Canterlot wasn’t dirty, not by any stretch of the imagination. Long-standing public ordinances pertaining to littering and pollution saw to that. Still, the runoff from the rain drenching the capitol city was a murky brown color, and Twilight Sparkle wrinkled her nose at the smell, daintily lifting her hooves to try and avoid most of the dirty stream.
Twilight sighed, shaking her mane for what felt like the hundredth time that afternoon. It’s easy to remember how magnificent the rain is, she thought, her face twisted in an ill-natured expression, when it isn’t soaking a pony to the bone. She spared a look at the tall, pointed spires that decorated the palace. The rain had done wonders for its aesthetic appearance, giving it a sheen that seemed to absorb and reflect all the spare light in the city.
Twilight loved the rain, usually. Not only was it a magnificent object to study, but there was also something immensely satisfying to the intellectual unicorn to simply wander outside during a torrent and dance, feeling the cool droplets splash against her face. It was at those times where she let her cares fly away, where she truly could unwind. And she was never alone in her antics. Most of Ponyville would spend a rainy day outdoors, enjoying the simpler things in life. Pinkie Pie would always join Twilight in her customary “Rain-Dancing Parties”, and together they would simply dance until the rain became too heavy, forcing them inside, or until the rain vanished.
That was the first major juxtaposition that Twilight made between Canterlot and Ponyville. In Canterlot, the rain didn’t encourage the kind of elation that could be found in Ponyville. No, the capitol city was home to the ponies that threw on oiled raincoats and hurried to and fro, trying to avoid a drenching if at all possible. It was home to ponies who would rather lounge and gossip in their local coffee bar or tea shop, sipping on a steaming cup of their favorite brew.
It certainly wasn’t home to Twilight anymore. It was all too easy to forget that she had been born in Canterlot, and that she had lived most of her life here. A mix of emotions welled inside the young unicorn as she realized that she had found more of a home in Ponyville than the gleaming capitol city.
She was, of course, euphoric about the friends she had found in Ponyville. In her years living in Canterlot, she had never really explored the social aspect that life offered, opting instead to immerse herself in her studies, studying tome after dusty tome of knowledge. With a wry chuckle, Twilight realized that, with her ongoing quest for more knowledge, she was just attempting to fill a void within herself. A void that had been expanding constantly until that fateful day, when Princess Celestia sent her to a small town that was barely more than a village to oversee the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration.
She had expected it to go as smoothly as her classes, with her knowing every solution to every problem. She had expected to ace this proverbial test with no real effort. She had not expected to find five ponies that thawed her heart and she certainly had not expected to find friendship.
Twilight felt another pang of sadness as she realized that, had she tried, she could have found ten times the amount of friends in Canterlot. Sure, they might not have been bearers of Elements of Harmony. Sure, they might not have been laws-of-physics breaking, fashion designing, apple farming, animal caring, egotistical weather-controlling barrels of fun, but they would have been something.
They wouldn’t have been as good, a small voice whispered in Twilight’s mind. It’s better this way. Your friends from Ponyville are the best anypony could ask for. She gave a miniscule nod. Those five back in Ponyville really were the best friends a pony could ask for.
Which is why they remained cheerful and supportive as Twilight sheepishly told them that she had received a private summons to the Royal Palace. The letter was still something of an enigma to Twilight, no matter how many times she read it.
To My Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle,
I hope this letter finds you in good humor. It has been a long while since I have seen you in person, almost too long. While your weekly letters do a splendid job of describing your experiences in the magic of friendship, I feel that we are long overdue for a meeting in person. Therefore, I would like to invite you to the Palace, for I have something I would like to ask of you.
In the interest of security, both personal and national, I’m afraid I have to exclude any details that would give away what I’m going to ask of you, but be assured that the opportunity will be extremely valuable both in terms of worldly experience and sources of knowledge.
Please respond to this letter as soon as you receive it. I will eagerly await your reply, and will send transportation should you decide to accept my summons.
Yours truly,
Princess Celestia
Twilight had sent her reply quickly, agreeing to the summons but denying the offer of transportation. She had recently been feeling guilty about the privileges that being the protégé of the most powerful pony in Equestria granted her, and didn’t want to showcase her status.
