The stage below was ablaze with intense white light. Sparkle Sprint crossed her forelegs, grinning as her favorite scene approached fruition. The scene was so bright that it hurt. Sparkle felt sorry for any suckers who hadn't heeded the suspiciously specific offers of “sun smiting shades” from various sunglasses peddlers or even brought their own. The winged mare had no such trouble, a personal pair of shades shielding her eyes.
On the set, the light faded to reveal a young day guard-bred stallion enchanted to look like the storybook version of Super Nova. The burnt golden armor was obviously not genius, but it did the job well enough. Silently, Sparkle wondered why her sister Shining Sword would have allowed any of her units to goof off in a play. Maybe it was just tradition.
Opposite the corner that ‘Super Nova’ had appeared was a calm looking mare. She was a white unicorn with a light blue mane, fake wings attached to her. ‘Celestia’ approached the raging sun-monster.
“Sparkle, don’t you have a tournament tomorrow?” Spike asked, crunching down harshly on some moonstone. Being the adopted brother of one of Celestia’s top five pupils and Captain of the Guard had its advantages; Spike was always been presented with presents of low quality jewels, which pleased the dragon. Actual jewels were fairly hard to come by. Rock farming stopped being a popular thing about twenty years ago, sixteen before Spike’s birth.
The purple mare waved her brother off. She was five-years-old, an adult! She could handle when she was supposed to go to bed and when she was supposed to train without Spike getting on to her. Even if that was why she let him live with her, he didn't have to get all over bearing about it. “Spike, when was the last time someone beat me in a tournament?”
“How about that duel you had with the donkey boy last war meeting?”
“Mangerian folks are not normal!” Sparkle said harshly, lifting her shades to stare into the green eyes of her brother. She looked away, flicking her spiky, choppily cut mane out of her face.
The stagehands levitated a large glass cage containing ‘Super Nova’. That was certainly a creative way to show that she was trapped in the sun.
“Oh, Super Nova,” cooed ‘Celestia’, “I will wait a thousand years for your anger to subside.”
Sparkle’s ears twitched. A thousand years? How long had it been since Super Nova had been sealed away? The winged mare stood up in her VIP box, trotting to the exit. Spike yelled something behind her before following her. When on all fours, as he was now, the dragon came up to half her height and thus she tended to ignore him when lost in thought because he couldn't easily make eye contact.
It was currently the year 1065. History commonly stated that the two princesses ruled two generations together. Sparkle wished she had paid better attention in biology classes. How much had lifespans changed since then? She knew now that even an earth pony could easily live to forty, but back then, how long had they lived to?
“—and you haven’t eaten, either!” Spike bellowed, catching Sparkle’s attention. “Are you even playing attention to me?”
“Hm, what, yeah!” the winged pony responded, shaking her head to clear her thoughts. “Look, I've got this Spike, don’t worry.” She looked at the skyline. It was barely four o’clock. The tournament started at seven. She had an hour she could play around at the library before she had to start getting ready. “Hey, I’ll see you later,” the mare warned, spreading her wings and taking flight.
“What?! Hey!” Spike cried out. He huffed, standing on his hind legs to try and catch a glimpse of his sister. She had disappeared, though. “Ugh, would've been easier if she’d been born a unicorn…”
The door to the bachelor pad slammed shut.
“You’re late,” Spike called from the kitchen. He exited and put a plate of yogurt and daisy salad before Sparkle Sprint as she sat wearily down on the couch. “You look tired.”
The winged mare snorted at him. Pegasus were not the type to easily listen to the advice of others. “I’m fine.”
“The tournament begins in thirty minutes. You need to hurry up and eat so you can put your armor on.”
Sparkle glared at her assistant before beginning to scarf down her food. Spike crossed his arms and grinned, gloating for a moment about being right. He then went to the walk in closet that held Sparkle’s armor. He brought out the white tunic bearing the family crest and the silver armor that had been custom commissioned by Sparkle’s very proud father, Nightlight.
“I hear a few guests might enter tonight. Surprise, maybe a few other Wonderbolts. We’ll definitely see Prince Tempo get in on this.”
