//------------------------------//
// Episode 1 - Harmony, part I 
// Story: The Magic of Six 
// by SigmatheAwesome 
//------------------------------//

Once upon a time, in the land of Equestria, there were two royal siblings, who worked together to keep order and harmony across the land.

The first used her Highborn magic to raise the sun to bring the day.

The second used his own magic to bring forth the night.

For many years, they kept their subjects content.

However, the younger sibling grew jealous of his sister, as their subjects played and laughed and worked during the day, but were afraid or exhausted during the night and could not appreciate it.

His sister noticed, and try as she might the brother refused to listen to her reasoning.

Over time, this jealousy grew larger and larger, until the brother was consumed with hatred, and turned into a horrific creature of the night:

Nocturne.

For a week, the world was caught in eternal eclipse, the brother threatening to create ever-lasting night, the sister valiantly refusing to yield.

Her magic was no match for his own, caused by the darkness within him.

Reluctantly, she brought forward the most powerful magical artefacts known to humankind: The Elements of Harmony.

She wielded the magic in the artefacts to defeat her brother, and banish him permanently in the moon.

Afterwards, she took on the responsibility for both the sun and the moon...

"... and maintained harmony in Equestria ever since." Victoria turned the page, hoping to find out more, but the paper only yielded an article on the Seventeenth Drake-Human War.

She leant back against the tree she was sitting under, feeling the cool wood against her through her vest and shirt, and let out a sigh.

"I swear I've read something about this..." She watched a cloud drift lazily across the sky. "But where have I...?"

She closed the book and pushed herself up, eyeing for the closest piece of shade to her.

"Well, might as well check back in my room."

***

Victoria wiped her brow of sweat, the sun oppressively bearing down on her. The problem about living on a mountain is that the sun was just a little bit closer than she'd like.

At least her place was air-conditioned.

As she started across the marble bridge ahead of her, a trio of girls stepped in her path. "There you are, Tori."

She looked up, holding a hand above her brow. Fellow schoolmates, she noticed.

"You know that Miranda's having a little get-together at the West Castle Courtyard, right?"

"I didn't know." Tori replied, the heat fraying her nerves. There was a potential prophecy to research, and she couldn't be bothered going to a party. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to do some studying."

She pushed past the girls, picking up her pace. She passed by two more people, the mint-green-haired one waving to her as she passed, but she really couldn't be bothered socialising.

Eventually, after an excruciatingly hot walk up a flight of stairs that spiralled around the Ivory Tower, she reached the gold-trimmed doors of the top room.

She pushed the doors open hard, and stepped in, and immediately looked around for her assistant. "Barb!"

Nothing.

"Barbara!" She called again, kicking the door shut as she entered the wonderfully cool room. Only now she noticed that her assistant, Barbara, was lying across the room, her purple tail stabbing through a wrapped-up box. "Ah, there you are."

Barb sat herself up, rubbing her head. "You could've checked if I was in front of the door, Tori."

"There's no time for that." Tori started to one of the many bookshelves, but froze for a second. "What's that on your tail?"

Barb blinked, looked at her tail and pulled it off. "Well, it was a gift for Miranda, I mean, it is her 18th." A stuffed bear fell out of the bottom and landed with a soft thud, stuffing coming out of the massive hole through it. "Oh for God's sake, I paid, like, twenty bucks for that."

"Barb, I need your help with something."

Barb tossed her mangled present aside, then walked up. "What's up?"

"Can you get me an old copy of Predictions and Prophecies?"

Barb saluted and dashed off.

Tori closed her eyes for a moment, the crystal on her forehead glowing brightly. A book from up high fell from its perch on the bookshelf and drifted down to her. She opened her eyes and looked, frowning at the cover. "No..." More books floated up, none of them showing the right cover. "No, no no no!" She groaned in frustration.

"Found it!" Barb called out, high up a ladder, waving a large blue-covered book around. 

