NeilWacaster

Newsworthy felt bad for making Twilight uncomfortable in front of the princesses, of all ponies. He rushed over and tried to help her stack up the papers. Glancing down at them as he stacked, he saw that she was right. Even though each individual piece of evidence was small, she had hundreds of observations to back up her conclusions.

"Wow, Twilight," he said, after helping her out of the mountain of paper, "I'm impressed that you gathered all of this evidence so quickly. I was wrong to judge you before you presented the full story."

He gave Partheus a disapproving look. Twilight certainly didn't need him to make this situation any more awkward.

Newsworthy's initial shock subsided quickly. He was a bit skeptical of the unicorn's idea. "Begging your pardon, Twilight, but you may or may not be right. You're drawing very tenuous conclusions based on scant evidence. How would Sagittarius have known about the Manehatten water tornado record, and even if he did, why would he care? Also, Iron Will may be a pretty good motivational speaker, but how would The Hunter know who he was?"

Luna nodded, and turned to Twilight questioningly. "The newspony raises some valid points, but I'm sure that you have more to tell us. Your theory must be more substantiated, considering how many papers you're carrying."

"Not only that," said Celestia with a smile, "but considering what he did the last time, we expected Sagittarius would show up here sooner or later. The real question is, can we determine when?"

A bit peeved at the charioteer's rudeness, Newsworthy still tried to stop Partheus from paying the fare for everyone, but couldn't get his wallet out of his briefcase fast enough. He shrugged and slung his bags across his back.

He looked up in time to see Rainbow Dash eyeing Partheus, raising an eyebrow. Oh goddesses. Her too!? It's worse than I thought.

When Twilight ran by and asked about Partheus, Newsworthy tried to cover for his friend. "I'm sure he's just ... picking up his luggage!" Trying to change the subject, he asked, "What is it you found?"

Twilight sprang forward, looking back over her shoulder. "No time to explain! Come on, all of you!"

They ran after the galloping unicorn as fast as they could. In less than ten minutes, they had reached the palace steps. Panting, Twilight showed the guards a special pass with the royal seal. The huge palace doors swung inward, and she motioned for her friends to follow her inside. She led them down several long corridors decorated with tapestries, and up an enormous flight of stairs. They stopped before a huge golden door, which Twilight said led into the throne room. "The princesses are expecting you," a pompous butler stated, opening the door.

Princesses Celestia and Luna were waiting for them, as tall and regal as ever. The ponies bowed obsequiously.

"Welcome to Canterlot, my little ponies," Celestia said gravely. However, she couldn't help but smile as she added, "And a warm welcome to you also, Partheus of Hominopolis." Turning to Twilight, she said, "I understand that your astronomical studies have not been in vain, my most faithful student? What is it you wish to tell me?"

Newsworthy's expression turned very grave. "Nothing encouraging, I'm afraid. The news about the attacks continues to ..."

He was interrupted by Rainbow Dash jumping up, flaring her wings and pumping her hooves, ready for a fight. "Somepony attacked Equestria!? Just wait till I get my hooves on them ..."

Newsworthy quickly explained the basics of what had happened to the overeager mare. "Your loyalty to your country is appreciated, Rainbow Dash, but what we need here is caution and planning. He's very dangerous ..."

"No!" She was adamant. "Let me at him! I'll sonic-rainboom his flank back to the sky where he belongs!"

"Settle down, Dash. You're being ridiculous."

She sat on the bench in a huff. "Well, somepony needs to show him who's boss. Why not me?"

"For one thing," Newsworthy said, "He's a magical foe, and you are a pegasus. You've got a lot of wing power, but that can't save you from his spells. If by some twist of fate you do fight Sagittarius, you'll need a powerful magical shield."

"Hmph," she sniffed.

Turning to Partheus, Newsworthy continued. "We do have some new information. They finally got a few radio towers working in Manehattan, and I listened to the reports all morning. Hundreds of thousands are dead or missing, and what wasn't destroyed in the initial attack is being slowly eaten away by a strange type of magical balefire."

