Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land. To do this, the eldest used her unicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn; the younger brought out the moon to begin the night. Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects, all the different types of ponies. But as time went on, the younger sister became resentful. The ponies relished and played in the day her elder sister brought forth, but shunned and slept through her beautiful night. One fateful day, the younger unicorn refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn. The elder sister tried to reason with her, but the bitterness in the young one's heart had transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness: Nightmare Moon.
She vowed that she would shroud the land in eternal night. Reluctantly, the elder sister harnessed the most powerful magic known to ponydom: the Elements of Harmony. Using the magic of the Elements of Harmony, she defeated her younger sister, and banished her permanently in the moon. The elder sister took on responsibility...
"...for both sun and moon. And harmony has been maintained in Equestria for generations since." Twilight Sparkle looked up from her book, pondering to herself from the shade of her tree. "Hmm...Elements of Harmony. I know I've heard of those before... but where?"
The curiosity would not leave her mind, yet the book she held yielded no further answers within its text. This called for one thing, research! Stuffing her current book into her saddlebag, she made a beeline for her private study at the top of the astrology wing's eastern tower.
The quickest path there however, had others walking along it.
"There you are, Twilight!"
Twilight was stopped before three other unicorns, each with a present on top of their back. A spunky light blue with a two-tone mane that looked a little like something you'd squeeze out of a toothpaste tube, a lemon chiffon with a blue fluffy, curly mane, and a snow white with a matching pink one.
The white one in the center spoke up. "Moondancer is having a little get-together in the west castle courtyard. You wanna come?"
The trio leaned forward towards her in expectation.
"Oh, sorry, girls..." Twilight fumbled for an excuse, and settled on an oldie but goodie. "I've got a lot of studying to catch up on."
As she zipped off past them into the distance, the white one sighed. "Does that pony do anything except study? I think she's more interested in books than friends."
"Hey, cheer up, Twinkleshine," the blue one said. "She might change her mind later. Let's set a place for her just in case!"
"That is so like you Minuette," the yellow one replied. "Always smiling, whatever the case."
"Well gee, Lemon Hearts. We wouldn't exactly be good friends if we just gave up on her, now would we?"
"I know I've heard of the Elements of Harmony..." Twilight muttered to herself, not even noticing the sea green unicorn she passed wave to her.
She ran up the circular stairway surrounding her tower study, and with a forceful push she slammed the door open...right in front of a little purple drake walking towards it from the other side.
"Ow!"
"Spike! Spi-ike! Spike?" Twilight looked around and found him sprawled out over the floor. "There you are."
Before Spike could even comment back, she trotted right past him up to the second floor and started scanning the bookshelves. "Quick, find me that old copy of Predictions and Prophecies."
As she looked back to him, she noticed a smushed box with a ribbon tied to it sticking on his tail. "What's that for?" she asked.
Spike then noticed it too, and grimaced at the fact it was ruined. "Well, it was a gift for Moondancer, but..." He didn't need to explain the rest as the broken stuffed bear that fell out of the bottom was self evident on its own.
Twilight just shook her head in annoyance. "Oh Spike, you know we don't have time for that sort of thing."
"But we're on break!" Spike protested.
His argument fell on deaf ears as Twilight levitated book after book off her shelves. "No, no, no...no, no, no!" She called to her assistant to signal her frustration. "Spike!"
"It's over here!" Spike waved the tome from his perch on the ladder. Before he could even get down however, he found himself and the book yanked to the ground forcibly by Twilight's telekinetic grip.
Twilight quickly set the book on her table and flipped through the pages. "Elements, Elements, E, E, E... Aha! Elements of Harmony, see: Mare in the Moon?"
"Mare in the Moon? But that's just an old ponies' tale-" Spike started.
"Mare, mare... aha! The Mare in the Moon, myth from olden pony times. A powerful pony who wanted to rule Equestria, defeated by the Elements of Harmony and imprisoned in the moon. Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about nighttime eternal!"
