A Herd of my Own

by Dafaddah

Rating: everyone
Tags: Spike, Slice of Life, Twilight Sparkle, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Comedy, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Mayor Mare
Length: 20433

It's good to be a princess... or is it? Twilight was feeling pretty good about the whole princess deal, until T-Wreck came along.

Twilight was doing the best she could to become a princess of which everypony could be proud. With only a few teensy little bouts of self-doubt, she was hitting the books like a pro, learning the ropes from the elder princesses, and easing into the job at a cautious, steady pace. Steady, that is, until a certain power-obsessed centaur threw all of her timetables and checklists into the air – along with most of her house.

So with T-wreck now back in the slammer, all she and Spike have to do is get used to living in a new house castle as well as cope with changed circumstances, responsibilities and expectations. Easy-peasy, right?

The events of this story happen in parallel to and intersect with events in Outland, although each story can be read independently.

Published 2015-01-04 17:40:03 UTC
Last updated 2017-07-09 02:58:57 UTC

Changing Perspectives

A Herd of my Own

by
Dafaddah

Chapter one: Changing Perspectives

Edited by Sharp Logic, Microshazm and Mythee

Princess Twilight Sparkle was in her bedroom, planning her very first summer solstice celebration in her brand new Friendship Rainbow Kingdom. She sat immobile in front of her vanity and sighed. It wasn't going well.

"Hey, Twi," said a familiar voice. She glanced over her shoulder to see Spike peeking around the door jam that led to his own rarely slept-in bedroom. He tried to put on a cheerful expression, but she could easily read the concern in his eyes. "Why the long face?"

"Oh, hi, Spike." She gestured for the little dragon to come closer. He waddled over quickly. When he got close enough she encircled his small frame in a tight hug. Only briefly surprised, he hugged her back.

"Do you miss it?" she asked.

"Miss what?"

"The tree. Our old house." She sighed deeply again.

Biting his lip, he gazed up at her face for a long moment, then stepped back. "This isn't just about the tree, is it?"

Twilight's eyes grew wide, and nodded hesitantly. “I guess it isn’t.” She smiled abruptly as she realized something. Spike raised an eyebrow at the sudden change of expression.

“Tell me, when did my number one assistant become so perceptive?” she asked. Her smile faded and her horn glowed as she floated her golden tiara from where it sat much of the time, a foam ponykin head on her dresser, onto her own head. The weight of it still bothered her. It made her feel as if she always had to keep her head straight. She’d already managed to drop it several times when, distracted by ponies or events, she’d looked down, or sideways, or even up at the sky. She stared at the purple princess in the mirror.

“No, this is not just about our old house. This is about how everything has changed, including us.”

Spike pulled a small hoof-stool next to the vanity and hopped up onto it. He sat down, his short legs swinging. “Hmm. Sounds serious.” His head tilted to one side. “So, I take it that you’re not satisfied with how some things have worked out. Is there anything in particular buggin’ ya?”

Her eyes flicked left and right, as if searching for something on her vanity. “It’s just that... I feel like we had just gotten settled in Ponyville! I was really enjoying being friends with the girls, being a part of the town, getting to know ponies, and fitting in. I mean, I’m no Pinkie Pie but I was making friends, and then...” She lowered her head.

“And then?” echoed Spike.

Twilight heaved another sigh. “And then the Crystal Empire, my ascension, the coronation” – her withers drooped – “the whole princess thing, Tirek, and finally, our house." At some point the dam broke. Her tears plopped as they struck the vanity’s glass surface.

“I’ve never felt like I belonged somewhere the way I did when I lived and worked in that tree, Spike! I... I never even wanted to be a part of community that way before. I had a place, we had a place, and so many ponies were so close to us. We were really part of this town, and now –” she turned her head towards the large windows, Ponyville visible through the translucent curtains “– we live in a castle, and they bow when they see me coming. I feel like everypony is so far away again.”

Spike jumped onto the vanity and put his arms around Twilight.

Twilight turned her head back towards him, but couldn't quite look him in the face. “You were so scared and sad when you saw that the tree was gone, and now you get nightmares about it, and... Oh, Spike, I feel like I really let you down! I’m so sorry.”

Spike grabbed a hair brush that lay on the vanity's glass top. Pursing his lips he eyed Twilight and then idly began brushing her mane. "You know you need to take your grooming more seriously now, Princess Dorkle." He'd taken to calling her that whenever Twilight had one of her 'moments', and it never failed to make her smile. This time she could only muster a smirk.

"There. That's better!" he said smugly. “Now Rarity won’t go into shock when she sees you out and about.” Nevertheless, he still continued brushing her mane. Her facial features relaxed as she leaned into the soothing motion.

“So, Spike. Is this what Rarity has you do on all those visits to the Carousel Boutique?”

The dragon blushed. “Social grooming is a mammal thing,” he replied with exaggerated haughtiness, while taking even strokes.

He continued in a more normal voice. “From my perspective, Twilight, you didn't let anypony down! Sure it was really scary to lose our home that way. Sometimes I dream about the old library and I feel sad when I wake up,” – he glanced at his sleeping basket, located even closer to Twilight's bed than it was in the old house – "but this place isn’t so bad, in fact it’s pretty cool. And if some of your friends in Ponyville like to make a fuss over you being a princess now, well, that’s just them having a bit of fun. Nothing important has really changed. Heck, the girls haven’t changed at all. And as to the ponies in town, even some of the ones who used to call you a weirdo kinda like having a princess of their very own.”

“Who’s calling Twilight a weirdo?” a familiar voice piped up intimately close.

Twilight and Spike's eyes popped wide open as they turned their heads in unison and found themselves muzzle-to-muzzle-to-snout in a three way hug with Pinkie Pie.

"How does she do that?" asked Spike.

"I dunno, Spike,” replied Twilight. “Being a princess doesn’t give me a free peek into the deep secrets of the universe, and Pinkie's a subject Celestia’s always very reluctant to discuss."

"Ooh! I know all sorts of stuff about me that most ponies don't!" contributed the pink mare in a bubbly voice. "Maybe we could gossip about me sometime!" She raised a single eyebrow while lowering her head and voice. "I hear I've been spotted hanging around the castle today, but I can't be sure 'cause I got it second hoof."

Twilight and Spike looked at each other then turned in unison again to Pinkie Pie.

"I think we can confirm the rumour, Pinks," affirmed Spike.

"Yeah," said Twilight. A smile replaced the gloom on her face. "Pinkie, don't ever change."

“Well, duh, how could I when I’m always different!?” replied the pink mare. She scrunched her face up. “To change I’d have to stay the same every day, and that would be boooor-ring!”

Spike’s mouth opened, but it clapped shut again, wisely deciding against asking Pinkie to explain her assertions.

“So,” said Pinkie. “How about we go get some hay fries and shakes at the Hay Burger? At this time of day there’ll be tons of ponies there, and maybe we can find somepony else eager to gossip about me!”

Twilight nodded twice and stood up. “Okay! Spike, hop on, we’re going out for a snack!”

“Awesome, Twi!” said Spike with a grin that split his head ear-to-ear. He jumped onto Twilight's back.

She led the trio from her chambers with a spring in her step and pretended not to notice the winks Pinkie and Spike exchanged behind her back. Spike was right, she thought. The important things haven’t changed!

As usual, the Hay Burger was close to jam packed when Spike, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight arrived. There were two lines leading up to the cash registers that took customers’ orders. Since he went in first, Spike chose the shorter line to the left. Pinkie and Twilight followed. Spike scanned the restaurant. He always enjoyed the energetic bustle of the place, as well as the cheesy decor. The white tile, chrome and red vinyl reminded him of Pony Joe's, recalling many of his best memories of Canterlot. And the hay fries, of course! He smacked his lips in anticipation, and then swallowed as he noticed that every eye in the restaurant was turned towards them.

When Twilight had been here previously with the Cutie Mark Crusaders nopony had paid her much attention. This time things were noticeably different. First off, everypony in the restaurant, without exception, stopped whatever they were doing and bowed to Twilight. She was still sputtering for everypony to rise when the shift manager galloped out of the kitchen and skidded to a halt in front of her.

“Greetings, Your Majesty,” said the bright green stallion, bowing low. His shaggy brown mane was barely contained by a regulation Hay Burger billed cap. “We’ve been anticipating your return, and have your table ready!” He gestured with a hoof, directing their attention to a table with a bench and two chairs. It was covered with a white tablecloth, silverware and even a golden candelabra. Just in case somepony didn’t get the picture, there was also a folded card on the table that read Reserved for Her Majesty, Princess Twilight Sparkle.

“Be seated and your waiter will be out momentarily,” he added while shepherding the trio to the table. He galloped back into the kitchen. Less than a second later he stuck his head back out of the door. “And don’t worry, we’ll keep away the riff-raff.” The door slammed shut again.

Seated at the table, Spike peeled his claws away from his face. Twilight was looking downwards with an unreadable expression, and Pinkie Pie’s eyes were wide open in surprise.

“Well,” said Twilight, "so much for rubbing elbows with my fellow residents of Ponyville."

There was a banging sound and the shift manager reappeared next to their table wearing a black tuxedo jacket over his Hay Burger corporate golf shirt. The cap was gone replaced by a black hair net. He had also managed to put on a black bow tie, and held three huge hoof-written menus under his elbow. He presented them each one of the menus.

Spike opened his up and there was only one item listed: Chateaubriand. He looked at the waiter in confusion. “Where are the hay fries and burgers?”

“Those are only on the common menu, sir. The Royal menu offers Chat...uh, Shat –” he pointed at the menu “– that dish there.”

“But what if we want hay fries and burgers?” asked Spike.

The manager-turned-waiter turned up his snout. "We don't serve such low class fare to royalty, sir." Behind him several of the usual waiters, equally enhanced with black bow ties, busily rolled up rope stands and cordoned off their table from the rest of the restaurant.

“And how long will it take for three orders of Chateaubriand?” asked Spike.

“They should arrive in Ponyville in two or three hours,” replied the manager. He held out a bowl of tiny colored candies. “Mint while you wait?”

Spike looked at Twilight and swallowed. Her eyes were closed, her ears were flat against the back of her head and she had that tremble in her jaw that usually indicated a mare at the edge of a nervous breakdown. This had been bad enough when she was just a unicorn, but he was truly afraid of what colossal damage might result should she lose it as an alicorn. He was just about to suggest they head back to the castle for waffles when Pinkie Pie jumped up onto the table, standing on her hind legs with her forelegs open high and wide.

“I have a great idea!” she shouted to the entire restaurant. The whole whole room froze again. Even Twilight’s ears pricked up as she raised her head to look at her eccentric pink friend.

“Hey everypony! Our princess wants to have a chance to meet every single one of you! So, she and her number one assistant Spike are going to take your orders at the cash registers!”

The shift manager-cum-maitre-d’ visibly blanched. When Spike looked back at Twilight he noticed she was now wearing one of the Hay Burger counter staff uniforms. Looking down at his forelimbs he noticed that so was he!

Pinkie Pie jumped off the table, gathering both Spike and Twilight in her forelegs, and frog-marched them straight through the cordon and past the kitchen door. A moment later they were each standing in front of one of the two cash registers, as ponies joined the line to give their orders.

Twilight locked gazes with him. He shrugged and turned to the first pony in line, a mare accompanied by a little colt. He put on his best smile. “So what can we getcha? Hay Burger? Ya want fries with that? How about a drink?”

He punched-in the mare’s order and gave Twilight a wink. “Say, aren’t you Mrs. Gum, and is that little Peppermint?” he asked the mare, who nodded as she hoofed over her money. “Does Peppermint want to say hello to Princess Twilight?” The little foal smiled shily at Twilight and waved a tiny hoof.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Twilight’s eyebrows rise, followed immediately by her ears. She waved back at the colt.

“Hi, Peppermint,” she said.

The colt shoved his face into his mother’s side, and then peeked in her direction with one eye and smiled.

Twilight turned to the front, grinned, and took her first order.

Soon they were getting to meet every single pony who came into the Hay Burger. Hours flew by in a pleasant blur of fast food and gossip, but then the time came when nopony else showed up to queue.

Pinkie Pie pulled them both into a high-power earth pony hug. “You guys both did great! I’m so proud of of you!” She nuzzled them both and removed their Hay Burger caps. “Maybe next time I’ll let you take a shift behind the counter at Sugarcube Corner. But now it’s time to let the next shift take over.” There was a muffled thud from the kitchen. “Oh, and I guess I should go untie the shift manager before his replacement gets here. Bye!” She disappeared from view as she bounced into the kitchen.

Spike and Twilight locked gazes. “Isn’t it just mindblowing to see how competent Pinkie is at making ponies happy?” he remarked.

Twilight’s response was a dazzling smile. “And how true friends know how to bring you up when you’re feeling down.” She gave him a little peck on the forehead. “Thanks, Spike.” Moving close she bent a foreleg to make a step. “Jeez, you’re practically asleep on on your feet! C’mon up and have a rest while I walk us home.”

