“What are the ten Elementa Veneficia?” quizzed the Seraph to her apprentice.
“Water, Fire, Earth, Air, Light, Darkness, Life, Storm, Ice, and Time,” answered the young Deqling Tiffany Isabella Sparkle.
The Sohrian Queen, Celestia Finsternis, and Tiffany were in Celestia’s personal study. The walls were made of marble, and the desk was made of oak and carved with glyphs from the ancient Deqlan language. The room was illuminated by a wall of stained-glass windows depicting moments from the kingdom’s history, colorfully tinting the light coming through them.
“Correct. What are the Four Essentials and what roles do they play in Gaians?
“The Four Essentials are Body, Mind, Heart, and Soul. Body is anything that makes up a physical form, whether it be flesh, scales, or even stone. Mind is one’s intelligence. It’s what separates thinking Gaians from instinctual Gaians. Heart is one’s Emotions; Joy, Anger, Fear Sorrow, Disgust, etc. Finally, Soul is one’s spiritual form. It collects deq from the surrounding Spirit Force, creating an Aura and replenishing one’s magic reserve.”
“Correct. Last question: What are the three most common species of Sohrians and how do they channel magic?”
“First are Deqlings. They are one of the few species of Gaians with the ability to directly channel deq and they do so by using the markings that cover their bodies from head to toe like blood vessels. Second is Angels. Angels are one of the few species of Apex Gaians with the ability to fly. They also possess the ability to walk on clouds. And finally are Humans. The average Human is about 1.5 times as strong as the average Angel or Deqling. They also have a natural talent in agriculture.”
“Correct. Well done,” said Queen Celestia Finsternis to her star student.
“Thank you, your majesty,” replied Tiffany. Tiffany, or Twilight, as her very few friends called her, was around 22 years old. She had dark brown skin covered in ivy-like purple markings, which signified that she was a Deqling. Her hair was black and dyed with streaks of pink and purple, and her eyes were purple as well. She was wearing a black jacket over a lavender collared shirt, a lilac tie with an image of a six-pointed magenta star surrounded by five smaller, white six-pointed stars on it, a violet skirt that reached down to just above her knees, black leggings, and polished black Mary Jane shoes.
Queen Celestia had ivory skin with yellow Deqling markings, four pearly white Angel wings, magenta eyes, and flowing pink, blue, and green hair that covered her left eye and went down to her waist. On her right upper arm was a tattoo of a golden sun. She wore a simple white silk dress and elegantly designed leather sandals. Around her neck was a golden necklace encrusted with an amethyst, gold bracelets were on her wrists, and a tiara with a sun-shaped yellow topaz sat atop her head.
“You’re welcome. Now, Tiffany, I have a question for you. It’s not pertaining to your studies, at least not as of now,” said the Queen.
“What is it?”
“What are your views on friendship?”
“Why do you ask?” Tiffany asked, puzzled.
“I’m just curious.”
“Well, in my honest opinion, I don’t see friendship as something that’s all that necessary. I actually see it as more of a hindrance towards my studies; a distraction.”
“I cannot fault you for thinking that way. But, I wish to show you that there is more to life than just studying.”
“What are you getting at?”
“Tiffany, I would like you to oversee preparations for this year’s Summer Solstice Festival. The Festival this year is being held in a small town named Avalon. Perhaps you can even make some friends while you’re there.”
“But, your majesty, what about my studies?”
“We’ll continue them after the Festival. There’s no need to worry about them now. I suggest you get ready.”
“Yes, your majesty,” said Tiffany, slightly disappointedly. She started to get up to leave.
But just as Tiffany was about to exit the room, Celestia added, “Oh, and one more thing before you go.”
“Yes?”
“Are you familiar with ‘The Legend of the Mage in the Moon’?”
“I don’t think so. Why do you ask?”
The queen shrugged. “I just thought it’d be topical for this time of year. I suggest you give it a read.” She gave Tiffany a brown book that had been lying on her desk.
“Thank you, your majesty,” said Tiffany, before leaving the room.
“You’re welcome, Twilight.”
