Cheerilee was enjoying some alone time while preparing her lessons for the first week of school. She almost couldn’t believe that only last Sunday they had saved the world from the Nightmare and almost nopony acknowledged that anything happened anymore. Cheerilee hadn’t been expecting much attention, Ponyville was a pretty laid back town after all, but Celestia barely even acknowledged that they had done anything. Most ponies that were coming in from other places for a last bit of touring before the school season started only considered it a new thing the princess had decided to try out.

Cheerilee didn’t blame the princess for keeping the rest of the world in the dark about the Nighmare and the element bearers. Letting the nobles know about the bearers could wind up provoking fights over which noble house gets to use the elements as they please. Cheerilee was quite thankful for not being dragged into a political battlefield, but the princess could have at least given them a “thank you”. Instead the only thanks they got was from Pinkamena at the saving the world party.

Cheerilee was beginning to worry about the pink, bubbly mare that graces Sugar Cube Corner. Her alternate personality was starting to resurface again. Not many ponies know of Pinkie’s disorder, mainly because of the medicine she takes, but to see that personality show up again was troublesome. Hopefully Pinkie sees her doctor before ponies start disappearing, unlike the first time it happened.

A light rapping at the door of the school house broke Cheerilee out of her thoughts as she wondered who would be here on the Saturday before the first week of school. Maybe her sister Berry Punch had brought over a hard drink in order to help her unwind again. Although she hated to admit it, Cheerilee found that hard cider was a good way to forget about the minor annoyances that come with teaching sixth graders.

Apple Jack who had been wanting a bit of an edge against Rarity was eagerly knocking on the door to the schoolhouse in order to get a good opinion on what a Canterlot pony like Twilight would like. Cheerilee came to the door with a happy smile that faltered for a second when she noticed Apple Jack.

“Sorry about botherin’ ya Miss. Cheerilee but ah was hopin’ ah could ask ya a few things about Canterlot ponies.”

“Oh it’s no trouble Apple Jack I was just expecting my sister Berry Punch.”

“School’s not even in session till Monday and the kids are already leadin’ ya to drink again.” Apple Jack said in a teasing manner.

“Trust me, when you have to deal with a brat like Diamond Tiara every day you need it.”

“Silver Spoon being nicer then?”

“No…but she probably would be nicer if she didn’t clamor after Diamond Tiara’s approval so much. She probably is afraid that Diamond will turn on her if she doesn’t act the way she does.” Cheerilee said with a sigh.

“Nothing we can do about it unless Silver’s parents intervene or Diamond moves away. So about the Canterlot ponies.”

“Oh yes, sorry about getting distracted there, but you know how I am when it comes to the students.”

“It’s one of the reasons why ah trust ya with Apple Bloom so much, ya care about them.”

“Now you wanted to know about Canterlot ponies. Well there are a few things to know about Canterlot before I talk about them. Canterlot was made the capital of Equestria four years after the banishment of Artemis. Princess Celestia was the only known alicorn at the time and was now the sole ruler of Equestria prompting most of the nation’s nobility to move into the newly founded capital that had been built into the side of the Canterhorn mountain. As a result most of the ponies there today are quite wealthy and are known for enjoying ballroom dancing and dinner parties. However there are less wealthy ponies that call the illustrious city their home and they are mostly found living right under what would normally be considered Canterlot. This is because Canterlot has an upper and lower part to the city and most ponies outside of Canterlot aren’t too aware of the lower part. This lower part is split into gated and ungated communities due to the high crime rates that exist there.”

“Sorry to interrupt but how will this help me understand what Twilight might like? Ah’m a big a fan of history as the next mare, but could ya get to something more relevant?”

“Sorry…I tend to go into lecture mode when asked certain questions. Now as I was saying considering that Twilight isn’t a very wealthy pony other than being the student of Celestia she most likely grew up in lower Canterlot. Ponies there are typically more accustomed to the dim light of the glowing crystals that are used to light this part of the city. Being raised in the palace and having a rather impressive education however, has likely given Twilight an appreciation for slow and quiet events. What little influence from lower Canterlot she has most likely culminates in an appreciation for low lighting, loud music, and murder.”

“Ah can understand all of that except the murdering part.” Apple Jack said in confusion.

“Sorry, I was thinking of thugs when I said that last part. I meant to say clubbing, not murder.”

“Makes more sense but ah still can’t see Twilight hitting the clubs the way her brother does with the guards every Friday.”

“Clubbing is actually a popular thing in big cities even some of the nobles go to them and let loose.”

