Crescendos and Cupcakes

Chapter 2: Shield

The new day brought with it a sharp increase in temperature as the weeks drew ever closer to the summer season. Though the sun had only risen a few hours ago, the areas in and around town were already bathed in mid-day light. Early morning in Ponyville was a very lively time of day for the rustic town; with all the shops opening for business, ponies of all shapes and sizes were roaming about, getting a prompt start on their daily tasks.

Aurora and Applebloom had started their walk from Sweet Apple Acres about a half hour prior, and had just entered the town proper. During the long walk along the outskirts of town, Applebloom had regaled Aurora with tales of how she had tried fruitlessly to receive her cutie mark.

She had tried so many times already, but hadn’t gotten any closer to getting it. Aurora almost felt bad for the filly, having been disappointed so many times, but it was all part of growing up. She looked at the filly and found enjoyment watching her boundless enthusiasm work its course, envying her free spirit in the slightest. The petite pink pony remembered those days well. Before her life in the lab, Aurora had been content. Now, it felt like she was missing something.

Moving deeper into town, more and more ponies began to cross the two pony’s paths. Some would make eye contact and smile, most would just carry on with whatever errand they happened to be running, and the occasional few would share a verbal greeting with the pair. Aurora had been in Ponyville long enough to have been introduced to a few ponies here and there, who now knew her by name.

Some of the first ponies she met during her stay were Rose and Lily Valley, who lived in close proximity to Sweet Apple Acres. They both grew flowers together, sharing a plot of land between themselves. Nice, kind ponies that you’d expect from a town such as Ponyville. Aurora also met Raindrops, a pegasus working some of the smaller jobs on the Ponyville weather team. She would sometimes stray out to the borders of town, where she’d see the pink pony and wave.

It wasn’t exactly deep social interaction, but it was something Aurora had never really partook in. She enjoyed looking at strangers and seeing something other than the worst for a change. Until recently, Thundervolt had handled the majority of the socializing for the two, thanks to his uncanny ability to fraternize like a moron. Waving at a stranger and getting a smile made Aurora feel…normal.

Aurora and Applebloom were nearing the end of their journey, when the petite pink pony spotted two young fillies crossing their paths. One was a bright pink color with a striped purple mane, wearing what looked to be a crown of some sort, and the other was wearing ornate glasses that accented her grey coat and silver mane.

Aurora put on a smile at first, thinking they were friends of Applebloom’s. Her grin quickly faded when she noticed the light yellow filly shrink into herself abruptly. This was already too familiar to the pink pony, so darting her eyes from place to place for a moment, Aurora found an escape route.

“Hey, mind if we stop for a second?” Aurora said, ushering the filly towards the open door of the nearest establishment. “I really need to get a…”

Aurora paused and looked up at the building she was about to enter. Sugarcube Corner, the esteemed bakery of Ponyville, and Pinkie Pie’s place of residence. Luckily, it was the perfect excuse. Who doesn’t like an early morning sugar rush?

“Uh, a muffin?” Applebloom finished the mare’s sentence in a confused tone.

“Yeah, sure. Whatever you say.”

“Hey Applebloom, fancy seeing you here.” The crowned filly sneered, grinding at Aurora’s brainstem.

“Howdy there, Diamond Tiara.” Applebloom said with a defeated sigh. She nodded to the other filly with a similar expression. “Silver Spoon. How’re y’all?”

That’s amazing, even their names are pretentious and irritating…

“Oh we’re great, as usual.” Diamond Tiara said proudly.

“Well when aren’t we?” Silver Spoon added with a conceited laugh.

“True.” Diamond Tiara shifted her gaze to Applebloom. “So what’s today’s strategy? Are you trying to get your cutie mark in baking again?”

“We all know how well that went the last time.” Silver Spoon said sarcastically.

“No, Ah’m not, actually.” Applebloom said. “And Ah put out the fire, so quit holdin’ that against me!”

“Hmph, whatever. Who’s your friend? I haven’t seen her around before.” Diamond Tiara asked, looking over to Aurora.

“I’m Aurora. And we’re very busy, so if we could cut this short I’d greatly appreciate it.” Aurora replied impatiently, trying futilely to mask her disdain for the little filly addressing her.

“Really? I mean you’re already short enough as it is.” Diamond Tiara said smugly, smiling at her companion.

“Yea, are you sure you shouldn’t be in school with the blank flanks?” Silver Spoon added.

“Pretty bold of you two to be insulting someone more than twice your age.” Aurora said indifferently, setting her piercing eyes on the filly.

