June 29th, 1000
The outdoor stage is packed over capacity with ponies, standing shoulder to shoulder in the cramped area. The crowd pushes closer, nopony wishing to miss the announcement. Others on the outskirts mill about, trying to beat the uncomfortable summer heat, hoping that whoever is speaking will have some sort of amplification. Even the thick cloud layer above can't really help against the sweltering afternoon heat. Yet their eagerness is undampened, everypony quietly chatting with each other as they wait for the preparations to begin.
The crowd goes silent as Mayor Mare walks up to the front of the stage. "Good afternoon, everypony!" announces Mayor Mare, smiling as the ponies clop their hooves in response. Once they quiet down she thunders, "As you all know, the Summer Sun Celebration will be happening very shortly, and we have just three days to prepare! We have a lot that needs to be done, and I have two excellent assistants here to help us!" Mayor Mare waves a hoof behind her, smiling at the two ponies coming up. One, Amethyst Star, is instantly recognizable to everypony while the other, a white coated earth pony with brunette hair tied in a bun, is far less known.
The gathered ponies cheer as Amethyst Star and Raven Inkwell walk to the front of the stage. Raven speaks first, "Welcome, everypony! My name is Raven Inkwell, and it's good to be here, having just gotten off the train from Canterlot. As many of you may not know, I am one of the assistants to Princess Celestia."
The ponies stomp their hooves, though not nearly as loud as for Mayor Mare. A number of the ponies chatter to themselves, many variations of 'An earth pony as assistant to the Princess? She must really know her stuff!' or, 'What's wrong with our own preparations? They don't think we're good enough?'
Raven smiles at the group, reacting to the various conversations in the crowd. "Now, I'm not here to step on any hooves. I'm just here to help coordinate any efforts that are needed between the Princess and you all. Thank you." She steps back, nodding to the crowd as they politely stomp their hooves, a number of the ponies still grumbling among themselves.
Amethyst Star walks up, the stomping getting louder. She bellows, "Alright, everypony, listen up! I've got all the assignments here, and like Mayor Mare said, we have a lot that needs to get done!" She levitates over a number of sheets of paper; without looking at them she calls out, "I know it's crowded, so please bear with me! First off, Spoiled Rich!"
Amethyst Star calls out, "Rainbow Dash!" as the pink earth pony strides up, taking her assignment. She nods to Amethyst, a slight glare at Raven, and walks back off the stage. The cyan pegasus flies over, grabbing the paper as it levitates higher. Amethyst Star continues reading off names, going through the various pegasi on the weather team. Rainbow reads through the paper as she flies back to Doug, the human standing on the outskirts of the crowd.
"Anything interesting?" asks Doug, Rainbow pushing against him. Doug groans at the warm body, already having drunk several bottles of water to try to keep cool. "Come on, I'm all sweaty."
"Yeah, well, you're still cooler than me." Doug grins, Rainbow lightly smacking him as she finishes reading. "Ugh, no. Looks like I got the least desirable assignment out of all of them. I get to clear out the skies tomorrow, but at least I get the rest of today off to compensate. It'll just delay when I get to start partying." Rainbow groans, "And I can't believe we aren't using rain clouds to cool this place off. It's going to be miserable if nothing changes."
"Oh?" comes a regal voice from behind, the two turning and seeing Princess Celestia. Rainbow bows to the ground as Doug inclines his head. "Rise, my little ponies," Princess Celestia continues, a pleasant smile at the two. "I take it you have a problem with my sun?"
"Oh, no, um, I mean, it's nothing, really!" stammers Rainbow, forcing a wide smile on her muzzle. "Everything is great!"
"Doug, do you concur with this?" Princess Celestia asks, turning and regarding the human. Beads of sweat gather on his forehead, back, and armpits, the human awkwardly trying to get the moisture out of his eyes.
"Um, not really." Rainbow glares at Doug as he continues, "I'd say it's too hot, but, if that's what you want, then whatever you want?" His hand tries to find Rainbow's head, the pegasus punishing his admission by pulling way. She sighs at his hurt look, moving back over and grumbling as he rubs her head.
"Well, I suppose it might be a little warm. I was trying for a pleasant summer day, but I suppose it can be a little hard to micromanage even on the best of days. The Everfree does tend to mess with my plans, unfortunately." Princess Celestia's horn shines; the brightness of the sun fading just a fraction. "It won't help for today, but tomorrow should be better. Just goes to show why I come to check on these things myself, I suppose."
"Yeah, I can see that." Doug looks around, nopony else reacting to Celestia's presence. "You have some sort of disguise spell?"