“Thanks…Ah’ll keep that in mind. Oh! Berry Punch asked me to give ya this bottle of cherry Vodka.” The apple farmer said while rummaging in her saddle bags.

“Thanks Apple Jack and tell granny that Berry appreciates the cider barrels that you reserve for her.”

“Well ah wouldn’t leave your sister hangin’ when it comes to the most popular ingredient in some of her mixed drinks.”

“I won’t keep you around this empty school house any longer and thanks for the delivery.”

After Apple Jack left Cheerilee went back to her desk and was about to get back to her class attendance sheet when she was interrupted by a white mare with a deep violet mane known as Rarity. Why she was here was probably to make sure her sister Sweetie Belle was registered for classes after her parents left her in Ponyville recently. She turned to face the patient mare who was idly running a fore hoof through one of her curls.

“Hello Rarity, I am assuming that you are here to discuss Sweetie Belle’s registration and I am pleased to announce that she has already been fully enrolled for the school year.”

“Oh I’m sure the little darling will be pleased to know that. Now I came here because I was curious about what Apple Jack was talking to you about.”

“Oh she just wanted to know about Canterlot and the ponies that live there.”

“Trying to gain the upper-hoof I see. Well she will have to have more than a little information about Canterlot to win the Tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala.”

“Why would Apple Jack want to attend such a formal event?”

“I have absolutely no idea. She would be a fish out of water at such an event and I wish to go in her stead, but she is quite stubborn and is that cherry Vodka?”

“What? You’ve seen me drink before, especially when we both went up to the bar with Granny Smith that one time.”

“I barely remember what happened at that party darling, and what I do remember is that Granny Smith is terrifying when she gets cranky.”

“You know how my sister gets when Pinkie wants to throw a pony’s twenty first birthday party. She always has to take you out to the nearest pub afterwards and she always has to mix your first drink.”

“Yes, well thank you for your time Miss. Cheerilee and I’ll be sure to let Sweetie know she will need to get up early Monday.” The mare said before leaving.

Cheerilee, who was happy to be getting back to her paperwork, continued working with no interruptions until the door swung open and the tiny hoofsteps of two fillies entered the room. Cheerilee looked up to the clock and noticed that quite a bit of time had passed and that her bottle of Vodka was now half empty. The two fillies that had entered the room were none other than Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle with a rather annoyed looking Spike with them.

“Oh hello girls! What can I do for you?”

“We were hanging out with our new friend Spike here and we found out that he isn’t going to be attending classes. So we decided to set him up with the best teacher in town, if you know what I’m saying.” Scootaloo said with a wink.

“Miss Sugarberry Loo Punch don’t think you are going to be given a lighter punishment for trashing the house and staying out after dark yesterday just because you are wanting to help register a new student!” Cheerilee said with a hoof stomp.

“Sugarberry?” Sweetie Belle asked while breaking out into a giggle fit.

“Wait then why are you called Scootaloo?” Spike asked.

“I hate my first name, I like scooters, and my middle name sounds kinda’ cool so I mixed them together and came up with Scootaloo. Mom did something similar but she mixed her first name and middle name together instead, her real name is Blackcherry Lee Punch.”

“Scootaloo please be good for the day.” Cheerilee said in an exasperated tone before continuing, “I’m busy finalizing all of the paperwork and I haven’t even gotten halfway through yet. Someday I hope I don’t have to teach every foal from first to eighth grade in all of Ponyville.”

“Sorry mom…but…Sweetie Belle? How did you finish all of the papers required to register Spike so fast!”

“Wait Cheeriless’s your mom?” Spike asked before being promptly ignored.

“I’m used to filling them out with my parents every few months during our travels between cities. Now come on we still have time for another cutie-mark attempt!” Sweetie Belle said while placing the papers on her teacher’s desk.

“But dragons don’t get cutie-marks.” Spike added.

“You can still help and have fun with us!” Sweetie Belle said with glee as she pulled Spike out of the building with Cheeriliee’s daughter, Scootaloo, following them out.

Cheerilee sagged in her chair and sighed knowing that Scootaloo hardly got any attention from her with how busy her days were. Thankfully she only taught at two separate times during the day with most foals from first to fifth grade being taught in the early part of the day before going home and leaving the rest of the students after recess. The real nightmare was sifting through everypony’s homework, and her sister Berry had helped grade things on more than one occasion.

“Just let me finish my work for the day.” Cheerilee groaned to herself while looking at the ceiling.

