To The Heart Through the Stomach

Oh, how she hated Ponyville. To Nidra this “backwater hick town” was everything Canterlot was not. Most of Canterlot’s citizens were dressed in high elegance while Ponyville’s citizens trotted in nothing but their fur and in some cases their scales and feathers. Most areas in Canterlot were cleaned spotless and their parks properly trimmed while Ponyville seemed to have dirt and mud on every corner. Despite these differences Nidra came to Ponyville once a week to escape the responsibilities of being a princess. Though she enjoyed being princess, she tried to avoid the responsibilities that came with that role any which way she could. In the view of Equestria’s first bat pony alicorn, responsibility was for “lowly subjects and peasants.” Nidra loved her mother Princess Luna and father Supernova dearly, but getting the sixteen-year-old mare to understand that being a princess was more than just lavish parties and being served by hundreds of butlers and maids was an uphill battle for both her parents, her mother especially. Sometimes Nidra would abuse her title to get what she wanted and even though her alicorn magic wasn’t as strong as her mother’s or her Auntie Celestia’s, Nidra would often use her ability to put ponies to sleep for the wrong reasons. One incident involved her causing a deep sleep to fall upon the son of an Equestrian noble during the middle of a state dinner as revenge for rebuffing her romantic advances. For added measure Nidra caused him to have devastating nightmares for an entire month. Such an action caused Nidra to be grounded for a month herself.

Whenever Nidra visited Ponyville she would disguise herself as a Pegasus mare named Jet Stream. She would go to her cousin Prince Illusion for help with donning such a disguise due to the fact that Illusion possessed the same chaotic powers his father Discord had. Illusion himself had a special disguise whenever he was out in public. An earth pony named Coal. Early that day Nidra in her Jet Stream disguise was on her way to Ponyville by train. Accompanying her was Illusion in his Coal disguise and Prince Valiant Heart. Valiant, called Lance by his friends was the son of Princess Cadence and Shining Armor and the younger brother of Princess Flurry Heart. He was also Equestria’s first male alicorn. Unlike Nidra, Valiant never backed away from the responsibilities that came with being part of the royal family of The Chrystal Empire. As a member of Equestria’s Royal Guard, he along with his father and Uncle Flash Sentry served as the inspiration for his cousin Starburst wanting to be in the Royal Guard. Valiant also did not share the negative views that Nidra had of the citizens of Ponyville. This was evident in his romance with Sweet Apple Acres’ sole cherry harvester Red June. Like Nidra and Illusion Valiant also had a disguise for public appearances: a unicorn named Awestruck. That was the disguise that Valiant had with help from Illusion on the train to Ponyville. After about an hour the three young royals in their disguises finally arrived at the Ponyville Train Station. “Are you sure you wanna come down here today, Nidra?” asked Illusion as they all got off the train.

“The citizens in this town are filthy and lousy,” said Nidra. “But I had to find some way to avoid that boring tea party mother was having with the Duchess of Maretonia.”

“You don’t seem to have a problem with Turquoise though,” said Valiant.

It was true. The one good thing Nidra could take away from Ponyville was the younger son of Rarity and Spike the dragon. At age sixteen Turquoise Blitz was taller than most adult stallions and was quite the gentlecolt. He and Nidra had a lot of in common. For one thing they were both of mixed species. Turquoise inheriting most of his father’s dragon genes while Nidra inherited her father Supernova’s bat wings and bat-like abilities. Both Nidra and Turquoise were quite lonely. Turquoise was insecure of having more dragon features than pony features so he isolated himself from most ponies. Nidra’s bratty personality pushed away most ponies and she never had real friends. The few friends that she did have in Canterlot only associated with her because she was royalty, not because they necessarily liked her. Also because of her attitude she was never invited to parties. Nidra had her eyes for a lot of handsome royals but it was Turquoise that seemingly stole her heart. “T is different,” Nidra said after a slight pause. “For one thing his mother is the top fashion designer in all of Equestria and he knows how to treat a lady.”

