//------------------------------// // Summer Sun Celebration - Applejack // Story: Nightmare Moon's Tiny Adversary // by CommanderX5 //------------------------------// Nightmare Moon's Tiny Adversary - Chapter 1 Part 1 The two pegasus guards gave another synchronized flap of their wings, the sunshine gleaming off of their golden armor as they towed an official chariot carrying two important VIP’s towards Ponyville. One of the so-called VIP’s was none other than Princess Celestia’s little student, Twilight Sparkle, who was perched comfortably on the head of her personal unicorn guard, Overwatch. Spike sat patiently next to them, admiring the view. Overwatch felt her little charge fidgeting nervously on her head and raised an eyebrow as she tried to look up at her. “Hey Twilight, if you keep moving up there and slip, I won’t be saving you if you fall over the side,” she teased, only to feel a little hoof strike the back of her head. “Hey, no need to get so angry. I know that you can levitate yourself, but if you fall off, you’re going to delay us, and you hate being late, don’t you?” Twilight let out a groan, closing her eyes and focusing on the warm breeze blowing through her fur in an attempt to calm her stress, so familiar to the pleasant memories she had of flying on Spitfire and Soarin’. Overwatch waited patiently for her little charge to relax before she asked, “Now then, since you’re no longer panicking, tell me: what’s eating you?” Twilight remained silent, and Overwatch frowned up at her. “Nervous about visiting someplace new? Or maybe you’re afraid that ponies will laugh at your tiny size and you’ll fail to accomplish your mentor’s tasks?” she asked with concern. Spike raised his eyebrows in admiration. “Wow, your intuition never ceases to amaze me. You’re pretty much spot on there,” he said, bringing the attention of the two mares onto him. “Twilight almost had a panic attack as she searched for books to help her organize the Summer Sun Celebration.” Twilight shook her head. “That’s not why I’m worried. Well, that isn’t the only problem I’m worried about, at least.” Overwatch blinked in surprise as she levitated Twilight off her head and in front of her face. “Then what in Tartarus are you so agitated about?” Twilight frowned and turned away, crossing her forelegs stubbornly. Overwatch raised an amused eyebrow at her charge before shaking her lightly in her levitation field. After Twilight’s eyes stopped rolling around, she was met by Overwatch's piercing glare, and she finally hung her head in submission. “Fine, fine. If you must know, I’m still worried over that tale about Nightmare Moon. I know that the princess thinks it’s just fiction, but what if it’s true? What if we are all in grave danger?” Spike rolled his eyes. “Still worried about that? C’mon, Twilight, give it a rest.” Twilight wanted to reply, but she was cut off by the enthusiastic voice of Steel Blade. “We’re here, Twilight! Prepare yourself for landing.” Steel Blade and the other pegasus guard landed softly and with professional precision. Overwatch hefted her saddlebags over her armor and joined Spike as they stepped onto the dirt road with Twilight scanning the area from her guard’s head. Her eyes passed over rows of warmly colored houses, well-decorated and certainly a sight to look at, though they appeared far smaller and less sturdy than the stone goliaths of Canterlot. Overwatch moved in front of Steel Blade, looking at him with a smug grin as Twilight waved her little hoof at both guards. “Thank you, sirs.” Both guards held their heads up proudly, and Steel Blade was finally able to free himself from the chariot so the other pegasus could return it to Canterlot. Twilight took a long look at the huge city on the face of the mountain. Even after travelling so far, she could still see the giant city she had lived in for so many years, standing proudly in the distance on its solid perch. “Enjoying the view?” Steel Blade asked cheerfully, breaking Twilight's trance. In a moment, the little mare shook herself from her reverie, reminding herself of the tasks at hoof as she jumped to the ground from Overwatch’s head and turned towards her personal guards. “Okay everypony... and Spike," she said, gesturing for him to join in. "We have a lot to do and very little time to do it.” “Don’t worry, Twilight, we have your back. I don’t think anypony would dare laugh at you with two guards at your side,” Steel Blade said with a determined stomp as Overwatch brought a hoof to her face with a groan. “I... think I’ll go with Spike and oversee the preparations ourselves,” Twilight said hesitantly, moving next to the baby dragon