Chapters Equestria's Beacon of Friendship
Prelude; One Unhappy Princess
A beacon of Hope, A Beacon of Friendship
"Careful, get that stone blocks in place, now!" The construction stallion somewhere above her called out, to the other pony operating the crane. "If we don't get each one just right, this whole thing could collapse on us!"
It was an incredible sight for the mare, watching all of these ponies work so hard on the structure rising above her. Fitting every brick and support beam into place, making the great tower rise higher and higher into the sky. This would be a monument for the ages, the little blue unicorn with a blonde mane and red flame cutie mark, and it would have a very grande event to inaugurate it's opening.
"Hey, Firecracker Burst, could I see you over here for a minute?" The blue unicorn mare with the flower cutie mark called out to her. "I need to go over the plans for the celebrations next week with you again."
"Coming, Gardenia." Firecracker replied with a sigh, trotting over from the main construction site to their small planning tent on the side. "What is it you want to talk about this time?"
Gardenia Glow was the planning pony who was organizing the opening festival for the Friendship Beacon, the new lighthouse for the eastern equestrian seaboard that Baltimare was paying a massive amount of tax bits to construct. Her friend had carefully organized every aspect of this day-and-night long gala event, from the parade and flower flower floats in the morning, to the vendors and carnival midway in the afternoon. No aspect of this once in a lifetime event was being left to chance, especially not Firework's roman candle display that would top off the evening.
"Now Flare, are you sure you want to launch your fireworks from out in the water?" The other mare asked, looking over the plans for the event carefully. "I do really think putting them on the shore would illuminate the lighthouse more; you know, show it off a bit more for those Baltimare business big-wigs who are shelling out for this whole shindig!"
"I told you Gardenia, the fireworks display will look better out on the open water." Firecracker grumbled, stamping her hoof on the ground in annoyance. "The tower will be illuminated just fine. And besides Princess Celestia will be ceremonially lighting the beacon at daybreak tomorrow, they'll have plenty of time to see their lighthouse illuminated from here till doomsday."
"But Flare, think about the presentation!" Gardenia Glow whined. "Lots of ponies will be out in the water viewing the display by boat! Think of how it'll look to their eyes with the firecrackers going off right on top of them."
"Sorry Glow, but my mind's made up." Firecracker replied insistently. "My fireworks displays are my art, they bare the way I express myself through lights and sounds. I don't want anyone messing with my work, not even you."
"Ugh, you are as stubborn as my husband, Firecracker! Always having to have your way!" Gardenia sighed in defeat. "Very well, you can shoot off your fireworks from the water."
"Your stallion can't be any more bull-headed than mine, Gardenia." Flare replied with a laugh. "But thank you for understanding."
Their little meeting over, Firecracker stepped out of the planning tent, and looked over the construction site once more. All around her, ponies were putting up stalls and vendor displays, working to set up things for the opening festival that was a mere week away. At the same time, construction ponies hurried to finish the lighthouse, which had fallen behind schedule due to a Pegasus mismanagement error with the rainfall recently.
"Good grief, those stallions are going to be cutting it really close to finish the friendship beacon in time." Firecracker commented, as Gardenia Glow trotted up beside her. "I hope they can all pull it off."
"They'll pull through, Flare. Working together, they can all get the job done." Gardenia smiled. "It's their special talents, working together in harmony to accomplish far more than they could separately. It's what sets us ponies apart from the herd."
Walking out among the groups of equines hard at work, Firecracker realized her friend was right. The ponies in each team were doing their own little special tasks that they were good at, increasing the speed and quality of the work. They accomplished far more as a whole than they could as individuals, coordinating the traits and abilities that made each of them unique into a well-oiled machine that made any task go faster.
Firecracker thought back over her own life, how she had been fascinated by bright lights and loud noises as a filly, and how that led into her fascination with fireworks and explosives. Most other fillies and colts thought she was a freak and a weirdo growing up, avoiding her because of her obsession with working with and refining explosive powders and chemicals. It was really lonely for the young mare who was always working in a chemistry lab, and using her magic to ignite rockets and blow herself up all the time. And despite how rewarding her work was, she wished she had somepony to talk to sometimes.
Then along came Gardenia Glow.
The overly chatty, bossy unicorn was just as disliked as Firecracker was, always being overly fussy on details, and trying to organize any group of ponies doing even the smallest activity. But these two lonely mares found a kindred spirit in each other, Flare willing to put up with Gardenia's bossiness and controlling nature, and Glow willing to tolerate Flare's pyromaniac, explosive nature. The two started working together, organizing festivals and gala's along with their 'explosive' finales, moving up and ahead in the world in a way they never could have individually. They accomplished more as partners than they did alone.
As a result, the two friends were inseparable. They went camping together, went shopping and hung out together. Each was there at the others birthday party with the biggest present, and each served as the maid of honor at the others wedding. There was no other mare Flare would count on to watch her foals whenever something came up, and Gardenia would have no other pony house sit for her when she and her family had to go on a trip. It could be said there were no greater friends in all of Baltimare.
"It's the real magic of friendship, isn't it? The working together, the being part of something greater, while still being your own unique self." Firecracker declared proudly. "That's what this monument is celebrating, that's what the flame of this lighthouse will represent."
"It's something that worth building a monument to, my friend." Gardenia replied, smiling back at her friend. "It's the greatest give that we ponies can posses."
The very next week, Firecracker Flare's beautiful fireworks lit up the night sky, exploding in colorful flashes of red, blue, and green. Everypony in the gathered crowds looked up at the magnificent display in awe, each enjoying the bright explosions with their nearest and dearest friends. And out in a small fireproof boat upon the calm and serene waters of the horseshoe bay, Firecracker used her magic to ignite and send up rocket after rocket, making the sky erupt into a beautiful tapestry of sound and color.
"You were right, Flare." Gardenia said in the boat beside her, watching the rockets shoot skyward. "It's far more beautiful out here on the water."
"Thank you, my friend." Firecracker Flare replied with a smile. "I'm always happy when I can light up a pony's life!"
