A long, long time ago, before anypony can remember, there were two royal sisters who ruled side by side. The eldest sister commanded authority over the sun, raising it every morning, and lowering it every night. In turn, the youngest would raise and lower the moon in the absence of her sister's presence. The two ruled in harmony, guiding and protecting their ponies, be it day or night, and bringing peace and prosperity to the land of Equestria. Unfortunately, this peace wouldn’t last forever.
Being the eldest, the sister was called on time and time again to use her strength to protect the land of Equestria from dangers that lurk in the realms beyond. One by one, she would banish them each to the depths of Tartarus, employing powers that ponies can only dream of. But these powers took a toll on the fair sister. These powers consumed her mind and body, leaving in its wake one of the very demons she sought to protect Equestria from and turned on her younger sister. The youngest tried to reason with her, to bid her to act in reason, but the eldest was too far gone. Reluctantly, the younger sister employed the most powerful magic known to ponykind, the Elements of Harmony…
“Banishing her elder sister to the sun, from whence she could never return.” Sunset Shimmer read aloud. “Until the dawn of the first millennium of her banishment.” She quirked an eyebrow.
“Strange. I don’t remember Luna mentioning that part.” Sunset closed the book with a snap, filing it away back in her bookshelf. Well, calling it ‘filing’ might be rather generous. In truth, she half-heartedly shot it at the bookshelf, the book bashing against the wall and thudding on top of it instead. Said bookshelf tipped over ominously, threatening to collapse on the unicorn if disturbed even more, but Sunset paid it no mind, instead meandering over to the window next to her bed, setting her hooves on the sill and gazing down at the sprawling city of Canterlot.
“I’d think that she’d tell me if there was a world-ending calamity coming up… what, tomorrow?” Sunset glanced at her calendar… Sixth moon of the year, twentieth day. “Yup.”
‘Though, to be fair, she told you that story, what, ten years ago? She probably recited that part too.’
Sunset shook her head. It was stupid. She and Luna were closer than ever now. Luna would tell her if there was a disaster of this magnitude on the horizon. The guards would have been acting differently certainly and Luna would have put some plan into action to deal with this threat. She wasn’t as foolish to leave Equestria unguarded in the wake of a mad alicorn. Sunset began to nibble on her hoof, a nervous habit she couldn’t seem to dispel.
‘Actually… that would be something she would do, wouldn’t it?’
This hypothetical problem wasn’t an army. It wasn’t some wild beast coming from the depths of the Everfree. It was an alicorn, and if that old tale was as truthful as Luna attested, this alicorn was far stronger than Luna herself, and sending guards at her would be like sending moths to a flame. Her mentor would probably elect to fight her sister by herself.
‘But then wouldn’t the guards be doing something else? Evacuating ponies, putting up barricades… anything?’
Sunset frowned. At the same time, this prophesied return could be completely fictitious. There were no history books that covered this that she knew of (although she hadn’t exactly checked), and even if there was, what could she do? But Luna had said that the old tale was fact…
Sunset groaned and pushed herself away from the windowsill. Pondering over such an ambiguous event by herself would get her nowhere fast. Walking over to her overflowing table she snapped up one of her books on dark magic and mosied onto her bed. With little grace she fell onto her back, cracked the book open, and began casually flipping through it, not really reading what was on the pages. The only pony that could possibly confirm if this alicorn would arrive tomorrow would be Luna herself. She’d been the one to banish her sister. Nopony knew the stipulations of the magic she employed better than herself.
But then again there was every chance that not even Luna knew.
Sunset tore her gaze from her book towards one of her shelves and to the other book she’d so unceremoniously stashed on the top of it.
No. That was false. Luna did know what kind of magic she used. The book mentioned that something called the ‘Elements of Harmony’ - whatever that was - was employed to banish her sister. Whatever it was it must’ve been well known if it made its way into a foal’s bedtime story.
Sunset snapped her book shut and reached for another one, a brown hardcover emblazoned with her cutie mark. Cracking it open, she grabbed a quill and ink.
‘It’s worth a shot if nothing else.’
“Dear Princess,
I know that me sending you a letter halfway through the day isn’t exactly normal, especially since neither of us are abroad at the moment, but there was something I wanted to ask. I read the story you told me years ago about you and your sister, the one printed in every foal’s bedtime storybook out there, and it says that after a millennium of her banishment your sister will return to Equestria. I don’t really believe it to be honest, since I haven’t seen any evacuations, or fortifications made to Canterlot, but I feel that it can’t hurt to double-check from a primary source, and I’d appreciate your guidance on the matter.
Your student,
-Sunset”
Sunset glowered at the words as her book began to glow blue, its contents being copied to Luna’s identical journal. The wording of her letter was more awkward than she’d have liked, but writing letters was never her strong suit, be it professional or otherwise. Sighing, she closed the book and set it on her nightstand before turning her eyes towards the ceiling, tracing over the aimless indents and grooves born from years of ponies before her. There was nothing to be done now. She could stew over this problem all day and not get any closer to the answer. If the return of Luna’s sister was fake, then she was wasting all of this potential study-time for nothing, but at the same time, if this return was real then that posed a bigger worry. One that Sunset wasn’t sure she could do anything about.
A blue light caught the corner of her eye, and her head whipped towards her journal. Much like it had moments prior, it was glowing a very dark blue. She quickly snatched it up, and forced it open, hastily flipping to her most recent dialogue.
“Sunset,
I appreciate you reaching out to me on this topic. As much as I desire to explain this all to you at present, this is a matter more suited for an in-person discussion. Unfortunately, I am preoccupied at present. However, I will be in Ponyville this evening to attend the Summer Sun Celebration. A carriage has been prepared for my journey, but you may use it if you wish.
As always,
-Princess Luna"
Sunset scowled. Grabbing her quill she quickly penned a reply.
"That doesn't answer my question, Princess!"
Abandoning all pretense of formality, she slammed the book shut, and almost immediately, it began to glow once more.
"Indeed, but we both know that if I answered your question you’d assail me with ten more, would you not?"
Sunset could see her mentor’s smug grin from beyond the pages, and let out a growl. As much as she wanted to retort, Luna was right. There were a million questions she wanted to ask her mentor, and she knew that if Luna gave her the chance she probably wouldn't stop. Reluctantly, she brought her quill down to the pages for a final reply.
"Fine.
See you in Ponyville."
For a time she didn't move, instead just staring at the written words and letting her mind wander. Time wasn't exactly an element they had. This wasn’t an issue of an invading country or a monster attack. If this threat was real then preparations had to be made now.
‘And if it’s not? What then?’
The book glowed once more.
“Thank you, Sunset. I’ll be along shortly, I promise.”
Sunset took a deep breath. “Alright.” She closed the book and levitated it over to her saddlebags. “Might as well get going.” Hopping off the bed, she threw her saddlebags over herself, as well as a small sack of bits to give her book some company.
‘Let’s see… what else?’ Sunset’s eyes scanned over her room. She wouldn’t need any books. Her stay in Ponyville would only be until midnight at latest. No paper either, she was all caught up on her assignments. ‘I’ll need that, though.’ She threw a bottle of ink and a quill into her bag.
Sunset’s gaze dropped to meet one of her dark magic books. Humming, she put a hoof to her mouth. She’d already glossed over her other books, and the same rules for the others applied here too. It would… She grimaced. Should only be for around twelve hours, give or take.
‘Just in case.’
It was a weak justification, but it was all she needed to float the item into her bag with no further question. She gave her saddlebags a little jostle. It wasn’t too heavy, and the lack of any unexpected movement meant she’d arranged her items pretty well. ‘Perfect.’
Sunset stole one last glance out of her window. The wide spreads of picture-perfect houses and delicately modeled greenery that comprised Canterlot rushed back to meet her eyes. With no clouds in the sky, some of the more fancy houses were almost swallowed up by light reflecting off every possible face they had. But beyond the sea of blinding light was what her eyes were locked on.
Even from here, Ponyville looked markedly more festive than usual. There were very visible splotches of white standing out that usually weren’t present at all. Outside of that, there were some additional dark blues, golds, and silvers, though it was too far away to make out any more than that. A smile touched her lips.
‘Looks pretty fun.’ Sunset turned around and headed for the door. ‘No sense in wasting any more time.’
Attempting to maintain a pace just under a canter, she quickly navigated her way through the myriad of halls and staircases that comprised the Canterlot Royal Palace. A difficult feat, considering her mind wouldn’t stop pestering her with trivial worries about the potential threat.
Sunset huffed. She was thinking herself in circles. It didn’t matter how much evidence she employed against this nagging voice in her head. ‘It’s not a confirmed fact, there’s no evidence. Luna would’ve said something. Why after one thousand years? Why that specifically?’ There was no silencing this annoying pest. ‘The rest of the story was real, why wouldn’t this be too? Luna doesn’t say much about a lot of things, this could be just the same. Attaching a time limit to a spell drastically improves its strength in the moment, you know that.’
“Ugh.” Sunset began slamming her hooves onto the cobblestone floor as she trotted towards her destination, glowering to no one in particular. “Shut up, brain.” Perhaps she’d do some meditation while on the carriage. She usually had better control of her thoughts than this.
“Ms. Shimmer?” Sunset looked up. She was standing outside a carriage guarded by two stallions dressed in the cobalt blue armor signifying a royal guard, the one who spoke eying her with some apprehension. “The Princess informed us that you were coming. Are you ready to depart?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah.” Sunset shook her head, banishing her mood - if only for the moment - to throw a smile on her face. “Whenever you’re ready.”
The guards nodded and stepped to the side, granting her access to the carriage. Quickly climbing in, Sunset watched the ground below her fall away as the carriage - pulled by the same two guards - began to make its ascent into the sky, taking her farther and farther away from Canterlot.
Sunset glanced down at the sprawling landscape beneath her. There wasn’t much between Ponyville and Canterlot, just hills after hills with the occasional valley injecting some creativity into the monotonous landscape. Adjusting herself into a more comfortable position, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, focusing on it with all her being, before exhaling slowly and steadily, before repeating the process.
Slowly her mind banished the worries that had been plaguing her, replacing them with a feeling of contentment, and a smile graced her lips. She could never be more grateful for Luna implementing these into her curriculum. Learning the ins and outs of dark magic was… a humbling experience, to say the least. On top of its difficulty (which had led to more than one magical tantrum), dark magic fed off negative emotions; anger, greed, the desire to hurt, or unapologetic selfishness was what fed its powers, and being rewarded for such feelings with power wasn’t healthy for the mind. It was a painful reminder that she was no less of a pony than her peers, and thus subject to undesirable emotions. But despite the moral struggle dark magic presented, or moments when her thoughts simply would not leave her alone, she was always able to find solace in the quiet recesses of her mind.
Breathe in, breathe out.
A sudden tremor ripped through the carriage accompanied by the sounds of wheels on dirt. Sunset’s eyes snapped open and she quickly latched onto the side of the carriage as it ground to a halt. Double-checking to make sure her saddlebags were still attached to her sides, she quickly hopped out of the carriage.
“Thanks.” She said, turning around to face the pair of guards.
“Of course, Ms. Shimmer.” One of the guards replied. “We’ll be here with the princess in the evening. Until then, please stay safe.”
“Can do.” Sunset didn’t bother watching the carriage as it took off. Instead, she turned her gaze to the small - albeit lively town - sprawled before her.
Being the personal student of Princess Luna, Sunset had traveled to many places when accompanying her mentor on various meetings across Equestria, usually to meet with the mayors of the bigger cities like Fillydelphia, Manehatten, and even Cloudsdale. Hay, she’d even accompanied the princess to countries outside of Equestria, like Germane, or even the griffon territories. Unsurprisingly, Canterlot’s quaint little neighbor wasn’t on the list of places she’d visited. Sure, she’d seen Ponyville hundreds of times out of her window and had done basic research into the small town, but as she meandered about the streets taking in the sight of the large white and dark blue banners strung about the town, and ribbons connecting nearly every tree, she had to admit it was surprisingly lively for such a small settlement.
‘Though the Summer Sun Celebration’s probably to thank for that.’
“Gaaaaaaasp!”
Sunset tore her head away from the decor and pivoted in the direction of the gasp’s source. A completely pink earth pony mare with a mane that looked like it was fashioned from cotton candy was staring at her with eyes as large as dinner plates and a mouth that was threatening to hit the ground.
Quickly taking a step back, she lifted a hoof and waved nervously at the pink pony. “Uhhh… hi.” She said, doing her best to sound friendly. “Can I help you?”
She received no response. Instead, the pink pony turned around and with a speed that few could contest with, rocketing down one of the streets before eventually disappearing from view.
“Alright…” Sunset said to no one in particular. Glancing around she wondered if anyone else had seen what she’d seen. If they did, they didn’t seem to care. Had that pony recognized her? As the personal student of Princess Luna, Sunset was not about to deny that she was well-known in Canterlot. Everywhere she went she seemed to attract heads, but that was never the case in any other location she visited. Perhaps it was because Ponyville was close to Canterlot? A surge of pride welled within Sunset. It certainly seemed plausible.
‘Well, you got here. What now?’
Sunset put a hoof to her mouth. Truthfully, she hadn’t actually thought this far ahead. She knew she was heading to Ponyville to meet up with Luna, but she hadn’t actually factored in the downtime that would inevitably follow. She glanced around for anything that would tell her the the time, her eyes eventually settling on a large clock plastered on a tall, rustic, building. ‘“Town Hall”, huh?’ It was half-past one, and the Summer Sun Celebration proper wasn’t due to start until midnight. At least, that’s when it started in Canterlot. That said, ideally everything would be set up nine hours prior, at least that's when ponies from out of town started showing up. Shrugging, Sunset casually made her way over to the stairs and climbed up them. With any luck, she could find the pony responsible for spearheading this whole event.
‘If I’ve got nothing to do I might as well make myself useful.’
Pushing open the door, Sunset was greeted by the sight of at least fifty ponies all milling about amidst a comparably small circular space, each deftly avoiding one another despite the lack of room to move. Taking a deep breath she braved a hoof forward, pulling herself into the fray. Several unwanted collisions and ‘sorry’s later, she was finally able to make her way towards who looked like the lead pony. She was an older mare with a gray/white mane and tan fur sporting a small set of spectacles on her muzzle. Her mouth was jammed in a thin line, and unlike the other ponies in the room, she wasn’t milling about, instead holding a long list in her hooves, glancing over it every so often, pivoting from conversation to conversation with the ponies around her and pointing in various directions with her free hoof. Siding up next to her, Sunset gave her a small tap on her shoulder, causing the mare to turn around.
“Yes?” The mare asked. Her stoic expression fell slightly when her eyes came to rest on Sunset.
“Uh, hello.” Sunset gave a small smile. “Are you in charge here?”
“I am.” She gave her a once over. “Are you here for the Summer Sun Celebration?”
Sunset chuckled. “Pretty obvious I’m from out of town, huh?”
A smile graced the mare’s lips. “In a town as small as this one, Dear, new ponies can be spotted from a mile away.” The smile didn’t last long however as a sigh escaped her, her body deflating. “Unfortunately, Miss, I’m afraid you’ve shown up rather early. The Summer Sun Celebration won’t start until the evening, and there is still much to prepare for. Should you need a place to pass the time I would recommend-.”
“No, no!” Sunset waved her hooves in front of her in a desperate attempt to grab the mare’s attention. “I was actually hoping I could help out! I really only came here to meet up with somepony, so I figure I might as well make myself useful in the meantime.”
