//------------------------------// // Welcome Party for the Apocalypse // Story: The Ballad of Sir Spike de Draco // by Zay-el //------------------------------// Eternity. A rather easily definable term, but immensely difficult to properly imagine, much less experience. An endless stream of time, one event after another, from never-ending, to infinity. It has no beginning and no end as by its nature it lasts forever, past conscious thoughts and scientific observations. It is truly one of those concepts that can be surprisingly complex when delved into and to some extent, both frightening and amazing. Yet it seemed hardly sufficient enough to describe the trek from the outskirts of Ponyville, to the Town Library. Twilight felt like an entire age, perhaps a full eon has passed over their heads, though not at all because of the distance they had to travel. Her problems were much more elaborate and eventful, than that. "And in doing so, I've graduated with High Honors in Experimental Special Techniques. Damage control still went on for a while, but all of us passed at least." Spike concluded yet another of his tales, his chest swelling with pride as his solo audience gazed at him in awe. "Incredible." Fluttershy breathed, her eyes like huge plates. Occasionally, Spike almost felt like she was overdoing on the staring for some reason, but didn't mind the attention. "You're still so young and you've done so much!" "I still have a lot more stories where that came from." the knight assured, making Twilight groan lightly once more, until her ray of hope finally shone at her, in the form of a large treehouse. "I'm awfully sorry, but Spike needs to...uh...run through his inventory of weapons." she turned and spoke to Fluttershy with a none-too-genuine smile. "We'll see each other later then?" "...oh...alright." the pegasus was visibly disheartened that they had to part now. She'd learned a lot about Spike and considered him to be a perfect possible addition to her vast collection of lovely little critters. Being blocked off like this was slightly...disappointing. "I don't need to go through the numbers again." the draic knight raised a brow at how quickly Twilight was trying to get him away from Fluttershy and into the library. "I've got 381 swords, 103 battleaxes, 201-" "He's right, they surely got all of them here safely." the pegasus glanced up into Spike's eyes again and began to apply just the tiniest bit of pressure to his thoughts. The knight's muscles seemed to ease up a tiny bit, alerting Twilight right away. "Well, they might have left some of them in Canterlot. You can never trust the Royal Equestrian Mail. Some of them don't even have eyes right!" the unicorn mused and attempted to downright push him through the door, only to cope with several issues at once. Not only was it like trying to shove a brick wall aside, but the dragon was simply too tall to fit through! "Are you sure you can't stay just a tiny bit longer?" the pony asked in the sweetest of voices, keeping up the eye-contact for as long as possible. She almost had him now, she could feel his defenses slipping and crumbling one by one. While he had obviously been conditioned to resist such approaches, her power was of a far larger magnitude, than any lowly instructor could have prepared him for. Twilight saw she was losing him and resorted to the only surefire method of distracting him. "The Princess might be already waiting for you inside!" In that very instant, Fluttershy could feel and subconsciously visualize an enormous astral fist rising from the dragon's mind, hovering over her threateningly. She could hardly even squeak, before it struck, giving her a massive bop on the head, as if she were the nail for a hammer. She had no visible injuries though and she merely wobbled for a moment, the knockback leaving her with a slight migraine. The dragon had finally come to in the meantime, having sensed or realized little to nothing of what had just happened. He merely shrugged and took a step forwards, going into the dark library and not even bothering to squat down. A knight bowed only before combat, or when before the fairer folk. The wall gave in as if it were made of paper, a neat, head-shaped hole remaining as an amusing memento. Twilight cringed to Sir Spike's unique way of entering rooms, though she was still thankful he didn't decide to outright make himself an entrance, something he had done before, much to the chagrin of several architects in Canterlot. "We'll need to talk about this attitude of yours, squire." he stated, once she had closed the door. "I find your lack of politeness disturbing." "I'm sorry, sir." she sighed. She expected he'd scold her. As a squire, he was obligated to teach her to