With a sigh of relief Spike clambered up onto Twilight’s back. “Thanks, Twi!” Ever since her transformation, the edges of her wings made a rather cosy nest just behind her neck that felt like the safest place in all the world. The familiar sway of her careful steps rocked him gently as they exited the restaurant. Before he noticed how tired he was he had already drifted off to sleep.

On the way back to Friendship Rainbow Castle, Twilight was feeling much better than she had in days. In the relatively peaceful lull of early evening, the trill of Cicadas provided a languorous counterpoint as she clip-clopped through the quieter side-streets of Ponyville. At this time of day most adult ponies were at home preparing dinner. Already, some of them were calling their foals in for supper.

Many of the town’s ponies kept elaborate gardens. Twilight was walking along a particularly tall and bushy hedge. She was about to turn a corner when she heard a mare’s voice.

“Can you imagine? Our princess serving up burgers in a fast food restaurant! What was she thinking?”

Twilight halted.

Another voice chimed in. “It's all that dragon’s doing. He’s been nothing but trouble that one. What’s a dragon doing living with ponies, anyway? The princess treats him like he’s family or something. The whole thing’s unnatural if you ask me.”

“Yeah,” replied the first voice. “She’s supposed to be a princess for us ponies, not dragons!”

Twilight felt her mood shatter. Her anger seethed, and just as she was getting ready to walk around that corner, and give those two a piece of her mind, she heard Spike snore in his sleep.

Her resolve shattered. If she made a fuss then it might wake up Spike, and then she’d have to explain to the little guy why she was so mad. Learning the cause of it would certainly hurt his feelings.

A further consideration made her blush. You’re a princess now! If you come down hard on your subjects just because they say something you don’t like, then you’re no better than a tyrant! she reminded herself. Think, Twilight. What would Princess Celestia do?

Coming to a decision she steeled herself and paced regally around the corner, bringing the mares into view. She recognized them from her frequent trips to the market, but didn't recall ever having been introduced. The one closest to her had a pale yellow coat and a light green mane, with a teapot shaped cutie mark on her flank. The other had the reverse coloration of the first, and as she stood slightly behind the yellow mare Twilight couldn't see her cutie mark. The two mares froze as they were suddenly confronted with the very objects of their gossip.

“Hello ladies,” said Twilight in hushed tones. “Don’t make a fuss just because Spike and I are here. He’s still a baby and he needs his rest.” She beamed down at the sleeping dragon. “It's hard to believe when you see him like this that he's saved everypony in Equestria from the evil King Sombra, and that he prevented thousands of ponies from being horribly crushed to death during the Equestrian Games." The two mares' jaws dropped open, and they focused wide eyes on Spike's sleeping form.

“Ponies in town haven’t seen many of the great things he’s done,” added Twilight. “Did you know that Princess Celestia has even put up a stained-glass window in her throne room to celebrate his heroic achievements?”

The two mares looked at each other. They obviously hadn’t known.

"I’ve raised him from the day he was hatched," whispered Twilight. "He is such an important part of my life, and you know, I wouldn’t be the pony I am today if it weren’t for him.” She looked back towards the mares and smiled. “I guess Princess Celestia must have known what she was doing when she asked me to raise him, don’t you agree?”

Both mares nodded stiffly, and then bowed in silence as Twilight casually resumed her walk down the street.

She smiled to herself. Not bad, for a newbie! She was still smiling when she arrived at the castle.

In the Evening

A Herd of my Own

by
Dafaddah

Chapter two: In the Evening

Edited by Sharp Logic, Microshazm and Mythee

Spike woke up to the rather loud grumblings of his stomach. Twilight tittered at the sound.

“O, great and powerful burger dragon,” she intoned from her balcony window, "I heard your stomach all the way from out here!" Further tittering ensued in higher registers. Obviously Twilight wasn’t alone.

Spike groaned and stretched, then stepped out of his basket. “We must’ve served half a ton of food this afternoon, and I didn’t get to eat so much as a single hay fry!” he groused.

“Well, you most certainly deserve some! I asked Sweetie Belle and her friends to stop by the Hay Burger and pick up some take-out for us.”

“Sweet!” Grinning ear-to-ear, Spike waddled over to the balcony as fast as his little legs could move. He waved as he caught sight of Sweetie, Scoots and Bloom sitting at a round table with Twilight. At its center, a pile of paper-wrapped hay burgers and boxes of fries spilled from a silver platter. China plates and silverware lay ignored in another pile, while empty wrappers showed that the feast was already in full swing before he even woke up.

He hopped up onto the empty chair next to Twilight, grabbing two burgers and a box of fries. Sweetie Belle’s horn glowed and a salt shaker levitated out of an elegant saddle bag leaning against one of the table’s legs.

“Here, Spike.” said Sweetie. “My sister asked me to give this to you.” She batted her eyes at him while the two other Cutie Mark Crusaders oohed, aahed and giggled behind little filly hooves.

Blushing, he examined the shaker. There was a reddish powder inside. His eyes grew big as saucers. “Is that what I think it is?”

“Uh-huhn,” said Sweetie. “It’s ruby dust! Rarity had some extra gems after making an ensemble for Countess Carmine Cantrip, so she ground them up, put the powder in a salt shaker, and asked me to bring it to you, –” she explained, while Spike opened up a burger package and removed the upper bun. He shook a thick layer of the powder onto the hay burger and put the bun back on. Then with a smack of his lips he took a bite. “– saying you shouldn’t put too much on your food because these were all fire rubies.”

Spike chewed, a look of bliss on his face. Then his eyes popped open, his face growing scarlet. Pushing back from the table he turned his head away and opened his mouth wide. A gout of deep red flame shot out a full three ponylengths long. It left a dark scorch mark on the otherwise pristine castle wall.

He stared up at the scoring. “Sorry, Twi!” he said, each word coming out accompanied by a puff of smoke. Of course this only made the girls laugh even louder. Twilight bent over and hugged him with a wing.

“Don’t worry, I’ll fix it,” she said. “That was very sweet of Rarity, wasn’t it Spike?”

He licked his lips as smoke escaped from his mouth and nostrils. “Yeah.” Then he grabbed a glass of water from the table and drank it down in one gulp. Eying the laughing fillies, he tried his best to regain his dignity and turned back towards Sweetie.

“Please tell Lady Rarity that I am truly grateful for her most profound generosity. I will treasure it forever.”

“Or,” said Applebloom, “at least for another four burgers, if you keep puttin’ that much fire ruby dust on ‘em!”

Spike sighed and looked around for some way to change the topic. "Hey Twi, did you order any onion rings?"

The mare's horn glowed and a bag with the Hay Burger logo floated over from a side table. "I saved these just for you."

"Yeah," laughed Scootaloo. "After she ate three from the bag!"

All three fillies must have thought the look on his face was hilarious, because they shook with laughter so hard that they dropped hay fries onto the table and even the balcony floor.

Twilight's cheeks glowed red as she glared at the three. "Hey! It's not nice to rat on your princess!" she said in mock anger.

"It’s okay, Twi," replied Spike with a wink. "I'm happy to share, unlike somepony." He stuck his forked tongue out at Scootaloo.

"Ooh!" said Sweetie with a smirk. "No wonder you get along so well with my sister, you sound just like her!"

The comment actually pleased him, but he certainly wasn’t going to show it to these three. Luckily, Twilight decided to come to his rescue.

“By the way, Applebloom,” she asked, “are we still on for that visit to Zecora's tomorrow morning?”

“Ayyup!” said the filly. “She told me she’d have something real special that was real hard to git. I cain’t wait to see what it is!”

“Wow!” Twilight’s eyebrows rose. “That’s saying something for a mare that gets most of her potions and medicinal supplies from the Everfree!”

“Shore is!” agreed the filly. She looked down at the pile of spent wrappers in front of her and burped loudly, causing Sweetie to look shocked and Scootaloo to laugh. “I guess that’s enough fries fer me. I’d better git home if I wanna finish ma chores before sundown.” She slid out of her chair.

The other Crusaders followed suit. At the entrance to Twilight’s chambers they formed a line, pirouetted in synchronicity, and curtsied very properly to Twilight.

“Good evening, Your Majesty!” they called in unison, and then trotted away in whirlwind of exclamations, gasps and filly laughter.

Spike looked at the pile of remaining burgers. He struck a heroic pose, one claw lifted before his face. “Everydragon needs to believe in something,” he said in his patented fake Marechester accent. “I believe I’ll have another hay burger!” He pulled another sandwich from the pile and was about to take a big bite when he saw a wistful expression on Twilight's face.

"What's the matter, Twi?" he asked.

She sighed. "Them too."

"Them too what?" He put the burger down.

"They're starting to treat me like royalty." She smiled sadly. "It starts like a game, but with every day that passes all this formal stuff just becomes the new normal. Soon, nopony will remember to treat me the way they did before. Like a friend."

Spike put a claw on her forehoof. "I will."

Twilight hugged him tightly. "I thank Celestia every day that you're here with me."

"And I always will be, Twi."

She smiled gently and gave him a peck on the forehead. "That's one promise I won't hold you to. But still, hearing you say it means a lot to me!"

Together they went inside to wash up and have yet another quiet evening of reading all about Twilight's duties as a reigning princess.

In her bedchamber, Twilight snuggled under the covers of her bed listening to Spike’s gentle snores as he slept next to her in his basket. The events of the day kept replaying in her head, as well as feelings of anxiety about the increasing isolation between her and the other residents of Ponyville, and her growing feeling that she might not be able to meet their expectations.

I wonder if Princess Celestia ever had to go through this? she thought. She rolled onto her belly, unable to find comfort in her usual sleeping position on her back. Was she ever not an Alicorn?

The thought of Celestia not being one was vaguely unsettling. It brought to the fore questions about who, or what, came before. Questions that her mentor had always resisted answering.

If she did go through ascension, then was she subject to the same feelings of self-doubt as I am? She breathed slowly in and then out. Even if she had, she also had her sister Luna to share them with, somepony with whom she could talk things out and just be herself.

A glance out her window showed a thin strip of a crescent moon.

At least she did, until she had to banish Luna to the moon.

The thought made her ears rise up. Certain things came into focus all of a sudden : Celestia taking her on as her own pupil, all that that time spent not just on lessons but doing everyday things never discussed except when in private, the princess having tea and cake with her and Smartypants, talking about feelings and aspirations, gossiping and playing gentle pranks on the castle's denizens and each other.

A memory surfaced of one such incident and its aftermath.

Celestia had surreptitiously cast a spell that made it impossible for Twilight to open any book in her bedroom at night. The thought of blaming the princess didn't even enter Twilight’s mind when she discovered that she had been magically impaired. For her part Celestia acted concerned and perplexed when, the very next morning, Twilight told her about the vexing problem. Her mentor then proceeded with the day’s lessons as usual.

After the second evening, Twilight complained at length about the intolerable situation. They had discovered that Spike had no difficulty opening books in their shared bedroom, but only as long as Twilight was at least three pony lengths away. Celestia good naturedly suggested that Twilight simply read in the common areas of the castle or of her parents’ house.

On the third evening Twilight came up with the idea of placing a reading stand with a book against the far wall of her room, and having Spike stand nearby to turn the pages while she peered at them through a telescope. She quickly found out that the mirror inside the telescope reversed everything she saw. She also discovered that reading mirrored text for even an hour or two gave her a pounding headache.

On the fourth day she related these events and her frustration to Princess Celestia, who at that point motioned for her to come close and then whispered in her ear.

“Gotcha!”, she said, and burst out laughing. She then admitted to her wide-eyed student to being the perpetrator of the prank.

Twilight fumed for almost a minute before, livid, she held an admonishing hoof up to her mentor. “How could you deprive me of books at night? This is so unfair! I was so bored! I actually had to talk to my brother and parents after supper!” She then went on with further recriminations. “As my teacher you’re supposed to encourage me to study! You're supposed to be my roll model and a shining example of the moral standard to which I should aspire!" She went on for a quarter hour in that vein, saying things that later she couldn’t quite recall. Through it all Princess Celestia wore the same sweet, infuriating smile.

When Twilight finally wound down, Celestia did something that thoroughly surprised her. She looked into her eyes, her expression very serious, and said “Thank you!”

Twilight sputtered while trying to come up with a coherent response. “Thank me? Whatever for?”

“For caring enough about me to get angry when I don't live up to your expectations.”

She had then hugged Twilight warmly and dissolved the spell. She also extracted from Twilight a promise to spend at least thirty minutes each day talking with the other members of her family.

I get it now, Princess! she thought. It wasn’t long afterwards that my relationship with Shiny really took off, and he became my BBBFF.

Twilight rolled onto her back, pulled the covers up to her chin, and thought of all the things Princess Celestia had done for her in a brand new light.