The mare’s eyes instantly brightened. “You would? Oh, thank you, young lady!” Sunset’s heart rate increased as she took a step back, or as much of a hoofstep as she could without crashing into somepony, but with only a couple hoofsteps between them, the mare was getting dangerously close, and Sunset knew an incoming hug when she saw one. “You have no idea how grateful I am. You’re a gift from Luna herself!”
“Alright, alright.” Sunset said, giving the mare a nervous smile. She held a hoof up, gently putting it in between her and the mare. “Just tell me what you need me to help with and I’ll be out of your mane.”
Her face hinting a bit of red, the mare cleared her throat. “Of course.” She took out a piece of paper and scribbled down a few notes, before handing it to Sunset. Snapping it up with her magic, Sunset glanced over the list.
“Catering - Applejack - Sweet Apple Acres
Weather Patrol - Rainbow Dash - Ponyville Skies
Decor - Rarity - Carousel Boutique
Choir - Fluttershy - Ponyville Outskirts”
“I’d like you to contact these four ponies and see if everything’s coming along nicely. With any luck they should mostly be done, if not now then soon. I’d do it myself, but…” The mare ran a hoof through her mane and gave her a sheepish smile. “You can see I’m a bit preoccupied.”
Properly glancing up from her list, Sunset gave the mare a smile. Given the hubbub around her that threatened to drown out their conversation, ‘preoccupied’ might be a bit of an understatement. “I’d say.” She folded up the letter and nestled it neatly into her saddlebags. “So, where can I find these ponies?”
Humming slightly, the mare lifted a hoof, turning her head around and beinning to pan it at a steady pace. After a few moments, she stopped, extending her hoof fully and turning her gaze back to Sunset. “Sweet Apple Acres is in that direction.” She said, her hoof extended in what Sunset could only guess was southwest. “Just follow the dirt trail from out of town and you’ll spot it in no time. Rarity should be in here by the time you talk to Applejack, but in the event you’re done before she arrives, Carousel Boutique is on the way. In regards to Rainbow Dash… I’m not sure. She should be up in the skies, so just wave her down if possible, and Fluttershy might be harder to find as well. Truthfully I would ask Rarity when you see her. My apologies.”
Closing her eyes for a moment, Sunset hummed slightly. So Applejack and Rarity were on the same side of town, Rainbow was in the clouds, and Rarity might know where Fluttershy was. She opened her eyes and gave the mare a smile. Easy. “Alright, can do Ma’am.”
The mare smiled. “Thank you ever so much again. You really are a lifesaver, Miss…” Her eyes widened. “Oh my, I don’t believe I ever got your name.”
Sunset chuckled. “It’s Sunset Shimmer.”
The mare nodded. “Very well, Ms. Shimmer. You may call me Mayor Mare.”
Again, Sunset had to fight to suppress a chuckle. ‘There’s no bucking way that’s her real name.’
“Sounds good, Mayor Mare.” She turned around and began to make her way towards the door. “I’ll be back in a jiffy!” An effort easier said than done, granted. In fact, fighting against the throng of ponies, there was a high likelihood she could presently be outsped by molasses, but eventually her efforts were rewarded as she set a hoof against the door and pushed it open, stumbling out into the open air. Immediately she could feel the temperature drop all around her, and drank in a deep breath of the summer air.
“Alright.” She said. A smile crept its way onto her face as she glanced down at her list. By the sounds of it, Mayor Mare wanted her to start from the top. “Sweet Apple Acres it is then.”
Trotting down the stairs and casting her gaze in the direction Mayor Mare had pointed in, Sunset’s eyes widened. Mayor Mare had not been kidding; even from the middle of Ponyville she could see a red barn house serving as the backdrop amidst hundreds - if not thousands - of apple trees. It was a ways away, but still very visible. ‘I can’t say I expected it to be that easy.’ She raised her speed from a trot to a canter. Thankfully the streets weren’t nearly as packed as Town Hall was or getting there would’ve been an effort that would take until the day rolled over. She turned her eyes skyward. Hopefully she could spot this ‘Rainbow Dash’ on the way, though, as she moved her eyes back and forth, the only thing that was able to be seen high above were clouds upon clouds. Spotting any blue in the sky was impossible. Suffice to say that this pony - whoever they were - did not seem to be doing their job.
‘Worry about that later. Right now, find this ‘Applejack’.’
Turning her gaze back down, Sunset picked up her pace. Every so often she’d catch a pony eying her in confusion, and she couldn’t help but chuckle. Either she was that well known, or these ponies could spot someone new from a mile away. Though to be fair on both fronts she was hardly inconspicuous. Her bright-colored mane didn’t blend into much of anything, and certainly not a crowd of ponies.
It wasn’t too long before Sunset passed an extraordinarily out-of-place building. Amidst the albeit colorful but simplistic houses of Ponyville, this… house? Was an overly extravagant building decorated in purples and whites as if it had been plucked right out of Canterlot. Curious, she glanced at a sign that hung just above the door.
‘“Carousel Boutique”’
Oh.
Slowing herself down to a stop. She gave the door a once over. There was a large sign right behind the door’s window reading ‘CLOSED’. The desire to knock was tempting. It would certainly help her check off one item on the list a little faster. She took a couple steps towards the boutique before shaking her head.
‘This ‘Rarity’ might already be at Town Hall.’ Sunset turned back towards Sweet Apple Acres and picked her pace back up to a gallop. ‘And besides, Mayor Mare wanted me to check in on Applejack first. No sense in doing things out of order.’
Her eyes stayed locked on the dirt road towards Sweet Apple Acres as she nimbly dodged and weaved by any passing ponies. Fortunately, as her hooves carried her farther and farther out of town the number of ponies she saw dwindled considerably. In fact, it wasn’t too long until it was just her on the road. She gradually slowed her pace down from a gallop to a canter, and from a canter to a trot, allowing herself some time to take in the scenery of Ponyville. Sunset turned her gaze left and right, her smile getting bigger and bigger with every direction her head spun.
Having lived her whole life in Canterlot, she’d always seen the surrounding scenery of Ponyville from afar. She knew it was bowled in by hills and the occasional mountain, but all of that paled in comparison to being smack dab in the middle of it. The hills - even from afar - towered over Ponyville. They were all clumped together, blocking each other from view, all fighting to be in the foreground. It was almost an oppressive sight if they didn’t look so colorful, their vibrant greens brimming with life. Looking up beyond the hills, Sunset could spot a familiar city sitting on the side of a mountain to the north. From this perspective the Royal Palace seemed to comprise the entirety of Canterlot. It was a trick of perspective, granted, but the palace was the only discernible building from so far away. She squinted her eyes and tried to pick out her room. To her disappointment, but not surprise, it was an impossible task.
Sunset smiled, gently pulling her gaze away from her home back towards Sweet Apple Acres. She was a fair way out from town now, and she could see what looked like a wooden gate in front of the barn. Deciding she was close enough, Sunset’s trot slowed to a stop and her horn began to charge. Once her horn’s power reached its zenith, she let her magic loose, enveloping her in a cyan glow that grew brighter at an alarmingly quick rate. She slammed her eyes shut just in time to not catch the blinding flash of white light before opening them again.
If Sunset didn’t know any better, she’d swear she teleported all the way to Appleoosa. The large red barn had the same visual style as the city down south. Looking around at the various tools, everything was modest, utilitarian. The only difference that set Sweet Apple Acres apart from its apparent namesake was the lush greenery that surrounded it in every direction as opposed to the desert biome of its city counterpart. She glanced back up at the gate. It was a modest-sized archway, with greenery having almost overtaken it, though it looked to be more decor than negligence, as it seemed to snake around the wood with five apples placed symmetrically around the archway. On the top of it there was a small sign with an apple carved into it, and she couldn’t help but chuckle.
‘I think I’m in the right place. Just a hunch.’
“Yeehaw!”
Sunset’s gaze flew to an orange mare charging across the property. She was an earth pony, with a blond mane pulled back into a ponytail near its tip, and sporting a Stetson on her head. The mare galloped towards an apple tree with buckets underneath it, pivoting so her hind legs were just in front of the tree. The mare crouched down before swinging her legs outward and striking the tree with such force Sunset was surprised it didn’t snap in half. Instead, all of the apples in the tree shook for a moment, before falling neatly into every bucket with not an apple spilled. The mare struck a pose, a self-satisfying smile adorning her face.
“Impressive.” Sunset muttered under her breath before trotting her way to just behind the mystery mare.
“Hello!”
The orange mare diverted her gaze from the apples towards Sunset herself. Her face broke out in a grin, and she gave Sunset a friendly wave.
“Well howdy-do there, Miss!” The pony said. She trotted over to Sunset and grabbed her hoof, shaking it far too enthusiastically for Sunset’s comfort. “Can’t say I’ve ever seen you on the farm before! My name’s Applejack. A pleasure to meetcha!”
Sunset quickly wormed her hoof out of Applejack’s grip, shaking it slightly and giving the mare a smile. “It’s good to meet you too, Miss Applejack. My name’s Sunset Shimmer.”
Applejack shook her head. “Just ‘Applejack’, Miss Sunset.”
Sunset cracked a smile before firing back with her own response. “Just ‘Sunset’, Miss Applejack.”
The two mare’s locked eyes for a moment, before sharing a small chuckle. “Alrighty then. I think I can work with that.” Applejack relented. She leaned against the tree she just bucked and gave Sunset a smile. “So, Sunset, if I was a bettin’ mare, I’d say you’re from out of town. What brings you all the way to Sweet Apple Acres?”
“I was looking for you, actually.” Sunset said. With a flash of her horn she undid one of her saddlebags and pulled out the list Mayor Mare had given her.
A flicker of pride wormed its way into Applejack’s smile. “For me? Well shucks, ain’t that an honor?” She took her weight off the tree and theatrically stooped into a small bow. “So, what can I do ya for, Sunset?”
Sunset chuckled at the sight before turning her attention back towards her list. “I’m actually helping with the Summer Sun Celebration.” She flipped the list around, showing it to Applejack. “I’ve been told you’re in charge of the catering tonight?”
Springing up, Applejack nodded. “Yes, Ma’am! All of us Apples!” She gestured to what looked like twenty or thirty other ponies near the entrance of the barn who all seemed to be working on various foods. Even from across the barn, Sunset could smell the familiar scent of baked goods and had to fight with herself from drooling all over the ground like an idiot. Applejack must’ve noticed, because she let out a chuckle and leaned close to Sunset, her smile becoming almost predatory. “Would you like to try some grub there, Sunset? I think you’ll find yourself mighty satisfied.”
Sunset blushed and gave Applejack a sheepish smile. “A little I suppose.” As much as she wanted to wrap up business here quickly, this Applejack pony seemed friendly enough. That and she hadn’t had anything to eat all day, though a fault more of hers than anypony else’s.
The farm mare’s eyes lit up. “Alrighty then, just you sit tight.” Within moments she cantered over towards the other ponies and swiped up an apple fritter, before bringing it back over to Sunset.
“As much as I’d like to introduce you to the rest of the family, I can see you’re a mare on a mission. And besides,” she turned around to look at the rest of the ponies. “Most of ‘em are only here to help with the caterin’ tonight.”
“But enough about that.” She held out the fritter to Sunset, who quickly scooped it up in her magic, giving a word of thanks. “You tell me how much you like it, Sugarcube.”
Sunset bit into the apple fritter. Immediately her tastebuds were set alight by the food in her mouth. It was very sweet, but not overpowering at all. The apples were baked to perfection, their texture blending in perfectly with the rest of the snack. The cinnamon perfectly complemented the rest of the food but didn’t go overboard like some of the desserts in Canterlot did, and it was still fresh out of the oven, Sunset could feel the heat still radiating off of it. She quickly took a second bite, then a third, and before she knew it the delicious apple fritter was no more. A chuckle caused her to turn back towards Applejack.
“I could see ya holdin’ back on that one, Sugarcube. I’d say you enjoyed yourself there.”
“I’d say I did, yeah.” Sunset gave Applejack a smile before turning back to her list and placed a small checkmark next to Applejack’s name. “I think the catering tonight is in excellent hooves.”
Applejack’s proud smile was back. “Well I’m honored to hear that, Sugarcube. Us Apples won’t disappoint.”
Sunset chuckled and turned around to make her way back to Ponyville. “I’ll you to it.”
“Alrighty then. You have a good rest of your day, Sunset.”
Sunset turned her head back around to give Applejack one last smile. “Thanks. You too.” Before passing beyond the gates back towards Ponyville.
Once she was back on the road, Sunset kept her eyes peeled for Rainbow Dash. She pulled her list back out and glanced over it. Given the job it was safe to assume that this pony she was searching for was a pegasus, but as her eyes darted from cloud to cloud she saw no ponies, just more of the same lumps of white and gray blotting out the sky, and she couldn’t help but let out a small huff. She’d seen skies like this in Canterlot, and it took a whole team of pegasi to clear a sky like this. That and it took hours too.
‘Come to think of it,’ Sunset’s eyes darted around the sky once more ‘I don’t see any pegasi up there at all. Where the hay is everypony?’
A growl escaped Sunset’s lips. Even if an entire team started working now there was only a chance that they’d be done in time. But that was just the problem.
“Why isn’t anypony anywhere?!”
In her frustration, Sunset charged up a spell and sent it hurtling at a cloud right above her, giving a satisfied smile as the cloud dissipated at the spell’s contact.
“Woah!”
Sunset’s eyes widened and her smile immediately vanished. Plummeting straight downwards on a direct collision course with her was another pony; a pegasus with a cyan coat and curiously - a rainbow mane. Sunset quickly took a couple steps back and readied her horn to catch the pegasus, but it was too little too late. The pegasus unceremoniously crashed right where she’d just been standing, causing an explosion of mud, some of which spotted her coat.
The pegasus sat up, rubbing her head. “Dear Luna,” she said in a raspy, almost coltish voice, “can somepony get the number on that cloud?”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Sunset quickly bent down, inspecting the pegasus for any bruises or broken limbs. Thankfully there didn’t seem to be any. “I didn’t know you were up there. I wouldn't have blasted that cloud otherwise…”
“Eh, no biggie. I’ve had worse crashes.” The pegasus pulled herself up into a standing position and shook some of the mud off, though most of it still clung to her body. She turned towards Sunset and inspected her up and down before giggling. “Oh. Looks like some mud got on ya. Gimmie a sec.”
“Huh?” Sunset looked down at herself, barely taking in the new pattern on her coat before the sound of wings unfurling brought her attention back to the pegasus. “Wait, what are you-?” But before she could say any more the rainbow-maned mare was gone, only leaving behind a streak of the same color as any evidence that she’d been there. Before it could even vanish properly the pegasus was back - completely clean - with a grey cloud positioned directly over her. Her eyes widened and she quickly stepped back in an effort to not get dumped on, but one hard kick later and she found herself completely soaked
‘Not fast enough, I guess.’
The pegasus laughed sheepishly. “Sorry about the mud.” She said. “But hey, at least it’s off now.”
Sunset glanced down at herself again. True enough, while she could feel her mane and fur clinging to her body uncomfortably, she was at the very least ‘clean’. A small victory if nothing else. “Appreciated.” She said. She shook off what water she could and inspected her saddlebags. They were a little darker in color but thankfully hadn’t gotten too soaked by the sudden downpour. She cracked open one of her saddlebags and inspected her books. Mercifully enough, both of them were unharmed. Sunset breathed a sigh of relief.
‘I’ll have to waterproof these later.’
“So, haven’t seen you around before.” The pegasus said, landing on the ground. “You here for the Summer Sun Celebration?”
“More or less.” Sunset said. She took out the note Mayor Mare had given her. “Right now I’m helping out Mayor Mare with the… oh horsefeathers.”
