//------------------------------// // Summer Sun Preparations (Part 1) // Story: Little Glimpses // by Skijarama //------------------------------//     “Alright, let’s go over the checklist one more time…” Twilight eventually said while looking down at Spike as their chariot began to make it’s final descent towards the town of Ponyville. Spike nodded eagerly and reached for said checklist, while Rainbow stuck out her tongue with a ‘pluegh’ sound.     “Twi, you’ve had the little guy check it over, like, a hundred times. I wasn’t even listening and I can recite the stupid thing from memory. I think we get it.” Rainbow wined out while looking at Spike in pity. This mare is gonna be the death of you, little guy.     Twilight huffed indignantly and scrunched up her face. “Why does this surprise you? You’ve known me for how long now?”     “It doesn’t,” Rainbow replied with a roll of her eyes. “You do this a lot. I just don’t always have to be within ear-shot. Also, it’s been about six or seven years, I think.”     Twilight sighed and shrugged noncommittally. “Alright, fine. We’ll have to go over it as we’re performing the tasks on it anyway, so I guess I can satisfy myself with that.” she relented before looking down at Ponyville uneasily.     Rainbow took on a somewhat concerned expression at seeing the anxiety enter Twilight’s eyes. She shifted slightly closer to Twilight without really thinking about it. “You still worried about that whole ‘Nightmare Moon’ thing?” she asked carefully, to which Twilight could only nod.     “I just know it’s going to happen… I need to find some proof to send back to Celestia so she can make sure she’s ready!” she said, her volume rising significantly as scenario after horrifying scenario began to play out in her mind. Rainbow was quick to respond, thankfully, shifting over slightly and putting a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder.     “Hey, don’t worry. Celestia’s made of some really tough stuff. I know that first hoof and I’m sure that if Nightmare Moon suddenly popped up, Celestia’d give her a smack-down and send her packing faster than you can say ‘checklists are the best’.” she said reassuringly before Twilight shrugged off her hoof.     “I’m not so sure…”     “Aw, cheer up, Twilight,” Spike began, patting Twilight’s other shoulder with a claw. “Celestia arranged for us to stay in a library while we’re on this trip, so you’ll have plenty of books to go through when we’re done with our check-ups and stuff.”     Twilight smiled back at him and nodded. She still didn’t look convinced, but she looked a bit more at-ease, if nothing else. “Yeah… I guess. Let’s get down there and get started, then.”     “Now you’re talking,” Rainbow pumped her hoof in the air for emphasis. “I’m getting bored, sitting here! Let’s get down there so I can figure out what clouds need busting and where the Wonderbolts are hangin’ so I can make sure they see my awesomeness!”     Twilight rolled her eyes and play-punched Rainbow’s shoulder. “Right, just make sure you showing off doesn’t prevent you from, you know doing your job here.”     Rainbow rubbed her shoulder with a slight wince. “It won’t. But, uh… your punches have gotten harder, you know that?” she said with a proud smirk forming on her face.     Twilight chuckled lightly before reaching over and yanking Rainbow Dash into an affectionate noogie. “Well, I learned from the best!” she jeered while rubbing her hoof into Dash’s head rather forcefully.     “Ow! Hey, stop that!” Rainbow protested, though her pleased laughs signaled that she took some form of enjoyment from Twilight’s physical assertion to their discussion. Twilight kept on assaulting the prismatic mane for a moment before letting Rainbow go with a victorious grin. Rainbow dusted herself off and then smirked back at Twilight. “Hoof-wrestle later?”     “If we have time,” Twilight answered before she looked down. Realizing that they were now touching down, her smile faded. The wheels of the chariot creaked slightly as they rolled along the ground, parting the grass and kicking up some dirt. “...if we have time.”     Rainbow’s own smile faded somewhat before she hopped out of the chariot when it came to a complete stop. She landed on all fours and gave a languid stretch before looking around at the quaint town. Her eyebrow rose as she took it all in. “Huh. Not quite what I was expecting… I like it.” she muttered under her breath.     Twilight hopped out as well, Spike following closely. She turned back to Dash curiously once Spike had the list our and ready to go. “You coming with us or do you want to get a lay of the sky first?”     Rainbow turned and shook her head. “Nah, I’ll tag along with you for now. These clouds ain’t going anywhere and I can bust ‘em up in ten seconds if I really want to.” she said casually before falling into step next to Twilight.     