the best of his abilities and although that usually meant praises left and right, sometimes he did have to hold her over the coals every now and then. "We can socialize with the people here as much as possible, but right now, we really should find out more about Nightmare Moon and the Elements of Harmony." she had a hurried tone, hoping he'd realize this was the most pressing issue at the moment. "That doesn't mean you should blow them off in such a rude manner though." the knight crossed his arms, the screech of armor on armor making the unicorn cringe to the horrible noise. "You never know when you might need allies." he added, recalling yet another bit he'd remembered from his teachings. "I know, I know." the pony nodded to his words. He was right, of course he was right, but she had good reason at least! "We'll make amends with them later. First, I just need a couple of minutes to study, without a bunch of crazy ponies trying to make friends with us all the time." "SURPRISE!" The lights flared up and a loud cry escaped from what seemed like every inch of the library hall. Twilight flinched, but not nearly as much as her knight, whom she immediately had to hold back with magic, before he'd try and pulverize the closest pony. Surprising him was a double-edged sword, as he either laughed along and enjoyed it, or instinctively attempted to protect himself and destroy what he'd perceive as opposition. "I trust you were surprised indeed?" the pink pony they'd seen earlier approached them, lightly pushing Spike's fist aside, still held back by his squire's magic. Up close, she seemed like a lively young being, though there was something in her eyes that bothered the unicorn. It wasn't like Fluttershy's gaze, which she didn't need to be told was dangerous to look into. She had already seen the effects of that. This pony's look had some deep threat inside of them, something far beyond mischievousness and general naughtiness. She honestly wondered why Sir Spike hadn't immediately tried to smite her, considering the fervor he had shown towards exorcising Granny Smith, only a few hours ago. Though the earth pony had avoided the nasty fate of sharing Opalescence's guided tour through the skies of Equestria, the ponies in the same row as she'd been were still thrown back against the nearest wall and bookcases, sent flying by the mere wind of the punch. She seemed to have anticipated it though and dodge it without the slightest bit of issue, only her straight pink mane ruffling up for a brief moment. "A lot. Libraries are supposed to be quiet." Twilight said, putting the emphasis on the last word. "Oh, no arguments there." the earth pony chuckled, in a way that was both amusing and unsettling at the same time. "You see, when I had come across you and your knight, I instantly realized you two must have just arrived in Ponyville. I know everypony around here and if you're new, you simply cannot go without a welcome party." "Thank you for the thought, fair maiden." Spike smiled and bowed before her, while the rest of the ponies behind her were still in the midst of extracting themselves off the walls the power of his repressed punch planted them into. A gray pegasus was the only one in no rush apparently, her interest caught by a book about muffins she'd landed into, face-first no less. "Please, my name is Pinkamena Diane Pie." she introduced herself, smiling brightly. Something about that smile continued to send shivers down Twilight's spine. It was like a fully-grown dragon smiling, which while a very nice and friendly gesture would always be ruined by the amount of fangs their faces held. "You may think of me as the official party-expert of Ponyville. A connoisseur of bashes, an avatar and patron saint of any loud hoo-ha." she listed off in a highly sophisticated fashion, mimicking Rarity for a moment. Said pony huffed over it slightly as well, but didn't seem to mind it too much. "Yep! Pinkie here is the absolute best at parties!" Rainbow Dash piped up as she swooped over to them. Twilight was convinced just about half the town was here, making her second-guess whether most of them had jobs at all. "Yes...I'm better known as Pinkie Pie, to my friends." the earth pony said after a slight pause, though the unicorn was almost sure she could see her cringe to the name, her voice also holding a slight edge now. "In any case, I just couldn't let you go by without a proper introduction, especially since I had to bolt off so quickly to prepare this. Consider it an apology and a welcome." The edgy tone was gone again. Strangely flip-flopping pony this one was. "I consider it a wonderful gesture, Miss Pie." Spike assured, a grin appearing on his face. He had never been the kind to refuse