“Give it up, Nidra,” said Illusion. “Turquoise already has a girlfriend.” Oh, yes. That was the one obstacle between Nidra and Turquoise. Anthea was the adopted daughter of Fluttershy and was in a romantic relationship with Turquoise for nearly two years. Anthea was the exact opposite of Nidra. Anthea was kind, humble, patient and friendly to everycreature. Kindness was something the unicorn mare seemed to have picked up in high supply from her adopted mother. The areas where Anthea seemed to differ from Fluttershy was assertiveness, bravery and the ability to speak her mind. She was also very skilled in magic which caught the attention of Princess Twilight. Twilight took Anthea under her wing, figuratively and literally, helping Anthea to enhance her magical abilities. Not only did Nidra resent the fact that Turquoise prized Anthea above every mare but Nidra was also resentful that Anthea seemed to be perfect in almost everything she did. “I’m well aware that Anthea is the only mare for T,” said Nidra. “But who’s to say that they’re not only dating because Turquoise feels sorry for her?”

“If that’s the case then you could also say that Annie’s only dating Turquoise because she feels sorry for him,” said Valiant. “Their relationship involves more than just Annie’s blindness and Turquoise having more dragon features than pony features, Nidra. There’s a mutual respect for each other and Annie never judged him for who he is.”

“I never judged him either.”

“That’s because your dad’s a batpony, so of course you and T could relate to the whole mixed genes thing,” said Illusion. “But Annie’s the first filly outside of T’s family who really accepted him for who he was.”

“I don’t get it,” said Nidra, her tone slowly saturating with anger. “A unicorn filly puts a manticore to sleep and she thinks she’s entitled to all the best in Equestria?”

“Says the filly who threw a big tantrum because a maid gave her cocoa that was too hot,” said Illusion snidely.

“Shut up!” snapped Nidra.

***

Api, Echo and Pixel trotted through the streets of Ponyville making their way towards Sugarcube Corner. Each filly had a small cart strapped to their flanks. In each cart were about twelve flat boxes of fresh quiche squares. The fillies finally arrived at one of the happiest places in Ponyville and started to offload the goods on a pre-prepared stand. “It was nice of Mr. and Mrs. Cake to lend us one of their refrigerators,” said Pixel.

“Yeah, I can’t wait for the folks of Ponyville to sink their teeth into one of these,” said Api with an excited grin. “Who knows? We might get our cutiemarks in selling quiche squares.”

“I wonder how that would look like?” said Echo.

“Pixel and I are gonna head back to Sweet Apple Acres to get the other quiche squares, Echo. Make sure you put these in the refrigerator and plug the fridge,” said Api as she and Pixel started to walk away with their carts in tow. Echo did everything she was told. She loaded every box into the unplugged refrigerator and trotted over to the plug. There was an extension plug that was connected to the inside of Sugarcube Corner giving much needed electricity to the outside. A small microwave was already plugged to the extension. The last thing that needed to be plugged was the refrigerator that was located behind Sugarcube Corner. Echo picked up the refrigerator’s plug with her mouth and walked towards the extension. She was inches away from the extension’s plug when she heard hoof steps heading towards her. She looked up and what she saw caused her jaw to slacken and the refrigerator’s plug to fall from her mouth. Walking past her was Quickstep all alone and dressed in a blue sweat top. She couldn’t believe it. From what Echo heard Quickstep actually lived thirty minutes from Ponyville Elementary. What brought him to the heart of Ponyville? One good explanation was that it was Summer Break. Either way, Echo was more caught up with the fact that her crush was now more or less in close proximity to her. It was time to take Api’s advice to the next level. Echo would never have this chance ever again.

Quickstep was at one of the vegetable stalls in the area ready to purchase a few veggies. After paying for his products he started to trot away from the stall. Immediately Echo ran as fast as her little hooves could take her running around evercreature that stood in her way. She was a few feet away from Quickstep when she yelled out “Quickstep! Quickstep!” Suddenly Echo stopped running and froze mentally scolding herself. In her mind she had shouted too loud and attracted unwanted attention from the nearby citizens. She looked to her left and to her right. The patrons seemed to be going about their daily business like normal and not one looked into her direction. When she turned her attention to Quickstep, he was different. He was looking at her direction. His bright, blue eyes seemed to pierce her heart and rendered her speechless, literally. Echo tried to lift her tongue to speak but she felt her tongue heavy. She took slow steps towards the earth pony colt. She now stood inches away from Quickstep. “Hi,” she finally said in a soft spoken voice.