Princess Celestia must have known this was coming. Even though there were no guarantees that I would work out as her student, she made all of these efforts just in case I would. Maybe that's why, of all the unicorn foals applying for entrance at her school, she gave me the task of hatching Spike's egg. She wasn’t just preparing me to become an alicorn, she was laying down the things that I would need to be happy afterwards. As a dragon Spike might live thousands of years. Who better as a companion for a near immortal!

Wow! she thought. Princess Celestia had planned out her moves years in advance, all out of concern for Twilight. She smiled in the dark, totally impressed by her mentor once again.

Finally, her heart full of warm feelings, Twilight drifted off to sleep.

“An' then ah told ‘em to just use dish soap ‘cause soap is soap, an' Scoots poured the whole bottle into the washin’ machine, an' Sweetie cast the heavy duty cycle spell on it, an' then bubbles filled the entire ground floor o’ the Boutique.” Apple Bloom’s ears dropped to half mast, and she halted on the path that led through the outskirts of the Everfree to Zecora’s cottage. “That’s when Rarity chased us out an' Sweetie was grounded for a whole month!”

Twilight turned her head away so the filly wouldn’t catch her smiling at the Crusaders’ latest disaster. In fact, Rarity had already related the event to her in full, including dramatic highlights. Nevertheless, no lasting damage has resulted to either the Boutique or her collections, so the fashionista wasn’t too upset.

“Least she accepted my apology when ah told her usin’ the dish soap were my idea, an' Sweetie weren’t ta blame for what happened, ah was. She still told Sweetie no crusadin’ for a week, so if it weren’t for you this all woulda been one powerful borin’ day!”

“Telling Rarity was very honest of you, Apple Bloom. I’m proud you did the right thing.”

“Really?” The filly beamed up at her. “Well thank you for sayin’ so, Your Majesty!”

Twilight lowered an ear. “Now Apple Bloom, didn’t I ask you to drop the majesty stuff when we’re alone?”

“Yeah. But it’s kinda fun to get all formal an' princessy once in a while.” She grinned mischievously. “Besides, that’s Zecora’s place right over yonder, so technically we ain’t alone no more!”

Twilight sighed as Apple Bloom galloped on ahead to the cottage’s door. Being a frequent visitor of the Zebra mare, the filly rushed right in without knocking. She reappeared before Twilight even got to the door, looking somewhat disappointed.

“Aw, she ain’t here!”

“That’s odd,” said Twilight. “Zecora’s usually pretty punctual with commitments.” She scanned the area and didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. “Did she leave a note inside?”

“Naw. Ah looked.” The filly sat on her haunches, her withers and ears drooping. “An' everythin’s squared away ‘n locked up like she ain’t home at all.”

“Apple Bloom, I’m sure she was just delayed.” Twilight tried to smile reassuringly. “Tell you what! I’ll leave her a note she can send back to me via Spike’s dragon mail. That way I’ll know as soon as she’s returned, and I’ll let you know too. Are you okay with that?”

Apple Bloom nodded. “Thank you, Twilight. Ah sure hope she’s alright.”

“I’m sure she is. Nopony alive knows the Everfree better than Zecora.” She nodded in emphasis. Apple Bloom gave her a very tentative nod of her own.

Twilight focused on Zecora’s cottage, her horn glowing for an instant. “There! Now let’s get back to Apple Acres.”

She moved out with Apple Bloom in tow, the youngster’s pace much slower than on the trip out. I’m sure she’s alright, she said to herself, taking a last uneasy glance at Zecora’s cottage before it was lost from view.

“No news from Zecora, Spike?” Twilight asked for the tenth time that evening. She was at her reading stand. If Spike wasn’t mistaken, she had been staring at the same two pages of a book for almost an hour.

“Nope,” he replied with a shake of his head. He reclined, stumpy rear legs kicking idly over the edge in his basket where he’d been reading some comics. He’d already used all the platitudes at his command in response to her repeated queries, and she in turn had become progressively more nervous with each negative response. He could also see the edges of her mane beginning to frazzle, usually a sign that she was reaching the limits of her patience and might do something rash. On the other claw, she’d had far fewer such episodes since becoming a princess. Still, it paid to be careful where Twilight was concerned. He decided to try a different strategy: distraction.

“So what’s the news on the Summer Sun Celebration? Is the mayor still insisting on you doing a simultaneous replication of Princess Celestia’s invocation ceremony including lip-sync to an audio broadcast from Canterlot?”

Twilight stared at him aghast. “She what!?”

Bingo! he exulted internally while trying to keep a cool outer demeanor.

“Yeah!” Spike raised a single eyebrow. “She was even auditioning some of the more muscle-bound stallions to form an honour guard auxiliary for you, at least until you have your own royal guard detachment. Apparently Thunderlane and Bulk Biceps are already being fitted out with costume uniforms.”

Twilight took a deep breath, about ready to explode. But then her eyes narrowed, and she looked at the little dragon speculatively and slowly approached his basket. “Nice try, mister, but I don’t buy any of it! You’re inventing stuff to distract me from worrying about Zecora.” She gave him a pat on the head. “Which is a sweet thing to do, but it’s still lying, Spike, and you shouldn’t do that.”

He looked towards the ceiling and sighed dramatically.

“Busted!” he said, and smiled sheepishly. “But only partly. You’re right, I do want to get your mind off Zecora, but, Twi, do you really think I could invent something this crazy? It’s all true. I Pinkie swear!" He made the accompanying gestures with a claw. "You need to talk to the mayor before things get out of hoof.”

Her eyes grew wide again. “Oh my gosh! Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

He scuffed the floor with a toe-claw. “Well you seemed to already have enough other problems on your plate, and I got caught up in all this worrying about Zecora and it... kinda... slipped my mind. Sorry!”

She eyed him sternly for a few seconds, and then sighed. The temperature in the room warmed up again.

“Okay, apology accepted. But go get your pen and a few scrolls. We’re going to draft out a set of instructions to Mayor Mare for the Friendship Rainbow Kingdom’s Summer Sun Celebration.”

“Right away, Twi!” He jumped out of his basket and ran to the writing desk. “Fire away!” he called. Twilight began to dictate her letter to the mayor. He grinned surreptitiously. He hadn’t lied, but he certainly knew how to get her to change track when she needed it. He risked a glance in her direction as she as she paced back and forth, dictating her message. Her mane was now unfrazzled.

Mission accomplished! he thought. This ought to keep her mind off Zecora, at least until tomorrow morning!

His smile faded as his tidy script filled the page. What he hadn’t told Twilight was that he had himself gone to see the Mayor. He was blocked at her door by her new assistant, who told him in no uncertain terms to keep his dragon snout out of pony business. He had been so shocked he hadn’t known what to do, other than run back to the castle. He debated telling Twilight about the incident, but decided not to. It would just frazzle her again.

The incident kept replaying in his mind after they shut the lights. He sighed in his basket and pulled the blanket over his head. It’s gonna be a long night.

It's a Sign!

A Herd of my Own

by
Dafaddah

Chapter three: it's a Sign!

Edited by Sharp Logic, Microshazm and Mythee

Twilight stared at the sign. It was so freshly painted that some of the letters still dripped, adding a rather gruesome frisson to the otherwise cheery message:

“Capital City of the Friendship Rainbow Kingdom!?” she exclaimed to Applejack and Apple Bloom.

The three of them stood in the road that passed by Sweet Apple Acres, in plain view of the farm itself.

“But Ponyville only has two thousand five hundred and forty two residents!” Twilight looked at the sisters. “It doesn’t qualify as a city. And it’s the only town in the entire kingdom! Did anypony see who put this thing up?”

Applejack scratched the back of her head and put her stetson back on. “It was the mayor and her new assistant, Pince Nez, you know, the sickly green stallion with a roll of red tape as a cutie mark. He moved into town last week.”

“Hmmph! I guess that makes that two thousand five hundred and forty three,” said Twilight. “I’m going to have to meet this Pince Nez guy, and the mayor, and straighten out a few issues.”

The sisters glanced at each other. “Say, Twi,” ventured Applejack. “It kinda looks ta me like all this Friendship Rainbow Kingdom stuff has done put a bee in yer bonnet.”

Twilight’s expression softened. “Is it that obvious?”

“Eeyup!” said the Apples in unison.

“Well,” said Twilight blushing, “I guess I just really liked things better the way they were before. Don’t you?”

Applejack grew very serious all of a sudden, while Apple Bloom looked down at her forehooves.

“The way things were before when, sugarcube? Before Tirek, or before you was coronated, or before you even came to Ponyville?” She smiled ruefully. “Or before our Ma and Pa passed away?”

Twilight suddenly couldn’t meet her friend’s eyes. Her feelings about her situation were real, but she had to admit, the hardships she was complaining about were pretty trivial compared to what the Apples had been through. As the personal student of Princess Celestia she had lived a life most of her friends could only dream of, a life not only blessed with attention and privilege but also sheltered from the daily struggles and perils faced by most ponies.

“Ya know, Twi, ah done made my peace with the past. Ah can treasure it, but ah cain’t live in it. Ah live in the present, an’ ah work for the future, an’ that’s good enough fer me and mah kin.” She put a hoof on Twilight’s elbow. “I suggest y’all think about doin’ the same, sugarcube.”

Twilight looked down at Applejack's dusty, scuffed hoof. The hard pitted surface bore the scars of toil, hardship and not just a few victories. No wonder she doesn’t want her hooves polished, she thought, she’s proud of how her whole life story is written on them! It struck her how much she admired this mare, and how precious their friendship had become.

“That’s very wise advice, Applejack. Thanks for setting me straight.” Twilight smiled and briefly wrapped her in hug. “I guess I still want to talk to the mayor and her assistant, but at least I won’t go in with my horn blazing.”

Applejack slapped her on the back hard enough to make her stagger. “That’s the spirit!”

Apple Bloom had been quiet during the exchange, but there was a look of concern on her young face. “Twilight, what about Zecora? She was supposed to be back yesterday mornin’! What if she’s lost? What if she got hurt?” When the filly’s lower lip started to tremble her sister pulled her in close.

“Well, her whereabouts have been unknown for over twenty-four hours,” said Twilight tentatively, “so I can legally declare her missing and call out a search for her. The only problem is that we don’t have a clue where she went, and the Everfree is a big place!” She patted the tearful filly’s foreleg. “If only we had an idea of what she went looking for we might be able to narrow the search area.”

Apple Bloom rubbed her wet muzzle with a fetlock, and then got a look in her eye. “Ah could figure it out!” she exclaimed.

Twilight and Applejack looked at each other in confusion.

“Waddaya mean, sugarcube?” asked Applejack.

“Ah mean, ah know Zecora better’n any other pony in Ponyville. If ah was to go to her cottage to investigate ah might be able to figure out what she was after, an’ where she was fixin’ to go!”

Applejack smiled apologetically at Twilight. “Ah think that’s a pretty tall order for a little filly.” She looked her sister in the face. “This here ain’t no game like y’all crusadin’ with yer little friends.”

Apple Bloom pulled out of her sister’s hug. “Ah know this is serious! And ah already know this much: she weren’t goin’ more than half a day’s walk away.”

Intrigued, Twilight faced the filly squarely. “And how do you know that, Apple Bloom?”

“Cause she didn’t take her hammock like she always done when she went away for a day or more. It was still hangin’ on its pegs in the cottage when we went there yesterday!”

“Hmm,” said Applejack. There was a hint of sadness in the glance she gave Twilight. “Ah dunno. Seems like pretty slim evidence to me.”

Her sister’s words only seemed to make Apple Bloom mad.

“An t’other thaing is she only took the smaller green saddlebags she uses to go collectin’ plants in the forest. If she was fixin on a longer trip she’d a worn her big set, which was hanging on another peg next to the door!”

Applejack was still looking apologetic, but Twilight had to admit the filly was making a good inferences based on facts. She came to a decision.

“I think it’s worth a shot. Apple Bloom has already reduced the search area size by close to an order of magnitude. We all know very well how much time she spends with Zecora. If anypony has a chance of finding some clue as to where she went, it’s Apple Bloom.”

Applejack looked at her little sister, conflicting emotions washing over her features. “Is this really what you wanna do, sugarcube?”

Apple Bloom nodded. “More than anythin’ in the whole world!”

The elder Apple’s smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Then I guess y’all had better git to it! Go pack a lunch for the both of us, and then we’ll head on over to Zecora’s.”

With a loud “Yee-haw!” the filly galloped off.

Twilight gave Applejack another quick hug. “Thanks, Applejack, but I know you have enough to do at the farm. I’ll go with Apple Bloom.” She held up a hoof before the orange mare could object. “Besides, I have a few spells that might help us in our search. And don’t worry. I’ll take good care of her.”

“Ah know you will, Twi,” Applejack sighed. “Ah jus' hope my little darlin’ ain’t comin’ up on a whole heap ‘o hurt.”

