又是一个中心城美好的一天，天空一片湛蓝，看不见一丝云彩的踪影。小蝶和她的朋友们决定搞一场野餐来庆祝带狂风暗影一起去周游小马国的第一个月，她们在城堡外的田野那铺了条毯子，从那里可以看到坎特拉山下面的山谷，可以让她们往四面八方眺望几公里之外。

“对不起！我迟到了三分半！”一只恼怒的暮光闪闪从花园的另一头边喊边冲了过来。她的角还悬浮着个巨大的粉红色盒子。她把盒子抛在瑞瑞放的紫色茶具旁边就瘫倒在野餐毯子上。




小蝶立刻就认出了那个盒子。“你去了茶香桂桂的店？”她家的甜品点可是中心城里最好的，小蝶一直都很喜欢去那买她家的奶油糖霜玫瑰花结、肉桂面包还有香蕉奶油布丁，她在干啥玩笑呢？这家店每个她吃过的甜点她都喜欢。

暮暮开着玩笑道：“我没啥选择了！”然后转身把盒子打开让大家看看。“除非我们要让你尝尝著名的蛋奶夹心巧克力樱桃蛋糕，不然这就算不上一场真正的中心城野餐。看看这浓郁的巧克力糖霜、可口的蛋奶夹心——这简直可以改变你的马生。”

“中心城已经是改变了我的马生了。”狂风笑了，她还是拿了块蛋糕尝尝。

“和朋友们一起在外面野餐可真是太棒啊，不是吗？”瑞瑞沉思着，欣赏着她带来的十几种名字奇特的茶，比如树莓木槿、黑果木玫瑰。云宝黛茜带来了冰淇淋，还有大家都想尝到的各种口味圣代需要的原料——巧克力软糖、糖屑、碎糖块、鲜奶油还有樱桃。萍琪也和往常一样，带来了方糖甜点屋里最棒的纸杯蛋糕，这些都完美地摆在了小蝶在她家阁楼找到的这些精致的瓷器盘子还有野餐用具上，她甚至还按着瑞瑞教她的那样把带花的餐巾都折成了完美的三角形。

小蝶问道：“截止目前，你最喜欢中心城的哪个地方？”她边问边喝了口她泡的马雷顿薄荷茶。

狂风又吃了口蛋糕。“这里，所有的小马们都很善良，这倒是让我不太习惯…”

暮暮开起玩笑来：“噢不，风暴大王就像是只毛茸茸的大泰迪熊…”

狂风回道：“我可绝对不会想念他，”她的表情变得严肃起来，“或是任何风暴士兵，呃…也许格鲁伯除外。”

云宝问道：“格鲁伯？”

“蓝眼睛？总喜欢吃东西？他其实看起来倒是有点像泰迪熊，你们可能从来没见过他，因为他不喜欢打架。”她把一块蛋糕放回盘子里。“我之前总是能发现他躲在船上，害怕得浑身发抖。”

小蝶回道：“那简直太惨了，”她不仅对格鲁伯感到一阵同情。“我希望他现在应该不会再害怕了。”



狂风说道：“没有风暴大王对我们再发号施令，我想我们都不会了。”尽管狂风一开始很难适应，但现在的她要比以前感到更快乐了。刚开始中心城待的那几天，狂风总是对她遇到的任何马怀疑猜测着。当她察觉到小马们对她的好时，她们其实一直都在关心着她想要去干什么就带她去玩，而不是中途就偷偷溜走去干别的事。慢慢地在小蝶还有她的朋友们的帮助下，她学会了信任，甚至还体会到了一些乐趣！在参观中心城的时候，她们还计划带她去看看整个中心城最好的地方：歌剧院、餐饮街，甚至还有中心城图书馆的禁区。暮暮对去那个地方倒是特别兴奋。

“所以…现在我们都在这了，”暮暮一边说着，一边挖一大勺冰淇淋放进碗里。“我想跟你们分享我的一个想法，是关于一所学校——”

注：暮暮这想法拖到第七季开场才提出来

她还没说完就被她们头上一阵奇怪的声响打断了，小马们抬起头来，看到一只巨大的紫色鹈鹕绕着城堡朝她们俯冲过来，嘴里叼着什么东西。当鹈鹕靠近时，它翅膀拍打空气弄出的呼呼呼声响越来越大。

