SteelEagle

Sunny was at a loss of words for two reasons. First off, she can’t believe they spent so long cleaning him off. She could only be thankful that the alleyway they were in had managed to be shockingly soundproof. She would hate it if they had spent so long out here that they ended up hurting Allegro and not helping him. By the time they were done, he looked cleaner than she had ever imagined. To be fair, she didn’t know what a siren was supposed to look like. She assumed all that grime came with the territory. But now he looked very nice! Striking, even. She wasn’t sure if it was because he was impressive for a siren or if it was she was impressed by a siren, but either way he looked a lot better now. And smelled better! Much better package. Ponies were now much more likely to accept him. Big win! Secondly, Pipp was going to be a wonderful ally when it came to introducing Allegro to Maretime bay and that made Sunny giddy-up. “Well, that is because Allegro is not a pony. Allegro is a Siren. I don’t know that much about them, but they are a species from ancient, ancient Equestria- I mean, so old that even Princess Twilight only vaguely referenced or knew about them,” she said as she started drying him off. She was tired- Pipp had run her ragged- but she was too excited to feel it. She did a good job too, not wanting to let him wait a moment longer before being allowed into Mane Melody. "And now, I have this very cool plan to make sure everypony will be able to befriend him very, very quickly!"

Applejack had to admit, she didn’t see a bunch of bribery coming into the picture. Cops and guards, you could trust them more than most and Applejack trusted most more than she should as is. Wasn’t Ponyville’s brand new sheriff a Manehattan officer? Huh. Was that linked? Probably not. But they were right that it was a different breed of trouble. She wasn’t gonna pretend that the Mafia was some sort of null issue for the city, but from what she understood over the years they did indeed have their own codes of conduct that made them less of a menace for the normal ponyfolk. She listened as she set her suitcase down and unpacked her rodeo gear, her mind racing. “Well, Ah’ll be. Can’t say Ah reckoned it could get quite that bad that tha lawponies are on tha take. Don’t quite know if Ah’ve ever heard of such a thing! I’ll definitely have ta take a trot down ta tha Guard and talk ta some folks there. Maybe they know more,” she said as she turned around to place her lasso on the dresser, though it certainly gave her a more actionable vibe than before. “Wring some answers outta somepony, somehow,” she said as she finished unpacking, both her suitcase and what this new criminality could mean for Manehattan. At least the other subject was more fun. “Well, Ambrosia has been raised by a mare with fine taste herself,” Applejack said proudly, “why, Rainbow has the best palette in town!” She let out a loud guffaw, clearly the master comedienne. “When you have a family that makes tha best Apples and tha best Oranges in tha world, it ain’t hard ta teach a filly right and wrong. Wish Zap Apple felt the same sometimes- colts are a whole different bushel, right?” She said before a pregnant pause hit her and told her she had just put her hoof in her mouth. “Anyhoof, she’s real happy ta be seein’ y’all!” Applejack said quickly to try and stampede over what she had just said. Oh, tea with Twilight. It was a cool experience. She didn’t have it as often as she would have wished, but Twilight did try to keep up with her students and she was, at least in some manner, a bit interested in how one of her little experiments worked out. Still, all that closeness had helped her learn that for all of Twilight’s immensity and greatness, her tea taste was pretty basic. “Oh, well, Princess Twiggies is pretty cool, but I mean, like, Earl Grey?” She rolled her eyes playfully. “I mean, Earl Grey is totally alright and all but I mean, like, Earl Grey, my filly?” She laughed as she displayed her tea set. “Princess Twilight Sparkle may be the strongest and bestest pony in Equestria- after family- but Amby, I’ve got her flank tanned when it comes to tea.” Her tea set was custom and expensive. Eight square compartments arranged in a semi-circle at the center of the table, and each one had its own special cup alongside smaller compartments. These compartments contained freshly ground tea leaves or full leaves, each one magically sealed to preserve the ingredients. Underneath the tea table was a mortar and pestle, while the very middle held a vein of magically contained and boiled water that with a spigot could be sent into any one of the compartments and the cups therein. “I have like fifty flavors of teas! I frickin’ love tea like oh my stars. I like to take a trot on the wild side and pick one at random!” As for the flavors, she currently had Black Tea, Earl Grey, Green Tea, Chai Tea, and Matcha- but also Pai Mu Tan, Assam Mangalam Black Tea, and Lumbini to name just a few, with most other flavors kept underneath the table in their own little compartments, sans cups! Moonlight’s horn lit up as she spun the center around until it landed on Pai Mu Tan. “Oooh, Amby, I think you’re gonna LOVE this!” She said as she started the system up. She got the cup, picked out the already grounded leaves, put the cup back with the leaves, closed it, and then activated the water. “Okay, like, it’ll take like just a few seconds and then you’ll this chime and then boom, you have some of the most bitchin’ tea in the whole WORLD just ready for you. Pretty rad, right?” She said as she vanished into her closet, looking for something cute to show off.

