Chapter 3: Many Meetings
Pinkie Pie was enjoying another beautiful day in ponyville. She never once regretted moving from the grey boring rock farm to this wonderful ponyfabulous place and every day was bright and joyous one. She had just left her friend Rainbow Dash to her cloud napping when a purple pony and a baby dragon walked up to her. They were talking about something but Pinkie didn't pay that any mind. she was staring intently at the purple pony. She didn't recognize her at all, and Pinkie Pie knew every pony in ponyville.
As strange as that was, it wasn't the fact that Pinkie didn't know this pony, it was the fact that her pinkie sense was tingling. It wasn't the twitchy tail, or the floppy ears, or any of her normal ones. It was the very special pinkie sense, the one she had only gotten around four ponies. This purple stranger made five. Whoever she was, she had to be extra-super special
She jumped in the air and gasped as she had an idea. OHMYGOSH I'm soooooo gonna throw her a super special party with all of my friends and super special friends so she can make friends! before dashing away. She stopped nearly a block later and realized that she had, once again, failed to introduce herself. She turned around to go back but by the time she got there the purple pony had gone. She could be anywhere by now.
"No time to lose!" she said, lifting one of her hooves up to her chest and pumping it in the air. "I shall throw that super special pony a super special party!" she announced as if to a crowd of adoring fans and not an empty street.
She had no idea why she couldn't take her eyes off of this uptight mare from Canterlot, but Applejack could scarcely blink as she shook her hand. She wanted to give her a hug for some reason, but she blamed that impulse on Pinkie Pie. Ever since she'd met that random mare back when they were little fillies she'd been all touchy-feely. Not that Applejack minded it at all, but unlike Pinkie Pie she couldn't fathom the idea of hugging a perfect stranger, although the urge had never been present before now.
Despite not hugging her, Applejack was compelled to 'strut her stuff', so to speak. If Twilight wanted to check the food out, Applejack would show her just what the Apple Family was capable of. She'd get a banquet fit for Princess Celestia herself!
Rainbow Dash couldn't stop giggling as she looked down at the dripping wet pony. She wasn't laughing at her misfortune but simply because she was feeling rather ticklish and giddy. Only her close friends had ever made her feel this way, and here was this stranger who's mere presence was energizing her.
She tried the unicorn off and accepted the challenge of clearing the sky in ten seconds. As Rainbow Dash darted from cloud to cloud, zig-zagging across the sky, she realized that she just might actually do it. She hadn't flown this fast in a long time, not since the Sonic Rainboom. When the sky was clear she was almost as surprised as the pretty mare seemed to be.
"Told ya! Ten seconds flat!" Rainbow Dash boasted, striking a victorious pose.
Rarity scarcely noticed the little swooning dragon when her decorating was interrupted. Twilight from Canterlot was all that Rarity could see for the moment, and her creative juices were positively flowing. She was imagining a plethora of dresses and gowns and jeweled accessories even as she primmed and polished up that horrid mane that made her look as though she'd been caught in a windstorm.
Oh its like the school play with Applejack all over again she thought as she prepared some ribbons. She turned around but Twilight was gone. Rarity frowned and felt herself deflate a bit, but then remembered that she had to continue decorating for the Summer Sun Festival. I'll have to visit Applejack later she thought, cheering herself up.
Uh oh...not again Fluttershy thought as her lungs constricted and her heart pounded in her chest. When she first met Rainbow Dash this had happened, and it had happened when Dash had introduced her to Applejack and Rarity. The last time it happened was when she first met Pinkie Pie, but then for years she had been fine. Now this purple unicorn was talking to her, asking her name, and Fluttershy could barely squeak it out.
Doing the technique that Rarity had taught her, she held her breath and counted to ten. Once she exhaled she could speak again. She had nothing to say, though, so she just spouted the first thing that came to mind.
"Oh! A baby dragon!"
Dear Princess Celestia,
I've spent all day preparing for the Summer Sun Festival and I know you won't get this letter until it is over, but I think that's for the best. Consider this my first formal complaint ever against my royal duties. I know you are wise and powerful beyond my understanding, and forgive me for this presumption but I also know you are somewhat of a prankster.