Tori grabbed it in her magic and pulled it over, taking Barb with it. Barb fell flat on her face while still holding onto the book. "Ah, that's it." She dropped the other ten books in her magic to the floor, and pulled the blue book away with her.

Barb sat up and checked her nose for bleeding. "I expect you want me to clean this all up?"

"If you can." Tori placed the book on a desk and flipped through the pages. "Elements of Harmony... Elements... E... E, e, e... Aha!" She looked at the article, where only one phrase filled it out:

"See Man in the Moon."

"Man in the Moon?" Barb blinked, holding a stack of books in one hand and the ladder in the other. "Isn't that an old lady's tale or something?" 

Tori flipped through the pages again. "Man in the Moon. A legend from olden times. A powerful man who wanted to rule Equestria in eternal night. The Elements were used to imprison him in the moon."

"So..." Barb flicked a troublesome book back into its rightful spot, only to accidentally push the ladder back and make it stand upright. 

"Legend has it that on the longest day after a thousand years, he will escape and bring about eternal night." She gasped. "Barbara, do you know what that means?"

"N-no..." Barb tried to push herself forwards, but only upset the balance of the ladder and make it fall backwards. Barb managed to leap off at the right time, but couldn't grab onto the bookshelf to hold her fall. Instead, she landed in Tori's arms.

"Take a note, please. Addressed to the Princess." Tori smiled, letting go of Barbara and passing her a scroll and quill. As soon as Barb flicked the scroll open and pressed quill to parchment, she cleared her throat. "Dear Princess Celestia, my continuous studies of magical theory have led me to discover we are on the precipice of disaster."

"Pressi... Press..."

"Threshold."

"Threeeeeh..." Barb blinked.

"Brink?"

Barb frowned at the scroll. "Uh..."

"You don't even know how to spell Brink?"

"It's... B-R-I-N-C-K, right?"

"Lose the C."

"Ah." Barb scribbled it down. "Go on."

Tori started to pace. “For you see, the fabled Man in the Moon is in fact Nocturne, and he is about to return to the world and bring about eternal night." She stopped walking for a moment. "Something has to be done to make sure that this prophecy does not come true. I await you response. Your faithful student, Victoria Tanton."

"...Victoria... Tanton." Barb tapped the quill on the scroll and looked up. "Got it."

"Great." Tori smiled, sitting down on a chair next to the window overlooking Canterlot. "Send it."

"Now?"

"Of course."

"I dunno, wouldn't Celestia be busy preparing for the Summer Sun Celebration? That's the day after tomorrow."

"Exactly. That's why it's imperative that we have to let her know now and not later."

Barb blinked, then looked at the scroll. "Fine." She drew in a deep breath, then as she let out the same breath a column of green fire engulfed the scroll, burning it into ash which drifted away on a blanket of green light. "There, it's on its way." She crossed her arms. "I wouldn't hold your breath, though."

Tori smiled, turning to look out the window again. "I'm not worried about that. Princess Celestia Zodiac trusts me completely. She's never doubted me, even after all these years."

"Even if that was the case, which I know it is, she's still-" Barb gagged, then belched out another column of green fire. A scroll materialised itself and hit the floor.

"See, I told you she'd be willing to take immediate action."

Barb scooped up the scroll and cleared her throat, holding it open. "My most faithful student, Victoria Tanton. You know that I value your diligence and I trust you completely."

Tori smiled again, leaning back on the chair.

"But you simply must stop reading those old, dusty books."

Tori's eyes widened, and her smile dropped.





"My dear Victoria, there is more to life than studying. So I am sending you to personally oversee the preparations of the Summer Sun Celebration in the host town, Ponyville."

Tori growled, resting her arms on the edge of the chariot.

"And I have an even more essential task for you to complete:" Barb continued. "Make some friends."

Tori groaned, one of her arms falling loose and overhanging.

"Look on the bright side, she's organised for you to stay at the local library, Golden Oaks Library." Barb sat next to her, and placed an arm over her back. "Doesn't that make you feel better?"

