A Letter, or a Challenge?
It's been a long time since I've written a fanfiction... Note: all the ponies are humans in this series. I found it interesting to try and change them from their cartoony selves to actual humanish characters.
THERE ARE HOMOSHIPS IN THIS FIC. BE WARNED. Also OC's.
Also, I own nothing, blah-de-blah-blah-blah. Lauren Faust is queen equine, blah blah.
"How dare she? How dare she?" A brown-haired teen roared from inside one of the towers at Castle Canterlot. His name was Gallant, and he was currently at the top of his class in Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Mages. He was only at the top because, though he'd never admit it, his rival Twilight Sparkle had moved to Ponyville on assignment from the Princess herself.
"She steals away the spotlight by becoming Princess Celestia's own pupil, just before I can take my entrance exam, then gets assigned to Ponyville where she stumbled upon the chance to use the Element of Magic, and now she has the audacity to invite me to the backwoods town to show off? How. Dare. She?"
The scroll in his hand was quickly crumpled and thrown in the fireplace. The child sitting on the bed flinched as it happened, and quickly muttered a complaint. "You have no idea how uncomfortable it is to cough those up. And this one tasted funny. Probably 'cause that idiot Spike sent it."
If there was one thing that Gallant was grateful for, it was having Blaze as his assistant. They shared a distaste for Twilight Sparkle and her little dragon helper. With Blaze, though, it might as well have been sibling rivalry. He and Spike shared a birthday, hell, even a birth hour. As far as those two were concerned, there was a constant rivalry.
"Like I'd even be caught dead in that hilbilly town!" Gallant grabbed a book from a nearby shelf and slammed it on his table.
Suddenly Blaze stood from his spot on the bed and stared straight at Gallant as if he had just said the most intelligent thing he'd ever heard, which, Gallant supposed, wasn't that unlikely.
"Why don't you go?"
Gallant blinked. "Because that's exactly what she wants me to do."
"Exactly. That's why she won't expect you to be digging up dirt to reveal that she's spending way too much time goofing off and not enough time learning. You could get her kicked out of school and out of the Princess's good graces!"
There was a pause before the teen reached over and messed up the younger one's hair. "Sometimes, Blaze, I think you might be smarter than me. Sometimes."
"Dear Twilight Sparkle..."
"Gallant, why do we have to make a trip all the way out here?" A child, only a couple of years older than Blaze, by the look of him, grumbled while staring out the window. With slightly blue-hued skin and white hair, Silvertongue hardly looked like his older brother, but, with how much Gallant watched over the young one, anyone who saw them interact might even wonder if Gallant was old enough to be the boy's father.
"We were invited by my good friend Twilight, Silver. And it'd be rude to ignore such a request. "Gallant said, not looking up from his book. He had actually packed several specific tomes in his bag, some he'd never really noticed until the idea for the trip had been presented to him.
"Don't you hate Twilight's guts?" The boy asked, now looking at his reflection to see if the gem in the center of his forehead was properly shined.
"No! Whatever would give you that idea?'
"Because the book you're reading is titled 'How to Destroy Your Rivals While Pretending to Be Their Friends'."
Gallant glanced at the book cover. Oddly specific title. He'd have to make sure that one was put away when they arrived at Ponyville. "You know me, little brother. I'm always reading something new. I just hadn't picked this book up yet and figured reading something new would be a good way to spend the train ride, especially with Blaze taking a nap."
Silvertongue snorted a bit and stared back at the window. He'd never tell his big brother, but he had a sense of excitement at going to see this small town. Maybe here he'd get his Cutie Mark. Celestia knows he'd tried everything in Canterlot trying to get it.
"Welcome to Ponyville!"
The trio was greeted by a small group of girls, most likely the ones Twilight called her friends. The one Gallant noticed right off was one he could only describe as... well... pink. Pink hair, pink clothes, and a pink tint to her skin. She had to be Pinkie Pie. And she was literally bouncing.
She was hardly clothed, as well; no shoes (likely to show off her mark of a trio of balloons), jeans ripped at the knees, jangles of bracelets, and a too-tight pink top that showed off her chest, which held breasts the size of the balloons she held in her hand. She practically screamed 'I'm the eccentric one who's always on a sugar high'.
