Twilight stood by the library door with an impatient look on her face. "Spike, are you ready to go yet?!" She yelled up the library stair case. She was answered with a long yawn as the baby dragon moseyed down the staircase of the great library.
"Yeah, but does it have to be so early?"
"All I know is that the Mayor said she had some kind of big announcement and she wanted everypony up bright and early to hear it."
She opened the door to the library and set out into Ponyville with Spike following close behind her. It was a beautiful morning. There were only a few clouds in the sky and the sun had just come over the horizon, casting a warm glow on Ponyville. Other ponies were emerging from their houses as well, all heading towards town hall, where the big announcement was supposed to take place. As Twilight approached town hall she was surprised by how many ponies were already gathered in front of the hall. She scanned the crowd, looking for a familiar face. It didn't take her long to spot her friends Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie standing off to the right side of the crowd. Twilight and Spike quickly made their way towards them. Applejack was the first to notice their approach.
"Twilight! Good to see ya!" Applejack said in her usual welcoming tone. "Y'all have any idea what this is about?"
"Not a clue, I'm just as curious as you are." Twilight responded.
"OOH! OOH! Maybe the Mayor's finally going to implement my emergency party system!" Pinkie Pie interjected. Both mares raised an eyebrow at her.
"Emergency party system?" Twilight said questioningly.
"Yeah, you know, for when we need an emergency party!" Pinkie responded like it explained everything.
"Well I hope she announces that we can all go back to bed." Spike mumbled.
The noise of the crowd began to die down as the Mayor of Ponyville took the center stage. All eyes were on her now as she turned to address the crowd. "Fillies and Gentlecolts, as your mayor, I am pleased to announce that Ponyville will be receiving two very special visitors. These visitors are none other than the recently discovered talents Sky Flare and Star Shine!" Excited murmurs began to circulate around the crowd.
"What does that have to do with my emergency party system?" Pinkie Pie asked, as if it were the whole point of the meeting.
The Mayor continued "They will be resting here for about a week before they continue on to their next show. As I'm sure you all know, this is a great honor, so I want the town to be in top shape for our guests. So come on everypony, let's make this town shine as if Princess Celestia herself was visiting!" A loud cheer erupted from the crowd before dispersing. Each pony returning to their homes and shops to prepare for their eagerly awaited guests. Soon Twilight and her friends were the only ones left.
Twilight looked a bit confused "What was that about? Who are Sky Flare and Star Shine?"
"You really need to get out more Twilight" Pinkie Pie said.
"They're only the second coolest thing after the Wonder Bolts." Rainbow Dash replied.
"I heard that Star Shine is one of the most graceful fliers in all of Equestria." Fluttershy said.
"I've even heard that they performed at last years Grand Galloping Gala." Rarity added.
Twilight still looked confused "Well that's great and all, but it didn't really answer my question."
Applejack stepped forward to shed some light on the subject. "You see, Sky Flare and Star Shine are a pair of performing ponies who were recently discovered by talent scouts. Apparently they've been travelin' all around Equestria puttin' on some kind of show. I hear it's quite a sight."
"And now they are coming here! Oh my gosh! I need to prepare a party! I need balloons, and streamers, and, OH, cake! This would be so much easier if we had my emergency party system!" Pinkie Pie burst out as she began to bounce off towards Sugar Cube Corner completely lost in thought.
"I really should tend to my boutique. No doubt rising stars like them will want to sample my wears." Rarity said as she headed off to Carousel Boutique.
"I reckon I should clean up Sweet Apple Acres as well. You know how picky them famous types can be." Applejack said as she rushed off to Sweet Apple Acres.
"And I better tend to the weather. Don't want our new guests to get rained out." Rainbow Dash said before flying off into the sky.
"And I need to get back to my cottage. I still haven't fed my woodland friends breakfast yet." Fluttershy said softly before leaving.
That just left Twilight and Spike "Boy, everypony is really excited about this. Well, I guess we'd better tidy up too. I wouldn't want our visitors to think we're slobs."
Spike groaned "There goes my chances of going back to sleep."
They both went back to the library and after a few hours of dusting off bookshelves, organizing books, parchments, and various other things, the library was completely spotless. Twilight was levitating a list and quill which she used to check something off the list "There, nice and tidy. Now, what's next on the list?"