Of course, Twilight had no solid, tangible evidence to support her suspicions that her friends were feeling jealous of her. It was more of a feeling, a hunch that squirmed in her gut every time her allowance from the National Treasury arrived, or every time a special order from the Palace came in, free of charge. They would never show it, but Twilight felt that her friends suffered from jealousy every time her privileged stature came to light.
So Twilight had informed the princess that she would be making her own way to Canterlot, conjuring an excuse that she needed to replenish some supplies that could only be found in the capitol city.
In hindsight, perhaps this wasn’t a good idea after all, she thought idly. The rain had gotten heavier, and was now chilling Twilight to the bone. She shivered and shook herself as hard as she could, in an attempt to dispel some of the water clinging to her coat.
“Hey.”
Twilight looked up and saw an earth pony drawing an empty taxi carriage. He had a cheap looking oil slicker on, and a strange light gleamed in his eyes.
“Yes?” Twilight responded slowly.
“You look like you’re freezing,” the earth pony noted, flashing Twilight a toothy grin. “Would you like a ride?”
Twilight’s eyes narrowed. Canterlot taxi drivers were a notorious bunch, infamous for overcharging their patrons whenever they could get away with it. There were also several filed reports of violence concerning taxi drivers, usually resulting from their patrons refusing to pay an inflated price.
“No, thank you,” Twilight replied in her most sincere and timid voice. “I’d rather walk.”
“Come on,” the taxi driver said, smile shrinking. He began to slowly walk towards the lavender unicorn. “I’ll take you wherever you need to go.”
“No, it’s quite alright,” Twilight slowly began to back away from the approaching earth pony.
The taxi driver’s smile vanished, only to be replaced with a snarl. “I need money!” he shrieked, shrugging out of the taxi car’s harness and launching himself at Twilight.
Twilight’s horn erupted with a purple glow and the taxi driver froze in midair, wrapped in Twilight’s magic.
“Put me down! Put me down!” the taxi driver kicked and flailed, attempting to break free of his bonds. After a few seconds of the fruitless attempt, the taxi driver’s expression turned pleading. “D-Don’t hurt me, miss! I’m just trying to feed myself and my family!”
It was at that point Twilight knew she had been around Fluttershy too long. Kindness seeped into Twilight’s heart. She shook her head, positive that the taxi driver had no family of the sort, but floated ten bits out of her saddlebag anyway.
“I’m going to let you down now,” Twilight said, “and these are yours, okay? But don’t try and attack me again, and don’t try to follow me.” The unicorn’s eyes narrowed. “Or you will regret it. Am I clear?”
The taxi driver’s eyes had been affixed to the bits ever since they had came into view, and nodded hurriedly when Twilight was finished speaking. “Yes ma’am, thank you ma’am.”
With a sigh, Twilight floated the earth pony down to the ground next to his carriage and released him from her magic. The bits floated over to the pony’s outstretched hooves, and disappeared into his own saddlebags. With a cheery whistle, he slipped on his harness and began making his way down the street.
“Twilight Sparkle,” another voice announced from behind her. “A crazed taxi driver tries to mug and rob you, and you let him off with a warning and ten bits.” Twilight whirled around to see a grinning dark red unicorn stallion with obsidian-colored mane behind her.
“Black Cherry!” Twilight smiled and wrapped the stallion in a hug. “I haven’t seen you in such a long time!”
“Almost two years, in fact,” Black Cherry replied, returning the hug.
“What are you doing out here?” Twilight asked, ushering them close to the line of buildings on the street to try and get them out of the rain.
“Well, I happened to see an attractive young unicorn in distress outside of my coffee shop,” Black Cherry said lazily, inspecting on of his hooves, “so I decided to see if my assistance was needed.”
“Wait a minute,” Twilight looked at her friend with wide eyes. “Your coffee shop? Two years ago, you were just a simple barista! You own the place now?”
“Yup,” Black Cherry replied with a grin, waving a hoof at the sign over the two ponies’ heads. It read Enchanting Grounds: Coffee to Enchant the Soul.
“Wow,” Twilight grinned at her friend. “I’m impressed. You always were the little entrepreneur.”
Black Cherry was the only exception to Twilight’s unofficial ‘no friends from Canterlot’ rule. They met two years ago in a coffee house that he was working in. It had been a particularly long day for Twilight, so she had arrived at the coffee house in a foul mood. No matter how rude she was to Black Cherry, though, he remained all smiles and jokes, and eventually cheered Twilight right up. They sat and talked over several steaming cups of the bitter liquid (several of which were on the house) for hours, getting to know each other.
