//------------------------------// // After-Oopsie // Story: Harmony was Mistaken // by Daaberlicious //------------------------------// And now for something completely different from the musings of a magic spirit inside a glowing tree. Specifically, what exactly has become of Ponyville now that the seeming permanence of "eternal night" has come to light? Well, with Twilight and company having just come back from their misadventure, things were going somewhat horribly wrong as usual. While there was no rioting or deliberate destruction of property (as was almost universally the case during any Ponyville disaster), there was stampeding, shrieking and yelling, accidental destruction of property and all in all not very organized chaos. Some poor young mare had even managed to get herself stuck in a windsock of all things (The big surprise being that it was not a pegasus with a blond mane and tail, grey coat and bubble cutie mark, but a unicorn with a striped white and light green mane and tail, green fur and a lyre cutie mark), but that was only one facet of the current chaos- Of which the Mane six were very shocked to walk into town and witness. "What in the name of Equestria is going on here?!" Twilight demanded to nopony in particular. The fur on her back had sprung up a little as fight-or-flight instinct laid in wait, ready to respond at a moment's notice. Applejack heaved a sigh, ears drooping in the same annoyance that expressed itself in her half lidded eyes. "Well, if ah were ta guess, probably Roseluck, Daisy and Lilly had somethin' ta do with it." Almost as if in confirmation, some mare shrieked shrilly from across town- "THE HOROOOOOOOR!!!!!" It seemed to echo as the chaos kicked back into gear once more. "Which one was that, then?" Twilight asked nervously. "Rose," all five other ponies responded in unison. Twilight giggled (nervously, of course), looking to the other five for some sort of cue or call to action. Save for Fluttershy who was looking very concerned for the well being of Ponyville's citizenry, the others only observed the chaos with detached interest and un-amused glassy stares. Rainbow Dash yawned. Didn't even make a big show of it. Twilight tried to bring up the chaos once more. "Uh... Shouldn't we... I dunno... Do something about this? I mean-" A loud thunderous crash was heard somewhere in the direction of the town hall- "They're breaking things." Rarity walked up to Twilight and put a hoof on her back. "Just give it a minute, Darling. They will get it out of their system eventually." Twilight was a mare of action, but she also knew very little about Ponyville, and did not want to cause undue harm by taking action when she should not. So she stayed with her friends, a bit high strung over the ensuing chaos just a few yards ahead of her- a barely safe distance to watch- and itching to do something. Three thunderous smashes and a furious rooster were heard, followed by several more shrieks. The other mares were finally starting to show some emotion other than bored interest as the chaos failed to stop after a minute. Fluttershy alighted on the ground close to Twilight- The worry hadn't left her face. "Um, Twilight? I think we can do something now..." Twilight INSTANTLY went into full alert, causing Fluttershy to let out the teeniest tiniest startled squeak- "ThankyouFluttershythatwasallIneeded now RAINBOW DASH, find the mayor and see what she needs us to do for her, then find me and let me know!" "You got it, Twi!" Rainbow saluted and took off like a shot. "Fluttershy, I'm not asking you to try to calm down anypony, but if there are animals in this mess then I need you to get them out! They are more dangerous because they understand less and are probably very scared!" "okay!" Fluttershy nodded and took of like a softly falling feather. "Rarity, Pinkie Pie, this will be hard but I am asking you to try and calm down as many ponies as you can! Pinkie, stick by Rarity and do as she says- If you're too hyperactive, it could make things worse!" "Okie Dokie Lokie!" Pinkie responded with a smile and a little hop on each syllable before picking up a protesting Rarity by the waist and disappearing into the town. "What about me, Twi?" Applejack stood at attention. "Applejack, you're coming with me and watching my back while I go find Spike! When Rainbow Dash gets back to me, I might have to send a letter-" Rainbow Dash got back already, stopping on the ground with another salute. "Twilight! Mayor Mare's safe but she's way in over her head!" She put her saluting hoof back on the ground. "She says that because we don't have our Helianthus Colossus yet everypony's panicking because the plants are gonna die before then! I don't know what a Helianthus Colossus is but she wants us to contact the royal guard so they can set up a speech-" "A SPEECH! Rainbow, you are a genius!" Twilight jumped up and grabbed Rainbow by both shoulders. "What? Uh, I mean, yeah! I'm kinda cool that way!" Rainbow shined a hoof on her chest, attempting to be casual and accept the praise she knew but wouldn't tell anypony she didn't deserve. "Applejack, change of plans! Escort me to the town hall and make sure I get to the top! Oh, man, I've always had plenty of notes before but this is so exciting! I've got a chance to make a big speech that's purely improvised and necessary for ponies to hear! Oh, what am I going to say? Something inspiring? Something simple? How much metaphor should I use? Should I use any metaphor at all?" "Who cares, Twilight? Just get everypony's attention and talk from yer heart! Now let's get goin' before all of Ponyville's turned flatter than an uncooked pancake!" "Right!" Twilight giggled nervously yet again before tearing off full speed into the chaos. Applejack wasn't quite ready for it, but after a half second of confusion she caught up quickly. It looked even worse on the inside. Somehow 90 percent of the Ponyville houses and stands had some kind of hole or collapse as multicolored mares, stallions, fillies and colts of all walks of life rushed about in a panic that some weren't even sure of its origin. One young mare Lyra Heartstrings had managed to extract herself from the windsock and resigned herself to sitting between two smashed buildings and crying. Oddly, a small cottage, cloud house, boutique, bakery, farmhouse and tree library remained untouched by the chaos and Twilight thanked her lucky stars for it. They wasted no time heading to the town hall. Twilight's expression was firm and focused on the landmark as she tripped, stumbled, and on occasion, teleported along. Given the nature of the situation, she was actually doing pretty well as scaffolding fell down onto the cobblestone streets and ponies moved and turned unpredictably- Especially as nothing was lit, something frankly quite stupid in "eternal