Elements of Canterlot

"...Spike?"

"Yes, Twilight?"

"You know that whole 'let's take all our friends to Ponyville' plan?"

"Um...yeah?"

"Did either of us, at any point in that conversation, remember that the chariot needed to take us there was only made to carry two?"

"...No. No we did not."

"Well, good to know."

Twilight's exasperation was not unfounded, as she and Spike, along with the other five mares, were all currently crammed together in that tiny chariot like sardines in a tin. All of them were pressed up so hard against one another that it would not have been out of place for any of their eyes to just pop out of their skulls at this moment. But as difficult a situation as this might have been for them, it was even worse for the pair of pegasus guards who were assigned to actually pull the chariot. They panted and wheezed as they carried this great weight, and after a time it fell to Twilight to light up her horn and try to give a little bit of levitation to the chariot, helping to ease the stallions' burdens somewhat. Thankfully, this ordeal didn't last forever, as Minuette suddenly pointed straight ahead with a wide smile.

"There it is!"

Looking down, the collection of friends saw that she had been right. Ponyville, their destination, was straight down from them. Now, having grown up in a place like Canterlot, a town like Ponyville would, naturally, have appeared small, quaint even. There was a countryside charm to the place at a distance, and as they finally descended closer to the ground, it was a feeling that was strengthened further. As they eventually landed, allowing their pegasus charioteers to finally catch their breath, the six mares and Spike all looked around.

"Looks like a nice place," Moondancer commented.

She wasn't wrong, as everypony here walked about with a smile on their faces. It was the kind of place that looked like everypony knew everypony else here, and it was free from a lot of the hustle and bustle that Canterlot was so famed for. Looking around, Twilight, whose thoughts ever dwelt upon her responsibilities here, let out a sigh. She turned, looking to the aforementioned pegasus guards, giving them a small smile.

"Thank you for bringing us here, Sirs. And...well...sorry for the extra weight."

The stallions, ever professional, stood upright, giving a salute to Celestia's apprentice, before stretching out their wings and giving a flap, sending themselves back up into the skies. Twilight watched them go, seeing them rise higher and higher until, at last, they were out of view completely. Now here in Ponyville, the completionist in her desperately wanted to get this work done, and so she lit up her horn, levitating a parchment out of her saddle-bags. She unrolled it, looking over her list of things that needed doing here, and she spoke them aloud as her friends watched.

"Okay, let's see here. We've got to look over the food for the catering...the decorations...the weather arrangements...the song and music for the ceremony...and then just wait for Celestia to arrive."

Twilight gave Spike the parchment after she'd finished reading it out, which he dutifully took from her. Letting out a long sigh from her journey, Twilight glanced around, thinking on where best to go first.

"According to the information I was given, the family that lives over at the local farm is responsible for providing the food. I think that's a good place to start."

But before she could even take her very first step, she was distracted by a loud gasp from Minuette. Turning, Twilight looked to her with worry.

"What is it?"

The blue mare, looking to her, gave a wide smile.

"Twilight. I've just had the best idea!"

Twilight raised an eyebrow.

"This is either going to be really good or really bad."

Ignoring her, Minuette looked to all of her friends, then let them know the plan that was brewing in her mind.

"Since all of us are here right now, how about we go out and find these party ponies?"

The suggestion took all of them aback, Twilight doubly so, but as they all looked to one another, Minuette's suggestion seemed to take root.

"Huh...that's actually not a bad suggestion," Moondancer considered.

"Many hooves make light work after all," Lemon added.

"It'll certainly help Twilight if she was given less stuff to do," Twinkleshine finished.

Though still stunned at what was being offered, Twilight smiled, speaking to all with a calm tone.

"Thank you all, but it's my responsibility to see these things done. Besides, you all came here for you own reasons, I can't just ask you to do my work for me."

Lyra snorted to that.

"Come on, Twilight! What kinds of friends would we be if we let you do all that checking up stuff yourself?"

