Chapters It was a nice summer afternoon. Ponies in Ponyville are droning about, going about their daily activities. The skies blue and clear, with the occasional cloud dotted here and there. Just an ordinary day. A nice summer's day. Quite boring, actually. Nothing out of the ordinary was happening.
Twilight Sparkle was eating a delicious daisy sandwich. As she was eating she was reading a nice book. She then had a quick look around the house. It was very quiet today. She was able to think extremely clearly. She did hear the murmurs of the townsponies outside, but little else was heard.
Nopony was visiting the Ponyville Library that day, except for the odd mule, who seem to appear in various places in Ponyville. Nothing was scheduled for this day. No checklists, no errands, no experiments, and no problems, conflicts, nor conundrums to speak of. There was not even any reason to write a letter to Princess Celestia. Today was an entire day off for the usually workaholic pony.
Which meant only one thing...
"RE-SHELVING DAY!" Twilight said at the top of her lungs.
With very little happening on this day, she took the opportunity to re-organize her library home. Spike was at Canterlot on royal business, and her friends all had a busy schedule. Rarity too went to Canterlot, but to obtain materials available only in Canterlot to fulfil a large order of sorts. Applejack was busy bucking apples as usual. Rainbow Dash went to the Wonderbolts show, Fluttershy went to see the Great Butterfly Migration. And Celestia knows where Pinkie Pie went. This meant she had nothing better to do than to clean up her home.
Dutifully, with her magic, she began to take out books en masse, as they floated around neatly in a large circle around Twilight. She began placing the books that were shelved in the wrong shelf and began placing them in the correct places. Little by little, the books began to be placed in the shelves as Twilight sees fit.
Then, there was a large book Twilight came across. It was called Ancient Obscure Human Mythologies , and was found in the shelf labelled "Modern Magical Sciences". That book didn't belong in that section. Twilight attempted to remove that book from the shelf. However, the book seemed to be stuck in the wall. With her magic, she kept tugging at it. This caused her to lose focus on the rest of the books, dropping them altogether.
"Ugh! This book is as stubborn as a mule!" She said to herself. Suddenly she noticed a mule standing next to her.
"Of all the no-good ponies..." the mule muttered, as he walked out into town.
Mules these days...
Twilight shrugged and continued to take the book out. It would be ridiculous to have a book on mythologies in a Sciences section. The book, however, barely budged. It was like the book was nailed into the bookshelf. She then resorted to using brute force, first by attempting to pull it out with hooves (which only had so much grip ability), then by pulling them out with teeth. The book remained steadfast clung onto the shelf, making a slight "clunk" noise in the process. It was stuck onto the bookshelf.
She then tried to see if she can pull the book out from a different side. She took out the book right adjacent to her. Fortunately this book was not stuck to the shelf. Just as Twilight removed the other book, the first book simply toppled over, revealing a set of hinges and gears behind the oddly-placed book. As the book toppled to its side, the book-case made a small "clunk" noise. Twilight noticed that the entire shelf had detached from the walls, revealing a door. It was just like in her "Scoota Doo" novels.
She opened the door to take a look inside. It was a set of very tiny, cramped, staircase. It was very dusty, as though nopony had entered these stairs before in ages. They weren't as old as the ruins of Old Canterlot, but they were certainly old. She now had to choose between entering the basement and continuing the cleanup of her library.
She made her descent down the stairs.
Twilight made the descent down the cramped set of stairs. Twilight had been living in the tree for a few years, but never noticed that there was a basement floor at all. Let alone a basement accessed by a locking mechanism. The basement, fortunately, was not a long way down. However, it was very dusty and dark. Nopony was in here for a long time. Twilight began to concentrate more on her horn, causing a light bright enough to navigate the room to shine from her horn.
To her surprise, it looked like a large printing office. There were large stacks of newspapers, old typewriters, some old notes left hanging on the wall, and a large machine, which appears to be a printing press. She had an entire newspaper printing room in her house and didn't know about it! It looked like the printing room the Ponyville Elementary School had when they had their Foals' Free Press. Twilight recalls the scandalous stories they once had on their newspapers.
Twilight took a look at one of the newspapers. "The Ponyville Voice". Twilight does not recognize this newspaper group at all. It looked was an old newspaper group which apparently disappeared into obscurity, as far as she was able to tell. This office was something of a relic, and it was directly underneath her house. She looked around and looked at some of the paperwork left on a large desk. By the looks of it, the printing room never had any journalistic activities for quite a few years!
Twilight remembered she still had to clean up her shelves. She'd have to go back to the surface now. She'd have to leave this relic of a room. She simply left the room and ascended up the stairs, as the room slowly got engulfed in darkness once more.
After what felt like an eternity of cleanup, she finally finished reshelving the books. All was orderly in the library once again. There was only the odd visitor, but her reshelving routine went mostly uninterrupted, which got the job done faster than expected. Even then, it took a long time. Twilight felt exhausted, but good nonetheless.
After contemplating a while, as she drank a nice cup of tea, she then remembered that she still had a book to read. More specifically, some newspapers. Perhaps she'd get an even better idea of Ponyville history. Even if her interests lie in magic, reading in general was Twilight Sparkle's idea of a good time.