“Prince Tempo’ll be there?!” Sparkle asked, her childhood crush always a source of excitement even after she had gotten ‘over’ him. “I mean, uh, Surprise knows not to mess with me,” Sparkle cockily stated. “I’ll run her into the ground again.”
Spike rolled his eyes. “Sure, whatever. Please, please, just remember to actually do the ceremonies this time. You know Princess Celestia is a sucker for respect and courtesy.”
Sparkle laughed, ruffling Spike’s spines. “Yeah, well, she’s a sucker for pasta, too. You don’t go out there wearing spaghetti noodles.”
Sparkle Sprint coughed loudly as she landed. Blood, mud, and spittle flew from her muzzle. She could feel Moon Dancer’s magic lift its hold from her battered body. Sparkle flipped over, breathing shallowly as the unicorn grinned.
“Give,” the horned mare instructed.
Sparkle laughed. “Hardly.” In an instant, she was in the air again, light headed but out of Moon Dancer’s range. The horned mare had realized her mistake and was pacing, trying to avoid being an easy target. Sparkle winced at the pain racking her body, but was determined to end this in victory. Finally, Sparkle picked up on Moon Dancer’s pattern. She grinned, beginning to fall gently and then dive. She gained more speed until she was a purple blur, bending her path to slam into Moon Dancer.
The horned mare was sent flying into the wall. Sparkle shakily skidded to a stop, screeching sound trailing after her along with twinkling light. “Sonic sparkling screech, horses,” Sparkle Sprint announced as the crowd watched on in silence.
The crowd broke into applause as medics rushed onto the field, picking up Moon Dancer.
Sparkle floated into the center of the arena, throwing her hooves up. “Who do you love?!” she demanded. The crowd screaming her name was the last thing she heard before she blacked out from pain and exhaustion.
When she came to, she saw Spike frowning down at her.
“You stupid horse, you never listen.”
“We’re you calling a…” she asked woozily. Spike was lucky. If it wasn't for this overwhelming lack of energy, she would of punched his stupid purple face. “Ugh. What happened?”
“You gave yourself the bends. In air. Again.” He crossed his arms, huffing a little bit of smoke. “Princess Celestia was kind of impressed, though. She sent you a special assignment in a letter.”
“Oh, really?!” the pegasus asked. She greedily took the letter from Spike, eyes roaming over the scroll.
Spike prepped himself.
“WHAT?!”
Sparkle Sprint’s anger had slowly diminished over the two hour flight between Canterlot and Ponyville. She almost regretted her rash decision to pull the chariot herself now. Anger had made her fly at a break neck pace, almost causing Spike to plummet to his death due to her turbulence more than once. Now, she was almost gliding, energy fading.
Spike looked at the wide road and parallel train tracks leading to Ponyville. While the town wasn't highly populated, it was well enough respected because it subject directly to Celestia’s and Equestria’s capitol city, Canterlot. He had to think of the meaningless facts he had memorized because the entire flight had been silent save the beating of Sparkle’s wings. Celestia had a small, well decorated villa reserved for them just outside of town. He was glad. While he loved his home back in Canterlot, Sparkle’s apartment wasn’t roomy enough for him. Even for a few days, living in a nice, big house would be a pleasant change.
He looked from the ground to his pony sister. “Aw, cheer up, Sparkle.”
The pegasus flicked her purple eyes upon her dragon brother for a moment before focusing on steering them to the villa awaiting them. “I will not cheer up. She sent me away, Spike.” The pegasus’s voice betrayed sorrow. “She’s embarrassed…”
“Well, she may be,” Spike said carefully, “but she did put you in charge of the Midwinter Moon Merriment.” Spike gestured to the beautiful snowy hills of Ponyville as proof. “You could use this time to study something other than war and history.”
“What else is there?” Sparkle Sprint asked. “We have always been at war—with the donkeys, with the horses, with the seaponies, and even with the dragons sometimes. Heck, the only steady allies we have ever had are the zebras and the griffons. The griffons need us because they’re a race born by chance and they know it.”
“Still,” Spike warned.
“We’re here,” Sparkle bluntly nickered, cutting the conversation short. She did have to admit, as she landed. This villa covered in snow was glorious. The cool morning air gave everything a hopeful gleam.
