Photography is Magic (Quest) 4

Episode 1: pastebin.com/xTAM7fk1

Episode 2: pastebin.com/M8qtYE2N

Episode 3: pastebin.com/q3N3j2yZ

 

Episode 4:

Your name is Ambient (Amber), you're unicorn with a film reel for a cutie mark, indicative of your skills as a photographer, which led you into the career of a journalist. Not just any journalist but one of the greatest ones of all time! Your name is widely known throughout Equestria for being the only one who has actual close up pictures, interviews and reports on the Ursa Major 3 weeks ago. A beast so large, no pone dare get anywhere near as close to it as you did. Your stories and photos were published in every newspaper and magazine that had any common sense to do so. You sure have made quiet the comfortable life for yourself. You took some risks, but it was all worth it now. You have your beautiful girlfriend and a job that keeps the bits flowing with every pone barking up your tree for your talent.

 

You stretch your limbs as you start rubbing your eyes ready to start a new day. You awake in your shack next to a stuffed animal that Derpy won for you at a carnival a last week. You run your hoof through your messy tangled up hair as you remember that Derpy was feeling sick yesterday and didn't want to get you sick as well so you went to your shack to sleep alone, which didn't really bother you. As you're yawning you hear two knocks on the door and you have a gut wrenching feeling that they sound familiar

 

As you get up to go answer the door you try using your magic to sending a brush through your mane but it ends up getting stuck. The door keeps getting knocked on and you feel it frustrating you so early in the morning so you hurry your way to the door. Opening it up you freeze in place to see your worst nightmare. You let go of the brush you were struggling to run through your mane and it bounces in place as you back up. "C'mon Kiddo you should be show a little bit more excitement when your parents come pay a visit! Eugh.. your breathe smells like the high heavens Ambient, didn't we raise you better? And what sort of pig sty of a shack are you living in here, we told you our doors were always open if you needed a place to stay, seriously though how are ya supposed to even fit 9 ponies in here for a house warmin party? How do you expect to make any friends living in a run down place like this?" Your parents trot inside past your frozen body and start investing the two other rooms to your shack. Your dad staying generally quiet as your mother continues going off on her rant "How are you ever gonna bring a nice stallion home when you barely fit yourself in this tiny little shack, does this place even having running water? Why don't you get someone to fix these dirty windows with the crack in them? Why haven't you prepared breakfast yet, do yo know how late in the morning it is?" You simply stay as stiff as a board. Maybe if you don't move they'll forget you're there and leave. That's the thought that's running through your head at least.

 

"Hi Mom, Hi dad."

You try to pull the brush out of your using your magic but it seems it got pretty badly tangled. This doesn't stop the ranting however "and haven't I raised you to at least make the bed in the morning?! What are people gonna think when they come inside and see a messy bed, they're gonna think that you're a slob that's what they're gonna think" Your dad peeps in a small "Hey bud!" with a warm smile before your mother grabs your attention again "and what's with this dinky little bathroom, hows any pone supposed to use it with out your snout pressed up against the wall! You think you could of at least tidied up a little before your parents came over for a visit. If my mother came into my house with it looking like this she'd be going on a tirade for HOURS! So don't even get me started!" You try to back up to the bathroom thinking you might be able to slip out the window and get away while you still can "And where do you think you're going young lady? Your parents are starving here and you haven't even made us breakfast yet and it feels like I've been here for at least half an hour now!"

