The stairs to the throne room Canterlot Castle seemed far longer than they had ever been before, and just as windy. As each polished marble step passed beneath her hooves another one seemed to take its place at the top of the staircase. This teased the poor pony, who was convinced that the entrance was moving further and further away from her with each step. Twilight Sparkle had been called from business to return here and speak with her mentor, Princess Celestia. She was not given a reason; only told that she needed to return.
Her five friends trailed behind her, and showed various levels of curiosity or impatience. If it wasn’t for each of them talking to Twilight as they ascended, the stairs may have grown even longer still. Especially since one of them was now calling to them from the very top.
“What’s taking so long? C’mon!”
“Rainbow Dash, I swear, you’re going to end up in an early grave because you simply never slow down,” Rarity said breathlessly.
“At least I’ll make it there. You’ll be too busy dawdling.” Rainbow Dash looked over the group smugly. Then, with a more serious curiosity, “Why’re you going so slow, anyway Twilight? It’s not like this is the first time Princess Celestia has asked you to see her.”
“Princess Celestia’s letter said it was something important. When the Princess says something is important,” Twilight stopped at the top of the stairs and glanced down to the bottom. Had it really been all of thirty steps? “It’s important. And if this is important enough to call me away from the Summer Sun Celebration…”
“Quite the coincidence, don’tcha think?” Applejack asked pointedly as she joined the two. The other three ponies followed her.
“I wouldn’t read too much into it. Besides, the letter might have just been late.” Twilight turned to the door and felt her stomach drop as it attempted to turn around to go back home. She swallowed hard and then muttered to herself, “It’s Okay. Nothing to worry about. The world isn’t in any danger. Again.” She pushed the door open with her hoof and walked in slowly, glancing at the various guards standing post around the room. Her head hung low, as if trying to avoid whatever fate had in store for her.
The other five ponies followed her into the room, looking far less nervous than their alicorn friend. Pinkie happily bounced along beside them, gaining as much height as she could possibly muster before returning to the ground and trying again. Fluttershy followed along behind the group, quietly hiding behind her mane.
“Ah, Princess Twilight Sparkle,” the regal voice of one of the two princesses of Equestria called down from the singular throne that sat atop a raised area. Her multicoloured mane flowed as endlessly as her smile. “I’m glad you and your friends could come on such short notice.” She gave an acknowledging nod to the other ponies accompanying her. It was an extremely familiar sight.
Twilight forced herself to raise her head and smile politely, trying her hardest to hide her nervousness. She could feel her teeth grinding. “Princess Celestia. We came as fast as we could.”
Twilight’s friends, bowed to the Princess from behind Twilight, taking their usual arrowed formation. After Princess Celestia spoke, they raised themselves once more and looked on with eagerness, awaiting the specifics for their latest task as the Elements of Harmony.
Princess Celestia rose from her seat and stood as tall as she could possibly manage, smiling down to the six ponies at the base of her platform. With a practiced demeanour, she began, “It has been five years since you were crowned a Princess, Twilight. It has allowed you to grow personally, as opposed to your magical prowess from your studies. You have learned how to perform your royal duties, and I have taught you as much as I think necessary to allow you to flourish as you move into the world.” She began to descend the stairs, “It is now time, Twilight, that you grow not only for yourself, but for the ponies around you. Not just your friends, but for your kingdom.”
Twilight’s brow creased together and upwards as she regarded the Princess’ words. She knew what she had been taught, and what the Princess had been allowing her to do, but she hadn’t considered what it would mean for her in the end.
Princess Celestia reached the bottom of the stairs and stood over the pony, wings flared regally. She wore a proud smile as she spoke. “It is time for you to establish yourself, Twilight. In order to allow our civilisation to grow and expand I have decided to grant you your own land.”
The words sat heavily upon Twilight for what seemed an eternity as their very meaning crushed every little bone in her body. Her jaw was stiff and her mind catatonic. Her own land. This wasn’t just a library, or a room, or even a just building. Princess Celestia was tasking her to create something that would shape history.
Twilight missed the gasps behind her, and the inevitable fainting of Rarity. It was a miracle that she hadn’t fainted herself, or died. Dying felt like a rather acceptable reaction to this news.
