SteelEagle

For a while, Applejack didn't respond. It felt very weird. She had wings for a bit now and while she had gotten used to it, she was very much looking forward to being her old self soon. She had learned how to fly well enough to not make a fool of herself in front of her family in the sky and now she was experiencing all the details small and large that made pegasi what they were. It was all new, all strange, all exciting, but this was a unique and weird feeling. She felt vulnerable and soothed, and also a bit hot under the collar. Hard to put into words when you didn't have any real frame of reference for it. Failing that, she just allowed herself a few moments to search for those elusive words as the plucking and preening and tidying of her wings came to an unusually intimate end.

"Ah think Ah did," she said with a smile as she moved in for a kiss when her wife was done, sloppy and perfect in the way she felt it was, even getting strands of vane stuck in her teeth as she pulled back. She looked at the feather Rainbow had plucked out and nodded, her assent based more on her general ignorance of what made it so well suited than any informed thought. It sure did look pretty though. It was soon on the quilt, though AJ knew that there was probably more work behind the scenes in weaving it together, stronger. Like any good marriage, feathers were better bonded. "Ah think y'all've made one heck of a quilt an' Ah'm honored ta be part of it."

Applejack was very happy to be given the opportunity to rest. She was far too new to this flying thing to have any real stamina and with her bulky body drawing down on what reserves there could possibly be, yeah, she needed one. Even as she took her large turn to avoid the pillar, her right wing felt more and more stretched by the need to commit to keeping her body level.

"Yeah, Ah could do for a rest. Ya know, before Ah start mah Wonderbolt training," Applejack joked as she laughed as she started to move in for a landing. She tried to angle for a landing well and truly but she didn't know a darn thing about them, so instead of coming in for a landing at speed she just slowed to a hover and then dropped down with an audible galomph. "Nice an' easy. Ah could go for a bite to eat, can't you?"

Rarity's eyebrow arched up as she walked alongside Applejack. Why was she so fascinated by a big yard? And...why go right to Fluttershy, when she was so reticent to be seen by her other friends? Rarity had her concerns. She also looked at Applejack's wagging tail and tittered to herself. Well, she wasn't perfect and fun was fun, so if Applejack wanted to go there despite the possible problems, then that is what they would do!

"Well, lead the way, darling," she said as she gave Applejack a little tap on the flank to signal her to move forward. Applejack could lead the way, which would give her some space to work out whatever unusual energy was building in her. It also allowed Rarity to take in the public's reaction to the unusually acting Apple mare. Most did not notice- a bit too busy considering events- but a few gave Applejack a bit of a confused stare. Rarity felt the slightest trepidation creep up her spine as they soon found themselves at Fluttershy's. Rarity gave a few quick, insistent raps on the door, as she waited for something to go normal this day.

Twilight could only imagine how stubborn a teacher Applejack was. It was thought of- very rudely- that Applejack was not as smart as some of her friends, or at the very least didn't value education as highly. Not only was this rude but it was fundamentally wrong. There were few mares who were as strident about the value of a solid education as Applejack because while the day to day of farm work was physically taxing, taking care of the farm on a business level and an administrative level required a lot of thought and care. She was a smart mare and she was going to raise a smart filly.

"Tea sounds great. What type of tea is your favorite?" Twilight asked as she made herself comfortable once more in the basement. Tea time wasn't part of the lesson plan per se but when you were helping a little filly, you had to assume a tea party or two would make an appearance. Besides, she liked tea. Nothing helped soothe her more than tea, besides being around those she cared for. And today she would get to share tea with a wonderful little friend, so it really made it all the better. "Mine is earl grey."

Tempest was strong, even if she lacked any natural talent for bucking and her lack of Earth Pony magic was clear as day. The magic came into play with how readily and easily the crop would yield itself fully in good health and grace. Tended to by most others, the crop would yield an unnatural amount, much like the Everfree. When tended by Earth Ponies however, the rate of bad apples or ruined crops would prove to be tremendously diminished. Bucking was an important and final part of this process, as the point of contact allowed Earth Pony magic to rejuvenate the tree and branches alike. Tempest would never have that- or the talent that allowed Applejack to get the vast majority of the apples in the basket with a solid buck- but she had the strength and the willingness to work. She'd do just fine.

