Using her own dream magic against her, the eldest defeated her younger sister and banished her nightmares to the Moon, sending the youngest into a thousand-year sleep.
— Excerpt from "The Legend of the Two Sisters"
A golden chariot flew across the countryside, pulled by armored pegasi of the Royal Guard. Inside sat two creatures: a purple baby dragon with green, spiny plates running from head to tail; and an unenthused, blue unicorn. This young stallion had a purple mane with golden tips that almost hid his eyes, and he bore a cutie mark depicting a shooting star on a lunar backdrop.
Unrolling a scroll, Spike the dragon cleared his throat. “My dear Midnight, 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!”
Midnight Errant sighed. “If only it were that easy…”
“Look on the bright side, big bro! The Queen arranged for you to stay in Auntie’s library. Doesn’t that make you happy?”
Midnight sat up straight. “Yes. Yes, it does. You know why? Because once I finish checking on the preparations, I can get to the library to prepare for our journey to the ancient castle.”
“Then… when will you make friends like the Queen said?”
“She said to check on preparations. I am her student, and I’ll do my royal duty, but the fate of the princess does not rest on me making friends.”
Spike frowned. “It’s not like she’s in danger.”
“Well, no, but I always wanted to say that.”
The chariot touched down on a street surrounded by wood-framed cottages with thatched roofs. The few ponies walking by watched as Spike and Midnight climbed out.
“Thank you, guards,” the Queen’s protégé said.
Smiling, the royal guardsponies huffed in response.
“Hey!” Spike said. “Maybe the ponies in Ponyville have interesting things to talk about.”
A pink earth pony walked by. The mare had a pink, poofy mane, and a trio of balloons for a cutie mark. She stopped then stared at stallion, eyes wide.
Spike nudged him. “Come on, Midnight, just try.”
He turned to the pink pony. “Uh… hello?”
She gasped and dashed away, nearly blowing Midnight’s mane off.
Rolling his eyes, Midnight walked away. “Well, that was interesting, all right.”
Sighing, Spike followed behind.
Walking to the edge of town, Spike and Midnight Errant reached an open gate leading into an enormous apple farm. It comprised of a large barn surrounded by a farm house and a forest of red apple orchards. Above the gate hung a wooden board with an apple-shaped cutout.
“Summer Sun Celebration Official Overseer’s Checklist,” Spike said, scroll in hand. “Number one: banquet preparations at Sweet Apple Acres.”
Entering the farm, the duo spotted a yellow earth pony with a red, braided mane as she headed toward them. The young mare wore a green neckerchief and had a cutie mark of a heart within an apple on a tricolored shield.
“Hi, there~!” she said.
He smiled. “Good afternoon. My name is Midnight Errant and this is—”
The earth pony grabbed his forehoof and shook it vigorously. “Well, howdy do, Mr. Errant. A pleasure makin’ your acquaintance. I’m Apple Bloom. We here at Sweet Apple Acres sure do like makin’ new friends.”
Despite her energy, Midnight kept his balance. But only just. “F-friends? Uh, uh, r-really? I, I—”
Letting go of his hoof, Apple Bloom winked at the stallion. “So, what can I do you for?”
Freed from her enthusiasm, Midnight nearly stumbled before Spike steadied him. Ignoring his little brother’s chuckles, he cleared his throat. “Well, I am here to supervise preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. And you’re in charge of the food?”
“We sure as sugar are,” she said. “Would you care to sample some?”
“Well, as long as it doesn’t take too—”
“SOUP’S ON, EVERYPONY!”
A stampede swept Spike and Midnight away. As the dust settled, the boys found themselves sitting at a large table surrounded by eager ponies, the trees decorated with awnings overhead.
Apple Bloom popped up beside the duo. “Now, why don’t I introduce y’all to the Apple family?”
“Uh, thanks,” Midnight said, “but we really need to—”
One after another, the ponies began to deposit food onto the table.
“This here’s Apple Fritter, Apple Bumpkin, Red Gala, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious,” she continued to list off the names of a dozen other apples and apple-based food items, “Big McIntosh, Applejack, and Clover Quartz.” Said pony was shoved forward from the crowd.
