that goal.”

They talked for a while in front of the library while the busy townponies went about their business in the distance around them. The big guards were very good listeners, and she found herself talking about things that had bothered her ever since Luna had been freed. They assured her the new princess was adapting well to rejoining her sister as a ruler over Equestria, making the castle staff scurry around like the occupants of a shaken firefly lantern while catching up on her current events. But they could not answer if she had gained any new friends other than relating a funny story about one silly pony who had kissed her and begged for her hoof in marriage.

It seemed the life of a Princess was a lonely one, with few ponies able to maintain a close relationship with one who held such power over them, although Stanchion seemed very proud of Cadence and just a little resentful of Shining Armor. He reassured Monster that her brother already knew about what she had done, and was nearly a basket case with badly concealed worry about her. She would have asked more about her family except for the abrupt exit of Mister Prince Blueblood from the library, trailing smoke from his tail as he sprinted for the distant town fountain.

While the guards galloped after their charge, Monster slipped into the library where Trixie was holding a bottle in her magic and glaring at her departing guest. She shifted the bottle from side to side while muttering, eventually sitting it back down on the table with a growled, “It would probably just break on his thick head and set the rest of him on fire. Hello, Menace. What are you doing here this morning?”

“Hello.” Monster fidgeted in place. Obviously Trixie was not in a mood to allow her into the library, but there were so many books calling to be read while waiting for the rest of her friends to show up. “Could I please…”

“What? Come in? Make breakfast? Get an autograph?” Trixie yawned and turned around to plod into the library, the unopened bottle trailing along in her wake. “Come on in while you’re deciding. I’ll make coffee. Do you have any idea what that racket was that woke me up this morning?”

The last crate had just finished smoldering by the time Comet Tails emerged from his safe bunker of boxes and crates at the train station freight platform. Cold Front was nowhere to be seen, but knowing her luck, she had probably landed in a box full of ice cream when the fireworks had begun to explode. He picked through the glowing remnants of the fireworks shipment with a scowl and a sudden yank back of his hoof as it found a particularly hot coal.

“Hey, Tails. Does this mean we can go back to Canterlot? I don’t think we’re needed to supervise the fireworks now.” Cold Front casually strolled out of the train, the pair of somewhat squishy ice cream cones dripping in her magic being held in front of her as she detoured around a few still smoldering fireworks fragments. “The dining car freezer is going out and they were giving away their ice cream. Good luck, eh?”

“Wonderful luck, CF.” He took the offered ice cream cone in his own magic and gave it a despondent lick. Sitting in the middle of a burnt shipment of fireworks with ice cream beat the heck out of just sitting in the middle of a burnt shipment of fireworks, but it took a second and a third lick to cheer him up enough to continue.

“We’ll just have to go back and get replacements out of the warehouse. Hey! You there! Yes, you. Come here for a minute, please?”

Comet Tails scribbled on a note for a minute while floating a few bits over to the little unicorn filly, who looked around the smoking railroad freight dock with an unmistakably guilty expression. From the patterns of smoke on her pristine white coat, she had been extremely close to the launch site when the fireworks went up, and from the way she kept looking at him, she obviously expected some sort of accusation. Finally as he got near the bottom of the note, she exploded with a sentence that had apparently been building up inside her under immense pressure.

“I’msorryforlightingyourfireworksIonlywantedtolookatthemandmyhornmadesparksandtheywentoffandI’msorryandIpromiseitwon’thappenagainsandwhydidyougivemetwobits?”

“Because I want you to run a note over to Princess Celestia’s student, Trixie. Don’t sweat setting the fireworks off by accident.” He paused and pointed to the silvery comet adorning his own smoky coat. “It’s how I got my cutie mark, after all.” Comet Tails folded the piece of paper up and passed it over to the blank-flanked filly, who grasped it in her mouth instead of her magic and scurried off.

“Well, that’s it for today,” said Cold Front, popping the last of the ice cream cone into her mouth and chewing happily. “Back to civilization in plenty of time for me to finish work and play with my coltfriend tonight.”

“Yeah. I suppose.” Comet Tails kicked a piece of fireworks debris and frowned. “I really wanted to meet The Great and Powerful Trixie, though. Maybe tomorrow when we bring up a fresh batch.”

The two unicorns went back into the train, leaving behind an entire freight platform covered with boxes, crates, and shipping containers, and on every one of them, a sign.

Property of the Great and Powerful Trixie

18. Trains, Strains and Explosive Pops - Part Three

…i’m still getting used to stuff. Ponies have stuff that they don’t want that they trade for things that they use to trade for stuff they do want, which seems like a lot of work for just stuff. except books. they’re something different than stuff. mom had a lot of stuff that she brought from Home, but it was all useful stuff (and books), not the weird stuff like garden centaurs and statues all around town. and dresses. sweetie says dresses are very important to the way other ponies see us, and i understand that a little. if i don’t wear my cloak, everypony looks at me and makes me scared, so i don’t take it off in town anymore. Trixie has a lot of crap, like she calls it, that she says came from where you live now…

Trixie paused in her contemplation of the vast pile of boxes on the train loading dock to make a grab for the stationmaster before he could escape. “Hey, buster! This crap can’t be all mine, is it?”

“I’m afraid it is, Madame Trixie.” The stationmaster checked his watch and looked back at the grouchy unicorn and her small assistant, each carrying a cup of steaming coffee in their magic. “And it needs to be off my loading dock in two hours, or I’m going to have to charge you for storage.”

“How in Hades am I supposed to drag all this…” Monster watched the stationmaster stride back into his strange magical office where he controlled the movements of the great machines, pausing to mark more times on the little slate out front. ‘Freight’ was a fascinating process where boxes and crates of nearly anything were grouped, labeled, loaded, unloaded, and moved across all of Equestria, or at least it would be if a few dozen crates of Trixie’s things were not sitting in the middle of the loading dock, blocking both pickup and delivery from the growing number of cart haulers stacked up on the street. Her thoughts on the topic were disturbed by the sight of Trixie, standing directly in front of her and waving a hoof in front of Monster’s face. “Hello? You in there? I just asked if you could carry all these boxes back to the library for me.”

“Me?” Monster eyed the pile and calculated the distance to the library, considering the estimated reduction in speed from the weight of the various boxes and frequent breaks to regain her strength. “Three days.”

“What? Trixie slugged down the rest of her coffee and chewed for a moment before lowering her head to look into Monster’s eyes, which was a little difficult considering the little filly had drooped low enough to brush her nose on the ground. “I saw you and Celestia carrying that tree, and I thought—”

“Mostly her. I carried a branch.”

“Oh.” Trixie absentmindedly bit a chunk out of her styrofoam cup and waved at the boxes. “So how much can you lift — oh, never mind. We’ll find out when the teacher shows up tomorrow to run your evaluation for school.”

“A test?” The last word squeaked into a higher register, unheard by Trixie as she flagged down a stalled cart and its broad-shouldered driver.

“Hey, Big Mac. I’ve got a favor to ask. You see all those crates over there?” Trixie waved at the crowded freight dock, then turned to the distant library. “And you see my drafty home way over there? Do you think you could get the two of them in the same location?”

The stallion shrugged out of his harness and regarded the two objectives, shifting the stem of wheat from one side of his square jaw to the other. “Don’t want ‘ta move no more trees.”

She had actually opened her mouth to snap a vicious response before spotting the glitter of amusement in those deep green eyes. “Oh, har de har, har. I’m surrounded by hayseeds and—”

“Test!” shrieked Monster as she dashed by at a full gallop, headed in the direction of downtown Ponyville. “Study! Books! Flash cards!” Trixie and Big Mac stood side by side, watching the little purple blur vanish into Quills and Sofas, emerging moments later being pursued by a cloud of white feathers wrapped in her magic and making a beeline over to the library, ending with the sound of a slamming door.

“Ponyfeathers,” swore Trixie, looking around for a trash can before tossing her empty cup into the back end of Big Mac’s apple-filled wagon. “Look, I don’t have any bits right now, but—”

“Go,” said Big Mac with a nudge that nearly knocked Trixie off her hooves. “I’ll bring ‘em over.”

“Really?” Trixie stopped, torn between the handsome stallion and whatever expensive destruction Menace was probably doing in the library.

“Eeyup. That’s what friends are for.”

The locked library door rattled briefly until there was a faint click and Trixie peeked inside, tucking the key back into her cloak. “Menace?”

“Can’t talk. Gotta study. Test!” The faint sound of scribbling came from upstairs in the general vicinity of Trixie’s new bedroom, and did not even pause for a moment as a book unshelved itself from the ‘Early Magic - Unicorn’ section and began floating up the stairs. Following the book, Trixie opened the door to her bedroom and regarded the mess with a sour grimace.

The former librarian, Miss Dewey, had left for the retirement stable in Acapulcolt with only one large bag, deeding any of her personal possessions remaining to the next occupant. The collection of bric-a-brac and keepsakes strewn about the library was remarkably short of any photos, but had proven to be a wealth of information about the town, from the huge collection of little hoof-made Hearth’s Warming presents from the school students, to a set of certificates from the Equestrian Librarian Association detailing her rise from Librarian (Provisionary Trainee) to Elder Keeper of Mysteries and Lore (Rural). The bedroom desk, a huge oaken monstrosity with more hidden drawers than a magician’s cloak, had been rather enthusiastically cleaned of a half-century of paperwork and records to make room for a dozen open books and one small alicorn filly centered between them.

“Hey. Menace. It’s just an evaluation. Don’t sweat it so much.” Trixie slipped into her bedroom with a pause before taking a deep breath and walking right up to the studious little student. “Hey. You’re not all bent out of shape because of your last test, are you?”

“No.” Monster buried her nose in a book so far that her horn rested on the top binding while her nose pressed against the bottom. It was far too near for her to actually read anything on the page, and after a few calming breaths of the book’s papery scent, she finally looked up at Trixie. “Maybe.”

Nudging the little alicorn to one side, Trixie settled into the soft chair and spread her cape over the two of them, heading off the beginning of a tremor that had just started shaking Monster’s little wings. “Look, the evaluator is just going to measure your progress in magic to make sure the lessons you get aren’t too advanced or too dumb. It’s just like getting your horn measured, or seeing how tall you are—”

“Or getting weighed?”

Trixie took a deep breath, looking at the bottom drawer of the desk where Blueblood’s bottles had been stored. “Yes.”

“How did you get ready for your tests?” Monster looked away, closing her books and levitating them into a neat stack while getting out a quill and a notecard.

“By vanishing the night before and showing up all hung-over in the morning,” said a gravely voice to one side. Spike sat up in his basket and rubbed his eyes, exchanging glares with Trixie. “Well, it’s the truth.”

“They were study sessions,” protested Trixie in a voice that was nearly a whine. “We all got together and got out the books, with some refreshments, of course, and…” The thud of somepony knocking on the library door provided a welcome distraction, but before Trixie could even move, Spike zipped past her and down the stairs.

“So you studied with your friends?” asked Monster, her eyes almost black in the dim light of the shuttered bedroom.

“Well, I don’t know if you could call them…” Trixie rearranged her hat while considering the variety of scholastic achievements produced by her party associates and coming up with a very small number approaching zero, if not some negative number. “Well, yes. I suppose you can have a friend or two over to study with, if that will calm you down. I’ll have Spike run a note over to Rarity; that at least I know he’ll do for free.”

It took all morning to get the various crates and boxes brought into the library, eventually winding up packing the basement nearly full, covering most of the first floor up to several stacks deep, and putting the rest in the little storage nooks and cubbyholes that the library seemed to sprout whenever Trixie was not looking. There had to be some sort of spell on the old oak tree that kept it from filling up all the way, but no matter how Trixie looked, she could only find the original enchantment that had been cast when the tree was just a branch library (and she winced at the concept. Sometimes it seemed as if the entire town was just one big bad oak.) Big Mac and several other husky stallions had been invaluable with the moving, each of them making a particular point to ask about Prince Blueblood and any relationship he might share with Ponyville’s newest librarian. One of them had even postulated that Trixie was only in Ponyville for eleven months in order for the Royal Foal to be born and properly assigned to a foster family. Trixie dissuaded him of the idea, as well as blacking his eye and making him walk cross-legged for a few hours afterwards, which seemed to raise her status with the rest of the stallions.

But stallions were not the only things that bothered Trixie’s mind.

When Sweetie Belle dropped by and asked about Monster, Trixie sent her straight up to the bedroom so the two of them could study together. It was a little risky, but Trixie had a perfectly good fire extinguishing spell and a lot of practice, as well as little desire to watch little filly sparks.

Then a young unicorn named Dinky dropped by and said that Sweetie Belle had told her about the study session, and that her mother had received an evaluation letter just like Trixie had received for her young daughter.

She sent the little brat upstairs with the other two little disasters. Kicking the stallion in his jewels was a good catharsis for her bruised emotions, and a much more socially accepted activity than yelling at some little filly.

Then two little unicorns from out of town showed up at the same time, each having received the same letter and making the long trip to Ponyville together for their evaluation tomorrow. The concept of a sleepover was brought up—to Trixie’s inner dread—before they happily trotted up the stairs to join the studying throng.

Then Snips and Snails showed up. And Berry Pinch. And Pinkie Pie. And Firelock. And… Wait a minute.

Trixie escorted the next little unicorn, a filly named Sun Glimmer, up to the bedroom and peeked inside, expecting to see… Well, she was not quite sure. Pinkie Pie had gone up to the room, so there should have been a noisy party with cake and punch. Instead, eight little unicorns were very carefully levitating each piece of bric-a-brac to one side, clearing out a section of floor where the beginnings of a serious study group was beginning to form, complete with notecards, sharpened quills, and scattered books with well worn covers bearing titles such as What To Do When Your Foal Begins To Glow and McPuffins Reader For Magic - Grade One. Resting on top of the massive oak desk was a neat collection of tidy carrot and celery sticks with small boxes of apple juice, as well as a generous stack of colorful napkins.

“What do you think?” whispered Pinkie Pie in one ear, making Trixie nearly smack her head against the doorframe in reaction. “I was going to add sliced cantaloupe, but that could get all messy.”

“It’s… How… Aren’t…” Trixie stopped for breath and watched the study group move to accommodate Sun Glimmer, who plunked down a fern right in the middle of the circle and began to trim off little bits and pieces of dry foliage. She closed the door and tried to focus a serious look at Pinkie Pie, which was a little like trying to visually mix oil and water. “What have you done with the little fillies and colts in this town? Are they changelings?”

“‘Scuse me! Pardon me!” A little changeling colt came clattering up the stairs and stopped, looking at Trixie and Pinkie with bright eyes. “Is this where the study group is meeting?”

Trixie wordlessly pointed at the room, and the little creature vanished inside. From the happy cries and laughter that spilled out, he was expected and welcomed with just as much joy as any of the rest of the multicolored multitude.

“Not all of them. Just Peep Sprout there.”

19. Trains, Strains and Explosive Pops - Part Four

...coffee is something i don’t think i’ll understand. its’ nothing like tea. it tastes terrible, it feels like its eating my teeth, and if you put a bunch of sugar in it, it tastes even worse. i even tried it with cream, which i can remember comes from cows, but that didn’t help either. trixie seemed to like drinking it, so i preservered persevered and i think it gets better the more you drink. i asked if bourbon was the same way and she just spluttered a little and changed the subject.

The sun was dipping near the horizon by the time Prince Blueblood had finished his ‘tour’ of Ponyville, having found neither hide nor feather of any alicorn princess. It really did not bother him at all, because the connections that he did find were much more fascinating than anything he had ever seen in boring old Canterlot.

The townsponies were hiding something. All he had to do was to mention the name ‘Twilight’ to any pony in town, and they would happily bubble on about the adult unicorn that they had never seen, but they always knew some story about her happening to somepony else. She was a skydiver, a deep-sea swimmer, a seapony, world champion rodeo pony, international superspy, member of a secret Neighponese Ninja cult called ‘The Hoof’ or even Clover the Clever, frozen in ice for four thousand years and only recently thawed out in Van Hoover. She had never been in Ponyville, dropped by every Tuesday, only seen on leap years as the invisibility field on her glass zeppelin needed to recharge by moonlight. The connections he had gathered did not just point to one pony, they indicated hundreds, and mostly from stories he had read out of his family library when he was young.

There was no confusion spell spread over the town, no collection of Celestia’s trained intelligence ponies planting false stories, and particularly, no stories of other alicorns. Zip. Zero. Nada. The townsponies knew Luna was in Canterlot, and were particularly happy to regale him with uncounted tales of Aunt Celestia, but even the frequent visits by Princess Cadence to the small town were only mentioned in passing, as if an armored princess and her husband were an experience the town was trying to ignore. And doing quite a good job of it too.

He was almost tempted to stay the night and attempt to pry the information out of some of the lovely fillies that seemed to sprout on each street in colors and variety more numerous than his aunt’s flower garden. But that would involve staying in this little backwards town, so he dropped by the library one last time to annoy Trixie while waiting for the train.

The library was considerably more crowded than his last visit, packed up to the ceiling with boxes leaving only a few paths through the mess. From the cheerful voices that filtered out when he opened the door, it sounded like a number of little fillies and colts were eating ice cream and chattering away on the main floor, discussing elementary magical theory with — Trixie? He paused for a moment at the open door to listen to their voices, hearing the annoying blue twit actually sound normal for a change instead of the petulant whine or arrogant snarl that had always overlaid every word she spoke in his presence. She sounded… happy.

And there was a second quiet voice he recognized as the little mottled unicorn filly who had escorted him to the library, an inquisitory scamp who ended every sentence with a question, and several times, really advanced questions for a little unicorn her age. It might be worthwhile to bring the little filly to the attention of Aunt Celestia, so that Twilight could take the test to get into her School for Gifted Unicor—

Twilight

Twilight Sparkle

Age magic was alicorn-level, and the little cloaked unicorn had only appeared to be slightly younger than the pegasus colt with the camera. If Celestia had used an age spell on — no, that did not fit. The monster that raged through the Everfree Forest was a mindless beast, destructive as explosives and more powerful than even Aunt Celestia, the most powerful alicorn…

Connections clicked together in his mind, starting at the day the sun descended on Canterlot, to Princess Cadence’s trips into the Everfree, to the return of Princess Luna and one little unicorn filly with some suspicious wing-like lumps under her cloak. Little threads of information linked with others: Celestia’s infirmity on the day the Changeling hive blew up, Princess Cadence’s traditional trip to Cavelia even in the middle of the rescue effort, stories told to him by the changeling refugees, and the sudden remodeling that swept every trace of Trixie out of the castle while Luna moved in.

The kind of power produced by the Elements of Harmony could only be controlled by an alicorn, or a pony turned into one. That frightening day twelve years ago when the sun was pulled down on Canterlot was not an accident. Aunt Celestia needed an alicorn to use the Elements of Harmony, so she made one with that power, but the process must have gone horribly wrong. The newly-created alicorn had been driven mad and consumed in agonizing pain for years after she escaped to the Everfree Forest, and quite probably nearly killed rescuing Luna. Obviously, Aunt Celestia had reduced the young alicorn’s age to a young filly and placed her in this town to heal under the care of Trixie, of all ponies. Well, if anypony understood crazy…

“Pardon me, My Prince.” Blueblood blinked away his theories to regard a rather peculiar-looking zebra stallion with odd-shaped stripes who had moved up beside him while he was lost in thought. Both guards were nowhere to be seen, and in fact, there seemed to be a remarkable lack of ponies within eyesight who were paying either of them any attention at all.

“May I ask who you are?” After speaking, the stallion remained standing there in a relaxed stance, looking Blueblood straight in the eyes with a green-eyed stare that was mildly disorienting. Still, Blueblood shook off the feeling and stepped back a pace to return the look.

“I am Prince Blueblood, of the House Blueblood. Who are you?”

Those green eyes never even blinked as the zebra replied, “No, My Prince. I did not ask your name. I asked who you are.”

The answer startled him a bit, and Blueblood dropped back another step. “Why, you cheeky little… I am a Blueblood of Bluebloods, and I answer to nopony. Who are you?”

“I will answer you true when you have answered me too. Who are you?”

Blueblood paused with a sharp retort held unsaid on his tongue, regarding the zebra’s green eyes and uneven stripes. There was something about the stallion that just did not seem right, perhaps that piercing gaze that seemed to bounce off the back of his skull, or the way he stood with all four hooves twisted slightly into the soft earth of the path. It seemed as if there were only the two of them in a bubble of privacy, and even if he had raised his voice and screamed for the guards, it would still only be them. He thought for a moment, considering just how Aunt Celestia would respond.

“I am Prince Blueblood, fourth in line to the throne of Equestria. And as such, I demand that you tell me who you are now.”

“Or?” The zebra did not move one more muscle than was required to speak, but the penetrating green gaze seemed warmer, even humorous for a moment.

“Or I shall inform your wife that you have been misbehaving.” It really was not much of a stretch, since he had only heard of two zebras in town, but his guess was validated as the zebra promptly blinked and broke out in a short chuckle.

“My name is Tallgrass, My Prince, and I am of the changeling kind. And as to who I am, that is yet to be determined in many minds. Possibly father, probably husband, I would bet. And no, Zecora is not my mate. Yet.” Those laughing green eyes turned serious again. “And you are?”

“As before, but I suppose I should add that I am a unicorn stallion of uncertain destination who was seeking Twilight Sparkle.”

“I see.” Those serious green eyes narrowed. “Why do you say ‘was’?”

Blueblood considered a number of ideas before settling on the truth as a last resort. “I shall be honest with you. I was seeking a bride. Now?” He shrugged. “My plans have changed.”

“Life is change,” said Tallgrass with a nod. “So if that is who you were, who are you now, My Prince?”

Blueblood paused with his mouth open, but no words came out right away. Old habits of many years seemed to slough away in the evening twilight as he thought about his life and what the changelings had done to his long-stable plans. “I am… a Prince of all Equestria, of ponies and changelings alike, I suppose.” The silence from Tallgrass seemed to pull the words out of his mouth, and Blueblood continued, “They are my responsibility, even if I don’t like them very much, and more important than my own comfortable life.”

“I see. And what of this Twilight Sparkle whom you seek?”

“Twilight Sparkle?” Blueblood fixed the zebra with a serious look. “She is obviously in Neighpon, just like the newspapers have said. I shall have to visit someday. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to thank a young unicorn filly named Twilight for helping me find Trixie and to apologize for treating her so coldly. I’m starting to think this ‘apology’ thing is contagious. Do you know little Twilight?”

“She is the daughter of my wife-to-be, one whom I protect with all my life, you see.” Tallgrass raised one eyebrow and continued, “So who is she to you?”

“Only a helpful little filly with a blotchy coat,” replied Blueblood. “I believe I’ve spent a little too much time here at the library, so if you could come with me for a minute to pass my thanks to your daughter, I’ll just be out of your manes.”

“And catch your train.” Tallgrass pulled his hooves out of the loose dirt and bowed. “Long life and good health to you, My Prince. I wish you luck upon your search for a spouse suitable to uphold the honor of your house.”

“And to you for much the same,” said Blueblood with a tiny fractional bow in return. “Keep a sharp eye on that little filly of yours. I understand she’s gone through a lot, and she really needs a mother and a father to support her.”

And the last thing she needs now… is anypony like me.

…after we were done studying, we took a break down in the library with all of Trixie’s stuff and just talked about magic for a while. she’s really smart and only had to look things up four five times. i’m not ready for the test tomorrow but Trixie says not to worry because if i do badly, she’ll seduce the teacher and drag him off somewhere to get him to change my grades, which was nice but kind of wierd.

we met your nefew blueblood when everypony was ready to go home and introduced him to the rest of trixie’s students. i think he’s nice but a little weird, and tallgrass claims he’s just perplexuated, which i said he just made up. i’ll do ok at the test tomorrow. you don’t have to visit. really…

20. Evaluations, Stations, and Recommendations - Part One

All fads have trend cycles where the sudden appearance of a trend travels through a population like an explosion propagating along its fastest-moving members. Modern scientists have examined these cycles to understand them, and have come to the conclusion that some trends travel at just below the speed of communication in a medium, while the occasional supertrend can actually travel faster than the possible speed of any communication.

And strangely enough, it happens most often in Canterlot.

The morning train had been unusually well booked due to ticket sales the evening before, but the line in front of the Canterlot station ticket booth this morning was still extended all the way to the back of the platform and out into the street. It took a little extra time to couple up a third, and then a fourth passenger car before departure, but the crowd of stallions (and a few mares) seemed quite patient to wait while reading their newspapers and casting suspicious glances at each other. Three ponies in particular stood close together, one to either side of a rather scroungy younger stallion with hollow cheeks and protruding ribs, and maintained their close escort while all of the waiting passengers boarded the new cars and shuffled for standing space. The pale-green pony wound up wedged in the back corner of the train while staring out a window, looking as if he wished nothing more than to fly off into the astonishingly beautiful sunrise and leave the world behind as the train chugged down the tracks to Ponyville.

The ruddy light of a false dawn began to raise the dull greys and browns of night in Ponyville up into soft pastel colors that tinted the trees and grass, as well as spreading across the coats of three little ponies standing with their hooves dug into the ground next to the train station. Monster took a deep drink from her coffee before regarding the two young unicorns with a nervous look, shuffling back and forth in her hoofprints before whispering to the unicorn on her right, “Are you sure this is… Ok is the word, right?”

Awesome Filly (Oz for short) was a little overwhelming, much like Pinkie Pie, but Monster had to admit that she really was awesome. From her dyed mane, tied up in various colorful ribbons, to the broad colorful stripes dyed down her sides, she was a splash of vibrant colors that made Monster feel muted and dull in comparison. Her earth pony parents made something called ‘Goops All-Natural Mane Dye and Stabilizer’ out at the commune, which sounded a lot like a big family made up of unrelated people, and Oz was a walking ‘advertisement’ for their products. That colorful exterior hid a vibrant personality and a burning curiosity that could almost be felt through the skin in her vicinity. Plus Monster thought that she just really liked startling other ponies. Unicorn magic was a lot like fire spirits, and both her and Wheat Shock (who did not like to be called ‘Wheaty’) fairly glowed with explosive potential, Oz more than expected because of her special talent.

She blew things up.

The starburst cutie mark on her flank was from a day when Oz had been watching her great-uncle remove stumps from a field with really big fireworks called ‘dynamite.’ The story had frightened Monster at first, but a constant flow of words from the enthusiastic filly had somewhat numbed her reaction to the revelation, and as Oz explained, her skill was in controlled explosions that should not be used in town. Even the plaintive begging from Firelock yesterday afternoon for a demonstration, and the reluctant permission from Trixie had not changed the young filly’s decision, to Monster’s relief.

“It’s better than okay, it’s radical to the extreme,” whispered back Oz, shifting one hoof impatiently in the loose dirt. “Like, we get to do real zebra magic like Celestia ‘n Luna do, dude, and raise the sun. How much more awesome could it get?”

Monster turned to Wheat Shock, who was looking down at his hooves and twisting them thoughtfully with little crunching noises in the loose soil. He was almost the anti-Awesome Filly, being a soft golden-brown the color of ripe wheat with a dark mane and big, brown eyes, and with a laconic (which she looked up in the library dictionary) personality that was just so easy to assume would have been overshadowed by his energetic friend. They both were quite powerful for their age, but in entirely different ways that went together like lielow fruit and thorn peas, a harmonious balance which seemed to be a result of their life-long friendship.

She had not really meant to invite the two students to go with her to wait for the train from Canterlot, but after spending all day in the company of all of the unicorn students, and all night studying by herself in the library with nothing but Trixie’s coffee for company, she was finding that being alone was not as comforting as it used to be. The stress was greater when she was alone, and despite liberal applications of the same coffee that Trixie used to relax, her back and neck were knotted with nervous anticipation that seemed to evaporate when she left the library in the pre-dawn gloom and found both of them waiting outside.

The early-rising farm ponies seemed to be fascinated by her life in the Everfree and zebra magic in particular, so when she told them last night about how the zebra raised the sun in the morning and the moon at night, they had both asked so politely for a demonstration this morning that she could not turn them down.

“It’s getting pretty close to dawn,” said Wheat Shock, looking back and forth between the city clock tower and the moon hesitating at the horizon. “Do you think we should get started now, um—”

“Twilight,” said Oz, trying to twist all four hooves back into the dirt despite her natural energetic tendency for at least one hoof to always be waving or pointing somewhere.

“Right. Otherwise, um—”

“Luna,” prompted Oz.

“—and, um—”

“Celestia!” called out Oz in an excited cry.

“—will go ahead and move the sun and moon without us,” completed Wheat Shock.

“No, I mean that’s Princess Celestia up there!” Oz gave up trying to dig her hooves into the dirt and hopped off the ground in a spray of loose soil, bounding around like a bouncing ball while Wheat Shock knelt carefully into a solemn bow. Deciding to split the difference, Monster nodded and tried to smile when the huge white alicorn swept down out of the sky and landed a few yards away.

“Hello, my little ponies.” There was a certain feeling of dawn to her smile that filled Monster with a warm, white light and made all of her growing tensions drain away. The memories of drawing the sun down on top of Canterlot seemed faded in her presence, and the resulting pain a thing of the past. Monster would do anything to keep seeing that smile, because the memories of Celestia in fear during her entrance exam and in sorrow before the return of Nightmare Moon were more painful than she could endure again.

To her side, Wheat Shock stood up and stepped forward with an introduction. After being exposed to the two of them all yesterday, Monster was beginning to understand the logic behind their speech patterns. Oz would fill in any blanks the young unicorn colt would encounter with names, and Wheat Shock would catch Oz whenever she would stray away from the thread of conversation much the same way Zecora had performed both services for her when Monster had been young and struggling with her words.

“Good morning, Princess—”

“Celestia,” said Oz.

“We’re all very glad to see you this morning. My name is Wheat Shock and this is—”

The words came pouring out of Oz in one rapid-fire cascade. “She’s Such An Awesome Filly With A Really Cool Mane And Such Tiny Little Hooves And Look Dear She Has A Horn, because my parents were like, weird when I was born and my uncle Wheat Grass was like, writing like the stuff down for the birth certificate and the dude at the city clerk office said it would be like ten bits to get my name changed and like mom said “No way!” and dad said “Yes way!” and they decided to save up the ten bits and wait until my cutie mark but I really like the name now and didn’t want to change after we blew the stump to smithereens so we kept it and everybody just calls me—”

“Oz,” said Wheat Shock, cutting into the one-way conversation. “We’re both from Wheaton and are in town with Twilight here—”

He turned and nudged Monster with an elbow, prompting a weak “hi” from her before continuing.

“—for the school evaluation this morning.”

“Yeah,” said Oz, “and Twilight was going to show us how the zebras help raise the sun and moon every day because she’s awesome like that and all. Did you want to help?”

Monster tried to cringe into the dirt as Celestia’s amused gaze swept over her. “I believe I would enjoy that very much, dear.”

While Oz and Wheat Shock ‘helped’ Princess Celestia out of her golden shoes and over to a convenient large patch of bare soil, Monster fidgeted, looking everywhere except at the most recent participant in the ritual. There was something about the golden shoes that Celestia placed off to one side as she dug her own hooves into the dirt next to the other young unicorns, and once Twilight realized what the difference was, the words just came out without thinking.

“Not the same shoes.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow as she looked back at her golden shoes. “Very astute, Twilight.”

“Not the same crown or, um…”

“Petryal,” said Oz. “The thingie that goes over your shoulders,” she added.

“Yes. They did not survive the journey when I was banished to the sun by Nightmare Moon. I created some spares until proper replacements can be made.”

The faint tranquil smile that Celestia wore on a constant basis was concealing something, and Monster could not help but comment about the flaws in her story. “Not banished. Went.”

That faint smile flickered as Celestia glanced once around the three small ponies. “The official story is that I was banished. Now, I’m all braced like your little friends have suggested,” said Celestia, nodding at her white hooves, buried in the dust. “What comes next? I believe I remember a song of some sort. It’s been a very long time since I was in Zebrica.”

Monster closed her eyes and felt for the sky. The sun hovered expectantly below the horizon while the moon sat impatiently on the other side of her perceptions, both more vibrant than she had ever experienced before. Magic flowed in a soft breeze along the surface of the dirt, parting around both her and Celestia’s presence until a gentle nudge brought it through their hooves and shanks, like wading out into a gurgling warm stream.

The words of dawn and dusk had always felt somewhat lacking in meaning to Monster when mom would lead her through them, but now that she was out of the Everfree, she could actually feel the heavenly bodies. She had expected painful memories of the day she had first touched the sun, but somehow the warm caress of its touch in return felt more like a small animal or pseudo-plant, wanting only to rub up against her in an apology for the way it had mistreated her before. She could feel Luna’s touch on the moon, a cool breeze that indicated the moment could not be put off any longer, so she leaned against Celestia, filling her lungs and raising her voice to the sky in soft song, feeling both of the young unicorns beside them join in.

(1) Sun of day, Moon of night, Your time has passed, move on, pass

A wave of warmth flowed over her as the sun crested the horizon, rising up to its appointed place with a soundless cry of joy that filled her heart to overflowing. Magic surged and rushed between the four of them, inspired by the vibrant colors in Oz’s coat. This sunrise deserved to be special beyond anything that had been done before. Her worries about the upcoming evaluation vanished as she reached out to the spirits of the air, enticing them into a dance of appreciation, a gift of creation for Celestia and all of the ponies in the town who had opened their hearts to her.

The magic lasted far too short a time, and as it faded into the background, she opened her eyes to look at her, no, their creation. Wispy clouds in every color of the rainbow spread across the horizon in bands of creamy colors fading to bare tints at the edges. To her side, Monster could hear the sounds of her companions as they too looked up into the sky and admired the beautiful sunrise.

“Awesome,” said Oz. “Totally awesome.”

“Pretty,” said Wheat Shock. “Quite colorful.”

“That is amazing, Twilight,” said Princess Celestia. “I’m very proud of you. Have you considered—” The Princess of the Sun turned to the little alicorn with more words of praise for her creation, but she was too late.

Twilight had already laid her head down on a soft patch of ground and was snoring, exhausted from her efforts.

In the newly risen sun, countless wisps ceased their organized dance of joy, breaking into individual mindless darts and dashes around the solar prominences and cascading arcs of plasma in their eternal home.

All except one, who still had a slight tinge of purple to its aura.

The one known as Tia had only been in their happy home for a short while, far shorter than the wisp had spent in the cold, dark world of her origin, and the wisp’s dance was not quite exactly the same carefree dance of joy that it had danced since the Creation anymore. Tia and Luna were together again, no longer lonely, which was a terrible feeling the wisp could scarcely comprehend. Despite having lived so long on the cold dark place, that time was still only a small flicker of its lifespan, having been born when the world was created, and only departing when it would return to nothingness. Its fellow wisps were the same: eternal, unchanging, and identical, but something outside of its nature stirred thoughts that a wisp should not have.

While touching the sun, Flower had poured herself into a ‘gift’ to the others, something given from oneself in appreciation without the need for an exchange. Wisps had nothing to give or receive, so the concept was alien to it, but Tia had left something behind.

Any mortal unicorn would scoff at the idea that a material object cast into the plasma of the sun could ever be recovered, but the wisp did it anyway, diving and flying through its home to retrieve all of the errant particles and bringing them back together into their original forms. Holding the six metal items in a cool bubble to keep them from vaporizing again, the wisp rose up into the sky and began the long trek across the cold darkness to do what none of its kind had ever done before.

It was going to give a friend a gift.

21. Evaluations, Stations, and Recommendations - Part Two

Princess Celestia stood by the train platform and chatted with the young unicorn students as they began to show up in anticipation of their evaluator’s arrival on the morning train. It was so relaxing to see their bright, shining faces and listen to their joyful stories of childhood and living life to the limit. Her life at the castle seemed so stressful by comparison as countries and nations fought for ‘proper’ recognition of each other, while here the little ponies were happy catching frogs and digging for worms (or at least the colts).

Even the constant bitter competition that seemed to be ingrained into the entire mountain of Canterlot was missing in the older townsponies here. They were happy to come up for a few minutes to greet her and welcome her to town, sparing a few moments to look at Twilight Sparkle sleeping at her hooves, giving a soft and knowing smile, and then returning to their normal morning routine afterwards. The entire town seemed to have accepted Twilight just the way she was, and even when Zecora and Tallgrass stopped by for a brief and alliterative favor from her, neither of them attracted any more attention than if they had both been any other parents of a small school filly.

Despite the constantly stated desire of the unicorn nobility to expand her School for Gifted Unicorns to ten times its size, she knew only a small fraction of young unicorns could benefit more from the special attention by trained teachers than would thrive better at home with their own parents and family. Even when she was training Trixie, at times late at night when her student was in the middle of learning some intricate incantation, she would turn her head and just stare off into the direction of Neigh Orleans, lost in thought. Her parents and family had never moved to the mountains of Canterlot, preferring to remain just a few feet above (and sometimes below) sea level in their comfortable home. They certainly would have been able to provide more love and attention than Celestia ever did due to the distractions of rule and politics. In a way it was good that Trixie had such a violent reaction to politics, although Prince Blueblood’s tail might argue the point. If her student had become distracted with the false faces of political intrigue, she might never have been able to accept the honest friendship of this small town, and if Luna had been freed, it would have only been at a terrible cost.

The twitch of dreams disturbed the small sleeping alicorn in front of her, shuddering once as her little hooves moved in the rhythm of running. It must have been pure torture for Zecora every time Twilight had gone out into the Everfree Forest to confront her pain. Those memories were too strong to endure all at once, and compared with her peaceful, loving family, they made such a stark contrast that it was no wonder she did not want to face them.

Trust in Harmony.

The words came out of a memory of her own, making Celestia abruptly aware of the way she was running one gentle hoof through Twilight’s tangled mane and wondering if the new alicorn would have been better off reborn without memory of her pain and previous life. Celestia had spoken the words so often to others, but for a moment it seemed as if somepony had whispered them into her ear for a change. Unanchored regrets were a quagmire of lost souls, sucking at the hooves and tugging one in the direction of only more darkness. Luna had been freed, Twilight Sparkle had been saved, and more impossibly, all of the ponies she had talked to this morning had positive things to say about Trixie. It was a time of celebration, a time of joy, a time for—

“Cake, Your Highness?”

Celestia shook off her musing to look into the happy grin of a pink pony carrying a piece of fluffy white cake. The plate was paper, the cake glistening with sugar and vanilla, and the pony could only be…

“Good morning, Pinkie Pie.” Taking the cake in her magic, Celestia nodded. “Thank you very much.”

“Thank you Princess! I had a double left hoof itch tail twitch this morning that said I was going to need extra, extra cake today, and I didn’t want you to miss out, since you said you’re headed to Fillydelphia and Baltimare for a few days.”

“Yes, they had a few appointments that I just had to be present for, but I’m sure Princess Luna will have everything in Canterlot under control when I get back.” Celestia took a bite of cake and luxuriated in the flavor. “Wedding cake?”

“Yep!”

There had been quite a number of town residents who had shown up this morning with cushions or blankets to spread out on the grass, and one large banner that announced a welcome to both Princess Celestia and Green Grass. Although she was expecting something along this line due to Zecora and Tallgrass’ request earlier, it made her uncomfortably aware of yesterday’s embarrassing events, and the green pony responsible for them. A great deal of thought went into her next question, as well as a few more bites of cake. “Who?”

“I’m not sure, but my hoof is still itching, so it must be pretty big. Or I stepped in something.” Pinkie Pie held a spotless hoof up and examined it in the morning sunshine.

The morning train from Canterlot pulled into the Ponyville station much the same as it always had, with a squeal of brake shoes and the puff of depleted steam trickling along the platform, but the usual tramp of exiting hooves did not resound through the station. Instead, there was a tense silence as dozens of nervous male faces took every single inch of window space to peer out at the sunlit platform, empty except for a few of the local young ponies…

And a smiling Princess Celestia, Diarch of Equestria.

If guilt were a tangible substance, a veritable tidal wave would have coursed out of the doors and windows of the train. Celestia’s sister had been saved from eternal darkness and insanity by the five innocent young mares (and Trixie) in this town, and now as each stallion thought about their own intentions towards one or more of those mares, they also considered just how the mighty Princess of the Sun might react to their romantic advances.

In unison, most of the stallions on board the train opened their wallets and looked for the conductor in order to buy tickets for a round trip back to Canterlot.

Almost all of them. There were three exceptions.

A warm hoof gently nudged the sleeping Monster, and as she yawned herself awake, she could feel the gentle magical touch of Princess Celestia arranging her red cloak over her little filly wings. Sweetie Belle and Oz had explained several concepts last night like ‘enhancing’ and ‘complementing’ that allowed ponies to change the way others saw them, and she still was working her mind around the idea. It seemed that adult unicorns looked at every part of each other, from the way their hooves were shined to their horn polish, just to get an idea of what kind of pony was underneath, and on the other hoof, the look-ees used a vast variety of chemicals and ‘things’ to either hide or enhance portions of their own selves. It did not explain the serpent, who spent a great amount of time on his elegant mane even though there were no other serpents in the area to impress, but it made her look at other ponies in a completely different way.

The image something projected was often not the real pony inside, and sometimes seemed to be a projection of a symbol, like Rarity’s store was a symbol of the dresses inside, or Sugarcube Corner’s outward appearance ‘advertised’ the contents inside. Trixie wore her hat and cape so that other ponies who saw her would automatically think of her as Great and Powerful, while Zecora wore her rings as a symbol of her status among zebras, and Celestia her gold thingies as a sign of her princessness. Even though the gold thingies were not the original thingies she wore before Nightmare Moon, they were displayed symbols of her authority, much as Rarity’s false eyelashes and Fluttershy’s tail extensions were hidden symbols of their attempts to attract a stallion.

It felt a little weird to look at the train and see that many eyes looking back, but all of them seemed to be looking a few feet over her head, which made the attention much more bearable. Once she had realized the red cape she had received from her friends was a ‘thing’ to hide her wings from silly adults who would stare at her as if they were symbols of her own princessness, the deception made a lot more sense. The cape was just a more-polite symbol than her cardboard box, used with the honest intention of diverting attention until someday in the future when she would be comfortable with it. When she first moved to Ponyville with mom, she thought that day would never arrive, but the friendly town had calmed her nerves and welcomed her and mom like they were… home.

“Good morning, Twilight,” said Princess Celestia from above her, making Monster twist to look straight up at the underside of her chin. “I thought I would stay just long enough for you to meet the instructor who will be giving you the school evaluation today. He’s a well-respected member of the educational community who several of your friends know already from his previous evaluation visits. There are a few little idiosyncrasies about him that may cause some issues, but on the whole, I consider him to be—”

Before the door to the passenger car had even rolled all the way open, a faded green pony leapt out of the opening. With a spring like a panicked gazelle, he dashed across the train platform in their direction, calling out, “Princess Celestia! Will you—”

There was a powerful surge of magic from Celestia, creating thick golden chains of magic that wrapped themselves around all four of the stallion’s green limbs and his body. With a crash of magically created steel, the round ball of chains surrounding him clattered into a massive jingling heap a few paces away. Undaunted and still wearing his odd hat, the stallion stuck his head out of his imprisoning chains with his mouth open to speak when Celestia added a golden zipper around his muzzle.

The spell seemed fascinating even though it was highly excessive in Monster’s opinion, at least inside the peaceful town, but perhaps this was the way princesses greeted over-enthusiastic ponies, and Monster remained very still to observe. The stallion’s eyes were white with fear, looking so much like a panicked herbivore trying to escape from a crocodile that Monster took a moment to look behind him, but only saw two other older unicorn stallions trotting in their direction with looks of mixed concern.

“Your Highness,” called out the less-aged of the two, dropping to one spotless white knee on the train platform and bowing with his raspberry-colored mane flopping forward, revealing a few thin spots that age or stress had caused. “I beg you, please do not take offense at my son’s actions. He is young and foolish, and under great pressure from his upcoming wedding tomorrow.”

“Really?” There was a humorous note to Celestia’s voice that made Monster’s ears perk up, and she watched as Princess Celestia turned to the chained stallion with a broad, warm smile. “I had no idea my sister had accepted your proposal, Lord Green Grass. Allow me to be the first to welcome you to our family.”

The chained stallion could barely move his head, but he looked between his father and Celestia several times in confusion before shaking his head.

Celestia asked, “You are the one who proposed to my sister a few days ago, correct?” At his rapid nod, she continued, “And you have heard of the story The Prince With The Wandering Eye, correct? I believe it was the basis for the Legend of the Headless Horsepony.”

This time there was a distinct pause before a much more subdued head nod that barely made his chains clink.

Celestia held a hoof to her face as she gasped, turning a slight shade of pink. “Lord Green Grass, you weren’t considering proposing to me before Luna had responded to your request, were you?”

The chained stallion lifted his head as if he were going to nod, but after a moment of looking at Celestia, gently wagged his head back and forth, looking much like he was considering just how much he liked his head and its current placement. With a faint poof, the zipper over his mouth vanished, giving him a chance to lick his dry lips while shifting uncomfortably in his ball of magical chains.

“Good morning, Princess Celestia?”

Celestia smiled back, as radiant and beatific as the dawn. “Good morning Lord Green Grass. Baron Chrysanthemum. Friday.”

Monster had not even seen the servant named Friday kneel at the side of the green pony in chains, but the elderly unicorn looked up with sparkling topaz eyes glittering in the sunlight. His sharp gaze only passed Celestia’s eyes once before focusing on Monster exclusively, with a smile that was just as warm and friendly as the Princess of the Sun but concealing just as much. There was a peculiar mottling to his mink-tan coat that looked somewhat similar to Pipsqueak, cut off by the sharp lines of a black suit tailored so tightly to his body as if to be a second skin, a considerable contrast to Green Grass’ lumpy vest or his father’s tie and collar combination that had no pockets at all. All of their clothes seemed to be symbols of some sort, but without context, all Monster could do was to sit and silently observe their actions.

The other little school unicorns in the area were keeping a respectful distance, partially from respect for Princess Celestia and partially due to her rough treatment of their teacher. As the servant returned to the train to retrieve their bags, Celestia made the magical chains around Green Grass vanish and took a step backwards.

“My apologies for not staying longer, Lord Green Grass, but I must be off to Baltimare in order to stay on my rather tight schedule. Before I go, allow me to introduce your new student, Twilight Sparkle. Twilight, this is Lord Green Grass. He will be doing the magical skills evaluation for you today.”

The skinny green stallion took an unencumbered step forward and extended a hoof in a considerably more cautious fashion than his previous dash forward. “I’m pleased to meet you, Twilight Sparkle.” While Monster stood there and sniffed his hoof, wondering just what she was supposed to do with it, he continued, “You have an interesting name, Twilight. As I recall, Night Light and Twilight Velvet have a daughter with the same name.”

Monster looked up with a sharp intake of breath and tried not to take a step backwards to the comforting presence of Celestia, managing to cringe only slightly away from his innocent gaze. “Dad. Mom.”

“Lord Green Grass, didn’t you read the student profiles I sent you?” asked Celestia from behind her.

The green pony did not look up at her words, but continued to look Monster straight in the eyes. He had very nice blue eyes, she determined, and a comforting smile that fit over his face like a well-worn mask. She screwed up her courage and stepped forward, placing a dusty hoof on his chest. A warmth from within him flowed out like a deep river, far different than any unicorn she had ever encountered, but there were snags and snarls blocking that flow that he had placed there himself. “Different,” she said, cocking her head to one side and studying his face. Deep lines under his eyes showed recent exposure to severe stress, and there were subtle indications that his heavy frame had once been considerably more chubby before some trauma had melted that fat away, and most of the muscle too. Still, powerful corded tendons below his loose skin trembled at her touch, and caused a haunted flicker of his eyes in his father’s direction.

One green hoof gently touched hers, pressing it away from him and back onto the ground. “No touching,” he admonished with a slow shake of his head. “It’s one of the rules.” Looking up at Celestia, he added in a rather short fashion, “I prefer to get to know my students personally rather than read what others think of them. Besides, this is the last student evaluation I’ll ever wind up doing. Starting tomorrow, I’ll be Lord Green Grass of Marshon with Lady Swamp Flower of Marshon, drinking tea and doing whatever proper unicorn nobility do all day.” He finished by swishing a hoof through the air in a manner that reminded Monster of Rarity.

“You still should not overlook your responsibilities,” said Celestia. “It is not every day a simple Youth Educational Specialist is selected to conduct an evaluation of magical progress—” her voice grew slightly colder “—by a Princess of Equestria.”

Green Grass rolled his eyes and shrugged, apparently oblivious to Celestia’s veiled threat. “So if I don’t get them all done by tonight, are you going to make me stay after school and miss the train home?”

“Yes.” Celestia’s voice was considerably warmer and the teacher stopped abruptly at her word, being very careful not to show his face to his father. Monster glanced between the two of them, trying to figure out just what was hiding behind their symbols when Baron Chrysanthemum stood up with his ears pinned almost flat against his skull and his lips drawn into a thin line.

“Princess Celestia! My son is getting married tomorrow.”

“He has an evaluation to complete. His responsibilities to me come first.”

“This is quite unfair, Your Highness. Do you know how long we have tried to get him properly wed?”

“Five years, three months, five days, two hours and seventeen minutes,” replied Celestia in a voice that could have frozen water. “Counting from the time I first heard you had attempted to marry him off to the Widow Daelia Daffodil.”

“Who’s that?” whispered Monster into Green Grass’ ear as Celestia and Baron Chrysanthemum discussed the upcoming wedding.

“A very old mare,” replied Green Grass, lowering his head to give a quiet whisper back. “She was older than my mother.” He looked around the open area next to the train station and asked in a lower voice as not to disturb the arguing elders, “So why are there so many ponies out this morning?”

Monster looked at the Ponyville residents arranged in loose array around the train station on cushions and blankets like there was some sort of show planned. “Don’t know. Yesterday there was a—”

The roar of fireworks erupting into the air yanked Celestia’s attention to the back of the train where a constant streaming burst of sparks and explosions were chain-firing into the morning sky. Despite the noise, she could have continued her conversation with Baron Chrysanthemum at the cost of his eardrums, but she was more worried about the way Twilight had fairly launched herself at Green Grass’ right front leg and was clamped onto it more solidly than the magical chains she had placed there earlier.

It was fascinating to see the way the rest of her little ponies instinctively reacted when startled. Baron Chrysanthemum had instantly jumped to place his body between his son and the commotion, Friday Haystings had lit his horn and was scanning the area for threats just as his training had taught him, and Green Grass…

The skinny green colt had immediately sat down to put one reassuring foreleg around Twilight’s back, patting gently while whispering something into her ear. Whatever it was made Twilight’s sides twitch in an involuntary giggle, and a small portion of that unreasoned panic that had spasmed through her young body at the first explosion drained away. She even smiled in the understated way that Celestia was still getting used to.

Celestia moved to the baron’s side, taking a few moments to just stand and enjoy the accidental display of pyrotechnics until the continuous roar died down to a few leftover pops. It was a motion of practiced theatre, drawing the attention of any of the train passengers away from the touching scene of awkward young teacher and frightened younger student, and allowing her time to think.

“Lord Green Grass,” she started once his father had turned and opened his mouth to continue his argument. “In order to save precious time from both of our schedules, I am giving you my full and complete authority over the educational evaluation today. You may have as long as you need to finish the evaluation to your satisfaction, regardless—” Celestia leaned on the word with substantial force as Baron Chrysanthemum reddened and opened his mouth again “—of any distractions.” She turned to face the young colt who still had Twilight clinging to his leg, although not with nearly the panic-stricken focus of before. “I would hope the evaluation can be completed in a timely manner, as not to disturb your upcoming nuptials, but if you deem it necessary, I will understand.”

“I… understand, Your Highness.” The colt seemed self conscious of his foreleg around Twilight, and pulled it back, making a fair attempt at a bow.

Celestia turned to Twilight with a quick wink. “Now, Twilight, I really should get going, unless you need me to stay.”

“N-no,” she stammered, trying so hard to smile that she hissed a little when she was talking. “I’ll be fine.”

“Very well, then.” Spreading her wings, Celestia ascended up into the morning sky in a playful half-roll, turning and heading towards Baltimare with long, slow wingstrokes. The ponies of the town fell away below her, from the residents packing up their chairs and cushions now that the show was over, to two adult unicorns in the middle of the smoking fireworks launch area lecturing two very small unicorns who were covered in soot. She continued to climb as the train pulled away from the station, leveling out for the long peaceful silence of her flight, without a single—

“Princess? You’ve got some mail. Did you want me to put it in the normal flight to Canterlot or do you want to pick it up now?”

Without breaking her stride, Celestia looked to her right where a grey pegasus in a postal carrier uniform was keeping pace with her, although not without some strain. She took the letters as the carrier pulled them out of her saddlebags, using her magic to tuck them away in her petryal for later. “Thank you, Miss…”

“Doo, Your Highnessness. I saw you with Twilight and Greenie so I dashed over to the office and checked the morning Canterlot run. Did you have any letters that need to go out? I’ve got some stamps if you need them.”

How the walleyed mailmare managed to fly straight with her head turned around and rooting around in her saddlebags was a mystery to Celestia, but the name triggered a memory from one of the previous Summer Sun Celebrations spent in Ponyville. “You have a daughter named Dinky Doo, as I recall. Is she going to be evaluated too?”

“Yeah! She’s really, really smart. She told me all kind of things about your student Trixie and Twilight and the other students last night. You’re really lucky to have somepony like her. There they are!” Ditzy pulled a roll of stamps out of her bag, looked at Celestia shaking her head, and stuffed them back in the bag unused. “Well, I better get back to my route. See you later, Princess!” The mailmare made a quick loop and flew back in the direction of Ponyville, calling over her shoulder as she faded into the distance. “Don’t worry about the test. Our daughters will do just fine.”

It took Celestia until she was just beginning to descend to Baltimare before it soaked in.

“Wait. Our daughters?”

This was only the third time the wisp had traveled across the frozen void between home and the small cold place filled with fragile life, and it considered the trip with worry as it flew. None of the other wisps had ever left their comfortable home to cross the empty void even once, and the urge would never even occur to them. Long ago, when the first cry of pain had caught the wisp by surprise on a particularly high flight, it had been curious, and reached to see what had called out. It did not expect to be captured, held in bonds stronger than the magnetic lines of force it danced across, and had been stunned to find its captor was another creature far different than itself. There had been so much pain in the times since then, but it had seen marvelous things beyond the experience of any of its kind. The other wisps were fascinated by the stories it shared of wild beasts, thinking cold creatures, and knowledge placed on material objects that would burst into flame at the slightest touch. It seemed strange beyond thought that something so fragile was used to tell the stories the strange creatures passed on from one to another, but it had watched the striped one read to Flower for hours from the flammable pages, and had been entranced by the events they told.

The cold place grew near, and the wisp slowed its flight in thought. The ‘buks’ were not the only thing that would burst into flames at its touch. Descending from the sky in its normal form would hurt the cold creatures, but it had seen other cold creatures who could fly, so it compressed its form, drawing away the heat of its home to form cold flesh and feathers as it fell through the air. There were so many choices to make in choosing the form of a cold creatures, but it picked one that had seemed like its own thoughts, compressing its blazing spark inside as protection from the frigid environment.

A second problem was not so easily solved. Tia.

It drifted down on the same path it had taken many cycles ago, looking at the cold stones and plants that made up the city stuck to the side of the mountain. There was something familiar over there, and it curved its wings to descend closer until it circled around the top of a large tower, seeming more bulky and thick than what it remembered. Flower had torn the stones of the tower apart in her pain, but these cold creatures had rebuilt it, thicker and stronger than before. The concept of building something was still new to the wisp, but to improve it afterwards was fascinating. It drifted across the city on the rise of warm evening air, turning in huge curves to take in the entire sight. The place was covered with the intelligent creatures, all communicating and respirating and even consuming subsistence, but none of them were Tia.

A golden tower adorned with symbols that were supposed to represent the sun attracted its flight, even though the carved symbols were as cold and lifeless as the rest of the stones. If Tia was in the city, she would be here, high above the cold creatures where the sun could properly caress her. The wisp in pony form glided lower, finally putting its ‘hooves’ on the ground as it approached the entrance to the golden tower.

And the wisp promptly fell on its face.

The two Royal Guards standing at the southern postern gate of the castle remained in their immobile stance, but talked out of the corners of their mouth to each other with the skill only seen in older guards or professional ventriloquists.

“Well, that’s something you don’t see every day.”

“What, Rainbow Dash doing a faceplant at the castle? According to the newspapers, she’s single, you know.”

The sky-blue pony in question struggled on the ground for a few moments, her legs and wings stuck out in different directions. Finally, with a look of extreme concentration, she placed her hooves down on the stone one at a time, rising up to a wobbly standing position to look at the closed gate into the castle and the two guards.

“I don’t think that’s Rainbow Dash, unless she somehow gained flaming eyes since the newspaper photo.”

“Really?” The second guard concentrated on his horn, blinking twice before taking a step to one side and opening the door with his magic. “Stand back, featherbrain. It’s a Category 17.”

“Oh, of course.” The first guard stepped back and watched the progress of the wobbling pegasus as she left a trail of molten hoofprints up the stairs and in through the door. Once the wave of baking heat had died down, the first guard reached inside his armor and brought out a small book, hoofing through it with a mumbled, “Seventeen, seventeen…”

“It’s after sixteen,” prompted his partner. “Did you happen to notice the Royal Accoutrements sitting on her, well, its back?”

“Naah, I was watching her wings. She’s got a really nice set of primaries. Wouldn’t mind preening those bad—” The guard’s hoof fell on the entry for Category 17 in the Abbreviated Equestrian Royal Guard Manual of Codes and Signals and traced down as he read. “Extradimensional or extraplanar elemental creature of infinite power in disguise. May be bearing gifts. Observe at distance and treat with respect. Huh. Do you have any idea what subcategory she is? Since you’re the senior guard, you get to fill out the paperwork.”

The second guard produced a whistle and blew a short series of tweets into it before turning back to his partner. “I think you misread that section. I’m responsible for making sure the paperwork is filled out. And I can delegate that responsibility.”

The tower brought another obstacle to the wisp in pony form that it had never encountered on its own, and it paused to examine the construction. Once it had formulated an approach, climbing the stairs took every single bit of its concentration, one wobbly hoof at a time, with a short pause in the middle of its climb to concentrate its fire even deeper into the cold creature it was partially transformed into so that it would not damage the cold stones of the structure any further. By the time it reached the top of the stairs, it was moving with the smooth gait of an experienced stair-climber, although it stopped once it reached a golden door set with the symbol it had begun to understand represented the sun.

Doors were tricky things. It took considerable pawing and biting at the doorknob to open the door without damage, but the room beyond was worth the effort. It was filled with things. Wonderful things.

The wisp in pony form hid its fire even deeper at the sight of so many ‘buks’ crammed together into disorganized rows, along with more mysterious objects that it had ever imagined existed in the entire cold world. It walked among them, peering and touching everything it could, lost in thought until it rounded a corner and heard an inquisitive noise from a beautiful bird with plumage that fairly blazed with the colors of the sun.

22. Evaluations, Stations, and Recommendations - Part Three

“Gonna murder those firework-spewing little pests. I don’t care if they catch me because no jury would ever convict me after blowing up half of Ponyville twice in just...” The rest of Trixie’s sleepy rant faded into a sour mumbling as she passed several happy members of the town headed the other way, laughing and chatting among themselves with cushions and blankets on their backs. As much as she tried to ignore the occasional wave and smile directed in her direction, there existed the distinct possibility that some of the townsponies actually liked her, in some weird and most probably temporary fashion. Through the clearing smoke from the exhausted fireworks display, she could see the small herd of small ponies gathering on the train station platform, all clustered around a pale green pony she recognized from college drama classes.

“Greenie, you little—” Trixie changed her next word as a dozen small trusting faces looked up at her “—troublemaker. I didn’t know they were going to send you to test this bunch, or I would have…”

She trailed off as she got a good look at him. It had been several years since she last saw the snarky little bookworm, but those years had not treated him very well at all. He had been fairly stocky in college, engaged in a constant battle between stress and beer that made his weight fluctuate wildly, but he had never looked as near starvation as he did now. Baron Chrysanthemum, who was some financial big-shot in Parliament, had the same solid frame but with probably more than twice the bulk, looking a little like he was lurking nearby in case a sudden gust of wind were to blow his son away.

“Trixie,” said the green pony with a subdued smile, the same practiced one he used in college when he was about to ask for the return of a favor. “Do you have things set up in the Town Hall like last year?”

“I wasn’t here last year, Greenie.” Trixie gestured to the Town Hall in the distance and the scaffolding surrounding it. “Besides, it had a little — accident. We had to move your tiny tot torture chamber somewhere else.”

“Oh.” Green Grass blinked a few times before nodding at his servant. “Well, Friday, I guess you should take the rest of the equipment to the library. It will be a little tight, but I think Miss Dewey will be accommodating to our…” He looked at Trixie with those adorable blue eyes again and frowned at the slow shaking of her head.

“Miss Dewey retired, the library’s full, and don’t you read the papers? Good grief, have you been hiding in some cave for the last few months?” The last thing Trixie expected was to see Greenie flinch in pain. In college, he had always been backstage at the various plays and musicals in some minor role, much as a linchpin on a wagon axle was a minor part of the structure, and she had taken great glee in her ability to make him sweat with unexpected demands or problems. She couldn’t help it; he was just so cute when he panicked.

The flicker of suppressed terror that she saw in his eyes this morning was not cute in the slightest, and she shifted conversational gears to smooth things along until she could get him alone and find out what had gotten his tail into such a knot.

“Relax, Green Bean. I got permission from a new business in town to set up in their unused space. They don’t have all their equipment assembled, and they’re out of town for a week on a buying run, so as long as you don’t burn anything down—”

There seemed to be some history between Trixie and the new teacher, and Monster stayed quiet while tagging along as they walked across town to the testing building. The rest of the students were happily chatting among themselves with stories about what had happened since last year while Chrysanthemum and Friday drifted to the back of the group for their own discussion in low tones that were impossible to hear. All four of them were hiding what they really thought behind their expressions, and it irritated her just as much as whatever secret mom and Tallgrass had been concealing for the last few days.

Secrets were just fine, as long as she could see what they were, and this felt a lot like that puzzle she had helped her friends put together that had a half-dozen pieces the wrong color in it and more than one piece that had been ‘encouraged’ into a spot by an impatient little hoof.

The inside of ‘Java le Choza’ had been divided into eight portions for the standardized test sections, and volunteers from the town had helped Trixie get it set up earlier, although there was a suspicious amount of pointing on Trixie’s part while the rest of the volunteers had been lifting, carrying and moving. The boxes that Friday and Green Grass carried into the building were promptly gathered up and distributed to their proper locations by the volunteers, all of whom spent a few extra moments with Green Grass, patting him on the back or asking how his time away from the town had gone. Monster even briefly appropriated one of the empty cardboard boxes, poking eye holes and a horn holder in it as a safe place to hide during the bustle and confusion of the setup, but was encouraged out of it shortly afterwards by the rest of the little students.

After the equipment was set up and everypony collected their folder of papers, each of the little unicorn (and changeling) students went to their own testing station, some by themselves, and some with an older pony to provide support. Monster stayed right next to Trixie’s shoulder through the first few tests where she lifted weights and moved a little stick through a maze without knocking tiny blocks called ‘dominos’ over, and huddled even closer in the test where she was supposed to make a light glow from her horn. The close attention of the earth pony monitoring the test made her nervous, which made her horn glow dim, which made her more nervous, until all she could do was make a light slightly brighter than a sick firefly. Still, the colorful earth pony gave her a delicious candy and patted her on the head, praising her efforts and telling her how Twist talked about her all the time at home.

“Twist is your little sister?” asked Monster partway through unwrapping the candy with her hooves.

“Yes, she is. And after what she told me about Trixie, I’m going to give her something too.”

The earth pony pushed a candy across the table at Trixie, who frowned at it and pushed it back. “No, Bon Bon. I’m trying to lose weight.”

Bon Bon pushed it back across the table. “It’s sugar-free.”

Trixie pushed it back. “I don’t like sugar-free candy.”

Bon Bon pushed it back again. “You’ll like this. Try it.”

Trixie reached out to push it back and choked as the candy flashed in a straight line into her mouth, boosted by a little purple magic.

“Twist makes good candy,” said Monster, concentrating to keep from lisping as she talked. It was strange, but the more time she spent with her friends, the more of their habits she was picking up. Maybe even someday she could ride on scoot’s wagon without screaming in panic.

“Why thank you, Twilight,” said Bon Bon with a warm smile. “Um… You’re a little different than my little sis described you, but I’m glad to finally meet you.” Monster could tell Bon Bon’s eyes were intentionally avoiding looking at her little filly wings, and she rustled them uncomfortably under her cloak.

“You know?” She extended the tip of one wing out from under the cloak and looked at the earth pony mare, ready to bolt back under her cardboard box at the first scream.

“Yes, we all do.” Bon Bon reached over and tucked the cloak back over her wings before giving her a reassuring pat. “You’re a good little pony on the inside, and that’s what counts.”

Monster opened her mouth to thank the teacher before heading to the next evaluation station, but what came out was a bellowed, “The Great and Powerful Trixie is choking to death!”

Trixie staggered back from the table, her horn still lit with the Ventriloquism spell and both forelegs grasping at her neck. She took two stuttering steps before a green blur smashed into her, knocking her to the ground and coming down on her slightly-distended tummy with a solid thump that drove all the air out of Trixie’s lungs and sent the dislodged candy rocketing across the room.

As Green Grass stumbled to his hooves, the whole room suddenly became very quiet and slightly darker. Silhouetted in the doorway to the store was a tall figure with wings outstretched and horned head held proudly up as she trotted almost silently inside. The stunned ponies remained quiet as Princess Luna looked around the room, seeming slightly more glossy and well-groomed than Monster thought was possible. There was a faint tinge to the air around Luna’s mane and face, a subtle wrongness that showed she was hiding something from Monster too, just like the rest of the adult ponies, and it dug at the back of her mind with tiny claws.

The floor of the coffee shop was cool on her back, making Trixie pause for a minute before any attempt to get back up. The whole town was obviously trying to kill her, from her first slip off the chariot at last years Summer Sun Celebration trip, to that memorable moment at the doorway of the Town Hall as Nightmare Moon blew her puppet-spell into plasma, and even smacking herself in the nose this morning when trying to open her sticky bedroom door and finding the latch was missing. Her nose throbbed, her throat hurt from that sickly-sweet candy, and her gut throbbed in four distinct places, one per green hoof that had landed on her like a falling anvil, but she kept her eyes closed rather than look at the panting green pony. After all, every bit of embarrassment she could eke out of him would be one that would not have the townsponies laughing at her situation. With a quick dramatic fling of her foreleg over her face, Trixie continued the Ventriloquist spell on Menace.

“Quick! Trixie isn’t breathing! Trixie needs mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Greenie, hurry!”

This time, a wave of titters and chuckles filled the air as Trixie could imagine Green Grass blushing a brilliant scarlet. She could hear the slow clop of approaching hoofsteps and the lights from above darkened as the pony stopped above her, leaning down. Trixie fought down a grin and puckered up instead, keeping her eyes closed while waiting for at least a quick kiss in exchange for her breathtaking (literally) performance. But instead of the expected kiss, a resonant voice entirely too near to her brought a panicked chill up her spine.

“Art thou attempting intimacy with one who hath declared his intentions upon my heart?”

The world seemed to be slipping inevitably out of Luna’s grasp, from the very first thing in the morning after Celestia had left the castle and quite firmly placed her in charge, to the mass of petitioners who had all but ignored her in Morning Court, giving their exclusive attention to the pretty pink alicorn princess who was sitting in for the Princess of the Sun for a few days. It was a sickening whirl of recollection to the times when their ponies ignored her beautiful night and heaped praise without end upon her sister for her blessed days. It had affected her mood to the point it became easy to identify the changelings within the castle due to the way they skittered away at her approach, even since they had decided to adopt their rather unique method of identification. To make matters worse, she had felt the touch of others upon her moon this morning, not just her sister. An irrational desire to travel to her blessed orb with a squirt bottle and some rags to clean the unwelcome sensation had been a constant companion in the back of her mind all morning, and had even given her the excuse to peek into one of the cleaning closets in the castle to determine just what would be needed for the project and how many tons.

She was not fleeing her problems by traveling to Ponyville. This was merely a supervisory trip to a familiar town in order to familiarize herself with differences in the evaluation process that young unicorns were subjected to in order to lay out a course of study that would properly challenge their new skills. The fact that it took her miles away from Canterlot was a fringe benefit, not the purpose of the trip.

Some small fraction of the stress she had carried for the last few days sloughed away as she descended through the scattered clouds in the direction of the unmistakable thaumaturgic signatures of a dozen or more young unicorns attempting to create new loopholes in the immutable laws of physics. Children had always soothed her soul with their wide-eyed appreciation of all things strange and wonderful, and the sight of a dozen or so of the little unicorns all concentrating on lifting objects or creating lights was a relief as she came through the door. There was even a small changeling child, concentrating so hard that his tail kept changing from the long silky form of a lion to the swept two-tone curl of a young pony as he held a few small ping-pong balls suspended in front of his face.

The sudden cry of alarm from her sister’s unruly student brought all attention to Trixie, even though the voice had come directly from Twilight Sparkle by way of a rather intriguing charm, but before Luna could react, a familiar green blur streaked across the room and rather violently slammed into Trixe. She winced as the older student bounced, and then winced again as the skinny green colt jumped on her chest with all four hooves, dislodging an object that flew around the room. It was a little bit of a shock to realize Trixie had actually been choking, as her first instinct was that the arrogant unicorn was just overacting in the hopes of getting attention, but when Trixie used her magic to project her voice from Twilight Sparkle again, Luna felt something deep inside twist in agony.

Discounting the thousand year gap, there had only ever been a few stallions and one mare who had ever declared their desire to be mated with her, personally, right in her face in public. There had been oblique requests, discrete inquiries, gentle prods during conversations, and even one Saddle Arabian Prince who had sent a thousand slaves⁽¹⁾ and tons of golden tribute in a request for her to become his third wife, but the number of ponies who could screw up the courage to say so directly was vanishingly small.

(1) The slaves were freed and given territory in Southern Equestria. They integrated with the inhabitants of the area to such a degree that the the only sign of their presence a dozen generations later was a preponderance of Miss Equestria candidates from the area, along with elevated levels of hummus consumption.

A curl of smoke drifted unnoticed from her nostrils as she stepped forward into the room, deliberately keeping her illusionary image across her form as she had recently grown accustomed. Even the slightest hair out of place seemed to drive the Canterlot royalty into a fit of nasty whispering, and her illusionary shell had probably saved more than one of their lives, but for now, she needed the cover in order to avoid frightening the children with the fury that roiled in her heart.

Strike her down. Take what is yours.

Luna was not quite certain just exactly what she said to Trixie, but the student opened her eyes with a jolt and managed the trick of crawling backwards while using only the muscles on her back. Before she could follow, the green colt slipped back in front of her with a broad grin and a few words for the onlookers that indicated a humorous side of the situation that she could not see at all.

She gradually quenched her anger while Green Grass and Trixie introduced her around the room with little Twilight Sparkle tagging along behind. All of the young ones including the little changeling shied away from her at first, but with encouragement from both of her escorts, they all managed to touch hooves and look her in the eye before scurrying off to their next assignment, one even returning briefly to state in a loud voice how much she liked her mane. The adults likewise were more circumspect about their suspicions of her, which was understandable considering the large holes in the town hall which had not yet been repaired, but they also were willing to face their fears and welcome her to the town despite any justified reservations.

Using the excuse of a private conversation with Green Grass and Trixie, she permitted herself to be guided to the unfinished ‘office’ and seated herself on a number of soft cushions which had been stored inside. The time they had spent among the children had been a powerful incentive to restrain her anger, and for a moment she considered if the green colt had planned it that way. It took very little effort to realize that both of them had contributed to a mutual effort to keep her from losing her temper in front of the town she had terrorized so much before, and the red glow of anger in her belly turned into a lump of ice that made her glad she was already sitting down.

“Shall I get you some refreshments before your meeting with Beatrix, Your Highness.” The green colt hesitated at the door, trying to put on an air of casual relaxation despite the tension that drew his scrawny muscles into taunt lines under his loose and considerably lumpy jacket. He obviously expected to be sent away, and she could see the trapped panic in his eyes as she pointed with one hoof at an unoccupied cushion and waited for him to get properly seated.

“We would like to apologize to you both. Our entry into your scholastic evaluation didst disrupt…” Luna paused, and continued a little slower. “We disrupted your evaluation, and would like to apologize for your inconvenience.”

While nodding back, Trixie took her first complete breath since Luna had walked in the door. She coughed briefly before responding in a slightly raspy voice, “That’s fine, Princess Luna. Greenie was probably looking for an excuse to miss the train back to Canterlot anyway so he can duck out on his wedding.” She gave the skinny colt a sharp elbow in the ribs and continued, oblivious to the way ‘Greenie’ had frozen up into a near rigid panic. “What is this, Tubby? Your third or fourth?”

“Fourth,” he squeaked, barely able to open his mouth.

She chuckled and reached up to bump Green Grass’ hat down almost over his eyes. “So is this one another old housemare needing a bit of pool candy or the laughing hyena again? I swear, I tried so hard to get invited to your receptions after I missed the first two just to see how you were going to pull your next vanishing act. I was considering stealing it and using it in my show.” Trixie turned from her playful teasing to look at Luna with a smirk. “What’s wrong, Princess. Didn’t he invite you to the wedding?”

“No.” Luna held her temper with great effort. “He proposed to me not one day ago, and I allowed him three weeks for my decision.”

Trixie jabbed another elbow into Green Grass’ side and chortled, “You proposed to the Princess? You’ve got ba—” She stopped mid-sentence and ever so slowly turned back towards Luna. “He did?”

“He did.”

“Well.” Trixie crept backwards towards the door while stammering, “I suppose I should leave you two lovebirds to discuss things among yourselves while I go see how the children are—” She stopped at Luna’s stern gesture and followed the Royal Hoof as it pointed back to the cushion she had just vacated. “Or I could just sit here while the two of you… talk.”

“We wish to hear your ‘side’ of our intended,” said Luna in a slow, deliberate fashion. “For the past day, none of the castle advisors would speak of him other than to state his name and family lineage, as if the lives of ponies long dead were an indication of his present temperament and suitability for my marriage bed.”

“Bed?” squeaked Green Grass, swaying back and forth slightly where he sat.

“Didst thou not offer thy name and thy honor to me, Lord Green Grass?” said Luna, fixing the pale green colt with a determined stare. “What didst thou think thy promise was? A jest, thrown to a disgraced mare who thou wouldst laugh at behind her back?”

“No! I mean…” He cringed beneath her gaze, but to his credit, he continued to look her in the eyes even as he remained frozen in fear.

“Honestly, Your Highness. I’d dump him if I were you.” Trixie rolled her eyes. “His parents keep setting him up with crazy mares in arranged marriages. He’s not really husband material now, and he wasn’t really husband material in college. He’s thin-skinned, annoying, snarky, and only really cares about teaching little unicorns. He’s even has it on his rump.” She gestured at Green Grass’ cutie mark, a stubby unicorn horn with a few weak sparks surrounding it.

“We see. Hath he any good qualities that you have perceived?”

“Well…” Trixie paused with a sideways glance at the trembling colt. “He was very reliable in college. If he volunteers to do a job, that job gets done, no matter what or who stands in his way. He’s a lot smarter than he looks despite all of his protestations to the contrary, because whenever I had to copy off his notes for a class, they were always perfect, even if he was failing the class. And he had a truly wicked sense of humor. In a good way, that is.” She turned to face the colt, who was looking more embarrassed than frightened now. “We never did find out who put the flea eggs in Prim Prussiance’s bed.”

Relaxing ever so slightly, Luna continued. “Has he any worthy talents?”

“In bed?” Trixie raised one eyebrow. “I never did… I mean he’s not my type.”

“Are you going to have sex with him?”

The quiet childish voice that spoke propelled Green Grass forward much as a frog who had sat on a hot ember. Luna caught him mid-leap in her magic and held the trembling colt above the ground as she regarded the small colorful alicorn that his abrupt leap had revealed, seated just behind a stunned Trixie.

“Good morn, Twilight Sparkle.” Luna rotated her captive to face the little student before continuing. “We thought you were still in the other room being evaluated with your friends.”

“I’m done.” The little alicorn blinked twice while looking up between her hovering teacher and Luna, adding, “So are you going to have sex with him?”

“Menace!” Finally recovered from shock, Trixie tried to hold a hoof over Twilight’s mouth. “I’m sorry, Your Highness.”

“Allow her to speak,” said Luna with a nod as she sat the suddenly nervous colt down beside Twilight. “To reject a question without knowing the whole of it is foolishness.”

“Well,” started Twilight with a distinct hunch to her shoulders as if she were wishing to hide under her cardboard box again. “If you are evaluating him for a mate, wouldn’t you want to know if he were able to have sex? Mom had sex with Tallgrass and now they’re acting like they’re mated.”

“Twilight Sparkle,” began Luna before considering her audience and changing her approach. “It is inappropriate for a Princess of Equestria to ‘sample’ one of the nobility. The rest of the nobles would be quick to cry favoritism, and the alternative is… highly inappropriate for the modern era. Roam is ancient history now.”

“Oh.” Those soft violet eyes blinked twice, a sign that Luna was beginning to realize constituted dangerous levels of mental activity. “He could have sex with Trixie, and she could evaluate his performance for you.”

“Menace!” Trixie spluttered in indignation. “How can you… What makes you think… Why in the heavens would…”

The little alicorn was gathering steam as she talked, waving off Trixie’s objections as inconsequential to implementing a good idea. “Well, she’s helping evaluate all of the students skills. Wouldn’t she be able to evaluate how well he has sex? Since you were on the moon for so long, maybe the grading scale has changed.”

The rest of the little unicorn (and one changeling) students had gathered into a small group, chattering among themselves as the teachers and volunteers folded up chairs and put testing tools back into boxes. When Monster came trudging into their vicinity, she was greeted with happy smiles and a ebullient outburst from Firelock asking, “Did you see me set the apple on fire!?”

“No. Was with Luna. They didn’t like my questions.” Monster accepted the glass of punch offered and took a drink, looking suspiciously around the room as Pinkie Pie bounced in high arcs around the outside, leaving heart-shaped decorations and streamers attached to the wall in her wake. “Party?”

“Yep!” said Sweetie Belle. “Your mom and Tallgrass are going to make an announcement.”

Far away in Canterlot, the private study of the Luna and Celestia remained almost perfectly silent while the phoenix and the creature who looked like Rainbow Dash stared at each other. As confrontations went, it was not very stressful. Philomena cocked her head sideways while watching the multicolored pegasus, apparently puzzled at the degree of attention she was getting in return.

The wisp could not believe what it saw through the eyes of the pony. There was fire here, a blaze of power and light that could come close to matching its own, wrapped in beautiful feathers of shimmering red and glittering gold. It had watched through Flower’s eyes for years as she had wandered the green cold place with the danger, and had only caught a glimpse of a creature like this once at an extreme distance. Flower had hid from it, of course, and the creature had not pursued. But there was something more to this creature that made the wisp remain frozen in fascination while a cascade of thoughts poured through its thinking.

The eyes.

The bird-thing had the most beautiful eyes, filled to the very brim with life and curiosity. They reminded it of Flower for some reason, on the rare occasion she had looked into a frigid pool of deadly water to see herself without turning away and running. The words on a nearby sign swam into focus as it continued to watch the bird, bringing meaning to the ‘name’ of the creature. The wisp was still not quite clear on names despite having years of experience with Flower, or Monster, or even that brief moment of extreme pain when she called herself Twilight. Apparently the creature was much the same, either bearing the name ‘Philomena’ or ‘Phoenix’ or even ‘Careful, She Bites.’

It wanted to communicate with the Philomena, but the cold things seemed to converse best with creatures of similar types, and the wisp considered the body of cold flesh it had drawn about itself with minor concern. It had already spent a great deal of its internal fire to make one envelope of cold flesh, but this was a wonderful opportunity it had not considered earlier. It placed the six metal objects onto the ground next to the rest of the marvelous things and focused its power on another transformation.

A few minutes later, the gate guards and two unicorn bureaucrats dove for cover in a flurry of uncompleted paperwork as a pair of phoenix swept grandly out the door. To the guard’s brief observation⁽¹⁾, the birds were happily chirping and squawking at each other as they flew, and the sound of rustling paper quickly sounded as the guards frantically flipped through the Abbreviated Equestrian Royal Guard Manual of Codes and Signals in search for a code that described what they had just seen⁽²⁾.

(1) As reported on copies of Form EEECIPD 176.75 sub P (Extradimensional or extraplanar elemental creature of infinite power in disguise, revision 75, Subcategory Polymorphic) indicating that Philomena did not appear to be under any undue mental influence in their brief observation, and that they had issued orders to the rest of the Royal Guard to be on Double High Prank Alert due to the male phoenix that they had observed with her.

(2) Code 104/M — Princess Celestia’s pet has a date.

23. Evaluations, Stations, and Recommendations - Part Four

Trixie slipped out of the coffee shop office door with a subdued smirk and a quiet chuckle that she managed to keep totally suppressed until the door was shut and she was standing by the packed-up educational testing materials. It took a few minutes of snickering into one hoof to recover her composure and realize that the room was decidedly empty, with no signs of the adult volunteers other than the packed boxes, and no sign of the little students other than a lot of serious whispering from the second floor seating area.

Trotting upstairs past all of the black-and-white hearts and floral decorations that seemed to have taken over the coffee shop, she wedged herself into the group of little unicorn students who were looking out into the plaza with their faces stuck out of the open window.

“Hey. Menace. Scoot over.” It took considerable wedging before Trixie managed to get squeezed in between Monster and Oz so she could look out the window at the stage in the distance and listen to Mayor Mare’s voice waft over the crowd. “What’s up?”

“Mom and Tallgrass are getting married tonight.”

While the rest of the students babbled about the outdoor reception that was going on after the announcement and who they wanted to dance with that evening when the party got into full swing, Trixie considered all of the nervous ‘tells’ that the little alicorn was trying so badly to hide. From the hints of both sadness and joy in the tone of Monster’s voice, to the peculiar hunch of her shoulders, it was obvious that she wanted to be out with her adoptive mother and really weird father figure even while the idea scared the horseshoes off her.

Trixie tilted her hat forward to shade out the noon sun while she squinted at the ponies on the stage, taking in the obvious signs from Zecora that a city-wide celebration was not quite what she had in mind when she had most probably asked the beaming Mayor Mare at her side about a wedding license. There was something insane in the town that could turn even a simple checkers game into a full parade with marching band and giant cake, and that insanity just happened to be pink.

The town residents even said that Pinkie Pie would party at the drop of a hat, and although Trixie had a hat, she had never held it out and dropped it just to test the theory.

There was a certain envy that dug at her soul to see a stage without a certain Great and Powerful presence, but she was trying to change, and charging out to grab the microphone away from the mayor was not part of that change. After fighting down a sharp criticism of the placement of the ponies on stage, she continued.

“You’re part of her family too, Menace. Shouldn’t you be out—”

It took a bit to recognize the little unicorn filly with a red cape standing next to the two black and white striped ponies, but even from a distance, Trixie could tell her colors were off, and the little ‘unicorn’ was obviously enjoying herself too much in front of the attentive crowd. After all, if Twilight Sparkle were really standing on the stage… Trixie swallowed once and cursed her overactive imagination, trying to get the image of the prospective Ponyville Crater out of her mind before continuing.

“I asked Peep Sprout.” Monster reached out with one rear hoof and touched the cardboard box behind her as if it were a turtle shell awaiting the rapid retreat of its naked occupant. A familiar tattered and patched doll was already draped across her small shoulders over the cape, and the rest of her friends seemed to be keeping close, just in case she needed anything. It brought another tinge of jealousy to the surface of Trixie’s mind, which she crushed relentlessly even as a warm spike of some misplaced happiness struck through her heart when the little alicorn leaned into Trixie’s side to stroke the back of her head against the taller pony’s neck for reassurance.

Swallowing dryly, Trixie cleared her throat and asked, “So, did your parents fill out their paperwork for the wedding license yet?”

“There’s a test for that?” Monster looked up at Trixie with a dangerous inquisitive sparkle growing behind those large, dark eyes, probably as an escape from her present stressful situation.

“Oh, yes.” Trixie nodded, slipping into her routine. “Equestria fairly runs on the smooth flow of paperwork, with forms for each and every possible governmental activity. Why, I’ll bet the mayor got so caught up in the party that she hasn’t even gotten around to starting the process for your parents’ marriage license. Fortunately, I just happen to be an expert in the field of forms, and have a little time free this afternoon since Greenie is tied up.”

“Princess Luna tied Green Grass up?” asked Sweetie Belle. “Neat. Twilight was telling us about them.”

“Um…” started Trixie, jolted out of her patter by the unexpected comment.

“I didn’t say anything about sex,” said Monster with a slow nod.

“Right!” said Trixie in a frantic grab for the thread of the conversation. “There’s nothing going on in the office between Greenie and Princess Luna now other than some preening. Wait a second!” Trixie’s pink magic caught Featherweight by the tail as he tried to swoop down the stairs and dragged him back to the group. “It’s a private preening. No onlookers permitted. Or photography. Particularly no photography.”

“˙ʇɐɥʇ ʇnoqɐ ʎɹɹos 'sdoO” Even upside-down in front of Trixie, the little colt still had an uncanny ability to use his big brown eyes to deadly advantage, and she scrambled for some other activity to keep the eager little hooves out of trouble other than paperwork.

“Coffee!” she exclaimed. “Yes, of course. While Menace and I go over to the mayor’s office and find the correct forms for — um — two non-natives of Equestria with a dependent who reside inside a huge tree technically just inside the Everfree Forest and… Where was I?”

“Coffee,” prompted Oz.

“Oh, yes,” said Trixie. “Since this is a coffee shop, why don’t the rest of you go downstairs and brew up some coffeenotSweetieBellecomebackhere!”

Dropping Featherweight, Trixie managed to grab Sweetie Belle by the tail just as she dove down the staircase, dragging her back and placing her rather firmly by the older and probably safer Oz. “I promised Zipporwhill’s father, whatshisname, that we would not be setting his new business on fire before he’s had his first customer. No fire.” She turned to Firelock. “No fire. Let me hear you say it.”

“No (mumblesmerglfemph).”

“Good enough.”

The mayor’s assistant was more than happy to show them around the temporary office and provide forms for their project, with fascinating titles like ‘Declaration of Residency’ and ‘Certification of Birth (Alternate)’ that Trixie passed back to Monster as she received them. The process was like a huge puzzle with words and arcane rules where one form required two other forms which referenced a fourth form that could not be completed without a completely different form having been filed first. There were even forms that substituted for forms that had gone out of print, and forms that showed that other forms were not needed. Apparently there was only one form that had been needed to be submitted to replace all of the forms that had burned during Nightmare Moon’s attack, and that form had brought huge stacks of other forms of every type and kind that the little town could possibly need for the next century, or until the next disaster burned down the reconstructed Town Hall, whichever came first.

Once they had the wedding license forms all filled out, they would be copied and ‘filed’ for others to read later, a process that Monster found nearly as fascinating as books. Memories of everypony’s lives back to the founding of Ponyville could be accessed by just opening a folder, well, that is once the duplicate copies of the Ponyville archives arrived back from the centralized Canterlot archives. The assistant said there were caves in the archives that had been filled to the top with carefully preserved and organized forms just like this back to the first Union of the Three. He said those oldest forms were chiseled onto slabs of stone instead of paper, but he laughed in a rather peculiar way when she asked how the Copy spell could work on them if they were inscribed on stone.

Monster liked the Copy spell that Trixie had taught to her, even though she had issues with her copies being wobbly and smeared a little, but she actually could use the spell a little better than Trixie, whose copies tended to trail off in little faded patches when her concentration wavered from lack of coffee. The assistant even included some extra forms called ‘Governmental Crossword Puzzles and Word Searches’ for the rest of her friends, and Monster knew she could make copies that they would be happy to fill in, even if they did go outside the lines sometimes. Well, all of the times. And Scootaloo would call it homework, like that was a bad thing.

Despite the heavy load of papers as armor across her back while they returned to the coffee shop, she could feel the weight of the world pressing in on her again. It was difficult to imagine going back to that time of constant fear and pain before she had friends, even though some of the memories from that time were etched in her mind with such crystal clarity that the smallest word or object would cause them to crash back over whatever she was doing at the moment. Trixie was such a good big sister with the way she cared from the bottom of her heart despite her protestations, in a different but similar way than mom and Tallgrass, and different than her friends. Sometimes she just wanted to gather them all together and hide in the middle like a queen bee in her swarm, but that idea always reminded her of the dying changeling queen who had driven her hive to destruction at Monster’s rage.

If a true princess has no fear, then I should not feel anger or pain either.

Fear’s touch was a part of her, much like the rage and pain that had filled her life before. It had all been turned to smoke and air by the Element of Magic, but it still lurked out of the corner of her eyes when she least expected it and ran sharp talons through her heart at the most inconvenient times. As long as she kept herself filled with the happy thoughts from her friends, there would not be space for the monster she once was to return, much the same way Tallgrass had told her of the love that filled all of the changelings now. They worried too that someday that love would fade and they would return to their aggressive ways like a repaired vase falling off a shelf again. She could feel her own metaphorical cracks shift as they walked, blinking in the bright sunshine as a thought exploded into her mind.

Yes, that would work. It was perfect. Nothing could possibly go wrong.

Monster poked her nose into the kitchen of the coffee shop and looked down at a huge collection of pipes, tubes, cans, corners, flanges, and all sorts of other metallic gadgets that looked more like the back of scoot’s workroom than a place that made coffee. Opened boxes lay scattered around with little unicorn students rummaging through them, and a rather frustrated Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were holding a set of instructions up and squinting as if that would force the little words to make more sense. Wheat Shock occupied a central position in the room and had taken charge by sorting through shiny pipes of all different sizes with ‘valves’ and ‘gauges’ carefully arranged by length and diameter while Oz was opening boxes and bags.

“Hey Wheatie, what does raw coffee look like? This stuff smells like it, but theres no instructions.”

“This would go a lot faster with Sweetie Belle,” complained Scootaloo, turning a page of the coffee maker instructions upside-down and frowning. “She can read all this fancy writing.”

“It’s not Fancy. It’s Cavellian,” said Firelock, pointing at the instructions with one hoof. “There’s the word for boiling, and for steam, and for danger⁽¹⁾. There’s a bunch of those.”

(1) Firelock knew every fire-related word in over ten languages. Eleven if you counted the seapony word for fire, which translated out as ‘warm water.’

“Awesome,” said Oz. “I never thought coffee could explode.” She scooped up a clump of little brown beans in her magic and took one out to nibble on it. “Yuck. How do adults drink this stuff? Twilight, you were drinking coffee this morning out on the train platform. How did you get it?”

“Um.” Monster shuffled into the room and looked at the parts of the disassembled coffee machine peeking out of dozens of boxes and scattered around Wheat Shock up to his shins. “Trixie has a machine. It’s little.”

“Well, that will work in the short term,” said Wheat Shock, sorting through a box of angular flanges of some sort. “The older ponies were going to use the coffee shop as an indoor resting area during the wedding dance, and we can use that little machine to make coffee for them until we get this one set up. Um…”

“Tootsie Flute, Snips and Snails,” prompted Oz.

“Yeah. Can you three go over to the library and bring back that coffee machine with Spike?” Wheat Shock looked at the pile of parts that took up most of the floor space in the kitchen. “This could take a while, and we’re going to need all the help we can get.”

Both Zecora and Tallgrass stiffened briefly while shaking hooves in the crowd of ponies which had formed around the stage. In an almost synchronized fashion, they each put one forehoof against the ground and twisted slightly, casting identical looks of confusion back through the crowd where a cardboard box appeared to be making its way through the ponies with frequent bumps and muffled exclamations of, “Excuse me? I’m sorry.”

In rather quick order, the box worked its way up to ‘Flower’ before rising up and engulfing the little pony. The box sat quietly by their side, being watched by zebra and ponies alike, until it bumped up in the air again and disgorged a much messier and rumpled little alicorn filly, who took a moment to tuck her wings under her cape before leaning up against Zecora’s side with a muffled, “Sorry, mom.”

“My Flower who I love without any doubt, can you tell me why you went from within to without?” Zecora leaned down to look her ‘Flower’ in the eye with a concerned frown that gradually turned into a smile as the changeling-guided cardboard box bumped and thumped its way back out into the crowd.

“Family,” she whispered. “I should be here.” The little alicorn looked out into the happy crowd of ponies and shuddered, although she did not look away, and actually held her head up and waved back as some of the adults waved to her. “Big party.”

Zecora nodded and moved closer. “Yes, my Flower, that is true. I’m sorry that it disturbs you. We only planned for a small celebration, with a few of our friends and some light libations, but the town is quite determined a party to throw, so Pinkie Pie is here and away we did go.”

“Your mother…” Tallgrass stopped and looked embarrassed. “I mean your adoptive mother.” He stopped again as Monster reached up and put a hoof gently on his chest.

“In here.” Monster turned her hoof and placed it against her own chest. “And in here. Space for two moms.” She squinted a little while looking into the changeling’s blue eyes. “Not sure about dads.”

“That makes two of us,” said Tallgrass, tucking one of her rumpled curls back with one hoof. “But it’s still a few hours until sunset, and—” he hesitated for just a beat and smiled “—your mom says the stars will be aligned perfectly for our wedding then. Are you sure you don’t want to go someplace calmer until then?”

“Not afraid. Not tonight. Want to be with my family.”

Zecora blinked back a tear and bent down to look her adoptive daughter in the eyes. “I’m so proud of you, Flower, as if you were my own child, for my heart nearly broke when I found you in the wild. While your body has been healed and your days greatly changed, I’m so glad you are here while our lives rearrange.”

Trixie and Monster had gotten all of the paperwork spread out over a large table by the window, sorting the forms by type and color while Trixie flattened her ears against her head every time the sound of thumping and hammering came out of the kitchen. There was obviously coffee involved in the noise, as Scootaloo, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were gliding around the main floor of the shop on roller skates, each of them with a carafe of coffee in their mouth to refill the cups of the gossiping old ponies sitting around the shop. Whenever they would run out of coffee, they each would check their rump for a ‘Barrister Cutie Mark’ before sighing in frustration and skating back to the kitchen to refill.

Trixie had just scooted her chair back to stretch a kink out of her neck when the front door of the shop slammed open and a very disheveled Baron Chrysanthemum stomped inside. His mane and coat was rumpled and sticky with foamy perspiration, and he glared at Trixie in a way that made Monster slip under the table in pursuit of a wayward dropped form.

“Where’s my son?” The baron kept his eyes on Trixie as he strode up the stairs, his lips drawn back in a thin line and a certain unhealthy color to his face that indicated a sedentary pony who had just done a considerable amount of manual labor.

Trixie looked back with her face as calm and tranquil as her teacher, giving a cordial nod to the sweaty baron and saying in her best Canterlot voice, “Good afternoon, Baron Chrysanthemum. What a pleasure to see you here. Are you staying for the wedding?”

The baron jerked his head to look out the window with a short gasp, a little fleck of foamy sweat dripping off his chin at the abrupt move. “No. Greenie didn’t.”

“Actually, no, he didn’t. Menace’s adoptive parents are getting married this evening. Say hello to Greenie’s father, Twilight.”

“Hello,” said a very quiet voice from under the table. “We’ve met.”

“If you would care for a cup of coffee,” continued Trixie, maintaining her calm tone with obvious effort, “you may take a seat and help us with their paperwork until your son is done with his meeting.”

“What meeting?” The baron stopped at the edge of the table, his ragged breath moving little pieces of paper as he glared at Trixie. He didn’t see her move a hoof under the table and place it over Monster’s mouth, but he did catch the glitter of amusement in her eyes as she glanced over at the closed office door. Moving with exceptional speed for a middle-aged stallion, the baron darted down the stairs and over to the closed office door before yanking it wide open.

And froze.

His mouth remained open as if to shout, but there was a certain abrupt paleness that appeared across his face and made his white coat seem even whiter. After waiting for a sufficient amount of time for the sight to impress itself on the older unicorn stallion’s permanent memory, Trixie reached out with her magic and quietly closed the door.

He stumbled back up the stairs and over to the table, taking the coffee cup that Trixie pressed on him without looking at it and draining it dry. “Was that Princess Luna?” he wheezed when done.

“Yes. More coffee, Baron?” At his rapid nod, Trixie poured another cup for him and added a more generous helping of bourbon than the first one.

“Was he… preening her?” Baron Chrysanthemum tossed back the second cup of coffee and held out the empty cup as Trixie poured.

“When last I checked.” This time when the cup was refilled, the baron remained standing by the table, holding the cup with only a faint trembling showing on its ebon surface. Monster reached out with her magic and picked up the pot, bringing it back and filling up her own cup. But without the bourbon.

There was something about her sister that made Monster think even harder about what just happened. Trixie did enjoy ‘tweaking’ other ponies (which was far different than ‘twerking’ as she had explained), targeting mostly ponies who considered themselves to be superior to everypony else, but there was a defensive quality to her actions today that did not quite match the way she defended Monster. It was almost as if she liked the strange skinny unicorn magic teacher, and thinking back to the way they had walked together on the way over to the coffee shop, maybe they had sex back when they were in college and were still attracted to each other.

No. That did not explain her flustered response to Monster’s perfectly logical suggestion, which meant that maybe they had been attracted to each other in college and had not had sex. No, then they would have wanted to have sex now, only Princess Luna had ‘dibs’ on him today until his wedding tomorrow to another pony, with whom he probably was going to have sex until they had foals.

Monster shook her head and took a drink of coffee, very glad for the time being that the Element of Magic had transformed her into a young alicorn instead of an older one. Being old and having sex was too complicated.

All three of them looked up as the door clicked quietly and Green Grass slipped out of the office. Trixie recovered first, with a cheerful, “All done with preening Her Highness, Greenie?”

“Yes. She fell asleep on me.” Green Grass scowled as he walked up the stairs and deliberately around his father, pulling a box of student folders over to the table and slumping down in a seat next to where Trixie was working on the wedding forms. “Coffee, please.”

The baron sat back and watched Trixie while taking several short breaths to compose himself. His eyes narrowed as he looked back and forth between the suspiciously controlled student pouring coffee and the quiet teacher working his way down a page with a red pencil until inspiration seemed to strike, and he leaned forward towards his son with a low hiss.

“I don’t know what hare-brained scheme you’re cooking up to get out of this wedding, young colt, but if you plan on dragging—” Baron Chrysanthemum lowered his voice and glanced back over his shoulder to make sure the office door was closed “—Princess Luna into it, I would advise you to think again. Your escape hatch is gone now. Friday and I have moved your Tartarus cursed heavy wagon out from where you hid it and over to the library. We chained it down, and he’s waiting over at the train station now just in case you try to catch an early train somewhere other than Canterlot.”

“Wagon?” asked Monster, poking just her eyebrows and horn above the table edge.

While Green Grass ignored his father and remained silently scribbling away with his pencil on the student evaluations, Trixie leaned down and whispered in a voice that could be plainly heard at the other end of the room, “Greenie always was a bookey nerd. We used to kid him about pulling a little red wagon full of books around college.”

“It is not a little red wagon,” said Green Grass, spitting the red pencil out of his mouth before talking. “It’s my home when I’m out teaching. It has a sleeping area, and every book that I thought I would need for finishing my master’s thesis. And it’s blue.”

“Oh, my stars!” said Trixie, turning with a gasp. “You actually did it? That’s a new level of nerdity even for you. Does it have a cosy little study area in it so you can invite sweet young things in for a night of ‘tutoring’ and other activ—”

She stopped at a pained wince from Green Grass as he picked his red pencil back up and started working on the student paper again. “I teach foals, Trixie. Little bitty unicorns her age—” he jabbed a hoof at Monster, who ducked back under the table “—who most certainly do not go anywhere alone with an older male teacher, particularly one of my kind.” The tip of the red pencil snapped off as he jabbed it at the paper, and he paused for a moment before spitting the pencil stub out and picking another one out of the box, returning to his grading as if nothing were out of the ordinary.

His father did not seem to be satisfied with his response, and snapped, “Stay out of this, Beatrix. This is a family matter. If Princess Celestia had not ordered my son to this town, he would be safe in Canterlot instead of traipsing around the countryside where anything could happen to him.”

Trixie waved a hoof. “Oh, pul-lease. This is dull old Ponyville. Nothing ever happens here.”

“Nightmare Moon,” whispered Monster from under the table.

“Other than that,” said Trixie.

“Don’t give me that, Lulamoon. The Everfree Forest is just outside the city limits, and there are terrible monsters in there with no respect for the borders. How Ponyville has survived this long without everypony being eaten is a mystery to me. I’m going to sit right here with my son until he finishes his work, and then I’m going to drag him back to Canterlot, in chains if I have to, so that he can be properly protected and taken care of for the rest of his life. Canterlot is safe!” A faint twitch appeared on his bottom lip and he took a deep breath. “All I want is for him to be safe.”

“I’m sorry,” whispered Monster from under the table,

“Look. Baron Chrysanthemum.” Trixie seemed to try wiping the false grin off her face but only managed to smear it a little into a smirk. “It looks like you’ve had a hard day, and all you’re doing here is annoying your son and frightening Menace. Just a minute.”

She flagged down Scootaloo as she roller-skated past with an empty pot of coffee perched precariously on top of her head. “Can you have Spike escort Baron Chrysanthemum over to the library so he can get showered and cleaned up a little? I promise I’ll keep an eye on Greenie and not let him escape matrimony. Again. He’ll be right here waiting for you when you get back.”

The corridors and rooms of the huge cold castle were like a maze to the wisp as it soared and glided along behind Philomena, ducking through doorways and through open windows like it was her own personal play area. Some of the things that Philomena thought were ‘funny’ did not seem very humorous. In fact, they seemed painful or embarrassing to the target, even though the ponies who were targeted would laugh just as loud as his new friend. ‘feather’ had been much nicer than Philomena, only with the ability with his flashing box to capture the moment of embarrassment for others who might not have seen the event where a little pony fell into a mud puddle or caught a face full of pollen.

Still, there had to be something more ‘fun’ about the activity that the wisp was seeing. It was nice to have somephoenix to play with, and Philomena seemed to be having the time of her life, the ‘guards’ in their cold metal shells seemed to enjoy the attention, and the little unicorns running around the corridors laughed while chasing them, shouting something about “Philomena has a coltfriend!”

The little unicorns loved Philomena, competing with each other to run their hooves gently along her beautiful plumes. Several of them even sported small red feathers tucked behind ears or by horns, and those seemed to gather Philomena’s attention the most. It seemed that she had given them ‘gifts’ of her own body in appreciation for their attention, and as the wisp followed the small herd of ponies into a small room, it considered the idea. After all, she had few objects other than her own feathers to give away to friends, and the small cold creatures seemed to rejoice in decorative ‘stuff’ nearly as much as small consumables or even the ‘buks’ that they all carried.

The wisp watched Philomena slip up behind the adult pony at the front of the room and find a good place from which to duplicate the motions and facial expressions of the ‘teacher’ as he scratched symbols on the wall and gestured, each motion duplicated in an extravagant fashion by the phoenix. All of the little unicorns seemed to think her motions were very funny, and their fires burned brighter inside as they snickered and chuckled. When the teacher caught on to the prank, he was not angry, but laughed just as loudly as the students. He invited Philomena to sit on the desk while he pointed to various portions of her body and talked, drawing the occasional image on the wall at the front of the room as an illustration.

The wisp moved from little student to student, looking at them as they looked back, each just as fascinated as the other. One smaller student in particular drew its attention, due to the intensity of her fire and the coloration of her hairs. The wisp had seen winter snow before, as well as the shining whiteness of Tia, but there was an icy sheen of blue to the edges and top of the pony that made the white seem like frost formed in the coldest of winters, and the blue of her eyes was somehow the color of pure ice while still being as warm as the wisp’s solar home.

She even had her name inscribed on the ‘buk’ that was laying off to one side, making the wisp consider the brilliant roar of her internal fire and the contrast it made with her name.

24. Evaluations, Stations, and Recommendations - Part Five

Author’s note: There has been a bit of confusion as to what is going on in the story, and since the chapters come out so infrequently, I wanted to reduce the confusion by offering a quick summary. There are three primary locations for the action in the next two chapters: The Wedding, The Coffee Shop Table, and The Kitchen of same. Each of these locations contains one small but very powerful alicorn named Monster. All three scenes are taking place at the same time. This is not a typo, or a logical oversight by the author, or even the fault of Changelings. It is, however, very difficult to understand with a few weeks between updates, hence, the note. If you really want to know what is going on before hitting the end of the chapter after this, I am including a spoiler below:

Monster has split herself into three parts. This is not healthy for her. She has not thought this action through.

Thank you. We now rejoin our program, already in progress...

Inside the bustling coffee shop where quite a few of the elderly ponies had retreated to be away from the sun, three relatively younger ponies scratched away on their respective paperwork. The evening sun shone in the open window, bringing with it the happy sounds of a village preparing for a wedding outside, as well as a number of birds warming up for the music that would accompany the celebration. Inside the shop, it was relatively silent except for the scratching of three quills until Green Grass held up an evaluation and announced, “Twilight’s birth date is wrong.”

“Do I lose points?” asked Monster, slumping down to just barely above the table.

“No. You just wrote down that you’re a month younger than Trixie. Fix it and check the rest of your information while I work on somepony else’s test.” Green Grass hoofed the form over to her while digging out another student evaluation, which he hummed softly while working his way along.

Eventually Trixie said, “What’s so bad about your bride this time?” At Green Grass’ silence, she added, “You’re humming a funeral dirge.”

His humming abruptly cut off. “She’s a wonderful mare,” he said after a moment.

“Sure she is,” said Trixie. “So wonderful that you proposed to Princess Luna.”

“And what is wrong with that?” asked Green Grass, bending over his paper with intent concentration. “It’s an arranged marriage. If I happen to marry a more-qualified mare first, my mother and father will just have to deal with it.”

“Horseapples. You proposed to her so your blushing bride would think you’re crazy and call off the wedding.” The tip of one ear flicked as if he had been bitten by an insect, but other than that, Green Grass gave no signal that he had even heard Trixie. “You didn’t expect her to take you seriously, did you?”

This time both ears laid down flat and Green Grass bent over his student evaluation with a vengeance. Trixie grinned and leaned closer, putting her mouth right up to his ear and lifting it up with her magic before whispering, “Prince Consort Green Grass.”

“Ewww!!” Green Grass bumped the table as he jumped up and scratched vigorously at his ear, ignoring the laughing from Trixie as she sprawled out across the table in a wheezing fit that nearly knocked over her coffee cup.

Monster watched him with her head just barely above the table surface until he sat back down, picking up the student evaluation and glaring at her. “So. Aren’t you going to laugh at me too?”

“No.” She raised up just a little to look at Green Grass as he worked on erasing the long streak of red he had smeared across the evaluation. “Do you think she’s ugly?”

“Luna?” He sat down his red pencil and looked over his shoulder to make sure the door to the office downstairs was still closed. Lowering his voice, he continued, “You can keep a secret, right? She’s the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen in my life. She’s brilliant, powerful, witty, and so alone. I’ve never met anypony like her, wings, horn or not. When I met her, the words just kind of slipped out.”

His eyes never left her face while talking, but there was something he was still hiding. “Celestia too?”

Ignoring Trixie’s sudden gasp and outbreak of chuckles, Green Grass nodded. “With her, I’m afraid I was just desperate, and desperate ponies can do stupid things. You see, my father and I had just come from the wedding rehearsal last night, and I was still suffering from butterfly overdose.” Pushed by Monster’s inquisitive look, he added. “Lady Swamp Flower talks about butterflies. A lot.” Still squirming under her determined glare, he finally turned back to grading the evaluation and blurted out, “All she talks about is butterflies, how they look, how they feel, what they eat, how they breed, butterflies, butterflies, butterflies. She must have a few thousand of them in her house in display cases and mounted on the walls.” He shuddered. “They’re even in all of the bathrooms in these creepy lifelike poses on top of artificial flowers. If that’s not bad enough, she wears these little glittery things in her eyelashes like butterfly wings and puts these little fluffy things in her mane like butterfly antennae, she drinks nectar, not water, and I think she dreams of someday becoming a butterfly. It was driving me crazy after just one day; in a week, I’d be back in the hospital!”

Trixie managed to stop laughing for a moment and spoke up. “You’re so cute when you’re frustrated, Greenie. You know…” Trixie put a hoof on the evaluation he was working on and held it to the table, making him look up. “If you were to excuse yourself on a bathroom break, you could be out of town along the north-west road before anypony knew you were gone, and in Milo or Wheaton by nightfall. It probably wouldn’t hide you from Princess Luna, but your father would never find you. I’ll bet there’s a dozen towns after that who would take you in as hired labor, wagon or no wagon.”

“Earth pony towns. I wouldn’t be teaching unicorn magic.” The tutor resumed his progress down the page, slashing with such intensity that he had to be looking at Snips or Snails evaluation, but as he turned the page, he added, “And I promised to finish this.”

The paper abruptly glowed pink and flashed away from his hooves, as well as the rest of his evaluations which stacked themselves to Trixie’s side. “I’ll finish ‘em. Problem solved. Now scoot.”

With forelegs crossed, Green Grass glared instead of leaving. “No. You’re acting just like my parents. You’re not letting me make my own decisions.”

“What do you want to do?” asked Monster, peeking out just over the top of the table.

“I…” Green Grass scowled and reached out for the student evaluations, sitting back down with a thump as Trixie levitated them up to the ceiling out of his reach. It was still more than a little puzzling to Monster why he didn’t use his magic for anything, including grabbing the evaluations away from Trixie. She had a strong talent, but not quite as powerful as many other unicorns; her real talent lay in the ability to do fantastic things with her magic that nopony else had even thought about. “It doesn’t matter anyway,” he growled. “I promised to do what my parents told me until I was married. It was part of our agreement.”

“If you could do anything you wanted,” started Monster, lifting her head up above the table. “Anything at all. Anything. What would you do?” The low thread of pain she had seen deep in the tutor’s eyes since the moment they met seemed to fade into insignificance as he opened his mouth to snap out an angry comeback, but he kept looking at her until he laid his head down on the table and shoved his hat forward over his eyes.

“I wanted to visit northernmost Equestria and get the last interviews I need to finish my Master’s degree in history. There were some inconsistencies that the reviewing board brought up about my thesis that I need to get resolved before they’ll let it go through, and there is a Griffon aerie up there that should have the records to resolve the issues. If I had my Master’s degree, I could teach unicorn magic anywhere in Equestria, instead of just rotating through the little towns around here a few months at a time.”

He poked his hat back fractionally to reveal his soft blue eyes and looked at Monster. “That’s a very deep question for such a young unicorn, and I think it’s only appropriate for me to respond in kind. What would you do if you could do anything you wanted?”

Monster looked away and shuffled a few forms around. “Stay here with mom and my friends. And my sister.”

“And?”

She rolled one blank form up into a cone and batted it around for a moment before using her magic to fold it into a hat just like Green Grass was wearing. With a gentle magical push, she floated her new hat up and stuck it over her horn. “I want to get better, but everything scares me.”

The tutor made a noncommittal sound and looked at Trixie. “So what about you? Last I heard, you were at the top of the heap as Celestia’s private student, and now you’re in dull old Ponyville. Certainly this isn’t where you wanted to be.”

Raising an eyebrow, Trixie asked, “Dull? Where in Equestria have you been for the last few months?”

“Broadhoof Memorial Psychiatric Hospital,” he replied in a perfectly flat tone, looking out the window to where the wedding reception was taking place.

Out in the bright afternoon sunlight with the happy ponies gathered around for the wedding reception, Monster felt a lot like she was back in the forest. It was all legs in all directions, a veritable flood of hooves, knees and the occasional low-slung tummy, and when she looked up, it felt a lot like all of the ponies in her immediate vicinity had huge nostrils, some of the contents of which she really did not want to see. She tucked her wings tighter under her cloak and bit off a exclamation of surprise when a large adult hoof nearly stepped on her, taking the much safer location of standing between Tallgrass and mom.

It felt bizarre to meet other friendly ponies in a long series of smiling colorful faces, all of which were more than willing to shake hooves or even ruffle her curly mane. The fear that should have paralyzed her hooves to the ground was missing, giving her a strange elated feeling of near floating as she remained standing between mom and Tallgrass as the ‘guests’ passed by. Introductions filled her mind, a long string of names and occupations, some of which were from ponies out of town and just visiting, but all happy.

It was weird, but nice.

It was also overwhelming.

Even between her two parents, one short young pony in the middle of a bunch of large adult ponies had to make a lot of quick motions to avoid being stepped on. That many ponies introducing themselves to Monster when she had not even known more than a few little fillies (and one colt) a few months ago made her itch for a quill and notecards. The quill was easy, now that she was carrying two full wings of fairly small ones, and it only took a moment to pluck one out and sharpen it with her magic before she stopped with a scowl, trying to figure out how to juggle notes, quill, ink, and still meet the other ponies that her parents wanted her to meet.

“Smile!”

The brilliant flash of Featherweight’s camera surged through her in a climax for her growing frustration. There had been a moment when she thought the solution for her frustrating problems was just almost at hoof before his annoying distraction, and she turned to express her negative opinion just in time to catch another brilliant flash right to the face that blinded her to the surrounding maze of legs.

So when she lunged forward to make a more physical demonstration of her displeasure, she bounced off Zecora’s knee, rebounded off Tallgrass’ chest, and tumbled into a parental pile with a sweet-smelling filly jumping in afterwards, and joined almost immediately by Featherweight as he dove into the growing ponypile with a happy shout that turned into a yelp of pain.

A certain sense of inherent order filled the coffee shop kitchen, in that it was a place where coffee was meant to be cooked, and that natural order within the coffee creation process had helped their assembly of the cooking machine once Monster and the rest of the students realized that there were several machines worth of parts in the scattered boxes. It took far less time than she expected to get all of the parts for the first machine sorted out, but assembly had taken far longer. There were little scorch marks against the solid wood wall and more than a few scuffs where parts had been assembled, then removed and bent to fit, and then removed and bent again to go where they really needed to have gone in the first place. Most of the credit went to her new friends, who were more than eager to help with all of the pipes and fittings of the complicated machine, and perhaps some of the negative credit too, as certain parts became too bent or twisted to fit places where they belonged.
Everypony helped, or at least pointed and made suggestions if their contributions could be considered more anti-help, and they had only needed to reconstruct the boiler twice when Sweetie Belle kept turning on the switch before all of the connections could be double-checked.

Once all of the little boxes on the checklist had been checked, and ‘Make Sweetie Belle Stand Outside Before Activating’ had been added to the list, Monster tugged on a piece of string tied to the switch with her barrier spell ready just in case. Even though Scootaloo suggested they should have one of them play Igor to do the actual switch-flipping, the idea was firmly voted down by nearly everypony for lack of a fierce lightning storm to provide background sound effects as well as a lack of a hunch for her back.

This way was not really very dramatic. But it was safer.

While the first machine gurgled and perked like it was supposed to in a rather boring and predictable way, Monster doodled some improvements on the coffee machine plans and sipped on her lukewarm drink. It was from a box of bottles in the kitchen, which had drawn Monster’s immediate attention due to the large and shiny (and trivial to bypass) lock on the top. There had been a label of ‘Adults’ in large letters across the top, and since she technically was the oldest pony there, it obviously was for her. After all, if the lock had really meant to keep her out, it would have been more difficult to open.

Sweetie Belle poked her nose into the kitchen and announced, “Is the coffee ready yet? There’s a bunch of thirsty old folks who are starting to get cranky, and they’re drinking up the stuff from Trixie’s machine as fast as Spike can heat the water.”

“Just a sec,” said Wheat Shock, taking the first filled carafe and pouring Monster a cup.

She tasted the scorching hot coffee with a long gulp, feeling the fire across her tongue and down her throat with a detached sensation. It was bitter, astringent, sour and powerful, tasting so little like the coffee Trixie made that it was nearly a different beverage. Adding a little of the other drink made it taste better, and she took a second deep gulp with a positive nod. “It’s coffee.”

“Great.” Wheat Shock floated the coffee over to Sweetie Belle and marked off one of the checkboxes on Monster’s list. “It should take three of us in rotation to cover the customers, and somepony needs to check the reception outside to see if they need any too.”

“I’ll stay,” said Monster, laying down the coffee maker plans and inking her quill. “Need another machine. Better. Have parts.”

Firelock nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, one with more steam. This one barely whistles.”

“And a spout for hot chocolate,” suggested Berry Pinch.

“And foam,” added Snips. “The kind you can make moustaches out of.”

“Let’s grab something to eat first,” suggested Snails.

“Good idea,” said Wheat Shock “We can swap jobs around so everypony gets some cake before we get back to work. Let’s go!”

Monster slumped under the paper-covered table and watched as the happy wave of small ponies swept out of the kitchen, making one quick pass through the leftover snack trays that had been set out for the evaluation in search for anything sugar-related before heading out the door like some sort of horizontal avalanche. Although the concept of staying indoors and helping fill out paperwork sounded perfectly fine to Monster, her friends all seemed determined to scatter to the four winds, shouting something about meeting her in an hour or two to finish building their coffee project. She eased back up above the table once her friends had left, keeping her eyes on the studious tutor while balancing her paper hat on her head and waiting patiently. He was holding back something, and she had more than enough patience to wait him out.

Eventually he gave a guilty glance back at Trixie and Monster, continuing his story in a low tone of voice as not to be overheard by nearby tables. “I was released from Broadhoof a few weeks ago on my father’s word that I would behave myself. It seems there was a sudden influx of traumatized changelings, plus a very trendy mental illness called Nightmare Moon Syndrome that cropped up recently, and they needed the beds.”

He paused to finish off his coffee and extended the empty cup to Monster. “May I have some more coffee, please? At the hospital, they started sticking medication in everything when they found out I was skipping my pills. Made the food taste like cardboard and the coffee taste like—”

He cut off abruptly and took a sip of bitter coffee, relaxing with a smile that actually looked authentic for the first time since they met. Monster floated her remaining daisy sandwich in front of him and said, “You can have mine. No pills. Just parsley. You can pick that off.”

“Thank you, Twilight.” He took a bite of the sandwich and washed it down with coffee, taking his time as he ate until every crumb was gone. She was getting better at reading his concealed emotions, and rather than lose interest or change the subject as he seemed to want, she continued her questions.

“Why did you have to go to the hospital?” asked Monster, the rolled-up form on her head fluttering to the table as she stopped concentrating on it. “Were you hurt?” She watched a thoughtful expression grow on his face that reminded her so much of mom trying to convince her to take bitter medicine and added, “Don’t lie.”

“It’s a painful truth for a little filly,” he said. “And I’m not going to inflict it on you. A lie is better.”

“Lies hurt worse,” she replied. “Truth. All of it.” Monster sat down the papers she had been shuffling and untied her red cape, allowing it to fall onto the booth seat as she slumped down so only her horn and wings were visible over the table edge. “I’ll go first. I’m not a unicorn.”

The green pony blinked a few times, but he did not go screaming away in terror. He did exchange an incredulous look with Trixie, who simply shrugged, and a questioning look at Scootaloo, who zoomed by on her roller skates without a pause, but eventually he cleared his throat and said, “I see.”

Then after a minute of silence, “That explains a lot, actually.”

And finally, “I really need to read my new student profiles.”

Monster sat back down and started to put her cape back on, settling down in her chair with a distinct hunch to her back. “Sorry.”

“Au contraire, little sister,” said Trixie, moving up beside her and helping tie the string for her cape. “I believe Greenie has been concealing something from you too.” A pink aura formed around the magic tutor’s hat and plucked it away from his frantic grasp, revealing a somewhat round head with a short-cropped dusky mane.

But no horn.

“Did they cut your horn off at the hospital?” gasped Monster, stepping across the table full of forms to put one hoof on top of his head, as if she expected his horn to be invisible. There were no scars or any sign of an accident, and the strange feeling she had been getting from him ever since they met finally made sense. “No, you’re not a unicorn. You’re an earth pony.”

Green Grass grabbed his hat and jammed it back on his head with a firm shove while Trixie carefully lifted Monster up and put her back in the booth seat. “I would have told you earlier, Menace, if I had known he was showing up today. He used to love doing that to the teachers in college.”

“And allow me to answer your next question,” announced the young stallion with a grumble, “which is normally stated in a loud voice with more than a little outrage by the pureblood unicorn parents of one of my students.” Green Grass scrunched up his face and whined, “‘He’s just an earth pony. How can he teach magic if he doesn’t have any magic?”

He gestured at his cutie mark, a rather small outline of a unicorn horn with a few small sparks around it. “They can all kiss my cutie mark.”

Green Grass leaned back with a sour smirk that turned into surprise as Monster replied, “I wasn’t going to say that. Mom is a zebra. She taught me all kinds of magic. Anypony who says something like that is dumb.”

The dusty bandages that Twist was pulling out of Trixie’s medicine cabinet in the library seemed excessive for such a minor injury, and Monster held her forehoof up with a frown. “It’s only a sprain. Not my fault.”

Featherweight held up his own foreleg and pointed unnecessarily to the brown-streaked section of fur that surrounded a small nick, which had quit bleeding just a minute or two after they had managed to un-pile themselves out of the pony pile at the reception. “Well, if I didn’t have a loose bracket on my camera, I wouldn't have gotten this cut.” He winced while dabbing at it with an applicator of some red fluid that he had found in the medicine cabinet. “It’s partially my fault too.”

“I jutht jumped in the pile becauth everypony elth did,” said Twist, wrinkling her nose at the taste of the old bandages as she wrapped Monster’s ankle.

“Could you keep it down, girls?” said Rainbow Dash while examining Monster’s ruffled wing.

“Hey!”

“And Featherbrain there,” added Rainbow. “Nopony got seriously hurt, so let’s just get cleaned up and back to the party before they cut the pre-wedding cake. Pinkie Pie really went all-out for this one.” She looked around with a short complaint about Trixie’s bathroom and its lack of preening supplies before bending over Monster’s wing and sticking her nose right into the feathers.

“It’th just a—” pthooy “—couple of bent secondaries, Twilight. Sheesh, don’t you ever preen these bad girls?”

“I don’t know how.” She lifted a wing and looked at the ruffled multicolored feathers before giving them a lick. “Ick. They taste terrible.”

“You don’t lick them, kid. You just… Well, you get your teeth in there and…” Rainbow Dash paused with an iridescent feather in her mouth. “You just preen. It’s natural. Didn’t your mom ever teach you how to preen?”

Featherweight’s wrinkled his face up in a grimace. “Twilight’s mom is a zebra. Don’t worry, Twilight. I can show you how to preen.”

“Whoa there, kid.” One blue wing scooped Featherweight up like a… well, a feather, and tucked him next to Rainbow Dash where he was subjected to a rather intense glare at close range. “What did I tell you about preening when you and Scootaloo started running around together?”

“Not to?”

One blue hoof tapped him gently on the nose while Rainbow subjected the little colt to more intense scrutiny. “Or?”

“Or I’d find out if the Tooth Flutterpony has a bulk purchase plan?” Featherweight grinned, and even though there was a lot of nervous tension in his smile, it still made Monster feel better.

“Good,” declared Rainbow Dash, turning back to her work. “Twilight, you need to find some female pegasus to — mumphth — teach you how to preen. I’d volunteer Fluttershy, but — ptooey — she vanished this afternoon like some — umph — ninja. She’s a great preener.”

“Does preening have anything to do with sex?” asked Monster, fascinated with the abrupt response the question triggered in her friend. Both wings fairly exploded into full extension, her pupils shrank to pinpoints, and Rainbow Dash began to stammer as she tried to change the subject.

“N-no! Of course n-not. It’s like… baths. Yeah, that’s it.”

Monster cocked her head to one side and considered asking if Rainbow thought she was going to have sex with Featherweight just because he would bite her wings. It seemed like a silly question because the little colt probably was not even sexually mature yet according to the chart in The Physiology and Development of Pegasi by T. Bog, but it did bring up a different question that sounded more logical.

“Do you think I should have Green Grass teach me?”

“No!” Rainbow Dash had just managed to get her wings under control, and now they popped back up again as she grabbed Monster’s face with both forehooves and looked her right in the eyes. “You should never let an adult male pony touch your wings, Twilight.”

“Oh. But he’s preening Princess Luna now; is that wrong?”

“Greenie?” Rainbow Dash looked up in shock, the red stump of a cracked feather still stuck in her teeth. “Equestria’s geekiest geek is preening a princess? No way.”

“Yeth, Mith Dash,” said Twist, paying her full attention to wrapping Monster’s swollen ankle. “They’re over at the coffee houth in the offith now.” She looked up at the sudden breeze. “Mith Dash?”

“Hey!” Featherweight looked around. “Where did my camera go?”

The breeze from the coffee house window had been fairly gentle this afternoon, but the arrival of Ponyville’s most famous weather pony at nearly top speed sent every paper on the teacher’s impromptu writing desk flying all over the room. Holding a camera in the crook of one leg, Rainbow Dash grabbed Trixie by a shoulder and panted out, “Green. Grass. Preening. Princess?”

“Green. Grass. Sitting. Here,” muttered Green Grass as he grabbed for a few loose sheets of paper that had not made their escape in the brief hurricane that accompanied Rainbow’s entrance. “Do you think you could — Oh. Thank you, Twilight.” The burst of papers that had exploded out into the room reversed their paths with a purple glow, floating back in the direction of the table with little shuffling noises as Monster ran through the sorting spell Wheat Shock had taught her last night. Neat stacks of evaluations and government forms segregated themselves out to the front of their respective responsible pony, an overturned inkwell soaked up the puddle it made while returning to a fully upright position, and a coffee carafe wrapped in Twilight’s magic topped off all three coffee cups.

“Coffee?” asked Monster, moving an empty cup and the coffee pot in Rainbow’s direction.

“How did… Weren’t you in the…” Rainbow Dash fumbled with her camera before turning on Trixie. “How did she do that? What have you been teaching her?”

“A good magician never reveals her secrets,” said a familiar voice from behind Rainbow Dash, and the weather pony gaped in shock as Trixie came trotting up the stairs.

It took a few looks back and forth between the Trixie sitting behind the table and the Trixie on the staircase before Rainbow scowled. “Oh, I get it. This is just another one of your pranks, and you got Peep Sprout to sit in for Twilight here. Good one, Trixie. Nice work, Peeps.” Rainbow Dash ruffled the little alicorn’s mane and winked at Trixie. “I’ll get you back good for this one. Well, gotta fly.”

There was a second burst of air as Rainbow Dash zipped away in the direction of the library, only this time Monster was ready, and not even a single piece of paper escaped into the sudden hurricane.

“Very nice, Flower,” said the Trixie on the stairs before flaring with changeling magic and transforming back into a male zebra. “Zecora just wanted me to check to see how your ankle is feeling.”

Monster picked up one forehoof and rotated it several times before setting it back down on the stack of papers. “Little stiff. Lots of paper.”

“Good, good.” The disguised changeling looked around the coffee shop and took the cup that Monster passed him, taking a sip before continuing, “Her Majesty has already left, I presume?”

“She’s sleeping,” said Monster. “Coffee good?”

“Fairly, I suppose. Thank you.” The experience that Tallgrass had with his earth pony disguise was obvious as he manipulated cup, spoon, sugar cubes and saucer in several smooth motions, only slowing when he took another sip of the sweetened contents. “You don’t suppose she would… No, it’s a silly idea. She’s much too busy.”

“You want her to marry you and mom?”

“Um…” The changeling paused with a faint tremble to his cup, obviously thinking of his last close encounter with Nightmare Moon. “Your mother does. She said with her expression that it was a natural progression of the chaotic way that things were going today.”

“Your meter is off.”

