Act 1
Everypony in the crowd held their breath, and Belle thought even the clouds drifting over Sweet Apple Acres seemed to slow to watch Rainbow Dash and Gusty line the thirtieth apple crate up and set it gently on top of the others: Two stacks of fifteen crates towering into the blue sky from the platform in front of Applejack's barn.
"This is it," Pinkie Pie whispered into the megaphone strapped around her neck. Not that she needed it: no one in Ponyville whispered as loud as Pinkie. "Thirty crates will be a new Equestrian record. Or, y'know, a record for those parts of Equestria that even have apple crate lifting contests."
"You said it, Pinkie." The little purple dragon standing next to Pinkie held a microphone, and Belle had to smile. Looked like Pinkie had finally found someone who shared one of her weird hobbies. "I sure never saw anything like this in Canterlot, but I'll bet the palace guards'd love trying their backs at it."
Canterlot? The palace? Belle gave the little dragon a closer look. She had heard something somewhere about visitors from the capitol coming to Ponyville, something to do with the Princess and the Summer Sun Celebration, but Belle hadn't really been paying much attention. Her training regimen came first, after all--she'd been focusing on her lats the morning of the Celebration, so she'd missed whatever that had all been about--and she didn't have too many reasons to leave her gym except for her late night cool-down runs out to the mountains and back...
"OK!" Dash called from above. "Ev'rything's set and steady!"
Belle snapped her attention back, saw Mac stepping into position. "Big Mackintosh won the coin toss, so he'll be going first," Pinkie was saying. "But look at those towers! I mean, each of those crates must weigh thirty pounds, and with thirty of them stacked up and the platform, too, why, that's, uhh, it's, uhh,...carry the two and add, uhh--"
"It's a whole lotta apples," the dragon finished for her.
As big as always, the red stallion stood in front of the platform, but, well, even as foals together in school, Mac had never been as big as Belle. And after she'd really started training, she'd filled out so much, no one had been surprised when little silver barbells had appeared along her chocolate brown flanks. That was when she'd officially added the extra syllable to the front of her name, too: with her barrel chest, bulging thighs, and biceps the size of the average pony's head, Barbelle had decided that, if she was going to be the biggest little pony in Ponyville, then she was going to be the biggest.
Mac looked a little shaky to her, actually, as if the twenty-eight crate lift had taken more out of him than he was letting on. Not that his usual placid expression changed a bit, of course, but watching him tilt his head to take in the full height of the towers, she could sense his nervousness--though only ponies who'd known him as long as she had would notice.
"Y'all can do it, Mac!" came a familiar voice from beside her, and looking down, she caught Applejack's sideways glance. "Sorry, Belle, but he's kin, ain't he?"
"No problem, AJ." Belle smiled at the smaller earth pony. "I'm rooting for him, too."
"Well, that's mighty big--uhh, I mean, mighty nice of you!"
Belle lowered her head to whisper, "It's just he's the only one who can give me a challenge anymore, y'know?"
Applejack laughed quietly, but movement at the towers: Mac breathing in, breathing out, bending his legs, and sliding into the saddle-shaped frame on the bottom of the platform. Eyes clenching, he sucked in another breath, pushed up, the crates wobbling, and straightened his legs--or at least, he tried to straighten his legs. But the crates didn't do anything but wobble, the platform not rising at all, sweat breaking out over Mac's brow. A few more seconds he kept straining at it, then with a whoosh, he dropped down and scooted out from under. "Ah...nope," he said, turning his slow grin on Belle.
She smiled back and started toward the platform, squared her big shoulders and spread her pecs as she felt every eye in the audience focusing on her. "This is it," she heard Pinkie Pie saying, her too-loud whisper rising in pitch and volume. "If Barbelle can lift this, I mean, it'll only be the most totally incredible, fantastic, fabuliferous thing anyone has ever done anywhere ever!"
The last two words came out as a shriek, Belle turning with the whole crowd to stare at Pinkie: the little earth pony stood reared back, her front hoofs gripping the megaphone, tendons standing out along her neck. For the space to two eyeblinks, silence stretched, then Pinkie looked around, put one hoof on her hip, and narrowed her eyes. "Well?? It will!"
Rainbow Dash landed with a laugh. "But no pressure, Belle!"
The crowd laughed, and Belle did, too. Not that she had any real doubts. This was what she did, after all.
Slow and easy she stepped to the platform, gave it a look, smiled back at the crowd, and wedged herself into the space underneath. Her hoofs found the brace points she and Mac had dug earlier, and she took her stance, filled her lungs, pressed her back against the padded frame, and started pushing upward.
