//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 [edited] // Story: How To Train Your Batpony // by peter //------------------------------// How to Train Your Batpony Chapter 6 *** With a skip to her brisk trot, Princess Luna breezed back into her bedroom after a most satisfying night’s activity. The excavation into her former quarters was proceeding on schedule, she had taken a brisk shower under the icy Canterhorn waterfall, and once they had dealt with their Royal Duties, the breakfast with her sister had been most pleasant. The kitchens had, in the quiet understated way that she was beginning to love, slipped a tray of mixed fruits onto the stand outside of her room with a flat disk of thaumaturgically created ice under it to keep the delectable bits cool all day, in the event she decided on a midday snack and did not wish to ring for a servant, or even get out of bed. Celestia had trained them well. She whisked the tray into the bedroom behind her, placing it on the nightstand as she shed the regalia of her position onto their holders. As usual, everything was in readiness for a peaceful day of sleep with the thick curtains drawn, the blankets turned down, Mister Snuggles peeking out from under the thick grey pillow in the middle of the bed… Luna blinked. The stuffed teddy bear was exactly where it was supposed to be, all fluffed and clean for very appropriate princess snuggling throughout a day of blissful slumber, but the large grey pillow to one side was snoring. It also looked familiar, and because it reminded Luna of certain recent actions she was not proud of, slightly guilt-inducing. “Laminia?” The snoring stopped with an abrupt snort and her hoofmaiden rolled over in a scramble of legs, taking two attempts before reaching a position where she could blink with bleary eyes at her Princess of the Night. “Whatiz… Oh. ‘m sorry, Your Highness. I just laid down for a minute.” “Are you not supposed to presently be with the Bearer of the Element of Kindness in Ponyville?” Luna asked while trying to project the exact set of emotions that would be expected of her in this situation. Laminia’s full-body yawns did not help matters. Despite the guilt Luna was feeling, she could not help but yawn in synchronization with the pregnant Nocturne. “Sorry, princess. It was the animals.” “The animals?” Luna asked, feigning puzzlement. “Yes. The foal seems to have thrown my body fully out of whack. I think it has something to do with the natural urge of a pregnant mare to eat. I can smell a pickle nearly a mile away now, but at the same time, I get nauseated at the drop of a hat. Anyway, Fluttershy’s house has all those animals. I just managed to make it to the little bridge before I threw up. Repeatedly. I don’t know if it’s the droppings or the animal hairs or what, but that’s as close as I could get without barfing up a horseshoe. I swear I saw carrots, and I haven’t eaten any of them for weeks. I’ve never felt so empty in my life.” As much as she was trying to conceal it, the pregnant Nocturne’s nose twitch and the way she kept stealing little glances at the covered tray on Luna’s nightstand gave her away. With a sigh of regret for her untasted strawberries, especially the chocolate dipped ones that had been placed around the main serving as a decorative touch, Luna levitated the lid off the tray and gave it to Laminia, who dove in face-first. Luna’s twinge of guilt increased at the sight. Maybe having Shadow Dash spray Fluttershy’s yard with that cheap cologne had been a bit over the top. It had been necessary, however. Luna could have given Laminia a direct order to stay in the palace till her foal was born, but having her learn first hoof that she was going to have to respect her body’s limitations had seemed like such a good idea at the time. And, this way she wouldn’t hold her convalescence against Luna like she would have if Luna had flat out ordered her to stay put. It was weak of her. But Luna was disinclined in this case to be the bad-pony if she could help it. It only took a few minutes for the princess to visit the bathroom and brush her teeth before bed, and once she had properly gargled, she called out, while crossing her wings so it didn't count, “I feared the possibility might arise, Hoofmaiden, so do not fret greatly over your loss of control. There is an alternative that I might use while you are swollen with foal, and perhaps sometimes afterward you may…” Patting her face dry with her pink towel, Luna walked back out into the bedroom and regarded the sleeping Nocturne spread out across the bed with an empty fruit plate shoved back onto the nightstand. Not even stems or a peel was left, and the plate was glistening clean as if it had been licked. It made her feel even more guilty about the necessary subterfuge she had put her suffering hoofmaiden through and caused her to wonder if Tia felt similar guilt when she helped a pony learn a valuable life lesson. Perhaps the learning was not so one-sided as she had thought earlier. With a sigh, the Princess of the Night, Lady of Dreams, Ruler of the Stars, curled up next to her sleeping hoofmaiden with Mister Snuggles held firmly between her hooves. On the plus side, it turned out that Laminia made a much better and warmer sleeping partner than a stuffed bear. *** “Get up! Come on, get up! This is the sort of thing you’re good at. Make yourself useful for once,” Apple Bloom shouted while she tugged at the blankets Diamond Tiara had cocooned herself inside. The small farm pony was wearing a mishmash of different outfits, most of them thrown on over something she was already wearing. Currently, she had three hats stacked on top of her head. “Go away, blank flank. It’s not time to get up yet,” Diamond Tiara snarled, peering out from inside her twisted sheets like a cranky snapping turtle. The resemblance was heightened by the way she was baring her teeth at Apple Bloom. “Why do you care what you’re wearing, anyway? It’s just another one of your hick cousins coming to visit.” “Babs is from Manehatten. And everypony knows they set store on dressing good,” Apple Bloom retorted, giving another hard tug, and ending up on her back when Diamond Tiara suddenly loosened her death grip on the covers and stood upright in bed. “Manehatten? You didn’t say anything about her being from Manehatten,” Diamond Tiara blurted out in an accusing tone. She ran her eyes over Apple Bloom and grimaced. “Come on. You have to have something you can wear,” she stated in a less than positive tone as she hopped down off the bed and began rummaging through Apple Bloom’s wardrobe. “Thank goodness your sister knows Rarity,” Di muttered as she held a sundress up against her own body in admiration. *** “Apple Bloom? Ain’t you ready yet? Jake’s about ready to wear a hole in the floor,” Applejack called out as she stuck her head in the door of Apple Bloom’s bedroom. She drew up short upon taking in the chaos in front of her. Diamond Tiara was tossing clothes out of Apple Bloom’s wardrobe and toward her roommate, while the farm filly tossed them on and off just as quickly. Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara's usual contentious interaction often left their shared room looking like a hurricane had hit it. Applejack now learned that the two of them working together left a debris field more in keeping with a twister. “Apple Bloom. You’re just going to the train station, not a country fair. Your cousin’s not going to care about how you’re dressed.” “She’s from Manehatten! I got to look my best,” Apple Bloom retorted. “Exactly. Everypony knows that Manehatten is the fashion center of Equestria,” Diamond Tiara chimed in as she held a blouse up against Apple Bloom. “Too flowery,” she said, tossing it over her shoulder. She held up a simple yellow dress and tossed that one as well. “Too bland, washes out your natural coloring.” Applejack gave an exasperated sigh and snagged Apple Bloom by the back of her current outfit, a toga-like arrangement that Rarity had come up with for sister/sister spa days. “You know what would make you look your best. Being on time to meet her,” Applejack said. “First impressions are the most important impressions, Diamond Tiara cried out, grabbing hold of Apple Bloom’s tail and plopping a garishly decorated spring fling hat down on her head. “Too busy,” she said, snatching it off and replacing it with a simple straw bonnet. “You don’t have to get yourself all gussied up, you already got somethin’ in common.” Applejack said, yanking Apple Bloom right out of her latest outfit. “What’s that?” Apple Bloom