> The Clock is Ticking > by BlueBlitzPegasister > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > 1. Rainbow Dash's shadow > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A fast white light was ripping through the skies of Ponyville. A rainbow colored cone started forming around the translucent white strip of speed, and then, KABOOM!! A blinding rainbow ring rattled all the nooks and crannies in Ponyville, Colts and Fillies looking up in the sky in awe. A handsome light blue stallion with a navy blue mane and a Rain cloud cutie mark landed in the middle of the town square, looking proud about his work. A loud clapping sounded in the distance, a Cyan blue pegasus mare with her trademark rainbow colored mane flew beside the stallion, smiling. This mare was none other than, Rainbow Dash herself. The cyan mare ruffled the stallion's mane proudly. "Good job Shadow." She said. Shadow smiled. He couldn't believe it, he finally did a sonic rainboom. He smiled, "Hey mom? I was wondering, can you do a double rainboom?" Rainbow Dash looked curiously into her son's magenta eyes, wondering what was going on inside his head. She shrugged, "Never tried. I don't think it's possible" Shadow smirked. His chest puffed out confidently. "Then, by Celestia, I will be the first Pegasus to do a double rainboom!" He yelled, causing confused gazes from passer bys. "Come on, Double Rainboom." Rainbow teased. "You don't wanna be late for the Summer Sun Celebration in Caterlot" Shadow nearly forgot about the Summer Sun Celebration. He was getting his friends to come too. He nodded and flew off to get them. Rainbow Dash smiled, proudly. Shadow Cloud was definitely her son. The confidence, the determination, the good-looks. He was like, a Shadow. > Apples To The Core > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A single apple fell from the apple tree and landed with a small thump on the hoof of a stallion. He threw it up into the air before bucking it into another tree, the apple landing squarely in the middle of the trunk. "That's be darn good buckin' right there." An orange mare said as she came up beside the stallion. "Thanks, ma." The brown stallion smiled at the compliment. "I abviously got it frum ya', everypony knows that, AppleJack." Applejack blushed. "Come on, AB. Ya know that ain't true. Yer just as good as buckin' apples as anypony in the apple family. That's wha we named ya' Apple Buck," Apple Buck and AppleJack lay down under the trees, talking about the catering for the Summer Sun celebration...when suddenly. CRASH!!! "What in tarnation!?" Yelled AB. Shadow Cloud was stuck, headfirst, into the apple tree AJ and AB were lying down under. "Um, Hey AB, hi Mrs. AppleJack" Shadow said sheepishly. AB facehoofed, while AppleJack just chuckled. "Hey there, Shadow cloud. Need some help gettin' out of that there apple tree?" Shadow cloud blushed and nodded a bit. AppleJack just shook her head, smiling. "Here's some practice for yer buckin', Apple Buck." She stood away from her son as he stood up from the soft grass and turned around. "Ready there, Shadow Cloud?" Shadow Cloud simply snorted. "Ready as I'll ever be." He murmured. Apple Buck nodded and raised his hind-legs, pushing them with full force at the trunk. Shadow Cloud fell onto his face right into the ground, a few apples falling onto his head. AB just laughed at his friend while AppleJack stood beside her son. "Quit laughin' at yer friend now, won't cha?" she hit him on the head. "Ow!.. Fiahn.." He grumbled. Shadow Cloud just shook the apples off his head and stood up. "Pfft. I wasn't really ready. Anyways, we're going to be late for the Summer Sun Celebration in Canterlot! Hurry up!!" he exclaimed. Apple Buck's green eyes widened. "Now!" Shadow nodded vigorously, his navy blue mane getting messy. "Shoot!" AB turned to face AppleJack. "Bye, ma! Meet cha there!" He exclaimed before turning to Shadow. "Last one there be a rotten apple!" Apple Buck shouted at Shadow before running off, leaving Shadow to catching up to him. AppleJack sighed and grinned. Apple Buck was definitely a great addition to the Apple Family. His passion, kindness and not to mention his commitment. He was certainly and apple to the core. > Rough edges > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "AUGGGHHHH!!!! MOM!!! I don't wanna try on these stupid dresses!!!" Yelled a mare from behind the privacy screen. Rarity, who was lying down on a sofa, massaged her temples