Princesses of Equestria

Chapter 19: Generosity, Kindness, and Chivalry

Your esteemed royal majesties,

Our journey through Equinox Greens goes well, albeit at the pace of a "wimpy grade school pegasus with a game wing," as Rainbow so eloquently groused yesterday morning. To be fair, she muttered it in her tent when she thought nopony was listening, and a true lady doesn't gossip about such things.

Besides, we picked up the pace considerably that afternoon. A valley of volcanoes! Flying boulders! Ruby flames! And those magic wings Rainbow gave us.

Their contours were rugged and their feather textures needed work, but Rainbow always favored practicality over aesthetics. And my word, were her ruby wings practical. If anypony had met us afterwards, they'd be stunned to learn we'd just completed a death-defying flight through volcanic hellfire. My travelling leathers weren't even singed!

The rest of my collection, on the other hoof ... burnt to ash. A lifetime of work, gone up in smoke. I choke on it in my sleep. And when it clears, I see Sweetie Belle turned to ... to ...

Oh, Sweetie ...

That loathsome hag. Will nothing satisfy Armonia? She ruined the Boutique, ruined my life and thousands of others, and still it isn't enough.

Twice, she's tried petrifying me. The first time was awful, but at least it was quick. A flash of raw terror, numbness, then nothing but barely-remembered nightmares.

The second time was worse. That nightmare I remember perfectly. My hideous dress. Those laughing boors. The way Spike looked at me, as if I were something rotten that he'd stepped in.

Yes, Discord freed us. Yes, those nightmares weren't real. But the fear they brought was. Everypony Armonia petrified is feeling that same fear, while she uses them as her own personal smorgasbord.

For now.

You see, today Pinkie Pie held two 'Latent Elemental Power Unlocked!' parties. One for Rainbow in the afternoon. And one for moi only an hour later. We had just pitched our tents against a large stone column to shelter from an unexpected drizzle. At the time, we thought nothing of the column itself, and didn't ask why it and its companions were unnaturally cylindrical, or topped by pools.

We should have known better.

Anyway, we were polishing off Pinkie's ruby-themed cupcakes when Rainbow made a scene. There was a sudden groan from her tent, and before anypony knew what was happening, she'd stormed out, shouted "I'll show you volca-NOSE!!!" and punched Discord so hard his head span like a top!

Well, really! It was a cringe-worthy pun certainly, but not grounds for wanton violence!

Discord wasn't injured, of course. He cackled uproariously once his head stopped twirling. I doubt anything besides the Elements of Harmony's combined might or a lightning bolt from Armonia could seriously harm that draconequus.

Rainbow wanted to try though, oh yes. She got so furious her pelt ignited twice as fiercely as it had before! Then, to our astonishment, Rainbow's fire morphed into the spitting image of her Wonderbolt uniform. She was beside herself with delight when Applejack pointed the suit out.

Until, that is, the buckets started pouring.

I don't mean it poured buckets. I mean the gigantic rock buckets we'd mistaken for natural formations blew their watery tops, and showered us in a monsoon. A freezing monsoon. Our tents lasted only a second against the icy deluge, and Rainbow's Wonderbolt suit dissolved into steam.