After Gold and Silver

The sun was hanging low in the sky, casting it's golden gaze over the city of Canterlot. But such a beautiful sight was not admired by Princess Twilight. She stood in her room, her horn glowing brightly, with dozens of books floating around her. A map of Equestria hung on the wall in front of her. It was an exact duplicate of Celestia's. She was trying to sort her books into alphabetical order, then order them in importance. She thought it was a grand plan. Though her patience was tempered with because of the snoring which came from behind her. Unable to take anymore, she turned around. In a small basket lay Spike, comic by claw, who had obviously fell asleep while reading.

"Spike? Spike? You need to wake up!" She shook him and his eyes flittered open. He frowned at her. He didn't seem to have wanted to be woken up, that was for sure!

"What did you do that for?" He asked, "I was just dreaming about Manestream and his gang now! I was the hero and I nearly got him but then you woke me up!"

"You have to remember he's a fictional character Spike." Twilight was pleased that the snoring stopped but was quickly back to working. When she finished alphabetising them, she decided to have a break. Swiftly, she opened the door, went through and closed it again. She found all of her friends doors open. She didn't think they'd be up this early. But one door seemed to be wide open. Curious, she decided to go in.

~~~

She walked in to find her friends crowded around something. They were all in silence, but not a cold silence. It was a silence of amazement. Wondering what this was all about, she tried to see what they were looking at. She could just see over their heads. On a mannequin, next to Rarity, was a dazzling dress. It was made of a golden fine fabric, with a silver, sparkly strap at the waist. There were several lines through the back of the dress, which was darker and shinier than the rest.

Rarity, believing they had all had enough time to gaze in its beauty, spoke, "As a dedication to us being in the royal sisters palace, I decided that I would do a dress to show the beauty of both day and night." She smiled as the mannequin glowed a bright blue and moved to the back of the room.

"I believe it's now time for breakfast." A voice from behind them spoke. They all turned around to see Princess Luna, wearing a straight and smart face. They gasped, quite surprised at the sight.

"How did y - you get here?" Fluttershy asked.

"A Princess must have a quick way of getting around her castle." She smiled and winked. She then turned around and walked slowly off. They couldn't help but have the feeling they were meant to follow her. They did so. As they walked they became more enthusiastic about being there. Who knew the possibilities in such a fascinating place. Occasionally Twilight would point to certain places and quote books about the castle and it's history. After about ten minutes of walking they stopped. In front of them was a grand hall. Golden chandeliers hung from the ceiling, the floor carpeted with red down the middle. A long, sturdy table was in the middle of the room. It was covered in a soft, white silk with golden patterns along the edge. Candles ran down the middle of the table, accompanied by cutlery and plates and bowls. The whole magnificence of the sight was lovely.

"Why, this sure is a lovely hall you have here, Princess Luna!" Applejack complimented.

"I completely agree with Applejack. The banners are to die for!" Rarity exaggerated, admiring the colourful banners at the sides of the walls. They all depicted certain stories which you could find in pony history, the return of Luna, the beginning of Nightmare Moon, the defeat of Discord were only a few.

"Now, I shall eat with you. But please, do not be unnerved by my presence." Princess Luna said, taking a seat at the end if the table. They then filled the chairs nearest to that end. After they had seated themselves and gotten comfortable many servants brung in several dishes. They placed them on the table in front of each of them. Princess Luna's horn shone and the silver lids of the plates lifted off. This revealed a combination of eggs, soup, bread and jam and an assortment of other things. Each one of them had different things to suit their taste. Hungrily, they started to eat.

~~~

It was nearly a hour later they finished their meal, all their appetites satisfied from their large meal. Princess Luna suggested they get together in the grand hall to discuss their strategies on finding this new princess. They had all agreed that this suggestion was a good one. Princess Luna then led them to the grand hall. The gathered behind the pedestal where Luna stood.

"Are we ready to begin, Princess?" Twilight asked. She wanted to begin as soon as possible. Luna nodded. Twilight smiled. She turned to her friends, "First, do any of you have any ideas? They might help even more than my own." Rarity raised her hoof. Twiligt and Luna simultaneously nodded at her.

"Well, I believe, despite it not being the most logical solution, that we wouldn't find our Princess in big cities. Places like Manehattan for example. What I'm trying to say is you found Twilight in Canterlot initially, so maybe smaller towns of villages may be the home of our Princess?" Rarity suggested. Everyone was silent for a few moments. Luna started to gently nod.

"That... Makes sense." Luna said. She stepped down from her pedestal sleekly. She then turned to Twilight, smiling, "Your own ideas?" She asked.

