Blazing Jealousy

Chapters

DreamNotes
Hoofsteps
Tunnels and Tapestries

DreamNotes

“There, finally” the pony mumbled, adding the finishing touch to the room with her horn. The corner of her mouth twitched into a smile as her eyes sparked. She spread her snowy white wings and floated away on the breeze, feeling her shimmering mane brush against her in a magical breeze.

*********************************************

Twilight dip0ped her quill into the ink bottle and pressed it to the parchment gently to write an essay. As she scratching sound of the quill eminated through the room, a small purple earthdragon rested in a wicker basket. The glowing full moon hovered low in the deep navy night sky, pillowed in a blanket of stars, and the soft chirrup of the crickets was the only sound in sleeping Ponyville. Twilight blinked her eyes slowly, casting out her shimmering pink aura to unlatch a window and open the tree library to a cool waft of air. The dozing dragon moaned in his sleep and restlessly flopped over to his stomach, and the unicorn extinguished all the lights in the library but for the single candle burning faintly beside her essay. She once again lifted the quill and scratched out sentences on the beige surface of the parchment, sentences soon spilling from her mind to fill the page with Twilight’s neat cursive. Each word seemed to float from the page and land upon her purple eyelids, until their weight became too great and they clapped together soundlessly.

She floated in a dark void, the dream void. She could feel her mind bogged with the heavy haze that invades a dream, making logic impossible and decisions foolish. Twilight could not feel her legs, but knew in her soul that she stood. At once she saw at everything and nothing once, feeling her brain flood with knowledge and dream-thoughts. A long horn gleamed in the no-light, and a pair of powerful wings pressed upon her sides. A wind pressed upon her cheek in a concentration, indicating her flowing plasma of hair. It did not shine as Celestia’s, nor sparkle like Luna’s, but had its own resonating power and gleam within the purple and pink flow.

A high, keening sound splintered her fogged mind into shards, frantic and fearful. Slowly it formed itself into a voice, then words of desperation. “Heeelp! Twilight, help!” it screeched, holding the echoed quality of a voice far away but also the sharpness of something quite near. Twilight recognized the voice quickly as her heart sped up.

“Pinkie?!”

“Twilight, help!”

“I’m coming!!” Twilght ran tirelessly, feeling her legs move like phantom limbs. Her horn blazed with a cerulean glow, providing only a few yards of visibility before the light was once again sucked into the darkness around her.

“HELP!” Pinkie Pie’s screech thrust itself into Twilight’s ears, leaving a high ringing in its place. Twilight whipped her head from left to right, violet eyes raking the world with piercing intensity. A gleaming golden shoe flickered into being, placed on a lengthy leg of white. It was not her friend’s pink she had searched for, but the sight of her mentor brought relief to Twilgiht.

“Princess Celestia!” she cried breathlessly, nearing the alicorn with a single bound. “You have to help me! Pinkie Pie’s hurt somewhere and she needs help, but I can’t find her!” Celestia’s large white head rose from the floor slowly and she turned to meet Twilight, her pink eyes flashing with something uncharacteristic- mockery.

“Oh, is she?” the princess rasped in a voice that certainly was not ponish. It ringed with twisted amusement, grating harshly like grinding gears and chilling Twilight to the core of her being. The thing’s mouth lifted into a a cruel smirk, and the eyes glinted with some sort of dark zeal. The being’s jaws cracked open and it howled in Pinkie Pie’s voice- “Help!” It cackled mirthlessly and turned a horrible, sharp toothed grin to Twilight’s face.

“No. No!” Twilight gasped, feeling her alicorn wings unfold with a whoosh of wind. The creature simply giggled, a sound not suited to its actions.

“Twilight?” Twilight’s purple dragon friend’s voice rang from the surrounding void, with concern and mild fear in the single word he had spoken.

“Don’t come over here, Spike” the purple alicorn cautioned as her horn began to glow menacingly. Her eyes narrowed as the creature that she’d thought to be Princess Celestia grinned, egging her to blast it into oblivion.

“Why not?” her eyes snapped open to view Spike’s scaly face a foot from her own, questions and sympathy resonating from him. Seeing the fear in her eyes, he continued on explaining.

“You must have fallen asleep while you were writing. I woke up and you were thrashing around on the floor like Discord was after you again. You were sleep talking too, mumbling stuff about Pinkie Pie and Celestia and monsters. Did you have a bad dream?” he comforted his friend, offering a claw to assist her rise from the floor. When his purple friend nodded, Spike winced in sympathy.

“Yes, I had a nightmare,” Twilight said, placing her hoof in Spike’s claw and slowly rising. As soon as she had stood, however, her knees folded in upon themselves and she crumpled to the floor in a disheveled heap. After groaning in dismay, she organized her tangled limbs and summoned a hairbrush. Turning to Spike, she asked for a few things.

“Spike? Would you mind getting a quill, parchment, and ink? I need to rewrite my schedule for today, since I didn’t finish my magical theory essay last night. In addition, I would like a bit of breakfast, if you’re willing to make it” she hastily added,
giving the dragon a smile. He agreed readily.

“Sure!” he said, already reaching for the quill Twilight had been using last night with one claw. “I’ll have Owolicious clean this mess up,” he indicated the spilled ink and ruined parchment with his empty claw as he released the quill to Twilight’s magic, “and I’ll make breakfast!” Spike stuffed a claw into his mouth and emitted a loud whistle, causing Owolicious to flap in through the open window from his nighttime hunt. The two simply shared a glance to communicate their jobs before Spike trotted towards the kitchen.