night". Applejack had her work cut out for her as she pushed and shoved panicked ponies away from Twilight and towards safety, all the while saying "Pardon", "Scuse me" and "Sorry y'all" to each and every one she did so. At least twice she needed to tackle Twilight out from under something dangerous, and at least four times Twilight herself teleported them both out of harm's way. But at last after only a few minutes the team managed to make it to the Ponyville town hall and ascend the stairs to the very top spire. Twilight produced a small stack of note cards from some hammer-space Applejack didn't bother to question and began weaving together a complex spell. "Twi?" "Nnnng- Yeah?" "Ya want me ta get their attention instead?" Twilight stopped the spell and blinked twice- Looking positively adorkable as she did so- "Oh, sure. I was going to see if I could remember the principles behind Celestia's voice amplification and weave them into a spell for myself, but if you think you can, then be my guest." Applejack gave a light nod. No need to work harder than necessary. The farm pony took a deep breath and then shouted her announcement with all the practice of an Equestrian military commanding officer and all the bite of a rough-and-tumble country girl. "ALRIGHT, Y'ALL STOP CRASHIN' AROUND AND LISTEN UP! THIS HERE'S TWILIGHT SPARKLE, STUDENT OF THE PRINCESS AND PROB'LY SMARTER 'N SIX PONIES PUT TOGETHER! SHE'S HERE TO TELL Y'ALL WHAT'S WHAT!" The chaos stopped miraculously as everypony began to filter into the town square. Some were still shaking slightly from the panic, but other than that, nopony seemed to be hurt. "Thank you, Applejack," Twilight gave her a nod and a little smile. "Weren't nuthin'. Now I thought you weren't usin' notes?" "I made them on the way here," She smiled gleefully once again. AJ was absolutely impressed. "Ya didn't tell me ya were a multi-tasker..." "Oh, well, multi-tasking is actually a myth- What it refers to is actually a skilled division and compartmentalization of tasks and cycling your focus between them quickly so as to give the necessary attention to each task as is due despite the division of focus- It's a very hard thing to do once you exceed three tasks and I should probably give the speech I promised shouldn't I?" "Eeyup. Sorry I set ya off. Now talk to the ponies." Applejack gave her a "go get 'em" smile. Twilight turned to face her audience, flitting through the note cards before deciding "to hay with it" and tucking them away. "Citizens of Ponyville, as you are all aware, we have been beset with eternal night by Nightmare Moon, a pony few ponies even understood to be anything more than fiction, but what you likely do not know is that after the interruption to the Summer Sun Celebration and abduction of Princess Celestia, I and five others- Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Rainbow Dash set off in pursuit of the Elements of Harmony to stop her." She cleared her throat. Out of nowhere, Pinkie Pie bounded up and quietly, but joyfully offered her a glass of water. Twilight accepted it thankfully and left it on the railing. "As we already knew finding all six would be difficult, we were prepared to spend quite some time searching the Castle of The Two Sisters in the Everfree Forest, but Nightmare Moon had absconded with and hid them before she even made her public appearance. We had failed before we even began." The silence was still there, but the ponies below now looked crestfallen. Twilight swooped her ears downward in empathy as she continued. "This is disheartening news, but there still lies hope in what the six of us have discovered of ourselves. We did not even know how to wield the elements once we had found them, but in the trials Nightmare Moon set upon us to chase us away and break us apart, we discovered that each element lies within our hearts as our greatest strength. Applejack bears the element of honesty. Fluttershy, kindness. Pinkie Pie, laughter. Rarity, generosity, and Rainbow Dash, loyalty. And though it took some time to discover, my desire and love for my friends makes me the bearer of the element of magic, the sixth element which nopony remembers." "So too in our failure did we realize our place and responsibility to Equestria and those living in it," Twilight continued speaking, now remembering the things her mentor had told her. "As the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, we must continually attempt to secure the safety of Equestria and maintain it, but our first duty is to you- To be an example, to be leaders, to be comforters, guides and motivators in the face of this time of uncertainty. We do not know this time where the Elements of Harmony have been taken. We do not know how or where to look, but be confident that we are searching for a way, and we will find it and bring the sun back with all the haste that is due." Twilight took a sip from the glass of water and prepared her big finish. "Until such time, enjoy life in Equestria for what it currently stands to be. Love the moon. Love the stars. Love each other. Love your work, play, rest and food and trust in each other. Take each day as it comes, dark though it may be, and use it to your best, and surely then harmony will flourish before the elements are found- up to when they are found- and ever after they have been discovered and Princess Luna is returned to us once more after a thousand years." She thought of the phrase "Keep Calm and Carry On", but decided against it- Somepony might have already used that one. Instead- "United in harmony, we cannot fail. Let us do our best to keep it that way." Twilight gave a little bow and a polite "Thank you", then turned to descend the stairs of the town hall's spire. When she reached the bottom and started back towards the library, there was no grand applause, no whooping or hollering- They only put on brave faces and joyful smiles as they let her through the crowd. While the crowd mostly dispersed to help one another fix the extensive damage, those closest to her offered words of encouragement, hugs, hoof-bumps and hoof-shakes, words of praise and thank-yous. Her new friends were waiting at the end of the line as they wrapped her in a big group hug- Fluttershy gave her a tender nuzzle and a sweet smile. "You killed that one, Twi," Rainbow Dash stated with pride, "But I was hoping they'd cheer for you a little more than... Not at all." "Me too," Twilight agreed. Rarity sighed delicately in understanding. "Don't we all, darling? But what you get from a speech isn't so important as what you give with it- And you got something beautiful from it regardless." Pinkie was grinning from ear to ear, and Twilight could have sworn that her tail was wagging just like a dog. "I love their smiles! Those smiles are the exact same smile I smile to make ponies