"Look out!" A voice called from outside moments before Rainbow Dash came flying through an open window into the library and crashing into a nearby bookshelf, knocking all of its books onto the floor.
"Rainbow Dash! I just cleaned that!" Twilight shot at Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash was frantic with excitement "Sorry Twi, but, oh my gosh, I saw them, I really saw them!"
"Slow down Rainbow Dash. Where did you see them?" Twilight asked, trying to calm the excited pegasus.
"Oh I just happened to be clearing out the clouds around the northern road to Ponyville, and I saw them! They're almost here! You go wait by the northern road while I get the others!" Rainbow Dash shot off before Twilight could even respond.
"Well Spike, I guess we're going to the northern road." Twilight said. They both made their way out of the library and towards Ponyville's northern entrance. Many ponies were still racing around, cleaning and tidying up, apparently unaware of how close their guests were to arriving. Twilight reached the northern entrance to the town and waited patiently for Rainbow Dash to return. After a few minutes, Rainbow Dash came flying in and galloping behind her was Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, who was bouncing along like always.
"Are they here yet?! Oh good we haven't missed them." Rainbow Dash burst out.
"I haven't seen anypony on the road. Are you sure you saw them?" Twilight asked sceptically.
"Duh, of course I saw them, there was no mistaking it. See look!" Rainbow Dash pointed her hoof down the road. In the distance a glare could be seen, as if light were reflecting off of something. As the glare drew closer the source was revealed to be the mane of a pegasus mare; And next to her was a unicorn stallion.
"Oh my gosh, it's them! They're the ones I saw while I was showing off...er I mean clearing the clouds." Rainbow Dash gushed.
"Huh, that's strange. No entourage, no paparazzi? I really expected famous ponies to generate a lot more attention." Twilight commented.
At that moment one of the townspony was trotting by and noticed the small group of mares "Hey, what are you ponies looking at?" He inquired. He looked down the road, where Twilight and her friends were facing and saw the two ponies on the road.
"Oh my gosh! They're here!" He burst out and raced back into town shouting "They're here, Everypony, They're here!"
A large crowd quickly formed at the northern entrance to Ponyville. The Mayor managed to shove her way to the front of the pack and turned to address the town. "Alright everypony, let's make room for our guests. Let's split the crowd down the middle, you ponies move to the left and you ponies move to the right."
As the mayor motioned for ponies to move, the crowd split up creating a nice straight path along the road. The two ponies on the road grew closer as everypony waited in anticipation. It seemed like time stood still as the two ponies approached the town, but soon the two were at the northern entrance. The crowd erupted into a cheer. This was the first time Twilight got a good look at the two of them.
Sky Flare was an average size unicorn stallion. His coat was a slightly lighter shade of blue. His mane was short, black, and fairly well kept. His tail was also short and black. His eyes were red and he wore a red, formal bow tie around his neck. His cutie mark was a large red firework plume next to a smaller red firework plume.
Star Shine was a pegasus mare and was slightly shorter than Sky Flare. Her coat was gray. Her mane was long, straight, and mostly brushed to one side. It was dark gray in color. Her tail was long straight and the same color as her mane. The interesting thing was the yellow stars that dotted her mane and tail. Her eyes were purple. Her cutie mark was three, four-pointed stars arranged in a triangle. Her demeanor was also interesting; She was constantly looking around with awe and excitement.
The Mayor stepped forth to greet them "Greetings, Greetings, as Mayor of Ponyville let me be the first to welcome you to our fair little town."
"Thank you for having us on such short notice." Sky Flare said sincerely.
"The pleasure is all ours. Please allow one of the townspony to give you a tour of the town." The Mayor offered.
"Oh, a tour, I would love a tour! There are so many new things to see here!" Star Shine burst out in excitement.
The Mayor turned to once again address the town "Citizens of Ponyville, who would like to show our new guests our lovely little town?"
The crowd burst into an uproar. Ponies were raising their hooves and shouting for the privilege of showing Sky Flare and Star Shine the town, but one pony stood out among all the rest. Pinkie Pie was jumping above the crowd, flailing her hooves wildly.
"OOH! OOH! MEMEME! PICK ME! PICK ME!" she shouted.
"Well you can't beat that enthusiasm. Pinkie Pie, would you show our guests around town?" The Mayor asked.
