More pictures of painting the King Manor staircases

Floor two

Floor three

Between Floor three and Floor four

Ponies Unexpected: Chapter Eleven

Chapter 11:  Literature for Pinkie Unexpected

Twilight’s diverse group soon found themselves walking down an artistic pedestrian boulevard.  The boulevard was paved not in cobblestones like in Ponyville.  Instead, the boulevard was paved with brightly colored, rubber titles.  The easy on the hoof titles created large patterns depicting rain, flowers, and the waves of the sea.

Twilight thought of the many references she had found in the Dream Valley Republic about the sea and ocean-going ships.  She wondered why Dream Valley ships hadn’t sailed to her homeland.  In fact, on the airship voyage to Dream Valley, she had seen few ships on the ocean.

Twilight said, “Newsie, I’ve seen many references in the Dream Valley Republic about the sea and ocean-going ships.  So what is the reason why Dream Valley ships hadn’t sailed to Equestria?  In fact, on the airship voyage to Dream Valley, I had seen few ships on the ocean.”

Newsie, acting more like a tour guide than a journalist, replied, “Most Dream Valley ships don’t leave sight of land.  There are several reasons for this cautious approach to sailing, the most important reason is; oh, here are, at the Princess Platinum University and Library.  Not only did Panorama and I earn our journalism degrees here, this university is also the site of the Unicorn tribe’s royal castle.  But, since the University and Library have been rebuilt so many times there is very little of the original, above the ground structures remaining.  All the books that Princess Platinum saved in her cavern have been copied and published as either paper books or as electronic books.”

The University is protected by a wall that is ten ponies tall, with an ornate wrought iron, double gate.  The university itself is a series of white marble structures with much detail and statues of ponies befitting of a home for pony royalty, rather than as a home for classrooms and books.

Above the library’s ornate entrance gate is a stature of three Earth and three Unicorn ponies, raising the national flag of Dream Valley.  The flag is an image of a smiling Earth pony mare and a smiling Unicorn pony mare giving each other a happy brohoof.

Pointing with her hoof at the national flag, Twilight asked Newsie, “That’s the same image that’s on Dream Valley dollars.”

Newsie replied, “Yes.”

“I assume that the Dream Valley ponies built a university library around Princess Platinum’s book collection and that library has only become bigger over the many centuries since the Great Pony Migration?”

“Yes Twilight, we Dream Valley ponies have an uninterrupted history going back for seven thousand years.  When I was a journalism student, I spent my library time in the library’s Journalism section.  But, I’m sure that you can find a book on every topic that you can image.”

With wide eyes, Twilight replied, “Thanks for everything Newsie.  I’ll talk to you soon.  I’ve got many books to read, so goodbye for now.”  Twilight’s rush to get into the vast library was so fast that a rainbow with sparkles appeared behind her flowing tail and hind legs.

With a nonchalant tone in her voice, Pinkie told Panorama, “Well, there is nothing interesting for me here, Equestrian’s best party planner, in a dusty old library.”

Panorama replied, “Oh, really?  When I was planning my husband’s birthday party, I found an entire bookcase of books on party planning.”

That statement got Pinkie’s attention even more than the words all you can eat free cupcakes.  “There is an entire bookcase … on party planning … here in this library?”

Panorama replied, “I never counted those books.  But, I’d guess that this library has two or three hundred party planning books.”

“Wow!  This old library does have interesting books.”

Pinkie’s eyes get big and then she also dashes off through the library gatehouse.  Pinkie, without Twilight, walks down rows of bookshelves.  Pinkie checks her PDA automatic mapping feature while she walks.  Pinkie smiles when she sees that some of the Dream Valley student mares and stallions are wearing vests with many sophisticated Dream Valley electronics, making them appear like high technology versions of Hearth's Warming Eve Trees.

When Pinkie finds an entire bookcase filled with party planning books, her face takes on the same appearance as when she first saw Rainbow Dash’s Sonic Rainboom.  With one of the happiest faces to ever appear on the face of a pony, Pinkie said to herself, “I could spend years here reading about party planning.  The information in these books, combined with what I already know, means that I could become the most famous party planner in Dream Valley, the most famous party planner anywhere.”

