An Excerpt from the Diary of Starry Tide
Right outside of Ponyville, a crystal tree castle protrudes from the surrounding landscape. It’s crystalline structure and cold color scheme stands out from the warmly colored rural buildings that make up most of the structures in the small town. However, none of the town’s residents mind the strange structure outside their door. In fact, they treasured it. For inside lived Ponyville’s resident Princess of Friendship, Princess Twilight Sparkle.
Twilight’s soft snores echoed throughout the crystal library. The doors to the library creaked ever so slightly as they were slowly opened. The squeaking spilled out into the hallway and resonated throughout the castle. Spike carefully tiptoed inside and shut the door carefully behind him, debating whether he should wake the sleeping alicorn or not. Taking in mind the pros and cons of each option, he decided to choose the most responsible, mature, and sensible thing to do.
He carefully tiptoed to his target, making sure not to startle the mare out of her sleep. He took a cautious step towards the alicorn; seeing that she didn’t stir, he took another step. Now assured that he wasn’t going to wake Twilight up by accident, he shuffled along as quickly as he could.
“Owlicious!” Spike whispered to the owl that was sleeping on a nearby bookshelf. “Wake up Twilight!” As Owlicious opened his eyes, Spike repeatedly pointed to Twilight, who had a stream of drool trickling out of her mouth and onto the book she was using as a pillow.
Owlicious blinked. “Who?”
“Twilight!”
“Who.”
“She’s sitting right there!”
“Who.”
“Owlicious, I’m not here to argue with you,” said Spike as he crossed his arms with a huff. “Just go wake up Twilight!”
“Who?”
“I’m already awake, Spike,” said Twilight with a yawn as she pulled her face out of the book her head and been laid on. Her normally tidy mane was in clumps that stood out in multiple directions. Her eyes were half-lidded and crusted at the eges. A thin amount of drool still lined one side of her chin and a patch of dried drool gave her chin a glazed finish. “Seriously, Spike, this is a library. You could at least try to use your indoor voice,” she scolded him in a sleepy voice.
Spike scuffed the ground in embarrassment. “Sorry,” he apologized. “But you said to wake you up bright and early today, and Celestia raised the sun over an hour ago.”
Twilight yawned and stretched out her stiff limbs. “Then why were you asking Owlicious to wake me up?” she asked. “You know Owlicious sleeps during the day.”
“No reason!” Spike replied quickly.
Twilight raised an eyebrow, but quickly decided that it was too early in the morning to deal with the issue. “Why did I ask you to wake me up this early anyway?” she asked instead as she popped a crick in her neck.
Spike’s eyes widened sharply. “Well,” he began nervously as he took a few steps to the side to stay out of the line between Twilight and library’s doors. “You did say Luna was coming this morning around nine.”
Twilight’s head snapped up as her body lined up as stiff as Royal Guard doing a drill. “What time is it?” she asked him urgently.
“About eight thirty-”
“What! Oh no, I’m not ready! Quick, Spike, how do I look?”
“Well… you’ve been worse.”
Twilight didn’t even wait for him to finish his reply before she took off in a full gallop through the library doors
Spike crossed his arms and smugly said, “First time this week I managed to avoid being run over, tossed, crushed or otherwise injured by a stampeding Twilight. Score one for the dragon.”
“Who?”
“I said, ‘the dragon.’”
“Who?”
“That’s me!”
“Who.”
Spike facepalmed. “I really should stop getting myself into these conversations.”
“Who?”
Knock! Knock!
The two firm knocks echoed throughout the empty castle. Twilight’s ears perked up at the sound and she immediately dashed towards the door. “Hello, Luna,” she greeted breathlessly the blue alicorn mare, opening the castle doors with her magic.
Luna gave Twilight a hug as she entered. “Greetings, Twilight Sparkle,” she said with a smile. “I trust you are adjusting well to your new home?”
Twilight hoped Luna didn’t notice her wince. “It’s been… a small challenge,” she replied with a nervous chuckle.
