//------------------------------// // Friendship is Magic, Part 1 // Story: My Little Pony Friendship Is MAgic: Tales of Friendship Season 1 // by Ezio1-3 //------------------------------// This story is my version of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, featuring both characters crossovered from different shows and games and characters I made up. I don't own the canon characters or crossover characters. All Characters belong to their rightful owners. Chapter 1: Friendship is Magic, Part 1 : Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land. To do this, the eldest used her unicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn; the younger brought out the moon to begin the night. Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects, all the different types of ponies. During their reign, other creatures would appear in Equestria from other worlds, seeking a home, and most were welcomed with open arms as they maintained good relations with the ponies. But as time went on, the younger sister became resentful. The ponies and other creatures relished and played in the day her elder sister brought forth, but shunned and slept through her beautiful night. One fateful day, the younger unicorn refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn. The elder sister tried to reason with her, but the bitterness in the young one's heart had transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness: Nightmare Moon. She vowed that she would shroud the land in eternal night. Not even her lover, the Prince of Endermen, a race from a far off world known as the End, could bring reason to her. Reluctantly, the elder sister harnessed the most powerful magic known to ponydom: the Elements of Harmony. Using the magic of the Elements of Harmony, she defeated her younger sister, and banished her permanently in the moon. The elder sister took on responsibility for both sun and moon and harmony has been maintained in Equestria for generations since. and ever since that fateful day, the Prince of the Endermen went into exile, vowing to return when his love was returned to set things straight. "Elements of Harmony.... Hmmm." said the young unicorn mare reading the book on this history."I know I've heard that name before, but where ?", she asked in wonder. The unicorn mare had blue hair with purple and pink stripes down the middle, a purple coat, purple eyes, and a cutie mark of a large six-pointed pinkish-purple star on her flank .Her name was Twilight Sparkle, unicorn student of Princess Celestia. She had been her student ever since she was little, and shes had a bad feeling something was going to happen. Something bad.   Twilight decided to head back to her library at her home. She had a lot of thinking to do, and little time. On her way, she ran into three other ponies she recognized as Lemon Heart, Twinkleshine and Minuette. Twilight became nervous. "There you are, Twilight!" Twinlkleshine said, smiling. "Moondancer is having a little Get-together in the west Castle Courtyard. You wanna come?" Twilight smiled nervously. "Oh, sorry girls. I've got a lot of studying to catch up on." The then raced off towards the Canterlot Library. But she heard Twinkleshine behind her as she sped off."'sigh' Does that pony do anything except study? I think she's more interested in books than friends." Twilight pushed those words aside as she ran. The had more important things to worry about. Makeing friends could wait. "I know I've heard of the elements of Harmony." she mused as she ran past two other ponies who waved at her. She sped off to the Library tower, where she knocked over Spike, her purple baby dragon assistant, who landed on a wrapped present he was holding with a thud and a groan. But Twilight hadn't even seen him. "Spike? Spike? Spike?" she called out, until she finally noticed him on the ground groaning. "There you are. Quick, find me that old copy of Predictions and Prophecies." she said as she began to search through books herself. When she looked at Spike, she noticed the beaten up gift impaled on his tail."What's that for?" she asked, pointing to the present with her hoof. Spike pulled it off and looked at it sadly as an impaled toy fell out with a squeak."Well it was a gift for Moondancer, but...." he looked sadly at his ruined gift. Twilight then gained a stern look on her face as he began perusing her books."Oh Spike, you know we don't have time for that sort of thing." "But we're on break!" Spike said incredulously. Twilight paid him no mind and began using her magic to levitate book after book of the high shelves and searching through them. "No. No No. No! UGH! SPIKE!" she called out in frustration. From the high shelf above her, Spike called out, "It's over her!", book in hand. Before he could climb down, Twilight used he magic to pull the book towards her, but because Spike hadn't let go, he landed face-first in front of her with the book. Twilight then took the book and searched through it's contents, muttering, "Elements, Elements, E, E, aha! Here! Elements of Harmony! 'See: Mare in the Moon?'" she wondered. IT sounded familiar. Spike had heard her. "Mare in the Moon?" he asked. "But that's an old pony's tale." Twilight began to shuffle through another book, until she found what she was looking for. "Mare, mare...aha!! The Mare in the Moon, myth from olden pony times. A powerful pony who wanted to rule Equestria, defeated by the Elements of Harmony and imprisoned in the moon. Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about nighttime eternal!" 9she gasped in horror. "Spike! Do you know what this means?" " No-Whoah!" Spike yelped as he fell off the ladder he was climbing because he lost his balance. Thankfully he landed on Twilight's back. Twilight then handed him a quill and a piece of parchment. :Take a note please, to the Princess." Twilight ordered.   "Okie Dokie." Spike said as he began to write what Twilight was saying. "My dearest teacher, my continuing studies of pony magic have led me to discover that we are on the precipice of disaster!" But Spike was struggling with that last word. "Hold on. Preci... preci..." he struggled. Twilight sighed. Sometimes, Spike wasn't very bright. But what could you do, he was really still a baby dragon. So she tried to make things easier for him. "Threshold. " she suggested. But that seemed to confuse him even further. "Uh, brink? Ugh, that 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." Spike then finished writing down the last of the message. “Twi....light Spar....kle. Got It!” Spike said. “Great! Send it!” Twilight ordered. “Now?” Spike asked. “Of Course!” Twilight said. Spike then got skittish. “Uh, I dunno, Twilight. Princess Celestia's a little busy getting ready for the Summer Sun Celebration. And it's like, the day after tomorrow. Even her former bodyguard Rayman will be there! You remember him, right? I mean, you told me about him, how he quit his job shortly after you became Celestia’s student when I hatched! He’s even going to be helping out in Ponyville!” Twilight Remembered the limbless immortal creature well. Her first and only encounter with him when she was but a filly was... interesting to say the least. And she could never forget his face...or his body type. It kinda weirded her out since she didn’t know how his body works without limbs. And according to Princess Celestia, had been her bodyguard for at least a thousand years, before quitting spontaneously. But she couldn’t think of that now.” That's just it, Spike. The day after tomorrow is the thousandth year of the Summer Sun Celebration! It's imperative that the Princess is told right away!” “Impera...impera..” Spike was struggling again. “IMPORTANT!” she yelled, in his face, and Spike got the message. Twilight could be scary when she was angry or stressed. “Okay, okay!” he relented, and breathed green flames, burning the letter and sending it off to PRincess Celestia. This was the process in which letters were sent between Celestia and Twilight: the messages were sent through Spike. “There. It’s on it’s way. “Spike said. “But I wouldn’t hold your breath.” he added slyly. But Twilight just smiled. “Oh, I'm not worried, Spike. The Princess trusts me completely. In all the years she's been my mentor she's never once doubted me.” As soon as she said that, Spike belched out a green flame and a new scroll appeared in front of Twilight. “See?” Twilight said . “I knew she would want to take immediate action!” Spike cleared his throat and began to read.” My dearest, most faithful student Twilight. You know that I value your diligence and that I trust you completely..” Twilight smiled smugly at this. but she gasped in shock when Spike read the rest.”but you simply must stop reading those dusty old books!” She was not expecting that. Before Twilight knew it, she and Spike were riding a carriage drawn by Pegasus Royal Guards to Ponyville, as Spike read the letter to her. “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!” Twilight sighed sadly. It was as if her world was coming crashing down. As far as she was concerned, her mentor, whom she looked up to with all her heart.. Didn’t trust her or believe her. It was like a shot to the heart. Spike smiled at her and tried to cheer her up. “Look on the bright side, Twilight. The Princess arranged for you to stay in a library. Doesn't that make you happy?” Twilight straightened up. And gave a confident grin. “Yes, yes it does. You know why? Because I'm right! I'll check on the preparations as fast as I can, then get to the library to find some proof of Nightmare Moon's return.” Spike was confused now.” Then, when will you make friends like the princess said?” he asked “She said to check on preparations. I am her student, and I'll do my royal duty, but the fate of Equestria does not rest on me making friends.” she said as they landed. Spike didn’t like the sound of that. He loved Twilight like she was his older sister. But she could be so stubborn sometimes, and very difficult. Once she had her mind set on something there was no stopping her or distracting her. “Thank you, sirs. “She said to the guards as they landed. The guards smiled and huffed in return. As Twilight and Spike got off, they wear approached by an Earth Pony mare about Twilight’s age headed their way. She had a pink coat,, blue eyes and a poofy dark-pink mane and tail. Her cutie mark was of three balloons: two blue and one yellow. Spike smiled and pointed to the mare as she approached them. “Maybe the ponies in Ponyville have interesting things to talk about. Come on, Twilight, just try!” Twilight nervously approached the mare. “Um...hello? “she said awkwardly. The result she got was quite unexpected. The Pink mare gave out a very loud and dramatically prolonged gasp of shock, then sped off. Twilight was baffled. “Well, that was interesting all right.” she admitted. Spike sighed at that. Soon, Twilight and Spike were off to a different part of Ponyville: an incredibly large Apple Orchard. Spike then began to run off the checklist. “: Summer Sun Celebration official overseer's checklist. Number one, pony-exclusive banquet preparations: Sweet Apple Acres. That’s odd. Underneath it says, Non-pony banquet Preparations: Bart and Grillby’s Diner. What does that mean? There are others in the celebration than ponies?” Twilight sighed and answered.”Yes, Spike. Remember, it is different in Canterlot, but there are many other species from other worlds living out in Equestria, and none more so than in this town. Out of all places in Equestria, Ponyville has the most diverse population of creatures from different dimensions. And unlike ponies, a lot of them are either carnivores or omnivores, meaning they eat meat too.” she didn’t like it, but she had to accept a long time ago to accept seeing other creatures eat meat when she was a filly, and she saw ambassadors from different worlds dine with Princess Celestia, and many of them requested meat alone or meat as well as veggies. It was tough for a herbivore like a pony to stomach, but she knew not all ponies didn’t like eating meat, though it was considered taboo. Spike just shrugged. Their train of though was interrupted by a loud “YEEHAW!”