//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Dreaming of the Sun // by Richforce //------------------------------// Dreaming of the Sun Chapter 3 The auditorium in the Maresburg town hall was jam packed with ponies. Mayor Pinto trotted up to the podium and the crowd went silent for the spotted stallion. “Now that we are all here it is time to address a matter of upmost prestige and importance to our town. As you know every year all cities and towns in Equestria partake in the Summer Sun Celebration, but only one plays host to the regent of the sun herself as she raises the sun on the longest day of the year. It is an honor many compete for but this year, without even submitting our name for consideration, Maresburg will be hosting Princess Celestia herself for this time honored tradition!” There were a lot of murmurs and a couple of groans. “What’s wrong?” Bright Dawn asked. Dream Catcher shook his mane. “This town has fallen on hard times and because of how things are in Canterlot these days most of the folks in this town have a low opinion of the Princesses.” The Mayor continued. “Now in order to ensure the success of this festival I now turn over the podium to my appointed director of festivities, Star Spiral!” Star climbed up the stage and then turned to the crowd. “Thank you Mr. Mayor. I know that many of you do not feel like celebrating given a bad looking situation, but keep this in mind with the princess coming here ponies from all over Equestria will also be visiting our town. This is a chance to turn our luck around and perhaps bring in the bits we so desperately need.” The reaction from the crowd became more positive. “Now we’ll have to clean up of course and I expect us all to pitch in there, but there are some specialty tasks that need to be taken care of. First off weather, I’m sure that as the leader of our weather team Jetstream can ensure that we’ll have clear skies for the occasion.” “Yeah about that…” said a powder blue Pegasus with a white mane. Her Cutie Mark consisted of three dark blue lines that curled on the side closer to her head. “Cloudsdale had an accident at the weather factory that’s forcing them to ration clouds to all the cities. We’ve been scheduled to get rainclouds that would bring light showers for the week and they’ll take them back if they’re not used up. We aren’t scheduled to get any more for another month.” “Is there anything we can do about it? We can’t have wet grass with so many ponies coming here!” “Maybe if I got all the Pegasi in town to gather them up we make due with two days’ worth of heavy rain, if we keep the winds down.” Star Spiral shook her mane. “Try your best. Next up food preparation, I trust you have no problems Short Order?” “My spatula is at your service.” “Good now for the last century or so it was been traditional to have apple dishes so that means we’re counting on Crab and Sour Apple to pull in their reserves.” “Are you crazy?” said an Earth pony Stallion with a brown mane, a light green coat and cutie mark of a red apple with a yellow bottom. “We don’t have enough apples for this hoopla and the rest won’t be ripe until fall starts comin’!” said an Earth Pony mare with a black mane, yellow coat and a plate of green apple slices for a mark. “Couldn’t you ask your relatives to…?” “We don’t want anything to do with those sellouts!” said Crab Apple. “Ever since Sweet Apple Acres was sold off and they started using those blasted farming machines they all forgot what it even means to BE an Apple!” “Ok, just give what you can and we’ll talk about how we can get the rest. On to the matter of Decorations, I’m sure we can all agree that Powder Puff is the best mare for the job.” A lavender coated Earth pony with a billowing cream colored mane stood out. She had an open compact case with a mirror as a cutie mark. “Thank you, everypony. I promise that I’ll make the best decorations ever! I already even have an idea for some. I got it from this story about how my grandmother Cream Puff had her life saved by Rainbow Dash when she lived in Ponyville. But back then Grandma was just a baby so she didn’t know Rainbow Dash had saved her life at the time…” “Uh, Powder Puff I’m sure that it’s interesting but you have to keep in mind we need to limit you to a budget of a thousand bits.” “But if the Princess is going to here I’m going to need at least twice that much!” “I’m sorry but we don’t have the money. You’ll just have to make