//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Recollection // Story: The Unbreakable Bonds of Friendship // by BlueAzura //------------------------------// Disclaimer: “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” and its derivatives are the sole intellectual property of Hasbro. I do not have, nor claim to have, the rights to the intellectual property that this story is based on. Twilight was trotting though the village, when she spotted a pony standing next to a store stand, filled with apples. As she got closer to the earth pony, she noticed the cutie mark on her flank, three red apples. Applejack Twilight’s third friend she ever had, a hard worker, and the most trustworthy pony in all of Ponyville. No surprise, when she happens to be one of the masters of the Elements of Harmony, the element of Honesty. “Hey, Applejack!” Said Twilight when she finally reached the orange pony. "Well howdy there, Twilight!"Applejack turned her head towards the purple unicorn. “Where were you this morning? You weren’t at the library.” “You were at the library?” Twilight asked, with one eyebrow raised. “You never come to the library to read books.” “I wasn’t looking for some dusty old book.” Applejack cried out. “I was looking for you sugarcube!” “You were?” The unicorn asked. “What do you need?” “Well… I was just wondering what ya’ll was doing this afternoon.” “Umm… nothing important, why do you ask?” “Well… Could you come meet me at the farm at around say… 5 o’clock?” “Why do you need me there at five?” Twilight asked with a surprised look on her face. “Is something going to happen?” “Well… nothing bad that’s for sure!” The earth pony said, suddenly looking as if she’s preoccupied with her apples. “I see…” Twilight slowly said, her eyes going slightly narrow. “You’re not hiding anything from me are you?” “Now you listen here Twi!” Applejack whipped her head back at Twilight. “Just make sure you make it alright?” Twilight was taken aback at the sudden change in her friend voice and just nodded her head. “Alright! Alright! I’ll be there at five.” Applejack’s face softens, when she saw how sad her friend’s expression had become at her sudden outburst. She leaned in closer, meeting the unicorn’s eyes. “I’m sorry I let my emotions get the best of me. But, don’t go worrying about the meeting ok? Everything is going to be fine.” She said giving Twilight her best sincere face. “It’s the honest truth” Twilight instantly relaxed upon hearing the last few words. She knew that she had nothing to worry about anymore because she trusts those words to heart. Memories started to resurface and she quickly recalled the night of Nightmare Moon’s return. Twilight was traveling in the Everfree Forest with the other five future Elements of Harmony users, when the path they were walking on suddenly collapsed. The two Pegasus that were there, quickly caught the two others, while she and Applejack continued to slide down the mountain. Applejack was quick to grab onto a protruding branch while Twilight slid all the way down to the edge of the cliff, hanging on for dear life. “Hold on I’m a coming!” Applejack quickly slid down the rest of the way and grabbed Twilight’s hooves. “Applejack! What do I do?” Twilight said, her hind legs kicking air beneath her. Applejack gave a quick look above Twilight’s head and glanced back down. “Let go.” “Are you crazy?!” Twilight cried out, staring at the earth pony in disbelief. “No I ain't. I promise you’ll be safe.” “That’s not true!” Twilight’s eyes began to shrink in terror. “Now listen here. What I’m saying to you is the honest truth. Let go and you’ll be safe.” Twilight, having read hundreds of books, knew that falling from such a distant will kill her. But when Applejack told her it’ll be safe, she didn’t know why, but she trusted those words so much that… She released her hold on Applejack’s hooves. Twilight let out a scream as she fell, but it was short lived, as she was caught by two pairs of hooves. “Twilight? You alright there partner?” Twilight’s thoughts were interrupted, when Applejack waved a hoof in front of her face. “Huh?” Twilight shook her head to bring herself back to reality. “Oh yes! I’m fine.” “As I was saying...” Applejack gave Twilight a questioning look. “I’m sorry about yelling at you.” “Oh! No! There’s no need to apologize.” Twilight let out a sigh. “It was wrong of me to question your motives, as I’m sure they mean no harm to anypony.” Twilight gave a wink. “So… 5 o’clock? Got it!” The earth pony expression changed into a lighter mood and said. “You bet! Also… here! Take one on the house!” She quickly handed Twilight a bright shiny apple. “Thanks! I was kind of hungry.” Twilight let out a smile. The pair quickly exchanged their farewells and Twilight set out back to her home. As Twilight was trotting down the road towards her house, she looked up into the glorious sky. Rainbow Dash did a really good job clearing the sky today. Rainbow Dash Twilight’s fourth friend she ever had, a great flyer, and very proud of herself, which can cause a lot of trouble every now and then. She is also extremely loyal to Twilight and her friends, which also explains why she is the master of the element of Loyalty. She gazed around and spotted a lone cloud, floating above a building. She smiled to herself. Well would you look at that! She actually missed… Her thought were cut short when a streak of rainbow flew past the cloud and before she knew it, the cloud was gone. Twilight shook her head and started to remember the very first time meeting Rainbow Dash. “The Wonderbolts?” Twilight said, with one eyebrow raised. “Yup!” The rainbow colored mane pony answered back. “The most talented flyers in all over Equestria?” “That’s them!” “Pff… Please, they never accept a Pegasus who can’t even keep the skies clear for one measly day!” Twilight said, as she turned her head away from the Pegasus. “Hey! I can clear the sky in ten seconds flat!” Rainbow Dash said, crossing her hooves across her chest. “Prove it.” The unicorn replied, turning her head back at the Pegasus. The Pegasus’s eyes went narrow at the challenge and took off like a rocket. She quickly flew from cloud to cloud, kicking and smashing apart each and every one. She continued to do so until there were only a few clouds left. “Loop-de-loop around and Wham!” She yelled out as she destroyed the remaining