"Well, first, generally what Rarity said. Though my research disagrees as second of all, I believe that there are two possible cities, or towns, that the Princess could be in. I know this from extended research last night. Also by using a diverse tracking spell. These two are Baltimare and Yanhoover. I have made an educated guess that Baltimare will take five days for a full search across the streets while Yanhoover will take four. If we make any private searches I guess we can fit three into one day." Twilight said. Her friends nodded mostly. They understood it all and believed that Twilights words were educated and most likely correct.

"If what you say is found to be untrue, Twilight, we will continue our search elsewhere. You understand and accept that, yes?" Luna said in a proud and authority-like tone.

Twilight nodded, "Of course."

"Then our journey begins." Luna replied and smiled with a small, yet genuine smile.

~~~

It was nearing dusk, and the four Princesses gathered on the watch tower. Their heads hung low over a map of Equestria, their horns interlocked. A few sparkles sorrounded all of their horns, but it was not yet true magic. The two eldest ponies had given up a mere ten minutes of their Celestial guiding to do such a spell. With lots of concentration and energy, their horns glowed together. Strangely, the horn colours were not distinguishable as they moulded together, before turning into a rainbow coloured aura. This aura shot right down to spread itself across a map. It thinned out as it did so, ultimately fading away. Two circles remained around Baltimare and Yanhoover. They were both suspended in the air. Twilight smiled.

"I see that I have also correctly done the spell." She grinned triumphantly. Celestia looked at her solemnly. She shook her head and Twilight looked back curiously. What could she have done which was wrong?

"Twilight, you have familiar confidence in your spells. Though do not have such faith in its rightness. Magic is as complex for anypony but it is of normal circumstances that some find learning easier. A certain case is yours. Please remember Twilight that magic can only be considered as a hint, nothing more." Celestia advised. Twilights ears flopped down and she looked at her hooves. It was strangely embarrassing to be advised by your old mentor. Luna went to Twilight.

"Twilight, do not be so shy of my Sisters warning and advice. Only take heed of it and do not be ashamed of mistakes. It is mistakes that mould us into better ponies." Luna said. She had a look of remembrance on her face. It was not the happiest look though. Twilight nodded.

"Now, we finally start our search." Cadence grinned at Twilight, "And Shining is coming along for it."

~~~

Shining looked at Twilight with his charming grin. His attire merely consisted of his best suit. He had dressed up for such an occasion, meeting the royal Sisters yet again, it was an occasion to dress up for. Twilight and him both walked up to each other, and once they were face to face they gave each other a big hug. Shining looked into her face.

"Remember that I'll only be here for the trip to Baltimare. Then Cadence will continue on your journey and I will go back to the Crystal Empire." He told her. She nodded and gave him another hug. They had hardly seen each other for a few years.

"So how's the Crystal Empire been? I haven't been there since... Well, you know..." She laughed nervously and looked to the side. He nodded with the same look of nervousness. It was quite an incident they talked about but it's gruesome details were too much for both of them to mention.

"Well, the first crystal foals were born. The first three were born in the royal hospital and to celebrate the occasion we held a festival. Also, Cadence has been the best. She's been very generous of late yet I don't know why. Probably something to do with the recent Crystal Fair which was held." He said, biting his lip as he thought about recent events.

"Well, I think it's about time to get to the station." She said and looked to her friends who were talking in the distance. She beckoned them to come. They did as they were told and came as soon as they saw her notion to do so. Once they came her horn horn glowed. The aura increased in brightness and it started to surround them all. They then vanished and left no trace what so ever.

~~~

They then reappeared at the train station. Their vision was slightly disoriented from the teleport. Shining Armour raised his brow at Twilight and she merely gave him a cheesy grin.

"So, y'all, I think our trains comin'." Applejack commented as she leant on one of the support pillars and tipped her head in the direction of the tracks. They rumbled gently, the vibration increasing and sound of a steam engine roaring as the moments went by. Within moments a beautiful, elegant train stopped before them. It was white with golden rims and window frames. The windows were ever so beautiful, with an elegant, light blue tint. Some also depicted certain scenes of royal history. Some were of joyous times and triumphs while others of the worst. Three others appeared beside them. They finally had everypony there.

"I'm so nervecited!" Commented Pinkie as she went through the train door.

"This is gonna be totally awesome!" Exclaimed Rainbow Dash.

"I agree, the splendour and architecture of some buildings... I also heard they had quite a fashion sense there!" Rarity agreed.

"Well, a - as long as it's not too busy..." Fluttershy said. Applejack and Twilight then followed but they made no comment on what they thought of the trip. They felt they had a mixture of all these feelings. They then sat at the seats. The journey had now properly began.

"Baltimare, here we come." Smiled Celestia, as she joined in on their fun. The rest of the ride was uneventful but when they came to Baltimare they suddenly knew that it was going to become a lot more eventful than the trip.