--Golden Oaks Library--
It was just before sunrise in Ponyville, when a single unicorn that had a sapphire blue coat and dark mane knocked on the door to the library. Few ponies were out this early, so it was ideal to have a meeting.
Pinkie Pie, Ponyville's resident "party pony" and wielder of the Element of Laughter, is extremely giddy this morning. She is speaking to her friends about a surprise party that is to happen that day.
"Oh, this is going to be so exciting! Are you excited? 'Cause I'm excited; well, except for the first time I saw him, when I went like..."
She went silent except for her attempt at speaking with her mouth magically sealed by a lavender unicorn. Twilight Sparkle, the de facto leader of this group of friends and wielder of the Element of Magic, began to speak.
"Good morning, everypony. Now, this is a project of great magnitude; it requires precision, order, and cooperation. Are we all perfectly clear?"
All six of them replied in one accord, "Yes."
"Good, now, our mission today is to keep Midnight Legend out of the house for most of the day. This is where you all come in. Applejack, find some reason for him to help on Sweet Apple Acres."
The farm mare responded, "Will do, Twilight. He does owe me for that bet we made."
"Anyway, after he finishes, Rarity will send Sweetie Belle to him and ask him to watch her for a few hours while you 'finish up a big project.'"
"Oh, yes, with Sweetie Belle gone, I can get a lot more work done in the shop," said the refined mare.
"After that time is up, Rainbow Dash will race over and tell him Fluttershy needs some help with the animals that have been "startled" and are missing."
"Um, alright. But what if my animals really do go missing?" the shy animal caretaker asked.
"Don't worry, Fluttershy. If it does happen, that'll give Pinkie more time to do her thing.
"Of course, while he's gone," Twilight resumed, "Pinkie will get everything ready. And our source, who is present here, has helped us and will be our last resort should the above plans fail, right?"
The unicorn nodded.
"Also, I have a special arrangement, but it's meant to be a real surprise to all of you. Does everypony understand what needs to be done?"
The other six nodded in agreement. They all left the library and went their separate ways.
--A few hours later, in a house not too far away--
A noise suddenly rang out. It startled the sleeping alicorn out of his slumber. Midnight Legend, Ponyville's Head of Safety, got up from his bed. The sun was mostly above the horizon at this time.
He performed a few stretches to get his blood flowing from his partly-groggy body. He then levitated his trademark blue cape onto his back and connected the hooked chain into the eye. Walking out of his bedroom door made his eyes widen in shock.
In the kitchen, he saw pots and pans everywhere, something burning on the stove, and the refrigerator door wide open. He trotted inside and saw a strange sight. A younger unicorn was struggling to get the garbage can while magically stirring something in a bowl.
This unicorn was Starry Nights, his little sister. The newest addition to his life after years of separation, she was a few years younger than him, but was not as good with magic as others. She also wasn't a cook, judging by the mess and the burning.
Her coat was covered in flour, some bits of food, and sweat. She, feeling a presence watching her, turned to see her older brother staring at her with a small smile on his face. Starry Nights looked at him, with both relief and regret in her eyes.
She put her foreleg around his neck, which he reciprocated the action. "Happy birthday, Midnight. I wanted to surprise you with breakfast in bed. I wanted to show how much I love you, especially on your birthday."
Noticing her frown and still smiling, he replied, "Star, you know I don't need to be shown your love. I appreciate your attempt, but we both know you're not the best when it comes to cooking. You get cleaned up while I clean this mess. And don't worry, I'll cook breakfast."
As she left to shower, Midnight used magic to turn on the sink, gather the dishes, and put some dish soap in the sink. Then, he started to wash the dishes and neatly stack them in their respective cabinets. With the kitchen somewhat clean, he looked inside the refrigerator to see what he could make that hadn't been burned.
--Outside of Ponyville--
After he had cleaned up and cooked breakfast, they ate and, at Starry's insistence, took a walk. As they journeyed toward Sweet Apple Acres, she spoke up.
"So, has Mom and Dad sent a card yet, Midnight?"
"Not yet, but I'm sure it's gonna be in the mail today or tomorrow at the latest."
"You're right. It doesn't take that long for mail to travel from Canterlot to here."
Looking over to his nervous filly sister, he asked, "What's bothering you? You seem troubled today."
"Oh, it's nothing, really. Just a bit disappointed you made breakfast when I wanted to surprise you."
"I understand just how you feel, Star. I myself wasn't a cook either, but I learned from Cadance when I was in the palace."
He went silent immediately; Star then noticed a strange look in his eye. It always appeared when he mentioned or thought about something from the ten years before he moved to Ponyville.
"You really miss that time, don't you, Midnight?"
"Yes, I do. Of all that time, I missed the Cadance I knew and loved. Since last year's Canterlot Garden Party, it's like she changed. We did so many things together, and though I’m happy for her, the pain still remains.”
Consoling him, Star replied, “Listen, I don’t exactly know what caused her to change her mind, and I don’t wish to know. That’s between you and Cadance. Yet, she was the only person you could truly call ‘friend’ during that whole time.”
“It’s true. I could confide in her some things I couldn’t even tell you of. Not that I don’t trust you, but, for that time, she felt like an older sister to me.”
“That close, huh?”
“Yes.”
The moment was cut short by Applejack running toward them. She started to speak, but her heavy breathing inhibited her speech.
“Need… Midnight… help… something…”
“Just catch your breath, AJ.”
After she caught her breath, she said, “I need yer help. Big Mac jus’ got hurt, an’ nopony’s nowhere near as strong as you are.”
“Is it something you can do?”
“No. I’m nowhere near as strong as my brother, and you’re probably the next strongest.”
“Well, I’m trying to spend some quality time with my sister on my birthday.”
“Oh, c’mon, sugarcube. You owe me for that bet, remember?”
“Can it wait until tomorrow, Applejack?”
“Nope.”
Reluctantly, he turned to his sister and said, “Look, Star, I’ll go help Applejack on the farm. Just go home, and I’ll be back soon.”
With that, he left. All that Starry Nights was thinking was, “Phase 1 has begun.”