Twilight’s eyes widened as she suddenly understood what Applejack was alluding to.

“Applejack, rest assured I’ll do everything in my power to prevent such an outcome.”

The mare nodded.

“Ah jus' hope Zecora’s alright.”

“So do I, Applejack. For Apple Bloom’s sake as well as Zecora’s.”

When they arrived at Zecora’s cottage Apple Bloom made straight for the tidy workbench that occupied most of one wall. The space above it was occupied by tiny drawers, many of which showed the slight glow of magical seals. On the pitted table surface rested mortars, pestles, glass tubes, crucibles, oil lamps and a variety of other alchemical equipment used in the preparation of medicines, potions and charms. The filly immediately began examining these in minute detail, sorting them into two piles, one on the left and the other on the right side of the table.

Twilight observed all of this with great interest. She also noted that Apple Bloom’s earlier assertions had been correct, at least in regards to the hammock and saddle bags. She saw the filly pull back and stare perplexed at the result of her work.

“What’s the matter, Apple Bloom?”

The filly scratched the back of her head in unconscious imitation of her elder sister. “I know she probably used this equipment jus’ before she left. It don’t have much dust on it compared to the rest. If only I could tell which ingredients she used I might figure out what she was trying to make.”

Twilight’s eyebrows rose. “That’s really a very smart idea! And I think I can help you find the ingredients she used.” Her horn glowed and several of the little drawers flared brighter. “There, these are the drawers whose seals have been most refreshed in the last two days!”

“Thanks!” the filly said, and immediately started writing down the symbols engraved on the front of those drawers.

Twilight’s eyes grew wider. “Apple Bloom, you can read Zebrili?”

The filly smiled and blushed. “Ever since that cutie pox thaing it’s been purty easy for me to learn new languages. And ah done been practicing with Zecora.” She pointed to the items in the list. “This here is sulfur, an’ that there’s coal dust, an’ that's saltpeter, an’...” she stopped short when she saw the look on Twilight’s face.

“Fireworks!” they exclaimed in unison.

Apple Bloom sat back on her haunches, her ears flagging. “That don’t help us none.”

“Why not?” asked Twilight.

“'Cause she can git those without havin’ to go into the Everfree,” she replied miserably.

“Oh.” Twilight thought furiously. “Well, maybe she needed the fireworks to get something else. But what could that be?”

Apple Bloom’s ears lifted up, and her eyes grew wide. “Ah think I know what she was after! A basilisk!”

“What!?” Twilight couldn’t believe her ears. “What do fireworks have to do with such dangerous monsters?”

“Zecora told me that there are some special medicines that can only be made from basilisk venom. And that Zebras use fireworks to stun the critters so they can be milked.”

“Ewe!” replied Twilight making a face. “That sounds disgusting, even with the fireworks!”

That got a momentary smile from Apple Bloom. “Yeah, but it's mighty dangerous work.” Her lower lip started trembling again.

Twilight pulled her into a hug. “Hey, kiddo! Don’t worry. You solved the mystery, now we know where to go!”

“Huh?” her eyes were already swimming on the edge of tears.

“Basilisks live in caves. That means hills or mountains, and there’s only one such place in the Everfree that’s within a half day’s trot from here!” She levitated the filly and placed her on her back. “Hold on tight because we’re flying back to town! We have a search party to set up!”

They were out the door and into the air before Apple Bloom could even wipe her tears.

After dropping Apple Bloom at Sweet Apple Acres, Twilight flew straight to Ponyville’s Town Hall. After a mostly acceptable landing, she trotted up to the building and stopped in her tracks. Her chin dropped as she stared up in dismay at the new signage over its main door. The plaque now read Royal Government & Administrative Center, and right above the plaque hung a life-sized copy of Twilight’s somewhat cheesy coronation portrait.

She had always disliked that image. She felt that it made her look like a little purple filly play acting at being a princess. Even worse, it had taken almost two hours of posing to get that shot and, even though nopony else would admit they could see it, she thought the strain was glaringly evident in her expression.

“That’s a great picture of you!” said a voice into her ear.

Twilight almost jumped out of her skin. This would not have been a problem before her ascension, but in her present circumstances it meant her wings shot out to either side in a panicked flap, projecting her up and backwards. As she was still not used to her pegasus reflexes or the mechanics of flight, she began trying to flap her wings while pedalling in the air furiously with her legs. Of course, she stalled. Unbalanced, and unairworthy, she fell back onto the ground in front of the entrance to Town Hall, landing on her rump with wings extended to either side and legs stretched out in front of her.

Feeling rather undignified, Twilight blushed furiously. She also had a great view of Rainbow Dash, clutching her stomach with one foreleg, pointing at her with the other and rolling around on the balustrade next to the entrance while laughing her lungs out.

“Ohmygosh! The look on your face!” said Dash. “Pure gold! You popped just like a weasel! Ha, ha, hah!”

Twilight folded her wings against her body and got back onto her hooves. Some things will never, ever change! She smiled wryly as she approached the laughing pegasus, but then the seriousness of the situation erased her smile.

“Rainbow Dash! Just the pony I was looking for!”

“Huh?” Dash stopped mid roll. She looked up at Twilight, her own face suddenly serious. “What’s up, Twi? You look like a mare with something important on her mind.”

Despite being an irrepressible prankster, Dash had the reputation of being a skillful leader. She’s also a friend who knows you and can read you like a book! Twilight was glad Dash picked up on her anxiety.

“Well that’s because I do,” she said. “It looks like Zecora’s gone missing in the Everfree, and I want to assemble a team to go looking for her. I was just on my way to see the mayor about calling for volunteers.”

The edges of Dash’s mouth turned down. “I’ll help you find Zecora, Twi, but good luck with trying to see the mayor. Even since she hired that unicorn assistant of hers she’s been harder to approach than Fluttershy when that rabbit of hers is feeling extra protective!”

Twilight’s eyebrows rose. “That’s the third warning in the last few days I’ve gotten about this new assistant. Do you mind joining me, Dash? I don’t want to risk any miscommunications slowing down the effort to find Zecora.”

“Sure, I got your back, Twi.” She smiled and tilted her head. “Always do. You know that!” She proffered a hoof.

Twilight knocked it with her own. “Yeah, I do know that, and I really appreciate it, Dash.”

The two mares entered the building.

Inside, Twilight first noticed the additional portraits on the wall at the back. The town offices – consisting of the Mayor’s office and the town’s clerical counter – were located under the large platform that was often used for speeches and concerts when inclement weather preempted holding events outside. The two portraits hung in a diagonal arrangement between the counter and the door to the Mayor’s office, which was uncustomarily closed. The upper portrait showed the mayor, with the caption below it: Prime Minister Mare. The other one, lower and to the right, showed a rather thin pale green stallion with a thin pale grey mane sporting a starched white collar and dull black tie. The plate below it read: High Chamberlain Pince Nez.

“Prime-minister Mare?” Twilight looked at Dash, who just rolled her eyes.

“I told’ja,” she said with a shrug.

The clerk at the counter, a lemon yellow stallion sporting a short brown mane, a white starched collar, a black tie and spectacles, swallowed nervously as the mares approached. Dash leaned nonchalantly on the counter wearing a somewhat predatory smile.

“I’d like to see the mayor, please,” Twilight declared with what she hoped was a more pleasant expression.

“Yes, Your Majesty! Of course!” said the stallion. He pressed a buzzer somewhere on the counter below Twilight’s line of sight.

“I said the Prime Minister is not to be disturbed, Mr. Card File!” said a tinny voice.

“But sir, it’s the Princess!” He glanced at Rainbow Dash. “And the minister of climate control, too.”

Dash reached over with a hoof, no doubt pressing the hidden button. “Hey Nez-guy, we’re coming-in. Tell her exaltedness the Mayor to open the door.”

There was quiet for a moment, although Twilight could have sworn she heard muffled voices from the room next door. A different buzzer sounded and the door to the mayor’s office opened.

Without further antics Dash fluttered right in. Twilight followed a moment later, stopping at the doorway itself. She glared at the room’s occupants – or at least she tried to by squinting her eyes a bit and pursing her lips. Mayor Mare stood up behind her desk, grinning nervously and waving a hoof, until a thin green unicorn stallion next to her – the Pince Nez from the portrait outside – poked her in the ribs before bowing deeply to Twilight. The mayor’s eyes widened briefly at the nudge, and she did her own obeissance.

“Your Royal Majesty,” said Pince Nez in a high, nasal voice, “what a pleasure it is to be blessed with your presence on this fine day!” He glanced morosely at the mayor. “Isn’t it, madame Prime Minister?”

The mare seemed to need a second before recalling that the unicorn was speaking to her. Her chin trembled. “Oh. Yes, indeed! It’s truly wonderful for you to come visit, Twi... I mean, your Royal Highness, ma’am.” She glanced sideways at the unicorn and bowed again.

Twilight noticed both the slight nod of approval from the stallion as well as the mayor’s obvious relief when getting his approval. Being Canterlot born and bred she had a fair idea of what was going on here. It was precisely the type of aristocratic obsequiousness she had barely tolerated then, and that had been refreshingly absent in nice, rural Ponyville. She no longer had to squint her eyes, and she doubted even Rarity could purse her lips to any greater degree.

“Mayor Mare, what’s up with all this Prime Minister stuff?” Twilight asked.

The mayor blushed. “Well, Twilight, I mean Your Highness, I er... that is we... er, Pince Nez and me that is, we–”

The stallion in question shuffled forward and bowed yet again. “Your Majesty, since your coronation the town of Ponyville has also been elevated by royal decree to become the Friendship Rainbow Kingdom. As such, it has the status of an independent city-state, and since she is the highest civil authority in the new kingdom, the former mayor is the de facto Prime Minister of the kingdom. It’s all quite simple, really.”

The mayor nodded perhaps a bit too enthusiastically. “Since then my office has been swamped with requests from every department and ministry in our... I mean, in the Equestrian government.” She grinned sheepishly. “I and the town clerks really don’t haven much experience at running things at a national level, you know, so the Equestrian Guild of Administration and Documentation kindly suggested I hire Mr. Pince Nez here to help us out while we figure out how to handle our change of status.” Her left eyebrow twitched and she swallowed audibly.

Pince Nez cleared his throat loudly.

“Your Majesty!” added the mayor with a blush.

Twilight was stunned. She hadn’t put much thought to how the change of status would affect Ponyville’s administration. Her pursed lips relaxed into her own sheepish grin and bright blush.

“Er, I wasn’t totally aware of all of the ramification of kingdom status on Town Hall.” She scratched at the back of her head. “I guess we all have some adjustments to make.”

The mayor’s expression seemed to relax quite a bit. “Of course, Twi... I mean, Your Majesty! I’m sure we can get through this patch just fine if we all put our shoulders to the wheel and push together!”

Twilight smiled at the mayor’s resumption of her usual platitude-laden speech. She did not miss the narrowing of Pince Nez’s eyes as the mayor spoke however. I’ll have to keep an eye on this one, she noted mentally.

“Okay, let’s cut the politics and get to reality here!” interjected Rainbow Dash in a frustrated voice. “Zecora’s gone missing and we need to set up a search party to comb the Everfree for her.”

The stallion frowned at the blue pegasus. “And just who is this Zecora? I don’t recall seeing her name in the town register.”

“She’s the Zebra who lives in the Everfree forest just a few minutes out of town. C’mon, time’s-a-wasting, call out the volunteer brigade.”

“Ahem,” said Pince Nez sourly, “this Zecora is not a subject of the Princess and not even Equestrian.” His voice dripped disdain. “Why should the Kingdom expend its limited resources to find her?”

Dash’s jaw fell open and her eyes bugged out. She grabbed Pince Nez’s collar in one hoof and shoved her snarling muzzle a paper’s width away from his.

“Because, Nez-face, she’s our friend and friends help each other! Write that in your rule-book!”

The stallion merely glanced away. “Worse still, as most of the Everfree is Equestrian territory, we have no legal basis with which to justify such an incursion. The repercussions on the Kingdom could be severe.”

“Twilight!” growled Dash. “Are you gonna let this chair-warming paper-pusher get in our way like this?”

Twilight stamped her hoof loudly. “That’s enough! Both of you!” Dash’s eyebrows rose, but she let go of Pince Nez.

Twilight looked all three ponies in the eyes one at a time.

“When Cadence and Shiny were sent to the Crystal Empire I wondered at a lot of the just plain silliness they had to put up with. I hardly thought I’d have to put up with the same thing here, but maybe that was just me being naive.”

She faced Pince Nez. “First, as Princess Regnant I believe I have the right to grant citizenship to any being I so declare, and I hereby declare the Zebra called Zecora a citizen of the Friendship Rainbow Kingdom. Pince Nez, add her name to the town register.”

Dash beamed at her.