The train chugged along the steel rail, on its way from Monoceros Grand Terminal to Avalon Station. In one car sat Tiffany and her little brother, Spike.
Tiffany was staring out the window, watching the the train’s current surroundings fly by. A duffel bag filled with clothes, about fifty Merlins to pay for food and other necessities, and a few books to read for fun beside her. The book that Queen Celestia had given Tiffany was in her lap, still yet to be read.
“What’s that, Tiff?” asked Spike, pointing to the latter book.
Spike was around 12 years old and was about a foot shorter than Tiffany. Being a Dragon Beastling, also known as a Dregon, he had purple and green scales, green eyes with slits for pupils, green hair (unsurprising since he’s only half human), a tail ending in a spade, and small, early-pubescent purple wings poking out from holes in his clothing. He was wearing a purple zip-hoodie over a green t-shirt that bore the logo for his favorite video game, “Protocol”, and blue jeans. His clawed feet were bare, which wasn’t unusual for him, being half Dragon. Resting on the seat beside him was a backpack containing extra clothes, a couple issues of the “Protocol: Sigma” comic book, and a few electronic devices, including the tablet he used to send emails to Queen Celestia.
“It’s nothing, Spike. Just a book the queen gave me. She told me I should read it.”
“Well, why aren’t you reading it?”
“To be honest, I’m not sure. I just have this… feeling. It’s as if my aura is warning me of something in that book.”
“Well, the only way to know what it’s trying to warn you about is to read it and find out.”
“Good point,” Tiffany said, picking up the book and opening it to the right page.
“Alright. The Mage in the Moon,” she began, “Long ago, in the land of Sohre, there lived two sisters who ruled over the land. The elder sister used her Seraph powers to raise the sun at dawn, while the younger sister raised the moon at dusk. Thus, they created peace and harmony throughout their kingdom.”
“Doesn’t sound too bad,” commented Spike.
“But as time went on,” Tiffany continued, “the younger sister started to feel unappreciated for her work. The Sohrians relished and played in her elder sister’s days, but shunned and slept through her nights.”
“I take that back,” Spike commented again, flinching a bit.
“Then one fateful day, the younger sister refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn. The elder sister tried to reason with her, but in vain. The bitterness in the younger sister’s heart had corrupted her, turning her in a wicked mage of darkness, Nightmare Moon. She vowed that she would shroud the land in eternal night.”
“That doesn’t sound good,” said Spike.
“Please stop interrupting me, Spike.”
“Right, sorry.”
“Reluctantly, the elder sister harnessed the powerful magic known to Sohredom, the Elements of Harmony. Using the Elements of Harmony, the elder sister defeated her younger sister and banished her permanently in the moon. The elder sister then took on responsibility for both the sun and the moon, and harmony has been maintained in Sohre ever since. Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year of Nightmare Moon’s banishment, the Stars will aid in her escape and she will bring about nighttime eternal.”
“That definitely doesn’t sound good. Good thing it’s just a fairytale, huh?”
“Except it isn’t. This must be what my aura was warning me about. Tomorrow is the longest day of the thousandth years of Nightmare Moon’s banishment!”
“Relax, Twilight. I’m sure the the queen has everything under control.”
“I hope you’re right, Spike,” said Tiffany, sullenly.
“Hey, look on the bright side, the queen arranged for you to stay in a library while we’re in Avalon. Doesn’t that make you happy?”
“Yes. Yes it does. You know why? Because I can figure out how to stop her. I’ll go through the preparation as fast as possible and then get back to the library to do some research.”
“But when will you find time to make friends like the queen suggested?”
“Oh please, Spike, the fate of Sohre does not rest on me making friends.”
By this time, the train was starting to slow as it approached Avalon Station.
“Now approaching: Avalon,” said a conductor over the overhead speakers.
Tiffany and Spike got up from their seats and made their way towards the doors. Once the train stopped and the doors slid open, they dismounted and stepped onto the platform of Avalon Station.
The station was small, only able to accommodate one train at a time. The platform was made of wood, while the station’s waiting room was brick. Other than a clock tower on the roof, nothing else was really notable about it.
