Waking up to the sound of a bird screaming at me isn't the most comfortable way to wake up, But it does pump you full of energy fast.
I know that because It just happened to me.
I asked one of the birds that lived nearby to act as a nice alarm clock for me. So I won't miss the Sun princess lifting the massive ball of flaming gas.
I guess that what I didn't expect was that the bird might have problems waking me up.
"What do you mean you've been pecking at me for ten minutes now?"
"I mean what I said! You wouldn't wake up when I called out to you when you told me. I thought something happened!" A Small Red bird yelled at me.
What was his name again? I don't remember.
"I'm up now, Everything is fine. Don't get your feathers in a twist." So I overslept by ten minutes, It isn't that big of a deal, The ceremony itself starts in almost two hours from now, I'll have plenty of time to walk around the lake and into Ponyville in that time.
The Lake isn't even that big, It'll only take 20 minutes or so to walk halfway around it, An hour to make a full lap.
At least with my small feet it will.
Having Clarisse and Hank live in the lake is really great for me, Especially that they give me a ride across the lake, shortening the time it takes to reach my burrow.
And even if I need to walk around the lake, I won't really get extremely tired.
That's the bonus of being a powerful fictional monster that can withstand a direct hit by a struck and be unfazed.
I won't wake up Clarisse or Hank to take me across since they're probably sleeping. So I'll take the long way around.
"By the way, Why did you need me to wake you up so late?" The Bird asks me as it follows me out of my Home, A few crumbs of apple pastries around it's beak hinting to what it was doing when I didn't wake up.
"I'm going to that Summer Sun Celebration the Ponies are having."
"But why? What's so interesting about a pony celebration? They're always so loud and annoying." The bird asks again, Confused as to why I would want to go to the Sun Celebration.
"There are two reasons," I wait for the bird to nod before I explain "Reason one is I want to see the Sun Princess lift up the sun. How will something like that look? I can't lift up the sun, Is it different from a normal sunrise? Why is it so late at night? Why is-" "Mr Chespin." "-It taking place indoors? You-" Mr Chespin!" "-Wouldn't be able to see the sun rise if you're inside a bui-" "MR CHESPIN!!!" I pause to look at the bird that shouted at me.
After a few seconds of eye contact "Was I?" "Yes, You were rambling." Damn, I thought I could keep it down at least for this evening.
"What was the second reason?" The bird asks me after a few more minutes of walking silently around the lake, More Like I was walking, He was hopping forward.
"The second reason to go to the celebration? Well it's the food of course." I explain.
I might have managed to nab some food from the cart earlier today, But now, During the celebration, Everyone will be so busy looking at their princess performing an Astrological feat, They won't even notice that a few more muffins and apples went missing.
It's a genius plan, nobody will see it coming.
Walking around the rest of the lake in silence, We take a short stop because the bird needed to relax his legs for a bit. He does know that he can fly home right? He doesn't need to accompany me, or walk on the ground if he does.
As The small red bird that I still haven't got the name of was cooling his legs in the shallow waters of the lake coast, I take a seat on the sandy shore.
I spot some Fireflies flying above some reeds further ahead, I spot a frog hiding in a patch of grass, Some tadpoles are swimming around.
The Beautiful reflection of the moon on the surface of the lake, The Sky is clear and without clouds, The starts are shining both in the sky and in the lakes surface.
You can't get a view like that at Home. Only here, In this magical world that hasn't reached the industrial revolution yet, The skies aren't filthy with smog, The air is fresh and the plants are a healthy beautiful shade of green.
I Might miss my Dad, And he might be worrying his head off, Thinking I've been kidnapped or worse.
If only I had a way to send him a letter, Telling him I'm healthy and okay.
That he shouldn't worry about me so much.
I'm sure Uncle Calvin is making sure he's healthy.
They both probably think I'm in the sky with mom now, If only they knew...
After The bird finished his little late night swimming session, We continue our walk to The Center of Ponyville, Where the ceremony will take place.
"So, Why are you following me?" I decide to ask the bird.
"What do you mean? I'm not following you, We're just going in the same direction" Uh huh, Sure, Let's say I believe what he just said.
"Okay then, What's your name? You obviously know my name, Everybody around seems to know it, But I barely know any of you." I ask the small red bird that is definitely not following me.
"My name's Red, Red the Tanager. I obviously know who you are though. Everybody in the forest knows." I'm not that well versed with birds so I;m guessing Tanager is the type of bird he is.
