//------------------------------//
// Preparations 
// Story: Project Re-Do 
// by akajulester 
//------------------------------//

"Spike, take a letter, please.

"Princess- During my research today, it has come to my attention that the mythical Mare in the Moon is, in fact, Nightmare Moon. I have read that she was banished by you, using the Elements of Harmony, before she could shroud the whole world in eternal darkness. I have also read that on the longest day of the 1000th year of her banishment to the moon, she would return to Equestria. Coincidentally, this is the same day as the Summer Sun Celebration, the day after tomorrow. Something must be done to make sure that she does not try to do this again. I await your response. Yours, Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight stood facing the floor-to-ceiling window of her tower, looking angrily at the tower of the royal castle which she knew to be Celestia's personal bedchambers. She heard distantly behind her the last few scratchings of Spike's quill.

"When should I send it?"

"Right now."

"Are you sure?" Spike asked uncertainly. "I dunno if we should be bother the Princess with an old pony's tale..."

Twilight whipped around. "Never forget, Spike, all legends are born from actual events. Who knows? This 'old pony's tale' could have been softened from actual history! For all we know, Nightmare Moon could have done much worse than just try to bring eternal ni-" Spike had cut her off by putting a claw to her mouth.

"Okay, okay!" Spike inhaled deeply, and breathed out his magical flame, sending the message to Princess Celestia. "There. It's on its way. But I wouldn't hold your breath."

Twilight rolled her eyes. "I'm not worried, Spike. I'm certain that Celestia trusts me completely, and would never hide important information from me, ever." Spike raised an eyebrow at her sarcasm on that phrase, but was soon cut off by Spike burping out the Princess' response. "See? I told you."

Spike picked up the scroll, unfurled it, and cleared his throat. "My dearest, most faithful student, Twilight. You know that I value your diligence, and that I trust you completely. But you simply MUST stop reading those dusty old books!" Twilight let out a gasp at that.

"Oh, no she did NOT!"

"Umm... pardon?"

Twilight angrily stamped her hoof. "I cannot BELIEVE that she would just blow me off like that!"

"Twilight?"

"Yes, Spike," Twilight said through gritted teeth.

"There's more to the letter."

Twilight sighed. "Continue."

"I believe that it would do you good to get out of Canterlot for the weekend, especially because of the Summer Sun Celebration. Forgive me, but I cannot write much, since I have important business to attend to today. Please pack a suitcase for a weekend away. I promise that I will send more information in the morning. Yours truly, Princess Celestia."

Twilight let out a loud, aggravated groan. "This is just like her, acting all cryptic," she muttered to herself.

"What was that, Twi?"

"Nothing! I'm going to go pack."







"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 groaned, not at the message, but who had written it. Celestia had always been cryptic, and after knowing her for over a century, she could always tell when the Princess was playing chess master. However, Spike obviously did not translate the groan that way.

"Look on the bright side, Twilight! The princess arranged for you to stay in a library. Doesn't that make you happy?"

Twilight sighed, but smiled gently. "Yes, I suppose it does. And you know what? I'm still right! I'll check on the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration, and then I'll see what I can do about Nightmare Moon's return."

"Then, when will you make friends like the Princess said?"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "I'll obviously do THAT along the way. After all, the Princess told me to do so. Honestly, though, how in Equestria am I supposed to make friends in the span of a day?"

The pegasi pulling the chariot finally landed in Ponyville, allowing Twilight and Spike to hop off. She grabbed her bag and turned to the guards.

"Thank you, sirs." Twilight waved them off, and they kicked off, flying back to Canterlot.

"Maybe the ponies in Ponyville are easy to make friends with," said Spike, motioning towards a certain pink Earth Pony walking bouncily towards them. She was soon standing in front of them, smiling happily. "Come on, Twilight, just try!"

Twilight looked at the pony in front of her, and smiled as well. I'll never forget what happened when I first saw Pinkie Pie... "Hello, my na-"

Pinkie let out a humongous gasp, and began to dash off. Twilight panicked, and hastily grabbed Pinkie with her magic.

"WAIT!"

Pinkie immediately stopped struggling, allowing Twilight to gently place her back onto the ground. She studied Twilight carefully, a neutral mask on her face, making her somewhat nervous. Oohhhhhh, I hope she doesn't notice anything! She cleared her throat.

"Sorry about that, it's just that I wanted to introduce myself to somepony from this town. Y'know, to get a basic understanding of this town."