Tiffany and Spike looked around the at town. Like the station, there wasn’t much to it. The tudor-style houses and other buildings were made of wood and brick (as opposed to the marble of Monoceros), and the roads were cobblestone (not unlike Monoceros).
“Well, this place certainly has charm,” said Tiffany. “Let’s get going then. There’s a lot to check up on, and I have a feeling this’ll take us all over town.”
The two newcomers descended from the station platform and made their way down the road.
“Couldn’t you at least try to make friends, Twilight?”
“Seriously, Spike? Can’t we just drop it?”
“Just give it a try. Who knows, maybe the people here in Avalon have interesting things to talk about.”
“Alright, fine,” Tiffany said, giving in.
She walked up to the nearest person around, which just happened to be a slightly chubby Human girl around her age. The girl had curly, pink hair, blue eyes, and Caucasian skin. She wore a pink t-shirt depicting three balloons, one yellow and two blue, blue capris, a pink tutu, mismatched red and yellow socks, and pink crocs.
“Uh, hello,” said Tiffany.
The redhead gasped and darted off, faster than literally anything Tiffany had ever seen.
“Well, that was weird.”
“You can say that again,” said Spike, “But at least you tried talking to her.”
“Yeah, whatever. So, where does the Festival preparations checklist say to go first?”
“Uh, let’s see.” Spike pulled a piece of folded up paper out his pocket. After unfolding it, he read, “Baquet Preparations: Smith Apple Orchards.”
Tiffany and Spike approached a gate with a sign over it that read, “Smith Apple Orchards.” Behind the gate was a large barn and an enormous apple orchard. The trees were full of the the biggest, reddest apples either of them had ever seen.
“Yeehaw!” they heard a feminine voice yell.
They turned their heads just in time to see a giant of a woman around Tiffany’s age run towards a tree, jump, and land both feet of the trunk at the same time, causing a shockwave through the tree and making the apples in it fall into buckets below.
The Human giant was 6’ 4” tall and had a muscular build. She had blonde hair that was tied back in a ponytail by a red ribbon, tanned Caucasian skin, green eyes, and freckles dotted all over her face. She wore a red-plaid, long-sleeve shirt with the sleeves rolled up and the bottom tied, exposing part of her midriff, a pair of denim daisy dukes, a leather belt that had three apples engraved on the buckle, leather boots with spurs attached, a brown Stetson hat, and mysteriously, a necklace made out of a strand of leather and inlaid with a gray stone the size of a golf ball carved with the ancient Deqlan symbol for the moon.
Tiffany sighed. “Let’s get this over with.”
She approached the cowgirl. “Good afternoon. My name is Tiffany Sparkle.”
The cowgirl took Tiffany’s hand and shook it like crazy. “Well, howdy do, Miss Sparkle. A pleasure makin’ yer acquaintance. I’m Abigail Smith, though y’all can jest call me Applejack. We here at Smith Apple Orchards sure do love making new friends.”
“Friends? Actually, I-”
“So, what can I do ya for?”
“Well, I’m here to oversee preparations for the Summer Solstice Festival. According to this, you are in charge of the food?”
“We sure are! Care to sample some?”
“I guess we could, but only as long as it doesn’t take too long.”
Applejack rushed off to ring a triangle. “Soup’s on!” she shouted.
Out of nowhere, a horde of Humans came stampeding towards Tiffany and Spike. After getting caught up in the running of the apples, they found themselves at a gazebo surrounded by Humans of all ages, each one holding a different apple-themed treat, and many of them wore necklaces, bracelets, or rings with similar stones to Abigail’s necklace.
Abigail started naming off her different relatives.
“...Big Macintosh,” she said, gesturing towards a blonde man about four inches taller than her with green eyes. He wore denim jeans, cowboy boots, and a plain white t-shirt under a red-plaid long-sleeve shirt similar to Applejack’s. He also had a stone necklace.
“...Bailey,” she said, gesturing towards a little redhead girl Spike’s age with amber eyes. She wore a yellow t-shirt under denim overalls, red sneakers, and a big pink bow in her hair.