"YYYYES!" Pinkie Pie shouted in triumph. The rest of the crowd groaned in disappointment.
"Okay with that settled, The rest of you, as you were. We still need to keep Ponyville running. I'm sure all of you will get a chance to meet our guests." The Mayor ordered.
Some of the ponies in the crowd turned to give Pinkie Pie looks of jealousy before they dispersed. Twilight and the rest of her friends stuck around though.
"Hi there, I'm Pinkie Pie! I just know you're going to love it here!" Pinkie Pie said with her usual enthusiasm.
"Hello, nice to meet you." Sky Flare said politely.
Star Shine responded with the same level of enthusiasm as Pinkie Pie "Hi, I'm Star Shine! I love to meet new ponies!"
"Well then, you'll love to meet my friends! Come on, I'll introduce you!" Pinkie Pie replied.
They started with Twilight.
"Hello, I'm Twilight Sparkle and this is my assistant Spike."
"Oh my gosh! I've never seen a baby dragon before! He's so cute!" Star Shine burst out.
"Aw, go on." Spike replied, fishing for compliments "No really go on."
Applejack raced forth and began shaking Star Shine's hoof with her usual enthusiasm.
"Howdy! Name's Applejack!" she said energetically.
She moved on to Sky Flare, leaving Star Shine's hoof still shaking in mid air.
"Always a pleasure to meet a pair of new ponies."
"I-I-It's n-n-nice to meet you too." Sky Flare stuttered from the force of the shake.
Rarity was next "I am Rarity. Lady and local fashionista."
"Well it's a pleasure to meet you Miss Rarity." Sky Flare said politely.
"Oh my, a gentlecolt I see."
Then came Rainbow Dash "I'm the one and only Rainbow Dash"
"Hey you're that pony we saw clearing out the clouds!" Star Shine said.
"Oh you saw that, did you?" Rainbow Dash responded proudly.
"It was hard to miss, you were putting on quite a show." Sky Flare remarked.
"That was nothing, you should see me when I really get going." Rainbow Dash bragged.
Finally they came to Fluttershy, who looked timidly at the ground and spoke in a hardly audible tone "I'm Fluttershy."
"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that" Sky Flare said.
"I'm Fluttershy" She repeated in the same inaudible tone.
"I didn't hear that either!" Star Shine said, a little louder than was necessary.
Pinkie Pie decided to interject "Her name is Fluttershy! She loves animals! Go on, ask her something about animals!"
"Um, okay. Do you have a favorite animal?" Star Shine asked.
Fluttershy perked up at this question "Oh no. They're all so wonderful. I could never choose just one."
"Better not let Angel hear you say that." Rainbow Dash teased.
"Oh, I'm sure he'd understand" Fluttershy responded unconvincingly.
"That little trouble maker? You'd be lucky if he didn't lock you out of your cottage." Rainbow Dash retorted.
"Oh he's not that bad." Fluttershy said meekly.
"Excuse me, who's Angel?" Star Shine interrupted.
"He's my pet bunny. I've known him since I was just a little filly." Fluttershy answered.
"Okay! Now that we're all introduced, let's get this tour on the road! You're in luck, I know all of the best places in Ponyville! Come on, I'll show you!" Said before bounding off to their first destination. The others followed her, while Spike rode on Twilight's back. It didn't take long for them to reach their first destination, which was a large building that looked like it was made out of gingerbread.
"This is Sugar Cube Corner! If you have a sweet tooth, this is the place to be! Come on in!" Pinkie Pie explained before ushering them into the building. Mrs. Cake was just pulling some freshly baked cupcakes out of the oven. When she spotted her guests, she set the cooking sheet down on the counter.
"Oh, Pinkie Pie, I'm glad you're here. I have some questions for you about the 'you know what'." She said to Pinkie Pie before turning to her two guests "And why don't you two help yourselves to some cupcake samples while we talk."
"Cupcakes!" Star Shine burst with excitement, bounding over to the cooking sheet and snatching a cupcake before taking a large bite out of it. "Mmmmmmmmmm... Sky Flare you have to try one of these!"
"Don't mind if I do." Sky Flare's horn began to glow and a red aura appeared around one of the cupcake as he levitated it over to him, before taking a much smaller bite than Star Shine. "These ARE delicious."