Princess Celestia regarded each pony individually. Both verbally, and nonverbally, they all seemed to ask the same question and she nodded knowingly. “I certainly understand your concerns. However, I have made sure that everything has been covered, to allow Twilight to begin her ruling.” A yellow aura surrounded her horn as her magic sparked to life. Surrounded in a similar aura, a large chest levitated its way from behind the throne, landing beside the white alicorn. As its lid opened the magical aura disappeared. “I have an annexed castle at the very edge of the Equestrian borders.”
Celestia’s yellow aura next surrounded a map, which lifted from inside the chest and unfurled to present itself. This was a map of the continent, with every kingdom’s borders designated by coloured outlines. Along the Equestrian border two areas were represented by blue and red outlines, and these extended out a little further across the continent. But at the center of all three areas was a little red circle labelled ‘Castle’.
“You will be at the borders of Lariatte and Equir. These are two kingdoms that, most likely, will not give you any problems as they are too busy arguing amongst themselves.” Celestia explained matter-of-factly. “The castle will need refurbishing, naturally, so you will need to hire staff to rebuild it to its former glory.” She gestured to the contents of the chest, “This will suffice for that task.”
The chest was filled to the brim with gold bits, gems, and other various treasures, as well as a small assortment of maps and scrolls. The ponies craned their necks to view the inventory of the chest, only to pull back and gasp at the riches they found there.
Twilight’s mind reeled as she processed the vast amount of information. After her jaw managed to unlock itself, Twilight began to babble and stammer as she attempted to find some way to express the large amount of questions she had to ask, finally settling on “What do I do?”
Celestia’s smile didn’t falter at the question. She understood. “Visit these kingdoms and hire staff, build relations to businesses you can find. It is important to maintain a good relationship.” She leaned down to Twilight, “Do not worry. I will be here to assist you with anything you need, and any questions you might have.”
“I have... so many questions. I need to understand so much.”
“I know. Tonight, come and meet me in my study. We can discuss everything that you need to, in order for you to get started. However, there will be things you need to decide on your own. I cannot tell you everything.” Celestia raised her head once more, looking passed Twilight and to the other ponies.
Fluttershy, who had a habit of making herself all but invisible, scuffed her hoof on the floor as she examined it. Her eye contact remained at that one spot, despite the Princess’ attention. Rainbow Dash and Applejack simply stood wordlessly with their mouths open, while Rarity seemed almost understanding, nodding every so often. Pinkie Pie seemed ecstatic as she pushed her way passed her friends to stand in front of Twilight.
“Can I have a special title? Like... Leader of Parties! Or... Princess Party Maker! Or Party Commander... Dance Maker! No! No! Dance Commander! I’ll give out the order of fun!” She bounced eagerly in front of Twilight, her nose barely inches from her face.
“Pinkie, we need to do a lot more before we start giving out titles,” Twilight responded. She was surprised that this came out so naturally. “I... we need to get everything sorted out before we can consider having parties. But when that time comes, I promise, you can be in charge of them.” She smiled to her friend, placing a hoof on her shoulder in the futile attempt to try to calm her down.
Pinkie brought her hooves around Twilight’s body and squeezed the very life out of her. “You’re the best, Twilight!”
Twilight’s magical aura surrounded Pinkie, prying the pony off of her so she could breathe once again. She turned to the rest of her friends, “It seems I have a lot of research to start. I’m sure we can find rooms at the local inn for you to sleep in tonight.” The fear in her eyes was more evident and present than it had been in many years.
Celestia raised her head, gesturing in a general direction with her hoof, “The guest rooms are free for you. Please, make full use of them.”
Rarity watched her friend thoroughly for a moment, looking for key signs of behaviour she had come to recognise like the twitch of her lip or the flicker of her eyes. It was all too obvious to Rarity that Twilight was frightened, excited, and somewhat overwhelmed, but also handling it well enough as to not be overly worried for her friend. She smiled to Twilight reassuringly, “Make sure to find us in the morning, darling. You simply have to tell us everything.”
Rainbow Dash took a step forward, “Hold on. Shouldn’t we all be in on this whole thing? I wanna know what’s going on, too.”
Applejack nodded, “Yeah. Ah’d like to know what’s gonna be happening. Ah gotta find out what the agriculture’s like.” She smiled proudly at that.
Fluttershy brought her head higher, displaying a bright smile, “And somepony needs to take care of those cute little animals.” She hugged herself, as if cuddling one of her bunnies.