What she would do less fine with was her own personal demons. How many years had it been since she had turned away from her old life? How much had she done to try and make herself better? Really, the only obstacle was her own consistently mismantled sense of sorrow at her actions against Equestria and others. Truth was, they gave Discord a second chance (and a third, then a fourth) and her actions paled in comparison to his. She could list them all - Starlight Glimmer ring a bell?- but fact was, it wasn't the world's reaction to Tempest that was making her hesitant and regretting her past, it was her own developing and developed awareness of what she had done. 

Combined with her own deep desire to make sure her calves had a better life than she had, which was the most maternal of all the maternal instincts given far more heady ambitions when you considered the nature of Tempest's own early life. She was worried that her life had disqualified her from doing what she felt was necessary to give them the life that she knew was necessary. And she was telling Applejack, who herself was near-paralyzed and in horrible pain and needed to relax.  Luckily for the unicorn, Applejack knew that an apple a day kept the doctor visit and surgical follow-up away.

"Well...yer not wrong. Yer old world is gone, an' gone for good. An' if you still kept up any stupid, foolish notion of runnin' on-off again ta fulfil some dark spot in yer soul, that's over, too. But really Tempest, that world died years ago for you," she said as she watched her tail flick of its own according around an apple that rolled towards the cart. She still couldn't feel her tail much, but it really did want to pick up that apple. "An' you've just been caught too long tryin' ta deny it somewhat. Runnin' off here, there, everywhere," she said with lazy moves of a front hoof over and about, "-just so you can run away from here," she said, tapping her chest. It took a few seconds to catch her breath. 

"It don't matter what you were running around for or what you were thinking before, yer a ma now. An' that little voice that you think is trying ta tell you to leave'm be? That ain't you. That's some sorta spectre of tha past, an' it don't hold a lick of power you don't give it, any influence you don't surrender ta it. An' you know all it does is lead you down the same damn road like it always does, with the same sorrows and heartaches and that same aching feeling of loss. An' you know that too, so yer not gonna listen to it, but you're gonna sit here and fret 'bout it 'cause you're still actin' like you ain't worth redeemin'," Applejack said as she slowly pulled herself off the cart and allowed her tail to corral an apple and throw it up on the cart. She then turned to it and with a grunt got her top half back on the cart, got the apple, and ate it in one big bite.

She licked her lips and belched. "Oooh wee- excuse me there. But, uhh," she regained her composure. "You *are* worth redeemin', you *are* worth living a good life, and you *are* worth being able to tackle motherhood like any respectable mare. An' part of that is being scared from land to tail about whether or not yer ready ta be a momma. Ah can tell you that when Ah was pregnant with Zap Apple Ah was convinced Ah'd be tha absolute worst ma a lil' colt could ask for. An' that was only a little bit improved with Ambrosia. Yer always gonna worry that you ain't good enough, because you already love them and want to do the best you can. An' that worry will translate into you doin' yer best, and between that and a love that I can't even explain, yer gonna do wonders for them."

Applejack finished and looked over Tempest's work. It wasn't as fast as she would have liked because of all the jabbering, but it was a solid first go and a great effort. "Yer doin' great. Ready ta move on ta tha next phase? An' Ah don't mean an age spell ta make me yer mama or nothing, Ah meant in tha field."

Muziki's propensity for being a real big winner continued in ways and for causes she couldn't really understand, but she was 'plum tickled' as a friend's momma would say for it to continue! She didn't know what lucky rock she had stepped on lately to be granted such winnerdom but it was certainly something that made her a happy little zebra. First off, the Candied Pony offered to give her one of everything, which was a lot and enough all at once. Too much were not words that came easily to no filly. And that was all good and great, but then the Wind Dancer pony offered to pay for it all. Wow! She really HAD been the winner! She would tell all of her new friends in Ponyville that the candy here was free. The ponies of Las Pegasus were so nice and trustworthy, always willing to help you with your bit currencies! Her eyes sparkled wide and big as she brought her hooves first to her mouth and then hugged the front leg of the rich pony Wind and the wonderful Shopkeep Candy. "Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Thank you for being the nicest! I won big!"