“Second, I will send a request to Princess Celestia to give the Kingdom permission to engage in emergency rescue operations in the adjacent Equestrian territories, as long as such operations do not interfere with Equestria’s own interests. I’ll have the signed declaration within the hour. Mayor... I mean, Prime Minister Mare, please call out the volunteer brigade to assist in a search and rescue operation to be lead by Rainbow Dash. Please follow any additional instructions she provides, and have everypony ready to leave in one hour.”

The Prime Minister nodded in obvious relief. “Yes, Your Majesty!”

She pivoted on her hind hooves and stormed out of Town Hall.

Twilight, she scolded herself, you’ve been lax, and it’s starting to affect everypony in Ponyville!

She and Spike had a lot to do and little time to get it done. As she braced herself for takeoff to fly back to the castle, a familiar voice called out.

“Hey, Your Majesty!” said Sweetie Belle trotting up to her. “When are you gonna do another shift at the Princess Burger?”

“Princess Burger? What’s that?” she asked the little white filly, who just pointed a hoof over Twilight’s shoulder. She turned around and for the second time in fifteen minutes her jaw dropped when she saw the new sign on top of the Hay Burger franchise.

Expeditions

A Herd of my Own

by
Dafaddah

Chapter four: Expeditions

Edited by Sharp Logic, Microshazm and Mythee

“Spike!” The shout was urgent, angry, and had just enough tremolo to echo multiple times through the castle hall on its way down from Twilight’s office, past the throne room and into the rumpus room. Spike was lounging in a bean bag chair, reading his favorite trashy pulp magazine: Weird Science Stories. With a sigh he placed a bookmark in the periodical before folding it shut and setting it down.

Spike knew what that tone of voice meant. He took one last longing glance at the awesome steam airships on the garish cover, and with a shout of “Coming, Twi!”, jogged up the stairs.

When he arrived Twilight was already wearing a groove into the rug in front of her desk. The Prench Doors to the balcony were open and the drapes waved in the breeze. She didn’t even seem to care that the air currents were flipping pages of books left open on her desk and sending notes and checklists fluttering onto the floor.

She flew in here in an awful hurry! he thought, beginning to worry. “Hey, Twi! Is everything okay?” he asked.

She froze in her tracks. “Aughhh!” she wailed through gritted teeth. “No, Spike! Hardly anything is okay!” She resumed trotting back and forth.

His brow furrowed.

“Er, Twilight, just take a deep breath. Whatever it is, we can handle it,” he remarked, hoping that it was true. He’d seen Princess Celestia taking this approach with the distraught mare before, usually to good effect.

Twilight stopped again and closed her eyes. Her exhalation took a good long time, and her demeanour relaxed. She turned in his direction, smiling sheepishly.

“Thanks, Spike. I needed that!” She trotted around her desk and sat in the large upholstered chair behind it. Her smile faded and her horn glowed as she she took quill and paper and wrote hastily.

Too much in a hurry to even dictate! Not good! he thought.

Having an idea of what would come next, he held out a claw just as Twilight signed the document with a flourish. She rolled it up and floated it into his grasp. From the desk he picked up a stick of sealing wax with his other claw, held it over the scroll and blew out a small yellow flame. This caused some of the wax to melt and fall on the paper. He then put the wax stick down, picked up the Great Seal of Friendship from Twilight’s desk, and pressed it into the hardening tallow.

“Celestia?” he asked.

“Celestia,” she replied with a nod.

He held up the scroll high and with a blast of green fire turned it into a miasma of dark particles that quickly disappeared out the window.

Twilight heaved another deep breath. “Okay. That’s one.” She leaned onto the desk with both forelegs. “Now, we need to get ready for a search party for Zecora, who we think is lost in the Everfree Forest. Spike, write this down, please.”

He waddled over to his own smaller and usually much tidier desk, snuggled up against the right side of Twilight’s huge one. His quill stood ready in its ink well and a whole ream of vellum awaited, weighed down by another stick of sealing wax. It wasn’t the first time she’d left the doors open. He brushed away a few of Twilight’s scattered notes, took quill in claw and waited.

“Search party checklist” said Twilight, deep in thought as Spike scribbled.

“Emergency medical kit, ink, spare ink, quill, two spare quills, one ream of paper, one spare ream of paper, my copy of Pith Plume’s Flora and Fauna of the Everfree, a topological map of the Misty Hills section of the Forest, and –” she scratched the back of her head “– what else do I need?”

Spike cleared his throat. “Ahem… how about some food and camping gear if we’re gonna stay overnight?”

She nodded in agreement. “Excellent suggestions Spike! Two days worth should suffice. But only for me. You’re not going.”

Spike’s quill screeched to a halt.

“What!? Why not?” he asked, feeling his heartbeat accelerate.

“Because, Spike, –” a cunning look crept over her features, “– I am going to send you on a secret mission. Prepare another checklist, Spike, and this one’s for you!”

Spike’s expression became a mirror of Twilight’s.

“Sweet!” he said. Trembling with excitement, he laid out a fresh sheet of paper and dipped his quill into his ink-pot.

Twilight landed in front of the former Town Hall.

There were some thirty or so ponies assembled, many with bulging saddle bags or backpacks. Amidst them all, Rainbow Dash trotted back and forth, dispensing smiles, encouraging words and hoof bumps all around. She halted when she saw Twilight approaching.

“So how are we doing, Dash?”

The cerulean mare turned towards Twilight with a wolfish grin on her face. “Thanks for telling Pincy-boy that I was in charge. He wanted to have each of the volunteers sign a release form before they could join.”

“What kind of release form?” asked Twilight incredulously.

“Something about absolving the government from having to compensate them for time lost, or from any medical costs due to injuries sustained before the volunteers go on the mission, or something like that.”

“Why? So we can waste time and scare away anypony who actually wants to help?”

Dash put a foreleg over Twilight’s withers. “I kinda figured it was something like that, so I asked him how could we know what were these ponies’ prior medical conditions. He said that was a good question.”

Twilight was taken aback and stared at her friend. “Dash, why are you encouraging that stallion?”

“Twi, I’ve been dealing with bureaucracy ever since I entered the weather service.” Her expression turned angelic. “So I asked him to go to the hospital and get a copy of each of the volunteers’ medical records. It should only take him an hour or three.”

Twilight’s eyes grew wide. “And by the time he’s back –”

“– the search party will already be gone!” Dash grabbed her sides, laughing heartily. “I even told him to go visit Fluttershy and the vet ‘cause some of the ponies are bringing their tracking dogs with them! Ha! Ha, ha, ha!”

Twilight was still chuckling when Dash suddenly grew serious and with a few flaps of her wings hovered just above the group.

“Okay, team! The princess is here, so we’re moving out. Pegasi scouts, you’ve got a map of Zecora’s likely path. Comb the area to both sides but always stay in line of sight of another team member. Report back if you find any sign of her. Ground contingent, we’ll stop by Zecora’s cottage on the way and hopefully the dogs can track her scent from there onwards. Unicorns, you’re perimeter defense for the ground contingent as soon as we enter the Everfree. Let’s keep this party tight and safe! Everypony! Move out!”

A dozen Pegasi took to the sky and formed up in a horizontal line, then flew at a measured pace straight towards the Everfree. The remaining volunteers, mostly earth ponies, began to trot down the road leading out of town.

“Twi,” said Dash, “I’m gonna be flying back and forth coordinating the two teams. I’d appreciate if you’d stick with the ground contingent to help in case of trouble. If I need another pair of wings in the air I’ll let you know.”

The princess nodded.

“Good! I’ll see you back at Zecora’s!” Dash flew off in a prismatic blur.

“Yes, ma’am, Commander Awesome!” Twilight whispered under her breath. With a brief gallop, she caught up with the rest of the ground team just as they exited the town.

“So Twilight gave you a secret mission! Why Spikey, you’re becoming an international drake of mystery!” cooed Rarity as Spike took another spoonful of ice cream.

Spike blushed and kicked his legs in embarrassment as he sat at her kitchen table. A pot of tea sat on the table along with two delicate chineigh cups.

“Yeah, well, the nature of the mission is that I might need some help, and I was thinking of asking you, Sweetie and her friends. Would that be okay with you?” He peered earnestly into Rarity’s eyes, her beautiful, wonderful eyes...

“... and you’re quite sure this is nothing dangerous? You wouldn’t mislead me about something like this now, would you?”

Spike started as he realized Rarity had stopped speaking. “Uh, no. It’s just that it might mean some travel to Canterlot, Manehatten, Whinneypeg and Fillydelphia, which you do on a regular basis. And... some of the stuff I want to do would require an adult.” He admitted with a sheepish grin. “By the way, Twilight gave me a budget to cover all expenses!” he added cheerfully.

Rarity took a dainty sip from her tea cup and made her decision. She peered back at spike and smiled conspiratorially. “My, this might prove a bit of fun! I accept, with the proviso that none of this travel interfere with the girls’ schooling. Are we clear on this?”

“Crystal!” replied Spike.

“Then perhaps I should go summon my sister and her friends. I’ll take care of getting their guardians’ permissions.”

Spike couldn’t believe his ears! “Gee, thanks, Rarity. You’re the best!”

“And don’t you forget it, Spikey!” With a wink, Rarity left him to finish his ice-cream.

He stared into the half-finished bowl with a silly grin on his face. An extended secret mission with Rarity! This is gonna be awesome! His legs swung happily in anticipation.

The pale grey unicorn waved to the postmare as she flew off. She read the postmark on the letter the mare had delivered. Express delivery! From Ponyville! With a happy feeling, she brushed her white and lavender striped mane from her face and brought the letter inside, where her husband sat in his favorite recliner. His blue head and dark blue mane were just visible over the top edge of his newspaper.

He looked up and seeing her expression put down his Canterlot Times. “What is it? News from Twilight?” he asked.

“Actually, no, Nighty.” She floated a letter opener from the roll-up desk against the wall behind her husband’s chair. “It’s a letter from Angela.”

“Oh, the mare we met at Shiney’s wedding?”

“The very same.” Velvet unfolded the envelope’s contents and began to read. Her expression became serious.

“What it is?” asked Night Light as his wife read on.

“I think it’s time we paid Ponyville a visit.” She did not smile as she said the words.

Night Light grinned. “I know that look in your eyes, sweetheart! Somepony’s in trouble, and it’s not Twilight!”

Twilight Velvet pivoted on her rear hooves, not bothering to refute his assertion. “Let’s pack, Nighty. There’s a train to Ponyville in two hours and we’re on it!”

He folded his newspaper. He could always finish reading it on the train, while his wife planned a fate worse than death for somepony foolish enough to have discomfited the youngest of her offspring!

Pince Nez trotted back into the Royal Administrative Center grumbling under his breath. The prime minister was sitting at her desk looking somewhat anxious. Elected officials! he thought with a scowl as he approached her desk.

“You don’t seem to be very pleased, Mr. Nez,” she said with a nervous laugh.

His eyes narrowed. “Prime minister. The visit to the hospital was very trying. The administrative staff at first categorically refused to surrender the past records of any of the pony volunteers. Can you imagine, they claimed patient confidentiality! To me, an authorized agent of the crown!” He took a large stack of folders from one of the saddlebags draped over his back and dropped it onto his desk with a resounding thump.

“However, I was able to make them see reason and we arrived at a compromise. The ponies involved are identified by a number only, not by name. After this charade of a pony hunt is over, and we inevitably get medical expense requests, we can at least have somepony at the hospital verify that these do not represent an existing condition whose costs they are trying to foist on the public purse!”

Prime Minister Mare looked somewhat nonplussed. “Mr. Nez, perhaps you’re not aware that Ponyville General Hospital is funded by an endowment from Princess Celestia, and that the medical care provided there is free of charge?”

The unicorn’s coat seemed to turn an even more bilious shade of green.

“Harrumph!” he said, finally. “It is nevertheless the principle of the thing. We cannot let this government be rode over roughshod now, can we?!”

The mare shook her head. “Of course not, Mr. Nez!” She smiled brightly. “And how did it go with our good vet, Dr. Goodall?”

He extracted a second pile of paper from his other saddlebag. “She was far more forthcoming.” He looked at the pile with a look of distaste. “Perhaps too forthcoming. This veterinarian keeps a rather obsessive amount of data on her charges. How can ponies be willing to spend so many bits on their pets in this... rustic hamlet?” He picked up one of the documents from the vet's pile. “And most of these aren’t even medical files! They’re articles she wrote for scientific journals!”

The mare laughed pleasantly. “Oh, I can explain that too! Ponyville is frequently exposed to the more exotic denizens of the Everfree Forest. Dr. Goodall is funded by the Canterlot Academy of Sciences to report on them, and she is quite fond of publishing her research! As it happens, she also gets a stipend from Princess Celestia – to provide the best possible healthcare to our little Spike, since he isn't a pony you know!”

Pince Nez rolled his eyes and began sorting the files. “I am quite aware of that... reptile in our midst!”