Clover was a gray earth pony with a long, red mane bearing a cutie mark of a crystal shield that was covered in clovers. Mouth hanging open, the young stallion stared between the dragon and the unicorn, back and forth, back and forth. “Uh… Wh…? How are you…? How is…?”
“Okay…” Midnight said. “Well, I can see the food situation is handled, so we’ll be on our way.”
“Aren’t you gonna stay for brunch?” a red stallion named Big McIntosh said.
“Sorry, but we have an awful lot to do.”
“Aw…” the entire Apple family said.
Midnight Errant sighed. “Oh, alright…”
Everypony, and dragon, cheered as the Apple family reunion began again in full swing.
After leaving the farm and walking all the way back, Spike and Midnight Errant arrived at the town square: a large, open area located near the river at the edge of Ponyville. At its center stood a round, tall building with a porch at ground level, a balcony above both it and on the conical roof, and topped by a cupola. Around the square were several colorful tents and a fountain containing a sculpture of a rearing earth pony.
“Food’s all taken care of,” Spike said. “Next is the weather.”
Trailing behind, Midnight groaned. “I ate too much pie…”
Spike looked around. “Hmm… There’s supposed to be a pegasus named Featherdew clearing the clouds.”
Midnight looked up and saw clear skies. “Doing a good job, I’d say.”
“Look out below!” An orange pegasus fell from the sky. She had an unruly, reddish-pink mane and a cutie mark of a lightning bolt within a wing on a tricolored shield. The young mare landed and plowed into Spike, knocking him into a mud puddle.
Midnight Errant ran over. “Spike! Are you alright!?”
Covered in mud, the baby dragon groaned in response.
The pegasus followed behind. “Oops! Sorry! I’m not a very strong flier— Oh, wow! A baby dragon!” She turned around. “Hey! You must be Midnight! Sweetie Belle talks about you all the—”
“Scootaloo!”
The three looked up and spotted a white pegasus with a pink mane flying high up in the sky.
“Stop messing with those ponies and get up here! I’m going to be late!”
“Okay, Featherdew!” Scootaloo said. “Sorry, you two. See you later~!”
Midnight glared at the mare as she flew away. “Well, at least that other pony knows what she’s doing.” He turned back to find his little brother trying to wipe the mud off of his scales. He tried not to laugh. “Here— pft! Let, let me help you…”
With his horn glowing gold, Midnight lifted Spike into the air using a telekinesis spell. Then, with a dollop of water from the river and a huff of green fire from his little brother, the Queen‘s protégé wiped off the mud, washed his scales, and dried the baby dragon’s body — all in a single pass.
The boys jumped as a sudden audience applauded their performance.
Midnight blushed. “Uh… S-sorry, we gotta go!”
Spike took a bow in mid-air before being pulled away.
Stepping inside town hall, Spike and Midnight Errant entered an enormous, circular room that was open all the way up to the roof of the building. The boys watched as a team of pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies decorated the area: wiping the tall, grand windows that wrapped around the second floor, placing flags and flowers on the balcony railings on the first floor, and adding ribbons around the stage on the far end of the room.
Spike looked at the checklist. “Next is decorations.”
Midnight ducked down to avoid a pegasus flying overhead. “They’re obviously trying to make up for lost time. They haven’t even hung the banners yet.”
A darkish-gray earth pony with a braided, light-gray and gray mane hurried by. The young mare wore a pair of baby-blue glasses and bore a cutie mark of a silver spoon adorned with a heart.
“Excuse me!” Midnight said.
She glanced at him and kept going, but then she stopped and turned back, staring at the stallion with wide eyes. “You… You, you’re…”
Midnight wore his best smile. Oh, great… “Good afternoon. My name is Midnight Errant, and I’m here to check on the decorations. Are you in charge?”
The young mare blushed. Sweet Celestia, he’s talking to me~! “T-that would be Diamond Tiara. Please, wait here…” She turned and ran away.
Mask falling, Midnight sighed.
“Ah, cheer up, big bro!” Spike said. “It wasn’t that bad this time. At least this pony talked to you.”