And with that, she started trotting around the shop throwing this, and that, and this, and also that in there. She almost didn't pay attention but she did pay attention just enough to know what to add way more of, like these little chocolate balls wrapped up really nicely, and then more chocolates that weren't as nicely wrapped, but she didn't really know the difference. And popcorn! Her bag was almost overflowing. Almost,m if only because it had this stretchy nature made out of Unyasan fabric meant to survive the wilds of that land and more than capable of keeping candy in place. And bits, but who needed bits when you were a winner?! Soon she had picked up what she considered enough candy. Well, almost enough. No amount of candy would ever be truly enough, but this would get her through the trip. Night. Hour. Minute? She put the bag on the counter. She wanted to make sure it was okay! "Umm, is this too much?" She asked peppily, her tail flitting about excitedly as she hoped that she would be told it would be fine.

When Sky asked if anypony had any requests, Muziki turned her head towards him. As she did so her little bardic hat almost fell off- "ooof-"- which she caught and put back on, "oh, umm, please do you play Mvua Juu ya Kusini?" She said as she struggled, tongue out, to put it back in place before she was pleased and lit up. "Oh, oh! Uwanda na Mawe?"

Applejack spread her wings out far and wide for Rainbow to get to work. truth be told, the way her mare asked it made Applejack feel like she was missing something big, maybe something a bit unusual, about the request. Not having grown up winged and having acquired them only recently, and very briefly in the grand scheme of things, she didn't know just how personal a process preening could be. To her, it was no different from asking a family member to help you get some nail outta your hoof after a day in the fields. A mite personal perhaps, but nothing all that unusual when you were as physical as she was. That was what her thoughts were as Rainbow went to work.

It felt...very strange. She didn't know how exactly to describe it, nor could she really put her mind on what sound Rainbow made. Was she purring? She had never heard a pony purr before. What in the blazes was that all about? Not that she could really focus on it too much. The way Rainbow was diving into her wing and manipulating all of her feathers was unusual in ways that the long-term Earth pony mare couldn't quite grasp. The way she reknitted and straightened feathers slowly, comprehensively, and dutifully kept on sending all manner of signals. If Applejack were a cat- which she half expected Rainbow was in a past life, what with her purring- then her paws would be stretching and curling claws back and forth.
 

"Very astute observation, Ambrosia. Who helped teach you the alphabet?" Twilight asked as the pair rounded down into the cellar. It was well and good that the future Princess at least had the order of her titles down already., and even had a good reason for it. An inarguable one, at that. And if you could start your rule off right with logic as sound and well-mannered as that, then you were destined for truly great things. Well, as long as you become a Princess, at least. That was the very first step in the program. Hopefully, Ambrosia was right and being super pretty was all it took because that would certainly open up the future for other ponies!

"I'm happy to hear that you're feeling great. We still have a lot of ground to cover, but you have some of the most basic magical strengthening techniques. So the next phase is really up to you, and with that comes a lot of experimentation," Twilight said as they entered the cellar. It was time to see Ambrosia start to get creative with her magic. It wouldn't really develop into brand-new magical talent, but what it really would do is allow Ambrosia to test out how her magic felt as she tried different things. A unicorn would come to know all the different nuanced tingles and waves that came with different magical use. 
 

"Yes, well, I do have that effect on ponies of all sorts," she let out a short giggle which was full of much more than a justified excitement. She knew for certain that she was one of the best mares in town but more than that she knew that her attitude only amplified it. And when it came to Applejack, she knew that her charms were only that much powerful. And besides, it wasn't as if she needed anything else to further that, now did she? She made sure to tug on the collar, to ensure it was on well. She didn't want it to get any weirder and have it fall off, now would she? Applejack wouldn't deserve any further embarrassment now, now would she?

"It is all well, my dear. I am sure your current predicament has caused some manner of...err, development, let's say. No matter. If you want to continue our wonderful walk, we'll do so. Just stay close dear, so hopefully, we can hide it as much as possible," Rarity added, hoping to achieve an excellent result. After all, she rarely needed more reason than that to get close to her very well-heeled marefriend. "Where to, Apples?"