She trotted over to the mechanical bookshelf, and descended down the stairs with a bug lantern. She trotted to a pile of newspapers. She looked through them briefly, until she found the first story The Ponyville Voice had ever written. It seemed like back then it was referred to as "The Pony Voice", implying the newspaper had been around for longer than Ponyville itself.
She began to read the first headline.
Years in the Past...
At the entrance to the office of "The Pony Voice" was Proper Syntax, a pegasus pony Journalist. He was fairly skinny, had a cream coat, a dark brown mane, and had a Quill Pen for a cutie mark. A major in Pony Journalism, he had just returned from a site where he was sent to write a story.
The owner of the office was a gruff-looking orange unicorn wearing a suit. He had a thick moustache, and had lacked a mane on the top of his head. He was busy with various paperworks, and was also smoking a cigarette.
Proper Syntax, nervously, entered the gruff unicorn's office.
"Hope ya got something good," he said, cigarette still in his mouth.
Nervously, Proper Syntax reached into his saddlebag, and took out a few sheets of paper with writing on them. He presented the paper towards his boss. His boss reads the papers carefully.
The Present...
Twilight Sparkle began to read the first story written by The Ponyville Voice. She took the paper out of the dusty basement, where there is better light. She got herself a nice cup of coffee, and set herself down next to the fireplace (which, despite being in a tree, never really caused much trouble for Twilight Sparkle).
Then, a splatter was heard. Twilight Sparkle sighed in disgust. She only recently cleaned that window, and now somepony just splattered paint all over it. She'd have to go clean it now, otherwise the paint would dry up. She quickly went outside, and hosed-down the splatter of yellow paint. She then took a cloth that was left nearby (Pinkie Pie once said she placed it there in case of cloth emergency) and scrubbed the remaining water and paint off of the window.
She then went back inside, and began to read the old publication.
The Pony Voice
Earth Ponies consider Settling Down in Middle of Wilderness
The Apple Nomads, a nomadic subtribe of Earth Ponies, have begun to settle down in various parts of Equestria. Usually, they settle down close enough to cities to access them with relative ease, but a small family of these Apple Nomads had settled down far from most cities. The closest city, Canterlot, is known to be a mile away...
Twilight stopped there. This newspaper article was getting extremely boring already. It's no wonder the newspaper writers eventually ceased to circulate editorials, she thought. Twilight Sparkle, while drinking a cup of coffee, took the newspaper to the basement. As she set down the coffee on the desk in the basement, she began looking for where the newspaper belonged, and returned the newspaper back to where it was found.
She then exited the basement, and shut the doorway shut. She figured out how to open and close the mechanism successfully. She trotted over to her desk. She was to read a more interesting thing to read. A book on magic. She'd simply just read it. There is, however, one problem.
She left behind her mug of coffee back in the basement.
She went back to the basement. In the darkness, she began looking for the mug of coffee. Only this time she fell down a second set of stairs in the darkness after descending down the first one. Now in complete darkness, she attempted to scan the area. After bumping into something, she flinched. She lit up her horn-light to examine what was there. She simply bumped into a wall. Night vision was never her strong point. She didn't notice this before, but she noticed an eerie and discomforting set of random writings on the wall.
Let me tell you a story of that one time I went to the whistle shop and it blow up not sure why oh look pregnant mare wait she has no husband Frankly she did not want to talk about oh wait why am I blamed for impregnating the mare I didn't do it I saw the mare do things and it was not very good but I saw it I must remember loose lips sink ships my Mother always said oh look a butterfly I like butterflies and oh no critic-critics on my door I better not be so critical I just keep hiding from critic-critics it's okay now they won't get me they won't get me they won't get me they won't get me okay I am bored what do I do now going batshit insane now okay good night.
This was already starting to scare Twilight. Twilight shone her horn-light to a different wall. There were rough strokes neatly organized onto a wall. A series of lines in groups of five, except for the last one, which had only 3 strokes. She counted the lines as 138.
Somepony was in here for 138 days. As she approached the wall to take a closer look, she heard a slight crunch beneath her hooves. She looked down, and to her horror it was a dead pony. By the looks of it, he was a pegasus pony, who perished in here.
A distant, but audible, knock was heard from upstairs. She went back upstairs post-haste, closed the hidden door, and went towards her front door. At the door turns out to be a little pegasus colt. Cream coat, brown mane, quite skinny, and had a feather for a cutie mark. There was also a much taller mare. Also a cream-coated, brown-maned pegasus. Most likely, she was the colt's mother.
"I'm terribly sorry, Miss." she said. "I'm afraid Featherweight here decided to play around with buckets of paint again."
The mother turned to her little son. "Say you're sorry."
"I'm sorry..." said Featherweight.
Twilight let out a sigh.
"I'll let that slide for now," said Twilight. "But don't do it again, alright?"
Featherweight nodded in defeat.
In a house in a different part of town, Featherweight was simply watching the stars. It was night-time. Meanwhile, two colts, a short, fat teal unicorn and a tall, skinny orange unicorn, were tossing pebbles onto Featherweight's window with their magic (they've managed to learn magic). Featherweight popped his head outside the window.
"Hey Snips, hey Snails..." Featherweight said to them, still feeling defeated from getting into trouble.
"Featherweight, wanna try uh, throwing toilet paper onto Sugarcube corner?" said the teal pony (Snips).
"Mmmmhh...I like Sugarcube Corner..." the orange pony (Snails) said, stuck in his little world.
