//------------------------------// // Lost // Story: My Little Pony: Arceus and the Displaced Village // by Cloudhammer //------------------------------// “Okay, good. The banners are hung properly,” Twilight muttered, checking off another item on her list. Four other scrolls orbited around her, each with its own quill. Accompanied by a pair of unicorn guards, she made her way across the clearing to where the stage was being prepared. A frown crossed her muzzle as she peered at the base of the stage. “Wait, hold on a second. This is all wrong.” “What is it, Twilight?” Princess Celestia asked as she trotted over. “The stage is just a little off center, which doesn’t make any sense. Did somepony move it?” Twilight asked as she glanced up at her former mentor. “I don’t think that’s likely, Twilight,” Celestia replied, looking closer at the stage. “I suppose it’s possible you might have missed it. It has been ten years since we've held a Summer Sun Celebration here, after all.” “No, I couldn’t have,” Twilight muttered as she unrolled the scroll. “No, it says right here, ‘Stage position’, and it’s checked. So I checked it.” She frowned, "Unless I mis-checked it... ugh, this is why I wish Spike were here, he never mischecks things..." “Well, even if it's a little out of place, you should enjoy yourself more. This is your first time attending one of these as a princess, after all,” Celestia said with a wink. Glancing up at the sun, she rubbed a hoof at her forehead. "Does it feel hot out here to you, Twilight?" “What do you mean, Princess?” Twilight asked. Celestia glared up at the sun, then gripped her horn with a hoof, dragging it down her face like a zipper. Too stunned to even say anything, Twilight, the guards, and the castle staff stared incredulously as something began to force its way free of Celestia’s body. “I swear, I don’t know how Pinkie does it,” the mismatched creature said sardonically, squirming awkwardly as a pair of arms joined its head, pushing the limp skin off. “Her costumes just don’t breathe at all.” “Discord! Just what is the meaning of this? Where is Princess Celestia?” Twilight demanded, annoyance replacing her prior shock. Discord shook his leg, tossing the costume to the side. “Heck if I know, probably still up in the castle. She wouldn’t let me help with any of the preparations, so I decided to borrow this from Pinkie and stir up some fun.” He glanced back at it, then snapped his fingers. The costume shimmered and exploded into butterflies, each colored to match where on the costume it had come from. “We’re going to Donut Joe’s later, do you want to come?” Twilight shuddered. “Thanks, but I think I’ll pass.” Being anywhere near Pinkie Pie on sugar could be considered a health hazard, let alone when Discord was added to the formula. “Oh well, suit yourself.” Discord snapped his claws again, and the swirling butterflies organized into a conga line that filed into his ear. "You and I both know you'd lose anyway." Twilight snorted in dismissal. “Just... try not to break anything,” she muttered, turning to inspect the stage again. Frowning at the errant corner, a pulse of her magic returned it to its proper place. “Okay, now that that’s done, next up is the food preparation. Hopefully Applejack and the kitchen staff aren’t at each other’s throats again...” Discord waited until he was sure Twilight was far enough away, then flicked his talon at the stage. With a slight groan of protest, it was once again slightly out of alignment. “There, much better.” With a chuckle, he plucked a pair of sunglasses out of the last two butterflies and perched them on his nose. “Now, can’t keep Pinkie waiting. Maybe this time I’ll beat her in that donut eating contest...” he mused as he walked directly up into the sky. “Come on everypony, let’s keep it up!” Mayor Mare shouted encouragingly. “We’ve only got a little bit more to go, and then we’ll get the celebration underway!” There was a cheer as the ponies working to decorate Town Hall redoubled their efforts. The layout wasn’t quite as precise as last year with Rarity away in Canterlot, but the town made do like it always did. Ribbons snaked their way back and forth overhead, while the banners had been carefully taken out of storage and hung. Tables were placed along the wall, ponies bringing in decorations, trays, and baskets of food in an almost never-ending stream. Mayor trotted through the chaos with ease, nodding as she passed each station. “Come on Cloudchaser, Flitter, let's get those ribbons up. Blossomforth, careful with that banner. Okay, that's done... food preparation's next. Big Macintosh!" she called. "The food will be ready on time, yes?" He nodded, switching his wheat stalk to the other corner of his mouth. “Eeyup.” “Excellent, give my thanks to Granny Smith for giving us part of the harvest.” She turned, giving the decorations another glance, before a blur of motion caught her eye. “And just where are you taking that lumber, you three?” Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Applebloom all froze, and the planks they’d been carrying fell to the floor. “Umm, recycling?” Sweetie Belle replied with a weak grin. Mayor Mare simply shook her head. “I don't know what you have planned, and that's probably for the better, but it stays here. Now, the preparations are almost complete, so run along and play.” The fillies nodded, and galloped for the door. “Well, that was a bust. Where are we going to find the wood for our Decoration Cannon?” Scootaloo asked irritably. “I dunno... do you think that maybe we should have asked Pinkie about how the Party Cannon works before she left for Canterlot?” Sweetie Belle replied, scuffing at the ground with a hoof. “What do you think, Applebloom?” When no reply came, she turned to see the filly staring up at the sky in confusion. “What is it?” “Should the sky be glowin’ like that?” Applebloom asked, pointing with a hoof as the other two Crusaders looked up. The Summer Sun Celebration was in full swing, the moon almost at the height of the sky. The Bearers held the seats of honor next to the Princesses. Celestia was absent for the time being, opting to prepare herself for the sunrise. On Cadance’s far side, her husband Shining Armor was in the middle of a story about Twilight as a foal. “—and so then Twilight looks up at me from the floor, maple syrup is just everywhere, and she says with a completely straight face: ‘Smartypants did it.’” The entire table burst into laughter, while Twilight’s face burned red. “Oh, and how about the time I caught you and Cadance ‘wrestling’ in Mom and Dad’s room?” Twilight finally shot back. Cadance buried her face in her hooves, while Shining rolled his eyes. “Twily, I keep telling you, we really were wrestling.” He sighed dejectedly. “Although, Cady usually wins.” Rarity laughed as she levitated her wineglass for a drink, but also to bat her eyelashes at a particularly attractive stallion. No sense letting her last foray into romance color the future. "I'm just relieved to have some time away from the Boutique. My new dress line may be turning heads, but spend enough time in front of the sewing machine and it starts to haunt you." "I hear ya, Rare," Applejack said as she reached for another roll. "Apple trees do the same thing." She glanced down towards Fluttershy. "Don't let me forget, we got to talk to those beavers of yours. I caught 'em tryin' to back up the stream in the south field again." "Oh, of course," Fluttershy replied. "I'm sure they wouldn't mind moving to the river next to the farm. We'll go see them as soon as we get back to Ponyville." Pinkie had elected to sit next to Discord, and the two were leaning in close, pencils scribbling as they swapped joke pointers. "See, you've got it all wrong, Discord," Pinkie whispered, glancing at Rainbow Dash with a giggle. "On the spot jokes are great, but it's the ones that take time that are the best. For example, Rainbow's going to find out I added a little something special to her cider, but not until tomorrow morning when she wakes up with rainbow teeth!" She stifled a louder giggle as Rainbow gave her a wary look. Rarity smiled at her friend's antics as she took another sip of wine, then wiped at her muzzle. Sure, they were still drawing dismissive glances from the Canterlot elite, but overall the affair was going splendidly. She could see a few of her dresses among the crowd, and could already guess how many new orders she'd receive. Lowering her napkin, she frowned as she saw a bright crimson stain. “That’s odd, the wine isn’t this shade of red.” She was about to ask a passing server for another when the armored pegasus crashed into the table. Dishes flew everywhere as the thick wood , and for a long second everypony was deathly silent, trying to figure out just what had happened. Then somepony screamed, and the dam broke: some ponies ran away, others fainted, and a few crowded forward to try to help. “My dress!” Rarity shrieked on instinct, before she remembered what had caused the mess in the first place. “Is he alright?” Princess Luna had already gotten to her hooves and was staring intently at the stallion’s hindleg. “I’m afraid he is not.” She turned her head as another pegasus guard landed. “Send for the medical unicorns at once. I will tend to him until they arrive. Everypony else, please give me some room.” “Of course, your Highness.” The guard saluted and took off again, angling toward the city. The crowd of ponies began to move back, forming a quiet circle around the fallen pony. Satisfied, Luna lowered her head to examine the injured guard’s hindleg. He’d managed to wrap it to contain the worst of the bleeding, but it couldn’t hide one simple fact. A good three inches had been sheared off, almost a perfect cut. She frowned and lit her horn, her magic reaching out to envelop his leg. For a few seconds she concentrated, but the leg stubbornly refused to stop bleeding. Her frown deepened and she levitated a few napkins over to help bandage the injury. Once they were secure she turned her attention to his head, using a trickle of power to bring him back to wakefulness. He shouted incoherently, wings spasming; and she used another dose of power to calm him. “Be at peace, you are safe now.” “Prin-Princess?” he asked, a slight waver in his voice. “Had to get to Canterlot... tell you...” “Tell me what?” she queried gently. “Ponyville... it’s gone.”