"Why didn't ya say that in the first place?!" asked Pinkie with mock incredulousness, soon regaining her happy-go-lucky attitude. " Welcome to Ponyville! I'm Pinkie Pie! What's your name? Where're you from?" 

"My name's Twilight Sparkle, this is Spike, and we just got in from Canterlot. I'm here to oversee the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration."

Pinkie smiled even wider. "Oo, that's cool! It's so exciting to be having the festival in Ponyville this year! I almost EXPLODED when the mayor told me!!"

Twilight chuckled lightly. "I take it you like parties?"

Pinkie's face became serious. "Twilight, I LIVE for parties." She stared intently at Twilight, before breaking down into a case of the giggles that Twi was happy to join in. "So yeah, I'm the Official Party Thrower in Ponyville!" She paused for a few seconds, before smiling sheepishly. "To be honest, there wasn't much competition."

Out of nowhere, Pinkie gasped quite loudly, debatably louder than the first one. "I ALMOST FORGOT WHY I GASPED THE FIRST TIME!!!!!!!!! You see, I've never seen you before, and if I'veneverseenyoubeforethatmeansyourenew! BecauseIknoweverypony, and I mean EVERYPONY, in Ponyville! Andifyourenewitmeansyouhaventmetanyponyyetandifyouhaventmetanyponyyoumustnothaveanyfriends! Andifyoudonthaveanyfriendsthenyoumustbelonelyandthatmade me so sad. So THAT'S why I went HHHWWWUUUUUAAHHHHH I MUST throw a great big ginormous super-duper spectacular welcome party and invite everyone in Ponyville! See? And then you'll have lots and lots of friends!"

Twilight and Spike stood in shock at just how much Pinkie could say on just one lungful of air. Twilight was the first to recover.

"Thank you very much, Pinkie. You really don't have to go through all that trouble just for me."

"Oh but I DO, Twilight!" Pinkie gave her a pitying smile, as if Twilight was a filly failing to understand something. "Just tell me where you'll be staying, and I'll take care of the rest!"

"Well, I'll be staying at th-"

"NO NO NONONONO NNOOOOOOOOO nevermind! I'll just do it by myself. ThatwayitwillbeasurpriseandILOVE SURPRISES! Gotta run!" Pinkie dashed off back to wherever she had wanted to go originally, leaving Twilight and Spike coughing in the cloud of dust. Once the dust had cleared away, Spike turned to Twilight.

"Hey Twi?"

"Yes Spike?"

"Maybe making friends will be easier than we thought."

Twilight giggled, and then laughed heartily at that statement. She calmed herself down, and said, "I don't doubt you there, Number 1 Assistant."

Spike gawked at her. "N-numb-number 1 Assistant?"

"Of course, Spike! You've helped me for a long time, almost five years now!"

"Thank you Twilight."

"Anything for you, Spike," Twilight said, pulling him into a hug. He froze for a second, before awkwardly accepting the hug.

"Oh! We need to get back to the preparations!" Spike pulled out a map of Ponyville that Princess Celestia had given them, and they soon found the road to their first destination. He then pulled out a checklist that she had also sent to them.

"Summer Sun Celebration Official Overseer's Checklist," Spike read. "Number One: Banquet Preparations: Sweet Apple Acres!"

"YEEEEEHAW!"

Twilight's and Spike's attentions were drawn to their right, where another certain Earth Pony, this one orange, was running towards an apple tree that had multiple buckets under it. She did an about-face, and bucked it with tremendous force. All the apple fell into the baskets neatly, and the orange mare proudly smiled, placing her right forehoof over the other.

Applejack... I am not looking forward to this hoofshake! Twilight walked over to her, smiling graciously. "Good afternoon! I'm Twilight Sparkle, and I'm-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Applejack grabbed her hoof and began to shake it vigorously. "Well, howdy do, Miss Twilight! A PLEASURE making yer acquaintance! Ah'm Applejack. We here at Sweet Apple Acres sure do like making new friends!"

"Fr-r-r-r-r-r-rien-n-nd-d-d-dssssss?" Twilight stammered out. "It-t-t-t-t-t'ss n-n-n-nice t-t-to m-meet-t-t-t y-y-y-you."

AJ suddenly let go of her hoof, and stood back. "So, whut can Ah do ya for?" She tried not to giggle as Twilight tried to stop her hoof from shaking.

Twilight cleared her throat. "Well, I'm here to check up on the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. I take it you're in charge of the food?"