asked as she and Diamond Tiara tossed parts of a dozen different outfits onto her body. “She’s a blank flank, like you,” Applejack said. “What? Why didn’t you say so?” Apple Bloom cried out, rushing out of the room. “I’ll meet you at the train station. I got to go get Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.” Diamond Tiara had been right on Apple Bloom’s tail, a half dozen outfits slung over her back. But, at the mention of Scootaloo, she came to a hoof-screeching halt just before she reached the door, a mingled look of longing and rejection on her face. “You’re welcome to come along, Di,” Applejack said. “No, no, that’s perfectly fine. I have other, important things to do. I’ll meet the new blank... I mean your Manehatten cousin, soon enough.” *** Wearing a shining white dinner jacket set off by a flowing black cape, the hovering pegasus held out a hoof and said, “Come with me, if you want to know the truth.” Diamond Tiara reached out to the brave pegasus who had just saved her. Di’s lips parting slightly as Scootaloo bent over, her muzzle coming closer, and closer and--- “Arrrggggg, why can’t I get that stupid blank flank out of my head,” Diamond Tiara cried out, disarranging her mane with her hooves from frustration. She was standing in the barn, next to the harvest float that the stupid blank flanks had been building for the last week. Her hide was slick with sweat and her legs were wobbly from running her morning laps around the yard. She had thought to lose herself in the exercise, but as soon as she took a break to have a drink of water, that cursed daydream had interposed itself on her mind once again. “She’s not cool. She isn’t. She’s just a stupid flightless blank flank. I bet she didn’t even hit that stallion on purpose.” “Who hit what stallion?” A familiar voice asked. Flushing red at being discovered acting like a crazy pony, Diamond Tiara looked over at the barn door, and saw, as expected given the voice, Silver Spoon standing there. “Silver Spoon!” Diamond Tiara called out in pleasure as she trotted toward her friend. “Hmph, surprised you remembered my name, Di!” Silver Spoon said in a biting bitter tone that Diamond Tiara had never heard before, at least not directed at her. “That is what your new friends call you, isn’t it? Di?” The well-groomed pony gave a loud sniff and crinkled her nose as if she’d smelled something bad. “I see you’re embracing your inner earth pony, Di. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you sweat before. Why I can smell it all the way over here.” “What?” the flustered pony said, trying to gather her thoughts. She’d never seen Silver Spoon like this. She was always… well... just there. Following Diamond Tiara everywhere she went. Going wherever Diamond Tiara wanted to go. Only, she hadn’t been, not recently. Outside of school Diamond Tiara had barely seen her friend since being sentenced to farm purgatory. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s not like I’ve had a choice.” “Liar. You like it. It’s disgusting the way you follow her around like a pet.” ‘I do not follow Curry Comb around like a pet. And even if I did. She’s a princess. It’s expected that she have attendants.” “Pshaw, who said I was talking about that stupid snipe?” “Well, like, who else could you be talking about.” “I could have been, like, talking about that lame blank flank pegasus.” “What? Did you eat locoweed? How can you say something so stupid?” “Like, no way. What is ‘stupid’ is the way you couldn’t take your eyes off of her at Lickity Split’s the other day. You didn’t even hear me when I, like, tried to talk to you.” “Well. That was because... She looked so stupid. Trying to act all cool. Just because she hit one of those awful ponies from Canterlot who thought he’d cornered me. It wasn’t like I needed to be rescued or anything. I was getting ready to escape all on my own when she butted in.” Silver Spoon’s expression turned surprised, then angry, and finally, very sly, as she said, “That’s not what I heard. I heard you were trapped and wet yourself like a little baby, right before she swooped in and rescued you. Just like Rainbow Dash. Or at least, that’s what she’s telling everypony who holds still for five minutes. I heard Featherweight is even going to put out a special edition of the school paper centering on it.” Diamond Tiara felt like somepony had just bucked her right in the chest. She ‘had’ expected Scootaloo to boast about rescuing her. It was one reason she had been watching the pegasus so closely at the ice-cream parlor, or so she had told herself at the time. But, the flightless filly hadn’t even mentioned that Diamond Tiara had been cornered. All she’d boasted about was how she’d run circles around the ponies who had tried to chase her. The spoiled little rich pony turned red with embarrassment and anger. To think, she had actually been grateful to the blank flank for not mentioning the situation she had gotten herself into. To find out Scootaloo was running around spreading lies about how Diamond Tiara had wet herself in terror, and how she, Scootaloo, had swooped in and rescued her felt like a betrayal of the worst sort. “That dirty little liar!” Diamond Tiara cursed, missing the pleased expression that appeared on Silver Spoon’s face as she did so. “We should totally, like, teach her a lesson,” Silver Spoon suggested. A dozen schemes flashed through Di’s mind. In the last few weeks, she’d accumulated an entire volume of blank flank weak spots that were just crying out to be taken advantage of. She could see it in her mind, the looks of hurt and self-doubt on the faces of the three of them. The hoof pointing and laughter from all the other school ponies. It would be all the sweeter if she could make them look like little cry-babies in front of Apple Bloom’s cousin from Manehatten. Only, the more she pictured their distress, the more her own heart hurt. There was none of the joy she’d always had before when contemplating making some other pony’s life miserable for her own enjoyment. “So, what’s the, like, plan?” Silver Spoon asked eagerly. Diamond Tiara looked into her friends’ face and saw a stranger looking back. The malicious joy Silver Spoon was feeling was plain on her face, making her look ugly. Was that how Di herself looked right now? And, all those times before? “I’ve got to think about it. I need to come up with something really big,” Di said to Silver Spoon in an effort to buy some time to think. For a moment Silver Spoon looked disappointed, but then her expression turned even uglier. “Good. Think up something really nasty. Show those blank flanks they can’t treat you like they have. They’ve been acting like they’re just as good as you are when the truth is that you’re so much better than they are that it’s, like, not even funny.” A small voice in the back of Diamond Tiara’s head said, “No, that’s not true. They treated you like you were as good as they were.” She whispered a retort to the voice of reason inside her head, “They were just setting me up.” “What was that, Diamond Tiara?” “Nothing, nothing. Just thinking out loud,” Di hastily reassured her. *** Applejack paused in the middle of the street and addressed her little sister. “Apple Bloom, Jake and I’ll be leavin’ ya here while we go and drop these apples off at Sugar Cube Corner. You bring your cousin over from the train station and we’ll have a treat to welcome her to Ponyville. “Sure thing, Applejack. We’ll grab Babs and be right over,” Apple Bloom said, before turning tail and heading off toward the train station. “Awww, I wanted to meet the cousin too,” Jake protested. He looked backward at the heavily loaded saddlebags he was wearing. “Couldn’t we take the apples with us? Then we wouldn’t need to get a treat somewhere else,” he suggested in what he obviously thought was a sly tone. Applejack just gave him a smile and started walking toward Sugar Cube Corner, knowing he would follow behind her. She did feel a bit guilty even if it wasn’t quite lying. She did need to take a load of apples to the bake shop. But, she could have done it on her own with the cart. This way, however, Babs was less likely to be overwhelmed from the moment she stepped off the train. Apple Bloom and her friends were going to be bad enough, but throwing in an alicorn prince who was always enthusiastic at the idea of making new friends, might be a touch overwhelming for the poor thing. No need to hurt Jake’s feelings by telling him he had a tendency to come on a bit strong and might be scary to a filly who had been suffering from bullies. Jake