“Who” Owolicious set a roll of parchment and an ink bottle in front of Twilight with each talon, trading them out for a washcloth. He lobbed the ruined essay and empty ink bottle into a wastebasket and pressed the cloth to the ink puddle, staining it black.

“Thank you, Owolicious” Twilight acknowledged her assistant, proud that he and Spike now worked together so well.

“Who?”

“You. For cleaning up the-“ Twilight’s straight mouth slipped into a grin and she chuckled at herself. “Never mind.”

“Order up!” Spike called, taking the stairs two at a time as he came from the kitchen. One claw lifted a plate of waffles in the air, complete with butter, syrup, berries, and whipped cream; while the other clasped a glass of fresh orange juice. His rose apron flapped around his ankles and tripped him with a jolt. Spike let out a sharp yell as he tumbled forward, squeezing shut his eyes in anticipation of the hard floor and crashing of plates around him. But, instead, he felt the familiar tingle of Twilight’s rose magic as he was gently levitated towards his unicorn friend. Moving inside the sparkling aura, he wrestled the food back on to the plate and was pristine when he was set on his feet in front of Twilight. Sheepish, he set the meal by her hooves.“Here ya go.”

Ravenous, Twilight managed to cram an entire slice of grilled bread and a large sip of juice into her mouth before she took a breath. “Fanks” she mumbled, a magical shield over her mouth to prevent spraying Spike with crumbs. Still manipulating food and drink, she levitated the quill and lowered her eyes to the parchment in concentration. Just as she placed the final touches on the new daily schedule, a burst of green flame consumed her work and replaced it with a tightly rolled scroll. The magically grasped quill snapped in half before Twilight could compose herself.
With a loud exhale, the lavender unicorn raised the scroll and popped the golden seal displaying the Equestrian coat-of-hooves. Letting the scarlet ribbon float to the ground, she unrolled the hovering scroll and read Celestia’s loopy but elegant script.

“My dearest student, Twilight Sparkle,

To thank you and your friends for you deeds concerning Nightmare Moon and Discord, the citizens of Equestria have requested a celebration in your honor. You and the other Elements have done so much for our lands that multiple towns recommended it to Luna and I, and I have decided that the time is right to celebrate you. Many towns, including your own Ponyville, have generously donated money to build you six and your families a home nearby Canterlot.

So, for their sakes and yours, we of Canterlot and Royalty request your presence in Canterlot as we celebrate the third anniversary of Nightmare Moon’s defeat. The festivities will likely include a banquet and dance, as well as the festival we have come to hold here in Canterlot for the Summer Sun Celebration. This year the Rising of the Sun will be performed in Canterlot, with you and your friends as honorable guests.

I request that you send word to me quickly by Spike as to whether you all will be able to attend this honorable occasion, as many ponies are counting on your rapid response to begin preparations. Thank you, and I hope you all can attend!

(Shining Armor and Cadence will also be there, back from their honeymoon! Luna personally wishes to thank you both now and at the celebrations for freeing her from the Maisma that trapped her inside Nightmare Moon for so long.)

With love from your teacher,

Princess Celestia

Spike read over her shoulder, but only got through half the letter before Twilight’s exceptional reading had sped her through the words like quicksilver. Nonchalant, she took another bite of her toast as she left the letter to drift to the floor. Darting around her body, Spike picked up the letter in his claws and read what he had not. Dropping it abruptly, as Twilight had, he lifted his head and met her unfocused eyes.

“Are you going?” he inquired, canting his head to the side imperceptibly. Twilight finished chewing and swallowed, then took a long sip of her juice before replying. Spike impatiently tapped his foot against the floor as he waited.

“I would like to go,” Twilight responded slowly, carefully choosing her words and banishing the horrifying nightmare from her mind, allowing her to think perfectly clearly. “I think it would be ungrateful if any of us were to not go” she rose to her hooves, this time remaining steady. Since she was facing away from Spike, she turned her entire body to face him.

“I think that the others would also like to go, and will certainly make time for it and reschedule other plans if need be. You don’t just dismiss a request for presence from the Princess. But,” she added, seeing Spike pull a quill and parchment from her shelves, “I don’t want to send an RSVP yet. I need to check with everypony else, anyhow. If only to let them know it’s going to happen.” Spike nodded in understanding, and placed the materials back on the shelves.

“Should I come with?” he inquired as Twilight moved towards the door. She had swung open both halves before she replied to him, looking back over her shoulder as she stood stationary in the doorway.

“No, not now, Spike. I need you to work out a schedule for this week and next, to make sure everything gets done in accommodation for this trip and today’s inactivity.” The dragon mock saluted his friend.

“Ayaye, cap’n!” he cried with a smile. Twilight smiled back and stepped out the door.

“Okay,” she said, “bye, Spike!” she closed the door behind her in a shower of rose sparkles and trotted away.

[On a search for pre-readers and editors! Please let me know if you are willing to do this for me!]

Hoofsteps

A cyan Pegasus soared through the air, inhaling the thin gas from where she was- way high up. Thousands of feet above the earth, the air was light and thin, almost like champagne. Below her, Ponyville looked weensy, a foal’s playset. The huge taxi busses were ants, the ponies smudges of color. Rainbow Dash relished her freedom as she bashed a cloud into nothingness, feeling the air whip through her rainbow mane and tail and fill the feathery parachutes that were her wings. She flew straight through a dark, stormy looking cloud and tingled with the lightning electricity that rippled through her body as the cloud disapated.