"Sorry guys, I'm grounded," said Featherweight.
"Aw man!" said Snips, in defeat. "C'mon Snails, let's go to Sugarcube Corner!"
"Duhhhuhuh Okay..." said Snails, still very much out of his mind.
Featherweight got back inside to his room, closed his window, and sat himself on a desk. He took out a little pencil, and began scrawling down these words over and over again. This was his punishment for splattering paint on somepony's window.
I will not splatter paint on other people's houses
I will not splatter paint on other people's houses
I will not splatter paint on other people's houses
I will not splatter paint on other people's houses
I will not splatter paint on other people's houses
I will not splatter paint on other people's houses
Years in the Past...
Proper Syntax was heading back to his cottage in town. Today was an especially exhausting day for the pegasus pony. As he put away his work-related belongings, he hovered up to his bedroom, and fell face-flat into the bed, groaning. Today did not go as well as he had planned. His story did not succeed in catching his gruff boss's interest in the slightest. He was surprised he was not fired yet.
At least he was not alone.
Light Weight, a Unicorn mare and also Proper Syntax's wife, walked in. She was skinnier than most ponies, had a brown coat, and a white mane. Her cutie mark was a lightbulb. She walked over to her husband, approaching him carefully.
"Are you alright?"
Proper Syntax simply groaned, muffled by the bed.
"I...have to tell you something..." said Light Weight, feeling a bit worrisome of the news she was about to say.
Proper Syntax slowly un-buried his face from the bed.
"I'm...pregnant..." she said.
Proper Syntax was left speechless. He was, no doubt, quite shocked to hear it. He was not particularly pleased, but not exactly terrified either.
The Present...
About a week had passed since she read the first "The Pony Voice" editorial. She kept herself busy throughout the day. Spike came back from Canterlot, and once again her workload had gone back up. She bought herself some more parchment to create checklist after checklist for each day, each purpose, and each little action.
For the entire week, she wrote an entire stack of reports for the Princess, regarding her other stack of reports for the Princess. Twilight Sparkle, now penning down the last few words of the last report to be done today, was on the verge of collapsing due to overwork. Her assistant Spike was able to make things easy, fortunately. In fact, Spike was exceptionally helpful in the past week, allowing Twilight to have the afternoon off.
"Twilight, since we're done..." said Spike, eager to have a bit of fun, "Can we go have tea at Rarity's?"
Twilight gave some thought to what she'd do. She decided to read "The Ponyville Voice" once more.
"Um...yeah sure..." said Twilight. "You go on ahead first. I gotta read something."
"Alrighty then!" said Spike, eager to see his crush.
Spike went off to Carousel Boutique. Once again, she'd have a chance to visit the old, dusty basement filled with relics. Twilight figured eventually she'd take the liberty of adding some lights to this basement, but due to the mass stack of reports she needed to fill, she was unable to. She might as well begin doing so now.
But first...an editorial...
The first time they actually changed their name to their final name.
The Ponyville Voice
Whistle Shop Robbery stopped by Angry Pregnant Mare
A robbery took place on Wednesday, where a robber, Pick Pocket, had attempted to start a one-pony armed robbery, where a courageous single pregnant mare, who remains anonymous, stopped the robber. Eyewitness reports state that she "was an earth pony who showed no mercy whatsoever with those powerful hind legs. And all in front of that little red colt too. He must be so proud of his mother."
Bankers Send and Receive Money had reportedly said to be terrified. "When the robbers came, I thought this was where I was going to die. The robber was floating his dagger in front of my muzzle! He also kept me bound to my seat with his freaky magic, therefore I couldn't just fly away. We owe our lives to the mare!"
It is then revealed that Pick Pocket was a member of the infamous Butterfly Imp Gang, which has been the only hinderance of harmony in Equestria. Currently, Pick Pocket is sent to the Alcatrotz Penitentiary for further questioning.
"Little red colt..."
Twilight knew of only one red Stallion. Big Macintosh. He was pretty handsome, but never really had any feelings for him. Twilight simply took the newspaper back into the hidden basement. She remembered she was supposed to have tea with Rarity. If schedules permit, Twilight was quick to keep promises.
"Twilight! So good of you to have arrived, darling!" Rarity sing-songed, as Twilight entered the posh Carousel Boutique.
"Glad I could make it." Twilight responded happily. "Sorry I was late, I just got really intrigued by this book, and I kinda lost track of time."
"Oh don't you worry Twilight," Rarity reassured. "As long as you're here. Spike has been keeping me company anyways."
In the background, a lovestruck Spike was waving at Rarity, before entering the kitchen. He came back with some tea. Rarity and Twilight were having their nice cups of tea. After some silence, and some sips of tea later, Rarity began to speak.
"You do know that Fluttershy's dating Big Macintosh, right?" Rarity said.
"Of course." said Twilight.
"Well..." Rarity said, before beckoning Twilight to place her ear close to Rarity's muzzle.
"I heard-" Rarity said.
At that moment, Pinkie Pie popped out from under the table, shocking the two ponies, and disrupting the peace and simplicity the two ponies were enjoying. Pinkie Pie looked at Rarity angrily, and shook her head in a fashion that said "NO."
"...forever..." Pinkie Pie whispered, before creeping back under the table, while snatching a cracker. Pinkie Pie was notorious for appearing out of nowhere.