before turning back to her guards. “I have a special mission for both of you.” Steel Blade frowned and had briefly opened his mouth to protest, though he stopped himself and simply nodded. “We are at your command, Miss Sparkle.” Twilight reared up on her hind legs, scanning the town before pointing her hoof towards a distant tree. “I want you and Overwatch to go to our temporary base of operations in the Ponyville Library,” she said, in a serious, commanding voice. “From what Silver Scroll told me, it’s located at the giant tree at the center of town. Once there, I need you two to search it for any books about Nightmare Moon or the Elements of Harmony until my return.” “You do realize,” Overwatch started, raising an eyebrow, “that as your personal guards, we shouldn’t be leaving your side for even a second, right?” Steel Blade simply nodded in agreement. “Yeah, because I am so going to be attacked or foal-napped in this peaceful little town," Twilight said, rolling her eyes. "Come on guys, I need your help. I won’t be able to focus on my duty if I’m also trying to search for evidence to convince Princess Celestia that Nightmare Moon is indeed returning to bring about eternal night.” Overwatch and Steel Blade exchanged a look, conflicted frowns on their faces. Twilight walked closer, looking up into the eyes of the two towering guards. She reared up onto her hind-legs and tried giving them the cutest pleading face she could, her eyes wide and her lips curled into a little pout. “Pleeeeeease?” Steel Blade bit his lip, doing his best to resist the puppy dog eyes of his little charge, but eventually let out a sigh, lowering his head in defeat. “Alright, alright, I’ll go,” he said, to which Overwatch rolled her eyes. “Just, please, try to stay out of trouble.” “Don’t I always?” Twilight replied with a cheerful smile. Steel Blade and Overwatch exchanged a skeptical look, knowing full well that this tiny unicorn was a magnet for trouble. Steel Blade walked away, though Overwatch stayed for a brief moment, lowered her head to Spike’s ear. “If she hurts herself again, I’m holding you responsible,” she whispered, shooting Spike an intimidating look that he answered with a quick gulp and nod. Overwatch nodded in response before trotting to catch up to Steel Blade, humming a happy, aimless tune. They were about halfway to the library before the pegasus turned to his partner nonchalantly, saying, “You’re going to follow her, aren’t you?” “Oh Steelie, you know me too well. Get her research done while I’m gone. I’ll be back before she returns, and you can give me the quick rundown once I arrive,” she said, removing a small, circular make-up mirror from behind her scarf with her magic and angling it to look behind her. “She’s looking the other way. You good, Steelie?” “Besides the fact that I would prefer to keep an eye on her myself? Yes, I’m good.” Overwatch gave him a coy smile. “Oh silly, you know you can’t even take two steps before she finds you. Don’t you worry your pretty head about Twiny. I’ll make sure you can keep your crush on her. Ta taaa!” Steel Blade snorted, rolling his eyes. “I told you already. I don’t have a crush on—” He stopped, suddenly realizing his fellow guard was no longer beside him. He let out a sigh. “Where does she learn this stuff?” Spike looked down at Twilight curiously. “So what’s the first thing we need to take care of?” Twilight took a quick glance at the retreating figures of her two guards before levitating a tiny, but very long, checklist from her miniaturized saddlebags. “First on the list: banquet preparation. We will need to visit an apple farm called ‘Sweet Apple Acres’ and talk with a pony named Applejack.” Spike scratched his head in confusion. “Any idea where Sweet Apple Acres is?” he asked hesitantly. “The map of Ponyville was in Overwatch’s saddlebag, and you kinda...” Twilight facehoofed at her first critical mistake. And I haven’t even started yet. She sighed, looking around until she noticed a pink pony trotting happily towards them, a huge grin on her face. “Maybe we can ask for directions. Come on, Spike!” Twilight shouted with renewed vigor as she galloped forward, Spike right behind her. “Excuse me!” Twilight yelled. The pony in front of her opened her eyes but didn’t slow down. “Excuse me!” Twilight yelled again, the pink pony now dangerously close. With a reflex she had developed over the years of trying not to get stepped on, Twilight jumped backwards several times, following a familiar pattern to avoid ending up on the wrong end of a giant pink hoof. Left, right, left, right, left, right... The pink earth pony stopped when she noticed the purple dragon