//------------------------------// // 17 – Peace // Story: Applied Starlight // by Unknownlight //------------------------------// Twilight Sparkle was at peace. Then her alarm went off. “Ugh…” she moaned like a dying cat. But I wanna sleep more. I wanna sleep. Please just let me sleep! Her alarm was very insistent. In fact, the song the radio was playing seemed to have been chosen precisely for this task. “♫ Get up, get up, it’s a brand new day! / Wake up, wake up ’cause it’s time to play!” For some reason, the radio flew out the window like a ballistic missile just a few moments later. Twilight groaned and made a token attempt at kicking the blankets off of her body. It took a number of tries, but eventually she managed to get all the sheets and blankets scrunched up at the foot of the bed, leaving her bare body and blank flank exposed to the chill of early-morning air. Why is it still dark outside? I thought it’d be morning by now. When did I set my alarm for? It was quarter to seven, right? It’s summer, the sun should be up by now! Why is it so dark? … Oh. Maybe taking over the rising of the sun wasn’t such a good idea after all. Perhaps she could get Rarity to take over for the sun as well? Or maybe Rainbow Dash could do it. She liked the sky, right? With great reluctance and a few choice words directed at the freezing-cold hardwood floor, Twilight lifted herself out of bed, turned to the window, and pointed her horn toward the far-off horizon. With a great magical tug, the horizon flared with fire and light and a hot white sun erupted from the stars beneath. The sun then blinked, wiped the sleep from its eyes, and let out a great yawn. “G’morning, Miss Twilight!” greeted the sun, its jolly voice booming across the lands. “Looks like you and I have birthed another newborn day! Isn’t the world so wonderful?” Twilight smiled. “Yes, it is.” “I must say,” continued the sun as it rose further into the sky, “I absolutely loved, loved, loved the jaunty little tune you tossed my way a few minutes ago. Such a quaint and joyful song to liven our spirits with. ‘♫ Get up, get up, it’s a brand new day! / Wake up, wake up ’cause it’s time to play! / Hey! Hey! Don’t sleep the day away! / Come and join the fray of this day called today!’ ” The sun bounced up and down in the sky, gleefully belching its obnoxious tune across Ponyville and successfully waking up its denizens. Twilight faintly grinned. “Sunny, if you don’t quiet down you’re going to run the roosters right out of a job.” “Ah, yes, quite right,” the sun said, bobbing up and down in an imitation of nodding. “You’re always ever so clever, Miss Twilight. I don’t know what I’d do without you. I will go apologize to the roosters right this moment. Toodles.” “…I was joking,” Twilight muttered, but the sun had already twisted its head around and was now facing the farm, undoubtedly looking for roosters and inevitably only finding hens. “Open up, Spikey-Wikey. The choo-choo train is coming in with lots of yummy foodie-woodie.” The baby dragon gurgled, drooled over his bib, and then finally opened his mouth wide enough for Twilight to stuff a spoonful of crushed gemstones into his mouth. “That’s a good boy, Spikey-Wikey! See, that wasn’t so hard. Now that breakfast is over, do you want to come with mommy to the market?” “Goo goo ga ga?” “Hooray!” Twilight cheered. “Now we just have to… get you into your stroller…” The alicorn’s left eye began to twitch. The baby dragon gazed back innocently. Twilight’s arrival at the Ponyville Market was heralded by the sound of a screeching and struggling baby dragon tied down with multiple straps to a garishly pink stroller. “That’ll be one forty-three, please.” “Thank you, Minty,” Twilight said, hurriedly paying and then grabbing the large candy cane out of the earth pony’s mouth and sticking it into Spike’s instead. The baby dragon immediately stopped crying. “Mmm,” he hummed in contentment, sucking on the candy cane and drooling over the pink straps that held him in place. “Aww, he’s such a cute little thing,” Minty squealed. “Who’s the father?” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “R-right, right. Never mind,” the mint-green earth pony stammered, trying to think of a way to change the topic. “Oh! Uh, I hear Pinkie Pie’s planning some party or something at Canterlook Out Point this afternoon. Are you going?” Twilight chuckled. “Even if I didn’t want to go I think Pinkie would drag me to it. She’s been excited for this for a while. I don’t think it’s a party, though. When I asked her, it sounded like she was planning something else, but she won’t tell me what.” “Oh, it’s not a party? I guess that makes sense. I was wondering what the occasion was, but I was kind of afraid to ask.” Minty shuffled her hooves. “No, no, don’t worry. You didn’t miss anything.” Twilight smiled. “I know what it’s like to doze off during one of Pinkie’s rambles.” A burp of fire and a screeching wail coming from the stroller abruptly ended their conversation. Twilight looked down and saw that Spike’s candy cane had been reduced to charred candy fragments. “Um, could I get another?” Twilight asked sheepishly. Minty grinned. “One forty-three, please.” Canterlook Out Point had a very pretty view. Other ponies often described the view as “beautiful” or “breathtaking”, but Twilight couldn’t really agree. She vaguely remembered once seeing, so very long ago, a magnificent frozen twilight. The radiant sun was half-set into the ground, and the ground was the deepest black of night, solidified. The sky was home to so many shades of colors that she could never name them all if she lived a thousand years. She was all alone, and twilight was all the world. That was beauty. …Canterlook Out Point did have a pretty view, though. The lookout point was situated at the northern edge of the Ponyland Mesa—a mountain-like structure with a vast and mostly flat plateau topping it, rather than a peak. Two castles were built atop the mesa. Firstly, there was Rainbow Castle in the center, the place of rule for Princess Twilight. The castle was enclosed by the Everfree Forest, except to the north where Ponyville lay. Slightly south of the lookout point lay the Crystal Palace, the place of rule for Princess Rarity. Looking out over the Point, straight ahead—and at equal elevation level—was the mountain of Canterhorn, home of the city of Canterlot. The sky-piercing white spires so common in its architecture and the castle’s awe-inspiring vendetta against the force of gravity displayed to the world that the city—once the Equestrian capital—was still just as majestic and as stubbornly prideful as it had always been. Between the mesa and the mountain lay a large valley: Dream Valley. It was a place one may only ever dream to see. Dream Valley was a landscape of rolling hills of saturated colors; healthy, shallow forests that had a perplexing ethereal air; quaint villages of mild pastel palettes scattered among the hills; and ponies abound as helpful, affectionate, and friendly as you could make them. It was a place of very few contrasts. Getting down to Dream Valley from Ponyville was— “Hi, Twilight! Wanna cookie?” Twilight was interrupted from her thoughts and turned to face the distraction. Behind her was the small form of Sweetie Belle, bright and cheerful and holding a large tray of chocolate chip cookies in her magic. It brought a smile to Twilight’s face. “Yes, please. Thank you, Sweetie,” she said, grabbing hold of a cookie in her own magic. “Sweetie! Hey! What are you doing over there?” a new voice burst in, quickly revealing itself to be a hyperactive orange pegasus when she tackled Sweetie Belle to the ground. “C’mon, I want to show you some games to play, but you’re not even—are those cookies?!” Scootaloo squealed in delight and pounced on the tray. “Hey!” Sweetie shoved Scootaloo away. “Those are supposed to be for everyone, not just you!” The two children rolled around in the grass in a mess of fur and squabbling.   “You tackled me before I even had one!” Scootaloo retorted, trying to claw her way back to the fallen tray. “That’s ’cause I know you’re not going to stop at one! I spent a lot of time baking those!” “But you’re not even giving me a chance!” “All right, break it up, you two,” a new voice chimed in. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo abruptly found themselves pulled apart by dark magenta colored hooves. “Pinkie Pie will be bringing out the cake any moment now. If you’re quick you two can be the first in line,” Cheerilee whispered conspiratorially. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle briefly exchanged glances, then took off like a pair of rockets. “I’m gonna be first!” “No, I am!” “As if!” Cheerilee shook her head, amusement plain to see on her face, and ambled after them. After a moment of consideration, Twilight decided to stay by the edge of the lookout point. She turned her head back, surveying the remarkable landscape, and continued her previous train of thought: Getting down to Dream Valley from Ponyville was a fair bit of a journey, but not as much as one might think. Snaking paths carved into the cliffside allowed for a gradual passage downward, and as one got closer to the base of the mesa the landscape began to— “Good heavens, Twilight! What are you doing all alone over here?” Okay, maybe this wasn’t going to work out. Twilight turned to see both Princess Rarity and Rainbow Dash approaching, a disappointed frown on the former’s face. “You know as well as I do that Pinkie Pie put a lot of effort into this affair,” Rarity continued. “It’s not right of you to be all the way over here. Come to the courtyard and join the festivities!” “Or at least come and have cake,” Rainbow Dash added. A few seconds went by without a response. Rainbow Dash noticed that Twilight was staring directly at her, with an expression on her face that could only be described as disbelief. “Twilight?” Rainbow said, bopping the alicorn on the nose. Twilight blinked and shook her head. “Uh, sorry, I wasn’t paying attention. What were you saying?” Rarity sighed dramatically. “Must you always live entirely inside that head of yours? I said—” “Rainbow Dash, what is that ridiculous getup you’re wearing?” Twilight interrupted, speaking what was really on her mind. “Oh, this?” Rainbow said, looking down at the wildly pink and green frilly monstrosity that almost threatened to bury the pegasus in layers of cloth and lace. “It’s one of Rarity’s new designs. Like it?” “One of… Rarity’s…?” Twilight stammered. She glanced at the unicorn and saw her gritting her teeth and her face rapidly reddening with rage. “Ridiculous getup? Ridiculous getup?” Rarity’s nostrils flared and her eyes darted back and forth between the two mares in front of her. “You have no idea what you’re talking about! You have no idea!” she wailed, starting to pace back and forth. “You wouldn’t know passion or fashion sense if it hit you over the head with a sewing machine!” Twilight and Rainbow Dash just stared, unsure of how to respond. After a few tense seconds, the unicorn turned away and stomped off toward the Crystal Palace courtyard. “It’s what’s in style!” she screeched to nobody in particular. Rainbow Dash looked back down at her outfit, then looked to Twilight. “So, no good?” “Wow, such a big crowd! I’m so glad everybody could make it. You guys ready to start this party?” Pinkie Pie yelled into a microphone, brushing her wavy hair away from her face. The crowd responded with silence. One brave pony eventually spoke up with, “We’ve been partying for over an hour. What do you mean ‘start’ the party?” Pinkie giggled. “No, silly! This was just the pre-party. We haven’t even started on the real one!” Groans of exasperation could be heard throughout the crowd. “Yuperoonies!” Pinkie continued obliviously. “The real party isn’t even happening here! First, we’ve all got to go on a treacherous quest of courage and bravery to reach our real destination! Test your skills, defy your fears, and embrace your destiny!” The crowd was silent. “Where are we going?” a pony eventually asked. “There’s no way of knowing where we’ll be going!” Pinkie responded with glee, striking a pose of triumph. Again, the crowd was silent. This time, nobody broke it. Seeing the sea of blank faces before her, Pinkie deflated a little bit. “I hear there’s a really cool waterfall down in Dream Valley. It’s super big, and the edge is so straight that the water looks like glass. I wanna go see it! And there’s a meadow around it so we can have a late-night party! Who wants to go? Who’s with me?” Ponies looked to each other questioningly at first, but as some ponies started to nod in agreement, others joined in. Twilight found herself being one of them. Soon enough, a quiet cheer of assent echoed throughout the courtyard. “I knew I could count on you guys!” Pinkie cheered. “Let’s head on out to Dream Valley!”