Tori let out a sly smile. "Yes." She turned to her assistant. "You know why?"

"Beca-"

"Because I'm right." She smirked. "I'll check up on the preparations as fast as I can, then spend the rest of the night studying on Nocturne."

"Then..." Barb looked a little hurt. "When will you make friends like Celestia asked?"

"Please, Barb. She said to check on the preparations and I am prepared to do my royal duty."

The chariot slowly drifted down into the town square of Ponyville, kicking up a fine layer of dust as the magic wings of the drivers flapped faster to slow the descent.

"However, the fate of the world does not depend on me making friends." She leapt out, then walked up to the pilots. "Thank you, sirs."

"Maybe the people here have something interesting to talk about?" Barb offered, pointing to a pink-haired man walking briskly up, a smile plastered on his face. The man stopped in front of the two. "Come on, Tori, just try socialising."

Tori looked at the guy, and felt her stomach become much less stable than before. She knew she was never good at talking to others, especially men around her age, as this one appeared to be. "Uh... Hello?"

The guy's smile instantly dropped, something like a look of realisation dawning him. He leaped into the air, gasping loudly, before dashing off into the distance.

"Well... That was weird." Tori scratched the back of her head. 





"So, what's first?"

"Banquet preparations, which is being organised by Sweet Apple Acres." Barb pushed the small white fence open, allowing Tori in first.

As they walked through the farmland, they heard running, but only looked when they heard a voice holler out.

A blonde, orange-wearing man was charging full-bore at a tree. He stopped a few feet short, turning around and kicking the trunk with all the momentum he had gathered. The tree shook, and most- no, all- of the apples dislodged themselves and landed into buckets below. The person smiled, crossing his arms and looking proudly at his work.

Tori sighed, walking up. "Let's get this over with." She hesitantly approached the farmer and put on her most convincing smile. "Good afternoon, my name is Victoria Tanton."

She felt her arm being grabbed and shaken hard. "Well, howdy there Miss Tanton. A pleasure makin' your acquaintance." He smiled. "Ah'm Jackson Apellia. We here at Sweet Apple Acres sure do like makin' new friends."

"Friends...?" She replied, her voice shaking. "Actually, I, uh-"

He finally let go. "So, what brings a fine-lookin' gal like you here?"

Tori shook her hand, which was throbbing painfully. "Ow ow ow..."

"Ooh, y'alright there?" He walked up and took her arm, looking it over. "Sorry, Ah'm not exactly aware of mah own strength."

"So I noticed." Tori replied through her teeth. "Anyway, I'm here to check up on the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. I assume you're in charge of the food?"

"We sure as sugar are, cutie." He smiled. 

"Cutie?!" Tori frowned.

"Care t' sample some?"

"Well, as long as it doesn't take too long..." Tori growled, holding her sore arm.

Jackson dashed off, then proceeded to ring a triangle. "Soup's on, everyone!"

Tori looked at him with a mix of confusion and annoyance.

"Uh, Tori...?" Barb, who was facing the other way, tugged at her sleeve.

"What?!" Tori shouted back, then her eye trailed to where Barb was looking. "Oh."

Before she could react, a stampede of people pushed them forwards, and when her head stopped spinning she found herself deposited onto a chair. In front of her, an empty table lay ahead of her, covered in a yellow tablecloth. 

Jackson appeared beside them. "Now, how about Ah introduce you to the Apellia family?"

Tori frowned. "Thanks, but I really need to-"

"This here's Franny." He pointed out a redheaded girl placing a dish of apple fritters down on the table. "Betty, Rosie, Raphael..." He continued to list out various members of the family who approached the table, all of which depositing food in front of her. After a long list, he inhaled. "Bethany-" He pointed to a large girl with orange hair, holding a cupcake. "Alexander-" He pointed towards an early-teen boy with red hair, who smiled welcomingly at her. "Aaaand-" He shoved an apple into her hands. "Granny Sandra." He walked up to an old woman resting on a rocking chair. "Up an' at'em, Granny. We've got guests."