Twilight discovered that Black Cherry’s entire family was in the coffee business. “We all have cutie marks with coffee involved,” he explained with a casual smile, “so it’s no surprise that we’re all in the business somehow.” He had an uncle down in the Southernmost part of Equestria, growing and harvesting the coffee beans, several brothers and sisters maintaining coffee houses in both Fillydelphia and Manehatten, and his parents were employed in the Palace itself. He even showed Twilight his own cutie mark, shifting his work uniform slightly to reveal the small coffee cup with two pitch black cherries leaning against the side.
“As for me,” he concluded, “I got hired here, trying to make my way in the world. It isn’t the best pay in the world, but hey, it’s money in my pockets.”
Twilight had entered that coffee shop in a foul mood, but left in high spirits; and, perhaps more importantly, with a new friend.
“Yeah, I’m a big bad business owner now,” Black Cherry’s voice yanked Twilight back into the present.
“’Big bad’?” Twilight asked, her head titled sideways in puzzlement.
“Well, if you believe the labor unions, that is. All business owners are bad, according to them,” Black Cherry said with a snort. “We’re fortunate Princess Celestia is a wise leader. She gives little say to these extremist unioners.”
Twilight nodded.
“What brings you to Canterlot, anyway?” Black Cherry asked, a quizzical look in his eye. Twilight opened her mouth to respond, but Black Cherry cut her off. “Actually, why don’t you come inside? It’s raining and you’re positively shivering.”
Ignoring her meek protests, Black Cherry dragged Twilight through the doors of his coffee house and off the wind-swept streets.
The smell that hit Twilight was unbelievably delicious. The scent of coffee (what else?) drifted on the air, mixed with hints of caramel, chocolate, and vanilla. The occasional scent of a delicious fruit would make itself known, and Twilight found herself attempting to identify the fruit each time it happened.
The interior of the coffee bar matched the delicious smell. The Canterlot coffee house norm of high tables and chairs was absent from Enchanting Grounds, and Black Cherry had instead opted to spread a few dozen scarlet cushions around on the floor. There were several extremely short tables around the cushions for the drinks of the patrons. There was also a slight gleam on the floor.
“What sort of spell is that?” Twilight asked, examining the gleam closely.
Black Cherry chuckled. “It’s of my own design. It’s made to catch and liquid that comes within two inches of the enchanted surface, evaporating it quickly. That’s why it smells so good in here; we have the occasional good-natured prank of customers buying coffee just to dump it on the floor and watch it vanish before their eyes.”
“Amazing,” Twilight breathed. “Is the enchantment on the cushions, too?”
“Sort of. I had to alter it slightly, in order to account for the dynamic surface that the cushions have. They merely reflect the liquid to the floor, where the enchantment there does its thing. Of course,” a sly look gleamed in Black Cherry’s eyes, “if the customers spill their coffee on themselves, there’s nothing I can do about it.”
Twilight giggled, resuming her inspection of the coffee house. The walls were painted a soft grey, with scarlet accents around the corners. It was a very cozy place, with simply light fixtures hanging from the ceiling. Behind the bar, two unicorns worked their magic on the various machines, brewing up coffee and taking orders from snippy high-class ponies.
The last thing Twilight noticed how crowded the place was. There were, of course, the snooty upper-class ponies, dressed in their fine accoutrements and sipping at their coffees while gossiping about trivial things. There were the artists, dressed in their tight black sweaters and their classy berets affixed on their heads.
And, of course, there were the ponies like Twilight, seeking refuge from the torrential downpour.
“Pick a seat,” Black Cherry waved a hoof at the floor. “I’ll be with you in a minute.”
Twilight nodded, scanning the floor for available cushions. An unoccupied pair sat in a corner, so Twilight meandered over, settling herself down comfortably. As she did, she couldn’t help but overhear most of the gossip floating around in the café.
“Did you hear? Princess Luna has a possible love interest!”
Two mares were huddled together, speaking loudly in comically hushed voices.
“Scandalous!”
“Absolutely!” the first one gushed. “We might actually have a true queen for once, instead of just princesses!”
“There’s nothing wrong with our princesses,” the second one pointed out.
