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Post by AmehanaArashi on Sept 10, 2016 18:51:46 GMT -8
Rule Archive:
Spring Writing Contest
Any writing is welcome for this contest, whether it's a story, limerick, tanka, essay... write the way that you are most comfortable. Any length is eligible, just please don't give me an entire novel (novel = 80,000 words).
--- Prompt: It is a beautiful spring day. You're having a picnic. Suddenly this big crystal egg lands in the potato salad! What happens next?
Submissions due: May 30, 2016, midnight.
Starting Prize: 1629$L Upped to: 12029 Number of Prizes: 1
Due to how FEW entries past contests got there will only be one prize. Runners up might be chosen at judge discretion depending on how many entries are received. In that event then additional but non monetary prizes will be arranged. If anyone wishes to donate an item for a possible prize then please IM me, and as usual $L prize donations can be sent to the bank via the tip jars at collection points. Hanaarashi Resident (Kirsty Makay) is the account being used to hold the prize money until distribution.
Submission/Collection Points:
Rules: 1. Proper spelling and grammar is nice, take the time to proof read. Poorly spelled entries won't be turned away, but those with good spelling/grammar may sit higher in the ranks.
2. Notecard naming: your legacy name (not display name): Spring Writing Contest 2016
3. On the notecard put -1) What you consider your submission to be (haiku, story, essay etc.) -2) Title of your work (if you're naming it) -3) Name you wish to be announced under if different from your legacy name -4) Genre (if applicable) -5) Your work.
4. For readability please make sure there is an empty line between each paragraph and/or heading.
5. Make sure your piece uses the writing prompt suggested.
6. You can submit more than one entry, but each entry has the same chance as any other.
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Post by AmehanaArashi on Sept 10, 2016 18:52:57 GMT -8
Entry #1 Archive:
1) Short Story 2) An Egg of Destiny 3) Oscelot Haalan 4) Travelogue? 5) Prefferably see the PDF I sent you. Here's a plain text copy though:
An Egg of Destiny a short story by Oscelot Haalan
Berry Blossom and Sugilite Spark clambered down a ladder and into the bottom of their hoof-dug trench, pleased with their work. It had taken them a full day’s digging and half a day reinforcing the walls of the trench, but it was built to last.
Berry Blossom grinned at Sugilite Spark. “Told ‘ya we could do it in time Sugi.” she said, unfurling a picnic blanket by hoof and smoothing it out onto the ground. Sugilite Spark nodded and smiled back at her friend as she floated a picnic basket down onto the blanket next to her. “I’m just glad we could get Ma Diamond to let us dig on the ranch. She can be kind of… ah…. “ she trailed. “Particular?” Berry Blossom chimed in, the earth pony’s grin widening. Sugilite Spark nodded and rolled her eyes, her light green mane tickling her amethyst shoulders.
Sugilite couldn’t stay annoyed for long at her grandmother’s peculiar insistence about the exact placement and strata composition of the trench. The Dragon migration was going to be overhead soon. She’d heard so much about the dazzling colours in the sky, bright as any gemstone ever cut, and had been dying to see them since she was a child. The last migration that passed over their corner of Equestria was before the treaty with the Dragons, so her parents had forced her to stay out of sight, inside with the rest of the family - roof covered with a fire retardant foam in case a dragon started to get frisky… or as the dragons called it “an accidental sneeze.”
While most ponies still opted to spray their roofs and stay inside for the day, Berry and Sugilite were both far too excited about the prospect of seeing a dragon migration for themselves to pass up the opportunity. They had just started eating lunch when Berry Blossom spotted a dark dot on the horizon and pointed it out to Sugilite Spark excitedly, bouncing. Sugilite Spark floated the binoculars to her eyes, peering hard to make out what she was looking at even with them zoomed in all the way, and let out a whoop of excitement. “It’s them alright!” she said, passing the binoculars to Berry Blossom.
The two mares took turns looking through the binoculars at the oncoming Dragons, shapes turning from colourful blurs to colourful dragons with almost distressing speed. Berry Blossom ended her third turn at the binoculars, passing them back while her heart thudded with excitement in her chest. She pulled her camouflage blanket up over her mane and body, feeling suddenly very small. Within minutes, the Dragons were on them, whizzing overhead with dizzying speed. They looked like enormous gemstones flying through the air! They were emerald green, amethyst purple, carnelian orange, garnet red, and any number of other colours. The two ponies watched the dragons with amazement, oohing and aahing nearly constantly.
The final group of Dragons moved slightly slower, enough that the ponies below could clearly make out their forms. Most seemed to be carrying “small” bundles in cloth woven with various bits of Draconic symbology. Sugilite Spark snuck a few nibbles at her sandwich while she watched them, and suddenly gasped. Berry looked at her, alarmed, and started to ask what was wrong - when Sugilite’s horn suddenly started glowing pink. She winced with effort, and suddenly a large, dark purple orb floated over the edge of the trench and settled gently on the picnic blanket. Sugilite’s horn flickered out.
“What did you…?” asked Berry Blossom “I don’t… know.. I just saw something fall out of one of those bundles, and caught it on instinct. It was a lot heavier than I expected though. I think I caught it right before it hit the ground.” replied Sugilite Spark, panting from the effort.
The ponies inched closer to the orb, eyes widening as they realized what it was. It was a dragon egg.
~~
Sugilite Spark paced back and forth in Berry Blossom’s living room. She’d attempted to run after the dragons as soon as she realized what she’d caught, but they were already disappearing into the horizon by the time she’d scrambled up the side of the trench. Neither one of them had any idea what to do. She was quite certain that they didn’t want Ma Diamond finding out though, so they’d brought the egg to Berry Blossom’s house and set it up by the fire.
“You’re going to wear a hole through my floor!” hollered Berry Blossom from the kitchen. “I er… uh… sorry Berry!” hollered back Sugilite Spark. She found a spot on a couch and forced herself to sit down, though she found herself tapping her front hooves together to use up the restless energy instead.
Berry Blossom returned with a tray carrying some tea and biscuits on her back, carefully slid it off onto the coffee table, and plopped down by the egg.
“Way I see it, nobody but Princess Celestia has any chance of getting that thing back to the mother. You saw how fast they fly. We can’t hope to catch up to them following their trail… we won’t even be fast enough to cut them off in another town.” Berry Blossom said while she poured the tea. “You’re right… and even if we *could* catch them - it could be suicidal to try and talk to a dragon. What if they thought we stole the egg?” Sugilite Spark shivered at that thought and pushed it out of her head. “No, we have to figure out how to get it to Princess Celestia.”
Both ponies stopped to think for a moment, entirely unsure of how to do that. There wasn’t any Equestrian military presence this far out, so they couldn’t pass it along the chain of command. There wasn’t even any regular postal service - not that either one of them wanted to post a living being.
After a few minutes of thoughtful silence, Berry Blossom set down her tea and dug in a trunk she kept by her couch. She popped up with a scroll, and dropped it onto the table in front of Sugilite Spark. “Okay Sugi, we’ve got limited options here, and I think this one’s the best.” Sugilite Spark took the scroll with her magic and unravelled it, cocking an eyebrow at the contents - a map of Equestria. “You mean to tell me you think we should take it ourselves?” Berry Blossom nodded, her expression a bizarre mix of excitement and solemnity. “It’s the only way we can make sure it gets to the Princess.” Sugilite Spark nodded, wincing a little as she looked at the map, and just how far away Canterlot was. This was going to be a long trip.
~~
The following morning saw the two mares packing for an expedition and setting out before anyone had a chance to chastise or try to stop them. Both mares had filled up their saddle bags with the essentials for any long hiking trip - food, water, packout bags, toiletries - as well as plenty of bits for fares and lodging. Berry Blossom topped her collection off with a crude hoof-sewn backpack she'd made for the egg, and her map of Equestria (“and beyond!” proudly touted the map). Sugilite Spark helped slip the egg carefully into Berry’s backpack, and they were off.
As the two mares made their way through the morning fog on the road out of town, Sugilite Spark used her magic to gently pry the map free of Berry Blossom’s pack, and floated it in front of them.
“So what were you thinking here Berry? Go across the mountain road to Amarena and catch the ferry?” asked Sugilite, motioning at the map with a licorice stick. Berry Blossom nodded, and cocked an eyebrow “Yeah. And those are for later!” Sugilite Spark giggled and bounced away as Berry Blossom tried to snatch her licorice away with her teeth, then popped the rest of it in her mouth with a grin. “Nope! Never start the day without some sugar in your belly. Y’never know when you’ll need that extra burst of energy, like for when n’er do wells try to steal your licorice!” Berry Blossom shook her head and laughed, her voice muffled and tiny as they walked through the foggy woods towards the mountain pass.
~~
It wasn’t long until they arrived at the foot of Mt. Sineigh. The climb started gently enough - the forest merely started to slope upwards, imperceptibly at first. After a while, the trees started to thin, and then fall away completely, revealing the harsh red and yellow rock edifice of the mountain. Scrub grew here and there, clinging to the rock for dear life, and then even that gave up, leaving the two mares climbing in a harsh, reddened moonscape.
It was late in the day when Berry Blossom held up her hoof to call for a pause, and plunked down on the hard mountain path to catch her breath. “Whew. I knew it’d be a lot of work doing this trip, but I’m plain tuckered already, and it’s cold up here!” Sugilite Spark plopped down next to her friend and nodded sympathetically. Her hooves were aching, and she was regretting not getting new hiking shoes fitted before she left town. “s’ because the Pegasi can't control the winds up here. It’s wilder, or so says Feather Fall. So remote there isn’t much point in clearing the clouds either. So while the wind’s busy blowing down the mountain here,” she said, motioning towards the now-near summit, “the pegasi have already cleared things up so our crops can grow down there.” she finished, pointing at the sun caressed valley that held their home town. Berry Blossom nodded, then furrowed her brow. “I don’t think we’ve got much more than an hour or two of light, and this mountain is going to be awful cold to sleep on. We’d better get moving again.” Sugilite Spark nodded and got to her feet before straightening the egg on Berry Blossom’s back, and the two continued toward the summit pass that would lead them down into Amarena.
~~
Twilight was falling on the land. The deep valley that held the mare’s home was already covered in shadow, giving the impression that Mt. Sineigh was a vast island in a dark sea. The setting sun painted swaths of the banded rock in a vivid light which made the mountain look aflame.
The two friends were stumblingly tired when they heard a flute playing. They stopped short and blinked at eachother. “Did you hear…” asked Berry Blossom, “…a flute?!” finished Sugilite Spark. They blinked again, and rushed towards the sound. A short way off the mountain road, they found a cave opening covered by tapestries, a warm glow suffusing them from the other side while a deep, earthy flute’s muffled song continued from within.
“Er… hello?” Sugilite Spark ventured.
The flute suddenly let out a sharp, high soprano of surprise and went silent.
It was a moment or two later when a small white pony poked its head out cautiously between some of the hanging tapestries. It gasped slightly in surprise, and then quickly spoke in a lighty accented stallion’s baritone “Oh hello! I’m so sorry, I wasn’t sure if it was the wind playing tricks on me! But oh! You must be so cold, come in, come in!” he said as he ushered them inside.
Sugilite Spark’s eyes took a moment to adjust to the dimness of the cave, and then it was *her* turn to gasp. Piles and piles of books lined the walls, all organized meticulously by subject. Warm, rich tapestries lined the floor, and a small fire was set up in a little fireplace in the back of the cave (vented of course with the standard teleporting flue). Rich and exotic smells wafted from the little pot over the fire, and her mouth watered.
She turned to look at the stallion fussing over Berry Blossom and stifled another gasp. He was a pure white earth pony with a mane of pitch black, and an athletic build. That much wasn’t too uncommon. The startling part was his tail, which was made of some manner of incredibly long and colourful feathers. The ends of the feathers seemed to create some kind of “eye” pattern in deep greens, blues, and bronze, which continued onto the feathers of two wings - one on each thigh. His tailfeathers swished back and forth stiffly as he practically buzzed about, procuring robes from various storage cubbies for them to warm up in. The whole sight of him awed her, and she bit back the questions bubbling to the surface.
“…goodness it’s a wonder you didn’t freeze out there!” he finished, and passed Sugilite Spark a robe, snapping her out of her thoughts. “Oh! Thank you!” She said, donning the much-too-large stallion’s robe and rolling the cuffs up with her magic, before rolling the cuffs Berry Blossom was struggling with on hers. The stallion nodded and motioned for them to join him at the fire, some unseen magic pulling straw from a small pile in the corner and making two large pillows for them to settle down on. “Please, you are my guests, be seated and relax.” he said, motioning at the newly made pillows, and spooning fragrant soup into bowls for the two mares. “Oh uh.. thank you again.” said Sugilite Spark, settling down on her own hay pillow and accepting the offered bowl of soup. “I’m Sugilite Spark.” “’n ’m B’rry Blahss’m!” chimed in Berry Blossom around a mouthful of delicious soup. The stallion smiled and inclined his head “My name is Minaret. I am a hermit, but the occasional wandering traveller does make such lovely company. What brings you through my humble summit abode?” Berry Blossom finished her bowl and licked her lips clean, before grinning “We’re on an adventure! A super important task to take something to Princess Celestia Herself!” Minaret’s eyebrows rose considerably as his curiosity was piqued. “Goodness, a task for the Princess? That is important indeed!”