“呃这是…”苹果杰克抬起头，拿蹄压住自己的牛仔帽，以防被吹飞。“这真是比摘果子劲还猛的紫鹈鹕！”

“这很不寻常，这里离海洋是很远的…”瑞瑞对这鹈鹕的紫色羽毛褪成漂亮的淡紫色身影而感到惊讶，她瞬间感觉到一股同样颜色传说般的帽子给她带来的灵感冲击。“你觉得她想要干什么呢，小蝶？”

小蝶回答道：“我不确定，但我想我们应该马上就能知道了。”她眼睛都没有离开过那只漂亮鹈鹕，它飞了下来，落在她们的不远处，走了过来。她们现在看到了它叼着一个白色袋子，里面装满了贝壳。它向前探了探身子。拿出来一个闪闪发光的大贝壳。

小蝶问道“给我们的吗？”她慢慢地走上前，那只鹈鹕展了展翅膀，发出了一连串的嘎嘎声，小蝶一边听一边点点头。“噢我明白了，好的，谢谢你。”

“他说这是海马国邮局寄来的特快专递！但如果你们不介意的话，他今天还有满满一袋东西…很多很多贝壳等着去投递…”小马们看着他瞬间起飞飞向了天空。“他现在必须要走了。”尽管小蝶最后说出来的话也没啥意义。

“好吧，你不想打开吗？”云宝黛茜跺了跺蹄催促着。“如果那家伙那么老远飞来中心城送这些东西，那一定是非常重要的！”

小蝶撬开了贝壳，一股海水涌了出来，里面有个被一条海草绑着的小卷轴。

“我想我应该知道这是寄来的了。”小蝶一边说一边展开了那张湿漉漉的纸，这封信是用乌贼墨写的，她静静地读了起来。



瑞瑞叫道：“小蝶！”她身子前倾着想看看这上面写了什么。“快说吧，不要吊着我们的胃口了。”

“这是天星寄来的，”小蝶笑着道。“她很无聊，想请我们去参观艾里斯峰，自从诺沃女王把她禁足后她一直在做贝壳相框。”

云宝说道：“老被关在海底禁足可要跟小马被关在海底一样难受！”一想到这，她鬃毛都开始抖了起来，在云中城长大的她可是一生都没被禁足过。

瑞瑞道：“噢，我倒是挺想再去一趟艾里斯峰的。我们都没有真正去好好探索一番，毕竟上次是因为迫在眉睫的紧急事件。还记得那条满是小商店还有咖啡馆的可爱街道吗？我挺想去找一些在海马国流行的彩虹色面料。”

“那个喷泉可是有史以来最有趣的！”萍琪也叫了起来。“它就像是一扇旋转的秘密活板门，通向另一个世界！”

“我希望你们玩得开心！”狂风勉强地笑了笑，她又咬了口巧克力樱桃蛋糕来掩饰自己脸上的尴尬。

阿杰问道：“你不一起来吗？”

狂风回道：“我想我去那是不会受欢迎的…”其它小马全都安静了下来，意识到她说得也是不无道理。在狂风成为她们的朋友前，在艾里斯峰的所有骏鹰还有海马国的所有海马们都知道她是那个断了角的独角兽，欺骗了她们，带领风暴军队袭击了她们的城市还想偷走她们的珍珠，小蝶很清楚诺沃女王是不会忘记并原谅这事的。

“狂风说得也有道理，我也不觉得诺沃女王会愿意看到我。”暮暮接着说道：“在经历了那次珍珠差点被我偷走的事后。”

“她确实会为此很不高兴，”小蝶试图找到合适的词。暮暮当时分散了天星她们的注意力，还想去偷走她母亲的珍珠，虽然是犯下了错，而她也觉得很抱歉，但想把这解释清楚去道歉可不是件容易的事。嗨你好！是我骗了你的女儿，还想偷走你最重要的东西！我的错！

萍琪说道：“别担心，我们相信肯定还有很多机会去拜访天星她们那的。”

