Chapters The days had dragged on in Equestria, lethargic though they were after Discords defeat. Canterlot though it seemed just as wondrous as it always was, had fallen into a slump. It residents were distraught without a natural disaster or an evil enemy plotting to overthrow the world order. Even the economy had suffered as a result, Normally buildings and shops were in constant need of repair, but now they stood strong, well crafted, and only needed minor maintenance from time to time. The only positive part of this was that the celestial sisters had decided, in their wisdom, to postpone winter weathers until the ponies of their realm were financially ready for it.
Cloudsdale however had been appalled at their decision, as it was their workers and citizens who kept the skies clear and the winds warm. And now more than ever they had their hands full with that job, at some points the rainbow falls had nearly ceased to flow. Even Rainbow Dash had been forced to abandon her naptime in the afternoons. Fluttershy had even been roused from her earthy talents to assist with keeping the skies clear.
And with everyone in an economic upheaval, the apple family found itself besieged with the work that went into keeping their farm running, even going as far as to recruit what few ponies were left with spare time to keep the food flowing to the hungry citizens of ponyville.
Pinkie had of course eagerly agreed, stating that it was “Like a bunch of party balloons falling!” when she bucked the apples. And the approaching Zap apple season wasn’t helping Granny Smiths conditions. In the years since Discords defeat she had fallen into a more permanent state of amnesia brought on by her mild case of Alzheimer’s. Leaving the only pony she had ever been comfortable with making the jam with to try and recall the spastic sessions she had spent with her grandmother, Applebloom however missing a lot of school, felt she was up to the task.
And not least of all affected was Rarity, her expensive tastes in clothing being far outside the price range of most ponies. Her shop was uncharacteristically with the beautifully designed dresses she prided herself on her ability to make. After a week without customers she resigned herself to moving in with twilight to help her with keeping the library in check, which quickly turned into a full time job, as Twilight had been reading furiously for several days trying to find historical reasoning for the lull in activity. Much to her distress, she was finding no recoded reasoning for this.
But she was able to rest easy, as the lull had given her ample things to send to the princess in her weekly reports. One of which actually prompted a reply letter. That morning Spike had just awoken to find the letter next to him in bed, the royal seal present on it. His heart raced as he hoped Twilights current condition wouldn’t prompt a harsh response from the lateness of the delivery. He sprang up, sprinting down the stairs, easily finding her amongst the fortress of books by following the furious flipping of pages. He called out to her, slightly out of breath.
“Hey Twi,” Spike called out, raising his voice to break the concentrated glare she had pointed at the historical reference guide for Equestria; Years 1-250. “The princess sent a return letter! I’m sorry I didn’t get it to you right away, it came in when I was sleeping.” He finished in a soft voice, bracing himself for retribution, which never came, as she slid out the letter, a sigh of relief escaping her lips as she unfurled the paper.
“Thanks spike, it’s good to get a break from all this study. I mean, this has to have happened before doesn’t it? But none of the-” Twilight was cut off before she could finish, her eyes scanning the page slowly, and for several minutes, Spike watched her re-read the letter in shock. His scales began to rattle nervously as he saw her mane and tail raised ever so slightly. She rushed into the maze, calling to him. “Spike, Grab my saddlebags. Pack for camping and get some gems ready, throw a few dried apples and carrots in as well as some water.” She was yelling this over the loud rustling which seemed to be moving towards the closet. Finally there was a crash and Twilight emerged from the pile of books carrying a jewel encrusted box in her teeth. “And pack five more bags for the girls. We’re going to Canterlot.”
“Wait, Canterlot? Seriously Twi, is it that bad?” Spike asked with a shaky voice.
“No Spike, it’s worse than that. Not only did she tell me to stop my research on friendship, but that was a summons for the Elements of harmony. We’re expected at the castle tomorrow, so keep packing while I round up the others.” She said, hurriedly going to the door, ignoring the new questions flying over her shoulder from spike. She opened the door to a smiling, albeit exhausted, face.
“Were going on an adventure?” Asked Pinkie, her spirits as high as ever even now that the Apple family had her working hard over at sweet apple acres. Her hooves were uncharacteristically dirty, but her smile was always something Twilight could take comfort in. She found herself coming out of her own mind to see Pinkie with her head cocked in confusion, staring at Twilight. “Hey, you okay twilight?”