smile!" "And that ain't all, Pinkie-" Applejack announced, excusing herself from the group hug to point towards the pony citizens, "Lookit what else they're doin'! Yer speech musta done somethin' Twi, cuz that's the first time I've ever seen everypony pitch in ta help fix the town after a mess!" Twilight wondered if Ponyville really was as uncaring as Applejack made it sound, but realized that this was a wonderful sight. Ponies all around were helping each other fix holes and replace fallen pieces, using their special talents as much as they could and all the while laughing, chatting, smiling and encouraging each other. Just then, the Mayor came out of the almost-never-used cellar of the town hall, her grey mane a mess and her formal tie completely undone, glasses askew on her muzzle and dirt embedded into her brown fur. She looked for all the world like a PTSD victim and could very well have been one after this crazy panic. "Uh... Mayor?" Twilight ventured. "DON'T YOU DARE PANIC! I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THE PANICKING I TELL YOU! ENOUGH!" The mayor lurched forward and came nose to nose with the bookish unicorn. "Uh, mayor? You're a bit close-" Mayor Mare turned around with a zip and started pacing very fast. "I should never have campaigned for Ponyville! I'm not fit to be a mayor! My cutie mark is more fit for secretary work anyway! But nooooo! I thought I had the charisma and ease of mind to run Ponyville! But even though I manage to keep most everything organized on a good day, I don't have the good, strong leadership needed for ponies to depend on me like I need them to! So they go running around and shrieking for no good reason and SMASH ALL THE HOUSES UP TO BITS AND NOPONY IN EQUESTRIA CAN EVEN CALM THEM DOWN FOR ONE SECOND-" "Mayor-" "LEAVING THEIR FLIMSY, INCAPABLE MAYOR TO HIDE IN A USELESS CELLAR AND HOPE EVERYTHING STOPS SOME TIME THIS CENTURY BUT IT NEVER DOES! I SWEAR, ON SOME DAYS I WISH I COULD HAVE THE FLOWER TRIO ARRESTED BUT NOTHING THEY'RE DOING IS EVEN ILLEGAL- ALL THEY DO IS SAY 'THE HORROR' AND IT GETS EVERYPONY RILED UP FOR SOME INEXPLICABLE-" "MAYOR. We are all done with the panicking. I took care of that." The Mayor looked like she was about to cry and at the same time like a puppy who had just been kicked. "You did?" Twilight winced with concern for the poor mayor. "Yes, I did. We did. Everypony's working hard to try and fix the mess now, and things would still be crazy if it weren't for my friends." Mayor's head drooped in defeat. "Thank you, Miss Sparkle- And my thanks to your friends as well. I just wish I didn't have to rely on my own citizens as often as I do." Fluttershy was instantly at her side. "Oooh, there there... You're not a bad mayor... You're a good one if you know when to ask for help like you do..." As this continued, the other girls huddled together to form a plan of attack and make sure the repairs would stick. Willing and able as the citizens were, they were not prioritizing anything important, jumping willy-nilly from repair to repair, leaving many things half done for quite some time before they got finished. "Okay, Applejack, what are we looking at here?" Twilight asked the country mare. Her expertise in do-it-yourself repairs would surely come in handy. "Well, right now I'm seein' more than half the roofs in town still broken as everypony's fixin' to clean up the dirt in their houses and put up their signs. What roofs are fixed ain't fixed well- They're usin' the old, broken thatch layin' around in the road instead of getin' new thatch. So first I suspect we're gonna need to get some ponies on that an' to stay focused on it." Twilight turned to Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow- I'm sorry for making you fetch so many things today- Could you go and ask the Apple Family if they have any spare straw for thatch?" "Well, Twi, I was actually thinking about it- Maybe I should be up clearing the sky so no rain gets into the broken roofs?" Twilight smiled- "Can you do it in ten seconds flat?" "It's kinda dark up there- Okay it's very dark- But if I had a flight lamp I could do it in fifteen!" Twilight giggled at Rainbow's enthusiasm for speed. "Okay, just do it quickly." "Gotcha!" Rainbow saluted once more before taking off down the road at low altitude. Just as Twilight was about to ask about fetching straw once again, Pinkie suddenly gleefully announced "I'LL GET THE STUFF!" and tore off towards Sweet Apple Acres. This left the three ponies that remained to figure out other ways to be useful. This was easy enough for Twilight- She quickly established herself as the Ponyville Post Ruckus Organizer (Honorary and temporary title) and redirected the well-meaning ponies to fixing walls, repairing floors and mending roofs. Applejack slotted herself into the harder labor jobs, hauling, pulling, pushing, lifting and throwing as necessary, and on occasion directing some of the smaller tasks here and there. Rarity, however, quickly became the mastermind of the operation as she directed ponies on materials to use and how to use them, and her attention to detail was quickly making the chaos that had occurred only hours before seem like it had never happened. This inevitably led to some squabbling between Rarity and Applejack over quality of work versus appearance, but Twilight managed to shush them up by asking "Why not both?" Then, in record time for any disaster in Ponyville, the town was restored by noon. The project had taken a grand total of three hours, and everypony working on it was quite thoroughly exhausted, although satisfied with a job well done. Mayor Mare, having long since recovered thanks to Fluttershy's kind words, reminded everypony that today was still the Summer Sun Celebration, a national holiday, and stated she would not think of anypony any less if they decided to take the rest of the day off. The market in the streets by the town square re-opened anyway, as ponies heading the stalls attempted to adjust their eyes to the dark and sell their wares like usual. It was an awkward endeavor- Ponies had to guess the names of their customers in the dim light and bits were miscounted just as often as wares- Some ponies even found themselves at an unfamiliar stall, having been set up in a place far from usual. '~*~' Twilight and company were not feeling the same work ethic, however. Applejack left her stall at home as Rarity closed her boutique, Twilight closed her Library and Pinkie took the day off. The other two had already finished their work obligations for the day- There wasn't a lot on their plate. They were currently situated in the nearby plains by the schoolhouse overlooking Ponyville, watching as workers from Canterlot busied themselves removing earth to plant a very large glowing sunflower at the town's edge. Even before it