“I know.” Tallgrass frowned while finishing off his coffee, sitting the empty cup down with a faint thump on the paper-covered table.

“You’re afraid of Luna.” Monster nearly ducked all the way under the table as Tallgrass turned to look at her, leaving only a multicolored horn and her violet eyes visible. “Are you afraid of me too? Don’t lie,” she added as Tallgrass opened his mouth.

“It can be just fine to be afraid, Twilight,” said Green Grass, putting down his papers for a moment. “Fear is normal. We fear that which we don’t understand. Sometimes we fear that which we do understand, but that fear can cause us to make very bad decisions if we are not careful. We need to face our fears.”

“Even the butterfly ones?” Monster lowered herself another fraction as Green Grass flinched.

“Particularly the butterfly ones,” said Trixie, casting a compassionate hoof around her back. “You have to think out the long-term consequences of any decision you make, Menace. Like your goofy father figure there. What do you think will happen if Princess Luna doesn’t marry your weird parents?”

“Well.” Monster blinked, looking between the two dissimilar stallions. “She’ll be sad that we don’t trust her, but she’ll hide it, just like she was hiding how bad she felt when she showed up this morning. She’s really good about hiding how bad she feels. That’s why she became Nightmare Moon.” Monster patted Green Grass on the hoof. “Thank you for being brave enough to preen her this morning so she feels better. Sometimes we all just need somepony to care about us, I guess.”

“Trust is the building block of nations,” said Green Grass, “as well as ponies. If you trust her enough to be friends with your adoptive daughter, and enough to be your Princess, you should trust her enough to bless your wedding.”

Tallgrass considered for a while before blowing out his breath in a long wheeze. “I suppose. Can you ask her when she gets up, Flower?”

Monster cringed back down so only her horn was visible above the table. “I suppose. I have another idea for the wedding, but I don’t think you will like it.”

The bushes outside the Ponyville Golden Oak Library rustled with the sound of thrashing ponies, nearly drowning out the sound of Rainbow Dash calling, “Featherweight? Twilight? Twist? Where are you?”

“Down here, Rainbow Dath!” Twist had just managed to pull Featherweight out of the bush and stuck her head back in to grab onto her other friend when the colorful pegasus dropped down beside her.

“Cutie Mark Crusader Bush Flatteners?” she hazarded.

“Ow!” Featherweight pulled a thorn out of his foreleg and spit it to one side. “We went flying off to follow you, and something went wrong.”

“I’m sorry,” drifted out of the rose bush.

With a titanic heave, Twist pulled Monster out of the bush in an explosion of leaves and the inevitable tree sap. “Twilight followed you, Featherweight,” she added, “but thee forgot to flap, so thee grabbed your tail, and I grabbed her tail, but I can’t flap and nopony grabbed my tail.”

Rainbow Dash shook her head and held out one of Twilight’s wings to full extension. “And you messed up your wings again. Let me get to work. Maybe there'll be some cake left when we’re done.”

The preening continued as Featherweight finished getting the last thorns out, making only a few comments before getting his camera back and taking a few pictures, but being uncharacteristically quiet during the whole process. Finally, he burst out with a question that seemed to be bothering him.

“Rainbow Dash, were you teaching Trixie how to preen so she could do Twilight’s wings?”

“Wha?!” Rainbow spluttered with a feather in her mouth as she whirled to face the little photographer, who — of course — took her photo at that exact moment. She spat the feather out and took the photograph that Featherweight hoofed over, gawking for a moment at the picture of Trixie falling out of a hole in the bottom of her cloud home with Rainbow in a power dive to catch her.

“No!” she protested, quickly shredding the picture into tiny pieces, but not before Monster had caught a glimpse of it over her shoulder.

“Were you two having sex in your house?” asked Monster.

“NO!” Both wings popped back up and Rainbow stomped at the little scraps of photograph. “We weren’t. I mean, I’ve never thought of her — My cloud does not float that way! We weren’t kissing or groping or anything!”

Monster’s eyes narrowed. “You’re lying.” She took the duplicate copy of the photograph that Featherweight hoofed over and compared it to the next three, showing Dash making a daring catch at nearly ground level, diving in the library window, and returning to her home without a passenger. “You were teaching my sister how to preen.”

“No! Really!” Rainbow grabbed the rest of the photographs and shredded them, stuffing the remains under the nearby bush and scowling as Featherweight pulled out another set.

Monster looked the photos over before walking towards Rainbow Dash, who had backed herself up in front of the thorn bush. She sat the photos down, and then lunged forward, grabbing the stammering pegasus in a crushing hug.

“Thank you, Rainbow. I can hardly wait for Trixie to teach me.”

It was almost silent in the coffee shop kitchen except for the gurgling perk of the wall-mounted coffee machine and the occasional zip of one of her roller-skate wearing friends as they dashed in to refill their containers. Several times they had asked her to see if she wanted to try delivering coffee in the same way, but after trying the skates on and proceeding to fall down with a horrible crash several times, she returned to her ink and quill. There was a subtle wrongness that she tried to ignore as she worked, as if the world disapproved of her actions, but the song of creation hummed in her mind loudly enough to block it out, and the new machine grew on the paper with every stroke and line as the level dropped in her bottle.

“This one will be just perfect,” she whispered as she drew a complicated aroma catcher. “The kid of coffee la da dee dum dee dah hm… Missing something. Ah. A schecondary boiler. That should do it.”

The little carrot sticks and sandwiches that had been provided for the student evaluations did not survive inside the coffee shop for very long after the students had left. Trixie made one epic ‘clean up’ pass through the leftovers and brought the overflowing plate back to the table to nibble on as they worked their way through the forms. She even made a little games out of the food, like ‘How many different scoops of dip will fit on one celery stick’ or ‘cherry tomato juggling with your eyes closed’ that Monster tried to play along with and failed, although with very funny consequences. It even made Green Grass giggle along when Trixie began bouncing the tiny tomatoes off his head while quizzing him on his time in the hospital over the last few months.

From his responses, apparently it was rather bad social form to grab the cake slicer in the middle of a wedding rehearsal dinner and take over the buffet line, waving the plastic blade over your head and threatening to do unspeakable things to yourself, but Green Grass excused the ‘faux pas’ as a measure taken only as a last resort after having lived through his bride-to-be’s laughter for several hours of the rehearsal and the realization he would be living with it for the rest of his life. He refused to try duplicating her laugh, other than to describe it as a cross between a peacock, a hydra, and a terminally wounded bagpipe, and when asked how he would be able to handle his upcoming butterfly-obsessed bride, he promptly changed the subject to Trixie’s activities for the last few years.

Monster was fascinated by the conversation as it progressed over the next few hours. Each of them seemed to know each other’s weaknesses just like old friends and crafted their portion of the discussion into lines of questions that would dig up facts that the other wanted to know, while the other would deflect those questions into lines that they wanted to know. It was like a battle for domination that Monster had seen in the Everfree between two males competing for a female to have sex with, only there didn’t seem to be any sex involved here at all.

On the surface, Trixie seemed at a considerable disadvantage. Monster knew she loved to talk about herself in a constant line of patter that glossed over any embarrassing details while making her look good, and Green Grass was just as reluctant to talk about himself as Trixie was happy to talk about herself. However, deep under the conversation it was a battle of pure willpower where Trixie would bore in on Greenie’s time in the hospital, and he would redirect the conversation to Trixie’s injuries from saving Princess Luna, which made her try to get him to talk about the doctors and if he might be able to persuade any of them to make a trip to Ponyville for Monster, which he then turned into a discussion about trips and what he might need to consider if he ever managed to make his trip to the northern mountains.

The little tidbits of information about both of them added up as the two adults continued to talk, the forms and evaluations ignored on the table while Monster faded into the background the same way she used to do when watching interesting things in the Everfree. She even suspected some of the elderly ponies in the immediate vicinity who were engaged in their own quiet conversations while playing cards just happened to be listening in too. Even Mister Breezy’s two sons who were installing ceiling fans in the coffee shop seemed to be taking an inordinate amount of time on a nearby fan, with ‘Big Fan’ on top of the ladder fiddling with loose wires in the device while ‘Little Fan’ was holding the stepladder.

“Pardon us. Is Princess Luna in here?” Looking down into the center section of the coffee shop, Monster felt her heart skip a beat as she waved at a charcoal-grey mare with membranous wings. Laminia was being escorted by the ‘mayer’ of Ponyville, whom Oz had described as the best customer of their ‘Distinguished Grey’ mane dye, as well as a bulky Nocturne dressed in formal purple armor who was standing back a few paces and watching every single shadow in the shop. When Laminia saw Monster, she waved back with a broad smile that seemed to fit so much better on her face than the irritated scowl she had worn when they first met.

Spreading her flawless wings, Laminia took a hesitant flap before thinking better of it, deciding instead to trot up the stairs with her bulky husband right behind her. The rest of the elderly ponies at the other tables sat down their cards and stared at the sleek dark pegasi while more than one older pegasus mare fluffed up her feathers and ran a quick comb through her mane. There was something magnetic in the way the armored Night Guard and his broad shoulders attracted the feminine eye, and quite a few elderly stallions checked their pockets for their heart medication as they watched the way Laminia’s flanks swayed back and forth while she sauntered up the stairs.

“Hail, she who rescued our Princess of the Night and returned her to us.” Laminia dropped to one knee in front of their table and spread her wings slightly, with Pumpernickel dropping to one knee with a clank of his violet armor to her side. “Blessed be your name, which shall be written in the Nocturne Books of Tradition for all future generations of our kind. May you live forever in our hearts.”

Trixie stood up and looked around with a faint blush. “Thank you very much. It really wasn’t all that much. My friends did some of the work.”

Laminia looked up. “Hail to thee also, Trixie Lulamoon.”

Trixie sat down.

The sultry golden eyes of the Nocturne mare swept slowly to one side, capturing a suddenly nervous Green Grass in their penetrating gaze. “Hail to thee, Favored of the Moon. May the colts and fillies from your mating be as numerous as the stars, and—”

“She hasn’t said yes!” squeaked Green Grass, scooting back as far as he could in his chair to get away from those sharp teeth and the vulpine smile that spread across Laminia’s face.

“They were preening,” said Monster, trying to be helpful.

Whatever Green Grass was going to say in response was cut off in a dry gurgle, much as if a sharp feather had gotten caught in his throat.

“Beg pardon, honored concubinus.” Laminia stood up and gestured out the window with one wing at the dance floor and potluck buffet line that was being set up out in the town plaza. “When the Night Guard unit responsible for Princess Luna’s protection came on duty and discovered that she had reassigned her Royal Guard unit to the—” a rather peculiar ‘stuffed’ expression passed over Laminia’s face “—substitute, they became disturbed.”

“Concerned,” rumbled Pumpernickel from behind her, still on one knee.

“Twelve full-grown Night Guards flapping around the castle like frightened chickens warrants a stronger word,” said Laminia, rolling her eyes.

“Who is substituting for Luna?” asked Monster.

A tall bureaucrat in a formal jacket escorted the petitioner through the doorway into the throne room, clearing his throat before announcing, “Mister Tutwiller of Tuttle’s Turtles has a petition for the Evening Court to be presented to the reigning Diarchy of Equestria.”

“Advance and state your case.” The pet store owner gaped a bit despite himself as he approached the Solar and Lunar thrones, each being occupied by a substitute diarch. The appearance of Princess Cadence with her hooves in a tub of water and lying a little on her side as accommodation for her enlarged tummy did not seem to phase the petitioner as much as the substitute for Luna.

Prince Blueblood sat rather uncomfortably on the throne next to his cousin, looking very much like he would have rather been elsewhere. There was a certain altitude to his tail that showed the Royal Cushion was lacking a certain dent near the rear for the comfort of stallions, along with a degree of discomfort from the ebon cloth around his neck that bore the symbol of the moon, but the pet shop owner could not take his eyes off the bright blue wig and tiara that topped the whole outfit.

“I am glad that ‘Princess’ Blueblood has risen to the occasion, although I am given to understand that he refused to wear the dress that went with the title. In any regard, His Highness suggested that we seek Her Highness in the company of her best friend.”

“She’s taking a nap,” prompted Monster, pointing downstairs. “Will you stay for mom and Tallgrass’ wedding? Luna is going to—” Monster stopped with a thoughtful frown. “What does a wedding pony do? What was yours like?”

Laminia snorted. “Ours played an Elvis Przewalski song on his guitar and gave us two free coupons for the buffet after the ceremony.”

“Did you at least get to fill out all of the paperwork?” Monster waved a hoof over the paper-clogged table with a shy smile. “It’s a lot of fun, like a giant puzzle.”

“Um…” Laminia looked over the staggering piles of paper. “We were both pretty drunk at the time. I think it was written on the back of the coupons. Their lasagna was fairly good, I think. That’s as much as I remember.”

“You mean… you’re not really married?”

“The paperwork is not really important,” rumbled Pumpernickel as he rose to his hooves. “What really matters is—” The big stallion winced as a noise like a dull bell sounded, and continued after taking in Monster’s pained expression. “Well, if you are already filling out the papers for your parents, I suppose you could fill out replacement paperwork for us.”

“You still need to be married,” said Monster. “I think I saw a guitar in the office, and Luna can sing.”

Pumpernickel shook his head. “That’s really not necessary—” The metallic noise repeated and the stallion winced again before continuing.

“Thank you, Twilight Sparkle. We will accept your offer, but I really don’t want to bother Her Highness.”

“I’ll ask.” There was only a stub of horn sticking up above the table, and Monster’s voice was muffled to near inaudibility. “Asking for mom and Tallgrass too.”

“Pull up a seat, you two, and have some coffee,” said Trixie. “Menace told me about you, but I’ll bet she left out the interesting parts. Heck, you might as well have your whole crew out there join the party instead of lurking in the shadows.”

“Thank you, Trixie Lulamoon,” rumbled Pumpernickel, “but we are all on duty. I’m sorry—” The big stallion winced as the noise like a dull bell repeated before continuing, “As I was saying, we will ask Princess Luna for permission to take some time off when she rises. Until then, the rest of the guard detachment will remain on alert—” The metallic noise repeated, and the stallion winced again. “I’ll assign two guards to her door while the rest can mingle, provided they are ready to return to work at a moment’s notice. Will that be acceptable, Hoofmaiden Laminia?”

“Excellent idea, guardstallion,” Laminia beamed at Monster, adding a wink.

“I’ll just limp downstairs and tell them.” There was a certain hesitation to his step as Pumpernickel trotted downstairs, after which Laminia promptly plunked her rump down on the bench next to Trixie and rubbed her hoof.

“I keep forgetting they wear those stupid shinguards. Good evening, Twilight Sparkle. Allow me to apologize for all stallions everywhere.” Laminia spent a few moments looking over Green Grass with an uncomfortable intensity that had him quickly picking up his student evaluations and a red pencil. Finally she looked over to Trixie while shaking her head. “I don’t see what Her Highness sees in him. Is he any good in bed?”

Monster perked up. “Do you mean sex?”

While Trixie spluttered and Green Grass tried to become invisible behind his evaluation forms, Laminia patted Monster on the head and said, “Yes, but we don’t use that word in polite company. You need to use a euphemism.”

She wrinkled up her nose in response. “A what?”

“A euphemism is a word you use when it’s impolite to use another word.”

“Oh.” Monster drooped. “You mean a lie.”

It took both Trixie and Lamina to entice Monster out of her depression after that, but they compensated by turning it into a learning experience. There was not just one euphemism for sex, there were hundreds of them, and some of them were weird. Like ‘doing the spider’ for example, which was somehow related to the number of legs involved, or simpler ones like ‘scratching her back’ or ‘draining the canal’ which just did not seem very pleasurable at all. She could easily judge how ‘dirty’ they were by the amount of blush that was showing up on Green Grass’ ears as the two mares chattered. They had hit a certain degree of pink at the beginning, but ‘drowning the snake’ reddened up both ears quite well, and ‘playing the foghorn duet’ turned him almost as red as Big Mac. There was even a number of euphemisms that directly related to social status, such as ‘polishing the crown’ or ‘promoting a peasant,’ which gave Monster another idea.

“Laminia,” she started, working through the words, “as Princess Luna’s Hoofmaiden, do you evaluate…”

While trying to figure out a word for whatever Green Grass was, Trixie’s eyes opened really wide and she blurted out, “No!” Then after a pause and a look at Lamina, “No, right?”

“No, what?” asked Laminia with a puzzled frown.

Green Grass responded without looking up, “Are you going to have sex with me for—”

The grey Nocture mare was faster than any creature Monster had seen before, managing to lunge across the table and plant a solid punch on Green Grass’ face before he could even blink. There was a slithering noise as the unconscious stallion slumped to the floor, a muffled snort from Trixie as she put both hooves over her face to keep from laughing out loud, and the skidding of roller skate wheels on floor as the coffee delivery fillies coasted to a stop to look.

“Almost finished. Need #4 pipe.” Monster squinted at the maze of pipes on the wall, then at the heavily-scribbled set of plans. With a snort of exasperation, she wadded up the plans and tossed them over her shoulder before taking another drink out of her nearly-empty cup and belching quietly.

“How long?” asked Wheat Shock, hoofing through a box labelled #4 and gauging the worth of his rapidly diminishing stockpile of metal parts.

“Oh, about…” Monster leaned back on the stepladder while Snips and Snails braced it against swaying. Holding her forehooves apart and squinting, she said, “Eighteen and a half or so, with a thingie—”

“Flange,” prompted Oz.

“Yeah, on both ends.”

“Got it. Last one.” The pipe of the respective size and length floated out of his collection, boosted by Oz’s magic up to Monster’s precarious perch, where she pinned it up against the wall and added pipe supports and braces to control any vibration. The terms ‘sympathetic vibrations’ and ‘destructive resonance’ were welcome additions to her knowledge, and Scootaloo had both described and demonstrated their definitions during the construction, testing, and reconstruction of the first machine.

“Ready for welding.” She struggled to hold the pipe steady, which was difficult as parts of it passed through sections where other pipes theoretically existed in slightly different phases. The end of the two joined pipes glowed cherry-red with Firelock’s magic, and Monster touched the ‘lead-free rosin core solder’ to the joint in precisely the same way as Plumbing and Pipes for Dummies said. There had been a number of items in the messy kitchen that had proved helpful, from the Do It Yourself Without A Fire set of instructional manuals, to the tools and supplies that made the job so much easier. Including the bottles.

There was an additional taste to the coffee that continued to tingle all the way up and down her throat to the warm spot in her belly, and she suspected that the reason the job was going so well was partially due to its assistance. And strangely enough, it made her want to sing a song that perked up from inside.

Snips and Snails were hard put to control the swaying of the stepladder as Monster continued to add pipes and fittings to the growing machine, leaving behind glowing little knots of magic and copper pipes in bright shades of red and blue. It was going to be a magnificent creation, as beautiful and as perfect as the sunrise this morning, and the happy caffeinated neurons in Monster’s head made prospective plans for a grander and more powerful big sister for it. Sitting the last empty bottle of coffee liqueur off to one side, she bent a short pipe through a secondary dimension for length to reach the coffee grounds steamer, tying in a pressure gage marked only in imaginary numbers.

“Fini!” she shouted, sliding down the stepladder to grab the power switch in one hoof and slam it up into the copper busbar. Power crackled, steam whistled, and a low thrum filled the kitchen as the coffee carafe began to fill.

Instead of a boring perking noise like the first machine, it made a musical tune as bubbles flowed around glass pipes and through filters, resulting in an irresistible toe-tapping melody from multicolored steam gusting out of various tuned vents. Shiny spigots and containers had been welded on for cream and foam, and even an attachment to make hot chocolate with little floating marshmallows. All of the little students sampled that particular spout before declaring the weather a little hot for chocolate, but when winter was rolled out again, they would be first in line with a mug. Monster even tasted the coffee once it was done, declaring it to be much better than before and turning off the power to the first machine.

“Just in time,” said Snips, pushing the stepladder up against the wall. “It’s going to be dark soon, and there’s going to be fireworks!”

“Come on!” shouted Firelock, the first one out the door and followed by nearly every pony left in the kitchen. Apple Bloom hesitated at the doorway, looking back at where Monster was staring at the remaining wall space with the leftover pipes and other mechanical gadgets beginning to float out of boxes and surround her.

“Twilight?” she called, softly as not to disturb her friend. “Would you like to come and see the fireworks? I’ll sit right next to you so you’re not afraid.”

“No.” Monster’s voice was almost a whisper, barely spoken above the imaginary construct of steel and glass that filled her vision. “Make another. You go. Please. Have fun.”

Apple Bloom stayed put at the door, distracting Monster from the prospective coffee machine she was trying to visualize. Even a few waves of her hoof did not chase her away, and as the remaining pipes began to lift up into the air and piece themselves together on the wall, she could still feel the presence of her friend at the door, alone and sad-eyed.

Finally, she said, “Well. Okay. I know how much fireworks upset you. But I’m comin’ back to get you afterwards.”

The door closed with a quiet thump, only to reopen just a crack. Apple Bloom’s voice could barely be heard as she added, “Be careful, Twilight.”

And then she was gone.

Streaks of pink and gold were coloring the evening sky as Zecora and Tallgrass gathered together on the stage with a somewhat bandaged Monster tucked between them.

“I was told your injuries were not that serious, and that you would be back in plenty of time for Princess Luna to marry us,” said Zecora with a pointed glance at the bandages wrapped around both of Monster’s ankles almost all of the way up her legs.

“I’m sorry, dear,” whispered Tallgrass. “She said her ankle was only a little stiff.”

“Fell out the window,” said Monster with a sniff. “Wasn’t thinking. Can’t fly.”

Zecora gathered her child to her side with a soft nuzzle and faced her future husband. “The sun is almost set and Luna we have not yet met. Could you go inside and bring she who will make me a bride?”

“No need indeed, oh wife of my life.” Tallgrass turned in the direction of the back door of the coffee shop and the distinctive form who had just emerged into the light, dropping to one knee in a bow for the Princess of the Night.

The click that echoed around the interior of the coffee shop seemed as loud as a firework, followed promptly by the creaking and popping of aged joints as the elderly ponies got off their chairs and cushions to give proper respect to Princess Luna when she emerged. There was a more normal ‘elegantly ruffled’ air to her now as she strode out of the small room, trailed by her flowing star-strewn mane and tail. Small tufts of hair still stuck up where she had not troubled herself to brush upon her awakening, and a single feather on one wing stuck out at an awkward angle, only emphasizing the perfect preening that made the rest of her wings fairly glow in the shop lighting. More than one elderly pegasus of both genders took one look at Luna’s wings, cast a particularly knowing and horribly embarrassing look at a certain cringing green tutor, and returned their attention to their ‘other’ princess with a proper bow. Scootaloo skimmed up to Luna’s front with a steaming cup of coffee on her head, grinning maniacally as the princess picked up the cup and took a sip.

“Do you like it, Your Highness? We all put the machine together ourselves!”

A single sugar cube from a neighboring table took flight, darting across the room and vanishing into the coffee with a faint ‘bloop’ before Luna took another sip and ruffled the young pegasus’ mane with one hoof. “Indeed, young one, it is better coffee than I have ever tasted in Canterlot.” The Royal Gaze swept up the stairs to the busy table where three older ponies bent down in various intensities of a sincere bow, and Monster could barely be seen above the table top.

There was a silence, stretched thin by anticipation, then four voices spoke at once.

“Your Highness…”
“Sister, do…”
“Trixie would like to ask…”
“I’m sorry…”

A second silence filled the coffee shop, broken only by a few elderly ponies chuckling, before Trixie stood up. “Let’s try this again in order of importance. Twilight has a question she would like to ask, Your Highness. Go ahead, Menace.”

“could you marry mom and tallgrass?”

“And now you.” Trixie gestured to the charcoal-grey Nocturne who had not removed her face from the floor yet.

“Your Highness, I would consider it an honor beyond any others if you were to preside over…” Laminia trailed off to a dead stop and tried to mash her face even further into the floorboards.

“Aaaand now for Greenie,” said Trixie with a roll of her eyes.

The green stallion stood stock still with his mouth open and a red pencil still dangling from his lip like an unlit cigarette.

Trixie shrugged. “I was just going to ask if you had a pleasant nap. Anyway, Twilight would like you to preside over her parent’s wedding out on the town square tonight, and so would your lo—” Trixie hesitated just long enough to edit her next syllable “—yal hoofmaiden. And Greenie…” A sharp-driven elbow into his ribs seemed to restart the language section of the tutor’s brain as he lunged to his hooves and began to talk.

“Princess Luna, what would happen in the event I were to withdraw my request?” The words all rolled out in one quick line, and Green Grass stood silent afterwards, obviously attempting to breathe through his nose instead of panting in panic.

Every eye in the room looked at Princess Luna, who stood in a pool of perfect tranquility with just the ghost of a smile on her relaxed face. She shook her head in a slow motion before chuckling in such a natural fashion that half the room joined in.

“That is a hypothetical situation that I have never had to face, Lord Green Grass. Presumably, we would be most upset at the removal of thy promise before we have even had a chance to make a decision. We might even act irrationally, as mares are wont to do when deprived of promised affection for no good reason. Which reminds me, I simply must ask Celestia where the Royal Gelding Irons have been placed.” A second wave of chuckles swept through the room, although a considerably paler tutor did not join in the humor. “Will there be anything more, Lord Green Grass?” she added, as Laminia took her cue to slip down the stairs and hold the outside door open for her princess.

“No?” said Green Grass in a near inaudible squeak.

“Very well.” The Princess of the Night strode proudly out into the town square with two guards and a multitude of happy little ponies at her heels. Trixie took a moment before picking up the rigid tutor with her magic to put him back in his seat and give a quick brush across his educational-toy laden vest.

He still had that cute glazed look that indicated an emergency concentration of thought processes on a critical problem resulting in immobility, but she could not help but tweak his present panic by saying, “You know, Greenie, if she’s anything like her sister, I think she really likes you.”

“Butterflies,” he whispered in return. “They’re starting to look a lot better.”

25. Evaluations, Stations, and Recommendations - Part Six

Princess Luna had to admit that she had certain expectations upon being woken up in the early evening to raise her moon, first of which was ‘coffee,’ and the second of which was ‘right now.’ It had been a most comfortable afternoon of rest with the cushions of the office providing a soft surface the even the most fluffed of clouds would not have been able to match, although most of the comfort was probably due to fatigue, not fluff.

Being preened to sleep had always been a secret desire lurking in the back of her mind ever since an eternity ago when she and Celestia would curl up together after stressful nights. Heavens forbid she ask a servant, and any of her suitors from ages past had always been interested in other things after a long, intimate preen. Still, Lord Green Grass had lowered himself to the task without a word of protest, even though she could feel the tremble of taunt tendons against her cheek when she had rested her head on his back for just a moment. That moment had stretched into minutes while the trembling had subsided, eventually turning into a low tune as the earth pony hummed while preening. It was a lullaby, and certainly a most potent one to reduce a princess to such a relaxed state, but she could not help but think about the little snippets of words she had heard while sleeping.

No, the word was incorrect. Celestia slept, Luna dreamed. There was no way for her to avoid awareness of the world around her even in slumber; she could only cast aside the bounds of mortal clay and drift on the winds between thought and reality, between what was and what could be. The whispers of the ponies in the town had been a comfort throughout her rest, their admiration and loyalty a strong bond that overlaid and faded the dreaded words ‘Nightmare Moon.’ Canterlot bristled with the hateful words, said in the shadows between the rich and poor as they went about their lives, but here, the words were all soft and tempered with love. Ponyville had seen her return as Nightmare Moon first-hoof, in fire and destruction that had split their town hall like a lightning-struck tree, but the small town had also borne the presence of young Twilight Sparkle ever since. The rumors of the little alicorn’s existence were rife with speculation, ranging from vague shadows of the truth to a rather intriguing theory that she was actually a child of Luna or Celestia, but the townsponies had accepted the redemption of their Monster of the Everfree Forest with a warmth that flowed over to encompass the one who had twice attempted to plunge the world into Night Eternal.

It was a youthful joy that her heart had not felt in ages to ‘tweak’ the young tutor into that most delightful blush. His worries were a mirror of Twilight Sparkle; where he wished to escape his parents and live far away, she fairly burned with the desire to hold them all tight and once again become part of their lives. Luna was almost tempted to take the young earth pony as a prospective mate, if nothing else to tweak the noses of the arrogant unicorn royalty and to tie the militant pegasus factions into knots, but feeding the young colt into that corrosive atmosphere of intrigue and deceit would be a crime. There were far too many problems in the world that were best left untouched; only a select few problems or issues could provide a net benefit from even the slightest celestial influence, and most would fall apart like wet bread at their touch.

Still, it gave her great pleasure to banter with her little ponies as if they were equals, and the jibe about the Royal Gelding Irons brought far more laughter than she had expected. Luna was in a fey mood indeed when she trotted outside the coffee shop, cup at her lips, and saw the whole town of ponies all turned out in the town plaza.

Each of them with their hooves twisted slightly into the ground.

Luna did not need words to see what needed to be done. She could feel the flutter of wings as Laminia left the coffee shop and flew overhead, dropping to a landing next to her stocky husband. The Nocturne couple stood next to the mismatched zebras as if it were the most natural thing in the world, both with space enough between them for the one who would join them in eternal bonds of matrimony.

The Princess of the Night glided forward, passing the coffee cup to one side as she walked, until she took her place, one last puzzle piece in a harmonious whole. The town of ponies looked up to the sky where Celestia’s sun rested on the horizon and took a collective deep breath, gathering their strength for what was to come. A stillness filled the grassy area, a quiet and tranquility that soothed souls and calmed hearts, although there was just the tiniest of giggles from Luna as she considered what her sister was going to think in just a few minutes.

Princess Celestia stepped out on the balcony of the Royal Jodhpurs Hotel in Fillydelphia and regarded her sun with the smallest of smiles. It just felt so much like she was leaving an infant behind in the hooves of a stranger, but Luna was a big fillie now, and even though they would be apart for two days, certainly she would not return to Canterlot to find messy diapers or crayon scribbles on the walls.

The time arrived, and Celestia raised her horn as she had done so many, many times before, gently placing her sun to rest behind the horizon — far too gently, in fact. There was a touch on her beloved sun and Celestia watched in shock as it finished tucking away for the night and the moon swelled into view, perhaps a little more unsteady than usual, but still the glorious silver orb that lit the stars in the sky as a curtain of light.

She remained out on the balcony for a moment while soaking in the peace that the unadorned moon meant to her. Still, there was a tiny current of unease in her gaze, and she took a quick trip to the maid’s closet to check the contents before retiring for the night.

It felt silly, but she just wanted to know what kind of cleaners were available to get the little hoofprints off of her sun tomorrow.

Luna let her magic fade as the silver light of her moon filled the plaza, highlighting the ponies as pale shapes in the darkness. It was impossible to tell the difference between changeling, pony, or Nocturne for a moment until the light built into a soft dazzle. She took the time to look at the two couples awaiting her blessing on their union and smiled. Even little Twilight Sparkle peeked out from behind her adoptive mother’s legs and managed a small smile of her own before Luna cleared her throat and began.

“My dearly beloved little ponies. We are gathered here together to join…”

This third machine was going to be even better, and Monster sipped a quick drink of her cold beverage before bending over the instruction sheet with a quill and a qualm. It felt just a little bad to ignore her friend’s statements about going out and enjoying the party for a while before they tried to tackle the third coffee machine. There would be time to spend with them once the machine was built. This was important. It had to be just right.

The liquid in the bottles tasted like cold coffee with a distinctive tang to it that cleared the mucus off the back of her throat and made the task of assembling the coffee machine easier. It had only taken a cup of the ‘liqueur’ to warm her tummy while they assembled the first machine and ate lunch afterwards, but now that she drew across the plans for the third coffee machine with broad strokes and swoops of her quill, she found herself drinking more and more out of her glass. Adding ‘ice cubes’ to it had improved the taste several fold to the point that the level in the bottle dwindled rapidly as she worked, humming idly to herself in counterpart to the happily perking machine on the wall.

Trixie leaned against Twilight and watched the wedding through the window, taking the time to add her broad hat to the little alicorn’s head to fend off the low trembling she could feel across her back. “You wish you could be down there, don’t you?”

“No,” said Green Grass, bent over an evaluation with his red pencil.

“Not you, stupid.” Trixie nudged her ‘sister.’ “Menace.”

“I’d be too afraid. Here. Need you to sign.” Twilight remained with her tail pointing towards the wedding and her nose pointed at the table while slipping a thick stack of papers over to Trixie and holding out a pen. “Witnesses.”

“I swear there won’t be a tree left standing in Equestria by the time we’re done,” grumbled Trixie, turning away from the touching wedding scene and applying her flamboyant signature to the sheets that Twilight slipped under her pen. “How much paper is involved in a wedding, anyway?”

“Be glad you didn’t have to sign invitations or thank you notes,” grumbled Green Grass in a matching crabby voice. “Not to mention the Oops-Sorry-Here’s-Your-Present-Back cards. Did you know Stallmark made a special wedding card just for my parents?”

“Here on this line,” said Twilight, sliding the bundle of papers over to the tutor and pointing. “And here. Here. Sign and date here. And here.”

“My jaw is cramping up,” he mumbled through the pen.

“Your poor bride will never forgive you at the honeymoon,” said Trixie with a snicker.

“There,” said Twilight, taking the stack of paper and blowing on a few to dry the ink. “Still need the mayor or Luna to sign before done. Official.”

Setting the pen to one side, Green Grass massaged his jaw. “So how does it feel to be gaining another father, Twilight?”

“Weird.” She huddled deeper under Trixie’s hat and shivered.

“Well you are getting a weird father, I suppose,” said Trixie. “Better than Greenie’s.”

“Trixietrixietrixie!” A blur of pink dashed upstairs and turned into a Pinkie Pie, hopping from one hoof to another like a little filly outside a crowded restroom. “We need your help with the fireworks! We were going to have these big boomers and bursts go off right when — where did she go?”

“Come on, Pinkie!” sounded Trixie’s voice from downstairs at the door. “Hurry up!”

“Got it!” A pink blur vanished down the stairs before zipping back up, depositing a piece of cake and a glass of punch in front of Green Grass and Twilight and zipping back down the stairs again. “Coming!”

Green Grass paused and considered the plastic fork he found himself holding in one hoof before digging into the cake and taking a bite. “This place is crazier than the asylum. But the food is better.”

“Is Pinkie Pie crazy?” asked Twilight, cringing under Trixie’s hat so much that Green Grass could hardly see anything but her tail.

“Eh, I suppose. But in a good way,” he added with another bite.

“Am I crazy?”

The next bite of cake hung in front of Green Grass’ face for a moment before suffering the same fate as the last. “Who isn’t, in one way or another. Stars, this whole town flings themselves into things no sane pony should even consider. If you’re crazy, you’re in good company.”

“I’m afraid. I don’t want to hurt anypony else. If I’m crazy, I should be in the hospital like…” The hat trembled even more and Twilight’s voice dropped an inaudible level.

The cake plate made a little scraping noise as Green Grass pushed it away and scooted closer to the occupied hat, putting one hoof reluctantly around it for support. “I’ll admit, I probably needed my time at Broadhoof as much as anypony there, but I don’t think you should be locked away, Twilight.”

“You didn’t read my file,” said the trembling hat.

“Well—” started Green Grass before the lights went out in the coffee shop and an explosion of red and green sparks outside the window shook the building. In an instant, he found the contents of Trixie’s hat propelled across the bench to clutch with an iron grip at his neck.

“Urk!”

The surrounding kitchen seemed to shimmer at the edge of her perceptions while the pipes and fittings flew into position, bursts of inspiration adding parts as sparks sprayed and molten solder splattered on her hooves and muzzle. It could have been easier if she could have just changed time in some tiny fashion, but she had promised, and Trixie would be angry if she broke her promise. She might even shout at Monster, and take away her library card, and that was too frightening to think about.

Hours had passed since she had first begun the project, and fatigue fought with the liqueur that she had been drinking, making her surroundings seem to hold still for brief periods before bursting into a flurry of activity. The tremble from the fireworks rattled the pipes and shook the walls, making her add two more flange supports to her Great and Powerful machine as it came together in a glowing assembly that dominated the room.

Trixie would be happy when she saw the finished magnificent machine and tasted the absolute perfect way it teased out every bit of flavor from the atomized coffee beans, swirling the extract through purification and transformational sections of the machine. Bitter acidic residue would be shunted to one side and disposed of while the various portions of the sweet flavorful fluid would be mixed and swirled until it would be lovingly placed in the receptacle at the end in an inky solution that defied description.

It was too bad that her friends had all gone to watch the fireworks. Otherwise the machine would be a living symbol of friendship, made with the help of all of them. Well, maybe not a living symbol. It throbbed with its own magic, consuming the beans and water in a magical matrix that powered itself, but it had no more life than Scootaloo’s scooter. Maybe the next one could be taught to live, or to extract the very essence of coffee from the universe without the need for beans or water. The potential for creation was limitless, far greater than anything she had done with her old magic that could only destroy and kill. Just little things remained to be done, and Monster dabbed a speck of paint here and tightened a clamp there on the warm body of her creation. Little bits of her coat that had been too close to the welding spell still stuck to the machine in charred brown bits here and there, as well as more than a few splatters of molten metal stuck onto her own coat, making the machine as much a part of her as she was to it. She could even call it her mechanical sister. Although it would not hug or love, it had taught her something so insightful and amazing that Monster still could not figure out just what it was. Perhaps more of the coffee liqueur would help, if she could find any of the bottles that had not been drained.

The boom and rattle of the exploding fireworks continued to shake the night air, with ‘oooh’ and ‘ahh’ from all of the watching ponies except two. Green Grass held Twilight’s file in a firm grip, reading down the page in the solid magenta glow of Monster’s horn. When another burst of crimson sparks would explode across the sky and her glow began to slacken, Green Grass would softly clear his throat, and she would concentrate again on making the light bright and constant for her teacher. She knew he was doing it just to distract her from the terrifying explosions, but in a way that was a good thing, because it showed he cared in some way.

She read along with him because she could no more resist reading the words than Pinkie Pie could keep from eating candy. There were still words in her file that she could not understand, and he pronounced them when she pointed with a trembling hoof, and even let her correct some sections that were wrong, but it made her cringe to think of her actions being judged by strangers like the fanciful stories that had been in the newspapers. It was easy to complete each page far ahead of him and fidget against his side, hoping that he would not realize that she was also slipping paper napkins under the table in her magic to mop up the wet spot she had made when the first firework had gone off. There was a lot of coffee perking around in her bloodstream that would wind up the same way if she could not get a handle on her fear and leave his warm side for the bathroom soon. When he was done, he leafed back to the psychological section and stared at it while the fireworks boomed and popped in the background.

“I suppose I have you to thank for my father’s overbearing attempt to get me married,” he said finally, although his tone was soft and gentle instead of the accusing growl that she expected. “We were in a family outing when you had that first uncontrollable Flare. Got separated from mother and father. Frost was so frightened, but both of my parents were almost incoherent. When they found out the disaster was caused by a unicorn student flaring, you would have thought my talent of teaching little unicorns magic was some sort of horrible toxin that I needed to be treated to cure.” Green Grass held her close regardless of the dampness and kissed her on the top of her hat. “I’ve seen a couple other unicorn students flare. You must have been terrified.”

golden fire descending from the sky while screaming ponies fled in panic… the lunging approach a long white horn… the feeling of damp grass against her burning flesh…

She shuddered up against his warm, shaggy coat. “A-a-almost d-died.”

“But you didn’t. You lived and you grew and you saved Princess Luna. And now you’re young again so you can grow up and live and maybe even do something more fantastic than return Princess Celestia’s sister.”

“O-or m-maybe I’ll d-destroy everypony.”

Green Grass shrugged and got out a piece of paper. “And I was going to go crazy with a cake slicer in a wedding reception. It’s not a good parallel, but I met a nice pony at the hospital who’s a wonderful talker. He really helped me, and I think you might like talking to him too.”

He finished the note and passed it to Monster, who looked at it before floating it over her shoulder and tucking it away in a wrinkle of space for later. “Is he a nice doctor?”

“Doctor? Oh, no. He’s a patient, but he has weekend passes.” Another explosive shudder went through the building as a last few fireworks thundered into the sky, and then the lights in the building came back on as the country band started to play on stage. Happy ponies stomped and swung through dance steps out in the grass, and a small twitch became obvious in Green Grass’ cheek. Following his angered gaze, she could see the spot of raspberry coloring in the crowd that matched his father’s mane, and the glitter of blue eyes watching the building. Chrysanthemum was not dancing or smiling along with the other ponies despite several visits by Pinkie, just standing in a position where he could watch both the front and the rear doors and lurk in ambush for his son.

“Is your father crazy?”

“Ye—” Green Grass caught himself in a coughing fit. “No, of course not. He just — well, he’s worried about me, I suppose, and only wants to protect me.”

“With butterflies?”

“With a wife who never leaves safe and secure Canterlot, so that I won’t ever be in danger again. I swear sometimes I think they just want to put me in a cage. A good cage,” he added quickly at Monster’s inquisitive look.

“I d-don’t like cages.” Monster trembled while huddling to his side. “When… Shining A-armor and C-cadence—” she took a shuddering breath “—used to go into the forest after me, I was afraid they were going to l-lock me up. I couldn’t see them without memories coming back, and it hurt so much, and they wanted to hold me close and make more memories come back and it would hurt more and more and—”

A ripping explosion sounded outside, punctuated by the sounds of screaming.

Weddings were boring and irritating things. Admittedly, Monster was happy that Tallgrass was marrying mom, but there still was a spark of jealousy that burned in her heart, made only worse by the constant itching of the bandages supporting her sprained ankles, which felt like they had ants crawling around under them. Mom would be upset if she found out, so Monster wrapped that spark of jealousy in an insulating layer of artificial happiness so the spirits would not be troubled, and stored that tight bundle in her chest where she could add to it as needed.

And she needed. Everything seemed to rub her the wrong way, from the way that the special ceremony that Zecora used to raise the sun was being treated as some child’s toy, to the horrible explosions in the sky that sent eye-burning sparks flying in all directions. There were even two other ponies sharing their special night with Luna: that annoying dark pegasus and her stupid husband. They were both just so happy that it leaked out all over the place, and made all of the changelings in the crowd look so goofy with those annoying little happy smiles. She never used to have to hide her emotions around mom before, but changelings cheated, and the compartmentalization of her anger needed to be perfect or they would flinch like she had stuck a pin in their flanks.

Even after the ceremony, Monster was not able to go away somewhere, preferably a dark cool root cellar where she could hide until the anger subsided. She had to be social, shaking the hooves of everypony and in particular, that annoying pink pony who seemed to just appear out of nowhere whenever Monster had found a quiet place to hide. At least holding a plate with a piece of that horribly sweet cake and a cup of nauseating pink liquid kept her at a reasonable distance, allowing Monster to lurk in the darkness under a table full of glasses and napkins.

The problem was the private place that Monster had found was not totally her own. The annoying band had struck up a horribly-loud and ear-grating musical tune that she was just starting to tolerate when a yellow and pink blur launched over several nearby ponies and dove into the darkness where Monster was hiding. Fluttershy was streaming tears as she bumped into Monster, blathering something about being chased by a horrible pony, when the skirt over the table was shoved to one side and a unicorn stallion with an obviously fake smile looked down at the two hiding ponies.

The world seemed to lurch to one side and slow.

Fluttershy gave off a tiny squeak of terror and tried to hide behind Monster.

The unicorn stallion lit his horn and began to reach with his magic.

Something inside Monster snapped.

The magical field the unicorn was generating went out like a blown candle as Monster grabbed him in her magic and slammed him sideways into a table full of punch and cake. Glass and confections went flying in all directions, moving slowly as they tumbled through the air. All around she could see surprised faces as Monster bolted out from under the table after the aggressive stallion. He was fast, driven by fear to grab a nearby table and thrust it between him and Monster.

She was faster. She blew it up.

It only took a twitch of her familiar power to explode the table into a concussive blast that flung the stallion across the grass and into another table filled with cake and punch. She could hear her voice shouting something about not hurting her friends as she grabbed him in her magic again and flung him just as hard as she could throw him.

High in the air.

In a straight line towards the nearby town hall.

She knew what was going to happen the moment she released her grasp on the hapless unicorn. His velocity was high enough that every one of his bones would shatter and snap on impact, reducing him to a bloody corpse splattered where everypony in town could see what she had done.

Who she had murdered.

Again.

Even if she wanted to save him, she could not reach her magic out that far to catch him again. Teleportation with her new magic required a calm and tranquil state of mind, while her old teleportation spell was only accurate within a fraction of a mile or so, and tore at her mind with rage.

He was going to die.

The body flailed its limbs in reflex as he flew through the air, screaming in terror. She wanted to look away, but something inside forced her to watch what she had done. To record every last moment of his life. To understand just why she needed to flee back into the Everfree Forest and never to come back. To know why she needed to leave her friends.

A sledgehammer of pain shot through her head with every beat of her heart, the familiar agony she had constantly experienced during her years in the Everfree. It seemed to welcome her into the comfort of oblivion, the difficult task of thinking discarded for simple rage and pain. Would he hit the building head-first, and be spared his own agony of shattered nerves, or impact with his rear first, and expire in horrible pain? It seemed important for some reason, but the answer never came as a blue streak trailing a rainbow contrail ascended into the sky and plucked the screaming stallion from his deadly trajectory.

“Got ‘cha!” Rainbow Dash continued to streak straight up into the sky out of hearing range, the last that could be heard was her shouting, “...and you don’t scare Fluttershy like that or I’m going to…”

There was mixed and inconsistent applause from the ponies who had not seen Monster, and a shocked silence from those who had. She staggered in pain, managing just to look back long enough to ensure Fluttershy was going to be all right before dropping to one knee and holding a hoof to her nose. It seemed to be moist and reddish in the silver light of the moon, dripping in a constant stream that smeared across her foreleg, and her mother, who had managed to scoop her up and was holding her close to her chest regardless of the blood.

“Twilight?” breathed Green Grass in stunned bemusement, trying to split his attention between the small collapsed alicorn out in the wedding party and the terrified one clutching to his hind leg. He had just looked out the window at the abrupt noise and caught the last moments of the fight when Twilight, that is this Twilight had squeaked out something about “i’msorryi’msorry” and clamped down on his hind leg like she was terrified of being thrown into a shark tank. “What’s wrong?”

“It wasn’t supposed to go wrong,” blubbered the little alicorn. “I couldn’t make up my mind on what I wanted to do and I thought it wouldn’t hurt any and I’m so sorry please don’t be mad at us and fail us and send us away!”

“Us?”

“Three,” sobbed Twilight. “One for the wedding, one for my friends, and one for my sister.”

Words failed Green Grass until he finally managed to choke out, “Dull old Ponyville. Yeah.”

A small group of worried ponies gathered outside the door to the kitchen, including Twilight Sparkle, and of course Twilight Sparkle. The first Twilight held a damp and deeply reddish cloth against her nose and seemed to twitch in a mixture of anger and embarrassment while leaning against her mother, both of whom were still streaked with blood. The second Twilight clung to Green Grass’ leg, both of whom smelled slightly of urine and spilled coffee. The Night Guard had cleared out a little breathing space in the coffee shop for the group, but it had promptly filled up by small ponies worried about their friend, regardless of how many of them there were in the room.

Princess Luna in particular took great pains to project an image of ‘things going rather well despite the explosions,’ and opened the door to the kitchen without a twitch.

The twitch came after she opened the door.

Twilight Sparkle, which was the third Twilight, lay on her back in the middle of the kitchen floor, a dark bottle upended in her mouth as if she were attempting to get the very last drop out of the bottom. Her little wings were extended for balance, and all four other limbs waved gently in a perceived breeze as she hummed in counterpoint to the soft music that filled the small room.

It only took two steps into the kitchen before Luna stopped cold, her amazement at the drunk alicorn filly nearly passed out in the middle of the floor overcome by a sense of awe at the mechanical device affixed to the wall. Little balls of magical light floated back and forth in glass and stainless steel tubing, making spirals and fractal patterns of light and darkness flow across a maze of interconnected pipes. Faint wisps of multicolored steam wafted from the device in several spots, highlighting colorful dials and spinning wheels that flashed and blinked with great abandon. It not only gurgled with the sound of coffee in the process of creation, the machine seemed to be speaking in some mechanical fashion in the background of a soft, cosmic tune without notes or meter. There was a nearly overwhelming temptation to listen to the sounds and try to make sense of them that Luna refused to yield her willpower to, moving instead to a knob labelled ‘Volume’ and turning it down to a low hum.

“Menace?” said Trixie, walking into the room along with the others. “What in Equestria did you make?”

“Coffee,” replied the little alicorn with a hiccup and a belch. “D’ya have any more of thess?”

One dark glass bottle floated up in Trixie’s general direction, and after a moment of trying to catch it, and an evaluation of how many other empty bottles were lying around the room, Trixie turned to Luna and hesitantly asked, “You said that Alicorns can regenerate about any injury, but how resistant are they to poisons such as alcohol?”

“She will be fine, but that is immaterial to the real problem we are faced with,” said Luna. “What do you see when you look at your little sisters?”

“Trouble,” responded Trixie without a moment’s hesitation. “Little Miss Feel-No-Pain there is going to encourage the rest of her little friends to start experimenting with booze. And over there—” Trixie pointed, giving only a slight twitch of guilt as the half-full bottle of bourbon in her cloak gurgled “—we’ve got a volcano just waiting to blow, and she looks impatient. And attached to the big green chicken over there, we’ve got a little chicken, who really needs to be taken to the little fillies room, I think.”

“I’m done,” squeaked Monster, not relenting in her tight grip on a somewhat damp Green Grass for an instant.

“Anyway,” said Trixie, pressing the point, “the first thing we need to do is find out what idiot taught Menace a spell to copy her—” Trixie’s face went pale as recent memories of her lesson over at the temporary town hall filtered through her memories. “Wait a minute. I just taught you a spell to copy papers, not ponies. Tell me you didn’t copy anypony else, particularly any of your friends?” A quick shake of two little identical heads and one ‘whee!’ from the third was a little reassurance for Trixie, although she did cast a quick look out into the crowd of little ponies (and one changeling) to make sure none of the colors were duplicated, and three in particular.

“Look again, Trixie Lulamoon. There is more to be concerned about than meets the eye.” Luna turned to the three identical little ponies and scooted them closer together so that Trixie could get a better look. They all stared back at her with dark purple eyes, some more bloodshot than others, but after a moment, one important similarity soaked in.

“They’re all sick. There was something wrong with the spell. That’s why they’re all so weird. None of them are copies; she split herself into three pieces.” Trixie blinked in shock. “It’s like my Puppet spell, but she’s put so much of herself into… well, herselves, she doesn’t have enough to keep herself alive.”

“Precisely,” said Luna.

“Is Twilight going to die?” Apple Bloom had stepped forward to one of the Twilight’s side and added her plaintive gaze to the rest of the little ponies, all looking at Trixie as if it were her fault.

“No, of course not,” said Trixie. “All she has to do is pull herself together, and she’ll be fine.”

“I can’t.” The three little Twilights even had their own mixture of inebriated, bitter and terrified that split their simultaneous answer into a small chorus. “I didn’t think about that when we started,” continued the angry one. “Stupid spell.”

“Well, Princess Luna can…” Trixie trailed off at Luna’s slow shaking of her head.

“What has been done was done from within. I will be powerless to affect her.”

“Well, we aren’t just giving up!” snapped Trixie. “Everypony out of the kitchen! Twilight, Twilight, Twilight, the Princess and I are going to have a study session where we are going to sit down with this problem and beat it to death with coffee and — ick — books.”

All three Twilights perked up from their dismal poses, and one of them made a move towards the newest coffee machine before being stopped by Princess Luna. “Just one moment, young Twilight Sparkle.”

Luna picked up the crystalline coffee carafe in her magic and swirled it in a slow motion that made the inky black contents curl in waves as if the night itself had been turned liquid and imprisoned in glass. A short puff of steam from the pot drifted across the surrounding ponies, leaving a trail of perked-up ears and wide eyes, and more than one adult quietly pulled out a coffee cup of their own for a taste once the Princess had finished her inspection. With one last glance at the intricate mixture of machine and magic on the wall, she tipped the pot over her own cup and watched as the dark surface of the coffee filled it. Somehow all of the light in the room seemed to be drawn towards the contents of the cup, vanishing inside without a trace other than a faint twinkle of what could have been stars in coffee.

She lifted the cup in her magic, bringing it to her lips while the onlookers held their collective breaths and stared in wonder. With a long inhaled breath, Luna relaxed, her mane and tail flowing with darkness and specks of light that seemed to swirl in synchronization with the coffee. Then she lowered her lips—

And took a sip.

Darkness swelled along her mane and tail, pouring down onto the floor and filling the room in a heartbeat with impenetrable night. Even the lights and sounds of the coffee machine faded into the distance as absolute silence encompassed the crowd, only aware of each others presence by the touch of their shoulders on each other. They could have been standing in the stygian night for minutes, or even hours, just feeling the warm darkness surrounding them all in a moment of perfect tranquility.

Then a single pinpoint of light appeared above, a tiny fierce light that cut through the darkness like a knife, but without illuminating a single thing. The light was joined by another, and another, until they appeared in tens and hundreds, stars across the vastness of ebon night, an infinite expanse of space stretching to eternity in all directions. Ever so slowly, the stars faded and the light returned, and far sooner than anypony was willing to admit, the simple walls of the kitchen once again surrounded them, but different in some fashion. It seemed real in some way beyond their comprehension, and yet as if it would blow away at the slightest breeze. In one single motion, every adult with a coffee cup put them away, tucking them into manes and saddlebags until only Pinkie Pie was left, holding out her cup with a huge grin.

“It’s so perfect,” breathed Luna, still holding her empty cup in front of her face. “The mixture of flavor and accents, the temperature, the way it clings to the cup while being consumed. Even the aftertaste does not have the slightest trace of bitterness or sour, just a reflection of the true oneness of the bean.”

“I’m officially creeped out now, Princess,” said Trixie, picking the carafe out of Luna’s magic and putting it back under the dispenser. After a moment of thought, Trixie also conjured a thick chain across the front of the glowing machine, and threw the power switch securely to the ‘off’ position.

“Even the cup is perfect,” said Luna, holding the simple porcelain cup up to the kitchen lights. “The way it holds the flavor while spreading the aroma despite its ordinary simplicity and common materials. The finest Yixing pottery would not accent the flavor in a more pleasurable fashion. And the handle. Oh, that perfect handle…”

Something was bothering Trixie about Luna’s behavior other than the obvious, but she only realized what it was when the Alicorn of the Moon gently drifted towards the back wall of the kitchen while floating a few inches above the floor, still held in the rapture of her empty coffee cup. “Not much help there any more,” muttered Trixie, and after a look at all three Twilights, she added, “or there. Looks like Plan B.”

Turning to the crowd of concerned little ponies, Trixie announced, “Do not be afraid, for I, the Great and Powerful Trixie shall put your friend back together again unharmed! First, I shall need somepony to clear off a place on stage for me to perform my act!”

“Me! Me!” shouted Snails, dashing out the door.

“Second, I shall need my hat!” A pink glow of magic lifted the purple hat from one of the Twilights, who responded by clinging even tighter to Green Grass’ leg.

“And thirdly, I shall need Peep Sprout to get—” Trixie paused in a dramatic pose “—the Box.”

“Right!” Peep dashed for the door, but paused before leaving. “What do you need the box for?”

“What do I need the box for?” said Trixie in response. “Why, that is no ordinary box. With that box, and my amazing power, I shall do what no unicorn has ever done before. I shall take these three ordinary fillies and transmogrify them back into her original form! Now go! And, bring the box back here.” She gestured to where Green Grass had crumpled almost to the floor. “I think Twilight wants something to hide under when we all go up to the stage.”

Watching the little changeling dart away, Trixie grinned at the rest of her small audience. “Now if somepony will tie a string onto Princess Balloona over there and pull her out to the stage—” Trixie slanted her hat down over her eyes “—It’s showtime!”

Credit to Trout Fishing in America - A Proper Cup of Coffee

Inspiration for the coffee machine provided by Girl Genius and Phil Foglio.

Luna’s Lab by Muffinexplosion on Deviant Art

26. Evaluations, Stations, and Recommendations - Part Seven

The wisp bobbled uncertainly at the back of the classroom, perched to the side of the pale pony that fascinated it so. Apparently all of the little unicorns had certain tasks they needed to do in the room, and Philomena and the wisp’s entrance had delayed those tasks considerably, considering the hurried pace at which they were rushing through their lesson.

The prospect of ‘pranking’ as Philomena had explained was rapidly losing its appeal. It even seemed somewhat cruel, and the wisp considered the trail of upset ponies that they had both caused while watching the pale pony build a spell. The concept of ‘cold’ was something it had never been able to convey well to the other wisps in the sun, and the sight of a dozen or so little unicorns all creating a ball of ‘snow’ with their magic would have been unthinkable. Frost was doing far worse than the rest of her classmates, with only a small dribble of slushy ice in front of her horn despite a wrinkled-up face depicting an act of supreme concentration. It seemed unfair to the wisp. Many of the other unicorns had smaller internal fires than Frost, but had fairly large balls of fluffy snow hovering in front of their horns, some even manipulating the balls into simple shapes.

Frost’s fire twisted through several tangled knots before emerging from her horn, while Monster had a channel to her fire that was as thick as a tree. The wisp had not thought about it while being within the tortured little unicorn for so many years until the day Monster had met Sweetie Belle, who could barely splutter a few green sparks. The wisp had touched her powerful fire in full force when the Element of Magic had been unleashed, those knots and channels of hinderance straightened and groomed into lines of unlocked potential. All of the little Element Bearers had touched the wisp then, and been touched in return, and the wisp used that feeling of unlocking now as it reached out for the unstable stream of power that Frost was pouring into her spell.

The nearly-instantaneous wall of whiteness that enveloped the wisp was a cold shock, sweeping it across the room in a huge explosion of icy snow until it wound up sitting at the front of the classroom, looking back at the pristine sheet of white that covered the whole class. There was an indignant chirp, and Philomena burst out of a snowdrift in the back of the classroom, spraying snow in all directions. Following in rapid succession, the rest of the little unicorns popped up out of the snow, smiling and laughing like the cold shock was fun.

And it was. The wisp blinked in realization as the idea hit it just as hard as the wave of snow. That was what made a prank funny instead of cruel. Surprise. The relatively small amount of pain or embarrassment was countered by the shock of an unexpected event, like the firecrackers that Philomena had dropped behind the stuffy well-dressed ponies, or the—

-*POOMPH*-

—or the sudden impact of a ball of snow on a phoenix who was sitting in one place thinking instead of enjoying the sudden snowfall. The wisp shook the leftover snow off its feathers and dodged a second snowball from Philomena, soaring up into the air as the little unicorns began to pelt each other with their magical snow. For a while, it darted and ducked through the flying snow, catching an occasional snowball for its trouble, but carrying out several wings full of snow dropped down unsuspecting necks for squeals of happy laughter. They all had a great amount of fun before the class was dismissed and the wet students darted off in all directions.

The two phoenixes remaining glided through the corridors of the school with the smell of warm feathers in their wake, swinging around each other and playing tag with the laughing students until their paths took them outside into the evening air.

In the darkness, lit only by the moon and stars.

“Fillies and Gentlecolts!” announced Trixie from the middle of the stage with a burst of fireworks that made the cardboard box at her side tremble. “Gather around, for the Great and Powerful Trixie has an emergency announcement!” The wedding guests crowded closer to the stage, keeping a spot open where a somewhat tranquil Princess of the Night watched also, although with a string around one hoof that was tied securely to a nail at the edge of the stage so she would not float away.

“Due to a magical accident, little Twilight Sparkle has been divided into three different ponies. One here—” Trixie managed to lift the cardboard box a few feet into the air before a strong magenta aura slammed it back down, giving the surrounding ponies a quick glimpse of the frightened little pony, still clutching the red cloak and a ragged strip of cloth to her chest.

“And two over here.” At Trixie’s gesture, Zecora nudged two other little red-cloaked ponies out onto the stage, one with a distinct stagger to her gait and the other still splattered with pink frosting and glaring out into the audience. They took their places on either sides of the box, which ever so slowly had the holes in front filled by a multicolored horn and a pair of terrified eyes peering out.

While Trixie expounded to the crowd with broad hoof-waving and a great amount of shouting, the three little Monsters whispered to themselves in a mixture of fear, uncertainty, and seething annoyance.

“Afraid. Don’t want to die.”

“It’s all your two’s fault,” growled the other. “This idea was stupid. Trixie’s idea is stupider.”

“Is she going to do something or just talk?” said the third in a very slow and deliberate way, sounding out each word as if it were trying to escape.

“Misssmartypants isn’t helping,” whined the first from inside the box.

“Do not fear, my little Flowers. You must have faith in Trixie’s powers.” Zecora held herself close to one side of the Twilights with her head down next to them, pressing her shoulder to them with a warm, motherly presence.

“What she said,” added Tallgrass from the other side, trying his best to add support to the Twilight he was next to, who merely growled and scooted closer to the box in response.

“What’s that!” squeaked the Twilight in the box.

“Your stupid sister wrote on the box,” grumbled the other Twilight. “It’s now supposed to be a ‘Transmorgifyer,’ if that’s even a word.”

“She misspelled it, I think,” slurred the other. “Need a dictionary.”

“I hope she knows what she’s doing,” whined the Twilight inside the box.

I have no idea what I’m doing!

Trixie kept her patter going while pacing back and forth across the stage, drawing the attention of the onlooking ponies and building it to a climax where the actual magic would happen, if she could only figure out what that was going to be. Every one of the ponies out in the audience was looking at her as if she were really some Great and Powerful unicorn who could actually bring three ponies together into a single, living, not-crazy, and hopefully still an alicorn, Twilight Sparkle, and do it twice a day and three times on Saturdays. Even though she could only see the rump end of Twilight’s parents, or at least what she had for parents at the moment, it seemed as if even they believed in her abilities. At least they had not bundled their daughters up and fled the stage for some other country. Even Luna, blitzed on Menace’s cosmic coffee and still floating a few inches above the stage, had a glazed look about her that Trixie decided to interpret as confidence in Trixie’s abilities.

And that gave Trixie an idea.

Oh, it was a terrible idea, and would probably get Menace killed, as well as anypony in the immediate vicinity, but since she planned on being as close to the target as possible for the actual implementation of the Worst Idea in Equestrian History, that would not be a problem.

First, she needed a focus.

“Behold, the Transmorgifyer!” Trixie gestured towards the box with one hoof and stopped. “Wait!” Pulling a magic marker out of her cloak, she scribbled ‘Transmorgifyer’ on the front of the box, pausing only to scribble out one obviously misplaced vowel to the giggling of her audience before taking the exact same pose.

“Behold, the Transmorgifyer!” This time there was applause out in the audience mixed with the giggling and she rolled into the next portion of her plan. “This mystic device has been passed down through the ages, used only for the reunification of divided alicorns — and of course, the transport of educational forms,” she added with a squinted look at the side of the box.

“First, I would like to ask the subject, or subjects in this case, to please step inside the transformation chamber.” In one swift motion, she lifted up the box with her magic, stuffed all three little alicorns under it, and jammed it back down. The resulting lumpy box bounced a little while being restrained in her magic until the contents rearranged themselves into a more comfortable position.

“Your horn is poking my butt!”

“I’m sorry!”

“Ow!”

“Thank you, Twilights. Now, we come to the most dangerous portion of the process, so dangerous that I must ask all of you to back away from the stage, even you, Miss Zecora. And Mister Zecora.” With a backwards glare from both zebras, and a somewhat displaced thought that she was starting to actually think of Tallgrass as a real zebra, the parents moved off the stage to join the crowd. Even Luna was towed back into the crowd by Apple Sprout or whatever her name was, pulling her by the string like a princess-sized balloon.

“A little bit farther. That’s fine. Now, the Cube of Transmogrification requires enormous power to operate, far more than any one unicorn, no matter how Great or Powerful she is could possibly generate. Even an alicorn could not power this mystical device by herself.”

Trixie stepped forward and swept one hoof through the air. “But the power of friendship knows no such boundaries. Little Twilight Sparkle has become a friend to all of you here, and we shall use that power to reunite her once again. Only with the power of earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns combined, can Twilight survive this coming ordeal, so I will need everypony’s full and complete concentration.”

Lowering her voice and motioning to the crowd, Trixie continued, “I need all the earth ponies gather in an arc around the stage, the pegasi to fly up in a circle around the whole area, and every unicorn needs a line of sight to the box. Then on my signal, each group of ponies will focus their magic on the Cube of Transmogrification, first the earth ponies, then the pegasi, and last, the unicorns.”

One hoof popped up in the crowd. “What about alicorns?”

“Alicorns can — I suppose participate in all three phases, if that’s okay with you, Princess Luna?”

Luna nodded, although it could have just been a stray breeze from all the pegasi flapping up to take their positions around the stage.

“Now… Yes, you over there.” Trixie pointed at another raised hoof, with more holes in it.

“What about changelings?”

“I was getting to that,” said Trixie, wildly calculating her words internally. “Changeling magic is one of the most important portions of this transformation. We could never carry it off without you. Each and every one of you changelings has one form that you are most comfortable with, and that form contains the magic that grants you the most power. Take that form now, and contribute your magic during that particular phase. Now, are we all ready?”

One small hoof raised up in the back. “I need to use the bathroom.”

“It will have to wait!” Tapping on the box with one hoof, Trixie called out, “Twilight Sparkle, are you ready?”

“I’m scared.”

“I could uschee a bathroom break toos.”

“Hurry up!”

“She says she’s ready!” announced Trixie. “Earth ponies, are you ready?”

“Ready!” came a solid wave of sound from the surrounding ponies that momentarily staggered Trixie.

Her heart was pounding beneath her rib cage so violently that it seemed wanting to break out as she raised a hoof to the sky and called out, “Pegasi, are you ready?”

“Ready!” echoed around the plaza, with one somewhat delayed, “Yeahhh!”

In terms of volume, the pegasi were nearly as loud as the surrounding earth ponies, and the breeze that they were putting out by hovering already threatened to blow Trixie’s hat off. Giving it an additional sticktation charm to prevent a sudden exposure of her ravaged mane, she turned to the unicorns in the crowd. There were not as many of them as she would have liked, due to the relative agrarian nature of the peaceful farming community, but she was proud to see every one of the little unicorn students was right out in front with determined faces and glowing horns, even Sweetie Belle.

“Unicorns, are you ready!”

“Ready!”

Fighting a nearly overwhelming urge to take a step backwards, knowing that a single step would inevitably lead to another and another until she was running as fast as she could go, Trixie turned towards the lumpy-looking cardboard box that wriggled in her magical grip. “Sorry, Twilight,” she whispered before raising her voice.

“Earth ponies! Go!”

The anticipated feeling of earth pony magic was less obvious than Trixie had first thought, until she noticed the boards of the stage beginning to curl up, little sprouts of green shooting up through the cracks as long-dead timbers began to remember the mighty trees that they had once been. Leaves and vines grew up in moments to surround the cardboard box, shining silver and green in the moonlight. It was so impressive that Trixie nearly missed her cue to call up into the air, “Pegasi! Go!”

A veritable hurricane of air smashed downwards, flattening Trixie against the writhing boards of the stage and squishing her hat flat against her head. The box sagged under the impact, each little squirming body outlined in cardboard and frequent punctures as horns and wriggling hooves poked new holes in their prison. They looked terrified, and Trixie almost called the whole thing off right then except for the mental image of a little dead filly multiplied by three that would certainly be the result if this did not work.

“Unicorns!” she bellowed, using an amplification spell to cut through the wind noise. “Go!”

Monster struggled against Monster in the tight confines of the cardboard box, trying not to gag at the smell of urine, coffee, and alcohol that filled every breath. Scuffs, scratches, and one particularly painful horn-gouge later, she managed to get her face in the same general area as the rest of her faces and whisper, “I think she’s making it up.”

“She’s our sister. She wouldn't lie to me. Us. Our friends.”

“I really have to take a piss. How long is this going to take?”

A wave of earth pony magic swept over the cramped box, and the scratch of clutching vines surrounding their prison grew to a roar. As one, each little alicorn closed their eyes and concentrated, their horns lighting up a soft magenta that filled the inside of the box.

Waht is she doing? She’s tooo close.

My hooves are on fire!

It just feels that way. Lean into the magic. Soak it in.

It hurtses! Ow!

An explosive wave of air smashed down on them, crushing them together on the rippling planks of the rapidly disintegrating stage with the cardboard of the box being held together by only the growing coils of vines and twisted saplings that sprang from the dry wood. Trixie was just a few paces away, held as flat against the stage by the power of pegasus magic as all three Monsters but with her horn glowing bright pink in the brilliant moonlight.

The combined power of earth pony and pegasus magic swelled into a bubble around the frail box in a tightly wound core of pure magic that the Monsters could scarcely breathe inside. It lapped at the edge of Trixie’s position in slow ripples while the world slowed to the little alicorn’s perceptions. They could see in all directions through the growing rents and tears in the cardboard, protected by only a red cloak and the three tattered Miss Smartypants dolls across each of their backs. The magic fairly seethed with unleashed power, needing only a spark to ignite it into an explosion of magic. And the glowing horns of the unicorns in the crowd looked to provide those sparks and more. Even Luna’s slightly-glazed expression did not stop her horn from blaring a brilliant indigo blue as she leaned forward in seeming slow-motion. Time slowed farther, the whipping of leaves across the stage reduced to a snail-like crawl under Monster’s combined power, colors cascading through ruddy crimson and oranges as the three Monsters absorbed the incoming magic.

Can’t absorb fast enough!

Too full!

It hurts!

All three looked at Trixie, laying flat against the crumbling stage while contributing her own magic to the spell. She was far too close to the focus point of the building spell, and the ominous glow of power from Luna as her horn lowered into position left no time to debate. A dome of magic appeared over Monster and Trixie, not the pink of Shining Armor’s shield, which would have reflected the incoming magic out into the crowd in a possibly fatal explosion of power, but a violet bubble of absorption that pulled at the bursting cascade of magic, drawing it into three little bodies that were inadequate to the task.

Burns!

Not let sister die!

Flickers of fire appeared on Trixie’s cloak as the power flared beyond the ability of Monster to control, only for the flames to go out like matches in a hurricane as a nova of pure power engulfed the center of the stage, soaking up every single bolt of unicorn magic like a thirsty sponge.

And in the middle of the power, Monster floated.

A bubble of impenetrable light surrounded Trixie, as easily conjured as a foal might take a step. Inside, the blue unicorn drifted, cut off from all time and space while Monster felt the pulse of the universe flow through her. There was only one being, not three that drew the magic of the town into herself, although at that moment she could have split her essence into a thousand forms without effort. It was a timeless experience, and nothing was beyond her magic for that fraction of an instant.

What would you do if you could do anything you wanted?

Magic could change anything. Cover the entire town in candy. Fix all of the old broken things in the library that Trixie complained about. Rebuild the Town Hall, no, improve the Town Hall. Give Trixie the wings she always desired.

You’re not letting me make my own decisions.

Chrysanthemum was out in the crowd, a speck of raspberry in a sea of colors to the eye, but to her magic, he was a brilliant flare of recognition. Shining Armor and Cadence had brought him along to hunt her when she was still an unthinking monster, and he had been the only unicorn in their group not to shoot at her. At the time, she thought it was because of his compassion, but she realized now it was because of his fear. Ponies like him wanted to control things, and feared that which they could not control.

She would not become like that.

If she used her magic to force change on others, she would be no better than he was. Other ponies would fear and hate her, just like his son hated him.

The moment passed.

Time began to speed once again.

There was only one thing that Monster wanted as the world rushed in, and it took almost no effort at all for her to do it.

Without magic.

The actinic glare of magic burst in a soft explosion of power, a warm blast of compressed air that blew manes back, and barely stirred the pulverized remains of the stage encircling a shallow crater where the ‘Transmorgifyer’ used to sit. Standing in the center of the crater, up on her hind legs in her traditional gesture of ‘Look At What I’ve Done’ stood Trixie.

And standing directly in front of her as the smoke cleared, was a single small alicorn wearing nothing but a timid smile, who spoke two words in the deafening silence that followed.

“Hey, Presto?”

It was a curious sensation indeed that filled every fibre of Trixie’s being. Moments ago, she was going to die in the middle of the most spectacular failure of a performance anypony had ever seen. From that point on, literally dying on stage would have been called ‘Pulling a Trixie,’ and her name would have been immortalized far more than she had ever wanted.

Now, she was being carried around town on the shoulders of cheering ponies, reveling in their admiration.

One moment: certain death. The next: celebration.

It certainly was not a dream, because if it were, she would have wings. She always did. But in a way, it was both worse and better than any dream she had ever had.

In the midst of the performance, there had been one transcendental moment at the point where the hairs on her ears had just begun to catch fire when she started to truly recognize the scale and scope of her screwup. But now in hindsight could she see the horrific risk she had placed, not only on Twilight and herself, but all of the ponies in the town. Had she failed, Twilight would have died, not only directly in front of her little friend’s eyes, but also due to their actions. Trixie would have been dead, Twilight would have been dead, and all of the little ponies in the town would have been traumatized far worse than anything they had ever been through, or even killed as the primal spell energy violently did whatever three or four different kinds of pony magic did when mixed.

Twilight Sparkle, even as mentally crippled and age-regressed as she was, had been more wise with a bowl of ice cream than The Great and Powerful Trixie, Student to Princess Celestia had been with all of the resources of her training and experience.

What if you do something that gets you killed?

And now, instead of being reduced to elemental particles and spread in a thin layer over Ponyville as she deserved, the town’s residents had hoisted her up on their shoulders and were carrying her around the plaza. There was no way that she should have escaped the shallow glassy crater that had replaced the stage, let alone winding up behind Menace just in time to accept the cheers and applause that shook the ground. She should have been dead, gone, toast, Princess Celestia’s ex-student, with an empty casket being placed in the ground and some small stone monument to recognize her past life. Well, a large monument. It was doubtful that even her parents would have made the trip from Neigh Orleans in order to pay their respects for their only child who had failed in such a dramatic fashion.

Before Twilight Sparkle, that would have been the extent of her failure. But now? Not only did the crazy little alicorn love her like a sister, but a dozen or so little unicorns thought she was the most fantastic thing on four hooves, Zecora had mentioned how much she appreciated Trixie’s help, and even Princess Luna seemed happy to join with Trixie in her favorite game of Let’s Make Green Grass Blush.

She had never thought of the hole she would leave behind if she died. Fame, glory and recognition was supposed to be eternal as wings and a horn, but the pure joy she was experiencing as the townsponies carried her around the plaza on their shoulders would be gone by tomorrow, living only as memories. Well, plus a crater where the stage used to be and the distinct memory of telling the Mayor to add the damages to her bill while lost in the rapture of the impromptu parade.

Their first triumphant circling of the plaza finished, Trixie could not help but notice the buzz of excitement had worn off of Menace, giving way to her normal furtive glances towards someplace to hide. With a wave of her hoof, Trixie commanded the processional to stop for a moment with the excuse of ‘Little Filly Bathroom Break,’ and saw Menace off to the coffee shop under the watchful eye of her mother. Trotting to the little alicorn’s other side was the Princess of the Night, looking much more alert and wakeful as she cast a single look backwards just before they entered the shop.

Celestia was noted as being able to convey a whole sentence in a single look; Luna’s look could have been written up as a thesis. It was reassuring, encouraging Trixie to enjoy her moment of praise while a subtle reminder not to get too carried away with the celebration. There was also a bit of praise in it, a gentle hoof on the back that indicated the Princess of the Moon both respected and trusted her sister’s student, and although Trixie would much rather have had a huge statue with that emblazoned across the front, one took what one could get. There was also a teeny, tiny part of it that leaked out around the edges that indicated Princess Luna had not been as lost to the Oneness of the Bean as she seemed, and that at any moment if anything had gone wrong in any way, she would have flung herself forward to protect Twilight, and possibly Trixie if she had been in a convenient location and it was not too much trouble.

Years of interpreting Celestia’s body language also cued Trixie to a certain spring to her trot that indicated when Whippoorwill's father came back to his coffee shop, there was going to be a rather large hole in the wall in his kitchen, and a matching rather large bag of bits to compensate for it. The sight would have made Trixie feel a little more comfortable except for the brief glance she had caught of Pinkie Pie escaping from the shop with a thermos tucked under one leg, but that was somepony else’s problem for now.

“Once more around the block!” she cried out to the cheering crowd. “And strike up the band! It’s time for dancing!”

The sound of flushing preceded a very small and very meek little alicorn as she shuffled out of the bathroom, looking considerably more relieved and a little damp around the face. Zecora nudged her gently from behind when she stopped upon seeing Luna waiting for her, taking several bumps until Monster finally shuffled forward and bowed down in the coffee shop main room.

“I’m s-sorry, Princess Luna.”

“As well you should be, Twilight Sparkle. Walk with us.” Between the formal glare and the thin-lipped frown, it was obvious that Princess Luna was upset, but Monster could see the faint traces of tears on Luna’s face too, as well as a small smile that threatened to escape at any moment. She led Monster up the stairs to the table full of paperwork where Green Grass was still working and gestured for her to be seated on a bench that showed signs of recent cleaning.

“Thou hast put thyself in great danger by thy actions, and it was only by the actions of your sister that a horrific disaster has been averted.” At that, the smile did make an escape, but only to temper her expression into something that Monster could actually look at without bursting into tears or hiding under the table.

“I almost lost my little sister. My experiences with being a big sister are far too few for you to take such risks, Twilight Sparkle. You must learn from your mistakes, not simply seek to build upon them.” An explosion of noise outside that resolved into a country band vigorously hammering on their instruments after their break made both of the alicorns jump slightly, although Luna spent a considerable time with her head cocked to one side before returning to their conversation.

“We shall never understand modern music. In any case, can you tell me what it is that you did wrong, so that you might not repeat your folly?”

“Well.” Monster considered the issue briefly. “When I was doing the space-mass tensor deconstruction, I think the rounding errors on the formula added instead of cancelling each other out, giving me an energy imbalance across—”

“No.” Luna placed both of her forehooves over her face and sighed. “No,” she repeated, slightly muffled. “Just… No.”

“Please allow me, Your Highness, to phrase the question with more success.” Zecora moved up to stand next to Princess Luna at her nod, and turned to her adopted child. “Consider your decisions, my daughter, and not your power. At what time did your decision turn sour?”

“When I decided to s-split myself into three parts so I could b-be with you and Trixie and m-my friends,” sniffled Monster.

“But that did not work out in the end, for when I found you, I saw no friends.”

“W-well, Trixie had to go help with the f-fireworks, and my friends went to watch them, but I was to b-busy building the coffee machine to go with them…” Monster sniffled to a stop. “Should I have only split myself twice, or maybe—”

Now it was Zecora’s turn to apply a hoof to her forehead.

“May I take a shot at this, Your Highness?” Green Grass stepped forward at Luna’s nod and passed Monster several sheets of paper across the table. “Your evaluation is complete, Twilight. Here’s your scoring sheet, the standard list of descriptions and explanation of the codes, and your approved spell list to this point. I’ve included a number of study sheets listing a progression of spells you should be learning over the next six months until the next Youth Educational Specialist visits Ponyville, and an exception form if you find any spell you would like to practice that is not on the list. Just fill it out and have it approved by your certified instructor before you start to work, and make sure they supervise you during any attempted casting.”

Zecora looked over her adopted daughter’s shoulder as she examined the papers, smiling and saying, “Your list, it seems, is limited in scope, but my Flower is not some ordinary dope. Her skills may be raw and unrefined, but they need the guidance of her own kind.”

The back door to the coffee shop banged open before Trixie staggered in with a shout. And with a slightly different hat.

“Yee-haw! I’m startin’ to like this town, yes sir-ree.”

“Oh, give it a rest,” said Applejack, trotting inside right behind her. “You dance one square dance with Big Mac and you think you’re all countryfied. And gimmie back mah hat!”

“Speaking of certified dopes,” whispered Green Grass as the two exchanged hats. “Trixie, could we see you for a moment?”

“Eenope!” With a swirl of her cape and a burst of smoke, Trixie vanished from the hallway, leaving only Applejack blinking and coughing. “But you can talk to me all you want,” said a voice out of thin air. “Oh, Your Highness. Sorry, I didn’t see you standing up there.” The blue unicorn faded back into view with a smile and a sweep of her familiar hat.

“Trixie Lulamoon, come here.”

Even after the Royal Command, Trixie still had a bit of a swagger to her walk as she trotted up the stairs and dropped into the seat next to Monster, although that cocky attitude vanished with Luna’s next words.

“Twilight Sparkle’s magical education was your responsibility.” Ignoring the way Green Grass edged slightly away from Trixie, Luna continued in a low and very serious voice. “What do you have to say for yourself, young mare?”

“I didn’t use any time spells,” blurted out Monster.

“And why not?” asked Trixie, turning to face her as if Luna was not standing at the end of the table.

“Because you would be mad at me,” sniffled Monster, trying to slump down under the table again.

“Sit up. Come on, up on the bench and look at me.” Trixie leaned in close to the little alicorn and whispered, “Do you know why I’m just a teensie, weensie little bit mad at you? Because you didn’t tell me about your spell so I could watch. I don’t know if I would have been smart enough to stop you before casting it, or even if I would have encouraged you, but you didn’t even give me a chance. I must have botched up hundreds of spells during training, but always under the supervision of somepony else who can catch and fix my screwups. I’ve never been on the other end of the idiot stick, and I really wanted to see what it feels like.”

“You were going to die,” whispered Monster.

“I know,” whispered Trixie back. “But I didn’t. And even if I had screwed up bigger than you, I had the most powerful alicorn in Equestria right behind me. A mare’s reach must exceed their grasp—”

“Or what are the heavens for?” said Monster, finally lifting her head up to look Trixie in the eyes.

“You have a potential far greater than any alicorn in existence, Menace. I’ll bet that even someday Princess Celestia will be asking for your help with spells. I may never get my wings, but I can help you fly, and that will give me far greater immortality than any feathers.”

“You can fly?” asked Monster, cocking her head to one side.

“Figuratively,” said Green Grass. “Although she did play Princess Whinnyfred one year in our drama class. Broke two wire harnesses in practice before—”

“Anyway,” said Trixie. “You’re not going to do any more neat spells like that without me, right? I want you to promise.”

Monster did the ritual with the pretend cupcake in a somewhat half-hearted fashion, and accepted the kiss on the top of the head from both Trixie and Zecora with an uncomfortable squirm.

“Very well,” said Princess Luna. “We shall take you at your word, Twilight Sparkle. If there is nothing else, I would go out into the celebration and practice this ‘Dancing in Squares’ that Trixie spoke of. Although we shall need a partner…”

With a twitch that looked a little as if he had been poked by a pin, Green Grass spoke up. “I would be honored to escort you to the dance, Princess Luna, except I have completed my evaluations of the young students here and am ready to return to Canterlot on the night train with my father in—” he pulled a watch out of one of his pockets and consulted it “—less than twenty minutes.”

“What of your butterfly bride?” asked Luna.

This time Green Grass looked to the bottom of the stairs where his father was waiting before responding. “I have an obligation to fulfill. The law is quite clear in that regard. As long as my parents wish me to wed Lady Swamp Flower, and she is willing, I have no choice in the matter.”

“Wedding license,” said Monster with a twitch. “Princess, you need to sign the licenses for the weddings tonight.” She picked a stack of paper up and pushed it over towards the princess, along with a quill and ink. “Trixie and I got them all done.”

“Quite a thick stack of papers,” said Luna. “The mayor told me that she fills but one sheet for weddings. Did I somehow wed the entire town?”

“Forms,” mumbled Monster. “Non-residents, address changes, things like that.”

“Hm…” Luna flipped through the stack of papers like a gambler dealing cards, pausing twice to dot an i or cross a t in the middle of the pile while adding her signature to the lines on the forms that required it. “Seems to be quite a waste of good papers,” she grumbled in a somewhat pleased fashion, wielding her pen like a rapier until she paused on one particular sheet about three quarters of the way down.

“Lord Green Grass,” she said, interrupting the young colt as he packed up his bags. “In the event I should accede to your request. Would you be happy?”

To his credit, Green Grass only hesitated for a moment while packing his papers. “I think… No. Little ponies are where my heart lies. Seeing the way their eyes light up when they cast their first spell, or how they pour their little hearts into making even the smallest of sparks, that is where I will find happiness.”

“I see.” Luna turned her head to look down the stairs at where Baron Chrysanthemum was impatiently waiting for his son. “And will becoming Lord Green Grass of Marshon give you happiness?”

This time Green Grass waited a much longer time before responding. “No. But I believe I can endure it.”

Making a noncommittal noise, Luna returned to her signing, finishing the stack with a flourish and a glow of her horn that duplicated it perfectly into three new piles. “Specialist Pumpernickel and Laminia, please come forward.”

A shadow passed over the open window and both dark pegasi appeared next to the table, making Trixie gasp in surprise and Green Grass spill a pile of papers over the floor. Luna placed one stack of papers in Laminia’s saddle bag, then floated a much shorter stack over to the quiet mare.

“Regardless of the wisdom of my action, you two are now officially married. Take the copies of the forms to Canterlot and see that they are properly filed. Afterwards, you both may have the rest of the evening off. Dismissed.” Pumpernickel got as far as to open his mouth before Laminia dragged him out the window and up into the sky in a flurry of membranous wings.

Turning to the mayor, who had been hovering discretely just out of earshot, Luna floated the second pile of papers over to her. “I presume you can still file these duplicate forms this evening, Madam Mayor?”

Once the mayor had scurried away to deposit her paperwork, Luna turned to Zecora and Tallgrass. Peeling off a significant number of papers from the stack and floating them over to the blushing zebra mare, she said, “I must say, yours is the most unusual wedding I have ever presided over to the present. May what we have joined together in holy matrimony never be parted.”

“Thank you, Princess Luna, for the gift of your time. We appreciate your presence, for both Flower’s and mine.”

Tallgrass cleared his throat.

Zecora blushed. “I mean for my husband and I, our thanks we give. And Flower too, as long as we live.”

The two of them stepped to one side to get out of the way as Luna turned to face the departing tutor, who was plodding down the stairs as if he were going to a funeral.

“Lord Green Grass.” The young colt froze on the stairs. “Turn around.”

Luna patiently waited as Green Grass rotated in place with one box on his back and a suitcase gripped in his mouth. Waiting until he sat the suitcase down and composed his features, she continued.

“I regret to inform you that your plea for my hoof in marriage is hereby rejected. We sincerely hope that your life with your new wife will be filled with joy, and wish the two of you a happy life together. What the stars have joined together, let no mortal tear asunder.”

Turning to Trixie, Luna floated the remaining stack of papers to her. “You may kiss the groom.”

27. Evaluations, Stations, and Recommendations - Part Eight

“Oh, very funny, Your Highness,” said Trixie, placing the papers back on the table. “Like I’d marry Green Grass. We’d kill each other inside of a week.”

Luna did not look amused.

Neither did Menace, who was staring intently at Green Grass’ father with an expression Trixie had last seen on a cat who was lurking just outside of a mouse hole.

Green Grass did look amused, but just for a moment. Said expression turned to concern as he looked at Menace, then nervousness as he looked at Luna, then pain as he tripped over the suitcase he had dropped in front of him. After scrambling over the bag, he dove on the short stack of papers and pawed through them with trembling hooves.

“She’s right.” He showed the signed wedding license to Trixie and pointed with a shaking hoof at the bottom. “We both signed it, and so did Luna. It’s official. I suppose I should welcome you to House Chrysanthemum now.”

“Well, that’s just…” Trixie paused at the thought that trickled up through several layers of indignation and aggravation, fighting its way to the surface of her mind and tugging gently on one ear.

Lady Luluamoon. Or Lady Trixie.

It did have a certain ring to it. And it did solve Greenie’s problem, although a second look at the fuming anger that was boiling up to the surface of her new father-in-law made Trixie quite happy that both Luna and Twilight were on her side in the upcoming explosion.

“Fraud!”

Anger streaked his vision in shades of crimson as Marteau Chandler, the fifteenth Baron of Chrysanthemum stomped up the stairs toward Trixie, using his magic to fling the fallen luggage to one side. “You two-bit stage hustler! You incompetent trollop! You planned this, didn’t you? What did my son promise you? Bits? A title? Well you can kiss that goodbye! I’m taking my son back to Canterlot and we’re getting this farce of a marriage dissolved so he can get married to a real mare.”

“Baron Chrysanthemum,” began Luna, “I can assure you—”

“Shut up!” bellowed the baron. “You’re as much a fraud as Beatrix there. I never believed this ‘Nightmare Moon’ scam Celestia tried to pull on us, not ever! She bobs the sun and moon a couple of times, sends her idiot student to podunk Ponyville with some cockatrice and minotaur story about some unspeakable evil ‘Mare of Darkness’ being purified by her idiot student and five nobody farmers, and we were all supposed to bow down and kiss your cutie mark. Any story that depends on believing that Beatrix would take a single step outside of her comfortable life that didn’t involve a bottle of cheap bourbon and some sleazy stallion is pure fantasy.”

Both Luna and Trixie had taken a step backwards while he shouted, their faces matching pictures of shattered composure. Greenie stepped forward and opened his mouth to say something, but stopped abruptly as Marteau grabbed him by the muzzle and ear with his magic.

“And you!” he snarled. “I’ve had it with you! Your mother and I sacrificed everything to protect you, and what thanks do we get? You want to run off to a Griffon aerie, of all places, to sit down at dinner and talk to them about some bloody battle that happened two centuries ago! Griffons eat ponies, you idiot, how many times do we have to tell you that? We are going back to Canterlot, you are going to get properly married, and you are going to stay there with your nice safe wife in a nice safe mansion and you are going to like it! And the next two words I hear out of your mouth had better be ‘I do,’ or there will be Tartarus to pay!”

He turned and stomped down the stairs with Green Grass stumbling along behind him, obviously unwilling to risk the loss of an ear by digging in his heels. He had almost reached the front door to the coffee shop when it slammed shut and glowed a deep violet. A quick blow from a forehoof did nothing but bounce off, and he considered ripping the door off with his magic until he felt the level of power coursing through the door, and determined that he would have better luck trying to raise the moon on his own. He whirled around, ready to shout at Princess Luna, but stopped at a most peculiar sight.

In the resulting dead silence, every other pony in the coffee shop regardless of their age had backed away from a straight line that could be drawn between him and Luna. Several had found the fire extinguishers and were holding them with an indication they would be needed rather soon, and there were at least six of them restraining some blue pony with a rainbow-streaked mane who was saying a muffled something about ‘can’t talk about Gilda that way!’

The little multicolored pony who had been huddled beside the zebra all afternoon was staring down at him from the top of the stairs, her iridescent wings spread wide and a deep purple glow coming from her horn. There was something oddly old about her eyes, even drawn into a fierce scowl and trembling along with the rest of her small body. She may have looked like a little alicorn, but he knew better, and her voice was broken and thready as a terrified child when she spoke.

“Let Greenie go.”

“Or what?” Marteau glared up the stairs and pulled his son to one side so he could see the little fake alicorn. Greenie was trembling, a sure sign that he was stressed near his breaking point. It had been wrong to let him come to Ponyville; they should have just carried out the wedding in Canterlot and let Celestia whine instead of bending over for her and Trixie’s fake monsters.

“You’re not the Monster of the Everfree,” snarled the baron. “I’ve seen that beast with my own two eyes. You’re just some hopped-up fake that Beatrice has dragged out of her bag of tricks, like a fake bouquet or a vanishing cabinet. That trick with the box and the stupid villagers was impressive, but nopony could have survived if it were real. The monster that was Twilight Sparkle is dead now, probably killed when that changeling hive exploded. All that’s left is Trixie’s smoke and illusions. Well, it won’t fool me.” He turned his fiery gaze on Luna, who was looking nearly immobile and quite inscrutable. “Open the door, princess.”

“Or what?” The question did not come from Princess Luna, but from the little fake alicorn, whose jaw had set like iron and eyes blazed white with power.

“Drop the illusion, Beatrix,” growled the baron. “Your little puppet isn’t fooling anypony.”

The little fake alicorn took one step forward, holding that pose as every pony in the coffee shop took a sharp breath. Then the white glow in her eyes slowly faded away, revealing only the soft purple that had been there before. With hesitant steps, she trotted back to the table and retrieved a single sheet of paper, taking it over to Luna. After a brief amount of whispering together, Luna motioned Trixie over, and all three of them put their heads together and conspired while the baron steamed with indignation.

“Open the bucking door!” he snapped, giving a spiteful kick at the purple magic that not only sealed it off, but extended around the walls and windows of the shop as far as he could see. “Open it up or we’ll miss our train, and I will not be responsible for the consequences.”

For some reason, that set off a wave of tense chuckling among the elderly rural ponies backed up against the walls in the coffee shop, but before he could find out why, the three mares, foal, mare, and immeasurably old, all looked up from their discussion at once. Trixie was first to step forward, with a dramatic wave of one hoof and a grim smile that was quite unlike her normal arrogant sneer.

“Dad.” She paused and raised one eyebrow. “I can call you dad, can’t I?”

The baron opened his mouth to respond and something grabbed his tongue, hauling him straight up in the air until he was dangling a few inches from the ceiling. The magic that he had wrapped around Green Grass just cut off like a switch had been thrown and a ripple of fear ran down his back, compounded by the voice of Trixie calling out, “Menace! Your study schedule has a very strict limit on any weight you lift with the levitation spell. Put him down.”

Gravity resumed its hold on his body and he crashed to the floor with a mighty thud, but the moment he scrambled to his hooves, the magical grip on his tongue resumed. His magic was still suppressed just as firmly as if a suppressor ring had been slammed down on his horn, and fear began to slowly douse the flames of anger in his chest. Across the room, a set of angry violet eyes returned his gaze, triggering the sinking feeling that he had just made a terrible, terrible mistake.

Oh, buck!

“Dad, I just wanted you to know that Princess Luna and I talked it over,” started Trixie somewhere beyond the baron’s frozen entrancement with the little alicorn, “and we decided that you weren’t being stupid. You’re just uneducated. After all, you’ve known Princess Celestia for years and haven’t done anything nearly this dumb. So we’re going to let Twilight Sparkle teach you a lesson.” At that, the little alicorn began trotting forward towards him with a single-minded determination, passing by his side and pausing in front of the door as Green Grass blocked her path.

Greenie swallowed, and lowered his head so that he could look her in the eye. “I do hope that you don’t hurt my father, Twilight.”

“I won’t hurt him,” replied the little alicorn without even a glance back at Marteau. “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. Ow.” A wave of relaxation seemed to sweep across the room as all of the ponies let out a breath that he didn’t realize they had been holding, some even chuckling to themselves at the monster rubbing her eye or taking the opportunity to call out for coffee refills.

It was madness, pure and simple, crazier than the contents of the asylum by far, but every one of the ponies in the coffee shop including his son took that insane promise as some sort of inviolate promise from the monster. He was still standing in stunned thought when the purple magic vanished from the door and the little alicorn stepped through.

Friday Haystings stood there in a rather perplexed pose as if he had been knocking on the door without a response, but when he saw the baron, he began to say, “Ah, there you are sir. I was—” His eyes flickered down at the little pony who had just stepped through the door, and then his attention returned in a long look that took in both her horn as well as her wings. “Ahh… Sir?”

“It’s fine, Friday,” said Green Grass. “Father is just going to take a walk with one of my students.”

A sharp jerk on his tongue made the baron stumble after the little filly, managing to cast one despairing look backwards as she picked up the pace and they started to trot.

“I’ll just exchange our tickets for something on the morning redeye, sir,” called back Friday. “It looks as if you’re going to be tied up for a while.”

For a little filly, Twilight Sparkle set a punishing pace. Baron Chrysanthemum found himself occasionally breaking into a gallop when he fell too far behind and a sharp tug on his tongue would encourage him to greater speed. The houses of Ponyville passed behind them in the darkness with the only light illuminating their path coming from the treacherous moon and stars, but as they crossed the border into the Everfree Forest, sweat began to trickle down his back. Exercise was only a small part of the perspiration, because as soon as he could feel the sensation of crossing the magical border between the safe magic of Equestria and the wild magic of the Everfree, their sensation of speed began to twitch with little flickers of movement where the surrounding forest would abruptly change with every blink. Even if he could summon up enough magical energy to cast a spell, he was hopelessly lost in moments, and the terror that was beginning to tie his guts into knots only grew as the little alicorn began to talk while running, in slow but deliberate words that contrasted with her rapid pace.

“I remember you. It wasn’t that long ago. You took the place of that tall unicorn with the little scar on his nose. I remember because when I spotted your group, I can recall wondering if I had killed him the last time S-shining Armor and C-c…” The little alicorn sniffled and slowed her killing pace to a brisk walk. “Cadence. The last time they came into the forest, I dropped part of a hill on them. I was having a very bad day. Did he die?”

The sensation of magic around his tongue vanished, and Marteau Chandler took a quick swallow before responding. “N-no. He had the flu, and I took h-his p-place.”

“Don’t be afraid. I’m not going to hurt you. I just want you to learn what happened to me. To Luna. Sometimes the thoughts get all tangled up in my brain, but I’m getting better at thinking now. I could hardly think back then. I was always in pain, and angry. Or scared. Mom helped. She saved my life, packed my burns with herbs, and sang the songs of her tribe to me. I never wanted to hurt anypony, but the forest had times where it hates everything. And then there were times when it was so beautiful that it just could not be described. Sometimes at the same time. Listen.”

She slowed her trot to a halt in a wide spot on the pathway between clumps of huge trees, with the buzz of insects in the background overlaid by the creak of frogs and rattle of crickets. Over it all floated a few beautiful notes of music like some ethereal flute, dipping and rising over the surrounding forest noises until it was joined by another, and then a third. He stood there in the silvery darkness of the forest clearing with his jaw agape, breathing in the cool air across his abused tongue.

“It’s beautiful. So peaceful.”

The little alicorn turned abruptly as her horn glowed a bright violet, and a toad-like creature floated out of a nearby bush. It was nearly as large as an adult pony’s head, with a mouthful of sharp, pointed teeth and small spindly arms that held a crooked flute. Its small pigish eyes glared red at him, and it gnashed its jagged teeth in fury, waving the flute which the baron realized in shock was made out of a fairly large bone, about the size of a pony limb. With a deep breath, it twisted to face the baron and howled in rage, snapping viciously with a little splatter of noxious saliva.

“They hunt at night in packs,” explained Twilight, giving the creature a good shake to quiet its howls and shrieks. “They won’t attack while you’re awake, but when you sleep, they surround their victim and creep closer, and closer until—”

“No!” gasped the baron, recoiling away from the bloodthirsty little beast, only to scurry back to Twilight’s side as the sounds of more flute music came out of the darkness. The little alicorn almost negligently tossed the thrashing creature out into the darkness and resumed her brisk walk, with the baron hurrying to catch up.

“There’s more in the forest. Lots more. If they tried to eat me, I destroyed them. If they left me alone, I left them alone. They learned, or at least the ones who could. Some things never learn. They’re animals. They only live to destroy and eat.”

Twilight trotted through a shallow ford, swerving to avoid several large rocks poking through the surface that the baron could have sworn moved as they passed, slitted yellow eyes watching and determining if the moving objects were worth the effort of digestion.

“For a while, I was nothing more than an animal. Thinking hurt worse than anything you can imagine, and I would flee into the forest when it got too bad. My mother had to put my food in a bowl when I came crawling back. But she still sang to me every night, even when I was roaming the forest. More often than not, I would just drive something from their den and sleep there. If it fought, I killed it. Mom’s singing both drew me and repelled me, and I would find her wrapped around me in the morning with tears still rolling down her face. Zecora is my mother, but Twilight V-v-vel…”

“Velvet,” prompted the baron. “Twilight Velvet and Night Light.”

“Yes.” Twilight slowed her pace to a walk. “When I did things that reminded me of them, drinking from a cup, eating from a plate, even reading buks… books, I could feel that fire from the day I brought down the sun on Canterlot. It burned me to ashes every time I remembered. It was so easy just to remain a beast. But she never gave up on me. Every time I would limp home with another wound from fighting, she would hold me close and stitch me up, while watering my coat with her tears. Eventually I learned to embrace the pain, letting it focus my magic. She taught me as much as I could learn about the zebra spirits, but I knew there was more. I didn’t know what it was until I found friends.

“I never had friends before, so they didn’t bring up any painful memories. They trusted me, and made me laugh, and brought me things. It was a wonderful time. I could almost forget I had been an animal.

“That’s when we met, Mister Chrysanthemum.”

“Please, call me Martin,” said the baron totally by reflex, although he blinked a few times after saying it.

Continuing as if she had not even heard him, she said, “Shiny’s shield was perfect that day, and while I was recovering from trying to teleport out of it, I almost approached. I was out in the bushes, fighting the pain until I blacked out. I only remember flashes after that, but I do remember Chives jumping on top of you, which is good. He told me that I had not hurt any of the guards too bad, and that none of them died. I’ve killed far too many.”

She continued to trot down the darkening path under the gathering clouds in silence until Marteau could not stand the quiet any more. “Did you really kill the changeling queen?”

“Yes. No. Maybe. I don’t know.” Twilight’s horn glowed brighter and a pink bubble surrounded the two of them. “I turned the whole hive into flashpaper with a crude spell and hid under Shiny’s shield.” She winced and turned away from the baron. “I can’t help it. I hate being smart. I can look back now and see how I could have doubled the power of the explosive. Even the changelings tell me I did the right thing, but I could have done things so different. Why does killing one creature make you a murderer, but killing a few thousand makes you a hero?” The pink bubble went away, and the darkness flooded back in.

He continued following the dim glow of her horn in the darkness, the only light other than the distant flicker of fireflies and foxfire of decaying vegetation. The path became rougher, sending him into more than one near stumble as they walked. Over the raucous sounds of forest animals, he could hear the faint rumble of wild thunder overhead in the thick cloud cover, a storm that would form by itself, go wherever it wanted, and fade away when it was done. He shuddered in the darkness, made only worse by Twilight’s quiet voice.

“Animals kill. Monsters kill. Princesses kill. I don’t want to kill anything.”

She stopped so abruptly that the baron almost tripped over her in the noisy darkness. There was an intensification of purple in the clearing, a soft and gentle touch on the forces of nature that made the rumbling clouds slide away and revealed a scene of breathtaking beauty under the glowing moon.

It was a curving lake of pure silver, shining molten in the light of the moon and stars. Faint v’s of moving objects under the water combined with the reflective glow of eyes both above and below the water made the baron stumble back a step. Not a single tree stood taller than his knee across a perfect circle of the clearing, making a cold trickle of sweat travel down his back.

He knew this place.

He had stood right here and faced down into that hellish valley of death and destruction to catch a glimpse of the frightened little monster who stood by his side now. The scarred earthen wounds in the forest had healed over in a soft green that covered everything within sight, the gaping pit had filled with clear water, and the tortured unicorn who had looked so broken back then snuffled a little and rubbed against his leg.

“I never could kill the forest,” she whispered. “It always grew back. Kill a cragadile and another is there the next day. Destroy a tree and a hundred sprout up. The only thing that died when I killed it was changelings. Sometimes in my dreams, I used to kill. I would pull the sun down on Canterlot and watch it burn, or kill the ponies who made my head hurt so much. Killing the changelings was like another dream. But it wasn’t.

“Everytime I hear the name Twilight Sparkle, I remember. I was standing in the crater of the hive and looking at the bodies of the changelings I killed. The name was going to be my first step back into the light. Instead, it reminds me of my darkest time. I’ll always be a monster, even after I learn how to be a Twilight. Luna and Celestia know you can’t just make old mistakes go away by forgetting them. We need to remember what we did and why we did it.”

High above them, a flock of giant bats wheeled in the moonlight, swooping and darting across the sky. Long after they were lost to sight, Twilight continued. “I lost control tonight. I don’t know why. Until I can control the monster inside, I can never allow myself to grow. It could happen again. Or worse.”

There was a low tremble to Twilight’s coat as she huddled up against him, feeling as cold as a stone. “Am I dreaming now?” she asked. “I can’t tell.”

“No,” he whispered back as the chill Everfree breeze blowing through his coat evaporated the drops of perspiration on his back. “This isn’t a dream, Twilight. Please don’t kill me.”

“I won’t hurt you,” she said, nudging Marteau until he sat down on a circle of soft grass. She climbed onto his chest and curled up, her soft tail under her head as a pillow. “Will you sing to me? I know it’s not a dream if you sing.”

“I’m… not much of a singer,” he whispered, feeling her cold body warm as she snuggled against him.

“Please? I’m so tired. It’s been a very long day.” The low tremble from the little alicorn felt so much like Green Grass when he had been a sickly little foal, in and out of the hospital so often it seemed as it had become a second home. He would curl up in this exact same way next to his father’s warm belly and beg for a story about griffons or guards in far-off places. And when he got too tired, his father would sing him gently to sleep, praying that he would wake up in the morning.

The cold trembles slowed until a quiet snoring came from the little alicorn, her tiny wings twitching in her sleep and a damp spot from drool beginning to form on his chest. He just laid there in the middle of the terrifying forest, trying to breathe quietly as not to wake her up. Her little heartbeats hammered away like hummingbird wings against his ribs, a faint but slowing tickle of trust and drooling that warmed his own heart.

Those tiny wings made him think of pegasi, and the traditions of their kind that never made sense to him. When Green Grass had talked about his dreams, it always seemed like pushing a baby bird out of the nest before the feathers had grown in, while ignoring the collections of cats at the bottom of the tree. Pegasi did more than push their children out of the nest at a young age, they pushed and shoved, locking the door behind them and ignoring the frantic hammering afterwards. Unicorns and earth ponies held their children close, keeping to the herd mentality even when sending them far away to Celestia’s school. An individual separated by themselves was an aberration, a temporary hiccup in the natural order of things that only happened when a young pony was sick or injured. In college, the young of all three tribes joined together to form connections that would last many years. That is all but one young pony he remembered.

When she had first become Celestia’s student, Trixie had seemed like a broken fledgeling on her own in Canterlot, huddling close to the Princess in public while putting on a bold front to claim she was standing on her own hooves. Celestia had trusted her, put up with her tantrums, tolerated her acid tongue. While the rest of the Royals were repulsed by her lies and boasting back then, and cut her out of their herd, she seemed to have actually changed more in a few months in Ponyville than a decade in Canterlot. Perhaps even the outlandish tale of Trixie’s rescue of Princess Luna might have had a few accurate facts scattered through it. The proof was hard to ignore when it was sleeping on his chest in the middle of the terrifying Everfree Forest.

The very quiet forest.

The sound of night insects and tiny creatures which had been almost deafening during their trip had faded out so gradually that he had not noticed, leaving only the rustling of branches in the light breeze that blew over the forest clearing.

A clearing that seemed to be getting smaller.

Greenish eyes glinted in the moonlight, forming a wide circle around his position as dry branches and jagged wood formed into crude wolf forms shuffled closer. Even the faint v’s of movement in the water stopped, as if the submerged predators were anticipating leftovers from the upcoming slaughter. Oblivious to the danger, Twilight Sparkle shifted in her sleep, stretching a hoof up along his neck while smacking her lips. In return, he carefully moved a trembling foreleg to support her weight, trying to keep her from from waking.

Even in his terror, he could feel something wrong with their approach. The timber wolves should have lunged forward in an unstoppable wave of hatred and destruction to tear their two victims into pieces, but instead they crept forward in tiny steps, their brushy heads held close to the ground and their tails dragging behind. There was a certain line the wooden monstrosities seemed to be unwilling to pass, forming a solid barrier around Marteau and the little alicorn with the rustle and scratch of tall branches subdued in the cool evening air.

Under his barrel, Marteau could feel the pounding of his heart in counterpoint against a low ground-shaking tremor, as if a gigantic weight were striking the ground, over and over in the distance. It grew stronger as he waited, with a sense of impending doom so terrifying that he could barely control his bladder, until the surrounding silhouettes of timber wolves parted and a true forest giant trod ponderously through the opening. Huge timbers and tree trunks formed each massive limb and body part, a melange of ancient trees that had grown in the forest for generations until their death and subsequent rebirth in the body of the titanic beast who glared down at Marteau with poisonous green eyes even larger than their target. The gargantuan woody beast slowed, its massive limbs touching the ground almost gracefully as the huge head descended, closer and closer to the baron and the sleeping alicorn, until Marteau could almost reach out and touch the bark-covered jaw.

And a familiar object stuck almost comically onto one of the smaller sharp branches that served as the creature’s teeth.

The giant timber wolf held still for the longest time until Marteau lit his horn, and using the most exquisite care, lifted the small cloth doll up and brought it over for closer examination. It was the most ugly doll in existence, with crude stitching and mismatched button eyes, but even if it was somewhat worse for wear due to being out in the forest for the last several months, it was still dry and warm, and Twilight snuggled into it like a long-lost friend when he tucked it under her outstretched foreleg.

The massive beast lifted its head and snorted in a low tone, looking off to the sky before turning and darting away far swifter than its size would indicate. In moments, the clearing was once again empty except for Marteau and Twilight, and he almost would have believed the experience was a delusion except for the lumpy doll clutched to her chest with an intensity that boded ill for anypony foolish enough to attempt removing it.

“Good evening, Baron Chrysanthemum.” Luna’s soft voice frightened him more than all of the timber wolves in the Everfree, and he was exceedingly glad to have his nether regions over an absorptive surface when the Princess of the Night glided down and touched the ground a few paces in front of his nose. There was a sense of exuberance in the alicorn’s demeanor, from the soft flow of stars through her ebon mane to the languorous stretch of her wings she made after landing. For a few moments, she looked at him with almost a smile peeking through her tranquil expression, taking in his look of abject panic and the way Twilight was using him as a pillow. “Dids’t my little sister properly educate you this fine evening?”

“Yes, Princess Luna,” he whispered back. “I’m sorry for saying those… things.”

She raised one eyebrow. “And?”

He lowered his head and looked at the ground. “And for my disgraceful treatment of Twilight, and yourself, and my son. Oh, and Trixie. I’m sorry I doubted your familial ties to Princess Celestia. I should have believed your sister in the first place, and if I had doubts, I should have confronted her with them in private, not screaming like an idiot in the middle of a wedding party.”

This time the impish smile which was hiding behind that impassive exterior lit up Luna’s face. “That was the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen anypony survive, and I’ve watched Trixie. You are forgiven, Baron Chrysanthemum. And it appears that Twilight has forgiven you too.”

A small smile twitched up the outer corner of his lips as he watched the little alicorn squirm into a more comfortable position on his chest. “Yes. She’s a very forgiving child.” The smile vanished as he looked back up to Luna. “Greenie will never forgive me for this. We butted heads over the direction of his life ever since he came of age. He even went into a mental institution rather than abide by our… well, she was a really horrible pick for a daughter-in-law, I suppose. He’ll never want to see us again.”

The silver shoe that tucked under his chin and lifted his head was warm as sunlight, and the soft teal eyes of the princess overflowed with forgiveness as she looked into his eyes. “Never is a long time. You have held your son so tightly over the years that you have never seen what he can do on his own. Allow him to spread his wings and fly, or his heart will forever be lost to you no matter how close you keep his body.”

“B-but Princess. He’ll fall.” There was only so long he could look into those ancient eyes before Marteau’s will crumbled and he blinked, looking down at the ground while he continued. “My father was so angry when Greenie was born. The first earth pony in our family in generations. He blamed my wife, he blamed me, he threatened to disinherit the whole family, but in the end, I wore old Bluegrass down. I don’t want to lose him.”

That silver shoe under his chin lifted Mateau’s face up to look into Luna’s eyes again, and she shook her head slowly as she talked. “Do not fear your son’s rejection. He knows we can be angry at our children and still love them, even when we do horrible things to them with good intentions. The river flows both ways, for children know their parent’s love will never leave them no matter their own well-intentioned rebellion. It has been so before I was, and shall probably be so even after I pass.”

The little alicorn sleeping on his chest fluttered a wing and leaned up against his warm neck with a smile. He blinked away tears, his mind caught in memories long gone and never to return. “Princess Luna, would you pass my apology to my son and my—” he swallowed “—new daughter-in-law. I don’t think I could face either of them tonight, and Greenie is probably already halfway to the Pericorn Mountain Range.”

Luna ‘tsk’d’ a few times under her breath while levitating Twilight up and onto her own back, tucking in a considerable amount of ethereal mane to make her journey more comfortable. “I believe you shall see your son return from his trip sooner than you realize. He is an impressive young pony with a large heart and many hidden talents, much like my sister’s student, and my new little sister.” After a brief sisterly nuzzle to the sleeping alicorn on her back, Luna examined the stuffed doll, giving it a cautious sniff and a test squeeze while obviously resisting the urge to pry it away from Twilight for closer examination.

Marteau stood up with considerable trepidation and the slightest scoot sideways to rub his damp underparts against a patch of dry grass. “Your Highness? We should probably get going. There a-are t-timber wolves around here.”

“There are?” Luna’s expression lit up with joy and she looked around. “Did you see any? I thought I saw an owlbear on the way here, but I lost it in the woods. I did discover the cutest little creature, though.” She parted her mane with a hoof and two malevolent little eyes glared out, watching Marteau with uncanny intensity.

“W-what is it?” He took a step backwards, but promptly darted back forward when something out in the water made a small splash.

“His name is Tiberius, and he’s just the cutest little thing, yes you are.” The Princess of the Night actually nuzzled the pale tubby opossum clinging to her mane, who hissed back with a mouth full of needle-sharp teeth.

Suppressing an “Eww!” quite firmly, Marteau cleared his throat and looked around the dark woods, which also seemed to be clearing its throat and looking back in a somewhat hungry fashion. “Princess? We really need to be getting going. I don’t want to worry Friday, and it’s a long walk back to the Ponyville train station.”

“Nonsense, my good Baron.” Luna threw back her head and looked up into the sky. “The Night is far too beautiful to waste by plodding along some forest path.” A band of indigo magic wrapped around Marteau’s chest, and with one stroke of her broad dark wings, Luna and her passengers rose up towards the stars.

A soft radiant glow filled the Ponyville library as Trixie lit a second candle in her bedroom, giving just enough light to finish changing the sheets and pillowcases and cram the dirty laundry back into the far corner of the room. It had always just seemed so much easier when the hotel cleaning mare or servant in the castle turned up the sheets, and whatever happened to dirty laundry had always been a mystery she had no intention of investigating. Maybe when she had more time, she could take them behind the library and run a cleaning spell over them a few times, but right now, she had plans.

Spike had ‘volunteered’ to go stay with the Cutie Mark Crusaders at Rarity’s for a sleepover, which left the entire library free for any midnight activities that Trixie might invite a certain stallion to participate in. After all, you didn’t get married every day, except for Greenie, and the night after the wedding was supposed to be magical, in a Great and Powerful way. Just because she could not stand to be in his wisecracking presence for more than a few hours during the day, did not mean that once the lights went off and his mouth was shut, he just might be more interesting than she had long thought of him.

After all, it had been a long time. And they were married. And it had been a long time.

The faint rattle and thump of movement downstairs made Trixie dart back to the bed and dive under the covers, feigning disinterest and fatigue while keeping both ears perked up to listen to Greenie’s progress towards the bed. The light hoofsteps stopped outside her door for a considerable time, and although just reaching out with her magic and dragging him inside was a temptation, she took a deep breath and waited.

Then the door rattled, creaking open and closed before light hoofsteps approached and stopped at the ancient dusty rug right next to the bed. It took all the control she had to stir slowly, giving a wide yawn before opening her eyes and stopping in shock.

“Menace?” The little alicorn looked naked without her cloak, deep purple eyes looking down at the floor while she dragged the ugliest stuffed doll in existence behind her by holding its ragged ear in her mouth. “What’s wrong, kid?”

“Mom and Tallgrass are… euphemisming.” Those dangerous dark eyes looked up and glanced around the library bedroom. “Where’s Green Grass?”

“You don’t think I’d drag Greenie into my bedroom tonight, do you? Menace, we’ve only really known each other for a few classes back in college.” Trixie scooted back on the bed and tapped the side. “Come on up here and sit down. You look terrible, and I should know.”

“Sleepy,” said Menace with a jaw-cracking yawn. “Greenie’s dad woke me. I don’t think he likes Luna’s flying. He screams. Threw up.” She yawned again, which felt a little contagious to Trixie. “Flying’s nice.”

The little alicorn fairly tunneled into the bed with her doll, curling up around Trixie’s chest and burying her cold nose into her throat. “What’cha got socks on for, sis?”

“I was… cold,” said Trixie, using her magic to peel off the socks and the other piece of clothing she did not want Menace of all ponies to see. “I’m warm now.”

“You feel all nice and warm,” murmured Menace, a low trembling underlying her words. “Like Mister Chryssy-anthum. Luna took him to the train station. Introduced me to Mister Stamen. I apologized. He’s not that bad. Misunderstanding. He catches butterflies and sticks these little pins through them just like Miss Swamp Flower. Scared Fluttershy.” Menace stopped talking and just trembled, her shallow breathing cool against Trixie’s neck. ”I almost killed him. Animal.”

She sniffled again as she wriggled even tighter against Trixie, which triggered a sharp twinge somewhere in her chest. “Can you sing to me, sis? Please?”

“I-I’m not sure, Menace. Give me a moment.” Taking her time removing her mane extensions and floating them over to the end table, she considered the unusual request. Contrary to public opinion, Trixie could sing quite well⁽¹⁾ indeed, but only after a good warmup with Monsieur Bourbon, and none of the songs she knew were really age-appropriate. Except there was one song she could still remember from foalhood, the one her mother used to sing while holding her late at night when she could not sleep.
(1) ‘Well’ as defined by Trixie, and mostly in the key of T, which was a special musical key only accessible after a minimum of one bottle of bourbon.
—

As the trembling little pony relaxed by phases, eventually settling into a relaxed sleep, Trixie continued humming the tune. It held warm memories of her own parents, whom she had not seen in years. In the morning, perhaps she would write them a letter and tell them about their new son-in-law, who was still out in his chilly little wagon, all alone. Oh, well. It was his own damned fault. Trixie was not about to trade this for anything in the world.

The cramped quarters of Green Grass’ wagon were not exactly what he would have preferred for his trip to the Pericorn mountain range and interviews with the griffons there. A nice private train car with a staff of servants would have fit the bill very nicely, along with a few bodyguards and perhaps a cook or two. Instead, he was quite content to have a spot for a mattress large enough to stretch out across and a wide collection of reference books in the wall-mounted bookshelves that made the heavy wagon such a pain to pull. It would be his home once again for the next few months, like some literate turtle seeking a perch in the mountain cliffs.

Of course technically since she was his wife now, Trixie owned half of the wagon, although the thought of that pampered braggart trapped in a traveling box with him for months on end drew a cold shiver down his spine. A sham marriage to a sham mare was all this could be, and after a few years when they had both tired of the theatre, it would only take a few minutes with a judge to annul the unconsummated union.

Still, he had to admit that in the few years since college, Trixie had matured far more than he had expected and in ways that, if she were to keep her mouth shut and the lights off, it might prove quite worthwhile to spend a few evenings ‘exploring their options.’ He chuckled to himself as he fluffed up his pillow and settled down. It was a silly idea. She probably had a stable full of handsome young and very talented unicorn stallions at her beck and call due to her position as Celestia’s student. An earth pony like him stood about as much chance with her as he did with Luna.

Settling down under the covers and pulling the string to extinguish his lightning bug lantern, Green Grass closed his eyes for a good night’s sleep before an early morning start tomorrow. A quiet chuckle escaped as he thought of the changes in his life that one tiny little alicorn had caused in just a few hours, and what might possibly continue to happen to his ‘wife’ after being exposed to that level of chaos for a few more months.

There was a soft knock at his wagon door.

He twitched in response, shedding the covers and turning around to face the door.

“Who is it?”

There was no response, but he could hear a faint creaking from outside as some pony shifted her weight on the ramp that led up to the door.

“Trixie?” he called, moving over to the door and trying to remember if there were any ‘raincoats’ stored in the wagon, in the highly unlikely and nearly impossible possibility that his new ‘wife’ might want to take advantage of their honeymoon for traditional activities.

“No,” said a very feminine voice from outside.

He could not place the voice. But the moment he opened the door, he could.

“Good Evening, Lord Green Grass,” said Princess Luna, standing on the ramp with her royal accoutrements in a small pile to one side. The night breeze blew through her bare mane, causing it to coil and twist as she stood naked in the moonlight a few steps away. “Are you familiar with the concept of droit de seigneuse?”

“Her Right of First Night,” croaked Green Grass, his throat suddenly dry as dust.

“Indeed,” said Luna, dipping her head slightly. “Might we enter your domicile so that we may proceed?”

“What if I say no?” The words somehow slipped out his mouth without passing by any functioning brain cells, and something in his chest seemed to crumple up when the playful sparkle in Princess Luna’s eyes went out like a doused light.

“We will understand,” she replied, in a perfectly calm and controlled voice, betrayed by a twitch in one cheek. “We shall not force ourselves on the unwilling. You may reject my offer without any consequences.”

He stood and watched her in the moonlight, the most beautiful creature in Equestria who had just made an offer that he would have to be mad to turn down.

“No,” he said, and closed the door.

Luna stared at the closed door of the frail wagon and for the smallest possible second considered ripping it from the frame and throwing it onto the moon. She had never been refused. Never. The coils of anger that rose in her heart were wispy things, a poor substitute for the raving power of Nightmare Moon, but she could feel them nonetheless. But to rage against the infant for standing up on his own hooves and making his own decision would have been a betrayal of herself beyond all reason. It would have been the first step back to the nightmare she had just escaped.

For some reason, her anger was not as strong as she had expected, possibly due to the rattle and clatter of frantic activity coming from within the wagon. It piqued her curiosity rather than her rage, and in less than a minute, the slim green colt once again opened the door, only this time he held a basket with two bottles in it clutched in his teeth, and a folded blanket across his back.

Sitting the basket down, Green Grass lowered himself to his knees and bowed in a full face-on-the-floor prostration she had not seen in this modern era. “Princess of the Moon,” he began in a low and sonorous tone. “May your humble subject beg leave of you to ask a question? After this one, of course.”

She was somewhat taken aback by his overly formal request, but Luna nodded anyway. “You may indeed. Rise and ask.”

Standing back up, Green Grass looked into her eyes with an infectious smile. “May I have your leave to enter your domicile?”

He gestured at the town and the surrounding countryside, covered in silvery moonlight and shining like a jewel. “I brought some glasses and two bottles of the finest vintage from my father’s cellars as a gift, and I know of a very comfortable hilltop outside of town where the stars shine their brightest.” He stifled a brief yawn and blinked a few times. “Although I believe we will be limited to merely conversation and one glass this evening, Your Highness. It’s been a very long day.”

Luna removed a thermos of coffee from her mane and placed it inside the basket, matching his smile tooth for tooth. “Wine is for the weak. Coffee shall stiffen thy resolve this evening. Come, let us away to a more comfortable place where you may truly appreciate the beauty of the Night.”

Green Grass hesitated outside the wagon before Luna’s magic swept the blanket to one side, dropping it on top of the pile of royal shoes and crown. Then, before he could open his mouth to protest, her magic enveloped him and the basket in a firm and unyielding grasp, holding them directly to her side.

And Princess Luna ascended up into the star-strewn sky.

In Canterlot, the wisp stared at the sky in horror.

The sun was gone.

Tremors shook its body as the wisp looked in all directions across the sky, as if in the hopes that perhaps a giant burning ball of light were hiding somewhere in the night sky. When it had shared a body with Monster, the Night had been an interesting oddity. The unicorn’s body warmth sustained it throughout the darkness until the emergence of the proper Day, but it had never faced the darkness alone. Fear coursed through its cooling solid body in a shuddering wave, bringing its wings close to its chest and making it whine softly deep in its throat. There was nothing that it wanted more than to burst back into its normal form and flee for home, but where was the sun?

Time had always seemed like such an abstract to the wisp for the vast majority of its life. Splitting it into ‘dark’ and ‘light’ had been ‘new’ to it during a period of time when there were so many new things crowded around that they had started to blur. ‘Today’ had been so much fun that it had forgotten about the passage of the day, and now all of the fears that it disliked so much came flooding back with the presence of the ebon veil.

A soft compassionate chirp from his side and a warm wing that wrapped around him slowed the trembling and made the panic recede. He did not have to face the darkness alone, and the thought comforted the wisp in a way he had never felt before. The wisp had a friend who cared about him, and the terrifying dark became somewhat brighter and tinged with joy again.

He rose into the night wind along with Philomena, his friend, and flew with her out into the darkened city. She explained that there were many places she wanted to show him, places where ponies would admire them and share their own joy at their presence. There were ‘restaurants’ where ponies consumed substance, and something called a ‘concert’ where they sang, and even something called a ‘park’ where ponies walked shoulder to shoulder while looking up at the stars and rubbing beaks. It all sounded strange and wonderful, except possibly the beak-rubbing, and he flew high with eager flaps of his feathered wings by her side.

There was only one thing that bothered the wisp.

Now it seemed as if there was so little time before the sun would rise again and the wisp would need to shed its physical body and return to its home before it became too weak to travel.

And it would be alone again, even in the middle of all of the other wisps.

Author's Notes:

Author Note: Que Sera Sera - I had first heard this song with Doris Day’s TV show (yes, I’m old), and when it showed up on Dead Like Me (done by Pink Martini), I won’t deny it, I cried. If you haven’t watched Dead Like Me yet, go do it. The whole series is on YouTube, but I’m buying the DVDs. And there’s a crossover connection. Britt McKillip is Regie in Dead Like Me, and the voice actress for Tra La La (2005) and Princess Cadence (2012) on My Little Pony. Neat, huh?

Also stop by Ponydora Prancypants excellent fic Que Sera Sera to see how the Elements of Harmony were really made.

28. Evaluations, Stations, and Recommendations - Part Nine

Epilogue

Dawn in Canterlot was a spellbinding sensation as the first rays of the sun pierced through the Canterhorn peaks, reflecting and sparkling around the tall towers and peaked slate roofs of the city. Ever since Luna’s return, there had been somewhat of a friendly artistic rivalry between Sunrise and Moonrise, and the citizens of Equestria had learned to just enjoy it instead of worrying. Even the most jaded bureaucrats stopped what they were doing to watch the event whenever they could, paused by windows and looking up on their walks to work as the warm sun moved into position for the morning. This sunrise was ever so slightly different than the rest in a subtle fashion, and the morning observers had a pleasant debate on just why there was a faint but noticeable scent of pine and window-cleaning compound in the air this morning.

Unnoticed by the observers were two colorful birds sitting side-by-side on the castle walls, both rather plumped from a night of restaurant visits where patrons and staff had made a game out of feeding Philomena and her companion from their stash of waxy nuts and seeds. It was considered good luck for a restaurant to be visited by Celestia’s pet, and over several centuries, somewhat of a tradition of phoenix-feeding had been started, encouraged by both a greedy bird and the castle staff, who viewed any night of Philomena out of the castle as a much more peaceful night.

The wisp shook himself free from the phoenix, turning towards home with a tugging deep in its chest that felt like lead. As much as it wanted to stay, it was time to go home, and it lifted its wings and threw back its head while willing the cold flesh of its body to return to incandescent starstuff. For a long moment it stood on the castle balustrade, wings out and shimmering with heat.

It was not working. There was not enough fire left in its body to launch itself into the sky and return home. The chilling cold would continue to work into the fleshy body it wore until its fire went out, and it… died.

The wisp had never actually considered dying before. There were always wisps. They never died. It had done so many ‘first’ things as a wisp, and this would be another, even if it would never be able to tell another wisp.

It did not want to die. It wanted to go home with the other wisps and play in the magnetically curved waves of plasma that spun and crashed across the burning sphere. It wanted to tell them all what it had done, what it had learned. It was not fair, and the wisp stretched out its wings again, rising up into the air as fire flickered at the edges of its feathers…

…and extinguished.

