Forward Unto Dawn: Chapter 2 Preview

Twilight Sparkle took in a deep breath as she scanned the grassy plains of the park. She was expecting the arrival of the other Elements soon, since they had agreed on a picnic today, but naturally, Twilight had been the first to arrive.

"Spike, let's set up here by this tree," she said, pointing at the tree in question with a hoof.

"Okay, Twilight!" Spike called out as he placed the picnic basket on the grass.

Twilight used her levitation spell to spread the blanket below the tree, making sure each side was spread flat, with no wrinkles. Once this was done, she sat down and waited for her friends to arrive as Spike set up the plates and cutlery.

Applejack was the first pony that came up the hill, waving to Twilight in greeting. “Howdy Twilight! Ah brought some of Granny Smith’s apple pie fer us.”

Twilight smiled at the news, “That’s great, Applejack. I bet it's delicious!” Upon closer inspection, Twilight was able to make out a small carriage that was tethered to Applejack’s harness. “Need any help?”

Applejack only shook her head as she walked next to the picnic basket and unattached herself from the harness, “No thanks, Ah’ve got it.” To prove her point, she took the pies off of the carriage and placed them in a small pile in the middle of the picnic blanket.

Pinkie Pie was the next to arrive for the picnic. She was carrying a basket on her back. As she neared the top of the hill, a wonderful smell permeated the air.

"Hey Pinkie! What kind of cupcakes are those? They smell great," Twilight asked.

"I can't tell you, silly-filly. That would ruin the surprise. I wanted to try out a new flavor for today," Pinkie was bouncing up and down as she talked about the surprise.

A rainbow-coloured blur in the sky angled itself downwards with a cry of "Look out below!" The assembled ponies ducked as Rainbow Dash completely miscalculated her landing. She skidded for a moment on her hooves before her speed got the better of her and she fell face-first into the dirt.

Applejack chuckled. "Good job, Dash. Ah hope whatever ya brought didn't suffer fer that."

"I was supposed to bring something?" Asked Rainbow Dash, picking herself up and shaking dirt out of her mane.

"Yep!" said Pinkie, hopping over and displaying her cupcakes.

"Oh. Well, I forgot." She shrugged. "Hey, where are Fluttershy and Rarity? I'm so hungry I could eat a whole hay bale on my own!" said Rainbow Dash, glancing around for the ponies in question.

As if on cue, Rarity and Fluttershy made their appearance, walking towards the group.

"Sorry for being late, girls. Fluttershy and I lost track of time when making sandwiches," said Rarity, levitating a small basket off of Fluttershy's back.

"It's alright Rarity," Twilight replied. "Where's Duo?"

"Your pupil? He went with Sweetie Belle to Canterlot to shop for supplies," Rarity said before sitting on the blanket. "They wanted to be prepared for when their foal is born."

"Well if that's the case, let's start the picnic," Twilight replied as she too sat down.

"So Twilight," Applejack said as she started munching on a daisy sandwich. "How have Duo's studies been comin' along?"

Twilight levitated a sandwich of her own out of the basket before responding, "So far he has been reaching my expectations of him." She took a bite of her sandwich, and waited until she finished chewing before continuing. "He's progressing almost as fast as I did, which is very impressive."

"Is he going to become really good at magic, have no friends, and be forced to move away from everypony that they've ever known?" Pinkie asked.

Twilight opened her mouth to respond, only to be cut off by Spike's coughing.

After a few seconds of Spike's coughing fit, a scroll got spat out. Clearing his throat, Spike opened up the scroll and began reading.

"To my most faithful student, Twilight Sparkle

You, Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Spike are to come to Canterlot as soon as possible. I will explain everything when you get here.

Sincerely, Princess Celestia"

Once Spike finished reading, Twilight levitated the scroll out of his hands. After reading it to herself a second time, she rolled It up and put it in her basket, "Well you heard what the letter said girls, it looks like we have to cut this picnic short."

"Oh dear, I hope it's nothing too bad," Fluttershy said worriedly.

Rainbow Dash walked up to Fluttershy and flashed a grin, "Don't worry about it Fluttershy, I'm sure it's nothing serious."

Spike started to cough once again, getting the attention of the girls. After a few seconds, he coughed up another scroll and began reading it.

P.S. Pack up as much as you can, you will be staying in Canterlot for awhile. I already have your sleeping quarters prepared.

Twilight levitated the scroll out of Spike's hands once again and read it to herself. "Okay, this might be more serious than we thought," she said, obviously worried.

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Princess Luna walked through the Everfree Forest, her eyes a mix of sadness and anger as she thought about the reason she was here in the first place. "Celestia has gone too far this time. Her love for that wretched serpent has clouded her judgement beyond saving." She sighed as he looked down, kicking a pebble with her forehoof before continuing her walk.

An hour passed before she finally came upon the old castle she used to live in. She looked up at it with a frown and a sigh. "My sister... no... that tyrant has to be stopped." She stamped a hoof on the dirt angrily before looking down sadly shortly after. "I can't do it on my own... but I have no choice."

“You don’t have to do this alone, my Princess," A voice had said from behind the trees. A stallion came into view, with a silver coat, bright silver eyes, and a mane as black as night that almost covered his right eye. On his flank, the image of a halberd was proudly displayed as his cutie mark.

"We are all here for you, Princess Luna." The entirety of Luna's bat pony night guard stepped out from the shadows, bowing their heads shortly after.

Princess Luna could not help but smile at her loyal troops. Now they stood a fighting chance at dethroning Princess Celestia. "Night Wish, and my night guard, I am glad you chose to side with me. Now come my loyal subjects, we have much work to do on this castle if we want it to be our base. Celestia needs to be stopped, so we need to have this place fully functional as quickly as possible." She turned around and started walking towards the old castle, her army following closely behind.

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