Pinkie had already made her way to the side of the room and was in the process of working out exactly where the Party Headquarters would be inside the castle. Her intentions were clear.
Twilight smiled over to her friends, a small amount of tears pooling in her eyes. Despite the common occurrence of her friends putting her before themselves. It took her by surprise every time, and she had promised herself that she would never become used to it. “Thank you, all of you. I couldn’t ask you to just give up your lives for me, especially those of you who have established careers in Ponyville. I’ll tell all of you what I can in the morning, and perhaps we can work something out.”
“There’s no ‘perhaps’ about it. We work together. It’s as simple as that!” Rainbow Dash remarked as she stuck her chest out.
Twilight giggled lightly. “Of course. I will tell you everything tomorrow. I promise.”
With a farewell the five friends went their own way around town, leaving Twilight to begin her brief study in one of the various library wings of the castle. She had come to know each wing’s inventory very well, and had a general idea of where to find the books she’d planned to begin reading.
Books on agricultural development, leadership, the roles and duties of a ruler, the history of Equestria’s expanding borders. This, and more, would all need to be understood to the fullest extent. Precedence would allow her to follow a firm example of how to manage her lands, as well as to avoid conflict with other neighbouring kingdoms. Beside her growing pile of literature, a list of questions was slowly being formed, so she could be ready to meet with the Princess in just a few hours.
Why? The word stood out on the paper as if it had been written in big letters and red ink. It pushed its way across every page she read, blocking anything else from her sight. It wanted to be answered. Why did Twilight need to establish a settlement? Why now? Why was Celestia giving her an entire castle to begin this almost endless task? Why, why, why.
Why not? The words hit sharply, bringing a realisation with them. Twilight had been groomed for this.
Twilight had been confident in working within the various positions over the past five years, learning to deal with the old, cantankerous ponies of the Council of Magi. They had presented a different type of challenge to her, one that she had originally felt that she was out of her depth in. But it was within the council that Twilight had learned how to make a stand diplomatically, and how to allow no in her words. After all, she was the Element of Magic.
Within a year of joining the council, Princess Celestia had then brought her in to speak and parse with a group of nobles who had come to a violent dispute over their land. When these nobles brought forth their problems and arguments, Twilight couldn’t resort to using her friends, her magic or the Elements of Harmony. All she had was her wit, her charm and her brain. The disputes had worsened week over week, spiking when one pony threw ketchup over the other's fence. They had proved rather difficult, as neither side would relent. Twilight had very nearly pulled her mane out in frustration, until the end of her patience had her decree that neither side would get the land, and that she would remove five inches from each side.
This decision didn’t prove to be favourable on either side. Both nobles had threatened to leave the kingdom, and deny it the revenue they brought to the crown. Twilight was forced to redouble her efforts to please both sides. The nobles were the blood of Canterlot, and needed to be treated with far more ease and delicacy than most others.
With more practice came more confidence, and a higher success rate – but nothing perfect. Mistakes were made, and at times, intervened by either Princess Celestia or Princess Luna to fix whatever problems were caused by Twilight’s lack of experience. Twilight soon found herself with the two families of nobles once again that had caused problems, for the same problem once more. This time, Twilight had been ready and was able to find a successful solution within a week.
Eventually, Twilight was called to hold her own court within Canterlot, to hear and make decisions of the various needs of the kingdom. She found herself allotting resources to villages, allowing events throughout the kingdom, and delegating the building of infrastructure to the correct councilpony. At one point, the Captain of the Guard stood in front of her requesting for an increase in fiscal allocation finances to aid the recruitment process.
Princess Celestia had been teaching Twilight to rule over the kingdom. Step by step and little by little, she had been granted the experience she needed to complete the general everyday tasks. Working diplomatically with various factions of ponies in a kingdom was crucial to its survival, and Twilight had been given experience in some of those areas. With Twilight being granted a demesne, Princess Celestia would not be far away.
‘Not in the same way as before.’ Twilight was still Celestia’s student. This had been the next stage of her study.
At the chime of five ‘o’clock, Twilight’s hoof knocked on the sun-emblazoned door of Celestia’s study. When a polite ‘enter’ came from the other side, she opened the door slowly. With a list floating magically in front of her, its paper flowing to the ground and trailing several feet behind her, she made her way into the study, glancing over the room.