A loud call came from the ground, magically enhanced to reach the pegasus’ high up hovering. “Rainbow Da-ash!” The blue Pegasus turned in the air and narrowed her eyes at the pony on the ground, her Pegasus magic sharpening her vision to falcon status. She could see Tank, her pet tortoise, in his helicopter harness nearby the pony. He could not come up high enough to stay by Rainbow Dash while she was on active weather duty, so napped in the clover below until she was done.

As her eyes picked out the details of the ground, she recognized the pony. It was her friend Twilight Sparkle.
Rainbow tilted her body downward with a powerful stroke of her wings and allowed herself to plummet towards the earth, an unaerodynamic pony falling from the sky. At about treetop height, she spread her wings once more. Dash felt them fill with air like sails as the abruptly jerked upward. Gently cursing at the sharp pain in her joins caused by the sudden unfurling, she flapped over to Twilight leisurely. Once within normal hearing distance, Twilight spoke to the Pegasus once again.

“Beautiful day, Rainbow Dash” she complemented her friend’s cloud clearing with a nod of her head to the clear sky. Rainbow landed nearby the purple unicorn and nodded, closing her pink eyes and raising her face to the warm sunshine above.

Looking back at Twilight, she grinned. “Thanks, Twilight! It takes practice and a lot of work, but I’m the best weather Pegasus Cloudsdale’s ever seen!” she gloated, stretching her wings to the side a bit before folding them on her flank. “So, what brings you over here?” Rainbow Dash inquired. This close to the Everfree Forest, the only ponies who came were weather pegasi to clear the skies or keep tabs on the feral forest clouds or Fluttershy.

“I wanted to tell you that Princess Celestia needs us in Canterlot” Twilight commented, as if it were not a big surprise to her or just an invitation to an ice cream social. Rainbow Dash, on the other hoof, paled and laid back her ears. Wings spread wide and nostrils flaring, she placed her face inches from her own and gazed at Twilight Sparkle with worried and determined eyes.

“Is something wrong? Is Discord back? Do we need to get the Elements again?!” she cried. Her dedication to the Princess and her friends made her the perfect Holder of the harmonic element, Loyalty. But it also could cause high levels of stress and worry to the usually carefree Pegasus in times of possible trouble.

“No, no, nothing like that” Twilight explained. Rainbow Dash visibly relaxed, her wings loosening and ears rising once more.
She exhaled in a huff of relief as Twilight continued. “Celestia wants to honor us at the Summer Sun Celebration for our use of the Elements against Nightmare Moon and Discord. She says that multiple towns pitched in to build us a mansion for us and our families to live in from now on.”

Plesantly surprised but also extremely curious, Rainbow Dash put on an indifferent mask. “Well, that’s cool. Fluttershy should be free,” she added, “I was going to give her flying lessons this week and next so she could help me, Thunder Lane, and Blossomforth perform our routine at the Summer Sun Celebration, but if we won’t be there we can do without.”

“Excellent” Twilight said, turning away. “Will you tell her what is going on? Oh- and we board the train at five o’clock this Thursday” she added. Rainbow Dash nodded and bid Twilight goodbye before once more taking to the air. Twilight stood still for a bit while she watched Rainbow slowly fade into the distance as she flapped towards Fluttershy’s cottage.
Mentally searching a checklist, Twilight marked off both pegasi’s names. Next on the list was Pinkie Pie, who she could visit at Sugarcube Corner on her way to Rarity’s. She would make a final stop at Sweet Apple Acres before returning to the library and writing out their RSVP letter and sending it to Canterlot with Spike.

The purple unicorn closed her eyes and concentrated for a heartbeat, then opened her lids to see the busy Ponyville marketplace she had teleported to. Normally she had only short range maneuverability, but since she knew the location so well she could go there from far away. The ponies milling around and shopping looked somewhat surprised at Twilight’s sudden appearance, but having the most powerful unicorn in Equestria had gotten them used to her sudden comings and goings.

They agreeably called their cheerful ‘Hello!’s and ‘Good Morning!’s to their friend before turning back to barter or continue their walk. With a friendly smile and waving hoof, Twilight replied to their greetings and headed towards SugarCube Corner.
Stepping from the bustling street into the even more crowded square, Twilight hopped through spaces and threaded around lines to the opposite side of the square where the bakery rested.

Spilling from the doorway down the steps and looping back into the alley was a lengthy line of pastry craving ponies, some with whining foals and others with large bags to bring their purchase back to the office. Gently pushing past the yellow mare in the doorway, Twilight was met with yet more chaos than the outdoors. Steam and smoke billowed from the kitchen, where Mr. and Mrs. Cake were presumably baking. From the clouds, a finished treat would fly on to the counter where Pinkie Pie
relieved the groaning counter with speedy hooves.

The pink mare dashed between ringing up fresh orders at the register and hastily hooving out finished goods to waiting mares and stallions. Her mane and tail were even more disorderly than usual, with random pink curls springing from their poufy masses. Splatters of icing in a rainbow of pastels coated her fur and continued to multiply as Rarity’s frantic icing sprayed everywhere.

The white mare had her purple mane tucked into a manenet and was frosting up to five things at once, using magic and her own hooves. Pound and Pumpkin Cake snoozed in baby baskets draped over the counter, with Pound facing the customers and Pumpkin facing the kitchens and Pinkie’s rushing body.