clouds, landing on the bridge. “What I say? Ten seconds flat! I never leave Ponyville hanging.” Twilight was speechless. She didn’t know what to think at the time. Was it the fact that Rainbow Dash was actually a supreme flyer? Or was it the fact that the Pegasus actually cleared the sky in only eight seconds and not ten. She didn’t have anything to say, so she stood rooted to the spot, with her mouth opened in shock. “Ha ha, you should see the look on your face! Ha, you’re a laugh Twilight Sparkle. I can’t wait to hang out some more!” Rainbow said. She did another loop-de-loop before flying away. Twilight’s thoughts were once more interrupted when she heard music. By now, she was at the center of town and she looked around to find out where the sounds were coming from. She quickly spotted what she expected to find, Sugercube Corner. As Twilight watched, one of the windows suddenly burst opened and a large number of balloons popped out. Right after the balloons, something else popped out of the front door, something pink. Pinkie Pie Twilight’s second friend she ever had, fun loving, and just loves to throw countless amounts of parties. She also finds different reasons to laugh, even in the most serious environments. This by the way, made Pinkie to be the master of the element of Laughter and everypony agrees to this, hooves down. “Hey, Twilight!” The bubble gun pink pony said, suddenly appearing in front of Twilight’s face. “Hello, Pinkie Pie.” Twilight said, taking a step back from the pink earth pony. “Having another party again I see?” “Oh absolutely! Twilight, you silly pony! I have to throw parties for every special occasion in Ponyville you know!” Pinkie Pie said as she hopped around the unicorn. “And what is this special occasion for today this time?” “Oh! It’s Bon Bon’s birthday of course silly! For being the smartest pony in Ponyville, you sure are forgetful.” The pink pony let out a laugh, stopping in front of Twilight. Twilight shook her head. How am I supposed to remember everypony’s birthday in this town! She looked back at the pony and gave a small smile. “I guess remembering the birthdays aren’t my specialty then.” “They sure aren’t, but I suppose… that means that I’m the specialty at remembering birthdays then!” Pinkie let loose a huge grin. “I have to be, since nopony seems to remember all of them when I ask!” “Well… I guess that’s true.” Twilight said, with an amused look on her face. “Well… I see you later then Twilight!” Pinkie said, hopping back to the cupcake store. “Wait!” Twilight called back, causing the pink pony to stop dead on her tracks. “I’m I not invited?” “Oh! Well… The party is just about over and I’m sorry to say this but, I think you missed it.” Pinkie Pie said, looking down to the ground. Twilight glanced over Pinkie Pie and saw that the party still looked like it was in full swing. “Are you sure?” “Oh! Yeah I’m sorry you missed out, but maybe next time I’ll come get you when there’s a another party, ok?” Twilight’s mind went into overdrive. What’s going on? Pinkie would never keep me away from a party, even if she tried! She continued on her train of thought. Is Pinkie saying that she doesn’t want me at her parties anymore? Twilight felt a sharp stab in her heart at the thought. No! She’ll never be that cruel to anypony! She’s the element of laughter for crying out loud! Twilight’s mind screeched to a halt when Pinkie called out. “Well… I’ll see you later then Mr. Forgetful!” Twilight watched as Pinkie opened the door to the store and entered, before trotting back in the direction of her home, her head held low. I must be imaging it! Yeah, that’s it! The party must be horrible right now and Pinkie is just sparing her the disappointment of such a bad party! Twilight was in such a deep state of thought that she didn’t notice that she was at her home. She let out a sigh. What are my friends hiding from me? Twilight Sparkle opened the door to the library in time to see a purple and green scaled baby dragon placing something inside a drawer and quickly slamming it shut. Spike Twilight’s very first friend she ever had. In fact, she created him with her magic during her entrance exam for “Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorn”. After the “incident”, Spike was always by her side, helping in any way he can. "Oh! Hey, Twilight! I didn't know you where coming back so soon." Spike, Twilight's number one assistant, said giving her a big smile, a little too big... "Hey, Spike!" Said Twilight with one of her eyebrows raised. "What are you hiding there?" "Oh! Uhh...hiding? I'm not hiding anything..." Spike slowly said. Small beads of sweat started to form on his brow. "Spiiiiike...!" Twilight said, giving her assistant an icy glare. "What’s in that drawer?" "Uhh... Nothing! Nothing at all!" Spike yelped, seeing that his boss was truly angry. "Just putting away some uhh... books!" "Uh, huh...!" Twilight said, continuing to watch her assistant. "You’re not lying to me now are you?" "NO!" Yelled Spike, clearly shaking from where he stood. "It's nothing important I swear!" Twilight continued to stare at her baby dragon assistant for about five more seconds before giving up. "Fine, I believe you." "Y...You do!?" Spike asked letting out a sigh of relief, his body slowly calming down. No I don’t. Twilight thought. Something is causing my friends to lie to me… She moved toward her desk, leaving her saddlebag and Spike behind. Using her magic, she summoned a large stack of books from the floor and lifted it onto her desk. She then took the top most books from the stack, leaving the rest on the table, and began reading. "I going to catch up on my studying that I've been putting off. So please don't disturb me unless it's important, ok?" She called over her shoulder not looking away from her book, hiding her tears. "You got it!" Spike replied, running away from the lavender unicorn as he spoke. "I'll just go clean up the rest of the library!" The unicorn smiled to herself at the thought of just how hard Spike has worked for her over the years. But, those thoughts were gone and now replaced with a single thought. I’m going to get to the bottom of this, even if it kills me! If you wish to know the progress for the rest of the chapters, go to my profile and read the blogs I place there. I will be updating it periodically to keep you updated on future events.