 

You trot up to your dad and give a warm hug and tell him you missed him. He replies with a hushed "I missed ya too kiddo" with the same smile he's had on his face. You turn back to your mother who hasn't even stopped talking to realize she's not getting a hug. "Mom, I'm so sorry I totally forgot you where coming. I'm afraid I haven't got any food in, but I'd be happy to treat you to a meal at one of the local café's-" you quickly get interrupted and don't even try talking over your mother "and why don't you even have food in this little shack? What are you trying to do, live like a hobo? You want people to think I'm the mother of some sort of hobo? See this is what i get for letting you leave home at such an early age. What were you expecting to eat, some tap water and a plateful of air?!" you noticed the 2 second break she took from talking and try to get a word in edge wise "Oh, I know, you simply have to try Sugar Cube corner. My treat, I insist. And there's this pony who'd absolutely love to meet you." she shrugs her shoulders "Fine but just as long as it's not too far away, me and your father have already done enough walking and we don't want to be getting our hooves too sore just because you couldn't make us breakfast."

 

You trot on off with them following behind to sugar cube corner. By the time you enter you notice it's relatively empty. Mr. Cake here's the chime from the door opening and greets you and your parents "Good morning Amber and company, hehe, don't usually get ponies coming in this early. So what can we do ya for?" Your mother seems to of shut up and stuck to smiling "Yeah, mind if we can get a table, some blueberry muffins and orange juice?" Mr. Cake's not used to serving breakfast, but bits are bits to him so he leads you and your parents to a table and starts preparing your meal. Your mother continues talking after he lives but with a hushed voice "What kinda place is this you brought us to, it doesn't look like any local diner to me, do they even have an early bird special? I'm surprised they even serve anything but dessert here. Young lady, we're not giving into that sweet tooth of yours just to deal with having you bounce off the walls the rest of the day"

 

You slam your head against the table as your mother continues to go on a rant. You think about telling your mother off and just storming out before your train of thought gets interrupted "Hey, hey! Look at me while I talk to you young lady! You know it's rude to avoid eye contact like that!" you interrupt her here "Hold up mom, I'm going to talk to Mr. Cake to see if he can make us a special order" That would of normally made your mom furious, interrupting her like that, but the follow up of a special order was enough to quell her vicious rants or now. You trot off to Mr.Cake who's just finished toasting and buttering the muffins. "Hey Mr. Cake, if you can, can you make us some pancakes with strawberries inside. Oooh, also can you call Pinkie Down and send her to my table, I have a feeling she'd just LOVE to meet my mother." Mr. Cake shrugs and replies with a casual "Yeah sure, why the hay not." You see your meal ready and quickly ask "Ooh, mind if I can take those back to my table" He shrugs again and nods.

 

"Yeah, sure." before going back to his work. You bring the plate of muffins and orange juice back. The food only manages to keep her quiet for so long. The second she finished her muffins she was taking a deep breathe ready to continue before getting interrupted by another ponies gasp . Pinkie Pie quickly zips up in front of our mother and immediately goes off "Oh my GOODNESS! You look JUST like Amber! You must be her mother, I never seen you before though so that must mean that you two are tourists, and this is your first time in Ponyville! Did you know there's so much to do while you're staying here! " Your mother has no problem speaking over Pinkie Pie and continues to answer all the curious mare's questions even when she immediately begins asking more questions. This whole back and fourth turns into noise to you and it comes to the point where you've completely unable to make out what's happening in the conversation. On the other hand, your dad is just watching with that same warm smile on his face, taking his time as he eats his muffin.

 

You turn to dad and lean in to talk to him with a sort of hushed voice "I thought they'd get on like a barn on fire." he chuckles a bit and asks "Lots of screaming and a fair chance one of them'd pass out from lack of oxygen?" You both start laughing while your mom seems a bit distracted with Pinkie Pie to notice. "So what have you and mom been up to lately?" He rolls eyes "Oh just this and that, traveling and visiting some neat places. Ponyville is actually on the way to Canterlot, and me and your mother were planning on attending that whole "Meet the Princess" thing they're organizing up there." You look at the floor "So you and mom haven't heard about my photos in the newspaper..?" He looks a bit confused "What photos? We've traveling all across Equestria for the past 3 months little filly. Hey, you better not be spreading dirty pictures of yourself, those things never disappear once other ponies get their hooves on em" you blush red and bury your face in both hooves. Good thing Pinkie Pies to busy bombarding your mother with questions for her to hear.