Equestria's Beacon of Friendship
A beacon of Hope, A Beacon of Friendship
Carving out Dreams
The carving and shaping of the stone, crafting and bending the rock to your will. It's what made the earth pony''s work so special, and made her put every once of her effort into making these carvings beautiful. She loved every aspect of her work, and it was a major aspect of her life....
... even if it did not seem that way upon first glance.
"Gee Ribbon Heart, your sculpture of Princess Celestia is looking really amazing!" Her assistant Pudding Pie exclaimed, watching the master sculptor at work. "All the stuff you make is always so pretty !"
"Thanks Pudding, I do try my best!" Ribbon replied with a giggle. "But this extra-special statue is going to sit at the very top of the great Friendship Beacon, so it's gotta look better than anything I've ever done before!"
The statue in question was massive, twenty foot carving of Princess Celestia, that was to adorn the very top of the great lighthouse that had just been completed the previous month. The Baltimare ponies wanted the princess of the sun to adorn the top of the lighthouse that was their pride and joy, and Ribbon had been lucky enough to land the job of sculpting the statue. So here the cream colored mare was, in the center of her large work shop, chipping away at a block of marble while her assistant levitated her tools up to her.
The way Ribbon saw it, the whole statue was already there, hidden in the marble. It was simply her job to visualize the art, and free it from the stone. Seeing the radiant image of the solar princess in her mind's eye, she first chipped out the horn, ears, and eyes. After the head came the neck, front hooves and upper body. The statue seemed to scream with delight, as she liberated the wings and lower back from the marble prison. And she was just starting to free the tail, when her assistant finally spoke up.
"I can't believe how much like the princess your statue is!" Pudding exclaimed, looking the half finished piece. "It almost looks like it's going to get up, and trot away!"
"That's the whole point of sculpting, Pudding, making your subject come to life for the observer." Ribbon replied, adjusting the hammer and chisel she held in her front hooves. "To capture a moment in time with your subject, and preserve it for all eternity."
"I can understand that, Ribbon, but do you have to make the princess look so gaudy?" Pudding asked, wrinkling her nose at the dramatic pose Ribbon had chosen. "Rearing up on her back hooves like that, with her wings spread?"
Ribbon looked down at the white unicorn with the striped white and pink mane, and sighed. A total stranger to the sculptor, Pudding was the assistant the city had assigned to her when she got the sculptor's job; kind of coming as part of a package deal. (Ribbon just assumed she was a relative of the famous harmony bearer of laughter, and used her family connection to get the job.) The mare with the pie slice cutie mark praised the master's work,but was always so critical of her creative choices.
"Princess Celestia is a goddess who brings us the dawn, and who rules over us with wisdom and love." Ribbon replied, continuing to chip away, as bits of marble got stuck in her pink-and red streaked mane. "To portray her as anything less than her great grandeur demands would be disrespectful to our divine sovereign."
"I dunno... don't you think the princess would want to be portrayed as a more approachable pony, instead of some intimidating deity?" Pudding asked hopefully. "You know, just another one of the mares, somepony you could make friends with?"
"The princess would never have time to be friends with lowly ponies like us, Pudding Pie." Ribbon Heart shook her head, as she started on the bottom hooves. "She has too many important things occupying her time."
Her assistant merely frowned, and said nothing. Poor Pudding Pie, she just didn't get it. Important and influential ponies didn't just pay attention to you for no good reason, especially not ones with divinity. You had to prove yourself to get the attention of the elite, especially if you didn't come off as a sculptor to other ponies. A ribbon tied into a bow, with a heart in the middle... it didn't seem like the kind of cutie mark that a stone carver would possess. But it was a symbol of her greatest triumph, so long ago...
She had been just a earth pony on a rock farm, growing up in touch with the land, the soil and stone. But unlike the rest of her family, she could see figures trapped in the stone, and would use her family's rock cutting tools to free them. Her father, a practical stallion, was not amused with her little sculptures, and would smash and toss away the trinkets his youngest daughter had made. Ribbon would cry, and then get back to work... but that wouldn't stop her from going back, and carving in secret.
When she was in elementary school, her teacher discovered her special sculpting talent, and encouraged it behind her father's back. When the day came for an art contest to be held at the school, Ribbon made a carving of the recently-freed Princess Luna for the competition. Nopony paid much attention to her work, until a pair of deep purple eyes set upon it. Princess Celestia herself can come to see the students' artwork, and had been impressed by the sculpture of her sister Ribbon Heart had made.
"This is some impressive work you have done here, my little pony." The princess complimented her. "You have a very special talent for sculpting, a talent that should be cultivated."
Ribbon Heart won first prize- a ribbon with a heart in the middle that immediately appeared on her flank as her cutie mark. (And eerily matched her name). Her father then had to tolerate her 'waste of time' hobby to save face, and after leaving the farm for the big city, she grew up to be the greatest sculptor in all of Baltimare. But as she put the finishing touches on the statue, Ribbon heart looked back to see the same sad expression on Pudding Pie's face, that she remembered being on a little filly who had just had her art destroyed by am angry father.
"Aw, cheer up, Pudding, I didn't mean anything by that remark." Ribbon trotted over, putting a hoof on the other mare's shoulder. "Celestia may be to big and important to be anypony's friend, but I'd be happy to be friends with you!" She looked into Pudding Pie's sad pink eyes. "Hey, we've mostly finished with the sculpture here, why don't we go out somewhere, and celebrate?"
"O-okay! That'd be great!" The unicorn's face suddenly perked up again. "Say, I know of a place near here, where we could get a few good hard ciders, and pick up some really cute stallions...."
The night that followed, was pure and utter bliss. The two mares went to the bar, and sat and drank and laughed at each others' terrible terrible jokes until they were both horse-er hoarse. Then, totally drunk on hard cider, they each picked up a very cute stallion that they each took back to their respective hotel rooms for a really good time. Having been concentrating on her work far too much, it was the kind of mare's night out that Ribbon had needed for a long time.
