//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 – A Trip up the Memory Lane // Story: Evenfall // by Yinglung //------------------------------// The royal chariot slowed gradually to a halt, and stopped at the grassy outskirts of the town of Ponyville. "Thank you gentlecolts, for the timely and comfortable trip." Twilight stepped out of the cart and nodded plainly. She then leaned forward and lowered her voice. "Fast Wind, Sky Stream, these are something as a sign of my gratitude." She took two small bags from her saddlebag and slid them into their hooves. Fast Wind was delighted as his stoic face bloomed into a full smile, but Sky Stream was somewhat apprehensive. Twilight leaned in and whispered into his ears some more. "Think of this as a gift for your fiancée. She fancies that emerald ring, no?" Sky Stream stared at Twilight wide-eyed, but he soon nodded and calmed down as well, but not without a quizzical look. “Glad to be of service, Missus Twilight.” The Royal Guards smiled and saluted, then swiftly lead the chariot back into the blue sky. "Uh... Twilight," Spike glared at Twilight in disbelief. "Did you just, uh, bribe the royal...” The purple mare hushed Spike’s words, and then sighed. “Spike, do you know that the pay of Royal Chariot drivers are miniscule compared to our stipends? That little bit of gratuity goes a long way.” “But Twilight, surely it is against the rule to hand the Royal Guards bits for their assigned tasks?” Spike pressed on, still unconvinced. “Well, if we must go into the technicalities, no Equestrian law or royal edict has ever prohibited the transfer of redeemable stock certificates for state enterprises, like those I just gave them, for any royal service rendered. The ban only extended to bits and some other forms of material wealth. To be honest, it’s an open secret in Canterlot circles.” “But this is just, uh, like … exploiting legal loopholes!” “I adore your sense of justice, Spike. I raised you well.” Twilight nodded approvingly. “But ultimately, Princess Celestia deliberately left this route open to allow herself some convenience when dispensing favors without looking too nepotistic or like an upstart who threw bits to others’ faces. Having ponies holding stakes in state enterprises also helps aligning their interests to her own.” “Really? How do you know? Did she tell you?” “Let’s say it’s just… an educated guess. As I’ve taught you, dispensing favor has its own rewards. Having friends in the Royal Guards might help us in the future. It helps if we get along with my brother’s colleagues. At the very least, we’ll get to have free rides to Canterlot.” Spike frowned, but for want of a topic that was less morally troubling, he decided to change the subject. “So here we are, Ponyville! Aren’t you glad that the princess has arranged for you a library here as well?” “… Heh, yeah, that’s great.” Twilight thinly smiled. “You don’t look too happy. Are you worried about the Celebration, making friends, or the… you know…” “Spike.” Twilight suddenly turned. “Do you think I’m a bit crooked?” Spike gasped. “No, I… uh…” Twilight chuckled wryly. “You sound immediately hesitant.” Spike scratched his head with a difficult expression. “I- I don’t think you’re bad just because of you paid the stallions in hope of future favor, or any other glib things you’ve done in the past few months. I just feel a bit unsure about some of your recent actions.” “Sometimes I feel like that too. But I also have big goals I want to achieve, and I need every help that I can get. Simply being a royal student can only do so much.” “What do you want those help for? I thought you’re just happy studying magic under Princess Celestia?” “… Spike, what if I tell you I feel too unwell to fight Nightmare Moon if she appears?” Spike’s face turned a bit blue. “You’re kidding, right?” “I am.” “Phew, don’t joke about that, Twi! I thought you are super-prepared!” Twilight’s eyes narrowed, as if to hide the pain and hesitation in her mind. “You… can say that. But preparations often go out of the window when a battle strikes. After all, who knows what destiny has in store for us? Say if I tripped on a rock and hit my head hard, then I might well wake up to eternal night, if I wake up at all.” “Twi… the joke’s a bit dark, you know…” “I’m serious, Spike. Don’t you think that it isn’t so good for the world to rely on one or two ponies who has the power and the knowledge to save everything we hold dear?” “… I never thought about that. But yeah, it seems a bit unsafe come to think about it.” Twilight for once smiled. “Changing that is one of my goal. I want to increase the abilities for ponies to fend off threats themselves. This does not mean I’m going to stand there and do nothing, but I believe if most of us can hold off threats on themselves for a while, or at least have a self-reliant mindset, then tyrants and villains will think twice before preying on Equestria. Even a third coming of Nightmare Moon will be a piece of a cake.” “But how are you going to do it?” “Well, I don’t have a very concrete plan, but I do have a few ideas in my mind. For now though, we still have a Celebration to prepare. Speaking of which, I must also pay a visit to the previous librarian and the previous festival supervisor as well. Surely we can’t offend anypony before we even settle down, right?” “Meh, Twilight, you always worry too much about things like these.” “Better safe than sorry.” Twilight toothily grinned. “And we have to keep at everypony’s good grace to live here … Um.” Twilight sharply stopped, and then muttered something under her breath. “Huh Twilight, what do you mean? Aren’t we supposed to go back to Canterlot once we’re done?” Spike asked. Twilight looked at Spike, opened her mouth but eventually decided against it. “You’ll see, Spike. Let’s put down our stuffs at the library first.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Twilight stared forward, and a pink pony was seen trotting down the road. “Oh, here comes… a local resident, let’s greet her before we move on to the library.” Spike was at first a bit confused by the sudden burst of hospitality, but he then remembered Twilight’s mission, so he followed after Twilight. Twilight galloped up to the pink pony, and beamed a bright smile. “Hi! My name is Twilight Sparkle, I came from Canterlot to oversee the Summer Sun Celebration. Nice to meet you!” The pink pony gasped and shot up in the air, and ran away in a bout of dust. "Well, that was interesting all right." Spike muttered. Twilight lowered her head and whispered into Spike’s ear, “That was Pinkie Pie, the resident party organizer. She saw that I am a new pony and ran off to organize a surprise party for me.” Spike immediately asked, clearly baffled, “How’d you know? Did you run a background check on everypony in Ponyville and sic detectives on them before you come here?” Twilight shook her head and said. “Not exactly… But I did do my homework as an event overseer. You gotta know who’s participating to organize an event well, right Spike?” “But the surprise party isn’t surprising anymore.” Spike frowned. “Surprise isn’t always pleasant, I’d rather have none of it at least for now, however grumpy it sounds.” Twilight murmured, looking at the disappearing figure of Pinkie Pie on the horizons. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Summer Sun Celebration official overseer's checklist. Number one, banquet preparations: Sweet Apple Acres.” Spike dutifully read aloud. “Here is the farmstead owned by the Apple family, they are a big family of traditional and down-to-earth folks. Just be frank and open, and they will accept you like one of their own.” Spike nodded, and Twilight galloped forward into the entrance of the farm. An orange pony was seen bucking the apple trees. Apples came raining down with each skillful strike, and Spike watched on amazed. Twilight waited till the orange pony finished her last buck, and trotted up in wide gaits. Suppressing the guilt threatening to well onto the surface, she squeezed out a smile. “Hello my friend, good harvest today?” “Howdy-do friend, pleasure making your acquaintance! Yeah it’s a bountiful! Name’s Applejack, and you?” “Twilight Sparkle, Overseer of the Celebration. It's always a pleasure making new friends.” She said, and only after that realizing she sounded like a robot. “Truer words have ne’er been said, sugarcube.” Applejack nodded and winked at the newcomers. “So, I’ve come to sample some of the good food made in the Sweet Apples Acres. I’d be quite pleased to witness some of the legendary Apples hospitality.” Applejack chuckled heartily, “Sure-do!” She then pulled out and rang a triangle. “Soup's on, everypony!” Spike watched with near-horror as streams of ponies appeared seemingly out of every corner of the farm and trotted towards them. Twilight thinly smiled and put Spike on her back, while stepping aside to let the extended Apple family pass. Applejack then cantered up to the center and started introducing each of the Apple family members one by one. Twilight kept her smile, shook hoof with each and every one of them. After the introduction of the last and the most senior