something like this, even though he had already enjoyed his bit of a toot today, courtesy of the Apple Family and a hefty amount of cider. Still, the measure of alcohol he allowed himself to consume in under a day has hardly been breached yet and as such, he was more than ready to indulge in some more. "Just Pinkie, or Pinkamena, please." the pony shook her head with a bright smile. "Miss makes me sound like an old lady, which doesn't fit me at all!" she joked, making a couple of ponies around them chuckle. Twilight sighed and walked over to the nearest table, seeing a couple of drinks and glasses. She noticed a familiar bottle the barrel emblem on it confirming her fears. Spike had already begun to boast and sway the ladies as usual, giving Twilight ample time to quickly make sure the earlier events of the day would not repeat themselves. She glanced around, before concentrating, summoning a tiny bit of her magical abilities. Her horn flared up with a purple aura blazing around it as she cast her spell, a similar aura enveloping the bottle of cider as well. Turning her head ever so slightly, she flung the tempting, yet oh-so-evil alcoholic beverage out the window, saving herself and the entire town from a possibly draic meltdown again. "Not a fan of the Acres Vintage?" The unicorn jumped to the voice, only to see Pinkie standing right next to her, with a bright smirk on her face. Although she really wanted to hope the earth pony hadn't seen her get rid of the volatile liquid, the grin on her face suggested her hopes were in vain. "I-I like it, actually." she stammered, giggling nervously. Applejack seemed like a really swell mare and she didn't really wish to see her angry, if Pinkie decided to tell on her. "And Sir Spike does as well...perhaps a little too much, is all." she explained, only succeeding in making the pink pony's eyebrow rise as well, in addition to her smirk. Part of her wanted to just kick her and run. "It's okay, if you've just said so at the start, I would have hidden it!" Pinkie laughed, washing away most of her nerve that instant. It sounded a lot more honest than all her previous cackles. She fetched Twilight a glass and began to poured her from a different bottle, which held no alarming signs on it. "Oh...thank you." the unicorn ventured, feeling slightly embarrassed. She had shown some pretty bad manners, but apparently it didn't seemed to have bothered the pink pony all that much. "And for the party, too. It was a very kind gesture, Pinkie, thank you." she tried to be as respectful as possible, especially since she probably had her life in her hooves! "It was a pleasure. I love a good party, no matter the occasion." she smiled a lightly pushed the glass of red liquid over to Twilight. It seemed a little thicker in density than she would have expected from fruity drinks, put she was far too thirsty for any kind of experimentation. Local apples dominated the food market here, so she just guessed this was a more pulpy kind of juice, than the ones she could get in Canterlot. "Now, mind telling me what exactly a Grade B arcane magic student from Canterlot and a celebrated, thrice commended dragon knight of the Order are doing here in Ponyville, of all places?" she asked, her voice still very sweet, but reminded Twilight of an uncomfortable metallic aftertaste some cheap candies had. "Nothing special. Sir Spike and I are here to oversee the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration." she calmly mused. She had given it a brief thought, but decided not to share her fears about Nightmare Moon and the possible need to acquire the Elements of Harmony. There was no point in causing unwanted panic amongst the townsfolk. She was about to take a sip from the drink Pinkie had offered her, when a chill ran down her spine. Her knight loved to boast of his accomplishments and never missed out on letting people know how many times he'd been praised, she was the exact opposite of him in that regard. "We're not dumb, Twilight Sparkle." Pinkie remarked with a growing smirk, watching as the unicorn threw her an almost frightful glance. "A new librarian is assigned to us just a single day before the Celebration and is accompanied by a well-trained crusader of Celestia. Some might not bat an eye at that, but this is a bit too much of a coincidence, wouldn't you agree?" "I...assure you, there's nothing going on behind the scenes that you should know about." Twilight spoke up again after swallowing nervously. "Sir Spike and I are only here to make sure everything goes nicely. If there are any hidden agenda behind all this, your bet is as good as mine." "That's a relief." the pony chuckled, her amusement in no way helping to calm the unicorn. "You see, this