“Huh? Whatcha got there?” The pegasus trotted over to Sunset and looked over the note. Unfortunately, while the various contents of Sunset’s saddlebags were shielded from the worst of the water damage, the note Mayor Mare had given her wasn’t so lucky. “Oh… did I do that? My bad.” She put a hoof on the back of her neck and gave Sunset a sheepish smile.
“It wasn’t anything too important was it?”
“No. No worries, it’s fine.” Sunset grumbled, squinting at the note. It wasn’t too illegible. She could still make out the words well enough to understand them at the very least, but that probably wouldn’t last for very long. One quick-drying spell later and her quill came flying out of her bag. The feather itself was a little worse for wear, but it still functioned like it should. She uncorked her pot of ink and dipped the quill in it before scratching it across the paper, hastily retracing where the words used to be. “That’ll work.”
The two mares stood in silence for a moment. Sunset looked up at the cyan mare, who seemed to be looking everywhere but at her. Sunset eventually broke the silence with a small sigh.
“Look, I’m not mad.” She said. The pegasus’ mood brightened immediately, her sheepish smile giving way to a more hopeful look. “I shouldn’t have shot you out of the clouds in the first place.”
“Oh, alright then. That’s cool.” A grin quickly adorned the pegasus’ face. Bouncing back at an alarming rate, the pegasus once more unfurled her wings and took off from the ground, lazily flying in a large halo around Sunset. “Whatcha doing here so early? The celebration’s not for another few hours.”
“Yeah.” Sunset smiled. “But I’m meeting up with somepony later tonight. I got here early so I figured I may as well help out.”
“Not leaving other ponies hangin’, huh? I like it!” With a small flip, the mare landed back on the ground next to Sunset, giving her a friendly pat on the back. Sunset rolled her eyes. It was a bit of a ludicrous gesture, but it was appreciated nonetheless. “So whatcha up to?”
“I’m looking for somepony called Rainbow Dash.” Sunset said. She gave a knowing glance at the pegasus’ mane but said nothing. “Apparently they’re in charge of keeping the skies clear tonight.”
The pegasus gasped. She whipped her head around towards Sunset at an alarming speed with a huge grin plastered on her face. “You’re looking for me?!” Sunset fought hard to not roll her eyes a second time.
‘Thought so.’ Sunset shook her head. ‘No, Sunset. Be nice.’
“Guess so.” She replied. She looked up at the sky. It was still completely cluttered by clouds. Sunset glanced back down at Rainbow Dash and put on her best smile, waving a hoof at the sky. “So, do you have a plan for… all this?”
Rainbow followed her hoof back towards the sky. She put a hoof to her chin and her grin morphed into a cocky smirk. “Oh yeah.” She said. She glanced back at Sunset. “Easy. I could clear this in ten seconds flat.”
Sunset let her eyes fall halfway shut as she scanned the sky. Ten seconds? That wasn’t reasonable. Not in this condition. There were only a hoof full of ponies that could actually clear this sky that fast, and none of them were here. Though they might be here later? It was the Summer Sun Celebration after all, and she’d seen them perform at it in the past. She put a hoof to her chin and tapped it.
‘I’ll have to check later.’ There were more important matters at hoof.
“Ten seconds?”
“Totally!” Rainbow took off again, this time suspending herself right in front of Sunset. She rolled over upside down and gave Sunset a skeptical look. “You don’t believe me, do you?”
Sunset sighed. “It’s not that I don’t believe you, Miss Dash-.”
“Rainbow.”
“Alright.” Sunset closed her eyes and allowed herself a small chuckle. Thankfully Rainbow didn’t seem offended by it. “But ten seconds doesn’t seem reasonable, Rainbow.” Opening her eyes again, Sunset expected to be met with a glower or a pout. Surprisingly though, Rainbow’s face had morphed into a grin. She flipped back right side up and oriented herself towards the sky.
“Oh yeah?” Rainbow asked, turning her head back towards Sunset and flashing her a cocky smile. “Check it!”
Before Sunset could say anything, Rainbow Dash had taken off, this time much faster than before. She braced herself as the air interrupted by Rainbow’s sudden take-off slammed into her, and by the time she looked up again there was already a sizable patch of clear skies right above her. Bit by bit Rainbow crashed into the clouds, each time removing a sizable chunk from the sky before pinging off into a different direction at such a blinding speed Sunset could barely keep track of her if at all.
Rainbow showed absolutely no signs of slowing down as the hole in the clouds expanded. Sunset’s eyes frantically tracked Rainbow as she rocketed towards Sweet Apple Acres, lifting it from its cloudy spell before wasting quite literally no time at all in firing back towards Ponyville proper. Rainbow was too far away to see clearly, but Sunset could watch the rainbow line fly towards cloud after cloud with each one disappearing immediately. So much was being done in such a short time that she couldn’t help but be spellbound by what she was witnessing. Rainbow hadn’t let up on her pace either; she’d kept up her initial burst of energy, crashing into cloud after cloud after cloud, until after quite literally ten seconds the job had been completed.
As soon as the last cloud disappeared from the sky, the rainbow beam pivoted right back towards her, landing mere hoofsteps away. Sunset quickly threw up a magical barrier between her and Rainbow, blocking the mud that got kicked up upon the pegasus’ landing. Dropping her barrier Sunset turned her attention back towards the skies. It was spotless. Sunset flipped her head towards Ponyville, then towards Sweet Apple Acres. It was still clear.
‘There’s no way.’
“Told ya I could do it.”
Sunset’s gaze fell back on Rainbow. She was still standing where she landed, a cocky grin on her face. “Ten seconds.” She said proudly.
Sunset’s mouth must’ve fallen open at some point because she shook her head, quickly closing it, before turning her body to fully face Rainbow.
“How?” What else was there to ask?
Rainbow laughed, casually flapping her wings. “With my wings. Duh.”
Sunset’s eyes narrowed. That wasn’t what she meant and Rainbow knew it. “I know that.” She said. “But… nevermind.” Sunset sighed. What was there to say? She gave Rainbow a smile.
“You were right though. That was ten seconds, if not less.” She chuckled. “Sorry I doubted you, Rainbow.”
Rainbow waved a hoof dismissively. “Aww, no biggie. Few ponies really know how awesome I am. So!” Rainbow took to the sky again, flying a meter or so above Sunset and rolling onto her back. “Where ya off to next? Need a lift?”
“I think I’m good, but thanks.” Sunset said, smiling at the gesture. She pulled out her list and looked at the next name on it. “Carousel Boutique. Gotta meet up with somepony called ‘Rarity’.”
Rainbow’s face scrunched up. “Carousel Boutique. Blegh.” Sunset looked up from her list and gave Rainbow an inquisitive look.
“Something wrong with Carousel Boutique?” Sunset began walking back towards Ponyville. It was still a ways away and as much as she enjoyed Rainbow keeping her company, she still had a job to do. Fortunately Rainbow seemed to pick up on it as she began slowly flying back towards Ponyville, side by side with Sunset.
Rainbow shook her head. “Nah, Rarity’s cool and all, but…” Rainbow let a hoof dangle limply at her side and glowered at the sky. “She’s always trying to get me to let her style my mane. My mane’s awesome, don’t get me wrong, but getting it done… eugh. Just not my thing.”
Sunset’s gaze unconsciously shifted towards Rainbow’s mane. It was certainly messy. Unkempt, frazzled, and uncouth were all appropriate descriptions as well. The most intriguing part about it though was that for all of the lack of effort put into her mane, every color was perfectly separate. Try as she might find one, Sunset couldn’t spot a single hair that merged into a color that was not its own. Truthfully, she couldn’t begrudge this Rarity. She alone knew of a few ponies in Canterlot who would kill to take a crack at Rainbow’s mane.
“Maybe you should let her.” Sunset said, letting a smirk work its way onto her face. She fought to suppress a chuckle when Rainbow flipped around and glared at her. “Come on, only once. I can’t say I blame her, you know.”
“Oh come on, not you too.” Rainbow groaned. She flipped back over so her back was facing the ground. “And here I thought I found one pony who could understand.” She grumbled.
It was Sunset’s turn to glare at Rainbow. “Hey, for the record I actually put effort into my appearance. And besides, if you let her do it once she might let up about it.”
“Or she might try and do it some more.”
“Perhaps.” Sunset shrugged. “But she’ll be grateful if you let her.” Rainbow grumbled something unintelligible, to which Sunset only chuckled. Rainbow Dash seemed pretty alright.
The two finished the rest of their walk in silence. Every so often Sunset would glance back at her list or glance up at Rainbow, who seemed oblivious to her occasional scrutiny, casually looping through the air and doing various twists and turns, but never leaving her too far behind. The two were closing in on Ponyville and Sunset could hear the various noises from the town slowly rising in volume. The ponies seemed to be working at a faster pace than when she’d left. Before she’d departed for Sweet Apple Acres they had been casually ambling about, maybe speed-trotting at quickest, but nothing too urgent. Now a fair chunk of Ponyville’s residents were cantering about in a mad dash to get to heavens-knew-where. It was frankly impressive that the roads weren’t completely obscured by dust clouds.
Sunset glanced up. While not the most consistent method of measuring time the sun was convincingly in the latter half of the sky. It had barely been past solar noon when she’d arrived in Ponyville, but now it was noticeably later. ‘If I had to guess… two-thirty at latest?’ It made sense. Ideally everything would be set up at least an hour or two before the celebration. Though this was hardly a normal event, especially for such a rural town. She could hardly blame them for panicking.
“Pretty crazy, huh?” With a graceful loop Rainbow landed beside her, mercifully not kicking up any mud.
“Yeah.” Sunset nodded. “Though it makes sense. It’s getting close to three I think. Ideally, everypony should be done by then.”
“Yeah well, hay, it’s Ponyville.” Rainbow chuckled. At Sunset’s inquisitive glance Rainbow broke into a grin. She gestured lazily at the town. “C’mon, you think we’ve done anything this big before? The biggest thing we do is the Running of the Leaves. ”
“The ‘Running of the Leaves’?”
Rainbow put a hoof up to her mouth but made no effort to hide the snicker that escaped her lips. “See?”
Sunset rolled her eyes. “Yeah yeah, I get it. You’ve made your point.”
“Anyway, I gotta get going.” Rainbow said. Her wings flared to life, nearly hitting Sunset as they raised themselves skyward. Rainbow held out a hoof to Sunset and gave her a smile. “You’re pretty cool, Sunset. Catch me at the celebration, yeah?”
Sunset chuckled and bumped Rainbow’s hoof, giving her a smile of her own. “Sure, you’re not too bad yourself, Rainbow.”
“Pffft! Please.” Rainbow bent down, her wings raising even higher. “I’m better than ‘not bad’!”
Sunset was more prepared for Rainbow’s take-off this time, preemptively throwing up a shield and causing the kicked-up mud to splatter harmlessly against her magic. She allowed herself a smile before taking the first few steps back into Ponyville’s streets.
Fortunately stepping back into the hustle and bustle that was Ponyville’s streets wasn’t nearly as bad as it looked from the outside. For as hurriedly as the ponies were stomping about the streets they were very considerate about others in front of them, moving around Sunset if she was in their way. Sunset breathed a sigh of relief and began to quickly and carefully make her way towards Carousel Boutique. She deftly navigated around the citizens of Ponyville as easily as they navigated around her, sidestepping any oncoming ponies and breaking into brief canters to move out of the way of others, favors quickly returned when she failed to spot ponies out of the corner of her vision. A short but intense struggle later, she found herself in front of Carousel Boutique. Much like before the sign elegantly hung behind the door read ‘CLOSED’. Humming, Sunset put a hoof to her chin. Should she knock? There was every chance this ‘Rarity’ might be inside. Mayor Mare did say that she would be in Town Hall by the time Sunset got back… probably. Sunset shrugged as she trotted towards the front door. No sense in not being thorough. She quickly rapped on the front door.
Silence.
Sunset rapped once more, louder this time. Again, she received no response.
“Alright then.” Sunset turned her back towards Carousel Boutique and began making her way back into the streets, slipping back into the throng of ponies with little issue. “Town Hall it is.”
Thankfully Town Hall wasn’t too far away. Sunset kept her eyes fixed on her destination as she bobbed and weaved throughout the crowd of ponies. Ideally, Mayor Mare would still be in Town Hall so she could give her a small status report of what she’d covered. Sunset looked back up at the sky.
‘Though I think Rainbow’s work is pretty obvious.’ Sunset thought, chuckling to herself.
She glanced back down just in time to see a minty green unicorn in her path. Sunset quickly threw herself aside, just barely missing the pony. “Sorry!”
‘Wait.’ Sunset threw her head back around to stare at the unicorn. Thankfully the pony hadn’t seemed to notice her, instead trotting down the street talking with an earth pony Sunset had never seen. ‘Isn’t she from Canterlot?’ She had to be. No pony could have that vibrant of a coat and not be remembered, and Sunset was certain she’d seen a unicorn like that in Canterlot before. It seemed rather early for ponies to be arriving though. Sunset turned her attention back towards the road and picked up her pace. Either it was later than she thought or ponies were arriving rather early.
With little fanfare Sunset quickly ejected herself from Ponyville’s streets and began climbing the steps up to Town Hall's doors. Surprisingly, there was little traffic coming to and from Town Hall. In fact, there was none; not a single pony other than Sunset herself was ascending or descending the steps of Town Hall. Grateful for this little respite, she threw open the doors and peeked inside.
The building was almost unrecognizable. When Sunset had left it, there had been little if not no decor in its interior. Now, no matter where she looked there were banners, ribbons, even carpets (though the latter might have been hidden previously) across every surface there was. Despite the large quantity though, it was not overwhelming. The banners were far from extravagant, with a rather simplistic beauty that carried over to the ribbons that ran across the railings and tied to various posts.
Though another part of the difference probably stemmed from a complete absence of almost all of the ponies previously there. When Sunset had left Town Hall there had easily been fifty ponies - if not more - crammed into the small building. Now there was only one; a snow-white unicorn mare with a heavily stylized purple mane milling about the interior, carefully lifting banners and ribbons to various spots in the building. Give her a dress, regardless of how simple and she could pass for a Canterlot citizen. Sunset thought back to where Mayor Mare said Rarity would be and allowed herself a smile.
‘I think I figured out who this ‘Rarity’ is.’
Sunset trotted over to the unicorn. “Excuse me.”
“One moment, please.” The unicorn said, turning her head towards Sunset slightly and giving her a smile. She was sifting through a myriad of different colored ribbons, muttering as she cast each one aside. Sunset suppressed a snicker. Even this mare’s accent sounded like she was from Canterlot. Perhaps they’d met before? “I’m in the zone as it were.” The unicorn let out a small gasp as she produced a bright red ribbon from the pile. It was larger than the others and was so vibrant it seemed to make the air around it shimmer.
“Perfect! A bit of sparkle always does the trick!” The unicorn quickly tied it to one of the pillars, striking a small pose. “Oh, Rarity you are a talent!” This time Sunset was unable to suppress a snicker, though fortunately it seemed to go unheard by Rarity.
‘That was easy.’
Rarity turned her attention towards Sunset, her smile never leaving and batting her eyelashes. “Now, Dear, what can I help you with- ah!”
Sunset cocked her head and frowned. Upon turning her attention towards Sunset, Rarity had immediately taken a step back. The smile she’d worn earlier was immediately replaced by a look of shock thinly dusted by disgust.
“Darling, you’re practically soaked!”
Sunset blinked and looked down. Her usually stylized mane was still hanging straight, burdened by whatever water was left in it, with a small puddle forming at her hooves that fortunately hadn’t damaged anything, save for maybe the carpet she stood on.