Prime Minister Mare tilted her head. “And did you visit Fluttershy? She takes care of most of the cases Dr. Goodall doesn’t.”

At the mention of the pegasus mare, Pince Nez’s face paled.

“Yes, I did.” His eyes rolled back in his head and he swallowed loudly. “Er, I don’t want to talk about that.” He buried his face in one of Dr. Goodall’s research articles. “Ever!”

He didn’t seem to notice that he was holding the document upside-down, nor did he see the brief self-satisfied smirk on her face when she did.

But then, with his face hidden from view, she didn’t see the sneer that darkened his countenance either.

Twilight followed Rainbow Dash as they landed in the middle of a clearing near the summit of the tallest of the Misty Hills, almost a half-day’s ground travel from Ponyville and near to where they thought Zecora’s destination lay. Several pegasi were already there, combing the area for clues.

“See here?” Dash pointed a hoof at a small pot crushed into the soil near the center of the glen.

Twilight bent her muzzle down to get a closer look and raised it back quickly, the corners of her mouth turned down in disgust. “Ugh! What is that awful smell?”

Dash smirked. “We’re not sure, but we figure it was some sort of scent lure for a large animal.”

“Hmmm. Find anything else?”

The corners of Dash’s mouth turned down.

“Yeah. There are signs of a large critter crashing about, probably a reptile. And hoofprints of an adult pony, maybe a zebra, dancing around the perimeter of the clearing. Oh, and what looks like the hoofprints of a young foal.” Dash’s expression grew a bit troubled. “Zecora wasn’t traveling with some kid, was she?”

Twilight scratched her head. “I’ve seen no other indications of it, Dash.” She scanned the area. “Did the dogs pick up a scent trail leaving the clearing?”

The blue pegasus blew air through her lips. “No, that’s the strange part. The dogs were able to follow a trail from here to a spot a few hundred ponylengths from here. But it ends in a bunch of bushes with more signs of struggle and some dried blood stains. Funny thing is, the only hoof prints we found along the way looked to be those of the foal, none of a pony Zecora’s size. And for some reason the dogs can’t pick up any sign of her leaving there. It’s as if Zecora didn’t want to be followed!”

Twilight felt her heart skip a beat. “So what do we do, Dash?”

“We set up a command post here, begin a search pattern, and hope somepony finds something.” She saw the worried look on her friend’s face. “Hey, Zecora’s a very capable mare. She lives in the Everfree and knows how to keep herself safe!”

Twilight pointed a hoof at the large gashes in the clearing where the sod had been ripped open. “There was a fight here, Dash. And you found blood. She could be hurt, and hiding from whatever did this.”

“Yeah, and if the creature that did this had caught her there would be... evidence of that. And there isn’t, Twi. She got away, believe me. We’ll find Zecora, for sure!”

Twilight tried to grin and failed. “Yes. I’m sure we will.” She stared into the forest, seeing nothing but shadows.

I spy with my little eye...

A Herd of my Own

by
Dafaddah

Chapter five: I spy with my little eye...

Edited by Sharp Logic and welcoming a new editor to my prose, Honeycomb. This story has benefited greatly form their awesome contributions!

PS - if you want to read what happened to Zecora during her expedition into the Everfree, please check out Outland, which relates events that happen in parallel to this story.

Dash was worried. Despite two days of intensive search, the Everfree was refusing to yield any further evidence of Zecora’s passage. Twilight tried to hide her concern, but Dash could tell how deeply her friend was affected.

Feeling useless on the ground, she decided to do some aerial reconnaissance. From high above the Everfree she could search for visible landmarks that would attract a wounded pony seeking rescue, or signs that would indicate – even subtly – an equine presence on the ground. She decided to scan the highest points first, and was surprised when a distant promontory hosted several flashing lights.

Dash made a beeline for the escarpment. A bit more than halfway there she spied a pony sporting black-and-white stripes. A hulking green shape, clearly some large reptile, lay nearby. With a start she realized it had been cornered by the zebra and somehow subdued.

Zecora rules the Everfree! thought the pegasus with a grin.

Even though she was still at a considerable distance, Dash watched with interest as Zecora forced open the creature’s jaws and inserted a bottle inside. A few seconds later she plugged the vial, trotted back a few paces, and placed it into a saddlebag. She then did something that puzzled Dash: she drew close to the reptile and removed a huge golden ring from its neck with her forehooves. The ring appeared to shrink between them, and then she placed it around her own neck.

Whoa! So that’s what those rings are for! Cool!

Dash suddenly recalled what Twilight had said Zecora was looking for. A quick glance at the crest on the green beast’s head confirmed her suspicions. Omigosh! A basilisk!

Her admiration for Zecora grew by leaps and bounds as the zebra calmly turned and went back to fiddle with her saddlebags.

The pegasus was finally getting close enough to call out when, in a flash of green, the lizard jumped up and struck the zebra from behind with its massive tail.

Zecora tumbled to the edge of the cliff, barely managing to clamp a hoof around a branch overlooking the drop. She hung precariously as the creature slowly shuffled in her direction.

Dash gritted her teeth and took off under maximum acceleration while the reptile crept inexorably towards the zebra.

Approaching at high speeds from above and behind the beast, Dash realized she would have only one chance at saving her friend and not getting turned to stone in the process! She gritted her teeth and at the penultimate moment flung her hind legs forward. With a massive crunch, her rear hooves slammed into the creature’s side and sent it flying off the cliff’s edge and onto the rocks far below.

Breathing hard, Dash stood in its place, striking a heroic pose. “Saved at the last second by yours truly! Now what could possibly be cooler than that!?”

“Rainbow Dash!” Zecora looked up, disbelief on her features. “How is possible that you arrive, just when I need help to stay alive?”

She trotted forward and helped Zecora scramble up to safety. “Oh, you can thank Twilight and Apple Bloom. When you went missing they checked out your house and somehow figured out you probably were around these parts. We’ve been searching for two days. And then –” she pointed to the sparklers “– I saw these and figured it might be you. A bit of fancy flying and awesome hoof work later, and it’s bye-bye monster!”

Finally back on all fours, Zecora’s grin was replaced by a look of horror when she glanced over Dash’s back to where her saddlebags lay crumpled on the ground. The bags had been struck by the basilisk when it hit her.

Hurrying over, Zecora pulled open the flap and looked inside. Shards of shattered glass fell out. Her head drooped and she fell to her haunches, tears welling up in her eyes.

Dash was stunned at the change. “Zecora? What’s so important about that bag?”

“The medicine I needed to save the foal, it’s... it’s been destroyed.” Zecora gulped and looked up. “And the one source for it known, you just bucked into the void...”

A cold lump formed in the pit of Dash’s stomach. She wanted to ask what foal Zecora was talking about, but figured this wasn’t the moment.

“Geez, I’m really sorry, Zecora, but that was a basilisk! A pony doesn’t mess around with those critters!” A thought struck her. “Say, is this like some medicine you would find in a first aid kit?” she asked, tilting her head. “Twilight insisted we bring her mega-big camping medical kit with us when we set out to find you. She’s maybe ten minutes away at my top speed. Should I, like, go and get it?”

Zecora jumped up onto all fours, fear and hope warring in her eyes. “Rainbow Dash, the kit you must bring! The life of a colt now depends on your wings!”

Dash didn’t have to be told twice. She took off in a blast of air and a blur of feathers. Behind her, a rainbow trail arced into the sky. She was already on the downward part of her ballistic arc when a huge bang echoed over the Everfree, and an expanding circular rainbow spread out to the horizon.

Whaddya know! I’ve pulled off another one! She slitted her eyes and grinned, exulting in pure, awesome speed.

Hang-on kid, whoever you are, she thought. The fastest wings in Equestria are on the job!

“Welcome to Portage and Mane, the historic heart and soul of Whinnypeg!” Rarity gestured gracefully towards the multi-layered crossroads with an elegant white hoof. Carts and wagons moved non-stop at nearly breakneck speeds across the ground level intersection. In the angles of its corners, ornate staircases led underground. High above them, ponies jostled over elegant aerial causeways joining the tall buildings that clustered in the area like some forest of glass and marble giants.

Spike, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle stared in awe.

Scootaloo, on the other hoof, wore a skeptical frown. “Big deal! It’s just a street corner! Besides, what’s the point of having an underground concourse, and even worse, a Skywalk?” She buzzed her tiny wings. “Any pegasus can fly higher and faster!”

“The point, my young friends, is that this intersection is a three dimensional representation of the founding tribes of Equestria! It’s richly symbolic, a marvel of architecture and civic planning, and the headquarters of the western Equestrian fashion industry!” Rarity lowered her hoof. “Not surprisingly, it is also a highly concentrated retail hub, with four Hay Burg... er, I mean Princess Burger franchises all within trotting distance of each other.”

Spike handed out saddlebags to each of the three fillies. “You each have your assigned restaurant. There’s paper and pencils in the bags, and some of those new Poloroid instant cameras if you see any images worth recording. Please get there before the observation period starts, and make sure to stay in position and record what you see until it’s time to come back. Rarity and I will be waiting for you all at the restaurant in the underground concourse.”

Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes. “Yeah. I’m sure you’ll be doing a lot of counting with my sister there!”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Really, sister dear, I have my own sales meetings scheduled at the Mare’s Wearhouse and Cudson’s Bay Company, so Spike will be on his own most of the day, as will you all.”

“But we thought bein’ spies would be like sneakin’ around in trenchcoats an’ stuff!” complained Apple Bloom, shrugging into her saddlebags.

“Yeah! All we’ll be doing is sitting in restaurants counting up what ponies order,” whined Sweetie Belle as she doned hers.

Scootaloo was the only one of the three fillies smiling. “And we’re supposed to keep ordering and eating food while we do the counting!Free food!” The filly shook her saddlebags jingling the gold bits inside. She smacked her lips in anticipation.

“Girls! We all agreed to help Spike in his mission for Princess Twilight, and we don’t want to let her or Spike down now, do we!?”

The three fillies shook their heads. Rarity made a shooing gesture. “Good! Then run along now, and do you best to keep precise counts.” As the girls trotted off, she draped a hoof over Spike’s shoulder and called out to them a final time. “And don’t ruin your appetites by eating too much of that unhealthy junk food! Now, Spike...”

When she turned back around she found the young dragon gazing dreamily up at her, slack-jawed and with rosy cheeks. She sighed, pushed gently up on his chin to close his mouth, and took the paper and quill from his unresisting claws. “Perhaps it’s best if I get the process going until I have to leave for my meeting. Come along, Spikey-wikey!”

She hid her smile behind a discrete hoof as Spike obediently followed her in the direction of the fast-food restaurant, a look of bliss on his chubby face.

A multicolored glow washed over the search party’s camp.

“A Sonic Rainboom!” the few ponies not out searching for Zecora shouted in awed tones, hooves pointing as the prismatic wave rolled outwards to the horizon.

A grin lit Twilight’s features. “Call back the search teams and prepare to break camp, everypony! Dash found Zecora!” It was no surprised when seconds later the cerulean mare landed with a thud next to her.

“Twi!” Rainbow Dash sputtered between gasps.

“Don’t waste your breath! You found her! Good going Dash!”

The Pegasus nodded, then shook her head. “Yeah but... we need the med-kit...” She ran off to the tent where the medical supplies were kept. “There's a colt...”

Twilight trotted after her, concern on her face. “A colt? That explains the small-sized hoofprints you found! What type of medicine does Zecora need?”

Dash’s rump stuck out of the tent as she tossed items about inside. “Aha!” She pulled out a large grey bag with a red cross stitched on its side. “Don’t know! And I gotta fly this toot sweet back to Zecora!”

She was about to take off when Twilight hooked a hoof through her foreleg. “I’ll go with you. I know a bunch of first-aid spells!”

Dash looked flustered. “Zecora said to hurry, and no offense, but you’re way too slow on your wings.”

Twilight held on. “Can you see where Zecora is from here?”

Dash looked through a gap in the trees beyond the tent. The promontory where the zebra waited was barely visible in the distance. She pointed with a hoof. “There! But...”

The words were barely out of Dash’s mouth when Twilight concentrated...

... and shrugged off the effects of her teleportation spell. She scanned the area around her. Next to her, Dash shivered as Zecora started in reaction to their sudden appearance.

“You know, every time you do that it gives me the heebie-jeebies!” The cerulean mare rubbed a hoof on her chest as if to reassure herself that she had exited the teleport with all her pieces intact.

Twilight trotted up to Zecora and hugged her tightly. “Thank goodness you’re safe! Dashie says you need medicine for a foal.” Taking a step back she noticed Zecora’s injuries. “Looks like you could use some patching up as well!” She levitated the med-kit satchel into Zecora’s hooves. The mare wasted no time, opening it up and digging hurriedly through its contents.

“A youngster lies nearby with a deadly blood infection,” she said as she pulled and discarded items from the kit. “We must immediately give him antipathogenic potion!”