Cadance laughed impishly. Oh, how she wished she was not so well mannered a mare who could not and would abuse her powers. Then she would be named Heart Stopper and she would be a truly contemptible figure. She could, of course, manipulate the feelings of the two to achieve the desired pairing easily enough. Her magic could not create love, but it could amplify love as it existed or (more menacingly) she could morph strong emotions into a loving bond. She could easily do that, or she could simply sense it. Knowing that two figures were destined to love one another even if they did not yet understand it was potent on its own, and she could feel the answer already. She could use it to boost the national treasury of course. Bet the whole thing. Keep the Sphinx in her debt ten thousand years. Get permanent rights to all marriages in the nation. Become Grand Empress of Love. Lead a war. Her mind wandered naughtily, so she instead just tossed her mane. "Oh, no thank you. I'm not a gambling mare by nature," she lied, "though if you need any help setting them up on romantic encounters like a romantic comedy, feel free to ask. It can be a lot of fun. And less property damage on your end. Not zero damage. Just less," she said with a wink. The Tyr showed his humility and showed him her neck, a sign of respect and trust. She was touched. It was a big step for such a creature. She brought her hoof down on his head gently, then brought it down to his neck and gently swept aside it, completing the act first on him, then her. "You may rise, dears,” she said, before she took a step back. She followed suit herself, with her own willful submission. For a pegasus, that came with a lowered, bowing front half and a flex of the wings before a demure and contrite withdrawal until they were tight against her.

“Oh, I love heights!” She lied with a smile, not wanting to let the pegasus down. Pegasi loved flights and flying and the sky, and she didn’t want to let down the handsome older stallion! And so she held onto him well and true as they flew. Little zebras weren’t meant to fly. It was like her first time on an airship, that was scary. It took her so long to understand that the airship wasn’t going to fall out of the sky that she didn’t enjoy it, not one bit. She knew better now that the pegasus ponies were great at carrying creatures in flight. Still, she couldn’t help but focus on balancing on him. She was an agile little creature- she had to! There were so many dances and plays she had to perform with her family, how could she not be? Still, she played it off well enough to soon be given a job. She did stuff her bag full of small things. She loved packing, it was like a game. And she liked games! Maybe not as much as her dad, her dad loved winning games. But she learned how to really stuff a bag in order to save needing two bags, and that experience came in useful! Gauze, medical tape, sewing kit- stuff stuff stuff! She even took the field journal and guide and unzipped the back of her bag, where she held her own little journal. She had to very carefully stuff it all in there, then take her time zipping it back up- but she did it! “All done! Lets go Mr. Windy!”

Sometimes Applejack didn't know how seriously to take the protestations of danger and concern from her aunt and uncle. Cityfolk of the upper crust could sometimes be scared by the darndest of things by her reckoning and she was half-inclined to believe that no short measure of concern could come from the smallest of trivial matters, like an exceptionally dusty street or a particularly boisterous Broncs resident. Suffice it is to say that Applejack did not start off highly concerned, but ponynapping did raise the stakes a bit. Sure it was a big city and all, and as such crime wasn't some sort of unknown creature threatening to burst out of the shadows on some unsuspecting ponyfolk. Could just be the rural in her talking, but cities seemed dangerous in comparison. But the fact it was somepony close to them was scary no matter what, so much so it made her visibly shiver. It made her do a bit of thinking and pull bits of information from across her memory. She had been a member of the Twilight Guard- still was, even if her pregnancies and injuries had combined to make the position moot for her- and had actually helped 'walk the beat' so to speak in Manehattan once. Surely she had some friends she could call on to learn more? Something about some foreign country also tickled the back of her brain, but that could just be the dissolving stint that had been placed there to help keep her neck in position during recovery. She shook her head. "Ponynapping? Sweet sunrise thats no good. What's gettin' inta tha younger ponies these days? Ah swear, Ah think its them instant letter services. Too much time talkin', not enough time listenin'," she took off her hat and swept her mane back. "Is he safe now? Hopefully they didn't pay that ransom. Them criminals don't deserve no reward for such bad behavior," she replied, no doubt somewhat arrogantly. She knew she was privileged with her class of friends and family that even if she was ponynapped she'd be safe before lunch, but she still couldn't fathom actually rewarding ponynapping. While Applejack wrestled with criminality, Moonlight skipped towards her room nodding to Ambrosia. "Ooooh do I! Like, I think Rarity should totally open another Manehattan shop just for me cause, like, I could totally keep that place open by myself. Hehehe, just ask my dad!" She said, giggling as she opened the door. It was a large, expansive room decorated like any entirely too neat older teenage filly. Her makeup was certainly not laying around her desk, her bed was absolutely made, and her clothes were well-hung and organized and never would she dare have clothes hangars out on the ground. And a table in the corner adorned with various cups and magazines, next to a bookshelf of memories and books and likewise. Her walls had famous popstars and- before she quickly covered it up- posters of a more exciting nature. "Take a seat at the table Amby! Ooh, want some tea?"

