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The Serpentine Circus
Sep. 15th, 2016 11:26 pmWhen we arrived in Canterlot it was still morning and our train was packed. There were booths selling museum ticket there at the station and we had to push our way through the throngs to get out to the street. Then it took a while to find the end of the line. So many lines turned out to be ponies waiting to buy tickets or get into a restaurant or catch a taxi. Ponies with tickets would see a line going around a corner and stop there, and soon many more ponies would line up behind them. It was a madhouse! We almost got fooled a few times but fortunately there were palace guards everywhere and they told us where to find the end of the real line to the museum. They were out in full force, directing ponies, planning out the path of the line, keeping it from looping and overlapping, and controlling the flow of ponies at street corners and entrances to avoid blocking traffic. When we got to the end of the line, we sent Rainbow Dash to out to follow it to make sure it was the _right_ line. It was.
The line itself was like an enormous festival crossed with a picnic and a camp ground. Everypony knew that they were in for a very long wait, but that it would be worth it. Every so often, the guard ponies would let a number of ponies cross a street and catch up with the line segment on the other side. We'd pick up our blankets and bags and various items we'd scattered about and scramble to keep up until we reached the next stopping point where we'd settle down again. That'd happen about every hour while the museum was open, with a few surprise moves when the guards made other adjustments further up the line.
It's a good thing that there were six of us. That made it easy for one or two of us to skip out on errands and such the like without losing our place in line. We didn't have to skip out that often, some enterprising ponies had hitched themselves to carts laden with food and they were doing brisk business along the line. Pinkie dashed off to a restaurant she and Rarity had discovered and brought back some of the most amazing soup I'd ever tasted. We also bought doughnuts from Joe's cart.
Pinkie brought some board games and a miniature version of ring toss, Dash had a few volumes of her Daring Do collection, Rarity and Fluttershy debated fashion and came up with some pretty wild designs, I had a few books, including my copy of Treatise on Ponies in case Moondancer called, and Applejack made friends with all of our neighbors.
We slept out there on the street. The museum had extended it's hours from eight in the morning to nine at night that first day, then from six in the morning to midnight on the next day. Even when the museum was closed, the line would keep moving for a few hours more as ponies gave up and went home and the guards filled the gaps. I didn't get much sleep that first night. Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie slept in their bedrolls on the pavement, but Rainbow Dash coaxed a few clouds down to street level and made beds for Fluttershy, me and herself. This was a new experience for me, I'd never slept on a cloud before. I was a bit worried I'd somehow fall through. I offered to cast the cloud walking spell on Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie and our neighbors, but they all said no. They'd rather sleep while safe on the ground.
The next morning we were still far from the museum. Everypony's spirits were still good, but we were all feeling surprised that we were still out in the streets with no end in sight. After breakfast we took turns going to my old residence to take a bath. I amused myself by looking up tidbits on the places the line was taking us in my Thornhoof's Brief History of Canterlot book. Rarity and Fluttershy took a quick trip to Rarity's boutique and came back in fresh hats, all the better for roughing it in the streets. Applejack, Pinkie and Rainbow Dash were engaged in an all out ring toss war. We ate too much rich food from the passing carts. I took short naps when I could.
Celestia set the sun, and with the moon high in the sky, the line stopped for a few hours. Soon after sunrise we were moving again, usually about twenty paces, then we'd stop. Nap, sketch, read, chat, eat. Traveling musicians, acrobats, fire eaters, poets and other ponies looking for an audience found us, captives of the line. So did everypony with something to sell. It really was a circus out there in the streets of Canterlot. A circus and a fair rolled into one. I think Pinkie was taking notes.
While we were stopped and a blues band was serenading our street, Moondancer popped up in my open Treatise. I told her where we were and she said she was coming right over. I told her to bring tea. None of these food carts had hot tea of any description. I guess I was getting a little cranky after two days of going nowhere.
Moondancer found us, and she brought Minuette, Twinkleshine and enough tea and tea cups for everypony. I'm not sure who or which I was more happy to see, the tea or my foalhood friends. Moondancer and Minuette apologized for the lineup (which is not their fault) but they said we were getting close. We'd probably get in that same day. Or maybe not. But we were close! At least the tea was hot and soothing.
They stayed and chatted a while and Applejack introduced them to our impromptu neighbors. That way the ponies following us didn't get the impression these three were jumping into the line. Moondancer was mum about describing the exhibit to us, but she did say that some of the scrolls on display were getting perceptively lighter and more legible already.