The two of them finished unpacking fairly quickly. After a cup of coffee for both, they sat down to discuss preparations.
“We have five ponies in charge of things this year. The weather team has promised clear skies, but the ceremonial dew is going to be taken care of by one Pinkamena Felicity Crush—er, there’s a note that says to call her Pink Crush, though.”
Sparkle raised a brow. “She’s a pegasus, right?”
“Yep,” Spike retorted.
“Good. Was worried they’d try to put a unicorn in charge of weather again. Trottingham tried to do that—it didn't end well.”
Spike nodded, continuing. “An earth pony mercenary has been hired to take care of security. She has a whole band with her to make sure nothing goes wrong.”
The pegasus mare fluttered her wings. “An earth pony mercenary? Oh, she’s probably a big, mountain of a mare.”
“Sparkle!” Spike laughed out. “Anyway, there’s a unicorn named Apple Laurel. She and her branch of the Apple clan will be providing the food.”
“Hm? Oh, yes. The Apple clan…” Sparkle Sprint grinned. “They’re an ancient clan, very strict, very powerful.”
“A unicorn named Rainbow Joy is decorating the crater where everything will happen.”
Sparkle Sprint batted her eyes. “Rainbow… Joy? No way! She and Lidga did all that research on the Rainbow of Light and other arcane magic!” The pegasus fluttered her wings. “She may be able to enchant me enough to get my speed high enough to perform a sonic rainboom, not just a sonic sparkling screech.” The mare’s eyes glittered in greedy anticipation.
“Finally, there’s an earth pony named Special in charge of music?”
Sparkle Sprint snickered. “Special? An earth pony?”
Spike swatted at her. “Your racism is showing,” he warned.
The mare with the magenta stripe stepped back from the table. “Whatever. Let’s get going.”
The duo entered Sugar Cube Corner in a neat line. However, Sparkle Sprint stopped short, breathing hitched. Spike looked at her, trying to figure out what the problem was.
Behind the counter, putting a fresh tray of cupcakes in the display case, was the most beautiful pegasus that Sparkle Sprint had ever seen. She had a dark pink mane and tail with a light pink body. Her mane and tail went on for days in a rich, smooth waterfall of silky glory. Her eyes were sweet and kind looking with thick eyelashes. She was decorated with a single yellow bow at the top of her tail. She finally noticed the two. “Oh, hi! You must be new! I know everyone in town!” she flew over to them, holding out a hoof. “We’re you?”
“Spike,” the dragon said simply.
“Sparkle Sprint,” the pegasus mare said, rising to meet Pink Crush in the air. Sparkle half-lidded her eyes. “Hey,” she said in a voice that would have given Eugene a run for his money. Hopefully, she wouldn't get whacked with a pan. “You’re Pink Crush, right?”
“Yep!” the pegasus said with a giggle. “Are you here to have a party thrown, or to get some catering—or, oh, oh, I know! You want me to find a match for you!”
“Match?” Sparkle asked. She was fairly distracted. Pink’s blue eyes were absolutely inviting.
Below, Spike had taken a seat, head in hand. This could go on for a while.
“I’m the best match maker in Equestria!” Pink Crush explained.
“Oh, not today,” Sparkle replied smoothly, mind back on track. “I understand you’re taking care of the dew and frost tonight?”
“Of course,” Pink responded kindly.
Sparkle gave Pink a once over. “Well… if you need any he—“
“Pink?”called a voice as the doorbell chimed. Spike held his laughter in.
“Hm? Yes, Ponet-honey?” Pink asked, landing to greet the unicorn stallion.
“Honey?” Sparkle asked herself.
Ponet brushed noses with Pink. “Oh, are these friends of yours?”
“Kinda,” Pink said with a giggle. Sparkle landed, Spike coming to the pegasus’s side. “Sparkle Sprint, Spike, this is my boyfriend Ponet. Ponet, these are my new friends.”
Sparkle held out her hoof to Ponet, secretly burning with jealousy. She made sure her grip was tighter than need be. “Hi! I’m from Canterlot, one of Celestia’s top five students. Don’t know if you saw, but I finished top three in the last tournament.”