“Hi,” Quickstep responded. There was then another moment of silence. The beauty Echo saw in Quickstep’s face seemed to be unbearable and uncontainable. She turned away blushing. “Sweet Princesses!” Echo thought. “He’s even cuter up close.” There was another pressing matter. She had to say something else to keep the conversation going or else Quickstep might walk away thinking she was a weirdo. She felt her tongue heavy once again. She tried to fight the heaviness of her tongue but it was a losing battle. “Hey,” she heard Quickstep said trotting right up to her. She then turned back to face him and found herself staring right into his hypnotic eyes. “You’re Echo, right?” said Quickstep.

“Uh, yeah,” said Echo surprised that he actually said her name. “How did you know?”

“Your cousin Whirlwind’s a Wonderbolt,” said Quickstep. “She’s hot.”

“But of course,” Echo thought silently to herself. “He only knows me because of my cousin. He’s just an earth pony version of Icy.”

“And I heard about your group The Cutiemark Crusaders,” said Quickstep. Quickstep’s second response gave Echo a sense of reassurance that her cousin Whirlwind would not be her only claim to fame. “Yeah,” Echo said. “Me and my friends just love trying to find out what our special talents would be. That’s what our moms used to do.”

“That’s pretty cool,” said Quickstep. “I’ve been trying so hard to get my cutiemark. I always thought I’d get my cutiemark in some kind of sport.”

“You’re really into sports, huh?”

“It runs in the family. My mom’s a personal trainer and my dad’s a mixed martial arts fighter. Their cutiemarks show that. I should’ve gotten mines by now.”

“…Don’t give up,” Echo said with a slight pause. “My mom thought that she would never get hers and it’s a pretty cool looking cutiemark. I’m sure yours would be just as cool.”

“Thanks,” Quickstep said with a smile. Echo suddenly became enamored by his smile which to her was more enticing than his eyes. As a result Echo let out a chuckle barely containing her blush. “So,” Echo began after composing herself “what brings you to Ponyville?”

“Just buying some stuff for my mom for dinner,” said Quickstep. “Healthy eating is really important to her and that’s why I’m buying mostly vegetables.”

“Well, why are you shopping by yourself. Don’t you have any grownups with you?”

“I live a few blocks down so my parents don’t have a problem with me running errands on my own.”

“Oh, you live a few blocks down? That explains everything.”

“You know, between you, Pixel Bit and Api, I didn’t take you for a talker.” Echo seemed taken aback over the fact that Quickstep was now talking about her specifically. “I always wanted to talk to you, but some of my friends thought you might be stuck up and I guess I kinda believed it,” said Quickstep. The revelation that her crush was actively seeking her seemed to hit Echo like a tidal wave. Internally, Echo was squealing as if there was no tomorrow. “You wanted to talk to me?” Echo said, her voice slightly trembling.

“Yeah, I think you’re pretty,” said Quickstep.

Echo felt her legs become weak. If she had a mirror it would reveal a big, bright blush all over her face. “Wow!” she thought out loud turning away her face with a smile. “You sure know how to embarrass a girl.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to,” said Quickstep approaching closer.

“No, it’s okay,” said Echo facing the colt once again. “Because I thought you were cute.”

“Whoa, now you’re embarrassing me,” said Quickstep with a slight blush.

“A lot of fillies think you’re cute.”

“Well if that’s true, no filly ever said that to my face,” said Quickstep. There was then a moment of silence between colt and filly as they were now looking away at each other. “Anyway,” said Quickstep breaking the silence and facing Echo “if you’re not too busy, I know this place by the lake. Maybe we could both go down there and we could get to know each other better.”

Echo’s eyes widened. She tried to process what had just entered her ears. The colt of her dreams was more or less asking her on a date. Her mind then went through a rationalization. “It’s not a date,” she thought. “You two barely even know each other.” She knew that she may never have the opportunity to be in close proximity with Quickstep again. However, she remembered that she was tasked by Api to help with freshly baked goods. “I’d love to,” said Echo to Quickstep. She then let out a sad sigh. “But I’m helping my friends sell some stuff. So, I’m not sure if I’ll have the time.”

“Oh,” said Quickstep with a look of disappointment.

“Yeah, maybe me and my friends will get our cutiemarks in selling,” said Echo.