might only be five, but he was as big as the teenagers that had been bullying Babs according to what her mother had written to Applejack. Nope, best to let the skittish thing get used to one high-energy friendship at a time. “Is this because I might scare Cousin Babs?” Jake asked. “Apple Bloom told me I was to mind my manners and not scare her by being too excited to see her.” Applejack paused and gave Jake an incredulous look. “Apple Bloom said ‘you’ might act too excited?” “Yeah,” Jake said gloomily. “Curry tells me all the time to not crowd other ponies.” He gave Applejack an earnest look. “I’m trying really hard to be good. It’s hard.” “Well, sugarcube, sometimes that’s all you can do,” Applejack said, giving him an affectionate nuzzle. “But, we still have to get these apples to the bake shop.” *** Her mother was an idiot, Babs Seed thought. Just when she had started to get a handle on all the best places to hide from Pearl and Tourmaline; after months when it seemed as if she could not go anywhere without the sudden appearance of her sky blue and frosted white stalkers engaging in what seemed to be their favorite activity, making her life miserable, her mother decided to send her to a brand new town to visit cousins she had never heard about. Cousins who, if her luck held, already had their cutie marks and would make her life a living heck all over again. Cousins, she would not be able to hide from because she was going to be living with them in a place she didn’t know like the back of her hoof. Unseen by Babs, the train conductor pulled out his watch and looked between her and it with a frown on his face before he approached and said, “You’re going to have to get off, ma’am. This is your stop.” The sudden interruption of her thoughts jolted Babs out of her misery. Without any conscious thought on her part, her stubby bottle-brush tail slapped over her hip, right where her cutie mark would be if she had one. At the same time, she shrank back on her lounge, away from the middle-aged stallion with the oversized pocket-watch held in his hoof. He had already turned away, however, and she relaxed slightly and eased off of her seat. Babs made her way reluctantly to the exit. Already she could smell the fresh air wafting in from outside. Under the comforting sooty scent of the train engine was the smell of flowers and green grass. She had nothing against those things. But, back home they were properly restricted to parks and flower boxes. They were not allowed to grow anywhere they liked, as seemed to be the case here. Looking out the window she noticed that the houses were few, and spaced well apart. Nowhere could she see anything more than a couple of stories tall. It was truly an alien world. Ah, well, at least her tormentors were all back in Manehatten. She just had to work hard to not become a target. No one knew her here. She was free to reinvent herself as anypony she wanted. Babs had barely stepped out of the train when she was suddenly surrounded by three fillies, all talking at the same time. She flinched back in expectation of a sudden painful nip before she realized from their shouting that one of the fillies was her cousin Apple Bloom, and the other two were her friends. As it turned out they were not attacking but welcoming her. Despite that, she still felt highly uncomfortable with the way they had her penned in. It wasn’t till they backed off and gave her some room to breathe, that she was able to relax. It didn’t hurt that the other three fillies revealed they were all blank flanks. Just like her. At least she wouldn’t have to worry about any teasing from them. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad here? “Oh, look, a convention of blank flanks, Tourmaline. And of all ponies, Babs! Is that really you?” asked a teenage unicorn with a gleaming opalescent coat and a frosted blue mane and tail. A single perfect pearl decorated her flank. “Look, Tourmaline. Little Babs is here, and she’s found herself some little blank flank friends.” The other unicorn, who had a frosted blue coat with a platinum tail and mane along with a square cut blue gem for a cutie mark, looked over the group of younger fillies with an expression of disdain. Despite their different color schemes, it was obvious the two mares were twin sisters. Tourmaline gave a sniff and said, “Four of them now! What is the world coming to? How ridiculous. I suppose that’s what you have to expect from a bunch of farm hicks. It’s not like they really need any special talent to grub in the dirt, Pearl. But whatever are you doing here, Babs? Shouldn’t you be back home in Manehatten helping your mother clean the house?” “I’m, I’m visiting. My cuz,” Babs stammered, while she stared in horror at the pair of twin teenage unicorns who had addressed her. “But, Toumaline, Poil! What are you doing here?” Babs cried out, trying to shrink down into herself. “Well, we can tell you what we’re not doing here,” The unicorn named Pearl said as she lit her horn and effortlessly used her magic to sweep her long and beautifully styled mane across her shoulder in a gesture that filled Sweetie Belle with envy. “We’re not here to look at your ugly dull brown blank flank,” her sister Tourmaline finished as she flounced up beside her sister Pearl and used her magic to sweep her mane theatrically over the shoulder opposite that of her sister. “You know these ponies, Babs?” Apple Bloom asked nervously, not liking the looks of the two unicorns one little bit. “Of course she knows us. Her mother works for our father. I’m sure you’ve heard of him. High Tower? Only the richest pony in all of Manehatten. Dear sweet blank flank Babs has been underhoof at our home for as long as I can remember,” Pearl said, directing a wide smile at Babs, while casually grinding one of her fore-hooves into the thick timbers of the train platform. “So all y’all came to keep her company?” Apple Bloom asked, her brow furrowing. Tourmaline let out a loud giggle. “Keep her company? We didn’t even know she was on the train. It’s not like we bought tickets in coach like some common pony. Our private car was hooked up in Canterlot, where our father's biggest mansion is located. “He has a dozen or so scattered around in all of the 'great' cities, you see, but this one has a balcony on the top floor with the best view of the palace in the whole city. You can even watch Princess Celestia raise the sun through a telescope if you get up that early. Frankly, I was more impressed with Princess Luna raising the moon. It's so much more classy and at a much more reasonable time of day. Only common everyday work ponies get up that early in the morning.” The unicorn looked down her nose at the four fillies, her face triumphant at having scored such a social victory. Babs was far too familiar with that look. The terrible twins always made sure to regale her with all the special parties they had been to, and all the celebrity ponies they had met. Frankly, she was a bit surprised they hadn’t claimed to have had a personal audience with Princess Celestia to give her fashion tips. “So, why are you here?” Scootaloo asked, sounding less than impressed. “Why, to meet ‘the’ prince of course. Why else would anypony of distinction come to this dreary backwater of a place?” Pearl said. Giving a put-upon world-weary sigh, Tourmaline shook her head in bewilderment while saying, “I don’t know what Princess Celestia could have been thinking, allowing him to live here in this hick town. How is he ever going to learn how to behave among civilized ponies if he’s stuck out here?” “Unless the rumors are true, and she’s afraid he’ll take over the throne,” her sister suggested as she directed a superior look at the foals. Frowning at their blank looks, she added, “You do know that there is an Alicorn prince living somewhere around here?” Before they could reply, Tourmaline interjected, “I hardly think it likely ‘they’ would have seen him, Pearl. He will be living on some fine country estate, with miles and miles of land to separate him from the riff-raff. I bet they don’t let the common ponies anywhere near it. Unless it’s to deliver turnips to the back door.” Babs noticed Scootaloo swelling up with an angry look on her face, only to deflate when Apple Bloom gave her a sharp nudge, followed by a wink, after which her expression turned almost cheerful. Tourmaline, fully involved in her boasting, had not even noticed the exchange. “Of course, they’ll let ‘us’ in to see him. Once we show them the letter of introduction our Father gave us,” she said with a smirk. To Babs’ surprise, her cousin and the other two foals were now exchanged amused glances instead of looking awed or intimidated, which was the usual reaction of young blank flanks in the presence of the despicable duo. Her own, very private, never to be uttered out loud, name for the twins. Apple Bloom looked up at the older fillies and said in a sugary-sweet tone, “Wow. It must be wonderful to know so many important ponies.” Babs started to sweat nervously. It was clear as could be that Apple Bloom was laughing up her leg at the older ponies. Babs had no idea why she just knew it was a really bad idea. Pearl and Tourmaline only thought jokes were funny when they made them. “Apple Bloom. Shouldn’t ya be showing me the way to youh fam?” Babs asked nervously, casting frightened looks toward the twins. “Yes, run along, little Babs. I’m sure we’ll have many chances to catch up. If we’re going to be trapped in this dreary little town, it will be nice to see a familiar face from time to time,” Tourmaline said with a nasty smirk that cause Babs’ stomach to roll up in knots. “You there. Careful with those,” Pearl suddenly yelled in a brazen voice, totally different from the sly smooth tones she had been using while talking to the fillies. Her anger was directed at some porters who were carrying a large load of fancy looking trunks and suitcases out of the freight car. “That’s an authentic Hayvana set of luggage. It’s worth more than you’ll make in your entire pathetic life. “Of course ‘we’ didn’t have to pay for them. Our mother ‘is’ Hayvana,” Tourmaline said to Babs’ cousin and her friends, before trotting off to join her sister in overseeing the unloading. *** “Boy, and I thought Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were bad,” Sweetie Belle said, once they were out of earshot of the twins. Babs almost collapsed from nervous tension. “You can’t make fun of them, cuz,” she said in a frantic whisper, anxiety causing her already distinct Manehatten accent to thicken. “All they got to do is ask, and their fatha will fiah my motha.” “That can’t be true,” Sweetie Belle protested. “It is. He loves fiahing ponies. He even makes a game out of it. He gathes all his manageas around a big table once a month and fiahes the one who made him the least money that month.” Babs looked over her shoulder and visibly relaxed when she didn’t spot the twins. “Thank goodness they're going to be spending all theih time with that prince. Let him deal with them.” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle exchanged worried looks, but Apple Bloom didn’t seem bothered. “Well, I don’t think we’uns got much to worry about,” Apple Bloom said with a broad smile. Then, before Babs could react, her cousin reached up and covered her eyes. “No peeking for a minute, cuz. I’ve got a big surprise for you.” *** When sometime later Apple Bloom’s hooves were removed from Babs’ face, they were standing just outside a sweet shop. The scent of delectable pastries had been tickling Babs’ nose for the last fifty steps or so, so that wasn’t much of a surprise. Drool pooled in her mouth as she gave a loud sniff and took in all the wonderful smells in the air. This was more like it. She could have been right outside her favorite bakery back in Manehatten. “Is this the cousin?” A voice asked from the side. Babs turned in that direction and found herself looking up into the face of a moderately sized black unicorn. At first glance, she assumed, from how tall he was, that he was around the same age as the twins, and she shied backward slightly in reaction to his unexpected presence, her tail slapping across her hip. When he didn’t make any move or say anything nasty, she relaxed, slightly, and took a better look. There was something strange about the stallion. He looked half-finished. If he hadn’t been so big she would have thought him a young colt with knobby knees and awkward over-sized hooves, half her age at the most. Which was ridiculous. He was clearly just a funny looking teenager. That was actually a good thing. With his looks, he likely came in for a lot of teasing. Maybe that would make him nicer. She sure hoped so. “Hello. How are you? Cousin Babs? The older colt said in a slow distinct tone. When he finished, he looked over at a pony who ‘had’ to be related to Apple Bloom, going by her appearance, and asked. “Did I do okay, Applejack?” He looked back at Babs and continued. “I didn’t scare you, right?” Babs could only stare at him, speechless. When the colt had turned his head to talk to Applejack, he revealed enough of his side to let her see that in addition to the horn on his head, he sported wings. Which made him— “Alicorn. You’re an Alicorn. You’re ‘the’ Alicorn.” The impossible pony in front her looked back around so he was facing her with a frown on his face and corrected her, “No. I’m ‘the’ Apple. No. I mean. I’m an Apple. Tell her, Apple Bloom.” *** “What do you think? I say we wreck this stupid float,” Silver Spoon said, pointing at the giant fabric pumpkin on wheels that filled up the middle of the barn. It was only the latest of a dozen mean and malicious suggestions she had put forward as a way to get back at Scootaloo and the rest of the blank flanks. Diamond Tiara flinched slightly. She’d helped build the float. Well, she’d held the ladder while Scootaloo stretched fabric over the top, but that was helping, sort of. “I can just picture the expression on those blank flank’s faces when they get back and find a pile of scrap,” Silver Spoon said with a mean laugh. “Serves them right for telling such nasty stories about you just to make themselves look better.” An image of Scootaloo’s shocked, betrayed and broken expression appeared in Diamond Tiara’s mind as she contemplated the ruin of her beloved parade float. For just a moment it gave her a familiar warm and fuzzy feeling until her imagination added in a tear trickling down the pegasus’ cheek, and Di felt her gut twist to the point where she felt nausea. She looked over at Silver Spoon and found herself suddenly repulsed by the vindictiveness she saw there. “No!” Di, blurted out and flushed a little when Silver Spoon looked at her in surprise. “I mean, that’s the sort of thing a stupid colt would do. All they know how to do is break and smash things. We don’t need to get our hooves dirty. We’re better than that. We don’t leave evidence behind.” “So what do you think we should do?” Silver Spoon asked, looking at Diamond Tiara eagerly. Looking at her friend’s expression and considering her question, Di experienced a sudden revelation. It was something she had never really thought about before. Why did Silver Spoon like her? Di had spent very nearly a month at the farm now, and she’d seen Apple Bloom interacting with her friends a lot without Silver Spoon around to mock that friendship. She’d participated in their games, reluctantly at first, but lately, with a certain hidden enthusiasm. She smiled in memory of the fun they’d have fooling those dreadful press ponies. She’d even started to enjoy arguing with Apple Bloom and the others in an entirely different way than she was used to. A way where they gave as good as they got, and they all rather enjoyed the squabble. That was the main reason why the revelation that they still thought of her as an enemy hurt so much. Diamond Tiara thought about their cheerful banter and arguments. The way they could go from brawling in the dirt over some silly little thing, to laughing together over something just as silly, at a moment’s notice. She compared her memory of their happy mutual laughter to the mean expression currently on Silver Spoon’s face, and to all the times she and Silver Spoon had giggled and laughed at the misfortune and embarrassment of other ponies. Sour bile filled her mouth, as she realized that she really, really, didn’t like the pony she had been. With all the insights Di had gained living with Apple Bloom, she knew she could think of all sorts of awful things to do to make the Cutie Mark Crusaders feel bad about themselves. She also knew that whatever she suggested, Silver Spoon would eagerly accompany her in doing it, cheering her on the whole way. No matter what it was. No matter who might get hurt. Diamond Tiara tried to tell herself that she should be eager to punish Scootaloo for her treachery, but the only real emotion she could work up was regret over the loss of something she clearly had never had, and maybe never deserved. Di would have loved to have placed the blame on Silver Spoon for why she’d been such an awful pony, but she could not lie to herself, much as she