Ponet took his hoof back, barely keeping from wincing in pain. “Nice to meet you, Sparkle Sprint. I’m an artist. Say, you couldn't possibly put in a word for me in Canterlot, could you?”
Sparkle made for the door, Spike trailing her. “I’ll see.”
“Ugh! And he was one of those stupid hipster guys! I could just see him in some stupid glasses and a scarf! ‘Oh, have you heard of this or that band?’ It’s irritating!” she bellowed.
“Chill,” Spike advised. “You probably won’t see her again.”
“Yeah, still. I don’t get turned down much.”
The two of them reached Sweet Apple Acres. The place looked more like a shrine than a farm. The duo weren’t sure where to go, so Sparkle took off into the air. She spotted a gathering of perhaps fifty ponies. She landed, leading Spike to the point she had seen them.
When they arrived, the whole group was waiting on them. It was a little unnerving for Sparkle, even if she was a seasoned warrior and Spike was a dragon.
“Pardon me,” called an airy voice. “Ah, good morning and nice to meet you. Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres. I am Apple Laurel. Who are you two?”
Sparkle Sprint eyed how two stallions stood on either side of the well-dressed young lady before her. “I am Sparkle Sprint and this is Spike. We’re managing the Midwinter Moon Merriment this year.”
“Ah, yes,” Apple Laurel responded. She turned around, walking through the crowd which parted for her. She rose to sit herself upon a throne of sorts, though an aged green mare sat higher than her. Sparkle noticed that Laurel’s white robe matched the snowy fields around them. Pale apples grew on the nearly bare branches. Sparkle and Spike were ushered to stand before the pristine throne. “Please, take a seat at the table. We will let you sample our wares.”
Sparkle hesitantly sat down, while Spike followed with more ease. As the first dish—apple salad—was brought out, Spike uttered a simple “I will eat this gratefully” before digging in. Sparkle looked around, not sure what that was about. She dug in, only to hear whispering coming from the crowd. Spike nudged her.
“Say thank you.”
Sparkle gulped down her current mouthful. “Ah, uh, eat this humbly…”
The crowd seemed appeased for the moment.
Several more courses followed. It got easier as things went by.
After finishing dessert, Spike clapped his hands. “That was delicious!”
Sparkle nodded. “I’m so satisfied and full that I could go a week without food!”
Apple Laurel laughed lightly from her throne. “I’m glad you were so—“
“Did you really like the pie? I made that myself!” piped up a little filly. The yellow unicorn had suddenly appeared by Sparkle’s side. “I’m flattered that you liked it—if you did like it, that is.”
“Applebloom!” Laurel yelled. “Don’t just barge into a conversation!”
The ancient green unicorn spoke up. “Laurel… you may have position over outsiders, but you’re not head yet. Don’t throw your weight around with your sister.”
“I’m sorry, Grandmother.” Laurel looked to the side, clearly embarrassed.
Sparkle Sprint looked up, jaw dropping. “… You’re… You are the Green Smith. You’re the unicorn who lived two hundred years.”
“Two hundred and fifteen, but yes,” the matriarch noted.
Sparkle grinned. “Sorry; you’re just, well, a legend. It’s cool to meet you.”
Smith chuckled. “I suppose it is, isn't it? However, you have places to go, don’t you?”
Sparkle nodded. “I do. Thank you for everything. We’ll be going now.”
Sparkle Sprint flew ahead, purple wings easily cutting through the cool noon air. The sunshine glistened off the soft snow. Spike crested below her, coming to the lip of the crater and then sliding as gracefully as he could down.
“—my boy builds coffins,” sang a blue mare. Her horn glowed with power as she carved paths in the snow while sticking poles down in the snow. Each pole was connected to the other with dark, hyper saturated ribbons of color. She seemed to notice Spike first, then Sparkle. “Oh, hi. What’s up? Who’re you?”
Sparkle Sprint figured it was safe to assume this was Rainbow Joy. The unicorn had a well curled rainbow mane and tail. It looked like almost too much effort for her already busy appearance, but Joy was an eccentric bookish type, wasn't she? “I’m Sparkle Sprint and this is my assistant Spike. We’re from Canterlot, managing the Merriment this year.”