Star Shine polished off her cupcake in no time and was already reaching for another one. Sky Flare was more conservative with his, only having finished about half of his when Mrs. Cake and Pinkie Pie came back from the other room. "Okay, now that that's taken care of, I know where we should go next. Let's go!"
As they walked along, Star Shine finished her other cupcake while Sky Flare finally finished his. They approached a rather large tree with windows and a door.
"This is the Ponyville library! Twilight lives here and it's full of all kinds of books." Pinkie Pie explained.
"Come on in and I'll show you around." Twilight took the lead.
Star Shine gazed around at the all of the bookshelves. "Wow! Look at all the book!" she said in awe.
"Oh, this is nothing compared to the Canterlot grand archives, but I have tried to gather books from all over Equestria to please ponies of every taste and to help in my own research." Twilight explained.
Star Shine spotted the pile of books on the ground "What happened here?" she asked.
"Oh, there was a mishap." Twilight turned her eyes in Rainbow Dash's direction.
"What kind of research do you do?" Sky Flare asked curiously.
"Mostly studies on magic and it's applications. In fact I was just reading the most interesting book on..."
"Pinkie Pie, don't we need to get going." Rainbow Dash interrupted hoping to avoid one of Twilight's lengthy orations.
"Oh you're right! I still have so much more to show you! Come on, Come on! This way, this way!" Pinkie Pie said.
This time Pinkie Pie lead them to the outskirts of the town. Here there was a cottage that looked sort of like a grassy knoll.
"Oh, is this another library?" Star Shine asked.
"No silly, this is Fluttershy's cottage. If you need help with animals, this is the place to visit." Pinkie Pie explained.
Fluttershy actually took the lead here. She flew to many different trees coaxing animals out of their homes.
"Come on out little friends, there's somepony I want you to meet. They won't hurt you, I promise." She spoke in a sweet, soft tone.
Several birds emerged from the tree's and landed on Fluttershy's back, while some squirrels climbed down out of the trees and stood at her feet and some bunnies hopped out of the nearby bushes to join the her.
Star Shine jumped forward in excitement "Wow! Look at all the animals! They're so cute!"
The animals scattered at Star Shine's outburst. The birds and squirrels returned to their trees while the bunnies hopped back into the bushes.
"Oops, I'm so sorry!" She apologized.
"Oh, it's okay, but you really should be more subtle around animals. Animals prefer calm, quiet..."
"Hey, what's that over there!" Star Shine completely cutting off Fluttershy and ran off towards the nearby forest.
"Star Shine, stop!" Twilight shouted in alarm.
Star Shine skidded to a halt "Huh?"
"That's the Everfree Forest! It's full of strange creatures..." Pinkie Pie started to explain.
"and weird plants. It tain't natural I tell ya." Applejack continued.
Star Shine only seemed to grow more interested "Ohhh, sounds like fun!"
"Darling, believe me, that place is anything but fun. It's a fashion disaster just waiting to happen." Rarity stated.
"Yeah, we only go in there if it's really important or we want to visit our friend Zecora." Pinkie Pie said.
"Who's Zecora?" Star Shine asked curiously.
"She's a zebra friend of ours. She may seem strange at first, but she very friendly and a master alchemist." Twilight explained.
"Huh, I didn't know there were any zebras in Equestria." Sky Flare said with interest.
"Ohh, I've never seen a zebra before!" Star Shine said with excitement.
"Unfortunately, we don't have time for that today." Pinkie Pie said, a little disappointed. "But I still have more awesome stuff to show you!" she said perking back up.
A loud grumble suddenly filled the air.
"Ohh, was that one of the monsters you were talking about?!" Star Shine asked.
"Um, no. That was my stomach. Sorry, I haven't had much to eat today." Sky Flare responded a little embarrassed.
"Hungry, eh? Then I know the perfect place for our next stop!" Pinkie Pie said excitedly. This time she lead them further out of the main town. As they traveled down the road, the flat grassy plains transformed into large apple orchards.
"Wow, look at all the apple trees! I've never seen so many before! Have you, Sky Flare?" Star Shine asked in wonder.
"Can't say that I have." Sky Flare replied.
"This is Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack and her family live here. They supply the finest apples in all of Equestria." Pinkie Pie explained. When she finished they arrived in front of a large farm house.
"Come on over and I'll introduce y'all to my kin." Applejack said as she approached the house. She knocked on the front door before calling out "Come on out everypony, we have guests!"
