//------------------------------//
// A Royal Summons 
// Story: The Visiting Team -- Part I 
// by Lets Do This 
//------------------------------//

The next morning, Twilight felt an armored hoof gently but firmly shaking her awake. "Tempest?" she asked, rubbing her eyes. "What is it?"

"Something you need to see." Tempest nodded towards the window, and the serious look on her face brought Twilight awake quickly.

Spike was already standing on the small bureau, peering out. Twilight joined him, staring up at the sky herself.

"What's going on? Is it morning, or still night?"

"That's just it," Spike said. "We can't tell!"

The dome of the sky had the dark-to-light purplish gradient of very early morning. To the left the Sun could just be seen, hovering above the horizon. To the right, the Moon hung just above the opposite horizon. And neither orb was moving, as they should have been doing during the Raising and Lowering Ceremony. The Sun and the Moon hung motionless, on the brink of dawn... or dusk. It was difficult to tell.

And, all across the sky, dark and menacing clouds were gathering.

"It's been like this since I woke," Tempest said. "And usually, I wake just before dawn to check on the guards. But that's not the half of it."

She pointed downwards towards the neighboring houses. Which, when Twilight looked at them, appeared to be overrun by black, heavily thorned vines, curling and twining everywhere.

"That does not look normal," Twilight agreed.

They roused the others, and together the entire group hurried downstairs to the Library's main floor, then out through the front door, shoving aside vines that were already encroaching on it.

And they quickly made a few more unnerving discoveries.

"Is anypony else's magic not working right?" asked Starlight. She was trying to use a shearing spell on some of the more annoying vines around the door. Her horn kept fizzing and sparking at random.

"Same here," said Sunset. She tried lifting a rock, and quickly ducked as it nearly brained her, then smashed a window behind her. "What the hay? Something's interfering with our spellcasting."

The ponies all tried different spells, with the same dangerously random results. Tempest considered it for a moment, then stamped a hoof, bringing up the shield of her mage-armor around all of them.

And the ponies all found their magic behaving itself again.

"It's like in the gem mine under Canterlot," Twilight said. "A kind of dark magic that makes ordinary spells go haywire."

She peered closely at one of the nearby vines, then dodged as it abruptly flung out a tendril to grab a leg of the Golden Oak Library sign.

Starlight nodded. "Maybe it's the same kind of dark magic at work here."

Trixie peered around nervously. "You mean there might be another of those crystal circle things, hidden around here someplace?"

"Maybe," Moondancer said. "But so far as I know, there's no gem-mines or ancient stone circles in Ponyville. This is farm country."

"Speaking of which," Spike said, pointing.

"Hey, y'all!"

Applejack was galloping towards them across the Square, dodging black, twining shoots that kept popping up underhoof. "Welp," she said, "it looks like it's happening here in town, too. These cornsarned weeds are popping up everyplace. They're all over Sweet Apple Acres. I just left Big Mac and the others beating 'em back."

"The ghastly things are all over my Boutique as well," Rarity said, trotting over to join them. "On top of which, my horn is misbehaving awfully. I don't dare use it. Sweetie Belle and I ended up being chased by a chenille curtain of all things. How gauche! It was dreadful."

"It's the same at Sugarcube Corner!" Pinkie Pie was bounding up and down on a creeping tendril nearby, trying to stomp it flat. "The Cakes are barricaded inside with the twins. I came to get help, or at least see if anypony here knows what's going on."

"And these clouds," Rainbow Dash called down from overhead, "they're definitely not from around here." She swooped down from the sky to hover above the group. "They look like they're from the Everfree Forest."

"The vines seem to be coming from there too," Fluttershy quavered as she flapped over to join them. "It's almost like the Everfree is out of control. I'm not sure how much more of this Ponyville can take -- eeeh!" She shrieked as a questing tendril wrapped around her hind-hoof, but Rainbow quickly darted over and knocked it loose. "I'm not sure how much more I can take!" she added frantically.

As she was speaking Twilight noticed other ponies approaching them, from houses and shopfronts all around the Square. The townsponies appeared warily nervous, yet surprisingly calm in the circumstances. But it was the kind of calm that could swiftly descend into panic without answers, which they appeared to be looking for...

... from Twilight herself.

"Excuse me, pardon me! Let me through, please!"

Mayor Mare trotted through the crowd to reach the head of the gathering. She cleared her throat, bowing formally. "Acting Princess Twilight," she said. "We do realize you and your group are only here with us for a visit. But as you can see, we have a... situation here, in which your able assistance might be of invaluable help?"

"Of course, Mayor," Twilight said. "We'll be glad to help. I'm afraid we don't know much about it yet ourselves. But rest assured, we'll get to the bottom of it, and protect Ponyville. I promise!"

