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You Shared its Magic With Me (Part One)2,724 words
You Shared its Magic With Me (Part Two)2,357 words

You Shared its Magic With Me (Part One)

My Little Higurashi: Friendship is Madness
First Arc

I used to wonder what friendship could be, until you shared its magic with me...

Ponyville! I was going back to Ponyville! I was so intoxicated with excitement that I nearly swooned out of the golden chariot separating me from a deadly fall. One of the two pegasi pulling the chariot cast a vaguely concerned glance my way before turning back to his navigation of the sky. Pushing my delirious happiness to the back of my mind, I mustered a peek over the lip of the chariot; below, there was nothing but a forest, covered partly with fog. Yes, this was the Ponyville I knew and loved: nothing around for miles except the neighboring Everfree Forest which separated it from the more populated segments of Equestria. It was ironic, in hindsight, that I had tried to seek complete isolation in the royal city of Canterlot when the rural Ponyville had been waiting for me all along.

Now, of course, isolation was the last thing I wanted.

As the pegasus pilots began to swoop lower, circling Ponyville in their gradual descent, I was able to make out the vague shape of a great pink balloon approaching us out of the fog. I grinned, shaking my head in what would have been disbelief were I not already acquainted with the mare piloting the hot-air balloon. Of course she would. Pinkie Pie always found a way.

The balloon floated closer, and now I could spot the pink pony within waving emphatically. "Twilight Sparkle!" she called. I was reminded of how adorably innocent her voice was. What a happy, happy little pony. "Twiliiiight!"

The same pegasus who had eyed me when I almost fell out of the chariot grunted in annoyance, doing his best to ignore Pinkie's antics. I waved back, and the flight's descent continued as normal... until I actually fell out of the chariot.

Or, rather, I was swept off of my feet and into the air by a pony-sized multihued blur. There was a terrifying moment of free-fall before the rainbow bolt swooped back and took hold of me by the forehoof. I glared up, still trembling with fear; being a show-off was aggravating enough, but did Rainbow Dash really have to pull such dangerous stunts? "Welcome home, egghead!" the pegasus giggled, tossing back her multicolored mane. She smirked down at me, reveling in the fact that she held my fate in her hooves. Not that she would ever let her friends down, of course, but for Rainbow Dash, it was the thrill of victory that kept her energized. "Come to hang around with us some more?"

Pinkie Pie's balloon floated by, and the earth pony giggled, more at life in general than at our specific situation. "You came to greet Twilight, too, Dashie?"

"Yep!" Rainbow Dash spoke to Pinkie, but she was still grinning at me. "The other two wanted to come, but neither of them are pegasi. I could have carried them up here, but I thought it might be kinda risky what with me heroically catching Twilight Sparkle mid-fall!"

Meanwhile, the two pegasi that had been flying me to Ponyville watched the three of us, looking decidedly unamused. Eventually, one of the royal guards rolled his eyes and shrugged at the other; with that they flew back to Canterlot, assuming that their work with me was finished. It may have been somewhat unprofessional, but then, I had just left their care without a word, and my need for their help was gone, so the point was more or less moot.

"You know," I said dryly to the weatherpony keeping me aloft. "I'm not sure an action counts as 'heroic' is the problem was your fault in the first place."

"Ah..." Rainbow Dash tried to shrug, but her legs were currently occupied with grasping my hoof, so it came off as more of a lazy shimmy. "Whatever. Hey, I noticed you haven't greeted me yet! I do something to piss you off?" She raised an eyebrow, grinning with mock-innocence.

I stifled a giggle, trying to maintain a straight face. "Hello, Rainbow Dash. Now will you put me down? I'm beginning to contract acrophobia."

"You're started to whatty what-now?" queried the pegasus, dumping me unceremoniously into the basket of Pinkie's balloon. The pink pony attached herself to me almost immediately, wrapping her forelegs around me in a tight hug. I returned the gesture the best I could in the cramped circumstances.

"Contract acrophobia. Become afraid of heights, essentially."

"Oh. Well, why didn't you just say that?" Rainbow crossed her forelegs, ascending lazily until she was level with the top of the balloon Pinkie and I were floating in. At this point, she knocked on the hot-air balloon with one of her free hooves, calling, "Pinkie! You ready to bring this thing down?"

I had a sudden terrible feeling, as if Rainbow were about to endanger my life once again. "Pinkie!" I took hold of her shoulders, speaking hurriedly. "For Celestia's sake, don't let her--"

"Okey-dokey-lokey! I'm ready!" interrupted the party planner cheerfully.

Rainbow Dash backed away from the balloon, and I started to breathe a sigh of relief. Then she whipped around and bolted into the billowing canvas. Pinkie and I both watched in horror as the balloon keeping us aloft exploded into a shower of scraps, popping with a great multicolored exhale of smoke. Dash laughed; we screamed. And then we fell.

"Rainbow Dash," I growled, desperately trying to smooth out my windblown mane. The three of us were taking shelter under the shade of the oak tree that also served as my combination library/home, Pinkie Pie still shaking from the fall. "I keep telling you this: rescuing us afterwards does not make sending us plummeting to an untimely end okay!"