. They looked to see an Earth Pony mare in a cowboy’s hat run up to an apple tree, and buck it hard with a kick, causing all the apples to fall out into baskets. She was a rustically beautiful country mare with green eyes, an orange coat, blonde hair, freckles on her face and a cutie mark of three red apples on her flank. Twilight sighed as she approached the mare. “Let's get this over with... Good afternoon. My name is Twilight Sparkle—” She was cut off when the pony started rigorously shaking her hoof in greeting. “Well, howdy-doo, Miss Twilight, a pleasure makin' your acquaintance. I'm Applejack. We here at Sweet Apple Acres sure do like makin' new friends!” the mare said in a friendly voice. Twilight got real nervous, ash she wasn’t expecting this, nor did she have time. “Friends? Actually, I—” “So, What can I do you for?” Applejack cut her off as she stopped shaking her hoof. But Twilight’s arm was still moving due to being roughly shaken for so long and so fast. Snickering, Spike had to hold her arm in place to make it stop. Twilight shot him a glare for snickering. Twilight then cleared her throat and continued. “Well, I am in fact here to supervise preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. And you're in charge of the food?” “Applejack smiled and answered, “We sure as sugar are! Would you care to sample some?” “Well, as long as it doesn’t take too long.” Twilight said. She instantly regretted saying that, as Applejack rang a triangle and shouted,” SOUPS’S ON, Everypony!” Before Twilight and Spike could do anything, they were swept to a table by dozens of Earth Ponies, and seated with food. Applejack motioned to the ponies. “Now, why don't I introduce y'all to the Apple family?” Twilight looked nervous. “ Thanks, but I really need to hurry—” Before she could say more, Applejack was listing off members of the Apple Family and they were dropping off plates of apple pastries ij their namesakes. “This here's Apple Fritter. Apple Bumpkin. Red Gala. Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Caramel Apple, Apple Strudel, Apple Tart, Baked Apples, Apple Brioche, Apple Cinnamon Crisp....” (She took a deep breathe before finishing off with a large muscular Earth pony Stallion with a red coat, orange hair,, green eyes, freckles, and a cutie mark of a large green apple cut in half, who was wearing a horsecollar “Big Macintosh”, she pointed to a small filly with a blank flank, yellow coat, orange eyes, red hair and a large pink bow. “Applebloom, And Granny Smith. “ she pointed to an elderly green pony with an apple pie for a cutie mark whose white hair and tail were dun up in buns wearing an apple-patterned scarf sleeping in a rocking chair. “Up'n'attem, Granny Smith, we got guests.” she called out to her, and she woke and slowly made her way to the group. Apllejack stuffed an apple in Twilight’s mouth and said, “Why, I'd say you're already part of the family!” Twilight spit out the apple and laughed nervously. “Okay, well, I can see the food situation is handled, so we'll be on our way.” “Aren’t you gonna stay for brunch?” she hear Applebloom ask with teary eyes. Twilight looked at her sadly and said, “Sorry, but I have an awful lot to do.” The Apple family gave disappointed sighs. It broke Twilight’s heart. She decided she could at least afford to stay and eat with them a little while.” Fine.” The Apple family all gave a cheer.” Soon Spike and Twilight were headed to check the next Food Supplier for the celebration. Spike looked back at Twilight, who looked a bit sick and bloated. “Ugh...I ate too much pie...” she groaned. Spike looked at her with sympathy. "Well, you won’t be eating anything at the next stop. Bart and Grillby’s Diner. Over there." He pointed to a large building with double doors and a large sign on it. There were sounds of chatter coming from inside. Spike continued. “we should be talking to not just the owners, but the ones in charge of this, named Sans Gaster and Frisk Dreemur.” Twilight sighed and went through the double doors. She was greeted with an astonishing sight. There were many different creatures eating and drinking in this diner. She could spot out a four-armed yeti, a large anthropomorphic shark wearing glasses and a lab coat, some small creatures with large noses and wearing robes, what looked like several dragons, an orange fuzzy deformed creature that had bulging eyes and crooked teeth, an elf wearing a blindfold, and a few assorted humans. At the back of the diner near the kitchen was what looked like a bar. Standing at it were a tall humanoid man wearing a black suit and glasses who appeared to be made of fire,. But next to him was a creature that made Twilight’s heart race in fear. He was tall. Easily 10 feet tall, with pitch-black skin, and long arms and legs, the arms ending in large clawed hands. He was almost skeletal, his skin taut over his bones like a skinny person on the brink of starvation, visible even through the black tuxedo he wore with a purple bow tie. He had a round, bald head with no ears, and his mouth wasn’t visible. But he had piercing purple eyes with dark purple pupils. Both of them were cleaning glasses behind the bar. The tall one was definitely an Enderman. Twilight and Spike were nervous. They made their way past the patrons, and approached the two. “Are you two...uh...Bart and Grillby? The owners of this Diner?” Twilight shakily asked. “Yes. “ Bart the Enderman said in a husky voice, sharp black teeth showing, while Grillby just nodded. Or was he? With a head made of flames it was hard to tell. Twilight gulped and said. “Well, I’m Twilight Sparkle. I’m here to oversee preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration, and