The first one waved a hoof dismissively. “That’s hardly the point. It would be the talk of the town!”
Rolling her eyes, Twilight picked up on another thread of gossip. This one was of a very different nature.
“I heard that there’s going to be war on the continent somewhere,” an earth stallion said in hushed tones.
“You don’t say,” a second stallion replied.
“It’s true,” a third one pitched in. “There’s a kingdom out there somewhere that has been troubled recently, with some very shady happenings and dissent among its outlying population.”
“But it’s all very hush hush,” the first stallion added. “Nopony seems to know where this kingdom is, let alone who runs it.”
“Do you think the princesses have noticed?” the second stallion asked.
“Hard to say,” the third stallion said sagaciously, nodding. “Though, if the kingdom were to present itself as a threat to Equestria, you can bet your flank that the Princesses would descend upon them with a vengeance.”
“Not to mention the Equestrian Air Force,” the first stallion added.
“We have an air force?” the second stallion asked.
“Of course we do,” the first replied with a hint of annoyance. “It’s our best branch of the military. We have ground forces, too, but they’re not as impressive as our air force. It’s led by the Wonderbolts themselves, you know.”
The third one nodded. “Absolutely.”
The second stallion shifted nervously. “I’d rather not descend into warfare, though. We’ve been in a golden age for a thousand years.”
“That just means we’re due for one,” the first stallion muttered darkly. The other two shivered, taking copious gulps of their drinks.
Twilight lost interest in the conversation as it turned to mares. (“Okay, so who would you buck, who would you marry, and who would you kill?”) Her mind was spinning with what she just heard. War? Trouble abroad?
The lavender unicorn frowned. Equestria hadn’t been through a major war in over a thousand years. In the last thousand, the only military activity that Equestria had been engaged in were simple border patrol skirmishes, and even they saw very little action.
A third strand of gossip broke through the dull curtain of white noise.
“I hear that Princess Celestia’s protégé is back in town,” a snobby-sounding unicorn mare muttered.
“Yeah, I heard she’s on “official royal business”,” another one pitched in.
“What a privileged bitch,” a third one added, drawing giggles from the other two.
“No kidding. Who does she think she is, getting all the attention from the Princess? We’ve lived in Canterlot all our lives, going to every boring social gathering, knowing everypony worth knowing. We certainly didn’t pack our bags to go live in some backwater hovel of a town.”
Anger and humiliation rose up in Twilight, and she felt her cheeks turn a bright red.
“She’s probably some arrogant, snobby bitch, too.”
Her anger continued to rise, ballooning to fill her like one of Pinkie Pie’s bakery creations.
“I bet she doesn’t have any friends.”
Twilight deflated, all the anger rushing out of her in one big whoosh. She shrank back into the cushion, trying to hide from the world. IT felt as if everypony’s eyes were now upon her, judging her for being what she was.
Of course, nopony was looking at her; nopony except for Black Cherry, who was gazing at the lavender unicorn with concern. His ears flicked in the direction of the three gossiping mares and, with a decidedly angry glint in his eyes, made his way over to their triage.
“I hope you mares had a wonderful time in my café,” he said, voice positively dripping with scathing sarcasm, “but your patronage is no longer welcome here.”
One of the three snorted. “We’re paying customers, pal. You can’t kick us out.”
“Watch me,” he replied coolly. His horn began to glow a soft red as the doors to the café swung open. With a fluid movement, he wrapped the protesting mares in his magic all at once and heaved them out the doors.
The three landed face first in a puddle, splashing mucky water all over their fine dresses. One of the three looked back, sputtering, “You’ll be hearing from my father about this!”
“Looking forward to it,” Black Cherry replied.
SLAM! The crimson unicorn shut the door with a bang, only to notice that every customer was now looking at him curiously.
He shrugged. “They were insulting a very close friend of mine. Bad choice on their part.”
Murmurs of agreement rose from the patrons as they all devoted their attentions back to their drinks and company.
Still muttering curses, Black Cherry levitated two drinks off of the front counter and brought them over to the cushions that Twilight was still hiding under.
“Twilight…”
“You don’t think I’m a bitch, do you?” Twilight asked, peeking out from her hiding place.
“What a silly question. Of course I don’t,” Black Cherry replied firmly, floating one of the drinks over to the mare.