Silver Spoon witnessed the change in Aurora’s demeanor and started to back up uncomfortably. Diamond Tiara held her ground however, and prepared to make another poorly thought out insult. Before she had a chance to spit out her words, Applebloom stepped up to the plate.

“Who do y’all think ya are, insultin’ my friend like that!?” Applebloom stomped her hoof on the ground with surprising power, surprising the two fillies before her. “Why Ah oughta take yer parent’s jobs and discipline y’all myself!”

“Applebloom, I agree that these two aren’t exactly well-behaved, but don’t get mixed up with them like this.” Aurora said thoughtfully to the light yellow filly. The pink pony glared towards the two antagonists and mimicked Applebloom’s stomp, cracking the ground beneath her hoof. “Besides, they were just leaving.”

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were both rendered speechless by the sudden shift in the air. They looked at one another and began to leave hastily, Diamond Tiara offering one last remark as they ran away with their tails in-between their legs. “We’ve got better things to do anyway. See you around, Blank Flank!”

“Sorry ‘bout that. They’re kinda the school bullies.” Applebloom said, shaking the argument off. “Thanks fer stickin’ up fer me.”

“Kid, you didn’t need me at all. You handled yourself amazingly.” Aurora said proudly, beaming at the little yellow filly.

“Ya really mean it?” Applebloom asked in surprise, a huge smile on her face.

“I do. Keep that attitude, and nopony will ever push you around.” Aurora replied. “Uh, but don’t start hitting anypony. That generally doesn’t go over well.”

“Don’t you worry ‘bout a thing, Rory! We’re close to Sweetie Belle’s now, so if’n ya ain’t got a problem with it, Ah’ll walk the rest of the way myself.” Applebloom said, turning towards her destination. “Ah’ll see ya ‘round!”

“Be safe!” Aurora yelled after the filly, who was already rounding the corner and moving out of sight.

Aurora kept watching the place she’d been previously for just a moment longer before stepping off the porch of Sugarcube Corner. She was in town now, and wasn’t really sure of what she should do first. She could visit Twilight and see how she’s doing, though the lavender unicorn was probably buried nose deep inside a book.

Or in Rainbow Dash…

“Oh…Oh, why?” Aurora asked herself as she attempted to erase that particular image.

“Psssssst.”

Aurora whipped around towards the source of the noise and found nothing. She could have sworn she heard somepony making a…

“Pssssst.”

…noise. Aurora looked around again, still finding nothing. Nopony else wandering the town seemed to be paying any attention to the small outbursts, clearly not aware that they were even happening. Aurora’s eyes widened as she realized what was happening. She lowered into a defensive stance and began shifting her eyes back and forth, scanning for the threat.

“Pinkie Pie…? Where…where are you?”

“Above you.”

Aurora looked up just in time to see the bright pink mare descending rapidly from the heavens. Pinkie Pie fell too fast for Aurora to avoid, and so she braced herself accordingly, accepting her fate. Just after preparing, Aurora felt the soft pink hooves of death wrap around her chest and arms with the crushing force of a boulder.

“H-Hello…Pinkie.” Aurora said, struggling to breathe. The bright pink mare released her death grip and bounced to her feet with a wide smile.

“Hiya, Rory! I haven’t seen you in a few days and now you’re here! You should come inside so we can catch up because it’s been so long and I wanted to talk to you about something and are you hungry?” Pinkie Pie said, ending her rant with a huge intake of air.

“I had a big breakfast today, Pinkie. What did you want to talk about?” Aurora asked curiously as she dusted herself off.

“Come on inside, I have to finish an order up but then I can tell you about the surprise!” Pinkie Pie said, ecstatically bouncing back into the bakery without waiting for an answer.

“You’ve piqued my curiosity, Pinkie. You have my attention.” Aurora said, following the bouncing pink pony into the bakery.

Aurora walked into the bakery and looked around, taking in the sweet aroma of all the confections lining the displays. Cupcakes, éclairs, rolls, and donuts were among the many sweets tempting Aurora with their bright colors and expertly decorated glazes. Aurora’s neon green eyes shifted towards Pinkie Pie as she stepped behind the counter, disappearing for a few moments.

“Hey Rory, what was that outside?” Pinkie Pie asked curiously as she fished through the cabinets out of sight.

“You mean Applebloom’s little encounter?” Aurora asked idly. “It wasn’t anything important. Applejack’s little sister just handled some bullies while I watched. It was actually quite entertaining.”