"Heard what?" Twilight asked.
"Um...nothing..." said Rarity, knowing Pinkie Pie is watching.
She's always watching...
And so, the two continued to have their tea and their small talk. Pinkie Pie eventually joined because she was bored of waiting under the table.
Later that night...
Fluttershy was a meek little pegasus. She was a very bashful little pony, and was an introvert. However she does have a close group of friends, and as Rarity stated, also has a boyfriend. She and Big Macintosh were dating for some time at this point. Fluttershy was heading over to Sweet Apple Acres.
"I hope he understands..." thought Fluttershy.
Outside was not Big Macintosh, but rather simply Applejack, a good friend of Fluttershy.
"Howdy Fluttershy. Watcha doin' out here in the middle-a the night?" she asked, maintaining an honest smile.
"Oh uh...nothing..." Fluttershy said, as she quickly trotted away.
Applejack simply stood there, confused.
"I wonder what the hay that was about..."
Fluttershy would have to find him later. Right now is too soon.
Years in the past...
The boss of "The Ponyville Voice" was the last person to leave the office, or at least would be. He dons his hat, and packs away some of his paperwork and cigarette packs into his saddlebag. By now he was late. Only this time, he'd leave on a more satisfied note.
Hours Prior...
"This story is AMAZING!" the boss said.
He could not believe his eyes. He has never read such an excellent story written by Proper Syntax. He would usually maintain very high standards, but this was truly the best. It was a story that HAD to be released into public eyes, no matter what.
"I want more stories like this. Understood?" the boss waved his hoof at his now accomplished writer in joy. This is the story that would kickstart the newspaper group.
He packed a few more things in his saddlebag. He then left his room, and passed a few desk. He then paused at a picture of Proper Syntax's wife. He remembered that Proper Syntax was a married stallion and his wife is pregnant. It reminded him how lonely he was. Just like that, the euphoria from the day's events quickly faded, and was replaced with a hint of jealousy.
Just then, when he thought he was alone, he heard the front door open. A unicorn mare. She walked towards him with a rather seductive gaze. It was as if on cue he was to meet a mare. No, this was not love. It was flirting. Nonetheless, the boss kept a straight face as she approached him.
"So you must be the owner and distributor of 'the Ponyville Voice' I see..." she said.
"Yeah, and what right do you have to intrude on my establishment?" he replied.
"I am actually an investigator of the Equestrian Secret Police." she said.
"Secret police?" he said with contempt. "Oh, it's you guys always on our flanks, trying to ruin my newspaper."
"All in the name of maintaining harmony." she began. "You see, harmony is not as easy to maintain with the Princess alone. That's why we're here to...keep the peace, so to speak."
She then magically opened the boss's door, and made her way into the office. The boss tried chase after her to stop her.
"Hey hey hey!" he said in a serious tone. "Stay out of my office! I got confidential stuff in there!"
"What are you going to do? Butcher me?" the ESP investigator taunted. "What happened to transparency?"
"Everypony would have my hide on a wall if some of the stuff here gets leaked!" the boss said, more desperate than serious this time.
From the shallow "IN" box on the boss's desk, she lifted out a sheet of paper. It had writing on it. The jig was up. Proper Syntax's finest story. The boss had a worrisome look on his face.
"Fancy Pants with Butterfly Imp tatoo on his back. Discovered by a Papparazi Pony..." she read. "You have to be joking..."
"Listen. Fancy Pants is a fraud!" the boss defended. "If everypony finds out what he did to the-"
And just like that he was cut off. A kiss. The ESP Agent just kissed the scruffy old stallion. He was not a very attractive man. The Agent knew what she was doing. She knew the stallion was still too naive. The stallion was indeed lonely and wanted a mare for himself.
And there she was. Presenting herself to him.
Perhaps he could use a break...
Perhaps this story could wait...
The Present...
Twilight was experimenting something with potions. She gained a number of pointers from her good friend Zecora, and she attempts to use Zecora's knowledge on her own brews. If she could, she could have gone to the Everfree Forest and invite her to her library, but it was pouring outside (courtesy of the pegasi), so she could not.
She was working in a room she don't visit very often, but only so that her experiments would not get all over her regular paperwork for the Princess. A drip of water landed on the tip of her horn. The sensitivity of the horn caused her to flinch, which, in turn, caused a (thankfully empty) flask onto the floor. It did not break, but it rolled underneath the table due to the uneven surface. No wonder she didn't use this room much. It was as if it was on the verge of breaking down. Damn budget cuts.
She looked under the table to find the flask she dropped, but also found a sheet of paper she did not recognize. It looked like something that could be written on a newspaper, but was, for unexplained reasons, scrapped. Her curiosity got the better of her, and she took the paper and began reading it as if it were a newspaper itself.
Or at least she could have until a knock on the door, however barely audible, was heard.
Twilight opened the door. Fluttershy, now soaking wet, was at the door, with her usual bashful attitude.
"Oh I'm sorry Twilight. I'll leave if you want me to." said Fluttershy, panicking a little.
"No no. I don't mind. Come in!" said Twilight, as she let Fluttershy into her library home.
"What a doozy of a storm, isn't it?" Twilight began. "Here, let me get you a towel. There's a fireplace nearby for you to warm yourself at."
