Looking-Glass Ponies 5

"Looking-Glass Ponies"
Chapter 5

A Pony POV Series-inspired tale
Written by OracleMask


Ponies running through the streets of Ponyville was never anything strange.  Sometimes the urge to run was just a fun thing to be enjoyed, and sometimes ponies only wanted to get somewhere quickly.  But the urgency that Puzzlemint, Tome Heart, Toola-Roola, and Fiesta Spice were putting into their hoofsteps made everypony they passed take a second glance.

Celebration Castle rose like a glittering pink mountain in the middle of town.  Not that anypony would ever say that the castle did anything like loom over Ponyville: it simply was the big, cheerful centerpiece to their big, happy town.  The lawn that surrounded the castle was lush and green – perfect for picnics – and the flowerbeds were tended with love and care by the Official Princess of Ponyville.

Even if Wysteria had declared everypony in Ponyville was a princess too, they'd all agreed that she made the best official princess they could want.  So far the only thing Wysteria had had to do was wear a flower crown for anything that seemed official or princess-y, but that was one royal duty she didn't mind at all.

As the four ponies came running up to the castle drawbridge, Wysteria saw them coming and put down her gardening tools to wave hello.  Seeing her made the ponies slow down to a walk and then a stop: whether or not the fate of the world was at stake, there was no reason not to say hello to a pony they all knew and cared for!

“Oh my, hello there everypony,” Wysteria said, walking over and greeting them each with a friendly nuzzle, “Where are you running to?  Are you racing each other?”

“Nope!  We're running because we really need to talk to Spike!” Toola-Roola said.

She paused to blow her unruly forelock out of her eyes, and so Tome Heart added, “It's kind of a big problem...is Spike at home, Wysteria?”

“A big problem?  That sounds serious,” Wysteria replied, frowning, “That explains why Spike's holing himself up in his room with all those books...”

Looking from pony to pony, Wysteria's expression became more thoughtful.

“And I know I've got a big pitcher of rainbow berry punch inside that we can share, if you'd like,” she continued.

“Rainbow berry punch?  That sounds delicious!” Fiesta Spice exclaimed.

“That sounds jolly lovely, Wysteria,” Puzzlemint agreed.

Before the ponies knew it, all four were settled in the sitting room inside Celebration Castle, resting their hooves in comfy chairs and drinking delicious punch.  The castle was a big building and had many different rooms: they ranged from a big dance hall that every pony in Ponyville could fit in, to some smaller rooms like the sitting room that were perfect for anypony who just wanted a quiet space to read a book.  And there was one big room full of old books Tome Heart had never been able to find anywhere else.  Spike had turned that into his room when he moved in.

After running through Ponyville like that, along with the shocking revelations they'd learned at Kimono's, Tome Heart thought that settling into a comfy chair and drinking delicious punch was just what he and everypony else needed.  Even if this was a serious problem that they had to solve as fast as possible, being so upset was very...upsetting!  Toola-Roola especially looked a hundred times better after this little break.

Puzzlemint smiled into her cup of punch as she put the clues together: Wysteria was a very observant mare.  And almost as soon as the four ponies felt properly refreshed, Wysteria returned to the sitting room with Spike in tow.

“I say, this is a very nice surprise!” Spike said, hopping into a chair with a smile and picking up his own glass of punch, “It's been a while since a whole group of ponies came to see me about a problem.  Now what do I owe the pleasure of this visit to?”

There was a momentary silence as the four ponies looked at each other, wondering who should tell Spike what they needed.  Tome Heart was the one who broke it, just as Spike was taking his first drink of the punch.

“We wanted to know how to cast the Wishing Spell again.”

Spike accidentally spat his punch directly into Fiesta Spice's face.

“What?!”

“That jolly big Wishing Spell!” Puzzlemint agreed, leaning forward, “And I'm extra-sure now you know how to do it, with that reaction.”

Fiesta was wiping his face with a napkin Wysteria had kindly offered him, though she was clearly shocked at Spike's reaction.  As for the dragon himself, he offered the orange pony a sheepish smile of apology before he turned his attention back to the matter at hand.