The pegasus smirked. After our misadventures in the skies, even she had her wings folded and her hooves planted firmly on the ground. "Whatting to a whatty end?"

"Plummeting to an--" I caught sight of her expression. "Ugh! We could have been in real danger, there!"

"Actually, we weren't," intervened Pinkie Pie, grinning despite the terrified spasms that continued to wrack her body. "If we were, my tail woulda' been twitching!"

I opened my mouth to point out the lack of logic in my statement, but was interrupted before I could even begin by the high-pitched cry of a filly galloping towards us. "Twilight Sparkle! You're here!" I smiled, recognizing the voice immediately. It was Applebloom, of course, and now that I was looking her way I could see the quieter Sweetie Belle following her at a slower pace.

Applebloom was an earth pony filly, plucky and mischievous with a laid-back country drawl. From the outside, she appeared to be a prickly, precociously cynical little foal; yet this exterior was in contrast with the innocence lying in her emerald-green eyes. Sweetie Belle, an elegant white unicorn, was composed in the exact opposite manner. When I first met her, I mistook her for a childish filly, airheaded even. Now, I knew better.

The red-maned filly hoofed right up to me before stopping short, her face suddenly contorting into a stern frown. The enormous bow in her mane made it awfully difficult to take this seriously. "Now, Twilight Sparkle, what did ya think you were doin' leavin' us like that? I was so bored!" she moaned.

"Applebloom!" shrieked Sweetie Belle, appalled. The farmpony only gave her a blank look, ignorant of her offense. The unicorn sighed before explaining, a forehoof resting melodramatically against her head. "You're being rude to Twilight! She couldn't help having to leave, could she? If my sister were here, she'd be in shock at your behavior!"

Applebloom rolled her eyes. "And if mah sister was here, she wouldn't give a care, now would she? But she ain't, so forget it!" she snapped.

Sweetie Belle winced; she was such a sweet filly that I didn't imagine she was accustomed to being addressed in that tone. Still, being friends with Applebloom meant you had to get used to it; I had stopped being rendered speechless by Applebloom's insults weeks ago.

In the interest of preventing conflict I turned to Applebloom, swallowing my pride. "I'm sorry, girls. I shouldn't have left you, but I'm back now. And I don't plan to leave again for a long time!"

The small earth pony perked up again, and again I caught sight of the sweet innocence in her eyes. Applebloom could be something of a brat sometimes (As could Sweetie, though at a far smaller frequency) but, all in all, she was difficult to hate. "Well..." she began, angling her gaze away from me. "I guess you're forgiven, then. I guess."

I stifled a chuckle. In the old days, I couldn't stand foals. They were dirty and immature and they always ruined all of my carefully-crafted plans. But, well... something had changed when I moved to Ponyville. Something I couldn't quite put my hoof on, and yet I was grateful for it regardless.

Pinkie Pie stepped in between Applebloom and I, her eyes shining with excitement. I knew what that meant. "You know what this calls for?" she asked teasingly, wearing a grin so large I swore I could see each of her teeth.

I raised an eyebrow. "Let me guess--a party?"

The hyperactive mare nodded enthusiastically. "A party!"

The five of us were in Sugarcube Corner, the local bakery and Pinkie Pie's home. Rainbow Dash and Applebloom danced to an upbeat tune, Dash exercising her wings with flying tricks--loop-de-loops and midair spins--while Applebloom displayed impressive skills on the floor. Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie scarfed down cupcakes, and Sweetie Belle and I sat peacefully of to the side of the room, snacking on petit-fours and drinking hot chocolate.

Sugarcube Corner was an unusual building, with a large room that Pinkie used as a partying hall hidden behind the living quarters and bakery. Mind wandering, I expressed my interest in the design of the place to Sweetie Belle, who cast me a confused look. Noticing her surprise, I tried my best to explain the concept to the filly: "See, usually buildings have rooms built for a purpose, like living rooms and kitchens. But this place was built long before Pinkie Pie came along and started throwing parties, and yet still it has this extra--"

"No," Sweetie cut me off, shaking her head. "I know what you mean. But this room does have another purpose. It's where we hold to Moon Festival every Nightmare Night!"

"Moon Festival?" I tilted my head to the side, already fascinated by Ponyville's unique cultural traditions. "You mean, on the Nightmare Night where everypony hands out candy to foals?"

The curly-haired filly nodded. "Except, there's more to it here in Ponyville. After we get our candy, we have to sacrifice two pieces each to Nightmare Moon--to keep her from sacrificing us, see?" she explained seriously. Ah, innocence; it may have been scary, but I had to admit that it had been fun as a filly, back when I believed in the mare in the moon and all of those old mares' tales. Not wanting to burst Sweetie Belle's bubble, I tried to maintain a straight face as she continued. "The spell trapping Nightmare Moon in the sky is weakest on Nightmare Night, so we have to make her happy or else she'll eat us!"

Sounded an awful lot like some parents wanted a share of their foals' candy. A creative way of getting some, certainly. "So this is where you leave the candy for her?" I queried.