“Oh. I’m glad she isn’t taking that kind of treatment from meanies like them.” Pinkie Pie said with a smile and a tilt of her head. “That’s not kosher!”

“Applebloom’s a tenacious little filly. She knows how to pick her battles.” Aurora said appreciatively. “She reminds me of myself at that age, come to think of it.”

“Somepony’s boarding the Memory Train heading down to Nostalgia Town.” Pinkie Pie giggled, surfacing from behind the counter with a bowl and a large amount of flour. “I’m gonna get that order done as quick as a whistle. You sure you don’t want anything, Rory?”

“I’ll have anything that isn’t laced with sugar.” Aurora said, giving into the temptation of a small snack.

“How about one of my new super chocolate cosmic adventure swirl cupcakes! They’re the sweetest cupcakes ever, baked with chocolate and fudge and white chocolate and caramel and”—

“Pinkie, I don’t want to die today.” Aurora arched her eyebrow skeptically at the hyperactive pony.

“How about a banana nut muffin?”

“That’d be great, Pinkie.”

Pinkie walked into the kitchen and set down her cooking supplies. A moment later, she came out with a plate, adorned with the most gorgeous looking muffin Aurora had ever seen. The muffin beckoned to her like no other, and the petite pink pony had to force her mouth not to water. Pinkie smiled and bounced back into the kitchen to start her work, leaving Aurora alone with her thoughts.

Applebloom is a tenacious little filly… She reminds me of myself at that age…

***

Nineteen years ago, the city of Canterlot was bustling brightly with the usual ponies of class and prestige. It was still the shining capital of the Equestria, even before Luna made her return almost two decades later. Business was booming, trends were being set, and ponies were living in a time of undeniable prosperity.

Walking purposefully around the city, with her head barely reaching above the citizens knees, was a small pink filly with a forest green mane. She was a very short pony for her young age; that, coupled with the fact that she didn’t have her cutie mark, was enough to make the young Aurora a target for harassment.

The little filly wore a bull’s-eye on her back, but no matter how hard anypony tried, they were never able to hit the target. Aurora wasn’t confident. She wasn’t self-assured. She was barely motivated. One thing she definitely wasn’t however was fragile.

That isn’t to say she wasn’t picked on. There were always other fillies or colts that would throw an insult her way or even try to rough her up a little. There was just a serious lack of ponies that would ever try again. Though Aurora was quiet and reserved, she was able to handle herself. On the few occasions she’d ever stood up for herself, she had always made her stance very clear:

“Stay away from me, or you’ll come to regret it.” Aurora said flatly, ignoring the jeering look coming from the colt in front of her.

“Is that supposed to scare me or something?” He said, responding negatively to the small pink pony’s threat.

“No. It’s just a warning. I don’t want any trouble. I never do.”

“Hmph, always backing off from a fight, huh?” The colt said with irritation. “Go on, get out of here. You aren’t even worth my time.”

“Sounds good. Same time tomorrow?” Aurora asked sarcastically as she began to walk away.

“Shut up, Shorty!”

Aurora didn’t look back at the colt, simply walking away as she always did. The town never even glanced in her direction, even as she was berated by a spoiled youth. It happened almost every day however, so she was used to it. She was almost out of earshot when she heard the colt start to run his mouth again.

“And who are you supposed to be?”

Aurora turned around and saw the colt had started to harass another filly her age. Unlike the small pink filly however, this little mare didn’t seem to possess much resolve. The light gray filly looked legitimately scared as the much larger colt advanced. Her purple eyes were filled with fear, and she looked like she was about to cry.

“M-My name…my name is”—

“M-m-m-my n-n-name is.” The colt said, imitating the filly’s nervous stutter rudely. “How about you say it instead of choking on it?”

“How about you leave her alone!?” Aurora yelled forcefully as she quickly ran over to the light grey filly’s aid.

The colt turned and looked at the pink pony with contempt. “You again? Didn’t I let you off with a warning?”

“I’m not sure. I thought I heard some words in between the grunts and the drooling, but I can’t be too sure.” Aurora replied cooly, boring her gaze into the colt.

“That’s it! You’re so dead!” The colt yelled fervently.

Aurora ducked under the colt’s swinging hoof, and turned to see him stumbling over his own extremities. She was more nervous than anything, having a pony twice her size try to attack her, but she had to stay strong for the other filly, whoever she was. She couldn’t let her down.