The Princess sat on a large orange cushion in front of a fireplace, a square table just in front of her filled with various paper work. Philomena sat on the bust of Celestia, just above the door. The rest of the room was filled with shelves of books and stored papers, in a rather chaotic fashion. Twilight cringed. Philomena’s cage stood in the corner right of the door, opposite a large grandfather clock to the left.
Twilight examined to the fluffy blue carpet underneath her hooves. “Princess Celestia, is it... okay for me to talk to you now?” She followed the carpet to Celestia, who was smiling over to her.
“Of course, Twilight. I expected you earlier than this,” She jested.
“Oh... I’m sorry, you said this evening, so I assumed to come at five’o’clock. That’s the most common time referred to as the beginning of the evening.” Twilight replied, completely missing the joke. She kept her distance from the Princess, glancing to her list briefly before looking to the Princess, waiting for a proper invitation.
Celestia gestured to the cushion perpendicular to her. When Twilight took her seat, she laughed softly, “It’s hard to believe that you still haven’t changed after all these years, dear Twilight. You don’t need permission to sit near me.”
“It’s proper protocol, Princess! I-It’s stated in almost every guide to regal comportment I’ve ever read,” Twilight stammered over her words, feeling her chest tighten slightly. “I’m sorry, Princess. I can try again, if you’d like.”
Celestia put a hoof gently on Twilight’s shoulder, hushing her, “I keep telling you to stop being so nervous and rigid. Just be yourself. There’s no need to follow such rigid protocol when we’re in a private room. May we start with your questions?”
Twilight held her breath for a moment before letting it out slowly, imagining the air flowing out of her body. She closed her eyes briefly before opening them at the Princess’ words. “Yes, Princess.” She regained her composure and placed the top-most part of her list on the table. “My first question is... how do I start?”
Celestia nodded, withdrawing her hoof and placing it neatly in front of her, “There is a small village not too far from the castle itself. I would suggest going there and gathering some ponies to help begin cleaning up the castle. Introduce yourself, and explain the situation. Be direct, but polite, and reassure them that nothing will change.”
Twilight regarded the Princess quietly, “Nothing will change?”
“That is right. When Equestria was first established, the surrounding villages were afraid of one thing; they were afraid that some Princess from another land would come along, uproot their lands, change all the laws they’ve lived by, and turn them into something they would never recognise.”
“Isn’t that what it is now? I wouldn’t expect villages and colonies to be the forefront of fashion and upper class.”
Celestia laughed. “No, change and progression are two different things. My ancestors did not sit down one day and decide to install a town specifically for the affluent. Those ponies came on their own accord. They established themselves, and Canterlot grew. I have never directly told a pony ‘no,’ and I have never driven them out of where they wish to live.”
Twilight processed the information before nodding and moving on to her next question, “Where do I find business from?”
“The local villages. For that, you will need to expand your influence and personally visit whomever you can. Offer them something in exchange for their business. Be sure to make contact with local merchants. You need to maintain your own land’s treasury, as well as make expenditures for the surrounding lands.
“As an annex of my lands, I will still be available to provide assistance to you. You needn’t worry over having trouble supporting your lands; if all else fails, I will be able to help in dire times. However, you will need to approach my court, like every other pony in this kingdom.” Celestia smiled gently to Twilight, “There are benefits to being a demesne within the Equestrian realm, Twilight. I assure you, I will not let you fall.”
Twilight looked over her list and mentally crossed out three more questions. She scanned over her list, almost continuing from the third question. She stopped and sighed, staring at the one word that had managed to inscribed itself in the margins of the paper. She looked up almost helplessly to the Princess, “Why? Why me? Why this? It’s so overwhelming and I just don’t understand... why.” Celestia’s smile faltered, seeing the desperation in Twilight’s eyes.
This question had plagued Twilight since they had last seen each other, despite her lessons and experience; Twilight still lacked the confidence to completely understand it. “Because,” Celestia began, looking into Twilight’s eyes, “you are ready. My sister and I have run Equestria for thousands of years, and we are well established. Your potential - your true potential - is hampered by not being given the chance to spread your wings. There is so much more to you, Twilight, and you are ready to see what you can truly achieve in this world.”