The first out of the house was a young filly with a yellow coat and red mane.
"This here's my little sister Applebloom." Applejack introduced her.
Applebloom seemed be having a hard time containing her excitement "Is it true that you two have traveled all over Equestria?"
"Well, we haven't been everywhere, but we've seen a lot of it" Sky Flare answered.
Next a large red stallion came out the door.
"This here's my brother Big Macintosh. Don't let his size fool you, he's one of the gentlest ponies you'll ever meet. Ain't that right Big Mac?" Applejack introduced him.
"Eyup." Was all he said in response.
The last to come out was an old mare with a green coat and white mane.
"And this is here is our dear ol' Granny Smith." Applejack introduced her. "I'm ganna go rustle us up some grub while y'all get acquainted." Applejack continued before stepping into the house.
"So, yer the two that everypony's been makin' such a ruckus over." Granny Smith said as she eyed them, almost like she was judging them. "Well y'all seem like a nice enough pair to me. When er you two gettin' hitched?"
"What?!" Sky Flare blurted out in surprised, blushing so hard his face turned almost as red as his eyes. "Well...um...I...you see...I...We're just good friends!" he stammered defensively. The others couldn't help but giggle at him. "Say when's the food going to be ready, I'm starving." He said, trying to change the subject.
As if to answer his question Applejack stepped out of the house with two stew pots strapped to her sides. "Soup's on, everypony!"
They all sat down at a nearby picnic table.
"So AJ, what's on the menu today?" Twilight inquired.
"An ol' Apple family recipe, apple stew." Applejack replied, setting both stew pots down and removing their lids. The sweet pomaceous scent of apples filled the air.
"Ooh, I've never had apple stew before!" Star Shine said with excitement.
"Well, yer in for a real treat then." Applejack replied.
Applejack picked up a ladle in her mouth and began to pour stew into bowls before passing them out to everypony. Star Shine took one sip of it and her eyes lit up before she dove head first into it. Sky Flare on the other hoof was more conservative, using his horn to levitate a nearby spoon, showing a level of etiquette they would have expected from Rarity.
Rarity decided to make small talk as she also enjoyed her stew. "So, Sky Flare, you simply must tell me all about your travels. The glamor, the fame, I bet it's all simply fabulous." She swooned.
"Well, fame has had it's perks, but with our recent rise in popularity, the paparazzi have become unbearable. Star Shine and I can't get moment to ourselves.
"Oh, I know how you feel." Fluttershy sympathized, having dealt with it herself during her short career as a model.
"Speaking of which, where are the paparazzi now? I expected them to be following you into town." Twilight inquired.
"Oh, I told them we were heading off to Trottingham, but what I didn't tell them, was that we would make a small detour. We wanted to visit a nice, quiet little town like Ponyville so we could get some rest and relaxation.
Rainbow Dash held her hoof up to Twilight's ear so only she could hear "Quiet? Where is he getting he information from?"
"And so here we are. I'm sorry that we arrive on such short notice, but we didn't want word of our visit to spread." Sky Flare continued.
"Well you two are definitely nothing like I expected." Twilight said.
"How so?" Sky Flare asked a little confused.
"Well, it's just that most other famous ponies I know are really stuck up. I guess I sort of assumed you would be like them. Sorry." Twilight explained.
"It's okay, I've know my own share of stuck of ponies and I know that's not the the kind of pony I want to be. As for Star Shine, well it's just not in her nature.
They all looked over at Star Shine who was eagerly enjoying her stew. She slurped up the last of it and held he bowl up. "More please!"
"Sure, help yerself." Applejack said with some pride, happy that her guests were enjoying their meal.
They continued to enjoy their meal and soon everypony was full and re-energized.
"Thank you, that was very good." Sky Flare complimented.
"Yer welcome, and there's plenty more where that came from, so feel free to stop by any time yer hungry." Applejack replied.
"Okay, back to the tour! I've already planned our next stop! Follow me!" Pinkie Pie said, once again bounding off towards Ponyville. They didn't stop until they reached a fancy looking round building.
"This is Carousel Boutique, the hottest fashion spot in Ponyville." Pinkie Pie explained.
"Yes, do come in. I would love to show you my latest lines." Rarity invited and they all followed her inside. As expected, the shop was full of fashionable dresses and suits. "Each of my works are made with the utmost care and are always at the peak of fashion."