in her path. She was about to open her mouth to speak, but another yell caught her attention. “Down here!” The mare looked down at the source of the sound, coming face to face with a tiny, purple unicorn standing beside the dragon. “Hello, my name is—” The pink pony suddenly jumped up into the air, her eyes bulging as she let out a loud gasp. Before Twilight could try to salvage the situation, the mare had already dashed off like a bullet, quickly disappearing around a corner. “Well, that was... weird,” Spike said slowly. Twilight jumped up onto the top of Spike’s head, leaning forward to look into his eyes from her perch as she balanced herself onto his nose with her forelegs. “Seems pretty normal to me,” she replied. The young dragon gave her a questioning look. “What do you mean ‘normal’? That pony wasn’t anywhere close to acting normal. She just screamed and ran,” he said. “Spike, if you were an earth pony who lived in a peaceful little town built by earth ponies and, while on a perfectly happy stroll through town, happened to meet a very young dragon and a unicorn the size of a rat, wouldn’t you freak out and run too?” He frowned in response, scratching his chin contemplatively. “I suppose you’ve got a point there, Twilight. I just hope the other folks here will be more understanding,” he said, when his head was suddenly jolted, causing Twilight to lose her balance and fall to the ground. The little mare dropped next to a rolled-up piece of paper, which somepony had thrown at Spike’s head. He picked it up and unrolled it, revealing that it was a map of Ponyville with a small note scrawled on the back. You forgot your map, Mr. Number-One-Assistant. ~Overwatch Spike frowned. “Seems we won’t need to ask for directions after all.” Spike and Twilight quickly located the farm and began their walk over there, looking around nervously at the confused and curious stares they were getting from the town’s residents. Twilight sighed and murmured to herself, "This is going to be a looong day.” “So this is ‘Sweet Apple Acres.’ Not bad,” Spike said as he passed under the small arch that served as the entrance to the farm, the thin frame decorated thickly with vines and apples. Twilight looked around in wonder as she jogged alongside her assistant, her mouth open in awe as she took in the expansive sight before her. What for Spike was a ‘not bad’ farm, for Twilight, it was absolutely enormous. The fence itself was six times taller than her, and every single tree was like a tower, hundreds or thousands of which spanned entire hills out to the horizon, full of beautiful, ripe apples. The barn in front of her stood like a fortress, painted a vibrant red with fresh flowers in each window. “Woooow...” she murmured under her breath. “Yeeeehaaaaaw!” Twilight and Spike quickly turned in the direction of the accented voice to find an orange mare with a big stetson hat at full gallop towards a tree with several baskets positioned under it. Twilight looked at her closely, observing her every move, when the big mare smoothly pivoted on her forelegs, her hind-legs extending in a powerful kick that set the tree shaking loose the heavy apples from their stems and dropping them into the baskets waiting below. So this is earth pony magic in action. I wish I could be that strong. I’ll never be able to reach that level, no matter how much I train. Oh well, at least I can always rely on my magic if I can’t do it myself. Now that I think about it, maybe I could start studying earth pony magic once the whole Nightmare Moon situation is taken care of. The earth pony stood proudly over the baskets, filled to the brim, satisfied with the work she had done. “Good afternoon!” Twilight shouted politely, her voice loud and strong, strengthened after years of making sure other ponies could adequately hear her. *** Applejack looked around for the source of the call, quickly noticing a purple and green creature walking towards her from the entrance of the farm. She advanced towards it, assuming he was the one who called her, only to stop when lavender shape jumped up in front of her face. Applejack looked down in surprise at the tiny pony she had almost stepped on. “Hello! My name is Twilight Sparkle,” the unicorn said, giving the farm mare a polite bow. Applejack’s mouth opened a little as she stared down at the tiny mare curiously, who looked back up at her with a wide smile. “Nice to meet you,” Twilight continued, lifting her tiny hoof in greeting. Applejack’s confused expression turned into one of annoyance. With one swift sweep of her foreleg, she batted the tiny unicorn a few meters away before she began to scan the area, letting