Chapters The sun beamed on the roads and houses of Ponyville, as Celestia rose it to begin another Saturday morning. As ponies far and wide woke up to begin a new day, one specific pony in town was up early, hastily preparing for a trip. It was none other than Rarity, the owner of the town’s most renowned boutique, and a popular name in the fashion design circuit all across Equestria. Known not only for her dazzling designs but her connections with Ponyville’s Princess of Friendship, Rarity was going to spend a few days in Canterlot to soothe her aches, while her trusted friends kept management on her business.
“I must say, Twilight,” Rarity began, “I don’t exactly know if I’m going to get the proper relaxation when I leave for Canterlot! I’ll probably be up all night worrying about dress ideas and the boutique while I’m gone! Not that I don’t trust you, of course.”
Twilight giggled. “I know you trust us. I mean, this is your life’s work, and you figured that Fluttershy and I would be excellent choices to help run the boutique while you’re gone.”
“I figured you two would be fit for the job,” Rarity said. “After all, your affinity for books and organization will help you keep track of all the orders that I will be able to fill out when I get back, and Fluttershy being into her ‘extreme knitting’ means that she has some sort of creative fashion sense.”
“Not to mention Opalesence,” the yellow pegasus chimed in, “She’s always happy to see me around.”
Rarity scoffed. “Well Opal’s always been the choosy one. Sometimes she favors the attention of others rather than her own mother.” She nervously chuckled as the cat shot a glare at her. “Mommy loves you,” she said with a wink and an uneasy hoof wave.
“By the way, Rarity, you never told us exactly where you’re going in Canterlot. Anything special going on there?” Twilight asked.
Rarity reached into her bag and pulled out a flyer. She handed it off to Twilight so she could look into it.
“Griff ‘n Groom?”
“I heard about it from Flax Seed when he and Wheat Grass took a trip to Canterlot; he said it was very… “far out,” whatever that means. They’ve been open for about seven years now, and I guess only now they got popular. I would go to the Day Spa but apparently Aloe and Lotus are doing some renovations, so they’ll be closed for about a week.”
“Well if there’s anything I’ve learned about griffons, well…” Twilight handed Rarity a bag of about fifty bits and squinted. “You’re gonna need this.”
Fluttershy put her hand to her hoof quizzically and said, “I wonder what griffons are doing running a grooming business in Canterlot. It seems awfully strange. Maybe they’re drifters from their homeland?”
“With what Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie told me about Griffonstone, I would not be surprised,” Twilight answered. “I wonder if these three ran away from Griffonstone when their idol was lost.”
“Either way,” Rarity said, “Flax told me to definitely request a massage while I’m there, but perhaps I’ll go for the full package just to see how it is. Anyway, I’m off! I will be back Monday afternoon, so keep the place running while I’m gone. I may close on Sundays but I at least continue my work when the boutique is closed! Also remember that Opal needs to be bathed twice a day or else her coat will get dirty, and make sure you’ve learned that gem location spell well, Twilight, and-“
Twilight stuck her hoof in Rarity’s face as if to say, “We understand.” Rarity nodded, and saddled up her bags as she was ready to leave, but not before a small voice graced her presence.
“Can I help out Fluttershy while you’re gone?”
It was Sweetie Belle, her loving little sister, who had always wanted to help Rarity with her work, no matter how many times she told her no. The two had their quarrels, even to the point where Sweetie Belle ran away to spend time with the Apple family a few years back. But through all their hardships, their sisterhood was only strengthened by each, not weakened.
“Sweetie Belle, you want to help?” Rarity asked. The little white unicorn excitedly nodded.
“I’ve sort of watched you behind the scenes and worked a bit on my fashion sense,” she said, levitating a crayon drawing sporting a rather minimalistic dress design with her unicorn magic. Rarity took a look at the drawing, and while it was not perfect, she felt that she could make it work. She put it in her bag.
“I’ll see what I can do on Monday when I get back,” Rarity said, exciting the little unicorn. “For now though, why don’t you help Twilight organize the clothing orders?”
Sweetie Belle jumped up and down with a smile crossing from ear to ear. Even if she wasn’t going to be making clothing like her big sister, she was going to help her while she was gone. She thought to herself, “Maybe I’ll get a Cutie Mark in being a super-duper organizer!”
And with a friendly wave to her sister and her friends, Rarity had left for the next train to Canterlot. Twilight asked her to say hello to the royal sisters while she was there.
Author's Note
As I may have explained before, Chapter 1 is sort of written as a prologue chapter, and since this story was originally conceived to be written like an episode script, this is the kind of stuff that would happen before the opening sequence. Fluttershy and Twilight were planned for this scene, but the bits with Sweetie Belle almost got cut from the final draft, only because I thought that it would be a bit out of character for her to start acting more mature. However, when I threw in the whole “CMC Super Organizer” thing, I was like “yep, keep it in.” I wanted a little adorable sister moment between her and Rarity.
Also this chapter makes a few call-backs to the comic series (which I still need to catch up on), specifically the old micro-series issues 3 and 4. 3 is the Rarity one, which is referenced when Rarity brings up Wheat Grass and Flax Seed, two ponies she met at a retreat. In fact, I feel like the plot for HoH was very similar to this, albeit without griffons and zebras. As for the Fluttershy microseries, that’s referenced when I brought up the “Extreme Knitting” thing. Apparently it’s a secret hobby of hers. Shhh.