“Well, good luck with that. It was nice meeting you, Echo.”

“Yeah…, you too, Quickstep.”

Echo watched as Quickstep walked away with his saddled bags in tow, disappearing into the crowd of adults. Mentally, she scolded herself for deliberately rejecting Quickstep’s offer to go at the lake. That lake was more or less in a remote area. It was perfect for someone who wanted to spend a quiet evening with their special someone. “Way to go, Echo,” she thought to herself. “You totally blew it.” She started to make her way back to her friends’ stand when she suddenly stopped. She had the feeling that was forgetting something. She then shook off the feeling turning her focus back to the stall.

***

Cotton Candy and Anthea made their way towards Carousel Boutique, each filly brimming with excitement. It was the first day of Summer Break and the daughter of Pinky Pie was determined to start the long summer with a bang. Cotton Candy wanted to have a huge party with all of her schoolmates along with her close knit group of friends. Starburst, Prism Bolt and Anthea were already on board. Gold Delicious was unavailable due to his catering duties at Crème de la Crème’s gala. The only ones who may have an opening in their schedule were Claire and Turquoise, the half pony, half dragon children of Rarity and Spike. “We’re here, Annie,” said the earth pony filly. Though Mrs. Rarity now had several different boutiques opened in several major cities across Equestria, Carousel Boutique was the branch that was her one and only home. Over the years it had been renovated into a larger structure to accommodate its two largest residents: Rarity’s husband and her son. “Don’t you think she’d rather focus on work instead partying, Candy?” asked Anthea.

“You know the old saying, Annie,” said Cotton Candy. “‘All work and no play make Jack a dull boy.’”

“Her name isn’t Jack, Candy,” said the young unicorn mare. “It’s Claire.”

Cotton Candy knocked on the door and waited. Anthea, being blind, waited to hear a response at the door. After few moments the door opened revealing the freckled face of Claire Rarity, called Claire by her friends. While Claire had significant dragon traits like her brother, she also possessed two horns. It was a pony trait she inherited from her unicorn mother. Claire’s two horns enabled her to levitate objects, generate light to see in the dark and breathe fire. Her magic was not so strong but it did enable her to generate fire to mold beautiful jewelry. Rarity took notice of this and when Claire turned 21 Rarity added an extension to the Ponyville branch of Carousel Boutique to help Claire sell her one of a kind jewelry. Eventually Claire opened up her own jewelry store called Hearthfire Jewelry. Claire’s fire breathing abilities also enabled her to get back at Prism Bolt whenever he pranked her. One time the son of Wonderbolts Rainbow Dash and Soarin’ Skies pulled a distasteful prank on Claire and she got back at him by burning a off a good chunk of his mane and tail. It was such incidents coupled with her long work schedules which made Cotton Candy obligated to help Claire take a load off. “Oh, hi Cotton Candy, Annie,” said Claire. “What can I do for you today?”

“Come on, Claire. You know what time it is,” said Cotton Candy. “It’s Summer Break!”

“Cotton Candy, I’m twenty-two years old,” said Claire with a look of sorrow. “You know I don’t go on Summer Break. I mean my vacation isn’t until three months from now.”

“Come on, Claire,” said Annie. “We really wanted you at our Summer Break party. Del’s already not available.”

“I really wish I could, girls. But I have to help mom show off a new fashion line to Photo Finish.”

Cotton Candy’s eyes widened at the mention of Photo Finish. “Photo Finish?” said Candy grabbing Claire by both shoulders. “The most famous fashion photographer in Equestria? That Photo Finish?”

“Uh…Yeah,” said Claire with a hint of surprise at the grey earth pony’s sudden outburst of excitement. “She’s inside right now seeing what mom has on display. Turquoise is helping out too.”

Suddenly Cotton Candy sped right past Claire and into Carousel Boutique. Anthea who was staying close to Candy started to hyperventilate. She often needed to feel the presence of another pony in order to move about due to her limited eye sight. If she felt no one she would lose direction and get nervous. This was evident when she no longer felt Cotton Candy’s presence. “Candy?” said Anthea with panic in her voice. “Candy? Where are you?”