and sighed loudly. "Crystal, darling, you act like dresses are a crime!" Crystal gave an annoyed growl, directed at her mother. "I HATE DRESSES! Why can't I just hang out with Shadow and Apple Buck!?" Rarity got off the sofa and pulled back the privacy screen. She looked into her daughter's eyes. "They have no fashion sense, and plus, they are STALLIONS! You aren't old enough to Hang Out with stallions!" Rarity said, her voice raising to a yell. "AAGGHHHH!!!!! MOM!!!!! Can't you see! I'm not like you! I want to hang out with Shadow, AB and all the other colts in Ponyville! Why won't you under stand.... I HATE FASHION!!!!" Rarity stared at her daughter in disgust. "Shadow and Apple Buck have been a horrible influence to you, dear... I forbid you to hang out with them." Crystal's pupil shrank, her hooves stomping the floor in anger. "I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!" Rarity kept a straight face. "I am telling Rainbow Dash and AppleJack to tell Shadow and Adam to never talk to you aga-" She was cut off from a knock at the door. "Hello? Mrs. Rarity? Crystal? Are ya there?" AB's voice sounded from the other side of the door. "Speak of the devils" Rarity mumbled. Crystal grinned, "Yeah! Come in!" Apple Buck politely walked into the door with Shadow following suit. "Good evening Mrs. Rarity, Crystal." Shadow politely said. "We're here to take Crystal to the Summer Sun celebration" Rarity forced a smile "O-of corse! G-go ahead dear, i'll be right behind you!" Crystal had a smug expression on her face. "Thanks Mom, Bye!" And with that, she slammed the door hard. Rarity groaned. Why oh why was her daughter like this? Of corse she was a gem to have around the house. A gem with... rough edges... > Sweet treats > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The pink and purple mare slurped up the rest of her milkshake, pushing it over to the other side of the table to show she was finished. “Aren’tyouexcited,I’mexcited,butI’mnervousat thesametime,didn’tyoucallitnervouscited?” She exclaimed quickly. The pink pony on the other side of the table giggled loudly. “Calm down, silly!” She exclaimed, her blue eyes glittering with amusement. She took the empty milkshake cup and went up to the bar of SugarCube Corner. The Cakes had passed down the place to them since Pound Cake and Carrot Cake went off to Manehatten to open another branch. “Now, Sundae Spirit. Take a deep breath and try again” She ruffled her daughter’s pink hair, smiling. Sundae Spirit a few deep breaths and tried again “Aren’t you excited, I’m excited but I’m nervous at the same time, you called it nervouscited, right mom?” Sundae said again, slowly looking up at the grinning mare, her mom. “Uhuh.” Pinkie Pie answered back as she stuffed balloons and candies into Sundae’s saddle-bag. “OOooOo!” Sundae exclaimed loudly. “Don’t forget the confetti!!” She shouted as she grabbed packets of confetti from a box under the table. Sundae jumped up, hitting her head on the bottom of the table. Did I forget to mention that she was under a table? I think I did. The table tipped over, sending chairs flying and other tables to topple over just like dominos. As the chaos settled down, Sundae looked up from under her hooves. “Whoops..?” she whispered. Just as she said that the small tinkle of a bell could be heard from the front door. Apple Buck, Shadow Cloud and Crystal charged in, but quickly skidded to a stop as they saw the mess in front of them. Unfortunately, they didn’t stop fast enough, causing them to trip over each other and land in a pile beside Pinkie Pie. Pinkie just giggled and untangled them. “Looking for somepony?” she gestured at Sundae, who was giving them a shy grin. Crystal shook out her mane, but strands of hair were sticking out everywhere. “C’mon, we gotta leave now if we’re gonna reach Canterlot in time for the celebration!” She stompped her hoof. “Okie dokie lokie! I was just packing my saddle-bag!” Sundae jumped up with a squeal as she trampled over the mess to get her saddle-bag. She picked it up and laid it down onto her back before turning around. “Ready to go!!” She shouted. A faint yell could be heard from outside. ‘Be quiet over there!’ It said, but none of them noticed. Sundae jumped over the mess she had caused and landed beside Apple Buck. “Let’s go!” She exclaimed before leaping out of the door, all the other ponies following her. Pinkie Pie fell onto the floor, laughing at the destruction her own daughter had caused. Her daughter could be such a klutz at times, but she was such a sweetie, nopony could hate her. She was like a treat, a sweet treat. > A lost Animal > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The yellow pegasus’ stallion's blue eyes searched worriedly over all the furniture in the cottage. He had looked everywhere for her, where could she be?! He shook his purple mane. “Abigail!?” He called out, looking for a black and white striped tail. Where could the silly raccoon be? He could’ve sworn she was on the couch just a few minutes ago. He had to go get ready for the Summer Sun Celebration, but he had to tell Abigail first so she wouldn’t do anything naughty. A yellow mare with a long pink mane came down the stares. “What are you looking for, dear?” she asked, her turquoise eyes showing sympathy and kindness. “I’m looking for Abbie, mom.” He said quietly. A knock on the door startled him, causing him to jump up and hide behind the couch. He looked at the door, fear in his eyes. Another knock came, but this time accompanied by a voice. “TimidHoof?! It’s Sundae Spirit! We gotta hurry up a little bit. Are you partying in there or what?!” she shouted. TimidHoof relaxed a little bit. It was just his friends. His mother shuffled up to the door and opened the door, only to be tackled by Sundae Spirit. She whimpered, looking up at Sundae. “C’mon now, Sundae. We ain't got no time for that.” Apple Buck frowned. “I’m so so so so sorry Mrs. Fluttershy!” Sundae stood up and bounced away, looking around the cottage. Fluttershy dusted herself off before walking into the kitchen. “We’ve gotta go to the train station, Timid. Hurry up.” Crystal sighed. “B-but.. I can’t find Abigail anywhere and I HAVE to tell her where I’m going, or else she’ll be all alone, without knowing it and then she’ll think I’ve abandoned her, and, and...” TimidHoof started ranting on. “We get, we get it. We’ll help you find her, but for starters, I think you should get out of your hiding place.” Shadow smiled. TimidHoof blushed and stood up slowly. “Now, where was the last time you saw that critter?” Adam asked. “Well.. She was on the couch 10 minutes ago..” TimidHoof whispered. “But I’ve searched everywhere.” TimidHoof looked at his hooves which were kneading the wooden flooring. “FOUND HER!!” Sundae Spirit shouted, holding a raccoon in her hooves. “Oh! Abbie!” he exclaimed, taking the sleepy raccoon out of Sundae’s hold. “I’ve been looking every for you. How did you manage to find her?” TimidHoof questioned. “Well, you must’ve searched everywhere, but your room. She was sleeping on your bed. Silly you!” Sundae giggled as TimidHoof blushed but looked down at Abigail. “Thank you, thank you, thank you so much. Now, Abbie. I’m going to the Summer Sun Celebration and I’ll only be back in 2 days time. The food is in the kitchen. You know how to get it. Now be a nice little raccoon and don’t get yourself into trouble, ok?” he told the half-listening raccoon. Abigail nodded and squirmed out of TimidHoof’s grip, running up to his room. “Ok, I’m ready to go.” TimidHoof turned to the four other ponies, which all nodded. Sundae bounced out the door, “Hurry, hurry hurry! We’re gonna be late!” She shouted as she disappeared out the door. The five left over ponies turned to look at each other before charging out the door. “I love you mom!” Timid managed to say, being pushed out by his friends. "I love you too, my little pet" Fluttershy whispered. Fluttershy had listened to all of that from the kitchen, an obvious smile on her face. She shook her head. Sometimes her son could be so lost without his friends. Almost like a lost animal. > Off to Canterlot > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- As the five ponies made their way to Canterlot via the train, a pale purple mare was tapping her hoof against the ground impatiently. Why were they always late?! She sighed as she brought out her schedule. She was already 15 minutes behind schedule, what else could go wrong..? Her eyelid twitched at the possibilities. She had waited a whole YEAR for this, to prove to her mom that she wasn’t tardy. You see, she was ALWAYS tardy and unorganized, and by always I mean everyday of the year. If she could just show her mom that she was different for a day.. Maybe, just maybe she would let her organize something. Her mom was a princess, so she always had to look good in front of the crowd. Sad, isn’t it? To be someone you’re not. While