Chapter 2: Pegasus in Town Hall

"Are you absolutely sure you want to go ahead with this project? It is the Everfree Forest," Mayor Mare asked, a bit concerned as she led Trade Wind to the archives.

"Since the Princess is the one who ordered it, I have to, besides, it sounds like an interesting project. Can you think of anyone who would be willing to go with me and help with the castle? I would not mind if I had to bring back any banners or clothes for Rarity or someone else to restore them with. But since we are restoring it, I was thinking of putting some modern plumbing and lights," the Mayor tapped her chin in thought.

"While I am uneasy about sending ponies into the forest, I do know some of them made it, why don't you call on Twilight and her friends?"

"That's not a bad idea, except I'm pretty sure I'm going to need a stonemason, I can always contact the Pie family," she hummed, "Well I will be doing a survey of the place first and make a list of experts I need to consult with. The princess hasn't told me what she wants to do with the place, so all I am going to do is get it in tip-top shape. I will only be here during the weekdays, on weekends I'll be in Canterlot reporting progress to the Princess," they entered and she went towards the deeds, "Now, you said there was a small cottage near the part of the forest that the castle resides in?"

"Oh yes, we've kept up with repairing it and all, but it is very small," looking over the deed and blueprints of the place, Trade Wind gave the mayor a small smile.

"Its perfect, I'm only going to be here a short while, and this way I don't have to room with anyone who'll be disturbed by me going and leaving,"

"You keeping saying anyone, not anypony," Mayor Mare stated and Trade rubbed the back of her head,

"Well, being in a school with other races, you kind of learn to say one instead of pony to avoid misunderstandings,"

"I see, I should probably start saying that as well, considering we have a griffin, Minotaur, and even a Diamond Dog living among us,"

"Speaking of which, how is Gussy? I heard that she accepted a contract out of town?" she had received a letter from her former roommate about getting hired as soon as she settled within Ponyville, having only stayed for summers before.

"Yes, that town of Appleloosa needed someone with her expertise to help with the rest of the construction," Trade hummed in thought at that,

"Yeah, well I'll get out of your mane, here's the money for the deed," she dropped a small sack of bits which the mayor pocketed and they shook on it.

Placing the deed and blueprint in her saddlebag, Trade Wind exited Town Hall and was about to make her way to the cottage when she paused and headed towards the library instead.

'Might as well see about any history books I can use for teaching Princess Luna' she needed a refresher course anyhow.

Seeing a bunch of mares wandering around looking, she raised an eyebrow, seeing Lyra who was with her roommate Bon Bon as they looked around, another surprising thing about canon staying the same. The unicorn had spent only three years at the music college before she took an opportunity for a traveling musical group and somehow ended up in Ponyville (it made Trade curious about how canon Lyra ended up in Ponyville.)

"Lyra Heartstrings, what are you doing," the mint mare lit up and hugged her,

"Hey Trade Wind, oh, just looking for Twilight to ask her about the ticket she has to the Grand Galloping Gala," Trade's face fell into a deadpan.

"You mean the event where your uncle sends you and your mom tickets to every year?" the mint unicorn laughed sheepishly.

"Ok, so I was doing it because everyone else was doing it," she admitted as Bon Bon looked at her betrayed.

"You have one and you didn't tell me?!"

"I was going to surprise you tonight when we returned to the house," the Earth Pony shook her head and left, Lyra raising a hoof before lowering it with a sigh, "Well now I'm in trouble," teeth bit her ear and she yelped as she found herself yanked along the path, "Trade Wind! Let me go," she was dragged the entire way to the library and when the door opened, she was pushed in, landing on the floor.

"Lyra! What are you doing here," Twilight exclaimed, the rest of the Main Six behind her also startled at the entrance.

"H-hey ya Twilight," she said weakly, feeling the coldness emanating from her, apparently Trade's abilities in intimidation only increased over the years.

"Lyra Heartstrings, tell Twilight Sparkle your sorry for chasing her for no good reason," Trade Wind had that cold tone and she gulped, staring up at the confused unicorn whose friends were all behind her,

"Sorry Twilight, I shouldn't have gone along with everypony else and chase after you, considering I already had a ticket, and I should have helped stop them as well," the unicorn blinked several times as she processed this

"You had a ticket?" she stated blankly and Lyra flinched when a yellow pegasus stood in front of her.