"Oh, can I try some on?!" Star Shine asked.
"But of course dear, be my guest." Rarity encouraged.
Star Shine raced around the shop, picking up several different dresses before disappearing into one of the changing rooms. After a minute she emerged wearing the most random assortment of mismatched garments Rarity had ever seen. Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy couldn't help but giggle, while Spike and Raindow Dash were rolling on the floor laughing. Sky Flare and Rarity remained silent, but Star Shine seemed completely unphased by the laughter of the others.
"I couldn't decide which one I liked best, so I put them all on!" she said cheerfully.
"Oh no darling, you can't go out like that, you look absolutely ridiculous. Here let me help you." Rarity offered as she used her magic to pull over another rack of dresses. "These are from my latest collection. I'm sure one of them will suit you." she continued to use her magic to remove the mess of garments that Star Shine was wearing and began to place each dress on her, rejecting each of them as she went "Hmmmm...no...that won't do...maybe...definitely not..." Finally she hit the end of the rack without selecting a single dress. "Hmmmm...Some of these are nice, but none of them really scream fabulous on you." she looked over Star Shine for a few seconds before her eyes lit up. "I've got it! I'll design a special dress just for you. If ponies see you wearing my dress, it'll be a huge boost to my business. Not to mention how fabulous you'll look. Just let me take a few measurements." she levitated her measuring tape and reading glasses over. She put on her glasses before she began to take measurements. After a few measurements she put the measuring tape down and took off her glasses. "That should be enough. I should have your dress ready before you depart from Ponyville."
"Thank you, that's very generous of you" Sky Flare thanked her.
"Oh, it's no trouble at all. It's all in the name of fashion after all." Rarity replied.
"Okay, we're almost done with Pinkie's super awesome tour. I just have a few more places to show you. Come on!" Pinkie Pie said bouncing out of the boutique. The other following close behind her. Suddenly she stopped and looked up. The others skidded to a halt and nearly crashed into her. They all looked up to see what the pink mare was staring at. What they saw was a large house made of clouds with a large rainbow springing from the top like a fountain.
"That's Rainbow Dash's house!" Pinkie Pie explained.
"Pretty awesome isn't it?" Rainbow Dash added.
"Oh, it's pretty, can I see it?" Star Shine asked.
"Sure, come on up and I'll give you the grand tour." Rainbow Dash replied.
They both got ready to take off when Rainbow Dash suddenly had an idea. "Hey Star Shine, race you, bet you can't beat me."
"Okay!" Star Shine said gleefully.
"Alright then, Ready...Set...Go!" Rainbow Dash shouted before blasting off the ground leaving a rainbow trail behind her. Star Shine took off as well, though not as fast as Rainbow Dash. However, it wasn't he speed that impressed the others, but the trail of twinkling stardust she left as she flew.
"Whoa!" Everypony said in unison.
Rainbow Dash gained an early lead on Star Shine, easily out-speeding her. When she felt she enough of a lead she turned to see how much distance she had gained over her opponent. She was shocked, not by how far behind Star Shine was, but by the trail of stardust she was leaving. "Whoa!" Rainbow Dash said in awe, gawking for a moment. This moment allowed Star Shine to speed by her, causing her to spin rapidly in place like a tornado. As a result, Star Shine reached the goal first.
"Yeah, woohoo, I won! That was fun! Can we do it again!?" Star Shine shouted in joy.
Rainbow Dash stopped spinning, shook her head to regain her bearings, and made her way up to the house. "How did you do that?!" she was so shocked that she actually forget about the fact that she had lost.
"Um, I just flew really fast." Star Shine replied innocently.
"No, not that, THAT!" Rainbow Dash pointed her hoof at the twinkling stardust trail between the ground and her house.
"Oh, I don't know. It's been like that ever since I got my cutie mark." Star Shine said.
"I've never heard of a pegasus who could do that before." Rainbow Dash remarked.
"That's what everypony says." Star Shine said cheerfully.
"Boy, if I had an ability like that I'd get into the Wonder Bolts for sure." Rainbow Dash said, a little envious. "Anyway come on in, I'll show you around.
Meanwhile back on the ground, everypony was still pretty mesmerized but what they just saw.
"Well I'll be. I reckon I'm startin' to see what all the fuss about you two is." Applejack said.