“毕竟我们也挺喜欢带着小马们去到处参观参观的！而我们现在也会带你去中心城继续参观的！来吧，我们还可以去带你游游呢，我们可以带你去看看一场木偶剧的演出或是在树篱迷宫里飞奔，或是在树篱迷宫飞奔的时候玩木偶！”萍琪凑过去，对狂风眨了眨眼，“这可是我们的好朋友传统噢！”

阿杰轻声问了下瑞瑞：“什么传统？”而瑞瑞只是耸耸肩，最好不要去质疑萍琪说的各种传统，让她玩得开心就行。“噢呃，我是说，确实是！”

“但你们的朋友天星怎么办？”狂风问道：“你们不想去回应这些…呃，贝壳吗？”

其余小马们不想让狂风觉得自己被冷落了，尤其是她在中心城才待了几个星期，但天星写了这些信过来是因为她现在非常无聊，而听起来她确实很需要朋友去陪伴。一匹海马能做出多少件工艺品？他们在艾里斯峰下也很孤独吗？

“我去看天星就行了，”小蝶主动说道：“在海洋旅馆里过夜可能也会挺有趣的，但你答应我，在我没回来之前，不要带狂风把全部地方都游完了——我挺想看看她第一次参观中心城动物园的表情！”

“成交。”暮暮笑了，她们可以改天再一起去海马国，但现在的话其它小马们还是和狂风待一起，来确保她的游览之旅一切顺利。小蝶也会去跟天星说她的朋友们会有多想念她，并且相信很快就会再见面的。

小蝶看着她们野餐毯子上剩下的东西问道：“我也应该要给天星带点什么过去，对吧？”去拜访朋友时，不空蹄去是最好的。

“要是这个双层巧克力冰淇淋不会融化就好了，”云宝黛茜说着又往嘴里塞了一勺。“看来我需要把剩下的都吃了。”

小蝶切下了一块巧克力樱桃蛋糕，把它放盘子里，然后用餐巾盖上。“也许可以给她带点中心城的…”

“呃，我觉得要去海里的话，这会有点非常规。”瑞瑞说道：“但它确实可以说是陆地上最好的蛋糕，所以我敢说它到海底也会是最好的！”

小蝶收拾好东西准备离开，她起飞后没走多远就听到追过来的暮暮在她背后叫她。

她问道：“小蝶？你去那可以给我们带些贝壳项链回来吗？”