she was deep in her thoughts, the five ponies were talking excitedly about the Summer Sun Celebration in the train. “Can’t you believe it? It’s been 20 years since our mothers got rid of nightmare moon!" Crystal exclaimed as she watched the night sky from inside the train cabin. "An' Discord, an' Queen Chrysalis, an' King Sombra, an' Sunset Shimmer" Continued Apple Buck, getting stares from his friends. "Whut?" Crystal rolled her eyes. "I wonder if something special’s going to happen.” “Oh, oh, oh! maybe they’ll have a gigantic cake for them, or maybe they’ll give them awards? No no no! They’ll probably give special sundae’s for each of them!” Sundae Spirit bounced up and down excitedly. “I don’t know.. I don’t really like sundaes..” TimidHoof whispered. “Ya’ll be quiet now, won’t cha? I reckon we’ll be nearin’ Canterlot soon.” Apple Buck poked his head out of the train cabin, looking out for the castle. “I’ll go fly out and see.” Shadow cloud unfolded his wings as he flew out the window, the four ponies waiting patiently for him to come back. Shadow entered the cabin slowly, not wanting to crash. "I flew ahead, seems like we're about 4 minutes away, so get ready." The rest of the group nodded and sat back down into their positions by the window. An awkward silence settled in the cabin until they saw the train station. As the train slowed down, the five ponies waited by the exit waiting patiently for the train to stop. Once it did, they all charged out, running towards the Canterlot castle. --Time Skip-- "MOONLIGHT TWINKLE!!" Sundae Spirit shouted as they came up behind the purple unicorn. Moonlight turned around, flashing them a smile before talking. "We're going to be 20 minutes late! We've gotta rush!" Moonlight said before running ahead, leaving the rest to catch up to her under the stars. Little did they know a hooded figure watching them from the train. > Bow to me! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "What's the rush?" Said Shadow as he was flying alongside Moonlight. Moonlight silently squealed. She had a huge crush on Shadow, so him being this close made her delighted. "My mom had to see us exactly 21 minutes ago!" She yelled. Shadow rolled his eyes, Moonlight Twinkle was so wrapped up in making her mom proud. He slowed down to Apple Buck, who was trotting at the back of the group. "Hey, AB. Mind if I walk with you?" AB simply nodded. Shadow stopped flying and walked alongside Apple Buck. "What's up Haystack?" Apple buck said "The ceiling." Shadow joked. "Heh. Nah, seriously, dude. Ya always act real strange 'round Moonliaht. Anythin' ya wanna say teh me?" He winked. "No! No.. no no no... ish.." "AH KNEW IT!" Apple Buck yelled, a bit too loud. Everypony was looking at him. "Nuttin' ova here. Move on please." Apple Buck moved back to Shadow. "So... How long have you had a crush on her?" Shadow rolled his eyes. "Not long. It's just... well... hmm..." "Alright. How's 'bout ya tell me wha ya like her?" "Well, she's smart, talented, funny. Not to mention, she's a princess. This is the real deal, man. Every stallion's dream mare!" Apple Buck nodded. "Ah agree, she's real smart, real cute, and real good wit' magic. But don't get the wrong idea. I a'int got no crush on 'er, believe me! I reckon you'd be a mighty fine match fer her." Shadow blushed sightly. Apple Buck rolled his eyes. They started to talk about the preparations for the summer sun celebrations, when suddenly, the group stopped. "Hi Mom" Groaned Moonlight Twinkle. She bowed, which startled the rest of the group. Why would Moonlight, her own daughter, have to bow to her mother? But nevertheless, everyone bowed with her. Twilight Sparkle smiled and said, "Please don't bow to me. It makes me uncomfortable." Everyone rose, but Moonlight Twinkle stayed down. "Get up.." Twilight said, jokingly. Moonlight rose, her eyes closed. "All of you must be tired, get some rest and come back here in 3 hours. The six young ponies walked down the hall to their room. Moonlight opened the door with her magic and flopped on the nearest bed. Shadow trotted over to his bed, he took out a Daring Do book from his saddle bag and read. Apple Buck took a bottle apple cider from his saddle bag, walked to the window and took a sip. Sundae, Crystal, and Timid were talking about Nightmare Moon, causing Timid to squeal and hide under his bed. Moonlight chuckled. She loved her friends, some more than others. She remembered the first time she met them....