Sugilite Spark nodded and took it upon herself to tell the entire - short - story before Berry Blossom exploded from excitement, and Minaret found himself nodding along. “And that’s how we came to be all the way up here.” She finished, patting a hoof against the egg’s hard purple exterior. “Well, you are of course welcome to stay in my humble abode for the night. This egg sounds very important, especially given how fragile the relationship between Equestria and the Dragons is right now. It would be my honour to provide shelter for the bearers of such a grand duty!” Before Minaret could say another word a quiet snore broke him off, as both ponies had fallen deep asleep on their straw pillows.
~~
Early the next morning, Sugilite Spark awoke. She stretched and yawned quietly, gaining the attention of Minaret, who sat in a corner reading by candle light. He motioned to her to follow, and slipped out the tapestries onto the mountain. She yawned again, and forced herself finally to get out of bed and saddle up.
It wasn’t more than two minutes later when she stumbled out after Minaret onto the mountainside. He greeted her with a smile. “I wanted to show you something, to help you on the way.” Sugilite Spark tilted her head at him slightly, curious. “Oh?” He nodded and pointed up into the sky, barely touched by pre-dawn light. “These constellations, they will help you. This one, it is said by my people to be the lupetaur, a pony with the body of a timberwolf. See it?” He said, marking the shape of the lupetaur with a hoof. Sugilite Spark nodded “I… I think so… yeah.” Minaret nodded as well, satisfied “Good. See where that cluster of three stars makes up its right paw? See how the star that acts as its shoulder lines up with the middle star in its paw?” Sugilite Spark nodded again, starting to get a hang of the shape. “Now draw a line in your mind from the shoulder star to the middle star, and beyond. Your line hits a very bright star, right here” he mimed drawing a line, and circled the bright star. “That there is Sol, our North star. You’ll always be able to find true north using that star, so you can never get truly lost.” He finished, smiling. “Oooh… So I can navigate even in the dark! Handy!” Sugilite Spark bounced slightly, pleased with the new information.
The two spent the next half hour stargazing, until one by one, the stars were stolen away by the dawn.
~~
The day was milder than the one before, the cold mountain winds of the night before simply an unpleasant memory. It was a long and uneventful hike up, and then down the mountain. Nothing grew here for miles, and even the scrub had given up its fight to cling to the face of the mountain. The only thing in abundance was rock. Lots, and lots, and lots of rock. There were pebbles, boulders, jabby bits smaller than pebbles so they were the perfect size to get under your shoes, and really everything in-between. A rock farmer would have been in heaven.
By the time Sugilite Spark and Berry Blossom stopped at mid-afternoon for lunch, they were sweating from the stifling heat of baked rock all around them. Not much was said, because there wasn’t much to say, and there were only so many times the joke of “Hey, look at this rock! It looks so different from all the others!" could be used.
They reached the desert before noon, trudging towards the brown cube in the distance that was Amarena, and Sugilite Spark found herself thinking about when they left Minaret that morning. He’d continued his streak of profound hospitality, insisting they take an extra water skin (filled from a fresh mountain spring) and some of his smaller robes to protect themselves from the scorching sun of the desert. They'd both given him hugs and promised to stop by on the way back to let him know how their journey went.
They trudged on, sun heated sand burning hot on their hooves, until they finally reached Amarena. The sun cast long shadows behind them as they walked in to town, low mud brick houses before them clinging to the desert as if they were afraid to fall off the world. Colourful ponies darted here and there, most with their coats and manes shaved, the latter replaced with elaborately braided wigs, beaded with everything from silver and gold, amethyst and turquoise, bright coral and carnelian… and that was just the hair! The clothing was a riot of colour - turquoise, cinnabar, saffron and jade, with gold flashing around the necks and ankles of the most well to do ponies.
Foals scattered around the legs of the mares, giggling at the chaos they were making for the adults, before dispersing and converging again into an impromptu game of hoofball.
“Excuse me, I was wondering if you could tell us where to find a hotel for the night?” Berry Blossom queried of the closest pony - a well appointed mare wrapped in a simple gown of turquoise muslin. “A hot…el? OH! No dears, every guest to our town stays in the Mare Regent’s palace. Come, I'll show you.” she said, waving goodbye to her friends and bustling down the street.
After a dizzying walk through seemingly endless mud-brick houses, stone monuments, and public plazas, the two found themselves checked in at the Mare Regent’s mansion. Their turquoise clad local waved and disappeared with a smile into a crowd setting up for a night market, leaving them to settle in to their room.
The Mare Regent’s guest rooms were operated much like a hotel would be, but they were free. The stallion in charge of their registration explained that all visitors to the town (of which there was a steady but small amount) were to be treated as guests, as was traditional hospitality in the region. When the Mare Regent’s palace was constructed, it was created with an entire wing of extra rooms so that guests could be treated to the finest home in town. They would be treated that night to song, dance, and dinner with the Mare Regent, the locals, and the other guests, as was also traditional hospitality.
The two settled in to their guest room, shedding their heavy saddle bags and gleefully enjoying hot showers in the spa quality shower provided. “Oh man, I never thought that sand was going to wash out!” remarked Berry Blossom as she combed her freshly washed mane. “I’d forgotten my mane was this white!” she said, holding it out for Sugilite Spark to see better. Sugilite Spark laughed and nodded “Sure felt good to get the sand out from under my shoes too. I feel darn near civilized!” Berry spark rubbed her chin and pulled her map out, spreading it on her bed. “I suppose we should decide what the next part of our trip should be, huh?” Sugilite Spark nodded again “While you were showering, I talked to some of the locals. They say that there's a ferry, leaves here at dawn. It’ll take us to Troje de la Mar, and from there we can cross the San Palomino desert on hoof to get to Las Pegasus.” “Las Pegasus!” exclaimed Berry Blossom excitedly. “Ooooh I can just see it, can’t you? It’s such a glittering city full of interesting ponies!” Berry accented this by clutching her chest and reaching out towards the ceiling as she fell backwards onto her bed, her eyes glittering with delight. Sugilite Spark laughed and shook her head. Her friend was a notorious film-hound, and the films out of Las Pegasus were always her favorite. “I know, I know. Though we shouldn’t stay long. We don't know how long it'll be until this thing hatches y’know.” Sugilite Spark tapped the egg with her hoof. Berry Blossom sat up and shot her a pout before resuming her bouncy demeanor “Yeah, but we’ll get to go through at least! Ooooh I wonder if we’ll meet Beyoncneigh or Lady RaRa!”
The evening continued like this, the sounds of the night market out front filtering in to their room as they talked excitedly about what was yet to come, until they were called to dinner. Dinner was held in an opulently appointed yet comfortable room in the palace, tapestries lining the floor of a sunken pit which held a long, low table. Both of the ponies where exhausted by the time the after-dinner entertainment started though, and they excused themselves to make their way to bed, the sound of exotic musicians and the night market following them through the halls and off into sleep.
~~
The two mares rose early, and made their way out towards the docks after thanking their host’s representative at the desk. The pre-dawn light painted the desert, creating comfortable shades of blue-brown and blue-green wherever they looked. Berry Blossom hurried about finding the ferrypony while Sugilite Spark held the egg and shivered against Minaret’s robe. “So, y’need to get to Troje de la Mar d’ya?” said the ferrypony, as he trundled up the dock with Berry Blossom trotting along behind. “Yep! Soon as possible!” said Berry Blossom. The ferrypony nodded. “Thirty bits, makes ten for each day. I haven’t got much room on my ship, on account of the fact that it’s usually only merchants making the crossing and they prefer to jam themselves in with their goods so they have to make less trips. But if you can pay the fee and don't mind squeezing in, I can take you.” Berry Blossom nodded and counted out the bits, and the ferrypony took them and swept past Sugilite Spark to get onto his ship, apparently uninterested in who his other passenger was to be. The two ponies took a deep breath and boarded the ship, setting sail before Celestia raised the sun.
~~
Far away from Berry Blossom, Sugilite Spark, and their egg, Celestia was starting her day. Reports of the dragon migration were coming in from the south, and she looked through them as she ate her morning oats and honey. The dragons didn’t even bother to hide the fact that their “migration” happened to take them over every major Equestrian city save for Canterlot. Celestia made a face. The dragons were engaging in a power display - and she knew it. But she also knew that as long as she didn't flinch, the treaty she’d managed to get them to sign would protect her citizens, and the dragons would enjoy their childish display without much incident. She had even managed to sell the entire display to her citizenry as a nature event… a “migration”, as if dragons needed to migrate! Still, while there was an occasional singed roof from an "accidental" sneeze here and there, nobody actually ever got hurt. She didn't like it, but she didn't have the power to take the dragons head on and force their claws - so this was the best she could do. Celestia sighed and shoved the papers aside to finish the last few bites of her breakfast, and then rose to get to work - starting with raising the sun.
~~ Berry Blossom and Sugilite Spark Did Not enjoy the journey to Troje de la Mar. The old wooden boat was small and cramped, and while the seas were mostly calm, Sugilite Spark found herself haunted by a vague nausea for the entire trip. She practically launched herself onto solid ground gratefully when they arrived early in the morning three days later.
Troje de la Mar was a charming little town arranged around a central road, with houses and shops made from straw and plaster construction, with intricate wrought iron everywhere. The shop fronts were all shaded with grand porches, their decorative archways hung with massive, fragrant flower baskets. A few ponies bustled here and there, setting up vegetable stalls in the central strip, and around the town’s large central fountain.
Several burly stocking ponies hurried up to meet the merchant ponies from Amarena, busying themselves with unloading the ship's cargo, and the two mares hurried away from the docks to get out of their way.
"Lordy, I'll be glad to only have to do that once again" remarked Sugilite Spark, still fighting off the urge to kiss the ground. Berry Blossom, looking every bit as weary as Sugilite Spark, nodded tiredly. "I think maybe we should take the day off... Recover a bit, maybe do some supply shopping. My dried fruits are almost out, and my water skin's been empty since dinner last night."
Sugilite Spark did not need much convincing. She was tired, hungry for a real meal, and desperately in need of new shoes. The two wandered down the main road for a couple moments before they saw the inn - a well appointed two story building full of old-Equestria charm. The sign above the doorway read "La Yegua de la Mar," and had a carving of a hippocampus above it.
The two trotted up the stairs and were greeted immediately by a light yellow mare, her long mane in a coiled braid behind her head. "Oh lovely! It's so good to see some new faces around here!" She remarked. After they'd been checked in and thoroughly interrogated by the fascinated innkeeper, the two found themselves in a small but well clean room. They got a nap until mid afternoon, then headed out to the marketplace.
The market was a riot of colour. There were fruits of every description, from green honeymellows to prickly purple bearfruit, and everything mundane and exotic inbetween. Ponies had put on their Sunday Best to go to the market, and the mares looked like massive flowers surrounded by petals of bright, swishing skirts. The entire affair was accented by colourful flower baskets hanging on seemingly every surface, even from the branches of the trees which arched over the central street.
The two mares split up, with Berry Blossom in charge of filling the water skins and refilling their food stores, and Sugilite Spark on the lookout for new shoes that would be better suited to all the hiking and walking about in deserts she'd been doing.
A sign above an open blacksmith's shop showed high quality shoes, and Sugilite Spark headed towards it eagerly.
"Hello! I saw that you have shoes... I wondered if you might have something more suited to desert hiking?" She inquired towards the back of a deep blue stallion working in the corner of the shop.
He turned and looked at her, before flashing her a grin "I do indeed ma'am! Come on in and let's see what I have that might fit you."
Sugilite Spark trotted in, thankful to find a proper farrier, and allowed herself to be fussed over. While she knew her size, the stallion insisted on re-measuring her hooves. He also insisted on measuring each hoof individually, claiming that most ponies tend to have at least one foot that's off by the other. By the time she left 40 minutes later, she had been fussed over enough to fill an entire life time - but she had shoes on her feet that felt better than any pair she'd ever had.
Berry Blossom got on equally as well, finding a dried fruits vendor near the village's fountain, and a general provisioner in one of the permanent shops on the row.
"Oooh, I love this one!" Berry Blossom exclaimed, examining her reflection while wearing one of the shopowner's wide brimmed hats. The shopowner chuckled. He'd been watching Berry Blossom try on hats for a good 10 minutes now, and her enthusiasm reminded him of his own daughter. "Well I can give that one to you for 5 bits if you like it. Scrunches up to fit in your pack too, makes it good for travel." Berry Blossom thought for a moment before reaching into her pack and passing over 10 bits. "I think I'll take two, one for me and one for Sugilite Spark. We're going to be crossing the desert for Las Pegasus first thing tomorrow, so we'll need them." The shop owner took the bits and passed over a second hat, screwing up his face. "First thing in the morning? Pardon me miss, but if you leave in the morning you'll be baked by noon." It was Berry Blossom's turn to screw up her face. "Hrm. Even if I take some of these fancy umbrellas?" she asked, holding up several items from the merchant's parasol selection. "Aye, even then" nodded the shopkeeper. "Y'should leave at dusk, and walk through until morning. Then take cover and sleep through the day. Wear that fancy cloak you've got there," he said, pointing to Minaret's robe sticking out of her saddle bag, "to make sure you don't freeze during the night. The desert gets awful cold." Berry Blossom nodded thoughtfully, and started looking at the merchant’s selection with a more trained eye towards what they’d need.