is a quiet little town. Nothing outstanding ever happens here and most folks would like to keep it that way, too. If you're not here to cause any trouble, you don't have anything to fear, Pinkie Pie swear! Now, go ahead and drink, you must be parched from all that walking." "...sure, thank you." Twilight nodded after a brief pause and leaned over the cup, taking a couple of much-needed sips from it. The liquid had a far different taste than she had expected and it seemed to tickle her tongue slightly. "And in the unlikely event that you might be lying." Pinkie continued, tilting her head and counting down the seconds until the unicorn's eyes suddenly bulged out slightly, her face growing blood-red. "Rest assured, we'll know about it." "Are you okay, squire?" Spike appeared next to them, slightly confused on why she seemed to be in major pain all of a sudden. "Maybe a little more juice would help?" he asked, pouring her another glass of the bottle Pinkie passed him. She cried out and scurried upstairs in a fraction of a second, her breath leaving a mark of corrosion on one of the dragon's clawed armlets. He quirked a brow and examined the bottle, the bonfire sign giving it away immediately. "Hot sauce?" he chuckled, reading off the label. "You're a sneaky one, Pinkie!" "I couldn't help it, it's in my blood!" she laughed along, though keeping her distance from the awful concoction. Normally, she had an enormously high tolerance towards stuff like this, but she knew from experience that this could downright eat itself through the body. The dragon knight gazed at the bottle for a few seconds, before raising it to his lips. The music and just about all other noise in the area ceased immediately as he downed the rest of it in one enormous gulp, letting out a deep, bass-toned burp right after. A couple of tense moments passed by, only the thud of a book hitting the ground breaking the silence. Even Pinkie Pie was a little taken aback, fearing he'd simply explode where he stood. "Mmmhm...spicy!" Spike said, flames dancing around his mouth like a makeshift beard with every word he spoke, stunning the ponies even more. "...what?" Twilight Sparkle groaned loudly, trying to somehow find the right combination between stuffing her pillow in her ears and fan her still slightly burning tongue. Pinkie's little trick made sure she wouldn't complain about any kind of food for a while as she doubted she would feel the taste of anything in the following decade at the very least. Her new bed rattled rhythmically to the music being played downstairs, giving her not even the faintest chance of sleep. She'd long given up on it anyway, though she knew Sir Spike would be at it till until everyone else had fallen asleep. Superior stamina had the unfortunate effect of rendering the gifted one the last man standing at every party ever. She heard her door creak open, but she didn't even have to look to know who had come to visit her. Several years of listening to loud footsteps like that had given her plenty of time to engrave it into her mind. What she didn't quite expect though, was the sudden shift in the careful balance of her bed. In an instant, she felt her rest being lurched upwards, reminding her of that one time she'd managed to fall asleep on a slide, as a tiny filly. "What's holding you back from coming down and having some fun?" she heard his deep voice call out. He wasn't scolding her though, just suggesting it. "You even have to ask? All the ponies in this town are crazy!" she exclaimed. Sure he might have not noticed, but an abnormally strong apple-farmer, a crazed speedster, a fashion diva, a reserved mindbender and Pinkie didn't quite make for a crew she wanted to spend any time with. "Crazy is not always a bad thing." the knight chuckled, adjusting his sit at the edge of her bed, making her slide against his arm. "And while I don't think you should follow Celestia's order word-for-word, it can't hurt you to cut loose every now and then." The unicorn huffed and repeated his words in a childish, exaggerated manner. It was obvious she'd already made her mind up about this issue. The dragon raised a brow and stood up, letting her drop back on her bed. "Alright, you win this one. I'll let you stay and study, or whatever you want. " "Seriously, what would it take for you to come down?" he called from the door, attempting to bribe her one last time. "Let's see..." she mused, smirking in the dark. "Profess your everlasting love for me, never see the Princess again...and give me your cape." she purred. Each of these demands were outrageous alone, but together, they were an unholy trinity. Giving up his cape alone would have been akin to Spike losing his honor as a knight. "Nice try, squire." he