Twilight gasped as she pulled away from the book. "Spike! Do you know what this means?"
"No...whoa!" Spike lost his balance climbing back up the ladder to put the books away. Fortunately, he landed softly on Twilight's back, who had a parchment and quill ready for him.
"Take a note please, to the Princess."
"Okie dokie."
"My dearest teacher, my continuing studies of pony magic have led me to discover that we are on the precipice of disaster!"
"Hold on. Preci...preci..."
"Threshold."
"Threh..."
"Uh, brink?"
"..."
"Ugh, that something really bad is about to happen! For you see, the mythical Mare in the Moon is in fact Nightmare Moon, and she's about to return to Equestria, and bring with her eternal night! Something must be done to make sure this terrible prophecy does not come true. I await your quick response. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle."
"Twilight Sparkle. Got it!"
With that, Spike rolled up the letter.
"Great! Send it."
"Now?"
"Of course!"
Spike rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, I dunno, Twilight, Princess Celestia's a little busy getting ready for the Summer Sun Celebration. And it's like, the day after tomorrow."
"That's just it, Spike." Twilight leaned close to him to emphasize the seriousness. "The day after tomorrow is the thousandth year of the Summer Sun Celebration! It's imperative that the Princess is told right away!"
"Impera...impera..."
"Important!"
As Twilight's shout sent Spike reeling back, she made a mental note to give him a thesaurus for his next birthday.
"Okay, okay!" With a deep breath, Spike sent the letter with blast of his flame. "There, it's on its way. But I wouldn't hold your breath..."
"Oh, I'm not worried, Spike. The Princess trusts me completely," Twilight said with a confident gait in her step. "In all the years she's been my mentor she's never once doubted me."
As if on cue, Spike suddenly belched out another scroll.
"See? I knew she would want to take immediate action."
Unfurling the scroll, Spike began to read aloud for Twilight. "My dearest, most faithful student Twilight. You know that I value your diligence and that I trust you completely."
"Mm-hm!" Twilight nodded.
"...but you simply must stop reading those dusty old books!"
Twilight's eyes snapped open as her jaw dropped. "What?!"
My Little Pony, My Little Pony
Ahh, ahh, ahh, ahhh…
(My Little Pony)
I used to wonder what friendship could be
(My Little Pony)
Until you all shared its magic with me
Celebrations!
Much to see!
A bright attitude,
Confident and free.
Making memories,
It's an easy feat
And magic makes it all complete!
You have my little ponies
Do you know you're all my very best friends?
Spike continued to read the letter as Twilight grumpily trudged down the path towards the chariots.
"My dear Twilight, there is more to a young pony's life than studying, so I'm sending you to supervise the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration in this year's location: Ponyville. And, I have an even more essential task for you to complete: make some friends!"
Twilight sighed deeply. How could her wise and trusting teacher not take this warning seriously? Was this some sort of test? Did she simply not believe the evidence provided? Twilight shook head in determination.
Well, no matter. I know I'm right at least. And if the Princess isn't going to do anything about it, I'll just have to find a way on my own. It shouldn't be a problem, after all I am-
"Twilight Sparkle!"
"Huh?" Twilight snapped out of her inner monologue as she suddenly took in her current surroundings. Looking around, she saw several colorful banners with balloons wrapped around them, along with a table covered in a spread of delectable goodies from the local patisserie.
She then saw the ponies who voices caught her attention. It was none other than the trio she bumped into earlier.
"See? I told you she'd change her mind!" Minuette said giddily. "Hey Moondancer, she's here! Twilight decided to come after all!"
A red and purple haired unicorn with glasses sat at the far end of the table looking glum. But her ears suddenly perked up at the mention of Twilight. Swiveling her head around, she got a good look at the new guest, and her mood immediately brightened.
"Twilight, you did come!" She rushed over as if she was about to hug her. The other three crowded around as well.