“...and Granny Smith,” she finished, gesturing to a old lady with grayed hair and orange eyes. She wore a green cotton dress and an orange bandana around her neck.
“Okay, well, it seems the food is handled, so we’ll be going,” said Tiffany.
“Aren’t you gonna stay fer brunch?” asked little Bailey, her eyes giant and adorable.
“You’re trying to guilt me, aren’t you?” Tiffany asked the young redhead.
Bailey shrugged.
“It’s working,” the bookworm said happily.
“Really?!” Bailey asked.
“Yep. Get me an apple pie!”
All of Abigail’s relatives cheered.
Later…
“Food’s all taken care of,” said Spike, “Next up is weather.”
“Ugh, I regret saying yes to the little redhead. I ate too much pie,” said Tiffany. Her stomach was bulging like she was five months pregnant.
Spike shook his head. “Anyway, there’s supposed to be an Angel named Rachel Dash clearing the sky.”
Tiffany looked up to see a sky full of clouds. “Well, she’s not doing a very good job.”
Then there came a distant yell, “Look out!” Not even a second later, Tiff was knocked over from someone crashing into her. Needless to say, she didn’t have to worry about an upset stomach anymore.
“Uh, sorry,” said the person that landed of Tiffany. This person was a surprisingly short Angel girl, standing at just above 5 feet tall. She was a brunette and had rainbow hilights, magenta eyes, cyan wing feathers, a lean, athletic build, and light brown skin. She wore a blue sweatshirt over a black tank-top emblazoned with a picture of a rainbow-colored lightning bolt arcing from a white cloud, blue shorts, white running shoes with rainbow accents, dark blue fingerless gloves, and flight goggles hanging around her neck.
“Here, let me help you up,” said the Angel, pulling Tiffany to her feet.
Evidently, Tiff’s hair had become a wild mess from the crash, which made the rainbow Angel and Spike laugh.
“I’m fine, thanks for asking,” Tiffany said sarcastically in annoyance, “So, I’m guessing you’re Rachel Dash?”
“Gee, I knew Deqlings could use magic, but I never knew they could read minds! Yes, I’m Rachel Dash, though you can call me Rainbow!”
“Nice to meet you. Anyway, aren't you supposed to be clearing the sky?” Tiff sighed, “I’m Tiffany Sparkle, and Queen Celestia sent me to check on the weather.”
“Yeah, yeah. That’ll be a piece of cake. I’ll get to it as soon as I’m done practicing.”
“Practicing? For what?”
“The Wonderbolts!” Rachel shouted, pointing at a poster on a nearby wall, “They’re performing at the Festival tomorrow, and I’m gonna show ‘em what I’ve got.”
“The Wonderbolts? The most talented flyers in all of Sohre?”
“Yep, that’s them.”
“What makes you think you have what it takes to become a Wonderbolt?”
“Well, I don’t mean to brag, but I am one of, if not the, fastest flyer in all of Gaia.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah! And you know what, I can clear this sky in ten seconds flat.”
“Prove it.”
Rachel spread her wings and launched off. After three seconds, she had cleared at least ten clouds with a single corkscrew. After three more, she had cleared three fourths of the clouds. After another three seconds, she’d cleared the last cloud.
“Make that nine seconds,” she said, landing.
Tiffany’s jaw was on the ground.
“You should see the look on your face, Tiff. You’re a laugh. I can’t wait to hang out some more,” Rachel said before flying away.
“Wow, she’s amazing!” said Spike, before starting to laugh at Tiffany’s messed up hair again.
“What’s next, Spike?” Tiffany asked, irritated.
“Uh that would be... decorations at Town Hall.”
Spike and Tiffany entered the circular main room of the Town Hall. All around there were bouquets of flowers, ribbons, and banners.
“Beautiful,” said Spike.
“Indeed. The decor is coming along nicely,” said Tiffany.
“Not the decor. Her.” Spike was pointing at a Deqling girl his age.