It pushed back, of course, didn't want to move, and Belle felt a second or two of surprise at how much heavier just two apple crates had made the thing. Lowering her head, she looked at her front legs, saw the biceps swelling beneath her skin, felt her thighs doing the same, the strength building throughout her body, building and growing and tightening and bursting till with a snort, Belle straightened her legs, heard the platform creak and groan, saw its thick timbers lift clear of the ground, the crowd behind her erupting with whoops.
"She's done it!" Pinkie Pie was crowing. "Never before in the history of Equestria has this reporter witnessed such a--! Hey! What...what's she--?"
Concentrating, Belle began to turn in place, sliding her hoofs careful so she wouldn't unbalance the thousand or so pounds stretching from her back a good twenty feet into the air. But she wanted to see them, wanted to see the crowd, wanted to watch them all cheering for her. Head held high, she shuffled around, her smile slightly forced--this thing was heavy!--but absolutely heart-felt. And in the crowd--
Smiles, yes, Applejack and Big Mackintosh right at the front, AJ hooting and hollering like only she could. But more of the crowd had their mouths hanging open, their big eyes practically whirling.
Respect? Fear? Awe? Belle didn't know, and she didn't really care. All she knew as she forced her legs to straighten further, her muscles singing like a storm wind through a forest, widening her stance and lifting the crates a couple inches higher, all she knew was that they wouldn't forget this moment, wouldn't forget her. Not as long as they lived.
Satisfied, she tossed her two-toned green mane, slowly began relaxing her muscles, let the platform sink till it touched ground. Exhaling as far as she could, she managed to pull herself in just enough to squeeze out from the framework with a pop, the towers of crates rattling along with the clatter of ponies applauding. She caught Mac's eye, gave him a nod, and called out, "Like that, Mac."
He returned the nod as laconic as ever, but the ponies rushing to surround her more than made up for his reserve with their cheers and whistles, Pinkie Pie's voice cutting through everything else: "I'm down on the field now, Spike!" The megaphone jabbed up into her face, and Belle looked down to see Pinkie behind it, her mane as tossled as a blackberry bush. "Tell the world, Belle: how does it feel to be the champion of all champions??"
"Well,--" Belle began, but Pinkie was already turning away.
"You heard it here first, folks! Now back to Spike in broadcast central!"
"Uhh, Pinkie?" came the dragon's voice from where he stood blinking on Belle's other side. "I'm right here, actually."
Pinkie nodded. "That's OK." She shook her megaphone harness off and trotted away. "We're done now anyway."
Most of the other ponies in the crowd congratulated Belle before moving to the refreshment tables, and Belle began thinking about heading that way as well when an enthusiastic voice spoke up: "That...was...amazing!"
Turning, Belle saw a slim purple unicorn standing next to the dragon, a starburst pattern on her flanks and a sparkle in her eyes. "And when you turned around with the whole tower on your back? I could hardly believe it!"
"Thanks," Belle said with a nod. Sure were a lot of strangers in town all of a sudden...
"Oh, yeah!" Rainbow Dash swooped down and hovered half a foot off the ground in front of Belle, the only way Belle could look anypony straight in the eye these days. "Belle, you prob'bly haven't met Twilight yet!" The pegasus landed and gestured with a front hoof. "Twilight, this is Barbelle. Belle, this is Twilight Sparkle. She and Spike just moved here from Canterlot and are living in the library downtown."
"Pleased to meet you." Belle held out a hoof.
Twilight touched her own to it, her eyes going ever wider. "Whoa! My hoof! It's barely half the size of yours! I mean, not even Princess Celestia's personal guards are as big as you!"
The unicorn radiated such warm friendliness, Belle couldn't help smiling. "Well, my mom always said I was an earth pony with a couple extra scoops of earth in me."
"Just a couple?" The dragon--Spike, Dash had said his name was--looked her up and down and back to front.
"Spike,..." Twilight said, a slight edge to her voice, but then she laughed. "But I guess you must be used to that sort of thing by now, Belle."
Belle shrugged, suddenly and uncomfortably aware of how the motion made the muscles bulge up and down her torso. "I can't change who I am. And I wouldn't want to, anyway."
"That's the spirit!" The sparkles in Twilight's eyes became more pronounced. "Might I ask, then, what it is you do around town? 'Cause I'll bet it's something amazing, like rescuing ponies when their houses catch fire, or smashing rocks into gravel to clear away avalanches!" She looked up at Belle expectantly.
Belle blinked back. "Well, I, uhh..." Raising her right foreleg, she flexed it, let the biceps bunch up huge and hard. "I do this. I mean, a couple hours ev'ry morning and afternoon, meals and jogging and getting to bed good and early: my workout schedule doesn't leave me a lotta time for anything else..."
"But..." Twilight looked confused. "What good is it?"