out a snort of exasperation. “Show yerself, ya darn featherbrain! If ya think Ah’m so stupid as t’ fall fer a prank like this, y’all got another thing comin’!” Applejack yelled as the unicorn she kicked recovered from the blow, standing back up onto her hooves, a bit dusty from the fall. “Which one o’ y’all is it? Rainbow Dash? Ya multicolored snake in th’ grass! Come out from where yer hidin’ so Ah can buck some sense inta ya! Or is it Pinkie Pie? Consarnit, if this is s’posed ta be a puppet show, save it for later! Ah’m mighty busy with preparin’ fer th’ celebration, an’ Ah don’t have time fer yer shenanigans!” the orange mare continued, still looking around for the prankster as she walked over to another tree to continue her work. *** “Well, that didn’t go as expected,” Twilight said, wincing as she massaged the point where she was kicked, experiencing firsthoof the strength earth ponies possessed. “Are you all right, Twilight?” Spike asked as he ducked to take a closer look at her. Twilight simply gave him a nod as she began to pat herself off, and he breathed out a sigh of relief. Spike knew that Twilight had shrugged off harder hits than that, but seeing somepony swat her away with such contempt made his blood boil in anger. He straightened up, advancing towards the orange mare angrily as smoke fumed from his nostrils. “I think somepony needs to be taught a lesson in respect.” Twilight quickly pulled the drake back with her magic. “No, Spike. I cannot let you start a fight here, and earth ponies are very strong. Just because you have scales doesn’t mean she can’t hurt you,” she said, glaring disapprovingly at the young dragon she held immobile in her levitation grasp. “But Twilight, she hurt you!” Twilight shook her head. “I’m sure it was just a misunderstanding. Now wait here and I’ll go talk to her again,” she said as she jogged towards the giant farm pony. She heard Spike following her, but after giving him another disapproving glare, he stopped, watching her with unconcealed worry. Twilight quickly closed the distance between her and the farm mare, the earth pony turning to meet her, grumbling angrily all the way. “I am deeply sorry if I offended you in any way, but assaulting me was very impolite,” she began, only to be cut off when she was forced to jump to the side by a giant hoof that attempted to crush her. “If y’all don’t quit horsin’ around, Ah’m jus’ gonna tear up yer puppet!” the orange mare yelled, looking around with narrowed eyes. “Ah warned ya!” she called out, before turning around and raising her hind-legs for a buck. Twilight’s eyes widened, and she quickly rolled to her left into the dirt as a pair of bone-crushing hooves passed by her, one or two inches away. “Alright, if y’all think ya can keep playin’ around like a bunch of frolickin’ foals, Ah’m gonna use this here puppet t’ practice my applebuckin’!” the farm mare said with a smug smirk as she once again aimed her two legs, ready to attack. Twilight reflexively flinched, throwing up a quick magenta-colored barrier before the two hooves could kick. “What in the blue blazes?” the earth pony said as she noticed a purple bubble forming around her target and the additional, differently-colored magical aura restraining her hooves, but she was too late to stop her one-two combo before her hoof, though feeling as if she was kicking through water, made a sharp impact with the barrier and shattered it into pieces. The unicorn yelped in pain, bringing her hooves up to massage the massive ache in her horn from having her barrier almost instantly destroyed. She had barely time to think, however, when she was slammed with the second kick, flinging her into a nearby apple tree. Her back arched in pain from the impact, and she fell heavily to the ground, nursing new pains from her stomach and broken muzzle. Twilight only laid there for a moment before she was up again, spitting out a bit of dirt and blood as she made an effort to stand on her trembling legs. She raised her head and focused on the farm mare, glaring at her with an angered and determined expression on her face, even as blood streamed from her nose. “That’s it. Diplomacy’s over.” *** “What in tarnation was that?” the farm mare cursed as she recoiled from her bucks, having kicked something far harder than any tree she had ever bucked. She turned to look back, noticing the small pile of magenta shards scattered where her target was, dissipating into thin air like… Applejack’s eyes widened. “Unicorn magic? That means…oh, horseapples!” She immediately ran towards the tiny unicorn she had kicked mercilessly just a moment ago, a look of concern on her face as she