“Gotcha,” Applejack nodded and dropped it. She didn’t want to think that there was anything more to the dynamic but it made sense that there might be. She had dowplayed it to her filly earlier but there was a strata at play that Applejack never fully understood herself. Didn’t make much sense to her but then again not a lot about cityfolk did. With his help she was sure to get squared away in their digs for the time being, so she reckoned on that. “Thanks for yer help. Stayin’ in tha guest room, Ah suppose?” The camera snapped bright and cheery, almost as cheery and delightful as the fillies and mares in it. Cara got up and trotted excitedly over, checking the result. She was very escited to report that it came out looking fantastic- she’d need to have it developed for high resolution, but it looked so wonderful as is! “My dears, we look absolutely divine. You could work on your posture somewhat, Moonlight,” Cara offered. Moonlight rolled her eyes playfully. She was a bit too free flowing for her more structured mother sometimes. Plus, she had something significantly more important to discuss. “Awww, you’re so photogenic. Like, so cute. Jackles should make tiny plushes of you. Like, total killer money idea, filly,” she said, rubbing the filly’s mane as she stood up, her tail’s practiced swishing cleaning Ambrosia’s face playfully. “Amby, whatcha wanna do, huh?”

Allegro came out hesitantly, and who could blame him? Poor siren had to hide his whole life, had to bide his time and lie to survive. She felt nothing but sorrow and sympathy for him- what a sad life he had been forced to lead. And while she was sure it was going to turn around and they had a great plan going, that didn’t mean she assumed it was all going to go free and easy. She half expected Pipp to scream, other half expected her to faint. No part of her expected her main concern to be his look or his odor. She took the news of a siren well enough it seemed, which was happy news. Almost so good that it took Sunny a few seconds to realize what was happening. “Uhh, sure!” She said, still reeling as she ran inside and looked for some supplies. Mane Melody was familiar and well organized and it only took her a few seconds to find what she needed and come back out. She still wasn’t full processing what was happening. “Got it! And, uhh-” she thought about revealing just what had interrupted his quest for a shower and then thought better of it. If the revelation of who Allegro was didn’t shock her, then his belief that Hitch had burned down his home certainly would. “-Yeah, my bad. I felt a little overwhelmed,” she said honestly, hoofing the stuff over as she smiled at Allegro. "Alley, Princess Pipp! Princess Pipp, Allegro!"

It was the Broncs, and Applejack knew just what Mosely meant. They were a loving family, but the Oranges preferred certain company, and they certainly preferred it when those outside their circle made their way to the Orange estate. It wasn’t that they wouldn’t or couldn’t make the trip- they did so, all the way to Ponyville for quite some time. But it was sometimes easier hopping on a train and ending up in some exotic, picturesque rural community than fighting through Equestria’s largest city to get to one of its less...gentle boroughs. Class division for sure, and it had taken Applejack ages to understand what that had meant. Such a division used to exist in a smaller manner in Ponyville- just ask Rarity- but had evaporated after Twilight’s arrival. Canterlot? That whole town was nothing but one big class divide. They didn’t even make a secret of it, either. Applejack had helped save Equestria so that earned her the respect of the denizens of that city but nit really their affection. Manehattan just happened to have all manner of classes in all types of abundance. She also wondered if changes in the family had made Mosely want to play his cards closer to the chest. She wanted to pry a bit more because not seeing the Seeds seemed a bit much even with all that said, but she didn’t find it appropriate for Ambrosia. “Well, Manehattan is a real big city, sugarcube. So big that tha various neighborhoods in it- called boroughs- are individually as big as Canterlot. So sometimes it just so happens that you get a bit delayed is all. It don’t mean you don’t try and see ‘em when you can, right Uncle Orange?” She offered an easy layup as she gathered the bags. “Where can we set these down? Wanna help me?” She said as she started walking down a hallway. As she started down the hallway, Cara came in with a very large camera. Cameras weren’t entirely uncommon in Equestria- a new fad, really, since their invention a few decades prior- but Cara had splurged recently for a brand new camera that had a delayed image capture. Sure, maybe fancy unicorns hold handle taking a picture while being in the picture, but others needed technology to close the gap and she was right and prepared for it! “Girls, girls! Get close!” She said happily as she set the camera up. “Say cheese in four...three…” she said as she started galloping into position. Moonlight did as told, holding Ambrosia close and using her magic to start cleaning up her creamy face! (And, if needed, little Amby’s too!)

