//------------------------------//
// Crepuscularity 
// Story: Nocturnality 
// by Kotushk Fier 
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	Alright, today it begins. My checklist is made already.

[ ] Get to the carriage that will take myself and Miss Sparkle to Ponyville
[ ] Introduce myself cordially to Miss Sparkle and explain my presence, to forego any grey areas to our
arrangement.
[ ] Board the carriage and arrive in Ponyville.
[ ] Meet up with the various ponies in charge of different tasks, and oversee their work.
[ ] Attend the festivities, and keep to myself to avoid disputes over my eyes.
[ ] Return to Canterlot, and attend my classes once more.

[ ] OPTIONAL(but highly recommended) Avoid making friends.



I checked my bedside clock, and noticed immediately I was late. My carriage was to leave at 9:30 am, and I was bordering 9 am already. I shot out of bed and grabbed my saddlebags, glad I had packed last night. I dashed out of the door with barely a farewell to my family, and galloped to the carriage pickup location. Everything was a blur as I ran past shopping stands and other ponies along the way, thankfully not hurting anyone or myself.

I arrived with five minutes to spare (check), and immediately noticed Twilight Sparkle looking around agitatedly. No doubt looking for me. I trotted up to her and introduced myself (check), and apologized for my tardiness. She laughed nervously, mentioning my frequent tardiness in school, which we both chuckled about as we boarded the carriage (check) and began our long flight to Ponyville. 

As we got comfortable, Twilight looked over at me with curiosity. Raising an eyebrow, I asked her to elaborate on her staring.

"Well, you have interesting eyes. I had heard about them, but we had never teamed up on projects, so I never got a chance to look at them. They are quite pretty."

"Glad you think so, Miss Sparkle, but I'm afraid not everypony would agree with you. I seem to often find myself on the short end of a group beating because of them."

"That's so terrible! Ponies really ought to learn how to behave. If only they read the book I did on behaving, which..."

My brain zoned out at this point. The stories of this mare seemed true, when she got started about what she read she could go on for awhile. Luckily I managed to bring my attentions in focus at the right time.

"... And furthermore, just because you're different doesn't mean you should be picked on, don't you agree?"

"I do indeed, dear heart. But then again, I'm usually the one being picked on. It seems to be a power game, of which I am poorly lacking."

She huffed and sat back, staring moodily at the book she had been quoting. Apparently she had brought nothing else, I noticed in surprise, as her bags were overflowing with books. I silently admired her collection, and envied it. My parents thought toys were what I had needed as a child, when all I had wanted were books.

"Excuse me, Miss Sparkle, but are each of these books your own property?"

"Well... yes..."

I could sense hesitation in her voice, and looked over to her. She wore a look of which I knew well, the fear of being ridiculed. So this was her vice. Come to think of it, anytime I heard about Twilight Sparkle, she was always described as a self important snob with her nose always in a book, with no time for anypony. Admirable, that she could so easily keep her attentions in a book with all the, shall we say less intelligent, members of our classes. I nudged her gently with my forehoof, and when she looked up at me I offered as gentle a smile as I could.

"Well, dear heart, these books are quite the collection. I have a penchant for reading as well, but my family of toymakers never quite got around to book collecting, I'm afraid. May I borrow a book for the long flight?" 

She nodded enthusiastically as she began to rummage through her saddlebags. I noticed one of the bags seemed to be moving, and carefully levitated it open, only to find a baby dragon inside?! When I inquired about it, she laughed and said that without his basket, Spike (he has a name?), liked to sleep in this bag, because it never shut too much to suffocate him. As we talked about him, he snorted once in his sleep, a green tongue of flame breezing out of the window, and rolled over, mumbling for five more minutes. I chuckled slightly. I remembered that a test for magic majors was the hatching of a dragon, phoenix, or sea serpent, but had never actually thought they kept them.

Twilight finally found a good book for me to read, an astrology book I had yet to read, and I set to it with contentment. Twilight herself pulled a large tome about The Elements of Harmony, and quickly became engrossed within it. After reading quietly for a few minutes, punctuated only by occasional birds passing by and chirping, Twilight let out a gasp. Looking up from my book, I noticed she had a look of concern and was reading over notes she had been taking. After inquiring her, she told me that some previous signs in our world pointed towards an ancient prophecy she had just read. After I asked her to show me, she presented the book to me, on a page explaining the imminent revival of Discord. Not once, but twice. It said he would be weak the first time, but even weakened, he could only be banished by the Elements. I scoffed lightly, telling her not to put her not to worry, before she pointed out a star chart, asking me if this would be happening anytime soon. Looking at it, I immediately recognized it. It showed an extremely rare phenomenon, an alignment of the stars I had only just learned from Luna's latest class. This would be the night when Helios would be closest to our own far drifting planet, and Earth would be barely visible in the sky. Apparently the book foretold that a strange energy from space, rife with chaos and destruction, would reawaken Discord.

It said that with the right alignments of the stars, and the proximity to Earth, this negative and tainted energy would reach Discord, giving him access to his old powers, allowing him to undo the age old enchantments placed upon him. He would break his seal, causing chaos and malicious events with a whim, tormenting all ponies to the edge of sanity. It foretold that the Princesses would be unable to help, having lost the mystical connection to the Elements after exhausting their power on him the first time. 

Finally, the worst part, this night would be on the night of the Summer Solstice. Our preparations would be interrupted by Discord if this prophecy would come true. Impossible. The only way Earth could possibly cause this, according to Celestia's description of him, would be if the bipedal creatures on it waged ceaseless wars. I doubt any race of intelligent beings would kill themselves so senselessly, and any non intelligent creatures wouldn't know how. I laughed it off lightly when I told Twilight my thoughts, but she remained concerned, returning to her book and frowning. I left her alone and returned to my own book, but in the back of my mind the prophecy nagged me ceaselessly.