The next hour felt like just a few minutes.
Starlight inspected the ponies arriving at the Festival. She wanted her mentor to have a great time, free of any ponies wanting to cause trouble. Trixie, on the other hoof, was starting to feel bored.
"Starlight, Cantelot has hundreds, maybe even thousands of guards working to protect the Princesses. There's no need to freak out. I will admit, however, I'd love to show up Twilight in front of everyone."
Starlight glared at Trixie and seemed to ponder for a moment. "Maybe you're right. I guess I shouldn't worry too much."
Suddenly, Starlight's eyes widened as a large frown stretched across her face. "Wait, aren't the Guards on break right now?"
Trixie rolled her eyes and looked at her fellow unicorn. "Starlight, listen to me. I know you look up to that hotshot princess and all, but she's more than capable of handling herself."
Starlight sighed and looked down at the wooden floor of the Canterlot Train Station. "I know..."
Trixie lightly frowned and wrapped her hoof around Starlight. "Hey, how about we buy a souvenir for her? Would that cheer you up?"
Starlight raised her head as her expression changed to a smirk. "Sure thing. I think Twilight will appreciate a small gift."
*** *** ***
Several minutes later, the two ponies entered a small gift shop in the south of Canterlot. The store was entirely made of wood, looking fairly out of place compared to the rest of town. The business mostly sold merchandise of the princesses. Mugs, shirts, decorations and even masks of the alicorns filled the store.
"I guess somepony is trying to cash in on the festival." Trixie whispered into Starlight's ear, resulting in a brief giggle of laughter.
Starlight observed the store's shelves, looking for a gift that was perfect for Twilight. After minutes of searching, Starlight found a snow globe on one of the many wooden shelves that blended with the rest of the store. Inside the snow globe was an image of the princesses together, standing regal and tall.
"I think this should do." Starlight grinned and looked to Trixie.
"That looks nice and all, but you could give Twilight a burnt book and she'd still see it as an amazing gift." Trixie claimed with a complacent look.
Starlight began to levitate the snow globe with her magic, trotting to the shopkeeper.
"That'll be five bits, ma'am." The brown pegasus addressed.
As Starlight unbuttoned her saddlebag and levitated several bits onto the shopkeeper's desk, Trixie trotted outside and took a sniff of fresh air. The music was filling the ears of everyone in town, the decorations were some of the best Trixie had seen and the ponies were having the time of their lives. Everything was perfect.
*** *** ***
Suddenly, the sound of thunder blared from the sky. High above ground, heavy, bleak clouds began to flood the atmosphere. Was one of the pegasus ponies playing a prank? Trixie raised an eyebrow and looked to Starlight, whom was leaving the shop.
"Any idea what's going on?" Starlight asked while getting a closer look.
"Let me guess, that rainbow doofus thought it would be funny to mess with the weather." Trixie moaned.
Moments later, a blaring horn could be heard from the clouds. Deafened by the noise, Trixie cowered to the floor. Starlight levitated her unicorn friend onto her back and began to gallop to the castle.
"We need to make sure Twilight and the rest of the princesses are okay!" Exclaimed Starlight as she galloped as far as her hooves could take her. Trixie's ears were still ringing from the sounds as she nodded.
Starlight turned her head and let out a faint gasp. From the shadows of the clouds, a colossal, floating ship emerged.
Trixie raised her head and her eyes widened. "Something tells me this isn't part of the event..."
The airship sluggishly lowered to the ground. It would still take Starlight several minutes to arrive at the castle courtyard. In the distance, she could see the doors of the ship slowly open and a small creature walking towards the crowd of ponies nearby.
"Maybe they're just visitors. I'm sure the four princesses can handle a single airship if things were to go wrong." Trixie reasoned.
Starlight ignored Trixie and continued to gallop with the mare on her back.
*** *** ***
After a minute of running towards the castle, the two arrived at a street filled with stores, all selling a variety of goods. Multiple ponies populated the area, one of which was holding onto a pair of binoculars. Starlight trotted up to the young, caramel-coloured colt.
"I don't suppose I could quickly borrow your binoculars?" Starlight asked with a large grin.
"Aren't you the pony who saved the princesses from the evil Queen Chrysalis?" Asked the colt, with a soft gasp.
Trixie climbed from Starlight's back and gave a smug smile. "Why yes, she is. She didn't do it alone, of course."
A huge smile stretched across the small colt's face. "I want to be just like you two when I grow up! You can have my binoculars!"
Starlight blushed gently as the colt passed his binoculars into her hooves.
"Thank you, young man. What you said means a lot to us."
Starlight and Trixie ran to get a clear view of the castle. Levitating the binoculars in front of her eyes, Starlight inspected the courtyard. The four alicorns stood in-front of the large crowd of ponies, including the element bearers. Starlight was too far away to hear anything, but she noticed something alarming. Emerging from the ship was a strong, tall, purple unicorn. After trying to get a closer look, Starlight realised that the unicorn's horn was in-fact shattered. Suddenly, the sounds of more airships could be heard. They weren't alone...
*** *** ***