(_o_============================================_o_)

Diamond Tiara, the local bully of Ponyville elementary, was currently playing near a small pond in Whitetail woods. She had just managed to get a golden ball after begging her father for one for over three months. He, unlike the rest of his staff, had a strong defense against her whining, but even he had limits. He would never tell his daughter this, but the ball she got had very little gold in it and like most was made almost entirely of rubber. Who would be able to have fun with a solid gold ball outside of bowlers, Croquet players, and Discord?

Diamond Tiara couldn’t care less though, as long as it was expensive and something she could rub in her classmates’ faces she was alright with whatever it was made of. So the little rich filly played with the ball and rolled it around and actually started to have some real fun with it before it rolled into the pond and sank to the bottom. The filly looked down into the murky water faintly seeing the glittery rubber the balls surface was made of before popping down and just thinking about how to get the rubber orb out of the pond, without doing it herself of course.

As the filly sat there contemplating her predicament a frog from the bog hopped over to a spot near her and began to look at her. She looked at the frog and found nothing out of the ordinary about it, it was a frog after all. As the amphibian continued to look at Diamond Tiara the little filly went with the only plan she had at the moment and spoke to the frog.

“My ball has rolled into your pond oh odious frog, now go fetch it and bring back for me.”

The frog just stared at the filly and did nothing but croak and continue staring at the filly. Diamond Tiara wasn’t amused by the frog’s lack of action, nor was she amused by its response to her either. She knew just what to do when things like this arose though.

“If you fetch my ball I will give you all the flies you could ever want.”

*Ribbet*

“I’ll throw in a tiara as well if you fetch the ball.” Diamond Tiara said with a smile to the unmoving frog.

*Ribbet*

“I’ll let you be my friend for the day, but don’t think I will enjoy it.”

The frog promptly turned around and hopped away at the last reply leaving an exasperated filly. She couldn’t understand how the frog would refuse any of her offers to enhance its life. Any other pony would have jumped at the chance for some free food or an offer to give them something. Surely there was something that Diamond Tiara wasn’t getting. Unfortunately she only had concerns for her ball right now.

Silver Spoon was walking through the woods with her mother, a unicorn named Dainty Spoon, while enjoying the feeling of the warm summer air against her coat. Silver Spoon noticed the distraught filly she called a friend staring into the pond and walked over to her. It wasn’t unusual for Silver Spoon and her mother to walk through the woods, especially when the weather was so nice today. Diamond Tiara playing by herself here wasn’t an unusual sight either, and Whitetail woods was one of her favorite spots.

Diamond Tiara just stared at the ball that was mocking her beneath the placid surface of the pond. Then the filly felt a warm, plush surface wrap itself around her as Sliver Spoon hugged her. Diamond Tiara wasn’t expecting this, nor did she know why it was happening, but she enjoyed it while it lasted. Nopony ever hugged her anymore now that her mother was gone.

Silver Spoon had wanted to cheer up Diamond Tiara from her dejected state of staring blankly into the pond. Now she could only think that hugging Diamond Tiara was a mistake as the pink filly in her forehooves started to whimper. Her doubt turned into a small amount of confusion when Diamond Tiara began to hug her back as tears slowly formed in her eyes.

“Are you alright Diamond?”

“I miss my momma!” The pink filly cried.

Dainty Spoon knew fully well what was going on with the bratty filly and waited until the filly had finally shed all of her tears. The mare walked up to her and noticed a glittering object in the water where the filly had been staring. She lifted the ball out of the water with her telekinesis and brought it close to where the two fillies were embraced.

“Is this what you were looking for when we found you Diamond Tiara? Now if you wouldn’t mind we could walk you home I’m sure your father would be happy to see you.” The mare said with a smile that radiated pure kindness.

Diamond Tiara dumbly nodded her head as the mare’s motherly voice reached her ears. She slowly let go of Silver Spoon and collected her ball before following the duo through the woods on their walk. It was days like today that made Diamond Tiara happier than she had been in a long time. Unfortunately she knew it would all end too quickly.

(_o_============================================_o_)

Fluttershy was on the outskirts of the Golden Harvest farm that Carrot Top tended to. It wasn’t anything compared to Sweet Apple Acres in terms of size as it was only big enough to be considered a really big garden. The yellow mare nervously fidgeted at the entryway to the farm hoping that Carrot Top wouldn’t hate her, for Fluttershy’s bunnies were known for stealing from the carrot farmer.