"Lyra Heartstrings," whimpering at Fluttershy's tone, Lyra lit up her horn, played a familiar tune and disappeared.

"Bon Bon's calling me, got to go," her voice sounded outside the door as she ran away.

"I forgot she can teleport," Trade's voice brought the Element of Magic back as she blinked rapidly.

"I didn't know Lyra could teleport,"

"She's been doing it for years," the blue mare rubbed her head, "Anyways, I'm sorry about her doing that to you, sometimes I have no idea what that mare is thinking," a white coat appeared in her vision as Rarity hugged her.

"How are you doing darling, I didn't even know you were coming, so sorry I couldn't make your graduation," Trade patted Rarity with a bewildered look, surprised at the greeting, after all, they had not exactly been all that close during University.

"Wait, what are you doing here!" was Rainbow Dash's exclamation, confusing those who did not know the two were related, Trade Wind gave her a cool stare.
"Rainbow Dash is it? Been a while since High School, what have you been up to Miss Dash?" the blue pegasus stepped back as if slapped at Trade's tone, the tone of an acquaintance and not a sister. Rarity and Fluttershy exchanged looks but kept silent, while Pinkie Pie looked a bit excited to see Trade Wind there.

"Just receiving tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala! Where I can meet the Wonderbolts," she declared and Trade Wind tilted her head,

"That's nice, hey Twilight, do you have any new editions of Equestrian History here? I have a tutoring job that I need it for," Rainbow dropped to the ground at the lack of reaction and huffed to herself with a pout, causing Applejack who noticed to roll her eyes.

"Uh I think so, actually we were going out to have some supper, do you want to come with us? Princess Celestia said she hired you for a project?" Twilight's stomach chose to accompany her question and she blushed.

"Its fine, I'm supposed to see to my cottage after this, and I want to get a head start on-" Rarity chose that moment to light up her horn, enveloping Trade's tail in her magic.

"You'll have the rest of the week to do that, and since its so late I insist on you staying with me tonight so that we can have an early start on furnishing your cottage," she trotted ahead of the group, Trade blinking in bemusement as she was dragged along.

"Has she been getting herding lessons from Lyra or something?" she asked Fluttershy as she was dragged along, the yellow Pegasus giggled behind her hoof while Twilight looked a bit concerned.

"Doesn't that hurt?"

"I'm used to it, I'm surprised you are surprised by it though, I thought for sure Lyra would do her whole stopping you from over studying thing by making you fall asleep or drag you through the air in her magic," the purple unicorn's eye twitched.

"She does that to you too? She did that to me and Moondancer," she said annoyed and Pinkie Pie jumped next to them.

"Whose Moondancer, a friend in Canterlot?" Twilight raised her hoof to speak, then slowly lowered it,

"Oh, I haven't really contacted anypony from Canterlot in a while, hehe," Spike spoke up at this point,

"Actually there was a party the day before we came here that was thrown by Moondancer, but we ended up not going because she got obsessed with Nightmare Moon and stopping her, I never even gave the present I had for her." Twilight blushed at her friends' gazes.

"I'll message them later," she promised, Trade eyed the group as Rarity lifted her over the doorway of the diner and deposited her in a booth.

"So, Fluttershy told me a bit about what happened with Nightmare Moon, but I figure the rest of you have more to add in?" Rainbow took that chance to boast about her part in it, the other five adding their own parts with Pinkie finishing up.

"And our Elements matched our Cutie Marks, I got a blue balloon, Applejack got an orange apple, Rainbow Dash got a red lightning, Rarity got a purple diamond, Twilight got a magenta colored star in crown form, and Fluttershy got a pink bat!" Trade looked at Fluttershy who blushed.

"A pink bat huh? Guess it decided to choose one of the pink animals on your Cutie Mark, the Nocturne should find that interesting," Fluttershy's cheeks darkened.

"Uh, you aren't going to call any of them here are you?" Applejack asked, a bit concerned and Trade and Rarity frowned.

"Why, what is wrong with Nocturne ponies Applejack? I was in school with several of them, and they were very nice,"

"I just don't feel comfortable because of all the rumors surrounding them," that got Trade to narrow her eyes.

