Hello! Time to be a brony!
Yes, I have become a brony. The Star Fox nerd has converted… I Was hoping not be to assimilated, but… their too strong… EVERYONE SHALL BE ASSIMILATED!1!one!
Hope you enjoy my rather long (for me) and crappy first MLP: FiM fiction.
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The Galloping sounds of her hooves against the ground overtook the pouring rain as Twilight bolted towards her house. Her horn glowed a bright purple as she reached out and turn the knob of her tree house. She bolted through the door and slipped, crashing into the bookcase across the large main room. Books piled on top of her as she tried to stumble out of the way.
"Twilight!" Her young dragon friend, Spike, called out. He rushed over and threw some of the books off of her and helped her up. "Why are you in such a hurry?"
Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but only a weakened sigh was heard.
"Catch your breath, and speak." Spike stated calmly as she inhaled slowly and tried to speak again.
"Rarity, her house had a tree fall on it!" She half yelled, looking around the large open and well lit room. "We need rope."
Spike nodded and ran off toward a ladder leading up to one of the many carved out holes along the wall, pulling a length of rope out of it.
"Good, let's get moving, the others are waiting!" Twilight reached out for Spike with her magic and flew him over, placing him on her back and riding off out the door. The pouring rain drenched them almost immediately. Off in the far distance were the roots of the large tree stretching into the air, mangled and twisted with chunks of dirt still falling from it. The long run ended with another slide and splattering into the mud.
"Get'on up there, Twilight." The Texan accented Applejack stated as she took the rope from Spike's hand and ran over toward the bottom of the tree. Throwing an end over the top then pulling under the small opening underneath, she then proceeded towards Twilight, helping her onto her hooves. Spike climbed to his feet and ran over to the rope, tying a strong yet quick knot into it. From the distance a Whooshing was heard, and a bright rainbow through the dense dark and rain was seen, arching towards them gently. The impact of where it landed splashed mud a bit as Rainbow Dash landed and looked over at the tree.
"I can see I came just in time to help out." She stated, smiling a bit.
"Fashionably late as usually, eh suga'plum?" Applejack stated as she pulled the rope towards Rainbow Dash. "Where's Fluttershy? She too scared o' the rain?"
"Knowing her, yeah. I haven't seen her all day. I haven't seen Pinkie either…" Rainbow stated, rubbing under her snout with her foreleg. "Alright, let's try and get this tree out of the way." She calmly stated, Applejack nodding in agreement.
"Everyone start pulling on my mark!" Twilight yelled as everyone grabbed the rope but her. Twilight's horn glowed a bright purple yet again as a large aura of light enveloped the bottom of the tree. "PULL!" She yelled out and everyone reacted with a large yank. The tree shuddered and shook.
Twilight tried her hardest to focus on moving the large tree, and the light faded. She huffed, and then breathed in. "PULL!" She screamed again, refocusing. The tree finally lifted up slightly, and Twilight smiled with glee that they could finally move the large tree. "Keep pulling!" She called out trying her best to focus the large tree in one direction. Slowly but surely the dark tree moved away from Rarity's house, revealing the large gaping hole that it left. "Just a little more!" Once more she called as she put all her magical force into one last tug, moving it a few more feet away from the house. The tree fell with a thud, and the girls dropped the rope bolting towards the house. The dark hole in the side of the house stretched up to the third floor, (cause I think it's at least 3 stories tall XD) stopping just before the roof. Rainbow Dash jumped inside.
"I got this, I've been working on something that should help us see." She lowered her head and the amount of focus she used could be seen in her expression alone. A dim glow formed around her, which slowly grew brighter and brighter, making colors as it went. Red, that slowly faded into yellow, and then green, continuing to blue and purple. The light spread, and lit the room. Destroyed pony manikins lay across the floor, fabric was ripped and thrown in random directions, pieces of the walls and second story floor lay scattered.
Twilight looked up and saw a chandelier, and used her magic to light the candles. "You can stop now Rainbow." She calmly stated stepping out of the rain and into the destroyed gallery/workplace/home. Rainbow Dash's glow quickly faded, and she, huffed out of breath. "Where did you learn to do that?"