Rarity walked out of the hotel in pursuit of the parlor she sought to visit. She waved back to the bellhop who took her bags to her room a few floors up. She looked around at the marvelous streets and thought back to all the memories she had made here. Visiting Celestia and Luna, attending weddings, fighting Changeling invaders, and even attending her friend’s coronation, she thought to herself that while she was born in Ponyville, she is truly a Canterlot pony at heart.
“Excuse me,” she asked a stallion, coated dark blue with a brighter blue mane, “do you know the way to Griff ‘N Groom?”
“Griff ‘N Groom is that-a-way, miss,” he said, pointing a hoof towards a long line before looking at it himself. He chuckled, “Good luck getting in before sundown.”
Rarity’s jaw hit the floor; she never expected this place to be so popular. She realized that stallion was right, there’s no way she’d be able to get a reservation in. Still, she wasn’t going to give up. Rarity was determined to soothe her aches if it meant worsening them by standing around for hours. The line moved about every minute, so it wasn’t going to take as long as she had feared. Still, she felt the need to ask around to understand the way the place works.
She turned to a male pegasus behind her, this time with a grey coat, a brown mane, and a Cutie Mark of what appeared to be three toy UFOs on his flank, dangled by strings. “Have you been here before?”
“Well,” the pegasus began, “there’s three ‘stations’ if you will, with room for two customers each. This place is only run by three people, so they can only accept two customers at a time. However, I do hear their services are top-notch, especially the masseuse.”
A massage, and a top-notch one at best. That’s just what she needed. She thanked the pony behind her as she went back to her space in line. However, having misjudged the size of the person in front of her, she walked right into his backside.
The person before her was not a pony, but rather a griffon. Not only that, but he wasn’t just any ordinary griffon.
“Miss…Rarity was it?”
“I’m sorry, I’ll make sure it never happens again-“ She frantically apologized, before getting a good look at who she’d run into. “Wait, a second, aren’t you Gustave le Grand, the pastry chef?”
Gustave stood up with gusto, and put one talon on his chest. “Zat is correct!” he began, “I am indeed, Gustave le Grand!”
“Quiet, you!” some mare a few spaces ahead yelled.
“Excusez-moi.” Gustave stood down.
Rarity was quite surprised to see him again, especially after their first encounter on the train. It was quite a madness of marzipan, but both of them, deep down in their hearts, admit that it was a fun adventure.
“What are you here for? I mean, you already look quite dignified, so I assume you’re keeping yourself prim and proper with this place?”
“Not entirely so,” the baker remarked, “but I do enjoy coming here on account that I have a friend within ze establishment! Mi amie is the masseuse who works there!”
Gustave hatched an idea. “I can take you there in no time! My status and your status will have the ponies of Canterlot stepping aside to let us in!”
“But I don’t suppose that’s fair, Mr. le Grand,” Rarity retorted, “exploiting my status for my own needs.”
Suddenly, a voice from behind called out to them. “Hey, you two are next in line! Move it!” Rarity and Gustave looked ahead to find a wide, empty space in front of them. It didn’t seem like much time, but their encounter and catching up actually held the line back.
Rarity nervously chuckled and waved to the ponies behind her, but not long before Gustave hoisted her onto his back. “Come on, mademoiselle! Let’s not keep mi amie waiting!” He flew Rarity towards the front door, and let her off his back when they had reached the door.
Gustave and Rarity were welcomed at the door by two smiling griffons, who acted and greeted her very flashily. One of them was a male, tall and slim, who sported a sky blue coat of fur adorned with white head feathers and wings, and a pastel yellow beak. The other was short, a bit plump, and female, who was adorned with orange fur and, much like the tall one, white head feathers and wings as well, only her beak was a deep grey.
“Welcome,” began the tall one, followed by the short one, “to Griff ‘n Groom!”
“I’m Donnie,” the tall one said, “and I’m in charge of hair-styling if you’re looking for that!”
“And I’m Primrose,” said the short one, “and I specialize in make-up and hooficures!”
“So what’ll it be,” Donnie asked, followed by Primrose, “make-up of hooficures?”
Gustave fixed his neckerchief and spoke. “Appointment for two massages, please!”
Donnie and Primrose looked at each other with uneasy smiles. Foiled again by their third member’s popularity, it seemed. “Right,” Donnie began, “just walk behind us to the massage station.”
“Did someone say massages,” a third voice began. Rarity and Gustave looked behind the two griffons before then as a third one stepped forward. The third one was of average height, about the same size as Gustave, and sported almost burgundy fur adorned with brick red wings and a golden yellow beak and talons. His sky blue eyes and yellow-tipped head feathers perked when he saw his friend. “Gus!”
“Thomas, mi amie!” Gustave walked forward, giving his friend a welcoming hug. “I’ve come again for your stellar services, and I’ve brought a customer along who is also interested!”
Thomas’ eyes sparkled with wonder. “Oh wow, you’re Rarity, aren’t you? I’ve seen some of your designs in magazines! It’s such a pleasure to meet you.” He excitedly shook Rarity’s hoof.