"Guess studying isn't the only thing on your mind after all," Twinkleshine said.
"It's so good that you showed up, Moondancer was really looking forward to having you of all ponies here," Lemon Hearts concurred.
"Hey, did you bring a gift?" Minuette asked.
"Well, we kinda broke it at the last minute..." Spike admitted.
"I'm sorry, I must've taken a wrong turn while in thought and-"
"That's okay, it's not really a birthday anyways, a present wasn't mandatory," Twinkleshine assured the two of them before Twilight could finish. "Besides, we can always help you get her something later once the party's over."
"Besides, this party's more about the fun," Minuette agreed. "Hey, you should try the cake first!"
"Moondancer says it's your favorite, white chocolate raspberry swirl!" Lemon Hearts finished.
"Thanks, but I really got to-"
"Hey, now that there's six of us here, we've got enough for quick three-on-three hoofball game!"
"Uh, the kicking one or the throwing one?"
"Both! Come on, let's set up the goal posts! And after that we can-"
"I CAN'T!"
The party's atmosphere reached a dead silence at Twilight's aggravated outburst.
"What- what do you mean you can't?" Moondancer finally asked worriedly.
Twilight sighed. "Look girls, there's something way more important going on, and I may be the only one capable of preventing a disaster of cataclysmic proportions! I've just learned that Nightmare Moo-"
Spike deftly held his claw up to Twilight's mouth, silencing her. "What she means to say is, Princess Celestia has just tasked her to supervise the preparations for tomorrow's Summer Sun Celebration in Ponyville, so she's gotta leave early, okay?"
The other mares looked to each other in a bit of puzzlement. Moondancer's ears then drooped. "Oh, I...see..."
Twilight looked from one disappointed face to the next in awkward silence. "Yes, well. Okay, so I guess I'll be going now...have a busy day ahead of me...with the...Summer Sun Celebration preparations..."
She had not taken two steps away from the party when Minuette perked her head up. "Heeeey, that's right! The Summer Sun Celebration is tomorrow isn't it?"
Lemon Hearts nodded. "That's the day ponies gather around to celebrate the longest day of the year, and even watch Princess Celestia raise the sun, right?"
"And the town hosting the event has this huge banquet, with music, decorations, and everything! That sounds like one heck of a shindig!" Twinkleshine exclaimed.
"Hey, crazy idea, Moondancer," Minuette turned to face her friend. "Let's move your party to Ponyville!"
Twilight stopped dead in her tracks. "What?!"
"Yeah! That's a great idea!" Twinkleshine agreed. "We can have fun, enjoy the feast and sunrise with everypony, and Twilight can still join us!"
Oh no no no no no no no! Twilight mentally panicked. Nightmare Moon is coming tomorrow. I've got to find a way to stop her! I don't have time to waste with these ponies!
"I think I remember Lyra saying she was going to Ponyville for the celebration today," Lemon Hearts mentioned. "She can have fun with us this way too!"
"Oh, boy! If we hurry, we can catch her at the train station, then we can all go together!" Minuette looked back at Moondancer. "Whaddya say, Moondancer? Wanna party over in Ponyville?"
Please say no! Please say no! Please say no!
Moondancer looked a little unsure. But after a moment of looking downward, she lifted her head and spoke. "Well, okay...I guess."
Nooooo!
Twilight immediately swerved around on all fours. "No, wait! Girls, you don't under-"
Minuette grabbed Twilight by her outstretched, protesting leg and pulled her along. "Yay! This is going to be a blast! Let's bounce! If I remember the train schedule correctly, next one leaves Canterlot in 15 minutes! We can make it if we run!"
"Wai-wait-aaaah!" Twilight soon found herself being carried away by the trio of enthusiastic ponies with Moondancer following close behind with Spike riding her back.
Well Twilight, Princess Celestia did tell you to make some friends. This is as good a start as any... he thought.