Chapter Three

The train ground to a halt, breaks squealing. Misty Moonrise jerked awake, flattening her ears against the awful screech. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked out the window. Outside was the Ponyville train station, with ponies disembarking and boarding. She must have slept through the whole journey.

As Misty quickly made her way off the train, a tall pegasus stallion in violet armor trimmed with gold greeted her. His breastplate sported the magenta star of the Princess of Friendship. Under the armor, his coat was mahogany, and his mane and tail were the color of aged ivory. Though shadowed by his helm, the guard’s eyes were leafy green, and on his flank was a gleaming silver shield.

The pegasus guard abruptly laughed. “Have you forgotten me already, Misty Moonrise? Here.” He removed his helm, letting his short mane fall messily over his face. “Remember me now?”

Misty gaped in astonishment. “Steel Shield!” She threw her forelegs around him in a tight hug, which he returned heartily. “What are you doing here?” she asked. “And when did you get so big?”

Steel Shield laughed again. “I hit a growth spurt the summer after I moved away from Brumbyburg. Now I’m part of Princess Twilight Sparkle’s new Royal Guard. ‘Sir Steel Shield’—it has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?”

“I suppose it does,” Misty replied. Then she remembered why she was in Ponyville at all and looked up at her old foalhood friend seriously. “Did Princess Luna send a letter ahead of my arrival?”

Sobering, Steel nodded. “Yes, but she didn’t say anything about why you were coming.” He paused, waiting for an explanation.

Misty averted her gaze and shuffled her hooves. “I can’t tell you, at least not yet. I need to speak with Princess Twilight first.”

“I understand,” said Steel. He replaced his helm on his head and gestured with a feathered wing. “Follow me.”

Ponyville was a quaint village, not unlike Misty’s own hometown of Brumbyburg. The houses were white-washed, their roofs were woven thatch or tile, and potted ferns and flowers hung outside windows and doors. The streets were packed dirt with a few paving stones every so often, and everywhere green grass rippled in the soft breeze. Some ponies stood at stands selling wares in the market square, while others walked about browsing and chatting. Everypony seemed to know everypony else, all cheery and smiling and laughing. A trio of foals sped across the way in some sort of game, one of the three riding a blue scooter.

“Wait up, Scootaloo!”

“We cain’t get our high-divin’ cutie marks on dry land!”

“Woohoo!”

Misty paused to watch the fillies pass. Soon all three rounded a corner and were lost from view. “What was that about?”

“The Cutie Mark Crusaders,” Steel Shield explained as they started walking again. “You’ll get used to them.”

“The what?”

Before Steel could respond, however, the earth trembled with a great explosion. Ponies fled a café whose windows were pouring smoke and hurtling honey-hued globs. One of the flying globs splashed onto Misty, thick and gooey and smelling of pineapple. She tried to shake the stuff off, but it clung to her like glue. Beside her, Steel Shield tried to withhold his laughter.

“Oh, my goodness!” A sky blue earth pony came running out of the café, teal eyes tight with apology. Her curly mane and tail, magenta striped with teal, were spotted with the same yellow goop that covered Misty. On her flank, almost hidden by another sticky glob, was a sprig of purple juniper berries. “I guess my pineapple soufflé didn’t come out quite right, huh?”

“No, no,” chuckled Steel Shield, bubbling over with mirth. “It looks great! It really brings out her… eyes?”

Misty Moonrise shot him an unamused glare.

“Oh, dear,” the blue mare said. “Here, come with me. I know somepony who can get that off quick as a whistle.”

“Thank you, but I really don’t—” Misty began, but the blue mare started pushing her along from behind.

“No, no, I insist! Lilypad can get that ick out of your mane faster than a speeding breezie! You’ll see. The name’s Juniper Berry, by the way.”

“I really can’t—” Misty tried again, but this time Steel Shield interrupted.

“This is my friend Misty Moonrise,” said he cheerfully. “She’s come all the way from Canterlot.”

“Canterlot!” Juniper Berry bounced up excitedly. “I didn’t know you had any friends in Canterlot, Steel! Oh, we’re here.” She knocked on the door of a hairdresser’s salon.

A white pegasus mare answered. Her pastel gold mane was tied back in a tail, and on her flank was a blooming lily with rosy petals. She swept long-lashed, seafoam eyes over her visitors once and gasped. “My stars! You poor thing! What’s happened to you?” she exclaimed, ushering them inside. She swiftly sat Misty down before a mirror, fluttering her wings and hovering to get a better view of the mess that was Misty’s mane. “Is this your doing, Juniper?”