My Little Pony:  Friendship is Magic, Copyright © 2010 Lauren Faust, Hasbro Studios, and DHX Media

Painting the King Manor staircases

Floor three

Floor four

Floor five

Sunrise on a porch in King Manor apartment

Ponies Unexpected: Chapter Ten

Chapter 10:  Boat ride Unexpected

After days of buying books, Pinkie and Twilight, along with Newsie and Panorama are riding on the Dartmoor Pony a steam powered, canal boat in a tree-lined canal.  Two Dream Valley Unicorn mares named Captain Quarterdeck and first mate Roadstead, as well as a deckhoof Earth pony stallion named Afloat were the boat’s crew.  Wearing sailor berets, sailor tunics, and slip resistant boat shoes for their rear hooves, these ponies are keeping the boat moving.  These boat ponies would take time to point out landmarks and every hour offered food and drinks to the four pony passengers.

This boat was built for a comfortable ride for about twenty to thirty passengers.  But Twilight had rented it so she could travel without being bothered by Equestrian pony fans.  In fact, the fan ponies had become so annoying that Twilight had used her magic on herself so her coat appears to be a steel gray Tungsten, while a wildflower pattern sundress hid her wings and cutie mark.

Twilight wrote in her group’s journal, “I didn’t know how Pinkie did it, but on her own she had turned her pink coat, mane, and trail the bluish color of polished cobalt.  I didn’t ask how Pinkie had turned from a bright pink to shiny cobalt.  Similar to Pinkie Sense, this is something that I have stopped attempting to understand, but accepted as Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie.  The fact is that Pinkie has a magic that I don’t comprehend nor understand, but accepted as something that is outside of my ability to understand with observation and science.”

On the canal shore, Pinkie sees some brightly colored flowers, and then she bounces to the other side of the boat to get a closer look.

Every time their rented canal boat was going to pass by another boat, Pinkie would blow her crystal flugelhorn.  Pinkie thought blowing her horn was fun.  But, it also meant that Captain Quarterdeck had one less thing to worry about as she guided her boat deeper into Dream Valley.

From talking to the boat ponies, Twilight found out that Quarterdeck, Roadstead, and Afloat had met each other in the Dream Valley Republic’s navy.  After their enlistment was over, they pooled their money and then bought a new canal boat and had been taking passengers and mail along the valley’s canal network for two years.

Twilight’s canal boat comes to a stop next to what looked like to her eyes to be the bottom of a huge and robust ferrous wheel.  But, unlike the Equestrian ferrous wheels Twilight had seen that were built to entertain ponies, this canal wheel was for moving boats up and down a steep hillside.  The canal wheel had two water-filled gondolas, suspended by four huge rotating rings, where boats could enter on the bottom and exit on the top, or vice versa.

Twilight’s canal boat begins to ascend counter clockwise as a coal barge descends.

With Panorama operating her television camera, The Unicorn Newsie, holding a wireless microphone in her magic, begins to speak with Twilight.  “Ponies and cargo travel in Dream Valley as well as to and from our distant provinces by our canals or by our roads.  Of course, trade and travel slows down during winter, as the water in the canals freeze solid and snow makes travel by road rather difficult.”

Twilight asks, “Why don’t you use trains?”

A confused Newsie asks Twilight, “What are trains?”

Twilight uses her magic to levitate a book out of her saddlebags and opens it up to a picture of an Equestrian train.  Twilight says, “Trains roll on steel tracks and have engines designed to pull carriages for passengers and freight along steel tracks.  Trains in my nation carry passengers, mail, and freight, while they almost never are stopped by winter’s cold and snow.

An amazed Newsie tells Twilight, “I’ve never seen anything like that train contraption in Dream Valley or in any of the nearby kingdoms.”