‘Oh, right.’ An angry blush began to form on Sunset’s face. Rainbow’s impromptu shower wormed its way back into her mind. Somehow she’d forgotten about that.
“Sorry about the water.” Sunset said sheepishly, glancing back up at Rarity. This was hardly the most flattering position to be in. “I kinda got rained on on my way here.”
“I can see that, Darling.” Rarity said. She took a tentative step towards Sunset, her eyes scanning over every part of the unicorn. “But surely that can’t be comfortable.”
Sunset looked around Town Hall and shrugged. “Well, I guess I don’t mind it too much, but - wha -? Hey, what are you doing?”
“Taking you back to my boutique, Darling. I simply must fix you up.” Rarity said. In the small time Sunset had taken her eyes off Rarity, the unicorn had moved to her side and began pressing against Sunset with her head, giving Sunset a series of forceful, but kind nudges towards the exit. Sunset tried to protest but there was only so much a pony could do with a horn repeatedly poking at their flank. “I will not simply stand by and let such a tragedy slide under my watch!”
Sunset gave Rarity a bemused frown. A tragedy? That was a little extreme. Sure, Sunset hated having a bad mane day as much as the next pony, but it hardly heralded the end of the world. Closing her eyes, she shook her head. There were more important matters to attend to.
“Listen, Miss Rarity.” Sunset opened her eyes again. “I appreciate the kind gesture, but I’ve been sent here by Mayor Mare. How far are you in decorating Ponyville?”
“I just finished up, Dear.” Rarity replied. She gave Sunset one final shove through the door, sending them both out onto the steps. “I told Mayor Mare I’d save our beloved Town Hall for last. I daresay you caught me at a most opportune time.”
“Did I now?” Sunset frowned. Was that why Mayor Mare didn’t want her to check on Rarity until now?
“Indeed!” Rarity clapped her hooves together happily. “Now, Dear, let us make haste!”
Once again, she moved behind Sunset and began prodding the unfortunate unicorn with her horn. Sunset’s saddlebags threatened to fall off as she stumbled down the steps, desperately trying to dodge the white horn that trailed too close behind her for comfort.
Fortunately, the roads seemed to have calmed down in the short time she’d been in Town Hall - if only slightly. While the town’s residents were still threatening to convert the various roads of Ponyville into mere dust clouds, there were notably less of them than before. Perhaps it was simply a period of downtime before it picked up again, but regardless it meant that mercifully, the greater challenge of navigating Ponyville came not from dodging crazed ponies, but from stopping Rarity from gouging her with her horn.
“Miss Rarity,” Sunset winced as Rarity’s horn poked her flank again. “I understand that you’re trying to help, and I appreciate that. But I’m a little pressed for time at the moment.”
“I understand that, Dear.” Rarity said. Her eyes weren’t even looking at Sunset, instead occupied by something to her left. “Truly I do. But this is the Summer Sun Celebration. Princess Luna herself will be visiting our quaint little town. This will be our one chance to leave a lasting impression on the Princess, and I will not let a single pony tarnish our town in the eyes of royalty.”
“But I’m not - ow! I’m not from here!”
“I suspected as much. With a mane as vibrant as yours, I know I’d remember if I saw you before.” Rarity’s eyes drifted back towards Sunset as she waved to the left with a free hoof. “Just to the left, Darling. We’re here.”
Sunset took her eyes off Rarity and looked towards where she was pointing. Sure enough, just off the road from where she was was Carousel Boutique. The extravagant, Canterlotian atmosphere it projected now seemed all the more ominous as she stepped off the road and quickly put a few paces between herself and Rarity.
Seemingly no longer interested in gouging her with her horn, Rarity quickly sidestepped her, walking past right up to the entrance of the building. She ignited her horn, and a set of keys flew from under the mat just in front of the door. She let out a gleeful hum as she unlocked the door and pushed it open, turning around and beckoning to Sunset.
“You first, Darling. Time is of the essence.”
“If it was you’d let me be on my way.” Sunset grumbled, just quiet enough for Rarity not to hear. She had half a mind to turn around and leave Rarity right where she was. She could manage just fine without a very presentable mane. This wasn’t Canterlot. But at the same time, she didn’t want to offend just because she was in a rush. Sighing, she trudged up the steps of Carousel Boutique and stepped through the doors. “Alright. Thank you, Miss Rarity.”
“It’s my pleasure.” Once Sunset was fully inside Rarity closed the door and gestured to a… table, flanked by a stool and three mirrors. “Just the stool is fine, Darling. I’ll go get my things.”
Now alone - albeit temporarily, Sunset meandered about the room Rarity left her in. It was certainly glamorous, no less so than the exterior of the place. The interior was all pink, almost offensively so, with a pink floor, pink walls, pink curtains covering every wall she couldn’t see. Even the ceiling was of varying shades of pink, but it wasn’t too terribly overwhelming. There were golden mirrors and desks, and several shapes of either off-pink or gold breaking up the monotony of pink on the walls and ceilings. There was even an archway leading towards a flight of stairs - the one that by the sound of it Rarity had just dashed up. As haphazard as it seemed at first glance, there was a certain artistic quality about it, despite how garish it was. Whatever it was was deliberate.
Sunset parked herself on the stool just as Rarity came back down the flight of stairs. Her horn was alight and assorted mane-care products - both familiar and completely alien hovered behind her.
“Ta-da!” Rarity sang. She trotted over to Sunset and set the tools down. Sunset couldn’t suppress a shiver at the sheer quantity of tools Rarity had produced. “Now, let’s get started, Dear. The clock is ticking.”
“We won’t be using all of those… right?” Sunset asked as Rarity picked up the mane dryer. She flinched as Rarity turned it on, sending a wave of hot air at her and hitting her square in the face. Rarity quickly readjusted her aim, redirecting the hot air into Sunset’s mane.
“Oh goodness no, Darling. But one can never be too prepared.” Rarity said. The hot air was a welcome feeling in Sunset’s mane. Truthfully, she hadn’t used a mane dryer in ages, instead opting for a much faster drying spell.
I forgot how much I missed this.
“So what kind of mane style were you wanting, Miss…?”
The sudden lack of hot air prompted Sunset to look up at Rarity. She had set the mane dryer back on the table and had a troubled look on her face. Sunset cocked her head and raised an eyebrow.
“Is something wrong, Miss Rarity?”
“I… yes there is.” Rarity said. Her eyes were fixated on… something in the mirror. Whether she was talking to Sunset or herself was anypony’s guess. Rarity shook her head before turning her attention back to Sunset and gave her a smile. “Where are my manners, Darling?”
‘Buck if I know.’
“What do you mean, Miss Rarity?”
“I don’t believe I ever asked you for your name.” Rarity said. “We’ve been talking since Town Hall and not once did I ask you for it. My sincerest apologies, Dear.”
Sunset’s confused expression only grew. Her eyes followed Rarity as she sifted through the tools on her table before plucking a comb out of the pile. She had dragged her back to Carousel Boutique by force and she was apologizing for not asking her name? Sunset shrugged.
Priorities, I guess.
“It’s Sunset. Sunset Shimmer.”
Rarity paused. Her self-deprecating smile morphed into a small frown as she brought a hoof to her chin and closed her eyes.
“‘Sunset’? I could’ve sworn I’ve heard that name before…” The comb in Rarity’s grasp dropped to the floor as her eyes widened and she let out a gasp that threatened to suck out all of the air from the room. If nothing else it prompted Sunset’s heart to try and burst its way out of her chest.
“Wait... Sunset Shimmer… but of course! I should have known!” Rarity started circling around Sunset, her eyes darting all over her body.
“The colors… the cutie mark… of course!”
Rarity was staring at Sunset with a look caught somewhere between awe and disbelief. So… she was a big name in Ponyville after all. Pride surged from deep inside her, igniting every part of her and dragging her mouth into a self-satisfied smile.
“I’m guessing you’ve heard of me?”
“Have I? Of course I have, Darling. Equestria’s most powerful unicorn, Princess Luna’s personal protege, I don’t think there’s a pony in Canterlot who hasn’t heard of you.”
‘Wait… Canterlot?’
The overwhelming feeling of pride blooming in Sunset was instantly crushed. Canterlot. Not a ‘pony in Ponyville’, not a ‘pony in Equestria’, a ‘pony in Canterlot’.
‘Yeah, and what else is new?’
“So, you’re from Canterlot?” Sunset hedged. She hoped her disappointment wasn’t showing on her face. Then again, Rarity probably wouldn’t notice. Surprisingly, Rarity shook her head.
“No, Dear. I’m not.” Rarity said. She picked up her comb and began brushing it through Sunset’s mane. “I’ve seen how you style your mane, Darling. I’ll have it back to normal shortly.”
“Thanks.” Sunset muttered. The two sat in silence for a few minutes. Sunset’s eyes followed Rarity as she cycled through her tools. From combs to curlers, to other products not even she had seen. Sunset used this brief downtime to allow her mind to wander. So, she wasn’t known in Ponyville either. She had to admit, a part of it hurt. For all of her accomplishments, only ponies in Canterlot seemed to know who she was. She shrugged to herself. Oh well. It had happened in Las Pegasus, it had happened in Manehattan. At this point ponies not knowing who she was was old news by now.
“So, you say you’re not from Canterlot. How do you know about me?”
“One reads the Canterlot Times, Dear.” Rarity replied.
Sunset quirked an eyebrow. That seemed… odd. “Why? You don’t live there.”
Rarity giggled. She picked up the comb again and a spray bottle. She pointed the bottle at Sunset’s mane and gave it a couple of squeezes before running through the wet patch with her comb. “No, but I hope to one day. The glamour and sophistication of Canterlot are something I’m rather envious of, to be honest. But to live in high society, one must first educate themselves on high society. Don’t you agree, Darling?”
Sunset shrugged. “I guess.” Truthfully she had never given much thought to ponies looking to break into high society. Though to be fair it never concerned her.
“I’m almost done, Dear.” Rarity put down the comb and picked the mane dryer back up. She flipped it to a lower setting and began running it once more over Sunset’s mane. Sunset closed her eyes and leaned into the warm air. A smile spread across her face as her mind wandered back to one of the castle’s benches, where the warm summer wind always played with her mane, every time threatening to put her to sleep. But all too quickly the sensation was over, and Rarity flipped off the mane dryer, setting it back with her other tools.
“And done!” Rarity proclaimed. She put a hoof to Sunset’s chin and turned it towards the mirror. “A perfect recreation if I do say so myself.”
Sunset blinked as her eyes landed on her reflection. It was true, her mane looked identical to how it did before Rainbow poured a cloud’s worth of water on her. A smile played at her lips as she shifted her gaze towards Rarity.
“Yes. Thank you, Miss Rarity. This is amazing.”
Rarity put a hoof to her mouth as a small giggle escaped her lips before bowing to Sunset.
“Of course, Dear. It was the least I could do when I saw the… state you were in. Now, before you go...” Rarity trotted over to one of the curtains obscuring the walls and pushed it aside, revealing a myriad of outfits of varying colors and styles, and gave Sunset a hopeful smile. “Could I perhaps interest you in trying on some of these outfits? It would be a dream to see a Canterlotian wearing them!”
Sunset glanced up at a clock on Rarity’s wall. Half-past three. She cringed. She wanted to stay, she really did. Pushiness aside, Rarity seemed nice enough and was certainly able to hold a conversation, but there were more pressing matters to consider.
‘The Celebration, for one.’
Sunset gave Rarity a smile and shook her head. “I’m sorry, Miss Rarity, but I need to leave.” She stood up from the stool and turned to face Rarity, giving her a smile. She brought a hoof up to her mane and spun some of the strands around it. Smooth. She’d have to ask what mane conditioner Rarity used later. “I appreciate what you did with my mane, really. Thank you again.”
Rarity’s smile quickly formed a pout. “I understand, Darling. But please, just one? I promise I can make it quick.”
Sunset’s eyes narrowed and her smile slipped into a frown.
“No.” She said. She felt a small pang of guilt at the crushed look on Rarity’s face. It hurt to shoot down the mare, but time was of the essence. “I’m sorry, Miss Rarity. I have places to be. I’d love to stay here with you, it’s just…”
“No, it’s alright, Darling. I understand.” Rarity heaved a sigh and shook her head before guiding her eyes - which had been staring at the floor - back towards Sunset. “It was selfish of me to suggest after I dragged you back here in the first place. You have my apologies, Miss Sunset.”
Sunset lifted up a hoof and gave Rarity a small smile. “No worries, Miss Rarity. I appreciate it, I promise.” She put her hoof down as she began making her way towards the exit of Carousel Boutique. “And hey, we can find each other at the Celebration later, right?”
A small spark of warmth flared up in Sunset as Rarity’s expression blossomed into a grin. She trotted towards the door and illuminated the knob with her magic, twisting it, and pulling it open. “Indeed, Darling. I expect that we will.”
As she was passing through the doorway a small flicker of doubt passed through Sunset’s mind. Sunset stopped in her tracks, a frown spread across her face as she put a hoof to her chin.
‘Am I forgetting something?’
“Is something wrong, Darling?”
“I don’t… think so?” Sunset replied. She flipped her head around.
‘Yup. Still got my saddlebags.’
Sunset lit her horn and pulled out Mayor Mare’s note. She absentmindedly pulled out her quill and placed a checkmark next to Rarity’s name, before scanning it, hoping for something - anything to give her a clue.
“Choir - Fluttershy - Ponyville Outskirts”
‘Oh, right.’
A chuckle escaped from her lips. She backed up a few paces until she was a step or two away from Rarity, whose head was cocked and was giving Sunset a questioning look. Sunset gave her a sheepish smile.
“Apologies, but you wouldn’t happen to know where this ‘Fluttershy’ is, would you, Miss Rarity?” Sunset passed the note to Rarity, who enveloped the note in a glow of her own.
Rarity looked over the list before breaking out into another grin. “Would I ever, Dear!” She carefully folded up the list once more and placed it in Sunset’s bag before grabbing Sunset by the hoof and pulling her back outside and onto the dirt path that connected Carousel Boutique to the rest of Ponyville, before letting go and pointing in a direction that looked to be the opposite of Sweet Apple Acres.
“She’s just by the Everfree, Darling. It’s a little off the road, but there’s a path nearby that will take you there.” Rarity paused. She turned her attention to Sunset, her smile faltering slightly. There was a flash of sadness in her eyes that did not go unnoticed by Sunset. “But do be gentle, Miss Sunset. The poor dear’s dreadfully nervous around new faces.”
Sunset raised an eyebrow, but smiled and nodded all the same. “No worries. Thank you again, Miss Rarity.”
Rarity put a hoof up to her mouth and gave a small giggle. “You really must stop thanking me, Darling. There’s only so much I can accept.” She turned around and opened the door to Carousel Boutique once more. She turned her head back to Sunset and gave her a small wave. “Anyways, I wish you good luck with the rest of your duties. I’ll see you at the Celebration tonight!” Sunset smiled and returned the wave.
“Likewise.”
She watched Rarity step through and close the door before turning her attention back to where Fluttershy’s place was. She could see the path alright, and much like the road to Sweet Apple Acres, it was completely deserted. She turned her attention back to the main roads of Ponyville and her heart sank a little as she saw the amount of traffic present on the roads once more. Gone was the… ‘generous’ road space populated by only a few ponies Rarity had navigated her through, now just as bad as the levels she’d seen when she got back from Sweet Apple Acres, if not even worse.
‘Guess it was just downtime.’