"Thanks Twilight." Fluttershy said, at ease. She slowly went over to the enchanted fireplace.
Twilight set aside the paper, and quickly looked for a towel. Meanwhile, Fluttershy was simply curling in front of the enchanted fireplace, despite being soggy from the rain. The warmth of the seemingly impossible fire warmed her. However she was not here to bask in the warm glowing warming glow. Fluttershy had something important to tell Twilight.
Twilight returned to Fluttershy with a large towel hovering next to her with magic. Fluttershy immediately began drying herself with the towel. She then returned the somewhat wet towel to Twilight, and Twilight took the towel away. Before she left the room, Fluttershy let out a barely audible peep.
"W...wait..." said Fluttershy.
Despite being barely audible, Twilight heard the barely audible cry for help. Twilight turned her head towards Fluttershy. The expression Fluttershy had confused and worried Twilight at the same time. Yet she knew what the face said. Fluttershy had something grave to tell to Twilight.
"What is it?" asked Twilight.
"N...nothing..." Fluttershy stammered. It was too horrid of a secret. It was bad enough Rarity knew already.
Besides...just thinking about it...
...it reminds her of things...
...
...
...horrid things...
Years in the Past...
Proper Syntax went into the office for work. If he wasn't coming up with stories, he was busy on the printing press. That's how the boss saves money. Brutally efficient. Brutal, but efficient. Proper Syntax hated the job. He went over to the printing press as usual, and began to mass-produce prints of today's headlines.
Immediately he began to get bored of this job. He just kept placing the paper into the printing press, pulled a lever, and repeat. Proper Syntax began to wonder what it would be like if his boss ordered a Steam-powered press.
"Cheap bastard..." Proper Syntax muttered.
The boringly repeated actions gave him plenty of time to think, but little time to look around. He had a printing deadline to meet. After an hour had passed with this mind-numbingly boring task, and Proper Syntax began to moan in agonizing boredom. He then noticed something under the press. It was somewhat tube-like and rubbery and had a weird liq-
"OH DEAR CELESTIA!" Proper Syntax flinched. He dropped the item in question.
It was a used condom.
Proper Syntax panted heavily. He was fairly squeamish. However he then assessed the situation, and realized he had to get back to work. He took the used condom and placed it in the trash. However, as he reached towards the trash can, his boss walked in. He noticed the used condom on Proper Syntax's hoof, and turned absolutely red with embarrasment and fear.
"Sorry sir. I just found this condom and-" stammered Proper Syntax, unaware that the condom was actually used by his boss.
"Just get back to work," the boss replied, trying very hard to keep his cool, but failing.
Hours later...
Proper Syntax was finally done with his mind-numbingly boring task of printing many newspapers. His hooves began to feel numb from the repeated actions. He just wants to go home with his wife at this point.
Before he did, however, he snuck a newspaper into his saddlebag.
Once he got home, he noticed that his wife was not yet home. There were some leftover Daffodil sandwiches from yesterday. He decided to read the newspaper as he ate the leftovers. He noticed on the paper that his "Fancy Pants Scandal" story was not on the paper.
It could wait.
He also noticed a note underneath the plate. It was a rather wonky-looking hoof-writing. The hoof-writing belonged to her wife. Nonetheless the note was simple:
"Meet me at the dock near the Town Square at midnight. Bring nopony. I got a surprise for you <3."
It was suspiscious, but nonetheless if it was from his wife, it was trustworthy...
...?
The Present...
The weather had cleared up, and Fluttershy had already left. Twilight would now get back to her studies. Once again she would get back to her studies as usual. Once she finished her daily grind, she searched for the old newspaper story she was meaning to read.
Cloud Caper Culprit Caught!
On a photograph.
LAST WEEK, on Hoovember 23, photojournalist Tele Photo, had mistakenly took a photo of what is revealed to be an illegal storm cloud smuggling
CRASH!
A loud crash was heard outside the library, sending vast tremors throughout the town. It was like the time Twilight felt the tremor from the first Sonic Rainboom, only it did not have the mystic qualities she felt as a foal. Twilight hurried outside to see what was happening. Likewise, other ponies too exited their homes to also examine what was going on.
It was a fire in town.
Twilight looked around for the nearest pony to ask what was going on. The only one that was able to stop for long enough for Twilight to ask was Pinkie Pie, who seemed to be completely unaware of the fire that seemed to be engulfing all of Ponyville.
"Pinkie!" Twilight screamed. "What the hay just happened?!"
"Hi Twilight!" Pinkie chirped, still unaware of the fire. "So there's this airship that was about to land, and then it suddenly got hit by something flying, and then there was this huge fire! Hey it's just like the time when I was a little filly!"
So she IS aware of the fire. Just not very scared.
"Pinkie! RUN!" Twilight yelled.
Twilight hurried back inside and quickly placed a sleeping Spike on her back, and quickly ran out. Spike, only now aware of the smoke, suddenly bolted awake, darting his head everywhere.
"Wha-who-where-why-" Spike said hurriedly. "What's going on Twilight?!"
Right before her eyes, a large, nearby tree, was about to fall on Twilight. In a flash, Twilight created a force-field that happened to cover the entire library. Pinkie Pie was still there, half aware of the danger the entire town is. She looked up in the sky, and pointed at the clouds.
"Oooh look!" Pinkie Pie chirped. "It's Rainbow Dash!"