 

// You've been to lazy to upgrade your shack since you been pretty comfortable living with Derpy most of the time. You don't even know what to do with all those bits so you've just been storing them up as they come //

 

"No dad, I haven't been taking any dirty.. pictures.. of myself..." He nods his head "Well that's good, and it better stay that way. So what have you been taking pictures of? Assuming you're still doing that whole photography thing." You ears perk up as your happy to talk about something you feel proud of and just when you're about to continue your get cut off by your mother "What?! Amber!" you turn to your mom as you see the 'conversation' she was having with Pinkie Pie was cut short. You see Pinkie Pie ducking her head slowly walking backwards "Sorry Amber.." giving a nervous smile as she heads back to her room. "Amber! I wanted to be a grandmother you know! How do you expect me to have a grandkids if you're off fooling around with a mare? That's something you fool around with maybe once or twice, but a turning it into a relationship? Are you planning on getting married to this, this, this mare? And how come you didn't tell me about her? I don't know her name, I don't know what she looks like, I don't know what kinda pony she is! We've been here for hours and why you can't even tell your own mother about who you're dating? I always wonder what my grandkids are gonna look like, and how the hay am I supposed to find out now? You think your older brothers going to give us grandkids when he's too busy playing his arcade vidya games? How do you think that's going to work out?!" You hide your face in your hooves as Mr. Cake crawls down low to serve the pancakes on the table without interrupting your mother.

 

You stand up out of your chair with all these thoughts racing through your mind of the perfect thing to say but none of them manage to escape your mouth. Your anger has pushed you far enough to hold your ground and glare bullets of death to her, but your anxiety just clenched up any hopes of saying anything that's on your mind. You tear up a bit trying not to cry like a baby. Your father intervenes the silence "Hey hey, woah woah woah, let's just sit down back and, cool off, and have some of these delicious strawberry pancakes the nice man brought us." Your nervousness subdues you back into your chair, as your completely helpless when dad acts as a moderator. Your mother gives a light "hmph" before returning to her meal and everyone continues eating the strawberry pancakes while you feel like your lips were just zippered shut.

 

You continue eating the pancakes as you mumble "Well, I'll have you know I'm an extremely successful photographer and reporter.." your mother quickly snaps back in a condescending tone "Well then you shouldn't be living in a shack now then should you?" you mock her by mimicking her voice under your breathe in an exaggerated way. She catches this and grunts rolling her eyes. You and your family's just about finished up with your meal as your dad finishes the last of his pancakes.

 

"So dad, as we were saying, we took a picture of an Ursa Major and her three cubs as she was migrating to the nearby woods to hibernate. It really was a magical experience, Ms. Sparkle, she's the pony that spent the entire of last year's grand galloping galla at the princess' right hoof, anyway she said that she believes it occurs only once every one thousand years." Your dad finishes up his pancakes and replies back after swallowing his last bite "That sounds real neat kiddo! You just gotta be careful when you go around taking pictures of wild animals like that. You never know when they might attack. Remember that one pony and the sting ray? Now you don't wanna end up like him now." You play with the food on your plate a bit "Yeah yeah I know dad." You can see it in your mothers eyes that she was about ready to hammer you for taking pictures of bears, but she's too busy giving you the silent treatment right now to do so. "Anyway, so, I've been spending most of my time with Derpy. I was thinking I might ask her if she'd like us to live together properly. I've got enough to buy a nice house for the both of us, but I didn't want to pressure her just yet. I'm happy to wait for now." Your mother scoffs a bit "Oh so her names Derpy now is it? How.. charming" You want to say something but your dad quickly grabs your attention again "Don't rush into things now. You gotta wait this sorta stuff out and make sure it truly feels right before you go through with such a big life changing decision." You tap your fork on the table "yeah I know dad.." Mrs. Cake comes in and takes the dishes away leaving the bill. You pay the meal off and finish your glass of orange juice.