“You’ve got quite a grip,” Rarity said, shaking her hoof a bit. “Anyway, are the massage spots free?”
“Just about,” Thomas said, finishing up his job. He rubbed his talons on the shoulder blades of a snow-white stallion clad with a navy blue mane, as well as who appeared to be a bright pink alicorn beside him. Rarity took a peek and realized that they were none other than Princess Cadence and her husband and Twilight’s brother, Shining Armor.
“And, done!” Thomas said. “How are you feeling, prince?”
Shining Armor stretched his legs a bit, his body felt great. “I feel amazing; your hands are truly magic!”
“Thank you again, mister,” Cadence replied, as the husband and wife walked out. Rarity couldn’t help but noticed they didn’t pay Thomas up front, but rather dropped a few bits into a jar that rested next to a podium. It was clearly a tip jar.
Rarity thought long and hard about why they did not pay for their massage, but before long, Gustave was hoisting Rarity up to the massage table. “You like to think a lot, don’t you, mademoiselle? But for now, relax, and enjoy what my friend has to offer.”
“You’ve got such a way with words, Gus,” Thomas remarked, beginning with Gustave’s back. Rarity always wondered if, being part feline, griffons purred when they were happy. In mere seconds, her questions were answered when she heard Gustave purring very audibly. If one weren’t directly looking at the situation, they’d probably think someone was starting a lawnmower in the distance.
Thomas stepped aside and put his talons to work on Rarity’s lower back. With a few simple motions, she could feel the aches and pains that plagued her for almost an entire week drifting away, as she relaxed comfortably almost falling asleep right on the table! She felt Thomas stop, as he went back to soothe Gustave’s wings, and that’s when she realized just how the whole place worked. The three birds always alternated, she noticed, as she saw Donnie styling one pony’s mane and switching to clipping another’s, and she watched as Primrose did one person’s eyeliner and preened another pegasus’ wings clean. These three were very good at multitasking; no wonder why they were so popular!
When it came time to finish, Thomas let them off their tables. “Have a good day, you two!” He said with a smile, as Gustave waved and began to walk off. Rarity, however, turned around and looked at him.
“What do I owe you?”
“Owe?” Thomas tilted his head in confusion. “Oh, you don’t know, do you?”
“Are you services…free?”
Thomas nodded. “I gotta take care of some more customers before we close for the night. We’ll talk later, yes?”
“I assume, thank you,” Rarity said, trotting off.
Author's Note
For the first paragraph, I kind of wanted to go for something along the lines of “list a few moments from the show Rarity witnessed in Canterlot, and I thought it would be funny to throw in an exciting task among mundane ones. Another thing that almost was scrapped was Rarity refusing Gustave’s offer to use their respective fame to cut the line. I was about to write Rarity giving a big yes to that, but then I realized as the Element of Generosity, that’d be pretty selfish of her, wouldn’t it?
Gustave and Thomas being friends also comes from a few chats I used to have with a friend of mine. We were thinking of some interesting ideas on how the two could’ve met, and mine was that Thomas’s father was big into cooking and baking (sort of like my real life father) and once saw a cooking program hosted by the patriarch of the Le Grand bloodline. Maybe when Thomas travelled to Canterlot for the first time, he met a younger Gustave! Or maybe that’s a story for another time.
And then there were Donnie and Primrose! They were very fun characters to write for. Their color scheme, genders, and body types were actually inspired by ATLAS and P-Body from Portal 2, only P-Body is the tall one and ATLAS is the round one. Their name also comes from the term “prima donna”.
Rarity lay awake atop her bed, gazing at the streets of Canterlot at night. At this time, Griff ‘n Groom was closed, and she could see Donnie, Primrose, and Thomas all depart. The three waved to each other, as Donnie and Primrose went one way, and Thomas the other. She could’ve sworn that maybe they were a family business. After all, while one could argue that all griffons look similar, those that have been to Griffonstone could safely see that they were a diversely different bunch than ponies were.
Rarity’s stomach growled as she looked at the clock. It was already nine in the evening, and she was so relaxed from that massage she forgot she was hungry! She left her room to go grab a bite at the local restaurant before it closed. While there, she, once again, ran into someone headfirst on accident. This time, it was none other than Thomas from the parlor.
“Rarity?”
“Thomas! What a pleasant surprise, I see,” Rarity said. “You’re at this hotel too?”
“I don’t really have a place to stay,” he remarked, “I’m a drifter, admittedly. Griff ‘n Groom is how I make my money, but I don’t really charge. People just tip me.”
“That reminds me,” Rarity said, “Why don’t you charge for your services? I’m actually quite surprised since my friends tell me-“
Thomas knew exactly what she was going to say. “They told you griffons are greedy, aren’t they,” he said with a dry face.
Rarity hung her head a bit, she thought she seriously offended Thomas with her words. “I’m sorry, look, let’s talk it over with dinner, okay?”
Thomas’ face returned to a smile. “Rarity, don’t worry. You didn’t say anything bad to me. I just…it’s a long story. Maybe I’ll tell you some other time.”