"Thank you, Pudding, that's exactly what I needed!" Ribbon complimented her friend the next morning, as each mare saw her stallion date from the night before off. "Now I can focus on getting that sculpture done!"
"Of course, no problem..." The other mare replied with a forced smile. "After all, that's what friends are for...."
A few days later, the two ponies were at the ceremony for the placing of the Celestia statue, each accompanied by the new stallion boyfriend they had met the night before. Sadly, Celestia herself was apparently busy with some royal business up in the crystal empire, but every other important pony was here, admiring and complimenting the glorious work of art. As the crane lifted the three-ton likeness of the solar princess into place atop the mighty spire, Ribbon Heart could only look up in pride.
"There it is, a glorious likeness of our goddess of the sun!" Ribbon Heart declared proudly. "A likeness of our great sovereign as she truly is!"
Pudding Pie simply shook her head, and said nothing.
As the ceremony came to a close, all the ponies present began to disperse. Seeing her friend starting to trot away, Ribbon galloped up to talk to her.
"Hey Pudding, wait up!" Ribbon Heart called out. "That was really great back there! Why don't we go and get some hot chocolate to celebrate?"
"Sorry, Ribbon, I've got some important business to take care of." Pudding Pie replied in a somber tone, trotting away. "Maybe we could chat again some other time."
And as the depressed Pudding Pie walked away, her pink eyes flashed purple for a brief moment, before returning to normal. And so she left Ribbon Heart there alone, to admire her beautiful statue of the unchanging, perfect goddess she was eternally grateful to.
Equestria's Beacon of Friendship
Ships that Crash in the Night
"Ohhhh, those two will look soooo cute together! I just know it!"
As she looked out from the observation deck at the foot of the friendship beacon, Lovestruck stared out at the crashing waves of horseshoe bay, scheming how to get those two lovebirds together she had just seen at the diner in Baltimare that afternoon. They had both been shooting longing gazes at each other as they ate their meals, and the white earth pony with a pink mane and white body just knew there was a spark of attraction between them. But the mare and the stallion barely knew each other, and getting one of them to break the ice was not going to be an easy task at all.
"Huh, maybe if I were to send both of them notes, telling each the other they had a secret admirer..." Lovestruck thought for a moment, then waved a hoof dismissively. "Naaaah, that's too cliched! Perhaps if I arraigned an 'accidental' meeting...."
Putting cute couples together was Lovestruck's special talent. Ever since she was a filly she had been paring up the fillies and colts in her class, secretly arranging things so that the ponies would get together. Perhaps it stemmed from her parents always arguing, or from never having a personal romance herself. Whatever the case, this earth pony could not resist the urge to pair members of the opposite sex together! Sometimes, her trickery wasn't enough, and her earth pony magic would have to step in, but Lovestruck always got her single mare and single stallion as a couple!
"Hey, watch where you're going, you crazy crystal pony!" A stallion's voice called out from one of the ships docked in the harbor. "Your stupid cargo ship nearly rammed my tug coming into port!"
"Oh yeah? Well, your tug shouldn't have been parked at pier three!" An angry mare's voice shot back. "That's where the harbor master told me to dock when coming into port!"
Gazing down to the docks, Lovestruck noticed a mare and a stallion each standing on the dock beside two ships that nearly collided, hurling angry words at one another. The mare was clearly a Pegasus Crystal Pony, with a banana cutie mark, blue coat, and pink mane. The earth pony stallion, on the other hand, had a pink coat, blue and blonde mane, and a shooting star cutie mark. The pair made an odd contrast, standing there on the dock and arguing.
And predictably, the two argued like foul-mouthed sailors.
"You really don't have any idea who you're dealing with, do you, mister?!" The mare declared angrily. "I'm captain Banana Bliss, the best tropical fruit and produce hauler from the Crystal Empire! My employer has connections with the Equestrian maritime association, and you could lose your seafarer's license for this little screw up!"
"Oh yeah?! Well, it just so happens you picked a fight with Stardash, Lady!" The earth pony snapped back, snorting angrily. " I tow some of the biggest ships in the Equestrian royal navy in and out of Horsehoe bay! And if I weren't such a gentlestallion, I'd smash my tugboat right into your rinky-dinky little wooden toy boat!"
"Why you no good, old drunken sea dog!" Banana Bliss snarled at the stallion. "If I weren't a lady, I'd shove a coconut from my cargo hold straight up your fat flank!"
"My flank's fat?! Have you looked in the mirror recently?!" Stardash snapped back. "You could fit a whole crate of coconuts up that frigate-sized caboose!"
"Well, I never!" The Pegasus Gasped, scandalized.
"I bet you haven't!" The earth pony snapped back.
"Horrid brute!"
"Tramp steamer!"
"Boating beach bum!"
"Saucy sea trollop!"
"Infuriating idiot!"
"Stupid Skank!"
The two ponies were hurling a ton of venom at each other, raising their voices higher and higher and causing a commotion on the docks that was causing other ponies to stare. As Lovestruck stared at the two ponies, the cogs in her brain began spinning and she began to formulate a plan to get these two ponies together. Now, any rational or sane equine would've done anything to keep these ponies apart so they wouldn't strangle each other. But this was Lovestruck we're talking about here... and when it came to love, she was a horse of an entirely different color!
"Hmmmm, now lets see here... two strong-willed ponies, both whom love being at sea, and love sailing... arguing like cats and dogs... and have a lot of tension between them.... these two are perfect for each other!" She said aloud, to nopony in particular. "Okay, Lovestruck, now how are you gonna pull this one off?"
The mare really should have been minding her own business, but she just couldn't help but meddle in the affairs of other ponies. Whenever she saw a single mare and a single stallion with just the right things in common, this hopeless romantic couldn't HELP but try and bring them both happiness by bringing them together as a couple. She could picture it now....
Having both been invited by mysterious letters to a mysterious rendezvous at the base of the Beacon lighthouse, the mare and stallion find a romantic little candlelight dinner, complete with pasta and bread sticks, waiting for them. Deciding to sit down and eat, the two ponies glare at each other as they chow down on the meal. Anger and mistrust burns in their hearts, until they gazed into each others eyes. Each sees a refection -a spark- of a kindred spirit in the other.