I was wondering if I could speak with you and the others involved in Non-Pony catering.” Bart smiled, or at least he looked like it, and said, “Sure, kid. The other two are right behind you.” Twilight stiffened. “Wait, what are you-” she was cut off by a deep, sultry voice behind her. “Pony Girl...Don’t you know how to greet a new friend? Turn around and shake my hand.” Twilight turned slowly, shivering in fright, and was greeted with a scary sight: a human skeleton standing with his hand extended to her. He had cold, black eye sockets and a round skull, with his face stretched into an eerie ear-to-ear toothy smile. He was wearing an odd assortment of clothes for this season: a blue hoodie, a grey t-shirt, black running shorts and of all other things fluffy pink bedroom slippers. He was a pretty short guy, standing probably no taller than herself at about 4 feet. He would have looked silly if it wasn’t so terrifying. Twilight and Spike shared the same look of fright at the skeleton, but with his outstretched hand and everybody in the diner watching, Twilight felt like she had no choice. She slowly reached with her hoof and took his hand, and as soon as he did, a loud farting noise came off. Twilight blushed in embarrassment as everybody in the Diner started laughing loudly as the skeleton smiled and revealed the pocket-sized whoopee cushion in his palm. “.Hehehehe. The old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. It’s always funny.” the skeleton said, laughing. He looked less creepy now. He still had the same smile, but it looked better, and his eye sockets now had pinpricks of light in them, like eyes, both looking at her with genuine kindness. Twilight glared at Spike, who was now laughing his head off, no longer afraid. “Don’t be so sour, pal.” Twilight heard a voice coming from a table, where she saw a short human girl, probably 19 in age but just as short as the skeleton. She had fair skin, chocolate brown hair and squinted eyes, so she didn’t see what color they were. She was wearing a blue and pink striped sweater and blue shorts and brown shoes, and had a kind look on her face. “He did that to me the very same day we first met.” “ Hey, babe, don’t let me down. I’m just horsing around with our new friend here.” The Skeleton said. “Friend?” Twilight said shakily. Now of all times she didn’t want to make friends more than ever. Not with some creepy skeleton with a bad sense of humor. The human girl stepped up to Twilight. “I’m Frisk. Frisk Dreemur. You’ve already met my boyfriend, Sans.” Twilight realized these were who they were looking for. “Oh, I see, well, I am Twilight Sparkle-” she was cut off by Sans. “Yeah. We know. We’ve got the catering filled out. The Celebration will really shine! And I have a few bright ideas for the party.” Twilight groaned at his awful puns. But Frisk giggled. “Well, we should probably review what will be catered to the event.” Frisk nodded and led Twilight to the kitchen, where she saw the chef. And when she saw him, she was repulsed. Another skeletal creature, but this one was clearly not as attractive as Sans. His skull was jagged and his teeth were sharp, with yellow eyes and he wore a black cloak with a chef’s hat. Instead of legs, he was floating, and had a spiked mace chained to his lower section like a flail. He took a look at them and smiled.”Hey, San, Frisk! I’m hard at work making food for the Summer Sun Celebration, just like you told me! “ Twilight looked at all the food the Skeletal ghoul had made. It was certainly not what ponies would favor. Slabs of steak, hamburgers, pepperoni Pizza, fried fish, and even takoyaki. But she saw there were also salads and some vegetable stew, as well as a few baked goods. So it didn’t all turn her stomach. “Great Job, Ghost Roaster. Keep up the good work, and we’ll have a lot of satisfied mouths out there. And people attached to them, too. “ Sans said with a wink, leading Ghost Roaster to cackle loudly.” Ah, Sans, you really know how to tickle my funny bone!” This joke caused everybody, excluding Twilight to laugh. Frisk smiled.”Oh yeah, I think we’re gonna have a great time, eh, friend?” She said to Twilight, Who stiffened. “Yeah, well, I’ve gotta go.” she said hurriedly, as she grabbed a laughing Spike and headed on out Spike was still giggling on their way to their next location. “That skeleton was really funny, am I right, Twilight?” he said. Twilight looked at him with a dry expression. She hadn’t thought that skeleton was funny at all. She thought his puns were horrible. “Spike, what’s next on our list?” Spike read the checklist.” Security. Ponyville Troopers Headquarters.” Twilight looked onward to the building. IT was an enormous building, like five stories high. And by the looks of things, there were a lot of security forces. Even at the door, it was guarded by two identical humans wearing high-tech armor and helmets, with high-tech laser blasters by their sides. The only parts of their faces that could be seen through their visored helmets were their mouths, which had mouths surrounded by peach fuzz moustache and beard. Twilight waved nervously to them, and to her surprise, they waved back with smiling faces. No longer nervous, she went through the doors, where she was greeted by a human probably no older than her. He had a rugged look to him, with a large computer-like device on his wrist. He wore a blue long-sleeved shirt , a blue pants, red shoes, and was wearing a brown vest with pockets. His shirt had the initials BnL on it, and he had black hair, as well as the same peach fuzz mustache and beard around his mouth as the guards outside. But that wasn’t what caught her eye. It was who was with him. A face she hadn’t seen since she was a filly. It was a small-ish creature about her size, with no limbs. Just hands, feet, a body and a head, all floating. He wore a purple one-piece bodysuit with a red hoodie and a white ring on the chest, yellow sneakers, white gloves, and his face