The Summer Sun Celebration is right around the corner. With the festivities due to be held in Canterlot this year, Twilight Sparkle has found herself caught up in the flurry of activity as her friends each rush to do their part in their respective locations. With the excitement across Equestria becoming almost tangible, Twilight is ready and eager to play her own part in the festivities.
“Come on, come on!” Rainbow urged from somewhere deeper in the library, her voice loud and urgent. “Guys, hurry it up, would ya?! We’re gonna be late for the train! And Spike, where did you put my Daring Do book?!”
The baby dragon by Twilight’s side rolled his eyes in exasperation, looking up to the alicorn as she finished sliding a few books into her saddlebags. “Should I go help her?” he asked in a deadpan.
“Before she gets any worse? Probably,” Twilight replied with a sage nod before settling the packed bags onto her back. She had everything she could feasibly need for a few days in Canterlot. A few books to read, Spike’s camera, a few books for Spike to read if she could get him to sit down for a minute, and a few miscellaneous odds and ends for maintaining her appearance.
Spike turned and waddled from the room, shouting to be heard over the distance. “I dunno! Which one are you looking for?!”
“The- the- The whatchamacallit! Darnit, I don’t remember which one!”
Spike sighed and disappeared from view with a sad shake of his head. Twilight watched him go and giggled in amusement before turning to look out the window. She saw the city of Canterlot up on the mountains, high above the scattered rooftops of Ponyville like a shining beacon.
The Summer Sun Celebration would take place the day after tomorrow. Rainbow Dash was expected to be at Celestia and Luna’s side for the lowering of the moon and the raising of the sun and had personally requested that Twilight and Spike come with her to ensure that everything went smoothly.
It was just a shame that that meant leaving the rest of their friends behind in Ponyville.
Twilight’s pleased expression faltered just slightly at the thought, but she was quick to shove aside any of her doubts. They had all talked about it already, and it was only going to be for a couple of days.
“We found the thing!” Spike’s voice hollered from downstairs a moment later, snapping Twilight from her thoughts. “We’re ready to go!”
Twilight turned from the window and made her way downstairs, a quizzical look on her face. As she emerged into the living room, she saw Rainbow and Spike standing by the front door, the former with her saddlebags slung over her shoulders. The pegasus looked at her with a mildly impatient frown. She didn’t say anything, though, looking less than amused.
Twilight giggled at the pegasus as she approached. “You know, Rainbow, I’m packing a few books along, myself. You could just borrow one of mine,” she pointed out.
Rainbow snorted. “You mean a science textbook, a murder mystery, and a romance novel that Rarity gave you?”
“Er… yes?”
Rainbow slowly lifted an eyebrow. “Okay, and do they come with action, lasers, short skirts, and explosions?”
Twilight was only just able to contain her snort of amusement. She shook her head, giving an exaggerated sigh of defeat. “Alas, no, these books do not meet your exceedingly refined tastes,” she lamented, a smirk playing at the edges of her lips.
Rainbow shook her head. “Okay, fun as it is, can we flirt later?” she asked before jabbing a hoof irritably towards a clock on the back wall. “‘Cause we got, like, ten minutes to board our train, or I’m gonna hafta fly us up there.”
Twilight’s brain stalled for a second. “Wait, we were flirting?”
“You were definitely about to start,” Spike decided before opening the door and slipping out. “But Rainbow’s got a good point. We need to go, or we’re gonna miss our train!”
Rainbow grinned triumphantly before flying out the door. Twilight followed her out, shaking her head in mild exasperation before closing the door behind her, making sure it was locked. That done, she hefted Spike onto her back with her magic and took to the air, falling in by Rainbow’s side. Together, the trio made their way for the Ponyville train station.
As they flew over the buildings, Twilight lowered her eyes down to the streets. She saw a wide assortment of ponies going about their days, many of them in the process of hanging up their decorations for the coming annual festival. Every so often one would look up and wake at her, and she smiled and waved back.
“Wow. You’ve sure come a long way, haven’t you?” Spike suddenly asked from her back.
Twilight faltered for a moment before looking back at the drake with a raised eyebrow. “Huh? What do you mean?”
Spike nodded towards the ground. “I was just thinking about your first day back in Ponyville. You were really shy and scared back then, but here you are, waving and smiling and looking happy as can be.”
“To be fair,” Rainbow noted, rotating so she was flying sideways in the air, something Twilight was absolutely not jealous about, no sir. “She’s lived in Ponyville longer as an amnesiac than not.”
“I guess,” Spike aknowledged with a shrug before patting Twilight on the head and giving her a big smile. “Still good to see.”