"You're Mr Chespin, You're the mysterious new face that showed up out of nowhere at took residence by the lake. You were the talk of the forest for a whole week when you showed up," Red is jumping up and down, before taking a quick flight in a circle and landing on a rock two meters ahead, "It's not every day that somebody new moves in to the forest, and isn't a pony hermit or something"
I guess I am a unique character here. I remember waking up in my first day here terrified of what was going on.
It took four days for me to get my feet under myself and accept that I'm stuck here for the foreseeable future.
It was thanks to the animals here That I can even eat food here.
After I dug my burrow, A Family of Opossum gave me a pot and pan, The nice Crow gave me a set of silverware.
Even Angel managed to sneak a few carrots from Fluttershy's kitchen and gift them to me.
I practically owe these animals my life here.
When I was testing out what my Pokemon body can do, Hank and Clarisse taught me to use Vine Whip like small tentacles.
When I tried Rollout, A black bear helped me learn to stop the roll.
A mole taught me to use Dig so I could make my burrow.
A Rat showed me how to open my mouth correctly as a rodent, Indirectly teaching me the move Bite.
For A Pokemon, The only move I really learned by myself are Growl and Tackle, The starting moves of my species.
Walking into Ponyville proper, I see the streets are mostly empty, Only a few critters running around, playing on the pavement.
The Lamps on the side of the road are on, And I see the light at the center building are also on.
That is where the ceremony is after all, And If the chatting we can hear all the way from the other side of the street are anything to go by, The Ceremony should be starting soon.
I say goodbye to Red as he flies off to a window on a higher floor, likely to get a good vantage spot to swoop down and take some snacks.
As I head inside the building, I stick to the wall next to the entrance, keeping away from all the ponies that might trample me accidentally.
And from here I see it. In the corner of the hall where The Apple cart was several hours ago, A series of tables full of the tastiest treats my little rodent nose can smell.
As I walk slowly, Sticking to the wall, closer to the food tables. I Hear Trumpets.
Looking over to the crowd of ponies, I notice the Birds that Fluttershy had trained for the music of the ceremony be silenced by the blaring trumpet.
Why would you even do that? Why bring Birds to sing a melody if nobody will hear it over the blaring trumpet?
They really should have picked one or the other, Not both.
As the trumpet stops, An older mare walks on to the stage. I'm at least guessing she's older because of the grey air.
"Fillies and gentlecolts, As Mayor of Ponyville, It is my great pleasure to announce the beginning=" Hey I recognize that voice, She's one of the two ponies that almost caught me borrowing from the cart earlier, Thanks to her the younger one didn't investigate, Maybe I should give her a thank you present? "-Of the Summer Sun Celebration."
As the ponies are cheering in excitement for this wonderful celebration that's about to commence, I tip toe closer to the Food.
I notice Angel standing next to Fluttershy and the birds on a balcony and give him a small wave.
He seems to notice it if him Sneaking away from the balcony and towards the stairs is anything to go by.
"In just a few moments," Miss Mayor continues after the crowd stopped cheering, "Our town will witness the magic of the sunrise and celebrate this, The longest day of the year." Her speech continues.
So The Summer Sun Celebration is just a celebration for the Summer Solstice, That's a lot of work for a day where the planet tilts towards the sun more than any other time of the year.
Sure there might be magic in this place, But a summer solstice is just another summer solstice.
"And now, It is my great honor to introduce to you the ruler of our land, The very pony who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day, The Good, The wise, The bringer of Harmony to all of Equestria,-" As she gives this part of the speech, I see ponies getting ready to pull on ropes and open up curtains, I see Fluttershy about to get the birds to sing again, I even see the pony who blew the trumpet filling his lungs with more air, ready to blow on it again.
It was then That I not only reached the food tables, But so did Angel reach me.
He's so lucky having feet that barely make a sound.
"What are you doing?" He asks me as he jumps on to the top of my head, taking a perch of higher elevation?
"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm taking food." I answer the bunny who's standing on my head.
I never really had another person stand on my head, I might be shorter and stronger right now, But its different than lifting my little cousin on my shoulders.
Angel is only half my height though, And I barely feel him through the tough shell that I have on my head, so I guess he can stay if he doesn't bother too much.
And As Angel and I take bites from the delicious pastries on the tables, The curtains open up to reveal "-Princess Celestia!" As the mayor calls out.
But the princess isn't behind the curtain.
And as the ponies in the crowd Whisper to themselves in confusion and some even in shock about the princesses whereabouts, I continue eating the pastries.