The old woman snorted awake. "Wh-wha...?" She walked slowly over, rambling on about soup being on and her walking over.

"Why, Ah'd say Miss Tanton here is already part of the family."

Tori's eyes widened and the apple fell out of her hands by reflex. She offered a nervous laugh. "Well, I, uh, I can see the food situation's handled, so I'd better be on my way."

"Aren't ya gonna stay for brunch?" Alexander looked up at her with incredibly convincing puppydog eyes.

Fortunately, living with Barbara as she was growing up helped her against that sort of thing. "Sorry, but I have an awful lot of work to do."

"Aww..." The entire family went.

She looked around nervously, then groaned. "Fine, I'll stay for brunch."

There was much rejoicing.





"Alright, next up is weather."

Tori groaned, clutching her stomach. "Ugh... I ate too much..."

"You know, you didn't need to eat everything."

"But it would've been rude to not eat it." She frowned. "And how aren't you full?"

"I'm a Drake, we have great stomach processing powers." She smiled to herself.

"And what was with that Jackson guy? Was he hitting on me or something?"

"What makes you say that?"

"The way he was constantly calling me pretty." She frowned. 

"Maybe he just thinks you’re pretty?" Barb shrugged.

"I highly doubt that."

Barb sighed. "Whatever." Her eyes wandered upwards. "Isn't there supposed to be an Avian girl named Rachael Dallas clearing the clouds?"

Tori looked up, and noticed the absence of clear sky. "Well, she's not doing very well."

Something hit Tori right in the left arm hard, sending her flying into a mud puddle. Once her sense of balance returned, she could feel someone sprawled all over her.

The person shifted, laughing. "Uh, excuse me."

Tori growled, sitting up to look at the mud-covered rainbow-haired girl, grinning at her.

"Here, lemme help you." The girl dashed off, her glowing wings flaring back up and pulling her into the sky. She returned in just a moment, holding a dark cloud and lifting it above her. She flew up and pounded on the top with her fists, drenching Tori in rain, which washed the mud off but left her now-wet fringe hanging over her eyes. "Oops, I guess I overdid it." She kicked the cloud aside, then hovered beside her. "Let me try something else."

Tori pushed her hair aside to watch the girl start to fly around her at high speeds. 

"The Rain-Blow-Dry! Patented." The turbulence of the resulting whirlwind of colour tugged at her wet hair and pulled the moisture away.

The rainbow-haired girl slowed down and alighted gently, the elegant fans of magic on her back pulling into her back. "Perfect. No no, don't thank me, you're-"

Tori watched her open her eyes. Then her mouth open in shock. Then break out into a massive grin. Then, she fell to the ground laughing, Barbara following. She ran a hand into her hair, finding it all tangled. She sighed with frustration. "Lemme guess, you're Rachael Dallas."

The girl stopped laughing and stood up. "The one and only. Why?" She flew up close, causing Tori to take a wary step back. "You heard of me from someone?"

"I heard you were supposed to be keeping the sky clear, not crashing into Supervisors for the Summer Sun Celebration."

Rachael leant back and drifted on her wings. "Yeah, that'll be easy. I'll just finish my training and get on to it later."

"Training?" Tori raised an eyebrow warily. "Training for what?"

"The Wonderbolts!" She announced, gesturing with her entire arm to a poster. "They'll be performing at the Summer Sun Celebration and I'm gonna show them my stuff."

Tori scoffed.

"Hey, what?!"

"Seriously?"

"Seriously what?"

"Are you seriously thinking that the Wonderbolts, the most talented fliers in all of Equestria, would accept you?"

Rachael smiled. "Yep, I'm pretty sure."

"Well, I'd say not."

"Eh?" Rachael raised an eyebrow.

"They wouldn't accept anyone who couldn't keep the sky clear for even a day. Your chances are pathetic."