10 minutes later, she left the general store - now burdened with a small tent, two hats, and an extra water skin that she'd been talked into - bringing them up to two skins each. The two friends met back up at the inn and decided to follow the shopkeep's advice, before promptly falling asleep.
~~
The two mares rose as the sun went to sleep, and checked over their bags and provisions. It was Sugilite Spark's turn to carry the egg, and she shouldered the burden carefully. The egg seemed to be fading slightly, and she was extra careful with it. After they were all saddled up, they said goodbye to the innkeeper and set off down the main road.
The general store pony was waiting for them at the edge of the desert, and nodded to himself as he looked over their bags. "Good good, very good. I just wanted to see you off. Isn't often we get many folks other than locals or merchants through here, you know. Have you routed your trip yet?" Berry Blossom looked at Sugilite Spark, and they both looked at the store pony, shrugging. "I just figured we'd kind of walk until we hit it. That's what we've been doing so far..." Offered Sugilite Spark, suddenly feeling sheepish. "No no no no noooooooo." Said the store pony, as he started to unravel his map. "Look here, this is the easiest way to get to Las Pegasus." He said, his hoof tracing a line that went not quite straight across the desert. "This ridge here is La Yegua Espalda foothills. You'll want to cut across those here and then keep 'em on your right, or you're gonna end up just walking up and down and the crossing will take an extra day and a half." He finished. The mares nodded, and Berry Blossom started fishing for her map. "Right, let me just sketch that in..." She said, doing so. The two thanked the shopkeeper again and headed out, the sun casting their shadows long and deep across the desert floor.
~~
The sad thing about trotting trips is that there are very often long periods of absolute boredom. This was true of pretty much the entire trip through the San Palomino desert. The moon was high, so they could navigate and see the vague outlines of a few species of cacti that managed to scrape out a living here, including the mirage cacti that so often grew in the shape of anything from other ponies to skyscrapers. The occasional desert cricket would skitter away from their hooves as they walked towards the tiny glittering dot of Las Pegasus. The walk was made largely in amicable silence, only broken by the occasional startled chirp or squeak of an animal nearby, or the strange ululating howl of a feral cowyote.
The first morning in the desert saw them setting up tent for the first time. Sugilite Spark floated the tent poles out and put them together, and before long the tent was made. That is, it was made until she tried to unzip the tent, and one of the tent poles slipped out of its mounting and smacked her in the nose.
Berry punch fell over laughing and put the tent back together - this time the right way. "Sorry Sugi, that was just too good. I haven't seen anyone do that since foal scouts!"
Sugilite Spark gave her a dark look briefly before chuckling herself, "Well at least it isn't raining torrentially like every time the foal scouts met." She said, grinning, and elicited a snort of laughter from Berry Blossom.
The two shared a dinner of dried strawberries before crawling into the tent and curling up around the egg for a day of deep and dreamless sleep.
~~
Celestia looked out her window at her rose garden, bathed in spring sunlight. The pegasi had done a good job, as ever, in keeping the weather in Canterlot mild and sunny for the spring. She adjusted the light chiffon scarf around her neck and returned to her duties with a sigh. She was drafting yet another letter asking Dragon Lord Torch to please command dragons with allergies or colds to fly higher than the rest of the flock in order to avoid setting any pony towns on fire. She knew the Dragon Lord was more than likely to fling the letter into the volcano like most of the others she sent him, but diplomacy was so often like the ocean - you grind away at the stone until there's nothing left. She snorted at the memory of her mentor telling her that exact thing so many years ago, and settled back in, picking up her quill with her magic and starting a new draft of her letter.
~~
The two woke at sunset, with the lights of Las Pegasus shimmering in the distance, and packed up. The tent was down within minutes, and breakfast (blueberry leather) was easy to eat as they walked. Berry Blossom shouldered the egg carefully, and looked at Sugilite Spark. "You know, I've been thinking... This thing's getting awful light colored. You think it might be sick?" Sugilite Spark started at the thought. "Goodness, I hadn't thought of that. I thought it might just be nearing hatching." Berry Blossom nodded solemnly "I hope you're right Sugi. I really do." They walked through the still-warm sands for a while without saying anything, both lost in their own thoughts.
~~
"Las Pegasus! Finally!" Exclaimed Berry Blossom. Berry Blossom and Sugilite Spark trotted into town on a small gravel road just before breakfast time, dust streaking their coats, and looking more than a little road weary. Ponies were out seemingly in force, rushing from place to place with a sense of purpose even at this early hour. They caught snippets of conversation here and there in several different languages. "...and it took the fireponies 15 minutes just to get it out!" Said one mare who was sitting at a local café. "I know! I can't believe the old lot was that flammable! It's a good thing nobody was using the studio at the time!" Remarked another, seated across from the first.
Sugilite Spark's stomach rumbled, the smell of fresh food tickling her nostrils from several different restaurants nearby, and Berry Blossom's tried to out-rumble hers in reply. The two ordered from the café on unspoken mutual agreement. As they waited, Berry Blossom felt a tap on her shoulder, and she turned to see the mare who had been gossiping earlier. "S'cuse me miss, I was just curious, is that actually an... Egg?" "Oh! Hi. Yes." Replied Berry Blossom, friendly but too tired to use many words. The mare gawked at the dragon egg through the pouch, "Neeeeeat. Hey, y'aren't from around here, are you?" Berry Blossom shook her head while Sugilite Spark floated their orders off the counter and onto a nearby table to dig in. "Nope, we're traveling. Was hoping to get to see more of Las Pegasus, but... " The mare leaned in, curious to know the resolution to that sentence. Berry Blossom blinked and continued "But we need to get to Canterlot A. S. A. P." She said, spelling out each one of the letters with her hooves in the air before her. The mare nodded sadly "Too bad, I love showing new folks around. Name's Film Flare." She said, adding a slight toss of her blue mane. "Ooh there's so much to see in Las Pegasus too! I could take you to a movie at the Kirin theatre, then we could grab lunch in Chineigh town, visit the Griffon Observatory and Horseshoe Arena, and if you like beaches Venneighs Beach is just to the west of us. You could even get matching tattoos to commemorate the event at Pon Von D's tattoo parlor!" Sugilite Spark chuckled. "We'll have to take you up on that when we come back through, Film Flare. Though right now we need to find the train station so we can get to Canterlot." She said, tucking in to the last of her artisanal hayburger. "Oh well that I can help you with!" Replied Film Flare, leading the way to the train station after both mares had finished their food.
~~
The train to Canterlot was blessedly spacious, and the two friends stretched out on the benches of their sleeping car, thankful for something soft under them again. Film Flare had dropped them off at the train station after offering (insisting, really) that they come to her apartment and use her shower. She gave them a slip of paper with her address on it so they could find her again later, and wished them a good trip before disappearing into the crowd to go to work. The train chugged forward, leaving the glittering lights of Las Pegasus behind them. The two mares napped fitfully as the scenery outside the train shifted from baked desert, to rolling scrubland, and into the fresh greens of the White Tail Woods.
By noon, Sugilite Spark was awake again, and she huddled around the egg. Something seemed wrong - it was now a very light purple indeed, and she wished the train forward at an even greater speed, hoping that they would make it to Canterlot - and Celestia - in time.
~~
Celestia had lowered the sun a good two hours ago when their train finally pulled in to Canterlot, and they were dazzled by the bright lights and refined architecture of the city. High up on the mountain was the princess' castle, and below it lay a glittering display of refinement. Ponies walked unhurriedly between gallery shops, cafés, book stores, and boutiques. Every one of them had an air of Belonging - they were just as much a part of the beautiful display as the amazing shops and spotless streets were. There was a dazzling array of cultures on show - there was a Saddle Arabian jewelry shop, a Griffon pastry store, a Zebra bookstore... And that was just what could be seen in the area surrounding the train station!
Berry Blossom grabbed a tour map from a nearby holder on a lamp post, and opened it up. "Oooh there's so much to DO here!" She exclaimed, bouncing in excitement. "We have to make time to go to all these places after we're done at the palace!" "You'se going to see Suh-less-tee-ya?" Said a Manehattan stallion nearby. Sugilite Spark nodded "Yes, we have something very important to take to her." "Y'an't gonna get fah this late at night." he said, shaking his head. "Princess don' take no visitors after sunset. Gotta be up oily." Berry Blossom tilted her head, trying to make out his thick Manehattan accent, before nodding. "Thanks for saving us the walk then. Do you know where an affordable hotel is? "Fuhgeddaboudit. Most hotels around here ah upwahds of 50 bits a night." He replied. The two started and stared at him, gaping. He rubbed his chin. "That said, there's tha underground. Prolly get something cheaper there."
He marked their tour map for them with the route to get to the underground, and waved goodbye, wandering off towards the restaurants to have his supper.
The "underground" was actually an entire undercity, full of merchants and chatter from ponies of every description. Orbs of light in every colour of unicorn magic illuminated the space, and they quickly found their way to an inn carved out of the wall of the cavern. They managed to haggle for a single bed room and wake up call for 40 bits, and collapsed into the bed exhaustedly, both curling up against the egg to keep it warm.
~~
The following morning saw the mares walking up to the gates of the palace right after Celestia nudged the sun on its way for the day. Dew still clung to everything, especially the roses which lined the walk - making them glitter with every step the mares took. Two guards were stationed at the palace door, their golden armor gleaming in the early morning sun. The palace itself was massive, adorned with stained glass in almost every window, and Berry Blossom caught herself staring up at it while she walked. "Halt!" Spoke one of the guards, preventing Berry Blossom from walking straight into the solid palace door. "Oh! Uh, thanks. Guess I got a little carried away." She said, sheepishly looking up at the guard while Sugilite Spark did the same to the guard which had stopped her. "We need to talk to Princess Celestia. It's incredibly urgent." The guard cocked an eyebrow. "Is it really?" he said, quite accustomed now to tourists using that ploy to get into the castle so they could rubberneck around. Sugilite Spark stepped closer to her friend and nodded, before undoing the ties on the egg backpack on Berry Blossom's back so that the guard could see the egg inside. He started and dropped his spear, then nodded, wide eyed. "I'd say that's important! Come with me." he said, and set off into the palace.
The two were deposited into a receiving room, and Celestia hurried in not ten minutes later with an air of grave concern. "My guard tells me that you have a dragon egg? How did this come to be?" She said, peering at the backpack. "Yes ma'am. We're from across the southern Luna Sea, and the dragons flew over our town several days ago. I saw something plummeting from the sky and caught it, and it turned out to be this egg. I couldn't catch them in time to return it, so we decided our only chance to reunite it with its mother was to bring it to you." Sugilite Spark said, sitting meekly by Berry Blossom on the receiving couch. Celestia paced for a moment, an uncharacteristic worry showing, and thought. If the dragons thought she'd hired someone to capture an egg... But... What if... "Unpack it, I need to see." She said, and called for her handmares.
Berry Blossom carefully slipped her backpack onto the couch, and began to unpack the egg slowly. "Here, let me" Said Celestia, and she floated the pack - egg and all - over to herself and undid everything holding the egg within seconds.
Celestia gasped. The egg was pale. Too pale. It had faded nearly to white, and she barked orders to her handmares. "You, bring me scalding water! You too! And you, go get one of the spare foal bathtubs! Now!" She set the egg gently down near the fireplace. "Baby dragons need heat to survive.. When the mother was transporting it, she probably had heated stones in her bindle along with the eggs..." She said, almost to herself as she busied herself pulling curtains off their rungs and making a large nest shape with them. "Oh good, there" she said, pointing at the center of the nest when one of her handmares returned with the tub. The other two handmares returned right after and filled up the tub with scalding hot water. "This one is so small, she must have thought it was just a rock slipping out, if she noticed at all..." Celestia continued as she immersed the egg in the water.
Sugilite Spark slipped off the couch and joined Celestia on the floor by the tub, her curiosity piqued. It seemed everyone in the room held her breath, but over the next few minutes the egg turned a vibrant purple, with darker dots.
Celestia slumped, relieved. "Okay, good. It should survive now." She said, finally returning her attention to the two ponies that had brought her this particular crisis. "You were right to bring it to me. I don't know if we can get it back to its mother, or even if it would be accepted back if we could, but at least it has a chance to live now."
Celestia banished the worry she felt from her face. "Please, find our guests a room, or two if they prefer." She ordered the nearest handmaiden. "You are of course welcome to stay and see the hatching. After all, you are the ones that rescued it from certain smashing." She said with a wry smile, before they were whisked away to the tower to settle in.