"I… decided to throw a… bit of a light show into my performances…" Rainbow Dash panted in response. "Still workin' on it…"
"This place looks like a tornado tore through it." Applejack calmly stated looking around the dimly lit room. Thunder clashed outside, and the lightning flashed, lighting the room slightly better for a very split second.
"Where's Rarity?" Spike stated out loud looking around.
Twilight called out, "Rarity!" She walked towards a dark hallway off to the right. Focusing a small amount of magic into her horn, she lit the hallway enough to see ahead. To the left was a staircase leading up to the second floor, pictures of a year ago lined the wall from when Twilight had first arrived. "Rarity!" She called out again. A figure moved from the top of the stairs and stepped down a couple of them.
"Hello there." The figure stated, the manly voice didn't sound familiar at all to her. "You must be one of Rarity's friends."
"Who might you be, stranger?" Applejack stated stepping next to Twilight, who focused the light onto the male pony at the top of the stairs. The black coated gray manned male smiled gently, slowly making his way down the stairs.
"The names Wild Gunner." He stated calmly. "I wondered into town when the storm started, Rarity was kind enough to let me wait it out here. Must say it is a lovely place… When you can see it."
"Where would Rarity be right now?" Spike asked curiously, jumping onto Twilight's back.
"Oh, a dragon." The male stated almost astounded. "Cute little fella aren't ya?" Spike blushed a bit. "Rarity is upstairs, out cold. When the tree fell something landed on her head and knocked her out. I carried her to her bed, and I've been wondering around the house since."
"Well that's mighty kind of her." Applejack stated nodding and motioning towards the lit room behind her. "Let's get in'ta the light and talk a bit, shall we?"
"After you." Gunner nodded following them. Rainbow Dash lay on the floor, looking the opposite direction towards a ripped dress still barely hanging on the manikin.
She turned and nodded, asking, "Who is your friend?"
"This is Wild Gunner." Applejack stated tapping Gunner's shoulder.
He smiled a bit. "As I told these two, I wondered into town as the storm started, and Rarity let me into her home to wait it out."
"Where would Rarity be?" Rainbow asked, and Twilight opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by a groan from behind them. A thud was heard, and another figure stumbled into the doorway.
"W-who's there?" The weakened voice of Rarity stated as she stumbled towards them. Spike jumped up with glee, but quickly hid his feelings and sat on Twilight's back.
"Rarity!" The trio of girls exclaimed simultaneously, rushing over to help their friend.
"You ok?" Called out Applejack, using her side to hold up Rarity.
"I'm… Unfashionably drowsy…" Rarity stuttered losing her balance and leaning into Applejack.
"She should be fine, no serious signs of a concussion so far. Balance is a normal problem after the hit she took." Gunner stated walking over towards her, Rarity blinking uncontrollably trying to stay conscious.
"We probably shouldn't stay here." Twilight stated looking around the house. "The tree might have taken out a major support, you never know how long it could stay standing."
"Who has the nearest establishment?" Gunner asked, and Rainbow pointed towards Twilight and she nodded.
"We could take her to my house, I have plenty of room to spare." Twilight stated as she took a few steps towards the hole in the wall and looked around outside in the pouring rain. "How are we going to get her there?"
"Same way I got her up the stairs, I'll carry her."
"You sure? I could just fly her there." Rainbow Dash stated, flapping her wings and floating steadily in the air.
"That could work also. You sure about it?" Gunner's brow rose a bit in concern.
"Pfft, I've carried heavier!" Rainbow stated, taking Rarity from the shoulders and flying through the hole. The rainbow streak behind her arched left heading straight for the fully lit house of Twilight.
"That was fast…" Gunner stated climbing out.
"You would need a place to stay also I assume?" Twilight asked Gunner calmly following him and Applejack.
"I could let ya stay the night at my place, need be!" Applejack exclaimed.
"That won't be necessary you two. I don't wanna cause too much trouble. If you would point me in the direction of an inn here in town I'll gladly get out of your manes."
"Town doesn't have an inn." Applejack stated calmly.
"I insist-" Twilight and Applejack exclaimed simultaneously. "Sorry, I-" They bickered. "What I mean is- If you would let me ta- ARGGH!"
Gunner chuckled as the two starred at each other confused on what to say next.