"Hey!" Rachael pointed accusingly. "I could have this whole frickin' sky clear in ten seconds."

Tori smiled to herself. Right in the pride. You're quite clever, Victoria Tanton. "Prove it."

Rachael frowned, then zoomed skywards. Barb pulled out a stopwatch and the two traced the rainbow blur across the sky smashing clouds into vapour. 

After the acrobatic display Rachael alighted on a bridge pillar, crossing her arms and standing confidently. "See? Ten seconds."

Tori was astounded, her mouth hanging agape. Barb looked at the stopwatch, then up again.

"I'd never leave my home town hangin'." She smiled and flicked her long hair aside. "You should see your face. You're a laugh..." She drew a blank look. "Oh crap, I didn't catch your name."

Tori composed herself. "Victoria Tanton."

"We should hang out more, Vicky."

"Victoria."

"Whatevs." She kicked into the sky again, her wings bursting out. "Catcha later."

Barb let out a low whistle. "She's pretty cool, isn't she?" 

"And incredibly arrogant." Tori sighed, playing with her puffed-up hair. "At least I could use it as an advantage."

"Anyway, we should keep moving. We've got a few more things to check out."





Tori pushed open the door to the town hall. It was miraculously air-conditioned, and also very well-decorated. Banners depicting important, almost religious, scenes of the Princess or the sun hang up on flagpoles or on hovering clamps. 

"Woah..." Barb mumbled.

"Woah indeed, Barbara." Tori looked around. "The decorations are coming along nicely. Ooh, they even have the Battle at Gryphus Hi-"

"No no no, not those banners."

Tori looked down at her in confusion. "What could possibly be more 'woah' than a banner on the Battle at Gryphus Hill?"

"Him." Barb pointed at the lone figure standing at the stage. The figure was obviously male, and carried an air and posture of elegance normally reserved for upper-class people. Purple hair crested his head, falling in a flat curve. A thin ponytail was tied back, arching all the way down to the small of his back.

"Huh." Tori muttered.

The man moved, carrying a variety of strings in the air and testing them out against one of the wooden supports. "No... no... ugh, disgusting... Dear God, Evans, what were you thinking? No..."

Barb did a quick look-over of herself, running her sharp fingers through her hair. "How's my hair? Straight? How about my hoodie?"

Tori rolled her eyes and approached him. "Excuse me, sir-"

"Just a moment, my dear. I'm 'in the zone' as it were."

"Oh my God his voice is so hot..." Barb spoke quietly.

"Aha!" 'Evans' looked over the final ribbon, a golden sparkling one that worked astoundingly well with the background. "Yes, that always works." He turned to face them. "Now, uh, how can I help- AGH!"

Tori blinked. "Eh?"

"My goodness, whatever happened to your coiffure?"

She looked up at her hair. "Oh, right, my hair. A minor accident. I'm just here to help with the decorations and then I'll be out of your way."

"No no no, this simply cannot do." Elusive walked behind her and pressed his palms gently against her back, edging her onwards. "Come on, my dear."

"Wait, what-?! Barbara, help me!"

Barb just followed listfully.

***

"I thought you were going to just fix my hair, Evans."

"You're outfit is... Well, you look like a schoolgirl."

"That's because I am a schoolgirl! Well, technically a tertiary education student, but I like the look."

"Just be quiet and get behind the screen. I'll pass you some clothing to try on."

Tori sighed and stepped behind the screen, slipping her clothing with haste. "Just hurry up, I've got work to do."

After a few moments of Evans humming and commenting on clothing, two outfits were placed on the screen's top. Tori grabbed the closest one, and examined it. "What do you think?"

"I dunno, I'm majoring in Magical Theory and Elemental Sciences, not Fashion Design." She replied, putting it on carefully. It was a simple thing, a nice, pleasing green colour, and quite a modest length. As soon as she stepped out Evans frowned.

"Doesn't work with your hair." He pointed to the other one, the white, gem-encrusted piece. "Try that one on."