~~
The next day, Berry Blossom and Sugilite Spark found themselves called to Celestia’s receiving room again. “Welcome, thank you for meeting me here.” Said Celestia, motioning for the two to sit by her. “I’ve been examining the egg, and I had some thoughts on it.” “Oh?” Asked Berry Blossom as she gratefully accepted a bowl of warm honey and oats from one of the palace servants. Celestia nodded. “I fear that the dragon within is too weak to hatch itself. From what I could determine, it’s ready to, but the long journey and distance from its mother’s warmth has left it weakened. You said it was deep amethyst when you found it yes, Sugilite Spark?” Sugilite Spark nodded while she ate her breakfast. Celestia finished her breakfast and pushed away her bowl, hardly noticing as a unicorn servant’s blue magic surrounded it and carried it away. “I fear that the colour of the egg corresponds directly to its health, my friends. Try as my handmares might, they have not been able to get it anywhere near so dark as it originally was.” she said with a sigh. “So I have decided that I will give it to my students to hatch. Perhaps one of them will be able to bond with it and rear it.” Celestia of course left out her inner thought - that if one of her students could bond with the dragon, it may grow up knowledgable of pony ways and be able to bridge the gap between ponies and dragons.
~~
Half an hour later, the two found themselves walking with Celestia, pushing a cart which had been filled with warm stones and phoenix feathers under a layer of straw. The egg rested on it, toasty warm.
They first went to visit Sunburst where he was studying in the library. The small orange and white foal examined the egg thoroughly, uncertain what to do, and tried several spells. Every one of which bounced off the shell as though it were a reflect spell. After the one which nearly singed Berry Blossom’s mane, they decided to move on.
Sunset Shimmer tried to use brute force magic to open the egg, sending ponies scattering as her magic bounced off the shell and punched a hole through the wall.
Moon Heart tried singing to the egg, which actually managed to dull it. The handmares went running for scalding water in a panic, and the egg had to be immersed to bring it back up to colour while they all held their breath.
After a fruitless afternoon, the ponies were still no closer to breaking the tiny dragon out of its egg, and spirits were low. They’d visited every single student in the School for Gifted Unicorns, and every one of them had failed to hatch the egg - some times to comic effect. One of them had even managed to accidentally summon confetti instead of a hammer. Finally, Celestia paused in the hallway. “Hmm. My student review board is doing entrance exams today. I suppose we could try giving it to the entrants as a test. It’s… a long shot, but it’s all we’ve got left.” she said, eyes lowering to look at the egg sadly. Berry Blossom nodded, trying to look enthusiastic for her princess. “Never know what will do the trick!” she said, and patted the egg affectionately. Sugilite Spark nodded along with her, but she felt rather less enthusiastic.
~~
About 10 minutes later, Berry Blossom and Sugilite Spark found themselves seated in the corner of the classroom that potential new students were being examined in, and they worked on being as unobtrusive as possible. A light purple filly was led in, and one by one she passed her entrance exams - barely. Finally, a stallion wheeled in the cart with the egg. The little purple pony tried hard, but could barely get her horn to glow. She knew she had the right idea, but she couldn’t apply the pressure just right to get the egg to crack… She tried for a few more moments, her frustration and embarrassment growing, until she settled on the floor. “I’m… sorry for wasting your time…” she said.
Suddenly an explosion rocked the building, and a radial rainbow spread across the sky. The little purple filly screamed as her horn and then her eyes began to glow. She lifted herself up into the air and zapped the egg - cracking it into pieces around a small purple and green dragonling - before picking up the school board, and turning her parents into cacti. She writhed as magical power singed her nerves, and Sugilite Spark huddled around Berry Blossom, throwing up a magical shield to protect them from the out of control filly, just as the dragon suddenly grew to full size.
Celestia appeared in a flash of light and touched the filly’s shoulder, bringing her back to reality. The foal blinked up at her and slowly touched back down on the ground, letting down the school board, and returning her parents and the dragon to their normal selves. “Twilight Sparkle,” said Celestia, smiling. The young filly started to apologize, and Celestia held up a hoof. “You have a very special gift.”
The conversation continued in the background as Sugilite Spark dropped her shield, panting from the effort it took to conjure. She mentally blessed her magic teacher for drilling the formula for it into her head. “Whew. Well, looks like we did it Berry.” she said, watching the little filly bounce around her parents and Celestia excitedly. “Looks like she did it too.” she added with a lopsided grin, motioning to the excited young filly. Berry Blossom nodded, wiping away a tear of joy as she watched Celestia give the little filly a hoof up to meet her new dragon friend, who was enthusiastically glomped on to with a hug. “So we did.”
Celestia smiled across the room at the two, the display filling her heart with hope. “Maybe it’s time for spring to come to Equestria finally, after this long, long winter.” she thought.
The End
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Post by AmehanaArashi on Sept 10, 2016 18:53:43 GMT -8
Entry # 2 Archive:
Renewal -a continuing fantasy story
~Lacy Musketeer
[**Emperor Horin and Empress Raikou are Intellectual Property and copyright by Amehana Ishtari (Teresa Garcia) Qwhilla is Intellectual Property and copyright by Toki Cure and Rachush Cheeky. All other characters are Intellectual Property and copyright by Aria Lacy Wolfram**]
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Winter season was fading, giving way to the new growth of Spring. Flowers had begun sprouting through the now-thin and melting layer of snow as the Snowcats retired to the frigid climes of the border mountains. Huge pawprints, following in the wake of the cats, were claimed by fresh grasses as the virgin Sun peered over the snow-covered peaks. Greencats awoke from their long slumber with yawns and stretches. The Land shuddered lightly as Soilcats crept for their lairs, arching their backs and blinking into light with low purrs. Aquacats stirred as ice melted and the waterfalls slowly began flowing. Stonecats lifted their cold heads to greet the season, basking in the new warmth. Warm breezes drifted as the airy Windcats stretched their gossamer wings. Flittering Starflies dispersed to the shadows and clung there as bright Sunflies took their place. Within Flamekin Mountain, the Kitsune paused their daily subterranean life to venture outside and greet the new day. Flamecats followed on their heels, still loyal guardians in this new season.
Soon would be the Festival. Soon would be time for Kitsune and Cat alike to welcome their offspring into the world, time for kit and cub to welcomed into the sunlight and onto the tender grasses.
Of the Kitsune, the Empress and her Consort were the first to exit the cave. Other Kitsune were close behind. On any other Spring season, Marici Empress would spread her arms with handpaws aflame and welcome her tribe, but this time, the Flamecats had particular reason to remain very close. Held in the Empress’s arms were twin kits, both Flameborne, as was their mother. They were a wriggling mass of white fur and flames. Upon noticing this new outside world, they ceased their shapeshifting. One kit settled in his Kitsune form, the other in her Fox form. Handpaws, paws, ears, tails flickered and flamed as the Flameborne kits gazed at the world they would later inherit.
Once the tribe was outside, all the Kitsune inhaled collectively to smell the fragrances of the world. The Flamecats roared loudly to announce the coming of the Festival. All the Kitsune threw their heads back and howled simultaneously. The howls and roars were echoed by all the Cats in the Land.
In the warming day, Marici Empress turned to her Consort and spoke in soft, deliberate words. “Please send a messenger to Emperor and Empress Ibexan and their family. I wish to extend a personal invitation to them. Also, get in touch with Sensei A’ri. She and her clan are invited as well.” This season held the promises of new and different things. ………………………………………….
Ruu sat just inside the stone circle, her handpaws glowing with soft flame. The stones sat atop a ring-shaped floating island. It was held aloft and floating in space by powers unknown to her. In the center of the ring was a world. Her world. She longed to return. She gazed at her home as it rotated. The sun hovered above its northern hemisphere while its many moons circled the equator and southern hemisphere. As she watched, the northern hemisphere slowly changed from white to green. To the inhabitants, Spring season was approaching. With it, the Festival. By now, the Kitsune would just be leaving the caves. Kits would be brought into the sun. Ruu had not been to the Festival in what seemed lifetimes. Her ears perked and she smiled as she remembered her Naming Ceremony at the first and last Festival she had attended. She recalled her parents, both Flameborne as was she. The aromas of the wakening Spring were still fresh in her mind.
The Kitsune felt a soft breeze, but being lost in memory she didn’t notice at first. There was a soft flutter of feathery wings and a brightly-coloured Qwhilla alighted beside her. She twitched an ear in the direction of the Qwhilla, pulling herself out of her reverie.
“Sensei…” she whispered.
The Qwhilla’s gentle voice answered “Ruu. I have news.”
Ruu looked to her Sensei and took the proffered letter, unfolding it gently. The handwriting was elegant and flowing, all characters perfectly formed. The Kitsune began reading her native language “Sensei A’ri, I am thrilled to extend to you and your Clan a personal invite to our Festival. Please bring yourself and your mate, your brother and his mate, their kits should they be in this world. My tribe would be honored if they would join us in the Naming. Horin and Raikou Ibexan will be attending. I would be very grateful if the Angel would grace our Festival with her Presence as well. Yours Always, Mari-Ruu.”
Ruu read the letter again to be sure she understood it. She stood and yipped happily. “We…I…all of us….we are going to the Festival!” She wrapped herself around the Qwhilla in a tight embrace, beaming and twining her flames around them both.
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Post by AmehanaArashi on Sept 10, 2016 18:54:31 GMT -8
Entry # 3 Archive:
Little Blossom (prose) By Kath McGill
Once upon a time a very long time ago on a warm spring day much like today (as the most interesting stories begin just then) near the peak of a snow covered mountain grew the most special trees which produced tea of such value to steal even a single blossom meant certain death. These trees had been owned by the family known only as the Tea Farmer. Every spring the young maidens would enter the tea groves wearing white silk gloves bearing special golden scissors to harvest only the first blossoms from the trees where they were gathered and laid out on silken sheets to dry in the sunlight then wrapped with the leaves of jasmine to provide sweetness. So splendid was this special tea that it was the drink of the Emperor himself. When the dried blossoms were steeped into the hot water, the petals of the flower would unfurl releasing their delicate fragrance within the purified water.
The Tea Farmer was not a proud or vain man; he was just a simple farmer who spent everything he had to keep the trees alive during the harsh winter. He was a fair man when it came to paying his workers, and he was a loving husband to the delicate maiden he married later in his life. His only sorrow was that he had only a single daughter instead of a son. He would look at his daughter every day knowing that without a son, his family line would end and his beloved farm would be owned by someone else. Instead of cherishing his daughter, he sent her to work tending to the trees as if she was any other maiden and treated her as much.
His wife saw the disappointment in her husband’s eyes as he regarded their daughter. As she was a good wife, she would not speak against her husband’s wishes and it broke her heart to see no love in his eyes for their only child whom she named Little Blossom who was a good and faithful daughter. From the time Little Blossom could walk and manage the tools, she too joined the others with her silken gloves for the harvest every spring, and after the harvest Little Blossom would sit in the grove of tea trees and sing to them in her pure sweet voice thanking the trees for their abundant harvest. She did this out of love for her parents and the trees but because she was the daughter of the Tea Farmer, he did not pay her wages as he would pay the others. Each harvest season she would work harder than any other of the maidens bringing in more blossoms than they would and still only seen the fierce frown on her father’s face.
It broke Little Blossoms heart each day as she loved her father despite his behavior towards her but she said nothing against him as he provided a roof over her head and food each day for her to eat, the clothing on her back and the shoes upon her feet. She did everything she knew how to please him but nothing was ever good enough. It became known to Little Blossom that her father had traveled into the village to seek the council of the oldest and wisest woman in the village as to how he might gain a son, but was rebuffed by the Oldest and Wisest telling him to be happy for the family he had. Embittered he cursed the Oldest and Wisest woman before returning home, and in his anger he struck Little Blossom several times before throwing her out of the house. Broken hearted Little Blossom slept in the drying room that night and the following day she went to work tending to the trees as she always did to keep them healthy. It was there she saw a blossom on one of the oldest trees that had not flowered in her entire life time. Putting on her silk gloves she took her golden scissors and snipped the blossom from the tree and then placing it in the basket she went to tend to the other trees to pick any blossoms that might remain to be placed upon the drying room. It was very late before she was finished laying them all out and was going to make her bed once again on the floor of the drying room when she saw the special blossom at the bottom of the basket. She put her basket away and rather than putting the flower on the drying sheets she hurried into the village to the home of the Oldest and Wisest woman and thrust the flower within her hands before falling to her knees and touching her head to the Oldest and Wisest woman’s skirt.
The Oldest and Wisest Woman lifted Little Blossom up to her feet and held the flower to her telling her to give the flower back to her father telling him that he would have the child he always wanted but it would come at a price that he might not wish to pay. Little Blossom was terrified, knowing that she had stolen the flower and the penalty for the theft would be the death of her. The Oldest and Wisest Woman repeated her instructions and informed Little Blossom when she had given the flower to her father she was to gather her things and to return to the Oldest and Wisest Woman’s home.