As the wisp landed back on the cold stones with a thud, Philomena was there in a heartbeat, sweeping her warm wings around his freezing body. There was not enough fire. The other wisps would not even miss it. The warmth of the sun seemed so feeble at this distance, but another warmth began to fill the wisp as it trembled. Flames ignited across its wings, a scorching blaze of power that filled the wisp with the fire that it had lost, and more. It rose into the sky, wrapped in Philomena’s warm embrace as she burned, a fierce comet of flames rising with him, burning to ashes in their wake.

The wisp was going home.

Philomena would reform from her ashes, reborn anew when it was gone, and she would once again be alone except for Tia. It seemed so wrong that it was going back to all of its friends, and she would be alone. The wisp reached out with its power as it rose to go home.

And gave her a gift.

The glow of subdued sunlight below the horizon cast the library balcony in shades of soft pink and orange as Monster stood as tall as she could with her eyes closed, facing the rising sun. Under her new lesson plan, there were strict limitations on the spells she could cast without adult supervision, so she was having to dry her mane in the natural breeze that was wafting over the town. The ‘bathtub’ was a marvelous thing, all warm and sudsy with no little biting fish or turtles to disturb a thoughtful morning soak.

What kind of monster are you?!

It was a transformation of her surface only, a lie of dye to the eyes, but Oz had told her that everything in the dye was all-natural, so she was not breaking her promise to Trixie or her lesson plan. She stretched out a limb and regarded the smooth purple tint, comparing it to the old photo she had borrowed from Green Grass’ file. It would have been easy to just dye her coat on a temporary basis, but she had intentionally added the stabilizer to the dye once the tub had filled so that the color change would be permanent, or at least until next shedding season. The last three packages of multicolored mane dye had been placed carefully in her saddlebags for a scheduled visit with ‘Barber Groomsby’ in less than an hour, and Monster was all ready to go once the sun finished rising. It was one more step on her trip from death to life, from destruction to construction with the ultimate goal of building a new life as her own self.

Who do you think you are?

Standing on the balcony, she spread her damp purple wings to the warm morning breeze and felt the spirits of the town drift through her, from the distant creaking of a blue wagon headed north to a tutor’s destiny, to the receding wingbeats of Princess Luna, returning to her home. A hammering of a lone workpony at the rising Town Hall sang counterpart to the whispers of old ponies lined up in front of the coffee shop with cups in hoof while the distant chuffing of the morning train drifted through the cool air. It was a moment of existential beauty as the warmth of the rising sun enveloped her and Monster stepped forward, lifting her purple wings to the air as she leapt over the rail—

—and landed in the bush at the base of the library tree again.

As Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom pulled Monster out of the squashed bush and brushed her off, Scootaloo bounced around like a rubber ball. “That was so cool! For just a second, you were flying! Can I go next?” She skidded to a halt and blinked in disbelief at her friend. “You’re all purple.”

Monster spit out a twig and coughed, checking her saddlebag to make sure the other mane dyes were still intact. “Yeah. Changing. Want to look like Twilight for mom and dad. Other mom.” She ran a purple hoof through her purple mane to get the last twigs out and shook her purple tail free of the entangling bush.

“Awesome!” said Sweetie Belle. “A little monochromatic, but still awesome!”

“Thweet!” declared Twist.

A brilliant flash even managed to illuminate the post-dawn shadows of the nearby bushes and Featherweight dropped down to a landing. “This’ll be amazing. I can take pictures every time you change colors. Do you want to turn pink next?”

“No. Going to the barber shop. Manecut. Dye.” Monster dug into her saddlebag and floated out the picture of the little filly that she once was and showed it to Featherweight. “Like that. I brought a couple gems.”

“You ain’t gotta pay none for that,” said Apple Bloom, nosing open her saddlebag and extracting out the three packets of mane dye and the stabilizer. “We can cut and dye your mane ourselves.”

“My sister has a styling chair,” said Sweetie Belle. “And scissors and brushes and all that stuff. We can go over there right after the morning fireworks.”

“Fireworks?” asked Monster, her head lowering fractionally as she looked around to the brightening horizon.

“Yeah!” said Scootaloo with a hoof-punch to the sky. “I heard the pony who brought them yesterday yell something about this morning he was just throwing all of the fireworks out on the freight platform and tossing in a match.” She shrugged. “Seems a little inefficient, but hay.”

The group of friends hurried off to the train station in search of a good observation spot, close enough to see all of the action but far enough away as not to be too frightening. Behind them, the Golden Oak Library saw its second awakening, as a certain Great and Powerful presence rolled out of her bed, cursing the architect or arborist who decided that the library bedroom should be on the top floor and the bathroom on the main floor. After a quick peek out the window and a sigh of regret that her new husband’s wagon was already gone, as expected, Trixie made her way down to the warm bathroom for an urgent hydraulic need.

The old claw-footed bathtub sat quietly with curls of lilac-scented steam rising from it and a low froth of purple bubbles with a few small feathers decorating the surface, giving Trixie an indication of just where Monster had vanished this morning. It had been a warm feeling of belonging last night to have the little alicorn curled up to her chest with her trembling head resting on Trixie’s shoulder, a far cry from some stallion or mare who just wanted to get their hooves on her Great and Powerful body. Perhaps what Greenie had said about trust was not all that dumb after all. Twilight had trusted Trixie, and Trixie—

—found herself looking at the warm soapy water. A warm bath was a poor substitute for a hot stallion, but it was all that Trixie had this morning since the wagon was gone. She thought briefly about poor Green Grass out in his cold wagon all last night, alone. Twilight was not only changing herself, she changed everypony she touched, from Luna and Celestia, to the dedicated bachelor stallion, and even Trixie had to admit to some small change in her own cold heart. The temptation of the warm soapy water was too much to resist, eventually overcoming her reservations as she slipped into the tub for a long morning soak.

“I don’t know if she’s becoming more like me or I’m becoming more like her.”

dear princess Luna

today i learned not to let my friends cut my mane…

Luna stifled a yawn as she trotted up the stairs to her bedchambers. There was a warm glow about the princess that would not be quenched, both from the sleeping opossum on her back and from the other activities of the highly successful evening. Dawn Court had gone perfectly as Blueblood had been more than willing to shed his outfit and flee back to his quarters rather than remain and offer ‘assistance’ during the proceedings, and Cadence had just adored the sleepy little opossum that Luna had found last night, although she expressed no interest in getting one of her own.

Now she was more than ready for a good day’s rest, if not for one lingering duty which she regretted having agreed to take from Celestia. Her infernal bird needed ‘checked on’ every day to ensure it had both water and a supply of the little waxy seeds that it liked to chew and leave tiny broken fragments all over the castle, including in Luna’s bedcovers. She would have just ‘blown on⁽*⁾’ the duty, if not for the rather puzzling report she had received from several frazzled guards and one rattled Royal Docent, as well as multiple reports of thefts this morning. Admittedly Philomena was a devious little prankster, but she had never resorted to outright stealing unless it resulted in something she might consider funny, and the number of sunstones that had vanished from various parts of the castle this morning was rather exceptional.
(*) Luna’s study of modern idioms was an ongoing educational experience.

The reason behind the thefts and the warm feeling became obvious as Luna strode into her sister’s overheated private study and gawked in amazement at Philomena’s ‘nest.’ The annoying phoenix normally preferred to sit on her perch, or for traveling purposes, in her cage. She had never assembled a nest before, and a large part of Celestia’s knick-knacks and bric-a-brac collection had been sacrificed to provide a base for the structure, with at least a hundred warm, glowing sunstones carefully mixed into the base and Philomena sitting proudly on top.

She wanted to say something to Philomena, but words failed her. In the end, Luna could do nothing more than stare in stunned amazement at her sister’s ancient pet.

And the golden egg sitting in her nest, glowing like the sun.

Dear Princess Celestia,

Rainbow Dash needs to die has recently done a horrible thing told me that she has always wished to become a weather manager in Stalliongrad.

Send her there.

Sincerely,
Your Loyal Student, Trixie, who knows a lot of things you don’t want exposed.

P.S. Please send somepony with a spell that will remove dye. This stuff won’t come out with anything and it even tinted my skin!!

P.P.S. Bring your camera! She’s now the Grape and Powerful Trixie! You’ve gotta see this!
— Spike

Author's Notes:

Author’s note: This brings an end to the Evaluation character arc. The next section will cover Twilight Sparkle’s parents arrival in Ponyville, and the subsequent chaos that ensues.

29. Reunions and Regrets - Part One

Normally the Ponyville train station was nearly deserted when the morning train arrived.

‘Normal’ and ‘Ponyville’ were becoming increasingly separate as of late, leading some to suppose a trial separation was in effect, possibly leading up to a divorce.

Last year for Princess Celestia’s second Summer Sun Festival visit, the town council had approved the bits to make a more permanent ‘Welcome Princess Celestia’ banner to replace the one burned to a crisp by the Cutie Mark Crusaders on her first visit.

It burned too.

For Princess Celestia’s third Summer Sun Festival visit, the town council had invested in a banner sold by the Flim-Flam Banner Company warrantied not to burn for any reason at all other than acts of Goddess, which was considered to be an adequate protection against the terrible trio and their multiple minions.

Then Nightmare Moon happened. A small patch of the banner had been recovered blocks away, showing only the word ‘Trixie.’

Normal ponies would have taken that as a bad omen of sorts.

The Ponyville town council took it as a challenge, and had ordered three permanent banners, one for each Princess of Equestria, paying extra for the steel grommets in each corner, and in addition, flags with all three Princess’ cutie marks for every building in town.

The flame-retardant spells on them had been mandatory. They did not use the Flim-Flam Banner Company.

A few of the more practical stallions in the town had voiced their opinion that the male Royal spouse seemed to have been left out of the celebration, and their wives quickly hushed them, but not before some prankster had managed to write ‘and Prince Consort Shining Armor’ underneath Cadence’s name on the largest banner.

‘Officially’ this was not to be a state visit by either Princess Cadence (and her husband) or Princess Luna (still single), but the town banners had been gotten out of storage for a coincidental wash and dry on the scaffolding of the town hall, and the flags had been put up on many of the town buildings ‘for atmosphere.’ Strangely enough, the atmosphere included several defiant individuals who were flying flags based on other cutie marks, including the official Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, many of the local youth, and Shining Armor. Said flags were, of course, made in such perfect detail and colors that nopony had any doubt where they had been made (the tiny stylized ‘R’ in the corner was a clue), and their contribution to the festival atmosphere was only enhanced by a rumor that the flags had been funded out of the town hall reconstruction fund.

Trixie was not amused. The rumor was correct. Her tendency to sign anything stuck under her nose had betrayed her again.

Of course, nopony could see just how irritated she was by the whole carnival atmosphere at the train station. Since the day before yesterday, nopony had seen Trixie at all. They had heard her, grouching and complaining around the town with Spike at her side (or at least that was where the voice was coming from), but she had repeatedly announced that she was attempting to break the Equestrian record for length of time maintaining an invisibility spell and refused to discuss it any further. Spike, however, was willing to fill in the colorful details (mostly purple) for a nominal fee.

Before the sun had even risen this morning, a large box labeled as containing teaching supplies had shuffled onto the train platform area, accompanied by two zebras, one of whom was also not what he appeared on the outside. As the morning progressed from darkness to dawn, additional ponies trickled into the broad expanse of flat ground around the train station, some with obvious business due to the wagons and carts they brought, some only to watch and stare. Several were somewhat discouraged by the ‘No Fireworks This Morning’ sign that had been hung prominently by the freight section of the platform, enforced by a rather sleepy looking firepony holding a hose.

As the sun made its appearance above the horizon, small ponies began to appear, just one or two at first, then more as the sun settled into its traditional spot for the time of day. The little ponies would move close to the box and whisper to the occupant before trotting off on another task or just sitting in the general area for moral support. Even a small dragon made his appearance, standing to the side of the cardboard box with a number of small orange cones laid out next to him detailing a pony-sized space that was reserved for some reason.

The town clock tower chimed in the distance, and the two zebras looked at each other. “The train is late, my handsome mate,” said Zecora. “Its arrival should be this hour that the clock has struck upon the tower.”

“I’ll go check with the stationmaster, dear,” said Tallgrass. “I’m sure that there’s nothing really serious to fear.” He tapped lightly on top of the cardboard box until a purple horn emerged from one of the holes. “Flower, I’ll be right back. Are you sure you’ll be okay for…”

He faded off with a look of concentration until Monster whispered, “This meeting by the tracks.” She squirmed inside the box, shuffling a little to one side before responding in a weak whisper, “I’m fine.”

Credit: Dotterall on FimFiction and DeviantArt.

It was a lie. She was anything but fine. Even the stentorian terror of exploding fireworks would be better than the beast in her heart that clawed and thrashed for the surface, itching to shred her new purple skin and flee into the sky away from friends and family.

She had promised. Trixie and Spike and her friends had all asked the same question, and she had promised each one of them that she was wanting to meet her real parents. Even Tallgrass and Zecora had asked, although the zebra who she had thought of as a mother seemed so distant from her heart now. A different pony had taken Monster’s place in mom’s heart now that she had become more Twilight than Monster, and she could smell his faint scent every time she attempted a familiar nuzzle. It was the smell of destruction, of charred bodies and broken limbs, the stench of death that she had created clinging to the one she loved with all of her wounded soul. Her nose prefered to remember the sweet smell of baking that caused fragmentary images of purple and blue to flicker in her mind like wild lightning, driving away the memories of her destruction for the warm sensation of a home she could barely conceive of existing. She was torn asunder every moment, both terrified and exhilarated at the thought of meeting her family. Meeting them was supposed to be a great joy, a pleasure to relive the wonderful times of her youth before she had split the sky open and attempted to destroy them all.

They all trusted her. It was the only thing that kept Monster standing at the train station under her cardboard box instead of running away screaming. Two days ago, she was looking forward to this, confident in her ability to face her fears and embrace her real family, the one whose blood lived in her veins. Then she had split herself into three and been rejoined, and her carefully crafted mental blocks had all shattered into dust.

This was why she had dyed her coat back to its original color, why she had let her friends cut her mane, why she had tried so hard to fit back into that small purple box she had originally been inside. If maybe she could look like little Twilight Sparkle, she could be little Twilight Sparkle. That she could be loved without being feared.

No, that was not right. Mom still loved her. Her friends loved her. Even Trixie loved her without fear, willing to step right into a maelstrom of magic to see her ‘little sister’ saved from the fate she had brought on herself. It didn’t matter to any of them what color she was or what shape her body had been twisted into. They loved what was inside.

That was what really frightened her. Her family from before had loved her. She had torn those deep emotions out of their hearts by her actions. If they could not love her now like they did then, her new family could lose that love too if she were to relapse. Then she would be alone again, drowning in the void. One single mistake and she would be lost.

Monster had lost control the night before last. She could still hear the screaming whenever she closed her eyes. It could have easily been one of her friends who had pushed that fragment of her personality so far. She could easily see Scootaloo or Apple Bloom dead at her hooves, dead from another loss of control, dead because of her.

They knew it. Every one of them knew just how dangerous she was, and yet they crowded up against her at the train station, whispering through the walls of the cardboard box about how excited they were and if Twilight was ‘okay’ in there. Like moths drawn to the flame of a candle, they seemed drawn by the fire that burned inside her, and only her control kept them from dying.

Trixie said that by letting other ponies into her heart, she was not endangering them, but that she was learning to grow. She said that Trixie had learned more from her little friends than all of the teachers she ever had. Even Spike agreed, and the little dragon had volunteered his services for whatever she needed, whenever she wanted, down to the last jewel in his hoard.

The distant train was much nearer now, and she could feel the vibrations through the earth spirits beneath their hooves. They all seemed excited for her, making little happy rumbles as the train hissed and squealed to a halt.

She almost could not watch, keeping just one eye at the very bottom of an eye hole in the box as the train door opened and a pair of charcoal grey Nocturne trotted out, both wearing sunglasses against the bright morning sun. Lumpy drew her attention at first, with the way his eyes darted from place to place, painfully visible even behind sunglasses as if he expected a blanket panther or porcuquill to leap out of ambush to attack in the middle of the peaceful town.

Then there was Laminia.

The female nocturne fairly pranced out of the train with her head held high and a distinct swish to her tail. Grey hooves darted and danced as she broke into a quick sashay to one side, spun in place, and then hopped over to the cardboard box in three giant leaps.

“Twilight! Twilight! You’ll never guess what just happened.” Without even a hesitation to let Monster speak, she continued, “I got to snub a reporter. Isn’t that wonderful?!”

Monster raised both eyes up to peer out of the box at the rather over-enthusiastic night pegasi trying to peek inside. “Is snub a euphemism?”

“What? No!” Laminia took a quick glance at her husband, who was checking behind some nearby crates for ninjas or explosives. “He was asking a bunch of annoying questions and wouldn't go away when Luna told him to, so she let me be rude to him. Isn’t that fantastic!”

“Oh.” Monster shifted positions inside her box and tried not to tremble. “That’s very nice?”

“Darned tootin’ it is. Whoops, here comes the boss. ‘scuse me kids, can you scoot over just a little. Thanks.” Laminia faded to one side out of sight so Monster could see Princess Luna striding out of the train, looking very regal if not just ever so slightly mussed by the trip. There was just the slightest hesitation in her progress as she swept a wide glance across the town, taking in the banners and flags, but they all seemed inconsequential to the Princess of the Night as she proceeded over to Monster’s box.

“Twilight Sparkle. Are you feeling well?” Two huge teal eyes peered into her dark box as the rustling of small ponies outside indicated a pressing inwards by her friends and Zecora. She appreciated the gesture from them, but all it seemed to do was make the box smaller and more stuffy.

“My daughter has expressed great perseverance in preparing for her relatives’ appearance. But her apprehension of their continued affection has caused issues with her circumspection.”

“I’m fine,” whispered Monster. “I want to be here.”

It was a lie, but it was what was expected of her. Princesses did not get to pick and choose what dangers they faced, and the two little filly wings on her back fluttered at the thought. Part of yesterday had been spent in ‘Twilight Time’ at the library with her friends. While everypony else researched the possibilities of new cutie marks or browsed through Spike’s comic book collection⁽*⁾, she had looked up the achievements of Princess Celestia.

(*) Spike’s comic book collection had been purged of all dangerous Enchanted™ comics by Trixie after an unfortunate incident involving the Supreme Sorceress and Scales the Wonder Dragon in Maretropolis.

Monster had trembled while reading about the two different wars against the griffons, shuddered while looking at pictures of cities on fire, and had barely been able to open her eyes to look at the gruesome monster named Discord that Celestia had turned to stone. Centuries of time had nearly wiped Luna’s crimes from the history books, and she could not help but think that maybe it would have been better if the Elements of Harmony had turned Monster to stone while freeing Princess Luna. Maybe after a thousand years as a statue, nopony would remember her murderous crimes either.

That thought shattered like glass while she was looking into the soft teal eyes of Princess Luna. The destruction and death she had caused as Nightmare Moon were just as recent to her as Monster’s destruction of the changeling hive. If Monster had been turned to stone for a thousand years, there would be no supportive friends at her side when she was unpetrified. Her family, both Zecora and her other parents would be dead and dust for centuries. And she would have to live with their deaths as well as the changelings.

She was here. She would deal with the pain. She had to. There was no other choice.

“G-go ahead. My p-parents c-can come out now.” Monster held herself away from the sides of the box so that her trembling would not alarm her friends, and forced herself to lift her head just barely enough to see out of the eyeholes in the box.

“Actually, Twilight Sparkle, there is a small problem.”

The distant sounds of running hooves echoed from the train, as well as a panicked shout of “There goes one of them!” A crash of pans and rumble of falling objects soon followed, along with a shout of pain that slammed Monster’s heart into a pounding spasm. It sounded like Shining Armor’s voice, and the concerned cry that followed could only be from Cadence. All Monster could see in her mind’s eye was the endless slamming of rocks and trees into Shining Armor’s spell, and the shouts of disciplined soldiers as they attempted to capture her.

“Actually, two problems,” continued Luna with a look over her shoulder at the train, which was trembling a little on its shock absorbers as adult ponies ran up and down the inside of the cars in a rumbling cascade of hooves. “This seems to be a good time for me to tell you about… Well, there should be something we can converse about while waiting for them to capture the… Nevermind. I can understand how that would be a sensitive topic for you, Twilight Sparkle.”

“I’m fine,” she whispered, her mind filled with images of burning trees and green blood.

Princess Luna cleared her throat, laying a dark wing across the top of the box and cutting off most of Monster’s light. “Sister. I know this time is difficult for you, but much like military strategy, difficult ground is best crossed quickly. You must seize your opportunities wherever you find them and pursue them, wrestle them to the ground and dominate them like a reluctant stallion.” There was a brief pause and a rustle as the wing covering the box shifted position. “Perhaps not the best analogy for your situation.”

“No.” Her voice barely managed to escape the box.

Luna paused with one physical wing across the frail cardboard box and one metaphorical hoof inserted into her mouth all the way to the knee. She could not be making a more impressive hash of this if she had showed up with a butterfly net and a set of hoofcuffs. Her sister was always so talented with the compassionate shoulder and sympathetic ear, while those she tried to comfort tended to flee her presence afterwards and hide somewhere dark and out of the moonlight.

Her audience of little awestruck eyes surrounding the box did not help.

This trip to Ponyville had started out as a tense sort of relaxation with Twilight Sparkle’s rather strange family involving a great number of photographs and something called a ‘sonogram’ that showed Princess Cadence’s unborn foal. The modern world was strange indeed, where guessing the gender of a foal by sensible tea leaves had been replaced by squinting at a blurry piece of paper and trying to identify any poky-out bits. Obviously the foal was going to be a filly by the high positioning of the growing lump in Cadence’s belly, but Shining Armor had been quite persistent in his belief to the contrary.

It took a deep breath, and a second look over her shoulder in the forlorn hope that the little pests had been captured and the odd family was ready to emerge, but after gathering her will, Luna continued, “I cannot say that my heart knows the pain you feel, Twilight Sparkle, but I was wroth with dread upon my return to the world. You were my sole companion on that journey, perhaps because of my cowardice rather than any courage you might assign to me.

“My sister and I had fought many times before my capitulation to Nightmare Moon, with far more vehemence than you or any of your friends hath fought with thy siblings.”

“I bit my big sister once when I didn’t want to take a bath,” volunteered a chubby little colt.

A taller colt promptly spoke up. “Well, my big sister and I were fighting once and we each had bitten down on each other’s tails when—”

“Children,” chided Luna. “We are speaking to Twilight Sparkle. And yea, ‘tis normal for siblings to fight, but my sister and I hath exchanged words and blows more hateful than any mortal should express in their lifetimes. Family is a bond of blood and heart. Zecora knows of what I speak, because even though Twilight Sparkle was not born from her womb, their two hearts are as bound to each other as any that I have seen in my many years. I had thought my bond with my beloved sister had been shattered beyond redemption by my actions, for I could not imagine myself being able to forgive her had our places been reversed.

“I was wrong, Twilight Sparkle. My sister and I are a family, and that bond cannot be broken even by the unforgivable acts that I committed. This is why I originally did not want to be here when you rejoined with your family.”

The Princess of the Night took a deep breath, looking up at the summer sky as if she wished to sweep it all away and reveal the stars concealed behind the bright blue expanse. “I was envious. I thought that your desire to be a part of my family would vanish when you were reunited with yours. It was envy that first drove me into the embrace of Nightmare Moon, envy of my big sister whom our little ponies loved so. I did not want envy to drive a wedge between us. ”

“Um, Princess Luna—” started a young filly before being shushed.

“This is important, young one. Now, Twilight Sparkle. I would never wish the disaster that befell me upon any pony, let alone you. There is much potential in your magic, and as you grow, it will too. It will take many years for you to master your craft, and although I am wroth to admit it, in the end I believe your skills may even eclipse mine.

“My big sister and I are evenly matched in many regards, with powers beyond mortal ken, but our emotions are still those of mere mares. Envy has always been my weakness, and as your skills grow, I shall endeavor to temper my envy with pride in your many accomplishments, of which the greatest I know are your friends.

“Friendship does not come easily to a ruler of Equestria. Over the centuries, I have had many who dedicated their lives to my service, but very few who were willing to speak with me as a friend. You have attracted many in the few months that you have spent in this town, including five dear friends whom I owe my very life to.”

Luna smiled down at the surrounding small ponies, who did not shriek and flee as so many of the Canterlot inhabitants had done on her return. Instead, they all looked up at her with a mix of nervousness and awe, seeming as willing to remain close to her as the cardboard box under her wing that contained Twilight Sparkle.

“Princess Luna,” started a small piebald colt, “beg pardon and all of that, but—”

“Just a moment, young one. I have one last thing that I must confess to your friend first.” Turning to the box, Luna tucked her wing onto her back and lowered her head. “Please forgive my reluctance to be at your side when you meet your parents, little sister. You are my friend, and I should not have shied away from the responsibility, no matter how hesitant I was to confront my own fears. Can you forgive me, Twilight Sparkle, so that we may greet your parents together?”

There was an abrupt and fairly painful tug on Luna’s tail, and when she turned to look, the same little piebald colt was looking up at her with mournful eyes.

“Princess?” The little mottled pony’s voice was muffled from the clump of tail in his mouth, which he spat out once Luna turned in his direction. “She’s gone.”

He pointed to the back of the cardboard box, which swung wide to reveal an empty interior.

30. Reunions and Regrets - Part Two

Monster could feel the weight of the dead all around her. Dead ponies, their thoughts placed on bits of dead trees and stored for the living. Mistakes made and described so that other foolish ponies might not need to tread that dangerous path. She could feel the tug of their pages, calling out their warnings far too late to save one small purple alicorn from her decisions.

There were also a lot of Trixie’s crates stuffed in the library.

Huddled on a small ledge on top of two huge crates, in a narrow crack between Amazing Underwater Escape and Blades of Doom, Monster pulled books off the shelf and stacked them in front of her. There was no real reason why she wanted to keep packing books into that bright crack like some purple caterpillar determined to wrap itself up in a chrysalis—

She shuddered and kept stacking. It was dumb. Eventually she would have to emerge to use the toilet. Trixie would be upset if she ‘did her business’ here, a polite euphemism for pooping behind the bookshelves the same way she used to contribute her manure to the town rose bushes the first few nights she had gotten her courage up enough to prowl the darkened streets.

Twist’s rose bushes certainly appreciated her contribution. Twist said the roses had never looked so good, although she drew the line at actually eating any of them.

Her magical field faltered, dropping a book that skidded off the edge of the crate and fell with a loud thud to the floor. Memories of a simpler time swept out of the depths of her mind and carried her away like a dry leaf in a roaring flood. She clutched the surface of the crate, images flashing through her mind of Shining Armor and the ever-changing Fortress of Knowledge. The library at home had smelled of paint and new books, while this one had the overwhelming scent of old dust and living wood.

She breathed in, filling her lungs with the memories of Ponyville in order to keep the screaming roar of old memories away. The scents of outdoors wafted through the open windows, bringing a welcome counterpart to the dry library air. Sun-warmed varnish on the windows. Broken branches from the smushed rose bushes. The sweet smell of honey from the beehive. Some squishy yellow flowers she had always meant to look up but had always found more interesting things the moment she walked in the library door.

She breathed them in as far as she could open her lungs, trying to expunge the memories of crisp lettuce under her mother’s chopping knife, the crunch of cucumbers and sharp tang of tomatoes fresh from the garden. It was an avalanche of recollection that cascaded over her mind and thoughts, drowning them in a history that terrified her. Out in the distance, she could hear the calling of the townsponies as they searched for Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight Sparkle was gone. Only Monster remained, and this far away from the floor, she could convince the earth spirits that she was not really here either. The onslaught of memories threatened to flood her into oblivion, roaring through the deep channels of her mind and swirling in deep pools of recollection. They fought against each other, black and white stripes pitted against purple and white stripes, rolls and knots of zebra lore smothering piles of fresh, new books. Feeling as if she were on a tiny raft, Monster struggled to keep from being swept under and frantically gasped for breath in the middle of their warfare.

Your so-called friends only pretend to like your weird little life. When you turn into meek little Twilight Sparkle, they’ll get bored and wander away. You’re only interesting because you’re odd. Bizarre. A freak of nature who never should have survived.

Monster clutched a book to her chest as she curled up in agony, her stubby tail beating against the crate beneath her. Hugging It would silence the seductive voice, but she had given up the new It for her sister, and the sharp corners of the old book only bit into her coat with memories of her old life.

Shining Armor galloped at full speed out of the train car only to slam his hooves down and skid to a halt on the loading dock, staring with wide white eyes at the cardboard box and the dark alicorn looking inside of it.

“Your Highness!” he yelped, his hooves seeking to reverse his panic-driven path. “I’m sorry! Don’t let Twilight—” He clattered to a halt at the thunderous glare directed at him from the Princess of the Night and meekly added, “I’m sorry?”

“She’s gone!” snapped Princess Luna. “I bared my heart to her in order to calm her worries and she fled in response.”

“Princess Luna, I know you’re upset—” started Shining Armor.

“I am not upset!” growled Luna. “Now, what has driven you out of the railed chariot before my signal?”

“I think Phobos and Deimos are gone. We were playing hide-and-seek before the train stopped, and… they’re not on the train anymore.”

Luna proceeded to use a profanity which had gone out of the language several centuries ago while glaring around the vicinity, her horn glowing a soft indigo. “They’re still in the general vicinity, but I cannot get a reading from Twilight Sparkle. She is either blocking me or has fled the village.”

“I could put up my barrier spell around Ponyville,” began Shining Armor with the cadence and tone of somepony making a suggestion that they were sincerely praying with every fragment of their being in the hopes of being turned down. “At least it would keep those two mobile disasters from breaking the Everfree Forest.”

“Nay, Prince. That would only frighten the villagers and your sister.” Luna sat down with a solid thump and heaved a great sigh, turning to the three visible adult ponies standing to one side of the empty box. “Hoofmaiden, please gather thy husband and we shall return to the castle. I have done far too much damage here for today. Zecora and Tallgrass, my apologies for driving away Twilight Sparkle. Please pass my regrets to your daughter when you see her next.”

She spread her wings, leaning back to squint into the blurred sky. Celestia’s sun was far too hot this morn, and brightness-induced tears had begun to trickle down her cheeks. It would be best if the simple villagers were not to witness their Princess of the Night with damp eyes and misinterpret that for weakness. She rose to her hooves in preparation for leaping into the sky, only to come to an abrupt halt from an annoying tug at her tail again.

“Princess Luna?” This time when she whirled to snap at the little earth pony colt, the words froze in her throat. Two other little fillies were standing behind him, holding onto a familiar stuffed doll while the little colt shuffled nervously in place. “Um. Twilight told us yesterday to hold onto her doll in case you needed it.”

Words failed her, swirling around in her mind without an outlet into the world. She could not depend on her magic for this critical task; instead she reached out with a hoof and gently touched the rough surface of the ugly doll. It was dry, with potential to soak up the tears of any anguished alicorn, large or small, and its months out in the Everfree had given it small rips and wrinkles that cried out for a compassionate pony with needle and thread. She ran a hoof through the tangled yarn mane, uncombed and wild as the little pony who truly needed her embrace at this trying time.

“No,” she managed to rasp. “We think it best if Twilight Sparkle were to retain custody of Miss Smarty Pants for now.”

“We don’t know where she is,” said the little earth pony colt, waving one hoof into the forest of adult legs that surrounded him at that altitude. “Other than she went that way somewhere.”

Luna considered the problem while cradling the doll under one leg. The memories of being hunted like a wild animal must have been haunting her little sister to an terrifying extreme, particularly with Prince Consort Shining Armor and Princess Cadence in the vicinity. The pressure of the doll made her own role in adding to that terror seem milder, an accidental injury that still stung, but without the sharp edge that it had seemed to deserve.

“Children,” she began, “being as Miss Smarty Pants is not a socially acceptable companion for your Princess of the Night, and that it seems your friend needs the comfort of her presence, would you do me the favor of locating her so that I may return it? You may consider it as a game of Seek and Hide, a pleasant game that my sister and I used to play in our old home. And—” she added, thinking of the trip up here and the undoubtedly upset parents inside the train car “—if I could get you to look for two additional missing foals.”

Waves of emotional turmoil crashed across the small purple alicorn draped over a thick book, holding it with all the intensity of a drowning pony holding onto a floating cushion. Every time a small voice outside would call her former name, the waves rose higher and the tremors grew. A faint haze of purple magic gathered around Monster several times, her old teleport spell which would rip her from the library and throw her frail body out into the dark forest where she belonged. “Dream. Not dream,” she mumbled, fighting to control her tears and dampen her spell which would rip apart countless precious books even as it gave her an escape.

Finally she lifted her head, trembling as she faced the spheres of glass that clung to the library ceiling like breakable stars. When she fought with her inner demons in the forest, the voice of mom was a beacon through the night to follow, but now she only had her own voice to follow, and she lifted it to the sky in a thready song to drive away the nightmares.

A faint scratching noise from the window made Monster cringe back into the darkness between the crates. It did not sound like a pony come to disturb her, but more like a cat or dog attempting to gain a purchase on the open windowsill. It continued for a short time with small whispers between attempts until a single tiny purple hoof popped into view, thrown over the sill with more scrabbling noises until the rest of the foal followed, balanced on the narrow windowsill with a juvenile cry of triumph. The infant unicorn colt was nearly her exact color of purple, with a creamy white mane and tail that had a chewed look to it, as if gum had been stuck in it recently and had to be chopped free. He looked outside the window and lit his little horn with a surprisingly strong violet glow, clinging to the windowsill until a second unicorn colt levitated into view. This one had a dramatic shock of brilliant red that filled his entire mane and tangled tail, contrasting badly with the rich, dark blue of his coat. That hue of blue seemed to slam directly into her heart, and both little colts looked up at the resulting gasp.

“Pretty music stopped,” said the colt being levitated, his bright blue eyes peering everywhere in the library.

“Mommy?” said the other. “Are you here, mommy?”

“No,” sobbed Monster, cringing back into her dark book cave. “Mommy’s not here.”

Little rustles and whispers came from below, and after a while there was a familiar scrabbling as the little blue colt hung precariously off the edge of her crate, trying without success to get a hoofhold and pull himself up. The violet magic boosting him up slipped, and Monster reached out with her own magic to catch him without thinking, placing him gently on the crate where he sat down with a squish of his loaded diaper and stared at her.

“Dusk,” sounded a little voice from down on the library floor. “Boost!”

“Shh!” admonished the little blue colt, not looking away from Monster. “She looks like you.”

“Wanna see! Wanna see! Boost!”

Monster crept to the edge of the crate and looked down at the excited purple colt looking back up. He did look somewhat familiar, much like the face who looked at her out of the library mirror, more so now than before she had dyed her entire body purple.

“Up! Up!” he bubbled, hopping up and down in place, squirming in a happy dance as Monster picked him up and sat him down next to his brother in an identical squish of loaded diaper.

Both of the little colts sat entranced by her face, matching her uncomfortable glare with fascinated intense looks of their own. Those piercing blue eyes were so much like the mother she could only vaguely remember in blinding flashes of memory, and every silent moment that passed added another weight of iron to her heart. “Was… your mommy on the train?”

There was a synchronized pattern to the little colt’s leaps of joy, and Monster kept an uneasy eye on them as they bounced in alternating hops at the very edge of the tall crate, unfazed by the long drop to the solid floor just a hoof or two away.

“Mommy loves train!” exclaimed the purple colt, his patchy mane flying with every bounce. “We got gum under the seats!”

“Caddy got candy!” bubbled his brother. “Daddy didn’t like. Says we spoileded.”

“Cadence?” asked Monster, feeling her heart sink to her hooves.

“Caddy fun! Play hide with Shiny!” The little purple colt bounded into her dark cave, followed by the other one, both curling up in an empty shelf and shushing each other while giggling.

The images that flickered in front of her eyes were faded and blurred, a soft pink presence with both wings and horn who wiped away tears and kissed boo boos. She wanted to be angry, but there was nothing there but a dark and cold pit. She had been replaced. While Monster had been a tortured presence in the Everfree Forest, life had gone on without her. Mother had sex and babies, and Cadence was foalsitting them.

She was not needed anymore by either of her mothers.

Even Cadence had abandoned her.

Despair welled up inside her at the thought. Monster had been so afraid of Twilight Sparkle, had tried so hard to be Twilight Sparkle, but it no longer mattered. Twilight Sparkle was gone, and all that was left was the monster. She ran a hoof down the old, tattered book and held it against her chest while sagging to the rough wood of the crate’s surface. Tears followed, but before the first one had landed, the two little colts had bolted from their hiding place and nuzzled her on each side of the face.

“Don’ cry.”

“Yeah. We can still play hide, right?”

“Shiny is looking. We always get a cookie when he finds us.”

“Cady gives us kisses and says we’re little rascals.”

“Just leave me alone,” moaned Monster, clutching the book so hard the cover had begun to buckle. “Just… go.”

“What’s alone?” Monster looked up at the two curious little faces, each with their head cocked in opposite directions.

“It’s… when you don’t have anypony else,” she murmured. “All by yourself.”

“But we’re never by yourself,” said the blue colt. “I’ve got Dawn.”

“And I’ve got Dusk,” said the purple colt.

“And Shiny has Caddy,” said Dusk.

“And mommy has daddy,” said Dawn.

“And Pincess Luna has Celstia!” declared Dusk with a sharp nod that cascaded white mane down over his eyes. “And Twilight. She said so.”

“Who do you have?” asked Dusk, his big blue eyes seeming to look to the very core of Monster’s soul. “Where’s your mommy?”

“I d-don’t h-have one,” sobbed Monster. “I h-had one, b-b-b-ut…” She trailed off with a shudder, the whirl of black, purple and white stripes filling her mind as she wailed, “She was stolen by a buh… buh… bug!”

Despite the warm summer sunshine, Night Light shivered from the chill as he stood on the train loading dock and looked into the small town, hoping beyond all else to see a small flash of purple. Twelve years. It had been so long since he had last seen his little foal, suspended in a ball of pure magic before the school testing chamber turned to chaos and cacti. Twilight Velvet had broken down for weeks afterwards, and it had been his responsibility to watch over his wife as his son and daughter-in-law went out into the wild forest in search of his little Twiley. As the years passed, the hole she left in their hearts remained, even barricaded off with warning signs and fences to prevent falling into the pit of dark despair again. Reports of a strange monster in the forest had ripped those fences around their hearts away, and twice he had needed to physically restrain his frantic wife when Shining Armor and Princess Cadence returned from their trips covered in dirt and ashes.

She was alive. Far more than that, she was frightened in a strange place, and as much as his fatherly instincts wanted to drive him into the emerald forest screaming her name back then, they were far more active now. All he wanted was a single glance, a look into her eyes that was not stamped onto a piece of paper and shown to him by her friends. He had restrained himself from hugging the stuffing out of the silly little pegasus photographer a few minutes ago, but Twilight Velvet was somewhat less restrained, and he sincerely hoped she would run out of hugs before causing any lasting damage to the town. His wife was still wrapped in an embrace with Zecora, the both of them pouring tears of happiness and worry into each other’s coats, with Princess Luna standing close at hoof holding a box of tissues, of which she was partaking in a quiet fashion. The only ones missing from the celebration was the changeling, who could have been anypony from the conductor to the tan earth pony slipping onto the train, and Trixie Lulamoon, who obviously was not here or she would have been standing on a platform, begging for attention.

“Hey.” The quiet voice from his side made Night Light look, and then look again when his first look failed to see the pony talking. “Pops, it’s Trixie. Menace… I mean Twilight is over at the library right now, crying her eyes out with your two little terrors. Can you run over there and keep an eye on her while I go talk to her crazy parents? The other crazy parents, not you.”

“Yes?” Night Light looked around, still not seeing the annoying blue unicorn and expecting her to come springing out of a box somewhere at any moment. “Trixie, is that really you? I don’t know where the library is.”

“It’s right over there.” A brief pause ensued, followed by the sound of hoof meeting forehead. “Look over towards the center of town where that big tree sits. More to your left. That’s it. Just don’t go inside right away. She’s… not feeling well.”

There was the sound of scurrying hooves headed towards the cluster of mares, and Night Light turned his own hooves in the direction of the library, slowly at first, but quickening to a rapid trot within a few steps.

The town seemed to flow by as if it were only a dream, the huge oak tree in the center of town growing larger in his sight until he slowed his headlong pace to catch his breath, trying not to pant. It was important for some reason that he remain calm and collected despite his need to fling himself through the doorway and break down crying. He advanced in slow steps, and pricked up his ears at the sign which proclaimed ‘Ponyville Golden Oak Library’ with a smaller more recent line inscribed in glowing glitter that read ‘Home of The Great And Powerful Trixie.’

Just for a moment, he thought he heard a familiar voice singing a song that brought back painful memories of years long ago. Then it happened again, a pure filly voice raised in a foalish tune that he had sung with his lost daughter before she had been torn away from his life. His lips moved unconsciously while he stood and listened, unable to move a muscle from his spot while the beautiful voice stammered and stopped, then began again at the prompting of two little colt voices that he knew well.

The voice faded out, and the little colts’ suggestions about the next word were blotted out by a loud sniff from Night Light, followed by a fully necessary and totally stallion-like nose blowing that had nothing to do with the watering in his eyes, which could only be from allergies.

“Daddy?”

He wanted nothing more than to burst into the library and wrap his daughter up in an embrace that was long overdue, but the sheer terror he could hear in her voice stopped him cold. He rested a hoof on the library door instead, swallowing what felt like a bale of scratchy hay in his throat before responding.

“Twilight?”

31. Reunions and Regrets - Part Three

Night Light had spent years in the Canterlot bureaucracy learning how to make judgements on incomplete information, but never before had he felt so totally helpless. His instinctual reactions as a father ran completely counter to his years of experience judging other ponies reactions. Twilight was afraid of them, wracked with guilt and suppressed memories of what she had done and how she expected them to respond. The worst possible thing he could do would be to burst into the library and sweep his little filly up into a crushing hug, and it took all of his willpower to remove one hoof from the door and put it back down on the ground instead of pushing it open.

“D-do you s-still love m-me?”

The faint words tore at his heart with barbed hooks, and he had to wipe treacherous tears away from his face before responding.

“More than ever, Twilight. More than ever. We all do.”

The resulting silence stretched long, broken only by the quiet sounds of two little colts whispering to each other somewhere inside the library. Finally, she asked in a voice that could barely be heard, “Are you angry?”

Despite an overwhelming urge to deny it, Night Light considered the question in light of the questioner. After all, little Twilight Sparkle had been a terror at rooting out well-hidden little deceptions, like his pipe and her brother’s collection of Clothes Horse magazines. And the truth, although painful, was far preferable to what happened when she discovered a lie.

“A little,” he admitted. “I was angry when you were taken away from us. I even yelled at Princess Celestia. Once. I was angry that the cream of the Royal Guard along with my own son could not rescue you from the forest and try to get you the help I thought you needed. I was angry when I was helping with the changeling casualties and found out that my daughter had caused their pain.”

He rested his forehead against the cool wood of the door. “I was more angry at myself when I found out how you saved Princess Luna from Nightmare Moon. If we had rescued you from the Everfree, the whole world would have been destroyed, and it would have been my fault. Can you forgive us, Twilight?”

“I d-d-don’t k-know. T-too many m-memories.”

Tallgrass took a deep breath, both physically and mentally trying to soak in as much of Ponyville as possible before the train left. The decision had been difficult, because even Zecora could not determine if the movement of the stars that he was basing his actions on was right or just his own reaction to the pain of her daughter in his vicinity. Luna was little help, filled with words like ‘free will’ and ‘choice’ when asked about her own stars and their movements. Changelings did not believe in choice either, or at least they had not until recently. To make matters worse, his own queen had agreed with Luna, nodding along as he described his situation to the three mares who guided his destiny and then taking her side and stating that she would support whatever his decision was as long as it did not hurt Twilight.

Free will was vastly overrated. Decisions were supposed to be simple. The queen desires this. Do it. Now things like Love and Family cropped up in the simple decision process, along with Consensus and Discussion. Some changelings in the town saw that Flower’s fear of changelings was tearing out her heart, and as much as they wanted to stay in the town and help, only removing source of her pain would allow her time to heal. Others disagreed, claiming that the blessed one who had saved their race from destruction needed to be reminded that her actions were justified, and that she was loved by all of them.

He was torn between the two sides, relying on his newfound senses to guide him to a decision, and to his regret, he sided with the ones who wished to save her pain and leave Ponyville. It was a choice he hated, but once made, seemed to be less of a choice than a narrow channel with a roaring flood flinging him towards an unknown destination, most probably a metaphorical waterfall of some sort.

While trudging on board the train, it had seemed as if all the mountains of Equestria were resting on his shoulders. Even the happy chatter of the fire spirits in the engine had been unable to bring cheer to his leaden steps. There was the support of his fellow changelings to lift his heart, gathering together in a group around him and whispering words of encouragement. But they would only stay by his side for a few stops on the train line, trudging away to Van Hoofer or Fillydelphia, anywhere their presence would not disturb little Flower and cause her pain.

His journey would not end there. Something had driven him to buy a ticket for Manehatten, farther than he had ever traveled before, and yet even that distance seemed as the first step in many more. It had just seemed right at the moment, but the miasma of regret at their departure made that decision taste like ashes in his mouth.

None of the changelings wanted to leave. The small town had brought them happiness at a time when they needed it most, and all of them radiated a depressed reluctance that showed in drooped ears and flaccid manes at having to see it go away. The worst of all of them was little Peep Sprout, who was shuffling along behind his mother with dark waves of unhappiness radiating off him stronger than any of the other disguised changelings. He was leaving friends, while Tallgrass was leaving far more.

Ponies were infertile with Changelings. If that were not an irrevocable fact, many of the changelings who harvested love in the oldest profession would have returned to the hive with something in addition to a few month’s supply. It took love to conceive, a lot of love, and another irrevocable fact was that the love required had to be given not taken. Often out of a regional hive of around a hundred changelings, only one or two normally were pregnant at any time.

Every female changeling in Equestria had gone into season within a week of the new queen’s ascension.

For the week after that, the Hivemind had been… busy.

A vast number of cold showers had been taken, enormous amounts of Regit and Chill Time medication had been consumed, and research into changeling reproduction had advanced by orders of magnitude. The idea of becoming a vast horde of starving changelings again was far too prominent in everyling’s mind, and a mixture of certain common herbs and an over the counter pony hormonal regulator had been determined to be the best route to avoid that fate. There had been a few failures of will during the ‘Week of Fire’ but they were few enough that they were treated as a blessing instead of a curse, and a number of humorous situational names were being contemplated.

When the week started, noling had even considered what would happen to fertile changelings mating with fertile ponies. Or zebras. Particularly when both were Imetabiriwa. That lack of information had all ended rather abruptly one night.

For one brief indescribable moment, the Hivemind had merged with the spirits of all the elements, time had stood still, the stars had looked down upon them, and something vaster than Equestria had paused in its progress through the universe to watch, and then thankfully move on without comment.

It had been a humbling experience. He was just grateful that Flower had been sleeping⁽¹⁾. Afterwards, when they had gone out into the night to watch the stars, Zecora had pointed out what she said was a unnamed new star in the heavens. It was just a small little thing, easy enough to miss, but he didn’t have the nerve to ask Princess Luna about it when he had stood beside her on the train platform and it was too late now as he stood inside the train and felt the first jolt of motion.

(1) or so he thought.

Choice. The name floated up in his mind as the train began moving, and it neatly encompassed his entire life since the day he had first met Zecora. He had chosen to help when Trixie’s bedraggled guards had needed a break, had chosen to trust the obnoxious blue unicorn, and had chosen to chase the Cutie Mark Crusaders out into the dark and hungry night, a long chain of choices Then culminating into a choice Now, just the same way as he would continue to make choices through the rest of his life. It was unfair that choice also caused such pain.

It felt like he was leaving far more than one piece of himself behind in the quiet little town. Zecora had fit perfectly into his heart, sliding into place within a hole he had not realized existed until they had both stood watching the little filly who had torn the forest apart in her rage and saved a Princess with her love. Flower was as much a part of her as she was a part of him, but the spike of raw terror that filled her being every time she looked at him was tearing all of them apart, the only thing making the pain in his heart barely bearable as he watched the town of Ponyville shrink away in the distance to the rhythm of the fire and earth spirits under his hooves.

To save what he loved, he had to give them all up.

It was his choice.

Choice sucked.

It’s amazing the difference a few pieces of cloth and a couple of mismatched buttons can make in a perfectly terrible day.

Rearranging Miss Smarty Pants under one wing, Princess Luna took the opportunity to cast a quick look behind her as she walked through Ponyville, counting four members of Twilight Sparkle’s family (plus one unborn foal), one member of her adopted family (striped), a near dozen or so small colts and fillies of various ages and maturity, evenly divided between the cutie marked and bare rumped, and one dragon (size small). It felt a little like leading a parade rather than a serious visit of long-lost family members to a sensitive child, and she wished the family had taken her suggestion to visit in the dark of night when the rest of the town would be sleeping.

The patriarch of the family was sitting very still outside the hollow oak tree, his head placed against the door and a damp patch of wood marking its location when he turned to look at the oncoming crowd.

“Princess Luna,” he whispered, “Twilight is inside with the colts. It doesn’t sound like she wants to see us today.”

“Nonsense,” said Luna, striding up to the door and starting to push it open. “I’m certain—”

A bright purple flash lit her vision, the door moved back into the closed position, and Luna slowly picked herself out of a bush several dozen yards away.

“Perhaps I was mistaken,” she remarked, once the last of the prickly twigs had been extracted out of her mane. Walking up to the library door much more cautiously this time, she tapped gently on the purple magic that had faded to a dim glow around the entire hollow oak tree.

“Twilight Sparkle?” She tapped against the door again. “We hath brought thy doll.”

“K-keep it.”

“Nay, dear sister. Thy heart hath need of your friend’s embrace far more than myself. I am not worthy of her continued presence.” Luna paused, motioning for the Sparkle clan to back up a short distance while she approached the door and lowered her voice.

“Wilt thou hear my plea, or shall I send your parents back to Canterlot until a more opportune time?”

There was a brief pause, marked only by the sound of little ponies at play inside the library and a faint scrabbling of draconic claws as Spike pulled himself up and peeked in a window. “Hey, I see those two little colts over by my comic book collection. Go on, shoo.”

“I d-don’t know,” said Twilight Sparkle in a very faint voice that Luna could barely hear.

“I am concerned, my sister, for if your family is removed from your presence, I know not if you will ever be able to face them in the future. They do not bear you any ill will for your actions, but hold you deeply within their hearts.”

“I d-don’t deserve their l-love. I’m afraid.”

“I do not deserve the love of my sister either, Twilight Sparkle,” said Luna. “But it is there regardless, and to spurn its offer is a terrible affront to her forgiveness. Your entire family has journeyed here and is willing to support you in this troubling time, if only you will open your heart and listen.”

“Where’s Tallgrass?”

Luna was taken aback for a moment, and turned to count anxious family members, coming up one short and looking to Zecora for an explanation.

“My mate is gone to a distant road, far from here he knows not where.
It is nothing of which you need be concerned, oh Wise One of the Air.
His path is twisted with many turns,
and it shall be long before his return.”

“He has gone on a trip, Twilight Sparkle,” said Luna to the closed door. “But that is neither here nor there. What is important is how you face today.”

But Monster was not listening.

Rail Jammer leaned back and enjoyed the feel of the wind in his mane on the second uphill straightaway on tracks away from Ponyville. There were only a few places during the run where he did not have to pay attention to the gages or try to estimate exactly where to prod his fire pony to put another layer of coal across the firebox. The nice thick layer of burning coal laid down by Anthracite as they left Ponyville should have been providing a gradually increasing pressure to match the increase in the rail grade on the long switchbacks that it took to reach Canterlot, but instead there was a slowing of the wind down to a breeze, and after a period of frantically examining gages, a complete stop.

After pulling the brake, Rail Jammer joined Anthracite, who was staring into the open firebox with a look of complete crogglement.

“It just aint’ burning, boss. The vents are all open, and I got the new coal all spread out nice and even, but ain’t nothing catching on fire.” Anthracite sniffed a lump of coal, then gave it a tentative nibble. “Aint’ nuttin’ wrong with it ‘cept it ain’t on fire.”

And in the dim red glow of the firebox, the unburnt coal sat patiently. She was coming.

This time Luna’s baring of her soul flowed easier, the words of consolation over Celestia’s forgiveness to her crimes no longer burning in her mouth as she confessed. While she pleaded with her new sister to allow the same forgiveness within her young heart, a warmth rose within her.

There is something liberating about admitting my weakness to one I love, attempting to convince them to travel the same path of redemption that my own hooves reluctantly tread. I have opened my heart far more to this little filly than I have in an eternity with my own sister. Celestia has always seemed the perfect one, but her heartfelt words as of late give the lie to that assumption, as there are times now that I believe she is even more wracked with guilt than myself. Oh, dear sister, I wish that you were here with me now, for I do not know if I can bear to repeat my words in your presence.

She continued her plea to Twilight Sparkle in a low voice while Spike kept climbing around the windows and giving a step-by-step description of the little colt’s activities, from their unwarranted pillaging of his comic book hoard, to an exploration of the library kitchen. It was a distraction from her goal, but it also distracted the two little troublemakers from interrupting her speech. Apparently they enjoyed their reign of minor destruction from what she could hear of their giggles and the wet diaper they shoved out of the library book return slot, although if Spike had hair before, he certainly would have torn it out by the time Luna reached the end of her words and waited for Twilight Sparkle’s response.

There was a long silence broken only by Spike whimpering about his “Golden age collectors issues in plastic bindings, please don’t let them find — No! Put those down!”

“Twilight Sparkle? Art thou ready to face thy parents now?” she asked, gently tapping on the faint purple of the magic still wrapped around the tree.

“Princess Luna?” Spike looked down from his precarious perch, hanging onto a windowsill by his claws. “I don’t see her in there any more.”

Luna opened the library door, allowing Spike to pass through on his mission to rescue his precious comics and Twilight Velvet on her mission to reapply diapers to her little colts. She regarded the crowded and yet empty library for a short while before calling out to the little dragon.

“Spike. Fetch me writing implements.”

“What is it, Princess?” He stood on his toes, holding a plastic-wrapped comic above his head as two little colts bounced around him.

“I wish to prepare a letter. If Twilight Sparkle will not stand still for me to give her the benefit of my years of wisdom, I shall prepare it in a form which she shall better comprehend."

32. Reunions and Regrets - Part Four

Monster ran.

The ground flowed past under her hooves in a long stream, the warm presence of mom fading behind her as the spark of emotion grew ahead. She was angry, but able to cope with it; frightened, but able to overcome it; anxious, but willing to face him. The long iron rails of the train stretched to her side, a cool presence of lesser spells put on the tracks and ties that sang to the earth spirits beneath her hooves and the fire spirits patiently waiting for her word to once again drive the massive machine.

The stopped train loomed up ahead, and she slowed her headlong gallop to a trot, ignoring the puzzled looks from most of the train passengers as she hopped up onto the last car and began picking her way through the crowd. There were several changelings in the uncomfortable mass of ponies, and little flecks of purple magic grasped each one gently by an ear as she walked past them, giving her a rather uncomfortable group as she approached the last changeling in the front car.

“Tallgrass.” He was wearing his earth pony disguise, but there was no disguising him from the earth spirits who happily bubbled and whispered under his hooves. There was a certain resignation to his expression as he turned away from her and looked out the window, remaining silent to her until she added, “Dad.”

“I’m not your father,” he groused, turning back to her and regarding the small group of disguised changelings nearby. “But if I were, I’d be most upset at your behavior.”

“Spank me then.” There was no humor in her flat tone, although the littlest one of the changelings did give a brief snort of disbelief.

“You’re better off without me. I’m going to Zebrica, you see. There’s much knowledge ahead that needs placed within my head.” Tallgrass turned back to look out the window and rested his forehead against the glass. “So turn off what you did to the train. It is wrong the other passengers to detain.”

“Not until we talk. I’ll talk. You listen.” Monster turned to the rest of the changelings. “You all need to listen. I’m afraid of y-you. I’m guilty of k-killing so many of you. But I need to face my fear. If you all leave, I won’t face it. I’ll hide it. I’ll never face it. Never is a long time.” The wings on her back fluttered. “Longer now. I won’t force you to return. That would be wrong. But I’ll ask you to return. Please. That’s all I wanted to say.”

Tallgrass continued looking out the window for a while before turning back to her and stroking a hoof across her cheek. “I’m so proud of you, our little Flower. You have truly learned the limits of your power. Know that my fate lies beyond these tracks. I must go now, but I shall come back.”

“I understand. Don’t like it. But I understand.” Monster blinked away a tear, then launched herself into a crushing hug. “Be careful, dad.”

He snuffled and wiped his nose on the back of a foreleg. “You too, daughter. Watch over my mate, until I have returned. Perhaps by then, wisdom I will have learned.”

They separated in a somewhat damp fashion. The small purple alicorn and several larger ponies who left the train stood by the road while puffs of steam once again began to ascend out of the engine. They remained in a small circle around their purple core until the train had vanished into the distance, each of them unwilling to get out of touching range of the little alicorn who trembled in their midst.

“I’m afraid to go back.” Monster’s voice was very quiet, but she pulled herself to her hooves and began to plod back down the road towards Ponyville.

“Gee, we never would have guessed,” quipped Peep Sprout, trotting to her side. “I mean, you’re almost glowing with the scary stuff.”

Monster lowered her head and hip-checked the little changeling, snorting a little as he responded to the friendly assault by returning to her side and hip-checking her with such vigor that they almost both fell into the ditch at the side of the road. “Need time, Peep,” she muttered. “They get close and my brain gets stuffed with memories.”

The was a poof of green magic and ‘Featherweight’ fluttered along beside her as they walked. “I remember hearing the girls talk about how they met you. Maybe if I took a bunch of pictures of them, you could look at them one at a time. Or—” There was a green flash, and a very small version of Shining Armor trotted by her side, with a squeak to Peep’s voice as he tried to talk low like an adult. “Hello my darling sister who I have not seen in a bunch of years. Give me a kiss and we can talk about old ti—”

There was a synchronized ‘Thwap!’ as both Monster and Peep’s mother flicked out a wingtip to hit the little ‘Shining Armor’ in the back of the head. His changeling magic flared again, but this time a tan earth pony colt with a climbing beanstalk for a cutie mark trotted at her side while wearing a huge grin. “Worth it!”

They trotted for a while before Monster ventured, “Do you think you can do Dad?”

“I’ll try.” Peep huffed and puffed while they trotted, eventually vanishing in a blinding green flash and reappearing in a form that made Monster thwap him upside his striped head again with one wingtip.

“My other Dad, goofy. You’ve been hanging around Featherweight again.”

“Oh! He’s easy,” exclaimed the little squiggly-striped ‘zebra.’ Green magic flared again and a small version of Night Light trotted by her side.

His face was more lined than she remembered from her little flashes of recollection, but his golden eyes were just as soft and warm. The sight made her heart roll around in her chest and slowed her hoofbeats to a halt. After looking at Peep’s disguise for what seemed like hours, she reached out one hoof and gently touched him on the nose.

“That’s enough. Small steps.” She did not move until Peep switched back to his earth pony disguise, although she thought there were still sparkles of that same dark blue in his mane as well as that familiar twinkle in his eyes. She swallowed a lump and looked in the direction of Ponyville. “It’s too big. I can’t step that far.”

Peep Sprout’s mother came up to one side and placed a comforting hoof on her shoulder. Her voice seemed soft and distant as she said, “We understand, Twilight. You’ve come so far today, and so have your parents, but if this is too much for you now, they’ll understand too.”

“I know.” Monster flopped down in the dusty road. “I wish there was something I could do for them.”

Peep Sprout flopped down in the dust right next to her. “Yeah, they want to see you so bad I can taste it from here.”

Monster rolled over and looked at Peep, blinking a bit of dust out of her eye. “Maybe something Trixie told me…”

The small depressed group gathered in the library all looked up as Princess Cadence jumped to her hooves, hugged what appeared to be a section of empty air, and trotted out the door. “Come on, everypony. We need to hurry up and get to the train station. Twilight has something she needs to say to all of us. Hurry!”

Two little ponies with fresh diapers galloped after her, followed by the rest of her extended family and fellow Princess as they trotted down the road, through the small town, and stopped at the northern edge of the train station.

“Here,” she declared. “Everypony sit down right here. Except for you.” Princess Cadence walked over to Zecora and blinked a few times before sitting a pink hoof on top of her dark one. “I never got the opportunity to properly thank you. Your advice saved an entire race from extinction. You will always be special to the changelings, and if there is ever anything you need, anything at all, it’s yours.”

Zecora looked back into Princess Cadence’s eyes, blinking away her own tears. She reached up with one hoof and touched the princess on the cheek, bringing the hoof down gently across her neck and across her shoulder, pausing at her swollen belly, and then continuing down one pink leg until it was resting on the dusty ground again.

“All that I wished for until this day began was my Flower to be as safe as she can,
but now I find another need to keep, for without his touch, my will is weak.
Can your changeling kind protect and defend, my lover and my dearest friend?
For as he goes to seek his fate, with all my heart, I love my mate.”

“I’ll try. I can’t promise, but I’ll watch out for him as much as we can.” Princess Cadence swept Zecora up in a damp hug. “He’s special to us both, you know.” Zecora hugged back, her eyes closed to prevent the tears inside from spilling down across both of their chests.

“It is indeed a secret unsaid, that his heart and yours are tied by threads,
All that we ask when he has returned, is that some privacy we both have earned.
Though your stallion’s strong in heart and head, you should share much less of your mind in be—”

One delicate pink hoof flashed to cover Zecora’s mouth and Cadence blushed brightly, as did several other of the townsponies in the general vicinity. “I’ll try,” she hissed quietly in Zecora’s ear, then after a moment, “You mean they all could hear?”

Zecora nodded, then after a moment, several ponies in the crowd blushed and nodded too.

“Every time?”

Zecora nodded again and whispered, “Do not be sad. It isn’t bad. Although at times it was awkward to rhyme.”

“Oh.”

This time a low giggle escaped from Zecora as she added, “Although at times your inspiration contributed considerably to our perspiration.”

“Don’t tell Shining,” Cadence whispered back. She took a moment to stand back from Zecora and draw the back of one hoof across her eyes before bracing her shoulders and nodding. “Nenda kwa amani, Imetabiriwa.”

Zecora lowered herself down to one knee and bowed. “Nenda kwa amania, Imetabiriwa na Anga.” She turned her back and trotted away, through the surrounding ponies and off in the direction of a tall tree at the other end of town.

“Now we wait,” declared Princess Cadence, sitting down in the middle of the thin dirt road that paralleled the train tracks regardless of the dust that immediately clung to her coat. “She’s come so far today, and so have all of you, but she can’t take this big of a step right now. We need to be patient.”

While they were waiting, Night Light leaned over to his son and whispered in one ear, “Shiny, is there something you want to tell your mother and myself?”

“No,” whispered Shining Armor. “Not yet.”

It was a small and dusty group of ponies walking down the dirt road, no more than a dozen or so all around one small purple alicorn who walked between them as if the weight of the world were on her shoulders. Twilight’s family all stood quietly and waited, each withholding various degrees of tears, except for the two little colts who had curled up in the warm sunshine and begun their nap.

The walking group of ponies stopped fairly close and the small purple alicorn stepped out of their shadows to continue the brief journey on her own. She was ragged and tattered, with the remains of a blotchy mane that had suffered the ravages of her friends with a pair of clippers and far too many attempts to ‘fix’ their initial attempt at a manestyling cutie mark. Only a few stubbly patches of mane remained, and her tail had been cropped and dyed down to a short bristle that stood out as stiff as a blue brush, although every remaining hair on her body was a soft natural shade of purple. She blinked as she walked, as if the dust of the road had gotten into her eyes, and her knees shook as she approached the waiting family, but she continued in her uncertain pace until she was just a few yards away from the attentive crowd. She stopped, looking back and forth at the bright and loving eyes of her family before swallowing once and opening her mouth to speak.

“I just wanted to say that I’m not—”

“Twiley!” Twilight Velvet launched herself forward in a crushing tackle, remarkably accurate for the quantity of tears streaming down her face. Both of her forelegs wrapped around the purple alicorn while she showered her long-lost daughter with kisses up and down her face and babbling in shock, joined quickly by her husband and son in an emotional embrace. Tears poured down like rain and every inch of exposed alicorn was subjected to hugging and adoration in one incoherent expression of pure joy and love that set the nearby disguised changelings into a mutual fit of sniffling and nose-blowing.

Behind them, the two Princesses exchanged a glance before Luna asked quietly, “That’s not Twilight Sparkle, is it?”

“No,” said Cadence with a sniff. “It’s Peep Sprout.”

The two princesses watched a little longer before Luna hazarded, “Do you think we should tell them?”

Cadence considered while wiping her eyes with a kerchief. “In a little while. They deserve at least a little Twiley for now. It may be months before she recovers enough to see us individually, but until then, this will have to do. I just hope Missus Velvet can let Peep go before they return home.”

“Air!” gasped Peep Sprout from the inside of his three-pony pileup.

Night had settled over Ponyville like an soft curtain, a gentle crushing of darkness lit by thousands of brilliant stars overhead. The soft noises of summer droned past closed doors and dark windows as insects played their evening tunes and nocturnal animals emerged onto the empty streets. In a hollow tree at the edge of the tiny town, a zebra of indeterminate age arranged the covers on her cold bed. For a long time, the small bed had slept two, one large, one very small and fragile, then as time passed, it became more one than two, until one night it suddenly became two again, both large and somewhat difficult to fit without a great deal of contact, which had not been considered a problem. Now there was only one again, and the zebra reached to extinguish the light when she felt something warm and small slip beneath the covers as before.

“Flower? Do you not know the lateness of the hour?” Her words were gruff, but the embrace she wrapped around her little daughter was as tender as could be, taking great effort not to bend any of the extra limbs Zecora was not as familiar with hugging.

“Organized the root cellar,” sniffed Monster. “Feel better now. Sleeping here tonight.” After a few more minutes of silent hugging, she got out of the bed and nudged her adoptive mother. “First, surprise. Then sleep.”

Monster slipped over to the door and paused, looking back at Zecora. “Not mad at me because of Tallgrass? I made him go away.” She sniffed and twisted one hoof into the wooden floor. “I felt how sad he was. But he still left, even after I called him Dad. I miss him. He’s a long way away, almost out of my reach.”

Her mother tisked gently as she slipped out of bed and over to her daughter. “Now, Flower, why should I be mad? My Tallgrass will return, and so will your dad. No matter the distance we are apart, I can still feel him in my heart. His purpose he saw through his inspiration, and to resist that destiny would cause great consternation. Now, what is this surprise of which you speak? Is there a young colt for whom you do seek?”

“Mom!” Monster spluttered, hunching her shoulders and scowling. “Colts are icky. Except this one. You’ll like him. Come on.”

The dark streets of Ponyville were not silent, but echoed with the quiet noises of the night as Zecora and Monster trotted in matching steps down the packed dirt roads, over the small bridge, and into the center of town. A faint sound rose up above the houses, the thin voice of a viola crying out in anguish and sorrow, and matched by the thrum of a string bass in counterpart. As Zecora and her daughter came to a halt in the thick, rich soil beside a small house, a third noise interjected into the melody. It was a little out of practice and stopped occasionally, making the whole musical composition come crashing to a halt at odd spots, but after a few mumbled words, the three instruments would begin again, raising their voices into the night. She could not recognize the music, but the emotions behind the piece sang of loss, of the sorrow for the dead and the agony of those left behind. It sang of love, of the eternal bond that could not be broken even by the Shadowlands, and despite the occasional flubbed note or missed key, Zecora could feel the tears welling up inside her as well as the players.

“Shining Armor,” whispered Monster, leaning against Zecora and trembling.

The notes changed, the low moan of the strings and mellow tones of the horn merging into a burst of joy, a cry of hope and thanksgiving that filled their hearts and ended with a soft blat of music and the very masculine blowing of a nose, to the giggles of the rest of the performers.

“Your brother is quite talented with his horn. Will you see him ‘ere the morn?”

“No, snuffled Monster. “This is as c-close as I can g-get before the m-memories get too strong. I j-just wanted to listen to him and r-remember. I h-have two mothers, and two f-fathers, but only one big brother.”

“Twi-lee!” A small happy voice from behind a cabbage preceded a tiny purple unicorn colt who popped his head up and grinned.

“Sister!” A second blue unicorn colt popped up from behind another cabbage plant.

Two older sets of eyes traversed from the mischievous little colts in the cabbage patch, up the side of the house to an open window, and then back to the front door.

With a heavy sigh, Zecora nuzzled the side of her daughter’s neck. “I never thought the legend was true, but a cabbage patch is where we found these two. I will return the roaming colts, if to home you wish to bolt.”

“Can we play a little while first?” whispered Monster as the notes of another song began to drift out of the house. “It will be a few weeks until they can come back.”

Late that night after their music session was over and Viola escorted her royal guests to the guest bedroom, Shining Armor peeked out of the nursery window and looked outside. The moonlit darkness showed nothing but Viola’s garden and the silvery street, motionless and silent as he closed the window and flipped the latch.

“Do you think Twily was listening?” he whispered to his wife, who was checking on each of his little brothers in their traveling cribs.

“Yes,” she whispered back, giving each of the sleeping little scamps a kiss on the head. “She was still terrified inside, but she loved hearing her big brother play his flugelhorn again. I think between leaving your family photo album with Trixie and giving her a few weeks to settle down between visits, she’ll be just fine.” Cadence added a soft kiss to the head for the much larger mischievous scamp in the room. “That’s from Twilight, in advance.”

He returned the kiss in less of a brotherly fashion. “I just have one question.” Shining Armor indicated the two sleeping colts. “Why are we coltsitting my little brothers tonight?”

Cadence giggled. “So your parents can have some uninterrupted personal time together when they’re at home in Canterlot tonight, silly. Or do I need to spell it out for you?” She traced one hoof up his sleeve and toyed with his Royal Guard jacket buttons.

“Yes, Your Highness. Just as soon as we get back to our room.” He eyed the little sleeping colts as they slipped out the nursery door together. “I just wish I knew why they smell like cabbages.”

Author's Notes:

(author note: Here lies Peep Sprout. Dead of an overdose. His last words were “Worth it!”)⁽*⁾
The arc will continue with Flying Lessons and Fall Surprises, as Summer Wrap-Up hits Ponyville, and Monster takes flying lessons with Scootaloo (which also involves impact)

---

(*) Closed Captioned as a joke for the humor impaired.

33. When Life Gives You Lemons - Part One

In a hollow oak tree in the middle of Ponyville, The Great and Powerful Trixie regarded her eternal nemesis. She had fought many vicious battles against it before, and each conflict nipped a small notch out of her soul after hours of brutal wrestling and head-beating until finally the beast was subdued. The fight was supposed to become easier with time, but of all the lessons she had learned at the university and at the patient hooves of her mentor, this one was neither susceptible to magic or clever wiles. She avoided the conflict if at all possible, just as she preferred to avoid all conflicts she might lose, but this was one fight that she had to face and defeat.

Twilight Sparkle was depending on her.

Trixie raised her weapon and faced the enemy. Only one of them was going to leave tonight, covered in scars and blotches that concealed the wounds of their terrible battle to the death. She paused, hoping for some unknown distraction, before lowering her quill to the pristine blank sheet of paper.

Dear Princess Celestia. And Princess Luna.

I’m starting to worry about Menace Twilight Sparkle. Ever since her parents’ visit, she’s thrown herself into the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ wild schemes and epic disasters with an enthusiasm that borders on insanity. For starters…

“Cutie Mark Crusader Distillers!”

Trixie winced and tried not to look back at the library full of innocent little eyes which stared at her over an ordinary glass of amber liquid. She gave the glass’ contents a weak swirl while trying to figure out if the relative normality of what was supposed to be distilled spirits was a warning of dire devastation to come or maybe just… normality. After all, even a stopped clock is right once in a while, and even Cutie Mark Crusaders must have the occasional success. Still, she didn’t trust the ‘bourbon’ ever since it had been shoved into her hooves with a cheerful, “Here, taste this.”

For the third time, Trixie asked, “So, you think this is safe, right?”

“We followed all the instructions in the book and even had Twilight double-check our process,” said Apple Blossom or something like that, with her little chest poked out as far as it would go. The little alicorn in question held up a diagram of a distilling vessel and spiral condenser, each carefully labelled, along with a checked off checklist with one empty box at the bottom that still gave Trixie a nasty sense of foreboding:

☐ - Testing

“Well, what’s the worse that can happen? Bottoms up.” Trixie took a tentative sip, followed by a deeper, appreciative taste. “Not bad. Not bad at all. Doesn’t taste quite like apple distillate, though.”

“Well, we didn’t have enough rotten apples that the pigs wouldn’t eat,” said Apple Sprout.

“I found some mushrooms,” said Sweetie Something.

“And I cleaned out Rainbow’s icebox,” boasted Scooterloo.

“We helped collect vegetable scraps from the marketplace,” said Snips.

“And I cleaned off any of the gastropods from them,” added Snails.

… amazing how quick the hospital got out the stomach pump. It’s like they had a lot of practice with it. In any case, I tried to get them interested in a much safer project…

“Lemons?” asked Apple Bloom, squinting at the yellow oblong spheroids

“Lemonade,” said Monster, pointing at a crude drawing of a lemonade stand with two little ponies behind it. “Trixie said it was safer.”

“I can make the sign,” volunteered Sweetie Belle before dashing off in the direction of the boutique.

“I’ll go get more lemons from the orchard,” said Scootaloo, vanishing in a cloud of dust.

“Lumber!” squealed Apple Bloom. “I know where there’s a big ‘ol pile and some boxes of nails.”

“We going to need thugar,” said Twist. “I’ll go athk my thithter to loan uth a few bagth.”

“Advertising!” shouted Featherweight, darting after Sweetie Belle. “I can fly a banner around town.”

Looking around at the empty section of grass where all her friends had just been, Monster shrugged and headed for the library to do the most important part of the business.

…signed a few papers for her and she took off again. She never seems to slow down during the day any more, but she seems happy. I guess. Maybe this new project will help bring out the child in her again like you said she needs…

Sterling Silver had to lean forward to see over his desk and look at the little purple alicorn cringing in the other chair. “I understand you requested to see me, young miss? Did you need to withdraw another gem for some spending money? Perhaps some gum or a lollipop?”

“All of it.” A short stack of papers slid across the desk and Sterling glanced them over at first, then went back and began to pour over them individually.

“Miss Sparkle, are you certain you wish to risk this amount of venture capital on a project of this small a magnitude?”

A second stack of papers slid across the desk and Sterling Silver proceeded to read. “Interesting business precis. Market capitalization, I see… Listing on the Ponyville stock exchange, yes, we can do that. Power of attorney.”

“Needs notarized,” prompted Monster.

“Yes, yes. I see.” Sterling dug out his notary seal while continuing to read. “Subchapter S corporation, board of directors, all neat and organized. Very nice.” The banker finished going through the papers, signing where needed until he looked up and beamed. “Just to let you know, with every business account opened up with over a thousand bits, you get a free briefcase.”

… so for the last few days, she practically vanished. All that she tells me is that she’s trying to vaccinate her mind, which I presume means she’s exposing herself to as many Ponyville memories as possible in order to be able to read through her family photo album. I hope.

“Lemonade! Get yer Ice Cold Lemonade at the 5F1C stand!” Apple Bloom’s voice filled the entire market square and a solid line of thirsty ponies lined up, each depositing their two bits and receiving one somewhat small glass of delectable lemonade with two ice cubes and a happy grin from the server. Two small earth ponies, groomed to an impeccable gloss, strolled up to the stand and sneered at the little ponies behind the counter.

“Oh, look Silver Spoon. The Cutie Mark Catastrophes are at it again? Have you blown anything up trying to get your cutie marks yet, Apple Blank?”

“It doesn’t look like it’s working, Diamond Tiara,” scoffed the second little pony. “They’re just as much blank flanks as when we left for Summer Camp. I’ll bet they don’t even get their cutie marks this school year.”

“And who is your new geeky friend?” asked Diamond Tiara, pointing at where Monster was dutifully scribbling away on a set of figures.

“You leave Twilight alone!” snapped Scootaloo from her position at the Lemonade Pouring Station.

“Yeah!” declared Sweetie Belle, using her magic to float another bag of ice over to the stand while eyeing the pestering pair and obviously considering using the ice for a secondary purpose.

“Well, at least she has her cutie mark,” said Silver Spoon, pointing at where Monster’s magenta cutie mark peeked out from under her red-and-yellow cloak. That cloak with the big 5F1C logo⁽*⁾ had become the unofficial uniform of the lemonade stand, and several extras had been cached on a shelf in case any additional little ponies wanted to help out.

“It looks like a blotch of red ink,” said Diamond Tiara, crowding forward to look over Monster’s shoulder. “Is that what your special talent is? Running a business into the gro—“ Diamond Tiara’s voice cut off abruptly as she looked at the columns of figures including such terms as Net Profit and Gross Margin, all of which had substantial numbers associated with them, and none of them in red ink.

“Could be better,” admitted Monster. “Needs work on Fixed Costs. Buying sugar in bulk. Space rent.”

“You don’t know anything about running a business!” spluttered Diamond Tiara. “Come on, Silver. We’re going to show these losers how a real business is run.”
(*) The logo design had been created by the board of directors of the Five Fillies and One Colt Lemonade Corporation, but actual production of the capes had been outsourced to a relative of the Director of Accounting Services on a no-bid contract with renewal options and performance bonuses approved by a board vote. It turned out to be one of the more profitable contracts Rarity had ever signed, even though there were no gems involved.

…but at least she has overcome her fear of showing her face in town. Her little friends have some sort of lemonade stand down at the market and they’re all wearing these matching capes. If you drop by town anytime soon, make sure to swing by and get a glass, but remember to bring two bits. They aren’t offering discounts for anypony.

“Get your lemonade here! Only twenty-five bits a glass. Thank you, sir.” Anston Greywithers carefully placed three ice cubes into a leaded glass tumbler and added lemonade until it came up to the appropriate distance from the rim, hoofing it over to the rather stuffy stallion standing in front of the booth.

“How do you like it, Daddy?” Diamond Tiara beamed from her place at the shelf on the lemonade stand, a sturdy oak structure with beveled edges and several coats of varnish, much as if a very wealthy pony had gone to a carpenter and used the phrase ‘Tomorrow, and money is no object.’

“Very nice, my dear.” Filthy Rich sipped at the glass while looking at the empty bit box in front of his daughter. “How many customers have you had today?”

“Counting you, Daddy? I’m not sure. It’s been such a busy morning, what with the setup and the lemonade pouring.”

“One, sir.” Greywithers added ice cubes to another tumbler and began to pour. “Two, if you count myself. I’m feeling quite parched.” Eyeing the empty bit box, he added, “That is if I can get a month’s advance on my salary, sir.”

... and if it wasn’t bad enough that Twilight Sparkle has converted all of the crumb-crunchers and rug-rats in this town, now she’s starting to spread her influence...

“Babs!” Apple Bloom darted out of the lemonade stand and gave her cousin an enthusiastic hug. “I’m so glad you could come to Ponyville for a few days. Things have been moving so fast I don’t know where to start.”

“Wow, cuz,” said Babs, flipping her forelock out of her eyes and looking at the busy lemonade stand. “Youze gots quite an operation here.”

“Twilight says we’re on track to break a mil by the end of the week. Whatever a mil is,” said Sweetie Belle, hoofing over a thick folder for Babs to leaf through. “We’ve had young ponies from all over drop by to see our stand.”

“Franchise,” mumbled Monster. “Two percent of the gross times the number of stands. It adds up.”

“Eww, math!” Scootaloo stuck out her tongue while continuing to pour. “She makes me add up the end of day numbers until I get ‘em right, and Sweetie Bell checks my work. I’m saving up for a new scooter out of my share of the profits.”

“It’s in the packet,” mumbled Monster. “Floorplans for the stand, operating instructions, recipes, an employee guide, and tax instructions.”

“No money down,” said Twist, bringing out another bag of ice. “You can make up any thtartup costh by the end of the firthth week, and be in deep profitth before thchool tharth.”

“I’m putting together a newsletter!” exclaimed Featherweight, waving a thin sheaf of notes. “It’s going to have funny stories and employee pictures.”

“All you need to do is sign,” said Apple Bloom, hoofing over a pencil.

…getting sick of apples and cake. And applecake. In the event that I need to purchase groceries before I go crazy, perhaps you could sneak me a few bits on the side that don’t show up in my stipend. The banker here in Ponyville is keeping a pretty keen eye on me, as if he thinks I’m going to skip town before paying off the repairs on the town hall…

“I’ll get these papers run off to your tax preparer, Miss Twilight, if you’ll check over the figures on the charitable donations.” Sterling Silver left the bank conference room with the aforementioned stack of tax receipts, returning in a few minutes with a second pony dressed in an identical immaculate business suit, but with a vibrant splash of crimson in his mane, and a certain look of anticipation of a substantial increase in his net worth that matched his bit-related cutie mark.

“This is Sable, our International Bank of Equestria representative,” said Sterling Silver. “He’s new, as we have never needed an international banking specialist before…”

The little griffon cocked her head sideways as she read through the packet of information, stopping at the franchise agreement with a frown. “I don’t know. How am I going to get supplies of lemons up here on the mountain?”

The young pony smiled and produced a second folder. “5F1C Lemonade has diversified by gaining controlling interest in several freight services. If you want, we can set up regular deliveries for your business from our production facilities, at a substantial discount from regular freight.”

The young Qilinese dragon looked rather suspiciously at the cup presented to him by the smirking Ki-rin. “Expressions of suspicions over motives. Realization of recent prank very similar. Sauce of hot peppers reluctant to be purged.”

The Ki-rin bowed, lifting the cup in her own magic field and partaking of a relatively deep sip. “Absence of investment brings the foolish very few Yuan when comes the time for the division of spoils. Wisdom says a load shared by many backs weighs little. Partake, Friend Phong?”

The dragon considered the cup for a time before lifting it to his lips and taking a small sip, followed by a long drink that drained it dry. “Considerable pleasure at the composition of the beverage. Possibility of harmonious business relationship high. No money down, you say?”

... I just wish I knew where she was getting her new pen pals. The library has received dozens of letters for her written in some foreign language, and Twist has been collecting the stamps. You said you wanted her to make friends, but it seems she may be taking this to an unhealthy extreme…

“Lemonade. Get your lemonade here. Only two bits a glass.” Diamond Tiara slumped in her tidy 5F1C red cloak, poking ice cubes into little paper cups with all the enthusiasm of Scootaloo going into a spelling test. To her side, Silver Spoon was pouring lemonade just as fast as she could into the glasses and hoofing them out to the thirsty customers.

“I just about have the next pitcher ready, girls,” announced Filthy Rich, the red 5F1C cape only coming about halfway down his back. “How are we doing on supplies?”

“Daddy!” wailed Diamond Tiara. “This is torture! I don’t see why you’re forcing me to do this!”

“Two shares of 5F1C Preferred Limited stock from the original IPO for your college fund, my dear,” chuckled her father. “Money may not grow on trees, but lemons do, so get back to work before I dock your allowance.”

“It’s kind of fun too,” said Silver Spoon, passing out another cup of lemonade and putting the bits in the cashbox.

“Good afternoon, President Zecora. Iron Will’s the name and selling lemonade’s my game.” The brawny minotaur shuffled uncomfortably on the front step of the hollow tree, a shy yellow pegasus at his side. “Is the CEO at home, ma’am? Miss Fluttershy was wanting to see if she would go with her to the photography session. It would make her feel a lot more comfortable.”

Zecora smiled and looked Iron Will over. “My little Flower is at the lake. In her schedule must be a mistake. I’m sorry she’ll miss your photography session, but I’m sure the experience will teach her a lesson. While she and her friends cavort in the water, may I escort you two in the place of my daughter?”

A small smile crept onto Fluttershy’s face as the zebra joined the dissimilar pair to trot along to where Photo Finish had set up her equipment. “Thank you, Miss Zecora. I’m so happy to be modeling for Twilight and her little business venture. Fashion was just so stressful! It will be so much nicer to just have my pictures used to help little ponies.”

… traffic seem to be settling down since your visits to the town have tapered off, with the exception of tourists. There must be some sort of ‘See Historic Ponyville’ campaign going on, because there are ponies from places I’ve never even heard of walking around…

Two ponies of somewhat muted yellow tones walked down Ponyville’s main street, little puffs of dust coming up from around their hooves as if they weighed a considerable bit more than they appeared. The tallest of the two had a brilliant red and orange mane that flowed down his neck like frozen fire, topped with a tiny black cap with a little red button on the top. His tail likewise flowed along behind him like flames, coiling and twisting in a way that should have attracted far more attention than he was getting. The second pony had a coal black mane braided up into an extremely narrow ponytail that hung down his neck almost to the ground, with his tail tied up into a neat plait and topped with a crimson bow. Both of the seemingly earth ponies kept a constant watch on their surroundings with jaws ever so slightly open and golden eyes darting from building to building in a pattern that the locals easily recognized as Tourist.

“<Behold, Won Fang. That building appears to be created entirely of cake,>” spoke the first one, gesturing with a hoof at Sugarcube Corner.

“<Yes, my Imperial Master,>” recited Won Fang, bondservant to the Emperor of the Sun, Lord of the Silver Empire, Master of the Nine Rings of Power, and Fifteenth Son of Heaven, who had somehow managed to accumulate the lowly nickname of ‘Ping.’

“<The domicile of the Pink One, Predictor of Prophecy, Bearer of the Element of Laughter, and Planner of Parties>,” added Ping with a nod of his head and the unfolding of a piece of paper. “<According to the letter received by Grandnephew Phong, our pilgrimage to the Sacred Temple must delay at this residence, lest disaster strike.>”

“<Entirely correct, Worshipful Master.>” Won waited as a disorganized group of little ponies stampeded past, headed for the same building. The smallest one in the lead — a bright purple filly with her mane trimmed down to a short fringe — came screeching to a halt, discussed something with her friends, then turned and trotted over with a small dragon at her heels while the rest of the little ponies vanished into the building.

… some sort of noble from overseas named Ping who wanted to meet with me and sign some things for Sparkle. He seemed more interested in Spike than talking to me, but I applied the lessons you taught me (See, I listen!) and was very polite until they left…

Two ponies and one small dragon strolled casually through the town, greeting ponies with polite smiles and waves until they reached the outskirts of the small town. Turning to Spike, the smaller of the two ponies bowed deeply. “My Imperial Master begs your forgiveness, Spike of Ponyville. He was excited by the presence of a new Spirit of Heavenly Grace, and did not realize that she had already been assigned a protector by the Light of Heaven.” Won lowered his voice and added, “He also desired to sample the Elixir of Sweet Sunshine from the Blessed Temple of the Sun. It was quite pleasant.”

Spike puffed out his chest. “Twilight lets me carry the money to the bank every evening. That’s where I’m keeping my lair.”

The taller of the two ponies said something long and complicated, and Won nodded with a smile. “My master says that you are wise to have trusted underlings guard your possessions, but there is nothing to compare with being able to immerse yourself in your treasure and enjoy the feel of the gold upon ones scales.”

“I get six percent, compounded annually on my passbook account,” said Spike, producing a small book with a large number in it, ”and presently I have seventy percent of my stipend automatically deposited into a no load index fund managed by the same group who have been taking care of Princess Luna’s assets since she was young. Over the last seven years, it averaged from nine to seventeen percent return after taxes. The girls cut me in for five shares of preferred stock in 5F1C Inc during the initial public offering, and I sent a message to the investment group suggesting an early buy that earned me a substantial bonus this year. Purely public information, so there’s no insider trading involved.”

The two ponies stood looking at the little dragon while blinking in the warm summer sunshine until the taller one said something very short and quite profane. They turned to each other and discussed in quiet whispers until Won turned back to Spike.

“Princess Luna. How much is she worth?”

Spike told him. It took some time and involved many repetitions of the phrases ‘controlling interest’ and ‘majority stockholder.’ The two ponies turned to each other and whispered for a while longer before Won turned to Spike again.

“Could you arrange a meeting with your Princess Luna? And her investment group, of course.”

Spike pulled out a scroll and a quill. “Any particular time?”

...just a few bits perhaps as a loan from future stipends. I’ve had to find excuses to stop by my friend’s houses around dinnertime nearly every evening this week, and I’ve even had to take a part time job in the world’s second oldest profession to make ends meet…

“I’m sorry we took so long, Miss Trixie, but Rainbow’s Birthaversary party ran longer than we expected.” Mister Cake carried a sticky pile of cake pans and pie plates into Sugarcube Corner and dumped them into the sink, followed by his wife, who was dragging a wagon with a sleeping Pinkie Pie on it. “Even Pinkie pooped out at the end. I hope the foals weren’t too much of a bother.” He looked around the living room of the shop and tried not to wince at the number of cake stains and frosting splatters that decorated the walls, leaving a trail of sugary destruction all the way down to the scene in the center of the carpet. Lying curled up next to Trixie were both Pound and Pumpkin Cake, splattered by icing and terribly disheveled, but still alive and snoring as they used the exhausted unicorn as a fluffy purple pillow.

“As long as you brought leftovers, that’s fine,” muttered Trixie. “Menace locked herself in the bathroom about an hour ago, Twist and Feathersomething turned the cribs upside down and are hiding inside, Sweetie fled to get reinforcements, Apple Boom tried to climb up the chimney, and Scootaloo is sleeping on the chandelier.”

“Are the Cake’s back yet?” filtered Apple Bloom’s voice out of the cold chimney. “I’m not coming out until they’re back.”

... but I managed to catch a glimpse of what she has planned to get used to her old family, and although it’s just weird as heck, I think she may be onto something. In her own way, that is…

Monster tried not to be nervous as she floated out another glass of lemonade to a customer while attempting not to pay any attention to the next two ponies in line. They were just changelings, doing what she had asked and even paid five bits each for, but there still was a resonance of terror in her chest that made her constantly check and recheck the earth spirits’ identification of them as changelings instead of what they appeared to be. Both disguised changelings stepped forward next, shuffling a little uncomfortably before the pink female spoke up. “Two lemonades please, Twilight.”

“Hey, I thought I got to order,” said the other changeling in a deep tenor that drew shivers up Monster’s back. “She is my little sister after all.” ‘Shining Armor’ smiled, his blue eyes sparkling in the afternoon sunshine and just a little bit of sweat soaking his white coat, which stirred a familiar memory as the musty scent barely tickled at her nose. Thoughts of home made it quite difficult to remember that the two customers were just changelings in disguise, and for a terrifying moment, she almost believed that Shining Armor and Cadence were actually standing in front of her, but she took a deep breath and continued as she had rehearsed.

“H-h-hello, P-prince Shining A-armor,” stammered Monster, floating two lemonades out in a shaky aura, and swallowing as each of the disguised changelings picked up their glass, one in a familiar blue magic that fairly dripped with the wonderful days she had spent in Cadence’s care, and the other in Shiny’s soft rose aura that she had pitted her strength against so often in the forest.

“Hey, sis. Since when do you need to call me Prince?” He reached out with one hoof and gently tousled what little mane Monster had left.

“Now, Shiny,” chided ‘Cadence’ in a soft voice that Monster could remember so many times encouraging her to put down the book and enjoy the beautiful day in the park. “Don’t go correcting your sister. If she wants to call you Prince, that’s fine.” ‘Cadence’ moved closer to her ‘husband’ and wrinkled up her nose. “After all, I could always kiss you and turn you back into that frog I found originally.”

“Nee-deep!” croaked the changeling in such a natural tone that Monster could see Fluttershy halfway across the marketplace stiffen and look around for the misplaced amphibian. Both of the changelings laughed, and to Monster’s surprise, she felt a little giggle escape from her own mouth, although the feeling of relief was dampened somewhat by ‘Cadence’ reaching out to run a hoof across her stubbly mane.

“Oh, Twilight. You don’t know how nice it is to see you again. I’m looking forward to when we can do this for real.”

“M-me t-too,” stammered Monster, drying her eyes on a napkin. “I t-think that’s enough for n-now, C-cadence.”

“Thank you, Twilight,” said the changeling with a warm smile and a dab of a napkin to her own face. “We’ll see you later.”

As the two changelings walked away side by side, Monster felt the warmth of her friends as they gathered around in a warm embrace and even managed a smile for Featherweight’s inevitable photo.

“So how was it?” asked Apple Bloom.

“Scary,” murmured Monster, her face still pressed against Apple Bloom’s neck, trying to absorb all of the strength she could feel in her friends while keeping the tears that threatened to pour down her cheeks in check. “But nice.” With a few sniffs and a hug from each of her friends, Monster excused herself and slipped behind the bushes for an additional task.

The afternoon sunshine flowed through the open window of Princess Mia Amore Cadenza’s tower bedroom and cascaded across the huge heart-shaped bed, illuminating and warming the two ponies curled up against each other with their horns pressed together and limbs intertwined. After a considerable time, Shining Armor ever so gently moved his horn away and used his magic to float over several tissues, which the royal couple sniffed and blew into until they were able to speak.

“I love you, Lovebug,” murmured Shining Armor, nuzzling up the neck of his wife.

“I love you too, Stinker,” replied Cadence, tracing a similar path. “How did you like your first experience with changeling magic?”

Shining Armor rolled back on the bed and blinked several times with a yawn. “Weird. I feel like I should still have a shell for skin, but it’s worth it, a hundred times over. You?”

Cadence sighed, collecting the tissues and floating them over to the trash. “I feel like we’re lying to her by doing this, but I can’t help myself. Even if this indirect contact from so far away is all I can ever get from Twilight, I’ll be satisfied. My predecessor frightened her so much. She may never accept what I am on the inside.”

“What, pregnant?” Shining Armor took advantage of his wife’s momentary distraction to blow a raspberry on her rounded tummy. “Twily loves little foals. You should have heard the Terrible Twosome after they played with her in the library. Twi-Lee! Twi-Lee!” He rested his chin gently on her belly and looked up. “When my sister recovers enough to meet me face to face, you’re going to be right there at my side. And you’re not going to try swapping out for one of your… well, our family. I’ll know.”

Cadence raised an eyebrow. “Really? Someday I’m going to take you up on that. A dozen changelings, and you get to pick out the real me.”

“Easy,” said Shining Armor, wriggling up close and kissing his wife. “I’ll just have to kiss them all, over and over again until I find the one who turns me back into a frog. Nee-deep.” He gave her another kiss. “Whew, that was close.”

That earned him a bop around the ears with a pillow, and another kiss. “Actually, I think this deserves a celebration,” murmured Cadence, working her way to up to an ear. “What would you say to…”

The afternoon sun on the Canterlot street was still fairly brutal despite the nearness of Summer Wrap-Up, and the line in front of the lemonade stand outside of the castle was fairly long, but the fillies and colts at the stand kept the lemonade coming at a respectable clip even as the citizens enjoyed visiting with the young royal couple in line. Shining Armor was so distracted by the friendly chatting that he almost missed it when the last stallion in front of him collected his glass and strode away.

“E-excuse m-me,” said a very soft voice to his side. “P-prince Shining A-armor, sir?”

He turned, expecting to see the young changeling who had been handling the sales end of the stand as they approached, but stopped cold at the sight of a small multicolored alicorn, her purple coat a soft mixture of additional pastel colors like a colorful sunset layered over a violet sky. The wide purple eyes were locked onto his face, with ears perked straight up and a tremor in her bottom lip, but she held onto two glasses of lemonade in a firm magenta glow, floating them over to himself and Cadence. “T-that’ll be f-four bits, please.”

“Twilight?” Shining Armor paused to recover his composure, floating four bits over to the cash box as well as two bits into the ‘Tips’ jar. “Thank you. Thank you very much.”

Cadence accepted her glass gracefully, nodding at the small changeling and her oddly specific disguise before striding off with her husband the sound of “Thank you too!” drifting through the muggy air as they found a shaded spot to drink and contemplate.

“You don’t think…” started Shining Armor, looking back at the stand where the little changeling had resumed her normal appearance.

“Well, I didn’t put her up to it,” said Cadence, taking a long, cool drink.

Far away in Ponyville, Monster marked a box on her checklist and pulled her hooves out of the soft dirt…

34. When Life Gives You Lemons - Part Two

The door to the library banged shut, and Trixie looked up, tucking the copy of Treating TBI: Cliff Notes under a thick romance novel and putting on a fake ‘Librarian’ smile, only for worry to sweep all of her pretensions to one side. It took only a moment to hurry over to the depressed little purple alicorn who had stopped in the doorway and hustle her the rest of the way inside, sitting her down with a steaming cup of coffee (beans borrowed from Rarity) and a few frosted cookies (borrowed from Pinkie Pie, of course). Trixie had learned not to pressure Twilight into talking about anything she did not want to talk about, because that just shut her up like a tiny purple safe. Instead she took a page from Zecora’s book and simply said nothing, relying on the conversational vacuum to suck the words out.

“Friendship sucks.” Twilight landed nose-first on a cookie and began to push it around the table, a repetitive motion that Trixie was fairly certain was referenced in Chapter 12 of her book. Instead of looking it up, Trixie poured a little cream (borrowed from Applejack, by way of Bessie) into her own coffee cup (borrowed from Fluttershy) and stirred, making a little jingling note as her spoon (gifted from Rarity, because you simply do not have proper spoons in your house, dear) rattled against the edge of the coffee cup.

Finally, the cookie had been pushed around the table enough for Twilight to begin nibbling on the edge, then one tentative bite, and finally making the entire thing vanish in one bite. “Fighting about money is dumb,” she added, her mouth full of crumbs.

“Divvying up the take from the lemonade stand, I presume?” asked Trixie, pouring a glass of milk to sit beside Twilight’s untouched coffee. At Twilight’s brief nod, Trixie continued, “Yeah, I’ve lost a couple of partners that way. Ungrateful idiots. Supporting acts who thought they deserved as much money as I did. Ha! I’m better off without them.” She continued to stir her coffee, adding some chicory and tartar sauce before taking another sip. “Still, I miss them at times. I wonder what they’re doing since we broke up, and remember what fun we had.”

Twilight looked up, her violet eyes deep and dark. “They don’t write?” The way she said it sounded like a condemnation worthy of significant prison time, but Trixie waved a hoof in dismissal.

“That’s the way it is with friends on the road. You make ‘em, you bed — I mean you tour with them for a while, and you go your separate ways. At least you have your mother to talk with; All I had was Spike, and he’s no fun at all when discussing romance or cash.”

The glass of milk levitated over to Twilight and she took a deep drink. “Milk is new. Coffee is new. Bits are new. Mom doesn’t like bits. She thinks we should just give all the money away.”

Trixie spluttered into her coffee. “Give it all away? You must have collected a couple hundred bits from that stand. Doesn’t she think you should keep anything? What does your father say?”

There was a distinct perking up in Twilight’s ears that Trixie had been watching for, and she continued with practiced style, “Oh, I forgot. He went off to Manehattan en route to Zebrica. The only way to get a letter to him would be by Royal Courier.” One beat pause, shift tone to more optimistic. “Hey, I know. Why don’t you write him a letter? You can bring it by here, I’ll send it off to Princess Celestia, and she can dispatch a courier to Manehattan. They always used to be able to track me down whenever I was traveling, and I’m sure the Princess would be more than happy to help.” As well as read your letter to find out just what is bothering you so much, but since I plan on doing that too, I really can’t complain.

The idea did seem to cheer Twilight Sparkle up, and she made significant inroads on depleting Trixie’s cookie supply before trotting back out the door.

“Cute kid,” murmured Trixie, getting her book back out and preparing for literary combat again. “Getting so worked up over a hoof full of bits. I just hope her weird father can set her straight when he gets the letter.”

Like a chip of wood flung into a raging river that eventually winds up in a long, lazy swirl of stationary water, Tallgrass settled down in the Manehattan park and attempted to attain oneness with the universe, in particular the lazy zeppelins that floated into the airship dock, the great steamships wallowing in and out of the port, and the rumble of the distant underground train station. Whatever in the spirits that had propelled him at such a clip to Manehattan was gone, a relentless pressure transformed into a soft breeze of pleasant thoughts and soft rhythms. The earth spirits far beneath his hooves rumbled and thumped to the pattern of the trains, the air danced overhead with the motion of the pegasi and their wagons, swayed with the wind through the tall buildings constantly in a state of construction, and shook in a bass profundo as the griffon airships trundled along their paths in the sky. Counterpoint was played by the melodious voices of the water spirits as they danced around the hulls of all sorts of ships, from tiny to immense, in a merged concert of music that he only wished Zecora were here with him to experience.

The heat of the afternoon had been baking down on Tallgrass in his zebra form for quite some time, and he stirred from his meditation with a yawn and a stretch. In the distance, he could see a billboard with a familiar yellow pegasus drinking a tall glass of lemonade, and the sight induced a certain dryness in his throat that was certain to be a constant companion in Zebrica, only without the ability to just wander over to a nearby lemonade stand. In this case, from where he was sitting he could see no fewer than three lemonade stands in the park, each with fresh faced young ponies hoofing out glasses of iced sugary goodness. As a changeling, Tallgrass was used to picking through a certain amount of identical for minor differences, but each of the lemonade stands was about as identical as they could get without being stamped out by a factory, with only the bright faces of the young fillies and colts different. Well, except for one stand that had a shy young changeling at the cashbox. She apparently did not want to stand out among her peers, so she had taken on their appearance. Unfortunately for her wish of anonymity, she was also indecisive, and shifted shapes several times during Tallgrass’ short walk.

“One glass please, lass.” He placed two bits carefully on the counter and kept a warm smile going while being served and relieved of a second pair of bits for a refill almost immediately afterwards.

“Excuse me, mister?” The young changeling filly looked up at Tallgrass with big violet eyes and a nervous expression. “Could I ask you a question?”

Suppressing the urge to respond that she just had, Tallgrass finished the rest of his lemonade and nodded. “Ask away, child of my kind, and I will open up my mind.”

“Well. My friends and me have earned a lot of bits from our stand.” The little changeling filly fidgeted, looking so much like Flower for a moment. “Whatdoyouthinkweshoulddowiththem?”

Tallgrass considered the question even as the little filly gained a few curious looks from her fellow lemonade entrepreneurs. It seemed a little odd for her to be asking a stranger for advice like this, even if she could tell he was a fellow changeling. Up until a few months ago, the answer would have been simple: give it to the hive. Now the answer had gotten much more complicated, and to some significant degree he was a father to the change. The silence made it difficult to wrap his mind around the problem, but he had some experience due to the various jobs he had held while harvesting love for the hive, and there even was a potted fern or two back at the hollow tree he shared with his wife. Other than that, bits had been just a tool to an end.

It was amazing how a bare few bits given to ponies in need would trigger a wave of affection, but even massive piles given to the wealthy would garner only a few drops. Several years ago, he had even done one season of Hearth’s Warming as a department store Santa Hooves, and had been staggered at the volume of love harvested as a result, without spending a single bit of his own.

Their practiced generous nature had been a habit the changelings maintained even after their freedom from the everpresent gnawing of hunger, as a symbol of appreciation for their new queen and what she stood for. Still, little ponies had vast differences in the way they treated money, which come to think of it applied to big ponies too. The having and the getting was never as good as the giving, but that still did not answer the little nymph’s question.

“What do your friends think should be done with the money you all have earned, little one?”

“Spend it.” The little changeling filly’s shoulders hunched and she frowned fiercely at the floor. “Buy stupid stuff.”

The irritation from the little changeling filly’s friends swept over Tallgrass like a damp wool blanket, all sticky and itchy.

“Hey,” interrupted one little colt. “I was wantin’ to buy a coat for me mum.”

“Und I vas vanting to buy coloring books for my little sis,” said a hefty earth pony filly that Tallgrass had to look at twice to determine her gender.

“I was going to take us all to the movies,” declared a young unicorn colt with a mottled section of coat around one eye that made him look like he was wearing a patch. “But if you don’t want to come along, Mixi—”

“Not you,” said the little changeling filly with an aggravated sniff that sounded far too familiar to Tallgrass. “My real friends.”

There was a brief period of silence as the metaphorical Hammer of Realization hit Tallgrass on the head with the impact of a dropped piano. Real silence covered the area, extending from the stunned little fillies and colts all the way to every single spirit that Tallgrass had been listening to for the last few hours, all whom were listening in return, as if there were somepony present who they wanted to please. Somepony he recognized who was behind the violet eyes of the little changeling filly due to the familiar sensation he was getting through his hooves, not to mention a familiar taste of fear that he had been doing his best to keep drained to low levels for as long as he had been around Flower.

He reached out and put a hoof on the shoulder of the young filly before she could move away and said, “My Flower, please do not try to run. Our discussion has not yet begun.”

“I’m sorry, Father,” sniffled the changeling filly.

Tallgrass shook his head. “From this tiny tot, did you ask permission, before borrowing her body for your important mission?”

“No.” It was most definitely Flower’s voice, and although Tallgrass could feel his heart melt under that plaintive tone, he held himself firm.

“It is not just herself to whom you should make amends, but this little sprout’s many friends. What is even more, my dear Flower please, there is one other whom you should appease.”

It was stupid. He had never done this before, or even guessed that it could be done until Zecora had shown him. It was far more difficult than he would like to admit, a mixture of Zebra and Changeling magic that should only have been attempted under strict supervision by an experienced Zebra shaman, but of course there were none within a hundred miles of the place, and in order to impress this critical lesson on his Flower, it was needed now. The earth spirits beneath his hooves pressed up in support, the air spirits pressed down to give him strength, and the water spirits’ song in his heart rose to a crescendo as he reached through the hivemind for one particular thread and pulled, hoping that he would eventually be forgiven by the queen for his actions.

Dear Princess Celestia and Princess Luna
I know what you’ve said about meeting with Twilight, but I really didn’t have much of a choice today. I’m still not comfortable with my new abilities, and being pregnant, and having a sister-in-law who can do the things she does, so I think I’m just going to have to ‘Princess Up’ and deal.

By the way, I noticed some Zebras in Manehattan today. Is this normal? (I’ll explain at dinner with Luna tonight, I promise)

Everything that Monster touched turned to fire and ashes, from changelings to lemonade. It was a crushing weight of despair that she recognized far too well, and the lessons she had tried to learn from the Self-Help section of the library had been far less useful than just spending a few hours with Featherweight and Scootaloo, skipping rocks across the river. Both the books and her friends had encouraged her to make a list of good things in her life that she could think about whenever the darkness lapped at her small pool of light, so she closed the eyes of the changeling filly she was ‘influencing’ and counted her blessings.

I have parents who love me, friends who love me, sisters who love me, brothers who love me. Even the changelings who should hate me for what I’ve done, love me with all of their hearts.

The little changeling filly she had cast her spell on was not only cooperating with Monster, but contributing her own energy to helping or she never could have succeed in reaching this far away from her own body. It was a weird tickle deep in her chest to feel the threads of love that connected every changeling to each other, a gentle flow of love wafting into her heart from more minds than she could comprehend in her fuzzy vision. Warmth flowed through every atom of her being, even warmer than the summer sun that shone down on her smooth black carapace, and because she was getting used to it just a little bit, she decided not to use changeling magic to change forms this time. Switching to her body shape would make the spell easier to control, but she would lose that welcome adoration of her far-extended family.

The zebra spell gave her a far better idea of how changelings saw the world, even if using it was not on her study guide from Green Grass, and she wondered if it would be permitted to try it on Peep or Viola and experience Ponyville the way the changelings did, or if she would be in danger of losing herself in the enticing embrace of the hivemind and never emerging back into her own body. The love filling the threads that touched all changelings was a powerful thing, washing away the cloying fear that adhered to her and distributing just a little tiny tolerable fleck to each of the distant changelings.

And one powerful source of love directly in front of her that made Monster open her eyes and look up into the warm smile of her adoptive father, disguised as Princess Cadence.

“Hello, Fath— you’re cheating!” The words just blurted out as she looked the pink alicorn up and down. Tallgrass had done far more than just take on her shape, he was actually channelling her somehow using zebra and changeling magic, making her heart beat rapidly as she vacillated between being insulted at having her adopted father turn the tables on her and being frightened at the cascade of thoughts that roared through her mind as she looked up at her former fillysitter and fellow princess.

“Hello, Twilight. Again.”

“Princess Cadence!” gasped the rest of the little lemonade vendors, except for the dejected changeling filly, who slumped and looked between her forehooves. Monster basked in the warm glow of love shining over the back of her neck, a torrent of purity that flowed around and through her without even the slightest appearance of effort on Cadence’s part.

Changelings feel like this around her? No wonder they worship her.

“Please pardon us, children. You see, Twilight has… ‘borrowed’ your friend Mixi for a few minutes to talk with her father, and this was a very dangerous spell that she should not have used by herself. Twice,” she added after a moment.

“I’m sorry,” mumbled Monster, wishing she could just melt into the ground.

“That’s quite all right, Twilight.” A cool hoof touched the back of her neck and Monster swallowed before looking up into those loving violet eyes. “I know you didn’t mean any harm,” said Cadence, running her hoof down the side of Monster’s neck and lifting up her chin. “However, you knew this was possibly dangerous to both you and Mixi, and you did it anyway, and without proper supervision both times. You need to be punished.”

Monster closed her eyes, but to no avail. There was a gentle touch of moist lips to her forehead, and when Monster looked again, it seemed as if Cadence was about to explode from suppressed laughter. “Now, Twilight. Is that enough, or should I give you two kisses?” This time a chuckle did break away from Cadence’s tight control, echoed by both Monster and the little colts and fillies around her.

Once she quit giggling, Monster leaned forward and nuzzled up Cadence’s neck. Tallgrass had the transformation absolutely perfect, right down to the little hint of Shining Armor’s scent in her mane, and a faint but noticeable smell of chocolate from a probable cheating on her diet. The proximity of her old foalsitter released memories in one long gentle stream, causing Monster to repeat a familiar phrase she could remember using many times in her presence. “I promise never to do that again, Cadence.”

After taking a step backwards, Cadence lowered her head down to rub noses with Monster. “I didn’t say that, Twilight. Green Grass left you a list of safe spells to practice with unicorn magic, so what I want you and Zecora to do is to make a list of zebra spells for you to practice, but only when she can observe and approve of their safety, and only on subjects who agree. Does that sound fair?”

Monster nodded, her expression shifting from worried to a different type of worried. “Trixie says you’re knocked up. Is this safe for you two?”

“Ahh…” Cadence spared a hoof to rub along her belly. “If I don’t take too long.” She added another kiss to Monster’s forehead. “The correct term is ‘pregnant,’ Twilight. Now scoot along. I need to have a few words with Mixi before I drop my spell. And here.” Cadence kissed Monster again on one cheek. “Give that to Trixie for not watching you closer. You’re very precious to us, Twilight.”

“Oh!” Monster looked up with a start. “Forgot why I did it. My friends argue about the money we earned. They want to spend it. Mom says to give it away. Wanted to ask Dad. Or you,” she added with a cringe.

Cadence shook her head. “What is more important to you, Twilight? Your friends, or the money?”

“Friends,” she said, looking back at the awestruck little colts and fillies running the lemonade stand, each of them seeming like one of her own friends back in Ponyville.

“Then return home and let them know.” Cadence cupped a hoof against Monster’s cheek. “What’s in your heart is far more important than what’s in your bit pouch. Now go. I’ll talk with you later, Twilight.”

It was, determined Tallgrass, a most peculiar sensation to be a passenger in ones own body, politely tucked away in one corner of your mind while somepony vastly more powerful controlled every muscle and tendon. It could have easily been the most terrifying moments of his life if he had not been the one to wordlessly extend the invitation to his queen, and known without any doubt that she would treat his body with respect, as well as give it back when she was done. The experience gave him new respect for Princess Luna and her thousand year imprisonment inside her own mind, as well as a tiny bit of terror of his own on just how easily his adopted daughter had reached across thousands of trots of land to take control of the little changeling nymph. Still, he could not consider her anything other than his daughter, a fragile young nymph with wings still damp from transformation, even if her magic could still rock the foundations of the world in ways he could not imagine.

As Queen Cadence consoled the little changeling nymph Mixie (who considered the entire experience of being controlled as fantastic fun) and spent a few precious seconds of time with her little Manehattan friends, Tallgrass felt both a sense of accomplishment at having dealt with Flower’s little potential disaster and a strange sense of foreboding that continued to lurk over his shoulder even after Cadence released her spell and relief flooded over him. The gloomy premonition did not change when he returned to his familiar zebra guise, grateful that his ribs were no longer troubled by tiny little fluttering kicks from Cadence’s foal, and certainly did not go away when he looked down at all of the bright and shiny little faces of the lemonade stand workers. They all seemed to be waiting on something fantastic, like he was a spluttering fuse vanishing into a rocket, and it was made only worse when he noticed all of the little ponies had perfectly blank flanks.

“Gee, Mister Tallgrass,” gushed the little changeling filly. “I had no idea zebras could do that. What can the rest of your zebra friends do?”

Rest of?

Tallgrass slowly turned around, suddenly aware of the continuing silence that the spirits had maintained while Flower had been controlling the little changeling filly. Standing in a rough semicircle behind him were five old zebras, with two of what he thought were ibex and a lone greying donkey somewhat tucked behind them in subservient positions. The tallest of the zebras, a sharp-eyed greying mare with more gold rings on her neck than he had considered possible before, stepped forward, raising her head and looking around once she had gotten squarely in front of him.

“Power has touched here
guided by your hoof and will.
Spirits obey you?”

“Errr… Tallgrass paused, feeling the anticipatory silence of the surrounding spirits and the glare of intent gazes from the watching zebras, one of which appeared to be totally blind but was still looking in his general direction with that same grim glower. It was like the worst stare of disapproval he had ever gotten from his wife times five, with the added pressure of the curious young ponies at the lemonade stand. The elderly zebra snorted and pawed at the ground while waiting, snapping again in crisp staccato syllables.

“Answers are needed,
honest and truthful, strange creature.
Are you a wise one?”

“Yes,” he responded, feeling somewhat out of his comfort zone and much like the time he had confronted Nightmare Moon while wearing Celestia’s form. “I am a Imetabiriwa of my tribe, named Tallgrass. And you are?” he asked, trying to get a handle on the situation, or at least see if he could divert it to become Somepony Else’s Problem.

“Seeking the wise one
horn and wings born as one flesh
to our home return.”

“We seek the fulfillment of the prophecy, the Imetabiriwa na Anga,” said an even older zebra mare, adorned with seven gold neck rings that seemed to drag her head down. The few steps she took to approach him were erratic, hobbling forward with the assistance of the two young ibex. The first zebra glared, stepping even closer to Tallgrass and saying,

“Danger has gone now.
To our home she must be sent.
Trained and guided well.”

“You want to take Twilight Sparkle back to Zebrica?” said Tallgrass. “Why?”

Teeth bared, the elderly zebra put her nose against Tallgrass and snarled,

“There is no choice here.
Spirits have spoken to us
and we obey them.”

The second elderly zebra chuckled as Tallgrass backed up in a curve, trying not to be pinned against the lemonade stand by the irate first zebra. “You might as well take us to her, before Mshairi gets angrier than normal. We all felt her presence here, even me, Old Kavu. She’s going to her new home, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it.”

35. When Life Gives You Lemons - Part Three

It was a chilly shock to be back in her own body as Monster shook the dirt off her hooves and took a deep breath of Ponyville air. Manehattan had been interesting to say the least and informative too, but she tried not to think about her experience until she was sitting inside the familiar library oak tree in front of Zecora and Trixie, repeating the whole chain of events as if it were a confession, which was not helped by Spike carefully taking notes as she went along.

When done, Monster stood with head downcast in the middle of the library and waited for her two teachers. The expected lump of cold and darkness in her chest seemed smaller than expected, and the spot where Cadence had kissed her still felt warm, although she could not detect even the slightest glimmer of magic from it. Even Trixie seemed captivated by the Alicorn of Love’s kisses, and kept unconsciously rubbing her cheek where Monster had passed along Cadence’s kiss as requested.

“My husband’s wisdom I’m afraid I underestimated,” said Zecora with just the tiniest upturning at the corner of her lips and a frequent blinking that Monster recognized as suppressed tears, although of joy, not sadness. “I’ll admit, this situation I had not anticipated.”

Trixie shook her head. “I don’t think anything could anticipate Menace, even Discord. It’s like we’re building a fence to corral pegasi.”

Monster fluttered her filly wings and drooped. “Can’t fly. Just fall.”

“No, that’s just an expression,” said Trixie with one hoof firmly against her face. “Look, you’ve got us outnumbered all by yourself. Work with Zecora to make up a list of zebra magic that you can use safely... and I suppose you could use a responsible adult earth pony and pegasus for teaching their magic. Somepony like Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash — make that Applejack and Fluttershy. Whenever you try new magic, you need to have a teacher of that variety and a different teacher watching. The minute either of them says stop, you stop. How’s that?”

“Changeling magic?” said Monster very quietly.

“When your weird father gets back,” said Trixie, just as firm as Monster had been quiet. “The bugs are head over hock nuts about you, Squirt. He’s the only one I can trust to say ‘No’ when you’re about to do something… like me.” Trixie spared Zecora a sideways look. “That is provided that in loco parentis agrees.”

Zecora nodded. “If she abides as you say, then to this rule, I say okay. In the event of her intentional disobedience, I shall give her the punishment of recent experience.” One zebra kiss was gently placed in the almost identical spot that Cadence had blessed, and Monster blushed.

“And that only leaves…” Trixie gestured with one hoof and caught a bit that seemed to appear out of thin air. “Money. Your greed made you do something really dangerous, Menace. If I was a really good teacher, I’d just take that money away until you were old enough to handle it, but Cadence brings up a good point. This is a problem that all of you will need to handle, as friends.” She leaned forward and planted a kiss right on the same spot. “Don’t let arguing about money ruin your friendship, Menace.”

Dear Princess Luna

I has done a lot of things since the last letter you got. I made a spell to send letters to Spike, but they don’t go there, which is weird, but I willl worry about it some other time. (note: ask trixie about spell) There is something much more important to tell you.

I have been having money problems much like Trixie but the other way around. My friends and I had an emergency stockholder meeting and discussed our money, which I thought was going to go badly until an unexpected guest showed up.

“Well, if it isn’t the Cutie Mark Catastrophes and their newest little failure.” Diamond Tiara flounced into the bank conference room and regarded the piles of paper that the weird little fake alicorn was trying to hide behind. ‘Twilight’ was a pathetic little waste of time who only cringed back and huddled when insulted, but it brought her little friends up out of their chairs like they had all sat on tacks. Diamond loved the sport of one-upping the little blank flanks into predictable reactions far better than the sport of tennis, in which the ball tended to go wherever it wanted instead of where she was swinging. Scootaloser was the best, and she could be smacked around like a feathered shuttlecock, which of course assumed that Diamond could even hit a shuttlecock. Which she could, just not when anypony was watching.

“I saw your ratty old scooter outside and I knew you little babies would be pretending you were a real business with your pathetic little lemon stand.” Diamond wrinkled up her nose and sniffed as if the scent of lemons had followed them into the bank. “My daddy brought me to the bank to pick up my allowance for this month. It’s going to be over a hundred bits, and I’m going to invest it in my newest corporate venture.”

She skidded a dozen business cards across the table, each adorned with a cute little multicolored fish and the motto ‘Custom Guppy Breeder - D. Tiara, Esq.’ in glittering gold print, which the Cutie Mark Crusaders regarded with amusement.

Monster peeked out from behind her folders once Diamond Tiara had left the room, regarding the card with a frown. “Fish?”

Featherweight scoffed, “She’s probably going to have her butler deal with them.”

Sweetie Belle added to Monster, “He’s nice. When DT gets rid of a pet, we get first crack at ‘em. Last time, we got a hermit crab.”

Scootaloo shifted uncomfortably. “I thought it could swim, honest.”

There was a very long silence, possibly in memory of the departed crab, before Monster hesitantly asked, “Does money make her like that?”

They all considered the papers and the money they represented, and in particular the heated argument they were having before Diamond Tiara showed up.

“I don’t want to wind up like Diamond Tiara,” said Apple Bloom, pushing her papers to the middle of the table. “If money makes ponies act the way we’ve been acting, then I don’t want none of it.”

“Me neither,” said Twist, pushing her papers to the center of the table too. “I’d rather have you girlth than anything in the world.”

“Hey!”

“And you too, Featherweight,” added Twist.

“Well, I have gotten used to this camera,” said Featherweight, pushing his papers into a pile with the others. “There’s a lot of fun memories in it that just wouldn’t be in a new one.”

Scootaloo’s paperwork followed. “Me too. My aunt says she’ll overhaul my old scooter, realign the wheels, add some reinforcements. It’ll probably hold together better than anything new I got anyway, with all the radical stunts I do with it.”

Sweetie Belle arranged her papers neatly and placed them on top of the pile. “Twilight’s right. This just got too big, too fast for us. Rarity says she started out one stitch at a time, and sewed her way up the hemline.” She wrinkled up her nose. “I don’t understand it either, but with school starting soon, we wouldn’t have time for crusading and running the stand anyway.”

There was a quiet thumping in the room and everypony looked around, eventually finding that Monster had begun wagging her tail at the mention of school. With an expression indicative of an entire bookstore chain worth of new books going unread, Monster pushed her papers in with the rest of them and sorted the whole collection into one neat stack.

“Now what? We can’t just give it away to anypony,” said Scootaloo. “They’d just have the same problems we did.”

“Need somepony who knows what to do with lots of money,” said Monster. “Or somedragon.”

Spike said there was a nice pony here a few days ago who was going meet with you after wards. I hope you tow enjoyed your meeting. He was very pleasant and called me silly names like Spirit of Heavenly Grace. Spike even showed me how to write it.

恩

Spike has been helping me with my letters since we have been spending more time together at the 5F1C Lemonade Stand, Only Two Bits. He corrects my capitol letters and everything. He’s very smart. He even knows about its and it’s, and gave me advice about what to do with the bits now that we are going to close the company…

“Oh, no. Not after what happened the last time.” Spike pushed the stack of papers back to Twilight with a guilty glance towards the kitchen where Trixie was torturing the coffee maker again.

“What?” The little alicorn had an absolutely devastating mournful look with big eyes, flattened ears and trembling bottom lip that all of her friends had been tutoring her on for weeks. Spike did not stand a chance.

“I… um… got into the Royal Treasury. Trixie thought it would be a good idea to teach me how to swim, and she’s never liked the water, so she took me to the— “

“Here you go, Spikie. Fresh from the mint. Don’t swallow any of them.” Trixie hefted the small purple dragon in her magical field and plopped him down in Bin #3 of the Royal Treasury, scattering newly-minted bits in all directions.

“We’ll start with something easy, like the dragonpaddle. Move your little claws like this…”

“I didn’t hurt anypony, but I tipped over several of their bins and ate about a bazillion bits worth of gems. My tummy hurt for a month.” He rubbed his round little stomach with one claw. “It was a good hurt, though.”

Spike flipped through the ownership papers and the incorporation transfer forms with a wistful smile. “I know you’re going to need somepony to watch over disassembling the company when you girls go back to school, but I’m not it. Money changes dragons just as much as it does ponies, or worse. Dragons with too much money too fast become just as bad a jerks as ponies, but we’re a lot bigger jerks. What you need is…”

Rarity smiled as she refilled the teacups for both Spike and Twilight. They both were such a polite little pony and dragon, and did not come over nearly often enough, even though Twilight’s visits normally ended with something or somepony on fire or tangled into a giant knot, but still.

“I must thank you, Twilight. It’s nice to know you trust me enough to store your little friends’ lemonade stand when you all go back to school. I have to admit, I’ll miss having you around during the daytime.” Hm, I wonder if I have space in my fall line for a Back To School theme for younger ponies. Wings and horn could prove quite the challenge.

Twilight shook her head, her criminally short mane remaining rigid as a bottle brush. “Stand goes to the farm. Need somepony to hold the company. Break it up. Sell the parts. Donate the proceeds.”

“Oh? I would have thought you and your little friends would use the money you earned to buy an excessive amount of ice cream. That’s what I did when I was that age. Not that very long ago,” she quickly added.

Twilight shook her head more vigorously and pushed the stack of papers across the table. “Too much. Need a big pony.”

“Why, I had no idea you and your little friends had made that amount of money off your little stand,” said Rarity, picking up the papers and scanning down them. “I would think that Sweetie Belle could get a financial related cutie mark for—“

Dealing with leading edge fashions adorned with precious gems had given Rarity a certain tolerance for rather large numbers, both in the Receipts and the Expense column of the ledger, as well as tolerance for occasional negative numbers in Net Profit that would have staggered nearly every other pony in town. After all, profits in one month and losses in the next could be blurred together, as long as there was a little black ink left to buy the individual necessities of life⁽*⁾ at the end of the month.
(*) Spa visits with her friends, the rare and certainly not more than three times a week visit to Gaston’s restaurant, and her monthly copy of Young Maretropolitan. For the articles, of course.

There was a number at the bottom of the asset page. It was an impressive number, far less an impressive number than was in the Gross Assets section, but still impressive enough on its own. It was a number normally associated with phrases such as Gross Domestic Product or even Government Cost Overrun. But there it was. Sitting under Net Assets. Reinforced with commas. Unconsciously, her eyes ran up and down the columns of numbers, looking for a mathematical mistake like the time Scootaloo had calculated the apple harvest at Sweet Apple Acres to weigh more than all of Equestria. She had known there was income coming off the design and manufacture of the cute little 5F1C capes, but she had subcontracted that off to a friend in Manehattan in order to focus more on her current fashion line. By the number in that particular row, her friend was able to buy her own penthouse suite now, and most of the rest of an apartment building too. Perhaps she would be in need of a new wardrobe.

“I think,” she started, while trying not to think at all, “that we all need to call in a professional.”

“Rarity, my dear. You look lovely this afternoon.” Fancy Pants swept into the boutique with his usual flair, taking in the sight of a small table with six little ponies and a dragon gathered around it in stride and restricting his usual kiss on the hoof to a gentle brushing of the lips. “I had no idea you had such polite guests!”

The gentlestallion bowed and smiled as Rarity introduced her sister’s friends, each of them on their best behavior and by some miracle not having set anything on fire. Yet.

Monster fidgeted on her cushion as the tea and biscuits were distributed around the table, a peculiar tradition that did seem to calm her nerves as well as allowed Featherweight to stick a straw up his nose and blow bubbles in the tea. Mister Pants seemed nearly as struck as Rarity when he looked at the papers that Mister Silver had prepared. His monocle even fell out and rolled under the table, which caused considerable confusion as everypony dove after it, and there was a horrible crunching noise when one of them found it. She did not pay too much attention to the conversation, but rather the behavior of her friends, which was so much better now than when they had been arguing over the monthly report. The one phrase still kept echoing through her head.

I don’t want to wind up like Diamond Tiara.

School was coming up fast, which spelled the end of lemonade season and the beginning of spelling season, as well as math, science, history, and all of the other wonders of the scholastic experience. Everypony was excited, but cashing out their investment had turned that excitement into snapping words and greedy thoughts. Maybe next year they could try something less ambitious and keep the lemonade stand local, but it had seemed like such a good idea at the time, and the orders had kept coming in, and the pyramid of sales had just been so fascinating to watch that she had not really noticed the wheels coming off the scooter until it was too late, much like real life.

“You have quite an admirable list of charitable goals,” said Mister Pants, leafing through their draft of the breakup documents.

“Ah thought having low interest small business loans available would draw more traffic into town,” said Apple Bloom.

“It can be kinda a pain for low-income gardeners to afford individual clouds,” said Scootaloo.

“There’s almost nothing for the outside ponies to read about how cool and fun Ponyville is,” said Featherweight, “so a travel and tourism fund would help promote us all over Equestria.”