due. Finally Music, do you have any problems with your song bird chorus Chickadee?” “Chickadee isn’t here,” said a pony in the crowd. “She took her birds to visit her sick mother in Hollow Shades and might not be back for two weeks.” “Ok, so we might have to do something non-traditional. Does anypony have any ideas for music?” “Oh! Oh! Pick me!” said Sprocket. “Anypony at all?” “I have an idea, pick me sis!” Star Spiral sighed. “Ok Sprocket, what crazy gadget did you come up with this time?” Sprocket zipped out of the auditorium and came back a second later with a calliope like device on stage. “This can mimic anything from a kazoo player to a full symphony orchestra.” “Right now I just want a songbird chorus.” “No problem sis!” Spocket’s horn glowed in a baby blue color as did his machine. A drum rolled inside and soon pipes coming out of the top were letting out a beautiful bird song. “Sprocket, this could actually work!” But then the song started to sound really bad. Then the pipes started belching smoke and the gears and springs flew out as the song came to a stop. “Oh no!” Sprocket yelled. “I had to order some of these parts all the way from Baltimare!” “Can you fix it?!” “Maybe I could cobble something together if all the scrap metal in town didn’t keep vanishing.” “Here we go again,” said Sheriff Bullhorn. “The kid’s stolen junk is connected to the disappearances theory.” Sprocket ignored the Sheriff. “Thing is it might take a bit of scrounging.” Star Spiral lowered her head. “We’ll consider it a plan B in case Chickadee isn’t here in time. As for everypony else please help out however you can.” As the crowd started to disperse Bright Dawn could a mare next to her muttering. “This is going to be the worst Summer Sun Celebration ever.” “Dream Catcher,” Bright Dawn asked. “What do you think of the Princess?” Dream Catcher sighed. “Well to tell you the truth when I was a colt I had a crush on her. My parents didn’t quite approve. They said she was a figure to be revered, not the target of immature affections.” “It just strikes me as odd that she would pick this town for a festival that is more or less in her honor if almost everypony resents her.” “Well Dad used to say that she had gotten more eccentric in recent years, so who knows why she picked us.” “Hey Dream Catcher!” yelled Jet Stream. “You’re helping me set up the storm right?” “Sure,” said Dream Catcher. “I’m on the weather team after all.” “Let me help too,” said Bright Dawn. “I just had an idea, if I help everypony with all things we need for the Summer Sun Celebration it will probably trigger at least one of my memories.” “Well I can’t say no to an extra pair of wings,” said Jet Stream. “I’d like it!” said Dream Catcher. “That is…we’d all like the help.” “Ok you two, follow me. We got a lot of work to do if we want to get this storm in today.” ~~~ Hagiel looked at Celestia’s bedroom through the monitor device that Greaser set to allow her to see through the clockwork’s eyes. While luxurious it was far too bright and cheery for the goblin but she still needed the tomes within this castle. As the clockwork moved towards the bed to continue the illusion the Phoenixes stated squawking at it. As soon as the imposter lay down in bed Hagiel rang a bell by pulling a rope close by using her magic. A guard came into the room. “You summoned me Your Highness?” “Yes,” Hagiel spoke into microphone and it became Celestia’s voice on the other side. “I don’t want my precious birds to spread this dreadful spell fever to anypony.” Hagiel tried to make it sound sweet, it wasn’t easy. “Would you take them to the garden?” “At once Your Highness.” “While you are at it can do me a favor and bring me one of the books we have on Tartarus, I would like to keep my mind sharp while I’m recovering.” “I’m afraid I cannot do that ma’am.” Hagiel’s patience was getting short. “You’re refusing a royal order?” “Following one ma’am. You left a standing order over a century ago that no one is to enter the restricted section of the royal library other than yourself or your royal sister even if you gave them the key that only either of you have in your possession or if you claim they are invited by you. Unless you’re rescinding that order, are you Your Highness?” Hagiel didn’t expect this; Celestia had restricted access to anything on Tartarus to protect her subjects. The witch wanted to blast something but as much as she wanted to turn the guard into vapor it was