Juniper Berry giggled and licked some of the yellow goop from one of her curls. “Yep! This is Steel’s friend from Canterlot. Misty Moonrise, this is Lilypad.”

“I’m sorry, but I really can’t waste time. I need to—” Misty began.

Lilypad was not listening. “Oh, dear, dear,” she muttered over and over again. She finally seemed to settle on a strategy and whisked Misty off behind a standing screen. A clamor of whirring, squirting, squelching, stretching, and all sorts of other noises soon ensued.

Juniper Berry finished licking up the last of the pineapple soufflé from herself and turned to Steel Shield. “So what’s Misty Moonrise doing way out here in Ponyville?”

“She’s here to see Princess Twilight Sparkle,” Steel replied.

The ruckus from behind the screen abruptly ceased, and Lilypad shot into the air above it. “The princess?!” she exclaimed. She quickly shoved the screen aside, revealing Misty Moonrise wholly free of soufflé goop, with her usually untidy mane and tail strung up and braided with colorful ribbons and elaborately arranged. “You’re here to see the princess?!” Lilypad went on excitedly, grasping Misty’s face with both fore hooves.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell everypony,” Misty sighed, exasperated. “I’ve been sent here by Princess Luna to—”

“Princess Luna?!” Lilypad and Juniper Berry gasped simultaneously. The pair began rattling off questions like shrill rapid-fire, overlapping each other to the point that Misty could not understand a word either one of them was saying. She pinned back her ears and squeezed her eyes shut against the chaos. Without thinking, she summoned her magic and wove a spell that would save her from this nightmare.

In a shimmering shower of stardust, Misty Moonrise vanished.

Juniper Berry and Lilypad fell silent and exchanged worried glances.

“Oh, dear,” said Lilypad, crestfallen. “I think we frightened her off.”

“And after the first mess I made…” added Juniper, ears drooping. “Some welcome to Ponyville.”

Steel Shield sighed. He should have known something like this would happen. “I’ll talk to her,” he said, starting for the door.

“Will you tell her that we’re sorry?” asked Juniper. Lilypad nodded in agreement with the sentiment.

“Yeah,” Steel assured them. “Don’t worry.”

*

When Misty opened her eyes, she was mercifully alone. She released a relieved sigh, but, moreover, she was surprised with herself—that was the first time she had ever performed that transportation spell. Then Misty Moonrise looked up at whatever had become of her mane. With a tendril of magic and a shake of her head, she freed both her mane and tail from the ribbons and braids. She felt a twinge of regret as her hair returned to its normal disheveled state—Lilypad had worked hard to get the soufflé out of it and to style it. And Juniper Berry had not meant for her pineapple soufflé to explode all over Ponyville and Misty.

I’ll find them and apologize, but later, she promised herself. Right now, there are more important matters at stake. Misty scanned the area to orient herself and found the tree she had appeared behind was no ordinary tree. As she walked around to the front, her eyes grew wide with wonder.

The violet castle stood resolute and glistening among the crystalline branches of an enormous tree much like the Tree of Harmony. The sunlight was reflected lavender, blue, and pink as it bounced off the tree’s innumerable facets. The tiles of the tower roofs gleamed golden, and a great flag bearing the crest of the Princess of Friendship fluttered in the breeze. Strands of rainbow crystals hung from the two balconies and many crystal boughs, and upon the tallest spire glittered a great crystal star. A flight of stairs led up to a two-leaved door, which was flanked on either side by lancet windows. A pair of Royal Guards in the same gold-trimmed violet armor as Steel Shield stood at attention on either side of the stair.

Misty Moonrise gathered her wits and approached the grand castle. The guards glanced at her, but allowed her to pass without a fuss. The great doors swung inward to admit her, and Misty had to glance back before she realized the unicorn of the two guards had used his magic to open the door for her. After a brief word of thanks to the guard, Misty entered the castle.

The interior was just as magnificent as the outside, with high ceilings, long rugs in a rich rainbow of colors, and a grand marble stair that split into two flights leading to the upper levels. Crystalline scrollwork columns lined the walls, and between them were soft green-glassed lancet windows depicting leafy geometric trees. From above were strung twinkling gems that glowed warmly like lanterns with lights all their own. Streaming sunlight illuminated every nook and cast shafts of rainbows across the regal halls. A few ponies from the village were about, as well as a sprinkling of Royal Guards, but the corridors were empty for the most part.

As Misty stood there wondering where exactly to look for Princess Twilight’s throne room, a small purple dragon with green spines and emeralds for eyes walked up to her. In his claws he carried a scroll bearing Princess Luna’s seal.