The question hit Belle hard as a slap, and Twilight's eyelids fluttered, her teeth catching her lower lip. "I'm sorry: I didn't mean it to come out that way! It's just--" The unicorn planted her front hoofs, and a wavy light glowed into being around her horn. "I practice every day, too, running my magic exercises and working on new spells. But I've come to realize that the best reason to do it is so I can help my friends when they need it." The light from her horn faded. "You've got some amazing gifts, Belle, and I was just wondering what...what you do with them..." Her voice trailed off, and she looked more nervous than Mac had staring at the pile of--
"Hey!" Applejack shouted behind Belle. "Dag nab it, Derpy! Watch out for the--!"
Belle spun, a light gray flutter drawing her gaze upward to Derpy Hooves, the wall-eyed pegasus pony flying past the stacked apple crates. Except, Belle saw, instead of flying past, she was lurching sideways, her wings and tail flailing, and crashing right into the towers, the wooden crates creaking, tipping, toppling down toward the tables where the other ponies were just turning to see what all the noise was about.
"Look out!" Belle shouted, starting to rush forward, but what could she do to stop thirty tumbling crates of apples, ponies screaming and starting to scatter before the--
A ringing like wind chimes filled the air, and white smoke sprang from nowhere, wrapped around the boxes, slowed their descent. A strangled grunt behind her, and Belle spun again to see Twilight Sparkle, her face a grimace, her horn so bright, Belle had to squint. "Applejack!" the unicorn gasped. "Get everypony out of the area!"
"You got it, sugar cube!" Belle looked over her shoulder at AJ herding folks away from the tables. "This way, folks; right over here. Keep it movin', keep it movin'." The crates had frozen in mid-air, the smoke surrounding them as thick and billowy as clouds after a rain storm. "All clear, Twilight!" Applejack called then.
The clouds began drifting downward, lowering the crates slowly to the ground, and Belle looked back at the unicorn, her eyes clenched, her whole slender body seeming to vibrate with the effort of holding up--
Holding up the thirty apple crates. Exactly the same thing Belle had just done.
A glance at the tables showed her the crates now settling one by one onto the grass, Rainbow Dash whooshing past to dispel each cloud after it had dropped its cargo. "Woo-hoo!" the pegasus yelled. "Just a couple more, Twi, and that'll be it!"
Twilight just grunted in reply, sweat dripping from her mane, but as Belle watched, her breathing deepened, her wrinkled brow smoothed, and she slowly straightened up, finally puffing a gust through her nose and opening her eyes. "Whoosh!" She gave Belle a smile. "Those were heavy, weren't they?
Belle couldn't help herself. "That...was...amazing!" she said, trying her best to imitate the way Twilight had said it not that many minutes ago.
A blush darkened Twilight's purple cheeks, and Spike seemed to unfreeze beside her. "Twilight!" He reached for her like he expected the unicorn might collapse. "Are you OK??"
"Pretty much." She stretched first one hind leg, then the other. "Good thing I did my limbering up exercises this morning." She winked over Spike's head at Belle. "Now, let's see if we can't help clear those boxes away."
She trotted toward the tables, Spike right behind her, and Belle fell in, too, but...
What good is it? Twilight Sparkle had asked just before the crates had started falling. All these muscles Belle had spent her life building, all the hours she'd devoted so fervently that she'd developed barbells as her cutie mark, and when her friends had needed her help?
What good had it all been?
Act 2
Belle stared at herself in the big mirror on the wall of the gym she'd turned her little house on the edge of Ponyville into. Curling her left foreleg up made the muscles bulge huge and perfect beneath her smooth brown skin, and rearing back on her hind legs, she hit a double-biceps pose, not a single flaw in her mass, her symmetry, her curves, anything.
So why did she feel so empty?
Puffing a breath through her nostrils, she flopped backwards onto one of the workout mats and began doing ab crunches in the hope they might clear her head. But she couldn't stop thinking about yesterday. If that new unicorn Twilight Sparkle hadn't been there to freeze those crates with her magic before anypony got hurt, Belle hated to think what might've happened! And just before the accident, the way Twilight had been marveling at Belle's muscles while also wondering what good they were...
It all kept tangling through Belle's mind and wouldn't let her concentrate. Sure, she was the biggest little pony in Ponyville--maybe in all of Equestria--but try as she might, she couldn't keep the questions down. What was the point? What use were all these muscles?
She'd been crunching away faster and faster, turning everything over in her thoughts, but a sudden crash brought her back to the here and now: without her noticing, the motion of the exercise had sent her scooting along the floor till she'd bashed right into her barbell cage, the whole apparatus tipping as she watched. A quick lunge, and she grabbed the steel framework before it could topple into the racks of weights, carefully lined up along the wall beside the mirror--
But that pretty much settled it. She was just gonna hurt herself or break something if she kept this up!
Setting the cage back into place, Belle shook her green mane, clomped to the door, and trotted out into the crisp autumn morning. Maybe a jog would clear her head, a little break from the routine she'd been following day in and day out for-- How many years now?