family member, Granny Smith, Applejack laid a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder and said, “Let’s try some, sugarcube?” Twilight widened her eyes briefly, but soon smiled. “S- Sure as sugar, my friend.” After a moment, Twilight finished her first meal at the Acres. It tasted delicious, if not too much in sheer volume. She had to secretly teleport some food away from her mouth to prevent herself from stuffing herself full. She then sighed and looked to Applejack, who was cleaning up the dishes. Twilight closed her eyes. She knew she had to do this, and she had to succeed, but her heart was fiercely pounding and she was never this nervous in her entire life. She eventually exhaled and reached out to Applejack. “Eh Twilight, you don’t need to help us clean up, it’s our job as the host!” Applejack turned around to the purple mare and smiled. “Or are you lookin’ for the little dragon? Ah last saw him near the field talkin’ wit mah sis.” “Oh no, I just want to have a little private chat with you, it’s regarding the security of the Celebration, and I hope to get a little help from you if you don’t mind. We should talk in the barn so that no anypony would overhear and get worried.” Twilight recited the cover story she’s prepared before, praying fervently that it could fool even the to-be Element-bearer of Honesty. Applejack looked at the eyes of Twilight for a while, while Twilight tried her best to hide her nerves. “Alright, Twilight, Ah’ll be there in a minute.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “So Twilight, what’s that security thing you want t’ talk ‘bout?” Applejack asked with a skeptical look on her face. Twilight drew a long breath, and suddenly flashed her horn. A rod of white light, instead of Twilight’s signature purple-tinted magic, shot forward with the speed of lightning. Applejack was alarmed and shouted, “What’s the meanin’ o’ this, Twilight?” She found herself enclosed and trapped in a white sphere of magic. “I must do this, Applejack, I’m sorry.” Twilight gritted her teeth hard as her eyes started to glow an almost unnatural shade of white. She closed her hooves around Applejack’s head, and kept getting closer and closer until she could feel Applejack’s breath on her face. “If you didn’t let go o’ me at once Ah swear…” Applejack growled as she tried all her might to release herself from Twilight, but her body moved not an inch. She couldn’t even exert a fraction of her normal strength, which would normally be enough to shake off Twilight. Twilight drew in another breath. A pair of white light beams shot from the violet eyes of Twilight and into Applejack’s bright green eyes. Applejack gasped and her entire body jolted. Her eyes rolled up into the socket as her legs spasms. Still, Twilight kept glaring into Applejack’s eyes while hold her head firmly. Applejack’s face crunched together in apparent agony as tears rolled across her cheeks. Finally, Twilight let out a long sigh, and the blinding white light faded. Applejack collapsed onto the floor, her leg turned to marshmallow. Twilight’s leg buckled and she ended up sitting on the floor as well, herself exhausted from the ordeal. Twilight then used her hoof to poke the form of Applejack, now sprawling ungraciously on the barn floor. With a few more pokes, the orange pony quivered and moved. Unsteadily and with struggle, she stood up and slowly opened her green eyes. She immediately scrubbed her face with her hooves and turned to Twilight, her expression one of immense anger. “You varmint!” Applejack spitted out each word with great anger, “The Apples trusted you and hosted for you, how could you betray our hospitality wit’ such an unprovoked attack?!” Applejack snapped and pinched her hooves around Twilight’s head. “Also, what’ve you done to me with yer witch’ry?!” Twilight was shaken by Applejack’s outburst, however, she sensed something with her magic. She lowered her head and sighed wistfully. “Applejack, you obviously know who I am and why I did it. If you want to hate me, at least wait till we dispatch of Nightmare Moon. I don’t have wild wishes for your good will after… this, but I still long for your understanding.” Applejack’s furious expression stiffened, then she sighed and smiled sadly. Surprised by this sudden change in attitude, Twilight stuttered. “Eh?” “You… It’s a plum lot to swallow, but Ah now know that yer not a bad pony. Ah was just teasin’ you.” “Huh?” Twilight actually wasn’t sure what kind of reaction she would be getting. Like a terrified squirrel, she shrunk and looked back at Applejack with apprehension. “Ah can see where you come from. The future-past an’ such. But compared to those things that’s yet to come, you’re a much bigger concern. Horribly lonely, eh you? Poor thing.” “I…” Twilight began to tremble. “I’m sorry for doing this to you.” “Well, you should be. Ah don’t like lyin’ ponies, and Ah certainly don’t appreciate it when ponies break into mah head unannounced. But Ah now know your reasons, Ah couldn’t bring mahself to hate you…” “Applejack…” “But woah nelly! Yer dumpin’ a lot of things into mah head.” The orange pony cleared her throat and said with some glee. “Je n'avais jamais pensée pouvoir-” Twilight timidly grinned. “Channeling the new knowledge so quickly?” “AJ is fine. We’re destined to be friends after all.” Twilight looked up with a jolt. She looked a bit fearful and unsure. “Ah, silly Twilight. Ah’m not mockin’ you.” “I- I am not…” “You think you can hide from the to-be Element-bearer of Honesty? Ah know you, you left a piece of yerself right here.” Applejack pointed towards her head. “Yer easily the most insecure pony Ah’ve ever met.” Twilight bit her lips and lowered her head, but she did not offer up any protest. “Ah may not approve of yer shady action, but Ah understand yer purpose, and those grand ideas ‘bout the future. Bottom-line, Ah can’t really bring mahself to hate you, especially as you’ve given me so much foresight and know-how, and at the end you jus’ want me as a friend.” Twilight did not expect so much understanding from the pony whom she foisted herself upon. She teared up and began to sob. “Whoa, don’t cry now Twi. Ah said Ah don’t begrudge you for this.” Twilight sniffled and nodded. “So yer gonna do this to the other four… right?” Twilight sharply drew in a breath, and then nodded gingerly. “Ah don’t like what yer doin’. But Ah also understood why you do it. As yer new but also old friend, Ah should point out how wrong it is to force this on others. Though as an Equestrian citizen, Ah think what yer doin’… even though it’s not entirely selfless, but it’s fer the good of all. Still, it’s a bit cowardly to sneak up on us instead of just telling us what’s up.” “I… I’m a coward, yes.” “An honest coward, I can appreciate at least. What yer doin’ is admittedly more… prudent. Ah have a naggin’ feelin’ that they’re goin’ to understand afterwards.” “Are you saying that you approve of my trickery…?” “Ah still think it’s sad an’ wrong t’ foist this on anypony. But Ah’m willin’ to overlook it... Fer you and fer everything else.” A complicated smile crept up on the orange pony’s face. “Whatever it’ll turn out, Ah’m in this with you now.” A long silence followed. Twilight eventually picked up enough courage and said. “So… what are you going to do?” “Ah’m going to finish up my share of work and follow you to Rainbow’s. Ah’d like to keep an eye on things.” Twilight hesitated. “Um... Let’s wait at the entrance once you’re done then. Rainbow was probably napping somewhere nearby.” “Remember to grab Spike, he’s probably playing with Apple Bloom somewhere in the field.” Applejack reminded Twilight. “… As if I will forget Spike.” Twilight blinked and rolled her eyes. Twilight walked a step forward, but she stumbled as her legs were weak. Fortunately, Applejack caught her in time. “Twilight?” “I’m fine... but I’m exhausted just to cast the spell on you alone... I- I’m afraid without some intervention, I can’t keep on doing this to four other mares.” Applejack raised an eyebrow. “You can’t be thinkin’…” Looking as if she’s walking on a thin layer of ice, Twilight bared her teeth and said quietly. “I may have to weaken their resolve to resist through illusions in order to get this completed before the end of today.” Expecting a thundering rebuff, the purple mare peeked at Applejack with a fearful gaze. However, the orange mare merely lightly sighed. “Ah… understand. Still, we ain’t no Discord. Try not to go overboard, Twi.” Twilight blinked and nodded weakly. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Next up is weather… But Applejack, why are you following us along? Haven’t you got works to do in the Acres?” Spike asked, sitting on Twilight’s back. “Sugarcube, Ah’m a long-time resident of Ponyville after all. It’s jus’ a small thing Ah can do to show our royal guests ‘round, eh yer highness?” Applejack joked. “Stop it, AJ! I’m just a student of the Princess.” Twilight laughed drily. “AJ? Ah, short for Applejack I see.” Spike muttered. “Hey Spike, you’re also wel—” Applejack turned to Spike, when she was suddenly interrupted. “Buck, everypony dodge!” Twilight yelled as she suddenly heard some faint sound booming from afar. Twilight and Applejack swerved to the side of road, and despite Twilight trying her best, Spike lost his balance and impacted the ground with a bang. “What on earth Twi?” Spike groaned, when he saw a blur of cyan and rainbow color flashed before his eyes, which promptly crashed into a pool of mud on the ground. “Spike! Are you alright?” Both mares called out with worrying looks on their faces. “Eh, I’m okay I guess, but shouldn’t you be checking out that mare?” Spike scratched his head and muttered. “Meh, she’d do fine.” Applejack shrugged with a wry smile. “That’d be the resident weather pony, Rainbow Dash.” Twilight added, “Well, she actually had a history with us before, but we should save it for later. She’s also one of the fastest pegasi in Equestria.” Twilight deliberately raised her voice at the last sentence. “Heh, I don’t know who said that, but that pony is sure dang right about that!” Rainbow Dash boasted with a smug grin, somehow already recovered from the crash. She shook off the clinging mud and walked towards the trio. “Howdy there Rainbow, finished the nap o’ yours to kick the clouds yet?” Applejack asked. Rainbow Dash frowned slightly, and then grinned, “Pfeh, I could clear this sky in ten seconds flat! Want me to prove it?” Twilight looked at Rainbow, then at Applejack. “No need for now, Rainbow Dash, I believe you. Anyway, my name’s Twilight Sparkle, royal overseer of the Celebration checking on the weather. Nice to meet you.” “Well, you know my name already, and you sure know talent when you see one.” Rainbow Dash puffed up. “But if you’re not looking for me to clear the sky, what do you need me for?” “Okay, I know you may not like the sound of it, but I want to, uh, inspect the weather records of Ponyville. Nothing special, just some regular checking is all.” “Aww… Those stuffs were incredibly boring! Can we not go over those, please?” Rainbow Dash frowned. “I’m sorry Rainbow, but rules are rules.” Twilight offered a helpless smile. Applejack just shook her head and shrugged blandly. “Fine… The records are kept in my cloud home, let me take them down to you.” Rainbow Dash offered with defeat on her face. “Oh I can follow you up Rainbow, I can do with a bit of cloud-walking magic.” Twilight winked. “Hey Spike, you wanna follow Twi up onto the clouds? Surely Twi can cast you a cloud-walking spell.” Applejack suddenly interjected, which prompted Twilight to shoot her a questioning glare. “Heck no, I don’t want to be stuck with a bunch of uninteresting records for half a day in the middle of the sky!” Spike shook his head hurriedly. “The little dragon knows.” Rainbow Dash nodded dryly. “Alright, let’s get moving!” She gestured to Twilight, who promptly fired off a burst of magic. A butterfly wing manifested on her back. “Let’s go then, Rainbow.” Twilight nodded and narrowed her eyes. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The two mares soared up the blue sky. Twilight took extra care not to let her butterfly wings overheat and dissipate. They then flew towards a cloud house just floating next to Ponyville. The modest could house was modelled after the capital of Pegasi, Cloudsdale, with streams of rainbows and fluffy white clouds as exterior. “Beautiful cloud home you’ve got there, Rainbow.” Twilight praised. “Right? I shoved the cloud base together with my own hooves! Come on in and make yourself at home.” Rainbow Dash proclaimed, who then gracefully landed on the doorstep of her cloud home. Flapping the butterfly wings carefully, Twilight followed Rainbow Dash into her house. Rainbow Dash turned to Twilight and said, “You wait here for a bit and I take the records from the shelves.” Rainbow Dash trotted into her room, and started to collect the disorganized piles of old records into her hooves. A short while after, she came out with a heap of papers, some white as snow and some already yellowed. “Let me check that with my magic.” Rainbow saw Twilight lit her horn and casted her magic. But something was not right. Instead of the purple glow Rainbow saw Twilight used on the ground, the magic was a brilliant white. The magic glow also simply gathered around Twilight’s horn instead of surrounding the weather record. “What’s wrong, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked with concern. Then all of a sudden, Twilight’s white magic struck Rainbow Dash right at her forehead. Rainbow Dash was completely shocked at the sudden turn of events. But before she could say anything, Rainbow Dash simply fell into unconsciousness. “… I’m sorry, Rainbow.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rainbow Dash’s mind was muddled and confused, until she was shocked awake by loud cheers from all directions. She rubbed her eyes and was surprised to find herself in the flying arena for Wonderbolts in Canterlot. What was even more surprising, was that she was in full Wonderbolts gear. Rainbow Dash mentally squealed, as she realized that she was in the flying team of her dream, and it was time for her to shine and show all of Equestria her incredible talent. The pounding music in the arena gradually quieted down, and a loud note from a blow-horn was heard. That was the signal to start the flying routine, and Rainbow Dash immediately flew forward into the sky with her teammates. The flight went well enough initially, as the flying troupe performed the classic loop-de-loops and low sweeps flawlessly. Rainbow Dash was filled with both pride and excitement, as she seamlessly coordinated with her fellow Wonderbolts over a particularly complex routine that involved forming a mid-air loop and passing through it. However, suddenly, she felt an unnaturally strong gust of wind blowing from above. That should not be an issue at all for normal flight, as she had plenty of attitude for her to recover. But unfortunately, safe recovery and keeping it unnoticeable was incredibly difficult mid-routine. She took the risky choice and decided to keep at the original path. However, she seemed to have miscalculated, as head wind slowed her down enough for her to almost completely lose her lift. She then bumped into a teammate mid-air and uncontrollably crashed towards a section of the audience stand, landing ungraciously on some unfortunate ponies. The crowd gasped and dispersed, as the almost packed arena went into a panicked frenzy. The routine was paused as medical staffs of the arena rushed to treat the injured ponies. Rainbow Dash was only lightly injured, but she was horrified at the mess she’d caused. The two most senior members of the flying team, Spitfire and Soarin’, flew from across the audience stand towards Rainbow Dash. But instead of helping her up, they simply glared at the cyan pony with a deeply disappointed look. “That was our biggest function in Canterlot, and now it’s all ruined because of you!” Soarin’ complained loudly. “That was one accident, but it was one accident too many. Rainbow Dash, you are hereby expelled from the Wonderbolts and forever banned at all our events.” Spitfire proclaimed, “May we never cross path again.” Rainbow Dash’s pupil shrank to a pin, as she basically experienced the worst fear of her life. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On the cloud house, Twilight looked on as Rainbow Dash sat on the floor trembling. Her expression turned to one of horror. Tears went streaming down and the once proud mare was reduced to a heap of mess with Twilight’s mind trick. Twilight herself gasped fearfully as her clumsy attempt to soften Rainbow Dash up for her mind magic went horribly right. The actual content of the illusion was not of her control, but she could view it just fine. She felt a burning sense of guilt as she began to fully realize the severity of her action. Nonetheless, she pressed on. “I … This is wrong, but I can’t give up now!” Twilight’s eyes started to glow, and white beams, shimmering in their deceptive gentleness, probed into Rainbow Dash’s soaked pink eyes. Twilight felt as if something thin, like an egg shell, cracked open. Then a great force drew her magic in, almost like a maelstrom in the ocean. She could feel a primal sense of fear, which made her heart pain even more. The ritual-like trance went on for a while, until the white tendrils gradually dissipated. Twilight lowered her head, and at the same time negated all remaining magic surrounding them. She called to the cyan mare’s ear with trepidation, “How goes the-” “-trespassing?” Twilight was interrupted by a surprisingly awake Rainbow Dash. “I would use another word, but I don’t feel like swearing to you.” Rainbow opened her tired eye and weakly replied, her cheek still wet with all the tears. “I didn’t expect you to recover so soon.” Twilight murmured. “You also didn’t expect how utterly scary and excruciating that was to undergo somepony’s worst fears. I’m quite mad with you right now, Twilight. How can you do that to me?” Rainbow huffed with a hurtful look. “I—I am sorry Rainbow…” Twilight stuttered, and she hurriedly casted a calming spell at Rainbow Dash, a purple flash that engulfed Rainbow Dash for a moment. “Much better. I guess I might forgive what you’ve just done, based on my new understanding.” Rainbow Dash raised her eyebrows, “But I honestly have no clue if the me of old would have forgiven somepony, if they ever dare to do something like that.” Twilight went silent and she looked to her hooves, her eyes watering up. “Wow, Twi. I mean you use this trick a lot don’t ya. First AJ and now me. You know well that none of us can stand your tears.” “I’m not tricking you! Uh… I…” “See, you aren’t even sure yourself.” “I just meant I’m not crying to gain pity!” Twilight bit her lips and looked at the ground with a dejected face. “… But yes, my recklessness only added to my sin.” However, the cyan mare merely shook her head and simply grinned mischievously. “Why so glum, Twi? Sin is too strong a word. Alright, I guess I can just treat the whole ordeal as a nightmare and be done with it. AJ’s right, it’s not like I can stay mad at you, eh egghead?” “R- Really?” “You’re cute when you acts like an expectant puppy.” “H- Hey!” Rainbow Dash put a hoof to the purple mare’s mouth. “Just… please consider a gentler approach for Rarity and Fluttershy, okay? I don’t want to see them undergo that like I do.” Twilight merely nodded as she gently embraced Rainbow Dash. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Applejack, are we really gonna just sit here and wait till they come back? It could be hours before they’re done!” Spike grumbled. “Trust me Spike, Ah told you they’ll come back in a couple of minutes or so.” Applejack calmly replied. “How can you be so sure, AJ? For all I know they might still be looking over dusty old papers now!” Spike lightly snapped. “Hey look, here they come!” Applejack didn’t take note of Spike’s mumblings and pointed up. Against the afternoon sun, a purple mare was seen following a cyan mare, both of whom then landed next to Applejack and Spike. “Is everything okay? You two took a while up there.” Spike asked. Rainbow Dash smiled brightly and put her hoof around the neck of Twilight, who looked a bit upset, “Nah, everything’s fine. Twi here just helped me fix something on my cloud home.” “… Don’t mention it, Rainbow.” Twilight tried her best to put up her usual smile. “Er, okay then...” Spike muttered, and then asked. “Wait, aren’t you going somewhere else originally, Rainbow?” “Nope, Twi invited me to join her, and I think, why not? You guys are cool.” Rainbow Dash replied. “But first, watch how I clear the sky!” Before Spike could even react, Rainbow Dash shot up in the air in an incredible speed, her motion reduced to a blur. “Rainbow KICK!” She called, as she cleared all the clouds in quick succession. She then enter a loop-de-loop just on top of the trio and landed nimbly with a flourish. “How was that? Ten seconds flat!” “Wow, that’s very impressive, Rainbow!” Spike exclaimed, “You are definitely Wonderbolts material!” Twilight reacted to the innocuous remark with an uncomfortable expression, while Rainbow Dash laughed, “Of course, Spike! To enter the Wonderbolts is my dream all along!” Applejack trotted forth. “That’s pretty neat, but where are we going to next?” “To the Town Hall of course, gotta look over the decorations.” Twilight glanced at Spike with a meaningful look, and murmured. “This oughta be interesting…” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Upon arriving at the town hall, Twilight lowered herself to let Spike on the floor. Rainbow and Applejack followed closely after. As Spike wandered forth admiring the beautiful decoration, some studded with precious gems, Twilight waved at her two new friends. The trio then walked behind a column, to a corner of the vast hall. “Hey Applejack, finally we can talk alone for a bit.” Twilight said to the orange pony with a complicated look. “What’s up sugarcube? Somethin’ bad happened on the clouds?” Applejack quipped. “Yeah, Applejack. Scaring ponies is effective. Mind-scarringly effective even.” Rainbow frowned. “I still shuddered a bit when I recall that little experience.” “That might not be the best idea to conserve my stamina in retrospect.” Twilight added with shame on her face. “Actually, I still think some sort of mind trick is our right bet.” Rainbow Dash suggested, to the surprise of Twilight. “… Just not the kind that will mentally scar ponies of course.” “You mean like showing ‘em their greatest love?” Applejack asked. “Close, I mean the greatest obsession, or desire.” “I guess somethin’ like that does distract ponies long enough for Twi’s spell to work.” “I do know what would likely be this Rarity’s most desired.” Twilight nodded thoughtfully. She looked to the center of the town hall, and called to the other mares. “Oh look, Spike sees her now.” Spike suddenly froze in the middle of his walk, and stared at the white mare at the far side with great longing. His eyes were completely fixated on her beautifully coiffed mane and delicate features. The three mares trotted up to him slowly and looked on with interest. “Well, I’d be really worried if that doesn’t happen.” Twilight observed with a small sense of relief on her face. “I never understand how this kind of love-craze works. I mean, three pretty mares surrounded him and your dearie Spike never bat an eye at us.” Rainbow Dash teased, which caused Twilight to do a spit-take. “R- R- R- Rainbow, Spike is my family! I could never think of us in t-that kind of relationship!” Twilight spluttered. Rainbow merely laughed aloud. “Isn’t it time to check up on our lover-boy, eh?” Applejack interrupted their chit-chat, pushing both Twilight and Rainbow forward. The three caught up to Spike, who was mesmerized by the mere visage of the white mare. “Hot mare, eh?” Rainbow jokingly whispered to Spike’s ear. “Yeah she’s lovely...” Spike didn’t even realize who’s talking to him, simply fixing his gaze towards the white mare. “That would be Rarity, our resident fashion designer. She owned a boutique at the side of the town.” Twilight explained. “Wasn't she wonderful?” Spike dreamily droned on. He hurriedly turned to Twilight and asked. “How're my spines? Are they straight?” “Why yes, you’re a veritably charming young drake.” Twilight smiled. “Yer love at first sight is showing, Spike.” Applejack grinned. “You’re into Rarity, eh Spike?” Rainbow Dash gently poked Spike, and simpered like a cat who had found her new toy. Spike finally realized the trio are all gazing at him mischievously, and his face flared up like a bright red apple. “Am I really… that obvious?” Spike asked embarrassed. “Infatuation is just pony nature… or dragon nature. But Spike, healthy love should be mutual.” Twilight sweetly smiled, preempting Spike’s frowny face. “If you want to have a chance to, let’s say, explore with Rarity, I suppose we could facilitate the process after we wrapped up the Celebration and you know...” Spike’s eye lit up immediately, “You mean, you would hook me up with her—I mean, Rarity?” “That’s a slightly crass way to put it, but that’s the idea.” Twilight nodded. “But Spike, please stay put for now as I discuss the matters of the Celebration with Rarity.” “In the meantime Spike, Applejack and me can tell you what we knew about Rarity so you get a head start.” Rainbow smirked, and pulled aside Spike, who wanted to give Rarity one last glance. “… Thank goodness that’s dealt with, let’s do this.” Twilight saw Spike being escorted out of the door of the town hall, silently sighed and approached Rarity. The white mare was busy deciding on which ribbon to use on the columns. “No, no, no, oh! Goodness no.” She shuffled the ribbons and groaned. “Oh, yes! Sparkle always does the trick, does it not? Why, Rarity, you are a talent. Now, um, how can I help you?” Rarity turned to Twilight, who has patiently waited till the designer finished her exercise of creative decoration. “Oh my, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, I never quite expect you two to be here. And who might this missus be?” “Good day, miss Rarity, my name is Twilight Sparkle, royal overseer of the Celebration. I’m here to see to the proper installation of all decorations. We’re freshly out from Canterlot, by the way.” Twilight deliberately stressed. “Canterlot?! Oh, I am so envious! The glamor, the sophistication! I have always dreamed of living there! I can't wait to hear all about it! We are gonna be the best of friends, you and I... Oh darling, you absolutely need some gems on your coiffure! Emeralds?! What was I thinking? Let me get …” Twilight gulped as Rarity gushed like a string of fireworks. After a barrage of fashion advice, Twilight finally couldn’t take it anymore and interrupted her. “Hold on Rarity, I am very glad to see you too, but I’m also here for another purpose.” Twilight paused to get Rarity’s attention. Her guilty conscience again flared, but she still suppressed it and said. “… Some ruffian has planned to disrupt the Summer Sun Celebration, and I’m here to discuss security matters with you.” Rarity gasped. “Scandalous, this is scandalous! Some uncouth ruffians is planning to ruin the celebration to our beloved sun princess? This must be stopped at once!” Twilight nodded. “Fortunately, I have caught wind of the planned disruption, and will implement some very effective