"Oh, no--somepony always leaves it at the statue of Nightmare Moon out by the Everfree Forest! But then everypony comes back to Sugarcube Corner, and we hold the Moon Festival. It's like a celebration, see? Because we survived another year!" Sweetie Belle finished her story, smiling despite her allegations that the whole of Ponyville was in danger of death.

I had to admit that this was a bit more morbid than the stories behind most holidays, but I'd certainly heard worse. Besides, Sweetie, at least, seemed to enjoy it! "Sounds fun," I ventured, and the filly nodded in agreement. "So, Nightmare Night's coming up soon, isn't it?"

"Yep!" Pinkie Pie materialized between us, apparently having heard our conversation. "In just two weeks! And I can't wait! You're bringing the candy to Nightmare Moon this year, aren't you, Sweetie Belle?"

Sweetie blushed, staring at her hot cocoa sheepishly. "Yeah, but it's only because Rarity wouldn't leave Mayor Mare alone until she gave me the title. I didn't even want to do it."

I glanced from Sweetie to Pinkie and back. "Bringing candy to Nightmare Moon?" I echoed. "Is that a big deal?"

Sweetie Belle shook her head, but before she could protest, Pinkie Pie cried, "Yeah! It's not just a big deal, it's a super-mega-huge deal! Only one foal gets to approach the statue each year. I never got the part..." Pinkie hung her head, only to pop back into shape the moment I reached out a hoof to comfort her. "But Rainbow Dash has! Didn't you, Dashie?"

The pegasus froze mid-moonwalk at the mention of her name; Applebloom proceeded to run face-first into her back hoof before glaring over at us as if it were somehow my fault. "What've I done?" queried Rainbow Dash, gliding across the room to meet Sweetie, Pinkie and I.

"Brought candy to the Nightmare Moon statue on Nightmare Night?" I didn't mean for it to sound like a question, but it did anyway. Back in Canterlot, we just dressed up in costumes and ate candy on Nightmare Night; all of this "Nightmare Moon" and "Moon Festival" talk was entirely foreign to me.

"Oh," Rainbow Dash relaxed, crossing her forehooves behind her head. "Yeah, but that was when I was just a filly. It wasn't all that special. I just dumped a bag of candy at the foot of the statue, is all."

"No way!" Pinkie huffed, forcing her way past Rainbow Dash and towards the room's exit. She silenced the radio with a kick before turning to glare at each of us in turn. "Now you're just being ridiculous! Nightmare Night is important, guys! There's candy!" With that, she exited the party room, her hopping method of transportation completely at odds with her angry outburst.

There was a moment of confused silence before I addressed Rainbow Dash worriedly. "Did I say something wrong?"

The multicolored-maned pegasus didn't look worried; she was still leaning back in mid-air, her wings flapping lazily. "Nah; I did. Pinkie Pie's really into that whole 'Moon Festival' thing. She just moved to Ponyville last year. But me? I've lived here my whole life. I don't really care any more."

"Should..." I took a tentative step towards the doorway Pinkie Pie had stomped out of. "Should we go after her?"

Rainbow Dash waved a hoof dismissively. "Nah. She's fine. She just likes to overreact, is all. She'll be back to normal tomorrow."

Despite Dash's reassurances, I couldn't help but remain concerned for my pink friend. Pinkie Pie was a happy pony, and I couldn't imagine she might be upset by something as small as a disregard for her favorite holiday. Had one of us said something else to offend her? Combing back through all of my statements since arriving in Ponyville, I couldn't imagine what. Hours earlier I had been, quite literally, walking on air with glee. Now I didn't know how I felt.

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TwinkieSpy

TwinkieSpy #1 · Jan 20th, 2012 · · ·

I went ahead and submitted the first part (I'm somewhere between a fourth and a third of the way into it) of the first arc. I had originally planned each arc to take up one chapter on here, but things got out of hand in terms of word count pretty quickly. I don't like my chapters to be much longer than 3000 words, usually (just doesn't feel organized), so I guess I'm going to go ahead and release the arcs in parts anyways.

Also, I love getting feedback, so come at me, bro!

Diamond Sparkle

Diamond Sparkle #2 · Jan 21st, 2012 · · ·

Fun, I wonder if Nightmare Moon will show up?

#3 · Jan 21st, 2012 · · ·

You've combined 2 of my favorite things. It's looking very good so far. Bravo!

Spectrum

Spectrum #4 · Jan 21st, 2012 · · ·

I absolutley loved Higurashi so i cant wait to see how this turns out, if this is like any other fic though i think rainbow dash is gonna die first -_____-
Anyway, im gonna follow this story

verifiaman

verifiaman #5 · Jan 21st, 2012 · · ·

Where'd you get the picture

TwinkieSpy

TwinkieSpy #6 · Jan 21st, 2012 · · ·

148359
Actually, no, Rainbow Dash won't be the first to go.
...She'll probably get it later, though.
148363
It's one of John Joseco's pictures. I think you can find it on his DeviantArt account.