Tori groaned and slipped out of the green one. She held the other one up and raised an eyebrow. "A corset?"

"Is there something wrong?"

"Just breathing restriction problems, that's all."

"Oh, don't worry, that one's pretty flexible. Had the plastic ribs imported from Minotauria."

Tori slipped it on quickly, holding the dress front in place. The dress was short, shorter than she'd like, and it had no shoulder straps. She took a few wary steps out. "I don't like it."

Evans hummed with study. "I think it looks nice. Shows off your legs quite well."

Tori blushed brightly, stammering in embarrassed annoyance. 

Evans rubbed his chin. "Might need to tighten the corset up though." Without much warning Evans walked up and gently turned her around. "You didn't even do it up."

"Do I look like I can work a damn corset?!" Tori snarled.

"Here, let me do it. Take a deep breath."

Tori sighed, then did so. Evans grabbed the two straps and pulled hard. "So, before, you were telling me where you're from. You can breathe out now."

Tori let out her breath. "I've been sent from Canterlot to oversee-"

Evans gasped melodramatically. "Canterlot?! Oh, I am so envious! The glamour, sophistication, and luxury, oh, I have always dreamed of living there."

"It's actually-"

"I imagine we're going to be the best of friends, my dear." Evans clutched her head in his hands, smiling like a young fan. Then his face went sour. "Emerald."

"What?"

Evans pointed to the emerald on the front of her corset. "Green is not your colour, Tanton, I'll go get you a new one."

Tori watched him stride off. "Quick, Barb!"

Barb stood there lazily.

Tori groaned and, scooping her clothes up in magic, gripped her wrist and pulled her out.





"I now freaking hate short dresses." Tori growled, fixing up her trusty modest skirt. "I don't want to show off my legs."

"Wasn't he dreamy...?"

"Oi. Focus, Juliet." Tori rapped her fist against the enamoured Drake's skull. "What's next on the list?"

"Oh, uh..." Barb pulled the scroll up. "Music. The last one."

"That's going to be nice and relaxing. Just as long as this one-"

"Shh!" Barb paused to listen. "Y'hear that?"

Tori heard the slow drift of birdsong through the summer air. "Yeah. Let's check it out."

The two approached and hid behind the nearest bush to the tree. A girl, dressed in a long, yellow dress, hovered slowly, directing a choir of birds.

Well, most of them. One of them was off.

"Oh, uh, please stop everyone." The girl could barely be heard from their conveniently-placed bush. "Excuse me, but your rhythm is just a little off. Can you try and keep track?"

The bird nodded.

"Thank you. Now, follow me please."

Tori pulled herself out of the bush and walked slowly up.

"A one, a two, a one two three-"

"Hello!" Tori announced, scattering the birds and momentarily stiffening the girl with shock. "Oh, I'm sorry I scared your birds. I'm here to check up on the music and it's sounding wonderful."

The girl landed and, hiding one of her eyes behind her long, pink hair, scuffed the ground with her shoe.

Tori grinned awkwardly. Well, that's a good start. "I'm Victoria Tanton."

Silence.

"What's your name?"

"Um..." The girl replied so quietly that Tori struggled to hear her. "My name is Emily..."

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"Uh... M-my name is ..."

Tori took a step closer. "Didn't quite catch that."

The girl hid further behind her hair and squeaked nervously.

In the ensuing, deafeningly awkward silence, the birds returned. "Well, uh, looks like your birds are back. I won't keep you. Keep up the good work."

The girl didn't even reply, averting her gaze away from her.

"Oookay then." She walked back to Barb, who emerged from her cover. "Well, that was easy."

"Yeah, I'd reckon so." Barb replied.

"I mean, yeah, it was awkward, but-" She felt something ram into her back and send her sprawling over Barb's head. Her fall was miraculously soft, narrowly avoiding the stone path and instead landing on a bush.

When her senses returned she could hear a conversation between Barb and the girl.

"... but most people call me Barb."