regarded the tiny form at the base of a tree. “Y’alright, sugarcube? Ah’m so sorry ‘bout—Whoa nelly!” Applejack was suddenly lifted from the ground in a magical aura, looking around in surprise as she levitated higher and higher before she was tossed at high speed into one of her trees, leaving cracks in the trunk from the hard impact. The farm mare landed on her four hooves, shaking off the impact as the tiny unicorn trotted towards her, enraged. Her eyes widened once again in surprise as she was lifted by the levitation field, this time pinning her against the tree behind her as the tiny, beaten, unicorn gave her an angry glare, her horn lit and her nose streaming drops of blood. “You could have seriously injured me with that kick if I didn’t have my shield up!” Twilight shouted, the aura around her horn pulsing wildly as it shot out tiny sparks like fireworks. “Since I came here, you have been nothing but hostile towards me! I demand to know why, and I demand an apology! Now!" She punctuated her shout with a stomp, which, though it would have echoed impressively in the stone corridors of the castle, only rustled the grass a bit here. Applejack attempted to stammer out a response to the irate unicorn holding her, struggling against the telekinetic aura holding her against the tree. Neither of them saw the nearly unnoticeable bolt of magic flash in from outside their vision, cleanly striking Twilight’s horn and causing the tiny unicorn to reel back as her magic was suddenly interrupted, her concentration lost. “Twilight!” Spike screamed as he started to run towards them. *** Twilight shook her bleary head as she tried to regain her balance, a thin wisp of smoke trailing around the sparks dancing on her horn. She wasn’t sure exactly what broke her concentration just then, but clearly, the farm mare was no pushover. The barrier she had erected to protect herself from the kick had immediately shattered, and the farm mare hadn’t even tried to put her full strength into it then. Twilight let out a sigh of defeat. All those years she spend training her control over her outstanding raw power, all those years spent conquering challenges and pushing herself to her very limits, all those years spent striving through the pain and sweat, even with her body empowered by the protection spell given to her by her mentor, all of these were unable to compensate for the limitations of her size. She lifted her head slightly to glare at the earth pony towering over her, preparing herself for the inevitable retaliation as she tried to get rid of the massive headache she had gotten from having her barrier and telekinesis so abruptly interrupted. The blow never came. The farm mare lowered herself to the ground, looking at Twilight guiltily. “Ah’m awful sorry. Thought ya were some sorta… toy ‘er somthin’ for a prank. Ah didn’t mean ta...” Her voice trailed off as she rubbed at her neck nervously, not quite making eye contact with Twilight. “Ah… Ah’m mighty sorry fer all the hurt Ah just did t’ ya. Ah’ll do anythin’ t’ make it up ta ya. Ah promise.” Twilight let out a sigh of relief as she got back to her hooves, still trying to shake off the last vestiges of her headache. “Apology accepted. No harm done,” she said, patting herself down before looking up at the mare, putting on a friendly grin. “So, my name is Twilight Sparkle. What’s yours?” The earth pony stared at Twilight speechlessly for a few seconds before giving her an awkward smile. “Well shoot. Ah almost bucked you inta jam, an’ there ya are, bein’ all forgivin’ an’ such,” she said, before raising a hoof to gesture at the tiny unicorn’s bloody nose. “Errr.. Ya got a little somthin’ there.” Twilight paused to wipe off her muzzle with a foreleg before looking back up at the farm mare. “Don’t worry about that. It’s really not a big deal,” she said quickly, before adding, “I’ve been through worse.” The apple farmer sat down, raising an eyebrow in wonder. “Well, Ah have no idea what kinda mumbo jumbo made ya so teensy, but you’re tougher than a petrified root. Color me impressed. Ah’m Applejack,” she said, extending a hoof towards Twilight. “Pleasure t’ make yer acquaintance.” Twilight gave the farm mare a simple hoof bump, still a bit weary from her recent experience. “Nice to meet you, Applejack. I’m here to supervise preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration, and I hear that you and your family are in charge of the food?” “You’d be correct, sugarcube!” Applejack said with renewed enthusiasm, immediately perking back up. “Would’ya care to sample some? S’least Ah can do after what jus’ happened.” She looked expectantly at Twilight, whose stomach