The two arrived at an eatery known as Canterlot Gardens, which specialized in farm-raised food that they import from more country areas. In fact, Applejack had once told her that their apple pie desserts are made with the spoils of Sweet Apple Acres’ orchards. The two sat down with their dinners; Rarity with a delicious garden salad, and Thomas with a chicken sandwich wrap adorned with sun-dried tomatoes and goat cheese; a peculiar choice for griffons considering they’re partially birds themselves.
“So you’re mostly curious as to why I don’t charge, right?”
Rarity nodded.
“Well, I feel like if I’d worked as a clothing designer like you or a baker like my friend, I would probably charge bits for the sake of paying for ingredients or materials. But the thing about my massaging talent is that it’s something I found out at young age that I was good at and enjoyed doing. It gives people joy, and I don’t want to buy people’s happiness. Also Donnie and Primrose pay rent for the place but that’s them, not me.”
“I see,” Rarity said, taking a small bite of her salad and wiping her face. “That’s awfully generous of you.”
“Well you of all people would know, Miss Element of Generosity,” Thomas said with a chuckle.
“You know about that?” Rarity was a bit shocked.
“Of course,” Thomas said, “as a drifter I’ve seen and heard a lot of stories across Equestria. I love to travel around the world with my wings, and many a pony, griffon, even a sea serpent has told me stories of the world, including you and your friends!”
“Oh my, you’ve met him, too? How is he doing?”
“Stephen? Oh, he’s just wonderful! A real card, if I might add. I heard he recently attended a wedding in Ponyville, too. I have to check out that place sometime; maybe it’ll be the next stop on my travels.”
Rarity tilted her head. “But doesn’t this mean you don’t have a home?”
Thomas smiled and closed his eyes. “The whole world is my home. I’ve had a place of birth, but ever since I was a mere fledgling I’ve been travelling the world. It’s been my dream to see all of Equestria, and maybe even beyond! Even if I were to settle down on a home location, I don’t think it’d soothe my travelling spirit!”
Rarity nodded in approval of his positivity. “It’s a great way to look at life in our world. And who knows? Maybe when you have children, you can tell them all of your interesting stories!”
Thomas laughed. “What a great idea, indeed! Anyway, I think we’re just about done here. We’ll split the check, yes?”
Before he could get an answer, Rarity dropped her bag of fifty bits onto the table. “I’ll cover. The change is your tip, Thomas.”
With an almost tearful smile, Thomas remarked. “Call me T.C.; It stands for ‘Thomas Charles’, and it’s what my best friends call me.”
When the food was paid for, T.C. took the bag of the remaining bits and took it back to his hotel room. She must’ve felt bad for a drifter like him, or maybe it was something else. Either way, he put the bits on the side of his bed, and went to sleep.
Once the town had quieted down for the night, two figures clad in all-black outfits, crept around the hotel’s outside whispering schemes to each other.
“That Thomas is bad for our business. We should’ve never taken him in! Primrose, why do you have to be so generous?”
“He may have had no home, Donnie, but his whole ‘I do it for free’ policy is sickening! The tips he makes don’t even go towards the rent!”
“He’s a freeloader is what he is! We gotta find a way to get him out of our parlor, let alone this town!”
“Out of town, you say?” A third voice chimed in behind the two sneaking griffons, as they were approached by a hooded yet hooved figure.
“Who are you?! Show yourself!” Donnie began to lose his composure.
“I mean no harm, my dearest friends, as I assume that we’ll be friends. I have with me, an artifact that if worn by him, he’ll no longer be intact,” spoke the voice, in rather poor rhyme.
“What’s your offer?” Donnie queried the figure.
“A simple transaction of wealth to do, and a collar I’ll pass off to you two.”
Donnie and Primrose looked at each other, and nodded collectively. They gave the hooded figure their earnings that day, and took a shiny magenta collar adorned with gold trim. “What will this do,” asked Primrose.
“Allow me to follow you inside,” the hooded figure replied.
Donnie and Primrose flew up to the window that lead into T.C.’s room. He left it open to let cold air in, and the three found he slept on his side, hugging a pillow close.
The hooded figure walked forward with the collar in hoof, and a smile crossed his striped snout. He slipped it on T.C.’s neck, being ever so careful as to not wake him up. He then pushed his head aside, and the two griffons held their tongues in shock as they began to see a slight tear in the neck.
Just what was happening?
Author's Note
Not much to say here, except yes, the restaurant they eat at is named after the Canterlot Gardens convention. I picked that partially because of the convention name and partially because I wanted to do some kind of pony parody on Olive Garden. Also, originally Donnie and Primrose weren’t going to be antagonists against T.C.’s business practices! I think I had intended it to be two people by the name of Robbie Banx and Penny Pincher. Oh, and actually the original concept for the story didn’t even call for Donnie and Primrose at all! Originally T.C. just had the collar, and actually used its separation powers on his patients. I think I was going to say he got it from Zecora, but I decided that would be too nonsensical. Lagahai also came about when I decided to fuck around with the Zecora model in Garry’s Mod. I can’t even remember where I got his name, but I think it was some combination of foreign words meaning “merriment”.
Rarity awakened groggily, to the sound of banging on the wall next to her. Who was being loud at such an early time in the day? She had plans to wake up at around ten in the morning to go get brunch at Canterlot Gardens, possibly with T.C. and Gustave in tow as well. Much to her dismay, she woke up an hour and a half earlier than she had desired.