Little Blossom agreed. She only wished to make her father happy. Bravely she returned home and presented the flower to her father and said simply that the Oldest and Wisest Woman had said to give him the flower and that he would have the child he always wanted, and the child would come with a price, that she was to gather her things and now she belonged to the Oldest and Wisest Woman. She saw her father nod before dismissing her. Little Blossom fled to her room where she packed her few possessions and fled into the night. The Tea Farmer boiled water and placed the blossom into the cup and made tea for his wife that night and in the following spring he was overjoyed to now have a strong son. His wife too was happy that a son was born to them, but she mourned the loss of her first born every day. The Tea Farmer was cold to his wife’s tears and turned his time and attention to his trees, not understanding why the harvest was smaller than the year before and the years to follow. If he happened to see his daughter in the town he never acknowledged her or the Oldest and Wisest Woman. His son grew quickly and was fierce in spirit, never listening to his parents or the elders of the village for his father indulged him with every whim turning a blind eye to the bullying that he chose to do upon the young maidens who worked for his father.
He traveled to the Oldest and Wisest Woman asking her why his trees did not produce the flowers they once had. She only shook her head saying the trees were unhappy as his wife and the son that he had wanted was all that he would ever have. But the Tea Farmer could not see what he had done wrong and left the Oldest and Wisest Woman, cursing her again. “You are well rid of him” The Oldest and Wisest Woman informed Little Blossom who had watched from the room next door. Little Blossom could only hang her head in sorrow for she still loved her father. When the Emperor arrived to collect his prize tea it took every blossom the Tea Farmer had to fulfill his order leaving nothing in the silo’s to be sold to anyone else. There wasn’t enough gold that year to pay every worker and the remainder of the gold had to come from the small box that he kept under the floor boards in his home.
In the spring that followed a bitter chill hung upon the air and the trees were slow to flower. The Tea Farmer knew if all of the blossoms came out at the same time there would not be enough workers to collect them all and if a frost came all would be lost. He went to sleep a troubled man to be awakened early the next morning to the sound of his son’s laughter outside. Rising he went to the door and saw his beloved son playing among the now flowering trees stripping the blossoms from each of the branches tossing the petals into the air as a shower of snow with his mother watching from her chair on the front porch with indifference.
Such was his rage he struck his wife knocking her to the ground before pulling his son from the tree to deliver a sound beating to him before locking his son in a room where he howled as a wounded animal. He returned to where his wife had fallen to find she had fled her husband running down to the village to the home of the Oldest and Wisest Woman who took her in. The Tea Farmer discovered that if he let his son out of the room he would go to the trees to strip off the blossoms and break the branches. His wife now living in the village was not there to keep their son under control leaving the Tea Farmer no other choice except to shackle his son to the front porch while the young maidens worked harvesting the Tea. He locked his son in a bamboo cage taking him down to the Oldest and Wisest woman begging her to help him with his beloved son.
The Oldest and Wisest woman regarded the son declaring the Tea Farmer had the perfect child that would help him with the tea for many generations before dismissing him from her sight. The Tea Farmer cursed her again before taking his son home. Each day the Tea Farmer would bring his son to the Oldest and Wisest Woman begging her to help him with his son’s madness. Each day she refused informing him he had the perfect child.
So frightening were the howls and carrying on of his son the maidens soon refused to come tend to his trees leaving him working the farm nearly alone. Each season his son grew, yet remained still savage to the point the Tea Farmer was brought to the decision that he must give up ether his beloved Tea trees or his only son. Each day he would plead with the Oldest and Wisest woman to give him the child she had said he would have, each time she informed him that he already had the child that he had wished for.
Finally the Tea Farmer informed the Emperor that there would no longer be tea from his farm. The winter winds had been too strong and fierce for the trees to withstand and he begged the Emperor’s indulgence for the disappointment. That he had been deservingly cursed for the darkness in his heart by the Oldest and Wisest Woman and he would return home to face his dishonorable death.
The Tea Farmer returned home and discovered to his amazement that his Tea trees had re flowered to abundance and the maidens were harvesting every delicate blossom. On the porch was his wife and his son, now cured of the madness that had held him. In the center of the Tea trees was his daughter who was singing a song of thanks to the trees and the Oldest and Wisest Woman who held his daughters hand. When his daughter finished the Oldest and Wisest Woman brought his daughter to him and presented her to him saying “Here is the child that you wished for, the one who would care for your trees as much as you have cared for them, who would have brought great honor to your linage with her love and understanding. Here is the child you sacrificed for another, one who gave up her life of her happiness for your own.” With a wave of her hand he watched his daughter transform into a Silver Dragon that moved through the trees singing a beautiful song which gave the tea trees everlasting health before flying up through the trees and up into the clouds where she disappeared , now free from her commitment of debt to her father.
The Tea Farmer fell to his knees weeping in sorrow. He had had the perfect child all along but had been too blind to see. The Emperor arrived expecting to see the Tea Farmer perished at a dishonorable death but instead saw the Silver Dragon dancing above the farm. Quite moved by this sign, the Emperor gave pity to the Tea Farmer and forgave him allowing the Tea Farmers son to marry the Emperors daughter when they were both of age.
The Tea Farmers groves flourished and in his gratitude, his provided the dragon’s pearl tea to the Oldest and Wisest Woman all the days of her life for her lesson to him in humility. Of the Silver Dragon, it was never seen again, though it's beautiful song was sometimes heard in the sound of the wind flowing through the spring blossoms of the tea trees.
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Post by AmehanaArashi on Sept 10, 2016 18:55:04 GMT -8
Entry # 4 Archive:
1. Submission is Short Story
2. Title of the work is Journeys
3. Kirindar is the name I wish to be announced under.
4. No particular genre.
Journeys
Rainbow Dash eyed the potato salad with unabashed greed in her magenta eyes. It was a Pinkie Special, diced potatoes, celery, carrots, mustard and all sorts of other good things that only she could put in there and somehow make it work. A tug on her hooves told her to pay attention to what she was doing, tearing her gaze away from the delicious mound of food.
A beautiful spring day was in the offing as she helped set out the blanket for their picnic. A checkered red and white, it smelled of fresh air and soap, just washed by Applejack who brought it for the special occasion. Rainbow inhaled sharply, taking in the clean scent as did the orange mare across from her. They both giggled and grinned, tamping the corners in place.
Rarity paused in her placing of a flower vase, always one for the proper look even when picnicking, turning their way.
“What are you two giggling about?” The smile on her face put her words in the proper frame, jovial and always kind to her closest friends.
Applejack brushed an errant strand of blond hair out of her face, “Oh, just smelling the clean blanket, kinda nice after bein’ all cooped up inside this winter!”
“Oh, yes!” Fluttershy’s voice was excited and loud..well..as excited as she could get, which meant it wasn’t very loud. “I’ve waited all winter for our Spring Day Picnic!”
A boinging sound and a flash of bright pink announced Pinkie Pie, hugging Fluttershy, “Me too! I made my Extra-Super-Special Potato Salad, and all the trimmings!” She threw her fore-hooves up in the air with a wide grin, making the buttery Pegasus next to her flinch at the loud cheering sound and confetti that suddenly appeared in mid-air.
Twilight let out a laugh, seeing her friends enjoying themselves as she dropped plates in place on the blanket, “Well, I for one, am truly glad winter is over. Not that it wasn’t fun sometimes, but nothing beats a picnic in the warm sun!” She flopped down in place, an empty plate in front of her as the aura from her magic placed utensils and cups, each to it’s proper space.
“Oh yeah,” Spike interjected, “If we re-shelved the library one more time I was going to burn the books.” He caught the glare from Twilight and grinned abashedly, “Uh..you know, just kidding?”
“I don’t blame ya, all them books can only be put in place so many times,” Applejack wandered off behind a tree, rolling a small barrel from hiding underneath her hooves and setting it in place. Immediately a squeal of glee was heard from a certain cyan mare.
“CIDER!” One hoof grabbed a cup, reaching for the tap only to get slapped away.
“You keep yer hooves to yerself there Rainbow, no hogging it.” Smiling emerald eyes turned to look at her friends, “I saved this all year, letting it get real good, I warn ya, it’s mighty powerful!”
“Well, maybe after we try all this food?” Fluttershy was pointing at the myriad of serving dishes Pinkie was still setting out. A single thought ran through their heads as to how she could even fit that much stuff in a single picnic basket.
The happy pink mare was busily uncovering things that smelled wonderful, steamed vegetables spiced just right, cupcakes for dessert. Everyone gasped at the selection of cheeses and crackers, a spread fit for a Princess!
“”Pinkie.. I...don’t think we can eat all that.”
“I know!” She grinned at Twilight’s statement, “But it never hurts to have plenty!” She reached back without looking and whacked Rainbow’s hoof away from the potato salad, “Doncha dare Dashie!”
Rainbow got an aggrieved look on her face, holding her hoof in the other, “But I’m hungry! I’ve been waiting ALL morning!” She almost wailed, then was drowned out by the grumbling of her stomach.
Laughter was always infectious around the seven friends, proven once more by the round that caused them all to cover mouths politely, stifling the giggles.
“Well, perhaps we should finally eat this wonderful repast Pinkie has provided, shall we?” Rarity lay down demurely, tucking a napkin around her neck with a simple levitation spell. “I, for one, can’t wait to try those vegetables Pinkie, they look absolutely scrumptious!”
Rainbow pumped a hoof in the air, grabbing a plate, “Yes!”
“You calm down there missy, and wait your turn.” Applejack gave her a look as the serving plates started getting passed around. The glow of magic from Twilight and Rarity covered them as they brought the heaped plates before each friend, who then took a serving and nodded in thanks.
Rainbow, for all her complaining, waited patiently when she saw that huge bowl of potato salad coming her way. Licking her lips, her eyes tracked it all the way until it was in front of her, reaching for the spoon she dug out a huge helping of it, not worrying about anything else other than how to get it on her plate.
The world turned upside down as suddenly she was covered in wetness, dripping off her face and wings as something slammed into the bowl, creating an epicurean explosion of vast proportions that splattered potato salad all over the Pegasus.
Blinking her eyes, she ran her tongue all around her muzzle, tasting what was left of the pure ambrosia that would have been potato salad on her plate. “I didn’t do that!” Her voice made plain it wasn’t her fault, until she noticed everyone was looking in the bowl.
Wiping her eyes, she saw a shimmering inside, stepping closer it proved to be egg-shaped, quite large, and had hit the bowl just right, emptying it of its contents all over Rainbow Dash. The object was mirror-bright, shining in the sun, reflecting Celestia’s Sun in a hundred different colors. Each facet was perfect, showing the world around it. A crystal of the finest and highest grade.
“What the hay?”
Tilting her hat back, Applejack stared at the colors in the sunlight, “Wouldja lookit that.” He voice was hushed, as if raising her tone would cause it to shatter.
“It’s so pretty!” Fluttershy reached out to touch it, causing everypony to flinch, then relax as her hoof slid down the side, “Oh my, it’s wonderful.”
Twilight’s face was scrunched up in concentration, “I’ve never seen anything like that. It’s not a Dragon egg..nor anything I’ve heard of.” Her bottom lip jutted out as she leaned forward, scrutinizing the salad covered object.
Rarity’s eyes were lit up with almost a touch of avarice, leaning forward herself and touching it, “Oh my, it’s gorgeous!” Looking around at her friends, “Do you think anypony will claim it?” She stopped, seeing heads turned, “Well, of course, you know I could always use something in my shop to brighten things up!” She reached out to take the egg in her hooves.
“Hold it right there Rares.” Applejack’s no-nonsense tone caught the Unicorns attention, “We don’t know what it is, somepony may have lost it. It ain’t ours to take. It might even be dangerous.”
“Oh nononono, I wasn’t suggesting that!” The white mare was now cradling it against her chest, “I was just...saying that perhaps...maybe.. I would hold onto it until somepony claimed it!” She waved a hoof airily as if the mere suggestion of impropriety was just stuff and nonsense.
Rainbow Dash had been busy getting herself clean, of course the loud slurping drew everypony’s attention to see her licking the bowl for the remnants of Pinkie’s potato salad. She was scrubbing the inside with a hoof, getting the remnants.
She looked up at them over the rim, “What? I was hungry!” She wiped her hoof on the grass, looking mournfully at the large, now empty, bowl.
Twilight finally stepped in, grabbing the object with magic as her horn lit up, floating it away from Rarity who was grabbing at it before realizing she looked un-ladylike. She settled back down with a pouting look as the Princess eyed it critically.
“I dunno, I’ve never seen anything like it. Did anypony see where it came from?” She looked at each of her friends in turn, receiving shrugs or shakes of a head. Except for Spike, he pointed up.
“What?”
“I saw it just before it landed in the salad, it came from up there.” One claw pointed right into the blue sky, clear and bright.
“Did you see what dropped it?” Twilight and the others were scanning it now, squinting to see if they could spot anything.
“No, I saw it just before it hit ‘cause I was rolling my eyes at Rainbow taking most of the potato salad.” He hmphed, crossing his arms over his chest and staring at the cyan mare who stuck her tongue out in return.
Twilight noticed Rarity inching closer to the crystalline egg, moving it higher and away, “Well, since we don’t know what it is, or where it came from, it’s our job to find out!”
Fluttershy’s eyes went wide, “Oh! I can look in my animal books, I’m sure there’s bound to be something..maybe?” Her face was hopeful.
“We’ve got a whole library in the castle!” Twilight’s words caused a groan from Spike who rolled his eyes once again. “Stop it Spike, you can help me research!”