Meanwhile, in the sky, Rainbow Dash and various other pegasi were attempting to fill the sky with clouds. However, due to the recent rainstorm they had to maintain, there were only a few.
"GO! GO! GO!" Rainbow Dash yelled.
Immediately, every pegasi kicked the clouds to release as much of a downpour as they can. Little by little, the fires began to subside. However, the rainclouds disappeared faster than the fire could.
And then came the Earth Ponies and Unicorns.
Each individual earth pony and unicorn carried a bucket of water to clear out the fire as well. From the nearby resevoir of water they had to take a bucket, pass on a bucket to the next pony, and douse out the fire in each individual building. It was a long, and lengthly process, but the job was done nonetheless.
After an arduous clearing of the fire, the fire was cleared. It left one-fifth of the entire town a charred mess. In the middle of the mess was the remains of the airship. Various ponies attempted to see if there were any survivors within the debris.
"Well, that was a thing." said the only survivor, in a rather fancy-pants demeanor.
Although barely recognizeable, it was none other than Fancy Pants, the mayor of Canterlot.
Years in the past...
Proper Syntax went to the rendez-vous at the Ponyville River Dock. The darkness of Luna's Night loomed over all of Ponyville. While the stars and the moon gave some light, it still left plenty of darkness. Only a hoof-full of buildings had any lights turned on. Proper Syntax simply cursed in the darkness, barely able to see.
After navigating through the night (which was surprisingly easy), he finally found the rendezvous he's been meaning to go to. Strangely, nopony was there. All he saw were two crates stacked together, and a vacant boat tied to the pier. Not a soul was found on the boat.
Not even his wife.
Proper Syntax looked at the note again, just to see if he got the right rendezvous. After reading through the piece of paper numerous times to check, he tried to recall if there were any more docks on the Ponyville River. He remembered there was only one dock on the Ponyville River for miles.
Proper Syntax then found a strange insignia scrawled on the side of a crate.
Then, as he examined, he saw something loom behind him. Before he could make out what was there, he felt a pinching feel on the back of his neck which, for some reason, made him feel light-headed.
Proper Syntax blacked out.
The Present...
"Moi?" a dumfounded Rarity asked in surprised disbelief. "You're asking MOI about accomodations?"
"Only for the time being," Fancy Pants responded. "At least until I can contact the mayor."
"Um...of course!" Rarity stammered.
Oh my stars! I must be dreaming! Rarity knew that having connections with Fancy Pants meant big things for her. It's as if the previous run-in with the mayor of Canterlot wasn't enough. Admittedly, she even had something of a crush on Fancy Pants as well.
"Miss Rarity..." asked Fancy Pants, suddenly more solemn and serious. "Are you aware of 'The Ponyville Voice'?"
"I...can't say I have." Rarity responded. "What suddenly brought that up?"
"...never mind." Fancy Pants said.
Rarity went back to work on a dress she had been intending to work on. She was surprised her store was not charred at all. Fancy Pants, meanwhile, were fondly looking at Rarity's works. He saw them before, but this time he was very impressed. A particular dress, one in a shade of lavender, suddenly reminded him of something. Something very important.
"Rarity..." Fancy Pants asked.
"Yes?" Rarity said, eager to continue talking to Fancy Pants.
"Are you by any chance aware of a 'Trixie Lulamoon'?" Fancy Pants asked.
Rarity's face changed to a frown. She remembers the time someone of that particular name ruined her mane.
"I...can't say I have..." Rarity said. This was a lie, but she was able to get away with lies before.
"Very well," Fancy Pants said.
Twilight Sparkle went down into the Newspaper Room once more. She brought a firefly lantern with her this time. Even after the fire, this newspaper room remained intact. She went to the usual pile of newspapers. However, as she magically lifted a newspaper, she found something.
A photo of a unicorn mare and a pegasus stallion, with the mare holding onto a foal.
Uninterested, she simply left the photo there, and took the newspaper back upstairs to read her "latest" editorial.
Fluttershy was gathering up various things for the Great Butterfly Migration. A notepad, a pencil, some dandelion sandwiches, and her new camera. She had saved enough money to buy a good camera, so that she could take photos of the various butterflies that were soon to come. She loved the Great Butterfly Migration. This time, Big Macintosh agreed to come with her. It was a date. Just her, Big Macintosh, and a lot of butterflies. This was the perfect opportunity to spend some time with him.
And even tell him what she had been meaning to tell Big Macintosh.
She mounted the camera in front of her, and placed her other stuff in her saddlebag. She then proceeded to leave the house.
Ever since the great fire that nearly consumed Ponyville, Rainbow Dash had to file in various paperwork, working at home. Just various contracts and similar paperwork. As weather manager she even had to deal with budgeting, to an extent. Unfortunately, Rainbow Dash was terrible at math, so very often she is off by several zero's or something, which meant she gets nagged a lot by the mayor.
Rainbow Dash simply groaned and subsequently head-desked in her room. She then lifted her head, attempting to muster up her concentration. Instead, however, she looked outside her window. Various buildings had been reduced to charcoal. Twilight Sparkle's tree library was still in one piece, thanks to her magic.
Rainbow Dash also saw a large swarm of butterflies flying Northward.She remembered that Fluttershy wanted to go see the Great Butterfly Migration, and the last time Rainbow Dash went with Fluttershy was a drag. Rainbow Dash utterly hated to go there. At least this time Fluttershy had Big Macintosh to be with her the whole migration.