The Deqling girl had pale skin with light green Deqling markings, green eyes, and curled hair dyed to be very pale shades of pink and purple. She wore a pink dress with a ruffled skirt, pink strap boots, and a yellow headband.
The Deqling girl was holding a box and handing ribbons to an older Deqling. The older Deqling had similar pale skin with blue Deqling markings, blue eyes, and black hair partially dyed purple. She wore a white, mid-thigh-length dress with purple accents, black leggings, white high-heels, and earrings with diamond-shaped sapphires.
“Good afternoon,” said Tiffany.
“Just a moment please, I’m in the zone, as it were,” said the Deqling lady. “Ah yes, sparkles always do the trick, do they not? Why, Rochelle, you are a talent. Thanks for the help, Sadie.”
“Your welcome, sis,” said the younger Deqling.
Rochelle turned to face Tiffany and Spike. “Now, how can I- ahhh!” she screamed when she saw Tiffany’s still messed up hair, “Gaia oh doux! (Oh sweet Gaia!) What happened to your cheveux?”
“My hair? Well, it’s kind of a long story. I’m just here to check on the decorations and then I’ll be out of your hair.”
“Sur mes cheveux? (Out of my hair?) What about your hair? Come on, we must do something about it,” Rochelle said, grabbing Tiff’s hand and dragging her out of the Town Hall.
Sadie and Spike followed their older sisters across town to a circular building with a sign reading, “Carrousel Boutique”.
Inside, Rochelle fixed Tiffany hair, then proceeded to practically shove the bookworm into dress after dress, always finding some reason to have her try on another dress. It finally ended when Tiffany was in a bedazzled white dress.
“Magnifique! You look great!” said Rochelle, marvelling at her handywork, “Now go on, my dear. You were telling me where you’re from?”
“Well, Spike and I have been sent from Monoceros to-”
“Monoceros?!” interrupted Rochelle.
“Oh no, here we go again,” said Sadie, who sat next to Spike on a couch nearby.
“What do you mean?” asked Spike, who hadn’t taken his eyes off of Sadie, his pupils somehow shaped like little hearts.
“Rocky has this insane obsession with Monoceros culture,” Sadie explained.
“Uh, excusez-moi, but I don’t have an obsession with Monoceros! I’m just a Moncerite enthusiast. And don’t call me Rocky!”
“Pas de promesses!” shouted Sadie. (No promises!)
“You two from Gallia?” asked Spike, inferring from the Gallian (French) words that they were using.
“Oui, actually. We moved here a few years ago from Lumina.”
“So, uh, are we done here?” Tiffany asked, wanting to get this over with. “There’s still plenty more Spike and I need to check up on for the Festival.”
“Oh, right. Please, keep the dress, on the house,” said Rochelle.
“Thanks. Well, come on, Spike.”
“À plus tard, Spike!” said Sadie. (See you later, Spike!)
After Tiffany and Spike left, Sadie had a light smile on her face.
“Quelqu'un est frappé,” commented Rochelle, seeing the expression on her sister’s face. (Someone’s smitten.)
“Quelle? Que voulez-vous dire?” (What? What do you mean?)
“Je peux vous dire que ce garçon.” (I can tell you like that boy.)
Sadie blushed. “Quelle? Non, je ne le fais pas.” (What? No I don’t.)
“Oh s'il vous plaît, Sadie. Je te connais mieux que vous vous connaissez.” (Oh please, Sadie. I know you better than you know you.)
“D'accord, peut-être que je ne l'aime un peu,” Sadie admitted. (Alright, maybe I do like him a little.)
“Wasn’t she wonderful?” Spike said.
“You really hit it off with her.”
“You think?” Spike blushed a bit.
“Yeah. Now focus, Casanova. What’s next on the list?”
Spike checked the list. “Music. It’s the last one.”
All of a sudden, both of them heard the sound of birds singing to a tune. Following the sound, they found a tree full of many different types of birds and an Angel girl orchestrating them.
The Angel girl was Tiffany’s age (no surprise by this point), had red hair that was pulled back in a ponytail, tanned Caucasian skin, lean muscles, yellow feathered wings, and turquoise eyes. She wore a brown vest over a yellow t-shirt that had a picture of three butterflies, brown khakis, a few plasters on her arms and legs, and muddy rubber boots.