was rooted and properly growing, the massive flower's light more than suitably covered the town in a warm yellow glow that seemed strong enough to chase off evil of all sorts. Nopony's internal clock was working right- All six of them knew they should be fully awake, but between the darkness and all the crazy stuff that had happened that day, they were all yawning periodically, exhausted and feeling quite ready to turn in. "It's still surreal." Twilight announced with a subdued kind of quiet- The kind you have after a long and confusing day. Nopony had been talking for quite an expanse of time- Almost thirty minutes- and it caused them to jump a little. But nopony wanted to break the current atmosphere, so nopony jumped at the chance to respond. Rainbow had a small scowl. Nopony knew at what, not even she. "Duh." She said. Simple, monotone, quiet. Given what Twilight knew about Rainbow Dash and the others, this quiet was not normal for any of them. Twilight was starting to grow kind of concerned. At least Pinkie would have broken the silence by now. "...Bit for your thoughts?" She offered Rainbow. Rainbow took off the scowl for her friend. "I... I dunno. ...The flower looks... Nice." "It does." The silence was still freaky as all six of them kept looking at the giant sunflower. "You're not thinking about the flower, though." Twilight hit it right on the money. "You're right, Twilight. It's just... It's not fair to anypony." Getting somewhere now, although Twilight was only going to proceed as far as she let her. "What's not fair?" "This darkness. It's not fair to us, it's not fair for Luna and it's not fair for..." "Our predecessors, of whom were never told of their wrong?" "And us. We weren't around then. ...And Luna shouldn't have ever thought she couldn't trust her sister with this." "When did you get so sagey?" Pinkie interrupted with curiosity. Rainbow chuckled- A bit of a relieved sound quite distinct from her normal laugh. "I got a bit of Twilight on me when she talked in town." "Hey now," Twilight objected, although she somehow knew the cyan pegasus said it in only the best intentions. "Well, Rainbow, I'm actually quite surprised- I didn't think it would even stick!" Rarity cleverly countered in Twilight's stead. Everypony shared a laugh for that one- Rainbow with a bit of a blush- But things quieted down to an awkward level again as the Canterlot work crew made the finishing touches to the flower's foundation. "Seriously though, Twi... I really don't think like that very much, and I think I should." "Rainbow, if you think all the time like me, then you'd never get anything done." "What are you talking about? You do stuff too." Twilight sighed. "This is actually very rare for me. Before I even came to Ponyville, I was a filly always obsessed with her books and her studying. I lived for it, and I didn't cherish or sometimes even value the friends I had there. I knew everything from A to Z but didn't live any of it- Is it any wonder I know so little about friendship?" Applejack gave a disapproving huff. "Don't beat yerself up like that- Ain't nopony in our group here who does, Twilight. You ever see how we do things for a livin'?" "But I know lots about friendship! I'm friends with everypony! I'm Pinkie Pie!" "Were ya good friends with any of 'em?" Pinkie, formerly bouncing up and down in her objection, stopped and put a thoughtful hoof to her chin. "Uh... No... Not until you girls... What about Rarity?" "I would think there's a significant difference between my being a good hostess and a good friend. Applejack is still right." "...Fluttershy?" "I love animals, but they're different from ponies... I don't talk to ponies very much..." "Rainbow?" "It hurts, but AJ's right. I have fans, but not many friends." "...Huh." "As it turns out, Twilight, We could all use a bit of learnin' 'bout Friendship. So what? It is kinda touch-and-go, but We got each other to do it. ...And as for the thinkin' stuff, I don't think I've ever seen you not doin' somethin' that needed to be done cuz of it. We fixed Ponyville in three hours thanks to you! And weren't you gonna take off on yer own for the elements before we found you? That, Twilight, takes guts. You may have a lot of brains, but you've got guts too." "Thank you, Applejack. I needed that." After that, the six started talking about small nothings in their life- Their pasts, their current lives, their futures, small things to get to know each other. Rarity confessed that on some mornings, she wished she could just completely cut off her finely stylized mane and tail-fur just to save the trouble, which led to Pinkie saying she had to fluff up her hair every morning- Fluttershy brought jealousy on all but Twilight and Rainbow by saying she did nothing to her fur except wash it. Applejack was reminded of the time her little sister tried cutting her own mane just before picture day, and the topic got to families. Rainbow was the only one without siblings (Mom and Dad were both still in the picture, although a bit older than the national average) as even Fluttershy had an older sister who was somehow even quieter than her (Nopony dared ask how that was possible). "You know, I always wondered what it would be like to have a sister or brother," Rainbow Dash mused, reclining on the soft tall grass in thought. But as she opened her eyes, she saw a young set of purple ones staring back at her (but not too close). They belonged to Scootaloo, an admittedly pretty cool little filly Rainbow Dash always saw speeding down the roads in her scooter who was a fan of and amazed by all things Rainbow Dash. She didn't move- Her position was decidedly uncool at the moment, what with all four hooves sitting relaxed just above her. "Uh... Hi, kid. What's up?" A look of awe was plastered on the filly's face. "Did you really fight a manticore in the Everfree Forest?" Rainbow shot up on all fours looking as bold as possible. "You bet I did! I think I really gave it what for!" "Yeah, and then it whooped yer sorry flank like the rest of us." Rainbow Dash objected with a brilliant move of surprising subversion. "Aww, come on, AJ! Be fair! It couldn't even TOUCH Fluttershy!" "I think that me in your fur is gonnna stain, Dash," Twilight said with mock worry, imitating scrubbing an imaginary stain on Rainbow's chest in a very teasing sort of way. Scootaloo looked very lost. The two's eyes jumped from the confused filly to each other, and back again before they let out a fresh round of embarrassed and self-amused giggling. Rainbow Dash turned back to the filly amid slight giggles. "Aheh heh heh! Sorry, yeah. We did fight a manticore, and then Fluttershy went up to it and calmed it down and pulled a thorn out of its paw! I mean, I've known her since flight camp, but I never thought she'd have the guts to just talk to a manticore!" "Um, it wasn't really talking... It was more like convincing and soothing..." Fluttershy offered helpfully. "Kinda the same thing, 'Shy!" "I'm... I'm sorry..." Rainbow ignored the apology- it was no skin off her nose anyway. "So kid," She turned back to the filly once more, "Whatcha doing here, anyway? Not that I mind, but, isn't there school today?" "Cherilee never has us go to school on the Summer Sun Celebration- When I heard you went to hang out here, I just came over to say thanks to you guys and... I hope you find the Elements soon." Recognizing the sad, yet hopeful tone in the filly, Twilight deemed it appropriate to say what all six were thinking. "Well, uh... 