Applejack was absolutely radiant when she allowed her innate, inborn charisma and talent to shine through an exterior built to withstand the rigors of work. She was a natural. She could do so much more if she wanted to, and it was a credit to her love of family and land that she had little desire to do more than she was now. She didn't need any help from Rara once she got into her role. That boded well for the performance, well for Applejack, and well for Rara. She was, in that moment, a very bright star shining in Rara's eyes. She just had to make sure they ended the song well, and not be the fool.

Rara took center stage with a twirl, her eyes a'twinklin' as she did so with menace even as her face was twisted with a frown. "Discord bowed his head 'cause he knew that he'd been beat by the filly's moves," she did with another twirl and bow, and as she did so she motioned to a prop that had been placed there with magic when she had the attention of the crowd.  "And he laid that golden fiddle on the ground at Jackie's hooves!" She said, an elegant motion ceding the floor to the victor, the heroine of the moment. 

Yeah, she reckoned that made sense. You made all manner of foalish mistakes as a youngin' with the hope being that as an older folk you didn't make a top-shelf flank of yourself in front of friends and kin. And she had certainly made plenty of mistakes as a filly, enough to make sure that as an adult she was as sober and pragmatic as any Apple could be. But this was a new experience and she would be lying if she said she was plum tickled to be making all sorts of dumb mistakes now in front of her wife, who for her part seemed to be having a bale of a time with it all. She'd have to get this down pat before Rainbow started to coo and treat her like a toddler. Or she'd simply just have to kick, that always helped!

Seriously, talk about a foalish response!
She took a few extra seconds to get her wings in order so she could balance and hover in the air without too much trouble, biting down on the aching and longing for the ground that even now pervaded her. But if she knew one thing it was that she was damn sure a sight better fit to win than to continue being made an absolute flank of, so she nodded her head and narrowed her eyes, taking a few good breaths as she prepared to make her move. When she took off, she didn't do so with a lot of speed. In fact, she was pretty sure she wa flying at leisure speed, but that was enough for her. She weaved in and out of the pillars easily enough, one of her wings only gently grazing a pillar. She took a wide turn to avoid having a tailspin, though that meant she was some distance away from Rainbow. "See? Ah told you!"

It didn't take very long for the pair to get set up in the cave. Rainbow was on firewood duty and it was easy enough. Of course, the woods in this area hard a terrible bit of bark that came off too easy when busting through the trees, so a few times instead of being able to grab the wood she would mostly just end up punching the tree down. Still, in just a few minutes she would gather more than enough firewood. No doubt enough for the fire, but she also wanted to make sure that they had ammunition to kick at giant cave bears and weird giant monsters that her mind couldn't pull together quite well at the moment. Probably a giant spider.

"Here ya go!" Rainbow said as she dropped the wood off for Twilight and set about making the camp secure, or as much as she could considering how close they were to the cave. It would have to do. Frankly, it wasn't a big deal to be caught up in the rain. Pegasi could handle it better, their innate magic meaning water flowed through their wing feathers rather than soaking them- well, as long as they moderated it. With that in mind, she was more than happy to take the food that was offered. Porridge was not her cup of tea, which went without saying really, but she was hungry enough.

"Sure. Thanks, Twilight!" Rainbow said as she started to chow down. It didn't taste good but it was hot, and that was good enough for her!

"Ohh, very ambitious!" Twilight replied. Being the Princess of two very different but important facets of Equestrian life- apples and dresses, was there even a third?- would be very hard work. She'd have to wake up extra early to do the Princess of Apples work, probably meaning she would have to personally bless each and every tree and use her magic to make the trees grow faster and with bigger, jucier fruits. And then she would have to work hard, trying to bless every dress in Equestria! Oh, did she even understand what the thread count on every dress even meant? Well, she would after being Princess of dresses! And oh, all the designers always fighting about everything. What a turbulent Princesshood she was signed up for.

"And yes, I do believe that Rarity's shops- all of them- would fall under your rule. I am sure she would be enamored with all of the ideas of Princess Ambrosia, Princess of Apples and Dresses. Or would it be Dresses and Apples?" She pondered, wondering which one would come first. After all, they had to pay a lot for the castle stationary and you didn't want to make them have to redo the work. That came out of the royal budget after all! She led the filly back towards the cellar where they had been practicing. "How are you feeling?"