“Keep that racket down,” Rarity screamed towards the room adjacent to her. After rubbing her groggy eyelid with her hoof however, she realized the banging on the wall came from T.C.’s hotel room, and she sprung out of bed to see what was up. She left her room, making sure to grab her backs so that she didn’t forget her room key, and sprinted out into the hall. T.C.’s door was open by a crack, and she could clearly hear banging coming from the bedroom. She walked inside his hotel room, which seemed in perfect order, except the bathroom door was shut with a voice inside calling her name. She wanted to check the bathroom, but the constant racket from the bedroom had her more curious. Why was the sound of T.C. coming from two places at once?
She went inside the bedroom and looked up only to see what looked like T.C. flying into the wall by mistake. “T.C.?!” she called to him, but he did not answer, and kept flying into the wall. She used her magic to stop the gryphon from slamming into the wall, and laid him on his bed. However, when she saw what had really happened, she gasped in a terrified shock, holding a scream in.
What was flying into the wall was in fact T.C., but not all of him, as his head had seemingly vanished, his empty neck covered by white feathers where his head should be.
Rarity had never seen such a thing before, except maybe in a trick Discord would pull, but this was an ordinary griffon instead of a spirit of chaos. She let the body rest on the bed as she crept towards the bathroom, slowly opening the door. She looked inside and turned away the shower curtain.
“Rarity!”
Rarity looked down in the shower, where T.C.’s separated head lay upright. She couldn’t hold it in anymore and let out a terrified scream.
“What happened to you?!” she yelled, picking up T.C., who was no heavier than Opalescence at this point.
“I-I don’t know, Rarity! I woke up like this! I couldn’t see the rest of me, no, the rest of me was still in my bedroom! I could feel the bed on my chest, but I couldn’t tell where I was! I tried to get help, but I ended up flying into the walls again and again…”
“It’s okay, T.C.,” said Rarity, “your body isn’t flying into the walls anymore. Maybe we just have to press your head back on your neck?”
Rarity tried putting T.C.’s head back on by levitating it onto his body, but it only slid off and onto the floor. She even thought to tie it on using a scarf, but even the slightest movement sent the head toppling off T.C.’s neck.
“What are we going to do?” T.C. whimpered.
“I’m sorry, T.C., but I’m not sure what to do, really. Perhaps Donnie and Primrose may have some idea on how to fix this,” Rarity said, assuring T.C. would be okay.
“But I can’t let the public see me like this! Besides, what if my body gets lost somewhere?”
Rarity thought long and hard, until she got a wonderful idea. When they got outside, she was lucky enough to run into Gustave, and not in a literal sense this time. The pony and the griffon head explained the situation to him, and passed off T.C.’s room key to him. Gustave was instructed to keep watch on T.C.’s body and make sure it doesn’t bump into anything or break anything within the hotel room. Luckily, as just a head, T.C. was able to take cover in Rarity’s saddle bag, albeit just barely. His head feathers peeked out of the flaps, but no one suspected a thing.
When they had arrived at Griff ‘n Groom, the place was closed due to it being Sunday, but Donnie and Primrose were still there, cleaning the place. However, an equine figure could be seen in the back of the parlor, which made things all the more suspicious. Rarity entered the parlor, only to be stopped by Donnie.
“Hey, miss, the parlor’s closed today. We’re cleaning, can’t you see?” Donnie said in a condescending tone.
Rarity furrowed her brow. “First off, do not patronize me with that tone, and second, do you know anything about this,” she said, pulling T.C.’s head out of the bag with her magic.
Donnie took a look at the head of his co-worker before him, and didn’t even react. “You too, Thomas? I figured you’d know we close on Sundays to clean.”
“You’ve been here for years now, and yet you still make that mistake!” Primrose chimed in.
“Listen, you two, I know both of those facts,” T.C. spoke in an angry tone, “In fact, I’m willing to suspect something is up. Do you two know why this happened to me?”
Primrose tilted her head in innocent confusion. “I don’t think I do!”
Donnie replied, albeit a little more snarky. “Can’t say I do either!”
“Can your smarmy tone, Donald! What happened to me?!” T.C. was furious.
“Well, that’s where I come in,” a voice spoke from the back. Its tone gave all four of them a slight chill.
A zebra, adorned with the gold and magenta collar from before, waltzed in from the back. His coat was a silvery white adorned with dark grey stripes, and his tail was tied with a large, sapphire bead.
“A pleasure it is to meet you two, Miss Rarity and Thomas too,” the zebra rhymed.
“A zebra?” T.C. questioned, “Who are you?”
“I’m glad you asked, griffon of the sky, they call me Lagahai the Trickster…guy,” Lagahai replied, struggling a bit to rhyme.
“Is there a reason you always speak in rhyme,” Rarity asked.
T.C. chimed in, “Yeah, you’re pretty bad at it.”
“Oh, horseapples to this,” Lagahai stomped, “So you want to know who I am? Well, I am a traveler much like yourself, only while you bring relaxation to those you meet, I like to cause mischief. I met your two friends here last night; these poor, unfortunate souls were jealous of your popularity, and incredibly baffled about your generosity! Charging massage services for free? I can’t imagine doing such a thing.”