'Kid'..." "Scootaloo." the so-named filly corrected. "Scootaloo, thank you very much, and believe me- Nopony wants to find the Elements as much as we do." '~*~' There was a loud racket coming from an alarm clock on a cloudy nightstand as a single, very tired cyan hoof struggled to silence the infernal contraption, its owner buried beneath the covers of her bed and very certain it was still too dark to get up. She swung once and missed. Twice, and hit the nightstand loudly and uselessly. "OW." Third time's the charm? Nope. With a very loud metallic THWAP, her third swing hurled the clock across the room where it sat semi-broken and ringing seemingly louder than before. "AhaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAARGH! I HATE waking up at night, I HATE alarm clocks and I HATE ETERNAL NIGHT!" Rainbow Dash poured every ounce of her wrath into the pillow her head was nestled into, completely failing to intimidate the fluffy object. She loomed upward into a sitting up position. Her mane was an utter mess, eyes baggy and tired and seemingly recessed in her skull, and neither ear could agree which position the two of them should turn. If she had a happier expression and mood (and by happier, it is meant "unreadable and blank"), this would have been a normal morning- But as it stands, her eyebrows had carved out a vicious scowl to match an unrepeatable frown, and the combined effect of all this made her look like she are become death, destroyer of words. The alarm clock was the only thing that she knew really would suffer today, though. She trundled out of bed and lightly (with much better aim) turned off the evil clock, punishing it to the pits of "that corner over there" for its crimes against ponydom. Waking up to the sun would have been much nicer for her- It was her routine after all- But even with eight days, counting this one, she still had not yet gotten used to the dark sky, or for that matter, how the beautiful- er- awesome giant sunflower shined right in her bedroom window all night. Breakfast was a simple affair, as always- One bowl of generic oats and milk before weather work for that day. These days, weather work was strange. Ponyville's pegasi were asked in addition to their duties to bust up specially made clouds full of warmth around Ponyville and the surrounding area. It was very important to take the cold out of the air as there was no sun to warm anything up. Rainbow continued chewing on the bland (as preferred) cereal as she mused to herself. A lot of small, yet significant things had happened in the past week. Ponyville, despite (or perhaps because of?) the lack of sun, had gained an even more communal atmosphere... Or Pinkie was doing a great job cheering everypony up. By some unseen consensus, prices in stalls and stores were reduced as a show of confidence in troubled times... Or Rarity was boosting spirits through her generosity. Everypony even seemed to be nicer... Or was that Fluttershy's doing? Okay, I guess we've been doing a lot here. Rainbow Dash smiled. It was true- with Twilight's encouragement, the six of them had been really boosting spirits wherever they could midst research where to look for the Elements (Research was always the answer). Rainbow herself even put on a few impromptu acrobatics shows to distract the fillies and colts from worry. Yeah, it stroked her ego a bit, but nopony could deny the good reasons she had for doing it either. She got up, threw the dirty dishes in their usual pile, and slid on her saddlebags ready for work when an IMMENSE, RAINBOWLICIOUS EXPLOSION erupted from the heart of the Everfree Forest. After recovering from the shockwave, Rainbow darted over to the nearby window and looked out with a curious fear. Nothing else happened. ...Okay, freaky... She thought. She tightened the buckle on her saddlebags and attempted to ignore it as she fluffed up her wings to take- BOOM! AGAIN! "WHAT THE HAY?!" She yelled out the window almost to scare the source of the explosion when a very large bush rose high above the forest on an even bigger wooden pole. "...What?" The "what" would have been flatter if she weren't nearly terrified- She still put on what she thought was a brave face as she looked out. Another EXPLOSION and the bush sprung into multitudinous, huge, glowing leaves as the wooden pole aged and expanded to a thick, ancient, gorgeous tree trunk. She stared at it, horror plastered on her face and barely registered the third EXPLOSION whose aftermath pushed around a few trees. Then the voice of a terrible god echoed and rung in her head- Here is your summons, bearers. Drop everything and go. She dropped everything possible for her to drop- She dropped her saddlebags, she dropped her ears, she dropped her tail beneath her legs, she dropped the color from her face, she dropped her heart into her stomach- She even almost dropped the contents of her bowels right there. It was quiet. Too quiet. Was she dead? Rainbow seriously didn't know. AHEM, the voice shook her to the core with a fury unmatched by anypony before or after it- Celestia could not invoke such wrath, Nightmare Moon seemed sweet as a cupcake compared to this voice, and Rainbow Dash was certain not one of the thousands of horrible creatures locked away in Tartarus could match its fury. Before in times like this, Rainbow Dash had nopony to turn to except herself (Well, maybe Fluttershy, but that was kinda rare, especially since she was usually more scared). But this time, it was different. It was time to regain a sense of security. It was time for a sense of clarity. It was time for peace and solidarity. It was Twilight Time. '~*~' Just above Ponyville, a ROYGBIV missile burst out of Rainbow Dash's house and went screaming towards the Golden Oaks Library. Yes, screaming. Screaming Twilight's name, to be exact. With a desperation like no pony before her- Well, that wasn't exactly true... '~*~' There were no alarm clocks in this room- Just a ridiculously precise internal one that defied all sense and logic beyond it belonging to Pinkamena Dianne Pie. She rested blissfully, her dreams a strong tapestry of happiness and hyperactivity