chuckled, closing up the door just as she started giggling as well. She sighed as he left the room though. His presence was uplifting and while she still felt no inclination towards joining the party downstairs, at least he entertained her for a short while. She sat up and looked out the window, gazing right at the Moon. The shade of the planet once again formed the head of a mare, seen this clearly only on select days. "Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars themselves will aid her escape." she mused to herself. "I really hope it's just an old pony's tale...I haven't been able to do any research on her, or the Elements of Harmony, thanks to this hectic day." "I just hope Celestia knows what she's doing." she rubbed her head a bit, lying back on the bed again. "Bah, she's an all-powerful, all-knowing deity! She surely knows what she's doing, she always has!" "Except maybe for that incident in Fillydelphia...no one got hurt though! Or the time she got angry at that frost dragon...but it doesn't matter, we didn't need that mountain anyway! Or that incident in the club with that teleport spell, the one no one is allowed to speak of? They did find everyone, eventually..." The unicorn eventually turned the other side, feeling worse than ever before as she recounted a couple of embarrassing incidents the royal court has managed to accumulate in just the past few years. Her outlook on the possible upcoming events had darkened considerably. "We are so doomed." "No." "Sir, please!" "Absolutely not." "The mayor asked you to deliver the opening speech. This is a great honor." "I'm a warrior, not a spokesperson." Twilight couldn't help but facehoof at the statement, groaning in frustration. She'd been tasked with many insurmountable missions concerning her knight before, but none seemed as difficult as this one at the moment. She rather wished to face Nightmare Moon alone, than to continue making up reasons for him to finally do as told. "Please, Sir Spike, this is important!" she grumbled, getting behind him to try and push the dragon forwards. She guessed in just a thousand years, she'd be able to move him at least an inch close. The ponies in the Town Hall were starting to whisper to each other about the delayed opening speech, especially as dawn was drawing closer and closer with each passing second. They were all excited and giddy to finally see their Princess and even more so to cut loose and enjoy the celebrations. There was a reason this was one of the most favored of all the annual festivities. "Everythin' alright here?" Applejack peeked behind the curtain, only to see Twilight exhausting herself in a feeble attempt to levitate Spike towards the state. The dragon was planted firmly on the ground though, arms crossed and not about to move. "What in the hay is goin' on?" "I refuse to go." the drake stated solemnly, his cape picked up by unseen winds once again. Big Mac would have had a field trip trying to explain all the improbabilities that seemed to occur around Spike. "I tried...everything..." Twilight sighed, dropping to the ground, completely out of breath. In her mind's ears she could already hear the disappointed grumbles of the people outside, along with a scold from Celestia herself. It was no use though, the dragon simply refused to budge! "Maybe this ol' mule here just needs some motivation." the orange earth pony grinned and disappeared for a moment, returning with a bottle of apple cider, much to the knight's and his squire's surprise. "See this?" Applejack called out to him in a soft voice, sliding the bottle back and forth on the ground. At first it seemed like Spike paid no attention, until Twilight noticed his eyes were firmly locked upon the bottle. "All this an' more is yours, if you git goin' and give everypony a speech to remember." "...I don't want it." the dragon spoke up, his voice shockingly weak. His squire could hardly even remember the last time she'd heard him talk like this. "I like it, but you can't bribe me. I don't want that stuff." "Don't be silly, everypony wants it." the earth pony continued, smirking as she saw the crack in his defense. Knightfall was at hand. "The only question is, how much?" "Ponies...and more ponies!" His voice boomed across the Town Hall as if he were hooked up on the most powerful of megaphones and backed up by the biggest of sound systems. Several ponies immediately shot a glance towards the one responsible for the acoustics, a gray unicorn sporting a stylish pair of glasses. She just extended both hooves though, signaling she was no longer responsible for anything. The knight had snapped the microphone in half the moment it was passed to him. "Look up ponies, what do you see now?" he