"...I'm so sorry..."
"...I didn't mean to run into your boat..."
The more the two continue to talk, the more Banana Bliss and Stardash lose their antagonism towards one another. Staring into each others eyes, the two ponies moved closer and closer together, the spinning light from the Frienship beacon above illumintaing a warm glow on each of thier faces.
"Oh, Banana, where have you been all my life?"
"Oh Stardash, you're the only stallion for me..."
The Pegasus falls into the stallions strong hooves, and they kiss a passionate kiss of love, before declaring their eternal and undying love for one another.....
"Oh, Banana...."
"Oh, Stardash..."
"You worthless pound of stallion trash! I should call the harbor patrol on you!"
"Oh, yeah? Welll, not if I call them on you first, lard flank!"
Snapped back to reality by all of their arguing, Lovestruck groaned as she glared at the two ponies angrily for ruining her romantic dream.
"Then again, perhaps the direct approach is what is needed here!" Pulling a small pink bow with a red ribbon on it out of her purse, the mare loaded an arrow with a small container of pink liquid on the front. Taking aim at the two arguing equines, she let the arrow fly, where it exploded into a puffy pink cloud on the docks, that enveloped the two ponies.
"It's a good thing we earth ponies are the best at making potion magic, whipping up my special love potion was a cinch." Lovestruck declared, . "It makes bringing mares and stallions together sooo much easier that all that flowers, chocolates, and candy ever do..."
As the smoke cleared, the pair of ponies stared at each other with pink hearts in their eyes.
"Oh, Banana...."
"Oh, Stardash..."
Never taking their eyes off one another, the two dreamily trotted towards Bananas cargo vessel.. which, after about and hour or two, began to rock back and forth without any motion from the waves beneath it in the harbor.
"Sigh... another pair of satisfied customers. Well, my work here is done."
Satisfied, Lovestruck turned away from her latest handiwork, looking back up to the lighthouse dreamily.
"I wonder when the day comes that I'll get to meet my prince charming..."
Equestria's Beacon of Friendship
Ships that Crash in the Night
Lighthouse Party!
Horseshoe bay's fog horn echoed across the darkness of the water, piecing the still night air as the mists rolled in from over the ocean. Darkness covered the entire Baltimare coast, enshrouding everything to the point a pony could not see their hoof in front of their own face. But piercing the darkness was a single, long column of light that swung in an endless circle out over the skies of this region of Equestria. To the ponies sleeping in the nearby communities it was an annoyance. But to the ponies out at see that light was a ray of hope piercing the blackness.
"Oh dear, it looks like a really nasty night out there, Mr. Freckles." The cream colored earth mare standing high in the lighthouse's tower told her tiny companion. "I hope all of the ship's crews out there are able to see the beacon's light."
"Meow." Was her little friend's only response, as he stretched out and yawned.
"Yeah, Mr. Freckles." Seascape told her furry companion with a smile. "That's what I thought you'd say."
Since it's completion nearly a year ago, the beacon of Friendship's light had saved nearly a dozen ships from destruction on Equestria's rocky coast. Seascape was proud to have been named the lighthouse's first keeper, and was grateful that her actions in keeping the beacon lit had saved so many pony lives at sea. The pony with the bright pink mane turned to look at the blazing fire behind the lighthouse rotating clockwork lens with satisfaction, happy that there would always be her light that would guide seafaring Equestrians home.
"Come on, Mr. Freckles, we'd better head downstairs now." Seascape told the lazy cat, staring her descent down the tower's winding staircase. "Sugar Grape will be here soon, and we need to get the tea and cookies ready."
Having been a pony of the coast since she was a filly, the mare with the cutie mark that resembled the rising sun behind the seashore had always been a child of the sand and surf. She would stand out as gaze along the coastline for hours while her classmates were playing, preferring the soft sound of the rolling waves to the loud noise that other ponies made while having fun. She spent her teens in a hammock along the sunny beach, reading a book while listening to the roar of the ocean waves rolling in. No crazy excitement came between her and the water, and that was the way she liked it.
"Oh dear, I left the tea on for too long! Well, at least the cookies didn't burn!" Seascape declared, as she raced into the kitchen, and pulled the freshly baked chocolate chip dozen out of the oven, and picked up and shook the empty teapot with her hoof. "I do so hope their is enough time to boil another pot before he gets here!"
As she filled the hot kettle with water again, the lighthouse keeper's gaze drifted over towards the picture of a stallion sitting on the windowsill. A white Pegasus, with a purple mane and bunch of grapes cutie mark... Sugar Grape was a worker at the Baltimare winery that was only a few miles from the beacon, he was a quiet and soft-spoken fellow who liked to hang around the lighthouse, and talk to her. The grape presser shared the same affinity for the sea and it's roaring waves that Seascape did, and would often sit and quietly discuss the wonderful books they had read over a glass of warm milk.
"He's the only other pony I can really get along with, Mr. Freckles." She told the orange tabby, who had just now lazily followed her down the stairs. "I can't wait to see him again, so we can discuss the latest daring do book."
BANG BANG BANG!
Suddenly, the sound of a loud pounding came from the lighthouse's front door, accompanied by the sounds of lots of talking, and several hooves stomping at the ground.
"Huh, that doesn't sound like Grape." The confused Seascape whispered aloud. "Now who could that possibly-"
The instant she opened the door, and large crowd of mares and stallions in party gear suddenly burst through the entrance, all wearing party gear, and danging and singing to the loud and booming music that accompanied them. Before poor Seascape even had time to blink, her whole living room was filled with loud and crazy party goers,
"Great Celestia! What's going on here!?" Seascape wailed, running to her kitchen for cover. "What are all of you ponies doing here?!"
"Hey, this is the Lighthouse tavern, right?" An all-pink mare with a wild mane and balloon cutie mark screamed, barely audible over the awful din. "We have reservations to have an all night par-tay here!"