 

With your mother still giving you the silent treatment, you and your parents get up from the table. You thank Mr.Cake before leaving and you start walking down the path outside of Sugar Cube Corner. Your dad acting as a buffer between you and your mother. You were hoping for a bigger and more impressed response from your dad, but it really doesn't feel right to brag about that kinda stuff to him. While approaching the fountain he turns and asks "Hey bud, so what kinda sights do we gotta see around here in Ponyville?"

 

You think for a second of all the places you could visit in Ponyville. Too bad none of them really sound that appealing.It seems Ponyville isn't really that much of a tourist hot spot as Canterlot is so the only place you can think of taking them to is the spa. Which might be a little awkward for dad, but hey maybe he'll enjoy it. "Oh okey dokey then Amber, that sounds.. new. Good choice!" You lead them to the spa, and open the door to be greeted by two spa ponies. "Oooh, Amber, what a pleasure to have you as a customer today. Would you like the deluxe spa package for you and your guests today?" You nod your head and reply "Yeah, sounds wonderful Aloe." They lead you and your parents into the massage room as another Spa Pony walks over and helps your dad onto the massage table. Th spa ponies do their job, and do it well, and you hear your mother enjoying the massage and finally breaking her silence "Ooohhh yeah, Amber, you should of brought us her a long time ago." That was the most semi-positive thing yet. This seems like a good sign to you! You hear your dad from the table over say "Seems like they treat you like a regular here. I hope you're not going stuff like this too often now, I don't want to see you becomin one of those constantly pampered spoiled ponies ya know."

 

After the massage the Spa Twins start prepping the Jacuzzi while the other Spa pony works on the hoof polishing.You ask for one of their magazines and another Spa Pony brings you the basket with all the magazines in them. You flip through a few until you find one covered in your photos and stories on the Ursa Major. You show it to your parents "Look here, this one has my articles and photography right on the front cover!" Your mother doesn't seem impressed despite sensing how much you're yearning for her approval, but she does decide to throw you a bone "Congratulations! That's fantastic dear, I'll make sure to tell all my friends about this when we get back home. I always did expect great things from you ever since you were a little filly, more so than your brother to say the least. But really, you just must move out of that dirty shack you're calling home."Your dad interrupts her to make his comment "That's really is great kiddo. We're very proud of how far you've gotten all on your own!" The word "proud" was definitely one you wanted to hear, and getting it from your dad just filled your heart with joy. Only thing missing now is Derpy, who must be feeling terrible now all sick in bed and stuff..

 

The Jacuzzi being ready, you and your parents get called over, so you all hop off the massage tables and make your way to the Jacuzzi. You give your dad a hug and whisper "Thank you" before climbing into the Jacuzzi. He smiles warmly and hugs you back "Anytime bud now let's hurry in."

 

The three of you get inside the Jacuzzi as you feel your worries and anxieties melt off of you as you can't imagine feeling any more relaxed than you do now. The only thing that bothers you now is that Derpy is alone in her house and not by your side. "So how's big bro doing lately?" Your dad chuckles a bit "You know, same old same old, that foal can't keep his eyes of the screen of his electrotronic doohickeys and what not. He seems to be havin fun though." You giggle a bit "Yeah, just how I remember last seeing him.. So how long do you two plan on staying here anyway?" He shrugs a bit "Oh you know, the whole princess meet up thing lasts from 4 pm to sundown, so just a few more hours, then we gotta go get on line early and afterwards do all the sight seein Canterlot has to offer" You look at your mom who seems to relaxed in the Jacuzzi to participate in the conversation. Which you're perfectly okay with.