counter-measures to ensure everything goes without a hitch.” “This is brilliant, so what do you need me for?” Rarity asked. “Follow me to this location.” Twilight lit her horn, and projected a map showing an alley several blocks away. “I will place a powerful magic seal at where the perpetrators plan to sneak into the town. They will be trapped and I will alert the authority to arrest them.” Twilight’s horn dimmed and the projection disappeared, and she continued. “Well, I have enough magic potential to finish the seal alone, but I require the precision and the local knowledge of yours to help me visually determine the dimensions of the seal, so that I don’t cause any accidental damage.” Twilight gulped, hoping again that Rarity would buy into her story. It was all just a ruse to deceive her friend into following her away to a less scrutinized venue. Fortunately for Twilight, Rarity beamed. “Sure thing, darling! I’m just glad that my seamstress skills will be of use in other situations as well. Oh dear, I just wished that I could beat those terrible villains into a pulp for their vile deeds!” She gritted her teeth. Twilight silently exhaled and told Rarity. “Let’s go and finish the work then, we can have time afterwards for, um, Canterlot high life and such.” Rarity squealed with excitement, as she jubilantly trotted out of the town hall and followed Twilight towards the marked spot. However, as she followed the silent purple mare and went deeper into the alley, she couldn’t help but begin to frown. “Ew, this place is distinctively un-fabulous.” Rarity groaned as she stepped into the back alley, carefully navigating away from the occasional trash heaps. “I am so going to tell Mayor Mare about the abominable state of hygiene here after the Celebration is over. Twilight, are you sure we’re even at the right place?” “Oh we are Rarity, it is right here.” Twilight stopped and turned around in the middle of the alley. “Come closer Rarity.” As Rarity trotted slowly towards Twilight, Twilight lit up her horn and a bright white flash engulfed the entire alley. “What in Celestia’s name are you doing, Twilight?!” Rarity half-shouted and half-protested. Twilight appeared to have move her mouth and said something, but Rarity could barely hear it. She felt as if she has felt into a swirling waterspout and lost all her bearings, and soon fell into darkness. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rarity was jolted aware by slight squeezing of her hooves from her dancing partner. She looked around, and found herself in a vast dance hall with gorgeous architecture and lavish decoration. She was wearing a dazzlingly designed violet dress studded with well-cut diamonds and rubies. Upper-class ponies danced all around them, but she and her partner seemed to be the center piece of this grand ball. Rarity blinked and turned her eyes back to her dancing partner. She gasped, it was Prince Blueblood! The white stallion was wearing a strikingly black and white tail coat, which was adorned with a number of ribbons and a smartly-looking Equestrian emblem. He was tall, muscular and broad, yet his facial features have a subtle hint of delicateness and almost-unponylike beauty, as if it was sculpted by the greatest of Equestrian masons. What’s more, the prince of her dream was smiling at her gently, causing her to almost immediately swoon. “My lady, is there something wrong?” Prince Blueblood asked with concern in his voice, his yellow mane billowing slightly. “Uh, nothing, my dear prince, I’m positively beaming with delight,” Rarity hurriedly replied, her thrilled mind in slight confusion. “What a relief, my charming Rarity,” The white stallion smiled, “I’m glad my little gift pleased you. I was slightly worried that my acquisition of La Haute Mode for my wedding gift would be presumptuous in the eyes of my lovely fiancée.” “Wha…? I, my prince?” Rarity was struck almost senseless with the news, it’d seemed like that her dreams of elevating on to the top of the Equestrian high culture and marrying her dream stallion have both come true at same time. “Please lady Rarity, call me Blueblood,” Prince Blueblood whispered in Rarity’s ear, his lip gently brushed across her hot cheek. Rarity moaned and fell into the tight and firm embrace of her dream stallion, as time and space seemed to melt away around her in her euphoric bliss. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Yeah, if only Blueblood’s half as courteous…” Twilight shook her head, as she started to activate her mind-melding magic. As with before, white light shone out of her horns, but this time instead of looking into Rarity’s eyes, Twilight lean in onto the half-conscious form of Rarity. Twilight touched her horn to that of Rarity’s, a process which inexplicably caused Twilight to blush. Twilight shook her head. “Focus, Twilight!” She then casted the magic that established the telepathic link. The fact that Rarity is also a unicorn evidently facilitated the process. As the vague feeling of mental probing intensified into a piercing sensation, Twilight felt as if she was slicing through layers of hot butter towards the core of mental essence. She could view Rarity’s memories, right up until Rarity’s last conscious moment. Twilight could also feel an overshadowing sense of elation and joy. Twilight pressed on, and felt like she’s finally reached something resembling the core center. A twinge of resistance flared up as Rarity’s mind instinctively reacted to the foreign incursions to her deepest, innermost self, but those died down swiftly as Twilight strengthened her magic further. Then, like the light of dying fireflies, the white light of Twilight’s magic also dimmed gradually to nothingness. Twilight raised her head up high, and saw the purple sky with the descending sun. “Oh dear, we’re getting late. The conjuration took up a lot of time.” She gently poked at Rarity’s unconscious face, who moaned and groaned. “Rarity?” Rarity rose from the ground, her face wore an expression of joyous satisfaction. Then she yawned and stretched her legs, clearly enjoying the afterglow of her sweet little dream. Twilight experimentally asked. “Are you alright?” She blinked her twinkling blue eyes, and said, “That was just a sweet filly’s dream, but by Celestia it’s such a great feeling to have your dreams come true!” “So you’re not mad or anything?” “Twilight… Don’t you trust Applejack’s assessment?” “Eh?” “To us, the influx of feelings, knowledge and information is large and overwhelming. There were a lot of things to absorb, indeed. But if the others can do it, why can’t I? Moreover, I’m let off the hook easily compared to poor Rainbow.” Twilight winced and sulked upon hearing Rarity’s comment. “Oh please my dear, Rainbow’s supposed to be the Element-bearer of Loyalty. Surely she’d be a dear and not hold a trivial grudge against us … despite her experiences? Be a dear and stop being all mopey, I know that you’ve been apologizing all day and I’m slightly bored.” “But…” “I know, of course, you’ve broken Celestia knows how many etiquettes by breaking into somepony else’s mind, but I… really can’t bring myself to dislike you, since your motive is largely selfless. We shall go, I still have a love-struck young drake to be introduced to.” Rarity chuckled. “… Indeed we should hurry, they’re waiting for us in the town hall.” Twilight quickly turned her head away and produced a handkerchief. “Dust yourself off first, the ground here isn’t exactly pristine.” Rarity paused, then looked at her slightly muddied coat. “Good heavens!” She dramatically hollered, “There is… gasp … dirt on my coat! This is the Worst. Possible. Thing!” Twilight ignored the dramatic exclamation and casted a quick spell, which helped clean some of the debris off Rarity’s mane. “Fluttershy… what do you plan to do with her?” Rarity nodded and asked Twilight softly. “I thought about that a bit. For her, I don’t think conjurations would be reliable or safe. She was an extremely shy and sensitive mare for one, and I feared that she won’t be easily influenced by any temptation I showed her.” “Back to forcing in again, are we?” Rarity pouted. “It’d seem I had no choice.” Twilight gritted her teeth. “But I suppose we just have to be careful and do not alert her animals. This goes double for her little bunny.” Twilight gulped. “Besides, you’re a unicorn, you can help me out if all go to south.” Rarity struck a theatrical pose and grimaced. “Not that I wouldn’t help, but my magic is much weaker than yours, darling!” She jocularly sent out a tiny shower of blue spark using her horn, which swept over Twilight’s face. “Anyway, we’re not going to her cottage, just her bird-choir, so it should all be fine.” Twilight sighed. “Every bit helps, as my magic potential is at its tail end. I hope that the element of surprise would work; hopefully not too traumatic like my unfortunate rendezvous with Rainbow, but just enough for my magic to slip through.” “Let’s hope you’re right, Twilight.” Rarity finished cleaning herself off, and trotted out of the alley with Twilight. “We may have to send Spike off somewhere else, though.