Twilight smiled back at him, allowing the praise to fill her heart with warmth. She had come a long way, hadn’t she? She remembered quite clearly how terrified she had been in those early days, but now?
She may have only had two years of memories under her belt at this point, but she was proud to say that she couldn’t remember a time when she had felt better about herself.
“Oh hey, it’s the girls,” Rainbow pointed out, gesturing towards the station as they drew closer. Twilight looked, and sure enough, there were the rest of their friends, gathered in a loose circle on the wooden platform and chatting as they waited for them to arrive. The train had already arrived, and ponies were piling on with their bags in tow.
“Here to see us off, I bet,” Spike surmised.
Twilight hummed before bringing her wings in close to her side and beginning a controlled dive for the ground. All of the flying lessons Rainbow had drilled into her skull for so long served her well as she fanned out her wings just shy of the ground, cutting her velocity down to almost nothing and allowing her to settle down into a soft and graceful landing on the platform.
And then Rainbow power-slammed into the floor next to her, kicking up a cloud of dust. Twilight coughed and staggered back, using her wings to blow the dust away and spying Rainbow in a ‘super pony pose’ in the haze.
“You know that’s real bad on your hooves, right?” Spike pointed out.
Rainbow chuckled as she got back to her full height. “Don’t care, it looks awesome.”
Twilight resisted the urge to roll her eyes for the umpteenth time before turning to their gathered friends. Pinkie was, predictably, the first one to approach them, her grin wide and eager.
“Hey, you three! We just came to see you off and make sure you knew that we’re gonna miss you and that the party won’t be the same without you but we’ll be sure to save a lot of cake for when you get back!” She spewed out in one long, uninterrupted deluge.
Applejack came up next, chuckling and nudging Pinkie back to give Twilight and Dashs some space. “Hey, now, sugarcube, don’t get too up on their case, they only got a minute.”
“Yeah, sorry it took us so long to show up,” Rainbow offered with a sheepish grin. “I kinda had a hard time finding a thing.”
“It’s fine,” Fluttershy assured her, drifting over and offering them both a big smile. “I wish we could go with you, but we have our own work to do back here in Ponyville.”
“Indeed,” Rarity added, stepping forward to stand by her side. “Mayor Mare needs all hooves on deck for the celebration here in Ponyville. Why, I still have to decorate Town Hall and finish off the dresses for everypony.”
“Can’t Ah just use my dress from last year?” Applejack asked, bemused.
Rarity gasped, scandalized, and promptly launched into a long-winded tirade at the farmer about ‘seasons’ and ‘trends’ and ‘effort.’ Twilight tuned most of it out, instead watching as Fluttershy slowly drew closer, a timid look on her face.
“Um, before you three go, can I ask a favor?” she asked, lowering her voice so the others couldn’t hear.
Rainbow and Twilight shared a glance, their eyebrows going up, before leaning in to hear their friend better. “Sure, ‘Shy. ‘Sup?” Rainbow asked, lowering her voice as well.
Fluttershy’s eyes flicked back and forth a few times before she lightly poked a part of her mane that hung by her shoulder. To Twilight’s surprise, a small garder snake poked his head out, an envelope held in his mouth and his beady eyes shimmering.
Twilight’s mind stalled for a second, but Rainbow immediately got just the most sickening of knowing grins on her muzzle. “Ooooh, I get it,” she said quietly before sneakily reaching out and taking the envelope. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure Thorax gets it,” she promised before turning to Spike. “Spike?”
The dragon threw a smart salute and stood up on Twilight’s back. Taking the envelope in his claws, he breathed in before unleashing a wave of green flames across it, turning it to smoke. That done, Rainbow turned back to Fluttershy and nodded. “Kay, it’s on its way.”
Fluttershy blushed softly, her eyes drifting down to her now awkwardly-scuffing hooves. “Mhmm…” she hummed in gratitude before shuffling back to stand by the rest of the group as Rarity’s rant finally drew to a close.
Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Ya ‘bout done, Rares?”
Rarity harrumphed indignantly and thrust her nose up into the air.
Before any further banter could be had, a loud call echoed over the platform from the pony by the train entrance. “All aboard for Canterlot!”
His shout was accompanied by the whistle of the train blowing, a loud indication that it was time to get a move on. Twilight winced, disappointed by the abrupt cut off to her time with her friends, but she was quick to put on a smile. “Sorry girls, but we need to get going.”
“Don’t let us keep ya, then,” Applejack replied with a smile and a tip of her hat. “Go on and do yer thing, you two. We’ll be waitin’ for ya back when ya get home.”