Twilight shook herself awake and smiled in return, nodding. “Yea, we’ve got to gather the girls, Rarity should be-.”
“Right here darling, I overheard everything, I’ll help spike pack. You and Pinkamina go on ahead and find the others. And do try not to make more than a mess than you already have in here.” Called Rarity’s refined voice, echoing through the rumbling fortress of books. Twilight turned to Pinkie and nodded, trotting past her with the box in her teeth, headed towards the clear open sky … Or more precisely clearing sky, as there were flocks of pegasai working non-stop to keep winter from setting in. Twilight easily spotted the Rainbow trail she needed, alone in the southern cloud wall, shortly before a sonic rainboom ripped the clouds around it to shreds.
“Wow! Dash is really getting that Sonic-Rainboom down isn’t she?” Said pinkie enthusiastically, trotting alongside Twilight and watching the rainbow shockwave spreading. Twilight felt a pang of concern that Pinkie wasn’t hopping as she normally was.
“Hey Pinkie, how are things going at Sweet Apple Acres?” Twilight Asked, tact running rampant in her voice, her stride slowing slightly trying not to let Pinkie notice.
“Oh things at the farm are great! A lot going on, just most of it I don’t understand. I sometimes get in trouble because I’m still learning. But its helping them keep happy right? So why not!” Said Pinkie, her voice seeming to crack slightly. It didn’t take a detective to see she wasn’t used to the pressure that having such an active life put on someponys. Her eyes showed she clearly hadn’t been sleeping well, and the economic strain had brought her sweets intake to near zero. And to add to it, she recently was separated from the young pony and Pegasus she had been trusted to babysit on a weekly basis when the owners, Mr. and Mrs. Cake had been forced to move out to a cheaper place to call home. The well built building had stood vacant ever since.
Twilight was about to console her but was cut off by the sound of a pegasai landing with a winded voice.
“Hey guys! I haven’t seen you two around in forever!” Called an enthusiastic, albeit exhausted Rainbow Dash from behind them. She removed her goggles and tried to shake some of the dust off of her feathers. Pinkie trotted up to her and nuzzled her cheek, hugging her with a gleeful Smile.
Twilight smiled and looked to Dash, her tone turning serious. “Hey, I need your help. The princesses are calling on the Elements, Could you round up AJ and Fluttershy and bring them over to the Library?” Twilight asked eager to get on the road. “It sounds like we’ll be gone a while, but Spike and Rarity are packing supplies, have them set things in order.”
Dash nodded and grinned “Got it Twi, it will be nice to get away from work for a while, I’m sure they will agree too, even if I have to drag AJ here.” And with that Dash trotted forward for a start before taking off and headed towards the western sky, where it seemed the cloudiest.
“Alright … Pinkie, let’s get back and help pack, I’m sure the Princesses are eager to have us there.” Twilight turned and looked at pinkie, who fell in with her, brushing her flank to Pinkies for a moment Twi trotted off, towards home. Thinking hard on what could possibly have happened that required the Elements to be called in.
The train to Canterlot took roughly a day when it was kept in peak condition, but as of late the train to and from the grand city was in a state of disrepair. Where the train normally had near infinite funds to keep the engine and rails constantly repaired, now the lack of customers had driven the train to replace its normal candy oriented car appearance into simple wooden cars to keep the cost of repair down. This didn’t do much in the way of keeping the Passengers happy however, as where there was once cushioned seats in a spacious cabin there were now wooden benches meant to be efficient rather than comfortable, and Rarity was making it quite clear how unhappy she was about the new look.
“Oh these new cabins are simply dreadful, even the lowest quality train has cushioned seats!” Complained Rarity, as her hooves moved around the wooden floor, trying to avoid the splinters that seemed to be seeking the six ponies’ unprotected hooves like sentient beings.
“Oh hush now, it’s bad enough we can’t even pay the workponies that maintain the rails, we don’t need to be adding train cars to the list of things they aren’t getting paid for.” Countered Applejack quietly, clearly still exhausted from working the orchards on the family farm. She looked worn out in ways not even Twilight could explain with all her vocal skills. Even her mane, normally well-kept for a country girl, looked ragged and barely managed.