would have liked to. The nausea in her belly increased as she faced the undeniable fact that she had been the principal instigator in all the mean things she and Silver Spoon had done. Silver Spoon didn’t have a clue, she was a follower, and Diamond Tiara had been only too happy to lead her. An overwhelming need to simply be by herself, somewhere private, where nopony could witness the reaction she was just barely holding in check. Voice thick, she said, “Why don’t we just leave them to work on their silly little float all by themselves?" “Great idea. That will show them. I bet they won’t be able to do a single thing without you here to tell them what to do,” Silver Spoon said with enthusiasm. “Exactly. They’ll make even bigger fools of themselves,” Di said, casting a disparaging look at the big pumpkin. Inside, she was remembering how Apple Bloom and the rest had talked as if it was a done deal that Di would be riding in it with them. “You might as well head home. I can’t leave the farm without permission.” Di told Silver Spoon suddenly, wanting to be alone before the itchy feeling behind her eyes turned into pouring tears and totally ruined her reputation. *** “My cuz is a prince,” Babs said in a dazed tone, for about the hundredth time. “She keeps saying that,” Jake complained to Applejack. “I’m not a prince. I'm an Apple. Tell her again.” “No one is saying you ain’t, sweet-pea. No reason you can’t be both.” “I’m an Apple. Rarity told me that a prince should wear nice things and not get all covered in mud. That sounds stupid. I’m not stupid. So I’m not a prince.” Jake repeated stubbornly. “I don’t git this,” Babs said, addressing Apple Bloom while keeping a wary eye on Jake as she did so. “How can youh brother be a prince.” “He’s not my brother, more like my nephew. Sort of.” “Oh, like that cleas things up real fine,” Babs said, her dazed expression shifting to one of exasperation. “My big brother, Big McIntosh, adopted Jake a few weeks ago.” “A few weeks? Ain’t he a bit old to git adopted? He’s what, fifteen, sixteen?” Showing that his big ears were not just for show, Jake butted in on the conversation, “I’m five and—” his face screwed up as he doodled in the dust with a hoof “—four weeks,” he finished with a pleased expression. “Yous joking.” Babs looked at the other foals. “He’s joking, right?” Their expression supplied the answer, and Babs went back to being dazed, for about ten seconds. “How’s that possible?” she asked, even as she told herself it went a long way to explaining why he looked so weird. If you were to stand off and look at him without anything around to show how big he was, you’d never think he was anything but a five-year-old foal. “Well, it’s a long story,” Apple Bloom told her. “Why don’t we show you around while we tell you all about it?” *** “I can’t believe it. They haven’t even paved or cobbled the streets. What sort of a dump is this place?” Pearl complained to Tourmaline. “My hooves are getting all covered in dust.” “I know, right. I’m not sure even a chance at a prince is worth having to come here to live,” Tourmaline said in agreement. “Bite your tongue. He’s not just a prince. He’s an Alicorn Prince. Remember what mother said. There are only three ponies in Equestria with a higher rank or social standing. And he’s the only male. The mares who snag him are going to have it made for life. And their families as well.” Pearl bit her lip, and for the first time in a very long time spoke with a touch of doubt in her voice. “Are you really sure we can snag him, Tourmaline? There’s going to be an awful lot of competition.” “Hello, smoking hot rich twins here,” Tourmaline said, making a gesture that encompassed her and her sister. “No stallion in his right mind, let alone a teenage one, is going to turn down a chance at the two of us. At least not any who are interested in mares. Why do you think mother has kept us on such a tight rein since we got our cutie marks?” Pearl rolled her eyes. “Please, I’ve heard the lecture just as often as you have.” Her voice developed a sing-song cadence as she continued, “No matter how cute the gardener is, he’ll still be there, or somepony just as studly, once you land the big fish.” She gave a wistful sigh, and added, “Though I’m not sure we’ll ever find another stallion as studly as Glitter Nexdor.” Both sisters let out long lingering sighs as their vision turned inward in contemplation of their next door neighbor’s unicorn groundskeeper. “Pardon me, ladies. Do you need directions?” a deep masculine voice asked. Pearl and Tourmaline looked up, and then up a little bit more at the big black pegasus standing a few feet away looking down at them. He had on a brown vest with a metal star pinned to it for some reason and was wearing a broad-brimmed white hat. He was only a little older than they were but was muscled like a professional athlete. “Only to your hous---” Pearl started to say in a breathy tone, only to get cut off as her sister lifted a leg and gave her a sharp knee to the belly. “We are perfectly capable of finding our own way,” Tourmaline said in a haughty tone. She gestured down the street to where several ponies were pulling a heavily loaded cart. “Our luggage is being taken to our residence as we speak.” “Your pardon, ladies. I’ll leave you to it,” the stallion said as he tipped his hat to them and ambled away. Pearl turned her head and oblivious to anypony who might be watching took in the view with great appreciation, until Tourmaline stomped on her hoof. “Ouch, what did you do that for” Pearl complained. “I can’t believe you. Ogling a ‘bird’ like he was a box of Black Knight Select chocolates.” “I’ve heard that pegasi are very limber,” an unrepentant Pearl said lecherously as she moved away from her sister and returned to ogling the retreating form of the big black pegasus, in particular, his lollipop cutie mark. “Mmmm, I wouldn’t mind licking that,” she said. “You’re disgust…” Tourmaline started to say in a scathing tone, before trailing off. “Ehh?” Pearl said, her sister’s sudden silence drawing her attention far quicker than any denouncement of her morals could have. She discovered that her sister Tourmaline was staring down the street, a familiar dazed expression on her face. Following her sister’s line of sight, Pearl found herself looking at a huge muscular red earth pony stallion sporting a green apple for a cutie mark on his heavily muscled flank. “Oh, momma, would I love to take a bite out of that,” Tourmaline said in a thick husky tone, all but drooling. “I can’t believe you! You call me disgusting for enjoying a little pegasus eye-candy, and you’re all but going into heat over a muscle-bound dung-kicker.” “Oh, lighten up, sis. You know what they say about earth ponies. They’re really good at plowing a furrow.” “Celestia, could you be any more disgusting. If you must be, save it for the prince, sis. I’m sure you’ll be able to interest him in a little gardening soon enough.” “I can guarantee that, sis. No stallion’s going to be able to resist what I bring to the table.” *** “Girl’s are so boring,” Jake muttered to himself, as he trudged along after Apple Bloom and the other fillies. “All they do is talk, talk, talk, about stupid cutie marks. I could have been playing with Pipsqueak and Snips and Snails, or helping Pa haul apples into town, fun stuff.” Jake gave a wistful sigh. Apple Bloom had made it seem so exciting that Babs was coming, but he couldn’t even get close to the cousin without the new pony trying to hide behind the other fillies. It reminded him painfully of back when he’d still been big. A lot of the ponies he tried to make friends with ran away. He thought things were supposed to be better now that he was small. He looked around the farm yard as Apple Bloom led the other fillies into the barn. Maybe there was something he could do by himself? He looked over his shoulders and spread his wings out wide. He hadn’t practice flying in a while. That could be fun, as long as he avoided the compost pile and the pigpen this time. Galloping across the farmyard, he let his wings spread out, and mindful of Rainbow Dash’s instruction, let the air do the work. He felt the weight on his hooves decrease and the length of his strides increase till he was gliding more than he was trotting. Now, this was more like it. Angling his wings slightly, Jake curved his path so he’d circle around the barn, his hooves only touching down every twenty strides or so. Everything went fine, till he leaned just a little bit too far, and a hoof caught the ground before he was ready. His graceful