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Where’d you girls been? I almost have to move on to things I don’t think are even appropriate for the baby dragon’s ears!” Rainbow Dash protested loudly. “A lady is never too late or too early, she arrives when she is supposed to be.” Rarity calmly replied, then feinted. “What were you girls talking to Spike about anyway?” “Telling him about mares of course, you know, he-” Applejack answered, and then suddenly hushed in the mouth by Spike’s tiny claws. “Shhh!” Spike hastily shushed Applejack. “Oh, you must the dragon Spike Twilight’s kept telling me about. You’re one handsome young dragon, aren’t you?” Rarity smiled and batted her eyes. “I’m Rarity, please to make your acquaintance.” Spike was positively charmed. ‘Did Rarity just wink at me and call me handsome?’ Spike dreamily thought, and his mind already wandered off to far-off places. What the other mares could only see though, was that Spike hanged his mouth open, saliva almost spilling at the corner of his mouth, and how unnerving his love-struck stare was. “Okay girls, Spike, we really need to go. We don’t want to bother ponies who’re about to go to bed, do we?” Twilight advised. Rainbow shook Spike a little to bring him back to reality, and replied. “Uh, everypony has to stay up to see the Princess raise the sun anyway.” “You girls know each other well?” Spike rubbed his eyes, and asked the group of mares. “You can say that. We all live in this charmin’ Ponyville together after all.” Applejack said with a whistle. Rarity nodded and exclaimed flamboyantly. “Sure thing darling, we’re absolutely beaming in our camaraderie!” Twilight looked at Rarity and tucked slightly at her coat. Rarity went wide-eyed and cooed to Spike gently. “Oh right, my Spikey-wikey. I would be very grateful if you can go to this shop on the other side of the town.” Rarity elevated a piece of annotated map with her magic. “… And bring me a set of tools and velvets I’ve ordered from them. Don’t worry dear, just tell them tabs on Rarity and it’ll be fine.” Spike watched Rarity’s face lovingly, then saluted with his little claw. “My deepest pleasure to serve, lady Rarity.” He grabbed the paper and rushed to the exit of the town hall. “Wait Spike!” Twilight yelled. “We’ll be off to our next destination, you can just bring the things back to the town hall and wait here!” Spike nodded and in the next moment, he was already out of the door. Twilight shook her head and let out a defeated breath. “I’ve never seen him working so enthusiastically for me before.” “Love’s a powerful thing, sugarcube.” Applejack japed. “Let’s get going, we have to do this quickly and flawlessly.” Twilight said with determination in her voice. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The sun was hanging just right above the horizons when the four mares arrived at a clearing just outside of Ponyville. They hid behind the bush and observed. A mare with light yellow coat was leading a chorus of birds on a tree. Gentle murmurs and chirps reverberated in the woods. The mares were delighted to hear the beautiful tune of nature, and quietly acknowledged the superb musical talent of the pink-maned pony. Twilight looked to Rarity, who nodded and walked out of the bush towards the gentle mare. The other three followed her at a distance. “Oh my. Um, stop please, everyone, umm. Excuse me, sir? I mean… EEP!” Fluttershy squeaked when she noticed a pony was behind her. “Hello there Fluttershy, busy rehearsing with the little animal helpers I see?” Rarity asked gently. Fluttershy was relieved to see it was just Rarity, she waded through her face-covering mane with her hoof, and gasped to see three more mares behind. One of them are her old friend Rainbow Dash, and another was the apple farmer, named Applejack as she recalled. But the third one with the purple coat was a strange new face to her. She quickly hid her face in her mane again. “Oh my, we didn’t meant to disrupt your rehearsal. I’m Twilight Sparkle, overseer of the Celebration. I just came to check up on the music. Needless to say, I’m more than satisfied.” Twilight put up her most gentle smile possible. “Um… Thank you.” Fluttershy said very quietly. “Umm, I’m Fluttershy.” “You’re welcome. Nice to meet you, Fluttershy.” Twilight nodded. Fluttershy was a bit surprised that Twilight could hear her soft murmuring. She peeked at the purple mare from between her mane, and saw Twilight’s thin smile. Twilight seemed kind and courteous enough, but Fluttershy felt like there was something else to this new mare, but she was not sure that was real, or it was just her fear of strangers. “We will just, uh, wait at the far side till you’ve finished the rehearsal.” Twilight looked at Fluttershy, who nodded almost imperceptibly. “We just want to invite you to a get-together before the Celebration tomorrow.” Rainbow added. Fluttershy looked at the unusually genial Rainbow Dash. At the end, she couldn’t bring herself to reject her friends, so she bit her lip and uttered in a tiny voice. “I’m, um, almost done. Se-see you later.” She then flapped her wing and elevated herself to her song-birds. Twilight and the other mares looked at one another, and gave out a thin, almost imperceptible, nod. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The birds had flown back to their nests for today, and Fluttershy treaded on the dirt path illuminated by the orange sunset. At a sign post not far away, she saw the four mares who were patiently waiting for her. Fluttershy trotted up to them with some trepidation, “Sorry to um, keep all of you waiting.” She lowered her head and apologized, her mane almost touching the ground. “Not at all, Fluttershy, we’re… delighted to have you with us.” Twilight said quietly. She trotted forth and extended her hoof, which brushed with Fluttershy’s neck. Fluttershy gasped at the sudden contact, but what happened next shocked her much more. Suddenly, without any warning sign, Twilight pushed her to the ground and pinned her down. Fluttershy’s pupils shrank to a pin, she could not process why this newcomer had suddenly attacked her or what was happening at all. Terror gripped her entire body, and she could barely move in her panic. Twilight winced at the sight of the panicked Fluttershy, but she did not waste any time. She held Fluttershy’s head firmly with her hooves and casted her magic. The white rays again emanated from her violet eyes, and connected with Fluttershy’s round blue eyes. Fluttershy gasped and wheezed. She felt as if her very self was being tucked at. There was no pain, but the situation was no less grim. Her mane frazzled and she felt dazed and wobbly. She called out for help, but all she saw were her friends who wore slightly pained expressions, and turned their heads away upon meeting her gaze. Fluttershy could not understand why anypony would do something like this. She could barely pull together her mind and think. But the culprit was clearly this new purple mare, and it was she who made her friends… heartless and bad. Fluttershy suddenly let out a loud yell, which surprised Twilight. She then summoned all her remaining strength, narrowed her eyes and glared forcefully at Twilight. “Holy, it’s the Stare! How can I even forget about that?” Twilight suddenly felt her resolve being shaken loose with the strangely powerful gaze of the yellow mare. She could not turn away from Fluttershy’s gaze, as she had to keep eye contact to complete the spell. Thoughts of giving up and submitting appeared in the mind of the incredulous Twilight. She yelled to the other mares. “Help me now! Please!” The three other mares widened their eyes at the sudden development. They hesitated briefly, but they all gritted their teeth and leapt to Twilight’s help. Applejack lassoed Fluttershy’s back legs, while Rarity flared her horn and restrained Fluttershy’s front limbs. Last, Rainbow Dash pinned Fluttershy down and leaned on her back. While the yellow pegasus was still frightened, she resisted the restraint and shouted at the purple mare. “Return my friends to normal, y- you evil witch!” “Twi, be quick! We can’t prolong this anymore!” Rainbow Dash snapped, and then turned to Fluttershy with a wistful look. “I’m sorry we had to do this…” “Rarity!” Twilight shouted through gritted teeth. Rarity immediately casted a magic boosting spell. The white light that emitted from Twilight’s eyes became even brighter, but that seems not to be enough to counter the Stare. Twilight panted, momentarily thought about the consequences of being stopped, feeling of bitterness and regret swelled at her heart. Rainbow Dash and Applejack looked on anxiously. Suddenly, Rainbow Dash seemed to have thought of something. She shifted her pose and put her hooves to the base of Fluttershy’s wings, and pinched. Fluttershy yelped and her eyes rolled up. Twilight was released from the influence of the Stare. Twilight immediately amped up her magical output, and Fluttershy immediately felt an overwhelming deluge of force. She shrieked as she saw a flux of strange visions that seemed to involve Twilight … and some ancient tome. Then, a giant blinding flash of purple-white light emanated from both mares, causing