Celestia nods, "I find it works better when I do. This way, I can figure out how my little ponies are doing without all the pomp surrounding my normal appearances, and ponies are more likely to be candid about their answers." Rainbow Dash sighs, rolling her eyes as Celestia continues, "And it seems like things are progressing very nicely, wouldn't you say?"
Rainbow smiles, overcompensating for her earlier remark, "Yup! Well, on the weather side at least. That won't be a problem at all, Ma'am!" She glances to the side, "Speaking of, I think a few of the other weather ponies have some questions, and they can't find me. Gotta jet!" Rainbow Dash takes off, meeting up with a few of the pegasi in the sky, more quickly congregating around her.
Doug chuckles, "I have to agree, though I think it's kind of funny that Mayor Mare says we have three days to prepare. I mean, we have a couple hours today, then all of tomorrow. And then, what, five hours? Less than that? to prepare on July 1st, the day of the celebration itself. Just a funny way of counting, I guess."
"I suppose so," Princess Celestia nods, laughing a little as well. "One would think three days time would be seventy two hours, or possibly sixty six. Not thirty four. Alas, we rarely have as much time as we think we do."
"Yeah, not enough hours in the day. I don't suppose you could fix that, huh?" Doug jokes, elbowing Celestia in the side. She smiles in return, "But, I don't know that we would ever have enough time to get this perfect for you. Besides, the big celebration is in Canterlot next year. And that will be your thousandth Summer Sun Celebration, right? I mean," Doug stammers, trying to recover as Princess Celestia cocks her head to the side, a bit of a frown on her face, "Doing it alone. Without your sister. Never mind, I'm sorry I brought it up."
Princess Celestia sighs, "Alas, yes. She made her move against me the morning of the Summer Sun Celebration. She thought I would be exhausted from coordinating the events, and I was. When she refused to lower her moon that morning, I was weakened, and she was invigorated from her moon above."
"Yeesh. And then, afterwards, you had to set her moon and raise the sun." Doug spreads his arms to all the decorations going up, "And now, one thousand years later, you're still doing it."
Princess Celestia sighs, "Yes, though it has only been nine hundred and ninety nine years, technically. This will be my one thou-"
Princess Celestia cuts off, a brief look of horror on her muzzle. She immediately suppresses it, coughing as Doug looks over. She quells his concerned look by continuing, "Ahem, mm, please forgive me. One thousandth time I've raised the sun for the celebration on my own." She nods her head with a smile, "Unfortunately, I have more things to check on. Thank you for your time, Doug."
"Anytime, Celestia," Doug says with a short wave. He watches as Celestia fades from sight, a bit of a breeze blowing past him. Doug heads to the pavilion, many of the ponies dispersing as they collect their assignments.
Princess Celestia teleports into her throne room, her hooves thundering as she races to her office. The door flings open, Celestia rushing to the desk, all of the cabinets opening. Papers begin to levitate out, a maelstrom of black and white before a number of books join the fray. She shouts, "Why? How did I not see this?"
A white coated unicorn with a brown mane, tied in a bun, steps into the door. "Um, excuse me, Princess? Is everything okay?"
Princess Celestia continues reading through the papers as she responds, "Unfortunately, Raven, I do not believe so. I thought I had more time! One more year!" Celestia lets out a loud sigh, looking over at her assistant. Her eye squints for a second, remarking, "You know, I do believe the Raven assigned to Ponyville was in the form of an earth pony."
"What? Ugh, that Raven! I told her to stay consistent! But, no, she thought that they would take to her better if she came as an earth pony!" Raven shakes her head, "Well, I suppose we'll just have to make a note of that. Hopefully nopony notices any discrepancies, or thinks too hard on it."
"Regardless, this doesn't change my current predicament. I need... I need time, right now! Oh, what to do?" Princess Celestia slams her head into the desk, the many papers scattering to the floor.
Raven hesitates a moment before walking up to Princess Celestia. She quietly asks, "Um, if you don't mind me asking, does this affect us at all?"
Princess Celestia laughs into the desk, "Us? This will affect all of us, yes. Including your hive, most definitely." She pulls herself up, her attention turning to the unicorn, "Should Nightmare Moon take over, then all agreements are off, because I will no longer be in charge." Princess Celestia sighs, temporarily looking at the ground and sighing, "Or, Equestria will not exist." She smirks, "I don't suppose you have a preference?"
"Um..." Raven trails off, looking nervously about the room, "It hasn't been... bad, per se, working with you. I think I would prefer that to continue, in all honesty."
"Honesty from a changeling?" Princess Celestia smirks, "You must be desperate."
"Hey, it's allowed!" challenges Raven, stomping a hoof on the floor, "Even if it isn't our first choice."
