Ripple (MLP AU Fanfiction)

Chapter 1

Halfway through the warmest summer Equestria had seen in 230 years, Canterlot's marketplace was just reaching its peak again.

Between all the ponies shoving past each other, they made sure to stay out of the way of a particularly dark purple unicorn huffing and puffing around the central fountain.

"Where in Equestria is that mare?"

Then, a purple pony with dark blue hair appeared in the corner of her eye, and her impatient demeanor instantly vanished.
"Twily?" She turned around but found a disgruntled pony glaring back. As she walked off, she caught the mare mocking her tone of voice and muttering some very colorful words about her messy light purple mane, noting its weird blue streaks.

She winced a little before a familiar voice caught her ear.
"Rune?" Twilight asked.

Galloping and trying to squeeze past other ponies, Rune had to hold herself back from accidentally knocking her friend over.
"Oh my gosh, Twilight! It's so good to see you again!" Rune took Twilight into a tight hug.
Twilight raised a hoof slightly. "You, too." She paused for a moment. "Loony-Roony."

Rune wrapped a playful hoof around Twilight's neck and giggled before letting go. "Hey, nice necklace," Rune said, lifting up Twilight's necklace by the pendant. Similar to Rune's, the gem in the center was designed after her cutiemark. To hold the gem in place, there was a yellow band surrounding it all.
Twilight took the pendant into her own hoof and admired the star-shaped gem. "Heh, thanks. Tell your dad thanks, by the way, I love it."

"Already have," Rune replied, giving a smug grin. "Anyways, what brings you to Canterlot, o' mighty protector of Equestria?" Rune put on a greatly exaggerated Canterlot accent that Twilight had to laugh at.

Mimicking the accent, Twilight replied "Well, the lovely decor, the absolutely magnificent architecture and the, uh... charming ponies" with a hint of sarcasm.
Twilight waited for a reaction, but Rune just raised an eyebrow, already used to Twilight's teasing.

"...and maybe I came to see you too, dummy." Twilight finally mumbled, digging at the ground.

Rune turned away and flipped her mane. "Oh, ho ho, needed a break from them Ponyville gals, did ya?"

Twilight rolled her eyes and ran around to face Rune. "The girls may be great friends, but you're my best friend, Rune. Without you, I probably would've never said a word to them!"

"Good thing you did, right?" Rune said, forcing a smile. There was a brief moment where Rune held her stare, pursing her lips. Then her expression changed. "Anyway, wanna head back to my place? We've got a lot to catch up on."

"Absolutely! You've probably got half of Canterlot's library in there!" Twilight moved to walk alongside Rune.

Rune chuckled. "All that and more," She said, draping her front hoof over Twilight.

A few minutes later, the two unicorns were stood outside Rune's house. Twilight tried to open the door, but the handle wouldn't budge.
"Oh, my keys..." Rune trailed off.
Twilight began "Well, maybe we should get a locksmith or somethi--"
Rune bucked the door open, cutting Twilight off.
"Or that works" Twilight said with hesitation. Then the door came off its hinges.
"Pah, it's fine. I'll get Oak to fix it" Rune said, waving dismissively at the door.
"Oh! I've been meaning to ask, how's your brother doing?" Twilight asked, setting her bags by the coat holder.

Rune wandered into the kitchen. "Doing good. Way better than any of us expected, honestly," Rune chuckled. "That ol' carpentry business has made him so stinkin' rich that he's getting his own house built outside Canterlot!" Rune came back to the living room with two glasses of water, one with ice and one without.