Rarity had seen other Ice Storms use very similar magic. Indeed, they were all uniquely powerful with weather-based abilities, and some even had additional attachments that amplified it. Appeared as though this Ice Storm followed suit. It sometimes made Rarity just what other Rarities were like. Were they all unicorns? Were there perhaps some fabulous mares? Maybe some villains. He was sure that they would probably be more successful than he was. They at least weren't responsible for near as many half-truths and lies as he was. He could only hope that this Ice Storm was as quality as some of the others he had the fortune of meeting.

He nodded. "I see. Well, if you want to do it that way we'll do it. Pull the ramp up!" He said. Before he could say it, a couple of his crew managed to get off the ship, running for their lives. Solar Guardsponies quickly grabbed them and pulled them towards the Solar's residence. He'd deal with them later, though he couldn't fully blame them. It was bad enough to imagine being boarded, robbed, or otherwise treated roughly. It was another thing entirely to imagine yourself falling into a bright void for what was perhaps an eternity. All in all, he couldn't be too mad. It just meant he had fewer crew to do whatever it was they needed to do to handle their own Ice Storm.

"Get to your positions. And wait for my orders, if you would," he said as he put his hat back on and took a deep breath. He'd have to rely on this Ice Storm and needed to know what her plan was. He would do his best by keeping a calm demeanor and allowing her to do whatever magical thing it was she did. "Okay, well if you so insist on doing this, we're with you. So, what do you need us to do?"

Twilight smiled. "It will be easy enough to help you with the basin and those involved. There will always be some who will be lured by promises of riches, but I can cut off any seemingly higher level of support. I will also be sure to inform my counterparts in the Republic- though, knowing the graft that takes place, I would not hold my breath for a positive response. Still, it would be wise to inform them. At worst, I am concerned one of the families will involve themselves, but that is a risk one must take," Twilight said as she brought parchment and quill up to the table. Before she got to work however she smiled. "It has been a pleasure meeting woith you. I am sure that in time this situation will be resolved well and we will have a future relationship built on trust and understanding. I wish you luck, Ride. You may very well need it."

As for the 'Agent', Ridge would be forgiven for being disappointed. The griffon in question was not some suave secret agent or strong warrior, nor was he a great leader by any stretch of the imagine. The paper that read 'Gallus' would seem to indicate a rather unremarkable young griffon, a good student and excellent member of the School of Friendship but utterly without 'enghaged' merit in the field. He was of slight build for a male griffon his age and certainly unimpressive when it came to flying. What exactly it was that the Princess saw in the young student that would be of value to the dragon as he embarked on his mission to save the city was not readily apparent; trust would be needed,because that is all that could be readily offered.

Twilight had to suppress a smile. She didn't try all that hard however, so it probably showed pretty easily. Ambrosia was very certain that she understood what being pretty meant and Twilight knew that she should have known better than try to teach Professor Pretty about the nature of beauty. Plus, she was perhaps too young to really understand what she was trying to get across. Well, she was known for trying to soapbox a bit too much. So, for now, she would have to acquiesce to Ambrosia's expert opinion.

"Well, if you say I'm pretty I suppose it has to be true. You are the expert on cute things, after all," she looked up at the orchard then back to the littlest Apple. "As for becoming a Princess, hmm? Tell me, what would you be the Princess of? Princess of...dresses? Apples? Oooh, should I tell your mom that she should prepare to hoof over the farm to you," she said as she started to dramatically and playfully turn around to find Applejack and tell her the good news!

A hot tub reminded him of rabbit soup. That was a delicacy among the less well to do Griffs of Griffonstone and he could have a rabbit right about now. Fluttershy would go nuts but rabbit soup was...so good. Euuugh. The worst part about Equestria was the lack of good meat dishes. That and thinking of rabbit soup made him feel better than thinking about what a griffon would smell like after too much time in the hot tub. How could anyone stand it? Maybe he would do better in it if he went into his sea form, but that was another discussion for another day on another topic. He leaned back and took a deep breath, allowing the warm air to go through his body. It did feel good in his lungs, and he stretched his wings out to allow the warm air to move through his feathers. It would become uncomfortable later, but he would take the good times when and where they came.