“Not all towns have a library,” whispered Monster.

“Thome ponieth can’t afford to vithit the denthitht without thome finanthial athithithince,” said Twist.

“I thought a fund to pay for a public defender would be very helpful to innocent ponies who are accused of crimes,” said Sweetie Belle. “Just like Jailbird.”

“Sweetie!” said Scootaloo. “Jailbird likes it in jail. Besides, if he wasn’t there, who would keep the building open? And who would play harmonica in the yearly talent show?”

“Girls, please concentrate,” said Rarity.

“Hey!”

“And Featherweight. And Spikey-Wikey too.”

“Whatever you say, Rarity.”

The mannerisms of the older unicorn stallion intrigued Monster as he bantered playfully with her friends, sampling the cookies provided and expounding (which she looked up) upon their flavor and quality even while roughing out a small college trust fund for each of her friends and getting specifics on the charities which would receive the rest of the funds as the company was dismantled. He did not feel deceptive or arrogant like Diamond Tiara, and the fear that so much money might have corrupted her friends beyond recovery began to recede.

Cadence was right. Friends were more important than stuff, but having stuff did not automatically make you stuffy, like Diamond Tiara. Rarity dealt with stuff all the time, and still remained friends with so many of the ponies around town, even Trixie, who was difficult on the best of days. Rarity and Mister Pants were so much like Scootaloo, who never failed to give to the very lint in her bit pouch and the very last inch of her hooves if anypony was in need.

It felt good to get, but it felt much better to give. It lit a fire in the dark places of her heart and cast a warm glow over all she could see, and once the arrangements had been finalized and all of the paperwork distributed out to each of her friends for adult signatures, she trotted along the path to home with a distinct spring to her step, made that much springier by the hundred bits they had each received as split net profits from their own lemonade stand. Hundreds of little ponies across Equestria would be trotting along just like she was, listening to the jingle of loose bits and trying to figure out how they were going to spend them.

Monster already knew.

The evening air was just starting to cool when Trixie poked her nose into the doorway of the hollow tree outside of Ponyville. The sensation of traveling through the interface between the Everfree magic and ‘normal’ still brought a quiver up her flank at the feel of diaphanous tendrils brushing her flank and horn, and the cloying pressure that made even the simplest spells require extra effort.

“Hello? Anypony here?”

“Come in, come in,” said Zecora, trotting by with a firefly lantern on her head. “My Flower is up in the room of knowledge, preparing for our first magic college. Up the stairs and turn to the right, and we will be there most of the night.”

The stairs were uneven and the stairwell considerably more close than the open and cheery library in Ponyville. Her flank brushed up against the living wood of the tree with a tingle of forest magic as she emerged into the next room and stopped in amazement.

Dense knots of dark wood looped around overhead, bearing strings of beads with complex knots, suspended smooth stones wrapped in cords and painted vibrant colors, and many, many cubbyholes with colorful rolls of some paper-like substance sticking out of them. Even the lumpy wooden floor had oblong stones of abstract shapes lying in some strange pattern against the walls and in small neat piles, each stone completely different than each other but somehow reflecting a harmonious whole. Above it all were a dozen firefly lanterns, each filled with glowing insects that cast a warm shadowless illumination around the area and made a pleasant buzzing noise in the background.

“Library,” said Menace, who had somehow shown up at Trixie’s side while she was entranced by the sight. “Can’t read all of them.”

“Wha—?” Trixie tried to look calm and restrained while surrounded by so many silent books. “I mean — of course you can’t read all of them. Some of them must be far more advanced than your reading level.” She reached for a nearby curl of parchment in a cubbyhole only to have Twilight stop her.

“No. Dangerous.” Twilight Sparkle struggled for words while holding her hoof out, finally taking a deep breath and letting it out in one long sigh. “Illusion spell. Show.”

“Well, I suppose—” Trixie caught herself. This was exactly what she had tried to stop by putting restrictions on the little menace, but the welcome sound of Zecora’s hooves on the stairs allowed her to skip out on enforcing that particular unwelcome rule. “Only since Zecora is here too, yes. Remember to concentrate.”

And she did. Twilight’s horn glowed a soft magenta as the image of an oblong continent appeared, covered in chaotic colors. “Long time ago, Zebrica was broken. Monsters ate zebras. Spirits roamed free. Spirits made Zebrica. Spirits not happy. Made special zebras called Imetabiriwa, or the Wise Ones. Spirits talk to Imetabiriwa, Imetabiriwa talk to zebras. Do what is right. Spirits happy. Imetabiriwa talk to spirits, spirits chase away monsters, zebra not eaten. Zebra happy.”

“So what screwed it up?” asked Trixie, adding at Twilight’s scowl, “Don’t tell me it didn’t get screwed up.” Trixie nodded at Zecora, who had settled down on a nearby cushion with all the noise of a falling leaf. “If it wasn’t screwed up, she wouldn't be here to take you back there in a couple of decades. Besides, it’s pony nature to screw up a good thing. Zebras too, probably.”

“What says you is all too true,” said Zecora with a sip out of her teacup. “Our kind’s wisdom brought great power, but the rest will be explained by my little Flower.”

Under Twilight’s concentration, the illusionary continent divided into six colors with a small sliver of grey near the center. “Six tribes were formed, but as time passed and their power grew, they fought among themselves and each other. The Imetabiriwa were forced to remain within their borders, and the nations eventually went into decline much like the Ponynesians and the Roamanes once their empires became decadent. There are some parallels…” She slowed to a stop at a single quelling glance from Zecora and mumbled, “I read some Equestrian history books in the library. Anyway, a Imetabiriwa na Anga revealed herself to the Imetabiriwa of all tribes and—”

“Wait a minute,” said Trixie. “A princess? Horns and wings?” She looked back at Zecora, who was being quite calm and placid as she sipped her tea. “A Zebracorn?”

Tea sprayed everywhere and Zecora coughed until she could breathe. “Oh, no. You are so slow. A Wise One of the Sky is not marked by stripes, wings, and horn. Such a creature in our lands has never even been born. The wisdom of the Imetabiriwa needs no such crutch, for that gift is one of which my Flower has much. The prophecy of Flower’s return is very plain, but of this I shall let my daughter explain.”

A scroll of some thick leathery substance wrapped in Twilight’s magic floated down in front of Trixie, although instead of writing, it had little squiggles and bobs of charred stripes running from top to bottom. Twilight slipped up beside her, feeling a little like a shivering ice cube to Trixie’s warm side as she pointed and began reading down the line of symbols in a foreign language, most likely Zebrican. It took far longer than Twilight expected, as Trixie kept making her go back and pronounce different sections of the text, squinting at the unfamiliar squiggles and frowning more and more with every word. Finally Trixie exploded in frustration, pointing at the document and snapping, “You have got to be kidding me. You used ‘miaka’ here, here and here, but the symbols are different in each spot!”

“Code.” Twilight blinked as if it were the simplest thing in the world. “Symbol here for rain, three suns in right corner means rotate words by… She looked up at the ceiling, her tongue poked into one cheek until two other scrolls floated down. “This sequence.” She tapped on the third row of the document. “First two are just nonsense.”

“You mean every stinking book in your library is written in some weirdo code?” Trixie looked around in open-mouthed amazement. “Zebra newspaper crossword puzzles must be epic.”

“Not every book,” grumbled Twilight. “Just ones from our tribe. The rest are secrets from other tribes. Can’t read.”

“Why in the stars would you bring a library halfway around Equestria that you can’t read?!”

“We were in a hurry at the moment,” said Zecora with a sour grimace. “My Flower called, and we were sent. The old Imetabiriwa na Anga gave her life so that I could help in this time of strife. Twelve years have passed since the stars bespoke, and not a word from them since have I heard or spoke.”

“You don’t read the newspapers then, I guess.” Trixie shook her head. “The Foreign Affairs section of the Canterlot Times said something about another civil war brewing there. The Warthogs are snorting about, the Ibex are terrified, as usual, and the Zebras have all been yelling at each other.”

“Sounds like home has not changed,” sighed Zecora, adding some tea to everypony’s cups. “With the chaos and logic of the totally deranged. This time we must use to thoroughly prepare, for the return of my Flower, her friendship to share.” The zebra looked up from her cup at the sound of her daughters sharp inhalation. “We have time to spare, my Flower, dear. For you to learn and to heal shall take many a year.”

“Not that,” whispered Monster. “Just had an awful feeling for a second. It’s gone now.”

Tallgrass hopped on three hooves while suppressing several rather pungent comments about Equestrian road maintenance, the particular rock that had stuck out of the roadbed just far enough for him to stub a hoof on, and the ‘Traditional’ habits of the zebras he was traveling with. It would only take an afternoon on the train to get back to Ponyville, but five stubborn zebra mares could set their minds and hooves like boulders when it came to trusting themselves to ‘foreign’ methods such as a mechanical conveyance, made only worse by their constant complaining about the steamship trip to Manehattan and how if the spirits had meant them to travel to Equestria, there would have been a road.

It was going to take weeks at this rate to get back home. Each time they came to a divide in the road, there had to be a debate about which way to go, even though Tallgrass had purchased a map and there were road signs. In fact, every time he suggested a direction, it seemed that each of the quarrelsome mares were determined to prove him wrong. They could wind up wandering Equestria for years if he—

She’s going to her new home, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it.

Then again, the weather was nice, the scenery pleasant, and Tallgrass had always wanted to explore the Equestrian countryside in fall. The Running of the Leaves in Trottingham was supposed to be a very pleasant affair with colorful foliage and some of the best cider south of Sweet Apple Acres, and then there was always the beautiful rock formations of the Painted Desert which he had never had the opportunity to really explore. He hoofed the map out of his saddlebag and casually checked it over as the long slow walk continued, looking for other tourist locations as well as a place to post a letter back home to the wife.

Dearest Zecora,
I happened to meet some of your relatives this week, and…

Author's Notes:

Author note: That’s the end of the Lemonade arc. The next arc will be Lessons in Flight, where Back To School Sales precede the glorious beginning of a school year.

36. Lessons In Flight - Part One

South of Canterlot, beyond the little town of Ponyville, and past the Everfree Forest, there is a wild place of jagged rocks and deep crevices cut by an untamed river. At one time, ponies had attempted to make it a tame place for vacationers to take photographs and enjoy the raw beauty of the place, but that attempt was doomed to failure. Winds untouched by wing or hoof flow unceasingly through the jagged stones and sharp thorns, making a low moan that only the bravest can endure for any length of time.

The single train stop that was built during that ill-fated venture still stands, a lonely sentinel of civilization alongside the iron rails and walking bridge that spans the yawning chasm. Nopony strolls its empty corridors and floors. There is only an outhouse for those few travelers who walk the road alongside the tracks, pausing briefly to absorb the awesome beauty of the place before hastening their tread across the bridge in search of a settled zone where a tamer nature could be appreciated appropriately.

On a jagged claw of rock, far above the gorge, a small fleck of orange moved ever upwards. Although winged, it did not fly to those dizzying heights, but made its way by scrambling and clawing for every bit of distance, one hoof after another. This was her place, where she would make her mark upon the world or die trying. More than once, her unsupported flank hung over a terrifying fall, but with chipped hooves and considerable perspiration, Scootaloo scrambled and climbed until she stood on the flat top of the jagged precipice.

From here, she could see forever. Canterlot glowed like a brilliant torch on the mountains to the north, while off to the side, the distant rainbow glitter of Cloudsdale dominated the sky.

“Today is the day,” breathed Scootaloo. “Mom. Dad. You’re going to be so proud of me.”

We’re so proud of you, Scootaloo. It’s just… your mother and myself have been so busy at the factory that we don’t have the time to spend with you like—

“Like I need,” she muttered, turning away from the rainbows and clouds of the hated factory. “Like your ‘special’ daughter needs.” The Daring Do saddlebag clunked inside when she peeled it off of her sweaty back and sat it down on the gravel.

“So special that I have to be tortured every night. So special that you had to order these!”

Two hated devices clattered down onto the barren rock, one for each wing. Steel buckles and nylon straps were frizzed with use and the wear of young teeth. Night after night she had faced the pain and itching of their nightly application and been unable to chew herself free.

Scootaloo, this is your aunt, Quick Fix. She’ll be watching over you for a few weeks. We’ve ordered some special devices to help with your wing development, and they can only be applied with unicorn magic, so you’ll need to remain in Ponyville for a while.

“Forever, you mean.” She bit down on the first hated wing brace, sinking her teeth into the soft nylon and chewing one last time.

Scoots, I know you don’t like the braces, but you need to quit chewing through them. This is your fifth pair.

“I’m never going to outgrow them, am I, Aunt Quick? I’m never going to fly. Never!” With a twist of her neck, the brace went flying off the ledge, spinning as it fell. She watched the descent of the hated object until it vanished into the jagged rocks below.

You have to be patient, Scoots. When I was your age, I thought I’d never fly either. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that.

“Yes you did, Dad. That’s why you put me on the ground!” She picked up the second brace in her teeth and shook it, rejoicing in the feel of the straps and buckles slapping into her cheeks with little spikes of pain. “That’s why you gave me…”

It’s a scooter, Scootaloo, just like your name. If you use it every day, your wings will get stronger and stronger until you can fly, just like us.

“It didn’t work!” A twist of her head sent the other brace into the air, twisting and flipping as it fell through the erratic gusts of wind until it vanished into the rocks too. “I can do anything with that scooter except fly! Why can’t I fly! Even little foals can fly better than I can!”

It is my professional opinion that your niece's wings have developed enough for flight. They’re still undersized for her weight, but there may be reasons other than physical for her present problems. Have you consulted a psychologist?

“I’m not crazy! I just can’t fly!” The saddlebag was next to be picked up and mangled by youthful teeth and hooves. “Daring Do can fly, and she’s broken her wings more often than Rainbow Dash!” One small hoof pounded repeatedly on the smiling face of the character, smudging it with dirt and tears.

So, Scootaloo. As long as you are my patient, everything you tell me is confidential. It’s obvious something is bothering you—

“I can’t fly! That’s what is bothering me! Everypony else just treats it like some foal’s issue like a loose tooth! I have wings! Why can’t I fly? I’m a pegasus! I belong in the air!”

As she pitched the saddlebag over the edge, a small flutter of paper fell out in a flicker of white and rainbow hues. It twisted in the gusts of the gorge, rising and falling at the whim of the currents, until a stray breeze blew it right back into Scootaloo’s face. The rainbow of colors was the only thing she could see until she wiped her eyes and looked at the autographed picture of Rainbow Dash smiling back at her.

So, you're looking for somepony to take you under their wing, huh?

“I’ll make you proud, Rainbow. You’ll see. I can fly just as well as any other pegasus. Better, even. I’ll make them all proud.”

A small noise drifted up to Scootaloo’s precarious perch in a voice nearly snatched away by the wind. Over the sound of falling pebbles as another pony scrabbled up the thready path she had taken, she could barely hear it call, “No, Scoots!”

“Go, Scoots,” she whispered.

Taking a moment to brace her hooves in the loose gravel and spread her useless wings, Scootaloo swallowed a lump in her throat. There was no more time for waiting. It was time for action.

She jumped.

Author's Notes:

Please take a look at Scoot Along Scootaloo which was the inspiration for this story arc.

37. Lessons in Flight - Part Two

South of Canterlot, on the outskirts of Ponyville, stood a particularly tall and special tree. What made it special was not that it was hollow, or that it had originally grown several miles away, or even the few small strands of royal mane that still decorated the occasional section of bark around the midpoint of the tree. No, what made it special was the ponies who lived inside.

Everfree flora evolved to survive, sometimes even rapidly enough to be seen by an unlucky grazer who was about to become fertilizer, although being hollow was not a survival trait for a tree unless it was able to attract a creature who would protect it and help it to grow. Various surviving botanists who studied Everfree plants agreed that their evolution as a species in this direction could not possibly be planned or orchestrated, but only the result of natural selection. Nonetheless, they were baffled at the recent emergence over the last decade of habilis ficus, or the Convenient Hollow Tree, which seemed to be a variant of the endangered species quercus bibliotheca, the Library Oak.

Several botanists even claimed that during their travels into the dark and forbidding forest, they had encountered trees complete with hinged doors and shuttered windows at the exact moment they had intended on setting up a campsite, one even going so far as to claim discovery of one with a writing desk and rather lumpy bed. Botanists who were careful to knock before entering and clean up upon departure were always able to find the odd structures when they returned, despite the oddness of the whole concept, although they never were able to find the same convenient place upon returning with more skeptical peers.

The huge tree on the edge of Ponyville was older and odder than its apple neighbors, with not only several rooms throughout the trunk and a cavernous space in its root structure, but also a peculiar and obtuse room near its leafy crown that had things ponies called ‘shelves’ and ‘a skylight.’ Everfree magic had permeated its verdant foliage and deep roots to the point where it practically oozed out of the cell walls, and that was before a certain older zebra and her injured foal had moved in.

After that, things had gotten strange.

Trees twist their leaves to face the sun in order to absorb energy and convert it to food, but the warped and twisted pony who had lived and loved inside the tree for the last twelve seasons had twisted the tree in a manner more metaphysical than physical. Sometimes dangerous, sometimes vulnerable, and always powerful, the tree had to be on the tips of its roots whenever the pony was around, but lately the danger had been dampened and the power grown to a pure and wonderful flood that made it fairly bloom with joy whenever she was present and droop in sadness when she was gone.

In the wide room at the top of the tree, where Zebrican scrolls and other arcane relics of concealed lore rested uneasily in their respective cubbyholes and nooks, Zecora looked up suddenly and stared out the nearby open window.

“Where is my Flower in this late hour?”

“Not sure,” said Trixie, nearly totally surrounded by scrolls and little colorful bits of sticky paper. “She’s probably hanging around with her friends.”

“Let me go!” screamed Scootaloo, flapping her tiny wings in a flurry of dust and sharp fragments from the nearby cliff face. “I can fly! I know I can! Just let me try!”

There was no immediate answer from the sharp edge of the ledge above her, only the scrabbling of tiny hooves trying to brace themselves in the loose gravel that covered the narrow precipice. A rain of tiny pebbles showered down around Scootaloo as the tip of a glowing horn appeared above her and a badly stressed voice stammered, “N-n-no!”

“So where did my daughter go?” asked Zecora, looking out the window of her tree library with the wind gusting around her ears.

“I dunno,” muttered Trixie, holding up a wad of knotted cords and turning it in her magic while checking her notes. “Something about going to catch Scootaloo while we try to decipher some of your weird zebra writings. I think they’re practicing flying. I hope they don’t do something stupid.”

“Like you would do?” asked Zecora, turning to look at the suddenly uncomfortable unicorn.

“Uh. Yeah.” Trixie looked up and tossed the knotted cords back on a shelf. “I wouldn’t worry. Menace promised she wouldn’t try flying without an instructor.”

“Uh-huh,” said Zecora. “And did this promise upon which you depend also bind her pegasus friend?”

“Oh, yeah.” Trixie picked up an oddly-shaped rock and turned it in the afternoon sunlight slanting in through the window, seemingly entranced by the shifting runes that changed with every exposure to light. “Well, she’s pretty responsible. I’m sure she’ll keep her friends from doing anything stupid.”

Scootaloo buzzed her wings as hard as she could, which resulted in a cascade of more pebbles from the ledge above her as Twilight was dragged into sight by her frantic efforts. The little alicorn had her eyes nearly closed with sweat pasting her short mane against her dusty neck, but the magical grip on Scootaloo’s tail never flickered for a moment, even when one small hoof skidded on the loose gravel and kicked a few more pebbles down on Scootaloo. Twilight was fighting as hard as she could, but one tiny bit at a time, Scootaloo was slowly dragging her friend farther out on the crumbling ledge with every frantic tug on her magically-held tail.

“I’m not letting go,” filtered down from above. “I don’t want you to d-die.”

“I’m not going to die!” screamed Scootaloo, flapping her wings into a powerful buzz until it felt as if her tail was going to tear off. “I’m going to fly! Let go or I’ll pull you off the ledge! I mean it!”

Zecora walked over to the window and looked out at the way the late afternoon sun was reflecting off the vast collection of apple trees outside. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes while she spoke. “I do not understand how you can sit without alarm when your friend and sister could be risking great harm.”

Trixie shrugged. “Trust in Harmony.”

Although Zecora turned away from the window and glared at the impassive unicorn, Trixie continued to rotate the oddly-shaped and marked rock in her magic, eventually picking up a second rock and holding them side by side. “That’s what Princess Celestia always used to say to me. Used to drive me crazy at times. I’d be all tied up inside about some presentation or show and she would just glide by and say those three words like she knew what was going to happen and it wasn’t that bad. Ha!” Trixie picked up a third rock and held it next to the other two. “All that talk about predestination and fate is just hot air. We are what we make out of life, no more, no less, and no Neighponese fortune cookie can change that. Our decisions shape our world, and your daughter makes far better decisions than I ever could.”

Zecora’s glare turned volcanic for a moment until she turned and looked out the window again. “Trust in Harmony is what you said,” she growled, “but that is no comfort for the dead.”

“I don’t care!” Twilight’s voice filtered down from above as Scootaloo strained her wings to an orange blur, gaining a few more inches of progress towards her goal while more small pebbles rained down. “I’m not losing you!”

“You have to let go, Twilight!” shouted Scootaloo. “Let go before you fall…” Undersized wings stopped cold as both of Twilight’s front legs fell off the edge of the ledge, leaving the tiny purple filly nearly over the precipitous drop. “No! Let go, Twilight! You can’t fly!”

“You c-can’t either,” rasped her friend. “I’m not letting go. If you die, I’m going with you.” More little rocks rained down as Twilight scrambled backwards, slowly and inevitably pulling the unresisting pegasus up after her by the tail.

“But I could fly,” wailed Scootaloo. “I know it.”

“You’d fall,” said Twilight. “I know.” One short tug followed after another until Scootaloo was dragged onto the tiny flat spot on top of the towering rock and Twilight wrapped her up in a bone-crushing hug far too strong for such a little filly. Tears finally burst out as she held onto Scootaloo and buried her nose in her friend’s sweaty neck. “You have to trust me,” gasped Twilight between sobs. “I saw it. I saw you fall.”

“I-I trust you, Twilight,” said Scootaloo, holding onto her sobbing friend and adding a few tears of her own. “I trust you. I just wanted to fly.”

“You’ll fly,” whispered Twilight. “I promise. You just have to trust.”

“—in Harmony,” said Tallgrass, looking up in the sky with the rest of the zebra mares in his peculiar and quite elderly herd. The rather odd cloud, an escapee from Cloudsdale’s well-guarded inventory, had been twisted and contorted by the breeze as it drifted, as well as reduced by the occasional pegasus who saw an opportunity to grab some free building material. From its lazy course, he judged that it would be carried along on the prevailing winds until it drifted across Ponyville, and from there to the Everfree Forest, if it was not scavenged into a few small scraps during the trip. Perhaps one of the pegasi who had ‘borrowed’ some of its substance had a talent for sculpture, although they would have been a rather odd pony to have carved the puffy white thing into what it seemed to be now.

The ragged cloud looked for all the world like a pegasus filly falling out of the sky, with legs and tail above in a helpless turtle-like pose while undersized wings were tucked up on its flanks as if paralyzed in fear.

“What is that you say, young colt?” rasped Old Kavu, an elderly mare with seven heavy golden neck rings and a corrosive wit as sharp as a jagged broken bottle. “Do your young eyes spy something in the sky that we old and wise ones do not?”

The oldest of the zebras looked around at the rest of her female peers with a derisive sniff. All of them wore matching expressions of distaste directed at Tallgrass and his male zebra disguise, which he had determined was going to stay on until long after he had seen the last of them. After all, the elderly Imetabiriwa had no qualms informing him that the lands of Zebrica had been changeling-free for centuries, although they refused to say exactly what had happened to the changelings who had been there before. If they did not know he was a changeling, he was not going to tell them, and if they did know, it would not matter if he told them, so he kept his mouth shut and gauged his words carefully.

“I was just looking at the cloud,” said Tallgrass. “Certainly it means something. The spirits of the air would not have brought it here just for us to admire their skill at sculpture.”

“Baa!” snapped Tafadhali, whose name meant ‘Please,’ although in all probability she had never uttered that word in her entire angry existence. “The spirits of this place are all fools. They dance and sing for no reason.”

A second zebra mare snorted and pawed at the ground, kicking away several dry clumps of dirt from where the group had stopped for a grassy lunch.

“Only a cloud there
what we seek lies far beyond
come, let us be off.”

“Which way, Mshairi?” asked Old Kavu with a dangerous spark in her eye and a sideways glance at Tallgrass. “We have been walking for many days, and my old bones are tired. I’d like to find the Imetabiriwa na Anga before the earth spirits call me home. Which way do you think we should go, young colt?”

In one blinding flash, Tallgrass could see the answer as if it had been burned into his mind, and he damped his connection to the hivemind so as not to disturb the rest of the changelings with his vivid vision. Deliberately, he turned so his tail was pointed at Ponyville and began to walk with slow, constant steps.

Five minutes later, after the rest of the zebra mares had belittled him into turning around, he kept pace beside the elderly Imetabiriwa who seemed the most amused by his efforts. “You are a young fool, Tallgrass,” said Old Kavu. “Young and without the experience that the spirits have given your wise elders. It is fortunate for you that we are here to give you the benefit of our years.”

“Yes, indeed,” agreed Tallgrass, trying not to hurry his pace in anticipation of returning home to his wife and odd child.

While above the zebras and the disguised changeling, the rather odd cloud drifted along.

“Going to be dark soon.” They had been cuddled together for hours of wordless togetherness, but it was time for the words to begin again, and Monster had found that stating the obvious was a good way to contribute to a conversation when she did not feel like saying anything. Sometimes it even triggered the answer to a difficult question she wanted to ask but was afraid to actually put into words.

“I don’t want to spend the night up here,” sniffled Scootaloo, relaxing a little to look around the stunning view they had from their tall rocky spire, although Monster still kept a firm magical grip on her tail, just in case. “I’m not sure we can climb down. There were a few spots where I almost…” Scootaloo trailed off and hunched her shoulders.

“Fell,” completed Monster. “Me too. Scared. More scared I would lose you. Didn’t look down. Scared of heights.”

“You could teleport us down,” suggested Scootaloo a little reluctantly.

“Too scared,” said Monster, holding Scootaloo tighter and stopping a growing tremble that threatened to make her clamp down with bone-crushing force. “Trust me?”

“Of course I trust you, Twilight!” said Scootaloo. “I’m just a little mad at you for keeping me from… jumping.”

“Dying,” said Monster, clutching onto her friend until the trembling stopped. Scootaloo ran a hoof carefully through Monster’s short but still tangled mane, eventually spreading a wing across her friend and holding very still until she could feel the little alicorn relax and the hammering beat of her heart had slowed to something a little more reasonable.

“I trust you,” said Scootaloo. “You’re one of my best friends, and if you say I was about to do something really stupid—”

“Not stupid,” said Monster with a sudden increase in hug pressure. “You’re not stupid. It was a decision. It makes sense. Afraid of flying. Afraid of dying. One fear bigger than other fear. Still wrong. Don’t know why. Just know.”

“You mean it’s like one of those neat zebra star thingies?” Scootaloo looked up into the sky as if expecting a star with a label on it to suddenly pop into view as the sun descended below the horizon and the moon gracefully ascended with its torrent of brilliant stars. “Which one?”

“Not star.” Monster shook her head, unable to make the words come out. “I saw you fall. It’s… complicated. Need help. Lie down.”

“Okay, Twilight. I trust you.” Scootaloo settled carefully on the loose rock shards and looked at her friend with wide eyes as Twilight rested her stubby filly horn against her head. “I trust you,” she repeated, “but I’d still like to know what you’re doing.”

“Calling a friend.”

After an extremely long period of looking out the window while Trixie stacked Zebrican rocks and rotated them against each other, Zecora stood up and deliberately walked over to wrap her houseguest up in a powerful hug.

“Thank you,” said Trixie, with more than a little hesitancy once the hug was over. “I think. What did I do?”

“The burden of my daughter has grown over the years, until friends she has gained to calm her great fears. Although to others your methods may seem reprehensible, to me they no longer seem so incomprehensible.”

“Thank you, I think. Again.” Trixie waved at the collection of Zebrican scrolls stuffed in various cubbyholes all over the room. “As long as we’re on such a good note, this would go a lot faster if you would just let me write on—”

“Those scrolls of Zebra lore should be treated with care and respect, for they are the only ones which you have to inspect. If you wish to inscribe them with quill and ink, a copy you could make upon which to think.”

“I wish,” muttered Trixie. “Watch this.” She held up a sheet of zebrican writing and made her horn glow gold. “Observe your neighboring tribe’s writing when seen by sun, and now—” her horn glowed silver and several of the runes changed “—by moonlight. It takes a particularly twisted mind to think like this, and I already sent word to one of the most twisted.” She paused with one hoof up, then checked her watch before a knocking echoed up from downstairs.

“He’s late,” declared Trixie, vanishing down the staircase and returning in a few minutes with a rather shaggy pale turquoise unicorn with a dark blue mane, who looked around the scroll and zebrican artifact-packed room with a near-physical hunger. He sat nervously on his rear while waiting for Trixie, reaching out for nearby scrolls before pulling his hooves back several times. Behind him followed a unicorn mare in a police officer’s cap, who regarded the room with a much more subdued expression.

“Zecora of Zebrica, I would like you to meet one of the most gifted minds in Equestrian encryption and codes. Crypto, this is Zecora, Twilight Sparkle’s adopted mother.” As Zecora nodded, and Crypto grinned nervously, Trixie cast an evaluating glance at the quiet policemare, who did not make a single move to identify herself.

“I was unaware that Trixie’s friends had the kinds of skills on which she depends.”

“He’s not really a friend,” scoffed Trixie. “I met him in jail once before Celestia bailed me out, and we’ve crossed paths a few times since. He’s a gifted codebreaker who speaks a dozen languages better than the natives and can break any security spell in Equestria.” Trixie eyed the impassive policemare to his side. “Are you his keeper or his wife, Ma’am?”

“Keeper,” said the policemare. “Lieutenant-Commander Grace of the Canterlot Police Department, on detail at Princess Celestia’s personal request.”

Trixie looked between the two unicorns. “Wow. Either you screwed up royally to get stuck with this escort duty or Crypto did to deserve a Lieutenant-Commander as foalsitter. Which is it?”

Grace’s lips pursed slightly and she shifted her stance, which Trixie read just as clearly as if she had held up a sign that indicated the mutual magnitude of screwup that would send both of them to such a small town. “Mister Crypto was found in the Celestial Vaults, attempting to gain access to the Elements of Harmony.”

A low whistle escaped Trixie as she looked at where Crypto was ever so cautiously floating a scroll out of a nearby cubbyhole. “You broke into The Vault, Crypto?”

“Wanted to see the security,” muttered the pale unicorn, sitting the scroll down on a nearby table and beginning to open it with the delicacy of a surgeon.

“He had nearly accessed the Inner Vault,” said Grace, her lips drawn into a thin line.

“Was on the way out,” said Crypto, gently pinning down the edges of the scroll as he unrolled it. “Disappointed. Fourteen character thaumaturgically-active encryption matrix bypass for the whole thing. Could have jimmied it with a hoof file. Shush. This is interesting.”

“Hoof file?!” Officer Grace was noticeably upset and moved towards Crypto only to be stopped by Trixie’s outstretched hoof.

“Let him work, Officer Grace. He can’t lie worth a hoot, but there’s no denying his gift,” said Trixie. “There’s a dozen vault companies in Equestria who keep him on retainer. There’s a vault in Manehattan that he designed that the company still can’t get into.”

“Nightmare Moon,” muttered Crypto, setting down the last of the rocks around the unrolled scroll and getting out a jeweler’s loupe to examine it. “Kept the moon up. Scrambled the encryption time codes. I’ve got some ideas.”

Zecora got up to stand beside Trixie. “Officer, please do not reject his eager willingness to inspect. This lore is protected by the wisest of our kind, and to read it will take a special mind.”

“This is so cool,” murmured the pale unicorn, finishing his first pass over the nearby scroll as if it were some ten-thousand year archaeology find that would crumble to dust at the slightest encouragement. “Actual Zebrican Imetabiriwa writings from the Tortoise Tribe. The original copies even. They use the blood of Ibex mixed with turtle dung to hold the metaphasic quantities of the runes so they can be stacked, but I’ve never actually seen one before.” His tongue darted out and touched the surface of the scroll ever so gently before Crypto sat down and started at the ceiling. “Hoptoad venom. Very deadly in a larger dose. A forgery would never bliss fargle medifanunt garblemud fibdigeriet...”

“I said he was gifted,” said Trixie as they laid the rigid stallion on the floor so he would not hurt anything when he fell down. “I didn’t say he was smart.”

38. Lessons in Flight - Part Three

To the outside observer, Mount Canter was a solid mass of granite and rock, an immobile part of the Canterlot mountain range that had always protruded above the center of Equestria as some permanent example of cup tectonics, and always would. It was only as one drew nearer that faults and cracks could be seen, some reaching deep into the stony flesh of the giant mountain range. Only one peak in the entire range had the stability to support a city, and that had only been possible with thousands of unicorns working for decades to lay the foundations. It was a challenge to the heavens, a symbol that unicorns working together could accomplish anything, but it could easily have become a ghost town of a few preliminary foundations and some dry bones early in the process.

Cut stones require a cutter, but that is not all. Somepony had to plan where to cut, the proportions that the finished stone would take, where the rock fragments would be disposed, how to carry the stone to its destination, how to feed and water the cutter and the carrier, arrange for the disposal of their waste, care for the injured and the sick, protect them from accidents, and all of that had to take place on a desolate mountaintop with every tool and scrap of food provided by trains that were limited to a single set of tracks winding laboriously through the narrow cuts and trestles that had to precede the project.

Any rational pony would have looked at the problem and thrown up their hooves.

Alicorns are not rational ponies.

When the Royal Sisters constructed their castle within the then-tame Everfree Forest, they ruled over a fairly small but growing populace that had only recently fled their Windigo-plagued homeland. There was no need for grand gestures or symbolism. The race of ponies had survived. That was sufficient.

As time went on and the ponies expanded throughout their new lands, the Royal Sisters were called upon by the populous new cities to move the center of government to someplace more modern, practical, and convenient. Coincidently, that someplace was always the city making the suggestion, as they each pointed out the benefits of their particular location to a rather reluctant pair of alicorns who seemed to prefer their somewhat small and crowded castle that neither Celestia nor Luna expressed any interest in expanding to accommodate a growing number of politicians and bureaucrats.

Then one day, the Royal Sisters vanished.

The pegasi were the first to find them sitting on a large flat rock near the top of Mount Canter with a checkerboard and a basket of apples. There was considerable discussion among the three tribes, and eventually a small contingent with representatives from each tribe was dispatched to determine if this was just a picnic that had gone on too long, or if perhaps the strain of rulership had gotten to them.

When the representatives returned, they carried a very short message.

“We like the view.”

After more substantial discussion among the tribes and a visit to several engineering firms, it was determined that the view from Mount Canter, the largest and most stable of the Canterlot mountain range was exceptional, and deserved to be shared.

A year later, the first rail line had been laid, winding up the sides of the mountain to the geologically stable area that the engineers had determined would be the best place to build a city.

A year after that, the outlines of the city foundations had been roughed out.

It took the finest engineers twelve long years to drill boreholes into the granite flesh of the mountain and enchant the support beams that would prevent the city from buckling even in the worst disaster imaginable. It would have only taken ten if a small pocket of gemstones had not been found under the center of the city. Fortunately, the vast majority of them were low enough quality that the crystal rush petered out fairly quickly, and the ponies who had flocked to the mountain in the hopes of a quick bit found themselves doing construction work instead.

It turned out to be much more profitable for them in the long run.

Buildings rose from the new plateau, with spiral roofs and flags flying in a multitude of colors. An endless string of trains wound their way up and down the mountain, bringing workers and tourists to the new city in the sky. A castle was built, far larger and more grand than anything that had ever been seen in Equestria before. Below the surface, sewer tunnels were drilled, rainwater cisterns created, vast tunnels and caverns were bored out of the mountain for records, storage and supplies. Above the ground, the new Parliament building took shape, houses and apartments for the city dwellers rose in abundance, and the various Royals negotiated for places to put their own Royal Residences. Unicorn towers hugged close to the mountain and climbed its rocky sides in order to stretch for the sky while pegasus Royals built their estates right up to the edge of the cliff. Earth pony Royals took what was left over, the vast broad center of the city, where they built greenhouses stocked with fertile soil and vibrant flowers, and large comfortable apartments open to all who were willing to pay the rent and live by the rules.

During the whole process, the machinery of government continued to turn. Once a week, Parliament sent a set of bills and proclamations up the mountain to the Royal Sisters, who still were bent over their checkers game. Once a week the sisters would send the papers back down, corrected for spelling errors and either approved or rejected.

Forty years to the day after the Royal Sisters had flown up the mountain, they flew back down, only making a much shorter trip this time. They walked around the new castle and observed the completed construction, with little mentions of ‘hmm’ and ‘I see’ as they strolled. They sampled the flowers in the new Royal Gardens, observed the statuary, made a brief visit to the Parliament building, and retired to their respective rooms in the new castle.

The next day, they made a joint declaration of appreciation for the new city of Canterlot with a celebration that ran all week, including feasts, dancing, and enough fireworks to fight a small war. Backdated newspaper subscriptions were picked up, delayed correspondence was answered, and introductions were made all around the castle as the Royal Sisters caught up with retirements and new hires.

It took a year.

At the end of the year, there was a somewhat more subdued celebration for the anniversary of the city’s founding, during which one diplomat from Great Griffon made the mistake of giving them a gift.

The next morning, the castle staff found the Royal Sisters in their shared den as usual, although they were ignoring the grand view out of the huge window next to them. Scattered across the table in front of the window were the pieces of a chess set, and seated on opposite sides of the table were two alicorns with looks of intense concentration, making slow but deliberate moves as their new game progressed.

The siren call of the descending sun awoke Princess Luna early from a rather troubling dream. The little flickers of distracted daydreams during the day always seemed as if a vast number of ponies were whispering in the distance without any words being discernible, but today she had been almost certain that news of the worst possible nature would await her awakening. It continued to bother her during a brief and vigorous shower to the point where she even cancelled her evening refresher class to brush up on changes in the Griffon language with a most handsome and charming young unicorn. Instead, she spent several hours in the study, trying to get a sense of the problem through the ancient art of Nuntimancy⁽*⁾.
(*) Define: nun·ti·man·cy - noun The art of reading the future in newspaper clippings.

“Hello, dearest sister,” said Princess Celestia, gliding into their mutual dining nook with the contents of a tray trailing behind her. “The kitchens have outdone themselves for dinner this evening. We have roast rack of avocado, a delicious tossed grass and alfalfa salad, and — Good heavens, Luna! What are you doing to the newspapers?”

“Justice,” said Luna, spreading out a series of red-blotched articles across the table amidst a sea of small newsprint fragments. “The study of language under your rule has been most grievously neglected. Wouldst that we could fine them a bit per misspelled word, we could abolish all other forms of taxation and still run the government at a surplus. How do they ever expect to… There!” One silver-clad hoof pointed and an article floated up out of the tattered newsprint forest.

“Fall is coming,” said Celestia, looking over Luna’s shoulder. “Wings are the things for fashion this season. What do you think it means?”

“I know not,” said Luna, her brows narrowed in concentration as her indigo magic roamed over the article. “Only that it reflects upon the young pony who saved me from my corruption. Wings. Fall.” Luna looked up abruptly. “Sister, I must go at once.”

“Is it something about Twilight Sparkle, Luna?”

“Yes and no.” Luna flung open the window and the resulting breeze distributed the pieces of newsprint to every corner of their dining nook. “I feel a dream from her friend. Oh, and mate in seven.”

With a soft wave of displaced air, the Princess of the Night vanished out into the evening and left Princess Celestia to regard their chessboard. A single rook had been moved three spaces, and Celestia closed the door and gathered the pieces of newsprint while she tried to think.

“Just so you should know, I think to the hospital he should go.”

Zecora regarded the rhyming police officer and seemed to resist a twitch of annoyance as Trixie watched the ongoing scene over the top of a safe scroll. “Young mare of auburn hair, on my account you need not strain your choice of words for wise refrain.”

Officer Grace nodded as she rolled back the unconscious stallion’s eyelid and peered inside. “‘Tis true, your speech is difficult to match, but with practice and thought, the pattern can be catch. Caught. Darn.” She left the stallion return to blinking in a dazed fashion while staring at his fascinating hooves. “His pulse is slow, his vitals strong. What ‘ere befell his… darnit. You make it sound easy.”

“I could do this for hours while waiting for Flower, but our wait shall be done before the rising of the sun.”

With the smallest gust of wind, the wide windows at the side of the treehouse room swung open to the night air and three ponies drifted inside. Princess Luna landed with barely a sound on the Zebrican library floor, with two smaller ponies held in her magic to one side. The Princess of the Night swept her gaze around the room and turned to Zecora, clearing her throat.

“Good evening. I believe your daughter has something to tell you.”

Still wrapped in Luna’s magic, Zecora’s adopted daughter floated over and was placed quite firmly in front of the somber zebra. The second little pony remained floating at Luna’s side, slumbering away with little twitches of her legs and undersized wings.

“Good evening, my little Flower. You gave us quite a fright. Can you explain for your teachers what it is you did tonight?”

Monster had really not expected for her call to Princess Luna to be answered as swiftly as it had been. One moment she had been kneeling at the side of her slumbering friend, and the next it seemed as if the very night had wrapped itself around the both of them and swept them up into the sky. Scootaloo twitched as they rose into the night sky, her little wings rising by instinct to catch the breeze as it flowed past, even while Monster’s wings merely flapped and wobbled like loose shutters.

It was so much of a relief to feel all of the strain of her secret begin to drain away, but it rapidly began to be replaced with a different fear. When she had first seen the brief flash of Scootaloo falling through the sky, it had shocked her right to the hooves. Even the earth spirits underneath her had hushed their endless whispers for a time, while the air spirits had seemed to tremble with fear of their own. She had seen those little flashes of insight before, and every time they had been right in every detail. Celestia sobbing in song in Ponyville while the dark pony swept down out of the sky. The false image of brother… of Shining Armor in Nightmare Moon’s illusion. That tiny fraction of time where she saw what would happen if the Elements of Harmony were permitted to be unleashed. They had all been so vivid, and every one of them had happened after they had been seen, but in ways that her abilities had been able to bend to avoid the consequences.

This one was different. Scootaloo was going to fall, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She knew it, right down to her ears. Every moment she had climbed the jagged rocks, every second she had clung to her friend, it was all for nothing.

Scootaloo would fall.

But not today.

The cool wind of the night not only streamed through her stubby mane but somehow seemed to pass through her heart while they flew. Above, the starlight brushed across her stubby wings as Luna arched her flight high into the sky. This was where Monster belonged, far away from others where they would not be hurt by her actions. If only she could gather enough clouds together to form a ship, she would sail alone among the stars forever.

As if Scootaloo could sense her desire to flee, the sleeping little pegasus held tight and whispered, “I trust you, Twilight. I won’t let go.”

The sensations of the ground returned in a tumble and thud, pouring in across Monster’s chest as Luna descended. The scent of apple trees in full fruit filled the air, and the nighttime insects of the forest sang their songs as the wind flowing over her body slowed from a gale to a breeze to a bare movement that could scarcely move a page. Monster had never flown into Home through a window before, and the open balcony swelled with heart-stopping speed in front of her, around her, and behind her as numb little hooves were set down on the wooden floor and she looked up into the loving eyes of her mother.

“I’m sorry,” she started. It was a good place to start, a familiar phrase that she always meant, even if it was for a behavior she had done far, far too many times already. What she had done must have been extremely bad this evening, because a stern policemare sat silently to one side, listening to her confession without even a single nod or sigh to indicate sympathy as she poured out her story. Mom and Trixie nodded along as Monster told about her frightening vision of Scootaloo and her subsequent stalking of her friend by slipping from concealing bush to bush with short teleportation spells as she left Ponyville on the long walk to Ghastly Gorge.

They both seemed concerned when she told about Scootaloo discarding her trademark scooter into the trash and the long trudge with her head down and muttering to herself all the way. Mom gave a sharp inhalation and Trixie a nervous twitch that traveled down her hide when she told about Scootaloo’s leap, and both of them seemed to lean into each other a little as she talked about their long huddle afterwards on top of the crumbling pinnacle of rock above the gorge. She finished in a very small voice, her nose almost touching the floor as she said, “Can I serve my sentence in the Ponyville jail? Don’t want to be away from my friends.”

Both Mom and Trixie opened their mouths to speak, but the emerald-green policemare spoke first. “What sentence? Teleportation Without a License is only a crime if done for profit, your real age is far too old for the restrictions on curfew, and the section on the use of dream magic has been unenforceable for centuries.” The policemare gave a curt nod to Princess Luna. “Proceed, Your Highness.”

“But I broke the rules,” blurted out Monster. “I used spells outside of my study guide! I could have gotten killed! I could have gotten my friend killed!”

“Do not fret over what is not,” said Zecora with a gentle kiss to Monster’s forehead. “Instead, rejoice at what you got. Your friend is safe and resting now, so worry less about the how.”

“She’s right,” said Trixie, stepping forward to grace Monster’s forehead with another kiss. “Buck the rules. You saved your friend. It’s time to stop worrying about what you’ve done, and start planning on how you’re going find out what drove her to this and how to help her deal with it.”

“Me?” squeaked Monster.

“I’d just muck things up,” said Trixie with a sideways glance at the other mares in the room that just dared them to agree. “Your mother has no experience with what a little pegasus who can’t fly is going through, and having Princess Luna ask about her problems would be like using a sledgehammer to crack peanuts.”

“What about—” Monster looked up at the impassive policemare, who shook her head.

“Sorry, ma’am. Princess Celestia’s orders. I’m solely responsible for Mister Crypto here.” Grace glanced down at the comatose stallion with the faintest indication of distaste. “He broke the law. You just scuffed it in a few places.”

“Don’t worry, Menace,” said Trixie, pulling the little alicorn in closer and patting her on the head. “I’ll get you started. First, I’m adding teleportation to your spell list, provided you have three supervising unicorns or alicorns who can teleport to assist. Second, if it really bothers you, I’ll have Spike write a blank Request for Pardon to Princess Celestia…” Trixie hesitated and regarded the rather cold look she had just gotten from the Lunar Princess. “Or any other reigning princess who would care to process the request,” she added. “He’s gotten fairly good at the process.”

“Forty-six Pardons,” said Grace. “Nearly a record.”

“Whatever.” Trixie rolled her eyes and paused with a contemplative look.

“Thirdly,” prompted Monster.

“Right. Thirdly, before I pawn your friend’s problem off onto you and Princess Luna tonight, we’re going to have to get through her thick skull and find out what set her off. She’s kept it bottled up for so long, she’ll never tell us, so I’m going to show you…” Trixie paused with her tongue in her cheek. “I’m going to lie to her.”

“Lie?” Monster cringed.

“Right. You can tell her the truth after it’s over, but until then, I need you to stay quiet. This isn’t a nice lesson, or one that I expect you to use on any of your friends, but it’s something you have to learn, and I’d prefer that you learn it from me.”

Scootaloo burst through the clouds in a zoom climb with Rainbow Dash close behind. Their race to Canterlot to swoop through the Royal Throne Room had been too close to call, and they had decided to settle the differences about who was the best flier with a game of cloud tag.

“Only one cloud left, Rainbow!” gasped Scootaloo, buzzing her wings into a frenzy as she paced her hero neck to neck on their colorful streak across the afternoon sky. The cloud grew rapidly as they flew until a dark pony standing in the middle of it drew her attention. The air thickened as she approached, and all of the flapping that she could do only allowed her to drift up to the edge of the cloud and look up into Princess Luna’s compassionate eyes.

“It is time to awaken, Scootaloo.”

The sky and clouds faded around her, being replaced by the weird library that Twilight had in her awesome home. There were three… No, four adults in the Zebrican-themed room this evening. One was a rather tranquil stallion whose eyes were fixed into a blank stare at a number of scrolls, most likely some sort of librarian or scholar. Behind him was a policemare, who regarded Scootaloo with a dispassionate gaze as if she were prepared to pull out a set of filly-sized hoofcuffs at a moment’s notice and drag her off to reform school. Zecora was off to the side with Twilight pulled in under one restraining foreleg and a bland look of inscrutability that could have been painted on.

And standing directly in front of her was Trixie.

She looked… different, in a quiet and compassionate stance that Scootaloo had never seen before. There was no arrogance at all about her, just the look of a caring pony who really was concerned about her well-being and was willing to listen without condemnation or shouting. At first, she thought that Tallgrass had transformed into a different version of Trixie, but Twilight’s adopted father was far, far away in Zebrica by now. It just seemed weird to see her like that, and even weirder when she started to talk.

“Scootaloo,” said Trixie in a quiet whisper. “We already know what happened to you today. Twilight told us all about it.”

“All of it?” Scootaloo cast an anguished glance at Twilight, who only slumped down farther behind her mother’s black and white striped leg.

“All of it.” Trixie patted a cushion next to her so smoothly that Scootaloo found herself sitting down on it before she realized it. One soft foreleg wrapped around her and held on gently as Trixie rocked back and forth, her voice developing a small rasp as she spoke.

“I remember being a young unicorn, unable even to make sparks from my horn. I tried everything I could think of, and even though everypony told me that my magic would come in time, I just knew that I was going to go through the rest of my life as some weird earth pony. That’s when I started wearing my hat. A unicorn who can’t cast spells is not really a unicorn, and I found out really quickly that I wasn’t an earth pony either.”

“But you can do spells now,” said Scootaloo in a rush as the tears threatened to burst out again. “You’re fantastic and all kinds of splashy, but all I’ll ever be is a feather duster.”

As she leaned into Trixie’s warm chest, the agonizingly painful words spilled out: her parents in Cloudsdale, the doctors and their diagnosis, the agony of sleepless nights torn between the pain of the braces and the pain of her inability, the sharp words of criticism from Diamond Tiara, her long trip to the Ghastly Gorge, and the terrifying realization that she nearly killed her friend. She had held back her frustration for far too long, concealing it from her friends, her family, and even herself. Unwilling to see the face of her friend, Scootaloo kept her eyes tightly closed as she talked, taking comfort in the warm foreleg wrapped around her chest and the gentle urging from Trixie whenever her voice faltered.

Eventually, the words trailed away and only the warmth of the embrace remained. The scent of the strange library was comforting, even familiar, as if Twilight’s home for decades had absorbed the essence of her friend and was wrapping it around and inside her with every breath. Twilight had been a terrified and terrifying little filly, alone except for a Zebra mother who had never had foals of her own and was in turn halfway around the world from her own home. The tree had sheltered them from the elements and in turn been a step for the Elements of Harmony to gain bearers.

Princess Celestia had told Scootaloo about why the Element of Generosity had selected her during that terrifying night, although Scoots had never thought about her actions as being generous, but just the way she lived her life. Much as Twilight had been so filled with magic that it only seemed obvious that she would carry the Element of Magic, Princess Celestia had said that she could see the generosity inside the little pegasus that Princess Luna had represented so many years ago as she gave the beauty of the night to all of the ponies and other races of Equestria. Despair had driven the dark princess into a destructive tantrum when her gifts were rejected, and now Scootaloo could taste the same ashes of defeat from her own brush with the consequences of her actions.

In the long silence that they shared, it was almost expected when she saw the darkness beside the window peel apart and the Princess of the Night stepped out into Twilight’s attic library. She bent down to where Scootaloo was still held tightly in Trixie’s grasp and stretched a soft wing over them both before nuzzling Scootaloo gently behind one ear.

“The time for recriminations is over, young one,” whispered Luna.

“I know,” said Scootaloo, slumping over and allowing her tiny wings to droop by her sides. “I need to go tell my aunt what I did.”

“Nay. I shall bear the burden of informing your caregiver of your actions this eve, and I assure you, she will not be dismayed by your actions. Provided, of course, you promise not to repeat them. Your task this evening shall be far more difficult.”

“What?” Scootaloo looked up as Princess Luna swept a wing over both her and Twilight, lifting them in her magic as she drifted out the open window.

“You must face another who shares your fears, Scootaloo.”

39. Lessons in Flight - Part Four

The wind in Ponyville was always a constant difficulty for the weather team, swirling out of the Everfree Forest in complicated patterns that any normal pegasus could never tame. Mostly they just left the little gusts and bursts alone to shake the shutters and rattle the windows of Ponyville residents, much as they had been shaken and rattled for the past century. If a pony were to stand very still and listen as the wind blew by, it was said that they could hear mysterious voices, although every pony heard something different. The elderly ponies in the retirement home swore they could hear the laughter and songs of their youth, still echoing around the streets of the small town even years after their youth had been spent. Mature ponies were constantly looking around as the voice of a small child in the middle of some act of mischief would trickle to more adult and responsible ears. And the youngest ears of all could hear the sounds of opportunity in the summer air, from the door to the ice cream freezer being left open to the splashing of friends in the Ponyville pond.

On this dark and gusty night, the wind spoke in a considerably more hostile fashion. It swirled through the empty streets, shaking limbs and twigs free from trees, and rattling the shutters of the largest and biggest house in Ponyville, located on the tallest hill in town. It moaned through the ornate stonework, scraped dry branches across the roof tiles, and made the huge building groan and creak in tiny unpredictable ways from the moment the sun had gone down and the wind out of the Everfree picked up. Other ponies in the small town wondered just what kind of storm was brewing in the chaotic and unpredictable forest, but they were unaware of the paralyzing fear that each gust of air brought to one small resident.

With every muffled bang and thud, a small earth pony filly trembled in her huge four-poster bed. Every so often she would slip out from under the covers to peer out the open window into the dark night, despite the wind gusting through the window, around her room, and knocking her possessions off the overcrowded makeup table and various shelves in her bedroom. The wind sounded furious to her, bitter and sharp despite the sweltering heat of summer that left her soft pink coat slick with cold sweat and made her shiver every time she traveled to the open window.

Stuffed beneath her bed was a rather battered scooter, which the little filly checked during every circuit of her nervous pacing around the room. Every time she looked towards it, there was an air of mixed dread and anticipation, as if she hoped that it would just vanish into thin air as if it were some figment of her imagination.

But every time, the scooter was still there.

It was a concrete reminder that her fears and worries were not unfounded, and that they would remain long after the sun had risen and normal nightmares would have fled. Tomorrow would not bring a day with Scootaloo buzzing down the streets of Ponyville at an unsafe speed. Tomorrow would not be another day to taunt the flightless chicken about her blank flank.

Tomorrow would be a day when other ponies would start looking for the missing filly. They would ask questions. They would want to know where she went and why.

And eventually they would find the rotting corpse at the bottom of Ghastly Gorge that Diamond Tiara kept envisioning in her mind.

The endless loop of thought echoed constantly through her mind even as her tired body continued to move from the hidden scooter to the covers and back to the window again, hoping that there would be some sort of sign that she was wrong, and muttering almost silently to herself as she continued to pace.

“She can’t have actually done it. I’m just over-reacting. She probably just got to the edge of town and chickened out like she does every time. Pull yourself together, Diamond. She’ll come slinking back into town in the dark and hide her face from all of her little show-off friends for days. Just because she threw her scooter in the trash, doesn’t mean she really jumped off Ghastly Gorge. She’ll snap out of it. She always does. There’s no reason to think Scootaloo is—”

Diamond Tiara had just turned from checking on the battered scooter for the uncounted time when a pale moonlit figure of a small pegasus filly surrounded by a ghastly dark glow floated into the bedroom window. The apparition was quiet, almost motionless while poised on the windowsill, with her mane blowing in the gusty wind and her tiny orange wings extended to their limit on both sides. The figure took one step forward and descended to the floor of Diamond Tiara’s bedroom with a buzz of tiny wings as Diamond staggered backwards and gasped in a terrified squeak, “—dead?”

“Hello, Diamond Tiara,” said Scootaloo in a grumbling monotone as she glared at the moonlit floor of the opulent bedroom.

“I didn’t mean it!” gasped Diamond Tiara in a panicked squeak. “Don’t haunt me! I pulled your scooter out of the trash! Here! Take it! Take it away!” She scrambled for the bed, yanking the battered scooter out in a panic that made the awkward handle hit her in the nose when she grabbed and then tripped over it. Diamond landed in the middle of the hardwood floor and shoved at the scooter with a whimper, curling up into a ball afterwards and whining, “Please, just take it and go away! Don’t haunt me!”

The accusatory silence weighed around Diamond Tiara like a sodden blanket. Even the wind abruptly died, leaving her in a pool of stagnant air and sweat as she held her eyes closed and hoped that the vengeful ghost would make her death quick.

“Scared,” said another voice, higher pitched and younger sounding. “Not good.”

“She deserves it!” snapped Scootaloo. “She said all those nasty things about me! She deserves to feel like I did!”

“Will hurting her make you feel better?” The clicking of small hooves across her hardwood floor grew closer and the cold form of a small pegasus moved up besides Diamond Tiara, making her almost jump out of her skin when the clammy wing draped over her back. “Don’t be frightened,” whispered the voice in a slow but deliberate fashion. “We’re not dead.”

“Why are you taking her side?” snapped Scootaloo.

“Because she’s scared.” said the small voice. “Scared is bad. When I was scared, you helped me. When Luna was scared, we helped her. She says these things because she’s scared.”

“Maybe if we blasted her with the Elements of Harmony,” grumbled Scootaloo, although with decreasing spite.

“Now say you’re sorry,” said the small voice.

There was a brief strangled snort from Scootaloo.

“You hate her, don’t you?”

“Yes.” From where Diamond Tiara was huddling against the floor, she could hear Scootaloo’s breathing slow until it was almost inaudible. “No,” she added in almost a whisper. “I hate what she does.”

“Do you like it?” asked the voice in Diamond Tiara’s ear. “When you call my friends names. When you scoff at them. Does making them feel bad make you feel good?”

Unable to keep her eyes closed any more, Diamond Tiara opened them and looked into the compassionate violet eyes of the tiny little fake alicorn that had been following the three little losers ever since Diamond had returned from summer camp. Shame boiled through her red cheeks as she realized what a fool she had been made to appear in one of those pitiful blank-flanks’ schemes.

“You?” she gasped, looking between Twilight and the sulking little flightless pegasus. “What are you doing in my bedroom? Get out! Get out before I call my daddy and have you thrown out.” Feeling a surge of anger at having been taken in by their infantile little blame game, she shoved the battered scooter across the floor and added, “And take your stupid busted scooter too, you little freaks!”

“See!” declared Scootaloo. “She’s not sorry at all. Why should I forgive her for what she did?”

“Because you have to,” whispered Twilight, still keeping her eyes locked onto Diamond Tiara in a steady gaze that was more than a little creepy. “You can’t hate her. It will eat you out from inside. Make you like her.”

“I’m nothing like that little chicken,” snapped Diamond Tiara. “I’m rich and beautiful, and everypony at school adores me.”

“You’re a spoiled brat,” snapped Scootaloo. “Everypony only says they like you because of your money.” The little flightless pegasus hesitated with her jaw hanging open and a look of enlightenment spreading across her face like the rising sun. “Oh. Now I see.”

“See what, you pathetic loser?”

“You want ponies to like you for who you are,” said Scootaloo, looking a little dazed and speaking quickly as if the words would vanish into vapor if she delayed even a second, “but you’re afraid that if you were poor, they all would hate you. All you are is money, and without it, you’re nothing. My friends and I don’t care about how much money you have, and you think that if we’re made unlikeable, that somehow makes you more likeable.” She paused for a long while as Diamond Tiara spluttered, eventually adding, “That’s pathetic.”

“You’re pathetic, you little weirdos and your little club!” spat Diamond Tiara, unconsciously backing up a step due to the unceasing stare from Scootaloo’s freaky little friend. “I’ll bet you didn’t even leave town. You probably chickened out before—”

“I jumped,” said Scootaloo through gritted teeth. “You made me so angry that I couldn’t think straight, and it almost got me killed, but you know what? You don’t care. All you care about is yourself.” She inhaled deeply and took a step forward. “I’m not afraid any more. My friends are there for me. I’m going to fly. And you’re not worth it.”

“I’m not worth it?”

“No, you’re not. Twilight is right. I need to forgive you for being such a… you.”

“What!”

The little freaky alicorn stepped up next to her flightless friend and tried to put a wing over her, but after a few moments of fruitless attempts, Scootaloo extended her wing so their feathers would mesh together. There was something dangerous in the little alicorn’s violet eyes, something far older than her apparent age as she spoke in a rough whisper, with the words deliberately pronounced one at a time.

“I forgive you too, Diamond Tiara. I want to be mad at you, but that’s not going to help either of us. You seemed to be somepony to admire. Confident, even though you were scared on the inside. Not now. Not after doing this to my friend. I forgive you, but you still did a bad thing. You need to admit it. Keep from doing it again. Think of others instead of just yourself. Tell them what you’re afraid of so it won’t control you.”

Diamond Tiara huffed into a rage. “How dare you! I didn’t do anything wrong! And I’m not afraid of anything! Get out of my—”

The shadows beside the window shimmered and a dark adult pony with both wings and a horn stepped into Diamond Tiara’s bedroom. Her mane flowed with miniscule specks of light in the darkness, and her blue-green eyes held Diamond Tiara’s gaze in a frozen exchange of heart-hammering shock.

“Would that I had heard the same words, so many years ago.” Princess Luna continued to stride forward until she could place her own huge dark wing over the two little ponies, and looked down at Diamond Tiara with a cool, controlled gaze. “Once, when I was younger and so much more foolish, I too wished for the love and adoration of others to the exclusion of all else. I could not see or appreciate that which I had been given, but only that which I could not have, and it drove me to drastic actions far beyond what your mind can comprehend. My sister forgave me for my crimes, not once, but a thousand fold, and I shall never fall prey to that insidious desire again. Forgiveness is a gift which can only be given, not earned, and although I too am wroth at the anguish which thou has inflicted upon my friend, I too shall forgive you. Take our gift, Diamond Tiara, and treasure it far more than gold, for it shall be a lesson to you beyond all others that you shall learn throughout your life.”

“B-but I didn’t do anything wrong,” whined Diamond Tiara, trying to cringe backwards but finding her hind hooves seeming frozen on the oak floorboards.

“Did,” said Twilight. “I’m writing your mother and father. They need to know.”

“Daddy?” Diamond Tiara lunged from her crouched huddle and ran as fast as she could, out the bedroom door, down the hallways and up the stairs until she reached her father’s room. The doorknob almost chipped a tooth as she burst into the room, scrambled across the floor and flung herself into the immense soft featherbed where Filthy Rich awoke with the sudden impact.

The despondent little filly was incomprehensible for the longest time as she cried and wailed about horrible monsters in her room, clinging tightly to his leg and sobbing while they returned to her empty bedroom, and refusing to let go, much as she had done many years ago while he had been raising her. Even a trip to the kitchen for a calming glass of warm milk could not restore his little angel’s cheerful mood, and he resigned himself to another night of having an anxious little wriggling pony in his cold empty bed. Whatever the nightmare was that had disturbed his precious gem must have been more powerful than any of the other dreams that he had comforted her through, because for over an hour, she did nothing but cling to his leg and shiver under the covers. Finally, she nuzzled up to his neck with a cold face still damp from tears and asked in a near whisper, “Daddy?”

“Yes, Diamond?”

The trembling increased as he could feel her open her mouth and then closed it several times without speaking. With a deep breath to gather her confidence, she blurted out, “You love me for who I am, right Daddy?”

“Of course, honey. You’re my perfect little filly.” In the dim light of the moon from the open window, Filthy Rich patted his daughter on the hoof while watching her carefully, concerned that his answer only seemed to make Diamond more stressed.

After a long period of starts and stops, Diamond Tiara swallowed and whispered, “Does Mommy love me?”

His gentle patting of her hoof slowed as it was Filthy Rich’s turn to take a deep breath and swallow the lump that seemed to be strangling him. A faint noise from the breeze outside drew his eye to the open window with the curtains billowing gently into his bedroom. It sounded like a distant sob of loss, so much like Diamond Tiara’s mother that he could not breathe for a long moment, listening in vain for the noise to repeat. Memories that even eight years of time had been unable to dim flowed through his mind, and for just the smallest moment, he could see Filligree’s beautiful face echoed in the face of their child.

Then the moment was gone, and all he had remaining was the only piece of their time together that he had been able to hold onto, this single perfect gem in the tarnished setting of those memories. He remained looking out the window at the distant moon and stars, wishing with all of his heart that he did not have to say the words that came next.

“I’m sure she does, Diamond.”

Author's Notes:

Remember, this is a slightly different Filthy Rich and Diamond Tiara than is in Diamond Tiara Buys a Little Sister.

40. Lessons in Flight - Part Five

Once upon a time, in the days of Megan the Destroyer, when the world was new and ponies first came to Equestria after the death of Queen Majesty, there was a wizened little creature called the Moochick who was the only being willing to teach magic to the young race of ponies.

“Teach us!” they cried, and sat patiently while he shifted his old bones into a more comfortable position on his mushroom chair.

“I will only teach magic to the race of ponies who is able to build me a house,” he responded.

The three races of ponies raced away to complete the task, each of them eager to prove they were the ponies who deserved magic. The earth ponies built him a strong house of bricks, tall with many windows and doors. The unicorns constructed a house of crystal, with tall towers and parapets. And the pegasi built a huge cloud mansion with flowing fountains and colorful rainbows.

Returning to him, they watched as he examined their work.

“Bricks?” he asked, looking in the earth pony house. “They are rough and will scratch my sensitive books until there is nothing left but tatters. No, this simply will not do.”

“Ouch!” he declared when looking into the unicorn house of crystals. “How sharp these walls are, and the light pours through at all times of the day. My precious books will all be ruined and faded. No, this also will not do.”

The cloud house he simply looked up at, standing on the ground with his hands on his hips.

“No, my little ponies,” he said. “None of these houses will do. But do not despair. I shall give you one more chance to prove your worth.”

The three races of ponies trudged away, dejected and disappointed, until a young earth pony said, “He told us all the things he does not like in a house, but what does he like?”

They all sat and thought for a while.

“He likes plants and trees,” said an earth pony. “Perhaps we could make him a tree house.”

“He does not like to be high in the air,” said a pegasus. “Could the house be inside a tree?”

“That would be too small,” said a unicorn. “He loves his books. A house inside a tree would be too small to fit them all unless we could make it grow.”

“I’m good at making apple trees grow,” said the earth pony, “but they’re not very big. We would need something bigger, like an oak.”

“I know where the largest oak tree in the forest is,” said the unicorn. “I shall bring back an acorn, and if you can make it grow, it will make a fine house.”

“I can bring water and give the tree plenty of sunshine,” said the pegasus.

And the three races of ponies each eagerly went to their task. The unicorn brought back the largest acorn that anypony had ever seen, the earth pony buried it in the richest soil she could find, and the pegasus brought cloud after cloud of water to make it grow. Sooner than they expected, a large oak tree graced their tiny village, and the Moochick looked it over with a nod of his head.

“Perfect!” he exclaimed. “I shall move in at once.”

“But what of our magic?” asked the ponies.

The Moochick laughed. “Silly ponies. You have had your magic all along. The earth ponies had the magic of making things grow, the pegasi have the magic of the sky that they use to bring forth the rain and the sunshine, and the unicorns possess the magic of knowledge.”

Both the pegasus and the earth pony nodded their heads, as the Moochick was wise indeed, but the unicorn was still troubled.

“There are many things in the world for us to learn, but so few unicorns. How can we best learn what we do not know and pass our knowledge on to others?”

The Moochick laughed again. “You are the silliest of all ponies. The answer is in what you have built, for this tree shall contain books in which you will write that which needs to be passed down to others, and in which you will find the knowledge which you seek.”

And all of the ponies nodded their heads at the wisdom of the wise old creature, and declared that there would be a gathering place for knowledge in each of the cities that they built as their numbers grew. The pegasi and unicorns built huge libraries in Canterlot and Cloudsdale, but the earth ponies took the acorns from that first hollow oak and planted them across Equestria in every small town and village, so that the knowledge that they contained could always be nearby, and that the lesson of the Moochick would never be forgotten.

Six little ponies curled up together on the large and lumpy bed that slumped in the corner of the Golden Oak Library, but there were no snores echoing around the small bedroom stuffed into the crown of the old hollow tree. Instead, the sheets had been peaked up in the middle by a couple of convenient sticks, and a small firefly lantern illuminated six little faces as they sat in silent contemplation of of the story they had just heard. Once Scootaloo had started talking, her story had spilled out in one long bust until she came to the end with an abrupt stop, so like what had almost occurred to her that it made them all suppress a shudder.

Twist was the first to move, pulling out a juice box and a cinnamon stick out of her sidesaddle and giving them to Scootaloo, once she had managed the tricky task of poking the tiny little straw into the tough box and taking a quick sip first to ensure it was cold enough. Featherweight was the second, lifting one hoof and gently punching Scootaloo in the shoulder.

“Dude,” he said. “I wish I could have been there for you.”

“Yeah, I know.” Scootaloo took a long slurp from her juicebox and bit down on the cinnamon stick. “I should have told all of you before doing anything that dumb.”

“Not that,” he protested. “I mean it would have made one heck of a shot.”

Five little ponies picked up pillows.

The windows to the tree on the edge of the Everfree Forest swung almost silently open as Princess Luna drifted inside to a perfect landing. She paused, looking at the three unicorns and one zebra who were bent over several sheets of thick paper, and ignoring her graceful entrance.

“Ahem.”

Trixie waved frantically. “Just a minute, Princess,” she hissed, not taking her attention away from the rather tranquil male unicorn who was reading down a sheet of the Zebrican runes as if it were a newspaper while the two other unicorns in the room scribbled away on their own notes.

After waiting the requested minute and possibly several seconds longer, the Princess of the Night cleared her throat again, only a little more forcefully. This attracted the attention of Zecora, who picked up several damp sheets of paper and spread them out in front of Luna.

“Forgive us, my princess, for being so gruff. The work of this night has been rather rough. The knowledge of my tribes is hidden quite well, but the solution to one, your Trixie will tell.”

“Fascinating,” said Luna, looking down the sheets of paper and their meticulous translations. “Another’s come with wretched wings. What kind of evil will it bring?” She turned the sheet over and checked the front. “Aaesunuthluth. So that was her name. Their records are quite accurate considering my trip to Zebrica was nearly a century before my banishment. I should drop by some evening, just to see how things have changed.”

“Very little, I suppose,” said Zecora. “One thing comes, another goes. Only chaos, hatred and spite, will greet you there, in your blessed night.”

“Wonderful place you’re planning on sending Menace to,” said Trixie, standing and stretching with several sheets of paper held in her magical field. “I think we’ve stressed Cypher out enough for the evening. Miss Grace, why don’t you take him downstairs and tuck him into the guest bedroom to recover.”

Zecora looked up with a frown. “There is no extra bedroom in my tree. There is only space for Flower and me.”

“I walked right by it on my way up,” said Trixie with a matching frown that wound up directed at the vanishing flank of the zebra as she slipped out the door, only for Zecora to return in a few minutes with the most peculiar expression.

“There are two extra rooms in my old tree,” said Zecora. “Please bring your friend and follow me.”

Trixie continued her somehow annoying shuffling of the translated papers, putting them in order and reading through them with seeming disdain for the rest of the universe, or at least until her particular room in the universe was somewhat less populated.

“So,” she started, “did you get Menace and her little friend situated?”

Luna nodded. “I did gather her and all of the element bearers together and placed them within your room at the library, where Scootaloo was speaking with them before I departed.”

With a glance out the window as if she was looking for the light of a distant burning library, Trixie slowly nodded too. “I suppose my fire suppression spells will hold them for the night. You just left them there?”

“I thought it advisable that they be supervised, so I sent your dragon to retrieve one of your friends to watch over them this evening. She is a generous and kind soul, although I had to promise a ‘sitting’ in return for the favor. Tell me, is this Rarity a painter of some sort?”

Trixie shuddered. “No. It’s far worse.”

The drifting feathers of ruptured pillows still floated around the library as the five little fillies rearranged themselves on top of a rather lumpy pile of bedcovers that constantly tried to rearrange itself with several muffled exclamations.

“Now that we have our resident jokester taken care of,” stated Apple Bloom, “let’s move on to the next item on our agenda. How are we going to get Scootaloo to fly?”

“Thee thertaintly ith throng enouth to fly. Thee’th even thronger than Featherweight,” said Twist, surreptitiously slipping a cinnamon stick under the covers for the trapped pegasus colt.

“I am?” asked Scootaloo.

“You sure are,” said Sweetie Belle. “You can pull all four of us across town fast enough to scare the bejeebers out of my sister.”

“But I can’t fly! Watch.” Little orange wings buzzed into full volume as Scootaloo slowly lifted off from the bed in a blizzard of leftover feathers from the ruptured pillows, hovered for a few seconds by sheer force of will, and sagged back onto the bed with a gasp for breath.

“Sounds different than Featherweight,” said Monster, blinking away a feather that had gotten stuck on one eyelash.

A faint mumbling came from under the bedcovers, sounding much like an agreement, but the sound of somepony coming up the stairs quickly made the rest of the little fillies scurry around in a well-practiced maneuver.

Rarity peeked in through Trixie’s bedroom door and tried not to giggle at the sight of five little fillies sprawled out across the covers in various uncomfortable-looking poses and emitting a variety of off-key snores and snorts.

“The poor little dears,” she whispered, “all tired out after their exciting night. I’ll have to see if Spikey-Wikey can make them something extra-special for breakfast tomorrow.” She closed the door and slipped down the stairs as quietly as possible, making herself comfortable on the old lumpy couch next to the snoring little dragon and adjusting her sleep mask for a resumption of her nightly slumber.

“Clear,” whispered Sweetie Belle as she scurried back into the room, her task of big-sister checking having been declared a success. “She’s got her sleep mask on, so we’re good for whatever we’re going to do tonight.”

“So what are we going to do tonight?” asked Scootaloo.

“First step in science.” Twilight began removing books from the shelves and floating them in front of her little friends. “Research. Need to collect data.”

After several minutes of dedicated examination of the books that Twilight picked off the walls, Twist looked up and held out a book that showed a pegasus in an outfit made out of straps and buckles. “This lookth interething. It thays that Wonderbolth train in a wind tunnel with high-thpeed camerath to watch their wingth flap and all kindth of thress and thrain gageth to meathure their wingpower.”

“We could measure her pulling power with some of the apple scales we use out at the farm,” said Apple Bloom.

“We still have that rope from when we tried to get our cutie marks in macrame,” said Scootaloo, being drawn out of her sulk by the magic word of ‘Wonderbolth.’

“Rarity has a number of outfits that look like that tucked away in a locked drawer back at home,” said Sweetie Belle.

Wedging his face out from under the pile of pillows and covers on top of him, Featherweight added, “My uncle Film Strip has a bunch of movies in his rental store. I think the back room has a bunch that have to do with wings, because he won’t let me back there, but I read the titles in the checkout book. They’re like Fast Fillies of Ridgemount High and Feathers Forever: A Vixen’s Story so they must be about pegasi.”

“Cheerilee hath a movie projector at the thchool,” said Twist. “We could thet it up downstairth in the library if all thothe big crateth of Trixie’th weren’t there.”

“They’re done with the first floor of Town Hall,” said Apple Bloom, “and my brother knows all of the delivery drivers in town. I’ll bet I can get him to move ‘em all over there tomorrow morning, before the sun is even up.” Her eyes slowly drifted over to where Twilight was drawing out a blank chart for the collection of elusive data points. “Twilight. Is there anything you want to do?”

“Charts. Attachment points for the rigging. Strain gage placement.” The little purple alicorn hunched her back and the slow, precise scribbling of lines on the paper slowed to a halt. “Need to write note to Diamond Tiara’s mother and father. Words hard. Don’t want to sound mean. Or mushy. Serious.”

“You don’t have to only uthe wordth,” said Twist.

“I think I’ve got a couple pictures of that area from our class trip out there last year,” suggested Featherweight.

“I wish you could take Mister Rich there,” groused Scootaloo. “He never believes anything bad about Diamond Tiara, no matter what we say.”

“What about her mother?” asked Twilight.

“She doesn’t have one,” said Sweetie Belle. “She says her Daddy is just perfect, and she doesn’t need a mother.”

“Everypony has a mother,” protested Twilight, cringing back a little from the pained look she got from Apple Bloom. “Sorry. Forgot.”

“That’s all right, Twilight. Mah mother died a long time ago. I don’t even remember her, other than pictures, an’ that ain’t the same.”

“Is her mother dead? Twilight had hunched over so far that her nose almost touched the floor. “Did I kill her back when…”

“No!” An impromptu pony-pile of little bodies quickly surrounded Twilight to provide reassuring pressure from all sides. “Thee wath born in Manehattan,” said Twist once the reassurance had calmed down a little and Twilight was breathing normally. “And thee’s not twelve yet, tho you couldn’t have had anything to do with her mother. Bethides, Printheth Celethtia thaid you didn’t kill anypony when you took your extham.”

A subtle change in the surrounding pressure caused Twilight to shift her attention to Sweetie Belle, laying her head against her friend’s neck and crossing horns with her. “You’re afraid of the test too. Don’t worry.”

Scootaloo leaned up against her friends and ran a hoof through Sweetie Belle’s mane. “So does that mean you’re still taking the test for Celestia’s school this fall, Sweetie?”

“I-I don’t know.” She shuddered and huddled closer to her friends. “I thought so, but Princess Celestia’s school seems like such a big step. Mom and Dad seem to think it’s a good idea after seeing my scores from the evaluation, but if I get in, I’ll be in Canterlot for most of the year, every year. I’ll miss my parents and I’ll miss all you girls. And Featherweight.”

“Being away from your parents isn’t all that bad,” said Scootaloo. “Especially when you find friends to be with.”

“But it’s so far away,” protested Sweetie Belle. “I don’t know anypony there, and all of the other ponies are probably so much better at magic than I am, and my parents are here, and you girls are here and all I want to do is just fail so I can come back. I don’t want anything to change!”

“Changes happen,” murmured Twilight, ruffling her wings to make her point. “Seize the day and put the least possible trust in tomorrow. Today, we help Scootaloo fly.”

“And tomorrow?” asked Scootaloo.

“Tomorrow will be a new today. We’ll face it together. As friends.”

41. Lessons in Flight - Part Six

It is said that Nature abhors a vacuum, but what it really detests beyond all reason are straight lines.

Pegasi like straight lines, particularly the ones between Here and There. This is shown by a certain disregard for things like National Borders, Traffic Lanes, and Window Glass.

Unicorns also like straight lines, and have a certain fondness for right angles, geometric shapes, and perfect repetitive patterns. Like gems.

Needless to say, when unicorns design railroads, buildings, or other structures, they use as many straight lines as practical, but they are smart enough to bend their structures with parabolic arcs, curved reinforcements, and precise obedience to the laws of Practical Strain Relief and Excessive Weight Reserve. Unicorn structures do not fall down without substantial encouragement, be it from nature or the normal results of their magical education process, but they are a pale shadow when compared to the engineering projects of earth ponies.

Pegasus structures may on the surface seem random and thrown together, a mish-mash of different cloud structures rammed against each other with no real regard for lines or engineering stability, but that’s because cloud is a very forgiving building substance, and the bar is opening in about ten minutes so just stick that bunch against the wall for today and we’ll go straight there with the first round on me.

Earth ponies like curved lines. Where a unicorn road will slice straight through a hill, an earth pony road will gently curve up the side, past a grove of maple trees, alongside a delicious bunch of multiflower roses, and descend the other side in a long curve that allows the sunset to be properly admired. Unicorns complain that earth pony constructed roads neglect the purpose of a road. A proper road goes from here to there, and they grouse to no end when they are forced to backtrack through a small town and ask directions from the pleasant ponies who live there. Earth ponies consider that to be the whole purpose of traveling.

Pegasi don’t really care either way. They’ve already flown where they wanted to go in the first place and are at the bar, having a sarsaparilla and playing darts while they wait for the rest of the ground-bound group to catch up.

Something that none of the three tribes of ponies realize is the exact result of having a series of roads, railways, and skyways criss-crossing the country, each laid down by magic, trod or flown through every day by magical ponies, and conductive to the flow of magic that makes up so much of their world. The same unicorn who carves protective runes into steam boilers or structural beams every day does not even blink an eye when they pick up a road map and spot one of the same magical runes laid out in rails and cobblestones much like a Find-a-Word puzzle.

The roads between houses in Ponyville had not really been laid out by an engineer, or even any pony who wore a tie. The paths looped and meandered between houses, avoiding the odd fence or clothes-drying poles, sometimes falling into disuse as a second path proved more useful, sometimes springing out of nowhere when a few of the local children decided to take a short cut through somepony’s backyard. Every few years, the new incoming Country Treasurer would pull out the town ownership plats and sit down with a pencil to figure out just who owned what.

After about an hour, each one of them did exactly the same as his predecessor: send out the tax bills just the same as the last treasurer while visiting the same bar and drinking the same hard cider for a few weeks to get the idea out of his head that the maps had somehow been looking back.

There were certain side-effects to living so close to the Everfree Forest. Other than just Pinkie Pie.

Trixie knew none of this. She liked curved lines on roads, in particular curves that matched her rather unsteady steps after a long night at a bar with her date, Monsieur Bourbon. Fatigue was stepping in for alcohol tonight, or this morning, depending on if one were to consider the sun sitting just barely under the horizon and waiting for a rather late Princess Luna to fly back to Canterlot and put away the moon after having been engaged in conversation with Trixie for nearly the entire night. Although Trixie was quite familiar with the sensation of booze overindulgence, Trixie had not been prepared for the sheer volume of questions that Luna had besieged her with over the evening. She felt wrung-out and pulled through a knothole, then wrung-out again for more information and stuffed back through. Her weary hooves trudged along the Ponyville road nearly without input from her overstressed brain cells or eyes, following by touch as it curved in various directions while she just enjoyed the peace and quiet of the early morning/late evening that blessedly did not contain a single question about the social/political/technological/theological/scatological/thaumatological changes that had swept over Equestria in the last several centuries.

Oh, fudge. Menace is going to have many of the same questions. Just because I’ve been learning from an alicorn for the last twelve years doesn’t mean I’m supposed to be teaching two of them for the next twelve. Or maybe it does…

She wandered along the path for a while, considering options to avoid the unwanted labor and coming up with nothing other than hoping Unicorn Magic Youth Educational Specialist Green Grass would be willing to act as an information sponge to be wrung out repeatedly whenever he got tired of of living in the mountains with the griffons and returned to Ponyville.

Well, and possibly some other things. Technically, he was her husband. And she had a bed. And it still had been a long time.

As she neared the library oak, Trixie had to step off the path several times to make way for several of the town’s more bulky and muscular stallions, each pulling a cart or wagon filled with somewhat familiar boxes. She muffled a series of Great and Powerful yawns as she checked to make sure the library was still there, not on fire, and still vaguely in the same location before pulling one of the older stallions in the vicinity to one side.

“Hey. Um. Davenport. What’s…” She waved a hoof at the traffic around the library in lieu of a redundant verbose description of what could be obviously seen.

“Madam Trixie!” Davenport beamed a brilliant smile that caught the first rays of the rising sun and glinted into Trixie’s eyes rather painfully. “Your student contacted us to move your excess professional supplies into storage at the completed section of Town Hall. She wanted to pay us, but we insisted that it would be no trouble at all, and we’re even going to cover the storage fees since there wasn’t going to be anything stored there for a month or two anyway. While we were loading, I happened to notice something, though.” He produced a clipboard and a pen while continuing. “The furnishings in that old tree—”

“Yeah, right,” muttered Trixie, taking the pen and signing at the bottom of the clipboard as Davenport somehow managed to just radiate joy. “Now could I just—”

“—Let you talk to Mister Breezy while I attend to the details? Of course. Let me just… Big Fan, where’s your father?” Davenport was looking at a rather tall wall of creamy tan with a rather large fan on it that on closer inspection turned out to be a huge young stallion with a shy smile, and a clipboard.

“Dad’s helping Little Fan with the wagon. He wanted me to—”

“Yeah, yeah,” muttered Trixie, signing at the bottom of the clipboard and adding, “To my Biggest Fan.”

The big stallion’s smile grew larger as he accepted the clipboard back. “Gee, thanks Miss Trixie. Hey, have you met Firelock’s father, Sparks, of Fireplaces and Fountains?”

“Good to see you, Miss Trixie,” said a fairly small cinnamon-shaded unicorn who slipped up next to Big Fan. Sparks produced a clipboard much like the rest as he talked, waving it in front of Trixie’s nose until she grabbed it with her magic and slapped an autograph on the bottom of it like the previous ones.

“Thank you, Miss Trixie,” he said, taking the clipboard back and beaming nearly as broadly as Big Fan. “Have you met Mister Grout of Grout’s Sinks and Dishes?” He gestured another stallion forward, who had a clipboard much like the rest, and which Trixie autographed nearly automatically.

“...Mister Nyet of Carpets, Pots and Bulbs…”

“...Mister Odds of Beds, Doorknobs, and Brooms…”

“...Mister Biceps of Snowflake’s Weights and Garden Rakes⁽*⁾…”

“...Mister Napes of Napes Drapes…”

“...Missus Powers of Teacups and Flowers…”

“...Mister Floris of Beets, Shoots, and Leaves, Ponyville’s premiere landscaper…”

“...Miss Sights of Lights and Records…”

“…Peppermint of Troop 17.”

Holding her quill suspended for a moment, Trixie looked down at the little filly scout, all dressed up in her scout uniform with her scout merit badges. “You don’t want an autograph?”

“No, Ma’am,” she replied, pulling a catalog out of her filly scout sidesaddle. “Our troop is selling cookies this fall for our jamboree trip. We have Alfalfa Chewies, Fudge Dipped Swirls, Cocoanutties, and a few boxes of Milo Poppers left.”

It was silly. All Trixie wanted to do was to stagger up to her bed and land nose-first until dinnertime. Still, cookies. And also… cookies. It was a Great and Powerful motivation.

“Three boxes of Cocoanutties and a box of Milo Poppers,” she responded.

“Thank you, Ma’am. That’ll be twenty bits,” said the little filly, carefully marking the appropriate boxes on the form.

“No prob—” Trixie paused with her hoof on her cape. The little compartment she used to carry bits was completely flat except for the two-headed bit she used for ‘educational’ purposes. “Could Trixie pay you tomorrow?” she asked with her best smile, which at this hour of the morning could probably have scared the scales off Spike.

“No problem,” said the little filly, pulling out a clipboard. “You can put it on a payment plan like the rest of them.”

Trying not to think of just what she had been signing, Trixie trudged in the library front door and observed the huge empty space that the removal of her boxes had created. It was weird, because even as groggy as she was, the library lobby somehow seemed larger than it had been when she first moved in. Bizarre as it was, the thought did not even slow her hooves.

However, the sight of Twilight Sparkle laying on her belly in the middle of the library floor and scribbling fiercely on a piece of paper stopped Trixie cold.

“Hey. Menace.” Trixie looked around, but there was no sign of the rest of the demolition crew or the supposed chaperone that Luna had supposedly convinced into helping keep an eye on the Insurance Rate Raisers Crusaders, Yay. “Where are your friends?” she added, preparing to dodge out of the way of the inevitable upcoming explosion.

“Out,” she replied, still scribbling as fast as she could. “Getting things. Projector. Ropes. Research project. Featherweight says his uncle has some films about flying. Afterwards, we can test Scoot’s wings.” She held the paper up and showed it to Trixie, revealing a somewhat crude image of a pegasus in the middle of a spider’s web, but smiling and with wings outspread.

“Ah. Suspended wirework.” A small spark of pride floated up from Trixie’s memories and she added, “Trixie played the role of Princess Whinnyfred in our school production of Once Upon a Mattress, so I’m completely familiar with the theory. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help. Tomorrow.”

“Okay.” The little alicorn put the paper down and fixed those dangerous eyes on Trixie in an unblinking and concerned look that indicated a dangerous unasked question lurking behind them. As much as Trixie wanted to go upstairs and crash on her lumpy bed until nighttime, the recent exposure to Luna made her pause and encourage Twilight with a small smile and a friendly nod.

“Yes, Menace? You had a question?”

The little alicorn fidgeted some more before blurting out, “Did your parents send you away for not being able to use magic like Scootaloo?”

“Of course not.” Trixie fought back a scowl as she continued with as positive an attitude as she could muster. “Trixie was able to use her magic from a very young age, and extraordinarily well. That’s why my parents took me to Celestia’s school. Where I met you,” she added somewhat uncomfortably.

“I know. I remember. Most of it. You were afraid.”

“Trixie was…” Trixie paused, wanting to add ‘not’ but unable to actually say the word. “Trixie was nervous,” she added. “Understandably so. Neigh Orleans is such an earth pony place, and Canterlot… isn’t. When Trixie succeeded, Trixie would be living far away from the ponies I had grown up with in a strange place.”

“And no friends,” added the little alicorn.

“And no friends,” confirmed Trixie with a shrug. “That, at least, was no different than home.”

“Did your parents visit?” Twilight pulled out a second sheet of paper and spread it across the library floor. It was a railroad map of Equestria with schedules and prices carefully annotated, but what she was doing with it was beyond Trixie.

“Eh… Maybe once or twice. I didn’t really keep track.”

“Would you want them to visit you now?” The little alicorn squirmed and pushed the train schedule a few millimeters in Trixie’s direction. “Twenty-two bits a ticket, round trip.”

“Not right now,” admonished Trixie. “There are so many things going on right now that I really wouldn't have time for them.”

Much like they never had time for me. Not even a single visit.

“Oh.” Twilight drooped, and perked back up slightly. “If they did visit, you’d still meet with them, right?”

“Of course!” insisted Trixie. “They’re family. And I’d have Uncle Quartermoon show you the family trick about pulling a bit out from behind your ear.”

And after that, I’ll have him show you the trick where he makes every bottle of bourbon in your house vanish.

After a short trip upstairs on a staircase that Trixie could have sworn was twice as long as before, and then a short trip back downstairs, she paused at where Twilight Sparkle was passing a pair of envelopes to a familiar batwinged stallion. The Royal Courier was all smiles, as usual, with his traditional sunglasses pushed up on his forehead to deal with the relative darkness inside the fairly shadowy library. She waited patiently while the dark pegasus tucked the envelopes away, gave a graceful bow to Twilight as if she were a crowned princess, and turned in her direction with a welcome smile.

“Good morning, Lady Trixie. I have a letter for you.”

“Lady Trixie?” Trixie paused as she floated the thick package of papers away from the courier. “Oh, yeah. Greenie. You know, Som, this is the first time you’ve met Trixie that you haven’t proposed something—” Trixie glanced at Twilight, who appeared to be scribbling diligently away at her drawing except with one ear pointed in their direction “—less than suitable for young ponies.”

The smiling pegasus swept into a deep bow. “Your wedding was the world’s loss, m’lady. Have you any correspondence for His Lordship?”

“No. Oh, yes.” With a gesture of her horn, an envelope flew down the stairs and over to the handsome stallion, who tucked it away in his saddlebags with the others. “How is Greenie doing?”

“Fairly well. The griffons are keeping him quite busy, but he’s still managing to interview most of the aerie.” Trixie caught the uncomfortable twitch at the corner of the courier’s mouth, as well as a cold shiver that traveled down his flanks that practically telegraphed a certain degree of his discomfort about traveling into the middle of a group of grouchy griffons. As much as the courier tried to hide it, he was deeply concerned for Green Grass’ safety, which did not really make Trixie very comfortable at the thought either.

“Well, keep an eye on him.” She watched at the courier spread his dragon-like wings and flew off to his next appointed delivery, trying not to appreciate his trim flanks and windblown mane too much, as she was now a married mare. Once he was out of sight, Trixie turned to the small alicorn, but was interrupted before she could open her mouth.

“Mister Davenport brought you a new couch.” One small purple hoof pointed to a creamy white piece of furniture, covered in soft artificial fur and practically crying out for a pony to wallow in its comfort and sink down for a few hours of slumber.

“Um. Yes. Trixie was wondering. There seems to be no bed in Trixie’s bedroom.”

“He took it with the old couch,” said Twilight, not stopping in her drawing for a moment. “Moved contents. Said new bed was backordered. Delivery next week. Loaner.”

“Ahh… Trixie signed to buy a new bed, didn’t she?”

“And fireplace, and lights, and ceiling fan, and landscaping, and kitchen stuff. The couch is Try Until You Buy Ninety Days Same As Cash Generous Credit Terms Apply with Free Disposal at Time Of Sale, No Charge.” Twilight changed crayon colors and began adding strain gages to her drawing while Trixie looked at the large familiar bedsheet stretched across the bookshelves.

“There’s the screen. Looks like all Trixie’s theatre is missing is popcorn.”

Keeping the tip of her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth to aid her concentration, Twilight continued to draw. “Popcorn is weird. It blows up, and then you eat it. Spike went to get some. The new Deluxe Popcorn Popper With Auto-Stirring Feature And Rapid Preheat is in the kitchen. Thank you.”

“Eh.” Trixie waved a dismissive hoof while trudging over to the soft and inviting couch. “Maybe later. Just try to keep your movies quiet while Trixie sleeps, please. After all, this is a library.”

Whatever Twilight said in reply was missed as Trixie wallowed forward into the soft couch, nearly having to swim forward to get all the way scooted onto it, and then shifting positions slightly to get situated. It was the most exquisitely comfortable and warm couch she had ever rested upon, and it dragged her down into slumber with effortless ease, even though Trixie could not help but wonder for a moment just why the cushions smelled like Rarity’s conditioner.

Filthy Rich was somewhat of an oddity among earth ponies. He liked straight lines. The straight lines under a balance sheet with neatly organized numbers in perfect columns, straight rows of merchandise in the store, carefully organized and arranged so customers would not have to stretch or stoop for the most popular items, and a straight line to work in the morning before the sun had even touched the horizon. It was so much easier than trying to deal with Diamond Tiara in the morning, with her endless excuses for not heading out the door to school in order to spend just a few extra moments with her favorite pony in Equestria. It was nice, but it was an uncomfortable reminder of early mornings in business school at Manehattan, and Filligree’s equal reluctance to greet the morning that even diligent attempts by her youthful coltfriend with coffee and fresh doughnuts often was not enough to get her to their morning classes on time.

Not that their early mornings were wasted. No, most definitely not wasted at all.

The small faded picture sitting on his desk brought a smile to his face for a short while before he put the moment behind himself and returned to the untidy piles of paper. He was always careful to cover the picture with Diamond Tiara’s photograph on the rare occasions she visited his office, and he could not help but notice how much alike they seemed now that Diamond had gotten a little older.

“Mister Rich?” announced the intercom on his desk. “You have a visitor.”

“Do they have an appointment?” he replied, almost positive that he could hear “I’ll pick you up at ten” in the background.

“He’s a Royal Courier,” said his secretary, adding in a rough whisper that was probably not supposed to go across the intercom, “Stop nibbling on my neck! He’ll hear you.”

“Send him in please, Miss Henweigh,” he said before a careful press to the intercom’s ‘off’ button.

After a few moments, a tall and quite handsome grey stallion wearing sunglasses and a sharp Royal Courier cap strode into his office. At first glance, the sunglasses seemed excessive in the confines of the office, but a second glance showed the broad expanse of membranous wings tucked up on the stallion’s flanks that indicated the courier was one of Luna’s nocturne pegasi, who were not normally seen during the daytime.

“Good morning,” said the stallion, his hoof already reaching out to grasp Rich’s similarly extended limb for a brisk shake. “I am Courier Insomnia of the Royal Equestrian Courier Service. You would be Filthy Rich, father to Diamond Tiara, correct?”

“Yes, I am,” said Rich with a mixture of foreboding over whatever Diamond might have possibly done to gather the attention of Princess Luna and a sense of anticipation along the same lines.

“I have a letter for you.” He retrieved it from his saddlebag and hoofed it over to Filthy Rich before standing rather calmly in place, obviously waiting for the letter to be opened. At Rich’s curious look, the courier continued, “I have orders to remain until after you have read the letter, and then to return any response you might have to the sender.”

“Hm. That’s odd,” said Rich as he applied a letter opener to the stiff envelope and examined the contents. Raising one eyebrow to look at the impassive courier, he added, “This must be some sort of joke. It’s written in crayon.”

“It’s no joke, I assure you,” said the courier.

“It has to be,” said Rich, holding the letter in one hoof. “Listen to this. Dear Diamond Tiera’s daddy. Your daughter was mean to Scootaloo and almost got her killed. This letter is to tell you what she did so you can punish her. Signed, Princess Flower Twilight Monster.” He waved the letter at the courier. “It’s not funny, Courier Insomnia. I want you to tell me who sent this letter so that I can have them arrested and thrown in jail.”

“Twilight Sparkle. And I have a second letter from her which is to be delivered to Diamond Tiara’s mother.”

Filthy Rich paused with his mouth open and his mind whirling in confusion. After a long moment, he sat down at his desk and placed the letter in front of him, clearing away the stacks of paper with one sweep of a hoof. “According to the newspapers, Twilight Sparkle is in Neighpal, consulting with the Wise Gnus of the Golden Hoof.”

The courier shrugged. “According to my own eyes, just a few minutes ago Twilight Sparkle was in the Ponyville Golden Oak library, under the supervision of Trixie Lulamoon, Princess Celestia’s private student.”

“Wait. She’s a little alicorn, isn’t she?” asked Filthy Rich with mixed shock and possibly horror.

“Yes,” said Insomnia, although after a moment he added, “Twilight. Not Trixie. Thank the stars.”

After examining the folded piece of paper for nearly a minute, Filthy Rich sat it to one side. “Courier Insomnia, I’ve never been able to find Diamond’s mother. As far as I know, she’s still in Manehattan somewhere. She ran away when she found out she was with foal, and I was just barely lucky enough several months later to find Diamond at an orphanage. Since then, I’ve spent considerable money on investigators and taken trips back there several times every year in the hopes that I might see her in one of our favorite places, but I’ve never been able to find her. It’s like she evaporated into thin air after giving up Diamond for adoption.”

“We’ll find her,” said Insomnia with a small smile. “We always find them⁽¹⁾. Would you like us to pass along a message when we deliver the letter, Mister Rich?”

Without taking his eyes off the letter, Filthy Rich sat for a long, long time before taking a deep breath and shaking his head. “No. She ran away from me and hid. I thought we had something special, but I’ve just been deluding myself all these years. She doesn’t want anything to do with me or our daughter. Just throw that letter away, Courier Insomnia. It will save your organization a lot of futile searching.”

“No, sir. The Royal Equestrian Courier Service does not fail.”

“If you say so,” said Rich with a dismissive wave of one hoof. “Go on, and let me get back to work.”

“Just as soon as you’ve read the letter, sir.” The courier nodded towards the folded piece of paper.

With a stiff frown, Filthy Rich began unfolding the paper. “It’s just—”

The courier remained in his relaxed stance in front of the businesspony’s desk, trying not to smile as he thought about the little alicorn filly who had floated the two letters over to him with such a serious expression that she could have been Princess Celestia, entrusting him with a peace treaty that needed to be flown halfway around the world. With his trips back and forth between the Misty Mountains aerie and Ponyville, he had gotten fairly used to seeing the little alicorn in whatever disguise she wore, but he still could not feel really comfortable around her.

After all, he had looked up to Princess Celestia for most of his career, as well as any occasional delivery tasked by Princess Cadence, both of whom were taller than he was. Even Princess Luna, who was more beautiful and powerful than he had imagined, still topped his height by at least a hoof, not counting the horn. To think of an alicorn’s power packed into a young filly the size of his niece was a little frightening, particularly after reading the deep background information on Twilight Sparkle. For many weeks, he had not really wanted to believe what he had read.

Then his mind was abruptly changed by events.

Finding your body being twisted in the middle of a long flight and then hearing directly from Princess Luna several days later that the little foal currently drawing with crayons in the library had been at her side assisting during the transformation that had swept over all of the Nocturne in Equestria had been… weird.

Almost as weird as the reaction that Filthy Rich was having to the folded piece of paper he had just opened. The earth pony was frozen in place with wide eyes and a tremor to the muscles over his back as if he were attempting to flap nonexistent wings. His breathing alternated between rapid and shallow, with little squeaks of fear and flinches away from unseen dangers, then slowed to a gentle pace as tears began to fall. The middle-aged stallion sat there for a long time with the damp paper opened up on the desk before setting it to one side and taking a long, shuddering breath.

“Are you all right, sir?” asked Insomnia, trying to figure out if he should go call for help or scoop up the heavy stallion and fly him directly to the hospital.

“Yes,” said Filthy Rich after a considerable pause.

After waiting a full minute for any more words, Insomnia asked, “Will you be sending a response?”

“No.” With trembling hooves, Filthy Rich placed the damp crayon-scrawled letter back into the envelope and tucked it away in his jacket pocket as if it were a check for a million bits. Scooting his chair away from the desk, he moved with a deliberate tread to the office door and opened it for Insomnia.

“That will be all, Courier Insomnia. Please pass along my thanks for your delivery to the sender. I’ll make my response later, after I’ve had a little talk with my daughter.”

(*) There was a constant theme among Ponyville’s merchants that just because a store happened to carry a complete inventory of certain items, did not preclude the same store from carrying a number of completely different and unrelated items. In addition to having all the weight equipment needed for proper body building, Bulk Biceps also sold an assortment of garden rakes, and could be hired for odd jobs around the town such as raking, carrying, and cart-pulling, or any task where he could apply his strength against a difficult issue. On weekends, he also helped Fluttershy take care of the animals.

(1) The Royal Equestrian Courier Service goes through great lengths to find the recipient of each of Princess Celestia’s letters and deliver them, no matter what. Once, Princess Celestia passed a Thank You card to the RECS addressed to ‘That nice young colt in Hockworthy who said my mane looked pretty.’ After careful examination of her schedule, it was determined that the last Royal Visit to the town had taken place almost forty years ago. Census records were retrieved, considerable cross-referencing took place, and in the end, the RECS made four-hundred and seventy six copies of the note and delivered them all across Equestria, some even to the respective headstone in local cemeteries.

42. Lessons in Flight - Part Seven

Some unicorns who study magic claim that there is only one fire, and that all of the fires in Equestria are only reflections of this one true flame. Of course, most of this studying tends to be in places where controlled fire is consuming a certain leaf of a certain bush, so the deep insight into the cosmic realism of combustion tends to be distracted by a lot of aimless staring into space and contemplation of a fresh plate of oatmeal cookies.

What they don’t realize is just how right they are.

Fire is the only active element. It requires both food and air to produce energy, much like ponies or other living things. Without either, it dies. Provide both with a spark, and it lives again. It seems like such a simple process, but it takes a particular type of mind to wonder where the fire goes between those two points in time.

On a mountain in far-off Zebrica, in a sheltered niche on the southern side of a slope, a small fire tended by the Imetabiriwa has constantly burned since the formation of their nation. The six tribes of Zebra bring wood in a shared responsibility that is as close to harmony as the conflict-plagued land knows, so that no matter the season or time of day, there is always another stick or twig to feed the flame’s insatiable appetite. The Imetabiriwa who tend the fire tend to wax poetic about the insights they get while staring into the flames late at night, and how the fire touches every fire across the entire world. They say that if it is watched without stopping, a worthy soul may see wisdom without measure, particularly if others would quit throwing certain herbs into the fire and eating all of the grass sandwiches that were being saved for later.

On this evening, two younger Imetabiriwa mares stared into the flame with burning curiosity, turning their heads from side to side and squinting into the flickering light as two sticks with untoasted marshmallows sat unused by their sides. Finally, the first one ventured, “Are they… dancing?”

The second one shook her head. “It is no dance I have seen before. We must consult those wise in ways of lore.”

Princess Trixie Lulamoon entwined her wings around the stallion of her dreams, his warm lips pressed against hers in a passionate kiss of impressive duration. She ran a hoof through his mane, feeling his smooth horn bump against hers as she took a quiet breath and moaned, “Oh, Trenderhoof.”

“Yes, you are,” he breathed back in a quiet whisper against her lips that brought gooseflesh crawling up her flanks and the slow rising of her tail. There was something wrong about that voice, something softer and more feminine than Trixie expected, and the sudden hammering of her heart caused Trixie to awaken with a jolt.

The sensation of soft wings wrapped around the other body on the soft loaner couch in the library lobby with her was only a dream illusion, but the feeling of warm lips against hers was quite real. As well as the feeling of a horn being wrapped around by her hoof, and a certain panicked glint to Rarity’s eyes in the relative darkness of the library lobby as she woke up too.

“Trixie?” whispered Rarity with her eyes darting around the darkened room in search for witnesses that would need to be eliminated.

“Rarity?” whispered Trixie in response while breathing a sigh of relief. “Thank the stars. I thought you were Rainbow Dash.”

Rarity’s pupils shrank to pinpoints, but before she could speak, the sound of Scootaloo’s voice echoed around the room.

“Hey! Sweetie Belle, gimmie back the popcorn.”

“Ah thought you was supposed to be watching the film, Scoots, not hogging the popcorn.”

“It’s at a boring part. I don’t even know why there’s a minotaur in a movie about flying. Spike, can you make it run faster until it gets to the flying section? Or at least turn on the sound so we can hear what’s going on.”

“I don’t know,” said Spike. “I’m not really familiar with this projector. If I try to run it forward, I might jam it or make it stick somewhere, and that could burn through the film. The bulb is awfully hot.”

“Girlth, can you thtay quiet? We don’t want to wake up Trixthie or Rarity.”

“What are they doing? What are you doing?” hissed Rarity in a quiet whisper just inches from Trixie’s lips, but not changing positions on the couch. After all, the back of the couch was between their embarrassing scene and all the little witnesses, but it was not totally dark in the library lobby, as the illumination of a film being projected on the far wall threw sharp shadows around the books as if a wildly dancing fire were being blown by a stiff wind.

“Scootaloo is trying to learn how to fly,” whispered Trixie back. “They’re supposed to be getting some instructional films to watch, that’s all.” Trixie’s horn lit up very dimly and a stack of film boxes from a nearby table swept unnoticed across the room and to the protective shelter of the couch. “See?”

Turning the boxes over in her magic, Rarity tried to read the titles. “They seem a little sticky, but I suppose if they’re educatio—” She paused and took a series of short breaths before rotating the boxes so that Trixie could read the titles too.

“Dovey Does Cloudsdale? Fly United? Joining The Mile-High…” Trixie trailed off and cast a vicious glance in the direction of the impromptu film screen with a glare that by all means should have burned a hole through the back of her new couch. “I need feathers for a new pillow, and I know just the colt to donate them.”

“Now, calm down,” reassured Rarity. “He’s just a young and foolish colt.” Her jaw dropped as she examined one of the cans of film, turning it slightly in order to illuminate the picture on the front in the flickering light from the projected film. “Besides, he’s mine first,” she whispered as her lips drew back in a very unladylike snarl.

Trixie snuck a look at the film canister in question, turning it a few times before the picture made sense. “We’ll split him down the middle,” she whispered in return, “but first, we need to get Twilight and her little band of prospective perverts away from their movie without—”

“Hey, that looks like Miss Cheerilee,” announced Sweetie Belle, bringing an abrupt end to Trixie’s plans, as well as any coherent thought.

“Oh, no,” whispered Rarity. “My poor Sweetie Belle. She’ll be scarred for life. I can’t look.” Rarity’s blue magical aura wrapped around Trixie and shoved her above the level of the couch’s back so she could get a good look at the ongoing movie regardless of her wishes. Trixie watched for a brief moment as her eyes adjusted to the dark room with the bright movie projection until Rarity pulled her back down with a tug of her magic and an impatient, “So? How bad is it? Are they… poorly dressed?”

“Err… No, they’re wearing a fairly nice dress and a tuxedo,” snarked Trixie once she had gotten securely behind the cover of the couch with Rarity. “Looks like Miss Cheerilee and Beef Swellington.”

“Who?”

“Cheerilee,” said Trixie. “She’s the school teacher.”

Rarity’s glare could have burned through steel, although it was the faint glow around her horn that worried Trixie.

“All right, all right. Swelly’s a minotaur porn actor. Darned good one, too. Not that I’ve watched any of his films,” added Trixie somewhat in haste.

“How horrible,” whispered Rarity.

“He’s worth a few million bits, and has this huge oceanfront mansion around Cape Clod. Trixie performed there once. Not in that way,” hissed Trixie.

Any further discussions about the morality of money were cut off by Sweetie Belle’s voice drifting over the couch. “Are they… dancing?”

“Nooo!” shouted Rarity with a lunge over the couch’s back, or at least partially over the couch’s back to land face-first on the collection of pillows the small ponies had pulled together into their movie-watching nest. Trixie was somehow dragged along for most of the trajectory, but paused to lean over the back of the couch and watch the unfolding scene.

Spike stood stunned at the controls of the clattering projector, casting a look at Trixie that bespoke of many ruffled Waifus⁽*⁾, while each of the little ponies had a startled Caught-In-The-Act look that quickly transitioned into impressive big-eyed expressions of pure innocence.

Except for Twilight Sparkle. Three sheets of smudged paper and two quills hovered around the frightened little alicorn, with the beginnings of a long black streak of ink tracking down her mane from the inkwell that had landed on top of her head, upside-down of course.

It could go either way: rage-drive destruction or fear-driven retreat.

Trixie decided on a third option.

She laughed.

In particular, she laughed at the mismatched couple displayed on the makeshift movie screen, with the minotaur and the earth pony dancing across the stage, sweeping into a series of dips and swoops as the rose clutched in their teeth exchanged bearers throughout the dance. She laughed at the sheer release of tension, at the bafflement of the little dragon, at the sight of the prim and proper Rarity nose-down and tail-up in a pile of cushions, and most of all, she laughed because Featherweight had his camera out to immortalize the entire scene in pictures, and she could hardly wait to show them to Princess Celestia. And Pinkie Pie. And all the rest of her fr—

The laughter did not so much die as fade away through guffaws down to chuckles, then snickers, and finally into a generalized grin she suspected would follow Trixie around all day and ambush her at unsuspecting times. The importance of adult supervision was emphasized, of which five names sprang almost effortlessly into Trixie’s lecture, ponies who just a few short months ago Trixie had suspected would not have spit on her grave just because it would have been considered a waste of perfectly good saliva. When Cheerilee showed up, panicked and out of breath from concern about her missing school projector (and loaded film), Trixie reassured her that Rarity was returning all of the improperly borrowed films, and that Spike was a fully-competent projectionist who would be very careful with the expensive piece of technology for the duration of their extracurricular educational experiment.

The film Two To Tango was passed off as an older training film for Beef’s Dance Academy, which Cheerilee’s previously unmentioned twin sister had appeared in alongside a totally anonymous minotaur and wouldn’t all of you kids like to see something much more fun when Rarity gets back from Film Noir with a few more appropriate movies for children your age? It was half-horseapples and half-truth, a dance through the facts the same way Trixie had spent most of her friendless youth. While Cheerilee snuck away with her accidently-loaned movie and the little ponies all settled down on the newly-vacated couch to test its bounciness, Trixie spent a few minutes with Spike.

They were bonding moments. One might even call them Older Sister to Younger Brother moments. Some slightly threatening promises were exchanged, bribes were discussed, and some small amount of blackmail materials were exchanged, but in the end, they each promised not to mention specific portions of the morning events to anydragon or anypony. Particularly alicorns. It took some time, drawn out a little as the little ponies bouncing on the couch began to yawn, then to settle down on the fluffy surface, and finally to cuddle together in a rather large group hug.

And by the time Rarity had exchanged the movies and returned, she found a library filled with snoring ponies and one extremely apologetic dragon who volunteered to treat her to breakfast.

Trixie did not object, having passed out face-down and tail-up into the pile of cushions⁽¹⁾ in the library lobby just a few minutes previously.

(*) Spike had recently acquired a pen-pal from Neighpon, and had started trading Equestrian comic books for manga. It had added to his vocabulary, although it was a little unsettling for Trixie, particularly since the panels were in the wrong order to read correctly. Which she didn’t. Read them, of course. She had much more important things to read during the day. Like books on magic. Really.

(1) Rarity took a photograph, of course, and had Spike send it to Princess Celestia as proof of how well her student was fitting in with the small town.

Gathered around a fire in distant Zebrica, six very solemn Imetabiriwa regarded the flickering flames with rapt attention. The images had faded and vanished a short time ago with the letters ‘Sign Up Now For Tango Lessons at Beef’s House of Dance’ seeming to remain in an afterimage on each of the zebra’s vision. It was a tense moment because whoever was to speak first would most probably be criticized by the rest, as their discussions normally tended to go, but after due consideration, an elderly zebra mare quietly stuck a marshmallow on a stick and held it over the flames.

“Bunh oh modern foalifneff,” she muttered through toothless gums. “Yancin’ like foalf wiff a flower in de teeff. Yits de end, eyes tellin’ yuf.”

A second greying mare shook her head slowly. “It is a sign from the spirits and their yearning, for other’s assistance with her learning. We should have patience for the return of this Flower, so our best wisdom may guide her great power.”

“When?” grumbled another. “The Council has been gone for far too long with no word in return other than these cursed postcards!” The zebra waved a colorful card labeled ‘Visit Historic Rock City, Birthplace of Pinkie Pie’ and tossed it into the fire with a flick of her wrist. “Having a wonderful time. Making great progress. Saw a cloud today. Rubbish! The spirits of this land need the Imetabiriwa na Anga now! The Ibex grow restive under our protection, the Warthogs no longer fear our warriors, and even the burro merchants are beginning to flee our cities as they believe them unsafe.”

“Trinkets,” rasped one of the mares with a derisive flick of her stringy tail. “Vumbi, you fret over your precious properties while our spirits need us. It is seen in the stars that the Imetabiriwa na Anga shall come, and she shall, in the fullness of time. You know I disagreed with sending the Council to bring her home. As much as she is needed here, the spirits say she is only a child, and children need time to shoulder the responsibilities of the sky.”

“Child?” Vumbi fumbled in the bag slung across her back and flung a newspaper onto the dusty ground. Illuminated by the flickering fire was the title ‘Foal Free Press’ with a blaring headline “Nightmare Moon Defeated! Princess Luna Freed!” over large pictures of the two alicorns in question, side-by-side.

“The Council is being run around in circles while the Imetabiriwa na Anga wastes her days with the beasts of Eagle Father and Cat Mother. I have it on the best authority that Twilight Sparkle is an adult, currently in an Equestrian griffon aerie, exchanging correspondence with Princess Celestia through a clueless cut-out named Trixie. Note the picture, Njia,” added Vumbi, tapping on a rather blurred photograph of an additional adult alicorn with a large question mark over it. “Trained in the Everfree Forest by a Zebrican shaman indeed! One year from each tribe is what was agreed! Twelve years has she been coddled and taught, and now it is time for her here to be brought!”

The second zebra mare lifted her head and fixed Vumbi with a steely gaze. “Mock not the speech of our tribal past, for it is our burden, from the first to the last. If with Zecora she has been for these years, all is as planned, despite foolish fears. In the time foretold, she will take her place, despite arguments old, or some stupid race.”

“No!” snapped Vumbi. “We have reached the end of our patience. If for whatever reason she will not come to Zebrica on her own, we shall do the ritual of summoning and bring her here. What say the rest of you?”

For a time, Vumbi’s hoof was the only one thrust out into the light of the flickering fire at the center of their discussion. Then several others put forth their hooves, one at a time, until the next to last zebra shoved her hoof forward, scooping up the newspaper and tossing it onto the flames.

“Time is wasted there
Foolish games plague their spirits
Summon the mare now.”

Njia looked around the circle of zebras, all of whom avoided her glance in return. Finally she stuck her hoof forward into the firelight with a soft sigh. “Even this action has been seen in the sky. I object to your methods, but the rite, I will try. Just know that when all has been said and done, the child will not stay under our warm friendly sun. To her home she will go, with the aid of her friend, to consider our words, and decide on her end.”

Long into the night, the six mares consulted with the spirits by the light of the flickering flames, ignoring a few small red sparks swept up by the flare of the added newspaper and floating high in the sky. The cold flakes of ash drifted, blown by the breeze across the grassy plains, where other zebra spent the night huddled close to each other and speaking very quietly, as if they were afraid of being overheard by older and less humorous ears.

The two zebra stallions and two zebra mares conspiring under the concealment of a accadia tree considered the lines drawn into the dirt, shifting their hooves and walking through the strange process until one of the stallions sat down and shook his head.

“I don’t get it. I hold the flower in my teeth, and then I pass it off to your teeth, and then I pick it back up again. It seems too easy.” He reached out with his teeth to take the flower out of his partner’s mouth, only to have the young mare lean back and grin in response.

“Let’s just try a few steps and see how it works. First, you have to catch me.”

43. Lessons in Flight - Part Eight

Neighton said that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, with certain exceptions for spells and other magical effects. Unicorns tend to believe that the exceptions come first, and that any opposite reaction is a sign of poor spellcraft, while pegasi simply continue to pull clouds around the sky and bring the rain despite the protestation of any irrelevant rules made by unwinged ponies. Neighton was, of course, an earth pony with a large apple orchard, who was well regarded by all of his neighbors of all types due to his fame and his generous nature, particularly noted due to his research into loopholes in the powerful physical laws of nature such as gravity, inertia, and compound interest.

With social laws, all ponies believed in a much more respectful relationship. After all, anypony who fails to obey social laws and customs is a disruption to the natural order of things, which results in consequences for acting in a way that would endanger other ponies. It was generally accepted that a society is best represented by a herd, all working together for the betterment of all regardless of the differences within that herd. Each type of pony has areas in which they are naturally skilled and other areas in which they probably should not tamper, and it is these differences which fit together like notes in a song to make pony society into a powerful cohesive force, working in harmony regardless of the occasional sour note in their metaphorical concert.

The noon sun revealed one such sour note tramping down the dirt roads of Ponyville today, her head held low and her tiny hooves stabbing down at the ground with unusual force. Rage of such magnitude roiled off her soft coat that even Nightmare Moon would have given the little pony a wide berth, or at least so she thought. The objects of her ire were concealed well on this hot day, most probably hiding from her deserved vengeance for their terrible lies. Certainly they would cringe before her righteous indignation and beg forgiveness when confronted. Then they would cower at her hooves to confess their deceit to Daddy, and he would…

She swallowed away some of the road dust and tromped even harder down the path. It was a plan, and that was the important part. Daddy always said it was important to have a plan to make things predictable. Whenever they took a trip to Manehattan over Hearth’s Warming vacation, he had a strict timetable for their walk through the city and gazing at the lights, with specific stops at jewelry stores and restaurants where he allowed her to browse through their wares while he spoke with the employees quietly away from her. She would never evesdrop, but on occasion she heard the word ‘filigree’ over the quiet clink of bits and figured it was just for some project at work wedged into a few convenient moments during the whole carefully-planned week spent with his favorite filly.

It was those three blank-flanked menaces and their little friends who were at fault. They had turned Daddy against her and cooked up a whole pile of lies. They wanted to ruin her special relationship with Daddy that they never could have on their own. They were jealous of her beauty, sophistication, education, and grace. She had thought for certain they would be in the dusty old library working on another stupid scheme to get their hopelessly blank flanks adorned before school started, or maybe lurking around one of the sweets stores and sucking down sugar, but after investigating tirelessly across the town and actually spending ten bits of her own money on bribes, she had tracked them down to the shabby gym and weight room run by that oversized musclebound pegasus.

“Ah, HA!” she shouted as she kicked open the door to Snowflake’s Weights and Garden Rakes and pointed an accusing hoof. “There you are!”

Six sets of curious eyes looked up from a collection of ropes and items in the center of the room where the exercise equipment had been cleared away, paused for a moment as they stared at Diamond Tiara, then looked back down at something on the floor.

“So we can tie the ropes to the turnbuckle by Mister Biceps,” said Scootaloo, pointing at the muscular pegasus lifting weights at the other end of the room, “since it’s all braced up nice and strong against the wall timbers instead of those flimsy bookshelves at the library.”

“Are you thure Mith Trixie wathen’t hurt,” said Twist with a guilty glance back in the direction of the library.

“She told us to get out,” said Apple Bloom. “She was pretty forceful about it too.”

“Well, Scootaloo had just pulled a bookshelf onto her head,” said Sweetie Belle.

“It was a little bookshelf,” protested Scootaloo. “It didn’t even have too many books on it.”

“I hate you!” snarled Diamond Tiara, stomping forward with an acid glare.

Scootaloo returned the glare with one lifted eyebrow. “Really? We never would have guessed.”

“You made my Daddy mad!” Diamond snapped.

This time Scootaloo rolled her eyes before turning back to the diagram on the floor. “Anyway, we should probably pile some cushions against the wall there just in case something pulls loose.”

“Don’t ignore me, you flightless dodo!” shouted Diamond Tiara, stomping right up to Scootaloo and sticking her face right into her opponent’s as the rest of the little ponies scattered. Grinding one perfect pink hoof into the dirty piece of paper, she shoved her nose up against Scootaloo’s and snorted. “Well? Say something!”

The little pegasus bit her bottom lip and turned away. “Twilight says I shouldn’t be angry at you, no matter how much you deserve it.”

“Deserve it? What did I do to deserve having my daddy turned against me! You lied to him!”

“I didn’t lie to your father, that’s your job!” snapped Scootaloo with her head hunched down and her tiny wings outspread. “Every time somepony tells him what a mean bitch you are—”

“Scoots!” said Sweetie Belle with a little squeak.

“—how mean you are,” continued Scootaloo without a pause, “you’re always right there lying to him about how you’re so misunderstood and it’s not your fault.”

“It’s not my fault!” shouted Diamond Tiara right in Scootaloo’s face. “You little creeps lied to my father somehow and now he blames me for your stupid stunt!”

“Well, it is your fault!” shouted Scootaloo right back at her. “Even Princess Luna couldn't get that through your thick skull, so how am I supposed—”

“That was a nightmare!” snapped Diamond Tiara, taking a step back.

“That was real,” snarled Scootaloo with a matching step forward. “Twilight is right! You may be afraid of being just so hollow on the inside that nopony cares about you, but that doesn’t mean you can take it out on us!”

“I do not!” shouted Diamond Tiara. “You pathetic blank-flanks think you’re so special, flaunting your bare rumps all over town. Somepony has to stand up to you.”

“Stand up to us? Is that what you call it? All we want to do is earn our cutie marks, and you’re always there making fun of us when we fail.”

“That’s because you’re failures,” shouted Diamond Tiara, stepping forward to push Scootaloo back with her tiny pegasus hooves skidding along the floor. “The only thing you’ve succeeded at is making my daddy hate me with your lies!”

“We didn’t lie to your father,” snapped Scootaloo, shoving Diamond Tiara back a few steps.

“You did too!” snapped Diamond Tiara right back at her. “I tried to explain, but he ignored me! He always believes me when I tell him the truth!”

“What, that you didn’t have anything to do with making me go jump off Ghastly Gorge?” Scootaloo glared at Diamond Tiara with her ears tucked back and her little wings extended as far as they would go. “You lied to me! You lied to him! You lie to everypony!”

“I do not lie!” protested Diamond Tiara while stepping forward with a deliberate jab of her forehead into Scootaloo’s nose. “I always tell the truth!”

“I told the real truth to Princess Luna,” snapped Scootaloo with a vicious glare. “And Twilight wrote your father a letter so he’d know what you did to me, didn’t you, Twilight? Twilight?”

The town streets flowed past as Monster ran, just as hard and as fast as she possibly could through the tree-lined paths and through the occasional flowerbed that did not get out of the way fast enough for a straight-line trip to the library. Her heart was hammering away in her chest far too quickly to even think of a teleport spell, and flying was completely out of the question, but when she burst through the front door of the library and darted to Trixie’s side, her tension eased ever so slightly.

“What?! Trixie was just resting her eyes!” The ice pack on her head and the comic book that her teacher had been reading fluttered to the ground as Trixie bolted upright on the couch, propelled in part by the way Monster had jumped up on the unstable surface and accidently planted a hoof in a sensitive area.

The story of Diamond Tiara’s arrival in the gym and Scootaloo’s confrontation flowed out in a burst of words, making Monster’s tense muscles relax and the crushing sensation in her chest ease slightly. Trixie followed along with a series of sincere nods and the occasional encouraging word of her own, and ending on a thoughtful shake of her head when Monster finished with “So I ran over here to see what I need to do!”

“Really?” Trixie blinked a few times in the shadowed library and ran a hoof over her eyes. “Are you sure they’re not just blowing off steam? Because it sounds to Trixie as if the spoiled little b—” Trixie coughed into a hoof “—little pony got grounded by her father and she’s trying to take it out on anypony she sees. And Scoots has more steam than an overstuffed boiler about ready to pop. Maybe they just need to yell at each other for a while.”

“Well…” Monster cringed and stepped down off the couch. “If you think so.”

Trixie shrugged and patted Monster on the head with a yawn. “It’s my best guess. I can’t get inside their heads to see what’s going on, but I’ll bet it’s a lot like what you’re going through. Once ponies get all aggravated, they can only see themselves. After all, I’ve told you a couple dozen times that your parents love the feathers off you and that the only danger you face from them is excessive squeezing, but you can’t see that because you’re too worked up.”

Monster trembled, feeling the little knots in the back of her neck return until Trixie began to slowly work a hoof across her back, pressing against tense flight muscles until they yielded with a burst of pleasure. It was hard trying to figure out what her family thought of their daughter. No matter how much she concentrated, Monster was trapped in her own body and unable to see in from outside. Then again, Scoots and all of her other friends had done dangerous things that terrified Monster, and she still loved them despite and because of it. Even Trixie had good reason to be terrified of Monster, but had repeatedly risked everything for her instead. Perhaps it was a little like looking into a mirror and seeing yourself the way you were, instead of the way you thought you looked. After all, scales lied, particularly the one in the library bathroom that Trixie had ‘fixed,’ but mirrors only reflected what was actually there, sometimes a little twisted in the process, but still only a reflection of reality.

“Thanks.” Monster leaned her head against Trixie with a gentle nuzzle as she floated the comic book back onto the couch and placed the ice pack on the lump on Trixie’s head. “How do I fix it?”

“Age, I suppose. And not an age spell,” added Trixie with a sleepy return nuzzle. “Someday they’ll find a little colt or filly who is terrified of the world and all the words that they’ve heard over the years will come cascading back. I think it’s called empathy.”

“Pathos,” said Monster. “Feeling.”

“Yep.” Trixie yawned. “Learning how to see somepony from their point of view is a critical part of being Great and Powerful. Since you want to teach them, you’ll need this.” Trixie lifted her purple hat off the couch and dropped it over Monster’s head.

“Really?” Monster peeked out from under the edge of the hat at where Trixie was pulling some cushions together on the couch to reassemble her sleeping nest. “I can be a teacher?”

“Sure,” said Trixie with a wave of one hoof as she settled back down to rest her aching head. “You’re the responsible one in that mobile disaster zone. Go be responsible.”

With hesitant steps, Monster turned to leave, slowly at first, and then picking up speed as she passed through the door. Trixie settled down in the warm depression on the couch and rearranged the cushions for maximum comfort, floating the comic book over once she was properly situated.

“Kids,” she scoffed, trying to find her place. “Always making a big deal out of little things.”

Trixie would have been less nonchalant with her comment if she had noticed the dusty old spellbook from the Restricted section that Twilight had taken with her.

The confined space of Snowflake’s Gym echoed to the sounds of gladiatorial combat, with two little ponies rolling around on the gymnastics mat and flailing away at each other. Signs that the combat had been going on for a while were obvious. Diamond Tiara’s namesake tiara had been ripped off and lay to one side in a pile of bent wires and loose diamonds, while several feathers from Scootaloo’s little wings drifted around on the breeze. Even Bulk Biceps wore the sign of having attempted to separate the two fighting fillies, with the crimson stain of a bloody nose being tended to by Twist and a rather relieved look at Monster when she darted in the doorway.