“Glitter, dad. Glitter, tsk” she corrected her dad. Again. Always with the corrections! She even added a small eye roll, though her smile didn’t fade as sat down right next to her favorite niece. Only niece, but still. She nudged the cutie. “I’m soooooooooooooooooooo happy you’re here! Like, oh my Celestia I’m gonna show you off to all my friends and they’re just gonna die!” She said as she telekinetically drifted some orange cream down her throat. “Haha, well, she ain’t a purse,” Applejack said mostly under her breath before she answered Ambrosia. “Maybe. Ah reckon she might be in town- actually, come ta think of it Ah don’t rightly know. We’ll have ta see ‘bout that, sugarcube,” Applejack pondered a moment more before she dove into her treat. It was good- the Oranges certainly knew how to make the best out of an inferior fruit. “As grand as always. Thanks, y’all! Hey Uncle Orange, mind helpin’ me with tha bags?” She asked, intending to decamp at least a small bit here. Cara enjoyed her cream with the two fillies, more than happy to be mother and grandmother for now. "Oh, you did a very commendable job, darling. I hope you share your talents with your classmates?" She asked-told her daughter, a smile that could also be a demand on fierce and true. Then she got a good idea. No, a great one. "Oh! Let me get the delay-camera," she said as she shot up and started trotting happily away.

Sunny sighed as the door opened. She could finally relax a little bit. Don’t let Pipp’s sometimes vain attitude fool you- she was one of the kindest and most accepting ponies she had come to know. She would be a wonderful help when it came to integrating Allegro into Maretime Bay Society, she knew it. Or at the very least, she would write a hit song that vaguely alluded to it. She was just that sort of mare. “Ha, no, I’m good there,” Sunny said nervously, her eyes darting to and fro to make sure they were still clear outside. Then she poked her head inside to ensure it was clear there, too. “You’re alone, right? I figured you would be. Jazz is probably home by now,” she said as she pulled her head out again and took a deep breath. “I need to show you somepony, but you need to promise to keep. Cool. Keep. Calm,” she said, enunciating very precisely, “we need your help, but this might be a lot to take in. Okay? Okay, deep breath in, out, in...Allegro, you can come out now.”

She wasn’t worried about him having to re-apply his disguise. The town was in full music mode and she knew the back alleys, mostly from her younger activist years. She had to learn them all in order to sneak about town and take down all the anti-unity signs and post her own. It never seemed to have an impact back then, but she thanked her lucky stars as she led Allegro through the back alleys and darkened streets of the Bay, outside of the festival and the sights and sounds. She knew where she was going. Mane Melody. Pipp’s part in the festival was done by now, judging by the power chords that went waving across town. She’d be there and they could work together from there and it would be in all their best interest’s to do it soon, because she didn’t think the festival would be going on for too much longer. Not using the front entrance, she jiggled the handle once, twice, and then started knocking somewhat feverishly. “Pipp, it’s Sunny. I need to talk with you!” She said before she leaned over to Allegro. "Hey, just stand around the wall. You’ll still be covered- just wanna prepare her for you, okay Alley?”