Having spent a fair amount of time with them by this point, it was clear to Twilight that nothing she could say to them was going to sweep this notion aside for them any time soon. Looking down to Spike, she saw him give a shrug of his shoulders, leading to another sigh on her part.

"...Alright, if you really want to help me out...then I guess I can spread the load out a bit."

They all smiled at her after that, and Moondancer stepped forward first.

"I can look out for the local weather teams. I'll see if they've got the skies covered for tonight."

Lyra was next.

"I'll scope out this farm family you talked about. Heck, I can probably get a look in at the houses around here while I'm at it."

Lemon Hearts' smile widened.

"I know a thing or two about parties. I've helped sort out a few back at Canterlot, so I can look into whoever's doing the decorations."

Twinkleshine was next.

"I'll keep an eye out for the pony sorting out the music. I'm pretty sure it'll be easy to find them."

Twilight nodded to each of them, thinking on her own role in this.

"I guess that leaves me to check out the place me and Spike were meant to be staying the night. Well, I guess it's the place we're all staying at now."

She frowned at her friends soon afterwards.

"If there's any trouble, don't forget that I'm still here if you need me to come along."

They all nodded, and Twilight watched as they went their separate ways, ready to help her out in her duties. Twilight exhaled deeply, but soon perked up again when she realised that one of her friends was still here.

"Oh, Minuette. I'm sorry, I don't think there's anything left for you, unless you want to come with me and Spike?"

But Minuette, ever smiling, shook her head.

"Thanks for the offer, but I think I'm gonna go and see if I can find my pen-pal. She's gotta be around here somewhere."

Twilight giggled, giving a nod of consent.

"Alright then. Have fun."

Minuette chuckled, then started to happily trot off. Now it was just Twilight and Spike, and they smiled to one another before starting to get on with their own journey through this place.

"Well, at least we have less work now, right?"

Twilight rolled her eyes.

"Yes, Spike, you were right, bringing them along has been helpful."

A smug look came to the younger dragon.

"What can I say, except you're welcome."

Twilight smirked, giving him a playful pat on the head, which Spike, of course, grumbled at. However, as the two carried on, having been through a number of smiles and waves by friendly locals, they soon stopped, looking on with surprise at what now stood before them.

"Wait...is that where we're staying?" Spike asked, amazed.

Twilight nodded.

"Yep, that's the Golden Oak Library."

Spike stepped forward, half-admiring the unusual construction in front of him, but also somewhat taken aback by it.

"That's...that's a tree-house."

Twilight nodded.

"A literal tree-house!" Spike declared.

Again, Twilight nodded.

"Yes, Spike."

Finally, her ward looked back to her.

"These Ponyville types are weird."

Twilight stifled a laugh, and then moved forward, with Spike close behind her. Approaching the library, Twilight lit up her horn, using her magic to open its front door. Once inside, the pair looked around, with Spike soon focusing on a pile of dusty books to the side.

"Huh...looks like nopony's been here in years."

Twilight frowned as she too looked around, staring at the many bookshelves here. Walking over to the middle table of the entrance room, Twilight placed her hoof upon it, trailing a line on the surface before glancing at the dust she'd collected on herself.

"Princess Celestia said that this place was shut down a long time ago. Nopony had any real interest in this library, so..."

She trailed off, taking another moment to look around at the place that would serve as her and Spike's temporary home. After a while, seeing the neglectful state it had been put in for so long, she gave a disapproving shake of her head.

"Such a waste of good books."

Finally closing the door behind them, Spike looked to his friend with curiosity.

"Do you think Moondancer and the others will do okay in looking for the party-planners?"

Twilight shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm not sure. But what I do know is that it gives me time to think of plans in case...things don't go right."

Spike grunted with irritation.

"Don't tell me you're still obsessed over that prophecy thingy?"

Twilight frowned at him.

"I have my responsibilities, Spike. We have to be careful."

Slowly, she turned, looking out of the nearby window. There, up n the pale blue sky, Twilight could see the outline of the moon, which was undoubtedly going to be a full one tonight. After a time, her eyes narrowed.

"For the first time in my life...I actually hope I'm wrong."