Belle almost stopped right there in the road, Ponyville already behind her, the tree-lined hills ahead. How long had it been since she'd done anything other than train?
The answer made her pick up her pace again, cantering along till the outbuildings of Sweet Apple Acres appeared through the trees. Every year she helped Big Mackintosh with the plowing at the farm; maybe she could spend the morning doing that!
Reaching the gate, she headed for the barn, and her ears perked to see Applejack out front, a cart in pieces beside her, the little earth pony working on it with a strip of sandpaper between her front hoofs. "Morning, AJ!" Belle called.
Applejack looked up. "Well, now! Howdy there, Belle! What'ch'y'all doin' out this way?"
Belle opened her mouth...and found herself remembering when Applejack was still a filly, running around the orchards with the other Apple foals. And now here she was, in charge of the whole spread! While Belle had...what? A little house full of exercise equipment: she even slept on a stack of floor mats! "I just--" she finally forced out. "It's not plowing season, is it?"
"Plowin'? It's just gettin' on toward harvest! And, well..." Applejack's smile went sideways. "You don't reckon to try your hoof at apple buckin' again, do you?"
More memories, these ones making Belle's cheeks heat up: her rear hoofs smashing the tree to kindling and sending most of the apples flying to squish against the side of the barn. "I could practice some more, couldn't I?"
"I can't afford to lose the trees." Applejack cocked her head. "There somethin' wrong, sugar cube?"
"I just--" Belle didn't really know how to explain it. "I'm looking for something to do."
Applejack's brow wrinkled. "I thought you was all into that there bodybuilding."
"Well, yeah, but--" Belle couldn't help stomping a hoof, the barn rattling, the trees all around shaking like a breeze had gusted through. "I've built the body! Now what?"
"Huh." Applejack set down the sandpaper and stood. "Tell ya what. Lemme round up Big Mackintosh, and we'll all head on into town, see if'n we can't find--"
"No! That...that's OK!" A chill rustled Belle's mane. "You're busy, AJ, and I don't wanna be any trouble."
"Shoot a mile, Belle! Ain't no trouble!" Applejack's freckled face beamed as bright as the autumn sun around them. "We're friends, ain't we? And friends help each other out!" She turned, started trotting into the barn. "C'mon! Mac's prob'bly out on the north forty eatin' scrub!"
"No!" Belle shouted again, panic building in her chest. It was bad enough she was useless on her own, but to interrupt working ponies while they were doing their jobs? She spun, galloped full-tilt for the gate. "I can't...I don't...I--!"
"Belle! Wait up!" She heard the clatter of Applejack's hoofs on the hard-packed dirt, but Belle lowered her head, poured all her frustration into her muscles, and ran like she'd never run before, the wind cold against her teary cheeks. Before she knew it, she'd left Sweet Apple Acres far behind, the hills rockier, the trees the regular oaks and elms of the forest above Ponyville.
Which made something else Twilight Sparkle had said yesterday pop into Belle's head, something about Belle clearing avalanches away by smashing the rocks. Did ponies do that? Belle remembered as a kid the Winter Wrap-up, the Running of the Leaves, everything the whole town did to regulate and maintain the land around Ponyville--and her stomach tightened. She'd been so wrapped up in her training the last couple years, she hadn't gone out to help with any of the town's regular group activities...
Well, that was gonna change right now! Whoever was in charge of taking care of the hills and mountains was probably out here somewhere: Belle would track them down, tell them she wanted to help, and--
She'd slowed to a canter by this time and was coming around a large clump of rock jutting up from the forest floor when she heard a gasp: in the clearing ahead stood a pale yellow pegasus surrounded by squirrels, a basket of nuts on the ground beside her, each squirrel taking two nuts from the basket and scampering away.
An instant later, though, only the basket remained, the squirrels scattering into the trees almost as fast as the pegasus. Belle stopped, blinked at the basket, then at the suddenly empty woods. "Hello? I...I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm looking for whoever's in charge of avalanches."
No answer. Belle looked around some more. "Hello?"
"Oh. Yes. Hello..." The barest whisper came drifting from the branches above Belle. "And while I'm sure you're a very nice pony and not a mean giant who wants to eat my little woodland friends, you're still very, very big and very, very scary. So if you don't mind, I'll just stay up here hiding from you till you go away."
More than a chill ran through Belle this time; it was like her spine had turned to ice. "I...I'm sorry," she said again, more memories hitting her: the sideways glances she'd always gotten in school--even then, she'd been bigger than the other students and even some of the teachers--and after she'd started training in earnest, the white around the edges of other ponies' eyes when she would run across them during her jogs, the nervous laughter, the nickering whispers.
Could it be? Were ponies afraid of her? And for all that she wanted ponies to remember who she was, wanted them to respect her and maybe--she had to admit that she'd had these thoughts before--maybe even be a little bit in awe of her, she didn't want them to run from her like she was a monster!