"Thank you, Twilight." The Mayor nodded in relief.

But just as Twilight was about to turn to her friends and try to organize some kind of plan, there was a loud fanfare overhead.

Looking up, Mayor Mare gasped. "It's the Golden Chariot!" she said. "Has Princess Celestia come to aid us herself?"

Rainbow stared up at it doubtfully. "Not unless she's learned how to turn invisible or something..."

The Chariot and its team swung round and then came in for a landing in front of the Library, in a space rapidly being cleared by the waiting townsponies. The gilded platform touched down, rolled to a stop.

And all could see it was empty.

One of the Guard flyers unhitched from the Chariot and hurried over to Twilight. And knelt before her. "Princess Twilight, you must come with us. You are needed back in Canterlot. These strange vines... they're everywhere!"

"Um... I don't understand," Twilight said, staring at him. "Isn't Princess Celestia dealing with it?"

The guard glanced about nervously. "May we speak privately?"

Twilight nodded, and she and her friends moved around into the Library's shadow, away from the crowd.

The guard gulped, appearing on the verge of panic himself. "It's the Princesses! They're gone!"

"What?" Tempest Shadow glared at him. "All of them?"

"Yes, Commander," the guard said.

"Celestia?" Twilight whispered in shock. "And Cadance?"

"And Princess Luna?" Trixie added, desperately.

The guard just nodded fearfully.

"O...kay," Sunset said, wide-eyed. "That is what I would call serious."

"No kidding!" Starlight added.

"I'll say!" Applejack agreed, horrified.

"Oh, dear!" whispered Fluttershy.

"In an emergency such as this," the guard went on, "our orders are that you, Twilight, are to take charge."

"Me?" Twilight said, aghast.

"The Royal Guard," he explained, "takes its orders from royalty. And given the Princesses' absence, that is you, Acting Princess Twilight." He knelt again. "Your Highness."

"But... but I..."

"Lieutenant," Tempest interrupted, stepping in front of Twilight. "Ready the Chariot for departure. The Princess will need a few minutes to discuss this with her advisors."

"At once, Commander!" The guard saluted, then turned and hurried back to the Chariot to re-hitch himself.

And Tempest looked at Twilight. "Sorry to butt in like that, but you looked like you needed a little space just then."

"I did. Thanks, Tempest."

"You're welcome. But this does sound serious." She glared around warily. "And we're too exposed here. I'll feel better once we're back in Canterlot. I say we head back, find out how extensive this is."

Trixie crossed her hooves, a wry look on her face. "So much for the quiet little holiday..."

"But what about Ponyville?" Twilight objected. She looked at Applejack and the others. "I just promised we'd help protect the town."

"It's all right, Twilight," said Applejack. "We understand. You got things to do. Important things, it sounds like. And we're tough. We can handle this -- at least until you've got a solution figgered out."

Twilight shook her head. "That's very noble of you, Applejack. But I can't just run off and abandon you. You're my friends, too."

The ponies all looked at each other, uncertainly. Then Sunset rapped a hoof.

"Don't worry about it, Twilight. I've got this. I'll stay behind and look after things here."

"Sunset?"

"Hey! I'm your backup, remember? You need somepony to organize a defense for Ponyville, so you can focus on the big picture. No sweat, I got it covered."

"But... are you sure?"

"Sure, I'm sure!" Sunset trotted over to throw a hoof around Applejack's shoulders. "Me and the gang, here? We're all over this. We'll defend Ponyville from... whatever this is. You and the others get back to Canterlot, do what needs doing. Send us help when you can."

Twilight looked doubtful. Then she nodded. "Thanks, Sunset."

"Not a problem, Twi."

The group trotted round in front of the Library again, and quickly explained things to the Mayor and to the waiting townsfolk. Then Twilight and the other Canterlot ponies crowded onto the Chariot.

The Guard team snapped out their wings, leapt into the sky, and carried the Chariot away with them. Sunset and the others watched it go as it dwindled away into the lighter half of the sky, headed towards Canterlot Mountain.

Then Sunset turned to the Ponyville group, and lowered her voice.

"Okay, gang, let me level with you. Up to now, I've been talking a lot of confidence that I don't really have yet. But Twilight didn't need to hear that. And neither does anypony else here. So let's take it from the top. Tell me everything that's happened, right from the moment each of you noticed something was wrong. And don't worry -- we'll figure this out, together."

She glanced around at the still-encroaching vines, then upwards, at the half-dawn, half-dusk sky.

"I hope..."


To Be Continued...



My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, its characters and indicia are the property of Hasbro.
No infringement is intended. This story is a work of fan fiction, written by fans for fans of the series.