"No, no! This is the Friendship Beacon lighthouse! The lighthouse tavern is a few miles back in Baltimare!" Seascape pleaded. "You've got the wrong place!"
But her soft and quiet voice was lost over the blaring music, as the party got going full swing. A white unicorn mare with a blue mane and sunglasses wheeled in a large stereo system with a record player, blasting her music so loud, that it nearly blew the windows out of the lighthouse. The party goers bounced and jumped to the loud music, smashing Seascape's precious glass ornament collection, and trashing her furniture.
"Noooo, my grandma gave me that antique vase!" The lighthouse keeper mare wailed, as one of the dancing stallions knocked it of the table, shattering it into a million pieces. "Oh no! That's been in the family for centuries!"
The party goers danced on for hours, until a softer knock came to the door. Seascape went to answer it timidly, only to find a familiar Pegasus stallion there, pulling a cart full of wine kegs filled with the finest ale."
"Sugar Grape?" The lighthouse keeper asked, stunned. "What are you doing here with those?"
"Oh, hi Seascape! I was just stopping by to tell you I had one more wine delivery to make, before I could join you for tea tonight." He looked over her shoulder. "Hey, is that a party going on in there? I didn't think you were the kind of mare to have one of those, 'Scape!"
"Hey, cool! The booze is here!" The pink mare called out, as the partygoers started to unload the barrels from the sled. "Hey everpony, KEGGER PARTY!"
"Hey, wait, I have to deliver that wine to-" Sugar Grape suddenly found himself lifted into the air, and carried over the party goers' head. "Hey, wait! Where are you taking me?!"
As the booze flowed freely, the party got even crazier. Furniture was picked up and smashed, and drunk ponies got sick and emptied bodily contents all over the carpet. A few ponies tossed Seascape's books off the shelves, tore the pages out, and tossed them everywhere. High up in the tower, two ponies slipped a disco mirror ball in front of the beacon's light, causing the lighthouse to shoot out multicolored laser lights in every direction.
"All right, now this party is REALLY rockin!" The pink mare with the crazy mane screamed excitedly. "Everybody, do the Marecarena!"
The crowd cheered excitedly, as the white unicorn turned the pounding beat up even farther. Poor Seascape, who had been running around and trying to save as many of her personal possessions, was picked up, and carried across the crowded room towards where Sugar Grape had been carried.
"Hey, I found a cat!" one of the partygoers picked up Mr. Freckles. "Who wants to try and shave it?"
"MRRROOOW HISSS!" The orange cat hissed, biting the drunk stallion and ruining away. Mr. Freckles, however, was far luckier than his poor owner.
"Wait, what are you all doing?" Seascape cried out, struggling against the ravers' grip. "Nooooooooo.....!!"
.....
"Ohhh, where am I?" She moaned, rolling over. "What's going on?"
The next morning, Seascape awoke to the sound of the roaring waves, and the sunlight pouring into her bedroom. Everything seemed all right at first... until the splitting headache came crashing down on her head, and the terrible ache throbbed in her flank... she didn't know which was worse. Looking around the room, she found several paintings torn off the wall and smashed, everything that had been standing the night before now strewn all over the floor, and wasted party ponies lying all around her, asleep.
"Oh great, that stupid pink mare and her stupid party, ruined my home!" She sobbed, tears soaking her face. "I don't see how this could get any worse!"
Just then, a form buried in the sheets next to her groaned, and sat up... to reveal the form of a groggy Sugar Grape.
"Ohhh, my head!" The stallion exclaimed, as he rubbed his forehead with his hoof. "What the hay is going on here?"
"EEEEEK!" Seascape cried out, her face turning a deep red, before she fainted dead away.
"Uhhhhh, Seascape?" The concerned stallion asked, his head beginning to clear. "Are you all right?"
Royal decree of Princess Luna, ruler of the night, head of the Canterlot Nocturnal court;
Our loyal subjects, let it be known that an irresponsible party mare, for her careless destruction of property and wild partying that has caused irreparable psychological damage and suffering upon a mare, her coltfirend and her pet, will be severely punished for her out-of-control behavior. This Ponyville party mare will joining her party crew in cleaning up and repairing all the property damage she caused at the Friendship Beacon, due to her holding her wild party at the wrong location. Furthermore, said party mare will be forced to spend all of her free time watching paint dry for an entire month. Perhaps that shall teach our laughing pony to curb her wild partying tendencies.
H.R.H., Princess Luna of Canterlot
Equestria's Beacon of Friendship
Two's a com-pony, four's a crowd!- Part one
It was one of those rare crystal clear nights on Horseshoe bay, one with no fog or mist filling the sky. The friendship beacon's light was therefore kept burning low this night, and Seascape had taken the night off to go into town with her beloved Sugar Grape. It was a perfect evening for gazing up at the stars, however, and her very own brother enjoyed doing just that. She had left the teenage pink colt with the blue and yellow mane to keep the beacon lit that night, and he was currently standing upon the tower's circular catwalk, gazing up ast the glittering orbs in the sky above him.
"The stars, I can't believe how beautiful they are. Like a royal robe with a thousand glittering diamonds sewn into it." He thought to himself, gazing upwards towards the heavens. "Princess Luna must have worked extra hard on tonight's beautiful sky, for I believe it shines all the brighter on this warm and crystal clear night."
Ever since he was little, Stardash has always been something of a dreamer. His head in the clouds by day, the colt's gaze would be turned skyward at night. His parents dismissed him as a dreamer early on, and other little fillies and colts who should have been his friends simply made fun of him and trotted away. Only Seascape paid any attention to him, and had been his only friend growing up. The two had grown up reading novels and discussing poetry together, and both of them felt they were outsiders in Equestrian society.
"I wonder if those stars Luna shapes look back down upon us, and wonder what those strange shapes on the ground are." The stallion contemplated. "I wonder if one of them contemplates all of us, the way we contemplate the stars above."