Sunset shook her head and made her way for the road proper. She gingerly put a hoof out onto the road, only to briskly pull it back when a dark-colored pegasus shot past, way too close for comfort. She tried again, only to pull back again for exactly the same reason.
‘Oooookay.’ Sunset’s eyes darted across the road, desperately trying to find an opening to squeeze herself into the road system. No such opportunity presented itself. Every time she laid hoof onto the road a crazed pony forced her to pull it back.
Sunset huffed and looked up at the sky. A prick of annoyance shot through her as she squinted up at the sun. She was burning daylight just sitting here. She turned her head around and looked back at Carousel Boutique. She blinked a few times as a realization crashed into her with the force of a fully loaded wagon.
‘Wait a minute…’
The area behind Carousel Boutique was empty. Sunset quickly cantered back towards the building, but instead of heading up the steps, peeled slightly right and around the building, coming to a stop behind it. She turned her attention back to where Rarity had pointed out the path.
It was visible.
It was close.
And there wasn’t a pony in between it and her.
A scowl tore its way onto Sunset’s face as the urge to slap herself boiled through her veins.
‘It was this easy!’
The scowl didn’t leave Sunset’s face as she tore towards the pathway. There was no resistance, no unwanted surprises, though for her pride it was hard to tell if that was better or worse. She’d seen Carousel Boutique was on the edge of town. She’d seen how vacant it was behind it. She didn’t have to try and get back onto the road.
‘Whatever, at least you spotted it now.’
With little ceremony, she hopped onto the path that led towards Fluttershy. Supposedly. As she began to walk away she stole a quick glance back at the roads. They were still just as busy as before, though not that that was likely to change anytime soon.
‘Please don’t let Fluttershy be back there.’ Sunset grimaced at the thought. Perhaps Mayor Mare wouldn’t mind her teleporting on the rooftops?
She broke her gaze away from Ponyville and turned it back towards her front. Her eyes darted about from rocks to trees to faraway scenery, trying to pick out anything that looked like a pony, instead she was only met with the same sight of small elevations and divots in land coupled with the occasional tree. Her eyes narrowed and a small huff of air escaped her.
‘Guess I’m going on a walk again. Great.’
She abandoned her search and instead let her eyes fall to rest on the intimidating pines in the distance. She’d seen them from her window back in Canterlot, but now being brought down to their level, only being able to see the vanguard of the largely uncharted forest gave it an aura unmatched by just seeing it from the safety of Canterlot.
Sunset was no stranger to the rumors of the Everfree Forest. Once she became Luna’s student she’d made sure to do her research on Equestria’s most dangerous land, though there wasn’t much to be known about it. A couple books had said there were ruins buried deep within the forest, where it was so dense no amount of light could pierce through the canopy. Others said the land played home to ancient civilizations - some still around to this very day. Knowledge of the Everfree was scattered to say the least, but in every book she’d read, they all agreed on one thing; monsters.
Her breath hitched as a flicker of gold came from behind the trees. There was almost a silhouette to be made out, but as soon as it came it was gone. She looked down at the path just in front of her. A small sigh of relief escaped her when she saw it pivoted to the left, no longer on a collision course with the pines. Grateful for the change in direction, she quickly adjusted her course and picked up her speed. Monsters indeed. From timberwolves to chimeras to so many other fantastical and terrifying creatures, there was a monster for everything a pony could imagine that was said to be locked up in the Everfree.
Sunset glanced to her left hoping to see Ponyville, or at least some element of pony civilization. It was stupid, but contrary to what many ponies back in Canterlot thought, she didn’t do ‘creepy’ all too well. A smile crept back onto her face when the white and purple of Carousel Boutique caught her eye amidst the backdrop of browns and greens.
‘I’m not too far out then.’
“Haa-ah-ha haaa-ah… ahh-ha ah ahhh-ha.”
Sunset’s ear flicked as the sound pulled her attention away from Carousel Boutique.
‘Singing?’
“Did everybody hear that okay?”
It was a voice. A high-pitched, but soft-spoken voice. Sunset turned her gaze to the direction said voice was coming from. A yellow pegasus mare with a pink mane was in flight next to a tree just off the pathway in front of her, looking up at a tree that housed scores of birds, all of which were looking back at the pegasus, and seemed to be nodding in response to her question. Sunset trotted closer, but the pegasus made no indication that she’d even noticed her.
“Okay, then let’s do it again.” The pegasus extended a hoof and began waving it around much like a conductor would move their own hoof.
“A one, a two. A one, two, three, go.”
Sunset’s eyes widened as just after ‘go’ left the mare’s lips the birds erupted into song. It wasn’t the garbled mess Sunset - nor anypony for that matter would expect from an ensemble of different birds. No, it was coordinated, with each bird's unique voice playing its own part in the music, much like a choir of ponies in the various performances Sunset had attended.
“But do be gentle, Miss Sunset. The poor dear’s dreadfully nervous around new faces.”
With little flair she ignited her horn, grabbing Mayor Mare’s note and her quill. She opened the note and placed a checkmark next to Fluttershy’s name before placing her supplies back in her saddlebag.
‘Well, that’s that.’
Sunset nodded to herself. That was everything Mayor Mare had asked of her. She looked up at the sky. It wasn’t too terribly close to Ponyville from here. With any luck by the time she’d get back to Ponyville the streets wouldn’t be nearly as-.
‘Wait, what in the…?’
Sunset squinted her eyes almost as far closed as they could go and craned her neck up as far as possible. Something was off about the sun. It was still a yellow ball of heat and light sure, and with enough shades, a mare’s face could still be seen branded on the surface, but something - something Sunset had never seen in her life - was happening on the cardinal directions of the sun.
On the east, west, south, and north sides of the sun was what Sunset could only describe as a mirage. It looked like there were four additional suns in the sky, all of them a fair distance apart from the real one. They started off nearly as opaque as Equestria’s own before they faded, tapering off completely around the halfway mark.
Sunset cocked her head as her eyes began to water, riffling through everything she’d learned about heat and water in the atmosphere, only to draw a complete blank. Sure, she’d read about heat distorting the atmosphere - especially on the horizon, but nothing like this.
“As much as I desire to explain this all to you at present, this is a matter more suited for an in-person discussion.”
“Eep!”
A small cry in front of Sunset snapped her out of her thoughts. She blinked and lowered her gaze from the sun, turning her attention back towards the source of the noise. The tree, which only moments ago had played host to a number of birds, was now barren, and the pegasus - no longer in the air - had moved behind the tree and was eying Sunset nervously through her long pink bangs.
Sunset gave the pegasus a smile. “Uh, hello.” She chanced. She carefully took a step towards the pegasus. The soft crinkling and shuffling of grass beneath her hoof as she pressed down magnified under the silence between her and the pegasus. Fortunately, said pegasus seemed to be in no interest to bolt, so that was better than nothing. “I’m… sorry if I startled you.”
The pegasus mumbled something, though what she said was lost on the wind. Sunset continued to carefully tread towards the pegasus until she was only a few paces away and lifted a hoof towards her. The pegasus slowly looked down at the hoof before bringing her eyes back up to meet Sunset’s.
“My name’s Sunset.”
The pegasus looked between Sunset and her hoof a few more times before mumbling something inaudible again. Sunset fought to keep the smile on her face as the pegasus’ voice - or lack thereof - fought to rip it off. She lifted an eyebrow and cocked her head.
“Sorry, what was that, Miss…?”
“I… Fl...r...y.”
Sunset bit back the groan that danced at her lips. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in a desperate bid to not glare at the mare before slowly exhaling, and opening her eyes again.
“But do be gentle, Miss Sunset. The poor dear’s dreadfully nervous around new faces.”
‘Right...’
Sunset took another step forward and slowly leaned her head towards the pegasus, careful to not lean too close lest she prompt the mare to bolt.
“One more time?”
“Fluttershy!”
Both the pegasus and Sunset jumped at the sound of a new voice not too far off. Sunset turned around, quickly registering the direction of the source. Down by where the path turned, a pink pony - a pony Sunset realized was the one she first met - was charging down the path towards them. She looked back at the pegasus, who’d hidden even further behind the tree before returning her gaze back to the pink pony.
Sunset’s heart skipped a beat as the pony dug all four hooves into the ground and skid to a halt just in front of her, kicking up pebbles and dust but impressively not stumbling in the slightest. The pony paid her no mind, sidestepping her and making her way over to the pegasus before throwing a foreleg around her.
“There you are!” The pink pony panted. “I’ve been looking… everywhere for you!” Between her exaggerated heaves, the pony reached into her mane and pulled out an envelope. She jammed it into the pegasus’ hooves before leaning in and cupping her hoof to her mouth and whispering something into her ear, every so often moving her eyes to Sunset and giving her a comically suspicious look.
Sunset’s blood began to boil at the ludicrous display in front of her. Tapping her hoof, she ignited her horn and opened her saddlebags, pulling out her book this time. She opened it and undid the dog-ear before scanning over the words on the page. Something about dissolving organic matter.
Not too much later, a rush of wind whipped past Sunset. She looked up, only to find that the pink pony was gone. Glancing back, She spotted said pony making a break back down the path to Ponyville. Shrugging, she opened her saddlebags again and deposited the once again dog-eared book back into it before closing the bag with a snap. She'd have to read about that one later.
“U-um… excuse me.”
Sunset’s ear flicked and she whirled her head around. The pegasus - Fluttershy if the past minute or two was anything to go off of - was standing behind Sunset, now clutching the envelope the pink pony gave her under her wing, with eyes looking anywhere but her.
Sunset quickly schooled her features and threw up a smile. ‘Words. Yes.’
“Yes, Miss?”
Fluttershy flinched at the response but stood her ground. Taking a deep breath, she unfurled her wing and snatched the envelope with her hoof before presenting it to Sunset. “P-Pinkie Pie… asked me to give this to you.”
Sunset raised an eyebrow before delicately plucking the envelope out of Fluttershy’s trembling hooves. Holding it in her magic she flipped it around a few times. It was a pure white envelope, completely ordinary, with what looked like a seal drawn in crayon where there would normally be one. The “seal” was the same red Luna used for her letters, but instead of Luna’s cutie mark, sported her own, and on the back in yellow and red crayon, the words “Sunset Shimmer” were written.
Sunset suppressed a shiver at the thought that the pink pony - Pinkie Pie by the sounds of it, already knew her name despite their one interaction. She hardly struck Sunset like the kind of pony who knew much about Canterlot. Brushing it out of her mind, Sunset turned back towards Fluttershy.
“I see. Thank you, Miss Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy whimpered in response before giving Sunset a nod and darting past her back down the path to Ponyville. Sunset’s eyes followed Fluttershy as she grew smaller and smaller, before turning the corner and vanishing behind a few odd trees.
Sunset turned her attention back over to the envelope and sighed.
“But do be gentle, Miss Sunset. The poor dear’s dreadfully nervous around new faces.”
‘And somehow that was still an understatement.’
She tried. She tried to reach out to Fluttershy, but the mare just wouldn’t reciprocate. What was she supposed to do? Sunset turned her eyes back to the envelope and scanned over it again.
‘May as well crack this I guess.’
Without giving it much thought, Sunset sliced open the top of the envelope and peered inside, revealing a letter. She held up a hoof and tipped the envelope over, letting the letter fall onto it. With a flash of her horn Sunset levitated it off her hoof and brought it to her face.
“Golden Oaks Library... ” Sunset read. Her nose scrunched up and her eyebrow raised as she flipped the letter around a few times. “Anything else…?”
When nothing presented itself her face slipped into a scowl. She glared at the bright red letters and she unceremoniously folded up the letter and jammed it back into its envelope before stuffing it into her saddlebags.
‘Great. Another quest.’
Sunset hopped back onto the path towards Ponyville, sparing the sun a glance while encouraging her legs to move.
A chill ran down her back that had nothing to do with the weather. The four suns, previously only forming four semi-circles, were now fuller, like they were taking the appearance of a waxing moon. A gibbous, if she recalled correctly.
“As much as I desire to explain this all to you at present, this is a matter more suited for an in-person discussion.”
Sunset shook her head and picked up her pace to a canter. Now wasn’t the time to speculate.
Taking a right, Sunset turned her attention back to Ponyville. The small town was so much different from afar. From where she was she couldn’t see the hustle and bustle of ponies, nor have her eardrums threatened by the voices' crazed shouting match against the thunder of hooves. From here the town projected an aura of serenity. Deciding she was safely within warping distance, Sunset lit her horn and vanished in a flash of light, reappearing back in front of the doors to Carousel Boutique, a smile worming its way onto her face.
‘That’s what, the third, fourth time I’m back here?’
Sunset turned her back to Carousel Boutique and started to head for the stairs. Before her hoof could take the first step, Sunset’s breath hitched and her whole body suddenly felt as if it entered a staring contest with a cockatrice.
The streets of Ponyville were barren.
Gone was the frantic thundering of hooves among the dirt path, gone were the fervent cries of ponies calling to each other in a frantic bid to complete the Summer Sun preparations. All that remained in their stead were Ponyville’s well-trodden roads and well-kept houses. It didn’t take much effort to imagine tumbleweeds rolling about the streets instead of the ponies Sunset had seen mere minutes ago.
Bracing herself, Sunset slowly lowered her hoof down the first step, the ‘clack’ of her hoof making contact with the stone threatening to split her eardrums open. Her eyes darted left and right, searching for any sort of movement, anything at all. Somehow, even the breeze disappointed her. She descended another step, then another, breaking into a canter on the final step until she found herself back on the main roads of Ponyville.
‘Okay. Creepy.’
Sunset’s horn flared back to life and her message book flew out of its bag. Cracking open the book, she pulled her quill out of her bag and poised it just above the pages. Her brow furrowed as her quill slowly moved its way both towards and away from the pages in intervals.
‘Should I?’
It was tempting. Luna would probably be able to sort out this whole mystery immediately. But at the same time, she was hardly a mare with time on her hooves.
‘Especially today…’
Sunset stared at the pages for a few moments more before slowly levitating her quill back into her bag.
‘No.’
Without hesitation she snapped her book shut and tucked it back where it belonged.
‘I can do this.’
Her mind turned back to when that pink pony, Pinkie Pie, gave that envelope to Fluttershy. She was definitely the one behind this. There was no guarantee that it was malicious. It probably wasn’t, considering what little of the pony’s demeanor she’d glimpsed, but not many ponies could make an entire town’s populous disappear. Pinkie Pie’s envelope flew out of Sunset’s bag. Little care was given to the extraction of the letter, tearing it slightly as she forced it out of its hiding spot. She unfolded it again and scanned over it.
“Golden Oaks…”
In a vain attempt, Sunset flipped the note over again, hoping for something else to have shown up. Nothing.
“Ugh…”
She didn’t even bother folding up the letter this time, instead crumpling the poor thing as she forced it back into the envelope and crammed it back in her saddlebags.
“Fine, I’ll play this stupid game.” She muttered. “Then what looks like a library?”
Sunset broke into a canter in the direction of Town Hall. She knew she was on the edge of Ponyville, so there wasn’t much she’d be able to see from here. Town Hall was also around the edge of town, but, well, it was Town Hall. She may as well start from there.
Blitzing past a restaurant and the back of what looked like a giant treehouse, Sunset finally came to Town Hall. Charging her horn, She cut her speed just enough that she wouldn’t stumble and warped to the top of the stairs, coming face to face with the door of Town Hall, before pivoting herself so she was facing outwards towards the rest of Ponyville, or what she could see of it with all of the houses in the way.
Sunset closed her eyes and took a deep breath. ‘Okay, Sunset.’ She thought, letting herself slowly exhale. Where to go?