"Temperature setting four? Out of how many?" he asked as he stretched out. "I think its pretty good, Silvie," he laughed. "Well, as good as a spa can be at least. Not sure they built this with our kind in mind, but it should be a fun day. I know I often times like to joke around, maybe a little too much perhaps, but I'm really grateful you decided to drag my wings along for this ride with you."

"Oh, if your brother wants ta play in tha ball pit he can play. Ain't nothing wrong with that," she said as she ruffled Ambrosia's mane before her eyebrow arched up. "Wait, ice cream? Who said somethin' about ice cream, you silly filly?" She asked as she leaned over to try and see her son play in the pit. From here she could only see a side view of the entrance, so once he was inside she couldn't really see him. No matter. She trusted that he wouldn't get into any trouble and if he did...well, ya know. She'd be here. Hopefully just waiting for that sassy filly up front to get her order right this time. "An' why aren't you wantin' ta play? Don't wanna play with the other fillies?"

High Bar was one of those fillies but she was perhaps the surliest little filly of them all. She was deep in the ball pit, on a little raised part that led deeper into the ball pit-slide set that made up the playplace of the Haydonalds. She dangled her bottom two hooves in the pit, kicking them back and forth and counting the seconds until she was allowed it. Imprisoned in a ball pit; what a world. She never wanted to go to the Haydonalds in the first place! It was a dirt-poor restaurant for dirt-poor ponies with no taste or sense of grace. She was sooo above this trash that the smell of the place made her want to vomit. And if she was home, it would be that simple.

But no, the bodyguard her father assigned to her during her time in Ponyville had different ideas. Apparently, he liked Haydonalds, or that's what she could gather from him stuffing his face in the corner seat of the playplace, ostensibly monitoring the area. She had done well enough to force down the junk that passed for food here and thought that would be the end of it. But as she watched him slowly eating and reading the paper, she had a sneaking suspicion that his excuse that she needed to socialize with ponies her age was little more than an excuse. Just a hunch.

It could be worse, she guessed. As surlky as she could appear to be and with as little enthusiasm as she had for being forced into a ball pit of anything, she didn't mind the fillies and colts all that much. Sure they were country rubes and all, but she preferred simple and smiling over fast-talking and backstabbing. She was sure there were tons of others out there, but her experience was limited. And speaking of limited experience, Zap's last dive sent a few balls careening towards her. She used her magic to stop some of them, but failed to stop it entirely. "I see you're just full of it today, Zap," she said as she smiled at the colt. What he was full of, she'd leave to him. "See the pegasi earlier?"

Sunny's mind was not ready. She was simply a normal mare in a normal pony village. Her mind was bright and optimistic but it could never compete with the information overload that she was being showered with. Her mind burst wit names, flooded with ideas, crushed under the unrelenting weight of Bridlewood history. What was once Sunny Starscout was now a slave to the mountains of traditions that the unicorns of Bridlewood had and she was now being given the very gift of knowing. Woe betide any who tried to learn too much too quickly from the Moonbow, lest her positivity and love of Bridlewood send you gasping for air!

It was easy to get lost in the words, so much so that they were in Bridlewood by the time Izzy was done listing the traditions. She didn't know what to really say or what to start off with, but as she saw the sun was now almost entirely set she figured some traditions would be easier than others. "Izzy, how do you remember all of that? I nearly broke my hoof writing it down at first," she said as she looked back at her saddlebag, with her notebook having been left without listing everything Izzy had said. "What are some of your favorite night-time unicorn traditions?"

For a moment, Sunny's heart was in her throat as she imagined the wondrous goggles that had been gifted to Zipp being stolen. Then she realized that it was just the batteries and her relief was palpable. Too palpable. However, she still knew that Zipp would need help to discover the horrifying truth. The truth...of what happened to the batteries. Well, not every mystery was all that interesting, so she hoped that Zipp wouldn't freak out too much. Zipp was an amazing mare but at times she could be a bit...extra.
"Well...it was a twelve-pack, right? I used two of them on the TV remote. So now we're down to ten!"