The carrot farmer was busy humming to herself as she watered her plants for the day when she noticed the yellow Pegasus near the front gate. Carrot Top was all too familiar with the pests that Fluttershy kept around her house and she knew that all of the other farmers hated those thieving rabbits as well. Nopony blamed Fluttershy for them though, she was just considered another victim of the creatures’ faux cuteness by the farming community.

“Hey Fluttershy what’s going on!?”

“Oh I’m so sorry to interrupt you miss Carrot Top! Please forgive me! I’m only here for a hangover cure, one of my friends had a little too much Dragon liquor.”

“I’d be happy to help and I’ve already told you that I don’t blame you for the bunnies crimes. Now I’ll have that tonic whipped up in a jiffy just wait right there and I’ll bring it out to you.”

As Fluttershy patiently waited for Carrot Top to mix up the medicine her eyes began to rove over the many rows of carrots that lay before as her mind drifted off to somewhere else. As her mind wandered she just stood there staring at the carrot fields while those passing by noticed a dreamy look in the mare’s eyes. From that day forward anypony who noticed the look Fluttershy was giving the carrot field would assume that carrots were Fluttershy’s favorite food.

When Carrot Top returned Fluttershy snapped out of her blissful daze and paid for the medicine. As she walked down the path she could see Apple Jack running around preparing for what was likely an attempt to win the mare’s gala ticket. Fluttershy hadn’t realized how much she wanted the ticket before now and Twilight had already offered it to her. All she had to do was keep the others from getting their hooves on it and her place at the gala was set.

Fluttershy frowned at the last part of her train of thought, surely getting involved in her friends competition wasn’t going to end well. If she remembered anything from her dream it was when to go with the flow, and she knew if she waited this out her ticket would certainly be secured. But why did she feel guilty about that? Surely her friends would understand if Twilight picked her to go to the gala.

“Oh if only Angel bunny were here he would do something to make me realize I’m being a foolish filly.” The mare said as she began to fret.

On her way to the residence she had started to nervously eat what food was in her bag before reaching the home of her friend who was currently sleeping on the couch. The butter yellow mare was going to open the door and give her friend the medicine until she realized that she didn’t have any of Spike’s gems when making sure she had everything. The mare, who wouldn’t let any innocent creature suffer, darted towards Rarity’s hoping to catch her before she became too busy with other things.

Oddly enough it wasn’t too hard to find her as she was coming back from having visited Cheerilee. The marshmallow was currently gathering up a few things for what she was planning. Fluttershy had no intention of making a fool of herself by interfering with anything or exasperating the squishy mare. All Fluttershy was here for was the gems for Spike.

“Um…Hello Rarity I’ve just came back after realizing that I don’t have any gems and I sort of need them.” Fluttershy said sheepishly.

“But Fluttershy darling I already gave you the gems when we had that conversation.”

“I’m sorry Rarity, but I don’t seem to have any gems. I’ll pay you for the new ones though, I don’t wasn’t to take advantage of you generosity.”

“Thank you darling, I work so hard to get ahold of my gems you have no idea.”

“Of course Rarity, and your knowledge on so many of the different types is amazing. You truly work hard on your dresses and fashion career.”

“Fluttershy you are such a flatterer.”

“Oh, ok.”

“Here are your gems darling and make sure you don’t lose them this time. Now time to get my stuff together for what I’m planning on doing. Hmm…maybe a bit of blue cloth would be preferred.” Rarity mumbled the last bit to herself as Fluttershy left her house.

After Fluttershy had left Rarity visibly frowned. The local gem cutter, Diaond Cutter, had been goading Rarity about using magic again. The mare was known for being a tribalist and unicorns, Rarity especially, were the ones she liked to antagonize the most. Thankfully rarity didn’t explode like she did every week, but that only meant she was a ticking time bomb waiting to explode at the simplest indication of tribalism though.

“Hopefully I don’t do something foolish.” Rarity mused to herself.

(_o_============================================_o_)

To say Dusk Shine was unhappy was an understatement, he was currently experiencing what felt like Tartarus on Equus. Drinking in the military wasn’t uncommon for Dusk Shine and he could even hold his liquor pretty well. Dragon liquor was different though and it always left him passed out somewhere and left him wishing he was dead later.

While he was busy retching the last of his stomach’s contents into the toilet he briefly remembered Cheerilee saying something about Dragon liquor being distilled from a magical flaming plant that grows in an empire ruled by dragon-pony hybrids. She said they were something called Longma which was a Neighponese word that translated into equestrian as dragon horse. She then went into a long rant about how Kilin were a different creature entirely that was composed of a large mixture of creatures. Although Dusk Shine was more concerned with the hangover he was currently experiencing after having passed out over two hours ago than Cheerilee’s ranting about the various chimeric creatures in the world.