As he gazed out into the endless sky in thought, three teenage fillies approached the door to the lighthouse far below.
....
"Are you sure this is the right place, Apple Bloom?" Sweetie Bell asked nervously, as she knocked on the door with her hoof. "I don't wanna bother somepony who doesn't need our help."
"Yep, this is the place Seascape said we'd find her brother." Apple Bloom replied, looking out at horseshoe bay from the platform at the lighthouse's entrance they stood upon. "Y'all aren't gettin cold hooves, are ya, Sweetie?"
"Yeah, this colt is supposed to be a total dweeb, he just reads books and poetry like some kinda egghead." Scootaloo added, sticking out her tongue at the thought. "How could anypony have a special talent as lame as that?"
"Then we gotta help him discover what his special talent is!" Sweetie Bell declared enthusiastically, as the three gave each other a high hoof. "Cutie Mark crusaders help the hopeless dreamer is a go!"
The three teenage fillies heard the sound of hooves approaching from the inside, then the door swung open. Apple Bloom stepped forward, to greet their latest client.
"Howdy, y'all! We're the cutie mark crusaders, and we're here to- uh, duh duh duh duh duhhhhhhhhhhhh...."
Applebloom stood there dumbfounded, as did the other two teen fillies. That long mane and tail, those strong and tight muscles, those big blue eyes.... common sense dropped out of the trio's brains, as teenage female hormones took over. The three fillies's eyes all morphed into hearts, as they gazed upon and drooled over what they saw as finely chiseled colt perfection.
"Hello, ladies, it's really nice to meet all of you..." He started to greet them politely, before a puzzled look crossed his face. "Ummmm... why are all three of your faces turning so red? Are you girls feeling well?"
"Ummm, errr.... hello, mister Stardash!" Applebloom smiled, reaching out and shaking his hoof. "Mah name's Apple Bloom, and these filles here are mah friends, Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo. We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and we're here to help y'all discover who you are!"
"Really nice to meet you!" Sweetie giggled as the teen colt kissed her hoof. "I've never met a boy who's such a gentlecolt!"
"Charmed, my dear." He replied, looking over towards the more rough and tumble Pegasus teen. "And your tomboy friend here?"
"Name's Scootlaoo, and I'm the awesomest filly in all of Equestria!" Scoots declared, pushing the other two out of the way. "And I'd be more than happy to personally help you find out who you are!"
"Aren't we all trying to find out who we are, going along on life's road like shooting stars in the sky?" Stardash waxed poetically. "But yes, I am in need of some help around here, cleaning up the lighthouse for my sister. So if you three lovely ladies would care to lend me a hoof, I would be eternally grateful."
He walked back into the lighthouse, leaving the door open for them to follow. Apple Bloom turned back to her friends, a wide smile on her face.
"Girls, why don't y'all head back to Baltimare, and pick up some souvenirs for our friends and family back in Ponyville?" Apple Bloom told the others. "I'll stay here, and personally give Stardash a hoof."
"No no, you two should really head back. I'll be the filly to help him clean up the lighthouse." Sweetie Replied, shooing the other two off with a hoof. "I'm sure you've got more important things to do in town."
"Maybe you gals should get going, and leave helping the colt to the coolest pony here, instead." Scoots insisted, shoving the other two off the lighthouse porch with her wing. "This place takes a Pegasus's touch to get the job done!"
"No y'all don't! I'm staying here with Stardash1"
"No Way! You got that cute unicorn colt in Manehatten all to yourself! I want a piece of the flank this time!"
"Stardash could never want you two losers help! I'm the one who should stay here with him!"
"It'll be me!"
"No, me!"
"Why you-!"
The three teenagers exploded, leaping into a three way fight, and creating a dust cloud as the trio bit, stomped, and kicked at each other. The three normally good friends began to act like children, fighting over a cut colt like a pack of diamond dogs fighting over a ruby.
...
"Good grief, this place really did need cleaning!" Stardash declared, wiping down the lighthouse's windows from the circular staircase going up the tower. "But there's no way I can get to the glass outside of these windows!"
"No problem, Stardash! Watch this!" Scootaloo buzzed up and around the outside of the lighthouse, wiping down each window as she zipped along. "Pretty cool how I can get so many at once huh?"
"Wow, that is pretty amazing." The colt replied, a puzzled look on his face. "But Apple Bloom told me you couldn't fly, and you zipped along on your scooter everywhere?"
"Naww, that was just when I was a little filly. I was kinda a late flier." Scoots said with a laugh, fling in the window. "I'm nowhere near as good as my big sister, Rainbow Dash, but I can do some neat tricks. Just watch!"
The filly began zipping up, down, in, out, and all over the tower. Stardash was impressed, until she knocked right into him on one of her dives, and sent him flying clean off the spiral metal staircase.
"Whooaaah!" The colt cried out, as he tumbled downward. "Somepony help me!"
"Don't worry star, I'm coming!" Scootaloo yelled, diving after him. But the teenage Pegasus struck her head on the star rail going down, and fell to the lighthouse floor with a *thud*.
"Ohhh, my head..." Scoots moaned.
The earth pony was just about to hit ground, when a magical aura field caught him from out of nowhere before he landed on the cold stone floor. "Oof!"
"Stardash, are you okay?" Sweet Bell asked in concern, her horn glowing as she came trotting out of the kitchen. "I almost didn't notice you there, good thing I caught you in time, huh?"
"Thank you, Miss Bell, you certainly saved my hide." Stardash sniffed at the air. "Say, what is that odd smell coming out of the kitchen?"
"Oh, I thought I'd make everpony a late supper, while you three were busy working." She trotted back into the kitchen. "Why don't you come in and have a taste?"
The colt followed Sweetie Bell into the next room. only to find the oven and surrounding area a total disaster. Bubbling piles of a gooey black substance, filled every bowl and plate set at the table. A foul burnt stench filled the entire kitchen, making Stardash's eyes water.
"Whoa, this is certainly an... interesting meal you've made here." He walked over to the table, and looked at a glass of black goo. "Is this chocolate milk?"