The colt came back towards her, presumably to head-butt Aurora. Without thinking, she turned around and reared up on her front legs, compressing her body. A second later, she straightened out, bucking with her legs as hard as she could in the colt’s general direction. With a satisfying thump, she felt her hooves connect with the colt’s face, and heard him fall to the ground crying.

“Owowow! My nose!” The colt yelled, his muffled cries punctuating the rest of the city’s noise. “I think you broke my nose!”

“I thought it was bad when you grunted and drooled. Hearing you cry and complain is even more repulsive.” Aurora replied boldly, walking over to the distraught filly. “If you ever harass this poor girl again, I’ll make sure you feel that bad everywhere.”

The colt wordlessly crawled to his feet, stifling his pain in an attempt to keep some of his dignity as he retreated back to whatever hole he had crawled from that morning. Satisfied that the threat was extinguished, Aurora turned her attention to the light grey filly before her.

“He won’t be bothering you anymore. Are you alright?” Aurora asked with concern.

The filly brushed her dark grey mane from her face and looked up at the pink pony appreciatively. Her purple, tear-filled eyes lit up with gratitude, and the corners of her mouth turned upwards into a small, relieved smile.

“I’m…fine.” The filly said calmly. “I haven’t seen you around the city before. Who are you?”

Aurora stared at the filly pensively for a moment, and then revealed a wide smile of her own. She looked into the filly’s purple eyes and spoke with conviction.

“I’m Aurora, your newest friend.”

***

“Sooooooooo, how was it?” Pinkie Pie said rambunctiously, snapping Aurora out of her reminiscent stupor.

“Huh?” The pink pony looked up at the bright pink pony in confusion. “How was what?”

“Your flashback, silly!” Pinkie Pie said cheerfully. “By the thoughtful look on your face, I’d say it was a good one!”

“I wasn’t in a flashback. I was thinking of somepony I used to know.” Aurora said, attempting to reason with the hyperactive pony.

“Well yeah, that’s what it was to you. But if somepony were watching your thoughts, they’d see it as a flashback, an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point!” Pinkie Pie said, fixing her bright teal eyes on Aurora and spreading her already wide smile even wider.

“I’m not even going to dignify this insanity with a response, Pinkie.” Aurora said, stepping away from the current topic. “So I’m assuming you’ve finished your work?”

“Yeparooni!” Pinkie Pie said gleefully. “I’m free to tell you about the thing that I was going tell you about after I was done working!”

“And that thing is?”

“You have visitors coming into town today!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed jovially, clearly happy about the surprise.

“Me? Visitors?” Aurora asked, clearly confused.

“That’s right! They’re going to be at the train station soon, so we should go and meet them there!” The pink pony bounced away from Aurora and out the door of the bakery, not bothering to wait for her to follow.

Having been the victim of a Pinkie Pie Surprise before, Aurora knew that whatever lay before her would undoubtedly be a draining experience. The petite pink pony steeled herself, and followed the bouncy mare out the door and accompanied her to the train station.

The actual journey took about three minutes, thanks to the train stations convenient location inside of town. Pinkie Pie was standing outside, waiting patiently for Aurora to catch up. As soon as she came within ten feet of the mare, Pinkie began bouncing again in excitement.

Aurora joined her friend and stood with her for about a half-hour, listening to her go on about her day in the bakery, and stories about times she’d had with her friends. Then the stories slowly shifted from normal and charming, to abnormal and discomforting. Tales of mystery and intrigue that only Pinkie could possibly understand, leaving Aurora to nod every now and then as she tuned out the majority of her non-sequitur.

The time passed quickly however, and the two pink ponies heard the unmistakable sounds of a train pulling into town. The smoke from the engines tower billowed majestically, leaving a signature trail behind it as the train approached. The brakes of the passenger cars squealed and the locomotive came to a stop in the station. Aurora and Pinkie watched as numerous passengers exited the vehicle, all with another destination in their minds.

“This is it, this is it!” Pinkie Pie said excitedly, turning to look at Aurora. “Take a look at who’s here!”

Aurora kept her eyes on the train car, scanning for whomever it was Pinkie Pie insisted was visiting her. Aurora didn’t expect to see anypony she knew, however a certain traveler caught her eye as she stepped out of the coach.

Her stark white coat and electric blue mane struck a familiar chord in Aurora’s heart, and the trademark purple goggles resting on her forehead only confirmed her identity. Aurora couldn’t muster up any words as the mare stepped onto the platform with her khaki friend, merely letting her jaw hang slack in response to their presence. The white mare fixed her ruby red eyes on the two pink ponies and grinned madly before speaking herself.

“Surprise!”