glide turned into a stumble, and he went tumbling head-over hooves, retaining just enough control to aim himself at a convenient haystack. Wearing a broad grin, he turned his stumble into a backward jump and flop into the hay. The feel of an unexpected lump under his back and a sudden cry of surprise and distress wiped the smile off Jake’s face and he tumbled out of the haystack in haste. He nuzzled the hay aside and revealed Diamond Tiara, looking somewhat flattened. “Di! Sorry,” he hastily added while nuzzling the smaller pony in concern. His ears laid back in expectation of a lecture on looking before he leapt, and was surprised when instead of yelling at him, Di simply tucked herself into a small bundle. Leaning in, Jake saw tears trickling down her cheeks. “Di, don’t cry. I’ll get help. I’ll get Apple Bloom.” “No!” Diamond Tiara cried out, and then in a softer tone. “Just leave me alone.” “I can’t do that. You’re hurt,” Jake protested, settling himself down on the straw next to her. He desperately wanted to make her feel better, to make her ouch go away, but he had no idea how to do that. If only Curry was here. “How can I make the ouch go away?” he asked. “I just want to go home,” Di said in a voice made rough by her constricted throat and tear-filled nose. “But. We are home?” Jake said in puzzlement. “My home. I want to go back to my home.” Di said in the same rough choked up tone. “This isn’t your home?” Jake asked, trying to work it out. “Don’t you like it here?” “Who could like such a dirty run-down place?” Di, asked, some of the old familiar snap coming back into her voice. “Nope. Not dirty,” Jake said firmly, raising his head to look around at the well-maintained farmyard and the recently painted barn and house. “Please don’t leave, Di. You’re my sister. I never had sisters before. I don’t want you to go.” Diamond Tiara went still for a moment. She gave a loud, rather disgusting sniff-snort and looked up at Jake with red-rimmed eyes. “Sister? Do you think I’m your sister? Why would you think that?” “Curry said so. She said you’re the grouchy teenage sister who is always annoyed at me and Apple Bloom because that’s what big sisters do. But it was all right because no matter how cranky you are, you still love us underneath. That you’d never let anypony but you bully us.” Jake looked thoughtful at that and added. “I think it would be nice if sometimes you weren’t so cranky, but I’ll still love you even if you are.” Jake reared back slightly as Di’s eyes filled with tears that spilled down her cheeks. He hastily said, “Don’t cry. If you don’t wanna be my sister, you ain’t gotta be.” Di let out a loud wail and buried her head against Jake’s shoulder, sobbing like her heart was about to break. Jake lay helpless, without a clue as to what to do, and afraid that anything he did do would only make things worse. Still, he did extend a wing over the sobbing filly while looking around desperately for some sort of adult support. *** “Hey, did anypony else hear that?” Scootaloo asked, her ears swiveling and twitching as she looked toward the barn door. Sweetie Belle, who had been in the midst of selling Babs on all the wonderful benefits available to members of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, looked at her blankly. “Sort of sounded like one of the barn cats got her tail stepped on,” Apple Bloom said uncertainly. “I think it sounded sort of like Di. Has anyone seen her?” Scootaloo said in a worried tone as she took a tentative step toward the door. “Nope, not since I left to pick up Babs. Maybe she’s up at the house helping Granny?” Apple Bloom suggested. “Or maybe Curry came by to work with her,” Sweetie Belle suggested. “Who are Di and Curry?” Babs asked, and visibly winced, afraid that she might have just started another unstoppable cascade of information from the three fillies. “Di is a friend, sorta, kinda. She’s staying at the farm with Apple Bloom. Curry is…” Sweetie Belle started to say, and then trailed off, looking over at Apple Bloom. “Well, Curry is… sort of hard to explain,” Apple Bloom said after a bit of thought. “Maybe best we wait till you meet her.” As she said that, Apple Bloom’s expression turned mischievous and she and Sweetie Belle exchanged smiles, which made Babs very nervous. Secret smiles were not a good thing in her experience. “I think Di is crying,” Scootaloo suddenly said from where she was standing just outside the barn door. She plucked her scooter out from where it had been leaning against a hay bale and hopped on, an instant later she disappeared in a cloud of dust. That wiped the smiles from Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle’s faces, and they dashed off after Scootaloo, leaving Babs alone in the barn. With an uncertain expression, she followed the three friends, at a much slower pace. It went against her life experience to run toward trouble, and this sure sounded like it. On the other hoof, she was equally nervous about being left all alone in the rustic barn. Who knew when some Buffalo might stampede through the farmyard, laying waste to all in their path. *** Jake’s cheeks were wet with sympathy tears by the time Scootaloo came dashing around the corner of the barn. Feeling immense relief that he could hoof the problem off to an older pony, he lifted the wing that wasn’t draped over the crying Di and waved it at the pegasus. “Scootaloo, help me! I can’t make Di stop,” he cried out. Scootaloo skidded to a stop a few steps away, looking at the crying Diamond Tiara while shuffling her hooves in the dirt almost as if, like Jake, she didn’t know what to do. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle joined her, also looking confused and uncertain. Jake was starting to get annoyed. They were the grown-ups; they were supposed to fix ouchies, not just stand around doing nothing. “What happened to her? Why is Di crying?” Scootaloo finally asked. “I sorta jumped on her,” Jake said, suddenly shamefaced at the confession. Diamond Tiara jerked her head out from under Jake’s wing and glared daggers at Scootaloo. “You... stupid chicken! Come to make fun of me some more? Are you happy now? You can spread more stories about what a crybaby I am. Just like you told everypony how I was crying and wetting myself and begging you to rescue me from that awful pony yesterday.” While she had been ranting, Di had pulled her entire body out from under Jake’s wing and advanced on Scootaloo, backing the startled pony up. Scoot fluttered her wings and went up on her hind legs, only to topple over onto her back with Di straddling her. Jake had followed behind Di and now looked down at Scootaloo with a disapproving frown. “That was mean,” he said. “But Scootaloo didn’t do any of those things,” Apple Bloom protested. “Yeah. Only thing Scoot said was how surprised she was about how brave you were,” Sweetie Belle chimed in. Jake lowered his head until his nose was right alongside Di’s and asked Scootaloo in a hopeful tone, “Is true?” Scootaloo, who looked like she was trying to shove her head in the ground to get away from Di’s glare, shifted her gaze slightly so she was looking Jake straight in the eyes and said, “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. I was real impressed with how she kept playing tag after so many of the other ponies had quit and gone to Lickety Split.” “You were?” Di, asked, a slight flush coloring her muzzle. “You weren’t going around telling all the ponies in town about how I was so scared I wet myself?” “I’d never do that,” Scootaloo said vehemently. “Even if it was true. Not after what happened on the camping--” Scootaloo broke off suddenly, a wash of color darkening her face. “Not after what?” Jake asked curiously, but received no answer from anypony. “I don’t understand,” Diamond Tiara said, much to Scootaloo’s relief. “Silver Spoon told me…” she trailed off, looking around at the ponies who were surrounding her, the slight flush that had been coloring her muzzle darkening. “She lied to me. Why would she do that?” Hearing the distress in Di’s tone, Jake gave her a comforting nuzzle in the hope it would forestall another crying jag. He didn’t want Di to be sad. He heaved a happy sigh of relief when she returned the pressure. “Uh, if we’re okay now. Could you get off me?” Scootaloo asked. “You’re sort of stepping on my wings.” Di hastily scrambled backward. She turned her back on the foals and said, “You must think I’m an idiot?” “Well, yeah,” Scootaloo said as she got to her feet and fluttered her wings to get the dust out. She let out a sudden -oof- and gave