everypony’s vision to go black for a while. When all the fuss died down, Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash stood up, only to see two unconscious mares lying on the ground. Fluttershy’s form shifted, as she seemed to be waking up. She straightened her limbs with some difficulty, and separated herself from Twilight. The three looked on with bated breath, and gulped as they watched Fluttershy stood up. Fluttershy’s eyes fluttered open, and she blinked her exhausted blue eyes at the weary mares. “There is no need for, um, hostilities. I saw it now.” Fluttershy explained quietly. Applejack exhaled loudly and sat on the ground unmannerly. “Ah didn’t expect it had to go physical. Yer a tough nut to crack, ain’t ya.” Rarity also nodded and sighed. “Um…” Fluttershy was still slightly dazed from the duel of the minds, she couldn’t find an appropriate response at all, so she simply bit her lip and looked down. “Fluttershy, I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry-” Twilight had also recovered, and she said with a pained smile. “You’re right, what I’ve done today is wrong on many levels. I might as well be an evil witch.” Fluttershy blinked but did not speak. After a particularly long and painful silence, Twilight’s strained smile faded into a fearful glint. Rainbow Dash shook her head and said. “We’re sorry too, Flutters. Please don’t just give us the silent treatment.” The yellow pegasus sighed and murmured. “Twilight, why do you have to deceive me? Have you ever considered telling me the truth at the very beginning?” “I never thought that that I would hear that not from AJ but from Fluttershy.” Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but quip, causing the orange farm mare to blush lightly. Rarity frowned. “Darling, why would you ask? Like us, you know pretty well that-” Fluttershy knitted her brow. “I do know! But I… I want to hear what Twilight said. By mouth.” Twilight stared at the ground, occasionally gave the yellow pegasus a peek or two. With a voice even smaller than Fluttershy, she said. “… I’m not sure how to put it into words and explain to any of you. All of these are too outlandish for a laypony to believe.” With a strained voice, she continued. “I’m afraid that you would reject me… If any one of you do that, I would be too devastated to move on.” Fluttershy walked close to the purple mare, and suddenly smiled. “Okay.” Twilight blinked with disbelief at Fluttershy’s ready acceptance. “I… am indeed not the to-be bearer of Honesty, but here, using such a way to deceive your friends is not just wrong, but unkind. I’m not mad at you for attacking me, Twilight. I’m just worried that you’ll lose yourself in the future if you fall prey to the desire to achieve your goals no matter what, and I want you to remember that.” Twilight looked at Fluttershy with stunned silence. Rainbow Dash also said with a mix of amazement and shock. “Whoa, Flutters, that was… brilliant.” Fluttershy thinly smiled. “I’m the second oldest of the group, after all.” Twilight nodded resolutely. “Fluttershy, I swear I will remember that for the rest of my life.” “That’s good enough for me.” Fluttershy smiled. After a pause, Rarity chimed in. “Fluttershy, dear, this should be the first time you use your Stare on your fellow pony. You almost subdued the most magical unicorn in the realm!” Fluttershy blushed and flustered. Twilight looked at Fluttershy directly in the eye. “Your Stare is indeed a fearsome skill, Fluttershy. I almost lost myself there, I’ll never take myself for granted again!” The mares, even the timid pegasus, laughed together at Twilight’s joke. “Girls, Spike’s probably waiting anxiously for the love of his dream to return.” Rainbow Dash jokingly reminded. Fluttershy beamed at the thought of Spike. She suppressed her motherly urge to rush to and lovingly pet the baby dragon. Applejack looked around, raised a hoof and asked, “So what are we goin’ to do wit Pinkie?” Twilight pondered for a while. “After listening to what Fluttershy said, I have an interesting way to go about this. That, hopefully, would not be upsetting for her in the slightest.” “I’ll take your word for it, Twilight. Don’t go back on your promise, I beg of you.” Fluttershy quietly said, to which Twilight nodded. The group trotted back to the town hall to collect Spike, who were waiting longingly for the return of Rarity. Fluttershy’s eyes lit up when she saw Spike, she almost had to step on her own hooves to stop herself from tackling him, instead she huffed, put up her most confident smile and introduced herself. “He-Hello, I’m Fluttershy, I care for the animals in Ponyville. Nice to meet you.” Spike replied, “Nice to meet you too, Fluttershy. I’m Spike, Twi’s personal assiss-” Twilight poked Spike’s back. “… Uh, dragon?” Rarity stepped forward from the group. “Thank you for your lovely work, Spikey-wikey.” She gently embraced Spike, which caused the latter to flush a luminescent red. He babbled. “Uh, y-you’re welcome, lady Rarity.” “You’ve had your fill, Casanova, let’s head back to the library for today.” Twilight shook her head, as she watched Rarity swiftly sliced the piece of velvet into several stripes and pinned them to the railing of the balcony. They swiftly left the town hall together and trotted back to the Golden Oak Library. The last vestige of the sun peaked through between the hills of Canterlot, casting a purplish-red on the majestic tree library. The lights were out, but the group knew what to expect. Twilight took a long breath when she pushed the door open. The lights of the library suddenly flicked on. “Surprise!” Pinkie Pie hooted, and all other ponies in the library joined in in a chorus of laughter and cheers. The booming kazoo, party whistles and streamers filled the normally quiet book repository with joyous sounds and atmosphere. “Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie, and I threw this party just for you! Were you surprised? Were ya? Were ya? Huh huh huh?” Pinkie Pie leapt into the air and asked enthusiastically. “Sure sweet Pinkie, I’m very glad to have such a rapturous welcome on my very first day in Ponyville.” Twilight tried to beam as hard as Pinkie, but it was obviously a futile affair, so she settled for a polite smile. “I’ve also got you some surprises.” She gestured to the four mares who were following her into the library. “Oh, oh oh! Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy! I was looking for all of you all day to tell you about the surprise party! I was worried sick that I couldn’t gather everypony in Ponyville before Twilight came back, and gasp, you are all here with Twilight all along!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. Twilight merely smiled. “I’m not just here to work. I’m also here to make friends after all.” “Wow, Twilight, you’ve made so many friends already in just one day! I’m sure you’ll quickly make a lot of friends here in Ponyville!” Pinkie Pie giggled. “I invite everyone in Ponyville to this a great big ginormous super-duper spectacular welcome party and! See? And now you’re friends with the entire town!” “I certainly hope so.” Twilight smiled, and stepped onto a small stool. “Greetings everypony. I’m very grateful for this incredible welcome Party, I give my sincerest thank to Pinkie Pie who organized this amazing gathering…” Pinkie Pie positively beamed hearing Twilight’s gratitude. “… but I’m also immensely thankful to all of you who took time out of your schedule to come. Now everyone, let the lively night begin!” Twilight proclaimed, and the ponies responded with a thunderous, almost deafening sound of cheers. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Twilight looked on as Spike was playing "pin the tail on the pony" with some colts, joyous chatters and the noises of raucous feasting permeated the tree library. She looked to her fellow mares, who were sipping fruit punch quietly at the side just like her. She nodded at them and walked to the party mare, “Hey Pinkie, got time to chat?” “Sure thing, Twi! What do you want to chat? The games? The food? The celebration tomorrow? Oh oh, I haven’t told you about the new cupcakes I just baked yet, have I? I--” Pinkie Pie was interrupted by Twilight, who said, “We need to talk about it alone. This is something rather… personal. Let’s go upstairs for a short chat.” Pinkie Pie’s brilliant smile faded, and her expression turned serious. She nodded and followed Twilight to the upper floor. Pinkie Pie and Twilight walked in the noticeably quieter upper bedroom of the library. Pinkie Pie immediately spoke up. “What’s wrong Twilight? Is there something wrong with the party? Did I do something wrong? The cakes? The decoration? Gasp! I didn’t forget to invite somepony, did I?!” “No, no Pinkie, the party’s wonderful, it’s as perfect as it can be.” Twilight reassured Pinkie. “There is just … something … uh, regarding our friendship.” Pinkie Pie raised her eyebrows, then put up a puzzled face. She then gasped. “Twi, are you saying that we’re not friends yet?!” She frowned and made a sad pout. Twilight stopped Pinkie before she could go on further, by sweeping Pinkie into her embrace. “Silly