Pinkie squee’d energetically before reaching out, her forelegs somehow extending to several times their normal length. With a content hum, she grabbed everypony present and hauled them in for a big group hug. “Eee! Have fun up there, you guys!”
Twilight squirmed in Pinkie’s grip, her mind faltering even as her hooves instinctually returned the group hug. “Pinkie… how did your hooves do that?” she asked in bewilderment, even though, in truth, she already knew the answer.
Pinkie leaned back to look directly into Twilight’s eyes, that oh so familiar, endearing, and infuriating smile on her face. A smile that smugly rubbed it into Twilight’s face that Pinkie knew things that she never could. She then leaned forward and whispered loudly into Twilight’s ear for everypony to hear.
“Ha. Ha… please.”
Applejack sighed. “Still doin’ that?”
Pinkie grinned.
“Cute. Now can you let us go?” Rainbow asked, squirming a little herself. “In case you forgot, we got a train to catch?”
Like a rubber band snapping back after being stretched to its absolute limit, Pinkie’s legs returned to their normal length, freeing the others from her hold. “Sorry!” she said with an enormously-sheepish grin.
Rainbow chuckled before cantering past the party mare for the train door. “You’re fine. We’ll see you girls in a few days. Take care!” she called over her shoulder. Twilight was quick to follow behind her, nodding at their friends as she passed.
“See you soon!” Fluttershy waved after them, finally emerging from her brief moment of shy seclusion.
“You’ll do wonderfully, darlings, we know you will!” Rarity added.
“Just make sure ya have fun, too,” Applejack pointed out.
“AND EAT SOME PIE!” Pinkie all but shrieked as the doors slid shut. Her follow-up shout was muffled into silence, something Twilight was not sure if she should be glad for or not.
She was quick to push aside that concern, however, instead following Rainbow deeper into the train. It didn’t take them long to find a seat with a window facing Ponyville and the train platform, where their friends were still standing around.
“Okay,” Rainbow began once she was seated. “We sure we got everything we need?”
Twilight sat down across from the pegasus, setting Spike down by her side with her magic. She nodded her head in confirmation. “I’m pretty sure, yes. I mean, our part in what’s coming up doesn’t require a whole lot of extra materials. You’re managing the weather and I’m coming along to make sure you don’t forget anything.”
“Which means checklists,” Spike noted with a small smile. “And I made sure to pack plenty of parchment, ink, and quills in your saddlebags.”
“Thanks, Spike,” Twilight said, patting him on the head.
“Meh, fair enough,” Rainbow replied with a shrug before leaning back and looking out the window. “I just wanna do this right, you know? It’s my first time managing the weather for the Summer Sun Celebration over Canterlot. I mean, the place is basically my second home, and it’s the capital.”
“Celestia wouldn’t have made you the Princess of the Skies two years ago if she didn’t think you were the right mare for the job,” Spike pointed out with a reassuring look on his face. “You’ll be fine. Just don’t overthink it, let Twilight help you out, and it’ll all be fine.”
Rainbow visibly relaxed from Spike’s words and she flashed him a grateful look. Before she could say anything, though, the train suddenly lurched and pulled into motion. Twilight watched as, outside, the platform disappeared, her friends waving at her in farewell. She was quick to raise a hoof and wave in response, making sure to keep her gaze on them until they passed entirely out of sight.
With the view comprised almost entirely of rolling foothills and the occasional pocket of trees, Twilight dug into her saddlebags and withdrew a sheet of parchment, a quill, and some ink. She turned to Rainbow and smiled. “Okay, so, shall we get a start on the checklist on the way?”
Rainbow chuckled and rolled her eyes. After a second, though, she nodded and hopped over to sit next to Twilight. “Sure, let’s do it,” she stated before focusing on the sheet. “Okay, so, first off…”
The two lost themselves in the work, a simple task that both of them were able to enjoy. Spike chipped in every so often with an idle observation or suggestion. It was pleasant all-around, and Twilight found herself relaxing more and more.
Until she noticed the white tendrils licking at the edges of her vision.
She blinked, and as quickly as they had come, they had gone. She looked up and around, her attention torn from the checklist and now focused on scanning her environment, listening intently for anything out of the ordinary.
“Twi? Something up?” Rainbow asked in concern, snapping the alicorn from her distraction.
Twilight shook herself and gave Rainbow a reassuring smile. “Sorry, I just zoned out for a second,” she replied before looking back down at the sheet. “Where were we?”
Rainbow and Spike shared a quizzical glance before slowly returning to work on the checklist. Twilight listened intently, but somehow she wasn’t able to find the work enjoyable anymore.
There was something wrong. She could feel it…
And that feeling haunted her for the rest of the train ride.