Sweetie Belle an annoyed look. “What was that for?” “You're not supposed to say that,” Apple Bloom said. “Why? You’re the one who’s always saying we shouldn’t listen to what Silver Spoon or Dia…” Scootaloo broke off, darting a look toward Di. “Oh, right.” “Idiot,” Sweetie Belle said, giving Scootaloo a light hoof slap upside her head. Apple Bloom moved over beside Diamond Tiara and cheerfully said, “I’m sure Silver Spoon was just teasing you. Y’all will have a big laugh about it later.” “Did it hurt this bad?” Di asked in a soft voice, and then clarified her statement. “All the times Silver Spoon and I said nasty things about you. Did it hurt this bad?” The three fillies looked uncomfortable, and wouldn’t meet her gaze. “Well… Yeah, it sort of did,” Apple Bloom said, trying to adopt an upbeat tone. “But, that’s all in the past now. Right?” Jake looked back and forth between the four fillies and then over at the barn, where Babs could just barely be seen peeking around the corner. “Are you still sad?” he asked Di. “If you’re not sad, can we go and play with cousin Babs?” “That sounds like a great idea,” Sweetie Belle said in a hyper-cheerful manner. “Lets all go and play with Babs.” She trotted toward the barn, Jake behind her. Apple Bloom gave Diamond Tiara a lingering look, and then followed after them. *** Scootaloo started after her friends, but came to a stop when Diamond Tiara called out in a soft voice, “Wait… please.” The pegasus pony shuffled her hooves slightly as Diamond Tiara approached her, head lowered. “I didn’t say it yesterday. Thank you.” Then, much to Scootaloo’s shock, she lifted her head and gave the slightly younger pony a quick peck on the cheek, before racing after Jake and the other ponies as if her tail was on fire. Scootaloo sat down with a thump in the dust and stared after her with a boggled expression while rubbing the warm damp spot on her suddenly flushed cheek. *** “No… No, no, NO!” Silver Spoon cried in rage from where she had hidden behind one of the smaller outbuildings. The tag-along pony felt like her entire life had just been uprooted. Desperately her mind tried to find some rhyme or reason behind her only friend’s incredible betrayal. “Diamond Tiara would never do that! It’s not real. It has to be a trick.” Silver Spoon’s eyes lit up. She knew what it had to be. The same thing that had turned her life upside down a month ago and started this whole thing. “It’s that ugly little snipe. She cast a spell on Diamond Tiara. That has to be it! “I have to cure her,” Silver Spoon muttered to herself. Her mind flashed to all the possible resources she could call on, only to realize that each and everypony of them were on the side of the stupid blank flanks and would never help cure Diamond Tiara of her obvious mind-controlled condition. Her heart in turmoil, Silver Spoon fled from the farm, knowing with every fiber of her being that she had to do something to restore her world back to the way it had been before that monster had come along and spoiled everything. *** “Babs, this is my… friend, Diamond Tiara. She’s staying at the farm for a little while. Di, this is my cousin from Manehatten, Babs Seed,” Apple Bloom said, doing the introductions. Diamond Tiara directed a glare at Apple Bloom for the slight pause before she used the word friend, mostly to conceal how much it meant to her. Plastering a much warmer expression on her face, she turned to look at Babs. “So, you’re from Manehatten. It must be wonderful. I’ve always wanted to go there. My daddy goes several times a year on business trips, but he’s never taken me.” “Well. I don’t wants to brag or nuttin’, but yeah, it’s a pretty cool place,” Babs said, puffing some air out of the corner of her mouth to blow her short bangs off her eyes, which were looked off to the side instead of straight at Diamond Tiara. At the same time, she shifted her stance slightly so one flank was out of the older pony’s line of vision, while her short cropped tail flipped forward to cover the other flank. A sudden thrill went through Diamond Tiara and she knew that all she had to do was say, “Hello Blank Flank,” in just the right tone of voice to reduce Babs to a cowering wretch. Drawing back from that temptation was almost painful. Di forced herself to look away from the Manehatten native while drawing a deep breath. She spotted Scootaloo a few feet away, looking at her in a wary nervous manner, and the tension in Di’s chest dissolved. She gave Scootaloo a wink. The pegasus acted like Di had thrown something at her, her wings fluttered wildly while she reared up on her hind legs, almost falling back on her hindquarters again as she backpedaled. Di turned back to Babs with a genuinely warm expression on her face. The visiting pony visibly relaxed under that welcoming smile. Inwardly Di felt a little buzz of contentment. She had just discovered that there were much more fun ways to mess with a pony than bullying them. *** “Now this is more like it,” Pearl said to Tourmaline as she stood in the road looking up the long winding laneway that led to the mansion on top of the hill. “Why didn’t daddy rent a place like this instead of that crappy six bedroom hovel in town?” “Well, Duh! This has to be where the prince is living. There isn’t another decent house closer than Canterlot,’ Tourmaline said derisively. “Well… Daddy should have built one,” Pearl said with a pout. “Half the village looks like its ready to fall down anyway. We’d be doing the yokels a favor by tearing some of their hovels down and putting up a decent dwelling.” Tourmaline gave her sister a tight smile. “Too true. We should tell him to do it. I just hope we’re not here long enough to need it. Let's go meet the prince.” “With any luck, he’ll let us have a private meeting,” Pearl said in a suggestive tone.” “Oh, Celestia. I hope so. I am so ready to get out of this place,” Pearl said with a roll of her eyes. She turned to look at her sister, a serious glint in her eyes that only barely masked an inner nervousness. “Remember what mother said after she saw him at the reception. He’s a teenager. And a funny looking one at that. Up till he became an Alicorn, the fillies likely crossed the street when they saw him coming. He’ll only have one thing on his mind. First chance we get, we have to let him have it. No wasting time playing hard to get. If we play around too much we might lose our chance and some other mare will land him.” “I know. I know. Pshaw, you don’t have to keep telling me,” Tourmaline snapped. Her normal pose of total self-absorption and assurance slipping, allowing the uncertainty under her facade to show through. Both teenagers looked up the pathway to the imposing mansion, and then at each other, their body language clearly indicating that they expected the other to take the lead. They might have stood there for minutes, if not hours if they had not been interrupted. “You fillies planning on moving anytime soon?” an uncouth voice said from behind them. “Cause you’re blocking the way.” “Not that we mind the view,” another voice threw in. Both unicorns gasped and did stiff-legged hops of surprise as they whirled in place to find themselves staring at two sweat-stained earth pony stallions, of the extra large variety. A matched pair. Twins, just like them. They were both dark chestnut in coloration with surprisingly blue eyes. They were hitched up to a large freight wagon, with a load heaped high under a tightly stretched canvas tarp. “Looks like little bro was right, Undertow. Ponyville does have some of the prettiest mares in Equestria. And twins at that. A match made in heaven.” “You ain’t just blowing smoke, Riptide. What time do you girls get off work? Don’t suppose we could interest you fillies in a bit of dinner after we drop off our cargo and clean up?” “How dare you,” Pearl, shouted, her voice a bit shrill. “Do we look like common shop girls to you?” The pony called Riptide barely blinked at Pearl’s fit of temper. He looked her up and down, and did the same to Tourmaline, and then drawled out, “Well, now that you mention it. You two are a bit on the scrawny side. But we won’t hold that against you. Don’t worry, we’ll pick up the tab. Our treat. You can eat as much as you want. Can’t say fairer than that. We’ll be up by the transshipment barns if you change your mind.” The two stallions left Pearl sputtering in outrage as they moved around the fillies and up the road. “I’m so going to get you louts fired!” she finally shouted out after them. “Come on, Pearl. Forget about them. Let's go up to the house and introduce ourselves