The disguised stallion heard a knock at the bathroom door and the familiar “eep” that alerted the pony to Fluttershy’s appearance. The stallion managed to get over his hangover just enough to unlock the door and allow Fluttershy in. The mare looked at him with a knowing look and handed him some sort of tonic inside of a bottle.

“Here Twilight, I know how bad Dragon liquor hangovers can be and I grabbed some medicine for you.”

“Thanks Fluttershy, anything to help with this hangover is appreciated.”

Twilight took the concoction and swallowed the whole thing noting the bitter aftertaste. The relief was almost instant as the headache that felt like a nail heated in the hottest pits of Tartarus had been imbedded into her skull now receded until it felt more like she had been kicked in the head. She could handle this level of pain though and she made her way down to her kitchen in order to get a drink of water.

Fluttershy helped her by getting a glass and filling it and the butter yellow mare patiently waited for Twilight to finish her drink before attempting to do anything else. Unfortunately Rarity had just finished her preparations and had entered the building hoping to win the Gala Tickets from Twilight. The mare had brought with her an assortment of dishes and an entire tea set.

While the fashionista set up the tea and managed to pull a plate of scones out of thin air in a manner Pinkie would have admired Apple Jack showed up as well. The earth pony looked at the frou frou pony before her and proceeded to sit in the corner just waiting to see what Rarity would do. Rarity was obviously agitated by Apple Jack’s unplanned appearance and the apple farmer couldn’t help but snicker at Rarity.

Rarity ignored the apple farmer and continued with her setup and started what could only be considered a relatively ordinary tea party. Unfortunately Twilight wasn’t entirely fond of tea and didn’t enjoy anything other than the food. Fluttershy was fully enjoying the tea party though and she talked to Rarity about her animals and dress designs while Apple Jack inhaled what food was present.

After the tea party was over Rarity looked rather smug. Apple Jack could care less though and she pulled out a scrap book and started having all of the others join in. Twilight found the activity to be relatively nice considering that she had a headache. She wasn’t one to go full out on the girly parts though and was more interested in just pasting the pictures to the pages. Fluttershy seemed to be the one to enjoy all of this the most though and in her books the two were easily making her day a splendid one now.

Rarity compensated for Apple Jack’s surprisingly pleasant activity by pulling out paper and scissors and deciding to make paper dolls. Twilight was relatively bored with the project, but she did make some snazzy designs with it. Apple Jack was looking a little smug and Fluttershy was happy busily making chains of butterflies. Rarity on the other-hoof was starting to get a little nervous with the lack of interest Twilight was showing.

Apple Jack’s next attempt involved sampling a few hors d’oeuvres Apple Jack had prepared after she promised that no Dragon liquor was involved. She even set up a little bit of fancy music and while Rarity and Fluttershy were enjoying themselves twilight couldn’t help but start to feel bored with what they were doing. Rarity took notice of Twilight’s disinterest in the things they were doing and thought about what to do to liven up things.

Rarity began to set up what could only be described as DJ equipment and speakers. Apparently Rarity had managed to figure out that Twilight had a taste for newer music when Apple Jack accidently grabbed one of Twilight’s records and had packed accordingly. Apple Jack just sat back and watched Rarity set things up while snickering the whole time, knowing full well that Twilight still had a headache.

“What’s so funny Apple Jack?” Rarity said in a huff.

“Nothing, just watching ya about to make a fool of yerself.”

“Well! A lady would never stoop so low as to insult the competition.”

“Well it’s a good thing that my competition aint shown up yet.” Apple Jack teased.

“Oh so I’m not worth being your competitor now am I!”

“Well it would be competing if you were actually doing something worth challenging.”

“How dare you!? I am perfectly capable of competing with you even if I lack the physical build of an earthpony!”

“Whoa there! Ah aint said nothing about my competing having to do with ya being a unicorn.” Apple Jack said starting to get nervous.

“But you were thinking it! Every earthpony does this to me! None of them ever take me seriously because I’m a unicorn!” Rarity said now clearly red in the face.

“Well uh…Ah’m mighty sorry to hear that and ah’m sorry that you’ve dealt with ponies that doubt ya like that. But ah haven’t insinuated nothing of the sort and the Apple family isn’t one to stoop so low as to go about thinking and spouting tribalist junk!”