英文版：
It was a perfect day in Canterlot. The sky was a crystal blue, and not a cloud was in sight. Fluttershy and her friends decided to have a picnic to celebrate Tempest’s first month in Equestria. They’d spread a blanket out in the field beyond the castle, which had a view of the valley below. They could see for miles in every direction.
“Sorry I’m three and a half minutes late!” an exasperated Twilight Sparkle called out from across the garden. She was carrying a huge pink box, aided by the glowing magic from her horn. She set it down beside Rarity’s purple tea set and collapsed onto the picnic blanket.
Fluttershy recognized the box immediately. “You stopped at Cinnamon Chai’s shop?” The tea and cake shop was the best in all of Canterlot. Fluttershy had always loved their buttercream frosting rosettes and their cinnamon buns and their banana cream pudding. Who was she kidding? She loved every treat she’d ever had there.
“I had no choice!” Twilight Sparkle joked, and turned to show the dessert to the guest of honor. “It’s not a proper Canterlot picnic party until we give you a taste of their famous chocolate-cherry cake. Just look at that rich chocolate frosting, that custard filling—it will change your life.”
“Canterlot has already changed my life.” Tempest laughed. She took a piece of the cake anyway.
“An alfresco feast with friends is so divine, is it not?” Rarity mused, admiring the dozen different teas with fancy names like raspberry hibiscus or huckleberry rose she’d brought to share. Rainbow Dash had brought ice cream and everything anypony could possibly want for a sundae—chocolate fudge, sprinkles, crushed candy bars, whipped cream, and cherries. True to form, Pinkie Pie had brought a selection of Sugarcube Corner’s best cupcakes. It was all perfectly displayed on the dainty china plates and picnic set Fluttershy had found in her attic. She’d even folded the flowered napkins into perfect triangles as Rarity had taught her.
“What’s your favorite part of Canterlot so far?” Fluttershy asked before taking another sip of her Maretonian mint tea.
Tempest swallowed another bite of cake. “The ponies. Everypony is so kind. It’s not really what I’m used to....”
“Oh no? The Storm King seemed like a big fuzzy teddy bear...” Twilight Sparkle joked.
“I definitely don’t miss him,” Tempest said. Her expression grew serious. “Or any of the Storm Creatures. Well... maybe Grubber.”
“Grubber?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Blue eyes? Always eating? He actually was a bit of a teddy bear. You probably never saw him, because he didn’t like to fight,” Tempest explained. She put a piece of cake onto a plate. “I’d always find him hiding on the ship, shaking in his quills.”
“That’s terrible,” Fluttershy replied, feeling a pang of sympathy for the creature. “I hope he’s feeling better now.”
“Without the Storm King ordering us around, I think we all are!” Tempest assured her. Even though it had been hard for Tempest to adjust at first, she seemed happier than she’d been in a long time. Those first few days in Canterlot, she was skeptical of everypony she met. When ponies were nice to her, she found herself wondering what they wanted and whether they were secretly out for something else. But slowly, with the help of Fluttershy and her friends, she was learning to trust. And even to have a little fun! During the group’s visit to the capital, they were planning on taking her on a tour of all of Canterlot’s best places: the opera house, Restaurant Row, and even the restricted section of Canterlot Royal Library. Twilight Sparkle was especially excited about that stop.
“So... now that we’re all here,” Twilight said, plopping a big scoop of ice cream into a bowl, “I wanted to share an idea I had with all of you. It’s about a school of—”
She was interrupted by a strange sound somewhere above them. The ponies looked up. A giant purple pelican swooped down around the castle, carrying something in its beak. As it came closer, the sound of its wings beating against the air grew louder. Whoosh boom whoosh boom whoosh boom!
“Well, I’ll be...” Applejack stared up, holding her cowpony hat against her head so it didn’t fly right off in the breeze. “It’s a plum-pickin’ purple pelican!”
“That is quite unusual. It’s a long way from the ocean....” Rarity marveled at the way the bird’s plum-colored feathers faded into a pretty lavender ombré. She could feel the inspiration striking for a fabulous hat of the same hues. “What do you think it wants, Fluttershy?”
“I’m not sure, but I think we’re about to find out,” Fluttershy replied without taking her eyes off the beautiful bird as it flew down and landed just inches away from them. Now that it was closer, they could see it was carrying a white bag filled with seashells. It leaned forward and pulled out a glittering, pearlescent clamshell.
“For us?” Fluttershy asked, meekly stepping forward. The bird spread its wings and began a series of elaborate squawks. Fluttershy nodded along as she listened. “Oh, I see. Well, thank you very much.
“He says it’s a special delivery from Seaquestria Post! But, if you’ll excuse him, he has a full bag today.... Lots of shells to deliver...” The ponies watched as he took off into the sky. “And he has to get going,” Fluttershy finished, though there wasn’t much point.
“Well, aren’t ya gonna open it?” Rainbow Dash urged with an impatient hoof stomp. “Must be something super important if that dude flew all the way to Canterlot to deliver it to us!”
Fluttershy pried open the clamshell, and a rush of salty water came out. A tiny scroll was inside. It was tied up with a piece of seaweed.
“I bet I know who this is from,” Fluttershy said as she unrolled the wet paper. The message was written in squid ink. She read it quietly to herself.

Hi, friends!
It's Skystar. Remember me? We defeated the Storm King together? Of course you do! I’m writing from underneath Mount Aris, and I guess... I wanted to know how you all were doing. And what you were doing. What are you doing up there?!?
Since we last saw one another, I’ve made six seashell picture frames, a seashell purse, and this really cool seashell necklace that holds smaller seashell necklaces inside each of the shells! I’m about to start a finstool made of abalone shells. I guess what I’m saying is... I’m bored! Are you bored, too? Would you want to come visit me down here?
There’s no way my mom is going to let me come back to Canterlot any time soon, not after that stunt I pulled. And a Seapony can only make so many seashell necklaces, you know? And, really, how am I supposed to go back to my normal life when I just helped defeat the evil king who destroyed my city?!?
Anyway! Come visit... pretty please with seashells on top?
—Me