“It’s okay, Annie,” said Claire reassuringly. “I’m right here.” Claire’s horns generated a magical aura which engulfed Anthea’s body and levitate her off the ground and into the Boutique. Claire set Anthea gently on the floor and closed the door behind her. “Thanks,” said Anthea with a sigh of relief. Slowly both Anthea and Claire made their way to Rarity’s workroom. “I could remember mom telling me about Photo Finish,” said Anthea. “She once hired mom to be a model but mom quit when she couldn’t deal with all the attention she was getting. What brings Photo Finish back here anyway?”

“Well, since mom’s fashion lines are more famous all over Equestria, Photo Finish decided to give mom a second look,” said Claire. “Plus, Photo Finish is looking for a teen mare for a photo shoot too.” Annie and Claire arrived in the all too familiar workroom where a white mare with a deep blue mane was busy trying to impress another mare with light blue fur, a snow-white mane and wearing large, purple sunglasses and a long black dress with white stripes. Standing a few feet away was Turquoise who looked on while Cotton Candy jumped around the lady with sunglasses, squealing and babbling incoherently. “Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!” squealed Cotton Candy. “This is such an honor, Mrs. Photo Finish. I’ve read all of your magazines.” Photo Finish meanwhile seemed too engrossed by the dresses that Rarity was showing off to pay any attention to Cotton Candy. Turquoise then rushed over to Cotton Candy. “Candy please,” he said. “She’s kinda in the middle of something.” Turquoise then led Cotton Candy over to the spot where he was standing and they looked on as Rarity tried to impress the famous fashion photographer.

“What do you think of this, Mrs. Finish?” said Rarity showing off a long, deep red dress.

“Oh, it iz much too long,” said Photo Finish in a thick, Germane accent with her nose upturned.

“How about this?” said Rarity showing her a shorter deep, blue dress.

“Rarity,” began Photo Finish in an exasperated tone “Dis photo shoot iz meant to illustrate summer. It iz a time of beaches, fun in ze park und enjoying Celestia’s sun. Dis dress iz an absolute contradiction!”

“Oh please forgive me, Mrs. Photo Finish.”

“Have you no apparel zat most youths of today dress in?”

“Well, most of the clothing girls wear today are quite tight and look uncomfortable. I thought young ladies might want clothing that is more accommodating.”

“Honestly, Rarity, I don’t understand how you have so many boutiques across Equestria vhen you don’t observe and appreciate current trends. Ze secret to my magazine’s success all of zese years iz zat we were always up-to-date on vhat ponies were currently wearing. You on ze other hoof, seemed to be trapped during ze years of Luna’s banishment!”

“Hey, cut mom some slack,” said Turquoise with a stern face. “At least she’s trying to be creative.”

“Child, if you have worked in ze fashion business as long as I have you would know zat trying to do something different iz ze death of your career,” said Photo Finish glancing over to the pony/dragon hybrid.

“Geez, mom told me that Photo Finish was a bit full of herself,” whispered Anthea to Claire. “It doesn’t sound like she mellowed since the last time they met.”

Suddenly Photo Finish glanced over to the female pony/dragon hybrid and the unicorn mare. “Sube Prinzessinnen!” she exclaimed in her Germane tongue. She then rushed over to Anthea and started circling her, examining the blind pony from head to toe. Anthea meanwhile sensed the photographer’s presence and gradually became uncomfortable. “Uh, Claire, did I do something wrong? Because this lady won’t stop staring at me,” said Anthea.

“Zat fur. Zat mane,” said Photo Finish finally facing Anthea. “Your appearance falls in line with Summer in every vay! And those eyes. I do not believe I have seen such lovely eyes.”

“You think my eyes are lovely?” said Anthea with a slight blush.

“But of course, my dear,” said Photo Finish. “You have the eyes that vill draw so many young stallions towards you.”

Claire’s eyes widened with Photo Finish’s last statement. Claire then looked over to her younger brother who stared daggers at Photo Finish. It was clear that he did not like the idea that Photo Finish wanted Anthea to win the affection of other stallions. Cotton Candy meanwhile placed both of her fore hooves to her mouth trying to suppress a squeal. “Well, the reason my eyes may look like that is because I’m blind and these eyes already drew one stallion towards me,” said Anthea.

“Vait, you are blind?” said Photo Finish drawing closer to the young unicorn with a surprised look.