"You should stay at Twilight's." Applejack stated. "She has more room then my lil' ol' farm. Plus she can use the extra company, her always being buried in her books and all." Applejack laughed, Twilight nodded in agreement.
"I am, aren't I? Ok then it's settled." Twilight stated as Gunner shook his head.
"I don't wish to be a burden."
"It's no trouble." Twilight smiled almost as if awkwardly. "I insist, I wouldn't feel right if I left you out in the storm."
"Alright alright." Gunner chuckled. "If you truly insist."
"Do you guys mind hurrying up?" Rainbow yelled over the pounding rain.
"We probably should hurry up." Applejack agreed, starting into a trot. Twilight followed close behind.
As they entered the home, Rarity lay on the floor playing around with a ball she had found somewhere, Rainbow Dash chuckling manically at the sight and the things Rarity was mumbling to herself.
Gunner stepped in a looked around as Twilight walked towards a wall with small spaces filled with stuff scattered about it. She randomly started grabbing things from random spots, stating out what they were to as she went.
"Emergency fire, emergency flood, emergency wild animal attack, emergency first aid, emergency asteroid destruction kit… Spike! Where's the emergency sleep over stash?" She called out as the little dragon skipped over.
"Very top left. You forgot you used some stuff last week from there?" He pointed and returned to his toys in a far corner.
"Oh right, thank you Spike." She said as she removed a small cot and 2 blankets out. "Ooohhh, Spike what did we do with the other cot we had?"
"I don't… Oh yeah! We gave it to Fluttershy for one of the hurt animals she found!" Spike exclaimed as he rolled a toy cart into another about a couple feet from him. Thunder clashed again outside, scaring Spike a bit. "That storm is getting really bad. When do you think Princess Celestia scheduled it to stop?"
"Probably before morning. But what am I going to do about sleeping arrangements?" Twilight pondered as she set up the first cot.
"I'll more than gladly take the floor." Gunner stated lying on his stomach.
"No no, I'll figu-" Twilight was quickly cut off by Rainbow Dash, who had hysterically burst out in laughter as Rarity let out a large snore. "Or Rarity has the floor…"
"O-ok I'-I'm going to leave before I die of laughter." Rainbow Dash laughed as she floated out the door.
"I should get going to before the roads 'round here flood. Nice of ya to help out Twilight, nice meetin' ya Gunner. See ya both later!" Applejack walked out, going into an immediate sprint as she entered the rain.
"Thanks for letting me stay here Twilight, I haven't had any sort of bed to sleep on in a while." Gunner stated as Twilight lifted Rarity's head and slipped a pillow under it, also laying the blanket over her.
"It's no trouble at all, glad to help!" She smiled and trotted over to a small desk. "So, tell me about yourself. You don't have a horn, wings, I can sense you have a connection with magic... Are you a Coplager?" (Coplanger is a word (That I made up) that the ponies use for the species of ponies that originated to the east of Equestria.)
"Yes, yes I am." Gunner replied calmly.
"I thought they weren't able to cross the eastern border." Twilight looked around for something and mumbled to herself loudly. "Where did that quill go?"
"They aren't, you're right." Gunner started, walking over to the cot Twilight had put together for him. "I was left at the border as a colt one night no older than a few months. Since you know about the Coplager's, you know that they can't use magic, but have the ability to sense each other through magic, but when the border patrollers of both sides happened to find me, I apparently lifted one of the men and placed him a good forty feet away without trying. Both sides immediately agreed I shouldn't belong to the east, and sent me straight to our Princess." Twilight stopped and turned, a look of shock spread across her facial expression.
"You're able to use magic? But if Coplager's aren't able to use magic, how?" She asked. A quill floated towards her, a dim yet noticeable gray aura surrounding it.
"No one can explain it, and under the Princess's aid I wasn't able to use the magic on command until I was about six, and she taught me how to harness it, use it for a good purpose, and purposes of my own." Gunner continued, Twilight taking the quill and turning back towards her desk.
"Please, continue if you wish."