Twilight stopped for a moment and really took a good look at her friends, who all seemed to be in rough condition. She worried for a moment about their ability to undertake whatever mission the Princesses had for them. What if the elements of harmony just aren’t enough anymore? Thought Twilight, subconsciously looking at Pinkie, who seemed to be deep in thought before her characteristically bright smile brought a small hope back into Twilights heart. Who am I kidding; we can beat anything as long as we stick together!
“Attention passengers,” Coughed a gruff voice over the scratchy new intercom. “We will be making a mandatory stop in the mountain checkpoint to receive a regularly scheduled maintenance check in a few moments. We would like to ask that you not stray too far from the train as it may hinder our time on getting to Canterlot, thank you for your patience.” The intercom cut off at that and was met by a chorus of sighs lead by Rarity.
“C’mon girls, it would be nice to get up and stretch our legs for a while.” Chided Twilight, her stiff limbs begging for the much needed movement.
“Yea, I’m gonna go crazy if we don’t get out of this stuffy old train car soon anyway!” called out Rainbow Dash from her seat next to Fluttershy, who, until now, had been fast asleep, laying in her lap. “My wings need to be worked out or I’m gonna to be stiff as a cumulous by the time we get there.” She complained light heartedly, doing her best impression of a stiff cloud. The other girls laughed at the blue pegasus’s high spirits and seemed to take comfort in the fact that some things just never change. Twilight decided that her next letter should be about how even friendships under strain can bring feelings of joy when you stop and smell the roses.
But Twilight was snapped out of her thoughts when she saw Pinkie get up and leave their compartment, headed towards the bath-cabin. Which despite the overhaul of the rest of the train cars, had remained largely untouched. Twilight supposed that they figured they felt they should at the very least give their passengers a decent place to relieve themselves on the long train ride from Ponyville to Canterlot.
She could feel the train gliding to a stop in the dark tunnel, lit only by the newly carved exit to a small patch of flat grass meant to allow the enervated ponies to step out into the fresh air while the train received its check-up. However now it mostly served as a break room for the new, larger crew of engineer-ponies that were necessary for keeping the train safe. The dark dank caves had been known to give not just simple caves, but due to the sewage station kept there to keep the train from being a rolling septic tank, even intense nausea sometime claimed up to half of the workforce with sick leave, leaving the rest of the crew to scramble and push to get repairs done in time to make the proper deliveries of goods and passengers.
The train finally screeched to a halt and was met by gentle groans of Ponies cracking and stretching their overworked bones. Dash and Fluttershy, having more bone than the others to stretch didn’t bother to stick around and instead took off through the rather large windows. Doing gentle loops in the sky, occasionally crossing each other with a slight giggle or nudge to the others flank. Applejack seemed to be intent on catching up on her sleep as she moved immediately to the sleeping cabin and used the moments when the train would be still to get to sleep. Rarity followed, commenting that her hair would suffer a fashion disaster if she neglected her beauty work much longer.
Twilight giggled at Rarity, and simply nodded, standing up and headed out of the cabin towards the clearing, which for the moment was empty and available for passenger use. Her hooves felt quite relieved to feel the sandy dirt beneath them, a cooling feeling coming from the cave and making the sand almost like a luxurious massage. She found herself trotting slowly in circles, feeling a new sort of renewed vigor every time her hooves met the ground. She was so relaxed trotting in her slow circle that she nearly jumped out of her coat when she felt her tail rubbing gently against the flank of another pony. She heaved a frightened sigh of relief when she opened her eyes to the fluffy pink mane of her friend Pinkie Pie, who was smiling like she hadn’t in quite some time.
“Sorry, did I scare ya Twi?” Asked Pinkie in a soft, almost hoarse, voice. She giggled as Twilight did her best to catch her panicked breath, and steady her shaking legs.