 

After the Spa ponies bring you and your parents through the rest of the Deluxe Package as you notice your mother becoming a bit more relaxed, actually saying things that aren't criticisms for once. You're still showing preferential treatment towards your father though for obvious reason, keeping most of your conversation towards him. While walking out of the spa and paying the Spa Ponies for a job well done, you decide it's high time you bite the bullet. "Hey dad, well, I know you and mom are gonna be heading to meet the Princess soon, but I wanted to know if you'd like to my.. special somepony before you leave.. it just feels like the right thing to do before you guys leave and stuff." he smiles at you warmly "Well of course! I'd love to find out who's making my special little filly happy. I'm sure your mom would too but she's just been to much of a sour puss to say so." you giggle a bit while your mother rolls her eyes. Being fully relaxed, and feeling validated by your parents for all you've accomplished, you start galloping your way to Derpy's house with your parents trying to keep up with you.

 

"Hey hey, I know you're excited but slow down now, keep in mind we're not as young as you are now." You blush a bit slowing down to a fast paced trot to Derpy's house. You really did miss her and you can't wait to see her face again. Having the key to her house, you unlock Derpy's door and softly call her name. "Derppyyy, you here? I brought my par-" half way through your sentence you hear Derpy come galloping down the halls. She tackles you to the floor and hugs you as tight as she can. "-rents". You hug derpy back and give her a kiss, taking a moment to admire how beautiful she looks when she's happy like this. She looks up to your parents and blushes a bit, "Hehah, sorry about that Mister and Mrs. Light. I was feelin sicky for a while and I didn't want to get Amber sick too so I haven't seen he for some time now." She sniffles a bit but she's definitely looking a lot better than she did the day before. "I'm derpy!". Your father chuckles a bit at Derpy's antics and warmly greets himself "Hey there Derpy, It really is a pleasure to finally meet you!" and you hear your mom following up with "We've heard so much about you, it's a pleasure to know we have such a happy mare taking care of our little filly". You start blushing bright red, not entirely used to being underneath Derpy in such an intimate manner, especially not in front of your parents.

 

You pull Derpy in close to her and hug her as tight as you can. You really did miss her even though you weren't even apart for here that long. "They've been touring Equestria for the last couple of months. They were on their way up to canterlot to meet the princess but they thought they stop in and check on their special filly and I've been showing them around all day." Derpy looks at you oddly "There's nothing much to see in Ponyville though.. must of been hard" You giggle a little bit as you lift her up back to her hooves and jump back up yourself. You were a bit bothered by how fake your mother was acting, but at least fake is better than hostile. Derpy stops to ask "So are we going up to Canterlot with them or staying her to cuddle Amber?"

 

"Well if you're feeling fine Derpy then I don't see why not, are you okay with that mom and dad?" Your mom looks away, avoiding to answer, but your dad chips in "Yeah of course we are, it'll be more fun!" Derpy nods her head excitedly, already eager to get going.

 

After hoofin it to Canterlot, you find yourself having a lot more fun hanging out with your parents now that you have Derpy here to break the silence with her silliness. You've been walking your way up to Celestia's castle with your tail wrapped around hers, which always manages to give you warm fuzzy feelings. You see the the royal guard standing at the front of the line of the ponies waiting to great the Princesses of Equestria. You wave to him and you catch his eye, seeing you online with the rest of the ponies he signals you over to him. "Cmon guys, this is the royal guard I interviewed after following the Ursa Major to it's cave!" You galloped towards the familiar guard with your parents and special somepone following right behind you.

 

The royal guard smiled and invited you to get first dibs "I never properly thanked you for your help at the Ursa Major Amber. Consider this a formal thank you to repay my debt, also for getting me on the front page of the newspaper." He winks and opens the velvet rope, letting you Derpy and your parents first inside to meet not only Princess Celestia but Princess Luna as well. Luna uses her Royal Canterlot voice to call out to you and your company "STEP FORWARD MY LOYAL SUBJECTS! ASK THINE QUESTIONS AND WE SHALL ANSWER ANY CONCERNS" Princess Celestia tries to hush her down and remind her that the Royal Canterlot voice has gone out of fashion. "Sorry! *Ahem* Sorry about that.." Princess Celestia chimes in "It's a pleasure to have you all here in my castle today. If there's anything any of you would like to discuss, feel free to ask. Try to make it quick though because it seems like we've built up quite the line."