Pinkie Pie looked up briefly and spotted Twilight Sparkle, grinning at her and waving before she turned back to her next customer and bashing the order in on the register. While she gave orders to their various consumers, she spoke to Twilight in a rushed voice that was nearly uninteligible.

“Hey, Twi! Good to see you today! Sorry we’re so busy, this Monday market always brings in a huge amount of ponies getting their bakes for the week ahead!” She dumped a huge cake box into Colgate’s pale hooves and darted back to the register. Rarity peeked up from her rushed work to smile briefly at Twilight Sparkle.

“I need to talk to you both!” Twilight hollered over the noise of all the customers at the two mares. She ducked as Pinkie tossed a muffin through the air and rose just in time to get a facefull of blue icing from Rarity.

“Ooh, sorry, Twilight!” Rarity said in her dainty voice, quiet but still loud enough to be heard. “But it’s a bit busy just now and we haven’t any time to speak!”

“Yeah, what Rarity said!” Pinkie agreed, coming over to hand out more orders.

“Let me help!” Twilight said, not loud enough to be heard by her friends. With a shower of rosey sparkles, all of the treats lifted from the counter and landed in the hooves of their owners. The shop cleared somewhat, but the ponies still waiting for their food that remained unbaked looked indiginant. “Please? It’ll only take a minute!” she pleaded to her friends. They looked at eachother and nodded, then hurried around the counter to be face to face with Twilight.

“Princess Celestia wants us to come to Canterlot for the Summer Sun Celebration to thank us for defeating Nightmare Moon and Discord. We’re leaving by train at five on Thursday, and Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy already say they can come” Twilight took a breath and looked straight into her friends’ eyes intently. “Can you?” she asked. Pinkie Pie nodded enthusiastically and so did Rarity, if more slowly.

“I do believe that we can” Rarity said, smiling and blinking gently at Twilight Sparkle. “I know I can.”

“Pinkie?” Twilight regarded her bouncy pink friend.

“Yeah, sure! I’d love to! A party’s not a party till the right party pony’s there!” she chirruped. Then, before Twilight even had time to smile or blink in gratitude, Pinkie was back behind the register and taking orders.

“I had better return to my job as well. I had no idea that volunteering to assist Pinkie would involve frosting…” Rarity murmered to Twilight. She turned and returned to frosting, taking it slower as to not spray frosting through the entire bakery in her haste. Twilight herself grinned and mentally checked off those two, then squeezed her way out of the bakery and directed herself towards Sweet Apple Acres’ stand, where Applejack was guaranteed to be selling the reddest, sweetest, and best of the Apple family’s apples on market day.

Once again, Twilight shoved through the crowds. In the center of the plaza, she gave up searching through the crush of bodies and hopped in the air. She landed on the outer rim of the fountain with a huff of breath, bending her knees drastically to absorb the weight of her impact. She swayed, off balance, on the concrete for several excruciating heartbeats before pulling herself up on to her back hooves.

Twilight found her head far above the other ponies’ fray, with a clear avenue of vision. She turned her head from side to side slowly to scan the crowd for her friend’s tangerine coat. There, on the very edge of the square, stood Applejack’s cart. Twilight lowered herself slowly and leapt off the fountain. She turned in the general direction of the stand and pressed forward, buffeted on every side by hurried ponies and their baskets.
She finally burst from the mash in front of the Sweet Apple Acres cart, her mane touseled and directions in a jumble.

Applejack saw her friend instantaneously, and trotted around the cart to greet her.

“Howdy Twilight!” she yelled above the clamor, “How’re you doin’ today?” Twilight smiled weakly and glanced back at the surging wall of ponies.

“I’m… okay…” she said exhaustedly in a thin voice. She straightened up and smiled for real at Applejack. “Busy day, huh?”

“Abso-lutely!” Applejack agreed with a smile, jingling the heavy saddlebag at her side. The clink of many bits could be faintly heard by Twilight. “We’re havin’ the best day all season fer some reason! I don’t have an inklin’ why, but I sure am enjoyin’ the business!”

Almost as if to accentuate her words, a burly stallion burst from the crowd cooly and scooped a dozen apples into the burlap sack hanging at his side. Applejack turned to him and smiled warmly.

“That’ll be twenty bits, sir” she reminded the stallion, who nodded in assent and tossed the money for his purchase into the air with his mouth. Opening the pack with her own mouth, Applejack positioned herself to have the bits clank against the other coins in her saddlebag.

“Thank ya’ kindly for yer business!” the tangerine mare called after his receding back, waving one hoof in the air. She turned back to Twilight. “Things have been that busy all day!” she explained. “Anyhow, sorry ‘bout interupptin’ ya’. What were ya sayin’?”

Twilight chuckled. “Actually, I wasn’t saying anything, yet. What I was going to say, though, was that Princess Celestia would like us to come to Canterlot for the Summer Sun Celebration. She said in her letter that there would be a celebration in our honor and that the ponies of Equestria had chipped in to build us a mansion.”

“Well, sure I’d like to come!” Applejack cried, anticipating Twilight’s next words. She nodded to back up her statement, eyes unfocused in thought.

“Why, Ahm sure there’s all sorts a ponies there durin’ the Celebration, and we have ta come if the Princess asked us to.

“Besides,” she added, “it’d be real rude to miff them ponies who sent money just ta build us a house an stuff.”