quite closely resembling her waking, working life. And then POIOIOING! She shot up out of the covers at exactly 8:00 AM (Which if you must know clocks Rainbow's waking time at 7:32:31 AM and post-breakfast terror at 8:02:04.91 AM), whipped them back into a neat condition (lovingly patting her favorite pillow), and sort of glided on her hooves up to her bedroom mirror. A very cheerful filly who she did not recognize stared back at her with a little smile- Her pink mane rested flatly, evenly and neatly on her head and had a whole different kind of enthusiasm from Pinkie- Almost optimistic rather than simply blissful. "Ha ha! Bed-mane!" Pinkie giggled before giving her reflection a winning smile. In typical Pinkie fashion, the reflection did not mimic its owner, but rather stared at the lovely grin and let out a giggle of its own. It plugged its nose with both hooves and blew, causing both manes to puff out into the typical style before giving her a hopeful smile. Pinkie gave it a nod and a wink, then took off for the door, through the hallway and down the banister (on her head) and into the brightly lit Sugar Cube Corner shop just getting open for business. 8:01 now. "Hi Mr. Cake!" Pinkie popped up behind the baker and startled him with her enthusiasm. He dropped the plate of cupcakes he was holding in his mouth with a yelp, but Pinkie flashed her hooves like lightning and caught them all- six per foreleg, right-side up and unharmed before putting them back in place on the tray (which she caught with her teeth) and deposited them in the display case. "Pinkie Pie, you scared me!" He held a hoof to his heart dramatically. "How do you keep doing that?" "I dunno, maybe if you were standing in the same place every time when I popped up behind you every morning you would know where I was and wouldn't get scared! What do you have for me today, Mr. Cake?" "Well, I'm good right now, but maybe you should get in the kitchen and talk to my wife- She's got an-" Suddenly an IMMENSE, RAINBOWLICIOUS EXPLOSION erupted from the heart of the Everfree Forest- But Pinkie didn't see it. "...Oven problem?" Pinkie asked with a head tilt. Mr. Cake finished cringing. "No, but whatever that was I really don't wanna know." "Okay then! When you wanna know just let me know and I'll ask you and you'll know and you'll tell me!" Pinkie said as she bounced away into the kitchen- Leaving Mr. Cake quite confused in the wake of Pinkie Logic. "MmMMMm! That smells good! What is that, Mrs. Cake?" Pinkie said as she seemingly materialized out of thin air to sniff the pastry that sat on the counter. Mrs. Cake gave her a big proud smile- "This, Pinkie dear, is the Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness Miniature Mock-up's bottom layer! -It's going to be a big cake when we actually make it- but getting the three main ingredients to stop fighting is very difficult to do-" Half of the freshly prepared bottom layer of the mock-up disappeared (It was a very clean cut) as Mrs. Cake confusedly tracked it to Pinkie thoughtfully smacking her lips. "I think you have a little too much Mascarpone. Try a quarter cup less- The tart tanginess is making my lips go a liiiittle scrunchy and won't let me taste the rich creamy goodness and smooth, silky sweetness of the Marzipan and Meringue." Mrs. Cake looked at the cake, Now back to pinkie, Now back to the cake, Now back to pinkie, Then tried a bite of what remained. "My goodness, Pinkie, I think you might be-" BOOM! AGAIN! "R-R-RAINBOWS!" Pinkie missed the explosion yet again. "Don't be silly, Mrs. Cake! My name's Pinkie Pie! Now what do you need me to do?" She asked sweetly. Mrs. Cake blinked in shock, then shook her head to chase away the Pinkieness. "Well, uh, Pinkie, we're all running a bit slow today so we need sixteen Chocolate Drizzled Blueberry Tarts and another twenty seven Vanilla-Lemon-With-a-Little-Something-Special brownies, but after that, we'll just restock as necessary- We're opening in less than twenty minutes but don't rush dear-" Another EXPLOSION and everything stopped. Pinkie finally saw the Rainbows and the source of the Earth-shattering-ka-boom. "...Uh, Pinkie? That was... Another... Very big explosion... Again." Mrs. Cake shuffled on her hooves, ears still flicking from the volume of the noise. "...It's so pretty," Pinkie said in a state of almost blissful hypnosis. Her eyes were glued to the source and were watering just above her huge smile. "I... Maybe?" Pinkie jumped up onto the counter almost like a cat and looked out the window with riveted focus. "I think it's gonna do it again..." The same bliss never left her voice. "I... Hope not-" The EXPLOSION that followed proved her right. She simply twirled her tail, not even reacting to the noise. "...Yay!" She cheered quietly. "Pinkie, Dear, I think we're being attacked. Could you get off the counter and follow me to the basement where it's safer?" "OH MY GOODNESS MY HEART'S TALKING TO ME!" Pinkie announced loudly and suddenly before beginning to paw at her chest with curiosity. "Heloooo in there! My name's Pinkie Pie! I'm not sure you know that because you're not a brain, but you might!" Mr. Cake, who had been observing the activity in the kitchen for want of a distraction from stocking the display cases, trotted in and put a hoof around his wife. "Well, dear, I think she's finally gone bonkers," He declared sadly. "I MUST GO IT MADE AN AHEM AND I WANT TO KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS!!" Pinkie announced yet again before somehow zooming in a straight line for the door without so much as wrecking one thing. '~*~' Applejack's tale of this morning is very simple. 5:00 every morning in the summer she got up to start working the fields and the orchards. She didn't say anything as she got up- just did her mane and tail, affixed her stetson to her head, and began her quiet trot down the hall and out the door. Her sister Applebloom peeked out her room with a tired "it's-way-too-early" kind of curiosity at Applejack. Applejack, awake and ready to work as usual, gave her a nod and a smile. "Mornin' sis," She greeted warmly without stopping her pace. Applebloom had no early-morning chores, so she just slunk back to bed. Heading out the door, Applejack picked up a head lamp (recent purchase) and met up with her older brother Big Macintosh. They stood there as the younger took a deep breath of the farmyard air. "Big Mac," She greeted. "Eeyup," Big Mac Eeyuped. For what it mattered to them, it was a greeting. There was a brief pause. "Pigs fed?" "Yup." "Chickens fed?" "Yup." "Sheep happy?" "Yup." "North orchard?" "Yup." "I do south?" "Yup." "Weedin' the fields?" "Nope." "I'll double check." "Yup." "Anythin' else?" "Nope." "Later, Big Mac." "Yup." Things were quiet and normal. Applejack moved around doing this and that in the dark of Eternal