She made sure his kiss on the cheek was stockpiled for a future return. The Princess of Love paid all debts and when it came to her husband, she always made sure she repaid with considerable interest. How she adored his willingness to be affectionate, so distant from that awkward little colt she once knew. He was a perfect stallion for her or any other mare, and she wasn’t just thinking that because he started helping with plating the breakfast. No, that wasn’t the absolute sexiest thing a husband could do but it was really close. “It is not too early, love,” she said with a warm giggle as the feeding of Flurry Heart began. It was a tale as old as time: Growing fillies could have big appetites. A tale almost as old but thrice as legendary was that Alicorns had terrifying appetites. Cadance had the calmest diet of the five and even she routinely ate considerably more than her husband, who himself ate well. Twilight? Last Cadance dared to count, it a number too high for the ruler of all Equestria to share. This was all a setup to say that Cadance did not stop cooking even once her daughter began to eat. She mad many omelets ready to go, putting the finishing touches and helping her daughter load just as readily as she did her husband. She was happy to do so. She so desperately wanted her beautiful daughter and handsome husband to be ready for what was sure to be a trying day. She would be involved herself, but she already knew that when it came to the finer points of magic she was more likely to be a learner than a teacher. In time she also got a large plate of omelet(s) and sat down, ensuring her husband was well fed too. “Don’t change up on my account, Flurry. I made sure you would have everything you need, my treasure,” she said as she started eating herself. Not as quickly as her daughter, but still quick. “So, some ground rules. Don’t turn our castle staff into house plants. Seems like a good start?”

She sighed inwardly. He wasn’t happy and so she wasn’t happy, and for good reasons. But she knew for a fact that they needed to be careful about their accusations and even more careful about who they said it too. And she still didn’t think it was Hitch. After all, he was as goodie four shoes as they came! She took a deep breath and then gently rubbed behind Allegro’s ears, almost like how one would a good dog. “It’ll be okay. We’ll figure that out, okay, and see what happened. But for now, let’s go find Pipp and get you integrated into this community,” she said before she started trotting out of the Brighthouse, then looking back with a swing of her tail, “follow me, Alley.”

Gallus did all he could and then some, trying to ensure that the tribute he collected fit the spirit of the event as best he could. Unlike his time as an unlikely champion or when shaking down through comedic error somegriff he really shouldn’t have tried it on, this was an activity that spoke to him well and true. Griffonstone was a mess. He hated thinking about the smell of those streets, the filth that he remembered so vividly. It was why he did his best in school to keep himself clean and presentable. Sure he didn’t think that Mount Aris really needed all the work to remain as beautiful as it was, but it was something he was happy to do. Especially when it ended up in a pile as large as it ended up being. Holy smokes, look at the size of it! He didn’t even bother trying to hide his amazement at it. So many spare branches and sticks that it felt like a whole forest was in it, and in it were all sorts of possessions. He couldn’t even make a solid third of it out. Clothes, old toys, various knick knacks and accumulated junk. A part of him wanted to go bonfire diving. After all, just because it’s trash doesn’t mean it’s waste. “Music for the bonfire?” He snapped back as he dropped all his tribute and then sat perched under a shaded tree. “Well, I think that sounds pretty cool. And if it hasn’t happened before, well, I guess you should just thank me. I guess they’re going all out to impress me!” He said with faux arrogance, chest puffed playfully.

Princess Cadance had an eventful day after the meeting. Some if it was the standard day to day of running a country. She attended a short banquet honoring a mare who had worked at the Crystal Cavern’s Geological Survey for seventy years- not including the thousand years she was trapped in time and space. She settled a few disputes and wrote the first draft of her Royal Proclamation regarding the forfeiture of land and the introduction of a new nation at their borders. Trade discussions with Polyneighsia business interests had been delayed a day due to poor weather hampering the arrival of one of them, so she used that time instead to write some notices to the various provinces of the Empire, recalling some petty officials for reassignment. When she was done with that, she tended to even more important duties. Her husband needed a wife, her daughter needed a mother, and she could use some love. She had broken the news earlier. Now it was about enjoying their time together and working through the wonderful day to day mechanics of the family. She loved the Crystal Empire and all her subjects, but she could not imagine for a moment anything in her life approaching the smallest fraction of how much she cared for them. When the time came, she made her way to visit the new couple. She had helped as much as she could to ensure that the love they shared was as honest as it could be. Not beholden entirely to the fetish of the ordeal, not tied to a sense of power and prestige, but firmly connected through their own unique mental and spiritual connection that was formed through any tight bond of love and respect. As long as that held firm, Jizara and her Tyr would prove wonderfully fertile partners. “I come bearing nothing but warmth, Tyr. I hope you’ve been enjoying yourselves? Well, shouting match notwithstanding. Their voices really do carry, don’t they?” She laughed. “I am pleased to help, Jizara. I have no doubt you will make a wonderful den mother.”