He removed his notepad from his bag and glanced at it. "So far, the unicorns sent to deal with the situation have only been able to slow the destructive process. They think they can figure out a way to counter the spell, but it will take time. It may be too late to save any of the great city."

"Meanwhile, we finally have the report of how they stopped The Hunter from attacking Fillydelphia. As he advanced on the city, some powerful magic user cast a terribly powerful spell to send him running back into the wasteland, at least for the time being. Disturbingly, the force of the magic ripped her apart as it took effect. None of the witnesses can identify exactly what the spell was, so it was apparently one of her own creation. One of the theoretical magicians interviewed on the broadcast said he thought it was some type of confundium spell, to confuse him and throw him off of his course. Another thought she just used some type of brute force spell, perhaps an ice ray or wind blast."

In the distance, they could see the spires of the royal Canterlot castle peeking over the cloud cover.

"So sorry to interrupt," a sarcastic nasal voice called from the front of the carriage. "But we're getting close to Canterlot, and need to know where that thing," he glanced at Partheus, "is getting off. Also, somepony owes us for the rainbow mare's fare. We're not in the habit of giving free rides."

Newsworthy cowered when it looked like Partheus would fry them all with lightning. However, he then listened carefully to what the human messenger had to say, and felt ashamed for thinking ill of his friend. Of course, it was unthinkable for Twilight to be dating a human. How could I have been so thoughtless? Newsworthy mused. I suppose that rumors are like that. All too easy to believe without evidence, and possibly very damaging to a friendship.

"You're right, this entire situation was ridiculous from the start," Newsworthy began. "I'm sorry for thinking such a thing, Partheus."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Deny it all you want. I think that Twilight likes you."

Newsworthy facehoofed. "What makes you say that? Please tell me you're joking."

"Well ..." Rainbow Dash said, in a confidential tone, "She told me that she enjoyed having you around. That you were one of the kindest, most thoughtful people she's ever met. It's not much, but we're talking about Twilight Sparkle, here. She never says that type of thing about anybody."

Great. Newsworthy thought. Just when I thought we had this situation all resolved.

"You never know, you big lug. You might just learn to like us ponies," Rainbow Dash said, playfully. "At least give one of us mares a chance before you have to go back to boring old Hominopolis."

" 'Cider tracked,' indeed," Newsworthy shook his head in disapproval. The chariot lurched forward as the pegasi jumped, launching into the sky. In seconds, they were high above the clouds. The air whipped past them, causing Newsworthy to have to hold his hat with a hoof.

"You had a real morning on the town, I see. I could maybe understand if it were late at night, or maybe if you had a weekend off, but this is serious. What were you thinking? You'll need all your mental faculties at full alert." He passed Partheus a towel with another sidelong glance.

Just then, a bright streak flashed through the sky. Newsworthy looked up just in time to see a blue pegasus with a rainbow tail do a large loop and come back to hover next to the chariot.

"Oh hey Newsworthy, what's up?"

"Good afternoon, Rainbow Dash. Partheus and I are headed to Canterlot. There's big news brewing there, and I want to be the first to put it in print."

"Partheus?" Dash looked at the human, eyes narrowing. "So, you're Twilight's new boyfriend, are you?"

She flew over to him, her face nearly touching his. She pointed a hoof at him angrily. "You'd better stay away from my friend. That is, if you don't want your face bucked off."

"Rainbow!" Newsworthy gasped, blushing. "This is a matter between Partheus and Twilight." He looked at Partheus, apologetically. "I'm sorry. I was hoping to be able to bring this up at a more opportune time, but since Rainbow Dash mentioned it... what exactly is going on between you and Twilight?"

Newsworthy spent the rest of the morning in a flurry of to-do lists, articles, tea, lost keys, and raspberry tarts. All the while, he listened to the breaking news from the major cities of Equestria on his large, ornate desk radio. As each new bit of information came in, he took note of it on a large yellow pad.