Twilight giggled slightly. “I’d like to see that.” she said as if to challenge her friend.     “You will. Later.” Rainbow smirked before her eyes turned fully forward. She paused almost instantly when she spotted a pony a ways up the road, prancing along with a happy smile and looking like she didn’t have a care in the world. She was also pink. Very pink. And also very familiar. Rainbow blinked as a memory went through her head. “Hey… I recognize her…” she muttered.     “Hm? Recognize who?” Twilight asked before looking towards where Rainbow was looking. “You mean her?”     “Yeah… she’s… she was in my first flash,” Rainbow explained before picking up the pace in her trot to a full-blown canter. The pink mare opened her eyes and looked their way happily. Her smile was lost to a thoughtful frown as Rainbow Dash came to a stop in front of her. “Uh… Hi.” Rainbow uttered awkwardly when she realized she hadn’t exactly thought this through.     The pink mare suddenly gasped and grabbed Rainbow by the cheeks, pulling her in and looking her over in excruciating detail. Rainbow struggled a bit, now very uncomfortable. “You…” The pink mare whispered in an unsettlingly high pitched voice. “I remember you…”     “Uh?!” was all Rainbow could manage before the pink pony smiled widely.     “You’re Princess Rainbow Dash! Oh, wow! It’s so nice to meet you! My name is Pinkie Pie and it is just such a thrill to finally meet you, considering I’ve hallucinated about you and heard about you for, like, years now! Oh! Who are your friends here? The little purple guy is cute!” the pink pony, Pinkie, apparently (and appropriately), splurged out in one, long, uninterrupted stream of words. She then let go of Rainbow’s face and took a step back. “Sorry.” she apologized.     Rainbow shook her head and then rubbed her cheeks to dispel the newfound aches on her face. “Uh… it’s fine… Hi…” she mumbled, somewhat confused.     “Wait,” Twilight suddenly butted into the discussion, stepping forward and looking at Pinkie with wide eyes. “You’ve ‘hallucinated’ about Rainbow Dash before?”     “Uh-huh! I’ve seen her in my head a few times. Although... she was never a princess in any of them,” Pinkie replied before smiling widely at Twilight. “And what’s your name? I’ve never seen you before!”     “Oh, uh, my name is Twilight Sparkle,” Twilight began while standing a bit more straightly and putting on a more professional voice to match her duties here. “Rainbow and I were actually sent to check up on and help with the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. Do you happen to know where Sweet Apple Acres is? They’re preparing the banquet, right?”     Pinkie perked up happily. “Oh, you’re going to want to go aaaall the way over there, take a left, then another left and- Oh, you know what?” she abruptly stopped before bouncing into the air, sailing over their heads and then landing effortlessly behind the trio. “I’ll just take you there.”     ‘Wha-” Was all any of them had the chance to say before the Pink Pony placed her hooves on them and the world turned into a blur of impossible winds. After several moments of panicked yelling and impossible speeds, they finally came to a stop with all three of them coming out of their movement rather ungracefully. Spike face-planted into the dirt path, Twilight skidded along on her backside for almost a yard and Rainbow flailed along before sprawling across the dirt on her back.     Pinkie was still standing behind them and grinned expectantly.     Spike pulled his face from the muck and, with a deep breath, said the following; “WHAT?!”     “You’re welcome! Nice to meet you all. Now, I’ve got things to prepare. See ya! La la la~!” Pinkie chirped before bouncing away, happily singing some song or other to herself and leaving Rainbow, Twilight and Spike to wonder what just happened. The group slowly pulled themselves back up off of the ground, dusting themselves off and groaning in discomfort.     “What even just happened?” Rainbow demanded before sighing and looking up. She recoiled slightly when she realized that, true to the pink pony’s word, they were now standing at the entrance of Sweet Apple Acres. On the top of the hill they found themselves at the bottom of was a house and, a little to the side, a sizable and aged-looking barnhouse. The apple trees around them were evenly spaced out in a neat and orderly grid-like pattern, with some of the ones further in having four to five sizable buckets encircling them on the ground. “Huh… whaddya know.”     “Okay, remind me to not stand in her way when she’s in a hurry,” Twilight groaned before looking to Spike to make sure he was alright. Once she was sure all was in order, she straightened her posture and set off down the road. “Okay, come on. She at least saved us some travel time, so let’s not waste it.”     “Fair enough.” Was all Rainbow had to say before falling into stride next to Twilight. Several minutes went by in relative silence. A breeze went through the area after a moment, softly rustling the leaves and branches. The air felt different then in Canterlot, Rainbow noticed immediately. She was hesitant to call it ‘fresher,’ but she would call it ‘richer.’     Her musings were interrupted, however, when a loud and energetic ‘yee-haw!’ reached the group's ears, bringing them all to a halt. Off to their left was an apple tree with buckets in place beneath it and an orange earth pony mare with three apples as a cutie mark charging it. She came to a stop, turned in place and slammed her hind legs into the tree trunk in a powerful buck. Rainbow’s eyes twitched slightly as she noted the definite precision of the kick. The mare had very good aim, that was unquestionable.     The apples in the branches shook before, in short order, they all plummeted from their places and into the buckets below. Not a single one missed, causing Rainbow let off an impressed whistle. The mare looked up upon hearing that and swiftly dropped into a respectful bow after a moment of processing. Rainbow slapped her face with a forehoof. “Yeah, no, none of that. Rise and speak freely. I don’t like ponies over-recognizing my ‘rank.’.” she said before the mare could start uttering any sort of ‘royal greeting’ or whatever.     The mare complied and cleared her throat while standing tall again. “Right. Uh, Ah’m Applejack, you’re majest- er, Rainbow Dash. What can Ah do ya for?”     Rainbow looked to Twilight. “Well, I don’t need much, really. It’s Twilight here who's gonna be doing most of the talking.”     Twilight took that as her cue and cleared her throat. “Ahem, yes. My name is Twilight Sparkle and I’ve been sent by Princess Celestia to oversee the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. I take it you’re in charge of the food?”     “Howdy-do, miss Twilight. It’s a pleasure meetin’ ya. Yeh, Sweet Apple Acres here’s got one hootin-nanny of a banquet ready to go fer tonight. Wanna sample some of the food?” Applejack asked with a warm smile before she looked at Twilight a bit more closely. Her smile twisted with a hint of uneasy recognition. “Er, hold on… ‘ave we met before?” she asked a moment later.     Twilight paused with a raised eyebrow. “Uh, I don’t think so. Why?”     Applejack narrowed her eyes a bit before sighing and shaking her head. “Nah. Forget it. Jus’ mah imagination, ah guess. Anywho, about the sampling?” she asked, regaining her friendly smile and tone.     “Only as long as it doesn’t take too long. We’re kind of on a tight schedule.” Twilight replied while glancing down at Spike, who nodded to confirm that he was ready to proceed.     “Do you have to-go boxes?” Rainbow asked, prompting an amused snort from Applejack.     “Uh, no, we don’t. Heh, first time anypony’s asked me that.” she said with an intrigued smirk growing on her face.     Rainbow shrugged. “Meh. Can’t blame me for trying. Now, about those samples…”     “Do you think that farm mare has had flashes, too?” Twilight suddenly asked about twenty minutes later as the trio was ascending from Sweet Apple Acres into Ponyville proper again.     Rainbow glanced at Twilight with a raised eyebrow. “Huh? What makes you ask?”     “That mare and I have never met, but I think I’ve caught glimpses of her in some flashes of my own. And I think I’m starting to notice a clear and definite pattern with the ponies that have these flashes,” Twilight started to explain before looking around to make sure nopony was eavesdropping. “My first flash included Fluttershy, right? Your first flash included that Pinkie Pie from earlier. Fluttershy had her first flash and it was about you.”     “I think I see what you mean…” Rainbow interrupted carefully, a thoughtful frown also appearing on her face. “All of the ponies that we know of who have had these flashes saw each other in them, and either know each other or have met at some point, usually.”     “Right,” Twilight confirmed. “The only exception I can think of is that shared flash we had in Cloudsdale.”     “Yeah, and we were both seeing each other in that one...” Rainbow nodded slowly. For a moment, the two were silent. Rainbow then glanced up at the clock tower that stuck up from behind some of the houses and cringed. “Oh, we’ll have to continue this discussion later. I need to go clock in for cloudbusting.”     “Do you know where the weather team office even is?” Twilight asked while Rainbow lifted into the air on her wings.     “Nope, but I can always ask.” Rainbow replied before turning and sailing off into the sky.