“Oh joy.”
A cackle came from Rainbow, who was stuffing her face with vegetables, “Oh c’mon, maybe I can find who dropped it?” She stood up, wiping her muzzle with a foreleg, “I AM the fastest flyer in Equestria!” She jutted her chest out proudly.
“You’re the fastest mouth too.” Applejack was grinning, causing everyone to laugh.
The mare leaned near the Earth Pony, “Oh yeah? Not like YOU could find out what it is!” She poked a hoof at Applejack’s chest.
“Oh ya think? Lemme tell ya missy, the Apple clan’s got ponies far and wide, I’m sure one of ‘em’s encountered something like this!” Her face was determined, going nose to nose with the Pegasus.
“Oh yeah! How about a little bet then?” Rainbow’s voice was sly, sensing an opportunity. “I have..” She fumbled around, “I got two bits says I can find out first!”
An orange hoof poked the cyan chest, “You’re on!” Applejack spit on her hoof, holding it while Rainbow did the same, slapping them together.
Rarity tittered gaily, “Oh, I know you’re both determined, but it is just a large crystal. I’m sure some of my contacts in the fashion industry would know precisely where it came from.”
Pinkie was eyeing the egg-shaped glittering thing in Twilight’s magic, “I dunno Rarity, even I don’t think my family’s seen anything like this, so I don’t know if your contacts would know. We run a rock farm ya know!” She peered closely, seeing the facets reflecting a thousand Pinkies.
“Pinkie dear, I know your family is highly knowledgeable about...rocks.. But gems and crystals of such quality are a whole other sort of thing.” She waved a perfectly hooficured hoof, “I’ll find out, won’t take but a day to send a message or two.”
The party mare was not one to take a slight to her family’s profession lightly, “Are you saying my family doesn’t know crystals as well as you do?” She leaned in to eye Rarity closely, making the Unicorn tilt backwards. “It might not be something YOU know either!”
“Why, certainly not! I’m just saying that..well..their area of specialty is rocks and not gems.” She laid her hoof on her chest, “I, of course, have been dealing with them since I got my Cutie Mark!” She posed proudly, feeling that she was in the right of course.
“I betcha Maud could tell us what it is!” Pinkie wasn’t backing down.
Twilight and Fluttershy were eyeing each other, seeing the coming storm and backing away. Dash and Applejack were busy arguing about who was going to find out first, while Pinkie was glaring at an unperturbed Rarity. One hoof wrapped around Spike and yanked him backwards with them.
“Now I’m sure Maud is extremely knowledgeable in her area of expertise as well, but Pinkie darling, really.” She lay a friendly hoof on the mare’s shoulder, “She has a degree in Rockology, not Gemology.”
Pinkie’s blue eyes squinted, “You wanna bet on that?”
“Darling, I would never bet money on anything, that would be presumptuous.” She tapped a hoof on her chin, “But perhaps a small wager would be fun?” She smiled at the pink face, she would never be unkind to her friends, but sometimes it was hard to resist doing some things.
A hoof pointed at Rarity’s nose, rock-steady, “I bet you a bowl of my best potato salad I’ll find out what that thing is before you do!” To Pinkie that was a serious bet, it took a lot of work to do things just right.
Rarity loved what Pinkie cooked up, she would never show it but that potato salad had been absolutely divine!
The Unicorn leaned close to Pinkie, “For my part, I’ll put up a day at the spa on me.” That was fair, Pinkie hardly went though she did like the place very much. Aloe had told her the pink mare enjoyed the sauna immensely. Rarity could see those bright blues eye light up in pure joy at the thought of a whole day there.
They both stood silent for a moment, then Pinkie raised a hoof slowly, Rarity returning the motion until they bumped. “Deal!” Both voices said in unison.
Twilight looked at Fluttershy for a moment, “I don’t think we’ll be betting on anything.” She laughed softly.
Fluttershy nodded, “I don’t know if it’s from a living creature, but I’ve got books that’ll tell me. Perhaps my friends from the Everfree can find out?” Her eyes lit up, finding she was relishing the thought of discovering something new.
The Princess of Friendship nodded, but she also knew her library was as extensive as she could make it, “I dunno, I’ve got a lot of old tomes, might have to look through those. Could be something magical!” “Well, it is egg-shaped.” Fluttershy retorted, pointing at the floating item, “Oh! Wouldn’t it be wonderful if it was something new!” She hopped around for a moment in happiness.
Twilight closed one eye, trying to peer into the depths of the object, “I don’t think so. I really do think it’s something to do with magic.” She reached up to tap on it, hearing a solid sound coming from the large crystal thing. “Yep. Magical, gotta be.” She was entranced by the way it shimmered and shone.
A pretty golden face slipped up beside her, hovering in the air, “Everything is magic to you Twilight.” She grinned at her jest, joshing her good friend who smiled in return, a small blush on her face.
“Well...not everything.” She looked away, eliciting a giggle from Fluttershy.
“Maybe since everypony else is betting, let’s make one too.” This got a reaction from Twilight, Fluttershy never said those things.
“Really?”
“Oh sure, it’ll be fun!”
“Okay..then what do we bet?”
Fluttershy tapped her hoof, looking at the ground and thinking, “Oh! If you win, I’ll wash Owlowiscious next pet day!” She looked back up and smiled brightly.
“That’s more than fair, and I’ll bet..” She tapped a hoof on her lips, looking upward as she thought for a moment, “I know! If you win we’ll go to the Canterlot Gardens again and I’ll stay with you while you see all the animals.” She grinned, remembering how the last visit didn’t turn out quite so well.
“Oh my, that would be wonderful!” She raised a buttery hoof, “Deal!”
Twilight met the pegasi’s hoof with her own, “Deal!” They both giggled once more before Twilight turned to face her friends. Rarity and Pinkie were still facing off as well as Applejack and Rainbow Dash, “All right girls, listen up!”
Faces turned as silence fell across the remains of what was once a picnic.
“Since we’re all betting, let’s get to it! After we clean this up!” Groans were heard, especially from Spike as they picked up the pieces of the meal and stashed it away. The second it was done, all six mares, Twilight with Spike on her back, tore off in different directions to see who could find out what the egg was first!
-----
Rainbow Dash figured she was somewhere north of Las Pegasus, she could see the lights from the city on the horizon as she peered around. Her wings were flapping slowly as she huffed a breath, worn out from zooming through the skies, trying to find whatever had dropped that egg.
“Horse-apples! I can’t let Applejack win this!” She inhaled deeply then took off towards Canterlot, a determined look on her face.
-----
“Pits, ah cain’t let Rainbow win this one!” Applejack was sitting at the table leaning on one hoof. Granny Smith was poring through a dusty book, looking for any clues as to what the egg might be, sure somewhere in the past she’d seen it. No luck, she shook her head at the younger mare.
“Sorry ‘Jackie, ain’t nothin’ here.” The green mare sat down on a chair across from her grand daughter, “Doncha worry, there’s plenty of Apples around, somepony knows.”
Messages had been sent by Pegasus to a few of the cousins who dealt with wild things or animals, even some distant Apples who delved into the esoteric. Nothing had been received in reply yet, so Applejack was getting nervous.
She watched Granny for a moment as an idea crept into her mind, but she immediately rejected it. Wouldn’t be truthful to do anything like that! She did wonder how everypony else was doing...
-----
Pinkie was in luck, or bad luck as it happened. Maud was in town for the day from her studies, something about a complicated strata of gneiss that Boulder wanted to visit. She wasn’t really up on those things, but as long as Maud was happy..she was happy right? Sure! She’s happy with gnus! Pinkie grinned to herself, the internal conversation quick and easy as pie!
“Are you suuuuure you don’t know what it is?” The poofy-maned mare sat across from her sister at a small table in Sugar Cube Corner.
The plain colored sister nodded, her face never changing expression, “I’d tell you if I did, but I’ve never heard of anything like it Pinkie. I’m sorry.” Her voice was flat and even, talking to her excitable sister.
“Well, peach pits! We gotta find out what it is Maud!” She had told her sister about the bet, and really wanted to win that day at the spa.
“If it’s that important Pinkie, I’ll help you.” The deadpan delivery made Pinkie grin from ear to ear.
“Yes! We’re gonna beat Rarity, you’ll see!” She hugged Maud tight, pulling her out of the bakery in a whirlwind of movement.
-----
Fluttershy leaned out the window, talking to a few falcons, “Haven’t seen anything like that huh?”
The large birds shook their heads, one pointing a wing towards the Everfree, chattering softly to the buttery pegasi.
“Oh! I don’t really think a trip is needed,” She smiled gently at the predatory birds, “If you can’t see something like that, well..then I sure couldn’t!”
The birds puffed up at the compliment, promising to ask around and keep a lookout for anything like that.
“Thank you!” Fluttershy waved as they spread wings and took off into the skies.
She watched them for a moment, before turning back inside the house she shared with her friends. A small white rabbit was eyeing her as she sat down.
“I don’t know Angel, I don’t think any of my friends know what that thing could be.” She shrugged with an ‘oh well’ look on her face. “Maybe Twilight can figure out what it is?”
Angel shook his head, pointing at Fluttershy for a moment.
“Oh, I don’t need to win a bet, it was just for fun anyways.”
A foot was stamped, paw pointed once more.
“No. It was just for laughs, we don’t need to win anything. Besides, all the others are so involved in it. Wonder what they’ve found out?” She looked out the window once more, seeing clouds scudding across the blue sky.
------
Rarity was at her wits end, messages sent and received telling her that of all her far-flung contacts, no one had ever seen nor heard of such a thing. She was reduced to one last letter from a little known jeweler in Canterlot that she remembered meeting..briefly..a few years past. But as she tore open the just-delivered letter she dropped on the fainting couch behind her after reading the short note.
“I cannot believe nopony knows!” A fore leg flung across her brow emphasized her emotional turmoil.
She tossed away the paper, reaching over for a waiting tub of ice cream as she railed against fate and whatever conspired for her to not win the bet against Pinkie. A gleam in her eye showed that a glimmer of an idea was aborning in her mind. Perhaps she could win this after all, it wouldn’t take much.
Nonono..she couldn’t do that!
But that potato salad.....
No! It wouldn’t be right!
But that potato salad...
The taste of crisp celery, potatoes done exquisitely, and everything else that made up that salad won over. She plotted the next hour on how to win this little bet, assuring herself it was just a ‘little’ fudging.
-----
Dash was at her wits end, not finding a single thing in the open skies except more skies! And that was getting rapidly boring. She couldn’t believe that for all her flying prowess she could not tag whatever it was that had dropped that stupid egg!
Spotting an awkwardly flying Bumblebird, the dawning of an idea came to her mind. Maybe there was a way to come out of this looking good after all!
She tore off after the slow-moving avian.
-----
Pinkie looked at Maud disbelievingly, “Even BOULDER doesn’t know?”
They were walking along the local marketplace, looking at all the things for sale. Pinkie was flustered, they'd talked to everypony, and not a few large rocks that Maud said Boulder was friends with.
Maud shook her head, “No. It’s odd because Boulder knows everyone. I guess it’s a mystery Pinkie.” The solid Earth Pony stopped for a second, looking at some carved gems in a jeweler’s stall.
Pinkie was about to say something else but noticed her sister staring at something just a moment longer than anything else they’d looked at. It was a small house, big enough to see the details and carved exquisitely from a single flawless gemstone. Pinkie could swear there was a spark of interest in her sister’s eyes before they ..no wait.. there WAS!
Oh....my....gosh! Maud likes gem houses!
Her inner Pinkie was running around in pure joy, she was always looking for something to get her sister and had never known she liked ANYTHING like this!
I may be about to lose that bet with Rarity, but I found out something new about Maud and THAT makes it all worthwhile!
She slipped the jeweler a bag of bits, pointing to the small house while Maud was walking away, grabbing the boxed gift and stuffing it into her mane carefully. Her blues eyes sparkling with glee as she bounced to catch up and walk alongside her sister.
Forget that bet, this is more important!
-----
Twilight’s mane was frazzled as she sat in a pile of open books. Spike was huffing in some distress as he brought more from the voluminous library. “I can’t believe even Shady Oak didn’t mention something like this! Look at this Spike! Not a word!” She picked up a book with her magic, showing a page to the tired Dragon.
The little Dragon nodded, “Yes, I’m sorely disappointed as well Twilight.” He bent backwards, stretching his back as the lavender Alicorn eyed him suspiciously.
“Are you being sarcastic?”
Spike pointed a claw at himself, “Me? Naahhhh.. Why would I be sarcastic? Just ‘cause I’ve hauled ten piles of books for you in the last hour..” He twisted at the waist, letting a cracking sound be heard from his spine.
Twilight almost gasped, “But this is important! We have to find out what this is!” She waved a hoof at the books scattered around her, “It could be something nopony has ever seen before, or..or..it could be a lost magical item from the past!” She grinned, looking for all the world like some mad mare.
Spike raised one eye ridge, “You just want to win the bet with Fluttershy.”
“What?” The Princess of Friendship suddenly looked nervous, “I do not, it..it was a friendly bet, nothing to it!” She started paging through another book, which happened to be upside down, to avoid Spike’s stare.