Night (Sure, the town sunflower provided enough light to nourish the trees, but it wasn't quite enough to see in), made sure things were running smoothly for the apple trees in the south orchard and checked the fields for weeds (She found all of two- They did a good job the day before) Breakfast at 7:00 was uneventful- The same usual talk of how things were looking out in the fields and orchards and how Applebloom was doing in school over a meal Applejack helped Granny Smith make, and then it was back to working once more. AJ was full, happy and almost unstoppable. As Applejack worked, the four booms way off in the Everfree were a non-concern to her. She knew to leaf that forest well enough alone, especially when freaky things happened in it. Then somepony hiding in the orchard spoke up. "'There's my summons? Drop everythin' and go'? Who the hay does this pony think he is? Well he'll think less when he says 'hello' to my hind hooves..." "AHEM," the voice said with mock impatience. Applejack got very scared- She couldn't pinpoint its source. Was something wrong with her? Maybe Twilight would know something about it? She apologized to Big Mac and then made towards Ponyville and its library like death itself was after her. '~*~' Rarity got up at exactly the wrong time. The first explosion's shock-wave, despite the Carousel Boutique's distance from the Everfree, tore through her like Sweetie Belle through a milkshake. She wasn't exactly coherent for the rest. The filly mentioned ran into her sister's bedroom after the chaos and found Rarity lying on her back, all four hooves sticking up and twitching. If Harmony's message made it through (which it unquestionably did), the fashionista was unable to register it due to the trauma of the experience. "Rarity! Get up! Are you okay?!" Sweetie's squeaky voice broken up with fear. Rarity jumped up with a very loud scream. "AAAAAAAAaaaaugh!! What was that unspeakable racket?! At this day and hour of all times too!" "...It's Monday," Sweetie deadpanned. Everypony knows Mondays are awful. "Oh ho hooooonooooo I am such a wreak! I can't start working like this until I KNOW what that noise was! I can just feel my hairs splitting every second I endure this stress!" "Your hairs splitting? Nopony can even see that with your mane-" Rarity turned with a dramatic flourish towards her sister. "SWEETIE BELLE, I simply MUST be off!" Then subdued and mildly- "I've got plenty of cereal in the cupboard and fresh milk should be on the doorstep. Make sure you get to school on time and stay out of trouble, okay? Love you!" She gave her sister a little nuzzle (Uugh! I'm gonna smell like her perfume for the rest of the day! Sweetie thought) and headed out with a determined stare towards... Well she wasn't quite sure where. Twilight's house? Yes, that should do it! '~*~' Fluttershy dreamed that a small, impatient bunny-rabbit was bouncing on her head. She woke up to find that this was, in fact, exactly what was happening. She mumbled and let out a sleepy little giggle before brushing off her pet Angel and getting up. Fluttershy, when she rose, did not so much shine as she glowed warmly. Sleepiness was still very much in her eyes, but her life was a relaxed and quiet one, and for all the work she did for the pets of Ponyville and the local animals, she looked forward to every second of it. Fluttershy was also outside the norm for ponies because she wore a faded purple robe to bed and, though she never understood why, almost never considered sleeping naked in her bed at home- As much of a non-concept nudity is for the Equestrian ponies... But this is only an interesting observation and quite off topic. She rolled out of bed and looked into the small mirror on her bedroom dresser. Clicking her tongue at the slight mess that was her mane and tail, she gave both a flick and the hairs lined up naturally. Angel tugged her tail. "Okay, Angel, I'm coming." She said reassuringly, then descended the stairs to find that, to her delight, all her animal friends were already awake and greeting her. One quick feeding session later, she looked over the pets Ponyville's owners had brought to her and determined them healthy and happy once more! She was quite excited to contact their owners about it- But not now. It was 6:00 AM and a lot of ponies weren't awake yet like she was. It really didn't matter to her. She was a morning pony at heart (And not by necessity like Applejack) and very much enjoyed the relaxed pace to getting herself ready for the day. First a quick shower (in which she mused to herself quietly about her plans for the day), then a very Fluttershy breakfast of grapefruit (Lightly sugared) with toasted and buttered white rye, all washed down with a cup (or maybe two) of tea. Taking it slowly and relaxed as she was, leafing through the paper to find out all the big social events she would be avoiding, sipping her tea, and indulging the occasional squirrel which stopped by for pets, she softly killed time until 8:00. Then the scariest things in her ENTIRE LIFE happened not a MILE AWAY from her cottage! She flew out of her seat as the first EXPLOSION hit her like... Well... Nothing else. She timidly pulled her head out from under the table where she had hid and courageously made her way to the window looking out into the Everfree. Oh, dear, She thought. My poor chickens are so scared! That was scary! I hope it doesn't happen again so I can calm them down... It did happen again. Fluttershy was under the table again, but at this time was seriously reconsidering the peace-of-mind her shelter offered her. Clearly, however, the animals indoors were not taking it well. "Um... Uh... It's okay? Don't be a-a-afraid?" She attempted to console them all without moving from her position. Another EXPLOSION and she made for the pantry and hid in it. The animals were very rapidly loosing their control- Even as Angel attempted what his master could not. The fourth one took the cake, though. Fluttershy flew with incredible speed and buried herself back in her bed where she started crying and wishing she hadn't gotten up that day. The animals totally lost their cool and fled out of the cottage, away from the forest, avoiding Ponyville and heading for the nearby wilds. She couldn't stop crying. Yes, she tried, but come on. This is Fluttershy we're talking about- Just about everypony in Ponyville was scared of the massive explosions (With notable exception of Pinkie for some baffling reason), and it's unlikely that a pony who's scared of her own shadow wouldn't be. Between every scared, shuddering hiccup and vain attempt to dry her tears and gain composure, her brain threw out a potential excuse she could use to stay safe at home all day. I've got the pony pox, or or the feather flu! Nopony wants to catch those so they'll leave me