"Gladly. When I was about 9 the Princess… She told me I was not able to stay at the palace, and begged me to leave the day before the Grand Galloping Gala of that year." Twilight paused for a moment, and began to write on a parchment in front of her. "She gave me some coin, and a map telling me to go to any place I wanted within Equestria I wished, with the exception of it being outside of a 4 mile radius of Canterlot. I still have yet to figure out why, and I have been wishing to go and confront her about it, ask why. As I left the main palace, a woman approached me, saying that I didn't belong here, that I was one of her, and belonged in Trolantor, to the east. I went with her, and learned much about my fellow ponies. The only tie we have to magic is the ability to sense our own kind as you know, which is how she found me. When we arrived at the border, they denied me passage into Trolantor, saying it was too dangerous for someone my age." Gunner lay on the cot, pulling the blanket over him.
"I understand why, news of the new ruler of Trolantor was very grim during that time period. Oh, sorry I interrupted, please continue!" She giggled a bit and returned to her intent writing.
"It's fine. After the failed border crossing attempt I went to nearby Stablestill. There I worked and lived for 7 years. Many people questioned why I had yet to get my cutie mark." Gunner chuckled a bit. Twilight giggled once more, and placed down the quill for a moment as she trotted over to Spike, who stood and slowly walked with her to his bed. Gunner waited patiently as she tucked Spike in and walked back to the desk.
"So how did you end up walking into lovely little Ponyville on a day like this?" She questioned.
"A month ago-"
"Wait, you're only 16?" Twilight cut him off, confusing Gunner for a second.
"Y-yes, yes I am."
"Wow, I'm 17, and you seem so much more mature then everyone I know!"
Gunner chuckled and thought for a moment. "I have gotten that a lot, but I think it was because the woman who had taken me in at Stablestill. She was such a sweet woman, everyone loved her. She treated me like the colt she never had. So much wisdom in such a young pony. It's a shame she had passed the night before I left. I was too devastated with the lose I didn't stay for the funeral."
"Oh my, I'm sor-" Gunner held up a hoof, giving Twilight a sign that he didn't want to talk too much about the subject. "Why did you want to leave in the first place?"
"I had realized that I didn't belong there. It was a boring town, all farming, no one new came there, no one played there, and it was always work. Which is probably why I'm so mature, I spent the majority of my time working and learning from what all the adults had to teach. But… Enough about Stablestill. Too many memories, I tear up every time I think about it… Anyway… That's my story, I've been wondering around since I left there about a month ago trying to find a good town to settle into."
"I'm sure you'll find the town soon." Twilight assured him taking the note and rolling it up. "Thank you for the story Gunner. And… I'm sorry to hear what happened at Stablestill…" Twilight stated as she placed a small sticker on the scroll in the shape and color of her cutie mark.
"Completely fine. And I must ask, what was on that scroll you were writing on?" Gunner asked as she walked by.
"It's to a certain someone I send a note to every week to keep her updated on how I'm doing." Twilight stated poking Spike and placing the scroll in front of him. "Mind sending that out before you put that book of yours away?"
"Awwww come on! I'm almost done with it!" Spike complained, making Gunner laugh a bit.
"No butts young hatchling. Send it and then straight to bed." Twilight giggled as she went up to her bed, Spike took the scroll and blew a small green flame onto it, causing it to whirl around the scroll incinerating it, the bright glowing green stream of smoke left flew out a window slightly cracked open.
Twilight stirred awake at the sound of a crash. She flipped over on her bed to see Spike trying to run over back to his bed.
"Spike!" She yelled out, making him stop in his tracks and slowly look over to her.
"I… I wasn't trying to take a couple of the snack gems!" He exclaimed hiding his face with his small hands. Twilight glared as Spike peeked through his fingers towards her. "Ok fine…"
"Good boy." She stated as she climbed out of bed and shook her head, straightening out her hair a tiny bit. "Where's Gunner?"
"He went back to Rarity's a minute ago. Said he forgot his bags there." Spike ran over towards the kitchen and started to clean up the smashed jar and gems he had dropped. Twilight walked over to the door than looked over to Rarity, who rolled around in her sleep. She giggled and walked out the front, noticing a carriage flying towards the town coming from Canterlot, the decorated golden carriage being pulled by two hefty and also decorated royal guards.
"A royal carriage coming to Ponyville? The Princess must want to see me." Twilight stated as she trotted towards the center of town. Rainbow Dash flew up from the side and flipped over onto her back as she flew, getting into a relaxed state.