But...wasn't that what had just happened?
Where her hoofs took her then, Belle didn't know till a familiar scent made her look up out of her gloom to see she'd come home, the bright houses and shops of Ponyville further on down the lane. But the paint on her walls so chipped and faded, the weeds ragged in her front yard, the windows streaked with dust--
Sure, she kept her back garden well tended, the rows of wheatgrass and the herbs she used in her dietary supplements neat and regular, and she polished and cleaned the equipment inside the house all the time. But when was the last time she'd invited anyone over? Other than a few of Applejack's parties, when was the last time she'd so much as spoken to a neighbor?
Belle's ears fell...then perked. She'd spoken to Twilight Sparkle yesterday, hadn't she? And another of the things the little unicorn had said sparked in Belle's memory, lifted the cloud around her. Excitement lightening her hoofs, she trotted down the lane toward the Ponyville library.
This time, she definitely felt the stares of the ponies ambling along the streets, going in and out of the shops, pulling carts and gathered at tables in the cafes. Belle smiled and nodded, and most of them smiled and nodded back--some a bit nervously, true, but the faces she recognized from the audience at the lifting contest yesterday seemed friendly enough.
She came out into the town square and crossed it to the library, the tree bigger than she remembered from her schooldays. And now that someone was living there... Belle stopped at the open door, unsure if she should knock or--
"Oh, hey, Belle," came a voice behind her, and she started back, just missed stepping on the baby dragon she'd met yesterday. "Whoa! Watch those hoofs!"
"Sorry!" Belle wished she would stop doing things she had to apologize for! "I...I didn't see you there!"
The dragon--Spike was his name, she remembered--Spike rubbed his chin. "Maybe we could fit you out with rear view mirrors." He shrugged. "But business first: You looking to check out a book or something?"
"No, I..." She swallowed. She should be doing leg presses, not wasting everypony's time with her stupid problems. But she had to find out-- "I was wondering if Twilight Sparkle was here."
"Sure." Spike slipped past her and through the doorway. "C'mon in."
At least he didn't seem scared of her. Belle let that thought brighten her mood, breathed out, and squeezed through the doorframe into the large cluttered room, books lining the shelves, scattered over the floor, and stacked on the tables. "Twilight?" she heard Spike calling. "You've got company!"
"Hmmmm?" Something purple moved in a pile of books off to Belle's right, and Twilight's head popped up. "Oh! Hi, Belle!" She looked around self-consciously. "Sorry about the mess. I had this idea for an underwater breathing spell, but I can't seem to find--" She stopped, her horn glowed, and the books around her drifted aside so she could trot out. "So! What brings you to our little corner of Ponyville?"
Again, Belle had to force herself to speak. After all, Twilight came from Canterlot and talked matter-of-factly about-- "You said I was bigger than any of the Princess's guards, and I was wondering if...if you think they'd be interested in...I mean, if you knew if they were accepting applications."
Twilight's eyes widened, and for an instant, Belle thought she'd made another mistake. But then the unicorn's smile widened, too. "Belle, what a great idea! Spike!"
This last she called out in a surprisingly loud voice, and the dragon peered out from around one of the bookshelves, a half-eaten sandwich in his claws. "I woulda made you one if you'd asked," he said.
"Never mind that." Twilight raised her head just a bit, and an air of command came over her that really took Belle by surprise. "Take a letter to Princess Celestia, please."
Spike dropped the sandwich, grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill from somewhere. "My dearest teacher," Twilight went on. "I've met and conversed with one of your subjects here in Ponyville, and she's expressed an interest in joining the palace guard. By all reports, Barbelle is of sterling character, and my own dealings with her have been overwhelmingly positive experiences. I know Captain Destrier is always looking for a few good ponies, so could you please pass the word to him that Barbelle is here now at the Ponyville library? Your obedient student, Twilight Sparkle." She lowered her head and looked at the dragon. "Got that, Spike?"
He was still scribbling away. "Is 'sterling' with an 'er' or an 'ir'?" he asked.
"'Er'."
"OK!" Spike jabbed the quill at the paper a couple more times, then he rolled it into a scroll, held it up, and breathed sparkling fire over it. The scroll dissolved into smoke, and the smoke shot out the nearest open window. "It's on its way!"
Twilight nodded and turned her smile toward Belle. "Would you care for some lunch while we wait for the captain?"
Everything was happening so fast, it took Belle a few heartbeats to find her voice. "Yeah," she finally got out. "Sure. Thanks. But do you...do you really think--? I mean, you only just met me yesterday! How can you tell the Princess all that stuff about me?"
"I'm a fast learner." Twilight shrugged. "And when something--or somepony--interests me, I make it a point to find out all I can."