“Err...well, that's...I know a lot about it, but why do you need it?  Actually, how did you find out about it?  I assumed no one even remembered it by now,” Spike asked.

“It's because I found this letter,” Tome Heart replied, fishing the letter out of his mane and handing it over.

Toola-Roola suddenly fumbled to keep a hold on her cup.  Meanwhile, Spike unfolded the letter with grace – there was something to be said about having hands, though Tome Heart wouldn't trade his hooves for anything – and read the letter.  Wysteria was curious about was going on, and read it over his shoulder.

“Not only did Tome Heart find that letter,” Puzzlemint was quick to add, “But we've just come from visiting Kimono.  We've found out that the wish spell that the lot in that letter cast is going to run down and stop, and everypony will stop with it!”

“Hmm,” Spike said, “That does explain a few things...alright, I'll help you with the spell!”

Fiesta Spice, Tome Heart, and Toola-Roola cheered.

“Even though I have no idea how it works!”

The cheers promptly turned to confusion.  Spike chuckled.

“I know, I'm a very mature and, if I do say so myself, very handsome dragon these days, but when the spell was first cast I was nothing more than a cute baby dragon,” Spike admitted, “My very good pony friends were the ones who cast the spell while I was taking a quick nap.”

“A thousand years is a quick nap?” Wysteria asked, eyebrow quirking.

“We'd just stayed up for hours and hours celebrating the upcoming spell-casting!  I, err, may have wished to get a little extra sleep in,” Spike said.

Everypony giggled, even Wysteria, at the thought of Spike's 'little extra sleep' being so unusually long.  Spike pouted for a moment, before joining in the merriment with a rueful chuckle.  It was kind of funny, after all.

“Right, but I can tell you what I know about how the spell was made!” he said once the giggles finished, hopping out of his chair, “I've got just the book!”

Eagerly, Spike led the way to his library.  The five ponies following him soon saw the dragon disappear into a large, untidy heap of books on the floor.  All they could see was his tail sticking out as he dug out a particular book from the bottom of the pile.

“You see, I was feeling nostalgic and had gotten these books out to read,” Spike said, voice muffled , “Let's see, how does the story go...'One to get steady, Two for the sky, Three to get ready and Four to'...wait, no, that's not it...ah-ha!”

Spike popped out of the top of the book pile holding an old tome.  Tome Heart, who was already delighted with all the rare old books around (and more than a little dismayed that Spike had left all these wonderful books in a pile on the floor) couldn't resist hopping forward to see the book more closely.

“In order to cast the All Wishes Come True spell,” Spike said, opening the book to reveal a colorful map, “Ponies had to build seven special castles to harness all the powers of the Rainbow of Light.  One piece of rainbow in each castle, and so on.”

“What happened to the rainbow pieces after the spell was cast?” Toola-Roola asked.

“I don't see why anyone would move them, so they should still be in each castle.  Which means it should be simple to reactivate them!” Spike replied, “Each castle on this map shows where each different piece is hidden.  And of course, each piece represents a very important part of the world: Friendship, Laughter, Kindness, Music, Family, Happiness, and Rainbows!”

“Oh!  Oh oh!  Isn't the castle in Unicornia called the Crystal Rainbow Castle?” Fiesta Spice exclaimed, “And the unicorns are the ones who make all the rainbows!  I'm sure that's where the Rainbow piece is!”

“I'd wager that the pegasus ponies on Butterfly Island have a castle too,” Puzzlemint added, “It makes jolly sense.  And we have our own Celebration Castle here in Ponyville...why, that's three castles already!”

“What about the other four castles?  Do you think the ponies in Unicornia or Butterfly Island know where they are?” Toola-Roola asked.

“I suppose we'll find out when we ask them,” Wysteria said.

Even their normally more reserved Princess of Ponyville was getting excited now.

“We'd better tell Kimono what we've found, don't you think Tome?  ...Tome?”

Tome Heart had slipped over to the pile of books and started sorting them during this discussion.  Hearing Puzzlemint call his name unexpectedly, the librarian startled and bumped the tall stack of books he'd made, sending them falling into the pile again.  Tome Heart joined the others with a sheepish smile as they went to take their leave and return to Kimono's gazebo, with Spike and Wysteria going to see them off.