The time passed all too quickly. Suddenly he gasped, grabbed his briefcase and duffle bag, and rushed to the newsroom. Satisfied that his assistants would be only marginally likely to burn the place down while he was gone, he galloped out the front door and looked from side to side. Partheus was nowhere to be seen. He sighed, glancing at the sun. Celestia's orb was at it's zenith. High noon.

A bronze sky-chariot burst through the clouds, coming to rest before the newspaper office. It was drawn by two majestic yellow pegasi. The closer one spoke, in a very thick Manehattan accent. "Chariot to Canterlot for a Mr. Newsworthy?"

"That's me," Newsworthy replied. "There's another passenger coming along, he should be here shortly."

"We've no time to waste," the other pegasus said, in an irritable, nasal voice. "Time is money."

"Yes, of course. Let me just load my luggage. I'm sure he'll be here soon."

"Excellent. I have some things I must take care of here at the office before I go, big news day and all. The chariot will leave from here at noon."

Newsworthy made a full recovery from his injuries under the care of the Ponyville doctors. He always seemed to find himself pulled into ever crazier adventures, often with Partheus. However, he did eventually find true love, and he started a newspaper empire greater than any that had been seen before or since.

As he listened, Newsworthy smiled to himself. So he's willing to die for Twilight, now, is he? Of course. Young love. Pfft.

He jerked back when Partheus swung the sword at him. "I hoped that you would say that. Your heart is noble, but you must exercise caution. Combat with Sagittarius is not something to be undertaken without proper preparation. Also, I have no idea what magical abilities the sword actually has. It could enable you to fly, for all I know. You'll need to test its limits before meeting your foe."

With a sudden realization, Newsworthy cocked his head to the side. "Do you have transportation to Canterlot? It just so happens that I'm headed there by chartered chariot this afternoon. I want to conduct some interviews with the refugees from Manehattan and Fillydelphia. Ordinarily, I'd just fly, but I decided not to risk it what with all we went through in the Everfree. You're more than welcome to join me, there's plenty of extra room for you and your luggage."

He looked at the blade in reverence. "One of Celestia's imperial swords? She must respect you more than I realized. As far as I know, only a few dozen have ever been made. Each one is completely unique and has its own special magical abilities, enchanted by the princess herself. My guess is that she made it to amplify or channel your magic somehow."

Newsworthy grinned. "You may be powerful, Partheus, but the real challenge with you is being able to control your magical ability." He picked up the letter, sipping his tea as he read. Once finished, he looked over the top of the page at the messenger.

"Here's the thing, Partheus. You have a gift. A gift for magic. Nopony in Equestria can match your raw power, except for the princesses. However, you are both mortal and sworn to their service. I think that they are sending you out as a first defense, so to speak. A temporary meat shield. With you keeping the monster at bay, the princesses will be free to protect the city, and themselves."

He set the letter down, trying to find the right words. "I think that they are afraid of him. If the princesses were to be vanquished or banished, then Sagittarius would be rightful ruler of Equestria. Can you even begin to imagine the tyranny, the cruelty that would result? The entire society would be centered around serving him. However, if you die, then they are unaffected. Yes, they would be saddened, and a great statue would be erected of you, but they would still be in power and Equestria would continue to be the happy, relatively peaceful place it has been for the past thousand years."

He pointed a hoof at Partheus. "My advice is for you to make your own decision of whether to fight him or not. By my estimation, you stand a very good chance of dying while fighting this hunter, especially considering the state you're in after our last adventure." He waved a hoof, dismissively. "I know that your honor code requires you to serve your leaders and defend the helpless, but consider the situation. The princesses handled him before, and they should be able to handle him again. You, on the other hand, are injured, mortal, and aren't even a citizen of Equestria. If you want to go back to Hominopolis now, there's still time."

Besides, he thought grimly, I'm sure Twilight doesn't want her first love to die just days after getting together. Lucky son-of-a-birch to get a mare like her.

"It's a rather long story. You'd better come inside. I don't know about you, but I need some tea to get me going." He led Partheus into the newspaper office. The first room was a small reception area for special guests. Plush chairs and wood paneling gave the room a Victorian look. Opening a heavy mahogany door, he reporter propped his head in the newsroom to check on his diligent assistants, Headline and Featherweight. Headline was busily typing away at his desk, and Featherweight was covered in ink, operating a large, noisy printing press.