“Great. We leave at five on Thursday, via train” Twilight said. “Everypony else can come too, so I guess the gang’s all rounded up!”

Applejack pulled the unicorn into a brief hug before another customer walked up to her stand. With a quick apology, she returned behind the counter to attend to her. Twilight also bid her friend goodbye and then dove back into the crowd.
The first hoofstep off the train was a deep lavender one, bathed in the rich sunset light coloring all of Canterlot. As five more ponies disembarked behind Twilight Sparkle, their eyes were met with a heaving surge of ponies screaming their names. The six of them lined out, eyes gaping, with their backs to the train cars to absorb the scene in front of their noses.
Gigantic torches the size of a large foal lined the platform, supported by iron posts as thick as a pony’s leg, acting like a barrier between the celebrities and the ponies pressed against the train station walk with their hooves frantically waving blank sheets of paper. The horde screamed their names deafeningly, snapped photographs with nimble hooves and wiped tears from the corners of their eyes. On the buildings around them, posters boasted larger-than-life images of each of their
faces.

Applejack’s winking and grinning expression was topped by her trademark Stetson, splashed against a green background. In ‘old west’ style writing was the word ‘Honesty’ and a sketch of three red apples- her cutie mark. Rarity’s poster was smiling lushly, her eyes partially closed. Rarity’s curled mane deposited itself just above the swirly lettering of ‘Generosity’, her cutie mark of three diamonds also advertised. Fluttershy’s image ducked halfway behind its long pink mane, but the eyes behind it sparkled with love and her mouth lifted in a gentle smile. The depiction of Pinkie Pie grinned energetically at the camera.
The bouncy, jumbled letters of ‘Laughter’ accentuated the blue and yellow balloons below her face. Rainbow Dash’s cyan face held a smile and part of one wing could be seen, blurred with motion. Twilight’s poster was the largest, displayed directly across from the train platform. Her modest grin seemed contrary to the brightly gleaming horn protruding from her mane, and her writing was in Celestia’s own script.

A stone alicorn was placed, life size, on either side of a walkway cleared through the crowd like guards. Police ponies held the pressing crowd back from the red carpeted pathway, and a stout stallion waited at the steps leading down from the deck. The stallion coughed noisily, drawing the attention of Twilight Sparkle and her friends from the adoring ponies.

Twilight led, she and her friends slowly walking towards the grey stallion across the platform. They reached him faster than they thought they would, and looked expectantly at him.

“Why are all these ponies here?” Twilight asked the pony in a low voice. She had to practically yell to be heard over the din, but she kept the sound to a minimum. Perhaps they should have expected crowds like this. The same ponies had, Celestia said, pitched in and pressed for the house and celebrations. The stallion looked at her almost scornfully, and didn’t answer the question.

“You are Miss Twilight Sparkle?” he asked brusquely, scanning the unicorn mare in front of him. “And her friends, too?” This hasty addition produced a sniff of disdain from Rarity as she tossed her purple mane over her shoulder. Twilight glanced back at her friend before turning back to the guard stallion, who was somewhat shorter than she.

“We are” Twilight answered in a cool voice, letting him know her friends were just as important as she was. Ignoring her icy tone, he went on.

“You’re supposed to come with me. I’m escorting you to Princess Luna, and then to your quarters for the night. Look sharp-
Princess Luna still needs to help raise the moon all the way.” Without another word, he turned and walked down the three steps to the red carpet and moved straight forward along the path. Twilight followed closely, with the other five mares trotting behind to keep up with their friend’s pace.

As she moved along, Twilight peeked back at each of her friends briefly. “I wasn’t expecting such a crowd” she murmered to Rainbow Dash, who was bobbing along in the air behind her. Rainbow blasted the routine out of the water, blowing air kisses with her hooves and taking deep air bows to the crowd, thoroughly enjoying the attention.

“Are you kidding?! This is awesome!” the Pegasus cried brightly. After rolling her eyes slightly at Rainbow, Twilight moved to the next pony in line. As they traveled single file, each seemed to be taking the events in a different way. Rarity seemed a bit overwhelmed, but batted her eyes at drooling stallions and tossed air kisses like Rainbow Dash. And only somepony very familiar with her could detect the discomfort underneath Pinkie Pie’s giggly, hyperactive exterior. Applejack displayed her typical modesty but seemed all right. Fluttershy though, trailing along in the back of their single file line, looked terrified. She had her bright face hidden behind a pink curtain, wings pressed tightly to her sides, and her body seemed to be trying to curl small on itself as she walked.

“Flutterhsy doesn’t seem to be enjoying it” Twilight retorted to Rainbow Dash dryly, once more looking back on her shy friend.

“Well, you know Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash brushed aside Twilight’s rebuttal with the air of somepony famous. Which, considering their current situation, they all were. Twilight Sparkle groaned low in her throat and opened her mouth to chide Rainbow Dash, but before a breath of air had passed her vocal cords the navy Princess of the Night emerged.
Luna stood, in all her alicorn regality, on a small stone pedestal at the end of the platform. The back of the pedestal was pressed against the bleak beige wall of a building. Torches surrounded this platform, as well, burning with a cool blue flame instead of the bright orange which was common. Despite the impressive setting, Luna smiled at Twilight and her friends and offered a small wink to them.

“Step on the podium, Twilight Sparkle,” she said in a loud voice that echoed through the crowd. Most of the ponies there stopped pushing and became still, their yells fading into hushed whispers or silence. “I wish to make a speech, but I must be brief so I may attend to my duty as Princess of the Night.”