“Oh my. Um, stop please, everyone,” she said in a soft, quiet voice to the birds. They all stopped as if they understood her.
“Excuse me, sir,” she said to a Blue Jay, “No offense, but your rhythm is just a teeny-tiny bit off.”
The Blue Jay nodded.
“Now, let’s try this again. A one. A two. A one two three-”
“Hello!” yelled Tiffany, startling both the birds and the girl. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to scare your birds. I’m just here to check up on the music for the Summer Solstice Festival, and it sounded lovely.”
The Angel girl descended from the tree to meet Tiffany, though she didn’t say anything to the bookworm. Instead she tried to hide her face behind her hair, even flipping her ponytail over her head so that it covered her face.
Tiffany started to feel awkward. “I’m Tiffany Sparkle. What’s your name?”
“I’m… I’m Fiona Shy,” the girl whispered shyly.
“I’m sorry. What was that?”
“My name is Fiona Shy,” she whispered again.
“Didn’t quite catch that.”
“Fiona Shy,” she squeaked.
By now, the birds had returned to the tree.
“Well, um, it looks like your birds are back, so I guess everything's in order. Keep up the good work.” Tiffany backed up.
Spike stepped out from behind a bush to talk to Tiffany. The moment the Angel girl saw Spike, she perked up and rushed towards him.
“A Dragon Beastling!” she said, “I’ve never seen a Dregon before! He’s so cute!”
“Well, well, well,” Spike said, glancing at Tiffany smugly.
“Is it true that Dregons can breathe fire like pure-bred Dragons? Uh, no offense.”
“None taken,” said Spike, “And yes, I can breathe fire.” He demonstrated by exhaling a small puff of smoke.
“That’s so fantastically amazing! I just don’t know what to say!”
“It’s not all that amazing. What would be amazing is if these tiny wings of mine could sustain flight for more than three seconds.”
“I still think it’s amazing.”
“Well, I guess we’d better get going,” Tiffany said, levitating Spike over to her side and walking away.
“Wait! Wait! What’s your name?” asked the Angel girl, following them.
“I’m Spike.”
“Hi, Spike. I’m Fiona Shy, but you can call me Fluttershy. Wow, a Dregon. What do Dregons talk about?”
“What do you want to know?”
“Absolutely everything!” Fiona said, earning an exasperated groan from Tiffany.
After a lot of walking and talking…
“...and that’s the story of my whole entire life,” said Spike, “Well, up until today. You want hear about today?”
“Yes please!” answered Fiona.
The three acquaintances walked up to a building built into a large tree. There was a sign above the door that read, “Silver Oak Library”.
“I’m so sorry,” Tiffany butted in, “How did we get here so fast? This is where I’m staying while I’m in Avalon, and my little brother needs his sleep.”
“No I don-” Spike wasn’t able to finish because Tiffany pushed him over.
“Ahh, look at that. He’s so sleepy he can’t even keep his wittle bawance.”
“Tiff, I’m twelve, not two,” protested Spike. Unfortunately his complaints fell on deaf ears.
“Poor little thing. We must get him to bed,” said Fiona, picking Spike up and carrying him inside.
Tiffany rushed in after the Angel and pushed her out. “Yes. Yes. Right on that. Goodbye.” She shut the door in Fiona’s face.
Inside, the lights were off, making the room very dark.
“Rude much?” said Spike.
“Sorry, Spike. But I have to find out how to defeat Nightmare Moon, and I can’t do that with a bunch of crazy people trying to make friends with me. Now, let’s get some light in here.”
Tiffany channeled deq through her markings to one of her fingertips, creating a ball of light. The room was then filled by light, revealing Humans, Angels, and Deqlings surrounding them on all sides.
“Surprise!” they all shouted.
Spike spotted Sadie over on a couch and went to talk to her, just as the curly redheaded girl they had met when they first entered Avalon approached Tiffany.