"Ndiyo!" she exclaimed. With a trembling hoof she pulled a small box of vials from the huge kit. “Thank the spirits! We have it!” She began trotting into the forest.

“Wait!” Twilight called, “Zecora, can you point out where we need to go from here?”

The Zebra stopped abruptly and went back to stand next to Twilight. She pointed towards a low hill. “At the base of that mound is a cave. Within lies the colt we must save.”

Dash made a sour face. “Awe, geez, not ag–”

“–ain!” Dash’s vision cleared. The three mares stood near a rock wall. She inspected her limbs and sighed in relief when nothing was missing. The entrance to a cave was just barely visible next to a large thorn bush.

“Come!” said Zecora, hurrying into the dark opening.

Twilight and Dash rushed in after her, finding Zecora kneeling on the cave floor next to a depression full of soft materials, including a large number of grey feathers. She was injecting a shot of the antipathogen into the flank of a small rust-coated earth pony colt.

“Ewe, what’s that smell?” asked Dash. Twilight lit her horn and carefully moved deeper into the cave.

“There’s a pool of vomit here.” The sound of Twilight’s voice was followed by a flash. “Correction: there was a pool of vomit here!” Walking back she found Dash with her brow furrowed examining one of the feathers.

“This is a pegasus feather, Twi.” She placed it reverently back into the nest. “I figure these were left here by the kid’s mother.”

Twilight’s horn glowed brighter and she looked around. Her eyebrows rose when the light revealed the walls of the cave. They were full of words and pictures. “Apple, Bear, Cat,” she read. “Looks like the foal was learning to read as well.” She exchanged smiles with Dash.

Zecora, finished with her ministrations, had wrapped her forelimbs tightly around the little foal and was crooning to him softly. “Namshukuru Muumba...”

Her husky voice faltered, her tears expressing what words could not.

Looking at the pair, Twilight grew serious and her ears drooped. “Zecora, do you know where his mother is?” she asked.

Zecora took a halting breath. “He has lived alone in this cave for months, if not longer. His survival in the wilds is truly a wonder.” She wiped her eyes and stroked the colt’s mane. “I’ve seen no evidence of young Shad’s mother. That she yet lives, I would not wager.”

She straightened slightly and looked up at Twilight. “He needs the attention of a proper medical facility. Can you transport him to Ponyville with your ability?”

Twilight looked at her wounded friend and nodded. “I can manage a teleport that far nowadays. And not only him but you too, as you’re also clearly in need of a doctor. Rainbow Dash?”

“Yeah, Twi?”

Twilight pulled an expandable bag from her saddlebags. “Please fill this with everything that will fit from this cave, especially all of the feathers from the nest. They might be all this little fella has left of his mother.” Rainbow nodded and promptly began looking around at what she could gather from the colt’s few possessions.

“And, Dash,” Twilight called. Rainbow looked back. “Bring the team back home safely!” She touched Zecora and the colt with a hoof, winked at Dash, energized her horn, and called to her mind the spell sequence to teleport. The cave winked out in a flash of purple.

Spike sat alone in the Princess Burger franchise in the Whinnypeg Underground Esplanade. He had the tally sheets in front of him, the first page graced by Rarity’s flowery (and very feminine, in his opinion) horn-writing. When the action at the cash-registers was slow, which wasn’t that often, he would stare at the page dreamily. He was engaged in just such a reverie when Scootaloo plopped down onto the bench on the other side of his table.

“First!” she said with a grin, then hoofed over a untidy stack of papers covered in a blocky, foalish hoof-script. Spike sighed and tried to put some order in the unruly mess. Two papers wouldn’t align, and when he took them out he saw that they were stuck together by a large reddish blot.

“Be careful!” said the filly with a snicker. “I dropped some ketchup on that one!” Then she gave him a sly grin. “And you’ll never guess what I saw on the way there.”

“What?” he replied, trying to rub the stain off with a napkin.

“I said guess!” the filly insisted.

Giving up, he rolled his eyes. “Okay. Did it involve mustard by any chance?”

“Nope!” She giggled and pulled an instant photo from her saddle bag. “But I did take a picture of it.”

Spike looked at the proffered photo. His jaw dropped.

“Omigosh! Twilight is going to be furious!”

“Let us look!” said a pair of girlish voices.

Spike suddenly found himself sandwiched between Sweetie Belle on one side and Apple Bloom on the other as they jostled to get a better view of the photo.

“Wow!” said the unicorn filly. She fished with a hoof inside her saddlebag. “And I took this coming back from my restaurant.”

“Well whaddya know! Ah took a picture of another advert too!” Apple Bloom poked her muzzle into her own saddlebag and pulled out her own photo, which she placed next to the two others.

The four youngsters were still staring at the photos when Rarity uncharacteristically slumped down next to Scootaloo, looking flustered. Glancing down at the photos she did a double-take.

“Oh, my word! This is absolutely far more serious than I had ever imagined!” she said, eyes wide. “Pack your bags, fillies and young drake. We’re heading back to Ponyville this very instant!”

“Huh?” asked Sweetie Belle. “What’s the rush, sis?”

“Well, if you must know,” Rarity looked a bit green around the gills, “I also saw an advertisement featuring Princess Twilight.”

“An’ what was it this time?” asked Apple Bloom.

Rarity opened her mouth to speak then blushed. She smiled crookedly at Spike. “Spikey-wikey! Could you possibly give us girls a moment of privacy please?”

Spike was only slightly taken aback. It wasn’t the first time one of Twilight’s friends made such a request when he was on an outing with them. Still, he had been embarrassed by girl talk not meant for male ears before, so he quickly nodded. Hopping down from the table he waddled briskly to a discrete distance.

The three fillies and mare huddled together for a moment. There was a chorus of gasps, and then Rarity, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom left the table in a hurry. Only Scootaloo stayed behind looking confused.

“I don’t get it,” she called out. “Who’s Gene? And why do ladies want to say Hi to him?”

Rarity turned around, a look of surprise then concern on her face.

“Uh, I’ll tell you later, Scootaloo darling." And then, with another glance at Spike, “In private.”

Scootaloo and Spike stared at each other a moment. With similar shrugs they gathered their things and chased after the others, who were already on the way out of the restaurant.

Twilight left the hospital feeling better than she had for days. Zecora’s disappearance had been a heavy weight on her heart. With a pang of guilt she realized that part of the feeling was due to her own relief at not failing in her promise to Apple Bloom. I’m starting to understand why you choose your words so carefully, Celestia!

Zecora’s description of what had happened during her medicine hunting expedition was still making her head reel. Zecora had almost succumbed to a basilisk, coming out of the encounter deaf and blind. She had only survived with the help of a mysterious little colt named Shad, who lived alone. In a cave. In the Everfree! In the process, Shad himself had been clawed by the basilisk, and the wound become infected. Still half blind, Zecora had then gone after the reptile, whose venom was the only known cure for the creature’s infectious bite and claws. Twilight shook her head in wonder.

She trotted lightly on the road leading into town, wondering how Spike’s mission was coming along, when she ran into Pince Nez. The two stopped short, facing each other. It was a moment before the pale green stallion made an elaborate bow.

“Your Highness! I read the good news of your return. Congratulations on your successful expedition!” Despite the warmth of the words, the expression in his eyes left Twilight feeling uneasy.

“Good day, Pince Nez,” she replied. “And thank you. The doctors assure me Zecora and the foal are both doing well.

“That’s good to hear. As it happens I was just on my way to the hospital to gather information on this foundling. Of course, we need to ascertain his identity as quickly as possible. Did that zebra provide you any details that could help in that regards?”

Twilight frowned at his referring to Zecora as that zebra. She counted to five mentally to calm herself down.

“Not much, unfortunately,” she finally answered. “All that we know is that he calls himself Shad, and his mother is quite likely a gray-coated Pegasus. My friend Zecora...”, she felt a twinge of self-satisfaction when the unicorn raised his eyebrows at her choice of words, “... thinks the mother might have fallen victim to some creature from the Everfree. Rainbow Dash is collecting as much material evidence as possible from the cave where he was living. Hopefully that will provide sufficient clues to find Shad’s full identity.”

“Oh my,” he said with mock concern, “the little one is then most likely an orphan! How sad.” A crafty gleam crossed his narrow features before he looked away. He backed up a few steps and bowed again. “Thank you, Your Highness. I believe it might be useful for me to look into disappearances of pegasi in the Everfree, don’t you think?”

Twilight nodded hesitantly. “Sure. That sounds like... a good idea.”

The stallion turned on his hooves and trotted back towards town. Twilight stood in the road watching him go, chewing her lip. She felt too exhausted, emotionally and magically, to leave herself open to the risk of crossing the unpleasant bureaucrat again, so she took wing and flew back to the castle.

It was a pleasant evening when they arrived at Twilight’s apartments in Friendship Rainbow Castle, so she invited them all to join her around the balcony table. Spike sat next to Twilight, with Rarity and the Cutie Mark Crusaders sitting across from them.

“I was able to compile the stats from Whinnypeg,” Spike said, holding a sheet of paper with tidy columns of figures in his claws. “It’s clear that over thirty percent of the items ordered at Princess Burger carry pictures of you on the packaging. A further forty percent of the items have been renamed to include the words Twilight, Sparkle, Friendship or Magic.” He looked up. “Even the image thieves aren’t sure what you’re the princess of!”

“I like the Friendship Nuggets best!” declared Scootaloo.

“Oh? I think the Magic Mushrooms are waaaay better!” said Sweetie Belle.

“An’ mah favorites are the Twilight Pickles!” said Apple Bloom.

All three fillies snickered while Twilight rolled her eyes.

“As solid as this information is,” began Twilight, “it doesn’t justify nearly a full day’s train travel to get back to Ponyville way ahead of schedule.” She locked gazes with the other adult mare. “So, Rarity, what caused you to suddenly cut your business trip short?”

“This, darling.” Rarity fanned out the three photos with her horn field.

Twilight’s eyes grew big as she examined the photos, her eyes getting bigger as she looked at each one.

She looked up at Rarity and pointed to one of the pictures. “They made my bad mane day into a fashion!” She indicated the one next to it with her hoof. “And I only went to that fitness club once, five years ago, before I was even a princess.” She picked up the one of her in greasy overalls. “And what do I even make of this one?” Dropping the photo, she facehoofed. “How could this possibly get any worse?”

Rarity winced and placed a hoof on her withers. “Unfortunately, it does, Twilight dear.” She leaned over and whispered in her ear. The purple mare’s face turned as red as beet.

Rarity floated a thick magazine from her saddle bag into Twilight’s hooves. “I found a copy of the ad in Cosmarepolitan on the train ride back.”

Twilight seemed to deflate. She didn’t move for a full minute. Finally she sighed and looked up with a sad smile. “Thank you all for your efforts. Please, go home and have a well deserved rest.”

Unusually subdued, the fillies and Rarity filed out. As they got to the door, the mare turned around. “Twilight, dear, do you have any idea what are you going to do about this?”

Twilight shrugged. “I have no clue what to do. But thanks for asking.”

A feminine voice spoke up from just beyond Rarity. “Don't worry yourselves, dears. I have an idea or three up my sleeve.”

Twilight looked up, hope in her eyes.

“Mrs. Mom!” Spike ran from the table and jumped up into the waiting forelegs of Twilight Velvet.

“Hello, Spike!” she said, showering him with nuzzles and hugs, then nodding towards Rarity and the fillies. “Miss Rarity, children. I hear my only daughter needs a helping hoof.”

She walked over to the table and gave Twilight a fierce embrace. She sat down, placing Spike in the seat beside beside her. The photos on the table floated up to her face, and after a moment floated back down and into a neat pile, face down.

“I’ve seen a few of these myself. So your dad and I figured you might need help from ponies who understand the publishing business and the law.”

“Do I ever!” exclaimed Twilight. Spike leaned onto the table, elbows on the magazine Twilight had left open.

Twilight Velvet gave a predatory smile. “Well, it’s time to get to work!” She glanced back towards the doorway where Rarity stood waiting. “We could use your help as well, Miss Rarity. Care to join us?”

“It’ll be my pleasure, Mrs. Velvet,” said Rarity, and then to the fillies, “You go on your way now, darlings. And take care.” The three looked at each other, nodded, waved to Twilight’s mother and rushed out.

Spike’s glance drifted down to the magazine.

“I would love to help in any way I can!” said Rarity. She trotted over to the table and sat next to Twilight. “So where do we begin?”

The two younger mares gazed at Twilight Velvet expectantly.

“Well,” said Spike, eyes still on the magazine, “somepony could start by explaining to me why At that special time of year, a mare needs a –” The magazine slammed shut from three overlapping horn fields.

He looked up at the three unicorns, and blushed. “I guess that’s one of those ladies only things, huh!?”

All three mares nodded.