"How's it coming, boys?" Newsworthy asked.

"Very well, sir," Headline answered. "The articles for tomorrow are coming along right on schedule."

Featherweight looked up from his work. "The newsstands are already nearly empty of the first run we made last night, so I'm printing another three hundred copies."

"Keep up the good work," Newsworthy smiled. He closed the door and directed Partheus toward his private office. The walls were covered with framed editions of his newspaper, commemorating the biggest events of recent memory. One read, "Discord Returns! Princesses Powerless!" Another, "Grand Galloping Fiasco: Another Year, Another Disaster."

He began preparing tea with a small hot plate and gleaming copper teapot. Speaking over his shoulder, he began,"The news business is a strange one, Partheus. Events like those which transpired last night are devastating for Equestria, but music to my ears. And it's not just about selling more papers, although we certainly needed the money to be able to pay this month's expenses. No, it's much deeper than that."

He sat down at his desk while waiting for the water to boil, with a rather odd expression on his face. He seemed at once overjoyed and guilt-stricken. "I'm a newspony. I live and breathe catastrophe. As difficult as it is to work all day, all night, and every moment in between, it's worth it to get the word out to my public. It's times like this that I feel truly alive."

He leaned forward, emphasizing the gravity of his words.

"Whatever you've heard about these attacks, it's nothing compared to what actually happened. Less than an hour ago we got our first reputable information about the extent of the Manehattan destruction. Half of the city is in ruins, and Fillydelphia barely escaped annihilation."

The teapot began to sing. The pegasus rose, finished preparing two large mugs of the steaming drink, and set one of them before his friend.

"We're not dealing with a draconnequs with a penchant for chocolate rain. This is an utterly evil, utterly destructive monster." He paused. "You're awfully quiet, my friend. What are you thinking?"

Twilight had looked on with skepticism as Rainbow Dash nearly started a food fight. It took her a while to see that Octavia had come in, as a few ponies were in her way.

She pushed through the growing crowd to go greet her friend. "Octavia! So glad you could make it. I always love hearing you play."

((OOC: Sorry to have been gone for a while, guys. Final exams and moving is now over, and I can get back to what really is important: RPing.))

Welcome, friend! I'm glad that I could finally convince you to join me here on Canterlot.

((Since this is the free for all, I'd say you could do it either way. If the new character is different, my suggestion is that you could just have Wind Mist leave and pop back in with the new one. What do you think, Bass?))

"Indeed it is a pleasure to meet such a lady," the artist remarked. "I simply must know more about you. What sparked your interest in art collecting?"

I'm so glad that you joined the site! Did you find it because of my Rainbow Dash account?

I've got some questions for you too. But they can wait. "Ask away," Newsworthy said.

A blue pegasus soared over Ponyville, lost in thought. The news wires had been buzzing all night with the breaking story about the Manehattan and Fillydelphia attacks, and he had hardly slept a wink between writing a number of articles and publishing a special bulletin about the events. The attacks were very disconcerting, but the only major city anywhere near Ponyville was Canterlot, and of course the monster wouldn't dare to attack the royal palace itself. After all, the last time that he had tried a direct assault on the royal city was when Celestia had banished him to the sky.

He continued to think. What if The Hunter had gained more power, though? He certainly must have some type of new advantage, probably magical in nature, to be able to escape his imprisonment. The entire situation made the journalist very uneasy.

His attention was diverted when he saw the neighborhood mail mare, Derpy Hooves, making her early morning rounds. She was looking anxiously from side to side, appearing to be lost. Again. Why in Equestria the mayor had appointed a pegasus with no sense of direction to deliver the mail was beyond ridiculous. Nevertheless, he always enjoyed seeing her smiling face at his doorstep, even if the mail was a week late.

He drifted down to where the mare was hovering. "Do you need some help finding your way, Miss Doo?" Newsworthy asked courteously.