Joy’s eyes flashed with realization. “Oh! Yes, um, congratulations on making third place.”
“Thanks!” the pegasus cheered, landing on the path Rainbow Joy had cleared.
Spike looked around at the unicorn’s work. “It’s coming along nice.”
The unicorn grinned. “It would be better if we could gather real crystals. I wish more ponies would go back to rock farming. Gems have become a rarity.”
“Ugh, tell me about it,” the dragon complained.
“So,” Sparkle interrupted, “how goes your research on Light? How is Miss Lidga?”
Joy looked uncomfortable. “Well, I haven’t discovered how it works, but I've pulled the myth from the reality of a lot of it. You've read our work?”
“Yep!” Sparkle chirped. “So, where’s Lidga?”
“… Lidga, ah, went on a vacation of sorts to her family. She should return…”
Spike sensed the awkwardness. “Hey! Sparkle Sprint and I have done some work with blood magic ourselves. That’s cool, right?”
Rainbow Joy shied away, eyes growing large. “No! No!”
“No?” Sparkle asked. Blood magic was so strong, though. They had successfully turned copper into gold with it—not that they told anyone; they were saving it for a rainy day.
“Blood magic is closely related to hate magic, and other dark things! Please, never use it again!” she insisted.
The pegasus and the dragon looked down in shame. They muttered in agreement.
“Look, we've got to get going,” Sparkle said, flying off in shame. Rainbow Joy was literally the only academic type she cared to impress and she went and blew it. Spike shared the sentiment.
“Carousel Spa,” Sparkle Sprint said apprehensively. She liked spas, but she had a tendency to get lost in the whole process and lose track of time while there. Spike chuckled at her obvious weakness. The pegasus shot him a dirty look before opening the door.
“Hi!” a pegasus filly shouted as soon as Sparkle entered. “Welcome to Carousel Spa, where we bring you beauty and pleasure from places bizarre!”
“Sweetie Belle, didn't your sister tell you to stop using that intro?” a pink earth pony asked from behind the counter.
The white filly frowned. “But… but, hers is so lame! ‘Welcome to Carousel Spa!’ It’s so… plain.”
“It’s the truth and nothing less or more,” came a smooth, chiming voice. An earth pony with mane and tail in braids fishtail style exited from a door. “Now, this is certainly a sight. Tourists, in Ponyville? Well, what can I do you for?”
Spike stared at the exotic beauty. She was a white so bright she could envy his adoptive mother, Celestia, but her eyes were so here and in the present. She had an air about her that bowed to no one but was also not haughty. She was so natural looking, nothing to hide from the world. Though she lacked any significant eyelashes and her face lacked makeup, she radiated an inner beauty. It reminded Spike of a diamond in the rough and for that he longed for her.
Sparkle found it was her turn to laugh at the sudden infatuation of a friend. She snickered loud enough to catch the dragon’s attention. “Ah, actually, we’re in charge of the Midwinter Moon Merriment. Are you Special, by chance?”
“Certainly,” the earth pony replied kindly. “You checking up on our singing?”
“Yep,” the pegasus bluntly stated. “Could I get a sample, maybe?”
“Aloe, could you go fetch Lotus?”
The pink earth pony went to go get her other half.
Special pulled Sweetie Belle closer to her. The sisters were different types of ponies, but it was obvious that they were close kin.
Once Lotus was with them, the four hummed for a moment. Then, their sample began. The started out together, singing in perfect harmony. Sweetie Belle’s voice was strong and low. Special’s was soothing and classic. Lotus and Aloe were middle ranged, obviously filler but beautiful in their own right. “Fill my heart with song, and let me sing forever more.” Ah, they were singing Frank the Horse; funny, though, they took a very Flora and the Crystal-Synthesizer take on the song. It was chilling, to say the least. “You are all I long for.”
Special’s solo would probably give everyone chill bumps at the real performance. “All I worship and adore.”
“In other words, please be true,” the twins sang in unison.
Sweetie Belle put forth a little too much pressure into her voice to really go with the theme they were working at, but it was precious coming from a child all the same. “In other words… I, love, you!”