Twilight just watched what started as light teasing turn into a full blown argument about whether or not Apple Jack is being tribalist. The unicorn mare wished she knew why Rarity was so easy to blow up on such a subject, but unfortunately their bickering had started to make her headache worse. Fluttershy was starting to get antsy as the two mares continued to go at it and she was starting to get a look that could only be described as utter disappointment.

“Ah’m telling ya ah don’t care whether or not ya have a horn ya are still a good pony!”

“So now you decide to say you don’t care whether I have magic or not! I will have you know that I have worked hard with my magic and I would appreciate it if you acknowledged what I’ve accomplished with it, even if earthponies think it’s just a cheap way of getting things done!”

“EVERYPONY SHUT UP!!!!!!!!!!!” Fluttershy screamed at the top of her lungs, and this time Celestia did hear her.

The two mares who were screaming at each other a moment before slowly turned to look at Fluttershy and immediately regretted it. The two ponies had only heard rumors of the stare before and what it could do and now they were being exposed to it in its full unfiltered power. The glare that Fluttershy was currently giving them made Rarity want to go hide in a mud pit somewhere, while Apple Jack thought about what it would be like to be banished to the moon.

“If you two cannot stop your bickering about silly and hurtful things then you don’t deserve the tickets to the gala! Now go home both of you this competition is over and I want you to think about what you have done!” The mare seethed as the two ponies she called friends wilted under her stern glare.

“But how was ah supposed to know she’s had bad experiences with tribalism?”

“Apple Jack corner now!” Fluttershy commanded and Apple Jack complied by plopping down and staring at the intersection the two walls made.

“I’m sorry!” Rarity cried causing her mascara to run.

“I-it’s alright Rarity. You’ve been so used to being discriminated against that you see it everywhere know. I-I don’t know why, but please try to be a little more understanding next time.” Fluttershy said before ending the stare.

“My question is why has she been exposed to this?” Twilight asked as her headache began to go away.

“Sorry darling, but that’s my little secret that I would rather not talk about right now. I’ll be fine though, I’m just a little emotionally exhausted. Although I hardly think I deserve to be with a prince with the way I’ve acted towards Apple Jack. She can have the ticket if she so chooses, I’ll even help her fit in there. It’s the least I could do for how I’ve acted.”

“Ah think ah should be the one apologizing Rarity. Ah started heckling ya when ah shouldn’t have and ah provoked a reaction ah wasn’t expecting. Ya deserve that ticket more than ah do considering ah could’ve just walked away and let ya cool down instead of getting in yer face right away.”

“These tickets are causing too much trouble if they lead to this kind of stuff.” Twilight groaned, “I’m happy all of you learned a lesson and I’d even send it to Celestia if I thought she’d read it, trust me she needs it, but I might as well get rid of the tickets if they lead to this much fighting.”

“Or you could just ask Artemis for more.” Sunset Shimmer said while dragging in an exhausted Rainbow Dash.

“Where have you been?! I’ve been half starved, ran over by a scooter and a wagon, drunk on Dragon liquor, and forced to listen to an argument about tribalism!” A rather grumpy Twilight said to Sunset Shimmer.

“Well I better not tell my Shiny about you then. He would be so upset with you if he found out you’ve been drinking without him again.” Sunset said in a playful tone.

“Wait did somepony upset Rarity with an earthpony comment again?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“You knew!!?” Everypony other than Rarity and Fluttershy screamed at Rainbow Dash.

“Well yeah! I mean have you seen the way all of the earthponies in town look at her? I’m just surprised it happened here instead of the market where her weakly blowup usually happens. It’s always Diamond Cutter that starts it though, seriously that mare has no respect for any other tribe. I thought Apple Jack would at least have known considering the amount of time she spends in the market.”

“Ah’m only in the market on Saturdays until two. Dash ah spend the rest of ma time on the farm.”

“Well I guess everypony just assumed you knew about that then. Well this is embarrassing. Oh and Rarity I’ll be over later to commission a special uniform that Sunset here helped design.”

“Oh, ok darling. I’ll be sure to look at it.”

“Great now that the ticket problem is settled…WHERE IS SPIKE!”

“I think Rarity’s sister and Scootaloo were with him the last time I saw him.”

“Oh dear, I hope they don’t wind up getting him in trouble.” Rarity said knowing fully what Sweetie Belle was capable of.

(_o_============================================_o_)

“Wow this really is fun!” Spike said as he narrowly missed a water balloon.

“I told you! It also helped remove the tree sap from when we tried sap collecting earlier.”

“I still thought that it sounded funny.” Scootaloo said while pelting Spike with another balloon.

“Hey guys the sun’s starting to set and I’m getting hungry.” Spike said to the group.

