(Chapter 7)
A few hours later, Princess Twilight Sparkle stepped out of her castle. She tried her best to mask her still anxious mind and sleep deprived body, but like all masks it didn’t hide everything. Dark bags rested under her eyes and her normally royal posture was slumped as she let out a brief yawn while travelling the roads. When she saw a particular landmark in town or greeted a familiar pony, she gave a brief involuntary look of dread, like seeing them or places in town reminded her of something dreadful. For most it was so fleeting that it was barely noticeable, although some could mistake it for a nervous tick. Those who were keen enough to see past the mask the Princess was trying to put on would ask if the Princess was ok to which Twilight gave a reassured “I’m fine” or “never been better” with a grin.
It was all a lie though as despite her oath not to use magic this was only a temporary situation to an ongoing problem. The lavender Alicorn wondered if she was making the right decision, abandoning what essentially was her talent and not seeking the aid of the Princesses whose knowledge was more precious than gold. There wasn’t even a certainty that abandoning magic was the answer to saving Ponyville from destruction. But Twilight started down this path and she was not ready to abandon it yet.
Her act was almost exposed when a familiar colt appeared in the streets. He was the same one from the dream who died in agony before the Princess. But now he was here, alive and well, but the question lingered in her mind: how long? As a Princess each pony’s life was important, and she did not wish to see this pony who was just beginning his life have it snuffed out.
“Excuse me,” the colt said with a soft wary voice that reminded her a little of Fluttershy, “You are Princess Twilight Sparkle, right?”
“Um…yes, yes I am,” she said as the memories resurfaced.
“My mommy and daddy told me all about you when we were moving here. They said that Ponyville is safer and happier since you are here. That’s what you do as a Princess, right, keep us safe?”
As much as she wished to flee from the colt and the memories he awakened, she did not want to be rude, especially to somepony who just moved to town.
“Well… that is one of the things as a Princess that I do,” she said lowering herself to the level of the colt.
“C..can you do something for me?” the colt asked.
“Um…sure.”
“Can you give me a hug? I’ve never been hugged by a Princess before.”
Twilight’s body tensed as the colt uttered his request, recalling that moment that was as clear as the night she had the dream where she hugged the dying pony in her hooves. The poor colt, not even old enough to have his cutie mark, dying in her horrid nightmare!
“Yes,” Twilight finally said reluctantly hugging the colt lightly. To her surprise the little pony returned the favor by hugging her.
“Thanks Princess Twilight!” he said after being released from her embrace, “You’re the best Princess! Oh, by the way, my name is Morning Dew.”
"It's nice to meet you then, Morning Dew," Twilight replied as the colt now having a name to his face made the sting of the prophetic dream even more painful.
He then galloped away, disappearing in the crowd, but he heard him exclaim, “Mom, dad, guess what? I met Princess Twilight!”
At last she arrived at Sugarcube Corner, a normally cheery place inspiring whimsy and putting a smile on anypony’s face. Today though Twilight could only see it in flames and one of her best friends dying right before her eyes. It was as if her body was glued to the ground, unable to move from the spot as she stared blankly at the place.
“Hi there!” a happy voice was heard next to her, “Whatcha looking at?”
“Oh,hi Pinkie. Guess my mind was somewhere else.”
“That’s ok, sometimes my mind wanders and then I have to go find myself before myself gets back before I do” she said with a giggle, “So, have you thought about it?”
“About what?”
“Coming in silly! All the girls are here, ready for the final plans for Summer Solstice Celebration! So come on in!”
As Pinkie Pie bounced her way in, Twilight realized that the event was only two days away! Granted her friends had already done much to prepare, but her nightmares kept her from even thinking about leading this celebration. There was something missing from Twilight’s mind, some task she needed to do at the celebration, but what? She went through her mental checklist as she stepped into the sweet shop.
Give a speech to welcome Princess Celestia? She already had it written up and would practice it the day before.
Lead the procession through town with the Princess? The route was already planned out as was the band and accompanying honor guards.
Accommodations for Celestia? The castle had plenty of guest rooms for royalty.
Something still was missing, something very important that she needed to do. She hoped it would come soon as no loose end needed to be seen especially big ones.
“Hello girls,” she said to her friends gathered, “I wasn’t late, was I?”
“Not at all dear,” Rarity said, “In fact we were just mentioning that everything is moving along quite well if I do say so myself. Fluttershy mentioned her bird choir has the songs almost perfect.”
“Oh yes, I have a very nice group this year,” Fluttershy said.
“And Ah’m almost done with preparin’ the food for the event,” Applejack said, “You should smell the inside of my house! Delicious!”
“I checked with the weather team, and it’s going to be nothing but sunny skies for the weekend,” Rainbow Dash replied, “no rain cloud is going to dampen this event!”
“And I just finished the decorations and will be starting to hang them throughout the town,” Rarity said.
“And the night long party is going to be amazing!” Pinkie said bouncing in the air.
“What about you?” Fluttershy said, “Are you ready for your part?”
“Well, everything seems to be in place thanks to you girls, so I guess all that’s left is welcoming the Princess.”
“But what about that other thing you need to do?” Applejack said.
“Other thing?” Twilight asked more to herself as she searched for what was lost in her mind.
“Oh come on! Don’t tell me Miss Prepared here forgot about the thing that she’s been telling us all about!”
“Girls, I’m well aware of what needs to be done but planning an event like this is difficult despite being well organized,” Twilight said more frustrated in herself than them, “so forgive me if I don’t recall right now what it is…”
“…You’re going to raise the sun with Princess Celestia!” Rarity said excitedly, “I must say it’s quite an honor.”
“I…what?”
“The sun,” Pinkie Pie said, “You know, that big fiery ball in the sky that tells us to awake up and start the day?”
“I know what the sun is Pinkie. It’s just… I don’t remember electing to raise it.”
“You talked about it for at least a week! But hey, this should be a piece of cake for you,” Dash said pointing to her cutie mark, “I mean that’s your talent, right?”
“Ah’ just think Twilight has some jitters about the whole thing,” Applejack said, “Why Ah get that sometimes when Ah have to compete in a rodeo! But yer the most magical pony Ah know, aside from the other Princesses, that is. Ah have no doubt you’ll do fine!”
“Yeah fine,” Twilight said as her body sagged as if by the weight of her task.
“Twilight, I must say you look a bit, disheveled,” Rarity said, “Like you could use a trip to the spa.”
“Or a good night’s sleep,” Fluttershy added.
“Having a long night studying?” Dash said, “Typical Twilight!”
“I’m fine, really,” Twilight said, “don’t worry, I’ll think of something with raising the sun.”
“Okie dokie lokie!’ Pinkie Pie replied, “Now enough talk about the event. Let’s get some lunch!”
As the group exited the shop while talking amongst themselves, a wave of fear gripped Twilight. What if in trying to raise the sun at night something terrible happened and the town burned? Was this what the prophetic nightmares foretold? How could she tell Princess Celestia that she didn’t want to risk hurting ponies by doing her magic? Her plan which was once as strong as stone quickly began to crumble at her new promised task.