She returned, pushing a fellow earth pony forward. This other young mare had a pale-magenta coat with a white and violet mane. She wore a shirt collar secured with a frilly ribbon tie, and she had a tiara for a cutie mark.
“I told you, Silver Spoon, I don’t have time to deal with—” Diamond Tiara spotted the young stallion in front of her. Her eyes widened. “E-excuse us…” She dragged Silver Spoon away. “I thought I told you to get the banners!”
“I, I already sent Sweetie Belle to Carousel Boutique, but she hasn’t come back yet.”
“Well, what’s taking her so long!”
As the two continued to bicker, Midnight began to leave. “We’ll be back.”
Spike tried to follow. “Where are we going? What about the decorations? Midnight, wait for me!”
The boys arrived at Carousel Boutique: an ornately-decorated, two-story building resembling an antique carousel, a painting of a galloping pony hanging above the front door. Inside, they both found themselves in a showroom stocked with mirrors, mannequins, and movable screens. In the center of the room was a small display stage surrounded by tall mirrors with a door to a changing room beside it.
“Hello?” Midnight said.
A voice came from upstairs, “In a minute!”
As the two waited, a slender, white pegasus burst into the boutique. The young mare had a flowing, pink mane and bore a glittering feather for a cutie mark.
“Sorry, Sweetie Belle, I know I’m late, but—!” She noticed Midnight. “Oh, hello. How can I—?” She gasped. “I completely forgot about our meeting! I’m so, so sorry.”
“It’s alright, uh, Featherdew? In fact, Spike and I thought you did a wonderful job. Right, Spike?”
Featherdew gave Spike a glance. “Really? That’s great—!” Her eyes widened.
“Wow,” Spike said, “you’re pretty!”
The pretty pony blushed. “How are you—? Wh—? Wait, did you—? What?”
“Spike!” Midnight said.
“What? She is! It just took me by surprise, that’s all.”
A white unicorn climbed downstairs carrying a few rolled-up banners on her back and floating several more in the air using magic. The young mare had a curly, purple and pink mane and had a cutie mark of musical note inside a star on a tricolored shield. “Alright, how can I help,” she recognized Midnight, “y-you?” Blushing, her magic dispelled, and the floating banners began to fall.
Horn aglow, Midnight Errant caught them all. “Are you alright?”
Sweetie Belle watched as the young stallion came closer. “Y-yes! I’m fine!”
“Do you need any help?”
Featherdew smirked. “Actually—”
Sweetie Belle grabbed all the banners and shoved some of them onto her feathered friend. “N-no, no! T-that’s why she’s here!”
“Are you sure—?”
“No! I mean, yes, thank you!” She cringed. “Sorry! I-it was nice meeting you! Goodbye!” Pushing a snickering Featherdew, Sweetie Belle and her friend left the boutique, leaving two bewildered boys behind.
Crossing a small bridge, Spike and Midnight Errant arrived at a park near the boutique. The park had a water fountain with a statue of a flag-bearing pony, and it had a few benches strewn about.
“We should be about done, right?” Midnight said.
Spike checked the checklist. “Yep! Music — it’s the last one.”
The boys stopped as they heard fanfare being whistled from somewhere up ahead. They both poked their heads through some bushes and spotted a yellow pegasus conducting a choir of birds, the flock singing within the branches of a large tree. The mare had a gentle, pink mane that draped down the side of her face, and she bore a cutie mark consisting of three butterflies.
“Hey!” Spike said. “They’re really good!”
Midnight stared at the mare, his mouth hanging open. Wow, she’ pretty.
“Uh… Midnight?” Spike waved a hand in front of his brother’s face. “Hello?”
Hovering in the air with a flutter of her wings, the pegasus noticed that one of the birds was whistling out of tune. “Oh my. Um, stop, please, everyone. Um…” She flew up to the bad singer. “Excuse me, sir. I mean no offense, but your rhythm is just a teeny tiny bit off.”
Midnight walked out of the bushes and onward toward the pretty pony. “Uh, excuse me?”
“Oh! H-hello.” She landed in front of him. “Can I help you?”
“My name is Midnight Errant. I’m just here to check up on the music, and it sounded beautiful.”
“Oh, um, thank you. My name is Fluttershy. It’s nice to meet you.”