"They need to calm down, The Princess is probably just Putting on makeup or something. It's not like she's been kidnapped," I say out loud as the ponies whisper about the missing princess.
"I mean, If she really went missing, The Guards she brought would have obviously known about it, wouldn't they? They're the royale guards, they protect the most important person of this country."
If she really went missing then the crown should hire better guards.
"Be calm everypony, There must be a reasonable explanation." Mayor Mare says to the crowd, trying to calm them down.
Even though she herself seems more worried then anybody else in the building, Really good on her. A Good leader should always think about the people before of themselves.
You just got a supporter Mayor Mare, I would vote for you in the next mayoral elections, But I don't think a forest creature can vote.
And while Mayor Mare did indeed manage to calm down some of the ponies, It all went away when a White Unicorn came out from the balcony where the princess was and proclaimed, "She's gone."
Great work, Get the crowd to panic even more.
"Can you pass me that bottle?" I ask Angel as I point to a bottle of water on the table, I can't really reach it without climbing the table, And I'm confident that if I did, The table will flip.
"Sure, Just grab me a slice of that cake over there." Angel responds as he hops off my head and onto the table, grabbing some paper cups and a bottle of water while I send out a Vine to pick up a plate with a square of Cinnamon Apple Shortcake.
And as Angel is hopping back with the water, A yell from the crowd makes him jump in surprise. Splashing both me and Him, Drenching us in water.
I place down on the table the now wet cake that Angel requested and look for the source of the scream.
And my eyes widen.
On the balcony, where Princess Celestia was supposed to come out, A blue mist has appeared.
The mist then suddenly expands to cover the entire balcony before flying off out of the building through an open window. And on the Balcony, where the blue mist just was, Stand a tall Black Horse.
Her beautiful blue eyes with a slit pupil, An elegant Platinum helmet with a black Unicorn horn passing through it. Black wing of a Pegasus, dark as the night sky.
And her Mane, A Mane made out of the blue mist that was just there before.
"Oh my beloved subjects-" The Black Horse opens her mouth and speaks with a voice sweet like honey but searing like venom "-It's been so long since I've seen your precious little, Sun-loving faces"
"What did you do with our princess?!" A voice yells in the crowd and I see a blue Pegasus trying to fly towards the Horse, only for another pony to grab their tail and stopping them in place.
The Black Horse laughs, That stereotypical laugh you hear from a villainess in a cartoon who thinks she's better than everyone. Using some mystical artifact to show those sniveling heroes that she should be feared, not ridiculed.
Or something along those lines, I haven't seen the original animated Ninja Turtles.
"Why, Am I not Royal enough for you? don't you know who I am?" She asks, Agitation showing on her pitch black face. "Does my crown no longer count now That I have been imprisoned for a thousand years?" She asks as she leans towards the Ponies near her, In this case, Fluttershy, Scaring away the songbirds in the process.
I see Angel tensing up on the table, Ready to run to her at a moments notice. Even drenched in water, with crumbs of cake sticking to his fur, he will protect his caretaker.
The black horse now turns towards the white unicorn that opened the curtains for the balcony "Did you not recall the legend?" She flick the Unicorns chin with her misty hair, "Did you not see the signs?"
"I did." a pony calls out from the crowd, gaining the attention of everyone in the room, "And I know who you are, You're the Mare In The moon, Nightmare Moon!" The Purple unicorn exclaims. Earning gasps from all the ponies around her.
"Well well well, Somepony who remembers me." The Black Horse, Nightmare Moon says "Then you also know why I'm here?" She asks the purple unicorn.
It's Obviously a rhetorical question, She looks ready to explain exactly why she's here.
Let me take a guess, If she was imprisoned on the moon for a thousand years. She's planning on imprisoning the Princess on the Sun for two Thousand.
Seems like something a cartoon would do.
"You're here to, to..." The Unicorn swallows her saliva and cowers down, making herself look smaller.
Nightmare Moon laughs, "Remember this day little ponies, For it was your last-" Holy Shit! Is she going to kill everyone here?! "-From this moment forth, The Night Will Last Forever!" Another evil laugh ensued, Followed by the dark blue mist floating above her head turning into a cloud and shoot lightning for dramatic effect.
"I need to get to Fluttershy" I hear Angel whisper And when I turn to check on him, I see hes running to the stairs.
So now I'm alone, Drenched in room temperature water, standing next to a table of soggy food, While what I can only describe as a cartoon villain is laughing maniacally on a balcony with lightning striking around her.
This was not how I expected my night to go.