"We sure as sugar are! Would ya care tah sample some?"

"Of course," said Twilight.

Applejack galloped over to a large triangle with a metal stick. She clanged it loudly against the triangle, exclaiming, "SOUP'S ON, EVERYPONY!!!" There was a sudden stampede of ponies, which somehow carried Twilight and Spike to a table underneath some trees. Applejack suddenly appeared next to them. "Now, why don't Ah introduce ya'll to the Apple Family?"

Twilight smiled. "Thank you, but there seem to be a lot of ponies here-"

"This here's Apple Fritter, Apple Bumpkin, Red Gala, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Caramel Apple, Apple Strudel, Apple Tart, Baked Apple-" The rest of the names became a blur to Twilight, who could barely keep track of the many ponies and ever-growing pile of apple-related treats. AJ gasped very loudly, inhaling as much as she could. "BIG MCINTOSH, APPLEBLOOM, AAAAANNNNNDDDDDDD-" she shoved a Granny Smith apple into Twilight's mouth- "Granny Smith." An old mare sitting in a rocking chair was snoring peacefully. "Up an' attum, Granny Smith! We got guests." Granny awoke with a start, mumbling incoherently, but slowly walked over to Applejack.

Twilight, who still had the entire apple in her mouth, attempted to smile, but found it rather difficult due to the large amount of apple in her mouth. She really did not want to spit it out, since that would be rude, but saw that there would be no other option when AJ started to speak again.

"Why, Ah'd say that yer already a part of the family!" AJ gently put her hoof on Twilight's back, accidentally pushing on the latter's neck. Twilight was forced to spit out the apple, but surprisingly, nopony reacted.

Twilight smiled apologetically. "Well, I see that the food situation is under control, but I'm afraid that Spike and I must continue with the preparations."

"Aren't ya gonna stay fer brunch?" Twilight saw little Apple Bloom with the most adorable pouty face, and nearly broke down at the cuteness.

"Are you sure I can stay?" Twilight asked Applejack uncertainly, knowing all too well what the response would be.

"Of course ya can," AJ said happily. "This here's just a sampler of whut's gonna be at the banquet!"

Twilight giggled, and was soon chatting and eating happily with the Apple Family. She tried to ignore the questioning glances that Spike kept shooting her, and instead tried her best not to overeat this time.

Once the brunch was all over, Twilight said her goodbyes with AJ, waving back to her as she and Spike left the farm. As they left, Spike pulled out the checklist again.

"Food's all taken care of, so next is weather."

Twilight trailed a bit slower behind him. "Mmmmm that pie was delicious! I kept having to stop myself from eating more."

Spike laughed, before frowning. "Hmmm... There's supposed to be a pegasus pony named Rainbow Dash clearing the clouds..."

Twilight looked up at the sky, which still had yet to be cleared. Okay, If I remember correctly, Rainbow will come from the left right... about... NOW! She quickly jumped back just in time as a rainbow blur shot right past her. She suddenly remembered the large puddle to her right, and winced sympathetically as Rainbow crashed into it.

Rainbow shook her head vigorously, examined her mud-covered body, then looked up at Twilight.

"'Sup?"

"Oh my gosh," said Twilight worriedly. "Are you alright??"

Rainbow shook out the mud, causing Twilight to erect a small shield in front of her and Spike to protect them from getting dirty. Rainbow nonchalantly began to preen her wings. "Nah, I'm fine. I've had worse."

Think Twilight; the first time you met her, you were way too rude to her. This is a brand new start. "Would you happen to be Rainbow Dash?"

Rainbow abandoned her wings, and instead hoofed her mane to the other side of her neck with grace that Twi had never expected to see from the rainbow pegasus she had met. "Heh. Guess that my reputation precedes me, eh?"

Twilight smirked. Yes, yes! I suppose it won't hurt too much to stroke her ego, right? "I guess you could say that I've heard about an amazing flier in Ponyville. However, that's not the reason why I came here. You're in charge of the weather here in Ponyville, correct?"

"Yeah,I guess I am," said Rainbow with a bit less enthusiasm. "I don't really care for the paperwork, but since I'm the fastest pegasus in Equestria, it's easier to clear the clouds."

"Um, I don't mean to seem rude, but shouldn't you have cleared the sky by now?"

Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I have to, but I had to get in extra practicing today, since I'll be too tired tomorrow, what with staying up all night."