“Of course, Princess” Twilight agreed, stepping on to the stone and standing nose to nose with Luna. Her friends followed uncertainly. Twilight herself felt nervous and awkward in this unfamiliar setting, but slipped a blank façade into place both for her friends and herself.

“These six ponies freed me from the prison that held me and grieved Equestria greatly. Nightmare Moon had trapped me in its dark grasp, and, were it not for these mares, I would still remain dreading eternity with my guilt. They have not just saved Equestria and its citizens, but also me myself. Not only Nightmare Moon was defeated by their bravery, but also Discord despite his efforts to turn them against their very natures.

“So, tonight, it is my honor and not theirs to stand here. We all owe these friends a deep measure of respect and gratitude which I eagerly bestow. It is my pleasure to formally begin the celebrations we hold this week to praise them for their great deeds!” Luna turned her head from the audience to smile at the six once again, then went on.

“Tonight, I thank Rainbow Dash for her loyalty, Pinkie Pie for her laughter, Rarity for her generosity, Applejack for her honesty, Fluttershy for her kindness, and Twilight Sparkle for her magic! Their tenacity, integrity, love, and spirit has saved us all twice over.”

“Amen!” Twilight heard the grey stallion huff from his position in the corner of the stage. His voice did not sound reverent or awed but scornful. Twilight Sparkle decided that she did not particularly like this stallion.

“I must leave you to perform my duties now, but I shall see you all tomorrow. In the meantime, you all have rooms awaiting you in the castle. Greymalkin can show you all there.” The stallion in the corner, Greymalkin, straightened up and gazed at Luna benevolently.

“You said my name, Your Highness?” Luna ignored the sarcasm in his voice as he spoke her royal title.

“Please take them to their rooms in Canterlot Castle promptly, and tell the bathmares to prepare Princess Celestia a soak for when she returns.”

“Yes, Your Highness” Greymalkin fell into a deep bow, his nose nearly brushing the stone platform they all stood upon. Luna nodded at the seven of them and crossed horns with Twilight before spreading her dark wings and soaring to the skies. Greymalkin watched her go until the alicorn could no longer be seen against the colorful sunset and turned to the six.

“All right, ladies. You heard the Princess- I’m supposed to show you to your rooms. Let’s go so I can get to bed” he growled, suddenly exasperated. He walked over to the blank wall at the back of the podium and pressed his horn to the plaster gently. A red aura surrounded the appendage and crimnson lines appeared on the wall in a rectangular shape. With sweat beading on his forhead, Greymalkin stepped back from the plaster and used his magic to swing open a door.

“Very complicated spell,” he grunted in response to Twilight’s questioning look, “only the top guards are allowed to learn or use it.” He then gestured a grey hoof to the yawning doorway. Just inside it, a dark tunnel opened up. Damp, cool air wafted from the opening as Twilight Sparkle stuck her head in, observing a long flight of stairs going down. She gasped in recognition and pulled her body around to face Greymalkin, who was leaning against the door and inspecting his hoof.

“Are these…” she breathed.

“The mythical tunnels underneath Canterlot?” Greymalkin finished her question. The lavender unicorn numbly nodded. “Yes. Now go!”

Greymalkin stepped in first, then stood to the side as six mares bustled past him into the dark tunnel. As soon as Fluttershy’s lengthy tail had passed the doorframe, a shimmer of red magic closed and sealed the door, leaving the seven ponies in absolute, unbroken blackness.

Tunnels and Tapestries

Thank you everypony for being so patient as I worked on this!

xxx
A high scream pierced the silence that the ponies were left in, causing Twilight Sparkle to flatten her ears to her head. The sound was so loud and keening that it seemed to pierce the very dark as a bright beam of light shot forward into the dark. Twilight blinked as her eyes adjusted to the sudden soft glow that surrounded them, emanating from every surface but the one beneath their hooves. The scream waned into silence as the light strengthened, and all six bodies relaxed.

A sudden realization hit Twilight as she stood in the dim light, and her head whipped around. She did not see the stout body of Greymalkin until she looked directly ahead, where the stallion had immediately begun walking and was now yards ahead of the six mares. Shaking herself out of statue-like stillness, Twilight trotted to catch up to the guard. Her friends followed behind, each of them in varying states of ease.

“So, there were tunnels under my hooves all along,” Twilight mused when she reached Greymalkin, thinking back to all her days reading about the ‘myth’ as she walked right above them. A small smile flitted across her lips.

“Yes. Many. A pony could get lost down here really easy, so stay close to me. Especially you!” his voice raised to a near shout towards the end. He had not turned his head at all, but stopped now as every other pony in the corridor’s heads turned to the back of their procession. Rainbow Dash hovered in the air, slightly away from the rest of the group with a rather sheepish look on her face, intermingled with one of irritation. She had tried to sneak off the main path into an adjoining tunnel. Greymalkin turned to face the blue Pegasus and looked hard at the back of the line, where Rainbow was supposed to stand. With a scowl Dash did as she was told, landing hard and with a huff behind Fluttershy.

“Anyhow,” Greymalkin continued, punctuating his word with a pointed look at Rainbow Dash before turning around again, “”only a few chosen know their way about down here. Celestia, Luna, and myself are three, but only two others besides know directions; Shining Armor, our captain, and Prince Blueblood. “

“Not many,” Rarity commented, raising her head above Applejack’s to make sure she was heard. “Do you teach one another, if someone is… unable to perform their duties?”