Pinkie, how would we not be friends? There is just something I figured I must tell you.” Pinkie Pie looked at Twilight solemnly, “Sure Twilight, tell me right away!” “I have a secret, Pinkie, a big secret, and I think you are a trustworthy friend for me to confide in.” “You’ve found the right mare, Twilight! I Pinkie Promise that I won’t tell anyone! Cross My Heart, Hope to Fly, Stick a Cupcake in my Eye!” Pinkie Pie waved her signature gesture, and pointed her hoof to her eye. “Good, now, this is hard to put in words. Instead, I want to cast a spell to let you peak into my head, so to speak.” Twilight offered. Pinkie Pie thought for a moment, and then firmly nodded. “If there’s no problem, here I come!” Twilight casted the mind magic, white beam shone from her eyes and connected with Pinkie’s blue ones. Pinkie Pie felt surprised as she felt a sprawling essence in her mind, old memories that were long unperturbed suddenly resurfaced. Her family, how she got her cutie mark, and her old, dull life at the rock farm. She gulped, and focused a bit. Then as Twilight said, she could also begin to view Twilight’s surface memory, her life at Canterlot, her daily interaction with Spike, and her tutelage under Princess Celestia. There’re two problems though. Pinkie Pie couldn’t help but found these imagery … incomplete, as if somepony has cut and put together an edited biography of Twilight. More importantly, she could not find the secret Twilight had mentioned earlier, just an inundation of scenes and information, with a nagging sense of continuous probing. Pinkie Pie ignored the mounting unease, and redoubled her search. To her delight she finally sensed something. Among the vast expanse of the mental space, a strange cluster of substance hovered and contrasted starkly with all pieces of memories nearby. She focused and reached towards the formless orb, and when she was finally in contact with it, she heard Twilight uttered. “Bingo.” Pinkie Pie suddenly felt herself forcefully pulled in the strange blob in the mental realm. An avalanche of new, foreign, memories came rushing in, and unlike viewing Twilight’s memories just a moment ago, it’s becoming harder and harder delineating which memories are whose, as the dyke that separated oneself from another was breached. Then, all of a sudden, she realized what Twilight’s secret was. Pinkie Pie’s eyes went round, as she gasped for air and her muscle tensed. She strangely found herself not so reluctant to the continual melding of the minds. She has always wanted to be with other ponies and cheer up ponies when they’re sad. And here in front of her stood the saddest pony she’s ever met. She could feel deep shame and regret emanating from the purple pony, but she could also feel the delight in her eyes as their minds intertwined. As Pinkie slowly drifted into unconsciousness, her last thought was, if she could cheer up Twilight by doing … this, why not? “It’s time to wake up, Pinkie.” Twilight poked Pinkie Pie jokingly, who groggily stood up and looked at the purple pony. Pinkie was silent at first, then she asked with a serious face. “… Are you glad that I’m now here with you, Twilight?” “Of course, Pinkie, you’re all that I could’ve asked for. I’d always longed for the day that we finally meet. Pinkie, I’m sorr—” Pinkie Pie put a hoof to Twilight’s mouth and stopped her. “Say no more, I forgive you.” Pinkie Pie closed her eyes and said, “Among all of us, I know the best about how loneliness tears away at somepony’s heart. I know what drove you to do this, and you meant us no harm. So please don’t be sad anymore, and smile!” Pinkie Pie struck a wide grin. “… Thank you, Pinkie.” Twilight smiled. “Now let us get back down, before they notice the lack of bouncing pink pony in their midst.” They trotted back to the partying guests. Most of them has already settled down for less exertive activities, sitting down at tables and chatting with each other. They gestured to the waiting mares, who acknowledged their return and went forth. They then spread out and tend to the party guests one by one, and joined in their casual chatters. Twilight was lead around by Pinkie, who introduced all the other ponies that attended the party to Twilight, or rather, introduced Twilight to all of them in actuality. The night went on, and party guests started to bid their farewells and the crowd thinned down. Although ponies tended to stay up at the eve of the Summer Sun Celebration, most of them still had to wash and brush up before the big event. Therefore one by one they left, until only the Mane Six and Spike was left in the empty library. Fluttershy swiftly flew to the side of Spike. She tucked and cooed him to his tiny bed, her face filled with satisfaction. Twilight lit her horn, a dazzling flash of purple magic engulfed the library. All the remaining food, drinks, streamers, and associated debris from the party immediately disappeared into nothingness. “Hey!” Pinkie Pie yelled. “Whoops, sorry Pinkie.” Twilight grimaced and lit her horn again, returning the party cannon that was mistakenly teleported away from the pink mare. The group moved quietly to the basement. “So the cabal is formed, it seems.” Rarity commented. Twilight let out a relaxed sigh. “I’ve waited for this day for so, so long… I’m so-” “One more word of apology, I’m out.” Rainbow Dash interrupted. “S- I mean, okay…” Twilight sheepishly nodded. “Please girls, can we stop moping around and actually plan something?” Rarity pleaded. “Nightmare Moon will be coming on soon.” Applejack nodded. “Yer right. It’s jus’ a few hours till she arrives.” “Not that we can do anything without the Elements.” Twilight bit her lips. “Speaking of which, will we really … succeed? Can we really bond with the Elements, now that we’re like … this?” Pinkie Pie quipped. “I don’t know for sure, but I fervently hope that my calculation is right and our faith in the Elements proves true.” Twilight shook her head and looked out of the window. The grey shadow of the Mare in the Moon seemed to have flickered a bit. Twilight sighed to the quiet group. “Let’s wait here and let Spike have his nap. Then we all go to the town hall and wait for the entrance of ye olde-fashioned princess.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The ponies of Ponyville gathered at the town hall at the twilight hours. Everypony was eager to witness their beloved sun princess raising the sun above the horizons. The Mane Six, on the contrary, simply watched on with sour faces. Spike, who were sitting at the back of Twilight, looked at the empty balcony anxiously. The curtains to the stage opened up, and the Mayor Mare proudly announced the beginning of the thousandth Summer Sun Celebration. Ponies around the town hall cheered in excitement. Rarity bit her lip and grimaced, she walked onto the balcony and had to announce the inevitable, “The Princess … is gone!” She yelled. Ponies all around the hall gasped and looked at one another. Knowing who’s coming on, Rarity rushed down to join her friends downstairs. Soon afterwards, a dark Alicorn materialized in a bout of magic and dark winds on the balcony. “Oh, my beloved subjects. It's been so long since I've seen your precious, little sun-loving faces.” She cackled loudly. The ponies were shocked, but the Mane Six looked on unfazed. Rainbow Dash turned to Twilight, and jokingly whispered. “See, your evil witch magic looks far less awesome to her evil witch magic.” Twilight chuckled, and then huffed in a faux-indignant tone. “I’m also far less stereotypical, thank you very much.” She turned to the dark Alicorn. “… You’re not Princess Celestia.” “Of course I’m not!” The dark Alicorn gritted her teeth, she then chuckled. “Why, am I not royal enough for you? Don't you know who I am?” Facing with a complete silence, she continued, “Does my crown no longer count now that I have been imprisoned for a thousand years? Did you not--” “Crown no longer counted for much shorter time in history, Nightmare Moon.” Twilight interrupted. The crowd gasped and cowered upon hearing the name of the dark Alicorn, but Nightmare Moon paid them no heed and continued, “So somepony did remember, even though it’s just an insolent whelp. Surely you also know why I’m here.” “To… bring about eternal night!” Twilight gritted her teeth and yelled, causing more ponies to gasp in horror. “Ha ha ha, this is correct, little ponies. Remember this day, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last forever!” Nightmare Moon laughed and cackled, thunders cracking across the air. “Did she just cast lightning spells just for dramatic effects?” Twilight muttered, as a few Royal Guards swooped in to tackle the dark Alicorn. Nightmare Moon, however, repelled their attack with ease. “Fools, did you think you can simply subdue me?” She wrapped herself with her dark Alicorn magic and flew out of the door of the town hall. Everypony simply watched with mouths agape. “Wait, where’s Spike?” Twilight asked, finding out that the little dragon was not sitting on her back. “Uh, he fell over unconscious when Nightmare Moon showed up.” Rarity replied, pointing at the baby dragon passed out in Fluttershy’s lap.