"Well, regardless, it has been a pleasure working with each of you. Much more than I thought initially." Princess Celestia smiles, "I just thought I would tell you that should I not get the opportunity to do so in the future."
"Hey, I'm sure this will all work out. But, if you need us, we're here to serve, and all that. For now. I'm still surprised nopony notices that there are four of us wandering around at times."
"Well, perhaps they just think you are extraordinarily industrious, eager to make a name for yourself." Princess Celestia levitates a book, a battered journal entitled Predictions and Prophecies. The book has all sorts of notes written in the margins as Celestia flips through the pages, ending on the Elements of Harmony. She solemnly reads aloud, "Elements of Harmony. See: The Mare in the Moon." Celestia closes her eyes, placing her hoof on the page.
After a few seconds the paper lights up, the words shifting around while more appear. An image of six gems, representing the six elements appears, arranged in two parallel lines with purple, pink, and magic on the left and blue, orange, and red on the right. She reads her notes, "Unable to access Elements of Harmony after banishment of Nightmare Moon. Cast a long term avoidance spell on the Castle of the Two Sisters to prevent decay and wildlife inhabiting it, as well as adventurous ponies." Celestia pulls up another scroll. Her horn lights as she casts the counter to her avoidance spell. Hopefully she can send... she can...
Celestia shakes her head, a heavy sigh. It would be no good to send a pony or ponies to retrieve the Elements of Harmony, even if they were the perfect embodiment of the element in question. The chance of it backfiring is too great. That the magic of the Elements would sense her own intentions behind the order. The ponies would need to go of their own accord, volunteering under no compulsion of her own. Even mentioning that the Elements exist could be interpreted as manipulating whoever she sends!
A wisp of green forms near Princess Celestia, her eyes following the smoke as they coalesce into a letter. She plucks it out of the air with her magic, opening and reading:
'My dearest teacher, my continuing studies of pony magic have led me to discover that we are on the preci something really bad is about to happen! For you see, the mythical Mare in the Moon is in fact Nightmare Moon, and she's about to return to Equestria, and bring with her eternal night! Something must be done to make sure this terrible prophecy does not come true. I await your quick response.
Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle'
A spark of hope lights in Celestia's eyes, a few of the papers pulling towards her. This could be it! Maybe, she could send Twilight to investigate? But, how would she get her to the Castle of the Two Sisters in order to retrieve the elements, and find five other ponies to go with her? And, without telling her what to, or what to expect?
An inkwell and piece of parchment levitate over, a hint of a smile pushing past her look of determination. Celestia taps the quill against her chin. Her most faithful student always tried to push herself when she thought she had something to prove. And she had... well, not ignored, but often misinterpreted her assignments to involve more studying than necessary. Maybe she could find the information on her own? But, she would need to delve into the ancient tomes even more, and she would need to do so without any assistance. How to embolden the mare...
Celestia's muzzle contorts to a wry smile as she writes,
'My dearest, most faithful student Twilight. You know that I value your diligence and that I trust you completely. But you simply must stop reading those dusty old books!
My dear Twilight, there is more to a young pony's life than studying, so I'm sending you to supervise the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration in this year's location: Ponyville. And, I have an even more essential task for you to complete: make some friends!
Princess Celestia'
Celestia sobs; she can't even warn her of the dangers of Nightmare Moon! Even the barest hint of what she is sending her up against might be enough, for the Elements of Harmony to see her own intent! For the same reason she cannot send her royal guards, or give anypony any warning at all. Her quill flourishes, her signature complete on the letter before it vanishes in a puff of green smoke.
"Celestia?" comes the hesitant voice, her assistant watching from a distance. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
Princess Celestia pushes to her hooves. "Take a letter. No, two letters, one for your colleague in Ponyville. I am assigning Twilight Sparkle as official Summer Sun Celebration Overseer. I need an immediate announcement for Ponyville, tonight. And I want to smooth things over as best I can with the responsible parties when an inexperienced youngster shows up, even if her organization skills are no less than brilliant." Celestia sighs, knowing the dangers ahead for all of her little ponies. She sinks to her hooves, her barrel resting on the ground. Her muzzle disappears into her forelegs, crying as she utters prayers to Faust.
"Okay, that shouldn't be a problem. Raven should be able to handle a big, unexpected announcement from you. At least none of the proceedings on the ground should be disrupted." Raven's words draw no reaction as she quickly writes out the letters, her practiced hoof as legible as any horn writing. "Done. Anything else?" Princess Celestia shakes her head, her horn flaring and the two letters disappearing. "Okay. Well, I'll be in my office, if you need anything." Raven turns, shutting the door behind her.
Alone in the room, Celestia weeps.