Did you send me, specifically, to Ponyville, specifically, just so you could get a laugh? All day long I've met beautiful mare after beautiful mare. You told me very specifically to keep my preferences low-key in Ponyville because the locals weren't as open minded as in Canterlot, but its so hard! I met five incredible mares today and they're all downstairs right now at this party for me and its all I can do not to just slide out onto the dance floor with one of them. I've never felt this strongly about anyone before and its rather frightening, but also exciting.
Please, just tell me this is a prank you're pulling on me. Either Ponyville is more liberal than you're letting on, or you planted five mares here ahead of me to torment me.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle
The next day
Twilight closed the door to the library and all but collapsed onto the floor. She was utterly exhausted. Between rescuing Princess Luna from her darker half, celebrating with her new friends, and answering the swarm of questions from the other residents of Ponyville Twilight hadn't found a chance to rest. It didn't help that she'd been awake for over twenty four hours due to the Summer Sun Celebration and the party Pinkie Pie had thrown for her.
She forced herself to stand up and fought heavily lidded eyes as she looked through the dimly lit library. Forcing herself to keep moving, Twilight battled gravity against weary muscles and mind and went up to her room. Spike was long asleep now and Twilight looked fondly upon her bed. Just before she climbed up to the landing where she could rest, she remembered she had to write one more letter to Celestia.
Just thinking about what she wanted to write was enough to energize her despite the long day, and she almost trotted over to the desk. Lifting the quill with her magic, she dipped it into the bottle of ink on her desk then set the pen to parchment and began to draft.
Dear Princess Celestia,
First of all, I want to apologize for my previous letter. I was just frustrated in a way I'd never before felt. It was beyond the physical issues you helped me work through when I was younger. Now, after all that has happened, I'm happier than I have ever been. There's something incredibly special about the other Elements of Harmony, even more so than the fact that we all can wield the Elements.
Applejack, for example, was more than the Element of Honesty when she held my hooves at the brink of the cliff. I couldn't just take her as an honest pony when I trusted her enough to let go, not if I had been as terrified as I should have been. But when I looked into her beautiful green eyes I felt as safe and secure as if I were a mere filly again and my own mother's arms were wrapped around me.
Fluttershy was beyond courageous and kind when she helped the manticore. It was an example of compassion and empathy that touched my heart so deeply I almost cried. If I wasn't so certain it would scare her to death I would have given her a bear hug that would have made Pinkie Pie jealous.
Speaking of Pinkie Pie, have you ever had the opportunity to hear her laugh? It cannot be compared to any other sound in the world. The music of birds and the sound of silver horns in Canterlot will be nothing but jagged sounds that mar my ears now, and Pinkie Pie is to thank for that.
I can't talk about 'thanking' anything without mentioning Rarity. There was a river dragon between us and our goal and Rarity sacrificed her tail to please him. I cannot begin to express how shocked I was! She cut off her own tail! just so that the dragon could have a stylish mustache. There's generosity, but then there's selflessness. If she were to ask anything of me from now on, I can hardly imagine saying no after witnessing her willingness to give.
Since I'm on such a roll, I have to talk about Rainbow Dash. That egocentric pegasus proved her loyalty, but we already told you about that. What I didn't get a chance to tell you was that she never, for an instant, considered leaving us. There was no hesitation, no thinking, no battle within her heart or head. Its as if the idea, the mere possibility of leaving the rest of us for anything, even her dream, was simply incomprehensible. That's more than loyalty, but I don't know what else to call it.
Thank you, Princess, for sending me here. These five ponies are without a doubt the best friends anypony could want. I love them all dearly, and if such a thing were possible I might even say I was in love with them all. But I'm just being a silly filly now. I am -extremely- tired.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle
With that done, Twilight used her power to roll the scroll up and seal it. She yawned and decided to have Spike send it off first thing in the morning. With half-closed eyes, she relied on muscle-memory to guide her up the last set of stairs and into her bed. She didn't bother trying to cover herself up, or even lay down correctly. Splaying her body at an angle, she went to sleep almost instantly.