“Excellent work, cousins, sister,” Special said, clapping lightly. Lotus returned to the facial she had been performing while Aloe went back to balancing money. Special looked expectantly toward Sparkle and Spike, Sweetie mirroring her expression.
“That was beautiful!” Spike blurted.
Sparkle nodded. “Yes, very good.”
“Hey, hey, can I braid your mane!?” Sweetie asked.
The earth pony with the fishtail braids gave her sister a look. “Sweetie, I've still got to braid your mane and tail. You can’t go out tonight with it fluffy like that. It’s good for everyday, but I’m not sure how Princess Celestia would fell about us serenading her while rocking our normal natural look.” The white earth pony grinned. “Sorry, another time, perhaps.”
“Yeah, see ya’,” Sparkle replied, almost pushing Spike out of the door.
“She smelled like limestone, Sparkle,” Spike said with a giggle.
The duo comfortably rested in their mansion.
Suddenly, a thought hit Spike. “Say, weren't we supposed to find Flutterspy?”
“Eh… I tried, back when you were pulling things into the house.”
“You ditched me—“
“She’s a mercenary. She probably won’t be here until this afternoon.”
“—while I was carrying all the heavy—“
“Besides, I can protect everyone!”
“—CHINA INTO THE HOUSE?!” Spike roared, jumping out of his chair. He tackled his pegasus sister, tickling her. Sparkle screamed in laughter.
Suddenly, they both heard what sounded like a door slamming.
“What the heck was that?!” Sparkle asked, standing up and tossing off Spike. She cantered through the house, checking for what could have happened.
Spike looked around, not sure what was going on.
Sparkle returned, grumpy now. “Uh, must have been a limb falling. Let’s take a nap, okay?”
“S-sure,” the dragon agreed.
It was nine and therefore fairly chilly outside. Spike put on a backpack with a heating pack. He was a dragon and therefore had an inner fire, but he grew irritable if he grew too cold. Sparkle Sprint wore just a short scarf and a little blanket over her back and flanks. When they exited their mini-mansion, most of the ponies in town were heading toward the crater.
Celestia would arrive at ten and leave at two.
As they arrived, Sparkle spotted Pink Crush finishing the frost and dew. It looked lovely out here; it was as if they were somewhere out of the imagination. Rainbow Joy finished lighting the last of the candles. Special and her crew stood just off the stage erected for Celestia to land on, warming up their voices. Flutterspy was still nowhere to be seen. Apple Laurel and her little sister, plus some large earth pony stallion, stood near a table covered in hearty food. Was that—yes, it looked like they made some kind of ravioli with apples. Celestia would like that very much.
“Go mingle, Spike,” Sparkle instructed, spotting the mayor waving at her. Sparkle drew closer. The mare was a silvery gray earth pony. Her mane was obviously dyed black in attempt to look younger—or, perhaps, more like their great princess and inspire more respect due to that resemblance?
“It’s almost time,” the mayor greeted as Sparkle took her spot beside the town leader.
Sparkle Sprint nodded. “I think Princess Celestia will be pleased.”
Special, Sweetie Belle, Lotus, and Aloe began singing. “Fly me to the moon.”
Spike twitched in the crowd, taking off his backpack. “It’s starting to… get… warm…” His eyes widened. He looked to Sparkle Sprint, who shared the slow realization about the temperature.
“Let me play among the—“
The center of the platform burst into flame. The white roses that had been laid out as garnishing for the appearance of Celestia wilted, the stage itself catching fire. The intense white flame caused many ponies to cry out in pain, either because they were standing too close or because the brightness hurt their eyes.
A yellow earth pony mare appeared, hose in her muzzle. She sprayed the stage, but to no avail. The white flame in the middle did not die, but sprang forth to her to cause the yellow mare to flee back.
“We have returned,” the flame spoke, dimming down to reveal a blood red pegasus unicorn. Her armor was golden and her mane and tail looked like living fire. “We doth entertain the idea that sunlight might be soothing to our little ponies.” The night sky gave way to a blazing day.
“It’s Super Nova!” Sparkle yelled, jumping forward but not close enough to get scorched.
“ DAYLIGHT SAVING’S TIME, MULES!” The crimson princess laughed and laughed.