took the opportunity to growl loudly at the mention of food. Twilight let out a hesitant chuckle at the sound. In her desperate search for the town’s local customs in the Royal Library, she had completely forgotten to eat. “Well, I suppose I could stick around for just a bite—” “Sounds good then!” Applejack interrupted, a wide smile on her face as she produced a large triangle from somewhere. “Soup’s on, everypony!” Twilight shook stars from her head as she recovered, only to realize that she had now been placed on a table, Spike sitting behind her on a haystack with hundreds of excited earth ponies surrounding her. She couldn’t tell exactly what happened; it all became a blur after the massive herd that was the Apple family stampeded over the hills towards Applejack and her. She had quickly teleported to Applejack’s back to avoid the hooves, and then she was taken by the rush and, just moments later, ended up in the center of attention. Applejack popped up beside her, startling Twilight with her sudden appearance. “Now, why don’t Ah introduce ya t’ the Apple family.” Twilight took one look at Applejack before turning to the horde of earth ponies before her. With an awkward smile, she waved at them. “H-hello! N-nice to... meet you!” she said hesitantly, but at a volume loud enough for everypony to hear. Twilight reflexively jumped to the left as a green pony with a leaf-like mane appeared before her. “This here’s Apple Fritter,” Applejack said as the pony in question deposited a plate of food before her. “Apple Bumpkin,” Applejack said again as Twilight jumped to her right this time, her reflexes once again telling her to avoid anything that looks like it could flatten her. “Red Gala...” Twilight quickly ducked down as something the shape of a cupcake with a piece of apple on the top almost landed on her head. “Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Caramel Apple, Apple Strudel, Apple Tart, Bakin’ Apples, Apple Brioche, Apple Cinnamon Crisp...” Applejack said, quickly moving through the list as Twilight desperately tried to avoid the shower of food raining down. At least, until one of the plates finally managed to land on her, followed by another avalanche of food before she could react. Applejack had finally been forced to take a breath by the time Twilight managed to dig herself out from under the mountain of plates and food, her head emerging just in time to look at the next few ponies on Applejacks’ introduction list. “Big Macintosh...” Twilight’s eyes went wide as Applejack pointed to a giant red earth pony, who, outside of Princess Celestia, was probably bigger even than anypony she’d ever met, including her brother, Shining Armor, and her alicorn foalsitter, Cadence. “Apple Bloom…” Applejack said, gesturing to a young filly who, to Twilight’s surprise, was carrying an extraordinarily large apple cake on her small back. “Aaaaaaand...” the farm mare said, popping a ripe green apple right into Twilight’s hooves, “Granny Smith. Up an’ at ‘em, Granny Smith! We got guests!” The old mare was startled awake, shaking her head to clear it before looking around blearily. Twilight watched patiently as Granny Smith slowly got up from her rocking chair and approached the table, murmuring something under her breath. The moment the old mare was close enough, her eyes opened a bit wider, looking at Twilight’s tiny body with confusion. “Err… it’s an honor to meet you,” Twilight said, placing the apple in her hooves to the side in order to make a respectful bow to the elderly pony. Applejack smiled warmly at the rare display of respect towards Granny Smith, lightly placing a hoof on the tiny unicorn mare. “Why Twilight, Ah'd say yer already part of tha' family.” Twilight wasn’t sure what weighed more on her: the orange pony’s giant hoof now pressing on her back, or the fact that she was being called part of a family of ponies she had never seen in her life. Twilight wasn’t new to making friends—her brother, foalsitter, mentor, and the few other friends she had made were like a big family to her—but back then she had many months to get to know them. Strong bonds formed after weeks of socializing, yet here, a rather substantial group of ponies was calling her ‘family’ despite the fact that she had only just met them six seconds ago, not to mention the fact nopony was freaking out over her size. Twilight chuckled nervously, an embarrassed grin on her face. “Okaaaay... well, it’s very nice of you to say that, Applejack, but we’ve really only just met. I’ll be sure to talk to you later, but it seems that the food situation has been handled,” she said hesitantly as she slid from under Applejack’s