"Hi Barb, I'm Emily." She smiled warmly. "Oh my goodness, a talking Drake. Uh... What do Drake talk about?"

Tori stormed up and grabbed Barb's wrist, dragging her along, before she could even reply.

Not that it stopped her, as Emily followed her, seemingly unaware of Tori's anger. "Well, what do you wanna know?"

"Absolutely everything." Emily replied with such enthusiasm.

"Well, I started out as a small purple-and-green egg."

***

"... And that's basically my whole life story. Well, until today." Barb, who was no longer being dragged, jumped with excitement. "Ooh, do you wanna hear about today?"

"Yes please." Emily seemed just as excited.

"Well!" Tori yelled louder than she needed to. "This is where we're staying while we're in Ponyville and my little sister needs her sleep."

"No I don't."

Tori, her fake smile waning, stealthily slipped a flash of magic into the back of Barb's knee, toppling her for a moment. "See, she's so sweepy she can't keep her wittle balance."

"I'm not a freakin' kid, Tori." Barb growled.

"Oh, you must simply get to bed." Emily scooped her up and started to fly inside, but was stopped by Tori.

"Yes yes, we'll get right on it, well, goodnight!" She slammed the door.

Barb frowned (not that they could see each other in the dark). "Rude much?"

"Sorry, Barb. I just wanted to get some research done without a bunch of crazy people trying to make friends all the time." She walked a few steps forward. "Where's the light."

The click of the lights gave her just a little more of time to react to the surprise of literally the whole town being inside the room, yelling 'surprise'. It wasn't enough, as she yelped in shock.

"Surprise!" Someone whom she recognised called out. "Hi, I'm Patrick and I threw this party just for you!"

Tori turned to face him, putting on the best fake smile she could.

"Were you surprised? Were you? Huhhuhhuh?" Whoever this person was, he could move.

"Very surprised." Tori replied through gritted teeth in a cheery tone, before turning aside and reverting to her currently normal state. "Libraries are supposed to be quiet."

"That's silly." Patrick replied. "I mean, what sort of party would a welcome party be if it were quiet? I mean, duh, boooor-ing!"

Tori slowly made her way to the drink table.

The pink ghost followed her like she was being haunted. "You see, I haven't seen you before, and if I haven't seen you before it's because you're not a resident of Ponyville and I know everyone, and I mean everyone, in Ponyville, so I decided to throw you a supergigantic spectacular welcome party just for you."

Tori had been pouring what looked like alcohol into a cup. She needed something strong. She raised it to her lips

"And now you have lots and lots of friends!" Patrick wrapped his arm over her back, gesturing out to the crowd, focussing on the four people she had to contend with today.

Tori started drinking. 

"See?"

The drink wasn't alcohol.

She felt the inside of her mouth burning up.

"Uh, are you alright sugarcube?" Jackson approached her cautiously.

"HOT HOT HOOOOOT!" Tori screamed out and raced off, bypassing the fridge to grab a whole carton of milk and scooping up a spare cup in her magic, then dashing straight into her room.

"Dude, what did you put in there?" Rachael raised an eyebrow, regarding Patrick.

Barb grabbed the container, and spotted the logo. "Hot sauce...?"

Patrick tipped some of the contents onto a cupcake and shovelled it into his mouth.

"Whuff? Iff' goof."

***

Tori lay on her back, on the bed in her room. "God damnit, haven't they heard of turning the music down."

She grabbed the pillow and covered her ears up, but the rhythmic thump of the music broke through even that.

"Tori, come on down." Barb called out, her head under a lampshade. "Pat's started a game of Pin the Tail on the-"

"No!" Tori shouted back, launching her pillow at nearly sonic speeds (or, at least she thought she did) at Barb. It missed, but broke a framed picture of Ponyville and knocked it to the ground. "All the people in this town are freaking crazy! Do they even know what sort of day I've been having?! Do they even know what time it is?!"