She leaned her head forward, nuzzling the side of Twilight’s face with gentle and practiced ease. “You can do this. Have faith in yourself and those around you. Princess Cadance was once in your position, and just as frightened as you are now. She now rules over the Crystal Empire. You can do this, too.”
Twilight closed her eyes as the Princess’ cheek touched her own. It was like a cloud. She listened carefully to her words, cherishing each of them. This was extremely high praise. At the end, she let them sink in, while shielding herself with practiced humility. “Princess Cadance didn’t establish the Crystal Empire. Did she?”
“No. The Crystal Empire was even present before I was born. I suppose you have the added challenge of establishing yourself. However, it was not easy for Princess Cadance to simply step up as a princess to the Crystal Empire. It was a difficult task, and she had to learn everything about the empire, its lands, its resources, allies and annexes. You will create everything as you progress, everything will be your decision.”
Twilight nodded again. “The pro et contra; The pros and cons. I’m not sure which I would prefer. What if they don’t like me?”
“They will,” Celestia emphasised as she moved her hoof to touch Twilight’s own. “They will love you. You shouldn’t doubt yourself so easily, Twilight. You are a wonderful pony, with a wonderful personality.”
Twilight flattened her ears, “And what if I ruin everything? Make the wrong decisions and hurt some ponies?”
“That... is part of life.” Celestia sighed, taking a moment to remember her own mistakes in the past. “You learn from them and eventually, you repair what damage has been done.”
Twilight knew what those words meant. It was a subject she never brought up with either of the princesses. The wounds were still raw, and at times, it was obvious that one of them was harbouring emotions for it. Even after all this time, Luna was still resentful, and Celestia extremely guilty.
Twilight didn’t pursue the matter. “Will neighbouring kingdoms be hostile to me, and will they feel threatened by my...” she glanced at the list, which said ‘expanding territory,’ but now, those words didn’t seem right to use. She stumbled.
“You are afraid there will be a backlash when your borders eventually overlap with other kingdoms.” Celestia’s matter-of-factness took Twilight by surprise. “Some, like the kingdom of Equir may even be welcoming of the change. They are a very easy kingdom to get along with, rather laid-back and diplomatic. Lariatte may be harder to deal with. They have been fighting with their neighbouring kingdoms for so long, claiming they own more territory than they do.” She shook her head, “It is usually rather easy to calm them down. In this regard, you will need diplomats to calm them down whenever anything happens.” She smiled gently, “You have a perfectly good diplomat already, and I would insist on using her.
“Diplomat? Wh—“ Twilight stopped. There was only one pony she knew that could charm the tail off a donkey, and then convince him that he never had one, “Rarity.” The revelation hit her quickly. “Would Rarity do that?”
“Provided you gave her some form of protection, I’m sure she would travel to the end of the world for you. As will everypony else. You have a wonderful group of friends, Twilight, and they have already promised themselves to you.”
There was no doubt in Twilight’s mind that this was true. Even though she had insisted they stay in Ponyville, they had made it very clear that they would not leave her side. Each pony had a strong skill-set, one that could be utilised within her lands. She mentally shook her head. She didn’t want to think of them as commodities, or tools, or as things to use. She would make sure they were always friends, and nothing more.
With a smile, and ignited vigour and motivation, Twilight continued with her questions.
~o~
“I hope Twilight was able to see the Princess,” Fluttershy said, glancing up at the darkening skies. She spotted two ponies going to each lantern along the street and lighting it with their torches.
“I’m sure she did, dear. The Princess would never leave Twilight to any task without providing her with ample ground to stand on,” Rarity replied. She smiled politely at a young stallion as they passed each other. The stallion responded in kind.
The two friends had separated from the group earlier on to visit the famed Canterlot Salon and Leisure Centre. They had spent the vast majority of the afternoon being tended to by various ponies. Once satisfied by their respective glows, Rarity had declared that it was time for them both to rejoin the others, to dine at Le restaurant nez-en-l’air in Upper Canterlot. Rarity had declared the group’s plans before they parted ways.
“I’m worried about her.”
“I know you are. Twilight is all we have talked about today.” At Fluttershy’s squeak, Rarity offered her an apologetic smile. “I’m worried, too. Presently, there’s not much we can do right at this moment,” she thought for a moment, “I have every intention of extending my business to Twilight’s new land. I’m not sure Sweetie Belle would be old enough to manage the Boutique for herself just yet...”