The dragon pointed, “Oh, yes you do! Having me haul books for the last hour, you want to win so bad I can even taste it!”
The book was flipped right-side up as Twilight realized she couldn’t understand a single word, looking embarrassed as she glanced over to see Spike still staring at her.
“I am not! It was just a friendly bet and..and.. it didn’t mean anything!” A hoof was stamped on a book, causing her to start, checking the pages for damage.
“Then why are we going to so much trouble?”
“Because it could be something new and exciting and..and..” her ears drooped, seeing his glare, “You’re right,” She gave a sigh, “I really want to win that bet.”
Spike stepped close, laying a clawed hand on her shoulder, “Twilight, you can’t be first in everything.” He saw the reaction, a blush rising in her cheeks, letting a small grin cross his face, “You taught me that.”
She nodded, her mane bouncing, “Yeah. I guess..I guess I just feel like I have to you know? I mean being a Princess I have to show ponies...” She stopped seeing him shake his head.
“What?
He leaned on a pile of books, “How about just being Twilight Sparkle and have fun researching instead?”
She laughed, the bright sound echoing in the cavernous room, “You’re right again Spike, how about helping me look then?” She gestured to the stack of unread books.
“You got it!” He saluted, diving into a large dusty cloth bound book and flipping pages as Twilight shook her head.
Still learning, she thought, always learning.
-----
Applejack sighed, seeing the sun getting lower in the sky, “Well, Granny, guess we ain’t got nothin’ to show for all that work.” Her face was showing consternation at not being able to turn up something, anything from all her kinfolk. A pile of messages lay read on the kitchen table, Apple Bloom and Mac were worn out from writing and reading them all day.
The elderly pony grinned, her eyes shining in the afternoon sun as they sat on the porch, “Ain’t all that bad ‘Jackie, just somethin’ no Apple knows. But we did find that lost fritter recipe that’s sure to win at the next fair!” She passed a plate to Applejack, piled high with warm fritters that smelled so delicious it took all the young mare’s strength not to plow into them, “You take these back with ya!”
Emerald eyes turned merry as Applejack looked at her Granny, “Yer right about that, ‘least something good did come of it!” She stood up, dusting herself off with her hat and setting it firmly on her head, “Well, gotta go get with the others, maybe they didn’t turn up anything either.” She was hoping against hope, not wanting to lose that bet against Rainbow, but being honest at least she’d tried!
Waving to Granny Smith and the others with the platter on her back, she trotted off to the castle, wondering how the others were doing.
-----
Fluttershy landed quietly next to Twilight who was staring at another book, finally slapping it shut with a clap and a disgusted look, “Nothing!”
“Well, my friends haven’t heard of anything either, so...I guess we both lose the bet?” Fluttershy smiled at the Princess.
Twilight shook her head, “Absolutely not, I think another trip to the Canterlot Gardens would be nice, we can spend all day there. Doesn’t matter if it was a bet or not!” The lavender Alicorn grinned, seeing the pegasus’ face light up.
“Really? Oh that would be wonderful!” Fluttershy hopped a bit in place, “And I promise to do the best job ever making sure Owlowiscious is clean next Pet Day!”
Twilight grinned, “I think that’s a done deal then, didn’t need a bet after all huh?”
FLuttershy shook her head, “No. But I did learn something! A new species of bird has taken up nesting near the Everfree from the Southlands! They’re so colorful!” Her friends had passed word to her while they looked for the origin of the strange crystal egg.
Twilight’s eyes popped wide, “Really? You’ll have to show them to me!” She watched the buttery Pegasus nod, “Strange, we found something too, a new spell.” She waved a hoof at a napping Spike, exhausted form hauling books, “It’s a clean water spell, any water that isn’t fit to drink can be purified in an instant! Simpler than what we use now!” She did her own buck for joy, the finding of something like this that would help ponies was a true gift.
“Oh, that’s even more exciting! Ponies everywhere will appreciate that!” Fluttershy settled on a cushion, wanting to hear more about this new magic..or..old magic spell.. Her nose twitched, as a scent came to them, lifting her face up and inhaling deeply, she saw Twilight doing the same.
“What..is that smell?”
Twilight kept sniffing as she glanced down, seeing Spike’s nose twitch in his sleep, “I don’t know, but it smells wonderful!”
“That,” An accented voice proudly announced from the library doorway, “Is my great great great granny’s long lost Apple Family Apple Fritter Recipe which we just found today!” She set the plate on the floor, piled high with warm delights, the scent making them all positively drool at the thought of biting into one of them.
“Oh my goodness. Can I have one Applejack?” Fluttershy was already inching a hoof her way.
“Well, of course! Granny made ‘em up special for all of us!”
Two huge fritters were snatched and stuffed into waiting mouths, Applejack’s chest swelled with a little pride as she saw the reactions. Faces took on an ecstatic mien, as Twilight and Fluttershy were too busy to say anything for a moment. The confections were stuffed with glaze, overfilled with spices and slices of thick, juicy apples.
The Earth Pony waited until the initial ravaging was over with, seeing Twilight wipe a crumb off her face before taking another big bite, “Oh my stars, these are sooooo good!”
Fluttershy couldn’t even talk, cheeks stuffed full of warm, spiced apple fritter, she just nodded enthusiastically.
“Well, glad you like ‘em!” She settled into a cushion, taking her hat off, “Ah’m afraid I didn’t find anything out about that there crystal, we contacted everypony, even old Uncle Hay Bale, and uh..” Applejack twirled a hoof near her head, “He’s always been kinda odd, but he knows things, even he was a bit confused about it, though that ain’t saying much.” She gave a embarrassed shrug.
Fluttershy spit out pieces of fritter, covering the laugh with a hoof, “Applejack!”
“Yeah, he’s a good pony, just..well to tell the truth, weird.” Applejack laughed, “But he’s even stumped, so.. guess I ain’t gonna win that bet.” She looked dejected for a moment, staring at the floor until Twilight piped up.
“Are you kidding me?” Her voice made Applejack look upward, “These are the best fritters ever, and I mean ever! You’re going to win prizes like nopony else!” Twilight was brandishing the mostly eaten food like a sword.
A slight smile crossed the orange mares face, “Well, guess yer right, something good did come of it all.”
“Oh yes, Applejack!” Even Fluttershy grabbed another off the plate, “These are wonderful!”
“Glad you like ‘em, Granny’s already plotting for the next fair anyways.”
“Like what?” The excited voice made them all turn, seeing Pinkie and Maud walking in.
Twilight pointed to the full plate, “Applejack found a new recipe... well, an old one for Apple Fritters!” Everyone watched as even Maud’s nose twitched, both of them reaching out to take one and chew mightily on bites of food.
Maud nodded, her deadpan voice monotone, “It’s good.”
Even Applejack was stunned, Maud rarely said anything like that, and for her to admit it was truly something special. They all stared for a moment before a gobbling sound caught their attention.
Pinkie was stuffing her face with one fritter in each hoof, “Oh my gosh, these are AWESOME!”
Fluttershy told the story of how she’d been told of a new species of bird near the Everfree while trying to find out where the egg had come from, Twilight sharing her’s of the new spell, a simpler one for helping ponies everywhere. Each of them had one, Pinkie and Maud listening closely, then sharing their tale of finding nothing out about the crystal egg.
“Did you find anything else though Pinkie?” Fluttershy wondered in her soft voice, seems like everypony here made some sort of discovery.
The fuchsia mare nodded entusiastically, her mane flouncing everywhere, “I did!” Reaching up, she pulled out a box, sliding it over to Maud.
Everypony bent forward, watching as Maud unwrapped it, bringing out a colorfully carved gemstone house. Every detail writ small on the construction, but perfect in every way.
“I found out, Maud like gemstone houses.” She smiled warmly at her sister, who actually gave her one back, leaning over to hug her with a strong foreleg, “It’s wonderful Pinkie, thank you.”
Everypony knew how much Pinkie liked and cared for her sister.
Twilight pondered the revelations for a moment, “You know, it seems like we all..” She was interrupted by a cyan shape flying in and plopping on the floor with a huff of disgust.
“Rainbow Dash!” Applejack’s voice was surprised, “What in all the world happened to you?”
Rainbow sat there with a look of pure disgust on her face, covered in various colors, she looked like a rainbow had exploded on her. She was shaking out her wings, trying to get it off to no avail, finally setting, then flopping on a cushion with another “Hmph!”
“What happened Rainbow?” Fluttershy had grabbed a rag, trying to get her friend clean.
The magenta eyes narrowed, then with another puff of air, blowing her cheeks out, she confessed.
“Well... I really wanted to win that bet.” She glanced at Applejack, “And..and I was flying around when I saw a Bumblebird, and I thought maybe I could color it at the Rainbow Factory and say it was the one carrying the egg..” She paused, a blush coming to her cheeks, “When I snuck in and dipped it in the colors, I didn’t know those dopey looking birds could put up such a fuss!” She threw her hooves in the air, “It wrecked the place! Oh my gosh you have NO idea how much damage those so-called lazy birds can cause!”
She covered her head with her forelegs, not wanting to look at anypony as silence reigned, Fluttershy patting her on the shoulder. for a moment before the little crowd burst into laughter, almost rolling on their sides in merriment causing her to look up once more.
“It’s not funny! I can’t get this stuff off of me!” The look on her face made them all laugh even harder. “Augh!”
Applejack wiped a tear from her eye, “That’s okay sugarcube, ah didn’t find out nothin’ either, but Granny made some fritters, maybe having one’ll cheer ya up a bit?”
Rainbow’s hoof was filled with still warm food. She took a nibble, then ehartily munched into it with a smile, saying through a filled mouth, “Fanks Applefack.”
“Ain’t no problem, guess we both were tryin’ too hard. I contacted every Apple between here and the Crystal Empire with nuthin’ back. Kinda odd I tell ya.”
Everypony nodded, sharing their stories together, and about their new discoveries, even Rainbow Dash admitted she’d found out something new, Bumblebirds got mad real easily. This caused another round of giggles.
Pinkie was looking around, “So, where’s Rarity? I mean if we havne’t found anything out what about..” She was stopped by the slamming of a door, the elegant Unicorn trotting in and smiling.
“I believe i have the answer!” She smiled demurely at everypony as they leaned forward.
“A friend of mine in Canterlot, a jeweler said that it ‘could’,” She emphasized this with both hooves, “Be part of a set that was owned by a Saddle Arabian Princess about two hundred years ago, the Sands of Time Collection!”
She settled on a cushion, looking quite smug until...
“The Sands of Time Collection was broken apart a hundred years ago, the gems cut up to make another crown for the latest rulers of the Saddle Arabian Empire.”
Everypony’s eyes turned to see Maud lying serenely on a cushion.
“The Sands of Time didn’t include a gem that big,” She pointed at the large egg resting on a table, “The largest was only about a hundred carats, called the Eye of the Sea.”
Rarity sputtered for a moment as Maud continued, the rest entranced by the story.
“The Sands of Time Collection was made up of gems collected from all over Saddle Arabia, back then they were given as taxes demanded by the rulers then stored away. After the Domination was overthrown, they were found, cut up and made into the new crown jewels to display them to the populace, proving that the new rulers wanted nothing of the old order left.”
Twilight was scribbling furiously as this was something she’d never heard before.
“Just how do you know all this then?” Rarity was asking, gaping in surprise.
“I minored in Saddle Arabian History when I got my Rockology Degree.” She looked at Pinkie, “Boulder thought it was interesting.”
Pinkie squee’d and hugged her sister, “You’re awesome Maud!”
As usual, Maud retained her composure while being assaulted by her excitable sibling.
Rarity placed an elegant hoof on her chest, “Well, I’m sure..” She saw Applejack and the others eyeing her closely, “Oh fine! I admit it, I wanted to win the bet!” She slapped a hoof on the cushion beneath her, “Who knew Maud would know Saddle Arabian History!”
“Oh, she caught ya right out Rares.” Applejack laughed.
“True, I admit, it was a long shot..” She got a look of glee on her face, “But that potato salad was truly scrumptious!”
“Silly Filly!” Pinkie bounced over to Rarity, “All you had to do was ask for some more!”
“Pinkie, you are a dear, but we did have a bet, and well... I wanted to win it!” She looked abashed for a moment, “But a good turn did come of all this. As I was researching a little Saddle Arabian lore, I stumbled across a few designs for archaic fashions that would fit right into today!!” She smiled, “Oh, the things I can make with that!”
Once again, everyone shared their stories, still giggling at Rainbow Dash’s predicament as nothing short of a spell from Twilight got the colors off her.
“But that still doesn’t answer the question, where did this egg come from?” Twilight set it down in the middle of the circle of pillows, all of them looking at it and each other with shrugs of helplessness. The Princess of Friendship stood up, making a declaration, “All right, since we haven’t found out individually, we’ll do it together!”
This got nods and a cheer from Pinkie, “We can do it!”
Rainbow nodded, “We’ll find out where this came from! You bet!” Slapping hooves with Applejack.
The good mood was interrupted by a serene voice, “I believe we can answer that,” the calm voice came from the doorway where Princess Celestia and Luna stood, watching the group eyeing the big crystal egg.