welcoming hoof as politely as possible, which hit the table the moment she wasn’t holding it up with her back. “Sooo, I think we’ll be on our way,” Twilight said, before the young yellow filly leaned up over the side of the table, her front hooves landing on it with a jostle of silverware as she looked at Twilight with puppy-dog eyes, an expression that Twilight easily recognised since she’d used it very often before. “Aren’t ya gonna stay fer brunch?” Twilight gave her a weak grin. “Sorry, we have an awful lot we have to do...” she said, managing to hold her composure against the cute, pleading stare of doom, but the rumble in her stomach and the massive disappointed “Awww...” from the rest of the family quickly forced her to say otherwise, not to mention the quiet, singular, "please?” that also came from the filly. “Well, I guess since you asked so nicely...” Twilight replied, before she let out a wince, her ears quickly pressing against her head as the Apples let out a loud cheer. She slowly turned towards the mountain of food before she saw a slight issue with her statement. Turning back around, Twilight let out a nervous laugh as she smiled awkwardly at everypony. “W-would it be okay if I only sample a tiny bit of each? I mean, I’m a bit small to eat too much… you all understand, right?” It seemed as if everypony only now realized that their guest was, in fact, very, very small, murmuring quietly to each other as they came down from their excited high. Twilight was unexpectedly swept up by a pair of not-so-gigantic hooves, finding herself looking into the eyes of Apple Bloom. “So, why’re ya so small?” That small question unleashed a massive flood of inquiries from the rest of the ponies, and Twilight was forced to use her hooves to block out her sensitive ears from the unpleasantly loud commotion around her. “Quiet, quiet, everypony!” Applejack shouted, silencing the crowd in a mere moment. “Apple Bloom, would ya be so kind as t’ put our guest back on th' table?” The yellow filly looked at her big sister with an awkward grin as she slowly put Twilight back on the table. In the quiet that followed, Applejack turned to the tiny unicorn, a hesitant grin on her face. “Now, Ah think th’ that’s a very good question. Why are ya barely bigger than a sugarcube... sugarcube?” Twilight gave the farm mare an awkward smile before she answered, “Well... bit of a long story, actually...” “Ah cannot believe wha’ Ah’m hearin’! So yer the student o’ th' princess? And she had t’ do that to ya?” Applejack said as the rest of Apple family began murmuring to one another. Twilight was about to say something, but she was picked up by the old hooves of Granny Smith. “Oh that thousand year ol’ goddess, strange t’ hear her flyin’ roun’ an’ shrinkin’ good fellow ponies like you. It was differen’ back when Ah was a young’in... Ah might just go up t’ th’ princess so Ah kin talk some sense inta her old head,” the old mare said as Twilight slid from her grasp and hopped back onto the table, turning back to Granny Smith with an embarrassed grin. “Well, what the princess did was perfectly acceptable, considering my foalish control over my magic then. It was for the good of everypony, and I have nothing against being small. To be honest, I much prefer being this size now.” Applejack smiled in admiration. “Well, Ah must say, yer the hardest workin’ unicorn Ah ever seen. No wonder ya shrugged off that beatin’ Ah gave—” Applejack swiftly put her hoof over her mouth before she could finish her statement, but it was too late. Granny Smith, Big Mac, Apple Bloom, and the other Apples closest to her were now looking at her suspiciously, and Applejack simply gave them an awkward smile. “Applejack, ya did what to our guest?” Granny Smith asked sternly, a serious expression on her face. Apple Bloom took a closer look at the little unicorn, only now noticing the smudge of blood on Twilight’s muzzle and the large bruise under her fur. Twilight shied away from Apple Bloom, clearing her throat. “Oh no, it’s not as bad as it looks. Really, I’m fine,” she said hastily. Everypony immediately turned back to Applejack, Twilight’s words acting only as confirmation of what had happened. “Sis,” Big Mac said slowly, “don’t tell me ya bucked her.” Applejack gulped. “Y-yep.” “Did ya want t’ hurt her on purpose?” Apple Bloom asked with a curious voice. Applejack immediately straightened up, indignant at the implications of assault from her family. “Course not,” she said adamantly. “Wait, hold up. I’m confused now,” Apple Bloom said, furrowing her brow. “How exactly did Twilight get hurt then?” The farm mare deflated slightly, chuckling hesitantly