She opened her eyes. To her left was where she just was. To her right was a pathway that led to Sweet Apple Acres, though, it did seem to branch off further into town.
‘Good a place to start as any.’
Sunset hopped off Town Hall’s steps and broke into a canter, her eyes scanning the buildings, searching for a sign, or a map, or any other basic directions.
‘Or a pony would be nice too.’
Opening up her magic reserves slightly, she began trickling a little of her magic into her horn. It wasn’t enough to start up a spell, but enough to let her kick start one should the need arise. One couldn’t be too careful in what was suddenly a ghost town.
***
Sunset lost count of how many times she turned directions. Ponyville’s roads were nothing if not winding, twisting, incomprehensible braids known only by the locals. If nothing else it was at least impressive how they managed to navigate through these accursed roads. Every time she encountered a dead-end the pressure in her head would spike, and she’d let slip a myriad of words that would never see the light of day in Luna’s presence, before turning around and darting back into the road system.
‘Where the hay is anything?’
Another fork in the road. Left. Sunset galloped down the road of similar-looking houses. The pathway was hardly a straight one, but with any luck, it’d lead…
Her hooves quickly dug into the ground in her best - but unwanted - impression of Pinkie Pie. Pebbles from the road were launched into the air, plink-ing off the windows, thankfully not causing any cracks, though such worry barely mattered. Her eyes - unable to it still - shrank to pinpricks and her jaw grit together with such force it was a miracle her teeth didn’t crack as she came face to face with the last thing she wanted to see.
A door.
‘Another dead end.’
The pressure in her head began creeping into her horn. It was a corruptive force, seeping into the base, but slowly, steadily, taking it over.
‘Of course it’s another bucking dead end!’
A guttural screech ripped its way up her throat and forced its way out of her mouth. Sunset reared back around, away from the offending door and channeled all of the pressure in her head into her horn, pointing it to the heavens and - with the sound of a thunderclap - unleashed a beam of cyan energy, so blinding in its brilliance it made the sky look like night in comparison. The beam took up almost the entirety of the road, with the nearest houses gaining scorch marks as Sunset’s feelings made magic; uncorked and with naught a care for control, flowed nonstop from its creator’s horn.
The beam lasted for only moments before Sunset, panting heavily, cut her magic reserves, cleanly severing off the beam of energy and with it the deafening noise. She closed her eyes and inhaled with as much force as she could muster, before slowly letting it out. The pressure in her head, dulled by the beam, slowly dissipated until it was merely a shadow of what it had once been, though with the relief came a small stinging feeling in her horn.
‘Nice going, Sunset.’ She admonished herself. ‘Next time just breathe, you foal.’
Opening her eyes once more she turned her attention back to the sky. Any evidence of the beam was gone now, but had there still been clouds it would’ve been an entirely different story.
‘So, what now?’
Sunset’s eyes flitted to the scorch marks on the sides of the houses. A pit formed in her stomach as her horn crackled to life. She was never the best at illusion spells, but she was able to gingerly trace the lines of her damage, applying a color change spell to the charcoal and ‘undoing’ most of the damage. With any luck, nopony would lean against the walls for a while. Or if they did she could only pray their coat was the same color as the walls. She turned her attention to the roofs and winced. A sizable chunk of them got blasted off, and there’d be no fixing that.
‘I’ll have to apologize for that later.’
She shook her head and forced her attention back onto the road. First, she’d have to find everypony, wherever they were. Kicking her legs into motion, Sunset kicked herself into a modest trot, though, as she began to move a small feeling in the back of her mind sparked to life. It was an all-too-familiar feeling, a feeling she had whenever she forgot a book on her way to one of Luna’s lessons or forgot to follow a step in an incantation. A frown made its way onto her face as her eyes darted from house to house. There was nothing she forgot. There was nothing to forget. She stopped and put a hoof to her chin, her eyes turning back towards the sky. It was just after the beam, so what could it have been?
‘It’s not the walls. I patched those up.’
Her eyes moved towards the roof of the nearest house.
‘Nothing to be done about the roofs though.’
‘Wait a minute.’
The roofs. Of course! Sunset closed her eyes and groaned, putting a hoof over her muzzle.
‘Took me long enough… again.’
Taking her hoof away from her face, her horn ignited and enwrapped her body in a cyan glow. In a flash of light she was gone, reappearing on top of a nearby house. Sunset opened her eyes and slowly scanned over Ponyville.
If one thing was certainly convenient, most if not all of Ponyville’s houses were more or less identical. There were some variations in exterior colors, granted, but the general builds of the houses were exactly the same, providing Sunset a sprawling landscape of multicolored roofs with no discernable pattern, punctuated only by the occasional gap for a park, or mashup of roadways, or a public building.
‘Or that weird treehouse by Town Hall.’ Sunset frowned as her gaze landed on it.
Shrugging, she turned her back to the treehouse to face the brunt of Ponyville. There were a few buildings that stood slightly taller than the surrounding houses, they’d be a good start. Igniting her horn again, Sunset warped from rooftop to rooftop towards a somewhat larger building that took up what looked like ten houses worth of land. Warping to a house just next to it, she gave it a once over. It was decidedly in more of a box shape, beige in color and any window she could see was dark. A small oaken sign was next to it, just beside what looked like the only entrance into the building if the roadway was anything to go off of, but whatever it said was facing away from her.
Teleporting down to ground level, Sunset quickly cantered around the building. Regardless of which direction she saw it from, any window she could see was dark, and what little she could see beyond it held no signs of ponies.
She tore her eyes away from the window and onto the sign. Quickly passing it by, she slowed herself down to a halt before turning around and facing it. Her eyes narrowed and her jaw tightened as instead of words, this small sign that could only be seen from ground level stared back at her, sporting a red cross on it with nothing else to draw ponies’ attention.
‘A small sign instead of on the walls?’ Perhaps she should stamp a red cross on all four walls, so ponies at least could see it from more than one direction.
‘Whatever. It’s not my town.’
Sunset ignited her horn and warped to the top of the building. She quickly turned herself about in a circle, checking off every building she could find that wasn’t a house. There were a fair few, mostly further away from Town Hall, but none as large as the Hospital.
‘Well, one down…’
Conjuring up her magic again, she moved towards the next closest building in a subsequent set of flashes, moving from rooftop to rooftop towards a significantly smaller building. It was less professionally put together - it looked more like a respectably expanded house than anything, but it had ample space to call its own.
It took roughly three warps, but Sunset eventually came face to face with the door of the building. The door was a worn down turquoise with no window on it to speak of, and from this close the wood needed either some TLC or to be replaced altogether. She took a few steps backwards, descending down its few wooden steps, and turned her head to either side of the building, searching for a clue as to what it was.
Her eyes came to rest on a sign just at the right corner of the building. It was the same as the Hospital’s sign. Small, oaken, everything the Hospital’s was, save for instead of a red cross, this one sported an envelope.
“Princess Luna certainly picked an interesting place for the Summer Sun Celebration.” Sunset muttered through clenched teeth. A small spark of pressure began to build up in the back of her head. Channeling that feeling into her horn, it ignited to life. “Tourists must get lost in minutes.”
In a flash, Sunset was gone, reappearing on the roof of the offending building. Jaw set tight, she turned her attention skyward to check on the sun.
Or suns, apparently. Instead of one sun and a set of four incomplete mirages, five white orbs, each one as bright as the last burned brightly over her head, so close to each other now that even when squinting, they fused together, creating something dimly resembling a plus sign.
Fortunately, five suns didn’t seem to translate into five times the heat. If anything, the temperature seemed unnaturally cold. Sunset didn’t even try to suppress a shiver at the uncanny sight above her. Why she bothered checking, she didn’t know. The pressure in her head growing again, she once again vanished in a cyan flash, not leaving herself any time to rest her eyes from her staring contest with the suns.
***
Time was lost on Sunset as she flitted around Ponyville. The small town she could see from her window in Canterlot turned much less of a town and much more of a winding, twisting, formless labyrinth of dirt roads, with houses serving as the walls, and buildings as beacons jotted at random with no pattern.
Indeed, as she went from Hospital to Post Office, and Post Office to Fire Department and so on and so forth, the repeated process of finding a building, only to see the oaken sign - one of uncountable identical siblings, stamped with a picture that did not relate to a library, eventually found her back at Town Hall under a now orange sky, her eyes so small a pony could mistake them for being absent, with a scowl so fierce an armada of the most savage dragons from the Dragon Lands would turn tail and flee. Her horn crackled unsteadily, cyan sparks flying off of it as its glow of the same color faded in and out of existence, and with each beat of her heart, a deafening pulse pounded in the back of her head, drowning out whatever may have been around her.
Sunset closed her eyes and inhaled. It was slow at first, calm and controlled and inaudible to even the sharpest of ears, before it accelerated, culminating in a venomous strike of air that rivaled the gasps of Rarity and Pinkie Pie from earlier that day. The exhale was much the same. A slow leakage of air from her mouth that rapidly crescendoed into a force that could threaten to knock a pony off their hooves.
Sunset put a hoof to her horn and slowly massaged it. Gradually the erratic sparks and frenetic glow of her horn subsided, eventually yielding to a quiet - albeit fragile - peace.
Slowly taking her hoof away from her horn she repeated her breathing exercise, though much more controlled. Regardless of how it felt she would not have a repeat of her earlier outburst. The inhale was shaky, but calm and consistent, as was the exhale. Slowly the pulse in her head began to fade, eroding away with each subsequent breath of air, the thundering poundings eventually gave way to a mild pressure.
Sunset slowly descended the steps of Town Hall. The ‘clack’ of her hooves thudding against the stone instead of ear-splitting might as well have not been there at all. Her eyes were trained on one point; a building facing away from her, lights out like the rest of them. It was a building she hadn’t given much thought to when she started her hunt, but with her entire search having come up empty, and the… interesting tendencies of some of the ponies she’d met, it seemed almost offensively obvious.
She’d made peace with it, she hoped.
Sunset stepped off of Ponyville’s roads and slowly, deliberately, marched to the side of the odd treehouse.
The sign was facing away from her. It always was. She cast a withering look at the blacked-out windows before glancing back at the sign. Pausing just behind it, Sunset drew in the deepest breath she could before passing the sign. She stepped in front of the door to the treehouse, before turning her eyes back to the sign standing off to the side of the treehouse.
It was a book.
Sunset slowly let the air out through her nostrils. It did little to stop the rising pressure in her head, but it helped.
“You found it, Sunset.” She muttered. “It took bucking hours, but you found it.”
‘For what good that does.’
Sunset tore her eyes away from the sign, fixing them back on the door, taking a few more deep, controlled breaths until the rising pressure in her head halted and began to recede. She reached her hoof up to the door and pulled it back, halting at the crux of her wind up.
‘Do I knock?’
It was customary to knock before entering an establishment where one was supposed to be, though, these were hardly normal circumstances considering a town was missing, and ‘civil’ was hardly a word taking up her current headspace. Foregoing the pleasantries, she ignited her horn and pressed her hoof to the door, pushing it open.
The light from outside did very little to light up the room. The only part of the building Sunset could reasonably see was the small sliver of sunlight stretching from the door to… roughly halfway into the room if she had to guess. Oddly the windows didn’t seem to be letting in any light. Figures danced at the edge of the doorway’s vision, just close enough to the light for Sunset to catch a glimpse of what they were, but just far enough away that their true figure was lost to blackness. In front of her, around the apex of the light’s reach, she could make out what looked like a set of table legs, and save for a white tablecloth, what it might have been holding - or concealing, was indiscernible.
Sunset took one slow step into the room. Looking about the room, she channeled more energy into her horn, intensifying the cyan glow. Disappointingly, the newfound light unveiled nothing the evening sky hadn’t already. She took another step in. Getting closer to the table, albeit only by little, was enough to see past a fraction of the blackness that permeated the room.
Something was written on the tablecloth. What it was written in, Sunset had no idea. She carefully took a few more steps towards the table until she was only a pace or two away from the table. Seeing what was on the table, her expression morphed into one of confusion.
Bathed in the cyan glow of her horn was a cake. Not a small one like Luna would get her for her birthdays, one that was meant for a small family to share. Instead, this was a multi-layered cake, easily reaching her height if set on the floor. Thanks to her horn, the color was hard to make out, but if Sunset had to guess, pink was a safe bet. A white trail of frosting covered the corners of the cake perfectly looping over themselves as they wrapped around the cake. There were multi-colored granules of sugar that sparkled in her horn’s light, on top of slightly larger, less shiny sugar pellets that decorated the top of the cake, giving it a frosted look. It was surprisingly well crafted, though that did little to set her mind at ease.
Looking down, her attention landed on the word written on the tablecloth. Sunset backed up slightly, before bending down. The word sparkled, much like the sugar granules in the light of her horn. Her expression of confusion only worsened, and her heart rate picked up slightly as she read the word stamped on the tablecloth.
‘“Welcome”? What is-’
“Surprise!”
Sunset shrieked as all of the lights in the room suddenly flicked on. Heart thumping and eyes wide, she leapt back and saw, tucked into the far edges of the room, dozens of figures - ponies. She pivoted back to look at the entrance. The door was closed, and more ponies were in front of it.
The dams to Sunset’s magical reserves burst open. Roaring to life, her horn glowed almost blindingly white and enveloped her in a cyan flash. She didn’t bother closing her eyes, squinting through the pain before she reappeared a few meters in front of Golden Oaks. She grit her teeth as her horn started up again. The door to Golden Oaks flew open and ponies began to pour out. Sunset kicked up the intensity of her magic. A high-pitched whirring sound began to resonate from her horn, a white orb of magic with a cyan corona forming on her horn, growing rapidly as the pitch of the noise increased.
Her eyes darted around the ponies that were emerging from the library. They stumbled out, their eyes were shifting about as they exited but as soon as they fell on her, they went wide. They lifted up hooves, some high into the air, others gently toward Sunset, all yelling words she couldn’t hear.
A flash of white caught her attention. Unlike the near politeness of the rest of the ponies, this one was forceful, pushing their peers aside as they charged out of the library. Her breath hitched as the pony broke out of the vanguard, standing in front of the rest with the same concerned expression and reaching her hoof towards Sunset.
Sunset closed her eyes and immediately severed the link between her magic reserves and her horn. The whirring noise stopped ascending in pitch, instead remaining steady as Sunset kept her hold on the magic.
Opening her eyes again, Sunset glanced over the ponies in front of her. All of Ponyville was there. Mayor Mare was there. Her eyes had shrunk into pinpricks, but her expression was that of a frown. The dark-colored stallion who nearly bowled her over near Carousel was watching her too, even the mint-colored unicorn from Canterlot was there.
Sunset’s gut plummeted as her eyes drifted over the four ponies standing in front of the rest. Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and even Pinkie Pie. The former three were looking at her with an expression of worry, whereas Pinkie Pie’s was… different. Instead of standing like the other three, she was sitting down, slouching. Her mane was completely flat, almost cartoonishly so. Her head wasn’t pointed at her, instead facing the ground, but her eyes were.
Sunset couldn’t siphon her magic back into herself, nor could she let it dissipate naturally. There was far too much of it. Even for a unicorn like herself who’d dabbled in more magic than most others in Equestria had in their lifetimes, she wouldn’t be able to cast a leash over it. Pointing her head skyward, for the second time that day her magic split the sky open, the thunderclap emanating from her horn once again threatening to deafen her as her magic flew towards the heavens. Fortunately, the beam was much shorter-lived than the last one, having no active magic reserves to draw on it lasted for mere seconds before vanishing from the sky, leaving only its thunderous echoes behind as a memento of its existence.
