-Chapter VI- Vanilla Cream
-Canterlot, Equestria
-16th of March, 1008 A.D.
-12:04 P.M.
-Sapphire
I walked through the castle's courtyard with Faith still on my back as we both still relentlessly pondered what reason it was White Lightning had acted the way she did. Using my magic to open the door into the castle, I unconsciously made my way through the entryway from the front doors and up the stairs where the ballroom was. I looked to the ground at my hooves as the ground beneath them continuously moved behind me. I was pulled from my thoughts when I accidentally bumped into someone else, sending us both to the ground and Faith tumbling off of my back.
"I'm sorry about that." I heard a deep male voice say apologetically. I winced as I rubbed my head, looking up from the ground to the stallion I had walked into. It was the stallion guard from the day before. He held out a hoof for me to pull myself up, which I took uneasily.
"I-er-uh..." I stammered.
"Hey, I remember you from yesterday." He said.
I felt myself blush. "Yeah, the mare who ran into the pole..."
"I wasn't thinking of that, but yeah, I guess so. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, sorry about that. I really should start looking where I'm going." I said with a laugh. "Faith, are you okay?"
She landed upside-down the way she had fallen, but at a low enough height that she wasn't hurt, and I couldn't help but let a quick giggle escape my lips as she looked helplessly at me, struggling to get back to her feet. I used my magic to lift her in the air and put her right-side up again, then set her back down. She stumbled for a moment. "Yeah, a little dizzy now, but other than that, I'm peachy. Thanks."
"I'm really sorry about that, miss. I'm Head Start, by the way." He said.
"I...I...uh..." I said, not knowing what to say.
"You're Sapphire." Faith said plainly.
"Yeah, that." I said, blushing again.
"It was nice meeting you, Sapphire." He said, beginning to dash the direction which I had just came.
"Head Start..." I whispered beneath my breath to myself. I noticed Faith looking at me with a wide smile. "What?" I asked.
"Aww, somebody's is in love!" Faith said.
I shot her a glance, and she quickly hushed with a slight smile still gracing her lips. "Come on." I said.
"I told you his name was Head Start. Did you not believe me or something?" I did not reply as to change the subject. Luckily Faith must've understood. "Where are we going, anyway?"
"Apparently Princess Celestia is having a garden being built with all sorts of flora and fauna." My words echoed throughout the empty ballroom. "Flower Bud is in charge and I think she wanted to show me around."
I looked expectantly at Faith, who only looked puzzled in return. "Who?"
"She...well, you'll see when we get there." I walked through the door leading outside on the other side of the ballroom, revealing a large, open garden full of bright green plants, most of which, not yet planted into the ground. I trotted alongside Faith through the landscape, admiring the multiple decorations all about. We passed by a large group of stallion Earthen Equestrians hard at work planting the trees and bushes. I scanned the area for Flower Bud, then found her flying about, giving glasses of ice water on a silver tray to some exhausted Earthen mares. When she saw Faith and I she set down the tray on a marble pedestal, said something to a familiar Earthen mare who picked the tray back up and continued to offer the water.
She galloped over to us, flying over a few wheelbarrows filled with soil and landing back onto the ground then slowed to a trot when nearing us. "Oh, hi Sapphire." She looked at Faith still standing beside me, then smiled, "who's this?"
"I'm Faith, Sapphire's messenger dragon. I assume you are Flower Bud?"
She happily nodded. "Come on, I'll show you two around." She said, taking to the air and began leading us about the garden. "Since not much is done yet, this might be a bit quick." She said softly.
I realized something as we browsed through the foliage that was strewn about with no order, which slightly set an ache in my stomach. "Sapphire? What's wrong?" Faith asked.
"Nothing." I assured.
Faith rolled her eyes, "it's your 'obsessive compulsive disorder' again, isn't it?"
"A little." I said, using my magic to pick up a few trees and plant them firmly in the ground. I found myself digging holes in the soil perfectly sized for the plants I had readied for each one, clearing the trail through the foliage of those that were yet to be planted and placing them in rows from tallest to shortest as I progressed. I was so deeply engrossed in the process that I didn't notice Flower Bud and Faith watching me as I did it until seconds after its completion. "Eheh..." I laughed nervously, rubbing the back of my neck out of uneasiness. "Sorry..."