Luna nodded. “Change is difficult, but good can come out of it,” she said wisely. “Your move to Ponyville was a particularly good change, if my memory serves me well.”
“I remember when I first moved to the Golden Oaks Library, I instantly felt at home. I could simply go downstairs and curl up with a stack of books. It was warm, it was cozy; but here…” Twilight’s voice broke off into a sigh as she looked at the large, empty hallway.
Luna followed Twilight’s gaze and nodded in understanding. “It can be hard to change a major part of your life,” she said sympathetically. “However, such transitions are a part of life, for better or for worse.”
“I know,” said Twilight with another sigh.
There was a moment of silence, which was broken by someone saying, “Who?”
“Did you say something, Princess?” Twilight asked.
Luna shook her head. “Twas not I.”
“Who.”
“Oh,” said Twilight in realization as she looked up. “Hello, Owlicious.” Sure enough, her number two assistant was making good use of the high ceiling to flutter over the two alicorns’ heads.
“Who?”
“Owlicious?” Luna echoed.
“Oh, I forgot that I haven’t introduced you two yet. Sorry,” she apologized. “Princess Luna, meet Owlicious, my nocturnal assistant. Owlicious, meet Princess Luna, Celestia’s younger sister.”
“Who,” Owlicious greeted Luna with a nod.
“Me?” Luna asked as she pointed to herself.
Owlicious nodded. “Who.”
Luna tilted her head in puzzlement. “I’m afraid I can’t quite understand that,” she said.
“Who,” Owlicious hooted as he slapped himself in the face.
“I believe he’s saying, ‘Pleased to meet your acquaintance, your majesty’,” Twilight offered helpfully.
“Really?” Luna asked. Owlicious nodded. The Princess smiled. “The pleasure is all mine, noble owl.”
“Who.”
“Owlicious, that’s really getting old,” Spike grumbled loudly as he jogged down the hallway. “I can hear your hooting halfway across the castle! I’m trying to finish some treats for the Prin…” His voice trailed off as he noticed Princess Luna. “Oh… hello, Princess Luna.”
“Greetings, Spike.” Luna gave him a warm smile. “What’s this I was hearing about treats?”
Spike puffed out his chest proudly. “One batch of Spike’s newest scone recipe baking in the oven!” he announced. “I’m experiment with hay, daisies, and blueberries.”
“Excellent! I can’t wait to try them!”
Spike grinned as he scampered back to the kitchen. “Be right back!” he called over his shoulder.
With Spike gone, Luna turned back to Twilight. “I trust you made plans for the day?”
“I sure did!” Twilight replied. “I left my list around somewhere…”
“Who.” Owlicious flew out towards the library. A few seconds later he came back with a scroll in his talons.
“Thanks, Owlicious.” Owlicious hooted once more before flying away. “Let’s see,” said Twilight as she unraveled the scroll. “First we’re going to go flying with Rainbow Dash. Then we’re going to the spa with Rarity and Fluttershy. After that Applejack will be treating us to lunch at Sweet Apple Acres. Then I wanted us to go exploring your old castle, if that’s alright with you.” Twilight looked up to see Luna’s nod of approval. ‘Perfect! After that, Pinkie’s throwing a small party at Sugar Cube Corner to celebrate your visit. That’s about it.”
Luna chuckled, but refrained herself from engaging in full-blown laughter at Twilight’s expense. “You certainly planned ahead didn’t you?”
Twilight bobbed her head eagerly. “I got a lot of help from the girls making this list,” she explained. “It’s not often that you visit Ponyville, so we wanted to make sure you had the best time possible.”
“And for that I am very grateful,” said Luna truthfully. “But I must ask, did you leave tonight free from any activities?”
“I did, just as your letter requested,” Twilight replied. “But why did you want me to have the night plan-free? Are we going to go stargazing? I don’t think there are any famous celestial events tonight.”
Luna gave her a sly smile. “I’ll think you’ll find what I have in store to be a nice learning experience,” she said mysteriously.