"Oh I'm so very glad to meet you! This gives me the perfect excuse to throw a welcoming party! I haven't thrown one of those since Gilda's party! Oh! I better go plan it right now! I'll see you later!" She thrust the balloons into Silver's hands then ran off, practically leaving a dust cloud behind her.
"Aw, shucks, sugar cube. Don't mind her." The cliché cowgirl in Daisy Dukes talking now must be Applejack. "She's just Pinkie Pie. Y'all oughta be used ta her by the time ya head home. Besides, she does know how to throw a good party!"
She stepped forward and took Gallant's right hand in both of her's and shook it vigorously, though making sure not to press too hard on the Topaz embedded in the top of his hand, right in the center of his cutie mark.
"Ah'm Applejack. Ah help run the biggest farm out here, Sweet Apple Acres. That's where y'all hafta stay until we fix up that house ya were supposed ta stay in." Applejack was, as Gallant had noted before, the cliché cowgirl. Daisy Dukes, button-up shirt tied off and showing off her midriff. Cowboy boots covered her feet and a trio of apples curved over the tan skin her left hip, settling right along the top of her shorts.
One of the other girls suddenly burst out laughing, then fluttered her sky-blue wings and covered her mouth, trying to stifle the noise. She dressed as if she spent all her time doing sporty stuff and rarely wanted to put on anything more than exercise gear. She seemed to have an affinity for rainbows, too. Her hair, certain parts of her outfit, even the top of the lightning-bolt shaped mark that peeked out of above her shorts in the front. Gallant suddenly found himself wondering if the bottom was a normal point or if it struck something.
"Now hush your mouth Rainbow Dash. 'S not anyone's fault that the only open house in Ponyville was between Caramel and Derpy." Applejack shot the other girl a glare before turning back to the new arrivals. Applejack seemed to have a way with Rainbow that intrigued Gallant. He'd have to look into that later, as well.
"Now, before we start yer tour, Ah should introduce ya to the other two members of our group. This is Rarity and Fluttershy."
Rarity stepped forward and seemed to be sizing him up. "Oh, darling! Where did you get those robes? They're classy but they're so out of style. We simply must get you a new outfit. I'll design it myself and it'll be free, of course. It can be my welcome to town gift for you!"
Gallant looked down at his clothes. He was traditional Canterlot mage robes. He raised an eyebrow. He supposed it was a bit dated, but he really didn't want to get used to wearing something new just for being here long enough to get some dirt on Twilight. Then again, a private meeting with one of her closest friends? There might not be a better way to get dirt.
"Well that sounds wonderful, Rarity. And I could tell you all about the city life of Canterlot. I can honestly say I lived a bit more of it than Twilight. She always spent so much time in the library reading her books."
Rarity was surely the best one to go to for a new outfit. She looked as if she just walked out from behind a runway where she was already designing new outfits. She wore a slate gray pencil skirt and a button-up white shirt with three-quarter length sleeves with ruffles around the neck and ends of the sleeves. The shirt was buttoned low enough to reveal a Cutie Mark of three diamonds aligned as if they were a necklace. The topmost gem was an actual baby-blue sapphire, and Gallant thought it a convenient symbol for one of his race.
Fluttershy was almost hard to see with how small she tried to make herself. She was pretty, but not in the same way as Rarity. She seemed like she didn't even need to try. She wore a yellow sweater that was too big for her (in fact, it was only held up by being attached to the spaghetti strap top underneath.) She wore a pair of shorts, though it was only the bottoms of each leg visible underneath the almost skirt-length sweater. Gallant mentally giggled at how ridiculously huge that sweater was.
She was twirling the end of her hair between the index fingers of each hand and trying not to meet his gaze. He smiled slightly expectantly for a moment before giving both girls and Rainbow Dash a 'nice to meet you' and turning back to Applejack.
"Oh, you two are just the cutest little things ever!" Gallant heard a soft voice exclaim behind him, he turned to see Fluttershy talking to both Silver and Blaze. "I didn't know Gallant was bringing his little brother along with him! And you must be Blaze! So you're a dragon like Spike?"