“Oh no! If I come home after dark again my mom is going to kill me!” Scootaloo yelled before jumping on her scooter and zooming off.

“So…Spike. Uh if you don’t mind I’d like it if we walked home together.” Sweetie Belle said while blushing.

“Uh…sure I mean I already know where Carousel Boutique is.”

“Alright, but let’s stop at your place first since you’re hungry.”

“My place is closer isn’t it? Well I guess we can take a slight detour.”

The two walked towards the residency while Spike stayed absolutely oblivious to the implications. Sweetie Belle stayed close to the young drake, but not close enough to cause him to notice. As the two approached the residency they could see most of the element bearers standing outside with Sunset Shimmer. Rarity seemed a little distressed though.

“Uh hi sis, is something going on?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Oh it’s nothing dearie I just let my anger get out of control again is all. Oh and Spike Twilight was worried about you.”

“It wasn’t that big of a deal guys. I was with Sweetie Belle the whole time.” Spike said trying to sound a little tough in front of Rarity.

“Well Sweetie Belle we better head home and fix you dinner.”

“Alright Rarity! Oh and Twilight I signed Spike up for our elementary class so you are going to want to talk to Cheerilee tomorrow!”

“Oh! Well thank you Sweetie Belle that really frees up my time now that I don’t have to worry about teaching Spike myself. I’ll be sure to finalize everything with Cheerilee tomorrow. Also, Spike, Fluttershy already has your dinner sitting on the table.”

“Oh Spike I have something to give you before I go.” Sweetie Belle said to the dragon.

“Oh really, what is it!?” Spike asked having completely forgotten the filly’s crush.

What happened next left Spike standing there sheepishly with a deep red blush plastered on his face, while Rainbow Dash whistled somewhere in the background and shouted, "You go girl!". Sweetie Belle had kissed Spike on his cheek while dropping a gem into his hands before running over to a waiting Rarity. Sweetie waved back at Spike before the duo left and amidst the crowd of surprised ponies was a smiling Fluttershy.

Rarity had been surprised when her sister openly kissed Spike like that. She had known her sister to be full of surprises, but this one took the cake. Never in her life would she have expected Sweetie Belle to fall for a dragon. Still she would support her if things lasted long enough and he started feeling the same way. Sometimes life threw unexpected things at you and sometimes you would just have to roll with them. This was one of those times.

(_o_============================================_o_)

Artemis was pacing in his room after having heard about the trouble his sister had caused earlier in the day with the element bearers. Luckily they could talk things out like civilized ponies when they needed to, otherwise a rift could have formed between Rarity and Apple Jack. He already knew who Diamond Cutter was from brief glimpses into Rarity’s memories when he was partially controlled by the Nightmare.

The problem with the gala was the one that was going to be hard to figure out how to mess with. If Dusk Shine fakes Twilight’s death and assumes a new female persona there would be too many problems. One was that he would need to transfer all of Twilight’s bits and doing that was sure to arouse suspicion when she dies later. Another problem was that recasting the armor’s feminizing enchantments in order to make a new persona was going to produce less than satisfying results compared to using the pony wearing the armor as the base design.

The fact that this new mare would be capable of using the element of magic right off the bat would be problematic along with the fact that the element’s shape and color would go unchanged. Her friends could be let in on a secret where Twilight wishes to drop completely out of Celestia’s eye and fake death…could work, but the funds were still a problem and those outside of the element bearers might grow suspicious about the element’s shape and color, although he could always say that the element was stuck looking like that. It was simple, somewhat believable, and it wasn’t technically a lie.

Sometimes Artemis wondered if his sister lived to make his life hard. Which brought him to the matter he was working on before he had to send out extra gala tickets and work on finding a solution to the Dusk Shine and Twilight problem. He was currently working on reintroducing the idea of creativity and shooting beyond what is expected.

Laying on one of the stallions desks were his plans for motivationally spurring ponies on to try and be more creative and a few ponies were already penciled in for help. Prince Blueblood was among them and he was one of Artemis’ special pet projects on helping the nobility overcome their ego. Of course Prince Blueblood had come to him because of how popular Artemis was coming off compared to the wide berth most gave him.

Blueblood was only good for funding and, unlike what his social status suggests, a good image. Blueblood was most notably a good business pony considering his special talent was too see the potential in ponies and guide them, although Artemis sometimes wonders what the stallion thinks of himself. The prince had suggested a motivational speaker named Iron Will earlier and told the Prince that he was very influential and helpful when he wasn’t causing ponies to go overboard.