For a moment nopony moved. Even as the echoes thundered throughout the streets, bounced off the Everfree, and traveled towards Canterlot itself before vanishing into the ether, nopony moved. Ponies still watched her in apprehension at the same time her heart was running a marathon in her chest, desperate to fill the silence But even then nopony moved.
Time was kicked back into motion as pain ripped its way through her skull. She scrunched her eyes shut as her hoof flew to her head and began slowly rubbing the base of her horn.
“Ugh…” She mumbled. “Last time I do magic today.”
Sunset’s ears flicked as the sounds of sighing hit them. Daring to open her eyes, Sunset cast them back towards the ponies. Many of them looked looser, their expressions less fearful, and some even daring smiles as they allowed themselves to take their eyes off her.
The sound of barely restrained hoofsteps shifted Sunset’s attention slightly to the right. Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow - as well as Pinkie Pie, had broken off of the crowd and were coming towards her. She took a long, slow breath and held it, furthering her hoof’s assault on her horn. Before her slow, forced exhale was finished, the four mares had already made their way to only a few hoofsteps in front of her. Rarity’s eyes met Sunset’s for a moment before giving her a small smile.
“That was… quite the display, Darling.” Rarity hedged.
“I’ll say.” Rainbow spread her wings and shot up around a meter or so. She began lazily flying around Sunset, casually dipping down randomly to inspect every part of her. “You don’t look so hot.”
Sunset lifted her hoof off her horn as she opened her eyes slightly and gave Rainbow her best glare. “Thanks.” She grumbled. “I feel like a million bits too.”
“I think what Rainbow’s tryin’ to say,” Applejack said, giving Rainbow the same look. “Is that ya look in a right state.” She trotted towards Sunset and gave her a quick once over, her expression of worry shifting into a frown.
“Somethin’ happen?”
“Oh no, nothing.” Sunset snapped. She slowly pulled her hoof away from her head before slowly, delicately, setting it back onto the ground. “I came back to a deserted town with no how or why and then spent hours searching for a library I could have found immediately. I’m just peachy.”
Applejack winced, casting her gaze to Pinkie Pie who made no acknowledgment. Her gaze lingered for a moment before she brought it back to Sunset. “Okay…” She mumbled. She put a hoof to her chin and tapped it. “What say y’all we call this off then?”
“Huh?” Sunset’s glower vanished and she raised an eyebrow. Blinking a few times, the after-effects of her magical outburst began to dissolve, slowly siphoning away the throbbing in her head. “Call what off?”
“The party.”
Sunset whipped her gaze towards Pinkie Pie. The broken, crackling voice was at odds with the energetic, bouncing voice she’d heard when visiting Fluttershy. To put it mildly, it sounded like a different pony altogether, but Pinkie Pie now compared to Pinkie Pie hours ago, with a flat mane, no energy and barely looking at her… while she didn’t know Pinkie Pie at all, from what she’d seen she might as well have been.
“What party?”
“The… the ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party.”
Sunset’s gut plummeted when two droplets of water leaked from Pinkie Pie’s eyes and - almost in slow motion - fell onto the ground, kicking up the smallest clouds of dust as they made impact with the dirt. Sunset bit her lip, tearing her eyes away from where they landed and forcing them back onto Pinkie Pie.
“Whe… when I saw you today. I realized that I’d ne-never s-s-seen you… before. So I… went and told everypony tha-that I was gonna thro-ow you a party… I g-gave Fluttershy that l-l-letter because… I th-thought y-you could… use it… to t-talk to her…” Pinkie Pie’s voice was almost a whisper by the end. Lifting her hooves off the ground, she covered her eyes and began to shake. “I-I’m s-s-sorry I m-made you mad! I j-just wa-wa-wanted y-you to have some fun! Please d-don’t be mad! I’m sorry!”
Pinkie Pie’s back began to collapse. Crippling under the weight of her heaves, each one coaxed her further and further towards the dirt road, and to the puddle of her own tears. In an almost morbidly fitting way, the more and more her body lowered itself, the more her coat seemed to change. The vibrant pink seemed to turn dull, her mane becoming a little darker. It was like Sunset was watching a flower wilt right in front of her.
‘C’mon, Sunset. Do something!’
Ice encased her as Pinkie Pie’s body made contact with the ground. A knot quickly formed in her throat as she stared down at the shivering pink ball. She tried to swallow it down, but her throat wouldn’t allow it. It was dry. Too dry. She tried taking a step forwards, but again her body failed her. An invisible force trapped her where she stood, forcing her to stare spellbound at the wreck slowly spiraling out of control before her eyes.
A sharp jab in her flank broke Sunset out of her curse. Hurtling towards the ground, adrenaline kicked her legs into motion, stumbling, tripping over themselves, but finding stable ground just in time to avoid stepping on the one thing hurting because of her. She cast her gaze back towards the perpetrator, and Rarity was lifting her head up, giving Sunset a sympathetic expression, before nodding towards Pinkie Pie.
She turned back to the mare in question and bent down, tapping her lightly on the shoulder. The hysterical sobs let up slightly as Pinkie Pie twisted her head around to meet Sunset’s eyes, wincing slightly when she made contact.
‘Oh heavens.’ Sunset quickly withdrew her hoof from Pinkie Pie and set it back on the ground. Casting her gaze up, it swept over all of the ponies near Golden Oaks. All eyes were fixed on her and Pinkie, all sporting a myriad of different emotions. Sunset bit back a glare at the audience as she turned her gaze back to Pinkie Pie. ‘How do I do this?’
“Hey…” Sunset hedged. She quickly put on a smile, though it seemed to make no difference. “Listen. I’m sorry I snapped, okay? I’m not mad. I promise.”
It was weak, but fortunately her babbling seemed to be having the intended effect on Pinkie Pie. Her convulsions were losing both in intensity and frequency. Slowly, Pinkie Pie placed her forehooves onto the road and pushed herself up into a sitting position, giving her a nervous, but hopeful look.
“Y-you… you mean it?”
“Yeah.” Sunset mimicked Pinkie Pie, parking her flank on the ground, refusing to let her smile drop from her face. Interestingly, Pinkie Pie’s mane seemed to be regaining its… poofiness. Her coat as well was getting lighter as the nervousness in her gaze slowly dissipated.
“Look, you just caught me on a bad day. There’s been a lot on my mind.” Sunset flipped her head around to gaze at the suns. “I’m just stressed is all.” The threat of a forming plus sign had been fully realized, as the celestial abomination began to sink into the horizon. With the intensity of the sun’s glow tampered by the atmosphere, a face could be made out, merely a silhouette stamped into the sun, one that had been monitoring the ponies of Equestria since time immemorial.
A thousand years, if Sunset had to bet.
“As much as I desire to explain this all to you at present, this is a matter more suited for an in-person discussion.”
Sunset growled and flipped her head back to face Pinkie Pie. Her mane fully restored and a ghost of a smile traced her lips.
“So… does that mean we can still have a party?”
Sunset’s smile slipped into a more casual one. The pit in her stomach finally vanishing as she gave Pinkie Pie a noncommittal shrug. “Sure. I don’t see why not.” Pinkie Pie’s trepidation was replaced with the largest grin Sunset had ever seen. She quickly raised up a hoof, pointing it towards the pink mare. “As long as we’re ready for the Summer Sun Celebration. I don’t want Princess Luna to show up to Equestria’s lousiest party.”
“Pffft! Oh, that?” Pinkie scrambled to her hooves and extended one to Sunset, who did not hesitate in taking it, immediately getting pulled to all fours by the surprisingly strong earth pony. “We already finished hours ago, silly filly!”
“Wait…” Sunset cast her gaze towards a few of the ponies casually filing back into Golden Oaks. “You did?”
“Duh! Of course we did!” Pinkie said. She vaguely gestured in the direction of Town Hall. “We got everything set up a little after you got here! The last one to finish was Rarity!”
“Then… what was-?”
“This was for you, silly!” Pinkie turned around and galloped towards the library’s entrance, beckoning for Sunset to follow her. “Now c’mon! We gotta get this party started!”
Wind whipped past Sunset as Rainbow and Applejack blitzed past her. She opted to watch as with the party officially back on, the remainder of the ponies clamored amongst each other to worm their way back into Golden Oaks first.
The sound of hooves moving towards her and a shimmer of white prompted her to look to her left. Rarity had mosied up alongside her, also watching the precession unfold with a pensive smile on her lips.
“I daresay you handled that well, Darling.”
Sunset shifted her gaze toward Rarity and raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“Well,” Rarity closed her eyes and tapped a hoof to her chin. Humming slightly she turned her gaze to Sunset, “most ponies don’t react so… passionately towards Pinkie’s surprise parties, when they first arrive. The closest we’ve gotten is a pony fainting on the spot. I daresay this is a bit of a new experience for her.”
Sunset’s expression fell into a glare. “Thanks.” She hissed. She turned her attention back to Golden Oaks, watching the last of the ponies file into the library. “That makes me feel so much better.”
“Ah!” A hoof flew over Rarity’s mouth, her cheeks now burning crimson. “I’m sorry, Miss Sunset! I didn’t mean to offend, I just…” Rarity wilted slightly, breathing in a few times before regaining her posture. “I’ve told Pinkie that some ponies don’t like being forced into these little games of hers.”
Her smile returned, albeit with a hint of wistfulness. “She’s lucky she lives in a place that accepts things as they are. But it was only a matter of time until one missed.” Sunset’s head whipped back around to face Rarity, her questioning look back in full force.
“You mean this is normal?”
“Her surprise parties? Yes.” Rarity’s head turned back towards Golden Oaks. Its front door was still open. Inside, Pinkie and a few others could be seen dancing to some music muffled by the noise of an uncountable number of voices, and behind her the cake already appeared to have a sizable portion of it missing. “It’s a cultural staple here, I’m afraid. She’s thrown one for at least everypony in Ponyville.”
Rarity turned her head back towards Sunset again, her smile a little more playful than it was moments prior. “Should you ever choose to visit here again it’ll probably be the cause of another one.”
“Oh boy.” Sunset sighed. Her body slumped forwards, albeit heavily exaggerated, before she righted herself, copying Rarity’s smile, though less vibrant. “Well, we might as well head in then. We’ve got a schedule to keep.”
Rarity turned her head back to look at the sun, a motion Sunset quickly followed. The sun was completely below the horizon, so much so that any traces of orange light had dwindled considerably, leaving only a warm glow as the sun’s final memento of the day.
‘Huh. When did it get so dark out?’
“Yes, let’s.” Rarity turned back around and began cantering towards Golden Oaks. “I believe we’ve got a few hours at most before the Celebration officially starts.”
***
Sunset wasn’t sure what to expect from a party that concerned the whole town. In truth, she wasn’t sure what to expect from a party at all. Despite being Luna’s protege, and therefore a part of the upper echelons of Canterlot society by default, she’d always made an active effort to avoid social gatherings. It wasn’t for the stereotypical aura of self-importance and scorn rightly assigned to the Canterlot nobility, nor was it because there was never anything to capture her interest, though that was also true.
No, it was because of how many ponies would cram into one room.
Events like the Grand Galloping Gala, birthdates of nobles, and various national holidays often found themselves a spot in the ballroom at the royal palace, and events that took place there often attracted quite a crowd. She remembered the few times she’d been forced to attend one, she would get lost in the crowd without fail, having to navigate to a wall and edge along it until she found a door that opened outwards and offered her respite for the evening.
That said, the ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party was even more packed than the royal ballroom, and complimented it with even more noise. While events like the Gala were relatively quiet, with a brunt of the noise coming from whichever famous band or orchestra the crown decided to rent at the time, the happy, chatty voices of Ponyville with no regard to volume were infinitely louder than ever the loudest performance the ballroom had ever seen. The noise doubled up on the pressure of other ponies, each one augmenting the other and wringing her dry of any social energy she had left.
So it came as no surprise to her that an hour or two later she found herself on the balcony of the library, forelegs draped over the railing, her eyes half-open, gazing out at the horizon. Having sampled some of the delicious (albeit extremely sugary) confections provided by Pinkie, and narrowly managing to escape participating in another round of pin the tail on the pony, a small ache had begun to build up in her skull. She slowly breathed in and put a hoof to the side of her head, slowly massaging it before letting her breath go. Eyes drifting down, she spotted Mayor Mare along with a few other ponies trotting down one of the roadways. Their voices were… audible, but not decipherable.
‘That late already, huh?’
She should go down there, probably. She’d told Mayor Mare during the party that everything was in order, but it probably wouldn’t hurt to be down there herself.
“Found ya.”
Sunset pulled her head up and turned it around. Rainbow Dash was standing in the doorway back into Golden Oaks, her wing outstretched and balancing two party cups on it with the same cocky grin on her face Sunset had seen earlier that day.
‘Or yesterday, whichever it is now.’
“AJ wanted me to give one of these to ya.” Rainbow trotted over to the railing alongside Sunset and pulled one of the cups off her wing with her hoof. She slid it over to Sunset before taking the other one off and setting it down in front of herself. “Said something about you not tryin’ much of her food earlier, so she wanted to give you that.”
Sunset peered down into the liquid and gave it an experimental shake. Small bubbles fizzed to the surface from the base of the drink, and the undeniable fragrance of apples met her nose. Looking over, Rainbow had already downed her cup and was looking at Sunset expectantly.
The corner of Sunset’s mouth quirked up slightly. “It’s not Moonshine is it?”
Rainbow’s eyes widened slightly before she let out a guffaw. “Nah. It’s apple cider.” She raised her cup and gave it a little shake. “No points on guessing where it’s from.”
Sunset chuckled and levitated her cup to her mouth. Taking a sip, Sunset swished it around in her mouth slightly before swallowing. It was very sweet, almost like a candy, but undeniably a little carbonated.
“I could get used to it.” Sunset said, placing the cup down. “It doesn’t come any harder does it?”
“It does, but not until cider season.” Rainbow sighed. She reared up and swung her forelegs over the railing before giving Sunset a playful smirk. “Never woulda pegged the princess’ student for somepony who drinks.”
“It helps me relax.” Sunset mumbled, resting her head back on the railing. She gave Rainbow a sidelong glance. “Rarity tell you about me?”
“Uh-huh.” Rainbow twirled around, leaning her back to the railing and letting her head hang backwards, though her eyes remained trained on Sunset. “She wouldn’t stop talking down there about how she got to do the ‘personal student of Princess Luna’s’ mane. Didn’t know the princess taught ponies.”
“You and everypony else.”
Rainbow shrugged. Her eyes moved from Sunset towards Mayor Mare and the other ponies milling about down below.
“So, what brings a bigshot down to Ponyville?”
“Nothing really.” Sunset said. “I was asking the princess about something going on tomorrow… or today. Point is she offered to send me down to Ponyville for the Summer Sun Celebration. Figured I’d help out and well…” It was her turn to shrug.
“Here I am.”
“Huh.” Rainbow turned her attention back towards the ponies and frowned. “That’s it?”
Sunset arched an eyebrow. “Yeah. Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Eh, I dunno.” Rainbow shrugged. “Just kinda thought it’d be more interesting than that.” Sunset’s look shifted into a glare.
“Sorry to have disappointed you.”
“No worries.”
Sunset rolled her eyes before turning her gaze beyond Town Hall, towards the horizon. A comfortable silence passed between Rainbow and herself. Sunset levitated her cup back up and took another sip, before downing the rest of the cider as quickly as she could. Setting her cup down, she shifted her gaze back down to the ponies below her. Mayor Mare was leading the other three ponies into Town Hall. Royal guards, Sunset realized, waiting for all of them to step in before following them and closing the door.