T.C. dropped to his stern tone again. “Shut your mouth.”
“Why, I myself am quite surprised I didn’t think to take your hands as well. With the power of this ancient zebra meditative collar, I probably could’ve swapped out my hooves for them and taken over your business! Maybe I’d even charge double what Donnie and Primrose charge because your services are top-notch, are they not?”
“That’s IT!” T.C. roared, “If I had my body right now, I would pummel the ever-loving daylights out of you!”
Rarity would normally be alarmed by a friend of hers going into full berserk mode, especially with T.C. considering how calm of a guy she knew him to be. However in a situation like this, Rarity was more than welcome to join in on what T.C. had in mind.
“And since you don’t have your body, leave it to me!” She replied.
Author's Note
Gustave to the rescue…sort of! Anyway, this is the chapter we see a different side of T.C., one more bitter and angry. Perhaps it has to do with his dislike of the “Griffons are greedy” stereotype. Maybe that might be explored in a future story!
5. Taking on the Trickster
Rarity ran headfirst towards Lagahai, who jumped into the air and off of her back. She turned around as he landed, almost ready to make a break for the door. She swung a hoof towards his head, only for it to lift off his body to dodge the attack. The sudden separation took her by surprise.
“I missed?!”
“It’s the collar’s power, babe!” Lagahai taunted, “This thing was used as a sort of weird meditative device by zebras long ago, but I use it for a grade-A evasive tactic! Many people want this, so I gotta protect it all for myself, y’know?”
“You fiend!” Rarity retorted, “So you’re a thief as well, I assume!”
“Some might say that,” Lagahai said, cackling.
“Rarity, toss me!” T.C. said from the bag.
“What?”
“Just do it!” T.C. yelled, causing her to take orders.
Rarity flung T.C.’s head like a football at the zebra. He bit on Lagahai’s hind leg, causing him to jump in pain. Lagahai decided to try and throw off T.C.’s head by dividing in half and kicking his legs around like an angry bull. T.C. tried to hold on, but eventually flew off and onto the massage table.
“Even if you’d held on, I would’ve still left with the collar! So it’d take me a few hours to get my legs back; big whoop. It’s the fact that I still have my hooves and head that matters to me.”
“You stay in here!” Rarity shouted, wrestling the half zebra to the ground, as Lagahai commanded his legs to go after T.C., kicking away the table with the tip jars.
Donnie dove for the jars and caught them before they reached the ground. “Mr. Lagahai, please don’t destroy the place!”
Lagahai struggled his words as Rarity pushed him closer to the ground. “Oh, boo hoo hoo, it’s not like I’m trying to help you anymore!”
“What did you say,” Primrose said in shock.
“I got my money…incapacitated your friend…what else is there you need from me? Unless you have more bits, I’m not even going to try and keep your place in one piece!” Lagahai roared back as he kicked the massage table over, toppling T.C.’s head to the floor in the process.
Primrose looked at what was going on, trying not to cry. She solemnly looked at Donnie and said to him, “Donnie, what have we done?”
Donnie who was still holding the tip jars from before looked at her. “I don’t even know anymore, honey. What I do know is we did something very wrong to our friend. He was but a mere drifter on the streets when we met him. I could tell from his eyes that he was fine being on his own even at such a young age, but you insisted we took him in and let him help with the parlor. He was so gifted with his massage skills, it was almost like he was born with that gift, when you and I studied the art of grooming together in school. But his generosity and his willingness to do his services for free…that’s not normal for a griffon. At least, that was never normal for a griffon when I grew up.”
“The kid has a wonderful heart, Donnie, and we took that away from him.” She began to step forward.
“What are you doing, honey? Do you really think apologizing is going to work?”
“At this point, I don’t care. I just want Thomas to be happy!”
With newfound motivation, Primrose rushed in to aid T.C.. She put the massage table back up and held back Lagahai’s legs from kicking over anything else, including T.C.’s head. Donnie saw what she was doing, and took to the air above where Rarity and the other half of the zebra were. Rarity went for a swipe to the neck, only for Lagahai’s head to ascend in time to dodge the attack.
“Don’t you all get it? It’s useless to attack me! Useless! USELESS! I’m just going to dodge even higher and higher, and return my head to my neck just in time to regain my focus!” Lagahai began to cackle, before coming to an ugly realization.
“What?! Why am I still in the air? What grabbed me?!”
Donnie, who was above Lagahai and Rarity, held his head in place. “Rarity, the collar!”
Rarity lifted the collar off of Lagahai’s neck, as Donnie dropped the head onto the floor. It did indeed collide with Lagahai’s neck, but much to his dismay, did not attach.
“No! What have you done? Give that back,” he retorted, but before he could swipe the collar away, Rarity teleported it to somewhere he’d never find it at. “Where did it go? Where did it go?!” Lagahai’s three pieces all shivered in terror.
“To someone she and I can trust,” T.C. spoke from behind him.
Lagahai shook his hoof at T.C. and the others. “This isn’t over yet! I’ll find some way to pull myself together! Don’t forget that!” Lagahai took his head under a front hoof, hopped his torso onto his lower body, and sprinted out the door. Many ponies looked in confusion at the three-pieced zebra that hauled tail out of Canterlot that day, and the story is still told around the grapevines of Equestria.