had a large nose, big eyes, and golden hair that looked like rabbit ears. There was no doubt about it; this was Rayman, renowned hero of his home dimension and former bodyguard to Princess Celestia. He had a large smile on his face. “Twilight Sparkle! So wonderful to see you again! What’s it been, I don’t know how long exactly, but it’s been years! And Spike! Last time I saw you, you barely just hatched!” Spike realized this must be Rayman, and ran up to him and gave him a hug. He may have just hatched last time he saw him, but he still carried feelings on how friendly he was. Twilight laughed awkwardly. This was quite unexpected. “Hey, Rayman. Nice to see you. So, are you enjoying your life here in Ponyville?” she asked. Rayman nodded. “Oh yeah! Betilla and I are really enjoying it here! Everyone here is so friendly! IT’s way better than when we were in Canterlot. That place is chock full of stuck-up snobs! Not you of course, Twilight, but most of them, yes. That’s actually why I left so many years ago. After spending a thousand years among them, I just couldn’t take it anymore. I’m glad Celestia understood.” Twilight’s heart sank at that. She really had hoped she could convince him to come back. But she should have known it wasn’t meant to be. “So anyway, this is Jacob Wheeler! Founder and creator of the Ponyville Troopers!” he pointed to the human boy, who waved. “Twilight smiled. “Yes. I have been sent to make sure security will be acceptable for the Summer Sun Celebration.” Jacob smiled. “But of course!” he said. “Come with me.” He led Twilight and Spike down a hall, with Rayman not far behind. There they saw a sight that astonished them: There were about five dozen troopers down in bunks, all of them connected to wires. “My troopers are in sleep mode now. But they will wake bright and early for the Summer Sun Celebration and make sure everyone is both safe and having a good time! The troopers will even enjoy the festivities themselves! Cool, right?” Twilight was shocked at this. “They’re....robots?” Jacob:”Why do you think they all look the same? “ “He’s right. “ said a husky, creepy voice. Suddenly, the room got darker, and a thick fog surrounded them. Spike hid behind Twilight, who shivered, but Rayman and Jacob were calm. Then, from out of the shadows stepped a scary figure. He wasn't very tall, probably no taller than 5ft 4in, but man, was he ever spooky! He had a round head with pitch black skin, most of it hidden by a brown fedora. But you could see his white glowing eyes, and a mouth full of sharp teeth in an eerie smile. He was wearing a trenchcoat and gray pants, with brown boots and his skin was also pitch black. In a holster he carried a pistol that seemed to be made out of black crystal, and he wore a badge over his tan shirt. “The Ponyville Troopers are all robotic clones of Jacob here, programmed with free will and their own personalities.” Rayman smiled at Twilight. “Twilight, this is the Sherrif of Ponyville and commander of the Ponyville Troopers, Marshall.”, he said. “Charmed, I’m sure.” Marshall said. Twilight calmed down a little. This guy was scary, but he seemed friendly. And he was on the law enforcement, so he should be alright. Spike breathed out a sigh of relief. “Whew! You scared us!” “Sorry about that.” Marshall apologized. "My own personal cloud of fog and darkness follows me wherever I go. Never found out why. So, Jacob, Rayman, who are your new friends?” Twilight stiffened at the word, friends. Rayman put his hand on Twilight's shoulder at the same time Jacob did. ”She’s a new friend for Jacob. But not for me. For me, she's an old friend.” Twilight stiffened at this. “Maybe we can catch up at the Summer Sun Celebration, Twilight? After, I catch up with Celestia, of course!” Twilight nervously laughed. “Yes, I guess we will. Well’ I’d best be going.” And with that, she grabbed Spike and took her leave. They all stared at her as she left. Jacob and Rayman looked at Marshall and frowned. “Way to go, Marshall! You scared her away!” Rayman jeered. “Sorry.” Marshall said, genuinely feeling guilty. Twilight and Spike were headed towards their next stop, when Spike looked at the sky. “Now the weather. Hmm, there's supposed to be a Pegasus pony named Rainbow Dash clearing the clouds.” Twilight looked up. Not seeing anything but some clouds in the sky, she said, “Well, she's not doing a very good job, is she?” Suddenly, she was knocked over to the side and into a mud puddle by a rainbow blur. She then saw a pegasus mare on top of her, also covered in mud now. She had a cyan coat, magenta eyes, and rainbow-colored tail and mane with a cutie mark of a yellow, red and blue lightning bolt on a cloud, who was laughing sheepishly. “Uh,’scuse me? Let me help you.” she said, then zipped off. She returned a few seconds later with a raincloud. She jumped on it a bunch of times and rain fell down on Twilight. It washed the mud off, but now she was soaked. With more sheepish laughter, she said, “Oops, I guess I overdid it. Um, uh, how about this? “ The Pegasus mare then sped around Twilight at high speeds, creating a rainbow-colored tornado, blowing her dry.” My very own patented Rain-Blow Dry! No no. Don't thank me. You're quite welcome.” She paused, then burst out laughing at Twilight, whose mane was now a poofy, tangled mess Spike started laughing, too, and they were both rolling on the ground. Twilight was not amused. “let me guess.”, she retorted, “You ‘re Rainbow Dash.” Rainbow Dash straightened up.” The one and only! Why, you’ve heard of me?” I heard you were supposed to be keeping the sky clear. [sigh] I'm Twilight Sparkle, and the Princess sent me to check on the weather.” she looed upt to find Rainbow Dash laying on a cloud, who just waved at her. “Yeah, yeah, that'll be a snap. I'll do it in a jiffy. Just as soon as I'm done practicing.” Twilight was confused now.”Practicing for what?” She asked. Rainbow pointed to a poster of the Wonderbolts. “The Wonderbolts!” she