"Princess must be in a hurry to see you." She stated looking towards the carriage as it landed.
"I know, I wonder what she needs me for." Twilight questioned as the guard ponies unhooked themselves from the carriage, simply slipping out from the bottom and walking away. They quickly gathered a crowd, and Gunner trotted up next to Twilight and Rainbow Dash.
One of the two guards floated up a bit and cleared his throat. "By the order of Princess Celestia herself, we would like Lady Twilight Sparkle and Sir Wild Gunner to step forward." He shouted. Gunner looked nervously towards Twilight as she calmly stepped forwards and the crowd parted to let them pass. Gunner followed, stopping at the edge of the crowd packed around the guards, Twilight walking up to them to speak.
"We would be the ones you are looking for, sirs." She stated.
"Ah yes, nice to meet you Twilight Sparkle. If you two would kindly step onto the carriage, we must be leaving post haste before the lady Celestia becomes uneasy with our lose. She has been on edge for quite some time now." The guard stated as they both attached themselves to the carriage again.
Twilight stated "Gladly." As she and Gunner stepped onto the large carriage and they slowly started to fly up and towards the large, step mountain, the city of Canterlot jutting out from its side.
"Twilight? What was on that scroll you sent?" Gunner asked as he starred at the ground far below.
"I… Mentioned you a bit to Princess Celestia in one of my weekly notes." Gunner immediately turned towards Twilight, their faces coming close together because of the rather small size of the carriage.
"Twilight…" Gunner trailed off. Twilight was confused, She had thought no harm of the note, or simply stating his name in the note. Gunner moved closer, and Twilight closed her eyes unsure of what was going to happen. A gentle pressure pushed against her neck, and she opened her eyes to see that Gunner had embraced her. "Thank you so much Twilight. I couldn't ask for anything more then to see the Princess again."
Twilight stood in confusion and astonishment, thinking on what to say or do, for he didn't move from the hug. She simply froze up at his touch. Her first action after the few moments of silence was to gently lick the side of his neck. The action was small, barely even considerable as a movement. Gunner apparently hadn't felt it for he did not move, so Twilight simply did the same as him and gently wrapped her neck around his, letting her head lay upon his back. "All I ever want to do is make friends happy." She stated, her mind still whirling about with thoughts. Gunner pulled away slowly and Twilight jolted away, rubbing her front hooves together, blushing gently. Gunner chuckled slightly in amusement.
"You ok Twilight?" He asked with a friendly smile. Twilight froze again but quickly recovered.
"Y-yes I am. I'm sorry, I'm… I'm not really used to…" She trailed off, thinking of what to say.
"Men?" gunner stated with another smile. Twilight nodded, she had never had such an experience with a male pony. This was strange for her. "I could tell, Ponyville is populated almost completely with woman from what I saw walking to Rarity's this morning to retrieve my bags, what few men you have are… Is it fine to say idiots?"
"I can see why you would, so yes." Twilight stated as she looked over towards Canterlot, which was now a short half a minute away.
"It must be very irritating having to deal with men like them." Gunner stated looking off to the side.
"So, seeing the Princess." She stated trying to spark up another conversation before it got quiet.
"Yeah, bit exciting for me if you couldn't tell." Gunner stated looking towards the large pillars reaching a hundred feet into the air, covering the front entrance to the palace, which was built within the walls of the mountain. The four guards spread out across the top of the long staircase leading to the pillars stood completely still, an empty glance out towards the horizon. The carriage landed just behind them at the top of the stairs. The two ponies hoped off and the carriage took off again. "So what is your connection with the Princess?" Gunner asked.
"Oh. I tried out for being taught by her personally, and I was accepted in. She considers me her 'star pupil'." Twilight chuckled as they slowly walked towards the front gate. "I don't think myself that special, but she keeps saying how she finds something new that astounds her every time she sees me."
"Now don't say you're not special, you wielded the Elements of Harmony, twice!" Gunner stated aloud, catching one of the guards attention, who gave them a hard glare.
"Not so loud, Gunner!" Twilight whispered, looking around to see who else heard. "The Princess likes to keep that on a need to know basis, so to keep me out of the celebrity spotlight."