“Rarity…” T.C. whimpered nervously, “Just where did you send that collar to?” Rarity said nothing, only giving a wink to him.
And just like that, a familiar figure arrived. It was Gustave, with exciting news, and T.C.’s body in tow.
“Thomas! Mi amie! When I was on watch with your body, a collar just appeared in the room! I thought it looked very nice, so I put it on your neck! It matches your talons very well!”
Donnie picked up T.C.’s head. “But I think your body is missing something,” he said, before putting the head atop the collared neck. As desired, T.C.’s head reattached to his body, and he was once again whole. T.C. chirped in joy; it felt good to be back in one piece.
And after such a hectic day, T.C. and Rarity decided to go back to their hotels and relax. Donnie and Primrose continued to clean the parlor, and Gustave went off back to his apartment in Canterlot.
Author's Note
No, before you ask, Lagahai doesn’t have the hots for Rarity. “Babe” is just a part of his way of speaking to ladies, though you could imply he’s a womanizer of sorts. Or he just likes to mess with people, haha. But this is also where we see that Lagahai is like a jerkass genie of sorts. Sure, he was paid to incapacitate T.C., but he has no concern for what Donnie and Primrose really wanted. That’s why they decide to take action and retort.
I also decided midway that Donnie and Primrose could be married or engaged. I kind of see them being about ten or eleven years older than T.C.. In fact, if the Mane 6 are around the 19-21 range, T.C. would be 21, Gustave would be in between 24-26 (hey, he looks young to me!), Lagahai could be in his 20s, but Donnie and Primrose would probably be around 30-32 years of age.
The next morning before Griff ‘n Groom had opened, Donnie and Primrose were met with some shocking news.
“You’re leaving?!”
T.C. solemnly nodded. “I am indeed. It’s why I wanted to open the shop late today, I had to take some time to tell you.” He sounded almost like a stern parent scolding their child. Even Rarity and Gustave, who had come to see him, were worried as well.
“But, Thomas! The business!” Donnie remarked.
“What about all your customers?” Primrose responded.
“I’ve taken some time to think about it last night, and I realized that I don’t think I’m truly happy here anymore,” T.C. said, squinting a bit at the two griffons before him.
“Not happy? But we’ve kept you in our care for years! We’ve even let you work here without paying towards our rent!” Donnie began to plead, “You’re almost like a son or a little brother to us!”
T.C. became quite irate at Donnie’s begging. “And would you turn on your son and betray his trust, all because you didn’t agree with something he was doing? Answer that, Donnie.”
“Thomas,” Primrose began to whimper.
“Primrose, please. Don’t even start. I was very hurt by what both of you did. It pains me very much to say this, but I don’t think I can forgive either of you for such a thing.”
Primrose hung her head in shame, but she realized that T.C. had a point. She and Donnie had wronged him, betrayed his trust, and pushed his buttons the wrong way. In some way, she thought that he was right to feel this way, and she held her head up again.
“Then if you want to leave, that’s okay,” she said, accepting of his decisions.
“Prim, what’s gotten into you,” Donnie shot back at her.
“Donnie, he’s right to feel this way. We betrayed his trust, and that’s kind of hard to forgive sometimes.”
Donnie learned to accept the result of his actions. “Well…alright. But write often, will ya?”
T.C. scoffed with a smile. “I’ll try. I may not want to forgive you just yet, but the least I can say is good luck with the business. I’m confident that you two will still keep it popular.”
Donnie and Primrose nodded and smiled, and T.C. smiled a bit back at them. He still wasn’t ready to forgive them, but he was able to smile and wave back to them. “Goodbye!” he belted, with his natural cheer.
As they arrived near the train station to send Rarity off, Gustave ran up to T.C..
“You’re not leaving Canterlot as well, are you, Thomas?”
“I’m afraid I am, Gus. But don’t worry, I’ll be sure to visit you whenever I desire. I’m a traveler, and this is what a traveler’s gotta do. If you’d like though, I have something I want to tell you in private.”
Gustave leant his attention to T.C., and T.C. whispered something to him. Gustave gave him a giddy smile, and flew off.
“That reminds me,” Rarity began. “Just where are you going next?”
“Well, like I said. A traveler’s gotta travel, but let’s just say I’ve found a place to call home. Trust me, you’ll see it very soon,” T.C. said.
“Twelve o’clock train to Ponyville!” called the stallion at the gates. “All aboard the noon train to Ponyville from Canterlot!
“That’s your train,” T.C. said, “goodbye, Rarity!”
“Don’t forget to write!” Rarity called back as T.C. flew in the direction of the hotel.
As Rarity boarded the train, she sat down and pulled something out of her bag. It was the crayon drawing her sister had made of the dress idea she had. She asked another pony on the train for a quill, and began to make some notes on it that would improve her sister’s idea. She looked outside the window, and to her shock, there was a familiar face flying beside her window.
It was T.C. himself! What was he doing following the train? She also saw he had a bag strapped to his back! Could he be hinting at something? He gave her a wink and a thumbs up and flew out of sight, following the train tracks. She looked back at Sweetie Belle’s drawing, and realized something about it, specifically the color choice she had. It just so happened to be burgundy and white, with a gold trim!