“Surprise! Hi, I’m Pinkie Pie, and I threw this party just for you! Were you surprised? Were you? Were you? Were you? Huh? Huh? Huh?”
“Very surprised. I thought libraries were supposed to be quiet.”
“Well that’s silly! What kind of party would it be if it were quiet? I mean, duh, boring!”
Tiffany started to make her way to the computer tables on the other side of the library, which were currently being used for refreshments.
“You see I saw you when you first got here, remember? You were all like “Hello”, and I was all like ‘*gasp*’, remember? You see, I never saw you before, and if I never saw you before that means you’re new. Because I know everyone, and I mean everyone in Avalon!”
Tiffany started pouring herself a drink.
“And if you’re new that means you haven’t met anyone yet, and if you haven’t met anyone yet then you must not have any friends, and if you don’t have any friends then you must be lonely, and that made me so sad, and I had an idea!”
Tiff took her drink and...well, drank it down.
“And that’s why I went like ‘*gasp*’! So, I decided to throw a great-big-enormous party and invite everyone in Avalon!”
Abigail, Rachel, Rochelle, and Fiona suddenly all appeared beside Pinkie.
“And now you have lots and lots of new friends!”
Tiffany felt a burning sensation in her throat, and it was getting hotter by the second.
“You alright, Sugarcube?” asked Abigail.
Suddenly, Tiffany’s hair burst into flames and smoke escaped her ears, causing her to run upstairs to find water.
“Ahh, she’s so happy she’s crying!” said Pinkie.
Spike inspected the bottle Tiffany poured into her cup. “This is hot sauce. Why is there hot sauce at a party?”
“Because the show had it. It’s also great on cupcakes!” Pinkie poured hot sauce on a cupcake and swallowed it, wrapper and all.
“What show?”
“It's best you don’t question Pinkie Pie,” advised Rachel. “For the sake of your sanity.”
“I’ll say,” agreed Rochelle.
Hours later…
The party was still going hot. Luckily, Tiffany’s throat had cooled down by the end of the first hour. Tiffany herself was in her room, trying to read a book. Unfortunately for her, the party was too loud for her to focus.
She checked a clock on the wall. 5:00 AM.
Spike came into the room, with a lampshade on his head for some unknown reason. “Hey, Tiff! Pinkie Pie’s starting a game of pin the tail on the pony! Wanna play?”
“No! Everybody in this town is crazy! Do you know what time it is?”
“Today’s the Summer Solstice Festival. Everyone needs to stay up or they’ll miss Queen Celestia raise the sun.”
“And what’s with the lampshade on your head?”
“Oh, uh, funny story. You see, a couple of hours ago we played a game of Limbo. Things were fine at first, but then Fiona invited a Bear inside and it got a little out of hand. There was something about a wheel of cheese and a piano (don’t ask). I honestly don’t remember much, everything happened really fast. You really should join us, Tiff. It’s a party, enjoy yourself.”
Spike left the room, making sure to close the door behind him.
“Ugh, I’m supposed to be figuring out some way to stop Nightmare Moon, but all this ridiculous friend making has kept me from it.” Tiffany set her book down and looked out the window to see the moon, still high in the sky.
Even though the moon itself was nothing she hadn’t seen a thousand times before, she noticed something new about it. She could see that many of the craters were in the shape of a face.
A feeling of fear and dread was building up inside Tiffany. She pulled out The Legend of the Mage in the Moon and read the last sentence again, “Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year of Nightmare Moon’s banishment, the Stars will aid in her escape and she will bring about nighttime eternal.”
She looked up at the moon again. This time she spotted four stars slowly making their way towards the moon.
“I really hope my aura was wrong.”
The citizens of Avalon all gathered in the town hall, awaiting the start of the Summer Solstice Festival’s opening ceremony. Tiffany was among the eager crowd, but was less than eager at the moment because of Pinkie’s non-stop jabbering.
“And then I said, ‘Oatmeal? Are you Crazy?’,” said the hyperactive redhead.
“Pinkie, shut up! Shut up, please!” Tiffany couldn’t help thinking.