"Oh sorry, I didn't know…"
"How… How did you know about that in the first place?" Twilight questioned as Gunner started to walk slightly faster.
"Sometimes… Thoughts are transferred when I hug someone…" Gunner stared off towards the door they were approaching, the guards nodding and moving to open the large gilded doors. "I do not know how to control that power yet, and the memories of you and your friends fighting Luna and Discord were transferred over…"
"How did you learn to do that?"
"That's the weird thing; I don't know where I learned it either. It developed over time."
"Twilight, you know the way to the Princess's private quarters?" One of the guards asked, approaching the pair.
"Yes I do." She confidently said.
"Head that way and keep going straight, she wishes to see you in the auxiliary hall." The guard finished slowly trotting away.
"This way." Twilight said to Gunner making a left and heading down a short hallway, it rounded right into a much longer hallway.
After the long quiet walk, they walked through a small door, leading into a large room, pillars lining either side. The door they entered through was close to a set of large stairs behind the left side of pillars. At the bottom of the stairs a male green pony stood, a pair of glasses over his eyes looking up towards the top of the stairs.
"Princess you must believe me!" The man stated. His voice was high pitched and annoying. "I had nothing to do with this!"
"Come…" The soft, soothing voice of the Princess said slowly, the male looked confused.
"Wha-?"
"Come to me. I shall be the judge of if you did anything." The Princess stated and the pony trotted up the stairs, slowing down more and more as he approached. Gunner and Twilight walked next to the pillar closest to the stairs to see the large chair at the top of the stairs. All that was visible of the Princess where they stood was her long flowing hair that blew in the non-existent wind. The multiple colored hairs reflected the light that came in through the large ceramic window at the opposite end of the long room. Her glowing eyes starred at the frightened pony. They slowly faded back into color; her pink eyes making the male become more comfortable. They stood in silence for a moment. "All charges upon you shall be dropped. You are free to return to your home… We shall find who has done this to you and your family."
"O-oh thank you Princess, thank you!" The male shouted excitedly. "I cannot thank you enough!" The Princess smiled and nodded, two of the four guards on her sides leading him down the stairs and towards the door.
The Princess's eyes shifted, locking on Twilight, Gunner had moved out of sight. "Ah, my star pupil!" She smiled warmly. "Come come!" She stood and waited for Twilight to trot up the stairs, and the two embraced. "My my, the pupil has grown, in size and strength! You must have been practicing a lot recently."
"That I have, Princess Celestia." Though Twilight had grown a full 3 inches within the past 2 months she had seen the Princess, Celestia still dwarfed her and her guards.
"Where is your surprise guest I had said to bring?" Celestia stated looking around, the expression of happiness disappearing, being replaced with a look of curiosity.
"Where did he go? He was right behind me…" Twilight looked down the stairs towards where she once was next to the closest pillar on the left. Gunner slowly walked out from behind the pillar, his head low and a look of uneasiness showed in his stance. The Princess watched him for a moment as he looked up at her and Twilight. The smile returned and she nodded.
"Wild Gunner. It has been far too long." She said to him with a heartwarming smile. His spirit seemed to lift a bit, and he made his way up the stairs. He stopped a bit in front of her taking a moment to look at his former teacher.
"Princess…" He whispered. Her expression changed once again to a look of pure happiness. She stepped towards him and embraced him.
"You've gotten so big, Gunner. You were no bigger than my daughter when you left." She stated and Twilight looked shocked, her jaw dropping.
"You have a daughter?" She shouted.
"Yes Twilight. I do." Celestia stated as she turned to her. "You know as much as me it'll be my 50,000th year of life in a few years… You have read books on what happens I'm sure." The Princess started walking to the left of the chair, motioning the two to follow her with her head. "Come, I shall let you meet her. Though keep it on a need to know basis."
Twilight followed close behind, Gunner tagging back a bit. The gilded door that was obviously recently built opened, another guard standing behind the door. The two guards left from the main room moved to follow the Princess.
"Guests, Ma'lady?" The guard behind the door stated as she stepped out of the way to let the Princess, Twilight and Gunner through.