“Do something, Twilight,” shouted Sweetie Belle. “Scootaloo will listen to you!”

“Apologize, you stuck-up snob!” screamed the pegasus in question, putting one little hoof squarely into her opponent’s face.

“Up yours!” shouted Diamond Tiara with a jab to Scootaloo’s unprotected stomach.

Even Featherweight seemed unwilling to descend into the melee for fear of becoming a mutual target, and Apple Bloom made a brief attempt at darting into reach in order to grab onto a tail only to collect a hoof to the eye, although it was impossible to tell which flailing pony had kicked her.

Instead of lunging forward to get her own face kicked, Monster flopped down the spell book and began frantically paging through it. Trixie had said the key to fixing this friendship problem was in getting each of them to be able to see the other from a different point of view, and there had to be a spell somewhere in—

She jammed the book open and read down the page while cries of “Leggo! Stop biting me!” echoed around the room and drove her heart into a panicked hammering. It was the best solution to the problem she could find, and Monster poured her energy into the spell just as hard as she could.

The resulting bolt of magic streaked across the room, smashing into the two fighting ponies and knocking them into a tumble across the mat and into the wall. It ended the fight, although from the groaning and moaning, it had not been a pleasant experience. Both Diamond Tiara and Scootaloo staggered to their hooves while shaking their heads, regarding each other with an angry glare that quickly turned into matching looks of panic.

“My wings!” screeched Diamond Tiara, groping around on her bare pink back with one hoof. “Twilight, where are my wings? And why am I pink!”

“Your freaky little friend shot me!” shouted Scootaloo. “Daddy is going to sue for every bit you own, you weird…” She trailed off, looking around the room at the six astonished little faces and Bulk Biceps, who seemed as if he were looking for the closed captions, or possibly cue cards.

“Scootaloo?” asked Apple Bloom, looking between the two battered little ponies.

“Yes?” It was not Scootaloo who answered, but Diamond Tiara, or at least the little pony who looked like Diamond Tiara.

“Oh, pickles,” said Sweetie Belle as realization began to dawn. “Scootaloo got her cutie mark first.”

“Does it count if it’s borrowed?” asked Apple Bloom.

Author's Notes:

I would like to point out that this is Trixie's fault.

The next arc will be Mirror - rorriM, where Monster and her friends learn about seeing pony's problems from other eyes. Literally.

44. Mirror - rorriM - Part One

The weight room in Snowflake’s Gym was silent for a time as Diamond Tiara and Scootaloo stared at each other in abject shock. It was a perspective that neither of the little fillies had ever experienced before, other than in front of a mirror, but even that was a weak substitute for finding one’s body and one’s mind swapped with your mortal enemy.

Scootaloo’s diamond tiara glittered in the corner by the barbells where it had been kicked during their vicious battle, decorated with a few yanked violet and white hairs indicating its removal had not been without a struggle, while more than a few of Diamond Tiara’s short orange feathers still floated down from the ceiling, with one even sticking out of the corner of Scootaloo’s mouth. Well, her present body’s mouth.

The moment was very confusing. It was also fairly short.

“Gimme me back my wings!” screamed Scootaloo, lunging forward in an awkward half-hop that betrayed her inexperience with using a body that did not have some sort of aerial propulsion system for speed and distance boosting. Diamond Tiara fairly bounded upwards and remained hovering just out of reach, no matter how much Scootaloo could make her stocky earth pony legs jump. “Come down from there!”

“She’s flying!” gasped Apple Bloom.

“I’m flying?” asked Diamond Tiara, her eyes getting larger by the minute. “I’m flying!”

“How can she be flying!” Scootaloo turned on Monster, who was still frantically paging through her book. “Twilight, how can she be flying?”

“Don’t know,” whimpered Monster, paging through the book in a blur. “Instinct?”

“Well, she’s instinked it enough. I want my body back!”

Monster paged through the book even faster until the pages started to smolder. “Supposed to just see things. Not swap.”

Although Scootaloo (in her present body) opened her mouth to add to the conversation, she found both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle’s hoof firmly inserted, making her comments come out more as a muffled snort than what was originally intended.

“This is so cool!” Featherweight flew up to the ceiling and snapped a few quick pictures of ‘Scootaloo’ in flight, even if her hover was fairly wobbly and only maintained by considerable effort. “I’m going to make like a gazillion copies of this and send ‘em to everypony!”

While Twist finished wrapping the bandage around Bulk Biceps bloody nose, Sweetie Belle squinted at the small flying pegasus who had caused the injury and the ground-bound earth pony in which she was presently housed. “She’s flying just like Twilight did when she first got wings.”

“Thatth right,” said Twist. “Twilight uthed to hover jutht fine, but thee can’t any more. I wonder why.”

Monster held herself very still, clenching the book tightly to her chest as she tried to control her breathing. There was something there, an obvious fact that was being covered up by her panic, and in an attempt to get it to the surface, she spoke it out loud. “Instinct. I read books on flying. Followed the instructions. One: Upstroke with wing angled up. Two: Top of stroke, angle wing back. Three: Downstroke with wing held steady. Four: Angle wing up again. One. Two. Three—”

There was a sudden startled cry and Diamond Tiara lost control of her wings, tumbling down to the gym mat with a solid thud which was promptly followed by Scootaloo jumping on top to hold her down.

“Now, Twilight,” she called out. “Zap us again!”

Monster stood trembling with the book still clutched to her chest, looking at her friend and the struggling pony she had trapped underneath her. Scootaloo had flown, although with somepony else running her wings. Switching them back should have just involved using the spell on them again, but that would put them right back where they were just a few minutes ago. Scootaloo would not be able to fly, Diamond Tiara would still be a bitch, and Trixie would be mad at her for using the spell without supervision. Twice. There had to be another answer that could solve the problem, but before she could think of it, Diamond Tiara wriggled around and bit down just as hard as she could on Scootaloo’s current tail.

Both little ponies let out an agonizing squeal and jumped forward to wind up in different piles, each rubbing their own tail.

“Whoa,” said Featherweight, snapping another picture. “Freaky.”

“How did you do that?” shouted Diamond Tiara, rolling into a crouch with her little wings sticking up and her tail somewhat painfully cocked to one side.

“Do what?” shouted Scootaloo right back, mirroring her opponent's stance almost perfectly, except for the wings.

“Synaesthesia!” said Sweetie Belle proudly. “My sister had a book that told all about it. See, there were these two sisters who were so much alike that each one could feel what the other was feeling, but she took it away from me before I got to the good parts where one of them was out on a date and the other was home all alone, and the stallion…” Sweetie blushed. “I don’t think my sister knew the word I was asking about either. She seemed awfully embarrassed.”

“Seeing from each other’s eyes,” mumbled Monster with the smallest hint of a smile.

“I don’t wanna feel like her!” snapped Scootaloo. She jumped forward and kicked the little pegasus in the face, then stumbled back with a hoof to her chin. “Ow!”

“Serves you right, Scootalooser!” snapped Diamond Tiara in return with a hoof over her own chin. “Tell your freaky friend to change me back, right now!”

“No.”

“What?” All of the little ponies echoed the word, including Bulk Biceps, who despite the bandages across his face, wore a look of concern almost identical to Scootaloo’s little friends.

“I said no.” Monster stomped one hoof, which did not make as loud a noise as she wanted, as she was still standing on the gym mat. “Won’t. Not until you both understand.”

“Understand what?” Diamond Tiara waved an orange hoof at Scootaloo, who seemed to be caught in unaccustomed thought. “That she’s a total loser? I understand that already. Now turn us back!”

“No!” This time the hoof stomp echoed through the gym, and a small circle of charred plastic surrounded where Monster had put her hoof down on the mat. “I won’t do it, and neither will Trixie. It is hard to change another’s spell. This was a very hard spell, so you won’t find anypony else who can.”

“I think I see, Twilight.” Scootaloo walked over to the crumpled pile of wires that had once been a diamond tiara and picked the broken remains up. “If we fight, we not only hurt each other, but we can hurt others too. Not that she cares about hurting others.”

“I do too care!” Diamond Tiara fluffed up her wings unconsciously and glared at Monster. “I’m a good pony. Daddy says so!”

Monster lowered her eyebrows and squinted in what was supposed to be an intimidating fashion. “Prove it. You act like Scoots and she’ll act like you for a few days. If you’re a good pony… If you’re both good ponies, I’ll change you back.” Her intent glare at the two battered little ponies was distracted by Featherweight, who had a hoof up in the air and was waving it around.

“Me next!” he chimed.

Ignoring Featherweight, Scootaloo shook her head. “It won’t work, Twilight. My aunt will see through her act in a minute. I mean I can act all stuck up and snooty, but—

“What do you mean, stuck up and snooty?” protested Diamond Tiara. “I occupy a higher social position than you could ever manage to fake. Daddy will see through you like a window.”

“Oh, yeah?” Scootaloo stepped forward to push her forehead against her former body.

“Most definitely,” said Diamond Tiara, returning the gesture in nearly a mirror image head butt that would have inevitably led to violence if the front door to the gym had not slammed open at that moment.

And Filthy Rich stepped through.

Anger was not an emotion that Filthy Rich had ever been comfortable dealing with. His father, Stinking Rich, had been a stallion of extreme calm under any circumstance, even when his idiot son had gone out of his head at business school in Manehattan and returned home with a foal, but even Stinky had exchanged more than a few biting words with him before accepting Diamond Tiara as his granddaughter.

Filthy Rich missed the old coot, but his angry words came back just as plain as if he had returned from the grave and was standing at his shoulder. Diamond Tiara was not a mistake that would ruin his life. She was brilliant and beautiful, two characteristics that Diamond’s mother had in great abundance and that Filthy had missed so much over the last eight years. Filigree had captured his heart and soul, and all he had left of their time together was the small crying ball of pony that he had raised on his own, all the way through midnight feedings and messy diapers up to braces and dance lessons. Every moment in her precious presence struck a chord in his heart, a resonance with the young pony he had once been.

In love.

The jagged fragments of his memories remained scattered around him like a shattered plate glass window. How could he have been so blind not to see the pain that his daughter had inflicted throughout her life? He had not wanted to see what Diamond had become, but once he had opened that letter, he had done far more than just see.

He had expected the simple folded sheet of paper to contain words written in the childish script like the outside of the letter, but there was nothing written inside the blank paper at all, a seamless nothing that had pulled at his senses in one long jolt until he felt himself hiding in some alley in Ponyville while peering out at two little arguing ponies. It was terrifying to be trapped in somepony else’s memory, but far worse were the hateful words he could hear in Diamond’s normally soft voice as she humiliated her schoolmate. He wanted it to stop, to wake up from this waking dream, but there had been no way to fight the sensations that flooded through his overloaded senses as he flickered in a series of teleport spells after the anguished little pegasus, his heart hammering beneath his sweat-slicked coat and his trembling wings tucked tightly against his flanks. Thorns and branches had clawed at his face during the cautious pursuit with echoes of memories from his knees still seeming to bear the scrapes of raw and splintered rocks from the terrifying climb to the top of the precipice at Ghastly Gorge, and every time he looked down since then, he expected to see the sharp points of jagged rocks far below instead of the simple dirt of the Ponyville roads.

Even after that terrifying letter, he had doubts. Diamond had been so plaintive when he had confronted her at home, but as much as he wanted to believe her, he could see the lies for what they were now, and he had ordered her confined to her room while he tried to make sense of his experience. After all, the letter could have been a deception, but the locations he had seen turned out to be perfectly accurate, right down to the few small pink hairs on the edge of the dumpster where Scootaloo had thrown her trademark scooter and fled his daughter in tears.

After walking around in a daze for a while, he made a decision. First, he had gone straight to Cheerilee’s house and apologized profusely. So many of the school letters she had sent made perfect sense now, and he reassured the teacher that Diamond would not be a problem in the upcoming school year. There was a finishing school in Canterlot that specialized in difficult little fillies, expensive, of course, more so on such short notice, but it would be worth the bits if it could turn the monster he had now into the precious little gem he remembered.

He had not been looking forward to the conversation when he returned home, but it needed to be said and done. Wrapping steel around his heart to protect against those dangerous eyes that reminded him so much of Filigree, he had walked into Diamond’s bedroom suite…

Only to find she had defied his order and left the house.

That was the last straw. Diamond Tiara had never directly disobeyed him before. Certainly, there had been times when she had exploited loopholes and exceptions to the point he thought he was raising a lawyer, but this was the first time she had just outright defied him.

He was vaguely aware of walking back into town while stewing, and later would remember the way the townsponies took one look at him and pointed his way without asking a single question. Snowflake’s Gym was an unlikely place for her to hide, as she barely even used the weight room at home, but when he opened the door and spotted his Diamond, the churning fury in his heart rose to a raging boil. She had been fighting, from the obvious signs of bruises and blood, brawling like some common street criminal instead of the delicate filly she was supposed to be.

He said something, not quite sure what it was due to the red fog that nearly blinded him, before striding forward and separating his daughter from the other little ponies. Without another word, he put one shoulder to his little Diamond and shoved her towards the door. If she had put up even the slightest objection, he was fully prepared to clamp his jaws down on her ear and drag her kicking and screaming through the streets of Ponyville all the way back home, but after one strangely plaintive glance back at the other little ponies, she meekly shuffled along ahead of him. Once they arrived at home and totally contrary to his expectations, Diamond did not argue or fuss when ordered to her room, or even bring up any objections as he sat down and detailed just exactly why she was going to be attending Miss Puressence’s School for Young Fillies and what a disappointment her behaviour was.

In the end, as his fury burned out into cold ashes, he sat in his daughter’s bedroom and just let the silence speak for itself. Diamond did not move other than to just look at the floor and breathe, her soft pink sides smeared with bits of dry blood and the faintest of bubbling in her nose from the injuries he so wanted to kiss and make better.

This was for the best. She had to understand that. He loved her so much that at times he was afraid.

When he could no longer stand the wordless silence, he swallowed a lump and asked if she understood just exactly what he had said. He expected arguing, or a counter-proposal, anything at all other than what she said in a quiet voice without a trace of tears.

“Yes, Mister Rich.”

He turned without another word, and left her bedroom at a slow walk, down the corridors of his home and passing the silent household staff until he reached his own bedroom. The door closed behind him with a loud click, echoing through the empty room as he staggered forward in awkward steps until he threw himself down on the huge cold bed and cried.

45. Mirror - rorriM - Part Two

The little orange pegasus who presently was Diamond Tiara stared with wide eyes at where Scootaloo and Filthy Rich had just left the gym. There should have been at least a rumble of thunder in the distance as Mister Rich nudged Scootaloo in her borrowed body out of the door with none of the gentle compassion Monster expected. Diamond seemed stunned at the display of anger her father had shown, as if she had never seen that side of his personality before and had not even been aware it could exist. Monster could understand. All of Filthy Rich’s anger had been focused directly at a little pony who Monster and Diamond were both very glad they were not, although Monster knew it was all her fault somehow.

Diamond Tiara pursed her lips and let out a quiet whistle once the two of them were far enough away not to hear. “Wow. Daddy’s mad.”

“At you,” said Monster in a rough whisper.

“Featherweight, you better go with Scootaloo,” said Apple Bloom “Ah mean the other Scootaloo and keep an eye on them. Mister Rich didn’t look too good there.”

As the pegasus zipped out the window, Sweetie Belle glared at Diamond Tiara. “If I wasn’t a lady, I’d punch you right in the teeth.”

“Me too,” said Apple Bloom. “But that would be wrong,” she added at a pointed glance from Monster.

“And it would hurt Thcooth,” said Twist as she finished putting the final touches on the bandage around Bulk Bicep’s nose.

The huge stallion had held himself very still during the bandaging process, with only his eyes darting back and forth as the situation had unfolded. Ever since his original trip into the spinning ball of fighting fillies had been brought up short twice by well-aimed kicks to his face, he had been very quiet. The muscle-bound pegasus was difficult for Monster to categorize as he looked fierce, but was actually quite meek and kind, almost the inverse of most creatures inside the Everfree Forest. He was a dear friend to both Fluttershy and Twist, which was probably the reason Twist added a little vindictively, “Maybe if you jutht punched her a little.”

“I-I’m not afraid of you,” stammered Diamond Tiara with a nervous rustle of her wings as she backed up, stopping only when she hit a rather large and warm body behind her. “Eeek!”

Bulk Biceps looked down at the five little fillies with a noticeable frown far deeper than his normal fierce expression, even behind his nose-encompassing bandage. He lifted one hoof and gently put it around Diamond Tiara, patted her twice, and sat his hoof back down on the gym matt before snorting.

Which was probably as much noise as he could make with so much bandage on his face.

“No more punching,” translated Monster. With the ratty old spell book from the library trailing behind her, she moved around to stand on Diamond Tiara’s other side. “Need to help her see what Scootaloo sees. Not punch.”

“I don’t need your help,” snapped Diamond Tiara, her wings rising back up behind her. “That blank-flank loser is going to take my punishment until Daddy calms down, and then you’re going to put us back in the right bodies.” Diamond Tiara raised her chin and glared at Monster, but there was a tremor to her tiny open wings which only grew when she did not get an immediate response to her question. “Right?”

“Learn about Scoots. Understand. Yes. Don’t. Won’t,” said Monster in very slow and deliberate words while trying to hide her own uncertainty about being able to reverse the spell. Trixie had shown Monster just how to act while saying something not exactly true, and the lesson seemed to be working as Diamond Tiara’s eyes grew wider and she glanced around the room.

“You wouldn’t,” hissed Diamond Tiara.

Monster did not say anything, just as Trixie had taught her.

“Daddy will make you turn us back,” she snapped, although with a tremulous quaver at the end of the sentence putting the lie to her supposed confidence.

The silent treatment was working so well that Monster wanted to scribble down a quick note about it, but she held firm.

“I’ll tell!” declared Diamond Tiara in a fit of inspiration. “I have witnesses!” She glared up at Bulk Biceps, who shrugged and looked back rather puzzled.

“Tell what?” asked Apple Bloom. “That you stormed in here and punched Scootaloo? That you bullied our friend until she jumped off Ghastly Gorge?”

There was a faint snort from Bulk Biceps, who looked over the collection of sincere little fillies, and then took a deliberate step away from Diamond Tiara’s side, although he still remained fairly close.

“I’m thure it won’t be too difficult to underthand Thcooth,” said Twist. “Thilver Thpoon ithn’t going to be back until next week when thchool tharath, tho what were you planning on doing until then anyway?”

“Important things!” Diamond Tiara ruffled her wings. “I had all kinds of really fun social plans laid out until she got back.”

“Like?” prompted Monster.

“Uh…” Diamond Tiara took a look around the room with the little fillies and the rather large stallion all looking back. “I was going to work on toning my abs?”

“You’ve got more muscles now that you’re borrowing Scoot’s body,” prompted Apple Bloom. “If you’re going to learn what it’s like to be her, you’re going to need to be able to flap like her.”

“But I thought—” started Monster before Sweetie Belle’s hoof was placed rather firmly across her lips.

“Like this machine here,” continued Apple Bloom, moving around the back of a rather complicated maze of silver tubing and straps that Scootaloo, that is the original Scootaloo had declared she would rather do fractions than to be strapped inside. “Mister Biceps says it measures your individual wing muscle group strengths so you can focus on improving your wingpower.”

Bulk Biceps nodded vigorously, seeming happy about the conversation taking a turn in a direction more to his liking.

As Apple Bloom and Bulk Biceps got the little pegasus strapped in, Sweetie Belle whispered to Monster, “You can change them back, right?”

“Yes.” Monster hunched her back and slumped. “Maybe.”

Sweetie Belle hesitated with a hoof over the trembling little alicorn’s shoulder, then patted gently. “Do you think Diamond Tiara can learn to be like Scootaloo?”

“Yes,” mumbled Monster. “More worried Scootaloo will be like her.”

Scootaloo sat unmoving in the center of the cold, quiet bedroom she had never thought she would ever see while wearing a body she never thought she would ever wear. Mister Rich was absolutely furious, and had laid out the terms of Diamond Tiara’s punishment in sharp words which had felt like he was peeling Scootaloo’s new skin off with a dull spoon, one stripe at a time. She shivered and pulled the exquisitely soft comforter up around her shoulders before laying down on the scented sheets.

A tiny worm of guilt nibbled away in the bottom of her rumbling tummy, which felt as empty as a hollow tree, although it brought no real desire to see if there would be anything for dinner. Some of the blame was hers, perhaps a small percentage, smaller even than the sales tax that Twilight had been teaching her to calculate, but still there. They were just words, hateful and spiteful words from somepony that Scootaloo could not care less about, but still had driven her to Ghastly Gorge in the first place, and to put a hoof solidly onto Diamond Tiara’s nose in the second.

Both actions had come back to bite her, but the throbbing pain in her nose hurt less than the pain she had inflicted on her newest friend, who had suffered far too much already.

The time of her imprisonment made a good excuse to walk around the four rooms making up Diamond Tiara’s cell, with the echoes of her small shoes bouncing back from the solid walls like some sort of cavern. The bath was large enough for two adults, too big to get comfortable in without her friends and too small to swim in while she cleaned off the blood and dirt from her new pink hide, although it was a little fun to try all of the mane conditioners lined up along the side and to experiment with the huge collection of brushes filling an entire drawer of the mirrored vanity cabinet. It would have been so much more fun to have been here with her friends and to see Featherweight clump around in Diamond’s shoes while Twilight examined the collection of foals books covering an entire wall.

She eventually pulled out one of the books and read it, and then another one or two, just to pass the time without her friends. The hollow ache inside remained unfed, even after carefully rearranging and dusting Diamond’s wide school desk and the collection of photographs that adorned it. There were a lot of pictures, both hanging on the wall in bright silver frames and even stacked on top of several specialized tutoring books on school subjects. There were only two other ponies in the pictures, both her father and Silver Spoon, and several landmarks in the background of the ones with Filthy Rich during their trips to Prance and Istally.

They looked happy, the way a father and his daughter should be. The way Scootaloo could remember being with her own parents in Cloudsdale as they dropped her off with Missus Downey the foalsitter in the evenings and picked her back up from the rest of the hovering horde of batwinged foals in the mornings after work. She had always felt a little like an ugly duckling amidst the other flying foals, and it had been pitifully easy for the others to try any featherbrained ploy to get her flying too. The final feather had been a small fall out of Missus Downey’s third floor window and she had hit a soft cloud at the bottom, so it was no real reason for her parents to get all frantic like they had. Then again, Diamond Tiara had fallen far worse than Scootaloo had today, and was facing the far worse fate of being separated from her only parent and her best friend. Perhaps…

“Young miss?” The faint clatter of a serving tray and cover came from the door to Diamond Tiara’s room, and Scootaloo dashed over to let the aged butler in.

Randolph is his name, right? I think that’s right.

“Can I help you, sir?” Scootaloo picked the tray out of Randolph’s tentative grasp and sat it on a nearby table before turning back. “Sorry about not answering the door right away, Randolph. I was going through the pictures.”

“Quite all right, young miss.” Randolph seemed distracted for some reason, and squinted at Scootaloo for a moment before spreading out a napkin on the table and bringing out a few small dishes from under the serving tray. “Master Rich noticed you were not down at dinner this evening, and insisted I bring you a tray.”

“Is it that late?” Scootaloo looked at a large grandfather clock nearby and whistled almost soundlessly. “It is. I better get to bed.”

The spinach souffle with little crispy onions was delicious, as much as Scootaloo noticed while scarfing it down and chasing it with the dinner roll, green beans, and some sort of tiny carrot sticks done with frilly edges. She finished off the glass of grape juice in one long swig and quickly packed all of the dishes back under the dishcover, after adding one quick lick on the plate to get the last of the cheesy spinach.

“Thanks, Randolph,” she added as she escorted the elderly servant back to the door and balanced the tray on his back. “I’ll see you in the morning at breakfast, okay?”

There was a click of the door latch, and Scootaloo was alone again as she hurried through preparations for bed.

“I felt like a science experiment strapped into that machine,” groused Diamond Tiara as she limped along in the tight cluster of little ponies walking through the streets on the way to whatever hovel Scootaloo and her goofy relatives lived in. “Stretch here, reach there, push here.” Diamond lifted one wing partway up and let it flop back down onto her flank with a soft thud.

“Data points,” mumbled the little purple monster trotting alongside the rest of the weird little ponies. “Plotting reaction graph against similar wings to get an idea of why Scootaloo can’t fly and you can.” The little alicorn hunched her back as she plodded along, so tired that her tiny little filly wings drooped out from under the edges of the cape. As small and defenseless as Twilight seemed, Diamond Tiara had been amazed at the strength those little wings had produced, as well as how long she had managed to pull the weights up the sliding scale before calling it quits when the next test subject had returned to the gym.

“Because she’s a loooooser,” said Diamond, drawing out the word.

“Then why can’t you drive her scooter?” replied Featherweight, who was plodding along with the rest of the groundbound crew after having been ‘tested’ just as vigorously as his fellow winged ponies.

“Because it’s a loser scooter, and I’m not a loser,” said Diamond with a shake of her head that was supposed to toss back her elegant mane, but just wound up disheveling Scootaloo’s hopeless tangles even more.

“Anyway,” said Sweetie Belle, taking a page out of the cloud of loose papers surrounding the weird little alicorn and passing it over to Diamond Tiara. “We made up a checklist of Scootaloo’s normal evening activities, and all of us will help out so you don’t get too far behind. We’ve got to clean up her aunt’s shop, run down to the market to pick up extra food for our sleepover tonight—”

“I don’t want a sleepover,” complained Diamond Tiara even as she considered what it would be like to have more than one other pony over for the evening. “It’s stupid. Like all of you.”

Featherweight patted his camera. “Well, it looked like Scootaloo was doing OK over at your house. I got some good pics of her in your bedroom and the bathtub.”

“My bathtub?” As she growled at the other little pegasus, Diamond Tiara’s wings rose up but they drooped almost immediately with fatigue.

“You said to document everything when we were at the newspaper,” said Featherweight, looking slightly guilty. “I don’t normally take pictures of anypony in the bathtub, or at least not since Mom and Dad lectured me. But at least she’s doing a good job pretending to be you.”

Diamond Tiara’s lips drew back in a thin line. “Gimme the checklist.”

Several hours later, as Diamond Tiara rested her soggy aching wings in the bathtub along with two other scrubbing little fillies, she felt a little spark of pleasure at how well she had managed to fool Quick Fix, Scootaloo’s aunt. There had been a little bit of vindictive pleasure in crawling around on the greasy floor of the machine shop to get under every piece of machinery and sweep up all of the loose debris of the day’s work, particularly when it resulted in another smudge or smear of oil across Scootaloo’s dull orange coat, and she had comported herself quite well at dinner with a set of manners that would have been perfectly acceptable if she had been dining with royalty.

Even if they had green beans with dinner. Ick. And no ice cream for dessert until after bathtime. Peasants.

As Apple Bloom darted out of the bathroom with a wet towel across her back, Scootaloo’s unicorn aunt came scurrying back into the bathroom with a few dry towels, interrupting Diamond Tiara’s self-congratulatory internal dialogue with a kiss on the top of her damp head and a nudge to Twist, who had just finished rinsing her tangled mane. “Hey, Speedy. The girls are mostly done in the tub and you still haven’t gotten the grease scrubbed out. Don’t tell me you’re slowing down as you grow up.”

“Me?” sputtered Diamond Tiara with one dripping hoof held to her chest and the underutilized scrub brush floating somewhere in the tub.

“Yes, you,” added Quick Fix as she scooped Twist out of the tub with her magic and wrapped her in a fluffy towel. “You’re the only niece I’ve got so far, although my sister’s latest letter sounded like you may have another little brother or sister in a year or so if things work out.” She picked up the soapy brush out of the tub while Twist bounded away into the other room, and Quick Fix applied a little more soap to the bristles before starting on Diamond’s greasy stains. “I’ll bet you’re excited, aren’t you?”

“About what?” Miss Fix had a very enthusiastic magical hold on the scrub brush and was applying it to Diamond’s greasy hide with a firm pressure the housemaids had never attempted. Even Daddy had always used the most gentle and delicate touches with the brush as if he were afraid Diamond would shatter if scrubbed too hard.

“About going back home,” said Miss Fix as she applied more soap to a particularly stubborn stain. “Since you can hover, it’ll only be a matter of time before you’re zooming around Cloudsdale with the rest of your pegasus friends, and your old Aunt Fix will be all alone in the house again.”

The sounds of something fragile becoming somewhat less fragile and more distributed filtered upstairs and Quick Fix’s ear twitched. “Provided the house stays together until then,” she added. “This deserves a celebration. How about tomorrow after we take the train up to Fillydelphia for your doctor’s appointment, we take all of your friends out to Funland for the afternoon?”

“Funland?” echoed Diamond Tiara.

“Sure! It’ll be fun,” said Quick Fix, getting up to her hooves and turning for the bathroom door as another crashing sound filtered upstairs. “As long as you don’t throw another fit about Doctor Pinion, that is. With school starting next week, you may not get too much time before Flow and her husband come by to pick you up, and I want to spoil you rotten while I still can.” She winked and headed down the stairs, calling out, “You didn’t let Sweetie Belle use the oven again, did… I got the fire extinguisher, somepony open a window to let out the smoke! How did you burn ice cream?”

“Funland?” said the freaky little purple alicorn who poked her nose into the quiet bathroom where Diamond Tiara was sitting and thinking in the tub.

“It’s some podunk little amusement park in Fillydelphia,” said Diamond Tiara, waving one hoof absent-mindedly. “So are you going to turn me back now?” she added with a blink to get an errant soap bubble out of her eye. “Otherwise I’m going to wind up in Cloudsdale since I can fly and Scootalooser can’t.”

“Don’t want to lose Scootaloo,” said the little monster as she plodded over to the tub and climbed over the edge, winding up in the soapy suds with a forlorn plop. “You’d have a mommy and a daddy there. Scootaloo would still have a daddy here.”

“Oh, no you don’t,” said Diamond Tiara as she picked up the scrub brush in her teeth. Twilight was somewhat smaller, and it felt odd to be scrubbing her monotone purple body much like if Diamond had a little sister in the tub with her. She had taken baths with Silver Spoon before, which was a little complicated with two maids each having their own little pony to scrub, but this was both simpler and possibly a little… nice. “It would be cool living in Cloudsdale, I suppose, but we’re talking about my Daddy here. Hold out your wing.”

Running the soapy brush along the oddball’s purple wing to get out her greasy stains was weird, and she grunted with effort to make all of the feathers line up just so before switching to the other wing. She scrubbed in silence for a while as Twilight leaned into the brush, eventually murmuring, “Nice.”

“Meh.” She was not about to admit it, but the little purple freak had a point, and not only the one on her head. The servants did all of the things a mommy would do like scrubbing and cooking, but they just did them for money. When one of them would storm off shouting something about not being able to pay them enough to deal with Diamond, she had always blown the words off. In contrast, Scootaloo’s aunt had greeted her at the front door with a hug, and was constantly rubbing her affectionately on the top of the head when she least expected it, which none of the servants had ever done for her.

“Having a mommy is nice,” said Twilight.

“Having a daddy is nicer,” countered Diamond through the handle of the brush as she stroked it through the little freak’s short-cropped mane. Little flecks of blue and pink roots had begun to show at the base of Twilight’s mane, a sign indicating the manedye needed to be reapplied, hopefully in a different tint even if the remaining mane was still too short to be properly braided or even styled. Twilight needed about another hoof of length in order for it to flatten across her high forehead properly in something like a pagepony cut to match with her nerdy personality, and still lie flat against her neck without the curls and bounces Sweetie Belle preferred.

“Mommies hold us during thunderstorms,” said Twilight in a very slow and particular manner as if she were sounding out the words individually. “They keep us safe and tell us nothing will ever hurt us or come between us. They need us, but they need daddies too, even if sometimes we don’t think so.” She sat there impassively as Diamond Tiara rubbed in the shampoo, swaying back and forth in the water through the rinse and the lilac conditioner as if she were miles away.

The hesitant ibex servant stopped at the edge of the river and peered through the starlit night at the zebra sitting quietly in the water, communing with the spirits. It was odd to think of an Imetabiriwa as a male. There had been a few among the People over the centuries, but mostly they had turned to dark magics and forbidden lore as they aged and grew in power. The darkness around her seemed to nip at her hooves with the reminders of memorized stories and the lessons of the signs which signified their corruption. It was very important not to act suspicious when an Imetabiriwa began to turn to the shadows, as it sometimes took several score their numbers to bring them down before the corruption was complete. Still, as long as the strange zebra kept by the Strictures and lived in harmony with the spirits, she should be safe in his presence.

She was still nervous.

“What do you wish, Illia?” Somehow, Tallgrass was always able to differentiate between Illia and her twin sister, quite unlike Old Kavu or even Blind Kichaka. The male Imetabiriwa’s voice was both deep and rich in the darkness, but filled with a joyous happiness that seemed to caress every hair on her body with a tingle of pleasure all the way to her withers. She suppressed the forbidden feeling and bowed low, bringing her horned head down to nearly touch her forehead against the ground of this strange land.

“Forgive me, Imetabiriwa Tallgrass. Old Kavu wishes to know how long it will take you to bring the water.”

Tallgrass nodded towards the filled bucket sitting at the river’s edge. “My apologies for interrupting her preparations for bed. Please, take the water back to the camp in my stead.”

“As you say.” She hesitated before picking up the bucket in her weak magic, looking at where the strange zebra was still sitting motionless in the cool river water. There was something about him that itched between her shoulder blades, as if a lion were wrapped up in a zebra disguise, or a crocodile were baiting her to the water’s edge with a captured relative. The Imetabiriwa known as Tallgrass had been a shock to meet, and acted as no zebra she had ever known. For a moment when she had first seen him in the giant city of stone, he had even looked as if he were a different creature altogether, made of pink with wings and a horn as the fabled Imetabiriwa na Anga prophesied so long ago.

“Forgive me for asking,” Illia started in a rush, “but what are you doing?” Off in the distance, the soft rumble of thunder rolled over the ground as the flying ponies prepared a midnight rainstorm over some distant pony town, and she twitched her tail to chase away the fear.

“I am remembering that which I never experienced. I am experiencing that which I cannot be there to see. I am seeing that which cannot be seen, only felt.”

“Oh.” The young ibex servant stood on the river’s bank and blinked as Tallgrass finally got up, slogging through the water towards her.

“Be of good faith and do not be concerned. Flower is upset over what she has learned. As much as she tries to hide her fright, she fears her friends must leave some night. With all my heart I wish to be at her side, but in this troublesome time, I trust my bride. When we get to home, you shall meet my daughter, but for now, I suppose, we should fetch the water.”

Tallgrass bent down to pick up the handle of the bucket in his teeth and walked with slow steps in the direction of the Hayhaven Community Campgrounds Natural Settings With Private Showers Only Two Bits. The small group of elderly zebras were probably all bedded down now, except for Old Kavu who was waiting on her hoof-soak, but he totally missed the terrified glance by the quaking ibex servant who followed behind with trembling hooves and two whispered words, said so quietly even she could barely hear.

“Bride? Daughter?”

There was a faint tapping on Filthy Rich’s bedroom doorframe that was repeated several times before Randolph poked his nose in and regarded his glum employer, who was sitting at his desk with the untouched dinner tray in front of him. “Sir? I just finished with Miss Diamond’s diner tray. Would you like me to…” The elderly servant trailed off as he took inventory of the paperwork-covered desk with an ignored tray sitting in the middle of it, including melted ice cream and a congealing spinach casserole. Master Rich always had a robust appetite, much to the dismay of his bathroom scale and the constant battle he waged against a supposedly shrinking waistline on his suits. Even the green beans had not been touched, which Randolph considered as improbable as Pinkie Pie not showing up for a party or Rainbow Dash turning down a race.

“I’m fine,” said Master Rich, in the same flat tone of voice he had last used when Stinking Rich had passed away.

Randolph had served the Rich family since he was a young colt, through thick and thin, through his childless marriage to Creme Brulee and her death nine years ago. He had almost retired then to spend his last years exploring Equestria with an urn of ashes at his side. Creme had always wanted foals and to travel, two things their marriage had not given them much of, even though they had traveled with Master Stinking Rich on business and enjoyed helping raise his talented young son. When Master Filthy Rich had come home from business school in Manehattan with a foal in tow, Randolph had felt his heart captured by those beautiful blue eyes. She needed him, and for the last eight years, Randolph had thought Diamond Tiara was the only reason he stayed. Now he realized Filthy Rich had been the son Randolph could never have, and he needed the support that Stinky could no longer give.

“You’re not fine, sir,” said Randolph, sitting the empty tray from Diamond Tiara’s room down on the desk. “Your daughter is not fine either.”

“What’s wrong?” Master Rich’s eyes were huge and white as he nearly lunged out of his chair. “Was she hurt in the fight? Should we inform Doctor Stable?”

“Not in that way, sir.” Randolph paused and ran his teeth across his bottom lip. “If anything, I believe this experience has been good for her. She was polite when I brought in her dinner tray, had already bathed, and was going straight to bed after finishing her meal.”

“She… didn’t ask for a bedtime story, did she?”

“No.” Randolph grew tense at the shudder traveling across Filthy Rich’s flank, much as an unstable wall of earth might make before its ultimate collapse. After waiting until Master Rich had settled back onto his chair, Randolph continued, “She reminds you of Filligree, doesn’t she? I can see why the young mare had captured your heart, if her daughter is anything like her.”

Filthy Rich could have been made of stone with as much as he moved. Finally, he took a deep, shuddering breath. “I’ve held her so tight because I was afraid I would lose her.”

“Who, sir?” Randolph settled down in the other chair. “Your daughter or your long-lost love?”

It took several breaths before Master Rich admitted, “Both.”

Randolph could not look at the anguish painted upon Master Rich’s face, but instead turned his attention to the open window with a soft evening breeze making the curtains billow like living creatures caught in a mindless dance. “Sometimes we have to let go of what we love in order to keep it.”

“I know. Sending her away to Miss Puressence’s school in Canterlot is the only thing I can think of.” There was a long pause before Master Rich continued, “You knew what a monster she had turned into, didn’t you?”

There was really only one way to answer the question. “Yes, sir.”

“And you didn’t tell me.”

“Would you have listened, sir?”

They sat there in silence for a while until the faint click of the dish cover and a quiet smacking noise indicated Master Rich had finally given in to the temptation of the nearby green beans. Strangely enough, there was a noise outside the window too, a faint scratching and a pop, although there was nothing there when Randolph stuck his head out into the cool night breeze and looked around.

“Scoots?” The plaintive voice called out several more times before there was a near soundless pop of teleportation, and Monster huddled on the bedroom floor right in front of Scootaloo. Or at least Monster thought it was Scootaloo. It was a little difficult to tell. Diamond Tiara’s pajamas covered most of her body in what looked like a bunny suit, complete with fuzzy tail and long, floppy ears.

“Hi, Twilight. Look at what I found in Diamond Tiara’s closet.” Scootaloo did a ballet pirouette in the middle of the floor and struck a pose. “Make sure Featherweight gets some good shots of it.”

“He’s not here.” Monster huddled up against Scootaloo’s warm pajama-clad side and trembled. “Miss Fix says your parents will take Diamond away to Cloudsdale.”

“My parents are taking Diamond Tiara to Cloudsdale?” Scootaloo’s borrowed face twisted in indecision, stuck between a beaming grin and a frown. “Mister Rich says he’s sending Diamond… well, me to some weird military school or something run by Miss Pure Essence or something. I thought you could switch us back before then and she’d be out of our mane like forever.” Scootaloo wriggled a little, eventually peeling out of the hot pajamas which were overkill for the warm summer night air and stuffing them back into the closet. “I didn’t think about it before, but even if DT goes away, we’d still have Silver Spoon to bug us. I mean her and Diamond are besties. Half the clothes in the closet are hers.”

“Didn’t think,” muttered Monster, who had taken advantage of Scootaloo’s distraction to burrow into the bed until only the tip of her quivering tail stuck out from under the covers. “Hurt you. Her. Mister Rich. Silver Spoon. Made you go away. Monster.”

“Hey, it’s not that bad,” said Scootaloo, taking a hop onto the bed and falling on the floor as her nonexistent wings failed to give her an important last few inch of altitude. A second hop was more successful, and Scootaloo tunneled in next to her little friend. “Tomorrow I’ll sneak all of you into the house and we can figure out what to do. This place is huge, and even has an indoor pool with round rocks and goldfish and all the bubbles and stuff.”

“Tomorrow we’re going to Fillydelphia.” Monster trembled a little, but stuck her nose out from under the covers after a brief hug. “Feels right. Going to doctor to get new wing braces for other you. Then Happyland or something.”

“Funland.” Scootaloo made a face. “Aunt Fix always takes me there if I don’t make a fuss at the doctor’s office. Are you sure you want to go to Fillydelphia, Twilight? It’s a lot more busy than Ponyville. And the amusement park is always full of other little ponies.”

“Yes.” One small purple hoof made patterns on the comforter. “Want you there too. Need you there. Don’t know why. Just is.”

Scootaloo scoffed. “There’s no way I’d get permission. Mister Rich was steamed. Twist’s sister doesn’t like letting her out of town without ‘proper’ supervision, and Apple Bloom’s sister throws a fit about something called ‘liability insurance’ whenever we try to go somewhere fun⁽*⁾.

“Permission.” Monster quit making little patterns on the blanket and eyed the desk, heaped with fresh paper and quills. “I can do that.”

(*) Rarity has a small saddlebag packed and ready at the front door of the Carousel Boutique at all hours of the day or night, along with a convenient map of Equestria with a colored push-pin to indicate Sweetie Belle’s probable destination, just in case her sister has to make an emergency trip somewhere on the spur of the moment. Sometimes, she even provides some spending bits and a little push to get her sister out the door. One might suspect there is a reason⁽¹⁾ Rarity’s parents spend so much time traveling Equestria and leaving Sweetie Belle in her care.

(1) Other than burning orange juice, burning toast, burning cucumber sandwiches, burning salads…

46. Mirror - rorriM - Part Three

Although Luna was the Princess of Dreams, many guards and staff at the castle considered Celestia to be the Princess of Sleeps Like a Mountain, particularly when she had to be woken up at some late hour to deal with some governing emergency. Although alicorns really did not need much sleep, what they got tended to be concentrated into a subatomically-compressed form slightly thicker than Celestia’s morning coffee, and the standard briefing for new diplomats to Equestria took great care to explain how waking up Princess Celestia for minor problems was a Bad Idea somewhat on a scale between invading Stalliongrad and parachute pants.

Sometime around four years ago, Celestia had gotten used to receiving midnight missives from her traveling student, normally inquiring about bail money or the state of any pending pardon requests, so when her horn tingled with the aetheric signal of an incoming scroll, she merely rolled onto one side in order to allow the resulting scroll to drop onto the bed beside her. Still, the fact that Trixie was using what she liked to call D-mail showed how whatever was in the scroll was at least important to one pony, and Celestia opened one eye to inspect the outsides of the scroll.

Then she opened both eyes and yawned.

To Princess Luna (or her sister, if she wants to read it or if Luna can’t answer right away, which is all right with me and Scoots so donut worry about it)

“One of these days, I need to teach Spike how to drop these things in Luna’s lap,” grumbled Celestia, although she was quick to open up the scroll and peek inside.

Dear Princess Luna

Aunt Quick Fix is taking Scootaloo and I to Fillydelphia and to and amusment park afterwards. Could we have permissions for my friends to go to?

Your friend
Twilight Monster Flower

Ps we waitied until almost dawn to send this so you could be done with cort.

pps We need one for Diamond Tiarra’s daddy too so she can come along.

An amusement park. It did seem like a considerable stretch for Twilight, but then again, she was asking about it, which was a wonderful sign. Her parents had been so concerned about Twilight being damaged beyond healing, and Celestia’s own gut-twisting worries in that regard had been carefully buried as not to feed anypony else's concerns. After all, it had taken decades for Celestia to recover her composure after Luna’s banishment, but she had been old even then.

Ah, the resilience of youth, and the support of friends. And now she has even more friends. I was right to leave her in Ponyville.

Celestia could have flown even without wings from the joyous sensation filling her heart and banished any need for sleep. Humming a happy tune just short of breaking out in song, she danced over to the desk and stopped with a quill held over a piece of creamy stationary. It would take less than an hour for a Royal Courier to carry the permission to Twilight’s friends, but she would never get back to sleep now. All it took was a few quick words to the door guards and Celestia sprang from her balcony window instead, spreading her wings and ascending into the early morning darkness.

While Luna was stuck in Night Court and dealing with the nobility, Celestia had a different destination in mind.

Ponyville.

(Credit: Air by Nadnerbd at Deviantart )

“Hey there, Menace!” Trixie trudged down the library stairs with a cup of coffee fairly glued to her face, making the little purple alicorn jump and turn her back on the sleeping dragon. Twilight still held a smoldering stick in her magical grasp and Trixie smirked to herself at the ‘Mystical Secret’ she had shown to Twilight. Although Spike was still charging several bits per dragon powered delivery, while sleeping he could still be tickled in just the right spot on his ribs in order to discharge a bit-free jet of dragonfire, provided you held the scroll away from anything you did not want singed or sent. “Getting up or going to bed?”

“Getting up.” Twilight yawned briefly, displaying a set of perfect little teeth which still made Trixie grind her own teeth in jealousy. Trixie was starting to think Minuette was only making repeat appointments for Trixie just to chat about Twilight and how she was doing. Then again, Trixie could vaguely remember the friendly dentist as a filly in Celestia’s school too, so it was probably just normal for her to be curious about her classmate.

Twilight, that is. Not Trixie. Nopony really cared about Trixie. Except maybe Twilight.

“Well, I hope you have the next few days free, because Trixie has won an all expense paid trip for two days and nights to the most exclusive spa in Equestria!” She paused with one hoof up in the air and finished the coffee, all the way down to the licorice residue at the bottom of the cup.

“Going to Funland,” said Twilight.

“Oh.” Feeling much as if her introduction had been stolen away by a younger and much more talented performer, Trixie coughed into one hoof. “So, who are you going with?”

“Scootaloo. Her aunt. My friends.” Twilight looked away from Trixie and hunched her back. “Diamond Tiara.”

“The filly Scootaloo punched in the face yesterday? Mister Biceps came by afterwards,” continued Trixie at Twilight’s startled look. “He said… something, I suppose.” Trixie waved a dismissive hoof. “Trixie thought it would be easier to get it from the horse’s mouth, so to say. He didn’t make much sense with a bandage over his nose. So what’s up?”

Twilight hunched over even further and shuffled over to the edge of the couch so she could hide in its fuzzy shadow. She was obviously upset about how the dispute between her friend and the little rich weasel had gone, and needed as much encouragement as Trixie could managed to scrape up, which was where the bag of bits in Trixie’s cape came in. Whatever Twilight had done with the dispute between Diamond Tiara and Scootaloo seemed to have worked, from what little Trixie had heard. Or at least nopony had wound up in the emergency room, which was always a plus.

As a reward, Trixie had planned on bringing Twilight along to the spa so she could spend a little quality bonding time with the little alicorn. It burned a little to think a bunch of little fillies was making more progress with getting Twilight Sparkle back than Trixie had managed, but Trixie was getting used to the feeling. Now Trixie needed to be supportive more than she needed to take credit, and if that meant going on an all-expense paid trip to a spa while Scootaloo’s aunt took the little disaster zones to a Fillydelphia amusement park on a day trip, well, Trixie could handle it.

The little alicorn in question shuffled her hooves and tried to nose under the quilt thrown over the new couch before mumbling, “Swapped Scoots and Diamond. Scoots is over at Mister Rich’s house. Diamond is at Scoots.”

“That’s great!” exclaimed Trixie, mostly because the solution did not involve any work on her part. “They’re learning all about each other, I bet.”

Twilight’s face was a perfect example of stunned amazement, but eventually she shrugged the end of the blanket off while nodding, ever so slightly.

“And when they can get along without beating each other’s face in, they can swap back.” Trixie beamed as much energy as she could for this unheavenly hour of the morning. “I think your hard work deserves a reward.”

“You do?”

“Yes, I do.” Trixie dug into her cape and drew out a small pouch, from which she extracted a few bits. “Rarity stopped by last evening and gave me the good news about my trip this morning. I didn’t even know she was running any contest at her store.” The smile across Trixie’s face faded every so slightly. “Gave me a whole bag of bits for spending money, too. The interest rate even isn’t very high, and the payment terms can be stretched out for years.”

Trixie counted out seven bits into Twilight’s extended hoof. “Don’t spend ‘em all in one place. Oh, wait.” She added the entire bit-stuffed pouch to the pile. “You’ll need a lot more than a few bits to spend. Bring me back the change and one of those hats with the ears, wouldja?”

Across town, in a dark bedroom of the Rich mansion, another set of ears barely protruded out from under a silken comforter while a stentorian snore filled the room. With one final tick of precision Swish clockwork, Diamond Tiara’s alarm clock began to delicately beat out a lively little tune of early morning awakening on a small set of silver bells, which triggered a sluggish movement in the depths of the bed, growing in speed until Scootaloo popped out from under the covers and stumbled to a standing position on the soft rug next to the bed. “Gotta hurry. Papers will be here soon,” she muttered, bumping the ‘off’ button with her chin and stumbling into the bathroom for her pre-dawn tooth brushing and other waking activities, which lasted all the way until she tried to brush her nonexistent wings.

“What the… Oh, yeah.” After a painful pinch to the side to make sure she was not dreaming, Scootaloo looked up into the mirror and considered the face of her arch-rival looking back. All of the proper nefarious sneers and scowls Diamond Tiara seemed to do so effortlessly just looked like she had developed some sort of nervous tic instead, so after a quick brush through her mane, and then another couple just to keep up appearances for her present body, she bounded out of her room and down to the kitchen for breakfast.

Princess Celestia danced through the stars as she glided along towards Ponyville, kicking up her heels and even using the dark as cover to do a few acrobatics she never would have had the courage to do in broad daylight around the stuffy court. She could hear the ever so faint beating of membranous wings behind her, showing that the Night Guard was taking their task seriously, even when the Princess they were guarding in the dark was different than their normal charge. Still, the Nocturne took great pains to remain as hidden as possible during any nocturnal outing, so it was impossible to tell if there were two or twenty of her guards swept along on her early-morning or perhaps late-late-evening flight.

Twilight Sparkle had included a listing of all of her friends who were going along on the trip, as well as a map of the town (from above, with color-coded marks for each friends’ house) and listing of which parent/guardian would need the most convincing. The candy maker’s house was first, and despite the early hour, Agent Sweetie Drops was maintaining her cover identity as Bon Bon and had just begun to box up a whole mountain of fresh chocolate cherries.

She bought a box while dropping off the permission slip. Then after due consideration, bought four more of each flavor. The Canterlot fashion scene was just going to have to live with a Royal Princess wearing ‘healthy’ thighs this year, as well as an absence of those cursed dresses she had been wearing for the last few years.

Featherweight’s parents had just started breakfast when she dropped in, and to Celestia’s pleasure, were perfectly happy with allowing their son to travel with Twilight Sparkle and her friends. After all, they explained, he had managed to survive over the summer with her, and they really doubted there was anything in Fillydelphia more dangerous than the pictures⁽*⁾ he had brought back from the Everfree Forest.
(*) Monster had 'helped' Featherweight develop some of his pictures. A few of them were still lurking around the house, pouncing on the occasional unwary ankle. But they kept the mice down, so the parents tolerated them.

Rarity’s house was a little different. Celestia lighted upon the balcony of the Carousel Boutique with all the delicacy of a hummingbird (provided said hummingbird had already gone halfway through a box of dark chocolate dipped cherries) and tapped gently on her balcony door for several minutes before a shuffling creature, draped in a threadbare robe and topped with a silk sleeping mask, cracked the window open and mumbled, “Readdiamadiut do dressinton — mugmph!”

After a cheerful description of the upcoming trip and a polite inquiry as to the state of Rarity’s business, Celestia realized a certain lack of attention on her subject’s part, as well as a standing-up snore.

She tucked the fashion pony back into bed and left the permission slip on her pillow before soaring back out the window for the extremely short trip to the Golden Oak Library where to her surprise, Trixie was standing outside with a small bag.

It was the first time Celestia had seen her student beat the sun to rise, except for the times when Trixie had not set yet when dusk turned to dawn. She spent a few precious minutes exchanging stories about ongoing events including Twilight’s new friend before giving Trixie a kiss on the forehead and leaving her student behind to wait on the limo ride to her well-deserved spa vacation.

It gave Celestia an idea while flying to her next to last stop. A trip to this spa with Luna would be a wonderful gift they both would enjoy. There were several spas within Canterlot, but the close proximity included the ability of other ponies to interrupt their time together, and Celestia was feeling just a tad possessive of her long-lost sister. She would have to see if Flax & Wheat's New Age All-Natural Wellness Center would be willing to have a pair of Royal patrons reserve the entire spa for a whole week, or if the exclusive weekend would interfere with their existing clientele. She filed the idea away under ‘Things To Do In Canterlot Today’ while mentally flipping through her Ponyville folder with a growing smile. After all, the next location was already on her schedule, so there was no reason to put off the visit until later.

Breakfast at Sweet Apple Acres tended to be an aggressive meal, with stacks of apple-fortified flapjacks and bowls of creamy oatmeal to fuel a pair of healthy farm ponies for a brisk morning of apple bucking and chores. Three ponies were gathered around the Apple family table this pre-dawn morning, discussing nothing in particular when there was a sharp knock on the door.

“I’ll get it,” said Big Mac, scooting away from the table and wiping his mouth on a nearby napkin. It was only a brief trot through the other room to open the farmhouse’s front door and ask, “Can I help—”

A delicious chunk of dark chocolate was popped into his mouth, followed by a pair of scorching lips meeting his. Even after last night, Big Mac’s heart was hammering away by the time Princess Celestia ended the kiss, leaving the chocolate dipped cherry a thin film steaming away on the inside of his mouth mixed with the taste of sunshine and summer. “Hello, Big Mac,” she whispered, floating over a thick folded sheet of creamy paper emblazoned with the Celestial seal. “Sorry I haven’t been back lately, but I believe I can get free next Thursday to spend a little time with you.”

She popped another chocolate dipped cherry into his mouth as Big Mac nodded with wide eyes, and Celestia added a quick kiss to his nose before rising into the air with a quick “See you then” called back in her wake. As Celestia ascended into the air, so did the sun, sweeping a brilliant wave of light across the Ponyville valley to light the world in gold, and revealed Apple Bloom standing almost at his hooves while holding the Manehattan paper in her mouth.

“Morning, Big Mac,” she called, bouncing inside with the newspaper. “Is that my permission slip for Scootaloo’s doctoring trip in Fillydelphia?”

“Um… Eeyup.” Big Mac finished chewing the last of the chocolate cherry as Apple Bloom dashed into the kitchen and put the paper down on the table.

“Morning, Princess Luna,” said Apple Bloom while nabbing the last of the oatcakes. “I’d stay and chat but we gotta get going if we’re gonna make it to the train station for the trip to Fillydelphia.”

“Indeed, young one,” said Luna with a smile and an application of a napkin to deal with a small remnant of the oatcakes and zapapple syrup still stuck to the edge of her lips. “Are all of thy little friends going?”

“Yep,” said Apple Bloom through her vigorous chewing. “Even Diamond Tiara and Twilight. Gotta run!”

“Ah think we should be goin’ too,” said Applejack, eyeing her brother suspiciously once Apple Bloom had stampeded out of the kitchen at top speed. “Since Granny’s rheumatism is flaring up, it’s gonna be a long day out in the fields to catch up.”

“Wouldt thou like some help, friend Applejack?” said Luna with a mischievous smile. “It hath been a few years since I last pitted my hooves ‘gainst a worthy opponent, and a turn about the fruit trees as in days of old should be… interesting.”

“Ah…” Applejack spared a glance at her brother, who seemed to be suppressing a somewhat trapped-between-two-incoming-wagons look with a trickle of sweat leaking down from his mane. “Thank ye kindly, Your Highness. I reckon if’n yer offering to help, it would be right unneighborly for me to turn you down.”

Diamond Tiara rested weary legs against the sill of the train window and stared outside as the Fillydelphia-bound train full of little jerks jerked into motion. This morning had not gone the way she had wanted, from the abrupt panic-filled appearance of Aunt Quick Fix into the room where the Crusaders were sleeping, shouting out something about how she had slept through her alarm and the newspapers were outside, to the blur of motion as Scootaloo’s friends had burst out of bed and sprang into action.

Newspapers were supposed to magically appear out on the doorstep every morning for Daddy to sleepily trod out and retrieve while Diamond snitched a piece of his haycon from the breakfast table. They were early morning toys where Daddy would point to words he could not pronounce and get his little filly to sound out for him, and allow her graciously to have the section with the comics in it while he read the boring old crop reports and stock market news. They were most definitely not supposed to show up on the doorstep in a small mountain of newsprint needing to be wrapped with rubber bands and dashed out into the early morning town to be dropped on other pony’s doorsteps by a whole horde of little ponies, even if Apple Bloom had remarked rather snarkily about Scootaloo normally helping Archer do the whole route by themselves every morning. Without the featherbrain-driven scooter, they had to run the papers all over town, and Diamond had not even gotten breakfast before the last paper had been thrown and Quick Fix had hustled the whole group to the train station and onto the waiting train.

The low rumble in her tummy was joined by another negative feeling as Scootaloo, still wearing her stolen body although reeking with sweat and speckled with dirt, thumped down on the bench next to Diamond Tiara and gave an enormous yawn.

“Auntie Fix ran up to the dining car to see if they have any waffles,” she said with a second yawn. “I am allowed to have waffles without making you too fat, right?”

“I only eat the healthiest of foods,” said Diamond Tiara, mournfully thinking of the stack of oatcakes with raspberry syrup she had missed this morning. “Kale and spinach and other salady things for breakfast. Besides, isn’t Daddy going to be all mad at you for sneaking out of the house?”

Scootaloo smirked and shook her head. “Nope. I don’t think so.”

Mornings in the Rich Estate started in the kitchen long before the sun had risen, and Randolph was just a little discouraged to find out that Saucy Pans had beaten him to the coffeepot again this morning, as well as started to get out the fixings for the morning meal. Randolph had been slowing down more lately, despite his objections to the contrary, and seeing the young earth pony cook in the kitchen rattling the pots and arranging things on the stove only made him miss his long-departed wife even more, and think of the upcoming days when he would no longer be able to be of service to the Rich family.

“Morning, Randolph,” called Saucy as she sat his coffee cup at the table and arranged a napkin next to it as to indicate her unfailing concern over the elderly stallion and a sincere wish for him to actually sit down instead of trying to help.

“Morning, Saucy,” he replied, opening up the icebox and retrieving the eggs. “I believe Master Rich and Miss Diamond will be wanting pancakes this morning.”

“Pancakes? Whee!” Diamond Tiara fairly bounded into the kitchen and clambered up the shelves to pull out a box of pancake mix. “Do you need any help with ‘em or should I go do my chores first? I do have chores, right?”

In the stunned silence afterwards, Randolph could not even breathe. He was fairly certain Miss Diamond Tiara knew what a sunrise was in an abstract sense, but that she had never actually seen one, let alone gotten up before the occasion. Finally, he took a breath, and all of the accumulated snark of eight years of difficult filly raising slipped out. “Of course you have chores, Miss Diamond. After you weed the flowerbeds, we will need a number of forsythia and lilac sprouts for the kitchen vase, and some violet petals for Mister Rich’s morning salad.”

“Got it!” Diamond Tiara dropped the box of pancake mix on the table and bounded for the door, calling back over her shoulder, “Save a couple pancakes for me.”

The two of them stood in the kitchen and blinked for a while before Saucy turned to Randolph and asked, “Who was that?”

“Miss Diamond Tiara has experienced…” Randolph paused in search of a word to adequately describe the situation, but without a trip to the dictionary with a pencil, nothing really sprang to mind. After a quick glance behind him to make sure Mister Rich had not also risen early, Randolph continued, “Our little rotten egg seems to have hatched into a princess.” After an additional glance out the window to where Diamond Tiara was striding through the flower beds, stopping to nip off a weed here and there, he added, “A particularly strange princess, I would suppose.”

The rest of the breakfast preparation process was completed without much conversation, just the occasional disbelieving look out the window at where a bare-headed Diamond Tiara was rooting around in the pre-dawn flowerbeds with occasional trips into the kitchen to deliver the requested flowers for the vase and petals for the breakfast salad. By the time breakfast preparations had been completed and tucked under the warming covers for Master Rich and his daughter, Randolph and Saucy found themselves side by side at the sink, washing the dishes as a dirt-encrusted Diamond bounded into the kitchen for one last quick phrase before vanishing.

“She’s here and I gotta go before the train leaves bye!”

“Mistress Diamond is attempting to escape,” remarked Randolph, looking out the kitchen window at the galloping filly while drying a plate.

“Somepony should really stop her,” said Saucy, dunking another dirty dish into the sudsy water and beginning to scrub. “You said she’s supposed to be restricted to the house all day.”

“Once we’re done with the dishes,” said Randolph firmly, although a polite tapping at the kitchen door made him sit the drying towel to one side and go answer it.

“Yes, can I help—” Randolph looked up. And then up some more.

“Pardon me,” said Princess Celestia with an ever-so-slightly-chocolate-tinged smile. She held a creamy white envelope in her magic, as well as the morning newspaper to one side. “May I speak with Filthy Rich?”

There was something familiar to the tick-tick-tick of the train tracks which brought memories swirling around Monster like sharptooth bitey fish during a summer river soak. They nipped at her mind and tunnelled into her heart while her friends all chattered together or slumped on the seats for some missed sleep, and eventually drove Monster into making a short walk over to where the orange-coated pegasus was staring glumly out of the train window.

“I brought you some waffles,” murmured Monster.

“I don’t want any stupid waffles,” said Diamond Tiara, although the growl her stomach gave out at the words said otherwise. After a long time of sitting next to the grouchy pegasus, Diamond took the proffered plate and scowled at the contents. “They’re not cut up.”

With a small touch of her new magic, Monster lit her horn and created a small discontinuity in reality that she drew along the waffles with exacting precision, as not to accidently cut through the plate or the train window sill beneath it. “Sorry,” Monster added as she made the prenaturally sharp blade vanish back into the magic of its creation. “Scoots eats them in one big bite. Feather sticks two in his mouth, but he makes little choking noises while chewing.”

“Featherweight,” corrected Diamond as she stabbed one of the waffle segments with a fork. “Can’t you even talk right?”

“No.” Monster rested her chin on the window sill and stared out the window as the countryside passed. “I’m broken.”

“At least you got your cutie mark,” prompted Diamond Tiara through a mouthful of waffle, although her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “How can you be smaller than Sweetie Belle and still cast a spell like you did on me and Scootaloo?”

“Scootaloo and myself,” corrected Monster. Then she paused and furrowed her brow in thought. “No, me and Scootaloo is right. I think. Can’t remember. Luna said I should be a patient patient. Healing.”

“Yeah, yeah,” said Diamond Tiara, waving a sticky fork. “If you and Scootaloser actually did bring Princess Luna into my bedroom, and I’m not saying you did…” Her eyes narrowed some more. “Luna’s not your mother, is she?”

“No.” Monster swallowed while watching a copse of trees next to the rails go by. “Zecora is mom. So is Twilight…” She tried to swallow again, but her throat was dry enough to stick together and almost keep her from breathing. Taking a sip of juice from the little cardboard box labeled “Contains Actual Juice” barely managed to allow her to squeak out, “Velvet.”

“Never heard of them,” said Diamond Tiara with an additional bite of waffle, although her chewing slowed as she thought. “Wait a minute. I have heard of Twilight Velvet. She’s Prince Shining Armor’s mother. You don’t actually think you’re the Twilight Sparkle, do you? She’s like twenty or something, running around in the Everfree Forest until lately. Daddy used to say she’s crazy but the newspapers say she’s off in some arctic polar monastery with the Mystic Shaven Yaks of Yik, learning the secrets behind the Elements of Harmony.”

“Friendship,” said Monster. “Not a secret. Friends. My friends used them to save Princess Luna. And me. I. Myself.”

Despite a mouthful of waffle, Diamond Tiara still managed to scoff. “Your friends aren’t the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. Everypony knows they’re those old ponies back in Ponyville. It was in all the papers.”

“Yes.” Monster looked down at the floor and closed her eyes. “No.” She reached out and put one slightly-sticky hoof in the center of Diamond Tiara’s chest. “Scoots is Generosity. She gives and gives until she has nothing to give, and then gives more. Paper route is actually Archer’s. She left town. Scoots volunteered to deliver papers for her.”

“That was dumb.” Diamond Tiara reached to brush off the unwanted hoof on her chest, but decided against it. “I mean Archer could have hired somepony.”

“Archer’s grandmother died. Went to funeral. No time. Told Scoots. Knew Scoots would help for a few days. For free. Would you have?”

It was not a question Diamond Tiara had expected or wanted. She paused with her mouth open and the taste of the waffles becoming bitter on her tongue. What she wanted to say was not what she could say. Archer was not really a friend, but she had let Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon copy off her homework a few days when they had been a little sloppy about getting it done, and although she had offered the little filly ten bits, Archer had turned it down. If Archer had come around the house in need of somepony to run her paper route for a few days, Diamond Tiara could have had Randolph deliver the papers. She could have. She probably would not have, but she could have.

“That still doesn’t really make you Twilight Sparkle,” said Diamond, putting the fork back down on the nearly-clean plate and pushing it back over onto the table. “So Featherweight is stupidly silly, Twist couldn’t be mean even if she tried, and Sweetie Belle can’t lie. That doesn’t make them the Elements of Harmony, and it doesn’t make you Twilight Sparkle.” Although the words were spoken just as strong as she intended, the small purple hoof on the center of her chest made them sound tinny and wrong.

That and the little tips of purple wings peeking out from under Twilight’s 5F1C cape.

Obviously, there were only three alicorns in Equestria, although a few weeks ago, she would have said two. There were a few rare freaks of nature who were born with both a unicorn’s horn and pegasus wings, but according to the newspapers⁽*⁾, pegacorns could only do a pitiful fraction of what a real unicorn or pegasus could do.

Obviously the little purple freak could use magic, or Diamond Tiara would still be herself.

Obviously the little purple… pony could use her wings, because Diamond Tiara had watched the heavy weights go up and down on the scales as she flexed.

The only (and most obvious) flaw in the theory would be if Twilight was really Twilight Sparkle, then the five most loser ponies in the entire world had done the coolest thing imaginable by defeating Nightmare Moon and bringing back Princess Luna.

There had to be another explanation.

Nothing sprang to mind right away.

She had time.

After all, having wings was kind of cool.

(*) Most newspapers which ran articles on pegacorns prefaced them with headlines such as ‘Princess Celestia’s Secret Love Child Revealed’ or ‘The Alicorn Legacy: Could Your Child Ascend?’ and accompanied them with blurry photographs. By pure chance, the Baltimare Star just happened to run an article titled ‘Celestial Family Reunion Upcoming’ the week before Nightmare Moon’s return, which would have been a real literary coup if they had not claimed Celestia’s little brother was returning from a trip to Caprica Nine to rule at her side.

47. Mirror - rorriM - Part Four

“Wake up, Twilight. We’re almost to the train station.”

With face firmly placed against the glass, Twilight Sparkle shifted positions and left yet another nose smear across the train car window. Her excitement was always tempered considerably during their trips to Fillydelphia, because as much fun as she had at the amusement park with Shining Armor and Cadence, Mom and Dad always looked so drawn and pale after visiting with Aunt Twinkle. Despite bringing books to read on the trip, she always wound up sticking her nose to the window to watch the scenery change and imagine what it was like for the ponies who the train passed, and that imagination always transitioned to slumber as the fatigue of early morning rising to meet the train caught up with the little filly.

“I’m up, Mom,” mumbled Twilight even though her eyes remained tightly closed against the morning sunlight. “M’gonna ride the Boomer this year. Allll the way. M’a big filly.”

“Only if Scootaloo is a good little patient.”

The world seemed to shift under Twilight, that is Monster as the elusive memories fled back into her mind’s fractures and crevices where they had been lurking before. She straightened up with a painful twitch of her cramped wings, one of which had been trapped under her body when she had fallen asleep against the window and regarded with bleary eyes the rest of her friends as they also struggled to wakefulness. The lingering traces of memory did not draw icy claws down her soul as before, but darted and dashed just outside of her perception like a moth attracted to a reading candle. Mom and Dad had both been there in her memory, as well as brother and sitter… Shining Armor and Cadence. The train, the car, the morning, they had all once been part of Twilight Sparkle’s previous life, a time of joy and sadness that was locked away inside her head, and the key to this set of memories was somewhere in Fillydelphia, whether good or bad.

The little filly that looked back at her from the reflection in the train window seemed so much like that innocent little pony of so long ago, all mussed from her nap and blinking to get the remaining sleep out of her eyes, but there was something different in the background. There were two train stops in Fillydelphia, one for the amusement park area, and one for—

“All passengers for the North Fillydelphia train station please prepare to depart. This station serves the business district, Theatre Row, and Starglider Memorial Hospital. Please have all bags ready when the train comes to a complete stop, and have a pleasant day in Fillydelphia.”

As the echoes of the announcer died away, Quick Fix hustled about, gathering Monster’s friends together and giving one last lecture before the door opened. “Now, I want all of you to stick together and not go running off anywhere, or so help me, we won’t go to Funland, and I mean it.”

“So if I misbehave,” started Diamond Tiara with a contemplative look at the rest of the small ponies, “all of us will just go back to Ponyville without going to the park, right?” There were little sparkles of mischief in her violet eyes as the little present pegasus smirked at the real Scootaloo and mouthed the words, “You owe me.”

The city would have been more frightening to Monster if little flecks of memory had not been floating around in the back of her head like snowflakes, drawing her attention to landmarks and buildings as Aunt Quick Fix and the rest of the little ponies strolled through the ‘business center’ on their way to the hospital and Scootaloo’s specialist appointment. A dog grooming shop caught her eye, reminding her that it had once been an ice cream store, and a shuttered sandwich shop reminded her hungry belly of delicious carrot dogs, done up to the top with hot peppers and cream cheese. Nothing she could see matched up exactly with her fragmented memories, which felt peculiar, as if she were looking into a mirror that reflected some other pony, a much nicer pony who deserved friends and family. The sound of earth spirits under her hooves were muffled, as if the concrete and steel were muting their song, but the air whistled through the signs and flags in a cheerful tune that distracted her from the darkness which continually threatened to claim her. There was little danger of that today. The happy chatter of her friends who were attempting to look in all directions simultaneously was a balm to her wounded heart, and lifted her head from a slumped examination of the sidewalk as they walked, even if she had found two bits and a piece of almost-new spearmint gum with most of the flavor still intact.

“You sure are a Little Miss Chatterbox,” whispered Diamond Tiara as she slipped back out of Aunt Quick Fix’s zone of attention and bumped up against Monster’s shoulder. “Looking forward to the amusement park with the rest of the freaks?”

“No,” whispered Monster while nervously chewing her gum. “Need to be here. Don’t want.”

“You too, eh?” Diamond Tiara spread her tiny wings and gave them a practice flap that lifted her hooves off the sidewalk for a moment. “If I didn’t have to go to the doctor to get my wings looked at, I wouldn’t, but I gotta admit, these are pretty cool.” She hesitated in her steps and lowered her voice to a bare whisper. “Don’t you dare repeat that.”

“Won’t,” whispered Monster, hesitantly sticking her wings out from under her cloak before yanking them back in at the curious glance she received from a passing business pony. The chubby mare actually stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and stared as the little alicorn and her friends trotted onward, and for a moment, Monster thought she might dart after them, but eventually the mare turned and continued strolling slowly on her way while shaking her head.

The hospital did not really seem that different than all the other big blocky buildings in the city, except for the giant red X on the front lawn and a set of magical floodlights that would keep it lit in the darkest night, but the spirits of the air seemed to dance oddly in the currents that curled around the building corners. Injured ponies came here to heal, but not all of them survived their visit. Death and Life walked hoof in hoof through the corridors, from the wails of newborn infants to the wheezing of the elderly ponies who had little time remaining. Monster huddled close to her friends as Aunt Fix wove through the confusing corridors, up the stairs, and eventually to a small waiting room filled with other little ponies and their parents. She would have been perfectly content to continue huddling until the doctor’s visit was over and it was time to go, if not for the perky nurse who poked her nose into the room and called out, “Scootaloo and Twilight, the doctor will see you now.”

“Me?” Monster looked up and swallowed a lump before putting the old foals magazine back on the shelf and slinking down the hospital corridor after Quick Fix and Diamond Tiara. The small room that the nurse escorted them into seemed cold and sterile, with glass-covered pictures of wings in all stages of flight on the walls, as well as the muscle groups and nerves that allowed a pegasus to soar. While waiting, she climbed up on the examination table to study the pictures in great detail, hoping to find some clue to the frustrating flaw in her own wings as well as Scootaloo’s. Monster had just twisted around into an excruciatingly uncomfortable position with one wing held next to the photograph for an in-depth comparison when the door to the examination room opened and a somewhat greying pegasus stallion slipped in.

He had a pleasant face with a welcome smile, but his eyes only rested momentarily on Diamond Tiara before passing over to Monster as if the little alicorn were a first edition of the newest Daring Do book. Slowly retracting her violet wing under her cloak, Monster dropped back down onto the floor and scurried over to the big pony seats, with a bright magical glow lifting up Diamond Tiara regardless of her wishes and plunking her securely on the examination table in Monster’s place.

“Err… Right.” The pegasus managed to quit looking at Monster and turned his attention to Diamond Tiara with a beaming smile. “I’m Doctor Pinion, and I’m very glad to see you this morning, Scootaloo. I heard directly from Princess Luna that you lost your old wing braces.”

“You did?” echoed Diamond Tiara.

“Yes, I did. She’s got a magnificent set of primaries with the most developed…” The doctor blinked several times and cleared his throat while rustling his own wings uncomfortably on his back. “Well, yes. Professional curiosity. In any event, let’s get those wings of yours spread out here and see how much you’ve grown since your last appointment.”

“I don’t think Scootaloo… I mean I’ve grown so much as a feather in the last year,” said Diamond Tiara, allowing the doctor to spread her pinions and check between the feathers.

“She hovered yesterday,” announced Aunt Fix. “I’ve got pictures and everything.”

“Really?” The doctor peered at Diamond’s feathers with his nose nearly brushing up against them. “It sounds like those braces are doing what they were designed to do. You’re not preening very well, though.”

“Preening?” asked Diamond Tiara with her nose wrinkled up.

“Yes, preening,” said Doctor Pinion in a stern voice. “Just like we discussed the last four visits. If you’re going to be flying, you need those wings properly cared for. Upsie-daisy!”

The stallion boosted Diamond Tiara up into the air where she hovered in place over the examination table. Her unexpected flight was a little unsteady, and somewhat panicked, but her little wings beat solidly for several seconds until the look of elation on her face was replaced by concentration, then panic.

“Nice catch, Twilight,” praised the doctor as the plummeting pegasus was captured in Monster’s magenta magic and lowered carefully to the table, although by her tail. “Scootaloo, you’re over-thinking your wings again. What did I tell you about that last time?”

“What?!” Diamond Tiara lay flat on the table, panting and clinging to the paper-covered surface as the doctor opened up her wing again and flexed it several times.

“Good, good. Strong muscles there. You’ve really developed some power over the last few years, Scootaloo.”

“Scooter,” mumbled Monster. “She goes really fast.”

“I bet she does. Well, Scootaloo, the nurse will take you and your aunt down the hallway to the measuring room and we’ll get you fitted for a new set of braces. It’ll take two or three days to get them fabricated and shipped to your home, so until then, try not to sleep on your sides and crimp your growing feathers. Then the nurse will give you and your aunt that little lecture on preening again, and hopefully this time it will stick, you rascal.” He ruffled Diamond Tiara’s mane with one hoof and boosted her down onto the floor before letting the nurse escort them out of the room.

For a long moment, it left Monster all alone in the examination room with the doctor, or at least until he called outside the hallway and another nurse slipped into the room, which seemed to be a great relief to him.

“Um… Twilight…” Doctor Pinion paused, his eyes flickering from Monster’s lumpy cloak to the pictures of wings on the wall. “If it would not be too much trouble, I was wondering…”

“You want to look at my wings too?”

“Yes,” he declared in an outrush of breath. “You see, I’ve never studied a growing alicorn’s wings before other than a few pictures from Princess Cadenza’s private files in medical school lectures. It’s a severely neglected field of research since there has only been one data point in the records up to now. In fact, Princess Cadenza’s early difficulties with flight were the reason I got into this field in the first place. I know Princess Luna was very insistent about keeping your identity as Twilight Sparkle a secret from the public… Err…” The doctor’s eyes flickered to the nurse standing by his side and he gave a deep sigh. “Oops. I probably shouldn’t have said anything.”

Monster nodded, twisting one hoof uncomfortably in the hospital carpet as memories of Cadence shifted and surged around her. As far as Monster could remember out of the jagged fragments of memory that were not too painful to touch, those elegant two-toned wings had never lifted sitter… Cadence into the air, not when Monster was a little filly named Twilight Sparkle being attended to in Canterlot or even during those tortured times in the Everfree Forest.

With the smallest touch of her magic, Monster lifted the bright yellow 5F1C cloak off her back and placed it on the chair before spreading out her trembling wings. As much as she wanted to know every single possible detail about her new body, preferably in a book with detailed operating instructions and several pages of checklists, there was one thing that stood in her way far more than the rest of her problems. Monster looked up at the nurse, who had been almost motionless since first coming into the examining room and gave her a brief nod.

“Don’t worry. Show him.”

“Are you sure?” The nurse knelt down to look Monster in the eyes. “I can tell you’re terrified.”

“Yes. Need to. Some secrets good. Need kept. Like mine. Yours is bad. He should know.”

“Very well.” There was a flare of green magic and a changeling stood where the nurse had been, looking at Doctor Pinion with her head cocked to one side. “I’m sorry, Dusty,” she started in a slightly buzzy tone. “Twilight Sparkle is correct. I should have told you earlier.” The changeling nurse turned her head back to Monster and smiled, just a little, with as much reassurance as she could muster, even though the little alicorn was facing the floor with her eyes tightly closed.

“Change back please,” whispered Monster, keeping her eyes shut until the glare of green fire had faded from the small room, and a compassionate hoof brushed back along her stubby mane. “Thank you.”

“No, thank you, Twilight Sparkle. Were it not for you, the changelings would still be loathsome parasites, stealing love wherever we go, and we would not be free of our terrible curse. I’ve worked for Doctor Pinion for ten years, feeding off the love that parents feel for their injured or crippled children, and I regret every moment.”

“No.” Monster lifted a hoof and placed it against the disguised changeling’s chest. “You took love to survive. Healed ponies. No debt. You took. You paid. Don’t be sad. Be happy. Featherweight takes pictures of happy times so we can live them again. Go look at pictures of the little ponies who came here to be healed. Feel the love from the ones you helped. Mourn the ones who died. Live.” She sat back on her rump and placed a second hoof on Doctor Pinion’s chest, eliciting a somewhat startled blink from the physician. “He likes you.”

“He’s married,” said the nurse with a naughty smile, gently lifting the small purple hoof off her chest. “Now come on. Let Doctor Lovesalot take a look at your wings, or he’ll mope around the office for the next year all depressed about missing his research opportunity. And,” she added with a wink, “I’ll make sure he sends you a full copy of his notes.”

It took a little while for Aunt Quick Fix to gather up the little ponies afterwards. Twist had gone around the waiting room with her candy bag, making sure every nervous little filly or colt in the waiting room had a tasty distraction from their upcoming doctor's appointment, while Featherweight was flittering around the ceiling, taking ‘posed’ shots of the patients and their parents. He would make faces or fly upside-down in order to make them all smile, then make sure to get their addresses so he could mail them copies of the photos later.

The upcoming trip to the amusement park was a powerful incentive to get all of her friends together and moving in the right direction though, and in very little time, the whole group had left the hospital and was sitting on a trolley car, which was a little like a wagon with nopony pulling it along a set of rails.

“We’re going to Funland! We’re going to Funland!”

It was a catchy phrase, but after the five thousandth repetition, the words began to grate on Monster’s nerves, and even Aunt Quick Fix’s smile was looking a little plastic and forced by the time they reached the park and raced for the entrance.

“Look!” proclaimed Twist, bouncing up and down in front of a freshly painted sign. “They know we’re coming today!”

“Funland Park(LLC) Welcomes the Elements of Harmony,” read Monster. “Get your pictures taken with them at the Pavilion of the Stars, only ten bits.”

“I thought it was supposed to be a secret that we used the Elements of Harmony,” said Sweetie Belle. “We wrote that newspaper article and everything.”

“Ten bits apiece,” said Diamond Tiara thoughtfully while brushing one wing across the side of her face. The feathers had been carefully straightened and oiled by the nurse at the hospital, but they had already begun to pop up in places. “Can I borrow a manebrush from somepony?”

They all obediently stuck out a wrist for the colorful plastic bracelet with a glowing security rune that identified them as “Admit Party of Seven Minors and One Adult” that was applied by a rather bored looking teenage pony with several small gold rings running down the edge of one ear. Then all there was left to do was to walk through the giant gates topped with two roundish pony ears along with all of the rest of the bouncing fillies and colts.

Monster should have been afraid. No, she should have been terrified. The sight of those big iron gates stirred memories in the back of her mind again, mixed along with the tinny music floating through the air and the happy screams of little ponies. There was something there, but it did not bring terror to her heart as the thoughts of her family in Canterlot so far away. A tremor of anticipation, yes. An itch of curiosity at the thoughts of the odd sign at the front of the park, yes too. A sincere determination to avoid the ‘Pavilion of the Stars’ at all costs, certainly.

“I’m going on the Boomer!” exclaimed Featherweight the moment they got through the gates. “Come on, Scoots! You can sit next to me!” Colt pegasus dragged filly pegasus for several yards until realization set in, and he looked back at Aunt Quick Fix, who was shaking her head.

“I think the Boomer is a little big for little ponies like you,” said Aunt Fix, setting her most stern expression and nudging the two in a different direction. “Let’s go over to the Fun Filly section of the park first, and maybe we can go past the Boomer before we go home.”

“But it’s huuuuge,” whined Featherweight. “It’s got this giant ramp and a big center spiral and two loop-de-loops! Archer said she got sick as a dog and threw up for a whole hour after her dad took her on it. Pleeeeeese?”

Despite all the attempts by Featherweight and Scootaloo (in her current body) to convince Aunt Quick Fix, the whole group soon found themselves in a much tamer section of the park, with smaller rides that bumped and wheezed along steel tracks, and one circular river with a long boat that floated past little villages of singing tiny flutterponies. Well, the sounds played, but most of the little mechanical flutterponies only jerked a little or had their jaws twitch in general syncopation with the tinny music. Twist seemed to like the plastic slides the most, while Featherweight and Scootaloo played on the jungle gym and Sweetie Belle swung on the swings with Monster pushing. Apple Bloom appreciated lunch the most, going with Aunt Fix to a big wooden cart shaped like an orange and bringing back several trays with oddly greasy and crunchy food. They even went on the Little Boomer, which turned out to be a set of small metal cars on greasy rails that rode up a small hill, and then back down again. A second trip proved just as banal, and so did the third and fourth, although Twist got sick and had to go throw up in a trash can.

Visiting the Gift Shop proved much more to her speed, with an entire building worth of shelves and boxes filled with little plastic toys. Monster was slowly getting used to the concept of ‘buying’ things, and after a quick trip to the cash register to see how much one of the gems she was carrying would buy, she began to fill up a basket. There was Trixie’s requested hat, of course, and a ‘Spike the Dragon’ mask which caught her eye. She could not resist several Daring Do notebooks, and a clever mechanical pencil intrigued her enough to buy out the whole collection on the shelf. ‘Gifts’ were another concept she was getting used to, and to help her learning, she had each one of her friends pick out something for themselves too. The words ‘glow’ and ‘glitter’ seemed to feature prominently in their selections, with Featherweight actually buying the ‘Deluxe Princess Celestia Glowing Crown and Horn, Lights Up With Authentic Alicorn Sounds.’

While Featherweight was showing his purchase off to Aunt Fix, Monster slipped over to where Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara were attempting to ignore each other. Scootaloo was pulling a rainbow-colored shirt several sizes too large out of the ‘Discount’ bin, while Diamond Tiara was attempting to fit a small golden crown onto her tangled magenta mane. The odd golden object yanked at something in her recent memory, of peeking out of the library window in the direction of the train station where mom and dad and sitter and brother—

“Twilight?” Scootaloo’s face was nearly touching her nose, with big blue eyes seeming so concerned and worried. An avalanche of memories smashed down on Monster, each as light as a snowflake but together driving all of the breath out of her lungs. The pink coat, the streaked violet of her mane, the worry. Without realizing it, Monster’s magic gently lifted the plastic crown out of Diamond Tiara’s grip and floated it over to Scootaloo’s bare head. It belonged there somehow, and a shiny tag that said ‘Princess mi Amore Cadenza Authentic Crown, 25 bits’ in both Equestrian and the squiggly symbols of Neighpanese caught her attention as she held it.

“Cadence,” breathed Monster. “Princess Cadence.” The crown fit perfectly on Scootaloo’s earth pony head despite the lack of a horn, although now that she was looking for the differences, her little friend was a far cry from the simple elegance of Cadence, as well as being several colors off in both mane and eyes. “Cadence brought me here,” whispered Monster. “Never wore a crown. Stood right there. Kissed Shiny. I bought…”

Nothing on the shelves matched her memories, which swirled like leaves in a strong wind, or snow in a — there it was. A snowglobe with a huge fancy castle in the background and ‘The Magic World of Funland’ written in glitter across the front. The little cork in the bottom had been easy to remove and the contents impossible to get back inside, leaving flakes of plastic and a greasy stain on the kitchen table the next morning. Mom had been angry. Dad had been understanding. Asked what she had learned. Nodded a lot. Deducted the cost out of her allowance, and credited her an equal amount for educational experience.

It was a memory that she could hold in her mind without pain. Monster held the snowglobe up and gave it a shake, watching the little flecks of plastic float through the glycerine and water solution while her mind floated in that peaceful time so long ago when her problems seemed so simple.

Diamond Tiara fumed despite herself as the little group left the gift shop, headed for the plebeian pleasure of a group photo at ‘Ye Olde Canterlottian Palace’ and matching t-shirts before any further foal entertainments opportunities. Admittedly, it had been somewhat fun so far to be running around with so many of Scootaloser’s friends and treated. She had never needed to carry her own money before. The words ‘I want’ substituted for any number of bits when Daddy or one of the servants was around, or ‘Charge it’ at any of the Ponyville merchants.

Quick Fix had given her a small bag of ‘Allowance’ bits to tuck into her mane when they first came into the park and had laid out the rules for the day in far more strict terms than Daddy ever had. Meals and group activities would be paid for by ‘Auntie Fix.’ Silly souvenirs and games were the responsibility of the individual little pony. She had then counted out ten bits for each of the other little ponies, even the little purple oddball, and let them go crazy in the arcade sitting in front of the Filly Fun gates until the bits were all gone.

It had taken five whole minutes, and all she had to show for it was a tiny pile of paper tickets. At least it was a larger pile than Twist’s single ticket, but it was dwarfed by the pile that Featherweight had accumulated at Skeeball, or the somewhat smaller pile that Sweetie Belle had accumulated at Match-a-Kitty. Still, they had not managed to spend all of their bits before Aunt Fix had been escorted out of the arcade by the management for opening up one of the broken machines and trying to fix it, and they had not even managed to trade in their tickets for some of the cheap plastic toys she had seen when they walked past the prize redemption center.

It was no big loss. Although there was a sparkly plastic tiara which had caught her eye.

The group photo was a little more to Diamond Tiara’s preference, as all of them got to dress up in fancy sparkly costumes with peaked hats and wide skirts. Since her special talent was accessorizing, Diamond took control of the dressing, with the correct glittering fake jewelry added to each little pony and Quick Fix, who almost did not fit into the Royal Guard costume until Twilight did something to it behind a curtain. The little alicorn was the most difficult of the group to outfit, and took forever to get out of that garish yellow cloak. The attendants at the photo booth were a little startled at having a little pony with both wings and a horn, but Diamond smoothed things over with a haughty snort and an insinuation that informed ponies knew all about pegacorns, and a subtle dig at expecting Fillydelphia to not be so prejudiced. Although the action caused the reaction she was wanting, there was still a little chill in her heart to see the attendants fawn all over Twilight while Diamond was ignored in the shadows. Perhaps that was what Princess Luna went through every day before she went insane and tried to bring on Night Eternal. She could see the dark alicorn hopping up and down in the back of the crowd screaming “Look at me! Look at me!” while her big sister hogged all of the attention. Still, when the little ponies all lined up in front of the camera in their fanciful outfits and attempted to smile, there was something missing.

“Wait!” called out Diamond Tiara as she bolted from the little height-boosting box she was standing on and dove into the box of props to one side of the photo booth. Props with colored glass jewels went everywhere as she dug, heedless of the consternation of the booth attendants, until Diamond emerged from the box with a golden crown in her teeth.

“There!” she declared, trotting over to the cringing alicorn and plunking the golden mesh of wires on her head. “Every Princess deserves a crown.”

“I’m notta princess,” muttered Twilight as her horn lit up to lift the crown, only for Diamond Tiara to push it back down on top of her head.

“Yes you are,” said Diamond with as much force as she could muster. “For this picture, at least. It fits you. And do you see this?” She pointed at the mirror, where a meek purple princess topped in gold sat in an uncomfortable lump. “Five red rubies to symbolize your five friends.”

“Red symbolizes blood,” said Twilight, her back still hunched as she looked in the mirror.

With a swish of unaccustomed skirts, Apple Bloom stepped up to Twilight’s side and put a hoof on her back. “We knew it was dangerous when we pelted off after you that night, Twilight.”

Twist tripped while climbing off her block, but managed to get back upright and put a hoof on Twilight’s back too. “You needed uth then, and you need uth now, Twilight. Friendth forever.”

In a cascade of color and cloth, the rest of Twilight’s friends swept down from their carefully posed positions and surrounded the little alicorn in a group hug that Diamond found herself dragged into. It was weird as all get out, weirder even than the little purple oddball, but she did not fight the ongoing group squeeze, or even afterwards when the photographers got them all situated back on their respective marks.

There was something new to Twilight’s pose, a rising of her normally bent neck and a straightening of her habitually hunched back as if some invisible weight had been removed. The cheap plastic crown topped in little flecks of red glass seemed right on Twilight’s head, maybe a little large where it bumped up against her ears, but as something she could grow into, if given time to heal and the support of her friends. Afterwards, when all of the clothes had been hung back up and Quick Fix was paying for the photos (including one that the photographer had snapped during the group hug), Twilight seemed reluctant to part with her crown.

“We need to put that back in the collection for the next group, Miss.” The earth pony attendant lifted the crown, which separated only reluctantly from its purple placement. “If you want another one like it, the gift shop has a fine selection,” she added as she put it back into the box.

“No,” said Twilight with one long look back at the box as the lid was closed. “Not yet. Need to grow. Change.” Those violet eyes shifted to look directly at Diamond Tiara, or more correctly through her. “Thank you.”

“For what?” Diamond reflexively responded.

“Putting part of my life back.” The little purple oddball had slipped back into her garish yellow cloak at the first opportunity once the costumes had started to be put away, although her habitual slouch had not fully returned yet. “Memory is a huge broken mirror. I see parts in it. Sometimes two parts fit. Most of the time not. I was here before with Shiny. And C-cadence. We never got our pictures taken, but the snowglobe…” Twilight paused to light up her horn, and a thin slit in the universe opened to her side. The snow globe in question floated out just long enough to be shaken, appreciated, and returned before the hole in reality sealed itself.

“You said something about the Boomer on the train,” said Diamond Tiara, trying to get the image of that impossible rift in the cosmos out of her mind. “Did you ride the roller coaster with Shining Armor and Princess Cadenza?”

“Not sure.” That habitual slump of her shoulders returned and Twilight whisked her stubby tail back and forth. “More holes than memories. Missing parts.”

“If I can get you a ride on the Boomer to help you find a memory and it helps me understand Scootaloo better, will you reverse the spell?” asked Diamond Tiara, trying her best to conceal a grin of triumph.

“Twilight!” called a voice from outside the photo store. “We’re getting matching t-shirts printed! Come on!”

“I-I-I think… Yes.” Twilight swallowed and some of the hunch went out of her back. “Yes.”

Monster could not understand just why getting something printed on a shirt, which nopony normally wore anyway, was such an important decision. They had all gotten pink shirts, but Twist had gotten ‘Sweetheart’ spray-painted across the front, while Apple Bloom had settled (of course) for the word ‘Apples!’ in a curvy script. Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara seemed to be engaged in some sort of primitive dominance display in order to one-up each other, with Scoots getting ‘Princess Diamond Tiara’ on her shirt with the added sparkles for an extra two bits, while Diamond had ‘Rainbow Dash Jr.’ written on hers in multiple colors that were supposed to glow in the dark.

The entire group had strongly rejected Monster’s first suggestion for her own shirt, which upon further consideration was probably a good thing. It had been an impulsive reaction to something she was wanting to wallow in for far too long, and although the name of ‘Monster’ was something she should shed someday like a discarded cocoon, she was going to take things one at a time. If the changelings were willing to forgive her destruction of so many of their kind, it was foolish of her to flog herself with that ‘other’ title, no matter how technically accurate it was.

She was a Monster in more ways than one, but she needed to be a good monster. There would always be bad monsters in the world, and without good monsters to fight them, they would destroy everything. She had been bad. Now she was good, or trying to be, with the help of her friends.

Bad. Forgiveness. Good.

Luna knew the path. She walked it every day since her return. It was far more familiar to her, as the Princess of the Night had once intentionally trod that path in the wrong direction, and now faced the same long, hard trek back to good that Monster was walking. Each step was a journey unto itself, a challenge overcome, a battle won, an enemy defeated, a friend made.

One step at a time. One day at a time. A little progress each day. Occasionally the slip backwards, but always the picking back up and stepping forward again on a neverending journey to a distant destination with every memory from that trip carried along, as it needed to be in order to learn from the experience.

Just as Luna would always know the touch of Nightmare Moon until the end of her long life, the little bit of Monster in her past had to remain. She could no more turn her back on that terrible part of her life than she could turn her back on her wonderful friends. The last few months had been a time of rebirth into a life she had never expected, and would never get the opportunity to live again. She had gone from a quaking filly hiding in a bush to conceal herself from the world, to a… well, a still trembling filly in the middle of Fillydelphia, facing her fears with her friends instead of hiding from them.

As she stood in front of the elderly stallion holding the spray brush over a blank shirt, another set of memories flooded through her mind. A memory of rainbow light filling the world as her friends held themselves close, just as they were doing now. Of a frightening dark alicorn who would have destroyed the world if Monster had not acted. Of a terrifying decision that she had made, with head lifted proudly and facing the threat.

My name is Twilight Sparkle. And you will not harm my friends!

“Awesome shirt, Twilight. Move a little closer to Diamond Tiara… I mean Scootaloo so I can get you both into the frame.”

Featherweight remained hovering while squinting through the camera viewfinder at Monster and the crown-wearing earth pony to her side. While Quick Fix had ducked into the bathroom with Twist for a potty emergency, Featherweight had decided to capture the occasion of their new shirts with a series of photos in the adjacent topiary garden. It was another of the weird things that Monster was still getting used to in this new life.

The topiary, not Featherweight. Although she was puzzled about why he had selected ‘Hot Shot’ for his shirt lettering, with a flash inside each ‘o.’

Topiary was bent and twisted trees formed into crude shapes that vaguely looked like animals, surrounding the three of them in a garden grove that pushed the noise and the disturbing colors of the amusement park into the background. The years had not been kind to the small park, with nibble marks and scratches that indicated years worth of small fillies and colts playing in their midst. She could vaguely remember the giraffe, and how over several trips the tree had never quite gotten the wire cage of the head properly filled. It now had a crest of leaves from untrimmed branches that made it seem as an untrimmed mane, or a lion with a really long neck. She was still considering using her magic to discreetly trim a few of the more obviously misplaced branches when Diamond Tiara came fluttering into the garden, so excited that she nearly could not stay on the ground.

“Twilight! I talked to Aunt Fix, and she said that the four of us could go ride the Boomer!”

48. Mirror - rorriM - Part Five

“We can really go ride the Boomer?” asked Scootaloo, hopping in place as if she were attempting to hover.

“Only once,” said Diamond Tiara as she dashed for the exit to the topiary garden with the other three in close pursuit. “And we need to make it fast.”

“Isn’t Aunt Fix coming with us?” asked Scootaloo, lagging near the back of the running pack due to a lack of wing-assist.

“She has to supervise the others,” said Diamond, not even slowing in her headlong dash. “Twilight’s like twenty something, so she’s in charge.”

“Me?” The rhythm of running hooves beneath her faltered as Monster hesitated, only to catch back up with a burst of acceleration from the feeling of the enthusiastic earth spirits that sent a surge of energy up her shanks. There was something wrong with the situation, but something intensely right too, as if the whole world was willing to shift in its tracks just so that Monster would be where she needed to be.

Wherever that was.

Scootaloo and Featherweight were all excited about their upcoming ride and chattered to each other unceasingly while they got in line for the somewhat worn and aged wooden structure, while Monster lagged back with nervous glances at the way the arches of timber and steel stretched up above them. The big steel cars that rode on the rails made horrible screeching and rattling noises above them as the fairly short line advanced, moving in short fits every time another group was loaded for their ride. As the line progressed along the dirty and stained concrete path, it took all the willpower she could muster to walk under the the creaking structure that trembled every time a car rumbled by.

Featherweight took a few pictures before putting his camera back into the case and bundling it up with his jacket, explaining that nopony could wear loose clothes or carry objects on the ride. It seemed like a logical precaution, although Monster kept scooting closer to Diamond Tiara as they approached the front of the line. Despite the deafening sound of screaming ponies, the rational part of her mind insisted that the number of unharmed ponies exiting the ride was equal to the number of ponies going into the ride, and some of them came right back to get into line again, so there was nothing to really be afraid of, provided they followed the rules.

No running was easy, as Monster was so frightened she could hardly shuffle forward as the line moved. No food or gum, even easier. A quick swallow took care of the last shred of the flavorless stuff, long ago deprived of any tiny bits of spearmint flavoring. No photography, no problem.

Problem.

“Hey! I know you.” A grinning teenage unicorn dressed in a Funland shirt stepped forward and waved at Diamond Tiara. “Scootaloo! It’s been a couple of months since I’ve seen you around here. Your aunt finally gave you permission to ride the Boomer?”

“You bet!” declared Scootaloo, bouncing up and down to the side of the young pegasus that the employee was talking to. “Everypony, this is Widget. I met him at the bumper cars a few months ago. He had run out of water, and I got him a soda. He’s going to go to college to be an engineer!”

Widget paused to brush his mane back over his horn, his violet eyes flickering from little earth pony to little pegasus and back again. “You’re Scootaloo? I thought you—”

“It’s a long story,” said Scootaloo. “Widget, this is Diamond Tiara, Featherweight, and Twilight.”

“Good to meet you all,” said Widget, still seeming a little perplexed by the name change. “This going to be the first time on the Boomer for all of you? Because the tee-shirts are okay, but you can’t wear those capes in the cars.”

“I’ll put it with the camera, Twilight,” said Featherweight, who seemed to be appointed at the official cape carrier as Scootaloo dumped hers on top of the growing pile. Twilight swallowed, her wings rustling nervously as she undid the cape tie and added hers to the collection.

“Whoa, there,” said Widget with sudden frown. “Not you. You’re too small to ride. See.” The teenage pony floated a measuring stick out from behind a nearby partition and held it up next to Scootaloo. There was a solid black band around the middle of the stick, with ‘2 Short’ written below it. Scootaloo just barely came up to the mark, and Featherweight reached the black only with a little judicious stretching and some ear-extending.

Then it was her turn. Time shifted beneath her hooves as Monster could see him turning to face her. The measuring stick slowed as it swung with a glitter of sunlight off the light blue magical field of the amusement park employee, so much like Cadence’s magic. A rise in the babbling of the air spirits rushed through her short mane, ruffling it forward across the suddenly cool spot on the top of her head where a crown would sit someday. The lines between is and might be twanged in a sharp chorus while the otherwise normal stick descended to her side, making her heart hammer away with suppressed panic. There was something here, something important that she had to be here for. Just for the tiniest fraction of a second, she could see a cascade of glittering threads extending out into the distance. In all of them, Scootaloo was going to fall to her death.

In all of them but one.

There was a short pause before the young unicorn’s eyes opened wide in shock. The dark bar that separated the small from the tall rested right across Monster’s ears, in exactly the same spot it had been on the somewhat taller Featherweight. He picked up the stick and looked at it, and then placed it next to Featherweight again. “That’s odd.”

“No,” said Scootaloo. “That’s just Featherweight. He’s like that.”

Widget put the stick next to each of the other three and carefully examined it before turning back to Monster. “That’s can’t be right. They’re all taller than—” He stopped with the stick only part-way back over to her and a look of sudden enlightenment spreading across his face. He looked at her cutie mark, and then her face, and finally at the name on her shirt with a growing smile. “Twilight Sparkle! That explains it. Fantastic costume!”

She met his upraised hoof with a gentle lady-like bump, much like Sweetie Belle had been teaching her, trying to look sufficiently unconfused despite a growing sense of bafflement as he went on. “You must have gotten that disguise spell over at the new pavilion display. That is one bad costume, ‘Twilight.’”

He actually held both forehooves up to make imaginary quote marks around her name. It was a good thing Sweetie Belle was not here, or she would have squealed in horror at the sight. “Bad?” she asked, almost cringing.

“Bad is good, Twilight,” said Diamond Tiara. “Unless it’s bad, in which case it’s really bad.”

“Yeah,” agreed the young colt. “That costume is righteous! I knew they were doing coat dyes and cutie marks over at the Daring Do Pavilion, but I didn’t know they were doing whole body jobs. Hey, Marseille!” He waved across the the crowded waiting area at another employee, who had just gotten done buckling two ponies into one of the roller-coaster cars. “Check out Scootaloo’s friend and her radical Twilight Sparkle costume!”

If she had a moment to think about it, Monster would have cringed away or tried to hide behind the rest of her friends. Every pony in line to get into the roller coaster cars turned to look at her all at once, each of them with a growing smile or gasp of admiration.

“Alicorn Twilight!” squealed a teenaged filly while clutching a hoof to her chest. “That is Awesome! How much did it cost?”

“Where can I get one?” asked another, crowding close and reaching out to gently touch her wing.

“They look so real,” gasped a third teenage filly. “Can we get different colors than purple?”

As the other ponies drew close and Monster felt her heart began to flutter, Diamond Tiara stepped forward and raised her voice. “A little space for my friend, please.” The rattle and clatter of the departing roller coaster car drowned out most of whatever she said next, but the crowd did stay back far enough that Monster did not feel as if she were suffocating too badly. The constant repetition of the word ‘Awesome’ made Monster feel a little less nervous about all of the attention, as well as raising a little twinge of curiosity at how Trixie was doing out at Flax & Wheat's New Age All-Natural Wellness Center.

“Awesome!” declared Trixie’s youthful companion as she bounced up and down in the distasteful mucky mixture of decaying organic material and mud that passed for ‘mulch’ in the communal fertilizer pit of the commune.

Trixie had been in many spas across Equestria and was fully comfortable indulging herself in their pampering and primping. This ‘Wellness Center’ had very little to compare with against them, other than a still-sticky sign out front that said ‘Spa’ that Awesome Filly ('Oz' for short) had painted after her arrival and subsequent cut-short rant. A bunch of aging hippies in a decaying commune was not what Trixie had been expecting for a two day trip to the spa, although the ‘limo’ ride in the little cart pulled by a spaced-out scrawny stallion should have at least warned her. Flax Seed had wasted at least an hour of the trip pulling the wagon after a butterfly instead of following the road, and when they had finally come over the last hill to see the colorful weavings and bright flags flying over the decaying buildings of the converted farm, Trixie had almost turned around right there and walked back home.

Having both of Twilight’s little unicorn friends come bounding out to welcome her to their home in the commune had stopped her cold.

Awesome Filly and Wheat Shock had not changed a bit in the few weeks since they had left Ponyville, while Trixie had become both purple and married during that time. Time seemed to have little meaning to the little ponies, and they had both promptly clung to Trixie’s every word about what had happened to their friend.

And for some reason, they asked about Trixie too. It was probably the purple dye.

Both of the teenaged unicorns were so much like Twilight Sparkle, lacking only wings and the astonishing surges of power, which made Trixie oddly at home while they showed her to the ‘Luxury Suite’ (it had a roof, or at least most of one) and the baths (Carry Your Own Cold Water). Most of the rest of the morning was taken up by catching up until Wheat Shock had to leave for a long day of wheat harvesting at a nearby farm. Trixie suspected it was because of the upcoming lunch at the commune, which was served right after he had left. ‘Served’ was the right word too, because the muffins could have been used in a tennis game, and the tossed sprout salad definitely needed a restraining order.

Trixie needed to lose a pound or two anyway. It's only for two days and nights.

Although this trip was supposed to be all rest and relaxation, Trixie quickly discovered the fly in the ointment, or in this case, flies. Goops All-Natural Hoof Soak had been on the production/activity list for the afternoon, and Oz had volunteered to help her cousin Wheat Grass and Trixie with the production of the base materials which through an alchemy of commerce would henceforth be transformed into gold. It smelled great and powerfully of various types of poo and decaying plant matter now, but after ‘processing’ for several months and aging through the winter, it would be packed around the roots of an astonishing array of plants, which would produce herbs and fruit juices in the spring, which would be turned into little bottles of Goop, and then into bits.

It was a very earth pony process, much like Trixie had left home to get away from, but with the little unicorn student chattering at her side, it was not that bad. Although Wheat Shock remained absent for a long day of wheat harvesting, Oz was more than happy to soak up whatever tidbits of magical knowledge that Trixie felt like passing on while trudging and tromping through the fertilizer process. And since it took her mind off of whatever it was that was squelching beneath her hooves anyway, as well as stopped or at least slowed Awesome Filly's constant chatter, she was happy to oblige.

No wonder Green Grass likes teaching little unicorns so much.

Teaching deserved to be fun, or at least a way to divert bothersome tasks to others. Trixie had a sneaking suspicion that Oz was unable to conceive of anything not fun, and the 'exercise' that she had devised proved that point quite well.

The little multicolored unicorn bouncing at Trixie's side was holding five rotten turnips in her magic and making them describe a somewhat wobbly circle in the air, although they dipped dangerously close to the ground whenever Oz lost her concentration, which was frequently.

“Very good,” said Trixie with a concealed grin. The planned bath, with the extra added feature of the re-dying of her coat to match her original hue, was getting closer with every minute, and she had already identified just what color she was wanting by the test stripes that Awesome Filly was wearing all over her body, much like a cross between a zebra and Rainbow Dash. Trixie was still feeling a little naked, as her cape and hat were safely back in the decaying barn that was the All-Natural Wellness Center’s version of a luxury room. Being as it was at least a room inside, Trixie had not raised a stink.

After all, the stink was all around her now.

“While juggling, a proper magician only needs to maintain her grip on each of the objects during the bottom of their trajectory,” continued Trixie as she continued to stomp the fertilizer mixture. “Twilight Sparkle has been a natural at Trixie’s lessons, and can keep well over a dozen objects in steady motion for several minutes. The key is to be consistent with your grip on — Watch out!”

Trixie hit the ground, such as it was, in a long, wet dive to avoid a stream of fast-moving turnips.

“Sorry!” Oz bounced past in a splash of semi-solid fertilizer and picked the rotten turnips out of the muck, or at least ‘some’ turnips, as there were quite a few floating around to choose from. “I wasn’t watching what I was doing and they got away. Let me try again!”

This time six turnips took flight around the young unicorn, making loops and circles as Oz flicked her magic at them. “Awesome,” said Trixie in her most encouraging tone of voice. “Keep that up and you’ll be able to catch up to Twilight in no time.”

“Radical,” breathed Oz as the whirling turnips wobbled slightly with her distraction. “Maybe next time you visit, you could bring her. I know Shocky gets all flusterpated when he talks about her. How’s she doing? Is she excited about school starting? I wish we could go to school instead of home studying here. Do you think you could visit every week? Can we send her letters like Princess Luna? Have her friends gotten their cutie marks yet? Have they gone on any more awesome adventures? Whoops!”

This time Trixie was ready for the sudden turnip storm and caught the mucky vegetables just as quickly as they shot in her direction. After juggling them for a brief moment, Trixie returned them one at a time while Oz stabilized her magic and returned to the complicated spell.

“Right now they’re all off in Fillydelphia at Funland on some sort of trip,” said Trixie, watching Oz's reaction to the distraction carefully.

“Awesome!” exclaimed Oz in a rain of turnips as her concentration shattered and the juggling turned more into a game of Dodge Veggie. “I’ve always wanted to go there! Do you think they’ll ride the Boomer?”

Trixie glanced up at the turnip impaled on her horn and shook it free. “Not a chance. Twilight is still too emotionally fragile to go on any of the rides.”

“Now keep your hooves and heads inside the car at all times, and enjoy the ride.”

49. Mirror-rorriM - Part Six

Monster had never really taken the time to examine the insides of Fear. It was just an emotion triggered by a danger, perceived or real, and resulted in a reaction. That was the way it had always been for her, at least until she had friends.

If the old Monster had ever found herself strapped into a steel car and rolling forward out of the 'loading dock' in the direction of a huge wooden mountain with a chain running up it… Well, the results would not have been pretty, and she was fairly certain there would have been fire involved. Much fire. And a crater.

The odd thing was that even though Monster was surrounded by enough fear that little crystalline bits of it wanted to materialize out of the air, there was a second emotion hammering around in her head. It felt so much like fear that she had mistaken it at first. She was torn between wanting to leap out of the car and dash away, and a burning curiosity to what the rest of the ride was going to be like. The car rattled onto the wooden mountain with a ratcheting clatter and a sharp thump before turning in an upwards direction and starting to climb. Her heart was beating so fast it felt like a hummingbird was trapped in her chest. It was exciting, terrifying, exhilarating, frightening, thrilling, chilling, and so confusing she did not know what to think.

She knew what to feel, though. Pain.

Diamond Tiara had clamped down on her foreleg with all of the strength in her little pegasus body and was trembling with her eyes closed. Even the padded restraint that held them both into the car seemed to bend slightly from her grip. Diamond had none of the exhilaration that fairly poured out of the car behind her as Featherweight and Scootaloo chattered eagerly about the ongoing ride and how awesome it was going to be. Even the spirits of the air had whipped themselves into a frenzy of joy, swirling and dancing around the climbing car with an energy that made the pennants and flags snap and pop in the wind.

It was fairly obvious that Diamond Tiara had lied about getting Aunt Fix's permission to ride the Boomer. Trixie had taught Monster several tricks to catch a liar in the act, but this lie was a needed lie that…

No, it was still wrong, even if she was accessorizing the lie by going along with it. Punishment would be needed as soon as the ride was over and Monster had learned whatever lesson she was driven to this altitude to learn. There was at least one thing that had become obvious as the car clattered and clanked up to the top of the wooden mountain, and Monster turned her head to shout back at her friends.

"Remember now! Never been on the Boomer before!"

"What?!" Diamond Tiara opened her eyes and glared at Monster. "What do you mean, you've never been on the Boomer before?"

"I haven't either!" shouted Featherweight from behind them. "The front cars are supposed to be awesome though. You get the best view of the drops."

"Drops?"

The front end of the roller coaster took that moment to edge over the top of the mountain and reveal a straight line headed to what seemed to be straight down. Diamond Tiara gave off a startled scream of pure panic, mingled with Featherweight and Scootaloo's scream of joy and Monster's strangled squawk of pain from Diamond Tiara's abrupt increase in hoof pressure. The feeling of having her foreleg almost torn out of the socket distracted Monster from the dangling sensation of being suspended over the drop, but she could hear the distinct 'whump' of her wings opening up into the cool metal back of the rollercoaster car, along with a series of 'whumps' following as the rest of the riders with wings instinctively extended their own. That is all except Diamond Tiara, whose wings still remained as closed as they could be without being glued to her orange sides.

Then the clattering stopped.

There was a moment of silence.

And everything dropped.

As much as Monster wanted to remember every single instant of the ride, it passed in a rattling and roaring blur of inverted ground and zipping wooden structures. It had to be just an optical illusion that several of the wooden beams seemed low enough that she needed to duck underneath them, but they passed in and out of her perception so fast she did not have time enough to do the trigonometric calculations to properly estimate their distance. Inertia (not gravity) pressed her against the seat with crushing force, then released its grasp to allow moments of floating before crushing her back against the seat again. From behind her, she heard Featherweight scream, "Raise your forelegs! Camera coming up!"

There was a brilliant flash-flash-flash-flash that vanished behind them, the rollercoaster cars canted into a sharp turn, and there was a rapid deceleration accompanied by a deafening hiss of compressed air with an urgent moan of discomfort from Diamond Tiara.

"Awesome!" shouted Featherweight. "Again!"

Despite his urgent pleas for a repeat trip, the attendant ponies opened the restraints and let all of the riders stagger out onto the platform. Featherweight bounded away almost immediately towards a booth labelled 'Boom Shots' while Diamond Tiara and Scootaloo made identical beelines for a trash can and buried their faces into it. Monster snatched up the bundle of stuff from the cubicle and followed, extracting out one of the Daring Doo notebooks and a mechanical pencil as she stumbled along in their direction while distracted by a far more interesting task.

Dear printcess luna! This is amazing! fear can be fun! My friends and myself went on this roolercoaster named boomer and i was really fraid but i new it wasnt dangerous and it was so exciting i want to go ride it again but i probably cant. sometimes when yoou are reallly afraid of something that isnt really what you shud be afraid of it can feel really really good after you face it—

There was a sharp pop as the tip snapped off Monster's mechanical pencil, making her take a moment to move the graphite down a little and continue in a more structured fashion. She wrote as fast as she could move the pencil before all the words escaped, adding a note that Luna was supposed to show the letter to Shining Armor and Cadence. It took several pages to complete, but Scootaloo and Diamond were still making painful noises in the trash can when she paused for her signature.

your friend,
Twilight sparkle (and good Monster)

After sending the letter (with gem attached) on to Spike, Monster regarded the rump ends of her friends… well, if she could call Diamond that. She had promised to reverse the spell if the two of them got to know each other better and if riding on the Boomer helped Monster remember. Both conditions seemed to be true, and Monster lowered her horn to release the spell again, only gently.

A haze of violet and green surrounded the two vomiting little ponies, and the spell was done. Aunt Fix would most likely take them all home now, Scootaloo to her house and Diamond to her huge stone house up on the hill. It was a small step along the path of progress. Monster had a good idea why Scootaloo could not fly and Diamond would be less annoying now that she knew what Scootaloo’s life was like. It could have been better, but it could also have been far, far worse.

Trixie said take what you can get and come back later for the rest. That sounds good now.

"How many copies of the picture do you want, Twilight!" called out Featherweight from the photo booth, pointing to a magically-projected picture of the four of them in the rollercoaster car. All of them had their hooves up in the air, although Scootaloo's were both over her greening face, and even Diamond Tiara looked a little pale.

No, Scootaloo is looking pale and Diamond Tiara has her hooves over her face.

Having the two of them swapped was getting confusing, and Monster was glad it was over now. She counted friends and family that she wanted to give the picture to so that they could see how far along the path her recovery had progressed, and added one just as a spare.

"Six," she called back. "No, eight."

"Speaking of sick," said a voice from right over her shoulder, "is that my niece over there with her face in the trash can?

It was Scootaloo's aunt. In order to make sure Quick Fix would punish the right pony, Monster could not remain silent. The story of Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara's fight and subsequent transference just poured out in an unstoppable stream. Twist and Sweetie Belle stayed quiet as she talked except to offer confirmation of the more unbelievable sections and to offer a kerchief for Monster to blow her nose when she got frustrated with a word or two that would not come out. Quick Fix just stood there with a blank expression as the words flowed, taking the occasional glance at the little ponies who had just finished throwing up in the trash can, Monster's wings, and the afternoon sun.

"It's my fault," admitted Monster with a sniff into the kerchief. "Diamond only lied to get back in her body. Go ahead and punish me."

Taking a long, deep breath, Quick Fix lifted Monster’s chin with one hoof so she could look into her eyes. Aunt Fix had nice cool blue eyes that reminded Monster of Shining Armor, right down to the concern and amused confusion that Monster could remember like a sharp thorn piercing right through her heart. "Punish you?" asked Quick Fix with a wink. She slipped the yellow cape over Monster's back and whispered into her ear. "For what? Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara have been together all day, and they haven't fought or yelled at each other or anything like I was expecting."

Monster sniffed. "It won't last. I put them back."

"Hm…" Quick Fix regarded the two other bedraggled ponies as they plodded over in front of her. "What do you two have to say for yourselves?"

"I'm sorry, Aunt Fix," said the little earth pony. "I should have known better."

"Daddy is going to sue you for every bit you own," snapped the little pegasus.

"Oh, snap," said Apple Bloom. "Zap 'em harder this time, Twilight."

Several fruitless applications of the spell later, Aunt Fix declared the problem was one which could be resolved better after a little thought and some time to rest her hooves. And a drink. Or several. There were a number of drink stands labelled on the big You Are Here map, mostly around the outside edge of Daring Doo Pavilion, and the group trudged/bounced/fluttered in that direction with various levels of enthusiasm. Quick Fix had decreed that part of the punishment for Twilight's deception was to do something she did not want to do, so it seemed a photography session was going to be included in her future whether she liked it or not. Getting their pictures taken as the Elements of Harmony did not seem to bother Featherweight one bit, although Diamond Tiara continued to complain about not having a brush to tame her wind-tangled mane.

Upon reflection, Monster could not consider the punishment actually that bad, although it still bothered her that the ponies in the amusement park knew that the six of them would be here today. There had not even been any forms to fill out for permission to use their images, which Monster had gotten to know quite well when dealing with the 5F1C lemonade business. Still, getting her picture taken a few times should not be too difficult. She had gotten quite good at sitting in one place and trying to look as if she were comfortable, although smiling was still difficult and occasionally frightened other ponies. It would at least give her the opportunity to work on why dispelling the mind-swapping spell had not worked, even though she had tried hard enough with the dispelling spell that one of the park employees had come over to see what all of the zapping noise was about and a slightly-charred Scootaloo still staggered a little while walking.

A freshly-painted sign proclaimed ‘Harmony Square’ in bright colors overhead as they lined up for various juices or frozen flavored water in the hot afternoon sun. Quick Fix was keeping a close eye on both Diamond Tiara and Scootaloo, which allowed Monster to slip into a nearby shadowed area and sip on her frozen sugar water ‘slurpie’ in relative quiet. There were a lot of little fillies and colts about her age— or her apparent age — circulating around the open plaza with parents in tow or being towed by. Behind or on top of each one was glitter from sparkling crowns and waving ‘wands,’ mixed with ‘pith’ hats and tethered ‘balloons’ in among the little ponies, and some of the older adults too. It was a chaotic seething anthill of a scene that uncomfortably reminded Monster of the changeling hive, only the earth spirits beneath her hooves did not seem to notice any changeling in the area. The spirits were unusually happy though, dancing and flowing around beneath her almost as happily as the air spirits whipping the flags into sharp snaps and pops. Their joy even seemed to be contagious, as the little ponies all seemed to be waiting for something, and all looked up at the sound of some unseen pony’s voice booming over the crowd.

“Fillies and colts of all ages! We here at Funland would like to welcome you to our afternoon exhibition where the Elements of Harmony will be available for photographs and autographs. Please form orderly lines and have your signature books ready as Funland presents, straight from Ponyville, the Elements of Harmony!”

Before Monster could get up the nerve to step out of her shadowed place of concealment, a wide gate in a nearby fence opened up and Rarity strode out. She was resplendent in a sparkling cape and dashing hat, but there was something odd about Sweetie Belle’s sister. Well, other than Monster had been almost certain that Rarity was still back in Ponyville. The unseen announcer continued his booming tones as Rainbow Dash followed Rarity out into the crowd, and then Fluttershy, who looked somewhat larger and more muscular than Monster remembered. It was not until Applejack strode out into the growing crowd of eager little ponies waving autograph books that something deep in her mind began to spit sparks all over the logical centers of her brain.

The broad-shouldered earth pony standing on the amusement park sidewalk looked a lot like Applejack, with the same cutie mark, battered hat and tied-up mane, although there was just a tiny difference in tint between the long flowing plait of yellow that came out from under the hat and the natural mane that flowed down the rest of her head, much as if some sort of artificial trickery was involved. That same trickery seemed to be applied across her cutie mark, or actually his cutie mark, as Monster realized with a cold shock.

She’s a he. Apple Bloom’s sister is a brother. Oh!

All of the little mental puzzle pieces slid together with an almost audible click. The actor who was playing Applejack was bantering away with an intense Apple Bloom, and seemed to be considering backpedding from his original open greeting to a slow crab backwards in the general direction of the wide gate labelled ‘Funland Staff Only.’ Scootaloo had cornered a different actress and was jumping up and down in huge bounds screaming ‘Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash!’ at the top of her lungs, while Diamond Tiara had sidled up to the white unicorn, who had stopped next to a sign that read ‘Temporary Elements of Harmony Manestyles and Cutie Marks, 10 bits'

The rest of her friends and a horde of other little foals surrounded the ‘Elements of Harmony,’ who were spreading out in the broad plaza, each with a park employee and a box of items by their side. Everything from plushie rabbits to plastic glowing jewelry seemed for sale and were being snapped up just as quickly as the little foals and their parents could produce the bits. ‘Fluttershy’ was even selling little plastic bird whistles, which gurgled and chirped in a way that no self-respecting bird would ever believe, while ‘Rainbow Dash’ seemed to be hocking a mixture of Elements of Harmony toys and some sort of lightning bolt pendant, marked down to half price. There was even a 'Trixie' selling floppy hats all marked in stars, and a somewhat smaller-than-Monster-expected 'Princess Celestia' striding slowly through the crowd while apparently selling nothing at all.

Still, there was something missing in the joyful crowd, despite the impressive number of bits being exchanged and the delighted shrieks of the little ponies now sporting 'Genuine Temporary Elements of Harmony Cutie Marks' or waving colorful stuffed plush toys. It was something obvious, that she should be able to see if only her mind were working correctly, but as hard as she stared out into the crowd, she could only see her friends, both young and old, although the older ones seemed slightly distorted, as if she were looking at them in a warped mirror.

She was so caught up in the moment that Monster did not hear the stealthy tread of hooves behind her until a strangely-familiar voice spoke just behind one ear.

“Hello, little one. My name is Twilight Sparkle. What’s your name?”

50. Mirror-rorriM - Part Seven

What's your name… your name… your name…

Every noise and bright light in the amusement park plaza seemed to echo and reverberate around inside Monster’s head, tying her tongue into knots and making the hammering of her heart throb in her ears until she could barely hear. Sharp shards of memories she had thought finally tamed broke through her defenses and rattled around while she stood in place and panted for breath. The voice was not only familiar, but achingly familiar, driving Monster’s memory into a whirl of colorful chaff and locking her knees in place, even when the pony behind her tapped gently on Monster’s flank and cleared her throat.

“Pardon me, but I need to get past you. The show is going to start in a few minutes, and I have to be on my mark before the… Oh, bother.”

Above the crowded plaza, a few dark clouds began to gather around the peak of an entrance to ‘Daring Doo Theatre - Courtesy of the Binghampton Beet Farmers.’ A few feeble rumbles of thunder brought everypony’s attention up to the sky, and the voice behind Monster began to get more plaintive, mixed with a gentle nudge.

“Excuse me. It’s only going to be a few minutes. Oh!”

Monster had been nudged far enough to one side that the pony behind her could squeeze past, but she stopped after just a single step. The mare was a slightly-built unicorn of a very familiar lilac hue, with a blue streaked mane cut straight across the forehead much in the same way that the photograph of the little filly Twilight Sparkle had once been. From horn to hocks, the adult pony looked identical to the artist’s drawing of ‘Twilight Sparkle’ that had shown up in the newspapers, so precise but still so wrong to Monster’s eyes. The panicked breathing that had swept over Monster almost immediately calmed to a deep stillness, a sudden burst of calm that felt of books and libraries, with unlimited hours to read and unending books to borrow. She had seen those eyes long before, somehow different but still the same after over a decade of absence.

The adult Twilight Sparkle that could have been and the filly Monster that she had become locked eyes, both ponies caught up in their reaction to each other. Twilight Sparkle lifted a hoof to her doppelganger's smaller face and hesitated for just an eyeblink, in almost exactly the same way that the dentist had when she met Monster, but then glanced down at the new t-shirt with a look of realization.

“Oh, you’re Twilight Sparkle too! That’s adorable. Here.” The actress levitated the Daring Doo notebook out of Monster’s loose grasp and signed across the bottom of a fresh sheet in large sweeping letters. “Now if I can get you to just stand here out of the way, you’re going to get the best seat in the house for our promotion. Watch this.”

‘This’ apparently was a sharp peal of thunder that echoed across the plaza, followed by a coal-black alicorn who flapped up from behind the theatre to perch on the roof. Wide dark wings still extended, ‘Nightmare Moon’ tossed her head to make her mane flow in the breeze and scowled down into the cringing audience of young ponies. The armor seemed to be fairly accurate to Monster’s vision despite a trembling that had begun in her knees and a prickling around her horn that made it difficult to concentrate, but the narrow-pupiled eyes of the actress were a bright gold instead of Luna’s soft teal.

“Hello, my precious sun-loving subjects,” called out ‘Nightmare Moon’ in a loud but somehow less than strident tone over the frightened gasps of the audience. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen your faces. Do any of you even remember my name?”

“I do!” shouted ‘Twilight Sparkle’ as she stepped forward boldly with her chin lifted up and facing the ‘alicorn’ actress on the top of the theatre. “You’re the Mare in the Moon. Nightmare Moon!”

“Correct!” declared Nightmare Moon with a less-than-convincing cackle of glee. “Enjoy this day, little ponies, for it shall be your last! The night shall last forever!”

“No it won’t, Nightmare Moon!” shouted ‘Twilight Sparkle’ as she galloped over to the rest of the actresses. And Applejack. “We’ll stop you, with the Elements of Harmony!”

“Nooo!!” shouted the dark actress as she tumbled backwards out of sight, replaced with a scattering of colorful advertising cards that showered across the crowd to the cheers and applause of the audience.

“The show starts in thirty minutes,” declared ‘Twilight Sparkle’ over the sounds of the crowd. “We’ll be signing autographs for just a few more minutes, so please make your purchases and move over to the theatre for the show.”

“That was weird,” said Diamond Tiara as she walked up to Monster a few minutes later. “And I think I can speak as an expert on weird.” She eyed Monster with a petulant frown, taking in the little bits of mane that were springing up like weeds and the tremor across her flank that made her cutie mark wave as if it were underwater. “You’re not getting sick, are you?”

“No. Thinking.”

Diamond Tiara looked as if she were going to respond, then gave a brief and pained sigh before trotting away. A few minutes later, Monster was surrounded by her friends in a colorful and deeply-needed hug that somehow had trapped Diamond in it as well, despite her protests. It took a while, even after Aunt Fix came over and watched, but eventually Monster calmed her mind back to something approaching normality and blew her nose one last time into a tissue provided by Twist.

“Ready,” she said with her head still hung low. “Train schedule. If we don’t leave now, we’ll miss one back to Ponyville.”