said.” They're gonna perform at the Celebration tomorrow, and I'm gonna show 'em my stuff!” Twilight was now very amused. Who did this lazy pegasus think she was kidding? “The Wonderbolts?” “Yep!” “The most talented flyers in all of Equestria?” “That's them!” Twilight had to hold back her laughter. “Please. They'd never accept a Pegasus who can't even keep the sky clear for one measly day.” Now Rainbow Dash felt insulted. “Hey, I could clear this sky in ten seconds flat.” Twilight snickered. “Prove it.” Twilight said. Rainbow gave a smug look of confidence. Before Twilight knew what hit her, she felt a gust of pure wind. Rainbow Dash was zooming from cloud to cloud, kicking them to pieces with amazing speed. In a mere matter of seconds, there was not a cloud in the sky. “Loop-de-loop around, and wham! What'd I say? Ten. Seconds. Flat. I'd never leave Ponyville hanging.” Twilight couldn’t believe what she just saw. She was flabbergasted. Now that was speed! Rainbow chuckled at Twilight’s slack jaw. “ou should see the look on your face. Ha! You're a laugh, Twilight Sparkle. I can't wait to hang out some more.” she said, before zooming off. “Wow! She’s amazing!” Spike said, before grabbing a lock of Twilight’s hair and snickering. Twilight hmphed and headed off to the next place. “Wait, It’s actually pretty once you get used to it!” He called out to her as he ran off after her. At the Town Hall, Spike was checking off the list. "Decorations. Beautiful...” he gushed. Twilight nodded. “Yes, the décor is coming along nicely. This ought'a be quick. I'll be at the library in no time. Beautiful indeed.” Spike nudged her hard. “Not the décor, her!” He pointed to a stunningly beautiful Unicorn Mare about Twilight;s age. She had a coat as pure white as snow, dazzling blue eyes, and a shining curled mane of royal purple. Her cutie mark was of three diamonds. Her name was Rarity, and she was currently putting up decorations with her magic. But right now she was rummaging through ribbons. “No, no, no, oh! Goodness no.” Meanwhile, Spike had his mouth hanging open, his eyes now big hearts. He then started shuffling his spines.” How are my spines? Are they straight?” Twilight just rolled her eyes and smiled. She could tell Spike was totally smitten. But she had a job to. Spike’s new attraction would have to wait. They had business to take care of. “Good afternoon—” Twilight started but was cut off by the mare. ” Just a moment, please! I'm 'in the zone', as it were. “ She then tied a sparkling red ribbon onto a column in the hall. “Oh, yes! Sparkle always does the trick, does it not? Why, Rarity, you are a talent. Now, um, how can I help yo-” she then screamed as she turned to face Twilight. “Oh my stars, darling! Whatever happened to your coiffure?!" Twlight looked up at her mane, which was still a mess after her encounter with Rainbow Dash.” Oh, you mean my mane? Well, it's a long story. I'm just here to check on the decorations, and then I'll be out of your hair!” Rarity had a shocked look on her face, and said, “Out of my hair? What about your hair?!” She then started pushing her to the next room, Twilight struggling. “Wait! Where are we going?! Help!” Spike only floated after them in a lovestruck daze. Soon after fixing her hair, Rarity was putting Twilight into different dresses.” No, no, uh-uh. Too green. Too yellow. Too poofy. Not poofy enough. Too frilly. Too... shiny.” Soon she had Twilight in what seemed to be the perfect outfit.” Now go on, my dear. You were telling me where you're from.” She then began to pull the straps on Twilight’s outfit, causing the waist to tighten, painfully so. Struggling to breathe, Twilight managed to get some words out.” I've... been sent... from Canterlot... to—” At the mention of Canterlot Rairity let go, causing her to fall. “Canterlot?! Oh, I am so envious! The glamour, the sophistication! I have always dreamed of living there!” she gushed with her eyes big and full of wonder. She then cozied up to Twilight. “I can't wait to hear all about it! We are gonna be the best of friends, you and I...” Twilight winced at that. Suddenly, Rarity’s eyes went wide as she looked at Twilight’s outfit. “Emeralds?! What was I thinking? Let me get you some rubies!” and she rushed off to find some. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief and grabbed Spike and said, “Quick! Before she decides to dye my coat a new color!” before running out. Spike only sighed dreamily as he was carried off.   “Wasn't she wonderful?” Spike gushed as he was carried by Twilight to their final spot on the checklist. Twilight rolled her eyes at Spike’s obvious crush.”Focus, Casanova. What's next on the list?” Spike cleared his throat and looked.” Oh, uh, music! It's the last one!” The heard birds singing a beautiful fanfare in the distance. They came cross some bushes and looked over. A choir of birds was performing, and orchestrating was a pegasus mare about Twilight;s age. She had a butter yellow coat, teal eyes, and a flowing pink mane and tail. Her cutie mark was of three pink butterflies. She noticed one of the birds singing out of tune, and kindly silenced the others quietly. She then spoke to the birds in a honey-sweet voice.” Oh my. Um, stop please, everyone, umm. Excuse me, sir? I mean no offense, but your rhythm is just a teeny-tiny bit off. Now, follow me, please. A-one, a-two, a-one two three-” “Hello!” Twilight said, causing the mare to yelp and caused the birds to fly off. Twilight winced at her mistake. “Oh my, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to frighten your birds. I'm just here to check up on the music and it's sounding beautiful..” the mare said nothing, just stood there, not making eye contact. :Twilight then spoke up.”I’m Twilight Sparkle.” Still the mare didn’t; say a word.” What’s your name?” Twilight asked, trying to be friendly. The mare whispered very quietly.” Um... I'm Fluttershy.” But Twilight couldn’t hear her, she was so quiet. “I'm