“Anyway, that’s how I found out my sister’s pet snail was actually a rock. So, how about you? Are you excited? I’m excited. I’ve never been so excited. Well, except for that time I saw you walking into town and I went *gasp*. But I mean really, what could beat that?”
“Hey, Tiffany,” said Spike, walking over to her, a fledgeling Angel girl following close behind.
“What?” Tiffany asked irritably.
“I want to meet my new friend.” Spike gestured to the girl following him. “This is Lucy Scots.”
Lucy had light brown skin, like Rachel, but was a shade or two darker. She also had purple eyes, small orange wings, short brown hair that stuck out under a magenta helmet, and a prosthetic leg attached to a stump just below her left knee. She wore an orange hoodie, black cargo-shorts, a brown backpack packed with a skateboard, a band-aid covering a small cut on one cheek, elbow and knee pads, and blue tennis shoes with Hermes-like wings on the heels.
“Uh, hi,” said Tiffany.
All Lucy did in response was a slightly shy wave.
“Yeah...Sadie said she doesn’t talk much around people she doesn’t know,” Spike explained.
“That’s pretty smart.”
Tiffany then heard the sound of Fiona’s birds singing. A spotlight shone onto a small stage where a Human woman was standing.
“Hey, the festival’s starting,” said Spike.
“Thank you, Captain Obvious,” deadpanned Tiffany.
The woman on the stage began, “Ladies and gentleman, as mayor of Avalon, it is my great honor to announce the beginning the this year’s Summer Solstice Festival!”
The crowd cheered.
“In just a few moments, our modest little town will witness the magic of the sunrise and celebrate this, the longest day of the year.”
With a worried expression, Tiffany looked towards the moon to see the four stars move behind it and the figure in the moon’s face disappear.
The Mayor continued, “And now it is my great honor to introduce to you the ruler of our land, the very person who brings us the sun and the moon each and every day and night: Queen Celestia Finsternis!”
The birds sang as the curtain was pulled back on the balcony above to reveal… nothing. The queen was nowhere to be seen.
“Oh no, oh no, no, no, no, no, no! This can’t be good!” said Tiffany.
“Uh, stay calm, everyone. There must be a reasonable explanation,” reassured the Mayor.
“Ooh, I love guessing games,” said Pinkie, “Is she hiding?”
Up above, Rochelle shouted, “Elle est partie!”
Sadie was the only person to react to that (understandably, as she was the only person that could understand Gallian). Everyone else just gave Rochelle a confused look.
“Oh, excuse me. Was I speaking in Gallian? Sorry. I meant, ‘She’s gone!’”
This time the crowd reacted. The reactions varied from fear to even more confusion to even Pinkie saying, “Oh, she’s good.”
Then Pinkie let out a scream as she saw something dark and ominous: a big cloud of blue smoke appearing on the balcony.
“Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!” said Tiffany.
The cloud of smoke cleared away to reveal a tall Seraph woman with pitch black skin, purple markings, four wings just as dark as her skin, black hair with some sort of glitter in it to make it look like a night sky, and cruel, emerald eyes. She wore a knee-length purple satin dress, and had armor made of black metal on her chest, lower arms, lower legs, and head. Attached to a black leather belt around her waist was a rapier with an intricate silver hilt and an obsidian blade. On her upper left arm there was a tattoo of a crescent moon over a dark blue ink splotch.
“My, my, my. How good is it to see my subjects once again. It’s been so long since I’ve seen your precious little sun-loving faces,” Nightmare said.
“Okay, who invited the clown and what did you do with our queen?” asked Rachel.
“Is that how you address royalty? I am your queen! Am I not royal enough for you? Do you not know who I am? Does my crown no longer matter now that I have been wrongfully imprisoned for over a thousand years? Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs?” asked Nightmare.
“I did!” shouted Tiffany, “And I know who you are! You’re the Mage in the Moon, Nightmare Moon!”
“So you do remember! Then you also know why I’m here.”
“You’re here to… to…”
Nightmare Moon laughed. “Remember this day, little mortals, for it was your last! From now on, the night shall last forever!”