“Seeing that other pony really zapped your brain,” said Diamond Tiara as she produced a plastic brush labelled ‘Cadence Curlz’ and began to run it through Monster’s short mane to tame the little curled wisps that stuck out in all directions. “Do you know her?”

Another tremble of fear rippled up Monster’s flanks, across her back, and shot up her knotted neck to make her teeth chatter. It took all of her friends holding her just as tight as they could before the trembling died down enough for Monster to talk.

“Don’t know. Yes. No. Once.” The trembles returned in a somewhat muted fashion, but after a while, Quick Fix coughed into one hoof and spoke.

“Twilight, I think we should go home now. This is obviously bothering you, so—”

“No, Aunt Fix.” Diamond Tiara struggled a little among the multiple-pony hug to get some breathing space before continuing. “Twilight said her brain is all messed up, and it seems really important to her to track down any memories she has. She's afraid of whatever this is, just like the rollercoaster, but she needs to face what's bothering her or she'll never recover. There will be another train, but she may not get this opportunity again. Can’t we just stay for the show and talk to the actress afterwards? I’ll pay for the tickets and treats out of my allowance.”

Quick Fix hesitated. “You’re sure about this? All of you?” Giving in to the unanimous vote of enthusiastic nods in favor of attending the performance, as well as Twilight's hesitant nod too, Aunt Fix shook her head. “I suppose we can catch the evening train. I’ll go get the tickets if you girls will wait right here until I get back.”

“Hey!”

“And Featherweight,” added Aunt Fix.

“See,” whispered Diamond Tiara once the older pony was out of earshot. “I can be just as much a good friend as any of you blank-flanks. And you know the best part?”

“Free cotton-candy?” asked Twist.

"We get to see Rainbow Dash in action?" asked Scootaloo.

"Eating popcorn until we pop?" asked Featherweight.

“No!” Diamond Tiara tossed her head in a way that would have made her former manestyle bounce along her neck. “I got Scootaloo to pay for it.”

“I don’t get it,” said Sweetie Belle. “Aunt Fix already knows you’ve swapped brains with Scootaloo. So how are you going to get the money out of Scootaloo’s allowance?”

“Ah…” Diamond Tiara cast a despairing look at where Quick Fix was purchasing tickets.

Since they had waited so long to get their tickets, Monster and her friends wound up quite a distance from the stage, which did not bother her at all. There was something in the way the scenery on the platform looked oddly like Ponyville that disturbed her nearly as much as she had felt out in the plaza, but Monster was able to seal up the emotion inside and show only a quiet and very peaceful exterior as the music played in the background and little colts and fillies squirmed impatiently in their sun-warmed seats. The little houses and buildings on stage were wrong too. They should have been flowers, towering over the performers who all dressed in flower costumes too, and sang a foalish song about… something.

The announcer's voice did not even jar Monster out of her thoughts, but the arrival of 'Twilight Sparkle' on stage made the blizzard of mental activity speed up into a whirlwind that threatened to sweep her away. The actress sang as she danced onto the sunlit stage, sweeping around 'Ponyville' on an inspection trip before the Summer Sun Celebration. Each of the other actresses (and actor) came out to warmly greet her in their particular stanza until all of them were together for the final verse.

In a way, it was wrong, as the events of that horrible day and night had not occurred anywhere close to the way it was portrayed, but in some other way, it was right. Monster should have been Twilight Sparkle, student of Princess Celestia. She should have survived that terrible time that only existed as a blank spot in her memory, populated with brief flashes of her real parents and the terrifying white pony… Princess Celestia, rising up in front of her and trying to kill… trying to protect her from what she was becoming.

The emotional walls that Monster raised around her during the play were of adamantine strength, protecting all of the little colts and fillies from the terrible Monster who sat with them as they gazed with wonder at the brave unicorn she should have been. Each of her friends squealed with joy as Twilight Sparkle's friends overcame the obstacles that Nightmare Moon threw in front of them. Hushed shouts of "I remember that!" and "Go Rainbow Dash!" were muffled as Quick Fix admonished the noisy little fillies (and one colt), but Monster did not say a word, not even when her counterpart faced against Nightmare Moon and declared her lines at the top of her voice.

"It was a different kind of spark. I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you. The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you all are my friends! You see, Nightmare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by the… the spark, that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth element: the element of… magic!"

Far away, a dark cavern which had not seen the light of day in centuries, an immense dragon stirred fitfully from his nap, blinked his eyes, and regarded several pieces of paper a short distance away from his nose. He grunted once, but knowing that he would be unable to get back to sleep without reading them, shifted positions slowly in order to pin the edges of one paper down with one titanic claw. After a few minutes, he snorted once, then twice, before releasing a deep chortle that shook loose a few stones in his cave. By the time he reached the last page, he was laughing, although it was a low laugh that was carefully moderated to avoid blowing the small scraps of paper all around the cavern.

"Celestia," he grumbled from deep in his chest, gathering the small scraps of paper into a small pile on top of his hoard. "Catch."

In a park just outside of the Canterlot palace, Princess Celestia stood rather uncomfortably next to an ice cream vendor. She held a double-scoop of slowly melting Maple Alfalfa Crunch to her side while she engaged in a feat of diplomacy far more difficult than any she had experienced over her long rule.

"...so you see, Raspberry Fudge, the establishment of credit is an important part of any civilization. As a matter of fact, I signed the legislation that established the First Bank of Canterlot a mere ten years after the city's establishment, merging several smaller banks across Equestria into a stronger institution to cover the bonds that had been sold to cover the cost of construction of the city that we're standing on, right now."

"That's really nice, Your Highness," said the uncomfortable earth pony, dressed in an apron that read 'Yum-Yum's Ice Cream' with bold and multicolored lettering. "But I stills gotta have cash for the ice cream cone, or I'll have 'ta report ya' to the guard."

The two Royal Guard at Celestia's side shifted uncomfortably too, perhaps at the thought of what would happen to their careers if they arrested the Goddess-Diarch of Equestria for the nonpayment of a two-bit ice cream cone.

"But I don't have the bits right now," said Celestia, prevented from a most un-princesslike whine by the smallest of margins. "I'm temporarily at a point in my income stream where I'm lacking fluid capital."

"You forgot your purse?" asked the young earth pony with a puzzled look.

"No," said Celestia, taking off her Yoke of Office and showing him the empty pocket inside (and also incidentally scandalizing several nearby ponies who had never seen the Princess of the Sun naked). "I normally carry some spending bits for special occasions, like the last time I bought a box of Filly Scout cookies a few decades ago, but—"

Whatever Celestia was about to say was cut off by a sharp twinge in the aether that shot an agonizing pain right down her neck and barely allowed her enough warning to turn her head to one side so that the young earth pony was not buried under a cascade of gold coins, topped with a few fluttering pieces of Luna's delayed mail.

Day was the time for Princesses of the Night to rest, but this afternoon had little comfort for Luna. She had tossed and turned for what seemed like hours with the oppressive heat of the summer sun beating down on the castle despite any number of thick curtains and blinds to block out the light. Darkness was hours away, each second ticking away with the surly reluctance of a dripping syrup bottle, until a sudden surge of emotion had driven her out from under the silk sheets to stand panting in panic in the middle of the granite tile floor.

There was no use in attempting to return to slumber. Even a trip to the Royal Baths to spend time in the icy waters that poured directly from the melting snow atop the Canter range did not rid her of that itchy feeling between her shoulders and the damp sweat that continued to crawl under her coat like fleas. She had just gotten dried off as much as she could and left the baths when she encountered her sister trotting the other way with a smile on her face and a certain happy skip to her pace.

"Luna! I had no idea you were up, or I would have brought your letters earlier."

Dozens of curled pieces of paper with writing floated in Celestia's wake, with a set of 'From the desk of Daring Doo' letters floating in front of her, one of which Celestia pointed to with a happy smile. "It seems our timid little Twilight Sparkle is making great strides in her recovery. She even rode a ride called 'The Boomer' in Funland."

"Funland?" The letter fairly ripped itself out of Celestia's grasp to hover in front of Luna, who scanned through it at lightning speed. "Oh, no."

"What is it, Luna?" Celestia moved to look over her sister's shoulder while re-reading the scribbled letter with every grammatically-incorrect line and misspelling indicating the overwhelming emotion that had gripped the young alicorn.

"You know my concern over young Twilight Sparkle," started Luna, flipping from one page to another so swiftly that Celestia could not keep up. "Princess Cadence hath researched many aspects of her youth before her traumatic experience began, and was quite willing to share her experiences, along with her extensive files. Here." One silver-clad hoof pointed at a letter. "Young Twilight knoweth of her brush with thy student, the annoying one, but here Twilight Sparkle wrote of an encounter with one of her youthful friends which she did not even recognize. And here too," added Luna with another point of her hoof.

"That's… disturbing, Luna." Celestia scanned down the letter describing Twilight's peaceful afternoon in the park, doing nothing except for listening to a local musician for hours on end. "It's a much larger gap in her memory than I expected. Those five little fillies used to be inseparable. I may have even…" Celestia hesitated, then blurted out the rest in one long breath. "...hoped that they would remain friends until you returned, so they could somehow free you from Nightmare Moon with the Elements of Harmony."

Luna's intense perusal of the floating letters around her slowed, then came to a complete stop as she gave a quick nuzzle for her bigger sister. "Cheater."

"The stakes were very high," said Celestia with a quiet sniff. "The highest, even. If you don't cheat, you're not trying." She silently read over Luna's shoulder for a few minutes before asking, "So, what's so bad about Twilight going to Funland?"

"Not what," said Luna. "Who."

The actors and actresses danced around the outdoor stage in the final musical number, singing a joyous song of redemption and reunification between the two royal sisters, but Monster was years and miles away in her mind where small fillies and colts dressed in colourful flower costumes stood on a indoor small stage and sang about pollination. The fronds of a homemade Lanicera caprifolium stretched up above her, colored exactly the way Cadence had showed her in the encyclopedia of flowers, as well as each of the other little ponies in her school in their own somewhat less accurate costumes.

All except for her best friend.

The frilly wings of the actias luna costume fairly floated behind the little unicorn as she leapt and pirouetted across the stage to the tinny sound of a piano, tracing a path of breathless fascination to the watching crowd of parents. The faint violet glow that surrounded her was supposed to just be an illumination spell to help the audience, something a young unicorn should be able to do even if they had not gotten their cutie mark yet, but instead it seemed to bear her up during her leaps across the stage and brought the sound of her sweet voice to even the furthest corner of the school auditorium.

At the end of the dance, as she floated down to the front of the stage to the loud applause of all the ponies at the school, Twilight Sparkle could see the brilliant flash that burst from her flank as a crescent moon with three stars appeared.

It was a memory that she had sealed away far beneath the damage in her mind, determined never to think of it again, but now the faces of her foalhood friends burst back into her memories just as fresh as the days they had spent together in Canterlot. Monster could see the startled flicker of recognition in Minuette's eyes when she first got seated in the dentist's chair. The missing notes from Lyra when she found her unexpected audience peering out at her from the bottom of a bush in Ponyville's park. The hesitant faces of Lemon Hearts and Twinkleshine peering out of the parked train while the rest of Monster's family stood nervously on the train loading dock.

The beating sun on Monster's shoulders burnt like fire, far gentler and kinder than the blazing stream of solar plasma she had clutched at for power during her magical surge. Monster had thought fire had burned her friends and family to death and that false memory had consumed her soul with a raging madness that could not be contained, destroying everything she had ever touched. Rage had filled the aching hole in her heart, a poor substitute for their love but the only one she had. Now that the rage and fire had burned down to simmering embers, she had new friends who had moved into her heart and loved her just as much. Her new friends claimed to know the danger they put themselves in, but her old friends had been caught unaware by her transformation into a destructive monster and nearly killed by her own insanity.

There was nothing Monster could do to help them heal from the injuries she had done to them, but despite that, Minuette had willingly worked on her teeth, and Lyra had even invited her to sit on the bench next to her in that horribly uncomfortable position and try to strum on the harp. They knew what had happened to their former friend and accepted it. They had overcome the pain Monster had inflicted on them, and returned friendship. In the middle of the chaotic blur of returning memories, Monster clung to that frail thought like a life vest in a hurricane. Despite that, when the audience greeted the end of the play with rousing applause, all of the pain surged up inside and swallowed her. The thundering applause and whoops of joy from her friends resonated around the stage as the actors and actresses came out to make their final bow, but Monster did not see it.

She was gone, with only the faint sheen of cloven concrete remaining where her teleportation spell had sheared away the top layer of her seat during her escape.

51 - Mirror-rorriM - Part Eight

As much as Doc loved being in the center of a group of happy fans, she was more than happy enough to head for the staff gate with the rest of the actresses when the announcement ending the autograph session blared out over the speakers. She smiled and waved while standing between Midnight Sun and Dust Storm in the warm sunlight, calling out, “That’s all for now, everypony. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna will be back out for pictures and autographs an hour before this evening’s performance, as will the rest of the Elements of Harmony. We hope you have an exciting day at Funland, and make some friends like I did. Have a fun day!”

Doc continued to smile and wave as the gates swung closed, feeling that phantom pain in her shoulder where her leg was going to fall off any day now and her face freeze into a permanent smile. But she kept smiling and waving until the gate thudded closed and both ‘princesses’ to either side of her let out matching deep sighs.

“Whoo, thees hes beee a lång dey,” exclaimed Midnight Sun, switching to her Svedish accent with a vengeance as a way of coping with ‘Celestiaizing’ every word for the last several hours. She shook her head and took off the Celestia wig/horn/crown prop with one hoof, scratching away at the top of her stubby natural blonde mane. “Hoo does she-a stund thees theeng all dagen? Eeet itches something fierce.”

“Dearest sister in spirit,” said Dust, placing one silver-clad hoof on the Svedish actress, “‘itching’ does not begin to describe what I have to do to my beautiful wings. Deal.” Dust Storm reached back with her teeth and subtly adjusted the dark spellband around the base of her wings that generated the ‘feathers’ illusion over her natural batlike wings.

“No itching here, just don’t get in front of me for the bathroom!” called out Applejack, headed that way at a rapid trot.

The sleek bodysuit that he wore to look more female was always a pain to get in and out of, and Radiance followed his hoofsteps for a few paces in order to call out her customary invitation to assist with the dressing and undressing of the shy stallion. When she returned, giggling uncontrollably, Doc could not help but give her a discouraging look. "Really, Rad? I thought we had discussed this."

"Oh, but I just couldn't resist, darling!" Radiance did that little hoof-flip thing that made her look so sophisticated, even though Doc knew she had never gotten any further up the social ladder than her manestyling booth at the amusement park before being hired for this new gig. "After that little filly cornered him this afternoon and kept trying to look between his legs, I thought I would just die laughing."

"There was a whole group of them," said Spectrum after taking a deep drink out of her insulated mug of lemonade, monogramed, of course, with her former Wonderbolts Flight Number. "Had this little earth pony filly bouncing up and down in front of me like a rubber ball most of the time we were out there. Made it really easy to get into character. Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash!" She chuckled before taking another drink. "I thought being in the Wonderbolts was going to bring me fans. Turns out all I needed was to go on medical leave and apply enough manedye."

The whole staff room echoed with laughter at that, Cotton Candy laughing the most of all. "This is the greatest gig ever, Doc. I mean I thought running Candyland was great, but this is greater great! It's like supergreat!"

The laughter was contagious, and Doc let herself be swept along with it until Budgie tapped her front hooves together and cleared her throat. "Um. There's still room for improvement, girls."

"Hey!" echoed out of the bathroom.

"And Applejack," continued Budgie. "Midnight Sun, you did a wonderful job with your Canterlot accent this time, but there was just a teensy little bit of Svedish in that ending line. Princess Celestia always paces her words without rushing. Tricks, you need… Tricks?"

Doc shrugged. "She's out doing the puppet show. I'm more worried about Dust. Where did she go?"

The jovial atmosphere of the staff room calmed down at once as everypony looked around for the missing mare. Even Midnight looked unwilling to say what needed to be said, so Doc continued, "Dust, can you hear me?"

"I'm getting some gum out of my mane," filtered Dust Storm's voice out of a nearby closed door.

It took a deep breath and the realization that nopony else was going to breach the subject before Doc swallowed once and spoke up. "Your act stunk, DS. You just aren't projecting enough into either Nightmare Moon or Princess Luna. I know you're all 'Method Acting' and such, but the little fillies out in the audience didn't scream or anything when you made your appearance."

"It's a little bright out for a good Nightmare Moon," said Budgie apologetically. "I never could get a good performance out of my nocturnal birds and bats around noon when I was doing the pet shows."

"That's different," said Doc. "Dust isn’t sleepy or anything. She's just not putting her whole self into the act."

The resulting uncomfortable silence was broken by a firm knocking at the staff room door, and Spectrum darted over to open it up, although immediately afterwards, she took a step backwards and let out a, "Whoa, Dusty! Now that is more like it!"

Princess Luna stepped through the door with a measured tread and her head lifted proudly in the noble posture that Dust was so good at. The flowing mane enchantment that she had been having so much trouble with was working perfectly, appearing as a wave of flowing darkness sweeping down her neck, coiling and twisting as if it were alive with every step and filling the room with a sudden chill that raised goosepimples up Doc’s neck. The steady clip-clop of metal shoes ringing on the tile floor paused as ‘Luna’ cast her gaze once around the room, cleared her throat, and began to speak.

"Greetings, thespians."

"I ain't no thespian!" called out Applejack from the bathroom. "I like mares!"

"Whoa, mama!" declared Radiance with an extended hoof and a practiced squint. "Dust, you are rocking that mane enchantment. Did you find somepony to spruce it up? Because that's a whole lot better than I ever could get that wig to glow."

'Luna' cocked her head to the side and looked at Radiance with a tense frown. "We are not thy mother, but if we were, we would encourage you to show proper respect to thy Princess of the Night."

Doc paused with her mouth open to speak and her tongue drying into a dusty powder as realization soaked in. This pony was taller than Dust Storm. Her feathered wings were real, as was her long horn. The rippling and curling mane of stellar darkness, likewise. The Princesses did not travel away from Canterlot except for very important reasons.

A play that portrayed Princess Luna as Nightmare Moon could be considered such.

"Finally!" exclaimed Dust Storm as she stalked out of the dressing room with a wet washcloth in one hoof. "I think I got most of the gum out of the wig, but—"

'Princess Luna' came to a dead halt and stared at Princess Luna.

All of the rest of the ponies in the room stared at Princess Luna. And then stared at 'Princess Luna.' It might have gone on far longer if six little ponies had not dashed into the room and came to a skidding halt in front of Doc.

"Hi!" declared the little earth pony filly in the lead. "This is Scootaloo… No, that’s Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Featherweight, Twist and I'm Apple Bloom. Have you seen Twilight Sparkle?"

"I'm Twilight Sparkle," said Doc reflexively. "And you little fillies shouldn't be back here. This is for cast members only." Her eyes traced upwards to meet the amused gaze of the princess Doc had never expected to meet. "Of course, we may be willing to make an exception."

"No! We need to find the real Twilight Sparkle," declared the little earth pony, who Doc suddenly noticed was wearing a familiar golden necklace with a gem in it, as were all of her little friends. They were most definitely not the plastic props used during the play, or even the glittery toys sold outside. They looked frighteningly real, and Doc's stomach plunged into her hooves as she realized just exactly what this possibility meant in conjunction with Princess Luna's presence.

As opposed to the normal pony, Doc had spent considerable time over the last ten years collecting every single scrap of information about the ‘Everfree Monster’ that had leaked out from speculative news articles and tabloid fictional accounts. She even subscribed to the Ponyville Gazette and the Foal Free Press to feed her obsessive curiosity about the destructive activities of her former friend, although Doc had never gotten any closer to Ponyville than the city limits of Fillydelphia. Acquiring every scrap of information about Twilight Sparkle’s fate had been a habit which she never broke, despite many, many waverings. She both wanted and was terrified about actually finding out what had really happened at the disastrous school entrance exam. Her years of research had been an unexpected bonus when Princess Luna had returned and the colorful story of her redemption at the hooves of Twilight Sparkle and her friends had burst into the newspapers.

It was a lie, of course. Doc could see that effortlessly. As much as she wanted to book an immediate ticket to Ponyville and see Twilight Sparkle with her own eyes, she had been too much of a coward to face her former friend again, for fear that years of therapy and recovery would be unwound in an instant.

Instead, she had taken the position of Twilight Sparkle in ‘The Return of Nightmare Moon’ performance without even an audition. The dialogue had been trivial to rewrite, portraying her friend much as Doc had imagined her over the years, and the rest of the actresses had just fallen into their roles like pieces in a puzzle. There had still been something so wrong about the play that she had written dozens of letters to her former friend Lyra in Ponyville asking for inside information, each one of which she had crumpled up and thrown away instead of sending. She was still running away from the truth just the same way as her parents had run away from Canterlot.

She was a coward. Twilight Sparkle was a heroine. Every day when she stepped out among the little ponies, she could be that Twilight Sparkle. She could be the secret student of Princess Celestia, strong enough to stand up to Nightmare Moon, compassionate enough to make five wonderful friends at every showing, wise enough to be able to use the Element of Magic.

If what the little earth pony was saying was really true, and if the noble alicorn standing just a few hooves away was really Princess Luna, and if the little pony she had seen just a few hours ago was really Twilight Sparkle…

There had been suspicious winglike lumps under Twilight Sparkle’s yellow cloak that had twitched while Doc had signed the autograph. Wings like a newborn alicorn would have. They had been easy to overlook at the time. They were horribly obvious in reflection, giving Doc a very short line of logic to follow to a very unsettling conclusion.

Before Princess Luna's return, Twilight Sparkle had been a broken unicorn living in the Everfree Forest.

After Princess Luna's return, Twilight Sparkle was a young alicorn, with five friends.

Twilight Sparkle had unmistakably been the most powerful magical unicorn in Equestria. Briefly.

The Element of Magic was one of a set of six artifacts that had once sent Princess Luna to exile in the moon, and now had purged her of the taint of Nightmare Moon.

The five other Elements each rested comfortably on the necks of the five little ponies that Apple Bloom had introduced.

Only one was missing.

The prop Element of Magic that sat on top of Doc's head suddenly felt extremely heavy.

"Our friend, Twilight!" exclaimed Apple Bloom. "She's just like you, only younger. Well, not younger. She looks younger. But she's not."

"I don't know what you mean," lied Doc, backing up as the little pony stalked forward. "I saw your little friend earlier this afternoon, but I don't know where she went."

"She knows you," said Apple Bloom with a determined glint in her eyes as she continued to advance. "And we don't. We've been with her ever since she saved Princess Luna, an' she ain't never had no other pony see her in the Everfree Forest, so that means you knew her when she was little, just like us."

"I don't know where your friend is!" Doc felt her rear hit the wall of the staff room and she reared up, knocking the prop Element of Magic off her head and onto the floor with the bright chime of pot metal on tile. Panic had almost closed up her throat as she shouted, "I knew a pony named Twilight Sparkle, but that was a long time ago! We were friends!"

Apple Bloom frowned up at the much taller and older pony. It seemed odd to feel so intimidated by the little earth pony, but Doc's knees shook even as the rest of the adult ponies crowded in closer for support.

"Just a moment, young miss," said Radiance, pushing Apple Bloom back with her magic. "Doc is my friend too, and you're frightening her."

"I'm afraid we're going to have to ask you to leave," said Spectrum, although with an oddly-subservient glance at the Royal Diarch in the room. "Please?"

"Alright, what's going on here?" said Applejack, stepping out of the bathroom door and looking between the two Princess Lunas. He hesitated for a moment and repeated himself. "Seriously, Doc. What's going on? Are you auditioning off Dusk's spot?"

Budgie stepped forward and pressed a muscular yellow wing up against Apple Bloom's chest. "You're frightening our friend, and that won't help you find your friend."

"Indeed." Princess Luna's magic surrounded Apple Bloom and lifted her away from Doc, although the calm teal gaze that locked with Doc's wide eyes did not calm her down. "Children, she is quite correct. Frightening her will not help us locate Twilight Sparkle. We shall continue our search. Please accept our apologies, Moondancer. Or would you prefer to be called Doc instead of your given name?"

It had been several years since she had used that name. 'Moondancer' had been a friend of Twilight Sparkle, and every time she had used the name, the memories of that day returned. She had tried other names, then her initials, but 'Doc' had stuck when everypony at the dance academy combined the initials MD with her natural study habits, so Doc she had become.

Doc nodded tensely, looking at the stressed little ponies all wearing their golden Elements of Harmony. They looked so frightened at missing their friend and terribly worried about what had happened to her that it struck a chord with the fear she had felt so many years ago in Canterlot when the ground shook and the burning heat radiated through Shining Armor's shield spell. A thick scab of denial had been pasted across Doc's heart ever since the day when she had been told that Twilight Sparkle was not only responsible for the destruction, but was also dead. Moondancer had known it was a lie. Princess Cadence had foalsat all of Twilight Sparkle's friends, and Moondancer could see the desperate hope in the Alicorn of Love's eyes. Cadence would be willing to pour out her life, knowing beyond doubt that her friend could be rescued despite the monster she had become. The realization was far more than Moondancer's little filly mind could comprehend at that time.

That terrified little filly no longer existed. She was an adult now. Twilight Sparkle had been lost to her once. She would not lose her a second time, and Moondancer called out as Princess Luna turned to leave.

"Wait."

She shuffled forward, trying not to look at the accusing little eyes of Twilight Sparkle's frightened friends. "It's b-been a long time. I w-was in the waiting r-room at the s-school after the entrance exam when…" Moondancer ground to a halt, trying to phrase the events in a way that would not traumatize the little ponies as she had been.

"Twilight l-lost control of her magic," said Sweetie Belle, with just a tiny hitch in her melodic voice as if she had been imagining the same thing happening to her for some time. "She had a Surge, far worse than any student had ever had at the school. It grew exponentially, drawing more and more on her magic until she panicked and grabbed the sun away from Princess Celestia. It… was very bad." A ripple of fear traveled down the little filly's back, but she pressed on. "You didn't see her the way we did. Ten years afterwards, she was still a mass of scar tissue with the instincts of an animal. The power almost killed her, melted down the whole school tower and destroyed everything."

"Almost everything," whispered Moondancer. "Shining Armor was there for us. He used his shield spell to save everypony in the room. The ground was bucking so hard that all of us were thrown around, but he gathered us to him and…"

Moondancer blew her nose on a tissue that Twist gave her. "I could see the molten rock flowing down the spell," she continued. "He was so strong and we were all so weak. After we were rescued, I couldn't go back. My parents moved to Maresachusetts and I took acting lessons. Anything to keep from having to face that again."

"She is out there somewhere," said Luna. "Just as frightened of you as you were of her. Fear can be a terrible master if we permit it, but to overcome fear is to understand yourself. Do you understand?"

"I think so." Moondancer straightened up and floated the prop Element of Magic off the floor to hover in front of her. "The Elements are supposed to have a very strong bond, just like the ponies who bear them. If Twilight Sparkle is hiding out there, maybe we can use them to find her."

Luna nodded. "She hath evaded every form of scrying which we have tried, save one." The real Element of Magic floated out from behind the Princess of the Night and hovered next to the prop. "Once touched by the Elements, you can never be free of their touch. We held Magic once, but we foully betrayed it, and can never use its power again. You must be cautious." Luna lowered her voice. "Trixie used it last, and it may still resent that."

Moondancer smiled a little. "I remember Trixie. I'll risk it."

She took the heavy golden crown out of Luna's magic and lifted it in the air, just as she had done with the prop for several weeks worth of performances now. For an ancient device that had once imprisoned a Princess in the moon for a thousand years, it felt remarkably ordinary, even dull. It was heavier than the prop and somewhat smaller, much as if it had molded itself to the head of her friend, but Moondancer did not feel anything unusual when she placed it on her head and nestled it up just behind her horn.

"So. Now what? Just concentrate?" Moondancer took a deep breath as she closed her eyes, still feeling the cool gaze of Princess Luna sweeping over her. A princess. Even after having been foalsat by Princess Cadence so many years ago and having actually met Princess Celestia several times, Moondancer's heart still trembled with uncertainty at the idea that she was worthy enough to do this. The Element of Magic effortlessly swallowed up the thin stream of power that she focused into it, like water vanishing down a drain without any other indication that it was working. Even increasing the amount of magic up to the maximum she was able to handle still only resulted in the ancient artifact only shifting slightly against her horn, and the slightest sensation of itching around her ears, although that could have just been embarassment.

Moondancer gritted her teeth and pushed on her magic harder than she had ever tried before, determined to get at least some sort of reaction, but nothing.

"Twilight," she muttered from between clenched teeth. "Say something, Twilight. I know you're out there. I'm sorry I wasn't there when you needed me. I don't know why you're afraid of me. I just want you to come back. Please?"

The outside world seemed to fade in and out as Moondancer continued to concentrate. A trickle of sweat running down her forehead became a solid stream. At least there was some response to her efforts, as she could hear the faint pop and crackle of sparks, as well as the sharp stinging pains as they occasionally drifted back to land on her back.

Something was happening. It danced at the tips of her senses as a dancer leaping and cavorting through the sky with thousands of dancers to its side in an immortal expression of mindless joy. It stirred in the depths of her soul, lighting the darkness that had coiled around her for so long it had nearly made her sleep into oblivion. The cool touch of calm permeated her entire self as she drifted beneath the joyous stars, lifting her voice in the night to calm their fears and rest their worries. It lit her world with blazing points of light that stirred memories thought long gone and memories she never had.

A bed, filled to the limit with giggling little unicorn fillies as a soft-spoken alicorn tried to read them a bedtime story.

A friend, running through the chemistry lab with a flask somehow impossibly stuck on her head.

A room filled with books and notes as five little friends bent feverishly over their last-minute studying for the upcoming exam.

The flow of rainbows through her body, triggering powers she could not control.

A spark of light and power that floated too near and was consumed to fuel her deadly spell.

The agonizing sensation of being totally alone.

The darkness rolling in to consume her.

A single familiar voice.

“Not me. They will say we saved your daughter.”

Moondancer struggled with a tantalizing sensation of being just barely out of reach of her friend, and all of the stretching she could do would not shed light on that distant pool of shadow. Then she felt the warmth of a shoulder pressed into hers and the unmistakable murmur of Applejack's voice, encouraging her to greater effort. The warm brush of Budgie's wing across her back. The soft headbut from Spectrum. The press of her friends all around her grew as the light inside swelled, brighter and brighter until it illuminated a small, cringing shape, trying to hide behind some cleaning supplies.

"Twilight?" Moondancer extended her 'hoof' in the strange shadowless world that surrounded her on all sides. "I'm not afraid of you, Twilight."

"I'm not Twilight," whispered the shape, becoming more indistinct as she gathered shadows around herself. "I'm a monster. A terrible, bad monster that everypony should be afraid of."

"Monsters don't have friends." Moondancer closed her eyes, feeling through the unseen corners and joints in this place where physical laws seemed not to apply. There was something there, an image or memory that called out to be unleashed, and when Moondancer finally touched it, she could see all of Twilight's little friends, with their golden Elements around their necks and facing a tall and terrible monster. Rainbow light cascaded off of a battered and bloody Twilight Sparkle, who faced her foe with head and horn lifted proudly.

“My name is Twilight Sparkle. And you will not harm my friends!”

The world seemed to crash back in on Moondancer with an immense roar, throwing her into the floor with all of her friends in a large pile. But for one magic moment, she did not even notice anything in the staff room. All she could do was to hold onto a little violet alicorn who was clamped around her neck, sobbing incoherently.

Trixie took a sharp breath and abruptly stopped stomping in the 'fertilizer' pit. She looked around the run-down commune with her head slightly cocked to one side and listened before shaking her head and the few scraggly bits of her original mane that were left. Her head itched fiercely, but she was not about to try scratching it with this much compost on her hooves.

"What's wrong?" asked Oz, looking around much like Trixie had done, only with more goop and fragments of rotten turnips on her multicolored coat. "Are you looking for the creek so we can get this all washed off? Since we're done with the composting, I wanted to show you what I've learned with water magic. I can almost maintain a self-supporting sphere now, as long as I'm not distracted and—"

"Nothing's wrong," said Trixie, interrupting the teenaged unicorn before she wound up talking for the next hour. "I just got the weirdest feeling for a moment, like a pat on the head and a kick in the tail at the same time." She shook her head again and started trotting in the direction of the stream. "Come on. Let's go to the creek and get rinsed off. I'll show you how to really make water bubbles."

The ponypile of young and old ponies in the staff room had gone on for some time, with laughing and chattering that filled the room to near bursting with joyous noise. Luna watched from a distance, remaining totally silent and remote, unnoticed by every pony in the room as she quietly closed the door and turned to leave.

Only to find herself nose to nose with… herself.

"P-princess L-luna?" The stammering filly dressed as Princess Luna watched Luna with wide, golden eyes. She was obviously terrified, but to her credit, she did not look away or lower her head. "M-my name is D-dust Storm. I-I'm one of your—"

"One of my Nocturne, of course," said Luna, swallowing a lump the size of a mountain. She could remember Dust Storm, a loyal mare who had been one of her most trusted confidants. Her broad feathered wings had paced Nightmare Moon as they flew to the ancient Winter Castle, and had been just as broad and dark when she had been transformed into one of her nocturnal pegasi.

Right before Nightmare Moon had killed her, along with every other friend and supporter Luna had known. The memories were painfully recent, and the ghosts of Nightmare's victims seemed to press in all around her.

"Speak, child," said Luna through lips thinned with tension. "We have duties we must return to."

"I w-was just wondering if we could talk for a while," said Dust in one long cascade of words that would not stop. "I just haven't been able to get into my role as… you or Nightmare Moon here and I was hoping you could tell me how to be you better. Please."

"Nightmare Moon was an abomination, not fit to be praised by the youth of Equestria," scowled Luna. "I scarcely think it appropriate that I teach you how to bring the darkness upon your soul as I did to myself."

"Yourself?" Those golden eyes blinked in confusion. "I t-thought you were attacked and taken over."

"Nay." Luna looked away from those entrancing golden eyes, finding a dusty corner of the corridor a much more comforting place to look.

"I… see."

"You see, do you?" Luna looked back up into the startled gaze of the actress. "Do you see the guilt I wear upon my shoulders from the blood that I shed simply because of my own bloated ego? Do you see my former friends, loyal servants, and loves that I slayed during my insanity? Can you understand the pain that I go through every day in fear of losing my will and summoning the Nightmare to consume my soul again?" Luna abruptly turned to depart. "Begone from me. Go caper and prance among the youth, making merry of my greatest shame."

"B-but Celestia! She must have known you were coming back. All of us knew you were returning. We…" Dust Storm trailed off, but picked up as Luna opened the door to the outside. "P-princess of the Moon. Your subject hereby requests an audience with you about issues of the greatest importance."

Princess Luna stopped. "Stop," she whispered, as the ghosts drew near and a warm breeze from outside evaporated the thin film of sweat that had suddenly appeared across her back. "You know not what you ask of me."

"I ask you to listen. That is all."

"No. We shall not." Luna had barely taken an unsteady step when Dust's voice sounded again, almost dead and dry against the sounds of the amusement park outside that filtered through the open door.

“By ties of blood and bone, we are your subjects. Your magic created us, and we live to serve your will. We are bone of your bone, flesh of your flesh, and we do as you command. A second time we call out to you, hear our plea.”

Luna stopped again with her head bowed low and the slow roll of stars through her mane almost stationary. "Speak," she said in a husky whisper.

"Face me. Please," added Dust.

Luna shifted in position as the door swung closed behind her, remaining sealed in an indigo magic much the same way as the door behind Dust Storm had just sealed itself. Ever so slowly, she raised her head until she was looking at the hesitant actress. After a period of silent observation, Luna cleared her throat and said, "If you did not bear the name of my old friend, I would not heed thy words. Speak as she would have, with your head raised proudly and your heart displayed for all."

The actress seemed to draw comfort from the words, raising her head as requested and facing Luna without nearly as much fear as she had shown earlier. "Princess Celestia preserved the story of the Mare in the Moon for a good reason. As foals, we learned that facing our fears was difficult, but held rewards. Then, it was candy. Now as adults, we face our fears in new ways. I feared taking this role, because I did not believe I could do justice to your power and majesty. Moondancer remembered Twilight Sparkle and feared what she had done, but whenever she picked up that crown and put on the cutie mark makeup, she faced her fears and conquered them. Even now, she sits in the other room with the friend who caused her such pain, and they were laughing about their past." Dust Storm swallowed, but did not look away from Luna's piercing gaze. "You are running away from Nightmare Moon instead of facing her and defeating her."

"Nightmare Moon is dead," said Luna flatly. "Twilight Sparkle killed her."

"Nightmare Moon is alive," said Dust Storm. "She lives in your heart. You must face her and defeat her, over and over, before you can truly say she is dead."

Princess Luna stood silently, staring at the actress as if she were looking back over the centuries at her old friend, now long gone to dust. "There is wisdom in your words," she admitted after a while. "We would not have accepted such from any other than mine own self, I suppose." The Princess of the Moon raised one eyebrow and shook her head with a smile. "Nay, 'tis as if my friend from so long ago didst speak to me through you. I had considered her wise council lost to the ages."

"My mother always told me that you can never lose a friend," said Dust. "All you can do is misplace them for a time."

"Quite true." Princess Luna crept back to the staff room door and cracked it open briefly before closing it again. "The rediscovery of one's friends is a process filled with tears and laughter, it seems. Tis a pity the facing of my greatest shame cannot be accomplished so easily."

"I have… an idea," said Dust Storm.

52 - Mirror-rorriM - Part Nine

Author’s Note: For those of you who may have forgotten in the (counts days, swears slightly) three months since I’ve updated this ongoing story, during this arc, Monster has A) managed to mind-swap Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara, B) kept this a secret from most of the big ponies in Ponyville, C) tagged along with the whole crew as they went to Fillydelphia for ‘Scootaloo’s’ wing-doctor appointment, D) and met Moondancer at the Funland amusement park, a traumatic event for both of them, but which turned out well. It is now approaching evening, and Princess Luna has been talked into replacing Dust Storm as the actress who plays Princess Luna in the amusement park’s production of The Elements of Harmony (two shows a day, three on weekends). Nothing could possibly go wrong with this, could it? Let’s watch.

Amusement parks have several techniques for preparing the crowds for departure after milking as many bits out of them as possible. They can have fireworks, or some sort of extravagant show around the park entrance, but Funland Park(LLC) believed in leaving the little colts and fillies excited, upbeat, and eager to return once the parents had accumulated enough bits. Over the years they had experimented with many of the standard presentations, but recently they had discovered The Elements of Harmony was an excellent way to get the smaller ponies all ready to leave and happy to spread the word among their diminutive peers about their experience.

Plus, it could be considered an educational exposure to the story behind Equestria’s newest princess, or at least the one ponies knew about.

This evening as the blazing sun approached the horizon and older ponies began to subtly nudge their progeny towards the front gates, a series of dark clouds began to form far above Daring Do plaza. The ominous clouds gathered slowly at first, then more rapidly, accompanied with low rumbles of thunder and faint flashes of light in the sky. It could have been considered some sort of natural phenomena, except for the public address system playing a similarly ominous musical number, which began to build in volume also.

“The staff and management of Funland Park(LLC) would like to welcome a very special guest for this evening’s performance of The Elements of Harmony,” called out the announcer over the sound of the music and the grumble of thunder in the dark clouds which began to blot out the crimson sunset. “Direct from Canterlot, our own Princess of the Night, put your hooves together and welcome—”

A blinding bolt of lightning flashed downward from the low clouds, striking the top of the tallest arch in the plaza with a burst of light and crash of thunder, making everypony look away for a moment. When they looked back, a tall and considerably armored dark alicorn was standing on top of the arch, her wings outstretched and peals of villainous laughter sweeping over the crowd of both big and little ponies.

“Greetings, my sun-loving subjects,” she cackled as the wind began to pick up in small gusts. “It has been so long since I have seen your faces. Can any of you even remember my name?”

“P’ncess Luna!” called up one little filly.

“The Candy Princess!” called up several others.

A series of giggles swept around the watching ponies until ‘Twilight Sparkle’ stepped forward out of the crowd and raised her voice. “I do!” she called out with her head held high and a determined set to her jaw. “You’re the Mare in the Moon. Nightmare Moon!”

“Correct!” declared Nightmare Moon with a terrifying cackle of glee that had several of the little ponies in the crowd screaming in panic. She paused before delivering her next line, lowering her regal head and looking almost straight down at a small filly under the arch who had scrambled under her mother for concealment. “You do know this is just a play?” whispered Luna, sounding terribly guilty and not very quiet.

The little pony poked her head out from under her mother with some encouragement and looked up at the towering alicorn far above her. “Yes,” she whispered in a quiet voice which somehow could be heard all around the crowd. “Will there be candy afterwards?”

“Of course,” whispered Luna back, somehow also being able to be heard all across the crowd, most probably due to the low blue glow coming from her horn. “Everypony gets candy after the play is over.”

“Yea!” declared the little pony in a somewhat louder whisper.

“Good, good,” murmured Luna, lifting up a hoof and looking at a small scrap of paper under it. “Now where was I?”

“Correct!” called out a little pony in the crowd.

“Ah, yes,” said Luna, returning to her previous position as the lightning crashed behind her and the wind whipped her mane into a frenzy. “Correct! Enjoy this day, little ponies, for it shall be your last! The night shall last forever!”

“No it won’t, Nightmare Moon!” shouted ‘Twilight Sparkle’ as the rest of her friends gathered around her in the plaza. “We’ll stop you, with the Elements of Harmony!”

“Noooo!!” shouted ‘Nightmare Moon’ as a rainbow of light shot up into the air and struck the posturing dark alicorn. As she vanished, the cheering audience found a scattering of advertisement cards fluttering down from her former location, each card having a small beet-flavored candy or two attached to them as well as a discount coupon for the upcoming evening show.

Far outside of the mad scramble for cards and candy, by the very edge of the plaza and next to several taller bushes, a tall, dark batpony standing at the edge of the crowd lifted her wing slightly, revealing what looked very much like a small alicorn version of Twilight Sparkle with a bad manecut and a pink t-shirt boldly proclaiming her identity. Monster snuffled a little, wiping her nose on a tissue as Dust Storm looked down with as much benevolence in her normally cold smile as she could muster. “Twilight, did you see how well Princess Luna acted her part?”

The little alicorn nodded, rearranging her yellow cloak in order to get her wings tucked out of sight. “She was very scary. Not as scary as the first time, but really bad. I mean good. She’s good at being bad.”

Twilight wiped her nose again and checked her notepad, which she had been holding up in front of her like a shield while taking notes. She spoke slowly, as if practicing every word before sounding it out, but a small hint of deeply-buried fears could still be heard in her voice. “I know why you told her to talk to a little filly when you were working with her in rehearsal. Scary is only fun when not real.”

Dust Storm nodded. “It’s called ‘breaking character.’ We try our best to avoid it, but occasionally the little foals get confused about what’s real and what’s not. Sometimes, even ordinary ponies can get the wrong first impression.”

After a long consideration of her own membranous wings, Dust Storm gave a faint frown before looking out into the crowd where the rest of her fellow actresses (and one actor) were shaking hooves and giving autographs to the assembled munchkin multitude. Princess Luna in her Nightmare Moon costume had seemed to be a little reluctant to wade out into the sea of little ponies at first, but the rest of the actresses had convinced her to step out for what was most likely supposed to be a few quick words and perhaps a hoof-shake. Instead, she was nearly mobbed by little ponies, all hopping up and down in joy at being able to meet Luna. Even Midnight Sun in her Princess Celestia costume, the ever-popular pony princess when working the crowd, had faded back to enjoy a little slack in her normally hectic routine. The mane enchantment which the Svedish actress was wearing was performing far better than usual, flowing down her white sides in a fair waterfall of soft pastel colors that had little foals diving into it and playing tag around her gold-clad hooves. The tall Svedish mare had never looked more relaxed and comfortable around the little ones, with a sly little smile on her lips which she had worked on so long but never had been able to carry off with the relaxed casualness of the real Princess Celestia. Ever since she had taken this acting gig and put on the Princess Luna costume, Dust Storm had tried her hardest to imitate the same mannerisms of the Princess of the Sun, but now she could see how incredibly wrong she had been playing the part. Luna was not some distant goddess, setting hoof upon the ground as if she were just visiting from the heavens. She was real in a very direct and common fashion, able to look somewhat disgusted when a sticky little foal shook hooves with her or to laugh from the bottom of her barrel when a little pegasus colt whispered something in her ears which must have been hilarious.

“Whoo, dees iss just a little weird,” sounded a deep and familiar voice behind Dust Storm, which made her whirl to look at the unexpected pony.

If Midnight Sun is here, then who is out in the crowd playing Princess Celestia?

The tall earth pony mare loomed up at Dust Storm’s shoulder, looking more like a bodybuilder with a crew cut than the Princess of the Sun. Resuming her forced Canterlot accent and giving Dust Storm a friendly shoulder-nudge that conveniently also gently bumped Twilight Sparkle between them, Midnight Sun added, “Seeing yourself like that, the way you are supposed to be playing your part in the performance. It really affects the way you see your role in life, eh ‘sister?’”

A quick confirming glance by Dust Storm out into the crowd of little ponies in the plaza showed the real Princess Celestia, nearly glowing with suppressed joy at the embarrassed happiness of her sister and the surrounding little foals. The sun princess glanced back in their direction, giving an almost blatant wink at the two actresses and their little alicorn companion before returning to her signing autographs and posing for photographs with the little ponies and her lunar sister.

“She looks happy,” whispered Twilight Sparkle from under her concealment.

Dust Storm and Midnight Sun exchanged glances. As little as they would like to admit it, the young alicorn made them both nervous. The Elements of Harmony play portrayed a sweet version of events which both of the actresses had long ago determined did not match the exact events on the ground, but the wild tales Twilight’s little friends had recently told them about the night Princess Luna was freed had exceeded even their wildest speculations. It had been a long and tortuous road from the little unicorn filly Twilight had once been to the raw amount of power and control she displayed almost casually now. Although the two actresses portrayed the Royal Sisters, the idea of facing that kind of threat and power even once was daunting. The young unicorn ‘Aunt Quick Fix’ who seemed to be the designated adult in the group also had a somewhat wary expression every time she glanced in Twilight’s direction, which the two actresses could sympathize with totally.

“Princess Luna has had a very rough time,” said Midnight in very slow and deliberate words. “She is very lucky to have friends such as yours.”

“Not her,” said young Twilight. “Me.”

Moondancer and her friends were just as surrounded by adoring little ponies, each of them portraying their own Element. They did seem happy, six friends working together to bring friendship to others, and Dust Storm had felt their friendly touch, even if she had not fully embraced it at the time. She gently bumped shoulders with her fellow actress again and considered the common thread which linked them all together, a little alicorn who would only refer to herself as ‘Monster.’

“When I was very young,” began Dust Storm almost without realizing it, “we were told the Princess of the Moon was a goddess who fought Nightmare Moon. She protected Princess Celestia by sacrificing her own life and entrapping the Nightmare in the moon to save all of us. I thought it to be true, at the time, and it made me happy to know how brave Luna was. Then when Princess Luna returned and all of us learned about the Elements of Harmony, we accepted it as truth, and once again, I was happy about how she had returned to her sister’s embrace after such a long absence.” Dust Storm tightened up her wing from where it lay over the little alicorn and felt the pressure of Midnight Sun as she contributed to Twilight’s gentle hug. “Today, I learned yet another truth, and I have never been happier to know our Princess of the Moon has such wonderful friends. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?”

The words stuck with Monster through the play and Princess Luna’s rather enthusiastic portrayal of… well, herself. Monster was happy, in some fashion she had never experienced in her fragmented memories. Princess Luna was happy. Princess Celestia was so happy she seemed to be on the brink of breaking out in a very unprincess-like grin at any moment. After the play was over and Monster had another chance to talk with her old friend Moondancer, they both were happy. Crying, but happy.

On the train ride back to Ponyville, all of her friends were happy too. It was… weird. Monster was used to bringing pain and misery wherever she went. Despite her fears about going into a city and being surrounded by so many strange ponies, everything had gone fairly well. Even the broken glass comprised of shattered memories rattling around in her head was becoming a mix of anticipation and joy amongst the dread. She took the second snowglobe out of her bags and shook it, watching the little flakes of plastic float down across the fantasy castle which dominated Funland.

It had been a thrilling day, but there still was a pit in her fruit. Her friends had all gathered together in the sleeper car to talk about their experiences, and within ten minutes of the train picking up speed, they had all fallen asleep in a large, warm lump. All except Diamond Tiara, still in Scootaloo’s body, who had been relegated to sleeping by herself at the far end of the bed. It seemed unfair. Even though the little pony was ‘a pain in the patoot’ according to Apple Bloom, she was still trying to find her place in the world much like Monster, whether for good or bad.

As the train swept along in the darkness, Monster climbed up into the bed and slipped next to Diamond Tiara, pulling her yellow cape over the two of them before putting her head down and trying to sleep.

Hours later, as the clock in the residential section of Sweetie Drops Candie Shop struck twelve, Lyra looked up at the wall with a yawn and declared, “Look at the time, girls! We’ve been talking all night.”

“Not all of the night,” said Minuette with a giggle. “Technically, only half of the night, and I don’t get to hang out with you girls very often. Pass me the caramel corn, please.”

Twinkleshine yawned too as she lifted the tub of popcorn from her side of the table and floated it over to her friend and fellow unicorn. “I’ve got to get some sleep before I catch the morning train back to Canterlot, girls. If I don’t, I’ll be staggering around at work like a zompony. Brainnnsssss…” She mimed nomming at Lyra’s head, only to have the chuckling green unicorn push her away.

“Hey, only my Bon Bon is permitted to nibble on my ears, and she went to bed hours ago.” Lyra giggled some more, just like the rest of her friends. “She’s going to kill us for eating up all of the toffee.”

“Woot! I found an extra piece hiding under the wrapping paper,” declared Minuette, waving the small fragment of toffee around in her magic. “Who’s at the door?”

A very small and timid knock at Lyra’s door made the three young unicorns look around among themselves, trying to figure out just who was up so late at night in the relatively quiet small town where even the roads would have been rolled up in the evening, if dirt could roll. It certainly was not Twist, who had her own key and tended to enter her big sister’s little house with all the shy reluctance of an onrushing avalanche.

“I got it,” declared Lyra, hopping up from the table and trotting towards the door. She snatched the last piece of toffee out of mid-air with her teeth as she passed, and chewed it up while saying, “Do you think it could be Lemon Hearts?”

“Naa,” said Twinkleshine. “She’s birdsitting. Philomena laid an egg and Celestia has half of the staff studying up on phoenixes. Phoenixi. Phoenixesses. Whew, it is late. It’s probably Twist, back late from her crusading with her little friends.”

“Hello!” declared Lyra as she opened the door and froze. There were two small ponies standing outside, one of whom was Bon Bon’s little sister, Twist. She was loaded down with carnival fare, wearing a bright pink t-shirt labelled ‘Sweetheart’ and still seemed to have some cotton candy in her mane, but the sight of the pony to her side was what nailed Lyra’s hooves to the floor and made her unable to breathe.

Lyra had never really gotten a good look into Twilight Sparkle’s eyes since she had shown up in Ponyville. The emotions churning in Lyra’s gut had just seemed too much for her to handle, so she had looked everywhere else except at the old friend who she had last seen in the school waiting room before Twilight had blown the top off the school testing tower and nearly killed all of Canterlot. Twilight Sparkle was carrying a saddlebag nearly as stuffed as Twist’s, only neatly packed and probably alphabetized, if Twilight had retained any of her old habits. She looked so much like the little filly who Lyra had played with in Canterlot and yet so different at the same time. Still, it was the t-shirt that nearly made Lyra break out into tears.

“Hello, Twilight,” said Lyra, deciding that two words were about as many as she could handle at the moment.

“H-hello, Lyra.” Other than a series of tremors traveling up and down her purple flanks, the little alicorn remained silent and unmoving afterwards. The rest of Lyra’s friends had gotten up from the table when they heard Twilight’s voice, but they stayed back, hesitant at possibly scaring away their old friend, leaving Lyra alone between them. After a long series of uncomfortable moments and a few quiet throat-clearings from Minuette and Twinkleshine, Twist nudged Twilight and whispered something in her ear.

Slowly, one muscle at a time, the little alicorn stepped forward with a small square of paper floating out of her packed saddlebag, which wobbled and bobbed in midair on its way over to Lyra.

“I m-met M-moondancer.” Twilight kept her head down as she took a series of shallow breaths and Lyra looked at the photograph. “I r-remember us. You. Some things. Flashes. Friends.”

“Yes,” whispered Lyra. The photograph showed a much older Twilight Sparkle and a young Twilight Sparkle, both looking rather hesitantly at the photographer, but both of them leaning against each other as if they had just finished hugging. Moondancer had left Canterlot within weeks of Twilight Sparkle’s dramatic testing failure, and Lyra could not remember ever even getting a Hearth’s Warming card from her since then. Attached to the photograph were five tickets to the Funland Park and a fairly long letter, written in Moondancer’s precise hornwriting which appeared not to have changed a bit since her days in Canterlot.

“Would you like to come in?” asked Lyra as softly as she could. “Most of us are here tonight. Except Lemon Hearts.”

The little alicorn trembled with one hoof moving forward just the tiniest fraction before she took a step back. “N-no. Too soon.” Twilight continued trembling next to Twist until she took a deep breath, wrapped her forehooves around the small earth pony, and gave a long, long hug.

“Pass it along,” said Twilight, bolting off into the inky night.

Monster slipped into her tree home with no more noise than a shadow, passing the two guest bedrooms with the odd Canterlot unicorns, slipping up the stairs, and taking a deep breath before sliding under the thin sheet across her mother’s bed and tucking up beneath her warm foreleg. It was fairly obvious Zecora had not been sleeping. Monster had never been able to slip into bed without finding her mother awake and welcoming, but this time as she scooted over to leave a warm spot for her adopted daughter, there was a faint wetness to the pillow, much as if she had been crying, just a little.

“Welcome back, beloved daughter of my heart.” Zecora kissed Monster gently on the top of her head and drew her up closer. “It seems like years we have been apart.”

“Trip was fun. Met friends. Met old friends.” She nuzzled closer to the zebra. “Good to be home. Love you. Mom. Tomorrow, need to fix Diamond and Scoots. Tonight…”

Monster rested her head against her mother’s shoulder and relaxed as she reached out with her magic into the stuffed saddlebag where she had dumped it in the middle of the floor. A glowing snowglobe floated up in the darkness of the bedroom, and she gave it one last shake in order to watch the little swirls of artificial snow around the artificial castle of Funland before sitting it on the nearby table. The other snowglobe she had purchased would be safe for the trip to her other parents, protected by the protective spell and plastic peed nuts much like Monster was protected on her trip by close friends. It was a step. A large step. It deserved to be shared.

"I told you, honey. I've got it under control. Go put the crowbar back."

Night Light's magic flared crimson against the wards surrounding the simple cardboard box, snapping and hissing against the opposing magic with enough force to cause hot sparks to dance across the kitchen linoleum floor and leave little blackened pits behind. It was late at night in his humble home in Canterlot, but when two Equestrian princesses knocked on the door in the middle of the night with a present from his daughter’s recent trip, the question was not how fast to open the front door, but if the wife was going to beat him to the doorknob. The two princesses in question, Princess Luna and Princess Celestia, stood off to one side in the family kitchen with sly little whispers to each other, seeming to be enjoying their mutual trip far too much for his frazzled nerves.

“I’m sorry, Your Highnesses,” whispered Twilight Velvet while somewhat self-consciously carrying a crowbar in her magical field. “He gets stubborn like this sometimes.”

“He reminds me of somepony I know,” said Princess Celestia, her eyes sparkling brightly in the flare of light from Night Light’s magic clashing against the box. “Three someponies, actually.”

“Celly!” chided Princess Luna quietly, craning her neck to get a better view of the kitchen table and the current battle for supremacy taking place between a stallion and a box. “There’s not a single armored vault in Canterlot I can hide a piece of cake in without finding only crumbs the next day.”

Night Light’s magic flared white in the kitchen, causing Twilight Velvet to hold a foreleg up to protect her eyes. “Are you sure you don’t need the crowbar, Nighty?” asked Velvet. “Here, let me help.”

However, once Twilight Velvet and Night Light both touched the box with their magic, there was a soundless burst of light which made the box fold away to the sides like an opening flower, albeit one which also spilled out a bunch of packing peanuts. The two of them sat for a long moment in the silent kitchen, looking at the snowglobe sitting only a short distance away from a glycerine stain in the table which they had never made any attempt at scrubbing clean.

“Well?” urged Luna, craning her neck over the two shorter unicorns. An almost unnoticed pair of photographs floated up out of the packing peanuts in Luna’s dark magic and hovered in front of Twilight Velvet’s nose. “What doth they say?”

“Luna!” chided her sister, nudging her away from Twilight Sparkle’s parents. “Control yourself.” Celestia gave a brief glance at where the two unicorns were huddled over the photographs and cleared her throat. “So, what do they say?”

Instead of saying anything, the two unicorns floated the photographs over to the Royal Sisters. The first one seemed to show the Royal Sisters alongside the same Elements of Harmony who had been seen in so many newspaper articles, with Twilight’s little friends standing in one large group, and Quick Fix somewhat shuffled into the background. Each pony was painstakingly identified on the back of the photograph in Moondancer’s neat hornwriting, with a title written across the top.

The second photograph showed four young ponies on a roller-coaster, each displaying a different expression as the brilliant flash of the camera caught their emotions, but the back side of the photo is what held the alicorns speechless.

Dear mom and dad,
I did it. I traveled to fillydelphia. I went to funland. I rode the Boomer. I found my old friend and made some new ones.

I’ll see you soon
love
you’re daughter
twilight sparkle

ps. let princess luna and celstia read this two.

Author's Notes:

Next Arc will be titled 24, and will cover the 24 hours of the next day where Monster and her friends try their best to break the spell linking Diamond Tiara and Scootaloo without breaking Ponyville.

Or Rarity. Or Pinkie Pie....

53 - 24 - Part One

Since it has been a few weeks (checks) months since the last update, I thought it would be a good idea to include a summary of where our characters are at the moment. The next five chapters will cover 24 hours of activites in the life of our little alicorn and her friends and family, starting with:

Trixie, who is at Flax and Wheat’s ‘spa’ while all of the appliances she accidentally signed to pay for are installed in the library.
Diamond Tiara and Scootaloo, who swapped bodies due to Monster’s spell.
Monster, who wants to fix it, and is willing to go anywhere to find a book with the counterspell.
Sweetie Belle, who is angsting over taking her test for Celestia’s school.
‘Scootaloo’ who may be taken back to Cloudsdale now that she can hover (briefly).
Filthy Rich, who is sending ‘Diamond Tiara’ to an expensive boarding school after finding her fighting with ‘Scootaloo.’ No, he doesn’t know.
All three princesses, Spike, and most of the town of Ponyville, who don’t know either.
Zecora and her two guests, who are busy decoding the Zebra lore she brought with her twelve years ago. (they stay off-camera)
Zecora’s husband, Tallgrass, who is traveling with five zebra shamans back to Ponyville by the scenic route, after which they are foolishly expecting to take Monster back to Zebrica.

Secrets will become known and more secrets will take their place. But first, we take you to the Ponyville Golden Oak Public Library, which is not open for business yet this morning, but that has not slowed down a certain patron who is looking for a book...

… Time: Pre-Dawn. Location: Ponyville Golden Oak Library

Dragons of any age were renowned for their ability to sense when anything threatened their hoard. Even the smallest mouse slipping away with a tiny jewel could awaken a dragon from centuries-long sleep and cause a substantial rearrangement of their lair to prevent any further thieving. Although it was easy to simply consider them walking (or flying) epitomes of greed, their burning desire for accumulating a hoard ran far deeper than just attempting to grab everything sparkly they could see. Dragons valued value in a hoard, and in the infinite diversity of dragonkind, this characteristic caused some particular oddities to creep into the family cave at times, from Vorel’aurix-levethuix Maekrix-book-rasvim⁽*⁾ and her collection of ancient manuscripts to Coinspinner and his rare coin collection.
(*) Talon and Thorn, Climbing the Mountain

Even though Spike was a very young dragon, he possessed the same affinity with his hoard. In fact, younger dragons could be considered to be more sensitive, as each item in their collection represented a larger percentage of their total worth. This would not normally be a bad thing, except over the last few months as Trixie and Spike had moved into the Golden Oak Library, he had been somewhat casually shoved into the position of Assistant Librarian, overseeing the caretaking and management of twenty-three thousand, seven hundred and twelve books, counting magazine collections, periodicals, and comics.

As the sun glowed just barely below the horizon in a subtle encouragement to a reluctant moon, Spike shifted uncomfortably in his sleep. There was an unaccustomed sensation tickling down in his throat and around his belly as deep draconic processes gurgled and rumbled.

He opened one eye and regarded the open curtains with the inky pre-dawn darkness beyond.

Then he looked back over at the spot where Trixie’s bed used to be, which was still empty until Quills and Sofa’s was scheduled to deliver a replacement sometime this afternoon.

One more day of vacation. Thank you, Rarity. Have fun at the spa, Trixie.

Closing his eyes and snuggling back down under his asbestos blanket, Spike attempted to return to slumber. Normally, it would have only taken a moment to begin snoring again. The situation was anything but normal.

He opened one eye and looked back out into the room again. The spot where Trixie’s bed had been was still empty, with a large sheet thrown over the pile of junk that Trixie had managed to stuff underneath her bed in a mere three months, but he could recognize the little purple pony’s rump sticking out from under the sheet now, and a soft violet light filtering through it.

“No,” said a small voice as another book scooted out from under the sheet and stacked itself to one side. “No,” repeated the voice as another book joined the stack.

Spike took a moment to look around the room before speaking. There were an astonishing number of bookshelves within sight, particularly considering this room was the librarian’s bedroom. What was missing on the bookshelves were books, although they were not actually missing per se, but stacked up in individual stacks towering far above Spike.

Had Spike been a little older and somewhat wiser, he would not have started off his morning by asking, “Twilight! What are you doing?”

Had Twilight Sparkle been a little older and wiser too, she would not have reacted with a guilty twitch and jumped out from under the covering sheet, bumping into one of the towering piles of books in the process.

Gravity followed. So did Pain, and a certain amount of learning for one small dragon.

A significant amount of time later, the books covering Spike floated up into the air and a very apologetic young alicorn peered into Spike’s small cleared space.

“Sorry.”

“That’s cool, Twilight,” said Spike, grateful for having a few minutes to calm down. “I’m a dragon, so I’m really tough. Are you looking for a particular book?”

“Spellbook.” The tall stack of books next to Spike levitated up into the air as it reassembled, and the little alicorn slipped a nearby book underneath it, checking the spine first to ensure its proper placement. Afterwards, she remained in place with her head so low her nose nearly touched the wooden floorboards and the ragged remains of her tail⁽¹⁾ swaying back and forth like a slow metronome.
(1) Post Cutie Mark Crusader Mane Stylists Yea! as of last week

“Any particular spellbook?” prompted the little dragon. “The library has a few copies of McPuffins Reader For Magic from grades one to eight for little unicorns who can’t afford schoolbooks of their own, but since this is mostly an earth pony town, I don’t think it has any real spellbooks. Well, except that one in the Restricted section…”

Spike paused with an instinctive sniff of the air. “Did you rearrange all the books downstairs too?”

“Yes.” The little alicorn shuffled around to look him in the eyes, although with considerable reluctance. “I’m sorry.”

As much as he wanted to go straight back to bed and sleep for another day, Spike smiled back in an attempt to support Trixie’s little student. He did not get to practice his reassuring smile on ponies very often, because the sight of so many sharp teeth caused most of them to recoil away as if they were about to be bitten. Twilight Sparkle was unperturbed by his smile, and even seemed to be more comfortable with him than adult ponies, which was not saying much, but it was good for his own ego.

“No prob, Twi. Trixie won’t be back until tomorrow anyway, so I’ve got all day to reshelve. Did you want to help?”

It was a phrase which Shining Armor had insisted would bring Twilight out of even the most sincere sulk, particularly after he had related a story about his little sister always putting away her toys in alphabetical order. It even looked as if the attempt was going to work, because the little alicorn’s eyes lit up and her tail wagged briefly, but then she sighed and looked back down at the wooden floorboards of the library bedroom.

“No. Need to fix the spell on Scoots and Diamond first. Need counterspell.”

“Oh,” said Spike. “Bummer. Well, I can reshelve the library today, if you promise to help me with it later, after you find the spell you’re looking for. Have you tried asking Rarity? She’s really good with magic, and has lots of books.”

The little alicorn pursed her lips in thought before nodding. “Ok. Thanks.” She stumbled forward rather uncomfortably before putting her forehooves around Spike’s neck and giving him a gentle hug. “Best little brother.”

“Best big sister,” said Spike, returning the hug. The warmth in his heart stayed with him long after Twilight had left the library, and did not go away for the entire day.

Reshelving was not that bad after all.

“How about this one?”

“No.”

“Well, how about this one, then?”

“No.”

Rarity was not a morning pony much in the same fashion that one could say Pinkie Pie was not a big fan of dieting or Applejack rather disliked pears. Inspiration, once struck, could drive the young unicorn through the night in a burst of creativity which would fill the Carousel Boutique main room with colorful dresses and leave the creator in no condition to sell them. Several local early-rising residents of Ponyville had been the recipients of tremendous bargains when their dawn visit to the dress shop had coincided with the tail end of a massive overnight creativity spasm, and found themselves dressed and shoved back out the door at the cost of five or ten bits while wearing a thousand bits worth of diamonds or gemstones. This being Ponyville, they had all returned to the boutique at a more rational time of the afternoon and arranged a trade for the sunhat or kerchief they had originally intended on purchasing, thus allowing Rarity to reclaim her expensive creation for the much more wealthy client it had originally been intended to clothe.

“This one?”

“No.”

Last night had been a doozy. Having Trixie out of the town had both relaxed Rarity and given her somewhat of a guilty conscience, as she knew the exact condition of the ‘spa’ she had directed her new friend to. It would be a whole day before Trixie was scheduled to return, if she did not run screaming away from the rustic ‘delights’ of Flax & Wheat's New Age All-Natural Wellness Center long before then, or need to be taken to the Ponyville emergency room due to food poisoning. The guilt-gift of Trixie’s brand new dashing cloak and hat was spread out downstairs over a ponyquin, painstakingly stitched with great detail and only slightly gaudy, done in the perfect shade of yellow to complement her new lilac shade. It had taken considerable research to find Trixie’s mother’s coat color for comparison, but a trade magazine had done a story on Papi Presto’s Perfect Cajun Snack Mix where the whole family had been pictured, and Mirabelle Plum’s soft yellows would certainly look both home-like and smashing on the annoying but still somehow tolerable magician, at least until her natural blue colors reemerged during the next shedding season. Then it would be time for a new cloak anyway.

“These look promising.”

“No.”

Rarity shifted in bed beneath her silk comforter and matching silk sleeping mask. It was obviously a dream of some sort, with the quiet sounds of her sister whispering and the rustle of paper as a contrast. Certainly it was not noon yet, as Opalescence had not yet jumped up on the bed and begun to demand her daily pampering and feeding, but the constant whispering and rustling kept Rarity from drifting back to the delightful dream she had of cheering crowds amidst the lights of her own fashion show.

It was fabulous, of course.

The rustling stopped abruptly, which was more disruptive to Rarity’s attempt at returning to sleep than anything, as she had developed a finely-tuned Sister Sense over the recent years. In fact, now that her rebellious mind was insisting on connecting the dots between her ears, the rustling she had been hearing was awfully close to her locked private library with the complicated Minotaurian combination lock she had used to hide her diary as well as certain other books she did not want her darling and innocent sister to see until she was at least twenty, married, and with several foals of her own.

“Isn’t that a children’s book about Princess Cadenza?”

“Title looks wrong.”

“Could be. It really doesn’t look like Cadence. She’s too fat and sticks out in the wrong place.”

“Places. She has two of those.”

Curiosity is a dangerous thing, particularly when indulged in by a somnambulant unicorn, as magic tends to do whatever it wants without proper adult supervision. Rarity had only intended on lifting her sleep mask a crack to peek at Sweetie Belle and whatever other friend she had slipped into the bedroom to borrow a book from her bookshelf over— Rarity’s eyes shot open and the magic she was using to lift her sleep mask caused it to rocket across the room as she lunged forward.

Sweetie Belle and the little purple alicorn next to her were both entranced with the cover of Rarity’s precious hardback special-edition copy of Children of Arborvitae, portraying a… buxom young alicorn rising out of the sea-foam with her broad pink wings spread wide and her horn gleaming through her wet mane in the rising sun. The scene portrayed most certainly had to have been chilly due to a certain… pertness to the young maiden’s motherly characteristics, which undoubtedly had been enhanced by a talented young artist who did not know the proper proportions of an alicorn princess, or perhaps had simply been carried away by his hormone-fed delusions while wielding a paintbrush. Despite Rarity’s best attempts at remaining calm, she failed to notice the towering stacks of books around the room until she caromed off of one and into another, winding up at the bottom of a bookalanche on her bedroom floor.

“Sorry.” The young voice filtered through Rarity’s inadvertent covering of young mare’s books, featuring her complete collection of Harley Quinn’s rather risqué romantic novels as well as several other competing authors who all seem to have used the same handsome royal stallion on their covers, which gave Rarity the oddly naked sensation of being the center of attention of an entire crowd of passionate pirates/rogues/Royal Guards/nobleponies, with a smattering of gladiator stallions dressed in low-cut chainmail around the edges.

“Twilight?” asked Rarity as the books began to move away from her. Rarity really wanted to demand to know why the young alicorn was in her bedroom, but after seeing how shy Sweetie Belle’s friend was, she moderated her sleepy question into a more polite, “Was there something you needed, Twilight?”

The little alicorn just sat there in the darkened bedroom next to Sweetie Belle, blinking in the light of her own horn, before saying, “Need a spell. Need a counterspell. Swapped Diamond and Scoots. Need to put them back.”

“I see,” said Rarity, even though she did not. After all, there was a much more important issue to cover right away. She lit her horn and gently removed Children of Arborvitae from Twilight’s grasp and floated it over to the bed, where she tossed a corner of the coverlet over it. “I really don’t have much in the way of spellbooks, Twilight. Most of my spellwork does not involve much more than a few glitter and reflective spells that I learned in school. Have you tried the library?” At Twilight and Sweetie Belle’s rapid nods, Rarity added, “If the problem is this urgent, perhaps you could ask the mayor if the city archives have the spell you need.”

Dawn and Mayor Mare had always met each other with a certain amount of hesitant respect. After her first failed mayoral election, she had decided that the town was determined to catch her flat-hooved and the only way to avoid that fate was to make an equal determination to be already at work before the town could try to slip one past her. So she strolled through the marketplace where farmers were already starting to set up their stands, watching for any upcoming problems as well as greeting the voters… that is town residents, while collecting a quick healthy breakfast on her way to work.

Of course, this week her attempts at staving off her inevitable weight gain were countered by Pinkie Pie, who bounced out of Sugarcube Corner with a tray full of donuts and two large coffees, one of which was delicately sprinkled with pumpkin spice and six cubes of sugar, just the way the mayor liked it.

“Good morning, Mayor Mare, or since the sun isn’t quite up to the horizon yet would it still be night even though it’s bright enough to see and all of the birds are warming up in the trees so they can sing through the whole day like some huge concert we don’t even have to pay for because the birds don’t have pockets to put bits into anyway and what would they spend it on anyway because it’s not like we have anypony who sells worms in the market except for Snips and Snails who did it that once but we’re not supposed to talk about that because of legal liability.”

The mayor took a long drink of coffee. It helped.

“Good morning, mayor!” Scootaloo and Featherweight buzzed by on the scooter and wagon combo that the Cutie Mark Crusaders used to terrorize the town during the day, but at the moment, the wagon was nearly filled with newspapers, one of which came flying out and bounced next to her hooves as they took a sharp turn. It took several blinks to recognize what was wrong with the combination this morning. Scootaloo was in the back for some reason, while Featherweight was pushing the scooter with a rapid buzzing of his small wings, which was probably the reason they were traveling at a somewhat safe rate of speed instead of their normal pell-mell zoom through the streets.

“Good morning, Featherweight! Good morning, Diamond Tiara!” called out Pinkie Pie as they zoomed by and took a corner on their way to the next newspaper delivery.

The mayor considered correcting Pinkie Pie, but decided that her ongoing sanity was far more important. She picked up the city-subscription paper and tossed it on her back before taking another drink of coffee and resuming walking.

“Thank you again for volunteering at City Hall while the renovations are underway, Pinkie,” said the mayor. “I have to admit, I didn’t think you were going to be as useful as you’ve been. Maybe someday you can actually win the election and become mayor of the city.”

And I’ll move to Sanfranciscolt and start that job as earthquake disaster preparedness coordinator that I’m qualified for now. Or maybe move south and take up alligator wrestling.

“Thank you, Mayor Mare,” bubbled Pinkie Pie as she bounced alongside the mayor. “My first responsibility as mayor will be to throw the biggest party anypony has ever seen, which I’ll pay for, because it would be silly to use tax money to pay for my party, after all, and Gummy has been putting together a list of campaign promises we’ll need to implement after the party, which will be a wonderfulspendific time to announce them!”

“That’s a good idea, Pinkie,” said the mayor automatically as she tried to juggle the paper, her coffee, and key to the door to the Town Hall all at once. To be honest, Pinkie Pie’s campaign had been almost exactly a last-minute affair, with her paperwork turned in just minutes before the polls had closed. If she had a few weeks to campaign, the popular party pony might have even been able to knock Mayor Mare out of the Big Chair in her office, which undoubtedly would be repainted pink afterwards. After getting the outside door to Town Hall unlocked, the mayor juggled her coffee and keys again as they walked through the hallways towards her office.

“I’ll get you the copies of the filing I need done and you can update the archives this morning while I work on the strategic planning session for Fall Wrap-Up booth placement. It sounds like this year is going to be the biggest celebration we’ve ever had in town, and I’m glad you’re helping keep things organized. I was a little worried that since things were going so smooth—”

She swung the door to her office open and paused in shock. The complete collection of Equestrian rules and regulations that made up the contents of the outer office bookshelves had been stacked into neat piles in the middle of the room. They still had that ‘new book smell’ since their delivery from Canterlot had been only a month ago, once construction on the replacement Town Hall had progressed far enough for the mayor to move in, but after taking most of a day to pack them onto her new bookshelves, Mayor Mare had not expected to touch them again until the next time an ancient goddess of legend burned the place down to ashes, most likely in a month or two.

Picking her way around the outside edge of the book pile with Pinkie Pie at her side, she could hear a commotion going on in her private office which became evident once she opened the oak door and peered inside.

The bookshelves inside her office had suffered much of the same stacking fate, with sheafs of proposals and pending paperwork neatly arranged into a foundation for the stacks of important sounding reference books she had never actually used before the Town Hall had been blown up three months ago, but still had gotten replaced because they had been in the office before. Diamond Tiara of all ponies was standing on top of the highest stack, pulling a set of books off of the top shelf while Sweetie Belle and Twist — who had managed to wedge themselves into shelves of their own — passed the books one at a time downwards toward the source of the chaos.

A small violet alicorn leafed through the most recent book she had been passed, shook her head in what seemed to be a practiced gesture, and floated the book onto the top of a nearby pile. The mayor was older than both Spike and Rarity, although not by too much, despite her artificially-grey hair, but she still had far better instincts. Without even pausing for thought, the mayor put a hoof into Pinkie Pie’s mouth to muffle the instinctive outburst, and only when she was certain that Pinkie was going to be quiet, did she continue.

“Twilight,” said the mayor in a very calm and artificially un-stressed tone, “can I help you find something?”

Mayor Mare made sure to put on her best constituent smile when the little alicorn looked up, although on the inside she was still trying to figure out if Twilight Sparkle was registered to vote, or worse, when all of the Cutie Mark Crusaders reached that age. Twilight looked startled, but she did not knock over the stack of books she was next to as she responded, “Need a spell. Need a counter-spell to fix Diamond Tiara and Scootaloo.”

Naturally, Mayor Mare looked up at the top of the stack of books where Diamond Tiara was clutching the last book on the shelf. It seemed a little odd, as earth ponies generally preferred to keep all four hooves on the ground, but she was holding herself perfectly balanced and did not seem the least bit worried about a fall. “Diamond, you can put that book back. My office doesn’t have any spellbooks in it. Have you tried finding one over at the library?”

“Yeah,” said Diamond Tiara in a casual way that the mayor had never heard her use before. “Twilight said there’s just one spellbook there that’s app… Applik…”

“Applicable,” said Sweetie Belle from her cramped shelf. “And she already looked over all of Rarity’s books, even the ones she keeps in her locked cabinet with all of her secret stuff. Can you help us down, Twilight?”

It was a little disconcerting the way the three little ponies jumped out into mid-air with little regard for the distance between them and the ground, although a soft violet magical glow surrounded each of them almost instantly and floated them to the floor like so many pieces of thistledown. The mayor tried to cover her near-leap to catch the falling ponies by coughing into one hoof, then spoke up once they were all safely on the ground.

“Why don’t you look in Trixie’s boxes over in the main atrium next door? Since she was Princess Celestia’s student, she must have had a large number of spellbooks. Just don’t move the crates around, and stay out of the ones she has her performance materials in. Particularly anything with ‘death-defying’ or ‘doom’ written on the side,” added the mayor in a rush. “In fact, keep whatever spellbooks you find closed and I’ll locate an older unicorn to help you go through them for what you need. Does that sound fair?”

The little alicorn shrugged back into her red cloak while thinking, but her motions began to slow as the mental wheels turned until she flopped down on the ground and closed her eyes. Twist moved up besides her and rubbed a hoof up and down her back, eventually asking, “You don’t want my thister’s good friend to help, do you, Twilight?”

“No,” murmured the little alicorn. “Yes. No. Want to do it by myself.”

“We’ll help you,” volunteered Twist, still rubbing a hoof across Twilight’s back. “Maybe we can uthe a potion to fix them. I’m really good at mixing things, and Apple Bloom thays they made a really powerful pothon oneth.”

“Ah don’t think we want to do that again,” volunteered Apple Bloom in a very quiet voice. “Ah can still taste the chalk from where Miss Cheerilee made us write lines on the blackboard, an’ we had to do Big Mac’s chores for the whole week.”

“Children,” chided the mayor. “First things first. You go look for your spellbooks while Pinkie and I put all these books back.”

That should keep all of them out of trouble for a few hours. At least nothing blew up. Yet.

Once construction was completed, the atrium of Town Hall would once again be a large open area which could be rented for huge parties or indoor weddings, but for now it was simply an area protected from the elements with Trixie’s crates of equipment and gear from Canterlot piled in the center. It was a daunting task to sort through all of the wooden crates, but the Cutie Mark Crusaders had gained several new members in their quest for mystical knowledge, although some of them were of more help than others.

“Are you sure we can’t open that one?” asked Firelock, casting a longing stare at a box labeled ‘Flaming Rings of Doom’ while holding onto the short prybar they had been using to gain access to several of the more resistant crates. “We can just take a peek. Honest.”

“No,” said Monster, checking off another entry on the packing slip and making a notation on her checklist.

“I found that box you were looking for!” declared Dinky, backing out of the pile of crates with one glowing a bright gold in her magical field, and assisted in her towing effort by Twist biting on her tail and pulling too. Even with the two of them pulling, the crate still left some embarrassing scratches in the wooden floor, which Scootaloo checked out with a decisive nod.

“Just the top layer of varnish. I can sand them out in a minute when we’re done. Do you think the spellbooks are in there, Twilight? I’d kinda like to get my wings back. And my life.”

“Mine too,” harrumphed Diamond Tiara with a sharp snap of her ‘borrowed’ wings. “I still can’t get off the ground like I could before. It’s like the longer I stay in this body, the more looooser soaks into me,” she added, drawing out the word.

“Let’s just open it up,” said Sweetie Belle, pushing up on the lid. “Then you two can get back to sniping at each other in your own bodies.”

“Yeah,” said Diamond Tiara with a marked lack of energy. “So Daddy can send me off to Miss Puressence’s School for Young Fillies, and she can go live with her parents in Cloudsdale.”

“Oh. Right.” Sweetie Belle sat down next to the crate. “The entrance exam for Princess Celestia’s school is coming up soon too. If I get in, I could wind up in Canterlot for years, and never see any of you girls again!”

“Hey!”

The tension broke and Sweetie Belle giggled, as did the rest of her friends. “Or you too, Featherweight.”

“Goals,” said Monster, turning her checklist around and showing it to them.

☐ - find spellbook
☐ - reverse spell
☐ - everyting else

“You don’t have teaching Scootaloser how to fly on there,” said Diamond Tiara, unconsciously fluffing ‘her’ wings. “If she goes to Cloudsdale, you don’t want her to wind up falling to her death.”

Monster twitched, her inked quill making a long smear across the page as she whirled in a panic and stared at the small pegasus. “What?”

Diamond Tiara had taken a step backwards and frowned. “I just said you should add teaching Scootaloo how to fly on there, if she’s going to Cloudsdale.”

“What gives, Twilight?” said Scootaloo, moving up to give the trembling alicorn a hug. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Once Monster had soaked up a few hugs from her friends and gotten her breath back, she asked in short bursts, “Diamond. Said. Nothing about falling?”

“No,” chorused the surrounding little ponies, although Scootaloo scoffed at the concept.

“Falling? Really, Twilight. Even a foal can’t get hurt falling. You just stick out your wings and hold them level, and you kinda flutter down.”

“Too afraid,” said Monster, clutching her wings tightly to her barrel.

“Chicken.” Diamond Tiara picked up Twilight’s quill from where she had dropped it and added in precise script ‘☐ - Have Rainbow Dash teach Scootaloo and Twilight how to fly’ to the checklist. “There. What else?” she asked in a slightly muffled voice due to the quill between her teeth.

“We need to find a jar for my new beetle,” said Snails, proudly displaying a small black bug perching on the tip of his hoof. “Snips and Peep are trying to coax another couple out from between two crates. They’re some sort of bark beetles. Pretty, too.”

“Ick!” declared Diamond Tiara, although she dutifully scribbled down a checkbox for the bug as the sounds of young ponies pulling the lid off of the crate labelled ‘Records and Magazines’ echoed around the otherwise empty atrium, followed by excited gasps.

“Wow.”
“Awesome!”
“Thweet!”

The crate was filled almost to the top with comic books and magazines, which Scootaloo and Featherweight began to pull out by the bundle. There were superheroes and villains, cartoon animals with funny hats, and an endless assortment of colors and glittering paper, although there was a sudden exclamation of dismay as several of the dark beetles spilled out onto the floor along with the flood of comics.

“Don’t step on them!” declared Snails. “Or that one. Or those. Or… That’s a lot of bugs.”

“They’re big, too,” said Peep Sprout, scooping several of them together with the edge of a tattered comic book which had been severely sampled. “I wonder if any of them are relatives.”

There was considerable discussion on the topic as the rest of the crate was unloaded across the atrium floor and sorted by topic. It turns out there were no spellbooks in the crate other than a full collection of Doctor Range, Sorcerer Supreme, but there was a collection of phonograph records as well as a player.

“Power Ponies!” declared Featherweight. “Mine! Buhahaha!” He cringed at the sharp look that Monster gave him and added, “I mean, do you think Trixie would mind if we read some of these?”

“Thpethially the duck thories,” said Twist, still sorting out a collection of stories featuring an older duck and his three troublesome nephews⁽²⁾.
(2) Their names shall not be mentioned here. They have lawyers. Vicious lawyers.

Monster fished the last comic out of the bottom of the crate and checked it to see if perhaps there was a un-mind-swapping spell on it, but there was only an advertisement on the back for some x-ray goggles and some brine shrimp. “Nothing,” she muttered.

“Oh, come on,” said Apple Bloom. “This is awesome! School is gonna start in less than a week, and we won’t get no time to read comics then. Come on down here and take a break with us, Twilight. We can search for a spell to put Scoots and Diamond back together later.”

The rest of her friends had already given up on the search for the moment and distributed themselves around the badly-sorted piles of comics. Only Diamond Tiara seemed more hesitant than Monster to lay on her belly on the cool atrium floor and read. “Don’t like comics?” asked Monster as she nudged a stack of the colorful things.

“Daddy says they’re beneath us,” said Diamond Tiara, although she frowned as a colorful bit of comic cover printed with gold coins seemed to catch her eye. Monster moved a comic to one side and unearthed the peculiar book, which had a drawing of a wealthy earth pony filly wearing a huge hat and a colorful dress while standing on a pile of coins.

“Bitsy Bits?” Monster leafed through the first few pages and marveled at the way the well-dressed filly seemed so out of place among her somewhat ragged and poor friends, but still willing to help them out and go on adventures. She flipped through it, pausing when Diamond Tiara protested about not being able to read so fast, but enjoying the cheap garish colors and oddly-artificial adventures far more than she thought she was going to. Diamond even helped Monster whenever she found an unpronounceable word or a strange gadget on the pages. True, it did not seem to be getting them any further toward a solution to any of their problems, but in some strange sense, she felt it was.

“It must be nice to be rich,” said Scootaloo from where she was reading over Monster’s shoulder. “All those big houses and fancy stuff. You could do some amazing things with that much money.”

“It’s not all about the money,” sniffed Diamond Tiara as she pointed to the page Monster was currently reading which had a group of wealthy ponies standing around with colored drinks. “See, Bitsy has a social responsibility to other ponies to act as a role model. Other ponies look up to her, not like your lazy crush.”

“Rainbow Dash is not a crash, she’s a rolling model, and a looping model” protested Scootaloo. “Everypony looks up to her. She’s a hero. I wish there was a villain in Ponyville she could fight. She’d kick ‘em in the nose and box their ears.”

“Well, ma sis could whup any one of them darned villains,” said Apple Bloom, waving her Power Ponies comic around. “She’d buck ‘em upside the head an’ tie ‘em up with her magic lasooo.” Apple Bloom paused. “If she had one.”

“Hey, I know what we can do today!” declared Featherweight.

Author's Notes:

Children of Arborvitae is from Skywriter's wonderful The First Time You See Her story in the Cadance of Cloudsdale series. Read 'em.

54 - 24 - Part Two

Location: The City (City Hall to be specific.)
Time: An otherwise uneventful morning in town
Activity: Step One in the Evil Master Plan of Taking over the World

☐ - Stage One: Takeover City Hall

Mayor Mare (with Pinkie’s help) had just gotten the final book put back onto the shelves and sent Pinkie Pie off to the filing room when she heard a noise. It was a small noise, repeated in a quiet tune, sounding a little like the children had found a record player and were playing one of Trixie’s stored records, which was just fine by her. At least they would not be breaking her brand new office, which was the important thing. She settled down in the custom-built chair, took a sip of her coffee, and prepared to mayor.

Mayoring always started with the crosswords, then onwards to the cryptoquote. The comics, of course, came right after the stock reports, then to the criminal blotter, which always remained blank. She was just trying to figure out what a ten letter word for ‘not literally’ was when the music outside the door swelled in volume and Featherweight came flying in through the doorway with an evil laugh.

Well, a somewhat malicious laugh.

Despite a long black cape and a dark helmet that had to nearly block the vision of the little colt, he managed to fly up to the ceiling of her office, still cackling with glee, and commanded, “Surrender, Mayor Mare, to the forces of Dark Feather.”

…Previously, in the Hall of Justice (Also known as the City Hall atrium)

Trixie’s crate labelled ‘Costumes and Props’ had been nearly emptied by the time the inevitable question came up about sides, which of course, was raised by Apple Bloom.

“We can’t all be super heroic.” Apple Bloom held up her glittering golden cape, which had been shorted by Snips until it only covered her like a small tent. “We need a supervillain to fight. Anypony want to volunteer?”

“Pass,” declared Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara almost simultaneously.

Sweetie Belle frowned while holding up the glittering piece of headgear she had found and bent until it fit her smaller head. “Supervillains don’t sound very nice.”

Featherweight gasped. “Are you kidding? They get the best costumes, and a lair, and set up deathtraps for the heroes. And then they get to laugh maniacally while the heroes escape. I’ve been practicing.” He threw back his head and let out an evil cackle only slightly more threatening than an ill rooster.

“Need a minion,” said Monster very carefully.

“Oh, yeah.” He flapped over to Monster and grinned. “You wanna be my minion? I’ll let you throw the lever to the hideous deathtraps that we set up for the heroes.”

She thought about it for a short while. “When we lose, we switch?”

Twist looked up from her work taping together several of the smaller props into a ‘deaf beam’ of some sort, or at least that was what it was labeled. “That could work. Then we get to be both heroeth and thupervillainth.”

…We now return to our program, already in progress

“Surrender, Mayor Mare, to the forces of Dark Feather.”

The mayor looked up at the little hovering pegasus. “You said that already.”

There was a small noise down by the doorway and the mayor looked down to see Twilight, wearing an oversized cape of her own and a headband that read ‘Minion #21 - Hench 4 Life.’ She actually looked deathly embarrassed, but in a nice way, and she was dragging along an object covered in an embroidered towel that read ‘Property of the Royal Castle.’ Twilight looked back up at her and a little to one side, gave a sheepish smile of a sort, and remained almost perfectly still.

“Oh, yes.” ‘Dark Feather’ pointed. “And my faithful minion, Minion.”

“Hi.”

Featherweight threw back his head and gave out another ‘terrifying’ laugh, spoiled only by the way his helmet shifted forward and made his hovering above the desk into more of a random fluttering around the room. “We’ve come to take over the world. Buahahahahahaha!” After a brief peek out from under the helmet at the annoyed glance Twilight was bestowing on him for wandering off-script, he added, “Oh, yeah. And Ponyville.”

The mayor considered her position. “You know, for five bits, I think I’d let you.”

The little alicorn began to dig around under the towel she was carrying.

The mayor gave serious thought to a second career, although five bits would not even buy her a train ticket to the Okefrognokee swamp, let alone an alligator to wrestle when she got there.

“Behold, our Devious Death Ray!” called out Featherweight from above. “Hey, that’s not our death ray. Where’s the death ray? I think we got all the foil to stick on it this time, and the glue should have dried by now.”

“Don’t need.” The little alicorn scrambled up into a chair and pushed a bundle of papers across the mayor’s brand new oak desk. “Not mayor.”

“What?” Mayor Mare leafed through the stack of papers detailing the vote count of the last election, certified and validated in every detail. Well, technically her office assistant had made a copy and shipped it to the Canterlot Archives before the Town Hall and the originals were destroyed, then the Archives had made a copy and shipped them back here, but it was almost as clear as the originals, right down to her signature and notary stamp.

Uh-oh.

Twilight picked a gold-leafed quill off of the desk and pointed at the signature. “Vote count from last election. You ran. Can’t sign. Illegal.”

“You broke the law?” asked Featherweight with a gasp. “Does this mean you’re an evil supervillain who took over the town ahead of us?”

“No,” said Twilight before the mayor could respond. “Mistake. Vote is an invalid.”

“In. Val. Id,” said Mayor Mare carefully. “Well, Spoiled Milk was at home with the flu, and I’m so used to notarizing things when she’s out… I may have gotten carried away.” She looked down at the traitorous paper and let out a sigh. “I suppose this means Pinkie Pie as the runner-up—”

“No.” Twilight slid another sheet of paper out from under the towel. “I asked JB while they were making costumes. He wrote an opinion. Grace period is over. Law says town needs a new election. Town Council appoints temporary mayor, so we kidnapped their children.”

Mayor Mare eyed the paper carefully as if it were about to explode. It was a little relieving to not have ‘Mayor Pie’ for a few weeks until a new election, but she was still worried about one word. “Kidnapped?”

Featherweight stuck out his chest and drifted backwards with every flap until he bumped into a wall. “We invited all of their children to a party over at Sugarcube Corner. A party of Doooom,” he finished with an evil cackle.

“And cake,” said the little alicorn as she pulled a small plate with a small piece of cake on it from under the towel. “We saved you a piece.”

“Don’t do it, Madam Mayor,” sounded Sweetie Belle’s voice from behind the door.

“Oh, no!” gasped Featherweight as he fluttered to a wobbly hover near the center of the room. “It’s the Guardians of Harmony!”

There was a fairly long pause, marked only by Featherweight trying to adjust his helmet before he repeated, “I said, it’s the Guardians of Harmony!”

“Hold on, hold on,” repeated Sweetie Belle. “Scootaloo… I mean Rainstorm got her cape tangled up in a chair. We’ll be in to engage you in an epic battle in just a minute.” The sounds of untangling continued for a while outside the door until Sweetie Belle added, “Did you tie her up like you were supposed to?”

Featherweight floated closer to the un-mayor, then fluttered backwards a little at the resulting sharp look from Her Honor. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Radiant. Can’t we just say we shot her with a paralysis beam?”

“Well, hurry up or we won’t have time to capture an’ save her more than three or four times before lunch,” huffed Apple Bloom.

…Later, at the Hall of Injustice

“Busted,” muttered the former Dark Feather as the atrium door slammed behind them like a jail cell. He flounced forward and collapsed on a pile of comic books with his helmet clattering onto the floor. “What is a cooo, anyway?”

“It’s a coup,” said Sweetie Belle, trying to get some of the glittery symbols wiped off her legs. “It’s when some really bad ponies overthrow the existing government and throw them into prison for years and years.”

“It’s just an hour,” said Apple Bloom. “An’ all the rest of ‘em got pro… prob…”

“Probation,” said Sweetie Belle. “Reduced sentence as accessories because they didn’t run screaming around her desk like madponies.”

“Not mad,” said Monster. “Just upset. Was a good plan. Cheater.” Monster set her shoulders and hunched over, trying her best to be grumpy and sad at her betrayal at the hooves of authority, but failing badly as a giggle worked its evil way up through her layers of depression. “Featherweight looked silly. He fell off the ceiling laughing when Apple Bloom… I mean Apple Zoom tied herself up in her own rope.”

“When I become an Evil Overlord, all of my minions will have helmets the proper size,” declared Featherweight, who had sat his helmet on the wooden floor of the atrium and climbed up on it like a soapbox. “My Rain of Terror will be absolute. And there will be no cake for cheaters, particularly mayor supervillains.”

“Some reign,” scoffed Diamond Tiara, who had been found guilty by association and thrown in with the rest of the primary conspirators while Scootaloo (in her body) had been unfairly pardoned in order to go to the party at Sugarcube Corner. “It’s barely a drizzle. This morning’s a total bust. We didn’t even get any flying practice in.”

“Hm.” Featherweight looked around the Town Hall atrium, taking in the large space and the conveniently odd-sized boxes. “In the movies, they always have a mount tage where all the heroes learn their cool skills in about two minutes. We’ve got an hour, so that should be plenty of time.”

“It’s called a montage, Featherbrain,” scoffed Diamond Tiara. “Besides, we’d need music.”

“Got it,” said Twist. She opened up the record player and started winding it. “Thince the wing flapping thing is four phaseth, we thould thee if we can find any of Trixthie’s muthic in four-four time.”

All of Trixie’s records had garish covers with screaming ponies holding burning guitars or wearing all kinds of metal piercings including shiny studs in places that looked quite painful to Monster. However, there was one album which did not match the rest. The album cover had five hairy ponies with pirate hats and pirate clothes posed holding mugs of cider in front of a massive skull and crossbones flag, but if that was not enough to identify the musicians as pirates, it also said ‘Pirates Forevermore’ across the top in huge letters.

To Monster’s pleasant surprise, the singers held such a catchy beat with their music that she found it actually somewhat natural to move her wings in the requisite four-stroke pattern for powered flight, although all it seemed to do for Monster and Diamond Tiara was to allow them to stretch their glide across the wood flooring of the atrium. Neither of them climbed any further than just two crates high before jumping, but it was great fun, particularly while singing along with the record, and their hour of imprisonment fairly flew by.

Well, glided.

…Nearly Noon, at the Fancy Restaurant in Ponyville

Applejack took a sip out of her teacup and tried to relax, obviously fighting an urge to dash out of town and back to the farm where the apples still hung heavily in far too many trees. Rarity, however, took her seat on the other side of the table with a certain existential grace indicating her desire to remain there forever, as if absorbing the relative peace of the small town and the pleasure of pre-lunch tea with a good friend were the sole reason for her existence.

“It’s too quiet,” grumbled Applejack, nabbing one of the chocolate biscuits and chewing with a suspicious glare around the town. “The Crusaders ain’t burnt nothing down or blown nothing up in days. Weeks, even. Lemons,” she muttered with the biting snap of an older sister seemingly grateful for a change that her little sister did not get a cutie mark on their last scheme

“I scarcely think that a reason for despair,” said Rarity, slipping an extra biscuit when Applejack looked away. “Perhaps young Twilight is proving a calming influence upon our fractious siblings. Sweetie says they helped sort books at the library while Trixie is away at the ‘spa,’ so maybe their extra energy is being put to good use.”

“Right.” Applejack gnawed on another cookie while waiting for Armageddon. “Did Sweetie say anything about what else they’ve been up to?”

“Searching for a spellbook to do something with Diamond Tiara and Scootaloo, or at least that is what the two of them said they were doing this morning. They seemed quite insistent, and even went through my entire library on their quest.” Rarity took a sip of tea and frowned slightly. “When I last checked, they were over at the Town Hall looking through some of Trixie’s things, in particular, her music collection.”

“Well, that oughta be safer than spells,” grumbled Applejack. She dropped a half-dozen sugar cubes into her cup of tea and stirred while waiting for the resultant sludge to dissolve. “That Twilight sure is an odd duck, but she fits with Trixie like… another duck or something.”

“Perchance our little duck is gaining responsibility on her way to grow into a beautiful swan,” said Rarity with a gleam in her eye indicating that the swan in question would certainly have a worthwhile wardrobe. “Twilight has been very careful about keeping Sweetie away from any dangerous magic, and she promised to have more adult supervision on any other spells she might try, so they should be fairly safe. Well, relatively.” With an additional sip of tea, Rarity’s smile grew. “Our darling little Twilight is proving to be quite the responsible one of the bunch.”

“It ain’t really Twilight I’m worried about,” said Applejack with a guilty glance at the distant Town Hall. “You saw the crater Trixie left. ‘Tweren’t even no stage left when she was done. She oughta have better control since she was Princess Celestia’s student for well nigh onto ten years or more, plum back to the day we got our cutie marks, but I worry about her here now, all cut off from her previous life. Ah know she can be a right nuisance sometimes… well, most of the time, but she’s all alone in that library ‘cept for Spike an’ I don’t think that’s the right way to treat our friend.”

Rarity took a long sip of her tea. “As much as I want to disagree with you, Applejack, you certainly have a point. But consider this. How many times has our ‘friend’ been out to your house for a meal in the last month?”

“Well…” Applejack took off her hat to scratch the top of her head. “Five or six, I suppose, but she always does a few chores to help out. I hear she an’ Spike has been out to Fluttershy’s for lunch regularly like too, once or twice a week. Says she’s thinking about getting Spike a pet, but I think she’s just mooching a free meal. An’ Big Mac has been meeting her down at the Hayburger weekly for lunch with the Ponytones. Says she can carry a tune pretty fair now.”

“I had a little talk with Spikey-Wikey,” said Rarity while waving a chocolate biscuit for emphasis. “He says Trixie hasn’t had a meal in the library other than an occasional pancake for breakfast since they got here.”

“Well, of course not,” snorted Applejack. “Her stipend from Princess Celestia is all going to rebuild Town Hall, an’ she ain’t got no more bits. Ah keep her apple basket stocked at the library for snacks, but if’n she wants to eat, she has to go out…”

Applejack trailed off and Rarity picked up the conversation. “Has to hang out with her friends. Her new and only friends.” Over at the distant Town Hall, a small group of chattering friends was just tumbling out of the front doors, and Rarity pointed at the small fleck of purple in the riot of colors. “Twilight Sparkle is not the only new pony in this town who is getting used to having friends. From what the grapevine says, Trixie has never been close to anypony ever since she became Celestia’s student.”

“An’ now she’s dead broke, so she has to depend on her friends to keep from starvin’.” Applejack huffed and crossed her forelegs. “Ah don’t care if it’s workin’ because that just stinks. Ya’ think Celestia’s behind this?”

“Just because I designed a few dresses for Her Highness, does not mean I understand her thought process,” protested Rarity. “I’m sure Princess Celestia would never be caught being so deceptive, even if it gets her reclusive student to spend time with us.”

The flutter of wings from above preceded Rainbow Dash’s arrival and quick capture of the majority of the chocolate biscuits on the table, followed by an odd double-thump of two rumps landing in the two remaining empty chairs. Spike seemed content to simply clutch onto the table with all the strength he was able to muster after his dramatic trip through Ponyville, but Rainbow Dash scarfed down a hooffull of cookies in a spray of crumbs before asking, “So what’s this I hear about you buying Trixie a week’s stay at some hoity-toity resort, Rarity?”

“You ain’t talkin’ about my cousin Rootworm’s old turnip farm with all them nature-lovin’ weirdos on it, are you?” asked Applejack. “The one that a certain dress-making fancy pony visited last year and came back looking like she’d slept in our barn all week?”

“They are not weirdos,” protested Rarity. “They’re very down to the soil earth ponies who have a… different view on the world, which is reflected in their fine — although disgusting to manufacture — line of beauty products.” She held out a hoof, which gleamed in the noon sunlight. “Beauty often requires great sacrifices.”

“An’ you went an’ snacrificed a sissified city pony to the world of whole-bran muffins and natural remedies,” said Applejack with a snort. “Serves you right if’n she comes back with a straw hat an’ talking all country-like.”

“Hardly,” scoffed Rarity. “I’m quite certain the pony we get back from Flax and Wheat’s delightfully rustic retreat will be indistinguishable from the annoying one we sent there.”

Trixie Lulamoon sank lower into the old bathtub that the ‘spa’ had dragged over to the ‘Goops All-Natural Dyes’ workshop and grumbled at the cold water soaking into her violet coat. “I blame Celestia,” she muttered. “Just drop the blue dye into the tub, Oz. The sooner I get back to my natural color, the better.”

“Are you sure?” The young multicolored unicorn checked her sides where the test strips had been dyed in, detailing most of the different colors available from the rustic nature center’s mobile catalog. “Mum never has tested what happens when you mix two of our dyes.”

“The new one covers the old one,” huffed Trixie. “Just put the dye in the tub and don’t worry about it. I know what I’m doing.”

Trixie sagged down into the chilly water with only the tip of her nose sticking out into the warm fall air as the bubbles from the dye packet began to tickle her back. It was actually a little relaxing, although she would not admit it, and most certainly would have said something if she had noticed the way her coat began to change colors into a very vivid orange under the natural chemical treatment.

“I don’t think you’re all being fair to Trixie,” said Spike, standing up on his chair in order to see over the edge of the table. “She’s changed a lot since she’s been here. She’s never had any friends before other than me, and she’s never had a student for more than an hour or two. Sure, she’s egomaniacal and annoying and bossy and all kinds of other things, but I’ve never seen her worried about anypony other than herself, ever, until she came here.”

“Yeah, she’s cool,” said Rainbow Dash through a mouthful of cookie crumbs. “When I bought her lunch last time, she said she was going to talk me into teaching Twilight how to fly at the same time as Scootaloo, since they’re both about at the same stage of flying. They were both over at the Town Hall just now, jumping off of crates and practicing gliding to the sound of some music, so Trixie must have been giving them a few pointers ahead of time.”

Applejack grunted, looking across the town to the sprawling construction site where a number of small ponies were having a discussion at the entrance of the Town Hall, preparing to emerge for lunch after a suspiciously quiet morning of whatever they had been getting up to in there. “A unicorn teaching a pegasus and an alicorn how to fly. Don’t that beat all. Next thing you know, she’ll be teachin’ mah little sis how to buck apples.”

“Sweetie Belle’s magic has gotten much stronger ever since Trixie came to town,” said Rarity somewhat reluctantly. “We still don’t let her cook, but Green Grass said her scores showed an astonishing increase in both power and control since his last evaluation. Mother wants her to take the entrance examination for Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, but I’m a little unsure. I mean, just look at that.”

She gestured at the six distant little fillies… five little fillies and one colt who were getting lined up outside of Town Hall to start marching in their direction.

“She has so many friends here,” said Rarity with a hint of despair in her voice. “If she goes off to Canterlot, she’ll be so lonely, just like Trixie was. I offered to go with her and set up a store in town, but…” Rarity trailed off with a difficult swallow, as if she had tried to eat an entire cookie without anything to wash it down with.

“Yeah, I’ve thought about that every time I get ready to apply for the Wonderbolts,” admitted Rainbow Dash in a spray of crumbs around her most recent cookie. “When I go from the reserves to an active member, I’ll be in Cloudsdale every single day in training. I’m gonna miss you girls. And you too, Spike,” she added, rubbing Spike on the head.

“That is a problem for the future,” declared Rarity with a quick wipe of a napkin across her lips and one surreptitious dab at her eyes. “Right now, our darling little sisters are putting on a little parade on their way to Sugarcube Corner, and we should be supportive.” She added a quick brush of the napkin across Spike’s face to wipe off a few glittering crumbs as Applejack cocked her head and watched the little parade of six little ponies tromping and flapping in their direction.

“Can’t hear what they’re singin’ yet, but it sure does keep ‘em in step,” she admitted with grudging respect. “What kinda music collection does Trixie have, anyhow?”

Dismissing Spike’s muffled snort of derision with a waved hoof, Rarity sniffed. “Naturally, being the student of Princess Celestia, she should have only the most refined taste in culture, so it probably features Belching Bagpipes or some drivel like that. Now, every pony try to be supportive, and say something complimentary about the way Twilight and Scootaloo are keeping airborne, even if it is only a few hooves above the ground.”

Three ponies and one dragon kept polite smiles on as the procession approached, although as the song became audible, Applejack hissed between her teeth, “Rarity!”

“Hush, darling,” she hissed back, not moving her lips. “Be supportive.”

It was considerably more difficult to do so as the words the six little ponies were singing became clear.

“Hi, Rarity!” chirped Sweetie Belle as the organized small parade broke up into a sudden rush for the last few chocolate biscuits on the table before Rainbow Dash could finish them off. “Did you see how Twilight and Scootaloo— that is Diamond Tiara was flying?”

“That’s nice, Sweetie,” said Rarity without breaking her smile one bit or even blinking.

“Come on, girls!” said Scootaloo, almost unintelligible from the cookies she had stuffed in her mouth. “We need to get to Sugarcube Corner before all of the cake is gone.”

“Last one there is a minion!” shouted Apple Bloom as she bolted away from the table, followed by the rest of the crowd at a full stampede. Even the little purple alicorn seemed caught up in the emotion and unfazed by being out in public. Well, at least with the prospect of cake in the future as she galloped along near the back of the swarm when they vanished off in the direction of Sugarcube Corner.

“That’s pretty good,” said Rainbow Dash. “Did you see the way Scootaloo was using her wingstrokes back there? It won’t be long before she’s cutting through the sky just like me. Only slower, of course.”

“That—” Applejack stopped abruptly and peered closely at Rarity, who appeared to have stopped breathing, although the muscles in her jaw were still working, and a faint grinding noise came from her direction.

“I think she’s broken,” said Spike, waving a claw in front of Rarity’s face. “Should I get some cold water?”

“I’m fine,” said Rarity, still locked in her rigid position with her grin turning into a rictus of sheer determination with her efforts not to scream.

“So, were those dirty words or something?” asked Rainbow Dash, wiping the crumbs off her face with the back of one hoof.

“You could say that,” said Applejack. After a deep breath, she added, “Ah so want to tan their hides for this, ‘cept that wouldn’t be right. Besides, they’re gonna be red as apples once they learn what all them words mean.”

Rarity took a short breath, followed by a much longer breath, then breathed in and held it for a while before leaving it out in one loooong sigh. “Very correct, Rarity. You need to calm down. Sweetie Belle is a young innocent who did not know what she was singing. Once Spikey-Wikey shows them the words in the dictionary, they will all know just how foolish they looked trotting through town singing that bawdy song.” The slightest meaningful look at Spike caused the little dragon to launch out of his seat and go dashing off for the library and the aforementioned dictionary.

After another deep breath, she continued, still staring off into the air in an unfocused fashion. “Sweetie Belle did not know what she was singing, so she does not need to be punished for this. You should be kind and loving to your little sister. Understanding. Forgiving. It was not her fault, Rarity.”

She turned and directed a beatific smile in Applejack’s direction. “Darling, Trixie should be back in Ponyville tomorrow morning. Can I borrow a shovel?”

Momentarily set aback, Applejack looked to Rainbow Dash for support, which was met by a shrug and the pegasus adding, “I can help dig if you need me to, Rarity.”

“Good.” Rarity’s smile gained a few exposed teeth. “We’re going to bury her record collection this afternoon.”

Author's Notes:

What, you didn’t think… No! Rarity would never do that to Trixie. By herself. That’s why you have friends.

The Oldest Profession is from the Jolly Rogers album, Pirates Evermore, what I consider to be their best album, ever. In particular, check out Piece by Piece, which occupies the narrow category of Christian Pirate song, and catch the Jolly Rogers at the Kansas City Renaissance Festival every year. You can also catch them on Facebook, which is where all good pirates hang out. Seriously, spend a few doubloons on some good clean fun. And look at Track 14, if you want a sneak peek at the next arc.

55 - 24 - Part Three

There was nothing like a dictionary to take all the fun out of a party. Spike obviously felt bad about his role in the emotional bubble-popping, and had gathered the girls together to give them the bad news (and lyric definitions to their musical parade) privately rather than out in the open. It made the embarrassment of their noon trek through town a little less, but still, the afternoon was beginning to look like six ponies hiding under six boxes if they planned on going anywhere. Well, seven boxes once Scootaloo heard the news too and volunteered to suffer along with the rest of them.

“I’m sorry we didn’t find any spells to put us back in the same bodies,” said Scootaloo, shoving a plastic fork through the remains of her party cake.

“Twilight will get it eventually,” said Diamond Tiara, stretching out a small wing and giving a cautious flap. “I’ll miss these when she does.”

“Yeah.” Scootaloo touched the top of her mane where the plastic ‘Party Princess’ tiara from the party had been placed. “It’s kinda nice to have other ponies listen to what I’ve got to say for a change, but I’d rather be flying. Did you girls check everywhere in town for a counterspell? What about Zecora?”

“Unicorn spell. Needs unicorn counterspell.” Monster slumped down on the floor with her nose in the few leftover bits of cake still stuck to her plate. “Twist brought a note. Lyra didn’t have anything.” Both ears perked up and Monster took a careful breath. “Lyra,” she repeated, keeping alert for the crushing feeling of weight in her chest which did not materialize.

“There are other alternatives to get this spell removed rather than a lazy musician who hangs out in the park,” said Diamond Tiara. “I’ll have Daddy write a note to…” She paused and looked at her wings. “I mean I’ll have Scootaloo tell Daddy to write a note to every importantest unicorn to find a way to undo this—”

“No.” Monster lifted her head up off the floor and licked the icing off her nose. “My mistake. I’ll fix. Just need a spell.”

“Celestia’s school in Canterlot has lots of spells,” said Sweetie Belle. “Rarity took me there once when we were talking about taking my exam. They’ve got whole libraries worth of them.”

“Too far.” Monster took a deep breath. “Too many other ponies.”

“There were a bunch of books in that old creepy castle,” said Featherweight. “Stacks and stacks of them, all stretching up to the ceiling. I’ll bet there’s lots of spells in them.”

“What bookth?” asked Twist. She looked over at the surprised pegasus with the rest of her friends. “I didn’t thee any bookth there.”

“Buks?” prompted Monster, remaining very quiet.

“I would have remembered a library,” said Sweetie Belle. “Although we did split up and run around quite a bit before our sisters caught us again. You know, Celestia was pretty upset when she lost her sister. Maybe she moved out of their castle without taking any of her stuff with her.”

“I didn’t get a really good look at them other than a peek in the door when I was running away from Rainbow Dash, but it was a really big room, full of books and spiderwebs,” said Featherweight.

“There’s probably nothing left of them anymore,” said Scootaloo with a shudder at the thought of that many bugs. Or possibly books. “You saw the number those beetles were doing on Trixie’s comics. There were these big holes in the roof all over that castle. They’ve been exposed to the weather and spiders for a thousand years.”

“But it was dry inside,” said Apple Bloom. “There weren’t no mold or weeds growing anywhere.”

“The castle could be magically protected,” suggested Twist. “Tho the rain won’t come through the holeth. It’th worth a try.”

“You know what this means?” asked Sweetie Belle with a gasp.

“CUTIE MARK CRUSADER CASTLE EXPLORERS!” they chorused.

Diamond Tiara was terrified, although she could not dare let anypony know. She was afraid of the Everfree Forest they were trotting through, but that was just the start. When Silver Spoon went away with her family on a vacation, she had been afraid of being alone without her best friend. She was afraid her Daddy was going to send her away for fighting with Scootaloo. The little purple freak with the wings and the horn would not do what Diamond said, and that bothered her more than just about everything else.

And the absolute worst thing of it all was she was not sure what she was really afraid of.

The entire group of little idiots were tramping along a path inside the Everfree Forest just as calmly as if they were racing down a street in Ponyville, although at not nearly their regular breakneck speed. Featherweight was on towing duty for the scooter and wagon while the rest of the girls traveled along in a generally cohesive clump with him, leaving Diamond to tag along at the back of the group along with their token adult and two pests.

“A-are you sure you’re not s-scared, Scootaloo?” asked Fluttershy, who had huddled up next to Diamond Tiara as they walked.

“Hey, no prob,” said Snips. “You girls ran through the forest in the dark to fight Nightmare Moon. This’ll be a walk in the park.”

“I just want to see the castle,” added Snails. “We brought lots of bottles to bring back bugs.” He shook his rump a little so he could listen to the clinking of the bottles in his saddlebags and smiled at the thought of so many new exotic little friends to add to his collection.

In the center of the little ponies, the freaky little purple alicorn seemed torn between running forward as fast as her little hooves would carry her and turning around to run back to town. It was a little like watching a magnet to see the way her little friends clustered around her. It was a little painful too, as the only real friend Diamond Tiara had was Silver Spoon, and there were little fragments of time where some of Scootaloo’s friends would forget which body she was in and direct an unexpected friendly look at her.

It was probably better than a field trip with Miss Cheerilee, as there was not an endless string of chatter from the teacher telling all of the educational parts of the trip and the unspoken realization that there would probably be a test at the end. Diamond was free to look out into the dark green of the forest as they trotted along in the afternoon sunlight, just enjoying the brisk trip out into unknown territory despite her best efforts. She only got a little dose of education from Fluttershy, who warmed up to the trip as they trotted along while pointing out clouds of colorful flying creatures or interesting bursts of flowers.

Although when Diamond Tiara leaned out from the path to catch a quick snack from a passing patch of blue flowers, she was almost brutally yanked back into the group by a powerful magical grab on her tail.

“No,” said the freaky little alicorn, looking terrifyingly intense with her ears laid back and her teeth slightly bared.

“What?” protested Diamond Tiara as the rest of the group stopped. “I just wanted to see what they taste like.”

“No,” repeated Twilight, although she straightened up and took a breath while some of the tension went out of her body. “Everything in the forest tries to kill or tries to keep from being killed. The flowers are bad.” She paused, seemingly looking for words, before adding, “Ask mom when we go back. Can’t remember. Just know they’re bad.”

“Everything in the forest can’t be all bad,” snapped Diamond Tiara. “We’ve been on this path for an hour now, and nothing bad has happened.” She stomped a hoof for emphasis, then paused and stomped again, looking down this time. “Why is there a path this big through the forest? And why does it look paved?”

The little alicorn hesitated with her mouth working and her eyes darting from side to side before she took a deep breath and turned back to the path. “I’ll show. Can’t tell. Words not there.”

The cheerful chatter as they trotted along turned into a long, painful silence, although after awhile, the whispers turned back into talking and then their usual loud discussions about silly things. Still, it caught Diamond Tiara by surprise when they came over a low rise and caught sight of the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters.

At one time, it must have been a beautiful sight, with tall towers and wide walls filled with princesses and princes, dragons and diplomats, culture and refinement, and all of the other things that made castles so important.

Now, not so much.

If she turned her head and squinted a little, it seemed as if there had originally been one large castle onto which a city had more ‘recently’ been attached, although quite poorly. What little remained of the doomed city was heaps of rubble and tangles of brush, but the huge stone castle in the middle remained for the most part, fairly intact, considering how large it was and how long it had been abandoned to rot in the forest. It looked inviting, filled with fascinating places to explore and treasures to discover that she could brag about to Silver Spoon when she returned from her vacation, but there was just one thing standing in her way.

“No way. I am not crossing that bridge.”

For all the size and scope of the crumbling castle, there was only a skinny rope bridge connecting this side of the chasm to the castle side. A frail rope bridge that certainly would break when they were part of the way across and drop them all screaming to their deaths on the rocks below, or at least where the rocks would be if she could see through the mist.

Most of the other ponies had galloped off to scramble across the dangerous bridge, but they came back when Apple Bloom put a hoof to her lips and blew a piercing whistle.

“There ain’t nothing to be afraid of. That’s a perfectly good, sturdy bridge,” said Apple Bloom as she strolled up to where the ropes were tied off and gave it a good shake, although waiting until all of her friends had come back first. The bridge swayed, but did not fall down, at least all at once. There was a rattling noise as a few of the planks dropped pieces down into the misty ravine, and then some more as Apple Bloom kept shaking the bridge.

“Thee’s right. That doethent look thafe,” said Twist, backing away from the edge. “Ith there another way acroth?”

Twilight nodded. From her pensive expression and the way her wings were clenched tightly to her sides, she had not really been looking forward to walking across the frail bridge either. She turned and led the group down a fairly wide path that descended into the ravine, which still did not look very safe to Diamond Tiara, but was at least solid beneath her hooves. Down and down they went until the path leveled out at the bottom of the ravine where the mist eddied and flowed around, even sticking to Diamond Tiara’s new wings until she flicked them as they walked.

“Whoa!” Variations on the startled theme echoed through the rocky area from all of the group of ponies as a huge crystalline tree became visible through the mist, lurking in a shaded depression next to the path. If generous, the rocky cleft could be described as a cave, but not quite, seeming all dark and mysterious in the mist but still lit up by a soft light that filled the area from the tree’s glowing trunk and branches.

“It’s just the tree,” said Twilight, not stopping her continuing trudge onward past the cave, although after a few steps, she looked back at the rest of the group with a sigh. She trudged back to where her friends were standing patiently while obviously wanting to go investigate the fascinating object, but unwilling to move into the cave without her. “Look. Don’t touch,” she added. “And stay quiet. Sleeping.”

“Trees don’t sleep,” scoffed Diamond Tiara as the rest of the group surged forward to gather around the huge glass tree. She had planned on following the rest of them, but the little purple alicorn held a hoof up to stop her.

“Path. Still want to know?”

Every instinct inside of Diamond Tiara screamed against the idea, but there was a little niggling itch of curiosity that made her whisper back, “Yes.” It was probably a side-effect of being mind-swapped with the flightless wonder and being around Twilight’s friends so long, and would probably get her killed someday. Still, Diamond could feel her heart pound with anticipation as Twilight guided her through the mist to the side of the cave with her stubby little horn lit up to provide illumination. She stopped in front of a shallow depression in the wall where a gentle dank breeze blew out, drawing herself up into a seated position with her eyes closed and just sat there, doing nothing.

After a few moments, the breeze reversed itself, drawing air into the shallow depression. Diamond wanted to ask just what they were doing there while the rest of the little ponies were climbing over the crystal tree and calling to each other (in indoor voices) about how it had Twilight’s cutie mark, but Daddy had taught her the value of patience and remaining quiet while bigger ponies were doing important stuff. There was always a reward.

Then the breeze reversed again, blowing past her face in a gentle stream of humid air, and something inside of Diamond Tiara’s mind clicked.

The cave is breathing.

Under the dim light of Twilight’s horn, certain features of the depression in the cave wall became abruptly clear. The shallow depression was one of two nostrils, both of which were large enough for an adult pony to stand in, and the closed eye above each one of them was much smaller, probably the size of a younger pony, which would make the rest of the monstrous creature about the size of…

She should have been terrified, running around screaming at the top of her lungs. Instead, having Twilight within reach made her heart calm down to a soft thumping, even when one of the huge eyes cracked open slightly and looked down at the two of them.

“Come,” said Twilight, standing up and taking a step forward. “Here.” The little alicorn guided her stumbling path forward across the rocky floor and lifted one of Diamond’s hooves up to touch against the rough skin of the massive creature. It was almost impossible to hear at first, but the sound of an unearthly chorus filtered quietly into her head, growing in volume the longer she held her hoof against the creature. There was a purity to the song that seemed to strike a resonance right down to her bones as Diamond held perfectly still, letting the music wash through her body and fill her heart.

“Landwyrm,” she whispered through her tears. “Her name is Landwyrm. She’s beautiful.”

“Shh,” whispered Twilight. “Listen.”

The imagery and song stuck with Diamond Tiara long after they left the cave and climbed up the rocky path to the abandoned castle. It had been difficult to believe that the little stubby-winged alicorn had been the Monster of the Everfree before, even after seeing the huge hollow tree Princess Celestia had brought out of the forest for Zecora and her adopted daughter, or hearing all of the wild stories the rest of the ponies in town had told about Twilight, or even when she had showed up with Scootaloo and Princess Luna inside Diamond Tiara’s bedroom one night.

Now, she believed.

Those five little losers had voluntarily made friends with the terrifying destructive monster Twilight had been, freed Princess Luna from Nightmare Moon, and stayed by her side after she had been turned into a little filly again. It made her feel small and worthless, like a common stone next to six diamonds. Even the wonders of the ancient castle, filled with fascinating tile mosaics on the walls and huge empty rooms that echoed to the sounds of their hoofsteps on the cracked marble floors did not make her feel too much better.

For being a thousand years old, the inside of the castle was in better shape than the outside. Of course, ‘better’ was relative. Tapestries and banners which spanned dusty corridors and the destroyed throne room crumbled to dust at a touch, while the suits of armor jumbled around in various corners of the castle had all rusted solid to the point even Snips was unable to cut them open enough to crawl inside. Spiderwebs and scuttling insects were about the only life they could find as they followed Featherweight on his erratic course through the castle with pauses for photographs and interspaced with “No, not this way” and “That looks familiar.” Of course, this did not bother Fluttershy a bit, as she stopped to check out every little creepy-crawly scuttling through the dust and ancient stones, or Snips and Snails, who added a few of them to their collection after checking with the shy pegasus to make sure they wanted to have a new home.

“We’re close,” declared Featherweight as they slipped past a huge double-door labelled ‘Conservatory’ and into an open area that still had a few panes of glass in the tall framework overhead. Long ago, the area seemed to have been a greenhouse of some sort, filled with all kinds of exotic plants, but time had reduced the insides into a huge snarl of rosebushes in a rainbow pattern of blooms among the sharp thorns. Featherweight started to fly over the thorny obstacle, only to come up short when Twilight used her magic to grab onto his tail. “It’s just a short hop over these… Oh.” He fluttered to the ground next to his groundbound friends and peered into the dark and thorny mess.

“Books,” declared Twilight, taking a step forward and lighting her horn up even brighter as the thorny branches began to bend away. “Need help.”

“Okay,” ventured Sweetie Belle hesitantly before lighting up her own horn and helping create a tunnel through the thorny rosebushes. Most of the obstacles in their way were the old and very dry remains of rosebushes that were probably old when Ponyville was founded, but when one of Sweetie Belle’s sparks from her horn threatened to catch the woody refuse on fire, the little alicorn was quick to smother it. After a moment’s thought about how much dry wood was around them in all directions, Diamond Tiara could understand why. Still, lots of little fragments of dry rosebushes had gotten stuck in everypony’s manes by the time another problem cropped up.

“Who cut one?” asked Scootaloo as they continued down the created path. She waved one hoof in front of her nose while pushing the scooter and attached wagon in earth pony style, since Featherweight had gotten his camera out again to take pictures of the way the light filtered down through the thick bushes above. “It really stinks down here.”

“Yeah, like something died,” agreed Diamond Tiara with a flap of her wing to help move fresh air into the dark passage. She stayed quiet and followed along with the rest of them, but stopped when the procession forward ended with a startled scream from Sweetie Belle.

“What’s wrong? What’s going on up there?”

“It’s… dead.” With a little additional clearing from Twilight, the rest of the little ponies were able to see what had startled Sweetie Belle so much. It appeared to have been a small dragon about the size of a pony, who had been killed by some larger predator in the air and crashed down into the rosebushes afterwards. Horrid slashes traced long paths across the rotting corpse and a large bite was missing from the dead dragon’s neck, but what was really frightening was the number of beetles and bugs crawling around on the body.

“Eww,” declared Snips. “What was that thing?”

“She looks like a pygmy tree dragon,” said Fluttershy, who had tentatively pushed her way to the front of the group. “I don’t have any idea what could have attacked her, though. We’re an awful long ways away from the edge of the forest next to Ponyville and I don’t know what kind of creatures live around here.”

“Can… you help it?” asked Diamond Tiara, too frozen and revolted to look away from the bloated corpse. Despite being dead, it seemed beautiful somehow, with a two-toned skin all grey and lusterless with little patches of green and brown looking like lichen on its top section, spread out in a pattern that made the dead dragon almost seem to vanish in the shadows thrown by the snarl of rosebushes above them. The underbelly of the dead dragon was anything but subdued, colored in glittering shades of rose and topaz highlighted with little sparkles of embedded gemstones. Even the membranes which extended between forelegs and hindlegs instead of proper draconic wings shimmered across their undersides in reflective iridescence wherever the light could penetrate the shade of the overgrown rosebushes. Without wings, it probably could not fly up into the sky, but while gliding down from a treetop onto its prey, it must have been spectacular to watch in the air. When curled up or stalking along the ground, all of the beautiful sparkles would be hidden under the protective camouflage grey and green/brown of its top side, and it could have easily been mistaken for a simple lichen-covered rock or weathered lump of grey stone.

“No. It’s dead.” The little alicorn pulled some of the rosebush tendrils she had been pushing out of the way and used them to cover the body. Even Snails seemed to be moved by the gesture and made no effort to capture any of the insects in the vicinity, keeping the bottles in his saddlebags even after the group continued moving through the dense underbrush and found the doorway into the rest of the castle.

“I’m glad Spike’s not here,” said Sweetie Belle as she stomped her hooves and shook her mane to get out as much of the bits of rosebush as she could, although she kept looking down at the cobblestoned floor. “He would have been scared to see another dragon like that. Do you think they’re related?”

“No.” Fluttershy shook some rosebush bits out of her mane and sighed. “There are a lot of different kinds of dragon. Tree dragons don’t grow very big at all and I’ve never heard of one talking. Some ponies say they’re not even dragons at all, but drakes. They live in the forest and eat mostly bugs and nectar, and only gnaw on gems, so I’m not quite sure if they are really considered dragons by dragons. That had to have been an older adult, and Spike is going to grow up a lot bigger. Trixie told me when he got loose in the Royal Mint, he grew taller than the biggest building in Ponyville.”

“Wow,” said Featherweight. “Did she get any pictures?”

Fluttershy finally managed to smile as if she were holding back a tense giggle. “They both told me no, but I bet if you ask Princess Celestia sometime, she might be able to find one.”

“Books first,” declared Twilight with a sharp tug on Featherweight’s tail. “Where?”

“Do you think there are other dragons around here?” asked Sweetie Belle. “I mean it is an old castle, and all of Rarity’s stories with dragons in them have old castles that they make their lairs inside until the handsome unicorn prince shows up to slay the dragon and save the maiden. Then they go off and do kissy stuff.” She wrinkled up her face. “Eww.”