Sunset’s gaze shifted to the moon. The vibrant white pearl in the sky glowed as brightly as ever, casting down a beautiful blue light across Ponyville. The same color as her mentor’s magic.
“As much as I desire to explain this all to you at present, this is a matter more suited for an in-person discussion.”
Sunset frowned and turned her attention to Rainbow. The pegasus’s eyes were fixed on… something in the distance, or maybe it was nothing. Her head was bobbing to a beat. Whether or not she was remembering a song or just doing it was anypony’s guess.
“Hey, Rainbow?”
“Huh?” Rainbow blinked, ceasing the bobbing of her head and lifted it up to better glance at Sunset.
“Yeah? What’s up?”
Sunset bit her lip. Was it worth asking? It was certainly out of the blue if nothing else, and Rainbow would find it odd. She probably wouldn’t have to explain much though. Hopefully.
‘Eh, worth a shot.’
“You think something’s gonna go wrong tonight?”
Rainbow frowned, pushing herself off of the railing and trotting a little closer to Sunset.
“You mean like with the Celebration?”
“Yeah.”
Rainbow peered over the balcony again, casting her gaze in the direction of Town Hall.
“Nah.” She finally said. “Why? You gotta feeling?”
Sunset rested her head on her forelegs, letting her eyes fall half-shut. “A little.”
Rainbow hummed and put a hoof to her mouth. “Like how bad?”
Sunset grimaced and shifted her eyes away from Rainbow. It was silly, but she was already committed. “Like ‘somepony’s gonna attack the princess’ bad.”
Rainbow gave her a blank stare, blinking a couple of times before shrugging, again rearing up and slinging her hooves over the railing. “Yeesh, you’ve got it rough. I don’t see how that could happen.” She lifted up a hoof and waved it through the air. “After all, Equestria’s been at peace for the last what, how many hundreds of years?”
It was hardly the most bulletproof of reasoning, but the sentiment was nice. Sunset offered Rainbow a smile.
“I guess.” She said. She shifted her gaze back to Town Hall. The door opened and the royal guards stepped out, followed closely by Mayor Mare, who quickly shut the door.
“Not helpin’, huh?” Rainbow asked. Sunset shook her head.
“Well, hay, we have them.” Sunset saw Rainbow’s hoof extend. Lazily following her gaze, Sunset’s eyes came to rest on the royal guard. “That’s gotta count for something.”
‘Not against an alicorn it doesn’t.’ Sunset’s eyes narrowed. ‘If she exists, Sunset.’
“Yeah.”
Rainbow gave Sunset another frown but shrugged, turning her gaze back towards the horizon.
“Well, if you wanna go back to the party just say the word.”
Sunset lifted her head from her hooves and turned towards Rainbow, eyes fully open.
“What do you mean?”
“You look like you could use somepony.” Rainbow said, shrugging again. “Sounds like you’ve had a rough day. And besides, I’m down to hang. Ponies can only handle so much of me.”
Sunset’s eyelids fell halfway again, arching an eyebrow she pressed her lips into a thin line. “How humble.”
“That’s me!”
Sunset rolled her eyes and turned her attention back towards the horizon. She lifted a hoof from its spot on the railing and brought it up to her head, gently massaging it.
“Duly noted.”
The sound of a door opening prompted Sunset to look down. Ponies were slowly filing out of Golden Oaks, their voices carrying themselves up to where she and Rainbow stood.
“Huh. Guess it’s later than I thought.” Rainbow muttered.
Sunset glanced up at the moon again. It was just beyond its apex for the night, almost completely above them.
“Looks like a little past twelve.” Sunset said. “You gotta do anything?”
“Eh, might check on the clouds again. Make sure nothing from the Everfree’s wandered in.”
Rainbow hopped onto the narrow railing and spread her wings. Looking down, she gave Sunset a cocky smile. “Catch ya at the Celebration!”
With a flap of her wings Rainbow took flight, sending the two cups she’d brought toppling over the railing. Fortunately they missed the stream of ponies, though Sunset was quick to step back before anypony decided to look up. Opening back up the door to Golden Oaks, she quickly stepped through it and closed it, slowly making her way down the stairs. Anypony could still be down there.
Surprisingly - and perhaps a bit eerily, the first floor of Golden Oaks was barren. Not barren as in devoid of ponies, but completely barren. No hints that anypony had been there at all that night. No party tables, stray confetti, streamers, not even any crumbs of food, lost fur, or mane was present. The only trace of somepony ever being there was the sudden appearance of some furniture that almost certainly wasn’t there before. A couch, some chairs, and a couple bean bags had found their way into the library facing the fireplace, though they all looked in theme. She carefully tiptoed down the last few steps, before hopping off them entirely, walking into the middle of the room and cast her gaze about. Nopony.
‘Wouldn’t be the weirdest thing today I guess.’
Shrugging, Sunset redirected her gaze towards the bookshelves. The rows and rows of towering wooden safes put the ‘library’ in her room to shame many times over. Almost on impulse she trotted over towards one of the bookshelves - fiction by the looks of it, and ignited her horn, randomly pulling out a green book with a fairly bombastic font.
Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone…
She arched an eyebrow as she scanned over the picture on the front. A brown pegasus mare with a greyscale mane was swinging comically on a vine away from… crocodiles swimming in lava? Sunset shrugged as she made her way over to a bean bag, detaching her saddlebags she plopped down onto it and cracked the book open. It might be worth the read. It’d been a long while since she’d read something dumb.
***
Time ticked on slowly for Sunset as she read through the Daring Do novel. It was about as dumb as she expected from an adventure book; a quest to retrieve the macguffin, and whatnot. It was perfectly serviceable, though it did little to distract her from the growing worry she’d been trying to stave off all day.
With everypony gone and nothing to do, the worry from yesterday began to eat away at her again. Not that it hadn’t even when she was with Rainbow, but there were less ways to curb her fears now that it was just her. Every time she glanced out at the moon and saw it inching closer and closer towards the horizon the agonizing pit buried deep in her stomach grew larger and larger.
She had had half a mind to track down Rarity or Rainbow, or even Applejack just to see them again and take her mind - even if only slightly - off of this continuous worry. Even writing to Luna seemed like a tantalizing prospect, but all four of them were certainly busy at the moment. Chasing them down for her own benefit would be wrong.
So it came as part relief, part unbridled stress when Sunset glanced up at the moon and saw it hovering just above the horizon, assuming its place ready to give way to the new day. Sunset quickly closed up the book, not bothering to dog-ear it or throw in Pinkie’s besotted letter as a bookmark and tossed it back onto the shelf roughly where she’d found it. Quickly reattaching her saddlebags, Sunset cantered over to the door back into Ponyville, igniting her horn and throwing it open, not bothering to close it as she made her way toward Town Hall.
***
The inside of Town Hall was completely packed. It was an impressive enough feat that it could house the entire population of a town, even if it was Ponyville, but the combination of some pegasi flying, and utilization of the many balconies somehow allowed the town’s entire populace to fit inside the old building - albeit a little too snugly. Fortunately, Sunset had found a spot - oddly front and center, where nopony seemed to want to stand. She cast a glance out of the one window she could see that wasn’t obscured by ponies, one with a clear view of the horizon. Only the stars and the moon greeted her. Sunset bit her lip and ignited her horn, pulling out her messaging book. It was still dark out and there had been no sign nor message from Luna that she’d arrived.
‘Though she did like to be discreet in the past.’ Sunset threw her book back in her saddlebags and took a deep breath. Her hoof began to rapidly tap and she slowly exhaled.
“Isn’t this exciting?” Sunset lurched backwards as Pinkie rocketed into her vision at a speed she didn’t think possible. Pinkie didn’t seem to notice her reaction as she quickly joined Sunset by her side, giddily casting her gaze about Town Hall. “I’ve never been so excited before! Well, apart from when I see new ponies in town! Nothing’s more exciting than new ponies!”
She turned towards Sunset and gave a chuckle before turning her head towards the stage in front of them. “I mean, seriously, who can top that?”
Almost as if on cue, the sound of whistling began from somewhere high up. Craning her head, Sunset spotted a yellow pegasus - Fluttershy, waving her hoof at the same birds she’d seen earlier. It was a simple fanfare, repeating the same pattern of notes, except a step up three times, before ending in a trill at the end. It was impressive that Fluttershy would be so content with being in the public’s view - albeit high up - in front of a whole town. Though if Sunset had to guess, it was possible she was completely lost in her own world.
A spotlight flicked on, starting at the second floor, just right above where everypony was facing. Rarity was standing up there with a rope in her mouth, though her eyes were aimed downwards. Both the spotlight and Sunset followed her gaze down to the dais below. Mayor Mare was standing there, watching said light make its journey down to where she stood, donning a smile as the beam of light hit her.
“Fillies and gentlecolts!” She began. “As mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration!”
A roar from all around Sunset roared to life. Pegasi were doing small loops in the air, and others were leaping up onto their hind hooves. To her left, Pinkie Pie was also joining the others, pumping a hoof into the air and cheering at the top of her lungs. Though as much as Sunset wanted to join in on the cheering and anticipation, she found herself unable to.
“As much as I desire to explain this all to you at present, this is a matter more suited for an in-person discussion.”
“In just a few moments, our town will witness the magic of the sunrise, and celebrate this; the longest day of the year!”
Sunset whipped her head around to again look out what little window she could see. The moon and the stars stared back.
“And now, it is my great honor to introduce to you - .”
A wave of yellow light traveled across the horizon. It wasn’t blinding, nor was it likely to affect the light levels of Equestria, but it was certainly visible. Sunset watched as it made contact with the moon, causing it to radiate its own yellow glow, before passing through it. As it left contact with the celestial body, so too did the glow fade, leaving behind a brand of sorts - a mare’s face covering the entirety of the moon. The room around Sunset plummeted in temperature as she turned her gaze back to Mayor Mare, pulling out her book and quill and quickly scrawling a message into its pages.
“Princess?”
Sunset quickly threw her effects back into her saddlebag, her eyes flicking towards it every so often, waiting for the familiar blue glow to emanate from her bags.
“- the artisan, the brave… the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria…”
“As much as I desire to explain this all to you at present, this is a matter more suited for an in-person discussion.”
Mayor Mare threw both head and hoof skyward, casting the spotlight back to the second floor and calling to the heavens a name; the name of a pony that inspired awe in every single pony in Equestria. A pony that, for as long as history could remember, had been guiding her citizens single-handedly in their best interests at the expense of her own; a hero in every sense of the word, and a pony who - above all else - as the temperature in the room continued to plummet by the second, Sunset had to see alive and well immediately.
“Princess Luna!”
Sunset’s eyes flew towards the second floor. Rarity yanked down on the rope, and another fanfare kicked in. The curtains pulled back at what felt to Sunset like a snail’s pace, each beat of her heart only serving to slow down the defiant veils. After an eternity though, they finally broke in, allowing themselves to be parted completely, in a grandiose display, dancing back to sides of the archway, presenting to all of Equestria what exactly had been lurking behind them.
Nothing.
Sunset’s blood turned to ice as after a moment of silence concerned whispers began to start up around the denizens of Ponyville. Mayor Mare began whipping her head around, sharing the same concerned expression as the rest of them.
“Now, remain calm, everypony.” She said, nervously holding up a hoof. “There must be a reasonable explanation.”
“Ooh!” Pinkie began bouncing up and down, her head flipping sporadically around Town Hall. “I love guessing games! Is she hiding?”
Rarity quickly ducked her head around the curtain before walking to the center of the balcony. She looked puzzled, an expression that definitely wasn’t helping Sunset’s mood.
“She’s gone!”
Sunset’s ears flicked back as a collective gasp sounded from everypony in Town Hall. She cast her eyes up back at the moon again only to see that same alien mark of a mare’s face on the moon. The sight was enough to chill her already frozen blood even more.
“Ooohh… She’s gone!”
Sunset brought her gaze back towards Pinkie who was staring up at the balcony where Rarity was. Had Sunset been less nervous, she might've been mad with Pinkie for not understanding how much of a breach in tradition this was.
Right now she wasn’t so sure what she felt.
“Ah!”
The combination of Pinkie’s shriek and a flash of orange light wrenched Sunset’s attention away from Pinkie herself and up towards the light’s source - the balcony. A burst of orange fire - first only a wisp - violently erupted to life incinerating the besotted curtains with a sound not unlike Sunset’s earlier beams of magic, only much louder. Rarity shrieked as the blast launched her over the railing, sending her plummeting down to the floor below. Sunset’s horn roared to life, but Rainbow was faster. Already in the air, Rainbow dropped into a nosedive and caught Rarity before she even had the chance to begin falling, setting the shaking mare down beside Applejack. Sunset cut off her reserves to her horn and looked back towards the balcony.
The fire was gone. In its place stood a white alicorn. Pure white, much like the center of the hottest flame. She wore a similar regal armor to Luna - a modest chest piece and greaves, though a deep, dark orange instead of silver and a sun stamped on it for the world to see. Where Luna’s chest piece merely covered the front of her barrel, this alicorn’s extended to cover the top edge of her wings. She wore a gold helmet with patches of the same dark orange as the rest of her armor, with a built-in tiara that made room for the pure untamed fire that comprised both her mane and her tail. Her cutie mark - much like Sunset’s own, was a sun, though unlike Sunset’s, this one had no pattern on it. It was simply a sun, much of the same design as the some stamped onto her armor.
The most threatening part of this alicorn however was her eyes. Unlike the whites every pony, griffon, and species beyond had, hers were pitch black, punctuated only by red and yellow irises, before yielding again to blackness.
The alicorn spread her wings. Standing high above she looked divine. The fire of her mane grew, dancing behind her and bathing her in a silhouette, obscuring every minute detail from the ponies below.
But if Sunset had to guess, she’d bet this alicorn was sneering down at them.
“Our little subjects…” The voice was motherly, caring, not at all like one would have expected, though laced with a hint of something else impossible to place, something infinitely more evil. “It’s been so long since We’ve seen your faces. We never wanted to leave you.”
“What the hay is your problem!” Rainbow had moved in front of Applejack and Rarity. “You coulda hurt Rarity! And where’s our princess?!” She spread her wings and rocketed into the air. Or she would have, had Applejack not grabbed her tail. Appejack muttered… something between Rainbow’s tail, but it was indiscernible.
“Hmph!” A switch was flipped and any hint of affection and care from the alicorn was gone. Her wings snapped to her sides as the fire in her mane lashed about wildly cutting into the nearby walls and railings, branding them with scorch marks. “Such disrespect to your better? Why? Am I not good enough for you?”
The alicorn took a deep breath before letting it out. The lashing fire receded, sparing the rest of Town Hall and settling back into its ethereal dance. “Do you even show who we are? Does anypony even know who their savior is?”
Sunset cowered as the alicorn’s head slowly swiveled across the room, no doubt scanning the face of everypony, ready to pounce on any sort of recognition.
“No? A pity…”
The alicorn’s wings spread wide again, and the fire in her mane and tail expanded, though much more controlled. It towered to the top of Town Hall, blackening the glass dome above. Ponies squeaked and cowered, some hiding behind pillars, others watching on, transfixed.
“Then hear us once and hear us well! Our name is ‘Daybreaker’! We have liberated you from that foul demon you call a princess! Her and her accursed night will bother you no more!” Fire began catching light around Daybreaker. Her horn exploded into flames as the moon outside began to move. Sunset watched frozen as the moon began its descent, sinking out of view as the sky began to brighten. She slowly drew her gaze back to Daybreaker. The fire around the alicorn increased in intensity as the stars above were lost from view. She knew what was climbing its way above the horizon, but now she wished it could be dark for a little while longer.