 

You approach Celestia humbly and bow to her. "It's a pleasure to meet you Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. I'm the freelance reporter who helped document the migration of the Ursa Major." Princess Celestia smiles and replies "Oh yes, your name's Ambient if I recall correctly. you've developed quite the name for yourself here in Canterlot! So what questions did you have for me?" I have to thank you for helping on such a dangerous mission." You get a big smile on your face as you take a look to your parents who surely must of heard that before turning back to Celestia. "So, I was just wondering if I could take some pictures and jot down some notes for the rest of the event. It'd really mean the world to me and my career." Celestia nods "It sounds alright to me, just stay at the side while other pones get their turn and try your best not to interrupt. Is the anything else you'd like to ask?"

 

"Yes yes, just one question and I'll be out of your hair, is there anything you'd like to say to all those ponies who couldn't make it here today?" She thinks for a moment before replying "Well, I'd like to give my sincere apologies to those who couldn't be here to see me today, but as well a reminder that there will be plenty of events to come just like this one! Now how about your friend, she seems quite excited to ask a question." Derpy jumps in front of both Princesses bouncing in place "Hi, hi, I'm Derpy!" She tries to mimic your bow as Celestia giggles a bit at her eagerness. "So what question would you like to ask us Derpy?" She thinks for a second before spitting out "Why are you and Luna so tall?"

 

Celestia takes a moment to giggle before replying "Oh Derpy, well you see, as alicorns, our life spans are far greater than most other ponies which allows us more time to grow, in both size, knowledge, wisdom and magical power. For this reason, we are tall." Derpy gets a big smile on your face as you get a picture of her with Celestia and Luna "Thank you Princesses! See ya later!". Derpy excitedly hops back to you up and down clearly being very happy she just met 2 very famous celebrities. You hug her tight in your arms and give her an affectionate kiss on the cheek.

 

With your notepad and pen floating taking down all your notes you watch as your parents approach the princesses. They both bow down to the Princesses introducing themselves. "It's a pleasure to meet you both, Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna. My name's Jasper and this is my wife Ruby, the proud parents of Amber over there." The Princesses speak in unison with relatively the same tone "It's a pleasure to meet you both." You can tell your mom's about to go off on one of the longest rants in all of history before your father interrupts her while she begins to go off. "Me and my wife would just like to thak you for taking suh good care of Equestria, and it's a pleasure to have you both rule as princesses!" You take your picture of your parents with the Prinesses while your father smiles nervously as your mom is left pouting. Princess Colestia replies "Of course, it's always nice to hear feedback on how we're doing. Have a wonderful day now." They take their leave from the Princesses and head down towards you, your mother a bit more reluctantly.

 

Meeting up with your parents at the side, you smile to them both and tell them all about how you're going to stay here and taking pictures and notes on all the questions they get asked. "Ya know kiddo, me and your mom are real proud of you, and love ya very much" You give him a tight hug and he ruffles Derpy's mane "And you young lady better take good care of my daughter." Derpy smiles and nods her head happily,replying, "Yes sir!" Your mom goes on to explain, "Well we must get going now, we'll have sight seeing here in Canterlot and then we're off to Manehatten!". You say your goodbyes and they make their leave towards the race tracks. After they leave you wrap your tail around Derpy's while she pulls you close to her. "I liked your parents Amber! Do you think they liked me too?" You nod your head and smile "Yeah, I'm sure of it!" You peck a kiss on her forehead and spend the rest of the night by Celestia's side, taking down notes and snapping pictures with Derpy.