Fluttershy smiled, “It wouldn’t be a problem to look after her animals. I bet they’re just as cute as all the critters in Ponyville.”
“Who would look after Ponyville’s animals?” Rarity gave Fluttershy a quick side-glance as she spoke, making sure to keep an eye on the road in front of her. The lights of the various restaurants were beginning to light up one by one as they made their way through the beginning of Upper Canterlot.
“Well...” Fluttershy frowned, “There may be another pony who could look after them. Or, I could bring them with me.”
“That is a rather extensive amount of animals to bring with you, dear. I think you and I will need to find somepony we can trust to look after our work. I haven’t checked the Employment Boards in years. We should look at them when we get back to Ponyville.”
The two walked in a thoughtful silence for a time, each wrapped up in the question and subsequent problem of what to do. Fluttershy’s animals meant the world to her, and she could not leave them without knowing that somepony would look after them as much as she had. Rarity, on the other hoof, had a business to consider. Sweetie Belle, while still being rather young, could keep another pony in line, but could not run the business herself.
There were a number of unemployed ponies in Ponyville, all of them looking for some form of work. It would be quite likely that they would find somepony to take care of everything, but finding the right pony would be a monstrous task.
They made their way to the grand entrance of Le restaurant nez-en-l’air, quickly admiring the sheer effort that had been put into it. The lights around it were so bright that it looked like midday. A red carpet extended from the doors to where the two friends stood, waiting for their friends. Already, the restaurant was filling up.
“There y’are,” Applejack remarked from behind them, standing in the doorway. “We reserved a table about twenty minutes ago, waitin’ for ya.”
Applejack led her friends through the maze of tables to theirs, rejoining them with Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, who were already giving bitter looks at the menu. Rainbow Dash, in particular, sat stiffly in her seat. She consistently tapped her hoof on the table, glancing at the exit.
The restaurant was beginning to fill up with ponies dressed in formal wear, making the group feel slightly uneasy with their lack of clothing at all. Every so often, a family of upper-class ponies would glance to the group with aghast. At one point, a child was heard questioning their nudity, and if she could join them.
“We’ve been waiting forever! What took you both so long?” Rainbow Dash snapped.
“I’m sorry, dear. We made our way across town as fast as we could. Have you ordered yet?” Rarity replied as she and Fluttershy took their seats across from the sour-faced ponies.
“No. They wouldn’t let us order until our ‘party’ had arrived. It’s not like anything’s any good, anyway,” she gestured to the menu as it stood upright, letting it fall to the table with a quiet slap. “They don’t have burgers or anything.” She picked up the menu, and allowed it to fall again, watching with amusement as it slid inches across the table.
“Or cupcakes... well, they do have cupcakes, but did you get a look at them? They’re tiny!” Pinkie held the word for a moment as she brought her hooves about an inch apart to demonstrate their size. “I asked the waitress if they had candy pizza, and she said ‘No!’ Can you believe that?”
“I can,” Rarity remarked coolly as her magic wrapped around her menu, bringing it upright and to eye level.
The menu was rather typical for a high-class Canterlot restaurant, the fifteen items contained mostly vegetarian and pasta dishes, served with fancier sauces, sides and herbs than would ordinarily be found in somewhere like Ponyville. Rarity realised she that should have expected that her friends would have difficulty finding something to eat.
“Ah’ve made my choice,” Applejack said with a smile. “Why, Ah haven’t been to a place like this since my days in Manehatten.”
Rarity’s eyes widened before she soon remembered Applejack’s taste of a different lifestyle. She returned to her menu and made her own choice. She placed the menu neatly in front of her and looked to Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, “Think of it as an adventure for your palate as they explore the cuisines of the social elite,” she said theatrically, twirling her hoof in the air.
Pinkie seemed rather motivated. She placed her hoof on one of the menu items, “This one!” She exclaimed.
The group winced as the ponies in the immediate area turned to face them, making various comments of ‘How rude,’ ‘I never,’ and ‘the nerve.’ One mare glared at the group behind her motion to adjust her glasses.
Rainbow Dash pouted, glancing over the menu once again and shrugging, “Fine.” She crossed her forelegs in front of her and sulked. “Why’d we have to come here?”
Before Rarity could respond, the welcomed interruption of the waitress allowed her to regain her thoughts. The waitress looked over the group with half-lidded and condescending eyes, gauging them before she spoke, “And what would mesdames be ‘aving?”