“A traveler…” Rarity wondered aloud. “Did he once run into Sweetie Belle and her friends?”
“We have now arrived in Ponyville!” the train conductor spoke aloud. “All passengers for Ponyville, your stop is here!”
Author's Note
Call me weird, but I kind of like the idea that not every episode should end all happy, joyful, and everyone is happy in the end. Well, that’s how HoH ended, or so we think. It’s kind of a similar ending to Griffon the Brush Off, now that I think about it. Will we ever see Donnie and Primrose again? Will they get their redemption? All I can say is who knows?
Head Over Hooves was also planned to end here, but then I decided to throw in a little final bit about T.C. being welcomed into Ponyville. And that brings us to…
Rarity walked back to her treasured home, the Carousel Boutique, and opened its doors to find the three ponies she left in its care greeting her.
“Welcome home, Rarity!” Twilight said with cheer handing her a folder with a few papers in it, “I took care of all the orders that came in on Saturday and Monday morning!”
She also saw Opalescence sleeping comfortably in a yarn-knit bed besides Fluttershy, who turned to her with a smile. “I also put my knitting skills to use and made Opal a pretty new bed. Do you like it?”
Rarity gasped. “Fluttershy! It’s beautiful! I don’t understand why I don’t have you here to design dresses with me!”
“Sweetie Belle was a big help,” Fluttershy said, “although she remarks that Opal wouldn’t stop playing with the yarn when Fluttershy was knitting.”
Sweetie Belle jumped up and down excitedly, saying “Cutie Mark Crusaders Cat Bed Knitters! Oh wait, it was only me,” before realizing that Apple Bloom and Scootaloo weren’t there to help her.
Rarity smiled holding back tears. “My little sister’s growing up,” she said, before realizing that she wanted to show some modifications to the dress idea that Sweetie Belle gave her. “By the way, I wanted to make a few changes to your idea, what do you think about these notes?”
Sweetie Belle took a look and said, “Y’know, I just realized. Those colors remind me of someone who just moved into town!”
“Moved into town,” Rarity said, “Where did they move in?”
Rarity couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“Well, not exactly in Ponyville itself,” Twilight remarked, “but rather a little bit on the outskirts of the town. Applejack told me that she and he built a little cottage outside, so that he could ‘ease the aches of weary travelers’ or something.”
“Easing aches?” Rarity said, almost with wonderment. It was totally what she was expecting.
“Indeed,” Fluttershy said, “said he came from Canterlot or something.
Rarity gathered the three other ponies together. “Well what are we waiting for? Why don’t we get the others and welcome him into town?”
Rarity gathered the rest of her friends, as well as Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, for Sweetie Belle’s sake. Twilight also brought Spike along from the castle, and the collective ten of them all stood around the small wooden house now build on the outskirts of Ponyville. They weren’t just going to welcome T.C. to Ponyville, they were going to show him a good time around town.
Pinkie Pie gave a knock at the door, and it opened. On the other end was none other than T.C. himself. The griffon could barely emit a hello out before being blasted in the face with Pinkie’s trademark party cannon. Pinkie Pie sang a song welcoming T.C. to Ponyville; the same one she sang for Cranky Doodle Donkey years ago, which gave T.C. a tearful laugh, as he was so amused yet so happy that Ponyville was this welcoming, and to a griffon to boot! T.C.’s house was very nicely designed too, and he thanked Applejack on such a wonderful job helping him with it. He flew with Rainbow Dash and was told that he was almost as cool as her other griffon friend who was currently spreading friendship in Griffonstone. He met some of Fluttershy’s animals, as well as Discord, and had fun playing with all of them. He had the most fun with Discord, as he and Fluttershy told the story about how Discord tried to train one of his paws to fetch a leg, and with T.C.’s new collar, it gave him some ideas. He explored the Castle of Friendship with Twilight, and was marveled by its architecture and the massive map in the center room. He helped Applejack with some farm work, and despite his achy joints, he found some fun in that too. He closed the night of fun back at his house, in which he had the brilliant idea to make a fire pit for, and the collective twelve of them all enjoyed s’mores and other campfire treats courtesy of Pinkie Pie. And before everyone departed, Rarity called Photo Finish over to take a picture of the entire crew, which she let T.C. keep in a frame built by Fluttershy from some old bird houses. When they all departed, T.C. climbed up to his bedroom loft, picture in hand, and set it beside his bed.
And for the first time in forever, T.C. felt like he was home.
Author's Note
Last Train Home, the final chapter! Yes, it’s named after the Pat Metheny Group’s song of the same name. Yes, it could be considered a reference to JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure if you want to consider it one, but what can I tell you; it’s one of my current favorite anime/manga series of all time. (currently reading Steel Ball Run, I can totally see Gustave and T.C. as Gyro and Johnny!) I wanted to give the rest of the Mane 6 a chance in this story, so they all have little cameos at the end, and all welcome T.C. to Ponyville in their own way. And at the end of the story, T.C. remarks on how this is the first time in forever he’s felt at home, which implies T.C. has had a first home. And you know what?
If you demand it, you will see T.C. in another story.
And even if you don’t, I’m writing it anyway.
Cheers!