“So what you’re telling me Newsie is that Dream Valley ponies invented and built amazing canals, but not trains?  From my pointy of view, these Dream Valley ponies are living unexpected lives.”

Bouncing by on her hooves, Pinkie tells Twilight, “Oh Twilight, think of all the unexpected things that have happened in your own life.  As a foal, did you expect that Princess Cadence would become your foalsitter?  Before you enrolled in Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, did you or your parents expect that you would become Princess Celestia’s most faithful student?  Did you expect that you would meet such diverse Ponyville friends?  Did you expect that you and your friends would become the bearers of the Elements of Harmony who would overcome Nightmare Moon, Trixie, Discord, Queen Chrysalis, King Sombra, Trixie again, Discord's black thorny vines, the Mane-iac, and Lord Tirek?”

Standing on her hind legs, Pinkie added, “Twilight, part of growing up is dealing with unexpected events in our lives.  Yet, as a result of all those unexpected events, we pony friends are living far-out, groovy, and terrific lives.”

Twilight puts a hoof on her chin, considers Pinkie’s words for a moment, and then tells Pinkie, “When I was a blank flank filly, I had no idea how wonderful my life would turn out.  I suppose that my life has been a series of unexpected events, between weeks or months of predictable routine.  However, what were these foalish ponies thinking when they build canals that froze for three months during winter?”

Pinkie added, “Twilight, from the point of view of the Dream Valley ponies, Equestrian history seems as strange to them, as Dream Valley history appears to us.  Twilight, you should accept the fact that simply because these ponies invested in canals but not railroads does not mean that they are worse off than you or better off than you.”

While Twilight considered Pinkie’s observation, Twilight’s rented canal boat comes to a stop at the top of the boat wheel.  And then, the boat continues down the canal, now lined with homes and retail businesses.  The boat’s public address speakers come to life, as Quarterdeck’s voice interrupted Twilight’s thoughts.  “On behalf of Roadstead and Afloat, I would like to thank our passengers for choosing our canal boat.  Please look around and take all your belongings with you.  Please walk with care off this vessel and we hope to see you soon for another pleasant journey.”

Twilight’s boat came to a stop in a marina dug out of the ground beside the canal.  Quarterdeck and Roadstead used their Unicorn magic to attach the boats mooring lines to the dock, while Afloat used his shoe-gloves to put the boat’s gangway down, allowing the four ponies to walk to the dock, and then walk to the shore.

Twilight said, “Quarterdeck, thanks for the ride.  I’ll send you a PDA message when my friends and I will need a ride back to our airship.”

Pinkie added, “You guys have a great boat and your cookies are wonderful!”

Then, the four ponies walked into a city park, where they saw an outdoor concert with six musician ponies making upbeat trumpet and piano music, on a stone stage for an audience of thirty ponies dressed in business attire.  But, much to Pinkie’s dismay, their group or in this case Twilight didn’t have time to listen to music, no matter how good the music was.  Pinkie started talking to the journalist ponies, leaving Twilight to consider all the things she had seen so far in Dream Valley.

My Little Pony:  Friendship is Magic, Copyright © 2010 Lauren Faust, Hasbro Studios, and DHX Media

Ponies Unexpected: Chapter Nine

Chapter 9:  Food and fashion Unexpected

In Crossroads City, Applejack and Rarity are trotting toward a bakery.  Applejack is paying attention to an image printed on a canvas store window awning that is a stylized apple that also looks like baked bread.

Rubbernecking at the metallic ponies, Rarity tells Applejack, “I never imagined that there is an entire nation that is populated with handsome, metallic ponies.  I could live the rest of my life here!”  Rarity has a dream sequence where she is the center of attention in a lavish, Busby Berkeley like musical.

Ignoring Rarity’s emotional display, Applejack walks up to the store’s front door, sniffs the air, and then says, “I do love the aroma of baking apple pies.”  Then, Applejack sees inside a glass display case that these pastries are fluffy pancakes, imprinted like waffles to resemble whole apples.  “Wait, those treats don’t look like pies, these look like apples.  Rarity, what in tarnation are these treats?”