Twilight cocked her head and opened her mouth to ask another question, but Luna laughed and followed the smell of freshly baked scones to the kitchen.
The Princess spent the rest of her day in Ponyville with the Elements of Harmony. Luna neglected to tell me the details of her experience, claiming that they were, “only of importance on a personal level and had no place in this narrative.” Frankly, I disagree, but I have no say in the matter.
After a delightful party at Sugar Cube Corner, Twilight took Luna to watch the sunset from the top of her tower. It was a magnificent sight, the two Princess say.
After Luna had lifted the moon into the sky, Twilight finally asked the question that had been plaguing her mind the entire day.
“So now are you going to tell me what we’ll be doing tonight?” Twilight ask Luna as the blue alicorn observed her handiwork.
“Maybe…”
“Luna, as much as I enjoy the view, I need to get some sleep at some point.”
“You, sleep?” Luna raised an eyebrow. “I have heard many stories from my sister about your sleeping habits, or lack thereof. Don’t bother turning away, I can already tell you’re blushing.”
This only deepened Twilight’s embarrassment, but she couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m getting better now,” she promised.
“I’m glad to hear. Princesses have much to do, but it is important for us to get enough rest so we can do our duties to the best of our abilities.”
Twilight nodded, and the pair once again lapsed into silence as they stared as the stars. “Pardon my asking,” said Twilight slowly. “But does Celestia always share things with you?”
“Depends on the ‘things’ in question,” Lune replied gravely.
Twilight froze as a dozen ways to apologize flew through her mind.
“Just pulling your tail, Twilight!” said Luna with a laugh. “You know I’m not as uptight as Tia! And to answer your question, yes, she does share very much with me. I believe she wants to share everything I’ve missed in the past thousand years.” Luna sighed. “A nice gesture on her part, but it is a rather futile endeavor.”
“At least she’s trying.”
“And I thank her for it every day.” Luna quickly turned her head, and then shook it. “But let us not dwell on that. Come, it is time for my surprise.”
“Finally!” Twilight exclaimed. Luna took off into the night sky with Twilight hot on her heels. To Twilight’s surprise, their flight was a short one. They only flew to the other side of Ponyville and landed in front of two waiting chariots. Four bat-winged stallions were harnessed to each chariot, and another dozen guards stood around them in a protective circle. They all bowed to the Princesses the second the mares’ hooves touched the ground.
“Nightwind!” Luna called out. One of the standing guards stepped forward. “I trust all is in order?”
“I double-checked all the preparations myself, Princess,” the guard vowed solemnly. “We are ready to fly.”
“Good.” Luna turned to Twilight. “Twilight, this is Nightwind, captain of the Night Guard.”
“P-pleased to meet you,” Twilight said with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. The stallion before her stood almost as tall as Big Macintosh. Nightwind’s body lacked the farmpony’s bulky mass, but the armor he wore accentuated the muscles he had. His helmet framed his piercing eyes were in a way that could only be described as intimidating. Twilight began sweating bullets as she resisted the urge to flinch from his gaze.
“The pleasure is all mine, Princess,” Nightwind said with a deep bow.
“Y-you don’t have to bow, please.”
“As you wish, Princess,” said Nightwind as he rose.
Twilight blushed. “No need to call me ‘Princess’ either. You can just call me Twilight.”
“As you wish, Princess.”
“Uh…”
Luna, who had biting the inside of her cheeks during their conversation, decided to rescue Twilight. “Nightwind tends to refer to everypony by their title. Trying to convince him to do otherwise is a waste of time. Believe me, I tried.”
“Oh,” was a Twilight said.
After a few moments of awkward silence, Nightwind cleared his throat. “Are you ready for departure, Princesses?”
“Departure?” Twilight looked from Nightwind to Luna with evident confusion.
“Why do you think we have two chariots here, Twilight?” Luna asked drily. “This trip will take the greater part of the night! You’d best make yourself comfortable.”
“The whole night?”
“Pretty much!” Luna replied enthusiastically. “And that’s only the journey. It’s when we actually arrive that the real fun begins!”