“Princess!” Twilight always forgot to call her Celestia when she was excited, getting up to trot over and hug her mentor as the others joined nearby.
Rainbow was too curious to wait, “You know? So what is it?”
“Yeah, I’d really like to know that mahself.” Applejack was scratching her head.
“Where did you find it though?” Luna’s voice was inquisitive, deferring questions for the moment.
Everyone laughed, Twilight smiling as she told the story of the potato salad and the landing which covered Rainbow in food. This garnered expressions of surprise from both Princesses, their eyes lighting in merriment. They looked very interested as the tale got larger, telling of different quests to find an answer, and what had been discovered along the way.
“Yeah, wasn’t my best moment there,” Rainbow got nudged by Applejack as they both chuckled.
“So..so what is it? Something really special?” Fluttershy ventured, peeking out from under her mane.
The taller Princess laughed again, her voice light, “Oh, I’m afraid not, it’s just a doorstop, but one we’re both fond of.”
Silence reigned in the room as the six looked at the two smiling rulers.
“A...a doorstop?” Rarity was aghast.
“Oh yes, one we use in our personal chambers.” Celestia looked fondly at the large crystal, lifting it in her magical aura, “But Philomena plays tricks sometimes, hiding it so we have to go looking for it. It provides her with some amusement.”
Hooves met faces as they all sat back on their haunches.
Pinkie was actually silent for a moment before spouting out, “We went through ALL THAT for a doorstop? Oh c’mon!” She threw her hooves up, falling backwards onto a pillow.
“But what did you really go through? Was it such a hardship?” Celestia’s warm voice filtered through the muttered complaints, silencing them for a moment as they all took a moment to think.
The tall Princess sat comfortably on a pillow, “You all found out something you hadn’t known before, wasn’t that worth expending the effort?”
Faces and eyes turned, exchanging glances and nods.
The regal head turned, pinning Twilight in her warm sight, “So tell me Twilight, I’ve watched you fidgeting for the last few moments,” Everyone giggled as the younger Princess blushed, “Would you call this a friendship lesson or not?”
The lavender head nodded firmly, “Yes!”
“And how so?”
Twilight gestured to the gathered group, “We all took separate paths, wanting to find out what it was, using everything in various ways to try and find a solution. But when we all got stymied, we came back together, sharing what we’d found, and at least knowing that we’d tried our best!”
“But that’s not all is it?”
“No,” She looked at all her friends, the different colored eyes reflecting her in their warmth, “It’s that no matter what roads we all take we still come together, to try and solve things as a team.” She glanced at Luna and Celestia, “That it’s not about a bet, or a dare, or what lies at the end of a journey, but the journey itself, and who you share it with!”
Her eyes slid over to look at her friends once more, “I think that’s a pretty good thing.”
Celestia and Luna looked at each other for a moment, both nodding in agreement, “I would think so as well.”
Pinkie bobbed up, running out of the room and bringing in a cart filled with food, “We're gonna celebrate then! Doorstop found! Of course I planned for it! There’s lots of potato salad for everypony!”
When the delectable delights were doled out, each mare in the room, and Spike, told stories, tales, and little things that made this day extra-special. There was always something new to find, to see, and there would always be times like these to share it with friends.
As it should be.
END
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Post by AmehanaArashi on Sept 10, 2016 18:55:48 GMT -8
Entry # 5 Archive:
Submission: Short Story
Tall Tails: The Legend of Mash Taters
Written by: “Tale Trotter”
Genre: Fantasy / Fanfiction
For as far back as anyone can remember and longer still, Crystater Farm has been one of the most successful, pony-owned farmlands in all Equestria, which is saying a great deal considering how small it is. No one really knows how it came to be this way. Some say its founders experimented with a secret fertilizer that, while lost to future generations, made their soil fertile for years to come. Others say Princess Celestia herself blessed the land as a reward for their selfless dedication to Equestria during a time of need. More down-to-earth ponies say it’s just a testament to what hard work and determination can do.
To be fair, they are all correct.
At the same time, what truly happened is something that could be considered out of this world, in a literal sense. In the beginning, Crystater Farm known simply as Tater Farm - merely just another potato farm belonging to a small, happy family of Earth ponies. It was centered in a region of rolling hillside and flats that ranged between what is today Ponyville and Cloudsdale. They lived on the outskirts of a small village called Harveston, high on their own little hill where their staple crop of potatoes had little trouble growing. The village itself resided in a valley below, whom their crops often went to in time for the seasonal harvest festivals it became famous for - one of which just so happening to be on the day of the “incident”.
Every harvest festival, ponies from all over the region gathered to celebrate the fruits of their labor, making special dishes for the others to enjoy and placing contests on who had the best. Some years, they would even be honored with a visit from Princess Celestia, who came when she could to sample delicacies, be a judge in the competitions, as well as take some home to share with her nocturnal sister. In fact, it was this particular year when she was due to fly in for the festival again! However, she was not the only outside visitor, nor did Celestia come bearing good news. That morning, she arrived to warn of a certain doom befalling the poor village. Kingdom astrologists reported that the strangest thing soaring through the stars: a giant meteor that sparkled under light the sun like the brightest jewel. As marvelous a discovery as this was, the bad news was that it was predicted to land in Equestria, right atop of Harveston at noon, and this gave ponies little time to evacuate! Still, they all knew of a place where to hide times of crisis. Nearby, there was a deep cave to take shelter in; and with Celestia's aid, it could be magically shielded from the blast. But no sooner had this warning come and plan been made, did a great shadow began to fall across the land.
Looking skyward, they saw it. The meteor was eclipsing the sun on its approach, looking like a large gemstone and sparkling brilliantly in the light and flames that wreathed it. It was perfectly shaped like a teardrop, or perhaps more accurately, an egg. The glimmer shone down on the valley, bathing it in all sorts of colors and leaving ponies to marvel at the beauty fast approaching them. Even in the growing shadow, those rays danced through to flit about like fireflies. Below, everyone gasped in entranced oo's and aa's. Then, after a moment's hesitation and realizing what was hurtling toward them, came the panicked screams.
Unfortunately, those who know ponies, know they are seldomly rational in times of crisis; and “Move to safety in a calm and orderly fashion.” can easily translate to, “RUN LIKE YOU HAVE NEVER RUN BEFORE!” Princess Celestia’s order to retreat to the cave was responded to with a stampeding mob charging for it. Ponies scrambled, bounded, and trampled across their hard work of the season, leaving the festival grounds in their mad dash for the cave. Steamed carrots brought in by the Deeproots Family became shredded. Corn-on-a-cobs from old Tall Stalk’s farm became creamed. The Taters’ baked potatoes and tots, which had been most bountiful that season, were smooshed into pulpy chunks. By the time the festival grounds cleared, all that remained were tall mounds of mashed potato salad.
Or so it seemed. In the chaos, it was easy - even by the diligent and watchful Princess Celestia - to overlook the one mare who did not retreat, especially when her colors blended almost perfectly with the ruined food that ironically matched her name. With a coat of white, mane and tail that that mixed with a blend of ginger and gold, Mrs. Mash Taters merely stood tall in the face of the giant crystalline egg. Oddly enough, in the lights of it, her mundane cutie mark of a gray, cracked boulder shimmered with each color as if a part of it.
Mash was the tall and built kind of Earth pony, known for being as strong-backed as she was stubborn. Stubborn enough to border insanity in her refusal to back down from the greatest of challenges - after all, she did just go against the command of royalty in staying there. Rumors say she once even wrangled a minotaur five times her size when he was spotted stampeding toward her farmlands. Granted, a meteor blanketing the entire valley and land beyond must have been easily five thousand times larger than that minotaur. Whether or not it was true is uncertain, but time and time again she has proven that she can be the unfriendliest of mares as much as the friendliest when she or what she had were crossed.
Some said she did what she did that day because of her obstinate refusal to abandon her homeland - under orders from royalty no less! Others said it was to protect a loving husband and their seven children. Others still, said it was because of the challenge placed before her; and being her sort of pony, refused to back away from such.
To be fair, they are all correct.
The gemstone meteor finally eclipsed the entire sun, seeming to grow in size as it drew nearer to the valley. Flames from its entry burned bright, providing its own light that glowed across the terrain along with those sparkles. It plummeted ever closer; and from their safe, magically-barriered shelter that nature and Princess Celestia provided, ponies feared they may not survive the wake of such an impact. Such a thing would surely leave them and their valley as a distant, tragic memory. Fires licked at the earth and across Mash’s coat. They roasted the mounds of potato salad around her and began to raze the village as if heralding the doom coming to the village in a matter of seconds. The lights were almost blinding. It came to a point where the mare could not see anything around the gleaming colossal body about to crush her and her land. And in the face of such a thing, the stalwart filly merely spat in contempt and turned - not to flee, but instead to pitch forward and send her hind hooves skyward with what is, to this day, known in legend as the strongest buck in the history of bucking.
The magic of Earth ponies clashed with the heavens that day, and the heavens were found lacking. Mash’s kick set off a spark between her and the meteor; and for an instant, everything went silent and still. Then came the crack of the blow, loud and rumbling like a thundercrack. A shockwave tore across the area, snuffing out the fires that raged both in the valley and over the meteor itself. Fissures starting from where Mash’s hooves struck traveled up its sides, sprinkling shards of crystal down across the ruined festival grounds that broke apart into glitter. From a distance, the villagers mused at how it looked like an egg being cracked open. Princess Celestia stood awed by how the thing was able to be stopped in such a way, but thankfully kept her barrier focused long enough for what came next: the crystal meteor exploded!
Rainbow dust and larger gem fragments scattered in all directions, painting Equestria in their light before they fell and embedded themselves deep in the earth, growing into bountiful gemstones that all enjoy to this day. An exceptionally larger fragment, sadly, landed on the Taters' farm and left it a smoking, jewel-encrusted crater. Taking this as a bad sign, Mash’s family was the first to rush for the scene of the meteor’s fall.
Mash stood out much easier this time - not because of anything that happened to her. In fact, she was perfectly fine, and happily tending to new company with the affection a mother had for their foal. Alongside her sat a chick, if a chick were the size of an Alicorn! Feathers shimmered with colors of the rainbow in the returned sunlight much like the rock the farmer kicked to pieces, though also with small, multicolored embers flickering off them. Amazingly, they didn’t burn the pony who seemed to have adopted her. The “little” bird, Celestia noted, neared similar appearance to a phoenix hatchling. It turned out that the meteor was indeed a giant egg! By the time everyone arrived, Mash had already taken to feeding her with a large stirring spoon. While ponies left quite a mess in their mad dash for shelter, the piles of haphazardly-made potato salad left in their wake seemed to be the perfect meal for the newborn hatchling.
Seeing how happy the mush made the crystal phoenix, farmers took to proudly bragging about their ingredients mixed in with it making the food so delicious. The grandstanding made others leery. Families snorted and bickered and argued. Then one pony finally threw a glob of the potato salad and they were all having a food fight, which ceased shortly after the Phoenix had scampered about catching flying food or licked it off messy coats. In the end, all had a laugh when they thought of a new seasonal tradition: instead of bringing individual meals to contest over, they would bring in the best ingredients for a potluck dinner. That way, they and their newest friend could all get a taste of shared hard work and effort, and next time it would be without the mess. The Taters themselves gained a new, very special family pet that became something of a celebrity in Harveston. After all, it is not every day that a giant crystal egg from beyond the stars hatches such a precious thing into their world. In gratitude of her unyielding dedication and determination to protect the valley, and perhaps all of Equestria, Princess Celestia rewarded Mash with an enchanted talisman. One that provided a little “oomph” to her earthen magic (not that it was needed; but it was an honor and privilege to accept anyways). Should there ever be another meteor needing a good bucking, she certainly knew who to summon. There was only one problem that remained.
Upon returning to investigate the damage done to their farm, the Taters immediately went to work on rebuilding were others may have just decided to move on. Mash was not the only stubborn pony in the family. It took a few days before they had their house rebuilt - and thanks to friends becoming inspired by their refusal to give up - only a month before the crater was filled and re-tilled, just in time to plant their crops. Oddly, they could still see faint sparkles of something in the soil, though it was mistaken for the seeds they sowed over their new farmland. In the following season though, the family realized just what had happened. Their hard work, dedication, and that added help from friends paid off in a way they couldn’t have ever expected; and at the next harvest festival, their potatoes literally shined and glistened in the sunlight much like the crystal egg that had fallen on their valley. And they certainly gave the very first potluck dinner a special “oomph” that everyone enjoyed.
Over time, lives moved on like the seasons. Generations passed, ponies came and went, as did villagers until at last, there was no more village as ponies moved on to form other settlements. Though through it all, there has always been a Tater to manage what later became known as Crystater Farm, and it still stands with a happy family tending to it. None can say what ever happened to the crystal phoenix or the talisman Princess Celestia gave them. Some think the bird flew the nest after the passing of Mash, and is still somewhere in Equestria today. Others feel the heirloom talisman truly exists was taken by one of the Taters’ many descendants as they left the farm. Others still, believe there could be other times through history when either have been seen again.
To be fair, they are all correct.
But those are tales for another day.
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