Dude, rashes under the wing sucked. It was bad enough when you lived among griffons but in Equestria the proper creams were less common. How bad was it when you lived under the sea half the time? Gallus couldn't really imagine a happy answer to that question. Gallus clamor of agreement was thus somewhat more agreeably enthusiastic than many others, even if still wasn't on board- seemed weird to share it so openly, but these hippogriffs seemed pretty open as a species anyway. That just reminded him that he needed to make sure he really washed and dried the inner wing well. He didn't want a rash or a smell- did he smell now? No. No he was fine, which was good because he would probably have to drown himself if somegriff said something now.

Wait, what was he being asked again?

Oh, the griffons. How he brought them together and all that. He wanted to tear into his own kind like he would normally, but he didn't want anygriff here to get a bad tingle running up and down their spine and feathers whenever they saw one. Saw him. He also didn't want to lie, so he did what he did best when the truth threatened to rear its ugly head: Bend it. "Griffons can be...difficult. We are proud of who and what we are and sometimes that can make us seem aloof. But if you can see past it and make friends with us, you'll have no stronger friend or ally. We don't have tons of friends but the ones we have, we are very close with," he took a drink. "It was easy enough to get other griffons on board once I told them what was up. Equestria was our friend and no way no how were we gonna allow anything to happen to them."

Twilight laughed. Oh, was she always this pretty? Was she even pretty? She surmised that she was rather regal to some extent, but attractive? She would be the wrong pony to ask. She certainly would never have imagined herself as being anything special. She didn't think she was ugly by any stretch but pretty? Cute? Beautiful? Maybe she just lacked that natural talent for developing her own self-esteem in terms of appearance, but she just thought she was rather plain.

She dismissed a lot of the reactions she got as the effect of her royalty blinding others. It wasn't Twilight Sparkle they were attracted to or found in any fashion special, it was just her title. The splendor, the royal bearing, the power and grace that came to an Alicorn? Easy enough to slot such flirtations under that banner, even if she tried to forget that many of those flirtations came before that time...and from unusual sources. "I don't know. That's a question for my mom, I guess. I do know that pretty or not, I'm happy being me, and being happy with who you are is the best way to make you feel as pretty on the outside as you are on the inside."

Applejack was very, very proud as she watched her little daughter go to work. She was always very proud and always pleased at her progress, but...well, it was hard to not feel that extra surge whenever Ambrosia did something new and special. And today, she was doing something special. She leaned down and gave her daughter a hug. "Yer gonna eat real good tonight, sugarcube," she said with a kiss before standing back up, her back creaking. Already tired, she hitched the wagon back up and smiled back to the two of them.

"Alright, sugarcube. We'll talk later- Ah know you wanna learn yerself some pretty magic with a pretty purple Princess," she stuck her tongue out, while Twilight shot back quickly. "You think I'm cute, do you?" She asked with excess smarm, eyebrows raised. Applejack walked away with a roll of the eyes while Twilight finished writing in her notebook. After a few more seconds she stood up and smiled, waving a hoof to follow.
"Well, want to continue our walk and talk, or would you rather do something else?"

"Wait, you're not an expert on spas? And here I thought all those plumbing books were so you could open up a private spa that was school-adjacent," Gallus said with feigned shock, relaxing into the wooden seats that made the spa feel a bit cool to the touch before it would inevitably heat up hotter than the sun. It started to rise pretty quickly, a lot faster than it would naturally. "Yeah, I bet it will. What's the right temperature for you?" Gallus asked. His own comfort level was somewhere along the lines of a soft warmth with a cool breeze and a cool day with a warm breeze.

Once she found the knob that controlled it, he realized he would have his answer soon enough. "Yeah, looks like it. I mean I guess its kind of cool they allow it to be customer controlled. Probably makes their lives easier," he said with a quick thought piercing through his mind. "The professor probably drove them mad," he said before straightening out his back with one claw to his chest. "'Oooh, darlings, one up- no, no, one down!- hmm, no, I've changed my mind. One up!'" he said with a smirk, his best Rarity impression to date on full display.