"Me? Interesting?" Belle had to laugh. "I'm not the one who has a baby dragon sending notes for her to the Princess!"
A laugh from Twilight. "It's a long story." Her horn glowed, and she waved it at some books, clearing them away from a section of the carpet. "Now, we'll just settle down here, Spike can bring us some sandwiches, and we'll see what happens next."
Spike appeared with a low table, set it on the clear area of carpet, and gave it a couple swipes with a feather duster. "Luncheon is served. Or, I mean, it will be once I make it." He tucked the feather duster under an arm and winked at Belle. "Just wait'll you meet Des. He's great!"
Belle smiled at him and followed Twilight to the table. Squatting down across from the little unicorn, though, she couldn't help but wonder what she'd gotten herself into.
Act 3
"...so I asked the Princess if I could stay, and she said yes!" Twilight Sparkle clapped her front hoofs. "It's been the most fun I've ever had, being here in Ponyville, meeting so many ponies, and just, well, just getting out and living, I guess!"
The unicorn's enthusiasm was catching, and Belle found herself thinking about the town as she'd seen it an hour or so ago on the way from her little house to the library, about all the things she'd missed by concentrating so hard on her training the past couple years. "Yeah," she said with a sigh. "I haven't done much living lately either."
Twilight patted her hoof, her little purple one only half the size of Belle's big brown one. "Would you like another peanut butter and oatmeal sandwich? Spike will be happy to--"
"Oh, my gosh; oh, my gosh; oh, my gosh!" someone shouted outside, and through the front door streaked Rainbow Dash, her multi-colored tail streaming behind her. "Twilight! I saw him! I was out helping the cloud crews get ready for today's storm, and there he was, riding the downdrafts like they were zephyrs! And it looks like he's coming here! Here!"
Belle's abs felt as shaky as they did after a long workout, but Twilight just nodded. "Captain Destrier, you mean?"
"Yeah!" Dash spun in place, books scattering beneath her, landed in the space she'd just cleared, and said, "Hey, Belle," before focusing back on Twilight. "You know the Wonderbolts offered him a spot on their team, and he turned them down--turned them down!--so he could join Princess Celestia's guard?? When he came and talked to us at flight school, he--" Her eyes narrowed. "Hey! How did you know it was him??"
"I invited him." Twilight crossed her front hoofs demurely on the table. "Belle's thinking of joining the guard, you see."
Dash turned to blink at her, but instead of laughing as Belle half expected her to, the blue pegasus grinned. "Oh, wow! Belle, that'd be so great! I mean, anyone tries anything around the Princess, you'd be all--" She sprang into the air, cocked her front legs back, glared at an imagined intruder. "'You gotta get through me first, punk!' And then you'd, like, just tap him in the chest and-- Wham!" Dash flipped head over fetlocks and slammed into one of the library's bookcases, books raining down and knocking her to the floor. "Whoa!"
Belle jumped up, steadied the case before it could topple. "Unless he doesn't want me or I don't qualify or--"
"Are you nuts??" Dash burst from the pile of books. "They'd hafta be crazy not to take you!"
A delicate clearing of throat made Belle look over at Twilight. "Maybe we can get some of this mess cleaned up?" she asked. "Before the captain decides we're crazy?"
So Belle piled the books into alphabetical stacks while Dash swooped some up to stuff them into the cases and the glow of Twilight's horn lifted others more carefully into place. And in less time than Belle would've thought, they'd cleared the whole floor, Dash slapping the last book into an empty spot just as Spike came in. "Hey, Twilight! Des is here!"
Dash landed beside Belle, little whispers of "Oh, my gosh!" bubbling up from her, and Twilight stepped to her other side. "Show him in, Spike," the little unicorn said.
Belle swallowed, and into the room strode an amber pegasus stallion, his flowing orange mane and tail almost glowing. Two cavalry sabers crossed on his flanks, and his silver and white vest bore Princess Celestia's crest surrounded by intricate curlicues of golden filigree. "Miss Sparkle," he said, his voice somehow making Belle think of hot Earl Grey tea. "The Princess sends her fondest regards. And is that Rainbow Dash?"
"You know my name??" Dash's wings were vibrating so fast, Belle could barely see them.
"Of course." Captain Destrier smiled. "You should stop by the Citadel sometime to discuss Sonic Rainbooms with us."
"Oh! My! Gosh!"
The captain winked, and his eyes shifted upward to meet Belle's gaze. "Then this must be Barbelle."
"Yes, sir," Belle said, overwhelmingly relieved when the words came out in the smooth contralto she wanted to use, not at all as jagged and nervous as she felt.
"Excellent!" He stepped back, looked her up and down with a gaze so sharp, Belle thought she could feel it combing over her hide. "A strong infantry's the backbone of any effective military force, and I can certainly see how you'd be a valuable addition to the Princess's Guard. So if Twilight Sparkle's vouching for you, then I'll be happy to recommend you."