We ordered an early lunch from a few carts and had a picnic with Moondancer, Minuette and Twinkleshine before they left. Soon after, our part of the line turned a corner and we could see the museum steps down the street!
At six in the evening, we finally left the hubbub and hustle of the crowded steps and I stepped into the museum. The peace and quiet of the hall washed over me and I forgot the two and a half days of waiting I'd endured. We left our packs and bedrolls at the counter and with our street camping neighbors, left the silent carpet and stepped into the first room of the artifacts of the All Mare.
The line itself was like an enormous festival crossed with a picnic and a camp ground. Everypony knew that they were in for a very long wait, but that it would be worth it. Every so often, the guard ponies would let a number of ponies cross a street and catch up with the line segment on the other side. We'd pick up our blankets and bags and various items we'd scattered about and scramble to keep up until we reached the next stopping point where we'd settle down again. That'd happen about every hour while the museum was open, with a few surprise moves when the guards made other adjustments further up the line.
It's a good thing that there were six of us. That made it easy for one or two of us to skip out on errands and such the like without losing our place in line. We didn't have to skip out that often, some enterprising ponies had hitched themselves to carts laden with food and they were doing brisk business along the line. Pinkie dashed off to a restaurant she and Rarity had discovered and brought back some of the most amazing soup I'd ever tasted. We also bought doughnuts from Joe's cart.
Pinkie brought some board games and a miniature version of ring toss, Dash had a few volumes of her Daring Do collection, Rarity and Fluttershy debated fashion and came up with some pretty wild designs, I had a few books, including my copy of Treatise on Ponies in case Moondancer called, and Applejack made friends with all of our neighbors.
We slept out there on the street. The museum had extended it's hours from eight in the morning to nine at night that first day, then from six in the morning to midnight on the next day. Even when the museum was closed, the line would keep moving for a few hours more as ponies gave up and went home and the guards filled the gaps. I didn't get much sleep that first night. Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie slept in their bedrolls on the pavement, but Rainbow Dash coaxed a few clouds down to street level and made beds for Fluttershy, me and herself. This was a new experience for me, I'd never slept on a cloud before. I was a bit worried I'd somehow fall through. I offered to cast the cloud walking spell on Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie and our neighbors, but they all said no. They'd rather sleep while safe on the ground.
The next morning we were still far from the museum. Everypony's spirits were still good, but we were all feeling surprised that we were still out in the streets with no end in sight. After breakfast we took turns going to my old residence to take a bath. I amused myself by looking up tidbits on the places the line was taking us in my Thornhoof's Brief History of Canterlot book. Rarity and Fluttershy took a quick trip to Rarity's boutique and came back in fresh hats, all the better for roughing it in the streets. Applejack, Pinkie and Rainbow Dash were engaged in an all out ring toss war. We ate too much rich food from the passing carts. I took short naps when I could.
Celestia set the sun, and with the moon high in the sky, the line stopped for a few hours. Soon after sunrise we were moving again, usually about twenty paces, then we'd stop. Nap, sketch, read, chat, eat. Traveling musicians, acrobats, fire eaters, poets and other ponies looking for an audience found us, captives of the line. So did everypony with something to sell. It really was a circus out there in the streets of Canterlot. A circus and a fair rolled into one. I think Pinkie was taking notes.
While we were stopped and a blues band was serenading our street, Moondancer popped up in my open Treatise. I told her where we were and she said she was coming right over. I told her to bring tea. None of these food carts had hot tea of any description. I guess I was getting a little cranky after two days of going nowhere.
Moondancer found us, and she brought Minuette, Twinkleshine and enough tea and tea cups for everypony. I'm not sure who or which I was more happy to see, the tea or my foalhood friends. Moondancer and Minuette apologized for the lineup (which is not their fault) but they said we were getting close. We'd probably get in that same day. Or maybe not. But we were close! At least the tea was hot and soothing.
They stayed and chatted a while and Applejack introduced them to our impromptu neighbors. That way the ponies following us didn't get the impression these three were jumping into the line. Moondancer was mum about describing the exhibit to us, but she did say that some of the scrolls on display were getting perceptively lighter and more legible already.
We ordered an early lunch from a few carts and had a picnic with Moondancer, Minuette and Twinkleshine before they left. Soon after, our part of the line turned a corner and we could see the museum steps down the street!
At six in the evening, we finally left the hubbub and hustle of the crowded steps and I stepped into the museum. The peace and quiet of the hall washed over me and I forgot the two and a half days of waiting I'd endured. We left our packs and bedrolls at the counter and with our street camping neighbors, left the silent carpet and stepped into the first room of the artifacts of the All Mare.