"Wow! That was amazing!" Pinkie Pie shouted in excitement.
"It's so beautiful." Fluttershy remarked.
"Simply marvelous! What I wouldn't give for a dazzling ability like that." Rarity said.
Twilight on the other hoof was more curious "Sky Flare, how does she do that? Is it some kind of spell you cast on her?"
"No, she's been able to do that since before I met her. She says it first started happening after she got her cutie mark." Sky Flare answered.
"That's strange. Normally cutie marks appear when a pony discovers their special talent, not the other was around." Twilight said, her mind trying to piece the phenomenon together.
"What about your cutie mark Sky Flare?! It looks like fireworks! I love fireworks!" Pinkie Pie ask in excitement.
"Yes, we haven't seen your special talent yet." Rarity agreed.
"Well then, I'll give you a demonstration." Sky Flare replied.
Sky Flare's horn began to glow and seven different colored flares shot out of his horn in rapid succession. Each exploded into a shower of their own color. First red, then orange, yellow, green, blue, indego, and violet.
"Oooooh!" Everypony said.
"That was just a warm up. Here's something a little more advanced." Sky Flare said.
Sky Flare's horn glowed even brighter, shooting several more flares spiraling into the air. When they exploded the sparks actually changed color as they traveled creating beautiful rainbow plumes in the air.
"Aaaaah!" Everypony said in awe.
Rainbow Dash stuck her head out a window of her house. "What's going on out here?" she asked.
"Oh, Sky Flare is probably putting on a show." Star Shine replied.
"A show?"
"Yeah, Sky Flare is really good at making fireworks."
"And we're missing it?! Come on, let's go before we miss the whole show!" Rainbow Dash said frantically, pulling Star Shine out the door. They flew down just in time to see the last couple of fireworks.
"So Star Shine, how was the house?" Sky Flare asked her.
"Oh it was neat! It reminds me a lot of my house back in Feathersburg, except this one is bigger. Oh and my house also doesn't spout rainbows." she replied.
"Okay I have one more place to show you and this one is the best one yet, come on!" Pinkie said as she hopped off.
They all followed her back into town, wondering what could possibly be even better than what they had already seen. She lead them toward the center of town and up to a seemingly normal house.
"This is the guest house! It's where you two will be staying while you're here! Go on, take a look inside." Pinkie Pie encouraged them.
Sky Flare and Star Shine approached the door. As Sky Flare pushed it open a loud cheer erupted from inside "SURPRISE!" The inside of the house was decked out for a party. There were streamers, balloons, refreshments, sweets, and games. Not to mention the crowd of ponies who were packed into the house.
Star Shine gasped in excitement, her eyes lighting up. "Party! Oh my gosh, is that pin the tail on the pony?! I love that game!" She rushed inside and was instantly lost in the crowd.
Sky Flare was still shocked "Wow, you didn't have to go through all this trouble for us."
"Don't be silly, you can't visit Ponyville without coming to one of my world famous Pinkie parties! So come on everypony, let's party!" Pinkie Pie shouted.
And party they did. Star Shine couldn't seem to stay in one place for 3 seconds. She'd jump from games, to dancing, to refreshments, to chatting. Sky Flare was quickly swarmed by ponies who were asking him questions and seeking his autograph, but occasionally he would break away for refreshments or a dance. The party lasted well into the night, but eventually ponies began to tire out and leave one by one. Eventually only Sky Flare, Star Shine, Pinkie Pie and her friends were left.
"Well, that was some party." Sky Flare complimented.
"Yeah, I can't remember the last time I had so much fun!" Star Shine agreed.
"Good, I'm so glad you enjoyed it!" Pinkie Pie said gleefully.
"And thank you for the lovely tour. I'm sure we're going to enjoy our time here in Ponyville." Sky Flare said before releasing a big yawn. "But right now, I'm ready to hit the hay. It's been a long day."
"Okay, I'll let you sleepy heads get some rest, but if you ever need anything at all, you know who to ask." Pinkie Pie said.
Sky Flare chuckled a little bit "I sure do."
They all said their goodbyes and left. Twilight was the last one out. Spike had already fallen asleep on her back. As she carried him back to the library, she reflected on the event of the day. The two were certainly an interesting pair of ponies and she had a feeling that the next week would be anything but boring.