"We have to stay up for the Summer Sun Celebration." Barb offered. "As Princess Celestia's personal student-"

"I go to bed earlier and wake up to watch it. Nothing new."

"Come on, Tori, you're missing out on the fun." Barb turned. "When you change your mind, come on down."

Tori mockingly imitated her as soon as she left, before sighing heavily, turning her attention to the moon, pulling up a book on legends.

"On the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will herald His escape, and bring about night-time eternal." She closed it and let out a breath. "I hope it's just a legend."

Barb kicked the door open. "Tori, it's time to watch the sun rise!"





"My everything's is killing me..." Tori muttered as she entered the hall.

"Why's that?"

"Jackson's family pushed me, Rachael smashed into my arm, Evans' stupid corset hurt my chest and, worst of all, and Emily literally rammed into my back and knocked me into a bush."

"That explains why you're so grumpy."

"Ya think?!" Tori snarled.

"Isn't this exciting?!" Patrick yelled out. "Are you excited coz I'm excited I've never been so excited, well, except for the time that I saw you walking into town and I went-" He gasped quickly. "-But I mean really, who can top that?"

Before Tori could reply, a choir of birds started, announcing the arrival of a smartly-dressed woman.

The room fell silent.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, as Mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration."

A cheer from the entire crowd, except Tori.

"In just a few moments, our town will witness the magic of the sunrise, and celebrate the longest day of the year."

As the Mayor continued, Tori's eyes wondered to the moon. Four pinpricks of light made their way to the moon, and the black visage of a human flashed from existence.

"... The good, the wise, Princess Celestia!"

The curtains drew open, but no-one stood there.

"What?" Evans, who was operating the curtain, announced in confusion.

A babble went up amongst the crowd. "This isn't good..." Tori mumbled, feeling Barb tighten her grip on her hand.

"Calm down, everyone, I'm certain that there's a reasonable explanation for this."

"Ooh, ooh! I love guessing games!" Patrick bounced with joy. "Is she hiding somewhere?" He immediately started looking around.

Evans returned from backstage. "She's gone."

Everyone gasped.

"Ooh, he's good..." Patrick appraised him. 

Then yelped, as a blue mass of cloud slowly formed where the Princess should be. The cloud grew in size, emitting a hum of pure magic before it burst apart.

Where the cloud was, a tall, armoured figure stood. What wasn't covered in blue metal was covered in black cloth, except his face. The spiralling crystal built into his helm and his wings radiated a black magic, and a crest of stardust fell from his helm down to his feet. His eyes opened, revealing them as blue and reptilian. 

"Nocturne..." Tori mumbled, gripping Barb's hand tighter.

The armoured figure stood straight. "Oh, my beloved subjects... It's been far too long since I've seen your precious, little, sun-loving faces..."

"Hey!" Rachael announced. "What have you done with our Princess?!" She made to dash forwards, only to be grabbed by the collar by Jackson.

"Whoa there, Rae!"

Nocturne chuckled. "Oh, I've locked her away. Why, am I not royal enough for you?" His smile dropped suddenly, and a wave of dread fell over the crowd. "Don't you know who I am?"

"Ooh, ooh, uh..." Patrick called out. "Hokey Smokes? No, it's-"

Jackson, using his free hand, jammed an apple into his mouth.

Nocturne chuckled, drifting on his black wings next to Emily. "What, my crown doesn't count now that I have been imprisoned for a thousand years?" He moved up to Evans, flicking his chin. "Did you not remember the legends? And didn't you even see the signs?"

"I did." Tori called out, gaining his attention. "And I know who you are."

Nocturne smirked, regarding her.

"You're the Man in the Moon, Nocturne."

Nocturne chuckled. "Right you are, my pretty one. Then that means you know why I'm here."

"Y-you're here to..." Her voice caught in her throat.

Nocturne smiled to himself. "Remember this day, little mortals, for it will be your last. From now on, the night will last for eternity!" As he laughed maniacally, the ethereal mane swirled around him, crackling with lightning.






To Be Continued...