as she rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof. “Yeah, ‘bout that…” “We‘re awfully sorry fer Applejack’s shameful behaviour,” Granny Smith said, before she gave Applejack an accusatory glare. “Ah thought Ah taught ya better than that.” Applejack tried to stammer out a reply, but Twilight beat her to it. “Please, don’t blame Applejack for what happened. It’s just a misunderstanding, and no real harm was done. See, I can have it fixed whenever I want!” Twilight said as she lit her horn and cast a healing spell on herself. Waves of magenta magic swirled from her horn to wrap around her injured areas, restoring them to perfect condition. “Wow, how’d ya do that?” Apple Bloom asked. Outside of the simple levitation spell that every unicorn in Ponyville knew, she had rarely seen such magic, and it was her first time seeing this particular spell. “It was an advanced healing spell,” Twilight explained. “When I was younger, I was getting hurt so often that I had to learn the entire medical branch of magic for the sake of my own health.” Spike coughed, finally deciding to say something after such a long silence. “No kidding. Twilight is like a magnet for trouble. While every other pony is doing their best not to hurt themselves, she tries her best to get hurt whenever she can.” Twilight shot Spike a deadpan glare. “Haha, Spike, very funny.” “Who said I was joking?” Applejack let out a chuckle as she watched the interaction between the two. “Ah’ll make it up t’ you someday,” she said, smiling. “Ah promise, an’ don’t take that lightly. Ah won’t ever go back on m’ word.” “Wait, is she gonna be leavin’ now that she’s done tastin’?” Apple Bloom said, her eyes wide as she turned from her sister to Twilight. “Can’t ya stay a little while longer and play with us?” Before the tiny unicorn could politely refuse her, the young yellow filly’s pleading look was joined by a multitude of similar looks from the other fillies and colts, each trained intently on Twilight. Twilight took a step back from the sudden stare attack. Play now? But my royal duty... the princess is counting on me, and I need to help my guards find information about Nightmare Moon’s return, she thought, a fake smile on her face. Her eye twitched. She lifted her hoof, opening her mouth as she kept looking back at the young ponies before her, but her words of refusal failed to come out. Suddenly, one certain colt captured her attention. Green Apple, is that really you? I didn’t expect you would participate in family reunion after what happened in FIllydelphia. You want to play with me as well? She sighed. To be honest, I was never really given the opportunity to play with fillies and colts my age since the day I was shrunk, save for White Path, perhaps, but that was a completely accidental encounter. It’s still early, isn’t it? I might have a bit of time— Twilight shook her head, looking back at the fillies and colts determinedly, her tiny hoof stomping against the table. No! My duty and safety of Equestria takes priority over this. “I’m really sorry, but…” Twilight’s mouth closed on its own as the young ponies added sad pouts to their expressions, her determination crumbling under their heart-rending influence. Oooon the other hoof, maybe a minute or two won’t hurt, she thought, unable to break eye contact despite her best efforts. I’ll entertain them for a bit and be on my way. Yes, that’s the plan. The tiny unicorn put on a cheerful smile and blinked towards Green Apple before approaching the farm filly. In one quick motion, she moved her hoof to touch Apple Bloom’s muzzle. “You’re it!” Twilight jumped from the table and ran away, the other fillies following suit as they left Apple Bloom to realize what had just happened. Applejack smiled warmly as she watched the fillies and the tiny unicorn playing with one another. “She sure is a hard workin’ pony. Maybe even as much as me.” Big Mac raised a questioning eyebrow at Applejack, who simply returned an amused look as she continued. “Ah’ve been workin’ hard for ma’ entire life, and Ah’d say it’s fairly easy fer me t’ recognise a hard workin’ pony if Ah see one. That little unicorn’s been workin’ very hard to overcome her size,” Applejack said, letting out an amused snort as she turned to leave. “C’mon, Big Mac, Summer Sun Celebration’s only a few hours away, an’ we got a heap o’ work to git done. Leave ‘em to their fun. Ah’m sure Miss Twilight can keep an eye on the youngins fer us while we’re busy.” Big Mac looked back stoically at the tiny unicorn desperately trying to avoid the grasp of Apple Bloom, pausing for a moment before he turned to follow Applejack back to work. “Eeyup.”