too soon to tip her hand. “I was just testing you, you passed. Now just take them to the garden.” “Of course Your Highness.” After he took the two birds with him, the imposter looked around the room. “Now if I was the key to the tomes that hold the knowledge on how to release one of the darkest forces ever known and I’ve been hidden away by a goody two-shoes sun princess, where would I be?” As Hagiel looked around the room she saw a large portrait of the harmony bearers. “Figures you’d keep it near the ponies you’d most honor.” The fake princess swung the portrait away from the wall and found a small door, she opened it to find a refrigerated cupboard with several slices of cake inside as well as a yellow piece of paper with writing that said “Princess Celestia’s private cake stash. Do not touch. This means you Luna.” Hagiel growled and then spotted a bookcase next to the portrait. Pulling the book closest to the portrait out she opened it to find it had been hollowed out and had a rusty brass key inside. “You must have thought it was so clever to hide it in the small unassuming thing next to the depiction of your favorite student. But I wouldn’t have gotten as far in the Order as I did without learning how to think like a thief.” ~~~ Jet stream was busy coordinating all the other Pegasi while pushing a number of grey clouds. “Let’s go, let’s go! We have to get this storm started before sundown!” Bright Dawn found a tiny cloud and stated pushing into a hole in the coverage. Dream Catcher pushed in a larger cloud into a nearby edge. “Anything yet?” Dream Catcher asked. “No,” Dream Catcher said simply. “You’d think that being a Pegasus this should be familiar to me.” “Don’t let it get you down,” said Jet Stream. “Not all Pegasi are good with the weather, still we appreciate the help. And just maybe with the princess coming here it might the break I need to get noticed and really get my racing career off the ground.” “You race?” Dream Catcher laughed. “Jet Stream has always wanted to be professional race flyer, when she isn’t managing the weather team she’s always trying to beat her own times or challenging anypony else to a race.” “So why aren’t you trying out in the big cities?” Dream Catcher asked. Jet Stream sighed as they started moving a larger cloud. “I can’t afford the entry fees, at least not for the races that sponsors use look for new talent.” “But you think Celestia coming here could help out your dream?” Dream Catcher asked. “When she comes here so will a lot of ponies with big money, hopefully then I can convince one of them to sponsor me on the professional circuit. Once I make it big I’m going to use my winnings to help build a rehabilitation center for Unicorns and Pegasi with severe horn and wing injuries, I’ve seen how hard it can be for them to recover emotionally as well as physically.” “That sounds like a wonderful dream. I’m sure you’ll make it someday.” “Thank you,” said Jet Stream. “Come on we still have a lot of work to do.” The Sun was setting as they put the last clouds in place. “We’re ready on this end!” Dream Catcher said. “Ok, start the rain gently then slowly turn it up the flow. I know you all want to get home by dark and we’ll try to do that, but too much too fast can cause some real damage. Ready?” The pegasi were spaced evenly on the now extra-large cloud. All of them stood to stomp the cloud. “Now!” They all stomped the cloud lightly to start a small sprinkle below after a few moments they gave it a harder stomp to make the rain heavier. “Great job everypony, if everything else goes as well as the weather we might just pull the Summer Sun Celebration off.” The pegasi then flew off in a hurry. “What’s going on?” Bright Dawn asked. “Ever since ponies started disappearing nopony in town stays out after dark. We better get home ourselves.” A short flight later and the two came to a rather modest cloud house. “So this is your house?” “Yes, I lived here with my father until he…disappeared.” “I’m sorry.” “Don’t be, you had nothing to do with it. Any way you can sleep in my parents’ room while you’re staying here.” “Thanks, so what do you have to eat around here? All that storm building has me famished.” “I had just the thing on the menu for tonight, Spaghetti and Hay Balls.” “Sounds great.” Bright Dawn walked up next to Dream Catcher and by accident the tips of their wings had touched. They both gave a blush and some giggles and then walked into the kitchen.