"Told you!" Dash elbowed Belle in the ribs.
Captain Destrier reached around to one of his vest pockets, pulled out some folded papers, set them on the table beside Belle's sandwich plate. "Sergeant Gunny's in charge of earth pony recruits, so if you'll just sign here, we can get started back to Canterlot and introduce you to your--"
"Uhhh..." Belle had to stop and clear her throat. "And, yeah, I'm really grateful, Twilight--" She glanced sideways at the unicorn's startled face. "--that you've taken so much trouble to help me, but, well, sitting here thinking, I just can't--" She squared her shoulders, faced Captain Destrier. "What is it you really do in the Princess's Guard?"
The captain blinked. "We guard the Princess, of course."
"But from what?" Belle gestured with a front hoof. "I mean, who'd be crazy enough to attack the most magical being in the universe? Or are there armies somewhere who want to invade Equestria?" She took a breath and looked at Twilight Sparkle again. "You asked me yesterday what I did, and I realized that, well, I didn't really do anything. So I have to ask, Captain." She looked down at him. "What is it you do?"
The amber pegasus looked back, his gaze steady. "We stand in readiness should our Princess ever require our services."
"And has she?"
"She has not." Captain Destrier puffed out his chest. "And I fervently hope she never will."
"Then thank you for coming all this way, captain." Her nervousness evaporated and left her just feeling tired. "But I've been standing around waiting my whole life, and I...I wanna find something to do now."
Silence filled the library for a moment, then thunder rumbled faintly over Belle's ears. "The storm!" Rainbow Dash cried; leaping into the air again, she whooshed out the door. "See you guys later!"
"Yes." Captain Destrier ruffled his wings. "I suppose I'd best be getting back to the palace." He touched a hoof to the papers on the table and looked at Belle. "Shall I leave these? In case you change your mind?"
She felt guilty for shaking her head, but shake her head she did. The captain just nodded, tucked the papers back into his vest, and gave Twilight a bow. "It was lovely seeing you again, Miss Sparkle." He turned to the doorway. "You, too, Spike."
The little dragon was standing by the door with his arms folded, his frown pointing at Belle, but he perked up and smiled at Captain Destrier. "You just miss beating me at cribbage."
"It's your claws I miss." The captain shook his head. "Moving those pegs with your teeth is almost more trouble than the game's worth." Unfurling his wings, he glided outside, another roll of thunder rustling Belle's ears.
Silence stretched, then, Belle keeping her eyes on her sandwich plate. "I'm--" She cleared her throat. "I'm sorry I got you in trouble, Twilight."
A sigh across the table. "It's nothing like that, Belle. I'm just..." Her voice trailing off made Belle look up, sadness the only thing she saw in Twilight Sparkle's eyes. "I'm sorry I couldn't help you find whatever it is you're looking for."
Belle forced a smile. "Well, at least you got me started looking." She got to her hoofs and started for the door, Spike still there with his arms crossed. "Thanks for the sandwiches, Spike. They were great."
Thunder again, louder and closer, and Spike nodded. "Better hurry home, or you'll get caught in the storm."
Belle squeezed through the door and stepped out into the town square, clouds filling the sky, a scent of rain on the wind. The first drops spattering her back, she picked up her pace across the town square, her eyes fixed on the little side street that led out to her house, and tried not to think about what she'd just done. The captain of the palace guard had flown all the way from Canterlot, and she'd told him--
The crack of wood splitting from an alley to Belle's right, the snap of rope breaking, the thump of something heavy falling. "Tar and feather those pegasi!" a voice as rough as sandpaper shouted, making Belle's ears fold. "A thunderstorm on the day I make quayside?? How dare they!"
A crow cawed, and the sound turned into words: "They sent you the weather report same as always, Sal."
"Belay that, Bosun!" the first voice said. "Help me here!"
Trotting through the drizzle to the alley's mouth, Belle peered in to see the back of a blue-gray earth pony, her white mane and tail flecked with gray, a compass rose on her flanks, the north point at the top not exactly straight up and down. Beside her slumped a cart with only one wheel, the other lying splintered off to the side among scattered packages, one corner of the tarp over the cart's contents flapping in the wind. Five or six crows sat huddled on top, the largest crow wearing a bright red stocking cap.
He was looking straight at Belle, too. He clicked his beak several times, then said, "Got us a boarding party, Sal."
The blue-gray pony spun, and Belle could see wrinkles around her wide eyes: she was older than Belle, maybe even older than Belle's parents...
Belle smiled and tried to look non-threatening. "Hi! I'm Belle! Need some help?"
The crow cocked his head. "Only one bell? Early in the watch, then."