Fluttershy looked around the empty castle corridor, which if it had not been for the dust and the broken windows, might have been used by Celestia in Canterlot. “I hope there aren’t any more dragons or drakes around here, Sweetie. Dragons and drakes are fiercely territorial, even pygmy tree dragons. Normally dragons don’t leave their claimed territory except during the Dragon Migration.” She shuddered. “I prefer butterflies.”

“Books?” asked Twilight, looking up and down the corridor they had emerged into.

“Whoa! Check this out!” Snips had wandered down the corridor a ways to look at one of the broken windows in the way that colts always seemed to be attracted to anything sparkly or dangerous, and now he crouched down with Snails to look at a section of rubble that seemed recently disturbed. “Something bashed open this window and look what they left behind.”

He lifted up a thin section of rock that was all grey on one side but scintillated with all the colors of the rainbow on the other. There were several of the colorful thin rocks scattered around the loose rubble, and the little ponies each picked one up to admire the way the afternoon light reflected off them.

“They’re all curved,” said Sweetie Belle, holding up two of the thin rocks and pressing them together. “They’re like eggshells or something.”

“Cool!” declared Featherweight as he snapped off a picture of them holding the little pieces of stone. “We could be standing in a mother dragon’s lair, playing with her broken eggs when the ferocious dragon comes back and—”

“Buks!” declared Twilight, who had gone further down the corridor and was dancing rather impatiently next to an open door labelled ‘Library.’ “Come on!”

“All right,” said Featherweight after one last picture. He started to flap down the corridor with the rest of the friends while adding, “Yeah, that’s where I saw the books. But there were—”

Twilight bolted forward, through the doors and into the next room almost faster than the eye could recognize. The clatter of hooves died down rapidly, seeming more muffled than ordinary, as if there were a carpet in the book-filled room, or as if her hooves were accumulating a thick coating of something soft.

When Diamond Tiara reached the door and looked inside, the answer was obvious. And creepy.

Thick strands of webbing hung from every tall object in the room, from the remains of a crystal chandelier to the tops of all of the bookshelves, in long, silky waves that caused the other side of the room to fade into white much like the area had been filled with fog. Moving almost as if she were a hyperactive ghost, Twilight galloped through the spaces between bookshelves as fast as she could possibly travel, even vanishing and reappearing in little sharp pops of magic as she would spot something she could not wait to reach. Streams of webbing billowed behind her as she ran, not even pausing for a second as she touched one bookshelf, then another, all the while emitting a long muttered phrase that sounded vaguely like, “buksbuksbuksbuks…”

“Wow,” said Snails, standing in place and looking around the room in fascination, his wide eyes seeming to pick out every spider in the widespread webs and attempting to figure out which would be the best one to take home. He certainly had a large number to choose from as nearly everywhere the eye could see, little bits of dark chitin glittered against billows of white silk, with each of the long-legged creatures sporting a pale blue star on their back and cold blue eyes that glittered in the shadows like stars of their own. From little flecks of darkness looking like bits of moving dirt against the background of white to huge old spiders with distended abdomens who could barely crawl along the ground, they all seemed to cry out to be taken back to Ponyville and allowed to make a home with all of the rest of the creepy insects he had in his room…

Oh. At least he’s smart enough to recognize how dumb of an idea that would be.

As Snails consulted with Fluttershy on finding one of the beautiful little creatures to take home, preferably one who would not eat all of the rest of his little friends, the rest of his pony friends spread out and started to explore the web-strewn library, with Scootaloo being the most insistent on finding one particular object among the many available.

“There’s gotta be a spellbook in here somewhere to turn us back,” said Scootaloo, who had picked her way carefully through the webbing to the nearest bookshelf and was starting to pull books onto the floor.

Diamond Tiara strode forward through the wispy spiderwebs and struck Scootaloo on the back of one hoof, which turned out to be not as good of an idea as she thought because her own hoof promptly throbbed in reflexive pain. “Ow! Are you trying to keep us from getting put back in the right bodies? We need a careful, systematic search of this library for the spell we need, or you’ll just wind up with a huge heap of books.” She gave a brief squeal of shock and shook off the small spider which had crawled up on her foreleg, then danced in place to discourage a few curious little spiders who were trying to climb up her legs.

Once Diamond had gotten her wits back and the spiders shaken off, she added, “Apple Bloom, get in here and bring in the wagon. We’ll use it to bring back the books Twilight picks out.”

“B-b-but… spiders!” Apple Bloom remained solidly in the doorway, pointing with one hoof at everything in the room that had a spider on it or could have a spider on it, which was about everything.

“They’re just spiders!” Gritting her teeth and thinking about how soon she was going to be back in her huge, spider-free mansion, Diamond Tiara scooped up one of the moderately-sized spiders in one hoof and held it carefully out in front of her. It did at least seem to be relatively non-hostile, although it had an uncomfortable advantage in staring back at her with so many beady little blue eyes. The long, dark legs held onto Scootaloo’s little borrowed hoof gently, while two of the longer forelegs stroked the orangish hairs of her fetlock, giving a strange and somewhat nice electrical sensation that made it hard to hold still. “See!” she managed to get out from between clenched teeth. “Are you going to let me do something you’re too c-chicken to do? They don’t b-bite, they just t-t-tickle.”

As expected, the taunt shocked the little earth pony out of her dithering and caused her to take several steps forward into the web-strewn room in order to pick up a spider of her own, at least twice the size of the one Diamond was holding. After a few moments of tense, eye-closed trembling, Apple Bloom opened one eye and looked at the hairy little monster, who was rubbing its forelegs across her fetlock just the same as the one Diamond Tiara was holding, only possibly with a little more affection. “H-hey, you’re r-right. They’re like l-little feathers.”

“Good.” Diamond Tiara passed the creepy spider over to Snails, who had been watching the whole episode with a goofy grin. “Snips. Snails. Follow Twilight and help load the wagon. At least you can’t screw that up. Twist, you’re one of the best readers in our class. Take Featherweight for the top shelves and go around the library to figure out where the spell books were kept. Fluttershy, see if you can keep those icky spiders out of the way of the wagon. Sweetie Belle, I need you to… Sweetie Belle?”

It was very quiet out in the corridor after the rest of her friends had gone off to the library, but Sweetie Belle was content to spend a few minutes alone while holding the tiny dragon eggshells in her magic. She could not help but think of Twilight Sparkle at her entrance exam into Princess Celestia’s school, and the resulting magical feedback loop which had nearly destroyed Canterlot. Twilight had almost died from the magic she had failed to control, and she was so much better at magic than Sweetie Belle had ever been.

“Diamond Tiara was right. I am just a no-talent loser,” she whispered to the sparkly eggshells. “I’d just blow up the egg or something if I take the test. Ponyville is a lot better than some dumb old school in Canterlot.” She bumped a few of the rocks on the floor around while listening to her friends in the library, but before she got up to follow them, she noticed something odd about one of the rocks. It was the same color as the eggshells she was holding, and fairly round too. In fact, it was almost exactly the same size and shape as—

“A dragon egg,” she breathed, looking at the little thing. It was about the size of a goose egg and totally unremarkable in all regards except for what her imagination could picture inside.

“Sweetie Belle!” Diamond Tiara’s voice echoed down the corridor, and Sweetie Belle jumped.

“Coming!” she called back. She fumbled with her mane, pulling out the bit purse that Rarity had gotten for her last Hearth’s Warming and dumping out the collection of pins, notes, and shiny pebbles she had stuffed into it. “It’s just an itty-bitty dragon’s egg,” she whispered, picking up the egg and fitting it into the small purse, still warm from where it had been nestled against her neck. “Spike can show me how to hatch it, and I’ll be ready for the test when they give me the big egg. It’s not cheating. Really. Maybe Trixie can even help. She raised Spike from when he was hatched.”

“Sweetie Belle, hurry up! We don’t have much time before we need to go back home or it will get dark.”

“Coming, Diamond!” she called back again. The little bit pouch clipped back on her mane without a problem, leaving the dragon’s egg nestled against her neck as she trotted back toward her friends. It should have been as cold as the ground it was sitting on, but the egg somehow seemed warm against her neck as Sweetie Belle finished tucking it under her mane, as if it was happy to have a friend after losing its mother.

Butterflies. All Monster could think of was butterflies. Thoughts fluttered through her mind like a swarm of butterflies, darting and dashing from place to place as she rushed around in the room crammed full of books up to the ceiling. She wanted to read them all, right now, however many months or years it would take, but no more had she taken a step toward one interesting tome when a second would catch her eye from across the room, or a third, or a seventy-fifth. It took a considerable amount of running frantically around the room before her heart settled down and she could breathe in the dusty air without plunging across the room when another book caught her eye. Spiderwebs were draped all over her body from the pell-mell flight around the webbed room, but the spiders had kept the bugs away from the books really well. When she finally got up enough willpower to open one of the books, it seemed just as dry and well-kept as all of the books in the Ponyville Golden Oak Library, Open Eight To Six On Weekdays And Nine To Five On Weekends.

After catching her breath and shaking off most of the sticky webbing, including a few inquisitive spiders who seemed to be trying to groom their new purple friend, Monster began skimming down the books on the shelf. There really was not much time to find the books she wanted, even with Twist and Feather checking the layout of the library. Sweetie Belle was a great help too, checking around the bottom shelves after them and acting uncharacteristically quiet as she added possible books for Monster’s examination which the little earth pony and pegasus had overlooked. Still, she could only take a few of the spellbooks back to Ponyville, if she could find any in the massive room full of other kinds of books.

The wagon was full in a very short time, and there were still a lot of books left which could hold the potential key to fixing Scootaloo and Diamond. Monster stood and thought, carefully breathing in and out while trying not to be upset at the way Diamond Tiara shrieked whenever one of the spiders gave her an unexpected caress, which was often. They were useful creatures, even if the largest of them was the size of Big Mac’s hoof and seemed to be staring at her all of the time from all of their eyes. She petted one while thinking about putting some of them in the wagon and bringing them back to the library to deal with the beetles who had been in Trixie’s stored belongings. That way the library books would not get eaten up like the comics in the crates, but the big spiders would take up too much space. A few little ones would fit into the empty spaces in the wagon and would grow up to be able to eat the bugs, so they would have to do, but it still did not solve her problem with bringing back enough books.

Or maybe it did.

“Bah! This place has too many trees!” Tallgrass tried to ignore the grousing from his fellow Imetabiriwa as they trudged slowly through the Whitetail Woods, somehow feeling vindicated inside that he was actually a changeling instead of such a quarrelsome zebra, but a little uneasy at the thought of the zebra he had taken as a bride. Hopefully, the annoying and conflict-driven behavior of their kind was a symptom of the Imetabiriwa remaining single until reaching old age, but he was still a little concerned. After all, he only had a sample set of five older Imetabiriwa to draw from, but side conversations with the burro servant and the two ibex who accompanied the Council only reinforced his negative opinion of zebrakind in general.

Several weeks of travel around Equestria with the five mares had given Tallgrass a new realization on just exactly why Zecora had volunteered to leave all of her peers and travel across the world to a place where there were no zebras at all. Still, despite all their backbiting and sniping at each other, the five of them had stayed together through their wandering tour of the Equestrian countryside on their way to retrieve the new Imetabiriwa na Anga and coincidently his new adopted daughter. Perhaps it was related to the way they had accepted him into their little bachelorette herd without a complaint, or at least a complaint louder than their regular ones. It was one of the many things he intended on asking his wife just as soon as they could get somewhere private to have a conversation. That is, provided she did not have different plans for their first few hours back together again. Twelve years of being single had built up a lot of… tension in her.

As they came over a familiar low hill, the distant town of Ponyville came into view. Despite his concerns during the trip, Tallgrass was a little relieved to see all of the buildings in more or less the same shape as when he had left, as well as the scaffolding around Town Hall having reached the very top of the reconstruction project. In just a little under an hour, he would be introducing his traveling companions to his wife and their adopted daughter, which would probably be a great shock to the wise zebras of the distant land to discover their Imetabiriwa na Anga of ancient lore who they wanted to bring back to reunite all of Zebrica in peace and friendship was actually a little purple alicorn who most probably would—

A burst of virulent swearing from Old Kavu abruptly cut off his idle musings. Weighted down by her golden neck rings, the elderly zebra had doubled over onto the grassy ground and was holding her foreleg ankle while increasing Tallgrass’ command of the Zebrican language. In particular, curse words.

“We’re only a quick dash from Ponyville,” blurted out Tallgrass. “I’ll run down to the hospital and bring back a stretcher.”

His quick steps in the direction of the small town were stopped almost at once as three of the greying zebra stepped in front of him, with the tallest holding out a precautionary hoof.

“Stop, you stupid male.
As one, we journey to Her.
You are with us now.”

“Obey her, fool,” hissed Old Kavu through bared teeth as she lay on the grass with the two ibex by her side. The servants were trying to get the old zebra to allow them to examine her leg, but she was having no part of it. “Mshairi is right. The Council must not be divided in our search for the Imetabiriwa na Anga. We can stay here for a day or two until my ankle feels better.” With a glare, the elderly zebra dismissed her unwelcome assistants and curled up to lie on her side, holding her injured foreleg close to her body.

“But… we’re almost there,” protested Tallgrass. “I can see my house from here. Well, tree.” He gestured towards the distant town and the tall branches of the hollow Everfree tree where his new wife and daughter lived, but as he posed with his hoof in the air and the welcome emotional scent of Ponyville tantalizing his senses, something did not seem right. He paused, surreptitiously digging one rear hoof into the ground and listening to the song of the happy spirits as the air whistled through the upper leaves of the trees and the ground thrummed in joyous counterpart beneath him.

In the end, it was not his rudimentary skills as an Imetabiriwa which cued him to the reason for his discontent. It was actually the lack of something his changeling side had been dealing with for the whole trip.

Other than the background aches and pains of age he had gotten used to over the last few weeks, he could not feel a single exceptional emotional twinge of pain coming from the old mare. If she had really twisted her ankle, he would have known even if she had not said a word. There was yet another of the twisted games the Imetabiriwa seemed to love so much being played here, in which the pieces and the board were ever mutable, and the old mare was a master.

He settled down next to Old Kavu, bowing his head in respect and slipping the bag in which he was carrying his worldly possessions down to one side. After due contemplation of whatever deep and contemplative thoughts the rest of the Imetabiriwa were contemplating while gathered in a circle around their ‘wounded’ peer, he withdrew a piece of paper and began to write. The little scratch, scratch, scratch of his pencil seemed to annoy the rest of his peers, so he turned the paper over when he got to the bottom and sketched some doodles of his companions until every bit of unmarked paper had been covered. Folding the resulting letter up and sticking it into an envelope, he stood up and stretched the kinks out of his back while the elderly zebra mares all pretended to ignore him even as they watched from beneath hooded eyelids. Finally, the tall form of Mshairi unfolded from the ground to stand in front of him.

“Words scribed by a fool.
Put on paper, never seen.
Wasting time and thought.”

“A wise pony once said, ‘It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt.’” Tallgrass dug around inside his bag until he found the last element of his plan and held it above his head on the flat of one hoof. The elderly zebra with the ‘sprained’ leg gave him a skeptical look from where she lay, but after a few minutes of relative stillness, she seemed unable to restrain her acid tongue from adding to the commentary.

“Only a fool would speak to the air spirits by holding a muffin over her head.”

Tallgrass nodded, although he kept the hoof with the apple-nut muffin on it held just as high as possible while feeling the spirits of the air dance around the sky. “An Imetabiriwa is a wise one, as you know, but the secrets of this land, I am about to show. I am invoking an ancient ritual which will provide food and comfort to me, and peace of mind to the Imetabiriwa na Anga.”

All five of the zebra looked up and around the empty blue sky before Mshairi snorted and settled back down on the grass with her back to him.

“Fool and male you are.
Hold your food high in the air.
Hungry you will be.”

“Hi, Tallgrass!” The grey pegasus mailmare seemed to come out of nowhere and hovered in front of the offered muffin, taking it in her hooves and settling down in the grass to eat once he had given it to her. “Mmmm, apple-nut. I thought you were supposed to be in Zebrica,” she added, through a splatter of muffin crumbs. “You picked up all those special delivery stamps and everything, but I’ve been seeing your postcards for the last few weeks postmarked from all over Equestria. What happened?”

“It turns out I did not need to go to Zebrica after all,” said Tallgrass with an expansive wave of his hoof that encompassed all of the staring zebra mares. “Zebrica came to me. Ladies, this is Ditzy Doo, postmare for Ponyville, and mother of one of the Imetabiriwa na Anga’s friends, Dinky.”

“Oh, wow.” Ditzy swallowed the last of the muffin and tucked the empty wrapper into her mailbag. “Glad to meet you. If any of you need to send a letter home, the post office has special delivery stamps. They’re gold with a little pelican on them, and they taste like raspberries.” She rooted around in her mailbag and came up with a mouthful of letters. “Here you go, Mister Tallgrass, sir. Most of them are bills, but there’s a catalog from Nickeria’s Secrets.”

“Thank you, Ditzy. I’ve got a letter for Zecora too.” He put a stamp on the envelope and hoofed it over, trying his best to keep from grinning as the mailmare stamped ‘Cancelled’ on the fresh stamp and took off with a wave in the direction of his home. Settling down onto the warm grass in the afternoon sunshine, he closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable question. After living around the zebras for this long and enduring all of their clever verbal twists and turns, he was determined to be just as blunt and forward to them as they had been devious to him.

“Excuse me, sur.” The taciturn burro who had had barely spoken a dozen words during the entire trip bowed to Tallgrass once he had opened his eyes. The two ibex maintained their fearful poise as far away from Tallgrass as they could, much as they had for most of the trip, but the burro had plodded up close enough for hints of deep concern and fear to be tangible to the changeling’s senses. “Imetabiriwa Kimya has confidence in you, but was wanting to know if’n this food you said was enough for her to have some. The grass ‘round here has been bothering her belly something fierce.”

“Does she like onions and chives?” asked Tallgrass.

The worry on the burro’s face vanished in the light of his sudden smile. “Oh, yes, sur.”

“Good.” Tallgrass settled back down in the tall grass to wait. “I’m more than happy to share with my friends. It should be here in an hour, or the next one is free.”

Zecora.

The five zebras I’ve been traveling with are camped up on Stargazer’s Knob. We may be here for a while. I have still not been able to convince them to give up on taking Twilight back to Zebrica.

Looking forward to seeing you again soon.
Tallgrass

P.S. Please go to Little Antonio’s pizza and have one of their extra large double-cheese specials with green pepper, olives, and onion delivered here, with extra love and nine orders of his cheesy chive breadsticks to share. If I have to sit here and listen to them gripe and complain, at least I can get a decent meal for a change.

56 - 24 - Part Four

It had been an invigorating afternoon of digging in the soil for Rarity, but the end result was well worth it, after a quick bath, of course. The library flower beds had been tragically ignored over the last few months since Widow Dewey had departed for a retirement stable in Mexicolt and the new librarian had moved in. Now a long line of fresh gardenias adorned the thick dark soil, turned over to a respectable depth in order to hold the infernal record which she had made certain was deep underground. Applejack had provided the flowers a little boost of earth pony magic while Rainbow Dash had watered the results, although in the end Rarity had yielded on her quest of cultural purity enough to permit Rainbow to ‘borrow’ Trixie’s collection of distasteful rock and roll records. She even used her library card and filled out a lending form with Spike. After all, it made the resulting work much easier, as only one record with nasty pirate music needed to be condemned to Davy Pone’s Locker or whatever pirates would call being buried under a flowerbed.

Her burst of civic improvement had even triggered several other of the town’s inhabitants to chip in their own labor at sprucing up the library, from replacing the rather ragged rosebushes around it to a cautious pruning of some of the upper limbs of the huge oak tree. Bumblesweet had dropped by and harvested a few honeycombs from the beehive for Trixie’s tragically bare pantry while many of Trixie’s rather generous purchases of modern appliances for the public building were being installed. Rarity had never really realized how shabby and old the inside of the library looked until recently, and a few carefully-aimed comments at the ponies passing by gave Spike a number of assistants in the afternoon to help reshelve all of the books as well as dust and polish the old wooden bookshelves. Even Cheerilee brought the head of the Ponyville Library Board, Spoiled Milk, by to examine the number of empty shelves after they were all done cleaning and reshelving, and after a brief discussion with Rarity, Miss Milk promised she would bring up the topic of purchasing new titles at the next library board meeting.

Although Spoiled seemed to imply Trixie had probably been selling the older stock out of the back door in order to raise funds.

As the afternoon sun approached the horizon, Rarity stood in the library doorway with the wonderful scents of fresh wax and cleaning drifting past the open door. There were so many other things that needed to be done to the old tree, like repainting the peeling door or rebuilding the book deposit box, but it felt strangely domestic to hear the sounds of Spike working in the kitchen while standing at the door, waiting on a little pony to come home. While growing up, she had always pictured herself in a castle, waiting for her prince to return from a vigorous day of dragonslaying. Having said dragon working in the kitchen preparing little tidbits to tempt her taste buds with at every opportunity was a little strange, but she could get used to it.

She shook away the scene of imaginary domestic tranquility before her mind could start coming up with what the foals of a dragon and pony would look like, turning instead to the procession of tired little ponies and their adult chaperone as they returned from their afternoon trip.

“Good evening, girls. And Featherweight.” Rarity kept her welcoming smile as Diamond Tiara plodded into the library with the Crusader’s wagon dragging behind her, which was a little bit odd as she had never seen Filthy Rich’s daughter do anything more strenuous than raising her voice. The rest of the dusty little ponies seemed similarly tired, dragging themselves into the library and dropping their saddlebags in a heap as if they weighed a ton, although the little alicorn at the back looked unusually chipper, even cheerful for a change.

It looks like a long nature hike with Fluttershy was just the bonding experience they needed.

“Hi, Rarity,” said Fluttershy, stopping just long enough to carefully place her saddlebag next to the library shelves and give it a pat before turning for the door. “Sorry I can’t stay, girls. I need to get back to my animals before dark, and Angel Bunny gets so frightened if I’m not there when the sun goes down.”

“I better get home too and check out the jacuzzi,” said Diamond Tiara with a long stretch that sounded of popping, overstressed joints. “See you tomorrow, Twilight.”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow!” echoed the rest of the little ponies as they scurried out the door, leaving Sweetie Belle and Twilight on the main floor of the library with Rarity.

“Hey, welcome back,” called Spike from the doorway of the library kitchenette. “The salad is tossed and I was just putting the corn casserole into the oven. If you want to stay for dinner, I’ll set some extra plates.”

“I’m sorry, Spike,” said Rarity with a smile. “I need to get Sweetie Belle back home and cleaned up for bed tonigh—”

“Can’t we stay?” asked Sweetie Belle in a rush, sticking her bottom lip out and pouting in the way that Rarity knew only came with the most sincere of begging. “I’ve got some questions I wanted to ask Spike and Twilight has a bunch of new books to look over for the swappy counterspell. We could stay for dinner and help research some before bedtime.”

“Certainly not,” said Rarity, trying her best to put her hoof down despite the sad-eyed expressions on all three of the others. “I scarcely have enough time to get you properly cleaned up before bedtime, and your trek through the forest has left you dreadfully dirty.”

“They could use the library bathroom,” pointed out Spike. “Trotter’s Tubs and Wubs delivered the new stereo phonograph and bathtub today. It’s all installed and everything. I was going to take a bubble bath tonight to break it in, but the girls could get cleaned up while you help me in the…” Spike faded out with a glassy stare and vacant grin.

“Ehh…” Rarity looked between her little sister, who had the most plaintive look she had ever seen, then at Spike, who was still staring off into space. Last, she looked at Twilight, who seemed positively starved from the way her ribs stuck out and the thick coat of road dust across her pale coat. If Rarity went home with Sweetie, most likely the young alicorn would wind up skipping a meal again, and a growing little pony needed to eat.

“Of course we can stay,” said Rarity, giving her little sister a push toward the library bathroom. “You and Twilight get cleaned up and we’ll have dinner ready for you in just a few minutes. Isn’t that right, Spike?”

“Kitchen,” said Spike somewhat indistinctly as he wobbled back and forth. “Dinner. Cook. Yes.”

Sweetie Belle was stunned at the expensive bathtub in the library bathroom. It had knobs and dials and shiny twisty valves all over, and it took both her and Twilight a few minutes to figure out just how to turn the water on, and then a little longer to wriggle the right levers to make it warm. They added a little of Trixie’s bubble bath, enough to make a few bubbles across the surface, but just when she was ready to step into the tub, she stopped.

“Twilight. I have to ask you something. It’s really important.” Sweetie Belle got out one of the new towels that had been delivered with the tub and made a little nest on the floor of the bathroom. She dithered for a short time, curling the fluffy towel up into a protective barrier with a small dent in the middle, then carefully pulled the bit pouch out of her mane and put the little dragon egg into the nest. “Did I do something wrong?”

Twilight looked at the dull grey egg for several minutes while Sweetie Belle fidgeted. The little alicorn seemed nervous, but held a foreleg across her chest as she breathed in and out. After a time, she sat all four hooves on the bathroom floor and lit up her horn to gently lift the slate-grey egg out of its nest, turned it around several times, then carefully placed it back on the towel/nest.

“Dragon,” she finally said with a dry swallow. “Pygmy tree dragon?”

“I think so,” said Sweetie Belle. “It came from that broken nest Snips and Snails found. I didn’t see any others, and its mother is dead, so I thought…”

“Test?” asked Twilight in a voice that made it seem less of a question than Sweetie Belle would have preferred.

“Yeah. I know you had a dragon egg to hatch when you took your test for Celestia’s school and I thought if I had a little egg to practice with, I wouldn’t mess it up like I do everytime I try to cook or clean or whatever.” Sweetie Belle plopped down on the floor and nudged the egg with her nose. “It sounded like a good idea at the time. But I got to thinking when we were coming home. What if I goof it up and hurt the little dragon inside? What if I’m so bad at magic that I can’t even hatch a little egg. What if I hurt myself?”

Twilight flopped down on the floor next to her and nudged the egg with her nose too. “No. You’re good. If you try, you will. Don’t know why. Just know.”

“I know you say so, but I’m so worried about it now.” Sweetie Belle nudged the egg with her nose again, leaving a little dirty smudge.

“No. Dragon egg. Tough. Like Spike.” Twilight touched the egg with the tip of one hoof and held her pose for a long moment before nodding decisively. “Yes.”

“Thanks, Twilight.” Sweetie Belle put a leg over her friend and gave her a little squeeze, which made a few dry leaves fall out of each other’s manes. “What do we do?”

“We take a bath,” said Twilight, getting up and walking up the short built-in stepstool at the side of the tub. “Then we eat. Then we learn about dragons. Sleep. New day. Ask Trixie. She raised Spike. She must know a lot about dragons.”

“That sounds good,” said Sweetie Belle with a deep breath that seemed to shed a ton of guilt off her back. “Thank you, Twilight. You’re a real superhero.”

“Not hero.” Twilight tested the water in the tub with one hoof and remained standing on top of the stepstool while looking down into the water.

Sweetie Belle climbed up the steps too and looked down into the huge bathtub, which looked a little more like a small swimming pool to her. She nudged Twilight with her shoulder and asked, “Is it too cold?”

“No. Looking for bitey-fish. Habit.” Twilight leaned forward over the tub, her eyes still scanning from side to side until Sweetie Belle bumped her solidly from behind. With a loud splash, Twilight landed in the middle of a pile of pink suds while Sweetie Belle stood at the edge of the tub, holding the back brush raised high in her magic.

“Ha!” exclaimed Sweetie Belle as she applied soap to the brush. “I’ve trapped you in my Tub of Doom, Minion. Now prepared to be Sudserized, unless you tell me where Dark Feather’s lair is!”

“He’s at his home?” offered Twilight in a questioning voice.

“No, that’s not the way you’re supposed to play,” said Sweetie. “You’re supposed to say, ‘Never! Do your worst, Radiance! I’ll never betray my dark master!’ And then I scrub you up.”

“Sweetie Belle,” caroled Rarity’s voice through the bathroom door. “You’re not making a mess, are you?”

“No, sis!” she called back, still holding the dripping brush over the tub. “Now, where were—” She gave a short squeak of surprise as Twilight’s magic gave her a little push into the tub, and when she surfaced, Twilight was also holding a second scrubby brush in her magic.

“I have you now?” asked the questioning Minion.

“That’ll work,” confirmed Sweetie Belle as she raised her own dripping brush. “Have at thee, villain! Take that! And that!”

Sweet Apple Acres stretched out in front of Apple Bloom in a spray of brilliant colors under the setting sun. Trees hung heavy with apples on all sides during her walk down the lane, with the familiar thumping noises of apple harvesting in the distance. Dinner was probably waiting on her with Granny Smith keeping the stove warm until Big Mac and Applejack came dragging in after the sun went down. It was a good thing Applejack was not a unicorn like Sweetie Belle, or she would use her horn to make light all the way through the night and not even take a break to sleep.

Getting away from the farm to visit Fillydelphia with Scootaloo and spending the day with Twilight today made Apple Bloom a whole heap of chores behind, but Big Mac had promised to help out. He was a pretty doggone good big brother, which probably explained why Princess Luna seemed to like him so much too. She cocked an ear at the distant sounds of applebucking, counting the thuds of hooves against trees and frowning a little at what she heard.

“Sounds like Applejack and Big Mac had to hire somepony else to help with the harvest this year,” she grumbled, feeling a little more useless around the farm than usual. “A big ‘un too, from the sound of him. Too bad I’m so little and can’t help. I’m useless again.”

She trudged into the barn to check on the supply of woven baskets, which had originally been one of her chores. It turned out to be a wasted effort, as most of the barn was already filled with stacks of filled baskets, and the ones remaining all looked neat and tidy. Still, she puttered around with the baskets, getting them pulled out and ready for the next trip out into the orchard that Big Mac and Applejack would start tomorrow morning before the first rays of sunlight, but once she had them all ready for tomorrow, she plunked her rump down on a bale of hay in the shadows.

And some unseen dam of emotion in her heart ruptured.

“I’m gonna lose Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle,” she sobbed. “We ain’t even got our cutie marks yet, and ah’m losing my two best friends.” Tears streamed down her cheeks as she curled up into a ball and cried her heart out. She didn’t dare cry at home or with her friends, because they would be all understanding and compassionate when all she wanted to do was be abjectly miserable by herself. Even if Diamond Tiara went off to her hoity-toity school in Canterlot, that would only make things worse, because she was just starting to be kinda likable, and she’d be all scrunched together with a bunch of other spoiled rich brats there. Tears were supposed to make you feel better, but all they did for Apple Bloom was run down her face and make the jagged pain in her chest throb with her heartbeat. She remained curled up on the hay while the world outside got darker to match the feeling in her heart. Soon, it would be night, and her siblings would find her in this state. She had to quit crying, but she could not. Everytime she managed to get a little of the pain and sorrow out of her tiny body, more flooded in. She was just a helpless little foal, unable to change the world, without even a cutie mark, and her uselessness overwhelmed her.

Until she felt the touch of an immense white wing, which swept up around her body and held Apple Bloom warm in its feathery embrace.

“Shh, shhh,” cooed Princess Celestia, kneeling down in the dusty barn hay as if she had been part of Sweet Apple Acres since the day it was created. “Go on. Cry it out.”

“I’m sorry, Princess,” she blubbered. “Don’t tell my sister.”

“I won’t.” Celestia, Sol Invicta, Ruler of Equestria and Princess of the Sun, gently nuzzled the little earth pony and loaned her cheek to the task of soaking up the tears. She did not say another word as the two of them huddled together on the hay-strewn floor of the Apple family barn, but just held the little pony until her tears finally ran dry.

“I thought you were going to tell me not to cry,” said Apple Bloom with a long sniff, although she made no effort to escape the embrace of the huge white wing she currently was wrapped up in.

“Sometimes, even princesses have to cry or they would burst.” Celestia touched her nose to Apple Bloom’s face, and to the sudden shock of the little pony, there were a few sympathetic tears trickling down the princess’ face also. “I’ve found that sharing what makes you sad helps.”

“Really?” asked Apple Bloom, looking up into Celestia’s eyes through the remains of her tears.

“Absolutely.” Celestia kissed the little pony on top of the head and continued. “When I was forced to banish my sister to the moon, I cried for what felt like days. Luna had been by my side for nearly my entire life, and I did not know if I would ever see her again, face to face. I was so lonely.” She kissed Apple Bloom on the top of the head again and lifted the little pony’s downcast chin. “But do you know what happened? I shared my pain with those closest to me, and after awhile, I could go on. I could still feel it, and every night when I raised the moon, I wondered if I could endure it until she returned, but I kept going. And then you girls and Twilight brought my little sister back to me, and all that pain and loneliness was worth it.”

The story of Apple Bloom’s worries burst out in long sentences punctuated by gasps for air as the little pony told Celestia about Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, and even Diamond Tiara. She talked and talked until her throat was dry and the words would not come out any more, leaving her entire little body so exhausted she could barely hold her head up. When she finally ran out of words, Apple Bloom pressed up against Celestia’s warm chest, finally noticing how dark it had gotten in the barn, and that somehow the Princess of the Sun had managed to carry out her nightly task of lowering the sun during the tearful confession without Apple Bloom even noticing.

Celestia brushed one bare hoof along Apple Bloom’s damp cheek as she thought, finally responding to the heartfelt words of the little pony with a single sentence.

“Are you wanting your friends to stay in Ponyville because you want what is best for them, or what makes you happy?”

“Because…” Apple Bloom stopped with a sniff and thought before responding. “Well, Scootaloo does miss her parents. Ah don’t want to keep her away from them on account of I know what it’s like not to have parents. And Sweetie Belle is a little dangerous with her magic, but only when she’s cooking or trying to cast a spell or something. I… don’t know. I know you could use your princess powers to make ‘em stay, but I might be hurting them if I don’t let them live up to their po-ten-chul, like Miss Cheerilee says.” She turned her watery eyes up to Princess Celestia, who had her horn lit up with just barely enough light to illuminate their tiny spot in the dark barn. “What do you think I should do?”

“You know what you have to do, Apple Bloom,” said Celestia. “All I can do is give you the same advice I used to give my student. Trust—”

“—in Harmony,” finished Apple Bloom with a bitter grimace. “Trixie says it’s just because you’re lazy and don’t want to do nuthin’ about her problems, but she says that a lot when she’s frustrated. I guess since you’re a princess and all that, you deal with all the big things so much that you would just kinda squash the little things if you tried to fix them too.”

“Sometimes,” admitted Celestia, although she tightened up her wing in a brief squeeze. “I’ve found paying attention to the little things in life make the big things seem smaller.”

“Like when we was runnin’ our lemonade stand, an’ we made sure we had all the little things taken care of so we wouldn’t have no big problems.” Apple Bloom frowned with her bottom lip stuck out and took a long look at Celestia, from the patches of dried perspiration across her back to the twigs stuck in her flowing mane. “You run one heck of a big lemonade stand, Princess, an’ I’m just one little pony. How’d you wind up being here at our farm this evening?”

“Back issues,” said Celestia a little too quickly. “I’m getting back in shape. Too much sitting and not enough apple bucking makes a flabby princess, but it’s getting late and I should be returning to Canterlot now.” She gently unwrapped her wing from around Apple Bloom and used it to sweep a few loose pieces of hay out of her disheveled mane. “Do you feel better? If you need me to stay, I will.”

“I…” Apple Bloom took a deep breath. “I want to be a big pony, and big ponies take responsibility, even Trixie. I’ll just have to grow up and face this like I should.”

“On the contrary, my little pony,” said Celestia, brushing a wing down Apple Bloom’s mane. “You are only a little pony once. Even Trixie has grown up from the little pony she once was, and at times I think she looks back at the age you are now and gets a little jealous.” A hesitation flickered across Celestia’s smile and she leaned down to whisper in Apple Bloom’s ear, “Don’t tell Twilight. I think she might find a way to age Trixie back to her foalhood again, and that was a very trying time for us older ponies.”

Despite herself and even through the leftover sniffles, Apple Bloom giggled at the mental image of Trixie being in the Cutie Mark Crusaders. “Thank you, Princess,” she murmured, nuzzling into Celestia’s warm neck. “Thank you for bein’ here for me. I needed this.”

“You’re quite welcome, Apple Bloom.” She nuzzled back, using her magic to tidy up Apple Bloom’s rumpled bow and wipe away the rest of her tears until they both could stand up. “You and your friends will always be held fondly in our hearts. We owe you more than words can say, and if at any time you feel the need to talk, send word and I or Luna will be here as swiftly as possible.”

The supportive warmth of Celestia stayed with Apple Bloom as she trotted off to the house, where a delayed dinner was waiting for her, and a warm bath and soft bed afterwards. She did not even look back to see the Princess of the Sun watching her path from the concealment of the barn, or she might have caught the large and somewhat familiar shadow that slid out of the shadows to watch at her side.

“She’s a wonderful little filly,” said Celestia in a whisper.

“Eeyup.” As streaked with dried sweat and apple tree leaves as he was, Big Mac smiled as he watched Apple Bloom take the front steps of the house two at a time and vanish inside. “She’s an Apple, all right.”

“I won’t take up any more of your time this evening, Big Mac,” said Celestia, turning to look at him with eyes that seemed to sparkle in the darkness. “You probably want to get cleaned up before you go inside to spend time with her. She’s such a darling child that she makes me think about having one of my own someday soon.” Celestia kissed Big Mac on the cheek, then after seeming to consider things for a moment, gave him a smoldering kiss to the lips that shut off his brain until the Princess of the Sun had ascended far into the sky and was well on her way back home.

“Um… What?”

Her evening chores over, bathtime completed and a far-too-small dinner of macaroni and cheese eaten, Diamond Tiara held very still in Scootaloo’s little bed while Quick Fix was strapping the wing braces onto her stubby little orange wings. They were uncomfortable and itched, but she set her jaw and did not lower herself to chewing on the straps in the same way the flightless dodo had. After all, she had something else far more uncomfortable to deal with.

The sight of the dead dragon had really shaken her, far more than the rest of Scootaloo’s friends. They had made so many trips out into the dangerous woods with Twilight, while Daddy had kept her safe and warm at home. But what if he died, like the dragon, and she was left all alone? She could not talk to Daddy about it, but Scootaloo’s aunt was right here and seemly unfazed by any of the flightless dodo’s antics, so why not?

“I wanted to talk to you about something we saw on our trip today, Aunt Fix. Well, you aren’t really my aunt, so I can’t—”

Quick Fix held a hoof over Diamond Tiara’s lips and winked. “I don’t mind if you call me Aunt Fix, Diamond Tiara. What I do mind is that you and your little friends kept this magical mind swap secret from me. It sounds like a lot of fun if Twilight Sparkle can make it work right. I’ve always wondered what it was like to fly.”

“It’s a lot of crashing,” admitted Diamond Tiara. “It’s hard work and not everything goes the way you want it to.” She stopped and thought for a moment. “But it’s worth it.”

“Like I’ve been told having foals is then, I suppose.” Quick Fix clucked her tongue while adjusting a strap. “Have you told your father yet? Your real father, that is.”

“No.” Diamond Tiara winced in pain as the strap drew tight, but the pain in her chest was far worse. “He’s going to send me off to a reform school in Canterlot where they probably wear uniforms and march around all day in formation and I’ll never see him except for on weekends and he probably hates me and never wants to see me ever, ever, ever again!” Diamond remained still with her wing stuck out even though tears were trickling down her face. She was a diamond, after all, the toughest of all gemstones. She was Daddy’s diamond, the little gemstone who he valued more than anything else in the world, and she had no idea why she blurted out, “I wish I had a mommy! She’d love me and care for me and wouldn’t send me off to Canterlot to prison! She’d tell Daddy how wrong he is and how he needs to pay more attention to me and, and, and—”

Even diamonds break. Diamond Tiara flung herself into Quick Fix’s shoulder and cried, punctuating her sobs with vicious jabs into the pillow with her hind legs. It did not last very long, as the discomfort from the pinching wing braces and the embarrassment of breaking down in front of Scootaloo’s aunt combined to make her sit up after a while and blow her nose into the provided tissue. “Sorry, Aunt Fix,” she muttered.

“Not a problem.” Quick Fix made an awkward attempt at patting Diamond Tiara on the back before giving up the gesture as a bad idea. She floated over a second tissue and held it out for future use while shaking her head. “I wish I could be the mother you need. I can’t even be a good mother to my niece or get Rivet to notice me, so how will I ever get foals of my own?”

“Rivet?” Diamond Tiara eyed her ‘aunt’ over a tissue. “That greasy stallion who works in the shop with you? He is so not your type. What about Lugnut?”

“The hardware store owner? He’s older than I am. Besides,” added Quick Fix with a quick brush through Diamond Tiara’s short and unkempt mane, “if you’re the one who wants a mother, shouldn’t we be trying to set your father up with a date. Notwithme, of course,” she quickly added.

“You aren't his type either,” said Diamond Tiara. “Daddy is a Very Important Pony who goes to and throws social events. You got flustrated when the soda colt at the amusement park called you ‘Young Miss.’” Diamond clucked her tongue, feeling much more comfortable with this conversational direction. “Daddy needs a social peer, who is beautiful, thoughtful… and rich would be nice.”

“You seem to get along well with Miss Cheerilee,” said Aunt Fix. “She’s good with foals and seems to like your…” She trailed off at the look Diamond Tiara was giving her. “Or maybe Spoiled Milk? I’ve seen you two together before, and she holds a number of city positions on various boards.”

“She’s been more of a mentor to me than mommy material,” said Diamond Tiara. “She and Daddy would clash, but she’s been a great help in my attempts to be the best pony I can be. She even helped me become editor at the school newspaper last year.”

“Oh, that went well,” said Quick Fix. She hesitated, unwilling at first to put forth the question that seemed to be lurking behind her eyes, but as Diamond nodded, Aunt Fix added, “So, what happened to your birth mother?”

“It doesn’t matter,” said Diamond Tiara rather more sharply than she had intended. “I’d rather not talk about it. She hurt Daddy a long time ago, because I can still see it in his eyes.” She stuck out her other wing and braced herself against the headboard. “Miss Fix, can you put on the other brace now and let me get some sleep? I need to get up early tomorrow to do Scootaloo’s paper route.”

It took very little time to get the second itchy brace strapped on and get curled under the covers, but after Miss Fix left and Diamond was sure she was not going to come back, she slipped out from under the covers and stood at the open window with her eyes closed. The breeze from the town swept over her and made the little wings on her back want to stretch out and capture their dance, lifting her up above all of the mistakes and cruelty that she had inflicted and into the pure and untainted sky. Unfortunately, the nylon braces held her just as firmly to the ground as if she were still an earth pony, but even though her body was groundbound, she could still lift her voice up to the brilliant stars.

Being rich was fun. Scootaloo had dropped by the kitchen of the Rich estate the moment she returned ‘home’ and scarfed down the meal that Randolph had kept warm for her. The servant even had set aside an extra helping of delicious green beans, lightly salted and dusted with sugar until they tasted like candy. Dinner included fresh, not frozen orange juice, and a bunch of cheesy alfalfa puffs that made her nose orange from the dust when she licked the bowl.

She took a few minutes in the weight room to pump a little iron on the ignored machine, and spent a little time in the sauna to get all of the sweat going before heading for the jacuzzi and the two earth pony servants who helped out in the tub. Between the bubbles and the water jets against her sore muscles and the long brushing afterwards, she could have been poured out like water and made a puddle on the ground. Then after the bath and brushing, she was introduced to Mister Woolensworth, a tutor in Ancient Mutton who had stopped by just to check on his new student and present the thick study guides for Diamond Tiara’s next semester in the Canterlot school.

It suddenly sucked to be rich.

A cold chill swept over Scootaloo and her borrowed body, just like the time her friends had tried to be Cutie Mark Crusader Ice Divers, and did not warm back up even after the prim and proper ram had strolled out the mansion door for the nighttime train ride back to the school. Filthy Rich seemed similarly conflicted with an oddly firm set to his jaw and a reluctance to look in Scootaloo’s direction.

“Well.” Filthy Rich coughed into a hoof. “It’s quite nearly bedtime, Diamond. Tomorrow, I’ll have some of the maids help you pick out a proper wardrobe for your trip to school. You’ll want to be on your best behavior and study very hard, because there are a lot of other little fillies with prestigious backgrounds who will be attending too. Just remember what to say if they look down on you because they inherited their money.”

“At least we earned it?” asked Scootaloo.

Filthy Rich nodded sharply. “That will work too. Well. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Mister— I mean Dad.” Scootaloo watched the older pony trudge away much as if he were wading through mud before she called out, “Wait! I mean…”

“Did you have something to tell me, Diamond?” Filthy Rich did not change his pose, but just stood looking at the doorway out of the room without looking back at her.

“I was thinking,” said Scootaloo, trying her best to do just that. “Could we… take a walk? It’s a nice night, and if Diamond… I mean when I go to the school, I won’t get a chance to walk with you any more for a long, long time.”

“A walk?” Filthy Rich’s voice was cool to the point of being frigid, but Scootaloo could see the way his head raised up slightly and a little twitch in his tail.

“Just for a while. Outside. Like we used to do,” added Scootaloo in a fit of inspiration. It certainly seemed to strike home, and after a long period of contemplation, Filthy Rich turned around and wordlessly trudged toward the door to the back garden with Scootaloo following along. She could not think of just exactly what she wanted to say while they walked along the gravel pathways in the beautiful garden that seemed made of liquid silver in the moonlight, but the sight of Luna’s moon above gave her confidence.

“I don’t think I should be sent to the school in Canterlot,” said Scootaloo as they reached the section of the garden furthest from the mansion. “We both were wrong for fighting, and I know Scootaloo would agree with that. I’ll even see if she’ll talk to you and accept my apology and all that. We did wrong and deserve to be punished, but I don’t think taking her away from all of her friends is right.”

“Scootaloo is going to Cloudsdale to be with her parents now that she can fly,” said Filthy Rich in a very controlled voice. “It’s nothing you did, Diamond.”

“It’s everything I did!” snapped Scootaloo. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Sorry,” she added, cringing up against a forsythia bush. “I lost my temper and I apologized… well, I’m going to apologize. The two of us just clash whenever we get together but she’s not all that bad once you get to know her, and she’s even a little cool in some ways now that I’ve seen the way she lives and she’s seen a little of my life and it isn’t fair! She’s got so much of what I’ll never have and I’ve got so much of what she’ll never have that if we could just bash our thick skulls together and admit it, we might even be… friends.”

Filthy Rich stood looking off into the starry sky in the darkness and did not respond right away, but when he did, his voice was rough and a little raspy with emotion.

“Who are you and what have you done with my daughter?”

From the Ponyville Golden Oak Public Library
Postage Prepaid

Dear Princess Luna

Today we went into the forest to your old castle to borrow some books for a research project. Spike says they are in good condition except a little sticky and some eggs but he says we need to send you a book loan request because other wise they are stole not borrowed so i am attaching one, signed by him. School starts in a weak and I am very excited, estatic, ebuluent, and many other words from the thesarusaraurs that Spike is helping me look up.

My mind is still full of memories from when i was in Canterlot but they’er not scary, just filling me up to the top until I fizz out all over like a root bear float from pinkie. Trixie is off at a spa where they make goops so she can get her old color back, which i think is silly because she looks good purple but Rarity said she wood pay for it all and left me Spike to run the library! Its great! We found Trixies record collection and tried to get cutie marks for music but it didnt go well, so were going to work on finding wher Scoots hid the dictionary in the library next.

Your friend
Twilight Sparkle, Ponyville Librarian trainee #574

P.S. Grumpy Bunny is Afraid is now overdue at the Ponyville Golden Oak library. Please return the book at your earliest convenience, along with 2 bits in overdue fines, which will accumulate at the rate of 4 bits per week until the book is returned. In the event the book has been lost or stolen, please contact the librarian for payment terms.

Interlibrary Loan Request

---

Source Library: Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters
Destination Library: Ponyville Golden Oak Public Library
Checkout Dates: Inderterminte
Title(s) Requested: Misc. 21,287 titles.
Condition of Book(s): Fair to Excellent, some spiderwebs.

Approving Librarian: Spikavarious Dragon, Supervisory Librarian.

P.S. Fines are payable in cash or bank draft only.
P.P.S. Gems are considered cash.

Author's Notes:

When she gets back, Trixie is about to experience some of Ponyville's Small Town Charm. (by Cold in Gardez) Don't worry about knowing when it happens. You should be able to hear it from where you are.

(Read the story. There will be a test.)

57 - 24 - Part Five

It was very quiet out in Filthy Rich’s garden, so quiet that Scootaloo could hear her heart hammer wildly in her chest over the faint sounds of distant crickets and a dog far, far away, howling at the moon. In the quiet, the smallest of breezes blew past, carrying the tantalizing scents of the flowers which had mostly packed it in for the night, but somehow feeling alien to her earth pony senses. As a pegasus, she would have been able to feel where the wind had come from and where it was going, and even with her stubby wings, she could have bent it mostly to her will.

As an earth pony, she could not. Even the feeling of the soil beneath her hooves and the life of green grass and flowers which Apple Bloom had told her about seemed muted and muffled, as if Diamond Tiara had not cared enough to develop her own earth pony abilities. If she were a real pegasus like Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo could have leapt up into the sky and left Filthy Rich’s uncomfortable question behind. Instead, as an earth pony, all she could do was crash into the ground, just like her attempt to lie to Filthy Rich had done.

The story of her fight with Diamond Tiara and subsequent intervention by Twilight poured out in a long string of words, punctuated by heartfelt apologies and occasional inadvertent praise for how cool a life Diamond Tiara had. And her cool father, although Scootaloo tried not to sound too much like a suck-up. It did not seem to make much of an impact on Filthy Rich, who continued to stare up into the star-filled sky as if he expected Princess Luna to descend at any moment and tell him to wake up. By the time she stammered to the end of her confession, Scootaloo was feeling lower than… well, Apple Bloom would probably have some witty earth pony saying to define just exactly how far underground Scootaloo’s stomach was sitting, but all the little former-pegasus could think of was how she would never fly again, and the highest she would ever get again would be leaning out of the window of the clubhouse. Her mind kept going back to the dead dragon they had seen in the old crumbling castle, all torn up and decaying away into the dirt. It had a better chance of ever flying again than she did.

From Filthy Rich’s immobile stance and the determined set to his jaw, she knew exactly what was going to happen now. He was going to march Scootaloo back to Aunt Fix’s place and get his real daughter back, and then when Diamond Tiara took her wings and went to the creepy book-filled school in Canterlot, she would take any chance Scootaloo ever had of flying again with her.

She just wished she could tell what was going through the mind of Diamond Tiara’s father right now.

I was just telling her a joke! Diamond Tiara can’t be pulling a prank on me. This has to be real, but if so…

It was all Filthy Rich could do to remain quiet and listen as the little pony he had absolutely known was his daughter told him how everything he had known was all wrong. His world was turned upside-down, backwards, and inside-out, much the same as what had happened when he received the literally stunning letter from Twilight Sparkle just a few scant days ago. If not for the letter, he would have been absolutely certain Diamond Tiara was trying some last-ditch ploy to avoid being sent to school in Canterlot. In order not to fall over in a dead faint, he kept his knees locked while focusing on a distant star as his not-daughter talked. He wanted to pinch himself to wake up, but he was fairly certain all he would get out of it was a sore spot.

After waiting for a while after Diamond Tiara… that is Scootaloo had finished talking, Filthy Rich took a deep breath and sat down right in the middle of a grassy patch in the garden. The unaccustomed prickle of cool grass blades poking up through his coat only reinforced the chilly realization that this was most certainly not a dream or some memory captured on paper, but a very real situation which involved his daughter.

Well, and another little pony who only looked like his daughter.

“So you’re Scootaloo,” said Filthy Rich. He tentatively stuck out one hoof and nodded as the little earth pony who looked like his daughter shook it. “Diamond Tiara has told me a lot about you, but I suspect much of it is somewhat incorrect. No, I’d wager her descriptions of you and your friends were wildly incorrect.”

“Yeah, probably,” muttered Scootaloo. She settled down in the grass next to Filthy Rich and held a pink hoof up in front of her face. “I really don’t know what she’s told you, but we haven’t really done much but snipe at each other until this happened. I don’t think she really means to be cruel, it’s just that I make such a good target.”

“She actually mentioned your generosity several times, Scootaloo, but I don’t think she meant it as a compliment. You and your little friends had quite the reputation before the Long Night. I really didn’t want to believe much of what I heard afterwards, but if any little ponies could do what you and your friends were supposed to have done…”

“It was pretty cool,” admitted Scootaloo, who had quit moving little blades of grass around with the tip of one pink hoof. “We got to fight Nightmare Moon and rescued Princess Luna and all kinds of neat stuff. And Twilight got transpor… transper… turned into a little pony just like us.”

You have a strange concept of a little alicorn being just like you, Scootaloo. Then again, Twilight has been almost inseparable from her little friends since she arrived in town.

“So, when will Twilight put the two of you back in your own bodies?” asked Filthy Rich.

Scootaloo shrugged. “I dunno. Soon, I hope. We got a bunch of books from the old castle for her to look for a countersmell. If you’re going to send Diamond Tiara off to Canterlot, at least she can have her own body back by then. She deserves that.”

He nodded in agreement, but Filthy Rich could read his little filly like a book, even if there were different pages inside the cover. Scootaloo was hiding something else, something that bothered the little pony far more than her unfamiliar body. Diamond Tiara was a master at the verbal art of fencing, and would have taken hours to get to the core of her discomfort, if at all. Scootaloo seemed to be a much simpler and more honest little pony, so Filthy Rich decided on the direct approach.

“So that explains who you really are,” he started, “but not what you expect to get out of trading bodies with my daughter. If you were that much in need of bits, I could have just tipped you well for delivering the paper while Archer is out.”

“I don’t need bits,” grumbled Scootaloo, sinking down into the grass until it tickled her nose.

“What do you want?” asked Filthy Rich.

“I want to fly.” Scootaloo’s voice was so low that if Filthy Rich had not been listening very carefully, he would have missed it. It did not seem to be the time for him to say anything, so he remained silent, allowing the darkness and the quiet of the garden to draw out the words Scootaloo was working so hard to hold back.

“I want to fly, Mister Rich,” she repeated slightly louder. “I want it more than anything else in the world. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night wearing my braces and just cry because I can’t jump out the window and zoom around the stars. Do you know what it’s like to want something that bad and not be able to have it, Mister Rich?”

Now it was Filthy Rich’s turn to feel the darkness and the stars spread out above as they pulled at the words trapped inside him, words which he had tried so hard to forget. It had been many years since he had spoken those words to his own father, who had been furious at the little pink foal who could not speak up in her own defense. Diamond Tiara had never really known her grandfather, as Stinking Rich had passed away when she was still very small, but she had not even had that fleeting exposure to her own mother. The orphanage said she had been given up for adoption without the mother even seeing the little foal.

He never had the courage to tell his own daughter, but it seemed like the time to tell the story anyway.

It was getting a little chilly out in the garden with a cool breeze from the north, and Scootaloo shivered a little while watching Diamond Tiara’s father. Filthy Rich had sat unmoving for a long time in the darkness, so long that Scootaloo began to worry about what she had said wrong. Eventually, he pulled a kerchief out of his jacket and wiped his eyes, although he did not look at Scootaloo when he was done. Instead, he stared up at the moon and spoke in a hushed voice.

“I never have told my daughter about her mother. We were so much in love, or so I thought. When she vanished, all I could think about was what I did, what I said, what I could have said to drive her away. Finding the pregnancy test in the trash almost crushed my heart. She knew I didn’t want foals, at least until we were older and settled in our careers. We argued about it, but I was so stubborn and headstrong, just like my father. There was so much I wanted to tell her that I had never been able to, and when I came back to the apartment and found her gone, it was too late. We used to sit out in the park like this in Manehattan and look up at the moon, talking about little things while cuddling instead of studying.”

“Eww,” said Scootaloo despite herself, which triggered a tense laugh from Filthy Rich.

“Tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis. Times change, and we change to suit them,” he said with a slow shake of his head.

“I mean studying,” said Scootaloo in a rush. “Not the mushy stuff. I mean, colts are icky, mostly, but studying is a pain.”

“Hey!”

The voice out of the darkness made both of them look, and after a few moments, Twilight came slinking out of the garden’s shadows while carrying a blanket in her magic. She looked tired and a little embarrassed at being caught eavesdropping on their conversation. The little alicorn trudged forward and unfolded the blanket before draping half of it over Scootaloo and pulling the other half over herself. It made the two little ponies look just slightly like a two-headed monster of some sort and jarred Filthy Rich out of his morose contemplation, particularly when Twilight nodded at him and said, “Okay. Go on. Studying.”

“I thought you were looking for a spell to return my daughter,” said Filthy Rich with a frown.

“Was.” The little alicorn frowned and brought out what looked like a package of gum cleverly disguised as a tiny book. Scootaloo knew what it was, but Filthy Rich’s frown grew deeper while he looked at it. Before he could ask the inevitable question, Twilight opened up the tiny book and floated it over to him. “Can’t read. Too small.”

Momentarily at a loss for words, Filthy Rich tried to open the book instead. The pages were so small and thin he could barely even turn them, and the size of the printing looked more like speckles than letters. “That’s an impressive book,” he admitted. “I was unaware the Breezies had a lending library.”

“Not.” Twilight squirmed as she tried to get totally under the blanket until Scootaloo relented and gave up a little more of her part. “Shrunk.”

“Oh. So why can’t you just un-shrink…” He looked at the book, then at the pony presently occupying the body of his daughter. “Oh,” he repeated.

“She shrunk the books so we could bring more of them back from the old library this afternoon,” explained Scootaloo. “I tried to find some books about dragons so I could find out about the dead dragon we found, but I didn’t see any.”

“Dead dragon?” repeated Filthy Rich.

“Yeah.” Scootaloo tried to reclaim a little fraction of the blanket to deal with the shiver traveling up her spine at the thought of the rotting corpse, but Twilight had the edge of the blanket gripped too tightly. “Something in the Princess’ old castle killed it, and we saw the body when we were looking for the library. Can we talk about something else, please? It was kinda creepy. Sweetie Belle screamed when she saw it,” added Scootaloo.

“I would imagine so,” said Filthy Rich. “I take it you all went through the dangerous forest to the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters this afternoon without getting my permission?”

“We had an adult,” protested Scootaloo. “Fluttershy knows all of the creatures in the forest, except for the one that killed the dragon, I suppose, and she wouldn't have let anything happen to us.” Scootaloo looked down into the grass, because she could not meet Filthy Rich’s accusing gaze. “It was perfectly safe. Mostly. We didn’t even go to see the manticore or the big snakey thing—”

“Sea serpent,” said Twilight very quietly.

“—or even visit the cragadiles because it was really important to get that spellbook so Twilight can find a way to put us back in our bodies. Do you want to go with us next time, Mister Rich?”

“Ahh…” Filthy Rich seemed to be caught between two answers, eventually settling on, “We can discuss the subject after my daughter is returned. Do your parents know about this—” he waved a hoof “—switchy magic thing?”

“No. We didn’t tell anybody! We thought Twilight could fix it right away.” Scootaloo hesitated at the sudden tensing of her friend under the blanket and tried to think of a way around the awkward situation. “It came from a really big black book out of the library, so it must be really difficult, and nobody knows about it except Bulk Biceps because he was there when it happened—”

“Your aunt,” said Twilight from under the blanket.

“Oh, yeah. And Aunt Fix, because we told her at Funland, but nobody else knows—”

“Trixie knows. The night I cast the spell, she said—” Twilight emerged slightly from under the blanket and took a deep breath before speaking in a slow and deliberate fashion. “Learning how to see somepony from their point of view is a critical part of being Great and Powerful. After I told her what I did, she said learning all about each other is good, and when they can get along without punching each other in the face, they can swap back.”

There was a particular expression sliding over Filthy Rich’s face, much like the single and never repeated time Aunt Fix had tried one of Sweetie Belle’s biscuits. The look was an obvious attempt to remain calm and unperturbed, while being used to cover up a considerably different emotion, which in this case Scootaloo could guess involved a considerable amount of shouting at Trixie when she returned from her trip.

“So, Trixie knows.” The older stallion nodded slowly as some of the tension began to leave his face. “Well, she was Princess Celestia’s student, so if anypony can reverse this spell, she can. We’ll just have to wait for tomorrow and,” said Filthy Rich with considerable emphasis, “if the two of you can keep from ‘punching each other in the face’ afterwards, I will reconsider my decision on sending Diamond Tiara to Miss Puressence’s school. Is that agreeable, young ladies?”

Twilight nodded while Scootaloo thought. It was uncomfortable knowing something Diamond Tiara had never been told by her father, but there had to be more to it. “What happened to Diamond Tiara’s mother? Did she… die?”

For a moment, Filthy Rich looked as if he had been punched in the belly. If the older stallion had not been sitting down on the grass, he would have doubled over, but as it was, he laid his head down on the grass and closed his eyes. “No,” he said after a while. “She went into hiding while she was pregnant. I looked for her, but Manehattan is a very big place, and I couldn’t find her until somepony at the hospital contacted me about Diamond’s birth.”

He took a deep breath and looked over at Scootaloo. “Filigree had already checked out by the time I found the hospital. She gave you… I mean Diamond up for adoption without even seeing her. She was so tiny and precious, like a little diamond, but I couldn’t leave her behind no matter how much it cost me. My father was… disappointed that I dropped out of business school to come home and raise my daughter. We clashed several times. I’ve tried to raise her as best I could by myself.”

“Did you ever find Diamond’s mother afterwards?” asked Scootaloo.

“No.” Filthy Rich looked up into the sky at the brilliant moon again. “I’ve never stopped looking. I’ve got a number of contacts in Manehattan keeping an eye out, and Diamond and I go back every year during Hearth’s Warming for a week. She thinks we’re just going shopping and watching the lights, but I use every moment to look for Filigree. I know she’s out there somewhere, but I don’t think I’ll ever find her again.”

“Trixie says the Royal Couriers could find anypony anywhere.” Twilight seemed conflicted, but continued in her slow, deliberate manner which Scootaloo had learned meant she was trying her hardest to say something difficult. “I sent her a letter. Are you sure she wants you to find her?”

“I… don’t know.” The stallion heaved a deep sigh. “She deserves to know her daughter… our daughter is safe and loved. Even if she never wants to see me again, she should know Diamond is being raised to be a good pony.”

Scootaloo coughed entirely by accident and winced due to the expression briefly crossing Filthy Rich’s face. “My daughter is a good pony,” he repeated. “Just like you two.”

“Not me,” said Twilight. “You.”

“Both of you are very special ponies.” Filthy Rich sat up and turned around until he was just a nose-length from Twilight. The three ponies sat unmoving in the garden for a while under the brilliant moon and silent stars above until Filthy Rich asked the question he had been avoiding ever since he had first found out about Twilight Sparkle. “You spent twelve years out in that terrible forest?”

Twilight hunched her back, and Scootaloo snuggled a little closer for moral support as the little alicorn nodded.

“It’s just… you’re such a nice little filly,” said Filthy Rich. “I was so afraid of sending my daughter to Canterlot because she would be all alone, but you were alone out in the forest with all of those monsters. It must have been terrifying.”

“Had mom,” admitted Twilight with a tremble. “Never alone. Besides. Not all monsters.”

“Hey,” objected Scootaloo. “You said everything out in the forest was either trying to eat us or trying to keep from being eaten by us.”

“That’s all we ever see out of the Everfree,” said Filthy Rich with a nod. “They seemed to get a lot less aggressive in the last decade, but they’re still all monsters.”

“No.” Twilight stuck her head out from under the blanket and shook some of her ragged mane free in order to look the older earth pony in the eyes. “Some scary. Some big. Some beautiful. All dangerous. Not all bad monsters.”

She sat there for a time, watching Diamond Tiara’s father, but Scootaloo could see a certain twitch to the coat and angle to his eyes that put the lie to his next words. “If you say so, Twilight.”

“You don’t believe her, do you, Mister Rich?” Scootaloo put one foreleg over her trembling friend and frowned at the older stallion. “If your daughter told you, would you believe her?”

The faint breeze that blew across their shallow hill brought a hint of the tantalizing scents that must have had surrounded Twilight every day in the Everfree, and the little alicorn swallowed before speaking. “He was lied to. Don’t know what to believe. Know what it is like. Had nightmares. Couldn’t tell difference between. At night, I used to sing sometimes. I could tell it wasn’t a dream if we sang.”

“I never heard you sing before,” said Scootaloo. “Did your mother sing with you?”

“Sometimes.” Monster huddled deeper into the blanket until only the tip of her horn was sticking out. “Sometimes sang with monsters,” she added with a growl.

“Monsters don’t sing,” stated Filthy Rich in his most authoritative voice.

Two violet eyes peered out from under the rumpled blanket, illuminated by a small filly horn which seemed to glow like foxfire in the starlit night. Ever so slowly, she emerged from under the blanket and took several steps out onto the little grassy mound in the center of the garden. She never took that intense gaze off of him until she turned in the direction of the nearby Everfree Forest, sat down on her rump, and raised her face to the brilliant moon.

Filthy Rich sat patiently partially under the blanket next to his ‘daughter’ while waiting for whatever it was the strange little alicorn was doing in his garden. Her mouth was open as if she were singing as loud and as high as she could, but no sound at all was emerging except for the occasional gasp for air when she ran out of breath. Scootaloo had dragged the blanket over and huddled closer to him, using one elbow to prod him in the barrel while grinning with bright white teeth in the moonlight.

“What is she doing?” whispered Rich to the little filly, trying to fight down the sudden primal urge he had to scoop up his Diamond Tiara and flee.

“I don’t know,” whispered Scootaloo back, “but whatever it is, I bet it’s awesome!”

The silent song proceeded for an extended period, with Scootaloo managing to keep herself quiet only by extreme concentration and Filthy Rich stifling an urge to nibble on one of the surrounding flowers while waiting. The sound of chewing would be almost deafening in the silence, and certainly would distract Twilight from… whatever it was she was doing. He had just nipped a bloom off of a nearby bush anyway before screwing up enough courage to ask what was going on when he heard the faintest of flapping noises.

And an enormous bat, fully the size of a large pony, dropped out of the sky and landed with a thud directly in front of him.

He was almost too frightened to scream, but managed to suppress his natural reaction to a startled yelp while scrabbling a few steps backwards. It was a massive bat out of nightmares, with broad shadowy wings, bared fangs and coal-black, glittering eyes, although it looked more awkward than terrifying while squatting on the ground in a somewhat spraddle-legged stance on its hind legs. The huge bat was still taller than Filthy Rich, and hissed quietly at him while Twilight remained perfectly still, still looking up to the sky and singing her silent song. Then it shuffled a little to one side so it could look at all of the ponies in the garden, tilted its pug-nosed and fearsome face up to the silvery moon, and also opened its mouth to sing, just like Twilight.

The silence was deafening. Somehow, the distant noises of the town became more distant and faint while a sensation like having hundreds of little insects crawling up his back made Filthy Rich fight to keep from scratching. There was something there, most certainly, because the giant bat and the little alicorn bobbed their heads in perfect synchronization, and even Scootaloo was nodding along with her lips moving to the rhythm of the inaudible song. It was terrifyingly beautiful, and went on far, far longer than his overloaded mind could track. Something deep in his chest made his lips move along with the music, even though he could not hear a note, and when the giant bat vanished back up into the sky on silent wings, the ordinary silence that it left behind made him gasp for air. There was even a little flash of green eyes when the bat climbed up into the darkness, as if the little batling clinging to its mother’s back had wanted to take one last glance at the terrifying strange monster their mother had stopped to sing with.

“That was awesome,” whispered Scootaloo.

“Indeed,” whispered Filthy Rich, just barely loud enough to be heard but still feeling as if he were screaming at a funeral. He just sat and breathed for a while to get up the nerve to actually stand up, blessing his exercise program and diet for not falling over from a heart attack. He had underestimated his daughter, her friends, and in particular Twilight Sparkle, who had lived alone with only one parent for so long. Now she was a little filly again, and all the time she had lost in the dark forest was hers to spend again. Most ponies did not get second chances like that, and in her actions, he could see a second chance of his own which he had been putting off for far too long.

“Thank you, Twilight. That was… awesome.” He mopped his forehead with a kerchief and suppressed a shudder in the chilly night air before continuing. “It’s quite late and I should be sending Scootaloo to bed. Would you like to stay tonight to keep her company? It sounds like she’s had a very busy day, and you have your work cut out for you tomorrow. School in Ponyville starts the day after tomorrow, and I’d like to have all this sorted out by then, if possible.”

“Awesome!” Scootaloo scurried over and helped Twilight stand up, then nudged her towards the house. “Diamond Tiara has this huge tub—”

“Already took a bath,” said the little alicorn, although she was trying to keep pace with the rapid gallop of her friend.

“Well, Randolph can whip you up some dinner in the—”

“Already ate,” said Twilight, falling further behind.

“She’s got this really huge library full of all kinds of books,” said Scootaloo. “Hey, wait up!”

After the little fillies were off in Diamond Tiara’s bedroom and the house had settled into silence, Filthy Rich opened the top drawer of his bedroom cabinet and got out the ring he had hoped to use a long, long time ago. He had missed his opportunity then by a matter of hours, and denied his daughter a mother by his delay. This time, it would be different. Diamond needed a mother to teach her how to be a better pony, and he would provide what she needed.

He slipped out of the house, down the walkway, and trudged through town under the stars, determined to do this tonight before he lost his nerve, like he had so many times before in the small town. The path was familiar, even in the darkness, and the lights in her house were still on, or he would have turned around even now. Trying not to think about what he was doing, he lifted the heavy brass knocker on the door and let it fall several times.

It was for Diamond Tiara. He had sacrificed so many things over the years for his daughter. This would be one more, and possibly could even be pleasant. Diamond Tiara seemed to get along with the mare well, and had taught her many of the lessons she needed to learn in order to be the important pony she was going to grow up to be. He tried not to think of anything but his words as the sounds of somepony rattling around inside the house grew, and then the door opened, and there was no turning back.

“Why, Filthy Rich! What in Equestria are you doing out this late at night?”

Rich nodded at the mare, who had wrapped herself up in a bathrobe to answer the door. She had pink curlers in her mane and quite a bit of white stuff still sticking to her face from a moisturizing pack, but she looked… average. Just average. There was no pony who could match the radiant beauty of Filigree just coming out of the shower or her sleeping face after a long evening as she lay in the morning beams of sunlight across his shoulder. He had missed so many classes, entranced by her beauty in the fragile dawn when responsibility had been overruled by passion and love. But Diamond Tiara’s mother was not here. She would never be here. He had driven her away and would never be able to find her again. Diamond needed a mother now, far, far more than she needed her Daddy, so although he had no real love in his heart for this mare, they had enough shared interests to make a marriage work, and it would be the best for his little filly.

He lowered himself down to one knee on the house’s doorstep, reaching into his jacket and producing the diamond ring he had once hoped to give to somepony else.

“Spoiled Milk, will you marry me?”

It had been said that Manehattan could very well be called, The City That Never Slept Because It Was Too Busy Making Money. If so, insomnia was the affliction of the affluent, and the lights burning late into the night in the tall concrete and glass towers of the city were the symptoms of the monetary plague which it was suffering. For a diseased city, it still maintained a good attitude in addition to the altitude of the buildings, one of which still had a light on at the thirty-seventh floor, and a tired mare looking out of the glass at the moonlit city below.

“Evening, Miss Trellis. Working late again, I see.” The elderly goat pushing the cart full of cleaning supplies looked into the corner office door and nodded at the earth pony mare behind the opulent and overflowing desk. In the fluorescent lights, the burgundy of her coat looked almost blood-red where the shadows washed over it, with a few extra wrinkles and perhaps a grey hair or two on the pregnant young mare that Caoimhe had not seen before.

“Oh!” The tired executive stumbled back from the window and put all four hooves on the rich carpet. “Sorry, Missus Caoimhe. I just got back from a sales trip and I wanted to get my desk put in order before tomorrow morning. The trash can’s empty,” she added almost apologetically.

The nanny concealed a knowing smile and rummaged around on her cart. Most of the big executives in the company treated the help as if they were needing to be herded from one place to another and locked in a pen to keep them from wandering around. Rose had always been kind to her ever since her first day in the office and her rapid trip up the ladder of success had not resulted in a hoof to the eye of anypony or anygoat for that matter who she climbed over on the way up. She even pronounced Caoimhe’s name correctly as Keee-vah the first time she heard it, and had made a special point of buying the elderly cleaning goat a little something special around the holidays, not just another company manebrush sampler like the rest of the executives.

“I knew you was out a cavorting around the countryside, Miss Trrellis,” said Caoimhe, rolling her r’s by accident as she concentrated on finding the little bag of pastries she had purchased for the end of her shift. “You may still have a couple of weeks, but you’re gonna need to keep your strength up, if’n you want your little billy to come out all bucking and nickering for his mamma. Here.”

Caoimhe put the bag of cherry-filled and alfalfa-nut pastries on a clean section of the desk, then seated herself right on the carpet in front of them. Rose looked as if she were about to object to being treated much like Caoimhe’s many grandchildren, but after a brief sigh, the pregnant mare took out the top pastry and began to eat. “You’re a cruel, cruel nanny. You know that, right?” she muttered through the crumbs.

“I need to take cares of the only pony in this building who works longer hours than me,” said Caoimhe. “Give me one of those too. It’s about my breaks time.”

“It’s always your break time,” said Rose, waving a few bits of alfalfa crumbs over the table and her undone paperwork. “You are the hardest working lazy employee this company has. If I put you in charge of manebrush sales for the whole West Coastal Region, sales would double and all you’d do all day is lean back in your soft chair and complain about how hard you’re working.” With great effort and a little tentative prodding, Rose sat her own enlarged belly into her executive chair and brushed some crumbs off her coat. “I hate this.”

“You first foal is always the hardest,” admitted Caoimhe. “Goats, ponies, much the same. Supprised you ain’t popped a couple out by now.” She lowered her voice and checked the open doorway behind her before adding, “Still ain’t found out who the billy is?”

“No.” Rose Trellis sat down the remnants of the pastry with a sharp frown. “I swear, that’s the last quarterly sales meeting after-party I ever take a drink at. Every bloody quarter, every bloody executive has to get corked out of their gourd over a few percent rise or fall in our sales.”

“As I remember, yous said the same thing every quarter until abouts a year ago.” Caoimhe finished off the doughnut she was working on and contemplated eating the wax paper it was wrapped in just to get the last of the frosting. Since it was just the two of them in the dark office building, she did anyway. “So are you placing her with the adoption agency like you said before, Miss Trellis, or have you found a family willing to take the wee one?”

“Adoption,” said Rose bluntly. “No need to hang my stupidity on a little foal. I’ve got too much to do here anyway.” She waved a hoof over the paper-covered desk as if that would cause some magic to happen, but only a few crumbs scattered across the reports and graphs.

“Never enough time before ‘em and never enough after,” agreed Caoimhe, getting up from the floor and collecting the trash from their break. “Too bads you can’t find that no-account scoundrel, or you could maybe get him to take a little responsibility. Oh, that reminds me. There’s a couple young bucks from the castle been asking questions around the company yesterday, lookin’ for some mare named Filly Green or something. Th’ one I talked to seemed pretty enough for a bat, wit’ them big gold eyes an’ a nice smile. If’n I was a few decades younger, I might be tempted to take him on a test flight, if’n you know whats I mean.” The elderly goat gave a salacious wink.

“Filly Green?” The business executive held very still at her desk where she had been brushing crumbs into the wastebasket.

“Yeah. They’re lookin’ for a mare who had a foal and went missin’ around the time you joined the company. Seems they’ve got a letter from her daughter that needs delivered. Sounded pretty sincere about it too, but it’s a big city an’ it’s been eight years, so who knows what.” Caoimhe shrugged and put a business card on the desk before turning to push her cleaning cart back out into the hallway. “I saved you his card, Miss Trellis, ‘cause I ain’t got no space for two billys in my life no more. Maybe some night you could look him up and maybe put a harness on the young buck. Ain’t none of us getting no younger, that’s for sure.”

“Yeah,” murmured Rose, looking at the card much as one might look at a venomous snake. “Good night, Caoimhe.”

“Good night, Miss Trellis.”

The squeaking of the cleaning cart died away in the distance for a long time before Rose turned her chair away from the card and looked out of the broad plate-glass window in the office she had fought so hard to acquire. Eight years of trying had not driven the memories of her betrayal away, but they had weakened them.

Until just now.

For a brief moment, her hoof scrabbled for the window latch. Thirty-seven floors would pass in moments and take away the pain, but the building owners had not designed the sealed corner office for pegasi, and the thick windows would take more than her awkward blows to break. The foal in her belly took that moment to roll into a more comfortable position, for it, not her, and Rose put her hoof back down on the thick carpet again. Just because it was her mistake, did not mean she had the right to inflict such an end on the little creature. She had survived this long. Just a few more weeks and she would be rid of it, off to the adoption agency much like her first unnamed child

She rested her forehead against the cool glass while she thought about her first long-abandoned child. Her momentary weakness a week after delivering had been a crushing blow. When she returned to the adoption agency in a nervous fit, just to get a look at the foal, or at least that is what she had told herself, the little filly had already been placed, even though the polite ponies could not tell her where due to client confidentiality. Now it seemed her ghosts of eight years ago were coming back to haunt her even as her mistake of nearly a year ago was making her repeat the same steps, like some cowardly alcoholic who could not resist the opportunity once a fiscal quarter to get sloshed out of her gourd without having some reason in her belly to avoid booze and eat the right foods. The not-so-little creature inside her belly kicked again as it shifted positions, but she ignored the accustomed pain to stare out into the night and the brilliant moon.

It was such a different moon than she and Richie had gazed at so long ago. Once it had imprisoned Nightmare Moon, the betrayer of Princess Celestia, which made her own betrayal of Filthy Rich and their mutual daughter somehow easier to bear. She would never be able to face her own daughter now, to tell her how her mother hid away from her father and gave birth in secret to hide what she thought was her ultimate shame and betrayal. She had stolen a father from her daughter and stolen a daughter from herself. Whatever kind couple who had adopted their daughter would not be interested in some strangers coming into their lives to take away the child they had raised. Richie would still be angry at her for running away from the both of them. There was no happily ever after in any of their futures. The only thing she would bring to either of them was discomfort and pain.

It was time to cash in her expensive condo and retirement. The bits would take her far away and buy a new identity once this foal was born and given away to a more worthy set of parents. It was time to dye her mane again and rebuild a new life. It was time to run away from her mistakes and vanish. Now.

Still, she stood at the window of her office and watched the moon until it dipped below the horizon and the city was bathed in the new light of dawn.

Lieutenant Insomnia
Royal Equestrian Courier Service
(Anywhere. Anybody. Always. We deliver.)

Author's Notes:

Next arc will be Three-Day Promise

You will believe a pegasus can fly. Or else.

Trixie promises to fix Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara’s problem in just three days. What she does not realize is what new problems she will create in the process, from Alicorns to Zebras.

Thankfully, she has friends now, if she will allow them to help.

Also, one reminder. Although Filthy Rich and Rose Trellis are the same ponies from Diamond Tiara Buys a Little Sister, the foal is not. There’s a dark surprise or two in Rose’s future, and I don’t mean twins.

58 - Three-Day Promise - Part One

Ponyville was a place where it was extremely difficult to feel sorry for oneself, particularly when the one in question was Princess Luna taking a quiet dawn stroll through the small town, greeting the cheerful ponies as they proceeded onward to their daily activities, already in progress. She was ‘Off Duty’ as much as the Princess of the Moon could be when the sun was up and her sunglasses were on, but she was not taking this trip for recreation purposes.

As she walked, Luna caught a glimpse of Big Mac where he was helping Applejack and Apple Bloom set up their market cart for the day, and after due consideration, diverted her path as not to disturb the family activity. Perhaps some recreation later, in private.

In any case, Luna’s destination took longer than she expected to reach, but the Ponyville Golden Oak Library was still closed regardless of the optimistic opening time listed on the sign. She paused, casting out her perceptions into the oak tree for the slug-a-bed unicorn and feeling only slightly disappointed to feel the dreams of the little dragon splashing through a lava puddle instead. She consoled her regret with a sip from a cup of the wonderful coffee she had discovered in this town, leaving the cup to hover by her side while she opened up the newspaper that had been sitting on the library front step and began to read.

After all, it was a public library, therefore a public newspaper.

In due time, the creak of an approaching wagon filled the dawn air, complete with a low and unceasing grumble of a city unicorn put to unexpected rural labor. Luna kept her casual air while scratching a few corrections on the crossword puzzle, which through some horrible mistake of the publisher had several of the answers wrong. Seven down was undoubtedly ‘Atorcoppe’ and Eleven across could only be ‘Dragones,’ but Fourteen down was a mystery. ‘Vyolence’ just did not fit correctly, despite being obviously correct.

After waiting for the proper moment, Luna put down the paper and said, “Good morn, Lady Trix—”

She stopped. She had to stop. It took at least three breaths before the impact of Trixie’s garish orange coat could be properly taken in, and another four breaths before Luna could dare to say anything without giggling like a schoolfilly. Had Celestia’s student been any more orange, she would have been glowing, possibly even with sparkles. Luna even pushed her sunglasses up on her forehead in the hopes that perhaps they were the cause of the vivid discoloration. It did not help.

Ignoring Her Dread Sovereign, the orange unicorn shrugged out from under the wagon traces, removed her luggage from the back, and placed it up against the library door before reaching back into the wagon to shake another pony awake.

“Wha? Are we, like, there yet? Whoa.” The scraggly earth pony crawling out of the back of the wagon looked over at Princess Luna and blinked several times. “Cool. You look just like Princess Luna.”

“Come on, Flax Seed. Time to go.” Trixie’s magic picked the earth pony up, which was probably not a very difficult feat as the skinny stallion looked as if he would become airborne in a stiff breeze. She fairly stuffed him into the wagon traces, pointed him in the direction of the Ponyville market, and gave the wagon a shove. “I had a… time at your spa, but you need to get going. Right now. See you never.”

With a deep sigh and one last check to make certain the skinny earth pony was headed the right direction, The Bright and Orange Trixie turned to Luna and just stared her in the eyes. It was oddly reassuring, as most of the Canterlot royalty would only glance at the former Nightmare Moon out of the corner of their eyes before scurrying away like frightened mice, but it also triggered a little nagging sense of guilt, as Trixie looked as if her relaxing trip to the spa needed another, somewhat longer trip to a different spa to recover from the first trip.

And a bucket of manedye. Or two.

“Um. Lady Trixie.” Luna paused. She had to say something, particularly something kind and thoughtful, but the only thing that came out was, “Intentional or accidental?”

“Accidental.” Trixie scowled down at her own bright orange coat. “Nopony could ever do this to themselves intentionally. And I know better than to even try counterspelling it, because all of my hair would probably fall out and I don’t want to go into winter stark naked.”

“It’s… unique,” said Luna. “Not that I would dare follow your example. Most of the Canterlot royalty would have collective heart failure, and the ones who survived would be most likely rendered color-blind.”

“True,” said Trixie with a nod as a little of the tension around her eyes began to ease. “I kept a few of the manedye packet combinations if you want to slip them into Celestia’s tub some night. I was going to use them on a different pony, but...” Trixie shrugged.

“I…” Luna froze up with her mind locked onto the image of a bright orange Celestia sitting on the throne, calmly taking care of the Day Court as the Canterlot royalty lay sprawled around her, clutching their pearls and breathing into paper bags. In their youth, the Royal Sisters had been an unstoppable pair, with no greased doorknob or pail of water over a door being beyond their reach. A prank of this magnitude would be a giant step in Luna’s recovery from being Nightmare Moon, and one that Celestia might even appreciate. Well, after sufficient shouting and chasing through the hallways of the castle, as well as a recovery period in the Royal Kitchens, pillaging the cake storage room.

“You are a most disruptive student, Lady Lulamoon.” She held out her hoof and Trixie floated a few nondescript pellets of manedye out of her bags, which Luna tucked away quickly. “You, however, are not the reason why I have traveled here from Canterlot this day. Celestia and I had a very interesting conversation last night after her return from Ponyville, about a particular spell.”

“So, what has Menace done now?” Trixie kept an expression of cocky good humor for a few moments until the resulting silence eroded it into a serious question. “You’re not mad at the way she swapped Diamond Tiara and Scootaloo, are you? I told her it was a great idea. Diamond Tiara was even delivering newspapers this morning for Scootaloo, pushing the scooter like a real champ. They’ve really gotten into each other’s lives, far more than I thought they would.”

Luna remained silent.

Trixie continued, “Of course it can’t last. They can’t really know what it is like to be each other— Oh. Spell. You don’t mean…”

Luna nodded. Celestia had fairly preened about how smart Trixie was when she was not being a total pain in the plot or inebriated. Of course, if Trixie were really as smart as she pretended, she would have noticed little Twilight Sparkle hiding behind a nearby bush, taking notes.

“Ohhh…” Trixie fairly breathed the word as if it were made of cotton candy, and her eyes sparkled with mischief. “I don’t know whether to kiss her or spank her.” The sparkles of mischief in Trixie’s eyes dulled as thought processes nimbly ran to their inevitable conclusion for anypony who was familiar with the spell. “Do you know if they switched back yet? Wait, never mind, I saw Diamond Tiara on a scooter. Uh-oh. Do you know what happens when the minds of two ponies are swapped for over—”

Trixie looked up from her chain of thought just long enough to catch Luna’s stern expression.

“Yeah, you know.” Trixie looked down at the ground with her jaw set and her breathing becoming regular. It was a little odd, because Luna was used to the far more common panic reaction in ponies as they reacted to bad news. “Does she know?”

“I am not certain,” said Luna. “Do you, Twilight Sparkle?”

The little purple alicorn slunk out of her concealing bush, with notepad and pencil bobbing along in her wake as she took small, timid steps over to stand beside Trixie. She held her head low until Trixie put an orange hoof under her chin and lifted, bringing those dangerous violet eyes to bear on Luna. “Your ‘sister’ asked you a question, Menace,” said Trixie. She brushed her cheek against the little pony and nudged against her. “There’s not a wrong answer, or I would have given it. If you know, say so.”

“Been too long. They never will change back.”

“Wrong,” said Trixie before Luna could even open her mouth to confirm the diagnosis. “Trixie knows this trick well. It should only last an hour or two, tops, but I know a loophole.” She looked around. “Where’s the rest of the disaster brigade? I don’t want to try to explain it twice.”

“Over at the train,” said Twilight, still blinking a little in confusion, but with a spark of hope in her eyes that Luna would never have been able to bring out on her own. “Archer’s coming back home today. School starts tomorrow.”

“I can’t believe school starts tomorrow,” groused Diamond Tiara as they waited for the train doors to open. “At least I don’t have to go to Canterlot for prison school, but I never got to hang out with Silver Spoon and show her my wings during the summer.”

“My wings,” snapped Scootaloo. “All I want is for Twilight to swap us back so I can get back to crusading before school starts. We’ve got less than a day.”

“Suit yourself.” Diamond Tiara flicked her short tail and trotted off in the direction of the train’s loading dock, calling back over her shoulder, “Since you told Daddy, I’m moving back to my room this afternoon. Loooser.”

“You sure we can’t just punch her a little,” said Apple Bloom.

“No,” said Scootaloo, rubbing her nose. “Not even if it didn’t come back to me. Twilight will find a way to put us back.”

“And then can we punch her? Kidding, just kidding,” said Apple Bloom with a dismissive wave. “At least with Silver Spoon back in town, Diamond Tiara will spend less time making our lives miserable.”

Twist frowned and looked over where the young pegasus was jumping up and down on the train station platform, waving at the train while waiting for the doors to open. “Diamond Tiara liketh to write to Thilver when thee’s on vacation. Do you think thee told her the whole thtory aboth Thcootth brain thwap in her letterth?”

The doors to the train opened up and Silver Spoon bolted out onto the train platform, greeting her friend with a solid right cross that dropped both Diamond Tiara out on the platform and Scootaloo next to them like matching sacks of potatoes.

In the resulting silence, Featherweight snapped a picture and said, “I think that’s a no.”

“I’ll admit, this is bad.” Trixie rubbed the little alicorn on the top of her head and blew into one ear to make Twilight flick it and distract her from the growing wave of sadness and depression Trixie knew too well. “The longer two ponies have their minds switched, the less chance they have of ever returning to normal. Why didn’t you tell somepony responsible sooner?”

“I told you,” mumbled Twilight as she leaned against Trixie. “Kindof.”

“As I said, Menace. Somepony responsible.”

“Wanted to fix it myself,” said Twilight. “I goofed. I should fix it. My friends tried to help,” she added a little weakly, as if she were thinking of what happened whenever Sweetie Belle ‘helped’ cook.

“You’ve got all kinds of powerful, grown-up friends now,” said Trixie. She put a foreleg around Twilight and draped some of her dirty purple cloak over the little alicorn. “Friends share these problems. Rarity must know all kinds of spells, and heck, even that eggheaded police officer over at your house could probably help. You even have alicorns in your corner, Menace. All you had to do was send a letter to Celestia and Princess Luna at any time, asking for their assistance. In order to crack that spell before it faded, they could have used an entire school full of professors and eggheads.”

“And you,” said Luna.

Trixie waved a dismissive hoof. “Don’t be foolish. Trixie has tried that spell at one time in her youth, but it was too difficult for her at the time. By now, the initial spell has faded below the threshold of a counterspell. Their cutie marks… I mean Diamond Tiara’s cutie mark will start to revert to the correct pony soon, and in a week or so, it will be permanent.”

Under the leg she had thrown over Twilight’s shoulder, Trixie could feel a sudden trembling, as if she were steering the conversation in the wrong direction. She did not even have to look at Twilight’s face to see the pensive frown there, but it did not matter.

Trixie had a plan. Hopefully, this one would not wind up with her in the middle of a crater.

“Don’t worry,” said Trixie with a comforting squeeze. “I’ve got a foolproof plan to get them back in their own bodies. It may take every single bit of effort I can squeeze out in the next week, but Trixie will work harder than she’s ever worked before, day and night, just for you.”

Luna cleared her throat and said, “We can assist—”

“No, no. I’ve got this,” said Trixie, holding up a hoof. “It was my fault Menace got into the restricted section, so I’ll handle this one by myself.”

The faint trembling Trixie was feeling under her foreleg slowed as Twilight got out her notebook again and began to write. After a few lines, she looked up and asked, “How do you spell hypocrite?”

It was like a shot to the gut for Trixie, and she held a hoof to her forehead while speaking. “T-r-i-x-i-e.”

The little alicorn dutifully wrote it down, but looked puzzled until Trixie added, “New plan. Trixie will wrangle a few of your new friends… like Rarity over there to help.” Trixie nodded at Rarity, who was trotting in their direction with a disheveled Sweetie Belle at her side and some amount of dishevelment on her own mane too, which was a little disconcerting to Trixie. The last time Rarity had been seen in public with more than one hair out of place, Nightmare Moon had just blown up Town Hall.

“Hello, Princess Luna,” said Rarity once she had gotten close enough to bow. “Lady Trixie. Twilight.” The calm demeanor of the fashion pony only made Trixie’s inner sense of alarm scream louder, as her magic was towing along a brand new hat and cape in Trixie’s style, only a shade of dark yellow nearly the exact same shade as Trixie’s mother and which would have gone perfectly with the purple of Trixie’s former coat. At her present shade of orange, Trixie would look somewhat like a flashing traffic signal dressed in it, and Trixie really had expected some sort of nervous breakdown when they met, particularly now since Rarity had put so much effort into a new outfit.

As determined as Rarity looked, she hesitated, looking back and forth between Trixie and Princess Luna several times until Trixie said, “I was just telling Luna about our little problem.”

“Hi,” said Twilight.

“Not you,” said Trixie.

“Oh, you know about it,” said Rarity with considerable relief. “I thought you were behind this. Just what do you have to say for yourself?”

“I’m sorry, it’s all my fault, and I’m trying to fix it. I just need a little help. From my friends,” added Trixie at an encouraging nod from Luna.

After a quizzical look and a sigh of relief, Rarity said, “Well, that’s good, but I don’t really know if this problem can be fixed. I’ll admit I thought about putting it back where it came from, but that’s probably out of the picture. It isn’t right, abandoning such a helpless little creature out into the dangerous world, but I can’t think of anypony who would take it in. Unless perhaps Spike has some sort of parental instinct.”

It was worth a quick glance at Sweetie Belle to see if perhaps she knew just what her older sister was talking about, but the little pony was acting very quiet, with her nose almost touching the ground.

“Hold it,” said Trixie. “Wait. Hold on. Are we talking about Scootaloo’s problem with having her mind swapped with Diamond Tiara?”

“Of course not,” huffed Rarity. She lit her horn and a small oval stone of some sort floated out from under Sweetie Belle’s mane to hover in front of Trixie. “We’re talking about you influencing my darling little sister into stealing a dragon’s egg.” Rarity hesitated. “Mind swapped?”

“Okay, that’s two,” said Trixie, feeling a little stunned.

“She found the egg by the library,” said Twilight very quietly. “Mother is dead. Rest of eggs smashed.”

Dragonees, the Scaleed Meenace, a hefty tome wrapped in Twilight Sparkle’s violet magic, floated up next to the egg for Trixie’s inspection, then flipped open and ran through the pages until it stopped at a colorful illustration matching the floating egg.

“Huh. Pygmy Tree Dragon egg,” said Trixie. She looked between the goose-sized egg and the pages several times before fixing her eyes on the book. “Where did you get the book?”

“Library,” said Twilight.

“At?” prompted Trixie. “Because that’s not from this library.”

The little alicorn squirmed uncomfortably. “The castle.”

“Which castle?” prompted Trixie, because she was fairly sure Twilight had not gone to Canterlot by herself, and the only other castle she could think of off-hoof was—

Twilight squirmed some more and murmured, “Sister’s castle.”

“The ruins?” After saying it in front of Luna, Trixie cringed inside, because that was not how you described somepony’s former home, even if they had been stuck in the moon for a thousand years and neglected maintenance during that time.

“Yes.” Twilight’s voice was nearly inaudible by now.

“In the Everfree Forest? No, wait. Forget I asked that. Dumb question.” Trixie pursed her lips and rubbed her chin. “So you stole a book—”

“Borrowed,” said Twilight, with a little more volume.

Concealing her inner pleasure out of getting a rise from the little alicorn, Trixie continued, “Borrowed a book without asking from Princess Luna’s old library. Not a problem, since Luna’s right here and she can write out the pardon while we wait.”

After a polite little cough, Sweetie Belle spoke up. “We brought back a bunch of them.”

“A bunch. Like… ten?” asked Trixie, hoping to be right for once in her life.

“Twenty one thousand, two hundred and—” Twilight counted to herself briefly “—eighty seven.”

“Twenty one…” Trixie took a deep breath to calm herself. “Where did you put them?”

Twilight pointed. Unfortunately, she was pointing at Trixie’s new home, which most likely did not have space for twenty one thousand of anything, let alone books.

Trixie walked over to the library door.

Put one hoof on the doorknob.

And turned.

Once the cascade of books had finished pouring out the door and Trixie managed to regain her footing, she took a long look through the open top of the door at the sea of books now covering all of the first floor. Luna, who had moved up beside her, nodded in sympathy before picking up one of the books and tucking it away with a “Ah, that’s where my copy of Rodrigo⁽*⁾ went.”

Leaving Trixie still with over twenty-one thousand problems.

A unique or rare manuscript from a few centuries back could easily run over a thousand bits. Twenty one thousand of them… could buy Ponyville, and have enough left over in loose change to purchase a brass band and an ice cream factory.
(*) Fortunately for Trixie’s nerves, she did not know there were only two known surviving copies of the romantic fiction Rodrigo Hardflanks, Stallion of the Sun, the last of which auctioned for several million bits just a few years prior.

Trixie picked up one of the nearby books for closer examination, then gave out a shriek and slammed it down again as she panted in panic.

“My, what a large spider,” said Rarity with all of the false calm of somepony who had managed to back away several body lengths in the blink of an eye.

“It’s not too big,” said Sweetie Belle as she moved up to the sloping stack of books and started moving them in search of the missing arachnid. “The others we brought back were a lot bigger before Twilight shrunk them.”

Trixie looked at the library.

The library seemed to look back, with eight glittering blue eyes in each shadow.

“New plan,” said Trixie, carefully backing up away from the infested library while deeply regretting the number of fireproofing spells she had used on it. “Go get everybody else and we’ll have a meeting in the Town Hall to figure out how to deal with what’s going on.”

“Are we meeting in your office?” asked Twilight.

“What office?” said Trixie. “I don’t have an office.”

59 - Three-Day Promise - Part Two

“And this is your office, Mayor Trixie.”

The room was a little crowded with a dragon, nine adults and seven fillies… well, six fillies and a colt. It felt a little creepy-familiar, as the last time Trixie had been in the vicinity of all of the same ponies, Nightmare Moon had returned and blown the Town Hall into charred fragments, along with a minor but mouthy simulacrum of Trixie.

Former Mayor Mare’s office had an expanding partition separating it from the nearby small conference room where the city council met, but even with the partition open, there was still too much shoulder-rubbing and flank-touching going on for Trixie’s comfort level. At least Princess Luna was being very quiet and had backed herself into a corner where she seemed to be trying to act as invisible as possible, while Filthy Rich and Zecora had taken positions on opposite sides of the small conference room table with their respective daughters.

Ex-Mayor Mare finished her brief briefing of the brand-new office, along with a light rebuke implying that she would like it back in the same condition she was leaving it, before wending her way over to the office door. She called back over her shoulder before she left. “Don’t get comfortable, ‘mayor.’ The emergency vote is in a month, and I’m taking a few weeks off until the campaign season starts. I’ll send you a postcard from Las Pegasus.”

Trixie rubbed her forehead once the door closed behind the mayor. “I leave town for two days and everything goes to the dogs.”

Twilight raised one hoof. “This afternoon we’re supposed to search for gems again.”

“No.” Trixie turned to the little alicorn with a frown. “You’re not going. Neither are you, Sweetie,” she added with a frown directed at the other little unindicted co-conspirator.

“But school starts tomorrow,” said Twilight with just the smallest hint of panic leaking into her voice at the possibility of missing even a moment of the educational experience.

“School starts now with a little lesson Trixie likes to call triage.” She took a breath and looked around her audience. “For starters, Trixie needs to know all of the problems we need to deal with other than Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara presently being in each other’s heads. Toss ‘em out here and we’ll make a list.”

“Dragon’s egg,” said Sweetie Belle somewhat quietly.

“Ignore it.” Trixie looked down at where Twilight was scribbling on a notebook and waited until she drew a line through the most recent entry. “Not important right now. It will settle itself out in due time. Next.”

“But—” started Sweetie Belle.

“Next!” snapped Trixie, although she paused immediately, floated the dragon’s egg over for an intense crack inspection, and floated it back afterwards. “As I was saying, next!”

“There’s a bunch of zebras on top of Observation Hill,” said Rainbow Dash. “They said they’re here to bring back some weird named zebra to bring unity to their homeland, but I think they just came here to watch me practice, because they watch me all the time.”

“They’re here for Twilight,” said Trixie. “Wonder why they’re here so early? Oh, well. Doesn’t matter. You don’t have to go back to Zebrica with them until you’re good and ready, Menace.”

Twilight trembled. “What if they ask?”

Trixie shrugged. “Say no. Give ‘em another decade or two and have them ask then.”

“What if they need me really bad?” asked Twilight very quietly.

“Say ‘no’ really loudly,” said Trixie. “Or let Luna say it for you. She can say it loud enough for anypony to listen. Next!”

“Thpiderth,” said Twist. “They’re nithe and fuzzy, but they’re all over the library.”

“Close the door, let them eat the beetles, and have Fluttershy take them all home afterwards.” Trixie shuddered. “All of them. I’ll sleep in the office here until then. Next.”

“All of those books,” said Spike. “Where am I going to put them all?”

“Index them, shelve the ones that will fit, and make some nice, neat stacks of the rest. They’re a reward for Menace once I get… I mean once we all get Diamond Tiara and Scootaloo put back where they belong.”

Luna cleared her throat. Trixie fixed her with a flat stare. “Yes, I know they’re your books. I swear, alicorns are worse than dragons with their precious little hoards. Once Menace is done reading them, you can pick them back up and put them wherever you want. Until then, they’re in a nice, safe, dry, dragon-guarded library here. Next?”

There was a long silence, eventually broken by Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara both looking down at the floor and shuffling forward next to Twilight. Trixie looked down at them, trying not to think about the many times she had been in roughly the same position with Princess Celestia.

“Do you three trust me?” asked Trixie.

All three of the little fillies nodded, Diamond Tiara a little more reluctantly than the others.

“No,” said Trixie. “I mean do you really, really trust me, right down to the bottoms of your hooves and with every bit of your hearts. Because if we’re going to get you two put back in your proper bodies, I’ll need all of you to do exactly what I tell you to do, every day, without fail. Can I trust you for that?”

All three nodded again, although Trixie was still not satisfied. She turned to Pinkie Pie and spoke one word.

“Cupcakes.”

“Got it!” said Pinkie, producing three iced cupcakes which Trixie floated over to each of the little ponies.

“How did she—” started Twilight before being cut off by Trixie’s raised hoof.

“Repeat after me.” Step by step, Trixie walked the little ponies through the arcane ritual of the Pinkie Promise until all three of them were sitting on the floor with icing around one eye.

“Forever!” said Pinkie Pie afterwards, then looked back at everybody’s puzzled stares. “What? It’s expected.”

“Anyway,” said Trixie, “here’s what we need to do.” She fixed each of the little ponies with her most serious stare and added, “We’re going to have to treat Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara’s bodies as if they’re never going to get their proper minds back.”

“What?” The upset babbling of the adults and little ponies in the room slowed at Trixie’s upraised hoof, eventually dying into an uneasy silence as they waited patiently for her to clarify her statement.

All except Twilight. “Why?” asked the little alicorn.

“That’s what I love about you, kid,” said Trixie, ruffling her short purple mane. “You’re always asking questions. I can’t tell you.”

“Why not?”

“Never change,” said Trixie. “I can’t tell you or any of you now, but I’ll tell you all about it afterwards.”

There was an uneasy silence in the office as adults and little ponies alike whispered to each other. Even Diamond Tiara exchanged a few terse words with her solemn father before standing next to Scootaloo, turning to Trixie and stating in a clear voice, “Okay.”

“Good,” said Trixie. “This is where it gets fun.”

“Welcome to charm school, Scootaloo.” Rarity held the door to the boutique open for the little earth pony and closed it behind her with a flip of the sign to ‘Closed.’

“School doesn’t start until tomorrow!” protested Scootaloo. “I’ve got a whole ‘nother day to crusade for cutie marks with my friends!”

“A proper lady is always prepared for the world to see the beauty inside her, Scootaloo.” Rarity patted a short platform surrounded by tape measures and notepads. “If you want to make a good impression on your peers, you will need to learn how to make that inner sense of self shine out like a beacon. First, we will need exacting measurements of your form in order to create an entire wardrobe of new outfits for your school year.”

“But Diamond Tiara already has a whole closet full of clothes,” whined Scootaloo as she faced the dreaded measuring tape, slowly undulating toward her in Rarity’s pale blue magic.

“Tut, tut. Those are last year’s clothes,” said Rarity. “Once you are measured and I can start on your new outfits, Applejack will take over with a brisk morning of posture, poise, and enunciation before we all go over to the spa to get you properly trimmed and groomed.”

“Applejack?” Scootaloo relaxed a little. “I suppose that won’t be too—”

“Well, I do declare,” said a voice that only vaguely sounded like Applejack. The pony who came out of Rarity’s kitchen looked a little like her too, only Applejack had never worn a dress that covered in bows in her life, and certainly did not glide across the floor with her head held high and her shoulders thrown back, placing each hoof as if it were treading across Celestia’s private dance floor. “Good morning, Scootaloo. I’m looking forward to our time together over the next few days. We’ll have you acting like a proper lady before you even know it.”

Rarity giggled, moving forward with the measuring tape. “Oh, this is going to be such fun!”

“Hiya, Diamond Tiara. Twilight. Are you two ready to fly?” Rainbow Dash remained hovering in front of the little pegasus and the little alicorn with a happy smile. Behind her, Fluttershy held a clipboard in the crook of her foreleg, with a thick sheaf of papers attached.

“That’s the problem,” said Diamond Tiara, extending her little wings. “These don’t work for me any better than Scootaloo.”

“Now they don’t, but by the time I finish giving you the full Wonderbolt treatment like Trixie said, you’ll know just what it means to be a pegasus.” Rainbow Dash tousled Diamond Tiara’s short mane, which she had forlornly attempted to comb into some sort of order, earning her a fierce scowl in return.

“Flap up. Flap down.” Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes. “Simple.”

“Oh, no.” Rainbow Dash chuckled. “There’s a lot more than that. We’ve got cloud manipulation, precipitation analysis, and all kinds of weatherworks to do, and that’s just today.” She pointed to a couple of dark clouds nearby, which had been brought down to nearly ground level. “First, we need to get you familiar with the most important part of being a pegasus. These are clouds.”

“Really?” said Diamond Tiara with as much sarcasm as she could cram into the word.

“Oh, yeah,” said Rainbow Dash proudly as a low rumble of anticipatory thunder growled behind her. “But they’re not ordinary clouds. That’s for ordinary pegasi. These are special clouds I trimmed out of some really energetic thunderheads. By the end of today, I’ll have you two riding and wrangling these babies as if they were little bunny rabbits. It’ll be fun!”

The mayor’s office was much more comfortable with only four ponies in it, but the temperature had a distinct chill to it as Filthy Rich slumped in one of the richly-upholstered guest chairs undoubtedly purchased with Trixie’s bits. “I don’t understand, Trixie. I mean ‘Mayor’ Trixie.” He abruptly got up and checked the door to make sure they were not being listened to before returning to his chair. “The only reason we agreed to your insane plan is because you’re the Princess’ student, and you’ve pulled off some really freaky stunts of late. You’ve got something hidden under your hat and I want to know what it is before I agree to treat Scootaloo as my daughter.”

Trixie nodded. “So you don’t like Scootaloo?”

“Of course I like her,” snorted Filthy Rich. “She’s a very good little pony.”

“And you want her to remain grounded forever,” said Trixie. “Never to fly.”

“No!” snapped Filthy Rich. “I just don’t want to treat her like my daughter.”

“And I don’t want to treat that brat Diamond Tiara as my niece,” said Quick Fix.

“Trust me,” said Trixie. After matching her gaze against both unhappy ponies, Trixie shrugged. “Okay, don’t trust me then. I think I’ve about used up all of the trust I have for several lifetimes. But you had better believe me, because I know what I’m talking about. Unless you listen, in about a week, that little spell of Twilight’s is going to be permanent. Your daughter—” Trixie poked a hoof in the direction of Filthy Rich “—is going to have wings, and your daughter—” Trixie poked a hoof at Quick Fix, paused, and corrected herself “—I mean niece will never be able to go to Cloudsdale with her parents, and do you know why?”

There was a long pause, marked at the end by Filthy Rich’s frustrated sigh.

“Do not sigh, just ask why,” said Zecora, who had remained completely silent and in the background.

“Okay,” snapped Filthy Rich. “Why?”

Trixie matched his scowl with a fierce snarl, lowering her head until her nose nearly bumped into his. “Because that’s just what they both want! Trixie can’t reverse the spell without their help now, not even Celestia could, because they don’t want to go back to their bodies. Scootaloo wants to stay with her friends here in Ponyville, and Diamond Tiara loves having wings. Filthy, if you had even watched her in the office when I floated the deal, you would have seen the way she was sneaking peeks at her wings in that mirror over there and the way Scootaloo was huddling up next to her friends. Your brat teases Scootaloo the worst because she’s jealous. She’s afraid of flying, but she loves the feathers, and plans on treating them just like another fashion accessory.”

“Scootaloo loves flying,” said Quick Fix rather cautiously. “Are you saying she would rather stay in Ponyville—”

“With her friends,” completed Trixie. “She’s getting torn in half⁽*⁾ between flying, friends, and family.”
(*)Trixie was never very good with fractions.

“Like you know anything about friendship,” growled Filthy Rich.

Before Trixie could snap back, Zecora placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Large friendships may not be Trixie’s size but her words have been proven quite wise. Know that my trust in her has been truly earned, by the lessons with Flower she has both taught and learned. You must trust this pony of blinding hue, in order to cure those troublesome two.”

Filthy Rich did not immediately respond, but Quick Fix raised a hoof as if she were in class. “So, how will treating Diamond Tiara as my niece fix the problem?”

Trixie shook her head. “I told you I can’t tell you. But I can tell you what I told Rarity and Rainbow Dash. We’re going to make each one of those little fillies learn exactly what it means to be a weather pegasus and a wealthy socialite in the absolute worst way. Scootaloo is over at the boutique right now, getting personally tutored in proper dressing and behavior.”

“Scootaloo hates wearing clothes,” said Quick Fix. “They pinch.”

“Good,” said Trixie. “She’s getting just what she needs, while Diamond Tiara—”

There was a sudden crack of lightning and long, low rumble of thunder in the distance.

“—is getting the full Rainbow Dash School of Dramatic Weather Wrangling.”

“You have my daughter playing with thunderclouds!” rumbled Filthy Rich, much like a thundercloud himself as he shoved the chair back and jumped to his hooves. “She could be hurt! I won’t stand for this, and I’m putting a stop to it right now!”

Something deep inside of Trixie snapped and she lunged across the table, grabbing Filthy Rich’s tie in her magic and dragging him nose to nose with the furious unicorn. The memory of being in the same building where Trixie had almost died, and in some way had died, made the rage of Nightmare Moon far too real, and Trixie was grateful that the three of them were the only ponies in the building as she bellowed at the top of her lungs.

“Nique ta mère!” Trixie glared incandescent fury at the shocked father. “You heard me! You don’t give a damn about anypony other than that spoiled brat! I know better than anypony what it is like to have your own head jammed so far up your plot you can see your own blackened heart! I thought there was a pony inside that expensive suit of yours, but all I see now is crap! I’m not telling you to do this just for Scootaloo. You need to do this for both of those little fillies. Or do you like the idea of your daughter living the rest of her life as a thief! You walk out of here right now and in twenty years, your ‘pegasus’ daughter will hate you for being such a coward! She, at least, has the tiniest bit of heart in her soul. She walked out of here, willing to do what some crazy unicorn told her to do, just to give Scootaloo her own body back, and I will be dammed if you set that tiny little bit of progress back and bring out the little bitch that she used to be again!”

Still panting in rage, Trixie released the grip she had on Filthy Rich’s tie, although she remained partially over the table and trembling deep inside where it did not show. Quick Fix had retreated to the far side of the room and was staring at Trixie as if waiting for the fangs and claws to appear, which Trixie could sympathize with, as she was somewhat expecting them too. Filthy Rich did not move, other than to take irregular breaths out of his gaping-wide mouth, until he ever so slowly sat back down in his chair and loosened his tie.

After several long moments, Trixie also slipped back into her chair and got out a pencil with her notebook. She tapped the outside of the notebook several times before setting the pencil back down and locking eyes with Filthy Rich. Finally, she cleared her throat and said, “I’m sorry I said that about your mother.”

“Good,” growled Filthy Rich. He did not say another word, but he did not leave either, which Trixie considered to be at least promising.

After tapping the top of the notebook several more times, Trixie turned to Quick Fix, who at least looked a little less as if she were about to bolt out of the door. “So,” she started, doodling on the paper, “can you think of anything else we can do to make Scootaloo uncomfortable with her role as a rich earth pony?”

“She hates the idea of getting a perm,” suggested Quick Fix after a few moments. “And cold baths.”

“Cold baths,” repeated Trixie while writing, finding the activity oddly calming. “Two a day. Three if possible. I think we can get a perm for her today too. How about you, Mister Rich?”

“Can she at least get her tiara back?” asked Filthy Rich, still staring at the table. “I’ve had it repaired, but I didn’t have the opportunity yet.”

Still bent over her writing, Trixie said, “For Scootaloo, yes. I’ll take it over to Rarity at the spa this afternoon. They should be mudpacking, waxing and hooftrimming her by then. Afterwards, I’ll need you over at Haute Cuisine for a dining etiquette lesson with Rarity. I’d eat first, though. The chef is a real believer in portion control. Then she has a strings concerto, and a return to the mansion for an early bedtime and pajama fitting.” Trixie paused to look at her notes. “Rarity and Applejack really outdid themselves. All Rainbow Dash said was ‘Flying practice’ for the whole day.”

“So when will Diamond Tiara be back to my house?” asked Quick Fix rather cautiously. “Or is she staying the night with Rainbow Dash like Scootaloo kept telling me she wanted to do?”

“Wonderful idea,” said Trixie, scribbling away. “That should help. Cloud house, way above the ground and away from home. Perfect.”

“Won’t I get to see my daughter at all?” growled Filthy Rich.

As she scribbled, Trixie spoke out of the corner of her mouth. “On occasion, in the distance and in passing. Make sure to walk close to Scootaloo, and see if you can pat her on the shoulder when she’s watching.”

“That’ll tear her heart out.” Filthy Rich crossed his forelegs. “I won’t do it!”

Trixie stopped writing and looked up, her face a perfect blank. “Then the daughter you raised, the one who looks so much like her mother, will forever be somepony else.”

“This is blackmail!” Filthy Rich glared at Trixie. “You’re demanding that I hurt my daughter.”

“No.” Trixie took a deep breath. “If I were demanding, I would send a letter to Canterlot with Spike and one or both of the Princesses would be here before you could blink. I’m asking for you to hurt your daughter in order to save her. After this works, you can cover her in kisses and diamond crowns for all I care.”

Trixie’s expression softened and she glanced at Zecora, who was remaining uncharacteristically silent. “Diamond doesn’t know how good she has it. She has a father right here who loves her and will do anything for her. You say she’s a good pony. What will she think about herself twenty years from now when she looks back at her wings and how she stole them? You can keep her from having to live through that kind of lifelong guilt. She can be the good pony you think she is, if you can keep her from making this mistake.”

For the longest time, Filthy Rich glared at the floor. Finally, he got up and walked over to the office door, turning around once he reached it. “Diamond’s tiara should be done being repaired at the jewelry store this morning. I’ll take it to the spa this afternoon and give it to Scootaloo myself.” He paused with one hoof on the doorknob. “Would it work better if it pinched? Because when she first got it, the ear pieces always rubbed her the wrong way.”

The ghost of a smile floated onto Trixie’s face. “I think that would be perfect, Mister Rich.”

“I’ll do it,” he said. “I’ll hate myself for doing it, and I’ll hate you, ‘Mayor’ Trixie. But I’ll do it. For her.”

Then with a click of the latch, he was gone.

Quick Fix waited for a while before getting up and using her magic to open the door. After peeking out, she slipped back to her chair and whispered to Trixie, “I don’t think Diamond Tiara would feel the least bit guilty about keeping Scootaloo’s wings.”

It was a thought worthy of some consideration, but after thinking on it for a while, Trixie shook her head. “Maybe not now. Ponies change. A year ago, I never saw myself as married to a baron’s son or sitting in the mayor’s chair.” She paused again and looked at her own sides where a pair of pale blue wings could/should have rested, then looked back into her notebook to resume writing. “So, can you think of anything else to do to make Diamond Tiara’s life as a pegasus miserable?”

The other unicorn shrugged. “If she’s going to be staying at Rainbow Dash’s house, I can’t do much. But I can pull the core on my water heater so if she sneaks home to take a bath, it’s going to be ice cold, and put the wool blanket on her bed to keep her from taking a nap. Scoots hates wool. Makes her itch.”

“I gave Rainbow Dash some extra itching powder—” Trixie paused and shook her head. “Talk about sending coal to Neighcastle. Anyway, I’ve got a little bit left over to add to her blanket if it doesn’t itch enough. How about sticking a couple of walnuts under the mattress to keep her from going to sleep if she sneaks back?”

“Oh, that’ll help.” Quick Fix paused with a seemingly casual glance out the window at the clear blue sky outside. “You know, if this works—”

“When this works,” corrected Trixie.

“When this works,” said Quick Fix, “how are you going to keep my sister from taking Scootaloo back to Cloudsdale?”

“One disaster at a time.” Trixie closed her notebook and gave a sigh. “Trust in Harmony.”

60 - Three-Day Promise - Part Three

“Hey, Scoots!” Archer bounded up to the schoolhouse steps and hesitated. “I mean Diamond Tiara. Dang, this is freaky.”

The bedraggled pegasus could do little more than glare at her adversary. Frayed feathers stuck out in all directions from her wings, and strands of dry grass seemed to be embedded in her mane so deeply that it would take a complete shaving to clean. Ignoring Archer for the moment, Diamond Tiara stumbled to her hooves after several attempts and turned to stagger into the classroom, leaving her small purple companion behind.

Twilight did not notice. She was reading, with three different books hovering in front of her nose as her head darted back and forth between them. Much like her companion, odd feathers and bits of hay stuck out of her wings and grass-stained coat, but she did not seem to be very aware of her surroundings, to the point where she gave an abrupt start when Archer touched her on the shoulder.

“Whinnyapolis! The Treaty of Plum Mountain! The year 1752 of Griffon Reckoning! Twelve!” Monster panted for breath with her eyes wide open as the books tumbled to the ground around her. “Did I pass?”

“Hey, Archer!” Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom came galloping up to the schoolhouse steps as Archer seemed poised between fleeing and dashing into the building. “Hey, Twilight,” said Sweetie Belle as she gave her little purple friend a quick hug. “Excited about your first day of school with us?”

“Duh,” said Apple Bloom, waving a hoof in front of Monster’s unresponsive eyes. “Hey, Archer. Has Scootaloo showed up yet?”

“Yeah, she—” Archer looked over her shoulder inside the classroom where the little pegasus was unpacking her saddlebags into her desk. “No, that’s DT. Here she comes.” She pointed down the path where Filthy Rich was walking alongside a perfectly coiffed and coddled little earth pony. The two of them proceeded slowly up to the steps where Filthy Rich stopped, picked the set of brand new pink saddlebags off his back, and placed them carefully on Scootaloo’s back, with great care as not to crush or wrinkle her brand new dress.

“Now be good at school,” said Filthy Rich with a brief kiss to the top of her head right in front of the shining tiara. “I’ll see you here this afternoon, and we’ll have ice cream before your meeting with your evening tutors.”

The little ponies stared in shock as Filthy Rich trotted away, then turned their attention to the painfully-clean and perfectly-dressed little pony he had left behind. Scootaloo had her lips drawn back into a thin line and her eyes wide-open with a little bit of a manic sparkle behind them.

“We walked from the house,” she said. “Slowly. The whole way. I couldn’t even trot because this dress is so tight. It took three hours for the servants to get me ready for school, and I swear they added ice cubes to the bath this morning. I can’t even touch hot water until the perm in my mane finishes setting up, and I’ve been trimmed and brushed so much over the last day I think I’m turning into Rarity.”

“You look good,” said Archer somewhat hesitantly. “Diamond Tiara looks a mess, though. I heard Rainbow Dash got her up before dawn and they spent the whole morning practicing flying before getting dropped off here. You know, I’m going to be glad when you two swap back and I can get some competent help on my paper route again.”

Sweetie Belle peeked into the classroom. “Yeah, I think Diamond Tiara’s looking forward to it too. She looks happy just to be on the ground now.”

“This sucks so bad. I think they used starch on my mane,” said Scootaloo, looking up at the near-rigid curl.

“Um…” Monster fidgeted. “School is taking forever to start?”

Trixie walked down the middle of the Ponyville street with the wagon of newspapers behind her, trying to make sense of Archer’s scribbled paper route instructions across what could only loosely be called a map. The two of them had almost managed to complete the deliveries before school, leaving Trixie only a few morning newspapers to throw onto doorsteps in order to make the paltry salary that Archer was advancing her since Scootaloo was indisposed.

“Some street numbers in this town would be nice,” she muttered, winding up and letting fly with a newspaper only to see it unerringly vanish through the pane of glass next to the door instead, scattering shards of crystal across the inside of the mayor’s office.

“Buttercups,” muttered Trixie.

A more mismatched trio of adult ponies had never been seen outside of the Ponyville school before, waiting for class to be over and their respective charges dismissed. Rainbow Dash sat somewhat uncomfortably on a white lumpy cloud and kept a downward eye on Trixie and Filthy Rich, who each seemed as tense as a wound-up thundercloud, ready to start spitting lightning and tornadoes at the slightest provocation.

“I hate you,” growled Filthy Rich, casting his eyes disparagingly to one side at the tired orange unicorn standing there.

“I know,” said Trixie. “Good things bear repeating, and you’ve told me that a dozen times so far in the last ten minutes. Just keep to the plan and you can hate me all you want with your daughter. Here she comes.”

“Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo almost tripped on the bottom step of the school, obviously still expecting to get a little bit of a boost from her absent wings. She bolted across the schoolyard and paused under Rainbow Dash’s cloud with several hops as if she were trying to make a trampoline just appear under her hooves. It was probably difficult for her, but Rainbow remained silent just as she had been asked while looking past the bouncing earth pony filly at the empty schoolhouse window.

“Come along, Scootaloo,” said Filthy Rich, putting a hoof over Scootaloo’s shoulder and carefully straightening her tiara. “I don’t have much time off from work and we need to make you presentable for your after-school tutor. We most probably will not even have enough time for ice cream.”

“B-b-but…” Scootaloo extended a hoof to the sky as Filthy Rich shepherded her down the path, managing to get one despair-filled glance backwards at her unresponsive hero before being nudged to a stiff walk.

“I know why he hates you so much,” grumbled Rainbow Dash, looking down at Trixie. “For two bits, I’d stomp all the hailstones out of this cloud right over your head.” The cloud let out a rough growl of thunder at that, seemingly expressing approval at the proposition.

Trixie did not even look up. “If… No, when this works, I’ll go stand out in the center of town and you can stomp all the hailstones over me you want. You can even bring along Scootaloo and have her help. Heck, sell tickets as long as you cut me in on the take.”

That settled Rainbow down to a brief grumble, matched by the cloud. “You know, if you weren’t a friend of mine, I would never have gone along with this.”

“Some friend.” Trixie sighed and sat down in the dusty grass of the schoolyard, but glanced upwards when a loose hailstone bonked off her slouched yellow hat.

“Friends are like weird relatives,” said Rainbow Dash, lining up her hoof on the edge of the cloud to find just the right spot to knock loose a single hailstone again. “You can’t really pick ‘em. Besides, we’re cool. I saved your life, and you saved the lives of a whole lot of my friends, and Twilight and Princess Luna. You’re awsome cool to be around, probably because so much of my awesomeness has been rubbing off on you. But what you’re having me do now? Not cool.” Rainbow Dash tapped the cloud and another hailstone bounced off Trixie’s hat. “Diamond Tiara cried in the middle of last night. I had to stay in my room and just listen, because of that stupid Pinkie promise you made me make.”

“Good.” Trixie did not even look up when another hailstone bounced off her head. “The more they want their old lives back, the less time this will take, and we don’t have much left. The clock is ticking, Rainbow. And speaking of time.”

A blur of fast-moving pegasus shot out of the schoolhouse door and skidded to a halt in front of Trixie, as Diamond Tiara looked frantically around, trying to look at anypony except for Trixie. “Where’s Daddy? He always picks me up from school on the first day.”

“You’re just a little late, Diamond.” Trixie’s pink magic formed around the little pegasus and floated her up to Rainbow Dash’s chilly cloud. “Scootaloo already went off with Filthy Rich for her after-school tutoring. She’s going to be busy all evening, and so will you. Rainbow Dash said she’s going to teach you all about hail today while I give Twilight some additional magic homework.”

“Really?” The little pegasus prodded the cloud she had been placed on with one hesitant hoof. “It won’t shock me like yesterday, will it?”

“No, but don’t poke it like that or—” A hailstone spit out of the cloud and bounced off Diamond Tiara’s forehead. “Yeah, that might happen. Anyway, see you later, Trixie. We’ve got a lot of work to do before sunset.” There was a blur of wings, a gust of cool air from the cloud, and Rainbow Dash was gone, along with her odd little apprentice.

Although somehow she still managed to get one last hailstone to spit out of the cloud as she sped away, even though Trixie caught it in her magic before it could hit her on the head.

“Am I going to miss her lesson on hail?” The moping little alicorn had managed to sneak up on Trixie and almost made her fumble the magical hold on the hailstone, which she managed to catch again after several abortive attempts.

“Yeah, you will.” Trixie pushed her hat back on her head and started walking toward the library with the little alicorn at her side. “I’ve got a special job for you this evening. What I’m doing is working, but I need one little push, something special to get Diamond and Scoots swapped back. I’m not sure what it is, but I’ll know it when I see it, and it will be all downhill from there.”

“Downhill?” Twilight Sparkle stopped moving, just standing in place in the middle of the street and breathing quietly. Trixie had not been exposed to Twilight for very long, but the experience so far had been extraordinarily intense, and the learning process accelerated accordingly. The little motion of Twilight twisting her hooves slightly into the ground and the faraway look in her eyes were dramatic tells into the little alicorn’s healing mind, and Trixie stayed stock still at her side while waiting.

And waiting…

“Menace,” whispered Trixie after a few dozen of the town’s inhabitants had passed, some with odd looks but all with that little spark of understanding and sympathy once they had spotted Twilight. “Do you want to tell me something?”

“Not sure.” Twilight’s lips moved and her eyes darted around, but no more words came out for several minutes.

“Do you have an idea?” Trixie pulled her notebook out of her yellow cape and crouched down next to the little alicorn. Sometimes the sections of an injured brain could be more damaged in the section controlling speech than writing, and with the way Twilight went through books, at least the reading section of her brain was healthy. Or at least that’s what Trixie had gotten from as many of the books on traumatic brain injury she had been able to understand. “If you can’t say it, maybe you can write it down.”

The pencil Trixie was holding in her magic was ignored as Twilight pulled out a complicated mechanical pencil with ‘Funland!’ written on the side. It wobbled in her magic as she touched it to the surface of a blank page, trembled for a moment, and broke the point off with a sharp snap.

“No words,” whispered Twilight. She straightened up abruptly and placed her short filly horn against Trixie’s before breathing out in a long, shuddering sigh.

The front end of a roller coaster car filled Trixie’s senses, with the loud clatter of the chain pulling it up the wooden mountain and the sharp pain of Diamond Tiara in her stolen body clinging to Trixie’s small purple foreleg. The pure blue of the sky flowed through her heart and a wordless song of ecstasy sounded over the dancing of thousands of invisible creatures all around her as they whipped flags and swirled around the rising coaster. Behind her, Scootaloo and Featherweight chattered, beside her Diamond Tiara trembled, and below her…

All Trixie could see was the drop straight down the steep wooden mountain as Diamond Tiara shrieked right in her ear. The roller coaster car dangled for a second as the rest of the cars began to crest the sharp hill behind her, and the distinct ‘whump’ of wings against metal echoed down the whole train as every pegasus including Trixie instinctively opened their wings into the protective shield of the cars, all except Diamond Tiara who was still frozen in terror and dislocating Trixie’s elbow.

And everything dropped, including Trixie’s stomach.

It took a few minutes of vigorously throwing up into the nearby ditch for Trixie to regain most of her previous good nature. Finally, once she had spit away the last bit of vomit and wiped her mouth, Trixie said in her most controlled voice, “Menace. Did Featherweight take a picture of that?”

“Yes.” Twilight Sparkle nodded slightly while trembling. “Got extra copies. Was afraid, but not. Weird. Wanted to capture it.”

“Fear can be like that.” Trixie took a deep breath and sat down right in the middle of the road. “In small doses, it’s fun, but if you let it control you, it will rule your life, just as bad as greed or pride.” A faint gurgle from her cape as she shifted positions made Trixie flatten her ears and scowl, adding, “Or booze.”

“Like Scootaloo. Afraid of losing us,” said Twilight.