Greymalkin coughed roughly, obviously making an excuse to not answer the question. Rainbow Dash took the time for her revenge, calling from the back in a scathing tone, “Well?” They grey guard shot her the bird before coming upright again and answering Rarity’s question.

“Yes. If a guard is unable to perform, he is required to pass along any knowledge he may have had to the new replacement. This includes the Tunnel Squad, which is our quirked name for the six ponies who know their way around.” Twilight Sparkle nodded, but then a look of confusion twisted her face.

“Wait, six? You mentioned only five- the princesses, my brother, yourself, and Blueblood. Who else knows the map?” she said.

“Some hotshot from your town. Doctor Hoof, or something like that.” Greymalkin said, his voice gruff. He obviously did not like the stallion.

“Do ya’ mean Docter Whooves, mister guard?” Applejack asked.

“Oh, that makes sense. He’s very smart,” Twilight conceded, agreeing with her friend that this must be the pony Greymalkin disliked so much.

“The biggest brain and smallest mouth in all of Ponyville, I say. Never says a word out of place,” Rarity put in.
“He says that he comes from another world,” came a quiet voice from the back. Every pony stopped in their hoofsteps and locked their eyes to Fluttershy’s butter yellow coat as she ducked behind the pink curtain of her mane.

“I let him use the field near my cottage to work on his machine,” she explained. “He says that is the only way for him to get home. I offer to help, but he is very secretive about it. Or maybe he just doesn’t need my help, he has more than enough already in that Pegasus, Derpy Hooves.”

Pinkie Pie, who had remained uncharacteristically quiet, nearly had her eyes popping out. “Omygoodness that’s so cool, Fluttershy!” she cried, perking up considerably since something exciting had happened.

“Yeah, why haven’t you told us?” Rainbow Dash groaned, exasperated with her small friend. Fluttershy tossed her mane aside and stood taller, looking directly into Rainbow Dash’s eyes.

“Because I know exactly what it is to want privacy. If he doesn’t want me to know what he’s doing, then I have no plans to get nosy!” she retorted. Rainbow Dash nearly fell out of the sky. Twilight felt her mouth twitch, wishing desperately to pull into a smile. She resisted, though. The last thing they needed on any given day was a pride-sore Rainbow to deal with.

Greymalkin cleared his throat, drawing the mare’s attention away from one another. “We’re almost there, and I need you all well rested so that Princess Luna doesn’t have my head. Come on!” He began walking once more, and all the other ponies followed.

Eventually, they came to set of steep, small stairs with a door cracked open at the top of them.

“Your rooms are along this hall, close to the door. They’re marked with the sign of your elements, and if that exceeds your intelligence level, each room is quite unique. The tunnles’ magic warps time, so don’t be surprised if it’s midnight or still sunset when you look out the window.

“Stay in this hall ‘till somepony comes to get you. Your belonging are already in the wardrobes and cabinets. You should all have a maid pull if you have the whim for service. You will see the special castle tomorrow, at the end of the luncheon with the Royal Family.” Without another word, Greymalkin turned on his hooves and vanished through the door they came through. Twilight closed the heavy door with her magic, and they were all shocked to see it blend to the wall perfectly. Not even they could see where it was against the leafy gold pattern on the wallpaper.

The floor of the wide hall was a single slab of some stone, hovering in color somewhere between beige and cream. The ceiling rose to a high arch above them, painted intricately with detailed images of warring alicorns. Ghastly creatures resembling Discord spawned from the chipping trees and devoured young fillies and colts.

Six doors lined the hall, each adorned with a shaped gemstone resembling that on their Element necklaces. The handles looked to be pure diamond, the gems real.

“Don’t even think about touching, Rarity” Twilight reminded her gem-crazy friend with a gentle nudge.

“Why, Twilight! Is your opinion of me so low?” the pearl unicorn protested, “Steal from the Princess? I wouldn’t dream of it! Besides,” her voice lost a bit of the shrillness that had occupied it before, “I have lost a bit of my gemlust since that brute, Discord, drug me into his trance thinking that a plain old boulder was a diamond.” Twilight nodded, understanding and reassured by her friend’s vehement protests.

“Let’s look at the rooms together!” suggested Pinkie, who was obviously struggling to stay in a single spot. Already she was hopping in place, her excitement palapable.

“Sure” Twilight Sparkle shrugged. “Since we’re staying in such a beautiful place, we may as well experience as much of the beauty as possible.” She conceded.

“Yeah, why not!” Rainbow Dash agreed.

“It’s all good with me,” Applejack spoke up, “an’ Ah think Flutterhy’s willin’ too- ain’t ya’ Sugarcube?” Fluttershy nodded.

“Let’s begin with this one,” Rarity said, looking towards the one directly in front of them. A rosy, six-pointed gemstone was set into the woodwork. “Twilight?”

“Looks like it’s mine,” Twilight said, taking the lead and opening the door into her quarters for the night. She stopped abruptly in the doorway and her friends had to push around her to see the room. The wide chamber was thickly carpeted, perfectly trimmed to the circular shape of the room. Half of the wall was a curved bookshelf, interrupted only by a marble fireplace. The other wall had a magically levitating bed pressed against it, and a tall sidetable. To the right of the door was a table with a vase of decorative quills resting on it. The room was simple and practical, but also high quality and very nice.