"Yes, please give us some privacy if you may. I don't want to make her feel uncomfortable." The Princess entered the hallway, which was painted a beautiful light blue, puffy and swirly clouds placed in random spots caused a feeling of flying high above the ground, which the floor was painted to look like. "If any of my council members arrive send them straight here."
"When did you have the kid?" Twilight asked, looking out the small window on the right in the direct middle of the hallway.
"Almost 9 years ago now, long before you left for Ponyville. I wanted to keep it a secret, but I know I couldn't hide it forever." The Princess responded. The plain white painted wooden door opened with a small white glow around the handle. Within, the far side of the room was a complete window, toys lay scattered about in the warm sunlight. A small white pony sat on the floor scribbling on a small piece of paper with a crayon. A white aura surrounded the small crayon. "Hello my Princess!" Celestia called out to the girl, who stood and ran over.
"Mother!" The little white mane girl shouted.
"I'm sorry I had to leave our session early, I had a series of unexpected trails and accusations to attend to." Celestia stated to the girl. The foal looked over to Twilight and Gunner, and hid behind her mother's long leg, her wings fluttering a bit as she poked her mother softly with her horn. "Don't be shy, this is Twilight Sparkle, my former pupil. Don't you remember? I told you much about her."
Twilight knelt down and lowered her head, making herself the height of the girl. "Hello there, how are you?" She softly said to the girl, who hid herself more. "She's beautiful Princess. When do you plan on revealing her?" Twilight whispered.
"Everyone already knows Light Haven, Twilight. They just don't know she's my daughter." Twilight looked between Celestia and the small foal.
"That's a beautiful name for her, Princess." Gunner stated. Celestia nodded.
"Why thank you Gunner."
"How does everyone know about her, but not know she's your daughter?" Twilight questioned as Celestia turned after hearing the door open.
"She is how." Celestia stated as everyone turned to see the Mayor of Ponyville waltz in.
"Hello everyone!" She stated as she stepped into the room. Her tan coat looked almost golden in the sunlight "Princess, if I may have a word with you?"
"Certainly. Please give us a second, I'll be back shortly." The Princess stepped out the door with the Mayor and closed the door.
"Did you get anything?" Twilight looked over towards Gunner.
"What do you me- Oh, when we hugged! Yeah… I got…" Gunner trialed off in thought. After a moment, his ear raised and he opened his mouth to speak. "Them fighting over Haven?"
"What?"
"Listen…" He wondered over to the door and from behind the door was the faint chatter of the two ponies outside.
"-Keeping her a secret? Yes I know you let her wonder around Canterlot with me, yes I know everyone in Canterlot knows her, but you're supposed to keep her true identity a secret until she is ready to take over, for her safety!"
"I realize Linda…"
"You know not to call me Linda!"
"Ok 'mayor', but the fact of the matter is I am the Princess, what I say goes, and I trust the two ponies in the other room right now. It's about time my daughter met people outside of the stuffy, stuck up lot around here in Canterlot. Not because she's lonely, but because it's good for her to explore a bit more, know the people of her soon to be country better. Keeping a child locked to only a small space which is Canterlot is a bad thing. The last thing I want is a mentally unstable daughter taking over my place because she saw the corruption of most of the business ponies around here and adapted to be more like them. Do you question my motives, 'mayor'?"
Gunner turned and walked over to the wall/window. He starred down at the vast forests and the occasional small towns of Equestria. The small girl stepped slowly behind him, also starring out at the vast openness.
"To think, this will all be yours someday." Gunner stated softly to the girl, turning his head to look at her blank and curious stare. She slowly walked next to him, starring down, slowly raising her vision to the horizon.
"A-all of this…" She softly said, her ears lowering and her eyes widening. "I… I don't know if I'm ready for that…" Her head lowered a bit, and her eyes wandered around the blue carpet lining the floor. She looked around at her large room, her king-sized bed off to the left, play area to the right. In the middle on the tall ceiling was a small chandelier which was not lit. "I'm almost scared to leave here most of the time… Like if I mess up in my teachings, I'll never be able to recover… Be a good leader…"
"Don't worry; you have the right to be scared." Gunner stated in the softest, kindest voice he could manage. The girl looked up at him as he starred off over towards the now setting sun. "You have a lot coming towards you for someone your age, but with someone like your mother there to teach you everything she knows, I have no doubt you'll be willing and more than qualified for the job when you come of age. Just give it time." The girl's expression grew a small smile and she turned back to the horizon, looking about at what will soon be hers.