“Everypony’s afraid of something,” said Trixie. “Scootaloo is afraid of flying because she’ll lose her friends here when she goes back to Cloudsdale with her parents. You're afraid of growing up and learning how to use your alicorn magic because you're afraid you'll destroy the world somehow. Diamond Tiara is afraid of losing her father and—” Trixie shook her head. “Well, the second thing will wait until we get Scootaloo and her back into their correct bodies tomorrow. You gave me just exactly what I need. Now, we need to get Rainbow Dash and see about adding a new flying lesson for you and the tiaraed troublemaker. Let’s go.”

They walked down the road, side by side for a while before Twilight asked, “What are you afraid of?”

“Um…” Trixie thought fast, but nothing came to mind except the obvious. “Losing you, of course.”

“You’re not lying?” Trixie managed to meet the little alicorn’s big violet eyes for a long while before she had to look away.

“I thought I was.” Trixie shrugged. “Maybe not.”

“Good.” Twilight kept walking alongside Trixie as they proceeded toward Fluttershy’s house and the flying practice area until she added somewhat hesitantly, “I trust you.”

“But you’re still worried,” said Trixie. “Don’t be. Tomorrow after school, your friends will be back in their own bodies. Nothing will go wrong. Trixie guarantees it.”

61 - Three-Day Promise - Part Four

Morning in Canterlot normally started long before the sun rose, although the exact definition of the term slopped over both sides of the line by a certain extent. The precise moment of the dawn signified the transition from one Princess to the other, but before that could happen, servants and guards needed to get in place for the event, and afterwards the off-shift had to make their way home, thus making the moment of perfect tranquility more like half-time at the hoofball game, complete with a marching band.

The two referees were taking their pre-morning tasks more seriously than normal, as Luna and Celestia had been grazing down the breakfast table in an attempt to make a sizable dent in the massive selection of breakfast foods the castle staff had assembled for them. It had evolved into a little bit of a competition between the sisters and the kitchen staff after the first time the sisters had managed to completely clean out a breakfast table down to the crumbs, only to find an additional leaf in the table the next morning, and two the day after that.

“Chocolate,” pronounced Luna, holding a small cube of the otherwise normal appearing substance in her magic. “Of all the things I missed while on the moon, this is the greatest of them all. Other than you, Celly.”

“I’m just glad to be on your list somewhere,” said Celestia around a mouthful of chocolate she had picked out of the massive pile. “There must be over fifty different flavors here this morning, and the only flavor your old and creaky sister comes in is vanilla.”

The two sisters sampled and tasted their way around the mountain of breakfast chocolate until Luna began to hum slightly under her breath, followed soon by Celestia until the two alicorns were crooning in a near-whisper and ending in a mutual giggle.

“The zebra Imetabiriwa are trying to summon Twilight, aren’t they, sister?” said Luna.

“Yes, but—” started Celestia before Luna abruptly cut her off.

“Their name may mean ‘Wise Ones’ but they are fools.” Yet another cube of chocolate vanished to fuel the Night and Luna giggled as she licked her lips. “They are deaf to the music they play upon their instruments, and yet expect to play such a magnificent concert as to bring the young Twilight Sparkle to their lands.”

Celestia paused with a blueberry-studded cube of fudge at the end of her nose. “There was a composer named Beethooven who once who did just that, sister. Deaf as a post, and yet he composed the most compelling music I have ever heard.”

The two sisters paused with ears upraised, as if the sound of a thousand zebra Imetabiriwa chanting and dancing on the other side of the world echoed through their breakfast nook, causing them to hum along and sway with the music.

“Sister.” Celestia put down the cube of chocolate without even tasting it, which worried Luna. “Do you miss it?”

“Miss what?” said Luna through several selections of walnut-maple fudge, both with and without nuts. Then she looked up as if she could see through the ceiling to an unimaginably distant place and swallowed. “Oh.”

“I would have thought you would feel the call of our previous lives the most, since you have dominion over the night sky,” said Celestia, still looking distant. “When you were locked away, there were many nights spent under your stars when I would have given anything to flee this place and return to the sky, dancing and playing with our kind once again. Singing the song of hydrogen and helium, flowing and coiling in the gravity of collapsing stars and bursting into light while our kind spun and danced in the joy of creation. In my despair, I would have cast aside all which we gathered and protected just to be one with our sisters again, but for you.”

“Every night, Celly.” Luna nuzzed her sister, leaving a long chocolate smear down her neck. “I hath never regretted choosing you over them, from our first day and night upon this wonderful world to the present. Even when I had given myself to Nightmare, my bond with you was such that I could not have separated myself from you and left for our kind.” She kissed Celestia on one ear, and gave it a sharp nip. “You’re stuck with me, I guess.”

“Luna!” Celestia rubbed at the abused ear with a pained smile. “It is for the best. On our best days of our previous lives, we could have never dreamed of the myriad of creations possible with just a few bits of carbon and water, with a little nitrogen thrown in on top. Back then, we made stars. Now, we watch over a world, filled with ponies and griffons and all sorts of fantastic creations, although I still have to wonder.” She paused, her half-eaten piece of chocolate floating in front of her nose. “Who made this place first?”

“Whoever it was, liked food,” said Luna, although she gave a matching wince with her sister as a pair of zebra Imetabiriwa missed a step and the carefully-organized dance they were doing half a world away stuttered for a few moments. “And zebra,” she added. “Unfortunately.”

The door to their breakfast nook gave a click and Princess Cadence stumbled through, arriving at her habitual chair by pure instinct as her eyes were closed and her head low enough to almost not clear the table when she sat down. Several items of breakfast fare took flight in her magic, flinging themselves into the bowl in front of her until the Princess of Love gave a very unladylike grunt and dropped forward, muzzle first into her cornflakes.

“Long night with the pregnancy?” asked Celestia, although fairly quietly in case Cadence was sleepwalking again.

Her Royal Gravidness nodded slightly, or perhaps it was just a visual artifact from her chewing cornflakes.

“I wouldst have thought thy husband’s affection was the cause of your morning fatigue,” said Luna with a smirk.

Cadence nodded again, although she pulled her dripping muzzle out of the bowl and added, “Couldn’t sleep. There was this infernal singing that started around midnight, like a bunch of foreign language performers doing Riverprance outside my window. I can still hear it.”

The Royal Sisters exchanged a brief glance before Celestia cleared her throat and said, “An unusual perception indeed. Perhaps pregnancy hormones are to blame.”

“Maybe. But do you know the funny thing about it?” Cadence yawned and smacked her lips a few times, clearing the leftover cornflakes off her cheeks with one lick of her long tongue. “Way above it, I swear I hear a bunch of ponies singing, sounding so happy and so lonely all at the same time, and if I didn’t know better, it sounds like they are calling out for me to join them. Weird.”

Luna cast a disparaging look at Celestia, who simply rolled her eyes and shook her head. The Princess of the Night moved up beside Cadence, who had returned to her cornflakes with a vengeance. Sitting down and waiting until Cadence surfaced for air again, Luna cleared her throat.

“About that. There is a matter of alicorn nature upon which Celestia never did educate you, and I did not think it prudent to tell you either, Cadence, but if you can hear them too, it would be best to get it all out into the open.” Luna took a deep breath and said something she hoped she would never need to say to her niece.

“Allow me tell you where alicorns come from.”

Morning in Ponyville might sparkle, but the front steps of the school did not contain very much happiness in this early morning hour. A group of little friends had gotten to school long before their normal race to beat the bell, and sat around on the bottom step while waiting for the rest of their group.

“Trixie is so slow,” started Featherweight.

After a time, Twist rolled her eyes and responded, “Okay, how thlow is thee?”

“It’s not a joke,” protested Featherweight. “Well, maybe it is, but she took forever this morning when we were helping Archer do the route over by Fluttershy’s house. We had just given the paper to Angel when she stopped and had a long chat with Rainbow Dash, all secret like.”

“Are they still doing cloud wrangling?” asked Apple Bloom.

“Naa.” Featherweight patted his camera. “They’re doing glides. Rainbow Dash has a harness on and she’s towing Diamond Tiara and Twilight up to this little cloud platform over the river and they jump off and glide over to a pile of hay bales where Fluttershy is spotting their landings. Well, they’re supposed to glide over there.”

“Crashing?” asked Sweetie Belle, who was cradling the little grey dragon egg and checking it for cracks.

“Yeah. They’re both pretty good at that, at least. I’ve got some great pictures to develop this afternoon.” He gave a little sigh. “All this time Scootaloo’s been wanting to have Rainbow Dash teach her to fly and all she really needed to do was ask. Oh, look. Here she comes.”

The sight of Diamond Tiara walking alongside her father to school was a familiar one, although Scootaloo was not quite as high-stepping and nose-raised in the same body. Once Filthy Rich had turned around and was out of sight, Scootaloo promptly lifted the diamond tiara off her head and rubbed her ears. “How does she put up with this?” muttered Scootaloo, shoving the tiara back on her head with unnecessary force.

The little group of friends clustered around, keeping an eye on the time as well as the sky while waiting for the last member of their group to arrive, which happened at the same time the school bell rang. The echo of the bell had not yet died out when a rainbow streak of light headed straight for the schoolhouse door resolved into a fast-moving pegasus with two little winged ponies in tow, gliding along behind her in the fast slipstream. Or at least they were gliding until Rainbow Dash did an abrupt right-angle turn straight up right at the schoolhouse steps and both little ponies lost their grips on the tow ropes when they opened their mouths to scream.

It was a very short scream.

Diamond Tiara and Scootaloo wound up together in a ball, tumbling across the classroom and coming to an abrupt halt at the far wall with Miss Cheerilee looking down at them. She lifted the bent tiara off the two little ponies, sitting in a pile of loose papers and books, and asked, “Are you two hurt?”

“Daddy’s going to sue you for every bit you own,” snapped the little pegasus.

“And there goes my second question to see if the two of you had been bonked back into your own bodies,” said Cheerilee with a sigh and a quick look around. “Where’s Twilight?”

“Present.” The little voice could be tracked back to the now-open schoolhouse door, which had a little alicorn stuck horn-first in the top part, and dangling rather forlornly with her stubby tail swaying back and forth. “Are we tardy?”

Once school was over, the group of friends gathered at the front door of the schoolhouse again and discussed their plans for the rest of the day while watching Big Mac work on patching the hole in the door.

“We can go play with my uncle’s lawn darts,” said Featherweight, putting a foreleg around Monster and tapping her on the top of her rounded horn. “She’s on my team. Natural talent and built in dart-tyness.”

“Don’t be silly, Featherweight. Ah think we should make a catty-pult for the Summer Wrap-Up Festival,” said Apple Bloom with a sideways glance at her big brother. “Trixie said she had her fireworks from Canterlot shipped here, and we can use the catty-pult to throw them way, way up in the air before they blow up so everypony can see them.”

“Catapult,” said Twist, getting out a cinnamon candy twist for Monster, just in case the topic was causing her stress. “And don’t they fly up in the thky by themthelves?”

“When the sun is in the sky, Diamond and I are to fly,” said Monster, feeling a little distracted as she stared off into the distance at Observation Hill where the zebra Imetabiriwa were waiting on her. “Today is the day, Trixie said, when Scootaloo will fly or—” The little alicorn stopped and bit down on the cinnamon stick, starting to chew her way down it like a starving beaver.

“Your friend Trixie is a mean, disgusting excuse for a pony,” snapped Diamond Tiara in a low growl. “She’s torturing us just because she hates me and Daddy!”

“No,” said Monster from behind the remains of her cinnamon stick. Threads of probability coiled and spun in the back of her mind, whipped into a froth by the constant beat of zebra hooves half a world away.

“No?” snapped Diamond Tiara with her wings partially extended. “What do you mean, no?”

The last bit of the cinnamon stick vanished and Monster licked her lips before speaking. “No, it is not so. She does what she must to earn our trust so your father and Scoot’s aunt may no longer rant.”

Diamond Tiara stared at the little alicorn, who accepted another cinnamon stick from Twist and began to gnaw on it. “You’re weird. Come on, let’s go wake up Rainbow Dash and get this afternoon’s crashing practice over. Do you know what else she has planned today, other than humiliating me in front of everypony with this stupid demonstration?”

Monster started to reply, paused, and shook her head instead, which still rhymed, but not in such an obvious way.

“What demonstration?” asked Featherweight.

Diamond Tiara scowled and jerked her head in the direction of their gliding practice area. “Rainbow Featherbrain wants us to show how well we glide, so she invited some ponies to watch the unfolding disaster and help pick our bodies up after we beat ourselves senseless against the ground, I guess.”

“Can we come too?” asked Twist, checking her saddlebag for bandages and elastic wrap.

“What, so you can laugh at me?” Diamond Tiara scoffed and tossed what little mane she had back.

“No, so we can cheer for you,” said Apple Bloom. “Just because we don’t like you, don’t mean we want to see you hurt. Much,” she added as Sweetie Belle poked her in the ribs.

After a moment to think about it, Diamond Tiara nodded reluctantly and turned away. “I suppose. Come on, losers. Let’s—”

Monster flung herself against Diamond Tiara and wrapped the larger pony in a crushing hug, using both wings and legs to hang onto her chest and squeeze so hard that Diamond’s breath was forced out and she started to turn red. It only lasted for a stunned second or two before the little alicorn abruptly broke it off and began galloping in the direction of their morning gliding exercise, leaving all of her friends at a temporary loss for words.

“Twilight is so weird,” said Diamond Tiara once she had gotten her breath back. She shook her head before trotting off after the little alicorn with the rest of her friends following close behind. “I think I liked her better when she was just creeping me out.”

Scootaloo had always dreamed of this time, with Rainbow Dash lecturing the little pegasus on flying terms before an afternoon of flying through the sky with her hero. Although she had always thought herself as the student, not the audience. Filthy Rich was standing beside Scootaloo, keeping a close eye on her so she would not wrinkle a pleat or knock a strand of mane out of alignment on the body she was unwillingly inhabiting, while her real little pegasus body was standing right over there with Diamond Tiara inside, probably smirking at the idea of how much it hurt Scootaloo to see the way the brat took over her life. The rest of her friends were gathered into a small cluster, whispering among themselves while the ‘VIP Section’ got a close-up look at the battered bale-covered landing spot.

Amidst the other observers, Trixie and Zecora stood next to Filthy Rich, listening quietly while Rainbow Dash bragged about how Diamond and Twilight had gotten so good at gliding to a safe landing that she wanted to have a demonstration of their flying skills. It made a fire burn inside her to think of being cheated out of her legacy as a pegasus, and all Scootaloo could think of was what joy Diamond Tiara was feeling when Rainbow Dash had her two students bite down on their tow ropes and she began to climb up into the sky.

Diamond Tiara once had a nightmare much like this, where she was trapped with a rogue pegasus who planned on taking her far up into the sky and dropping her, just to see her splatter. With a nightmare, she could always wake up, but Rainbow Dash was far worse than a nightmare. She demanded work, one more flap of the wings, one more crash into the hay bales in a forlorn attempt to land, one more stressful glide across the dark river ending in a collision with the unforgiving dirt and incorrectly-placed bales of hay. Every muscle in her body had gone long past hurting, but her heart hurt the worst of them all. The imposter was standing by Daddy, eating off of her plates and sleeping in her bed, and worse, wearing the brand new clothes she had gotten for school. Those were her things, and a vengeful fire burned in her chest as she watched the thief instead of listening to the inane lecture by her flying instructor/torturer about unstable spins and panic reactions.

Only to have the angry fire be replaced by terrified ice as Rainbow Dash began to pull them up into the sky, far past the cloud platform they had been practicing gliding from and in the direction of a tiny speck of cloud far, far up in the sky.

Afternoon court had turned into what the Canterlot Royal Houses referred to as a ‘Three-Alicorn Circus’ when Princess Luna trod slowly into the throne room and took her place almost casually to Celestia’s other side, opposite of where the Princess of Love was resting her rump on a thick cushion with her forehooves in a bowl of ice water to help reduce the swelling related to her late stage of pregnancy. There was a certain reluctance for the nobles to attend Luna’s lightly-staffed Night Court unless they had a proposal to the Crown that Celestia had already turned down, although that type of sneaking around the Sun’s shadow was somewhat discouraged by the page-sized red rubber stamp Luna had purchased with her own funds after the second night and used with great enthusiasm on the third.

Placing said stamp to one side, Luna looked up at her sister and nodded. “Apologies, Celly. We had difficulties sleeping, and thought a session at your afternoon court would help. We brought our ‘Nay!’ stamp in the event you wish to borrow it.” She flinched nearly at the same time Celestia and Cadence gave matching twitches and all three alicorns cast an irritated glance at distant Zebrica. “They’re getting tired,” she added in a low whisper as the repetitive drumbeat of zebra hooves continued to echo through the heads of all three alicorns.

“That’s not a good thing,” whispered Celestia back. “Fatigue invites mistakes. Deadly mistakes.”

Despite her fatigue, Monster kept her jaws clamped tightly to the tow rope as Rainbow Dash shot up into the sky. The wind roared through her mane and shortened tail, making her teacher appear as a blurred rainbow through nearly-closed eyes, but the hammering impact of her wings beating the air into a froth brought a tiny fraction of precious calm to her rapidly-beating heart as they ascended. There was something right about her flight, a tiny fraction of harmony which merged with the rest of her friends into a comfortable safe place, where nothing could possibly harm her. Rainbow was strong and reliable, much as a mother manticore adored and protected her cubs, giving Monster’s spirit some well-needed support this high in the sky. She trusted Rainbow not to let her fall, and Rainbow trusted her to be able to glide back to the ground safely. Even Diamond Tiara trusted them enough to be right by Monster’s side with a tow rope firmly embedded in her teeth.

The weight of two little fillies did not seem to slow Rainbow’s velocity at all, and the excited cries of the air spirits all around Monster made her ascent feel so much like the time she had ridden the Boomer with her friends. The same mixture of terror and excitement churned around in her chest and filled her head with chaos as they continued to climb, higher and higher into the cloudless sky without the slightest pause. Diamond Tiara had nearly broken Monster’s foreleg clutching to her when they went over the top of the Boomer’s fairly small hill, and this ascent into the sky made the mountainous roller coaster seem like a molehill.

There was something about the abrupt ascent that made Monster’s mind begin to connect disconnected pieces, from the way Filthy Rich had been paying special attention to Scootaloo’s extensive training as a young gentlefilly to the almost brutal way Rainbow Dash had been training both her and Diamond Tiara in flight. Trixie had called it ‘tough love’ and that Monster should trust in harmony, but…

Something shifted in the magical field surrounding them, a twisting and return to normalcy that Scootaloo’s joyous cry in her ear brought crashing into Monster’s awareness with a sudden sense of realization. All of this was a trick of Trixie’s making, from the flying lessons to the etiquette instructions! The only way for Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara to return to their own bodies was if they wanted to return, and there was nothing that Diamond could have possibly wanted more at that moment than to be standing beside her father on the very solid ground, while Scootaloo had been watching her heart’s desire fly straight up into the sky and away from her. It had been so obvious when looked at from this point of view, and once Rainbow Dash reached the apogee of her flight to release her payload, the two of them would be able to glide down the long, long way to the ground together. Her heart swelled with joy as the song of the air spirits rose to a joyous crescendo, mixing with the distant sounds of tramping zebra hooves and a mysterious melody that almost sounded like thousands of voices in some heavenly choir. Confidence seemed to just want to burst out of her body and make her join in the song, despite the tow rope handle gripped firmly in her teeth.

It signaled a new phase in her life. Maybe even Monster would be able to ride in Scootaloo’s wagon without closing her eyes, or get up the courage to take her friends on another trip, this time to Canterlot where they could meet her family again. Luna would be excited that Monster had progressed so far, and maybe would take them all on a trip around the Canterlot castle to see how much it had changed while she had been gone. Featherweight would take pictures while Apple Bloom would sample all of the little cakes and treats that Twist would help the cooks make. Maybe they could even go out into the garden and walk around the statuary, although Scootaloo would probably want to race through them…

Scootaloo would…

Scootaloo.

Monster opened one eye in the violent slipstream of Rainbow Dash’s ascent and turned her head to see the empty tow rope where her friend had been.

62 - Three-Day Promise - Part Five

“Come on, Trixie. This will work. This has to work. Last chance.” Trixie lowered her voice again as a few of the ponies in the small audience glanced back at her, except for Scootaloo (still in Diamond Tiara’s body), who was standing next to Filthy Rich while staring up into the clear blue sky where Rainbow Dash was flying. Trixie could almost taste the longing of the little pegasus to be with her idol, and the photograph of the four little troublemakers when they rode the Boomer gave Trixie a good idea of the terrified expression on Diamond Tiara’s face now too. The only thing keeping the spell from being broken was the little ponies’ envy of each other’s lives, and that thread of magic was being pulled just as tight as a lyre string. It actually sounded somewhere in the back of her horn as a high-pitched note like a rising soloist over the sound of rumbling hooves, getting higher, and higher until…

Trixie winced as Diamond Tiara screeched, throwing herself to the side and grabbing onto Filthy Rich with all four hooves. “Daddy! Daddy!”

“Yes!” said Trixie with a little dance. “It worked! I knew it, I knew it! Trixie is brilliant!”

“I’m not sure I would go that far, darling,” said Rarity with a sniff, although she did look at the tearful reunion of father and daughter before adding, “It was a very clever plan, though.”

“It was mean!” snapped Diamond Tiara through her tears. “I was so scared! You’re a big bully and Daddy’s going to sue you—” Any further words were cut off by Filthy Rich’s body as he muffled his daughter’s protests quite firmly in a massive hug. It was a touching father-daughter moment, and made something inside of Trixie’s chest twinge with mixed joy and pain as she thought of her own parents in Neigh Orleans, and the long, long time since she had similarly been wrapped up in their loving embrace. She ignored Spike’s urgent tug on her new yellow cape and wiped a hoof across her eyes to get rid of some of the loose cloud that had condensed there. It was a little humbling to think of how many other ponies Trixie had to credit for this successful trick, and not long ago she might have tried to take full credit for the operation, but now she was just content to soak it all in and watch father and daughter in their moment of happiness.

“Thank you, Madam Mayor.” Filthy Rich kissed his daughter on the nose. “And thank you too, Diamond. You were a very good little pony. I’m sorry I ever thought about sending you away to Canterlot.”

“Uh, Trixie?” Spike’s insistent tugging at Trixie’s new yellow cape grew frantic. “Look!”

Six zebra up on a small hill just outside of Ponyville had become a sight the local ponies had grown accustomed to over the last few days. Tallgrass had just considered it to be yet another example of the weird things the town could tolerate without blinking, provided there was no obvious danger. After all, they took in stride having several residents of the town who tended to randomly crash into buildings and through windows, respected the privacy of the pop music sensations who dropped in at the Carousel Boutique at random times, and had viewed the explosive vanishing of Town Hall and the subsequent appearance of a tiny alicorn resident as sort of a good-luck charm. Even the relatively frequent visits by Princess Celestia had become fairly routine, although still warmly welcomed every time they happened. Presumably, if an Ursa strolled into town one day, the residents would… well, for that, they would run around and scream, but anything short of such an event would just be a Tuesday.

Old Kavu was still obviously favoring one ankle, despite not radiating the least bit of unusual pain for the changeling to detect, and she was currently resting on a sturdy cushion (with a little stylized ‘R’ on one corner) in order to look out across the river valley with the rest of her peers and watch the daily entertainment. “That pegasus with all the colors seems to be a teacher,” she admitted into the relative quiet of their observations.

“Yep,” said Tallgrass. “She’s normally tearing through the sky solo or sleeping somewhere. I wonder what has changed since I’ve been gone.”

“Rainbow Dash is strong
much like the wind in the sky.
She lessens herself there.”

Without even looking over at Mshairi, Tallgrass nodded. “Impressive. Teaching. Lessens. A pun within a pattern. Yes, Rainbow Dash is her name, as before I explained. The young pegasus she is towing on that rope must be Scootaloo, and the little purple pony to her side is the Imetabiriwa na Anga, who you seem so determined to remove from her loving home. If you wish, I could call for them, and they could come over to visit.”

“No, I do not think so.” Keiko followed the trajectory of the three ponies as they rocketed up into the sky. “Why so high?” she asked as they ascended far above their previous low altitude.

Rather than look up, Tallgrass looked down at the distant group of ponies gathered by the side of the river, and in particular the one pony who was striped in black and white a short distance away from a strange orange unicorn who the earth spirits insisted was Trixie. The situation certainly felt like Trixie’s work, but the feelings deep inside his chest were nearly drowned out by the deeper sensation of the distant shamans in Zebrica performing their summoning ritual.

It made his rear itch, and not in a good way.

“I do not know why it is so,” admitted Tallgrass. “But as for me, I’ll trust in Harmony.”

“Does your harmony explain why that one falls?” asked Old Kavu, pointing up into the nearly cloudless sky. A small fleck of orange had broken free from the ascending pegasus and was now plummeting down towards the ground. Normally, a pegasus would have spread her wings by now and swooped off in a different direction, but this one had her wings tucked tightly to her sides and seemed to be falling back-first in a most unusual fashion. Something in his mind wanted Tallgrass to burst forward, shedding his disguise and ascending into the sky in a futile attempt to catch the distant falling filly, but something far stronger made him sit back, close his eyes, and concentrate on his breathing.

“My child, for your heart’s sake, this choice is yours to make.”

Monster could feel the flow of time slow to a crawl as her heart hammered away. The rapid beats of Rainbow Dash’s wings, previously too rapid to watch, now seemed frozen in place as the slipstream across her face slowed to the gentlest of breezes. The wooden tow handle which had felt so uncomfortable in her jaws now seemed to be sucking every drop of fluid from her mouth as she twisted to look past the empty tow rope where Scootaloo was supposed to be and toward the distant ground.

It was a very, very long way down.

Far below, she could see the tiny speck of Scootaloo with her wings still drawn up tight against her barrel as she fell backwards towards the unyielding ground, much like the deadly scenario Rainbow Dash had warned her and Diamond about earlier. If nothing was done, she would die in a matter of seconds. She was too far away for Monster to think about diving to her rescue, even if she could get her clumsy wings to work for more than a hesitant glide, and enough terror surged through her mind that teleportation would only kill them both.

Do something!

Thousands of threads of probability streamed through her mind, made blurry by the constant thumping of distant zebra voices raised in a pervasive chant until she could not even put a single thought together. Scootaloo was going to die and not all the wise words of her mother or trusted teacher could—

Trust in Harmony.

Trixie had said it was the phrase used by Princess Celestia whenever she was about to do something stupid, and the thought brought a tiny fraction of order to her panic. As her sense of frozen time began to thaw and motion began to intrude into her perception, Monster managed to touch her horn to the rope and release her magic. The fibers of the rope disintegrated into dust with a sharp crack, her altered time sense making the rapid decomposition seem to crawl up the tow rope, hesitate at the harness Rainbow Dash had been using to pull them up into the sky, then burst into a cloud of violet magic as she was set free from her voluntary bondage even as Rainbow began a sharp twitch of pain at the sudden noise.

There was only one chance for Scootaloo to live. Monster had to fly.

She reached out with her wings, cupping them to the wind and feeling the spirits of air buoy her up as Rainbow Dash began to turn. There could be no hesitation. Even the slightest pause by the speedy pegasus would prevent her from diving fast enough to catch her friend, and Scootaloo would die. Monster’s small purple wings embraced the sky, stretching wider than she had ever reached before. She did not tumble out of control, or fumble her flight, but held herself firm in the air as Rainbow Dash finished her glacial turn, took a brief glance at Monster—

—then dove straight down so fast that her slipstream spun the little alicorn around in a circle.

“She’s not going to make it.” Trixie stared up into the sky where Rainbow Dash had just begun her dive after the plummeting little filly. To her experienced showmare’s eye, there was no way she could possibly catch Scootaloo before the filly met a horrible end in the rocks on the other side of the river. Without even realizing it, Trixie broke into a gallop as she kept an eye on the falling pegasus and a whirl of numbers filled her head. While other ponies tended to panic when stressed, the proximity of certain death was where Trixie shone. Throughout her career, more than one potentially-lethal stunt which had failed every time during rehearsal went off perfectly during the performance, including her last great performance at distracting Nightmare Moon.

This would be a trick she had never managed to master. Only the most powerful unicorns could teleport, and only with a great deal of concentration and control, both of which Trixie had in only microscopic amounts. Every attempt of Trixie’s until today had only wound up in either fire or choking smoke, but even at her fastest gallop, there was a river between Trixie and the little falling pegasus. Ignoring the cries of alarm from behind her, Trixie focused her power as she had never before while running just as fast as her hooves could travel, but one distracting voice kept bouncing around inside her head as she ran.

This is your fault, Trixie. Scootaloo will die because of your pride.

“No. Way,” she grunted as she galloped. Magic funnelled along in her rapid wake, drawn to her horn in a glittering pink corona that swelled with every step and threw sparks from her hooves. She did not have to look up to be able to trace Scootaloo’s rapid ballistic trajectory, or just exactly how many seconds of life she had left until she died on the other side of the river. The numbers danced instinctively to their inescapable conclusion as the river grew nearer and the thunder of hooves in her head grew stronger.

Trust in Harmony

“Bull,” she muttered as she galloped. “Trust in Trixie.” The edge of the river was coming up fast as the magic coalesced into incandescent fury around her galloping hooves and throbbing horn. She was only going to get one shot at this. One performance only, the Great and Powerful Trixie, Student of Princess Celestia, the Unconquered Sun. Do or die. Pass/fail. It was all up to Trixie.

Not me. They will say we saved your daughter.

The words exploded into her mind, and for one blazing moment, Trixie could see everything. A field of sweating zebra, nearly indistinguishable from the dust they were kicking up in the moonlight. The tiny flare of light from the sun as something leapt in her direction. Three royal alicorns in Canterlot looking puzzled and turning their heads to the south. The polychromatic blaze of Rainbow Dash as she plummeted toward the ground too far behind the falling Scootaloo. The rapid gallop of Fluttershy and Rarity as they chased after Trixie. The long, frantic leaps of Pinkie Pie far behind in Ponyville as she bolted out of her store window. Scootaloo’s little friends, looking up into the sky with screams and pointing hooves.

The spot where Trixie needed to be instead of where she was.

Even as one hoof sprayed boiling water from her first step into the river, there was a blinding blaze of light, and Trixie vanished.

From here, Monster could see forever. Canterlot glowed like a brilliant torch on the mountains to the north, while off to the side, the distant rainbow glitter of Cloudsdale dominated the horizon. Shimmering in the distance like a jagged tooth, the distant rocky precipice loomed over Ghastly Gorge where she had first saved Scootaloo from falling to her death.

Time crawled by as Monster stabilized her wobbly flight with a glacial flick of one wing and tried not to look down. Down was bad. Below her were all of the things she did not want to see.

Far, far below, Scootaloo continued to fall at terminal velocity in a path that would end in her death in just a few moments, even if that short time seemed to crawl to her accelerated perception. Rainbow Dash continued her crash dive in pursuit, her wings a blur even to Monster’s senses, but she had started her dive too late, and was doomed to failure. The distance between them was too great for her to catch Scootaloo before impact, and from her single-tracked dive, Rainbow Dash would die just instants afterwards rather than admit defeat, crushed together with the little filly who loved her so. Even Trixie galloped in the direction of the impending deaths, although she also was too far away to be of any assistance, as Monster could remember the horror stories she had told about her failed attempts to teleport.

None of her friends would be able to save Scootaloo.

Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash were both going to die.

As Monster held her wings open in the thin air, the knowledge pierced her heart with a pain so intense she could not breathe. She stretched her wings wider, trying to dilute the searing agony and closing her eyes to the dreaded sight. Monster had done everything she could to save her friend, but it was not enough, and her efforts were going to get a second friend killed. She had to flee far away, to throw away everything she had gained through painful effort yet again. Her friends, both young and old, would blame her for Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash’s death. Even friendship had its limits. Forgiveness could only go so far. She would be a living symbol of their gruesome deaths every moment she remained in Ponyville.

The pain grew more overwhelming as she reached out further with her wings, feeling her body grow indistinct as the song of the air sprites filled her chest with every breath. Still, the pain was her punishment, and she embraced the familiar agony as she grew, feeling the song of the jubilant air sprites flood through her mind as they whirled around. Her wings spread even wider through the thin air as the blazing sun began to pass through her immaterial body, adding to the song in her heart and head. She had to go, to leave her home of such a short time and follow her destiny wherever it led. A thunder of zebra hooves called out as she swelled even further, becoming as thin as vapor to the air and rising up to the sun to begin her journey.

It was her destiny, revealed in the stars by the wisest of zebras. She was going home.

As she ascended, the thunder of zebra hooves in her head grew to a roar, then began to fade as a new song began to filter through the noise. At first, she tried to ignore the way it plucked at her senses while her body continued to expand, now only a hint of violet in the pure blue sky and soon to be nothing but a memory. Something in the joyous melody reached all the way into her soul, making her feel like a beam of pure incandescent sunlight despite her dark actions. It grew as she did, not one voice sweeping over her, or hundreds, but billions of voices raised in glorious joy over the song of creation.

It was the birthing cry of elemental hydrogen swirling together in spiral arms and exploding stars, washing over her in a flood of ecstasy while calling for Monster… no, calling for Twilight to embrace her legacy and join in the eternal song of creation and destruction, becoming one with the universe and all of its mysteries. They called to her, from black holes warbling on the lowest edge of her perception to the shriek of spinning pulsars, from old stars clustered together in their dying chill to the hot blaze of new life in young stars, filled with hydrogen until even the elemental fragments of matter smashed together into iron and beyond in a cataclysmic explosion. And above all, from infant protostars, shedding their loose blankets of hydrogen ions as they ignited, to grumbling old brown dwarfs fading to nothingness, rose the song that matched the voice in her heart.

Join us, young sister! Shed your crude form and fly with us through nebulae and stars! Let your wings embrace the universe and sing our song of creation as we plunge through the aether and dance around the event horizon of the galactic center, bringing life and light to the cosmos.

It was the answer her frantic mind had sought. There was no need for a physical body any more, and Twilight could feel the essence of her small form shift and change, growing thinner to the reality of this place and preparing for the long trip to join with her new friends. She lifted her own voice to sing out a response and marveled at a familiar echo so close and the startled responses of three… no, four other voices as they all moved to join her. They added a discordant clash to her song, making Twilight hesitate with wings unfurled and ears momentarily distracted from the distant chorus begging for her presence. For the briefest of moments, she could feel their material tug on her immaterial body, one voice who wished to join her in flight and a trio of voices who called frantically for her to stay instead of fulfilling her inevitable destiny among the stars.

And the world broke in a circle of rainbow fire.

63 - Three-Day Promise - Part Six

It was a good job. It was an ordinary job. It was the anchor on the Canterlot ship of state, a voice of reason in a world of insanity, and a cup of tea when ruffled feathers needed settling. In short, it was a Kibbitz, and to the unicorn who held the position of what he liked to think of as Whatever You Need, Your Highness, Majordomo Kibbitz fit that job description like a smooth round horn into a perfectly lathed round hole. When the young filly Princess Mia Amore Cadenza had been discovered and the castle staff had suffered from a bad case of hyperventilating vapors when Celestia had brought her into the castle, it was young Kibbitz who had organized her room, arranged for proper caring staff for the young alicorn, and had actually purchased a crib for her out of his own funds. When Princess Celestia had grown distant several years ago and began to act in a peculiar fashion, it was Kibbitz who calmed the nervous castle staff by lying his horn off, with a particularly intricate and convoluted fib told to cover the abrupt extension of Night when Princess Luna had returned.

Of course, Celestia had set things straight upon her return to the castle that morning, leaving Kibbitz the unenviable task of providing equal housing for her sister with no notice at all. It was a task he had handled through several hours of sheer panic, ruthless delegation, tea, and the unexpected bonus of the various Nocturne clans of Canterlot showing up with the entirety of her missing furniture⁽*⁾, which they had supposedly stored for a thousand years awaiting her return.
(*) He was still a little suspicious of the bassinette’s authenticity, despite the silver chasing and the undeniable lunar cutie mark on it.

Afternoon court was going well today, even with the unexpected arrival of the Princess of the Moon to add gravitas to the proceedings. Three alicorns were about as much as his heart could stand, although there was a tiny little sliver of smug pleasure he held closely at the recent rumor he had heard this morning. Princess Cadence was going to use the crib Kibbitz had bought for her for her own foal, which was due in just a few months or whenever it decided to arrive, as it most probably was an alicorn too, and as such, obeyed whatever schedule he or she decreed.

Currently, the Princess of Love was soaking her forehooves in ice water while contributing to the ongoing three-way discussion (with snacks) over various decisions of royal importance put forth by a quite compliant group of petitioners who were (in order) intimidated by the former Nightmare Moon (snacking on a small pile of chocolate biscuits), humbled by Princess Celestia (working on her third piece of double-double vanilla cake) and awed by Princess Cadence (on the crumbs of her fifth tray of whatever the kitchen could shovel in her direction to fuel the furnace of a hungry pregnant alicorn).

It was a comforting sight to watch while enjoying the warm sun coming through the stained glass window at his back, which made Kibbitz not be surprised at all when all three alicorns looked up abruptly at once, trembling with anticipation. Experienced reflexes honed to a razor edge threw him into a long, shallow dive behind a bench just moments before all Tartarus broke loose.

All three alicorns moved, in a hail of shed crowns and shoes as they abruptly bolted directly south in an unstoppable stampede of wings and feathers. It was debatable whether Celestia or Luna was the first one through the heavy wrought-iron stained glass window, moving so quickly that the wreckage and powdered glass scattered over a long slice of the castle outbuildings, but Cadence stumbled while getting up, sending the shallow hoof-soaking tub full of ice skittering across the throne room floor before kicking off her rear shoes and taking off in pursuit of her aunts.

Before the thunderous sound of departing alicorns and falling glass had faded, a blast of rainbow light poured through the gaping hole where the southern windows of the throne room used to be, stopping the beginning babble of panicked ponies dead in its tracks. Kibbitz stood up from behind the bench without even looking over his shoulder at the massive hole in the wall or the source of the rainbow light. He held up one hoof, cleared his throat, and announced, “Court is adjourned for the afternoon.”

He tried not to look at the silver shoe embedded into the stone wall right about where his head had been, but he did take a quick glance out of the massive hole in the side of the throne room to see three colorful streaks of light headed toward Ponyville, along with a fourth light in the sky much like a star, descending to where they appeared to be headed.

Kibbitz heaved a sigh. It was probably another alicorn.

The world crashed in on Monster as her body reformed in one unstoppable motion, leaving her gasping for unfamiliar breath while looking down at an unusual sight. A circular disk of pure rainbow light was still spreading out from a center point right about where Trixie was staggering up out of a shallow crater and where Monster had been terrified of seeing Scootaloo crushed into the ground with Rainbow Dash.

Instead, both pegasi were skimming across the ground, with Scootaloo riding on Rainbow Dash’s shoulders after her narrow escape. Her screams of joy carried all the way up to where Monster was hovering, and the little orange wings on Scoot’s back fairly blurred with speed as she lifted off a hoof’s length above her hero and flew for just a second before some of the joy left her, and she resumed her triumphant clench around Rainbow’s neck. The colorful pegasus seemed lost in her own joy as they both spun through the sky with a long trail of colorful light, making loops and spins amidst a sudden burst of fireworks that caught Monster by surprise.

They did not really scare her for a change, as Trixie was dancing around in frantic circles, firing off burst of explosive light into the air just as fast as she could cast the spells, and Scootaloo’s excited shouts of joy made her chest swell with happiness. It was a joyful overload filling her heart to the brim and overflowing, and made only better by the feeling of impact as an ecstatic alicorn crashed into Monster in a high-speed hug.

It was a terrifying moment, but Luna felt the corner of her lips raise into a grin anyway as the Royal Sisters matched wingbeats in a full-speed flight to distant Ponyville. It had been so long since she had risen to the fray with her sister close beside that she had almost forgotten the joy of it all, with the panic and fear mixed in with the knowledge that Celestia had her flank no matter what happened and the trust that her sister had in Luna to do the same.

With an additional strain of muscles, Luna sped her wingbeats to pull ahead of her older sister, giving Celestia a quick stuck-out tongue in return, only to have the old alicorn strain her wings too and pull ahead of Luna. Even with the critical nature of their flight, the two alicorn sisters bent to their efforts with a good-natured competition, pulling just fractions ahead of each other and trading the lead until—

Rainbow light filled the sky, making both Celestia and Luna blink into the abrupt brilliance, and then blink again as Princess Cadence blew past them at such a speed as to make them seem as if they were standing still.

“Unfair,” gasped Celestia as she bent her wings to greater effort. “There’s two of them.”

“The advantage… of youth…” gasped Luna right beside her. “Look!”

Above them, the pink streak of Cadence intersected with a high-flying purple speck in what certainly looked like a serious collision, but as both ponies began to spiral down afterwards, locked in a powerful hug, it seemed to be a reunion long overdue. The elder alicorns slowed their headlong dash when Rainbow Dash streaked upwards and looped once around them, departing just before Trixie’s fireworks spell burst in a cloud of colorful sparks nearby. The opposite riverbank was filled with cheering ponies, with even more pouring out of Ponyville to see what all of the commotion was about, but that was not what drew the sisters’ attention.

Far above the young alicorns and their overdue embrace, a bright star of pale violet light was descending, fading as it fell, much as a firework which had exhausted its supply of powder and was burning to ashes in the wind.

“Oh, no.” Celestia judged the descent of the distant spark of light, using several rapid flaps of her wings to change her orientation as to intercept its fall. “Cadence has Twilight, so can you deal with my student, Luna?”

“Certes.” Luna considered the descending light and slapped her sister on the flank with one wing. “Hurry. We both owe that one a great debt. I shall calm thy—”

Celestia ascended up into the sky in a hurried fluttering of vast wings, and Luna tumbled in the resulting slipstream. Deciding her best approach was to go along with circumstances, Luna stabilized her fall into a graceful descent and a long glide. In moments, she touched the ground next to a panting Trixie, who looked much the worse for wear.

The new yellow outfit Trixie had been wearing was charred and blackened, with a crisped hole in the hat where her smoking horn had burned its way free and little fragments of her yellow cape scattered around the area from the obvious effects of a teleportation spell which had just barely managed to be completed without having the unicorn’s body parts suffer the same explosive fate. Still, Trixie seemed to have recovered rapidly from her near-death experience in order to have cast so many celebratory fireworks spells in such a short period after teleporting, although her aim could possibly use some work, as many of the spells had nearly struck the rapid pegasus. The sharp bite of leftover teleportation magic mixed with the aftereffects of the circular rainbow explosion, leaving Luna’s mane feel prickly and her tongue thick as she addressed her sister’s student.

“Trixie,” said Luna, nodding her head. “Was your attempt at restoring your two friends successful?”

“Our attempt,” said Trixie, still staring up into the sky where Rainbow Dash appeared to be losing steam, turning her original large loops into vast sweeping turns and glides. “And yes.”

Not me. They will say we saved your daughter.

The unspoken words echoed around in Luna’s mind, rising up from her bare hooves in the raw soil to the gusty breeze flowing over her feathers and evaporating the thin film of sweat she had gained from her headlong dash from Canterlot. The endless thunder of zebra hooves had cut off abruptly as the rainbow of light had burst forth from the colorful young pegasus, and as much as Luna wished to be able to see the aftereffects of this burst of magic among the startled zebra, she spread her wings and fanned them to generate a light breeze and blow away some of the leftover smoke instead.

“You teleported,” said Luna calmly and somewhat redundantly. “Quite a feat, considering what Celly told me about your education.”

“I could have saved her. I could have saved them both,” said Trixie. “But I fell down after I managed the teleport, and—” Trixie waved a hoof around the shallow crater her spell had caused when she had materialized just a little lower than her target landing area “—boom.”

“Rainboom!” said Rainbow Dash, making a low pass over their conversation and hovering over the river afterwards. Scootaloo was still clinging to her neck with an unbreakable grin, but little fractures were beginning to show in her expression as reality started to filter back into her stunning experience.

“You did this twelve years ago, didn’t you!” snapped Trixie. “You ruined my life! You triggered Twilight Sparkle’s surge! You almost caused all of Canterlot to be destroyed!”

“Uh…” started the startled pegasus, only to have Trixie lunge forward and wrap her forelegs around Rainbow Dash’s neck before dragging her into the nearby river with a loud splash.

“I hate you! Thank you! Never do that again! That was awesome! You saved their lives! I could kill you!”

“Yeah, I’m awesome like that. Hey, no kissing!” Rainbow Dash shrugged free of her soggy unicorn imprisoner and struck out for the far bank of the river, being pursued by Trixie with alternating praise and threats to drown her.

Luna was pleased. By the looks of things, a party was going to envelop Ponyville for the rest of the day and however long at night it took to have Rainbow Dash get tired of retelling her awesome feat. While she watched the three ponies cross the river, Luna felt a twinge of jealousy over their carefree lives, or at least as carefree as possible in this crazy town. Responsibility was a heavy burden, and the weight of an entire world rested on the shoulders of two alicorn princesses. The mind-exchanging spell was such a temptation. It would feel so nice to be one of the common ponies for a single night, keeping herd over a small flock of little ones with a strong male at her shoulder, but much like the two little ponies found out, the consequences could be tragic.

Maybe if she were to just borrow one of the little foals for a night or two, with the parent’s permission, of course.

“Lost in thought, dear sister?” Celestia touched down beside Luna and nuzzled her across the neck, giggling at the involuntary twitch she caused. From nose to tail, Celestia’s aura was glowing in the bright sunlight and putting off a dry warmth that made Luna shift a step away and flap her wings a little more to stir up the breeze.

“Oh, no. Celly, you didn’t.”

Celestia shrugged. “I had to. The wisp had used too much of its energy to survive the trip back to the sun without some time to recover. Twilight Sparkle held onto it inside her body for twelve years, so the least I can do is give it a home for a year or two until it’s stronger. Give me a couple of minutes and you won’t even be able to tell I’m giving it a refuge.”

Luna eyed her sister. “The creature was much to blame for Twilight Sparkle’s condition. Are you quite certain you can contain its power?”

Celestia giggled and ran a hoof down her chest. “I’m fine, Luna. It’s weak and sleeping to recover, so maybe you can check on its dreams at times.”

The wisp was tired.

The cry of agony from her friend had caught it during a delightful rise on a solar prominence thrown far into space along with many other wisps, all singing their song of careless joy while drifting back down to their warm home. The sound from the cold place had caused them as much consternation as wisps could ever feel, making them sing their own song even louder to drown out the chorus of thousands of cold creatures, all calling out their invitation. It had been tempting, for the wisp far more than the rest of the countless wisps dancing and playing in the solar furnace, for it had traveled the airless cold four times, and discovered something new each time, although the last time had nearly been the death of it.

Death was cold. The chill had embedded deeply within the wisp, and would take many cycles for it to once again be content and carefree as the rest of its kind, if that were possible anymore. It knew things now, things it could not explain to the rest of the wisps, such as what four really was, and that it was much larger than one. It knew about the death and the life now, as well as the magic of friendship which had touched the wisp in a way it still could not fathom.

When it heard the agonized cry of its friend, the wisp flung itself into a fifth trip across the great cold and darkness without a thought to its own death. It was needed, and that was all that mattered. The familiar path to the cold place seemed sluggish and cloying to the wisp, even after it condensed its remaining fire into the smallest form it could take and spread wings of flames to speed it on the way. The call of its friend grew louder, blanking out the rolling thunder of cold creatures dancing and chanting on the colder side of the world while urging the wisp to greater and greater speed, leaving a trail of fire in its wake as it descended into the air of the cold world.

And then there was light.

A burst of every color imaginable spread out across the cold world, blasting through the wisp’s form in a staggering impact and slowing its speed to a mere drifting of wind. Likewise, it brought the wisp’s friend back into the cold form she held all the time the wisp had spent with her and stopped the agonizing call she had been crying. It made the wisp want to dance with joy again, but it was cold, so very, very cold, even though it pulled all of its fire in close as it drifted down out of the sky. It could see Twilight far below, held in the firm grip of her fellow pony, with Tia and Luna and sitter, and the wisp felt a joy far larger than any it had while mindlessly dancing with the other wisps in the solar playground.

The sight faded as the wisp grew even colder, although the warmth inside was worth it. The damage it had done to its friend was healing, and that was all that mattered. The cold continued to slow the wisp’s thoughts until suddenly, it went away, and the wisp was warm again.

Hello, little one. You are a long way from home.

Tia! The wisp wanted to shout her name, but it was too weak, and settled for snuggling down into her warmth and fading away into unexpected slumber.

As parties went, it was not all that bad.

The wild cheering and celebration had begun before Cadence had even landed with Monster wrapped up in her vice-like grip, leaving the little alicorn covered in tears and kisses, and suffering from what felt a little like a dislocated rib. The pain was worth it, as well as the embarrassment of staggering off behind a bush to throw up just as soon as Cadence had been persuaded to let go for more than a moment.

Everything around Monster felt so real and vibrant now, as if her trip up into the sky could have been regarded as a dream by tomorrow, fading away into shadows with the dawn if she had not wrestled the experience down and forced it into paper and ink. It had taken up several pages while sitting on Pinkie Pie’s balcony and casting the occasional look at the party pony as she bounced and dashed around the festivities, and then another page or two to add her experience with her friends and Diamond Tiara, who seemed almost glued to Filthy Rich’s side down at the party.

The added altitude of her balcony perch allowed Monster to keep just a little distance away from the chaotic celebration while still managing to spot all of the sub-parties going on all at once, each of which seemed to have a Pinkie Pie of their own. Even Celestia and Luna strode through the ongoing party with apparent casual joy at being out among their beloved little ponies, some of whom Luna would pick up at the slightest suggestion and spend extra time cuddling, or at least the very smallest of them.

Monster had nearly ten pages of her notes done by sunset, although she could have gotten several more if her friends and Cadence had not kept dropping by at the least excuse with an extra slice of cake or glass of punch. She had so much punch and cake inside she felt a lot like Cadence, who did not look like she was going to make it through another month before popping out her foal, and thereby turning Monster into an Aunt.

Auntie Twilight. It had a nice sound to it. None of her friends were real aunts or uncles, even Pinkie Pie, who had a whole bunch of sisters. Maybe even Celestia or Luna would have a little foal, and Monster could be a metaphorical aunt too. Or Trixie could make foals with Green Grass, once he came back from the griffon aerie where he had spent the last month.

She stopped to consider Zecora’s pregnancy while resting the tip of the pencil on her paper, gave a brief smile, and wrote down as much of what she knew as possible. Nopony else but Zecora knew, but Luna liked secrets, and would be fascinated about what kind of foal a zebra and a changeling would have. It would have to remain a secret, since her mother had not even told Monster, but secrets like this were worth sharing just like Rarity liked to share secrets between her friends.

Taking a few moments to stretch and allow her distended belly a chance to get a start on digestion, Monster leaned on the balcony rail and looked out into the moonlit town. It was so different than her first glance months ago when Nightmare Moon had descended, but the town had healed from the destruction, with the burned stub of Town Hall repaired and once again reaching up to the sky, and the banners of all of Equestria’s princesses flying proudly. There had been a party back then and there was a party now, making it feel much like a circle coming back to its origin with Monster in the middle, which turned out not to be as bad a spot as she had feared.

Even Trixie seemed to be enjoying herself, despite not being the center of attention. Rainbow Dash had suggested and the rest of the town had approved a bill-burning party, where the unpaid debts which Trixie had signed for were gathered together in a big barrel, then Trixie got to throw in a match. She even did a little dance around the burning barrel afterwards, although that might have been due to one of her tail extensions catching on fire too. It was worth writing about, so Monster added another page, including a sketch of the dance which the Ponyville residents had attempted to duplicate, with much laughter and joy all around.

After she was finished writing, Monster looked over the balcony rail again and watched the sleepy little foals at the party playing around the hooves of their elders on their last burst of energy before being taken back home and tucked into bed. In particular, Pound and Pumpkin Cake fascinated her, being so similar to her own little brothers back in Canterlot. The mismatched twins seemed inseparable, always ready to back each other up or boost their sibling to a previously inaccessible bit of something they should not be getting into, much like Monster’s own friends.

There were still many obstacles in her path to recovery, but her friends had begun to smooth them away and work around them. It was a slow process, and would take many years to check off all the boxes on the list. Monster still could not think of meeting with Shining Armor without a cold shiver going up her back, and her parents would be even more difficult. One step at a time, with the help of her friends, she would be able to deal with her issues. One day at a time, she could make the monster she was less and less, until it was buried beneath layers of friendship and unable to hurt anypony else.

And perhaps. Just maybe. She could be Twilight Sparkle again.

Monster ran the duplication spell over her notes and bundled them up into two different packages. One she set aside for one of the Princesses to carry back to Canterlot, once she could get their attention, that is. Celestia had already excused herself for a quick flight back to Canterlot once the sun had been lowered, and Cadence was chatting amiably with the Cakes, most likely cramming for her final exam in Motherhood 101, but Luna was nowhere to be seen. As Monster looked around the town square in the brilliant moonlight, she realized Big Mac had vanished also around the same time, so searching for the two of them was probably not a good idea. So she made certain all of the pages were in order before turning to the second copy, tucking a note and a gem into it, and sending it on the way with a burst of magic from her horn.

The dragon who she had accidentally been sending letters to had forwarded them on to Celestia after reading them, so in apology for interrupting his rest, Monster wanted to give him his own copies. From Celestia’s description of his behavior many centuries ago, he was a nice dragon and a friend of hers, and deserved the extra effort.

Something scratched at the back of Monster’s mind as she picked up the notes and headed out into the moonlit town square to find Cadence. There was something missing, but she could not think of what it was. Sweetie Belle’s dragon egg was still crack-free, the zebra on the outskirts of town had not moved, even after the sonic rainboom, and there was an entire library full of old books to immerse herself in. To top it all off, Cheerilee had actually assigned homework today, a delightful collection of word searches and definitions.

As Monster walked down the stairs, she met Cadence headed up, carrying yet another cupcake in her magic. “Twilight,” she said in almost a whisper. “I just helped tuck the Cake’s twins into bed and thought I’d bring you a snack.”

“Full,” said Monster, stifling a brief belch. “Really full.” The words had barely been spoken before Cadence had the cupcake in her mouth and swallowed with such speed that Monster thought for a moment she had eaten the paper cover too. “Wanted to go walk around the party,” added Monster with effort. “Wanted to meet all of my friends.”

The small smile on Cadence’s face grew into a warm beaming beacon of joy, sprinkled with crumbs. “May I go with you?”

“Yes. Friend too. Want you to go with me.” Monster eyed the size of Cadence’s belly as they maneuvered for space and began heading down the stairs. “You sure she’s not twins?”

“Just one,” said Cadence, still smiling but with a touch of her hoof to her expanded belly as they walked. “She’s hungry, so we should probably stop by the refreshment table. Would you like that?”

“Very much.” Monster rubbed her neck up against Cadence’s broad side as they crossed into Sugarcube Corner’s main room, murmuring just as they reached the door, “Sunshine, sunshine…”

“Ladybugs awake,” whispered Cadence. “You remember?”

“Some,” admitted Monster. “More every day.” She hesitated, then kissed Cadence on the cheek. “Give that to Shiny. Can’t see him yet. But soon. Very soon.”

Monster walked outside with Cadence close beside her as they went out to spend some time with all of her friends.

The Canterlot train station was only relatively quiet in the middle of the night as a blue-maned earth pony sat quietly on one of the benches, waiting on the red-eye to Los Pegasus. There were still other ponies moving around the station, stacking luggage and doing whatever little tasks needed to be done so late at night, but she was the only passenger on the bench if you did not count the unborn foal swelling her belly. The mare seemed lost in thought, occasionally running a hoof across her broad girth until a deep rumbling voice nearby shocked her out of her contemplative mood.

“Miss Filigree?”

“No,” she blurted out, looking up abruptly at the dark Nocturne pony sitting just a wingspan away. “I’m sorry, you must have mistaken me for somepony else.”

“I don’t think so.” Lowering his head, the dark pony bowed almost to the dirty floor of the train station. “Allow me to introduce myself. Lieutenant Insomnia of the Royal Equestrian Courier Service. And you are Filigree, top of your class at the Manehattan School of Business eight, almost nine years ago now when you abruptly dropped out of sight. Nine months later, you surfaced under a different name but matching physical description to give birth at Manehattan General to an earth pony filly, then vanished again. Two months later, you were a young mare calling herself Trellis, who began work at the General Brush Company, showing exceptional talent despite an unchecked background, and proceeded to walk straight up the corporate ladder right until last week, when Trellis also vanished. The ticket-seller said you were calling yourself Grid now, a financial analyst on your way to Van Hoover.”

“Am I under arrest?” Grid drew her legs up onto the bench and curled up around her distended belly, rocking back and forth slightly.

“No. Not even close.” The dark stallion reached behind him and pulled a letter out of his saddlebag with his teeth, placing it down in front of him. “You have a delivery. Um…” He glanced at Grid’s expansive belly. “Perhaps I should rephrase that.”

“If I’m not under arrest, I would prefer to be left alone.” Grid put her hooves back down on the cold concrete floor and looked away. “Please leave.”

“I can’t.” The stallion nudged the letter closer to the young mare, who gave it a skeptical look. “The Royal Equestrian Courier Service always delivers. That letter is a sacred trust. We have been ordered to give it to the mother of Diamond Tiara, the young earth pony you gave birth to eight years ago, and then to await a response.” He tapped the letter with the tip of one hoof, adding, “She looks very much like you. Particularly her eyes.”

Grid pulled her hooves back up on the bench and scooted slightly to one side. “I don’t know any Diamond Tiara.” She stopped, looking at the letter with widening eyes. “No. No, it can’t…” She stood up abruptly, or as abruptly as a pregnant mare could, picked the letter up in her teeth, marched over to the nearest trash can, and dropped it inside. Returning to her bench, Grid pulled her hooves back up and looked away. “There. You delivered it. Now leave. That’s your response.”

After a time of not getting a response, the young pregnant mare looked around, but the dark delivery pony had vanished as if he had never been there. She watched for him as she boarded the train and found her seat, but other than a few shadows around the edge of the train cars that seemed to follow along as the train pulled out and began to make the long trip to Los Pegasus, the night remained quiet and undisturbed.

It took until the next day at noon when she was demolishing lunch in the dining car before she said quietly under her breath with just the hint of a smile, “Diamond Tiara. Her name is Diamond Tiara.”

Far above the Pericorn valley, the griffon aerie had an unobstructed view of the cloudless sky, filled to the brim with stars in brilliant cascades and glittering clusters. No griffons soared in the treacherous wind currents above the jagged peaks this late at night, but one small griffon who had just grown her pin feathers into a glossy plumage sat very quietly on the bare roof of the mountain fortress with her friend.

“So that’s a globular cluster?” asked the little griffon, her eyes stuck to the eyepiece of the small telescope. “It looks all fuzzy and stuff, Greenie.”

“I think that’s the right one,” said the green earth pony in question, measuring the numbers on the telescope mount against the book he had opened on the ground. The faint red light of an enchanted ruby gave him barely enough illumination to read the instructions, and he was not very familiar with the equipment anyway. “According to the book, it’s made up of thousand of distant stars, one of the stellar objects making up the right hoof of the Commander, which should be the last point in our star observations for tonight, Sunny.”

The little griffon made a mark on her clipboard and held it up for his inspection. The shape revealed did look a little like a pegasus, only one with three wings and five legs, but it was an improvement over the last few nights worth of observations. The sound of other hooves on the stone roof of the fortress echoed through the dark night and two young mares came into view, each of them carrying a small red-tinted lantern by mouth.

“Stargazer!” The little griffon bounded across the roof and came to a screeching halt in front of the first mare, who was the deep, dark blue of night with a creamy white mane billowing down her neck. She reached out one hoof and gently wrapped it around Sunny, giving the little griffon a soft squeeze and a kiss on the top of her feathered head before just holding her as she chattered onward.

“We got all the way through three constellations tonight and Greenie said he’s going to write home and get a different eyepiece for the telescope so we can see the craters on the moon without it being all washed out so we can sketch them next. Your husband is the greatest!”

“He certainly is, Sunny.” Stargazer shifted her stance to give her wide barrel a little more space and took a deep breath. “Did your grandfather say anything more about letting me give birth down in the village instead of up here in the fortress?”

“No.” The little griffon drooped, her tuft-like ears flattening against her skull and her beak pointing down at the stony roof of the fortress. “He gets all upset if I bring it up any more. You’ve only got another month, and he says a lot of servants have foaled up here instead of down in the dirty village. Can’t you just stay?”

“If I have to,” said Stargazer with a touch to the bottom of Sunny’s beak that brought her golden-eyed gaze up to meet the pony’s deep blue eyes. Switching to Griffon, she added, “<I still wish to lay my egg upon the nest of my family, Honored Princess Sun Shines. If you can accomplish this, my flock shall owe you a great debt. If not, I shall not hold it against you. Either way, my foal shall see you as an egg-mate, and our families shall share a nest.>”

Greenie cleared his throat and gathered together Sunny’s drawings. “In any event, Sunny, it is past your bedtime. Please go with Milktoast and allow me some time alone under the stars with my wife.”

The young earth pony couple watched Sunny and her escort walk away. Once the roof of the griffon fortress was completely empty of both griffon or other ponies, they cautiously sat down next to the small telescope and bent their heads together in a way that a casual observer might consider to be a young couple exchanging words of affection.

The observer would be wrong.

“I can’t do this much longer, Greenie,” hissed Stargazer. “I have to tell her.”

“Tell her what?” whispered Green Grass in return. “That her uncle repeatedly raped you and that the foal you carry is most probably a hippogriff? That I’m not really your husband and that we haven’t really been married for over a year? Remember, after I took over your job tending to Duke Plummets, I got to see just how twisted and heartless a murderer he is. All it would take is one wrong word and he’d kill us both, just as coldly as stepping on a bug.”

“But Sunny is my friend,” whispered Stargazer, almost at the brink of tears.

“If you tell her, and she lets it slip, you know Plummets will kill her too,” said Green Grass with an extra look around the roof of the fortress.

“Once I give birth, he’s going to start killing to cover his tailfeathers,” hissed Stargazer as she started to cry into his neck. “He doesn’t even have to wait. If he suspects you’re not the father, he’ll rip me right in half to see what I’m carrying. Once he starts killing, I don’t think he’ll stop until—” Green Grass recoiled as Stargazer nipped him solidly on the side of the neck, then she began apologizing profusely. “Sorry! Sorry! It’s the hormones.”

“It’s okay,” said Green Grass, running a hoof through her mane and holding the pregnant mare close again. “Bite me again if it will help, but that’s it. I’m a married stallion, after all.”

That was worth a tense giggle from Stargazer as she clutched onto him and let her tears turn to sniffs for a precious moment. “Do you think your wife has decoded your messages yet?” asked Stargazer, running a hoof up his mane and bumping his lumpy hat down over his eyes. “I keep hoping to see Celestia and a hundred Royal Guard showing up like some divine angelic army to rescue me. Us, that is.”

“I hope so.” Green Grass nuzzled up his pretend-wife’s neck for the benefit of any observers and added, “She’s a very perceptive pony.”

The party had gone on far longer than Trixie had expected, and despite the punch being alcohol-free, she was feeling giddy and giggly as she said her goodnights to the last of the partygoers. Everything was going her way for a change, leaving only solvable problems for Trixie to deal with tomorrow and the days to come. No more craters, no more towers of fire stretching up into the sky, no more evil goddesses bent on revenge after being locked away for a thousand years. She had even gotten a short stack of thank-you letters from several of the town’s citizens, which was frosting on her cake of happiness.

The only thing really left was the beginning of school, which Twilight Sparkle had taken to like a flock of ducks to a lake covered in breadcrumbs. Her teacher, Cheerilee, had even looked almost divinely happy, chatting among both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna tonight in a conversation filled with many giggles and whispers, most probably discussing the little dragon egg Sweetie Belle had ‘adopted.’ The addition of a fragile egg had even throttled down the normal wild behavior of the Cutie Mark Crusaders into a still-crazy-but-slightly-sane chaos, which had ponies all through the party coming up to Trixie and congratulating her on the idea.

Old habits being hard to break, Trixie had still managed to deny the credit, although the citizens of the town took it as false modesty and praised her even more.

As much as she did not want to do it, tomorrow would have to include research into dragon egg hatching. Fortunately, she had twenty-one thousand possible research sources. Unfortunately, she also had twenty-one thousand possible research sources. At least Spike could be tapped as Research Assistant, most probably without charge this time, as she had caught him writing ‘Uncle Spike’ for practice a few times since the egg discovery.

She shuffled along her comfortable path through the library, giving Spike a pat on the head where he slumbered in his Deluxe Dragon Bed⁽¹⁾ With Coin-o-Matic Lumbar Support And Hoard Storage Compartment, dropped the stack of thank-you letters on her desk next to the unread letters from Green Grass, and made her way over to the brand-new bed which had replaced the lump-filled and slightly-smelly bed from the former librarian.
(1) Available at Quills and Sofas. Allow One Week For Delivery. Ask about our Quill of the Month club discount.

She shoved the sheets to one side, climbed on the sinfully-soft mattress, and was asleep before her head hit the pillow. Trixie did not even notice the glowing of blue eyes in the darkness of the library bedroom as dozens of small chitinous legs pulled the covers up and snuggled down with her until the morning light.

64 - Goodbye Summer, Hello New Friends - Part One

The last two weeks on the road had seemed to be like a year to Trixie, a year spent between mortal terror, stupefying boredom, and unexpected friendship. Now that she was back in Ponyville, she was tired, frazzled, aching, and numb from the train ride, but on the good side, she was finally home.

Home. It was a strange place for Trixie. Part of her heart still considered Neigh Orleans and the little room in Grand-Père Presto’s house there to be the center of the universe, the pivot point around which the whole world rotated, but she had not returned to that precious place in ages. It had changed while she had been in Celestia’s school, and to return to the place it was now would forever change the way she remembered it. Then again, Trixie’s own life had changed a few months ago with the addition of a little alicorn friend who adored her, five special friends who at least marginally tolerated her, and a town… who had appointed her temporary mayor, now that Trixie was thinking of it.

Must be something crazy-making in the water. Hydra pee, maybe. Or Pinkie’s Special Frosting.

Still, if Home was a strange concept for Trixie, Ponyville was the strange town it belonged in. Anyplace that would voluntarily give Trixie any kind of authority over the populace was one step from an open-air asylum, but when Trixie lifted her heavy head up to look around town on her slow path from the train station, nothing appeared to be exploding, on fire, or flooded. Even the scaffolding over the Town Hall was all put away until the next time it got blown up or burned down, and the normal hyperalertness of the populace to high-speed scooters had faded with the beginning of the school year. It was a very quiet and normal day for the town, which only made Trixie more edgy when she opened the door to her library/house and peeked inside.

“Hey, Mayor Trixie!” The lanky form of Lyra emerged into the sunlit center of the library tree with several books floating behind her. “Good to see you back again. Your secretary, Pokey Pierce, has been keeping your mayoral duties under control and Pinkie Pie is up on the filing at Town Hall, so you don’t have to fight through the backlog. And I’ve been reshelving since you and Spike took off. Where did you two and Rarity go for so long? Honeymooning?”

Trixie looked back. “Who are you and what have you done with Lyra?”

Raising one eyebrow, Lyra let the books she was carrying settle down onto the checkout desk, then sat down next to them. “Okay, I’ll admit. I haven’t been very nice to you since school, when I caught you copying off my—”

“I was just looking over your shoulder,” protested Trixie. “You know I don’t do musical quadratic derivatives very well, and I forgot the notation to use for negative imaginary eighteenth notes.” Despite herself, Trixie sat down in front of her former friend and took a deep breath. “It was only a little copying. I’m sorry you got in trouble. And lost your scholarship,” added Trixie when Lyra raised that accusatory eyebrow again. “And whatever I’ve done since then to you and your marefriend.”

“Bon Bon is my friend,” qualified Lyra almost instantly.

“She’s a mare,” came a familiar voice from behind the bookshelf. It startled Trixie just the smallest amount, because school was supposed to be in session, and Twilight Sparkle outside of a classroom was a lot like… Trixie without a hoof in her mouth.

“Hello, Menace.” After a quick glance at Lyra, who looked perfectly comfortable with the situation, Trixie continued, “Aren’t you supposed to be in school today?”

“Elections.” There was a rustling behind the bookshelf again and a single sheet of paper floated over to Trixie. ‘Vote for Pip’ was splashed across the top in large letters with a crayon drawing of a colt’s face below it, and tiny little letters⁽*⁾ at the bottom of the page. “Too much. Writing a report instead.”
(*)The above was paid for by the Pipsqueak for Class President political action committee. Rumble, Campaign Treasurer.

“Ah. Yes. One of those.” Trixie took a breath, which unfortunately included entirely too much of her own stench from two weeks in the desert without the benefit of a bathtub. When they had gotten off the train, Rarity had headed straight for the Ponyville Spa regardless of paths, back yards, or fences, while Trixie had decided to use her own brand-new bathtub for that purpose. That way, Trixie would be able to soak as long as she wanted, or until the next town-destroying disaster swept in.

Whatever was going on with Twilight now was more important than a bath, and Trixie tried to craft her words with caution. “Lyra is right, Menace. Just because Bon Bon is a mare and a friend, doesn’t mean she’s a marefriend. Or marefriend. Or whatever.”

Switching topics to something a little less uncomfortable, Trixie continued, “So, did anything exciting happen while I was in the Dragonlands with Spike and Rarity?”

“No.”

“Really?” Trixie transferred her puzzled gaze from the bookshelf concealing Twilight Sparkle to the innocent-appearing unicorn standing in front of it. “Lyra, do you know of any disasters going on right now that would keep me from going into the bathroom and taking an eight hour bubble bath?”

“Not a thing.” Lyra lit up her horn and projected an odd appendage made out of green magic floating between them. “The zebra shamans out on Stargazing Hill are still there—” she folded down one finger and continued to fold them down as she checked off points “—and just as cryptic as ever, Sweetie Belle’s dragon egg hasn’t hatched, the books from the old creepy castle all barely fit onto the shelves in here and don’t ask me how that works, Summer Wrap-Up is on schedule for next week, the library spiders are just about done eating all of the bark beetles, and the mind-swap spell between Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara shows no signs of swapping back. That’s about it. Oh, and I’ve been covering for your magic lessons with Twilight, which works fairly well if I stay on one side of the bookshelf while she stays on the other.”

“So, she’s still having visual memory issues?” Trixie concentrated, trying to remember what she had been reading on the train. “Her visual signals are triggering metaplasticity in neuronal allocation in her brain, but repeated exposure to the stimulus is reducing… something I can’t remember right now. It was in the book I lost in the Dragonlands,” she added with a wince, thinking about just how much it was going to cost to replace.

Twilight Sparkle’s stubby purple nose poked out from around the bookshelf, followed in a few moments by just enough of her head to use one eye to look at Lyra. And then, after a very long time, the rest of her head emerged to look at the subject with both eyes. “Trixie’s right. Can look at you without running. Still see fire. Falling stones. Afraid. But less.” Twilight took a few short, shallow breaths. “No hugs,” she added.

Ever so slowly, Lyra nodded back. “I think Trixie and I both are going to remember that day pretty much forever.”

“It wasn’t all bad,” pointed out Trixie despite a sincere desire to just crawl under her new bed upstairs and hide from the memories. “I met my first real friend that day. I don’t think Spike ever would have hatched if you hadn’t poured so much magic into his egg. Oh, Spike! He’s bringing a friend back from the Dragonlands, and I need to make sure—”

Whatever Trixie was about to say was cut off as a huge dragon, fully ten times the size of any pony, stuck her head through the library doorway.

The lessons in school about voting did not make sense, but Monster had found many things in her new life that did not make sense at first glance, including Trixie. Some of the concepts and processes became clear and obvious under closer examination, while others simply remained confounding and totally without reason, also like Trixie.

Voting was dumb. When it was only Monster and mom in their forest home, it was quite simple (and lyrical) to know which zebra in the house was right. The expansion of that concept into governing a larger collection of ponies like a town or a smaller collection like a school class got strange quickly.

It made a little more sense when Pokey Pierce had shown Monster around the rebuilt Town Hall, although reluctantly and carrying a fire extinguisher in his magic. No one single pony could make all the decisions that needed to be made for the street construction, zoning, hiring, safety inspections, and evaluating government contracts all by themselves. Even an alicorn like Celestia would have been overloaded, but the Mayor had magic ponies called staff who she delegated to their tasks much the same way that Silver Certificate had the bank employees handle the legal and taxation tasks for the 5F1C Lemonade Consortium.

Much in the same way, a Class President handled tasks that Miss Cheerilee was too busy to deal with, but rather than the sensible process of picking the most qualified little pony like Silver Certificate had done, there was a class election.

That concept did not make any sense at all to Monster.

After all, the most popular student would inevitably get elected to the position, regardless of their qualifications or talents. Last year, that had been Diamond Tiara. The year before, it had been Diamond Tiara. The year before that, none of her friends had been in school including Diamond Tiara, so it really did not matter, but with two data points, it was fairly easy to draw a line.

There was probably an intersection between the sets of Popular and Competent, and to be honest, the tasks assigned to a Class President were not that difficult, but it still irked Monster, and worse, gave her a wriggly feeling in the bottom of her stomach and made her wingpits sweat.

As an alicorn, someday Monster would be expected to do far more than tell which ponies were allowed to beat the erasers and how many copies of the Foal Free Press needed printing. Princess Twilight Sparkle would wear a crown and live in Canterlot, ruling over the same ponies she now called friends. Or worse, she would be taken to Zebrica as the stars prophesied, where she would somehow bring harmony to the spirits when she could not even bring harmony to her own mind yet.

Thankfully, Cheerilee had assigned her a twenty page paper on elections to keep Monster’s mind off her problems. Likewise, her nightly letters to Princess Luna had helped more than Monster was willing to admit. Both alicorns, large and small, were very much alike while being radically different, much like Celestia and Trixie.

Monster missed Trixie. No matter how hard she worked on her homework or played with her friends, there was a hole in her heart whenever she went over to the library and found it empty. Having Lyra there helped, and it was intriguing to see how their teaching styles differed. Trixie was mercurial, flitting from example to spell with little regard for the written word while Lyra wanted everything written down first before starting on any spell.

Their differences had even shown up in the note that Trixie had written before vanishing. Well, taking the train was not exactly vanishing per se, but when she took the train out of Ponyville, with Spike and without even any luggage, the only evidence of their destination was a scribbled note on the back of a receipt stuck to the outside of the Ponyville Golden Oak Library door.

Be right back.

Rarity’s note was longer, but not by much.

Out of town for a few days in the Dragonlands. Leave any orders with Buttonhook across the street, please. —R

P.S. Sweetie Belle, stay out of the ice cream in the freezer.

Monster had read the note five times while all of her friends were eating ice cream at the Carousel Boutique, but it had not made any more sense. From Spike’s stories, he had been to the Dragonlands once before, and from Trixie’s comments during the telling, she had not liked tagging along and keeping him out of trouble. Dragons, it seemed, were jerks. Worse, they were resistant to unicorn magic, fire, poison, impact, and all kinds of pony offensive abilities used in the defense of a little harmless dragon by a brave unicorn hiding in the bushes to protect him.

Well, that was Trixie’s stated opinion. Sometimes what she did not say was more informative than what she did.

The Dragonlands sounded like a fun place to visit once Monster grew up a little, so there was a positive side to maturing. And she was growing, because it was nearly impossible for Monster to think of herself as the terrified little filly hiding under the cardboard box from several months ago. Although she still had the box. Well, a second box, since the first one had been vaporized. Peep Sprout liked hiding under it and popping out under the noses of startled Ponyville residents while wearing a different changeling disguise every time. And although Monster had stored the box into the Ponyville school, just in case, she had not needed it at all since the school year started.

Monster sighed and rested her chin on the bookshelf inside the library. She missed Trixie. Writing letters to Luna and all of the other ponies she had gotten to know helped Monster handle the endless cascade of new experiences, but curling up with Trixie who knew just what she had been through was soothing. Big problems became little problems with her sharp replies to Monster’s worries. And when she was wrong, even on a large scale, Trixie did not mope and hide from the world. She picked herself back up again and charged nose-first right into the teeth of the problem, ready or not. Trixie planned for the unexpected, because even if it never happened, thinking about what she would do if attacked or an accident happened made her prepared for other things.

Like when ponies visited the library. The first few times Monster had been engrossed in a book when somepony came to the door, she reacted wrong, although not violently. It took several conversations with her friends to realize that the library was supposed to be an open place for ponies other than Trixie and Monster, so locking the door was not an option during business hours, no matter what chapter she was on.

When the library door squeaked⁽*⁾ and Trixie plodded inside, Monster was ecstatically happy, but found herself afraid to say anything. All of the words she had practiced faded away, replaced by the wariness of the Everfree Forest where every unexpected event was a threat. By focusing on her breathing like Cadence had taught her, the tension tying her neck into knots went away just a little, and bit by bit, Trixie’s familiar voice completed the process of relaxation.

Monster liked listening to Trixie talk. And quite thankfully, Trixie liked to talk.

Trixie did not sound upset at all that the problems that were there when she left were still there when she returned, and maybe slightly happy that they had not multiplied. When Trixie talked about that terrible day when Twilight Sparkle had brought the sun down on Canterlot and Monster was born in fire and scars, she actually sounded wistful about the terrifying ordeal.

Then the door to the library slammed open and the head of a giant dragon swept inside, her broad lips curled back over sharp teeth and bright yellow eyes focused directly on Monster.

Monster reacted.

(*)Ponyville residents liked to say they could not afford a bell for the library, but in all honesty, they had simply gotten used to the squeaking door over the last century. When it had been replaced by a modern squeak-free model two weeks ago, Mister Smores of the Doors and Floors Store was convinced by several residents to make a second trip to the library in order to ‘squeakify’ it, just for tradition’s sake.

65 - Goodbye Summer, Hello New Friends - Part Two

Monster had not seen very many dragons, but the research she had been doing on Sweetie Belle’s dragon egg over the last few weeks had given her an insight into the terrifying monsters far greater than just about anypony in Ponyville. Unlike ponies, each true dragon was far different than any other, even those within the same clutch of eggs. They were universally regarded — by the authors of the books, at least — as fierce and deadly creatures, unwilling to show any sign of civilized behavior and consumed by greed. Even newly hatched dragonettes fought among themselves, frequently killing the weaker siblings until only one or two remained out of a nest of a dozen or more.

The golden dragon who had stuck her head through the door of the Ponyville Golden Oak library was about average sized for an adult dragon, probably weighing as much as a hundred or more ponies, only with long, sharp teeth and a piercing amber gaze that fairly burned with the greed of her kind. She looked vaguely canine, with a longer muzzle compared to Spike, and much like a dog, also had a furry mane of long green hair all around her face. Despite the resulting beard, Monster was fairly sure she was a female. The antler-like horns coming out of the back of her head and splitting into matching curves looked vaguely feminine, and her glistening gold scales showed attention to her polishing and buffing routine that even Rarity would find sufficient.

The dragon licked her lips, the long red tongue passing from one side of her face to the other in a slow, languorous motion, but the rest of her did not move, even when Monster stepped forward in front of Trixie, who had frozen up in fear.

“H-hello, patron of the G-golden Oak Library,” started Monster. “P-please feel free to look around, and if you would like to check out a book, I will b-be happy to take care of that for you. In t-the event you do not have a library card,” she continued, picking up speed on her memorized speech now that the topic was more to her liking, “it will only take a few minutes to fill out the form. With our new card printing machine, you can have your card in just minutes and be ready to enjoy the fun of reading all summer. And fall,” she added, thinking of the Summer Wrap-Up celebration scheduled for next week. “Cards expire in four years, or in the event you have a book overdue by more than a year. Books can be checked out for three weeks, with a two bit fine if it’s overdue, and four bits a week until the book is returned after that, unless the book has become lost or stolen, in which case you should contact the librarian for payment terms.”

“Hey!” There was a thumping noise outside the library door, which was mostly filled by the dragon’s long, flexible neck. It sounded like somepony using a heavy object on a thick pillow, and continued while the female voice called out, “Your Dragonlord orders you to move! You’re blocking the door.”

The dragon did not look nearly as intimidating when trying to extract her head out of the narrow doorway. She turned her head to get her smooth antlers under the doorframe and lowered her head until the fuzzy green beard on her chin was almost flat against the library floor, but she was stuck fast.

“Hey!” called out the voice from outside again.

“I’m sorry, Dragonlord,” rumbled the dragon in a low voice that sounded to Monster’s ears like the slow flow of syrup over a stack of steaming hot pancakes. Her breath even smelled sweet, all papery and ink with a hint of dust instead of Spike’s mineral overtones and burnt sugar. The huge dragon thumped her antler-covered head against the doorframe again, more gently than something her size would be expected to move, then gave out a deep, paper-flavored sigh. “I’m stuck.”

“She’s about a ponylength longer, too.” Spike’s voice from outside of the library was easy to pick out, and casual enough that it did not sound as if he was worried about anything more than the size of the hole that was going to be made in the front door. It made Monster take a look at Trixie, who appeared resigned to having a huge dragon stuck in the entrance to the library for the immediate future, and Lyra, who had frozen up in terror so rigidly that she could have been mistaken for a statue.

“I’ve got this, Menace.” Trixie straightened up and stuck a pose. “Trixie has been practicing.”

There was a whirl of magic with a quiet popping noise, and Trixie vanished. It was a different teleportation spell than any of the several Monster knew, and quite effective. It also was unneeded, because at almost the exact moment, one of the upper-story skylights popped open and a second, much smaller dragon flew in.

Well, technically two dragons, since Spike was sitting comfortably on her back.

The other dragon — most likely the Dragonlord that the bigger dragon had been talking to — was a bright teal color, much like a polished statue of turquoise with a dark blue crest and very pretty eyes. She alighted in the center of the library, looked around, and asked in a puzzled tone, “So, where’s Trixie?”

“Probably outside.” Spike walked up to Lyra and waved a clawed hand in front of her face to no effect. “She’s been using that spell everywhere since she learned it.”

“Spiiiike!” called out a plaintive voice from outside. “Where did you go?”

“We’re inside!” he called back. “Let me see if we can get Vorel’aurix-levethuix Maekrix-book-rasvim out of the door and—”

There was a sharp pop, and Trixie reappeared, only facing away from Monster and the rest of the visitors. “Spiiiike!” she called out again. You’re not in here either.”

Spike cleared his throat.

Trixie turned around. “Oh. Well. Um… Dragonlord Ember, this is—” Trixie looked around until she spotted where Monster had backed up behind the cover of the bookshelf again. “There you are. This is Twilight Sparkle, and my friend from school, Lyra.”

Monster bobbed her head and managed a quiet, “Hi.” Lyra said nothing, but she did finally blink once, and possibly took her first breath in several minutes.

“Twilight, this is Dragonlord Ember,” said Trixie with a wave of one dirty hoof at the teal-colored dragon standing by Spike. “And I believe you’ve already met Vorel’aurix-levethuix Maekrix-book-rasvim.”

“Beautiful Golden Magic Bender, Ruler of the Book Treasure,” said Monster reflexively.

“Her name means—” Trixie stopped, rolled her eyes, and continued. “Anyway, I told Dragonlord Ember about your dragon egg problem—”

“I told Ember,” insisted Spike. “You were hiding behind a bush with Rarity.”

“Maintaining a strategic position under cover,” countered Trixie. “And she told Vorel, and she promised to bring some of her books on dragon history for you to read.”

“To read,” huffed the huge dragon with a puff of her pleasant dusty-smelling breath. “They are my Heart’s Treasure. I would not allow any to touch them if it were not the command of the Dragonlord.” Huge golden eyes flickered sideways to the books crammed into the shelves of the Golden Oak Library, and Vorel licked her lips.

“No,” said Ember sharply. “These belong to the ponies of the village. They are not for you to carry away to your hoard.”

Monster shuffled awkwardly forward a step. It was not the size of the gargantuan dragon that disturbed her, because even Spike was taller than Monster was, but the way the pony-sized dragon commanded Vorel’aurix-levethuix Maekrix-book-rasvim in such a curt fashion. Not even the Equestrian princesses had that kind of direct presence and forceful personality. “I could ask Princess Luna about the books,” Monster offered. “She may trade.”

Ponyville seemed able to adjust to just about anything. After all, in the last few months, it had even adjusted to Trixie, along with the dramatic remodeling around the town that she was irresponsible for. And to Trixie’s constant bafflement, Ponyville adjusted to her just as well.

As an example, she was currently staring at the back door out of the library kitchen while Twilight and the dragons were discussing things in the main room. The only thing was, Trixie had been fairly certain that the big oak library did not have a back door out of the kitchen, along with an oak back porch and an oak rocking chair. Still, it made a good place to poke her nose out and reassure panicked patrons that the library was undergoing a minor renovation, and that the gigantic shoulder-to-tail section of Vorel’aurix-levethuix Maekrix-book-rasvim that was still sticking out of the library oak was perfectly harmless, provided nopony got too close and wound up getting stepped on.

Although she was still stinking and sweaty from her trip to the Dragonlands, Trixie decided to step out onto the porch and rest for a few minutes in the rocking chair. She needed time to think, to stay ahead of the problems that life was throwing at her since she moved to Ponyville, where life threw problems hard. At least escorting Spike to the Dragonlands to answer the call of the Dragonlord had gone… as well as could be expected. Nopony got eaten, Spike had collected a new friend, and… there was a dragon stuck in the front door of the library.

One disaster at a time.

As if the thought had triggered it, there was a cascade of small ponies galloping down the street, around the corner, past the dragon and up the library back porch like a tiny tidal wave of cuteness. “We got our cutie marks! We got our cutie marks!” they squealed, stopping only momentarily to show their marked rumps to Trixie before stampeding inside to greet Twilight Sparkle. Trying to make sense of the rapid-fire babble was impossible, so Trixie spotted Peep Sprout in his earth pony disguise out of the passing throng and pulled him to the back of the porch for interrogation.

“Before we get started,” started Trixie, addressing the young changeling with unusual sincerity, “is there anything on fire, exploding, anypony wounded, falling down a cliff, or any kind of otherwise time-critical problem that I should know about involving the Cutie Mark Crusaders getting their cutie marks?”

“No!” said Peep with a grin so broad it was in danger of meeting behind his head. “They got their cutie marks helping Diamond Tiara find out what her cutie mark is all about. We even fixed up the school playground in the process and sang!”

It was too bad that free child labor had been unavailable to fix up the library, but Trixie put that behind her. “Did it hatch Sweetie Belle’s dragon egg?”

“No,” said Peep, calming down a little and taking a peek inside the library where the rest of his classmates were gathered. “At least I don’t think so. I’m still not picking up any emotions from the egg.”

“And Pinkie Pie is having a cute-ceañera party over at Sugarcube Corner, so that’s taken care of,” mused Trixie. It was not a very large leap of intuition, because the balloons could be seen from where she was sitting, with all three of the new cutie marks on the respective balloon color. “I’ve heard of two cutie marks appearing at once, but never three.”

“Tada!” Peep Sprout’s earth pony disguise flared green for a moment and he displayed his rump, which now had a sun, moon, and a heart on it. “Easy-peasy.”

“You know what I mean.” Trixie took another quick peek into the library common room. “It’s a shame that all of the kids’ parents are going to be at the party and Menace’s adoptive father is still stuck on the edge of town with the rest of those old zebras.”

For two bits, Tallgrass would have been willing to convince one of the other changelings in town to trade places with him so he could visit his wife. All of this zebra ‘herd’ concept for the Imetabiriwa was a grand royal pain in the flank, but since he had only realized his ability to talk with the spirits for the last few moons, the learning curve had included several completely zebra traditions that had seemed highly irrational on the surface, only to make enormous sense when looked at with the proper perspective. Zecora had been a very good teacher⁽*⁾ of his newly discovered gift, which he suspected was mostly driven by her being alone in the woods for twelve years with only Twilight Sparkle and her special issues for company.
(*) Zecora had also been a very good teacher in other ways for similar reasons, which he missed something fierce.

Far worse, he could actually see his wife’s graceful striped form in the distance when she walked through Ponyville over the last few weeks, and even if he had not written her a letter every day since their arrival, she had to know about the zebra Imetabiriwa out on the hill. Small town gossip traveled at the speed of flight, after all. Some of it even traveled at the speed of Pinkie, which was much faster, and came with party invitations.

You are all invited to the cute-ceañera for Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. Hurry up! It starts now!

“The pink pony there
great parties she throws for all
with joy and sadness.”

Tallgrass nodded in agreement. Mshairi had slipped up beside him while Tallgrass was looking out across the town, and the rolling cadence of her powerful voice was a comfort. There was really no reason to respond either, although he could feel a familiar dance to the spirits in his vicinity. It felt almost like—

“Look there, young—” Keiko hesitated with one hoof pointing down the hill and her eyes skewed sideways, trying her best to look and not look at the young stallion to her side, which did not rhyme the way she was expecting.

“The young mare of blinding hue, is what you wanted to bring my attention to?” asked Tallgrass. A few weeks of sunshine and time had damped Trixie’s accidental (or so he hoped) orange dye job into something that he could look at for more than a few seconds, and it looked a little like she had been rolling in the dirt, but there was no mistaking the object of Keiko’s observation.

Or the young purple alicorn hesitantly trotting along at her side.

“The Imetabiriwa na Anga comes, I see.” Old Kavu prodded Tallgrass in the ribs until he moved out of the way, despite the fact she could have just stepped to one side in order to get a better look at their visitors. “It appears our wait is over, and we shall all be returning to our homeland.”

“Once your hip feels better, Respected Elder,” said Tallgrass almost reflexively.

“It feels fine now. Let me get packed.” Kavu stuck the tip of one hoof under her walking stick, gave it a flip, and settled it down over her shoulder blades once it landed on her back. “I’m ready.”

Tallgrass gave a quick look around the campsite where the two ibex and the burro servant were scurrying around, gathering the meager possessions of his fellow Imetabiriwa and the additional cushions and bedrolls they had been gifted over the last few weeks by the generous ponies of the town. There was something wrong about the situation that irked him, but he did not really connect the dots until Trixie and Twilight Sparkle stopped at the outskirts of the camp.

That’s not Twilight.

“Hello, respected zebra… whatever you all are,” started Trixie, displaying her usual tact⁽¹⁾. “My friend has something to say to you. Go ahead, Twilight.”
(1) Trixie had tact. She just preferred to keep it well-rested.

The little alicorn stepped forward, looking so heart-stopping timid and adorable that Tallgrass could almost believe she was really Twilight Sparkle. “I w-want you to go back to Zebrica,” she said. “I’m not ready to leave my f-friends yet. In a few years, I’ll be stronger, but not now. You can come back then and ask again, but until that time, I must decline.”

‘Twilight’ blinked in surprise at what she had said, but took a step backwards when the lanky form of Mshairi stepped forward, almost at the end of her nose.

“Small insect, small mind.
Why do you think you can fool
the minds of the wise?”

“Changeling,” snarled Tafadhali, who moved right up next to her fellow Imetabiriwa. “Do you know what we do to your kind?”

“Nothing,” said Old Kavu. She jabbed her younger colleagues in the rump with her stick until they moved back from the frightened young ‘Twilight’ and gave the elderly zebra space to move up. “Do not fear, little one. It has been many, many years since changelings have been seen in Zebrica. And you—” Kavu used her walking stick to tap the disguised changeling on the top of her pointed head “—frighten them.”

Both of the other zebra bristled at the implication, but Trixie spoke up before any of them could get a word in edgewise. “Twilight Sparkle fixed that. They’re not scary at all any more. Go ahead and change, Peep.”

“Really?” Peep Sprout eyed the circle of zebra around him, then gave a quick glance at Tallgrass, who nodded slightly. “Well, if you say so.” There was a small blaze of green fire and the alicorn disguise he had been wearing burned away, revealing a small black form of a changeling colt with iridescent highlights along his chitinous hide and glittering wings that sparkled and flashed in the noon sun.

“Whoa,” said Trixie, mirroring what Tallgrass almost said out loud. “Did you break into Pinkie’s glitter supply, twerp?”

Extending one sparkly translucent wing, then the other, Peep Sprout shrugged his shoulders. “It just started happening. The doctor says it’s nothing serious. Mom’s turning pink,” he added. “With these little green spots around her middle.”

“Huh. Leave town for two weeks, and everything gets weird. Weirder.” Trixie turned back to the zebra Imetabiriwa. “Anyway, Twilight doesn’t want to go to Zebrica with you yet. So goodbye, so long, have a safe trip, and don’t forget to write. Come on, Tallgrass. Menace is over at Sugarcube Corner, having a butt-mark party with all of her friends, three of whom just got cutie marks. We need to hurry if we’re going to get ice cream.”

Instinctively, Tallgrass surveyed the town for drifting trails of smoke.

“He will not,” said Old Kavu. “We will all wait here for the real Imetabiriwa na Anga.” As if to signify her intransigence, she sat down in the flattened grass, along with the rest of the Imetabiriwa. After a moment of wavering, Tallgrass sat down too. He did not want to, but something felt right about it, despite his best wishes.

“Really?” Trixie’s expression firmed, and Tallgrass could feel the stirrings of restrained anger wafting off her like the waves of summer heat coming off the sun-warmed grass all around them. “Peep. Go down to Sugarcube Corner and tell them I’m bringing Menace’s father in a few minutes.”

Peep Sprout must have felt it too, because he launched into the air and darted away, switching to the form of a pegasus colt during flight. The little changeling had barely gotten to the bottom of the hill before Tafadhali spoke in a clear and quite unequivocal fashion.

“We are not going.
Here we all shall wait for her.
Bluff all you wish, fool.”

“Fool?” asked Trixie, turning her head toward Tafadhali with the hint of a wry smile creeping around the edges of her tense lips. “Tallgrass. Do they know about you?”

Instead of answering, Tallgrass allowed the zebra disguise he had been maintaining for the last few weeks vanish in a blaze of green changeling magic. All of the zebra Imetabiriwa except Old Kavu gasped, taking a step backwards with a brief stumble as they tried to stand up and move in all directions. Had Tallgrass been on one side or another, their herd instinct most likely would have propelled all of the mares in a straight line, but since they had surrounded him, it only resulted in a larger space before they all stopped their flight with various degrees of consternation.

“Thought so,” said Old Kavu, who had not moved a single muscle during Tallgrass’ transformation. “That still does not change anything. The spirits have called, and he is one of us, even with what he is. We move as one, or we do not move at all. We will remain here until the Imetabiriwa na Anga agrees to return with us.”

Ever so slowly, the rest of the Imetabiriwa gathered back around the revealed changeling, not quite as close as before, but seemingly just as stubborn and determined. Trixie stood in place for a considerable amount of time, then paced a path around the gathered zebra three times while the wafting flow of anger she was emitting slowly changed to exhilaration, then a sense of anticipation that Tallgrass had last felt…

Oh, no.

“If that’s your final answer,” said Trixie while lighting up her horn in a blinding glare of pink magic, “there’s only one thing I can say.”

Monster was enjoying the party.

She did not think she was going to. Pinkie Pie had even brought a spare cardboard box for her just in case, so she had not been sure either, but her friends’ enthusiasm and joy over their new cutie marks was proving to be infexious. Monster had not even had time to write down notes about the experience, or check her spelling in the thesaurasaurasus, but she was having an extra-ordinary, fantastic, joyous time. After all, Monster had never received a party when she got her cutie mark, for obvious reasons. In this way, she could substitute the joy of this occasion for some of the pain and terror of her own experience. Maybe that was the magic of parties. They blunted the bad memories and enhanced the good experiences, like Featherweight’s pictures.

The only pony at the party who was not having a good time… was Diamond Tiara.

Oh, she looked like she was having fun, but every time Diamond thought nopony was watching, her smile lost some of its gloss and she would look out the window. Not even Zecora noticed her hidden misery from where she was chatting happily with Cranky Doodle, so it was up to Monster.

It took a few minutes to work her way through the crowd, but once Monster got up next to Diamond, she used one of the privacy spells on her permitted list that Lyra had taught her and surrounded the two of them with an invisible bubble that cut off the crowd noise abruptly.

“What?” Diamond Tiara looked around the room at what appeared to be silent ponies, still wordlessly chatting with each other, then looked down at Monster. “Oh. It’s you.” The polite but false smile reappeared and Diamond Tiara gave an abbreviated bob of her head. “So, Twilight. It must be really… You must be really happy… Isn’t it good that…”

In the awkward silence that followed, Monster asked, “Saw you were unhappy. Can I help?”

“Help?” A flicker of anger flashed over Diamond’s polite smile. “I don’t need any help. Everything is just fine.”

Everything was most certainly not fine, and Monster could not figure out what words she needed to get to the bottom of the problem, but she followed Trixie’s teaching and just remained both silent and attentive. It took remarkably little time.

“I’m fine, my Daddy is fine,” started Diamond. “I’m g-getting a new Mommy, so that’s fine.”

There was another long silence, which Monster reluctantly filled. “A mother is good.”

“I used to think so,” said Diamond briskly with a quick glance to the other side of the room where Spoiled Milk was talking to Cheerilee. “Miss Milk has always been there for our family. She helped Daddy get on the city council. She taught me how to behave in public. How to walk. Get good grades. I just….” Diamond took a quick breath and finished off the cup of punch she was carrying. “I don’t want to be like her anymore.”

“I don’t think… Shouldn’t use the mind swapping spell again,” said Monster.

“Not that way,” chided Diamond Tiara. “I mean the way she treats other ponies. Watch Cheerilee.”

It took a few minutes, but eventually Spoiled Milk set out across the floor in the direction of another pony to talk to. Behind her, Cheerilee’s polite smile twisted into a bitter frown for just a moment, then returned to the same happy expression she always wore.

“See,” said Diamond Tiara. “She does that to everypony. Nopony dares to say it, but she’s horrible. And if she marries Daddy, I’m afraid…”

“You’ll turn horrible again too,” said Monster. She reached up to the larger earth pony and gave her an awkward hug. Even that was easier, either from the growing that Monster had done in the last few months, or just from repetition. “You’re a friend. Friends keep friends from becoming monsters. You. Me. All our friends.”

“You don’t understand.” Diamond Tiara pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and flattened it against a nearby table. It was a wedding invitation, dated for next week right after Summer Wrap-Up, and showed a sketch of Filthy Rich and Spoiled Milk exchanging vows in the Rich family garden.

“He’s doing this to make me happy. I think. And as much as I want a Mommy, I don’t want to lose my Daddy.” She sniffled a little despite her best efforts. “I wish I had a real Mommy who loved Daddy for who he is, not just his money.”

Monster held very still, thinking about the time she had spend with Scootaloo and Filthy Rich out in the huge garden. Mister Rich had never told Diamond Tiara about her mother for fear of hurting both of them, but Monster could feel that thread stretching out into the distance, a thin and frayed gossamer line of fate. It would be wrong to put her hoof down in the middle of that, just the same as Princess Celestia dared not interfere with many of the things she most probably wanted to ‘fix.’ Ponies deserved to be able to make their own decisions.

But they did not need to make those decisions in ignorance.

She picked up the wedding invitation in her magic, reaching out to cast the spell she had used instinctively once before. It was on her approved list since Lyra had helped her refine it, tidy up the loose ends and make it much more effective. Even if it had been forbidden, she would have cast it anyway. After all, there was only one pony in Equestria who needed to hear these words, and only one pony who could say them.

“Diamond Tiara,” started Monster very slowly, holding the glowing wedding announcement in front of her. “If you could talk to your mother, your real mother, what would you say?”

66 - Goodbye Summer, Hello New Friends - Part Three

Cheerilee was enjoying the party.

No, that was not quite right. Cheerilee was intensely enjoying the presence of all of her joyous students at the party, in a shared happiness that bubbled out all over and validated her decision to go into elementary education instead of molecular biology like the school counselors in Canterlot High had urged.

They said I would be bored teaching elementary school. Shows how much they knew.

She was even taking great pleasure in her role as Private Snitch to Princess Cadence, She Who Dominated The Canterlot High School Social Calendar. Cadence, after all, had been in her graduating class, as well as Shining Armor, and both of Their Highnesses wanted to know all about Twilight Sparkle and how she was adjusting to Ponyville.

It had not been a new pen-pal relationship, just one with far more letters than before. All three of them had kept in touch after school even before Twilight Sparkle had rather dramatically freed Princess Luna from her evil alter-ego, but now Cheerilee was keeping a daily diary and sending them consolidated updates by way of whichever Royal Courier stopped by every week. It was a form of report card that she was happy to provide to them, and which Twilight was scoring straight A’s in her book. Twilight had even managed to get Diamond Tiara to make up with the rest of the classroom, which Cheerilee had considered less probable than another alicorn dropping into Ponyville in a pillar of light and proposing marriage to the quiet schoolteacher.

The only worm in the party apple was Spoiled Milk, who just had to butt in when Cheerilee was at her happiest in order to ruin her happy glow with school budgetary items. Certain ‘optional’ items in the budget had been snipped out in order to pay for the yearly class trip to Canterlot next week after Summer Wrap-Up, provided the Cutie Mark Crusaders did not burn something down with fireworks and get grounded again this year.

For this year’s trip, she was hoping to convince Big Mac to be a school escort. After all, she had not been having any luck at all coordinating their schedules to spend some time together during the entire summer so far, although it had been unusually busy, even for Ponyville. He had even been uncharacteristically coy about their traditional Summer Wrap-Up Celebration together-time, where they would spend the day among the booths and exhibits and the night looking up into the sky at the fireworks show.

There have been a lot of fireworks lately. I wonder what’s going on?

Big Mac and Applejack had just gotten the wagon out of the barn and loaded up with empty baskets at the crack of dawn when a fluttering in the sky caught both of their attentions. At first, they thought it might be Rainbow Dash, but the glint of gold and deep purple armor on the descending dots put that misguided assumption to rest quickly. In moments, two Royal Guards, one of each type, landed gently in front of the apple farmers and bowed.

“Hiya, Insomnia. Uh… Whoever you is.”

“Lieutenant Flash Sentry,” announced the pegasus, sweeping up from his bow and fixing Applejack with a pleasant smile. “Royal Equestrian Courier Service, at your command.”

There was an awkward pause, followed by Insomnia prodding his counterpart with one webbed wing. “You’re supposed to deliver the letter now, newbie. It’s daytime, so you’ve got first.”

“Oh! Right!” Flash dug into his saddlebag and produced a gold-embossed letter, which he held out for Applejack.

“Says here this is for Big Mac,” said Applejack, reading the cover from where Flash had it gripped in his teeth. “He’s the big ‘un over there.”

Big Mac took the golden letter from the courier and ripped open the top, although he held it where Applejack could see the contents too.

“Done request the pleasure of your company,” said Applejack, moving her head back and forth to see around Mac’s foreleg, “at the Ponyville Summer Wrap-Up Festival. Well don’t that beat all. Princess Celestia wants you to escort her at the festival.”

Insomnia cleared his throat, drawing attention to where he also was holding a large envelope in his teeth, with a dark fringe and chased in silver ink. Big Mac picked that one up too and opened it up, only for Applejack to give a long whistle while reading it.

“Well, don’t that beat all. You got two princesses done want you to escort them to our little shindig. Which one you gonna pick, Luna or Celestia?”

Big Mac stood for a while, weighing the two letters, before passing them back to their respective couriers. “Eeyep.”

“Yes?” echoed Flash Sentry, looking at the invitation. “So, you’re going to attend the celebration with Princess Celestia?”

“And Princess Luna?” asked Insomnia.

Big Mac nodded.

Insomnia bowed and returned the dark invitation to his saddlebag. “I shall inform Her Highness of your decision once she awakens this evening.” He nudged the immobile Flash Sentry in the flank. “As my colleague will inform Her Other Highness once he completes his rounds in Ponyville and returns to Canterlot.” He prodded Flash again. “Which he needs to get started on. Now.”

“Oh! Right!” Flash burst into the air and flapped away in the direction of Ponyville, leaving Insomnia to shake his head once he was far enough away.

“Newbie. We’ll get him settled in soon, Miss Applejack. Until later, a pleasant day to you both.” With a flick of both dark wings, the nocturnal pegasus rose up into the air and began to soar in the direction of Canterlot. He left behind an awkward silence which Big Mac was attempting to fill with a casual whistling while checking the empty baskets on the wagon, but after a few wrong notes, he turned away in the direction of the barn.

“Both of them?” asked Applejack with a sharp edge to her voice that could have peeled the paint off an entire fence.

“Eeyup,” said Big Mac, vanishing into the barn to get more baskets.

“At the same event?” she asked in a more astringent tone.

“Eeyep,” drifted Big Mac’s voice out of the barn.

“You are going to die, you big galoot!” shouted Applejack. “They’re gonna kill you, and bring you back so they can kill you again. We ain’t gonna need no casket for your carcass either, on account of there won’t be enough ashes left to fit in an envelope!”

The barn only amplified Big Mac’s low chuckle. “Eeyup.”

Cheerilee shook her head and returned to enjoying the party. Whatever was bothering Big Mac would wait until she cornered him at the festival. At least things were calming down around the town since Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara got put back inside their own heads and Trixie took off with Spike on some sort of dragon-thing. Now that the Cutie Mark Crusaders finally earned their cutie marks, it might even—

“Twitchy tail! Twitchy tail!” shouted Pinkie Pie, leaping around the main room of Sugarcube Corner like a rubber ball, pushing ponies of all sizes back against the wall until a huge open space was created. Even the punch bowls and cake were evacuated to the far end of the room and Cheerilee found herself next to the pink party pony, flattened against the wall and waiting for whatever came next.

“What happens now?” asked Berry Punch, who was displaying her Ponyville survival instincts by remaining just as flat against the wall on the other side of Pinkie Pie.

“Three… Two… One…” said Pinkie, then stopped. After an awkward pause, the glass in the windows began to tremble, the building shook, and Cheerilee found herself pressed even harder against the wall when there was a blinding pink flash and the top of an entire hill appeared in the Sugarcube Corner main room. Scattered around the heap of dislocated turf and soil, a half-dozen zebra lay in various sprawled-out positions, two ibex were holding themselves extraordinarily still as if they had been turned into statues, and an elderly burro caught Cheerilee’s eye with the most droll expression of resigned exasperation she had ever seen.

“Presto!” declared Trixie, standing up on her hind legs in the middle of the chaotic scene. “Behold, the Sugarcube—” she blinked once, looking around the room before shaking off her confusion and continuing in a quieter voice “—Corner main room instead of just outside of the front door which would have been a lot more convenient.”

Scattered applause started, growing in volume when the party attendees realized that no more unexpected guests would be teleporting in. Trixie continued with her introduction while stepping down from the heap of dirt and grass in the middle of the room and over in the direction of punch bowl. “Ladies, please make yourself at home at the party. Pinkie Pie will ensure your proper attire and provide refreshment while the rest of the Ponyville residents introduce themselves. Twilight Sparkle, if you will…”

Trixie looked around the room, then cast a questioning look at Cheerilee.

“She was here just a moment ago.” It was a sign of how much Cheerilee had gotten accustomed to her new old/young student that instead of looking down at the rest of the ponies scattered around the room, she looked up at the ceiling light fixture, where a small purple alicorn was curled around the light and out of line of sight from the rest of the partygoers. A small smile and an encouraging head nod from her teacher was all it took for Twilight to spread her wings, flutter down from the ceiling, and give Cheerilee a glowing warmth under her heart that no other career would ever have been able to match. The little alicorn touched down in front of one of the teleported guests, a changeling to Cheerilee’s surprise, and helped him to his hooves.

“Hello, father.” Twilight’s words were clearly audible in the room, and triggered some sort of startled reaction in the five zebra mares standing up around her, but nothing compared to the jaw-dropping shock they displayed when she added, “Mother has been very worried.”

“Mother?” said the oldest zebra, who had sat back down on the flattened grass which now covered the floor of the room. “And this is your father?”

“Adopted,” said Twilight quite distinctly with short pauses around her carefully enunciated words. “Still mom and dad, but not first mom and dad. They’re in Canterlot.” Her eyes drifted sideways to pierce through Cheerilee’s good feelings with a simple glance at her teacher. “Maybe see them during our class trip. If we have time.”

Cheerilee could not say anything through the lump in her throat, so she just nodded. She was not sure when Zecora had entered the now-redecorated room, but the zebra waited until Twilight had finished, then walked forward to nuzzle gently across her adopted daughter’s neck, followed by a similar nuzzle for the undisguised changeling beside her.

“Welcome back, mate of my heart. It seems like years we have been apart.”

One of the zebra abruptly gasped and blurted out, “Mate!” only to be pushed back when a taller and much more stern zebra pushed herself forward, winding up nearly nose to nose with her Ponyville peer.

“Your words are not right.
Our kind do not mate with bugs.
Or others. Ever.”

The last word came out in a cold hiss, nearly a snarl, but Zecora did not flinch.

“Watch your tongue and hold your ire, for you are a guest, dear. Have some punch and meet Flower’s friends before you rest here.”

“Wonderful idea, Miss Zecora,” said Trixie in a near purr while floating party hats over to each of the new guests. “As mayor — temporary, of course — of Ponyville, I’d like to welcome you to our friendly little town. Some of our helpful friendly town residents—” she cast a pointed look into the crowd and her friends all started to move forward “—will show you around and introduce you to everpony. And, of course, Twilight’s little friends will tell you how their got their cutie marks today. Come on, everypony. Let’s show our new guests some of the Ponyville hospitality that we’re famous for.”

Less than an hour later, Cheerilee found herself being dragged into a shadowed corner of Sugarcube Corner. She would not have minded so much if it was Big Mac doing the dragging, but it was Trixie, and she still reeked of brimstone and filth from her trip.

“Question,” said Trixie with just a hint of manic desperation in her eyes. “Do you know anything about Zebras?”

“Zebra,” corrected Cheerilee. “The plural doesn’t have an ‘s’ at the end.”

“Then you’re the expert.” Trixie bit her bottom lip and peeked back out at where several of the zebra were being shown around by Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. “Primitive matriarchal society with female nature-based shamans and cultural taboos against these powerful mares mating. How do you think they will react when one of their kind not only breaks their long-standing tradition, but winds up pregnant too? Oh, and by a changeling.”

“I don’t think…” Cheerilee stopped herself. “This isn’t theoretical, is it? I mean, Zecora? And a… Not that I’m biased or anything, but… I don’t think any changelings have ever…” She stopped for a long moment and considered the possibility. “I wonder where I’ll seat the foal in my classroom.”

“Short-term solutions, please. Oh, and while you’re at it, tell me if you get any bright ideas about how to unstick a dragon from the front door of the town library.”

“Dragon?” Cheerilee pressed a hoof to the bridge of her nose. “How did Spike—”

“Friend of Spike’s… Well, an adult dragon under the command of the Dragonlord, who is over at the library with Spike right now—” Trixie cut off and craned her head to see over the crowd. “Correction. The blue one right over there by Spike and the Cutie Mark Crusaders, talking to Twilight and Zecora.”

The two of them watched ponies, zebra, dragon and Dragonlord for a while before Cheerilee said, “Ponyville.”

“Yeah.”

“Good afternoon, Your Highness.” Flash Sentry bent into a deep bow at the bottom of the Royal Dais and produced several envelopes and a scroll for Princess Celestia, which she wasted no time in floating over to her and examining.

“Good afternoon yourself, Lieutenant Sentry. How was your trip?” asked Celestia. She tucked the scroll away for later, when Luna would be up and they could read it together, and opened up the envelope addressed to her. “Did the griffons give you any trouble?”

“No, Ma’am. One of them was waiting on top of their fortress with Green Grass’ weekly letter to your student, just like Courier Insomnia said they had been doing before. Cranky bunch, though.”

“Oh, really.” Celestia put aside her letter for a moment and looked at Flash with her features settling down into a sincere expression of calm benevolence. “How so? Be specific, please. I don’t like having to pull answers out of my couriers one bit at a time.”

“Uh…” The new courier was obviously hesitant at raising his concerns, but swallowed and proceeded anyway as she had commanded. Requested. Same difference. “Nothing really specific, Ma’am, but there were no griffons out enjoying the morning weather, and the clouds in the farming valley were looking untended. Either the aerie is losing griffons faster than intelligence estimated, or they were intentionally kept inside. Plus, it just felt… weird flying up there. Like something really cold was watching me.” Flash shook his head. “I’ll have a full report for the Department of Diplomatic Support Services by the end of the day, as per procedure.”

“Very well.” Celestia returned to reading the letter, which was written in impeccable mouthwriting, far neater than anything Trixie had ever sent her before, almost as if it were written by a professional. The spelling was even perfect, right up to... Celestia hesitated, flipped to the end of the document, and looked back at Courier Sentry with a question that was not a question. “The Dragonlord is in Ponyville.”

“Is that the one who was stuck in our library doorway?” asked Flash. “My little cousin said something about it at her party.”

After reviewed the report, this time skimming it from front to back, Celestia started talking almost under her breath. “No. She’s a library patron, there by special request of Dragonlord Ember… Well, well. Another one. They change so fast. And Zecora is pregnant, interesting.”

Celestia stopped and put the report back in the envelope. “I’ll save this one for my sister. She loves talking with dragons. And they are mostly her books, after all.”

Flash hesitantly leaned forward with a question obviously on his lips before Celestia cut him off. “Yes, dragons are bad-tempered and aggressive, like my sister lately. Luna has been looking to release a little frustration.” Celestia rubbed her ear. “She’s taken to nipping at me for no reason. Well, let’s see what is in this other one.”

It was the work of a moment to unseal the other large pink envelope, which had only a tattered wedding announcement and a sheet of paper inside. Celestia read it, put it back into the envelope, and wrote across the front of the envelope in large letters.

“Deliver this immediately,” said Celestia in short, clipped words as she floated the envelope back to him. “You are currently the fastest flier in the Royal Equestrian Courier Service, if my memory is correct.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” Flash held the closed envelope up and read the address. “Diamond Tiara’s mother. Who is that?”

“Lieutenant Sentry.” Celestia’s voice was quite firm and very direct. “Your superiors in the Service will be able to provide you with directions to the recipient. You are dismissed. Now.”

In a flash, the only sign that Flash Sentry had been in the room was a mustard-yellow feather, slowly swirling in the downdraft of his rapid departure.

67 - Goodbye Summer, Hello New Friends - Part Four

Princess Luna was a big fan of getting to work on problems at the earliest opportunity, and not schluffing them off on her sister, like some other unnamed ponies she was considering at the moment. After all, Trixie had stood up to take responsibility in Ponyville in a way that had cost Luna five hard-earned bits to Celestia’s well-planned bet. Luna had taken it as an example of how well Celestia understood her former student, and how little Luna actually understood about Trixie, right up until the point where Celestia admitted a disconcerting fact.

For the last ten years, Celestia had to constantly watch her language around Trixie to keep from calling her ‘Luna’ by accident.

Luna had objected. Celestia had countered by running down a list of shared personality characteristics that made her seriously wonder if perhaps there actually were some relations to the Lulamoon genealogy in her family bush⁽*⁾, despite the improbability of it all. In any event, Celestia explained how Trixie passing along her issue with the stuck dragon and the zebra Imetabiriwa, was a ‘big deal’ because of how rare it was to have Trixie admit something was beyond her abilities and ask for help from her friends. It was mostly because up until this point, Trixie did not have friends, and much like Luna had discovered when trying to ride Celestia’s unicycle yesterday, simply having something did not give one the ability to use it correctly.
(*) The visual terminology of using trees for family relationship diagrams struck Luna as irrational. Bush bifurcation and branch tangling resembled proper pony relationship diagrams much more accurately.

The afternoon flight to Ponyville, although short, gave Luna some time to think about serious topics that had been disturbing her recently. As infantile as it sounded, she missed having Miss Smarty Pants to talk with on topics of great importance, such as the one that was bothering her now.

Over the last few days as Luna had checked, all of the ponies in Canterlot, from the most noble down to the lowest floor sweeper in the castle, had been universally accepting of her dark past. It brought up a more serious concern that would become even more important over the long term.

The ponies of Equestria, as well as her newfound friends, and… somewhat more than friends, were all mortals. Memory being what it was in mortals, the dark legacy of Nightmare Moon would eventually fade into a holiday for candy over the centuries until none would remember the true meaning of it but herself, and perhaps not even that. Without the unbreakable sentinel of memory, Luna could find herself sliding back into her previous dark habits. Forgetting mistakes was easy to do, which is why Luna had been… researching some of the same forbidden spells she had used to create Nightmare Moon. Not seriously, of course. Just to explore a theory about creating a persistent dream-essence which would remind her of the consequences of the poor decision she had made so long ago.

Celestia would become all upset if she found out, which was why Luna had not told her. Cadence, likewise. Twilight Sparkle might find a way to bring such a dream-creature to life, so Luna had no intentions of telling her either.

Trixie, however…

As Luna approached Ponyville, she put the idea behind her for the time being. It would wait for now. She touched down outside of the library, which as the letter had explained, had most of a dragon sticking out of it, and when she went inside, the rest of the dragon. It was indeed an impressive female drake, just as different from every other dragon that Luna had ever met, but she always had appreciated the ones that were both furry and scaled. The dissimilar features made for such an impressive contrast, and this one had a flowing green river of long pale hairs like both a silky beard and a mane along her soft golden scales, making her look beautiful in the dim light of the library and quite graceful, despite being stuck.

“Luna!” squeaked Twilight Sparkle, jumping to her hooves from behind a bookshelf and scurrying over. For such a small alicorn, she had an impressive hug, making Luna’s ribs creak. “This is—” Twilight paused and licked her lips with an expression of intense concentration, making her words come out one syllable at a time “—Vorel’aurix-levethuix Maekrix-book-rasvim, of the Northern Provinces. This is Princess Luna, of Canterlot, Princess of Equestria and…”

She looked up with those big purple eyes and Luna could not help but smile. “Do not be concerned about my list of titles. A full recitation could take hours. Now, please allow me to speak with your guest.”

Trixie was contemplating zebracide. Oh, not for the entire race. Just the annoying ones. She figured that would leave two or three breeding pairs in the whole country, at best, which Celestia would appreciate. She liked her diversity, after all, and keeping a few zebra around to remind other ponies how obnoxious they were would count toward that goal.

The housing crisis Trixie was facing right now was really one that Trixie had caused. After all, Trixie had brought the five zebra into town, so she was responsible for them. Trixie was the mayor, and that made her responsible for the zebra too. Trixie was also technically the primary magic tutor for the Imetabiriwa na Anga, the name which the zebra insisted on calling Twilight, and that made Trixie responsible yet again.

It was a lot more responsibility than Trixie was really comfortable with. While sober.

Although she sounded quite happy about having her husband back, Zecora had no interest in having the other five Imetabiriwa stay in her hollow tree. She claimed the police officer and the decryption specialist looking over her zebra library were two ponies too many, anyway.

The Cakes did not want the five zebra staying in their residence/business either, no matter how well the twins got along with their ibex servants or how much Pinkie Pie begged.

The library was full of dragon, so that was a bust. Besides, Spike and his new friend were having a Ogres and Oubliettes game in the basement with Big Mac, and the idea of letting the annoying zebra and fire-breathing dragons occupy the same flammable library… no.

And the Town Hall was very specifically not zoned for residential.

There was a small stall and breakfast in town that they could have stayed at, but the zebra balked at that concept. And in verse.

Which left Trixie out in the middle of the town square in the middle of the afternoon, arguing with five zebra who thought that arguing was their national team sport. Admittedly, eighteen hours of argument until sunrise would solve the problem quite well, but Trixie was still unwashed and still thinking about a tub full of hot water and bubbles whenever she closed her eyes.

Although, she was abruptly wide awake when a deafening voice shook the trees and brought down a few leaves ahead of schedule.

“Begone, wyrm!” bellowed the voice of what only could have been Luna in full princess-mode. “This land is my lair! Leave before I destroy you utterly!”

“How dare you!” bellowed Vorel in return, almost as loudly. “I come at the command of my Dragonlord, as a favor for her…” The voice wavered a little, and continued somewhat quieter, “...friend.”

“Then I, Princess Luna of Equestria, grant thee leave to remain within my domain for a brief period of time, until thy task is complete. However, we demand a selection from your treasure in exchange for our favor.”

“How dare you! It is I who am owed a favor, and it is I who demand a treasure from your hoard as payment for my inconvenience. Like that first edition of Liberations over on the far shelf, by the purple book. No, one to the left of that.”

“That book is priceless!” Nay, thou shalt not have it unless I possess that artist book of dragon wingspans, unbound under that stack to your left. Nay, your left. Yes, that one.”

“Ah,” said Trixie to the group of stunned zebra. “I don’t believe any of you have met Princess Luna yet. Let us stroll over to the library—” Trixie winced at the sound of breaking glass as one of the powerful voices managed to finish off one of the last library skylights that Rainbow Dash treated as targets “—and I’ll introduce you to her. Come on. Don’t be shy.”

Big Mac looked up at the root-covered ceiling of the library basement and the small particles of dirt trickling down from the muffled roaring. Then he looked at the two smaller dragons, who were both bent over the rule book, trying to find out if the Spectral Blast spell had any effect on the Blind Bat-Buzzards of Blart, and totally ignoring whatever was happening upstairs.

“Um. Spike? I mean Garbunkle the Magician.” Big Mac pointed upward with a hoof.

“It’s just a dragon hoard dominance contest,” said ‘Lady Lazertorch, the Sapphire Sorceress’ without even looking up from the rule book. “You’d have to be a blithering idiot to get between them.”

Dragons were awesome.

Monster stood in awed silence in the library, barely able to keep her sound muffling spells over her ears with the stentorian bellows between Princess and Patron. Just like Trixie had taught in one of their lessons, Luna was ‘nose first’ into the problem, head down and matching Vorel’s voice decibel for decibel while engaging in a cutthroat bargaining session for books.

Then Trixie stepped into the library.

At first, neither of the two bellowing participants even noticed, but Vorel’aurix-levethuix Maekrix-book-rasvim soon spotted the new observer and turned in Trixie’s direction with her furry green eyebrows lowering and her lips turned up in a toothy snarl. “Begone!” she bellowed.

“Trixie!” proclaimed Luna, turning around in a whirl and dashing over to the stunned unicorn with a broad hug and a nuzzle that turned into a wrinkled-up nose. “It is good that thou hast hastened thy pace homeward to be with thy student, but you could have at least washed. Oh, and I see you hath brought your… companions.” Luna looked at the stunned zebra Imetabiriwa behind Trixie, then cast a look at Monster, who had moved forward just far enough to show she was not afraid, even though she was.

The aggravated dragon let out a huff of warm breath, which swirled around their hooves with the scent of dust and dry ink.

“Beg pardon, Honored Dragon.” Luna turned in Vorel’s direction and nodded. “This is my other egg-sib, not of my shell, to whom I owe my life. Lady Librarian Trixie Lulamoon, this Honored Dragon is Vorel’aurix-levethuix Maekrix-book-rasvim, the keeper of a great library in the north.”

“We’ve met,” said Trixie a little unsteadily due to the dragon’s baleful glare, which was interrupted by several abrupt blinks and the astonished expression which followed.

“Librarian?” The dragon bobbed her head, which was about as low as she could go while stuck in the library doorway. “Do not be angered, Honored Librarian. I did not know of your lineage. I thought this was the hoard of the Dragonlord Spike.”

“That’s… fine,” said Trixie with a distracted wave. “He’s my assistant. Um, I’ve got something to discuss with Princess Luna, Honored Patron. Twilight, see about getting our—” Trixie looked at the stuck dragon and shook her head “—guest a library card.”

Trixie and Luna headed for the back porch door, but Monster really wanted to hear what they were going to discuss. She went through the motions of producing a library card at such a rapid pace that the form was smoking slightly when the camera flash went off, and the card was still a little melty when she floated it over to land in front of the dragon.

“Welcome patron of the Golden Oak Library you may peruse any book on the shelf except for the books in the restricted section which require a permission slip from the Librarian we hope you enjoy your stay and don’t forget to consider donating to the library expansion fund on the check-out table thank you—”

The last words were thrown over Monster’s shoulder, but the dragon was already reading a book with the same intensity a foal would eat free chocolate, and most likely did not even notice.

“Ah, there you are.” Luna swept a wing down to embrace Monster for a brief moment, then used it to encourage her to trot alongside while Her Lunar Highness began to head away from the library and down the town street. “Let us be off!”

She wanted to ask about their destination, but Monster was distracted by the zebra Imetabiriwa striding along behind them with their servants bringing up the rear. Trixie walked along Luna’s other side, casting curious looks at Monster when she could see, and finally asking the question Monster was still trying to formulate.

“Princess Luna, where are we going?”

“To Zebrica, of course,” she responded in the same casual voice as one might announce a trip to the ice cream shop.

“But I don’t want to go to Zebrica,” blurted out Monster.

“It shall only be for the eve.” Luna glanced up at the setting sun and quickened her pace. “We shall be back in time for the evening repast and to finish our negotiations over the disposition of our library.”

They turned the corner of the street, and to Monster’s brief surprise, both Zecora and Tallgrass fell into step with the rest of the zebra Imetabiriwa. Tallgrass was once again wearing his zebra disguise, which only made the other Imetabiriwa nervous while they followed Luna, but they still trotted or strode along. Even Old Kavu was using her walking stick to good effect and keeping up on their strange trip, but not all of the zebra were happy about it.

“Our journey was long
Four moons we traveled to here
Fool idiot horn.”

“Mshairi,” said Tallgrass very deliberately while keeping up his brisk stride. “Be silent. Respect your elder.”

“Nay, changeling.” Luna did not break her stride to look back, but her voice remained pleasant, even if it was too firm for Monster’s comfort. “We have learned our lesson about ignoring the advice of others, even if we find it distasteful. If one had spoken when I went astray so many years ago, perhaps Nightmare Moon would never have been born. We must open ourselves to new ideas and review that which has been discarded. Since it took four moons for you to travel to our fair Equestria, it is obvious to me that much knowledge has been lost among your kind as well.”

“The annoying one
Should not travel with our kind
Secrets she knows not.”

“Secrets?” asked Trixie, stopping cold in the street and turning on the tall zebra in much the same way as an irritated panther might eye an unwary mouse which had the audacity to bite her. “I presume you are talking about the grand and glorious secret history and predictions of the Six Zebra Tribes, which each of your tribes felt so important to keep from each other that they scrambled them up to make their own knowledge unreadable by the other tribes? The Turtle Tribe—”

“Tortoise,” said Monster.

“Tortoise Tribe, for example,” continued Trixie without missing a beat, “uses near-lethal poisons on their writings to kill unwary readers and render others nearly incoherent, but it’s the only way to read that gibberish in the moonlight and understand it. Or the Stone Tribe who decided to make their lore into an insane math puzzle across a bunch of sharp stone tiles that only make sense when arranged in a particular logical sequence. At least their library won’t kill anypony who screws up reading it. And all of you—” Trixie waved a hoof across the zebra around her “—sent Zecora here with copies of your own specific lore without any way to translate it! If you’re the wisest zebra in your lands, I’d hate to see what—”

Trixie bit her tongue and cast a quick glance at Monster, who nodded encouragement.

“Anyway,” snapped Trixie, picking up as if she had never even paused, “Zecora was expected to teach your new Imetabiriwa na Anga all the wisdom of your tribes over the last twelve years from a set of libraries that she could not read. Good luck with that!”

The oldest zebra prodded Trixie in the side with her walking stick, although due to their recent brisk walk, it took a few more moments for Old Kavu to catch her breath enough to speak. “That is why we must bring the Imetabiriwa na Anga to our tribes. She must learn the hidden knowledge from each of the tribes in turn before she can bring peace to the spirits of our troubled land.”

“Really?” Trixie raised one eyebrow. “Just out of curiousity, which tribe had the super-special unique story of a zebra named Aaesunuthluth and her record of Luna’s first visit to Zebrica? ‘Another’s come with wretched wings. What kind of evil will it bring?’”