“Those treats, whatever they are, are too cute.  And they must taste divine.  I’m sure that Sweetie Belle would love these in her school lunch box.”

Walking out from the store’s kitchen is a Dream Valley, Earth pony mare with a brushed aluminum coat, with her metallic purple mane and metallic purple trail done up in buns.  She is wearing a white apron and a green shirt.

Trotting up to Applejack and Rarity, the brushed aluminum mare says, “My name is Confectionery and from your dull coats you two must be those Equestrian Ponies.  Welcome to my humble bakery.  I was taught in school that all the ponies that left Dream Valley had froze.  I never expected to see the descendant of the emigrants return to Dream Valley.  So, what can I help you with?  Have you come to buy some of my treats?”

Applejack said, “What are those pastries in your display case?  They have an aroma of baked apples, but they don’t look like any apple pie I’ve ever seen.”

The baker pony said, “These are my apple-shaped cakes, a type of baked pastry.  About fifty years ago, there was a shortage of apples, combined with a surplus of wheat.  To make the most of the apples we had, my grandmother decided to make an apple shaped pastry made with sweet waffle batter, filled with sliced apples and cinnamon applesauce.”

Applejack replied, “I’ll take two, one for me and one for my friend Rarity.  From the display case sign, I believe that these are two dollars each, for a total of four dollars.”

Rarity chimed in, “Applejack, I’ll pay for these treats, as I am the element of generosity.”  Rarity used her magic to float four Dream Valley dollars out of her saddlebags and over to a happy Confectionery who said, “Equestrian ponies bought my pastry and that means I can advertise my pastry as world famous.”

Applejack said, “You Dream Valley ponies sure do things a bit different than in Equestria.  I’m still getting used to paying for things with dollars instead of with bits.  But, different does not mean better or worse, just different.”  Applejack sniffs the air in the bakery.  “You know, I could spend months and months here finding new ways to sell my family’s apples.  I bet a cartload of my family’s apples that I could live and learn here forever!  What do you think, Rarity?”

“My dear Applejack, after we eat our apple treats; let’s walk to Crossroads City’s most popular fashion boutiques.  I’m sure that after more than one thousand years of isolation from Equestrian society, that Dream Valley fashion culture rivals the fashion cultures in Canterlot and Manehattan.  Dream Valley fashions, the fabrics, the colors, and the patterns are … I have no words to describe them.  I also could live here for years studying centuries of Dream Valley fashions.”

While Rarity spent her day shopping for dresses, Applejack spent her day shopping for practical work clothing.  They each returned to the airship pulling a cartload of very different clothing.  But, they didn’t mind as they saw that each other had bought sets of clothing that made them very happy.

My Little Pony:  Friendship is Magic, Copyright © 2010 Lauren Faust, Hasbro Studios, and DHX Media

Ponies Unexpected: Chapter Eight

Chapter 8:  Adventures in the clouds Unexpected

Rainbow and Fluttershy are flying among the decayed buildings of a long abandoned and dilapidated Pegasus cloud city that overlooks Dream Valley.  The stone structures on the mountain and the cloud structures around the mountain remain intact, yet show signs of long neglect.

Rainbow looks at the time neglected structures and then tells Fluttershy, “I’m sure that somewhere in these ruins are the homes that our ancestors once lived and worked in, laughed and loved in.”

Fluttershy replied, “Ponies hating other ponies turned this once beautiful city into an abandoned ruin.”

Both Pegasus ponies gasp as they fly lower and slower, and then landing before the front gates of a grand structure.

After Rainbow reads the inscription in the arch above the gates, Rainbow in an excited voice told Fluttershy.  “I can’t believe this is Commander Hurricane’s palace.  I wonder if we can recover anything for the Dream Valley National Museum and the Ponyville Museum.”

A happy Rainbow and a timid Fluttershy walk into Commander Hurricane’s palace.  The palace appears to have been deserted in a hurry, with belongings scattered on the ornate floor.  Paintings hang on crooked angles on the walls, while furniture sits in piles, awaiting pony furniture movers that never came to collect them.