“No no, pinkie,” panted Twilight “I just didn’t notice you coming in.” She finished, taking a final deep breath before she smiled awkwardly for a few moments. Trotting over to the railing and looking out over the village of Ponyville. “Gosh … it looks so beautiful from up her doesn’t it?” Asked Twilight softly, spotting the large oak tree that was her library home. Her mind began to drift to older times, when she and her friends had been able to live in relative peace, the economy and environment far from their minds, but that semblance of a reality was long gone for Ponyville now.
“Yea Twi, a lot of things are beautiful if looked at from the correct angle.” Whispered Pinkie Pie, trotting up to Twilights side, and causing a blush Twilight was hard pressed to explain. She allowed her flank to brush against the pink ponys, their cutie marks pressing gently together in what Twilight could only describe as a near symbolic nature.
“Oh Pink,” Whispered Twilight, not sure how to handle the situations, the combined knowledge of all the romance books in Equestria couldn’t have prepared her for the feelings that rushed through her every time she found herself with Pinkamina. But she couldn’t understand the feelings stirring inside of her, the idea of walking willingly into the unknown frightened her. “w-whats … whats happening?”
Pinkie’s smile softened as she turned to look at Twilight, the sun setting behind her and outlining the gentle features of her mane and her face. Pinkie leaned forward, her nose nuzzling gently into Twilights cheek. “I’m not sure yet, but it’s kind of scary … and not the kind of scary I can just laugh away.” Cooed Pinkie, Letting her head rest atop Twilights neck in a gentle hug. “But, it feels good … I want whatever it is to stay, like a party you don’t want to end.” She giggled after saying this, and pulled back from the hug, leaving Twilight staring in near disbelief at how much Pinkie had matured since things had started to become more and more harsh in Equestria. But Twilight could still feel that childish spark in Pinkies heart, the one that drew them together like iron to a magnet.
Twilight found herself beginning to speak, only to be cut off by the whistle of the train, signaling to the passengers that it was time to re-board the train. “Well I guess its time to go huh?” Said Twilight, changing the subject as the bit of fear in her heart ebbed its way back into place. She turned and trotted off, wanting to gasp for air. What just happened? Thought Twilight frantically as she made her way to the train. I’ve never felt like this before. Her mind raced, but also seemed calm, like a ship headed for its destination as quickly as possible. As she boarded the train she found Fluttershy and Rainbow dash sleeping soundly, leaning on each other for support and felt as though this should be offering her understanding, but she couldn’t grasp it. She found her hooves taking her to her room, her eyelids nearly closed as she walked through the swing door, the small hay bed the train supplied for their passengers looked like the king sized beds she used to stay in when she visited Princess Celestia. And as her head lay down on the small pillow her final thoughts were of Pinkie, and why she should be scared of being with her. Nothing seemed to come up.
Author's Note
There a parts of this chapter that have spelling ang grammar issues, i ask that you kindly look past them and read the story, or point out the exact point in the story to fix in your comment. thanks! :D
Luna sat in her dark room, quietly inspecting the fruits of her late nights investigation. And the harder she poured over the various readouts and reports, the more she realized they wouldn't improve any by simply rereading them over and over. She let the sheets fall to her desk and put out a mighty exhale as she looked up at the light of the moon glimmering down into her starfilled mane. A knock at the door snapped her out of her silent brooding as he sister pushed open the ornately trimmed door that led to the hall containing all the royal bed-chambers.
“Oh, sister! Im glad to see you have the strength to move again.” She mumbled with a sigh of relief. The past few nights had been hectic in the castle, as one would expect when the high ruler of Equestria and godess of the sun takes ill and can hardly manage the kingdom that so frantically needed her. Luna pulled a small mask over her muzzle, the straps wrapping around her ears snugly. Celestia smiled and nodded as though giving a silent apology.
“Dearest Luna, i assure you I've only contracted a bit of a cold.” Celestia spoke hoarsely, but the reassuring tone apparent all the same. She trotted shakily in and found her way to a small gathering of plush purple-black pillows where she, a bit unstabily, planted herself into a seated position. “Besides, surely all this talk of Gryp-.”