"No, please don't be. That was...well..." I turned around to see my work. I had done at least a fifth of the entire garden with the entire crew looking at me.
"That was...AWESOME!" I heard someone yell. Before I could respond, I was confronted by a white Earthen mare with a brown mane that bounced with each of her step. She looked at me in awe with brown eyes sparkling and her mouth in a big smile agape.
"Uhh...thanks?" I said, puzzled.
"How did you do that?" She asked in astonishment.
"Oh, I uh..." I didn't know what to say.
Then she gasped really loud. "Wait a minute! You're the Crystalline unicorn Cornflower told me about!"
I looked at Flower Bud with eyes pleading for an explanation. "This is Vanilla Cream."
"Who the hoof is Cornflower?" I asked. She seemed to had told everyone about me.
"I'm the mare who was at the feast this mornin'." I heard a mare say in a typical country accent. "Hiya Flower Bud."
"Hi, Cornflower..." Flower Bud greeted back softly with a shy grin as the mare revealed herself to me with a smile. Cornflower was the earthen yellow mare with a light-brown mane, the very same that was at the feast that Star Swirl had credited for making the feast that very morning.
"So YOU'RE the baby dragon Cornflower was talking about!" I turned to Vanilla Cream, who was examining Faith practically from every angle, circling the poor dragon as the mare admired every detail of her shining blue scales. "Just imagine if Shining Star saw you! Or Sapphire, as a matter of fact! Shining Star has always admired the brilliance of Crystallines' sterling coats."
"So that must be why Lightning told me to visit her." I said.
"Probably, but I wouldn't go showin' Faith to Lightning." Cornflower said.
Faith and I looked at each other, puzzled. "What's wrong with Faith?" I asked them.
Cornflower, Flower Bud, and Vanilla Cream all looked at each other nervously. "Let's just say...Lightning has had some...encounters with dragons in the past." Flower Bud said uneasily.
"I guess that's why she acted the way she did around you." I said to Faith.
"What did she do?" Vanilla asked.
"She seemed hesitant, and very cautious. I felt as though she saw me as a monster." Faith said.
"Ah wouldn't worry about it, Faith." Cornflower assured, "she just needs to adjust to you, is all."
"It doesn't matter, I guess."
"So how's Canterlot?" Vanilla asked with a smile. "Are you gonna stay?"
"I'm not sure yet." I said with a nervous smile.
"Oh, Vanilla. Leave the poor mare alone." Cornflower said, amused.
"It's all right, I'm just not so used to so much energy."
"Yep, I'm weird!" Vanilla exclaimed with a wide smile. I couldn't help but laugh at her silliness. "Come on! I'll show you around town, if you want."
"Oh, it's fine. Flower Bud was going to do that." I told her. "Thank you though."
"You go with Vanilla, Sapphire. I'm going to be here for awhile anyway."
"AWESOME!" Vanilla screamed, jumping in the air with excitement. Before I could say anything, she wrapped her hoof around mine and pulled me out of the Royal Gardens with amazing speed. Just as we were about to leave, she stopped. "Oh, wait." She said, then dashed out of sight, then immediately returned with Faith on her back. "Let's go!"
We sped through the castle ballroom, with me struggling to keep up with Vanilla Cream and her quick pace. Faith, who was on Vanilla's back, was thrown up and down while the energetic mare she rode bounced onward. When we were out in the courtyard, Vanilla stopped amidst some Equestrians, and greeted them as though they were the closest friends, while I still trotted as fast as I could just to catch up with her.
When I stopped I was beside the earthen mare, struggling to grasp for air. "Oops, sorry." She said sympathetically. "I'm holding us up." She said when she began bouncing away again. "Bye Dark Chocolate! Bye Sugar Cube!" The dark-brown stallion with a nearly black mane and piece of chocolate cake for a cutie mark nodded and waved farewell while the pink mare with a purple mane and two sugar cubes as a cutie mark did the same. I sighed and began galloping again to keep up with Vanilla. I could tell Faith was entertained by the ride that Vanilla was giving her, seeing her smile as she clung on to the mare's sides.