With an even more excited voice, Rainbow said, “I can’t, I can’t believe that I’m walking in … Commander Hurricane’s palace.  I can’t believe that I’m walking on the same floors that so many generations of great Pegasus ponies have walked on.”

In a meek voice, Fluttershy said, “Ponies, please pardon our intrusion.”

Rainbow rolls her eyes, saying “Fluttershy, there is nopony here to apologize to.”

Rainbow points to a grand dining hall with heroic portraits of famous Pegasus military leaders.  Rainbow said, “From reading Commander Hurricane’s confidential journal, this is where he and his staff ate their last meal in Dream Valley.”

Rainbow then makes a yucky face as he walks past the discarded tables, covered by faded tablecloths and dirty dishes.  Rainbow then said, “It looks like the Pegasus ponies were in such a hurry to leave that they didn’t take the time to wash their dishes before they flew away to find a new homeland.”

Rainbow and Fluttershy walk into an ornate bedroom.  The furniture and floor are covered in discarded clothing.  Fluttershy walks over to inspect the commander’s writing desk.

With her hoof, Fluttershy picks up a snow globe that contains a miniature of the Pegasus city.  Fluttershy shakes it with her hoof and the globe appears to be snowing on the miniature Pegasus city.  Fluttershy puts the snow globe down with a sad expression on her face.  Fluttershy told Rainbow, “How ironic that Commander Hurricane would own a snow globe of this city.  I wonder what other secrets we’ll find here.”

“I don’t know,” Rainbow replied.  “But, we will never know until we make the effort to explore this stronghold and the city around it.”

These two Pegasus friends walk into a room that’s full of pony armor and weapons still on rows of racks.

With a shocked face, Fluttershy says, “Oh my, look at all the weapons.”

“Fluttershy, of course there would be weapons here.  After all, Commander Hurricane took pride in governing “a mighty tribe of warriors”.  Rainbow Dash shines as if illuminated by a theater spotlight.  “And thus, you shouldn’t be surprised that warrior ponies would make and keep so many weapons.”

Fluttershy responded by saying, “Look at all the metal that could have been used to make miniatures of Rainbow Dash.”

“That is correct, wait, what do you say?”

Fluttershy blushes and then adds, “Well, I’m very thankful that Pegasus ponies have grown out of our ancestors’ warlike behavior.”

“I’m also happy that we Pegasus no longer live for battle nor do we look down upon our earthbound kindred.”

“When we’re flying high in the sky, it is kind of hard not to look down on Earth and Unicorn ponies.”

“What, oh that was a joke?  Nice one, Fluttershy.”

Rainbow looks around the armory and sees a full-body suit of Pegasus armor that has enclosed wing and tail covers inside a locked steel cage.  “The inscription says that this armor belonged to Commander Updraft, the first pony commander.  Commander Updraft claimed that her unique armor increased her agility, endurance, speed, and ability to summon combat thunderstorms.  But, only a very few exceptional Pegasus ponies have been able to fly while wear it without crashing.”

Rainbow adds, “I wonder why Commander Hurricane left that valuable armor here and why it was locked up in a steel cage.  Why haven’t I heard about Commander Updraft’s magical armor before today?  Anyway Fluttershy, it looks like we got some work ahead of us.  We need to find or have some craft ponies build a Pegasus transport wagon, and then start getting the best of these artifacts to our airship.”

“There may still be Pegasus Air Force cargo carts in the cloud city armory.  Um, Rainbow, what are you thinking about?”

“I was thinking that if I repaired and restored Commander Hurricane’s palace, I’d own a home that’s as big and grand as Canterlot castle.  I’d have to convince some Pegasus ponies to move to Dream Valley to maintain such a gigantic home.   But, living in this palace would be so awesome!”

My Little Pony:  Friendship is Magic, Copyright © 2010 Lauren Faust, Hasbro Studios, and DHX Media