roared, the strength of his vocal chords forcing several of the townspeople to hold onto the nearest stable objects, unless the wanted to be sent flying right out the door. "What is that...that big ball of light up in the sky? That white thing glowing thing with the horse head on it? The damn moon!" Applejack was grinning quite a bit at the show, surrounded by three empty barrels toppled over in a drunker fervor. She knew the knight would be a smash hit if he let himself loose on stage, even though the price for his performance was high indeed. Twilight on the other hand, was busy contemplating the quickest escape route from the building, preparing for the moment the residents of Ponyville would want her and Spike's head on spears. "But I'm not here to talk...about the moon. I'm here to announce, to each and...every pony, that it is once again time. The longest day has arrived and with it, the day of ce-ce-ce...festivaling and drinking and eating and doing stuff! And that's the main point of it, too! Doing stuff! Stuff that matters, stuff you need to take care of, stuff that says you should do something until you tell them you have other stuff to do!" Although his speech didn't yet make much in terms of sense, some of the younger ponies were already taking a liking towards the armored dragon swaying from side to side on stage, as if he was fighting an invisible hydra. "But that's not even the important thing. The important thing is this, people of Ponycity...it is time to rise and growl and roar! On this Summer Sun Festival, each of you are given something...namely, the spark to carry on for another year and accomplish all you have been unable to do until now!" His motivational speech was slowly, but surely rousing the townspeople. Some of the more level-headed ponies still considered him to be an idiot let loose, but a lot of people were leaning towards going with the flow of his voice. "You each have a heart of steel, hooves of metal and brains of books! The sky, no, the MOON is the limit to all of you and until you can go ahead and say 'yes, I've punched the moon today!', you have done nothing! Aim as high and possible, seize the moment and cherish the daylight of this glorious world!" His speech was getting more and more clear as he continue, the fighting spirit inside of him taking care of the bit of stuttering and the occasional hiccups he had managed to sprinkle on top of his words. "You are not just ponies anymore, but a legion of indestructible warrior mares and colts, ready to take on whatever challenge the world may pose to you. Where there's a mountain, level it! Where there's an enemy, destroy it! Where there are fields, will the food to exists! Your fury knows no bounds and your souls heed only the call of glory!" By now, even the most timid of ponies were stomping their hooves to every syllable, low guttural growls filling the Town Hall. Even the youngest of colts could feel several strands of hair appearing on their chins, which they hardly even noticed in their excitement. They were ready, they were prepared, the stage was set, the moment at hand. Their new lives would begin now and this Summer Sun Celebration would mark the beginning of a new era of ponies; a Golden Age. "Listen to me, my fellows...no, my brethren! In another few moments, the sun shall rise! Let us all welcome it with one earth-shattering, sky-smashing, fire-breathing, hoof-stomping call to power! Destiny is upon us and our guide is here to lead us. She, strongest, wisest, fairest of them all will help you in becoming what you were always meant to be, immortal to time, space and the elements. Now, my brothers and sisters, rise and see, for here is our Immortal Sun Empress herself, the Ruler of Equestria and Light itself! Princess Celestia!" The colts and mares of Ponyville each let out a roar at the final call, the building itself trembling right down to its foundation. Sir Spike himself had to stomp the wooden stage so hard his feet sunk into it, otherwise even he would have been blown through the walls, such was the power these ponies exhibited with their voices alone. He felt a lone tear trickle down his scaly face, pride filling his heart to the brim, while the guest of honor finally appeared on the royal balcony. "Has everypony lost their minds in the past millenia?" a low, but unexpectedly harsh womanly voice echoed along the halls, once the battlecry finally subsided. Those who had been ready to go through anything found themselves frightened all of a sudden, trembling a horrible pair of events they had never expected to see, especially at the same time: Princess Celestia was nowhere to be found and someone else had taken her rightful place upon the balcony. A legend has awakened.