Suddenly Rainbow Dash remembered her paperwork. As much as it kills her to swallow her pride, she realized she needed help. Rainbow Dash wondered how Twilight was able to keep up with HER paperwork, and she deals with them at least once a week.
Speaking of which, she hasn't visited her in a while.
I'll get it done later...
Rainbow Dash went outside, and flew over to Twilight's house.
Just outside Ponyville is a meadow. A sizeable expanse of grassy plains and little else. Only today there was a giant Butterfly Migration happening. Meanwhile, Fluttershy and Big Macintosh were watching the butterflies fly by. Fluttershy was in awe of the Butterflies that flew by. Big Macintosh, on the other hand, while he was not particularly interested in butterflies, he came with her to the migration for her sake.
"Isn't it just wonderfully amazing?" Fluttershy asked.
"Eeyup," replied Big Macintosh. Slowly, he too was enjoying the Butterfly Migration. Big Macintosh looked into Fluttershy's eyes and gave a warm smile. The two then embraced. Neither Fluttershy nor Big Macintosh could have been in any more tranquil than ever. It was the kind of day that Fluttershy could not be happier to have gotten.
But, as all good things, it all had to come to an end.
"Um...Big Mac..." Fluttershy began.
"...eeyup?" Big Macintosh said.
"...I...have to tell you something..." Fluttershy said.
While Big Macintosh said nothing, the facial expression Big Macintosh said that he was all ears.
"...it's not a problem if we spoke later today, right?" Fluttershy said.
"Nope," Big Macintosh replied.
Fluttershy and Big Macintosh were at a table. The room was filled with awkward silence. Not even the animals dared make a sound. By now all the little critters had all gone to sleep due to Luna's Night. Big Macintosh was waiting for Fluttershy to say something. After a while, Fluttershy finally began to say something.
"Well I-" Fluttershy began.
All of a sudden, a knock was heard on the door. Big Macintosh was the one to approach the door. Big Macintosh opened the door, only to be greeted by a powerful sucker-punch to the muzzle, sending him somewhat flying. Considering this was Big Macintosh that was slugged, this was a first for the large stallion.
A large, burly stallion, even larger than Big Macintosh was the first pony seen. However, the pony right behind him was a blue unicorn mare. She had a pale blue mane, and was wearing unusually extravagant "wizard" clothing. It was clear, to Big Macintosh. He heard stories about her from his sister Applejack. It was Trixie.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie thought we had a deal..." Trixie began.
"Deal?" Big Macintosh asked, as he groaned from the pain.
"You NEVER told me that one of the Great and Powerful Trixie's own affiliates would be aboard that ship!" Trixie roared. "We had a deal, you were to tell the Great and Powerful Trixie when the next airship would come, and who would be in it! You're just lucky Fancy Pants is still alive!"
"Fluttershy...what?" Big Macintosh asked, now becoming disillusioned with his own girlfriend.
"Wait...t-that's why you-" was all Fluttershy could muster, before breaking into tears. She had committed murder. Neigh. She committed outright terrorism, and to her own home town too.
"Granted, the Great and Powerful Trixie, thanks to your fairly impressive knowledge of creatures..." Trixie continued. "I now have an even greater force on my side. Though don't get too flattered. You're still inferior to the eyes of the Great and Powerful Trixie..."
Trixie lifted her hat magically, and at that moment, everypony could hear the buzzings of a large swarm of sorts. Fluttershy recognizes this particular buzz.
Parasprites.
Years in the past...
Proper Syntax woke up in a little wooden cell. One moment he was at a dock, with a saddlebag containing a notepad, pen, and camera. Next moment he has none of that stuff, and stuffed into a tiny makeshift "prison cell". Outside his cell he could see a crate. Knocks could be heard from there.
"Is anypony there?" Proper Syntax asked.
"Honey?!" A familiar mare's voice called out. It was Proper's wife.
"Where are we?" Proper Syntax asked.
"I don't know!" she replied.
` "Ah, good," an unfamiliar voice of a mare spoke. "You woke up. I'd like to get started..."
"Who-wha-how..." Proper Syntax attempted to ask, but repeatedly stuttered. "Who are you?"
"Just a policemare, really..." the mare responded. "Although 'undercover police' if you want to be specific..."
"Then why are we here?" Mrs Syntax asked. "Shouldn't the job of the Equestrian Police be maintaining harmony?"
"That's why we're here..." the mare replied. "Mr Syntax..."
An eye peered inside a peep-hole into Proper Syntax's crate-prison. Proper Syntax backed away slightly, flinching from the sudden appearance of a giant eye suddenly peering inside the crate. It was discomforting to say the least.
"It was hard tracking you down," The Policemare said. "But thanks to an...anonymous tip...everything else was a matter of presentation..."
The mare backed away from the crate, as she lifted a coffee mug. Proper Syntax could hear the faint hum of magic as she lifted the cup. It was a unicorn, no doubt. Just like Syntax's wife.
"What do you want?" Proper Syntax asked.
"I'm glad you asked..." the unnamed Policemare replied.
The Present...