“Hello,” said the dragon pleasantly. “You must be Misty Moonrise.”

Misty nodded. “I have urgent news for the princess.”

“This way.” The dragon bowed and led the way up the grand stairs and through the halls. He glanced over Princess Luna’s letter as they walked. “Hmm. Princess Luna doesn’t say why you’re here. What news do you have for Twilight?”

“I’m sorry, but I must speak with the princess first,” Misty replied, beginning to feel like a broken record.

The purple dragon paused at a great two-leaved door and turned to regard Misty Moonrise curiously. “You know, you remind me of Twilight when we first came to Ponyville.”

Misty was unsure what to make of that. “Is that a good thing?”

The dragon shrugged. “Depends on how you look at it, I guess.” Then he turned the knob and pushed the door inward.

The chamber they entered was wide and round, ringed by windows of soft green glass and walls of crystal. At the head of the room was the tallest window, whose olivine glass depicted the same leafy tree of geometric design as adorned the other castle windows. In a circle at the room’s center were seven thrones, six of which bore the marks of those to whom they belonged: three pink butterflies, a cloud and rainbow lightning bolt, three blue and yellow balloons, three blue gems, three red apples, and a magenta six-point star. Beside the princess’s throne was the seventh seat, smaller and just the right size for the pleasant purple dragon. Before the thrones was a raised dais, upon which rested a crystalline star to match the one that kept vigil atop the castle’s tallest spire.

Six ponies inhabited the throne room. One hovered lazily in the air high above—a sky blue pegasus with rainbows for her mane and tail and magenta eyes. Another pegasus sat on a throne, with a pale yellow coat, flowing pink hair, cyan eyes, and a white rabbit perched atop her head. The third mare, a light pink earth pony with wild, dark pink curls and bright blue eyes, was practically bouncing off the walls. The fourth—an orange earth pony with straw-colored mane and tail tied off simply at the ends, a brown rodeo hat, and determined green eyes—was trying desperately to calm the third. The fifth was a white unicorn with dark purple hair elegantly curled, and she was watching the progress of the orange mare with worried sapphire eyes. The last mare sat upon her throne, but was so surrounded by stacks of books that it was hard to see more than the tips of her ears.

The pink mare suddenly froze, spying the dragon and Misty. Then she began hopping in place. “They’re here! They’re here!”

The other ponies followed their energetic friend’s gaze.

“About time,” said the blue pegasus, swooping down and alighting on her seat.

The white unicorn tsked disapprovingly. “Don’t be so rude, Rainbow Dash. And Pinkie Pie, could you be a dear and please calm down just a smidge now?”

Pinkie Pie grinned and nodded, returning to her own seat.

“Landsakes!” exclaimed the orange mare as she trotted over to Misty and the dragon. “I thought she’d never stop! I reckon you’re Misty Moonrise. Name’s Applejack, an’ this here’s Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, an’ I reckon ya already met Spike.” She gestured to everypony as she named them. Then Applejack realized the seventh member of their company was still buried behind her books. “An’ that there bookworm’s Twilight Sparkle,” she said, loud enough to be heard by the pony in question.

The violet alicorn’s head popped up from the stacks of books, dark purple eyes blinking curiously at the mention of her name. Then she saw Misty and quickly enveloped her books in her magenta magic, setting them aside in neat stacks. Without the books hiding her, Misty could see her feathered wings and rose-and-purple-striped navy mane and tail. The princess was not wearing her royal crown, however.

Misty bowed respectfully as the princess approached her. “Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

“Please,” Twilight said, motioning for Misty to rise, “there’s no need to be so formal. Just ‘Twilight’ is fine.”

“Princess,” Misty repeated, “I have news of the utmost importance. Queen—”

“There you are!”

Misty ground her teeth in frustration as Steel Shield trotted up from behind her. The Tree of Harmony was going to be poisoned by the Queen of the Changelings and all Equestria invaded, and all anypony seemed to do in this place was cut Misty off!

“I thought I’d lost you,” said Steel Shield. “I wish you wouldn’t run off like that, Misty. The girls were worried they’d scared you off.”

“Do you know each other?” asked Twilight Sparkle.

“Oh, yes. We’re old foalhood friends.”

Misty Moonrise angrily stamped a fore hoof and shouted, “Queen Chrysalis has returned!”

The silence that fell upon the whole room was deafening. After a moment, Twilight turned to Steel Shield and said, “Wait outside please. Don’t let anypony disturb us.”

Steel glanced worriedly at Misty, but then saluted his princess and retreated. He closed the door firmly behind him.

Twilight returned her attention to Misty. “Tell us everything.”