Twilight sat up, wiping the tears that had sprung to her eyes away. “Thanks, Cherry. I owe you.”
“Nonsense,” the crimson stallion waved a hoof. “Just like old times, right?”
“Right,” Twilight smiled, taking a sip of her drink. It was a warm, creamy drink with hints of hazelnut and vanilla swirling around in it. Two black cherries hung on the lip of the cup. “This is really good.”
“I’m glad you like it,” Black Cherry replied with a warm smile. “So, what brings you to Canterlot?”
Twilight floated the letter from the Princess out of her saddle bag, pushing it across the table to Black Cherry. “Summons. Princess Celestia wishes to include me in something, but wouldn’t say any more than that.
Black Cherry quickly scanned through the letter, whistling with amazement. “Not only are you in regular contact with each other, but the Princess has something to offer you and writes to you with this level of familiarity? You’re a special unicorn, Twilight.”
Images of the three unicorn mares flashed in Twilight’s mind as she looked at her hooves. “Yeah… special…”
“Hey, now, don’t make it sound so bad,” Black Cherry lifted Twilight’s head with a tender hoof. “You’ve earned your way into your position through hard work and diligence. You didn’t have to bribe anyone, and you didn’t leave it to your parents to do it for you. That makes you a much better pony than most ponies in this town.”
“Thank you, Cherry,” Twilight sighed and smiled at the stallion. “You really know how to cheer a girl up.”
“Speaking of which,” Black Cherry leaned back, a mischievous light dancing in his eyes, “how’s the, uh, love life going for you, hmm?”
A huge blush erupted over Twilight’s face. “I-I don’t really h-have a love life…”
“Oh, come on,” Black Cherry grinned, sticking a cherry stem in his mouth and chewing on it thoughtfully. “The way I see it, an attractive young mare like you that is extraordinarily gifted mentally…” the stallion surveyed Twilight quickly, “Not to mention gifted physically, too, would be drowning in confessions of love and affection.”
Twilight choked on the swig of drink she had just taken, face turning beet red. Physical?! “N-no, none of that stuff has happened…”
Black Cherry frowned. “What, are there no single stallions in Ponyville that have a good pair of eyes?”
“I-it’s not that…”
“Do you just not make yourself available?”
“N-no…”
A flash of insight sparked in Black Cherry’s eyes as he said, “Ah, so you like mares, is that it?”
“Eep!” Twilight buried her face in her hooves, much to the delight of the crimson stallion, who roared with laughter.
“I knew it!” he squealed. “Don’t feel bad, Twilight. Plenty of respectable mares roll that way.” His eyes flashed mischievously again. “I’ve even heard of a few Princesses that might have dabbled in that field.”
“Eep!”
~*~*~*~
Two drinks and several embarrassing sounds later, Twilight departed the café with a wave and a promise.
“Promise you’ll at least try to visit me every once in a while,” Black Cherry implored. “It does get so lonely up here. This place needs a feminine touch, even if she is a lesbian.”
After recovering from her ferocious blush, Twilight promised that she would. A chuckling Black Cherry draped an oiled raincoat onto her back, saying that it wouldn’t do to have the Princess’s pride and joy catch a cold on the way to see her.
“After all, if this is as important as the letter indicated, you’ll need to be in tip-top shape, right?”
Well, how could she say no to that? Twilight made her way down the street, black slicker clinging to her body. It felt alien to be dressed in something like this, but it beat being soaked to the bone.
It was around five in the afternoon when Twilight finally arrived at the palace entrance.
“Halt,” two armed and armored guards crossed their halberds in front of the door, barring her entrance. “State your name and business in the palace.”
“Twilight Sparkle,” she answered firmly, “answering a summons from Princess Celestia herself.”
“Please wait while we verify that, Miss Sparkle,” the guard’s words were firm, but his eyes were apologetic. “I’m sorry you have to go through this every time, Twilight, but rules are rules.”
Twilight smiled at the guard. “It’s okay, Brighthooves. I can save you the trouble, anyway.” She floated out the letter from Celestia, unwrapped it, and presented the guard with the royal seal on the bottom.
“Yes, that’s the official seal,” Brighthooves said happily. “Have a nice visit, Twilight.” He and the other guard uncrossed their halberds, allowing Twilight entrance.
“You too, Brighthooves,” Twilight replied, and pushed the doors to the palace open.