"No," she said, grinning. One of her eyes was fixed on him, but the other drifted lazily, contemplating the clouds overhead. "I found the library all by myself."

"Well done! Then what's the trouble? You seem to be looking for something."

"Not something. Somepony." She emphasized the last syllable.

"Oh?"

"I have a super special package I have to deliver right away to Twilight's new boyfriend."

Newsworthy looked very surprised. "Are you sure? I had no idea that she was romantically interested in anypony."

Derpy nodded vigorously. "Oh yes. She said that he went this way after leaving the library, but I can't find him anyplace."

Well, I'll be. I suppose that each of us does have their own special somepony, if we just look hard enough, the journalist thought to himself. And he was leaving the library early in the morning? Either he's a ridiculously early riser, or he stayed there overnight. This is getting more and more interesting. Turning to Derpy, he asked, "What does he look like? Maybe I've seen him."

She thought for a moment, tapping a hoof on her chin and letting both eyes slowly turn all the way around in their sockets. "He's tall, and has a black mane. Very big and strong."

No wonder she's having so much trouble finding him if that's all she's going on, Newsworthy thought. Out loud, he commented, "Interesting. I would have thought that she would have gone for a more bookish type ..." His voice trailed off, a little wistfully. "But no matter. Do you know anything else about him?"

"Oh, there he is!" Derpy gasped. She sped away, Newsworthy following close behind. They flew down main street past Sugarcube Corner and the Carousel Boutique, apparently heading, of all places, back to the office for Newsworthy's paper, the Ponyville Express.

"Ditzy, LOOK OUT!" Newsworthy grabbed her tail in his teeth, just barely preventing her from ramming into a lamppost. His heart nearly stopped beating, but she was unfazed. Landing lightly on her hooves, she walked up to her target. The blue pegasus was even more surprised to see who it was she had been looking for.

"Partheus?" Newsworthy tried to wrap his head around the situation, but he simply couldn't. Twilight is dating a HUMAN? The one who is LIVING with her? What ... the ... buck.

"Here's your package, Mister!" Derpy gave the human messenger her most endearing smile.

Yep!

"I'm quite well," Twilight replied to Applejack. "I'm sorry to hear about Winona's injury, although under the care of Fluttershy it's no wonder she recovered so quickly."

She tried one of the fritters. "These are quite good, you must give me the recipe."

--

Pinkie Pie pointed a hoof at a large cupcake baking pan, each of the cups filled with batter. "Just blow some fire on these babies, Spikey, and we'll be eating my special zap apple cupcakes in no time!"

I think you got the wrong person. I'm the one that joined because of your FB post.

A wonderful pony named theodrixx also joined because of the reddit post, and you joined because of the Facebook post. Yay!

Yay! I'm so glad that you came here because of my post. I hope that you enjoy yourself here as much as I have!

Twilight rolled her eyes at Spike. "I think that you'll be doing quite enough cupcake 'tasting' once the party begins. If you get started now, there won't be any left for the rest of us."

Pinkie Pie popped her head out of the kitchen. She was completely covered in flour, making her look rather like an animated statue of the pink mare. "Oh hey there, Spike! I need some help baking this last batch of cupcakes extra fast! Do you think you could heat things up in here?"

Just then, Lyra and Bon Bon entered. Twilight listened to their conversation in amusement. Lyra did look a bit pudgier than usual, probably due to all the cream puffs.

"Hey there, girls," Twilight said, trotting over to them. "Pinkie Pie is a bit busy cooking at the moment, but I'm sure she'll be with you soon. You really should stay for the party, or at least have some punch while you wait."

OOC: Tacobob, yes, that makes sense.

OOC: I am taking Pinkie Pie for the moment because we need to move the party along, but she is still open for another RPer to take if one of you is interested.

Twilight looked quizzical. "Since we just had Gummy's first birthday party last month, I don't think so. But with Pinkie, you never know. I'm convinced she has some time of time travel magic."

OOC: princebluemoon1, yes! I just added you to the roster. Also, tacobob, about where this happens in the storyline, it's a month after Gummy's first party, and so I believe that puts us before the wedding.