Ah yes, now I remember. Applejack got particularly annoyed when she found out. Said something about Rainbow not having any responsibility. "Practicing? For w- Oh, are you interested in joining the Wonderbolts?"

Rainbow's attention was securely hooked this time. "Of course I want to join the Wonderbolts! Do you like them too? I would ask if you wanted to join, but-" she pointed at Twilight's back- "no wings."

Oh, don't be so sure of that, Rainbow Dash! " Well, Rainbow Dash, I heard that the Wonderbolts really admire ponies with skill, determination, and reliability. They'd probably be really impressed if you cleared the sky in just 10 seconds."

Rainbow snorted. "I like the way you think, Twilight Sparkle. I think that you and I will get along awesomely. But not as awesome as THIS!" Rainbow kicked off of the ground, and began to clear the sky with amazing speeds. Twilight and Spike sat back and watched, the latter staring with an impressed look on his face. Rainbow reclined in the air. "See? 10 seconds flat.

"I guess that crosses the weather off from our checklist," said Twilight wryly.

Rainbow giggled at that. "Great sense of humor, Twilight. I can't wait to hang out more!" She did a loop in the air, and sped off farther into town.

"Wooowww! She's AMAZING!"

Twilight giggled as Spike went on and on as they trotted towards the Town Center, which was a short distance away. Oh Spike, if you thought THAT was amazing, just wait until we meet Rarity! She then frowned softly to herself. Of course, there is your crush on her... No, I'll think about that later. Right now, I'm meeting Rarity again, and this time, with much less messy mane!

Twilight entered into the large building, smiling nostalgically as she recalled all of the events she would partake in and around this building. As of now, all of the banners had been put up and hung from the ceiling. There was also large flower arrangement above the balcony where Princess Celestia would greet Ponyville, with large bolts of fabric stretching from balcony to balcony. However, the most stunning part of it was the white unicorn with the stylish purple mane checking out the decor of the interior. She had her back to the two, smaller ribbons floating around her as she inspected each one.

"Decorations... beeautifulll!"

"Yes," Twilight said, "this all looks amazing!"

"Not the decor," said Spike, shaking his head. "Her!"

Rarity turned around, still inspecting the small ribbons. "No, no... no- OH, GOODNESS no!"

Spike was lovestruck, and examined himself. "How are my spines? Are they straight??"

Twilight giggled. "They look lovely, Spike." She walked up to Rarity, who had turned her back on them once more. "Good afternoon-"

"Just a moment please! I'm 'in the zone,' as it were." Rarity finally found the perfect ribbon, a sparkling red one. "Oh, yes! Sparkle always does the trick, does it not? Why, Rarity, you are a talent. Now, um, how can I help you, Miss...?" She turned to Twilight, her gentle smile never fading.

"Oh! I'm Twilight Sparkle, and this is my assistant, Spike." Upon hearing his name, Spike snapped out of his lovestruck stupor, and made an attempt to introduce himself. Rarity giggled softly at his actions, causing him to blush further. "You're Rarity, right? In charge of decorations?"

Rarity stretched out her mane luxuriously. "The one and only! Why do you ask?"

Twilight giggled. "I'm here to oversee the preparations for the festival tonight, and I must say, the decorations look beautiful."

"Oh, thank you, Miss Sparkle! I've never seen a dragon before, though! Where do you two come from?"

Twilight cringed inwardly. Oh, feathers, I am not looking forward to where this conversation is heading... "Spike and I are from Canterlot-"

"CANTERLOT?!?! Oh, I am SO jealous! The glamour, the sophistication! I have always dreamed of living there! I can't wait to hear all about it! We are gonna be the best of friends, you and I..." Rarity began to daydream, leaving Twilight somewhat amused at her reaction.

"Are you sure about that?" Twilight said sardonically. "I've lived there all my life, and trust me when I say that it's not that great."

Rarity froze, but waved a hoof dismissively. "Of course every town has its undesirable parts, but we're talking about CANTERLOT! The beating heart of our nation, the crowning jewel of Equestria! Canterlot is the capital, darling, and anypony who's anypony lives there!" Rarity suddenly started. "Oh, but where HAVE my manners gone?! I have a pot of tea backstage. Would you care to join me in a cup or two?"

"I'd love to, Rarity," said Twilight graciously. The three of them chatted pleasantly about the festival and Canterlot, Twilight trying to help Rarity lower her expectations for the city, but failing in the end. After a few cups had emptied, Twilight and Spike said their goodbyes to Rarity, and headed on their way to see how the music was going.