A day had passed since the destructive fire consumed around 20% of the town. Relief aid ponies had recently arrived at Ponyville to help reconstruct some of the burnt houses. As a result, there were a lot of noise that occurred. The noise of magic drills, saws, and various other doo-dads of construction filled the streets.
Except at night...
Most ponies were asleep by this night of the hour. At the Carousel Boutique, however, the lights were still turned on, indicating activity. Rarity was working on another design for another client. For the entire time that Fancy Pants stayed at the Boutique, he had no luck contacting the mayor. Because the trains were still functioning, he could easily ride back to Canterlot. He said his goodbyes and thanks and headed out.
Before he left for Canterlot, however, he had business to attend to...
Twilight had finished a later rendition of The Ponyville Voice . She carefully examined the writer's literary abilities, while examining the prose, while simultaneously checking if the writer stuck to his/her point in a formal fashion. However, doing all of that, Twilight came to a compelling revelation.
"No wonder this group died out..." Twilight said. "These stories are so terribly written!"
Twilight threw out the copy of The Ponyville Voice into a nearby trash bin.
Instead, she took out a dusty old tome. It was one of her favourite books. Something written by a GOOD author. However, ever since moving to Ponyville, she never had a chance to read it again.
Meanwhile, Spike took the newspaper out of the bin, and rolled it up. He then swung it around like a sword, making playfully childish noises as he pretended to be a powerful dragon warrior. Instead, he made himself look utterly stupid in front of Twilight Sparkle. Suddenly he noticed that Twilight was opening a book that she had not opened in a while.
Spike sat next to Twilight, as she began opening the book. It released a vast gust of dust. Spike was about to sneeze again. Immediately, Spike grabbed the nearest junk paper lying around to sneeze on. He took the roll of newspaper, quickly unfurled it, and let out a mighty dragon sneeze of fire, which simultaneously sent the ashes flying towards Celestia's castle.
"Spike what have you done?!" Twilight said.
"I-I-I-I'm sorry! I was about to sneeze...a-a-and that was the closest thing and-" Spike hurriedly said.
"Ugh." Twilight face-hoofed, then let out a sigh. ''This. CAN'T. BE. GOOD."
"What was that anyways?" Spike asked.
The Canterlot Palace, the capitol of Equestria, was where the ruler of ponykind resides: Princess Celestia. The city inspires awe to all who can see it. It was a symbol of prosperity that lasted over a thousand years. It can be assumed that Celestia is the Goddess of the land. As such, nopony would question her prosperous rule.
Celestia finished reading a recent letter from Twilight Sparkle. She took note of what Twilight Sparkle had learned of. She then filed away Twilight's letter in a shelf near the back of her bedroom/study. Another lesson was learned. Princess Celestia could not have been prouder of her prized pupil.
Another letter was sent soon after. Celestia read the letter, only to realize it's not really a letter.
"Fluttershy..." Big Macintosh began.
Big Macintosh was sitting on some meadows on the outskirts of Ponyville at night (the same place the Butterfly Migration was seen). Next to the large red stallion was Fluttershy, who had a devastated look to her face.
"I'm so sorry," Fluttershy said. "I didn't want you to know it."
Fluttershy looked straight at Big Macintosh, barely holding back tears.
"I-I couldn't save myself," she said. "They...did things to me..."
Fluttershy collapsed into tears, embracing Big Macintosh. At this point she was crying louder she could scream. She had never felt this sad since she thought she saw a phoenix die in front of her eyes. The two had recently made a run for the hills after being chased by the Parasprite Swarm Trixie had.
"Where are you?!" Trixie said from a great distance. "I WILL DESTROY YOU!"
Big Macintosh carried Fluttershy away to a safe place. One which Trixie would not be expected to look inside. Big Macintosh knew that this was the perfect place to hide her beloved mare.
A doorbell was rung.
"Hello?" a familiar voice called. The door was opened to reveal an marshmallow-alabaster unicorn pony with a curly violet mane. Rarity.
"Oh hello Big Mac." Rarity said. "Hello Fluttershy. This is a pleasant surprise."
"Eeyup" Big Macintosh said.
"Are you here to pick up anything?" Rarity said. "I'm afraid I don't have anything for stallions at the moment."
"Nope." Big Macintosh replied. Simple as usual.
"Well, I guess there's no harm in having some visitors for the time being." Rarity said, as she returned to her work station.
A fancy-looking Stallion in the background, after magically lowering his cup of tea, noticed the incoming visitors. He had a friendly smile to his face. Fluttershy recognizes him. Fancy Pants
"Aren't you the young filly who accompanied Rarity?" Fancy Pants asked.
"umm...yes..." Fluttershy stammered.
"Ah yes. And you are?" Fancy Pants asked, his attention shifting towards Big Macintosh.
"Big Macintosh," he replied simply. Big Macintosh immediately saw suspicion in Fancy Pants, but chose not to act on it.
"Well, yes. Right then," Fancy Pants said.
The door was slammed open once more. This time the faint buzzing noise of parasprites accompanied it. At the door was Trixie, looking as though she was in a fight, followed by a roll in the dust.
"THERE YOU ARE!" Trixie said. "We still have some unfinished-"
And at that moment, Trixie noticed Fancy Pants. Anger quickly shifted into fear. Meanwhile, Fancy Pants lost his friendly smile, but kept enough composure to seem approachable enough.
"Trixie, my dear," Fancy Pants began. "Let us talk in private..."