Cubbage Posted June 17, 2021 Report Share Posted June 17, 2021 This thread takes place during the events of Season Four of FiM, hence the title "Memories" The sun was beginning to rise, illuminating the Canterlot observatory better. For the first time in more than two hours, Twinkle Dawn looked up from her parchment. She had been charting stars and trying to write horoscopes all night to submit to the local newspaper, but nothing was coming to her. She looked around at the decor and the large telescope. It was the best one in Equestria, so they said. Adjustable scope, extremely powerful, and decorated in beautiful gold and polished wood. She had been using it for years to talk to the heavens. But now, it seemed the heavens had closed to her. It had been more than three months since her discharge, and she still was having trouble with her predictions. It seemed they relied largely on her confidence in her own abilities, and tonight, she just hadn't had any. She sighed, balled up the parchment, and tossed it into the nearby wastebasket. The day workers would be here shortly to open the observatory to the public, and she usually liked to be gone by the time that happened. Oh well. There was always tomorrow, right? She perked up, trying to stay positive. If her visions and predictions relied on confidence, then she would just need to fake it till she made it! Still, the nagging doubt remained with her... She before closing up the observatory, she felt that she should check one last star in the sky. It was Venus. It was rising with the sun, and she decided to rotate the roof and telescope to get a better look at it. After studying it for several moments, it slowly faded away with the rising of the sun. She wrote down her impressions and then studied what she had written. "Today is a good day to make a new friend." Well, it wasn't much, but it was something. She supposed she could stay up a little longer if it meant following the guidance of the stars. She closed up the observatory and looked over a note she had exchanged with her cousin, detailing the location and time for the first meeting she would have with her potential followers. In a week, she was going to be giving a speech in front of at least fifty ponies, trying to convince them that she was princess material. She needed to get her confidence up before then. Otherwise, no one would believe her. For now, though, she needed to focus on following the stars. They had sent her a message. Make a new friend. Simple enough, she reasoned. Canterlot was full of ponies. All she had to do was talk to one. As she opened the door to the street, she came face to face with one. The pony seemed to be here to visit the observatory. "I'm sorry, the observatory doesn't open for another hour. Can I help you?" she asked, assuming the pony's intentions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonTea Posted June 18, 2021 Report Share Posted June 18, 2021 The pony standing in the doorway was unremarkable at best. Everything about her look and her stature screamed completely forgettable, from her messy bun to her unassuming cutie mark. Everything except for her strange eyes. At first glance they seemed just as normal as the rest of her, unless they were looking right at you. Now, staring into Twinkle's, they were harsh and cold. Clearly way too busy and made most feel like a deer in her headlights. With no warning at all she backed the other into the room she was coming from and began circling her like a hungry hawk. "Student of Celestia's. Clearly powerful. Making good use of the observatory. Interesting cutie mark. Astrologer. Excellent color pallet. I'm guessing... Yellow unicorn magic. Gold," she paused, pondering the word for just a moment before shaking her head and stomping her hoof, "Pastel, it goes with her colors. Pastel... Predictions. Fortune telling mostly. No. More than that. Predictions. Predication. Princess. Preoccupied. Pre... servation?" Finally she stopped her rambling to address the pony she was speaking about, standing between her and the door. "Are you preserving something? No that's stupid. Hello, I'm Lovely Craft. You must be Twinkle Dawn." she said without any regard for her strange behavior. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cubbage Posted June 18, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2021 Twinkle backed into the entryway as this other pony circled her. Most of what she was saying didn't make sense, at least not at first. She gathered from the jumble though that she must make predictions like her. How interesting. Even more interesting, however, was that this strange pony knew her name. "Um... Yes, that is my name. And actually, my aura is green. Like my eyes." She demonstrated by manipulating the door back to its shut position. "Lovely Craft, you said your name was?" she offered a tentative hoof. "I'm Twink-- but of course, you already know that. In fact, you seem to know quite a bit about me... May I ask where you got your information from?" She tried to maintain appearances, but was most definitely not comfortable around this pony's sudden... presence. She had a strange aura about her. Strange, and yet somehow... familiar. Had they met before and Dawn just didn't remember? Is that how this pony knew so much about her? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonTea Posted June 19, 2021 Report Share Posted June 19, 2021 Lovely frowned at the bright green and shrugged, "Ah well, starting off in the wrong timeline is a bad sign... And still we press on." She politely took Twinkle's hoof in her own, "Overture. Overturn. Overrun. Overheard! Friends of yours. Talking about your party. Partly! Pastries! Princess of Prediction. Ponies say you're good at that," her cheeks turned pink, and she popped a hoof over her mouth to quiet the rambles popping out of her like fireworks. She managed a careful deep breath, "Please excuse me. I've heard quite a bit about you from the ponies around and I had to come see you for myself. Astrology column, page 8, written by ex-royal star gazer. I quite liked your bit about Cancers. Strikes me as odd though that someone fried and fired by Celestia herself wouldn't be popular enough to start her own fanclub," she gestured to the note for her meeting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cubbage Posted June 21, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2021 Lovely Craft's phrasing, "ex-royal star gazer," "fried and fired," etc., aggravated wounds that were still very thinly healed in Dawn's mind, and she was beginning to think that perhaps her prediction was referring to a different pony. Nonetheless, this pony was, in a round about way, giving her praise, which she was always happy to accept. "Yes, that's me. I write the astrology column for the Canterlot newspaper now. A step down from greater things, but I'll take what I can get. I'm glad you enjoy my premonitions. As for starting my own fan club, I'm afraid I don't know what you mean. I've never considered myself popular or famous enough to have 'fans'. True, many ponies read my horoscopes, and a mare or two has come seeking tarrot or tea leaf readings since my discharge, but I hardly think that counts a fan club." In her mind, she was mostly hoping this mare wasn't referring to the meeting next week. No one outside the list her cousin had sent her was supposed to know about it. Had someone gotten sloppy? Was that what Lovely Craft had meant when she said she overheard "friends of hers" talking about her "party"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonTea Posted June 30, 2021 Report Share Posted June 30, 2021 Realizing her rambles might get her in trouble she chose her words very carefully, softening her tone and posture. She tried her best to amend her harsh entry, "Forgive my bluntness, but that's what that is isn't it?" she said with a smile, "A meet and greet with the future of Equestria?" Lovely considered the look on the other's face and couldn't help the excitement that bubbled in her chest. She could feel the energy radiating in the room, centered around Twinkle's very being and she wanted nothing more than to witness it in it's truest form. "I have a thing for predictions, but they're not exactly like yours. I just like to listen, and it seems like a lot of ponies have started listening to you." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cubbage Posted July 13, 2021 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2021 So it was about the meeting... This wasn't good. If word got out about the meeting... Who knows what might happen?? What if the royal guard heard! Surely They'd see it as a sign of insurrection! Twinkle could be jailed, or worse... For now though, this pony seemed to be quite receptive. In fact, she mentioned that her talent was similar to Twinkle's own. "Ah yes, a uh... Meet and greet. Well really, it's more of a... uh..." her mind struggled for a name for it that wouldn't arouse suspicion. Would any name arouse suspicion? Was she overthinking the danger of this meeting? No matter, you could never be too careful when organizing a long coup. Think!! "A club. It's a club. Like the Canterlot Society for the Preservation of the Night Sky, or the Coltumbia Rotary Club, that kind of thing. Only this one... Is a little more political than that. But that's not important!" she said, trying to change the subject from her (highly illegal) secret meeting that was apparently not-so-secret anymore. "You mentioned you also do predictions? What sort, if you don't mind me asking?" Her mind was still reeling and panicking that this pony knew about the meeting. She was going to have a talk with her cousin... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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