“Wowie, Twilight!” Pinkie Pie cried from her position, mashed underneath Applejack and Rarity close to the floor on the right side of Twilight. “Your room’s perfect! You got books, and quills, and it’s so perfect for you!” Twilight nodded, dumb with astonishment at how perfect the room was.

“It is beautiful” she agreed, finding her voice once more. Then she shook her head to clear it. “If this is my room, I can’t wait to see the rest of yours! My personality and whole life is kind of centered around simplicity and studying, and this is reflective of just that. Now, your lives are a bit more interesting, so your rooms…” She squeezed out from the ponies above, below, and around her in the crammed doorway. The others turned to face her as she stumbled into the hall backwards.

“Let’s go, girls.”

The next room they entered was Rarity’s, the door adorned with a crystal blue gemstone shaped like a rhombus. Stepping in, the instant impression was one of finery, elegance, and jewels. The ceiling sparkled with a silver chandelier that was just dripping with teardrop-shaped crystals cascading from the lights like water. A huge frosted glass closet dominated an entire wall of the octagonal room a few sides to the left of the door. Directly across from the door was a window looking out over the castle pleasure gardens, and just to the right was a four poster bed made of solid ivory. The posts were carved with elegant vine designs, and the off-white silk curtains perfectly accented the crimson velvet bedclothes. A marble table sat beside the bed as a side table. A hearth was set into the wall, elegantly shaped and surrounded by a loveseat and thick fur rug.

Rainbow Dash’s room had a high ceiling whose coloring echoed that of the clouds, and shifted in color to resemble the slightly-moving buildings of Cloudsdale. A cloud expertly shaped like a bed hovered a few feet above the ponies’ heads, and on the ground level of her room rested only a wardrobe set into the wall and a metal table pressed against the wall. More than enough room was left for Dash to do any flying and aerial maneuvers she could think up, except for the Sonic Rainboom. One of the posters featured in the square was pasted to the wall directly opposite the door, obviously showing Rainbow’s smiling and slightly arrogant face.

Applejack’s room was a perfect square, with a simple wood floor and cream paint on the walls. The ceiling was made up of millions upon millions of leaves, and the light of the room shone through them to make a dappled pattern of light and shadow on the floor. Her bed was simply a mattress, placed carefully on a low wooden platform with only 6-inch legs. There was no head or hoofboard, but the head of the bed and the left side were resting against one of the walls. Next to it, a sanded barrel served as a side table to rest things on. A picnic table without the second side of seats was built into the wall with no grounded support. Two chairs faced eachother, echoing in shape and texture tree trunks.

Fluttersy’s dwellings were beautiful. The entire room was scented of flowers and the floor was made of soft bright green grass. The ceiling was magically ‘tuned’ to the sky, mimicking everything from sunlight to cloud patterns. A huge bank of windows took up an entire wall. Butterflies so tame they would land on your hoof fluttered around, never trying to escape around the ponies standing in the open door. Her resting place would be a hollow tree trunk, rested on the ground among the grass and filled with extremely soft cushions, pillows, and blankets. Right beside the door, a thin stream of water fell from about head height down to a stream that flowed along the wall and then into it. A few lumps on the wall began to glow with light and then slid open to release dozens of fireflies into the room as all of the ponies watched. Breathless, the ponies turned and walked out tiredly to explore the next room. Fluttershy remained in her room.

“Um, Twilight?” she said in her quiet voice. “I- I think I’m going to just stay here. I mean, if it’s okay with you, that is. I just, I feel very tired from today and I need some rest for tomorrow, you know. I-If you want me to come with you all, still, I’ll come, but…” A yawn interrupted her, and she clamped down on it with massive effort. “Oh, my, sorry about that” she apologized.

“No worries,” Twilight assured her butter yellow friend. “Actually, I think we should all get some shut eye. Pinkie, I’m sorry we never got to see your room all together like everypony else, but-” she was interrupted by a snore from the hall. Looking at the source, she saw that Pinkie had never quite managed to make it out of Fluttershy’s room and was sitting a foot away from the doorway asleep. Rainbow Dash snorted in amusement.

“I don’t think she minds” the Pegasus pony laughed. Pinkie Pie snored again.

“No, not at all,” said Rarity, seeming rather repelled by her pink friend’s noises and causing Rainbow to laugh out loud. Twilight herself smiled, laughing a bit.

“AJ, Dash, Rarity, you can head back to your rooms and get to sleep. I can take Pinkie here to bed on my own.” Twilight Sparkle offered. The other ponies nodded and turned, walking away towards their respective beds. A swirl of pink magic began to surround Pinkie, and her sleeping form was gently lifted from the ground. She remained horizontal, and her head lolled out of the magical cocoon.

Concentrating hard on not waking her snoozing friend, Twilight managed to reach the end of the hall with small droplets of perspiration beginning to bead on her brow. She opened the door to Pinkie’s room by hoof, lacking the energy to use more magic. As it opened, she pushed Pinkie through and gently dropped her on the bed. It was designed to look like a cupcake, and Twilight took little notice of the room’s décor as she imagined collapsing into her own bed. The glass walls of Pinkie’s room held back tons of candy, and hundreds of balloons rested against the ceiling.

Staggering from exhaustion, Twilight Sparkle finally reached her own bedroom at the opposite end of the hall. She barely made it to the levitating bed before her eyes slid shut and she drifted into the oblivion of sleep. She didn’t notice the faint blinking light of a video camera in the wall above her head.