“It’s nice to meet you, too.”
The conversation then died and was buried in a watery silence.
“So,” Midnight said, “um, I guess everything’s in order. Keep up the good work.”
Spike stood there as his big brother came back. “Real smooth, Midnight.”
“Oh, shut up.”
Fluttershy gasped. “A baby dragon!” She flew over, nearly knocking Midnight aside. “Oh, I’ve never seen a baby dragon before! He’s so cute.”
Spike sent Midnight a smirk. “Well, well, well!”
Midnight groaned. “Oh no…”
“Oh my,” she said, fluttering in the air, “he talks! I didn’t know dragons could talk. That’s just so incredibly wonderful. I, I just don’t even know what to say!”
Midnight grabbed Spike with his magic and hoisted his little brother onto his back. “Well, in that case, we’d better be going.”
“Oh, wait! Wait!” Exchanging farewells with the birds, Fluttershy hurried after and began to walk alongside the baby dragon. “What’s your name?”
“I’m Spike!”
“Hi, Spike. I’m Fluttershy. Wow, a talking dragon! And what do dragons talk about?”
“Well, what do you want to know?”
“Absolutely everything.”
Midnight rolled his eyes. “Here we go…”
“Well, I started out as a cute little dragon egg…”
As the day came to a close, Spike, Fluttershy, and Midnight Errant arrived at the Golden Oaks Library: a huge, gnarled tree whose trunk and foliage were set with many windows, one of which hung a antique lantern. The library had a sign outside depicting an open book, a lit candle painted on the front door, and it had a balcony on the second floor.
“And that’s the story of my whole entire life,” Spike said. “Well, up until today. Do you want to hear about today?”
Fluttershy moved closer. “Oh, yes, please!”
Entering the pitch black interior of the library, Midnight removed Spike off his back. “I’m going to go eat something. Now, where’s the light?”
The lights came on, revealing a large, circular room whose walls were lined with bookshelves; other volumes were scattered around lofts set into the walls above them. This reading room was filled with pretty streamers, party balloons, and ponies, many of whom began blowing on noisemakers.
“SURPRISE!”
“Oh my stars!” Midnight said, confetti raining down on the group.
“Suuurprise!” a pink earth pony said, her pink, poofy mane bouncing as she hopped her way across the room. “Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie, and I threw this party just for you~! Were you surprised? Were ya, were ya; huh, huh, huh?”
Midnight chuckled. “Very surprised. It looks like you invited the entire town.”
Pinkie Pie giggled. “Well, that’s silly. What kind of welcome party would this be if I hadn’t invited the entire town? I mean, duh! Boooring!
“Y’see, I saw you when you first got here, remember? You were all, ‘Hello,’ and I was all,” she gasped, “remember? Y’see, I never saw you before, and if I never saw you before, that means you’re new ’cause I know every pony, and I mean every pony in Ponyville!
“And if you’re new, it meant you hadn’t met anyone yet; and if you haven’t met anyone yet, you must not have any friends; and if you don’t have any friends, then you must be lonely — and that made me so sad — and I had an idea, and that’s why I went,” she gasped again, “‘I should throw a great big ginormous super-duper spectacular welcome party and invite everyone in Ponyville!’ See? And now you have lots and lots of friends!”
Midnight burst out laughing. “You’re just too much, Pinkie Pie.”
“Hey, big bro,” Spike said. “I know we have to ‘save the princess’ and all, but it has been a really long day. Maybe we could have some fun for a little while?”
With Spike and Pinkie Pie giving him the sad eyes, Midnight sighed. “Well, the Queen did say to make some friends—”
“Alright!” The pair began dragging him off to party.
“But just for a little while! Then, it’s off to the castle!”
As thumping dance music continued to play down below, Midnight Errant ran upstairs to a small apartment on the second floor of the Golden Oaks Library. The apartment was divided in two: a living space on the floor-level with a balcony attached to it, and a bedroom tucked into a loft above.
Searching the living room, Midnight found a chest filled with his belongings and began ransacking its contents.
Wearing a lampshade on his head, Spike entered the room. “Hey, Midnight! Pinkie Pie’s starting ‘Pin the Tail on the Pony’! Wanna play?”