Luna jumped in with the slightest hint of a squeak to her voice. “Speak not its name good sister! Some ponies say that its mere mention can increase its lethality!” Her eyes shrank and she shook fearfully, an uncommon thing to see the princess of the night do. She looked away and shook the feeling of dread from her, her hooves shifting as she did. “I’m sorry ... I over-reacted .” She said in a hushed tone. “I’m just so worried Sister, the reports coming in from around Equestria keep getting worse. And if you were to have contracted ... IT then ... i don't think i could handle all of this on my own.” She rolled this out on a rocky voice. However Celestia only smiled.
“I’m truly in good hands as long as you’re around to help take some strain off, fret not sister. Soon I’ll make a recovery and we can g-” But Celestia never got the chance to finish, just then her body was racked by a shudder and heaving coughs. Her wings extended instinctively to the pane and her manes normal flowing pattern slowed nearly to a halt. Luna was by her side instantly, helping her down to her side, and calling loudly for the guards. After a moment they arrived, trailed by a medical team lead by Nurse Readheart.
“Im Sorry princess, ill have to insist you leave the room! Take your sisters room, she’ll be immobile for some time now.” She barked almost bordering on inordinately, like it had been Luna's fault that Celestia had chosen now to start coughing. Luna rose and backed away from her writhing sister in shock, noticing just as she past the threshold the trickle of red running down her sisters muzzle.
Luna, quite in a daze, wandered the halls of the castle. Her mind flying seven different directions. Her duties as a princess the only thing she could think to escape to. Get it together Luna. Thought the strong willed mare as she went to the balcony of the castle, looking out at the small plumes of smoke from the chimneys. Let the dreams of those whom are troubles be open to me. Her thoughts were rhythmic as the waves of the ocean, casting her incorporeal form into the night sky, across the many seas of overlapping dreams being sent out by her subjects below. But one set caught her attention, it was moving just below the small cloud of smoke cast out by the trains chimney. She cut down and entered the First of them, a scene of brilliance around her as the happy ponies of Canterlot, all in expensive jewel encrusted dresses flocked around the halls of the Grand Galloping Gala.
“Oh darling,” Giggled a high pitched voice from the center of the crowd. “Surely the princess of the night would look FANTASTIC in a dress from my boutique!” Rarity trotted over with an air of authority about her. “Perhaps you would be so kind as to head back to your room to change into one? Ive sent one up free of charge of course!” Luna, quite taken aback, actually listened to this ‘order’ and moved up the grand staircase of the Canterlot castle and out of this dream, into the next. Gritting her teeth as she heard a haughty voice calling. “She looked a disaster!”
As she cleared the dream stairs out of Rarity’s refined dream she felt suddenly quite light on her feet, suddenly walking along some uncharted weather pattern. “Hey, Princess!” Called a slightly gritty voice from among the clouds. On closer inspection Rainbow Dash was flying along the course of this cloud tower, easier seen now to be a hurricane. “Id be careful around here, Things could get real interesting real quick!” With that shouted message Rainbow lowered her goggles and shot downward, through the pony-made funnel cloud, popping out the opposite end and creating a sonic rainboom. Casting the Mysterious rainbow coloring into the surrounding rain-clouds causing it to ... rain ... rainbows. Luna couldnt be asked to tally in this strange place. She moved on as crowds of faceless pony fans gathered to cheer on the small blue pony.
The cheering died out and was replaced quickly by laughter, all of it familiar. She turned to see the candy coated walls of Sugarcube Corner, and heard the familiar voice of Pinkie Pie say to her audience. “It just depends on the SOCK market! Get it?!” She snorted and rolled back in her own punny laughter. Luna rolled her eyes and groaned, and was ready to move on till she noticed Twilight among the crowd. Strange because dream incarnations were faceless to her interloping. She guessed that Celestias pupil was studious enough she may have learned the art of dream walking. He caught the little purple ponies attention and inclined her head, motioning her towards the familiar shores of her own dream.
When Luna entered the small Library of Ponyville she turned and addressed the small and flushing purple pony with a grave voice. “Twilight Sparkle, I am sorry to have to interrupt your dreams for things such as this ... but i have grave news indeed."
Author's Note
Just as a fun fact, it took me about two years to overcome the writers block on this Fic, as such you'll likely notice two things. Im a bit rusty on the writing edge right now and two my writing style has changed a bit. HOWEVER, im back on track now, and ill be writing at least a chapter a day!