Needless to say Artemis had the Minotaur scheduled for a longer meeting than most in order to figure out how to balance things out with him. Of course there was the problem of not knowing of any other speakers or performers qualified for such a task, again this was why Blueblood was present. The stallion, for all of his faults, was going to be useful in helping make sure this inspiration project runs smoothly.

Celestia wouldn’t be able to say much to him or hinder him all that much considering he wasn’t resting on his power alone to support this. She would likely find a way to be a pain in the flank about it though. She was also likely out for a little bit of payback for having messed with her schedule without permission if he knew her. Thankfully he had his guard prepared for anything she might decide to do.

Most of the thestrals that had been hiding under the mountains had joined his legion of guards considering he wouldn’t accept any of the guards Celestia was offering. The only problem he had with Celestia’s guards was the training they lacked and what she had decided their main purpose was for. It appeared Celestia viewed them as nothing more than decorative door stoppers that kept the annoying ponies away.

At least the thestrals knew what it meant to be a good soldier and a guard. From what Artemis had heard quite a few of the thestrals had sparked rivalries among the day guard. It would appear that the ponies he served to rule over so many years ago were now setting examples for the ponies that one looked upon them as nothing more than fruit bats.

A faint knocking could be heard at Artemis’ door and none other than Prince Blueblood walked in. The stallion still wore a fancy vest as always, being part of the nobility tended to make clothes mandatory, although his mane was allowed to assume a natural position. The stallion walked over to the desk and began examining the names listed. A small frown appearing on his face with the small amount of usable specialists when it came to their project.

“Am I to assume that these are all of the names you have been able to come up with since our meeting earlier today?”

“Even though I was able to fully integrate myself into society I am still unfamiliar with many of the ponies under Celestia’s jurisdiction. My thestrals have ponies they could use but they sleep during the day and unlike alicorns and draconiquui they still need to sleep almost every twelve hours.”

“I suppose that is true. Now I have a list of ponies worth looking into and I highly suggest looking at it before we begin this campaign.”

“I’m still surprised those so close to the sun do not worship her like the rest.”

“It’s as they say. Get too close to the sun and it burns you, and if you look at it too long it blinds you. Fly too close and you are sure to fall, and even then it just sits back and watches it all.”

“Odd. Am I to assume this is a resident of the castle thing? Because Celestia only seems to let her personality out when here or dealing with her students, in letters or otherwise.”

“It’s only something those who truly stay here long enough to know the princess say. Earthponies don’t hold Celestia in as high a regard as the rest of the population, but they aren’t known to support alicorn rule. They tend to thank the stars instead of her, and most ponies growing near them pick up the habit.”

“I have a question…what do you see when it comes to your own potential?”

“My prince it is whatever you need it to be, I only wish to correct my faults and grow as a pony. You have taken it upon yourself to be the gardener so I will do as only you see fit for me to do.”

“It seems you are full of surprises Blueblood, but this is one that I couldn’t have foreseen without more insight into who you are. So thank you for willingly helping me.”

“Of course my prince. If it wouldn’t be too improper I’ll just tell you that my decisions and…my views concerning myself have…changed recently. I once thought that I was the finest specimen of stallion to exist…but a few years ago something happened and…I found out that even the most beautiful exterior can’t hide a rotten core. I’m sorry but I don’t wish to elaborate further…the event was rather unpleasant for me.”

“I see. Thank you for the insight. Now let’s get back to work shall we?”

Author's Note

wow...I actually don't hate Diamond Tiara here.

Okay so before you hate me for Rarity being all riled up about tribalism I hope that I explained she wasn't too upset and that she's somewhat used to Diamond Cutter's shenanigan's. Rarity isn't facing anything more than Diamond Tiara level's of teasing and small amounts of bigotry, but will probably never be explicitly used. So you won't have to worry about Diamond Cutter actually hating on Rarity other than what Rarity lets on, unless you really want that sort of thing. Just so all of you know I think Rarity is my third favorite.

Fluttershy can be pretty intense when riled up...wow.

When writing the part involving Diamond I somehow immersed myself into the story and nearly cried when rereading it.

I actually gave Scootaloo a home...and the rest of the mane six still don't know about that yet. Cheerilee will probably tell them during the next week.

Fell free to comment and tell what you think of the story! I enjoy reading the comments and wish to make this story as enjoyable and as good of a read as possible. Feel free to ask me any questions regarding the characters but I won't give you any straight answers for ones that directly relate to the plot, you know "spoilers". Also feel free to make suggestions as well.