“No! Do you know what time it is?!”
“But everypony has to stay up, or they’ll miss the Queen raise the sun. You really should lighten up, Midnight. It’s a party—!” Spike spotted a gray earth pony with a long, red mane as he climbed into the balcony past a glass door. “Uh, Midnight?”
“Not now, Spike. I’m trying to find—” Upon hearing a knocking, Midnight looked up and noticed the young stallion outside. “What the hay!?” He let the earth pony inside. “Clover Quartz? How did you get up here? It’s the second floor!”
Clover stood there, gasping for breath. “I’ve been… tryin’ to… talk to you… about somethin’…”
“What was so important that you had to climb up a tree? What was wrong with the stairs?”
“You’re Her Majesty’s student, right?”
“Yeah?”
“I can’t believe she’s a queen…” Clover pointed at the baby dragon. “A-and you hatched his egg, right?”
“Common knowledge — and?”
“And his name is Spike, right?!”
Midnight leaned back, eyeing him. “What are you getting at?”
“T-then that means that you’re the Twilight!”
“The what?! You’re not making any sense—!”
“It makes perfect sense—!” Clover gasped. “Does that mean that I’m one of the Elements? Holy Mother Mare…”
“Okay, that’s enough…” Midnight started pushing him toward the stairs. “Out you go, you crazy pony.”
“No, wait! You don’t understand—!”
A slender, white pegasus with a flowing, pink mane flew in from downstairs. “Midnight Errant?” Featherdew said. “I would like to speak with you regarding—” She spotted Spike — and her eyes widened. “Sweet sun and seasons, he’s wearing the lampshade… I knew it! It’s happening! It’s happening!”
Clover gasped. “I used to wonder what friendship could be…”
Featherdew looked at him, eyes wide. “Until you all shared it’s magic with me!”
The crazy ponies began to hop around, up and down, here and there. “Friendship is Magic! Friendship is Magic! Friendship is Magic!”
“ENOUGH.”
In a burst of bright light, Featherdew and Clover Quartz were frozen under a stasis spell.
“Now,” Midnight said, “I’m going to let you two go, and one of you is going to explain to me what’s going on. Alright?”
Released from his spell, the two ponies looked at each other.
“Do you think he‘s…?”
“He didn’t react to the song, so…”
“Well?”
“Okay,” Featherdew said, “weird question: were you always a pony, or were you something else before?”
Midnight’s eyes widened. “What did you say—?”
“Does that mean that you used to be monkeys, too?” Spike said.
Clover gasped. “Sweet salt lick! Spike is a—!” He frowned as he tried to find the right word. “Wait, what? Monkeys?”
Rolling his eyes, Midnight turned around and started rummaging through his belongings again. “There’s no word in the Ponish language that means ‘hairless ape’. And no, Spike isn’t the monkey, I am.”
“You a—! Hold on, what are you doin’?”
“Ah-ha!” Midnight grabbed a small, gemstone pendant. “Come on, Spike.”
He shook his head. “I’m not going.”
“What? Why?”
“It’s late, and I want to keep partying.” Spike began heading downstairs. “Besides, you heard what the Queen said, so why don’t you take them with you?”
“Ugh, fine…” Midnight turned to Clover. “Do you have any Guard experience?
He blinked. “Uh, well, I’m actually a part-time deputy here in—”
Midnight tossed the gemstone necklace to Featherdew and went outside. “Wear that and let’s go.”
Putting it on, Featherdew followed after. “What does it—?”
Midnight jumped off the balcony.
“Whoa!” She took to the air to catch him, but watched as the Queen‘s protégé floated down to the ground using a feather-fall spell.
“Uh… Feather?” Clover said, still on the balcony. “Can you get me down? Please?”
“How did you even get up here before me?” Featherdew said, grabbing him. “Did you climb up the tree?”
Midnight watched as the two flew down. “It’s obvious that you both know something that I don’t, but we’ll talk about that on the way over. Now, let get going.”
Featherdew and Clover Quartz followed behind.
“Was Twilight always like this?”
“Well, it’s no wonder she didn’t have any friends.”