"Nope, those are pancakes!" Sweetie Bell replied, a great big grin on her face. "Don't they look yummy?"
"Well, it's... certainly different." Stardash replied, trying not to gag from the smell. "You certainly can cook some interesting dishes."
"Yep, my mom taught me. She and my dad think I'm the world's greatest cook!" Sweetie replied proudly. "I probably would've gotten a cutie mark in fancy cooking, if it hadn't been for my group mark with the other Crusaders."
"You, a good cook? HA!" Scootaloo remarked, finally pulling herself up off the floor, and trotting into the kitchen. "You burn toast most of the time, and you've never made a dish in your whole life that wasn't classified as lethal!"
"Oh yeah? Well, you can't even turn on an oven without setting your wings on fire!" Sweetie snapped back. "So why don't you keep your opinions to yourself!"
As the two teenagers continued to argue, Stardash merely rolled his eyes, and trotted back up the stairs to the Friendship Beacon's tower. There, he found Apple Bloom polishing the lighthouse's lens with a rag and bucket of water.
"Oh, hi Stardash. how's y'all's cleaning going downstairs?" The filly asked, dipping the rag into the bucket with her hoof. "It sounds like Sweetie and Scoots are at it again, huh?"
"Yeah, those two keep trying to show each other up." The colt replied with a sigh. "I wish they'd just concentrate on the task at hoof instead of arguing all the time."
"Yeeah, they're like to little babies when they start to argue." Apple Bloom shook her mane in disgust. "But I've been really hard at work up here cleaning. Why don't you have a look at the lenses, and see how well I did?"
"Wow, these really do look clean, I've never seen them this spotless before!" Stardash exclaimed, examining the glass carefully. "The view of your work from here is absolutely flawless!"
"Oh yeah, it's absolutely flawless!" Applejack agreed, staring at the colt's flank that was sticking up in the air as he bent down to inspect the lower part of the lens. "A really, really fine piece of work!"
"I really appreciate you girls coming here to help me, you've helped make the work go faster." Stardash smiled at her, starting back down the stairs. "Why don't the three of you stay for supper. I'll make something I think you'll all enjoy."
"Oh, that's really nice of y'all, Stardash!" Apple Bloom replied, a false smile plastered across her face.
After he had moved out of earshot, the teenage filly's eyes narrowed, and she rubbed her front hooves together. "And it'll be even better once I find a way to get those other two silly fillies to leave, so I can have that cute little hunk of flank all to myself... "
Equestria's Beacon of Friendship
Two's a com-pony, four's a crowd!- Part one
Two's a com-pony, four's a crowd!- Part Two
After the terrible disaster that was Sweetie Bell's cooking, the four had decided to let Apple Bloom prepare the dinner. The meal passed without incident, and Stardash enjoyed one of the best meals of mashed potatoes and gravy, macaroni and cheese, and freshly baked apple pie he ever had tasted. While praising Apple Bloom's cooking onpenly, the colt was quietly thanking the heavens that Apple Bloom had prepared the food instead of Sweetie Bell.
"Well, that was certainly a wonderful meal!" Stardash noted, picking up the plates in his hooves, and washing them in the sink. "You really outdid yourself with this one, Apple Bloom!"
"Thank y'all so much, sugah." Apple Bloom replied, smiling happily at the colt, before staring at her other two friends darkly. "An' now, I'd love ta give y'all a real treat- some of mah family's homemade apple cider!"
"You brought some with you, Apple Bloom?" Scootaloo asked in surprise. "Sweet! I'd love to have some!"
"Yeah, I haven't had any since last cider season." Sweetie added. "And both Rarity and and my mom are all out."
"Here, let me go and pour y'all a glass..." The earth pony hurried back into the lighthouse kitchen, and poured each of them a cup of the cider from the large canteen she had brought. But into Sweetie Bell and Scootlaoo's glasses she slipped a pouch of white powder, a medicine Granny Smith used to take for her bowel problems.
While Stardash and I are going on our date, my two dear friends'll be going another way! Apple Bloom's grin grew into an evil smile. Sorry girls, but all's fair in love and war!
"Here ya are, girls and guy!" The teenager smiled, and brought the tray with the four drinks in to the other three ponies. "Y'all drink up, heyah?"
"Awesome, this looks great!" Scootaloo declared, downing her glass quickly. "Mmmm, this really tastes great, too!"
But as Scootaloo glanced over at her earth pony friend, she noticed the grin on her friend's face. Waiting for Apple Bloom to turn her head for a second, the unicorn used her magic to quickly switch their two glasses.
"Yum, this stuff is delicious!" Sweetie Bell added, hiding her own smile. "It was very thoughtful of you to share it."
The four continued to talk for several minutes before two looks of horror crossed Apple Bloom and Scootaloo's faces.
"Excuse me." The both declared in unison, hopping up from the table really fast. "But we really need to go right now!"
The two fillies raced out the door, a confused look on Apple Bloom's face. But when she saw the look Sweetie Bell gave her, the earth pony knew she had been betrayed.
You'll pay for this next time, Sweetie Bell! The teenage filly thought to herself, glaring as she raced Scootaloo to the bathroom. you won't win the next colt so easily!
"Huh, wonder where they had to go in such a hurry." Stardash asked, confused. "We didn't even get the dishes washed yet."
"Oh, I'm sure they just had to stretch their legs a little." Sweetie Bell smiled. "You know, got a sudden case of the runs."
"Oh. Well anyway, I think I'm going up to the tower." The colt sighed. "You know, to get some fresh night air."
"Oh, that sounds nice." Sweetie smiled, following up. "I think I'll come with you."
The two made trotted up to the top of the lighthouse, and stared out at the rolling dark waves of the ocean. The cool night air blew across thier faces, and through their manes, and they stared up at the starry night sky, gazing though a darkness broken only by the swinging beam of the beacon's light.
"It's so wonderful up here.. with the endless sky above you, and the endless sea below you." The colt declared with a sigh. "It really makes you feel like your such a small pony in a really big world, doesn't it?"