"Come on slow-poke! This is where I work!" Vanilla Cream exclaimed when she drifted to a stop, sending a dense dust cloud into the air. I tripped over my own hoof as I clambered to keep up with her sending me to the ground and with my hoofs on top of my head as I lied on the ground looking up at Vanilla, who winced as I performed the stunt. "Are you okay?" She asked, picking me back up.
I brushed myself off. "Yeah, thanks."
"Sorry, I should slow down." She said with a laugh and a nervous smile.
"No, you're fine. So this is where you work?" I asked, turning to the building that stood before us. It was a large bakery, with a brick chimney that blew out smoke.
"Yep, welcome to...The Bread Basket!" She said excitedly. I then noticed Vanilla's cutie mark, a cupcake with white frosting on it. As I examined the bakery, the scent of fresh-baked bread hit my nose, and I guess it did Faith's, too, because I heard her stomach growl with hunger.
"I guess I'm hungry." She said, rubbing the back of her neck with an embarrassed laugh.
Vanilla Cream and I looked at each other, both of us trying to fight back laughing ourselves which caused us to have goofy grins on our faces. "Come on, Faith." I offered, "I've got some bits."
"Nope! I've got you guys." Vanilla said joyously as she happily trotted to the bakery's front door. Her mane bounced with each step.
"No, really Vanilla. It's nice of you to offer but I've got it." I said graciously. I trotted through the candy-like doors of The Bread Basket, only to bump into someone else. I rubbed my head as I sat on the ground, looking at whom it was I had bumped into.
"Sorry about tha-oh hey, Sapphire!" I heard Dusk Shine say.
"Dusk Shine?" I asked. We looked at each other and laughed hysterically at both our clumsiness and the coincidence.
"Wow, Sapphire. You're really clumsy today, aren't you?" Faith said, getting off of Vanilla's back. "First Head Start, then over yourself, now Dusk Shine!"
I got up, lending a hoof to Dusk Shine and pulled her up. We rubbed our foreheads where we had ran into each other, trying to subdue the pain. "Are you okay?" I asked.
"Yeah, how about you?" She asked.
I smiled, then nodded. "Dusk Shine, this is Vanilla Cream." I said, pointing a hoof to Vanilla, who smiled brightly and waved a hoof.
"Hi, nice to meet you." Dusk Shine said politely, walking to Vanilla and outstretching a hoof for her to shake in greetings. Vanilla, however, did not move, but stood where she was in silence, completely lost in amazement as her eyes sparkled in awe.
"Vanilla? Are you okay?" I asked, concerned.
She shook herself to her senses. "What? Oh, yeah! I just..."
After waiting a few moments, Dusk Shine, Faith, and I looked at each other in puzzlement. "You just what?" Faith asked.
"Well, I had this dream a few days ago." Vanilla said reluctantly. It was actually the quietest I had heard her speak so far.
"A dream?" Dusk Shine asked.
"Yeah, I thought I recognized Sapphire, but I didn't know where, but now I remember because you were there too! Have you ever had moments where you just remember something, but you don't know from where or when? But everything just clicks all at once."
Dusk Shine and I looked at each other in a concerned manner. Obviously she had the same thoughts as I. The fact that Vanilla had dreamed of us was somewhat...unsettling, albeit only a miniscule detail that would have no other significance whatsoever. However, the more I thought about it afterwords, Lightning had also mentioned that I had seemed familiar, for whatever reason. Though it confused me, I paid no mind to it and simply ignored the matter, returning my thoughts to Vanilla and Dusk Shine.
"Just forget I said anything." Vanilla said.
I was about to say something before the sound of Faith's stomach growling reverberated through the air, catching my attention and reminding me that we still stood before the bakery. I smiled, and looked at the two mares and Faith, "let's go find something to eat, shall we?"