None of them got very far past the drawbridge, because the path in front of the castle was full of ponies.  In front of the crowd stood two familiar faces: Kimono herself (and seeing her here in Ponyville was a big sign of how worried she was) and a fluttering purple pegasus who zipped over to embrace Toola-Roola.

“Starsong!  What is everypony doing here?” Toola-Roola asked, even as she returned her friend's hug.

“You ponies were all in such a hurry leaving Kimono's, we all got curious,” Starsong Melody said, “And then we saw Kimono herself coming into town, well, that made everypony super-extra curious!”

Kimono shuffled her hooves a little, looking guilty.

“They wanted to know so badly,” she admitted, “I couldn't help but tell them what was going on.  As much as I know about what's going on, anyway.  Did your talk with Spike go well?”

“Indeed, and there's no need for anyone to worry!” Spike declared, stepping to the front of the little group on the drawbridge, “All we need to do is go to the seven castles of Ponyland and reactivate the seven pieces of the Rainbow of Light.  The rest of the wishing spell will take care of itself, I'm sure!”

There was a sound of stomping hooves and delighted comments about a rainbow of light from the crowd, before a beautiful mare with a rainbow mane and tail stepped forward.

“Spike, darling, this Rainbow of Light you mentioned sounds simply delightful!” Rainbow Dash declared, “But what was that about a wishing spell?  Darling, do you mean that this rainbow will grant us all a wish?”

“That's right!” Fiesta Spice piped up, “Everypony gets a big wish from the wishing spell!  I only wish I knew what to wish for with my wish!  Oh, I wish making this decision wasn't so tough.”

Everypony who heard the orange colt's words giggled.

“That is a good point,” Tome Heart said, “What do we all wish for?”

Starsong took to the air, fluttering over the crowd.

“Did you ever wish that you could have
A wish that would come true?
I wonder what my wish would be,
Which I would want to wish you see.
Which wish would be the wish for me?

...Oh dear, I wish I knew!”

“I'd wish for ponies happy, who are glad for what they've got,” Wysteria admitted.

“I'd wish for delicious snacks and treats that always hit the spot!” Sugar Cube called out from the crowd.

“And I'd wish we'd all hit the beach
While the sun is nice and hot!” Sunny Daze added, shaking sand out of her mane.

“If you could cast that wishing spell
And it was yours to create,” Starsong trilled,
“What is it you'd want the most
And what wish would you make?”

The crowd of ponies began moving toward the town square.

“Yes, Darling!
If I could dash on rainbows then I'd be happy!” Rainbow Dash sang.

“With sparkles in them, I'd be happy too!” Sparkleshine agreed.

“If I could style them too
Give them the most fabulous do,
That would make me very happy
Yes it's true!” Daffidazey added.

“If I could grow fine apples for my friends, I'd be happy,” Sweet Apple said.

“If you were happy, I'd be happy too,” Star Spin agreed, giving her a nuzzle.

“And maybe I would ask,
For help with this little task,” Sweetie Belle said as she awkwardly tried carrying a Berry Tower Cake from the oven to the counter in Sugar Cube Corner.

“But if we could get our wish,” Sugar Cookie added, helping his assistant baker steady the teetering mountain of deliciousness.

“And a chance to try that dish!” Tongue Twister piped up, standing on the other side of the counter and licking his lips at the sight of the cake.

“Then we'd be happy!” all three ponies in Sugar Cube Corner chorused.

“If you wish with a wishing spell...” Starsong sang.

“You'll sure get your wish you see
“And then for sure you're gonna be
Happy!”

“Happy!” sang Fiesta Spice, Wysteria, Sparkleshine, and Sunny Daze.

“Happy!” sang Rainbow Dash, Daffidazey, Toola-Roola, and Kimono.

“Happy!” sang Puzzlemint, Tome Heart, Sweet Apple, and Star Spin.

“We'll all get our wish
And we'll be happy!”

Then, with the song finished, everypony broke out laughing.