"It doesn't matter how little of a pony I am." The filly replied smoothly. moving a little closer to the colt. "As long as I have enough wonderful friends near me."
"I understand the feeling... friends are the most wonderful things a pony can have." Stardash looked skyward. "Don't you wish that friends were like the stars? spearing out all out around you so far and wide, you can't even begin to count them."
"I don't know about that," Sweetie replied, moving so close to the colt, he could feel her warm breath on his coat. "but I do know the stars are very beautiful tonight."
"Not as beautiful as you, my little pony." He replied, as she leaned her head against his shoulder. "Not as beautiful as you."
The two teenagers nuzzled each other, staring out at the sea for several hours, before trotting back down into the lighthouse keeper's quarters to spend a wonderful night together. But far below, in the lighthouse's privy, two other very angry and jealous fillies were plotting their revenge.
"Ohhh, Sweetie Bell!" Scootaloo growled. "I swear when this stuff wears off tomorrow, I'm kicking your sorry flank from here to Fillydelphia!"
"Not if ah get my hooves on her first!" Apple Bloom growled from the stall next to hers. "Y'all cain have what ever's left when ah get done."
Equestria's Beacon of Friendship
Two's a com-pony, four's a crowd!- Part Two
Of all the Rotten luck!
"Huh, so this is the Friendship beacon." The white unicorn with the diamond cutie mark noted. "I actually thought it would be much taller, dahling... though I do think that statue of Celestia looks rather tacky, darling."
The unicorn mare was staring up at the lighthouse before her, musing over it's architectural style and decor. She had come here, all the way from Ponyville, to see the landmark the city of Baltimare had blown ten years worth of it's municipal budget on... and so far, the mare was seriously unimpressed. Her friends had been urging her to come here and see the tallest structure in all of Equestria for fifteen years now, and the fashionista was seriously wondering what all the hubbub was all about.
"Well, since I'm here, I might as well pick Pinkie Pie up a souvenir." The whiter unicorn sighed. "This is where she got herself in trouble with that wild party, after all."
The fashionista trotted into the lighthouse, entering the gift shop on the lower level. The beacon had changed in the years since the CMC had been here; a new lighthouse keeper was in charge, and he had opened up a gift shop in the tower's base as a way of making some extra bits. As she looked around at the commemorative plates and t-shirts the gift store sold, the stallion behind the counter looked up from his magazine, and noticed her.
"Might want to try the postcards, everything else is overpriced." The green Pegasus behind the counter sighed. "I don't like charging so much for stuff, by my vendors gouge me on prices."
"Oh! then you must be the proprietor of this establishment!" The white unicorn turned to greet him. "I'm here looking for a souvenir for my friend, and I was hoping to find something a little more special than a postcard!"
"Yep, I'm Lucky Dreams, I run the lighthouse and souvenir shop." The stallion sighed again, getting up from the cash register. "And if you're looking for something nicer, I guess you could get a commemorative mug, or-"
The instant Lucky stepped out from behind the counter, and immediately stumbled forward and collapsed. He knocked over an entire rack of t-shirts, which well over with a loud CRASH!
"Oh, my stars!" The fashionista cried out, galloping over to help the fallen stallion up. "Are you all right, darling?"
"Yeah, yeah, don't worry about it." The Pegasus grumbled, as the mare helped him back up onto his hooves. "This kinda thing happens to me all the time, it's the rotten luck I inherited from my dad."
"Oh, why that's just nonsense now, darling!" The white unicorn insisted. "Everypony knows there's just no such thing as bad luck!"
At that moment, Lucky bumped into the wall, causing several of the plates on one of the shelves to come smashing down upon his head.
CRASH-CRASH-CRASH-CRASH-CRASH-CRASH!
"Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow!" The Pegasus cried out, stumbling around in a daze from the impact. ""Ohhh, my aching head!"
"Okay, so maybe you do have a little streak of bad luck, here." The fashionista corrected herself, shaking her head at Lucky's misfortune. "But what could possibly have caused your string of misfortune, darling?"
"Oh, I inherited it from my father... he was a rodeo clown in Appleoosa, and had all of the worst and most rotten luck in all the world." Lucky looked at his cutie mark sadly, as if the horseshoe on his flank were some kind of curse. "I guess it's just destiny that I ended up smashing into every fence I came across, and fell into every hole I stumbled upon!"
"Oh dear, you poor thing!" The fashionista whinnied sadly. "I really wish there was something I could do for you!"
The white unicorn's heart went out to the poor stallion, whom she could see had gone through so much misery and hardship in his young life. It was then, that an idea suddenly began to form in the mare's head... and idea on how
"Lucky, darling... I was wondering if you might have tomorrow night free, hm?" The white unicorn asked, as she helped the stallion pick up and the scattered and broken merchandise. "Because I would simply love for you to join me for a very special event."
"Wait, what?" Lucky Dreams asked, not quite she he was hearing the mare right. "Are you saying you want the Stallion the Baltimare safety council named a walking disaster area to go to an event you're holding? Are you sure about that, miss?"
"Ohhh, trust me, darling! I know how to turn that horrible little luck of yours around!" The fashionista explained, an ever-widening grin spreading across her face. "See, some friends of mine and I are going to have a little dinner party aboard a yacht tomorrow afternoon in Horseshoe bay, and I'd be ever so grateful if you could join us for the party." She smiled at the surprised stallion. "So, what do you say?"
"S-sure." He said blankly, simply staring into space. It wasn't that a beautiful mare had asked him top a social event that stunned Lucky, nor was it that her had been invited to a social gathering that stunned him. No, the stallion was simply amazed that someone had been so generous to him, even after seeing his bad luck. Thankful to have this opportunity, he turned to express his gratitude.
"Thank you, miss-"
But the mare was already gone.
Turning towards the stairs that led back to his private quarters in the lighthouse, Lucky Dreams thought about what he had to wear to such a formal event. A small smile forming on his usually-frowning face, Lucky the Pegasus hoped beyond hope that his luck was really about to change...