to our future hubby,” Tourmaline cajoled her sister, and when that didn’t work, used her magic to take hold of her twin’s ear and dragged her through the gate by main force. “Ouch, ouch, ouch! Not so hard, Tourmaline. Are you trying to pull it off? Let go, or I swear, I’m going to tell Daddy about what really happened to his cigars.” Tourmaline hastily let go of her sister’s ear, and keeping a wary eye on her, started toward the house while saying over her shoulder, “Then stop trying to get into fights with a pair of dung kickers. Weren’t you just telling me we had to, like, keep our eyes on the prize?” A few moments later Pearl watched while Tourmaline used her magic to slap the heavy brass knocker against the thick timbered door. A hollow boom that they felt all the way down to their hooves echoed from inside. Time passed, and Pearl lifted the knocker to do a bit of booming herself, when the door swung open, revealing a small elderly unicorn with a severe expression on her face and a pair of square granny glasses on her nose. The light pink pony was wearing a good sturdy black dress and had several pencils thrust into the tight bob of her mane. She sported an open ledger book on her hip for a Cutie Mark. She directed such a daunting look at the twins that they were momentarily lost for words. Pearl recovered first, and said, “We’d like to see whoever is in charge. We have a letter of introduction from--” “Job applications around back at the home office,” the dried up old unicorn snapped as she stepped back and slammed the door in their faces. “What? Oh no. That did not just happen,” Tourmaline growled, her horn beginning to glow. The big knocker on the door began to vibrate, and then the entire structure, dust jetting out of minuscule cracks. Tourmaline’s temper tantrum induced attempt at demolition came to a sudden stop as Pearl latched onto one of her ears with her teeth. “Ow, ow, ow, let go!” Tourmaline cried out as she twisted her head to ease the pain. With obvious reluctance, Pearl let her sister loose. Smirking at having achieved some payback for the gate incident, she said, “Breaking down his front door isn’t going to make much of an impression on the prince. Let's go around to the back and see if we can find somepony to talk to who isn’t senile.” *** “Are you out of your---!” Pearl clapped a hoof over her sister’s mouth and gave the same elderly mare they had met at the front door her best sucking up smile. “Forgive my sister. We’ve had a long trip. We’ll fill out the applications right away.” The dried out old unicorn gave a sniff while running a jaundiced eye over the twins. “See that you do.” I’ll be back in a while to collect them. And you needn’t think about stealing any of the good silver. It’s all spelled with anti-theft prevention magic.” Pearl barely kept Tourmaline under control till the prune of a mare had left the room. “How could you let her talk to us that way?” Tourmaline demanded of her sister, as sparks of magic spit off from her horn. “Relax would you, sis. We’ll be getting payback soon enough,” Pearl said, pulling their letter of introduction out of her mane. While at the same time she floated up a pencil and began looking the job application form over. “You’re not seriously going to fill that out, are you?” Tourmaline asked in an incredulous voice. Pearl didn’t bother looking at her sister as she spoke in a slightly distracted manner. “Try to think with your brain, sis. What’s going to happen when whoever’s really in charge reads our introductory letter, and finds out the prune treated us like this?” Tourmaline paused her mouth opening and shutting a few times as her brow furrowed in thought. A wicked light started to glow in her eyes. “He, or she, is going to be terrified daddy will blame them for what that dried up old prune did to us. They’re going to want to throw somepony under the cart to make sure it doesn’t run over them.” “Her scrawny ass will be grass, and daddy will be the lawn-mower,” Pearl said in satisfaction as she filled in a line on the form. Meanwhile. We’re going to come off as saints for putting up with her abuse. They might even offer us lodgings here to make up for it. Even if they don’t, it should give us a good chance to meet the prince.” “Hmmm, what should I put down for past work experience?” Tourmaline asked Pearl as she floated up a pencil of her own. *** “So, how long do you think it will be before somepony comes crawling for our forgiveness?” Tourmaline asked Pearl as they walked out the front gate of the mansion. The twins had gotten bored with waiting for somepony to come back into the dusty office after a half-hour and had left, leaving behind their applications and reference letter. “Daddy always reads his mail in the morning. So likely by lunch time tomorrow. That would give us time to visit a spa and make sure we’re looking our total best.” Pearl suddenly let out a gasp and turned a frightened look toward her sister. “Like. Oh my god. What if this podunk town doesn’t have a spa?” “No! They have to have one!” Tourmaline protested. “What sort of town wouldn’t have a spa?” She paused, thinking over what she had said and looked around at all the nature that surrounded them. “OMG. I don’t think they will. What are we going to do? We fired our last maid just before we came here. Who’s going to do our hair and manes? Who’s going to give us hooficures?” “Calm down, sis. Let's not panic. There have to be dozens of mares in town who’d love to work for us. We can fire them once we get invited to live with the prince and hire someone decent from Canterlot. We just have to make do till somepony in charge looks over those stupid forms.” **** Clean Ledger gave a sniff of satisfaction when she came back to the home office and found that the trollops had left, leaving behind their filled out applications and so-called reference letter. As she had thought, making them sit on their overly privileged backsides for an hour had done the trick. Really, she was getting tired of all these husbands hungry mares treating Master’s Rich’s business like it was some sort of stud market. Just because the majority of the workers up at the warehouses and stockyards were stallions they all figured they could come and work for a few weeks and land a husband, or at least a coltfriend. When they found out it wasn’t so easy, they usually quit without notice. This last set looked like they might be of the worst sort, the type who thought they could worm their way into Master Rich’s bed with a few swishes of their carefully groomed tails. Clean Ledger floated the applications and reference letter into the air, and straight into the trash. Which was the proper place for anything to do with those trollops. *** “I. Can. Not. Believe this town!” Tourmaline ranted. “Don’t they understand what a privilege it is to come and work for us. How can this fall fair and Summer Wrap-up be more important than us?” “Well, at least that pink mental-case let us know there ‘is’ a spa,” Pearl said, gesturing with her muzzle toward the building they were approaching. “That’s all well and good, but I refuse to live in this backwater without a servant. As soon as we’ve freshened up I’m sending a message to daddy’s factor and ordering him to send somepony.” “I don’t believe it. You’re the High Tower twins!” a voice filled with amazed shock cried out. Pearl and Tourmaline turned to see a young grey earth pony looking at them with undisguised awe. After an entire day of disrespect, they were far less inclined to direct a scathing retort back at the silly thing than would have normally been the case. “Why,” “Yes,” “We, are,” Pearl and Tourmaline said together while using their magic to artistically arrange their manes to show to the best advantage. “I can’t believe it! Pearl and Tourmaline Tower, in Ponyville. This is incredible! I can’t wait to tell…” The grey earth pony trailed off. “Tell who?” Pearl asked, sensing from the filly’s expression that this was a tender spot, and being only too happy to twist the knife while pretending interest. “Nopony! Nopony at all. I’m Silver Spoon.” “Well, hello Silver Spoon. How nice to find out that there is at least one pony in this town with culture. I’m sure we’ll be marvelous friends,” Tourmaline said in a saccharin sweet voice while giving her sister one of their special twin looks. The one that meant. “Got a sucker on the hook. Let’s reel her in.” Silver Spoon’s eyes went wide in shock. “Friends? With you?” she squeaked. “But of course. Very, very good friends. Tell me. How would you like to accompany us to the Spa?”