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With noon fast approaching, you decide to make your way to the town square to await Princess Celestia's arrival. Other ponies have begun gathering in front of the town entrance to do the same, and you join them on the soft grass next to the road.
Right on time, a flying carriage appears from beyond the blue northern skies. Driven by four royal knights in golden armour, the ornate vehicle descends along a gentle breeze, and lands on the clear path before coming to a smooth stop.
From the carriage's cushioned seat, the Princess bows her head in thanks to her drivers before elegantly disembarking. Then, as her gold-plated shoes meet the beaten earth, she is met by a unified bow of reverence from the small roadside crowds.
Celestia: "Thank you for the warm welcome, everypony."
Hoofingold: "Ahh, Your Majesty! I hope you've had a pleasant trip."
Celestia: "Good day, Mayor Hoofingold. Indeed I have. I must say, your town has grown quite a lot since my last visit."
Hoofingold: "Ho ho, that it has; and this year's our biggest Autumn Festival yet! You couldn't have picked a better year to join us."
Celestia: "I'm quite looking forward to joining the festivities. But first, I believe I would take a moment to speak with my subjects."
You look on as Celestia begins to mingle with some of the ponies nearby, some politely containing their excitement better than others. For the better part of several minutes, you don't pay much attention to what is being said, rather mesmerized by the Princess's exceptional beauty and grace.
Celestia: "... apple cake, you say? That sounds delightful. I will certainly have to give it a try."
Autumn Skies: "You won't regret it, Princess; the boys and girls are doing such a fine job with the buffet, not to mention our little heroes who made it all possible."
Celestia follows the mare's gaze over to you, and smiles as she recognizes your party.
Celestia: "Indeed, I know these heroes well. It is wonderful to see you three again."
You and your friends greet the Princess in kind, humbled by her kind words.
Celestia: "Now, all this talk has whet my appetite. Shall we?"
While two of the royal guards flank Princess Celestia to escort her to the buffet, the other two remain behind to keep an eye on the royal carriage.
Autumn Skies, Hoofingold, and a few hungry ponies follow the royal visitor westward, while the rest of the crowd slowly begins to disperse and move on to other activities.
Enter a comment
(If we can't find her, settle with checking when Windcaller's performance is and/or shopping for blank scrolls, since we're out, or a stardial.)
checkbadge of reputable adventurers is in the mail! (Joking.)On the other hoof, I wonder if we have a badge or diploma from the Equestria Exploration Society that we could use to convey authority, at least as an explorer. Their existence/name is mentioned in 2015-04-13 and 2020-08-03, and I'm guessing they were the ones who sent us the first bits of our adventure on 2015-04-08. Now I'm kind of wondering if we're supposed to write to them when we find suspicious things, and the reports work their way up the chain rather than going directly to the Princess. But I suppose mentioning it wouldn't hurt.
Also, Spamotron, when did we spot the "ominous tower"? I only remember 2021-06-14 and 2021-07-05 as mentioning ominous things we haven't explored yet.
(Loving the new post hyperlinks feature by the way. Have you ever felt like the dev put in a feature just for you? 😅)