"Wasn't she wonderful?" Spike asked dreamily.

Twilight chuckled. "Focus, Casanova. We have to check up on the music, now." As the two continued along the path, the distant sound of birdsong became louder. They soon came upon a small clearing with a thin tree in the center. Many birds were sitting on the thin branches, chirping beautifully. A yellow pegasus with pink hair was leading them, her back to them.

Fluttershy... The first time I met her, I scared her too much. I never would have been able to properly meet her if it hadn't been for Spike! I have to be more careful this time. No sneaking up on her! Twilight slowly and quietly made her way towards Fluttershy, Spike not following for whatever reason. I wonder why? Maybe he didn't want to bother her?

A bluejay suddenly stopped singing in sync with the other birds, causing Fluttershy to fly up to him.

"Oh my. Um, stop please, everyone, umm." Flutters quieted the other birds, and then turned back to the blue jay. "Excuse me, sir? I mean, no offense, but your rhythm is just a teeny-tiny bit off." The jay nodded, and Flutters flew gracefully back to the front of the tree. By this point, Twilight had gotten quite close to her, but remained quiet for the time being. "Now, follow me, please. A-one, a-two, a-one two three-" A few birds suddenly chirped, causing Fluttershy to stop in confusion. "Huh? Somepony behind me?" She turned around, and let out a tiny, frightened yelp.

"I'm sorry," said Twilight. "I'm just here to check up on the music for the celebration tonight. It sounds wonderful!" Fluttershy merely blushed, and turned her face away. "My name is Twilight Sparkle. You're Fluttershy, right?" Flutters did not respond, and retreated into her mane. Twilight's smile wavered, but she gasped lightly. "Oh, I almost forgot!" She grabbed Spike out from behind the bush, and placed him down beside her. "This is Spike, my assistant!"

The transformation was immediate. "A BABY DRAGON!" Fluttershy darted over to Spike, almost knocking Twilight over in her rush. "Oh, I've never seen a baby dragon before. He's sooooo cute!"

Spike turned to Twilight smugly. "Well, well well!"

"Oh my, he talks! I didn't know dragons could talk. That's just so incredibly wonderful I, I just don't even know what to say!"

Twilight rolled her eyes as Fluttershy continued to dote on Spike, as he continued to shoot her smug looks. Whatever, Spike. I never really did like ponies doting all over me much, anyways. Besides, if it was Rarity doing this, you would be putty in her hooves! Spike then asked the question that Twilight was dreading.

"Well, what do you want to know?"

"Absolutely everything!"

Twilight let out a small groan at this expected response, but smiled maternally, knowing that Spike would have fun.

"Well, I started out as a cute little purple and green egg-"

"Wrong, Spike," interrupted Twilight with a smirk. "I hatched you from a purple egg. No green to be found at all." She giggled as Spike shot her an annoyed look. Fluttershy just looked at her with astonishment.

"You hatched a dragon egg?! I didn't know that was possible either!"

"It certainly wasn't heard of before," Twilight said, "but it's not like it didn't take effort. I had a random magic spurt, and it gave me just enough power to crack the egg open."

"Wow," said Fluttershy admiringly.

Spike grunted. "Can I keep talking now, Twilight?"

"Whatever His Majesty asks," said Twilight with a giggle, placing him on her back. As the three set out for Golden Oaks Library, Spike made sure that there was absolutely no silent moments whatsoever.







"...and that's the story of my whole entire life! Well, up until today. Do you wanna hear about today?"

"Oh, yes please!"

Oh, feathers please no! Wait, there's the library! Thank C- NO NO THANKING HER. Thank Luna we're finally here! "I'm sorry," said Twilight a bit forcefully, "but the time seems to have flown by so fast! This-" she gestured at the large tree "-is where Spike an I are staying while we're in Ponyville."

'Aw, c'mon Twilight," pleaded Spike.

Twilight shook her head. "Sorry, Spike." She turned to Fluttershy. "Do you wanna come in? The sun's setting, and it's starting to get dark."

Fluttershy smiled. "Oh, thank you, Twilight. I'd love to!" Twilight held open the door, and entered after the timid pegasus. "Oh my," was Flutters' first sentence when entering.

"Why is it so dark in here," muttered Twilight, playing ignorant. "I'll try to find a light switch."

"SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!"

The lights suddenly flicked on, revealing an innumerable amount of ponies in the library. Their extremely loud shout startled all three, Fluttershy especially.