“I want—”
“We’ll begin with a glass of Yellow Tail for each of us,” Rarity interrupted Pinkie before her default volume could grow any louder. She ordered each pony’s meal, and sent the waitress on her way. When she was out of earshot, Rarity glared at the two ponies across from her, “I understand that the two of you aren’t used to this type of class, but I really wish you would at least respect the culture here. Keep your voices down, please.”
Rainbow Dash and Pinkie simultaneously rolled their eyes before exchanging a glance with one another.
“I wanted us all to have a chance to really talk amongst ourselves before we commit ourselves to helping Twilight,” Rarity said after a short pause. “Fluttershy and I have spoken slightly, and we both have some things to prepare before we can join Twilight in her new castle.”
Applejack nodded, “Ah’ve been wondering what I’m gonna do. Ah’m certain the farm’ll do fine without me, but Ah still don’t know.” She lowered her head slightly, tapping the tips of her hooves to each other.
“Mr. and Mrs. Cake will have no problem! I’ll just tell them where I’m going, and they’ll be so amazed, they might even join us!” Pinkie grinned. That was quite unlikely.
Rainbow Dash gave Pinkie a weary glance, “Right...” She addressed Rarity, “No problem for me. I built my house, I can move it or build another one. Join whatever local Weather Team is around that area, or something.” She shrugged, “Not too hard, really.”
Rarity regarded the pegasus for a moment, “Is something the matter?”
Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened, and she brought her hooves closer to her chest. She shook her head rigidly, “Nope.”
Applejack leaned forward, “Don’t be like that, Sugarcube. Ah’ve been wondering the same thing. What with y’all constant glances to the exit, sitting all stiff like you’ve got some bug up your—” Rarity eyed her warningly, “like somethin’s wrong. You like to escape when somethin’s buggin’ you.”
Rainbow Dash glanced at the door again. It wasn’t too late to leave. However, she sighed, “I don’t like it here, that’s all.” At the unvarying level of scrutiny from her friends, Rainbow Dash sighed deeply, and relented, “I don’t really want to leave Ponyville. I’ve lived there for years, since before Twilight even knew the town existed. She’s my friend and all, but, I don’t know if I want to leave everything behind.”
“Twilight wouldn’t hold that against you. She didn’t expect us to come with her.” This came from Fluttershy. She sunk into her shoulders as the group looked at her. She hadn’t prepared anything more than that. “I... I mean, you saw her reaction. She expected to do this alone.”
“I guess you’re right,” Rainbow Dash said.
A group of ponies approached the table, each holding a plate of food. A sixth pony followed close behind with a tray of wine glasses. Neither waiter or waitress glanced at their customers, they simply looked forward with half-lidded or closed eyes. They placed each plate and a glass of wine in front of each pony before returning to the kitchen.
Their original waitress approached the table and looked over the group dourly, “Is zere anysing else?”
“No thank you, dear. I will be paying the bill tonight, so please be sure to address it to me,” Rarity replied. She held up a hoof toward the group before they could protest.
“And your name?”
“Rarity.”
The waitress turned sharply and walked off, leaving each pony to eat the dinner they had been provided.
The friend’s conversation continued, moving to more casual and less concerning matters. To Rarity’s delight, both Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie kept their table manners in check. They were both polite, kept their elbows off the table, and even chewed with their mouths closed. The night was short, and soon enough the group was back in their rooms Canterlot Castle, readying themselves to enter their beds.
As each pony lay in their bed, waiting for the embrace of sleep, they could hear the soft hoofsteps and hushed voices of two familiar friends as they attempted to make their way to their own room, undetected.
“I don’t know if I’ll sleep tonight,” Twilight’s voice was brimming with excitement. “Tomorrow can’t come any sooner.”
“Do me a favour and be excited in another room, will you? I need to get my beauty sleep,” Spike responded proudly, followed by a yawn. His voice was notably louder than his friend’s was.
Twilight shushed Spike sharply, “The others are probably sleeping.”
“Sorry.”
“Let’s at least try to sleep.”
The door of their room clicked, echoing down the hall. The silence of night began to creep over each room. One by one, each pony began to sleep, knowing that tomorrow was going to be the beginning of a new chapter in their lives. Tomorrow was the beginning of a legacy.