"What rumors? The previous ones were supposed to be squashed years ago, and hasn't the Ponyville Library received any current books on each of the Equestrian races? I know for a fact that some of the Apple Clan live in Hollow Shades, and Nocturnes are one of the best customers in those parts. Hasn't Big Mac told you anything about his roommate he had, you know Waxing Crescent?" Applejack's ears folded.

"Oh, I might have blocked out that part, I just remember how bad my family had it when the Vampire Fruit Bats," she got cut off by Fluttershy.

"The Vampire Fruit Bats are completely different and should not be considered to have any similarities with Nocturne ponies, the latter pay for their apples, they don't steal," Twilight watched the debate with interest while Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie made use of the distraction to eat most of the pizza that had been placed.

Noticing what they were doing, Trade Wind made a point of taking out a jar of white and red peppers which she placed on a third of the pizza, then took a slice for herself, not that it stopped Pinkie who grabbed one of the pepper slices and bit into it.

Her entire face turned red and she gulped down a full glass of water,

"SPICY!" then she went right back to eating it. Twilight looked at the slices dubiously before taking a plain one and eating it, Rarity, however, followed Pinkie's example and took one, earning strange looks from the others.

"What? My roommates have the strangest tastes, do you have any idea how many times I've found my ice cream has been switched with mixtures of the stuff? I've acquired the taste of it you can say, is this Crescent Ghost Pepper?" she asked glancing at it and Trade nodded,

"Crescent Spiral sent me some, and the red is the new Lava Chili Peppers grown by some of the dragons, they reaaaallllyyyy like spicy foods, uh Miss Dash, they are really spicy," she warned as Dash took the jar and poured it over her hay fries.

"I can take it!" she boasted and Trade winced as she dumped the entire thing in her mouth, quickly digging another jar out and jumping over the table when Rainbow Dash turned pale instead of red.

"Open her mouth," she told Pinkie who appeared behind the slowly whitening pegasus, pouring the jar contents into her mouth.

Slowly the color returned and Rainbow Dash was left gasping,

"What was that!" she accepted milk from Fluttershy with thanks and Rarity winced in sympathy.

"Like I said darling, its an acquired taste, having both of those peppers together without building an immunity to spiciness can lead to rather interesting results. Those are said to be the spiciest peppers in all of Equestria," Rainbow Dash took several deep breaths as she tried to cool off her tongue.

"What's in that jar you gave me?" she asked Trade Wind who rolled it around,

"Chocolate pudding with a dash of extra sugar," she added on seeing their faces, "I've been eating sweet and spicy for years, so I know how to get rid of the hotness on the tongue real fast. Here, eat some breadsticks," she pushed it towards Rainbow, those who hadn't eaten the peppers eyed them wearily.

"So ya'll aren't the least bit curious about the Grand Galloping Gala? You barely reacted when Rainbow told ya," Applejack commented, Trade Wind shrugged,

"I've been to one in the past, but I'm more interested in the Nightwing Festival," Rarity gasped,

"Oh, are you going this year? I was so disappointed when I couldn't attend last year because of that dreadful cold, but this year I can," she squealed excitedly, "I still remember going to my first Nightwing Festival, the charm, the entertainment," the rest at the table stared at them.

"Are you talking about that shindig that Big Mac keeps going to in the spring?" Applejack asked, a bit weary, "He invited me once but I wasn't so keen on it," she eyed Fluttershy cautiously who realized where she was going and sighed,

"Just because its run by Nocturnes and Dragons, doesn't mean there is anything wrong with it," the pegasus scolded her, Spike dropped his own slice of pizza,

"Dragons?" he asked excitedly, Twilight also looked interested,

"What's a Nightwing Festival?" she asked, Rainbow also looked curious, Pinkie snuck in another spicy slice while they weren't looking.