“Wait! How many days will this trip last?”
“Two days I suppose, or maybe three if we decide to extend our visit.”
“B-but I can’t just go on a trip for a couple days just like that!”
“Why not?” Luna asked. “Did you have anything important planned for the next few days?”
“Well, there was a new collection of spell books that I was going to-”
Luna waved her hoof dismissively. “Not important. Besides, this is an opportunity you won’t want to miss. I believe it will be a very educational experience.”
The prospect of learning made a chip in Twilight’s resolve. “Well, I wouldn’t want to turn down a learning opportunity,” she said slowly. “But what about my friends? I can’t just leave without telling them!”
“Oh don’t worry, I told them already,” Luna said with a wink. “Why else do you think Pinkie Pie said such a heartwarming goodbye after the party?”
“Because she’s Pinkie.”
“...Fair point,” Luna conceded. “Regardless, you already said your goodbyes—even unwittingly—and you have no prior engagements. So, what’s stopping you?”
“But who will take care of Spike and Owlicious?”
“Your friends, obviously. Come now, Twilight Sparkle, do you really think I wouldn’t plan this through before putting it into action?”
“Well…”
“Besides, this will be the experience of a lifetime. Very few ponies have the privilege to visit where we’re going.”
“But where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.”
Twilight blew her bangs out of her eyes as she mulled over the offer for a few moments. “Well, it appears that everyone is prepared for me to leave. So… I don’t see why not,” she decided.
Luna rolled her eyes. “Finally!” She jumped and glided into one of the lusciously padded chariots. “Are you coming?”
“Coming!”
After Twilight had entered the other chariot, Luna gave a nod to Nightwind. The captain took off into the night sky, and the two chariots and eleven other guards followed him into the sky.
I am afraid I do not have the detailed information of what transpired during this trip. Princess Twilight Sparkle spent her time stargazing until she finally fell asleep. Princess Luna has graced me with her own actions during the trip, but for the sake confidentiality, I cannot record them here.
However, there is no reason for you to be frustrated, for it is only after they arrived that our story really begins.
“Twilight!”
“Wha?” Twlight asked blearily as she examined the blurry figure in front of her.
“We’re here, Twilight.”
“Luna?” Twilight shook herself awake as she realized that she was lying in a soft chariot instead of her own bed.
“Who else would I be?” Luna asked, a poorly concealed smirk tugged at her lips. Only the poor lighting and Twilight’s early morning fatigue prevented her from noticing it. “We’ve arrived at our destination.”
Twilight glanced around the surrounding area, but even with the light of a full moon overhead, it was hard for her to make out anything from the shadows. “I thought we wouldn’t reach here by morning,” she said as she used an illumination spell to light up the area around her. She could now clearly see Luna’s face, but the blue alicorn had managed to conceal her smile in time. She glanced around to observe the chariot she was lying on and a few of the guards nearby standing on peculiarly paled grass. “It’s still the middle of the night.”
“Ah, but it is morning, in Ponyville at least,” said Luna with a perfectly straight face. “Here, it is night.”
“Morning in Ponyville, but night here?” Twilight’s face scrunched up in confusion. “Wait, but that would require us to be as far as east Saddle Arabia. There’s no way we could travel so far in one night!”
“How are you certain? You slept the entire journey.”
“Oh, right,” said Twilight sheepishly. She strengthened the light from her horn as she observed their surroundings. “Strange, this place doesn’t look like Saddle Arabia.”
“Who said that it was?”
“But in order for the day and night to be reversed we would need to be at least near Saddle Arabia!” Twilight explained. “Due to the magnitude of the distance between Equestria and Saddle Arabia, when the sun is over Equestria, the moon is over Saddle Arabia, and vice versa. There’s no other way it could be night if we weren’t nearby Saddle Arabia!”
Luna laughed. “I beg to disagree, Twilight,” she said as she finally allowed the smirk to slide across her face. “For we have just arrived at the Island of Eternal Night.”