"B-but what if I mess up?" The girl asked, the small all but disappearing.
"You can't take on something like that and not expect to foul up once in a while. What makes someone a good leader is being able to look past the mistakes you make, and find a way to work around it." Gunner stated, once again bringing the smile back into full bloom on the small girl.
Twilight's ears sagged, and she smiled warmly, her eyes widening a bit. "That's so cute that he would try and make her feel better." She whispered to herself. The door behind her creaked open and Princess Celestia and the Mayor stepped in.
"We have made an arrangement." The Mayor stated calmly, looking over towards the child.
"We… Both have decided to let Light Haven stay with Twilight in Ponyville for two weeks time." The Princess stated, a bit of uncertainty within her voice.
"What?" Twilight and Haven yelled at once.
"Haven needs time away from Canterlot, and I've been brewing upon this for some time now… You're the first thing that came up that would work out." The Princess stated. "I have made my mind up."
"Think of the risks, Princess!" Twilight shouted as she stepped forward, concern filling her voice.
"You must take calculated risks sometimes Twilight. It is quite different from being rash. I trust you will take great care of her." The Princess stated, and the Mayor moved to try and say something, but quickly backed off.
"But Princess, I barely have enough room for Gunner…" Twilight stated worriedly.
"Don't worry about me Twilight. I won't be staying in Ponyville much longer." Gunner stated, making Twilight turn towards him.
"A-are you sure? The nearest village to Ponyville is a 4 day walk unless you're planning to go back the way you came." She stated.
"Twilight is right, Gunner. Do you have the supplies for the trip?" Celestia stated walking towards Haven's play area.
"N-no I don't…" Gunner stated softly as he watched her. Celestia put her hoof on top of one of the drawers and pushed down slightly. A small passage opened up, leading into a crystal hallway, the jagged spikes gleamed in the orange sunlight as Princess Celestia stepped towards it and motioned them.
"So it's settled. Don't worry about room inside your home Twilight, Haven loves to camp out." The Princess stated and Haven jumped up with glee.
"YEAH!" She yelled out, running into and down the curved crystalline hallway.
"You sure it's a good idea to let her stay outside for a full 2 weeks?" Twilight asked.
"I'll camp outside. She goes inside with Twilight." Gunner stated, getting a confident nod of agreement from Twilight.
"That would probably be for the best, I was only saying that to make her happy. Maybe set up another tent for her to sleep in one night, ok?" The Princess whispered. Twilight and Gunner nodded as an elevator came into view, Haven still jumping excitedly.
"Come'oncome'oncome'on! Hurry up!" She yelled. They all stepped onto the roomy elevator and started their way down. When a minute passed and they finally reached the bottom door, it opened up into a ground floor private lobby which led into the opening gardens before the main elevator leading up to Canterlot.
"This is your stop guys, enjoy your walk!" The Mayor stated as she walked out and towards the exit.
"Walk?" Haven asked curiously.
"Sadly I am not able to spare a return carriage ride there because of a ceremony that will begin soon." The Princess said as the trio stepped off the elevator. "Please be safe on your return journey."
"We shall Princess Celestia, I promise." Twilight said nodding to Haven and walking with her towards the exit. Gunner took a step forwards and stopped, turning towards Celestia.
"Princess…" He stated quietly. "Before I do leave… please… please tell me why you shipped me out all those years ago."
The Princess stood silent, the blank expression she wore the entire elevator ride did not twitch, did not falter in any way as her gaze almost pounded him into the ground. Her eyes lit up a bit, showing she was trying to use some form of magic to do something. She stepped forwards, standing within a breaths distance and embraced him. Gunner's mind almost shut down as a memory entered his mind.
"I am sorry for how I made you feel over the years you've been gone… But please reflect on that; consider it a gift to you from me, personally." The Princess stated backing up into the elevator and let it slowly start upwards.
-0-
THE TORTURE IS OVER! I AM FREE!
No I'm not. Hope you enjoyed it, there is MUCH… Much to come… Though I'm going to hate every second of it…