"Quiet, Bosun." The older pony looked Belle up and down same as everyone did. "My dear, you're the answer to a maiden's prayer." She bowed. "Salmagundi W. Binnacle at your service, captain of Her Majesty's ship The Pride of the West."
"It's just a barge," the big crow muttered.
"Didn't I tell you--??" Captain Binnacle started to yell, but she stopped, took a breath, swept her hoof back to gesture at the crows, looking more dejected than before as the rain fell faster and heavier. "This is my stalwart crew, and while they're experts aboard ship, when aground, they tend to be less useful than your average bits of broken crockery." She touched her chin. "You, on the other hoof, appear to be a strapping, healthy lass, and offering help, I believe I heard you say?"
"Sure." Belle stepped over to the side of the cart, took the broken axle in the crook of her right front leg, and tested the weight before hefting it, raising it till the sides of the cart were straight up-and-down again. "Can your crows pick up the packages?"
"Can and will!" The captain tapped a hoof. "Flap lively, lads and lasses, and we'll be out of this blasted squall!"
The crows erupted from the cart, Belle wincing at the water spraying from their wings; the alley echoed with their caws, the birds swooping all the bundles up and dropping them into the cart, Bosun standing with the tarp's broken rope in his beak to hold the cover open. And as quick as Dash and Twilight had been with the books, this seemed even quicker to Belle, the packages gone from the cobblestones and the crows landing on the now bulging tarp. "All set, Sal," Bosun said, dropping the rope.
"Smartly done!" Captain Binnacle bent down and somehow tied the broken ends of the rope together with her teeth. "Extra rations of honeysuckle once we're back aboard." She tapped the side of the cart. "Now, then, Belle, if you'd be so kind, we're navigating over to Miss Rarity's." The captain slipped into the cart's harness, and with the rain becoming a downpour, Belle trotted with the whole crew out of the alley across the deserted town square toward the dressmaker's shop, a place Belle had never actually entered.
Bosun flew ahead, knocked his beak against the door, and it sprang open, light and heat flooding out around the white unicorn that Belle had met at one of Applejack's picnics. "Sal! Thank goodness!" Rarity pushed the door further open. "Come in, all of you, out of this beastly weather!" The crows squawked happily and dashed inside. "I've cocoa and towels just inside the kitchen!" Rarity called after them.
"Much obliged, Miss Rarity," the captain said. "You're too kind to the blighters."
"Oh, nonsense! I've just been so worried! It's not like you to be late, Sal, and--" She stopped, her eyes going wide as Belle met her gaze. "Oh! It's Barbelle, isn't it?"
Belle nodded, and Captain Binnacle gave the cart a slight tug. "Perhaps, Belle, we could join the others inside?"
"Oh! Right!" Belle stepped forward, and between the two of them, they got the dripping cart through the doorway and into Rarity's front hall. "Sorry about the mess," she muttered.
"Pish tosh!" Rarity tossed her mane. "It's nothing a bit of mopping won't fix."
"Aye." Captain Binnacle slipped from the harness. "Hold the cart steady there, Belle, and I'll be back in a jiff with some towels for you."
She clattered away down the hall, and Rarity began undoing the ropes holding the canvas over the cart. "It's always a joy when Sal gets to town! I don't knew where she finds such wonderful material, but none of my other suppliers can even come close!" Pulling a package from the cart, she touched her horn to it, and it split open to reveal rolls of ribbon: crimson and indigo and deep forest green. "At design school, all my professors raved about her, and when she accepted me as a client, well, I--"
"Was that Sal??" a familiar voice shouted behind her, and Belle looked back to see Pinkie Pie burst through the doorway, rain scattering from her like startled birds from a tree. "Does she have my--??" The little earth pony leaped into the cart, Belle bracing against the sudden extra weight, then she popped back out, a large package hanging around her neck. "Rainbow jimmies for the donuts!" Pinkie's whole body seemed to smile. "Sal's are the only ones that actually taste like rainbows!" She jumped from the cart and raced to the door. "You can bring the rest by the bakery after the storm, Belle, and tell Sal we've got her money and our next order ready! Bye!"
Belle blinked at the brief Pinkie-shaped hole in the curtain of rain outside, then she turned back to see Rarity, her horn glowing, directing the rolls of ribbon drift through the air to settle in cubbyholes above her workbench. "But hauling that barge of hers up and down the rivers of Equestria at her age!" Rarity shook her head and smiled up at Belle. "I can't tell you how glad I am to see Sal's taken on an assistant!"
"Assistant?" A warm shiver ran down Belle's back. "Yeah." She returned Rarity's smile. "I'm glad about it, too."
A scuffling in the hallway, Captain Binnacle with a stack of towels on her back. "I wasn't sure how many it'd take for a great lump like you, Belle, so I--" She stopped, her eyes narrowing. "And just what are you two grinning about?"