"It was started around two years ago by Dragons and Nocturnes to be as big an event as the Grand Galloping Gala, with more entertainment and less ponce to it of course," Trade started, "The first time they held it near the Dragon Isles, then the second year they had it in the Nocturne Cave in the Bad Lands. This year is pretty special, they are going to be holding it in the caves in the former Undiscovered West. It lasts three days, the first is introductions and starting entertainment with a special cake served, and whoever gets a slice with a unique object is crowned the Queen of the Nightwing Festival and gets to be in the leading parade float on the third day with the visiting alicorn. We also had Princess Cadance our first year, and I believe Princess Celestia came last year, this year is going to be Princess Luna. There is also a flying performance by dragons, Nocturnes, griffins, and anyone else that wants to participate. Also for those with non wings, there is a condition," the non-pegasus (bar Rarity and Pinkie) stared at her, "You have to attend wearing fake wings, whether formed by magic or any material, whoever has the most elaborate ones win a free ticket to a performance of the Night Talons," Pinkie gasped dramatically.

"I've always wanted to go to one of those," she exclaimed, "What are Night Talons," everyone face-hoofed.

"They are the dragon-griffin-Nocturne- and possibly pegasus answer to the Wonderbolts," Rainbow's jaw dropped.

"What!" Spike looked awed,

"Woah," then he looked glum, "I wish I can go," Twilight and those not with a ticket expressed similar sentiments, except Applejack.

"Oh," Fluttershy looked guilty, "I guess I know what you feel then Twilight," she held up a blue ticket with a wing on it, Rarity smiled guiltily as well.

"Sorry darling, but its something all the former students of the Equestrian University receive, I'm guessing Fluttershy is your plus one," she directed this to Trade Wind who nodded,

"Yes, there will be plenty of opportunities to get a ticket, actually, I believe the Nocturne chief elder prepared something, since you six did help free their Princess, after all, he already knows Rarity got hers," there were sounds of realization at what she meant. Trade took out an envelope and cutting it open, she took out five tickets, handing out four to those who didn't receive one, and the fifth to Spike who held onto it eagerly,

"Wait, if you knew, why did you give me your plus one ticket?" Fluttershy asked, a bit puzzled but Trade shrugged,

"I wasn't sure if they were tickets to the Nightwing Festival or to the next Night Talon performance, he's a bit eccentric," she said this with a roll of her eyes.

"Can I go Twilight? Can I?" Spike looked at his 'sister' with wide eyes, she smiled,

"Sure thing Spike, thanks, Trade Wind," the pegasus waved it off,

"I was just the deliverer, now that Pinkie finished off the third pizza," there were glares sent at the pink pony who smiled innocently back at them, "I should be heading to the cottage now, though there is somepony I've been wanting to see for a while," she cast a glance at Rarity who caught it and smiled.

"Well we better get going then," that was the invitation for everyone else to pay up and leave.

Rarity took Trade Wind with her and they stopped at a building with the picture of a meteor with a smiling face on it, once inside they caught sight of the female griffin manning the counter.

"Hello Reese, sorry about the long wait," Rarity told the brown Griffin with some guilt who waved her off,

"I don't mind, I heard all about the commotion today, and it is a late day here at the daycare, he's right back there, fell asleep after playing with Caramel and Glaze. Hey Carrot, Rarity's here for the little one," an Earth Pony came from the back holding a little colt with a pink coat and a purple with the blonde-streaked mane. Opening his eyes revealed a similar shade of blue to Rarity who cooed as she took him,

"How's my Titanium Rose, Mommy's sorry for being late," she placed him in the carrier Reese handed her and the two trotted back out.

"Does Twilight know about Titan yet?" Rarity scoffed as they went on,

"Of course, I told her after the Nightmare Moon debacle, I'm not ashamed of my little colt, no matter my parents wanted to pass him off as a little brother (just because he has the same coat color as my mother!) I gave birth to him, so I should have a choice how he is raised," she saw the look on her friend's face and calmed down, "I know what you meant, its only been a week after all, yes, everyone in the group knows. But of course I didn't tell them about who the father is, that's going to take a while longer," she sighed sadly.

"I thought Big Mac offered to step in?" Rarity's face turned red and she almost stumbled if it weren't for the pegasus steadying her,

"O-oh yes, h-he did, but I knew how his family would take it, and while the proposal was nice and um, his heart was in the right place. I didn't want him doing that just to make me feel comfortable, its not fair on either of us," Trade Wind saw how flustered she was and smirked,

"So, your saying you have no interest in accepting his proposal now if he did ask?" she teased, making the unicorn turn even redder.

"Why whatever are you saying darling," laughing nervously, the unicorn opened her door and let Trade in who shook her head at the denial.

'Looks like this might take a while' she thought.