“Fluttershy!” Rarity said. She leaned forward, trying to see what the note said.“Come on, don’t keep us in suspense!”
“It’s from Skystar,” Fluttershy said, laughing. “She’s bored, and she wants us to come visit Mount Aris. She’s stuck crafting seashell picture frames until Queen Novo decides she’s not grounded.”
“Being grounded to the ocean floor is just about as grounded as a pony can get!” Rainbow Dash commented, shaking her mane at the thought of it. Having grown up in Cloudsdale, she’d never been grounded in her life.
“Oooooohh, I'd love to go back to Mount Aris,” Rarity said. “We didn’t really get to explore because of the whole imminent crisis thing last time. Remember that cute street with all the tiny shops and cafés? I’d love to find some of that iridescent fabric that seems to be the current fashion in Seaquestria.”
“That fountain was the most fun ever!” Pinkie Pie squealed. “It was like a twirly-whirly secret trapdoor to another world!”
“I hope you all have fun!” Tempest forced a tiny smile. She took another bite of chocolate-cherry cake to mask her discomfort.
“Yer not comin’?” Applejack asked, raising a brow.
“I don’t think I’ll be allowed back there...” Tempest said. Everypony else grew quiet, realizing she was right. Before Tempest was their friend, she’d been their enemy, working with the Storm King. Even though she’d helped the ponies in the end, the Hippogriffs and everypony in Seaquestria remembered her as the Unicorn with the broken horn who’d tricked them and stormed their city. Fluttershy knew Queen Novo wasn’t one to forgive and forget.
“Tempest does have a point. I don’t think Queen Novo would be happy to see me, either,” Twilight Sparkle said. “Not after what happened with the pearl.”
“She definitely wasn’t thrilled about that.” Fluttershy tried to find the right words. Twilight Sparkle had distracted Skystar and tried to steal her mother’s pearl. It was a mistake, and while she was sorry, it wasn’t the easiest thing to explain away. Whoops! I lied to your daughter and tried to steal your most important possession! My mistake!
“Don’t worry, I’m sure there will be lots more chances to visit Skystar!” Pinkie Pie offered. “After all, we love visiting ponies all over the place! We’re visiting you in Canterlot right now! Come on, we still have to take you on that tour. We’re gonna see a show at the puppet theater or gallop through the hedge maze. Or play with puppets while we gallop through the hedge maze!” Pinkie leaned in and gave Tempest a wink. “It’s kind of a best-friends tradition we have.”
“It is?” Applejack whispered to Rarity, who just shrugged. It was better not to question Pinkie’s random traditions and just go along for the ride. “Oh, uh, I mean, it sure is!”
“But what about your friend Skystar?” Tempest asked. “Aren’t you the least bit concerned about all the... you know, shells?”
The rest of the ponies didn’t want to make Tempest feel left out, especially when she’d been in Canterlot for only a few weeks. But Skystar was writing them because she was bored, and it did sound as if she could use a friend. How many crafts could one Seapony make? Wouldn’t they be lonely underneath Mount Aris, too?
“I’ll go see Skystar,” Fluttershy volunteered. “A Seaquestrian sleepover could be fun. But promise not to show Tempest everything without me—I want to see her face when she visits the Canterlot Menagerie for the first time!”
“Deal.” Twilight Sparkle smiled. They could always go back to Seaquestria together some other time. Right now it was better for the ponies to stay with Tempest and make sure everything went smoothly with her transition. Fluttershy would tell Skystar they missed her, and they’d see her soon.
“I should probably bring Skystar something, right?” Fluttershy asked, eyeing the remains of their picnic. It was always nice not to go empty-hoofed when a friend was hosting.
“If only this double-chunk chocolate ice cream didn’t melt,” Rainbow Dash said, popping another spoonful into her mouth. “Guess I have to eat the rest.”
Fluttershy cut a slice of the chocolate-cherry cake and put it on a plate, then covered it with a napkin. “A little slice of Canterlot for her...”
"A bit unconventional for an underwater trip,” Rarity observed. “But it really is the best cake on land, so I can’t imagine it wouldn’t be the best under the sea as well!”
Fluttershy packed up her stuff to go and took off back through the field. She didn’t get far before Twilight Sparkle called after her.
“And, Fluttershy?” she asked. “Will you bring us back some seashell necklaces?”