alone! hic! I wasn't able to get out because I had an anxiety attack! But that would mean the doctor would come in and prescribe me with something I don't even need oh no OH NO OH NO- sniffle! Angel-bunny fell in the mud! It was really sticky, really messy mud and I couldn't clean out the stain! (Okay, she might have liked that idea a little more than she cared to admit) Then all of the sudden, amid tears and intense fear, a gentle, authoritative voice spoke inside her- It sounded exactly like she imagined huge, towering ancient trees would talk, so she listened. my... my summons? Is this what Princess Celestia was referring to? Did she even know she was referring to it? She had to have known. If this is my summons, then I have to go. But where? I saw all those Rainbows in the Everfree Forest, but the Everfree is not a good place for anypony to meet with anypony- I mean, I live right next to it, but once was enough for me- The voice seemed slightly impatient to her (Still very polite about it), so she pulled herself out of her hiding place and resolved to tell Twilight exactly what she thought was going on... If she didn't mind, of course. '~*~' Twilight had been up all night studying, researching, checklisting, reading, musing and performing general studious behavior in a now evidently desperate bid to find clues for the location of the Elements of Harmony and was exhausted. She had torn through the Golden Oaks Library at least three times looking up all the possibly relevant information to Equestira's particular number one conundrum with such titles as- The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide Predictions and Prophecies (The free, considerably thinner paperback version which "foretold" its owner would purchase the larger, hard cover version) Doom and You: How to Cope With and Eventually Solve a World Ending Disaster (You'd think it would have been useful, but the title was misleading- It was actually a motivational book) and Where the Hay Did I Put That? 60 Nifty Tricks to Find the Thing the Little Blue Mares Forgot to Paint (Little Blue Mares? Never heard that one before... And Sixty tricks? She was a bit skeptical.) -Among many other countless titles which she had forgotten the names of. Needless to say (But let it be said anyway), Twilight Sparkle, the Bearer of the Element of Magic, was completely exhausted, asleep, and almost no force in Equestria could have possibly woken her up. ...At least she made it to her bed this time. The explosions and the speech do not need to be spoken of. Twilight wasn't awake or even being interesting in her sleep. In fact, nothing of particular interest went on in the library this morning to speak of at all. That might have been interesting to note in itself, this non-reaction in the wake of yet another very scary occurrence which panicked the townsfolk (Who to their credit handled things super), but really, what happened afterwards is more interesting. FUMP! Some very large bird hit the window and startled the stupored and studious unicorn awake. She turned her head lazily to find out just what. Clearly, it was something large, blue and rainbow colored that was pawing at the window desperately and pleading for her help, but it wasn't worth her time. She let her head plop back down onto the pillow with disinterest as the something started yelling even more desperately for her to get up or something... Maybe about opening the window? Whatever. It was clearly not even worth her attention if it suggested something as silly as waking up- Wait. Waking up. Why would I wake up? Is it important? It sounds important- Maybe I should open the window- OH ROAD APPLES IT'S RAINBOW DASH AND SHE IS SCARED OUT OF HER WITS I NEED TO HELP HER! Twilight surged with wakefulness as she bounded out of bed, slapped her disheveled mane into shape and undid the latch with her hoof (She wasn't thinking about her unicorn horn just yet). Spike noted with tired disinterest the colorful pinwheel blur of cyan, rainbow, purple and just a slight touch of pink that tore down the stairs and hit a bookshelf with a resounding thump. He helped Twilight study all night despite her insistence that he go to bed and just didn't care. Twilight was under three things then- Under the influence of sleep deprivation, under a newly fallen pile of books, and under the scared-est looking Rainbow Dash she had ever seen. She was heaving each and every breath like she was trying to steal all the air in the room before anypony else could use it and was covered in cold sweat. The unicorn attempted a sincere, kindly smile, but it came out as a deliberate attempt to hide the way she was very much freaked out by the brave pegasus' fear. "What's wrong?" She asked. "TREE! FOREST! BOOM! FOUR TIMES! ANGRY! VERY! HELP!" Rainbow gesticulated wildly and then clung to Twilight like the safety of the universe depended on it. Twilight was having a hard time breathing- But instead of doing the immediately logical thing like teleporting out of her grip or asking her to let go, she instead considered Neighton's Third Law and produced an equal and opposite reaction to Rainbow Dash's action by clinging just as hard. Naturally, this action, though it was intended to be a method of self defense which would theoretically reduce the amount of space she took up and allow her to breathe was grossly misinterpreted as a hug. This... This is okay, I guess. Twilight thought. She probably needs a hug right now anyway. Rainbow broke it off before things got awkward (Though she cut it awfully close). "I'm sorry Twilight. I don't know what happened. I'm supposed to be a brave pony- I mean, I make big explosions sometimes- Why would four of them in a row scare me? It's just a big tree in-" Twilight smiled comfortingly, genuinely this time. "It's okay, Rainbow Dash. When has anypony been acting like themselves this week? I understand. ...But maybe you can help me out with these books while you tell me about it...?" She noted, looking towards the shelf full of books that had laid strewn on the floor. Then the door burst open and everypony else was in the library clamoring for Twilight's attention. From the desk of Fair Paints, a selected artistic rendering of an occurrence in the adventures of the Equestrian heroes Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkamena Dianne Pie, Rarity and Rainbow Dash. According to many ponies present, Twilight's off-the-cuff oration was truly one for the history books. I cannot say that I too was there, as I herald from Canterlot as an earth pony in a loving unicorn household and had not met at the time, but Twilight was eager enough to give me a copy of what she had told them. Upon reading, I was inspired to create this picture. It is simple in composition, but I like to think that in its subtlety it displays a lot of emotion.