“Well, yes. But my magic helps me see blotches of color. I mean, even though I can’t exactly see your face, I could tell that you have light blue fur and a white mane.”

“Amazing,” said Photo Finish rubbing her chin with her hoof. She then placed both of her fore hooves on Anthea’s shoulder. “You, dear child, are perfect!” she said.

“Excuse me?” said Anthea in bewilderment with her eyes not quite meeting the fashion photographer’s.

“Your face shall be ze symbol my summer theme,” said Photo Finish wrapping one hoof around Anthea’s shoulder and slowly guiding her across the room. “You have a demeanor zat simply radiates innocence and ze fact zat you’re blind shall be an inspiration for all creatures with disabilities.”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Photo Finish. I still don’t follow.”

“I vant you to be part of my photo shoot for dis year’s summer theme!”

Anthea was suddenly perplexed by the fashion photographer’s words. She always thought there was more to life than being the adopted daughter of the Element of Kindness, the girlfriend of the second pony/dragon hybrid born in Equestria and Princess Twilight’s magical protégé. It would be refreshing to do something different for a change. Then she remembered Fluttershy’s account of how negative her experience as a model was under Photo Finish’s guidance. “I’d really love to, Mrs. Photo Finish,” said Anthea. “But I’m not sure that I want a long career as a model.”

“Vhat I offer iz not a long career, child,” said Photo Finish. “Dis iz an annual photo shoot and over ze years different mares and stallions your age have answered ze call to remind ze young generation how vonderful summer iz. Some have used zat experience to pursue a full-fledged modeling career. But most have moved on with a sense of accomplishment zat they have told their peers how to enjoy summer.”

“Come on, Annie,” said Cotton Candy prodding the blind unicorn. “It’s only a temporary thing.”

Anthea bowed her head deep in thought. Opportunities such as the one Photo Finish was offering were few and in between. She then let out a sigh and a smile appeared on her face. “I’ll do it,” said Anthea.

“Excellent!” said Photo Finish standing on her hind hooves with her fore hooves outstretched in victory. She then grabbed Anthea by a shoulder. “Come, child. Let us make ze magics!” said the fashion photographer. “Rarity, I trust zat you can come up vith a new mare’s attire in a short space of time, correct?”

“I’m fairly certain I could,” said Rarity with a hint of apprehension in her voice.

“Good!” said Photo Finish. “Remember, ze finished product must reflect a youthful energy or it is no good!”

“Will do.”

“Now, Miss…uh. Vhat is your name again?”

“Anthea,” said the young unicorn mare.

“Anthea. Lovely name,” said Photo Finish. “We go!”

Rarity and her children looked quite dumbfounded. Cotton Candy was simply beaming with excitement. “Are you sure you can make new dresses for this thing, Mom?” said Claire. “Photo Finish sounds as if she’s in a bit of a hurry.”

“I have three of the best sewers living a few blocks away,” said Rarity. “They would be more than happy to assist.”

“I don’t believe it!” said Cotton Candy excitedly. “Annie is gonna do a photo shoot with Photo Finish. The Photo Finish!”

“I’m not sure she’s ready to handle the attention she’ll get from this thing,” said Turquoise.

“Aw, are you afraid that all the colts will start drooling over your fillylfriend?” pouted Cotton Candy.

“No!” said Turquoise displaying a flustered demeanor.

“Sure you aren’t.” responded Claire sarcastically.

“I’m just saying that if Mrs. Fluttershy’s experience as a model was bad, what makes you think that Annie’s experience will be any better?” said Turquoise.

“Photo Finish doesn’t want to make Anthea a full-fledged model, darling,” said Rarity. “It’s only a temporary thing. And as for the attention that’s sure to come, Anthea has proven time and time again that she could hold her own before large crowds.”

“I guess you can thank Amber Lily for that,” interjected Cotton Candy.

“Do you think we should tell Mrs. Fluttershy, Mom?” said Turquoise.

“It’s best that she be kept in the dark about this,” Rarity responded with a slight pause. “We shouldn’t let anything ruin this once in a lifetime opportunity for her child.”

“You’re not gonna be jealous by any chance, are you?” asked Turquoise turning to his older sister.

“Do I look like mom to you?” said Claire snidely. Rarity in response glared at her daughter.