“Okay. I’ll just head on over to my room and... get ready for bed.”

The three nodded in unison once more.

He slipped out of the chair, and waddled back into the castle. “Too bad,” he commented over his shoulder on the way. “That magazine ad had a pretty good picture of you, Twi.”

Silence followed him to the door. He was barely inside before he heard the tittering start, and then Twilight’s unmistakable laugh. He smiled and went to bed.

Homecoming

Author's note: this chapter picks up after the events of "Outland" which runs in parallel to the events of "A Herd of my Own." You don't have to have read Outland to understand all the nuances of this chapter, but it won't hurt, either!

Zecora watched the slow movement of Shad's barrel as he breathed. Alarmingly fast and shallow at the height of his fever, it had slowed as the medicines administered by the doctors took effect. Poisoned by infectious claws of a basilisk, the colt would not likely have survived without the ice bath in which he spent the first hours of his stay at Ponyville General Hospital.

Zecora considered her luck since moving to Equestria. She had never counted herself a very social equine, and the suspicion she’d met when she’d first visited Ponyville had only firmed her resolve to avoid entanglements. But if she hadn’t responded to Twilight’s offer of friendship, and in particular agreed to teach Applebloom alchemy, nopony would have noticed or cared about her disappearance. Under the mere suspicion that she might be in need of aid, not only these good friends but many others she barely knew in Ponyville had volunteered to risk life and limb in order search the dangerous Everfree! She had no doubt that Shad would have died in that cave if all those ponies hadn’t come. The mere thought made her heart ache!

Zecora moved her chair closer to the hospital bed in which Shad lay. He looked so heartbreakingly tiny on the adult sized mattress. She clutched his forehoof in her own bandaged one. The movement drew her eyes to the mirror over the room's sink on the other side of the bed. Her reflection showed more white gauze than striped fur. Her head, withers, right foreleg, barrel, and flank all sported expertly applied dressings. Unable to recall half of the wounds they covered, she tisked seeing the image.

Your eyes have finally healed, but what a sight they have revealed! Not a friendly zebra mare, but an equine zombie scare!

“Zecora...”

Her heart skipped a beat at the whispered call. Shad's small limbs struggled feebly to move closer. The whites of his eyes showed fear as his gaze whipped back and forth over the unfamiliar room and its contents, all of which was no doubt very alien and distressing to the youngster. She rose on her hind legs to enable her to embrace him in her forelegs. His struggles only ceased when he finally lay snug against her body.

“Hush, Shad,” she cooed. “I’m here, and I will remain for as long as you need me.” She lay a foreleg over the foal’s trembling body. “Namshukuru Muumba...” she crooned into his ear. Shad’s small limbs relaxed as she sang.

“Is that a Zebra spell you’re casting over the foal?” a voice spoke from the doorway.

Zecora looked up. A light green unicorn stallion with a pale mane stood there. She smiled in his direction. “This is but a lullaby, sung by mothers in my land. It seems to sooth our young friend Shad, even though he cannot understand.”

“I’m sure that’s very comforting to the lad, but you yourself appear to be undergoing medical treatment.” The voice kept a neutral tone as stallion entered, followed close behind by a tan coated mare sporting a wide brown braid and a cutie mark in the shape of a baby bottle. Zecora recalled seeing her with her son on market days.

“I am indeed a patient, as is this young foal here. Forgive me that I do not rise but help him feel secure”.

The stallion looked annoyed. “Well, actually that’s why I’ve come. Your assistance with this young orphaned pony is no longer needed.” The eyes of the mare behind him grew wide.

Zecora took a good look at the stallion. The starched collar and tie positively reeked of Equestrian bureaucracy. “Young Shad is indeed an orphan, and he’s already in my care, the fact of which I hope my have words have made you now aware.”

The stallion’s eyes closed to mere slits. “Be that as it may, you however, are not a pony, as this foal most certainly is. He is being placed with Mrs. Mash, a mare of his own kind.” He took a step forward. “Now move away from the bed, or I’ll call security and have you forcibly ejected.”

Zecora’s eyes narrowed and she flapped an ear. “On the contrary, it is you who must leave this room. My patience is now running thin, so you had better make it soon!”

The stallion took another step towards the bed. When he put a hoof on her shoulder she raised her head and called out calmly, but loudly. “Code White! Code White! Stat!!”

The stallion looked confused for a moment. Then, gritting his teeth, he began trying to pull Zecora away from the bed. He obviously had not considered that Zebras might be as muscular as earth ponies. He grunted as he pulled ineffectively at her.

Two orderlies in white hospital smocks galloped into the room and stopped just short of the scene at the foal’s bed.

The stallion leered at them in triumph. “Ah, good, it’s hospital security!” He took a step back and gestured to Zecora. “Take this aggressive Zebra away from this poor young pony!”

The orderlies looked at each other. Then one shoved an iron damping ring over the stallion’s horn while the other picked him up in his horn field and briskly levitated him out of the room.

The remaining orderly nodded to Zecora, then trotted out after his partner and his charge, leaving the mare standing embarrassedly next to the door.

Twilight popped into existence near the high ceiling of the hospital ward in proximity to Shad’s room. The hospital corridors had been designed to allow room for Pegasi emergency response technicians to quickly get to any point in the hospital with minimum delay. They were also kept clear of non-emergency traffic, so Twilight had decided to risk the teleport.

Her hovering skills, on the other wing, were not the best. She almost landed on top of the two orderlies struggling with a light-green stallion. The latter was squirming in a straight jacket and horn restraint ring.

“This is an outrage!” he shouted. “I...” A red ball flew through the air and lodged itself in his mouth, effectively silencing him.

“Sorry,” said the unicorn orderly. “I forgot to gag him earlier.”

Twilight glared at Pince Nez. “What is it, this time?” she intoned severely. Her horn glowed and the gag flew out of Pince Nez’s mouth.

“These goons attacked me! That’s what!” he snarled. “I came here to place this orphaned pony under proper pony care, and when that zebra resisted, instead of restraining her they physically assaulted me!” The magic restraint ring flew from his horn.

“You came in here and tried to force Zecora away from Shad’s bed,” said Twilight, deadpan.

“Exactly. And instead of helping me, these two ruffians, who are now former employees of this hospital I assure you, deliberately pounce on me and commit indignities on my person! What kind of hospital is this?” As he spoke the buckles on the straight jacket flew open and he extracted himself from the garment.

Twilight rolled her eyes. She glanced at the orderlies. “Code White?” she said laconically.

They nodded. “He grabbed Practitioner Zecora and tried to pull her away from her patient.”

Twilight’s smile had more predation than friendship in it. She looked Pince Nez in the eye. “You do realize that in touching Zecora you were materially interfering with the medical staff of this hospital?”

Pince Nez’s expression grew confused. “What do you mean. She’s just some zebra patient here. She shouldn’t even be in this room!”

Twilight glared. “Zecora is a consulting Alchemist for this hospital, and as such is a member of its staff. She is a medical practitioner who was entirely in her rights, and in fact following procedure, by calling a code white when you entered here. You have no authority over the medical practitioners of this facility and you had better think twice before trying to interfere with them again!”

Pince Nez pursed his lips and a document floated out of an inner pocket. “I may have overstepped my bounds in coming into the hospital room. Nevertheless, I have a declaration from the Canterlot Office of Social Services that this foal is to be placed into the care of a suitable pony immediately!”

“Shad is already in Zecora’s care, and that’s the way it will be until I say different!” growled Twilight.

Pince Nez smiled crookedly. “But just like me in this hospital, you do not have jurisdiction on a foal found in the Everfree, which is not part of your kingdom, your Majesty! See!”

A paper unfurled itself in front of Twilight’s face. She read it quickly.

Pince Nez leered. “The foal named Shad is to be fostered by a suitable pony. Not a zebra. The declaration is clear. When he leaves this hospital, Shad will be placed with Mrs. Mash!”

“Ahem.” Twilight cleared her throat. “I have nothing against Mrs. Mash, but tell me, Pince Nez, how was it that she, a resident of this kingdom, was chosen to foster a foreign foal?”

“I recently assisted the Prime Minister in signing joint services agreement between various departments of our and the Equestrian governments, including Social Services. I received the declaration asking me to appoint a suitable pony. Mrs. Mash was on the list of authorized foster parents from when this kingdom was merely a municipality.”

“This list is at City Hall?”

Pince Nez sniffed. “If you mean the Royal Administrative Center, then, yes, indeed.”

Twilight’s horn glowed. She spoke through thin lips. “Then, I assure you, if you consult the list now you will see Zecora’s name has been added.” She floated the scroll back in front of Pince Nez. A pen floated over from the pocket of the unicorn orderly. “You can either write Zecora’s name into the declaration now, or I can have the order sent down from Princess Celestia herself! Which do you prefer?”

Pince Nez ground his teeth quite audibly. Finally, his horn field grabbed the pen and he scratched out Mrs. E. Mash and wrote in Miss Zecora. He glared at Twilight as he hoofed over the paper.

“You know, there are consequences to the crown running rough-shod over the ponies who work tirelessly in on its behalf! Good day, your highness.” In a huff, he pivoted and trotted stiffly down the corridor.

When he out of sight, Twilight made her way towards Shad’s room.

“Zecora! I’m so sorry!” said Mrs. Mash, ears low. “I had no idea this is what Pince Nez had in mind when he asked me to foster a foal. I mean, everypony in town has heard about the colt you found in the Everfree! I should have connected the dots.”

Zecora chuckled. “My dear Mrs. Mash, you should not worry! But who exactly is this Pince Nez pony?”

Mrs. Mash blushed. “He’s the pony Canterlot sent to help Mayor Mare – I mean Prime Minister Mare – help set up the administration for the Friendship Rainbow Kingdom. He’s kind of uptight if you hadn’t noticed.” She came closer, raised a hoof to her mouth and whispered. “Pretty much everypony in Ponyville thinks he’s a real pain in the flank!”

Zecora snorted. “What does the princess have to say about him?”

The mare shrugged. “Not much so far that I’ve heard of. But she’s been busy with your disappearance.”

“Zecora!” a new female voice called out. “Are you okay?”

They both turned to see Princess Twilight Sparkle Sparkle enter the room in a rush. Eyes wide at first, she calmed down as she saw that everypony in the room seemed quite happy to see her, except the tan mare, who gulped and then bowed low.

“I came as soon as I heard there had been a commotion at the hospital.”
Twilight stared at his departing from, her brow deeply furrowed. “Well,” she declared resignedly. “I haven’t been very successful in turning that stallion into a friend!”

She moved closer to Shad’s bed and draped a hoof over the Zecora’s withers. “I’m so sorry, Zecora. This isn’t the welcome I’d hoped you’d receive coming back home after such a harrowing experience.”

Twilight’s ears drooped low. “I came as soon as Mayor... I mean Prime Minister Mare told me she’d seen Pince Nez heading off to the hospital with Mrs. Mash and that edict in hoof.” She shifted her gaze from the zebra to the tan mare, and smiling said: “No offense, Mrs. Mash!”

“None was taken, your highness!” she replied, looking relieved.

“Please, just call me Twilight! I’ve been meaning to invite you over for coffee. Spike says such nice things about you and your son! He’s over at your house all the time to play console games. I do hope he isn’t a bother?”

“Oh, not at all. He’s so polite! A real gentlecolt, er, gentledrake, I mean! And an awesome cook, too! He’s a real credit to how you’ve been raising him. Oh, and you can call me Elaina, Twilight.”

Twilight’s eyes grew big at the sudden compliment. Impulsively, she approached and nuzzled the mare.

“It’s very kind of you to say that, Elaina! Your Button, by the way, is cute as a button!” She smiled sheepishly. “And I’ve yet to beat him in any game we’ve played, the rascal, Elaina. You know, that’s a pretty and rather unusual name. I’d love to hear the story behind it! How about you and Button come by the castle tomorrow at three? I’m sure Spike would love a visit.”

Mrs. Mash’s eyes were almost as wide as her smile. “I’d be honored, Twilight!” She looked up at the clock hanging above the bed. “Omigosh! I have to go. I’ll see you tomorrow!” She bowed and trotted out the door.

Zecora watched her go. Her expression grew serious. “You are always there when we need you, for which I am grateful! But the future of young Shad is what has me most fearful, for strange as I seem to some ponies in Ponyville, these ponies are to this young foal far stranger still.”

Twilight sighed. “Omigosh! He’s a near feral foal! I hadn’t considered all the implications yet!” She came to the side of the bed. “He seems so fragile,” she observed, “sleeping like a little angel.”

Zecora sighed. “This littlest of ponies fought and outwitted a basilisk full grown. But I worry for him when wakes up so far from home.”

Together, they just looked on with concern as the little foal trembled and moaned in his fevered sleep.

Author's Note

Annnnnddd.... I finally get back to writing new chapters for A Herd of my Own! Thank you, dear readers, for your patience!