sorry, what was that?” “Um... My name is Fluttershy.” the mare said, but she was even quieter this time.”Didn't quite catch that.” Twilight said, leaning her ear in closer. But the shy mare just whimpered. Twilight paused. This mare obviously wasn’t very good with talking to strangers, probably just too shy. Meanwhile the birds returned to their positions. “Well, um, it looks like your birds are back, so I guess everything's in order. Keep up the good work!” Twilight said. Fluttershy just whimpered . ” Oookay.” Twilight said, turning to Spike in the bushes. “Well that was easy.” At the sight of Spike, Fluttershy’s eyes popped out and she gave a gasp. Her entire demeanor changed as she rushed to him” A baby dragon! Oh, I've never seen a baby dragon before. He's sooo cute!” “Well, well, well..”Spike smugly said this only made Fluttershy happier.” Oh my, he talks. The only dragons I’ve ever seen talk weren't from this world. That's just so incredibly wonderful I, I just don't even know what to say!” Twilight interrupted and put Spike on her back: “Well, in that case we'd better be going.” she said as she began to walk towards the Golden Oaks Library. But Fluttershy was following them.”Wait, wait! What's his name?” she asked, and Spike replied,”I’m Spike. Flutershy smiled excitedly.” Hi Spike, I'm Fluttershy. Wow, a talking dragon! And what do dragons talk about?” she asked.“Well, what do you wanna know?” Spke asked.”Absolutely everything.” Twilight groaned in annoyance. This was going to be a long walk. She picked up the pace as Spike began his story.”Well... I started out as a cute little purple and green egg...” After a while, they came upon the Tree that was the Golden Oaks Library as Spike finished his story of his life.”.and that's the story of my whole entire life! Well, up until today. Do you wanna hear about today?” he asked. Fluttershy nodded. “Oh, yes please!” Before she could say more, Twilight covered Spikes mouth. She just really wanted to get back to studying alone. “I am so sorry, how did we get here so fast? This is where I'm staying while in Ponyville and my poor baby dragon needs his sleep.” “No I don't— “ Spike tried to protest, before he was coddled by Twilight. “Aww, wook at dat, he's so sweepy he can't even keep his widdle bawance!” she said in a cutesy voice to draw Fluttershy away.” Poor thing, you simply must get into bed...” Fluttershy said, and Twilight said, “Yes, yes, we'll get right on that. Well, g'night!” and with that, she slammed the door shut behind her, leaving her and Spke in the dark. “Huh. Rude much?”Spike said. Twilight sighed. “Sorry, Spike, but I have to convince the Princess that Nightmare Moon is coming, and we're running out of time! I just need to be alone so I can study without a bunch of crazy ponies and other creatures trying to make friends all the time. Now, where's the light?” She turned on the light, and suddenly she realized the library was filled with ponies from all around Ponyvill, as well as everyone she met earlier today and some of the creatures from Bart and Grillby’s Diner. “SURPRISE!” Everybody said, as there was now a party in full swing. Twilight saw the same pink Earth Pony she met when she first got to ponyville, her poofy mane flowing. “Surprise!” she said. Twilight groaned. So much for studying alone. The pink mare then ran up to Twilight and started talking fast. “Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie, and I threw this party just for you! Were you surprised? Were ya? Were ya? Huh huh huh?” Twilight grew a tick mark as she headed towards a table with food and drinks. “Very surprised. Libraries are supposed to be quiet.” she said, annoyed. Pinkie continued.” Well, that's silly! What kind of welcome party would this be if it were quiet? I mean, duh, bo-ring! Y'see, I saw you when you first got here, remember? You were all "hello" and I was all [deep gasp], remember? Y'see I've never saw you before and if I've never saw you before that means you're new, 'cause I know everypony,” Twilight groaned and poured herself a drink in to a goblet from a red bottle she wasn’t looking from. Pinkie continued, “And if you're new, that meant you haven'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, then I had an idea, and that's why I went [deep gasp]! I must 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!” twilight gulped. But this time, not from the word “Friends.” She felt a burning sensation on her tongue. Tears in her eyes , face red, and steam coming out of her ears, her new friends looked at her with concern. Applejack was the first to Speak up. “Are you all right Sugarcube?” Twilight could no longer take the pain in her tongue, and with the sound of a train whistle, she bolted upstairs. Pinkie sighed in happiness. “Aww, she's so happy she's crying!” Frisk looked at the bottle Twilight poured her drink from. “I don’t think that was tears of happiness. This is why she left.” She passed the bottle to Spike. “Hot sauce.” he realized why Twilight acted that way. She had unknowingly drank hot sauce. Suddenly, Pinkie poured the hot sauce onto a cupcake and hate it. Everybody stared. “What? IT’s good!” she said with her mouth full. Sans chuckled. “Seriously, Pinkie, your sense of taste is too fiery.” he jokingly said as he opened a bottle of ketchup and began to drink it. Everybody stared, except Frisk, who had seen this many times before. “Don’t question it, he just really likes ketchup. "she said, as everyone started to laugh. Soon, the party downstairs was in full swing, while Twilight was upstairs in her bed, trying to drown out the noise. She had wanted to warn the Princess about the return of Nightmare Moon, but instead she was surrounded by ponies and other creatures trying to make friends with her! Suddenly the door opened and Spike came in, a lampshade on his head. “Hey Twilight! Pinkie Pie's starting "pin the tail on the pony"! Wanna play?” he said. But Twilight just scowled at him.” No!” she