The redheaded boy shook his head, but still smiled at the girl. "I'm a dragon, but I'm way cooler than Spike."
Rainbow Dash suddenly spoke up from her place leaning against the wall, trying to look cool. "I like this one."
"Alright y'all. We better let these three get themselves over to the farm and let them get everything situated. We'll see y'all at the party later."
They were almost at the large farmhouse when Gallant first noticed him. Gallant wasn't one to 'check people out', but he made an exception this one time. He saw a farmer, as blonde as Applejack but with more of a red tint to his skin. He was built, and built well. And he either liked showing it off or just didn't like shirts, by the looks of him. Not a tan line in sight. All he was wearing was a brown bandana around his neck, jeans, and work boots. And the jeans rode a bit low.
Gallant blinked and looked back at Applejack, who had seemed to notice he had been looking at the other farmer. "That's my brother Big Macintosh. You'll be rooming with him, Gallant, since we only have one empty room and it's not big enough for all three of y'all. He can help with your stuff, too. Hey! Big Mac!"
The tall farmer looked over curiously, then jogged towards them, pulling off his bandana to wipe the sweat off his head. He was nothing like the guys in city. There was nothing stuck up about his welcoming grin and response of 'Eeyup' when Applejack asked him to help with the luggage.
"Well, since Big Mac's got your stuff taken care of, we'll go give you that tour of town, then hit up Pinkie's party." Applejack smiled, then grabbed Gallant by the elbow and dragged him off, just before he could ask if Big Mac was going to be at the party, too.
Gallant hadn't been that tired in forever. He had been running nonstop around the entirety of town, seeing everything from Twilight's Library, where she was busy doing some research for the Princess, to Fluttershy's cottage, where she fluttered from tree to tree on her canary-yellow wings. There was one moment where Gallant was looking through cupboards looking for a glass to get when Fluttershy literally screamed at him not to open one of the ones he had his hand on. He was so startled he just stepped back and let her get the glasses for him.
Part of him was dying to know what was in there.
Finally, they settled down at Sugarcube Corner where a huge party was being thrown. Everyone in Ponyville was there, aside from Big Mac who Gallant was told was still working the farm.
But Gallant was only focused on one girl there, his mortal enemy: Twilight Sparkle.
The girl was dressed like the librarian she was. Sweater vest over a white pullover with a knee-length ruffled skirt and knee-socks. She looked as nerdy as always, especially with that small cutie mark under her right eye with the purple gem in the center.
"It's so good to see you, Gallant! I thought you weren't going to take my invitation."
"Well I'm in a lull in my studies and I couldn't really pass up this opportunity, could I?" This opportunity to crush your soul under my heel.
Twilight giggled and rambled for a bit while, Gallant noticed, Blaze and Spike were glaring daggers at each other across the room. Blaze grinned a bit too evilly, though, when Spike almost swooned over Rarity. The green mo-hawked kid was obviously head-over-heels for the designer. Gallant cringed internally at the thought of just what Blaze would do with that information.
All in all, the party was entertaining, even if Gallant really didn't like many of the people there. They're tools. Each one a different weapon to use against Twilight. I'll find a way to ruin her career as Princess Celestia's star pupil if it's the last thing I do!
Gallant dragged himself into the room he shared with Big Mac after making sure his little brother and Blaze were in bed and tucked in. Big Mac was already there, staring blankly out the window. Gallant cleared his throat slightly to announce his presence, then started changing into his sleeping clothes.
"That Pinkie sure does throw a great party, huh? Ah've only been to a couple, maself." Gallant blinked and looked up, but Mac hadn't looked away from the window.
"Yeah, she really does."
Nothing more was said after that for a while, and Gallant wasn't really happy with the silence. It continued on until Big Macintosh started getting ready for bed.
"Oh!" Gallant looked away blushing. He hadn't expected that sight. He had only glanced over for a moment, but... Well, Big Mac didn't just go without a shirt.
"Ah'm sorry, Gallant. Not really used to havin' anyone else in mah room. Ah shoulda warned ya."
Gallant wasn't sure if he would have preferred that warning or not.