yelled, shocking Spike.” the creatures and ponies of this town are crazy! Do you know what time it is?!” Spike sighed. “It's the eve of the Summer Sun Celebration. Everypony has to stay up, or they'll miss the Princess raise the sun! You really should lighten up, Twilight. It's a party!” he turned and went downstairs to rejoin the party, not hearing Twilight mockingly imitating him. She turned in her bed and looked at the moon. “Ugh, here I thought I'd have time to learn about the Elements of Harmony but, silly me, all this ridiculous friend-making has kept me from it! "Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about everlasting night." I hope the Princess was right... I hope it really is just an old pony tale...” she said, as she stared at he moon. She was interrupted by Spike: “C'mon, Twilight, it's time to watch the sunrise!” Twilight sighed and followed, not realizing that outside her window, she was being watched by a pair of glowing purple eyes, belonging to a shadowy, tall skinny body behind silver spectacles. The shadow then disappeared with a slight sound, having teleported someplace else...... Soon, all the inhabitants of Ponyville, Pony or otherwise, were gathered in the Town Hall to watch the sun rise. Pinke was right next to Twilight and Spike and was rambling on. “Isn't this exciting? Are you excited, 'cause I'm excited, I've never been so excited— well, except for the time that I saw you walking into town and I went [deep gasp] but I mean really, who can top that?” she said. Suddenly, Fluttershy’s birds performed fanfare, as the stage was set by the Mayor of Ponyville, Mayor Mare. She was a middle-aged pony with gray hair, spectacles, beautiful features, a tan coat and blue eyes, and a cutie mark of a scroll. “Fillies and gentlecolts, as mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration!” At that, everybody cheered. “In just a few moments, our town will witness the magic of the sunrise, and celebrate this, the longest day of the year!” As she said this, Twilight looked with a frightened face out the window, as the unicorn-like pattern on the moon suddenly vanished. She wasn’t the only one to notice this, as Rayman, who was standing next to her, looked as well. He was scowling. As he had been since he walked into the Town hall. Mayor Mare continued. “And now, it is my great honor to introduce to you the ruler of our land, the very pony who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day, the good, the wise, the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria...” Fluttershy readied her birds as Mayor Mare declared: “.Princess Celestia!” But when the curtains pulled back and parted on the stage, nobody was there. Well, that wasn’t true. There were two Ponyville Trooper Robots there...in sparking pieces. Everyone started chattering nervously as they began to worry. Where was Princess Celestia? Twilight Sparkle gulped. “This can’t be good.” Mayor Mare tried to calm the frightened crowd. “Remain calm, everypony, there must be a reasonable explanation!” Pinkie Pie, on the other hand, didn’t seem to get that something was wrong “Ooh, ooh, I love guessing games! Is she hiding?” she asked Rarity gasped: “She's gone!” Everyone started gasping. “Ooh, she’s good!” Pinkie said. Jacob Wheeler looked up on the platform and saw his mangled troopers. “Hey! Who busted up my Troopers!?” He shouted angrily. Suddenly, a cloud of blue smoke started to rise from the Platform. “Oh, no!” Twilight said. She knew what this meant. “So it has begun.” she looked next to her, and saw Rayman with a stoic look on his face. She was confused. Did he know this was happening? Why didn’t he say anything? The smoke cleared, and standing on the Platform was an alicorn, but this was not Celestia. Her coat was pitch black, and she had a crescent moon cutie mark. She was wearing blue armor, and her eyes were a piercing blueish-green, and her teeth were sharp. Her mane was like flowing blue stardust. She looked down on everyone present with nothing but contempt. “Nightmare Moon!” Twilight said. Spike just fainted and fell off her back. Nightmare Moon looked around with a sinister smile. “ Oh, my beloved subjects. It's been so long since I've seen your precious little sun-loving faces.” “What have you done with our Princess?!” Rainbow Dash roared as she tried to charge at her, but was held back by Applejack. “Whoah there, Nelly..” she said through her gritted teeth that she used to pull on Rainbow’s tail. Nightmare Moon laughed. “What ? Am I not royal enough for you?” she asked, before her tone went cold “don’t you know who I am?” “Ooh, ooh, more guessing games! Um, Hokey Smokes! How about... Queen Meanie! No! Black Snooty, Black Snooty—” before Pinkie could say any more, Sheriff Marshall stuffed a cupcake in her mouth. “Crazy pony...” he grumbled as he reached for his Traptanium Pistol, before he fell on his butt due to surprise of having Nightmare Moon up in his face. “: Does my crown no longer count now that I have been imprisoned for a thousand years? Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs?” Twilight began to speak, before Rayman beat her to it. “I did. It’s been a long time, Nightmare Moon. ”This caused everybody to gasp in horror, now knowing that that wasn’t just and old pony’s tale. Twilight was shocked more so than others. Did Rayman really know her? She knew he was immortal, but just how old was he? Nightmare Moon only chuckled “Well well well, someone who remembers me. Then you also know why I’m here.” Rayman nodded. “Yes. But you will be stopped. This is a different age, Moon. You never got away with it a thousand years ago, and you won’t now!” Nightmare moon chuckled, as if the notion amused her.” Remember this day, little ponies,” she announced “For it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last forever! “ She gave a mad cackle as darkness and thunder swirled around her. Twilight winced at this. This was not good. Nightmare Moon had returned.